Note 297 — THE BORDER TOUR.
Reading edition
The entry made on this occasion in the Lodge-books of St Abb’s is honorable to
“The brethren of the mystic level.”
“Eyemouth, 19th May, 1787.
“At a general encampment held this day, the following brethren were made royal arch masons, viz. Robert Burns, from the Lodge of St. James’s, Tarbolton, Ayrshire, and Robert Ainslie, from the Lodge of St. Luke’s, Edinburgh by James Carmichael, Wm. Grieve, Daniel Dow, John Clay, Robert Grieve, &c. &c. Robert Ainslie paid one guinea admission dues; but on account of R. Burns’s remarkable poetical genius, the encampment unanimously agreed to admit him gratis, and considered themselves honoured by having a man of such shining abilities for one of their companions.”
Extracted from the Minute Book of the Lodge by Thomas Bowbill