Library of the world's best literature, ancient and modern . sical or urbane: nothing so vul-gar as nature or the common people wasworthy of the Muse. The genius of poetryhad been brought from the fresh air of the fields into the vitiated air of the drawing-rooms; had been laced andpowdered and encased in stiff brocades, which hindered all freedomof motion. But of this Thomson knew nothing. It was his good fortune tohave been born far from London, and to have been brought up amidthe simple influences of country life. He was born in 1700 in theparish of Ednam, in Roxburglishire, of which his fa
Library of the world's best literature, ancient and modern . sical or urbane: nothing so vul-gar as nature or the common people wasworthy of the Muse. The genius of poetryhad been brought from the fresh air of the fields into the vitiated air of the drawing-rooms; had been laced andpowdered and encased in stiff brocades, which hindered all freedomof motion. But of this Thomson knew nothing. It was his good fortune tohave been born far from London, and to have been brought up amidthe simple influences of country life. He was born in 1700 in theparish of Ednam, in Roxburglishire, of which his father was received his early education at Jedburgh school. It was at Jed-burgh that he met a Mr. Riccalton, who was accustomed to teachthe boys Latin in the aisle of his church. He had written a poemon A Winters Day,* from which Thomson obtained his first idea forthe Seasons. The future poets education was received more fromnature than from books. The magnificent panorama of the yearwas unrolled continually before him, and he was not indifferent. James Thomson 14852 JAMES THOMSON .to its beauties. It was with reluctance that he left his country-home for Edinburgh, where he remained five years as a student ofdivinity. The ministry, however, had few attractions for him: in 1725he abandoned his studies, and followed a fellow-student. Mallet, toLondon, to seek his fortune there. Through the influence of a friend,Lady Baillie, he obtained a tutorship in the family of Lord Binning;but he held this position only a short time. The following winterfound him without money, without prospects, and almost withoutfriends. The death of his mother had plunged him into deep melan-choly : he gave vent to his feelings at the approach of the unfriendlywinter, by writing the first of his poems on the seasons. For severalweeks after its publication no notice was taken of it; then a gentle-man of some influence in the London world of letters ran across it,and immediately proclaimed its val
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