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William Topaz McGonagall (March 1825 – 29 September 1902) was an Irish weaver, poet and actor who lived in Scotland. He won notoriety as an extremely bad poet who exhibited no recognition of, or concern for, his peers' opinions of his work. He wrote about 200 poems, including "The Tay Bridge Disaster" and "The Famous Tay Whale", which are widely regarded as some of the worst in English literature. Groups throughout Scotland engaged him to make recitations from his work, and contemporary descriptions of these performances indicate that many listeners were appreciating McGonagall's skill as a comic music hall character. Collections of his verse remain popular, with several volumes available today. McGonagall has been lampooned as the worst poet in British history. The chief criticisms are that he was deaf to poetic metaphor and unable to scan correctly. His only apparent understanding of poetry was his belief that it needed to rhyme. McGonagall's fame stems from the humorous effects these shortcomings are considered to generate in his work. Scholars argue that his inappropriate rhythms, weak vocabulary, and ill-advised imagery combine to make his work amongst the most unintentionally amusing dramatic poetry in the English language. His work is in a long tradition of narrative ballads and verse written and published about great events and tragedies, and widely circulated among the local population as handbills. In an age before radio and television, their voice was one way of communicating important news to an avid public.

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List of poems by William Topaz McGonagall 204 total

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The Tay Bridge Disaster
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The Sorrows of the Blind
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The Demon Drink
 179 Views
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An Address to Shakespeare
 147 Views
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Death and Burial of Lord Tennyson
 144 Views
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Robert Burns
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Forget-Me-Not
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A Humble Heroine
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The Crucifixion of Christ
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The Summary History of Sir William Wallace
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A Tale of the Sea
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Oban
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The Battle of Bannockburn
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The Collision in the English Channel
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The Fair Maid of Perth's House
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The Storming of the Dargai Heights
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Loch Leven
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The Late Sir John Ogilvy
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The Battle of Culloden
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Grace Darling
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The Rattling Boy from Dublin
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Beautiful Balmerino
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General Gordon, the Hero of Khartoum
 121 Views
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A Tribute to Mr Murphy and the Blue Ribbon Army
 120 Views
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The Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay
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Women's Suffrage
 119 Views
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Wreck of the Schooner Samuel Crawford
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Montrose
 118 Views
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A Summary History of Lord Clive
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Beautiful Balmoral
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Lines in Praise of the Lyric Club Banquet
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Annie Marshall the Foundling
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Beautiful Rothesay
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Bonnie Callander
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Balmoral Castle
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Calamity in London
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The Death of Lord and Lady Dalhousie
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The Funeral of the Late Prince Henry of Battenberg
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The Burial of Mr. Gladstone
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The Burning of the People's Variety Theatre, Aberdeen
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The Death of the Old Mendicant
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Adventures of King Robert the Bruce
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Lines in Reply to the Beautiful Poet Who Welcomed News of McGonagall's Departure from Dundee
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The Battle of El-Teb
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The Famous Tay Whale
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Attempted Assassination of the Queen
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Hanchen, the Maid of the Mill
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Little Popeet - the Lost Child
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McGonagall's Ode to the King
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The Bonnie Sidlaw Hills
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The Wreck of the Barque Wm. Paterson of Liverpool
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A New Temperance Poem, in Memory of My Departed Parents, Who Were Sober Living & God Fearing People
 110 Views
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The Hero of Rorke's Drift
 110 Views
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The Death of the Rev. Dr. Wilson
 109 Views
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The Inauguration of the University College
 109 Views
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An Address to the New Tay Bridge
 108 Views
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Captain Teach alias Black Beard
 108 Views
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Jenny Carrister, The Heroine of Lucknow-Mine
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The Burns Statue
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Lines in Praise of Professor Blackie
 107 Views
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Mary, the Maid o' the Tay
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The Battle of Corunna
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Broughty Ferry
 106 Views
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A Requisition to the Queen
 105 Views
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Beautiful Crief
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The Downfall of Delhi
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The Kessack Ferry-Boat Fatality
 104 Views
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The Wreck of the Barque Lynton
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Little Pierre's Song
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The Burning of the Steamer City of Montreal
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The Wreck of the Columbine
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The Battle of Flodden Field
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The Hero of Kalapore
 99 Views
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Bill Bowls the Sailor
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Descriptive Jottings of London
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The Battle of Atbara
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The Little Match Girl
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The Sprig of Moss
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A Descriptive Poem on the Silvery Tay
 97 Views
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Farewell Address at the Argyle Hall
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The Den o' Fowlis
 96 Views
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The Loss of the Victoria
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Grif, of the Bloody Hand
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The Rebel Surprise Near Tamai
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The Sunderland Calamity
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A Tribute to Mr J. Graham Henderson, The World's Fair Judge
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The Pennsylvania Disaster
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The Battle of Alexandria
 90 Views
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The Relief of Mafeking
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Beautiful Nairn
 89 Views
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The Battle of Omdurman
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A Tale of Christmas Eve
 88 Views
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Little Jamie
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The Irish Convict's Return
 88 Views
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Lord Robert's Triumphal Entry into Pretoria
 87 Views
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The Burial of the Reverend Gilfillan
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The Clepington Catastrophe
 87 Views
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Edinburgh
 85 Views
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The Queen's Jubilee Celebrations
 85 Views
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The Funeral of the German Emperor
 84 Views
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The Great Franchise Demonstration
 84 Views
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Lines in Memoriam Regarding the Entertainment in Reform Street Hall, Dundee
 82 Views
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The Wreck of the Thomas Dryden
 82 Views
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Loch Ness
 81 Views
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The Death of the Queen
 81 Views
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The Albion Battleship Calamity
 80 Views
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The First Grenadier of France
 80 Views
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The Terrific Cyclone of 1893
 80 Views
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An Ode to the Queen on Her Jubilee Year
 79 Views
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Burning of the Exeter Theatre
 78 Views
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Jack o' the Cudgel
 78 Views
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Jottings of New York
 78 Views
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The Battle of the Nile
 78 Views
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The Moon
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The Troubles of Matthew Mahoney
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Beautiful Newport on the Braes o' the Silvery Tay
 77 Views
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The Great Yellow River Inundation in China
 76 Views
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Beautiful Monikie
 75 Views
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The Inauguration of the Hill o' Balgay
 75 Views
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A Tale of Elsinore
 74 Views
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The Beautiful City of Perth
 74 Views
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The Death of Prince Leopold
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The Execution of James Graham, Marquis of Montrose
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An Excursion Steamer Sunk in the Tay
 73 Views
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The Battle of Sheriffmuir
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Nora, the Maid of Killarney
 72 Views
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The Battle of Abu Klea
 72 Views
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The Heatherblend Club Banquet
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Beautiful Edinburgh
 71 Views
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An Autumn Reverie
 70 Views
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The Wreck of the Whaler Oscar
 69 Views
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Beautiful Torquay
 67 Views
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The Destroying Angel
 67 Views
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A Christmas Carol
 66 Views
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The Convict's Return
 65 Views
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The Wreck of the Steamer Stella
 65 Views
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The Disastrous Fire at Scarborough
 64 Views
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The Capture of Lucknow
 63 Views
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The River of Leith
 63 Views
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Bonnie Dundee in 1878
 62 Views
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The Funeral of the Late Ex-Provost Rough, Dundee
 61 Views
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Lines in Praise of Tommy Atkins
 60 Views
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The Ancient Town of Leith
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A Tribute to Henry M. Stanley
 59 Views
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The Nithsdale Widow and Her Son
 58 Views
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General Roberts in Afghanistan
 57 Views
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Glasgow
 57 Views
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The Burning of the Ship Kent
 57 Views
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The Battle of Waterloo
 56 Views
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The Wreck of the Steamer Mohegan
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The Tragic Death of the Rev. A.H. Mackonochie
 55 Views
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Beautiful Aberfoyle
 54 Views
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To Mr James Scrymgeour, Dundee
 54 Views
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The Wreck of the Steamer London
 53 Views
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Bonnie Kilmany
 51 Views
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Jack Honest, or the Widow and Her Son
 50 Views
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The Bonnie Lass o' Dundee
 50 Views
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The Miraculous Escape of Robert Allan, the Fireman
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Beautiful North Berwick
 49 Views
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An Address to the Rev. George Gilfillan
 48 Views
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Baldovan
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Beautiful Comrie
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The Death of Captain Ward
 48 Views
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The Battle of Shina, in Africa, Fought in 1800
 47 Views
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The Capture of Havana
 46 Views
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Richard Pigott, the Forger
 45 Views
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The Bonnie Lass o' Ruily
 45 Views
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An All-Night Sea Fight
 44 Views
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Lines in Defence of the Stage
 44 Views
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An Adventure in the Life of King James V of Scotland
 43 Views
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The Christmas Goose
 43 Views
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Beautiful Village of Penicuik
 42 Views
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The Beautiful Sun
 42 Views
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The Battle of Alma
 41 Views
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The Castle of Mains
 41 Views
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The Horrors of Majuba
 41 Views
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John Rouat the Fisherman
 40 Views
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The Last Berkshire Eleven
 39 Views
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The Newport Railway
 39 Views
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An Ode to the Queen
 38 Views
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Loch Katrine
 38 Views
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The Blind Girl
 38 Views
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Lines in Praise of Mr. J. Graham Henderson, Hawick
 37 Views
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Saving a Train
 37 Views
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The Black Watch Memorial
 37 Views
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A Soldier's Reprieve
 36 Views
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Greenland's Icy Mountains
 36 Views
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The Village of Tayport and Its Surroundings
 36 Views
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The Wreck of the Abercrombie Robinson
 35 Views
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The Death of Fred Marsden, the American Playwright
 34 Views
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The Wreck of the Steamer Storm Queen
 34 Views
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Lost in the Prairie
 33 Views
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The Battle of Glencoe
 32 Views
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Bonnie Montrose
 31 Views
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The Battle of Inkermann
 31 Views
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The Royal Review
 29 Views
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A New Year's Resolution to Leave Dundee
 28 Views
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The Battle of Cressy
 28 Views
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The Battle of Tel-el-Kebir
 28 Views
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Young Munro the Sailor
 28 Views
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The Ashantee War
 27 Views
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The Wreck of the Indian Chief
 26 Views
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A Tribute to Dr. Murison
 21 Views
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The Battle of Gujrat
 21 Views
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