BURNS AND SCALDS 



1012 



BURR 



the simple peasant home, the pathos of the 

 daisy cut from its stem, or the field mouse 

 despoiled of its nest these he not only felt 

 himself to the full but was able to make 

 others feel. And his love songs, such as My 

 Luv's Like a Red, Red Rose; Highland Mary; 

 Bonnie Doon, and Wcrt Thou in the Cauld 

 Blast, are of the very essence of tenderness, and 

 will endure long after more elaborate songs 

 have perished. Of the lines from his poems 

 which made for themselves a place in the 

 common speech, the following may be noted: 



The best laid schemes o' mice and men 



Gang aft a-gley. 

 Man's Inhumanity to man 

 Makes countless thousands mourn. 

 Oh wad some power the glftie gie us 

 So see oursel's as others see us ! 

 The rank Is but the guinea's stamp, 

 The man's the gowd for a' that. 



C.W.K. 



See AYR for illustration of Burns' Memorial. 

 Consult Lockhart's Life of Burns; Shalrp's Life 

 of Burns ; Stevenson's "Robert Burns," In Famil- 

 iar Studies of Men and Books. 



BURNS AND SCALDS, skaldz, dangerous 

 and painful injuries to any part of the body, 

 caused by excessive heat. Burns are produced 

 by dry heat, scalds by hot water or steam, but 

 the effects and remedies are practically the 

 same in both cases, and the term burn is 

 ordinarily used in speaking of any injury of 

 this nature. Serious burns are dangerous be- 

 cause they leave a raw surface exposed to 

 germs; also, where a considerable area of the 

 skin is destroyed and the elimination of waste 

 matter by the skin is interfered with, extra 

 work is thrown upon the kidneys and intes- 

 tines, and inflammation of these organs may 

 result. Pneumonia is liable to occur when the 

 lungs and bronchial tubes have been irritated 

 by inhalation of hot air or steam. 



Burns of a serious character should have the 

 attention of a physician, but whether a phy- 

 sician is called or not, measures should be taken 

 at once to exclude the air from the burned 

 places and to relieve the smarting sensation. 

 Carron oil, consisting of equal parts of lime 

 water and raw linseed oil, is an excellent rem- 

 edy if it can be procured free from bacteria. 

 Strips of gauze saturated with the oil are 

 applied to the burned places, and bandages are 

 tied on to hold the gauze in place. Lard and 

 baking soda, or olive oil and vaseline, will 

 also prove effective. Whatever grease is used, 

 it must be sterilized by heat and then cooled 

 before being used. If no remedies are at 



hand immerse the burned parts in water, to 

 exclude the air until proper treatment can be 

 given. A coating of flour or baking soda will 

 also keep the air from reaching the burned 

 parts, but flour and water should never be 

 used together, as the mixture will harden and 

 the patient will suffer intensely when the parti- 

 cles are removed. To offset the effects of shock 

 in case of severe burns, loosen the clothing, 

 keep the patient quiet and lying down, apply 

 warmth and see that he has plenty of fresh 

 air. W.A.E. 



BURN 'SIDE, AMBROSE EVERETT (1824-1881), 

 an American soldier who served on the Union 

 side throughout the War of Secession. He was 

 graduated from the Military Academy at West 

 Point in 1847, was engaged in garrison duty 

 for a number of years, and in 1853 resigned 

 from the army service to take up the manu- 

 facture of firearms at Bristol, R. I. In 1856 

 he invented the breech-loading rifle known by 

 his name. When the war began in 1861 Burn- 

 side reentered the army, and as colonel of 

 Rhode Island volunteers took part in the first 

 Battle of Bull Run. In 1862, as commander of 

 the Department of North Carolina, he cap- 

 tured the Confederate garrison on Roanoke 

 Island and was raised to the rank of major- 

 general of volunteers. 



He was then transferred to the Army of the 

 Potomac; later he was twice offered the chief 

 command of the Army of Virginia, but declined 

 it. With great loss of life his force held the 

 stone bridge at Antietam, which was the im- 

 portant post of that battle, and when, later, 

 General McClellan was relieved, Burnside took 

 command. After the disastrous Battle of 

 Fredericksburg he was superseded by Hooker 

 and transferred to the Department of the Ohio. 

 During 1864 and 1865 he served under Grant 

 and took part in many important battles. 



After the war Burnside was connected with 

 various railroad enterprises,' was governor of 

 Rhode Island from 1866 to 1869, and from 

 1875 until his death he was a United States 

 Senator. His habit of closely shaving his chin 

 and allowing his beard to grow on the sides of 

 his face brought about the use of the term 

 burnsides, as applied to sidewhiskers. 



BURR, AARON (1756-1836), an American 

 statesman whose talents and energy fitted him 

 to rise high in political life. His ambition, 

 however, and his inability to meet opposition 

 serenely, led him into actions which branded 

 him in the popular mind of his time as a 

 murderer and a traitor. 



