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verse in order to illustrate the conversation, -the subject of which she never
misapprehends. Indeed, her mind is still the receptacle of fine thoughts, -
and in conversation with one person, she is always ready, and never
misapplies a quotation when the subject requires one. When there are
many in the room, she becomes confused, and seems to take no part in the
conversation; by reason, I think, of her deafness, more than any defect of
understanding. Her piety is beautifully illustrated in her allusions to the
Scriptures; and her memory is tenacious in reciting the Paraphrases.
Speaking of old age, she observed 'on the loss each year sustains', but she
immediately added, as if recollecting, that injustice might thereby be
imputed to the Almighty, -

He gives and when he takes away
He takes but what he gave.

She also quoted the tenth verse of the nineteenth Psalm, with great
accuracy and emphasis. Even her conversation on religious subjects has
been entirely from the heart, that we have always enjoyed the subjects that
led that way.

She often expresses her thankfulness for the faithful attendance of her
excellent servant, who is devoted to 'the mistress', to whom she is now
indebted to for all her earthly comfort, and who is consequently much
beloved and trusted by her.

22nd October 1841
Our old friend, Mrs. MacLehose, died this morning. She is gone, and I
fully believe to her rest: for she was humble and relied for acceptance
upon the atonement. It has been a source of satisfaction to us (Mrs. Moodie
and her sister) to witness the composure of the last days of 'Clarinda'. To
some who saw this old lady latterly, the apathy of age, and the loss of
memory, gave the idea of greater feebleness of mind than was really the
case. There were intervals in which she was still capable of a degree of
mental exercise; and corresponding sentiments served to elicit something
of the mental activity for which she had been remarkable. We have
frequently found her very collected and clear upon subjects which
interested her. I had the blessing of prayer with her frequently; and on the
day of her death I prayed by her bedside, but she could not join: she only
pressed my hand and said, 'I am much obliged to you.' She went off
peacefully. Amongst her last words were, 'I go to Jesus.' When her faithful
servant said to her, 'Do you fear death?' she answered, 'Not so much now...'
After a short time, she felt very cold, and, pressing her servant's hands
exclaimed, 'Margaret! Margaret!' and expired.
I shall ever feel that my sister and myself have been highly favoured, in
being considered by this old lady as a source of comfort in her last days, as
her note to me, written ten days before her death, testifies. 'My dear Mrs.

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Moodie, I am wearying to see you. Do give me a call. I am very poorly. I shall
never forget your great kindness to me, and you being a stranger. I can give you
no return, but that my earliest wish that God may bless you and your little ones.
May they be spared to you for a blessing, and at last may they be heirs of glory, is
the wish and prayers of your earnest friend, A.M. 12 Oct, 1841. This was
written in a firm distinct hand.'
Was the 'Margaret' Agnes called for her servant, or is there just a small
chance that the spirit of her long dead sister had come to meet her for her
last journey? It would be comforting to think that the last words she
spoke, and the last face she saw, were of and to someone she loved. She
would have been at peace and would have left this world without fear.
Her obituary in 'The Gentleman's Magazine' for 1841 read, 'At Calton-hill,
Edinburgh, aged 82, Mrs. Maclehose, widow of Mr. A. Maclehose, writer of
Glasgow, well known to a large circle as the Clarinda of Burns, the poet who
addressed her as a lover in a series of letters which have been often sought for
publication, but hitherto in vain: to the last she retained traces of her early beauty.
Her maiden name was Agnes Craig.'
This obituary, as well as getting her estranged dead husband's initial
wrong and her age wrong, sent Agnes into the hereafter still hinting at the
possibility of impropriety between her and Robert Burns.

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THE KEEPER OF THE MEMORY

DESCRIPTIONS AND RECOLLECTIONS OF AGNES

Description 1787
In 1787 Agnes was described as 'short in stature, her form graceful, her

hands and feet small and delicate. Her features were regular and pleasing,
her eyes lustrous, her complexion fair, her cheeks ruddy, and a well-
formed mouth displayed teeth beautifully white' another described her as
being 'of a somewhat voluptuous style of beauty, of lively and easy
manners, of a poetical cast of mind, with some wit, and not too high a
degree of refinement or delicacy.'

Description/Recollection post 1813
From Sir Walter Scott, who could not hide his contempt of her. *'Note by

Sir Walter Scott on Burns & Clarinda. Clarinda was a Mrs. Meiklehose (sic)
wife of a person in the West Indies, from whom she lived separate but
without any blemish, I believe, on her reputation. I don't wonder that the
Bard changed her 'thrice unhappy name' for the classical sound of
**Clarinda. She was a relative of my friend the late Lord Craig, at whose
house I have seen her, old, charmless, and devote. There was no scandal
attached to her philandering with the Bard, though the Lady ran risqués,
for Burns was anything but platonic in his amours. She used to show his
letters, I suppose out of a very pardonable feeling of vanity, when behold a
young sprig of divinity to whom she had imprudently entrusted them,
carried them off to Glasgow, & sold the copies to a bookseller for ten
pounds (c£916).'
*(This was written on the flyleaf of a copy of 'Letters Addressed to Clarinda by
Robert Burns', Belfast. Printed for L. Rae 1806, held at Abbotsford. Scott was a
piece of work, typical of his effluviant writing and living. As William Craig died
in 1813, the oldest Agnes could have been would be in her mid-fifties, certainly no
old and charmless matron from what everyone else says. But of course, Scott was
very class orientated - and Agnes could never be good enough. His story of the
letters is a different one to that told by Agnes to Allan Cunningham in her letter
of 1834, so was Walter Scott putting his own unpleasant slant to a story of
someone he disliked)?
**(Burns did not change her name, Agnes chose the Arcadian names of Clarinda
and Sylvander).

Recollection c1833
Told by Robert Chambers regarding Agnes' ‘obsession’ with meeting

Burns in Heaven. '(he had heard) Clarinda, at seventy-five, express the same

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hope to meet in another sphere the one heart she had ever found herself able
entirely to sympathise with, but which had been divided from her by such pitiless
obstacles.' Chambers was not fussy on Agnes, especially after her refusal to
allow him access to her letters, and in March 1837, he wrote a Memoir of
Clarinda for his 'Chambers' Journal'. He sent a copy of the proofs to
Andrew MacLehose in January 1837 to see if he wanted to make any
amendments, like adding his mother's name.

Waterloo Place
31 Jan. 1837

My dear Sir,
As promised, I enclose a set of the proofs of the article in which your

respected mother is alluded to. I have endeavoured to treat the matter
with all possible delicacy but hold myself quite amenable to any
alterations which you may think necessary. I would, for my own part, now
I see things in print, be inclined to put the name - the real name, I mean, -
in blank, or omit it altogether.

With esteem and respect, I remain, My dear Sir,
Very Truly Yours [sic]
Robt. Chambers

Description/Recollection c1835 - 1
Both description following are recollections by Dr. James Adams, told at

different times to different people. He attended a party at a friend's
parental home and 'There was present a chirpy old lady, who, from
subsequent information, I know must have been about seventy-five years
of age, but it was a considerable time afterwards I learned that in her an
angel had entertained me unawares; and that the 'Mrs. MacLehose', with
whom I shook hands and interchanged ordinary civilities during the
evening was the far-famed 'Clarinda'......a next-door neighbour (of my
host).'

During the evening Scottish Songs were sung and Dr. Adams sang 'She
says she lo'es me best of a'', and he 'often regretted he did not take note of
Clarinda's face as she listened to almost the only song of Burns's that was
sung that evening'. Agnes joined in the singing and the dancing and the
humour of the evening. He described her thus 'I have never been able to
blend my reminiscence of 'Clarinda' with the familiar silhouette in which
she is pleasingly depicted, at the age of about thirty years (I guess), 'in full
voluptuous but yet o'er grown bulk', decked with graceful gauzy head-
dress. I saw her a shrunken old woman, about five feet one inch in height,
her head surmounted with a toppling, stiff, bunchy, 'mob' cap.'

320847

Description/Recollection c1835 - 2
A Glimpse of Clarinda in Edinburgh - Glasgow Daily Mail 17th August
1895

When Dr. James Adams was a teenager he had an older friend, who lived
on Calton Hill. He knew Adams loved Scots Music and song and invited
him to his parent’s house for a party, where he would have 'a bellyfull of
Scottish Song'. There were about a dozen middle aged people there all set
to enjoy themselves, and the port, sherry and whisky were hardly touched.
Agnes McLehose, a chirpy old lady in her late seventies, was a neighbour
of his parents and was present on that evening. His friend described her as
'a game old lady' and 'an old sweetheart of Burns.' Everyone sang a song
during the evening, it had to be a Scots song and Adams sang 'She lo'es me
best of a', just about the only Burns song of the evening. His friend sang a
couple of songs, one a humorous one called 'My wife has ta'en the gee'
(taken offence/sulked), which Agnes enjoyed the pawky humour and
drollery of. As he was singing Agnes went into 'kinks' of laughter, crying
'Oh stop him! Take him away! Put him out!' When he finished she declared
while breathlessly panting and wiping her eyes that she 'did not know
what he deserved for causing her to make such an object of herself.'
Adams remembered her as having a vivacious manner and lively spirits so
rare in those of advanced years.

Agnes joined in the choruses and proposed a toast. She stood up, looked
round and raised her glass to 'OUR FOES', following it up with 'SHORT
SHOES AND CORNY TOES.' Her health was drunk 'CLEAN CAUP OUT.'

Agnes sang, postured and skelped and wheeled as vigorously as the
foremost and clearly with as much enjoyable abandon as she could have
done sixty years previously.

Of Clarinda's lively vivacity and graceful manner, I have a very clear
impression, because associated with a large lace shawl that floated from
her shoulders and waved gracefully while she was gyrating in the Ronald
Macdhu chorus, in singing which, notwithstanding the chorus, no one got
'roarin fu'. It is because of some disillusioning personal accompaniments -
such as snuff taking to which she was addicted - that I do not participate
in the extravagant laudation bestowed by some on the 'Sylvander' and
'Clarinda' correspondence.'

Some weeks after the meeting I have endeavoured to describe, and
during which I had a glimpse of Clarinda which has aided my judgement
of her character, I met casually the schoolmaster and in the gossip that
followed I learned much that made the evening more remarkable and
riveted on my memory some of the details. Aye, he said, with a tenderly
regretful smile as we parted 'it was indeed a sunny blink. It was but ae
nicht o' oor lives, an wha' wad grudge tho' it were twa.'

238085

Description/Recollection 1837
On 24th February 1837 Agnes was interviewed by John Kay for his book

of 'Series of Original Portraits'. The Portrait he was interested in was
William Craig. He visited Agnes to ascertain certain things. He wrote 'We
found her sitting in the parlour, with some papers on the table. Her
appearance at first betrayed a little of that languor and apathy which
attend age and solitude; but the moment she comprehended the object of
our visit, her countenance, which even yet retains the lineaments of what
'Clarinda' may be supposed to have been, became animated and
intelligent. 'That,' said she, rising up and pointing to an engraving over the
mantlepiece, 'is a likeness of my relative (Lord Craig) about whom you
have been inquiring. He was the best friend I ever had.' After a little
conversation about his lordship, she directed our attention to a picture of
Burns, by Horsburgh after Taylor, on the opposite wall of the apartment.
'You will know who that is - it was presented to me by Constable & Co. for
having simply declared what I knew to be true, that the likeness was
Good.' We spoke of the correspondence between the Poet and Clarinda, at
which she smiled, and pleasantly remarked on the great change which
lapse of so many years had produced on her personal appearance. Indeed,
any observation respecting Burns seemed to afford her pleasure; and she
laughed at the little anecdote we told of him, which she had never before
heard. Having prolonged our intrusion to the limits of courtesy and
conversed on various topics we took leave of the venerable lady, highly
gratified by the interview. To see and talk with one whose name is so
indissolubly associated with the fame of Burns, and whose talents and
virtues were so much esteemed by the bard - who has now been sleeping
the sleep of death for upwards of forty years - may well give rise to
feelings of no ordinary description.'

Description/Recollection 1841 - a week before her death
From Captain Gray of the Royal Marine Corps, from an article by

*Thomas C. Latto, of a conversation in 1841. Latto and Gray had been out
for a stroll on a beautiful Edinburgh evening when they were passed by a
tall thinnish man - 'At that moment a lean, thin cheeked, sallow-faced man
passed us. 'Ha,' said the Captain, 'a Yankee, I'll be bound. There are unco
few Scotsmen of that type.'

'Correctly diagnosed’, Captain, was my reply, 'a genuine down-easter
beyond question, but you can never guess who he is. Why that is the
grandson of Burns' Clarinda, bearing the same name too, MacLehose. He
has been in town some months trying to get some business settled in the
Court of Session. I see him in the Parliament House nearly every day.'

320869

'Indeed,' rejoined my friend, 'that is somewhat strange. I was just about to
touch on that very subject. Do you see that white-gabled house in the Low
Calton, glittering in the sunlight?' - 'Yes! I had observed it.'

'Well, within that house lives the far-famed Clarinda herself. I visited her
last week and found her lively as ever, still worshipping the great poet's
memory, and by no means disinclined to a joke on the superlative
devotion evinced towards herself in days of yore by the impassioned
Sylvander. I have met her several times at the house of Robert Chambers,
where she kept up the liveliest of talk with David Vedder, the host and
myself, and was quite the belle of the party.'

'But she must be changed,' I remarked, 'since the days when she proved
so formidable a rival to Jeanie Armour.'

'Oh! that of course. The features are now somewhat harsh and haggard,
very different from the rather attractive silhouette hanging in her little
parlour. I cannot promise that you would discern in her now any traces of
her once remarkable grace and beauty, but her interesting talk would be
ample compensation for the loss of personal charm.'

Latto made it known that he would be delighted to meet the old lady and
Captain Gray agreed to take him along on the Saturday night.
Unfortunately, Agnes died on Friday, 22nd October, and Mr. Latto lost his
chance forever. Later he wrote a poem regarding this loss.

As on the western slope of Calton Hill,
Old Captain Gray and I had climbed the stair,

“See!” said the veteran, “yon white cottage;
There Clarinda, Burns's goddess, lingers still;
Still is she proud of that long-vanished time'
When the great bard would to her bower repair,

Fleech for a kiss from lips so ripe and rare
And read her samples of his new-made rhyme.”
“Oh, could I see her!”, was my muttered thought.

“Why, yes my boy - in very deed you may;
She'll like it; for she smiled o'er what you wrote:

To-morrow morning or say Saturday.”
But many a slip I've found this one beside;
We never met - on**Friday eve she died.”
*(Latto was born in Fife in 1818 and died in New York c14th May 1894. His
obituary in the New York Times read he was ‘the best known Scottish poet in this
country’ and records that: ‘While as enthusiastic about Scotland as a Scot can be,

239007

he was none the less patriotic as an American citizen’. **Poetic licence - Agnes
died on the Friday morning).

Description 1843
From her grandson, W.C. MacLehose. '(My) personal recollection does

not extend beyond her middle life. She was short in stature; her hands and
feet small and delicate; her skin fair, with a ruddy colour in her cheeks,
which she retained to the end of her life; her eyes were lively, and evinced
great vivacity; her teeth well formed, and beautifully white; her voice was
soft and pleasing.'

Recollection 1889
One old man, in 1889, when showing someone the window of the room

where Burns lived in St James Square said of Agnes, 'The auld donnert
leddy body spak o' her love o' the poet, jist like a bit hellicat lassie in her
teens, an' while exhibitin' to her cronies the faded letters from her Robbie,
she wad jist greet like a bairn. Puir auld creature, she never till the moment
o' her death, jaloused or dooted Robbie's professed love for her; but sir, ye
ken he wis jist makin' a fule o' her, as his letters amply show.'

THE RELATIONSHIP AS SEEN BY LITERATI CIRCLES

Blackie - thought it an innocent relationship.
Chambers - thought it very wrong and very indiscreet.
Cunningham - thought it nothing but stage postures and picturesque
positions.
Ferguson - thought it an ironic comedy - a full length study of the mess
into which two sentimentalists with a gift of words can get themselves.
Lockhart - thought it a little romance.
Scott - thought it the most extraordinary mixture of sense and nonsense,
and of love human and divine, that was ever exposed to the eyes of the
world.
Scott-Douglas - thought it not an innocent relationship.
Shairp - thought the letters were awful, no opinion on the relationship.
Waddell - thought Agnes 'no better than she should be'.
The Enquirer, 28th February 1821 - We think that the annals of literature
hardly afford a more perfect example of that total want of wisdom and
management, which are generally esteemed the necessary attributes of
every reasonable being, than the life of the Ayrshire Bard.
All of Agnes’ friends and acquaintances stood by her even after the letters
had been published.

320981

I think Ferguson possibly comes the nearest to explaining the letters,
though it was certainly no comedy. It would be wrong to demean these
two most human of beings and dismiss their feelings as a laugh a minute,
especially from today’s distance of nearly two and a half centuries - what
gives us the right, or the insight, to judge. We live in different times, with
different rules.

Summary
From her grandson W.C. MacLehose a summary of her character. 'Mrs.

MacLehose's perceptive talents were not so good as her powers of
reflection. Her judgement was often misled by her imagination, or biased
(sic) by the keenness of her feelings; but she read much; and having an
excellent memory, and exercising sound reflection, she made the
knowledge thus acquired her own. Her observation on the world around
her was constant and acute, and she formed a true appreciation of her own
position. But her sensitiveness was too great; her natural vivacity was
strong, and when she gave full play to it in society, next day's reflection
made her construe slight deviations, on her own part especially and
sometimes in others, into grave offences for which she felt undue regret.
She was very fond of society and took a lead in it from her vivacity and
ready wit; but when there were many strangers, she kept in the
background. It seemed to require the fostering encouragement of those
who had already shown an appreciation of her conversational powers to
excite her to the exercise of them.

For thirty or forty years, it is believed, she was in company for five days
out of seven; and when later years thinned the ranks of her friends, and
diminished the number of her invitations, it was with great difficulty she
became reconciled to a more retired mode of life. As her feelings were
naturally strong, so were her attachments. She always considered
ingratitude as one of the basest of sins. She would have been a devoted
wife, had it not been her misfortune to be united to a man utterly
incapable of appreciating her, or of affording her happiness.

As a mother, she was fond and indulgent; and the only son who was
spared to her, was the object of her warmest affections and most tender
solicitude. Nor did her attachment to her friends cease with their lives. She
cherished their memory when gone, and, in several instances, pays a
tribute to their virtues, or the recollection of former happy meetings, in her
Journal many years afterwards. As an example, her notices of Burns may
be quoted:

25th January 1815 - Burns' birthday. -A great dinner at Oman's. Should
like to be there, an invisible spectator of all said of the genius.

6th December 1831 - This is the day I never can forget. Parted with Burns

239029

in the year 1791, never more to meet in this world. -Oh, may we meet in
Heaven!

Indeed, this habit Mrs. MacLehose indulged in to excess. It so happened
that she had lost more of her relations in the month of March, which she
therefore considered an unlucky month; and annually recorded the deaths
with such observations as show that she did not permit the soothing
influence of time to efface the bitterness of past and unavailing sorrows.'

Agnes died without leaving a Will but seven months later an inventory of

her estate was entered in the Com. Edin. Inventories, Vol 62, at the

Register House, Edinburgh -

'At Edinburgh the twenty sixth day of May eighteen hundred and forty-

two years, the following Inventory of the personal estate of Mrs. Agnes

Craig or MacLehose deceased was presented by Mr. Henry Fox, Writer to

the Signet.'

Inventory of the personal estate and effects of the deceased Mrs. Agnes

Craig or MacLehose widow of the deceased James MacLehose of Jamaica,

who died at her house Calton Hill, Edinburgh, on the 22nd day of October

1841, faithfully made, and give up by William Craig MacLehose, Civil

Engineer, presently residing in Edinburgh only surviving lawful child of

the deceased Andrew Craig MacLehose, Writer to the Signet, and only

surviving guardian and executor - nearest in law of the deceased. Durrie

Warrants of the Commissariat of Edinburgh, dated the 25th day of May

1842.'

The said deceased Mrs. Agnes Craig, or MacLehose had pertaining and

belonging to her: -

1. Proceeds of the deceased's household furniture and effects taken

possession of and sold by Mr. Thomas Innes, W.S., as the account rendered

by him. £27. 3 .3.

2. Certain small articles of furniture, letters etc. reserved from said

sale and valued at £1. 10. 0.

3. Half year’s pension from Exchequer drawn by Mr. Innes

£5. 2. 6.

4. Interest on the sum of £1,000 payable to the deceased under the

settlement of the late Lord Craig from the July 1841 to the day of the death,

drawn by Mr. Innes £22. 1. 1.

5. Manuscripts, letters between the deceased under the name

Clarinda to Robert Burns under the name of Sylvander and copies of said

valued at £25. 0. 0.

6. Balance due to the deceased by the deceased Andrew Craig

MacLehose, W.S. at 10th April 1839, the date of his death...Made up by

Messrs J.T. Ogilby, Accountant. £673. 5. 73/4.

321903

Add interest on £601. 19. 10. whereof being accumulated for A.C.

MacLehose to Mrs. MacLehose death - 2 years 195 days £76. 5. 61/4.

7. Sum borrowed upon the security of a house belonging to the

deceased in Piccardy Place, Edinburgh £250. 0. 0.

Interest thereof from marks 1837 to which period interest was paid to

marks 1841 4 years 41/2 parts, 45 £295. 0. 0.

Total £1,044. 11. 2.

Today's equivalent of the total of £1045, would be £97,365. At least Agnes
wasn't on the bread line in her old age.

Not mentioned among the above are the famed 'drinking glasses' given to
Agnes by Burns just before he left Edinburgh, along with what could be
described as not one of his best poems. He just wanted to get away, so
speed was of the essence!

It is not known how long Agnes' grandson stayed in Scotland before
returning to America, but he was here in September 1843 as can be seen by
this letter to a Mr. W.F. Watson. It is an explanation as to what happened
to the glasses and where they ended up. If he was in Edinburgh for a time
after Agnes' death, it is possible that he may have lived in her house in
Calton Hill. He was back in America in 1845 where in March 1845, in
Westfield, Massachusetts, he changed name by deed pole (for a time) to
W.C. Lonsdale.

Mr. W.F. Watson
Edinburgh, 18 Sept. 1843

My Dear Sir,
The pair of drinking glasses which I entrusted to your care, were

presented to my Grandmother Mrs. MacLehose (Clarinda), by Robert
Burns - as I have often heard her mention with the following lines: -

(This is blank in the letter, but is considered to be the poem written at the time -
'Fair Empress of the poet's soul...')

These glasses are of Dutch make, with a gilt circle near the edge and
numerous small gilt flowers - in shape like our ordinary wine glasses but
larger. They used to stand in an open cupboard in my Grandmother's
parlour No.14 Calton Hill and were often taken down to show to visitors,
perhaps to yourself among the number, some visitors were not content
with a sight of them but quaffed a bumper to the memory of the poet. It
may not be uninteresting to add that I have heard my Grandmother
further mention that Burns had himself 'filled them up with generous
juice' and 'pledged her in a generous toast' out of them.

239141

I am Dear Sir, Very Truly yours,
William C. MacLehose

The glasses passed from Mr Watson to Mr Elias Cathcart within ten days.

Thurs. 28 Sept. 1843
St Margaret's, Auchindrane, Fife.
Dear Sir,
To connect me properly with this transaction it seems to be necessary for
you to add, at the end of Mr. MacLehose's letter, a note in the following of
similar kind: -
'I sold the pair of drinking glasses described in the above letter from
MacLehose of this date for the sum of Three Guineas (£334) to E. Cathcart,
Esq. Of Auchindrane, Advocate & Doctor of Laws for the University of
Leyden in Holland.' Signed W.F. Watson addressed to E. Cathcart Esq.
Some of my friends here are anxious to see them and to have a trial of
them and if you could send them down carefully packed, & 'The
Antiquarian', ¼ before O.C. Coach [sic] which passes my gate they could
be returned when required.

Yours Faithfully,
Elias Cathcart.

P.S. Perhaps it might be better to omit the price but judge you. [sic] E.C.
Mr. Watson complied with Mr. Cathcart's wishes.

30 Septembe, 1843
Edinburgh, 52 Prince's Street,
Dear Sir,
I have much pleasure in handing you the pair of Clarinda's Drinking
Glasses described so accurately in the annexed letter of her grandson.
I may add I recollected of their being shown to me by Mrs. MacLehose
when residing in her house on the Calton Hill, Edinburgh. They must be
well known to Charles Kirkpatrick, Esq. (of whom I have heard her
frequently speak) and I should suppose also Mr. Robert Chambers.

I remain,
Yours most sincerely

W.F. Watson.

On reading Charles Rogers' 'The Book of Robert Burns', apparently there
was another parting gift given to Agnes by the Bard. It was a copy of
*Edward Young's 'Night-Thoughts' and was inscribed thus 'To Mrs.
M'Lehose, this poem, the sentiments of the heirs of immortality, told in the
numbers of Paradise, is respectfully presented by Robert Burns.' In old age

321925

Agnes gave this book to Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe for his collection.
*(Young was an English poet and playwright, 1683-1765. Never quite making it
as he hoped, he was to write -

"False praises are the whoredoms of the pen
And prostitute fair fame to worthless men.
'The Complaint: or, Night Thought's on Life, Death and Immortality', is a long
poem in blank verse. Written over the period 1742 to the mid 1750's it eventually
did make his name and fame. It was a tremendous success being translated into
several languages, including Welsh. His most famous line given to posterity is
'procrastination is the thief of time'. A new edition of the poems was issued in
1797 and illustrated by William Blake).

MODERN TIMES

AGNES' PLAQUE AND GRAVE

REJECTED ONCE -
After Agnes died there was a problem aquiring permission to have her
buried in the plot of her cousin, William Craig who had died in 1813,
although it was what he had wished. Having died a bachelor, he had no
descendants. Eventually it was agreed that Agnes could rest in the same
plot as him, without a curtain being rustled or an eyebrow raised at the
indecency of the thought.

REJECTED TWICE -
In 1899 The Ninety Burns Club approached the Edinburgh Town Council
for subscriptions towards restoring the grave of Clarinda. The Town
Council recommended taking no action.

The Glasgow Herald, 1910, 'The Builder': 'The Edinburgh Ninety Burns
Club have initiated a movement to place a tablet on the grave in
Canongate Churchyard of Mrs. Maclehose, the 'Clarinda' of Burns.' 'The
Builder' considered this to be 'a little unreasonable', their argument being
that 'to place on the gravestone of one, the resting-place of whose remains
is thereby already sufficiently recorded, a tablet to the poet's individual
vision of the animated flesh, were not only to commemorate what is not
there, to confound with the immortal Clarinda the mortal Mrs. Maclehose,
but also, and not subtly, to slight the poet the promoters ostensibly
esteem.'

In 1922 a plaque was raised over her resting place and the following is a
description of it.

239163

‘Bronze profile portrait of young 'Clarinda', facing right, with her long waving
hair held back in an elaborate arrangement of cascading ribbons. The right
shoulder, nearest the viewer, is cut off; the chest bare, apart from a sweep of
drapery over the left shoulder.’

On 16 June 1922 The Building News reported that the bronze had been
unveiled on 10 June.
Inscriptions: Cut in stone below oval portrait: CLARINDA
Signatures: Beneath bust (incised letters): H S Gamley A.R.S.A.
Design period: 1910-1922 - Year of unveiling: 1922 - Unveiling details: 10
June 1922
Her plaque was unveiled in the Canongate and there is a photo in the
Edinburgh Evening News.

REJECTED THRICE -
In 1936 The Edinburgh Clarinda Club wanted to erect a plaque near the
site of her house in the Potterrow. Ninety-five years after her demise at
eighty-three, this minx again had her character splashed all over the
newspapers. The Edinburgh Corporation Education Committee, full of
upstanding God botherers, huffed and puffed themselves up to the size of
a house and decided that 'it was beneath the dignity of our city to sanction
such a tablet in view of Clarinda's character.' Parts of her letters were read out
to display her immoral tendencies to all and sundry, they obviously had
nothing better to do with their time or any respect for the cost to the rate
payers of the city. Their refusal was unacceptable to the Clarinda Club,
and the M.P., Walter Ellis, took the whole ridiculous refusal to London to
Westminster to the Secretary of State for Scotland who in turn, being a
consummate politician, referred it all the way back to Edinburgh.

Agnes had spent hours, and nights, wrestling with Burns, then her
conscience, and had come out of the whole thing unsinged though at times
a little unhinged, now she was being castigated for being just short of 'a
fallen woman'. But as no publicity is bad publicity, finally the good Men of
the Education Committee relented, hopefully suitably shamed and on the
22nd January 1937 a plaque to Agnes/Nancy/Clarinda was unveiled on the
wall of the Bristo Street Technical Institute, the nearest place to where she
would have stayed in 1787, a century and a half before. Agnes spoken of in
Parliament, she would never have believed it, but would have approved.

321947

239185

EPILOGUES AND
POEMS

Epilogue 1...Epilogue 2...Burns’ Poems/Songs
Agnes' Poems

321969

EPILOGUE 1

I had often wondered about descendants of Agnes being alive today,
descendants of her grandson William who left Scotland for America after
sorting out Agnes' effects. The following letters put paid to that
wondering. On 25th March 1845 William had changed his name by deed
pole to W.C. Lonsdale in Westfield, Massachusetts, but shortly after
seemed to have returned to using his own name. He outlived Agnes by six
years, dying at the young age of thirty-six and a half, remaining a
bachelor, and leaving no known children behind.

The following letters are in the collection of G. Ross Roy and included in a
re-print edition of 'Letters addressed to Clarinda by Robert Burns, the
Ayrshire poet.' Never before published. Glasgow. Printed by Niven,
Napier and Khull, for T. Stewart, Bookseller, Trongate, (March 1st) 1802. It
is held by the Irvin Department of Rare Books and Special Collections in
the University of South Carolina, part of the G. Ross Roy Collection of
Burnsiana and Scottish Literature.

Letter 1

Chicago III, May 4th1870

To the Editor of the Ladies Own Journal
Dear Sir,

I send you the enclosed account of a copy of 'Burns & Clarinda',
published by Tait in Edinburgh, 1843, presented to a friend of mine by the
late William C. MacLehose on his deathbed. I have seen the copy with
many of the Editor's alterations, extracts of criticisms on the work when it
first appeared; and quite a number of pieces of poetry by 'Clarinda' at the
end of the book. The volume was evidently prepared with a view to an
American Edition.

Letter 2

February 15th1870

To the Editor of the American Scotsman
Dear Sir,

In compliance with your request, I herewith inclose a short poetical
effusion of Mrs. Agnes MacLehose, the 'Clarinda' of Burns, which, I
believe has never been published, and which although not possessing any
extraordinary merit in itself is yet interesting by reason of its associations. I

330107

find it in an interleaved copy of the 'Correspondence of Burns and
Clarinda', presented to me in 1846 by my friend the late William C.
MacLehose, her grandson and late descendant.

In answer to your inquiry, I may add that I was intimately acquainted
with Mr. MacLehose for the last two years of his life, that his habits were
singularly temperate, and that he was a gentleman of excellent education,
great intelligence and exceedingly amiable disposition. He died in New
York (a bachelor) on the 2nd day of March 1847 at no. 324 Broadway
(Manhattan/Brooklyn), where we were together residing, and which was
then a boarding house kept by Mrs. Noyes. His remains were interred in
Green Wood Cemetery (Brooklyn).

Very Truly Yours
Robert S. Rowley (may have been misprinted as Egbert S. Rowley)

Hastings-Upon-Hudson
Enclosed with the letter to the Editor was a copy of Agnes' poem 'To
Sympathy'.
And thus, the threads wending their weave through the tapestry of the life
of Agnes Craig MacLehose were tied.

331081

EPILOGUE 2

Over the past 220 plus years since Burns' death, Agnes Craig MacLehose
has been decried, despised, criticised and angelised. Many people, mainly
Victorian male academics and poets, treated her in a contemptuous
manner, and why? She didn't hurt anyone, she didn't betray anyone, she
didn't cheat on anyone - all she did was write some letters, and in them
she was as honest as she could be, if overly florid and flamboyant. Burns
was not. At times he led her by the nose and she galloped after him, pen
and paper poised at the ready, bounding in the breeze, head high and
heart aflame.

But it would be wrong to view her as a victim of that dastardly Robert
Burns, she was never that. She may not have known where she was going,
but she was up for the adventure. She had a reputation to protect, but she
was willing to see how far she could push it before tripping over the line
into 'trollop'. She was a bit of a chancer and a law unto herself. She made
mistakes, she was human.

A very attractive woman, she must have held the men at bay with the
politest of refusals, there was never a hint in all the years of her name
being bantered about as being anything but of the highest moral rectitude.
This didn't mean that she couldn't flirt and enjoy life, but I think her
exploits with Burns and MacLehose taught her a lot, scared her a lot and
sated her a lot, enough was enough!

As for her life, parts of it were sad, losing so many members of her direct
family and three of her children at very young ages, but it probably wasn't
so different to thousands of other of the time. I think she did realise how
lucky she was, she was never abandoned, and was looked after until the
day she died, in her own bed, in her own house, loved, respected, cared
for and not alone, unlike thousands of others. And two centuries later, we
still remember and sing of her.

She went to her grave with only a couple of scars to show for her long life -
James MacLehose, the one big mistake in her life, and Robert Burns, the
one big misdemeanour in it. Only two scars, if we could all be so lucky.
Today she might admit in all honesty that she was complicit in both. She
might also admit that if MacLehose had been a good husband, she would
never have met Robert Burns and would never have gained a place in
literary history. She would never have had any books written about her, or

330129

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Patriot, and then it circled the Globe.

The following are a few things which to me are Agnes in a nutshell, some
of them I would have liked to have seen etched on her memorial stone.

Agnes was not Edinburgh society, she was more basic than that.
She was brave - left her husband.

She was independent - brought up her children alone.
She was adventurous - went to Jamaica knowing it to be wrong.
She was a decent drawer - Lady Stair's House Museum sketches.

She was thrawn.
She never stopped being a Glaswegian.

She was kind and generous.
She was in the prime of life.
She was blonde and sexy.
She was a tease and kept Burns on his toes.
She was intelligent and well read.
She could sing well and write poetry.

She had scruples.
She could be very earthy.
She was a coffee drinker.
She liked a small ale to drink.

She was a snuff taker.
She knew how to enjoy herself and make others do the same.

She held glorious New Year's parties.
She could laugh at herself.

She could make Burns laugh, cry or swear - and did.
She died, still with her own teeth.
She was not available.

She was someone I would have loved to have met.

330241

BURNS SONGS AND POEMS TO AGNES

HAD NOTHING ELSE TO DO - c26th December 1787
When dear Clarinda, matchless fair,
First struck Sylvander's raptured view,
He gaz'd, he, listened to despair,
Alas! 'twas all he dar'd to do.

Love, from Clarinda's heavenly eyes
Transfixed his bosom thro' and thro';
But still in Friendship's guarded guise,
For more the demon fear'd to do.

That heart, already more than lost,
The imp beleagur'd all perdu;
For frowning Honour kept his post,
To meet that frown he shrunk to do.

His pangs the Bard refused to own,
Tho' half he wish'd Clarinda knew;
But anguish wrung th' unsweeting groan,
Who blames what frantic blame must do?

That heart, whose motley follies blend,
Was sternly still to Honour true:
To prove Clarinda's fondest friend,
Was what a lover sure might do.

The muse his ready quill employ'd,
No nearer bliss he could pursue;
That bliss Clarinda cold deny'd, -
'Send word by Charles how you do'!

The chill behest disarm'd his Muse,
Till Passion, all impatient grew:
He wrote, and hinted for excuse,
'Twas 'cause 'he'd nothing else to do'.

But by those hopes I have above!
And by those faults I dearly rue!
The deed, the boldest mark of love,
For thee that deed I dare to do.

332025

O, could the Fates but name the price
Would bless me with your charms and you!
With frantic joy I'd pay it thrice,
If human heart and power could do!

Then take, Clarinda, friendship's hand,
(Friendship, at least, I may avow):
And lay no more your chill command,
I'll write, whatever I've to do.

TALK NOT OF LOVE - Letter 12 - 3rd January 1788
(Air – Banks of Spey)
Talk not of Love - it gives me pain,
For Love has been my foe;
He bound me with an iron chain,
And plung'd me deep in woe!

But Friendship's pure and lasting joys
My heart was form'd to prove -
There welcome win and wear the prize,
But never talk of Love!

Your friendship much can make me blest,
Oh, why that bliss destroy!
Why urge the only one request
You know I will deny!

Your thought, if Love must harbour there,
Conceal it in that thought,
Nor cause me from my bosom tear
The very Friend I sought.

TO A BLACKBIRD - Letter 29 - 21st January 1788
(AIR - Scots Queen)
Go on, sweet bird, and soothe my care,
Thy tuneful notes will hush despair;
Thy plaintive warblings, void of art,
Thrill sweetly through my aching heart.

Now choose thy mate, and fondly love,
And all the charming transport prove;
While I a lovelorn exile live,

330263

Nor transport or receive or give

For thee is laughing nature gay;
For thee she pours the vernal day:
For me in vain is nature drest,
While joy's a stranger to my breast!

These sweet emotions all enjoy;
Let Love and Song thy hours employ!
Go on, sweet bird, and soothe my care
Thy tuneful notes will hush despair.

CLARINDA - Letter 30/34 - 24th January 1788
(AIR - by Johan Georg Schetky of Darmstadt (1740-1824))
Clarinda, mistress of my soul,
The measur'd time is run!
The wretch beneath the dreary Pole,
So marks his latest sun.

To what dark cave of frozen night
Shall poor Sylvander hie?
Depriv'd of thee, his life and light,
The sun of all his joy.

We part - but by those precious drops
That fill thy lovely eyes!
No other light shall guide my steps,
Till thy bright beams arise.

She, the fair sun of all her sex,
Has blest my glorious day;
And shall a glimmering planet fix
My worship to its ray?

TO CLARINDA - c January 1788?
Before I saw Clarinda's face
My heart was blythe and gay,
Free as the wind, or feather'd race
That hop from spray to spray.

But now dejected I appear,
Clarinda proves unkind;

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I, sighing, drop the silent tear,
But no relief can find.

In plaintive notes my tale rehearses
When I the fair have found;
On every tree appear my verses
That to her praise resound.

But she, ungrateful, shuns my sight,
My faithful love disdains,
My vows and tears her scorn excite,
Another happy reigns.

Ah, though my looks betray,
I envy your success,
Yet love to friendship shall give way -
I cannot wish it less.
(According to Scott-Douglas this poem is mentioned but does not appear
in the 1843 Correspondences).

LETTER 52 - 23rd February 1788
Whatever place, whatever land I see,
My heart, untravell'd, fondly turns to thee:
Still to 'Clarinda' turns with ceaseless pain:
And drags, at each remove, a lengthen'd chain.

TO CLARINDA - 17th March 1788
Fair Empress of the Poet's soul,
And Queen of Poetesses;
Clarinda, take this little boon,
This humble pair of Glasses!

And fill them high with generous juice,
As generous as your mind;
And pledge me in the generous toast -
'The whole of humankind'.

'To those who love us'! - second fill,
But not to those whom we love;
Lest we love those who love not us! -
A third - 'To thee and me, love'!

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'Long may we live. Long may we love'!
And long may we be happy!
And may we never want a glass,
Well charged with generous nappy.
(The last verse was added later. After Edinburgh, poems or songs were
written to Nancy, not Clarinda, excepting the poem 'In vain would
Prudence.' written on 25th June 1794. Arcadian names had left the
building).

THINE AM I - Letter 62 - cFebruary 1790
(AIR - The Quaker's Wife)
Thine am I, my faithful fair,
Thine my lovely Nancy;
Ev'ry pulse along my veins,
Ev'ry roving fancy.

To thy bosom lay my heart,
There to throb and languish;
Tho' despair had wrung its core,
That would heal its anguish

Take away those rosy lips,
Rich with balmy treasure!
Turn away thine eyes of love,
Lest I die with pleasure!

What is life when wanting Love?
Night without a morning:
Love's the cloudless summer sun,
Nature gay adorning.

SENSIBILITY - Letter 65/68 - 15th December 1791
(AIR – Cornwallis' Lament)
Sensibility how charming
Dearest Nancy; thou canst tell!
But distress with horrors arming
Thou, alas! has known too well.

Fairest flower, behold the lily
Blooming in the sunny ray:
Let the blast sweep o'er the valley,
See it prostrate in the clay.

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Hear the woodlark charm the forest,
Telling o'er his little joys;
But alas! a prey the surest
To each pirate of the skies!

Dearly bought the hidden treasure
Finer feelings can bestow;
Chords that vibrate sweetest pleasure
Thrill the deepest notes of woe.

AE FOND KISS - Letter 69 - 27th December 1791
(AIR - Rory Dall's Port – James Oswald?)
Ae fond kiss, and then we sever!
Ae fareweel, and then forever!
Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee,
Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee.
Who shall say that Fortune grieves him
While the star of hope she leaves him?
Me, nae cheefu' twinkle lights me,
Dark despair around benights me.

I'll ne'er blame my partial fancy:
Naething could resist my Nancy!
But to see her was to love her
Love but her and love forever.
Had we never lov'd sae kindly,
Had we never lov'd sae blindly,
Never met - or never parted -
We had ne'er been broken-hearted.

Fare-thee-weel, thou first and fairest!
Fare-thee-weel, thou best and dearest!
Thine be ilka Joy and Treasure,
Peace, Enjoyment, Love and Pleasure!
Ae fond kiss, and then we sever!
Ae fareweel, alas, for ever!
Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee,
Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee.
(A poem appeared in the 'The Charmer' (1749) written by the English
minor poet, bookseller and publisher, Robert Dodsley (1703-1764), and it
has been suggested, that Burns may have come across this poem and saw
his 'Ae fond Kiss' in it. The poem was called 'One Kind Kiss'/'The Parting

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Kiss').
One kind kiss before we part,
Drop a tear and bid adieu,
Tho' we sever, my fond heart,
Till we meet, shall pant for you.

Yet, yet weep not so, my love,
Let me kiss that falling tear,
Tho' my body must remove,
All my soul will still be here.

All my soul, and all my heart,
And every wish shall pant for you.
One kind kiss, then e'er we part,
Drop a tear and bid adieu.

BEHOLD THE HOUR - Letter 69 - 27th December 1791
(AIR - Oran Gaoil)
Behold the hour, the boat, arrive!
My dearest Nancy, O fareweel!
Sever'd frae thee, can I survive,
Frae thee whom I hae loved sae weel?
Endless and deep shall be my grief;
Nae ray o' comfort shall I see;
But this most precious, dear belief!
That thou wilt still remember me.

Along the solitary shore,
When fleeting sea-fowl round me cry,
Across the rolling, dashing roar
I'll westward turn my wistful eye.
Happy, thou Indian groves, I'll say,
Where now my Nancy's path shall be!
While thro' your sweets she holds her way,
O tell me, does she muse on me!!!

BEHOLD THE HOUR - George Thomson Version
(AIR - Oran Gaoil)
Behold the hour, the boat arrive:
Thou goest, thou darling of my heart;
Sever'd from thee, can I survive?
But fate has will'd, and we must part.

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I'll often greet the surging swell,
Yon distant isle will often hail:
E'en here, I took the last farewell;
There latest mark'd her vanish'd sail.

Along the solitary shore,
While flitting sea-fowl round me cry,
Across the rolling, dashing roar,
I'll west-ward turn my wistful eye:
Happy, thou Indian grove, I'll say,
Where now my Nancy's path may be!
While thro' thy sweets she loves to stray,
O tell me, does she muse on me!
(This version was sent to Thomson in December 1793, and included in his
Thomson's Scottish Airs, VOL. IV, 1805. 'I have this moment finished the song,
so you have it glowing from the mint.' (Burns' letter September 1793).
(In the Edinburgh Magazine for 1774 there was a sixteen-stanza poem
called 'Farewell to Nice', Burns seems to have used it as a template for the
above).
Behold the fatal hour arrive,
Nice, my Nice, ah farewell!
Severed from thee can I survive -
From thee whom I have loved so well!
Endless and deep shall be my woes,
No ray of comfort shall I see;
Sweet Hope! O soothe me to repose,
By whispering she remembers me!

Along the solitary shore
I'll wander pensive and alone,
And wild re-echoing rocks implore
To tell me where my nymph has gone!
Of Nice, wheresoe’er she goes,
The fond attendant I would be,
And give my longing soul repose
By proof that she remembers me.

GLOOMY DECEMBER - Letter 69 - 27th December 1791
(AIR – Thro' The Lang Muir)
Ance mair I hail thee, thou gloomy December!
Ance mair I hail thee wi' sorrow and care;
Sad was the parting thou makes me remember,

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Parting wi' Nancy, oh, ne'er to meet mair!

Fond lovers' parting is sweet painful pleasure,
Hope beaming mild on the soft parting hour;
But the dire feeling, oh, farewell for ever!
Anguish unmingled and agony pure!

Wild as the winter now tearing the forest,
Till the last leaf o' the summer is flown;
Such is the tempest has shaken my bosom,
Since my last hope and last comfort is gone.

Still as I hail thee, thou gloomy December,
Still shall I hail thee wi' sorrow and care;
For sad was the parting thou makes me remember, -
Parting wi' Nancy, oh, ne'er to meet mair!

SAE FAR AWA - cDecember 1791
(AIR - Dalkeith Maiden Bridge)
O, sad and heavy should I part
But for her sake sae far awa'.
Unknowing what my way may thwart -
My native land sae far awa'.

Thou that of a' things maker art,
That formed this Fair sae far awa',
Gie body strength, then I'll nae start
At this my way sae far awa'.

How true is love to pure desert!
So mine in her sae far awa',
And nocht shall heal my bosom's smart,
While, O, she is sae far awa'.

Nane other love, nane other dart
I feel, but her’s sae far awa';
But fairer never touched a heart
Than hers, the Fair sae far awa'.

MY NANNIE'S AWA - 9th December 1794
(AIR - There'll Never Be Peace ‘Till Jamie Comes Hame)
Now in her green mantle blythe Nature arrays,

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An' listens the lambkins that bleat o'er the braes,
While birds warble welcome in ilka green shaw;
But to me it's delightless - my Nannie's awa'.

The snaw-drap an' primrose our woodlands adorn,
An' violets bathe in the weet o' the morn;
They pain my sad bosom, sae sweetly they blaw,
They mind me o' Nannie - an' Nannie's awa'.

Thou lav'rock that springs frae the dews of the lawn,
The shepherd to warn o' the gray-breaking dawn,
An' thou mellow mavis that hails the night fa',
Give over for pity - my Nannie's awa'.

Come, Autumn, sae pensive, in yellow an' gray,
An' soothe me wi' tidings o' Nature's decay;
The dark dreary winter, an' wild-driving snaw,
Alane can delight me - now Nannie's awa'.

IN VAIN WOULD PRUDENCE - Letter 72 - 25th June 1794
In vain would Prudence, with decorous sneer,
Point out a censuring world, and bid me fear;
Above the world on wings of love I rise,
I know its worst - and can that worst despise.
'Wrong'd, injur'd, shunn'd, unpitied, unredrest;
The mock'd quotation of the scorner's jest', -
Let Prudence' direst bodements on me fall,
Clarinda, rich reward, o'erpays them all!

I BURN, I BURN - 1794?

Mild zephyrs waft thee to life's farthest shore,
Nor think of me or my distresses more, -
Falsehood accurst! No! still I beg a place,
Still near thy heart some little, little trace;

For that dear trace the world I would resign,
Oh let me live, and die, and think it mine.
(As low born mists before the sun remove,

So shines, so reigns unrivaled mighty Love.)

I burn, I burn, as when thro' ripen'd corn
By driving winds the crackling flames are borne,
Now maddening, wild, I curse that fatal night:

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Now bless the hour which charm'd my guilty sight.
In vain the laws their feeble force oppose:
Chain'd at his feet they groan, Love's vanquish'd foes:
In vain religion meets my sinking eye;
I dare not combat - but I turn and fly;
Conscience in vain upbraids th' unhallowed fire;
Love grasps his scorpions - stifled they expire!
Reason drops headlong from his sacred throne,
Your dear idea reigns and reigns alone:
Each thought intoxicated homage yields,
And riots wanton in forbidden fields!

By all on high adoring mortals know!
By all the conscious villain fears below!
By your dear self - the last great oath I swear;
Nor life nor soul were ever half so dear!

By all on high adoring mortals know!
By all the conscious villain fears below!
(By what, Alas! much more my soul alarms,
My doubtful hopes once more to fill thy arms!
E'en should'st thou, false, foreswear each guilty tie
Thine, and thine only, I must live and die!!!)
(Taken from the notes of W. Scott-Douglas from his Burns Complete
Works 1893, regarding the above poem, - 'It is rather remarkable that,
although these impassioned lines were published by Stewart and others, as
appearing in the body of one of the poet’s letters in the 'Selections', they are
omitted in the complete correspondence' of 1843, and also by Chambers, in his
edition of 1851, even though the letter itself (no 32 of the series) is given.' They
seem to form a portion of a long poem addressed by Burns to Clarinda, the
original of which is said by Dr. Waddell to be in the possession of George
Manners, esq. of Croydon. The eight lines...headed 'Prudence' also seem to
be part of the same poem. Dr. Waddel gives the opening lines thus, 'Mild
zephyrs etc. (no mention is made of the changes in the first and last verses).

O MAY THY MORN - cDecember 1794
(AIR - The Rashes)
O May, thy morn was ne'er sae sweet
As the mirk night o' December,
For sparkling was the rosy wine,
And private was the chamber;
And dear was she I darena name,

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But I will aye remember.
And dear was she I darena name,
But I will aye remember.
And here's to them that, like oursel',
Can push about the jorum,
And here's to them that wish us weel,
May a' that's guid watch o'er them;
And here's to them we darena tell,
The dearest of the quorum
And here's to them we darena tell,
The dearest of the quorum
As far as is known, this is the last ever poem/song written to
Agnes/Nancy/Clarinda.

331363

AGNES' OWN POETRY

TO A BLACKBIRD - Morningside 1784
Go on, sweet bird, and soothe my care,
Thy cheerful notes will hush despair;
Thy tuneful warblings, void of art,
Thrill sweetly through my aching heart.

Now choose thy mate, and fondly love,
And all the charming transport prove;
Those sweet emotions all enjoy,
Let Love and Song thy hours employ;

Whilst I, a love-lorn exile, live,
And rapture nor receive nor give.
Go on, sweet bird, and soothe my care
Thy cheerful notes will hush despair.
(This was written two years after Agnes moved to Edinburgh. At the time
MacLehose was in England but about to leave for Jamaica. Agnes was
feeling the unhappiness that he had caused her and their children, as he
contributed nothing financially to their support, now he was escaping all
responsibilities by putting a physical distance between them. She sent
them to Burns on 19th January 1788. Apparently, Agnes had been walking
along the Bruntsfield Links, outside the Old City of Edinburgh when she
heard the bird singing in a tree, inspiration came upon her).

HAD NOTHING ELSE TO DO - Potterrow, 24th December 1787
When first you saw 'Clarinda's charms',
What rapture in your bosom grew!
Her heart was shut to Love's alarms,
But then - you'd nothing else to do.

Apollo aft had lent his harp,
And now 'twas struck from cupid's bow;
You sang - it reached 'Clarinda's' heart -
She wish'd you'd nothing else to do.

Fair Venus smiled, Minerva frown'd
Cupid observed - the arrow flew;
Indifference ere a week went round,
Show'd you had nothing else to do.
(Originally six verses were composed, but three were lost. It is thought to

333147

have been enclosed in a missing letter dated c24th December 1787. It was
written in reply to a phrase in Burns letter dated 20th December 1787 'I
have written you this scrawl because I have nothing else to do.' The three verses
remain because Burns copied them into the Glenriddell Manuscript. Burns
replied in kind to the poem, his version had ten verses).

TALK NOT OF LOVE - Potterrow, December 1787
Talk not of Love - it gives me pain,
For Love has been my foe;
He bound me in an iron chain,
And plung'd me deep in woe!

But Friendship's pure and lasting joys
My heart was form'd to prove -
The worthy object be of those,
But never talk of Love!

The Hand of Friendship I accept
-May Honour be our guard!
Virtue our intercourse direct,
Her smiles our dear reward
(Sent in a letter to Burns c27th December 1787. Burns added a fourth verse
and changed a few words. The poem is said to be modelled on one that
appeared in 'The Charmer' 1782).

ON MISS NAPIER - Potterrow 13th January 1788
'Wha is that clumsy damsel there'?
'Whisht'! it's the daughter o' a Peer,
Right Honorably Great'!

'The daughter o' a Peer', I cried,
'It doth not yet appear
What we shall be (in t'other world),
God keep us frae this here!
That she has Blude, I'se no dispute,
I see it in her face;
Her honor's in her name, I fear,
And nae in other place'.
(Written on a sister of Lord Napier whom Agnes felt had insulted her).

TO SYLVANDER - Potterrow 19th January 1788
Then, dear Sylvander, use it weel,

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An' row it in your bosom's biel;
Ye'll find it aye baith kind an' leal,
An' fou o' glee:
It wad nae wrang the verra deil, -
Ah, far less thee!
(After a meeting with Burns, Agnes wrote 'How do you like this parody on a
passage of my favourite poet? - it is extempore - from the heart, and let it be to the
heart?')

SYMPATHY - written 1788
Assist me, all ye gentle powers,
That sweeten Friendship's happy hours,
Whilst I attempt to sing of thee,
Heaven born emotion, Sympathy.

When first I saw my rural swain,
The pride of all the tuneful train,
That hour we loved - what could it be
But thy sweet magic Sympathy?

Nor sordid wealth, nor giddy power,
Could e'er confer one happy hour -
One hour like those I've spent with thee,
In love's endearing Sympathy!

All hail! the heaven-inspired mind
That glows with love of humankind;
'Tis thine to feel the ecstasy -
Soul linked to soul by Sympathy.
(Found by William Craig MacLehose, Agnes' grandson, between the pages
of a book, and composed for Burns in 1788. William was arranging for the
disposal of Agnes' effects after her death. Agnes had written on the page
'To Sympathy, written in the year 1788').

ON THE LOSS OF MY CHILD - Potterrow, August 1790
Does Heaven behold these sadly-falling tears
Shed by a mother o'er her darling child?
Ah, blasted hopes! and heart-distracted fears,
That fill my breast with frantic sorrow wild!

Yes, Heaven beholds, from thence the stroke descends,
And Heaven alone can heal the wounds it gave.

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Oh, Thou, who dost afflict for gracious ends,
Lead my sad soul to scenes beyond the grave.

'Tis there alone all tears are wiped away;
There death-divided friends shall part no more,
Oh, Thou Supreme! whose years know no delay,
Teach me thy dispensations to adore.
(Agnes' son William who died on 14th August 1790. In her grandson's 1843
Memoire the date is printed as 1788).

TO MR. AINSLIE - Canongate 1790/91
Full many a Christmas have I seen,
But ne'er saw this before -
One's dear and always welcome friend
A card leave at the door.

Such ceremony sure bespeaks
A friendship in the wane:
Friendship, dear tie, when once it breaks,
Is seldom knit again.

Then fare-ye-weel, my once dear friend,
And happy may you be;
May all your future hours be blest
Like those you've spent with me!
(Robert Ainslie had visited Agnes, she was out, so he left his card, she did
not approve).

TO MISS AITKEN - Canongate 1791
What we feel our bosom doing,
When upon the brink of ruin,
Is the name of her I love, -
Shield her all ye powers above.
(Miss Aitken frequented Agnes' Literary 'teas', her Edinburgh version of a
London soiree).

TO MR. ARCHIBALD MENZIES - Canongate 1791
My dear and ever much respected friend,
Will you tonight, a select few attend?
To see old Shakespeare's Hamlet thread the stage,
Hear the pale Ghost the Queen's sad doom presage;
Mourne o'er Ophelia's lost distracted state,

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Admire the Prince, midst wild confusion great;
At each fine stroke throughout the churchyard scene,
Own that Immortal Shakespeare must remain.
(47 years later, on 7th November 1838, Agnes signed the manuscript and
added the humourous lines

'At six o'clock, but lest I sink to prose
I'll sign myself yours Agnes MacLehose.')

THE DEATH OF MRS. RIDLEY'S LINNET - Canongate 1791
Alas, poor bird! art thou no more?
What language can thy loss deplore,
Thou who wast wont to be caress'd,
Thy bed prepared, thy cage well dress'd,
Thy drink so limpid, seed so rare,
Provided by good Granum's care.

No more thou'lt hail the rising day,
No more thou'lt chirp, or hop, or play,
Or eye the family askance
At Johnny's song, or Betsy's dance.
Yet, ah! how blest thy little span,
Compared with that of hapless man.

Pleas'd to the last, thou hoop'd and sung,
No cares thy little bosom wrung;
No retrospect of evil past,
Anticipation's withered blast,
Malice' sharp tooth, or Envy's sting,
E'er hush'd thy song or shrunk thy wing.

These demons were to thee unknown,
They haunt superior man alone.
Perhaps thy gently spirit's lent
To inform some little, struggling ant;
Or in a bee, midst fragrant bowers,
Extracting sweets from blushing flowers;

Or, bourne aloft o'er hill and dale,
Sing out in some sweet nightingale.
Where'er thou art, sweet bird, farewell!
In peace and safety may'st thou dwell;
While I thy praises will rehearse

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And save they memory in my verse.

TO MR. JAMES GRAY - Potterrow c1791
My dear Mr. Gray, have patience, I pray,
While perusing my poor little Linnet;
Though pretty it seems, 'tis a trifling theme,
And you really will find little in it.

But your Ode so sublime, one Parnassus might climb,
And yet not produce such another;
One blemish to find, I have puzzled my mind;
And, save one, it is good altogether.

Philosopher's deem Life's joys all a dream;
But I ne'er heard its woes were eternal.
Bliss eternal above, we all hope to prove;
Leave the other to religious infernal.
(James Gray had just published an ode and had asked Agnes' opinion of it.
He had also requested a copy of her poem 'To a Linnet').

SENSIBILITY IS CHARMING - December 1791
Yes, Sensibility is charming,
Tho' it may wound the tender mind,
Nature's stores, the bosom warning,
Yield us pleasures more refined.

See yonder pair of warbling linnets,
How their music charms the grove,
What else with rapture fills their minutes,
But Sensibility and Love.

E'en should the sportsman - (cruel rovers)
Rob them of their tuneful breath,
How blest the little life-long lovers,
Undivided in their death.

A long-loved maid nipt in the blossom,
May lie in yonder kirkyard green,
Yet mem'ry soothes her lover's bosom,
Recalling many a rapture scene.

Or, musing by the rolling ocean,

332329

See him sit with visage wan,
As wave succeeding wave in motion,
Mourns the chequer'd life of Man.

Sensibility! sweet treasure,
Still I'll sing in praise of thee,
All that mortals know of pleasure
Flows from Sensibility.
(After Agnes read Burns poem 'Sensibility' she composed her own version
and sent it to him with these words 'Let me know, what you think of this poor
imitation of your style. The verses are inaccurate, but if it worthwhile, pray
correct them for me.')

TO LOVE CAN ANYTHING BE A LABOUR - Mrs Saville
To mutual love nought can a labour be,
Where all is peace, and joy, and harmony.
Love unrequited labour all must prove,
Since Nature whispers, 'Give me love for love'.
Our kind exertions, whatso'er they cost,
Oh, may we never find Love's Labour lost.
(Mrs Saville was one of Agnes' Edinburgh friends regularly present at her
Literary 'teas').

EPITAPH ON MY GRANDCHILD'S CAT (post 1810)
Poor puss is dead! and William weeps,
Refuses food, and hardly sleeps,
Bemoaning o'er her early fate,
His blithe companion air and late,
Secure in his encircling arm,
He deemed her safe from every harm,
Frisking around him all the day,
In lively gambols, sport, and play;
At night when stretched on Carpet-rug,
Could scarce resist his kindly tug,
Why, grisly death, did'st thou appear,
So soon to stop her gay career?
For she was sleekit, soft, and fair;
Grimalkin, sweet! of virtues rare!
Cares'd, alternate, by each boy,
Their morning care, their evening joy.
Now cold she lies! The youthful tear
Embalms poor pussy's mournful bier.

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But, dry your eyes, my lovely boys,
Life has for you a store of joys.

ON THE AUTUMN OF LIFE
Hail, pensive season! autumn of our days!
Though youth be past, and vivid pleasures o'er,
Thou showerest down thy precious fruits of wisdom,
Making us pause upon those mingled scenes
Of bliss and woe, that marks our passing state.
How oft the mind of sensibility
Recalls, in sadly-pleasing retrospect,
'The things that were', and must return no more:
The parents dear, who reared our early life;
The early friend, on whose fond breast we lean'd;
Or innocent, smiling babes, whose sweet endearments,
Twining around our hearts, have left a void
Which nought but Heaven itself can e'er supply.

But, though our pleasing spring of life be past,
Autumn commenced, and winter full in view.
That sombre season to the feeling mind
Yields chastened joys to sprightly youth unknown:
Reflection's calm but solitary hours,
Passion subdued, and Friendship's tranquil joys.
The mind matured reviews her mental stores,
Her knowledge, high capacity, and power -
Contemplates Nature in each varying form;
But chiefly human characters in all
Its shades and wonderful diversities;
Soars to the great First Cause; beholds in Him
Wisdom supreme, and Goodness infinite;
Resigns the world, and leans, with confidence,
Upon the Rock of Ages.

SOME INFORMATION ON THE NAMES CLARINDA AND
SYLVANDER

Clarinda/Clarin
Was the pen name used by an anonymous Peruvian poet, (presumed
female) who wrote in the early 17th century.
Was the maid of Radigund, queen of the Amazons, in Spencer's 'Faery
Queen' vol 5 1596, who fell in love with Sir Artegal.

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Poem 'To the Fair Clarinda' - Aphra Behn, 1640-1689 (Restoration era spy,
playwright, poet and fiction writer).
The heroine in Mrs Centilivre's drama 'The Beau's Duel' in 1703.
A merry good humoured high-spirited lady in love with Charles Frankly
in 'The Suspicious Husband', 1747.
Sylvander
From 'The Astree/Astrea' by Honore d'Urfe, Marquis of Valromey -
11/2/1568-1/6/1625
Sylvander is an unknown shepherd with no other wealth than his sheep. A
Pastoral novel set in 5th century Auvergne it displays courtly manners and
conversations in artificially learned style.
It was a 5-volume book vol 1 - 1607, vol 2 - 1610, vol 3 - 1619, vol 4 -
1625/7, vol 5 - 1628. The last was edited by his secretary Balthazar Baro
after his death. He died after a fall from his horse at Villafranca on
campaign against the Genovese.

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INFORMATION

Agnes' Relations...Information on some people in the
Book…Bibliography

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HER RELATIONS

Andrew Craig - Father
Born - 12th May 1717 - Glasgow
Married - 13th September 1751 - Glasgow
Died - 13th May 1782 - Glasgow

Andrew entered the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons in 1745 at an
annual salary of £10 (£2,255) when he began working for the Town's
Hospital and Poorhouse and the Merchants Hospital in the
Briggait/Bridgegate. He lived in a tenement flat near Glasgow Cross,
owned by the Merchants Hospital in Candleriggs Street.

His Father - Andrew C. Craig - Merchant of the City of Glasgow
His Mother - Mary Clark
Married - 18th February 1706 - Glasgow
Known children
James - 5/1/1707; William -15/2/1709-1784; Adam - 15/10/1710; Agnes -
11/11/1711; Christian - 16/5/1714; Mary - 1/1/1716; Andrew -
12/5/1717-13/5/1782; Robert - 1/2/1720.

The family name Craig is thought to have been taken from the territories
east of Glasgow Cathedral known as the East and West Craigs, bordering
the Molindinar, apparently there were a lot of Craigs around. Andrew C.
Craig studied at Glasgow University and his name is on the record books
for the year 1698. He moved into the city c1706/7 and settled there as a
merchant.
Mary Clark was the daughter of the Rev. James Clark, Minister of the Tron
Church, by his first wife Mary Johnston, daughter of Captain Robert
Johnston, merchant. Before he became minister there, in 1702, Rev. Clark
served at Innerwick and Dirleton. He was an eloquent speaker and held
very strong political views. He opposed the Union and spoke against it.
One of his speeches lead to a near riot in the City of Glasgow. He died in
1724 aged sixty- four.

***************************************
Christian MacLaurin - Mother
Born - 13th October 1728 - Glasgow
Married - 13th September 1751 - Glasgow
Died - 1st December 1767 - Glasgow (McLawrin)

Her Father - Rev. John (Iain) MacLaurin (Jnr.), Born - October 1693,
Glendaruel/Kilmodan, and died on 8th September 1754, Glasgow

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Her Mother - Lillias Rae, Born - 1st November 1694, Died c1747 in Glasgow
('a woman of great plainness and integrity, and very dutiful and affectionate to
her relations', John Gillies, son-in-law, The Works of the Rev. John
MacLaurin, 1755). The Revs. John Gillies and William Craig were
witnesses on Agnes' birth certificate
Married - 14th February 1721, Glasgow
Known Children
Elizabeth - 4/1/1722; Mary - 31/3/1723; Lillias - 14/7/1724; John -
21/11/1725; Daniel - 17/9/ 1727; Jean - 4/8/1730. There may also have
been a daughter named Christian.

John MacLaurin Jnr. wanted his daughter to marry a man of the kirk. He
was minister of Dumbarton Church in 1717, Luss Parish Church in 1719,
The North-West Parish Church, Glasgow in 1723 (St David's/Ramshorn
Kirk). In Glasgow he oversaw the kirk services in Gaelic and looked after
the Highlanders. He was a leader in the reform of the poor laws and tried
to effect social improvements for the poor. He was also involved in the
establishment of the Glasgow Town's Hospital. He married Lililas Rae in
1721, a daughter of merchant John Rae of Little Govan and Elizabeth
Dunlop. Lilias died in 1747. On 15th January 1749 he married Margaret
Bell, daughter of Patrick Bell of Cowcaddens, and they had one son, John.
He was the brother of mathematician Colin (Cailean) MacLaurin (father of
Lord Dreghorn) who was a friend of Isaac Newton. His father was the Rev
John MacLaurin (Snr.) minister of Kilmodan who died in 1698 (Born 1645
in Kilmodan) and a Miss Cameron who died in 1707 (Born c1647 in
Kilmodan). John and his two brothers, Daniel and Colin, were brought up
by their uncle Daniel who was minister of Kilfinnan. John Snr. was the son
of the Rev. Daniel MacLaurin of Tiree, c1610-1690 and a Miss Stewart of
Appin, Born c1623, Married c1645. Daniel died in Kilfinnan at his son's
house. The MacLaurins were once chiefs of Tiree.
North West Parish Church/St David's/Ramshorn Kirk was built in 1720
and named after King David 1 of Scotland. The first minister was J.
Anderson (1720-1723) and second was John MacLaurin, who was invited
by the city of Glasgow to take over after the Rev. Anderson's death.

**************************************
Agnes' Children
William 1
Born - 23rd May 1777, Glasgow (McElhose)
Died - 14th August 1777, Glasgow (McElhose)

Andrew
Born - 1st July 1778, Glasgow (McIlhose)

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Died - 10th April 1839, Edinburgh
Andrew Craig MacLehose lived at 5 Picardy Place, Edinburgh at the time
of his death. He was appointed WS on 1st July 1808. He married Mary
Goodrum from Shropham, Norfolk on 2nd October 1809. She was the eldest
daughter of John Goodrum. They had three sons, William 1810, Andrew
1812 and John 1815.

William 2
Born - 21st April 1780, Glasgow (McElhose)
Died - 14th August 1790, Edinburgh (Muchelhose)

James
Born - 1st May 1781, Glasgow (McElhose)
Died - 13th September 1783, Edinburgh (Micklehose)

**************************************
Daughter in Law
Mary Goodrum Craig MacLehose
Born - c1778 in Norfolk?
Died - 20th/ 26th April 1838, Edinburgh, Canongate Parish, aged 60
Married - 2nd October 1809

Grandsons
William Craig MacLehose
Born - 22nd September 1810, Edinburgh
Died - 2nd March 1847, 324 Broadway, New York, buried in Green Wood
Cemetery, Brooklyn.
In maturity he was a bachelor, living in rented accommodation and
worked as a Civil Engineer in New York. He changed his name by deed
pole to W.C. Lonsdale on 25th March 1845 in Westfield, Massachusetts on
his return to America from Scotland.

Andrew Craig MacLehose
Born - 19th July 1812, Edinburgh
Died - 13th September 1832, Edinburgh (Canongate) (McLehose)

John Craig MacLehose
Born - 23rd November 1815, Edinburgh
Died - 1st June 1816, Edinburgh (Canongate) (McLehose)

**************************************
Craig Sisters
Margaret
Born - 27th June 1752, Glasgow

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Died - c14th March 1772 in childbirth
Married - 30th April 1771 to *Captain James Kennedy of Kailzie and
Auchtyfardle
Margaret's daughter, named Margaret Nasmyth Kennedy, born 14th March
1771, married Archibald Bogle, one of the Shettleston Bogles, on 1st June
1795 in Glasgow and had ten children - Margaret Orr - 26/9/1796; Michael
- 10/7/1798; Janet - 13/12/1799-4/1/1848; James Kennedy -17/7/1801;
Mary - 2/3/1803; William - 16/1/1805; Archibald Robert - 1/2/1807;
Gilbert Kennedy -6/4/1809; Hugh - 5/1/1811; Cathrine - 19/2/1813.
Margaret died 31st January/1st February 1846 at her home in Renfield
Street aged 74, and her husband died c2nd August 1828 in Glasgow.

Lilias
Born - 25th July 1754, Glasgow
Died - no date of death, Glasgow

Agnes
Born - 26th April 1758, Glasgow
Died - 22nd October 1841, Edinburgh, buried in Canongate Cemetery 26th
October (McIlhose)

Mary
Born - 11th May 1764, Glasgow
Died - 30th July 1765, Glasgow
Agnes' grandson, William, in his publication of 'The Letters' in 1843,
reported that Andrew and Christian had a son who died young. There is
no trace of this child on Scotland's People, but he may have been a still
birth and these were very rarely recorded.

*Kennedy's of Auchtyfardle
First recorded in the 1600s was Robert Kennedy who was possibly married
to Margaret Weire, c1642. Three Kennedy brothers owned Cailzie,
Romanno & Auchtifardle.
William Kennedy of Auchtifardle - member of commission for war for the
country 1648/49
Robert Kennedy of Auchtifardle - commissioner of supply, 1689-90-1704.
Married Eupham(ia) Hall 11/8/1676 in Edinburgh. They had at least 4
sons and 2 daughters.
Gilbert Kennedy of Auchtifardle - Born - 9/5/1679 in Edinburgh, Died -
20/6/1740, Married Mary/Marie Weir 12/6/1704. Killed Archibald
Houston in a brawl on 20/3/1706. They had at least 5 sons and 3
daughters. All children were born in Lesmahagow

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James Kennedy of Auchtifardle - Was the last Kennedy of Auchtyfardle,
born on 29th October 1710 and died on 17th August 1788 at his home,
Kailzie House. He married Margaret/Peggy Craig. After her death he later
married a Janet/Jessy Orr on 14th August 1773, who died from cholera on
11th July 1831 in Glasgow, aged 78. They had one son, Gilbert, (Stobcross
House research). James was a partner of and lost a fortune in the Douglas,
Heron Bank of Ayr failure. The bank had been founded in 1769 and
floundered in 1773. He bought Kailzie House in 1767 from a Mr
Plenderleith and owned it up until he died. James sold Auchtifardle in
1784 to Hugh Mossman to cover some of his debts from the bank failure.
Gilbert Kennedy of Kailzie - Was born at Barrowfield House c1775 and
died on 4th January 1855, at Brandon Place, Glasgow He married Margaret
Scott on 25th December 1797, they had no children. He was the last
Kennedy of Kailzie. In 1789 after his father's death he sold Kailzie House
by public auction to Mr. Robert Stodart from London, a piano
manufacturer, for £11,095 (£1,536,230). Stodart sold it on in 1794 to Robert
Nutter Campbell over a surfeit of after dinner libations. Gilbert owned
Cowlairs House and was Accountant Factor on the Castlemilk and Milton
estates, and Collector of assessed taxes for the City. Through his mother, a
sister of John Orr, Town Clerk, he represented the old Glasgow families of
Orr of Barrowfield and Orr of Stobcross. He and James Buchanan of
Eastfield, and Robert Reid, "Senex", were the last survivors of the famous
Glasgow Light Horse, raised in 1794. He was a fine-looking old gentleman,
always quaintly dressed, and to the last seldom seen except on horseback.
He was the half-brother of Margaret Nasmyth Kennedy Bogle, Agnes'
niece.

**************************************
Cousin - William, Lord Craig
Born - 6th June 1745, Glasgow
Died - 8th July 1813, at 10 York Place and buried in Canongate Cemetery
In 1763-67 he was Librarian at Glasgow University, and entered the Bar in
1768. In 1784 he was appointed Depute Advocate and held the post until
1787. He was nominated as Sheriff Depute of Ayrshire, he lived in a house
called Strathaird. He became Lord Craig in 1792 and appointed to the
bench. In 1795 on the death of Lord Henderland, he was appointed as
judge of the court of Justiciary. Rector of Glasgow University from 1801-
1803.
First address George Square, Edinburgh, later in 1808 he moved to 10 York
Place, which was built for him c1805. The Square was laid out in 1766 by
the builder James Brown and was adjacent to the Meadows. It comprised
modest Georgian terraced houses. Away from the overcrowded Old
Town, George Square became popular with lawyers and nobles.

333429

On his death he left Agnes' son money and his library, which was later
sold. He also left her financial support in his Will. He brought to the
attention of the public the poet Michael Bruce.
He was a member of the Hodge Podge Club in Glasgow: the year Agnes
was voted 'Top of the Toast' list in 1773. He was the founder of the literary
magazine 'The Mirror' originally called The Tabernacle Club, but later
changed to the Mirror Club). Contributors met in various drinking holes -
Clerihugh's in Writer's Court, Somers's in the High Street, Stewart's Oyster
House in Old Fishmarket Close, Lucky Dunbar's between Forrester's and
Libberton's Wynd. The Mirror began 23rd January 1779 and ended 27th
May 1780, there were 110 issues.
His father William (Feb 1709-13th January 1784) was the Minister of the
Old Wynd Church, later absorbed into St. Andrew's Church, St Andrew's
Square. He became minister of St Andrew's in 1761.
On 26th April 1742 he married Jean Anderson and they had seven children,
William - buried 23/1/1743; Andrew - 23/10/1743; William (Lord Craig);
Alexander - 3/6/1746-3/5/1780; James; Agnes; John - 28/8/1749. Jean
died on 6th August 1758. On 17th June 1760 he married Rachel Kennedy,
the daughter of Gilbert Kennedy of Auchtyfardle and she died on 18th
November 1781.
He resigned the bar due to poor health. From a report after his death-
William Craig became an advocate in 1768. He had been Depute-Advocate
and Sheriff-Depute for Ayrshire before becoming Lord Craig. He was
raised to the bench in 1792 and appointed Lord Commissioner of Justiciary
in 1795, succeeding Lord Henderland. When he died in 1813 it was
reported in the Scots Magazine
'As a judge he was highly honourable and upright - endowed with persevering
talents and a complete knowledge of his profession. Few men dispatched more
business with greater precision than Lord Craig.
When at the bar, though considered an able counsel, his practice never was
extensive - he was rather remarkable as a man attached to the Belles Lettres. He
wrote more papers in the 'Mirror' and 'Lounger' than any other contributor
except Henry MacKenzie.
In private life he was gentle, affable and unassuming, and in an eminent degree
hospitable and benevolent. He possessed the warm esteem of a select circle of
friends, to whom he was extremely attached.'

**************************************
Cousin (Her mother’s) - John MacLaurin, Lord Dreghorn
Born - 15th December 1734, eldest of seven children.
Died - 24th December 1796, buried in Greyfriars Cemetery, Edinburgh.
Married - 1762 to Esther Cunningham (d.1780). No children of the
marriage.

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