A Journey to London in 1840. 155 



risk London on the strength of Mr M'Culloch's connnunication. 

 The Captain called on me. I said if I were Cauvin I would have 

 no hesitation, l:)ut would, on the contrary, start for the great city 

 instanter. This was ultimately the opinion of all concerned. 

 Meanwhile I had not seen Mr Cauvin, but he now came to Hope 

 Park, where I then lived, with an introductory letter from Captain 

 Mackerlie. I was glad to see him, but was .sorry to find him so 

 very much the foreigner both as to his countenance and his dress. 

 His hair was long, flowing down over his shoulders ; he was barbed 

 (sic) from ear to ear, and I am not sure but he wore a moustache. 

 He besides smelled horribly of tobacco. His figure was exces- 

 sively thin and meagre, as if he could scarcely walk, and his dress, 

 the cut of his coat, and the whole tournure of his habiliments was- 

 that of a recently imported native of Gemiany. His countenance 

 being like that of a foreigner was nothing, neither for nor against 

 him, but I was rather \'exed to find his outer man so thoroughly 

 continental. I found him, however, to be as mild as a woman, a.s- 

 interesting, modest, and amiable as it was possible for any human 

 being to be. In order to strengthen our claim on M'CuUoch, I 

 advised Cauvin to get a private letter from Thomas Thomson, 

 advocate, to him, which he did. I saw Cauvin only once again, 

 which was when he called for letters immediately prior to his- 

 departure for London. 



To London accordingly he went, and on his arrival waited 

 upon Mr M'Culloch. The subsequent part of the story which was- 

 told to me a year afterwards by Mr M'Culloch himself, when in 

 Edinburgh (September, 1839), is -as follows: — When Mr 

 M'Cullocli first saw the stranger, his foreign appearance and his- 

 thin, dyspeptic figure rather prejudiced the former against him. 

 The Dictionary of Arts, Science, and Literature, of which Cauvin 

 is now the virtual editor, had then been started, and the 

 printing had proceeded as far as B. After conversing for some 

 time with the scholar-adventurer, Mr M'Culloch said, " I shall 

 prescribe two articles for you to write for the Dictionary ; bring 

 them to me in a week, and then I shall see if you are likely to 

 make yourself useful." The two articles in question were the 

 next required for the Dictionary, and were, of course, quite acci- 

 dental, namely, ballet (an ancient dramatic dance) and ballot. 

 Cauvin acquiesced in the proposal and withdrew. " Hang it, 

 Murray," said M'Culloch to me, "I never expected to see the 



