cxiv LIFE OF "WILSON. 



mentioned, says, " We liave it from Wilson's acquaintance, that many of the 

 poems he had written were committed to the flames, without a moment's con- 

 sideration, because the subject had lost its interest with himself" ' The writer 

 thus gravely accounts for this conduct : " This instability of conduct was, no 

 doubt, the result of untoward circumstances, operating upon a mind ardent in 

 the pursuit of something yet undefined, or uncertain of the path it should fol- 

 low, to attain that eminence and independence after which it so ardently 

 aspired." Would it not be a more rational supposition, that, as he advanced 

 in knowledge, he was taught to reject what he could not but be convinced was 

 unworthy of the public eye ? If we may form a conjecture of what was 

 destroyed, by what was sanctioned by his own act of publication, there is cer- 

 tainly no cause to mourn the loss; and one can hardly forbear wishing that 

 the whole had met a similar fate. 



Of all the poetical productions of Wilson, written while in Scotland, his tale 

 of "Watty and Meg" is the only one that has obtained popularity. In Cromek'a 

 " Select Scottish Songs" it is thus introduced : " The reader is here presented 

 with an exquisite picture from low life, drawn with all the fidelity and exact- 

 ness of Teniers, or Ostade, and enlivened with the humor of Hogarth. The 

 story excites as much interest as if it had been written in a dramatic form, 

 and really represented. The interest heightens as it proceeds, and is supported 

 with wonderful spirit to the close of the poem. 



"It must, have been in no small degree gratifying to the feelings of the 

 author, who published it anonymously, that, during a rapid sale of seven or 

 eight editions, the public, universally, ascribed it to the pen of Burns. The 

 author of ' Will and Jean ; or, Scotland's Soaith,' had the candor to acknow- 

 ledge to the editor that he was indebted to this exquisite poem for the founda- 

 tion of that popular performance." 



This tale is certainly told in a spirited manner; but whether it is entitled 

 to all the encomiums which have been lavished upon it or not, n^ay admit of a 

 question. The incidents are all common-place : a dram-drinking husband seek- 

 ing refuge, in an ale-house, from a scolding wife, who pursues him thither, and 

 upbraids him, in no gentle terms, for deserting his home and family, and spend- 

 ing his time and substance among drunken blackguards. A pot companion 

 had advised him to try the experiment of threatening to abandon her, in order 

 to bring her into subjection : a scheme which had had a happy effect in taming 



extending the fame of the author of the American Ornithology ! It is needless to add 

 that this poor schemer was dismissed with the reply, that the fame of W'lson did not 

 stand in need of his assistance. 



It is much to the honor of tlie American press, that it has abstained from reprinting 

 the work, which, with unfeigned sorrow, I have been compelled, by a sense of duty, to 

 animadvert so severely upon. But I must confess, that when a orother weaver, Eobcrt 

 Tannahill, was introduced to our notice, I trembled for the fate of Wilson. 



As has been stated, "Wilson's poem of the "Foresters" was first published in the Port- 

 Folio. Shortly after the decease of its author, a very modest and honest gentleman, living 

 in Pennsylvania, undertook its republication ; and actually took oat a copyright for the 

 same. That the poem was reprinted need not excite our wonder ; but that its sale should 

 have been monopolized by a patent, is a trick of trade well worthy of remark. 



