ABSTRACT
Writing as Herbert Martyne, William Tait Ross was a minor Scottish poet whose work was disdained by critics of the time. The Pall Mall Budget considered: The only benefit to be derived from 'poetry' of this kind is that conferred on the printer and the bookbinder; while, on the other hand, the only harm that it inflicts is the disappointment which falls to the lot of the author, and, perhaps too, the regret felt by the critic in viewing the combination of excellent intentions with feeble ability. The author wish now to see the importance of cultivating the faculty of Taste, in connection with the employments and professions of the people, and with its influence as exhibited in the arts of design and national manufactures; how the study of the highest art reflects a grace on more common ornaments; and how a just taste in matters of mere decoration prepares for just conceptions of art.
