Burns — Alexander Wilson. 95 



justice, although it gave some idea of him. Hazard states that 

 the stipple engraving' on copper was published in November, 

 1814: and as it was done by Barralet himself, it is probable 

 that the date of the death of this artist-engraver, " about 

 1812," was placed too early by his biographer. 



The portrait in Potter's Monthly, 1875, a coarse repoduc- 

 tion by the photo-electric process, was from Barralet's orig- 

 inal engraving in the possession of Mr. Hazard, and the wood- 

 cut in Webber's Romance of Sporting, 1852, a crude reverse 

 from the same source, Miss Lawson wrote in criticism : " The 

 outline of the face, in the forehead and nose, is the same as 

 Barralet's, from which it is evidently taken ; the mouth and 

 chin are certain!}- wrong. Wilson's teniperament was pure 

 bilious, and pouting lips are unknown to that temperament, 

 even in early life. , The dress alone would mark its want of 

 truthfulness." 



A rather clever bit of plagiarism, amusing to all but the 

 editors whom it deceived, was perpetrated by some one in a 

 newspaper. It included the second, seventh and ninth stanzas 

 of Robert Burns' well known poem " Elegy of Capt. Matthew 

 Henderson." Beginning with the third line of the second 

 stanza, the only substitution in the text was that of '' Wilson " 

 for " Matthew." Mr. Hazard wrote a sketch of Wilson's life 

 for the last Porter and Coates edition of Griswold's Prose 

 Writers of America, and included this " Elegy of Alexander 

 Wilson " in all innocence : and later, Mr. Wade was taken in 

 (Ornithologist and Oologist, 1883, p. 39) even to the extent 

 of stating that the author was unknown ! 



In conclusion I wish to state that I am indebted to Mr. Wit- 

 mer Stone for criticism of my IV paper before it went to 

 press, to Mr. Ernest Spoffard of the Pennsylvania Historical 

 Society for his kind assistance, and Messrs. Alfred C. Red- 

 field and Ernest W. Vickers for photographs ; in addition to 

 the gentlemen already mentioned. 



ERRATA. 



In my key for the identification of the reprint and the or- 

 iginal editions (Wilson Bulletin, No. 69, p. 178) " Oriohts 



