XIII
THE SCOT AS CRIMINAL
Burns, like every other Scotchman that has trailed a pen, did not fail to help along the Scottish advertisement with a suitable contribution. He wrote The Cottar’s Saturday Night, and thereby did a great thing for Scotland, setting up a picture of Scottish home life and piety which the generations seem to regard as authentic. We have all been taught to admire the moral excellences of that cottar, not to mention the moral excellences of his wife and children:
With joy unfeigned brothers and sisters meet,
And each for others’ welfare kindly spiers;
The social hours swift winged, unnotic’d fleet,
Each tells the unco’s that he see or hears.
The parents partial eye their hopeful years,
Anticipation forward prints the view;
The mother, wi’ her needle and her shears,