Jean Armour
Although Robert Burns had many other loves in his life, he always returned to his long-suffering wife, Jean Armour.
Jean bore Robert four children: twins: Robert and Jean; a second son William Nicol Burns; and a third – Maxwell - born on the day of his father’s funeral: father and son, spirts passing in the night?
Jean knew that her husband had a roving eye and showed more understanding than a man might reasonably expect. Despite his philandering's and the inevitable scattering of other offspring, Jean remained constant to Burns until parted by his death.
‘Of A' The Airts The Wind Can Blaw’ - 1788 Robert Burns
“Of a' the airts the wind can blaw, I dearly like the west, For there the bonie lassie lives, The lassie I lo'e best:
There’s no’ a bonie floo’r that springs, By fountain, shaw or green. There’s no’ a bonie bird that sings But minds me o’ my Jean.”
