50 ALE^XANDER WILSON : POET-NATURALIST 



Wilson, Edinburgh, printed for the author, and sold 

 by P. Hill, 1791." 



It was not until the publication of "Watty and 

 Meg," however, in 1792, that any success came to 

 him; but the sale of this poem, which was pub- 

 lished in a separate pamphlet, was great. Encour- 

 aged by the success of this venture and of another 

 poem, "The Laurel Disputed," which he delivered 

 first, in behalf of Fergusson's poetry, at the Pan- 

 theon, at Edinburgh, Wilson threw himself 

 vigorously on the side of the weavers in a 

 controversy with their employers, and with 

 more courage than discretion wrote a series 

 of crude, bitter, satirical verses of which 

 "The Shark" is a good representative. The 

 ire of the local potentates, who were thus attacked, 

 was fired to a white heat and Wilson was forced to 

 burn his verses "At the Cross." His doubtful 

 friend, William McGavin, tells a story of Wilson's 

 having offered to suppress them for five guineas, and 

 there has been published a letter purporting to be 

 the one Wilson wrote. But since there is not suffi- 

 cient testimony of the authenticity of this, we are 

 disposed to discredit it, as it is not at all in keep- 

 ing with what we know of Wilson's character. 



The William Sharp who was the object of the 

 satirical poem entitled "The Shark" was a man of 

 considerable local prominence as a large owner of 

 property and the employer of many weavers. 

 Though the poem scarcely seems to us to lay the 

 author open to conviction for libel, yet the man who 

 was prosecuting him was able to secure judgment 

 against him and pushed his advantage pitilessly. It 



