Life of Robert Burns

Publisher Marketing: "[...]other pieces, he produced at this period the inimitable poem of Tam O'Shanter. Johnson's Miscellany was also indebted to him for the finest of its lyrics. One pleasing trait of his character must not be overlooked. He superintended the formation of a subscription library in the parish, and took the whole management of it upon himself. These institutions, though common now, were not so short at the period of which we write; and it should never be forgotten that Burns was amongst the first, if not the very first, of their founders in the rural districts of southern Scotland. Towards the close of 1791 he finally abandoned his farm; and obtaining an appointment to the Dumfries division of excise, he repaired to that town on a salary of 70 per annum. All his principal biographers concur in stating that after settling in Dumfries his moral career was downwards. Heron, who had some acquaintance with the matter, says, "His dissipation became still more deeply habitual; he was here more exposed than in the country to be solicited to share the revels of the dissolute and the idle; foolish young men flocked eagerly about him, and from time to time pressed him to drink with them, that they might enjoy his wit. The Caledonia Club, too, and the Dumfries-shire and Galloway Hunt, [...]." Contributor Bio:  Carlyle, Thomas Thomas Carlyle was a Victorian-era Scottish author, philosopher, and historian. Raised by a strict Calvinist family, Carlyle abandoned his career with the clergy in 1821 after losing his faith, focusing instead on writing. Carlyle went on to publish such noted works as Life of Schiller, Sartor Resartuswhich was inspired by his crisis of faith, and The French Revolution, and became one of the most prominent writers of his day. Carlyle s later works included Heroes and Hero-Worship and Frederick the Great. Carlyle passed away in 1881.