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Article BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF EMINENT (DECEAS... ← Page 6 of 14 →
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Biographical Sketches Of Eminent (Deceas...
like a true poet , not worth a groat . Being obliged to give up all idea of pursuing the t » ade of a flax-dresser , on account of the misfortunes gathering round his father , who Avas involved in litigation with his landlord respecting the terms under which he held his farm- —the horizon gradually darkened around our poet , and to crown all , he was cruelly jilted by a woman on whom he had looked as his affianced bride ; Avhich brought on , for three months , " such a state of mind scarcely to be envied by the hopeless wretches who have got their
mittimus—Depart from me ye cursed ! " We shall pass over some few incidents in our poet ' s life , until we come to the time of his taking a ^ farm in conjunction Avith his brother Gilbert , of whom he says , " my brother wanted my hairbrained imagination , as well as my social and amorous madness ; but in good sense and every sober qualification he was far my superior . " These two dissimilar spirits entered upon
this farm , Robert , with a full determination to be wise , and in spite of " the devil , the world , and the flesh , " to attend to the business of husbandry ; but unfortunately the first year was unproductive on account of buying bad seed , and the second they lost half their crops through the lateness of the harvest , and he returned "like a dog to his vomit , and the soav that was Avashed to her walloAving in the
mire . - Burns now began to be known in his immediate neighbourhood as a poet , and giving up his portion of the farm to his brother Gilbert , made what little preparation he could to start for Jamaica . But before leaving his country , it might be for ever , he resolved to publish his poems ; weighing his productions as impartially as an
author can , he came to the conclusion that they had merit , and held as high an opinion of himself and his works as he afterwards found entertained by the public . He carefully examined his faults and failings ; balanced himself against the reputation of others , and at last felt pretty confident that his poems would succeed ; but , at the worst , consoled himself that the roar of the Atlantic would deafen the voice of censure , and the novelty of West Indian life make him forget neglect . In this frame of mind he committed his firstborn to
the press , in an edition of six hundred copies , of which three hundred and fifty were subscribed for . His venture was gratifying both to the feelings and to the purse , for they were , as they deserved to be , enthusiastically received , and he netted nearly twenty pounds ,
which Avas a most seasonable addition to his finances , they being in that state that he had serious thoughts of Avorking his passage , and on his finding himself master of nine guineas , the amount of the passage-money , he took a steerage passage in the first ship that was to leave the Clyde ; for
u Hungry ruin had him in the wind . "
Having been for some days hiding from the terrors of a gaol , " as some ill advised people had uncoupled the merciless pack of the law at my heels , " having taken the last farewell of a few of his
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Biographical Sketches Of Eminent (Deceas...
like a true poet , not worth a groat . Being obliged to give up all idea of pursuing the t » ade of a flax-dresser , on account of the misfortunes gathering round his father , who Avas involved in litigation with his landlord respecting the terms under which he held his farm- —the horizon gradually darkened around our poet , and to crown all , he was cruelly jilted by a woman on whom he had looked as his affianced bride ; Avhich brought on , for three months , " such a state of mind scarcely to be envied by the hopeless wretches who have got their
mittimus—Depart from me ye cursed ! " We shall pass over some few incidents in our poet ' s life , until we come to the time of his taking a ^ farm in conjunction Avith his brother Gilbert , of whom he says , " my brother wanted my hairbrained imagination , as well as my social and amorous madness ; but in good sense and every sober qualification he was far my superior . " These two dissimilar spirits entered upon
this farm , Robert , with a full determination to be wise , and in spite of " the devil , the world , and the flesh , " to attend to the business of husbandry ; but unfortunately the first year was unproductive on account of buying bad seed , and the second they lost half their crops through the lateness of the harvest , and he returned "like a dog to his vomit , and the soav that was Avashed to her walloAving in the
mire . - Burns now began to be known in his immediate neighbourhood as a poet , and giving up his portion of the farm to his brother Gilbert , made what little preparation he could to start for Jamaica . But before leaving his country , it might be for ever , he resolved to publish his poems ; weighing his productions as impartially as an
author can , he came to the conclusion that they had merit , and held as high an opinion of himself and his works as he afterwards found entertained by the public . He carefully examined his faults and failings ; balanced himself against the reputation of others , and at last felt pretty confident that his poems would succeed ; but , at the worst , consoled himself that the roar of the Atlantic would deafen the voice of censure , and the novelty of West Indian life make him forget neglect . In this frame of mind he committed his firstborn to
the press , in an edition of six hundred copies , of which three hundred and fifty were subscribed for . His venture was gratifying both to the feelings and to the purse , for they were , as they deserved to be , enthusiastically received , and he netted nearly twenty pounds ,
which Avas a most seasonable addition to his finances , they being in that state that he had serious thoughts of Avorking his passage , and on his finding himself master of nine guineas , the amount of the passage-money , he took a steerage passage in the first ship that was to leave the Clyde ; for
u Hungry ruin had him in the wind . "
Having been for some days hiding from the terrors of a gaol , " as some ill advised people had uncoupled the merciless pack of the law at my heels , " having taken the last farewell of a few of his