"TAM O'SHANTER AND THE MERRY MASONS." By William Harvey. (F. M. Sparks, Peter Street, Dundee.)

This is a mirth-provoking piece of rollicking rhyme, in which Mr Harvey presents the redoubted Tam as a candidate for the light" which shines only in the mysterious caves of the Masonic Ceremonial-in fact, its humour cannot be fully enjoyed by the uninitiated, which supplies a good reason for every Mason being in possession of a copy at the modest threepenny bit asked for it. How Tam was "made" a mason, with Burns as one of his "makers," the reader must find out for himself by purchasing Mr Harvey's brochure. At the crucial point of initiation, we are told, Tam proved himself a formidable rival to his old acquaintance, “Cutty Sark." After all, the dramatis personæ are spooks, a race of spiritual beings regarding whose cantrips there is at the present moment a revival of interest among the curious.

Mr A. A. Craig, Secretary of the Burns Club of Atlanta, Ga., has forwarded to us a small book containing 13 pieces, all in praise of Burns, which seem to have been read to the Atlanta Club at successive Anniversary meetings. Every one of these compositions reach a high point of poetic excellence, and the Atlanta Club are to be congratulated on the possession of a poet laureate of such quality as Mr Hubner. The book bears on its title page, "For Love of Burns: Poems by Charles William Hubner," and facing the title is a photograph of a building (an exact reproduction of the Cottage at Alloway) which, we are informed, is "The Burns Club Cottage, Atlanta." As a specimen of Mr Hubner's powers, and the robust commonsense which characterises all the pieces, we quote two stanzas from his “ O! Robert Burns, we miss you not

"But all that Death could take of you,

Was but your mortal part

Have we not still your spirit, Burns?

Have we not still your heart?

This part of you, your dust, he hid

Beneath your native sod,

But we will keep the best of you,

That came direct from God."

THE POET'S GENEALOGY.

ST. JAMES'S, S.W.1,

12th October, 1920.

DEAR SIR,-I enclose, as promised, a Chart of the descendants of Adam Burnes, Notary Public at Montrose, brother of the James and Alexander Burnes who distinguished themselves in India. The bulk of the particulars were sent to me by Adam William Gray Burnes in 1910, and in the same year supplemented by James Henry Napier Anderson Burnes, who was over here in the same year with his wife and daughter. They visited Mrs M'Kay at Londonderry, and generally took stock of the places in the United Kingdom in which they were interested. His death took place some four years later, as you will see from an extract from a New Zealand paper which I enclose. He had not been over here, so he told me, for 32 years. It is pleasing to note that he and his brothers, like others of their race, seem to have attained to positions of responsibility and trust. From the names on the Chart it may also be fairly assumed that individually they show a resolve to perpetuate a strain unmixed with any alien blood!

I hope to hear before the end of the year from Alexander Plunkett Burnes as to any births, marriages, or deaths since 1910. If his eldest brother is dead, the son of the late J. H. N. A. Burnes, viz., Adam-Allan Burnes, is probably the head of the branchthe senior springing from Provost James Burnes.

In regard to the Broun family, I fear I did not make myself clear. I have the original marriage contract between one Samuel Broun and Agnes Logie. It is dated 23rd October, 1713. It appears to have been thought-from notes made by my grandfather that these were the grand or great-grand parents of the Poet's mother. If, however, Dr Charles Rogers is accurate [he is often inaccurate in the extreme] this is not the case. It may be a great-grand uncle of the Poet's mother who is one of the contracting parties. Dr Chas. Rogers supports his researches in this particular direction by references to Parochial Registers, so that I am not so inclined to question his accuracy as I am in other directions. As to The New Psalmody MS., I find that it was published in the Scott Douglas edition, and also in the Gibbie edition (America), 6 vols. ; so that there would not be any point in my copying the original MS.

May I suggest that it would surely be worth while to give a little more publicity to the Annual Burns Chronicle. There would seem to be many in the Colonies who would subscribe. Not a few of the stock, and those nearly and distantly connected, would subscribe, who would not see any object in joining the Federation, but who might, through the Chronicle, easily be led to do so.

I hope the enclosed will be of interest. Some there will be in Montrose still left who remember Adam Burnes, the NotaryPublic.-I am, Yours truly, K. G. BURNS.

ottar.