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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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IKE SOJfS OF BURNS . The following interesting statement with the accompanying -verses , were , on the ikj of the Festival , presented to the bods ef Bnros , by Mr . Alexander Smart , S&thor of " Rimbline Rhymes , " &c " James Burses , E ? q ., of Montrose , father of the lamented Sir Alexaadtrand Lieutenant Charles Bnrnes , is -well known to be a near relative of thefwuily ol Bobert Burns- James Bums , the grandfather of tie above-named gentleman , iras the elder brother of £ he poefa father 5 consequently Mr . Bnrnea b&Ttbe honour of being the actual bead of tbe clan and kindred of out grest national poet , on -whose knee he sat -when a boy , * nd of whom he has a Irvelj recollectien . Tha ancestor el Bnrnes -was a character tqailly intelligent and
estisiable as the poet's father . The two brothers left their native farm < Bra-wley-muir , in the parish of Glenberrie in the Mearni ) together ; and al * -hongh James , the elder , more than forty , he had for many years been both a Tom Connrillor and an elder of the established Church —high testimonies to his integrity and worth . ^ Tbe inability of Mr . Bnraes to rastain the fatigue and excitement of -welcoming his kinsmen on the banks of the Doon , and of minting in the approaching celebration , will be generally sympathised with and regretted . 3 $ eing still anxions , howeTer , to participate in some ¦ xrxy in this great national tsibute , the following lines , ¦ written by fcis townsman , Alexander Smart , are respectfully dedicated , in the name of their worthy relative .
•¦ TO THE SONS OF BURNS . WhUe gathering thonsands swell the throng On Doon ' s famed banks and brats , And Scotia to her Prince of Song A gratefnl tribute pays ; While genius , worth , and beauty , bend Around the poet's Ehrine , And peer and peasant all contend To grace his honoured line ; Sans of the Bsrd i your kinsman tru » His heart * warm welcome sends , And fain would join the tribute due That balls his honoured friends : Couid aught life ' s flagging pewers renew , Or bleeding heart-wounds heal , If one with more joy the scene would view . And none wonld prouder feeL
How would his heart ' s warm pulses bound The sounds of joy to hear—To tread the consecrated ground Of scenes for ever dear ? To welcome to their Father-land The honoured sons of Burns—Alas . ' from India ' s fatal strand No son to him returns . Bnt why should priTate griefs intrude On festive scenes bo fair ? Be eyery selfish care snbdued A nation ' s joy to share . Bound by the spell of glorious song The heart ' s best homage brieg , Where IXoon's glad waters glide along , - To crown our Lyric King !
The poet of the poor man ' s hearth , He taught his coal to glow , To przsthc pride of humble worth , And deepexjoy to know . Prom lordly hall to lowly cot He stirs the patriot fire , And msny a pure ^ nd happy thought His glowing songs inspire . The clouds that evil tongues had cast Around his glorious name , The be ~ ms of truth have pierced at last And cleared his deathless fame , p-nabri-nftrt in every Scotchman ' s breast , Where ' er his f ootstepB roam , His spirit breathes in visions bleat Of Scotland , Iotb , and home . "
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O > " THE BIRTH OF AXOTHEB GTTELPS . Another Gnfelph ! Methougbt I heard a Poor Law Bishop cry—41 God bless ovx gracions Qaeea and long lire her progeny 1 " And over-population ? ily Lord Bishop ' s very sure There'll be plenty for the Princes , bowe ' er they starve tbs poor . € > , happy Eazlish heart of oak , with thy crowning royal nest ! O , happy homeless Collier , with so many Pr ' nces blest l O , happy wining mother ! when thy toiling-infants die , Thfck gratefully of the mother Qaeen amidst her family !
O , blessed ~ R » gl 5 »> i psaper 2 reflect with brow serene—1 tiX \ no strict guardian Icoks askance upon tbe fruitful Qaetnl 1 * 0 grudging Poor Law wilj rtfose the bit of scanty bread : Starve , pauper melhei ! thankfully ; the royal babes arefrd . Poor murderer of thy infant . ' fond wretch who could ' st rot bear To see it starring slowly ! loot np from thy despair . Poor Mary Furley ! ere thou reach the felon's hopeless shore , Breathe a blessing en Victoria ' s child » rejoice for one Prince more '
2 dream'd the heavens were * nnder \ 3 , and tha whirlwind's voice tame down ; And the Beggar and the Quetn stood forth in the tempest's Kjaal frown : And the royal hands were red with the blood of the Beggar's nmrder'd child ; And the giant hate of the Beggar shook the sky with grapplings wild . Tiercely came < Jown the " 5 oice of the Storm , till earth trembled to its core : " Is this yeur ' equal justice , * your ' one law for rich
* nd poor , ' That the rich should wallow in excess , and the poor be starred to death , While ye mine in the hearts of the poor lot gems to grace Oppression ' s wreath ?" But well not anticipate the doom , but hail with goodliest cheer Tictoria ' s tax-fed children , to breadleas paupers dear ; And ftili , 'midst homeless miseries , our gladsome ery still be—God bless us , and increase onr royal family . ' Spariaais .
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SIMMOSDS'S COLONIAL MAGAZINE—Atr GT 5 T . The present 2 fo . of this useful periodical contains some tstell-written and interesting articles . We notice specially that " On the Agriculture of Hin-< Iostan" under which head tbeiEunediate subject discussed -. his month i ? , ** The Ooiwm plant and itsculiiTation . " " Tne wrongs of Xew Zealand , " accompanied b y a map of the Islands , is a truly important article , exposing a rptem of misgoTerurrem on the
part of ihe local officers , and gros 3 dereliction of dutj on the part of the Colonial office , which bids fair if not speedily rectified to bring complete ruin On the colonists . This is not all ; it would appear from this article that the prime mischief-makers and opponents of all reform are the Missionaries Here is a picture of these precious locusts drawn by one of the doth , the Rev . Dr . John Danmore Lang "Principal of the Australian Coilega and Senior Minister of the Chuch of Scotland in New South Wales" : —
It is undeniable , however , that utter inefficiency ind in oial delinquency were fora long time the characteristic featnres of the 2 » ew Z ^ aland Mission ; I have a manuscript account , wbicb I drew up myself , from Btquastionsble authority , so tarly as the year 1524 . of fcvery > lisaocary that had set foot in New 22 aJ 3 B 3 cp till that period , as well as every important transaction wfc ; eb had occurred till then , in connection "With ihe XfB Zealand Mission ; and I am sute U would be impo-sible to find a parallel in the history of any Protestat-t mission since the Reformation , to the amount ol iBtEcifeEcy and moral wortblessness which that record presents . The fiist head of it was dismisstd for adultery ; the second for drunkEnness ; and the third , so lately 55 issg , for a crime still more enormous . The following is evidence of the blessed effects which hare flowed frxm the Missionary preaching of " peace on earth and good -will to men / ' as given » J a Gtrman writer , Ditffenbach : —
The ntxt witness is Dr . Dieffenbacb , The honest German says , "It must , however , be remarked that if the wars are even now less frtquent , the Missionaries claim tbb honour of having effected this result ; this is , boweTer , orfly partially true , for jast in those places "Where Missionaries mest abound , as in the Bay of 7 »>« -nrU ^ Eaipnra , and the Biver TxiiHies , the wars isve been betn most Eang » iaaiy , and the Dumber cf the natives has diminished to a most frightful extent . " For the doings of these vroilhies , and other most important matter connected "with the colony of New Zealand , vre must refer our readers to the article itself .
By far the most Interesting article to the general reader , is \ be eontnraatioa of Mr . Mouat ' s "Karratrrt of the Niger Expedition . " The miserable results of that fanatical and insane enterprise are already well known . We give a brief extract or two Illustrative of the norrors which attended the pasage of tie RiTer of Death , for so the too-famous Kiger might be rightly named : — The ntxt morning the melancholy symbels displayed from the Albert and Wilberforce teld that the Angel of Death bail again been busy in both vessels . This and the four following days were passed in relanding the Wores and house of the Model-farm , which it was deeded should be fixed on Stirling-hill , and paying the yBrthase-money to the agents cf the Attab , who were MEt by Mm for that purpese , ^ iz- — Anagy , Head Chief ; ilaasabah , Mailam ; and Bsge , the Attah ' s Secretary , who case with ns ; TT « rfcn > v , Second Judge ; with Tege , Dartma , Alcowe , Egebofa , Ako Kam , Ako Kuma , ilarana , Itodo , and Egu , their attendaBlB , accompanied u from Iddah in a canoe .
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Every preparation for forming a locus slandi in this purchased estate was hurriedly enured into . The celebrated *• Eglintoun tent" was pitched at the foot of Stiriing-hilL Itsjfirat erectien took place under widelydifferent circumstances ;—where the lacce and shield of chiTalry tken repoBed , was now profaned with a hoe and frying-pan j instead of nobly-born enquires , gay heralds , av , d attendant pursuivants , around it , were to be Been about a dozen of our coloured gentry reclining under its shade , performing that nectssary act of cleanlioess to one another , which Murillo so admirably depicts in one of his paintiDga of Spanish peasantry . What a
Bight for the Queen of Xots and Beauty 1 In lien of the neighing of chaTgen , the shrill notes . of alaiious , the shoctk of encounter , the splintering ef lances , hacking of armour , the uproar of the melee , and encouraging Bhouts of the heralds , "Fight on , brave laights ; bright eyes behold ycur deeds I" were heard the sounds of the Kroomtn ' s axes , and the mouot « nous ehaunt of a song from the black carpenter ( the reclining parties chorusing in most guttural and nasal tones ) , who was employed making a coffin for one of the unfortunate beings , who had " become that thing ,
O ' er which the raven fbps her funer ' al wing , " and proceeded in his work with such a degree of sang froid as could not be surpassed by an undertaker to a metropolitan Poor Law Union . On the 17 th , we lost one of our assistant-surgeons— < the first officar who fell a sacrifice at the altar of philanthroj y . We buried him , and four seamen , on the left ; of Stirling-hai , under some wild plantains—that tree , 1 which the Easterns dedicate aa " sacred to the Genii of j Death" On the following day the sickDusshad assumed suca an alarming aspect—there being upwards of fifty j on the SistB , despite the continual exercise of the much- '
vaunted , but ntterly nse ' . ess , medicatora—that it was deemed advisable to despatch the Soudan , under the command of Lieutenant F ; , of ours ( while Captaic Bird Allen was to remain with us ) , to the coast , with all the sick in the expedition . She was soon ready for starting ; and on the ensuing -morning took her departure from this region of ptstilenoe and death . It was a harrowing sight to witness men who , a few weeks back , were in the vigour of health and Btrmgth , now so emaciate and prostrated , that the mothers who bore them would not have recognised them in their miserable state .
Tee next day the sickness broke oat with increased violence among the diminished crews of the remaining VrssslB , when , at a consultation , Captain W . Allen gave it as his opinion , in which he was supported by Mr . Cook , that owing to the sickness having assumed sucb an unfavourable character , and it being certain destruction to remain , as the river was falling , and tbo climate wonld become more deleterious , tuat the vessels had better return instanly to the sea . Would , to God , this aage advice had been followed ' some mothers would not have had to moarn for their sons , wives for their pa' tnera—sacrificed for what ought to have been then evident—a chimerical and Utopian scheme . But Capt . Trotter , ( with whom Dr . M'Wiiliam coincided ) believed that when we got higher up the river a purer ntmospnere would be found , which belief justified him in proceeding onwards . Like other visionaries at home .
they mnst have imagined the Niger upwards , from the coi-flutnce , to be like the river Pactolus , with regard to its medicinal virtues . It was at last decided that the Albert should proceed to Kabbah , or higher , if the could , and that the Wilberfcrce should follow ihe Soudan to the coast , with all the remaining sick , instead of the original intention of going np the Tchadda . The next day she was engaged in preparatiens for returning , when several fresh cases of fever kroke out ; the most sudden of which was poor C assistant-surgeon of the Soudan , then attacked te the schooner . He was conversing cheerfully on the poop , when he appeared in good health ; in less than a quarter of an hour afterwards he was found lying on a sofa in the captain ' s cabin , vomiting , and complaining of great head-ache , and such prostration of strength as to be unable to stand . Tooi fellow 1 he never walked again .
What will onr friends the Teetotallers say to the following ? Any one m 3 y judge of our probability of esc 3 p 8 after past occurrences , wfctn a goat and a bull-dog we brought from England could not withstand the effects of this climate , but died at the cosfiaence . Some said it was the " river fever" carried them off ; at any rate it could not have been their diet , for both were opposite in the extreme—bnt sometimes " in the end extremes meet . " Namy used to drink grog at the tub , and loved it too ; Crib only took the pure el « ment : bat both died , and in one day , I think—toetotalism and its opposite . The pestilence still making rapid strides , it was at length resolved on board the Albert to retrace the coarse previously and too-fatally taken . Tne decks presented s dreadful spectacle of the sick &ad dying cficers and seamen : —
About ten o ' clock at night W—— , \» ho had been removed into the captain ' s cabin , became again furionsly delirious , and suddenly leaped through the port . Fortunately , two cooured persons , Tom Osborne and William Guy , hearing his plunge , immediately threw themselves overbo&id after him , and with 10 m : difficulty managed to snppor * him until the boat , wl > ich was instanly lowered , reached them . For this praiseworthy conduct , the Royal Humane Society transmitted a silver medal teeach . Gay was tigered a reward foi his conduct on this occasion , bnt he noDly refused , it , saying ' ne had only d » ne his duty . '' The poor sufferer , who never properly regained his senses , lingered for nearly a month , wben death put a period toihis anguish at Fernando Po . Our second engineer , whose a . ind had been wavering for
some days , attempted a similar act , and waj > immediately pnt under restraint ; but about noon un thR following day , appearing very collected , he left his cot to converse with the fi ; st engineer , directly whose attention was withdrawn he very quietly slipped over the ride . The boat , which was down instantly , pushed off to bia rescue , and had nearly reached him when he sank to rise no more , probably from exhaustion , as he was an excellent swimmer . Such distrerfiDg occurrences did not teDd to restore the fainting spirits of either the sick or sickening , but threw an increased * loom upon our dark prospects , only cheered by the rt flection that we were hastening from scenes fraught with so much anguish and horror . Many of our suffering crew must have thought they had drained the cup of misery to the very dregs .
The writer ' s farewell to this region of pestilence and death , will be thought natural enough : — When we left the mouth of the Nun I bade the Niger farewell , in the words of Yoltaire , when he quitted Holland , — " Adieu , canava , canard , tt canaille ;" although the ducks were rather scarce , swamps and blacky * abounded to satiety . The present Ko . i 3 embellished with a portrait of her Tahitian Majesty , Qaeen Pomare , and a view of Honoluln , the capital of the Sandwich Islande . We wish the Magazine every snectss .
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and marines . Here Edward VI . died , and Queens Mary and Elizabeth were born . With Deptfoid and Woolwich it returns two M . P / 8 . P . 29 . 595 . The above ; will give the reader an idea , though necessarily but aa imperfect one of the contents of this work . We may add that in accordance with its " Pictorial" title , the descriptive letter-press of each county has attached a small wood-out of some public building , monument , or other extraordinary feature of the district . The defect of which we have to complain i ? a
, top great quantity of religious nonsense , intermixed with , and therefore marring the sound sense and practical Knowledge of the book . The attempt to square everything by religious fables is absurd enough ; but the prime mischief is , that the child is made to imbibe a heap of trash , whicb , in after years , if be would be a man , and not an idiot in mind , he muBt unlearn again—a task but too rarely accomplished . We should be glad to see this otherwise excellent work p-orged from th « nonsense to which we have alluded .
"We alsa think it would have been well if the proper pronunciation of the same of each place where differing from the apparent sound of the syllables , had been given . Few things are more important to the youthful learner . We agree with the compiler that no * only the young , but that even many adults will find in this book an entertaining and instructive remembrancer and companion ; and , as sucb , we cordially recommend it to the public .
^ Lit Erature.
^ Lit erature .
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BURNS , THE POOR MANS POET . " 'Tis the doom Of spirits of his order to be rack'd In life ; to wear their hearts out , and consume Their days in endless strife , 8 mi die alone ; Then future thousands crowd around their tomb , And pilgrims come from climes where they have known The name of bim- ^—who now is but a name , — And wasting homage o ' er the sallan stone , Spread his—by him unheard , unheeded—fame . ' "'
In the Star of last week , appeared a copious report of the proceedings at the Burns' Festival , held on the * ' Banks 0 * Doon , " on the now never-to-beforgouen « th August . The day of this national fet 6 was a proud one for Scotland ; for then and there ^—in the vicinity of the very spot where the future bard was by hurricane and tempest ushered into a world which was to him but one continued scene of lowering storm , with but rare iuterralu of sunshine , —was gathered together in " monster assemblage" the representatives of ail classes , from the peer to the peasant : all—Lords and ladies ; poets and ploughmen ; artists and arrizanB ; merchants and mechanics ; men of literature and- men of law ; all uniting in one harmonious and enthusiastic 1 a ? an in honour of the ploughman-bard , the poet of the poor . And not only were " Honest men and bonnie lasses "
present in their ten 3 of thousands from the banks of the Ayr , the Lugar , the Nith , the Clyde , the Tweed , and the Spey ; but there were also not wanting pilgrims from both Eugland and Ireland , and even the nations of the continent , who bad left their own household gods for a season to do homage at the Ebrine of Coila'a bard . These too were but a fraction of those who would , if they could , have been present . We know enough of the working classes of England , —we will not speak of the ( so-called ) " higher ordvra ' , —to enable us to assert , that had it been possible , their tens of thousands would at least have rivalled those of the northern side of the Border . And here it may be remarked , is evidence of the universality and all-embracing spirit
Of the poet ' a writings . TrHS , li VRSS is a national poet , THE national poet of Scotland ; yet it is hardly possible for Mb memory to be more honoured in his own native land than it is in England . His immortal songs are Written in a language which , to an Englishman , at first sight is oue tissue of barbarous jargon ; but the little he does understand at once fares him to know more ; aud it may be safely asserted that no lover of poesy ever glanced ai the works of Burns ,-without making himself master of all the poet has written . Bubms was a Scotchman , but the productions of his gemua are now mankind ' s . Wherever the iiflaeuce of poetry ib felt , —and there can be no real admiration of poetry but what is based on feeling , —and wit , aad humour ,
admired , there e \ er will " Tam o'Shanter" be recited . Wherever the social cup circulates and friendship is pledged in flowing bowls , there will root' and rafters ring wnh " Auld Lang Syne . " Wherever in the gloaming heur the lover presses the object of his passion to his beating heart , there will "Highland Alary , " "Bonnie Jtan , " " My Nannie O , " and " Corn Rigs" be held in trembling or rapturous recollection . And lastly , wherever tho sons of freedom &Te gathtxed , thtTe will " A man ' s a man for a' thai" electrify tht-m with the love of equality , while " Scots wna' faa ' o" will inspire them to do and dare all for liberty . The writings of Bubns embrace every generous , soul-ennobling passion in the human heart : hence , despite his nationality , the universal homage paid to his name .
It was a proud day for the sons of Burns , to be the sharers of the homage paid 10 the memory of their great father . One at least " of them could remember something of that father in the sun-set of his career ; when , bowed down by disease , poverty , and freezing neglect , he , at the manly age of thirty-seven , bowed his head to " ruin ' s ploughshare , ' ' and realised the fate be bad with too prophetic an eye predicted as his lot , on turning down the "Mountain Daisy . " To that son , sweet and grateful would be the incense of admiration which did justice to his father ' s same . Nor could the poet ' s Bister—the toolong forgotten Mrs . Bigg , who still more distinctly and painfully must remember the tribulation and
sufferings of her noble-bearted brother , feel other than the most gratifying emotions , when comparing the present with the past . A proud day too was it for those s-uccessors and representatives of the Gatin Hamilton's , the Aitkins , and the Lauries ; some of whom , would doubtless be present . Their fathers had given their influence and protection to the bard ere yel Lords or Ladies knew or deigned to know him , they were his earliest and truest friends ; and proud of the day must have been their successors . There was one present who must have been " the observed of all observers , " Mrs . Thomson the immortally famed Jessie Lewars of the poet a songs : —
' * Here's a health to ane I lo e dear ; Here's a beslih to ane I lo ' e dear ; Thou art sweet is the smile wben fond lovers meet , And soft as their parting tear ! Jessie ! " This is the noble woman who attended to the wants , smoothed down the pillow , and soothed the sufferings of the dying poet . '" His little household , " say 3 Allan Cu&vi > 'GH . &m , " presented a melancholy spectacle : the poet dying ; his wife in hourly expectation of being confined ; four helple ? B children wauderijig Irom room to room , gazing on their miserable parents , and tittle of food or cordial kind , to pacify the ichole or soothe the sick . To Jessie Lewars , all who are charmed with the poet ' s works are much indebted ; she acted with the prudence of a sister , and the tenderness of a daughter , and kept desolation away , though she could not keep disease . " Immortal honour attend upon the nnm of the woman of whom these words have been penned ! Onr grea ; English poet has well
said" The drying up one tear has more Of honest fame than shedding seas of gore . " and of ihe truth of this the ever-to-be-honoured Jessie Lewars is a signal and bright example . Lastly , the 61 h of Angust was a proud day for the noble peasantry of Scotland , and that heroic working class of whom the particular section to which BtJKSs belonged , the plaided shepherds , are bat a portion . It was a proud day for that order ; lor from their ranks sprung the god-like bard . Yet ihig is the order whom the doltish , frivolous , debauched aristocracy trample on j the order which gave birth to Shakspere and to Burns , whose magic names are those of two only of the glorious galaxy , which , springing from labour ' s children , now shine on high , the eternal lights of time , giving through all nations the lie to hereditary distinctions and wealth- based superiority .
But let ua do the aristocracy justice . They have produced one poet , one who is truly destined , ' To riTal all but Saakapeare ' s name below ;" Btbon . And do thej honour him 1 Let hia persecution and exile from home and country wl " t living , and the pitiful vengeance with which his memory has been pursued , now that he is dead , in the exclusion of his statue from " Poet ' s Corner ; let these answer ! But there is a reason for this . The -very blaza of Btboh's intellect served but to show ro . ore glaringly the tinselled stupidity ofthe liaHgh * vy imbeciles by whom he was surrounded . Wbe ' a ShakspbaRb , and Burns , and Bloomfield * tt » . m the highest pinnacle of fame , their every g > ory is reflected on the class from which they sprung . "With Btbon the reverse Is the case . Ihe fiends of calumny and wrong had their day of trinmph over Burns ; but that day has long gone , down into the blackness of eternal night . The
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like issuo is assuredly in store for Byron . The poet among Lords and the Lord among poets , " will yet have that justice meted to him , which has been , though but too tardily , awarded to his ploughman predecessor . There are two views of a picture , and to thoroughly see its beauties or ascertain its defects , it is neoessary that we take both . In the like manner , then , let us do justice to the festival of the 6 th of August . We nave said that the day was a proud one for Scotland . It was so : but it might have been a prouder one had Scotland been as mindful of her Poet When living , and feeling , aa she appears to be now , — now , that inanimate dust he " heeds noJ , feels not " the applause which she showers upon his nanaa . u v . lew the WBrfwt ana happiness of the bard when hymg would have been worth infinitely more than all the cold stone monuments which have been
erected in honour of him since hiB death . This is iparhapsnot the poetical , but we submit it is the just view of the question . It was no doubt very good , very poetical , of the li repentant" Athenians to elevate Socrates to the dignity of a demi-god after they had poisoned him ; but it appears to us they would hav <« done much better to have pre ^ -erved his lire as long as nature permitted , even though they nad neglected the posthumous honours . So wo think , instead of murdering Burns , —and Burns was assuredly murdered by that villanous system which gives weahhtand honours to knaves and fools , and plungea . " virtuous and gifted meu into misery aud life-destroying obscurity ; instead ef allowing him to poribh at thirty-seven years of age , racked through life , 'excepting one brief period of his career , with \ poverty and all it 3 attendant curses—and thea when I he had gone to the cold , and ; silent grave building monuments and holding fetes in honour of hia
memory , —it would have been infinitely better had justice been done to him while living than alt this parade when dead . Had never even the simplest stone oeen erected to him , his fame could not have been injured thereby . His writings are his immortal monument , and will exist when those of stone and marble have perished from the earth . " On breeza and billow curl'd , His name is co-eternal with the world . " Not that we are opposed to these posthumous honours . Q , 'iite the reverse . They are but too rarely paid to the really deserving . We would multiply them a hundred-fold . We only say do not feast upon your poet's grave , having first starved him into it .
Professor Wilson in his essay on " The Genius and Character of Burns , " has spoiled an otherwise magnificent pice of writing by a most vain and impotent atiempt to tfface the stain of Burns ' s treatment from the historic page . He asks : — " Why , such clamour about his condition—such outcry about bis circumstances—such horror of his exciseniansbip ? Why ehoutd Scotland , on whose 'brow shame is aBbamed to sit , ' hang down bar bead when bethinking her of how she treated him ? Her ' s is the glory of haviDg produced him . Where lies the blame of bis penury , his soul's trouble , his living body ' s emaciation , its untimely death ?"
Aye , Professor , you have well put the question , " where lies the blame" ? We will boldly answer . The blame lies on that flinty-hearted , sdnsh , arrogant aristocraoy , who feasted him at their mansions on bis first appearance in Edinburgh , that they might stare at him , that they might show the wondrous ploughman to their guests , as they would have done any other "rra avis , " : and who , when he had astounded with his knowledge , and dazzlt d with his wit , and the party broke up , and " my Lord , " the owner of countless acres , and " my Lady , " the bedizened with diamonds and feathers ,
drove away in their coaches , left him in the street to grope his way through the dingy alleys of Edinburgh to the bumble lodgings of bis poor but gallant friend Richmond , to share with him his chuff bed ! But the Professor insinuates that if any one was to blame for the poet ' s poverty , it was the poet ' s self . " He returnod to bis natural condition when he settled at Ellisland . " It was his own resolvo " to continue to be what he had always been—a farmer . " The Professor is wrong . Burns only resolved upon farming again when he found how hopeless was every other aim .
" Ho Went to Edinburgh , " saya Allan Cunningham , " strong in the belief that genius such aa hia wool « t raise him in Bociety ; but he came not back without a sourness of spirit and a bitterness of feeling . " Again gays Allan Cunningham : — " He sometimes lamented to friends that he could not find his way into the House of Commons ; he felt a strong call towards oratory , and all who heard him speak—and some of them were excellent judges—admitted his wonderful quickness of apprehension and readiness of eloquence . " Such was the man they made a ganger of !
But the Professor even defenda this gaugersmp , and qnotes the poet ' s own words bo early as the appearance of the Kilmarnock edition of his works , to show that he contemplated this occupation as a matter of choice . Why we know that men will take to stone-breaking usually , ratht-r than perish : but it does not ; follow that therefore s ; one-breaking is a deaira&le occupation . But hear tho Professor : — " With such viewB , Burns became a gaugvr as well aa a farmer . We can see no degradation in his having done so—no reason why whimpering Cockney's should continually cry ' shame ! tbanib ! on Scotland' for having let 'Bunna '—as they pronounce him—adopt bis own mode of life . "
We will venture to asseTt that the extraordinary Cockneys who know not bow to pronounce B . U . R . N . S ., are confined solely to the circle of Professor Wilson ' s acquaintance . But let that pass . The Professor evidently winces under the lash of the " whimpering Cockneys ; " and , therefore , has this pitiful iliiJK at them . "But we deny that the gangership was Burns ' s " own mode of life " . It is notorious that he had no heart in it ; and that while he rigidly performed the duties of his ofiico he detested it from his very soul . Professor Wilson cannot understand how it is that persons who proiess to admire the sentiment" The rank is but the guinea ' s stamp . The nian ' 8 the « owd for a' that , "
can presume to estimate a man ' s happiness by " the extent of his income" ! Probably were the Professor deprived of his " income , " aud made te want the luxuries of life which are his to command , bis apprehension of this Beeming difficulty would be considerably quickened , it is one thing to admire virtue and talent clothed in " hoddiu grey , " and refreshing on" pease-meal brose , " and quite another thing to wish virtHe and talent no better fate . We confess we are proud to number ourselves among the admirers of tho former : but we should be very sorry to rank with Professor Wilson aa the apologists of the latter . Our creed is" That sense and worth , o ' er a' the earth , May bear the gree , and a' that j "
and , therefore , we would not have had Bubns an exciseman . What ! are we to be told that there was no wrong done , when he was placed in a situation where the int-olent jackals of corruption hud it in their power to fling in his teeth that most galling and cruel insult ; thai it was " his business to act , not to think"l And when on his death-bed he wrote thus : — " I beg you to use your utmost interest , and that of all your friends , to move our Commissioners of Excise to grant me ray full salary If they do not grant it , 1 must lay my account with an exit truly en poete—if I die not of disease , I must perish with hunger . " Was there no grinding opprcssi n here , when the Excise refused thi- pitiful boon ?
And lastly , to what amounts tho high flown nonsense of the Professor , when we remember the neverto-be-forgotten letter penned by tho poet in his dying moments , appealing to Thomson , hia publisher , for the miserable sum of five pounds to save him from the "horrors cf a gaoCI Truly Professor Wilson would have done becter for his own fame had he never disgractd his otherwise admirable essay by his miserable attempt to whitewash the charaoter of the selfish Scottish aristocracy . It may be asked why rake up these reminiscences no \» ? The present generation are not accountable
for tho sins of their fathers , and they do all they can do by honouring his memory . Granted , so far as Burns is concerned . But we should like to know from " repentant" Scotland whether , in the event of another Burns arising , the present generation is prepared to play a better part than its predecessors ? We should like to know whether the owners of broad acres , the titled , and the wealthy , whether they are more diligent in seeking out and rewarding genius and worth , than were the high and mighty of the land , when "George the Third was King V
We do not assert that Thom , the poet of Inverary , is a second Burns : bat we do assert that ho ia a man possessed of no ordinary talents , and apparently a heart of the genuine Bphns stamp ; and we know something of what he has suffered from the grinding " tyranny of want . " We know that he has borne with that which would make one-half of mankind fling themselves madly to the lowest depths of despair ' s dread abyss , and for ever bid adieu to a world where " Man ' s inhumanity to man Makes countless thousands mourn . "
What Thoh ' b present position is we know no /«; but we do know that unless Scotland treats hirn , aad the rest of her struggling sons of genius and virtueand they are not few—in a better spirit than she treated Burns , the worldj posterity , V / Ul regard the Burns monuments and Burns festivals as so many hideous mockeries , or vile atte mpts of hypocrisy to appropriate a portion of tfiOse honours due only to gtniuB . There were too , some featur es of the banquet which cannot be passed over v / ithout censure . We allude , first , to the very bad taste which prompted Professor Wilson to sero > onjZ 3 at an intolerable length over the faults and errors of the dead poet , All that portion of his s' ^^ cut aW 8 y from the report whjch appeared , jg p , per , believing that its retention would b' jVe completely spoiled his other-
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wise brilliant speech . Wiiai could have been in worse taste than the rakiag up the faults which the " man Burns" had committed in his mortal career , — passing through which nono are faultless , no , not one—and that too before his sons , and in the presence of his sister ? jit is the poet w « have to do with . Be his errors [ written in water ! but be the productions of bis genius inscribed on bras 3 . The former may now surely be left to perish in the oblivion of the tomb |; 'tis the glory of the latter which should alone command our attention . Secondly . The exclusive character of the banquet reflects no credit upon the managers . Far better that there had been no feasting than that the class from whom Burns sprung should have been excluded by the fifteen shilling ticket . Nor is this all . We observed with no little astonishment that the speakers from beginning to end were exclusively
Scotchmen . This says little for the Committee's good taste . Truo a number of the English literati who were invited to the festival were unable to attend ; but the newspapers tell us that there were a large number of visitors present from both England and Ireland , aud 'tis passing strange if none of these were able to express their feelings viva voce . Some one Englishman at least might have been permitted to reply to the sentiment of " The English Poets "; and some one Irishman at least , might have permitted the same privilege for" The Irish Poets " : it would have afforded to both an opportunity of expressing the sense entertained by both Albion and Erin of the bard withi whose nama had been associated those of the poets of their respective countries . These matters may appear trifles in the eyes of some ; but a different course we think would have rendered this memorable festival more complete , and more generally gratifying . !
The length to which these remarks have already extended , compels us to conclude for the present . Next week , circumstances permitting , we shall have something to say to that lump of puritanical cant , the Edinburgh Witr ^ ss . '
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roe s ^ 'aechea ware very es .-e . lonti ^ L'jrdjE-ltutoun delivered himself with such farvour on tha genius of Burns , thi ¦> sure we are , he woald hive willingl exchanged h . a rank and possessions for the fame of the Ayrshire V ' . ox . 'gbmaa . Professor Wiison ' a speech had one fault—it » . " » too short , — " brief as the lightning ia thecollied nigh . ^ 5 " and the hearers could not repress the expression 0 . ? thsir disappointment at this ; for they now and tbon scraped thefljor with their feet , and rattled their knives and forka . The speech , however , t » rief as it WJU » Was beautiful . The Professor did not , before the son /> of Boms , exuuma their father to react a lecture on his niaral diseases ; certainly not . He waa content ( or might have been ) to expatiate solely ob the genius of the Bird , and tm the immortal wealth that he had bequeathed to all £ & 6 eratioQS of hia kind . The P / ofessor fenew that it ws » his business to deal only with the poet—for tha man JBurna had already answered to his God .
The sons of Burns were present ; - ao was hia aiater with her daughters . It was delightful to behold them The sous of Borna had already made good their claim to the high nature of their father in th « r conduct to his widowed sister , left struggling with tbr worat necessities ; and had , of course , assisted their helpless aunt , and her eordlal fine-hearted daughters . Robert Burn * late of Somerset House , and Major and Colonel Burnswho could doubt it ?—had acted worthy of their name imperishable from its associations with , all that ia lofty of mind , and profound of heart
The hospitality of Scotland is proverbiafe Nothing could exceed the kindness of the coamktee who arranged the festival , to those who were not Scotchmen . Indeed , it waB sufficient to have the meanest title from English letters , to receive from the Scotch gentlemen in authority on the occasion attentions the most delicate and cordial . Many English writers had been invited , bat sent excuses of some aort . Parhaps , with the intuitive forecast of genius , they thought that , if they came , they would be left to shift for themselves , and stayed at home accordingly .
The proceedings of the day were wound np by the Earl of Ejjlintoun , who proposed the health of Mr . Bobert Chambers , which was drunk with an enthusiasm truly national . A . nd vrell did Mr . Chambers merit tha distinction . For it was he who first sought out tha Buffering sister of Bobert Burns ; it was he whobrought a tardy blush into the cold face of Scotland for her neglect of ona dear to her dead poet—Barns * aged sister , saved only from the direst want by the needle of her sempstress daughters . Truly , indeed , did the Earl of Eglintoun say ( or might havo said ) that it was to the active kindness of Mr , Bobert Chambers that Scotland was spared the crowning shame—God knows , the needless ignominy—of the misery of the widow Begg and her children—the sister and nieces of Robert Burns . The festival will be long remembered in Scotland . Certain we are , that ao Englishman present can ever forget it .
That everything may be in accordance with the genial spirit that begot the festival , Punch understands that the wood composing the temporary pavilion will be divided amongst the poor of Ayr ; and that the thousands of yards of calico which covered ceiling , seats , and tables , will bo made into " cutty sarks" for those who may need them .
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London Cork Exchange Mondat . August 19 . — The returns for the last week show very moderate arrivals of most kinds of Grain of home produce but the imports of foreign Wheat , Barley , and Oats , have been large . Fresh up we received a fair average supply of English Wheat , including aboufe 400 quarters of new , the quality of which was by far superior to that exhibited on this day se ' nnight , and which found buyers at prices ruliag from 54 s to 58 i per quarter . Owing to the very favourable change in the weather , the prospect of its continuance , the glass rising , with the wind at northwest , and the accounts from the country being to the effect , that carting has become very general in the
whole of our forward districts , the demand for Wheat of home produce was rathor inactive , at last Monday ' s quotations—hence it will be seen , fchafc the improvement noticed in the value on Friday last of from Is to 2-s per quarter was lost , and a clearance was not effected without difficulty . During the week the duty has been paid on about 20 , 000 quarters of Foreign Wheat , of which we bad a large quantity on sale to-day . In the finest qualities , free of duty , a fair amount of business was doing , at last Monday ' s currencies ; but in other kinds next to nothing was doing . In Corn under lock so little was , passing that the rates were almost nominal . There was no
English Barley at market ; but the supply of Foreign was largo . Grinding parcels were a steady sale , at full prices , while the value of other kinds was supported . The supply of Malt was good for the time of year . Chevalier was in demand , at fully previous rates , but other qualities were heavy . For the best Oats wo had a ready sale , at 6 d . per quarter for money . In other kinda very little was doing . The best old Beans were a fair eale . In other parcels ths sales were limited . All kinds of Peas were quite as dear . Town-made Flour was held firmly at late rates . Country parcels were a dull inquiry . The Seed market was very dull , but we have no material variation to notice in tha
quotations . iuosv ) K Shithfield Cattce SfARKET .- ^ Compared with those of some preceding Mondays , the arrivals of beasf . 9 fresh up to our marker were rather limited , and , generally speaking , of very middling quality . The attendance of both town and country buyers hfiing numerous , and the weather favourable to > slaughtering , we had a very steady demand for all kinds of Beef at , in most instances , an advance in the quotations obtained last week of 2 d per 8 lbs and at which the wholo of the supply was disposed of . Although a few of the primest Scots from Aberdeen and Norfolk realised 4 s 2 d , the top general figure for Beef we consider not to have exceeded 4 s per 8 ibs . Wo regret to observe that the accounts
from our large grazing districts relative to the oondition of the stoek are far from flattering , the drought experienced in th 8 early part of the seasoa having thrown back large numbers of both Beasts aud Sheep . Since thia day se ' nnight the import of live stock for the kingdom have been confined to about 50 Beasts from Holland and Germany . Today only three from Rotterdam were on show , but they were in very middling condition , and were offered at £ 18 . each . The Bullock droves from Lincolnshire , Leicestershire , and Northamptonshire consisted of about 800 short horns . From Norfolk , Suffolk , Essex , and Cambridgeshire we received 600 Scots and Homelands ; from the western and
midland districts , 300 Hereforda , Devons Runts , &c . ; from other parts of England , 350 of various breeds ; and from Scotland , by steamer , 180 horned and polled Soots . The number of Sheep were seasonably good , 3 et , from the causes before mentioned , the Mutton trade was active , and prices had an upward tendency . However we consider the top quotation not to exceed 4 s per 8 lbs . The season for Lamb having now nearly terminated , some difficulty exists in determining the exact value of that stock ; this morning the inquiry for it was in a sluggish state , yet the prices may be considered as last quoted . Calves , the supply of which was good , met a steady demand , and previous rates were well supported . The Pork trade was heavy , yet we have no alteration to notice
la value , Borough Hop Market . —Very unfavourable reports haviag again' reached us from most of the plantation , the demand has continued aetive since our last report , and prices have generally advanced from 2 s to 4 ? per cwt . The duty has fallen to £ 120 , 000 —Weald of Ken * pockets , £ Q 4 s to £ 6 12 d ; Mid Kent ditto , £ 7 5 i to £ 9 18 » ; East Kent ditto , £ 7 5 i to £ 9 44 : Choice ditto , £ 10 to £ 11 Us ; Sussex ditto , £ 6 2 , to £ 6 12 i ; Mid Kent bags , £ 7 to £ 8 53 . Bobocgh and Spixalfields . —For the time of year , we continue to be well supplied with Potatoes from ' the neighbourhood of the metropolis , but 110 arrivals are expected for somo time hence from distant parts . Taejiemand is steady , at from £ i to £ 6 per ton .
Wool Market . —During the week upwards of 3 , 000 bales of Colonial WaoL hive been imported into London . Frcaa other quarters the arrivals have been but moderate . Tnere is a very limited business doisg in Foreign Wools , yet prioes are supported . In English qualities the sales are rather extensive , a £ full quotations . Tallow MAnKEr . —The demand throughout the past week , has been better than for several weeks * and the pyice is so » ewhat firmer . By letters received from St . Petersburgh up to the 7 th inet ., we learn that the shipments up to that time were 25 , 00 ( i casks , againss 33 , 000 in 1843 ; of _ which had beea dispatched to London 3 , 330 , against 8 , 511 casks . The price was firm , but not much busiuesa doing . Town Tallow is 40 d 6 d to 41 s nett cash .
Manchester Corn Market , Saturday , AnousT 17 —At our market this morning , holders of Wheat generally demanded an advance of Id . to 2 d . per 70 lbs but the transactions were on a Tery limited scale Choice Flour continued to move off steadily , and in some instances realized rather higher rates j but inferior qualities were still neglected . No change in tha value of Oats . Oatmeal was held for rather mere money , and a moderate extent of business was done . Beans were Is . to 2 s . per quarter dealer Liverpool Corn Market Monday , August 19 . —The week ' s imports of Grain , Flour and Oatmeal , are of moderate amount . The only change
in dutieB is an advance of Is . per quarter on Beans . Under continued unsettled weather holders have been firm , and have generally demanded advanced prices , but buyers have , on the other band , acted very cautiously , and WheaiJtafcJlot realized more than Id . to 2 d . per feuslrfp $ j 8 tf& * . £% Q * prices j two or thre ^ pwf ^^ fe ? fek ¥ W <> ^ interior . Flour h # Xt ^«^^^ # S . P ® brands of GanadianS ? X ^^^^^^* N » change in the ^ Mj ^^^^^ fKSitv ^ S f ^^ Sl ^ dearer , Barley un » % W ^ p | P ) *
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STEILL'S PICTORIAL GEOGRAPHY—ENGLAND . London : B . Sieill , Paternoster-row . This work , mainly intended for the young , is , notwithstanding a defect we shall presently point out , one of the best , because one of the mofet easy and pleasing in its construction we ever remember to have Eeen . Brevity , we are told , ia tho soul of wit ; in the book before us , it is made the soul of knowledge . Multumin paivo should be its motto ; for assuredly much compressed into little ha 3 been not the least of the objtcts of the compiler of this Geography ; and we must say he has executed his task aamirablj . The present volume of 140 pages is principally taken up with a description of the counties of England and Walesj but prefixed are
several chapters under the head of Geneial Geography , really both instructive and entertaining . These prefatory chapters tr . at of : —I . " The Earth its origin and form . " 11 . * ' The motion of the earth and the xones . " 111 . " Latitude and Longitude . " IV . " Geographical Terms . " V . " Oceans . " VI . ' . MonBtam 3 , &c . " VII . "Volcanoes . " VIII . Earthquakes . " IX . ' * Rnrers . " * * XII . " The Wands . " XllL " Climate . " XIV . Productions and Inhabitants of the Eirih . " & . c . &c . Tb «* n follows a general view of Europe . At page 36 England is commenced with ; first there are chapters on its " Situation , Extent , and General Surface . " "Climate , Soil , and ProdueiioD 9 / ' "History ; " of course this chapter is bnt brief , and gives bui the merest outline of the history of the country .
w Civil , Military , and Ecclesiastical state . " " Ma- j nufactnres , Commerce , &c . " * 'National Character , ! Institutions , &c" " Population ; " under which ; head is given an abstract of the last official census . Descripliots of the several counties JolJow , com- ; mencing with Middlesex . A very comprehensive acconni of the * ' Great Metropolis" is given , embel- hshed with a view of the New Royal Exchange . In describing each county , first iB given a general summary of its extent , boundaries , general surface , and appearance , prodnctions , riTers , population , inha- i bited houses , inhabitants to a square mile ,, number of members of parliament , annual value of real property , ditto of landed property , average value per acre , poor ' s rate , &c . Then follows brief descrip-i tions of each particular place , thus : — :
Castbbbury , —on tbe Stoiir , 56 miles ES . E . ( from London ) , is a city ; the see of an Archbishop , -who is primate of all ^ England ; and returns two Al . P . ' s . It has fifteen churches and a cathedral of great beauty , in ¦ which is the shrine ol Thumas A'Backet , tbe pilgrimages to vhlch once greatly enriched the town and neighbourhood . Tfcere are also numerous lemains of Roman antiquities , and of a large Augustine Monastry . The vicinity abounds with large plantations of bops . — P . ( population ) 15 , 435 . Depifobd , —on tbe S . side of the Thames , near London , has a fine Royal Dock-yard , and a Tery txtensive -victualling department , from which a great portion of the Nary is supplied with provisions . There is an Hoipital called Trinity House , for decayed pilots , or masters of ships , or their widows . P . 23 , 165 .
Gieestfich , — five miles E . S . E ., is celebrated for its fine park , —a magnificent Hospital for disabled seamen , —and tte Royal Observatory on Flamy . ead . hill , from whence the English compute the longitude , " it hu also a large Naval School for the children 0 ! & »>' . iora
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CLEAVE'S GAZETTE OF VARIETY-Part 6 . This part commences the seoond volume , and contains two of the promised contributions of Mrs , Caroline White , well written and really interesting . A'uong the prominent articles in this part we notice " Mineral Waters in and near the Metropolis , " " Horrors of War , " from the Westminster Review , "The Hector ' s Daughter . " A most interesting article on the history , laws , institutions , manners , customp , &o ., &c . of that gallant people , " The Circassians . " A highly important article , or rather Beries of articles , on " Chemistry , and its application to daily , domestic and social life . " " Life in the New World . " Two articles from the pen of that gifted and most popular writer , Douglas Jerrold , &o ., &c . The new volume is commenced with spirit , and bids fair to out-rival its predecessor .
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8 ^^ ° We last week received a well-written letter from a correspondent signing himself" John Park , " residing at Hamilton , Scotland , setting forth that the illegitimate daughter of Burn . ) , known to the readers of his works as the ' sonsie smirking dear-bought BeBs / 'wasnow living at Pollocksbaw ' s , near Glasgow in a state of penury and neglect . The writer naturally and very sharply comments upon this treatment of the illegitimate daughter , compared with that of the legitimate sons . Our correspondent however , appears to be comoletely misinformed as to the daughter being jnow alive ; for on referring to the Poet ' s works , wef find tho following note prefixed to the " Address to an Illegitimate Child . "
" ' Bonnie Bettie , the mother of tbe ' sonsie , smirking , dear-bought Bess , ' lived in Largieside : to support this daughter the poet made over the copyright of his works when he proposed to go to tbe West Indies . She lived to be a woman , and to marry one John Bishop , overseer at Polkemmet , ! where she died in 1817 . It is said she resembled Burns quite as much as aay of the rest of bis children . " Now , hero it is stated that the daughter " lived to be a woman , " was married , and "died in 1817 . " Allan Cunmngham surely must be eorrect . Wnat &ays our correspondent \ What say our Pollock " ehatvd readers ? I
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A BOWL [ OF " PUiVCH . " THE RURti&Tf ESTIVAL— " REPENTANT ' SCOTLAND . AuGirsyGrn , Banks 0 ' the Doon . —To-day , Scotlaud did ptnanca far { past coldness of heart , and avarice of pocket She ' bad degraded her poet into an exciseman ; she bad snatched Robert Bams
" from the sickle and the plough , To gauge ale-firkins , " and finally saw him on his death-bed agonised by a trumpery debt , wifchoutunce drawing her purse-strings . Well , to-day )
" Caledonia atern and wiU , Meet nurse for a poetic child , " ( albeit her nursing of tbe Ayrshire ploughman was very much after the fashion of Mrs . Brownrigg )—to ^ day , repentant Caledonia confessed her sins of neglect and aelflshness , and by the Baiks o' Doen , supplicated forgiveness , of the ghost of Robert Barns . A . nd was ber penitence genuine ? j Did she really feel the birth of gratitude to the sublimating spirit of Poetry ? And if another Burns—yea , or a lesser genius—were to manifest himself , would she honour him living , or wonld she again suffer him to be «• Oppressed with grief , oppressed with care , A burden more than tie could bear ?"
And after he had passed BWay some fifty years from this earth , would she then rend her garments and cast ashes on her head , and wail and wring her hands in most theatrical remorse for tbe callousness of her neglect T Well , it is a bard question ; we cannot satisfactorily answer it ; but we beg to refer tbe curious to Thom , the living poet of Inverary . He , doubtless , can give testimony ol the' tfenderness of Seotland ; can show the sincerity of bgr repentance for past omissions , by the activity of her sympathies towards present suffering . For , of course . Scotland would hardly play tbe hypocrite to Ihe shade of Burns , whilst Thom , a man of exquisite powers , was ground to tbe eartb by the tyranny of want . N » , no ; Scotland on this sixth of August , comes , a true penitent to the Banks of Doon , and she has therefore first visited the poet of Inverary with sympathising gladness .
Punch , he says it with all manly modesty , has ever been distinguished for tbe exolusiveness of bis intelligence . Whenever he has condescended to chronicle tbe events of tbe times , hd has generally contrived to enrich his narrative with incidents whieh have altogether escaped the attention of his soberer contemporaries ; nay , he has often reported circumstances wholly unknown to the actors ! thereof . Nevertheless , by so doing , he has endeavoured to deliver himself in the true Bpirit , if truly developed , of the event If in bis reports be narrates not precisely what reaJIy happened , but what , tested by the thing professed , ought to have taken place , he may certainly violate historic fidelity , but he submits that the fiction may have its moral utility . With this little preface , Punch begins bis brief report of the late doings at the Banks of the Doon .
Scotland ia tremendously in earnest in all that relates to Burns ; in earnest alike in her gratitude and her penitence . This is strongly and most toucbingly shewn even ia tbe grave of Buxba ' a father ; the xustio patriarch of " the big ha' Bible , " embalmed by his immortal son in verse beating with the pulses of the human heart . The grave is in " Auld AUoway ' s" haunted kirk-yard : and gentla reader , if any one returning therefrom tell you that the said grave was , on tbe sixth of August , a trodden mass of mud , ' with nothing to protect itnothing save a low atone -to distinguish it from the craves around , —then , reader , confound the traducer
of Scotland , by declaring to him , ( on tbe authority of tbe pilgrim Punch ) that jibe grave of Burns ' B father is reverently cared for ; is held as precious dust , dear to the heart and memory of Scotland , as a part of him who is now her especial glory > Is it likely that , at the time thousands and thousands were pouring in procession past Alloway Church , to pay heart-homage to the memory of Burns , that the grave of his father should be a mere heap of mire—so much unregarded muck ? No ; it WaB beautifully planted about : every rustic care was bestowed upon it ; the national ^ enetaUon { or the son was manifested even in the dust of the sire (
At intervals throughput the day the rain poured steadily down—and then the sun flickered out , and veiled R * ain , as though refusing to shine upon tbe tardy penitence of Scotland . However , the procession—and to our fancy there was nothing in all the glories of the Eglintoun show equal to the Ayrshire pleughmenin their bomely plaid—tbe procession , made up of various bodies , passed the cottage in which Burns was born , vailing their banners and doffing their caps , as they looked upon tbe hovel made glorious by the immortal mind that dawned there . ; There was a false legend that
this housa was turned into a dram-shop ; a way-side hul for tbe sale of whiskey ; that the room in which Burns was born was suffered to remain a dirty fetid nook , fit for the stying | of a hog . All base calumny against the enthusiasm of Scotland I No : the cottage has been bought by the ! Tewnabip of Ayr : has been properly repaired , and Us shown to pilgrims by an honest matron , who beeps the cottage beautifully clean and neat ; as , indeed , Scotch csttagea peculiarly are . It is said that tbe Town of Ayr will , in a short time , surround the cottage with a silver rail .
As tbe procession passed over the Djon , an incident ' occurred , suggestive of ! a strange freak . The boxmakers of Mauobline carried an enormouB thistle , under which was well inscribed : — " I turned aside my weeding hook And spared the symbol dear . " Professor Wilson—caustic enthusiast I—seiaacl the thiatla , and , plucking aipiete of ifc , piessed it to his bOBom ; the Countess of pEglingtoun and others did the same . Whereupon Punch eould not but think that thva act was satirically typical of the treatment of Burns by Scotland j for truly , didjshe not press her living prjet to her beating heart , evea as men press a this We—Bhrinkhtgly , captiously ?!
The procession passed into a field , where a large tempwary building was ereeted , capable of dining the whole dining population of Scotland ; that is , all the ent&Jiaiaata willing , in honour of Burns , to pay the sura 0 ? fifteen shillings per mouth for a piece of cold tongue , % plate of gooseberries almost xipe , and a pint ol some mystery , calling itself- Sherry . There was , however , a deep meaning ia the sum of fifteen shillings . It was an unerring test of thej sincerity of the heart through the breeches pocket ] . Down pouied tbe lain as about ft thousand persons but the pavilion
sat down to affect to eat a dinner ; was water-proof , and thisy ate and were dry . Bufc how went it with the thonsands who composed the p «> ceasion . and who could not pay < " }«?* " £ * '™*> centle reader they were all fed at the Earl ofEglm . ESS coatT ' for 1 it likely thati the &Mta same princely nobleman who ! expeaded a- tolerable , fortune upon knights and squires tot three days only—would Btint on such a national occasion I O no ! all the procession folks were feaBted at some houae , though , after the most industrious search , Punch could not discovered the Bign . ]
Market Intelligence.
MARKET INTELLIGENCE .
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August 24 , 1844 . THE NORTHERN STAR . 3
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Aug. 24, 1844, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1277/page/3/
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