The Cottar's Saturday Night, Verse 3

Category

Library Item

Item no

24762

Title

The Cottar's Saturday Night, verse 3

Description

A farming family sit beside the fireside in a cottage kitchen. The mother sits closest to the cooking range whilst the father talks to two children. One child sits on his knee and the other stands beside him as he holds her around the waist. A dog lies on the ground behind the man's chair. The room is furnished with basic functional furniture and utensils apart from a decorative clock which hangs on the wall.

Artist / maker

Faed, John

Date

1853

Size

17.9 x 25.3 cm

Type

Engraving

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

A cottar, or cotter, is an old scots word meaning a married farm labourer who lives in a cottage provided by his employer. This image illustrates verse 3 from Robert Burns' The Cotter's Saturday Night:
At length his lonely cot appears in view,
Beneath the shelter of an aged tree;
Th' expectant wee-things, toddlin, stacher through
To meet thier Dad, wi' flichterin noise an' glee.
His wee bit ingle, blinkin bonnily,
His clean hearth-stane, his thriftie wifie's smile,
The lisping infant prattling on his knee,
Does a' his weary carking cares beguile,
An' makes him quite forget his labour an' his toil.

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Related subjects

Animals > Mammals > Dogs

Furnishings > Furniture > Chairs

Furnishings > Furniture > Chests

Furnishings > Ornamentation > Clocks

People > Adults > Men

People > Adults > Women

People > Children > Boys

People > Children > Girls

Places > United Kingdom > Scotland

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