ROBERT BURNS.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18922, 10 February 1927, Page 11

ROBERT BURNS.

TO THE r.DITOH OF THE NtESS. Sir-Seeing tlmt the ouestion thai I put in niv former letter lias remained unanswered, I tlid not intend to take I further part in this correspondence. But the letter of "Ono From tho Hanks of Tuscany" has given me sticli genuine amusement that I cannot refrain from writing again. Ho is so overawed u,\ the impprtaiico of 'Anglic-us • as * scholar and a clitic that lie feels called upon to apologise to "Anglicus tor the letters that have appeared, ca ling such letters "a display of unprejudiced insularity." Nothing is further rom the truth. Tlie ''display of prejudiced , insularity" has been shown by Auglictis." for lie seems to luuvo a grudge against Hums because lie was not born ill an English village. The exact quo- , tatiou is: "Had burns begun lilo.iu an Eiigljsh villago and not written in i a pseudo-Scots dialect borrowed from , Allan Hamsay and his predecessors, bo would havo ranked far higher than ho does now." There surely is a display of "prejudiced insularity" that would be liard to surpass. '1 hough "Anglimis" evidently would havo had it otherwise, nevertheless tho trtith_ is that Burns was the product of tho influences of his own land rather than ut England. His genius was nativc-'iorn. As Lauchlan Maclean Watt has put it, "The voice which re-awoko Ihe sleeping forces 1 was heath-born out of tlio nioorlaiid, not touched by the shaping hand of art. It, had tho sob of the moun-tain-wild in it, the rip])le of tho startouched stream, tho sigh of tlio loch among the wind-stirred rushes in tho dark." With regard to tho question which "Ono From the Hanks of Tuscany" addresses to nio as to tho piety nr otherwise of Burns's life, my reply is that I have already answered that in my previous letter. It is not, for us to pass sweeping judgment, for wo lessor men are not geniuses and ■therefore wo do not know the pitfalls ■which are dug j by the very nature of that genius. Burns himself was very frank about | his own life, for he. says: [ '"Thou knowest that Thou hast formed

mo With piissioii.s xvilri and strong; And listening to their witching voire Has often led inc wrong." I still feel that "Anglicus" ha.* 'in nodue Idas when he. suggests that Scotsmen must have Hums as the perfect man. To my mind that is a gratuitous assumption." f have listened to a great many addresses on Hunts l»y Scotsmen and I do not remember «• single ease in which ho was painted as a perfect man. "Anglicus" oven descends to saying: "If someone were to allege that IJtirns ate |>eas off his knife, they (Scotsmen) would solemnly proceed to disprove it." That, to say the least, i* ungracious, and, -what is more, a tremendous- and fanciful exaggeration. To mako sure of the justico of the above statements, after writing them, I read a *pceeh on Burns delivered in \92-2 by Dr. Joseph Hunter, the chairman of the Dumfries Burns Club, and find that in speaking to "The Immortal Memory."' while praising the superb genius of Burns, lie does not by any mean* omit some of the harsh facts of his life. I hare b-it one word to say in reply to the remarks of about the religion of Burns. Over against his assertion about the supposed last words of Burns. I quote the attested fact that just before the end the dying man turned to Mrs Dunlop and rtvercutly said: "Well, madam, have vou any commands for the other •worldr" In fact I would reVommend both "Anelicuv'-and "Otu- From the Ranks of Tuscany*' to read the illuminating chapter, entitled "Religion." in Lauchlar. Maclean Watt's masterly bonk on-Burns, and then perhaps they will not judge quite so harshly. The* point, however, that I wish to Htress mart d til k tint ti» part vttiimitio

Uainc of gonius did burn inilio breast of Hobcrt Burns, and Scotsmen and their descendants (I come under the latter category myself) aro proud of it und will continue to In; proud of it, and will give voico to their prido despite tho strictures of "Anglicus" and "One From tho Hanks of Tuscany." Before closing I would liko to say that "K.," in his "Obiter Dicta" column last Saturday does mo a great injustice. Through not carefully reading my letter ho quite- misses the point. I never for one moment suggested that to say that "Bums was not 100 per cent, 'in every way 'was' a gratuitous insult to all Scotsmen and their descendants." AVliat I did say was that "Anglicus," in saying that when Scotsmen prained Burns thov were uttering "iinpressivo nonsense,'' and "turning him into a national joke." ho was offering a gratuitous insult to the men uttering the praise, -which is a very different thing, and all his writing therefor© about tho King and thel'opo utterly falls to the ground. Not content with his wrong criticism, ho begins fo jest about "The Cottar's Saturday Night." There arc some things wo do not joko about, and a man at his prayer is one of them.—Yours, etc., NORMAN h. ]>. WEBSTER.. St. Andrew's Manse, February 9th.

TO TBI IDITCk cr TBI HIM Sir,—With your permission I will close my part of this controversy by answering the questions put to me by the man from Tuscany, for being a Scot (and n lover of Scott) "I ne'er forbade when focman bid mc draw my blade." Ho asks inc to make clear the deep religious feeling which inspired Hums to write "Holy Willie's Prayer," "The Holy Fair," and "The " Two Herds." Your correspondent's ignorance of the true purpose of these three poems is truly stupendous and lamentable. As "Anglicus" himself admitted, Hums was a satirist ot the highest order. And if "Tuscany" reads the history of the mouthpiece, Willie Fisher, he will admit that "Willie's Frayer" is one of the most terrible satirrs ever written. In "The Holy Fair" the bard makes superstition and hypocrisy the objects of ridicule; but the sanctity of religion is never once violated, nor arc the saered elements of the sacramental supper ever alluded to. This poem is said to have struck a blow at the absurdities of these outdoor gatherings. In regard to "The Two Herds," I am at a loss to understand "Tuscany," as it is a version in rhyme of a clerical quarrel, and one which the poet never included in any edition of his works published during his lifetime. I do not recollect saying that every poem written by Burnj was marked by deep religious feeling. 1 know him too well for that.

A3 regards "The Cottar's Saturday Night" being poetry of the highest order, well, I am not inclined to admit that " Tuscany" is in a position to .iudgc; for if he "sees himself as I see him" he will uectl a high chair to see himself in tho looktng-class. I still maintain that Robert Burns was "a star from Heaven to Scotland-lent," whose lustre still adorns the horizon, even though "Anglicus" sees it through a smoked' glass. —Yours, etc., B. M. OQNALDSON.