then currently entertained in the country. In the course of conversation, his Grace regretted the neglect of his own education in the early part of his life, expressed his esteem of learning and genius, and warmly offered Mr. Wilson his interest in any way in which he could promote his views. But before any of his prospects could be realised, the death of the Duke of Douglas deprived him of this powerful patronage; and as the care of his rising family did not allow him to incur any risk in attempting to extricate himself from obscurity, his merit was left to advance itself slowly, in his useful but unambitious vocation. In this situation, however, his poetical pieces were corrected and enlarged; his dramatic essay assumed the more regular form of a Tragedy; and a descriptive sketch of the rivulet Nethan, was amplified into the poem of "Clyde." His "Earl Douglas," and "Clyde," were printed for the author, by R. Urie at Glasgow, in 1764, and inscribed to Margaret Duchess of Douglas. The same year, his reputation as a classical scholar introduced him to a more lucrative situation, as well as to a more liberal species of instruction, than teaching the children of peasants their letters and Shorter Catechism; and he was invited to Rutherglen, to superintend the education of the sons of some gentlemen who wished their children to enjoy a better education than that borough afforded.
