So great a hubbub arose immediately on the appearance of this
diatribe that it was suppressed as soon as possible; and though the
editor offered an earnest apology for its insertion, he was finally
mulcted in costs in a large sum for libel. But the general effect was
highly favorable to the new magazine. It gave it--what had been lacking
before--notoriety and a recognized position, and made its existence no
longer a matter of indifference. It was known that Hogg conceived the
idea, and wrote some portion of the article. But few could believe, as
was claimed by some, that all the sharp touches came from his hand.
Hogg, it appears, wrote the first part; Wilson and Lockhart together
contributed most of the remainder, amidst side-splitting guffaws, in a
session in the house of the Dowager Wilson, in Queen Street; while the
philosophic Sir William Hamilton, in adding his mite, was so moved by
uproarious cachinnation that he fairly tumbled out of his chair.
The power and personality which thus early characterized the magazine
were its leading features in after-years. Wilson and Lockhart became at
once its chief contributors,--Wilson especially writing for its columns,
with the most extraordinary profusion, on all conceivable topics, in
prose and verse, for more than thirty years. By these articles he became
known beyond his own circle, and on these his fame must ultimately rest.
Pages:
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35