CHAPTER XXI.

THE HOUSE IN WHICH BURNS DIED-HIS CIRCUMSTANCES AND LAST ILLNESS-GOES TO BROW-HIS ANXIETY FOR THE WELFARE OF HIS FAMILY-AN AFFECTING ANECDOTE-THE POET'S RETURN TO DUMFRIES-THE ANXIETY OF THE INHABITANTS-JESSIE LEWARS-HIS DEATH AND FUNERAL-THE FAMILY OF BURNSTHE EXEMPLARY LIFE OF THE POET'S WIDOW-SALE OF HOUSEHOLD EFFECTS.

After a timorous tap and a nervous pause at the door of the house in which Burns died, it was opened by a neatly-dressed lady, who, upon learning the nature of my business, invited me in, and most obligingly conducted me through the various apartments, referring as she did so to numerous little incidents associated with each. 66 This," said she, "is now the parlour, but it was used by Burns as a sitting room, and in it he wrote many of his songs. That is the kitchen, a place much frequented by him; and up here," she continued, as she led the way up a narrow staircase, "is the room in which he died." It proved a small oblong apartment, some fifteen feet by nine. Its appearance and associations caused very many saddening thoughts to well up in my mind, and as I stood on its threshold, fancy conjured up shadows of the dear ones who surrounded the poet's bed when his spirit forsook its casket of clay. On the same floor there is a room of larger dimensions, as also a closet in which the poet secluded himself during hours of inspiration, or when he had any particular business to perform, and above them a couple of attic bedrooms in which the children slept. This is the accommodation of what constituted the home of Robert Burns, and it will readily be admitted that it is of a superior order to the majority of middle-class people's houses, and that his circumstances at the time of his death were much better than reported. His official income was £50 a year, but extra allowances generally brought it up to £70. "Add to all this," says Chambers, "the solid perquisites which he re

ceived from seizures of contraband spirits, tea, and other articles, which it was then the custom to divide among the officers, and we shall see that Burns could scarcely be considered as enjoying less than £90 a year. This, indeed, is but a small income in comparison with the deserts of the bard; yet it is equally certain that many worthy families in the middle ranks of life in Scottish country towns were then supported in a decent manner upon no larger means." The poet's eldest son informed the same writer that this house was one of a good order, such as was used in those days by the better class of citizens, and that his father and mother led a comparatively genteel life. "They always had a maidservant, and sat in their parlour. That room and the two principal bedrooms were carpeted and otherwise well furnished, and the dining table was of mahogany. There was much rough comfort in the house not to have been found in those of ordinary citizens; for, besides the spoils of smugglers, presents of game and country produce were received from the rural gentlefolks, besides occasional barrels of oysters from Hill, Cunningham, and other friends in town."

The

Despite this ". "rough comfort" the associations of the house are saddening. The poet never recovered from the exposure mentioned in last chapter, and in a brief month after it we find him telling his woeful tale to Mrs Dunlop. He says"I have lately drunk deep of the cup of affliction. Autumn robbed me of my only daughter and darling child, and that at a distance, too, and so rapidly, as to put it out of my power to pay the last duties to her. I had scarcely begun to recover from that shock when I became myself the victim of a most severe rheumatic fever, and long the die spun doubtful, until, after many weeks of a sick-bed, it seems to have turned up life, and I am beginning to crawl across my room, and once indeed have been before my own door in the street." Some time after this Miss Grace Aiken, a sister of Robert Aiken, Ayr, met him in the street, but he was so much changed that she did not know him, and it was only by his voice that he was recognised. "It was hoped by some of his friends," says Dr. Currie, "that he would live through the months of Spring and that the succeeding season might restore him." But they were disappointed. The genial beams of the sun infused no vigour into his languid frame;

the summer wind blew upon him, but produced no refreshment. As a last resource he determined to try sea bathing, and for that purpose removed to Brow, a watering place on the shores of the Solway, ten miles from Dumfries. Before setting out he told his Jean that he thought himself dying and in a kind of prophetic spirit added: "Don't be afraid; I'll be more respected a hundred years after I am dead than I am at the present day."

His first

On his arrival at Brow, Mrs Walter Riddle, who had been estranged from him for some time, and who was staying in the vicinity, sent her carriage for him. He went to see her, and her account of the interview is of such interest that I may be excused for transcribing it in full. "I was struck," says this lady, "with his appearance on entering the room. The stamp of death was impressed on his features. He seemed already touching the brink of eternity. salutation was, 'Well, madam, have you any commands for the other world?' I replied that it seemed a doubtful case which of us should be there soonest, and that I hoped that he would yet live to write my epitaph. He looked in my face with an air of great kindness and expressed his concern at seeing me look so ill, with his accustomed sensibility. At table he ate little or nothing, and he complained of having entirely lost the tone of his stomach. We had a long and serious conversation about his present situation, and the approaching termination of all his earthly prospects. He spoke of his death without any of the ostentation of philosophy, but with the firmness, as well as the feeling, of an event likely to happen very soon, and which gave him concern chiefly from leaving his four children so young and unprotected, and his wife in so interesting a situation-in hourly expectation of lying-in with a fifth. He mentioned with seeming pride and satisfaction the promising genius of his eldest son, and the flattering marks of approbation he had received from his teachers, and dwelt particularly on his hopes of that boy's future conduct and merit. His anxiety for his family seemed to hang heavy upon him, and the more perhaps from the reflection that he had not done them all the justice he was so well qualified to do. Passing from this subject he showed great concern about the care of his literary fame, and particularly the publication of his posthumous works. He

said he was aware that his death would occasion some noise, and that every scrap of his writing would be revived against him to the injury of his future reputation; that letters and verses he had written with unguarded and improper freedom, and which he had earnestly wished to have buried in oblivion, would be handed about by idle vanity or malevolence, when no dread of his resentment would restrain them, or prevent the censures of shrill-tongued malice, or the insidious sarcasms of envy, from pouring forth all their venom to blast his fame. He lamented that he had written many epigrams on persons against whom he entertained no enmity, and whose characters he should be sorry to wound; and many indifferent poetical pieces, which he feared would now, with all their imperfections on their head, be thrust upon the world. On this account he deeply regretted having deferred to put his papers into a state of arrangement, as he was now quite incapable of the exertion. The conversation was kept up with great evenness and animation on his side. I had seldom seen his mind greater or more collected. There was frequently a considerable degree of vivacity in his sallies, and they would probably have had a greater share had not the concern and dejection I could not disguise damped the spirit of pleasantry he seemed not unwilling to indulge. We parted about sunset on the evening of that day (the 5th of July, 1796). The next day I saw him again, and we parted to meet no more."

In the midst of these dejecting circumstances the dying bard continued to sing. Witness his last song, the "Fairest maid on Devon's banks," which accompanied the piteous letter to Mr Thomson imploring the loan of five pounds to satisfy the demands of "a cruel scoundrel of a haberdasher" who threatened him with proceedings. After remaining a fortnight in Brow he sent the following to his devoted wife : "My dearest love,-I delayed writing until I could tell you what effect sea-bathing was likely to produce. It would be injustice to deny that it has eased my pains, and I think has strengthened me; but my appetite is still extremely bad. No flesh nor fish can I swallow; porridge and milk are the only things I can taste. I am very happy to hear by Miss Jessie Lewars that you are all well. My very best and kindest compliments to her and all the children. I will see you on Sunday.-Your affectionate husband, R. B."

Before he left Brow he drank tea with the minister of Ruthwell's widow, and elicited much sympathy by his altered appearance. The evening being beautiful, the sunbeams streamed through the window and illumined the apartment. Fearing that the light would be too strong, her daughter rose to let down the blinds, but the bard observing her intention gave a look of great benignity, and said "Thank you, my dear, for your kind attention; but oh, let him shine! he will not shine long for me!"

66

Mr. James Gracie, banker, Dumfries, offered to send his carriage to bring him home, but the poet did not avail himself of the kindness. According to Allan Cunningham, he returned on the 18th in a small spring cart. The ascent to his house was steep, and the cart stopped at the foot of the Mill-hole brae. When he alighted he shook much, and stood with difficulty; he seemed unable to stand upright. He stooped as if in pain, and walked tottering towards his own door; his looks were hollow and ghastly, and those who saw him then expected never to see him in life again." The writer goes on to say that "Dumfries was like a besieged place. It was known that he was dying, and the anxiety not only of the rich and learned, but of the mechanics and peasants, exceeded all belief. Wherever two or three people stood together, their talk was of Burns, and of him alone. They spoke of his history, of his person, of his works, of his family, of his fame, and of his untimely and approaching fate, with a warmth and an enthusiasm which will ever endear Dumfries to my remembrance. His differences with them on some important points were forgotten and forgiven; they thought only of his genius, of the delight his compositions had diffused; and they talked of him with the same awe as of some departing spirit whose voice was to gladden them no more.'

My

The condition his wife was in, and the future of his family, gave him much anxiety, and in an agony of mind he penned the following to his father-in-law :-"My dear sir,-Do, for Heaven's sake, send Mrs. Armour here immediately. wife is hourly expected to be put to bed. Good God! what a situation for her to be in, poor girl, without a friend! I returned from sea-bathing quarters to-day, but I think and feel that my strength is so gone that the disorder will prove fatal to me.-Your son-in-law, R. B."