.

_June_ 25.--Finished correcting proofs for Tales, 3d Series. The Court
was over soon, but I was much exhausted. On the return home quite sleepy
and past work. I looked in on Cadell, whose hand is in his housewife's
cap, driving and pushing to get all the works forward in due order, and
cursing the delays of artists and engravers. I own I wish we had not
hampered ourselves with such causes of delay.

_June_ 26.--Mr. Ellis, missionary from the South Sea Islands,
breakfasted, introduced by Mr. Fletcher, minister of the parish of
Stepney.

Mr. Ellis's account of the progress of civilisation, as connected with
religion, is very interesting. Knowledge of every kind is
diffused--reading, writing, printing, abundantly common. Polygamy
abolished. Idolatry is put down; the priests, won over by the chiefs,
dividing among them the consecrated lands which belonged to their
temples. Great part of the population are still without religion, but
willing to be instructed. Wars are become infrequent; and there is in
each state a sort of representative body, or senate, who are a check on
the despotism of the chief. All this has come hand in hand with
religion. Mr. Ellis tells me that the missionaries of different sects
avoided carefully letting the natives know that there were points of
disunion between them. Not so some Jesuits who had lately arrived, and
who taught their own ritual as the only true one. Mr. Ellis described
their poetry to me, and gave some examples; it had an Ossianic
character, and was composed of metaphor. He gave me a small collection
of hymns printed in the islands. If this gentleman is sincere, which I
have no doubt of, he is an illustrious character. He was just about to
return to the Friendly Islands, having come here for his wife's health.

[_Blairadam._]--After the Court we set off (the two Thomsons and I) for
Blair-Adam, where we held our Macduff Club for the twelfth anniversary.
We met the Chief Baron, Lord Sydney Osborne, Will Clerk, the merry
knight Sir Adam Ferguson, with our venerable host the Lord Chief
Commissioner, and merry men were we.

_June_ 27.--I ought not, where merry men convene, to omit our jovial son
of Neptune, Admiral Adam. The morning proving delightful, we set out for
the object of the day, which was Falkland. We passed through Lochore,
but without stopping, and saw on the road eastward, two or three places,
as Balbedie, Strathendry, and some others known to me by name. Also we
we