Douglas, Neil

(1750-1823)

   Scottish poet about whose early life little is known. He was educated at Glasgow University and became a nonconformist preacher. Sermons on Important Subjects, With Some Essays in Poetry was published in 1789. This contained an ode referring to the illness and recovery of King George III. A master of the Gaelic language, he went on a preaching tour of Argyllshire in 1797. In 1817 he was charged with sedition; the case was laughed out of court. He died in Glasgow. In A Monitory Address to Great Britain1 (published in 1792 under the pseudonym "Britannicus"), he urges the king to abolish the slave trade as being anti-Christian, to do away with dueling and church patronage, and to issue a proclamation against vice. Some of his other publications: The Lady's Scull, 1794. King David's Psalms, 1815 (translations and paraphrases, intended to be sung.). Some of his poems: "Lavinia" (based upon the Book of Ruth), "Britain's Guilt, Danger, and Duty," "Thoughts on Modern Politics" (a poem on the slave trade), "The Royal Penitent, or true Repentance exemplified in David, King of Israel" (a poem in two parts).

   Sources: Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition 1.1. Oxford University Press, 1997.