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man at Edinburgh, whose name was HERON, he acquired some additional property.

JOHN PINKERTON, whose portrait accompanies this memoir, was born at EDINBURGH the 17th February, 1758.About the year 1764, he was sent to a grammar school, at Lanerk, kept by Mr. Thompson, who had married a sister of THOMSON the poet; he is described as a man of an even and placid disposition, and possessed of great dig. nity of person and demeanour, therefore qualified by nature for the arduous and laborious profession of a school

master.

At this period of his life, when the passions of the boy began to operate, and to indicate symptoms of the future propensions of the man; it is said that young Pinkerton, instead of joining in the more active amusements of his school-fellows, was in his habits bashful, reserved, and fond of solitary walks and retirement; the emanations of a contemplative mind, and probably of a debility in the nervous system. Of the use that he made of his studious hours, an instance is recorded respecting his translation of a part of Livy, as a school exercise, which is creditable to his genius, inasmuch as his master preferred itto Hooke's version of the same passage. Whether Mr. T. was biassed by that sometimes laudable propensity which we have occasionally known to operate in the mind of a preceptor, in favour of the talents of a pupil, which he thinks a creation of his own; or had a taste sufficiently classical to enable him to judge with impartiality; we have not the opportunity to ascertain: however, from this circumstance, Mr. P. is said to have received the first impulse toward the literary profession which he has since practised with such

success.

At the school of Mr. Thompson he continued six years, the last of which was devoted to the attainment of the Greek language; he then returned to his father's house, near Edinburgh, where the French tongue became so much the favourite object of his study, that he was afterwards obliged to labour hard to recover his Greek and Latin, which are said to have almost escaped from his mind in the eager course of his pursuit of the former. Here he also studied the mathematics, under the tuition of MR. EWING, an able teacher, of Edinburgh, and proceeded so far as the doctrine of infinities.

The seclusion concomitant to this

course of education, proved by no
means favourable to his recovery from
his nervous disorder; he was therefore,
although he expected a decent compe-
tency from his father, placed by him
in the office of MR. WILLIAM AYTOUN,
an eminent Writer to the Signet. to
whom he served a regular clerkship
of five years. Whether the profession
of the law was agreeable to a youth of
his habits, we are not able to state.
His master, who is said to have been
a man of a liberal disposition, fond of
pleasure, expense, and a rural life,
which we suppose to mean the sports
of the field, would, however, some-
times check his pupil for poring over
COPERNICUS, when he ought to have
devoted his hours to the reading of
Scotch precedents, which we think are
equally ingenious, and quite as intel-
ligible, as many English.

with

SHAK

The poetical passion was first excited in the mind of young Pinkerton, by reading BATTIE'S MINSTRL, which he was much delighted. SPEARE and MILTON did for him what the classics had not done at school; they elicited and infused sentiments and ideas congenial to those that glowed in their pages, and, exciting the flame of genius, animated him to attempt a poetical composition.

CRAIGMILLAR CASTLE stood in his neighbourhood, at once an object awful and sublime; the natural consequence of his contemplation of which was, that it turned his ideas to its once beautiful and unfortunate resident, MARY; he therefore composed and printed a small elegy, which he entitled CRAIGMILLAR CASTLE, and dedicated to DR. BEATTIE, who favoured him with his advice and observations. This juvenile production appeared about the year 1776.

He afterwards wrote a tragedy, which he prudently committed to the flames; to this succeeded another was shown to DR, tragedy, which BLA, who praised the style of the piece, but said that it was defective in incident, and consequently of interest. This, we understand, Mr. P. has since revised and totally altered, with a view of adapting it to the stage.

In that species of poetry which has been termed the pathetic ballad, the Scotch have formerly not only excelled us, but all other European nations. Struck with the affecting simplicity of his native bards, Mr. P., when he was about eighteen, attempted to complete the beautiful fragment of HARDYKA NUTE; he also wrote those pieces that

were confessed and pointed out in his edition of Maitland's Poems, and which have attracted considerab e attention. The father of Mr. P. died in 1780, soon after his clerkship had expired; and, being now at liberty to pursue the bent of his own inclination, he was attracted to London, not by the pleasure which the metropolis afforded, but by the size of the booksellers' cataloues, which seemed to promise a full gratification of his darling passion, reading.

A pecuniary loss to the amount of a thousand pounds, in consequence of the failure of some Merchants of lasgow, obliged him, in 1781, to return to cotland, where he settled his affairs; and, in the winter, paid a second visit to the English capital, where he had the preceding year published a small volume of juvenile poetry.

His only intention at first was merely to continue a reader; but it is not very easy to repress the emotions of genius: being an enthusiastic admirer of the works of RAY, he desired, like him, to immortalize his name by one small volume. The publication of the Scottish ballads be considered rather as a display of his talents as an editor, than an author; in this line of literature he has, therefore, chosen more particularly to continue: as an editor, he has published many works; but as an author, very few.

being, from his early youth, fond of collecting MEDALS, minerals, and other curiosities; a rare coin of CONSTANTINE, commemorating his Sarmatian victory, which he received from a lady in Scotland, set his numismatic passion again afloat, and became the foundation of a small collection which he has since made. ADDISON's Dialogues on Medais, (though the author rather, as true connoisseurs say, looked upon his subject with the eye of a poet, than that of an antiquary; and, by the bye, they are, generally speaking, very different characters.) delighted Mr. P., and probably induced him to compose those essays on medals, which were published by odsley in 1784, and is a work from which we have derived very considerable information and entertainment. These essays are said to have introduced him to the acquaintance of HoRACE WALPOLE, the late Earl of Orford. As an author, Mr. P. has since published the well known Dissertation on the SCYTHIANS, or GoTns, and art Inquiry into the Ancient History of ScOTLAND, in two volumes quarto.

As an editor, he has also published many volumes of ancient Scottish history, and a collection of the ancient Lalin Lives of Saints, tending to illustrate the early history of his own country. He has since favoured the world with a System of Geography, said to be the most correct in our language, in two volumes, quarto.

That ingenious, and highly entertaining collection, the WALPOLIANA, with the admirable biographical sketch of LORD ORFORD prefixed, is also generally attributed to him; it may therefore, in conclusion. be proper to state, that the literary character of Mr. Pinkerton is formed by a combination oferudition, industry, and genius. Many useful and elegant works have already been derived from his talents; and, should his health permit, many more may yet be expected.

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IR,

AKING a view, a few days ago, of TAKING a view, a few days ago, of

committed daily in the service of MAMMox against society, by public delinquents; and giving, as every candid inquirer ought to do, as liberal a construction as possible eves to the actions of the greatest rogues, I could not help assuming the fact, that every individual has an equal claim on the luxuries of life, which are doubtless as sweet and delectable to one as to another. On these premises, I began to think that the wise and GREAT men, legislators, and statesmen of all ages and countries, had been mistaken in enacting penal laws for the prevention and punishment of crimes incident to the situations in which men are placed by fortune. I know that many grave moralis's would insist, that the only way to attain a radical cure of dishonesty, would be by the improvement of the morals. The modern philosopher, however, on the other hand, tells us, that the huma, mind wants no inducement in this particular, nor needs assistance; and that the mutual wants of society, and the advantages of character and credit arising from a course of honesty, would be sufficient to keep men honest. I hok',

nevertheless, this refined system of ethics to be imperfect, inasmuch as we daily observe many of those who pretend to assert the omnipotence of this grand direction of the mind, making strange blunders in their estimates and balances with one another, and by some accountable blindness to these rules of their great and true interests, and of the reciprocities of society, taking every advantage, that may be taken, with out the reach of the law; in short, being willing, at all times, to be great rogues, whenever they think they cannot be found out.

The plan, Mr. Editor, which I have in view to recommend, embraces the grand object of prevention of these misdemeanors. It does not, it is true, include in its benefits the poor min who would be honest if he could, and who would rather be honest than dishonest; who, after a frugal meal for his family, would not steal a quartern loaf, much less lay his fingers on a mince-pie, or a custard, though they were placed in his way; who would not long after high seasoned ragouts and French wines, nor place his scene of happiness in pride, decorations, and trinkets. No! these petty depredators of stern want and necessity are bungling workmen in the art; and, as a proof that they are so, generally remain in poverty all their fives. They have had no proper notion of peculation, of usury, of supplanting others in the benefits of life, and there fore do not deserve to be included in the plan for meliorating the condition of rogues.

I shall, therefore, confine the scale of benefit to that numerous class of persons who, from their education, situation, connexions, and circumstances in life, merit a consideration, and for whom, it strikes me, something might and ought to be done, not only to remedy their individual hardships, but to prevent the growth of a complaint which threatens, at the present period, to become endemic.

The propositions, Mr. Editor, which I would offer, and which embrace the great design of effecting a gradual decrease and prevention of venality, pe culation, and other dishonesties, among great and little men in office, are briety as follow:

FIRST, That a careful estimate should be taken of the views and pretensions of men in high situations, who, it might be suspect d, were not provided for, according to the extent of their ambition, or in an equal ratio with their notions

of expense, equipage, and pre-eminence in society,

SECONDLY, That this scale of views and pretensions should be inspected by persons qualified to judge; that is, by commissioners to be chosen from men, who should be known to be at once, themselves, selfish and prodigal, and who shou'd be bound to judge for others as they would be done by. It should be left to these gentlemen to decide whether four, or five, or ten thousand a year, were adequate to the expenses of the gentleman's household in question, to support his establishment in town, and his seat in the country, the extravagancies of his heir, or the elegant dissipations of his wife.

THIRDLY, That on such report being made, Government should take the individual cases into consideration, and, from time to time. pass a money bill for the express purpose of raising a supply for rendering compensations to the parties for the deficiencies between their actual incomes, and the amount of their expenditure: or, rather, between the sum total of what the party might honestly receive, and that which he is compelled to make up by other means, for his support, or the necessary views of his aggrandizement. Such a measure would give an ample and superabundant supply to all persons in office, or otherwise, who might have an itching to louer what did not belong to them, merely for the purpose of bettering their condition, as it would doubtless put an end to the necessity of peculation. There ought to be an exception, however, against those whom starvation alone has urged to dishonesty; or rogues by DURESS, as the law word is: as these are not within the view of the benefit which is meant for the unjust steward, who has the true MAMMON of unrighteousness,

The following formule may better explain the design:

Mr. Minus, with a situation of five thousand per annum, lives necessarily at the rate of eight, his private estate mortgaged to the brim. Five houses, including town and country; viz. two in town, one for Mr. Miinus, another for Miss W---- a house for the last in the country, a mansion in one of the principal squares in town for Mr. Minus, and a shooting box in the country.

Report of the commissioners appointed for the purpose of bettering the condition of rogues.

After having taken into mature consideration the nccessary scale of expenses,

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SOUTHAMPTON from Hythe

Published by Asperne, at the Bible Crown & Constitution. Cornhill, June 1, 1807.

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