The Poet Laureate of Freemasonry

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.

Sourced from "The Freemasons Chronicle" - "26th March 1887" by Rob Morris

This lecture was first listed on the Lodge 76 lectures website on January 2025.

This Article was extracted and transcribed in this format by Bro. J. Stewart Donaldson.

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