156 The Blacklock Manuscripts at Annan. 



Mechanics' Institute Committee miglit be pleased to accept them 

 as a donation to the Library. If so, I shall be very pleased to 

 send them on to you. 



With kind regards, 

 I remain, 



Yours very truly, 



W. R. Duncan. 



The books include : — 

 A Volume of Poems, and Life of Blacklock by Mackenzie. 



Also, bound in same vol., a number of MS. Poems. 

 A Volume of Poems, with Blacklock's Life by Spence. ALso 



MS. Poems. 

 Blacklock's 'Practical Ethics,' bound MSS. 

 A Volume of MS. Poems. 

 Letters and Observations on Men, Books, ^nd Manners, by 



' George Tennant ' (a Jiom de plume of Blacklock's). 

 Five Volumes of Semions, MSS. bound. 



Many of the poems, etc., have notes and explanations 

 written by some member of the family, I think." 



Dr Robert Anderson, in the " Life " prefixed to his edition 

 of Blacklock's Poems, published in 1795, says: — "He has left 

 some volumes of Sermons in manuscript, as also a Treatise on 

 Morals, both of which, it is in contemplation with his friends to 

 publish. It is probable that the most important of his other 

 pieces may be collected and republished on that occasion." 

 Though Dr Blacklock's representatives gathered together and 

 arranged his different writings, they did not carry out their inten- 

 tion of publishing them. The news that the MSS. referred to by 

 Andenson have been recovered may interest you. Blacklock's 

 formal verse does not appeal to many readers at present; but 

 the great service which he rendered to Burns has secured fo/ him 

 a place in the affection of every true Scotsman. 



The MSS. are on thick greyish paper of different makers. 

 The paper on which the most valuable poems are written bears 

 the name of James Whatman — a famous maker who carried on 

 business from 1760 to 1765. No dates are discoverable in the 

 watermarks of the paper. The "notes and explanations" 

 referred to by Mr Duncan are very brief, and are merely designed 

 to identify the men and women celebrated in the different odes 

 and addresses. 



