Acknowledgements

    I am deeply indebted to R.J. Shroyer, whose encouragement, unstinting gifts of time, and extraordinary knowledge of computing have made this edition and the series of which it is a part possible. It is with the greatest pleasure and respect that I have dedicated this book to him.
    My thanks are also due to Susan Bailey for her word-processing and proof-reading skills and for her many valuable suggestions during research into the background of The Emigrant. Gerard Stafleu and Michael Williams also helped with the computing aspects of this edition, as did Carolyn Quick. Wanda Campbell, William Parker, Tania Henley, and Heather Vander Schaas made available very useful information, and my colleagues Richard Green and R. M. Stingle contributed generously from their great stores of knowledge to my understanding of McLachlan's poem and its contexts. E.J. Devereux was extremely helpful with the bibliographical dimension of The Emigrant, and Other Poems and Elizabeth Waterston gave this edition of The Emigrant the benefit of her great knowledge of Canadian writing and its Scottish background.
    I am also grateful to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for the Research Grants that have enabled me to devote my energy and attention to researching and editing early Canadian long poems. The Department of English at the University of Western Ontario has also been extremely generous with its support; my thanks especially to its Chairman, Alan Somerset, and administrative staff, Isabel Austin, Sue Desmond, and Pat Dibsdale.
    Last, but by no means least, to my wife, Susan, and our three children, Michael, Simon, and Diana, my gratitude for endless support and affection. [Page vii]