Unsigned letter from Robert Burns to 'Clarinda', Mrs Agnes McLehose (1759-1841).
Dated by G. Ross Roy to 14 February 1788, the letter is one of over 50 written by Burns to Mrs Agnes McLehose. They first met in Edinburgh in 1787 and the subsequent correspondence between them took a hectic, passionate tone with the pseudonyms of 'Sylvander' and 'Clarinda' being adopted. Their relationship, however, is generally considered to have remained platonic.
The letter begins 'I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan!' (a quote from 2 Samuel 1:26) and includes the words 'Can I wish that I had never seen you? That we had never met? No, I never will!( ) Tonight I shall be with you, as indeed I shall be ill at ease till I see you'.
