Burns — On Alexander Wilson. 131 



ing mental phenomena, but had never experienced its sublime 

 power." ^ Another wrote : " Like many sons of toil, he was not 

 bound by very strong ties of sentiment to his native country ; 

 and Vi'hat is a little remarkable in a poet's li^, he never formed 

 any attachment of the heart such as bind men to their home. 

 Here perhaps we may trace one cause of his want of success in 

 poetry. Burns was always in love, and the passion never failed 

 to kindle the fire of his genius. . . . But Wilson was a man of 

 enterprise and action, and therefore was a stranger to many of 

 those fine feelings and associations which give men success in 

 poetry." ^ The third : "Female attachment he had none, or 

 he wisely allowed them to hold him so lightly, as neither to in- 

 terrupt his pursuits or disturb his peace." 



But like a great many other statements in reference to this 

 man, the above are not based upon facts. There are indisputa- 

 ble evidence that he was not an exception to the rule, but dur- 

 ing his forty-eight years of life, he had no less than four affairs 

 of the heart, three of which were unfortunate from inception. 



While yet known as "Sandy, the lazy weaver," in his own 

 bonny Scotland, he "for some time had been attached to the 

 sister of Mrs. Witherspoon, a pretty and respectable girl, to 

 whom he made frequent allusions in his poems, though two 

 only of those published contain any reference to her, and there 

 can be little doubt that Martha McLean bore an influence with 

 his fits of despondency." ^ She whom he addressed in his po- 

 ems as "Matilda," and who "was snatched by fortune from his 

 arms." * The same, doubtless, celebrated in some poor, senti- 

 mental verses of a song in which he is betrayed into stating that 

 "Matty is fame and ambition to me." 



Doubtless his earlier attachment made but a slight perma- 

 nent impression upon his ardent nature, for while yet an unset^ 

 tied, penniless schoolmaster, learning the German language in 

 his adopted country ; he writes to his friend Charles Orr : ^ 



^ Hetherington's Life of Wilson. 



"Peabody's Life of Wilson. 



^ Jardine's Life of Wilson. 



* Crichton's Life and Writings of AVilson. 



" Grosart's Poems and Literaiy Prose of Alexander Wilson. 



