62 THE LIFE OF JAMES D. FORBES. [CHAP. 



the guide and companion of my* youth. Thou hast 

 protected me through the dangers of infancy and child- 

 hood, and in my youth Thou didst bless me with the full 

 enjoyment, the happy intimacy, of the best of fathers. Be 

 as gracious and merciful then as Thou hast hitherto been, 

 now that I am about to enter a new stage of existence. 

 Teach me, I beseech Thee, to strengthen in my soul 

 the cultivation of Thy truth, the recollection of the 

 uncertainty of life, the greatness of the objects for which 

 I was created. Revive those delightful religious impres- 

 sions which in early days I felt more strongly than now ; 

 and as Thou hast been pleased lately to permit me to 

 look to a way of life to which formerly I dared not to 

 do, let the leisure I shall enjoy enlarge my warmth of 

 heart towards Thee. Make every branch of study which 

 I may pursue strengthen my confidence in Thy ever- 

 ruling providence, that, undeceived by views of false 

 philosophy, I may ever in singleness of heart elevate 

 my mind from Thy works unto Thy divine essence. Keep 

 from me a vain and overbearing spirit ; let me ever 

 have a thorough sense of my own ignorance and weak- 

 ness ; and keep me through all the trials and troubles of 

 a transitory state in body and soul unto everlasting life, 

 for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen/ 



The summer of 1830 was spent in preparation for his 

 legal trials, studying the Calculus, and learning German. 

 Early in July he passed advocate, and at once bade 

 adieu to the Bar and its studies for ever. 



The autumn months were spent in various excursions : 

 first on a visit to his kindred the Macdonells of Glen- 



firry at Carradale, a beautiful abode on the coast of 

 antyre, looking across Kil-Brannan Sound to the peaks 

 of Arran ; then with his brother Charles on a tour to 

 the English Lakes, where they visited Professor Wilson, 

 who was then living at his beautiful summer home of 

 Ellery, overlooking Windermere. 



' We were on the point of leaving Windermere for 

 ever, when I got a note from the Professor inviting us to 



