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is as pleasant and commodious as I could wish it to be, with a very pretty garden, which joins to that of the Queen's Lodge. The next morning her Majesty sent one of her ladies to know how I had rested, and how I was in health, and whether her coming would not be troublesome? You may be sure I accepted the honour, and she came about two o'clock. I was lame, and could not go down, as I ought to have done, to the door; but her Majesty came up stairs, and I received her on my knees. Our meeting was mutually affecting; she well knew the value of what I had lost, and it was some time after we were seated (for she always makes me sit down) before we could either of us speak. It is impossible for me to do justice to her great condescension and tenderness, which were almost equal to what I had lost. She repeated, in the strongest terms, her wish, and the King's, that I should be as easy and as happy as they could possibly make me; that they waved all ceremony, and desired to come to me like friends. The Queen delivered me a paper from the King, which contained the first quarter of L. 300 per annum, which his Majesty allows me out of his Privy Purse. Their Majesties have drank tea with me five times, and the Princesses three. They generally stay two hours, or longer. In short, I have either seen or heard from them every day. I have not yet been at the Queen's Lodge, though they have expressed an impatience for me to come."

A subsequent letter says

"The daily marks of royal favour (which, indeed, should rather be termed friendly) cannot be arranged in a sheet of paper; they are bestowed most graciously, and received most gratefully, and with such consideration as to banish that awe, which otherwise would be painful to me; and my sensations, when I am in their company, are respect, admiration, and affection. I have been several evenings at the Queen's Lodge, with no other company but their own most lovely family. They sit round a large table, on which are books, work, pencils, and paper. The Queen has the goodness to make me sit down next to her; and delights me with her conversation, which is informing, elegant, and pleasing, beyond description, whilst the younger part of the family are drawing and working, &c. &c. the beautiful babe, Princess Amelia, bearing her part in the entertainment; sometimes in one of her sisters' laps, sometimes playing with the King on the carpet; which, altogether, exhibits such a delightful scene, as would require an Addison's pen, or a Vandyke's pencil, to do justice to. In the next room is the band of music, who play from eight o'clock till ten. The King generally

directs them what pieces of music to play, chiefly Handel's.""

The following amiable traits prove at once the desert of the author (in her 86th year) and the goodness of her royal patrons.

"My own health is very tolerable, though subject to attacks of faintness and nervous disorders, that sometimes, I fear, may alarm my friends: I would fain lessen my anxiety, and leave them to think calmly of that hour, which, I thank God, appears to me without terror: the deprivation of the friends we have loved best, and the falling off of many for whom we have a great regard, casts such a melancholy gloom as to make one long for eternity; humbly beseeching the Almighty to make me fit for the change: but there are times, I assure you, when that gloom is dispelled, and my heart is relieved and warmed by the very kind attentions of my friends of all degrees; and my greatest distress is, that I feel such an overflowing of gratitude as cannot be expressed.

"It is impossible for me to enumerate the daily instances I receive from my royal friends, who seem unwearied in the pursuit of making me as happy as they can. I am sure you must be very sensible how thankful I am to Providence for the late wonderful escape of his Majesty from the stroke of assassination; indeed, the horror that there was a possibility that such an attempt would be made, shocked me so much at first, that I could hardly enjoy the blessing of such a preservation. The King would not suffer any body to inform the Queen of that event, till he could show himself in person to her. He return ed to Windsor as soon as the council was over. When his Majesty entered the Queen's dressing-room, he found her with the two eldest Princesses; and, entering in an animated manner, said, Here I am, safe and well!' The Queen suspected from this saying that some accident had happened, on which he informed her of the whole affair. The Queen stood struck and motionless for some time, till the Princesses burst into tears, in which she immediately found relief by joining with them. Joy soon succeeded this agitation of mind, on the assurance that the person was insane that had the boldness to make the attack, which took off all aggravating suspicion; and it has been the means of showing the whole kingdom, that the King has the hearts of his subjects. I must tell you a particular gracious attention to me on the occasion :Their Majesties sent immediately to my house to give orders I should not be told of it till the next morning, for fear the agitation should give me a bad night. Dowager Lady Spencer was in the house with me, and went with me to early prayers,

next morning at eight o'clock; and, after chapel was over, she separated herself from me, and had a long conference with the King and Queen, as they stopped to speak to her on our coming out of chapel. When we returned to breakfast, I taxed her with her having robbed ine of an opportunity of hearing what their Majesties said to her, by standing at such a distance. She told me it was secret; but she had now their permission to tell me what it was, and then informed me of the whole affair.

"I was commanded in the evening to attend them at the Lodge, where I spent the evening; the happiness of being with them not a little increased by seeing the fulness of joy that appeared in every countenance."

"One little anecdote of the Queen struck me, as a stronger instance of her real tender feeling towards our dear old friend, than all her bounties or honours. As soon as the Duchess of Portland died, Mrs Delany got into a chaise to go to her own house; the Duke followed her, begging to know what she would accept of that belonged to his mother. Mrs Delany recollected a bird that the Duchess always fed and kept in her own room, desired to have it, and felt towards it as you must suppose. In a few days she got a bad fever, and the bird died; but for some hours she was too ill even to recollect her bird. The Queen had one of the same sort, which she valued extremely, (a weaver bird.) She took it with her own hands, and, while Mrs Delany slept, had the cage brought, and put her own bird into it, charging every one not to let it go so near Mrs Delany as that she could perceive the change, till she was enough recovered to bear the loss of her first favourite. This requires no comment, as it speaks strongly for itself."

At a royal visit to Bulstrode, Mrs Delany tells us-

"I kept my distance till she called me to ask some questions about the mosaic paper work, and, as I stood before her Majesty, the King set a chair behind me. I turned with some confusion and hesitation

on receiving so great an honour, when the Queen said, Mrs Delany, sit down, sit down; it is not every lady that has a chair brought her by a king;'- so I obeyed. Amongst many gracious things, the Queen asked me why I was not with the Duchess when she came, for I might be sure she would ask for me?' I was flattered, though I knew to whom I was obliged for the distinction, (and doubly flattered by that.) I acknowledged it in as few words as possible, and said I was particularly happy at that time to pay my duty to her Majesty, as it gave me an opportunity of seeing so many of the Royal Family, which age and obscurity had deprived me of. Oh but,' says her Majesty, you have not seen all my children yet; upon which the King

came up and asked what we were talking about?' which was repeated; and the King replied to the Queen, You may put Mrs Delany into the way of doing that, by naming a day for her to drink tea at Windsor Castle.' The Duchess of Portland was consulted, and the next day fixed upon, as the Duchess had appointed the end of the week for going to Weymouth.—

"We went at the hour appointed, seven o'clock, and were received in the lower private apartment at the Castle: went through a large room with great bay windows, where were all the Princesses and youngest Princes, with their attendant ladies and gentlemen. We passed on to the bedchamber, where the Queen stood in the middle of the room, with Lady Weymouth and Lady Charlotte Finch. (The King and the eldest Princes had walked out.) When the Queen took her seat, and the ladies their places, she ordered a chair to be set for me opposite to where she sat, and asked me if I felt any wind from the door or window? It was indeed a sultry day.

"At eight the King, &c. came into the room, with so much cheerfulness and good humour, that it was impossible to feel any painful restriction. It was the hour of the King and Queen and eleven of the Princes and Princesses' walking on the terrace. They apologised for going, but said the crowd expected them; but they left Lady Weymouth and the Bishop of Lichfield to entertain us in their absence: we sat in the bay-window, well pleased with our companions, and the brilliant show on the terrace, on which we looked; the band of music playing all the time under the window.-When they returned we were summoned into the next room to tea, and the Royals began a ball, and danced two country dances, to the music of French horns, bassoons, and hautboys, which were the same that played on the terrace. The King came up to the Prince of Wales, and said he was sure, when he considered how great an effort it must be to play that kind of music so long a time together, that he would not continue their dancing there, but that the Queen and the rest of the company were going to the Queen's house, and they should renew their dancing there, and have proper music.

"I can say no more :-I cannot describe the gay, the polished appearance of the Queen's house, furnished with English ma

nufacture."

of these beautiful scenes, and shall onWe need not multiply the account from whom this selection is taken, that ly add, in the words of the Journalists we have been exceedingly affected by reading them, particularly under the existing circumstances of the royal house and country.

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OBSERVATIONS ON THE LITERATURE

Alexander Arbuthnot, who studied in

OF SCOTLAND IN THE AGE OF A. France, and was, in 1568, made Prin

MELVILLE.

"THE settlement of Melville at Glasgow forms an era in the literary history of Scotland." The confusions of the country had checked the study of letters introduced by the Reforma tion, so that a new impulse behoved to be given to the public mind, which the reputation of this highly gifted individual, fresh from the continental seminaries of the highest celebrity, served to impart. Under his authority improvements were introduced at Glasgow, which rapidly extended themselves over the kingdom. Classical learning, Biblical criticism, and universal history, were then cultivated with enthusiasm, all of which, before this period, were either entirely neglected or treated in the most super

ficial manner.

Before this period, however, there were eminent scholars in Scotland, among whom Buchanan was the most conspicuous; he, assisted by Peter Young, had the charge of the king, and of several young men of rank who were trained along with him. John Rutherford, who had studied in France, was at this time the most celebrated teacher of scholastic philosophy in Scotland. William Ramsay, Rutherford's colleague in St Andrews, cultivated polite letters along with divinity and philosophy. The teaching of Civil Law had commenced in Scotland at the Reformation; but in 1556 a pension was granted to Alexander Syme to be the Queen Regent's readér in Laws and Sciences in whatever place she might appoint. "William Skene was the first authorized to teach as a civilian at St Andrews, and to substitute the Institutes and Pandects in room of the sacred Canons and Decretals." Edward Henryson published several works, which made his name known to the learned. By his translations from the Greek he contributed to the diffusion of polite literature; and his law tracts are allowed to have considerable merit. One of the most distinguished of the men who then joined the study of polite letters to that of theology was

cipal of the University of Aberdeen. He was skilled in mathematics, medicine, law, and theology, and was withal a person of the most amiable manners. He published a work on the dignity of law. Thomas Smeton was the friend and associate of Melville. He studied abroad, where he became a convert to the tenets of the Reformed. He taught a school for a while in Essex, and was afterwards minister of Paisley. He was well acquainted with the ancient languages, wrote Latin with great purity, and composed in his native tongue with much propriety. Archbishop Adamson gave early proofs of his talents by the publication of several works; he was a polite scholar, an elegant poet, and a most persuasive and attracting preacher. Thomas Maitland was one of Melville's class-fellows, and the intimate friend of Arbuthnot and Smeton; and belonged to a family, even the females of which were addicted to literary pursuits. Maitland was a poet of no mean genius. John Davidson, the minister first of Libberton and then of Prestonpans, was also a poet, and drew upon himself some trouble by a poem on pluralities.

"Long before the Reformation all the principal towns had grammar schools in which the Latin language was taught." The vernacular tongue was cultivated at what were called

"lecture schools." After the Reformation the means of education were extended over the country; and where regular schools were not established, the readers in the churches taught the youth to read the catechism and the scriptures. The grammar school of Glasgow was founded at an early period of the fourteenth century, and depended on the Cathedral Church; that of Edinburgh was originally connected with Holyroodhouse, and the appointment of the teachers was transferred from the abbots to the magistrates of the city.

The University of St Andrews, the oldest and long the most celebrated in Scotland, was founded by Bishop Wardlaw in 1411, and was formed on the model of those of Paris and Bologna. Among its privileges was that of purchasing victuals free from cus

See Remarks on the Life of Melville tom within the city and regality of in our last Number.

VOL. VII.

the abbey. Its members were divid

C

ed into four faculties, according to the sciences that were taught. And, attracted by the novelty of the institution, or animated by a thirst for knowledge, students came to it from every part of the kingdom. Robert de Montrose gave a house to the students of theology; and Bishop Kennedy appropriated to the classes of philosophy certain buildings, which retained the name of the pædagogium, until it was erected into St Mary's College. King James I. who had received a good education during his captivity in England, confirmed the privileges of the University by a royal charter; and in 1450, Bishop James Kennedy founded the College of St Salvator. This new erection consisted of three professors of divinity, called the provost or principal, the licentiate, and the bachelor, four masters of arts, and six poor scholars. Two of the masters of arts were chosen annually as regents to teach logic, physics, and metaphysics. The College of St Leonard rose out of an ancient hospital for the reception of pious strangers within the precincts of the Abbey. The charter of foundation was executed by John Hepburn, prior of the Abbey, and confirmed by Archbishop Stewart and by King James IV. This College was intended for the support and education of twenty poor scholars. Besides these two Colleges, there were both professors and students who belonged to the pædagogium, and here George Buchanan and other celebrated individuals received their education. Archbishop Stewart intended to have given it a collegiate form, but fell in the field of Flowden before he had put his design into execution; nor was it erected into a College till 1554, when Archbishop Beaton obtained a Bull from Pope Julius III. authorizing him to alter at his pleasure the arrangements made by his predecessor. It now assumed the name of St Mary's College, and had four professors of divinity, namely, the provost, licentiate, bachelor, and canonist; eight students of theology; three professors of philosophy, and two of rhetoric and grammar, sixteen students of philosophy, a priveser, cook, and janitor. The principal was bound to lecture or preach every Monday, the licentiate four times a week, and the canonist five times a week on canon law. The

students of divinity were in priests orders, were obliged to attend the lectures regularly, and to preach three times a year in public.

"While the religious controversy was keenly agitated, the academical exercises were interrupted, and the number of students diminished." And on the triumph of the Reformation every thing connected with the Roman Catholic worship was removed; but the mode of teaching philosophy continued nearly on the former footing. All the students entering the College at the same time formed a class under the tuition of a regent, each of whom was in general bound to continue till he had taught two classes; but at St Andrews regents retained the profits of their situation till provided for in the church. The regular course of study lasted four years; the session began on the 1st of October and ended in August. The regent explained the books of Aristotle to his students three hours every day. The students were often employed in disputations; and the principal frequently read lectures, which all the students in the College were bound to attend. In the third year of their course they entered on trials for the degree of bachelor; and for laureation when they had completed their course. The examinations were similar in both cases, and were conducted by three regents, one being taken from each college. The exami nation for laureation extended to the whole circle of arts, and the candidate was obliged to defend a thesis.

The theological faculty assembled along with their students at the opening of the session, when an appropriate sermon was delivered. The bachelors and masters met and arranged the subjects of their lectures during the year. The scriptures for that end were usually divided into five parts, namely, the Pentateuch or Legal books-the Historical booksthe Sapiential books-the Prophetical books-and the books of the New Testament. The students were exercised once a week in theological exercises from the 1st of July to the end of September. The lectures were delivered by those students who were proceeding in their theological degrees. At the commencement of each part of their course they delivered a probatory discourse before the faculty,

which was viewed as a specimen of their mode of teaching. The lecturer first celebrated the wisdom of God displayed in the book on which he was to prelect-gave a summary of its contents-selected a particular passage-started a question, stating the opinions on either side-laid down and illustrated propositions-and finally solved objections. A lecturer on the legal books was called a cursory bachelor-on the prophetical bocks a formed bachelor-and on the New Testament a confirmed bachelor. Lectures composed by students of divinity of three years standing must, of course, have been far from recondite: the plan, however, was well fitted for exciting to industry, and afforded ample scope for the display of original talent, and acquired knowledge. The system of teaching was, however, soon remodelled and improved. Different schemes for that end were from time to time proposed, but none of them were adopted, till it was resolved to bring Melville from Glasgow. Robert Hamilton, provost of St Mary's, was enjoined by the General Assembly to demit that of fice, that its duties might not interrupt the discharge of those which devolved on him as minister of St Andrews. Two persons also of the name of Hamilton, in like manner, vacated their places in the same seminary, by avowing themselves Roman Catholics. The professors of law and mathematics in St Mary's College were transferred to that of St Salvator. And such of the regents as chose to remain were allowed to do so as bursars of theology. At this time several eminent men were connected with the University of St Andrews; but the number of students is supposed not to have exceeded two hundred.

It has already been observed, that Melville was installed as principal of St Mary's College in the month of December 1580. And it may here be noticed, that he held the situation up wards of twenty-six years. During that period the interests of learning and science advanced with a steady progress. Three of the Universities of Scotland were founded by patriotic prelates, that of Edinburgh," (says Dr M'Crie, who loves in his heart to have an opportunity of giving a blow to the bishops,) "owed its erection to the fall of Episcopacy." "In

66

the year 1579, when the General Assembly had attacked the Episcopal office, and drawn up the model of Presbytery, the design of founding a College in Edinburgh was revived." In the end of the year 1583, classes were opened under the patronage of the Town Council, and the sanction of a royal charter. By donations from individuals and public bodies, and a legacy bequeathed by Bishop Reid, the patrons were enabled to extend the benefits of the institution. Many stu dents resorted to it, and though it sustained a heavy loss in the death of Rollock, its principal, yet it was in a prosperous state when Melville was removed from Scotland. A school was established at Kirkwall by the munificence of Bishop Reid, for the benefit of the youth in his diocese: it was also in agitation to erect a college in the Orkney Islands. The same year in which Presbytery obtained a legal establishment, the foundation of a University was laid by Sir Alexander Frazer in the town of Frazerburgh. The Parliament ratified the institution, and Charles Ferme, a Regent in the College of Edinburgh, was chosen Principal; but a period was put to his labours, by his being imprisoned for keeping the General Assembly at Aberdeen, and it does not appear that he had any successor. About the same time, the Earl of Marischal endowed a College at Aberdeen, which had better success. These facts are sufficient to shew, that the public attention had been awakened to the importance of education, and that a strong passion for literary pursuits was felt through the nation.

land at this period, is another important "The resort of foreign students to Scotand interesting fact in the history of our national literature. Formerly no instance of this kind had occurred. On the contrary, it was a common practice for the youth of this country, upon finishing their course of education at one of our colleges, to go abroad, and prosecute their studies at one or more of the universities on the continent. Nor did any one think himself entitled to the honourable appellation of a learned man, vantages of a foreign to those of a domes who had not added the adthe education. But after the reformation of the universities of St Andrews and Glasgow, and the erection of the college of Edinburgh, this practice became gradually less frequent, until it ceased entirely ex

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