26 MEMOIR OF JOHN WILSON. 



William Dunlop, and Archibald Hamilton, a distant relative of my 

 father, who afterwards entered the navy, and prematurely closed 

 his promising career in the engagement ofl* Basque Roads. 



With these young men poetry was a frequent subject of discus- 

 sion, and there was one poet, viz., William Wordsworth, on whose 

 merits, then but little recognized, they found themselves unanimous. 

 Some time before he closed his career at Glasgow University, Wil- 

 son's attention was attracted by the Lyrical .Ballads, which had 

 been recently published. There were at that time few eyes that had 

 discerned in them the signs of future greatness. Among the earliest 

 and most enthusiastic, but also most discriminating of their admir- 

 ers, was young Wilson, who conveyed his sentiments to the poet in 

 a letter of considerable length, written in a spirit of profound humil- 

 ity, at the same time with perfect independence of expression. It is 

 as follows : — 



" My dear Sir : — You may perhaps be surprised to see yourself 

 addressed in this manner by one who never had the happiness of 

 being in company with you, and whose knowledge of your charac- 

 ter is drawn solely from the perusal of your poems. But, sir, though 

 I am not personally acquainted with you, I may almost venture to 

 affirm, that the qualities of your soul are not unknown to me. In 

 your poems I discovered such marks of delicate feeling, such benev- 

 olence of disposition, and such knowledge of human nature, as made 

 an impression on my mind that nothing will ever efface ; and while 

 I felt my soul refined by the sentiments contained in them, and filled 

 with those delightful emotions which it would be almost impossible 

 to describe, I entertained for you an attachment made up of love 

 and admiration : reflection upon that delight which I enjoyed from 

 reading your poems, will ever make me regard you with gratitude, 

 and the consciousness of feeling those emotions you delineate makes 

 me proud to regard your character with esteem and admiration. Iu 

 whatever view you regard my behavior in writing this letter, 

 whether you consider it as the effect of ignorance and conceit, or 

 correct taste and refined feeling, I will, in my own mind, be satisfied 

 with your opinion. To receive a letter from you would afford me 

 more happiness than any occurrence in this world, save the happi- 

 ness of my friends, and greatly enhance the pleasure I receive from 

 reading your Lyrical Ballads. Your silence would certainly dis- 



