Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1877-08-22

|
Hawthorne mentioned in his note book
as the everest country hotel in the
kingdom" Very pleasant it is with
its sanded floors and sheets slippery
and glistening white; with its motherly
hostess who knows Burns as an old
Presbyterian knows the shorter cate
chism. | rose this morning early and
sailed out to reconnoiter. The first
thing saw was ibis inscription over
the door of a house where spirituous
liquors are now sold
"This is the house tho built anew.
Where Burns came weary from the pleuch,
To have crack with Johny boo;
On nights ateen,
And whiles to taste the mountain dew,
Wi, Bonnie jean"
Next to this is public house kept
by Richard Gibson. | had an errand
into il, and found myself in front of the
fireplace that gave light to the "Jolly
Beggars" as sung in chorus.
''Lberty's a glorious feast;
Courts for towards were erected,
Churches built to please the priests"
| was under the rafters that echoed
this subversive ditty. Mauchline is
the place in which to study Burns.
Here were his brign test and not
quite his darkest hours-I went with
an old veteran Of the place into the
klrkyard and dropped a tear and
smile at the grave Of "Holy Willie
and Daddy Auld." Here is buried
the "Schoolmaster" whom Burns com
memorated in some lines with special
and irdelicate reference to ''Mauchlne
lassies," which better be suppressed.
| nave no doubt, however, that they
were true to fact. 1t is painfully evil
dent that Burns in his Mauchline days
was no favorite with the rigid righte-
Gus. | had a pleasant chat with the
Niece Of Jean Armour, a white haired
lady who showed me piece Of the bed
on which Robert died, and wound
my neck the sash of India silk worn by
Jean in old days, when her heart was
young. She brought TO me piece of
oak from hlloway Kirk and from the
rafters Of "Poosie Nancies." Hence
We went to "Mossgiel farm It lies
on the upland and commands a view
on every side. From this Burns saw
the people trooping to "Holy Fair"
across the moor. 1t is farm of l12
acres and the house is the same. and
the division of the fields the same as
when he leased it. In the ''spence is
an autograph letter asking permission
of ''the Lass of Ballochmyle" to pub
lish the poem inscribed to her, The
handwriting is strong and bold
Back Of the house is the field of the
daisy "wee modest crimson tippit." [
enclose you one Of the grandchildren of
the one made famous. To the right is
the field of the mouse. beautiful is
the Mossgiel, and right friendly is the
present proprietor. who asked me if [
knew such place in America as Osh-
kosh From Mossgiel we rode to the
Castle of Montgomery "There sum
mer first rnfolds her robes" The dri-
yer said it was the bonniest place, and
SO it is. "Mary's thorn" yet lives and
where the fair waters meet the AYR,
the lovers parted. Here Burns was at
his best, | fancy. We came back to
Mauchline and | took walk cus into
Ballochnyle to the Ayr water. Here
in the house Of a farmer I found the
charter Of the Farbolton Lodge, f. & A.
NJ, under which the lodge was working
when Burns was entered, passed and
raised. All this helps me to realize
the man, to apprehend him. [ went
into the box works at Mauchline. 200
men and women making fancy boxes,
needle cases, albums, etc., of wood grown
on the banks of the Doom. Just be-
cause he sang his song there hundred
years ago, is the common wood glorifed !!
Oh, the power Of Genius! SO TO lift
up and transfgure all wooden things
about it. [ came late to Dumfries and
at once made my way to Burns street
and to the house in which he lived the
last eight years of his life. I walked
up the stairs, up which he walked, so
wearily to lie down and die 1T is
comfortable house in narrow street
and is unchanged. Thence [ went to
the burial place, Genius has done
something worthy there; carved In
marble the man at the plough, the
muse casting her mantle over him.
Nothing could be better than the spirit
ed, forward, upward look of the face
But sad is Dumfries to me. Here
Burns came to be disappointed aud to
be sickened-to find life stale. fat and
and Improbable; and to die at noon.p-
thirty seven years and three months
and five days and the child of the
cottage at Ayr, closed his eyes and
was glad to close them.
"We said that the days were evil;