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Following the success of the Kilmarnock edition, Burns
decided to further his literary ambitions by visiting
Edinburgh. Soon he was being fêted by an Edinburgh society
eager to meet the man described by Henry Mackenzie as
the 'Heaven-taught ploughman'.
For the next 18 months he stayed frequently in Edinburgh
to arrange the publication of a second edition of his
poems, and to join in the social round.
One of the people he met was Mrs Agnes McLehose, with
whom he established a platonic relationship. Their ensuing
correspondence - using the pseudonyms 'Clarinda' and
'Sylvander' - is one of the most famous examples of
stylised romantic letter-writing. But even more famous
is Ae fond kiss, the parting song which Burns
sent to Mrs McLehose after their final meeting in December
1791.
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The Earl of Glencairn (by D O Hill), the poet's principal patron on
his arrival in Edinburgh. It was by his influence that
the Edinburgh establishment subscribed so enthusiastically
to the Edinburgh edition.
William Creech by Henry Raeburn. He organised the first
Edinburgh Edition of Burns's poems, but his well-known
reluctance to part with money caused the poet endless
problems. (By permission of the National Galleries of
Scotland)
Agnes McLehose, known as 'Clarinda'.
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