SKETCH 
OF 
THE AUTHOR’S LIFE. 
Alexander Wilson was bom in the town of Paisley, in 
the west of Scotland, on the sixth day of July, 1766. His fa- 
ther, who was also named Alexander, followed the distilling 
business; an humble occupation, which neither allowed him 
much time for the improvement of his mind, nor yielded him 
much more than the necessaries of life. He was illiterate and 
poor; and died on the 5th June, 1816, at the age of eighty- 
eight. His mother was a native of Jura, one of the Hebrides 
or Western. Islands of Scotland. She is said to have been a 
woman of delicate health, but of good understanding; and pas- 
sionately fond of Scotch music, a taste for which she early in- 
culcated on her son; who, in his riper years, cultivated it as 
one of the principal amusements of his life. She died when 
Alexander was about ten years old, leaving him, and two sis- 
ters, to mourn their irreparable loss; a loss which her affec- 
tionate son never ceased to deplore, as it deprived him of his 
best friend; one who had fostered his infant mind; and who 
had looked forward, with fond expectation, to that day, 
“ When, clad in sable gown, with solemn air, 
“ The walls of God’s own house slioidd echo back his prayer:” 
for it appears to have been her wish that he should be edu- 
cated for the ministry. 
At a school in Paisley, Wilson was taught the common ru- 
diments of learning. But what proficiency he made, whether 
he was distinguished from his schoolmates or not, my memo- 
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