18 MEMOIR OF JOHN BARCLAY. 



anted the farm of Cairn, near Drummaquliance in 

 Perthshire,* whence he removed to Strageath, a farm 

 on the property of Lord Gwyd}^, in the parish of 

 Muthil, in the same county. His son, the subject of 

 this Memoir, received the rudiments of his education 

 at the parish school, at that time conducted by a 

 Mr. Thomson, who is said to have been an excellent 

 classical scholar. From this seminary he went to the 

 University of St. Andrews; and was entered a student 

 at the Old College, upon one of the foundation bur- 

 saries, which he obtained after a spirited competition, 

 standing first on the list of four successful candidates. 

 Without the aid of any teacher, it is said, he ac- 

 quired such a knowledge of the Hebrew language, 

 as enabled him to read and understand the whole of 

 the Old Testament ; which, however, he might more 

 easily be enabled to do, as some of the simplest methods 

 for attaining that object had already been adopted. 

 Parkhurst had published (1762) his Hebrew and 

 English Lexicon, to which was affixed a methodical 

 Hebrew grammar wdthout points, adapted to the use 

 of learners, and which disencumbered the sacred 

 language from some of its most intricate difficulties; 

 besides^ Dr. Wilson, whose grammar is upon the 

 same principle — published in 1782 — was professor 



* He was brother of John Barclay, the Berean minister in 

 Edinburgh, and founder of that sect, a person well known for 

 his eccentricities, whose sacred poems, though now neglected, 

 are by no means despicable compositions ; only, his para- 

 phrase of the song of Solomon used to be thought more amus- 

 ing than edifying. 



