Biographical Memoir of Sir John Leslie. 3 



ter of Largo about the time when the boy had reached his 

 eleventh or twelfth year. Struck with the knowledge in mathe- 

 matical and physical science which he displayed, the reverend 

 gentleman kindly lent him some scientific books, with which he 

 was but poorly provided ; and he also strongly urged him 

 to study Latin — telling him, by way of showing the necessity 

 of an immediate commencement, that it had cost himself seven 

 years to acquire that language. This was the worst argument 

 that could be urged to the young philosopher, who unhesi- 

 tatingly declared that he never would bestow half that time 

 upon any language, and that he particularly disliked Latin. In 

 this state of his knowledge and taste, he was, in his thirteenth 

 year^ sent to the L^niversity of St Andrews to study mathe- 

 matics under Professor Vilant. On examination by the Profes- 

 sor, he was found already qualified for the second or senior 

 class ; and, at the close of the session, he obtained a prize. It 

 is remembered, as a char'acteristic particular, that having pre- 

 viously discovered, in some of those antiquarian researches to 

 which he was early addicted, that it was not indispensible for 

 students of the first year to wear a gown, he steadily refused, 

 during this year, to exhibit himself in the accustomed academi- 

 cal habiliment. 



This session proved a decisive one as to the course of h's fu- 

 ture studies. The Earl of Kinnoull, then Chancellor of the 

 University, having been informed of his remarkable abilities, 

 sent for his father, and proposed to him to defray the expense 

 of his son's education, provided the father would agree to main- 

 tain him at college, with the view of qualifying him for the 

 Church. The proposal was readily embraced ; and the repug- 

 nance of the youth to apply himself to Latin was at length 

 overcome, by making the permission to attend the Natural 

 Philosophy class of next session, — the great object of his desii*e, 

 — conditional on his agreeing to qualify himself, during the vaca- 

 tion, for attending also the Latin class. With this lure before 

 him, he applied assiduously to his lessons, under the direction 

 of a private teacher, and succeeded in fitting himself for admis- 

 sion into that class. No one could discover, in his after life, 

 any traces of this early and vehement dislike to Latin ; for 



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