Robert Burns The (SELF-INTERPRETING) ILLUSTRATED WITH SIXTY ETCHINGS AND WOOD CUTS, MAPS AND FACSIMILES The Ellisland Edition de Luxe Number 274- COPYRIGHT 1886 BY GEBBIE & COMPANY COPYRIGHT 1908 BY KARL A. ARVIDSON COPYRIGHT 1909 BY JAMES L. PERKINS & COMPANY PUBLISHERS' PREFACE. IN May, 1787, the celebrated Dr. Moore, the author of "Zeluco," in writing to Burns, says, “You ought to deal more sparingly for the future, in the provincial dialect. Why should you by using that, limit the number of your admirers to those who understand the Scottish, when you could extend it to all persons of taste, who understand the English language." A few years later, the poet Cowper, writing from England to a friend in Scotland said, "Burns loses much of his deserved praise in this country, through our ignorance of his language. I despair of meeting any Englishman who will take the pains that I have taken to understand him. His candle is light, but shut up in a dark lantern. I lent him to a sensible neighbor of mine, but the uncouth dialect spoiled all, and before he had read him through he was quite 'ramfeezled.'" * Lord Jeffrey, Edinburgh, writes to Mr. Empson, London, Nov. 11th, 1837: "In the last week I have read all Burns's life and works, not without many tears for the life especially. * * You Southern Saxons cannot value him rightly. You miss half the pathos, and more than half his sweetness.' It has been a matter of regret to all English readers that Burns's 'Scottish dialect" is so hard to understand. To remedy this is the chief purpose of THE SELF-INTERPRETING EDITION OF THE COMPLETE WORKS OF ROBERT BURNS. The special qualifications for this work of interpretation are referred to in our Editors' preface. Mr. Hunter, we may say en passant, was selected by us as consulting Scotch editor, from our knowledge of his general scholarly ability, his long experience as the chief editor of the revised Ogilvie's Imperial Dictionary, as editor of the supplement to Worcester's Dictionary, and more especially because of his enthusiastic love for Burns, his thorough knowledge of his author, and last though not least, because the place of his nativity-Ayrshire, (like that of Mr. Gebbie, co-editor and publisher)-made him au fait in the language, manners and customs of the "land of Burns." |