The name of Robert Burns has a hold upon the people of Scotland and on
those who visit there such as finds no parallel in any other country.
This makes a visit to the small town of Ayr an incident of prime
interest to the tourist. The Robert Burns Cottage is situated about two
miles from the town, and it is kept with reverent care as a memorial.
The building itself, low-roofed and humble, with its Burns mementos, is
a veritable shrine for lovers of the poet.
The chief feature of the quaint old house is the little, low-ceilinged
room in which Burns was born in 1759. You will be glad to linger there
awhile. The impressions of the room will remain in your memory for all
time. As you note the humble simplicity of the scene you will get close
to Burns, and you will feel the full meaning and appeal of his lines:
“Gie me a spark of Nature’s fire!
That’s a’ the learning I desire.
Then, tho’ I drudge thro’ dub an’ mire
At plow or cart,
My muse--tho’ hamely in attire--
May touch the heart!”
The whole country roundabout is full of Burns associations. A short
distance off is Auld Alloway Kirk, where Burns’ father is buried, and
where Tam o’ Shanter, overcome by the spirits that he imbibed too
freely, was assailed and pursued by spirits ghostly. A short distance
beyond the church are two bridges over the Doon, the old bridge being
celebrated as the one over which Tam o’ Shanter made his escape from
the evil spirits. In the garden near the bridges stands the formal but
impressive Burns Monument.
[Illustration: AULD BRIG O’ DOON
_The old bridge at Ayr, celebrated in Burns’ lines._]
Between that humble cottage down the road toward Ayr, and the Greek
monument in the garden, is told the story of a simple, sweet, singing
bard, whose lines so completely filled the hearts of his fellowmen that
the very scenes of which he sang have become endeared to all humanity.