For this purpose, he had secured pieces from Southey,
Wilson, Wordsworth, Lloyd, Morehead, Pringle, Paterson, and some others;
and had received promises of contributions from Lord Byron and Samuel
Rogers. The plan was frustrated by Scott. He was opposed to his
appearing to seek fresh laurels from the labours of others, and
positively refused to make a contribution. This sadly mortified the
Shepherd,[37] and entirely altered his plans. He had now recourse to a
peculiar method of realising his original intention. In the short period
of four weeks, he produced imitations of the more conspicuous bards,
which speedily appeared in a volume entitled "The Poetic Mirror." This
work, singularly illustrative of the versatility of his genius, was
eminently successful, the first edition disappearing in the course of
six weeks. The imitations of the bards were pronounced perfect, only
that of Wordsworth was intentionally a caricature; the Shepherd had been
provoked to it by a conceived slight of the Lake-poet, during his visit
at Mount Ryedale.[38]
"The Poetic Mirror" appeared in 1816; and in the following year the
Shepherd struck out a new path, by publishing two duodecimo volumes of
"Dramatic Tales." This work proved unsuccessful. In 1813 he had
dedicated his "Forest Minstrel" to the Countess of Dalkeith; and this
amiable and excellent woman, afterwards better known as Harriet, Duchess
of Buccleuch, had acknowledged the compliment by a gift of a hundred
guineas, and several other donations.
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