Obrázky na stránke
PDF
ePub

Belfast: Printed by Joseph

[Woodcut vignette of Burns.] Smyth, 34 High Street, 1826. A copy of this edition is in my own collection. Only other two copies are known to me to be extant, and neither copy is in the British Museum or in any public or subscription library in England, Scotland, or Ireland.

Another Burns bibliography is that of 1867, compiled by the late James M'Kie, printer and publisher, Kilmarnock, which is titled thus :-Bibliotheca Burnsiana. Life and Works of Burns: Title Pages and Imprints of the various Editions in the Private Library of James M'Kie, Kilmarnock, prior to date 1866.

Page 31 begins with "Addenda, containing a List of Editions of Burns besides those given in the preceding pages, and which are not contained in the Private Library of James M'Kie." In order to "fill up any blanks" in the "Addenda,” M'Kie "had recourse to copying from Mr. R. Chambers's 'Bibliography of Burns'"; and one of the blanks so filled up is the mythical edition of "Letters to Clarinda, by Robert Burns. Belfast, 1826."

The "Addenda" is dated "1st October, 1866," which is only thirty-four years ago. Up till that period M'Kie had gone to many places in Scotland, had extended his travels to London, and had twice visited Dublin in his search for old and rare editions. Nowhere in his bibliography does he refer to the edition of The Songs of Robert Burns, alleged by William Chambers, in 1872, for the first time, to have been printed and published by him in 1820.

That 750 copies of an edition of The Songs of Robert Burns should have been bound in boards, published by Wm. Chambers in 1820, and "read out of existence," is an absurdity. I have a theory of my own in the matter as to the edition which William Chambers did undoubtedly produce with his own hands in the manner which he so graphically describes ; and this is as far as I can at present go in the absence of desiderated particulars regarding the earliest Chambers edition of the Black Dwarf, or David Ritchie.

The author invites criticism and desires co-operation.

ANDREW GIBSON, F.R.S.A.I.

THE COTTAGE IN 1825.

MILLER GOWDIE.

V

VISITORS to the birthplace of Robert Burns, Scotland's National Bard, at Alloway, from this date will find the appearance of the property much changed from what it has been for many years past. The trustees some time ago considered the advisability of carrying out such alterations as would make the Cottage what it was when the memorable "blast o' Janwar' win' blew hansel in on Robin," and at the same time remove as far as posslble the risk to which such a valuable and historical property was exposed from danger by fire, risk which was considerably enhanced by the existence of the modern additions which have been made to the original "biggin." As a result the Trustees took what will be recognised as a very wise decision, the outcome of which is now apparent. The transformation has now been going on for the past twelvemonth. The actual cottage and its attached buildings, as they existed at the time of the poet's birth, and as they certainly were at the beginning of last century, appear to have been the cottage itself consisting of a but and a ben, then a byre, and lastly a barn, all running parallel with the present public road. A contemporary engraving, bearing the date 1805, shows these buildings as they then existed, and as above specified. Subsequently to that date, however, and between that and 1819, as shown in the reproduction of a plan bearing that date, the small slated addition attached to, and immediately to the south of the cottage, appears to have been built, and, therefore, not to have formed part of the buildings owned by the poet's father. It is perhaps not generally known that it was at first suggested to place the monument that now occupies a picturesque site on the banks of the Doon, between the "Auld Brig" and the new bridge, in the ground behind the cottage. With this view a plan of the cottage and the grounds was prepared by James Milligan,

Surveyor, Ayr, and engraved and published by W. & D. Lizars, Edinburgh. The plan is entitled "Sketch of the grounds on which it is proposed to build a monument in memory of Robert Burns, the Ayrshire bard, by James Milligan, Surveyor, Ayr." The plan shows the cottage grounds to be co-extensive with the boundaries of the present day, about four acres, and, on a small scale, it clearly shows what the engraving of 1805 does not show-viz., the addition in question to the south, conclusively proving that the addition was built between those dates. The plan indicates the point in the ground marked B, where it was at first suggested to erect a monument, which was at some little distance immediately behind the cottage.

At a later date (to be exact, in 1847) was put up a hall which then served as a concert room and accommodated the members of the Ayr Burns Club on each succeeding "Twentyfifth" in their celebrations of the natal day of the poet, and which later was used as a drinking saloon, when the cottage carried a licence, and more recently, when the licence was taken away, for the purveying of temperance refreshments, and as a museum. Among the most important of the alterations has been the clearing away of this hall, which has been entirely removed, together with various out-houses, and the site sown down in grass. The demolition of the hall has been the only material external change in the precincts. Some important internal alterations have, however, been made within the cottage buildings. Principal among those has been the clearing out of the turnstiles within the front entrance to the cottage through which visitors had to pass to gain access to the cottage and grounds, and the front entrance to the cottage has been permanently closed. The turnstiles have been removed to a new range of buildings to the north of, and altogether separate from, the cottage buildings. Direct access from the road is, therefore, now not through the cottage to the grounds, but from the grounds to the cottage. As already pointed out, the original buildings consisted of dwellinghouse, byre, and barn in their order. The barn and byre had been for long previously diverted from their former use, and the byre, which was next to the best roof of the cottage, had been converted into two bed-rooms, with a door entering into them from the dwelling-house. From that use they have been

ance.

diverted, and as nearly as possible restored to the original form. Windows had been knocked out. These have been filled up. Wooden floors and ceilings had been put in. These have been removed, and the floors and rafters, with their thatch, revealed. Stalls for cows, and one horse, such as were in use a hundred years ago, have also been put in, and the result has been to as nearly as possible restore the appearance of the interior to that which it presented when first built. To obtain this effect old cobble and settle stones were requisitioned from an old byre in the vicinity, now a ruin, and probably of contemporary date, and the rafters, where missing or decayed, have been replaced with others of similar appearThe barn, which had been used as a store, and had not been transformed to any great extent, has also been restored to its original state. Not only has the front entrance to the cottage been closed to the public, but the back door has also been closed. Access to the cottage, which is now from the grounds at the back, is gained from the outside first by and through the barn, then through the byre, then through the best room, and then into the kitchen, which, with its box bed, is the actual room in which Burns first saw the light. It was in the best room where the trinkets and photographs were exposed for sale. These have all been cleared out and transferred elsewhere, and a few relics, guarded by an iron fence, have taken their place. Prior to the present order of things, the visitor was introduced first into the kitchen, and passed thence into the best room; but now, after having reached the kitchen, through barn, byre, and best room, he returns by the way he came to get to the grounds again. There is no other outlet from the kitchen, the previous door direct from the turnstiles to the kitchen, which was not in the original cottage, having been closed to visitors. One other important alteration, designed to safeguard the cottage against the risk of fire, is that a system of hot-water pipes has been introduced throughout for heating purposes, the water being heated at a safe distance from the cottage.

To find house room for the numerous Burns relics which the old hall contained and others for which their was no room, a new and larger hall had to be provided. This occupies the principal part of a new picturesque range of buildings running parallel and at right angles to the public road, and which also

includes a dwelling-house of five rooms for the caretaker, Mr. Mitchell, and his family, as well as store-rooms and hot water heating apparatus. The hall is of considerably larger dimensions than that which was abolished, but it is already evident that it does not err on the side of being too spacious, for the walls are already almost completely occupied by numerous reproductions, engraved and otherwise, of portraits of the poet and friends, and scenes connected with his poems. This collection consists of the various manuscripts and articles that were in the building which has been taken down, and, in addition, about 120 framed prints which had been collected by the late Mr. Craibe Angus, the well-known Burns enthusiast, and which were bought by the Trustees recently. Here a stall has been fitted up for the sale of photographs and other souvenirs, the Trustees from experience finding that visitors are disappointed if they are unable to purchase such articles at the cottage. The walks in the open ground have been asphalted, and an unusual air of neatness and interest has been imparted to the cottage and its surroundings, which was not possible under the old regime.

BURNS'S BIRTHPLACE IN 1825.

In connection with the above it will be interesting to read the following description of the cottage and its surroundings, as given in the Glasgow Chronicle, December 5, 1825

The cottage in which Robert Burns, the poet, was born is about two miles from Ayr, on the old Maybole Road. It is a neat, clean and comfortable thatched house, consisting of three rooms and a kitchen. One of the rooms was built a few years ago. The signboard states that "Robert Burns was born under that roof on the 25th of January, 1759." On entering the house, the first enquiry is naturally for the landlord, and forthwith appears Mr. John Gowdie, better known in that part of the country by the appellation of "the Miller," as he had been a miller for a number of years in one of the mills on the Doon. He is a plain well-bred little man, about 60 years of age, and has been in the cottage for twenty-two years. He points out the bed in which the poet was bornshows a small bust he keeps in one room, which was presented by Elias Cathcart, Esq., when he visited the cottage along with Mr. Stewart, of Dunearn, and several other gentlemen, and in

« PredošláPokračovať »