Note 197 — BOSWELLIANA.
Reading edition
A native of Ayrshire, Matthew Henderson long resided in Edinburgh, where his society was much cherished. Allan Cunningham relates on the authority of Sir Thomas Wallace, who knew him personally, “that he dined regularly at Fortune’s Tavern, and was a member of the Capillaire Club, which was composed of all who inclined to be witty and joyous.” When Robert Burns visited Edinburgh in 1787, Matthew Henderson was one of his chief associates; he subscribed for four copies of the second edition of his poems, and by his pleasing and beneficent manner gained a deep place in his affections. Henderson died in the summer of 1790, and his memory was celebrated by the Ayrshire bard in an elegiac poem, of which the following stanzas are familiar:—