John Gilpin's flight is followed in this volume by the flight of Tam
o' Shanter. Burns wrote "Tam o' Shanter" at Elliesland, and himself
considered it the best of all his poems. He told the story to
Captain Grose, as it was current among the people in his part of the
country, its scene laid almost on the spot where he was born.
Captain Grose, the antiquary, who was collecting materials for his
"Antiquities of Scotland," published in 1789-91, got Burns to
versify it and give it to him. The poem made its first appearance,
therefore, in Captain Grose's book. Mrs. Burns told of it that it
was the work of a day. Burns was most of the day on his favourite
walk by the river, where his wife and some of the children joined
him in the afternoon. Mrs. Burns saw that her husband was busily
engaged "crooning to himsell," and she loitered behind with the
little ones among the broom. Presently she was attracted by the
poet's strange and wild gesticulations; he seemed agonised with an
ungovernable joy. He was reciting very loud. Every circumstance
suggested to heighten the impression of fear in the lines following,

"By this time he was 'cross the ford
Where in the snaw the chapman smoored," etc.,

was taken from local tradition. Shanter was the real name of a farm
near Kirkoswald, then occupied by a Douglas Grahame, who was much of
Tam's character, and was well content to be called by his country
neighbours Tam o' Shanter for the rest of his life, after Burns had
made the name of the farm immortal.

Our selection ends with two pieces by Thomas Hood, whose "Tale of a
Trumpet" is luxuriant with play of wit that has its earnest side.