ovement?" So I read Homer for an hour every morning before
breakfast. Mr. Finlayson joined the army as surgeon, and distinguished
himself by his courage and humanity during the battle of Waterloo; but
he was lost in the march of the army to Paris, and his brother George,
after having sought for him in vain, came to live with us in his stead.
He excelled in botany, and here again, by my husband's advice, I devoted
a morning hour to that science, though I was nursing a baby at the time.
I knew the vulgar name of most of the plants that Mr. Finlayson had
gathered, but now I was taught systematically, and afterwards made a
herbarium, both of land plants and fuci. This young man's hopeful career
was early arrested by his love of science, for he died of jungle fever
in Bengal, caught while in search of plants.

Professor Playfair was now old, and resigned his chair, which Mr. Leslie
was perfectly competent to fill on account of his acknowledged
scientific acquirements; but, being suspected of heretical opinions, his
appointment was keenly opposed, especially on the part of the clergy,
and a violent contest arose, which ended in his favour. We became
acquainted with him and liked him. He was a man of original genius,
full of information on a variety of subjects, agreeable in conversation
and good natured, but with a singular vanity as to personal appearance.
Though one of the coarsest looking men I ever knew, he talked so much of
polish and refinement that it tempted Mr. William Clerk, of Eldin, to
make a very clever clay model of his ungainly figure. The professor's
hair was grey, and he dyed it with something that made it purple; and,
as at that time the art was not brought to its present perfection, the
operation was tedious and only employed at intervals, so that the
professor's hair was often white at the roots and dark purple at the
extremities. He was always falling in love, and, to Somerville's
inexpressible amusement, he made me his decoy duck, inviting me to see
some experiments, which he performed dexterously; at the same time
telling me to bring as many young ladies as I chose, especially
Miss----, for he was sure she had a turn for science. He was unfortunate
in his aspirations, and remained a bachelor to the end of his life.

* * * * *

It was the custom in Edinburgh, especially among the clergy, to dine
between the morning and evening service on Sundays, and to sup at nine
or ten o'clock