Letter from Robert Burns, Scotland?, to Frances Anna Wallace Dunlop, 1795 December 15-25 : autograph manuscript signed.

Expressing how scared he was for his young daughter's life as she was ill the last 4 months; quoting his favorite passage from Thomson's Edward & Eleanora "The valiant, in himself, what can he suffer? ..."; mentioning a London publication of Scots airs songs for which he has the honor of being the Scots composer; sharing a song that he wrote the other day "Farewell, thou stream that winding flows ..." (Song); (dated December 20) writing that he has been struggling to finish this letter and includes another work of his titled Bruce's speech to his troops--Bannockburn, "Scots wha hae wit Wallace bled" (Robert Bruce's March to Bannockburn); (dated December 24) saying that he has had brilliant theatre here and that he only mentions this so he can include the address spoken by Miss Fontenelle on her benefit night on December 4th at the Theatre in Dumfries "Still anxious to secure your partial favor ..." (Occasional address, spoken by Miss Fontenelle, on her benefit-night, Decr. 4th, 1793--Written by Mr. Burns); (dated December 25) wishing her a happy holiday; asking how she likes Cowper's The task; adding that he recently collected all of his letters that he sketched in a rough draught and afterwards wrote out fair; discussing his observations of his letters and that he is writing them out in a bound manuscript for his friend's library; saying that he can't find a single scroll to her except the one about the commencement of their acquaintance.