8
IMPROMTU,
On visiting the Glasgow Damask Factory—
Messrs. Anderson and Gardeners',
East Dean Street.
'Midst Winter's gloom, the wondering eye perceives
Spring's reses, trees of Summer, Autumn's leaves,
Emblematizing well the changing year;
The scattered snow-drops, too, of Winter's reign,
And bright armorial bearings entertain
The Fancy, on the webs as they appear.
Sage Anderson, when William, Britain's King,
Whose Fame for future ages is on wing,
Such hopes Britannia places now on him,
When he comes down to Scotland, will you not
Weave for the King some curious vest or coat,
To emulate the shirt without a seam?[1]
Ingenious Gardeners! ye may doubly claim
The rosy honours of the Gardener's name,
While on your webs appear such fruits and flowers,
Which well may last for generations; while
Around their clusters mimic children smile
By Ingenuity's creative powers.
- ↑ The Shirt without a seam was manufactured by Mr. Anderson's brother, Mr. David Anderson, and was presented to King George the IV., for which Mr. A. was rewarded with fifty guineas. Messrs. R. and J. Gardener were then at their apprenticeships with Mr. A., and witness-ed the progress of this complicated production of inventive in-genuity,—being occasionally employed In getting forward the royal web, which contained another Shirt, now placed in the Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow.
