lock, who was present with Mr. Gordon and a numerous company of his friends, who dined with him on the occasion. It merits notice, both as a curious fact relative to the state of the mind in sleep, and on account of the just and elegant compliment with which it concludes.

"Dr. Blacklock, one day, harrassed by the censures of the populace, whereby not only his reputation but his very existence was endangered, and fatigued with mental exertion, fell asleep after dinner. Some hours after, he was called upon by a friend, answered his salutation, rose and went with him into the dining room, where some of his companions were met. He joined with two of them in a concert, singing, as usual, with taste and elegance, without missing a note, or forgetting a word; he then went to supper, and drank a glass or two of wine. His friends, however, observed him to be a little absent and inattentive; byand-by he began to speak to himself, but in so low and confused a manner as to be unintelligible. last, being pretty forcibly roused, he awoke with a sudden start, unconscious of all that had happened, as till then he had continued fast asleep." Dr. Cleghorn adds with great truth, after relating this fact: "No one will suspect either the judgment or the veracity of Dr. Blacklock. All who knew him bear testimony to his judgment; his fame rests on a better foundation than fictitious narratives; no man more delights in, or more strictly adheres, to the truth on all points."

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With a very slender provision, he removed, in 1764, to Edinburgh; and to make up by his industry a more comfortable and decent subsistence, he adopted the

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plan of receiving a certain number of young gentlemen, as boarders, into his house; whose studies in languages and philosophy he might, if necessary, assist. In this situation he continued till 1787; when he found his time of life and state of health required a degree of repose, which induced him to discontinue the receiving of boarders.

In the occupation which he thus exercised for so many years of his life, no teacher was perhaps, ever more agreeable to his pupils, no master of a family to its inmates, than Blacklock. The gentleness of his manners, the benignity of his disposition, and that warm interest in the happiness of others, which led him so constantly to promote it, were qualities that could not fail to procure him the love and regard of the young gentlemen committed to his charge; while the society, which esteem and respect for his character and genius often assembled at his house, afforded them an advantage rarely to be found in establishments of a similar kind. In the circle of his friends, he appeared entirely to forget the privation of sight, and the melancholy which at other times it might produce.

He entered, with the cheerful playfulness of a young man, into all the sprightly narrative, the sportive fancy, and the humorous jest that rose around him. It was highly gratifying to philanthropy, to see how much a mind endowed with knowledge, kindled by genius, and above all lighted up with innocence and piety like Blacklock's, could overcome the weight of its own calamity, and enjoy the content, the happiness, and the gaiety of others. Several of those inmates of his house were students of physic from

England, Ireland, and America, who retained, in future life, all the warmth of that impression which his friendship at this early period had made upon them; and in various quarters of the world he had friends and correspondents, from whom no length of time nor distance of place, had ever estranged him. Among his favourite correspondents may be reckoned Dr. Tucker, Author of "The Bermudian," a poem, and "The Anchoret; " and Dr. Downman, author of "Infancy" a poem, and other ingenious performances.

In 1766, upon the unsolicited recommendation of his friend Dr. Beattie, the degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred on him by the University of Aberdeen.

In 1767, he published "Paraclesis, or Consolation deduced from Natural and Revealed Religion," in two dissertations. The first, supposed to have been composed by Cicero, now rendered into English; the last originally written by Thomas Blacklock, D.D. in 8vo.

His motive (he tells, in a letter to a friend prefixed to this work,) for translating the first, and writing the last treatise on Consolation was to alleviate the pressure of repeated disappointments, to soothe his anguish for the loss of departed friends, to elude the rage of implacable and unprovoked enemies, and to support his own mind, which for a number of years, besides its literary difficulties, and its natural disadvantages, had maintained an incessant struggle with fortune. Of the Dissertation ascribed to Cicero, he endeavours to prove the authenticity; but his arguments are by no means satisfactory. The generality of critics have questioned its authenticity. Dr.

Middleton, in his Life of Cicero, says it is undoubtedly spurious. The translation is well executed; it is both faithful and elegant. The second Dissertation is mostly taken up with a clear and succinct view of the evidence of Christianity, the professed subject of it; the consolation derived from revealed religion is touched upon towards the conclusion, though at no great length.

In 1768, he published, without his name, two Discourses on the Spirit and Evidences of Christianity. The former preached at the Hague, the 8th Sep. 1762; the latter delivered in the French Church at Hanau, on the occasion of the late peace, to a congregation composed of Catholics and Protestants. It was translated from the original French of the Rev. James Armand, Minister of the Walloon Church in Hanau, and dedicated by the translator to the Rev. Moderator of the General Assembly. The Dedication, which is a long one, is chiefly intended for the perusal of the Clergy of the church of Scotland, but deserves the attentive consideration of all who are intended for, or engaged, in the work of the ministry. The observations it contains are judicious and pertinent; the style is sprightly and animated; and the spirit it breathes, though sometimes remote from that charity which on other occasions he so eloquently enforced and so generally practised, is the spirit of benevolence and love to mankind. The discourses themselves are lively and animated, and the style of the translations clear, nervous, and spirited.

In 1773, he published at Edinburgh a poem entitled, "A Panegyric on Great Britain," in 8vo. This

poem, which is a kind of satire on the age, exhibits shrewdness of observation, and a sarcastic vein, which might have fitted him for satirical composition, had he chosen to employ his pen more frequently on that branch of poetry.

In music, both as a judge and a performer, his skill was considerable; nor was he unacquainted with its principles as a science. Whether he composed much is uncertain, but there is published in the Edinburgh Magazine and Review, for 1774, "Absence," a Pastoral, set to music by Dr. Blacklock; and those who have heard him sing will, upon perusal of this little piece, have the idea of his manner and taste strikingly recalled to their recollection.

The same year he published the " Grabam," a heroic ballad, in four Cantos, 4to. It was begun, he tells us in the advertisement prefixed to it, and pursued by its author to divert wakeful and melancholy hours, which the recollection of past misfortunes, and the sense of present inconveniences, would otherwise have severely embittered.

The professed intention of his "Graham," is to cherish and encourage a mutual harmony between the inhabitants of South and North Britain. To this end he has exhibited, in strong colours, some parts of those miseries which their ancient animosities had occasioned. His "Graham" is an affecting story, in which love and jealousy have a principal share. The narration is animated and agreeable; the fable is beautifully fancied, and sufficiently perspicuous; the characters are boldly marked; the manners he paints suit the times to which he refers, and the moral is