The Bonnets of Bonnie Dundee - Circa 1823
The former owner was Miss K. H. Gordon, granddaughter of George Huntly Gordon, one of the many young men whom Scott helped, and who catalogued his library at Abbotsford. Two verses of the song have been crossed out but are legible, and there is an additional verse.
In his diary for 22nd December 1823, Scott says: "the air of Bonnie Dundee running in my head today. I wrote a few verses to it before dinner, taking the key note from the story of Clavers leaving the Scottish Convention of Estates in 1688-9. I wonder if they are good".
The song as published in the "Doom of Devorgoil" has 11 stanzas; all are in the MS, but not all in their published form. This is evidently an early draft.
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