BOTANY CLASS.-JOHN ROBERTSON.

67

and politically. He offered to find an opening for my compositions, and suggested that I should prepare something as a specimen of my powers. I, accordingly, drew up a review of Sir John Herschel's Natural Philosophy, dwelling most upon its weak points. Robertson thought well of it, and showed it to Mill, who also spoke, so far, favourably of it. Robertson afterwards gave it to Dr. Arnott, who chanced to preserve it; and, on his death, it was found among his papers thus, after fifty years, I was able to take its measure.

Another important result of my seeing Robertson was my introduction as a reader to the London and London and Westminster Reviews, from the start of the London Review by Molesworth and Mill. There was in these a mass of entirely novel thinking, and I devoured the volumes greedily. Mill's political and other articles, as might be expected, had a wonderful fascination for me. My conceptions of poetry also were expanded through some of the articles, by the consideration of cadence and harmony, which were hitherto in the background in my theories. Several of Mill's own critical essays, and his Theory of Poetry, were, I think, in the volumes I then perused. His review of Tennyson I remember especially; yet, I could not find in

it critical principles, but rather an ipse dixit, after the manner of other critics, expressing his personal judgments from mere feeling.

The work of the recess included the finishing of the library catalogue for the Mechanics' Institution a tiresome job, but useful from giving enlarged acquaintance with the kind of books, mainly scientific, which the library contained.

My only other paying occupation was work for several weeks, two hours a day, in extending Dr. Ogston's lectures on Medical Jurisprudence, by engrossing book extracts which he had marked for being included in his MS. There was interesting matter here; and I find it put down in a memorandum that it practised my facility in handwriting of a thoroughly legible kind.

In the way of routine studies, I had frequent meetings with William Beverly, for Latin and Greek readings; with walks and talks superadded.

Still more stimulating was the companionship of David Masson-now a graduate (his course having been finished in April), and intending to study Divinity. He was already a deep thinker in matters of philosophy, literature, and theology; and, while I poured out my cogitations to him, he gave an encouraging attention, which was what I needed, and profited by. He also introduced me to the Theological Debating

Society, of which I could not be received as a member till I became a graduate. The debates were interesting, and were partly on theological topics and partly on the great Non-Intrusion controversy, which already had contracted burning intensity.

The chief local incident of the summer was the visit of Chalmers, to stir up the Church extension enthusiasm. I went to all his addresses, and was made a still more ardent devotee of his writings, which had been previously in my hands, as a study both of doctrine and of style. I was eagerly interested in all that he had done in Mental Philosophy, but made still more use of his methods of style, in so far as communicable. While touching everything with genius, he had carried the expository art of iteration to its very utmost extent, almost to caricature; but, for a certain stage of young men's progress, this was exceedingly valuable and impressive, being to me a permanent contribution to rhetorical method, even although greatly qualified by subsequent influences.

I have alluded to the companionship of David Smith as being very valuable to me. He was constantly suggesting points, chiefly in Divinity, which had the effect of drawing me out-seldom on the lines that he had introduced, but still in

very friendly debate. I have it recorded, that I pressed upon him a struggling notion of reducing divine influence on the mind to terms of purely human influence, without derogating from its peculiar source. He resisted the attempt, but failed to convince me of its erroneous or incompetent character. He was ardent and suggestive, although somewhat confused, as well as being limited by his predilections as a student in Theology; but we had many agreeable walks and talks, and I got from him notes and reports of the lectures of Dr. Mearns, whom I had no opportunity of hearing on Theology, but had reason to admire for his freshness and depth, as compared with what I encountered in my own Theology reading.

It was very difficult during this recess to prepare for the Mathematical Bursary competition, which took place at the opening of the ensuing session. The value of the bursary was £30 a year, for two years. The possibility of having a well-prepared rival made me feel anxious, seeing that my strength was fully used up with other tasks, and I could do very little in the way of special cramming. I could only make some feeble attempts at preparation in the evening hours.

To complete the work of this recess, I have only to add the preparation of a course of lectures

CHALMERS.-NATURAL PHILOSOPHY LECTURES. 71

on Natural Philosophy, which were to be given weekly during the next session, amounting to twenty in all. I fell back upon my former readings, augmented by Dr. Knight's course and by my usual severe analytic dissection and minute analysis, wherever that was applicable. This last operation came chiefly into play in the properties of matter, and in everything that involved atomic forces.

Winter Session, 1839-40.

The principal college work of this session was attending the Moral Philosophy class-which met fifteen hours a week. The professor, Dr. Glennie, was old and feeble. He had a young clergyman as his assistant, who did the work of the six hours weekly; while he himself took the remaining nine. His mode of teaching was a survival from the old University system,-of which he was probably the last example. morning hours, when the assistant officiated, were devoted to dictation, called by the old Scotch phrase, "diting". It consisted in slowly dictating a summary of the course, in consecutive composition. The substance had long been fixed, so that the student had to take down, word for word, the notes already in the possession

The