THE CENTENARY OF LIFE NOT DEATH. ROBERT BURNS, 21st JULY, 1896, BY THE REV. THOMAS DUNLOP, BOOTLE. N I. OT thine, beloved Minstrel! foremost, best Nor ours, the doleful mood, when thee we meet In pure Affection's most familiar seat, Mellifluent Burns! Nor yet too sweetly sweet, Not over-coy thy Muse, nor over-dress'd ;— With smiles, with evermore transcendent mirth, Thee, happy Bard! most fortunate of men! On this proud day that hail'd thy better birth, Unnumber'd souls whom thou hast charm'd since then, And all those hundred years, a choral throng, Sing whilst they share thy heritage of song! II. I who, long since, and in my native air, While yet a child, thy witching wood-notes found; Whose sires beside thee toil'd and till'd the ground, And children to their children would declare What bursts of human joy when Burns was there, As at the evening hearth we gathered round, Or where the loom shot forth its clickering sound,No breast so cold but would the rapture share,— I knew thou would'st not scorn the little rill With moist kiss making glad the moorland heath; Nor would" wee modest flower" with crimson frill, Thought I, be absent from thy floral wreath; So this poor reed its tribute too would raise III. None else but thee could win the world's great heart; Nor those Lake-showers of soul-refreshing rain, : Of lady-lords in college, kirk, and mart, So shall the world, while countless ages run, IV. Thy song a Benediction breathed on men Tyrant and rogue of mean or high degree, V. Thine was the martyr-soul, enrobed with flame On Ruin's verge who sat or could not sing,- The same in Shepherd-Psalm that "overflows;" VI. Lone shepherds far away in southern seas Rides "Tam o' Shanter" madly through the breeze; In Syrian tent; by sweet-voiced Mendelssohn Wherever wind may blow is "cauld blast " blown ; The "Jolly Beggars" in hilarious ease Join "Holy Fair" beneath the Sphinx's nose; The "ae fond kiss" renewed on every shore; More wide than Amazon "sweet Afton" flows; The "banks and braes" are fresh for evermore; And strange new tongues the world has not yet heard Shall sing thee "Auld Lang Syne," Immortal Bard! THE BURNS EXHIBITION. OPENING CEREMONY. HE Exhibition in the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts in commemoration of the Centenary of the death of Burns was formally opened on 15th July, 1896, at noon, by Mr. Andrew J. Kirkpatrick, president of the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts and chairman of the Executive of the Exhibition. On the platform were Sir John Watson of Earnock, Mr. Robert Burns Begg (grand-nephew of the Poet), Mr. William Wallace, Councillors Primrose, Graham, and Sorley; Messrs. David Sneddon and W. Craibe Angus, honorary secretaries of the Exhibition; Mr. Robert Philps, honorary treasurer; Provost Mackay, Councillor Campbell, and Deacon Hunter, Kilmarnock; Dr. Hunter Selkirk; Mr. George Gray, Glasgow; Mr. Andrew Gibson, Belfast; Mr. W. A. Scott Mackirdy of Birkwood; Mr. Patrick S. Dunn, vice-chairman of the Executive; Mr. James Deas, C.E., Mr. Robert Brodie, Mr. Paul Rottenburg, Mr. James Deas, jun., Mr. Barrett, of the Mitchell Library; Mr. Gemmill, Mr. Henry Johnston, Mr. W. Freeland, Mr. Hyppolite Blanc, R.S.A. (Edinburgh); Mr. A. K. Brown, A.R.S.A., Mr. Wm. Young, R.S.W., Mr. Skirving, I.A., Mr. Hamilton Maxwell, I.A., Mr. Bonnar (Edinburgh), Mr. William Grimmond, Mr. Robert Walker, acting secretary, etc. The CHAIRMAN explained that the Lord Provost, who had agreed to perform the ceremony of opening the Exhibition, had been unexpectedly called away from the city. Proceeding, the Chairman said—In 1859 the centenary of the birth of Robert Burns was celebrated all over the world by enthusiastic meetings. This year, 1896, the centenary of his death will be commemorated. There will be gatherings again all over the world, wherever the people of these islands meet, to hold in remembrance the great National Poet of the world. Statues will be unveiled to his memory, and to the memory of those associated with him in his life. Wreaths will be laid on his tomb at Dumfries, and many words will be spoken in his honour. This Exhibition, which we are now met to inaugurate, and of which the Right Honourable the Earl of Rosebery is president, was first thought of in 1891, and since then great preparations have been going on; but the Burns Federation, in conjunction with the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, have carried the idea on to actual performance. Her Most Gracious Majesty has extended to it her patronage, and on our list of office-bearers are included many of the most distinguished names in the country in art and literature. This Exhibition is not a local but a national one. As Robert Burns lived most of his life in the West, it is fitting that this Exhibition should be held in the Western capital. We have received kindly and most ungrudging help from hosts of admirers all |