B U R N A N D TA RB T N S O L O .

E . H . L ET H AM . fl B (RO ERT STEUART,)

H OF L E GE N D S F M T H E L H AUT OR RO OT IANS .

MA N CK : . W O KIL R O D BRO N C .

A G W : . M E N Z IES GL S O J CO . 1 0 0 9 . PRINTED B'

B OWN 65 co . R , U E T J AME M ‘KIE (S CC SSORS O S ),

OF TH E O NAL B U N P ES RIGI R S R S , K LMA N CK I R O .

Gift

HUTCHESON. W 4 J a T O T H E B U R N S CL U BS

O F T H E WO R L D ,

T HIS VOL U ME IS D ED ICAT E D

WIT H

’ H E T T AU HOR S HEAR T ' GOOD WIL L . CON T E N T S .

PAGE . FRON TISPIECE

A DEDIC TION,

T H E C OF T H A H NU LEUS E P RIS ,

T H E AG VILL E,

AN D B L BURNS TAR O TON,

’ T H E N OM E R IE AROUND CASTLE O MO TG ,

CH C F ' WIT RA T IN K LE,

N A KF BUR S AS BL C OOT,

P G E ILO UE,

PP N D ' A E I , T H E N U C L E U S

‘ O F T H E PA R IS H .

Stewa rt HE men of Kyle are loyal and patriotic,

c and, at their so ial gatherings , respond cordially

to the usual sentiments , but their enthusiasm , the e e c to kindling y and flushing heek, and grip of hand “ — hand, is reserved for the toast of the evening Burns and T arbolton .

c And, indeed , the two are indissolubly conne ted, for the his man cannot be separated from surroundings, although

f a lo ne a w he is mostly represented by himsel , nd ithout c that local colouring, which might at on e explain and ’ c excuse his actions . In this distri t his life s education m ay be said to have commenced 'for what he after

v it wards de eloped, must partly be responsible, so, if th e sc hools in whic h the immortals are trained be deserving o f n otice, then surely this college of Tarbolton , through which Burns graduated into manhood, has especial claims

to . c consideration It is a pla e of great antiquity, and w W interesting for its own sake in many ays, and, hile its

' n manners and customs are worth studyi g, as part of o u r — national social life its connection with our national poet makes them still more so .

The nu c leus o f the parish and clachan is undoubtedly ’ W that Hill of Baal s Fire, after hich they are designated .

w s The name is of Celtic derivation Tor, as it once a , and o r still ought to be spelled , a round hill 'Bal, or Bel,

' Of oe Tez n e Baal , the sun god the Ph nicians and or fire,

a c corrupted into Ton . Like various other pl es in our

v re- re country, it has preser ed indications of p historic

li io ns g , which are tantalising to the antiquary, from the w c absence of any data or details, ith the ex eption of the accounts Of Druidism transmitted by the Roman w c redo min historians, to fix the periods at hi h they p ff ated . Most probably the di erent forms of Paganism w merged gradually one into the other, and in turn ere

slowly absorbed into Christianity. It is strange to find , c after the lapse of so many centuries, that tra es of these l th e O d religions still remain in land , in spite of the

f t w e In vigorous ef or s that ere made to obliterat them .

b f r early ages , the Church temporised y trying, as a as

n c w c possible, to leave the Pagan eremonies ith asso iations

i c v v of the new faith , and in some d stri ts e en ga e to the

c c l v Baal fires, whi h it ou d not pre ent, the names of

o r . a the Evangelists, of saints Something analogous p

pears to have been done in regard to the holy wells, whic h are generally asso ciated with the Roman Catholic

mode of worship , but in reality seem to have been b c th e assimilated y the early Chur h from older faith, for Adam na n relates that when Columba wa s staying in the

v c f pro ince of the Pi ts, he heard of a fountain amous

‘ h wo rshi among the heathen people, and w ich they pped a s T h e c w God . spe ified acts of orship were that they drank w w of it, and after ards ashed their hands and feet, thus c d expe ting to be cured of their iseases . Columba saw O his pportunity, immediately blessed the spring, drank of it , washed himself, and from that time his followers c Of w laimed for Christianity the merits its healing po ers . w w f m f Long after ards, hen the re or ed aith began to spread, 3

e more decided m asures were deemed necessary, and the o wn dis Lollards of Kyle protested vigorously, in their trict , against the Baal fires, which even then blazed, on

l- In the first of May, from every hil top Scotland ' while o f from the days Knox onwards , the General Assemblies

did their best to suppress the usages still in existence, although their origin and significance had c eased to be m reme bered . Yet they might have spared their trouble, of for, though there is little fear a national revival of

Paganism, while our language lasts its memory will not S o be forgotten , and, as we shall h w, more of its rites were preserved than what was implied by the figu re

- heads on our ships, or the libations to the sea god which

“ B elta n too k place at their launching . was long the to th e appellation of the removal term in Ayrshire, and of c o nfia ra present day, in some parts the county, any g “ ” tion is spoken of as a bale fire . Clachan, itself, “ ” means the stones, in allusion to the Druidic circles a nd o f stone altars no doubt, and probably the habit building their homes under the shadow of these holy w w places ould have an early origin, hile it used to be c ustomary for Old people in the Highlands of Scotland “ t ” to speak of going to church as going o the stones . In a n old translation of the Scriptures the wise men from ” w the East figure as Druids . Sir Walter Scott as for a time greatly puzzled over the derivation of a place- name

n in his neighbourhood . He had reasons for supposi g that Hexel Cleuch had some association with

Druidism, but failed to catch the connecting link . It did not seem to possess a ny meaning in the Sc ottish f language, while it was extremely suggestive o the German ” Hexa, a witch but he could scarcely put faith in an a l c l usion so far fet hed , which was yet no explanation . At w length , while studying an old Teutonic ork, he dis

e c covered that H xa, in an an ient form of the German

a nd language, also meant Druidess, , thus taken in con

f v junction with the names o the ri ers in the vicinity, as T weed, Gala , Yarrow, etc . , might be regarded as forming an additional proof o fan implied Gothic racial connection .

But T arbolton has done more than perpetuate the '

c names whi h connect it with a far distant past, for, until Of lately, it held annually a very important ceremony

o f e . Pagan times , although ignorant its r al import This o f took the form a cattle fair, and occurred in the middle — c Fo r of June the Summer Solsti e . weeks previously, great preparations were made in the Clachan— White o f washing of houses, mending broken panes, and general r f c da enovation o all things . Then on a ertain y the

a ll c droves poured in from directions, en amping on the

v c le el ground around the mount, now prosai ally known as ’ . v c Hood s Hill This eminence is ob iously artifi ial,

c round in shape, as emblemati of the sun , and is raised c w on an irregular shaped stratum of ro k, hile the ground at its base would, no doubt, in ancient times, be bog land for a considerable distance around . This seems to have been a general feature of the sites of these holy hills r th oughout the county, which might be selected for

c c the better defen e of the position in case of need, sin e a causeway could be easily held against an enemy 'or perhaps they were also intended as a preservation of the sanc tity of the locality from the too close advances of the c m a fo rtifica people . Faint tra es of what y have been n tio s are to be seen in the neighbourhood , and a cer tainty of this is found in one outlet from the village “ ” da th being styled the West Port . The y previous to e fair the schoolboys of the parish went from house to “ ” c to ba nefire house, demanding ontributions the , and

v — c n rarely asked in ain sin e, if money was ot forth a n o f a coming, y kind fuel was accept ble, and this was piled up on a kind o f altar o f turf at a certain part o f the to hill just beneath the apex, ready be lit when the sun

should have gone down . A picturesque sight is this ’ T a rbolto n s bonfire still, though it is now sole link with its past of Paganism ' but what a suggestive scene it

o n must have shone upon then , when its red glow fell

the tired flocks massed around its base, and lit up the

' a cco m a ni crowded streets and roads, and alas the p ments of sensuality and drunkenness whic h were i nevi

n table O such occasions . And there were the preparations o f c for the business and pleasure the morrow, the ere tion

- - o - of the hobby horses and the merry g rounds, and the t wonderful stalls, whose contents were o feast the eyes and the appetites of the bystanders , while the coarse c w ressets flared here more light was needed, dispelling the shadows which would have given artistic effect to the picture 'and oaths were bandied freely, and the hoarse bello wing of the cattle at intervals drowned the minor n e oises . Would it have be n strange if imaginative youth , o ld descended from the Covenanting stock, saw in such “ functions an epitome o f the Vanity o f the great

Puritan, and wondered in what bodily form the pur chaser o f souls would mingle with the crowd ? As the

- dusk deepened, the mirth of the boys on the moot hill became more boisterous, and with wild shouts they com menc ed to leap upon the turf wall surrounding the fire,

c ra c tis whi h exercise they kept up till a late hour, thus p ing what seemed to be a marked feature of the anc ient

a w an ff w Ba l orship, and producing e ect eirdly reminisce nt 6

o f the scene on Mount Carmel . Before the night was l c far advanced, the o der people of the cla han put in an

appearance, and walked round the mount in straggling

ro cess ro n s c p , once in later time , but tradition says thri e

e w in earli r days . Probably the circuit ould be performed ’ f c no w in the direction o the sun s ourse, but that is as completely forgotten as is the significance o f the occa sion celebrated ' for there is no doubt that this and various cattle fairs in other parts of the country were

v survi als of a great religious ceremonial . The Glossary

—8 o 0 of Cormac, Prince and Bishop of Cashel 3 to 9 3 “ B illtene two w c gives Beltane, , lucky fire, as fires hi h

make ‘ with c Druids used to , great in antations, and to

which all the cattle in the district were brought once a .

e year as a saf guard against disease . Now, Beltane was

o f v the first May, and the midsummer festi al was held to implore a blessing on the expected harvest 'so we m a y infer that later on , when Druidism had waned before

c Christianity, the tea hers of the new faith seized the O o ne pportunity of turning these two into , and, as in Of the case the holy wells , still blessing, but with a dif ferent m a o f for ula . If this lasted till the Reform tion , c b ourse it would then cease, and y degrees merge into an ordinary transaction of buying and selling . The advent o f railways in Ayrshire has done more than the centuries

n v to erase this stra ge survi al, and the sale and purchase of cattle is now conducted in prosaic fashion at Ayr market .

Tradition still holds that the bill was the seat of

' fo r s justice, and this is no doubt correct, the Druid w v a nd were la gi ers as well as priests, , in later ages, the e rev rence for its past, and suitability in other ways , would r ecommend it as a moot-hill for the baron o f the

u t district . B when the villagers indicate the Gallow, or

Gala hill, an eminence to the south of the mount, as the l spot where executions took p ace, they are very much

astray indeed . Some have even been known to point to a certain spot on whic h they profess to have seen the .

wa s w . wa s dule tree before it cut do n The tree there, o o n no d ubt, but got its sinister reputation account of a

simple case of suicide . But the place bore its name long before the gallows became an instrument for carrying out la w w b w the , and when the means of death ere y ater or

o ll c c c ca sm na . fire, and y by the sa rifi ial knife Moreover, it may be noted that this designation is always found in

c the neighbourhood of Druidi remains, and is invariably

a llow a llows c ea g , not g , being derived from the Gaeli , g ' ‘ ’ l zcz — c w the sorcery stone easily orrupted into gallo . It was the spot where the Druid priests sacrificed their

v victims , and, by obser ation of their death agonies and

c V s . inspe tion of their ital , foretold coming events A

v portion of a pa ed road leading to it, apparently from the

et V Baal hill, is y plainly isible but the part nearest to the c n ew c mount cannot be tra ed, as a publi road was made

c in - c - in that dire tion early the entury, and the farm house o f mi hfi l c S t e d also stands across its track . Several su h Smithfi eld roads are in this vicinity, one leading from straight past what antiquarians consider the Roman

Pa rkm u ir w v c Camp on , here arious tra es of fortifications

T m a are still visible . his y be a branch from the main

— a t Roman road through Galloway and Ayrshire . all e vents it has been right of wa y beyond the m emory of

r mithfi l r an . S Fifty years ago, the estate of e d had e c en tl c d y changed hands, and the new proprietor de lare hi s i c i t ntention of closing this road to the publi , as 8

a nd . passed through his grounds, close to his residence His prOpo sa l met with strong disapproval in the neigh bo u rh o o d , as the road led past various farms, and was also

o ne a favourite walk with the villagers . That it had at time been a much used highway is evident from the fact that at Cockbill the ruins of an extensive hostelry still

c remain, whi h is said to have been also a posting estab l w ishment. The road does not look suitable for heeled w vehicles, but ould most likely be one of the old pack horse tracks . Eventually the parishioners , headed by

M nt m erie . o o Mr Paterson of g and others , took the case to court, and gallantly fought it out . The laird of Smith

fi eld c lost his cause, and it ruined him so ompletely that the estate had to be sold to pay th e legal costs .

Whether these roads were really made by the Romans , o r d o f whether the natives, after the eparture the invaders, O took a lesson from their works, is a question pen to dis c u s sio n w c v . If they did follo su h an example, it must ha e

x c been to a limited e tent, sin e, as a general rule, roads w a in Scotland, up till the present century, ere rem rkable

c for anything but ex ellence . The commissioners on agriculture, however, in their report on the Ayrshire of

v over a hundred years back, make fa ourable mention of

c T it in this respe t . hose here alluded to are singularly like the description of a paved way leading to a Druidic

D o nside Of circle at , parish Tullynessle, Aberdeenshire,

c h Six whi runs for hundred yards through a bog, and on which the stones are not squared after the Roman

c fashion, but neatly fitted into ea h other. Authorities

v c state, howe er, that as the Roman roads re eded from the

b - great military centres, and became mere y ways for the

c wa s u a n use of the soldiers, deli acy of finish not so m ch 9

O bject as solidity o f construction enough to render them o f permanent . This consideration, and the vicinity the c t i amp and main road, seem enough o ndicate their o rigin .

A quarter of a mile south o f the sorcery stone is the f o f an armhouse Alton Burn, whose name perpetuates o ther interesting ceremo nial . Those who have studied the w subject are a are that wherever vestiges of Druidism , “ ” o r w o r sun orship, exist, the term Alton , something s o r ynonymous , as Hilton, Belton , is to be found in the n eighbourhood . One instance, near at hand , may be s een at Crosbie, some three miles from Prestwick, where

a re . the remains of stones, with an Alton near at hand

’ ’ A ll iez ne A ll Tez ne , stone of fire, from , a stone, and , fire, has a most interesting significance . These stones, to

c judge from the few spe imens which remain , were gene r o r o n ally about nine ten feet high, and their top, in those early ages, the sacred flame of Baal, carefully

‘ b a laz e ' n i h t da tended y the priests, was kept b g and y, for its waning or extinguishment by any chanc e would have

n portended evil to the tribes arou d . Once a year only ff was that fire su ered to die out, and on that thirtieth day o f October every hearth in the district wa s also obliged to be cold and dark . Then , at nightfall, the heads of f wa to amilies, each carrying an unlit torch, made their y th e c sacred stone, on whi h the priests, with many incan r s w ation , called do n fire from the Sun god, and the w torches ere lit amid great rejoicing, and homes again

v made glad with warmth and light . These stones ha e now almost all disappeared , though some were in ex “ i stenc e — A llieine not till quite recently one, the , Auld ” toun of Aberdeen, being in evidence some half mile I D

from that city till th e beginn i ng of the present century. It is to be regretted that some of these m emorials of the past perished through wanton destruction , but no doubt w in earlier ages their removal might be a ise measure, if o f their presence preserved the memory Paganism , and

i hindered the Spiritual a dva n cem ent o f the people .

Allt in T a r l n i n w v e The e e of bo to s not o isible, but ther “ is a mound in the neighbourhood of the farm called th e ” w m a o r m a Fairy Knowe, hich y have been its site, y

c ' W even over the stone itself. hen Christianity was

c n established in the land, pla es of worship were ge erally t n erected close o these stro gholds of the older faiths , lest use and wont might draw the people back to their

c ac ustomed haunts . At Tarbolton , the present kirk f probably occupies the site O the most ancient one, and ’ o f is almost within a stone s throw the hill, while the ruins of the little c hapel at Crosbie are as close a s possible to the spot where the Sun rites were cele brated a n . Whether there was y Christian institution at the Alton is not known ' but centuries later Satan was c l hallenged there by a foeman well ab e, through the

o . strength of his Master, t drive him from the field This wa s the celebrated Alexander Peden , who, while acting as Session Clerk and precentor at Tarbolton , taught school at this place, and possibly also in another part of

c the parish, for we learn by the Presbytery Re ords of 1 64 2 that while there wa s no school held at the Village two Kirk, according to the ordinary practice, were in

w v v . existence, which ould likely be pri ate entures

When the country had emerged into the light of

v history, and the simplicity of early Christianity de eloped I I

v into an elaborate ritual, Tarbolton seems still to ha e

h ad evi retained something of its old importance, and dentl y acquired a desirable religious endowment, for the patronage o f its church appears to have been a much

1 coveted possession . In 335, the then lord of the manor, o f John de Graham, gifted this , along with the lands

Unthank, on which the building stood , to his cousin, wh o o f Robert de Graham, , greatly to the disgust the o ff friars of Fail, whose monastery was but a mile , and wh o r had p eviously manoeuvred to secure the transfer, f orthwith handed it over to the monks of Melrose , along

t n with par of the land belongi g to it, and also several

Ca rn illa n D arnh u nc h e Alto nbu rn . acres of g , , and Per haps this arra ngement had not met with approval in high quarters, for the patronage was again joined to the

1 6 r w w w o f barony in 3 , hen both ent to the Ste arts w Darnley, and the Church being in the diocese of Glasgo , t the Bishop , in the beginning of the fif eenth century, and wi th the consent of the patron , erected the charge into a canonry of the Cathedral there 'but the patronage con n w 1 66 w tin ed with the barony of the Ste arts until 5 , hen

l v n Co ilsfield a cadet of the Eg inton family, ha i g bought

a rin to n from Cunningham of C p g , seems to have either c c acquired or p ur hased the right of presentation , whi h

n t m eri remained afterwards in the gift of the M o go es . As w the Stewarts ere a branch of the reigning family, and

a Henry, Lord Darnley, m rried his cousin , Q ueen Mary, Tarbolton has thus assoc iations of civil as well a s ecclesiastical interest .

The vic inity of the monastery of Fail must also hav e w l added to the celebrity of the clachan , it being el e o f c ndowed, and the superior, as head the provin ial 1 2 o of rder the Trinity, entitled to a seat in Parliament . “ o f As Brethren the Redemption , the friars had rather a — notable work on which to expend their energies that o f ransoming the captives taken in battle, especially those s n old i to slavery by the Moors . The religious houses w o f ere the superior hostels their time, and many o f travellers condition , as well as the poor and needy, would be entertained within those grey walls, which we o f o ne look at with tender reverence, for the sake guest, who — , for a time at least, claimed their shelter that great a nd T true Scot, homas the Rhymer . Yet, considering S the importance of this establishment, it has left but light traces in the place names of the neighbourhood, the

o f T o rc ro ss most noticeable being that , still preserved by a on farm the hill top some distance from the Monastery. “ ” This Hill Cross , may have marked the limit of the mile to which the monks were expected to restrict their walks, such being generally set up for their guidance at the four cardinal points , especially if the building f o r possessed the right o sanctuary, it might simply indicate the bounds of the land belonging to the com munity.

Whether the brethren did their work creditably o r not k we cannot tell ' the pran s of the warlock laird, who s e c ucceeded them, have oblit rated any traditions whi h

v v might ha e been preser ed, and their memory is mostly perpetuated in doggerel rhymes,

Th e m onk s of Fa i th e m a de u id k a i l, y g l n F a en th e fa sted O rid y s wh y , A n d w a n ted n eith er beef n or a l e ’ ” So lo n g a s th eir n eigh bou rs la s ted '

w But, so far as we kno , there is nothing worse recorded

1 4 wa es y, the mansion house of Park is wholly built of ston e from the adjac nt Abbey, and, doubtless, all over the for country the spoliation was the same . Yet, even that, there is a certain excuse , since the troubles, and con

c ff sequent poverty, of S otland had left her in very di erent plight from what she had been some centuries earlier, a nd a struggle for the necessaries of life does not tend to

c c aesthetic appre iation ' moreover, the Chur hes, erected u s to for the e of an elaborate ritual, were not suitable the new mode of worship, also, the people no doubt thought they had a right to use what they might consider their

wn o property, and that after the lairds had helped them ff in i s elves, there could be no o ence appropr ating what

r . emained Had they got the Justice, for which the fo no Re rmers pleaded , there would have been need to a ccept privileges .

to la It is be hoped that the y superiors of Tarbolton , the Stewarts, and Grahams, and Cunninghams, were moderately lenient in their treatment of their vassals, but f it is di ficult, in modern days , to realise what existence m ust have been to the c hattels of men who had almost

v T irresponsible powers o er life and death . he assimila w tion of French and Scots laws and customs, like ise gave to the Barons o f the latter nation some of those revolting r o f w c ights the French Seigneury, hi h are notified even

c in harters granted by Robert the Bruce, and possibly x c e isted till a mu h later date . In Scotland, there was, in

- extreme cases, a right of appeal to the over lord, but' S i nc e the vassal could not leave the land without the e consent of his superior, it may be suppos d that in the ev ent of such an appeal, whatever might be its immediate r - esults, the after ones would not be p leasant . Happy 1 5

n were the inhabita nts of the royal burghs , for the ruler ff was at a distance, and less likely to be o ended at petty faults than the dweller in the mansion which dominated th e hovels o f the peasants . Probably the vassals of Baronies would appreciate and a c t u pon the saying of the o ff u nemancipated Russian serfs , Heaven is far , the ” e Lord near, and find diplomatic submission th ir only c ourse .

G S o f enerally, the Baron made some how trial, however unequal might be his justice, but it was possible, o n w t v - occasion , even to dispense ith hat, as the o er lord

n c might never learn of the incident, or, doi g so, ould be easily appeased . Perhaps the last case of such high handed dealing on record, although many such might h w c n w c appen later, hi h ever ere chroni led , took place at

East Kilbride, early in the seventeenth century. The superior there was one of the powerful Lindsays, and a i . c e man of hasty choleric temperament Being on the , o ne day, and a vassal having brought him a message, ’ either the news or something in the man s manner had

c displeased him , for he ordered a hole to be at on e made i n ic e . the , and had the poor fellow drowned The m urder made so deep an impression on the people of the d wa s n o f istrict that it ever forgotten , and that part the loc h where it was perpetrated bore the name of the v ic tim long after the estate had passed from the possession o f c w the baron and his des endants . But hat showed e ven more clearly the temper of the times was the fact th w at the baron , hile dying, was deeply remorseful for an c act of private assassination he had once ommitted, and ’ a w c v s ttributed the reverses, hi h o ertook him , to God r etribu tion for that crime 'the drowning incident he did 1 6

— not seem to think worth a regret the man was only a vassal '

o f th e It is interesting, by nomenclature, and the echoes b past, to gain hints of the condition of the land in y ” ’ “ of gone times . The muirs and mosses many, Burns be song, will always remain in name, even if there should

few . traces o f their original condition Moss Bog, Moss ’ w B o side Bo end B arn mu ir Blo n, g , g , Middle Muir, , all testify to a very different state of matters from what is

c now to be met with , and these indi ations are so numer o u s f a n , that it is di ficult to imagine where the rable la d wa s c o wn situated , or how ea h farm managed to raise its grain supply . Yet, these morasses had done good

v ser ice, as forming friendly shelter and a way of escape, when the country was ravaged by the troops of Claver s house and Lag, and their smooth, green , treacherou surface had lured many a trooper to his doom, and done the work so completely that a single bubble on the dark f water alone told the tale . Other features o the country hl v . L o c ea ha e disappeared as well as the mosses , pro “ ” ’ no u nc d L o chl e y, the poet s home in the parish , really

In da c deserved its name his y, for a lo h , though small in comparison with what it would be in the past, still existed in close proximity to the house, and when this was drained, in the present century, a very complete settle w c w c e ment of lake d ellers was dis overed, of hi h som interesting mementoes are to be seen in the museum at K ilmarnock . The existence of this crannog, though in d comparatively shallow water, had never been suspecte , and it would probably have been destroyed, without notice, but for the culture and intelligence of a gentleman s E s he in the village, the late Jame Brown, q , who took t I 7 h int fro m _ some remarks he overheard among the work men employed, and wrote to several gentlemen likely to be interested in the subject . The supposed island in the c a nd h middle of the loch, was found to be artifi ial , aving w a connection ith the land . Several canoes , hollowed o u t o f the trunks of trees were also found, and an exten v c o f si e collection of arti les, showingthe inhabitants the c rannog to have probably been of the bronze and iron

n periods , as we cannot found o the stone implements, which were numerous, but appear to have been in use till a much later period, since it is related that the English , at o f o f the battle Hastings, seem to have retained some

v the rudest arms of primiti e days , and to have gone to battle with the stone hatchets, or stone hammers , which c are ommonly looked on as belonging only to earlier, and ” T h e lower races than our own . land, here, still requires ff w constant e orts of drainage to keep it s eet, and, looking at the prosperous condition of this farm , three times the ’ size of the Burns poor, wet, bare leasehold, and, thinking of the rude farming implements then in use, and of the small amount Of sc ientific knowledge at the disposal of the farmer, who could refuse pity for the memory of the

c brave hearts, without capital or help, or even en ourage ment from without, struggling so hopelessly and for so long .

” “ c o f The Black Neuk, in a orner the parish, is another n name which tells its o w tale . A coal seam has been

wrought here, more or less, it is said, for centuries . The large village o f Annbank only accommodates part o f the

needful workers . It would be a curious study to com

o f - pare the conditions of our miners to day, with those of

little more than a hundred years ago . But, indeed, there 1 8

c an w - be no comparison between our stalwart, ell developed, intelligent, and in many cases gifted and accomplished, o f workers the present, with the badly used, poorly d nurture , and ignorant slaves of last century, when the w colliers and salters went with the land, and ere bought to and sold along with it, and punished if they tried c escape and better their ondition of life elsewhere . No l —Q— the toilers to whom we owe so much free men , in a free land— shall not pass the same heritage as their prede c esso rs to : a n did their children the flat feet, d shambling gait, and hanging lower lip, begotten of long bondage, which may be seen even yet among the descendants of those unfortunate men and women, and accepted as the hall mark o f an OppressIo n that is happily now past for

e . c o u t ver Near Annbank, the pla e is pointed where

n E nt rk n d . a d e e Mr Cunningham, of Annbank , hel that ‘ Féle Clza m étr e c p which was elebrated by Burns . He was

married for the second time to a daughter of Mrs . Stewart f o Stair.

f A designation , grimly reminiscent of the past, is Wol

A r lett, a high bank on the Water of y , not far from Stair c c Village, and, in this onne tion , it may be mentioned

E n terken wa s that when the old house of , near Annbank,

c w c taken down , a par hment was found in the all, whi h

to f v proved be a proclamation, of ering a reward for e ery ’ wolf s head which should be brought to the at that

time proprietor of the estate .

A word or two may be added regarding the beautiful

c v lo h which lies outside the illage, and which in the days o f the monks would no doubt be larger and well s tocked w l u z z l ith fish, although now possessed of a qua ity rather p I 9

ing to strangers . A minister, in the neighbourhood, tells a story which will best illustrate this . Soon after his r to t ordination , and while still st ange the coun ry side, he i t w s was asked to o ffic a e at Tarbolton . It a a lovely day so c in autumn , and he was harmed with the landscape,

“ to t and the beauty imparted it by the water, that he e solved to have a closer inspection of it o n the first no t l opportunity . This did occur until ear y summer, when he was invited to take a week-night preparatory service, for which he started in good time, pondering his e o u t discours by the way, and looking for his guide, the loch . He was interested in his task, but by and by, it was borne in on him that the Ayrshire miles must be remarkably long . He looked his watch and found that b y this time he ought to have reached his destination , but in what direc tion did this lie ? A village showed o ff no some distance , but with water visible, so he gave it a o n b wa wide berth, and sped y the Opposite y. Still, no to there was clachan be seen . In despair, he hailed a “ ’ a rbolto n passing cart, Aye, yon s T , said the driver, pointing to the houses which the minister had avoided . ’ ” But I don t see the loch, he queried, still doubtful

The answer was indistinct, for the cart had rumbled on, so he retraced his steps as quickly as clerical etiquette

w - allo ed . At length he recognised by certain land marks

a s o f that it w the village his search, but there was certainly

no loch near it . He was late, of course, but so welcome

that this was forgiven , yet, in the intervals of his duty, the ’ good man s mind was sorely exercised as to whether he o f had been the victim hallucination , or was, indeed ,

s eeing he was in Kyle, really and truly bewitched . At o f h the end the service, with some anxiety, e sought “ ? ” a possible explanation . Missed the loch was the . 2 0

’ “ Oh fo r answer, , aye, to be sure, but you needn t look ’ w for the loch in Summer, you know, it s al ays drained the hay crops So much a utilitarian age

2 2

f th e term still exists in the village . Some o those lands which have not been divided are quite respectable little “ ” ” B nnels Sm ithfield . properties, as The e , , and the like

Of the feus, many are blench holdings , that is held at

o ne . merely nominal rates , such as penny a poll The f o n f last house o the original village, built land eued from E nterken f estate, and now the Post O fice, has something f T he curiously suggestive in the tenure o its holding .

feu duty is one penny yearly, but only to be paid on the condition that the receiver calls for it in a coach and

pair ' Surely some o dd story underlies this condition .

Whether the village ever possessed a Cross or not is

uncertain, but most likely it did, for an open space in its b centre is dignified y this appellation, and a building “ e th re, which was formerly an inn , had as its sign, The ” Cross Keys . The aristocratic quarter seems to have

been in the direction of the West Port, the houses here

a . being mostly of two stories, and subst ntially built

They are plain , and uniform in front, as professing o f themselves the Georgian era, but their back parts

bewray them, and would indicate, at least in part, a o f seventeenth century origin . Possibly some these might originally have been dower houses to the small

‘ the n ei hbo u rh o o d l estates of g , and where one ady was located others would follow for the sake of congenial t w company, so hat, limited as was the area, there ould f ” be no lack o society in the Tarbolton of earlier days . o f One the dwellings possesses a special interest, in having

been the house of John Wilson, the schoolmaster and

- f session clerk o the parish, who gained a notoriety he “ neither wished fo r nor deserved as Dr . Hornbook . It

- is a two storied thatched house, next to the Crown Inn, 2 3 a nd wa s in convenient proximity to his school, which

I then n the graveyard direc tly opposite . In the lower story of the building he kept a mis c ellaneous assortment o f his articles for sale, thus gaining a slight addition to

c income, his salary as s hoolmaster being only some fifty

few m him pounds a year, and such e oluments as fell to

c h m through his lerks ip to the Session . At this ti e there

c was neither do tor nor druggist in Tarbolton, and, an f epidemic o fever having broken out, Mr Wilson supplied w b a felt ant y dispensing some simple medicines, and, having taken the trouble to study their properties and

ff c wa s v e e ts, he ever ready to gi e his humble neighbours

b w w c m a the enefit of his kno ledge, for hi h, it y be said,

v f they were ery grate ul, and his memory is kindly spoken o f v m to the present day, for he seems to ha e been war a nd hearted, though fussy, , perhaps, opinionative in m anner.

t t we Passing into Burn S ree find some houses , worthy

c - h of notice, hiefly the one storied cottage on the rig t c hand before turning on to the hill, for, in a room atta hed m to it, the Freemasons held their eetings, and here Burns

n o w was initiated into the mysteries of the craft . It is

a nd if n o t in a state of dilapidation , , speedily repaired, w c c c ill fall to pie es , through negle t and natural de ay.

c Of the house dire tly opposite this, there is also something w to be told . Students of Burns literature ill remember

o f that episode in the story of his loves , his courtship wa s w c Tibbie Steen . This no vagrant, andering fan y, but evidently undertaken with a serious view to matri his mony . He supposed himself to be progressing in

suit, until Miss Steen became the recipient of a legacy, h er when her lover began to fear that this, added to 2 4

‘ fo r n attractions, would make her no fitting mate a struggli g v peasant farmer . The girl had e idently indulged herself c in some of the little coquetries In idental to her position , and which, before the advent of the money, Burns would likely have found rather piquant than Otherwise . As

et . o n y ,he had no idea of a rival One night, however, to wa s b going the house, he told at the door that Tib ie w a s entertaining another admirer . He turned on his

She . d heel at once, and never went back again marrie , ’ o wn afterwards, to her and her friends satisfaction , and

c w Burns vented his hagrin by riting Oh Tibbie, I hae a B u t T v da seen the d y . ibbie li ed to see the y when she was proud to acknowledge that she had once poss ff essed his a ections , and to tell her grandson, when he h recited this very song, that she was erself the heroine of w c m a T it . The legacy, hi h y be said to have lost ibbie a

- distinguished husband, and probably made a turning point “ - five in the life of the poet, was seventy pounds . Seventy f ’ five pounds, and my grand ather built the house we re ’ ’ ” T ’ sittin in wi t, said ibbie s grandson to the present writer. The house referred to is a substantial cottage, a nd with attics , in excellent preservation, a good specimen o f last c entury cottage architecture . On the same side as this, and nearer the Cross, though still in Burn street, there

w c stood, till ell on in the century, an old smithy, whi h

c had a certain interest atta hing to it, though of a later date ’ than that of our national poet . At four o clock, one ’ c of bright summer s morning , in the terrible Radi al year k the nineteen , a detachment of cavalry, from the barrac s w at Ayr, rode clattering do n the quiet village, and, dis at w c mounting the Cross, began their ork of sear hing for suspected men . Very precise information they had as to no names and localities, and they spared pains in their 2 5

work, even thrusting their long sabres through feather ff wa s f and cha beds, so that it no ault of theirs that not a single patriot was arrested . Yet there were few in the village wh o did not know Of the night drillings in the h a d fields, and that the bullets for the intended rising been cast in this same smithy. No doubt, there was tre ida tro n In m much p various ho es, for fear of a discovery w c hi h might have cost the smith and many others, not o nly their liberty, but their lives . Long after, a woman , in the adjoining house, found a bag full of bullets, o n the top of a high old cupboard, in her kitchen, ’ a nd , in some consternation , asked a neighbour s advice m regarding the dangerous commodity . Their joint wisdo decided on burying them in the garden , and there

m a they most likely re ain till this d y . A curious feature c in onnection with the Chartist agitation in Tarbolton , wa s the fact that it was not, as was commonly the case m in other localities, and as might have been expected fro

o f O their general sentiments, the men sedentary ccupa who m tions , were in the majority, but the artisans and far workers in the neighbourhood .

There is one house in the village, which it is pleasant to be able to rescue from the oblivion fast closing over it .

This is the old manse of the Parish, fronting to the Cross,

n e a d standing at the corner of Sandgate and Burn Stre ts . Though only disused by its clerical tenants at the e nd o f last century, there seems now to be but one person in the neighborhood able to identify it . It is a solidly built two story erection , probably not less than two

e 1 hundr d years old, for the date, 7 74 , in front can only refer to one o f the many repairs which it received during W o dro w. the incumbency of Dr . No doubt it would be 6 considered a handsome building for a country manse at e that period, and is a fair specimen of the very simple a com m d i o a t o n provided for the ministers of the time, such, be it Of a s remembered, mostly men culture and good family, r ir W wh o o rfa sh e . e Guthrie, was the son of a F laird read o f ' a dining room, parlour, nursery, and bedroom as well as o fthe kitchen and other adjuncts of which traces are still s noticeable, and the building itself bears witness to thi being all that seemed to be required for family comfort by a c minister, even at the lose of the eighteenth century, for, with all the debates concerning repairs and outside

v a t additions , nothing was e er s id regarding enlargemen o f the household premises .

It is possible that this might be the first manse built 6 we for the charge , since it is only in I 5 7 that learn of a c e regular prea her, one John Nisbet, being appointed, ther

e . being pr viously only a reader, David Curll The stipend

1 6 8 c f 5 d . was then £ 33 . S ots, with the Kirk land o m the parish . But the anse might not be erected till later,

and there seems to have been an excambion, or some other

arrangement, as the building is not on Glebe land . A faint echo in the clachan still tells of the minister wh o left his charge in Covenanting times and returned no more and it m a y have been from this very house that John Guthrie 1 660 departed in , with a sad enough heart, doubtless,

though for conscience sake . It was during his ministry

c l here that Alexander Peden acted as s hoo master, pre

c ento r , and session clerk to the parish, but, unfortunately, the early ecclesiastical records o fT arbolton have not been

preserved . We next learn that Guthrie preached at

v 1 666 s Lanark in No ember, , to the party who afterward ff su ered so disastrous a defeat at Pentland . After sermon , 2 7

e h he tendered his hear rs a renewal of the Covenants, whic they took with great solemnity and with hands upraised to T wo no heaven . years afterwards he died, doubt as much a martyr as his brethren who perished on the field o r th e ff o f f th sca old . But the connection this amily with e

W r w th . o d o e parish did not end here, for the Rev Dr . , o f o f last clerical inhabitant the manse, was the son a.

- u W o f enwick wa s grand da ghter of illiam Guthrie F , and

- - o f o f thus great grand nephew John Tarbolton .

e In the latter half of last century, the manse had becom very much dilapidated, and calls for repair were frequent,

c evidently not mu h to the content of the heritors, who did not attend the meetings o f Presbytery very

w n s well, although such ere held in Tarbolto , pre umably for their convenien c e . Dissent had made great way th e e in the parish, and, if a proportion of portioners wer

Associate Seceders, there might be a reason for some o n a bitterness their part, since they had been refused

1 site for their meeting house, in 7 7 7 , and the neighbouring gentry had not shown themselves favourable to liberty o f conscience, so far as public worship went . The site was a nd obtained through humbler instrumentality, however,

the little kirk throve none the worse, perhaps, for the

o f 1 8 2 stimulus opposition . In October, 7 , a meeting of wa s to Presbytery held at Tarbolton , in order discuss, with the heritors, a report regarding a needed renovation o f e the mans , and, this being agreed to, other meetings , neces si for the receiving of estimates , and so forth, were

tated . The heritors, named as being present, were John

B o side A. Gray, William Hood, g , Dempster, and James — — M o nt o m Manson the two last, portioners while g erie o f Co ilsfield sent word that he was willing to concur ' 2 8 a nd John Wilson , who was present as session clerk, was a s u m o f 0 ppointed to collect from the heritors, the £3 1 s o f 4 , and was to receive, for his trouble, the sum one m guinea . The contractors for the work were Willia

Junkin, mason and thatcher James Smith , mason and w right 'and John Richard, wright and glazier. The repairs were to be on rather an extensive scale, and, could the heritors have foreseen that they were within so short a t distance of a call for a new erec ion , they might not have responded s o readily on the present occasion . We find th e building of a brewhouse and barn among the require

reb u ildin . a s ments, but this would probably mean g, such necessaries must Surely have been in existence previously,

er , since the minister, according to custom , would c tainly f m wh w s ar his glebe, and a bre ouse a indispensable in days when all families of the better class brewed their o wn ale . The kitchen was to be newly flagged, and the c to himney heads of it and the laigh room be raised, T with a view to cure smoke . his, it may be observed, ff c te must have been most e ectually done, sin e it was marked during another, and recent, repair of the solid o ld building,that the c himneys gave no trouble in that r w espect, although they had not been s ept for thirty years . refla ed Also, the trance [passage'was to be gg , and some n to provisio made for lighting the same, which was o dark for comfort .

“ Regarding the old Scots term of trance, with its d ouble meaning, an anecdote may not be out of place here, as it illustrates the courtly manners and tact of a ’ o f portion our last century s clergy. It refers to a minister

v w — of the neighbourhood, Dr . Da id Sha , of Coylton a

r a rbo lto n — village, some six miles f om T and a rather

30 to have taken exception to something in the speec h and

Wo row e behaviour of Dr . d , and wrote regarding the sam

nt o m erie o f Co ilsfield wh o to M o g , had been absent from th e meeting . The latter, on receipt of the letter, handed e “ h and it to the Doctor, who th reupon was neither to ” nor to bind, and, besides complaining to the fathers and

fo r . b rethren, seems to have made it pretty hot the writer

A special meeting had , therefore, to be convened at

Tarbolton, at which complaints were heard, and ,

- a pparently, even handed justice administered , for the

gentlemen were each rebuked separately, and then brought together before the meeting, where they gave satisfaction

' that they would not again so o flend in future .

o ssible h o wever It is not p , , that thebitterness arising from

c . s u h an encountercould beforgotten, ifprofessedly forgiven The matter could not have been kept altogether secret

from friends on both sides , and, though each of the parties o wn bulked largely in his sphere, there is no doubt that

the minister would have the best of it . The divinity which hedged the civil power was limited compared to the halo

c - which encircled the ec lesiastical in by past days . The o ld “ saying tells its own tale, Ministers are ill craws tae ” s w hoot at, and to be at odds ith the spiritual head of the f parish in which one resided , must have been as di ficultas , . “ ” Old in times, to live in Rome and fight with the Pope .

a c Take the inst nce of Mr . Murdo h, teacher of English in th e A r Academy at y , a talented and worthy man , who, o f for the sake a few words reflecting on Dr . Dalrymple

the parish minister there, was ousted from his situation by th e b Town Council, and, y sheer force of public Opinion , o bliged to leave the neighbourhood . Only one class o f f parishioners could af ord to quarrel with the minister, 3 1 n amely, the heritors, and, when the strife was mutual, then it was a war of the Titans . An anecdote o f o ne such d ff i erence, occurring in a northern district, is characteristic .

The dispute was regarding teinds, and the heritor sent h is portion by a person whose appearance was not u n f c amiliar to the minister, who signified as mu h, and asked ” th e f “ o . name his visitor I am, answered the messenger, “ ” “ ” the hangman of Stirling, sir . Oh, quite so, returned “ ' th e o u other, then kindly wait till I write y a receipt, which he did after this fashion Received from

. f Mr by the hands o the hangman of Stirling, his d oer doer , the sum of etc . The term at that time, a nd long after, indicated the law agent or man of business o f any party . In this case the minister certainly scored .

But the civil and ecclesiastical dignitaries generally took c ff are to avoid such di erences, if possible, being dependent o n each other for society, and so much thrown together that disagreement would have seriously affected their com fort in times when there was a broad division of people into two classes, one comprising the nobility, gentry, and

f . . pro essions, the other all the rest of mankind Dr

Hornbook would thus have to face, not only the disa proval o f the upper section, but also the divided feelings f o f the rest o f the population , and rom this disagreeable position no doubt rose the necessity that he should leave the parish . There are hints of unpleasantness in dealing with the heritors in regard to his salary, subsequent to to this , which may have been incidental the situation, but o f c th e current idea that he left on account the lever, though coarse, satire of Burns is most unlikely, for he had no doubt enough of the Rabelaisian humour o f the age a nd country to appreciate the rough wit of the verses, and 3 2

’ to o O iniOn o f knew, besides , that he stood high in the p f the villagers to suf er from their sense of the ludicrous . Had he left this parish on that account he would scarcely have taken eight years to make up his mind o n the to subject . Indeed, he mentioned the matter himself “ ” to Gilbert Burns, professing have been rather amused,

b . o f y the composition But the bulk the people, knowing little of the cause o f disagreement between their minister and session clerk, would incline to hide, from outsiders, a n o f y its results of which they might be cognisant, and, by laying the blame of the departure of the latter at the f th e door o poet, would thus show the habitual caution f i o narrow communities, and, at the same t me, be able to a dd another offence to the cairn already piled so high

h a rd . against , the luckless The last entry in the session

b o f 1 books, signed y Wilson , occurs in the opening 7 93, W . . o dro w and, presumably, he left immediately after Dr died in the April following .

The old Manse and the old Minister had suited each t c th e c o her well, but the Do tor was last leric whom its Wh o roof sheltered, for Mr . Ritchie, was presented in

1 c 1 6 7 94 , does not seem to have o cupied it, and, in 7 9 ,

c the present building was begun, and formally de lared by the Presbytery to be Open , and a free Manse, the T h e we year following . stones, learn , were from Deac on

Bank , and the wright and glazier work was undertaken

b c . . y John Ri hard If Mr Ritchie chose the site, his taste was certainly good, and substantial and even hand

some as is the building, its cost was only six hundred

- and thirty one pounds .

old The Church, possibly dating from a very early 33

a nd era was taken down, the present commodious edifice, whose graceful spire is such a picturesque feature in th e

1 8 2 1 . n landscape, erected in As the new building is o t

“ o f old wa s o n the site the , it is a pity the latter not pre served, for the sake of its associations, and for the

o f arch aeo lo ic l s tu dies c so few benefit g a yy , for whi h opportunities remain in Scotland . It might even have

iv been spared for its appearance, since, covered with y, it wo uld have been a graceful and interesting adjunct to the newer structure .

m Turning the corner of the anse, into the Sandgate, there is to be seen on the right hand side, and just above

1 80 the corner building , the house which , in 7 , was o f c to that John Ri hard, and, in the p flat there, in the ’ c c year mentioned, Burns commen ed the Ba helors ” Club, and remained its moving spirit during his residence in , and indeed for some time after leaving

th e . Parish The rules and regulations of this society, a s w well as the preamble to the same, ere of his compos i i n c t o , and, on this a count, interesting, if also a little w amusing . The members ere originally from th e ’ country round, mostly farmers sons, Burns being “ o f Opinion that such were more a greeable in their i manners , more virtuous n their conduct, and more sus c eptible of impro vement than the self- suffic ient mechanics ” 8 2 o f w . 1 wa s c county to ns In 7 , a book pur hased, in to f w which record their proceedings, and a e extracts m a from this y be permissible here .

o f History of the Rise, proceedings, and regulations th ’ eBachelors Club . 34

Of birth o r b o o d w e do n ot oa s t l b , N o r en tr d oes ou r u a ffo rd g y Cl b , B u t ou h m en a n d m ech a n ic s W e pl g , ’ ’ In a tu re s s im e d res s record . N pl ,

As the great end of human soc iety is to become wiser w and better, this ought, therefore, to be the principal vie f o . o f every man , in every station life But, as experience t has taught us hat such studies as inform the head, and

c n m end the heart, when long onti ued, are apt to exhaust o f to the faculties the mind, it has been found proper

th e ~ mind b o r relieve and unbend , y some employment m a its another, that y be agreeable enough to keep powers u to in exercise, but, at the same time, not so serio s as h . t e exhaust them But, superadded to this, by far greater part o f mankind are under the necessity o f earning the sustenance o f human life by the labour o f their

o f u t bodies, whereby not only the faculties the mind, b o f the nerves and sinews the body, are so fatigued that it is absolutely necessary to have rec ourse to som e amusement or diversion , to relieve the wearied man , w f worn down ith the necessary labours of li e .

w v As the best of things, ho e er, have been perverted to o f o f the . worst purposes, so , under the pretence amuse ment and diversion , men have plunged into all the madness f th o riot and dissipation 'and, instead of attending to e

x r grand design of human life, they have begun with e t a v a a nce and g folly, and ended with guilt and wretchedness . c f w Impressed with these onsiderations, we, the ollo — ing lads, in the parish of Tarbolton, viz Hugh w Reid, Robert Burns, Gilbert Burns, Alexander Bro n,

‘ M avin Walter Mitchell, Thomas Wright, and William G ,

fo r v resolved, our mutual entertainment, to unite oursel es 3 5

o r into a club, society, under such rules and regulations

f o u r that, while we should orget cares and labours, no t th in mirth and diversion, we might transgress e o f a bounds innocence and decorum, and, after greeing

n o u r o these and some other regulations, we held first

o f 1 1 th f v meeting at Tarbolton , upon the evening the o No ’ 1 80 o a ber, 7 , comm nly called Hallowe en, and, fter choosing

Robert Burns president for the night, we proceeded to o n t a debate this ques ion Suppose a young man , bred f in t armer, but without any fortune, has it his power o

f tw n marry either o o women , the o e a girl of large no r in fortune, but neither handsome in person, agreeable who th e ff conversation , but can manage household a airs o f f o f a arm , well enough 'the other them, a girl every b way agreea le in person, conversation and behaviour, ’ f o f but without any ortune, which them shall he choose ?

o u r w Finding ourselves very happy in society, e resolved to continue to meet once a month in th e same house, in the way and manner proposed, and shortly e thereafter we chose Rob rt Ritchie for another member.

1 8 1 In May, 7 , we brought in David Sillar, and, in June,

fo r s Adam Jamieson, member . About the beginning of

a 1 8 2 a n the ye r 7 , we admitted Matthew Paterson d John

Orr, and in , June following, we chose James Paterson as fo r T h a proper brother such a Society . e Club being

n thus increased, we resolved to meet at Tarbolton o the race night, the July following, and have a dance in

o f ou r . h honour Society Accordingly we did meet, eac one with a partner, and spent the evening in such inno c ence and merriment, such cheerfulness and good humour, that every brother will long remember it with pleasure ” n a d delight . 36

Rules and regulations to be observed in the Bachelors’ Club

F sr —Th e lu sh a m eet a t T a r o ton ev er fo u r h Monda m . C b ll b l y t y n i h t w h en a u es tio n o n a n s u ec t sh al b e ro osed g , q y bj l p p , i t li i n nl ex ce ted in th e ma nne dispu ted p o n s of r e g o o y p , r rea fter directed w h ich u es tion is to b e d e a ted in h e , q b th e cl u ea ch mem er ta k in w h a tev er s ide h e th ink s b , b g ro e r p p .

D —Wh en th e u is m et th e resid ent or h e fa i in SECON . Cl b , p , l g om e o ne o f th e m em ers ti h e c om es s h a ta k e his s b ll , ll s ea t th en th e o th er m em ers sh a s ea t th em s e v es , b ll l ' th os e w h o a re for one s ide o f th e qu es tion on th e presi~ ’ n ri ht h an d a n d th o se w h o a re fo r h e th e d e t s g , t o r side — o n h is left h a n d w h ich o f th em s h a ll h a v e th e right h an d is to b e d etermined b th e res id ent Th e y p . pres iden t a nd fou r of th e m embers being present sh a ll h a v e pow ers to tra ns a c t a n y o rdin a ry pa rt of th e ’ Soc iety s bu s in ess

— h e c m et a n s ea d th e res iden t s h e h T H RD . T u d te a a d t e I l b , p ll r ’ u es tio n o u t of th e c u s o o k o f rec ords wh ich ook q l b b , ( b is a w a s to b e k e t b th e resid en t th en th e tw o l y p y p ), m embers n ea rest th e pr es iden t sh a ll ca st lots wh o of

th em sh a s ea k fi rs t a nd a ccordin a s th e l o t sh a ll p , , g ll

d eterm in e th e m em er n ea res t th e residen t on th a t , b p s ide sh a de iver h is O in io ns a n d th e m em er n ea rest ll l p , b on th e o th er sh a re to h im th en th e s econ d m em er ll ply , b o f th e s id e th a t s o k e firs t th en th e s econ d m em er o p , b f th e s ide th a t s ok e s econ d a n d s o o n to th e end of th e p , co m pany 'b u t if th ere be few er m embers on th e one side th an o n th e o th er w h en a ll th e m em ers o f th e ea s t , b l s ide h a v e s o k en a c c or din to th eir a ces a n of th em p g pl , y , a s th e ea s e a m on th em s e v es m a re to th e re y pl g l , y ply m aining m embers of th e oppos ite s ide w h en bo th s id es h a v e s ok en th e res iden t s h a iv e h is o inion a fter p , p ll g p , wh ich th e m a o o v er it a s econd m r im es a nd , y y g or o e t , s o c o ntinu e th e u es tion q .

38

E H — ver m em er sh a a tten d a t th e meetin s with ou t 1GH T . E y b ll g ,

n ve a ro er ex cu s e fo r n ot a ttendin a n d it is h e ca gi p p g , v er one wh o ca nnot a ttend wi s en d h is desired th at e y , ll excu se with s ome oth er member 'a nd h e wh o sh a ll b e n th ree m eetin s w ith ou t s en din s u ch ex cu se a bse t g , g , h be su mm oned to th e c u n i h t wh en if h e fai to s a ll l b g , , l

a ear or sen d a n e cu se h e sh a b e e c u ded . pp , x , ll x l

IN TH —Th e c u b s h a not consis t o f more th a n s ixteen N . l ll m em e s all a ch e ors e on in to th e aris h o f T a r b r , b l , b l g g p o ton ex ce t a oth er m em er m arr a n d in th at b l , p br b y , h e m a b e c ontinu ed if th e m a orit o f th e c u c ase y , j y l b h ink ro er N o erson sh a be a dmitted a m em e t p p . p ll b r h na n of th is s ociety , w it ou t th e u im ou s c ons ent o f th e clu b 'an d a ny m ember m ay with d raw from th e clu b a to eth er b iv in a n otice to th e res ident in l g , y g g p , w ritin of h is de a rtu re g, p .

T E N H — ver m an ro er for a mem er of th is societ m s T . E y , p p b y, u t k h nest en h a r t a b ve a h ha ve a fra n , o , op e ' o nyt ing dirty or m ea n ' a nd mu st be a p r ofessed lover of one or m or e of

- th ema le sex . N o ha u ht se onceited er h e f g y , lf c p son, w o looks u on himse a s su er ior t the r e t t p lf p o s of he clu b,

a nd es ecia ll no mea n-s irite w r dl r , p y , p d , o l y mo ta l , whose

onl will i s to hea u mone s ha ll u on a n r n y p p y , , p y p ete ce

wha tever be a dmitted . I n s hort th r er r , , e p op p e son for

this societ is a cheer u l honest-hea r ted la d wh y , f , , o, if he

ha s a r iend tha t is tr u e a n r f , d a mist ess tha t is kind , a nd

a s m u ch wea lth a s enteell to ma ke both end s m t is u s t g y ee , j a s happ y a s this world ca n m a ke him

Some o f the clauses in the above are strongly char a cteristic o f o f the Author, and indicative the times he

lived in, and the manners of the people . The preamble t mentions the club as meeting once a month, but his

seems to have been changed to once a week, and it was

understood that the sum to be expended nightly, on 39

b was liquor, y each member, not to exceed threepence, and,

with this, at the close of the debate, each was to toast his

l ex mistress . The fines, if such fel due, were also to be so wa s n o pended, and this , doubt, conformable to the custom o f a c c o m the times, which forbad any charge by the host for m o da tio n fo r , or even the concomitants to the liquors, o r such as bread and cheese, the like, his payment being o o n only the pr fit the drink consumed, and this led to more prolonged drinking than might otherwise have been

n h the case, as it became a poi t of onour to call for as “ ” much as possible, for the good of the house . The surnam es of most of the original members of the club are w still to be met ith in the parish, as Reid, Wright,

Paterson, Orr, and also a descendant of the then owner o f the house, bearing the same Christian and surname.

m u The i petus given at its start, and the stim lus of ’ Burns enthusiasm, carried on the club for several years, after its originator had left Ayrshire 'bu t at length the dissensions, which the rules had been so carefully framed to prevent, began to appear, and finally broke up the

u meetings, and, in the consequent conf sion, the books, r o f egarding past proceedings, were, with the exception

f . what has been alluded to, un ortunately burned The a c ssociation has lately been resus itated, however, and, by

c n o w the name of the Literary So iety, flourishes under the fostering care of the able president and his assistants, who do their best to keep up the pr estige o f its early glories .

A f o n e short distance past the post o fice, the opposit

w M o nt o m rie side of that country road, kno n as g e Street, a t is l hough we fancy the formal designation incongruous , 4 0 a n to e to arched passage leading an nclosure, where are be seen the ruins o f various small houses . Here stood th e a re smithy patronised by Burns, which we told was to t n wont be packed o the door by an eager crowd, whe o him of ccasion called thither, some these only anxious ’ ” to v “ ha e a laugh at the humour o f Rabbie s last, but o thers able to appreciate that wonderful conversational o n th e power, which, later , enthralled the great, and a le rned, and the beautiful o f the Capital . Long after the ’ da n to poet s y, a certai interest still attached the vicinity, ” a nd the archway beca me a stance fo r the men o f the o f village, when the weather did no t permit politics and the a ffa irs o f the country-side being discussed at th e bridge near the Cross . After a time, it became known as P f arliament Close, and the distinctive titles o the senators “ ” ” T 0 eck sh i are still remembered, as Purple p, His N p, a nd the like 'but the echoes o f their wit and their wisdom a re to o to to faint be chronicled, though it is pleasant ’ n ote their efforts to keep up the traditions o f T a rbo l to n s g olden age .

There is no need to indicate the situation of the w to Masonic Hall, which is entirely modern, and kno n ’ a ll in the clachan as the place where the relics of Burns

w . connection ith the Order are preserved Further on , the highway crosses the Gala Hill road, which remains o f ffi much as it would be in the days the pack horse tra c, f u n o f w and be ore the introd ctio heeled vehicles, when, as o o f traversing a c nsiderable portion the shire, it would be

N o w a busy thoroughfare . , except in the eyes of the antiquarian, its glory has departed, and, after passing the

h r United Presbyterian and Free C urches , its traces a e

l S . lost, so far as Tarbolton concerned Still higher up, 4 1 o n a the t the right h nd side, above entrance o the school, a nd to th e o f next house the Ayr and Kilmarnock carrier, i s two - a small story cottage, unhappily, modernised, and

te- of at perhaps partly built, which was the home th o f se Saunders Tait, tailor and poet, a copy who volume o f 1 6 e verses, published in 7 9 , has lately been unearth d, a nd fo r f - is interesting its glimpses o every day village life, a nd for the vigorous, though spiteful, reprisals he makes fo r o ne o f ' these satiric hits which Burns, alas scattered o to o nly lavishly for his future peace . The dwelling o f o n house the tailor was the low flat, and the attic room no w o ne his workshop . There is probably only person l wh iving o could have supplied this information .

e On the opposite side, a little higher up, is James Stre t, “ ” w l v f fo r hich we best o e to think o as Snail Row, , t f desi hough it is not now a beauti ul locality, the latter g nation is reminiscent o f times when it was a shaded c r - b ount y lane, leading to primrose decked anks and

o f . s olitary woodlands, which there is now little trace

w o f ro w o ne o f To ards the centre the , is the links which c su bsta n onnect Tarbolton with the outside world, for a t - e ial two stori d house, now divided into smaller tenements, but noticea ble as having larger windows than the others, wa s the residence o f the family o f whom Thom the engin e er was a member, whose brilliant feat in bringing the w b ater from the Muirlands above Greenock, y a cut a o f to long the face the hills, and so the town, makes his m o f ame worthy honourable mention .

A building which Burns would see in its early fresh n ess is the manse built for the minister o f the first S e th cession charge in the village, which stands in e 4 2

and modest sec lusio n o f what is termed the Back Street, was probably the first built o f a row o f houses facing the f open country to the east . O its tenant at that period, r no t much record has been preserved, but his successo has left a fragrant memory behind him, and hearing the annals o f his noble and simple life from the lips o f o ne who was at once a domestic in the family and a the trusted and valued friend, is like a glimpse into household of some o f the early Puritan or Covenanting o r o f Vica r o worthies, a reading from the pages the f

Wa k eld efi . The stipend of Mr Campbell did not exceed o ne e e hundred pounds a year, on which sum ther wer o f many claims besides those providing for his family . Even Communion Seasons must have involved a con sid erable degree of expenditure in times when there were various services during the week preceding its cele

o n b to bration, and, Sabbath, the several ta les had be t served by separate preac hers . A horse had to be kep

a nd also, for the congregation was large and scattered, there were more calls o n the hospitality of the manse

c f th than the services of the San tuary, since the poor o e different congregations were provided for by church collections , and all complaints and wants were attended o f e to by the minister . The ties relationship had to b o f acknowledged also, in the way visiting and receiving w visitors, for the family ere in touch with a wider circle

~ than was bounded by a country parish, having a con nec tio n i h tin ale s with the noble English family of the N g g , ’ o f a n through the marriage Mrs Campbell s brother, f w e o ficer in the army, ith an aunt of that lady whos name is a household word to many nations, and she and her daughter were frequent guests in the Scottish manse wa when occasion served . It was well that economy s 43

studied as an art by Scotswomen of that era, but withal it would have been difficult for the minister to make n t both ends meet, had o his people supplied the de

ficiencies se da by their benefactions . At the pre nt y, it savours to o much o f dependence to learn o f the good man trusting to these contributions to eke o u t his scanty it income, but must be borne in mind that current coin o f the realm was not always plentiful in country parts ,

” and payments in kind were convenient . The same method th e ff e prevailed in Established Church, the di erenc being that in the latter their value and amount were

fixed by law, and in the former they were voluntary gifts . ’ The minister s wife and daughters did their best to be helps and not encumbrances to the head o f the house hold by their work at the fine embroidery which was then

- a well paid industry in Ayrshire, and all were perfectly r w r content and happy in thei little round of duties, hethe n th e th e sewi g by window in summer, or gathered round o lamp in the long winter nights, with Margaret, (who als k th e excelled in needlewor ), in from the kitchen, and minister reading aloud from some instructive and pleasant f to book . The solitary survivor o the group still loves w recite ho happy they were .

no t Good Mr. Campbell was so much concerned about his narrow means, as troubled regarding the backsliding o f the rising generation, who had taken to walking over n the Gala Hill o Sabbaths, though full in sight of his o u t e study windows . He would have gone to harangu each group as it passed, but, as his family felt sure this

o f no h i would be avail, they were firm in opposing s ’

U . wishes, and looked pon Mr Pitt s window tax as a benefaction when it gave them an excuse for excluding 4 th e w light o f Heaven from one side o f the study, hich they took care should be tha t which commanded the S abbath promenade .

e The minister outlived both wife and childr n, but bore f in o f his grie as a Christian should, and the loneliness , his closing days testified to the goodness which had f f of ollowed him through li e, and gave him assurance re union with those whom he loved and had lost fo r a t ime.

Any reference to the past of the village would be in c to so omplete without allusion the inns, which were e ssential to the comfort o f the community in times when f m o n journeys could only be per or ed in coaches, horse

o r o n f a n e back, oot, d when the travell r might be detained fo r s o n f day the road . O the smaller class, change e e o ne w f hous s, as they were called, ther were, ould ancy, o f more than enough, since towards the middle the present c entury, fifteen , at least, were flourishing . At certain s easons, such as the cattle fair, these would have a brisk t d o n ra e, but, ordinarily, would depend parish patronage, a nd e o f be passing travell rs , whom there would probably a o f considerable number. Many the oldest of these are no w w o r of altered into d elling houses, shops ' that

. an e . Mr Mackie, in Burn Str et, being instance

But the most complete specimen o f the last century posting house and inn, is the Black Bull, situated at the s to outhern entrance the village, a handsome old building, a nd most advanta geously placed to catch the passing

t ffi . ra c In its ancient parlours, my Lords and Gentlemen w no o r f ould, doubt, often crack a bottle two o claret,

4 6

’ San uh an— th e Whigham s, in q the only tolerable inn in place . The frost was keen, and the grim evening and f if howling wind were ushering in a night o snow and dr t . M y horse and I were both much fatigued with the f m labours o the day ' and, just as y friend the Bailie

n t smok a d I were bidding defiance o the storm , over a

n of . i g bowl, in wheels the funeral pageantry the late Mrs o f O swald, and poor I am forced to brave all the terrors —m the tempestuous night, and jade my horse y young f avourite horse, whom I had just christened Pegasus f o n s o f urther , through the wildest hill and moors Ayr f to . o shire, the next inn The powers poetry and prose s ink under me when I would describe what I felt.

Neither were these houses always bright with cheerful c ompany 'they could be tedious enough places o f detention h w a t . o times Alexander Carlyle, in his autobiography, tells d c ully the time passed in a ountry hostel, in the Lothians,

sto rm sta ed few where he was y for some days, though but a t w n miles from the place he wished o reach . There ere o f books worth mentioning, and neither the conversation o the landlord , nor the fact that the guidwife had been that “ ’ o Bonnie Lass Livingstone, celebrated in Scottish to f r fi i song, seemed make up o other de c enc es . Upon “ ” th e o ld whole, the good times, in regard to the houses o f entertainment, as well as in other respects , are best to of be seen through the haze romance, and, we imagine, t o f f hat few, even their pro essed admirers , would care

“ to leave the comforts of the present utilitarian days, to be

h n spirited back, could t is be possible, o the chance of

finding pleasures which seldom existed . B U R N S A N D

TA R B O L TO N .

HE men and women, who peopled Tarbolton of towards the close the eighteenth century, existed under such different conditions o f life f o f to rom those the present day, as make some te capitulation necessary to a full understanding o f their c d ircumstances . At that perio , and for some time after, Britain might be said to be under a paternal Govern

ment, which, as was customary with paternity in those

days, bestowed more blows than caresses . Even kind

t . no hearted conscien ious George III , knew better way f o encouraging the good, and repressing the evil o f those

In he governed, than by increasing the death penalties . “ ” i T h e those days there was no such nstitution as People, “ ” o nly subjects, and these, Lord Cockburn tells us, were divided into two classes, the nobility, gentry, and pro — fessions forming one the rest of mankind the other . The latter had no voice whatever in governing the country, nor were they even expected to interest

1 8 1 1 themselves in politics . So lately as , Baron Wood a indign ntly denied, from the bench, the right of the

- o f e under section to discuss the acts the l gislature . With th e election of Members of Parliament they had nothing to do , for, in the Burghs the Town Councils appointed delegates by whom the members were c ho sen , and as these bodies nominated their successors 8

the people had not even an apparent connection with th e

representation of the country, and often only knew of an election when the bells were rung to celebrate it 'th e Government and the landed gentlemen regulating every w th such event . There ere no proper reports of e pro

in s o f c eed g in Parliament, for representatives the press were not allowed to take notes of such . The newspapers o r w were small, and only issued once t ice a week, and the duty o n them was so high as to make their possession to b almost prohibitory the poor man , except y combining to take o ne among many. But it was neither expected n o r wished in high quarters that those wh o had no politic al rights should interest themselves about the w mode of government, all the requirements ere that a they should obey implicitly, and p y for their taxed T a necessaries without grumbling . hese t xes were not so Oppressive as they became after the Continental wars of o f the end last and beginning of the present century, and so long as the staple articles of food were fairly c m reasonable, it did not mu h atter that such luxuries as tea and sugar were so costly that the consumption of the latter reached only to about two hundred and ninety

v ounces for each indi idual, and of the former to no more

- T h e r than twenty six ounces . postal ates were so excess w e as to make the passage of letters almost prohibitory w to the poor, and people of all conditions ere fain to resort to various devic es in carrying on a necessary correspondence, even at the risk of detection and punish ment . Some of these were both laughable and pathetic . A gentleman saw the postman deliver a letter to the maid o f a country inn , which, after scrutinising it carefully, she returned, on the score that she could not pay the postage .

o n- The looker, feeling sorry for what he fancied would 4 9

be a disappointment, paid the sum, but was surprised by.

the girl telling him he had thrown away his money, and ,

Opening the letter, disclosed only a blank sheet o f paper ' l The exp anation was, that her brother, living at a distance, v h r and ha ing but small wages, had arranged for letting e o n know by certain marks the outside, whether he was h ow well and prosperous, or the reverse . This plan, e ver, though ingenious, could not have long succeeded . Members o f Parliament had the privilege o f franking th letters, and we learn that Burns occasionally had e a o f no t dvantage this, but we may be very sure he would

ft - o en ask for it, and we are told that a west country f o f Ellisla nd o n n riend his, visiting , declared his retur that the poet would never make a living o ff the land if he answered all the shoals o f letters which he received daily .

Slavery existed in Scotland till the last day of th e century, for only then were the colliers and salters de cla red free to offer their services elsewhere than in the mine h a in which their parents d wrought, and along with which they were bound to be bought and sold . But the work man o r labourer who desired to better himself by seeking h r o n igher wages, o a more agreeable master, was looked i of wh o to e w th suspicion, as being those wished unsettl e it the country, and an act was in existence which mad er criminal for such to enter into any combination, eith

t or to o f . o raise wages, reduce the hours labour This

1 8 2 If o f was not repealed till 4 . the men and women t to those days wished o escape punishment, they had fo r walk very warily indeed, , besides the lighter penalties ’ o f i imprisonment, the jougs, whipp ng at the cart s tail, no two and the like, there were less than hundred and 50

- was ff fo r twenty three capital offences . It a capital o ence o n to cu t a man to appear disguised a public road, to to a f a do wn young trees, shoot at rabbits, ste l rom

r t five bleachfield, o o purloin any property valued at e f of shillings, and m rci ul juries often saved the necks th e culprits by fixing the value o f the stolen goods a few to pence under the statutory penalty . Even be kept long

n a fo r i jail, was in some cases as bad as death sentence,

diseases were often contracted there which ultimately, ’ if no t immediately, shortened life . Lord Cockburn s ” “ o f M in description o f the Heart idlothian, which was ' o f centu r a lied u se till the second decade the present y, pp f o f to most o these places detention . A most atrocious o f wn jail it was, the very breath which almost struck do

a ny stranger wh o entered the dismal door. It was very s small, the entire hall being filled with little dark cell ,

v hea y manacles the only security ' airless, waterless, o f drainless, a living grave . One week that dirty, fetid, a cruel torture house, was a severer punishment than ” f u r year o o worst modern prison .

In accordance with the severity of the laws , a certain strictness was observed by superiors in all conditions o f to th e society those beneath them . The minister and

to a a we . laird were, except few, inspiring personages

The schoolmaster wielded a mighty power, and used it

f i s hi in a ashion which would now ga n s instant dismissal . The relation o f parent and child generally inferred the

o n most distant superiority one side, and complete th e 1 u o f o n and submission (or profess o it), the other, v correspondence, e en between those most attached to

each other, was conducted with much formality . It will be noticed that the letter sent from Irvine by Burns to SI

' H onou red Sir an his father, begins with the prefix, , d ends in the same respectful fashion . Yet this was free f th r dom itself, compared with the restraints o e ea rlie f f t part o the century, when young people (at least o h e not o f e r upper classes), dared sit down in the presence th i ff parents without permission , and all their a airs, including fo r f marriage, were arranged them, with scant, if any, re er or o f ence to their tastes feelings . The want reverence bu t for parents at the present day may be deplored, a of degree subservience prevailed in other matters, which few t f would wish o be preserved . O such was a custom then common, which decreed that the minister o n o f should, the conclusion his discourse and before bow o f leaving the pulpit, to each the principal heritors . This could no t have been congenial to all o f th e

e - ministers, and must hav caused heart burning among the parishioners .

A feeling very prominent in Scotland and England of v o f to olden times, which the ad ent railways has helped to obliterate although its traces are still be met with, was f of quite a feature in the village li e last century, namely, o f to a that distrust , and dislike strangers which was remainder o f the times when th e petty barons quarrelled a nd of - o were jealous each other, and their followers to k “ ’ . P u nch up their cause with zeal The satire in , Here s ’ ’ ’ ’im ” a stranger, Bill, let s eave alf a brick at , was in no reality exaggeration even then , in the part indicated, f o f and , earlier, was a common eeling in most the rural In to districts . the Lothians, a decided tendency su e picion regarding their neighbours o n the opposite coast on th e was expressed, till far in the present century, by “ ’ ’ ” 0 th e warning, take care them, they re boated, and 5 2

f f o f it little Burgh o For ar, we are told, had a hard time w bet een two neighbours, Dundee and Kirriemuir, while, to of this day, their mutual terms vituperation are pre n o ne served in the localities . O occasion , no less a person o f w than Drummond Ha thornden, profited by this ani m si n o . o ty Being a journey, he arrived in the evening at Fo rfa r where he intended to put up, but the inhabitants ,

~ as strict Presbyterians, had no sympathy with his princi ples, and on his entrance he found every door, including

a am st . that of the inn , shut g him There was no alternative but to go on to Kirriemuir, where he would w have been quite as un elcome as at Forfar, but, when th e his treatment in latter place was made kn own, the

Kirriemuir folks received him with the greatest cordiality, vicing with each other who should have the privilege of to entertaining him, no doubt the great disgust and chagrin of their rivals .

o f The cheapness liquor before the Union , and the facilities for smuggling after, perhaps laid the foundations o f those habits o f drunkenness which were so long and so o f Sé o ttish is prominently characteristic society. It simply surprising how the business o f life was carried on

. H erman under such disabilities Lord d, a connection o f be f f L ord Cockburn, may taken as a air example o th e o f h th e general feeling and conduct his profession . He ad poorest possible Opinion o f any o ne whose health or taste no t of was did permit deep potations . In a case which t f th ried be ore him, it was pleaded in extenuation of e ff culprit that he committed the o ence when drunk . “ ” m “ if Drunk, exclai ed his lordship in horror, he could do h e dru nk do such a thing when was , what would he ” w ' on o ne hen he was sober His lordship himself,

54

’ hae kend some that dee d in the training . A church of Official, examined regarding a charge drunkenness if brought against his minister, was asked he had ever “ o f v s een him the worse drink . I canna say that I e er ’ ” “ th e O na saw him waur drink, was the reply, but e doot ’ ’ ” I ve seen him the better o t i Pressed to say if being the better Of it meant a state Of helpless intoxication , he “ ’ ’ ’ e f answ red, Indeed a ore that cam , I was blin fou mysel , ’ ” an could see naething .

The excesses Of the landed proprietors have been too widely celebrated to need rehearsing . The bonnet lairds used to forgather o n market days in some favourite da tavern, and rarely reached home till the succeeding y

Often not even then . One such was found by a servant f “ f a ter a sitting, as they termed it, astride a tur dyke, vigorously urging his tardy steed to further progress .

f - Another, a ter dining out, appeared at a road side inn, h is w to with a bridle over arm , hich he flung the ostler, to no wa s desiring him take his horse, but as quadruped

l sible . V , the man gaped in speechless surprise The traveller, evidently at the quarrelsome stage, was beginning ’ to express his Opinion of what he counted the man s im pertinence, when the landlord, appearing, took in the a t Of situation a glance, and asked Jock with an air i severity what he was star ng at, that he did not take ’ s b Mr . horse to the stable, thus, y his tact, avoiding a scene, and preventing a good customer finding himself ridiculous . In a letter referring to the sale Of the stock “ Ellisland — at , Burns writes After the roup was over, about thirty people engaged in a battle, every one for his

wn . o hand, and fought it out for three hours Nor was he n t scene much better in the house, no fighting i deed, 5

f n but olks lying drunk o the floor .

Considering the temptations to inebriety, it is surprising h o w r anyone cont ived to keep sober. At births, mar

“ ria es g , and deaths, as well as at festivals and ordinary

- k merry ma ings, or even a call between neighbours, la temptation y in wait continually . A dinner party Of meant for gentlemen a sitting many hours, and a con stant consumption of liquors . In some cases the bottoms were knocked o ff the glasses to baulk the unwilling to S f drinker in his attempts hirk a round o the bottle, n o since excuse for abstinence was accepted. It will be Of o remembered that Burns, in that pathetic letter ap logy which he wrote to Mrs . Riddell, after the unfortunate incident which occurred at a dinner party in her house,

h er o r the states that he makes no excuse to husband,

c no other gentlemen present, sin e the former had right

o n e to blame him, as he had insisted his drinking mor a Of th n he chose, while the latter had been partakers his f guilt . Even before the departure O the ladies from Of table there was the customary round toasts , when each t lady was expected o name an absent gentleman, and e each g ntleman an absent lady, in honour of whom the Of iv glass must be drained . This fashion , and that g ing sentiments, the lower classes eagerly adopted, and retained long after they were discarded by their superiors . On the Ayrshire coast the prevalence Of smuggling had a ff o n a most demoralising e ect the population, and when cargo was run, it was common for men , women , and children in the onstead to be drunk for three days at a

n Of Sha nter time . On more than o e occasion at the farm , whose tenant was immortalised by Burns, the breakfast porridge were made with brandy instead Of water 'not SO ' 56

v in surprising, however, when we learn that every essel th h r e house was generally in requisition to hold t e liquo .

t n ow f Another trait Of those _ imes , happily absent rom r wa f was espectable society, s the habit o swearing, which T h e o n the widely prevalent among all classes . judges an ae bench swore, gentlemen cultivated the vice as com lishment e f s p , and though ladies were getting mor astidiou Of few r perhaps, towards the end the century, a years earlie they could garnish their conversation with these expletives t t quite as liberally as did their lords . It is no iceable tha h Burns, in his correspondence with some Of t e more ” f ff O . a modish his lady friends, (as Mrs Riddell), ected f n the ashionable vice . Even the clergy had a certai Of o f th e latitude speech, which is strange to think at ne Of to r present day . O these, remarking a parishione “ fo r On the bad prospects harvest, was answered , Deed, ’ ’ b th e sir, I ve seen as muckle as that there ll e nae hairst ” T O e year. which the minister r sponded, Na, na, Janet, ’ ”

t . diel as muckle as that O ever ye saw But, when these gentlemen did recognise the national error in this respect,

t . ne hey were prompt in advocating amendment O , in f encing the tables at the Communion, debarred all such a s used minced oaths as Faith 'Troth Losh 'Gosh 'and to a the like . Yet, it was not easy discourage practice which had its admirers even among those who did no t wh o indulge in it . Of such was the lady remarked, “ ’ ’ 01 w regarding her brother, 0 John sweers awfu , an e try is a ff ta e tae correct him, but nae doot it a great set ” conversation ' Along with such habits went a certain e freedom o f speech which bordered On coarseness . Thos wh o have known men and women born early in this b r century, will remem er this feature as being st ongly 57

” m not the arked in some, alone those brought up in c u d ountry, b t also in others town bred, and in goo

~ s r ociety . Yet these were perfectly decent and vi tuous a o f e e in people, h ving the manners their tim , preserv d s ome families longer than Others' But in respect o f a t lea st a portion o f the women there were compensations w f r a hich atoned o this drawback, for they had the r re art Of th e a a o f being economical, and yet having ppe rance a w bundance, and they cooked the national dishes ith a nicety which is scarcely to be met with at the present a of d y . Moreover there was about many them a charm , d f o r dr i ficult alike to analyse describe, a y humour which

: w o dd sho ed itself in such turns Of speech , and quaint Of no t be ways putting things, that a dull hour could s fo r e pent in their company, while a shrewd capacity hous hold government Often went along with much kindness O f c heart . Dean Ramsay preserves some characteristi o f illustrations Of this class . One them was asked for a

s ubsc ription in war time to raise men for th e King . ’ ” “ ’ Deed I ll dae nae sic thing, she answered, I ne er ’ ’ ’ c no ould raise a man for mysel , an I m gaun tae raise ” m en A for King George . nother, while dying, and sup

s n o f po ed to be unconscious, overhearing o e her friends “ ’ s a a o f y, Her face has lost its colour, it s like sheet ” “ ’ paper, startled them by the response then I m sure it ” f f maun be broon paper . Sometimes a con usion o ideas made their speech as piquant as wit could have d wh o n one, as in the ca se Of the old lady o , learning o f

the proposed introduction of gas , asked with much ’ ’ ’ a nxiety, An what s tae become o the puir whales ? Tarbolton was cheered by the possession of o ne such in th e earlier part Of the present century . Being in a shop o n one occasion , she became interested in some very 58

in b . h ' large eggs , lying a asket near at hand E e ’ m whatten big eggs, she exclaim d, there ll be mony ’ O thae tae the dizen One Saturday night a girl entered ’ ’ ’ to “ her hastily, Jean, I houp ye re mindin that Monday s ’ ’ ’ ’ or da if o washin y, an we ll expect ye tae gie us a haun , ’ “ ” M e ye re spared . no spared lassie, was the indignant “ ” ' M onda ? reply, diel tak ye wull I no be spared till y

f Such are a few slight indications O the laws, manners , and customs , which governed and moulded the lives and characters Of the people of Scotland during the latter o part of the last century, and which must be taken int consideration 1n any judgment which may be formed r concerning them, and more especially as regards thei

o u r fo r influence on national poet, Burns was essentially Of im a man his time, and extremely open to outward H b O f pressions . OW readily e caught the prevalent tone his his society for the time being, is visible throughout life, and shows in his correspondence, and here it is that ba n so many err in their judgment of him, for, d he bee the great and steadfast soul, strong amid the feeble, and Of high above the faults and follies his time, as farsighted and wise as they would have had him to be, and as he would

a v d h ve rejoiced to find himself, then he would ha e require ff e to be gifted with a di erent temperament, and to hav been placed among different surroundings 'he would have been less in touch with humanity and he would not have u r been o Burns .

Both parish and village Of Tarbolton have changed since the days when the hard-working family from Mount L o chlea Oliphant took up their abode at , the former, perhaps, most so . The weaving trade was still prosper 59 o u s no t , though so good as it had been . In spite of the Of almost continuous wars the eighteenth century, trade and commerce had flourished fairly well, and taxation not th was yet so heavy as it afterwards became . But e unfortunate war with America depleted the country very

e - to h i much , and Rob rt Burns, writing in eighty three, s f relative in the North, took rather a dark view o the Of condition Of Ayrshire, and shewed at once a degree Of prejudice, and some prescience . The failure Douglas, H ’ o . s th e eron , and C bank, had ruined a good many of n cou ty gentry, and the writer declares that their imitation Of English, French, and other foreign luxuries and

. ff fopperies , had undone _ as many more Yet, this a air, s though disastrous to so many at the time, was the mean Of giving an impetus to public and private enterprise, f which proved most beneficial to the West O Scotland . Of He goes on to speak the high price Of grain , no doubt

Of for o f from the standpoint a buyer, in those days bad

- h ad roads, and expensive locomotion , each land holder

i o wn to ra se his supplies, and when , as Often happened, fo r these ran short, then the expense Of buying, both e stock and hous hold consumption , where money was not very plentiful, must have been a serious consideration . He also laments the attempts of the landlords to introduce Of newer modes working the land, blames them for not Of taking into account the quality the ground, and pre T h e dicts that the farmers will in the end be bankrupt . Of farmers were much at a loss, he submits, for want

in proper methods regard to these new improvements, having little opportunity Of information regarding them, and altogether he believes the country to be decaying to very fast . He has the sense and foresight, however, be aware that the smuggling trade so largely carried o n 60 a few long the coast, though it enriched a , was detrimental f to n to the morals o the people, and inimical the natio a t to large . In regard agricultural changes, Burns but a e choed the beliefs Of his class . Although there was f a nd feeling among the people that re orms, both political s ocial, were desirable, yet, in the West, among the tillers

O f o f o f. des o tic a the soil, the traditions their past p tyr nny had made their present advantages so highly apprecia ted t to e as o induce a conservative dislike change, and a desir to be left in peace to follow the ways Of their fathers 'a nd they had shown their thankfu lness for the benefits of a c so onstitutional government by a loyalty conspicuous, that during the rebellion o f forty-fi ve it was believed that n o t a single Ayrshire man joined the forces o f th e P retender .

o f o so to o o f The farmers t day, ready make the m st

the benefits by which science aids their industry, must fi nd it hard to realize the methods by which their fields O o f no were wrought in earlier years . N rotation crops, a to no rtificial manures renew the exhausted soil, deep no or drainage, reaping threshing machines and the Old f e ashioned heavy plough, with its four hors s, believed to be

f fo r o . quite su ficient its purp se The best husbandry was, a s in - f n to f pre re ormatio times, be ound among th e c k lergy, and they were quic to adopt the new improve ments, but even such practical lessons failed to convince the majority. Yet there was much need Of change in f many respects . The arms throughout the parish were to -five small, and generally let at from five thirty pounds per a h T h i nnum , t ough a few went as high as seventy . e so l f to to was di ficult work, unfriendly corn , and sadly in n f eed O draining. Neither turnips nor cabbages were

6 2 been the restlessness which foreshadows approaching d eath .

’ The people s mode Of living matched their dwellings , a nd would now be considered rude in the extreme . The i th e farmer and his household, ncluding servants, had Of their food together, and the same quality, porridge

r n o brose in the morning, accompanied (whe milk was

ale o f own . scarce), with their brewing At dinner, kail, f n t a s O ten as o made without meat, with mashlum scones, ff that is, scones made with di erent kinds Of flour, as ea semeal bea nmeal p , , and oatmeal, mixed, and perhaps o atcakes and cheese after, but no variety Of vegetables no t to vary the repast, and even the humble rhubarb had f then come into use . Supper sometimes consisted O or ot n t ru n porridge, a p Of potatoes, if the supply had o a o r s . tea Out, occasion lly, as a treat, sowen But never , ’ no t f which was even used by the armer s wife, indeed it

was either in Tarbolton parish or on the confines Of it, l t one r hat such an , being complimented by her landlo d o f r n t with a pound this luxu y, and o liking to show h er ignorance o f the new fashion by asking directions as to c on n i ooking, decided treati g it as a vegetable, boiled t dram ed Off as greens, the fluid, and triumphantly presen ted it at dinner time as a treat to the reapers ' The to o manner Of serving the victuals, , was primitive in the

e t . x reme Table cloths there were none, and the potatoes b o u t o n were tum led the bare board, without th e inter i vent o n Of . a platter At harvest time, when work was

harder and hours longer than usual, as well as extra to e labourers feed, flesh was gen rally served with the kail, but the only knife and fork o n the table were used by

the guidman in carving, and each portion cut was passed 63 to in o ne the company rotation, grasped in hand, and, t f r with a pota o in the other'thus eaten , o the convenience o f a plate was never expected . The kail and porridge a were alike served in large bowl, and the company , a - or rmed with long handled wooden horn spoons, drew a f their chairs short distance rom the table, and fell to . Possibly th e distance from the viands would be originally m e to ant inculcate moderation, and check undue haste f a o two in eating. Fi ty years g , there were survivals o fthis c m th e o ne o ne of f usto , in parish, , in the armhouses, and th e of o ld other, in the house an couple named Osborne, but f presumably the ashion died with them . These habits seem rude and strange at the present day, but it must be borne in mind that at o ne time similar manners prevailed in l Eng and also, and that Scotland was retarded in her

progress towards refinement by her poverty, her isolation , a nd th e almost constant political troubles she had ~ men wh o endured . And, moreover, the lived in this ff to rude mode, cultivated a stoical indi erence discomfort a s o f being more manly, and were often considerable

ability, generally practised theologians, and, when they to tried conclusions with the world, were apt conquer

fortune .

n fo r Farm work was onerous in those times o doubt, servants connected with the onsteads had no fixed hours ’ but came and went at their master s pleasure . The maids of tod ay would think it hard if they had to spin

f r o r o an hour two after outside work was done, yet, that was exacted from their predecessors till a much later fo r period than that of which we write . Wages outside workers were counted good at tenpence to a shilling per i five d em . Those of a hind were pounds a year, with a 64

f b o f and a house and yard, six and a hal olls oatmeal , ’ n cow s maintena ce . It will be remembered that the f to o f Burns amily allotted each themselves, seven pounds no be f t a year, and their living would doubt o the mos economical . Hard as such work might be, however, it s o f was not monotonou , the exhilaration the Open air,

. s and the labourers being numerous and of Opposite sexe ,

i s . made it cheerful, and its quality changed w th the season d the Their holidays were not frequent, but they ma e e most of them . They had the delightful whole day at th f feeing time, and the dance at the kirn, after the last shea ’ wa s H o f rites ° to garnered, and allowe en the mystic , look

n f forward to , as well as the feasting a d treating o Hand l h . t e se l Monday And, in the long winter nights, when m th household gathered round the wide gle, and while e l s innin wh ee , r lasses turned the p g , and songs and sto ies who n co made the hours fly, shall say that there was o m ensa tio n for r p the early hou s, and hard fare, and rough ? to o of labour The rockings were great sources delight, ’ s to being held by rotation in neighbours hou es, which ’ f r th the favourite lad carried his lass s spinning wheel, o e of the e n t days rock and spindl were gone, though o long and th e before, youths from far and near put in an and th f th appearance, mirth and song were e order o e La n t st was . o da the night st, though lea , the y at kirk, e of e ff t an fre e with the pleasur w aring di eren d sh cloth s, n f a d the important part o it, which was hearing the clash f th e h o the country side in kirkyard, and the walk ome

s N o n e b ' with the lads a convoy afterwards . wo d r Ro in ’ sang th e delights o f a ploughman s life

The tokens o f the decline or extinction of an industry a re n t e always touching, but most sad whe they take h ' 65 f m o f o r in or ruinous deserted houses, and Tarbolton

such are painfully visible, indeed it is impossible to escape the sight . How, and when , and where did they go , those r o f t uined weavers the pas ? Did they leave in a body, o r o ff f to in drop , amily by family, the younger men seek o f o r the large centres for more work the same kind, a o f chance turning their hand to anything, though it is not

to do o r easy for a bred weaver that, , in despair, they might join the rioters wh o waged their hopeless fight by o r m wrecking the power looms, in vain begged help fro fo r the Government to give them a chance in Canada . As old n o u to folks, if there was married son or da ghter ” w w gie them a bit place, here, ith the help of the gien ’ ” piece that s soon eaten, they might end their days in quietness if not in plenty, they were in evil case indeed .

e o f w a re Som these d ellings freeholds, and, overgrown with nettles and filled with rubbish , cumber the ground, be no to cause heir has appeared claim the inheritance, and no o ne cares to take the risk of appropriating f the ground . The accommodation o these buildings was hen on h generally a but and a the ground floor, with t e a fo r o n partment the looms the opposite side, and some times attics above . Some of the regular weavmg shops to are still be seen in use, and are substantial two story 0 o n erections, the sh p the ground flat, and dwelling If r house above . the weaver chose to wo k hard and live soberly, it was possible for him to secure such a compe t n s e ce as made his old age comfortable, and many did o , bu t the younger were to o much inclined when the web was ou t and the bright guineas clinking in their pockets o f o n to spend some them fashionable attire, and have a spell o f high living and hard drinking in Ayr o r Kilmar n T h ri o f i ock . e stir ngs a new polit cal era were beginning 66

f in to make themselves elt, and the weavers were always f the van o progress, but, unfortunately, they generally regarded a n attitude o f hostility to religion as a necessary f a h concomitant o national liberty, idea originally adopted fro m th e writings of Voltaire by those wh o did not know o r take the trouble to consider tha t the form of Christianity the Frenchman decried was part of a ff o f a n very di erent system, and its abuses ature very

dissimilar from anything they had ever witnessed . The c o f h e m o f onservative taste t older weavers, and ost part h e f e o n t armers, showed in their literature, which r mained th e grandly pure lines o f their godly fo rbearsf The ’ ” “ ” “ r Pilgrim s Prog ess, Paradise Lost, The Scots ’ ’ ” ’ r “ in Worthies, Baxte s Saint s Rest, Boston s Crook ” “ ” the L o t th e T h era eu tica o f , p Sacra, David Dickson , with o f many others the same class, and, as lighter reading, “ ” “ ” Blind Harry, and The Gentle Shepherd, but, in the to o i poorer homes, often the humorous but terr bly coarse chap book had spoiled the taste o f the young r people fo solid study .

o f The manner living as regarded food, was much the s be ame as in the country around, but the cooking might a trifle more dainty, for Saunders Tait is minute in des ri in ff c b g the di erent modes of preparing the potato, from to ch a m it h the plain boiled, the p , [beat,'whic , done with u is milk and b tter, and, if procurable, a shred shalot, no w highly commended, and the stoved, erroneously “ ” known as Irish stew, which was a popular favourite,

. r o r but was arely, if ever, made with beef mutton, but a n of fa t or h y scraps which came to hand, , if possible, wit o f s kitchen fee, [dripping,'if the cook at any the big house in T h the vicinity could supply them with that article . e 6 7

f n succu lent haggis was a prime avourite, but o t often to be ’ e no r had, since there wer butche s shops in the country th s f villages, e better clas amilies and the farmers alike

n be innl n o f killing for themselves , and that o ly at the g g s to winter, o , unless the villagers combined buy a bea st, ’ there was little chance o f tasting flesh from o ne year s

nd to f o r e the other, unless by getting it rom Ayr Kil marno ck o r o ff , as a gift from some friend better in that o f r respect than they were . The bowl and sp ons o serving f e w the ood, were the only tabl requisites, and e learn

ref ra from the national proverbs, that the latter, though p e

so not . ably , were always long He should hae a lang i’ ” t shafted spa ne that sups kail w the diel . Better ae ’ s u wi a S m . p a cutty, [short,'than want pu e

Life generally flowed in even and regular course in th e o f villages olden times, and, though small matters th e f near at hand bulked large, yet startling events o the outside world reached them by filtering through

i u be - f var ous channels , and wo ld well nigh orgotten there, n ere their significance dawned o Tarbolton . There were f few temptations to journey rom it either, since the poorer

s n o t c lass had to do o o foot, unless they g a lift in the

waggon which carried away the webs when finished , and many passed a long life w ithout having strayed far from

n so the boundaries of their o w parish, that it was a wise philosophy which induced them to make the most o f to n what they had, and decry the attractions be fou d to th e elsewhere . Work was plenty and spare, for even o r women had their hands full with the pirn winding,

f . to e field labour, if they pre erred it From six six wer

the hours of the labourers and mechanics, but they did

no t adhere rigidly to those when work was pressing . 68

There was a fine old survival o f warlike times in th e b e of village eing rous d each morning by tuck drum, and i f f h m f admon shed O the hour o rest in t e sa e ashion, at n t no nine in the evening. Yet it was o all work and f r w f t e play, o there as plenty o recreation o vary the routin of f f f li e . Some ound enough O this in lounging at the e e r e bridg n ar the Cross, where there was always a la g to e assemblage discuss the news Of the parish . Then ther o f e were meetings the Friendly Society, where, writ s Satinders Tait

h eese a ro u nd th e oard sh a sh in e C b ll , ” D ea t b Wi L a tto l y ll ,

no t And only cheese, but various liquors, [Saunders th e recommends a mixture Of ale and gin ,'made glad f — hearts O the company and influenced their speech also, — no doubt let us hope to profitable use . And the delight Of o n th e curling the loch , in winter, when ice served, and work was nothing accounted of in c omparrsron with th all fo r game, where men were equals the time, and, even the majesty which surrounded the minister did no t screen — him from censure if his play was bad this to most was Of w really the amusement the year, and also its cro ning glory, and supplied a staple subject Of talk till the next n occasion came rou d . There were gala days, too, when ’ ilsfield s o u t wh o Co hounds and hawks were , and all could take a holiday enjoyed the sport. In summer, the cattle fair and Ayr races gave ample Opportunities for ’ gay d issipations . The Bachelors Club commemorated

n its i stitution by a dance at that season , as we know, but ll dancing was seasonable at a times in the clachan , and wh o not Burns, would be behind his compeers, braved ’ f a nd his o wn his ather s displeasure, gratified taste by a wa s c ourse Of lessons in the fashionable pleasure . There

7 0

n o f been a pleasant variation in the monoto y home duties, and would serve to keep the classes in touch with each e o n o other, since domestic matt rs both sides would d ubt l f re so ess be reely discussed . The relative positions we

well defined that a certam easy freedom prevailed, and a liberty o f speech wa s permitted which would no t be th e th ought o f a t the present day . People could take ’ Of f n h ow measure the laird s oot, icely, and knew just far

h e o Wl th . ' t y might g impunity Hi come back, sir, ’ ” t th e hat s not the road, called Out Earl Of Eglinton to a

s wh o no fellow designated a Daft Will Speirs, but was e w fool in regard to his o wn interests . Dae y ken haur ’ ” I m gaun ? asked Will . His lordship replied that he h vil e i no t. e oo dcc d d W el, the dae y ken whether th o o r no ? Of r this be e r ad The Earl Balcarres, fathe ” f u o f o the a thoress Auld Robin Gray, was the possessor Of a b i a kind heart, and quick temper, oth Of wh ch characteristics were turned to account by those o n his e who e state, wer well aware that his bark was worse than if h e e to o f his bite, and knew that gav way a fit passion, “(15 t m b ut regarding anything they fro him, they had to W h e e o f ait till recovered himself, when th y were sure and getting it . His lordship was a great agriculturist, o ne to fin going early morning, inspect a particularly e Of to field turnips, his indignant surprise he found an Old ’ who a t i o f woman, was cons ant recip ent the Countess s h bounty, busily engaged in filling a bag wit the choice

f r . ed o roots Of course he flew into a rage , and storm a his sa time, while she said never a word to all accu tions an so Of ingratitude d forth, but continued dropping c urtseys at each poi nt in th e discourse . At length his passion expended itself, and he turned abruptly away, f a his n eeling, s was wo t, very much ashamed, but he had 7 1 no t taken many steps when he heard the culprit calling to him, and walked back, expecting hear some apology fi' “ ” O ence . f for her Oh, my lord, she began , in a tone O “ e no pathetic entreaty, before ye gang, wad y just gie l wi’ ’ ” T h me a bit ift the bag, for it s unco heavy ' e gentle folks were not unmindful Of the semple folks either, ' wh en fes t vities o n in e i were hand, and arranged that, som o r form Other, they should have a share, not only in the

n Of tota l a Joh Girder style, anything ly uneatable, but T h e supply there was no shame in gi ving o r receiving .

o f E nterken wh o last Cunningham , seems to have been a f x air e ample Of the Scots gentleman Of the Old school, gave three successive entertainments annually, the first

to wn to being devoted those Of his o grade, the second

o n th to the tenant farmers the estate, and e third the

Of to . villagers, whom all and sundry were welcome attend There must have been Often ties Of affection as well a s duty between the superior and those o n his ground, a nd it is both pleasant and curious to reflect that th e misdeeds and injustice Of the Old order in its heyday o f power have left so little bitterness as to be almost com pletely forgotten in the soft and kindly glow Of its sunset .

It was amid such surroundings of place and people that the callow fledgling Of L o c hlea preened his wings for is that flight which was to m ake the world wonder . It interesting to learn what a ttainments this youth Of nine teen brought to the place which was to have such a n important influence in determining his future character ” 8 “ a nd . to . 1 life I was, he writes Dr Moore, in 7 7 , at h f t e beginning O this period, perhaps the most ungainly — awkward bo y in the parish no solita ir e was less I w o f acquainted with the ways of the world . What kne 7 2 ’ a ncient story was gathered from Salmon and Guthrie s f geographical grammars, and the ideas I had ormed Of d Of c o t mo ern manners, literature and riticism, I g from ‘ ’ ’ S ecta tor . W1th m Of the p These, Pope s Works, so e pla ys ‘ ’ ‘ ’ ‘ o n T h Shakespeare, Tull and Dickson Agriculture, e ’ ‘ ’ ’ P On n antheon, Locke s Essay the Human Understa ding, ’ ’ ‘ ’ Sta ckh o u se s H c h istory Of the Bible, Justi e s Britis ’ ’ ’ ’ ‘ t l ~ Gardener s Directory, Bayle s Lec ures, Al an Ram ’ ’ ‘ ’ ’ o f say s Works, Taylor s Scripture Doctrine Original Sin, ‘ ’ ‘ ’ S e c o f s A el ct Colle tion English Songs, and Harvey ’ ” Meditations, had formed the whole Of my reading . His brother Gilbert tells us that “ Robert was proficient in grammar and remarkable for the fluency and correctness ” ex ressio n while Of his p , Murdoch, the teacher Of both boys, fi t t t m n testi es hat they were able o alk and reason like e , e o much soon r than their neighbours, remarking also n the grave and thoughtful expression Of the future poet . t The lads seem o have been indebted both to heredity, a nd the care o f their excellent father for their dis

ishin w tin u . as w g g peculiarities He for some time, e learn , almost the only companion they had, and treated them as if they had been grown up, taking pains to lead the conversation to such subjects as might tend to i o r ncrease their knowledge, confirm them in virtuous

f , . O habits A schoolmate the brothers, young Tennant o f A r wa s y , greatly impressed by the intellectual abilities o f no — i both, for they were like other youths the r style o f e languag being quite above their compeers, while no man could stand before Robert in controversy, and he had the New Testament more at command than any o ne o f Tennant had ever known . Writing his feelings a t the to period referred in the letter above quoted, the poet , t w continues, The great misfortune Of my life was o ant 7 3

’ a n f o n me aim. I saw my ather s situation entailed per petual labour I had felt early some stirrings o f a mbition but the only two openings by which o f th e Of I could enter the temple fortune, was gate n o o r iggardly econ my, the path Of little chicaning

- is so d er bargain making. The first contracte an ap ture

‘ — that I never could squeeze myself into it th e last I ” o n to Of i a lways hated . He goes speak his const tutional melancholy, which his brother attributes to the hard work nd e Of a anxi ty Of his earlier years, when the pain watching th e ineffectual struggles Of the husband and father to h n e o . make both nds meet, told eavily the household no This would aggravate the disorder doubt, yet, after all, it was but the royalty which genius must pay fo r the ff “ wealth Of the intellect and the a ections . Though by ” nature Of an athletic form, writes an early biographer, Burns had in his constitution the peculiarities a nd t n to h e delicacies that belo g the temperament Of genius . He was liable from a very early period Of life to that i Of nterruption in the process digestion, which arises from d eep and anxious thought, and which is sometimes the f ef f . ect, and sometimes the cause, Of depression o spirits

Endowed by nature with great sensibility Of nerves,

Burns was , in his corporeal system , as well as his mental, — liable to inordinate impressions to fever Of body as well ” a s Of . t mind When Phrenology had its say, all o o late fo r to bis its chart be Of service in steering course, its verdict confirmed the existence o f those strong ten d encies to o f s f aberration, which Burns o O ten hinted, and o f e which, read by those m re equable natures, seem ” a to ff c . O kin a e tation N phrenologist, writes Mr

George Combe, can look upon this head, and consider the w circumstances in hich Burns was placed, without 74

f f the vivid eelings o regret . Burns must have walked earth with a consciousness Of great superiority over his

‘ — a ssociates in the station m which he wa s placed Of powers calculated fo r a far higher sphere than that which e to i he was abl reach, and Of passions which he could w th

difiicu lt to . If y restrain, and which it was fatal indulge he had been placed from 1nfancy i n th e higher ranks Of

life, liberally educated, and employed in pursuits corres to th e n e ponding his powers, inferior portion Of his atur o f r would have lost part its energy, while his bette qualities would have assumed a decided and permanent s T h i uperiority e comb nation, as it exists , bespeaks a mind extremely subject to contending emo t of r — enco m ions, capable great good, o great evil and d passed with vast difficulties in preserving a stea y, even , f ” Onward course o practical morality.

’ A nd oth ers ik e ou r h u m e serv an , l y bl , ’ P o i ts na e r n o ro a ds Ob servin o r w gh u les r , ’ T o ri h t or eft eterna s w er vin g l , l , Th ey z ig -z a g o n ’ Ti cu r t ith A e o sc u re a nd sta rv in ll s w g , b , e a f n n Th y te groa .

h e d ou se fo k th a t ive b ru e O y , l , l y l , Gra ve tide ess - o o ded c a m a n d c ool , l bl , l , ’ ’ — Compar d wi y ou Oh foo l fo ol fo ol H ow m uch u nlike 'ou r h earts a re u st a standin oo j g p l , 'ou r lives a dyk e

Al a s 'w h a t bitter toil a nd stra ining B u t tru ce w ith eev ish oo r c om a inin p , p pl g ’ k n n Is fortu n e s fi c le L u na. w a i g ? ’ E en l et h er g a ng Ben h h at i h t sh e h a s rem a in in ea t w l g g , ’ ” n o L et s si g u r Sang . 7 5

Though his heart was completely tinder, as he tells

D r. not et o t f Moore, he had y g over the bash ulness o f o of e b yhood, and had a habit walking with his yes fixed o n r r th f th the g ound, and rathe avoiding e vicinity O e

. o ne fair sex On occasion, while at Kirkoswald, he was passing the daughters Of the parish minister in this f n f ou t to ashion, when o e O them called him, desiring to kno w why he preferred looking o n the ground to th e “ ” r o f o n to m . p ivilege looking , and talking wo en Madam, “ — Of he answered with a fine reminiscence The Spectator, ’ ” L Of u n and the etters the wits Oe ee Anne s time, it is a natural and right thing fo r man to contemplate th e

lze for to ground from whence was taken, and woman ' ” f size was . look upon and Observe man , rom whom taken ’ ’ f e h e This was his prentice han at compliments, be or had realized his possession Of that power to evoke th e to th e interest and admiration Of the sex, which was be e o f solac and pride his life .

o f re In spite the depression Of ill health, and the p 1 1 o f f h e mon t ons despair, the stirrings o ambition, which e to to e n ver expected see gratified, urged the youth mak the most o f his slender opportunities Of impressing th e n little world in which his lot was ow cast . He steadfastly pursued those studies in polemical divinity, the exploiting o f to o n o f which was, alas ' be e Of the alleged causes offence against him by those whom he had expected to Of dazzle . His little library was increased by the addition th th e Ofth da e works of most eminent novelists e y. He read S ieldin terne and Mackenzie, Richardson and F g Tris ” “ and tram Shandy, The Man of Feeling, were his bosom — favourites thus having specimens Of the extreme leaders o f Of fiction the time, the fashion including the delicately 7 6 o r mawkishly sentimental as well as the strdngly coars e a n a s w re d humourous . Curiously enough, both cl sse e h ia e read and liked by t e same people, and a pecul r dev lop m o r ff o f was the ent, a ected development, character

“ fo r s - ea in result, the trong, realistic, hard drinking, hard sw r g men Of th e age occasionally exemplified the influence Of b Rousseau and the French school On British literature, y e b o f a xhi iting the sentiments, and deportment hysteric l e th e young women . Clergymen sometimes paus d in

to wn e eir pulpit weep over their o eloquence, whil th al hearers followed suit in the pews, and even in leg c th e o f ircles the custom was no t unknown . At trial

m 1 - era Ho e Took for treason, in 7 94 , the Attorney Gen l in his remarks upon the case became pathetic over the inheritance Of probity which he hoped to transmit to his c hildren, and finally gave way to tears, m which emotion,

' to f e oined b his d the surprise O the court, h was j y frien “ ” - e the Solicitor General . Just look at Mitford, remark d e is e in a n ighbour to the accused, what On earth fi cry g ” “ for ? At the thought Ofthe little inheritance poor Scott ” to . fa is likely leave his children, was the retort This d Of the period probably impressed itself u pon the plastic

o f fo r -Of- o n nature Burns, matter fact Walter Sc tt, o f ’ h meeting the poet at Pro essor Ferguson s, considered it t e most remarkable trait in his manner that he was so mu ch affected by a print representing a soldier dead upon the of e t e field battl , as o shed tears over it . The motio n would e u o f be r al eno gh , there is no doubt, the manner showing it

’

o ne f f t h e a wa s . was but Of the ashions o d y. Scott th e n -1 thirteen years younger than poet, the , Attor ey G end of he eneral eight years Older, and towards the , t c u u s ‘ entury the habit was less common , altho gh its e , s urvived in the pulpit till a much later date.

7 8

o en c haracter which afterwards became but to promin t, and which malice and envy have taken delight to enlarge f and upon . Though, when young, he was bash ul awk w h e ward ih his intercourse with women, yet, hen a to i a pproached manhood, his att chment the r society

became very strong, and he was constantly the victim Of As were s ome fair enslaver. these connections f governed by the strictest rules O virtue and modesty, from which he never deviated till h e reached his twenty — third year twenty sixth'he became anxious to be in ” a situation to marry.

It may surprise those wh o only know Burns through a superficial study Of his writings to learn that though his taste regarding th e female sex in general was catholic as a to beauty, yet his particular preferences were Of a delic te

‘ n n fleshl a nd refi ed description, and ot at all Of the y style which some Of his productions might have led us to expect. He had, evidently, that highest artistic taste m to which prefers beauty Of for colouring, and the c u T o atalogue Of his req irements is always the same.

. a Mr Cunningham he gives it as A sweet f ce, eloquent “ e s . T o ye , fine limbs, graceful carriage Mrs . Dunlop, A rf warm heart, vigorous health and sprightly chee ulness, s et Off to the best advantage by a more than commonly ” . T O handsome figure Miss Chalmers , regarding his “ wife, I have got the handsomest figure, the sweetest t s t emper, the oundest consti ution, and the kindest heart ” in h t e county . Yet bodily charms do not rank first in

his . of if estimation In the scale good w eship, a s he

- terms it, he places first good nature, good sense, and wit . “ ” a Your uncommon personal adv ntages, h e writes, in ’ “ his earliest love letters, to his, Dear E, and your 7 9 s do so uperior good sense, not much strike me, o e but that amiable go dness, that tender feminin softness, e that endearing sw etness Of disposition, with a ll the — c harming Offspring of a warm feeling heart the love I have fo r yo u is founded on th e sacred principles of virtue a n - — e is d honour believ me, my dear, it love like this a lone which can render the marriage state happy there is something so mean and unmanly in th e arts Of d issimulation and falsehood that I am surprised they can an o ne so so be acted by y , in noble, generous a passion a s virtuous love I shall never think Of pur c Of man hasing your hand by any arts unworthy a , and,

I will add, a Christian .

“ n h e Whe , writes his brother Gilbert, selected any One o u t o f Of his to the sovereignty good pleasure, whom a he should p y his particular attention, she was instantly invested with a sufficient stock of charms ou t Of the plentiful stores o f his o wn imagination 'and there was Often a great dissimilitude between his fair captivator as to she appeared Others, and as she seemed when invested ” in . SO d ea the attributes he gave her it woul app r, and he must have caused considerable surprise to the damsels Of the neighbourhood by accosting them in such a singu f lar ashion . Probably they would think he was joking to them, perhaps set it down that sarcastic tendency, so which afterwards gained him much hatred . These

w o f -five ere the methods his salad days . He was twenty to f h when he wrote the above, but, strange say, a ter e had a to h djusted himself the requisite level, after e had

. r c profited by the lessons of Mr Richard Brown, and p a tise i d them w th Elizabeth Paton and Jean Armour, he s til l shows a wistful appreciation o f the finer a nd more 80

th Of n delicate traits in e nature woma , and thus reco rds “ e e mam a W it to Mrs . Dunlop, som tim after his ge. e c o u r fo r d annot hope, in condition , that highly polishe mind, that charming delicacy Of soul, which is found among th e female world in the more elevated stations f o life, and which is certainly the most bewitching charm

in of . e a n the famous Cestus Venus It is, ind ed, such e inestimable treasure, that, when it can be had in its nativ purity I declare to Heaven 'I should hold it cheaply purchased at the expense Of every other earthly ” ' writ1n Of good And, g near the anniversary that day, when he had received the tidings Of Mary Campbell ’s “ th e to death, There should I [in world come,'in Of speechless agony rapture, again recognize my lost, my ' ever dear Mary whose bosom was fraught with truth, ” honour, constancy and love .

My M a ry dea r depa rted s h a de Wh ere is thy plac e of blissfu l res t ' ’ See st th ou th y lover lowly laid ? Hea rest th o u th e groan s th a t ren d his breast ?

to 1 8 And Miss Chalmers, in 7 7 , Thank Heaven 'I have at last found two girls wh o can be luxuriantly happy o wn o ne a in their minds, and with nother, without that ” to — commonly necessary appendage female bliss a lover.

SO far as w s personal qualifications ent, thi intending B enedict did no t seem to be o ne who would require to sue h in vain . Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe declared that e wa s b r e to Of an ette fitted by natur play the part a lover, than y o ne he e . Of had ever s en The stoop, born early hard f f f labour, which detracted rom the advantage O his five eet i not e i f r f r ten nches in height, was yet unb com ng, o his o m 8 1

n was well built a d athletic , His face was dark and s m x r n o ewhat haughty . in e press o j His features more m in a o wa c assive appear nce, th ught Sir lter S ott, than i they are represented in h s p ortraits . And others speak of

i s ff a certain coarseness in h aspect, an e ect always left by

- o ne o ld o n h small pox, and lady has left it record that e w th e a s marked by that disease . But his eyes were f ur his — Strong eat e in countenance large, dark, and l h e b o r iterally glowing, when was excited y feeling “ n passion . I ever saw such another eye m a human head a “ m t s ys Sir Walter Scott, though I have seen the os

d o f . istinguished men my time His conversation, s a a i o f g enerally brilliant, alway interesting, had n r w d e to wa s deference hen he a dress d it women , which in D o f captivating the extreme . The uchess Gordon t m ff declared tha it co pletely carried her O her feet, and t many others have borne like testimony . At his early to period, he seems have been successfully practising o n this accomplishment, for we are told that Sabbaths , to the when the lads were wont convoy lasses home, of o a Burns could monopolise any the c mp ny he chose, with ease. Bu t he was not so successful in inducing any o f

' ' r H is them to fo m a marriage engagement with him .

‘ b rother Gilbert tells us that he had always a particular

' ’ ' f wh o were rich er tha h him self jealousy o people , and that r o n o f descri tl o n S his love ra ely settled persons that p . O it no _ was latterly doubt, and after his repulses in other quarters .

' 'et Robert B urns had a considerable amount of ' r ce i i f uden n his composit on, and is likely enough p ”it ' ' ’ reportf spbketruly in credi tirigb oth brothers With a desire

' f o f Of B ennels to mate into the amily the Ronalds the , 2

indeed the poet, in his verses regarding them, states plainly that it is only his fear o f rejection that hinders him from pressing his suit o n Anna . Such a connection would have been most useful in many ways to the Burns fa n o f mily, and there was a certai amount encouragement to Robert in the liking which Mr. Ronald showed do not to e for his society. But this the girls seem hav

fo r n o f to she shared, o e them is reported have said that couldna see ough t aboot Rabbie Burns that would ’ ’ ” i T h e tempt her tae sit up till twal o clock at night w him . oilsfield wh o to a housekeeper at C , is said have been f to person o superior education and manners, seems to have hesitated as her decision, but finally concluded

s n to abide by a previous engagement . Elli o Begbie ’ r o f a ppears to have jilted him , and the farmer s daughte L ittlehill tossed her saucy head once to o often fo r the re

o f so . tention suspicious a lover These disappointments, to e combined with other causes, seem have embitt red he to n him , and thenceforth turned his attention wome of a lower grade .

We w o n the f ns have d elt thus minutely life o Bur , in o n while this place, and also the manners and customs f to i n o f o the time, in regard some explanat o a certain c t i bitterness of feeling, whi h he seems o have aroused n o f o f a number the people, echoes which may even yet be r heard, for hints, and nods, and shrugs, a e quite as o n eloquent as words, and, occasion , can do their work with quite as much precision . The only distinct . a to f of llegation is be ound in the poems Saunders Tait, w h o accuses the poet o f immorality in connection with w omen , but we know that his first lapse in that direc tion t ook place after he rented Mossgiel, and was thus a 83

f i . parishioner o Mauchl ne That he was not intemperate, o f wh o we learn from the testimony his brother, states h f T t at, during the seven years o his life in arbolton , he R of h had never seen obert the worse liquor, and e adds that the poet never once exceeded his allowance Of seven — pounds per annum while the latter in a letter to th e Murdoch, just before leaving parish , writes, In ” e . tav rn matters, I am a strict economist The most rigid Of censors could no t but admit that he did his best through the literary club to improve the minds and o f h manners his companions, and the example e set by his devotion to his daily duties was well worthy o f imi ta tio n be f f . It may inferred, there ore, that the causes o offence to these good people were such as could not

with propriety be stated, and they may reasonably be set

down as three in number, namely, his being an incomer, - o f o f his poverty, and, worst all, his gift sarcasm . The prejudices conceived by these isolated communities, each

of which was a law unto itself, have already been indi cated to , and may still be studied a certain extent, but the exceeding vindictiveness shown everywhere, both to now public and private opponents, could scarcely be so openly exhibited . Lord Cockburn speaks with horror o f s of its manife tation in the Edinburgh his days, and of o n Lockhart, in his life Burns, remarks the feeling as s hown in the contest between the Kilmarnock and “ “ R iccarton C T he lergymen , Twa Herds, as something which had long been banished from all popular assem ' — blie s a great change o f manners within a comparatively s vrew hort period. Keeping this in , the reader may be disposed to look more leniently o n some o f those f f e fusions o Burns, which are regrettable as showing traces f s o thi same savage animosity . 4

Having the usual distrust o f the family at L ochlea a s was not th e n incomers, it surprising that parishio ers ’ showed no particular favour towards the youth s efforts f n o r their improvement . Some followers he fou d among h ’ t e farmers sons, but the clause in the preamble to the “ r f - ules o the club , regarding, The self conceited me ” chanic s o w of a c untry to n , hints at something amiss in the society o f the clachan . When Robin grew eloquent or v l o f in the smithy, the ta ern , there were always p enty listeners, but the laugh might be at him as much as with o f i him, since the propriety diction , so greatly adm red in

A r ff fe . y , would excite very di erent elings in Tarbolton “ T h och tx h e The older people shook their heads, and,

' ” “ fo r nor had a good deal to say himsel, were they very ” sure about his principles . This might refer to both his f religious and political principles, but regarding the ormer, o f th e which were those the New Licht party, few, save s1nce h f Seceders need have objected, bot ministers o the to parish held the same views . As his politics, they were such as his passionate love o f liberty would lead us to

e . o f th e e expect, and wer shared by many outsid world, though at that period unpopular with the majority o f th e country people . The young noblemen and gentlemen

‘ wh i h o made the ndispensable grand tour, also made t e a u aintance of wh o in q Of the brilliant circle writers , ae t the Encyclop dia and elsewhere, were doing their best o awaken the French people to a sense o f their public a nd

. so it private rights As in France, in Britain, was the upper classes who initiated the m ovement fo r political f e e f re orm, and its principl s wer reely discussed among t f h hem long ere they leavened the bulk o the nation . T e for s Opinion afterwards prevalent, that the desire change in this direction was confined to the toilers for daily

8 6

h of th e h s w ich they were born . Robert, in writing c arm f s s to f l i a o the Tarbolton lasses, eem be wist ul y consc ous th t t n his to r s they were never o be withi reach, and the p e ent day there is a touch o f scorn in some o f the ech oes o f those times regarding the plot1ghman wh o had the a n mbitio to soar above his equals . He asked my to o to e s th e de grandmother g with him a danc , ays “ ” s cenda nt o fOne of f e . these fair arm resses, but she refused “ P i . e And the reason inqu red the listener Oh , becaus ’ ' ” sh e form b th e wouldn t go with , accompanied y a toss Of “ e at ma n head which spoke volum s . What does th ”

n for e . the s Burns come here so ofte , was ask d in hou e fi hold at Langlands, when the stalwart gure was seen n ' stridi g up the long bare road . Poor Robin and, with th e f h fancied h is happy faith o youth, e brilliancy was w f o n inning admiration rom all . He knew better later , i r o n . le it howeve , when his satires the clergy opened a g

‘ mate vent fo r th e feelings which sprang from sources no t to be acknowledged . And it is certain that inferiors would n o t be slow to follow th e example set by t heir “ “ l ’ betters . My grandfather was his p ough laddie, an he ’ ” swearin aye said Burns was a wretch, is another testi o f o ? no t mony, but what the prov cation The poet was “ ” n t like Carlyle, ill to live with, but, o the con rary, we t v kind and considerate, and, as would expec , ha ing ’ n d no great sympathy with the you g. O , man, ye re for ” to to wh o young folk, he used say Gilbert, was more

severe in his nature . When troubles came thickly upon

' wa b him, he became irritable,evidently, and gave y to is o f wa s habit sarcasm, which, more than anything else, the cause o f the rancour afterwards displayed against ‘ ' of him . Saunders Tait tells plainly that the reason his bitterness against the poet was because the latter had 87

. e a w mad song upon him, and, as e have mentioned, Babbie Tweedie beh eved that she was th e subject o f his “ ” — W Wa stle o n no t verses illie _ dwelt Tweed, did

to e -in -law seem r sent them . My mother and mother ” o ne a baith shore'[ reaped'beside him, says rem ining w h ’ ’ ” t e a n o m . link ith past, nane the liked him This u o so nded ominous, but, up n examination , resolved itself “ st - into, Oh , he was ji that sarcastic, a body didna ken ” what he wad say next ' We know that neither fro m W i w rich nor poor ould Rob n take a blo without return, bu t o a , unf rtun tely, though his retorts are preserved, the

a n t n c uses which provoked them are o k own , and thus his

ff f r . s o memory su ers His lines On James Humphrey , i t b nstance, instan aneously produced, were provoked y ’ that worthy s attempt to lecture him on some occasio n of

r n ~ h o . is intemperance, real imagi ary, at Mauchline But a s nger, though hot at first, never lasted long, and, toward f o to . the end his life, he expressed Mrs Riddell his deep regret at having used his talents in causing pain to any

- o ne. f o And that highly strung temperament o his, s so finely poised between ecstacy and agony, felt keenly a ny lapse o f friendship in those whom he trusted ' T o “ i h e 1 86 : Robert A tken , writes in 7 , thus I was for im n some time back fast getting into the p g, distrustful ” so snarl o f the misanthrope . Then he was touchingly f grate ul for even the simplest kindness shown to him, as w f to . o witness his , letters Mrs Ste art Stair, and to

1 8 : Mrs . Dunlop, in 7 7 I read your letter with watery — a e a f eyes very littl while ago, I had scarce riend but ” s o f m o wn . the tubborn pride y _ heart A little later o n he thanks Sir John Whiteford with fervour for i o n his behalf when some one had traduced . nterfering 88

It is related that o nce at least he met his match in e b polemical disputation . Going to Tarbolton church y a

' s fiel s h e wa s hort cut through the d , joined by a decent c o f r ter named Wallace, who, being a Seceder, was o n to m his way the eeting house . The poet saw his O pportunity for an argument, and found an opponent

t . n nothing loth , and quite equal o the occasion O s “ ’t eparating, Burns gave as a parting shot, Well I didn ” t to hink meet with the Apostle Paul in Tarbolton Parish . ” slo w ra wl of Naw, was the answer, in the d the country, ’ Ony mair than I thought tae forgather wi the wild ’ ” beasts O Ephesus '

ma We have placed the n in c onjunction with his times, a nd think he may challenge comparison with most Of his c ontemporaries . That, with his glorious gifts , his godly u he no to be pbringing, was better, is deplored , but his c onstitution and environment must be taken into account . Regarding the immorality o f the times the session books o f Mauchline bear witness . That his honour, though f r no t rooted in dishonour, still stood, is evident, o he was w t r only illing but a nxious o ma ry Elizabeth Paton, and only the influence o f his family prevented him from

n f n wa s doing so, and it was o t his ault that Jea Armour

not his acknowledged wife ere her children were born . That he did no t feel himself blameable in certain aspects o f ff t l i n that a air is certain , for he writes o Ba lantine f b M r t m e . o re erence to it, If , [ Aiken'is reconciled y c onduct as an honest man but I would not be beholden to the noblest being God ever created if he ” me to to we imagined be a scoundrel . As intemperance, h f ave indicated the habits o the various classes, but B urns does not seem to have cared for drink save as 89

o f 1 88 a necessary concomitant social intercourse . In 7 , h t i “ e writes o Clar nda from Mauchline, Yesterday I dined ’ a t th e h o s a friend s house at some distance, e savag pitality o f this country spent me the most part o f th e — night over the nauseous potion in the bowl this day, sick ” d h lo w e . eadache, spirits, mis rable The truth is, he coul e n never hav bee a hard drinker, his constitution forbade it, a nd an amount that was trivial to others proved death to “ to . e him . In later years he writes Mrs Dunlop, Tav rns I th have wholly abandoned, it is the private parties among e hard-drinking gentlemen o f the county that do the ” m e no ischief. Yet as has been shown ther was e a no wa s sc ping the temptation, since social function n th fo r c omplete without it . Upo e whole it was well fo r — him that he was cast early death indeed, with his it organisation, we are told that it was inevitable that “ ” s so . ' he to . hould be Alas Madam, writes Mrs “ ” Wh fo r ? Who Dunlop, o would wish many years ,

“ i r to for: ? ndeed, as they p esented themselves vision

ince o ear S t b , Th e hea rt th a t u rns a nd th ro s w h i e et it eak s not b b , l y br ,

Is w ors e th a n dea th s ince dea th a ess in were . , bl g

e Since he cannot be judged by his peers, let the peopl o f tod ay at least try to take him in connection with his s t urroundings, and remember that the best and nobles men and women of his acquaintance were proud to call in themselves his friends . The words of Mrs . Browning regard to Napoleon may be equally applied to him

Since h e h a d ’ Th n o b l v h l et h im h av e e ge iu s t e o d , w y ” r e Th e ju stice to be h on ou red in his g a v . A RO U N D T H E

’ C S ’ A T L E O MO N TGOM E R IE .

L T H OU GH it seems rather a misnomer to give ea rs o f the elegant villa, erected in the opening y t et the the present century, this s ately title, y

building which Burns knew so well, and around f th e desi which his heart and ancy clung, quite deserved g n ation, and was Old and grim enough to be in keeping with the weird legends o f the country around . But M o nt o merie o f Co ilsfield no g , had, doubt, in his youth, made the grand tour then so indispensable to a man o f family that we are told it had to be performed if only on a n o f e in - fe income thre hundred a year, and when , late li , and c c e t the after a tive service abroad, he suc eded o h Eglinton title and estates, e amused his leisure by

‘ following the example of other Scots lairds o f his time in trying to adapt the architecture o f foreign lands to different surroundings . He razed the castle to th e ground but e to f b et k pt as close the ormer site as possi le, y , most likely succeeding generations would prefer to have seen th e walls hallowed by memories o f the poet in place of ’ L E lint n th e old ord g o s graceful structure. But building is a s completely gone as the thorn tree by its side, which

th e , long survived it, and in whose vicinity, during High

to e. land Mary episode, Burns used await his lov It is c urious to notice how widely this fancy for pulling down their houses and building greater prevailed during most'

‘ of e part the eighteenth century, and interesting to observ 9 1

’ h o w closely the grave and the ludicrous were blended by

‘ the t f custom . In many cases it spelt ruin o the ollowing n n if n n generations, as these mansio s, eve ecessary a d f comfortable, were o ten more expensive than the rental l could support, and many such throughout Scotland stil

s -t th - f f o e o e . bear witnes olly th ir builders Even where, , as o f o ilsfield n e in the case C , mea s were plentiful, the tast of the projector was sometimes so arm as to make his mas terpiece an object o f ridicule to the neighbourhood .

t be Sir Walter Scott used o tell a story, which may n r n l i t oduced here without apology, and with o specia reference but as being a go od example o f the ridiculous o f th to n wh o side e subject . It was in regard a ge tleman had made the Continental tour rather late in life, but was none the less deeply bitten by the classical mania, and o n to th e reaching home set work at once, pulling down c f o f its om ortable if plain,Old home his fathers, and, in b h e th e stead, uilding an airy erection which dignified by

’ f B ella R et n i rin h i h t co m a e o zm . b u e n m On a e gh o g g , manded w o f a by the indows the villa, he raised very well “ ’ ’ ’ f L E l zse a o simulated ruin, giving it the appellation o g ” M a rie , and then called on his friends and neighbours t f hi f o e . to s admir the e fect They eulogised it, ace at ' e least, and he would have rested satisfied, but alas ther th e o f m was fly in the pot ointment . This took the for of f wh o the county people o the vicinity, could not be persuaded into anything but the most grotesque pronoun ~ ciatio n o f s the foreign names . After all pacific argument f f for had ailed, the laird elt there was nothing it but co so a ercion, he took to sallying forth in company with

- wo e walking stick which was in reality a bludgeon, and ' be to the unlucky wight who failed to repeat his lesson 9 2

’ to sdre e o n his master s satisfaction . There were bon s o f to a the estate, but in course time he managed secure f 1r h f r a t . so a very a tempt a t pronunciation T is was, , well 'but he had yet a misgiving that,though his retainers a round the policies were reluctantly compelled to bend to o f e their wills his, the outlying parts the estate wer s no t so till recalcitrant, and this, much that they could no t to , but that they would not, try pronounce a language which, as being foreign, they held in contempt . One day, t o f therefore, he extended his ramble quite o the bounds

la fo r . B his lands, and there y in wait an opportunity y a nd n f o n he by, a passing countryma was aware o e whom a took for a str nger, sauntering carelessly along, inspecting thelandscape withan interested air . The countryman, ready

c enough for a gossip, slackened his pa e as they neared

e for . Can ach other, and prepared the expected queries o u m o f fine- y tell me, y man, the name that looking ” mansion I see over yonder ? asked the supposed stranger . “ ’ ” Oh a e B u lr wt r . , y , that s o e y, came the prompt reply h is Bull began the laird, with a dangerous gleam in e ey , but he restrained himself and only grasped his cudgel “ more tightly And that romantic-looking Old rum o n ” do t n the hill, you happen o know what it has bee ? “ ’ o dd n ist That, , I m o j sae share aboot it, but I think ’ ’ ‘ whatt na t he ca st Legs my L eary . Legs my y, ye don r ” ee io ? a auld d t was the alarming response, with wild fl o f n ourish the cudgel, and if that astonished countryma g o t home without broken bones he probably owed it to more luck than good guiding.

His courtship o f Highland Mary was no t th e fi rst c f th o l no onnection o Robert Burns with e d castle, since, d b f n i his oubt, he would e o te w thin its walls when paying .

4

T h e newly-built mansion was no t lo ng in possessio n nt m ri an o n f he c n- 3 o f the M o go e es, d its sale was e o t o s equences of that tournament which brought so much it r Wh n T n otoriety and so little satisfaction to s projecto . e

' e th e was e to nt it cha ng d hands, name also alter d Mo

’ o merie s m a t h n so ce g , and it ee s pi y it s ould have bee , sin the appellation o f Co ilsfield had belonged to the locality f m 1 m e o of a a lmost ro t me immemorial, in co m morati n s ' warrior chief slain in a battle close by . Historian wh o W an it c annot decide ere the combatants, d, though is known that the tribe o f Damnii held ' the l and . the a rs to e Ofth c o n a round, tr dition silent as whether theywer e n o r tendi g parties, whether, as is conjectured, other tribes no t fl 1n On e err r might have finished a y g fight th ir t ito y. It is no t even certain whether the name so strongly im

' wa s th at of a n r pressed upon the district the chief lo e, o

“ a s one o f t or a s a n ti e o nly borne a dynas y, disti c v title, like

'

o f . s nis th e Pharaohs Egypt Kyle Regis, close by, ee to t a few f indicate the lat er, and Coylton , miles ro m s o f h e th e cene the fight, may av been the royal

”

. _ w m residence The crowned barro , a ound surmounted h e by stones, whic bears his nam , is supposed to denote o f in e wa s e the importance those whos honour it rais d , f lo w is f a nd, rom this being in size, it in erred that the ” w s . chief a vanquished in battle Burns, in The Vision, a lludes to the common belief of the country people

Th ere wh ere a sceptred Pictish sh a de ” ta k s rou n d h is a sh e l S l s owly la id .

And few o f these would have cared to pass th e gra ve of C o ilu s after nightfall

The question as to whether there were any grounds 95

for the tradition regarding this mound had long been and 1 8 to n discussed, , in 3 7 , was a certai extent settled by examining the barrow, when it was found that the ashes of n or a i its i mate, inmates, might h ve been depos ted there a s “ th e f the a e s e early as end o stone, g , inc the bodies had f f undoubtedly been cremated . About our eet below the su f r ace, and beneath several large boulders, was found a

fla - o a b f in circular g st ne, out three eet diameter, under

- which was dry yellow coloured sandy clay, then another s fla - f mall g stone, covering the mouth o an urn filled with

-c W e . e hit oloured burnt bones Thre urns, in all, were fou th e nd , and, amid dry clay su rrounding them, and also of under flat stones, small heaps bones . The urns were in e e of shap exactly lik flower pots, made clay, and hard

o n r ene d by fire . The principal e measured six o seven i five- nches in height, the same in diameter, and eighths of i e to an nch in thickness . The indications seem d point to o r for there being little time, possibly little heart, elaborate i f fo r bur al rites, the urns being per ectly plain, save a slight t projection carried round half an inch from the op, an r unusual occu rence, as urns have generally been found to possess Some decorations however rude in fashion such no no r might be. Neither were coins, r armour, ornaments o f any kind found : apparently o nly the most scant o f t T h e burial rites had been accorded o fallen greatness . to E linto u n urns we re conveyed g Castle, but whether r brought back o not is uncertain, yet it is to be hoped that a to th e ashes o f th e noble de d were returned their tomb , a nd spared th e desecration he would most have deprecated .

If th e m u irla nd in the vicinity o f the grave o f Coilu s

n t o , as some suppose, the actual battle field, it must was ‘ f ff r a t least have been the scene o a very sti encounte . 96

A nn w a rivulet, ru ing do n the steep bank tow rds the Fail, “ e o is still call d The Blo dy Burn , reminding us of the

to f r Bannockburn , which was said have run red o days after the fight, and this is very possible when we remem r o f be the rude weapons those times, and the terrible T h e f wounds they must have inflicted . warriors o to distinction, who fell here, are said lie interred beneath th e gray boulders scattered over the sloping ground o f near the grave their king, while the common rank and file were dragged down to the level land by the water

- r side, and, surely, sweeter resting place was neve found for

Th e brav e wh o s ink to rest ’ B all th eir c ou ntr s Wish es est y y bl ,

b o r fo r those slain y them in fair fight, than this quiet nook, ’ o erh a n in l sheltered by g g banks, and litt e troubled by the

o f man o f presence , where the songs the birds and the f r its ripple o the burn alone b eak the reverential repose, — name the most enduring o f monuments the Dead ’ ”— Men s Holm, for evermore

Here tradition is also supported by the testimony of f fo r a o acts, , when the ground was ploughed some years g , o f various pieces armour were found, also many bones and r o f a curious t umpet resembling a crooked horn, signs

m . no m to a hasty inter ent Most likely, there was ti e strip the dead, and each man was buried with his a ccoutrements .

“ N o wonder Burns loved those banks a nd braes ’ ” M o nt om eri fo r f a round the Castle 0 g e, they are very air t T wo f b n o look upon . miles and a hal from Tar olto

8

Looking east from Burn street in the village, the long, to L o chlea m o ff bare, uphill road , three iles , is plainly o n seen , and when Burns was his homeward way it was Open to him to keep the main road which skirted the “ ” Baal mount, then known as The Hill, and now more “ ’ ” n prosaically as Hood s Hill, but o the opposite side f o r to rom the present way, cross the mount by the line

f t so . o the existing road, having o climb the hill to do ’ o f ff The change direction, e ected after the poet s day, is d oubtless more convenient, but it seems a pity to have meddled to such an extent with this interesting m o nu ment o f antiquity merely to save a very slight difference f wa in length o y. The anticipated antiquarian finds is being very small, this alteration all the more to be

regretted . The poet, it will be remembered, on that ” e ventful night when he composed Dr. Hornbook,

a s c om e ro u n d a ou t th e h i W b ll, ’ ’ l o A nd to dd in d wn on VVillie s mill .

when he encountered the ghastly stranger whom

traditionary description had yet made familiar to him . “ o n c The seat, whi h they are supposed to have eased ” o u t their shanks and had their confab, is still pointed

o n the right hand side of the way, and, a short distance

further down, is the road leading into the mill where

Burns was so frequent and welcome a guest . It lies some distance off the main road in a law n holm by the side of the

‘ so b Fail, and is well sheltered y trees that its presence can s carcely be detected by strangers until close upon the

‘ ’ ’ L o chlea zfzzr l ea buildings . Possibly the tenants of were to one by their lease this mill, otherwise, if there was at m m Millburn , as the name seems to i ply, it ust have of been more convenient . In this case the ties friendship 99

o l would draw the y ung farmer, and its p easures repay

him for the extra trouble involved by the longer journey. The passage of time has necessitated some changes and old repairs on the buildings, which are evidently very , but, f in the main, the house and part o the mill are the same f o ld as in the end o last century, when these rafters would be ring with laughter, and hard toil lightened by many a of merry joke . It was a custom that time, probably a remainder from an age when the miller was supposed to help himself to more of the m u lctu re than his rightful

toll, for some trusted person to accompany the grain o f to the mill, and, under pretence lending a hand ’ e e in the operations, keep a shrewd y on the farmer s

interests . This suited Willie Muir and his friend exactly, and the barrow used by Burns on these occasions is still ol to to be seen . It is d enough certainly have been in o f existence at that time, being entirely made wood and

v of ery rough construction . Burns rarely passed the o n to o r mill, his way from the village, without entering, old and an woman , not very long dead , who was a little to to f girl at that time, and servant Mrs . Muir, used tell o holding his horse while he chatted with the miller and his wife, with whom he was as great a favourite as with her d husban , Burns and she used to criticise the preachers who took part in the communion solemnities, for, “ having outgrown what he counted the idiot piety of his no w earlier days, he was qualifying for a new character,

- - . in viz , censor chief of Calvinistic doctrine . In the

c 1 8 ac ount of his life, given to Dr. Moore in 7 7 , he states, with that frankness which disarms fault finding, that he made polemical divinity, then fashionable, his study, in o rd er that he might shine in conversation at funerals, between sermons, and on other occasions when lighter 1 0 0

T o f h e subjects would be unsuitable . urther this end, frequented the religious services for miles around and they were many . How natural his desire was, let the da young men of the present y bear witness , and, having the consc iousness o f those latent gifts which afterwards o f enthralled the cultured society the capital, can he be blamed for seeking to exercise them , except that he chose an unfortunate channel for his eloquence ? H o w w he succeeded, and the price he paid, is ell known , since its cost taxes his memory to this day, but, unconsciously, ’ to ff he did yeoman s service the Kirk he o ended, by laying the axe to the root of those abuses which were her dis o u t o f b grace, and which were ridiculed existence y his ” Holy Fair .

The Muirs proved friends in need to B u rns in various o u t of ways, for, when Jean Armour was turned doors for

‘ seco nd time b the y her justly indignant father, it was in th h is e mill she found refuge for a w ile, at least, and it do m said she helped her hostess in g millinery, no doubt being glad to contribute a little to her o wn support during

‘ mu st h ave . what been a trying period Later on , when matters had been arranged and Jean had gone back to

Elli l n n t her husband at s a d Mrs . Muir was called o o redeem a promise she had made o f going through to the

- house warming of the new steading . Willie, for some s reason not known, was o much against this intended t journey, that she stole away without his knowledge, a which he was so angry as actually to talk o f corporal

u o n . p nishment for her her return But, though he had “ ff fo r so his sta laid beside his hand, ready use, He was ” “ o f t glad to see her, says the narrator the incident, tha ” h O he never said an ill word to her . Let us pe that good

WITCH C RA FT

IN K'L E .

T has been often stated, and is generally accepted as a ’ ’ f B u rns s act, that the publication of Tam o Sha nter gave the death-blow to the belief in

e witchcraft throughout Ayrshire, and, in a sens , it might o f i be the beginning the end , since r dicule has often been effectively used against superstition but faith in the o u t supernatural dies hard, and, when driven from the to works, is apt take refuge in the citadel, so that, though the country lad might grin at such belief while in the f wa s company o his mates, he none the more easy in his

mind when trudging alone, and after dark, on a road

with a bad reputation .

The folks o f Mid Kyle had their o wn share of troubles in this respect, from the days when the wise and great to condescended practise the black art, possibly as a to f divertisement the monotony o life in the country, to the times when old wives took to it as a means of v o f n li elihood, and as a way getting revenge o their enemies when they could not get justice . Few home steads o f last century were without their protection of rowan trees, for

R o wa n trees a n d red th rea d

it h e i a h ei eed P t W tch es t e t r sp . 0 3

o f ‘ while over every door, especially that the byre, the

. f horse shoe was strongly in evidence But yet, in spite o

” these precautions, as our judicial records and fireside

' Wa stories testify, rlocks and witches still occasionally contrived to work their wicked will .

Tarbolton had an example o f the first o f the two o f classes before mentioned, in the person the warlock laird of Fail, who acquired a portion o f the lands of the

r departed friars , early in the seventeenth century . Walte Whiteford was probably of the same stock as the White B allo ch m le r fords of y , and appea ed to possess some h learning and a considerable portion of humour, for e seemed to derive much amusement from the terror which t H his supposed powers excited in h e country side . e m o r e ust either have had strong influence at court, hav a to been well known to the king in his true char cter, escape the fate whic h befell so many persons even o f

good condition , during the reign of the second Solomon , who prided himself o n being a terror to the kingdom o f ’ Satan . The country people still tell of the laird s ability his to keep the butter from forming in the churn, and of magic causing the ploughs to stop while at work o n a

c w distant field, all except two, whi h had the ro an tree w branches tied to them , and thus ere able to defy his art also of his making a whole household dance until it

pleased him to call a halt . But such tales have no

malignity about them , and read like the mischievous

v pranks of a spirited schoolboy . He even made pro ision in his last ' moments— for he died a natural death that no harm should occur to his retainers on the day w d o f his burial, on which he knew that his master oul

accord him all the usual honours . 0 4

H is relative and pupil in the black art, Maggie Osborne ,

so ff . was not fortunate, as she su ered by fire at Ayr A r “ cu ious article in her indictment was, that she, having in received the sacrament at the Kirk of the Muir, did reta w it in her mouth, and after ards spat it out at the kirk w '” door, where Satan, in the form of a toad, did swallo it

Probably Burns would have been surprised had he lived long enough to learn that he had numbered a witch

c among his Tarbolton a quaintances . But his brief race to old a nd was run, and Babbie Tweedie had be , frail, and defenceless, before she could achieve her reputation . c W The ottage where she and her husband illiam Niel, a Gi h rie wabster [weaver'lived, was at g Hill, a slight e fa r L o c hlea minence not from , and the shortest way f to — from , the arm Tarbolton lay in that direction past “ to the very door indeed . A certain interest attaches o f Babbie from the fact that, to the last day her life , she ’ declared herself to be the heroine of Burn s verses , ” W stle Willie a dwelt on Tweed . Now these were not published till some time after the poet had left Ayrshire, ’ n o f r a d, in Cunningham s edition his wo ks, they are said ’ E llisla nd to be written on a farmer s wife near , but he no gives authority for that statement, and , as we know, ’ B u rn s s c i w many of writings were rculated long and idely, before being polished for the press . It is possible, there f ’ m ore, that Babbie s clai may have been valid enough , a lthough her reasons for the statement have unfortunately e f not been preserved . She must hav been conscious o f having o fended him in some fashion 'at all events, a n wa s ephew, who had been much with her, wont to relate, so lately as thirty years ago, that he had repeatedly heard e her state this beli f of hers as a fact . And was she really

1 0 6 small mound in its vicinity is all that now remains to indicate where the carefully avoided home of the witch once stood .

e While Babbie still flourished in her iniquity, it becam a disputed point in the parish as to whether it was witch o r o n craft, the direct judgment of heaven unbelief, which had cau sed the death of the young footman at the Castle ’ 0 M o n t o merie o r o ilsfield g , C , to give it the proper f designation . The young man indicated was o the new o r ff to h school, and derided, a ected deride, the beliefs, whic to were common the majority, though the butler and a num ber o f the servants Openly expressed their doubts whether ne he was really more courageous than his neighbours . O weakness he strongly ridiculed was the reluctance shown b f y all the maids, and most o the men of the establishment

to f h . visit the clachan a ter nig tfall, if alone Gradually ’ the servants hall became the scene o f heated arguments fo r and against the existence of witches, and the possible of Off return spirits from the dead . One side led

with the supernatural visitor in the book of Job, the o f Of o f story the witch Endor and the shade Samuel, and finished by quoting the modern instances of the spectres o f o ilu s C , and the ghost burn , and the misdeeds of the war c lock laird of Fail . On the other hand, the scepti laboured to prove that the acc ount in Job was but a flight o f poetic imagination 'the episode of the witch of Endor not meant to be accepted literally 'and finally challenged his opponents to show that a ny sober or reliable person

c v to had ever encountered either wit h, de il, or ghost, which the orthodox replied that suc h Opi nions were sim l w m p y atheistic, and certain to meet ith due punish ent, as some night he would get a fright that would try his O 7

. to mettle Perhaps the wish was father the thought, and the expected does happen occasionally . One evening to no there was a call for a messenger the village, which o n th e seemed inclined to respond to . In such cases e d appeal is to the bravest, and the unbeliever announce his to . u t willingness fill the gap He set o accordingly,

n t f ' but as time passed and he did o return, his ellow

' s servants became uneasy the butler noticeably o . o n Presently the gamekeeper dropped in for a chat, and, h o w learning matters stood, proposed a search party, which — set o u t l . at once , to find their fears only too we l justified At the loneliest part o f the road the poor fellow was a found stretched on the earth, his face distorted with ’ o f s look terror, and quite dead . Stoppage of the heart to c h is action , owing a sho k, probably, the doctor gave as

Opinion , and people felt their faith in the supernatural n confirmed, being only uncertain as to which manifestatio ’ o f it had stamped the lad s features with that ghastly look .

It was never imagined that the mystery could be revealed, o n e but later a solution was provided, through the remors of th e some of the parties concerned . It appeared that to butler had arranged with accomplices, outside, give the T h e youth a fright which would shake his scepticism . o f hide a freshly, killed bullock was procured, and a man, garbed in this, with the addition of a chain clanking alongside, made a formidable enough nondescript horror, sufficient to kill with fright the unfortunate lad to whom h it appeared . Perhaps the affair was to o long past for t e actors in the practical lesson to be brought to punishment, t for the story seems to have been hushed up, ye the vic tim would not go unavenged since memory and conscience ~m ight inflict harder penalties than the law could have bestowed . 0 8

It is curiously noticeable, in the annals of witchcraft, how very little worldly prosperity Satan was generally a ble to allow the subjects from whom he claimed so many, and such disgusting, Observances . Those were s ometimes able to help their clients a step or two up in the world— as high as the gallows occasionally—but as fo r to themselves, beyond securing some addition their — daily fare grain extorted from the fears of the farmer,

milk charmed from the cows , or eggs which their spells “ had induced the hens to lay away -they really seem to

have derived no advantages worth mentioning . We read o f apparently better bargains being made now and again by the bolder and more business -like portion of these v o f v otaries the evil one, but, e en in such , their master to f was apt show the shiftiness o his character, by

turning the gold into slate stones, causing the honour t hey had gained to collapse as suddenly as it had arisen , o r u f r t o f cheating them o t o a year o wo . the life they had

mortgaged to him . It is interesting, therefore, to be able to chronicle an instance occurring in th is very parish of Tarbolton in which Satan did provide some substantial

a n good for his follower, without y apparent drawback, so fa r as this world is concerned . And it is also worth notice as being the latest known c ase on record in which a n o ally of that potentate, in this neighbourhood, sc red a n y remarkable success in his service . It must have

n f resent centu r been well o into the first half o the p y, ‘ that the tenants of a small farm near the limits o f T arbo l ton parish found it a very hard struggle to make both e nds meet . There was a family to bring up, the land

was poor, the stock fast going down, and no capital to s e upply the deficiency . Year aft r year the hand to

mouth fight had gone on , till it was obvious that it could

1 1 0 a nd it would be capital sport to see her disco mfitu re when f f to ound, and hear the explanations she would be orced give . With this motive on their part, the search was con d ucted vigorously, though for some time without success, t few old ill, a hours afterwards she was discovered in the Barnweil o ff be graveyard at , three miles , professing to m o f uch bewildered and in the act turning her petticoat, which is known to be an infallible means o f finding the way home when in doubt of it . On being questioned as o h o w wh so t and y she came to be in strange a place, she e declared that she knew nothing, except that she had b en brought on the back of a black sow . More she could not,

o r . v would not, tell That was quite enough , howe er, as it was well known that many o f the unholy rites o fwitchcraft a re - performed in the resting places of the dead , and, as to o f the mode conveyance, what more suitable form could Satan assume than that of the animal so generally regarded s c a un lean After such an exposure, people kept a greater ’ distance than ever from the farmer s wife .

But not long after this incident, a great change became apparent in that lately struggling household . The guid m a n m largely increased his stock, engaged ore labour to work his fields, and seemed to grudge no amount of dress in g to improve them, while the family in general began o f to show every sign comfortable prosperity . It was e vident there could be only one explanation o f all this the black sow had disclosed to its rider on that memorable ' night, the whereabouts ofa hidden treasure And strange to s a o f y the good fortune was lasting, so that the relations the m people around with those who theyhad so much shunned ,

- - g radually softened, since folks who are well to do cannot be ignored, however the money may be acquired, and, I I I b e the y degre s, the story of night ride, if not forgotten , wa s - judiciously kept in the back ground .

But still more curiously, from what subsequently trans ire f p d , it seemed as if the surmises o the neighbours no t o f had been, in part at least, far wide the mark . L f ong afterwards, when the farmer and his wi e were both of wh o o dead, a relative theirs had been a b y at the of period the sow episode, while talking over the incident

with a friend , owned to her that he had reason to believe there was some truth in the story regarding the finding of

a . wh hidden treasure A young son of the family, o had t been his playmate, had, about that time, boasted o him o f helping his father and mother to carry money into the

house, and declared that it took several journeys to get

it safely bestowed .

T his presents a very natural explanation o f the sudden o f o dd o f ff prosperity the couple, the part the a air being that the find should occur so appositely to the nightmare

- f and sleep walking o the guidwife . When we reflect on o f the disturbed state our country in earlier times, it can be easily understood that much of the current coin o f the

realm, as well as ornaments, plate, and heirlooms of of various kinds, would, in cases sudden alarm, be ’ ec w s reted without, as ell as within , their owners premises .

We still hear now and again of finds of this sort, and it is believed that much may still remain undiscovered, since, f r besides the possibilities o death o exile intervening, there was also the risk of the exact spot o f the hiding ’ o f pla ce being forgotten . Readers Pepy s diary will remember the difficulties o f that gentleman in regard to f o f of the sa ety his money, and how, when in fear the I I Z

w it Dutch invasion , he engaged his ife and father to bury

a w in the garden of the l tter, here, afterwards, although they c bu t believed they had carefully marked the pla e, and ffi a short time had elapsed, there was considerable di culty in finding it .

f f The old couple settled their amily com ortably in life, was mostly as farmers, but it declared in the neighbour

’ hood regarding these, that however large might be the amount of their stock, pigs were never known to be seen

n o the premises .

John Kelso Hunter tells of an old minister who had been o ff th e visiting, and the manse being some distance , and

b o n wa . night dark, had refreshed himself y a dram the y At a lonely part of the road he wa s surprised by a brisk whistling which appeared to come from o ne side or other of the turf dyke, the sound proceeding in the same to him direction as himself. The tunes were new , but no t had such a merry lilt, that he could refrain from n cracking his fingers, and keepi g step to the music . Just so as he reached his own gate, a rapid jig was struck up,

T u llo c h o ru m not much resembling g , that he could resist W no it, and danced till fairly exhausted . hen longer “ ” f able to go on , he shouted, weel whistled, billy, be ore b entering his house . But the end of that mirth was eavi ness . He took to his bed, and died not long after, and folk said it was because he had given the dccvil 510 a ‘ kindly name, whereas he should have said, get thee ’ behind me, Satan .

1 1 4

’ a close and frequent during the poet s st y in the parish,

. wh and for some time after he left for Mossgiel Sillar, o a f ppears like his riend to have had amorous proclivities, a to t length became seriously attached a young girl, then f o f th o . n th in e service Mr Stewart Stair, a mansio in e f n m tw parish o that a e, and distant about o and a half to miles from Tarbolton . He was anxious form an en a ement g g with her, and the usual proceeding in such to o f cases was begin visiting at the house the charmer, if as merely in a friendly way, and then, if favourably r , w , e eceived gradually dra the intimacy closer until “ privat f meetings became the natural result . The di ficulty lay e in commencing these visits in an appar ntly easy manner, no light task, it will be allowed, for a man in love, and o f h exposed to the critical notice the household, whic

c was perfectly well aware of his intentions . In su h cases, no o f wonder the help Burns was appreciated, since o f under cover of his flow language, and accomplishments,

-be o r the would lover could make his approaches, back ff o u t . of the a air, with equal facility Sillars was fortunate a s wh in having friend o able to serve him, and o espoused o f is his cause with all the ardour h nature, and mo re especially srnce the case turned o u t to be o f rather a peculiar description .

A n a n c ien t T o w er to m em o ry brou gh t ’ H o D t in en d h ero fo u h w e t g s bol g t.

The house o f which Burns afterwards wrote thus in ” n w o be The Vision , and where Sillars and he were o t c ome frequent visitors, has a situation strongly suggestive ” f ” of the Happy Valley o Rasselas . It lies in the very o n b a heart of Kyle, a green holm , almost encircled y I oop of the Ayr, here sometimes widening and flowing 1 1 5

r shallow over its pebbly bed, and again deepening unde

- overhanging tree shaded banks into pools where the trout,

fr th e darting to and o among the mossy stones, entice e angler to their capture . The mansion nestles so d ep in its cup -shaped hollow as to be invisible till the passer by c is lose upon it, and, on the surrounding heights, the thickly massed trees are said to be ranged as troops in o f order battle, for this was originally the patrimonial

estate of the Dalrymples, and tradition has it that these were planted by direction of Field Marshal the Earl o f

Stair, and represent the disposition of the British army o n the field where he won his brilliant victory at

Dettingen .

n With much good taste o the part of the proprietor, the house and its surroundings are preserved greatly as ffi u to they were in the olden times , so that it is not di c lt o f to forget the lapse centuries , and let fancy stray the d o f e ays of the talented founder the family, that astut lawyer and politician whose success in life was balanced by so many drawbacks l n the public and private history o f himself and his descendants . A short distance from ’ th e t to house, the ancien orchards, sloping the river s to brink, are still be seen, but the trees, gnarled and

moss grown, have long reverted to their natural state, and

. no the fruit is sour and uneatable Here, doubt, the two sons of the Master o f Stair would spend many a so happy hour, ere the catastrophe Occurred which threw d o f ark a shadow over the life the younger boy, and long e to xiled him from home and friends . Close the orchard a re f the buildings of the home arm, all with the same stamp f p antiquity upon them . One huge erection, with thick w alls and massive oaken doors, was built, as is believed 1 6

f r s in the district, o a barracks to accommodate the soldier kept to overawe the neighbourhood in Covenanting times . for Possibly it was only the stable the household, such requ iring to be o f large dimensions in days when so many of e horses must have been needed for a man rank, whos avocation necessitated much travel . When the Dalrymples be were in disgrace at Court, however, soldiers might quartered there as a means of annoyance, or, it might be, T he occasionally as an au xiliary to the garrison at Sorn . t country people prefer o regard the building in this light, and of o f believe that, in the quiet evening, the furbishing accoutrements and bustle o f military life are still to be heard within its walls .

But it is in Stair House that the interest o f the place culminates . It is evidently of great antiquity, though, in f the absence of any date, it is di ficult to decide its exact age 'but it m ay be the same building from which th e Lollard Lady of Stair departed to answer before James

n Fourth for her religious beliefs . In a room o the ground o f two floor, at that period the hall the mansion , the boys, f w be ore alluded to, ere amusing themselves on a certain

f o day while watching the arrival o a guest . The recepti n

was past, the horses led to the stables, but the boys still ’ n lingered, for the stranger s holsters lay temptingly o the

hall table . It was not in bo y nature to refrain from a ppropriating the pistols, or from pointing them at each

other . The common result followed, and next moment the elder boy lay dead o n the floor and the younger wa s ’ a . fratricide He was at once, by his father s orders, and w o n ithout seeing his parents, placed horseback behind a

groom and carried down to the family estate in Galloway, w l here, for a time, by hard study, the future Field Marsha

1 1 8

i f an event wh ch, he confessed to the lady hersel long afterwards , caused him more trepidation than he felt when y ‘ introduced , to the brilliant circles of wit and beaut in

Edinburgh . Stair estate had, before this time, passed from the Dalrymples, having been sold to Thomas f l nafto n o f o f Gordon, o G e , son Sir Thomas Gordon E rlst u n a o , whose only daughter, Catherine, succeeded, in f o f consequence o the death her brothers, to the family

t - esta es . She married Major General Stewart, and, along o ne with her children , son and four daughters, resided ’ mostly at Stair. The occasion of the poet s introduction o u t o f to her is well known, arising her surprise and curiosity regarding the sounds of unwonted mirth in the lower regions, which were evidently of periodical “ ” occurrence . It was twa neebour lads, after Peggy Orr, the housekeeper answered apologetically on being “ ’ ’ A h questioned . ane o them, the young farmer frae ’ L o c hlea , was a gey clever chiel, an could baith write g ’ l ” W sangs a n p a y them on the fiddle . hether the idea ’ o f f c the country lad writing songs took the lady s an y, or whether it was only an attempt to relieve the loneliness of a of life which, in winter, must have been akin to that Mari anna in the Moated Grange, we cannot tell, but no doubt b the company in the kitchen was surprised, and pro ably th e rather taken aback at request, under the circum a st nces like a royal command, that the poet on his next

- visit was to be shown up to the drawing room . How he r fared there has been often told, but the humble d ama o f w ha s the kitchen , in hich he bore a prominent part, not hitherto been fully narrated .

That must havebeen a memorable winter in the down w stairs life of the old Scots Chateau . Mrs . Ste art had, 9

s at that period, only two indoor ervants, and it was, as is

“ sometimes the case, the party whose interest was least concerned wh o preserved the reminiscences o f that happy b s th time, to be handed down y her de cendants, for e staid housekeeper, who played propriety in the quartette ,

” Wa s b w n greatly fascinated y her visitors, and easily o , by ’ o f B the blandishments urns , to favour his friend s suit . n e I dep ndently of Peggy, the twain were sure of a hearty ll o f welcome, and occasiona y treated to a cup tea, a luxury a rare to their class at th t period, and the graceful little

c handleless ups, out of which the poet drank, are still carefully treasured in the neighbourhood . Perhaps the course o f true love was made too smooth to be f interesting, since an unlooked for di ficulty presented “ ” a itself. Of a pair of lovers one loves, s ys that French i proverb, which has truth in its apparent cynicism, and, n

c this ase, the lack seemed to be on the female side, for, though Peggy professed to enjoy the visits o f th e to a n comrades, she expressed reluctance enter into y engagement. But constant dropping wears a stone ' th the suitor was ardent, his companion eloquent, and e s housekeeper persuasive, while enlarging on the lonelines that would be their portion, when these visits should o e cease, for even the m st devoted lover Winna com ilka day tae woo, without some assurance of success, till,

r - finally, Peggy yielded, and the couple were t oth plighted in the kitchen of Stair House, after the old approved u e o f w fashion, with d ceremonies vo s , broken coin , and h n cla s in a d p g, having the housekeeper and Burns as witnesses .

of Naturally, a degree credit attaches to those who ff f an d carry through a love a air success ully, the blackfoot 1 2 0

was jubilant . His passion for Jean Armour was in its ” “ e at first freshness, and the Epistle to Davie, writt n o f a this period, overflows with the satisfaction h ppiness ,

’ ’ ’ here s a th e easu res o th e h ea rt T pl , ’ Th e lo ver a n th e frien 'e h ae u r Me ou r dea est a rt yo g, y r p , An d I my D a rling J ea n

And no doubt Sillar felt duly elated at having secured he so i the prize was eager to win, for, however capric ous a

o r so c lover, male female, might be, much importan e t he attached o t ceremony ofbetrothal among the peasantry, so o f even lately as the end last century, that it was rarely broken 'and, when this did happen , the act cast a slur o n the character o f the defaulter which lasted during f f r li e . E ven the ho usekeeper felt that she had cause o self

' congratulation in having helped a silly girl to a good h usband .

But all this satisfaction was shortlived since it proved that one o f the contracting parties failed to share in the o n general contentment . The friends both sides had scarcely finished joking the happy pair about their matrimonial intentions when it became evident that something was causing Peggy Orr much unhappiness . s She became depressed and tearful, and, as thi was t scarcely the attitude o be expected from a bride elect, e it excited great surprise in the hous hold, especially as the t mood appeared likely o continue . For a long time, she r to efused answer any enquiries, and it was only after much pressing that she owned to rueing her engagement to s David Sillar, and expressed a strong desire to be relea ed . The housekeeper scolded her for a silly lass wh o did

1 2 2

of e sum money l ft him, and was a prosperous and res ct d s e e . so a p man Peggy, far is known, gave no further reason for her conduct in the matter, but it is open to us to imagine that the blackfoot may have done his part only to o ffe n for well, and succeeded in inspiring that a ctio She himself which he could not call forth for another . married later on, and, it is said, not . too happily, and may have seen cause to regret her precipitancy in the matter o f - the troth plight .

Thus circumsta nces had conspired to put an end to the social evenings in the old House of Stair, and probably neither of these young men were ever again within its , w f alls . Burns had now entered into the troubles o the t Armour connection , and was paying the immediate par o f his the penalty entailed . That he could yet feel for

no friend, however, there is doubt, and it is possible that “ ” o n the heading of The Lament, composed later , may

' o wn refer to that past episode, while the verses echo his m “ t woes . Some ti e after comes the second Epistle o f Davie, written on a very dif erent level from the first , and lacking the inspiration of love and happiness, which ’

_ en gave the other its charm . Sillar took his friend s c o u ra in o n w g g advice, went ith his verse writing, and published a volume contemporaneous with the Edinburgh of s edition Burns, who did his best to gain subscriber fo r w t it, and ro e its author a kind little note, congratulating o n o f him his marriage, and complaining the formal manner in which the other had worded his last letter. so - e This is, far as we know, the last trace of intercours ‘ o f e between them, but Sillar, to the end his life, spok ’ with admiring affection o f his friend s talents and good qualities . 1 2 3

of f h Mrs . Stewart had requested a sight some o t e ’ o f h is young farmer s productions, and, in the midst preparations for going abroad he found time to fulfil his ” “ promise, sending her The Ruined Farmer, Handsome ” “ ” “ ” c o f Nell, Stanzas in Prospe t Death , The Vision, “ ” “ “ Though Cruel Fate, My Nannie O , and, The ’ ” B ll m l e as o a o ch e. L s y These she carefully preserv d, ’ of er and, in time, they became the property her daught s o f wh o stepson, Mr . Cunningham Logan , eventually sold

to o f . the MSS . a syndicate five Ayrshire gentlemen “ The lady was also afterwards complimented in The ” o f Brigs Ayr, as

Benev o en ce w ith mi d eni na n t a ir l , l , b g , ’ fem a e form c a m e fro m th e tow rs of tair A l , S .

But changes were in store for Mrs . Stewart, as well as for the poet, and perhaps the heaviest was the loss of her

so n 1 8 only , a youth of great promise, who died, in 7 9 , w hile pursuing his studies at Strasbourg . On this occa “ ” of sion , Burns sent her a copy the beautiful Lament, he had composed for young Ferguson of Craigdarroch, whose death had occurred but a few days previously to ’

o f . a that Stewart Subsequently, and after her husb nd s ea o f d th, the lady sold her estates Glen Afton and Stair,

so n-in -la w and, purchasing forty acres of land from her ,

E nterkin o n - Cunningham of , built it a moderately sized w e o f sh e house , hich , in r miniscence her former home,

E o d e. r bab named Afton g It is supposed, with some p o ilit “ w ” y, that the song, Flow gently, s eet Afton, was

to . c omposed as a compliment Mrs Stewart, and that f its scenery re ers to Glen Afton . And, although Gilbert s Burn declares his brother wrote it for Highland Mary, 1 24 it so e o f n e d e may, like many mor his p roductio s, hav on d ouble duty .

1 8 1 8 to be ed Mrs . Stewart survived till , and, it is hop , had f f h nd a pleasant eventide o li e in er new home, a with th e f wh o r society o her daughters, a e still remembered in

m l vrc t to . e the y, comfort and cheer her She would hav th f e excitement o putting her house in order to interest her, a nd the enjoyment o f laying o u t the grounds to suit her o wn e i taste, but, charming as Afton Lodg may be, t lacks th e t f memories which cling o the gray walls o Stair House, a nd o f the fascination its surroundings, which make even a casual and only visit an event never to forgotten '

1 2 6

me too do s e a re inadequate to support , and surely I e n' tha t time whe the same tide will leave me, and recede ‘ of — perhaps as far below the mark truth but, when ’ ’ o u proud fortune s ebbing tide recedes, y will bear me f witness that, when my bubble of ame was at its highest,

I stood unintoxicated, with the inebriating cup in my to hand, looking forward with rueful resolve the hastening time when the blow of calumny should dash it to the f ” ground with all the eagerness o vengeful triumph . And a month later he writes in the same strain to the “ a : Rev. Mr . L wrie You are dazzled with newspaper

n no accounts and dista t reports, but in reality I have great temptation to be intoxicated with the cup o f pros ri t ma o f i pe ty. Novel y y attract the attention mank nd a to o we ecZa t while ' it I my present , but I see the time no t far distant when the popular tide, which has borne me to o f t a height which I am perhaps unworthy, shall e

‘ c f ede with silent celerity, and leave me a barren waste o

‘ to m leisu re sand descend at y to my former station . I o no t sa ff o f d y this in the a ectation modesty, I see the ” c onsequence is unavoidable, and am prepared for it .

Fo r a time after the whole o f the Burns family removed to to l Mossgiel, the poet was still be seen in his o d haunts , but gradually the links were dropped and he came but seldom to the clachan . There are still a few a wh o mong the villagers remember his contemporaries, a nd l , by their descriptions, it is possible partia ly to realize the appearance and manners o f the people in times which

e so f u r wor dif erent a complexion from o o wn . In the summer evenings, when the shadows fall athwart the streets, and the people lounge around to enjoy the wel c - ome coolness , well known figures seem to flit to and 1 2 7

'

fr to . o , and dreamland become reality Here stands old

John Lee, the shoemaker, telling with a chuckle ho w o ften and h o w successfully he acted as Blackfoot to how Burns, and brusquely the poet was wont to dismiss him when his end was served . And, yonder, Saunders

ff-box h o n Tait, snu in and and Kilmarnock cowl head ,

” da his tailoring over for the y, stands at his door ready to v o r gi e receive the latest gossip, and ever anxious to o n bestow advice, were it but the subject o f sweeping

wa u c himneys . Babbie Tweedie makes her y p the street f with the sti f slowness of age, and is a picturesque, though rather avoided figure, in her red cloak and black silk hood, with spotlessly clean cap showing beneath it . She is o n her way to the Secession manse to get her aliment from good Mr . Campbell, but is detained by the ’ B l th rin wh o e Bitch, is willing to risk the dangers o f being looked on by the evil eye for the sake f o . to a crack with Babbie, who is a good listener He, o , r has a quaint appearance, for his ordina y garb is a tartan c loak, reaching to the knees, and a very high and shiny

. n hat He does not reside in the clacha , but is on a vis it to to friends, and has much ask and to tell, but the i v nter iew is interrupted, for the street grows clamorous with the shouts o f th e young generation wh o are fo llo wm g ‘ N M D o u all o ne o f annie g , the last licensed beggars in c Ayrshire, who, being lame, is arried from door to door in - a hand barrow . Her present bearers are unwilling, a nd to o c ’ bump mu h for her comfort, and as Nannie s r to emonstrances are not savoury the ears, we to o will t “ ” ake the opportunity of saying Farewell .

T H E E N D . ‘ L EGEN DS F OM T H o r m A R E L N s .

B ' N a m de Pl u m e ROBERT STEUART, .

‘ Dedicated by permission to th e ' F R EARL O OSEBER'.

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS .

” — A cl ever f ot T a l es B ri ti ah Weekl . bo ok o Sc ch . y

” i — r t in t r ower . la s ow H e a l T here is no mis a k g he p G g d .

” f t l —B oo m A n interesting coll ection o a es . k a n . — tron stories constru cted a nd tol with mu ch a bilit . N orthem Good s g , d y

D a il y N ews .

’ A Ride with th e Dea d h a s a h orror of its o wn which hold s th e rea d er s a ttention rivetted a nd it is a greea bl y rel ieved b y th e vivid cha ra cter s ketch ‘ ’ n A st ll m ore rema r a l e stor is A P a ntom Sin . T h e i g . i k b y h T a ra t c o n ception is a thorou ghly wei rd o ne . h e ch c ers in this

rra tive a re d ra wn w t rea t oldn ess a nd tru e to na tu re . s ingu l a r na i h g b , . il l ea er for u rt r work r th T ho se wh o rea d i t w b e g f he f om e same h a nd .

—Scotti sh L ea d er .

r seem to s eak a nd a ct of th eir own a c or -Kels o Th e cha ra cte s p c d .

Ch roni cle.

l r nd m o t interestin vol u me A ra re thorou gh y esh , a s g ' , f t ndividu a lit of its o wn Th e l e en s a re b o ok h a s a di stinc i y . g d

ol d T h e a stora l s one a nd all a re a lm o st er ect. a dmira bl y t . p , , p f - t m a rk a il Free P ress . T h e book will ma ke i s . D y

n w H u m ou r a thos ob servatio , a nd no l edge of th e t es a n d sh a es , p , k yp d r r ea l ed in th e l e end s a nd a stora l s t e o f na tional cha ra cter a e ev g p ke ch s . - t l vol u me for th e winter fi resid e. cotsma n I t i s a ca pi a S .

Th e au thor ex h ibits n o littl e dra ma tic power in th e devel opment of mou r t o n Fu ll of tra i c interest. H u o a d a h is stories . g , , t n of th e Scott1sh c a ra cter a dd vr ou r to th ese l e en s shrewd percep io h , g g d , with their cl ever tou ches of th e ma nners a nd ha bits of thou ght o f i n We a re su re to ea r m ore of a writer wh o a pa st genera t o . h ” — ll nt u r ose . H a ddin ton shire Cou rier . ca n wiel d h is pen to su ch ex ce e p p g

w ll verse in Scottis cu stoms of a h u ndred ea rs a o Th e a u thor is e d h y g , t tou th e rt of a n c om a triot wh o rea d s a nd ren d ers th e Doric s o a s o ch e h a y p H e wil l not b e l on in a inin th e sym a t etic a tten th e boo . g g g p h k ” — i M i l a l . m en . a tion o f h is cou ntry D y t ir rea ers rom th e r B ook s which ha ve th e po wer of tra nsporting he d f i tt n h em d own Wit n th e l oca le o f o wn immedia te su rrou ndings a nd s e i g t hi i b ou nd i n L e end s l r . Su c a o o s to e th e story a re su re to b e popu a h b k f ’ i es a coll ection of s ort 8 ories f L oth an s b R o bert Steu a rt. I t g v h rom th e i , y u s etc es a re o wer u l l d ra ma tic in t e r conce tio n which thou gh b t k h , p f y h i , — tu res ot of l oca l t a nd c ara cter. G. A . Sa in a nd present vivid pic b h i y h ” J ou rna l .

h blisher: o this volum e. Copies of a bove work ma y be ha d from t e P u f

HOUGH the house of James Manson in Burns Street has been indicated as that in which B urns

initia tl o n 1 had his nto Freemasonry, it is but fair to state that some are o f Opinion that this ceremony took place in the hall in Sandgate where the meetings o f th e

debating society were held, and also the dancing classes

attended by the poet . This hall, having a brewhouse to o f beneath it, was an adjunct the tavern John Richard , was o f which the third house from the corner Sandgate,

Mo nt omerie the entrance to as in g Street, and it, as well

to th r f e uppe flat o the tavern, was by a narrow close

opening from the latter street . The present outside stair

ff . at that time turned in a di erent direction, and led

c directly into this close . Above the hall was an atti ,

where the chest containing the Masonic insignia was kept . ’ It is certain that the Masonic Lodge St . David s did

meet in this building, but whether during the period in it ’ which was united with St . James s , at which time f Burns became a member, is a point di ficult if not impossible to decide in the absence of fuller testimony

than that at present obtainable .

A dramatic incident wh ich occurred in the o ld Kirk of Tarbolton, shortly before the Restoration, came to the knowledge o f the Author to o late for insertion in its 1 3 1

i n t s e o rve . proper place, but i ter sting enough dese notice

a r de raved While Peden was teaching in the parish, p woman of the place brought an accusation against him

as foul as it was groundless, preferring it before the Presbytery at the time they were about to license him as

a preacher . He solemnly protested his innocence, but of course the proceedings were stopped fo r further ih to of quiry. Returning the parish in great distress mind, to of a he retired a spot, near Wynford on the water F il, Alto nbu rn not far from his school premises at , and there

- A - spent twenty four hours agonising in prayer. year l a ater, the woman still adhering to her story and h ving e b sworn to its truth , Mr Ped n was excommunicated y o n the Presbytery, and, the Sabbath following, Mr to Guthrie, the parish minister, was about read the sentence to his congregation when a voice called “ H alt

and a man , starting up, declared that he was the guilty

havrn to party, g induced his paramour fasten the blame on Mr Peden by representing that the latter would be fo r better able to provide her, than he himself could .

The culprit had fled to Ireland, but his conscience had

n so troubled him that he could remain there o longer, and he had thus returned very opportunely fo r clearing the

character of the young cleric . Tradition says that the m woman afterwards married very unhappily, and so e years later committed suicide at the very spot where the victim of her slander had so fervently besought God to make

his innocence apparent .