And pledge we ne'er shall sunder;
And I shall spurn, as vilest dust,
The warld's wealth and grandeur.

And do I hear my Jeannie own
That equal transports move her?
I ask for dearest life, alone,
That I may live to love her.

Thus in my arms, wi' a' thy charms,
I clasp my countless treasure;
I'll seek nae mair o' heaven to share
Than sic a moment's pleasure.

And by thy een, sae bonnie blue,
I swear I'm thine for ever:
And on thy lips I seal my vow,
And break it shall I never.
--_Robert Burns_

[Illustration: ROBERT BURNS]


The business of Robert Burns was love-making.

All love is good, but some kinds of love are better than others. Through
Burns' penchant for falling in love we have his songs. A Burns
bibliography is simply a record of his love-affairs, and the spasms of
repentance that followed his lapses are made manifest in religious verse.