26 MEMOIR OF 



On this journey he was induced by his acquaint- 

 ances to commence keeping a Journal, which was 

 his first essay at prose writing, and evinced a clear- 

 ness in the perception of human nature, liveliness 

 in the narration of the incidents presented to his 

 observation, and graphic power in displaying the 

 beauties of the scenery which he traversed, seldom 

 surpassed. His road lay through the' Lothians to 

 Edinburgh and D unbar; from whence, having crossed 

 the Forth, he travelled over the county of Fife, 

 making every effort with both his offerings to the 

 Graces and the Muses, but in each of which he 

 was miserably disappointed. He writes thus to Mr. 

 Brodie from Edinburgh, " A packman is a charac- 

 ter which none esteem, and almost every one de- 

 spises. The idea which people of all ranks entertain 

 of them is, that they are mean spirited, loquacious 



liars, cunning and illiterate/' " When any one 



applies to a genteel person, pretending to be a poet, 

 he is treated with ridicule and contempt ; and even 

 though he should produce a specimen, it is either 

 thrown back again without being thought worthy of 

 perusal, or else read with prejudice." It may thus 

 be easily gathered that his success in the sale of his 

 poetical effusions had proved almost completely fal- 

 lacious ; and, indeed, so great were his difficulties at 

 this time, that he hardly had wherewith to purchase 

 the necessaries of life, far less materials for writing 

 and other purposes. An amusing anecdote of his 

 fruitfulness in expedients, under such pressing cir- 

 cumstances, is narrated by one of his acquaintances. 



