#clarinda

[unteriors]

W Grant Street, Clarinda, Iowa.

[scotianostra]

Agnes Maclehose was born on April *17th 1759 in Glasgow.

*Dates are all over the place here, it's either 16th, 17th of April right up to 26th

Not a name many of you will be familiar with, but Agnes, known as Nancy, is the subject of one of Robert Burns' best known songs, Ae Fond Kiss. Agnes was born 26th April 1758 in Glasgow. She grew up to be a very articulate, well-educated and beautiful woman. She married at eighteen, but the marriage was an unhappy one and she separated from her husband in 1780.

Agnes met Robert Burns several years later at a party in Edinburgh – they were immediately taken with each other, and she wrote to him to invite him to tea at her home. Although an accident prevented this from happening, there began a long series of love letters and love poetry sent between the two. They used the pseudonyms ‘Clarinda’ and ‘Sylvander’. Despite the intensity of their correspondence, it is widely-thought that their affair was unconsummated. As Agnes was an incredibly pious woman and, although separated, still married, this makes sense.

In 1791 Agnes sailed for Jamaica to attempt to reconcile with her husband – however, he had started a family with another woman, so she returned to Scotland after only a few months. She met Robert for the last time in December of that year. For the rest of her life Agnes took great care of her letters from Robert, and after his death she even negotiated to have the letters she had sent to him returned to her.

In 1821 Agnes had tea with Jean Armour in Edinburgh. The two women, who could have been viewed as rivals of sorts, got on well and talked at length about their families, as well as their shared regard for Robert Burns. Agnes died twenty years later, at the age of eighty-three, on 23rd October 1841.

I've visited her grave often in Canongate Kirkyard, it is part of the Craig family plot, Craig being her maiden name. There is also a tea room named "Clarinda" after her a little further down Canongate.

The second verse of Ae Fond Kiss is below, the last two lines are on my Mu's grave...........m

I'll ne'er blame my partial fancy,

Naething could resist my Nancy

:But to see her was to love her;

Love but her, and love for ever.

Had we never lov'd sae kindly,

Had we never lov'd sae blindly,

Never met-or never parted,

We had ne'er been broken-hearted.

He also wrote this poem for her, this was in one of the letters and it included a gift of two wine glasses for her.

To Clarinda

Fair Empress of the Poet's soul, And Queen of Poetesses; Clarinda, take this little boon, This humble pair of glasses:

And fill them up with generous juice, As generous as your mind; And pledge them to the generous toast, "The whole of human kind!"

"To those who love us!" second fill; But not to those whom we love; Lest we love those who love not us- A third-"To thee and me, Love!"

Pics are of Agnes, Clarinda’s House In Edinburgh, By John Le Conte.TIF and her grave.

[gregorygalloway]

Norman Maclean (born Clarinda, IA, 23 December 1902 – 2 August 1990)

[eltonjohndenver]

I thought that just said intelligent friends and tbh as your friend I went "yeah fair enough"

SDJFLKSJGLKDFSGJLSKDFJHKLFDHFDH i literally should just start vagueposting about you and lulu dfkgjslkdfs

[onceuponatown]

Iowa State Hospital for Insane, Clarinda, IA. 1908.

[yoishibarizine-blog]

Clarinda | Artist

I'm an artist and this is my first foray into Fandom. I'm excited and humbled to be apart of this great project!!!

Twitter: @clarinda // Instagram: @clarinda0110

[vlkphoto]

Overhang Tendrils of clouds sway up in formation like snakes charmed by the passing airplane. Somewhere over Iowa. Time lapse movie.

[danny-darkness]

Canongate Kirkyard