John Adamson (1787-1855?)

"Verse may picture the feelings of the author, or it may only picture his fancy. To assume the former position, is not always safe; and in two memorable instances a series of sonnets has been used to construct a baseless fabric of biography.

In the accompanying sonnet, there is no such uncertainty. It was communicated to me by John Adamson, Esq., M.R.S.L., &c., honourably known by a translation of the tragedy of Dona Ignez de Castro, from the Portuguese of Nicola Luiz, and by a Memoir of the life and writings of Camoens, &c. It was not intended for publication, but now appears, at my request.

Mr. Adamson, it should be stated, is a corresponding member of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Lisbon, and has received diplomas of the orders of Christ and the Tower-and-Sword. The coming storm alludes to the menace of invasion by France." (Notes and Queries, Jan. 19, 1850)

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Sonnet

O Portugal! whene'er I see thy name
What proud emotions rise within my breast!
To thee I owe--from thee derive that fame
Which here may linger when I lie at rest.
When as a youth I landed on thy shore,
How little did I think I e'er could be
Worthy the honours thou hast giv'n to me;
And when the coming storm I did deplore,
Drove me far from thee by its hostile threat--
With feelings which can never be effaced,
I learn'd to commune with those writers old
Who had the deeds of thy great chieftains told;
Departed bards in converse sweet I met,
I'd seen where they had liv'd--the land Camoens grac'd.