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"whereof he might make a kirk or a mill.”* He was not more earnest, in his early manhood, in his search after the north-west passage, than he was in boyhood in his endeavours to win the smiles of his dancing-school partner. Byron's passion, while yet in "shorts," for his Aberdeen playmate, has been thought to be, in some degree, a creation of his imagination. I can still recollect the pains, the tribulations, and the anxieties caused to my brother, by his love for a little missie not yet in her teens.

An aspiration after the noble and the generous also arose early in his mind, and it grew with his growth and strengthened with his strength. A favourite and often repeated quotation from Horace was "Odi profanum vulgus et arceo." In repeating this to me, who then, as now, "knew small Latin and no Greek," he always explained that the poet's meaning and his own implied only a contempt for the low pursuits, sordid desires, and grovelling habits of the vulgar herd, not a hatred of his fellow-men of any class or degree.

*The Scottish phrase for the Duke of Newcastle's aphorism-"I can do what I like with my own."

CHAPTER II.

Studies for Four Winters at King's College, Aberdeen. — Description of the Mode of Living there: its advantages.Advice to other Students.-Carries off the first Prize at conclusion of his Studies.-Youthful Habits, Tastes, and Opinions.

WITH such youthful characteristics as those which I have described (characteristics coinciding in a remarkable degree with those which belonged to the boyhood of Bruce, the Abyssinian traveller), it will appear natural that my brother should have excited much interest, and raised sanguine expectations of his future success, in every one connected or acquainted with him.

The sphere chosen as that for which he should be educated and trained was the Kirk of Scotland. We shall in the sequel find his own feelings and opinions in regard to this choice candidly explained.

In pursuance of this scheme of education, he was sent in the autumn of 1824 to King's College, Aberdeen.

Before describing his progress at this northern institution, it will be interesting, as affording an insight into the system of education and course of life of students there, to peruse a Memorandum on the subject, which he himself drew up in 1829, for the information of a friend who was anxious to select a fit place for the education of younger brothers.

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"Of the various Scotch universities, that which I consider the most eligible for completing a young man's education is the King's College of Aberdeen. This opinion is not the effect of prejudice, but is founded upon various considerations, the most important of which are the following:

"1st. The strict surveillance which the Professors have over both the public and private conduct of the young men under their charge. In point of numbers, indeed, this university ranks second only to that of Edinburgh; but the college being situated in what is called the 'Old Town,' a small place at the distance of a mile from the city, the lodgings of the students are necessarily condensed within a very small compass, affording the Professors an opportunity of knowing the young men individually, and of observing their behaviour and character. No impropriety or irregularity can, therefore, escape

observation; whereas, the other universities (with the exception of St. Andrew's, which is a great resort for young men of rank and fortune) being situated amid large and populous cities, the young men are scattered in every direction, unknown to their teachers save by name, under little controul, and exposed to many temptations.

"2nd. The admirable method now pursued at this university, where, besides a variety of examinations which ensure application and afford ample room for the display of merit, there are a great number of prizes given annually in every class; and at a public competition which takes place a week before the meeting of college, there are a number of bursaries from twenty pounds per annum, (i. e. for the four years,) downwards, awarded to the best writers of the Latin language; and I have known many young men support themselves in this way without costing their friends a shilling.

"3rd. The economy in the mode of living at this university. Aberdeen, from local causes, is generally allowed to be one of the cheapest places in Scotland. The usual, and unquestionably the best, way for going to work is this:— Two young men club together to take, say a small sitting-room and bed closet, or more frequently only a good bedroom, at a certain set

rent; the landlady procures all kinds of stores, provisions, &c., for which they reimburse her weekly; while for cooking, washing, &c., there are regular charges; so that, after the first week, the whole is plain sailing. By this means the whole average expense for the winter does not exceed from twenty to twenty-five pounds; and I should consider thirty pounds per session as a very handsome allowance.

"See the following abstract, the charges in which are stated at considerably beyond the

average.

"Lodgings per Session, divided between two, 4 guineas

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* While recommending this limit, he
"Did not, as some ungracious pastors do,

Show us the steep and thorny way to heaven,
Whilst, like a puff'd and reckless libertine,
Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads,
And recks not his own read."

for I have before me a record of his own sessional expenses

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