DRUMMOND, WILLIAM, the son of Sir William Drummond of Hawthornden, was born December 13, 1585. He was educated at Edinburgh, and studied civil law in France. On his father's death iu• 1610, he relinquished his profession and devoted himself to literary pursuits at hiapaternal mansion of Hawthornden. He did not however experience thatirecdom from trials which he had probably anticipated in his retirement. His betrothed bride died on the eve of their marriage ; and in order to divert his thoughts from brooding over this deep and bitter afflictiou, he undertook a tour which lasted eight years, during which time he visited Germany, France, and Italy, and collected a library of great value, of which part is now in the pos session of the University of Edinburgh. In his forty-fifth year ho married a lady whose fancied likeness to the fernier object of his affections is said to have constituted her chief attraction for him. 'When the civil war broke out, his political bias exposed him to grievous annoyances, particularly that of being compelled to supply his quota of men to serve ageiust the king. This, and regret for Charleis death, shortened and embittered his days, and he died at Hawthornden, December 4, 1649.
Southey has observed that he was the first Scotch poet who wrote well in English. A comparison of his works with those of his pre decessors, Douglas and Dunbar, will show the progresa madit during the 16th century towards fixing and perfecting the language, as well in Scotland as in England. His sonnets, and indeed nearly all his poems, mark strongly that indulgence in sorrow which causes it to take the form of habit, and ss such conveys a feeling of passive pleasure by its exercise. The resemblance which his versification presents to
that of Milton's minor poems is so striking as only to require mention in order to be acknowledged; and few, we should think, could read his poem on the death of Prince Henry without being reminded of 'Lydda*: Besides his poetical works, he wrote a history of the five Jamesee, kings of Scotland, several pamphlets and tracts, which, with his letters, were published at Edinburgh in 1711. But the work by which he is most commonly known now is the 'Notes of Ben Jonson'a Conversations with William Drummond of Ilawthoruden, January 1619.' These notes though very brief contain a good deal of curious and amusing matter, but the student of English literature should be cautious not to trust them too implicitly. Hawthornden was no Boswell: and his accuracy in repeating Ben Jonson's opinions may fairly be doubted, as he certainly is often inaccurate in repeatieg his statements of facts. An abstract of these notes was printed in the edition of Drummond'e works published in 1711, but it is full of inaccuracies. A correct text, with some useful notes, was for the first time printed in 1842 by the Shakespeare Society under the editorial care of Mr. David Laing, by whom the manuscript was discovered. An edition of the poems of Drummond was published, with a life of the author, by Mr. P. Cunningham, $vo, Edin.,1852.