Lewis had a remarkable gift of catching the popular taste of the day, both in his tales of horror and mystery, and in his ballads. In the latter he was the precursor of Scott. Many of his songs were sung to music of his own composition. His
Tales of Terror
(1799) were dedicated to Lady Charlotte Campbell, afterwards Bury, with whom he was in love. To his
Tales of Wonder
(1801) Scott, Southey, and others contributed. His most successful plays were
The Castle Spectre
(Drury Lane, December 14, 1797), and
Timour the Tartar
(Covent Garden, April 29, 1811).
In 1812, by the death of his father, "the Monk" became a rich man, and the owner of plantations in the West Indies. He paid two visits to his property, in 1815-16 and 1817-18. On the voyage home from the last visit he died of yellow fever, and was buried at sea. His