Essays Critical and Imaginative Author:John Wilson Title: Essays Critical and Imaginative: the Genius and Character of Burns. Speech at the Burns Festival. Christopher on Colonsay. Coleridge's Poetical Works. Tupper's Geraldine. De Berenger's Helps and Hints. Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome. a Few Words on Shakespeare General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1857 Origin... more »al Publisher: W. Blackwood and sons Subjects: English poetry Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: SPEECH AT THE BUKNS EESTIVAL. [" The Burns Festival" -- a meeting at which the people of Scotland of all ranks assembled in large numbers to do honour to the memory of their great national poet -- was celebrated in the vicinity of Ayr on the 6th of August 1844. Not fewer than 80,000 persons were present on the occasion ; and when they marched in procession with playing bands and streaming banners past the platform on which the Dii Majores of the jubilee were stationed, the spectacle was in the highest degree exhilarating. It was a demonstration worthy of the nation, and of the genius which the nation delighted to honour. In the afternoon about 2000 of the assembly dined together in an elegant pavilion extemporised for that purpose. The Earl of Eglinton was in the chair: Professor Wilson acted as croupier ; and it was then that ho delivered the following oration, in proposing as a toast " The Sons of Burus," who were present as guests at the entertainment.] Were this Festival but to commemorate the genius of Burns, and it were asked, what need now for such commemoration, since his fame is coextensive with the literature of the land, and enshrined in every household ? -- I might answer, that although admiration of the poet be wide as the world, yet we, his compatriots, to w...« less