312 ROBERTSON. 



sor Stewart there saw him more than once ; and far 

 from avoiding the subject, he said it would be satisfac- 

 tory to him that his friend should write the account 

 of his life it being, according to the usage of the 

 Royal Society (of Edinburgh), customary to give in their 

 ' Transactions' the lives of deceased members who have 

 attained distinction by their works. On another occa- 

 sion an observation was made on the fruit-trees then in 

 blossom ; and he alluded, with cheerful composure, to 

 the event which must happen before they came to 

 their maturity, and prevent him who now looked upon 

 the flower from seeing the fruit. His strength of 

 body gradually declining, though his mind remained 

 quite entire, he died on the llth June, 1793, in the 

 72nd year of his age. His funeral in the Grey Friars 

 church-yard was attended by the professors, the magis- 

 trates of the city, the heads of the law, and many 

 of the other respectable inhabitants of Edinburgh. 

 It was, as I can testify, a scene peculiarly impressive 

 to all who witnessed it, from the sterling virtue as 

 well as the great celebrity and intrinsic merits of the 

 illustrious deceased. 



The history of the author is the history of the indi- 

 vidual, excepting as regards his private life and his 

 personal habits : these were in the most perfect de- 

 gree dignified and pure. Without anything of harshness 

 or fanaticism, he was rationally pious and blamelessly 

 moral. His conduct, both as a Christian minister, as 

 a member of society, as a relation, and as a friend, was 

 wholly without a stain. His affections were warm, 

 they were ever under control, and therefore equal and 

 steady. His feelings might pass for being less strong 



