§28 MEMOIR OF 
“ that I had not, but that I was at that time meditating some- 
“ thing of that kind. He then proposed to me to write a Sup- 
plemental Volume to his Dictionary of Decisions, bringing 
* down that Work to the present time. I told him, that the 
“‘ boldness of the undertaking terrified me ; but that the good 
“ opinion he had shewn of me by making such a proposal, was 
“ certainly a strong inducement to me to make the attempt. 
“ T took, however, some time to deliberate upon it; and ha- 
“ ving at length resolved to undertake the work, I went out 
“ again to Blair-Drummond, to inform myself of the method 
“ he had followed in abridging and arranging the cases. These 
“ he communicated to me, and I set to work under his eye. 
“ The simple abbreviation of the printed cases occupied me 
“ above four years, and during all that time I read over occa- 
“ sionally to Lord Kames, the sheets of my abstracts, on which 
“ he gave me his notes and emendations. The arrangement 
“ of the cases gave me another year’s employment ; and while 
“ this was going on, I shewed the sheets, from time to time, to 
«“ Lord Kames, a great part of them to Mr Inay Campsexz, 
“ as also to the Lord President Dunpas, to all of whom I was 
“ much indebted. When the Work was completed and print- 
«« ed, I was much gratified to find that Lord Kags was plea- 
“*sed with it. Some passages in the Preface, apologizing for 
* defects, he desired that I would strike out. ‘ The Work, 
“ (said he,) does you honour; and a man ought not too much to ' 
“ yndervalue his labour, or depreciate his own abilities.” This 
volume of the Dictionary of Decisions was published in folio, 
in 1778; and of the character and value of the work, no other 
testimony is necessary after the sanction of the great Lawyers 
that have been mentioned. 
_ Mr Tyrter had now avowedly dedicated his life to the pur- 
suits of Literature, and his friends became anxious to see him 
placed 
a 
. 
