THE GOBLIN GROOM;

A Tale

OF DUNSE.

BY

R. O. FENWICK, Esq.

EDINBURGH:

PRINTED BY ALEX. LAWRIE & CO.

FOR ALEX. LAWRIE, EDINBURGH;
AND
J. RIDGWAY, LONDON.
——
1809.



TO THOSE ADMIRERS

OF ENGLISH POETRY

WHO WISH TO SEE IT RESTORED TO ITS

“OLD STYLE OF PATHOS,”

THE FOLLOWING POEM

IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED

BY

THE AUTHOR.

ADVERTISEMENT.

The Author of the Goblin Groom can, on no consideration, be induced tofollow the example of the amiable and justly celebrated Madame deGenlis, who, in her Historical Romance of the Chevaliers du Cygne,observes,—“Enfin l’ideè de faire mourir l’heroine de l’histoire des lespremieres pages, et cependant de s’occuper d’elle jusqu’ a la fin, estpeutetre assez neuve pour meriter quelqu’ indulgence.” Could he, on thecontrary, prolong the precious life of his exalted hero, but for asingle day, he should feel more real delight, than the indulgence due tothe most afflicting novelty can possibly confer. But though unable toguard him from the blow, which the unrelenting hand of time must one dayinflict, the author can at least promise, if he shall himself survivethe catastrophe, to restore him to the respectful consideration of hisreaders, in a form at once congenial to the spirit of poetry, andsuitable to the taste and temper of the times. To some of his readers,it may be necessary to remark, which must readily occur to the attentionof the critic, that his true hero is only to be discovered, by thefrequent allusions to his high rank and acknowledged virtues; and havingthus divested the Goblin of the precedency, which he might otherwiseappear to have usurped, it now only remains to give his readers ageneral idea of the story. It turns on the several incidents of afox-chace, but is called a Tale of Dunse, because in that favouriteRENDEZVOUS of the lovers of the chace, the Goblin first made hisappearance. That the minds of his readers may be as perfectly prepared,as he could wish, for the manners of the age in which it is laid, heapprizes them, that the poem opens on the last day of April 1806, andconcludes with the death of a fox on Flodden Field twenty-four hoursthereafter. The country over which he has accompanied his elfin fay andmerry pack, he has viewed with the rapid glance of a sportsman, andtherefore trusts, that his hasty and imperfect sketch will not beregarded with the too scrupulous eye of rigid criticism. With all itsfaults, but without further apology, he commits it to its fate, and,notwithstanding the protecting influence of wire-wove,—broadmargin,—high price,—and hot-press, he is not without feeling someapprehensions concerning its success.

CONTENTS.