A Tony in the West of Scotland 



573 



in. CAMBUSDOON. 



Occasional tourists cannot always reckon 

 upon the best accommodation at the 

 various hotels unless some previous notice 

 has been given. Arriving, as we did, at 

 ten o'clock, at Ayr, we found the rooms 

 of the principal hotels occupied by a 

 " covey" of gentlemen about to engage in the 

 delightful and interesting excitement of otter 

 hunting on the morrow after our arrival. 

 Thanks, however, to mine host of the " King's 

 Arms," dormitories were secured for us in 

 an adjoining unpretending hostelry, where 

 cleanliness and comfort were evidently well 

 catered for, and we slept soundly, after hav- 

 ing done ample justice to the wants of the 

 inner man. Our arrangements for the mor- 

 row had been agreed upon, and an order 

 given to the "boots" to call us at six, to 

 have a conveyance in readiness at 6.30 to 

 take us to Cambusdoon and the Burns' 

 Monument, which was faithfully attended to. 

 In driving along the outskirts of the town of 

 Ayr, the suburban villas are conspicuous for 

 neatness of architectural features, and for 

 charming gardenesque fronts. Nothing so 

 pains an eye, educated to a proper blending 

 of natural and artistic beauty, than to see 

 fine blocks of masonry without cognate sur- 

 roundings. A cottage, or a villa, or a man- 

 sion, to be what it ought, should each have 

 a fair and proportionate quota of tree, shrub, 

 flower, and grass for proper harmony, and 

 the well-to-do inhabitants of Ayr have been 

 well advised in this matter. The bracing 

 atmosphere had an excellent influence upon 

 the physical system, and the glorious expanse 

 of sea and land, that unfolded to our view as 

 we passed along, incited the faculties of the 

 mind, preparing us all the more to relish a 

 view of the cherished hallowed spots where 

 the great national poet rambled, and which 

 furnished matter for his muse to revel upon. 



The estate of Cambusdoon has been 

 acquired by Mr James Baird, one of the scions 

 of the great commercial family, whose wealth 

 in the aggregate is something astounding. 

 On this estate is the birthplace, and the scene 

 of the early history and associations of Burns, 

 and it is visited by many thousands through- 

 out the year. The old thatched house, and the 



very furniture, has been preserved so far as 

 that has been practicable. It originally stood 

 alone, but being made use of for what the 

 Scotch people call a public-house, some 

 additional rooms have been added at right 

 angles to the old building. It consists of 

 what the girl attendant called a " but and a 

 ben," and the very bed in which the poet was 

 born is still there — a box-like recess about 

 6 feet by 3 feet, with a curtain hanging over 

 the front. Many of the appurtenances com- 

 mon to a peasant's kitchen of the olden time 

 were visible. In the "ben" apartment, the 

 chairs, tables, and anything of a timber 

 kind, were cut and carved with no end of 

 monograms, notwithstanding a printed notice 

 to the contrary confronting every entrant ; 

 and it is a pity that this should be so, when 

 it seems to be an object to preserve as many 

 things as possible in their entirety. Passing 

 on towards the river Doon, we inspect the 

 ruins of the auld haunted kirk of AUoway, 

 rendered famous by the tale of " Tarn 

 o' Shanter ; " and, looking first to that, and 

 then to the road over which Tam's mare had 

 to gallop before reaching the " keystane of 

 the brig," one's curiosity is awakened, and 

 they can peruse with much greater relish the 

 most interesting and novel rendering of the 

 tale, where the witches start in hot pursuit, 

 and Tam, somewhat pluckily and confidently, 

 calls upon his nag — 



"Now do thy speedy utmost, Meg, 

 And win the keystane of the brig ; 

 There at them, thou thy tail may toss, 

 A running stream they daurna cross : 

 But ere the keystane she could make, 

 The fient a tail she had to shake. " 



The site of the Monument has been well 

 chosen, being placed so as to command all 

 these places of interest, not to speak of the 

 landscape that is to be seen from its summit. 

 But we cannot dwell upon details in con- 

 nexion with this, looking to the ground that 

 has to be taken up before our notes are 

 exhausted. Suffice it to state that the 

 reader and admirer of Burns will be amply 

 compensated by a personal inspection. He 

 or she must, indeed, be an ingrate, and a 

 stranger to the feeling of common humanity, 

 who refuses to pay homage to the genius of, 



