ALEXANDEE GOBDON, THE ANTIQUARY. 127 



is tlaus making of their correspondence : " The subject is so much 

 to my present piirpose, and withal, so curious, and their manner of 

 handling is so judicious, that v/ithout further apology, I shall present 

 them in their own words." So he accordingly printed a fasciculus 

 of thirty pages, with four additional plates ; and, after the fashion of 

 that age of patrons and literary clients — so different from our own, — 

 he dedicated the thirty pages of borrowed learning, not to their aufchoi-, 

 but, "To the Honourable James Makrae, Esq., late Governor of Fort 

 St. George," whose acquaintance he appears to have made during his 

 sojourn in Italy ; and who had continued to manifest a sympathy 

 with his Roman researches after the return of both to Scotland. He 

 thus writes to him : — "The many favours I have received from you, 

 when I was honour'd with your acquaintance abroad, and the con- 

 tinuance of them at home, oblige me to take the first opportunity of 

 declaring to the World how much I am indebted to your friendship," 

 and so he begs him to^ " accept these Papers, not as any retribution 

 for the many favours receiv'd, but as a sincere acknowledgment of a 

 grateful heart." 



But, unfortunately, in his efforts to gratify one patron, Gordon 

 was in the fair way of offending others ; and all the more so that he 

 contrived, in printing the letters of Bai'on Clerk and Mr. Gale, to 

 grieve the eyes and vex the hearts of the two fastidious Antiquaries 

 by some slovenly misprints. Bvit the evil being done, and irremedi- 

 able, Baron Clerk played the philosopher with an amiability in 

 noticable contrast to the wonted characteristics of the irritahile genus ; 

 and thus writes to his fellow-sufferer : — 



"I cannot now help what is done, biit have caused the errata to 

 be printed after the Appendix in as many copies as are to be sold 

 here ; I likewise ordered the printer to send them to Mr. Gordon, 

 that they might likewise be inserted in other copies. 



"To return to Mr. Gordon, tho' he had done me a great kindness 

 not to put me so much in his records, yet I am obliged to forgive 

 him, for I dare say he had my credit no less in view than his own. 

 As to the errata, I must impute them to my own bad hand and way 

 of writing, with which, I doubt, you are scarcely acquainted as yet. 

 As to the rest of Mr. Gordon's book, it is really a book above my 

 expectation, and might have pleased everybody had he been less 

 precipitate in publishing it. . I was not wanting in giving him 

 Horace's advice : 



