56* 



BLAIR. 





to be supplied by popular election, he was proposed 

 as a candidate. Although his competitor in the can- 

 vas was Mr Robert Walker, a man in high estima- 

 tion for his flowery and popular eloquence, who was 

 supported by a powerful and zealous party, yet, with 

 circumstances honourable to his character, he ob- 

 tained a decided majority, and was accordingly trans- 

 lated to a situation where a greater field was opened 

 to his talents. In this station he remained with a 

 growing reputation for the period of eleven years, 

 assiduously devoting himself to the duties of his of- 

 fice, and carefully attending to every circumstance 

 which might improve his compositions, and render 

 them more worthy of the applause they so liberally 

 received. This laudable industry soon met with the 

 reward which it merited. His more mature taste 

 easily rejected the youthful ornaments with which 

 his earlier productions were loaded, and his style, 

 whilst it lost nothing of its original warmth and 

 energy, assumed a polished chasteness and propriety 

 that discovered the hand of a master. His success 

 as a preacher, indeed, depended almost entirely on 

 the intrinsic merit of his discourses, and owed nothing 

 to the charm of delivery, which so wonderfully em- 

 bellishes even moderate talents, and gives such a fieri- 

 tious value to the sentiments of a public speaker. 

 Though his manner was serious, his voice was weak 

 and unmusical, and his pronunciation, which was by 

 no means remarkable for its correctness, was marred 

 by a burr, or indistinct articulation of the letter R. 

 Notwithstanding these unfavourable circumstances, 

 however, the superiority of his abilities was univer- 

 sally acknowledged, and paved the way to him for 

 higher preferments. In 1754, he received a call 

 from the town council of Edinburgh, and was, on 

 the 11th October, translated from the Canongate 

 to Lady Yester's Church in the city. Whilst he 

 remained in this charge, the University of St An- 

 drew's paid a very flattering tribute to his talents, 

 by conferring on him the degree of D. D. a lite- 

 rary honour which was at that time of some value 

 in Scotland. During this period, too, he found 

 sufficient leisure, from the laborious duties of his pro- 

 fession, to turn part of his attention to subjects of 

 general literature, and, in conjunction with some of 

 the ablest men in the kingdom, to conduct for a short 

 time a periodical work of great merit, entitled The 

 Edinburgh Review. In this work Dr Blair had an 

 opportunity of shewing the extent and accuracy of 

 his critical acumen, by a review of several contempo- 

 rary productions, and particularly of Dr Hutcheson's 

 ingenious system of moral philosophy. 



A farther advancement was yet in reserve for 

 Dr Blair,- the highest and most honourable to 

 wliich, in the line of his profession, a clergyman of 

 the Church of Scotland can aspire. On the 15th 

 June 1758, he was promoted to the High Church of 

 Edinburgh, at the express request of the lords of 

 council and session, and of the other distinguished 

 characters who, from their official situation, attended 

 divine service in that church. 



Having now, by unwearied application, laid in a 

 rtock of sermons sufficient to relieve him from the 

 weekly drudgery of preparation for the pulpit, he 

 bfgan to tbiok seriously of teaching to others that 



art which had contributed *o materially to the ad- BUir. 

 vancement of his own reputation. With this view ' ' "\r" 

 he prepared a courte of lectures on composition, and 

 being encouraged by his friends, he, with the appro- 

 bation of the university, began to read them in the 

 college, on 11th December 1759. To this under- 

 taking he brought all the qualifications requisite for 

 executing it well ; and, along with them, a weight of 

 reputation which could not fail to give effect to the 

 lessons he should teach. Accordingly his first course 

 of lectures was received with great applause ; and in 

 the following summer, on the application of the pa- 

 trons of the university, his majesty erected and en- 

 dowed a professorship of rhetoric and belles lcttres, 

 and appointed Dr Blair, " in consideration of his ap- 

 proved qualifications, regius professor thereof, with 

 a salary of 70." These lectures, which were pub- 

 lished when declining health induced him to retire 

 from the labours of the office, do honour to the taste 

 and judgment of the author. 



About this period, Mr M'Pherson, by the persua- 

 sion and under the patronage of Dr Blair and Mr 

 John Home, undertook a tour through the High- 

 lands, and collected the materials of those admirable 

 poems which bear the name of Ossian. On the pub- 

 lication of this literary phenomenon, the opinion of 

 the public was much divided, both with regard to it* 

 intrinsic merit and its authenticity. Dr Blair enter- 

 tained for it the partiality of a protector and guar- 

 dian ; and being in possession of information sufficient 

 to convince him that it was no imposture, he deter- 

 mined to give to it all the sanctity of his authority. 

 With this view, he published a dissertation on these 

 poems, which, in beauty of language, elegance of 

 taste, and accuracy of critical discrimination, is not 

 unworthy of his high reputation. 



Dr Blair now began to take a warm and decided, 

 though not very public, part in the politics of the 

 church. In this department of his clerical duty, he 

 espoused the cause of that party to which the emi- 

 nent abilities and popular eloquence of Dr Robertson 

 had given consistency and strength, and which was 

 distinguished at that period not less by the charac- 

 ter than the name of moderation. The leading prin- 

 ciple wliich directed all the measures of Dr Robert- 

 son and his friends, was to preserve the church, on 

 the one side, from a slavish, corrupting dependance 

 on the civil power ; and, on the other, from a great- 

 er infusion of democratical influence than is compa- 

 tible with good order, and the established constitu- 

 tion of the country. The Church of Scotland still 

 smarted under the wounds inflicted upon it by the 

 persecuting spirit of the last of the Stuart race, and, 

 on this account, a majority of the lower orders, and 

 many of the clergy, still cherished the spirit of their 

 forefathers, though no longer required by the exi- 

 gency of the times, and entertained an inordinate jea- 

 lousy of persons in power. Against these prejudices 

 this profound politician successfully exerted his ta- 

 lents, and in this laudable undertaking he was cor- 

 dially supported by his colleague Dr Blair ; but 

 these excellent men do not seem to have been suffi- 

 ciently aware of the insinuating nature of civil autho- 

 rity, and in their zeal to repress faction and turbu- 

 lence, perhaps with too rash and indiscreet a hand, 

 3 



