XVI 
LIFE OF WILSON. 
concurrence of fortunate circumstances; and who had rendered 
himself greatly conspicuous by his avarice and knavery. This 
obnoxious individual was arraigned in a galling satire, written 
in the Scottish dialect; which is well known to be fertile of 
terms of sarcasm or reproach. The piece was published ano- 
nymously; and, being suited to the taste of the multitude, was 
read with eagerness. But the subject of it, stung to the quick 
by the severity of the censure, sought revenge of his conceal- 
ed enemy, who, through some unforeseen occurrence, was re- 
vealed in the person of Wilson. A prosecution for a libel was 
the consequence of the disclosure; and our satirist was sen- 
tenced to a short imprisonment, and to burn, with his own 
hands, the poem at the public cross in the town of Paisley. 
Wilson underwent the sentence of the law, surrounded by his 
friends, a gallant and numerous band, who viewed him as a 
martyr to the cause of honour and truth; and who, while his 
character was exalted in their opinion, failed not to stigma- 
tize that of his adversary in all the bitterness of contempt. 
The printer, it is said, was fined for his share in the publica- 
tion. 
In the year 1792, Wilson wrote his characteristic tale of 
“ Watty and Meg,” the last poem which he composed in Scot- 
land. It was published without a name; and, possessing con- 
siderable merit, was, by many, attributed to Burns. This as- 
cription certainly showed a want of discrimination, as this pro- 
duction displays none of those felicities of diction, none of that 
peculiar intermixture of pathos and humour, which are so con- 
spicuous in the writings of Burns. It has obtained more po- 
pularity 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 pro- 
secution above mentioned, says, that ‘‘ the remembrance of 
this misfortune dwelt upon his mind, and rendered him dis- 
satisfied with his country. Another cause of Wilson’s dejec- 
tion was the rising fame of Burns, and the indifference of the 
