BOOKS.

GILLIES'S MEMOIRS OP A LITERARY VETERAN...

IN a former time Mr. B. P. Gillies would have been better known to the world than he is. As a poet, he had a nice perception of the beauties of nature and the associations they produce in a sensitive mind; though, as Wordsworth expressed it in a friendly letter, he wanted " substance," and his " mind did not loqik sufficiently out of itself": defects that would not have impedes' celebrity when poems were rare, but they might have prevented permanent fame. Upwards of thirty years ago, Mr. Gillies was one of the first who drew public attention to the rich stores of German and Northern poetry and dramatic literature, by his translations in Blackwood and elsewhere ; a service that once would have endured for a life- time, but which in our age, when " decay pursues decay " so rapidly, is forgotten almost as soon as performed. In addition to his exertions in these two branches of the belles lettres, Mr. Gullies has also written novels, that never excited much attention, and employed himself a good deal in fugitive literature both pro- fessionally and as amateur.

I But if Mr. Gillies has not been so successful in letters as he once hoped for, he has been closely acquainted with many eminent men. One of his uncles was the celebrated Scotch advocate Adam Gillies, afterwards a Lord of Session ; another uncle was the historian of Greece. His father was in India during the time of Hastings, and came back, as most men did in those days, with something like a fortune, though he appears to have spent part of it before his death. Thus connected, with a gentleman's income, a taste for let- ters, and it would seem a warmth of feeling and a willingness to please and be pleased, Mr. Gillies easily made his way into the first society of Edinburgh in the earlier part of the century, and corre- sponded with many of the English literati. Dugald Stewart, Play- fair, Scott, Wordsworth, Jeffrey, Wilson, Egerton Brydges, Hogg, were among his friends or acquaintances, besides numerous lesser stars, and a whole host of lawyers, lairds, and singular characters, the relics of the last century. Re lived well and hospitably for some years ; but pecuniary embarrassments at length overtook him, the cause of which is not very clearly stated, but they seem to have arisen from those usual sources of difficulty, " security " for "friends," and a too long continuance in a customary style of living when both property and income were diminished. After some struggle, Mr. Gillies, then a married man, left Edinburgh in 1821, for Germany, with a view to perfect himself in the language, and to economize. The language was mastered ; the economical objects do not seem to have been so successfully attained, and " circumstances " shortly compelled his return. The year of the disastrous panic, so fatal to all whose affairs were entangled, or who had "launched out" and had claims that were to be met by prospective resources, overwhelmed Mr. Gillies altogether. The account is not very explicit, but mortgages seem to have been rid- ing over the patrimonial estate, and debts hanging over the person- alty. Scott, then harassed with the prospects of his own affairs, was one of the first persons Mr. Gullies applied to for advice. It was given frankly, sensibly, and kindly.

" But though the house was thus changed, (and, having neglected many of his former counsels, I had little right to trouble him again, ) the manners and conduct of its owner were as kind and cordial as in days of yore. During that winter I had divers conversations with him in that gloomy study; for as I came late in the afternoon and did not stay long, his concluding words usually were, that he would think more about it, and in a day or two we should meet again.

" Unluckily, as I then thought, there were but few points on which we could entirely agree; and one of these few was the reality of existing diffi- culties. According to my notions, he drew an exaggerated picture of the storm that was approaching, and against which, as he averred, every one who bad wife and children should seek shelter before it was too late. He did not forget the maxim 'tu ne cede malls' ; but with regard to the con- tra audentior ito,' he maintained that there were cases in which the duty of a good general was to arrange an orderly and honourable retreat. In plainer terms, he thought my plans very intelligible as to their drift, but rather in- coherent and irreconcileable in practice. For example, I determined to re- tain the possession and management of my own property, cleaving to my present home, and to continue my literary pursuits unmolested. You will find,' said lie, that these are practically _incompatible with each other ; and even were it not so the struggle to unite them will be more trouble than the matter is worth. If the storm comes in earnest and no adequate pro- vision is made against it, your first postulate will be disputed, and you will be put to so much inconvenience that the second will become quite hopeless and impracticable. I have thought anxiously on the subject, and such, at all events, is my conviction : besides, I do not find that you are sufficiently true to your old principle—that poets and men of business are characters dissimilar and irreconcileable. I wish now that you would abide by your own dictum—leave these troublesome affairs to mere men of business ; place heritable property under their exclusive control, so that they may adjust all claims on it ; stick to your poems and translations; retain your working tools, especially your German books, and such other personal property as is needful for family comfort and wellbeing. "'Now listen and perpend. You have often told me about your partiality for a country life. Some years ago, you asked my advice about taking the old house at Ashestiel, which I told you was grown crazy. Now Chiefawood is untenanted, and is likely to be so. It is heartily at your service. The coal-cellar, I know, is well stocked for the winter; the furniture will be enough for the wants of your family ; of the wine-cellar I need not boast, for you have your own !Anne of hock and Ittidisheimer. After arranging most of my year's-end accounts in advance, I have fifty pounds in my desk ready to cover all your expenses of removal. One earner's load, and your own carriage, Willi I suppose, do for all. My best advice, after matured re- flection, is to retire with your books to Chiefswood, where possibly I shall not be the worst of n6ghbours; and henceforward let us see what we can make of the world together.'" • Memoirs of a Literary Veteran; including Sketches and Anecdotes of the most distinguished Literary Characters from 1794 to 1849. By E. P. Miller. In three volumes. Published by Bentley.

This proposal Mr. Gillies declined; but Scott followed him down stairs " to add a few parting words!'

" You have refused my offer wholly and unconditionally' said he ; but to own the truth, I am not quite satisfied with your assigned reasons. Sup- pose they were ever so good and cogent, a man with wife and children should think less of his own feelings than of their safety and welfare. I am almost sure there is a storm coming; take them out of harm's way : at least make me one promise that before dismissing my proposal entirely from your thoughts, you will consult about it with your wife, and take her opinion ;

let her have a fair unbiassed vote.' "

Unluckily, advice was rejected, as well as his offers; and

the storm came with even more violence than he predicted. But when, some little time after, the establishment of the Foreign Quarterly Review was suggested, Scott's kindness continued una- bated, and his advice was again given freely, overwhelmed as he was by his own affairs. " St. David Street, Thursday night. "My dear Sir—I have been thinking with some anxiety on the subject of our conversation today. It is needless to say how much I wish that matters were otherwise. The business is, if possible, to help them as they are. It has often struck me, that a quarterly account of foreign literature, mixed with good translations, and spirited views of the progress of knowledge on the Continent, might make a regular and reasonable, though not a large in- come, for a man who was disposed to work regularly and to confine himself within limits as to expense. Germany, in particular, affords a fund of in- formation to which each Leipsig fair is adding much ihat is good, bad, and indifferent. The difficulty would be to find a publisher, as times go, for such a work : but if it could be assisted in the beginning by a handsome subscrip- tion, the obstacles would be much diminished. You are eminently qualified in many respects for such a task. Whether you could bind yourself to the drudgery of it—for daily and constant drudgery you must look for—you only can judge ; and I will make no apology for recommending any honour- able labour, however severe, as I am myself a hard-working man.

"It is true that no great result could be expected from such a plan at the commencement; but it might afford support, and might, if steadily followed out, secure independence.

"I have little time to write, but will be happy to explain my ideas more at large, if you will call any day at three o'clock, when I am rarely abroad. I forgot that Lord Gillies is absent from Edinburgh just now, about some family illness, I believe. But I would much rather, speak to him when somethin like a plan was fixed upon than otherwise ; since I fear if I had not something to propose, our conversation would be very vague and useless. Observe, my dear sir, all I can promise from such a plan, in the beginning, would be a very small matter; but industry and exertion might make it a great one. I think, in the mean time, you should abstain from printing or publishing anything which malignity, however unjustly, might interpret as reflecting on any of your connexions. It can in no circumstance do good, and may do a great deal of harm. Excuse my writing abruptly and to the point ; for I was born and bred a man of business, and therefore am in the habit of writing little more than the needful. I am, dear Sir, "Your moat obedient servant, WALTER SCOTT."

On the establishment of the projected review, Mr. Gillies became the editor, and removed to London. Henceforth the story of his career is one of struggle with embarrassed circumstances. Writs, bills of costs, hardness of creditors, roguery of lawyers, impolicy of the law of arrest, and kindred topics, form the staple of the story.

We have run over the outline of Mr. Gillies's career ' • but auto- biography, save towards the latter part of the work, is little more than a link to connect together anecdotes and sketches of marked individuals with whom the author came in contact. These relate to some of the most distinguished men of the age in literature and Scotch law, and to characters even yet more remarkable in them- selves from peculiarities which the state of society in Scotland in the last century rankly developed. These things are told well, though verbosely; and the reminiscences of that period have a more kindly feeling and a freer air than belong to those of a latter day, when misfortunes may have soured the mind. The anecdotes and characters of literary men will be found. interesting; the sketches of the Scottish gentlemen of those days will give an excellent idea of life in the North during the latter half of the eighteenth century.

Some of these indicim consist of what are called "good stories ' ; and perhaps the best relate to the Laird of Bonnymune, an un- conscious humourist, who was once so celebrated that George the Fourth used to command the attendance of a certain Mr.. Harris who was skilled in imitating him. Two peculiarities characterized the Laird—he would never use a carriage, and never sleep from home ; which traits produced the Laird's night-ride. "The good old magnifico's taste in drinking became at length obtuse • so that one evening after dinner at a friend's house, he very willingly drank cherry-bounce, mistaking it for port, and declaring that it was a pleasant, pure, fruity, and generous wine, and very old in bottle.' As a matter of course, when the midnight hour approached, the laird wished to ride home, and the horses were ordered. But Peter had never in his life seen his vene- rable master 'so far gone' ; besides, they had a long way to ride, and the night was both dark and gusty.

"After some consultation with the kind host and his family, it was agreed that Bonnymune could not and must not attempt to ride home. But as any proposition for his going to bed or staying in the house after twelve o'clock would be resisted and resented with obduracy, stratagem was used.

"They led him out of doors with a light, which the wind instantly extin- guished. Then, in the pitchy darkness, they assisted him to mount, not upon horseback, but upon a fall dyke,' Anglice, turf- wall, a common kind of fence in the far North. Here Peter had cleverly attached the bridle to the stump of an elder-bush; he put the reins and the whip into his master's hands, and then retired, with the words, Noo, your honour, the road's straight afore ye !' way went the laird, as he supposed, :whipping and spurring to his heart's content; till he arrived at the land of dreams and utter oblivion, when, wearied of his exertions, he tumbled off. Now Peter ventured to ad- vance. 'Eli, sirs ! heeh me, to think o' the like o' that! ' Then, raising his voice, We're at hame noo, sir! we're at hame, Fm tellin' ye ! Your honour's just fa'en off at our sin stable-door!' "But stratagem was no longer needed. The laird persisted most comfort- ably in his profound sleep, and was carried to bed without a murmur. Next morning, however, no sooner did he awake to consciousness, than he vowed vengeance for the trick that had been played on him,- declaring, moreover, that had he been allowed his own way, he could have ridden home as

." 'Steams of weak tea, like curling incense spread, Wrestled round the president's belaurelled head.'

"The young ladies and their illustrious host were in fancy dresses; but, unluckily, the classic models, had in one instance been too closely observed, for when Cupid entered with the tea-kettle, he had no dress whatsoever. Hereupon the nine young ladies were so much amazed that they all started up, and, tittering or screeching, ran out of the room. For this trifling blunder Apollo cared not a rush. It detracted not one iota from his own dignity in his own estimation. The classical scene had taken place, and therewith he was content."

There are many letters from eminent or well-known men, and amongst them a whole series from Wordsworth, chiefly critical. The following is a good remark.

"Your first position, that every idea which passes through a poet's mind may be made passionate, and therefore poetical, I am not sure that I under- stand. If you mean through a poet's mind when in a poetical mood, the words are nothing but an identical proposition. But a poet must be subject to a thousand thoughts in common with other men ; and many of them must,. I suppose, be as unsusceptible of alliance with poetic passion as the theil_qi- that interest ordinary men. But the range of poetic feeling is er which: than is ordinarily supposed, and the furnishing new proofs of this ithorifthe only incontestible demonstration of genuine poetic genius. Seconu„, The moment a clear idea of any kind is conceived, it ought to be brought out as directly and rapidly as possible, without any view to any particular style of language.' I am not sure that I comprehend your meaning here. Is it that a man's thought should be noted down in prose, or that he should express them in any kind of verse that they most easily fall into ? I think it well to make brief memoranda of our most interesting thoughts in prose ; but, to write fragments of verse is an embarrassing practice. A similar course answers well in painting, under the name of studies ; but in poetry it is apt to betray a writer into awkwardness, and to turn hint out of his course for the purpose of lugging in these ready-made pieces by the head and shoulders. Or do you simply mean, that such thoughts as arise in the process of composition should be expressed in the first words that offer themselves, as being likely to be most energetic and natural ? If so, this is not a rule to be followed without cautious exceptions. My first expressions I often find detestable ; and it is frequently true of second words as of second thoughts, that they are the best. I entirely accord with you in your third observation, that we should le cautious not to waste our lives in dreams of imaginary excellence ; for a thousand reasons, and not the least for this, that these notions of excellence may perhaps be erroneous, and then our inability to catch a phantom of _no value may prevent us from attempting to seize a precious substance 'within our reach." well as ever he did in his life. He departed at daybreak, in huge wrath, and would not by any persuasione be induced to visit at the same house again."

Lord. Buchan, the elder brother of Erskine, had throughout life those eccentricities which age only fully developed in the ex-Chan- cellor : he figures conspicuously in the pages of these volumes. Here is an account of Cupid and the tea-kettle. "Another of his Lordship's breakfast-parties drew on him the ridicule of all the town. It was even commemorated in the Town Eclogue,' a clever satire by the Reverend G. H. Drummond ; by publishing which, the author made for himself such inveterate and vindictive enemies that he was forced to abscond. Lord Buchan selected nine young ladies of rank, who were to personate the Nine Muses, whilst he himself received them as ' Glorious Apollo.'