THE EUROPEAN JOURNALS 171 



my hands wet with perspiration. Mr. Lizars poured me 

 out a glass of wine and said : " Bravo ! take this," which I 

 gladly did. More toasts were given, and then a delightful 

 old Scotch song was sung by Mr. Innes ; the refrain was 

 "Put on thy cloak about thee." Then Mr. McDonald 

 sang. Wm. Allan, Esq., 1 the famous painter, told a beautiful 

 story, then rose, and imitated the buzzing of a bumble-bee 

 confined in a room, and followed the bee (apparently) as 

 if flying from him, beating it down with his handkerchief; 

 a droll performance most admirably done. At ten, the 

 Earl rose, and bid us farewell, and at half-past ten I pro- 

 posed to Mr. Lizars to go, and we did. I was much 

 pleased at having been a guest at this entertainment, par- 

 ticularly as Lord Elgin expressed a wish to see me again. 

 I went to Mr. Lizars', where we sat chatting for an hour, 

 when I returned to my lodgings and took myself to bed. 

 December 1. My portrait was hung up in the exhi- 

 bition room ; I prefer it to be gazed at rather than the 

 original from which it was taken. The day was shock- 

 ingly bad, wet, slippery, cold. I had to visit Lord Clan- 

 carty and his lady at noon, therefore I went. I met Mrs. 



M and her children and the eldest daughter of Mr. 



Monroe. Mrs. M began a long speech, telling me of 



her father, Lord S , and his loyalty to the Stuarts ; the 



details not only of that royal family but all the kings of 

 England were being poured out, and I should probably 

 be there yet, merely saying " Yes " from time to time, if a 

 lucky interruption had not come in the form of a message 

 from Lord Elgin, to say he desired to see me at the Insti- 

 tution. I soon reached that place, where I met Lord Elgin, 

 in company with Secretary Skene and Mr. Hall the advo- 

 cate, in the art room. Mr. Hall is nephew to Lady Doug- 

 las, and this gave me an opportunity to hand him her 

 letter. But the best thing to relate is my breakfast with 



1 Afterwards Sir William Allan, historical painter ; in 1833 was elected 

 president of the Scottish Royal Academy, Edinburgh. 1 782-1850. 



