He wrote a few letters in a high-flown, bombastic vein
of gratitude; but in practice he suffered no man to intrude
upon his self-respect. On the other hand, he never turned
his back, even for a moment, on his old associates; and he
was always ready to sacrifice an acquaintance to a friend,
although the acquaintance were a duke. He would be a bold
man who should promise similar conduct in equally exacting
circumstances. It was, in short, an admirable appearance on
the stage of life - socially successful, intimately self-
respecting, and like a gentleman from first to last.
In the present study, this must only be taken by the way,
while we return to Burns's love affairs. Even on the road to
Edinburgh he had seized upon the opportunity of a flirtation,
and had carried the "battering" so far that when next he
moved from town, it was to steal two days with this anonymous
fair one. The exact importance to Burns of this affair may
be gathered from the song in which he commemorated its
occurrence. "I love the dear lassie," he sings, "because she
loves me;" or, in the tongue of prose: "Finding an
opportunity, I did not hesitate to profit by it, and even
now, if it returned, I should not hesitate to profit by it
again." A love thus founded has no interest for mortal man.
Meantime, early in the winter, and only once, we find him
regretting Jean in his correspondence.
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