Page:Life of Robert Burns.pdf/18

 18 in the district where his own farm was situated. His income was at first only £35, but he still retained Elliesland. During the prosperity of his farm Burns conducted himself wisely, and like one anxious for his name as a man, and his fame as a poet. He went to Dunscore kirk on Sun- day, and assisted in forming a reading club. He also paid particular attention to the education of his children, and assisted them greatly himself. Afterwards, however, on the failure of his farming projects, the gloom which preyed on his spirits made him too often not unwilling to become the companion of the thoughtless and the dissipated. Yet, in spite of these follies, Burns was never de- serted by that deep feeling of honour and inde- pendence of spirit which led him always to detest whatever was mean or base ;* and none could be shown in hundreds of instances, and the ex- treme tenderness of his feelings was strongly proved on one particular occasion when he flung a bitter curse on a neighbouring farmer for wounding ta hare, motioning him from his pre- sence, else he would throw him into the river. The following is an abstract from one of his letters, and shows how much he hated the sense of pecuniary obligations :-“Sir, it is said that we take the greatest liberties with our greatest friends, and I pay myself a very high compliment in the manner in which I am going to apply the remark. I have owed you money longer than ever I owed it to any man.--Here is Ker's ac- count, and here are six guineas; and now, I don't owe a shilling to man, or woman either. But for these dirty, dog's-eared little pages, (Scotch bank-
 * Burns's disinterestedness and generosity could