This is a large mass of building between Nicolson Square and the
Potterrow, in the south side of the town. It was built about the middle
of the eighteenth century, upon venture, by one Colin Alison, a joiner,
who in after-life was much reduced in his circumstances, not improbably
in consequence of this large speculation. In his last days he spent
some of his few remaining shillings in the erection of two boards, at
different parts of his buildings, whereon was represented a globe in
the act of falling, with this inscription:
‘If Fortune smile, be not puffed up,
And if it frown, be not dismayed;
For Providence governeth all,
Although the world’s turned upside down.’
Alison Square[270] has enjoyed some little connection with the Scottish
muses. It was in the house of a Miss Nimmo in this place that Burns met
Clarinda. It would amuse the reader of the ardent letters which passed
between these two kindred souls to visit the plain, small, dusky house
in which the lady lived at that time, and where she received several
visits of the poet. It is situated in the adjacent humble street called
the Potterrow, the first floor over the passage into General’s Entry,
accessible by a narrow spiral stair from the court. A little parlour, a
bedroom, and a kitchen constituted the accommodations of Mrs M’Lehose;
now the residence of two, if not three, families in the extreme of
humble life. Here she lived with a couple of infant children, a young
and beautiful woman, blighted in her prospects in consequence of an
unhappy marriage (her husband having deserted her, after using her
barbarously), yet cheerful and buoyant, through constitutional good
spirits and a rational piety. To understand her friendship with Burns
and the meaning of their correspondence, it was almost necessary to
have known the woman. Seeing her and hearing her converse, even in
advanced life, one could penetrate the whole mystery very readily,
in appreciating a spirit unusually gay, frank, and emotional. The
perfect innocence of the woman’s nature was evident at once; and by her
friends it was never doubted.
[Illustration: ALISON SQUARE.