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www.DDSR.com BURNS CHRONICLE INCORPORATING "THE BURNSIAN"

Official Publication of The Burns Federation

VOLUME 3 (NEW SERIES) AUGUST 1993 NUMBER 1

PRICE: £1.70 'that greatest of benevolent institutions established in honour of Robert Burns'. - Glasgow Herald. The National Burns Memorial Homes, Mauchline, Ayrshire Created for Deserving Old People - as the most fitting Memorial to Robert Burns

EIGHTEEN of these comfortable houses, built at Mauchline, in the heart of the Burns Country, are occupied by deserving old folks, carefully selected from all quarters. Many of the Cottagers left tied houses on retirement with nowhere else to stay. There are no irksome restrictions. They have their own key, their own furniture if they so desire, come and go as they please, and have their own friends calling on them as they wish. The whole aim and object of the scheme is to allow the Cottagers to continue the enjoyment of the quiet comfort of their 'ain fireside' in ideal surroundings. The amenities of the Homes are constantly being improved and added to, and for this purpose MONEY IS ALWAYS REQUIRED WILL YOU PLEASE HELP by sending a donation to : A. J. Campbell, Secretary, Mitchells Roberton George House, 36 North Hanover Street, Glasgow G1 2AD Tel. 041-552-3422

- BURNS CHRONICLE INCORPORATING "THE BURNSIAN" Contents President Charles Kennedy ...... Page 3 Alexander Mclachlan 1818-1896 (The Robert Bums of Canada) ...... 4 The Robert Bums Inn ...... 13 Burns was a Failure ...... 15 Reopening Ceremony at Mauchline Bums House ...... 17 Upon That Night ...... 22 The Building of the Wauchope Cairn ...... 26 The Opinion Page ...... 30 Grange Academy Triumph ...... 31 Presentation to James Glass, MA ...... 32 Obituaries ...... 34 Book Review ...... 35 Editor: PETERJ. WESlWOOD 28 Stranka Avenue, Paisley, PA2 9DW Tel: 041-887-4777 Editorial Consultant: Professor RAYMOND GRANT University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. Advertising: JAMES GIBSON Craigowan Cottage, 28 Brewlands Road, Symington, Ayrshire. Tel: 0563-830312 The Bums Federation does not accept any responsibility for statements made or opinions expressed in the Bums Chronicle or The Burnsian. Contributors are responsible for articles signed by them; the Editorisresponsible for articles initialed or signed by him, as well as for those unsigned. Articles, photographs, items for review and ail correspondence should be addressed and forwarded to the Editor at the above address. Articles offered should be in typescript with double spacing and on the one side of the sheet. A stamped addressed envelope should be forwarded for return of articles and photographs. © BURNS FEDERATION

1 CHARLES KENNEDY PRESIDENT of the BURNS FEDERATION 1992-1993 Charles Kennedy was born in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, and worked for 22 years as a coal-miner prior to qualifying as a Primary Schoolteacher_ It was Charles, most of all, within the membership ofBowhi11 People's Bums Club, who persuaded members to attend Annual Conferences of the Bums Federation, where many have found that fraternal joy in meeting fellow Burnsians and learned more about the Federation's objectives towards commemorating Robert Bums in the National and International ideals he envisaged. Charles has been the Fife District Representative to the Bums Federation for 11 years, and proved himself to be a loyal and enthusiastic supporter of its principles and most of its causes, amongst which many will knowofhisadvocacy, which led to the publishing of The Complete Works ofRobert Burns, which was compiled by James Mackay on behalf ofthe Federation, and the Activity Resources Learning Pack for Schools, Colleges and Clubs. His unremitting devotion and service towards the Schools Competitions organised through the Bums Federation is appreciated by those involved, but what may not be so well known is his exhortations locally towards participation not only in the Federation Competition but also those organised by himself on behalf ofthe Bowhill People's Bums Club, of which he has been a memberfor approximately 44 years having served some ofthat time as secretary_ Charles has many other interests. He is a life-member and fully certificated teacher of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society, which has led to his taking dance teams and groups to several European Cultural Festivals, including a month-long tour of the former USSR. He has taught Scottish Country Dancing many times in the USA,Japan, Canada and Europe. With such width of human contact he came to organise Cultural visit exchanges from European countries, including a 70-member orchestra from Czechoslovakia to visit various venues throughout Scotland. Charles has exploited his District Representative status to achieve locally and in contiguous areas inter-club meetings whereby friendships and mutual knowledge of R~bert Bums and his works have been enhanced to an extent greater than most ever envisaged possible, all recognising a debt to him as the catalyst. One of the many congratulatory messages received during his presidency was a personal visit to his home from that grand old man of Scottish Dance Band Music -Jimmy Shand whom Charles had first met some 40 years previously.

NOVEMBER ISSUE The November issue of the Burns Chronicle will include articles by James Mackay, MA "Ellisland Today", David McClure "James Armour - A Pretty Considerable Mason" and "Bums's Influence on Canadian Writers" by Elizabeth Waterston, University of Guelph. The recent Calgary Conference will again be featured pictorially in the "Burnsian" together with an announcement about the recently launched whisky sensation -"Alloway Legend". Rememberthe magazine is only available by subscription - price in the United Kingdom £8 for four issues inclusive of post. Full details available from the Federation Office, Kilmarnock. BI -CENTENARY FUND - STAMP APPEAL Burnsians at home and particularly overseas can help swell the Federation's Bi-Centenary Fund by collecting used foreign postage stamps. The used stamps will eventually be sold to collectors with the proceeds going towards the Fund. The stamps should be sent to myself at the following address - 28 Stranka Avenue, Paisley. PA2 9DW, Scotland. All contributions will be acknowledged in this magazine. The following have so far sent stamps for the Fund:- Mrs. Outi Pickering, Finland. Charles Wilson, South Africa. Urs Kalberer of the Swiss Bums Society. May Dickie, Australia, The Robert Bums Club of Milwaukee, USA, Marion Allan, Australia, Jessie Gray, Australia. John Maclean, USA, Peter Rodger, Fife. EDITOR 3 2 Alexander Mclachlan (1818-1896) The Robert Burns of Canada

W. Watson Buchanan and Walter F. Kean

A national literature is an essential element in the formation ofnational character. It is not merely the record ofa country's mental progress: it is the expression of intellectual life, the bond of national unity and the guide of national energy. ' Reverend Edward Hartley Dewart (1) In his introductory essay to the first anthology of Canadian poets in 1864, the Reverend Edward Dewart (1) considered Alexander Mclachlan as one who deserved special recognition and a place of honour among the 'pioneer bards ofBritish Canada who have laid the foundations of our poetic literature in the face of many discouragements'. Indeed, Dewart considered' It no empty laudation to call him "the Bums of Canada". In racy humour, in natural pathos and in graphic portraiture of character, he will compare favourably with the great peasant bard. In moral grandeur and beauty he strikes higher notes than ever echoes from the harp of Bums'. One would notgo as far as the latter statementofthe Reverend Dewart, which was also the view of William Campbell (2) at the tum of the century, but nevertheless it seems reasonable to examine the poetic worth of this Scottish-born bard, who is virtually unknown in his native land and perhaps underrated today in his adopted country.

Biographical Sketch Alexander Sutherland, a native of Sutherland shire Alexander Mclachlan was born in Johnstone, and a Cameronian covenanter. There is no record the Brig 0 Johnstone, in Renfrewshire, Scotland, of whether the poet's mother spoke Gaelic, but if in 1818. His father, Charles Mclachlan, was an not, then her father almost certainly did. This intelligent, well-informed mechanic, possessed of grandfather became the head of his daughter's considerable literary ability, who participated in household when her husband, Charles, left for the temperance and Chartist agitations of his time Canada. (3), as did his son Alexander as described ... Alexander had great love and admiration for humourously in his poem The Glasgow chap's his stern old grandfather, despite his bigotry and story; or confessions over a bottle (4). Charles intolerance as indicated in the poem, My Mclachlan emigrated to Canada in the 1830s and Grandfather and his Bible. It was probably his was among the early pioneers of the township of grandfather's view of religion that made young Caledon, Peel County, Ontario some twenty Alexander question his own religious beliefs. In kilometres north of Toronto. Upper Canada, now hisjohn Tamson 'sAddress to the Clergy in Scotland, Ontario, was settled with immigrants largely from there is clear criticism of a church concerned only lowland Scotland by the Canada Company, founded with the people's soul and none for their physical by the Irvine-born novelist, John Galt (5). Galt left well-being, reminiscent of the modem Gaelic poem Canada in 1829, after the Canada Company ran Ban-Ghaidheal by Somhairle MacGhillEathain. into financial difficulties. There is no record that Similar thoughts are also to be found in Charles Mclachlan was in any way involved in McLachlan'sjohn Fraser's Farewell to the Church migrating to Canada as a result of John Galt's 0/ Scotland: company, butitissurprisingthathissonAlexander never mentions Galt in any of his poems But tho' thou coultist teach man to suffer­ considering the fact that his fellow-Scot played To suffer and even to die! such a major role in the history of Canada. Yet now human nature had longings Charles Mclachlan was accompanied to And wants that thou coultist not supply. Canada by his brother Daniel and the latter's wife and children. Both established farms in the It is almost certain that the grandfather would township of Caledon, Ontario. Charles left his wife imbue young Alexander with highland legend and and children in Scotland, and, having established song, and presumably account for such poems as a home, he became a machinist in Paterson, New Charloch Ban, The Death ofEvan Dhu, and Donald Jersey, on his way back home via New York. The Ban in The Emigrant, and the denunciation of the poet's mother was Jane Sutherland, daughter of Dukes of Sutherland, Athol and Breadalbane for 4 Portrait 0/Alexander McLachlan in later years. His appearance is not unlike that o/hisgreat contemporary, 17lomas Carlyle.

5 their cruelties inOicted on their own clansmen at cousin Clam ina, who was commemorated in an the c1earanc . elegy on her death, although apparently surviving the poet (6): Tell Sutherland, heidI mighty duke, Tell Athol, without/earing, o wae/It' weird Inoo maun dree; The deevil keeps a black account, A weary, weary wight I'll be; Against them for their clearing. Oh, would that I had died with thee, My loved, my lost Clam ina! And dinna let Breadalbane sliP; Loch and his tribe besel them; In 1844, the poet boughta bush farm in Downie We've nae use/or a deil ava, township, Perth county, Ontario. Th ree years later, I/Ihal he dislla gel them. he removed to another farm in North Easthopc, in the same country. There, he cleared some twenty Wh n his father left for Canada, Alexander acres, but like his idol Bums, he found he was no began work in a cotton factory and then later as a farmer and so old it, and moved to Erin township, tailor in Glasgow. There is no record of the extent Wellington county, where he lived till 1877. There, of his formal education, but in view of the fact that Mclachlan devoted himself to reading, writing th family was poor, it is likely he went to work at and lecturing, while eking out a livelihood at his an early age. Perusal of his poetry, however, former profession of tailoring. His lecturing was suggests an extensive knowledge of literature, if done largely under the au pices of the Mechanics' we are to believe such lines in Companionship in Institutes. Books.

And Homer and Sir Walter Scott - They elller'd ill my humble cot, Alld cheer'd with tales my lowly lot.

And Burns came singing sOllgs devill e, His heart and soul in ev'ry line - A glorious compallY was mille!

I was a brother to the great - hakespeare himself 011 me did wail, With leaves torn from Ihe book offate.

Moreover, there are echoes of the great English poets, Wordsworth and Keats respectively, in poem such as TIle Pines:

While through the screell 0/ goldell green A mystic spirit shines.

And also in To a humming bird:

Inscription 011 McLachlan's tombstone. TIlOu'rt 110 thing 0/ mortal birth­ Far too beautiful/or earth. In 1862, Mclachlan was appointed the Canadian government lecturer and emigration A a public lecturer in later life, Mclachlan agent for Canada in Scotland. Thi was quite an would recite hake speare while acting the achievement for omeone who was largely _elf­ character at the same time. In addition, he would educated. There is evidence that Mclachlan had recite Coleridge' A'lcient Mariller, helley's impressed eveal influential people including his Skylark and Cloud, and, of cour e, the poetry of brother poet, Hon. Thoma D'Arcy McGee. then a Bum . member of the anadian Cabinet and ignatoryof In 1840, Alexander emigrated to Canada and the Confederation in 1 67, and Profe r Jamt:~ took po se sion of hi father' farm in Caledon, George, a Pre byterian mini ter and Vice Principal but old it the following year. He married his of Queen' College, King ton, to whom Th, 6 Emigrant alld Other Poems, published in 1861, was dedicated. Mclachlan had many friends and admirers, who raised a large sum of money to have his poems published in 1874. During his latter years, Mclachlan became recognis d as a man of letters by the readers of American literature and his papers includ d many autographed letters from such writers as Thoreau, Emerson and Longfellow, and the physician-philosopher Oliver Wendellllomes (7). In 1877, Mclachlan moved again to another farm in the township of Amaranth, Dufferin County. There, in 1895, he lost his son, Alexander, who had managed the farm. Later in the same year, the poet bought a substantial brick house on Elizab th St. Orangeville,and died there suddenly, 20 March 1896. I Ie was buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery to the east of Orangeville, a monument having been erected by his friends and not as he had gloomily predicted in Cartha Agaill:

In agrave o'the/orest, wlzellli/e'sjoumey'spast, Ullknowll and Imhonor'd they'll lay me at last; Abulle me nae bluebell nor gowan shall wave, A/ld /lae robin come to sing over my grave. Plaque 011 wall 0/ the library in Orangeville commemorating 'The Robbie Burns o/Canada". Personal J\ppearance equality to all races, including the Indians, which Contemporaries describe Mclachlan as being was unusual at thi period in North America. of above average heightand of medium weight. He Susanna Moodie (9), an emigrant Englishwoman was good company, full of anecdote and repartee, and contemporary of Mclachlan, had high praise and had a good sense of humour. He enjoyed for the Indians in Ontario. 'There never was a smoking and spoke with a broad Scot accent. He people more sensible ofkindne s, or more grateful had sparkling, deep-set blue eyes and a noble for any little act of benevolence exercised towards brow, not unlike his great Scotti h contemporary, them. We met them with confidence: our dealing Thomas Carlyle. with them were conducted with the strictest integrity, and they became attached to ourpersons, Canadian Poetry and in no single instance ever de troyed the good opinion we entertained of them'. As might be expected, Mclachlan's poetry McLachan preferred the imple life of the abounds in scenes of pioneer life. Mclachlan country, a indicated in Far in the Forest Shade: himselfcannotbeconsidered in the lrictestsen e a pioneer, for when he arrived in Canada in 1840, Far in the/orest shade, he took over a farm already established by his Free as the deer to roam, father, although he did clear some bush later Where ne'er a /ellce is laid, when he established a farm for him elf. His long I'll search me out a home. poem Tile Emigrantdescribes the sorrowofleaving the homeland and the problems of establishing a To Mclachlan, there are only Sighs ill the City: log cabin and farm . The Indian battle in this poem is reminiscent of the American novelist Fenimore Wearily my days are past, Cooper's (1789-1851) The Last o/the MohicOlzs. It For my heavy lot is cast, hould be noted that after 1840, there were no hz the crowded city vast. Indian wars in Ontario; indeed, the la t Indian upri ing, led by an Ottawa chief, Pontiac, had been How my spirit longs to be in 1763 (8). Fro 111 th is dreary prison /ree - In another poem, To all Indian Skull, he give Oh, the laughing meads for me. 7 Far in the city, Mammon dwells:

Far /rom those who buy and sell I will seek the quiet dell­ Lonely ones, with you to dwell!

Where no wordling soils the sod I'll live in your green abode - One with Nature one with God.

In the country, man must prove his worth by honest labour (Acres o/his own):

Honest labour thou woulds't shirk? Thou art /ar too good /or work? Such gentility's a fudge - True men all must toil and trudge. Nature's true nobility Scorns such mock gentility. Fools but talk o/blood and birth - Every man must prove his worth. Up, be stirring, be alive. Get upon a/arm and thrive. He's a king upon a throne Who has acres o/his own! The 19th century This democratic egalitarianism is a constant Glasgow street character, theme in his praise of his adopted land and voiced William Cameron, better in The man who rose /rom nothing, and Young known by his sobriquet Hawkie, Canada or Jack's as good's his master: was an abusive dwarf with a turn /or /our languages. I love this land 0//orest grand The land where labor's free; Set others roam away /rom home, And Jack's as good's his master. Be this the land/or me! With sentiments such as these, it is only to be Where no one moils and strains and toils That snobs may thrive and/oster, assumed that Mclachlan would have been an But all are/ree as men should be, extremely effective emigration agent in his native And Jack's as good's his master! land. However, despite his frequently expressed political credo of the equality of man and liberal Where none are slaves that lordly knaves democracy, it is surprising that he mak.es no May idle all the year; reference to the iII·fated rebellion in Ontario of a For rank and casts are o/the past­ fellow Scot William Lyon MacKenzie, in 1837. Nor They'll never flourish here! does he ev~r make reference to the achievement of his otherfellow Scot, Sir John A Macdonald, in And Jew and Turk, i/he71 but work Need never fear disaster; creating the Confederation of Canada in 1867. It He reaps the crop he sowed in hope, may have been unwise to have sided wi~ the r.ebel For Jack's as good's his master. MacKenzie and perhaps Sir John's polItical VIews were too right wing for Mclachlan. Our aristorcracy 0/ toil The beauties of the Canadian countryside are Have made us what you see extolled in such poems as May, Autumn, Day, TI,e nobles o/the/orge and soil, Sunset, Morning, Dawn, The Song o/the Sun, The With ne'er a pedigree. Early Bluebird, Indian summer, Bobolink (the.reed It makes one /eel himself a man; bird Dolichonyx oryzivorus for the ornitholOgists), His very blood leaps/aster, To a humming-iJird, October, May Morning ~d perhaps his best Whip-poor-Will (another bird, Where wit or worth's preferred to birth, Caprimulgus vocijerus): 8 There is a lonely spirit Lovely birds ofgorgeous dye That wanders through the wood, Flitted 'mong the branches high, And tells its mournful story Color'd like the setting sun, In ev'ry solitude. But were songless ev'ryone. It comes abroad at eventide, And hangs beside the rill, The fact that the birds were mute is used by And munnurs to the passer-by, Atwood as evidence that McLachlan is Whip-poor-Will! Whip-poor-Will. unaccustomed to the sounds they make, as if he were listening to Oriental music for the first time. Oh! 'tis a hapless sPirit, It is certainly true that British birds are more In likeness ofa bird- tuneful, although less colourful than the American A grief that cannot utter birds. Poems such as Whip-poor-Will, however, Another woeful word - completely destroy Atwood's argument. Any A soul that seeks for sympathy­ reading of McLachlan's poetry reveals a A woe that won't be still - Wordsworthianawe of the good of Nature. Atwood A wand'ring sorrow munnuring, (10) also cites Susanna Moodie (11) as feeling a Whip-poor-Will! Whip-poor-Will. hopeless imprisonment by Nature. 'At that period my love for Canada was a feeling very nearly aI\ied There are also eulogies of towns, such as to that which the condemned criminal entertains Elora, and provinces, Ontario, and one poem on for his cell- his only hope of escape being through the national emblem, the maple leaf. There are the portals of the grave.' Susanna Moodie, however, references to the beauties ofthe Canadian autumn, also extols the beauty ofthe Canadian countryside but these are surprisingly few, as in October and (12) and what she suffered was simple Indian Summer: homesickness. 'I felt that 1 was a stranger in a strange land; my heart yearned intensely for my Young October's reign was splendid, absent home'. Margaret Atwood should heed the Old and sear, her glory's ended, advice ofAlexan~er Pope and 'Drink deep, or taste And, to gild her fall, not the Pierian spring'. Thou descendist on Nature hoary, With a spiritual glory Scottish Poetry That surpasseth all - A glory that no other land Mclachlan penned more than five dozen poems on various Scottish themes, most of which Has ever seen, howe'er so grand were in Scots or Lallans. However, in his address Its lakes or woods may be - to his native land, Scot/and, he chose to write in A glory even bards of old English: Were not pennitted to behold In climes beyond the sea. Ah! we may leave our mountains high, Our grand old hills of heather, There is a striking absence of references to Yet song's the tie, the sacred tie, the animal fauna of Canada: bears, wolves, racoons, Which binds our hearts together. squirrels and chipmunksgetfew, ifany, references, and there is no mention at all of that remarkable However, in defining the CaledonianAntisyzgy Canadian rodent, the beaver, now the national of The Scot, he chose Scots and the Standard mascot. The industry of the beaver might have Habbie ('Antisyzgy' is a term introduced by a been expected to have excited the bard, or at least literary critic, Gregory Smith, to describe the its historical importance in developing the fur paradoxical multiformity of the Scots, meaning trade. Instead, Mclachlan eulogizes his Old Hoss the refusal of Scots to be yoked together in a and his old dog, Auld Towser. team): MargaretAtwood, in a seminal thematic guide to Canadian literature (10), argues that the only A man 0' passionate convictions season in Canada as far as poets are concerned is A mixture queer 0' contradictions, winter, and that Nature is generally regarded as Big, liberal, but wi'stern restrictions; frightening. Indeed, she quotes Mclachlan as Yet, at the core, being estranged from Nature in his poem The Emigrant: To a' mankind wi benedictions His heart rins o'er.

9 , j Nostalgia for his happy boyhood days in It is apparent from reading his poems in Scots Scotland are recollected in several poems: that McLachlan had a rich vocabulary and that the Recollections of Clydeside, Awakened memories of works came easily and naturally to him, as in hisA Scotia, Paisley Abbey, A vision ofboyhood, Curling lang-heidit laddie: song, Mark White, Sing me that song again, The wee laddie's summer day, When we were boys thegither, Alane by the burn-sides he reenges lor hours, Past and present, Auld granny Broon, Old Adam, And he kens a' aboot the wee birdies and/low'rs; The Warlock 0' GryfJe, The Sempilliords, and Lang He's afJ ere the cock crows, awa'tae the braes, syne. McLachlan regrets in particular the loss of And he stays oot among them lor haill simmer Scottish celebrations, as in Halloween and The days, Passing ofjollity: To talk wi' the peesweep and lane cusha-4oo He's a won'er/u'laddie, and like him are lew. The joyous ways ofyouthful days No more abroad are known; One wonders how many lang-heidit Oiterally With rock and reel and spinning wheel, 'long-headed' or 'clever') laddies at school in They're gone, forever gone. Johnstone today would know the meaningof'cusha­ The Maypole gay has pass'd away, doo'. McLachlan probably would have found little The dance upon the green - use for William Graham's The Scots Word Book And Hogmanay, and New Year's day, (13), which is now indispensable for modem-day And joyous Hallowe'en. Scots, and The Talking Scots Quiz Book (14), ridiculously easy, emphasizing the tragic decline Despite his desire to see his Scotland before in Scots as a language in the past century. he dies, as in Gaun Hame, he appreciates he can McLachlan's Scottish patriotism comes never return to the land of his birth, as in / winna through in The Knight ofEllerslie where he hails gang hame, and even ifhe does find his 'native vale the 'Sacred shine of Wallace wight!' the same' in Scotland revisited or the Wanderer's return, there are no relatives to greet him 'and Who in oppression's darkest night very few that kent me'. The one thing that cannot Was ever foremost in the fight die, however, are the Scottish literary immortals That Scotland might be/ree. in his Memories ofScottish literature: ... However, his patriotic fervor does not blind The vision has vanish'd, him to Scotland's shortcomings, as in Past and the shadows are gane, Present: And yet, belov'd thistle, we arena alane: Look to your list 0' black transgressions, These are the immortals Deceits, heart-burnings, and oppressions: that never depart: Look to your hordes 0' helpless paupers, They fade to grey visions, You might army 0' street-walkers. but dwell in the heart. 'Old England is eaten by knaves', 'yet her Several ofM cLachlan's poems in Scots belong heart is all right at the core'. The reason for to the kailyaird Oiterally cabbage yard, also a emigration was simply economic, as he explains in derogatory term for poor quality Scottish poetry), The Emigrant: examples being A vision olboyhood, My love is like the lily /lower and jeanie's locks, and several are / love my own country and race, imitative ofBurns, including Poor donkey (albeit in Nor lightly //led/rom them both; English), We're a 'john Tamson's bairns, where he Yet who would remain in a place extols the brotherhood of man, and Poverty's child: With too many spoons lor the broth?

Wee destitute, deserted wean, Not only is he a Scottish patriot, but he is also Cast on the world thy leejU' -lane, a loyal British subject, as in Hallowe'en: To lecht wi' poverty and pain, And nane to guide thee; Ne'er be Fenian jUles amang ye; Nae ane to lead they steps aricht, Stick to country, kirk, and Queen, Or back thee in the weary lecht - And wherever ye may wander, What's to betide thee? Aye keep up auld Hallowe'en!

10 - -I

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tu.··· . . ~- _....;,.' •. -.... -.- -r '" .1'\ _t. -.;a. ~ ..... - "'1')"'" ~ .. "- ~/" I~ ::- . "".~ Farm residence ofAlexander McLachlan in the township ofAmaranth, Dufferin County, Onto Pen-and-ink sketch by Jardine Galloway, lately of St. Catherines, Ontario.

The Anglo-Saxon' 'leads the van', and faith in Perphaps of even greater interest is Auld the power and glory of 'Britannia' remains: Hawkie's Dream, perhaps his best poem in Scots, in which old granny McNab is refused entry to Oh, still have faith in truth devine! heaven by St Peter for being religious only in Still sacred be thy seal and sign, name, but not in deed: And pow'r and glory shall be thine, Britannia! Ye've come to the wrang place, my woman, I fear, Famous Scots are eulogized, especially the Your kind 0' religions 0 nae accoont here. national bard, Robert Bums, who has two poems, Ye ne'er were the woman to lichten the load both in English and both poor. Thomas Carlyle is 0' any puir wretch on life's wearisome road; recognized as a 'Luther of our age', a 'Saul among And, by your ain story, ye lived but a life the people'. King Robert the Bruce is strangely 0' pious pretension, backbiting, and strife. omitted, perhaps because, unlike Wallace, he was not a Renfrewshire man or because his ruthless Conclusion ambition did not appeal to the poet. Gladstone McLachlan, although cited in texts on Mclachlan considered 'a man oftruth', presumably Candaian literature (15, 16), seems unknown in because he shared the poet's political views. the land of his birth, at least as judged by his Glaswegians should be interested in his poem absence from recent anthologies (17) and histories on The King of Glasgow Wits', William Cameron, (18) of Scottish verse. This is surprising, since otherwise known as 'Auld Hawkie'. There is a some of his poetry in Scots rises above the kailyaird. good description of this beloved character in On What comes through is a simplicity and sincerity receiving a portrait ofAuld Hawkie: of a man with a pure heart. Certainly he responded That's Hawkie as he look'd lang syne! to the literary influence ofBums, but this is hardly surprising since he was born only twenty-two In ev'ry feature to the Nine - years after Bums's death. Mclachlan represented The stilt, the staff, the crookit spine, An' creeshy claes; the best of the lowland Scottish immigrant to Canada in the last century. He was honest and The hat, a sair forfochten plug, Aye shining like a pewter mug sincere, and imbued with the Calvinistic work On dreepin' days. ethic. He was also a humanitarian and despite this intense nationalism was also remarkably tolerant

1l of other races, even the despised Indian. His References political views were influenced by the wretched 1. Rev. E. H. Dewart, 'Introductory essay', Selections from condition of the working class in his native land, Canadian Poets (Montreal:]. Lowell,II!64),xiii. 2. W. Campbell, Scottish-Canadian Poetry 1904 -190728, 585- especially in the industrial centers. It is the latter 92. that made him shun city life and seek the simple, 3. E. M. Fulton, Alexander Mclachlan, 1818-1896 (foronto: honest toil of the farmer. There is no shortage of University of Toronto Press, 1974), pp.17.28. 4. A Mclachlan, Lyrics (roronto: A H. Armour and Co. 1858), criticism ofthe evil of city life, as in one of his best pp.54-9. poems We live in a rickety house: 5. H. B. TImothy, The Gaits: A Canadian Odyssey, Joh. Galt, 1779-1839 (roronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1977). 6. Fulton, Alexander Mclachlan, p. 18. We live in a n'ckety house 7. ibid., p. 26. In a dirty dismal street 8. W. I.. Morton, The Kingdom ofCanada. Agentr.1 historyfrom Where the naked hide from day earliest times. (roronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1963), p. 150. And thieves and drunkards meet: 9. S. Moodie, Roughing It In the Bush, New Canadian library No. 31, (roronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1962), p. 155. McLachlan may have been an idealist, 10. M. Atwood, Survival: A thematic guide to C.nadj.nliterature believing in an innocent classless society, devoid (roronto: House of Anansi Press Ud., 1972). 11. Moodie Roughing It In the Bush, p. 100. of hypocrisy and double-dealing, which lead to 12. ibid., pp. 22-3. modern success. His concept of Canada as a land 13. W. Graham, The Scots Word Book (Edinburgh: The Ramsay of Utopian cooperation may be naive, but not Head Press, 1977). 14. W. Graham, The Talking Scots Quiz Book (Ayr: Alloway where energy and merit are rewarded and where Publishing, 1981). there is no unfair competition by birth. That he is 15. A J. M. Smith, Towards a View o/Canadi.n Sellers: Selected critical essays 1928-1971 (Vancouver: University of British an equal of, and even better than Burns, claimed Columbia Press, 1973), pp. 42-5. by Dewart (1) and reiterated by Campbell (2), is 16. R. Gustafson, The Penguin Book of Canadian Verse (New clearly untrue. McLachlan is a minor poet, but one York: Penguin Books, 1977), pp. 45-6. 17. J. MacQueen andT. Scott, The Oxford Book a/Scottish V"'t who should be recognized in both Scotland and (Glasgow: Oxford University Press, 1975). Canada, especially the latter. For McLachlan is 18. M. tindsay, History of Scottish Literature (London: Robert also of sociological and historical interest in that Hale Ud., 1977). he represents the thoughts and aspirations of a Scottish emigrant to Canada in the last century. If for no more than this, he is worthy of study.

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12 THE ROBERT BURNS INN

AN AFfERNOON OF PAGEANTRY AND MEMORIES

BY ANNE COOPER

Sounds of Scottish music greeted visitors as they queued to enter the Forreston C.F.S. grounds on 21 March 1993 for the "North Gumeracha Revisited" event. After collecting a 4-page souvenir pro­ gramme, they were busy renewing friendships of yester-year, before Richard Garnham (Chairman) formally introduced Ken Hanna to unveil the plaque commemorating "The Roberl Burns Inn and Settlement of Kirkwood". Ken gave a short history of the Inn and ownership of the land from 1848 up to the present owners Andrew and Andrea Cooper. Ken together with his children, Mark, Cathryn and Shane Hanna, and also his three sisters, Joan Nancarrow, Betty Smith and Kath Wicks were proud to remember their father and grandfather, Les Hanna (who was born in the Inn in 1881). Two pipers and a drummer gave a stirring rendition of Scottish music, preceding the unveiling of the plaque. Mr. Basil Hoyle (Past President of the Robert Bums Society of South Australia) resplendent in his clan kilt, carrying a steaming haggis, was piped to the commemorative stone where Dr. Gordon Greig, also in his clan kilt, gave The Address to the Haggis' - a much revered and loved poem by Robert Bums. Ian Jamieson, who grandfather William Jamieson was born in the Inn in ~861, capably launched the Time Capsule. The crowd of approximately 240 were delighted with the intricate steps of the Highland Dancing Girls, accompanied by the traditional tunes of the bagpipes. HISTORY OF THE ROBERT BURNS INN During the past 150 years there has been a multitude of people living in the Forreston area but not in sufficient numbers to warrant the opening of numerous hotels, as was the case in so so many areas, particularly during the mining eras. However, Forreston did have its public house. From 1851 until the end of 1857 The Robert Bums Inn was a prominent meeting place for the area. It was located about 3 miles north of Forreston, on the right hand side of the Williamstown Road, travelling north, situated on Section 6001, Hundred of Talunga, directly opposite the present Forreston Country Fire Services Station at the Watts Gully Road junction. The building pictured overleaf was of wattle and daub construction with a thatched roof. It consisted of two main sections, one of the public house and meeting room, the other the sleeping quarters. The picture of the Inn is that from a painting of 1907 by Daisy Hanna. A coloured copy of the original painting is in the Forreston Memorial Hall. The first licence was granted to Thomas Miller on 20 March 1851. On 8 December 1851 this was tranferred to John Williams, who returned it to Thomas Miller on 15 April 1852. The next licensee was John Osborne from 26 March 1856, and William Day the last - from 26 March 1857 until end of 1857. All of the settled area to the north of Gumeracha was then known as North Gumeracha, until Forreston was established in 1858 by Alexander Forrest with the sale of housing blocks created from Section 6026. However, it is of interest to record that the area surrounding the Robert Bums Inn was known as KIRKWOOD where there existed at the time a small township, comprising a blacksmith, wheelwright, carpenter, store, sawmill, doctor, mid-wife and a legal practitioner. It is not known how it received this name. Today, nothing remains of these buildings. William Jamieson (1861) and Les Hanna (1881) were born at the Robert Bums Inn. On 7 June 1851 the Commissioners for Roads, the fore-runner of the District Council ofTalunga 13 (later Gumeracha) used the Robert Burns Inn for the ftrst time for one of their meetings. From that date the Commissioners alternated their meetings between there and the Mount Torrens Inn, a practi e which continued for several years. The Inn as also the site for the inaugural meeting 'Sf the Gumeracha Farmers Society in 1851, an organisation which was to continue for more than thirty-ftve years. Monthly meetings were held at the Inn for a number of years until other premises were found in Gumeracha. Following the annual Ploughing Matches held at Forreston, the competitors and their friend were erved the evening meal at the Inn, followed by the speeches and presentation of the trophies. The Press of the time contain very interesting reports of some of those special occasions held in that building. For all its somewhat remote setting, the Robert Bums Inn obviously fulfilled a need at the time.

Members 0/ the Robert Bums Society 0/ South Australia present at the Dedication of the Plaque commemorating the/onller Robert Bums Inn. President Marioll MacAulayjollllston is pictured ill thejront row, third/rom the lef/. 14 *AMERICAN WRITER SAYS:- BURNS WAS A FAILURE

American writer Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915), founder of the Roycrofters and author of ':4. Message to Garcia" and the "Little Journeys" series, wrote the following about the Bard: 111e business of Robert Bums wa love-making. All love is good, but some kinds of love are better than others. Through Bums' penchant for falling in love we have hi songs. A Burns bibliography is simply a record of hi s love-affairs, and the spasms of repentance that followed his lapses are made manifest in religious verse. Bum succeeded in his love-making and succeeded in poetry, but at evelything else he was a fai lure. He failed as a farmer, a father, a friend, in society, as a husband, and in business. From his twenty-third year his days were passed in sinning and repenting. Poetry and love-making hould be carried on with caution; they form a terrific tax on life's forces. Most poets die young, not becau e the gods especially love them, but because life is a bank-account, and to wipe out your balance is to have your checks protested. The exces s of youth are drafts payable at maturity. Chalt rton dead ateighteen, Keats at twenty-six, Shelley at thirty-three, Byron at thirty-six, Poe at forty, and Bums at thirty-seven, are the rule. When drafts made by the men mentioned became due, there was no balance to their credit and Charon beckoned. Most life-insurance companies now ask the applicant this Question, "Do you write poetry to xcess?" Shakespeare, to be sure, clung to life until he was ftfty-tJ1ree, but this seems to be the limit. Dickens and Thackeray, their candles well burned out, also died under sixty. Of cour e, I know that Browning, Tennyson, Morris and Bryant lived to a fair old age, but this was on borrowed time, for in the early life of each there was a hiatus of from ten to eighteen years, when the men never wrote a line, nor touched a drop of anything, bravely eschewing all honey from Hymettus. Then the four men last named were all happily married, and married life is favourable to longevity, but not to poetry. As a rule only single men, or those unhappily married make money, cultivate content, and evolve an aldermanic front; bu t love and poetry are symptoms of unrest. Thu is Emerson's proposition partially proven, that in life all things are bought and must be paid for with a price - even succe s and happiness. 'TI,e above article appeared in the May 1993 issue ofthe "Bums Club Newsletter" the official organ of the Burns Club ofAtlanta. BICENTENARY DONATION

Presidmt Charles Kennedy receiving a chequefor £113jrom Douglas Owells, President ofMauch line Burns Club, also pictured are Secretary Douglas Lyell, MA and Dr John StrawhoTil of the Mauchline Club. TI,e DOllatiOIl goes towards the Federations' Bicentenary Fund. 15 VISITORS TO ELLISIAND FARM

All hal/tis to the Plough - Members of Glasgow Masonic Burns Club pictured outside the famlhouse at Ellis/and prior to a visit to the many haunts of Robert Burns in Dumfries.

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16 ~~~~~II · Reopening Ceremony at Mauchline Burns House

Burns House Museum Mauchline has been officially reopened after two years by Lord Lieutenant of Ayrshire and Arran, Major Richard Henderson, T.D. The ceremony began at Mauchline Parish Church Hall where visitors were welcomed by Past President of the Burns Federation, George Anderson of the Glasgow Burns Association. The Lord Lieutenant unveiled a special plaque in the Church hall before it was transferred to the museum. Members of Glasgow and District Burns Association, Mauchline Burns Club, Cumnock and Doon Va lley District Council and Strathclyde Regional Council were among those taking part in the ceremony, with

Below: The plat/onn party at the official re-opening o[ Mauchline Burns House Museum. Back row, left to right - Past President Enez Anderson, Frank Smith (Glasgow District Preside/It), Past President GeorgeAnderson, Tom Myles, Netta Smith, Rev. Te/ferand David StevellSon (Sec./TreaSltrer Glasgow District). Front row, left to right - President Charles Kennedy, Chairman, Past President Major He'lderson, Mrs. He'lderson, Sir Claud Hagart - Alexander and George Anderson, Lady Alexander. welcoming the Guests.

17 j MAUCHLINE BURNS HOUSE Bailie John Moynes representing the Lord Prov­ o l of Glasgow and Charles Kennedy, President of the Burns Federation. Sir Claud Alexander and official from Glas­ gow and DistrictBurnsAssociation made speeches before local minister Reverend Alan TeUer led a short prayer of thanks. Visitors then enjoyed tea provided by Mauchline Church Guild before go­ ing on a tour of the museum, where ftlrther refreshments were supplied by courtesy of Mauchline Burns Club. Burns House Museum has been totally refur­ bished at a cost of £39,870 which wa just over the contract price. Gen rou financial support came from Cumnock and Ooon Valley District Council and Ayrshire Enterprise. Special thanks go to Sir Claud Alexander, Chairman of the Museum Committee and to Doug­ las lIemmings, fOlmerChiefExecutiveofCumnock and Doon Valley District Council for their upport and advice - true friends in all things Burns, "Gen­ tlemen in words and deeds".

Right- Curatoro/Mauchiine Bums House Museum, Mrsjan Kelso. Our photograph showsjan's delight that the historic building is once more open to the public aj/er major repairs. Below -Past President 0/ the Bums Federation, Enez Anderson presenting a basket o/flowers to Netta Smith, wife o/the Glasgow and District Bums Association President.

18 A Happy Group from Glasgow

Members and friends of the Glasgow and District Association of Burns Clubs pictured outside the Museum after the re-{)pening ceremony. Below· Glasgow President, Frank Smith opening the official proceedings prior to handing over to Past Preside/It of the BurtIS Federation, George Anderson, Chainnan.

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19 Opening 1915 style ...

A group lakelljrom Ihe 500 people who allellded the/ormal opelling o/the buildillg 011 28th August, 1915. TI,e ceremony was per/onlled by Mrs Cowie, wife o/Charles Cowie o/Partickhill who gifted the purchase price 0/ the building. Opening 1969 style ...

011 6th jUlie, 1969 the Bums House Museum was ope lied ill its presellt/oml. Tell years pret'iously the elderly ladies who had lived ill the premises had moved to the jeall Armour Bums Houses at Mossgiel. Representatives of/our Bodies - TI,e Bums Federatioll, Glasgow District Bums Associatioll. TI,e aliollal Bums Memorial alld Collage Homes alld Mauel/lille Bums Club raised £10,000/01' the cOIWCrsiOIl. 20 Opening 1993 style. . .

A group of enthusiastic Burnsians pictured outside the Museum after the re-{)pening ofth e premises on 29th May, 1993. THE BURNS HOUSE MUSEUM . I MAUCHLINE On the upper floor is the room in which Burns began his married life, while the gallery contains many pictures and items of Burns' interest. Another room is devoted to a Curling Exhibition donated by Kelvingrove Art Gallery. A large display of Mauchline Boxware attracts many visitors The Kirkyard with its strong Burns connections is nearby. Parties are welcome; guides are available and teas can be arranged. Evening visits could occupy a syllabus meeting. Opening Hours: Easter to 30th September, 11 .30 a.m.-12.30 p.m. and 1.30 p.m.-S .30 p.m. Sundays 2.00p.m. - 5.00 p.m. Visits outwith hours and season by arrangement - Phone Mauchline 550045 I D. I. Lyell, M.A., F.S.A. Scot., 9 East Park Avenue, Mauchline. 21 J UPON THAT NIGHT By R. Peel The night in question is, of course, Halloween, All Hallows' Eve, Hallowmas, Hollantide, Eve of the Feast of All Saints' Day, Nut Crack Night, Mischief Night or Samhain (Samhuinn). We associate Halloween with witchcraft, and several writers on festivals and superstitions cite ·Tam 0' Shanter' as the archetypal celebration of this event. This was the night when 'witches, devils and other mischief-making beings are all abroad on their baneful, midnight errands'.1 Bums's poem 'Halloween,' however, concerns more innocent activities, and no other of his pieces is supplied with such a comprehensive set of notes. The reasons for this are not abundantly clear; firstly the poet states that the poem will 'by many readers, be well enough understood', then adds that notes are supplied for the benefit of those who are 'unacquanited with the manners and traditions of the country where the scene is cast'. This would suggest that Bums felt that the activities he was describing were peculiar to 'the peasantry in the west of Scotland' and that his readership, even for the Kilmarnock Edition, was likely both to be widespread and to contain members of a higher social class who might not be familiar with the pleasures of the common people. That the antics described in the poem were common practices locally is well recorded. Aiton's Agricultural Report 1811 states: Halloween, the other great festival of the Pagans, is still observed in Ayrshire, as an interesting period, and many spells are then used to discover matters of futurity; particularly respecting marriages. Many of the lower order, in that country, still believe that the devil is ready at their call, and on their using certain capers and spells, to discover a secret, which generally occupies much oftheir thought; namely who is to be their future spouse, and to exhibit a coffin, ifthe person making the inquiry is never to enter into wedlock.2 Ayrshire at the Time ofBurns also raises again the interesting point that Bums has put himself into the poem in the guise of Rab and Rob and that Nellie and Nell represent Nellie Kilpatrick (Handsome Nell). Strawhorn also identifies, around Mount Oliphant, the bum and pool where the three lairds'lands met and the site of the kiln into which Merran threw the blue-clue. Boyle is more sceptical,3 but it is interesting that although the poem was written at Mossgiel it relates to the poet's early years at Mount Oliphant. This has been interpreted by Scott Douglas (1877), Principal Shairp (1909) and others as meaning that even by the poet's time such Halloween practices were dying out. We come now to the first of the Halloween potency ofthis humble vegetable seems limitless, customs described by the poet, which was pulling for if it were thrown upon the ground then the a stock of kai!. As the notes state, the size and direction ofthe head would indicate the direction shape of the future husband/wife could be ascer- of the next journey to be undertaken. Also, if the tained from the physical form of the plant, the kail-runtwere placed under the piIlow, then dreams nature or disposition from the taste of the plant, would follow which would include the future and his/her Christian name from placing the plant spouse. above the door. Little explanation was really nec- The next ploy in 'Halloween' concerns the essary, since this was a widespread practice lassies who steal out to 'pou their stalks 0' com'. throughout the length of Britain. The use of cab- The stalks were to be picked, as the poet states, 'at bage stalks for this purpose has been documented three several times.' As with the kail-runts, the as far afield as Hertfordshire and Ireland. In Ork- straighter and longer the stalk, the better looking ney, for example, the girls went 'backlins' into the would be the husband. Variations in Scotland in­ kail and pulled the first runt they struck with their elude the stalks' being drawn from the heels; as with Bums, the amount of 'yird' or earth Maiden-Sheaf (the last sheaf of the harvest). Also adhering to the root was a measure of 'tocher' or in some areas of Scotland the grains were counted dowry, and any knots under the earth denoted in pairs and the owner of a stalk with an odd there would be no children. Another variation was number of grains was destined not to marry. A that pulling the kail should be done at midnight, small amount of grain would indicate poverty and, which would mean performing the ritual in dark- as in 'Halloween,' if the third stalk lacked grain ness rather than being blindfolded or, as with (the tap-pickle) then the 'party in question will Bums, keeping one's eyes shut. Sometimes the come to the marriage-bed anything but a maid'.In nature (rather than the physical form) could be the Highlands and Islands it is recorded that the foretold from the shape of the stem - a crooked number of grains on a stalk was equal to the stalk might indicate meanness, for example. The numberoffuturechiIdren (which no doubt caused 22 a mixture of hilarity and consternation}. Yet an­ tor on manners in the Lowlands in 1824 as stating, other variation involved placing the three ears 'to win the blue-clue in the killpot (sic) on Hallow­ under a pillow to induce a dream of reaping by the een was a serious matter before Bums made the future husband. It should be said in passing that world laugh at it'. Variations on the poet's version there appears to be no end to the items which are minor, and mainly involve the throwing of could efficaciously be placed under a pillow - a ropes into barns or similar farm buildings, al­ sprig of rosemary, a twig of yew from a graveyard, though one rather restrictive condition concerning an apple, nine sage leaves, three pebbles from a the blue-clue was that the wool should be from a boundary stream, and so on. male lamb and teased, carded and spun by the Bums next devotes four stanzas to the burn­ hapless maiden herself. ing of nuts, and such activity seems to be Our next escapade concernsJenny's eating an widespread throughout Britain and Ireland. Chest­ apple in front of a mirror. Rites and customs nuts (in southern England) were commonly used concerning apples are legion; in ancient mythol­ as were straws, apple pips, and even peas laid on ogy the apple was a talisman of great portent, live peats in north-east Scotland. Often the ideal allowing the owner to fortell the future or gain behaviour (as with Bums) was that the nuts should entry to the Otherworld. At Halloween divination bum quietly together, but in some parts of Scot­ could be achieved by twisting the stalk of the apple land and England the desired effect was the and by squeezing the pips and noting their direc­ opposite and so we have both tion of flight. Another variation involved sticking Ifyou hate me spit andfly pips on the forehead or cheeks, one pip for each Ifyou love me burn away sweetheart, and as the pips fell off so the appropri­ and ate admirer was dismissed until only one remained. 1/ he (or she) loves me pop and fly The most common practice, however, was some 1/ he (or she) hates me lie and die. variation on peeling an apple and throwing the Robert Chambers supports the former senti­ skin to the ground to form the first letter of the ment and has a further line - 'If not lie there lover's name. These ploys seem to be of some silently.'4 antiquity, and again can be found in Gay's The John Gay (of The Beggar's Opera fame) ex­ Shepherd's Week.' One variation in Scotland in­ pressed this sentiment more poetically in his poem volved cutting the apple into nine pieces, eating The Shepherd's Week': eight of them, and throwing the last piece over the Two hazel-nuts I threw into the flame, left shoulder; the future partner could then be And to each nut I gave a sweet-heart's name. seen in the mirror, looking over the same shoul­ This with the loudest bounce me sore amaz'd. der. Needless to say, all apple rites were more That in a flame ofbrightest colour blaz'd. efficacious if performed at midnight, and often As blaz'd the nut so may thy passion grow, whilst combing the hair. For 'twas thy nut that did so brightly glow.S We come next to the sowing of hemp-seed. Other variations include the practice in Ire- This ritual as described by Bums seems to have land (dated 1813) of young women using three been followed closely throughout the length of nuts and marriage's resulting for the one whose Britain. An early English version of 1688 reads as name was given to the nut which burnt the quiet­ follows: est Alternatively, a row of chestnuts could be Hempe-seed I sow, used, and the first nut to burst indicated the first And Hempe-seed I mowe, girl to marry. And he that is my sweetheart We come next to the blue-clue thrown into a Come/ollow me, I trow. 6 kiln and to the answer awaited with the cry of'Wha Slight variations include sowing lint or flax hauds?The kiln itself would normally be one used (Scotland) and leeks (Wales). Often the seed was for drying grain, although mention of this Hallow­ thrown over the left shoulder, but sometimes it een pratice in Ireland often involved a lime-kiln. A was necessary to carry a rake over this shoulder typical kiln would have walls several feet high, and the seed was thrown over the right Other with cross beams (kiln kebbars) a few feet apart variations from that given by Bums are small, but Onto these were laid lengths of wood (stickles) the practice does not seem confined to Halloween. which were then piled up with straw. Below was Once again Gay in his The Shepherd's Week' the fire in the 'kiln-logie' to dry the grain. In the informs us: poet's day virtually every farm had its own kiln, At eve last Midsummer no sleep I sought, and the rite as described by Bums was widely But to the field a bag ofhemp-seed brought, practiced. Hislop'sAnecdotes quotes a commenta- I scatter'd round the seed on ev'ry side, 23 J And three times in t. trembling accent cry'd, exception the normal procedure was to dip, at This hemp-seed with my virgin hand I sow, random, a hand into an arrangement of two or mto shall my true love be, the crop shall mow. three dishes. One variation from Ireland involved Following this, we come to the winnowing of a dish of water, one of earth and one of meal. three 'wechts 0' naething'. It may be necessary to Placing a hand in the water indicated a life-span of explain that a wecht was a thin piece of wood bent more than a year, a hand in the earth indicated into a circle and covered with caU skin or similar death within a year, and a hand in the meal would hide to make a blind or close sieve. Deeper wechts result in the acquisition of wealth. An equally risky could have holes pierced in them by a hot wire for prospect in Devon involved water, turf and a ring, use in separating the inner husks or sids from which indicated, respectively, drowning within a oatmeal. The wechts could be used in two ways for year, death within a year, or marriage. A happier divination: firstly, as described by Bums, and sec­ practice in Harris involved only two plates, one ondly by swinging a wecht from a support and containing salt and the other meal; the blindfolded noting its movement. I.F. Granttells of a woman in girl could then have a choice between marrying a Arran in 1709 who admitted to the Kirk Session fisherman (salt) or a farmer (meal) - though it that she has used a wecht to discover the identity would seem the most likely outcome in the Outer of a thief. She was condemned to make public Hebrides would be that the groom would be both. repentance on three Sundays and was then re­ Bums rounds off his poem with evocative ferred to the civil authorities to be punished 'either mention of the mouth-watering aroma of buttered corporally or pecuniarily'.7 sowens. Once again a Halloween supper was nor­ The simplest of the Halloween ploys seems to mal practice everywhere, and buttered sowens be for one to 'faddom' (fathom with outstretched were standard fare throughout much of Scotland. arms) the stack thrice in order on the last occasion Sowens were made by grinding the innder husks to catch the appearance of one's future spouse. As (sids) and grain into meal, mixing it with water, might be expected in a rural community, there and allowing the mixture to stand for several days. were many divinations associated with hay, and The thinner parts were drained off, and the rem­ Bums's description could largely be applied from nant was afterwards boiled to a porridge. The Shetland to the Borders. One anecdote from the porridge was usually served with milk, but in Loch Ness areas has a man encircling the stack, 'Halloween' we have the luxury of added butter. but instead of meeting a vision of his sweetheart he There were variations in the celebration supper, meets his own image and dies shortly after. but, as we have seen, Halloween was linked to the One of the most pleasing cameos in 'Hallow­ harvest and used commodities commonly to hand, een' is that of Leezie's dipping her left sark-sleeve that is, vegetables, grain, nuts, fruit and farm in the bum where the three lairds' lands meet. implements. Readers may well recall this divination from the It becomes apparent that 'Halloween' is not a delightful song 'Tam Glen': parochial poem at all, but describes practices which The last Hallowe'en I was waukin were found throughout Scotland and beyond. As My droukit sark-sleeve, as ye ken- has been mentioned, John Gay, writing in 1714 His likeness came up the house staukin, from deepest Devon, wrote of sowing hemp-seed, And the very grey breeks a Tam Glen! of burning hazel-nuts and of peeling apples as well All descriptions of this rite agree that it was as of divinations probably unkown to Bums which the left sleeve which should be wetted; some state involved snails, peapods and ladybirds. Halloween that a suitable site was a ford where the living and activities throughout Scotland in the nineteenth the dead cross. Afurther restriction was that it was century may, of course, have gained in popularity necessary to go straight home and take care not to as a result of Bums's poem, but most of them utter a word. The beneficial effects of running would have been practiced in some similar form water from a spot where three parishes or town­ for a considerable period of time. John Mayne ships meet is widely mentioned in connection with from Dumfries published a twelve-stanza poem in a host of ailments. In north-west Ireland, for exam­ Standard-Habbie on Halloween in 1780 (and pre­ ple, water from such a spot was used in the dated Bums by six years). Extracts in Vol. 1 of the preparation of cures for sick cattle. Chambers-Wallace edition (1896) contain a snatch Our final custom concerns the three 'Iuggies'. of Mayne's piece which mentions throwing a blue­ Arrangements of three vessels were found through­ clue in the kiln-pot and the sowing of hemp-seed. out Britain and Ireland, although some practices Bums therefore was selective in his choice of seem rather macabre today, such as the 'saining' Halloween ploys and perhaps did not realize just (blessing) of corpses in the Lowlands. Without how common these practices were.

24 We have looked only at those activities men­ Hans Hecht, with reference to the Kilmarnock tioned by Burns. Other divinations in Scotland Edition, reminds us that 'the three poems glorify­ could be obtained from reading cups, from exam­ ing Scottish peasant life ('Halloween', 'The Auld ining eggs, and even from scrutinizing the Farmer's New-Year MorningSalutation to his Auld shoulder-blades of animals. U we were to consider Mare Maggie' and 'The Cotter's Saturday Night') omens and auguries of good and bad luck in are placed at the very centre of the book - at its Scotland at the time of Burns, then these could be spex as it were".13 found everywhere: in a flock of birds, in the direc­ More recently Alan Bold considers that 'the tion of the wind, in the shape of the clouds, even in poem has an emotional as well as an antiquarian the position of animals in the field (for exanlple, and literary interest'.14 To this we can add that one standing and facing the observer was lucky) . although it was written when the poet was in his U we now leave the Halloween practices and mid-twenties it was an attempt to capture the come to the present, we find that modern critics do innocence of his early teens. Is there within it, as not rate the poem 'Halloween' highly. David Alan Bold suggests, 'a poetic piece of wishful Daiches finds it 'an able enough piece,' but 'tedi­ thinking' between the poet and his first love Nellie ousin spite of its lively movements'.8lames Kinsley Kilpatrick? Now that would have made a worthy in his three-volume edition finds that 'the unusu­ footnote! ally heavy mixture of dialect holds Burns a little R. Peel, Durham too far out from the action and sentiment'.9 F. B. 1. Bums's noles. 2. Willim Ailon. A G.n.ral Vi.w a/til. Agriculture o/th. County 0/ Snyder considers the poem to be 'a relatively Ayr. Board of Agriculture Report. 1811 pp. 153-4. as cited in unsuccessful attempt to record in verse popular Ayrshirt At the Time 0/ Burns. ed. John Strawhom. Ayrshire customs which Burns considered little more than Archaclogicaland Natural HislorySociety (Kilmamock.1959). p. 79. Ailon was born in 1760. children'sgames'.lOAnd Thomas Crawford states: 3. 77re Ayrsilire Book 0/ Burns·Lore. p. 75. Considered as a whole the poem fails to 4. Book a/Days, 1863. please. . . (Burns) fails because, for all its 5. John Gay. 'The Shepherd's Week - ll1Ursday', Poetry and Prose, ed. VinlonA. Dearing (Oxford. 1974},I. 9().126.esp. 110- movement and activity, the poem does not 11. lines 61-6. develop. It revolves upon a single spot; and, 6. A Dictionary 0/ Superstitions, ed. lona Opie and Moira Tatem furthermore, it seems to narrow in smaller (Oxford. New York. 1989). s.v. 'Hemp Seed: divination'. 7. I. F. Grant. Highland Folk Ways (London. 1961). pp. 114·15. and smaller gyrations'.ll 8. David Daiches, Roberl Burns (New York. 1966). p. 137. The poem found more favour last century; 9. 77re Poem.s and Songs 0/ Roberl Bllrns, cd. James Kinsley Lockhart in 1828 felt tllat, in 'Halloween', 'Burns's (Oxford, 1968). 111 . 1118. 10. Franklyn Bliss Snyder. The Life 0/ Roberl Burns (New York. art has now reached its climax',12 and Scott Doug­ 1932). pp. 460-1. las in 1877 considered the fourth stanza from the 11. Thomas Crawford. Burns: A tlldy 0/ tile Poems and Songs end to be 'the finest descriptive pa sage, within (Edinburgh and London. 1960), p. 132. 12. J. G. I..ockhart. Li/e o/Roberl Burns (Edinburgh. 1828). p. 102. small compass to be found in poesy'. This is an 13. Hans Hecht. Roberl Burns: The Man and His Work, trans. Jane echo of the view of Currie, and the verse is singled Lymbum (London, Edinburgh. Glasgow, 1936) pp. 9!Xi. out by W. E. Henley as the 'burnie stanza'. 14. A Burns Campanian (1991), p. 203. Burns hirnseU rated it highly enough, and

TI,e top table at Alloway Burns Club's Annual Dinner. Back row - Rev. W McGinty, D. McLean, Mrs. M. Skillillg, j. Skilling (President), Mrs. B. Stoddart (Hon. Treasurer), G. Bradford, Dr. j. Begg and C. Sturgeon. Front row - Mrs. M. McGinty, Mrs. H. Begg, Mrs. G. Bradford,]. Glass (Holl . Secretary) , Mrs. Glass and Mrs.]. Ewen. 25 THE BUILDING OF WAUCHOPE CAIRN There is a gap of almost two hundred years Tragedy struck at all these plans when Mary between the events and circumstances which led died at Greenock shortly before the appointed Robert Bums to be in Edinburgh in 1786, and the time of sailing, and her death had a strong emo­ events and circumstances which led to the build­ tional effect on the Bard. All ofthis would seem to ing ofthe Wauchope Cairn in 1985. When Bums be enough to strain the energy of any young man arrived in Edinburgh in November 1786, he was a of twenty-seven years, and yet we find that over young man with many troubled thoughts in his these two years Robert Bums had composed and mind. In the previous two years he had suffered published the "Kilmarnock" edition of his works, the loss of his much respected father, which led and had written many other pieces not published him and his sisters and brothers to obtain as much in that edition. With the publication of the as they could from their father's estate, and move Kilmarnock edition, and the distribution of over from the farm of Lochlea, to the Mossgiel farm at six hundred copies to places far beyond his native Mauchline. Ayrshire, his genius was drawn to the attention of an ever-increasing number of appreciative read­ BY ARCHIE McARTHUR ers. HONORARY MEMBER, HAWICK BURNS CLUB One such reader was Mrs. Dunlop of Dunlop, who was a decendant of a brother of Sir William He had, in those two years, met and become Wallace, her maiden name, being, Francis Anne estranged with Jean Armour, and was in fear of Wallace. arrest owing to the persecution by Adam Armour, On her reading the Kilmarnock edition, she Jean's father. immediately sent a servant on ajoumey of sixteen These traumatic experiences were further miles, to purchase six copies of the book, and to complicated by his renewal of acquaintance with invite the Bard to visit her at Dunlop. Mary Campbell, his subsequent wooing of her, This resulted in a friendhsip which was to last their exchange of Bibles over the river Fail, and of for most ofthe Poet's life and Mrs. Dunlop became her promise to accompany him to Jamaica. one of his most valued and accomplished corre-

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26 spondents. She was an ardent reader of her Bible, reply that she would "Gladly give him as marled had a great admiration for Shenstone, Thomson plaid to keep him warm on a winter's night," as she and other Scottish writers, and it was she who had said in her letter, "and that he would be wrote to the much respected Rev. Dr. Thomas pleased to receive it." One verse of Bums's reply Blacklock in Edinburgh, drawing his attention to says, the works of the Poet. Dr. Blacklock was born in Annan, and had "For you, no bred to barn or byre, suffered from smallpox, which resulted in the What sweetly tune the Scottish lyre, entire loss of his sight, he was educated in Edin­ Thanks to you for your line; burgh University, and was a great lover of poetry, The marled plaid ye kindly spare, as well as being a writer of poetry himself, having By me should greate/ully be ware; n published a book of his works, with a sketch of his Twad please me to the nine • life, in 1793. On receiving the correspondence from Mrs. There is no record to say that when the Bard Dunlop, Dr. Blacklock wrote to Bums suggesting eventually met Mrs. Scott, she presented him with that he come to Edinburgh and publish an ex­ a marled plaid. It would be about this time that tended edition of his works, and it was in this way Bums was thinking about his tour of the Scottish that he arrived in Edinburgh in November 1786, Borders, and on the 6th of May we find him, with the intention of publishing the first Edin­ accompanied by his friend Robert Ainslie, making burgh edition of his works. his way on horseback over the Lammermuir hills Almost immediately after his arrival in the to Berrywell, Ainslie's father's home. Capital, Bums was feted by the aristocracy and After visiting various parts of the Borders he literati of Edinburgh, his friend and patron, the came to Jedburgh, and on the monring of Thurs­ Earl of Glen cairn, Dugald Stewart, and Jane, Duch­ day, 11th of May, he left Jedburgh to make the ess of Gordon, being just a few of those who journey over the hills to visit Mrs. Scott, at welcomed the Bard, applauding both his poems Wauchope House. and his conversational abilities. Such were the happenings in the seventeen Unknown to Bums at this time, his book had eighties, which led to these happenings in the been read by a certain Mrs. Scott, ofWauchope nineteen eighties. In nineteen eighty I retired House, which nestles in the Border hills a few from my employment with Rolls Royce in Glas­ miles from Bonchester Bridge, and the nearest gow, to make a new home for my wife in the lovely point that Bums carne to the busy Border town of Border town of Kelso. Hawick. I had, over many years, been a regular visitor Mrs. Scott was a niece of Mrs. Cockburn, the to friends in Selkirk, and during these years had authoress of 'The Flowers of the Forest", and was made the acquaintance of many people in Selkirk a painter and poetess in her own right. Three and other Border towns. Among these was Jim months after Bums came to Edinburgh, about the Forsyth who hailed from Hawick, a weel kenned end of February or the beginning of March, he face in the Borders, and an enthusiastic member received a letter from Mrs. Scott, in rhyme, in ofthe Hawick Bums Club. which she complimented the Bard on his genius As I was an active member of the Bums Fed­ as a poet, but expressing her doubts that such eration it was not long before I was in contact with genius could come from one who had been bred to manyofthe Borderclubs,and it was an honourfor the plough, and had only the education of a peas­ me to be asked to propose 'The Immortal Memory" ant. atthe Hawick Bums Club dinner in 1982, followed One verse of her epistle states the next year when I recited "Tam 0'" Shanter" and "Holy Willies Prayer". At this time, Alex Martin, "My canty, witty, rhyming, ploughman, who had been vice-president of Hawick Bums I hafJlins doubt it isn'a true man, Club over the previous two years, was preparing to That ye between the stilts were bred, take over as President of the club, and was very Wi' ploughman schooled, wi' ploughman fed, conscious of the great responsibility he was as­ I doubt it sair, ye've drawn your knowledge, suming,in being the Presidentofone of the largest Either !rae Grammar school or College. n Bums clubs in the world. His thoughts were full ofideas on howto bring Bums must have been intrigued by this letter the Hawick Bums Club more to the fore in the from Mrs. Scott, and must have answered it almost activities of the Bums Federation, and one of immediately, and we find him reminding her in his these ideas was to form a study group for further

27 enlightenment on the life and works of Robert bamboo and shaped it into a kind of chanter, so Bums, which idea he discussed with Jim Forsyth, that he could keep his fingers supple. and from this discussion there came the proposal When George heard that Hawick Bums Club that I should lecture to a study group of club were about to build a Memorial Cairn at Wauchope, members once a month during the winter and he immediately set about composing a pipe tune to spring. commemorate the occasion. Meanwhile Alex I immediately agreed to this proposal and the Martin was very busy, firstly convincing the ex­ study group started to meet in September 1984, ecutivecommittee of Hawick Bums Club to sponsor with only a few members attending, but as the the scheme, which they did without dissent, and months passed the group grew in number, and to having at this time received permission from the the present day, Hawick Bums Club study group "Wauchope Outdoor Centre" to erect the Cairn, continues to meet. the question arose as to where we could obtain the During my many visits to Hawick Bums Club, necessary stones, how we could transport the I have been privileged to meet and becomefriends cement, sand and tools to the site, and most impor­ with many of the men of Hawick, men who are not tant, who had the skills to build the cairn. only admirers of Robert Bums, but men who are All these questions were quickly answered, prepared to give their time, energy and oftimes the stones would come from the now demolished their money, to aid the club in all its efforts. Wauchope House, which had been dumped in a In one of my early lectures to the study group quarry, sand, cement and tools plus transport on the Border tour of Robert Bums, I pointed out would be gifted by Ian Elliot, another club mem­ that when he was visiting Mrs. Scott at Wauchope ber, and the builder of the cairn would be Henry House he was only a few miles from Hawick as the Brown, a retired master mason, and a member of crow flies, and this piece of information led to a Hawick Bums Club. discussion which took up the rest of the evening. I have long ceased to be amazed at the large Such questions as "Where exactly does number ofBorderers who have served their coun­ Wauchop House lie" "Who owns the site", "Could try in the armed services, and here again I found Hawick Bums Club do something to mark the spot that the builder of the cairn, was one of these men. of the place nearest to Hawick that the Bard had Henry Brown was born in Hawick in 1922, and come". left school at the age of fourteen, at which age he It was thus that the idea of the Wauchope joined the Kings Own Scottish Borderers Territo­ Memorial Cairn was born, and the followingweeks rials as a drummer and bugler. At fifteen he started were weeks of activity, with Alex Martin making to serve his apprenticeship as a builder with Scott enquiries as to who owned the site, to whom and Thomson of Hawick, and at nineteen he mar­ should we apply for permission to erect a Cairn, ried his bonie Jeannie. and all the other necessary preparations so vital to In 1939 Henry was called to arm and was in ensure the success of this important venture. France when the French army capitulated,leaving I have found, throughout my life in the Bums him and his fellow Scots to make their way as best Movement, that when some big event is proposed, they could to the French coast, where he was the hidden talents of our members come to the picked up by one of the "Small Boats", and landed fore, and make a very significant contribution to atSt. Ives. the success of that project, and in this case the When the second front opened he was once talent belonged to George Gillies, piper to Hawick again in France, fighting his way through Bel­ Bums Club. gium, Holland and Germany till the war ended George has been a keen piper from the age of while he was in Bremen. ten, when he joined a piping class under the tuition Arriving home Henry resumed his life with his of Pipe Major W. Fraser, going on to join the Royal wife and children, working on stone and brick Scots as a boy piper in May, 1937. buildings in and around Hawick, and helping to In December of that year George left South­ build some of the various bridges at the Kielder ampton enroute for India, and from there to Hong dam. Kong. Tragedy struck both Henry and his wife when The out-break of war resulted in the Battalion he was sixty-one years old, when doctors diag­ being taken prisoner, and the pipe band lost all nosed that they both had cancer. In spite of this their equipment, including George's pipes. traumatic situation Henry volunteered his serv­ The spirit of George Gillies is evident when he ices to build Wauchope Cairn. Everything was tells how one day, as he returned from a prisoner now ready for the actual building, the necessary of war working party, he picked up a piece of ingredients were all in place, and as work pro-

28 gressed Alex Martin was heard to observe that "it and been very impressed with the beauty of the was a privilege and ajoy to act as labourer to such Borders, and this joy is evident in the poems and a craftsman as Henry Brown, and as I watched the songs which he composed. John then removed the Cairn taking shape I knew that Hawick Bums tartan veil from the Cairn, exposing, for the first Club had made its contribution to the Bums Her­ time in public, the Memorial plaque. itage Trail". The Rev. George Watson then conducted the The final act in completing the Cairn was the dedication ceremony in a most efficient manner, placing of some Hawick newspapers, some arti­ after which President Alex Martin spoke of the facts of local interest, some of our coinage and important part that I had played in the formation of paper money, and a letter of explanation into the the Hawick Bums Club study group, and asked me recess left for this purpose, and sealing the Cairn. to address the audience. Aplaque, made by a London firm at a cost of £400, I gave a resume of the manner in which Bums was then set in place, covered with a length of had come to this place, reciting part of Mrs. Scott's tartan, and now all was readyforthe official unveil­ epistle to Bums and the whole of the reply he sent ing and dedication service. to her. I drew attention to the words inscribed on On a beautiful Sunday afternoon, the 14th of the plaque- July, 1985, buses and cars left the premises of Hawick Bums Club, to make their way through "That I for poor auld Scotland's sake, the rolling hills to the site of the Cairn. Some use/it' Plan or beuk could make .• The dedication ceremony was put in motion by President Alex Martin, who began by paying and saying that here Bums was expressing his tribute to all who had contributed to the idea and life-long desire to leave behind something to exalt the eventual erection of the Wauchope Cairn, and his beloved Scotland, something which long after with great feeling of sadness he informed those he was dead would live on in the hearts of his present that the builder of the Cairn, Henry Brown, countrymen, in verse and song. had suffered the loss of his wife Jeannie, in the George Gillies then played his newly com­ early hours of that morning. posed pipe tune, "The Wauchope Cairn", after Alex then introduced the President of the which an invitation was extended to all present, to Bums Federation, Mr. John Inglis, and asked him return to Hawick Bums Club's premises to enjoy to perform the unveiling of the plaque. Before refreshments and participate in an evening of so­ performing this duty, John thanked President cial pleasure. Martin for the honour he had bestowed on him by Henry Brown, the architect of the Cairn, who allowing him to unveil this important memorial to could not attend the ceremony because of bereave­ the name of Robert Bums. He went on to give ment, was invited to be present ata special meeting thanks to Hawick Bums Club for their continued where he was presented with a suitably inscribed support of the Bums Federation and expressing silver salver, in recognition of his unstinting and his opinion that Bums must have derived great joy voluntary work on the Wauchope Cairn.

THE COTI'AGE Oh! Humble cottage standing there beneath your roof ofstraw the tales that you could tell us wid be far abin them a' ofa' the folks who visit you in sari, braid or kilt there's none can match the humble folk wha lived in you first build. Your hallowed walls hae stood in peace, in ravages an' war, you've seen the horse go oot 0' sicht transplanted wi the caur. The sands o'time hae passed on by across yircobbled/lair,yet still in heart the world o'er you stand in loving care. Just a wee bit thackit cottage, just a wee bit but an ben, that has sent a message roon the world tae stir the hearts 0' men. You've put auld Scotia on the map, she looks on you wi pride, through centuries immortalised by Burns who lived inside. Though Robbiesgone in/lesh and blood his memory lingers on, and there, to symbolise it all, in Alloway you staun. A hoose, a pub, a relic, yet through it all you shine as the greatest shrine tae Robbie Burns and his works ofAuld Lang Syne. Duncan MacLean. 29 THE OPINION PAGE Have YOUR say BURNS NOT IMPORTANT! Craigenroan 20 Dalbeattie Road Dumfries DG2 7PP Dear Sir, My wife and I have just returned from a most enjoyable Burns Federation Conference in Calgary and the members of the Calgary Burns Club are to be congratulated on their hospitality and organisation. 11le AG.M. and the Conference Dinner were held on 21stjuly and I was saddened by the fact that neither the outgoing President nor the new President deigned to mention the fact that it was the 197th anniversary of the death of Robert Burns. Perhaps it is felt that Robert Burns is not important enough to be mentioned at a Burns Federation Conference. Yours faithfully George Thomson Not olily was it the a1l11iversary o/his death but 1993 also marked the 200tll anniversary o!"Scots Wha Ha e". The Federation commemorated both events on a special card see illustration below. A limited Ilumber o/these cards are available at £2.00 each plus postagejrom the editor. Proceeds to Bicentenary Fund. Editor

197th ANNIVl:RSAAY Of- DEATH

b IlIlFR\\.'" Dumfnes where 21 JUl 1993 Roben Ourns dlod on 2151 July. 1196

YOU DON'T NEED MINUTES! Dear Sir, I see from the latest BuYlls Chronicle that you are trying to trace the longest erving A sociate Member and. although I cannot be of any assi tance in that regard. I thought you might be interested in the record of Secretaries of the Kelso Burn Club 0.784. The Club started in 1872 when the original cretary wa one W. B. Cook who served the first three years until 1875. From 1876 until ju t before the 1989 Supper the post wa held by W. Fred Vernon. a local dentist. He mu t have set-up the 1898 upper but died hortly before the event since. in the linutes. the Chairman mentioned "the recent sad demise" of Fred. From 1 99 to 1903 there did not eem to be

1. 30 a Secretary, as such, and it appeared that whoever was Chairman did the needful. (There was no Supper in 1901 due to the death of Queen Victoria). For 1904 and 1905 the post was held by R.B. Hogarth, a local Seedsman and then came the daddy of them all Alex. Bell Tully (Ecky) , who combined the jobs of Vet. Surgeon, farmer and racehorse trainer. He reigned from 1906 to 1960 when I took over and am still going strong. As you can see there were only six people over a spell of 123 years!!! You rs sincerely, R. Donaldson. P.S. When I got the Minute Book from Ecky Tully, who was in his late eighties then, I remarked that itwas a pity he stopped writing up the Minutes in 1923 (the year I was born). His reply was ''What the hell div 'ee want Minutes for, if there's onything 'ee want tae ken, just ask me and ah'lItell 'eel!!

Grange Academy The results were as follows: S1/2 Recitation 2nd Place Jocelyn Nelson, S1/2 Singing 1st Place Kilmarnock triumph at Russell Auld, S3/4 Instrumentalist place Fiona Smyth, S4/5/6 Singing 1st Place Kate Valentine, the Burns Federation S4/5/6 2nd place Graham Johnstone. A trophy was presented by West Sound for Finals of National the Young Burn ian of the Year, who wa judged as the best overall performance of the competi· Schools Competition tion. The National finals were hosted by the Ayr· This trophy was won by Kate Valentine shire Association of Burns Clubs and held in the who sang "For the sake 0' somebody" with Magnum leisure centre on Saturday 19th June. Russell Auld taking 2 nd place. The best pupils in recitation, singing and instru­ As part of the prize Kate is invited to sing at mental from the various areas of Scotland took the West Sound Burns Supper next January in part in these finals and displayed a very high front of an audience of 1200 persons. This is truly quality of talent and performance. Five pupils of a great achievement for Grange Academy taking Grange Academy Kilmarnock who won their way three firsts two econd and the overall champion into the fmaIs by virtue of their success in the out of nine different categories of competition. Ayr hire Schools competition gave outstanding James Gibson, Conference Convenor was in performances in their chosen disciplines. charge of the team.

Pictured from left to right:- Graham Johnstone, Jocelyn Nelson, Kate Valentine, Fiona Smyth and Russell Auld. 31 Mrs. Glass, President Charles Kennedy, Mrs. jean Anderson and Honorary President of the Burns Federation, james Glass, MA pictured after the presentation ofgifts at his retiral which took place recently ill Alloway. jean Anderson, the first lady President ofthe Ayrshire Association ofBurns Clubs worked with Jim in their earlier days as schoolteachers ill their beloved Ayrshire. PRESENTATION TO still had his finger on the pulse. We, your fellow Burnsians hope that you will JAMES GlASS, M.A. lip the memory of this evening into your Golden HON. PRESIDENT Treasury. I am sure you will have proud memories of your time as President of Alloway Burns Club, BURNS FEDERATION Clerk to the Congregational Board of Al loway CONVENER OF SCHOOLS Parish Church, your service in the RAF., Presi­ COMMIDEE - 1976-92 dent of the Ayrshire Association of Head Teachers As President of The Burns Federation it is a and Honorary President ofThe Bums Federation. great honour for me to represent so many well­ We know Jim that your knowledge of the "Life wishers from fellow Burnsians. I am delighted to and Works of Robert Burns" is a goodly part of be in such a friendly atmosphere and to share in your personality, and your retentive memory is this socialising with your friend and fraternal still one of your enviable assets. Burnsians. It i very evident that there is a unity of We are aware of the lovingcare from your dear purpose tonight. May I quote: wife recognised by us as an unas uming and gra­ cious lady. Her support has won the hearts of u "Every honest heart /II list feel all. Long may you be with u Jim for us to seek 17tat bliss lies in his OWl! procuring. " Jim has for many years been a ferven t mem ber advice and guidance. of the Burns Federation, and his forward planning Many thou and of school pupil aye perhap throughout his 16 year of service as Convener of million together with all the world-wide member­ the Schools Committee within the Federation' shipofthe Bum Federation join me in presenting Executive will be difficult to urpa . to you these gift repre entative of the high e - The zeal and thoroughnes of his de patch of teem we hold for you. the various certificates to thou and of school To borrow word from the Bard - was made very evidentto u la tJanuary and even "Few hearts like yours, with virtue warm'd at our latest executive meeting he let us know he Few heads with know/edge so illfoml'd. Charles Kennedy 32 BURNS HOUSE DUMFRIES

Visitors to Dumfries should not fail to visit the old Red Sandstone House in Burns Street, in which the Poet lived and died. The House is open to visitors and contains many interesting relics of Burns and his family. The House is one minute's walk from St. Michael's Churchyard wherethe Poet is buried within the Burns Mausoleum.

OPEN: Open All Year 10.00 a.m. -1.00 p.m., 2.00 p.m. - 5.00 p.m. Monday to Saturday 2.00 p.m. - 5.00 p.m. Sunday (Closed Sunday and Monday, October to March)

33 OBITUARIES JAMESJ.McCAFFERY available to do the arranging and running about involved with Anniversary dinners and functions James was born on the3rd September 1919 in of the club. James died at home on the 26th july Plean near Bannockburn Stirlingshire. He saw after a severe heart attack. He will be sadly missed active Service with the Army during the Siege of by the folk of Gretna and the Bums movement has Malta in 1942/43 and, for this he was recently lost a faithfu l and dedicated Servant. Sincere and presented with a medal specially struck by the heartfelt sympathy is extended to his wife Cecilia Maltese Government to commemorate that he­ and son Pete and daughters Ruth and Marion. roic struggle. After the war he served with the J oseph J. Brown Ministry of Civil Aviation at Prestwick Airport and he continued in Government Service with The Ministry of Defence until his retirement from RAF Carlisle in 1984. james was a dedicated Burnsian Rev. Dr. DONALD FRASER and in 1972 he, john Maxwell and Hilda Faulder In April 1993 the Reverend Dr. Donald Fraser, founded The Rosamond Burns Club of Gretna, a Past President of the Belfast Burns Association, which was affi liated to the Federation in 1973. He died aged 8l. Dr. Fraser was born in Glasgow and became its first Secretary and was a leading force studied for the ministry in Scotland before coming in re-establishing tile Brow Well as the hallowed to the Presbyterian Church in Ireland in 1949. He place it is today, the First Brow Well ervice he was pu blications officer of the General Assembly arranged for that year. Each year as the time and editor of the Presbyterian Herald until 1976. approached for the Brow Well en'ice, james He retired in 1981. Dr. Fraser had a deep interest could be seen with his Spade, bucket, rubber in the life and poems of Robert Burns. Those who boots, and Lawn mower spending hours tidying heard him speak at various functions could not fail up, cleaning out the well and making sure that the to be impressed by his knowledge and apprecia­ grass was cut and everything was pick and pan tion of the poet' work. befitting the occasion. He became The President We mourn his passing. of the Club on two occasions and he was always Sheila Simms

KILMARNOCK KAY PARK CELEBRATION

Left to right: Betty Herbertson , Presidellt theAyrshireAssociation ofBltnlS Clubs, Charles Kenlledy, President 171e Bums Federatioll alld joall McCall, President of Kilmamock Bums Club pictured 011 the steps of the Bu rIIS Statue, Kay Park, Kilmanzock prior to a wreath laying ceremony. 171e allnllal Burns Day evellt, durillgJlIne issponscred by Kilmarnock and Loudoun District Council.

34 cle - William H. Olson, Dr. Jim Connor, William ,·BOOK REVIEW_ Kerr, PriscillaJ. Kucik. And there are others from whom we should like td. hear more - Alberta PriscillaJ. Kucik, ed., Mither Wit Kickbush, with her "Robert Bums and the Deil," and Native Fire: The Genius ofRobert Marcia Alexander, with her "Robbie, Did ye Luv Burns (Oconomowoc, Wisconsin: t'Dance wi' Jean?" or Sheila J. Wald Douglas, with The RobertBums Club ofMilwaukee, her "The Music of Robert Bums." And how nice to hear also from the younger generation - Janet 1992). 80pp. Illustrated with pho­ Kerr's "A Young American's Impression of Bums' tographs and woodcuts. Hardcover. Cottage." Attractive photographs and original To sweep the strings 0' Scotia's lyre woodcuts by Phoebe Olson add to the book's It needs nae classic lore. immediate appeal. It's mither wit and native fire William Olson (the revived Club's first secre­ That warms the bosom's core. tary, who has now retired to Washington Island, With commendable enterprise and zeal, the Wisconsin) and Ian Day (the first Vice-President) members of the Robert Bums Club of Milwaukee open the volume with "Robert Burns in have gottogetherto produce a handsome-looking, Milwaukee." Here we learn of the first foundation slim hardcover volume in which they have taken of the Bums Club in Milwaukee. the opportunity to pay testimony to what Bums Robert Burns probably "arrived" in has meant to them individually. Adopting as their Milwaukee in 1835 in the heart and mind of inspiration the above stanza from James Thomson's James Murray, Milwaukee's first Scottish born '1be Star 0' Robbie Bums," the Milwaukee Club permanent resident. The famine relief meet­ focus attention on the Robert Bums of the auld ings of 1847 first brought Milwaukee's Scots farmer, of the man in the street, rather than on that together, and James Murray was one of those of the learned poseur. Inevitably, the contents are active in raising money for his suffering coun­ variable in quality, ranging from the academic to trymen. These meetings led to the formation the anecdotal, but they all have in common a of the Bums Club when four years later on genuine interest in what Bums the poet, the musi­ January 24, 1851, the first recorded Bums cian, the man, the legend, means to them. If every Dinner was held for about 50 persons at Ben Bums Club were to follow this enterprising lead, Belden's Home Saloon ... The 1860 census Bumsians worldwide could not but be the richer. records 428 Scots in Milwaukee County and The copyright page bears the proud legend, apparently the immortal memory was cel­ "Published in someplace other than Scotland. ebrated from that time primarily by the annual Manufactured in the U.SA"This point lies behind Bums Supper of the st. Andrew's Society. much of the contents of the volume; Bums is not The organisational meeting at the Yacht Club the property of the Scot alone, but has left an on October 22, 1986 was therefore called to resus­ inheritance from which all mankind derives ben­ citate the older Club and to plan their first Bums efit. It is therefore refreshing to be able to greet a Supper on Sunday, January 25, 1987 at the book produced outside the bounds of Scotland Shorewood Inn. The history of the revived Club is and to learn what Bums means to those that love brought up to date, through the sad passing ofBiII him abroad. Kerr and Sandford Todd, to the reading at the The book is dedicated to the memory of November, 1991 meeting of "Thrummy Cap and William Kerr (1921-90), founder of the Robert the Ghaist," here correctly ascribed to John Bums Club of Milwaukee, and Sandford Todd Burness (see the February, 1993 Chronic/e, p. 72). (1919-90), one of the charter members. What a Some of the articles in the collection comple­ splendid compliment to their memory! And the ment one another rather nicely. For instance, Club has followed the example ofBums himself in William Kerr's "The Bums Book" fits well with the financial matters; just as Bums sold subscriptions immediately-following "Inspiration," by Ian Day. to the as-yet-unpublished Kilmarnock Edition to Both writers talk very personally and attractively pay for the paper and the printer's fee and then of what Bums has meant in their lives. printed the subscribers' names in the edition, so Dr. Jim Connor of London, Ontario, former the Club has continued that eighteenth-century President of the Bums Federation, contributes a tradition as they also pay their splendid compli­ fascinating photographic essay entitled, "Looking ment to the immortal memory of Robert Bums. Up to Bums." With the help of his son, Alan, Dr. There are among the contributors those whose Jim reproduces photographs and information from names are already familiar to readers of The Chroni- Leonard Goodwillie's now rare and out-of-print

35 The World's Memorials of Robert Burns (Detroit, Rights of Women," which I was not familiar Michigan: Waverley Publishing Company, 1911). with before. In the first verse, [Burns) notes Memorials are reproduced from Alloway, New that even children could lisp the "Right of York, Albany, Barre (Vermont), Falls River Man" (byThomas Payne). His women's rights (Mass.)., Denver, Chicago, San Francisco, were not quite as we understand them today, Milwaukee, Boston, and Dumfries. Of course, the but two of them are stiB relevant. The first selection cannot be anything other than random right is Decorum. Bums felt men should be and highly selective because of the nature of the decorous in the presence of women -regard­ original publication. Canadians would have liked ing, in particular, their language, behaviour, to see the statues in Winnipeg, Vancouver, Victo­ etc. There are men today who feel that when ria; and Aberdonian like myself would have liked a woman achieves equality, men can forget to see the statue in Union Terrace by Henry Bain their manners. The second right was Admira­ Smith, a statute since last September 15 a hundred tion. Today, many women still do not get years old; Americans would have liked to see the recognition in the workplace for their per­ extraordinary Burns Cottage in Atlanta, say, or formance in their chosen fields. What many H.S. Gamley's 1929 statue of Burns in Cheyenne, men still do not see today, Robert Burns rec­ Wyoming. But where Dr. Jim's eye does fall, its ognized over two hundred years ago. IfRobert glance is penetrating and attractive, as with the Burns could see today how women are suc­ gentleman himself. ceeding in previously male-dominated fields, I noted earlier that, of necessity, the contents he would say, "You've come a long way, las­ ofthe volume are somewhat uneven. For instance, sies!" the Rev. Ernest O. Norquist's "A Preliminary Sur­ Were this avowedly an academic publication, vey of Scandinavian Words in the Poetry of Robert a testy reviewer might indicate the need for Mrs. Burns" is weB-meaning, 'but ultimately unhelpful. Kucik to seta firmer hand on the editorial tiller and A short list of 'good old words' in Burns's Ayrshire purge the book of sentence fragments, comma dialect which would be recognisable to one of splices, spht infinitives, the insertion of "[sic)" Nordic extraction proves very little, as many of the after the possessive "Burns's" or the frequent words cited are not specifically Scandinavian so abuse of "it's" in the place of possessive "its," and much as Common Gennanic in origin, and would so forth. But thus to carp would be unfair and be as readily recognisable to, say, a tenth-century unfitting, for Mither Wit and Native Fire claims to Northumbrian Anglo-Saxon or my twentieth-cen­ be nothing more, and nothing less, than a coBec­ tury Dutch wife. At best, such a listis a head-count, tion of pieces about Burns offered from the honest and what would be much more useful would be a hearts of the members of the Robert Burns Club of frequency count. When Rev. Norquist points out Milwaukee. Of its kind, it is weB done, and it is my that he knows of no record of Burns's ever having hope that other Clubs will be inspired to make set foot in Copenhagen, Oslo or Stockholm, he similar coBections available. reminds me of a dear old colleague at the Univer­ Readers of The Chronicle will recall that]ames sity of Alberta who told me once, "Burns never Thomson caBed a meeting in 1878 to lay the foun­ went to London - but then, he didn't have to!" dation of the Hawick Burns Club and was elected (There is, nevertheless, a statue of the Bard there, first President of that Club; for the 1879 Burns Dr. Jim, the bronze one by John Steell in the Supper he wrote the new song, "The Star 0' Robbie Victoria Embankment Gardens which was un­ Burns," from which the present volume takes its veiled by the Earl of Rosebery on July 26, 1884.) title. At the unveiling of the Burns Statute at Dum­ But if some of the shorter articles cast little fries on 6th April, 1882, Thomson also wrote as fresh light on Burns and are often mere rehashings follows: of common knowledge or sentiment about the I see the noblest ofthe earth Bard, others make useful points. For example, I Bend low to him ofhumble birth; found much to sympathise with in "Robert Burns I see a vast enraptured throng and the Lassies," in which Cathy Jones draws Pay homage to the chief ofsong, attention to a phenomenon I have noted for myself; And place a garland round his brow, on several occasions I have suggested to ladies And kiss the hands that held the plough. struggling with the composition of replies to the Such is, indeed, the spirit in which Mither Wit Toast to the Lassies that they quote from "The and Native Fire: The Genius of Robert Burns has Rights of Woman", but none of them has ever done been produced, and in this spirit it deserves to be so. As Cathy Jones puts it succinctly: judged a success. I recently came across a poem called "The RaymondJ. S. Grant

36 PTa

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