by Rob Morris
ON the 1st March 1787, just a
century since , Robert Burns , of Ayrshire , " the poet-plowman " of
Scotland , was crowned Poet Laureate of Freemasonry . This only national
honour he ever received was conferred under the auspices of Canongate
Kilwinning Lodge of Edinburgh , Scotland , and in the ancient Hall
still used by that venerable Lodge . The visitor to " Auld Reekie" will
readily find it . Turning into the little street called St . John ,
through the Canongate , he will see on his right four houses , the first
of which was the residence of Dr . Tobias Smollett , novelist and
historian ; the second is the venerable Hall itself ; the third is a
building occupied a century since by the banking concern of Douglas ,
Heron and Co ., the fourth was the city residence of Grand Master Lord
Elcho , whose gracious recognition of Burns daring the memorable winter
of 1786-7 has indissolubly linked his name with that of the poet .
References will be made to Grand Master Elcho ( or Francis Charteris ,
as he was called ) further on . On the opposite side of this little
street lived Lord Monboddo , known in his own times for great talents as
writer and statesman . His principal work , " The Origin and Progress of
Language , " in four volume was a classic in his day . He too was a
Freemason and a fast friend of Robert Burns.
I think that no detailed
account of the Masonic Laureation of Burns has ever appeared in this
country; and as the occasion itself was memorable and the circumstances
curious, I yield to an expressed wish of many friends to make up this
Centennial paper , partly from facts derived from books , partly from
those gathered in various parts of Scotland daring my visits there. As
the successor to the title of Masonic Poet Laureate , it would seem
reasonable that I do this to honour one of such transcendent genius that
his " shoe-latchet I am not worthy to unloose . " But few even of Burns'
admirers realize how much his success was due to the interest taken in
his affairs by his Masonic brethren.
As a preface to this paper
some allusions must be made to the birth and training of the Bard. He
was born in Kyle , Ayrshire , about a mile and a half south of the city
of Ayr , 25th January 1759 , and died at Dumfries 2lst July 1796 , aged
37 years . The place of his birth, the last time I saw it , was used as
a low sort of grog-shop! Robert was exceedingly well educated,
considering the poverty of his father, and his station in life. From
early youth he was a devourer of books, and those, too, mainly of a
substantial class. With a smattering of French he had considerable
mathematics, a fair knowledge of music, and was, even at eleven years,
esteemed a good grammarian. At seventeen he attended dancing-school; at
nineteen, a school of applied mathematics (surveying, drawing, &c.)
Practically, he was a superior farmer. At sixteen he wrote songs. In
brief, those who call him unlettered do greatly err, for even in this
day of free schools and diffused knowledge but few of our boys have such
a general and thorough culture as had Robert Burns. In 1781, at the age
of twenty-two, he became a Freemason, in the Lodge of Tarbolton, and for
five years was marked for his prompt attendance and the earnestness with
which he performed every Masonic duty that devolved upon him. It has
been well said that he entered this Fraternity with all the enthusiasm
of his social and philanthropic nature. The antiquity of the Masonic
Fraternity, its suggestive and beautiful emblems, and the high character
enjoyed by many of his fellow-members, won his utmost respect. The
Masonic Tie introduced him into circles he might never have reached.
Dugald Stewart the metaphysician, Wallace the county sheriff, Ballantyne
the banker, at Ayr, and other men of good social standing, were regular
attendants upon the Lodge at Tarbolton, and entered the inner circle of
his friends. Many passages in the poems of Burns prove how deeply the
peculiar instructions of Freemasonry had affected him. Here is one:
A’ ye whom social pleasnre charms,
Whose hearts the tide of kindness warms,
Wha hold your being on the terms,
"Each aid the others,
"Come to my bowl, come to my arms ,
My friends, my Brothers!
All the writings of this man
prove how ardently attached he was to Freemasonry which, through its
large membership, held out the irresistible hand of fellowship to him.
His attendance upon his Lodge was very constant, as the minute books
prove, and such was the grateful sense entertained of his services by
the Craft, that from 27th July 1781 to 1st March 1786 he was usually
placed, in the absence of Sheriff Wallace, in charge of the Lodge as
Deputy Master. At these meetings he learned the basis-principle of
Freemasonry—Equality. The thought embodied in his famous poem, " A man '
s a man for a' that , " was conceived in the Masonic Lodge. Professor
Wilson says of him, that few were excluded from the largeness of his
heart. He could sympathise with all, provided that by the stroke of his
keen-tempered steel he could elicit some spark of humanity from the
flint of theirs. Where else save in the Masonic connection could Burns
have learned these things? His genius and humour, his mirth and glee,
his fun and frolic, his exhilarated imagination found their fitting
exercise only in the social meetings of the Lodge, the refreshment after
the serious matters composing the Masonic work were fitly done.
But this paper is not to be a
eulogium of Freemasonry, only in so far as Freemasonry affected the life
and fortunes of Roberts Burns. Up to the spring of 1786, though some of
his finest productions were in existence, yet all were unpublished. They
were in manuscript only. Copies in his own handwriting are extant,
showing how much of his time had been spent in gratifying the desire of
his friends for these autographs. Numbers of these were prevalent
through Ayrshire and surrounding counties, but no publisher, so far as
we know, had ever suggested their publication. That these immortal
productions were rescued from oblivion is due to the far-seeing
liberality of the Freemasons.
It is known that in the
summer of 1786 Burns was in great straits. His errors had placed him
under the terrors of the law. He admits that he was skulking from the
constable. He had actually engaged to leave the country for the West
Indies, and had he been able to command money for his passage, the
calamity alluded to bad certainly befallen him. But he was absolutely
destitute. It was then that the Masonic Brethren rallied to his relief.
Sheriff Wallace and other influential masons undertook to guarantee the
issue of a collection of his poems, thirty-eight in number. A printer at
Kilmarnock (Wilson) was secured, and in a little rude office, whose
stock of type was barely equal to a forme of eight pages, the first
edition of 600 copies was worked off; the Masons having pledged
themselves to Wilson for 350 copies in advance. Twice a week the poor
fellow—poor in means, but rich in genius and hope—walked ten miles to
read proofs at Wilson’s office, and then back again the same day, often
upon no better diet than oatmeal porridge or cold Johnny-cake.
How timely was this
publication, is seen in his various poems of farewell. That addressed to
his Lodge, at Tarbolton, will recur to every Masonic reader. Here is the
first verse:
Adieu ! a heart-warm , fond adieu !
Dear Brothers of the Mystic Tie !
Ye favoured , ye enlightened few ,
Companions of my social joy !
Though I to foreign lands must hie ,
Pursuing fortune's sliddry ba ,
With melting heart , and brimful eye ,
I'll mind you still , tho' far awa ' .
Out of the sale of 600 books,
Burns, by the zealous and influential assistance of his Masonic
Brethren, paid the printer, paid some few pressing debts and found
himself in possession of a balance of nearly one hundred dollars. (£20)
About half of this went to the purchase of a steerage ticket to Jamaica.
He had sent his trunk to Greenock, from which port he was to ship, and
was footing it to that city, turning his back for ever, as he supposed,
upon Scotland, when he fell in with a clergyman of his acquaintance, who
showed him a letter from Dr. Blacklock , of Edinburgh , a brother-poet
of some eminence, in which it was suggested that "if Burns would visit
the metropolis a larger and more profitable edition of his book could be
got out under the auspices of the nobility and gentry of Scotland ."
This was the turning point in
his life. He recovered his baggage and measured, on foot, the seventy
miles that separated Greenock from Edinburgh.
Arrived there he took a room
with an old friend, in a retired part of the city, at the cost of about
ten dollars (£2) a month. He had not funds for such a garb as befitted
his entrance into good society, but an anonymous friend sent him fifty
dollars. (£10) Then he began the career and reached the honorarium to
which this paper is directed.
Burns arrived in Edinburgh
28th November 1786. On the 30th he walked in the procession of Grand
Lodge to hear a Masonic Oration. 6th December he was a visitor at a
session of the Scottish Parliament. On the 7th he made his first visit
to a Masonic Lodge, the Canongate Kilwinning, and was introduced to Past
Master Bro . Henry Erskine, one of the most brilliant men of the period.
As a poet and a writer of elegant prose no man in Edinburgh stood
higher. The potency of his wit, says a biographer, and his brilliancy of
comic humour were prominent features in his character. In all respects,
save that of position, Erskine was the counterpart of Robert Burns. At
the meeting of 7th December there were present deputations from the
Grand Lodge and from seven of the Lodges of Edinburgh and vicinity. On
the some occasion Burns was introduced to the Earl of Glencairn, who
took so important a part afterwards in advancing the interests of the
poet. This gentleman was the 14th Earl of that ancient family . He had
been ordained as a clergyman. He was brother-in-law both of Grand Master
Buchan and of Henry Erskine. Bro. Burns always reckoned the Earl of
Glencairn as his best friend, and upon the death of the latter, 24th
September 1791, he wrote an affecting monody, of which here is a stanza
:
The bridegroom may forget the bride
Was made his wedded wife yestreen;
The monarch may forget the crown
That on his head an hour has been;
The mother may forget the child
That smiles so sweetly on her knee;
But I'll remember thee, Glencairn,
And a' that thou hast done for me!
On the 9th December, the
Lounger gave Burns a most eulogistic notice in the form of an extended
review of his poems (the Kilmarnock edition). On the 13th December the
Edinburgh Evening Courant published a complimentary epistle to Barns,
denominating him “prince of poets and plowmen." On the 11th (so swiftly
did the kindness of Masonic friends materialize) the printer Creech
announced a second and enlarged edition of Burns. The Earl of Glencairn
had gone security to the printer and subscribed for forty copies. On the
12th January 1787 Burns visited Lodge Mary 's Chapel at the official
visitation of Grand Master Charteris (Lord Elcho) , where the city
Lodges were present in full pomp . At the banquet which followed , the
Grand Master complimented our poet with the toast " Caledonia and
Caledonia's Bard , Bro. Burns." Repeated acclamations followed. On the
15th January Burns attended the Theatre Royal to witness the "School for
Scandal." On the 1st February he visited Canongate Kilwinning Lodge the
second time, and was elected an Honorary Member, “as a great poetic
writer.” The Master was Bro. Alexander Ferguson, a gentleman of superior
attainments, to which friendship Barns often alluded both in prose and
verse . He died three months before the poet. Charles Moore was Deputy
Master, a gentleman whose society was much sought after for his
agreeable manners. Bro. John Miller was Junior Warden, an author who
published, the same year, “Historical View of the English Government.”
Late in February it was
announced that on the meeting of 1st March a tribute would be paid to
Brother Burns, and the subscription for his forthcoming volume promoted.
The meeting opened at half past six p.m. Two candidates were initiated
and two raised at that meeting. The list of persons present, members and
visitors, is not preserved. It was the last meeting of the season. All
the record says is to the effect that at an early part of the evening
the Worshipful Master Ferguson conferred upon Robert Burns the title of
Poet-Laureate. Meantime the subscriptions for his new edition, also the
printing, were considerably advanced, and the honour of the 1st of March
must have added greatly to his notoriety among the Craft far and near.
In his after writings it is
seen that Burns took delight in the designation of Bard, and esteemed
the honour of the Laureateship at the highest.
To please you and praise you
Ye ken your Laureate scorns ,
The prayer still you share still
Of grateful Minstrel , Burns .
On the 25th June following ,
he was present at the annual election of Canongate Kilwinning , at which
Lord Torpichen was elected Master, a Brother who was initiated 7th
December previous, the very night of Burns' first visit. He had been
made Deputy Grand Master the same month (December), and was now elected
Master of Canongate Kilwinning. Burns was fully recognised at that
meeting as Poet Laureate. On his return to Edinburgh, after a summer
journey through Scotland , he attended the meetings of his Lodge and was
always recognized by his title. A full length statue of the Bard is now
suspended place the place he occupied, of which I retain a vivid
recollection.