New-York daily tribune., 1844-01-13
nh, T RIB u n E :.
r Revie W S.
BURNS and Clarinda.'

.peen Robert DufllS anu WI .. A1 Lelose, eulleu
|. bs, grandson Many of the letters of Burns
Nrs M,Lehose have been published before, but
w,s M,Lehose would never allow hers during her
rt.,;me to see the light, and the entire CORES
.,ndence is here, for the first time, put together
"A. bv side. Every reader of Burns's life will
.,nember the frequent illusions to the correspon-
asnce between Sylvander and Clarinda, the ro-
u,ontc names these lovers chose to adopt. Mrs.
N,Lebose was married woman, though not liv-
;,r at the time with her husband, having sepa-
,ated from him on account of alleged i'll treat
ment on his part. In this state, neither widow
no, maid she sees Burns at party, and imme-
dately, at first sight, falls into desperate Pla-
tonic friendship for the poet, which he returns in
the only Platonic way he ever practiced This
Mrs. MLehose, (or, as we must call her, Cla-
rnda,) we should Judge, from all we can gather,
commenced the correspondence on one nights
acquaintance and, being handsome woman,
Burns was not the man to treat her cavallerly,
and she found him, to her surprise and JOY, quite
as Platonically inclined as herself
Buns caught fall, that prevented their meet
np after the first interview for some time; but
we find Clarinda, on the strength of this first
sight friendship, writing to Burns, and saying,
81 had presentiment that we should derive
pleasure from the society of each other" and
closing her letter. I" If were your sister, would
call ard see you; but it's a censorous world
this, and lin this sense) you and I are not of the
world Adieu; keep your heart. You will soon
get we'll and we shall meet. God bless you -
A. NJ" Burns does not allow himself to be dis
tanced in this sudden, ardent attachment but
writes "Of all Gods creatures | ever could ap-
proach in the beaten (!) way of acquaintance,
YOU struck me with the deepest, the strongest,
the most permanent impression" Ahem. We
should say a Platonic friendship opened in this
style bids fair 70 go-heaven knows where The
letters throughout exhibit the most singular mix
turc Of passion, rhodomontade, Stiffness and sense
we ever met in a correspondence. Some OF
Burns's letters indicate his true character, but
most of them are either attempts at clcveness,
or the mort heartless avowals Of attachment and
vnest woman since Evc but has the effrontcry
to assert that her ef1usions in rhyme, sent to him
from time to time, are poetry. Clarlnda, Oh her
part, writes with more sincerity but taking her
character as she herself delincatcs it, we should
say she was pretty, romantic, undecided,
weak, and amiable woman. She is very pious
withal, but, to use her own words, it is all bo
som religion;" and it is laughable to see her
express, in one sentence, painful fears that it is
very wicked to love a man as she loves Syl
vander while she is still married woman, and
IN the next declaring it is purely Platonic
friendships" nothing more; and then winding
up with religious exhortation to Burns, which
must have cooled him off amazingly.
That Burns was utterly destitute of honesty in
these letters we have not the least doubt. Mrs.
MLehoSe was more sincere, but she was not
capable of strong, absorbing passion. We can
conceive of nothing more annoying to an ardeut
man hike Burns, than this futter between duty
and crime, Without sufficient steadiness of cha
facter to keep her from improper conduct, aud
without passion enough to overleap all barriers,
and boldly put her fate on her heart and her heart
IN the keeping OF the man she loved, she acts the
demure, fearful little hypocrite in so ridiculous
manner that 1t surprises us how Burns could
Keep up even the semblance of passion.
1t does no credit to Burns, and is really laugh
able to remember that he had three "qtaires de
c0sur" on the taps at the same time; Jean Ar
mour, TO all intents and purposes, his lea WIFE
was atMauchin, ,whereBurns, in the properplace,l
pretended his heart to be; yet he was even then
signing his soul away to the cold stately !" Lady
OF the Devon"-in despair, because she would not
return his passion, and at the same time swearing
oy all the Parnassian divinlties, that Clarnda
was the only paragon of woman on earth, and
possessed his entire soul. That Burns had a
heart no one viii doubt but that half the time
ne had the most distant idea where 1t was, we
never believed. In this case to keep his three
oais IN the air at once, required, we think, no
ordinary dexterlty. 1t needed also some lmpu-
dence to say of Jean Armour that she held has
entire affections, and at the same time tell Char
btte Hamilton he should die without her, and then
adown and coolly write to " Clarinda' -''you arc
the first, the only unexccptonable individual of the
heauteous sex that ever met with, and never wo-
man more entirely possessed my soul. l know
myself and how far | can depend on passions
WELL 1t has been my peculiar study" We take
thelberty of underscoring this last sentence, it is
such aludicrous climax to rhapsody.
But the most impudent thing of all was his
writing once to this same divine Clarlnda, request
ing her to paw FIVE shillings for him to poor girl
he had ruined, and who, with her illegitlmatc
child, was suffering the extremes of poverty and
Wretchedness; and he would refund 1t when he
arrived IN to,, With all DIR admiration for