Fragments of letter from Robert Burns to Jean Burns, 20 February 1789

Burns at the start indicates a return home in about eight days presumably from Edinburgh to Nithsdale. Robert writes to ‘his dearest friend’ Jean, telling her ‘I long much to see you’. They had been officially married for less than a year. In the latter part of the document he is describing his negotiations with Creech his publisher, saying he is ambivalent with the result.

It seems that the manuscript has been assembled because the content as read makes rough sense. However the widely differing writing style of the two parts makes it questionable as to why there were brought together this way.