,illustration ,,the ,,academic ,,gregories ,illustration ,,by ,,agnes ,,grainger ,,stewart3 ,,famous ,,scots ,,series ,,published ,,by ,,oliphant ,,anderson ,,ferrier,,edinbvrgh ,,and ,,london ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,the designs and ornaments of this volume are by ,mr ,joseph ,brown1 and the printing is from the press of ,messrs ,turnbull ,spears1 ,edinburgh4 ,april #aija ,,preface ,as far back as ,i can remember there hung in my father's study two prints1 the one a mezzotint of ,professor ,james ,gregory1 and the other1 inferior as a picture1 but most beautiful in its subject1 an engraving of ,william ,pulteney ,alison4 ,in answer to nursery enquiries as to the stories belonging to these two pictures1 there had always perforce to be some dark facts related in connection with ,dr ,james ,gregory1 but these were kept rather in the background1 and the impression we got of him came nearer to the incidental portrait which ,robert ,louis ,stevenson draws of him in #8,weir of ,hermiston4' ,with ,william ,pulteney ,alison we could1 as it were1 shake hands1 for the story teller could here insert a piece of real history1 of how1 long ago1 this man had sat beside his crib watching over him1 holding him back from the arms of ,death4 ,we watched with him as he sat there ministering to this sick child1 keeping alive the little flicker of life1 keeping the little restless body still4 #8,if he moves1 he will faint1' ,professor ,alison had said4 #8,if he faints1 he will die4' ,across the gap of years other children held their breath till the little patient fell asleep4 ,but the most interesting fact about ,gregory and ,alison to us as children was that they had both been professors of the ,practice of ,physic in ,edinburgh ,university1 and the little boy who had so nearly died now lectured in the place of the physician who had saved his life4 ,this early acquaintance gave me a love for these professors1 and when ,i came to be asked to write a book upon the ,academic members of the old ,scottish family of ,gregory1 two of them at least were familiar as friends4 ,in the preparation of my book ,i have received much kindness1 and ,i should especially like to thank ,mr ,philip ,spencer ,gregory1 of ,lincoln's ,inn1 ,barrister-at-,law1 late ,fellow of ,king's ,college1 ,cambridge1 for the help which he as a representative of the family was able to give me1 and also for his very interesting #8,records of the ,family of ,gregory4' ,my thanks are also due to ,professor ,campbell ,fraser for personal introduction to sources of information1 to ,mr ,turner1 ,savilian ,professor of ,astronomy in the ,university of ,oxford1 and to ,mr ,henry ,johnstone of the ,edinburgh ,academy and ,mr ,r4 ,s4 ,rait1 ,fellow of ,new ,college1 ,oxford1 who have read my proofs4 ,i must also record my debt of gratitude to the ,editors for the great kindness and courtesy they have shown to me4 ,,agnes ,,grainger ,,stewart4 ,,contents ,,page ,,chapter ,i ,,the ,,gregories #i ,,chapter ,,ii ,,david ,,gregorie ,,of ,,kinairdy1 #afbe-agbj #ai ,,chapter ,,iii ,,james ,,gregorie1 #afch-afge #bg ,,chapter ,,iv ,,david ,,gregory1 #affa-agjh #eb ,,chapter ,v ,,david ,,gregory1 #afif-agfg #gg ,,chapter ,,vi 7#a7 ,,james ,,gregorie1 #afff-agdb2 7#b7 ,,charles ,,gregorie1 #afha-agci2 #hd 7#c7 ,,david ,,gregorie1 #agab-agfe ,,chapter ,,vii 7#a7 ,,james ,,gregorie1 #afgd-agcc2 7#b7 ,,james ,,gregorie1 #agja-agee #ib ,,chapter ,,viii ,,john ,,gregory1 #agbd-aggc #ajj ,,chapter ,,ix ,,james ,,gregory1 #agec-ahba #abe ,,chapter ,x ,,william ,,gregory1 #ahjc-aheh #ada ,,chapter ,,xi ,,retrospect #aeb ,rev4 ,john ,gregorie of ,drumoak ,janet ,anderson ---------------------------------------- ------- ,david of ,kinnairdie1 d4 #agcj ,james1 ,st ,and41 ,mathematics1 #affi-gd ,edinburgh1 ,mathematics1 #afgd-ge ---------------------------------------- ------ ,david1 ,edin41 ,charles1 ,st ,and41 ,math41 #afhc-ia ,math41 ,isobel ,margaret ,oxford1 ,astronomy1 #agjg-ci #afib-agjh ,patrick ,innes ,lewis ,reid ,james1 ,st ,andrews1 ,phil41 #afhe-ia ,alex4 ,innes1 ,edinburgh1 ,math41 ,mar4 ,coll41 #afia-agbe ,philosophy1 #agci-db ,james1 ,king's ,david1 ,oxford1 ,david1 ,coll41 ,medicine1 ,modern ,history1 ,st ,andrews1 ,math41 #agbe-cb #agbd-fg #agci-fe ------------ ,thomas ,reid1 ,king's ,coll41 ,phil41 #agea-fd ,glas41 ,phil41 #agfd-if ------------------------------ ,james1 ,king's ,coll41 ,john1 ,med41 #agcb-ee ,king's ,coll41 ,phil41 #agdf-di ,king's ,coll41 ,med41 #agee-ff ,edinb41 ,practice of ,physic1 #agff-gc -------------------------------- ,james1 ,edinb41 ,inst4 of ,med41 #aggf-hi ,dorothea ,rev4 ,arch4 ,alison ,practice of ,physic1 #agij-ahba ------------------------- ,william ,pulteney ,alison ,edinb41 ,med4 ,juris41 #ahbj-ba ,william1 ,king's ,coll41 ,chem41 #ahci-dd ,inst4 of ,med41 #ahba-db ,edinb41 ,chem41 #ahdd-eh ,practice of ,physic1 #ahdb-ee ,duncan ,farquharson1 ,fellow of ,trin4 ,coll41 ,camb4 ,,the ,,academic ,,gregories ,,chapter ,i ,,the ,,gregories #8,the moon's on the lake1 and the mist's on the brae1 ,and the clan has a name that is nameless by day4 ,then gather1 gather1 gather ,grigalach6' ,the ,macgregor's ,gathering--,,scott4 ,the able ,scots family of ,gregorie can trace its descent from the ,macgregors of ,roro1 the younger branch of the ,glenlyon family4 ,the name ,gregorie1--which is the ,saxon form of ,m',gregor--had1 most fortunately for its owners1 been assumed before #afjc1 the darkest time in the annals of that clan4 ,the proscription which then fell upon everyone bearing the name of ,m',gregor could not touch the ,gregories2 but the change of name1 which saved them from the penalties that fell so heavily upon their ,highland cousins could not and did not alter their natures1 and all the ,gregories1 with perhaps the single exception of the ,dean of ,christ ,church1 were at heart ,m',gregors4 ,nothing that civilisation1 education1 wealth and society could do to modify their disposition was able entirely to obliterate in them the warlike character of their ,highland forefathers4 ,we remember this1 and when in the nineteenth century we see a learned professor of the ,practice of ,physic beating his fellow-professor in ,edinburgh ,university quadrangle1 we know that he was not really ,james ,gregory but ,james ,m',gregor4 ,the claim of the ,gregories to recognition in ,scottish biography does not rest on the outstanding genius of any individual member of the family1 so much as on the number of great and brilliant men belonging to it1 who have1 in their day1 formed and educated generations of the youth of ,scotland4 ,from the middle of the seventeenth century to the middle of the nineteenth century1 with a gap of only a few years1 some of the ,gregorie connection were professing either mathematics or medicine in one or other of the ,scottish universities4 ,they were great teachers1 lucid1 clear-sighted and advanced in their views1 and naturally leaders of men4 ,galton1 in his book on ,hereditary ,genius1 in which he #8endeavoured to speak of none but the most illustrious names1' cites the ,gregories as a striking example of hereditary scientific gifts4 ,he considers that the mathematical power came into the family with ,janet ,anderson1 who married the ,rev4 ,john ,gregorie1 parish minister of ,drumoak in the year #afba4 ,from these two are descended no less than fourteen professors1 and as there is no record of special power in the ,gregorie family till we come to the sons of ,john ,gregorie1 it may be taken for granted that the ability came from the ,andersons1 who were distinguished in the foregoing generations4 ,janet ,anderson was the daughter of ,david ,anderson of ,finzeach1 in ,aberdeenshire2 a man who was possessed of such universal talent that he was popularly called #8,davie do a' thing4' ,two of his deeds come down to posterity2 the one1 the building of ,st ,nicholas steeple in ,aberdeen1 upon which he himself is said to have placed the weather-cock2 and the other1 the removal of a great boulder1 called ,knock ,maitland1 which lay in the entrance to ,aberdeen harbour and endangered the passage of every ship sailing in or out4 ,this he removed by placing chains under it at low tide1 and fastening them to a huge raft1 which at high tide lifted up the rock and carried it out to the open sea4 ,janet ,anderson's near kinsman was the ,professor of ,mathematics in the ,university of ,paris1 and she herself was a great mathematician and is said to have taught her sons4 ,if that was the case1 one at least of her pupils did her great credit1 for her younger son1 ,james1 lived to take a foremost place among the mathematicians of his day1 and to be the inventor of the ,gregorian ,telescope4 ,in #afba1 when the ,rev4 ,john ,gregorie married ,janet ,anderson1 he was the minister of ,drumoak1 a remote parish on the ,dee1 where in peaceful times he might have fulfilled his quiet duties with little to disturb him4 ,towards the end of the first half of the seventeenth century1 however1 ,scotland was in a ferment1 and in a state of civil and religious turmoil which made itself felt throughout the land4 ,in ,aberdeenshire1 both the clergy and the laity were in sympathy rather with ,laud and ,prelacy than with ,henderson and ,presbytery4 ,this brought them into violent collision with the party in power1 and among the rural clergy there were few names more distasteful to the ,covenanters than the name of ,john ,gregorie4 ,when therefore in #afci1 the government sent an army to coerce refractory ,aberdeenshire1 he knew that he would receive no toleration and fled1 meaning to join the king at ,newcastle4 ,the ship in which he tried to escape was boarded1 and the fugitives were made to return1 and in the following year ,gregorie's fears were realised1 for ,general ,monro1 who was then stationed near ,aberdeen on the outlook for rebels from the ,covenant--especially rich ones--remembered the minister of ,drumoak4 ,spalding tells us the pitiful story4 #8,upone the second day of ,junij1 ,mr ,johne ,gregorie1 minister at ,dalmoak1 wes brocht in to ,munro be ane pairtie of soldiouris4 ,he wes takin out of his naikit bed upone the nicht1 and his hous pitifullie plunderit4 ,he wes cloislie keepit in ,skipper ,andersonis hous haveing fyve muskiteris watching him day and nicht1 sustenit upone his awin expensis4 ,none1 no nocht his awin wyfe could have privie conference of him1 so straitlie wes he watchit4 ,at last he is fynit to pay generall ,major ,munro #ajjj merkis for his outstanding agains the covenant and syne gat libertie to go4 ,bot in the ,generall ,assemblie holdin in ,july1 he wes nevertheless simpliciter deprivit1 becaus he wold not subscryve the covenant2 and when all wes done he is forst to yield1 cum in and subscryve1 as ye have hierafter4' ,it was not till #afda that1 at ,st ,andrews1 the ,laird of ,drum's petition for his restoration had effect2 when in token of his reinstatement1 ,gregorie along with his rival1 ,mr ,andrew ,cant1 was chosen to preach at the visitation of the ,presbytery of ,aberdeen4 ,this fellowship with a man1 whose qualities have been embalmed in his name1 very nearly cost him the favour of the party to which he now belonged4 ,here again is ,spalding's account1 nave and full of the spirit of the time4 #8,upone ,tuysday #fth ,september1 ,mr ,johne ,gregorie1 minister at ,dulmoak at the visitatioun of the ,kirk of ,new ,abirdene teichit most lernidlie upone the #dth verss of the #bnd chapdour to the ,collosians1 and reprehendit the order of our ,kirk and new brocht in poyntes4 ,mr ,andrew ,cant1 sitting besyde the reidar1 as his use was1 offendit at this doctrein1 quicklie cloissit the reidaris buke1 and laid down the glass befoir it wes run1 thinking the minister sould the sooner mak an end2 bot he beheld and preichit half ane hour longer nor the tyme4 ,sermon endit the bretheren convenis to their visitatioun1 quhair ,mr ,andrew ,cant impugnit this doctrein1 desyring the said ,mr ,johne to put the samen in wreit1 who answerit1 he wold not only wreit bot print his preiching1 if neid so requirit1 and baid be all what he had teichit as orthodox doctrien4 ,the bretheren hard all and had their owne opiniouns1 and but ony more censure they disolvit1 sumwhat perturbit with ,cantis curiositie4 ,upone ,thuirsday1 he raillit out in his sermon aganes the said ,mr ,johne ,gregorie's doctrein1 and on ,sunday likwais4 ,at last1 be mediatioun of the toune's balleis at a coup of wyne1 they twa war satled with small credet to ,cantis bussines4' ,though ,gregorie was not censured by the whole body of the clergy in #afdb1 as there seems little doubt ,mr ,cant had intended1 he was not absolutely free from anxiety4 ,no doubt life went smoothly enough with him at times1 for he amassed quite a large fortune4 ,the estates of ,kinairdy and ,netherdale were given to him on the insolvency of the ,crichtons in satisfaction of #c1hjj which he had lent to them2 and his wife on her part had succeeded on her father's death to a portion of the estates of ,finzeach4 ,the land brought its sorrow with it1 and passed out of the hands of the family again1 but that was afterwards4 ,in #afdi ,john ,gregorie was once more deposed1 and for the last time4 ,the ,synod recommended that he should be reinstated1 but he did not long survive this recommendation4 ,he died in #afej1 and was buried at ,drumoak4 ,among the slaty monuments in the churchyard there is none that bears the name of ,john ,gregorie4 ,two hundred and fifty years have obliterated what must once have been written1 and the ,dee is gaining ground from the graveyard at every time of spate4 ,the old church stands and the manse1 which has been turned into a farmhouse1 but that is all4 ,there is a memorial of ,john ,gregorie and his wife in a mortification for the education and maintenance of ten poor orphans #8within the said ,burgh' of ,aberdeen4 ,john ,gregory left three sons1 ,alexander1 who was served heir to his father's very considerable property in #afea1 ,david1 known as ,david of ,kinairdy1 and ,james1 the great professor of astronomy4 ,his two daughters1 ,margaret and ,janet1 were both married1 the latter to ,thomas ,thomson of ,faichfield4 ,loving and generous1 as no one who reads about ,alexander ,gregorie can doubt that he was1 he would yet barely have been included in this book1 if it had not been for his terrible death1 which made the family estates fall into the hands of his younger brother4 ,kinairdy and ,netherdale1 which had been allotted by law to his father on the bankruptcy of the ,crichtons1 were too much favoured by their former possessors to be relinquished without disturbance into the hands of their rightful owners4 ,the ,crichtons harried ,alexander ,gregorie1 and that so frequently1 that he was obliged at last in #affj to seek the shelter of the law4 ,james1 second ,viscount ,frendraught1 took no notice of the summons to appear at court1 and so was outlawed1 but this sentence was remitted upon his giving security 7in a bond of #dj1jjj ,scots or #c1ccc1 #fs4 #h;d4 sterling7 to keep the peace and to appear before the ,privy ,council to answer the charges made against him4 ,bonds such as this succeeded each other1 till the final outbreak which occurred on the #gth of ,march #affd4 ,then with the shed blood of ,alexander ,gregorie came peace1 but at what a cost4 ,in the records of the ,justiciary ,court there is a description of the murder1 which somehow belies its dusty origin1 and sounds as if some old ,aberdeenshire gossip were telling the tale with real enjoyment over her peat fire4 #8,it is of veritie that the said ,james1 ,viscount of ,frendraught and the said ,james ,crichtoun of ,kinairdy1 and ,frances ,crichtoun his sone1 having unjustlie conceaved ane deidlie hatred and cruell malice against umqle ,mr ,alexr ,gregorie of ,netherdeall and the said ,frances ,crichtoun having upon the sevent day of ,march last by-past rancountered with the said ,mr ,alexr ,gregorie at the hous of ,mr ,alexr ,gairdine minister at ,forge1 the said ,frances treacherouslie inveited and desyred the said ,mr ,alexr to goe alongs with him from the said hous1 which he fearing no harme did1 and as they went alongs the said ,frances ,crichtone without any provocatione 7of7 foirthought1 felony and precogitat malice drew his sword and rane at the said umqle ,mr ,alexr ,gregorie thinking to have killed him at one thrust2 but the said umqle ,mr ,alexr1 everting the stroak and closing with him1 not offering to doe him any prejudice at all1 the said ,james ,duffus drew his sword and stroke at the said umqle ,mr ,alexr whereat his horse running away and the said ,frances mounting on his horse1 he divers times ran upon the said umqle ,mr ,alexr and wounded him in his arme1 whereupon the said umqle ,mr ,alexr yielded himself prisoner to the said ,frances and delivered to him his sword being requyred be him sua to doe1 hoping that his honour would therrupon have obliged him to have desisted from all furder trubling and assalting him1 but upon the contrair the said ,frances baislie and treacherouslie with the assistance of the said ,james ,duffus his servant persewed him more eagerlie than befoir1 fyred pistolls at him1 gave him several wounds in his breast and head to the effusione of his blood in great quantitie and then caused him to mount up behind the said ,james ,duffus and caryed him to the hous of ,george ,morisone of ,boignie1 and putt him in ane chamber wherein the said ,james ,viscount of ,frendraught was lodged and then the said ,frances ,crichtone left him and upon the morne1 being the last day of ,march last by past1 about thrie hours in the morning1 the said ,frances ,crichtone accompanied with ,walter ,henry1 gairdiner at ,frendraught1 ,william ,innes yr41 ,george ,mearns yr41 ,rob ,tarres yr41 ,james ,howie1 sone to ,georg ,howie in ,tounslie1 and the said ,james ,duffus all in armes cam to the said hous of ,boignie1 where the said umqle ,mr ,alexr ,gregorie was lying bleeding in his wounds1 they and the said ,james ,viscount of ,frendraught and ,george ,forbes his servant efter many baise and opprobious threatenings uttered be them against the said umqle ,mr ,alexr did most inhumanly and barbarouslie dragg him out of his bed as he was lying bleiding in his wounds1 and that without cloak1 hat1 or shoves1 or bootts1 and did cast him overthwart ane hors1 upon his breast1 his head and armes hanging on the ane syd and his leggs on the other syd and so caryed him away in ane cold and stormy morneing to ,george ,yong's hous in ,coanloch being ane obscure place and myles distant from the said hous of ,boignie where they keiped him prisoner 444 in his wounds be the space of threi days1 tanquam in privato carcere2 and then1 deserting and leaving him1 he was upon the threttein day of the said month by the help of some friends caryed to the burgh of ,aberdeine1 where he lay languishing of the said wounds and the bad usage which he had receaved of the foir-named persons1 and then dyed of the samyne and sua was cruelly and unnaturally killed and murdered be them2 of which murder under trust1 at least slaughter committed upone precogitat malice and forethought felony1 as also of the said usurpatione of ,his ,majestie's authority in takeing and apprehending unwarrantably ane frie leidge1 the foirsaids persons and ilk ane of them1 as also the said ,james ,crichtoune of ,kinairdie by whose instigation and hunding out the foirsaids crymes of slaughter upon foirthought felony and precogitat malice and usurpation of ,his ,majestie's authoritie were committed and are actors airt and pairt1 and the samyne being found be ane assize they aught to be punyshed theirfor in their persons and goods to the terour and example of utheris to commit the lyk heirafter4' ,surely this was not a case for the ,king's leniency2 yet because ,francis ,crichtone was a ,roman ,catholic1 and favoured by the ,duke of ,york1 a warrant came from ,his ,majesty for the suspension of the trial of ,francis ,crichtone4 #8,compeired ,mr ,george ,mackenzie advocate1 and produced ane letter from ,his ,majestie directed to the ,justice ,general and ,justice depute whereof the tenor follows1 ,superscribed ,charles ,r4 ,whereas we are informed that ,alexander ,gregorie did not die of the wounds alleged to have been given him by ,frances ,crichtone now prisoner at ,edinburgh1 these are to require you to suspend that criminal process against ,frances ,crichtone until we shall hear further concerning that business from our ,privy ,council at their next meeting in ,june1 for which this shall be your warrand4 ,given at our ,court at ,whitehall the #acth day of ,may #affd and of our reign the #afth year by ,his ,majestie's command4 #8,sic subitur ,lauderdaill4 #8,to our right trustie and right well-beloved cousin and counselloure and to our trusty and well-beloved our ,justice ,general or ,justice ,depute4' ,james ,crichtone of ,kinairdy and ,viscount ,frendraught were acquitted at the trial1 the assistants at the murder were #8put to ,his ,majestie's horn1 and all their goods forfeit4' ,as for ,francis ,crichtone1 the principal in this affair1 having procured the postponement of his trial1 he escaped from the ,tolbooth ,prison2 and after another futile attempt on the part of the ,gregories to secure a trial1 he obtained a pardon under the ,great ,seal in #afhb4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,david ,,gregorie ,,of ,,kinairdy1 #afbe-agbj #8,not skill alone of ear and eye ,was yours1 but something more--a heart4' --,echoes and ,after-thoughts4 ,david ,gregorie1 the second son of the ,reverend ,john ,gregorie1 was destined by his father for a commercial career4 ,alexander1 his elder brother1 as we have seen1 was heir to the estates of ,kinairdy and ,netherdale1 and to a good deal of money3 the young brother ,james was so remarkable a mathematician that he was allowed to follow his own bent and devote himself purely to mathematics4 ,but ,david1 poor ,david1 most unwilling to go1 was sent to ,holland to learn to be a merchant1 probably to ,campvere1 the happy haven to which so many ,scots traders turned4 ,herrings and stockings--the great ,aberdeen exports of the day--how we can imagine ,david ,gregorie seeing to the unlading of such cargo as this1 with his heart and very likely his head far away in ,scotland6 ,anyhow he did not stay a day longer in ,holland than was necessary1 for after his father's death he returned home and settled in ,aberdeen in #afee4 ,in the same year he married ,jean1 daughter of ,patrick ,walker of ,orchiston1 a great ,episcopalian1 and also a great ,tory4 ,david ,gregorie was only thirty1 and the best of life was still before him4 ,he spent his time in just such a way as attracted him4 ,he studied medicine1 mechanics1 mathematics and physics1 read every interesting book within his reach1 and corresponded with scientific contemporaries both in ,scotland and out of it4 ,his letters1 full of thoughts about the atmospheric laws1 went to ,edm ,mariotte in his cell4 ,he may have got some help from them--certainly ,gregorie was immensely interested in the ,frenchman's discoveries4 ,his life was enriched by many delightful friendships1 but more than all by the affection shewn to him by his brothers and expressed in so many practical ways4 ,in #affj ,alexander settled the property of ,over ,aschalache on ,david and his family1 subject to the life-rent of old ,mrs ,gregorie4 ,it was a most kind arrangement1 and must have been a great help in providing for the growing family4 ,three years later he was made librarian of ,king's ,college1 and there he spent his time1 reading and searching and arranging in the dreamy way of an old world librarian4 ,but life1 which is so fearfully unknown1 held in it for ,david ,gregorie in #affd that which was to alter his whole career4 ,by the tragic death of his brother1 who left no children1 all the family estates passed to him1 and he became suddenly a rich man4 ,he left ,aberdeen1 and went to live in the mansion-house of ,kinairdy1 with which his name is now always associated4 ,few people pass through the remote parish of ,marnoch1 which lies on the borders of ,banffshire and ,aberdeenshire1 but those who do are most certainly rewarded4 ,the ,deveron1 not so well known as the ,dee1 still keeps a charm of loneliness for those who love her1 and the burns are browner than in the southland4 ,by such a burn was ,kinairdy built1 on a little promontory where the stream joins the ,deveron4 ,when ,i asked to see ,kinairdy1 ,i was told #8,there's nothing to see there1 only the old tower down by the river1' but the old tower was enough for me1 and packed full of memories4 ,to this old house it was that ,david ,gregorie took his wife and children in #affd4 ,we get occasional glimpses of him as he passes about the country1 at one time laughed at by his neighbours for his total ignorance of farming1 while at another1 in a case of illness1 they would eagerly wait for his coming1 with a feeling as if life and death were in his hands4 ,sometimes no doubt it was so1 and to rich and poor alike he would go1 giving his advice gratuitously for the love of doctoring1 and because he was benevolent4 ,this medical skill of his stood him in good stead on one occasion1 when a deputation of ministers called upon him to answer for himself on the charge of being a wizard4 ,there were dread stories abroad concerning him1 how1 by having sold his soul to the ,devil1 he was able to foretell the weather 7what a thing to sell your soul for in ,scotland67 how1 after days of sunshine1 he could predict rain and sure enough the rain would come1 and he might make it go on raining for weeks through his intercourse with the powers of darkness4 ,poor ,gregorie1 face to face with his accusers1 went through the little crowd of his children1 and brought in the familiar spirit1 which was only a barometer1 tried to explain how it worked1 asked them to examine it 7which ,i do not believe any of them would do71 and won them over to his side by his sheer lovableness4 ,after all1 who was to doctor them with the skill of ,david ,gregorie if he were burned for a wizard8 ,so the kind doctor was left to his home and his work4 ,the ministers did not understand his defence1 but there was not one of them who could not remember how1 with some well-chosen simple1 he had healed one of their dear ones in the hour of need4 ,as his sons and daughters grew up1 ,gregorie found it more and more impossible to get the quiet which he so much wanted for his work4 ,his patients and his children between them were taking up all his leisure4 ,in these circumstances he determined to rearrange his hours4 ,he retired early to bed1 and rising about two in the morning1 worked for a few hours in the stillness of the night4 ,when that was over1 he went to sleep till he felt rested4 ,if these nocturnal habits were known to the deputation that waited upon him1 there was some excuse for their fears4 ,what more alarming than the shadows in the room6 ,the midnight crucible and the sulphurous smell were not there1 but it must be admitted that the ,laird of ,kinairdy loved the hours of darkness better than the day4 ,david ,gregorie had twenty-nine children4 ,fifteen of them were the children of his first wife1 and fourteen the children of his second4 ,nine of them died as quite little babies1 but twenty grew to be older2 and so1 though everyone says1 that it was remarkable for ,kinairdy to have three sons professors of mathematics1 it must be allowed that he had a most unusual number of children to choose from6 ,in the pedigree of the family of ,gregorie in ,mr ,philip ,spencer ,gregory's book1 from which the table of the professors is for the most part taken1 it is seen that ,david1 ,professor of ,mathematics in ,edinburgh1 and later of ,astronomy in ,oxford1 ,isabel1 the grandmother of ,professor ,innes of ,aberdeen1 and ,james1 ,professor of ,mathematics at ,st ,andrews and ,edinburgh1 were the children of the first marriage2 while ,margaret1 the mother of ,thomas ,reid1 and ,charles1 ,professor of ,mathematics in ,st ,andrews1 were of the second marriage4 ,jean ,walker was probably a cleverer woman than ,isabel ,gordon1 ,gregorie's second wife4 ,in the first place she converted her husband to ,episcopacy and ,toryism1 and secondly1 her son ,david was much the most brilliant of the ,kinairdy children4 ,to him it was1 when he was working as ,savilian professor at ,oxford1 that old ,kinairdy confided a model of an improved cannon1 which in his enthusiasm to improve the munitions of war1 he had designed in his peaceful home by the ,deveron4 ,his son1 who thought it most ingenious1 showed it to ,sir ,isaac ,newton1 and the great philosopher evidently agreed with him2 but to invent an instrument1 the only object of which was to kill better than any cannon in use1 seemed to him a fearful abuse of ingenuity4 ,the horrors of ,marlborough's wars1 where men were slaughtered by the thousand1 were they not enough as it was8 ,who could deserve mercy from his ,maker if he were to bid god-speed to such a terrible machine8 ,sir ,isaac asked the professor to destroy the model1 which he did1 and the little toy which may have been a gatling gun1 for aught we know1 was broken in pieces4 ,old ,david ,gregorie1 who had been preparing to join the allies in ,flanders1 to see his cannon in use1 bore his disappointment most sweetly4 ,perhaps ,newton was right1 he thought1 for although he had meant to help his fellow-countrymen1 the invention would soon be known to the enemy1 and the ,gregorie gun be levelled against his compatriots4 ,there seems to be something almost pitiful about the end of ,david ,gregorie's life4 ,kinairdy was made over to his son1 the ,savilian professor at ,oxford1 the sweet old house forsaken1 the rooms in which such merry life had been lived1 deserted1 and the flowers from which the gentle herbalist had drawn so many healing virtues1 left to die4 ,it would be best to think that he returned to ,aberdeen at the call of ,king's ,college1 which #8,beautified with bells within1 without decked with a diadem1' is said to ring her sons back to her before they die4 ,but there were probably other reasons1 and more potent ones4 ,his children had to be provided for1 and his wife1 shrewd and not poetical 7or else how could she have been a ,hanoverian87 thought of all that her brother1 the ,provost of ,aberdeen1 had in his power1 and she knew he could do much and would do much for her children1 so they set up house once more in the old town of ,aberdeen4 ,in #agae comes another turmoil1 a flitting1 almost a flight across the ,north ,sea to ,holland1 to be out of the difficulties of conflicting hopes and fears1 to be out of the country1 to take at least no part against the ,stuarts1 whom we suspect ,kinairdy of loving in his secret heart4 ,likely enough they may have offered him bribes1 and a title in the coming kingdom1 but there was another counsellor nearer and dearer to him1 and with her and his children he sought the shelter of a foreign land4 ,two or three years passed before they returned to ,scotland4 ,they were content to wait till the storm was past4 ,when they came back ,gregorie's life was nearly over4 ,he died in #agbj1 an old man of ninety-five4 #8,and in his story still remains ,a distant memory of life's loss and gains1 ,a starlit picture of his joy and pains4' ,a visit to his widow1 who was ,thomas ,reid's grandmother was described by her grandson in after years in a letter to ,james ,gregory1 ,professor of ,medicine in ,edinburgh4 #8,i found her1' he says1 #8old and bedridden1 but ,i never saw a more ladylike woman4 ,i was now and then called into her room1 when she sat upon her bed1 or entertained me to sweetmeats and grave advices4 ,her daughters1 who visited her1 as well as one who lived with her1 treated her as if she had been of superior rank1 and indeed her appearance and manner commanded respect4 ,she and all her children were zealous presbyterians1 the first wife's children were ,tories and ,episcopalians4' ,but to return to what interests us about ,david ,gregorie of ,kinairdy1 in connection with his many professorial sons and other kindred1 he was a great lover of science1 and a worker to whom all scientific matter came home to stay4 ,his mathematical and mechanical gifts1 great as they were--and we know he was far advanced in meteorological studies--were not to be compared with the power which he had1 and which now appears for the first time in the ,gregorie family--the inborn gift of doctoring4 ,he had no training except what he gave himself1 but he could no more help being a physician1 than his brother ,professor ,james could help his incessant work at mathematics4 ,david and ,james ,gregorie were the children of their mother far more than of their father2 who1 good as he probably was1 is1 we must confess1 just a little dull4 ,yes1 ,janet ,anderson1 you have lived again for us in your sons6 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,james ,,gregorie1 #afch-afge #8,he learned the art ,in ,padua far beyond the sea4' --,,scott1 ,lay #a1 xi4 ,james ,gregorie1 the third son of the minister of ,drumoak1 was certainly the cleverest member of that family4 ,he was so clever that no one had any time to tell anything about him1 except his achievements in pure mathematics and in the science of optics2 and indeed from his earliest days his love for mathematics was such1 that his pretty mother unwilling to wait till her boy was able to go to school taught him herself all she knew of geometry1 sending him away when the time came to the ,grammar ,school of ,aberdeen already far ahead of his class4 ,he studied at ,marischal ,college1 and took his degree 7laureated is the pleasant ,scottish word7 along with ,gilbert ,burnet1 the readable if imaginative historian1 with whom likely enough he did not find much in common1 representing as they almost did fact and fancy4 ,now their portraits hang side by side in the ,picture ,gallery--,gregorie's grey and grave and stern1 with an indication of what he was in the mathematical globe by his side--,burnet's less severe1 satisfied with himself1 and a most prosperous portrait4 ,after the graduation ,james ,gregorie gave himself up to his studies1 and before he was twenty-four made his great discovery of the ,reflecting ,telescope4 ,it was not a chance discovery1 for indeed he only described1 and never saw put together1 the telescope which bears his name4 ,anyone can see them nowadays1 for they are still used1 and the beautiful one set up by ,james ,short in ,edinburgh1 is as clear as the day it was made1 and is not used now1 only because a commoner one can do the work which it did for so many years in the ,royal ,observatory4 ,to the uninitiated it has a great merit1 for things present themselves through it as they appear to the naked eye1 and not upside down as is the case with most of the great telescopes4 ,in #affc1 his book entitled ,optica ,promota1 which contained a description of his telescope1 was published in ,london1 and thither ,gregorie went1 hoping that by the assistance of a practical workman he might realise his ideal4 ,his book had been much read by mathematicians1 and amongst others by ,john ,collins1 the ,secretary to the ,royal ,society4 ,we can picture then the mutual pleasure with which these two men met4 ,it was in an alehouse1 where possibly the jolly tavern keeper took the ,aberdonian through the fumes of his stuffy parlour1 and presented him to ,master ,collins as a likely friend for him2 anyway1 this was the beginning of a life-long friendship1 and ,collins1 who had realised at once what a possibility lay in the proposed reflecting telescope1 determined to have a glass made on the principles which ,gregorie had suggested in his book4 ,with this object in view1 he took his new ,scottish friend to the most skilled glass-grinder in ,london1 but1 alas6 in vain4 ,mr ,reeves could not overcome the difficulty of obtaining conoidal reflectors1 but to the great mathematicians of that day1 and it was a day of giants1 the discovery was magnificent1 and from the hands of astronomy's master craftsman1 the reflecting telescope emerged in #affh in a more beautiful form1 as ,newton's telescope4 ,before ,gregorie's time1 the telescopes in ,england were many of them immensely long1 going up even to three hundred feet1 and at this length they were hardly available for scanning the heavens4 ,the new reflector brought the size down to six or nine feet1 and the idea was so ingenious1 that it made ,gregorie famous1 and what was more1 opened the door for him to friendship with ,newton and ,collins1 to acknowledgment as an original worker by ,huygens1 and awakened in the ,father of the ,catholic ,church an apprehension that one ,gregorie1 a ,scot and a heretic1 might come to deserve the spiritual blight which he is empowered to give in placing a book on the ,index6 ,it was not so very long before1 that ,galileo--an earlier maker of telescopes--had been accused by the learned scribes and pharisees of his day1 of magic4 #8,oh1 my dear ,kepler1' says ,galileo to his brother astronomer in one of his most amusing letters1 #8how ,i wish that we could have one hearty laugh together6 ,here at ,padua is the principal professor of philosophy1 whom ,i have repeatedly and earnestly requested to look at the moon and planets through my glass1 which he pertinaciously refuses to do4 ,why are you not here8 ,what shouts of laughter we should have at this glorious folly1 and to hear the professor of philosophy in ,pisa labouring before the ,grand ,duke with logical arguments1 as with magical incantations1 to charm the new planets out of the sky6' ,it is well that ,galileo laughed at this stage of his life2 when he fell into the hands of the ,inquisition it became no laughing matter1 and even after he had renounced his views1 he was subjected to many griefs1 and to a long incarceration in an ,italian prison4 ,in the fifty years which intervened between ,galileo and ,james ,gregorie1 ,louis1 the great monarch of ,france1 had taken science under his care1 so the ,inquisition was no longer available as a means of preventing the spread of original thought1 and ,gregorie1 unsuspecting of the pope's attitude towards him1 went to very ,padua itself1 and stayed there for three years4 ,padua1 with its still colonnades and drowsy population1 is visited now1 not in the eager search for learning1 but because of the pale frescoes with which ,giotto had gifted it long before ,gregorie was there1 but in the seventeenth century1 what other attractions drew men thither6 ,then such men as ,riccioli1 ,manfredi and ,de ,angelis were drawing the erudite from far and near to sit at their feet4 ,such men as ,manfredi and ,de ,angelis1 who were they8 ,alas6 they1 the great mathematical champions of their day1 have passed into oblivion1 and are only remembered now1 even in ,padua1 by the work of the masons who carved their names on the walls of the ,university4 #8,in thine halls the lamp of learning ,padua1 now no more is burning2 ,like a meteor1 whose wild way ,is lost over the grave of day1 ,it gleams betrayed and to betray3 ,once remotest nations came ,to adore that sacred flame1 ,when it lit not many a hearth ,on this cold and gloomy earth2 ,now new fires from ,antique light ,spring beneath the wide world's might3 ,but their spark lies dead in thee1 ,trampled out by tyranny4' ,as for ,gregorie1 he was at variance with ,riccioli1 ,de ,angelis and ,manfredi1 and though we have only negative evidence1 we hope that he was at one with the other great teachers of his time in ,italy4 ,optica ,promota had been much read on the ,continent1 and there the suggestion which he made that the solar parallax might be determined by the transit of ,venus and ,mercury had been accepted1 and till a few years ago it was the method employed in finding out the distance of the sun4 ,but after all1 the most beautiful piece of ,gregorie's work was his telescope4 #8,it consists of a parabolic concave speculum with a hole in its centre1 having near its focus a small elliptic concave speculum4 ,the image formed by the large parabolic speculum is received by the small elliptical one1 and reflected through the aperture in the former upon a lens which magnifies it4' ,in ,padua his work took a more purely mathematical turn1 and resulted in a book #8pursuing a hint suggested by his own thoughts1' of which he had only a few copies printed4 ,it was entitled ,vera ,circuli et ,hyperboles ,quadratura1 and ,montucla in writing of it says that the title is misleading1 and that the author does not claim1 except approximately1 through his infinite converging series to find the square of a circle or hyperbola4 ,collins1 to whom a copy was sent1 read part of it before the ,royal ,society4 ,lord ,brouncker and ,dr ,wallis were enthusiastic in its praise1 and under such encouragement ,gregorie published it along with some fresh matter under the title of ,geometriae ,pars ,universalis inservieus ,quantitatum ,curvarum ,transmutationi et ,mensurae4 ,the book came out in ,padua with the permission of the ,state of ,venice1 and was a great success4 ,before its publication the ,royal ,society showed their appreciation of it by making ,gregorie a ,fellow4 ,this was in ,january #affh2 in ,march he was still in ,padua1 but in all the confusion of departure1 and not long after he returned to ,scotland1 and back to his much loved ,aberdeenshire1 where happiness was awaiting him on all sides4 ,there was ,kinairdy to visit with its many charms1 and there was ,aberdeen1 and at ,elrick there was a cousin who was after all1 it is easy to guess1 the end of his journey4 ,this was ,mary ,burnet1 the widow of ,john ,burnet1 who to his great joy consented to become his wife1 and was married to him in #affi4 ,the astronomer found love-making dreadfully time-consuming1 and vaguely regretted it4 ,you see1 it was apt to interrupt his correspondence with ,huygens and ,halley1 with ,newton and ,collins1 with ,dr ,wallis and ,lord ,brouncker4 ,here is a pathetic letter from him written in the early part of the year to one of his mathematical correspondents--#8,i have several things in my head as yet only committed to memory1 neither can ,i dispose of myself to write them in order and method till ,i have my mind free from other cares4' ,his wife was only twenty-three1 although this was her second marriage1 and even when after ,mr ,gregorie's death she married ,mr dis1 she was still young and very beautiful4 ,a rare piece of her work remains in the tapestries which adorn the ,magistrates' ,gallery in ,st ,nicholas ,church in ,aberdeen4 ,susannah and ,jephtha's daughter were her subjects1 and there they are still1 looking out of their panels1 from the midst of their beautiful blue and green landscapes1 with the rigid uncertainty of tapestry portraits4 ,bailie ,burnet would have been proud if he could have foreseen what a combination of ecclesiastical and civic honour was to fall to his wife's needlework4 ,mrs ,gregorie's father1 ,george ,jameson the artist1 drew the pictures for her4 ,walpole called him the #8,van ,dyck of ,scotland1' though it is difficult to know why1 as there is really no resemblance in their work1 but at least ,jameson and ,van ,dyck were friends in ,rubens' studio1 and the kindly appreciation of his fellow-citizens has remembered and repeated the phrase4 ,in #afgj1 ,james ,gregorie was appointed to the ,chair of ,mathematics in ,st ,andrews1 where he had a successful if sometimes vexed life4 ,his duties were to deliver two lectures a week1 and to answer any mathematical questions that might be set before him4 #8,i am now much taken up1' he writes in ,may1 #afga1 #8and have been so all this winter by-past1 both with my public lectures1 which ,i have twice a week1 and resolving doubts1 which some gentlemen and scholars propose to me4 ,this ,i must comply with1 nevertheless that ,i am often troubled with great impertinences1 all persons here being ignorant of these things to admiration4 ,these things do so hinder me1 that ,i have but little time to spend on these studies my genius leads me to4' ,he lived near the beautiful cathedral and almost under the shadow of ,st ,regulus1 and there his name is still remembered in ,gregorie's ,lane and ,gregorie's ,place4 ,he worked in the long1 many-windowed library1 where the clock which he used is still at work1 and where it has been keeping time these two hundred years1 since ,huygens1 who invented the use of the pendulum in clocks1 and ,gregorie himself were laid at rest4 ,huygens and ,gregorie had a long feud about his ,paduan book4 ,its faults as the ,dutchman thought were lack of #8distinguished perspicuity' and intricacy in its invention4 ,but ,huygens must have lived to regret his criticisms1 however well founded they were1 for with a sudden burst of the ,m',gregor spirit1 ,professor ,james sent forth a volley of answers1 his official statements through the medium of the ,philosophical ,transactions1 and his unofficial through his many letters4 ,neither his great opponent1 nor his great opponent's allies were spared4 #8,i am not yet so much a ,christian as to help those who hurt me4 ,i do not know 7neither do ,i desire to know7 who calleth in that preface1 ,hugenius his animadversions of ,november #abth #affh1 judicious1 but ,i would earnestly desire that he would particularize 7if he be not an ignorant7 in what my answer1 which is contradictory to ,hugenius his animadversions is faulty2 for in geometrical matters1 if anything be judicious its contradictory must be nonsense4 ,i do not know what need there was for an apology for inserting my answer1 but to compliment ,hugenius1 and violently 7if it be possible7 to bear down the truth4 ,i imagined such actions below the meanest member of the ,royal ,society1 however1 ,i hope ,i may have permission to call to an account in print the penners of that ,preface4' ,the account was never called for1 because ,newton in the meantime1 gave the simpler solution1 which ,gregorie had been declaring an impossibility1 but it must be remembered that ,gregorie's method although almost impossible to any but the most clear mathematical mind1 was easy to him and was correct as far as it went4 ,can anyone help loving ,huygens1 even though they know no more of him than what is seen in his intercourse with ,gregorie8 ,what graciousness and kindness was returned in exchange for the thunderous treatment he received6 ,sick1 as he thought he was unto death1 he suggested ,gregorie as a fit successor to him in the favour of ,louis ,,xiv41 and we find his father1 who was secretary to the ,prince of ,orange and a poet--the poet of the garden--similarly occupied1 trying to influence the great folk with whom he came in contact to further ,gregorie's interests4 ,but in spite of the recommendation of the ,acadmie des ,sciences1 the ,royal ,society1 and such friends as he had at court1 ,gregorie never received any ,royal patronage2 the want of which he took very calmly and with a great deal of broad good sense1 never having expected any other result4 #8,i have had sufficient experience in the uncertainty of things of that nature before now1 which maketh me since ,i came to ,scotland1 how mean and despicable so ever my condition be1 to rest contented and satisfy myself with that1 that ,i am at home in a settled condition by which ,i can live4 ,i have known many learned men far above me upon every account with whom ,i would not change my condition4' ,in #affi ,gregorie's books were suppressed in ,italy1 which came as a shock to him1 and was all the more grievous because it deprived him of many of his most interested readers--and controversialists6 ,scotland1 however1 supplied the deficiency wonderfully well4 ,there was a professor in ,glasgow called ,george ,sinclair1 a mathematician1 and a demonologist of great repute1 who wrote a book on ,hydrostatics4 ,it was quite clever1 and may have been more interesting to the general reader than books on ,hydrostatics usually are1 because of an appendix in which some strange things were included1 amongst others1 ,a ,short ,history of ,coal and the ,story of the ,devil of ,glenluce4 ,the humour of the combination was too much for ,gregorie1 and under the name of ,patrick ,mathers1 ,arch-,bedal to the ,university of ,st4 ,andrews1 he wrote an answer to the scientific part of the ,hydrostatics1 which he called #8,the ,great and ,new ,art of ,weighing ,vanity4' ,witty1 scurrilous1 easily written and easily read1 the book was a great source of merriment both to ,gregorie and his colleagues at ,st4 ,andrews1 and it raised a perfect hurricane in ,glasgow4 ,the very name was an impertinent play on the title of his antagonist's former book ,ars nova et ,magna and the fact that ,professor ,sinclair was no mean adversary added zest to the battle1 which continued many days4 ,but ,professor ,sinclair had prepared an ill reception for his work by the edict which he had had printed and sent abroad to persuade people to order copies of it3-- #8,forasmuch as there is a ,book of ,natural and ,experimental ,philosophy in ,english1 to be printed within these four months1 or thereabouts2 wherein are contained many excellent and new purposes3 ,as first1 ,thirty ,theorems1 the most part whereof were never so much as heard of before3' 7,alas6 poor professor what a beginning6 ,and is the ending any better67 #8and an excellent way for knowing1 by the eye1 the ,sun or ,moon's motion in a second of time1 which is the #cfjj part of an hour1 and many others of different kinds1 useful and pleasant4 ,these are therefore to give notice to all ingenious persons1 who are lovers of ,learning1 that if they shall be pleased to advance ,gedeon ,shaw1 ,stationer at the foot of the ,ladies ,steps1 three pounds ,scots1 for defraying the present charges of the said ,book1 they shall have from him1 betwixt the date hereof and ,april next to come1 one of the ,copies3 ,and for their further security in the interim the ,author's obligation for performing the same4' #8,which so exposed to my masters the vanity of that confident man1 that they were forced plainly to let him know their mind1' wrote the ,arch-,bedal1 and some of his own sentiments were expressed in a letter which he afterwards quoted in the ,preface to his book ,the ,great and ,new ,art #8,sir1--,i admire exceedingly the forwardness of your humor 7,i will call it no worse7 in your last to ----3 he is a person not concerned in you or in your books1 neither will he ignorantly commend anything1 as it seems ye expected he should have done1 when ye sent him these papers4 ,ye might have known long ago that he had no veneration for what ye had formerly published1 for he made no secret of his mind1 when he was put to it4 ,ye may mistake him1 if ye think that any by-end will cause him speak what he thinks not3 nevertheless he delivered your commission1 and was willing to be unconcerned1 expecting their answer4 ,they pressed him to know his judgment of your last piece3 he told ingenuously the truth1 that there was none of them had less esteem for it than himself4 ,he hopes you are so much a ,christian1 that ye will not be offended with him for speaking what he thought when he had a call to it2 and yet albeit ye seem to favour him more than others1 he hath ground to look upon himself as one of the sophistical rabble1 for they only are such who condemn anything ye do1 the rest of the ,university continuing always learned persons4 ,it is to no purpose to apologize for themselves1 ye take all for granted1 which ye have heard3 ,i shall not put you to the pains of proving it2 yet it seems ye would hardly have believed it so easily1 had not your conscience told you1 that they had some reason for their judgement1 which really was this following3 ,that they see nothing in your last piece1 new and great 7albeit it be ,ars nova et ,magna7 save errors and nonsense2 as your demonstrations of the pendulum1 your ,nihil spatiale1 your ,gravitas circularis1 and horizontalis1 your question 8,whether or no a body may be condensed in a point80 etc41 too many to fill several letters3 for ye must not call experiments new inventions1 otherwise ye are making new inventions every day1 neither must ye call different explications new inventions1 else the same thing might be invented by almost every ,writer4 ,i admire how ye question the ,r4 ,society2 for ,i desire to know one point of doctrine1 which ye or they either pretend to1 concerning the weight of the air1 the spring of it1 or anything else in your book1 save mistakes1 which was not received by all mathematicians1 and the most learned of ,philosophers many years before any of you put pen to paper4 ,ye have been at much pains to prove that by experiment1 which all the learned already grant1 and some have demonstrat priori from the principles of ,geometry and ,staticks1 and many posteriori from experience if sense may be called a demonstration3 yet ye are the only man who produceth the ,ars ,nova et ,magna when all others are out of fashion4 ,but more to your commendation1 it seems ye do all these wonders by ,magick2 for ye have the ordinair principles of none of these ,sciences3 ,euclid is as much a stranger as reason in all your ,books3 and for this ,perque ,mathematicos semper celebrabere fastus6 ,at last ye come to prove a new doctrine1 which before now was near #bjjj years old1 with thirty new ,theorems which must not be named because they are of such a tender and delicat complexion that the very naming of them will make them old4 ,there are also many other excellent things1 which will be all new when they were but printed yesterday4 ,it is like some of these dayes1 we may have an ,ars ,nova et ,magna1 to prove that a piece of lead is heavier than so much cork4 ,i know not wherefore ye undervalue any man1 because he hath not as great esteem for your notions as yourself3 ,have not we as much freedom to speak our mind of you1 as ye have to write yours of the ,r4 ,society and the ,university of ,glasgow8 ,the greatest hurt ye can do us1 is to make ,dromo famulus one of our ,principals4 ,i think it not strange that ye using only demonstrations of sense1 should admire the force of our imagination1 in affirming no method of ,dyving so good as that of ,melgin4 ,i am sure that the man ,dyving for a continual time1 if he be not also of your invention1 must breath of the air2 and this air must either be kept close by itself1 as in ,melgin's way1 or communicat with the air above4 ,if the latter be your invention1 ,i doubt ye must also have some ,chirurgical invention to apply to your ,dyver at his return1 if he go to any great deepness3 ,if the former1 it is the same with ,melgin's2 and you cannot neither any man else help it1 but in circumstances 7which alters not the method7 and perchance to little purpose4 ,as for ,archimedes1 ,i am sure he wanted no necessary requisit to prove the weight of water in its own ,element4 ,i know not what else ye intend to prove3 ,always ,i am as sure that he had two great requisits1 which ye want2 to wit1 ,geometry and a sound head4 ,as to what ye write concerning the imperfection of ,sciences2 the scientifical part of ,geography is so perfected1 that there is nothing required for the projection1 description and situation of a place1 which cannot be done and demonstrat4 ,the scientifical part of opticks is so perfected1 that nothing can be required for the perfection of sight1 which is not demonstrat1 albeit men's hands cannot reach it2 and these being the objects of the fore-said ,sciences1 your authority shall not persuade me that it is altogether improper to call them perfect4 ,in the ,hydrostaticks1 it were no hard matter to branch out all the experiments that can be made into several ,classes1 of which the event and reason might perfectly be deduced1 as consectaries 7,i speak not here of long deductions1 as ye seem to rant7 to something already published3 if it be noticed but rudely 7as ye1 not understanding what niceties of proportion means1 must do7 only considering ,motion and ,rest3 ,and ,i believe there is none ignorant of this who understands what is written in this ,science4 ,upon this account writing to you1 ,i might call it perfect1 albeit ,i know there are many things relating to the proportion and acceleration of the motions of fluids1 which are yet unknown1 and may perchance still be4 ,ye shal not think that ,i speak of you without ground2 7for in your ,ars ,magna et ,nova1 ye bring in your great attempts for a perpetual motion2 all which a novice of eight days standing in ,hydrostaticks would laugh at74 ,i do not question that this age hath many advantages beyond former ages2 but ,i know not any of them1 it is beholden to you for3 only ,i admire your simplicity in this4 ,astronomers seek always to have the greatest intervals betwixt ,observations1 and ye talk that ye will give an excellent way for observing the ,sun or ,moon's motion for a second of time2 that is to say1 as if it were a great matter that there is but a second of time betwixt your ,observations4 ,i wonder ye tell me the eye should be added2 for the invention had been much greater had that been away4 ,i do confess that a good ,history of ,nature is absolutely the most requisite thing for learning2 but it is not like that you are fit for that purpose1 who so surely believe the miracles of the ,west1 as to put them in print2 and record the simple meridian altitudes of ,comets1 and that only to halfs of degrees or little more as worth noticing4 ,however1 if ye do this last part concerning ,coal-sinks well1 and all the rest be but an ,ars ,magna et ,nova1 ye may come to have the repute of being more fit to be a ,collier than a ,scholar4 ,ye might have let alone the precarious principles and imaginary worldes of ,des ,cartes1 until your new inventions had made them so3 ,for ,i must tell you ,des ,cartes valued the ,history of ,nature1 as much as any experimental ,philosopher ever did1 and perfected it more with judicious experiments1 than ye will by all appearance do in ten ages4 ,ye are exceedingly misinformed1 if ye have heard that any here have prejudice or envy against you2 for there is none here speaks of you but with pity and commiseration3 neither heard ,i ever of any man who commended you for what he understood4 ,as for your ,latin ,sentences1 if they be not applied to yourself1 ,i understand them not2 for here we are printing no books1 we are not sending tickets throughout the country to tell the wonders we can do3 ,we are going about the imployments we are called to1 and strive to give a reason for what we say4 ,where then are our ,doli et fallaciae1 tabulae et testes1 sapientia ad quam putamus nos pervenisse8 etc4 ,in these things ye publish1 ye know there is no ,sophistry but clear evidence3 ,if ye had done such great matters in ,universale et ens rationis1 ye might have had a shift2 but here ye must either particularize your inventions1 or otherwise demonstrat yourself derogatory to the credit of the ,nation3 ,for what else is it to confound ,r4 ,societies and ,universities with ,ars ,magna et ,nova2 and yet when ye were put to it in print1 to show your inventions1 all ye could say was1 that the publisher should have reflected upon the wisdom of the ,creator1 etc41 so that the ,poet said well of ,democritus1 etc41 of which ,i understand not the sense1 except ye make yourself the summus vir1 and us all the ,verveces4 ,i suppose this may be the great credit that ye say ye have labored to gain to your nation2 to wit to get us all the honrable title of ,wedders4 ,no more at present1 but hoping this free and ingenuous ,letter shal have a good effect upon you 7for ,i am half perswaded1 that the flattery of scorners and ignorants1 hath brought you to this height of imaginary learning7 and that when ye come to yourself ye will thank me for my pains4 ,i rest your humble servant4' 99 99 99 99 99 ,to this letter ,professor ,sinclair in his turn very pertinently remarked1 that they should not criticise his book till they had seen it1 and the ,st ,andrews' teachers were convinced4 ,but unfortunately in the address to the reader with which ,professor ,sinclair's ,hydrostaticks commences1 he gave expression to his wounded feelings4 #8,when this ,book was first committed to the press1 ,i sent an intimation thereof to some of my friends1 for their encouragement to it1 a practice now common1 and commendable which hath not wanted a considerable success1 as witness the respect of many worthy persons1 to whom ,i am oblidged4 ,but there is a generation1 that rather than they will encourage any new invention1 set themselves by all means to detract from it and the authors of it2 so grieved are they1 that ought of this kind should fall into the hands of any1 but their own4 ,and therefore if the ,author shall give but the title of ,new to his invention1 though never so deservedly1 they fly presently in his throat1 like so many ,wild-,catts1 studying either to ridicule his work altogether--a trade that usually1 the person of weakest abilities1 and most empty heads1 are better at1 than learned men2 like those schollars1 who being nimble in putting tricks1 and impostures upon their ,condisciples1 were dolts1 as to their lesson1 or else fall upon it with such snarling and carping as discover neither ingenuity1 nor ingeniousness1 but a sore sickness called1 ,envy4' 99 99 99 99 99 ,now1 indeed1 now was the ,arch-,bedal justified1 and so in hot haste he wrote that stinging book1 which purported to be by ,patrick ,mathers 7the ,arch-,bedal to the ,university of ,st ,andrews71 but was really by ,gregorie1 a fact which its erudition must have made clear to ,sinclair1 even before that kind person1 the mutual friend1 had confided the fact to him4 ,the curious thing was that with all his desire to heap ridicule upon his adversary1 ,gregorie only touched upon what would naturally now appear the most vulnerable point1 the passage about the ,devil of ,glenluce4 ,in the meantime the clear air of ,st ,andrews was daily suggesting to him how desirable a place it was in which to teach ,astronomy4 ,at night1 when he walked over the links1 the stars were so clear above him1 and the hills so inconsiderable on the horizon1 that he felt that nowhere in ,scotland was there a site more suitable for an observatory4 ,his idea was cordially agreed to by the ,university1 and sufficient money had been collected by #afgc to admit of the authorities commencing their arrangements4 ,accordingly ,gregorie was commissioned to proceed to the selection of the instruments needed for the carrying out of his plan4 99 99 99 99 99 #8,commission1 ,university of ,st ,andrews1 to ,mr ,james ,gregorie1 ,professor of ,mathematics4 #8#ajth ,june #afgc4 #8,be it knowen to all men be these presents1 ,us1 ,rector1 ,principals1 ,doctors1 and ,professors of the ,university of ,st ,andrews1 under subscribing3 ,for as much as we have formerly taken to our serious consideration the great detriment and losse this ancient seminary hath been at in times past1 and doeth yet sustain by the want of such proper and necessary instruments and utensils as may serve and conduce for the better1 more solemn and famous profession1 teaching and improving of ,naturall ,philosophy and the mathematical sciences1 and especially for making such observation on the ,heavens and other bodys of this ,universe 7as easily may be by such helps1 with the great advantage of the pure air and other accommodation of this place7 whereby we may be enabled to keep correspondence with learned and inquisitive persones in solide philosophy everywhere1 for the forsaid effect3 ,and having purposed 7to be forthcoming to our duty and the encouragement of others7 to set as effectually as may be about this laudable and necessary work1 for providing the forsaids instruments of all kynds1 ane observatory1 and all other accoutrements requisite for the improvement of the forsaid sciences1 the benefite1 advantage and delight of youth to be trained up here1 the honour of the ,kingdom1 the reputation of our benefactors1 and the lustre and splendour of the ,university3 ,did therefore commissionat some of our number to make application unto all persons1 whom they knew to be encouragers of learning1 and patrons to the professors thereof1 representing unto them that we were instantly upon the effectuating of the forsaid designe1 ,and to that end to crave their affections and such other encouragements for the said work as they please to bestow2 ,and to report to us their diligence therein1 with the names of our benefactors1 to the effect this ,university may record them1 and endeavour to make such respectfull resentments to them and their posterity1 as becomes3 giving them power to do every other thing proper and requisit in the said affair2 ,they being always answerable and accountable to us anent the premises4 ,and whereas this our laudable designe hath already met with such considerable encouragement from persons of all ranks1 that we have ordered ,mr ,james ,gregorie1 professor of the ,mathematical ,sciences here to goe to ,london1 and there to provide so far as the money already received from our ,benefactors will reach1 such instruments and utensils as he with advice of other skilful persons shall judge most necessary and usefull for the above mentioned design3 ,like as be these presents we the under subscribers all with one consent constitute the said ,mr ,james our factor for the effect forsaid1 ,giving and granting him our full power and ample commission for transacting and buying the forsaid instruments in so far as the money forsaid will extend1 or as he shall be further furnished by us upon what is to come upon our letters and precepts for that effect3 ,obliging ourselves to ratifye and approve what the said ,mr ,james should doe in this our commission directed to him by us during his residence there1 and to acquit and relieve him of all prejudice he may incur and sustain in execution of this our commission1 or any other commission sent by us to him during his residence there3 ,and to take notice of the fabric and form of the most competent observatorye that ours here intended may be builded with all its advantages3 ,and also considering the intended work to be of such moment and expenss1 that we ar not able to accomplish it with the contributions of these only who have already listed themselves encouragers of it2 ,therefore we also by these presents do nominat and constitute the said ,mr ,james ,gregorie our factor and special mandator for making application unto all whom he knows to be favourers of learning for their concurrence unto the advancement of the forsd work with full power to do everything proper and requisit in this affair1 as others formerly employed therein have been impowered by us to do1 ,he being in like manner accountable to us anent the premisses4 ,as witness these presents1 written by ,william ,sanders1 one of our number1 clerk for the time1 and subscrived with our hands in the ,university ,hall1 on the #ajth day of ,june ,j4 m4 vjc4 seventy three years4 ,d4 ,will ,comrie1 ,provost of ,st ,marie's ,colledge ,ja4 ,rymer ,edw4 ,thomson ,ja4 ,strachane ,jo4 ,comrie ,and4 ,bruce1 ,rector4 ,d4 ,geo4 ,weemss1 ,provost of the ,old ,colledge4 ,d4 ,james ,weemss1 ,principal of ,st ,leonard's ,colledge4 ,jo4 ,hay4 ,alexr4 ,grant4 ,alexr4 ,skene4 ,w4 ,sanders4' 99 99 99 99 99 ,professor ,james ,gregorie in his search for funds went to ,aberdeen1 and there he achieved what was quite the most wonderful success of his life--he got a church-door collection in all the churches in ,aberdeen to provide for astronomical instruments at ,st ,andrews4 ,rob ,roy need never have taken to the high hand1 if he had a tongue at all as persuasive as his great cousin6 ,here are the ,burgh ,records for #aeth ,october #afgc4a ,footnote #a3 ,ane collection to be at the ,kirk ,dores for the ,observatorie at ,saint ,andrews4 99 99 99 99 99 #8#aeth ,oct4 #afgc4 #8,the said day1 ,master ,alexander ,skene1 ane of the regents of ,saint ,andrewes signifying to the councell that ,master ,james ,gregorie1 professor of ,mathematics ther1 that ther was ane considerable work intendit in that airt1 which before being brought to ane perfectione woulde stand considerable moneyes and that severall incorporations and ,universities hade contribuit therto1 and seeing the said professor was ane town's man heir1 it was expectit by all concernit1 and humblie desyrit be him1 that this burgh wold contribute to the furtherance of the said work3 ,all which the councell considering1 finds it incumbent upon them not to be wanting for advancement of the said effair in so far as they are lyable1 and therfor appoynts ane collectione to be at the ,kirk dores 444 the nixt or subsequent ,lord's day for the forsaid effect4444' 99 99 99 99 99 ,things were going very smoothly--success was absolutely fawning upon ,gregorie--he was getting money as he wanted it1 and the instruments he had bought were entirely to his mind2 but on his return from ,london1 where he had gone to fulfil his commission1 he found everything changed1 and his colleagues1 who had once been so kindly to him1 had ceased to regard him as their friend4 ,he was in the curious situation of being paid by all three colleges1 and that in itself would make his position somewhat difficult1 but this difficulty had always existed4 ,the real cause of dissension was that in his absence the students had been making popular demonstrations against some of the other teachers1 and citing his lectures as opposed to the theories propounded by them4 ,it was most uncomfortable for everybody1 and everyone in authority determined to make it most uncomfortable of all for ,gregorie4 ,his salary was suspended1 the university servants were told to take no notice of his orders1 and the students were commanded not to attend his lectures1 for certainly the mathematics as taught by him had turned their heads1 they had shown distinct signs of madness4 ,the attitude of the professors was not unlike that taken up by the country doctor1 who when asked to fill in a form1 certifying one of his patients to be insane1 put as evidence observed by himself1 #8he called me a fool6' ,in the midst of all the turmoil came a flattering invitation to ,james ,gregorie to become ,professor of ,mathematics in ,edinburgh ,university4 ,after the treatment he had received this was a most blessed chance and with great joy he left ,st ,andrews1 and came to ,edinburgh4 ,the whole story was written to ,james ,fraser1 then at ,paris3-- 99 99 99 99 99 #8,,much ,,honoured ,,sir1--,i received some days ago your very obliging letter1 and not long after your arrival at ,paris ,i had another from you1 to which the truth is ,i was ashamed to answer1 the affairs of the ,st ,andrews ,observatory were in such a bad condition1 the reason of which was the prejudice the masters of the ,university did take at the mathematics1 because some of their scholars finding their courses and dictates opposed by what they had studied in the mathematics1 did mock at their masters1 and deride some of them publicly4 ,after this the servants of the college got orders not to wait on me or my observations1 my salary was also kept back from me1 and scholars of most eminent rank were violently kept from me1 contrary to their own and their parents' wills1 the masters persuading them that their brains were not able to endure it4 ,these and many other discouragements oblige me to accept of a call here to the ,college of ,edinburgh1 where my salary is here double1 and my encouragements much greater4' 99 99 99 99 99 ,gregorie left ,st ,andrews somewhat under a cloud1 because1 as we have good reason to suppose1 he had been teaching ,newton's ,philosophy before the ,kingdom of ,fife was quite ready for it1 and because1 too1 his students had more ardour than wisdom in their minds4 ,but in ,edinburgh he had a great reception4 ,the hall where he gave his inaugural address1 in ,november #afgd1 was crowded1 and he was given perfect freedom in what he taught4 ,in his observatory he passed many happy hours1 and often at nights he would take his students to look through the telescope at the stars1 to find out belted ,saturn and ,jupiter with his satellites1 which was not such a nursery affair then as it is now4 ,these phenomena had only been discovered fifty years before1 for let us remember ,james ,gregorie lived in the days of ,charles the ,second1 and just missed by a few years being ,samuel ,rutherfurd's fellow-citizen in ,st ,andrews4 ,the last scene in his life comes all too soon1 and before he had been a year in ,edinburgh his place was vacant4 ,on an ,october evening while he was showing his students the satellites of ,jupiter1 a sudden blindness came on1 and within a few days everything was over4 ,he probably died of ,bright's disease4 ,it seems to us on looking back1 as if the active mind had worked too quickly4 ,gregorie was only thirty-six1 but he had already done a full life's work in science4 ,mengoli1 ,newton1 ,huygens1 and even ,leibnitz 7who for some time claimed ,gregorie's series for his own7 have borne witness to his power4 ,in truth there was something in him that inclined great men to love him1 and his mathematics are so deep that it is only the master minds who appreciate him4 ,he was a mathematician for mathematicians4 ,there are many of ,gregorie's letters still extant1 and for the pure pleasure of reading one just as he wrote it1 this letter written to the ,rev4 ,coline ,campbell is inserted4 99 99 99 99 99 #8,,st ,,andrews1 #a4 ,jan4 #afgc4 #8,,sir1--,i received your of the #bcrd of ,december last1 and am glad to have the occasion to keep a correspondence with such a knowing person as ye ar4 ,i have not had leasur at this time to satisfie you in your probleme1 being drawn away all this afternoon with necessarie affairs3 but with the nixt ,i shall doe my endeavour for ,i expect not to mak the calculation considerablie short1 seing the nature of the question doeth not suffice it4 ,our bedal his book against ,mr ,sinclair is come out several weeks ago4 ,no more at present1 but being in hast and hoping that ye will be pleased to continue this new correspondence1 ,i rest1 #8,your humble servant1 #8,,james ,,gregorie4 #8for ,mr ,,coline ,,campbell4' 99 99 99 99 99 ,his widow and orphans were granted a pension by ,charles ,,ii4 of #dj a year ,scots in recognition of what ,gregorie had done in ,scotland4 ,no one could be found suitable to succeed him in the ,chair of ,mathematics at ,edinburgh4 ,the authorities waited eight years before they made another appointment2 and when the new professor came1 he was also a ,gregorie1 a nephew of the late professor4 ,his own son1 too1 held a chair1 but that was in ,aberdeen1 and he was a professor of medicine4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,david ,,gregory1 #affa-agjh #8,tycho ,brahe was also one who used the sword1 not to cut into flesh and bone1 but to build up a plainer way among all the stars of heaven4'--,,hans ,,andersen4 ,david ,gregorie was the third son of his father and name-father1 the ,laird of ,kinairdy4 ,he was born in a house without the port in the ,upper ,kirkgate of ,aberdeen1 where the tradition of his birth lingered1 and was indeed cherished many a year after the boy had grown to manhood1 and had left his grey birthplace for the richer lands of the ,south4 ,the boy's mother was1 it may be remembered1 ,jean ,walker1 one of the ,orchiston family1 and the child was taught from his babyhood loyalty to the ,stuarts and a passionate adherence to the episcopal form of church government and teaching1 which he carried with him to the grave4 ,his education he began at the ,grammar ,school1 of which ,robert ,skene was the rector1 and afterwards he studied either at ,marischal ,college or ,king's ,college4 ,it was at the ,university of ,edinburgh1 however1 where his uncle had had such a brilliant if short career1 that he took his degree as ,master of ,arts in #afhc4 ,he was even as a student a man whose life was commented upon4 ,people talked of his studiousness1 of his joyful temper1 and still more of his friendship with ,dr ,archibald ,pitcairne1 whose time was coming to make the tongues of ,edinburgh wag4 ,they really were wonderful friends4 ,pitcairne studied everything from sheer love of learning4 ,he was educated in turn for the church1 the law1 and for medicine1 and besides this he made a great excursion into the higher mathematics at the instigation of his friend4 ,david ,gregorie1 on the other hand1 was a pure mathematician1 all else in his studies giving way to his love for his dear #8,celestial ,physicks4' ,from his uncle1 ,james1 he had inherited a great number of mathematical manuscripts1 and this inheritance was regarded by him with the deepest veneration4 ,some day he would edit all these papers1 but meantime many happy hours were spent by these two friends going over the manuscripts4 ,for ,david ,gregorie there was moreover much to delight in1 in every fresh discovery that came from the hands of ,sir ,isaac ,newton4 ,soon he was as ardent an admirer of the philosopher as ever his uncle had been4 ,if he were made a professor1 ,gregorie thought1 he would admit none of the ,cartesian fallacies1 and already his appointment to the ,chair of ,mathematics was being discussed4 ,at the age of twenty-two1 then1 and actually before ,david ,gregorie had got his ,a4,m4 degree1 he was appointed to this ,chair in the ,edinburgh ,university1 an office which had not been filled up since his uncle's death4 ,lectures had been given by a student called ,john ,young1 but he was only acting as mathematical tutor1 filling the place temporarily1 whereas when ,gregory was appointed it was as professor1 with a salary of #ajjj 7,scots74 ,in ,december he gave his inaugural address in ,latin1 on an ,analysis of ,geometrical ,progress4 ,the lecture has been lost1 but a volume of notes of his usual course of teaching is preserved in the ,university ,library1 and its range is very large4 ,as has already been said1 what chiefly distinguished ,david ,gregorie was his appreciation of ,newton's ideas4 ,it was his object to bring down the ,principia to the average level of mathematical minds1 and both he and his brother ,james1 who held the corresponding chair at ,st ,andrews1 were teaching ,newton's philosophy before it was taught at ,cambridge4 #8,it was not long1' says ,whiston1 #8before ,i with immense pains1 but no assistance1 set myself with the utmost zeal to the study of ,sir ,isaac ,newton's wonderful discoveries in his ,philosophi ,naturalis ,principia ,mathematica1 one or two of which lectures ,i had heard him read in the publick schools1 though ,i understood them not at all at that time1 being indeed greatly excited thereto by a paper of ,dr ,gregory's when he was professor in ,scotland2 wherein he had given the most prodigious commendations to that work1 as not only right in all things1 but in a manner the effect of a plainly divine genius1 and had already caused several of his scholars to keep acts1 as we call them1 upon several branches of the ,newtonian ,philosophy1 while we at ,cambridge1 poor wretches1 were ignominiously studying the fictitious hypothesis of the ,cartesian4' ,voltaire wrote of ,sir ,isaac ,newton1 that when he died he had not more than twenty followers in his own country2 and1 even making allowance for the unfriendly eyes with which the ,frenchman regarded his contemporaries1 there was probably some truth in the statement4 ,whiston was professor of mathematics at ,cambridge1 and writing from that ,university1 where of all places in the world ,newton's doctrines should have been earliest taught1 it is curious that he should have to acknowledge that he got his inspiration from ,scotland4 ,in #afhd ,professor ,gregorie produced his first work1 which was entitled ,exercitatio ,geometrica de ,dimensione ,figurarum1 sive ,specimen ,methodi ,generalis dimetiendi ,quasvis ,figuras4 ,in it he makes much reference to the speculations of his uncle1 to whom he was at least partially indebted for his materials1 and there is little1 if any1 original work4 ,the book was not widely read1 but it was said to have given #8a public proof of his competency to discharge the duties of the important office to which he had been appointed4' ,david ,gregorie was appointed in #afhc in the reign of ,charles ,,ii41 but during his six years in the professoriate many changes had come about4 ,william and ,mary were on the throne1 and not unnaturally it was considered necessary by the new ,government that steps should be taken to ascertain the political opinion of those men to whom was entrusted the instruction of the youth of the land4 99 99 99 99 99 ,at ,edinburgh1 ,july iv41 ,,mdcxc4 #8,the ,rolls of ,parliament called ,act for ,visitation of ,universities1 ,colledges ,schoolls4 #8,our ,soveraigne ,lord and ,lady1 the ,king and ,queen's ,majesties and the three ,estates of ,parliament considering how necessarie it is for the advancement of ,religion and ,learning and for the good of the ,church and peace of the ,kingdom that the universities1 colledges1 and schoolls be provided and served with pious1 able and qualified professors1 principalls1 regents1 masters1 and others bearing office therein well affected to their ,majesties and the established government of ,church and ,state4 ,therefore their ,majesties with advyce of the said three ,estates of ,parliament1 doe statute1 ordaine1 and enact1 that from this time forth1 no ,professors1 ,principalls1 ,regents1 ,masters1 or others bearing office in any university1 colledge1 or schooll within this ,kingdome be either admitted or allowed to continue in the exercise of their saids functions but such as doe acknowledge and profess1 and shall subscryve to the confession of faith ratified and approven by this present ,parliament1 and alsoe sweare and subscryve the oath of allegiance to their ,majesties2 ,and withall shall be found to bee of a pious1 loyal and peaceable conversation1 and of good and sufficient literature and abilities for their rexive ,imployments1 and submitting to the government of the ,church now settled by ,law1 and albeit it be their ,majesties undoubted right and prerogative to name visitors and cause visite the forsaid universities1 colledges and schoolls1 yet at this tyme their ,majesties are pleased to nominate and appoint with advyce and consent forsaid the persons under named1 viz41 ,the ,duke of ,hamilton1 ,earle of ,argyle et alii ,to meet and visite all universities1 colledges and schoolls within this ,kingdom1 and to take tryall of the present ,professors1 ,principalls1 ,regents1 ,masters and others bearing office therein according to the qualifications and rules above mentioned1 and such as shall be found to be erroneous1 scandalous1 negligent1 insufficient1 or disaffected to their ,majestie's ,government1 or who shall not subscryve the ,confession of faith1 sweare and subscryve the oath of allegiance and submitt to the government of the ,church now settled by ,law to purge out and remove4 ,as alsoe to consider the foundations of the saids ,universities colledges and schoolls1 with the rents and revenues thereof1 and how the same have been administred and manadged and to sett down such rules and methods for the good manadgement thereof for hereafter4 ,as likewise for ordering the saids universities1 colledges and schoolls1 and the professions and manner of teaching therein and all things else relateng thereto as they shall thinke most meet and convenient according to the foundations thereof1 and consistent with the present established government of ,church and ,state4 ,and to the effect that these presents may be more surely execute4 ,their ,majesties with advyce forsaid1 doe farther ,impower the forsaids persons visitors or their quorum to appoint ,committees of such numbers of their own members as they shall thinke fitt to visite the severall ,universities and ,colledges within this ,kingdom1 with the ,schoolls within the bounds to be designed to them1 and that according to such instructions and injunctions as they shall thinke fitt to give them2 ,and to the effect that upon report made be the said ,committee to the aforsaid visitors or their quorum they may proceede and conclude thereupon as they shall see cause2 ,and their ,majesties appoints the forsaids visitors to meet at ,edinburgh upon the twenty third day of ,july instant for the first dyet of their meeting with power to them to adjourne and appoint their own meetings to such dayes and places as for thereafter they shall judge convenient2 ,and this ,commission to endure ay and while their ,majesties recall and discharge the same4' 99 99 99 99 99 ,this large commission therefore which was appointed to deal with the universities and schools in ,scotland1 met in ,edinburgh in the ,common ,hall under the presidency of the ,lord ,provost in ,july #afij4 ,the ,principal1 ,alexander ,monro1 was tried first1 and a sentence of deprivation was passed upon him1 as also upon ,dr ,strachan1 ,professor of ,divinity4 ,when ,gregorie's turn came1 he like those who had gone before was accused by men of whose names he was kept in ignorance1 whose statements he could but feel were libellous1 malicious and false4 ,the lay portion of the commission were inclined to favour him1 and when they enquired into his conduct as a teacher1 he was able to present an admirable report of his public lessons for three years4 ,at the same time he would not subscribe to the ,confession of ,faith1 and so it came about that when he recommenced his lectures in the ensuing month of ,december1 he did not know whether he was to continue in the possession of his chair1 neither were ,dr ,archibald ,pitcairne nor ,lord ,tarbat1 his constant supporters in all this time of trial1 able absolutely to reassure him on the point4 ,john ,hill ,burton1 in his chapter on the ecclesiastical settlements says that #8,dr ,gregorie1 the only truly great man among the ,episcopalian professors1 was wisely spared4' ,but for him the suspense and anxiety were very tedious1 and he was glad when a prospect opened out before him of quitting the university in which he had been subjected to so much annoyance4 ,the opening occurred through the resignation of ,dr ,bernard1 ,savilian ,professor of ,astronomy in the ,university of ,oxford1 to whose chair ,dr ,gregorie thought he might aspire4 ,it was of the first importance that he should receive the support of ,sir ,isaac ,newton in his application1 so he went at once to ,london to be introduced to him4 ,sir ,isaac was much pleased with him1 and wrote him a testimonial1 dated ,london1 ,july #afia4 99 99 99 99 99 #8,being desired by ,mr ,david ,gregorie1 ,mathematics ,professor of the ,colledge in ,edinburgh to testifie my knowledge of him1 and having known him by his printed ,mathematical performances1 and by discoursing with travellers from ,scotland1 and of late by conversing with him1 ,i do account him one of the most able and judicious ,mathematicians of his age now living4 ,he is very well skilled in analysis and geometry1 both new and old4 ,he has been conversant in the best writers about astronomy1 and understands that science very well4 ,he is not only acquainted with books1 but his invention in ,mathematical things is also good4 ,he has performed his duty at ,edinburgh with credit1 as ,i hear1 and advanced the ,mathematicks4 ,he is reputed the greatest ,mathematician in ,scotland1 and that deservedly1 so far as my knowledge reaches1 for ,i esteem him an ornament to his country1 and upon these accounts do recommend him to the duties of the ,astronomy ,professor into the place in ,oxford now vacant4--sic subscribitur4 ,,is4 ,,newton1 ,math4 ,prof41 ,cantab4' 99 99 99 99 99 ,nor did ,sir ,isaac's kindness end here1 for he wrote a letter to ,flamsteed1 the ,astronomer ,royal1 asking for his influence in the appointment4 ,flamsteed responded with great kindness1 only mentioning the fact that if his old friend ,mr ,caswell insisted on standing for the vacant chair1 he would be obliged to support him4 ,in the end of his letter1 ,sir ,isaac1 while mentioning his anxiety to have ,flamsteed's observations on ,jupiter and ,saturn for the next twelve or fifteen years1 adds3 #8,if you and ,i live not long enough1 ,mr ,gregorie and ,mr ,halley are young men1' thus indicating that he thought them fit to carry on his work4 ,edmund ,halley1 who was the other candidate for the professorship of astronomy1 had from a scientific point of view stronger claims to the appointment4 ,to him the world is indebted for the publication of ,newton's ,principia1 which ,halley undertook at his own expense1 seeing that the ,royal ,society made difficulties about the money1 and that ,newton himself was too poor1 and possibly too much engrossed in his study1 to take the burden of it on his own shoulders4 ,but ,halley was an infidel1 and this disqualified him in the eyes of the patrons of the chair4 ,sir ,henry ,savile had left his professorships open to candidates of any ,christian ,nation #8if they were of good report and correct demeanour1 eminently skilled in mathematics1 possessed of at least a moderate knowledge of the ,greek language1 and if they had attained the age of twenty-six years4' ,he had left the election in the hands of the ,archbishop of ,canterbury1 the ,lord ,chancellor1 the ,chancellor of the ,university1 the ,bishop of ,london1 the ,principal ,secretary of ,state1 the two ,chief ,justices1 the ,chief ,baron of the ,exchequer and the ,dean of ,arches4 ,with an electorate composed of such men1 ,edmund ,halley1 holding the views which he acknowledged at that time1 had no chance of election4 ,whiston in his ,memoir says that #8,bishop ,stillingfleet was desired to recommend him at court1 but hearing that he was a sceptick1 and a banterer of religion1 he scrupled to be concerned1 till his chaplain ,mr ,bentley should talk with him about it1 which he did4 ,but ,mr ,halley was so sincere in his infidelity1 that he would not so much as pretend to believe the ,christian religion1 though he thereby was likely to lose a professorship4' ,david ,gregorie then 7or ,gregory1 as he now began to call himself71 with the support of ,sir ,isaac ,newton1 and because of ,halley's religious views1 was appointed professor4 ,he had entered at ,balliol1 was incorporated ,a4,m4 on the #fth of ,february #afib1 took the degree of ,m4,d41 and was subsequently admitted to the chair4 ,in the previous year he had been made a ,fellow of the ,royal ,society1 and it was not long before he began to contribute to their volumes4 ,he sent in a beautiful solution of the ,florentine problem1 which ,viviani had sent as a challenge to ,british ,mathematicians4 ,his work was masterly1 and delighted geometers1 and in ,oxford he found time to write much more than he had in ,scotland1 where teaching had always had to come first4 ,he next wrote a defence of his uncle against the ,abb ,gallois1 who accused him of plagiarising from ,roberval1 and then followed his work on the properties of the ,catenaria or the curve made by a chain fixed at both ends4 ,in the course of this he was the first to observe that1 by inverting this curve1 the legitimate form of an arch is arrived at4 ,in #afie ,david ,gregory married ,elizabeth1 a daughter of ,mr ,oliphant of ,langton4 ,his marriage is commemorated in a ,latin ode written by his friend ,anthony ,alsop1 a student of ,christ ,church1 and published in his works4 ,shortly after his marriage he brought out his great book1 ,catoptricae et ,dioptricae ,sphericae ,elementa1 which turns out for the comfort of the ignorant to be a great work on looking-glasses and lenses4 ,the book came as a revelation to many men in that day1 for in it ,gregory tried to simplify his subject1 and to make it clear to the many instead of to the few4 ,he was rewarded with praise1 and his book was promised immortality4 ,how changed are things in the present day1 when to none of our writers will criticism promise celebrity exceeding at the outside two generations4 ,keill blossomed out into poetry3 #8,it will last as long as the sun and moon endure1' and it is just possible that it may--in the ,bodleian ,library6--only that was not what ,keill meant4#b ,footnote #b3 ,john ,keill1 #afga-agba1 was born in ,edinburgh4 ,was ,professor of ,astronomy at ,oxford and an active member of the ,royal ,society4 ,he died of a #8violent fever' at ,oxford on ,thursday1 ,august #cast #agba1 a few days after entertaining #8the ,vice ,chancellor and other academic dignitaries at his house in ,holywell ,street with wine and punch4' ,he is buried in ,st ,mary's ,church4 ,comparatively unnoticed at the time was a suggestion made in this book about mirrors and lenses with regard to following ,nature in the construction of a telescope4 ,it was almost certainly ,pitcairne who had explained to ,gregory the strange mechanism of the human eye1 and how in ,nature objects before they fall on the retina pass through both the vitreous humour and the crystalline lens4 ,gregory pointed out that ,nature does nothing in vain1 and suggested that1 in imitation of ,nature1 the object glasses of telescopes might be composed of media of different density1 and that an instrument made on this principle would probably produce much clearer vision than any then in use4 ,after ,dollond had brought out his beautiful achromatic glasses the meaning of ,gregory's suggestion became clear1 but it is a curious fact that neither ,james ,gregorie1 who invented the reflecting telescope1 nor ,david ,gregory1 who suggested the achromatic telescope1 should ever have seen the practical result of their imaginations4 ,life in ,oxford for ,gregory turned out1 as is often the case1 to be rather different from his anticipations4 ,he had looked forward to years of studious peace2 but the reality1 while it answered his expectation in giving him much time for study1 had surrounded him with men prepared to be unfriendly towards him4 #8,the ,scotchman' received much contumely in ,oxford1 possibly more than would otherwise have been the case1 because he was so well known to the outside world4 ,some of ,hearne's ,collections have the full flavour of the sort of annoyance to which he must have been subjected1 an annoyance none the less irritating to ,gregory because the facts so generally disagreed with the views expressed about him4 ,compare the two following passages1 which are evidently meant to describe the same circumstance4 #8,in #agjb1 ,david ,gregory produced at ,oxford his most important treatise1 ,astronomiae ,physicae et ,geometricae ,elementa4 ,in this were included several propositions communicated by ,newton1 being results which their author had not obtained at the time of the publication of the first edition of the ,principia1 but was anxious to bring before the public at once without waiting for the second edition of his own work4' 99 99 99 #8,it may here likewise be observed that men well skilled in ,mathematics scruple not to say that ,david ,gregory has stole most of his astronomy from ,isaac ,newton1 whom he has mentioned with some little acknowledgment but not so often as he should have done1 which1 as #8tis said1 has put ,sir ,isaac on a new edition of his ,principia4' ,how different these two stories are it is easy to see1 and although ,sir ,isaac never expressed the sentiments assigned to him by ,hearne1 nor1 it is likely enough1 would ,gregory ever have this charge made directly to him1 yet it is impossible but that the ,savilian professor occasionally felt the sting of such mischief-making4 ,gregory's great ally was ,dr ,charlett1 the ,master of ,university ,college1 but besides him1 he numbered amongst his friends1 ,halley1 who obtained the ,savilian ,chair of ,geometry1 ,dr ,hudson1 ,dr ,smalridge1 ,dr ,wallis and ,dr ,aldrich1 between each of whom and ,gregory1 ,hearne seemed determined to make bad feeling4 ,as was quite natural1 these men1 working along the same lines1 had often to use each other's materials1 but ,hearne always represented ,gregory as pirating the results of their labour without acknowledgment4 ,the statement of his indebtedness1 only given once1 was petulantly regarded as insufficient1 and even inverted commas did not mollify his wrath4 ,in fact1 ,gregory committed the only sin which ,dickens says is unpardonable--he was successful--and the commoner men in ,oxford1 who could not regard anything ,scottish without disapprobation1 would not forgive him4 ,when ,hearne took exception to #8the ,scotchman's ,greek' he was on safe ground and no one regretted this more than did ,professor ,gregory himself1 who was held up for ridicule by ,hearne because #8men took him for an oracle4' ,when he commenced the publication of his edition of the ancient mathematicians1 he arranged with ,dr ,hudson that1 while he himself would be responsible for the mathematics1 ,hudson should see to the correctness of the ,greek4 ,in this series too1 ,gregory and ,halley undertook an edition of the ,conics of ,apollonius1 but it was not completed till after ,gregory's death4 ,if ,gregory was not universally appreciated at ,oxford1 at the court he was in great favour1 probably through the influence of ,bishop ,burnet1 who had been at college with his uncle4 ,he was appointed mathematical preceptor to the ,princess ,anne's son1 the young ,duke of ,gloucester1 and here again1 if we are to believe ,hearne1 the choice of the court was received with universal disapprobation4 ,his honours1 however1 were only enjoyed in anticipation1 for the boy died before his duties as tutor had commenced4 ,gregory was now busy trying to compass some reformations in the ,oxford curriculum4 ,he drew up a new scheme for an under-graduate's course of study1 which was sent by ,dr ,charlett for ,mr ,pepys' approval4 #8,i send you enclosed a scheme of ,david ,gregory's not yet in any other hand1 with a desire that you would1 with the freedom of a man of honour and a scholar1 examine1 correct1 alter and improve it1 as may make the design most beneficial to youth 7especially of the ,nobility and ,gentry7 and redound most to the honour of the ,university and our ,professors and the promotion of learning4' ,gregory's plan was that the teaching should be given in ,english1 which was certainly a sensible proposal1 that the undergraduates should study some ,euclid1 trigonometry1 algebra1 mechanics1 catoptrics1 and dioptrics1 astronomy1 the theory of the planets and navigation4 #8,the teacher1' he said1 #8should be always ready to gratify the request of those who desire his instruction4 ,if possible1 the students should have a printed book on the subject2 if not1 the lecturer will take care timeously to give those of the class proper notes to be written by them4 ,and lastly1 if any students were found hungering and thirsting1 they were to be given regular demonstrations of the operations of integers1 or fractions1 vulgar or decimal--when they pleased4' ,as to the proper numbers for a class1 ,gregory said they should be not less than ten and not more than twenty4 ,the course here touched on was described very fully in the paper sent to ,mr ,pepys1 and ,mr ,pepys' answer is rather refreshing4 #8,,reverend ,,sir1 444 ,as little qualified as ,i truly am1 for offering aught upon a scheme digested with the thoughtfulness and skill of its learned author1 legible in every line of it1 the terms nevertheless wherein you require my opinion and advice concerning it1 joined with the dignity of its subject and quality of the persons for whom it is calculated1 are so forcible1 that ,i cannot omit observing to you my missing two things4444 ,first--,music--a science peculiarly productive of a pleasure that no state of life1 public or private1 secular or sacred1 no difference of age or season1 no temper of mind1 or condition of health exempt from present anguish1 nor1 lastly1 distinction of quality1 render either improper1 untimely1 or unentertaining4#c ,my other want is what possibly may be thought of less weight2 but what nevertheless holds no lower a place with me on this occasion 7whether for ornament1 delight1 solid use1 or ease of carriage both at home and abroad71 than any other quality a gentleman can bear about him1 though none less thought on1 or 7which is more7 of less difficulty in the attaining 444 ,i mean ,perspective3 not barely as falling within the explication of vision1 or serving only to the laying down of objects of sight1 but with the improvement of it1 to the enabling our honourable student gracefully to finish and embellish the same1 with its just heightenings and shadowings1 as far as expressible in black and white2 thereby when in foreign travels to know how by his own skill to entertain himself in taking the appearances of all he meets with1 as remarkable1 whether of palaces or of other fabrics1 ruins1 fortifications1 ports1 moles1 or other public views4' ,footnote #c3 ,mr ,pepys1 who1 as we know from his ,diary as well as from ,evelyn1 was skilled in music1 had thus an opportunity of expressing his views on that subject4 ,mr ,pepys was slightly distressed at the suggestion that ,english should take the place of ,latin as the language in which teaching was given1 not because he did not think it necessary1 but he was afraid lest the honour of the university should be affected by such a change4 ,whether these proposals were carried into effect then is uncertain1 but the ,savilian professor came into closer connection with ,mr ,pepys during the few years that elapsed before his death1 being especially upon one occasion1 made the bearer of tender thanks from the university to ,mr ,pepys1 who had commissioned ,sir ,godfrey ,kneller to paint ,dr ,wallis' portrait for the university4 ,the drawing was done in ,dr ,gregory's house1 where the reverend old man was happy and at his ease1 and the picture of him is pleasant4 ,in the list of the persons to whom rings and mourning were presented on the occasion of ,mr ,pepys' death and funeral1 ,dr ,gregory1 ,dr ,wallis and ,dr ,charlett1 are all inserted as recipients of the most expensive rings4 ,others who received tokens of regard1 though not such costly ones1 were ,sir ,cloudesly ,shovel1 and ,sir ,george ,rooke2 ,mr ,william ,penn was honoured with a #bjs4 ring4 ,in #agjd ,sir ,isaac ,newton became ,president of the ,royal ,society1 amidst general content4 ,prince ,george of ,denmark was interested in astronomy1 and only wanted to be shewn how he could most wisely help this science forward2 and now thought ,sir ,isaac1 if the prince gave the money1 there was no reason why ,flamsteed's laborious and accurate observations of the heavens should not be published1 for the help of him and all like him1 who were studying what ,gregory calls #8the ,celestial ,physicks4' ,he approached the ,astronomer ,royal1 and after considerable difficulty1 persuaded him to draw up an estimate of his observations1 which was shewn to the prince4 ,prince ,george's decision was made very rapidly1 for though he was far from brilliant1 7as ,charles the ,second wittily said1 #8,i have tried ,prince ,george sober and ,i have tried him drunk2 and drunk or sober there is nothing in him'71 he had at least one great merit1 that he recognised his own limitations4 ,feeling that the papers before him conveyed absolutely nothing to his uninstructed mind1 he appointed some members of the ,royal ,society to act as referees and see that the publication of ,flamsteed's ,catalogue of the ,constellations was carried out correctly4 ,as referees he nominated ,sir ,isaac1 ,dr ,gregory1 ,sir ,christopher ,wren1 ,dr ,arbuthnot1 and the ,hon4 ,f4 ,robarts4 ,their work proved very laborious3 ,flamsteed was a delicate1 irritable man1 and ,greenwich in these old coach days was a long way from ,london2 but the referees had made up their minds to carry the business through1 and1 as the dispensers of the prince's bounty1 and protectors of public interest1 they drew up articles binding themselves as well as ,flamsteed and the printer to perform their relative obligations4 ,so slow and fretful however was the course of this joint effort1 that neither the princely benefactor nor ,gregory1 whom he had appointed a referee1 lived to see the work completed4 ,gregory had1 in #agjb1 dedicated his ,book on the ,elements of ,astronomy1 to the prince1 drawing a comparison while he did it between ,prince ,george of ,denmark1 the patron of science1 and that ,king of ,denmark who had so wisely given to the great ,danish astronomer1 ,tycho ,brahe1 the wonderful observatory of ,uraniborg--the city of the heavens4 ,the ,preface of this book begins quaintly with a delicious run of mixed metaphors--#8,my ,design in publishing this ,book1 was1 that the ,celestial ,physicks1 which the most sagacious ,kepler had got the scent of1 but the ,prince of ,geometers1 ,sir ,isaac ,newton1 brought to such a pitch as surprises all the ,world1 might by my ,care and ,pains in illustrating them1 become easier to such as are desirous of being acquainted with ,philosophy and ,astronomy4' ,in this book there is a most curious mixture of history1 imagination1 ideas of ,newton's1 which the philosopher had communicated to him1 and observations4 ,it was of course1 as was usual at that time1 written in ,latin1 but ,edmund ,stone translated it into ,english in #agbf1 and this was the book which ,samuel ,johnson read with so much acceptance in some of his dull days in the ,island of ,coll4 ,gregory imagined the stars as they would appear to the inhabitants of the satellites of ,jupiter and ,saturn1 and gave to his book that inexpressible charm of individuality1 so often present in the ,gregories' writings1 which makes them draw portraits of themselves as they write their books4 ,in this treatise he elucidated the principles of astronomy with all the wonderful improvements made in his day1 and ,newton himself considered it a masterly explanation in defence of his philosophy4 ,every now and then ,gregory would go to spend some weeks with his friend at ,cambridge4 ,on one of these visits it was that ,sir ,isaac had occasion to express his views upon the superstitions of the day4 ,he passed a house opposite ,st ,john's ,college1 which was supposed to be haunted1 and round the doors was collected a crowd not only of undergraduates but of ,fellows1 and some of them ,fellows of ,trinity4 ,noticing that some of the rabble were carrying arms1 his anger burst out4 #8,oh1 ye fools1' he said1 #8will ye never have any wit8 ,know ye not that all such things are mere cheats and impostures8 ,fie6 fie6 ,go home1 for shame4' ,when ,gregory arrived at ,cambridge he was always full of messages for ,sir ,isaac1 and when he left1 equally so with messages from him4 ,in this way he saw a good deal of all the important mathematicians and astronomers then living in ,great ,britain1 and very likely it added to his already considerable reputation4 ,in #agje he was elected an ,honorary ,fellow of the ,royal ,college of ,physicians of ,edinburgh1 and on the #dth of ,october he took his seat at the ,board4 ,this was no doubt an honour obtained for him by his friend ,pitcairne1 who was then examiner1 but ,gregory could not spend much time away from ,england4 ,when the negotiations for the ,union between ,scotland and ,england began1 ,gregory was appointed along with ,paterson1 the founder of the ,bank of ,england1 to decide what equivalent was to be paid to ,scotland for bearing her share of the debt of ,england1 which was of course afterwards to be considered as the debt of ,great ,britain4 ,amongst the many thorny questions which emerged in the course of the deliberations about the ,union1 there was none about which so many difficulties arose4 ,sir ,john ,clerk of ,penicuik1 who had so much to do with the affairs of ,scotland at that time1 wrote his views upon the criticisms of the general public on this matter4 #8,amongst all the articles of the ,treaty of ,union1' he says1 #8there has been none more talked of and less understood than the #aeth1 concerning the ,rise1 ,nature and ,management of the ,equivalents4 #8,upon this subject those who desired to be thought very wise1 of deep understanding1 and ,great reach of ,thought1 did vent themselves with a certain ,air1 as if they pitied the ,credulity and ,ignorance of the ,contrivors1 and so had ,recourse to the ordinary ,refuge of dull ,people1 who think they show their wit by laughing at what they do not understand4' ,of such commentators ,gregory no doubt had his share1 and the question was one which was of necessity unintelligible to the ordinary mind1 but those who were in authority were absolutely satisfied with the manner in which the work was done4 ,it was a long task1 and involved many journeys1 including one to ,scotland1 to set things on a proper working basis4 ,of this prospect he writes to ,dr ,charlett1 the ,master of ,university ,college4 99 99 99 99 99 #8,,london1 #bj ,june1 #agjg4 ,,reverend ,,sir1--,the occasion of giving you this present trouble is to recommend to your civility ,my ,lord ,deskford and his ,governour4 ,he is son to the ,earle of ,seafield1 ,lord ,chancellor of ,scotland4 ,he is to stay two or three months at ,oxford4 ,he has been regularly educated at the ,university1 and has past some time beyond sea4 ,you will find him a sober and grave young ,nobleman4 ,you may depend upon it1 that he is what you and ,i wish all such as him in ,church affairs and all thereunto belonging4 ,i know ,i need say no more4 #8,though ,dr ,arbuthnot gott a promise of the ,n4,t4 from the ,queen1 ,he has not yet gott the book it self4 ,it was forgotten to be laid out before the ,queen went to ,windsore4 #8,before ,i see you again1 ,i am like to be sent by ,my ,lord ,treasurer into ,scotland1 to see that the ,mint there be regulated upon the same foot with that of the ,tower1 as to the ,standart of the ,silver and ,gold1 the ,pieces of ,moneys1 the ,weights1 the ,rateing and ,standarding1 and the formes and manner of keeping the ,books of the ,mint1 and ,i have been somewhat taken up with seeing and informing myself of everything of this nature in the ,tower4 ,i shall1 ,i hope return before ,michaelmass2 but if ,i should be #b or #c weeks after the beginning of the ,term1 ,i hope you will excuse it1 and every body concern'd4 #8,as for what you propose to be done with the ,mulctes1 ,i am very clear for it1 ,sir ,henry ,savile's and ,dr ,wallis's ,armes will be very proper4 #8,i hope to have an occasion to write to you again before ,i part4 ,i am with all respect and esteem1 #8,reverend ,sir1 #8,your most oblidged and most humble servant1 #8,d4 ,,gregory4' 99 99 99 99 99 ,when the ,union really came1 it was very unpopular in ,scotland and rather unpopular in ,england4 ,dr ,arbuthnot published in ,edinburgh a pamphlet with the title ,a sermon preached to the people at the ,mercat ,cross of ,edinburgh2 on the subject of the ,union4 ,in it he forcibly argued against the foolish prejudice of his own country4 ,he pointed out the intimate conjunction between ,pride1 ,poverty and ,idleness 7'this is a worse union a great deal than that which we are to discourse of at present'74 #8,better is he that laboureth1' he said in concluding1 #8and aboundeth in all things than he that boasteth himself1 and wanteth bread4' ,the populace1 however1 was by no means in the humour to be cajoled by any man's wit1 and even ,dr ,arbuthnot1 who1 according to ,samuel ,johnson1 was the greatest writer of ,queen ,anne's reign1 found himself unable to create anything but ungraciousness4 ,dr ,arbuthnot was a very constant friend towards ,gregory1 and the day was fast drawing near when the professor should truly require his help4 ,symptoms of serious illness appeared in #agjh1 and ,dr ,gregory was advised to try the effect of the waters at ,bath4 ,he felt himself that his journey would be in vain1 and often tried to prepare his wife for his being taken from her very suddenly4 ,there was much to disturb the quietness of his mind1 his children were ill in ,london1 and he was full of anxiety for them and yet unable to go to them4 ,after a wretched time at ,bath1 it was decided that he should return to ,london1 but at ,maidenhead he became so ill1 that he could not be moved4 ,dr ,arbuthnot1 who was sent for from ,windsor1 found him sinking1 and on the #ajth of ,october #agjh he died4 ,the news was sent to ,oxford by this kind physician in a letter to ,dr ,charlett1 ,gregory's best friend4 99 99 99 99 99 #8,,maidenhead1 ,,greyhound ,,inn1 ,tues4 #c afternoon1 ,oct4 #aj1 #agjh4 #8,,dear ,,sir1--,this gives you the bad news of the death of our dear friend1 ,dr ,gregory1 who dy'd about one a clock this afternoon1 in this ,inn on his way to ,london from ,bath4 ,he sent to me last night to ,windsor2 ,i found him in a resolution to go forward to ,london this morning1 from which ,i happily disswaded him finding him in a dying condition4 ,he has a child his only daughter dead at ,london of the small pox1 of which neither he nor his wife knew anything off1 for ,i would not tell them2 the rest of his family lye sick of the same disease1 so you may easily guess what a disconsolate condition his poor widow must find herself in4 ,she would be glad to see you to advyce about his burying4 ,my present thought and advyce is to bury him at ,oxford1 where he is known1 amongst those who will shew a great deal of respect to his memory1 and it is allmost the same distance from this place as ,london4 ,mrs ,gregory begs the favour to see you here if possible1 being one of his most intimate friends1 whom he allwayes confided in4 ,i am in great grief and shall stay here as long as ,i can in hopes of seeing you4 ,if ,i am not here you will find his brother-in-law1 ,dr ,oliphant4 #8,i am1 ,dear ,sir1 #8,your most humble servant1 #8,,jo4 ,,arbuthnott4' 99 99 99 99 99 ,dr ,smalridge also wrote to him4 99 99 99 99 99 #8,oct4 #afth #agjh4 #8,,reverend ,,sir1--,you had sooner heard from me1 but that my thoughts of late have been very much discompos'd by ,severall ,melancholy ,objects4 ,on ,friday ye last week ,i lost a dear child1 of whom ,i was extremely fond1 and all that knew ,him excused me for being so4 ,i find all ye ,philosophy ,i have1 little enough to make me easie on this sad ,occasion4 ,the ,images do at present return thick upon ,me1 but ,i hope in a little time to find ym less afflictive4 ,my wound would have been sooner heal'd had it not been kept open by the ,occasions ,i have had to give ,others yt comfort which ,i have wanted myself4 ,on ,tuesday ,i went with ,mrs ,arbuthnot towards ,brentford to meet ,dr ,gregory and his ,wife who were expected that day from ,maidenhead4 ,my errand was to inform ym of the death of their ,girl1 of whom they were extremely fond1 they left ,her well when they went to ye ,bath1 and she died on ,friday was sennight4 ,we met not ye coach ,we expected1 and when ,we returned1 ,we found a letter was sent from ,mrs ,gregory to her brother ,dr ,oliphant begging yt he would come down to ,maidenhead to ye ,dr1 who was very ill4 ,she came to ,town on ,thursday ,night a very disconsolate ,widow4 ,the ,doctor died on ,tuesday-morning and was buried on ,wednesday-,night at ,maidenhead4 ,a messenger was despatched to ,hambledon to fetch you to ,him1 if you had been there4 ,mr ,lesley came from ye ,bath with ,him and assisted ,him in his sickness1 and in extremis4 ,dr ,arbuthnot from ,windsor came to ,him4 ,it seems ,he always told his ,wife that ,he should be but short-lived1 and of late has often desir'd ,her to be prepared for his being taken from ,her very quickly4 ,when his last ,suit of ,cloaths was made1 ,he said ,he should not live to wear them out4 ,when ,he went out of ,town1 ,he did not expect to come home again alive2 and when ,he left ye ,bath to return ,he thought ,he should not be able to reach ye town4 ,i am told that ,he has left his ,family in very good ,circumstances4 ,i am afraid his tender concern for ym was prejudicial to his ,health4 ,he was an affectionate ,husband1 a tender ,father1 an excellent ,scholar1 a man of great ,experience and ,prudence1 of good temper1 of sober and religious principles1 and ,one whom those who had the happiness to be acquainted with ,him will much miss4 ,i visited ye ,widow ,yesterday1 who bears her ,affliction with as much patience and resignation as can be expected4 ,i hope her ,husband's ,friends will do what they can to make her loss less insupportable4 #8,i am1 ,sir #8,your ,h4 ,servant #8,g4 ,s4' 99 99 99 99 99 ,on her return to ,oxford ,mrs ,gregory put up a monument to her husband's memory in the nave of ,st ,mary's ,church4 ,after ,professor ,gregory's death1 ,colin ,maclaurin published of ,gregory's work ,a ,treatise on ,practical ,geometry4 ,the first edition was sold out within a few years1 and a second was called for1 as this book was in its day used as a text-book in all the ,scottish ,universities4 ,professor ,gregory has been accused of spending too little of his time in the observatory1 and he was undoubtedly greater as a mathematician than as an astronomer4 ,it was as a pure mathematician that he held the high place which was his in the eighteenth century4 ,,chapter ,v ,,david ,,gregory1 #afif-agfg #8,the picture of the 444 ,dean seems a true one4' --,w4 ,m4 ,,thackeray4 ,of the four children who survived ,professor ,david ,gregory1 there was only one who inherited his taste for learning4 ,this was his name son ,david1 the eldest of his children4 ,the son's gifts were not those of his father2 he was poetical1 artistic1 a student of history1 who never wrote upon the subject1 a man in fact who had more of a woman's cleverness than a man's2 and looking back on him1 his greatest power seems to have been that faculty1 which is not to be gained in any school--the monarchial gift of leading4 ,everything which his hand touched was blessed in his very touch1 and through his life1 as he passed along his way1 adorning different offices and positions of growing importance1 there was always some token left behind him that ,david ,gregory's order-loving eye had rested there--the gardens had fresh flowers1 halls were beautified by statues1 libraries became more spacious1 and hospitals were renewed in the same spirit of devotion which had long before inspired the gracious givers4 ,david ,gregory was born in ,oxford on the #adth of ,july #afif4 ,he was educated at ,westminster ,school1 of which he was a scholar1 and there among the grey shadows of ,london this sthetic little boy first learned the fascination of history4 ,there too he may have learned another thing1 his admiration for kings and queens1 for he knew that the school owed its foundation to the most picturesque queen that has ever reigned over ,england1 in whose day by the mercy of providence1 more even than by the queen's wisdom1 ,england became the mistress of the seas4 ,from ,westminster he was elected to a studentship at ,christ ,church1 and in due course he took holy orders1 and became the ,rector of ,semly in ,wiltshire4 ,it was not long1 however1 before he was back again in ,oxford1 for ,george ,i4 upon his foundation in #agbc of the professorship of ,modern ,history 7with which at that time the modern languages were associated7 appointed ,david ,gregory to the chair4 ,he was thus the first ,professor of ,modern ,history at ,oxford4 ,of his work as a lecturer there is no record1 but that he was thorough and painstaking no one can doubt2 for realising that the amount of work was too large for one man to accomplish1 he introduced several foreigners as teachers of their own language1 and until such time as they were self-supporting he provided for them out of his own salary4 ,fortunately his chair was a lucrative one4 ,he took the degree of ,b4,d4 on ,march #ac1 #agca1 and that of ,d4,d4 on the #gth of ,july of the following year1 and four years later he was appointed ,canon of ,christ ,church4 ,on undertaking this office he resigned his professorship4 ,while he was canon1 it was one of his most congenial tasks to superintend the restoration of the ,great ,hall1 and before it was completed1 he presented busts of his early patron ,george ,i4 and of ,george ,,ii41 who was then on the throne4 ,the new library was also finished under his care1 and the interior1 with its graceful pillars1 its delicately moulded roof and wide windows1 was executed entirely according to his taste1 and under his personal supervision4 ,little did he think as he guided the placing of the volumes1 how one day his own beautiful collection of books would take its place there out of the reach of his son's creditors4 ,if ,dean ,gregory had been alive in #agge1 the old library1 which had been the monastic refectory1 would never have been mutilated1 as it was1 for the accommodation of the ,westminster students4 ,on the #ahth of ,may1 #agef1 ,dr ,gregory succeeded ,dr ,conybeare as ,dean of ,christ ,church4 ,he was in appearance1 as in charm and dignity of manner1 well suited for such an office4 ,kind1 courtly and genial1 it was his pleasure as well as his duty to attend the functions of the university1 and in his day he was unsurpassed in ,oxford society4 ,he was not very learned1 but he was a man of the world1 and the ,earl of ,shelburne1 who thought it worth while to write some memories of the sleepy ,oxford1 in which ,dean ,gregory took so important a part1 describes the dean as the kind soul that he was4 #8,dr ,gregory succeeded ,dr ,conybeare and was very kind to me1 conversed familiarly and frequently with me1 had kept good company1 was a gentleman though not a scholar1 and gave me notions of people and things1 which were afterwards useful to me4' ,such a characterisation might have astonished the dean himself1 who would have regretted with mild wrath his kindness to this young malapert1 and would no doubt also have gone for the assurance of his learning to those ,latin hexameters1 which he as a self-made laureate had written at moments of public interest4 ,one set was upon the death of ,george ,i4 and the accession of ,george ,,ii41 while another poem touched on the death of ,george ,,ii4 and the accession of his grandson2 they were both considered very scholarly1 but1 at the best1 ,oxford in ,dean ,gregory's days was not so very learned4 ,of all the heads of colleges1 who are put into the guide book to ,oxford1 used by the tourists of #agfj1 there is not one1 whose name is familiar1 unless we count that of ,dean ,gregory1 who also might have passed into oblivion had it not been for his greater father4 ,the next honour that came to ,gregory was his appointment as ,prolocutor of the ,lower ,house of ,convocation1 and later1 he became the ,master of ,sherborne ,hospital near ,durham4 #8,christ's ,hospital in ,sherburn1' which had originally been founded by ,bishop ,pudsey between #aaha and #aahd1 for the benefit of lepers1 and had by degrees1 as leprosy died out1 been turned into an asylum for the aged poor4 ,it had seen many changes1 and had from time to time been reformed as abuses came to light4 ,in the reign of ,elizabeth1 it was appointed that there should be thirty brethren always living there1 #8except some there be sometimes absent1 by lack of chamber1 the lodgings being few4' ,when therefore ,dr ,gregory1 who was ,master from #agfj to #agfg1 came into power and built a beautiful stone edifice1 in which these almsfolk lived1 it was a cause of great discontent that he only built rooms for twenty instead of thirty brethren4 ,the ,chronicler1 however1 speaks of ,master ,gregory in high terms as #8the best of ,masters1' even if the conclusion be somewhat equivocal4 #8,his benevolence1' says he1 #8was diffusive and general3 ,whilst ,master of this ,hospital1 he did not confine the poor old men1 as heretofore to the literal allowance1 which1 good as it might have been when anciently settled on them by their founder1 was now become a sad and scanty pittance2 but so far as it was in his power1 made them enjoy the sense and spirit of the benefaction4 ,he demolished all the little wretched huts in which they were huddled together before1 and erected a handsome commodious stone edifice1 making it to consist of twenty different apartments1 that each of the old men might have one entirely to himself1 and also constructed a large room1 in the centre of the building1 for their common reception1 and comfortably provided it with every necessary accommodation2 but it must be remembered that all this was not at his own cost or charge1 for he cut down and sold a large wood at ,ebchester1 belonging to the hospital1 more than adequate to the expense1 and thereby put something into his own pocket4' ,what a curious conclusion to the praise of ,master ,gregory1 who1 it must be remembered1 is at the beginning of the narration called #8the best of ,masters6'--to accuse him of putting public charity money into his pocket at the end6 ,if we had to believe it1 there would once more be nothing for his character except the extenuating circumstances of his connection with that ,highland worthy ,rob ,roy2 but fortunately for the memory of ,dean ,gregory1 there is another biography of him1 published not so long after his death1 in which it is explicitly said that the dean erected the new buildings at ,christ's ,hospital at his own expense1 and not out of public money1 so-- #8,let us never1 never doubt1 ,what nobody is sure about4' ,dean ,gregory married ,lady ,mary ,grey1 the youngest daughter of ,henry ,grey1 ,duke of ,kent 7whose title died with him74 ,she had much sorrow in her married life1 as all her sons turned out badly1 and if the people of her own day were as frank in their views about the dean and his wife1 as one writer was in the beginning of this century1 she must have felt her responsibility4 #8,he had three sons1' says this nameless chronicler1 #8who being by their mother connected with the ,english aristocracy1 took to horses and dogs1 and soon died out4' ,probably it was in his very gentleness that the kind old dean failed towards his sons1 for he had such a horror of distress1 that he could not bring it upon his children1 however much they deserved it4 ,they were a great scandal1 and were1 too1 if one comes to think of it1 the only failure in their father's life4 ,as a parent he is highly extolled by an anonymous writer1 and1 this in itself is touching enough1 showing that his love was of the sort that disappointment cannot kill1 and that in their very weakness he did not give them up4 ,possibly life did teach him to mistrust his sons1 for he left his valuable library1 in the event of none of his children following a learned calling1 to his nephew1 ,dr ,james ,gregory of ,edinburgh4 ,the will was badly worded1 so that ,professor ,james ,gregory's claim had to be disregarded1 but the books were at all events not seized by his sons' creditors1 and they remained in the custody of ,christ ,church1 and may now be found in the uppermost chamber of the closely locked ,wake archives4 ,david ,gregory's character was one which was much considered and criticised4 ,some of his contemporaries would allow him no good point1 while others pronounced eulogies on his every action4 ,one such eulogy1 written with no great literary skill1 was perhaps the work of an intimate acquaintance1 stung into reply by the many attacks upon the memory of his friend4 ,of his social character this unknown biographer writes1 #8,that cheerful1 easy affability for which he was so remarkably distinguished1 gained him the love and affection of all around him1 which contributed very considerably to his institutions taking root so readily1 and in so short a time flourishing so successfully3 abroad he conducted himself with that dignity which his situation as governor of a great college necessarily required2 though1 under his own roof1 he stripped himself of it all1 and became1 to everyone indiscriminately1 the easy and familiar companion3 he conducted himself in short1 throughout1 in such an admirable manner1 that he was not only loved and esteemed1 but honoured and respected2 and as he was in his life most sincerely valued1 so was he in his death truly and universally lamented4' ,there is no doubt that ,gregory was a popular dean4 ,he was1 like so many of the ,deans of ,christ ,church1 a ,westminster student1 and his appointment1 moreover1 was all the more acceptable because he came immediately after ,dr ,conybeare1 the only non-,christ-,church man that has ever held that office4 ,in his days the whole university was rather unillumined1 and ,christ ,church was no exception4 ,lord ,shelburne1 referring only to his own college1 says it was very low1 and as a proof of his statement adds that #8no one who was there in my time has made much figure either as a public man or man of letters4' ,but ,gregory did his work well as far as in him lay2 he died in #agfg at a ripe old age1 in much honour1 in much affection1 and now lies buried beside his wife in ,christ ,church ,cathedral4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,james ,,gregorie1 #afff-agdb2 ,,charles ,,gregorie1 #afha-aged2 ,,david ,,gregorie1 #agab-agfe #8,the ,city of the ,scarlet ,gown'--,,andrew ,,lang4 ,at ,kinairdy on the #bith of ,april #afff a fifth son was born to ,david ,gregorie4 ,this was ,james1 of whom probably because he was only one among many1 there is no individual record till his name occurs in the list of the graduates in ,arts in the ,edinburgh ,university in ,may #afhe4 ,the likelihood is that his early education was given him by his father1 who1 notwithstanding his work as an amateur physician1 found time to superintend the studies of his children4 ,little is known of their college friends1 but ,archibald ,pitcairne1 who afterwards became the ,professor of ,medicine1 first in ,edinburgh and then in ,leyden1 was constantly with them1 and many happy vacations spent at ,kinairdy were made merrier by his society4 ,shortly after ,james ,gregorie graduated1 and when he was certainly not more than twenty1 he was appointed to the ,chair of ,philosophy in ,st ,andrews4 ,in his teaching he was able and thorough1 if not brilliant4 ,like his elder brother1 he was much in advance of his age1 and like him too was giving expression to the ,newtonian ,philosophy before it had been #8as much as heard of' in ,cambridge4 ,there is extant a thesis by this ,professor ,james ,gregorie dedicated to ,viscount ,tarbat1 in which after a list of scholars1 candidates for the degree of ,a4,m41 there follow twenty-five propositions1 most of which are a compendium of ,newton's ,principia4 ,the other three relate to ,logic1 and the abuse of it in the ,aristotelian and ,cartesian ,philosophy4 ,his definition of logic is #8the art of making a proper use of things granted in order to find what is sought1' ,this was published in #afij4 ,professor ,gregorie occupied the ,chair of ,philosophy at ,st ,andrews until the ,revolution1 but then his love for the discrowned king compelled him to resign4 ,he could not bring himself to take the oath of allegiance to ,william and ,mary1 and thus for a few years he was without any settled work4 ,happily for him1 however1 ,david his elder brother was in #afib1 by the influence of ,sir ,isaac ,newton1 made ,savilian ,professor of ,astronomy at ,oxford1 thus leaving a vacancy in the ,chair of ,mathematics at ,edinburgh4 ,he1 too1 had been somewhat under a cloud because of his love for the ,stuarts1 and although his greatness had prevented the party which was in power from ejecting him from his post1 yet his life had been made sufficiently uncomfortable for him4 ,but now things were changed4 ,feeling was no longer hot and bitter1 and ,james succeeded to his chair in #afib1 with a prospect of a long and quiet tenure of it4 ,at the time of his election the ,college revenues were low1 and he had to accept the chair on a diminished salary of nine hundred merks1 or #ej sterling1 in addition to the students' fees4 ,in the end ,gregorie certainly got his money's worth out of the university1 for he retired at fifty-nine1 owing to age and infirmity1 and then lived for seventeen years1 during which time ,colin ,maclaurin1 who had been made joint-professor with him1 got no salary4 ,his case was indeed a piteous one1 and ,sir ,isaac ,newton made him a yearly allowance of #bj1 towards providing for him1 #8till ,mr ,gregorie's place became void4' ,the entries in the ,records of ,marischal ,college1 ,aberdeen1 concerning ,maclaurin's conduct there1 or rather not there1 are quaint4 #8,december #bc1 #agbd4--,on consideration that ,m',laurine has been abroad and not attended to his charge for near thir three years the ,council appoint ,mr ,daniel ,gordon1 one of the regents 8who had formerly taught ,mathematicks at the ,university of ,st ,andrews0 to teach the class during the current session4' #8,january #bj1 #agbe4--,m',laurine having returned a ,committee is appointed to confer with him anent3 #ast1 his going away without ,liberty from the ,counsell4 #bnd1 ,his being so long absent from his charge4' #8,april #bg1 #agbe4--,m',laurine appears before the ,council1 expresses regret1 and is reponed4' #8,january #ab1 #agbf4--,the ,council1 learning 8by the ,publict ,news ,prints0 that ,m',laurine has been admitted conjunct professor with ,mr ,james ,gregorie in the ,university of ,edinburgh1 declare his office vacant4' ,it is a question whether there were not times when ,colin ,maclaurin thought that the safe salary which he would have enjoyed at ,marischal ,college might have been preferable to his ,edinburgh post1 notwithstanding the greater intercourse which he now had with the world of science1 but if so1 there was no turning back4 ,professor ,gregorie married on the #dth ,september #afih1 ,barbara1 a daughter of ,charles ,oliphant of ,langton1 and a sister of his brother ,david's wife4 ,a great gloom was cast upon their home life by the early death of one of his daughters4 ,she had an unhappy love affair1 and is said to have died of a broken heart4 ,whether this was so or not1 her story furnished the subject of ,mallet's ballad1 #8,william and ,margaret4' #8,twas at the silent solemn hour1 ,when night and morning meet2 ,in glided ,margaret's grimly ghost1 ,and stood at ,william's feet4 ,her face was like an ,april morn1 ,clad in a wintry cloud3 ,and clay cold was her lily hand ,that held her sable shroud4 ,so shall the fairest face appear ,when youth and years are flown1 ,such is the robe that kings must wear ,when death has reft their crown4 ,her bloom was like the springing flower ,that sips the silver dew1 ,the rose was budded in her cheek1 ,just opening to the view4 ,but love had1 like the canker worm1 ,consumed her early prime3 ,the rose grew pale1 and left her cheek2 ,she died before her time4 ,awake1 she cried1 thy true love calls1 ,come from her midnight grave2 ,now let thy pity hear the maid ,thy love refused to save4 ,this is the dumb and dreary hour ,when injured ghosts complain2 ,now yawning graves give up their dead ,to haunt the faithless swain4 ,bethink thee1 ,william1 of thy fault1 ,thy pledge and broken oath2 ,and give me back my maiden vow1 ,and give me back my troth4 ,why did you promise love to me ,and not that promise keep8 ,why did you swear mine eyes were bright ,yet leave those eyes to weep8 ,how could you say my face was fair ,and yet that face forsake8 ,how could you win my virgin heart ,yet leave that heart to break8 ,why did you say my lip was sweet ,and made the scarlet pale8 ,and why did ,i1 young witless maid1 ,believe the flattering tale8 ,that face alas no more is fair1 ,these lips no longer red2 ,dark are my eyes1 now closed in death1 ,and every charm is fled4 ,the hungry worm my sister is2 ,this winding sheet ,i wear2 ,and cold and weary lasts our night ,till that last morn appear4 ,but hark the cock has warned me hence1 ,a long and last adieu6 ,come see1 false man1 how low she lies ,who dy'd for love of you4 ,the lark sung loud1 the morning smiled ,with beams of rosy red3 ,pale ,william shook in every limb ,and raving left his bed4 ,he hyed him to the fatal place1 ,where ,margaret's body lay2 ,and stretched him on the grass green turf ,that wrapt her breathless clay4 ,and thrice he called on ,margaret's name ,and thrice he wept full sore1 ,then laid his cheek to her cold grave ,and word spake never more4' ,the author of this poem was not only a ,m',gregor1 but like the ,gregories1 a ,m',gregor of ,roro1 and though he had changed his name1 as did so many members of that unfortunate clan1 the tradition was always kept up in his family4 ,charles ,gregorie1 a half brother of ,professor ,james1 who was for a time ,snell ,exhibitioner at ,balliol1 was created by ,queen ,anne in #agjg ,professor of ,mathematics at ,st ,andrews1 which chair he held for thirty-two years until such time as his son could be appointed in his stead4 ,he was quiet1 studious1 and able1 but little is known of him4 ,david ,gregorie1 who succeeded him1 does not bear quite so gentle a character1 but he was a much abler man and one who could make his personality felt wherever he went4 ,after his own schooldays were over1 he became tutor to the sons of the ,duke of ,gordon with whom he was connected through his grandmother4 ,in this way he passed several years of his life before he was appointed to the ,mathematical ,chair4 ,as a professor he was very popular1 and if he tried to extend his influence beyond his class-room1 he meant nothing but kindness4 ,this was not always understood4 ,one of his students wrote an autobiography1 in which he described the ardour with which ,mr ,gregorie insisted that he should attend the services at the church--ardour for which ,mr4 ,stockdale was not grateful and to requite which he put the professor's name into his #8immortal' autobiography as that of a bigot1 who had compelled him to attend the kirk4 ,thomas ,reid1 when studying his cousin's character and especially his whiggery and ,presbyterianism1 so curiously unlike the rest of his family1 remembered that he1 like himself1 was descended from the second wife of ,david ,gregorie of ,kinairdy1 and had inherited her principles both in religion and politics4 ,there is another incident in his life more likely to recall those of his connections who bore the name of ,m',gregor1 and the record of it seems odd enough and old-world enough in our eyes4 ,the report is that of a lawsuit which the professor had against ,mr ,wemyss of ,lathockar4 ,gregorie1 it seems1 who loved sport1 was #8hunting for partridges' over the broad meadowlands of ,leuchars4 ,he was accompanied by a man called ,baird1 who carried a second gun for ,professor ,gregorie4 ,suddenly ,mr ,wemyss sprang upon this man and seizing his gun refused to return it4 ,the professor was furious--,baird was carrying a second gun for him1 he was no common fowler1 no higgler from whom a gun could rightly be taken2 but ,mr ,wemyss was obdurate and went away with the gun1 and nine-tenths of the law in his favour4 ,and now there was no possible remedy but the courts1 and in due course1 the matter came up before the ,sheriff4 ,gregorie claimed the restitution of his gun1 and damages for the way in which he had been treated4 ,as regards his first request1 his claim was granted1 but on the second point the judgment was not so favourable for--is it possible8--there was a doubt in the ,sheriffs mind as to whether ,gregorie himself had a right to be shooting over the grounds of ,leuchars4 ,it had ceased to be a question only concerning ,baird1 and in the end1 the ,professor of ,mathematics in ,st ,andrew's ,university was refused damages on the ground that he himself was poaching6#d ,the owner of ,leuchars was a minor1 and as one of his tutors ,professor ,gregorie had never doubted his right to shoot over the estate1 but he went back to ,st ,andrew's with new ideas on the limitations of his privilege4 ,footnote #d3 ,robert ,fergusson the poet1 wrote a poem in the ,scots dialect1 on the death of this ,professor ,david ,gregorie4 ,his life ended in #agfe1 when he was only fifty-three4 ,he published one book1 which was a ,compendium of ,algebra--an excellent text-book1 said ,thomas ,reid his cousin1 and then added a description of the professor which if not very interesting is still a portrait1 drawn from life3 #8a well-bred1 sensible gentleman1 and much esteemed as a laborious and excellent teacher4' ,,chapter ,,vii ,,james ,,gregorie1 #afgd-agcc ,,james ,,gregorie1 #agjg-agee #8,there's an old ,university town ,between the ,don and the ,dee1 ,looking over the grey sand dunes1 ,looking out on the cold ,north ,sea4' --,,dr ,w4 ,c4 ,,smith4 ,after her husband's sudden death#e ,mrs ,james ,gregorie returned to ,aberdeen4 ,she did not wish to live in ,edinburgh1 which was now so full of sad memories for her1 and in the streets of which she had not had time to become more than a wayfarer4 ,she had shared ,professor ,gregorie's brilliant popularity1 but the round of gaiety had brought them intimate acquaintances rather than friends1 and in her desolation her heart turned to the home of her childhood1 and back to the more kindly north she took her three children1 her two little girls and ,james about whom this chapter is written4 ,thus it came that this boy was brought up1 like the generation before him1 at the ,grammar ,school of ,aberdeen4 ,footnote #e3 ,professor ,james ,gregorie4 ,cf4 ,chapter ,,iii4 ,it was a good school1 and did much for its boys1 beating education into them if they would not have it otherwise1 and of such discipline little ,gregorie1 who was no exception to the fiery family temper1 no doubt had his share4 ,he passed from school to ,aberdeen ,university and later to ,edinburgh1 but when he inclined to become a doctor1 it was decided that he should go abroad and get a ,french degree1 an arrangement to which he acceded with joy1 and in #afif at the age of twenty-two he set out for a time on the continent4 ,once away from home1 with no one to consider but himself1 he turned to what was really the centre of greatest interest in ,flanders--the camp of ,william ,,iii4 ,merry were the days he passed there and full of excitement1 so that perhaps there was one person who was only half glad when the ,peace of ,ryswick brought the war in ,flanders to an end4 ,but it was better for his work that he should go further afield4 ,on therefore he went1 lingering first at ,utrecht1 then at ,paris before he reached ,rheims1 where he secured his degree in ,september #afih4 ,how much study ,gregorie put into these years it is impossible to ascertain4 ,medicine1 and more especially surgery1 were pretty barbaric arts in those days1 but this student1 it should be remembered1 was always a ,gregorie1 and could not but learn4 ,just before he came back to ,england he spent a few weeks in the ,french camp1 and after this he accepted an invitation to take a practice at ,chelmsford1 ,essex4 ,but alas6 ,james ,gregorie found that he could not settle down to a country life1 and so to the regret of his patients he took a hurried farewell of them1 and went back to that town from which his forbears had come--to the grey city #8looking out on the cold ,north ,sea4' ,there is no place in the world to be compared with the old mother city of ,aberdeen for the love in which her children hold her4 ,wherever they go she is still their home1 and from between her guardian rivers she watches her sons as they go forth and is glad over their success4 ,so it was in the past1 so is it now1 and so may it be while the world lasts4 ,in the beginning of the eighteenth century ,aberdeen was by no means a dull place1 and indeed ,dr ,gregorie1 one suspects1 may sometimes have wished it to be duller1 as for example when ,rob ,roy during the brief time of his success was raising recruits for the ,jacobite cause amongst his clansmen there4 ,the ,earl of ,mar1 into whose hands the perfidy of ,montrose had thrown ,rob ,roy1 had requested him to bring as many of his clansmen into the ,stuart camp as he could muster4 ,while he was occupied with this task1 he lived with ,dr ,gregorie1 for1 however much the physician may have deplored his connection with that too notorious person1 he could never afford to neglect him2 and the charm of the ,gregorie household so fell upon the big1 warm-hearted outlaw1 that in a burst of kindness and enthusiasm he offered to take ,dr ,gregorie's little son and #8mak a man o' him4'#f ,rob ,roy thought him far too good to waste upon doctoring1 and if the sunny child had got his way1 he would have followed the cateran in that delicious life of adventure which he painted--a life of hunting and fighting and success4 ,footnote #f3 ,scene imitated by ,scott1 in ,bailie ,nicol ,jarvie's offer to take ,rob's sons ,james and ,robert to apprentice4--,rob ,roy1 ,ch4 xxxiv4 ,but ,dr ,gregorie was much alarmed2 he must not offend his cousin1 not only because he loved him1 but because they were all alike quick in anger1 and a cold answer might have been answered by yet colder steel4 ,he could not trouble him with the youth's education1 and he had only been trained in the ,lowlands1 and was not at all what a ,highland boy of his years would be1 said the doctor1 but all this depreciation only made ,rob ,roy the keener to be friendly2 and at last when every other excuse had failed1 the doctor shook his head and confessed that the child was too delicate and would not live through a ,highland winter4 ,so1 full of compassion one for another the cousins parted1 their roads ran far apart2 ,rob ,roy came to his end claymore in hand listening to the dirge #8,cha till mi tuillidh' 7we return no more71 while for the doctor there was a career of steady success and a peaceful ending in the sweet house in the middle of the herb garden4 ,rob ,roy had said he would come back and fetch the child when he was older and stronger1 but likely enough when the cousins met again the chieftain could not advise any man to become his follower4 ,once again we see them1 ,rob ,roy walking arm in arm with his kinsman the ,professor of ,medicine1 down the ,castle ,street in ,aberdeen1 when suddenly the drums beat to arms1 and the soldiers begin to issue from the barracks4 #8,if these lads are turning out1 it is time for me to look after my safety1' said ,rob ,roy1 as he slowly shook hands1 and turning down one of the neighbouring closes was seen no more4 ,after telling this story1 ,sir ,walter ,scott added3 #8,the first of these anecdotes which brings the highest pitch of civilization so closely in contact with the half savage state of society1 ,i have heard told by the late distinguished ,dr ,gregory 7,james ,gregory1 ,professor of ,practice of ,physic in ,edinburgh71 and the members of his family have had the kindness to collate the story with recollections and family documents1 and furnish the authentic particulars4 ,the second rests on the recollection of an old man1 who was present when ,rob ,roy took ,french leave of his literary cousin on hearing the drums beat1 and communicated the circumstance to ,mr ,alexander ,forbes1 a connection of ,dr ,gregory by marriage4' ,there is also a gossiping paragraph about this ,dr ,gregorie1 or rather about his house1 in ,orem's description of ,old ,aberdeen1 written after he was made ,mediciner in ,king's ,college1 a post to which he was appointed in #agbe4 #8,dr ,gregorie hath repaired his lodging belonging to the college anno #agbg2 and hath built to it a toofall1 for giving it a better entry to the rooms than it had formerly1 in which toofall he hath a little room for a study1 and a little room below it beside the staircase4 ,he hath also repaired the garden dyke and hath begun to enclose his glebe1 a part wherof he hath enclosed with a stone dyke1 and planted it within the aforsaid year1 and hath enclosed the rest of his forsaid glebe this year #agbh4' ,the scene rises before us of the physician taking his interested friend1 the town clerk1 over his house and grounds4 ,it sounds most attractive1 both the front-hall and the study1 and certainly the visitor appreciated everything when he took the trouble to write it down in his book4 ,gregorie also improved the salmon-fishing in the ,don by building a stone rampart across the river which was called #8,gregorie's ,dyke' and can still be seen from the ,bridge of ,don4 ,in return for this1 #8a half-net's fishing' was granted to him and his heirs for ever1 and this has now devolved upon a descendant of ,dr ,james ,gregorie4 ,when ,gregorie was made mediciner he was no longer young1 but there was little in his new position to call for energy2 for1 although the ,university of ,king's ,college of ,aberdeen1 had been the first to institute a ,chair of ,medicine1 the teaching of the subject was somewhat fitful4 ,his predecessor ,professor ,urquhart had given some #8,publick ,lessons' on this subject1 but no where is it mentioned that either ,dr ,james ,gregorie or his son followed his example4 ,their work consisted chiefly in deciding which candidates were to be granted the ,m4,d4 degree1 and in taking a share in the university life4 ,the mediciner was not a regent and was thus saved the continuous worry and supervision which fell to the lot of most of the professors4 ,as for the giving of degrees it was almost entirely a personal affair1 and a doctor of medicine did not by any means need to know much of his subject4 ,if he were desirable and willing to pay the fees1 the mediciner had the right to grant him a diploma2 in some cases even the fee was dispensed with4 ,for example1 there is the following entry in the ,records of the ,university and ,king's ,college4 99 99 99 99 99 #8#hth ,september1 #agja4 #8,mr ,george ,cheyne allowed to be graduat doctor in medicine gratis1 because he's not onely our owne country-man1 and at present not rich1 but is recommended by the ablest and most learned physitians in ,edinburgh as one of the best mathematicians in ,europe2 and for his skill in medicine he hath given a sufficient indication of that by his learned tractat de ,febribus1 which hath made him famous abroad as well as at home2 and he being just now goeing to ,england upon invitation of some of the members of the ,royal ,society4' 99 99 99 99 99 ,the affairs of ,king's ,college left much to be desired at this time4 ,as early as #agji1 there had been friction between the professors and students1 the latter of whom described their professors as #8the useless1 needless1 headless1 defective1 elective ,masters of the ,k4 ,colledge of ,abd1' and matters did not improve much in the intervening years2 for1 when ,professor ,james ,gregorie's son was mediciner1 things had come to such a pass that the university had to make special and almost pathetic efforts to secure students4 99 99 99 99 99 #8#bcrd ,october1 #agch4 #8,it being represented to the university1 that the want of an accomplished gentlewoman for teaching white and coloured seam1 was an occasion of several gentlemen's sons being kept from this college1 their parents inclining to send them1 where they might have suitable education for their daughters also2 and that one ,mrs ,cuthbert1 now residing in this town1 had given sufficient proof of her capacity and diligence 444 the university judged it reasonable 444 to advance her twelve pounds ,scots1 out of the revenue belonging to the college for the ensuing year4' ,after this mention1 ,mrs ,cuthbert passes quite out of the ,university ,records1 so we do not know whether the housewifely efforts of the authorities of the university were successful4 ,james ,gregorie as mediciner received a salary of #ahj pounds ,scots1 #bf bolls bear1 #ah bolls meal2 and on his resigning his chair on the #bjth ,december #agcb1 his son ,james was eo die appointed to fill the vacancy1 to receive in his turn this munificent salary1 and to live in the fascinating manse4 ,dr ,gregorie married first1 ,catherine1 second daughter of ,sir ,john ,forbes of ,monymusk1 but she died young2 his second wife was a daughter of ,principal ,chalmers 7one of the family who founded the ,aberdeen ,journal71 and we can imagine a little joint influence on the part of the ,dean of ,faculty and the ,principal of ,king's ,college bringing about this desired election1 for we never hear that the third ,professor ,james ever did anything to make his name live4 ,it was to be left to his stepbrother to carry on the tradition of the family1 but ,john ,gregorie was only a child when his father died4 ,dr ,james ,gregorie1 the mediciner1 died in ,january #agcc4 ,in many ways he was among the least distinguished of his family4 ,he stands there in a misty crowd of the educational magnates of a very far past time1 surrounded by the canonist1 the civilist and other obsolete dignitaries1 and all he leaves is an impression of content and of diplomatic gifts1 which show themselves whenever he rises out of obscurity4 ,this diplomacy1 which when it is used in domestic affairs is called by the ,scotch #8canniness1' was passed on in the family along with the gout which came from the ,chalmerses1 and the combination was curious4 ,later on ,james ,gregorie1 the cousin of ,rob ,roy1 was recognised as the founder of the ,aberdeen ,school of ,medicine4 ,his son1 ,professor ,james ,gregorie1 was professor from #agcb to #agee4 ,he was delicate and irritable1 and his friends had a standing joke whenever he was cross1 which probably palled upon him after a certain time4 #8,ah1' they would say1 #8this comes of not being educated by ,rob ,roy4' ,they1 at least1 thought this extremely witty4 ,dr ,gregorie married ,helen ,burnet1 who was a connection of his own1 one of the ,burnets of ,elrick4 ,they had no children4 ,he died on the #ahth of ,november #agee4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,john ,,gregory1 #agbd-aggc #8,the good-natured size of his person and set of his face1 seem to show that ,philosophy is not the thing of toil and anguish it once was to men4'--,,robert ,w4 ,,barbour4 ,from an ,aberdeen education at the ,grammar ,school to begin with1 and afterwards at ,king's ,college1 where he learned his ,latinity1 ,john ,gregory came to ,edinburgh in #agdb4 ,he came with his mother to look after him1 who1 poor soul1 was haunted by the remembrance of his brother ,george's early death1 and would hardly let ,john out of her sight4 ,both of the boy's guardians had agreed that for a medical education he must attend ,edinburgh ,university4 ,his brother1 the mediciner in ,aberdeen1 never seems to have suggested that he should stay there1 where there was really no systematic teaching of medicine1 nor did his grandfather1 ,principal ,chalmers1 the ,principal of ,king's ,college4 ,to begin his study at ,edinburgh1 to continue it at ,leyden1 was the best suggestion that they could offer him1 and it turned out excellently4 ,his professors in ,edinburgh were ,professor ,monro1 7the first71 who daily strove to make dry bones live1 and succeeded2 ,professor ,sinclair1 who expressed ,boerhaave's teaching in his own very beautiful ,latin2 ,dr ,rutherford1 the grandfather of ,sir ,walter ,scott1 who taught the ,practice of ,physic1 and ,dr ,alston1 the strangeness of whose prescriptions makes it possible for us to grasp what an advance ,cullen and ,gregory accomplished in medicine4 ,these were very nearly the same professors as lectured when ,goldsmith attended the university some ten years afterwards1 and he did not think much of any of them1 except ,professor ,monro1 to whom he gave his heart's admiration4 #8,this man1' he wrote1 #8has brought the science he teaches to as much perfection as it is capable of2 #8tis he1 ,i may venture to say1 that draws hither such a number of students from most parts of the world1 even from ,russia4' ,as for ,professor ,alston1 he has left behind him the notes of his lectures1 and they are very curious1 though not laughable1 for after all it was what everyone believed in those days4 #8,earthworms1 large and fat ones especially1 were dried and used in cases of jaundice and gout3 the juice of slaters passed through a muslin bag was recommended for cancer1 convulsions and headache4' ,but1 all the same1 think of ,john ,gregory taking notes of such teaching1 sitting up late at night to write down how vipers must be used for ague and small-pox1 and picture his watching the cure of the lady with a headache who could be induced to drink the wood-lice-juice4 ,no wonder she was cured when you think what faith she must have brought to her physician4 ,though these notes from ,alston's lectures seem only worthy of a medicine-man1 there was yet throughout the university an awakening spirit of life and of enquiry4 ,the ,royal ,medical ,society1 which ,cullen had founded in #agce1 and which ,john ,gregory attended in #agdb1 was the scene of the most lively debates upon every subject in medicine and philosophy4 ,little was taken for granted1 and everything was questioned4 ,in ,gregory's year its charm was greatly enhanced by the presence of ,mark ,akenside1 who was a member1 and the best company possible4 ,amusing1 poetical1 his oratory drew many persons to the ,society4 ,robertson1 the historian1 came every night when ,akenside was going to speak1 and the racy talk was enjoyed by him almost as much as it was by the speakers4 ,gregory spent three years in ,edinburgh at this time1 and then went to ,leyden to study under ,albinus1 ,gaubius1 and ,van ,royen4 ,albinus was an anatomist4 ,his engravings were much clearer than those procured by anyone else at that time1 but he was not a great lecturer1 only painstaking and observant4 ,in ,gaubius1 however1 the university had a strong man1 a vivid teacher1 and an original thinker1 and if ,gregory had needed inspiration1 he would have found it in his teaching4 ,to ,john ,gregory ,holland was delightful country when contrasted with the cold east of ,scotland1 where even the roads were almost impassable in bad weather4 ,in ,holland he made his way along sunlit canals1 through villages gay with gardens1 and when he reached ,leyden his enjoyment was complete4 ,full of delight he went about the quiet squares of the university town1 along the banks of the old ,rhine1 and round the path on the top of the wall4 ,everything was new1 and everything was foreign4 ,he chose rooms for himself at a well-known lodging on the ,long ,bridge4 ,mademoiselle van der ,tasse arranged her house especially for ,english-men4 ,it paid her better1 and besides1 the fat little ,french-woman could talk ,english1 and knew how to please1 and her coffee was famous in the town4 ,gregory's companions in ,leyden were ,alexander ,carlyle1 afterwards minister of ,inveresk1 ,dr ,nicholas ,monckly1 ,charles ,townshend1 ,john ,wilkes1 and a few ,scotsmen4 ,some of them were studying law1 some divinity1 and the others medicine4 ,but alas for the great fame of ,albinus and ,van ,royen4 #8,i asked ,gregory1' wrote ,alexander ,carlyle1 #8why he did not attend the lectures1' which he answered by asking in his turn why ,i did not attend the divinity professors4 #8,having heard all they could say in a much better form at home1 we went but rarely1 and for form's sake only to hear the ,dutchmen4' ,so after all it was not the ,professors of ,leyden that taught ,john ,gregory so much4 ,albinus was no doubt worthy1 but in his portrait he looks a little dead1 a little like a mummy4 ,he looks as if he had forgotten that men were anything more than bones4 ,the students who most enlivened the university were ,charles ,townshend and ,wilkes1 both of whom became notorious in after life1 ,townshend as a statesman1 and ,wilkes as ,wilkes4 ,on the first ,sunday after ,carlyle joined the party at ,leyden1 ,gregory took him out for a walk along the ,cingle1 and introduced him to the ,english colony4 ,as ,wilkes drew near the newcomer asked eagerly about him4 ,his face was so remarkable1 not only for its ugliness1 but for its self-assurance and interest1 that no one could pass him without notice4 ,gregory's answer was that #8he was the son of a ,london distiller or brewer1 who wanted to be a fine gentleman and man of taste1 which he could never be1 for ,god and ,nature had been against him4' ,and famous and popular as he afterwards became1 this estimate of him remained true1 for he never succeeded in becoming either a gentleman or a man of taste4 ,what a clear insight ,gregory had1 and what a sharp tongue6 ,he carried things all his own way in ,holland1 but in ,edinburgh it was different2 there his rapid way of expressing his thoughts even about the things for which he cared most deeply1 was often put down to shallowness and hypocrisy4 ,the conversation among these men was often brilliant1 but most of all at their students' supper parties--these ,leyden suppers of red herring1 eggs and salad4 ,gregory's great subjects were religion1 and the equal1 if not superior1 talents of women as compared with men4 ,everybody made fun of him1 for #8he could hardly be persuaded to go to church1 and there were no women near whom he could have wished to flatter2' but he would not change his mind4 ,nicholas ,monckly was a great friend of ,gregory's1 but more because it brought him into notice than because of any love4 ,he saw that ,gregory could be witty1 so he used to talk to him in private about subjects of interest1 and then bringing the same matter up for discussion at their evening entertainments1 would give out his friend's opinions as if they had been his own4 ,gregory was much amused with this1 and after a few evenings took ,carlyle into his confidence1 whereupon these two played many pranks upon poor ,monckly1 leading him out of his depth1 or contradicting him4 ,the sport was given up1 because the victim was too unconscious of their satire1 and when they made their chaff plain1 he would come into ,gregory's bedroom1 and complain even with tears4 ,wilkes1 who tried too1 but with greater success1 to be a leader among the students1 used to leave ,leyden when he felt tired of it1 and spend a few days in ,utrecht with #8,immateriality ,baxter4' ,these two men were really attached to one another1 and what an ideal retreat it was to go to the house of that quaint ,scotsman1 even though he was in exile4 ,king's ,college in ,aberdeen honoured ,john ,gregory in his absence by sending him the degree of ,m4,d41 and thus distinguished1 he turned his face again towards home4 ,he1 along with ,carlyle and ,monckly1 travelled via ,helvoet1 ,harwich1 and ,london4 ,in the boat they found a charming companion in ,violetti1 who was on her way to fulfil an engagement at the ,haymarket ,theatre1 and to fame4 ,she became ,mrs ,garrick1 and lived happily in her villa1 near ,london1 till #ahbb1 but except on the stage1 ,gregory never saw her again4 ,now there happened to ,john ,gregory1 what so seldom befalls anyone1 that he was put into the right place for him without any effort on his part4 ,when he returned to ,aberdeen he was offered the ,chair of ,philosophy1 which meant in those days that he should teach mathematics1 natural philosophy and moral philosophy1 and be a regent4 ,his former study did not exactly lead to this1 and people must sometimes have asked of what use had his apprenticeship to his doctor brother been to him if he were to turn into a philosopher4 ,but there was plenty of time to be several things in the leisurely eighteenth century4 ,that was what ,john ,gregory thought1 so from #agdg to #agdi he was a ,regent of ,philosophy4 ,although regents had been abolished both in ,edinburgh and ,glasgow ,universities before #agdf1 in ,aberdeen they were still retained1 and from the statement quoted in ,mr ,rait's book on the ,universities of ,aberdeen1 ,i take the following paragraph1 descriptive of the attitude of ,king's ,college in regard to this subject4 #8,every ,professor of ,philosophy in this ,university is also tutor to those who study under him1 has the whole direction of their studies1 the training of their minds1 and the oversight of their manners2 and it seems to be generally agreed that it must be detrimental to a student to change his tutor every session 444 and though it be allowed that a professor who has only one branch of philosophy for his province1 may have more leisure to make improvements in it for the benefit of the learned world1 yet it does not seem at all extravagant to suppose that a professor ought to be sufficiently qualified to teach all that his pupils can learn in philosophy in the course of three sessions4' ,so it was not only to teach1 but to train the minds1 and #8overlook' the manners of his students1 that ,john ,gregory was called4 ,he was the only ,gregory who ever was a regent1 and he came to his work with a clear insight into students' ways1 being indeed hardly more than a student himself4 ,but the life must have been unattractive4 ,to quote from a letter dated ,september #dth1 #agfe1 from ,thomas ,reid1 who held the ,chair of ,philosophy shortly after his cousin1 which is full of much interesting information as to what the work of a regent was like3--#8,the students here1' he says1 #8have lately been compelled to live within the ,college4 ,we need but look out at our windows to see when they rise and when they go to bed4 ,they are seen nine or ten times throughout the day statedly1 by one or other of the masters--at public prayers1 school hours1 meals1 in their rooms1 besides occasional visits which we can make with little trouble to ourselves4' #8,they are shut up within walls at #i at night4 ,this discipline hath indeed taken some pains and resolution1 as well as some expense1 to establish it4' ,along with this work in ,king's ,college1 ,john ,gregory engaged in general practice as a physician4 ,he found it very engrossing1 much more so than the philosophical teaching which he had to give1 and he determined to resign his regentship1 and to go abroad for a few months4 ,on his return he fell in love with the ,hon4 ,elizabeth ,forbes1 a daughter of ,william1 ,lord ,forbes4 ,she was a beautiful girl1 very clever1 and she was besides an heiress1 and there is a story that her father did not at all approve of the marriage4 #8,what do you propose to keep her on8' said he1 and ,gregory1 getting angry1 took his lancet out of his pocket1 and said1 #8on this4' ,they were married in #ageb4 ,their life was a singularly happy one1 to use the expression of their own day1 #8they mutually enjoyed a high degree of felicity4' ,for two years they were in ,aberdeen1 and then ,gregory got impatient of his small practice1 for there was only room there for one ,dr ,gregory1 and he made up his mind to seek his fortune in ,london4 ,this was a step which he was glad of all his days1 for it brought him into contact with so many interesting people4 #8,in ,london1' says ,lord ,woodhouselee1 he was #8already known by reputation as a man of genius4' ,how this could be1 seeing that he had done little to show his talents1 it is difficult to understand4 ,perhaps some one who knew him in the old ,leyden days had spread a report of his brilliancy1 or some ,aberdonian may have named him as a coming power4 ,however it happened1 the effect was most fortunate1 for not only was he recognised by the scientific world1 and made a ,fellow of the ,royal ,society1 but ,sir ,george ,lyttelton and ,mrs ,montague1 #8that fascinating humbug1' made friends with him1 and whatever ,mrs ,montague was to other people1 she was most sincerely kind to the ,gregories4 ,these were the days of ,samuel ,johnson1 of ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds and his sister1 of ,miss ,burney1 of ,garrick and of ,lyttelton1 and it was to this society that ,mrs ,montague introduced her new ,scottish friends4 ,it is true that there were days when #8,mrs ,montague kept aloof from ,johnson like the west from the east1' and when the sage said bitter things about #8,mrs ,montague for a penny'2 but there were also the other days when they smiled upon one another1 when ,johnson forgot that she had called ,rasselas a narcotic1 and listened while ,mrs ,thrale compared her conversation with that of ,burke4 ,reynolds thought her beauty classical4 ,miss ,burney once called her the glory of her sex1 and all the world reading her essay on ,shakespeare believed that she had saved his fame from the calumnies of ,voltaire4 ,into this admiring circle ,gregory was admitted and was himself enjoyed and appreciated1 and it is possible that he might also in the end have secured a practice if he had continued to live in the south4 ,but in #agef his brother ,james died leaving a vacancy in the ,chair of ,medicine in ,aberdeen4 ,to this chair ,gregory was appointed and half reluctantly he turned his back upon ,london1 and took up his new duties at ,king's ,college1 ,he returned unchanged except for his broader ideas and wider culture2 and1 although the rest of his life was passed within the somewhat narrow limits of university towns1 he never became provincial4 ,teaching was not one of his duties as mediciner4 ,a few years apprenticeship to any doctor sufficed for training1 and gave the students all the preparation they desired for a degree4 ,john ,gregory and ,dr ,skene fretted against this1 and in the hope of founding a ,medical ,school opened ,lectures on ,medicine4 ,but the students did not attend4 ,it was an indignity to the university1 keenly felt by these professors1 that an ,aberdeen degree should be the laughing stock of all the other universities2 but without an ,infirmary it was impossible to teach the ,practice of ,physic1 and the attempt had to be given up for the time4 ,then it was that ,thomas ,reid and ,gregory planned the ,philosophical ,society1 which was nicknamed by the people who did not belong to it #8the ,wise ,club4' ,it met after five o'clock dinner at a queer little tavern called the ,red ,lion ,inn4 ,a paper was read and its subject discussed4 ,there was wine on a side table1 but no healths were allowed to be drunk1 and at an early hour the discussions ended4 ,among the members were ,gregory1 ,reid1 ,david ,skene1 ,gerard1 and ,beattie the poet1 who became a great friend of ,gregory's4 ,the evenings were merry and the little parlour of the inn echoed to many a peal of laughter4 ,the commonest entry about ,gregory is #8discourse not readie1' which his cousin the philosopher1 who kept the minutes never failed to insert1 and also for the benefit of the ,society the fine was always claimed by the members present1 and laughingly paid by the unready professor4 ,on these nights when no essay was read the ,society had to content itself with philosophic discussion1 the nature of which was arranged at the previous meeting4 ,there was for them always1 however1 one never failing subject in ,david ,hume's ,sceptical ,speculation4 #8,your company1 although we are all good ,christians1 would be more acceptable than that of ,athanasius1' wrote ,reid in #agfc to his great opponent1 and it was true4 ,to ,gregory there were moreover fields for speculation on education1 on what medicine had done for men1 on the distinction between ,wit and ,humour1 on agriculture1 and in his two books which attained such popularity there are chapters which do nothing more than follow out the ideas which he uttered at the ,philosophical ,society4 ,many books had their origin in this club4 ,gerard's on ,taste1 ,beattie's ,essay on ,truth1 ,campbell's ,treatise on ,miracles1 and ,philosophy of ,rhetoric1 and ,john ,gregory's ,comparative ,view of ,man and the ,animal ,world1 all books with a great name in their day1 but ,gregory's for one sadly uninteresting now1 when his startling views upon education have been universally accepted1 and there remains of what is unusual only pedantic comparison and prosy sentiment4 ,it is forgotten that ,john ,gregory was an innovator when he advocated keeping children warm and when he refused to recognise the necessity of the icy morning bath1 which before his day was de rigueur in every nursery4 ,long after his teaching days were over there were still found homes where his broad sensible views had not penetrated1 and in the ,memoirs of a ,highland ,lady ,miss ,grant gives a terrible description of her own early days 7#ahjf74 #8,a large long tub stood in the kitchen-court1 the ice on the top of which had often to be broken before our horrid plunge into it2 we were brought down from the very top of the house1 four pair of stairs1 with only a cotton cloak over our night gowns1 just to chill us completely before the dreadful shock4 ,how ,i screamed1 begged1 prayed1 entreated to be saved1 half the tender-hearted maids in tears beside me1 all no use1 ,millar had her orders4 ,nearly senseless1 ,i have been taken to the house-keeper's room1 which was always warm1 to be dried1 then we dressed1 without any flannel1 and in cotton frocks with short sleeves and low necks4 ,revived by the fire1 we were enabled to endure the next bit of martyrdom1 an hour upon the low sofa1 so many yards from the nursery hearth1 our books in our hands1 while our cold breakfast was preparing4' ,what a changed life have the little folks of to-day6 ,but1 ah me6 this name of ,gregory to childhood4 #8,the evil that men do lives after them2 the good is oft interred with their bones 444' the son's mixture made the name of ,gregory abhorred in every nursery1 and all the father's good deeds are forgotten4 ,on the #bith of ,september #agfc ,dr ,gregory's wife died4 ,it was the greatest sorrow of his life1 and afterwards when high honours came to him in his profession1 and when the world praised him1 he never ceased to think with longing of the early joyous days of his love4 ,elizabeth ,gregory was very happy1 and even in her memory there is something tender and simple1 something to make one smile1 and feel the better of it4 ,picture this peer's daughter1 as she stood one afternoon1 making impotent appeals to her little boy 7who was dressed in white for a party17 to leave the herd of small ragamuffins whom he was leading to a glorious mud-damming of the gutter4 ,little ,james paid no attention to his mother--,i doubt whether he heard her--for the dam was breaking1 hope was almost gone1 when with a shout of joy he remembered that he himself was a solid body1 and sitting down in the breach1 cried out in broad ,scots to his admiring followers1 #8,mair dubs1 laddies1 mair dubs4' ,some years after his wife's death ,dr ,gregory was invited to go to ,edinburgh4 ,professor ,rutherford1 who held the chair of the ,practice of ,physic1 wished to retire1 but he would not resign his place to ,cullen1 whom he held a heretic in medicine4 ,so the old professor arranged that ,john ,gregory should be asked to come from ,aberdeen1 and set up practice in ,edinburgh4 ,at another time ,professor ,gregory would have hesitated1 but in his distress and despondency he thought of what a benefit it would be to himself to leave the sad associations of ,aberdeen and allay his sorrows in the fulness of work which he knew would await him4 ,his university did not ask him to resign his chair at ,king's ,college1 but in #agfe ,sir ,alexander ,gordon of ,lesmore was appointed as joint-professor4 ,john ,gregory settled in #ae ,st ,john's ,street1 ,edinburgh1 in #agfd4 ,his house was pleasantly situated on a hill1 and was almost next door to ,lord ,monboddo's1 between whom and ,gregory there presently sprang up a great intimacy4 ,practice came fast to ,gregory1 but celebrity greater than that which comes to a practitioner1 however successful1 made his first year in ,edinburgh a year of triumph4 ,only a few months before1 he had sent his manuscript of ,a ,comparative ,view of the ,state and ,faculties of ,man with those of the ,animal ,world to ,lord ,lyttelton1 and now the book had been published in ,london and received with such an enthusiasm that even ,gregory and his patron were greatly astonished4 ,london read the book1 ,aberdeen read the book1 and so did ,edinburgh1 and ,gregory was made at once a member of that literary ,edinburgh as he had in his youth been received by ,mrs ,montague and her friends in ,london4 ,the matter was good and fresh at the time1 but what was most praised was the style4 #8,if you wish to see the natural style in the highest perfection1 read the works of the late ,dr ,john ,gregory4444 ,but in particular his ,comparative ,view1 which in respect to natural ease and unaffected elegant simplicity of style is not to be exceeded in any language1 and in as far as my reading has extended has not been equalled by any other composition in ,english4444 ,gregory's style may be compared to the acting of ,garrick2 it is only by a retrospective view that its superior excellence can be discovered4' ,this is only one of the many laudatory reviews of the book1 and by no means the most flattering1 and it says a great deal for ,john ,gregory's sense that1 in spite of this lionising1 he came so successfully through the difficulties which crowded round him for the next few years4 ,professor ,rutherford watched with growing satisfaction the success of the ,aberdeen doctor1 whom he regarded as a proteg of his own4 ,it was unfortunate for ,gregory that he stood as it were as a rival of ,cullen1 for whom he had throughout life the profoundest regard4 ,but nevertheless this was the case4 ,in #agff matters came to a climax in the appointment of ,gregory to the ,chair of the ,practice of ,physic1 made vacant by the retirement of ,professor ,rutherford4 ,there was an immediate and furious outcry against this election1 which was known to be mostly due to family influence4 ,gregory was a great man1 and proved himself a brilliant teacher1 but at this time he was absolutely untried1 whereas ,cullen had already made himself a name as one of the greatest teachers of the day4 ,the gift of the chair was in the hands of the ,town ,council1 and to that body an address from the students of medicine was sent after the death of ,dr ,whytt1 ,professor of the ,theory of ,medicine1 suggesting the advisability of asking ,professor ,gregory to resign the ,chair of the ,practice of ,physic1 which he then held1 and accept the less important one of the ,theory of ,medicine1 in order to make room for ,cullen in the ,practical ,chair4 #8,we who make this application are students of medicine in your ,university4444 ,we are humbly of opinion that the reputation of the ,university and ,magistrates1 the good of the city1 and our improvement will all in an eminent manner1 be consulted by engaging ,dr ,gregory to relinquish the ,professorship of the ,practice for that of the ,theory of ,medicine1 by appointing ,dr ,cullen1 present ,professor of ,chemistry1 to the practical chair1 and by electing ,dr ,black ,professor of ,chemistry4' ,after a dissertation on the qualifications of ,dr ,cullen1 they proceed4 #8,nor is this our opinion of ,dr ,cullen meant in the least to detract from the merits of ,dr ,gregory4 ,on the contrary1 a principal motive to our expressing the sentiments we do on this occasion is the high opinion we entertain of that gentleman's capacity4 ,by a late very elegant and ingenious performance1 by everybody attributed to him1 we imagine it is evident what advantages the ,university must reap from lectures on the ,theory of ,medicine1 delivered by a thinker so just and original1 and so universally acquainted with human nature4 ,with pleasure too1 we reflect1 that his character is not less respectable as a man1 than as a ,philosopher4 ,we therefore cannot suppose1 that were the public emolument to be obtained even at the expense of his private interest1 he would not rejoice to make the honourable sacrifice1 far less that he would1 in the least hesitate to favour a scheme for promoting the public utility1 when his private advantage is consistent with it4' ,this can hardly have been pleasant reading for ,gregory1 and the whole proceeding was so entirely out of order that the ,town ,council took no action in the matter4 ,meanwhile ,gregory was made ,first ,physician to the ,king for ,scotland in the place of ,dr ,whytt4 ,he lectured for three years on the ,practice of ,physic1 and then he and ,cullen agreed to give alternate lectures on the ,theory and ,practice of ,medicine4 ,the university possessing three such able teachers as ,gregory1 ,cullen and ,black1 grew more and more prosperous4 ,it is impossible to go over the records of these years without admiration for ,john ,gregory1 who1 amidst all the strife that waged around him and around ,cullen1 has not left a record of any bitterness4 ,that he must have felt these annoyances is obvious1 but his worries were only ,edinburgh worries1 and outside he knew that both he and ,cullen were appreciated and valued for their individual work4 ,on his appointment to the ,edinburgh chair he had resigned his ,king's ,college professorship4 ,when ,dr ,gregory came to ,edinburgh1 he came with his six children4 ,elizabeth1 his youngest little girl1 died in #agga4 ,his eldest son ,james was studying medicine1 the other boys were at work1 and ,dorothea and ,anna ,margaretta1 his elder daughters1 were growing into more charming companions for him with every day that passed4 ,they were tall1 willowy girls1 promising great beauty1 and full of sweetness4 ,dorothea1 or ,dolly as she was called1 was a god-daughter of ,mrs ,montague's1 and when that lady came to stay with ,dr ,gregory1 she was absolutely fascinated by her godchild4 ,her visit was a great pleasure to the ,gregorys1 to whom she was ever her most charming self4 ,edinburgh society did not take kindly to her1 if we are to believe ,dr ,carlyle1 and in fact he is rather bitter upon the subject1 calls her #8a faded beauty1' #8a candidate for glory1' and says she might have been admired by the first order of minds had she not been #8greedy of more praise than she was entitled to4' ,even he1 however1 acknowledged her a wit1 a critic1 an author of some fame1 possessing some parts and knowledge1 which is praise to a certain point1 though not to the point which ,mrs ,montague would have desired6 #8,old ,edinburgh was not a climate for the success of impostures1' writes the minister of ,inveresk1 and then to support his judgment with a little legal weight1 he added1 #8,lord ,kames1 who was at first catched with her ,parnassian coquetry1 said at last that he thought she had as much learning as a well-educated college lad here of sixteen4' ,alas1 poor ,mrs ,montague6 and then1 too1 ,dr ,carlyle has unwittingly pointed out the rock on which she struck--#8she despised the women'--and by such obvious silliness did she not evoke her fate8 ,gray the poet was also a visitor at the ,gregorys' and ,gregory was asked to meet anyone of interest who came to the town4 ,with ,smollett1 indeed1 who lived in ,st ,john ,street for a winter1 he could have little real friendship1 for the novelist had put ,lord ,lyttleton into ,roderick ,random in anything but a kindly spirit1 and the ,gregories were notoriously #8,love me1 love my dog' people4 ,he lived on terms of close intimacy with ,dr ,robertson1 ,dr ,blair1 ,david ,hume1 ,john ,home1 ,lord ,kames1 ,lord ,monboddo1 and ,lord ,woodhouselee4 ,he was a member of the ,poker ,club1 though he went there very seldom1 because of the way he was laughed at when he uttered his favourite doctrine of the superiority of women over men4 ,this at least was the gossip of the time1 but there is just a possibility that he thought his own company more entertaining than the constant attendance at the ,poker from three in the afternoon till eight at night1 and though no one knew it1 he was busy drawing up a book of advices for his daughters against the time1 which he felt could not be very far off1 when he would no longer be with them4 #8,,my ,,dear ,,girls--,you had the misfortune to be deprived of your ,mother at a time of life when you were insensible of your loss1 and could receive little benefit either from her instruction or her example4 ,before this comes to your hands1 you will likewise have lost your ,father4 ,i have had many melancholy reflections on the forlorn and helpless situation you must be in if it should please ,god to remove me from you before you arrive at that period of life1 when you will be able to think and act for yourselves4444 ,i have been supported under the gloom 444 by a reliance on the ,goodness of that ,providence which has hitherto preserved you1 and given me the most pleasing prospect of the goodness of your dispositions1 and by the secret hope that your ,mother's virtues will entail a blessing on her children4' ,this was the spirit in which the book was written1 and though it is a type of book which has entirely passed out of fashion1 it is interesting to read it and remember that in the days of our great-grandmothers it had its place on every girl's table4 ,dr ,gregory had a very observant way of watching girls1 he knew life1 and his advice was shrewd and tender4 ,in the chapter on ,conduct and ,behaviour there are many quaint observations as to what gifts are attractive in a girl4 #8,wit1' he says1 #8is the most dangerous talent you can possess1 it must be guarded with great discretion and good nature1 otherwise it will create you many enemies'4444 #8,be even cautious in displaying your good sense4 ,it will be thought you assume a superiority over the rest of the company--,but if you happen to have any learning1 keep it a profound secret1 especially from the men'4444 #8,beware of detraction1 especially when your own sex are concerned4 ,you are generally accused of being particularly addicted to this vice--,i think unjustly--,men are fully as guilty of it when their interests interfere4 ,as your interests more frequently clash1 and as your feelings are quicker than ours1 your temptations to it are more frequent4 ,for this reason1 be particularly tender of the reputation of your own sex1 especially when they happen to rival you in our regards4' ,later on1 there is a pathetic feeling of how little he can foretell his daughters' tastes4 #8,i do not want to make you anything1 ,i want to know what ,nature has made you1 and to perfect you on her plan4' ,a ,father's ,legacy to his ,daughter was intended only for his own girls1 and was not published till after ,dr ,gregory's death4 ,during his time in ,edinburgh he brought out besides his ,comparative ,view1 ,lectures on the ,duties and ,qualifications of a ,physician1 which were his introductory lectures1 and ,elements of the ,practice of ,physic1 a first volume of a text-book for his students which he did not live to complete4 ,he thought medicine required a more comprehensive mind than any other profession1 and often brought much besides mere technical knowledge into his lectures4 ,as a speaker he was simple1 natural and vigorous4 ,he lectured only from notes1 #8in a style happily attempered1' said one of his contemporaries1 #8between the formality of studied composition1 and the ease of conversation4' ,on one thing he insisted1 that every student should appreciate the limitations of medicine1 for only so could they learn to extend its borders4 ,during these years1 too1 he carried on a constant correspondence with ,james ,beattie1 ,professor of ,moral ,philosophy in ,aberdeen1 and a poet4 ,both ,beattie and ,thomas ,reid1 who held the corresponding chair in ,glasgow1 were engaged in combating the teaching of ,david ,hume1 which had become very fashionable1 and ,gregory1 though much attached to ,david ,hume as a man1 feared him as a teacher1 and dreaded the growth of that scepticism which marked the time--a tendency quite as bitterly lamented in ,england by ,samuel ,johnson4 #8,i am well convinced1' ,gregory wrote to ,beattie in a letter dated ,edinburgh1 #afth ,june #agfg1 #8that the great deference paid to our modern heathens has been productive of the worst effects4 ,young people are impressed with an idea of their being men of superior abilities1 whose genius has raised them above the vulgar prejudices1 and who have spirit enough to avow openly their contempt of them4 ,atheism and ,materialism are the present fashion4 ,if one speak with warmth of an infinitely wise and good ,being1 who sustains and directs the frame of nature1 or expresses his steady belief of a future state of existence1 he gets hints of his having either a very weak understanding1 or of his being a very great hypocrite4444 ,you are the best man ,i know to chastise these people as they deserve1 you have more ,philosophy and more wit than will be necessary for the purpose1 though you can never employ any of them in so good a cause4' ,when ,beattie's answer to ,hume was in manuscript1 he sent it to ,dr ,gregory1 who read it1 and cordially approved of it1 but one result of this was that ,gregory had to become a partaker in the acrimony of ,hume's friends4 ,his advices as to an attractive style were somewhat curious1 #8,you are well aware of the antipathy1 which the present race of readers have against all abstract reasoning1 except what is employed in defence of the fashionable principles2 but though they pretend to admire their metaphysical champions1 yet they never read them1 nor if they did1 could they understand them4 ,among ,mr ,hume's numerous disciples1 ,i do not know one who ever read his ,treatise on ,human ,nature4 ,in order1 therefore1 to be read1 you must not be satisfied with reasoning with justness and perspicuity2 you must write with pathos1 with elegance1 with spirit1 and endeavour to warm the imagination and touch the heart of those who are deaf to the voice of reason4 ,whatever you write in the way of criticism will be read1 and1 if my partiality to you does not deceive me1 be admired4 ,everything relating to the #8,belles ,lettres' is read1 or pretended to be read4 ,what has made ,lord ,kames' ,elements of ,criticism so popular in ,england1 is his numerous illustrations and quotations from ,shakespeare4444 ,this is a good political hint to you in your capacity of an author4' ,gregory was also consulted about the sketch design of ,beattie's ,poem1 ,the ,minstrel1 which he admired1 and the closing stanza written by his friend the poet1 when he heard of ,gregory's death1 was supposed to be very beautiful poetry4 ,cowper wrote in one of his letters to the ,rev4 ,william ,unwin1 #8,if you have not his poem called ,the ,minstrel1 and cannot borrow it1 ,i must beg you to buy it for me1 for though ,i cannot afford to deal largely in so expensive a commodity as books1 ,i must afford to purchase at least the poetical works of ,beattie4' ,gregory's views of his friend's high gifts then were shared by ,cowper4 ,gray also held him in high estimation1 and ,mrs ,siddons spent an afternoon with ,beattie1 crying because they were so happy over poetry and music1 and some of the poetry must have been his own4 ,as for ,beattie's lines on ,gregory1 they are as much calculated to draw smiles as tears from our eyes4 #8,adieu1 ye lays that fancy's flowers adorn1 ,the soft amusement of the vacant mind6 ,he sleeps in dust and all the ,muses mourn1 ,he whom each virtue fired1 each grace refined1 ,friend1 teacher1 pattern1 darling of mankind6 ,he sleeps in dust3 and how should ,i pursue ,my theme8 ,to heart-consuming grief resigned1 ,here on his recent grave ,i fix my view1 ,and pour my bitter tears4 ,ye flowery lays1 adieu6 ,art thou1 my ,gregory1 for ever fled8 ,and am ,i left to unavailing woe8 ,when fortune's storms assail this weary head1 ,where cares long since have shed untimely snow1 ,ah1 now1 for comfort whither shall ,i go8 ,no more thy soothing voice my anguish cheers1 ,thy placid eyes with smiles no longer glow1 ,my hopes to cherish and allay my fears4 #8,tis meet that ,i should mourn1 flow forth afresh my tears4' ,gregory wrote little upon religious subjects1 except some chapters in the ,comparative ,view and in the ,father's ,legacy1 but he spoke often of the things which pertain to the ,life ,eternal4 ,to him they were as really present as the circumstances of every day4 ,his mind was deeply religious1 but it was of that sort that lives more by meditation than church-going4 ,though he was a ,presbyterian himself1 he had his younger children brought up as ,episcopalians1 wishing them in everything to be likened as much as possible to their mother4 ,one day in the beginning of ,february #aggc1 ,john ,gregory was talking to his son ,james about his health4 ,his son told him that he feared it was likely he would soon have a bad attack of gout1 a disease from which he had been entirely free for three years4 ,professor ,gregory1 who felt himself in full vigour1 and who was in the height of his work1 was much vexed with this prognosis4 ,gout was a dread enemy in his mother's family1 and he always feared its visitations4 ,he had suffered from it more or less since he was eighteen1 and the preface to the ,father's ,legacy indicates his anticipation of an early death4 ,on the morning of the #ajth he was found dead in bed4 ,his face was peaceful1 everything was smooth and still1 showing that death had come gently4 ,but the familiar presence had passed away for ever from his home4 ,it is said that ,gregory had a great fear of darkness1 and that after his wife's death he used to have an old woman come and sit by him to hold his hand till he fell asleep1 and if this is true1 it is most strange4 ,he was forty-nine when he died4 ,john ,gregory was succeeded in the chair by ,william ,cullen1 who1 when his time came1 made room for ,james ,gregory1 the fourth incumbent of the chair3 a son of ,dorothea ,gregory1 ,william ,pulteney ,alison was the sixth4 ,in appearance ,john ,gregory was tall and strongly built4 ,his face in repose was kind1 although too full and heavy to look clever2 even his eyes were dull4 ,when he was talking there was a complete change4 ,interest1 life and expression transformed his features1 until one could hardly suppose him to be the same man4 ,the charm of his manner has never been gainsaid1 and like the beauty of his wife1 it is mentioned in every biography4 ,after her father died1 ,dorothea went to live with her godmother1 ,mrs ,montague1 under whose care she spent the rest of her unmarried life4 ,she was made very happy1 and gave great pleasure wherever she went4 ,she had inherited1 if not all her mother's beauty1 a great share of it1 and her nature was as sweet and strong as her father's and mother's in one4 ,when ,sir ,william ,pulteney1 who had been a friend of her father's1 heard of ,dorothea's engagement to the ,rev4 ,archibald ,alison1 he wanted to satisfy himself that she was making a suitable marriage1 and with this object in view went himself to see if all the good things that were said about the bridegroom were true4 ,he gives a pleasant description of the expedition4 #8,andrew ,stuart and ,i accompanied ,mr ,alison to ,thrapston1 and the marriage took place on the #aith1 by a license from the ,archbishop of ,canterbury4 ,i conducted them afterwards to their residence1 and we left them next morning after breakfast1 as happy as it is possible for people to be4 ,mr ,alison was obliged to come round by ,london1 in order to take an oath at granting the license1 and ,i was glad of the opportunity which the journey afforded me of making an acquaintance with him2 for tho' ,i had little doubt that ,miss ,gregory had made a proper choice1 yet ,i wished to be perfectly satisfied1 and the result is1 that ,i think neither you nor ,mr ,nairne have said a word too much in his favour4' ,dorothea ,gregory's two sons were ,william ,pulteney ,alison1 ,professor of the ,practice of ,physic1 and ,sir ,archibald ,alison1 the historian4 ,her daughter ,montague1 before her marriage with ,colonel ,gerard1 was loved by ,thomas ,campbell1 the poet1 and by ,francis ,jeffrey4 ,anna1 ,john ,gregory's second daughter1 married ,john ,forbes1 ,esq4 of ,blackford1 in ,aberdeenshire4 ,william the second son went into the ,church1 and was appointed one of the #8six preachers' in ,canterbury ,cathedral4 ,of his sons one was a successful doctor in ,london1 and another1 ,john1 ,governor of the ,bahammas1 was the father of ,mr ,philip ,spencer ,gregory1 who has already been referred to in this book4 ,dr ,gregory changed the spelling of his name from ,gregorie to ,gregory during his stay in ,london4 ,curiously enough1 the only other branch of the ,gregories who had up to that time emigrated to the south had made the same alteration4 ,professor ,john ,gregory's fame1 while it may not have extended as widely as that of his son1 was yet far-reaching4 ,when ,beattie had an interview with the king in #aggc1 ,his ,majesty made special enquiries about his ,first ,physician for ,scotland4 ,this was probably shortly after the professor's death4 ,his life published in #ahjj along with sketches of ,lord ,kames1 ,david ,hume1 and ,adam ,smith1 ends with these words-- #8,upon the whole1 whether he is considered as a man of genius and of the world1 or with regard to his conduct in the line of his profession1 few human characters will be found to equal that of the late ,dr ,john ,gregory4' ,,chapter ,,ix ,,james ,,gregory1 #agec-ahba #8,if in doubt1 8lead with trumps10 is counsel so old ,as never to fail with the game in a fixture2 ,and medical men1 in their doubt1 ,i am told1 ,are safe when they lead with--,gregory's ,mixture6' --,,old ,,play4 ,it was in the middle of the session1 #aggb-gc1 that ,john ,gregory died1 leaving as we know his work in full swing4 ,the university authorities were told1 not of his illness1 but of his death1 and they were greatly at a loss as to who should continue the course of lectures which ,professor ,gregory had commenced with so much vigour4 ,in this difficulty it was that ,james ,gregory his son stepped forward2 although he was only a medical student1 he offered to deliver lectures on the ,practice of ,physic till the end of the term1 and this proposal was most gratefully accepted by the university4 ,there is something which is perhaps not wholly unattractive in the idea of being the professor as well as the student2 but at nineteen to lecture1 and to lecture so well as to receive in consequence the offer of a chair at twenty-three1 is a triumph which is rare indeed4 ,james ,gregory was born in ,aberdeen in #agec1 and even as a child his mind always seems to have been keenly awake4 ,he left the ,grammar ,school of ,aberdeen when he was eleven1 having learned all that was to be learned there1 and entered ,king's ,college at an age at which clever boys now leave a preparatory school4 ,in the same year when his father removed to ,edinburgh ,james ,gregory entered that university1 and there he spent the next years of his life4 ,later he went up to ,christ ,church1 ,oxford1 of which his cousin was then dean4 ,oxford did not inspire him much1 for indeed learning was then at a very low level there1 but he continued his work at classics1 and came to write ,latin with fluency1 ,greek when there was occasion1 and both #8with classical elegance1' if we are to believe his admiring contemporaries4 ,it is probable that it was at ,oxford that ,james ,gregory resolved to follow in his father's footsteps1 and become a doctor4 ,there were of course many inducements1 and all the influence of his family would be brought to bear on that side2 but beyond this may we not believe that visions were given him of the golden fame that a hitherto unimagined mixture would bring to the name of ,gregory unto all time8 ,whether the vision was vouchsafed to him or not1 he returned to ,scotland and began his medical studies in #agfg4 ,it was a brilliant time in ,edinburgh ,university4 ,the medical professoriate contained a number of remarkable men4 ,cullen was there who had revolutionised medicine1 ,alexander ,monro #8,secundus1' the greatest of a great family1 ,black who was acknowledged by ,lavoisier as the pioneer of modern chemistry1 ,john ,hope the botanist and ,john ,gregory4 ,under such teachers as these ,james made rapid progress1 and although there are no tales of medals or prizes we cannot forget the instance of his medical foresight when he predicted an attack of gout for his father1 which attack came1 to his sorrow1 so soon and so fatally after the prediction4 ,the ,chair of the ,practice of ,physic was given to ,cullen1 and young ,gregory went to ,st ,george's ,hospital1 ,london1 to gain a wider experience4 ,he took his ,m4,d4 degree in ,edinburgh in #aggd3 his thesis entitled ,de morbis ,coeli ,mutatione ,medendis treats in detail ,phthisis ,pulmonalis1 ,hypochondriasis1 and ,gout1 and concludes by noticing the advantage of change of air in the prolonging of human life4 ,startlingly wide in subject as this thesis appears to us1 it was greatly admired for its style and minuteness1 and thus ,gregory1 quitting ,edinburgh for a time of study on the continent1 left behind him a very favourable impression both of his talent and hard-working research4 ,leyden1 ,paris1 and ,italy formed matter for enchanting letters which were the delight of his friends4 ,where are those letters gone to8 ,how pleasant would it be to live through them a student's life in these years4 ,whatever ,james ,gregory could be1 he was never dull1 and besides in them we might have found the early tokens of that fierce temper which is the only pity of his professional career in ,edinburgh4 ,there are two portraits of ,gregory1 or rather a portrait#g and a bust1 which were said to be very like4 ,a tall man1 large1 ungainly1 of a rare presence4 ,a man having authority impressed on every feature1 radiant with affection for his friends1 intolerant of enemies1 asking his own way and getting his own way1 loving1 hating1 thinking1 speaking1 feeling1 always with intensest ardour4 ,here was a man whom none of his associates could regard dispassionately2 they either loved him as a friend or hated him as an enemy4 ,footnote #g3 ,the portrait is by ,raeburn1 and there is also a miniature of the professor by the same artist1 which is in the possession of ,mr ,philip ,spencer ,gregory4 ,even in ,edinburgh which was full of personalities1 real individuals1 men who were above all things themselves1 ,gregory stands out a great original4 ,lord ,cockburn and ,sir ,robert ,christison were not inclined to agree with each other on most subjects1 yet about ,gregory's power there is a refreshing unanimity in their opinions4 ,in ,june #aggc he was elected to the ,chair of the ,institutes of ,medicine4 ,this chair had been practically vacant for three years1 during which time it was offered over and over again to ,alexander ,monro ,drummond1 whose chief merit seems to have been that he united the names of the great teaching ,monroes with that of ,drummond1 perhaps the noblest citizen ,edinburgh has ever had4 ,it has been suggested1 however1 that this was only done to keep the appointment open for ,gregory1 when he should have completed his studies1 and certainly when he returned1 his election was unanimous4 ,he entered upon his duties with happy vigour4 ,teaching was1 as with every ,gregory1 his greatest gift1 and the classes grew steadily all the time he was professor4 ,the university never made greater progress than it did about this time1 the medical graduates rising in number from about twenty in #aggf to one hundred and sixty in #ahbg4 ,in the teaching of his class ,professor ,gregory daily felt the need for his students of a new book on the ,theory of ,medicine1 so he wrote the ,conspectus ,medicinae ,theoreticae which proved such a valuable handbook on the subject4 ,this book was most successful1 it passed through many editions1 was translated into ,english and several other languages1 was used sometimes as a medical book and sometimes as a ,latin text1 for the ,latin was as much admired as the information which it imparted4 ,considering the success of this volume1 it is surprising that this was ,james ,gregory's only medical publication3 he alas wrote many books afterwards1 but with the exception of some chapters on philology and some literary essays1 he wrote nothing but controversial works1 prodigiously long1 violent1 personal1 and acrid2 their only excuse that they were never written for selfish ends and their only merit that they were a source of infinite amusement to the general public4 ,gregory lived in his father's old house1 ,no4 #ae ,canongate1 and to this home he brought his first wife1 the gentle ,galloway girl1 called ,mary ,ross1 whose companionship was his1 for such a short time in life's journey4 ,she died in #aghd4 ,in the years following her death he resumed his early classical studies1 and it is a rather curious fact that he wrote nearly all the ,latin epitaphs or dedications which were wanted for any purpose in ,edinburgh from this time till his death4 ,principal ,shairp1 referring to ,burns' meeting with ,gregory at ,ochtertyre1 describes how the poet #8was charmed with the conversation of that last of the ,scottish line of ,latinists1 which began with ,buchanan and ended with ,gregory4' ,in #aghg1 he published his essay on the ,theory of ,moods and ,verbs1 and in #agib1 ,philosophical and ,literary ,essays4 ,he was a great student of words1 loved epigram1 and spent much of his leisure in translating poetry4 ,he was also interested in metaphysics1 but as his great maxim was that in metaphysics there could be no discovery1 his writings on this subject do not appear to have added much to his fame4 ,throughout these years1 too1 he kept up a constant correspondence with his cousin ,thomas ,reid1 and proved himself just the appreciative critic that ,reid required in the writing of his books4 ,dugald ,stewart and ,gregory together revised the proofs of ,reid's ,essays on the ,intellectual ,powers1 and to them this book was dedicated4 #8,i send you1' writes ,reid1 #8what ,i propose as the title of my ,essays1 with an epistle which ,i hope you and ,mr ,stewart will allow me to prefix to them4 ,whether your name should go first on account of your doctor's degree1 or ,mr ,stewart's1 ,i leave you to adjust between yourselves4 ,i know not how to express my obligations to you both for the aid you have given me4' ,towards the end of #agij it became apparent that ,cullen1 the greatest doctor of his time was failing in strength1 and on his resigning the ,chair of the ,practice of ,physic the ,town ,council reappointed him in kindly recognition of his great services to the university1 but appointed ,james ,gregory to be joint-professor during his lifetime with the sole right of survivorship4 ,this comradeship did not last long1 for in the same year ,cullen died4 ,to no less strong man could the task of succeeding this veteran teacher1 who had raised the reputation of the ,edinburgh ,school to such a height1 have been wisely entrusted4 ,as ,professor of the ,theory of ,physic1 ,gregory had shown remarkable gifts1 but in his new subject his teaching was superb4 ,sir ,robert ,christison in his autobiography1 says of him1 #8,equal in fluency as in choice of language1 he surpassed all lecturers ,i have ever heard4 ,his doctrines were set forth with great clearness and simplicity in the form of a commentary on ,cullen's ,first ,lines of the ,practice of ,physic4 ,his measures for the cure of disease were sharp and incisive4 ,in acute diseases there was no #8mdecine expectante' for ,gregory1 he somehow left us with the impression that we were to be masters over nature in all such diseases1 that they must of necessity give way before the physician who is early enough and bold enough in encountering them4' ,he had a memory so clear that he was never known to forget a case1 and in his lectures he made his students see not only the general features of a disease1 but an actual case of it which had come under his care4 ,he used stories and history1 and his own experience to vivify his lectures1 and no doubt he succeeded for he had seen many sides of life4 ,he never had time for more than two-thirds of his subject in one course1 but whatever he missed out he always discussed fevers and inflammations4 ,in much that he taught he was in advance of his age4 ,in observing how frequently rheumatic fever tends to heart disease2 in limiting the use of blood-letting#h at a time when it was becoming almost a universal panacea with doctors1 in urging a liberal dietary in certain stages of consumption1 and in the invention and use of his mixture he showed that his views were in advance of those held by most of his brother physicians4 ,professor ,gregory had an odd habit of wearing his cocked hat while he lectured4 ,footnote #h3 ,in whole classes of cases1 however1 ,gregory was a decided advocate of blood-letting4 ,it was in the summer of #agif that dear old ,thomas ,reid1 who was becoming very frail1 was induced to pay a visit to ,st ,andrew's ,square1 to which ,gregory had migrated4 ,his daughter1 ,mrs ,carmichael1 was anxious to have the opinion of ,dr ,gregory1 as to whether there was anything she could do to retard the bodily decay which increased daily in her father4 ,it was a happy time to them all4 ,gregory delighted in the keenness of the old man's mind4 ,as he was not fit for much exercise1 he passed his time in solving algebraical problems1 and discussing abstruse subjects with ,dugald ,stewart4 ,gregory was no doubt busy4 ,his practice increased daily1 and besides this1 he probably spent a good deal of his time in the house of ,mr ,m',leod of ,geanies1 the ,sheriff of ,ross-shire2 to whose daughter1 ,isabella1 he was married on the #aith of ,october1 just ten days after ,thomas ,reid's death4 ,miss ,m',leod was a very beautiful girl1 both winning and attractive1 if ,raeburn's portrait of her is true to life1 and she made both a good wife and good mother4 ,among ,raeburn's other portraits1 and interesting to us because they were the friends of the ,gregories1 are such men as ,dugald ,stewart1 ,principal ,robertson1 ,blair1 ,home1 ,ferguson1 ,mackenzie1 ,francis ,horner1 and ,jeffrey4 ,how much is it ,raeburn1 one wonders1 who makes these men and women so charming1 for it is their looks and what we know of their lives1 far more than their writings1 that attract us4 ,principal ,robertson1 with all his sweetness and dignity1 has only written histories which are now superseded4 ,jeffrey railed at ,wordsworth4 ,blair's sermons are but a lingering tradition4 ,the eloquence of ,dugald ,stewart1 which brought ,melbourne1 ,lord ,john ,russell1 and ,palmerston to ,edinburgh ,university1 is now forgotten4 ,it is not by their books that we know these men1 it is because we love them when we see their portraits2 it is because ,cockburn lets us know them in their homes--it is because ,john ,brown1 who lived early enough to be in touch with those who remembered them1 has written about them lovingly and tenderly4 ,they were delightful men1 but more delightful in their lives than in their books4 ,the witty criticisms of the ,edinburgh ,review have passed away2 they were for their day--but the remembrance of ,jeffrey's pleasant after-intercourse with ,wordsworth1 the kindliness with which ,gregory welcomed all the young ,edinburgh reviewers into his house at a time when no other ,tories except the #8man of feeling' and ,archibald ,alison would receive them1 and the occasional permission which ,principal ,robertson gave little ,henry ,cockburn to feast off his cherry tree--these are memories which will appeal to the kindly hearts of all time4 ,then it is amusing to read ,dr ,gregory's critical letter to ,burns1 who must have required all his admiration for the great doctor to bear patiently the numerous suggestions which he showered upon him4 99 99 99 99 99 #8,,edinburgh1 #bnd ,june #aghi4 #8,,dear ,,sir1--,i take the first leisure hour ,i could command1 to thank you for your letter and the copy of verses enclosed in it4 ,as there is real poetic merit1 ,i mean both fancy and tenderness1 and some happy expressions1 in them1 ,i think they well deserve that you should revise them carefully and polish them to the utmost4 ,this ,i am sure you can do if you please1 for you have great command both of expression and of rhymes2 and you may judge1 from the two last pieces of ,mrs ,hunter's poetry that ,i gave you1 how much correctness and high polish enhance the value of such compositions4 ,as you desire it1 ,i shall with great freedom give you my most rigorous criticisms on your verses4 ,i wish you would give me another edition of them1 much amended1 and ,i will send it to ,mrs ,hunter1 who1 ,i am sure1 will have much pleasure in reading it4 ,pray give me likewise for myself1 and her too1 a copy 7as much amended as you please7 of the 8,waterfowl on ,loch ,turit40 #8,the 8,wounded ,hare0 is a pretty good subject1 but the measure or stanza you have chosen for it is not a good one3 it does not flow well2 and the rhyme of the fourth line is almost lost by its distance from the first1 and the two interposed1 close rhymes4 ,if ,i were you ,i would put it into a different stanza yet4 #8,stanza #a4--,the execrations in the first two lines are too strong or coarse1 but they may pass4 8,murder-aiming0 is a bad compound epithet and not very intelligible4 8,blood-stained0 in ,stanza ,,iii4 line #d has the same fault3 ,bleeding bosom is infinitely better4 ,you have accustomed yourself to such epithets and have no notion how stiff and quaint they appear to others and how incongruous with poetic fancy and tender sentiments4 ,suppose ,pope had written 8,why that bloodstained bosom gored0 how would you have liked it8 ,form is neither a poetic nor a dignified nor a plain common word3 it is a mere sportsman's word3 unsuitable to pathetic or serious poetry4 8,mangled0 is a coarse word4 8,innocent10 in this sense1 is a nursery word2 but both may pass4 #8,stanza #d4 8,who will now provide that life a mother only can bestow0 will not do at all3 it is not grammar--it is not intelligible4 ,do you mean 8provide for that life which the mother had bestowed and used to provide for80 ,there was a ridiculous slip of the pen1 8,feeling0 7,i suppose7 for 8,fellow10 in the title of your copy of the verses2 but even 8fellow0 would be wrong3 it is but a colloquial and vulgar word1 unsuitable to your sentiments4 8,shot0 is improper too4 ,on seeing a person 7or a sportsman7 wound a hare3 it is needless to add with what weapon2 but if you think otherwise1 you should say with a fowling-piece4 ,let me see you when you come to town1 and ,i will shew you some more of ,mrs ,hunter's poems4' 99 99 99 99 99 ,perhaps when ,burns submitted his lines1 #8,on seeing a wounded hare limp by me1 which a fellow had just shot at1' he hoped for as kindly a criticism as ,dr ,gregory had given to ,clarinda's verses1 which the poet had shown him in ,december #aghg2 but if so1 he was much disappointed4 #8,dr ,gregory is a good man1 but he crucifies me1' wrote ,burns soon after2 and again1 #8,i believe in the iron justice of ,dr ,gregory2 but like the devils ,i believe and tremble4' ,it was a curious friendship1 but friendship it was4 ,there is an ,english translation of ,cicero1 which the physician had given to ,burns in ,edinburgh in #aghg1 and on the fly-leaf of this is written1 #8,this book1 a present from the truly worthy and learned ,dr ,gregory1 ,i shall preserve to my latest hour as a mark of the gratitude1 esteem and veneration ,i bear the owner--so help me ,god4--,robert ,burns4' ,clarinda's desire to make ,gregory's acquaintance which is surely an indication of how much her ,sylvander admired him1 finds utterance in a letter of #aghg1 #8,pray is ,dr ,gregory pious8 ,i have heard so1 ,i wish ,i knew him4' ,it was at ,lord ,monboddo's that ,gregory first met ,burns4 ,besides the queer old judge1 who was made a laughing stock for saying that men originally had tails1 there was his charming daughter1 the beautiful ,miss ,burnet1 to whom ,gregory is said to have offered his heart and hand4 ,one of the stories that ,lord ,cockburn tells of ,gregory is in connection with ,miss ,sophia ,johnston 7generally known in the ,edinburgh of that day as #8,suphy'7 one of the ,hilton family2 about whom1 because of her curious upbringing1 there were many odd stories4 #8,when ,suphy's day was visibly approaching1 ,dr ,gregory prescribed abstinence from animal food1 and recommended 8spoon-meat0 unless she wished to die4 8,dee1 doctor1 odd1 ,i'm thinking they've forgotten an auld wife like me up yonder60 ,however1 when he came back next day1 the doctor found her at the spoon-meat1 supping a haggis--she was remembered4' ,gregory lived now1 as we know1 in ,st ,andrew ,square1 having left the old home in the ,canongate1 but besides this he bought a house called ,canaan ,lodge1 which was then at a sufficient distance from ,edinburgh to be in the real country4 ,walking towards this house he might often be seen of an evening with his all too warlike stick over his shoulder1 possibly the very stick with which he smote his brother physician ,professor ,hamilton within the sacred precincts of the university4 ,the story does not end here1 nor even at the ,law ,courts1 where he was made to pay #ajj damages to the infuriated object of his attack1 but with ,gregory1 who as usual had the last word1 and the last laugh in the matter1 and said as he paid his fine1 that he would willingly pay double for another chance4 #8,a' the country1 far and near1 ,hae heard ,macgregor's fame1 lady4 ,he was a hedge about his friends1 ,a heckle to his foes1 lady2 ,if any man did him gainsay1 ,he felt his deadly blows1 lady4 ,it is really a pity1 but no sketch of ,professor ,james ,gregory could be adequate without mentioning some of the more important of his professional feuds4 ,take the ,infirmary for example1 with which he was connected from so early a date as #aggg1 and where he made one of the most sweeping and necessary reforms that have ever taken place in the management of that institution4 ,he early saw that it was neither for the good of the patients1 nor for the good of the students1 that the physicians and surgeons should attend the wards for only a month at a time1 and against this he set himself with all the zeal of which he was capable4 ,he disapproved the time-honoured privilege enjoyed by every member of the ,royal ,college of ,physicians1 and every member of the ,royal ,college of ,surgeons1 to doctor the ,infirmary patients2 and getting more and more enraged with the infatuation of his medical brethren1 he presented a memorial to the managers of the ,infirmary1 expounding his views1 that ,infirmary appointments should be made either for life1 or at least for a number of years1 but unfortunately doing so in language1 of which the following paragraph is but one specimen3-- #8,let us suppose that in consequence of this memorial1 every individual member of the ,college of ,surgeons shall to his own share1 make forty times more noise than ,orlando ,furioso did at full moon when he was maddest1 and shall continue in that unparalleled state of uproar for twenty years without ceasing4 ,i can see no great harm in all that noise1 and no harm at all to any but those who make it4 ,ninety-nine parts in the hundred of all that noise would of course be bestowed on me1 whom it would not deprive of one hour's natural sleep1 and to whom it would afford infinite amusement and gratification while ,i am awake1' etc4 ,such bitter writing was not1 however1 solely on one side4 ,on another occasion1 by the consent of the ,royal ,college of ,physicians1 #8,a narrative of the conduct of ,dr ,james ,gregory towards the ,royal ,college of ,physicians of ,edinburgh' was published1 which opens with this ominous paragraph1 #8,it is with great pain1 that the ,royal ,college of ,physicians1 not a numerous1 but hitherto1 they trust1 a very respectable society1 find themselves compelled to come before the public with a narrative of their internal dissensions4 ,the intemperate and injurious conduct of one of their members however has now made this a matter of necessity4 ,like other collections of individuals1 they have had their dissensions and disagreements1 but till very lately they were always conducted with the temper and the language of gentlemen1 and were begun and ended within the walls of the ,college4 ,dr ,james ,gregory has introduced a new style and a new jurisdiction4' ,there is not much to choose between in these samples of professional controversy1 but on the whole ,gregory was usually more right in his views1 and more wrong in his expression1 than the other side4 ,in spite of these quarrels ,gregory's practice increased steadily4 ,in #ahah his professional income was #bgbc1 and in the following year #ajj more1 while in the same years he derived from his professorship by way of fees1 #acfd and #abjj respectively4 ,these figures represented a much larger sum in #ahah than they would in #aijj1 and give a substantial proof of ,gregory's popularity4 ,a story told of ,professor ,gregory is peculiarly touching4 ,one day when he was giving out the tickets for his class1 he had to go into another room to fetch something4 ,when he came back he saw a student1 who was waiting for his ticket1 take some money off his table and put it into his pocket4 ,the ,professor gave him his pass and said nothing1 but just as the lad was leaving the room1 he rose up and laying his hand on his shoulder said1 #8,i saw what you did1 and ,i am so sorry4 ,i know how great must have been your need before you would take money4 ,keep it1 keep it1' he added1 seeing that the student meant to give the stolen money back to him1 #8but for ,god's sake1 never do it again4' ,sir ,walter ,scott has remembered also how ,professor ,gregory on one occasion gave a very ready reply to a learned member of the ,scottish ,bar4 ,he was giving evidence about a man1 who in his opinion1 was insane4 ,on a cross-examination1 the professor was obliged to admit that the person in question played an admirable game of whist4 ,the eminent counsel thought he had made a point4 #8,and do you seriously say1 ,doctor1' he added1 #8that a person having a superior capacity for a game so difficult1 and which requires in a pre-eminent degree1 memory1 judgment1 and combination1 can be at the same time deranged in his understanding8' #8,i am no card player1' replied the doctor1 #8but ,i have read in history that cards were invented for the amusement of an insane king4' ,needless to say1 he won his case6 ,in #ahah ,gregory had a serious carriage accident1 in which his arm was broken1 and from this shock he never really recovered1 though we still see him in the midst of work4 ,he was one of a deputation from the ,university of ,edinburgh to congratulate ,george ,,iv4 on his accession to the throne1 and while in ,london he received the honour of a private audience of the king4 ,during that visit his thoughts went back often to his time of study in ,london1 and to all the prosperity that had come to him since4 ,he had received almost every honour which his profession could bring him4 ,he had been ,president of the ,college of ,physicians4 ,he was made king's physician to ,george ,,iii41 and his commission had been most graciously renewed 7during this visit7 by ,george ,,iv4 ,innumerable societies had bestowed their honorary membership upon him1 and many towns had given him the privilege of their freedom1 but he felt that his days were nearly over4 ,during the last year he had attacks of difficulty of breathing1 which made it impossible for him to lecture after ,christmas #ahbj4 ,the end came in ,april4 ,he died of hydro-thorax at the age of sixty-eight4 ,of ,gregory's eleven children only five survived him4 ,two of them were in their turn to become teachers4 ,william1 afterwards ,professor of ,chemistry in ,aberdeen and ,edinburgh1 and ,duncan ,farquharson1 the ,cambridge mathematician4 ,there was not lacking one token of the love and esteem in which the great professor was held4 ,the voices of his rivals were hushed4 ,his friends mourned for him1 and the town where he had been such a familiar figure arranged a public funeral for him4 ,he lies buried in the family vault in the ,canongate ,churchyard4 #8,,vir ,,priscae ,,virtutis1 ,,per ,,omnes ,,vitae ,,gradus ,,et ,,in ,,omni ,,vitae ,,officio ,,probatissimae4' ,,chapter ,x ,,william ,,gregory1 #ahjc-aheh #8,were it of hoot1 or cold1 or moyste1 or drye1 ,and where they engendered and of what humour1 ,he was a verray parfit praktisour4' --,,chaucer1 ,prologue #dbj-dbb4 ,william ,gregory was the last of this great academic family to hold a chair in a ,scottish ,university4 ,he was the fourth son of ,professor ,james ,gregory1 and having been brought up among the traditions of medicine1 he turned to the study of it instinctively1 though the necessity laid upon him was by no means the same as that which had made his forefathers physicians in spite of themselves4 ,he had not gone far in his medical course when he decided to be a chemist rather than a doctor4 ,the magic of ,professor ,hope's experiments made at least one convert and as he sat in the class-room observing the strange effects of chemicals1 he made up his mind that if it were possible he would some day take the teacher's place4 ,with rude implements he would spend hours at home repeating the processes which he had watched in the class1 his mind all alive to the interest of his subject1 and his poor body much neglected4 ,these happy hours in his laboratory were dearly paid for by the delicacy1 which began to show itself about this time4 ,the noxious fumes of the chemicals acted as a slow poison1 and from this stage of his life he had to struggle with ill health1 all his occupations being interrupted at times by unconquerable pain4 ,he graduated ,m4,d4 in #ahbh1 and then went abroad to study chemistry in the famous schools of the continent4 ,at ,giessen1 the most important of these1 he had the good fortune to attract the attention of the great teacher1 whose work had made the university famous1 and from this time forward1 ,liebig was the friend and correspondent of ,william ,gregory4 ,during the years when ,gregory was completing his studies abroad1 and teaching successively in ,edinburgh1 ,glasgow1 and ,dublin1 ,king's ,college1 ,aberdeen1 was going through considerable difficulties in connection with the post of mediciner4 ,in the days of ,john ,gregory's tenure of that office1 he had as we already know1 made efforts to improve the medical curriculum there1 but without success4 ,a step in advance was made in #ahja1 when it was determined that a candidate for the degree of ,m4,d4 must #8oblidge himself that he is not1 nor will be concerned in the sale of quack medicines of any description6' and a further step was taken in #ahag by the authorities insisting on a satisfactory account of the #8classical1 literary and scientifical education of the candidate4' ,between #ahbd and #ahbf1 an attempt was made by the ,chancellor and ,senatus to insist that the mediciner should teach medicine1 but ,dr ,bannerman1 who then held that office1 would only consent to consider the matter for a year1 and after that time he let it rest4 ,in #ahcf1 he was advised that if he would neither teach nor appoint a substitute1 a lecturer would be chosen1 and paid out of his salary4 ,this threat1 however1 was never carried out1 and he died in #ahch1 and it was to this post of mediciner1 made vacant by his death1 that ,william ,gregory was appointed on ,february #aith1 #ahci4 ,dr ,william ,pulteney ,alison1 to whom the electors of ,king's ,college applied for suggestions as to a suitable candidate1 had curiously enough never mentioned the name of his cousin1 and it was only owing to the intervention of ,thomas ,clark who held the ,chair of ,chemistry in ,marischal ,college that ,gregory came to apply4 ,after giving him minute instructions as to the form which his application must take1 he added1 #8,don't mention me no more than the ,devil4' ,the name of this friend was therefore kept out of sight1 and ,gregory was in due course appointed to the vacant professorship4 ,it was with great joy that his advent was announced to the professors of ,king's ,college4 ,their difficulties in improving the medical course1 when the very mediciner would not teach a class1 had been insuperable1 but now they felt a man of influence was coming amongst them1 who would be the means of promoting the interests of their university1 and who would give the benefit of a hereditary power of teaching to the students1 whom they felt sure his great name would attract to their midst4 ,while in ,aberdeen ,william ,gregory became intensely interested in the welfare of ,king's ,college1 and busied himself in trying to secure revenue from the government to found new chairs1 but in this he was unsuccessful4 ,he taught ,materia ,medica in a house fitted up for a ,medical ,school in ,kingsland ,place1 and he had a good class1 but from the witticisms of the students as to the effect of their professor's preparation of muriate of morphia it is evident that ,william ,gregory's physical weakness was growing upon him1 and that it was only with the most strenuous effort that he could get to his class at ten o'clock4 ,as his power of walking failed him1 the professor found much solace in music1 and sweet snatches of melody were carried across his old-fashioned garden to the ears of passers-by4 ,he played beautifully1 and his wife1 who was a niece of ,colonel ,scott of ,gala1 added greatly to the charms of their musical parties4 ,it is said that they were the first to shock the people of ,aberdeen by playing secular music on ,sunday4 ,to the ,aberdonians1 however1 he gave a more serious cause for complaint--,william ,gregory was of a singularly childlike and trustful disposition1 and he was intensely interested in the occult science of ,spiritualism2 the result was that he became the patron of a most undesirable throng of quasi-scientific humbugs1 whose presence in their midst they resented with extreme frankness4 ,there is a continual atmosphere of table-turning1 mesmerism and magnetic flames in the tales extant about him1 and though the narrators are tender about his memory1 they have perforce to take up the attitude of counsel for the defence4 ,as a chemist1 he undoubtedly came first in ,scotland4 ,he invented processes for the more perfect preparation of hydrochloric acid1 muriate of morphia and oxyde of silver1 besides making important observations on many other chemicals4 ,he had an accurate command of practical chemistry1 a power of condensation and clear expression1 and a just perception of the value of discoveries1 which made his writings unsurpassed for the use of students4 ,in #ahdd ,dr ,william ,gregory realised the dream of his youth4 ,after a sharp contest with ,dr ,lyon ,playfair1 he was appointed to succeed ,professor ,hope in his chair in the ,university of ,edinburgh4 #8,the chair was given to him1' says ,sir ,alexander ,grant1 #8under a new title1 for the ,town ,council now judiciously omitted 8,medicine0 from its province1 and elected ,dr ,gregory to be ,professor of ,chemistry4' ,his health was much impaired1 so much so1 that people even went the length of saying that he was physically unfit for his new position1 and it is at any rate true that his finest teaching was given to his students in ,aberdeen4 ,he was an able teacher1 if at times erratic and absent-minded4 ,his class was always kept wide awake1 for with what alarms would not the professor bring back the straying imaginations of his audience6 #8,gentlemen1' he would say1 while with his long awkward fingers he lifted up the tube of some chemical before them1 #8,if this were to fall1 not one of you could reach the door alive2' and then1 considering the matter over1 he would place the tube carelessly upon the edge of a plate1 while the students near the doorway filtered through it1 and the others1 hat in hand1 awaited the longed-for close of the lecture1 feeling a fresh tremor with every approach of ,gregory's loose fingers to the fatal vial4 ,good as his teaching was1 the books which he wrote while in ,edinburgh were his most valuable contribution to the ,science of ,chemistry4 ,in the preface to the ,outlines of ,chemistry1 which was published in #ahde1 he sketched the divisions which he intended to make in his subject for the fuller elucidation of the facts1 and1 had his health permitted him to carry out his plan1 #8the instruction from his class would probably have been more complete than from any other scientific chair in ,europe4' ,at the request of ,liebig1 he translated several of his more important books into ,english1 and in the preface to the ,familiar ,letters on ,chemistry1 ,liebig writes1 #8,from his intimate familiarity with chemical science1 and especially with the physiological subjects here treated1 ,i am confident that the task could not have been entrusted to better hands than those of my friend ,dr ,gregory4' ,their friendship lasted throughout life1 and only a few days before ,professor ,gregory's death1 he was propped up in his bed to write a pamphlet supporting some new theories of ,liebig1 which the ,german had just communicated to him4 ,gregory's appearance was most noticeable4 ,he was of great proportions1 obese1 slouching and loosely hung together4 ,in later years his body was a great burden to him1 but the mind kept the mastery4 ,he was1 like his father1 a keen student of language1 and would wile away many of the weary hours of forced inaction by the study of foreign tongues4 ,french and ,german were to him as familiar as ,english4 ,with a microscope1 too1 he did beautiful work1 and was in his day1 the greatest authority on the ,diatomaceae4 ,the slides which he made of these microscopic water-plants with their sculptured valves1 were another resource of his declining years4 ,he presented valuable memoirs on this subject to the ,royal ,society of ,edinburgh1 of which he was a member4 ,professor ,william ,gregory died in ,edinburgh in ,april #aheh1 and was honoured with a public funeral4 ,he was succeeded in the university by ,dr ,lyon ,playfair 7afterwards ,lord ,playfair7 who had contested the chair unsuccessfully at the time of ,gregory's appointment4 ,william ,gregory was survived by an only son1 who was called after his father's far-famed friend1 ,james ,liebig ,gregory4 ,duncan ,farquharson ,gregory was considerably younger than his brother the ,professor of ,chemistry1 and was not at all like him in personal appearance4 ,his face was a beautiful one1 fine1 pale1 bearing on it already in this life some of the light and joyousness that often mark out for especial love those who are to pass quickly from this earth4 ,his hair1 which was thick and curling1 fell more about his brow than is usual1 and his eyes like dark lamps illuminated his features4 ,when he was hardly more than a baby1 his father used fondly to predict distinction for him4 #8,he had pleasure in conversing with him as with an equal on subjects of ,history and ,geography1' so ,mr ,ellis wrote1 and this when the boy was not more than six1 for his father died before he had left the nursery4 ,he was a great inventor of games for himself1 and made an orrery with his busy little hands1 on which he would send the planets spinning round in their orbits4 ,till he was nine years old he was taught entirely by his mother1 who was quite as attractive to her children as she had ever been in society1 and for whom ,duncan had always a peculiar reverence and affection4 ,he passed out of her hands into the care of a tutor1 and then was sent to the ,edinburgh ,academy4 ,from school he went abroad to ,geneva1 where his mother and sisters were spending a winter1 and on his return he attended classes at the ,university of ,edinburgh4 ,in mathematics he made astonishing strides1 under ,professor ,wallace1 and those who saw the master and pupil together in ,cambridge in after days1 said that the old man's pride in his pupil's success never diminished4 ,in #ahcc ,mr ,gregory's name was entered at ,trinity ,college1 ,cambridge1 and shortly afterwards he went to reside there4 ,he took with him a most unusual amount of knowledge on almost all scientific subjects1 in fact many men said that it was the diffuseness of his learning that prevented him from taking the first place in the mathematical honours in that university2 for when the tripos came he was only fifth wrangler4 ,a few months after his arrival in ,cambridge he agreed to act as assistant to the ,professor of ,chemistry1 and he was one of the founders of the ,chemical ,society1 and occasionally gave very charming lectures in their rooms4 ,his other pursuits were botany1 natural philosophy1 and astronomy1 but his most serious study was of course mathematics4 ,after taking his degree of ,b4,a4 in #ahcg1 he felt himself more at liberty to follow original speculation1 and turned his attention to the general theory of the combination of symbols4 ,his studies in this subject appeared from time to time in the ,cambridge ,mathematical ,journal1 of which ,duncan ,farquharson ,gregory was editor1 with only an interval of a few months1 from its first appearance till shortly before his death4 ,mr ,gregory was in #ahdj elected a ,fellow of ,trinity ,college1 and he took his ,m4,a4 degree in the following year4 ,in that year1 too1 he was appointed to fill the office of moderator in the ,mathematical ,tripos4 ,this position1 which is regarded as one of the most honourable of those to which the younger members of the university may aspire1 was filled by him with great success4 ,his most considerable book 7though possibly less well known than his lucid work on solid geometry71 appeared about this time4 ,it is entitled ,collection of ,examples of the ,processes of the ,differential and ,integral ,calculus1 and was thoughtful and original4 ,at first his plan had been to edit a second edition of a work with a similar title1 which twenty-five years before had come from the pens of ,herschel1 ,peacocke1 and ,babbage1 but as he considered this1 he discovered what immense strides had been made in the general aspect of mathematics4 ,the mathematical theories of heat1 light1 electricity1 and magnetism were all new1 and they required a fresh treatment4 ,thus he undertook the book which brought him so much honour4 ,gregory had an absolute passion for mathematics4 #8,all these things seem to me1' he said once1 while turning over the pages of ,fourier's great work on heat1 #8to be a kind of mathematical paradise1' and the enjoyment comes out all through his book4 ,he contested unsuccessfully with ,professor ,kelland the ,chair of ,mathematics in the ,university of ,edinburgh1 and in #ahda was offered the corresponding chair in ,toronto1 which1 however1 he declined2 and it was well that he did so1 for in the following year he had the first attack of the illness which was to end fatally for him4 ,in the spring he left ,cambridge never to return again4 ,up to the last he had taken part in his college work1 and in spite of severe suffering had gone through the irksome labour of examinations4 ,months of all but constant pain followed1 brightened only by short intervals of ease4 ,whenever these occurred he turned to his old studies for refreshment1 and only a little while before his death he began a paper on the analogy between differential equations and those in finite differences4 ,as the weeks passed1 the watchful eyes of his sister could see the gradual failing of his strength1 and at five o'clock on the morning of ,february #bcrd1 #ahdd1 he passed away in his sleep4 ,he died at ,canaan ,lodge4 ,his sister1 ,miss ,georgina ,gregory1 made a collection of the poems written by her brothers4 ,some of ,mr ,duncan ,gregory's verses would have made delightful children's poetry4 ,one time when they had gone to the ,english lakes together for change of air1 they1 as is not an entirely unknown experience in that part of the world1 had to spend most of their time in the inn1 and as a last resource fell to writing doggerel4 #8,the fields are one extensive bog1 ,the roads are just as bad2 ,i wish ,i were a little frog1 ,then rain would make me glad4 ,but ,i am of the human race1 ,which ever since the flood ,prefers a firm1 dry resting-place ,to wading in the mud4 ,but yet at last a little gleam ,of sunshine did appear1 ,and did most treacherously seem ,as if the sky would clear4 ,and trusting to its specious face ,to walk ,georgina tried1 ,but soon returned in piteous case ,to have her garments dried4' ,he was a delightful brother and a delightful friend4 ,what he might have done as a mathematician had he but lived it is impossible to tell4 ,as it is1 a writer who has discussed the hereditary qualities of the family1 speaks of the mathematical genius1 which had lain dormant since the time of ,james ,gregorie as #8blazing forth' again in ,duncan ,farquharson ,gregory1 and if this writer passes over such talents as those of ,david ,gregory1 the ,savilian ,professor at ,oxford1 he must have held the ,fellow of ,trinity in great honour4 ,another authority on the family1 said that if ,duncan ,gregory were alive1 which he might quite well be as far as dates are concerned1 he would probably have been the most famous pure mathematician of the day4 ,and a still greater testimony is that of ,lord ,kelvin1 given at the ,bristol meeting of the ,british ,association in #ahih1 where in a paper on #8,graphic ,representations of the two ,simplest ,cases of a ,single ,wave1' he referred to ,gregory's work on this subject4 #8,gregory1' he said1 #8died too soon1' and as he turned from the black-board on which he had been drawing some diagrams1 he added1 #8we cannot tell what we might have known if ,gregory had lived4' ,his talent was appreciated when he lived1 but the qualities to which his friends reverted with most tenderness were his unenvious appreciation of other men's work1 his sweetness and joyfulness1 and the patience with which he bore his last long illness4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,retrospect #8,whatever he had in himself1 he would fain have made out a hereditary claim for4'--,,lockhart1 ,life of ,scott1 ch4 lxxxiv4 ,when ,pennant on his famous tour through ,scotland1 came to the dreary moorland below ,craigroyston1 he was filled with special interest by the scene4 ,here1 he was told1 was the cradle of the ,m',gregors1 a clan so devoid of kindness1 that they had been hunted down like wild beasts1 their name suppressed and their remnant dispersed like ,jews over the country4 #8,and even now1' he added1 #8their posterity are still said to be distinguished among the clans in which they have incorporated themselves1 not only by the redness of their hair1 but by their still retaining the mischievous disposition of their ancestors4' ,what then1 would ,pennant have said1 could he have known that from one descendant of a ,mac,gregor would arise a family1 thirteen of whom would be mentioned in the ,encyclopdias of #aijj8 ,after all it should be remembered that even ,rob ,roy's literary tastes have never been sufficiently appreciated1 for his name is found in the original list of the subscribers to ,keith's ,history of the ,affairs of ,church and ,state in ,scotland1 published in #agcd6 ,the ,gregories1 then1 were inclined to an academic life4 ,their portraits appear oddly and unexpectedly in the public buildings of this country1 their names equally unexpectedly in many books2 but their teaching which was the greatest gift they had to offer to their fellowmen can of course no longer be adequately appreciated4 ,the very greatness of a teacher1 which leads him to speak directly to the body of men before him with the needs1 the ignorance1 the prejudices1 and the fancies of their age1 makes his teaching unintelligible to any time but his own1 to a preceding age1 if it were possible1 darkness1 to a succeeding1 platitude4 ,going back to the beginning1 how many times should we wish to thank one or other of the ,gregories for their hard hitting at the shams and insincerities of their day6 ,the ,rev4 ,john ,gregorie1 the founder of the family1 began by withstanding ,cant in the body1 and overlooking the upturned sand-glass which that divine had set for him1 taught his own views even though they were not accepted by his self-complacent opponent as the #8orthodox doctrein4' ,he after all1 uninteresting as he perhaps appeared to be1 is still the forerunner of the family greatness1 and that not only as their first father1 but because he showed an example of independence in opinion to his own children and to theirs--when the time should come that their grandfather's history would be told them by the fire of a winter's night4 ,one of his sons1 ,david of ,kinairdy1 possessed the first barometer in ,scotland1 an innovation for which he nearly paid with his life4 ,another1 ,professor ,james ,gregorie 7the first71 because he too rapidly realised the greatness of ,newton's philosophy1 and taught it1 came under the ban of his fellow-professors at ,st ,andrews1 and was glad when the opportunity presented itself to receive the approbation of a sister university1 more ready for his teaching4 ,he1 too1 invented the first reflecting telescope1 through which things are seen as they appear to one's eyes1 and not upside down as had been the case with earlier telescopes4 ,this also in its way was a parable of what the ,gregories were to do in the world of science in making things as plain as possible1 so that the wayfaring men though fools1 might not err therein4 ,david the son and ,david the grandson both did most of their work at ,oxford1 the first teaching mathematics1 and endeavouring to bring ,newton's ,principia down to the level of ordinary mathematicians1 while the second1 who was ,professor of ,modern ,history and ,modern ,languages1 having been much abroad1 arranged to have the assistance of foreign teachers1 whom he supported1 not only with his influence1 but with his purse4 ,there were other mathematicians descended from ,david of ,kinairdy1 who1 it may be remembered1 had three sons professors of mathematics at one time1 and of this branch of the family also were ,alexander ,innes and ,thomas ,reid1 both professors of philosophy4 ,reverting to the descendants of ,professor ,james ,gregorie--the son1 grandsons1 great-grandson1 and great-great-grandsons1 were founders or builders1 all of them of medical education in ,scotland1 each doing his own part for the cause of medicine4 ,james the son1 called the third professor of that name 7for one of his mathematical cousins was the second71 was recognised and honoured as #8the founder' of the ,medical ,school at ,aberdeen1 though the foundations indeed must lie very deep1 for by no amount of digging can traces of them be discovered4 ,professor ,john the grandson 7his half-brother1 ,professor ,james the fourth1 was inconsiderable71 the fellow-worker with ,cullen1 accepted and taught that great doctor's views1 and with his charming good-sense eradicated many of the more prejudicial items of children's upbringing4 ,the great-grandson1 ,professor ,james 7the fifth71 more than took his father's place as a teacher1 and setting the medical world of ,edinburgh at defiance1 made one of the most sweeping reforms that has ever taken place in the history of clinical teaching in that university4 ,he was also one of the great leaders in the volunteer movement4 ,the great-great-grandsons1 ,professor ,william ,gregory and ,professor ,william ,pulteney ,alison1 were professors both of them in the ,medical ,faculty of the ,edinburgh ,university1 and taught their subjects in the lucid and original way1 which was the gift of the whole family4 ,duncan ,farquharson ,gregory was the only one of the descendants of ,james ,gregorie1 the great contemporary of ,newton1 who followed in his footsteps as a mathematician4 ,he died in his thirtieth year1 but left behind him a brilliant record of his life's work1 which is only sad because it was so short4 ,these ,gregories1 though they did not care for popularity1 or possibly because they did not care for popularity1 and never went out of their way to attain it1 usually ended by being on the winning side--that is to say1 public opinion often changed from being against them to being with them4 ,they had such a gift of laughing at the right time1 of passing over the bitterness of their adversaries1 and even exposing the partisanship of their allies4 ,take the story which ,sir ,archibald ,alison gives us in his autobiography1 of how a mathematical examination was once rearranged for his benefit in the ,university of ,edinburgh4 ,it was in the time of ,professor ,leslie1 in the spring of #ahjh1 that this examination in the class of mathematics took place4 ,archibald ,alison had three very able competitors4 ,these were ,borthwick of ,crookston1 ,j4 ,m',pherson ,macleod1 and ,mr ,edward ,irving4 ,young ,alison1 nervous and excitable in face of the examination paper1 became suddenly destitute of ideas1 and could only solve two of the six problems which were set4 ,it was all the more distressing1 because he knew that1 being by his mother a member of the great mathematical family of ,gregories1 he was expected to come out first4 ,the wretched day came to an end at last1 and the boy went home in the evening literally shedding tears of vexation4 ,immediately he was freed from the anxiety of the lecture-room1 he solved the problems rapidly and clearly1 in a way that annoyed and pleased him almost equally4 ,the professor1 it seems1 when he read the papers1 could not give the first prize to ,alison on the strength of his answers4 ,he therefore decided that the work of that day should not hold1 and appointed a second date for the trial4 ,the next time the result was all that he and ,archibald ,alison could have desired6 ,this little episode entertained ,sir ,archibald immensely1 and is a curious indication of the lengths to which their friends were prepared to go for them1 but while in many families1 influence1 however acceptable it may be to themselves1 is anything but a good to the community1 the influence exerted for the ,gregories was always rewarded by the sensible1 thorough1 and often brilliant way in which they carried on their work4 ,the members of the family1 who took up the study of medicine were great healers1 but how large was their idea of what that word meant6 ,to cure the body or to fail in curing it was one thing1 but to get at the reasons of illness in the circumstances and troubles of the patient1 to take away the effect through taking away the cause1 was ever the ,gregories' way4 ,they understood many an unspoken heart history1 and from their own strong natures gave both strength and comfort to the sick4 ,it is no wonder then to see ,burns clinging to the friendship of his great physician for support and for love1 knowing it was to be found in #8that man of iron justice1 who was made without compassion for a poor poetic sinner4' ,nor it must in truth be added1 was ,dr ,gregory any less severe with unpoetic sinners4 ,for there is a case recorded when a great aldermanic magnate came to consult him from the west country1 expecting his case to be considered as one of grave importance and significance4 ,what was then his surprise1 when he was shortly but critically surveyed by the doctor1 and shown out of the consulting room with directions equivalent to this3 #8,have nothing richer than roast mutton and rice pudding for dinner for the next three months1 and then if you care to let me have the pleasure of seeing you again1 you will be a different man'--a transformation which the doctor evidently thought very desirable6 ,one can see that life could never be smooth to such a man4 ,but at least the ,gregories in all the struggles of life1 in the riots of tongues1 were ever sure of love and quiet by their own fireside4 ,that came to them because they were such great lovers1 just as the difficulties outside came from the same strong natures seeking their own way too much4 ,it has to be remembered in connection with this that they were usually right1 but that does not make the contest any less bitter4 ,if one could only think of them as having had peaceful lives1 as ,thomas ,reid at least had1 but it was always a struggle1 if not a battle with them till the pale conqueror came to still the hubbub for ever4 ,they were great men1 no mere dreamers4 ,they were workers with busy minds1 to whom life was ever too short for the fulfilment of their plans1 but death never came to them before they had earned their rest4 ,all the great universities of this country who received the teaching of the ,gregories1 have felt themselves honoured by their service1 and have adorned their annals with their name4 ,,the ,,end4 ,,index ,,aberdeen1 ,university of1 #eb1 #ib4 ,,aberdeen1 ,grammar ,school of1 #bg1 #eb1 #ib1 #ajj1 #abe4 ,,alison1 ,sir ,archibald1 #aee1 #aef4 ,,alison1 ,william ,pulteney1 #abb1 #abd1 #adc1 #aee4 ,,anderson1 ,david1 of ,finzeach1 #aj4 ,,anderson1 ,janet1 #aj1 #bf4 ,,arbuthnot1 ,dr1 #fh1 #gb1 #gc1 #gd4 ,,beattie1 #aji1 #aai-ba4 ,,burnet1 ,bishop1 #bg1 #fe4 ,,burnet1 ,helen1 of ,elrick1 #ii4 ,,burnet1 ,mary1 #cb4 ,,burns1 #abi1 #acc1 #acd1 #ace1 #aeg4 ,,canaan ,,lodge1 #acf1 #aej4 ,,cambridge ,,university1 #gj4 ,,cant1 ,andrew1 #ab1 #ac1 #aec4 ,,carlyle1 ,alexander1 #ajc1 #ajd1 #aaf4 ,,chalmers1 ,principal1 #ih1 #ajj4 ,,charlett1 ,dr1 #fd1 #fe1 #ga4 ,,crichtons1 ,the1 #ac-ah4 ,,christchurch1 #gh1 #hb1 #hc1 #abf4 ,,christison1 ,sir ,robert1 #abh1 #acj4 ,,clerk of ,penicuik1 quoted1 #ga4 ,,cockburn1 ,lord1 #abh1 #acb4 ,,college1 ,royal1 of ,physicians1 #acg4 ,,collins1 ,john1 #bh1 #bi1 #ca4 ,,cullen1 #aja1 #aaa1 #aac1 #aad1 #aae1 #abb1 #abf1 #abg1 #acj4 ,,drumoak1 #aj1 #aa1 #ad4 ,,edinburgh ,,academy1 #adg4 ,,edinburgh1 ,university of1 #di-ec1 #ee-eh1 #hd1 #he1 #hf1 #ib1 #ajj1 #aac1 #aad1 #aae1 #abf1 #abg1 #abh1 #acj1 #aci1 #ade1 #adg1 #adi4 ,,flamsteed1 #ei1 #fh1 #fi4 ,,flanders1 #ic4 ,,forbes1 ,catherine of ,monymusk1 #ih4 ,,forbes1 ,hon4 ,elizabeth1 #ajg1 #aaa1 #aag4 ,,frendraught1 ,viscount1 #ae1 #af1 #ah4 ,,galileo1 #bi1 #cj4 ,,galton1 #aj4 ,,george1 ,prince1 of ,denmark1 #fh1 #fi4 ,,gordon1 ,isabel1 #bc1 #be4 ,,gregorie1 ,alexander1 #ad1 #ae1 #af1 #ag1 #bj4 ,,gregorie1 ,charles1 #hi4 ,,gregorie1 ,david1 of ,kinairdy1 #ai-be1 #aec4 ,,gregorie1 ,david1 #hi-ia4 ,,gregory1 ,david1 ,sav4 ,prof41 #eb-gf1 #gg1 #aed4 ,,gregory1 ,dean1 #gg-hc1 #aed4 ,,gregory1 ,dorothea1 #aae1 #abb1 #abc1 #abd4 ,,gregory1 ,duncan ,farquharson1 #adg-aea1 #aee4 ,,gregorie1 ,prof4 ,james1 ,i41 #bg-ea1 #ec1 #aec4 ,,gregorie1 ,prof4 ,james1 ,,ii41 #hd-hg4 ,,gregorie1 ,prof4 ,james1 ,,iii41 #ic-ii1 #aed4 ,,gregorie1 ,prof4 ,james1 ,,iv41 #ih1 #ii4 ,,gregory1 ,prof4 ,james1 ,v41 #hb1 #abb1 #abe-adj1 #aee4 ,,gregorie1 ,john1 ,rev41 #aa-ad1 #aec4 ,,gregory1 ,prof4 ,john1 #ajj-abd1 #abe1 #aed4 ,,gregory1 ,philip ,spencer1 #bb1 #abd1 #abg4 ,,gregory1 ,prof4 ,william1 #ada-adg1 #aee4 ,,grey1 ,lady ,mary1 #ha4 ,,halley1 #fj1 #fd1 #fe4 ,,hamilton1 ,professor1 #acf1 #acg4 ,,hearne1 quoted1 #fc1 #fe4 ,,holland1 #ai1 #bd4 ,,hudson1 #fd1 #fe4 ,,hume1 ,david1 #aji1 #aaf1 #aai1 #abj4 ,,huygens1 #bi1 #cd1 #ce1 #ej4 ,,infirmary1 ,royal1 of ,edinburgh1 #acf1 #acg4 ,,innes1 ,prof41 #bc4 ,,jameson1 ,george1 #cc4 ,,johnson1 ,samuel1 #fi1 #ajh4 ,,keill1 #fb4 ,,kelvin1 ,lord1 quoted1 #aea4 ,,kinairdy1 #ac1 #ad1 #bj1 #ba1 #bb1 #bd1 #hd4 ,,king',s ,,college1 ,aberdeen1 #bj1 #bd1 #if1 #ig1 #ih1 #ajj1 #aje1 #ajh1 #aji1 #aab1 #abf1 #adb1 #adc4 ,,leyden1 #ajb1 #ajc1 #ajd1 #abg4 ,,liebig1 #adb1 #adf4 ,,lyttelton1 ,george1 #ajg4 ,,lyttelton1 ,lord1 #aab4 ,,macgregors1 ,the1 #i1 #aeb4 ,,macgregor of ,roro1 #i1 #hi4 ,,mackenzie1 ,george1 #ah4 ,,maclaurin1 ,colin1 #gf1 #hf4 ,m',,leod1 ,isabella1 of ,geanies1 #acb4 ,,mallet1 ,david1 #hg1 #hi4 ,,marischal ,,college1 ,aberdeen1 #bg1 #hf4 ,,monboddo1 #aab1 #ace4 ,,monro1 ,professor1 ,primus1 #ajj1 #aja4 ,,monro1 ,principal1 #eh4 ,,montague1 ,mrs1 #ajg1 #ajh1 #aae1 #aaf1 #abc4 ,,newton1 ,sir ,isaac1 #bc1 #bi1 #cd1 #ej1 #ed1 #ei1 #fj1 #fd1 #fh1 #gj1 #hf4 ,,oliphants of ,langton1 #fa1 #hg4 ,,oxford1 ,university of1 #eh1 #fa1 #fc-fg1 #gh1 #gi1 #hj4 ,,padua1 #cj1 #cb4 ,,pennant1 quoted1 #aeb4 ,,pepys1 ,samuel1 #fe1 #ff1 #fg4 ,,pitcairne1 ,dr ,archibald1 #ec1 #eh1 #gj1 #hd4 ,,regents1 #aje1 #ajf4 ,,reid1 ,prof4 ,thomas1 #bc1 #be1 #ij1 #ia1 #ajf1 #aji1 #aai1 #acj1 #aca1 #acb4 ,,rheims1 #ic4 ,,robertson1 ,principal1 #ajb1 #aaf1 #acb4 ,,rob ,,roy1 #id1 #ie4 ,,royal ,,society1 #ca1 #cb1 #fj1 #fa1 #fh1 #ajg4 ,,rutherford1 ,professor1 #aja1 #aaa1 #aab1 #aac4 ,,scott1 ,sir ,walter1 quoted1 #ie1 #ajj1 #aci4 ,,shelburne1 ,earl of1 quoted1 #gi1 #hc4 ,,sherborne ,,hospital1 #hj1 #ha4 ,,sinclair1 ,prof4 ,george1 #ce1 #cf1 #db4 ,,skene1 ,alexander1 #dg4 ,,skene1 ,david1 #ajh1 #aji4 ,,skene1 ,robert1 #eb4 ,,smalridge1 ,dr1 #fd1 #ge1 #gf4 ,,society1 ,royal ,medical1 #aja4 ,,spalding1 quoted1 #ab4 ,,st ,,andrews ,,university1 #cc1 #dd-di1 #hd1 #he1 #hi4 ,,stewart1 ,dugald1 #acj1 #acb4 ,,telescope1 ,achromatic1 #fb4 ,,telescope1 ,reflecting1 #bh1 #bi1 #ca4 ,,trinity ,,college1 ,cambridge1 #adh4 ,,union ,,negotiations1 #gj-gc4 ,,walker1 ,jean1 of ,orchiston1 #ai1 #bc1 #eb4 ,,wallis1 ,dr1 #ca1 #fd1 #fg4 ,,westminster ,,school1 #gg1 #gh1 #hc4 ,,whiston1 quoted1 #ed1 #fj4 ,,wilkes1 #ajc4 ,,william ,,and ,,margaret1 #hg1 #hh1 #hi4 ,,wise ,,club1 #aji1 #aaj4 ,,witchcraft1 #ba4 ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,famous ,,scots ,,series ,,thomas ,,carlyle4 ,by ,,hector ,c4 ,,macpherson4 ,,allan ,,ramsay4 ,by ,,oliphant ,,smeaton4 ,,hugh ,,miller4 ,by ,w4 ,,keith ,,leask4 ,,john ,,knox4 ,by ,a4 ,,taylor ,,innes4 ,,robert ,,burns4 ,by ,,gabriel ,,setoun4 ,,the ,,balladists4 ,by ,,john ,,geddie4 ,,richard ,,cameron4 ,by ,professor ,,herkless4 ,,sir ,,james ,y4 ,,simpson4 ,by ,,eve ,,blantyre ,,simpson4 ,,thomas ,,chalmers4 ,by ,professor ,w4 ,,garden ,,blaikie4 ,,james ,,boswell4 ,by ,w4 ,,keith ,,leask4 ,,tobias ,,smollett4 ,by ,,oliphant ,,smeaton4 ,,fletcher ,,of ,,saltoun4 ,by ,g4 ,w4 ,t4 ,,omond4 ,,the 8,,blackwood0 ,,group4 ,by ,sir ,,george ,,douglas4 ,,norman ,,macleod4 ,by ,,john ,,wellwood4 ,,sir ,,walter ,,scott4 ,by ,professor ,,saintsbury4 ,,kirkcaldy ,,of ,,grange4 ,by ,,louis ,a4 ,,barb4 ,,robert ,,fergusson4 ,by ,a4 ,b4 ,,grosart4 ,,james ,,thomson4 ,by ,,william ,,bayne4 ,,mungo ,,park4 ,by ,t4 ,,banks ,,maclachlan4 ,,david ,,hume4 ,by ,professor ,,calderwood4 ,,william ,,dunbar4 ,by ,,oliphant ,,smeaton4 ,,sir ,,william ,,wallace4 ,by ,professor ,,murison4 ,,robert ,,louis ,,stevenson4 ,by ,,margaret ,,moyes ,,black4 ,,thomas ,,reid4 ,by ,professor ,,campbell ,,fraser4 ,,pollok ,,and ,,aytoun4 ,by ,,rosaline ,,masson4 ,,adam ,,smith4 ,by ,,hector ,c4 ,,macpherson4 ,,andrew ,,melville4 ,by ,,william ,,morison4 ,,james ,,frederick ,,ferrier4 ,by ,e4 ,s4 ,,haldane4 ,,king ,,robert ,,the ,,bruce4 ,by ,a4 ,f4 ,,murison4 ,,james ,,hogg4 ,by ,sir ,,george ,,douglas4 ,,thomas ,,campbell4 ,by ,j4 ,,cuthbert ,,hadden4 ,,george ,,buchanan4 ,by ,,robert ,,wallace4 ,,sir ,,david ,,wilkie4 ,by ,,edward ,,pinnington4 ,,the ,,erskines1 ,,ebenezer ,,and ,,ralph4 ,by ,a4 ,r4 ,,macewen4 ,,thomas ,,guthrie4 ,by ,,oliphant ,,smeaton4 ,,david ,,livingstone4 ,by ,t4 ,,banks ,,maclachlan4 ,,the ,,academic ,,gregories4 ,by ,,agnes ,,grainger ,,stewart4 ,,johnston ,,of ,,warriston4 ,by ,,william ,,morison4 ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,transcriber',s ,,notes #a4 ,letters were inconsistently offset with one or two thought breaks4 ,set thought breaks at both ends except where letters began or ended in a paragraph4 #b4 ,moved ,,famous ,,scots ,,series ad from the second page to end4 #c4 ,silently corrected typographical errors4 #d4 ,retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed4 #e4 ,enclosed italics font in underscores4 #f4 ,superscripts are denoted by a carat before a single superscript character or a series of superscripted characters enclosed in curly braces1 e4g4 ,mr4 or ,mister4