hey guest VAN.... where did you get THAT story.??...
I think you are confused....and I rise to Roberts defence... William Stewart was a factor at Closeburn estate Dumfries who helped Burns out for many years, PARTICULARY, prior to his move to Ellisland where he was building a home for himself and Jean, and Stewart helped him over that move. Burns and Stewart were the greatest of buddies... In fact for enjoying evenings of bawdy song Burns had no closer ally than the loyal and kind Stewart.
Part of this song 'willie stewart' written in dedication to his admiration of his freind was enscribed on a glass tumbler and is in veiw today.
I find it unbelievable that Burns would have been able to write such a lyric for his friend and have any HINT of maliciousness in it.
As an aside the second, slower half of my rendition of Willie was, in fact, verses written in dedication to Willies adolescent daughter POLLY.
In those verses Burns wishes Polly to find a future husband who has the wisdom to know the joy of who he holds in his arms.
Unfortunatly for Polly her future was to be the complete opposite of that.
I have an Idea that you may be mixing that song up with Burns FIRST EVER work of 'poesy'. He was 14 and falling for the teenage girl he was doing the harvest with. The girl was either NELLIE KILPATRICK or more likely to be NELLIE BLAIR. Burns told us the story that he was falling for her and one day she produced a song written to her by a local squires son. In his private jealousy he thought he could do better. He went home and wrote 'HANDSOME NELL'.
But maybe you've been talking to someone who knows better than I. I would love to read that version. It contradicts everything I have ever read.
xx