riod of thirteen years which I spent as a member of that fociety, I remember as by far the most useful, and therefore, as by far the happiest and most honourable period of my life; and now, after three and twenty years abfence, to be remembered in fo very agreeable a manner by my old friends and protectors, gives me a heart-felt joy which I cannot eafily exprefs to you."

fitted for the general commerce of the world, or for the business of active life. The comprehenfive fpeculations with which he had been occupied from his youth, and the variety of materials which his own invention continually fupplied to his thoughts, rendered him habitually inattentive to familiar objects, and to common occurrences; and he frequently exhibited inftances of abfence, which have fcarcely been furpaffed by the fancy of Bruyere. Even in company, he was apt to be engroffad with his studies; and appeared, at times, by the motion of his lips, as well as by his looks and geftures, to be in the fervour of compofition.

Of the intellectual gifts and attainments, by which he was fo eminently diftinguished;-of the originality and comprehensiveness of his views; the extent, the variety and the correctnefs of his information; the inexhauftible fertility of his invention; and the ornaments which his rich and beautiful ima- To the defect now mentioned, it was gination had borrowed from claffical cul- probably owing, in part, that he did not ture; he has left behind him lasting fall in eafily with the common dialogue monuments. To his private worth the of converfation, and that he was fomemost certain of all teftimonies may be what apt to convey his own ideas in the found in that confidence, refpect, and form of a lecture. When he did fo, attachment, which followed him through however, it never proceeded from a wish all the various relations of life. The to engrofs the difcourfe, or to gratify ferenity and gravity he enjoyed, under his vanity. His own inclination difpothe preffure of his growing infirmities, fed him fo ftrongly to enjoy in filence and the warm intereft he felt to the laft, the gaiety of those around him, that his in every thing connected with the wel- friends were often led to concert little fare of his friends, will be long remem- fchemes in order to bring him on the bered by a small circle, with whom, as fubjects most likely to intereft him. Nor his ftrength permitted, he regularly spent do I think I fhall be accused of going an evening in the week; and to whom too far, when 1 fay, that he was scarcethe recollection of his worth ftill forms ly ever known to start a new topic hima pleafing, though melancholy bond of felf, or to appear unprepared on those topics that were introduced by others. Indeed, his converfation was never more amufing than when he gave a loose to his genius, upon the very few branches of knowledge of which he only poffeffed the outlines.

union.

The more delicate and characteriftical features of his mind, it is perhaps impoffible to trace. That there were peculiarities, both in his manners, and in his intellectual habits, was manifeft to the moft fuperficial obferver; but altho' to those who knew him, thefe peculiarities detracted nothing from the refpect which his abilities commanded; and, although to his intimate friends, they added an inexpreffible charm to his converfation, while they difplayed, in the most interesting light, the artlefs fimplicity of his heart yet it would require a very fkilful pencil to prefent them to the public eye. He was certainly not

ed with the capacities of the intellect, premeditated judgments, to be too fyfand the workings of the heart, and tematical, and too much in extremes. accustomed, in his theories, to mark, with the most delicate hand, the niceft fhades, both of genius and of the paffions; yet, in judging of individuals, it fometimes happened, that his eftimates were, in a furprising degree, wide of

the truth.

The opinions, too, which, in the thoughtleinefs and confidence of his focial hours, he was accustomed to hazard on books, and on questions of fpeculation, were not uniformly fuch as might have been expected from the fuperiority of his understanding, and the fingular confiftency of his philofophical principles. They were liable to be influenced by accidental circumstances, and by the humour of the moment; and when re, tailed by those who only faw him occafionally, fuggefted falfe and contradictory ideas of his real fentiments. On thefe, however, as on most other occaGons, there was always much truth, as well as ingenuity, in his remarks; and if the different opinions which, at different times, he pronounced upon the fame fubje&t, had been all combined together, fo as to modify and limit each other, they would probably have afforded materials for a decifion, equally comprehenfive and juft. But, in the fociety of his friends, he had no difpofition to form thofe qualified conclufions that we admire in his writings; and he generally contented himself with a bold and masterly sketch of the object, from the first point of view in which his temper, or his fancy, prefented it. Something of the fame kind might be remarked, when he attempted, in the flow of his fpirits, to delineate those characters which, from long intimacy, he might have been fuppofed to understand thoroughly. The picture was always lively, and expreffive; and commonly bore a ftrong and amusing refemblance of the original, when viewed under one particular afpect; but feldom, perhaps, conseyed a juft and complete conception of it in all its dimenfions and proportions. In a word, it was the fault of his un

But, in whatever way thefe trifling peculiarities in his manners may be explained, there can be no doubt, that they were intimately connected with the genuine artleffnefs of his mind. In this amiable quality, he often recalled to his friends, the accounts that are given of good La Fontaine; a quality which in him derived a peculiar grace from the fingularity of its combination with thofe powers of reafon and of clequence, which, in his political and moral writings, have long engaged the admiration of Europe.

In his external form and appearance, there was nothing uncommon. When perfectly at eafe, and when warmed with converfation, his geftures were animated, and not ungraceful; and, in the fociety of thofe he loved, his features were often brightened with a fmile of inexpreffible benignity. In the company of ftrangers, his tendency to abfence, and perhaps ftill more his conciousness of this tendency, rendered his manner fomewhat embarrassed ;— an effect which was probably not a little heightened by thofe fpeculative ideas of propriety, which his reclufe habtis tended at once to perfect in his conception, and to diminish his power of realizing. He never fat for his picture; but the medallion of Taffie conveys an exact idea of his profile, and of the general expreffion of his countenance

The valuable library that he had collected he bequeathed, together with the reft of his property, to his coufin Mr David Douglas, Advocate. In the education of this young gentleman, he had employed much of his leifure; and it was only two years before his death, (at a time when he could ill spare the pleafure of his fociety,) that he had fent him to ftudy law at Glasgow, under the care of Mr Millar ;-the strongest proof he could give of his difinterested zeal for the improvement of his friend, as well as of the cfteem in which he * From this the engraving perfixed is taken, M 2 held

held the abilities of that eminent Profeffor.

The executors of his will were Dr Black and Dr Hutton, with whom he bad long lived in habits of the most in

timate and cordial friendship; and who, to the many other inftances which they had given him of their affection, added the mournful office of witnessing his laft moments.

SOME ACCOUNT OF ARTHUR YOUNG, ESQ.

SECRETARY TO THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

FEW writers have rendered fuch effential fervices to their country as the gentleman now under our confideration, whofe life has been devoted to the most ufeful pursuits; but whofe reward has not been equal to what might have been expected from the liberality of an opulent nation, and the advantages derived from his labours.

From an account published by himself, in a moment of depreffion, in a very use ful work. entitled, "Annals of Agri culture," we learn, that he was born at Bradfield, and defcended from a good family, which had refided on that fpot very near two hundred years, none of whom. except his father, had any thing to depend on but his land. He was a younger brother. About the year 1761 he began his farming purfuits upon the lands he at prefent occupies. "Young, eager, and totally ignorant," he fays, "trufting to a bailiff, who, I conceive now, merited no confidence, either for honesty or skill, it was not furprising that I fquandered much money under golden dreams of improvements; efpecially as I contracted a thirst for experiment, without the knowledge of what an experiment demands, and which a feries of proofs alone can give. In a few years a declining purfe, with fome domeftic difputes, from the mixture of fa milies, and the prudent caution of one of the best of mothers, to whofe memory my heart would be dead were it not to beat with a more than grateful remembrance, all together induced me to remove from Bradfield."

He then hired Sampford Hall, in Effex; but before he had taken poffeffion, was obliged to relinquish his agreement, from a difappointment in the loan of fome money he had expected. Failing

in this plan, he travelled about in search of a proper farm, and in the course of his journies laid the foundations of fome of his Tours. He at length fixed in Hertfordshire, where he refided nine years, making a great number of experiments, which have fince been publifhed.

Mr Young then returned to Bradfield, and his mother died foon after. By her death he came into poffeffion of the eftate he at present holds; and his lofs of fo excellent a parent he has regretted in very pathetic terms, fuch as do honour to his feelings as a man.

The writings of our author were at firft extremely fuccefsful, which induced him, as he candidly acknowledges, to write and print a great deal too much and too faft; being however in a good measure led to this by numerous applications from various perfons, requesting him to give that attention to certain fubjects, which ought to have been more coolly confidered. When we confider the manner and variety of Mr Young's works at the time he refers to, his obfervation will excite but little furprize. Many of thefe works, however, are intitled to praise in some respects, and he himself excepts from his own cenfure his Tours, which have stood, and he trufts will remain, on a founder foundation. "To them," he fays, "I may, with a vanity perhaps fomewhat excufable, affert, that the agriculture of this kingdom owes much; and that many of the improvements now practifed with the greatest success, may be dated from the publication of thofe journies, fo often plundered rather than quoted, without a mark or atom of acknowledgement."

In the years 1776, 1777, 1778, and 1779, he went his journies to Ireland, and refided at one time more than a year

letting part of the estate of Lord Vifcount Kingfborough. Of the account of these journies he fays, "I have not much apprehenfion; though the fuccefs in relation to profit was nothing, yet it will ftand its ground, and, I trust, merit, in fome fmall depree, the moft flattering encomiums it has received in many parts of Europe." In confequencof that work 40.000 1. a-year was faved to the public on the inland carriage of corn, as Parliament immediately adopt ed his ideas.

in the county of Cork, arranging and of forty guineas a year, by fale to Paris; but above all the reft the whole eftate, confifting of turnip-land adapted to a profitable Norfolk courfe for sheep; though yielding at prefent to the proprictor for the half fhare of the produce no more than 2 s. 6 d. per acre, notwithftanding he is at the expence of providing all the live stock. I could have made the purchase without money, by a rent-charge of 500l. a-year; timber to a confiderable value (very fine oak,) the furniture of the chateau, and the cattle of the whole eftate, 900 fheep, feventy cows, and eighty oxen, &c. all given into the bargain. I have not a doubt but that I fhould in five years have quadrupled the annual value; but the Revolution and the ftate of the kingdom were too much in my head; my family would have been alarmed, and probably unwilling to go to France. I left the province, therefore, not convinced that I was turning my back on one of thofe opportunities that rarely prefent themfelves. Living in eafe and even affluence in a fine climate, could not but in my mind form an agreeable profpect, when contrafted with the narrow, cramped, and anxious fituation to which I was doomed on my return to England."

In 1784 he began "Annals of Agriculture," a work of great merit, as a repofitory of authentic and valuable information on the agriculture of this and other kingdoms. This work is ftill continued, and we cannot but agree with the author, that it may be cited as a proof of culpable inattention in country gentlemen, in clergy who farm, and in opulent tenantry, that they do not give better encouragement to fuch a work.

On an invitation from Monf. Lazowfki to accompany him and Count de la Rochefoucauld to the Fyrenees, Mr Young was induced to make his first journey into France in the year 1787. He returned to England in the winter, and continued fome time in London attending to the Wool Bill, then before the Parliament. He then made his fecond tour, and in 1789 finished his tra vels. In the course of this journey, to ufe his own words "I was greatly tempted to fettle in France. In a fine part of the Bourbonnois, which poffef fes a climate equal to any in that kingdom, I met with a compact enclosed estate, of near 4000 acres, fituated on the great road from Paris to Lyons, and near Moulines, the capital of the province; the chateau and offices complete and well built; the garden excellent: twenty acres of vineyard, the wine, both red and white, fo good, that I wished for them in my cellar at Bradfield; fifhpools formed by ftreams banked in the vales, fo confiderable as to yield the chateau a constant supply, and a revenue

The next year we find Mr Young oppreffed with illness, acquired in a farming expedition, and writing the account from which the foregoing particulars are extracted, and in a frame of mind not well difpofed to view his fituation with any degree of fatisfaction. Since that period he has published an account of his "Journies through France," a work uniting usefulness and entertainment, and which we believe has fucceeded better than he apprehended in his defponding moments. He has also been appointed Secretary to the Board of Agriculture, and has published fome very feasonable and fatisfactory pamphlets on the French Revolution, which, we truft, have been attended with great advantage to the nation. Inconfequence of thefe exertions he has, as might be expected, been very liberally abufed by the abettors of faction.

lf

ANECDOTES, &c.

An old and gallant officer formerly Marquis of Viefville, had retired to end his days in privacy, at a folitary fpot called Steenmonde, in the department of the North. To this retreat he was accompanied by his daughter, an only child, who watched over the infirmities of his advanced age with unwearied tendernefs, and whofe filial piety fhed a

ray of happinefs on thofe years which have no pleasure in them. This venerable old man, and his amiable daughter were the objects of general refpect and elteem. But virtue, which was a tacit reproach to the monfters who then de