"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)