PREFACE.

THE brilliant, painful history of Robert Burns has been written by seven of his countrymen, some of them men of no mean distinction in literature. His productions have appeared in numberless editions. It will probably excite surprise that a new life of the poet, in connection with a new edition of his writings, should have been ventured upon. My belief is, that if such a step can be justified at all, justification can only be presented in a satisfactory form in the resulting work. I must hope that the reader, in perusing these volumes, will see in them peculiarities which will make them appear as not a superfluity. Meanwhile, I may be permitted to state briefly the views under which I was induced to enter upon the undertaking.

When Burns died, so many offended Conventionalities brooded and whispered over his grave, that his first biographer, Dr Currieanxious to conciliate public favour and beneficence to the widow and family-entered upon his task in a timid spirit. He aimed at no detail of the poet's life; he was contented to do little more than arrange reports on the subject from the poet himself, his brother Gilbert, Professor Stewart, Mr Syme, and others, and to accompany the narrative with certain dissertations on those institutional influences which affect the character of the Scottish peasant. It would even appear that, in his anxiety to avoid provoking any loud demonstration from those who took unfavourable views of the life and conversation of Burns, he allowed himself—unwittingly, no doubt to go somewhat beyond the strict truth in his concessions as to the imputed faults of the unfortunate bard. In the other part of his task, the publication of the poetical and prose writings of Burns, Dr Currie does not seem to have thought any particular effort at arrangement or illustration necessary. He chiefly confined himself

to the duty of a pure and tasteful selection. It appears from his own letters that he afterwards saw possibilities of improvement, but he did not live to accomplish them. This amiable man-who had given the leisure of several years to a task by which fourteen hundred pounds were realised for the poet's family-looking for no reward to himself beyond the happiness of succouring the helpless -died at a too early age in 1805, perhaps in some degree the victim of his benevolent exertions.

Of the other biographies of the poet, two deserve particular notice. That by Mr Lockhart, which appeared in 1828, has been universally accepted as a graceful treatment of the subject; kind, without being partial, towards Burns, and informed with a fine spirit of criticism. It adds, however, little to the details previously known, and certainly any effort made by the author to attain correctness in the statement and arrangement of facts, was far from what would appear to have been necessary in the case. The subsequent biography by Allan Cunningham gives a greater amount of fresh anecdote, and has much of the charm which belongs to the wellknown manner of the writer. Yet, whether from defective opportunities (he had never, I believe, set his foot in Ayrshire), or a failure to apprehend and grapple with the difficulties of the subject, this honest-hearted writer seems to have also failed to produce a work which could leave nothing to be desired. In the meantime, the poems and letters of Burns remained in their original unconnected and unillustrated state, with such additions to Dr Currie's list as had been obtained by successive editors, or as had been through any accident attributed to him. I had myself contributed to an edition a series of historical, biographical, and topographical notes, the preparation of which had been the amusement of some of my younger years; but having never had my suspicions properly awakened as to the labours of previous editors, I made no attempt at any further editorial duty. Subsequent editors have amply availed themselves of my notes, indeed to a degree which seems inconsistent with literary rights; but they have left the selection and arrangement of the poet's works as they found it. I should vainly, however, endeavour to convey an adequate idea of the confusion and inaccuracy which I now behold in the many editions of Burns, including, of course, that in which I had myself some concern. This can only be done by presenting in contrast one in which at length a faithfully-zealous, however imperfect, attempt is made to put the writings of Burns before the world, not merely with fidelity as to text (here there is little room for amendment), but with a just regard to the time and circumstances under which they left his pen,

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and with a rigid exclusion of all which cannot be with tolerable certainty affiliated to him.

Venerating the generous editorship of Currie, admiring the writings of other men regarding the life and character of Burns, and duly sensible, I hope, of my deficiency in many of their qualifications, I have nevertheless been led by a love of the subject to venture on the task of producing a new and duly ample memoir of the Great Peasant. It appeared to me that Burns's still growing reputation justified some attempt of this kind, and that the time was passing, and would soon be past, when it could be successfully made. I have accordingly entered upon a minute examination of all the materials which exist for a biography of the poet, and collected new and authentic particulars from all available sources, including the memory of his youngest sister, Mrs Begg, who still survives. The writings of Burns-his poems, songs, and letters are most of them so expressly the coinage of his immediate experiences and feelings, that his life might be read in them alone. As hitherto arranged, each series might be likened to a fragmentary view of the poet's life, supplementary to the meagre memoir usually prefixed. So arranged, the biographic effect of the whole is either imperfectly developed, or lost by dissipation. It occurred to me--and I find that the same idea had latterly occurred to Allan Cunningham, and even been proceeded with to some length by the late Mr Alexander Peterkin- that if the various compositions were strung in strict chronological order upon the memoir, they might be made to render up the whole light which they are qualified to throw upon the history of the life and mental progress of Burns, at the same time that a new significancy was given to them by their being read in connection with the current of events and emotions which led to their production. Such is the plan here adopted, and the result is not merely a great amount of new biographical detail, but a new sense, efficacy, and feeling, in what many would perhaps describe as hackneyed, the writings of the poet himself. It was not a task to be lightly accomplished. In ascertaining dates, in tracing the relations of writings to facts, and facts to writings, in checking mistakes not merely of biographers, but of the poet himself and his nearest relatives, and in verifying fresh information, a degree of labour has been encountered which seems surprising in regard to a poet who flourished only sixty years ago. It is only too probable that, in a subject found in so unfortunate a state, errors have not been avoided ; but such as exist will, I hope, prove to be trivial; and I shall think little of my sacrifice of time in the case, if my countrymen shall join me in thinking that Burns deserved so much trouble being taken in recording the history of his life and writings.