D OF BURNS

The incident mentioned in the last chapter ended in all the men who were
not committed to prison being released and sent on to head-quarters at
Ayr--

Auld Ayr, wham ne'er a toon surpasses,
For honest men and bonnie lasses.

I was among the "removals," and high were my spirits at the prospect of a
sojourn in the hallowed land of Burns. To use a well-turned phrase, it
had been the height of my ambition to reach the birth-place of a genius
second to none in his way--Bobby Burns, the patriotic bard and ploughboy.
For twelve months I stayed in the quaint old town. Scores of times did I
visit the cottage where the world-famous poet was born. It was a lowly
thatched clay biggin; with two rooms on one floor, and at this time was
being used as a public tavern. The building belonged, I believe, to the
Shoemakers' Society of Scotland, and scarcely anything but the native
whiskey and bottled beer was dispensed at the house. The first room on
entering was utilised for cooking purposes, and contained a big
kettle--for boiling water, I was told, (whether in good or bad faith) on
occasion of extra demand for "whuskey". The farther room served as the
parlour, and contained a large oblong table, seated with cane-bottomed
chairs. The mud walls of the room had been boarded over, and the roof
under-drawn, so that an air of comfort was imparted. In almost every nook
of this room were to be seen the initials and names of visitors cut into
the wood, and the places appended to some of the names indicated foreign
visitors. The walls were completely filled with these "carvings" and
writings. I more than once looked round for a little space to put Bill o'
th' Hoylus End's initials, but to no purpose--every available inch was
taken up with those of my predecessors. A portrait in oils of Burns, said
to have been done by Allan Cunningham, one of the bard's friends,
occupied a prominent place in the room. This picture, in keeping with the
general appearance of the room, was covered with initials and names. A
few minutes' walk from the cottage, and situated on a slight eminence
commanding a fine view, stands the Burns' Monument, a beautiful Grecian
edifice. In the surrounding grounds--which are handsomely laid out--is a
little building which contains Thom's statues of "Tam o' Shanter and
Souter Johnny." The Auld Brig o' Doon and Alloway Kirk are not far away.
On ascending the steps leading into the churchyard the first grave is