Robert and his brother Gilbert had taken a farm at Mossgiel, not far
away, while their father was still living, and after his death they
removed there, taking with them the rest of the family. Unfortunately
the farm did not prosper. On reaching the age of twenty-seven the poet
determined to go to Jamaica where he had been promised a position as
overseer of an estate. In order to raise money to pay his passage he
published a volume of poems. The returns were small, but the fame of
the writer spread so rapidly that he was persuaded to remain in his own
country and publish a second edition of his poems in Edinburgh.

The two winters which he spent in the Scotch capital at this time form
an interesting episode in his life. He was the lion of the day in
literary circles. Many persons who met him have told how he impressed
them; but the most interesting account is that of Walter Scott, then a
youth of sixteen. He says of Burns: "His person was strong and robust;
his manner rustic, not clownish; a sort of dignified plainness and
simplicity. His countenance was more massive than it looks in any of
the portraits. . . There was a strong expression of sense and
shrewdness in all his lineaments; the eye alone, I think, indicated the
poetical character and temperament. It was large, and of a dark cast,
which glowed (I say literally glowed), when he spoke, with feeling or
interest. I never saw such another eye in a human head, though I have
seen the most distinguished men of my time."

In 1788 the poet married Jane Armour, and the following year settled
with her on a farm at Ellisland, near Dumfries. Finding it impossible
to make a living for his increasing family as a farmer, he obtained
through friends the place of exciseman for the surrounding region.
This position obliged him to ride more than two hundred miles a week,