The Banks of Esk; Or, a Saunter from Roslin to Smeaton, a Poem, to Which Is Added, Drummond Castle, a Poem, with an Address to Impudence [A Poem]. (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: hearts or mend their manners; or, in truer Ian- guage, could reduce them to that abject ftate o fervile infignirkance, to which a few worthlefs individuals wifhed to degrade them, and in which thefe calumniating fcribblers have dared to re- prefent them. To tread the paths of contradiction, by entering into the particulars which firft excited, and has fince continued this animofity, would be only detailing a number of litigated points, unimportant in themfelves, problematical in their nature, aggravated by party, and chiefly acquiring con- fequence from the mean interefted views of fome, and the glaring mifreprefentations of others. It may be proper to obferve, that the introductory fection is merely a compendium of a fe- parate poem which was written many years ago, upon the author's return from England, when, upon a few Scotfmen's having attained to places of power and truft, the antipathy of the Englifh was at its higheft pitch, and when the confequent fcurrility and abufe, of which the author had his fhare, were freih in his memory. It is pleafing to obferve, that thefe national animofities chapter{Section 4animofities and prejudices are faft dying away; nor fhould one line remain in this performance, that could in the fmalleft degree imply any national reflection, were not the writings of the before-mentioned authors widely circulated, and as yet but too often quoted by the illiberal fcholar, as well as the ignorant boor. At any rate, the author has the confolation of having fupprefled more than one half of its original contents. With regard to the fubfequent Poem, it was written in the days of leifure and contentment, under the patronage of an intelligent and indulgent fupcrior, when the mind was not only alive, but at. full liberty to indulge thofe fenf...