manse "as a wild boy and fond of sport"-quick-tempered, yet warmly affectionate. His spirits were extremely buoyant -his love of outdoor pastimes unbounded; and speedily the lead among the boys of the manse was spontaneously and cheerfully accorded to him, on account of the generous inspiration which he threw into all the sports of the place, as well as of his indisputable superiority in all feats of physical strength and dexterity-whether running, leaping, swimming in the Calder, or daringly diving into the linn pool of a woodland burn," the glory of headers." "If touched by him, The inglorious football mounted to the pitch His interest in the manse and its inmates continued after he ceased to be under Dr Sommers's care. While in Edinburgh in 1806-7 he made frequent runs out to Midcalder, and he generally spent part of the long vacation there during the Oxford period of his life. He was cherished in the memory of the boys as the soul of the athletic sports of the place, and his arrival was always hailed with the greatest enthusiasm. In particular his feats of bodily strength excited the wondering admiration of the inmates of the manse. One of them relates that Hamilton has taken him upon his right hand, and allowed him to stand upon it as he held it out. Another of them remembers the kindly interest which the Oxonian took in the younger boys and their concerns. His sonorous reading of Homer, on one occasion, entranced a little fellow who knew no Greek. Observing the attention and eagerness of the youngster, who sat spellbound by his side, Hamilton took the trouble to teach him to repeat four or five of the odes of Anacreon. The following is his first letter from Midcalder to his mother: MIDCALDER, 1803. DEAR MOTHER, Mother, you have lost your wager, for I asked Mr Sommers and Mr Cruickshanks both, who both were B astonished at me asking such a question, as any child of ten years old knows that the sun is nearer us in winter than in summer; but to convince you still more, I, when I was looking over a French geography, saw this, which I shall copy to you: "En hiver le soleil est plus près de nous qu'en été de plus d'une million de lieues ;" which, for your information-for perhaps you have forgot your French-is this, "In winter the sun is nearer to us than in summer by more than a million of leagues." So, if you please, you may enclose the half-crown with the rest in my box, remembering to pay the carriage, for I am growing poorer, having only 11s. had forgot I wrote Tom with the letter before the last. Your affectionate son, 6 W. S. HAMILTON. After spending the latter portion of the summer at Midcalder, William, along with his brother, entered the University of Glasgow in session 1803-4. The younger brother attended as a regular student the Arts classes for three winters. "In his academical career," to borrow the words of the MS. notice already referred to, "he was more remarkable for ability than application, and the honours he carried off were in general those won by vigorous rather than continued effort. In the Blackstone examination' of his first year he distinguished himself by giving up an unprecedented complement of Latin authors, trusting, it must be confessed, to his general command of the language to carry him over more than one which he had never read. His power of Latin composition, both in verse and prose, which he owed in part to his English education, enabled him to obtain some easy triumphs in the language classes; in that of logic, the excellence and irregularity of his English essays obtained for him both the praise and the reprobation of the venerable professor. At this period he and another able and somewhat idle student were drawn together by a secret affinity of genius, and became inseparable companions. Their different destinations soon divided them, and they hardly ever met again in after life. This was Michael Scott, the author of Tom Cringle's Log,' &c." The inclination of the younger brother was towards the army as a profession; but this was opposed by his mother. He accordingly entered a mercantile house, first in Glasgow, and then in one of its branches in Liverpool. But for commercial life he had no taste or aptitude; and after a short trial of it, he was at length allowed to follow the bent of his inclination and enter the army. In 1810 he obtained, by purchase, a commission in the 29th Regiment, and had hardly joined when it was ordered out to Portugal, where he was immediately engaged in active service. In the battle of Albuera in the following May, the most sanguinary engagement which occurred during the war, the 29th was the leading regiment, and suffered in proportion. In this action a musket-bullet passed through his thigh, and for a time his life was in serious danger. After being a second time in the Peninsula, and also, on occasion of the war with the North American States, in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, his regiment was sent to France as part of the army of occupation. About 1818 he retired on half-pay, after which he lived chiefly in or near Edinburgh, and devoted himself to literature. * The elder brother having, before his removal to school in England, attended the junior Latin and Greek classes at the University, now, as a second-year student, joined the senior classes in those departments, and also the classes of Logic and Moral Philosophy. The Faculty of Arts in Glasgow at this period possessed several distinguished names. The Latin Chair was filled by Professor Richardson, whose predilection, however, was more towards polite letters than accurate scholarship. According to Captain Hamilton, speaking from his own early impressions in Cyril Thornton,' "Richardson's mind was thoroughly imbued with the beauties of Roman literature, and he was happy in the mode of communicating his instructions. In the Characters of Shake speare's Plays' he has left behind him a work which may serve as a model of elegant and philosophical criticism, and which, notwithstanding all that has since been written on the *Sir W. Hamilton's notes. subject, still maintains its place in our literature." The Greek Chair was occupied by John Young, a man of fine taste and ardent genius, in whom a verse or phrase of a Greek poet would suddenly enkindle a flame of enthusiastic eloquence. The younger of the two brothers appears to have been wonderfully impressed by the powers of the Greek Professor. Referring to his early enthusiasm for Young, he says: “Hę it was who made the strongest and most vivid impression on my youthful mind, and it is his image which is still imprinted there the most deeply and ineffaceably. That he was a profound and elegant scholar, I believe, has never been denied. No master ever ruled with more despotic sway the minds of his pupils. None ever possessed the art of communicating his knowledge so beautifully and gracefully, of transferring the glowing enthusiasm of his own mind into that of his audience. Nothing could be more captivating than the eloquence with which he treated of the liberty, the literature, and the glory of ancient Greece, while tears of enthusiasm rolled down his cheeks. He was naturally a great and effective orator; and had his powers been called into action in a different field, he might have added something to our scanty and imperfect records of national eloquence. It has always seemed to me that his mind bore some resemblance to that of Burke. Like Burke, he felt all the influence of the spells he cast on others, and his own heart trembled at the images of dread or beauty which he conjured up from the depth of his imagination."+ That the elder brother caught something of Young's spirit, and imbibed from him a taste for the study of the Greek language and literature, we may infer from what he says in his letters from Oxford. The Chair of Logic was occupied by George Jardine, whose teaching, though not dealing much with the proper questions of philosophy, was well The epitaph on the monument to Professor Young in the Cathedral of Glasgow was, at the request of his family and friends, composed by Sir William Hamilton, in 1824. fitted to awaken and discipline the powers of young minds, and afford general education and culture. Professor Jardine's careful practical training, especially in the composition of essays and exercises, gave a distinctive character and reputation to the Logic Chair in Glasgow for more than a quarter of a century. Hamilton always referred to Professor Jardine with respect, and acknowledged with gratitude the benefit he had derived from his instructions. When he himself was appointed to the Chair of Logic in Edinburgh, his early class. arrangements were, to some extent, professedly modelled on those of his former teacher.* In the Chair of Moral Philosophy, vacated by Reid in 1796, James Mylne discoursed with clearness and force of a sensational philosophy and an utilitarian ethic. Mylne was an able expounder of the doctrines he taught, and by him Hamilton was first introduced to the theories of Condillac and De Tracy. In the classes of Logic and Moral Philosophy Hamilton was greatly distinguished, having in each carried off the highest honour of the year, which was then, as now, awarded by the votes of the members of the class. In the summer of 1804, after leaving College, we find him, as usual, residing at Midcalder. In the following letter of Dr Sommers to his mother, we have a glimpse of the character of the young student, and of the nature and order of the studies. which he pursued in the holidays. These seem to have been chiefly supplementary to the work at College: MIDCALDER, 21st May 1804. DEAR MADAM,As he [Andrew Stirling] is further advanced in figures than William, I am persuaded that it will be a material advantage to make him exert himself to get up with him ; and William has no small share of emulation about him, although I have not yet been able to make him give his whole mind to this study. In his other studies he seems to have much more pleasure. Andrew and he are, for some time at least, to go on together accord * See Lectures, vol. i. p. 389. |