Thursday, 29 May 1828: 'I have amused myself to-day with reading Lockhart's Life of Burns which is very well written -- in fact an admirable thing. He has judicious[ly] slurd over his vices and follies [...] as the Dead corpse is straightend, swathd and made decent so ought the character of such an inimitable genius as Burns to be tenderly handled after the death. The knowledge of his various weaknesses or vices are only subjects of sorrow to the well disposed and of triumph to the profligate.'