(3.)-ROBERT BURNESS (grandfather of the poet,) who rented the farm of Clockenhill, on the lands of Dunnotar, the estate of the Earl Marischalattainted in 1716, for his concern in the rebellion. Robert became somehow involved in the ruin which overtook the Keiths: he had three sons and four daughters. The eldest son, JAMES, born in 1717, afterwards settled in Montrose, and attained a position of influence there: he became the head of that branch of the Burness family which produced the late Sir Alex. Burnes, the Eastern traveller, who, along with his brother Charles, was killed at Cabool in November, 1841; and also Dr. James Burnes, physician-general of the Bombay army-likewise distinguished as a diplomatist in connection with the Government in India. The third son of Robert Burness was named Robert: family misfortunes at Clockenhill compelled him, while a mere lad, to leave home along with the poet's father, and seek labouring work in the south country. Poor "Uncle Robert" died in the poet's house at Ellisland, in 1789. (4.)-WILLIAM BURNESS, second son of Robert Burness, was born in 1721, left the Mearns about the year 1740, and finally settled in Ayrshire, where, on 25th January, 1759, he became the father of (5.) ROBERT BURNS, THE POET OF SCOTLAND.] THE PARENTS OF BURNS: THEIR CHARACTER AND [A.D. 1757.] WILLIAM BURNESS, born at Clockenhill, in The Mearns, 11th November, 1721, and AGNES BROWN, born in the Carrick district of Ayrshire, 17th March, 1732, were— according to the record in their Family Bible, now in possession of Gilbert Burns, nephew of the poet, presently resident in Dublin 66 MARRIED TOGEther, 15th deCEMBER, 1757.” "I have met with few who understood 'men, their manners, and their ways,' equal to him; but stubborn, ungainly integrity, and headlong, ungovernable irascibility, are disqualifying circumstances; consequently, I was born a very poor man's son."-Autobiography. "This worthy woman, Agnes Brown, had the most thorough esteem for her husband of any woman I ever knew. At all times, and in all companies, she listened to him with a more marked attention than to any body else, and I can by no means wonder that she highly esteemed him; for I myself have always considered William Burness as by far the best of the human race that ever I had the pleasure of being acquainted with-and many a worthy character I have known. I can cheerfully join with Robert in the last line of his epitaph -borrowed from Goldsmith-And even his failings leaned to Virtue's side.". John Murdoch's Narrative. "According to Mrs. Begg, her mother was about the ordinary height;-a wellmade, sonsy figure, with a beautiful red and white complexion-a skin the most transparent Mrs. Begg ever saw-red hair, dark eyes and eyebrows, with a fine square forehead. With all her good qualities-and they were many-her temper, at times, was irascible. William Burness, the father of the poet, was a thin, sinewy figure, about five feet eight or nine inches in height, somewhat bent with toil; his haffet-locks thin and bare, with a dark, swarthy complexion. From this it will be seen that Burns inherited his swarthy complexion from his father-not from his mother, as stated by Cunningham: men who rise to celebrity in the world, are generally supposed to inherit their genius from the maternal side. If it shall be said that Burns inherited his love of ballad-lore from his mother, we may presume that he derived his strong manly sense from his father:-as to his genius-'the light that led astray was light from heaven.' It may be traced in most of his poems, and flashes out in his lyrics, like sheetlightning in a summer's eve, when sung to the simple and pathetic melodies of his native land."—Captain Chas. Gray, in WOOD'S SONGS OF SCOTLAND, 1848. THE CLAY BIGGIN. With secret throes I marked that earth, That COTTAGE witness of my birth.—(P. 159, Vol I.) "William Burness had been settled in Ayrshire ten or twelve years before I knew him in 1765, and had been in the service of Mr. Crawford of Doonside. He was afterwards employed, as a gardener and overseer, by Provost Ferguson of Doonholm, in the parish of Alloway, which is now united with that of Ayr. In this parish, on the road-side, a Scots mile and a half from the town of Ayr, and half a mile from the (old) bridge of Doon, William Burness took a piece of land, consisting of about seven acres, part of which he laid out in garden ground, and part of which he kept to graze a cow, &c., still continuing in the employment of Provost Ferguson. Upon this little farm was erected a humble dwelling, of which William Burness was the architect. It was, with the exception of a little straw, literally a tabernacle of clay. In this mean cottage, of which I myself was at times an inhabitant, I really believe there dwelt a larger portion of content than in any palace in Europe. The Cotter's Saturday Night will give some idea of the temper and manners that prevailed there."-John Murdoch's Narrative. THE POET'S BIRTH. That night, a child might understand The Deil had business on his hand.-(P. 352, Vol. I.) "ROBERT BURNS, lawful son of William Burns, in Alloway, and Agnes Brown, his spouse, was born January 25, 1759: baptised by Mr. William Dalrymple. Witnesses-John Tennant and James Young."-Extract from the SessionBooks of Ayr Parish. "One very stormy morning, when my brother was nine or ten days old, a little before daylight, a part of the gable of the cottage fell out, and the rest appeared so shattered, that my mother, with the young poet, had to be carried through the storm to a neighbour's house, where they remained a week, till their own dwelling was adjusted."-Gilbert Burns' Narrative. [See Song, There was a lad was born in Kyle, page 260, Vol. II. See Sonnet composed on the Author's Birthday, page 157, Vol. II. See also, The Vision, where Coila says to the bard, "I mark'd thy embryo-tuneful flame-thy natal hour."-Page 49, Vol. I.] EARLY EDUCATION. My talents they were not the worst, Nor yet my education.—(P. 257, Vol. IL) "In the month of May, 1765, I was engaged by Mr. Burness and four of his neighbours, to teach the little school at Alloway. My pupil, ROBERT Burns, was between six and seven years of age, his preceptor about eighteen. Robert and his brother, Gilbert, had been grounded a little in English before they were put under my care. They both made a rapid progress in reading, and a tolerable progress in writing, and were generally at the head of the class, when ranged with boys far their seniors. Robert's countenance was generally grave, and expressive of a serious, contemplative, and thoughtful mind. Gilbert's face said, Mirth, with thee I mean to live; and certainly, if any person who knew the two boys had been asked which of them was the most likely to court the Muses, he would surely never have guessed that Robert had a propensity of that kind."-John Murdoch's Narrative. MOUNT OLIPHANT. "FOR the first six or seven years of my life, my father was gardener to a worthy gentleman of small estate, in the neighbourhood of Ayr. Had he continued in that station, I must have been marched off to be one of the little underlings of a farm-house; but it was his dearest wish and prayer to have it in his power to keep his children under his own eye till they should discern between good and evil. So, with the assistance of his generous master, father ventured on a small farm on his estate."—Autob. my "In the year 1766, Mr. Burness quitted his mud edifice, and took possession of a farm of his own improving. The farm being a considerable distance from the school, the boys could not attend regularly, and some changes taking place among the other supporters of the school, I left it, having continued to conduct it for nearly two years and a half."-Murdoch's Narrative. "The farm of Mount Oliphant was upwards of seventy acres: the rent was £40 annually, for the first six years [Martinmas 1765 to Martinmas 1771,] and afterwards [1771 to 1777] £45. My father endeavoured to sell his leasehold property* for the purpose of stocking this farm, but at that time was unable, and Mr. Ferguson lent him £100 for that purpose."-Gilbert's Narrative. EARLY TRAINING CONTINUED. [1768.-AGE 9.] An' buirdly chiels and clever hizzies, Are bred in sic a way as this is.—(P. 3, Vol. I.) "AT those years, I was by no means a favorite with anybody. I was a good deal noted for a retentive memory-a stubborn, sturdy something in my disposition, and an enthusiastic idiot-piety. I say idiot-piety, because I was then but a child. Though it cost the schoolmaster some thrashings, I made an excellent English scholar, and by the time I was ten or eleven years of age, I was a critic in substantives, verbs, and particles. “In my infant and boyish days, I owed much to an old woman who resided in the family [Betty Davidson, a relation by the mother's side,] remarkable for her ignorance, credulity, and superstition. She had, I suppose, the largest collection in the country of tales and songs concerning devils, ghosts, fairies, brownies, witches, warlocks, spunkies, kelpies, elf-candles, dead-lights, wraiths, apparitions, cantraips, giants, enchanted towers, dragons, and other trumpery. This cultivated the latent seeds of poetry. "The two first books I ever read in private, and which gave me more pleasure than any two books I ever read * When the poet's father, in 1777, removed to Lochlea, he sold the leasehold right to the clay biggin and land adjoining, to the Corporation of Shoemakers of Ayr, who are still its proud owners. The Cottage has long been a country ale-house, and one of the apartments is converted into a sale-shop for "relics of Burns.' A considerable addition was, some years ago, built to it, in the form of a fine large Hall to the back, in which the Burns Anniversary is regularly celebrated. b since, were The Life of Hannibal [lent by Murdoch] and The History of Sir William Wallace [lent by the village blacksmith.] Hannibal gave my young ideas such a turn, that I used to strut in raptures up and down after the recruiting drum and bagpipe, and wish myself tall enough to be a soldier; while the story of WALLACE poured a tide of Scottish prejudice into my veins, which will boil along there till the floodgates of life are shut in eternal rest.”Autobiography. "It was then that Murdoch, our tutor and friend, left this part of the country; and there being no school near us, and our little services being useful on the farm, my father undertook to teach us arithmetic in the winter evenings by candle-light; and in this way my two eldest sisters got all the education they received."-Gilbert's Narrative. "BONIE BAIRNTIME."-THE CLOSED RECORD. [1771.-AGE 12.] When skirlin weanies see the light.-(P. 10, Vol. I.) WILLIAM BURNESS and AGNES BROWN were together, 15th December, 1757: ...... ...... "Married “Had a son,..........................Robert, ...........25th Jan., 1759 1769 Had a son,.... .William, .....30th July, 1767 .... -Family Bible Record. [While we are transcribing the foregoing record, the reflection is forced upon us that Mrs. Begg, the last named in that list of seven brothers and sisters, would have been precisely 100 years old, had she survived to this time. Twentyone years ago, we had some correspondence with her, and she was pleased to favour us with a few notes in reference to this Chronological Table now passing through the press, a draught of which had been transmitted to her for examination and correction. Those notes of information will be incorporated at their proper places. Mrs. Begg died in 1858.] "Nothing could be more retired than our general manner of living at Mount Oliphant, where we rarely saw anybody but the members of our own family." -Gilbert's Narrative. |