Robert Burns’s last days revealed in a letter

LONDON - A letter, that throws a lot of light on Scottish poet Robert Burn’s life, has been discovered.

The letter describes how Burns’s sense of humour remained despite his illness.

The letter was written in 1796 by Burns’s boss at the Excise and describes how the poet made a journey to Dumfries to collect his salary exactly a week before his death.

It was found by David Brown, the head of collections development at the National Archives of Scotland.

The letter, dated 14 July, described him as “reduced and shattered … in the extreme”.

“I’m only 36, 10 of which only I have been in the world and, in that time, all I shall say, My good sir, I have not been idle,” the BBC quoted the letter as reading.

The poet was in fact 37-years-old, and he was referring to the 10 years since his ‘Poems’ were first published in Kilmarnock.

“I am sure there will be great interest in this find, from Burns enthusiasts and from those whose interest has been sparked by last year’s celebration of the 250th anniversary of the great man’s birth,” said Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop.

The public exhibition will be held at West Register House, Charlotte Square, Edinburgh, from 9 August until 3 September. (ANI)