Allan Ramsay. [A biography.] - National Library of Scotland

ALLAN RAMSAY 79
But in 1724 our poet showed himself ambitious of
winning distinction in a new field. In 17 18, as was
stated previously, he had published a volume of Scots
Songs, some of them original, but a large number of
them adapted from older and imperfect copies. So
successful had the venture been, that a second edition
had been called for in 17 19, and a third in 1722. To
attempt something of a cognate character, yet upon a
larger scale, Ramsay now felt encouraged. In January
1724 appeared the first volume of \h.Q Tea-table Mis-
cellajiy : a Collection of Scots Sangs. The second volume
was published in 1725, with the note by Ramsay:
'Being assured how acceptable new words to known
good tunes would prove, I engaged to make verses for
above sixty of them in these two volumes ; about thirty
were done by some ingenious young gentlemen, who
were so pleased with my undertaking that they generously
lent me their assistance.' ' Among those young gentle-
men,' as Professor Masson says in his excellent
monograph on Ramsay in his Edhihurgh Sketches and
Memories, ' we can identify Hamilton of Bangour, young
David Malloch (afterwards Mallet), William Crawford,
William Walkinshaw,' to which we would add James
Preston. A third volume of the Miscellany appeared
in 1727 and a fourth in 1732, though, as regards the
last, grave doubts exist whether Ramsay were really its
editor or collector. Few compilations have ever been
more popular. In twenty-five years twelve large editions
were exhausted, and since Ramsay's death several others
have seen the light, some better, some worse, than the
original. All classes in the community were appealed
to by the songs contained in the Miscellany, That he
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