#38] ANNUAL REGISTER, 
ments of his education, was then 
taught by Mr. David Miller, a 
teacher, in his day, of consider- 
able -reputation, and whose name 
deserves to be recorded, on account 
of the eminent men whom that very 
obscure seminary produced, while 
under his direction. Mr. Oswald, 
of Dunikeir, whose profound know-: 
ledge of finances raised him after- 
wards to important employments in 
the state, and to a distinguished rank 
as a parliamentary speaker ; his bro- 
ther, Dr. John Oswald, afterwards 
bishop of Raphce ; and Dr. John 
Drysdale, whose talents and worth 
are well known to this society, were 
among the number of Mr. Smith’s 
- contemporaries.—One of his school- 
fellows is still alive ; and to his 
kindness I am principally indebted 
for the scanty materials, which form 
the first part of this narrative. 
Among these companions of his 
earliest -years, Mr. Smith soon at- 
tracted notice, by his passion for 
books, and by the extraordinary 
powers of his memory. ‘The weak- 
ness of his bodily constitution pre- 
vented him from partaking in their 
more active amusements ; but he 
was much beloved by them on ace 
count of his temper, which, though 
warm, was to an uncommon de- 
gree friendly and generous. Even 
then he was remarkable for those 
habits which remained with him 
through life, of speaking to himself. 
when alone, and of absence in 
company. 
From the grammar-school of 
Kirkaldy he was sent, in 1737, to 
the university of Glasgow, where 
he remained till 1740, when he 
went to Baliol College, Oxford, as 
ah exhibitioner oh Snell’s foundae 
tion.’ 
Dr, Maclaine, of the Hague, who 
1795. 
was a fellow-student of Mr. Smith’s, 
at Glasgow, told me, some years 
ago, that his favourite pursuits, 
‘while at that university, were mathe- 
matics and natural philosophy; and 
I remember to have heard my fa- 
ther remind him of a geometrical 
problem of considerable difficulty, 
about which he was occupied at the 
time when their acquaintance com- 
menced, and which had been pro- 
posed to him as an exercise by the 
celebrated Dr. Simpson. 
These, however, were certainly 
not the sciences in which he was 
formed to excel; nor did they long 
divert him from pursuits more con 
genial to his mind. What lord Ba- 
con says of Plato may te justly ap- 
plied to him: ‘ Illum, licet ad 
rempublicam non accessisset, tamen 
natura et inclinatione omnino ad 
res cjviles propensum, vires eo 
precipue intendisse; neque de phi- 
losophia naturali admodum solli- 
citum esse ; nisi quatenus ad philo- ° 
sophia nomen et celibritatem tuen- 
dam, et ad majestatem quandam 
moralibus et civilibus doctrinis ad- 
dendam et aspergendam sufficeret.”” ” 
The study of human nature in 
all its branches, more particularly 
of the political history of mankind, 
opened a boundless ‘field to his cue 
riosity and ambition; and, while it 
afforded scope to all the various 
powers of his versatile and compre- 
hensive genius, gratified his ruling 
passion, of contributing to the hap- 
piness and the improvement of so- 
ciety. To this study, diversified 
at his leisure hours by the less see 
vere occupations of polite literature, 
he seems to have devoted himself 
almost entirely from the time of his 
removal to Oxford; but he still re- 
tained, and retained even in ad- 
vanced years, a recollection of his 
early 
