LIFE OF WILSON. 
clxxxv 
defective, that we wonder how he could have tolerated them in a 
production of only half a dozen stanzas. The last quatrain of the 
fourth stanza contains false syntax ; the construction is not regular 
and dependent, the adverb so being out of place. In the third 
stanza there is a grammatical error. Yet in this little poem Wil- 
son’s happy talent of describing rural scenery, and the habits of 
birds, is conspicuous. The picture is charming, and more so to 
an American who knows how beautifully accurate are its outlines. 
We see the disappearing of the snows of Winter ; the busy labours 
of the fishermen ; the wild geese labouring their airy way to the 
north ; the lone butterfly fluttering over the meadows ; the red 
maple buds bursting into life; and, finally, the herald of Spring,” 
the well-known Blue-bird, hailing “with his warblings the charms 
of the season.” The warm sunshine brings out the frogs from 
their retreats, and their piping is heard throughout the marshes ; 
the woodland flowers unfold their charms to the eye ; and the in- 
dustrious housewives repair to their gardens. The useful bird is 
beheld flitting through the orchard in search of noxious insects, he 
drags the devouring grub from the newly planted maize, and the 
caterpillars from their webs. The ploughman is pleased to be- 
hold him gleaning in his furrows, and the gardener suspends his 
labours to listen to his simple song. “ When all the gay scenes of 
the summer are o’er,” we observe him lingering about his native 
home, like a solitary outcast; we hear his melancholy adieu from 
the leafless branch, and mourn his departure as that of a beloved 
friend. 
Of all Wilson’s minor effusions this pleases me the most. Its 
imagery is derived from objects that are familiar to us, but yet it 
is not trite ; none but an attentive observer of nature could have 
conceived it, and expressed it so naturally. 
It appears to have been his intention to concentrate all his 
poetical powers in his “Foresters,” resting his hope of fame chiefly 
on this production. That the time spent in constructing it, might 
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VOL. IX. 
