The Brookhaven ledger. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1879-07-17
Hisfellang.
Tho Tam 0'shanter Inn.

The Tam 0Shanter Inn.
Ay, the very house in which Tam
and Souter Johnny prolonged their
market-night meetings, the foaming
ale growing better with each successive
draught, Souter telling his quecrest
stories, Tam and the landlady growing
gracious--a house not less famous than
the old Boar's Head in Eastcheap, or
the Bel! at Edmonton. named in these
latter days after that drouthiest OF
"irouthy neebors." the incorngible
Tam, who elbows Rip Van Winkle,
Bailie Michel Jarvie, and Conn in our
vagabond affiliations. 1t is a plain,
plastered, thatched little tavern. tinted
yellow, in contrast to the surrounding
houses, which are white. Over the
door is sign-board with a creditable
painting Of Tam leaving the house.
"Weel mourtsd ON his gray mare Meg"
and the souter grasp,ng his hand with
maudlin affection before he plunRes
through the storm toward Alloway.
The landlord holds the history of the
the tavern precious. and on another
sign board he specifies its associations,
it'll the additional announcement that
"a chair and caup are in the house..
The "caup" is the identical one drained
by Tam, the cliaii the one he sat in and
it would be teetotaler of less than
usual fiexibility who could pass without
ordering some mild beverage as an ex,
cuse for viewing the interior.
The landlords 8 name is A. Glass, and
he is not only most devoted admirer
of Burns, but also a poet in very
small way himself. He was absent at
the time of our visit, aud we were met
at the door by the landlady, who shows
ed us up dark flight of stairs into the
little snuggery where in olden times
the more favored customers were en-
tertained. Imagine twilight room,
about eighteen feet long and twelve
feet wide, with clean sanded floor, the
wood being knotted profusely, and hol-
lowed between the knots by the shuffling
Of many feet, ancient and modern; the
ceiling is OF well-seasoned, time stained
timber, and is bent as though the years
passing over it, with tho mutations of
seasons. had left weight upon it; the
hinge beams are so low that a stove
pipe hat must bow under them; the
walls are smoky, aud hung with q few
autograph letters of Burns carefully
framed; big Fireplace promises
warmth on the coldest nights; aud there
is ample space for pipes, tobaccoo, aud
beer on long table. These details
| being arranged in the readers mind. he
has an idea Of the apartment i'll which
| the cronies o.. the poem met and sang
/ over their roaming swats;' but te be
in proper mood to conjure up vision
of the scene as it was. he should stimu-
late himself with whiskey punch OF
the kind that the landlady brews div
lnely; he shonld choose an evening for
his visit; and. behold in the blue clond
Of smoke Tam appears toastlng the
souter for the twentieth time, and
beaming with boozy happiness, while
the buxom landlady stands near, ready
to replenish the copious tankards as
often as they are emptied. Never did
boon companions swear reciprocal allie
glance with great fervor. nor jest or
song elicit reader applause. than
among the merry makers at the inn on
the market night. The chairs that Tam
and the souter sat in night, anthenti-
Gated beyond doubt on the the land
lords honor. are at the father end OF
the room, each indicated by an insorih
ed brass plate. Sat in! Let us change
the tense-the chairs that they sit in;
for unless tobacco smoke and the silky
vapor of Highland malt whisky mislead
us, these two roisterers are before the
fire now-Tam, with the broad-brim'
med bonnet of the pattern that it call
ed after him, aud the souter, With his
cap and apron, in a gleeful condition
of receptivity. Thus may one who il
ascetic concentrate night with this
jovial spirit company in on hour at the
inn. .-,Ha,pe''s Magazine.