LIFE OF WILSON. cxiii 



" This Monument 



Covers the Remains of 



ALEXANDER WILSON, 



Author of the 



AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



He was born in Renfrewshire, Scotland, 



On the 6 July, 1766 ; 



Emigrated to the United States 



In the Year 1794; 



And Died in Philadelphia 



Of the Dysentery, 



On the 23 August, 1813, 



Aged 47." 



I shall now offer some brief remarks upon those writings of Wilson, which 

 have fallen under my notice; and in the performance of this task, it will 

 become my duty to speak of a work, which I had hoped would be permitted 

 to lie in oblivion, but which either the indiscreet partiality of friends, or the 

 avarice of a publisher, has lately dragged forth to the view of the public. 

 From the volume which the author published himself, in the year 1791, and 

 which is entitled " Poems, Humorous, Satirical, and Serious," a selection was 

 made, and published, in 1816, at Paisley and at London, under the title of 

 *' Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect; by Alexander Wilson, Author of 

 American Ornithology." When I commenced reading this selection, it was 

 my intention to note its beauties and defects ; but when I found how greatly 

 the latter predominated, it occurred to me that no good could result from a 

 critical examination of a work which few would read, which contains nothing 

 deserving of applause; and which, if it has hitherto escaped criticism, it is 

 because it has been deemed unworthy of a deliberate investigation. 



The early writings of but few authors are worthy of being read, except for 

 the purpose of tracing the progress of the mind. When one surveys the work 

 in question with this view, one is astonished to find no indication of that genius 

 which is so conspicuous in after-life; a barrenness of invention, a poverty of 

 expression, a deficiency of taste and judgment, are its characteristics. 



The author of the " Biographical Sketch," appended to the Selection* above 



* It appears by the advertisement affixed to this selection, that it "was made and 

 printed tiniler the direction of a gentleman who has since paid the debt of nature ;" and 

 that " it was his intention to give the life of Wilson." If one were allowed to form a 

 conjecture of the abilities of this editor, by the judgment displayed in his choice, one 

 would have no reason to regret that his task was never accomplished. How he could 

 admit such productions as "The Wasp's Revenge," and the " Verses on the Death of a 

 Favorite Spaniel," one may well inquire. 



That Wilson himself entertained a mean opinion of his boyish publication, I am 

 authorized to assert from the circumstance, that, though possessing a copy, he would 

 never allow me to read it, notwithstanding I frequently urged him to grant me this favor. 



An itinerant Scotchman once called upon Wilson's executors, with a request that he 

 might be allowed the privilege of printing an edition of his poems, urging, in justifica- 

 tion of the proposition, his peculiar fitness, by his knowledge of the Scottish dialect, for 



Vol. I.— II 



