Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 8.djvu/272

220 , however, for this disappointment by having his smaller lucubrations occasionally published in the "Greenock Advertiser," and one or two of the Scottish magazines. He thus saw himself in print, and the consequences it is easy to divine—his enthusiasm would expand into full-grown authorship. Undismayed by the rejection of his tragedy, Galt next attempted an epic, the title of which, was "The Battle of Largs." It was written in octo-syllabic rhyme, and he prided himself not a little on the fact, that in this matter at least he had preceded Sir Walter Scott. This poem, written in five cantos, was enabled partly to struggle into light in consequence of detached portions of it having been published in the "Scots Magazine" for 1803 and 1804. It is as well that the world was not troubled with it in toto, as the following invocation to Lok, which is in "Ercles' vein," will sufficiently testify:—

Or take the following description of Erie, one of the Norse Eumenides, in which the sudden alternations of rising and sinking can scarcely be paralleled even by Sir Richard Blackmore:—

It was in London that this poetical attempt was made. He had gone to the metropolis in 1803 or 1804, and there, a few months of leisure at his first entrance, had encouraged those desperate conceptions in Runic mythology, which he extended through five mortal cantos. It was not, however, by writing epics that he could support himself in London. He therefore commenced business in good earnest, and entered into partnership with a young countryman of his own: but they soon disagreed; their affairs were unsuccessful, and in about three years the concern became bankrupt. This combination of poetry and business was not sufficient for the versatile mind of Galt; other subjects of study occupied his attention, among which were astrology, alchemy, history, and political economy. Was it wonderful then that his name, before it figured in authorship, should have found a place in the bankrupt list?

After this mercantile disaster Galt tried to re-establish himself in business