. The land of heather . i!^^iiiiiiSS»^ A Church in a Northern Glen XIII A BURNS PILGRIMAGE ROBERTBURNSwas bornJanuary 25, 1759,in a cabin on theoutskirts of thecity of Ayr; andfor this reason Ayrdraws to itselfevery year hosts ofvisitors. These vis-itors, it is said, num-ber fully twice asmany as go to Strat-ford, which seemsto argue that Burns has won more hearts than Shake-speare has won intellects. You find yourself in a Burns atmosphere the mo-ment you reach the town ; for just outside the stationstands an imposing monument to the poet, and the ^31. A Mess for the Pigs 238 The Land of Heat
. The land of heather . i!^^iiiiiiSS»^ A Church in a Northern Glen XIII A BURNS PILGRIMAGE ROBERTBURNSwas bornJanuary 25, 1759,in a cabin on theoutskirts of thecity of Ayr; andfor this reason Ayrdraws to itselfevery year hosts ofvisitors. These vis-itors, it is said, num-ber fully twice asmany as go to Strat-ford, which seemsto argue that Burns has won more hearts than Shake-speare has won intellects. You find yourself in a Burns atmosphere the mo-ment you reach the town ; for just outside the stationstands an imposing monument to the poet, and the ^31. A Mess for the Pigs 238 The Land of Heather shops are full of Burns photographs and mementos,and nearly all the inns and drinking-places, if not ac-tually named either after him or after the most famouscharacter he created — Tam o Shanter,—^are in someother way reminiscent of him. One dingy little inn,that has a Tam o* Shanter sign hung over its portals,claims to be the veritable place where Tam, on thatfateful winter night ** was a the ills o life victorious.* It even preserves the wooden mug out of which Tamdrank, and the oak chair in which he was wont tosit. Not less interesting are The Twa Brigs o Ayr,to which Burns gave such an entertaining individualityin the poem of that name. When he wrote of them andimmortalized their spirited comments on each othersfailings, the new brig was just nearing up with pride it scoffingly asks its rival — ** Will you, poor, narrow footpath of a street. Where twa wheelbarrows tremble when they ruined, f
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Keywords: ., bookauthorjohnsonc, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookyear1904
