The strongemotional highs and lows associated with many of Burns'poems have led some,such as Burns biographer Robert Crawford,231to suggest that he suffered from manic depression-a 5 hypothesis that has been supported by analysis ofvarious samples of his handwriting.Burns himselfreferred to suffering from episodes of what he called "blue devilism".However,the National Trust for Scotland has downplayed the suggestionon the grounds that 5 evidence is insufficient to support the claim.1241 While Burns's life was troubled and his character was flawed in many ways,he fought at tremendous odds.As Thomas Carlyle puts it in his Essay: 5 Granted the ship comes into harbor with shrouds and tackle damaged,the pilot is blameworthy.but to know how blameworthy tell us first whether his voyage has been round the Globe or only to Ramsgate and the Isle of Dogs.The strong emotional highs and lows associated with many of Burns' poems have led some, such as Burns biographer Robert Crawford,[23] to suggest that he suffered from manic depression—a hypothesis that has been supported by analysis of various samples of his handwriting. Burns himself referred to suffering from episodes of what he called "blue devilism". However, the National Trust for Scotland has downplayed the suggestion on the grounds that evidence is insufficient to support the claim.[24] While Burns's life was troubled and his character was flawed in many ways, he fought at tremendous odds. As Thomas Carlyle puts it in his Essay: Granted the ship comes into harbor with shrouds and tackle damaged, the pilot is blameworthy. but to know how blameworthy, tell us first whether his voyage has been round the Globe or only to Ramsgate and the Isle of Dogs. 5’ 5’ 5’