Robert Burns World Federation Limited www.rbwf.org.uk 2017 The digital conversion of this Burns Chronicle was sponsored by Isabel Lind & Callum Doull, In memory of Elizabeth Orr Doull 1926 - 2017. Mother of Isabel Lind and Callum Doull. and also sponsored by Bobby Kane, RBWF President 2016 - 17 The digital conversion was provided by Solway Offset Services Ltd by permission of the Robert Burns World Federation Limited to whom all Copyright title belongs. www.solwayprint.co.uk BURNS CHRONICLE The mission of the 2017 Chronicle remains the furtherance of knowledge about Robert Burns and 2017 its publication in a form that is both academically rn in responsible and clearly o , communicated for B and the broader Burnsian tl ver since co ed e community. S our av -f ly ul Bill Dawson f EDITOR Proud sponsors of www.rbwf.org.uk Price ISBN 978-1-907931-62-8 9 781907 931628 BURNS CHRONICLE £30.00 125 years of continuous publication Burns Chronicle founded 1892 The Robert Burns World Federation 1892-2017 © Burns Chronicle 2017, all rights reserved. Copyright rests with the Robert Burns World Federation unless otherwise stated. The Robert Burns World Federation Ltd does not accept responsibility for statements made or opinions expressed in the Burns Chronicle, contributors are responsible for articles signed by them; the Editor is responsible for articles initialled or signed by him and for those unsigned. All communications should be addressed to the Federation office. The Robert Burns World Federation Ltd. Email [email protected] Web www.rbwf.org.uk Tel. 01563 572469 Editorial Contacts & addresses for contributions; [email protected] [email protected] Books for review to the office The Robert Burns World Federation, Dower House, Dean Castle Country Park, Kilmarnock KA3 1XB ISBN 978-1-907931-62-8 Printed in Scotland by Solway Print, Dumfries 2017 Burns Chronicle Editor Bill Dawson The Robert Burns World Federation Kilmarnock The mission of the Chronicle remains the furtherance of knowledge about Robert Burns and its publication in a form that is both academically responsible and clearly communicated for the broader Burnsian community. In reviewing, and helping prospective contributors develop, suitable articles to fulfil this mission, the Editor now has the support of an Editorial Advisory Board. Articles submitted for consideration will normally be read both by the Editor for general suitability and by a relevant Advisory Board member or other specialist, who can provide any needed feedback about the submission. Academic contributors whose institutions require that publications be formally refereed should notify the Editor at the time of submission so he can ensure the regular review procedure is appropriately implemented. To allow time for appropriate feedback, contributors are asked to submit articles before June 30 each year for the forthcoming volume. The Editor is always pleased to discuss proposals for articles with potential contributors. The preferred length for full articles is between 1500 and 5000 words, and the Editor also welcomes shorter notes, especially when based on primary source materials. References should be kept simple, and as far as possible included in the text. Contributors are asked to contact the Editor ahead of submission if their proposed article differs significantly from these guidelines. Editorial Board Dr. Corey Andrews Prof. Liam McIlvanney Prof. Murray Pittock Prof. D. Purdie Bill Dawson, Editor 2 Burns Chronicle 2017 CONTENTS Burns & the Bankers Burns financial position in his later years ..............................................5 Clark McGinn Rules of the Tarbolton Bachelors Club ................................................................... 32 The fragments of David Sillar’s manuscript and a verse by Burns Patrick Scott The Burns Apochrypha, Fragment on Maria ........................................................ 38 T Davidson Cook, introduction by Patrick Scott “It is na, Jean, thy bonnie face” The original, and the lost scholarship ........ 42 Patrick Scott A Survey of Paper used by Burns .............................................................................. 46 Ronnie Young Letter to Burns from John Hutchinson, Jamaica .................................................................. 59 The Twa Bards: Robert Burns’ Reading of William Shakespeare ............................................. 60 Patrick Scott Jean Redpath ................................................................................................................... 71 Thomas Keith A New Burns Bibliography .......................................................................................... 78 Craig Lamont The Reception of Burns in Russia ............................................................................. 84 Professor Dmitry Nikolayevich Zhatkin, Doctor of Philological Sciences, Department of Translation and Methods of Translation, Penza State Technological University. Burns & William Gilmore Simms, Southern USA’s premiere man of letters. .................... 95 Steven Vanderlip Two Fiddlers & Burns William Marshall & Neil Gow .....................................................102 John A M Armit Translations of Burns ...................................................................................................104 Bill Dawson Burns Chronicle 2017 3 A brief history of Jean Armour Burns Houses .............................................................108 Angus Mackenzie Shaws Sponsor Scholarship at The University of Glasgow ...........................................117 Gerard Carruthers Burns at Auction ...........................................................................................................118 Editor’s Opinion Towards a New Edition of Complete Works ..............................................120 Learning About Burns Online ..................................................................................122 Ronnie Young Irvine Rise to Challenge, e-book produced for youngsters ............................................124 Bill Nolan, Hon. Secretary, Irvine Burns Club Reviews ........................................................................................................................... 127 125 Years of the Burns Chronicle ............................................................................132 Statues & Memorials ...................................................................................................134 Burns on the Bell ..........................................................................................................135 The Digital Burns Chronicle ......................................................................................136 Perth Honours Donald Paton ...................................................................................138 Obituary Tributes .........................................................................................................139 The President .................................................................................................................144 Conference 2016 ..........................................................................................................146 Membership 2016 ........................................................................................................150 Past Presidents ..............................................................................................................156 4 Burns Chronicle 2017 Written on a One Guinea Note The front cover of this edition of the Burns Chronicle shows an illustration of the Bank of Scotland One Guinea note, on the reverse of which Burns wrote these famous lines; Wae worth thy pow’r, thou cursed leaf! Fell source of all my woe and grief! Far Lake o’ thee I’ve lost my lass; For lake o’ thee I scrimp my glass; I see the children of Affliction Unaided, thro thy curst restriction; I’ve seen th’ Oppressor’s cruel smile Amid his hapless victim’s spoil; And for thy potence vainly wish’d To crush the Villain in the dust: For lake o’ thee I leave this much-lov’d shore, Never perhaps to greet old Scotland more! R. B. Kyle. Written in 1786 while he was planning a potential emigration, as indicated in the last two lines of this poem. The loss of his lass in line three referred to the estrangement with Jean Armour brought about by her father’s poor opinion of the penniless farmer poet. Burns wrote the lines on the back of this Bank of Scotland One Guinea note that briefly passed through his hands. The note is in the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Alloway. The use of this image for the cover of this edition is inspired by the scholarly article which follows on Burns financial position over the last few years of his life. This subject has often been discussed in the Burns Chronicle and now we have the pleasure of a detailed study which calls on much wider references than those previously aired to illuminate Burns wealth or lack of it. Facsimiles of the banknote, rear and face, are given at the end of the article, page 29 and 30. Illustrations are used courtesy of the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum. Burns Chronicle 2017 5 Burns and the Bank Manager Robert Burns in the Shadow of the Debtors’ Prison Clark M cGinn For over two hundred years Robert Burns’s biographers have debated the state of the poet’s debts and his care or carelessness for his family’s financial future. Did Burns have good cause to fear that he might die in the debtors’ prison? Was he merely temporarily short of cash, or illiquid,