Note 87 — Chapter IV · ADOLESCENCE—1844 TO 1847—ÆT. 13-16.
Reading edition
His turn for versifying may be traced back to his twelfth year, when, in one of his quaint letters to his father, there occur some lines (profusely illustrated) on the death of a goldfinch:—
“Lo! Ossian makes Comala fall and die, Why should not you for Richard Goldie cry,” etc.
And in September 1843, as above mentioned, he wrote for the Archers in the “Happy Valley” a page and more of spirited verse.