THE FALL OF VIRTUE: OR, THE IRON-AGE: A POEM

Edinburgh: Printed for R. Fleming, for A. Kincaid ..., 1738.. [6],18pp. Octavo. Extracted from nonce pamphlet volume. Early ink name on title, some discoloration at inner margin of the title recto, otherwise very good. Denoted the "Second Edition," but Foxon suggests it might be a press-variant title or reimpression. The long dedication "To Mrs. Cokburne [sic]" is signed in type at the end "C.L." As tempting as it might be to succumb to wishful thinking, by coincidence of the imprint and date, to assign authorship to Charles Leslie, author of A NEW AND EXACT HISTORY OF JAMAICA (Edinburgh: Printed by R. Fleming, for A. Kincaid, and sold by him, and other Booksellers in town, 1739), recent commentary points elsewhere. Foxon credits Charles Schaw Leslie with five titles published in Edinburgh (including in the same year as this title MASONRY: A POEM) after which he is credited with titles published in Dublin and Belfast. Internal evidence in the Dedication suggests the dedicatee may have been the wife of John Cockburn of Ormiston rather than Allison Cockburn, the poet. FOXON L112. ESTC T35261 (1st edition).