Page:Scotish Descriptive Poems - Leyden (1803).djvu/39

 indistinct delineation of several scenes, and the harsh unmusical lines which sometimes mar the most vigorous passages; and to use the expression of Welsted,

The versification, however, is generally correct, and flows with much of the case of Dryden; though the asperity of the proper names, which the author has often found it impossible to mould to harmony, sometimes approximates it to the harshness of Blackmore. The want of dignity in many of these names, has sometimes rendered it difficult to avoid the burlesque. This is a circumstance which renders loco-descriptive poetry peculiarly difficult, and suggests one of the probable causes why it has been so little attempted in Scotland. Many proper names in Scotland are significant in the Scotish dialect, and have a ludicrous effect when introduced into an English composition. Wilson's Clyde is the first Scotish loco-descriptive poem of any merit, and it is still the only national one of the species. In the early part of last century was published "Don," a loco-descriptive poem, equally devoid of merit in sentiment and in versification. The author has attempted to adorn it with some flowers of antiquity; but they withered in his rude unskilful grasp. In 1797, a garbled edition of this poem was published at Aberdeen, by a