. 28.] JOURNAL. 103 



and he occasionally rose to a very powerful eloquence. 

 He is much beloved, and is considered by all parties, 

 perhaps, as the strong man of Scotland. The subject 

 of his lecture this morning was the advantage (and 

 the abuse) of Scripture criticism. It was a treat to 

 hear him. He paid a high compliment, in the course 

 of his remai'ks, to our Moses Stuart. 



The weather growing by this time more tolerable, I 

 walked about town, visited the Parliament House, 

 the Library of the Writers to the Signet ; passed 

 through the Grassmarket, returned here, looked at 

 plants with Dr. Greville ; dined ; received a parcel 

 from Sir William Hooker containing a few plants 

 I had accidentally left (a few he had given me). A 

 very kind letter informed me that he would be in 

 London about the same time with me (which I had 

 in part expected, and about which hangs a tale I 

 must write soon), and also a fine parcel of letters of 

 introduction for me, both to persons on the way to 

 London, and also on the Continent, to Delessert, 

 De Candolle, Martins, Endlicher, Humboldt, etc. 

 Truly he is a kind man ; he has laid me under lasting 

 obligations. He asks me to say to Dr. Torrey that 

 his Grace of Bedford is anxious to receive also the 

 Hudsonia ericoides from New Jersey, and he will be 

 greatly obliged if he will send a box of it to Woburn 

 early in the spring. Attended this evening a meet- 

 ing of the Royal Society, Dr. Abercrombie l (author 

 of " Intellectual Powers," etc.) in the chair. Dr. A. 

 is at the head of the profession here ; is greatly es- 

 teemed, and is a most exemplary Christian. An inter- 

 esting paper was read by Professor Forbes, of whom 



1 John Abercrombie, M. D., 178i-1844; celebrated Scotch phy- 

 sician and author. 



