Alloway Kirk
a deserted church about two miles from Ayr. It is celebrated in Burns' Tam O'Shanter, as the place where Auld Nick fiddled while the witches danced until disturbed by the "Weel done, Cuttysark," of drunken Tam. It is a stone building, still standing, in much neglect, however, about half a mile from the birth-place of Burns. In the churchyard nearby people of various degrees lie buried. The poet's father, mother, and sister lie here. The stone above the father's grave bears the following lines written by the son:
O ye whose cheek the tear of pity stains,
Draw near with pious reverence and attend;
Here lie the loving husband's dear remains,
The tender father and the generous friend,--
The pitying heart that felt for human woe,--
The dauntless breast that feared no human pride;
The friend of man--to vice alone a foe;
For e'en his failings leant to virtue's side.
Draw near with pious reverence and attend;
Here lie the loving husband's dear remains,
The tender father and the generous friend,--
The pitying heart that felt for human woe,--
The dauntless breast that feared no human pride;
The friend of man--to vice alone a foe;
For e'en his failings leant to virtue's side.
Volume I · Aiton’s Encyclopedia