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Description: | The manuscript headed by Burns 'A Song -- Tune Etric banks -- On accidentally seeing Miss W.-- A. in an evening walk' was written after Burns had strayed into the private estate of Claud Alexander in Ballochmyle. As he wandered along the banks of the river Ayr, he caught a glimpse of Claud's sister Wilhelmina, allowing Burns to let his fancy take flight wishing that they were on the same social plain so that he could woo her.
Claud Alexander brought his sister Wilhelmina (Miss W.A.) to an estate at Ballochmyle near Mauchline was not far from Mossgeil farm where Burns lived. In November 1786 having composed the song, Burns wrote to Miss W.A. seeking her permission to allow him to publish it in his second book of Poems. As she was 30 years old and no great beauty, she thought Burns was pulling her leg and so she never replied. However when she died a spinster aged 87, it was one of her most prized possessions.
In this final page Burns tells how he would work hard with a joyous heart on his farm to support her. Not for him is seeking a fortune on the high seas or down some foreign mine. He would stay at home, happy tending his sheep and tilling the soil just so long as he could enjoy the simple life together with his bonnie lass o' Ballochmyle. | License: | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0 | Publisher: | Burns Monument Trust | Temporal: | 1786-01-01 - 1786-12-31 | Source: | Burns Scotland | Identifier: | Song by Robert Burns: 'The Bonnie Lass o | Go to resource |
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