deed, a very wild and unreflecting enterprize, and it was a very fortunate circumstance that we failed in our attempt to overtake them, as a stroke from the tail of one of these enormous fish would have dashed the canoe to pieces.'-The sight of the whales sufficiently demonstrated the neighbourhood of the sea: but we do not find any mention of experiments being made to determine whether the water, on which they navigated, was in any degree salt or brackish. The spot whence the whales were seen was named, by the author, Whale Island, and is nearly in the same latitude (but 20 degrees more to the west) as the part of the north coast whence Mr. Hearne, in 1771, saw the sea. The return to the south by the same river (Mackenzie's river) was a business of much more labour and fatigue than the voyage to the sea, since they had to mount against a strong stream, which required constant exertion of paddling, or of tracking with a line on shore. In one part of the river, where the breadth from shore to shore did not exceed 300 yards, the fathoms. depth of water was 50 Most of the Indians seen by Mr. M. to the northward were at variance with the Esquimaux, whom they represented as being cruel and treacherous: but from these Esquimaux the author learned that, eight or ten winters ago, they had seen large canoes to the westward, full of white men, from whom they had obtained iron in exchange for leather.' From other information, imperfectly understood, he had reason for conjecturing that the body of water or sea, into which Mackenzie's river discharges itself at Whale Island, communicates with Norton Sound. It will easily be credited that hard travelling in a cold climate is an excellent stimulant to the appetite; and the following instance is here related: We had consumed two rein deer, four swans, forty-five geese, and a considerable quantity of fish, in six days: but it is to be considered we were ten men and four I have always observed that the North men possessed very hearty appetites, but they were much exceeded by those with me, since we entered this river. I should really have thought it absolute gluttony in my people, if my own appetite had not increased in a similar proportion.' women. In the return, a serious dispute took place between the author and the Indians of his party; and, in order to prevent it from growing to a quarrel, he says, 'I sent for the English Chief to sup with me; and a dram or two dispelled all his heartburning and discontent. He informed me that it was a custom with the Chepewyan chiefs to go to war after they had shed tears, to wipe away the disgrace attached to such a feminine weakness." On On Saturday, September 12th, at three in the afternoon, the voyagers arrived in safety at Chepewyan Fort, whence they had commenced their progress; and here concluded this voyage, which had occupied the considerable space of one hundred and two days.' Here, also, after an account of so much hazard and labour, it may not be unacceptable to give our readers and ourselves a little rest, before we enter on Mr. Mackenzie's second voyage. [To be continued.] ART. II. Account of the Life and Writings of William Robertson, D.D. A NATURAL and laudable curiosity is felt with regard to the incidents of a life which has been spent in enlarging the knowlege and promoting the welfare of mankind. When a writer has rendered himself deservedly popular by his pro ductions, we wish to be informed of some particulars relative to the man; we are desirous of being made acquainted with his favourite pursuits, and of learning whether his conduct in private life intitled him to our respect equally with his public exertions. With such sentiments and feelings, we commenced the perusal of the present volume; the subject of which, and the respectability of its writer, Professor Dugald Stewart, invest it with strong claims to our attention.—It opens with a short account of Doctor Robertson's family; in which we are informed that he was the son of the Reverend William Robertson, minister of the Old Gray Friars church,. and of Eleanor Pitcairn, daughter of David Pitcairn, Esquire, of Dreghorn; that he was born in 1721; and that till the year 1759, when, by his publication of his Scottish History, he fixed a new era in the literary annals of his country, the habits and occurrences of his life were such as to supply few materials for biography; and the ima ination is left to fill up a long interval spent in the silent pursuit of letters, and enlivened by the secret anticipation of future eminence.' Three clubs, to which Doctor Robertson belonged, are particularly mentioned by his Biographer. One, which was called the Rankinean club, from the name of the person in whose tavern, its meetings were held, had carried on a private correspondence with Doctor Berkeley, the celebrated Bishop of Cloyne, on the subject of his metaphysical publications; and its members are said to have been numbered by him among the few who completely comprehended the scope of his reason ings Another was formed ings against the existence of matter. with the view of cultivating the study of elocution, and preparing the members of it, by habits of extemporaneous discussion and debate, for conducting the business of popular assemblies. A third was called the Select Society; and among those who belonged to it we find the names of Doctor Robertson, Doctor Adam Smith, Lord Rosslyn, Lord Kaims, Mr. Ramsay the painter, Mr. John Home, Doctor Carlyle, Mr. Andrew Stewart, Sir Gilbert Elliott, and Lord Alemoor. To this institution, Doctor Robertson contributed his most zealous support. The first publication of Dr. R. was a sermon preached in 1755 before the Society for propagating Christian knowlege; and his history of Scotland was presented to the world on the 1st of February 1759. The biographer informs us that this work was received with unbounded applause; and he presents us with extracts from several congratulatory letters addressed to the Author on this occasion. That which was written by Mr. Gar rick is so truly characteristic of our old Friend's manner, that we cannot refrain from transcribing it: • Mr. Garrick, beside writing to Millar, addressed himself directly to the Author. Upon my word, I was never more entertained in all my life; and though I read it aloud to a friend and Mrs. Garrick, I finished the three first books at two sittings. I could not help writing to Millar, and congratulating him upon this great acquisition to his literary treasures.-I will assure you that there is no love lost (as the saying is) between you and Mrs. Garrick. She is resolved to see Scotland as soon as my affairs will permit: nor do I find her inclination in the least abated, though I read your Second Book (in which her religion is so exquisitely handled) with all the malevolent exertion I was master of-but it would not do; she thinks you right even in that, and still resolves to see Scotland. In short, if she can give up the Pope and his trumpery so readily to you, what must her poor husband think? I shall keep in England, I assure you; for you have convinced me how difficult it is to contend with the Scots in their own country." We are much pleased with the following remarks of the Biographer: The peculiar circumstances of Scotland, since the union of the crowns, are extremely apt to warp our ideas with respect to its previous History. The happy but slow effects produced by the union of the kingdoms do not extend beyond the memory of some of our contemporaries; and the traditions we have received concerning the condition of our immediate predecessors are apt to impress us with a belief that, at a still more early period, a proportionally less degree of civilization prevailed. It requires an effort of reflection to conceive the effects which must have resulted from the residence of a court; and it is not, perhaps, casy for us to avoid underrating the importance importance of that court while it existed. During the long and intimate intercourse with England, which preceded the disputed succession between Bruce and Baliol, it was certainly not without its share of that "barbaric pomp" which was then affected by the Euglish Sovereigns; nor, under our later kings, connected as it was with the court of France, could it be altogether untinctured with those envied manners and habits, of which that country has been always regarded as the parent soil, and which do not seem to be the native growth of either part of our island. These circumstances, accordingly, appear to have operated so powerfully on the higher orders, that, even in their own vernacular tongue, their compositions do not suffer by a comparison with the style of their English contemporaries; and at the æra when Dr. Robertson's History closes, some of the purest and most correct performances of the age may be selected from the correspondence of our Scottish statesmen. This æra was followed by a long and melancholy period, not less fatal to genius than to morals; and which had scarcely arrived at its complete termination, when Dr. Robertson appeared as an Author; aspiring at once to adorn the monuments of former times when Scotland was yet a kingdom, and to animate his countrymen by his example, in reviving its literary honours,' It appears that Dr. Robertson was long in determining what he should next undertake. Several subjects were suggested to him by his friends: but two appear to have divided his choice, the History of Greece,-and that on which he finally decided, the History of the Emperor Charles the Fifth. We agree with Professor Stewart, that this was A determination not less fortunate for the public than for his own fame; as it engaged him, unexpectedly perhaps, in a train of researches not confined to the period, or to the quarter of the globe, that he had originally in view; but which, opening, as he advanced, new and more magnificent prospects, attracted his curiosity to two of the greatest and most interesting subjects of speculation in the History of Human Affairs; the enterprises of modern ambition in the Western World, and the traces of antient wisdom and arts existing in the East.' We think that our readers will not be displeased with the following extract from a letter written to Dr. Robertson by Mr. Hume, who perused the History of Charles the Fifth while the sheets were in the press: "You know that you and I have always been on the footing of finding in each other's productions something to blame, and something to commend; and therefore you may perhaps expect also some seasoning of the former kind; but really neither my leisure nor inclination allowed me to make such remarks, and I sincerely believe you have afforded me very small materials for them. However, such particulars as occur to my memory I shall mention. Maltreat is a Scotticism which occurs once. What the devil had you to do with that old-fashioned dangling word wherewith? I should as soon take back shereupon, whereupon, whereunto, and wherewithal. I think the only tolerable, decent gentleman of the family is wherein; and I should not choose to be often seen in his company. But I know your affection for wherewith proceeds from your partiality to Dean Swift, whom I can often laugh with, whose style I can even approve, but surely can never admire. It has no harmony, no eloquence, no ornament; and not much correctness, whatever the English may imagine. Were not their literature still in a somewhat barbarous state, that Author's place would not be so high among their classics. But what a fancy is this you have taken of saying always an hand, an heart, an head? Have you an ear? Do you not know that this (n) is added before vowels to prevent the cacophony, and ought never to take place before (h) when that letter is sounded? It is never pronounced in these words: why should it be wrote? Thus, I should say, a history, and an historian; and so would you too, if you had any sense. But you tell me, that Swift does otherwise. To be sure there is no reply to that; and we must swallow your hath too upon the same authority. I will see you d-d sooner.-But I will endeavour to keep my temper. "I do not like this sentence in page 149. This step was taken in consequence of the Treaty Wolsey bad concluded with the Emperor at Brussels, and which had hitherto been kept secret. Si sic omnia dixisses, 1 should never have been plagued with hearing your praises so often sounded, and that fools preferred your style to mine. Certainly it had been better to have said, Which Wolsey, c. That relative ought very seldom to be omitted, and is here particularly requisite to preserve a symmetry between the two members of the sentence. You omit the relative too often, which is a colloquial barbarism, as Mr. Johnson calls it. "Your periods are sometimes, though not often, too long. Suard* will be embarrassed with them, as the modish French style runs into the other extreme." Mr. Hume's objection to the omission of relatives might be applied to great numbers of writers, of all ranks, all descriptions, and all periods; and we agree with him completely in the force of his censure on this inelegant and inaccurate practice. After an interval of eight years from the publication of this work, Dr. Robertson produced his History of America; and on this occasion, also, the biographer has inserted various congratulatory letters which the Doctor received from several persons, whose names render their judgments of men and books objects of public curiosity.' That which was addressed to him by Mr. Gibbon has been already published by Lord Sheffield, in his memoirs of Mr. G.; and Professor Stewart observes that the copy of it, found among Dr. Robertson's papers, corresponds verbatim with that which Mr. Gibbon appears to * M. Suard was the French translator of Dr. R.'s History. |