ALEXANDER WILSON. 
29 
Roused from this depressing state by the solici- 
tude of friends, he recommenced his travelling with 
pack and poems, and conjoined to this employ- 
ment he contrived occasionally to contribute to 
some of the literary periodicals of the day, amongst 
which our limits will only permit us to mention the 
Glasgow Magazine and the Bee. At this timo he 
wroto the well known ballad of Watty and Meg, 
which came out at the same period as the Tam o' 
Shanter by Bums, and with which it was even 
compared in point of excellence. Flushed with the 
encomiums passed upon this piece, he contributed 
to Dr. Anderson, editor of the Bee, a review of Tam 
o’ Shanter; but which, to "Wilson’s mortification, was 
refused insertion in that periodical. In the height 
of his indignation at this rejection, lie sent the paper 
to Burns himself ; who, with his usual manly bear- 
ing on such occasions, replied to Wilson. The poets 
met afterwards at Bums’ farm, where, after spend- 
ing an agreeable evening, they exchanged the poems 
which occasioned their introduction. 
Through means of some companions, he was in- 
troduced to a debating society in Edinburgh, held 
in the Pantheon, where various questions given out 
for discussion were contested in speeches, and the 
merits decided by the votes of the audience, both 
ladies and gentlemen. Wilson made his addresses in 
poetry ; and he also wrote several pieces for this 
society, which were amongst the best of his juve- 
nile performances. The most interesting of his 
poems contributed on these occasions, was the 
