ALAUDA ARVENS1S. 363 



In his " Lament of Mary, Queen of Scots," with equal 

 discernment Burns says — 



" Now lav'rocks wake the merry morn, 

 Aloft on dewy wing ;" 



And in " Spring has clad the grove in green" he also sings — 



" The waken'd laverock warbling springs, 

 And climbs the early sky, 

 Winnowing blithe her dewy wings 

 In morning 's rosy eye." 



And in his beautiful but waesome song, " My Nannie's Awa' " 

 he sings — 



" Thou laverock that springs frae the dews o' the lawn, 

 The shepherd to warn o' the grey-breaking dawn, 

 And thou mellow mavis that hails the night fa', 

 Give over for pity — my Nannie's awa'." 



In his early cheerful songs he also alludes to the lark. In his 

 " Merry Ploughman" he says — 



" The laverock in the morning she'll rise frae her nest, 

 And mount in the air wi' the dew on her breast, 

 And wi' the merry ploughman she'll whistle and sing ; 

 And at night she'll return to her nest back again." 



And in " Brose and Butter" he rants — 



" The laverock lo'es the grass, 



The moorhen lo'es the heather ; 

 But gie me a braw moonlight, 

 Me and my love together." 



Also in " The Lover's Salute to his Mistress " he praises her by 

 singing — 



" The lintwhite in his bower 

 Chants o'er the breathing flower ; 

 The laverock to the sky 

 Ascends wi' sangs o' joy, 

 While the sun and thou arise to bless the day." 



And in his ode to " Delia" he as praisingly sings — 



" Sweet the lark's wild- warbled lay, 

 Sweet the tinkling rill to hear ; 

 But, Delia, more delightful still 

 Steal thine accents on mine ear." 



To " Fair Jenny" he says, in praise of his favourite bird — 



" Where are the joys I have met in the morning, 



That danced to the lark's early song ? 

 And where is the peace that awaited my wandering 

 At evening the wild woods among?" 



