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

86 FAMOUS SCOTS
five acts, in verse a' the gate, and, if I succeed according
to my plan, I hope to tope [rival] with the authors of
Pastor Fido and Aminta.^
On the scenes wherewith he had become acquainted
during his manifold rambles over the hills and the vales,
the glens and glades, of fair Midlothian, he now drew, as
well as from the quaint and curious types of character
the Symons, the Glauds, the Bauldies, the Rogers, the
Madges, and the Mauses—wherewith he had come into
contact during such seasons. That he stinted either time
or trouble in making the drama as perfect as possible is
evident from the prolonged period over which its composition
was spread, and the number of drafts he made
of it. Some of the songs, he informed Sir David Forbes,
had been written no fewer than six times. At length,
early in July 1725, prefaced by a dedication in prose
from himself to the Right Hon. Susannah, Countess of
EgUnton, and by a poetical address to the same beautiful
patroness, from the pen of Wilham Hamilton of Bangour,
the poet. The Gentle Shepherd made its appearance.
Its success from the very outset was unparalleled in
Scottish literature up to that date. It seemed literally to
take the country by storm. By all ranks and classes, by
titled ladies in their boudoirs, as well as by milkmaids
tripping it to the bughts with leghns and pails, the poem
was admiringly read, and its songs sung. Its performance
on the stage in 1726, only served to whet the public
appetite. By the leading poets of the day, Pope, Swift,
Gay, Tickell, Ambrose Philips, and Lord Lansdowne, as
well as by the most influential critics, Dennis, Theobald,
and Dr. Ruddiman, the work was hailed as one of the
most perfect examples of the pastoral that had appeared
—