not so old by several years. His pertinacious refusal to give any information on the subject of his age had never been overcome, and it remains a matter of conjecture. He had three sons and two daughters, of whom one only of each survived him; and of these the son, Mr. James Smith, died at York a few years after his father, and the daughter still lives at the same place, the consort of Mr. James Johnston. In his domestic relations he was invariably affectionate and kind; and it seems to have been his almost singular happiness to pass through a period of extreme agitation and distress-not as an unconcerned spectator, but a most interested and busy agent-with such buoyant cheerfulness and gamesome humour, as effectually guarded his heart and health from the corroding effects of those anxieties which brought the seriousness of old age before its time upon the spirits of most of his co-patriots, and drew down many of them to an early grave. |