Robert read all these books with an avidity
and industry scarcely to be equalled. My father had been a
subscriber to Stackhouse's _History of the Bible_ ...; from this
Robert collected a competent knowledge of ancient history; for no
book was so voluminous as to slacken his industry, or so
antiquated as to dampen his researches. A brother of my mother,
who had lived with us some time, and had learned some arithmetic
by our winter evening's candle, went into a book-seller's shop in
Ayr to purchase the _Ready Reckoner, or Tradesman's Sure Guide_,
and a book to teach him to write letters. Luckily, in place of the
_Complete Letter-Writer_, he got by mistake a small collection of
letters by the most eminent writers, with a few sensible
directions for attaining an easy epistolary style. This book was
to Robert of the greatest consequence. It inspired him with a
strong desire to excel in letter-writing, while it furnished him
with models by some of the first writers in our language."
Interesting as are the details as to the antiquated manuals from which
Burns gathered his general information, it is more important to note
the more personal implications in this account. Respect for learning
has long been wide-spread among the peasantry of Scotland, but it is
evident that William Burnes was intellectually far above the average
of his class.
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