Chapter XXVII: Section II

_Miscellaneous Literature of the Eighteenth
and Nineteenth Centuries._

Dr. John Arbuthnot¹ was a native of a place of the same name in Kincardineshire. He was educated at the University of Aberdeen; and having studied medicine, he went to London, where he attained some reputation as an author and a wit. He became an associate of Pope, Swift, Gay, and Prior, and was connected with some of the humorous and comic efforts of the time; they were all Jacobites, and deeply interested in the success of that party. He wrote an _Examination of Dr. Woodward’s Account of the Deluge_, and an _Essay on the Usefulness of Mathematical Learning_. The satirical _Memoirs of the Extraordinary Life, Works, and Discoveries of Martinus Scriblerus_, which was published in Pope’s works, it is believed, was chiefly written by Arbuthnot. The design of this work was to ridicule all the false tastes in learning, and is a book of rare merit.

¹ Born in 1667; died in 1735.

In 1709, Arbuthnot was appointed physician-in-ordinary to the Queen. In 1712, his _History of John Bull_ appeared――a monument of wit and humour. Its main design was to throw ridicule upon the Duke of Marlborough, and render the nation discontented with the French war. The allegory in this performance is admirably sustained, and the satirical allusions stinging and happy. The following is from _John Bull_――that is, the English; Nic Frog is the Dutch, and Hocus the Duke of Marlborough:――

“For the better understanding the following history, the reader ought to know that Bull, in the main, was an honest, plain-dealing fellow, choleric, bold, and of a very inconstant temper; he dreaded not old Lewis either at backsword, single falchion, or cudgel-play; but then he was very apt to quarrel with his best friends, especially if they pretended to govern him; if you flattered him, you might lead him like a child. John’s temper depended very much upon the air; his spirits rose and fell with the weather-glass. John was quick, and understood his business very well; but no man was more careless in looking into his accounts, or more cheated by partners, apprentices, and servants. This was occasioned by his being a boon companion, loving his bottle and his diversion; for to say truth, no man kept a better house than John, nor spent his money more generously. By plain and fair dealing, John had acquired some plums, and might have kept them, had it not been for his unhappy law-suit.

“Nic Frog was a cunning, sly rogue, quite the reverse of John in many particulars: covetous, frugal; minded domestic affairs; would pinch his belly to save his pockets; never lost a farthing by careless servants or bad debtors. He did not care much for any sort of diversions, except tricks of high German artists, and legerdemain; no man exceeded Nic in these; yet it must be owned that Nic was a fair dealer, and in that way acquired immense riches.

“Hocus was an old cunning attorney; and though this was the first considerable suit that ever he was engaged in, he showed himself superior in address to most of his profession; he kept always good clerks: he loved money, was smooth tongued, gave good words, and seldom lost his temper; he was not worse than an infidel, for he provided plentifully for his family; but he loved himself better than them all; the neighbours reported that he was henpecked, which was impossible by such a mild-spirited woman as his wife was.

“Law is a bottomless pit; it is a cormorant, a harpy that devours everything. John Bull was flattered by the lawyers that his suit would not last above a year or two at most; that before that time he would be in quiet possession of his business; yet ten long years did Hocus steer his course through all the meanders of the law, and all the courts. No skill, no address was wanting; and, to say truth, John did not starve his cause; there wanted not yellow-boys to fee counsel, hire witnesses, and bribe juries. Lord Strutt was generally cast, never had one verdict in his favour; and John was promised that the next, and next, would be the final determination. But, alas! that final determination and happy conclusion was like an enchanted island――the nearer John came to it, the further it went from him.”

He issued several other satirical pieces, one called the _Art of Political Lying_, and his _Treatise concerning the Altercation or Scolding of the Ancients_. His serious works consist of dissertations on ancient coins, weights, and measures, and some books on medical subjects. He was a cultured and accomplished man, and a real genius and wit in his way.

Henry Home, Lord Kames,¹ was a native of the county of Berwick; he was descended from an ancient family. Educated at home under a private tutor, and having chosen the profession of law, he was called to the Scottish bar in 1734. For a number of years he directed his attention to his profession, and to the composition of treatises connected with it. In 1752 he was raised to the bench, and assumed the title of Lord Kames. He became one of the distinguished members of the literary circles of Edinburgh, and a warm and generous patron of literature, and of every public movement calculated to promote the prosperity and civilisation of the nation. He was a man of great energy and ability, and perhaps no man ever more earnestly desired and endeavoured to advance the prosperity and happiness of his countrymen than this Scottish judge of the eighteenth century.²

¹ Born in 1696, and died in 1782. A very full and appreciative
_Account of the Life and Writings of Lord Kames_ was written
by Alexander F. Tytler of Woodhouselee, and published in
1807 in two large volumes.

² Dr. Reid, who knew Kames well, says:――“It is difficult
to say whether that worthy man was more eminent in active
life or in speculation. Very rare, surely, have been the
instances where the talents for both were united in so
eminent a degree.... His private virtues and public spirit,
his assiduity through a long and laborious life in many
honourable public offices with which he was entrusted, and
his zeal to encourage and promote everything that tended
to the improvement of his country, in laws, literature,
commerce, manufactures, and agriculture, are best known to
his friends and contemporaries.”

His writings are:――1. _Essays upon several Subjects in Law_, published in 1733; 2. _The Decisions of the Court of Session from its institution to the present time, abridged and digested in the form of a Dictionary_, in two volumes, 1741; 3. _Essays on British Antiquities_ (on legal and constitutional subjects), 1747; 4. _Essays on the Principles of Morality and Natural Religion_, 1751; 5. _The Statute Law of Scotland abridged, with Historical Notes_, 1757; 6. _Historical Law Tracts_, 1759; 7. _Principles of Equity_, 1760; 8. _Introduction to the Art of Thinking_, 1761; 9. _Elements of Criticism_, in three volumes, 1762; 10. _Sketches of the History of Man_, in two volumes, 1774; 11. _The Gentleman Farmer, being an attempt to improve agriculture by subjecting it to the test of rational principles_. The mere enunciation of Lord Kames’ works evinces his energy and industry.

The most distinctive and important of his works are the _Elements of Criticism_, and the _Sketches of the History of Man_. Considered as an attempt to investigate the principles of the fine arts, as results of the operations of the human mind, his _Elements of Criticism_ has merits, although it has also many defects. The subject is one of considerable difficulty, and he was among the first to attempt its exposition in modern times. His _Sketches of Man_ contains some curious facts, important hints, and acute reflections on society. Although style was the object of his attention, yet he never attained this; his sentences are usually cast in the same mould, with little variety in their arrangement and form; are generally too short, and when long, are often involved and faulty in construction.

James Burnet, Lord Monboddo,¹ was born at Monboddo in Kincardineshire. He was educated at King’s College, Aberdeen, and studied the civil law at Groningen. He became an advocate, and attained a good practice in the Court of Session. He was raised to the bench in 1767. Lord Monboddo was a man of honour and moral rectitude, but of much eccentricity of character and singularity of opinions, which appeared both in his habits and in the views enounced in his writings.

¹ Born in 1714, died in 1799.

He was an ardent admirer of Greek literature, and a warm worshipper of Homer. As carriages were not used among the ancients, he never deigned to enter one himself, but performed all his journeys to London and other places on horseback, for he deemed it a degradation of the real dignity of man to be dragged at the tail of a horse instead of mounted upon his back.

His chief works are:――_Essay on the Origin and Progress of Language_, published in 1771‒76, in six volumes; and _Ancient Metaphysics_, which appeared in 1779, in six volumes. In the first-named work, this sage gravely maintained that men were originally monkeys, and that in this condition they continued for ages, without speech, reason, or social affections. He contended that they were gradually improved by successive revolutions, and asserts that in the Bay of Bengal there existed a nation of human beings with tails like monkeys, which had been discovered a hundred and fifty years before by a Swedish skipper. He maintained that all the moral sentiments and domestic affections were the result of contrivance, art, and experience, just like shipbuilding, writing, or any other mechanical invention; thus he was led to place man, in his natural state, below beavers and seacats, which he terms social and political animals. Still, on occasion, he could write good sense, such as this:――

“Had we no other desires than those belonging to the animal life, our imaginations, like those of other animals, would be wholly employed about the objects of those desires. But we have other desires belonging to the rational nature, which make our imaginations much more rich and various than those of the brute creation. And, first, we have the love of Beauty of every kind, whether in objects visible or audible, in manners, sentiments, or actions. This love of beauty is congenial with the rational nature, and whoever is entirely devoid of it hardly deserves the name of man. But in this, as in other respects, man differs much from man; for some have the love and taste for beauty in a very small degree; others, whom Nature has formed of her best clay, and heaven bestowed on them more than an ordinary portion of the celestial fire, have it in a very high degree.... If it be the beauty of the visible kinds which captivates those minds, and if their imaginations are carried into works, then we have painters, sculptors, and poets, of an inferior kind, I mean descriptive poets. If it be the beauty of sounds, then we have musicians. But if the turn of mind be towards beauties of a higher kind, such as those of sentiments, manners, and actions, then are produced heroic and tragic poets, painters, sculptors, and musicians of the highest order, who express in their compositions what is most sublime and exalted in sentiment and character. The capacity of performing in these several arts is what we call Genius.”¹

¹ _Ancient Metaphysics_, Volume II., page 265.

Thomas, Lord Erskine,¹ was the youngest son of the Earl of Buchan. He had served both in the army and navy, but resigned his commission and turned to the study of law, being called to the English bar in his twenty-eighth year. He soon took a foremost place, and some of his speeches are fine specimens of English forensic oratory. In 1783, he entered parliament as member for Portsmouth, but his success in the House of Commons was not remarkable. In 1806, he was appointed Lord Chancellor, and received the title of Baron Erskine; he only held the Great Seal for a short time, as he had to retire on the dissolution of the Whig government in the spring of 1807. In 1817, he published a political fragment entitled _Armata_, which contains some good remarks on constitutional law and history.

¹ Born in 1750; died in 1823.

John Stockdale had published a defence of Warren Hastings, written by the Rev. John Logan, as before mentioned, which it was alleged contained a libel upon the House of Commons, and Erskine undertook the defence of Stockdale. The trial took place on the 9th of December, 1789, and the following is a part of Erskine’s speech on the occasion, and refers to the government of India:――

“The unhappy people of India, feeble and effeminate as they are from the softness of their climate, and subdued and broken as they have been by the knavery and strength of civilisation, still occasionally start up in all the vigour and intelligence of insulted nature. To be governed at all they must be governed by a rod of iron, and our empire in the East would long since have been lost to Great Britain if skill and military prowess had not united their efforts to support an authority which heaven never gave, by means which it can never sanction.

“Gentlemen, I think I can observe that you are touched with this way of considering the subject, and I can account for it. I have not been considering it through the cold medium of books, but have been speaking of man and his nature, and of human dominion, from what I have seen of them myself amongst reluctant nations submitting to our authority. I know what they feel, and how such feelings can alone be suppressed. I have heard them in my youth from a naked savage in the indignant character of a prince surrounded by his subjects, addressing the governor of a British colony, holding a bundle of sticks in his hand, as the notes of his unlettered eloquence. ‘Who is it,’ said the jealous ruler over the desert, encroached upon by the restless foot of English adventure, ‘who is it that causes the river to rise in the high mountains and empty itself into the ocean? Who is it that causes to blow the loud winds of winter, and that calms them again in summer? Who is it that rears up the shade of these lofty forests, and blasts them with the quick lightning at His pleasure? The same Being who gave to you a country on the other side of the waters, and gave ours to us; and by this title we will defend it,’ said the warrior, throwing down his tomahawk upon the ground, and raising the war-sound of his nation. These are the feelings of subjugated men all round the globe; and depend upon it, nothing but fear will control where it is vain to look for affection.”

James Boswell¹ was the son of a Scottish judge, and his _Life of Dr. Johnson_ is too well known to require any particular notice in these pages. Boswell studied for the bar, but he attached himself to Johnson, soothing and flattering him, and taking copious notes of his sayings and conversation. In 1773 he accompanied Johnson on his tour to the Highlands; and, after the death of the great lexicographer, in 1785 he published his journal of the tour, giving a record of each day’s occurrences. In 1791 his _Life of Johnson_ appeared in two volumes; a second edition was published in 1794, and Boswell was engaged in preparing a third when he died. Many editions of the work have since been issued.

¹ Born in 1740, died in 1795.

Dr. James Currie¹ issued his edition of the _Works of Burns_ in 1800 for the benefit of the poet’s family. The edition was accompanied by a memoir of the poet, from which subsequent biographers have drawn freely. Dr. Currie’s edition realised to the family of Burns the sum of £1400.

¹ Born in 1756, died in 1805.

Lord Jeffrey¹ was a native of Edinburgh, the son of a gentleman who held the office of depute-clerk in the Court of Session. He was educated at the High School of Edinburgh, the University of Glasgow, and Queen’s College, Oxford. After studying law, he was called to the bar in 1794. For many years his income was small, but being sober and industrious, he kept himself out of debt. He was a Whig in politics throughout his career. He was also one of the originators of the _Edinburgh Review_, the first number of which appeared in October, 1802. From 1803 to 1829, Jeffrey was editor and sole manager of the _Review_. In its pages he found ample scope for his political opinions and his literary and critical faculties. Thus Jeffrey and his accomplished associates in the _Review_ wielded much political influence throughout that stirring period; and they also produced memorable effects on the periodical literature and criticism of the present century. From the date of the appearance of the _Edinburgh Review_, the standard of criticism in this country has been gradually rising, and we owe a debt of gratitude to its originators.

¹ Born in 1773, died in 1850.

In 1820, Jeffrey was elected Lord Rector of the University of Glasgow. On the occasion of his installation he delivered an elegant and interesting address to the students, in which he reminded them that within the walls of this College “he had received by far the most valuable part of his own education.” In 1829, Jeffrey was unanimously elected Dean of the Faculty of Advocates; and he then resigned the editorship of the _Review_. On the formation of Earl Grey’s administration in 1830, he was appointed Lord Advocate for Scotland, and sat for a short time in parliament. But, in 1834, he was raised to the bench, and as Lord Jeffrey, he discharged the functions of a Scotch judge with marked attention, uprightness, and ability, till the period of his death.

The most important of his contributions to the _Edinburgh Review_ were collected by himself in 1844, and published in four volumes, and since reprinted in one large volume. His articles and criticisms cover a wide range of subjects――poetry, elegant literature, moral science, and the philosophy of life. As a critic he discharged his difficult task well, with sound judgment and taste, although occasionally, in the early years of the _Review_, he was rather harsh and severe. In poetic criticism he sometimes failed to appreciate the genuine merits of his author. His ethical ideas and sentiments were pure, elevated, and noble.

I have only space for one short specimen of his style on the prevailing notion that genius is a source of peculiar unhappiness to its possessors:――“Men of truly great powers of mind have generally been cheerful, social, and indulgent; while a tendency to sentimental whining or fierce intolerance may be ranked among the surest symptoms of little souls and inferior intellects. In the whole list of our English poets we can only remember Shenstone and Savage――two, certainly, of the lowest――who were querulous and discontented. Cowley, indeed, used to call himself melancholy; but he was not in earnest, and, at any rate, was full of conceits and affectations, and has nothing to make us proud of him. Shakespeare, the greatest of them all, was evidently of a free and joyous temperament, and so was Chaucer, their common master. The same disposition appears to have predominated in Fletcher, Jonson, and their great contemporaries. The genius of Milton partook something of the austerity of the party to which he belonged, and of the controversies in which he was involved; but even when fallen on evil days and evil tongues, his spirit seems to have retained its serenity, as well as its dignity; and in his private life, as well as in his poetry, the majesty of a high character is tempered with great sweetness, genial indulgence, and practical wisdom. In the succeeding age our poets were but too gay; and though we forbear to speak of living authors, we know enough of them to say with confidence, that to be miserable or to be hated is not now, any more than heretofore, the common lot of those who excel.”

Henry Brougham¹ was a native of Edinburgh, and subsequently known as Lord Brougham. He was educated at the High School and the University of Edinburgh; and, after studying for the legal profession, he was admitted to the Scottish bar, at which he practised for several years. He was also one of the original writers of the _Edinburgh Review_, to which he contributed a long series of articles, chiefly to the earlier numbers. Scotland became too small for him, and he joined the English bar, entered parliament in 1810, allied himself with the Whig party, and pushed his career with great energy. He proved a steady friend to political reform. In 1830, he attained the height of his ambition by his elevation to the Woolsack, with the title of Lord Brougham and Vaux. He held the office of Lord Chancellor for four years, and retired with his party in the autumn of 1834. This ended his official career; but he afterwards worked hard as a law reformer.

¹ Born in 1778, and died in 1868.

His works are numerous, but none of them can be ranked high, either in literature, philosophy, or science, in all of which he tried his hand. His style is loose, heavy, and verbose. His writings are lacking in clear thinking, and definite conclusions; he always seems to be coming to close quarters with the subject, but he never comes to it. I think the best of his works is the one entitled _The British Constitution_, published in 1861. He occupied the later years of his long life in writing notices of his _Life and Times_, which were published in 1871, in three volumes.

The following quotation is from one of his speeches delivered in the House of Commons on law reform:――“The course is clear before us; the race is glorious to run. You have the power of sending your name down through all times, illustrated by deeds of higher fame, and more useful import, than ever were done within these walls. You saw the greatest warrior of the age――conqueror of Italy, humbler of Germany, terror of the North――saw him account all his matchless victories poor, compared with the triumph you are now in a condition to win――saw him condemn the fickleness of fortune, while, in despite of her, he could pronounce his memorable boast:――‘I shall go down to posterity with my code in my hand.’ You have vanquished him in the field; strive now to rival him in the sacred arts of peace! The lustre of the regency will be eclipsed by the more solid and enduring splendour of the reign. The praise which false courtiers feigned for our Edwards and Harrys, the Justinians of that day, will be the just tribute of the wise and good to that monarch under whose sway so mighty an undertaking shall be accomplished. Of a truth, the holders of sceptres are most chiefly to be envied for that they bestow the power of thus conquering and ruling. It was the boast of Augustus――it formed part of the glare in which the prejudices of his earlier years were lost――that he found Rome of brick, and left it of marble; a praise not unworthy of a great prince, and to which the present also has its claims. But how much nobler will be the sovereign’s boast, when he shall have it to say that he found law dear and left it cheap; found it a sealed book, left it a living letter; found it the patrimony of the rich, left it the inheritance of the poor; found it the two-edged sword of craft and oppression, left it the staff of honesty and the shield of innocence.”

It is recorded that Brougham wrote the peroration of his concluding speech for the defence of Queen Caroline no fewer than fifteen times over; yet it is not very impressive.

Robert Mudie,¹ a native of Forfarshire, was a self-educated man and a very industrious writer. He was for some time connected with the London press, and was the author of about ninety volumes on a variety of subjects. Among these may be named his _Picture of Men and Things in London_; _Modern Athens, a Sketch of Edinburgh Society_; _The British Naturalist_; _The Feathered Tribes of Great Britain_, and a series of volumes on the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the air; _Man, physical, moral, social, and intellectual_. Although somewhat deficient in taste, Mudie was an able and vigorous writer. His imaginative and elaborative faculties were of a high order, and he could throw animation and light into the driest subjects.

¹ Born in 1777, died in 1842.

Mr. George Combe¹ was by profession a Writer to the Signet in Edinburgh, but he devoted much of his time and energy to philosophical and literary pursuits. He was a man highly respected by all who knew him, and by his writings has attained a wide reputation. He became a popular expounder of the doctrines of phrenology, which he enforced in a clear and vigorous style.

¹ Born in 1788, died in 1858.

His chief works are:――1. _Essays on Phrenology_, published in 1819; 2. _The Constitution of Man_, 1828; 3. _System of Phrenology_, 1836; 4. _Phrenology applied to Painting and Sculpture_; 5. _Notes on the United States of America_, in three volumes, 1841; 6. Pamphlets on _The Relation between Science and Religion_, on _Capital Punishments_, on _National Education, The Currency Question, etc._

He was a man of great intellectual powers and exceptional abilities. All his writings are well worth reading, even apart from his special doctrines of phrenology. His _Constitution of Man_ has been exceedingly popular, and has passed through many editions――hundreds of thousands of it having been sold. I have known several of his followers who almost worshipped him, and placed the most implicit faith in the doctrines of the _Constitution of Man_. There is no doubt that his writings have had a considerable influence among certain classes of the people.

The interesting life of Hugh Miller, the self-taught man of science and genius, was admirably narrated by himself in his _Schools and Schoolmasters_. He was a native of Cromarty, born in 1802, and died in 1856. For the last sixteen years of his life he was editor of _The Witness_, a twice-a-week paper. He was a geologist, and a man of great literary talents; very few excel him as a popular expositor of geology. He had a wide command of expressive and appropriate language, and his imaginative and elaborative powers were of a high order. His descriptions of geological strata and fossil remains are illumined by a vividness of realisation as yet unmatched in this branch of literature.

His works are:――1. _Scenes and Legends in the North of Scotland, or the Traditional History of Cromarty_; 2. _The Old Red Sandstone_, which appeared in 1841; 3. _First Impressions of England and its People_, 1847; 4. _Footprints of the Creator_, 1850; 5. _My Schools and Schoolmasters, an Autobiography_, 1854; 6. _The Testimony of the Rocks_: 7. _The Cruise of the Betsey_, 1858; 8. _Sketch-Book of Popular Geology, being a series of Lectures delivered before the Philosophical Institution of Edinburgh_; and 9, two volumes of essays, being a selection of his articles from the file of _The Witness_.

His writings were popular, and many editions have been issued. The following quotation is taken from an article reprinted from _The Witness_ on “A Five-pound Qualification” (franchise), and it exemplifies a feature of his style which he often employs effectively, touching on some striking phase of a different subject to give point to the one that he intended to discuss. The article has also a special interest at the present time.

“When, owing to some deep-seated cause, the general level of a country is heightened by sudden upheaval, not only is its area extended by an apparent recession of the sea, but the outline of its coasts is also very much changed. In places where the land is flat and low, and the water shallow, it receives accessions of great tracts of new country; whereas in other places, where high table-lands sink suddenly into the sea and the water is deep, it is restricted to near its old limits. In Scotland, for instance, that last upheaval which laid dry the old coast line added many a rich acre to the links of the Forth and the Carse of Gowrie, and gave to the country the sites of most of its sea-port towns, such as Leith and Greenock, Musselburgh, Stonehaven, and Inverness; whereas along the rocky shores of Aberdeen and Banff, and especially in Caithness and Orkney, it did little more, save here and there in a narrow inlet, than reduce by some two or three fathoms the depth of the sea at the foot of the cliffs. It left the old boundaries just what they had been. The extension of area which took place in consequence of the upheaval was partial and local, though in the aggregate it added not a little to the general value of the country; and this particular character was altogether a result of the previous form of the surface. We have witnessed something similar in the effects of those great upheavals which occasionally take place in the political world. The Reform Bill effected a wonderful upheaval of this kind. It raised over the sea-level, in certain districts, vast tracts that had been previously submerged, while in other districts it left the old limits unchanged. The high lands of Toryism received no new accession, while those of Liberalism it greatly enlarged. By elevating the long-buried heads of the people above water in the character of ten-pound franchise holders, it strengthened the trading interests or, to carry out our parallel, gave new standing-room to the trading towns; while the agricultural interests, located, if we may so speak, on the high table-lands of the country, remained no broader or stronger than they had been before. And so, in the great struggle which ensued between the two interests, the agricultural one went down, and free trade won the day. Party, in general, was not a little affected by this great upheaval. The new accessions were chiefly accessions made to the cause of Liberalism in general; but it did quite as little for hereditary Whigism as for hereditary Toryism; and either party feel, when in office, that it has had but the effect of making their position more precarious and less desirable than of old.... It has thrown them up nearer than of old to the chill line of perpetual ice and snow, and exposed them to the dangers of treacherous landslips, and sudden avalanches.

“What, let us ask, would be the effect of a still further upheaval of the political area, that would place the ten-pound franchise in the position of a second old coast line, by raising a widely-spread five-pound franchise out of it? To what regions of parties would such an upheaval add new breadth? In what regions would it leave the present limits unchanged? What would be its effect, for instance, on the various parties in Edinburgh?” This was written in the winter of 1856.

In 1850, a work entitled _The Theory of Human Progression, and Natural Probability of a Reign of Justice_, was published anonymously, and dedicated to Victor Cousin, the well-known Eclectic philosopher: and in the dedication it was enounced that “the truth I endeavour to inculcate is, that credence rules the world, that credence determines the condition and fixes the destiny of nations, that true credence must ever entail with it a correct and beneficial system of society, while false credence must ever be accompanied by despotism, anarchy, and wrong――that before a nation can change its condition it must change its credence; that change of credence will of necessity be accompanied sooner or later by change of condition; and, consequently, that true credence, or, in other words, knowledge, is the only means by which man can work out his well-being and ameliorate his condition on the globe.” The author, who thus described the object of his work, was Mr. Patrick E. Dove, a warm-hearted and patriotic Scotsman, who died in Australia in 1879.

The work is one of the class now ranked under the term of sociology. It is an able and well-reasoned effort, and though not often referred to directly, still it has had a marked influence in forming several political theories and views of political phenomena since current in this country. Mr. Dove was gifted with a vigorous mind, of a philosophic and scientific cast, and keen and generous sympathies. The principles and ideas of his work are clearly conceived and fairly elaborated.

It consists of four chapters, the first of which treats on the elements of human progression――the matters involved in political science, liberty, and property; the mode in which men have made laws; the combination of knowledge and reason, and the use and operation of this combination. In the second chapter he expounds his theory of man’s intellectual progression, and treats of the order of the sciences――their growth, their processes, their dependence, evolution, and present position; the character and position of political science; the province and object of political economy; the foundation of political society; socialism and communism; and many other points. In the third chapter he advances his theory of man’s practical progression, and presents an outline of the argument, that there is a natural probability in favour of the reign of justice; and in support of this view he reasons from the order of knowledge and science――natural truth, which becomes divine truth, and from the influence of Christianity; and illustrates at some length from the practical applications of science. The fourth chapter presents an historical sketch――an attempt to apprehend the sentiments of the human mind which have ruled society, and to appreciate the psychological development of man through historic manifestations. This was of itself a great and very difficult undertaking, and notwithstanding his grasp of principles, and his fine analytic and critical faculties, it is the crudest and the weakest part of his work.

In an appendix he presents a classification of the sciences; and though his work has defects, it is a remarkable effort. I am not aware if Mr. Dove was one of Sir W. Hamilton’s students, but I find ♦unmistakable traces of the influence of his psychology in _The Theory of Human Progression_.

♦ “unmistakeable” replaced with “unmistakable”

As a specimen of his style, and the interest of the subject, I shall give a quotation touching land:――“The question, then, is, upon what terms, or according to what system, must the earth be possessed by the successive generations that succeed each other on the surface of the globe? The conditions given are――First, that the earth is the common property of the race; second, that whatever an individual produces by his own labour is the private property of that individual, and he may dispose of it as he pleases, provided he does not interfere with his fellows; third, the earth is the perpetual common property of the race, and each succeeding generation has a full title to a free earth. One generation cannot encumber a succeeding generation.

“And the condition required is, such a system as shall secure to the successive individuals of the race their share of the common property, and the opportunity, without interference, of making as much private property as their skill and enterprise would enable them to make.

“The actual division of the soil need never be anticipated, nor would such a division be just, if the divided portions were made the property legally of individuals, for they could never be so morally.

“If, then, successive generations of men cannot have their fractional share of the actual soil, how can the division of the advantages of the natural earth be effected?

“By the division of its annual value or rent; that is, by making the rent of the soil the common property of the nations. That is, as the taxation is the common property of the State, by taking the whole of the taxes out of the rents of the soil, and thereby abolishing all other kinds of taxation whatever. And thus all industry would be absolutely emancipated from every burden, and every man would reap such natural reward as his skill, industry, or enterprise rendered legitimately his, according to the natural law of free competition. This we maintain to be the only theory that will satisfy the requirements of the problem of natural property.”¹

¹ Pages 384, 387. In a note he says:――“We have no hesitation
whatever in predicting that all civilised communities must
ultimately abolish all revenue restrictions on industry,
♦and draw the whole taxation from the rents of the soil. And
this because the rents of the soil are the common produce of
the whole labour of a community.”

♦ “und” replaced with “and”

Again: “Taxation can only be on land or labour. These are the two radical elements that can be subjected to taxation, capital being originally derived from one or the other. Capital is only hoarded labour or hoarded rent; and as all capital must be derived from the one source or the other, all taxation of capital is only taxation of land or labour. Consequently, all taxation of whatever kind is: 1st, taxation of labour, that is, a deduction from the natural remuneration which God intended the labourer to derive from his exertions; or, 2nd, taxation of land, that is, the appropriation of the current value of the natural earth to the expenses of the State.

“Now, labour is essentially private property, and land is not essentially private property, but, on the contrary, is the common inheritance of every generation of mankind. Where the land is taxed, no man is taxed, nor does the taxation of land interfere in any way whatever with the progress of human industry. On the contrary, the taxation of land, rightly directed, might be made to advance the condition of the country to a high degree of prosperity.”¹

¹ Pages 389‒390.

He was excessively fond of generalising, and frequently attempted it with matters which were not properly prepared for the process; as suggested in the following paragraph: “But beneath the outward variety of man’s historic representations, can we not plunge below the surface and seize some stable element, some scheme, some law, some generalised fact, some plan or principle on which the drama has been constructed, some permanent truth that evolves amid all the apparent diversity of images? Can we not transform the real elements as they appear into some abstract form that enables us to state them in a rational equation? Can we not apprehend the essential character of the changes, as well as their empirical character, and derive instruction for the reason, as well as materials for the memory and the understanding?”

His intellect was essentially deductive and logical. He loved to handle a principle, an idea, or a formula; but his mastery of method and expository powers were excellent. He is the author of several other important works, which I can only name: _Elements of Political Science_, 1854; and _Logic of the Christian Faith_, 1856.

George Gilfillan was born at Comrie, Perthshire, on the 30th January, 1813, where his father was minister of the Scottish Secession Church. He entered the University of Glasgow at the age of fourteen. After finishing his course of study in the University, he passed through the course of training in the Divinity Hall of the Secession Church. He was licensed to preach the Gospel in April 1835. For some time he passed from church to church preaching for ministers, or as a candidate in vacancies. In March 1836, he was ordained minister of the School Wynd church in Dundee, which was one of the early Secession congregations. The same year, on the 23rd of November, he married Margaret Valentine, who proved throughout his life an admirable help-meet.

He was a stalwart man. His erect figure, and massive head, the bold lustre of his eyes, and the sharp intellectual expression of his countenance, at once gave a striking impression of strength. He was a man of great energy, and marked ability. His intellectual faculties were naturally strong; yet his analytic power was not very remarkable. Perhaps, his position and the circumstances of his life were unfavourable to the development of the analytic side of the mind, while his feelings, sentiments, and emotions were exceedingly strong, and his sympathies wide and varied. His mind was impulsive and fervid. In the pulpit he delivered his sermons with great energy and vehemence, and soon became a popular preacher. He was also much esteemed as a popular lecturer, and his service was often solicited in different quarters of Scotland and beyond it. Between the years 1839‒48 he delivered some twenty lectures at the Watt Institution in Dundee, on such varied subjects as “The Relation of Religion to Painting,” “The Genius of Byron,” “Modern British Literature,” and various other themes. His popularity increased and extended, and for many years he was one of the most prominent men of Dundee.

He had an aspiration for distinction and literary fame. His literary activity was wonderful, and embraced a wide variety of subjects. Many of his early efforts first appeared in magazines and newspapers:――In _Edinburgh University Magazine_, _The Dumfries Herald_, _Hogg’s Instructor_, _Tait’s Magazine_, _British Quarterly Review_, _Eclectic Review_, _The Critic_, _The Scottish Review_, and other periodicals; and at a later stage of his life, he was a large contributor to the columns of the _Dundee Advertiser_ and the _People’s Friend_. His papers in the above, were chiefly biographical and critical sketches, and reviews of books.

The first portion of his _Gallery of Literary Portraits_ was published in 1845, the second in 1849, and the third in 1854; and in 1857 the whole appeared in two volumes. The work consists of biographical and critical sketches, which in the last edition were arranged under ♦six divisions thus:――Poets, French Revolutionists, Novelists, Critics, Miscellaneous Writers, and Sacred Authors. These sketches are vivid and graphic. His _Bards of the Bible_ appeared in 1850, and was pretty successful. _The Martyrs, Heroes, and Bards of the Scottish Covenant_ was published in 1852, and became the most popular of his works. His _History of a Man_ appeared in 1856. This is a rather singular book――mainly autobiographical, but also presenting fictitious elements and sharp criticism. In 1857 his _Christianity and our Era_ was published. It is a work of considerable power, and presents his views touching the signs of the “Second Advent of Christ.” His Poem entitled _Night_, on which he had spent much labour, appeared in 1867. From time to time he published a considerable number of his lectures and sermons. He edited a series of the _British Poets_; wrote a _Life of Sir Walter Scott_, published in 1870; a _Life of the Rev. Dr. William Anderson_ in 1873; and a _Life of Burns_ for the National Edition of the Poet’s works, published in 1878. His command of language was copious, and his descriptive power excellent. His style, however, is very unequal, loose, and discursive; yet many vivid, striking, and pathetic passages occur in his writings. His criticism though often telling, and sometimes stinging, is not of the highest character, for the natural bent of his mind hardly permitted him to calmly examine evidence, or estimate all the essential points.

♦ “five” replaced with “six”

Personally, he was a kind-hearted man. He was ever ready to assist those in whom he saw the buds of genius or talent. His death, which occurred suddenly on the 13th of August 1878, was mourned as a public loss to Scotland.

Dr. John Brown, a son of Professor Brown of the U. P. Church, was a medical practitioner in Edinburgh. In 1858 he published a volume entitled _Horæ Subsecivæ_, consisting of essays on Locke and Sydenham; _Rab and his Friends_, and other papers; and in 1861 he issued a second series of sketches of a similar character. These volumes are exceedingly interesting.

William Minto was born at Nether Auchentoul, in the parish of Alford, Aberdeenshire, on the 10th of October, 1845. He was educated at the parish schools of Alford and Tough, and subsequently at the Cordon Schools in Huntly, under the Rev. John Macdonald, who trained him in classics. He entered the University of Aberdeen in 1861, where he had a very distinguished career. In 1865 he graduated with highest honours in classics, second in mental philosophy, and second in mathematics; he also gained the Ferguson Scholarship for classics. In the summer of 1866 he went to Merton College, Oxford, and obtained an exhibition of £80, but he left Oxford in the end of the year and returned to Scotland. For a short time he acted as assistant to Mr. Thomson, Professor of Natural Philosophy in the University of Aberdeen, and afterward as Professor Bain’s assistant in teaching the English class. In 1872 his volume, entitled _A Manual of English Prose Literature_ appeared, and the same year he was appointed Examiner in Mental Philosophy in the University of Aberdeen.

In 1873 he went to London, obtained an appointment on the staff of the _Examiner_, and engaged in literary work. The following year he became editor of this paper, but it ceased to be issued in 1880. Minto then entered warmly into political writing upon the controversy of the time for the columns of the _Daily News_ and the _Pall Mall Gazette_. He worked assiduously. Besides writing for newspapers, his interesting volume, _Characteristics of English Poets_, was published in 1874, and his volume on _Defoe_ in the ♦“English Men of Letters” Series in 1879. He contributed twenty-six articles to the ninth edition of the _Encyclopædia Britannica_, which are mainly of a biographical and critical character. He also contributed a considerable number of articles on various subjects to the _Fortnightly Review_, _The Nineteenth Century_, _Blackwood’s Magazine_, and other periodicals.

♦ ‘“English Men of Letters Series in 1879.”’ replaced with
‘“English Men of Letters” Series in 1879.’

Upon the retirement of Dr. Bain from the Chair of Logic and English Literature in the University of Aberdeen in 1880, Minto was appointed his successor. He earnestly devoted attention to the subjects assigned to his chair, and proved in every respect an excellent teacher. His manner and tact won the affection of the students, and his faculty of interesting and instructing them was characteristic and thoroughly successful. He held the Chair for thirteen years, and took his share in the business of the Senatus and the University. He took a keen interest in educational matters, and frequently delivered lectures outside the University. Under the auspices of the Local Examination Committee of the Senatus Academicus, he delivered a course of lectures in the Music Hall of Aberdeen, on “The Literature of the Georgian Era,” in which he treated the writings of the poets and novelists of the eighteenth century, and the early part of the nineteenth.¹

¹ These “Lectures” were edited by Professor Knight, with a
biographical introduction, and published in 1894.

He was always a hard worker. As stated in a preceding chapter, he wrote three novels. In 1887 he edited a complete edition of Sir Walter Scott’s _Poems_. He edited the _Autobiographical Notes of the Life of William B. Scott_ (a painter and writer) which was published in 1892; and is a work of much interest and value. He had just corrected the last proofs of his volume on Logic――Inductive and Deductive, before his death. He had been in weak health for some months and confined to his house, but his mind continued active and hopeful to the last. He died on the 1st of March 1893, in the forty-eighth year of his age.

John Veitch was born in Peebles on the 29th of October, 1829. He was educated at the University of Edinburgh, where he came under the influence of Sir William Hamilton, and was a distinguished student. In 1855 he was appointed assistant to Hamilton; and he held this post under Professor Campbell Fraser until 1860, when he was elected Professor of Logic, Rhetoric, and Metaphysics in the University of St. Andrews. In 1864 he was appointed to the Chair of Logic and Rhetoric in the University of Glasgow, which he filled with much credit for a period of thirty years. He died in September 1894.

His writings cover a varied range of topics. In conjunction with Mr. H. L. Mansel, he edited Sir William Hamilton’s _Lectures on Metaphysics and Logic_――an undertaking which entailed much work. He wrote a lengthy _Memoir of Sir William_, which is the standard work on the subject. His translation of the _Method, Meditations and Principles of Descartes_, with an introduction and notes, is a very useful book for students. His _Essay on Lucretius and the Atomic Theory_ appeared in 1875, and is a very interesting effort. His _Institutes of Logic_ evince a wide and accurate historical knowledge of logical doctrine. In his _Knowing and Being_ published in 1889, he touched on metaphysical problems, and criticised some of Hegel’s conceptions. His labours, however, in other branches of literature are perhaps more notable. In 1878 his _History and Poetry of the Scottish Borders_ appeared, and is a valuable and interesting contribution to this branch of literature. A second edition has been issued. His work entitled _The Feeling for Nature in Scottish Poetry_ published in 1887, is pervaded by fine feeling and an elevated tone of expression. He had a poetic aspiration and feeling, and wrote several poems――_The Tweed_, _Merlin_, and others. His mind presented a characteristic combination of philosophic insight and poetic fervour.

John Stuart Blackie was born in Glasgow on the 28th of July, 1809. In 1812 his father, who was a banker, removed to Aberdeen to manage the branch of the Commercial Bank of Scotland. At the age of twelve he entered Marischal College, where he attended classes for three years, and subsequently he studied at Edinburgh University. In 1829 he proceeded to Germany, and pursued his studies at Göttingen and Berlin, and finally in Italy. On returning to Scotland, he studied law, and was called to the Scottish Bar in 1834; but it appears that he never practiced, his talents were ill-suited for the profession. For some years he was engaged in writing articles for periodicals. In 1841 he was appointed to the Chair of Humanity in Marischal College, Aberdeen, and he ardently devoted his attention to the work. In 1852 he was appointed Professor of Greek in the University of Edinburgh. He held this Chair for thirty years, resigning it in 1882.

Blackie was a man of remarkable talents, and considerable culture associated with keen feelings and wide sympathies. These were combined in his peculiar personality with many comic eccentricities, which sharply distinguished him from all his contemporaries. He was very energetic outside the University, and delivered popular lectures in different quarters of the country, which were instructive and always highly amusing, calling forth applause and roars of laughter. He took a deep interest in the Highlands, and was a warm friend of the crofters, advocating their cause with much enthusiasm. It was mainly by his exertions that a Celtic Chair was established in Edinburgh University. He died at Edinburgh on the 2nd of March, 1895.

His energy was great. A noted traveller, he embraced every opportunity of observing men and things. A most versatile writer, he delivered his views on many subjects: comprising morals, religion, and political philosophy, songs, ballads, poetry, Gaelic literature, and translations. The following include his more important works――A metrical translation of Goethe’s _Faust_ published in 1834, of which a second edition with emendations was issued; A translation of the _Lyrical Dramas of Æschylus in English verse_ published in 1850, in two volumes; _Songs and Legends of Ancient Greece_ appeared in 1857; _Homer and the Iliad_, in four volumes, containing a translation of the Iliad in ballad measure, dissertations and notes, published in 1866. _Four Phases of Morals_, as represented by Socrates, Aristotle, Christianity, and Utilitarianism――a series of lectures; _Natural History of Atheism_, issued in 1877, and intended to be a defence of theism against the modern tendencies of speculation; _Self-Culture, Intellectual, Physical, and Moral_. This work was one of his most successful efforts, many editions of it having been issued both in Britain and America. He was a great admirer and lover of Scottish songs and ballads, and was himself a writer of songs and verse. In 1872 his _Lays of the Highlands_ appeared, in which there is vivid and effective writing, and considerable artistic combination. His _Songs of Religion and Life_ was issued in 1876, and shows clearly that he was not a creed-limited devotee, but rather a worshipper in the great and glorious universe. _Altavona――Fact and Fiction from my Life in the Highlands_ was published in 1882, and is an interesting volume. His _Scottish Song: its wealth, wisdom and social significance_, issued in 1889, is an excellent book. He wrote a _Life of Burns_, and a number of other works.

The chief characteristics of Professor Blackie’s style are freshness, cheerfulness, touches of pathos, comic turns, and wit. His main philosophical idea was founded upon Aristotle’s doctrine that “all extremes are wrong.” This was a special feature in his political opinions.

In the department of travels and exploration, Scotland has contributed her share, as the names of Bruce, Mungo Park, Livingstone, and others testify.

James Bruce was born at Kinnaird House, in Stirlingshire, in 1730. He was intended for the legal profession; but he was averse to the irksome study of law, and commenced business as a wine-merchant in London. Having visited Spain and Portugal, his attention was attracted to the architectural ruins and tales of the Moorish dominion; he earnestly devoted himself to the study of Eastern antiquities and languages. When he returned to England, it was proposed that he should make a journey to Barbary, and he was appointed to the consulship of Algiers. He left England and arrived at Algiers in 1762. Bruce spent six years at Algiers and in various travels, and having surveyed and sketched the ruins of Palmyra and Baalbec, he reached Alexandria in 1768. He then proceeded to Cairo, embarked on the Nile, and arrived at Gondar, the capital of Abyssinia. After a short stay there, he started for the sources of Bahr-el-Azrek, under the impression that this was the main branch of the Nile. At length the spot was pointed out to him by his guide, a hillock of green sod in the middle of a watery plain. The king of Abyssinia conferred high personal distinctions on Bruce. Returning through the great deserts of Nubia to Egypt, he encountered extreme hardships and dangers from the sand-storms and simoom of the desert.

After his return home, some parts of the narrative of his travels reached the public, and were much ridiculed and discredited. Even the sage Johnson doubted whether Bruce had ever been in Abyssinia! A complete account of his travels was published in 1790, in five volumes. But his statements were still deemed a fitting theme for the sneers and lampoons of the critics and wits of the time; and though Bruce felt these attacks keenly, he was an honourable and proud-spirited man, and scorned to reply to such impeachments of his veracity. He died in 1804.

A second and third edition of his travels were published within eight years after his death. The general accuracy of his work, and the correctness of his drawings and maps, have long ago been confirmed from many different quarters. His style is prolix, but sometimes animated.

Mungo Park was born at Fowlshiels, in the vicinity of Stirling, in 1771. He studied for the medical profession; and, under the auspices of the African Association, formed in 1778 for the purpose of promoting discovery in the interior of Africa, he embarked in May, 1795. On the 21st of June he arrived at Jillifree, on the banks of the Gambia. Thence he proceeded towards the kingdom of Bambarra, and there he saw the chief object of his mission, the river Niger, flowing towards the east. Park’s narrative of his journey――the various incidents, the sufferings which he encountered, his captivity among the Moors, and the manners, customs, and trade of the inhabitants, are all intensely interesting. He returned to England in the end of the year 1797; and, in 1799, his travels were published. His style is marked by simplicity, clearness, and fine moral feeling.

But his active mind and spirit was not satisfied, and he longed to renew his travels. He again sailed from England, arriving at Goree in the end of March, 1805. The expedition, which at first consisted of forty-five men, but now reduced to seven, was unfortunate. At Sansanding, he built a boat to continue his voyage down the river, and entered it on the 17th of November, 1805, resolved to discover the termination of the Niger or to perish in the attempt. After the party had sailed several days, on passing a rocky part of the river named Boussa, the natives attacked them, and Park himself and one of his companions were drowned while attempting to escape by swimming. His letters and journals had been sent to Gambia before embarking on the fatal voyage, and an account of the journey, compiled from these, was published in 1815.

The exploration of the interior of Africa long continued to be an object of adventurous and worthy ambition, and a number of men have spent the better part of their lives in such undertakings. Our countryman, David Livingstone, as a missionary and an explorer of Africa, takes a high rank. He was a man inured to hard labour from his youth, and his great work in Africa, his noble and well-considered efforts to enlighten and civilise the natives of the countries which he visited, are unrivalled in the records of travellers, and will still be fresh in the minds of many of the present generation.

Livingstone’s labours in Africa fall naturally into three periods. The first, extending from 1841 to 1857, in which he worked in Southern Africa as a missionary, and made various expeditions into the interior of the country. Having returned home, his _Researches in South Africa_ were published in 1857, and is a deeply interesting volume. It describes his long and often perilous journeys, and contains much original information touching the natives, the geography, botany, and natural products of Africa.

The second period extends from 1858 to 1864: early in the former year he set out on his second important mission. In May he had reached the mouth of the Zambesi. In January the following year he explored the river and valley of the Shire, where a white man had never before been seen. He proceeded up the Shire some two hundred miles, till stopped by the Murchison Falls. He found the Shire valley fertile and cultivated. By an overland march of twenty days from Shire, in September, 1860, he discovered the great lake of Nyassa. He afterwards revisited it, and concluded that the lake was about two hundred miles long and forty broad. The country was studded with villages, and the natives of the Shire and Nyassa valleys had good iron, and were manufacturers as well as agriculturists. Livingstone returned to England in 1864, and recorded his explorations in a _Narrative of an Expedition to the Zambesi and its tributaries, and of the discovery of the lakes Sherwa and Nyassa_.

In 1866, Livingstone started on his third and last expedition. In March he left Zanzibar and struck up the country towards lake Nyassa. For seven years he bravely prosecuted his travels and labours in Africa, suffering many hardships and dangers. At last, worn out, he died on the 1st of May, 1873. He had before expressed a wish to die in the still forest, “and no hand ever disturb my bones.” But so beloved was he when alive, that his body was rudely embalmed by his faithful followers, and carried by them hundreds of miles to Zanzibar, whence it was conveyed to England and interred in Westminster Abbey, on the 18th of April, 1874. Thus lived and died Dr. Livingstone, a man equally remarkable for his great intelligence and sagacity, his warm-hearted and wide sympathies, which were admirably exerted for the elevation and good of the natives of Africa; his bravery, fortitude, and endurance were wonderful, and his strength of will and perseverance unmatched. He was the first who called public attention to the suffering and horrors of the East African slave trade, which he continued to expose throughout his life; and his whole career was a noble struggle for the enlightenment, improvement, and civilisation of the natives of Africa.

Before closing this chapter, it seems requisite to give a brief account of the rise of newspapers and periodical literature. During Cromwell’s rule in Scotland there were some reprints of English news published in Edinburgh; after the Restoration two attempts were made to issue newspapers, but neither of them continued long. The first regular Scottish newspaper was the _Edinburgh Gazette_, established in 1699. The first Glasgow newspaper, called the _Glasgow Courant_, containing the occurrences both at home and abroad, appeared on the 14th of November, 1715; it was published thrice a week, but only lived about seven months. The second newspaper published in Glasgow appeared on the 20th of July, 1741, under the name of the _Glasgow Journal_, and it continued to be issued for upwards of half a century. On the 14th of October, 1745, the first number of the second _Glasgow Courant_ was issued; and in 1783 the _Glasgow Advertiser_ first appeared.¹ The _Aberdeen Journal_ appeared in 1748. Newspapers continued slowly to increase in number till the end of the century; but it is chiefly within the last fifty years, and especially since the abolition of the stamp duty in 1855, and the duty on paper in 1861, that the newspaper press has attained its great development.

¹ Macgregor’s _History of Glasgow_, pages 295, 335, 336, 386.

The class of what may be called literary periodical papers, as distinguished from newspapers, began to appear in Scotland early in the eighteenth century. In 1711, a paper of this description was published in Edinburgh, and continued through thirty weekly numbers, under the name of _The Tatler_. Soon after this a number of periodical papers appeared, and disappeared again, but few of them had much merit. _The Echo_ ran its weekly numbers from 1729 to 1733; _The Review_ appeared in 1737; and _The Letters of the Critical Club_ in 1738; _The Mirror and Lounger_, a periodical published in Edinburgh, attained a higher reputation. In January, 1739, the first number of _The Scots Magazine_ appeared, and was continued till 1826. It contains a store of events, facts, interesting pictures of manners, characters, and incidents, extending over a period of well-nigh a century.

I have already referred to the establishment of the _Edinburgh Review_, and the influence which it wielded. _Blackwood’s Magazine_ first appeared in 1817, and _Tait’s Magazine_ in 1833; and about the latter date the Messrs. Chambers began to issue their instructive and cheap periodical publications, many of which attained a wide circulation. There are now magazines devoted to almost every department of knowledge, and to nearly every variety of opinion and doctrine; even every party and interest deem it necessary to be represented in the periodical press.

The first edition of the _Encyclopædia Britannica_ was published in 1771, in four volumes, under the editorship of Mr. William Smellie. The second edition of this work was begun in 1776, and it extended to ten volumes, embracing biography and history. The third edition, enlarged to eighteen volumes, was completed in 1797; and which contained many original treatises on physical science, and able and valuable articles by Professor Robison, Dr. Doig, and the ingenious editor of the later volumes――the Rev. Dr. George Gleig. Two supplementary volumes were afterwards added to the work. The fourth edition, under the editorship of Dr. James Miller, was finished in 1810, enriched by several scientific treatises and many valuable articles by William Wallace, professor of mathematics in the University of Edinburgh. The next two editions were nearly nominal reprints; but the supplement projected by Mr. Constable contained contributions from many of the most ♦eminent writers of the time――Sir Walter Scott, Jeffrey, James Mill, Dr. Thomas Young, Playfair, Leslie, Mackintosh, Dugald Stewart,¹ M. Arago, M. Biot, and others. The seventh edition under the editorship of Mr. Napier, ably assisted by Dr. James Browne, was completed in 1842, in twenty-one volumes; and contained many new and valuable articles, along with the supplements mentioned above. The eighth edition of this great national work was completed in 1861; and the ninth edition, under the editorship of accomplished and learned gentlemen, was completed in 1888.

♦ “emiment” replaced with “eminent”

¹ Large sums were paid to some of these writers for their
Dissertations and Articles. Dugald Stewart was to receive
£1000 for his _Dissertation on Metaphysical Philosophy_,
and Playfair for one on the _Progress of Natural Philosophy_
£500; Stewart actually received £1600, and Playfair would
have received an additional £500 had he lived to complete
his Dissertation. Such large sums had never before been
given for literary work in Scotland.

The _Edinburgh Encyclopædia_, under the editorship of Sir David Brewster, was commenced in 1808, and completed in 1830, in eighteen quarto volumes. The scientific portions of this work are valuable, and were long highly appreciated.

The first edition of _Chambers’ Cyclopædia of English Literature_ was published in 1843; and several revised and enlarged editions have since been issued, in two large volumes. It is a useful and generally accurate work. The later editions had the benefit of the extensive information and the fine literary taste of the late Mr. Robert Carruthers, of Inverness, who thoroughly revised the whole work. The Messrs. Chambers have also published an _Encyclopædia_, which is very highly esteemed as a work of reference. A new and revised edition of this excellent work has just been completed.

So much for the modern literature of Scotland.