One of his publications bears the title of "Odes and Miscellaneous
Poems, by a Student of Medicine in the University of Edinburgh,"
Edinburgh, 1790, 4to. These lucubrations, which attracted no share of
public attention, were followed by "The Guinea Note, a Poem, by Timothy
Twig, Esquire," Edinburgh, 1797, 4to. His next work is entitled, "An
Introduction to the History of Poetry in Scotland, with Illustrations by
David Allan," Edinburgh, 1798, 4to. This work, though written in a
rambling style, contains a small proportion of useful materials very
unskilfully digested. "A Dialogue on Scottish Music," prefixed, had the
merit of conveying to Continental musicians for the first time a correct
acquaintance with the Scottish scale, the author receiving the
commendations of the greatest Italian and German composers. The work
likewise contains "Songs of the Lowlands," a selection of some of the
more interesting specimens of the older minstrelsy. In 1802 he published
"A Tour from Edinburgh through various parts of North Britain," in two
volumes quarto, illustrated with engravings from sketches executed by
himself. This work met with a favourable reception, and has been
regarded as the most successful of his literary efforts. In 1804 he
sought distinction as a poet by giving to the world "The Grampians
Desolate," a long poem, in one volume octavo. In this production he
essays "to call the attention of good men, wherever dispersed throughout
our island, to the manifold and great evils arising from the
introduction of that system which has within these last forty years
spread among the Grampians and Western Isles, and is the leading cause
of a depopulation that threatens to extirpate the ancient race of the
inhabitants of those districts." That system to which Mr Campbell
refers, he afterwards explains to be the monopoly of sheep-stores, a
subject scarcely poetical, but which he has contrived to clothe with
considerable smoothness of versification. The last work which issued
from Mr Campbell's pen was "Albyn's Anthology, a Select Collection of
the Melodies and Vocal Poetry Peculiar to Scotland and the Isles,
hitherto Unpublished." The publication appeared in 1816, in two parts,
of elegant folio. It was adorned by the contributions of Sir Walter
Scott, James Hogg, and other poets of reputation. The preface contains
"An Epitome of the History of Scottish Poetry and Music from the
Earliest Times." His musical talents have a stronger claim to
remembrance than either his powers as a poet or his skill as a writer.
Yet his industry was unremitted, and his researches have proved
serviceable to other writers who have followed him on the same themes.
Only a few lyrical pieces proceeded from his pen; these were first
published in "Albyn's Anthology." From this work we have extracted two
specimens.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account