Jedburgh* 87 



mentaries." I went that summer on a visit to my 

 aunt at Jedburgh, and, for the first time in my life, 

 I met in my uncle, Dr. Somerville, with a friend 

 who approved of my thirst for knowledge. During 

 long walks with him in the early mornings, he was 

 so kind, that I had the courage to tell him that I 

 had been trying to learn Latin, but I feared it was 

 in vain ; for my brother and other boys, superior to 

 me in talent, and with every assistance, spent years 

 in learning it. He assured me, on the contrary, 

 that in ancient times many women some of them 

 of the highest rank in England had been very 

 elegant scholars, and that he would read Virgil 

 with me if I would come to his study for an 

 hour or two every morning before breakfast, which 

 I gladly did. 



I never was happier in my life than during the 

 months I spent at Jedburgh. My aunt was a 

 charming companion witty, full of anecdote, and 

 had read more than most women of her day, es- 

 pecially Shakespeare, who was her favourite author. 

 My cousins had little turn for reading, but they 

 were better educated than most girls. They were 

 taught to write by David Brewster, son of the 

 village schoolmaster, afterwards Sir David, who 

 became one of the most distinguished philosophers 

 and discoverers of the age, member of all the 



