The Poet McGonagall has found a London publisher, to wit, Mr J. Christie, 176 Abbot Road, Poplar, who has issued a Diamond Jubilee copyright edition of the poems and songs of the bard of the “Silvery Tay,” which is adorned by a portrait and autobiography of the author. The style claimed for the bard here is “Sir William McGonagall, Knight of the White Elephant, Burmah.” But titles are empty things on an empty stomach, and again the irrepressible Mac pleads—
“In conclusion,
I will say, without dismay,
Pity the sorrows of a poor poet
When in want of bread,
And help him while living,
For he requires no help when he is dead.”There is a mighty truth embodied in that last line.
Dundee Courier, 1st July 1897
The Bard of the Silvery Tay, though he has now removed from the City of Dundee, where he first won distinction, is not forgotten here. On such an occasion as this Diamond Jubilee it would be treason for a loyal subject like McGonagall to remain silent. Hence he has not only written a Jubilee Poem, but has issued a Jubilee Edition of his works. It is entitled “Sir William Topaz McGonagall’s Poems,” and contains some of his most recent effusions, which the publisher (J. Christie, 176 Abbott Road, Poplar) is careful to state have been “copied exactly from the original manuscripts of the author.” There is a portrait of the poet in the act of composing, and the book also has a brief autobiography.
Evening Telegraph, 18th June 1897
