A trip to Eyemouth prompts some musings!
Today we went to Eyemouth to pick up the records that the Eyemouth Harbour Trust Board have decided to deposit with us. This will be a great collection to get cataloguing as it details the life of the harbour - which is still a fishing port today!
Before we left we had a quick search to see if we could find an interesting, amusing story to inspire our trip and came accross a volume on google books called ‘Eyemouth musings: or, Poems on humorous, interesting and important subjects’ by Thomas White of Eyemouth. Thomas White we are told at the front of this book is an excise officer for Eyemouth.
Its clear he loves the town as the following extract shows in this poem:
EYEMOUTH No I
Whilst higher objects are the theme,
Of poets of great worth,
And country hamlets are too mean,
To call their genius forth
Be mine the humble welcome task
The worth of Eyemouth to unmask
She stands upon the ocean’s shore
From whence her fortune flows
The finny tribe form half her store
And better no one knows
Whilst on the ever restless main
She sends her able fishermen
Her harbour is a safe resort
When tempests rage around
It forms a neat commodious port
And has good anchor ground
Where vessels safely may defy
The ocean rolling mountains high
To find out more about this and his thoughts on The Queen, War, marriage and the Fishermen Employed in the Herring Fishing through his poems have a look at the volume online:
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=v7MDAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA7&dq=Eyemouth&hl=en#v=onepage&q=Eyemouth&f=false
We’re now all intrigued and want to find out more about Thomas White and what he was like. Including his job as excise officer!
Posted by: Rachel
