1

THE

POETICAL WORKS

OF

ALEXANDER WILSON:

ALSO HIS

Miscellaneous Prose Writings,

JOURNALS, LETTERS, ESSAYS,

ETC.,

NOW FIRST COLLECTED:

ILLUSTRATED BY

CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES,

WITH AN

EXTENDED MEMOIR OF HIS LIFE AND WRITINGS,
AND A GLOSSARY.

BELFAST:

PUBLISHED BY JOHN HENDERSON;

OLIVER AND BOYD, EDINBURGH; GRIFFIN AND CO., AND
A. RUTHERGLEN, GLASGOW; MURRAY AND STEWART,
PAISLEY; DARTON AND CLARK, AND THOMAS
ARNOLD AND CO., LONDON.

IAN

23 AUG 1928

LIBRARY

THE small letters in the table of contents to the poems, de-

note in which of the editions enumerated in our preface they

first appeared respectively. Those marked belong to the author's

first edition, 1790; those having were added in his second edi-

tion, 1791; those marked * appeared in the edition of 1814; those

d in the edition of 1816; and those marked have never, till now,

been included in any edition.

Ode for the Birth-day of our immortal Scottish Poet,

The Shepherdess' Dream,

Thoughts in a Church-yard,

Verses to the Memory of an engaging Youth,

First Epistle to Mr. James Kennedy,

First Epistle to Mr. James Dobie,

.

Elegy on the long expected Death of a wretched Miser,

A Morning Adventure,

Day-break: scene, the Town,

The Monkey and Bee: a Fable, to a young author,

Elegy,

Elegy on an unfortunate Tailor,

To the Famishing Bard, from a brother Skeleton,

Epistle to Mr. Thomas Wotherspoon,

Lochwinnoch; a Descriptive Poem,

To Delia, on her insisting to know who was the subject of

a certain Panegyric,

4

7

An Expostulatory Address to the Ragged Spectre, Poverty,

The Wasp's Revenge; a Fable,

Eppie and the Deil; a Tale,

Epistle to Mr. J. B.

Lines written on a Summer Evening,

A Character,

To the Hon. William M'Dowal, of Garthland, on his re-

turn from Parliament, July, 1791,

Verses addressed to the Author of The Sailor and Louse, a 90

Verses on the Death of a favourite Spaniel, maliciously

Verses, occasioned by seeing two men sawing timber in

an open field, in defiance of a furious storm,

The Disconsolate Wren,

a

Second Epistle to Mr. Andrew Clark,

99

To Dr. Taylor of Paisley; written when sick,

a 114

a 114

Eusebus; a real character,

Second Epistle to Mr. James Kennedy,

a 115

Despondence; a Pastoral Ode,

b 118

Ossian's Lament; from Macpherson's Translation,

Elegy; addressed to a young Lady,

The Loss o' the Pack; a true Tale,

Prayer, addressed to Jove, the God of Thunder, during