Ode. Sacred to the Memory of Mrs Oswald of Auchincruive
Ode-sacred to the memory of Mrs O- of A-
Dweller in yon dungeon dark,
Hangman of creation; mark!
Who in widow-weeds appears,
Laden with unhonored years?
Noosing with care a bursting purse,
Baited with many a deadly curse?
Strophe.
View the withered Beldam's face;
Can thy keen inspection trace
Aught of Humanity's sweet, melting grace?
Note that eye, 'tis rheum o'erflows,
Pity's flood there never rose;
See these hands, ne'er stretched to save,
Hands that took-- but never gave. -
The Great despised her and her wealth,
The Poor-man breathed a curse by stealth. --
Keeper of Mammon's iron chest,
Lo, there she goes, unpitied and unblest!
She goes, but not to realms of everlasting rest!
Antistrophe----
Plunderer of armies, lift thine eyes!
(Awhile forbear, ye torturing fiends;)
Seest thou whose steps, unwilling, hither bends?
No fallen angel kicked from upper skies;
'Tis thy trusty quondam mate:
Doomed to share thy fiery fate
She, tardy, hell-ward plies. ----
Dweller in yon dungeon dark,
Hangman of creation; mark!
Who in widow-weeds appears,
Laden with unhonored years?
Noosing with care a bursting purse,
Baited with many a deadly curse?
Strophe.
View the withered Beldam's face;
Can thy keen inspection trace
Aught of Humanity's sweet, melting grace?
Note that eye, 'tis rheum o'erflows,
Pity's flood there never rose;
See these hands, ne'er stretched to save,
Hands that took-- but never gave. -
The Great despised her and her wealth,
The Poor-man breathed a curse by stealth. --
Keeper of Mammon's iron chest,
Lo, there she goes, unpitied and unblest!
She goes, but not to realms of everlasting rest!
Antistrophe----
Plunderer of armies, lift thine eyes!
(Awhile forbear, ye torturing fiends;)
Seest thou whose steps, unwilling, hither bends?
No fallen angel kicked from upper skies;
'Tis thy trusty quondam mate:
Doomed to share thy fiery fate
She, tardy, hell-ward plies. ----
Epode
And are they of no more avail,
Ten thousand glittering pounds a year?
In other worlds can Mammon fail,
Omnipotent as he is here?
O bitter mockery of the pompous bier,
While down the wretched Vital-part is driven!
The cave-lodged beggar, with a conscience clear,
Expires in rags, unknown, & goes to Heaven.----
__________
And are they of no more avail,
Ten thousand glittering pounds a year?
In other worlds can Mammon fail,
Omnipotent as he is here?
O bitter mockery of the pompous bier,
While down the wretched Vital-part is driven!
The cave-lodged beggar, with a conscience clear,
Expires in rags, unknown, & goes to Heaven.----
__________
Key details
- Archive number
- NTS/02/25/BRN/02/08
- Alt. number
- 3.6104
- Date
- 1789
- On display
- No
- Creator
- Burns, Robert (Author)
- Recipient
- Oswald, Mrs
- Archive number
- NTS/02/25/BRN/02/08
- Alt. number
- 3.6104
- Date
- 1789
- On display
- No
- Creator
- Burns, Robert (Author)
- Recipient
- Oswald, Mrs
Description
Ode. Sacred to the Memory of Mrs Oswald of Auchincruive.
Burns writes in this satire of the recent death of the wealthy Mrs Oswald of Auchencruive. Mrs Oswald owned the Auchencruive estate near Ayr after her husband's death but lived in London. When she died, her funeral procession stopped at the Inn in Sanquhar where Burns was staying. Unfortunately he was forced to give up the room and had to travel a further 12 miles on to New Cummnock in inclement weather. Burns channelled his anger through this poem that same January evening.
The poem begins with the narrator informing the devil of his forthcoming incumbent Mrs Oswald, describing her character and selfish habits. The narrator then addresses her late husband, already in hell, and finally revels in the fact that while their money could not save them from their fate, an honest beggar would go up to heaven.
In this first page contains an introductory verse, Strophe and Antistrophe. The narrator firstly advises the devil to look out for Mrs Oswald's arrival. It continues by describing how the mean spirited woman has behaved in life and how she goes un-pitied and un-blest to hell. The narrator then asks hells fiends to let Mr Oswald look up to greet his mate.
In this last page, the Epode, the narrator cynically questions whether riches cannot ensure a comfortable hereafter while emphasising that a beggar living in a cave with a clear conscience will go straight to heaven.
In this first page contains an introductory verse, Strophe and Antistrophe. The narrator firstly advises the devil to look out for Mrs Oswald's arrival. It continues by describing how the mean spirited woman has behaved in life and how she goes un-pitied and un-blest to hell. The narrator then asks hells fiends to let Mr Oswald look up to greet his mate.
In this last page, the Epode, the narrator cynically questions whether riches cannot ensure a comfortable hereafter while emphasising that a beggar living in a cave with a clear conscience will go straight to heaven.
Archive information
Themes
Hierarchy
-
Robert Burns, collection of poems and songs
(
a sub-fonds is a subdivision in the archival material)
- Ode. Sacred to the Memory of Mrs Oswald of Auchincruive