through a distinguished career at college, he was at the same time employed in training the young privately in the knowledge of the classics; and many of these pupils, as well as the numerous host of their successors, exhibit, in the part which they now take in life, the results of his care and learning.

"Towards the close of 1822, Dr Boyd removed to Edinburgh, where, for the period of three years, he maintained himself by private tuition. In 1825, he became a candidate for the office of House-Governor in George Heriot's Hospital, Edinburgh--the patronage of which is vested in the Clergy and in the Magistrates and Town Council of that city.

"Regarding the admirable manner in which Dr Boyd performed the delicate and arduous duties of his important charge, I cannot do better than quote the words of the minute of the Governors, when, in accepting his resignation on 29th August 1829, they felt it to be their duty to record their strong sense of the value of his services to the Hospital. They bore their willing and grateful testimony to the intelligence and firmness with which he carried into execution the new plan of internal management introduced at the time of his election: to the union of kindliness and energy which had secured for him the respect and affection of the boys; and to the ability and zeal with which he had laboured in promoting the best interests of the Institution.'

"But the best testimony of all will be found in the recorded opinion of those who were educated within the walls of the Hospital, and who, in March 1839, thus wrote:- Every one familar with the affairs and state of the Hospital, at the period of Dr Boyd's connection with it, must recollect the singular renovation that was accomplished in its internal management from the time that he undertook its discipline. He made himself familiar with every detail; by coming closely into contact with the boys, acquainted himself with their habits, talents, and dispositions; improved their personal comforts; and substituted moral training and motive for the indiscriminate use of the rod. The inmates of the institution were no longer kept at that chilling distance from their teachers, which turned into fear or dislike the sentiment with which they regarded their superiors; but found their masters interesting themselves in their feelings, sharing often in their amusements, and cultivating their affections. While every department was regulated by the strictest discipline, it was without a tincture of severity. The moral habits of the boys were thoroughly corrected, and their religious training carefully and affectionately superintended.' As a further proof of the warm regard in which he was held by the pupils in the Hospital, they, at a later period, presented him with a portrait of himself, painted by the late Thomas Duncan, R.S.A., and engraved by William Douglas, both of whom were Old Heritors. The inscription on the gilt frame which surrounds it, is as follows:

PRESENTED.
TO

JAMES BOYD, Esq., LL.D.

Late House-Governor of George Heriot's Hospital, by his Pupils in that Institution, in testimony of their admiration of his character as a Gentlemen and a Scholar, and in grateful acknowledgement of their obligations to him as the Instructor of their youth and the Friend of their riper years.

Painted by Thomas Duncan, R.S.A.

1841.

"Dr Boyd held the office of House-Governor of the Hospital for nearly

four years, and before this period had expired, the University of Glasgow testified her sense of his merits by conferring upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws.

"In the autumn of 1829, a vacancy occurred in the staff of Classical Masters in the High School of Edinburgh, in consequence of the resignation of the late Mr Irvine, and Dr Boyd became a candidate for the appointment. On the unanimous recommendation of the College Committee, the Magistrates and Town-Council, by a majority of twenty-eight to one, on the 19th day of August, elected him to the office."

On the subject of Dr Boyd's professional qualifications :

6

"But on this subject, I shall adduce the testimony of one of his most distinguished pupils, the Rev. John Fowler, M.A., Cantab., at present Head-Master of the Grammar School of Lincoln. If,' says that distinguished scholar, to lay the foundation deep and sure-to bring out the latent talents of the young-to encourage them to aim at excellence, each in his own department and to communicate a certain enthusiasm in literary pursuits be among the first recommendations of a teacher, these, all Dr Boyd's former pupils can testify, were possessed by him in a very high degree. His own enthusiasm in his profession-his able instructions, no less ably applied -his solicitude for the progress of all his pupils—and the unvarying kindness of his demeanour-they will ever remember with respect and gratitude. No teacher ever took a more lively interest in those placed under his care, and no one was more successful in securing their affectionate regard; as is sufficiently shown by the fact that there is no one to whom, in after years, they were so apt to turn for counsel and advice, and no one by whom it was more cheerfully communicated.'

"Of Dr Boyd's literary talents and acquirements it seems hardly requisite to speak. The success with which his extensive labours in the field of classical and general literature have been crowned, is the best attestation which can be produced. These labours were confined to the editing of books serviceable to the profession of which he was for so many years one of the brightest ornaments. In the performance of his editorial functions, the Doctor displayed great critical acumen, unusual variety and exactness of knowledge, and extreme refinement of taste. In 1834 he prepared for the press an improved edition of Adam's Roman Antiquities,' which he rendered much more intelligible-because more readable, and, at the same time, more easy of reference-by separating explanatory matter from what was purely textual, and appending the former to each page in the shape of foot-notes. In addition to all these improvements, he added 12,000 questions, which have greatly enhanced the utility of the work for school poses; and which manifested not only high practical skill on the part of the editor, but an amount of labour which very few indeed would be prepared to face. The fact that, before his death, this work had been fifteen times reprinted, is the best testimony that can be recorded in its behalf. His other literary labours were, Potter's Grecian Antiquities; Anthon's Sallust,' with additional notes and examination questions; 'Anthon's Select Orations of Cicero,' with additional notes; Anthon's Horace,' with additional notes; Jacob's Greek Reader,' with additional matter; and, last of all, Bishop Porteous' Summary of the Evidences of Christianity, with definitions, synopses, and examination questions, supplied by the editor.

pur

"The affectionate respect which all his pupils entertained towards Dr Boyd, is evinced by the fact of so many Clubs having been formed in his honour by his Classes. The columns of the North British Advertiser every

year contain announcements of the annual re-unions of several of these. In the Crimea itself, during the time of the Russian war, two 'Boyd Clubs' were formed by British officers, in acknowledgment of their common relation to him as their preceptor.

"Within two months after Dr Boyd's death, a meeting of his former Pupils in the High School was held, with the view of expressing their sincere sorrow at his removal by death, and of recording in some permanent form their deep sense of his unwearied devotion to the interests of his Scholars. At that meeting it was resolved, that the most fitting mode of accomplishing this object was by instituting a Medal to bear the name of the 'Boyd Medal,' and to be annually presented to the Dux of the Class in the High School, taught by Dr Boyd's successor."

From these citations, our readers will be enabled to form a vivid idea of the great teacher and exemplary man who stamped an indelible image of himself on the minds of all with whom he was officially or socially connected. Our readers, we are persuaded, will also concur with us in thinking that Mr Colston's volume, though "printed for private circulation," ought to become public property, not only as a noble tribute to the memory of a beloved master, and as a testimony of affection for fellow pupils, but as an enduring monument of its author's clear intellect, refined taste, warm heart, and well-directed industry.

Biographical Outlines of English Literature. By DAVID PRYDE, M.A., English Master in George Watson's, and in the Merchant Maiden Hospital, Edinburgh. Edinburgh: Bell & Bradfute. 1862.

MR PRYDE'S volume is a school-book, and more than a school-book. For scholastic purposes it is admirably fitted, by its clear expression, its simple arrangement, its narrative form, and its apt selection of central facts. But the most matured student will read it with profit and delight, for the appreciative subtlety of its analysis, as well as for the poetic grace and unflagging animation of its style.

Mr Pryde divides the history of our literature into nine successive periods, each of which is marked out from the others by more or less definite characteristics, and is treated in a separate chapter.

The subjoined passages, relative to Shakespere, Tennyson, and Carlyle, furnish examples of the critical discernment, fine imagery, and precise diction which justify us in ranking Mr Pryde's "Outlines" with Professor Spalding's "History," and Dr Collier's "Biographical History of English Literature."

"The authors of this transition period may be likened to a company of travellers who, in their ascent from a narrow glen, have reached the summit of a spacious table-land. Behind them lay the gloomy valley of feudalism, with its frowning castles, its embattled armies, its jousts of chivalry, and its haunted forests, looming through the mist. Before them stretched the breezy upland of modern civilisation, illumined by the rising sun of Truth, adorned with fruitful farms and busy towns, and skirted by unexplored

fields of many a league in length. Some of them, like Spenser, fondly lingered over the romantic scenes which they had passed. Others, like Bacon, eagerly scanned the new prospect which had burst upon their gaze. And a few, like Shakespere, taking in both regions with one wide sweep of the eye, calmly viewed the one in the light of the other. At the same time, although they were all looking in different directions, they all felt an inspiration arising from their commanding position. Great thoughts and images crowded into their minds and filled their mouths with lofty and metaphorical language. So overwhelming was the throng that they had not time to select and arrange. Their creations were handed down to posterity, colossal, rugged, and unsymmetrical, like the unpremeditated visions of a prophet."

"It is scarcely possible to characterise the literary excellence of Shakespere. We cannot say of him, as we might say of any other author, that a certain one of his faculties towers above all the others. All his faculties are gigantic, and they are all equally gigantic. Searching discrimination of character, potent imagination, comprehensive judgment, profound meditation, ever-active sympathy, and a strong sense of the ludicrous, all act harmoniously together. The result is, that throughout his works there is a sustained power of description, and a harmonious blending of every possible excellence. The plots move onward with all the ease, dignity, and effect of real life. The characters appear, a large and motley throng, containing specimens from almost every class of men. At the same time, the stream of feeling is ever full and natural, changing most exquisitely with every change of circumstance. It would be possible to find in the pages of the great dramatist, an expression for almost every sentiment of the human heart.

"The mind of Shakespere, in fact, may be likened to a spacious highland lake, which all the influences of earth and air have combined to render peaceful and pellucid. Calmly and clearly it reflects within its bosom the forms of the overhanging universe, the ever-changing splendours of the firmament, the variegated landscape of rock and wood and mountain, and the crowds of faces that are conveyed across its waters in the pursuit of pleasure or of business. Even the weird hags that celebrate their orgies on its lonely shores, and the moon-lit fairies that trip along its surface, shed down their strange figures into this wonderful mirror. So distinct and vivid is the entire representation, that as we gaze upon it, we cannot say in what respect it differs from the real tangible world around us."

treated as mere

"Like Wordsworth, Tennyson is averse to the jar and whirl of public life. On the salary of his Laureateship, and with an additional pension of two hundred pounds, he has retired to his villa, embowered amid the orchards of the Isle of Wight. There, as in a sort of poetical dream land, he loiters about, with his soul attuned to catch the wandering breezes of inspiration. When any rare ideas come to him, he cherishes them fondly. They are not passing guests, but continue the inmates of his imagination until they take a form and colour from their radiant dwelling-place. In course of time, their figures become so clearly and sharply defined that it is difficult to give them adequate expression. Second-hand poetical phraseology would merely hide their graceful and delicate forms. With nice art, he labours to drape them in a simple and transparent garb of Saxon words. When he succeeds, as in his descriptions of scenery, the effect is striking, exquisite and graphic beyond all precedent. When he fails, as in some of his metaphysical musings, it is because the ideas are shadowy, and not because the language is obscure."

"From his isolated position, Carlyle has few sympathies in common with the ordinary herd of worldlings. Whatever falls short of his high ideal, he treats with pitiless indignation. Not expediency, but absolute right is what he demands. Life is far too earnest and dreadful to be trifled away. Many favourite pursuits he brands as quackeries, and many favourite opinions he denounces as shams. There are a few pithy maxims which are constantly coming up in his writings. Silence, according to him, is more expressive than speech. Action is more dignified than thought. Duty is more imperative than happiness. The true government is a system of hero-worship, and the true precept of life is not Know thyself,' but Know what thou canst work at.'

"Carlyle treats a subject with the strong and ungainly energies of a giant. With a mighty grasp he seizes it, and brings all his faculties to bear upon it. His memory heaps it with allusions. His imagination plays around it with the fitful gleams of poetry. His humour leaps over it with boisterous and whimsical gambols. Whatever is good, his love embraces with tenderness; and whatever is false his satire spurns and buffets with stormy indignation. His language, meanwhile, is singularly abrupt and uncouth. Outlandish Germanisms are introduced without the slightest explanation or apology. To form a graphic phrase, two very dissimilar words are often joined together, and appear as if they had been welded by the heat of his imagination. Some sentences are inverted and twisted into the most grotesque shapes. Others are mere rude fragments, and lie sprawling without a single leg to rest upon. Not a few stand all on fire with the ardours of eloquence, like masses of lava thrown out from a volcano. Interspersed among these are spaces blooming with the flowers of fancy, and shedding a beauty and fragrance over the whole rugged field.

"Yet with this strange clumsy style, Carlyle has achieved the greatest results. His biographies represent the spirit of a man's life with a vigour and completeness which have never been equalled in the present age; his Histories contain the best descriptions that have ever been given of the mainsprings and inner movements of great events; and his Miscellaneous Essays are inexhaustible store-houses, from which needy authors furnish themselves with fresh ideas and opinions."

ECCLESIASTICAL INTELLIGENCE.

Presentation. The Queen has been pleased to present the Rev. John M'Calman to the Church and parish of Inch, in the Presbytery of Stranraer and shire of Wigton, vacant by the death of the Rev. James Ferguson.

The Rev. Dr Watson was on Sabbath morning introduced to the ministerial charge of the East Church and Parish, Dundee, by the Rev. Dr Caird of Park Church, Glasgow. The Church was densely filled. Dr Watson himself officiated in the afternoon to a full audience.

The congregation of the East Church, Aberdeen-one of the most numerous in the Church of Scotland-at a meeting, unanimously resolved to apply to the Town Council, the patrons, to present the Rev. Colin M'Culloch, of Montrose, to that church and parish, vacant by the translation of the Rev. Robert Flint to Kilconquhar.

Died, at 3 Henderson Row, Edinburgh, on the 27th inst., the Rev. Andrew Bell, D.D., minister of Linlithgow, in the 39th year of his ministry.