He
held the plough or the pen with the same firm, manly grasp. And he was
loved. The simple roll of the women who gave him their affection and
their sympathy would make a long manuscript; and most of these were of
such noble worth that, as Robert Chambers says, 'their character may
stand as a testimony in favor of that of Burns.'" [As I understand,
the foregoing is from an extremely rare book publish'd by M'Kie, in
Kilmarnock. I find the whole beautiful paragraph in a capital paper on
Burns, by Amelia Barr.]
[40] The Dumfries statue of Robert Burns was successfully unveil'd
April 1881 by Lord Rosebery, the occasion having been made national
in its character. Before the ceremony, a large procession paraded the
streets of the town, all the trades and societies of that part of
Scotland being represented, at the head of which went dairymen and
ploughmen, the former driving their carts and being accompanied by
their maids. The statue is of Sicilian marble. It rests on a pedestal
of gray stone five feet high. The poet is represented as sitting
easily on an old tree root, holding in his left hand a cluster of
daisies. His face is turn'd toward the right shoulder, and the eyes
gaze into the distance. Near by lie a collie dog, a broad bonnet half
covering a well-thumb'd song-book, and a rustic flageolet. The costume
is taken from the Nasmyth portrait, which has been follow'd for the
features of the face.
A WORD ABOUT TENNYSON
Beautiful as the song was, the original "Locksley Hall" of half a
century ago was essentially morbid, heart-broken, finding fault with
everything, especially the fact of money's being made (as it ever must
be, and perhaps should be) the paramount matter in worldly affairs;
Every door is barr'd with gold, and opens but to golden keys.
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