NIMROUS NORTHERN TOUR. 247 



spent an hour one morning very agreeably with Sir John Sin- 

 clair, in his study, at the expiration of which he put into my 

 hand a bundle of small pamphlets written by himself; also the 

 portraits of eight persons who had attained extreme age, which 

 illustrate his work on health and longevity ; and the autographs 

 of no less than thirty-five great men of all nations princes, pre- 

 sidents, nobles, ministers, ambassadors, and agriculturists. All 

 these now lie before me. The pamphlets, in addition to a 

 general knowledge of the subjects, show the zeal with which 

 they were composed especially the one on the currency question, 

 prefaced by a prayer. The portraits inform us of one sad truth, 

 namely that the older we get, the plainer we get ; and the 

 autographs, that the higher we are bred the worse we write, for 

 the only name of the whole lot that we could read, as we run, 

 is that of John Collett, a Norwegian farmer ! As to those of the 

 Prince de Castelcicala, and Count Alexis Dorlow Cesmenskoy, 

 I would give you a week to decipher either of them ; and that 

 of M. La Harpe, preceptor to the Emperor Alexander, is a happy 

 illustration of what I have advanced on the graphic art, for such 

 a scratch was never seen by a pupil, still less by a master. 

 Luckily, there is a glossary given of them with the list. 



I must not omit to mention that, exclusive of the above, Sir 

 John gave me a small portrait of himself, which I shall have put 

 into a frame when I return to England. Beneath it are the 

 following words, of which the right honourable baronet's country- 

 men must feel proud : " Founder of the Board of Agriculture." 

 It was in 1793, I believe, that he applied to Parliament for the 

 small sum of ^3000 wherewith to found this admirable institu- 

 tion ; and, of one hundred and twenty-seven members, who were 

 in the House, twenty-six were against the grant ! ! Sir John was 

 undoubtedly the most zealous friend and promoter of agriculture 

 that Great Britain has ever yet seen ; and what but agriculture 

 is the certain source of wealth, strength, and independence? 

 Commerce flourishes by circumstances (witness the past year), 

 precarious, contingent, transitory, and as liable to change as the 

 winds that waft it to our shores. On this consideration then, as 

 well as on many others, will the name and memory of Sir John 

 Sinclair be handed down to posterity with honour and applause, 

 and those but little impaired by his having been charged with 

 cue of the common infirmities of our nature the love of fame. 

 In my eyes, his character bears a strong resemblance to that of 

 the Consul Pliny ; and I think the public would be satisfied, if 

 all our men of high rank and large property were modern Plinys. 

 He had a thirst for applause, which he also merited ; and what 

 is it, after all, but a strong motive to do that which we think 



