Mother Kilwinning.

which the self-sacrificing spirit which Sir Alexander brought to the discharge of Masonic duty , it may be mentioned that , although for eight nights preceding- the solemnity at Dairy his close attendance at a sick bed prevented his getting his clothes off , so soon as a " happy change" in the condition of

his family relieved him from that duty , instead of seeking the repose he so much needed , he repairs to Dairy , where , after the peculiar labour of the day had been accomplished , he is found in his usual super-excellent style regulating the refreshment of the newly-born daughterand

celebrating-, her advent m the following extemporaneous effort of his muse , which he sung to the air , " The auld wife ayont the fire" : —• Our Mither ' s got anither wean , A dainty wean—a sonsie wean ; Our Mither ' s got anither wean ,

Sae push about the whisky . Blair o' Blair its daddy is , 3 Tor BLAZE . DALHY maun sure bo his ; He'll warm your hearts , lad , till they biz , When sloken'd wi' guid whisky . Chorus—Our Mither ' s got , etc .

Here honest men thegither meet , Their brows to smooth , their mous to weet , An' friendshi p ' s fire to stir and beet , Sao push about the whisky . Our Mither ' s got , etc . The compass , square , the maul an' a ' , Still keep us rihtand ie the law

g , g ; But Rent a pillar e ' er need fa ' , For just a wee drap whisky . Our Mither ' s got , etc . Auld Babel didna mak folk dum , Sae while a Mason can sit plum , Let care wi' reek gae up the lum ;

Sae push about the whisky . Our Mither ' s got anither wean , A dainty wean—a sonsie wean ; Our Mither ' s got anither wean , An' here ' s her health in whisky .

The MS . of this song is attached to the fly-leaf of " The Freemason ' s Pocket Companion , " presented to the mother lodge by the Cannongate brethren , * and bearing the following inscription , beautifully penned in Old English characters : —

CANNONGATE , VII " January , 1736 , year of Masonry 5736 . This day being the monthly meeting of ye Cannongate Kilwinning Lodge held at William Clark ' s there , They thought it their duty to Transmit !; by the hands of Patrick Montgomery , Bsqr ., The present Right Worshipful Master of our MOTHER LODGE KILWINNING ,

kept at Kilwinning , This Book for the use of our said Mother Lodge , " Is humbly presented C GEO . FBAZER , " } Master . by Cannongate Kil- J . DAVID HOME , > S . W . winning Lodge . ( RICIID . CoorEK , J D . J . W . " While thus threading our way in proximity to

the region of poesy , it may be pardonable iu us to cull for our Masonic garland an evergreen from the effusions of certain poetically-inclined neutrals suggested by the untimely death of one whose memory as the beau ideal of a R . W . M . is still revered by surviving " sons of Kilwinning , "

whose privilege it was to fraternise with him in the bosom of the mother lodge : — Mourn . Ayrshire ! mourn . ' thy Boswell ' s gone—Untimely torn from thee—A life ho counted not his own , Is cut short cruelly .

Gone is the man of public taste—¦ Who patriot-like and brave When duty call'd—that duty fac'd , His country ' s peace to save . Gone is the man of sparkling wit , Whose unobtrusive glee , The " table in a roar" has set

, With rapt ' rous jollity . Gone is the man of generous mind , The friend of rich and poor ; Whose heart was free to all mankind—As open was his door . While humour , wit , and manly sense ,

And spirit-cheering song , And warm and easy eloquence , Shall charm the festive throng ; So long shall Boswell ' s name be dear , And thought of with a sigh , And friends regret with pitying tear , That Boswell thus should die .