LIFE OF WILSON. 
XI 
imdutiful conduct of his, or harsh treatment of hers, I know 
not; but it may be asserted with truth, that she continued an 
object of his aversion through life; which was manifest from 
the circumstance that, in the many letters which he wrote from 
America to his father, he seldom, if ever, mentioned her name. 
She is still living, and must, doubtless, feel not a little rejoiced 
that her predictions with respect to the “ lazy loeaver,” as 
Sandy was termed at home, who, instead of minding his busi- 
ness, mispent his time in making verses, were never verified. 
But, in justice to her character, we must state, that, if she was 
an unkind step-mother, she nevertheless proved herself to be 
a faithful and affectionate wife; and supported, by her industry, 
her husband when he became, by age and infirmities, incapa- 
ble of labour. 
At an early period of his life Wilson evinced a strong desire 
for learning; and this was encouraged by a spirit of emulation 
which prevailed among his youthful acquaintance, who, like 
himself, happily devoted many of their vacant hours to literary 
pursuits. He had free access to a collection of magazines and 
essays, which, by some good luck, his father had become pos- 
sessed of; and these, as he himself often asserted, “were the 
first books that gave him a fondness for reading and reflection.” 
This remarkable instance of the beneficial tendency of periodi- 
cal publications we record with pleasure; and it may be ad- 
duced as an argument in favour of affording patronage, in our 
young country, to a species of literature so well adapted to the 
leisure of a commercial people; and which, since the days of 
Addison, has had so powerful an influence on the taste and 
morals of the British nation. 
Caledonia is fruitful of versemen; every village has its poets; 
and so prevalent is the habit of jingling rhymes, that a scholar 
is considered as possessing no taste, if he do not attune the 
Scottish lyre to those themes, which the amor patriae, the na- 
tional pride of a Scotsman, has identified with his very ex- 
istence. 
That poetry would attract the regard of Wilson was to be ex- 
