|
NARRATIVE
ON PRINT - John
Craik cannot, even on the most liberal construction
of the term, be called a poet, but he was
a curious character, some of whose rhymes
had the Cliffs and Seaton Den as the scene
of their inspiration. Craik published two
small books of rhymes : (1) Songs and Poems,
Dundee. (2) Loyal Songs and Poems, chiefly
composed in Ireland. From the latter of these
books, it is evident that Craik was a soldier.
The book is dedicated to Major Duff of Fetteresso,
and, beyond the title, it contains no allusion
to the locality of Arbroath, nor to its author's
personal history, beyond his soldiering in
Ireland. Neither does the Dundee book show
to where he belonged. It consists of acrostics
and poems on places and persons, and the compositions
are all most thorough doggerel. About Seaton
he says : 'Near by Arbroath the Seaton lies,
So beauteous and fair ; I know no place for
herbs and fruits, with Seaton can compare'.
(Notes
by George Hay, 1883)
|
