"For enabling him (Flaxman) to transmit the features of the poet to posterity as faithfully as possible, I obtained from Mrs. Burns, and sent him the portrait in oil painted from life very successfully by Mr. Alexander Naismyth, Edinburgh, being the only portrait for which he ever sat to any reputable artist, as far as I know: and, along with it, I sent the small engraving done from it by Beugo for the first Edinburgh edition of his poems; for Mr Beugo told me that he was frequently visited by Burns while at work on the plate, and thus had opportunities of examining his manly expressive countenance when lighted up by conversation: and though I recommended the painting to Mr Flaxman as his safest guide to likeness, I did not think it right to withhold the engraving, nor to omit telling him that Gilbert Burns, the poets brother, had expressed to me his marked approbation both of the painting and engraving. "For the figure, or general appearance of the poet, the sculptor was necessarily guided by description, for which purpose, when he came to Edinburgh, to be informed as to this and other matters, I introduced him to several friends who had seen Burns much oftener than I saw him, and whose account of him could be more relied on than mine: and I think the statue, upon the whole, will be considered by all who remember Burns, a fair characteristic representation of his general appearance, as well as a capital work of art." It is to be added, that at the death of Mr. Flaxman, December 3, 1826, the statue of Burns was one of those which he left unfinished: the work was completed by his brother-in-law and pupil, Mr. Denman.

When the statue was ready to be put up, the committee, finding a surplus of about £ 1300 in their hands, resolved, instead of placing it in one of the public halls of Edinburgh, to erect a monumental temple for its especial reception; and the site chosen for this structure was one of the southern shoulders of the Calton Hill, a little to the east of the new High School. A design being furnished gratuitously by Mr. Thomas Hamilton of Edinburgh, the building was commenced in 1831, and soon completed, but not until a further call upon the public had been honoured to the extent of £ 537. It is not unworthy of notice that the decoration of the interior of the structure, and the planning of the surrounding plot with laurels, hollies, and Ayrshire roses, were respectively done, gratuitously, by Mr. Robert Buchan, house-painter, and Mr. Eagle Henderson, nursery-man, both of Edinburgh. The total expense of the statue and its temple appears to have exceeded 3300. The statue has now been shown for several seasons to the public, in the building erected for it; but it is to be regretted that the situation proves to be somewhat confined, so that the figure is not seen to full advantage, and also that, from the neighbourhood of several factories of various kinds) the marble is liable to be somewhat contaminated in the course of time by smoke. It is to be hoped that some step may be taken to avert a result which the public could not fail greatly to deplore, both on account of the beauty of the object as a work of art, and the homage due to the illustrious person whom it represents.