r Walter Scott, and is "the prosperous gentleman"
referred to in the general Introduction to the Waverley Novels. Having a
delicate constitution, young Irving was unable to follow any regular
profession, but devoted himself, when health permitted, to the concerns
of literature. He made himself abundantly familiar with the Latin
classics, and became intimately conversant with the more distinguished
British poets. Possessed of a remarkably retentive memory, he could
repeat some of the longest poems in the language. Receiving a handsome
annuity from his father, he resided in various of the more interesting
localities of Scottish scenery, some of which he celebrated in verse. He
published anonymously, in 1841, a small volume of "Original Songs," of
which the song selected for the present work may be regarded as a
favourable specimen. He died at Newmills, near Ardrossan, on the 20th
September 1851, in his thirty-fifth year. Some time before his death, he
exclusively devoted himself to serious reflection and Scriptural
reading. He married in October 1850, and his widow still survives.

THE WILD-ROSE BLOOMS.

TUNE--_"Caledonia."_

The wild-rose blooms in Drummond woods,
The trees are blossom'd fair,
The lake is smiling to the sun,
And Mary wand'ring there.
The powers that watch'd o'er Mary's birth
Did nature's charms despoil;
They stole for her the rose's blush,
The sweet lake's dimpled smile.

The lily for her breast they took,
Nut-brown her locks appear;
But when they came to make her eyes,
They robb'd the starry sphere.
But cruel sure was their design,
Or mad-like their device--
For while they filled her eyes with fire,
They made her heart of ice.

ALEXANDER A. RITCHIE.[28]

Alexander Abernethy Ritchie, author of "The Wells o' Wearie," was born
in the Canongate, Edinburgh, in 1816. In early youth he evinced a lively
appreciation of the humorous and the pathetic, and exhibited remarkable
artistic talent, sketching from nature with fidelity and ease. His
parents being in humble circumstances, he was apprenticed as a
house-painter, and soon became distinguished for his skill in the
decorative branch of his profession. On the expiry of his
apprenticeship, he cultivated painting in a higher department of the
art, and his pictures held a highly respectable place at the annual
exhibitions of the Scottish Academy. Among his