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STORIES OF
Leeves." The song was first printed anony-mously in " Hood's Ancient and Modern Songs," second edition, 1776; also in "Johnson's Museum," 1790, both set to the old air only. A correspondent to "Notes and Queries" (6th Series, vol. v.) says that the words were very popular set to the old air before Miss Stephens sang it. According to Grove's " Dictionary of Music and Musicians," the Rev. William Leeves was born in 1748, and became in 1779 rector of Wrington, Somerset, the birthplace of John Locke, the philosopher. He composed some good sacred music, but will be chiefly remem-bered as the composer of the music of " Auld Robin Gray," which he wrote in 1770, though it was not known as his till 1812. He died May 25th, 1828, at the age of eighty. There is a mistake here. He could not have written the music in 1770, as the words were not written till a year later. Since first writing the history of this song I was favoured, quite by chance, with the hereunder particulars relative to the Rev. William Leeves through a descendant of that composer. The Rev. William Leeves was at one time a lieutenant in the first Foot Guards. He entered His Majesty's service as ensign, June 20th, 1769, and received a lieutenant's commission February 3rd, 1772. He took \ 150 |
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