doubtful place held by such writers as Chatterton, Ireland, and Macpherson. It must, however, be observed in extenuation, that Cunningham, by passing off his own productions as remains of ancient Scottish song, compromised no venerated names, as the others had done. He gave them only as anonymous verses, to which neither date nor author could be assigned.
In the same year that Cromek's "Remains" were published (1810), Allan Cunningham abandoned his humble and unhealthy occupation, and repaired to the great arena of his aspiring young countrymen. London was thenceforth to be his home. He had reached the age of twenty-five, was devoted heart and soul to intellectual labour, and felt within himself the capacity of achieving something higher than squaring stones and erecting country cottages. On settling in London, he addressed himself to the duties of a literary adventurer with energy and success, so that his pen was seldom idle; and among the journals to which he was a contributor, may be mentioned the "Literary Gazette," the "London Magazine," and the "Athenaeum." Even this, at the best, was precarious, and will often desert the most devoted industry; but Cunningham, fortunately, had learned a craft upon which he was not too proud to fall back should higher resources forsake him. Chantrey, the eminent statuary, was in want of a foreman, who combined artistic imagination and taste with mechanical skill and experience; and what man could be better fitted for the office than the mason, poet, and journalist, who had now established for himself a considerable literary reputation among the most distinguished writers in London? A union was formed between the pair that continued till death; and the appearance of these inseparables, as they continued from year to year to grow in celebrity, the one as a sculptor and the other as an author, seldom failed to arrest the attention of the good folks of Pimlico, as they took their daily walk from the studio in Ecclestone Street to the foundry in the Mews. Although the distance was considerable, as well as a public thoroughfare, they usually walked bareheaded; while the short figure, small round face, and bald head of the artist were strikingly contrasted with the tall stalwart form, dark bright eyes, and large sentimental countenance of the poet. The duties of Cunningham, in the capacity of "friend and assistant," as Chantrey was wont to term him, were sufficiently multifarious; and of these, the superintendence of the artist's extensive workshop was not the least. The latter, although so distinguished as a statuary, had obtuse feelings and a limited imagination, while those of Cunningham were of the highest order: the artist's reading had been very limited, but that of the poet was extensive and in every department. Cunningham was, therefore, as able in suggesting graceful attitudes in figures, picturesque folds in draperies, and new proportions for pedestals, as Chantrey was in executing them, and in this way the former was a very Mentor and muse to the latter. Besides all this, Cunningham recommended his employer's productions through the medium of the press, illustrated their excellencies, and defended them against maligners; fought his battles against rival committees, and established his claims when they would have been sacrificed in favour of some inferior artist. Among the other methods by which Chantrey's artistic reputation was thus established and diffused abroad, may be mentioned a sketch of his life and an account of his works, published in "Blackwood's Magazine " for April, 1820, and a critique in the "Quarterly" for 1826; both of these articles being from the pen of Allan Cunningham. The poet was also the life of the artist's studio, by his rich enlivening conversation, and his power of illustrating the
