LIFE OF WILSON. 
XXI 
It was published without a name ; and, possessing considerable 
merit, was, by many, attributed to Burns, This ascription certain* 
ly showed a want of discrimination, as this production displays 
none of those felicities of diction, none of that peculiar intermixture 
of pathos and humour, which are so conspicuous in the writings of 
Burns,. It has obtained more popularity in Scotland than any of 
the minor essays of our author ; and has been ranked with the best 
productions of the Scottish muse. 
Cromek, in his sketch of Wilson^s life, adverting to the prose- 
cution above mentioned, says, that “the remembrance of this mis- 
fortune dwelt upon his mind, and rendered him dissatisfied with his 
country. Another cause of Wilson’s dejection was the rising fame 
of Burns, and the indifference of the public to his own produc- 
tions. He may be said to have envied the Ayrshire bard, and to 
this envy may be attributed his best production, ‘Watty and Meg,’ 
which he wrote at Edinburgh in 1793 (1792). He sent it to Niel- 
son, printer, at Paisley, who had suffered by the publication of his 
former poems. As it was, by the advice of his friends, published 
anonymously, it was generally ascribed to Burns, and went rapidly 
through seven or eight editions. Wilson, however, shared no part 
of the profits, willing to compensate for the former losses his pub- 
lisher had sustained.”* 
The sketch above mentioned the author of this narrative show- 
ed to Wilson, and the latter told him that the relation was want- 
ing in correctness. He pointedly denied the charge of envying the 
Ayrshire bard, and felt not a little scandalized at the unworthy im- 
putation. He added, that no one entertained a more exalted idea 
of Burns’s genius, or I’ejoiced more at his merited success, than 
himself. 
Wilson now began to be dissatisfied with his lot. He was 
* Cromek’s “ Select Scottish Songs,” vol. 2, p, 214. London, 1810. 
V 
VOL. IX. 
