422 Biographical Account of [Deo 



when none but his more intimate friends were present, in shar- 

 ing with his younger children in those various youthful amuse- 

 ments which contribute so much to the gaiety of domestic life, 

 and in which the affections of kindred and the love of home are 

 so well, though so insensibly, cultivated. 



Of this scene of simple and virtuous happiness there are some 

 present who will not easily part with the remembrance, though 

 accompanied with the melancholy reflection, that they can meet 

 it no more ; and Mr. Mackenzie will, I trust, forgive me for 

 reminding him of an expression which he used to me many 

 years ago, when I accidentally met him upon the road as he 

 was returning from Woodhouselee, and which conveys so much 

 belter than any thing I can say, the character of the scene. " I 

 hope (said he) that you are going to Woodhouselee ; for no 

 man can go there without being happier, or return from it with- 

 out being better." 



To this picture, however, there is yet another feature to be 

 added : it is in the sentiments with which Mr. Tytler felt the 

 prosperity he enjoyed. In the little MS volume from which I 

 have formerly quoted (and from which I should more frequently 

 quote, iff did not feel it a kind of profanation to expose to the 

 eyes of the world that train of secret thought which was intended 

 only for the eyes of his children), I find the following passage, 

 for the introduction of which, 1 am sure I need no apology, and 

 which expresses, in a manner which no biographer can do, the 

 governing principles and persuasions of his mind, it was writ- 

 ten on his birth-day, Oct. 15, 1795. 



" 1 have this day (say? he) completed my 48th year, and the 

 best part of my life is gone. When I look back on what is 

 past, I am humbly grateful for the singular blessings 1 have 

 enjoyed. All indeed that can render life of value has been 

 mine. Health, and peace of mind ; easy, and even affluent 

 circumstances ; domestic happiness ; kind and affectionate rela- 

 tions ; sincere and cordial friends ; a good name ; and, I trust 

 in God, a good conscience. What, therefore, on earth have I 

 more to desire ? Nothing : but if He that gave so please, and if 

 it be not presumption in me to pray — a continuance of those 

 blessings. Yet, if it should be otherwise, let me not repine. I 

 bow to His commands, who alone knows what is best for his 

 creatures ; and I say with the excellent Grotius, 



" Hactenus ista : latet sors indeprensa futuri : 

 Scit, qui sollicitnm me vptat esse, Devs. 

 Due senilor me magne ! Sequar, quocunque vocabor, 

 Seu Tu lasia rnihi, seu mi ii dura, paras. — 

 Sislis in hac vita ? Maneo, partesque tuebor 

 Quas dederis. Revocas, Optime? Promptuseo." 



The melancholy change for which Mr. Tytler seems thus to 

 have prepared his mind was soon to take place. In the autumn 



