James Smith of Mauchline was one of

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

's closest friends and confidants. He was born in 1765, son of a

Mauchline Mauchline (; gd, Maghlinn) is a town and civil parish in East Ayrshire, Scotland. In the 2001 census Mauchline had a recorded population of 4,105. It is home to the National Burns Memorial. Location The town lies by the Glasgow and South West ...

merchant, Ayrshire, Scotland. In 1775, when he was only ten years, old his father, Robert Smith, a prosperous local merchant, was killed in a riding accident, falling from his horse whilst returning from Ayr. His mother, Jean Smith, remarried James Lamie who owned the adjoining house.

Life and character

The Kilmarnock Edition, Robert Burns poems

After his father's death his mother married on 11 March 1777 a man with a reputation for pious and austere behaviour, a strict 'Auld Licht' Mauchline Kirk elder, named Mr. James Lamie or Lammie who attempted to provide a strict upbringing for his stepson. James Lammie is said to not have approved of James or his associates. Jean bore James Lamie a son, James, on 6 August 1780. It was James Lamie who had accompanied Willie Fisher on a visit to

Jean Armour Jean Armour (25 February 1765 – 26 March 1834), also known as the "Belle of Mauchline", was the wife of the poet Robert Burns. She inspired many of his poems and bore him nine children, three of whom survived into adulthood. Biography Born in ...

's parents regarding her rumoured pregnancy out of wedlock. He was also directly involved in the Kirk Session's disputes with Gavin Hamilton. Lamie was buried in Mauchline kirkyard next to the Rev. William Auld. Smith's sister was Jean Smith (b.1768 d.1854), one of the ''Mauchline Belles'' who married Dr James Candlish circa 1794, originally McCandlish, childhood school friend of Burns from Purclewan Mill near Mount Oliphant. Jean was buried in Edinburgh at the Old Calton Burial Ground. Burns referred to her in the poem "''The Belles of Mauchline''" as "''Miss Smith she has wit''". He ran a drapery shop in his old home that lay opposite Nanse Tunnock's. Boyle states that his home and workshop stood at the north side of Mauchline Cross but was demolished in 1820 when the new Kilmarnock Road was built. James Lamie's house stood adjacent to his shop. Smith is described as "''..a wild young rake of a fellow; who was never out of mischief. Kind and good-natured the young lad certainly was; but then he was so perversly fond of fun and frolic, that the good old man declared there was no living with him''". Janes kept irregular hours and a story is recounted by a servant, Helen Miller, that when found cleaning James's shoes Lamie tore them from her hands and threw them across the room with considerable force, saying that the young vagabond could clean them himself. Smith left Mauchline by the end of 1785 and became a partner in a calico-printing company in Avon near

Linlithgow Linlithgow (; gd, Gleann Iucha, sco, Lithgae) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a ...

however this enterprise failed. In 1788 Smith took ship to

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, although De Lancey Ferguson gives

St Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindi ...

as his destination, and he eventually died on the island, however the date and place of his death are not formally recorded, but in Cromek's ''Reliques of Robert Burns'' he is said in 1808 to already be deceased whilst another source gives 1823. Smith, as recorded by the Kirk Session, had an illegitimate son with Christina Wilson, one of his mother's servants, fifteen years his senior. Ironically she had been employed specifically to help mend his wayward behaviour. Smith always denied being the father of the boy although locally it was taken for granted. She moved to Bridgend after the child was born.

Association with Robert Burns

Smith was introduced to

by John Richmond and together with William Hunter, a tanner, the four became close friends, 'ram-stam boys' "''Unco pack an' thick thegither''" and formed the notorious 'Court of Equity' at the Whitefoord Arms, as poetically described in Burns's "''Libel Summons''". James Smith was the ''Procurator Fiscal''; Burns was the ''Perpetual President''; William Hunter the ''Messenger at Arms'' and Richmond the ''Clerk of the Court''. The 'court' met to debate and discuss the scandals in the village and the punishments that each crime merited. Burns received a mock-summons to stand before the court, the ''Libel Summons''". This 1786 poem is also known as the ''Court of Equity'' or ''The Fornicators Court'', however manuscript evidence suggests that 'Libel Summons' was Robert Burns's chosen title. Smith, Richmond and Burns are thought to have been in Poosie Nancie's Inn at Mauchline when the scenes of enthusiastic revelry amongst a group who were beggars by day inspired the poet to write his cantata ''Love and Liberty'' or ''The Jolly Beggars''. Smith was a subscriber to enlist subscribers for 41 copies of the 'Kilmarnock Edition'. Richmond contributed to the so-called ''Train Manuscript'' which recorded how Burns's friends had informed him of Mary Campbell's infidelity with James Montgomerie of Coilsfield House, brother to the Earl of Eglinton. The details are that in December 1817 John Richmond was interviewed by William Grierson and related that James Montgomerie and Mary Campbell met frequently in the 'Elbow Inn', a small Mauchline ale house. On one occasion John Richmond, Smith and some other friends of Burns took him to the 'Elbow' knowing that James and Mary were there together. They waited and eventually Mary exited from a private room and was playfully heckled, followed some time later by Montgomerie. Burns blushed and muttered ''damn it'' and suffered much good natured banter. It made no difference however and a few days later Richmond stated that he returned to her ''like the dog to its vomit''. Unsurprisingly these details of Mary Campbell's behaviour was very unpopular once exposed. A nephew of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

is on record as having said that his uncle was an inveterate liar. In Burns's "''Libel Summons''" he refers to Smith "''Next merchant Smith, our worthy Fiscal, To cow each pertinacious rascal; In this, as every other state. His merit is conspicuous great''". A story was related by Christina of Smith and Burns inviting Christina and the child to visit them in a tavern and Burns teasing the boy about James being his father, with the result that the two year old lad exclaimed "''But ye er my faether, ye er my faether''".

For a Wag in Mauchline

This work was addressed to John Smith.

Epistle "To James Smith"

This epistle was written in 1785 and the work was included in the 1786

Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect ''Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect'', commonly known as the Kilmarnock Edition, is a collection of poetry by Robert Burns, first printed and issued by John Wilson of Kilmarnock on 31 July 1786. It was the first published edition of Burns' w ...

from pages 69 to 78. The first three stanzas :

Correspondence

James Lamie's House, Mauchline, East Ayrshire

In February 1786 Burns wrote to

saying "''My chief patron is Mr Aiken in Ayr who is pleased to express great approbation of my works''". He also wrote that "''I am extremely happy with Smith; he is all the friend I have NOW in Machlin (sic)''" and added that "''I have some very important news with respect to myself, not the most agreeable, news that I am sure you cannot guess, but I shall give you the particulars another time.''". On 30 July 1786 Burns wrote to Richmond from ''Old Rome Foord'' where the poet was hiding. ''My hour is now come. You and I will never meet in Britain more. --., have orders within three weeks at farthest to repair aboard the Nancy, Captain Smith from Clyde, to Jamaica, and to call at Antigua. This, except to our friend Smith, whom God long preserve, Is a secret about Mauchline.''". Circa 1 August 1786 Burns wrote to Smith saying that at the time of

's supposed desertion of him he would meet her "''If you see Jean tell her, I will meet her, So help me Heaven in my hour of need.''" Burns also commented "''Against two things however, I am fix'd as Fate: staying at home, and owning her conjugally. The first, by Heaven I will not do! the last, by Hell, I will never do!''". He added: This letter in autograph sold for £12,500 in 2020.Lyon & Turnbull sale
/ref> Burns wrote to Smith in August 1786 regarding his intended journey to Jamaica, saying that his plans had been altered due to information from friends of Dr Patrick Douglas informing him that the cost of the journey would be upward of £50 as the ship was not sailing directly to the island. A cheaper fare from Greenock would not be available until September. Mauchline, Abbot's Tower, East Ayrshire

On 11 June 1787 he wrote saying "''I date this from Mauchline, where I arrived on Friday even last. If any thing had been wanting to disgust me completely at Armour's family, their mean, servile, compliance would have done it''". PG 1063Burns Naysmith

In June 1787 he boasted to Smith of his skills as a seducer saying after a cool response to an approach that "''I am an old hawk at the sport, and wrote her such a cool, deliberate, prudent reply, as brought my bird from her aerial towerings, pop, down at my foot, like Corporal Trim's hat''". Burns wrote on 30 June and related the tale of his race on Jenny Geddes against the 'Highlandman' that resulted in a fall that delayed his progress back to Edinburgh. On 28 April 1788 Burns wrote to Smith in Linlithgow "''So to let you into secrets of my pericranium, there is, you must know, a certain clean-limbed, handsome, bewitching young hussy of your acquaintance, to whom I have lately and privately given a matrimonial title to my corpus ... Now for business. -- I intend to present Mrs Burns with a printed shawl, an article of which I daresy you have variety: 'Tis my first present to her since I have irrevocibly called her mine ... Mrs Burns ('Tis only her private designation) begs her best compliments to you''".

References

;Notes

External links

Researching the Life and Times of Robert Burns
Burns Researcher's site. {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, James Scottish literature Robert Burns 1765 births 1823 deaths People from Mauchline People of the Scottish Enlightenment