Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-04-26
OWNS RARE COLLECTION OF BURNsIANA.
wv LILLIAN r. SMITH. superintend-
w ent Of the National Botanic Gar
w den is credited with owning tho

wv LILLIAN r. SMITH. superintend-
w ent of the National Botanic Gar
den. is credited with owning the
richest and rarest collection of Burnsiana
in the world. Burnsiana refers not to
botany but to literature. not to plants but
to poesy. not to vegetation but to the i'm
mortal Robert Burns. The story Of Mr..
Smiths enthusiasm for Burns is inter-
esting.
Mr.. Smith was born in the village of
Athelstoneford in Haddingtonshire. Scot
land. When. is another story. Athelstone-
ford Is village that is nine hundred
years old and has never had a population
greater than two hundred. Mr. Smith
says that Athelstoneford is q good place
to come from 1t has certain claims to
distinction, though, in addition to it's age
and the fact that Mr.. Smith was born
there Home. the minister who wrote the
tragedy Of Douglas and other dramatic
works; and for which he was forced out of
the ministry c"such was the narrow big
otry of the time said Mr.. SMITH. was
for some time the parish minister of
Athelstoneford. So too was Blair, the
Scottish poet.
1t was at school examina ton at Athel-
stoneford that the pupils were called on
to recite Gray's Elegy. Each verse was
was the first boy to recite. Near the end
Of the poem the boys began to falter and
none could recite the concluding verses
Smith. the boy. filled the breach! the
poem was delivered. and he who saved
the day was awarded the prize of two
shillings. The victor invested this sum
in a copy of Burns poems. 1t was one
of the cheap editions published in Ire
land and struggled into Scotland. From
the time OF the purchase OF this book Of
Burns dates Mr.. Smiths absorbing inter-
est in the Scot poet philosopher. 1t is
sad to tell that this foundation book of
Mr.. Smiths large Burns library has been
lost. He has made many unavailing ef-
forts to recover 1t.
The second copy of Burns works.
Chambers popular edition. which Mr..
Smith bought he still retains.
At the Royal Gardens.
From Athelstoneford Mr. Smith went
to London, where he worked in the royal
gardens at Kew. He continued to read
Burns and became saturated with the
spirit of that author. Burns democratic
philosophy SO impressed itself upon the
character of Mr.. Smith that he took up
histo o,se To his Fellow Workers at Kew
he came to be known as 1.-THE great Amer
lean Scotchman" and as the library gar
dener." It was the sentiment of such
slsye as mans a man no for s.I that" ETC.
that induced Mr.. Smith to leave England
for the United States. He came over on
the ship City Of Manchester and landed
at Philadelphia In February. 1853. He
had letters of commentator from John
Smith. the queens gardener at Kew, but
he did not at once find employment.
He stopped in front OF a florists estab-
lishment near the city hall in Philadelphia
to examine and admire large collec-
ton of camelias. then the fashionable
flower. and while so interested was &C
costed by a Mr.. Bisset. who proved to be
the head gardener of Mr.. Dundas. rich
IT, Ali nod t1vy H~~ao
ken his arm and was disabled. He en-
gagged Mr.. Smith as an assistant garden
err. His first work on the Dundas place
was potting ferns and remaining a large
collection of ferns which had been shipped
from Kew to q friend of Dundas, and to
whom they had been presented. This
work attracted the notice of Mr.. Dundas,
and he offered to Mr.. Smith the place of
assistant gardener and the position of
head gardener when Bisset shou-A retire.
Comes to Washington.
A man from Washington city on his