442 MEMOIR OF JOHN WILSON. 



of which was read with his peculiar burr." These simple words 

 give us the impression that there was a something about him dif- 

 ferent from other boys. As a man, I never saw any one like him ; 

 and truly he continued his love for " howking out books." How 

 much he read, and to what purpose, may be clearly seen from the 

 correspondence between himself and his friend, to whom, in exterior 

 and manner, he formed a strange contrast. The gentleness of his 

 movements was remarkable. There was almost a timidity of char- 

 acter expressed in his bearing at first sight ; but the wonderful in- 

 telligence of his countenance, the fine formation of his head, dis- 

 pelled that impression, and the real meaning was read in perceiving 

 that modesty, not fear, conquered his spirit, taking from him that 

 confidence which the consciousness of power almost always gives. 

 It was similarity of studies and sentiments that made them so much 

 one ; for of athletic sports in any shape, Dr. Blair knew nothing 

 practically, nor cared. The course and habit of his life were like 

 the smooth, deep water ; serene, undisturbed to outward eye, and 

 the very repose that was about him had a charm for the restless, 

 active energy of his friend, who turned to this gentle and meek na- 

 ture for mental rest. I have often seen them sitting together in the 

 quiet retirement of the study, perfectly absorbed in each other's 

 presence, like schoolboys in the abandonment of their love for each 

 other, occupying one seat between them, my father, with his arm 

 lovingly embracing " the dear Doctor's" shoulders, playfully pulling 

 the somewhat silvered locks to draw his attention to something in 

 the tome spread out on their knees, from which they were both 

 reading. Such discussions as they had together hour upon hour ! 

 Shakspere, Milton — always the loftiest themes — never weary in 

 doing honor to the great souls from whom they had learnt so much. 

 Their voices were different too : Dr. Blair's soft and sweet as that 

 of a woman ; my father's sonorous, sad, with a nervous tremor : 

 each revealing the peculiar character of the man. Much of the Pro- 

 fessor's deep thought and love of philosophy grew out of this friend- 

 ship. The two men were mutually invaluable to each other. The 

 self-confidence of the stronger man did not tyrannize over the more 

 gentle, whose modesty never sunk into submission, nor quailed in 

 presence of a bolder power. Their knowledge was equal ; the dif- 

 ference lay in their natural powers. The one bright, versatile, and 

 resolute, has left his works behind him ; while the other, never 



