Alexander Abernethy Ritchie, author of "The Wells o' Wearie," was born
in the Canongate, Edinburgh, in 1816. In early youth he evinced a lively
appreciation of the humorous and the pathetic, and exhibited remarkable
artistic talent, sketching from nature with fidelity and ease. His
parents being in humble circumstances, he was apprenticed as a
house-painter, and soon became distinguished for his skill in the
decorative branch of his profession. On the expiry of his
apprenticeship, he cultivated painting in a higher department of the
art, and his pictures held a highly respectable place at the annual
exhibitions of the Scottish Academy. Among his pictures which became
favourites may be mentioned the "Wee Raggit Laddie," "The Old Church
Road," "The Gaberlunzie," "Tak' your Auld Cloak about ye," and "The
Captive Truant." His illustrations of his friend, Mr James Ballantine's
works, "The Gaberlunzie's Wallet" and "The Miller of Deanhaugh," and of
some other popular works, evince a lively fancy and keen appreciation of
character. He executed a number of water-colour sketches of the more
picturesque and interesting lanes and alleys of Edinburgh; and
contributed to the _Illustrated London News_ representations of
remarkable events as they occurred in the Scottish capital. He died
suddenly at St John's Hill, Canongate, Edinburgh, in 1850, in the
thirty-fourth year of his age. Ritchie was possessed of a vast fund of
humour, and was especially esteemed for the simplicity of his manners
and his kindly dispositions. He excelled in reading poetry, whether
dramatic or descriptive, and sung his own songs with intense feeling. He
lived with his aged mother, whom he regarded with dutiful affection, and
who survives to lament his loss. Shortly before his death he composed
the following hymn, which has been set to appropriate music:--
Father of blissfulness,
Grant me a resting-place
Now my sad spirit is longing for rest.
Lord, I beseech Thee,
Deign Thou to teach me
Which path to heaven is surest and best:
Lonely and dreary,
Laden and weary,
Oh! for a home in the land of the blest!
Father of holiness,
Look on my lowliness;
From this sad bondage, O Lord, set me free;
Grant that, 'mid love and peace,
Sorrow and sin may cease,
While in the Saviour my trust it shall be.
When Death's sleep comes o'er me,
On waking--before me
The portals of glory all open I 'll see.