John Adamson (antiquary)

I learn'd to commune with those writers old
Who had the deeds of thy great chieftains told.

John Adamson (13 September 1787 – 27 September 1855) was a lawyer, antiquary and scholar of Portuguese from Newcastle upon Tyne, England. He was decorated by Queen Maria II of Portugal for his services to Portuguese literature.

Quotes

• 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.
  • Sonnet communicated to Bolton Corney, printed in Notes and Queries, vol. 1, no. 12 (19 January 1850), p. 178

External links

• Encyclopedic article on John Adamson (antiquary) on Wikipedia