---
title: "Extempore Reply to an Invitation"
author: "Robert Burns"
form: "Poem"
year: "1793"
location: "Dumfries"
source: "Project Gutenberg #1279 — Poems and Songs of Robert Burns"
source_url: "https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1279/pg1279.txt"
canonical_url: "https://robert-burns.com/poems/extempore-reply-to-an-invitation/"
---

# Extempore Reply to an Invitation

## Poem
The King’s most humble servant, I  
Can scarcely spare a minute;  
But I’ll be wi’ you by an’ by;  
Or else the Deil’s be in it.

---

Source: [Project Gutenberg #1279 — Poems and Songs of Robert Burns](https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1279/pg1279.txt)  
Canonical HTML: https://robert-burns.com/poems/extempore-reply-to-an-invitation/