On my leaving Mr. Jackson, at Edinburgh, I had promised him, that if I should make the stage my profession, I would engage with him during his next winter season. Mr. Harris offered me a handsome engagement in London, which I could not accept, in consequence of my promise to Mr. Jackson. Mr. Harris then applied to Mr. Jackson, offering him any sum of money, he could reasonably demand, to release me. Mr. Jackson declined. I was therefore under the obligation of returning to Edinburgh. Mr. Harris had offered me the money to pay the penalty annexed to my agreement; which I mentioned to my honourable friend, Mr. Smith, who quickly observed, "whatever may be the consequence, never enter into public or private life by a breach of engagement." I assured him that I had no such intention.

A little before this time, I received from my father a very affectionate letter, enclosing two bank notes of one hundred pounds, sterling, each; informing me that, however he regretted the course of life which I had adopted, he should be extremely sorry that any of his sons should be obliged to run in debt for necessaries for his equipment; he therefore enclosed two hundred pounds, which he requested I would consider as the last he could afford to give me in justice to the other children; and an order on his tailor for two suits of stage clothes, to be made according to my direction. Mr. ****** had been employed by our family for many years, and I had contracted a considerable respect for him. I wished to deliver my father's order; but I felt a shyness of mentioning for what purpose the arti cles were to be used. I therefore invented the follow

ing expedient. I went to Mr. ******, and informed him that I wanted two court dresses, the one of the best black velvet, and the other of dark brown silk, embroidered handsomely. They were made and sent to me: the one at the price of about eighty guineas, the other of one hundred and ten. My folly now appears to me to have had then no bounds. The kind intentions of a parent, in sending me two hundred pounds after the pain I had given him, were frustrated by my vanity, in desiring to wear nothing but what was real. I expended nearly the whole of the money in two other dresses. The one I had made for Alexander, cost me above one hundred guineas, and was, after all, totally unfit for the character. I borrowed, of my jeweller, diamond ornaments to the amount of six hundred guineas: one of which was a spring diamond, which became injured during my exertion, and I had to pay ten guineas for its repair.

Soon after my benefit in Covent Garden, I received letters of invitation from several managers in the smaller cities of England; but, with the advice of Mr. Smith, I declined accepting any. I therefore remained in London till the time of my engagement with Mr. Jackson arrived.

I was very near committing myself on this expedi. tion, as I had done on others. I had purchased a tra velling chaise, and determined to go post all the way; but one night I had a dream that staggered my resolution more than all the advice in the world could have done; and brought to my recollection the following observation of Dr. Young:

"Night visions may befriend"Our waking dreams are fatal.”

On the morning, I took my dream into serious consideration; and having found that I could give an explanation of it, consistently with sober reason and common sense, I permitted my fancy to imagine it a supernatural warning, and obeyed its impulse.

My dream was this: I seemed to be on the top of a very tall and slender pole, which trembled under my weight, and threatened every moment to break, from my least stir. On one side was the sea; on the other a heap of rugged rocks. Drowning, or being dashed to pieces, seemed to await the smallest motion I should attempt. I paused in thought for some time, and at last determined, that my only method of escape, was to slide down as gently as possible to the bottom. I thought that I pushed my resolution to execution, and having gently let myself down, I crawled over the rocks, and beheld a country before me, affording the most ravishing prospect the eye could contemplate. I entered it, and in the ecstacy of mental enjoyment, I awoke.

I consulted my pillow, that true responsor to rational inquiry, for a few minutes; then arose, and proceeded to Long Acre, where I disposed of my carriage for one guinea less than I had given for it; and soon af ter set off, with a young friend and my servant, in the mail coach for Edinburgh.

My young friend, who accompanied me, was a son of sir John Whiteford, of Edinburgh; who, on my arrival, introduced me to his family, by whom I was constantly afterwards honoured with the kindest attentions.

I took with me to Edinburgh a number of letters of introduction. Among the rest, it had pleased my old schoolmate, Mr. Lockart, the son of the banker of

that name, in Pall Mall, to recommend me as an extraordinary literary character, to sir William Forbes, a banker in Edinburgh. I delivered the letter to sir Wil. liam, who immediately called on me, and invited me to sup with him on a following evening. I attended, and, to my great confusion, at first, found myself introduced to the principal literary characters in Edinburgh; collected, as it were, as a phalanx to examine me. Their works and characters were known to me, but not their persons. The conversation, at first, was general between the ladies and the gentlemen; and I soon found, the mauvaise honte, under which I had laboured, was removable even in the presence of such learned men. But after supper the attack began. Lady Forbes had placed me, as a stranger, in compliment, by her side at the upper end of the table; and by my side she had placed an intelligent young lady, miss Anstruther, to whose politeness I was indebted for relief to my occasional embarrassments. Thus armed, I ventured, at last, boldly into conversation on literary topics. The liberality of the company had, at first, directed their observations to Shakspeare and his commentators, supposing them themes with which I was most conversant; and it now became my turn to give the retort courteous. Mr. M'Kenzie, the author of The Man of Feeling; Mr. Home, the author of Douglas; and sir John Dalrymple, well known in the scientific world, were the principal supporters of a conversation, which, occasionally ornamented by the remarks of the ladies, detained us to a late hour. I mention these three gentlemen only, because with them I had the pleasure of future intimacy. But from this evening, chiefly, sprang those

great honours, which were afterwards conferred on me in this hospitable city. Sir John Dalrymple invited me frequently to breakfast with him, as did Mr. Home. The pleasurable hours spent with Mr. M'Kenzie, were generally accidental; and I must acknowledge, candidly, that whatever acquirements I might have brought to this celebrated city, I took with me many more from it.

A friend of my dear mother and my sisters, living at Rochester, had written a letter respecting my family and myself, to a Mr. Stewart, of Edinburgh. This gentleman called on me and invited me to dine with him. I, of course, accepted the invitation. Here I met a very large party of ladies, to whom I was severally introduced. After dinner, Mr. Stewart called me apart, and observed, that he had invited these ladies for the express purpose of introducing me to them, that a plan he had proposed for my interest might be facilitated; which was, to persuade me to attend Mrs. Stewart and her family to the assembly that evening; whither all the ladies he had invited were going, and where he would introduce me to the most respectable society in Edinburgh. Some little arrangement of dress was necessary, and Mr. Stewart sent his carriage with me to my lodgings. I attended Mrs. Stewart and her family, and that evening was introduced to the greater part of the company then present; and with others, to captain Macrae, my unfortunate friend, who afterwards, in consequence of a duel with sir George Ramsay, was obliged to leave his country and retire to France.

I had had formerly an acquaintance at Eton college, lord Downe, the son of earl Moray. This young gentleman kindly introduced me to his father's family,