the PAGE 14, NOTE 16.-Miss Helen Maria Page 14, NOTE 17.-There are various copies of this letter in the author's handwriting; and one of these, evidently corrected, is in the book in which he had copied several of his letters. This has been used for the press, with some omissions, and one slight alteration suggested by Gilbert Burns. PAGE 14, NOTE 18.--This house is on the right-hand side of the road from Ayr to Maybole, which forms a part of the road from Glasgow to Port-Patrick. When the poet's father afterwards removed to Tarbolton parish, he sold his leasehold right in this house, and a few acres of land adjoining, to the corporation of shoemakers in Ayr. It is now a country ale-house. PAGE 15, NOTE 19.-Mrs. Burns, the mother of Robert Burns, survived to the advanced age of 88. She died on the 14th of January, 1820. PAGE 15, NOTE 20-Quoted from a letter addressed by G. Burns, to Mrs. Dunlop. PAGE 15, NOTE 21.-The farm alluded to was Mount Oliphant in the parish of Ayr. The passage is quoted from a letter from G. Burns to Mrs. Dunlop. PAGE 16, NOTE 22.-The reading from Titus Adronicus, was from the revolting passage,--Act ii. Sc. 5. PAGE 17, NOTE 23.-Mr. Tennant, of Ayr, one of the few surviving early friends of Burns, has the following recollections respecting him:-"He first knew the poet, when attending Mr. Murdoch's school at Ayr, he being then fifteen, and Burns a year and a half older. Burns and he were favourite pupils of Murdoch, who used to take them alternately to live with him, allowing them a share of his bed. Mr. Murdoch was a well-informed and zealous teacher-a particularly good French scholar, insomuch that he at one time taught the language in | The He thought his voice had some peculiar quality or power, adapting it in an uncommon degree for French pronunciation. To this predilection of the teacher, it is probably owing that Burns acquired so much French, and had such a fancy for introducing snatches of it in his letters. Murdoch was so anxious to advance his two favourite pupils, that, while they were lying with him, he was always taking opportunities of communicating knowledge. intellectual gifts of Burns even at this time greatly impressed his fellow-scholar. Robert and Gilbert Burns were like no other young | men. Their style of language was quite above that of their compeers. Robert had borrowed great numbers of books, and acquainted himself with their contents. He read rapidly, but remembered all that was interesting or valuable in what he read. He had the New Testament more at command than any other youth ever known to Mr. Tennant, who was, altogether, more impressed in these his boyish days by the discourse of the youthful poet, than he afterwards was by his published verses. The elocution of Burns resembled that of Edmund Kean-deep, thoughtful, emphatic; and in controversy, no man could stand before him." PAGE 17, NOTE 24.-Mr. John Murdoch died April 20, 1824, aged seventy-seven. He had published a Radical vocabulary of the French language, 12mo, 1783; Pronunciation and Orthography of the French language, 8vo. 1788; Dictionary of Distinctions, 8vo. 1811; and other works. He was a highly amiable and worthy man. In his latter days, illness had reduced him to the brink of destitution, and an appeal was made to the friends and admirers of his illustrious pupil, in his behalf. Some money was thus raised, and applied to the relief of his necessities. It is stated, in the obituary notice of Mr. Murdoch, published in the London papers, that he had taught English in London to several distinguished foreigners; among the rest, to the celebrated Talleyrand, during his residence as an emigrant in England. PAGE 19, NOTE 25.-Both Robert and Gilbert speak of the total ruin of their father at the time of his death. "His all," says Robert, "went among the hell-hounds that prowl in the kennel of justice." It appears difficult to reconcile this with the immediately ensuing statement, that Mossgiel was stocked by the property and individual savings of the whole family. But the fact, we understand to be, that at the bankruptcy of William Burns, his children | Mr. Andrew M'Culloch, a distant relation had respectively considerable claims upon his estate, on account of their services to him on the farm, which claims were preferable to those of the other creditors. They thus, with the perfect approbation of the law, and we rather think of justice also, (though some thought otherwise at the time), rescued a portion of his property from the "hell-hounds." PAGE 19, NOTE 26.-John Blane, already mentioned, reports that, at Lochlee, the whole family, including the daughters, wrought at the various labours of the farm. The second daughter, Annabella by name, had a turn for poetry, but, not having been taught to write, was unable to commit her compositions to paper: few women of the same rank were at that time taught to write. | The family was one which regularly went to church, one male and one female being left at home, to take care of the house, and "the beasts." Annabella would contrive to have Blane for her companion, that he might write down her poems during the absence of the rest. She took possession of the manuscripts, but was obliged by the severity of parental discipline, to conceal her love of the divine art. PAGE 20, NOTE 27.-According to credible authorities, he was in the habit of walking every day to Kilmarnock, for the purpose of superintending the progress of his literary labours, through press; and it is very certain that he was at this time labouring under the utmost privations, and subsisting upon the most scanty fare :-" dining off a piece of oat cake, and two-pennyworth of ale," according to one of his biographers. PAGE 20, NOTE 28.-Burns, himself, in many of his extant letters of this date, declares that he was" skulking from covert to covert, under the terror of a jail," and that he was pursued to persecution by the officers, under proceedings intended to extort a compulsory provision for his twin children, by Miss Armour, which, however, he was bent upon legitimating, by marrying their mother; whilst the relations of Miss A. were driving him from pillar to post, in the hope of effectually separating the lovers. PAGE 21, NOTE 29.-There is another observation of Gilbert Burns on his brother's narrative, in which some persons will be interested. It refers to where the poet speaks of his youthful friends. "My brother," says Gilbert Burns, "seems to set off his early companions in too consequential a manner. The principal acquaintance we had in Ayr, while boys, were four sons of of my mother's, who kept a tea shop, and had made a little money in the contraband trade, very common at that time. He died while the boys were young, and my father was nominated one of the tutors. The two eldest were bred shopkeepers, the third a surgeon, and the youngest, the only surviving one, was bred in a counting-house in Glasgow, where he is now a respectable merchant. I believe all these boys went to the West Indies. Then there were two sons of Dr. Malcolm, whom I have mentioned in my letter to Mrs. Dunlop. The eldest a very worthy young man, went to the East Indies, where he had a commission in the army; he is the person whose heart, my brother says, the Munny Begum scenes could not corru The other, by the interest of Lady Wallace, got an ensigncy in a regiment raised by the Duke of Hamilton during the American War. I believe neither of them are now (1797) alive. We also knew the present Dr. Paterson of Ayr, and a younger brother of his, now in Jamaica, who were much younger than us. I had almost forgot to mention Dr. Charles of Ayr, who was a little older than my brother, and with whom we had a longer and closer intimacy than with any of the others, which did not, however, continue in after life." 晨 PAGE 21, NOTE 30.-A Scottish term meaning fire. PAGE 21, NOTE 31.-The hoary brow. PAGE 21, NOTE 32.-Wishes or chooses. PAGE 21, NOTES 33, 34, and 35.-Au allusion to some airs known amongst the Scottish Psalmody. Reference is especially made to the three adopted by William Burns. to. PAGE 21, NOTE 36.-Supplies, adds fuel PAGE 21, NOTE 37.-The father of the family leading the family devotion. PAGE 25, NOTE 38.-" This business was first carried on here from the Isle of Man, and afterwards to a considerable extent from France, Ostend, and Gottenburgh. Persons engaged in it found it necessary to go abroad, and enter into business with foreign merchants; and by dealing in tea, spirits, and silks, brought home to their families and friends the means of luxury and finery at the cheapest rate."—Statistical Account of Kirkoswald, 1794. PAGE 28, NOTE 39.-The subjoined anecdote may serve to throw some additional light upon the nature of Burns' connexions at the period referred to. "The poet's Maybole friend, on inspecting the volume, was mortified to find the poetical epistle which had been addressed to him, printed with the name Andrew substituted for his own, and the motto from Blair, as was but proper, omitted. He said nothing at the time; but, young, ambitious, and conscious of having done all in his humble power for friendship's cause, he could not forgive so marked a slight. He, therefore, from that time ceased to answer Burns's letters. When the poet was next at Maybole, he asked the cause, and Willie answered by inquiring if he could not himself divine it. He said he thought he could, and adverted to the changed name in the poem. Mr. Robert Aiken, writer in Ayr, had been, he said, a useful friend and patron to him. He had a son commencing a commercial life in Liverpool. I thought, he said, that a few verses addressed to this youth would gratify the father, and be accepted as a mark of my gratitude. But, my muse being lazy, I could not well make them out. After all, After all, this old epistle occurred to me, and by putting his name into it, in place of yours, I made it answer this purpose. him in reply, that he had just exchanged his friendship for that of Mr. Aiken, and requested that their respective letters might be burnt-a duty which he scrupulously performed on his own part. The two disputants of Kirkoswald never saw or corresponded with each other again." Willie told PAGE 29, NOTE 40.-"Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto the living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” PAGE 29, NOTE 41.-We have had several occasions to notice the narrowness of Burns's means, and the straits to which he was often reduced; and the account which we have of the closing scene of his father's life, sufficiently explains how this extremity of distress should have failed to be relieved by his relatives. To those to whom such a circumstance, however, may appear somewhat extraordinary, the subjoined particulars may be interesting: :-"It is no uncommon case for a small farmer, or even cotter, in Scotland, to have a son placed at some distant seminary of learning, or serving an apprenticeship to some metropolitan writer or tradesman; in which case, the youth is | almost invariably supplied with oatmeal, the staple of the poor Scotsman's life-cheese, perhaps-oaten or barley bread, &c., from the home stores, by the intervention of the weekly or fortnightly carrier. The above passage recals to the Editor an anecdote which is related of a gentleman, now high in consideration at the Scottish bar, whose father, a poor villager in the upper ward of Lanarkshire, having contrived to get him placed at Glasgow University, supported him there chiefly by a weekly bag of oatmeal. On one occasion, the supply was stopped for nearly three weeks by a snow-storm. The young man's meal, like Burns's, was out; but his pride, or his having no intimate acquaintance, prevented him from borrowing. And this remarkable and powerful-minded man had all but perished, before the dissolving snow allowed a new stock of provisions to reach him." PAGE 29, NOTE 42.-In his letter to Dr. Moore, Burns gives the following account of the consequences of this calamity to himself:-"This was an unlucky affair; as we were giving a welcome carousal to the new year the shop took fire, and burnt to ashes, and I was left, like a true poet, not worth a sixpence.” "One who had known Burns at Irvine thus reported his recollection of the poet's appearance and demeanour. He looked older than he was-was of a very dark complexion, and had a strong dark eye; his ordinary look, while in company, was thoughtful, amounting to what might be called a gloomy attentiveness. When not interested in the conversation, he might sometimes be seen, for a considerable space, leaning down on his palm, with his elbow resting on his knee-perhaps the most melancholy of all postures short of the prostration of despair. He was in common silent and reserved; but when he found a man to his mind, he made a point of attaching himself to the company of that person, and endeavouring to bring out his powers. Among women he never failed to exert himself, and always shone. People remarked, even then, that when Robert Burns did speak, he always spoke to the point, and in general with a sententious brevity. From another source we learn that Burns at this time loved to debate theological topics amongst the rustic groups which met in the churchyard after service.' PAGE 30, NOTE 43.-Sillar was a brother rhymster of Burns's, and it was to him that the Epistle to Davie was addressed. Mr. Sillar subsequently became a wealthy magistrate in Irvine, by inheriting, very unex pectedly, a large fortune from a distant rela- | PAGE 36, NOTE 49.-This is correct in Scottish phraseology; in strictly grammatical English, we should have used the word hung for hang. tive. He had, however, before this, settled as a teacher in the same place, and lived in competent circumstances. He has only been dead a few years. | PAGE 36, NOTE 50.-These lines originally stood thus: "The lily's hue and roses' dye Bespoke the lass o' Ballochmyle." PAGE 31, NOTE 44.-At the period at which Dr. Currie wrote his biographical account of Burns, these societies were comparatively scarce, and it was worthy of some remark that works of this particular character were held in preference. The Scotch, besides, PAGE 37, NOTE 51.-The individual albeing an imaginative people, are, however, luded to was a modest and amiable girl, named essentially a scientific nation, and in these Mary Campbell, whose parents resided at days a great variety of literary material has Campbelltown in Argyleshire. It can never become popularised amongst them. Indeed, detract from the pathos of her history, to "book societies and village libraries have relate that she was a servant-we believe, greatly increased in number, and means, for- the dairy-woman-at Coilsfield House, the merly undreamt of, have been taken for fur-seat of Colonel Montgomery, afterwards nishing intellectual food to the people. It twelfth earl of Eglinton. Burns partly may, at the same time, be mentioned that no narrates the tale of his affection for this evil result of any kind is known to have young woman. After a pretty long trial," arisen from the alleged predilection of the he says, "of the most ardent reciprocal affecScottish peasantry for books of elegant lite- tion, we met, by appointment, on the second rature. We think it likely that this predi- Sunday of May, in a sequestered spot by the lection is greatly overstated in the text. banks of Ayr, where we spent a day in taking One great change has, however, taken place a farewell before she should embark for the in the tastes of the rural people of Scotland. West Highlands, to arrange matters among Their book-shelves or window-soles, which her friends for our projected change of life. formerly contained only a few books of At the close of the autumn following, she divinity, with perhaps Blind Harry's Wallace crossed the sea to meet me at Greenock, and Ramsay's Gentle Shepherd, or some where she had scarce landed when she was specimens of secular literature, now exhibit, seized with a malignant fever, which hurried in many instances, a considerable store of my dear girl to her grave in a few days, productions in the belles lettres, and of valu- before I could even hear of her illness." able books of information. The individuals Mr. Cromek further informs us, that this who sell books in numbers, or small parts, adieu was performed with all those simple speak strongly of the change which has taken and striking ceremonials, which rustic sentiplace amongst them, during the last thirtyment has devised to prolong tender emotions years, from an exclusively theoolgical to a and to impose awe. The lovers stood on general taste." each side of a small purling brook-they PAGE 35, NOTE 45.-In Cobbett's Maga-laved their hands in the limpid stream-and, zine. holding a Bible between them, pronounced PAGE 35, NOTE 46.-The female infant their vows to be faithful to each other. continued to be nursed by its mother, but They parted-never to meet again." It is unable to provide any better attention for proper to add," says Mr. Lockhart, "that the boy, the family entrusted him to the care Mr. Cromek's story has recently been conof some good people at Mossgiel, where he firmed very strongly by the accidental diswas reared by hand, being fed upon cow's milk.covery of a Bible, presented by Burns to PAGE 36, NOTE 47.-Miss Alexander, who had become the purchaser of the estate in the scenery of which Burns delighted to revel. Wilhelmina Alexander was the sister of Mr. Claude Alexander, who has served as paymaster to the troops in India. Mary Campbell, in the possession of her still surviving sister at Ardrossan. Upon the boards of the first volume is inscribed, in Burns's handwriting-And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, I am the Lord.'Levit. chap. xix. v. 12.' On the second Page 36, NOTE 48.-This letter is pre-volume-Thou shalt not forswear thyself, served as a great treasure at Ballochmyle. At the close, Burns requests, as a favour, the permission to include the poem which accompanied it in the forthcoming second edition of his works, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths.' -St. Matth. chap. v. 33. And, on a blank leaf of either-Robert Burns, Mossgiel' with his mason-mark.' The fine lyrics, Highland Mary, and To Mary in Heaven, with the notes attached to them, tell the accommodate Robert with what money he remainder of this sorrowful tale. PAGE 37, NOTE 52.-Gilbert Burns, in a letter addressed to the Editor [Dr. Currie], has given the following account of the friends which Robert's talents procured him before he left Ayrshire, or attracted the notice of the world: "The farm of Mossgiel, at the time of our coming to it (Martinmas, 1783), was the pro-, perty of the Earl of Loudon, but was held in tack by Mr. Gavin Hamilton, writer, in Mauchline, from whom we had our bargain; who had thus an opportunity of knowing, and showing a sincere regard for my brother, before he knew that he was a poet. The poet's estimation of him, and the strong outlines of his character, may be collected from the dedication to this gentleman. When the publication was begun, Mr. Hamilton entered very warmly into its interests, and promoted the subscription very extensively. Mr. Robert Aiken, writer in Ayr, is a mau of worth and taste, of warm affections. and connected with a most respectable circle of friends and relations. It is to this gentleman The Cotter's Saturday Night is inscribed. The poems of my brother, which I have formerly mentioned, no sooner came into his hands, than they were quickly known, and well received in the extensive circle of Mr. Aiken's friends, which gave them a sort of currency, necessary in this wise world, even for the good reception of things valuable in themselves. But Mr. Aiken not only admired the poet; as soon as he became might need for that purpose; but advised him to go to Edinburgh, as the fittest place for publishing. When he did go to Edinburgh, his friends advised him to publish again by subscription, so that he did not need to accept this offer. Mr. William Parker, merchant in Kilmarnock, was a subscriber for thirty-five copies of the Kilmarnock edition. This may, perhaps, appear not deserving of notice here; but if the comparative obscurity of the poet at this period, be taken into consideration, it appears to me a greater effort of generosity than many things which appear more brilliant in my brother's future history. 'Mr. Robert Muir, merchant in Kilmarnock, was one of those friends Robert's poetry had procured him, and one who was dear to his heart. This gentleman had no very great fortune, or long line of dignified ancestry; but what Robert says of Captain Matthew Henderson, might be said of him with great propriety, that he held the patent of his honours immediately from Almighty God. Nature had, indeed, marked him a gentleman in the most legible characters. He died while yet a young man, soon after the publication of my brother's first Edinburgh edition. Sir William Cunningham of Robertland, paid a very flattering attention, and showed a good deal of friendship for the poet. Before his going to Edinburgh, as well as after, Robert seemed peculiarly pleased with Professor Stewart's friendship and conversation. acquainted with him, he showed the warmest But of all the friendships which Robert regard for the man, and did everything in acquired in Ayrshire and elsewhere, none his power to forward his interest and re- seemed more agreeable to him than that of spectability. The Epistle to a Young Friend Mrs. Dunlop of Dunlop; nor any which has was addressed to this gentleman's son, Mr. been more uniformly and constantly exerted A. H. Aiken, now of Liverpool. He was in behalf of him and his family, of which, the oldest of a young family, who were were it proper, I could give many instances. taught to receive my brother with respect, Robert was on the point of setting out for as a man of genius, and their father's friend. Edinburgh before Mrs. Dunlop had heard of The Brigs of Ayr is inscribed to John him. About the time of my brother's pubBallantine, Esq., banker, in Ayr; one of those lishing in Kilmarnock, she had been afflicted gentlemen to whom my brother was intro- with a long and severe illness, which had duced by Mr. Aiken. He interested himself reduced her mind to the most distressing very warmly in my brother's concerns, and state of depression. In this situation, a copy constantly showed the greatest friendship of the printed poems was laid on her table and attachment to him. When the Kilmar- by a friend; and, happening to open on nock edition was all sold off, and a consider- The Cotter's Saturday Night, she read it able demand pointed out the propriety of over with the greatest pleasure and surprise; publishing a second edition, Mr. Wilson, who the poet's description of the simple cottagers had printed the first, was asked if he operating on her mind like the charm of a would print the second, and take his chance powerful exorcist, expelling the demon ennui, of being paid from the first sale. This he and restoring her to her wonted inward hardeclined, and when this came to Mr. Ballan-mony and satisfaction. Mrs. Dunlop sent tine's knowledge, he generously offered to off a person express to Mossgiel, distant |