as a song-writer that his fame has spread
widest, and will longest last. Mr. Carlyle, not in his essay, which
does full justice to Burns's songs, but in some more recent work, has
said something like this, "Our Scottish son of thunder had, for want
of a better, to pour his lightning through the narrow cranny of
Scottish song--the narrowest cranny ever vouchsafed to any son of
thunder."--The narrowest, it may be, but the most effective, if a man
desires to come close to his fellow-men, soul to soul. Of all forms of
literature the genuine song is the most penetrating, and the most (p. 203)
to be remembered; and in this kind Burns is the supreme master.
To make him this, two things combined. First, there was the great
background of national melody and antique verse, coming down to him
from remote ages, and sounding through his heart from childhood. He
was cradled in a very atmosphere of melody, else he never could have
sung so well. No one knew better than he did, or would have owned more
feelingly, how much he owed to the old forgotten song-writers of his
country, dead for ages before he lived, and lying in their unknown
graves all Scotland over. From his boyhood he had studied eagerly the
old tunes, and the old words where there were such, that had come down
to him from the past, treasured every scrap of antique air and verse,
conned and crooned them over till he had them by heart. This was the
one form of literature that he had entirely mastered. And from the
first he had laid it down as a rule, that the one way to catch the
inspiration, and rise to the true fervour of song, was, as he phrased
it, "to _sowth_ the tune over and over," till the words came
spontaneously. The words of his own songs were inspired by
pre-existing tunes, not composed first, and set to music afterwards.
But all this love and study of the ancient songs and outward melody
would have gone for nothing, but for the second element, that is the
inward melody born in the poet's deepest heart, which received into
itself the whole body of national song; and then when it had passed
through his soul, sent it forth ennobled and glorified by his own
genius.

That which fitted him to do this was the peculiar intensity of his
nature, the fervid heart, the trembling sensibility, the headlong
passion, all thrilling through an intellect strong and keen beyond (p. 204)
that of other men. How mysterious to reflect that the same qualities
on their emotional side