44 
THE HAUNTS, AND WRITINGS G8 
ROBERT BURNS. 
(ILLUSTRATED BY THE LANTERN). 
By JOHN BRADSHAW. March 27th, 1906. 
After describing the outward route to Burns’ country via 
Windermere, Grasmere, Keswick, Wigton and Carlisle to 
Gretna Green, the border town of bonnie Scotland, famous in 
bygone days for ending all heartaches and sorrows of romantic 
lovers, the lecturer gave an interesting biographical sketch 
of the Burns family in the township of Alloway, two miles 
from Ayr, where the father of the poet took seven acres of 
land for market gardening, and began to build with his 
own hands a mud shelter with a thatched roof where the 
‘blast of January win’ blew hansel in on Robin.” 
The poet, who saw the light on January 25th, 1759, was 
blessed with parents of the highest type. Two days after he 
was born the “ biggin”’ was blown down, and the mother and 
infant had to take refuge in a neighbour’s house, until the 
house got repaired. The first seven years of the pvets life 
was spent in the humble cottage where an old woman, Betty 
Davidson, lived. She had the best collection of the witch, 
fairy, ghost and boggart tales of any woman in the neigh- 
bourhood, and Burns tells us he sat on the fender the long 
winter nights through, listening to those unearthly legends. 
The early life of the poet was sketched at Alloway, Mount 
Oliphant farm (where he lived eleven years), Lochlea, in the 
Parish of Torbolton (where he fell in love with Ellison Begbie 
and intended to marry her), Mossgiel, near Mauchline, where 
the poet wrote some of his best poetry, including ‘ The 
Cotter’s Saturday Night,’ ‘“‘Man was made to mourn,” 
“ Jolly Beggars,’ ‘“‘ The Mountain Daisy,” and others. 
In the fight that was raging at this time between the Auld 
Lights and the New Lights, Burns took up the side of the 
New Lights and bravely defended Gavin Hamilton, a Mauch- 
line lawyer and magistrate, from the unjust attacks of the then 
preacher Auld Daddy Auld. ‘‘ Holy Willie’s Prayer ”’ satirised 
the teachings of the Auld Light section, and roused a fierce 
hatred against Burns and all the New Light leaders. 

