liken; that belonging to Thomas Watt, at all events, inhabited the same county nearly a century before the date of that disaster. But however that may be, the fact of James Watt having been nurtured thus at the feet of those two venerable masters, of his having early and long thus gazed upon the light of their countenances, and imbibed his first acquaintance with their works and fame, as it were, under the sanction of their very presence and eye, is too interesting not to deserve commemoration in the annals of his early days; difficult as it often must be for even the most inquiring minds "to re"ascend in memory to that which may have given the first impulse to their entire course of life." * 66 In precincts hallowed by such Lares and Penates, and not devoid of the "imagines majorum,"-for portraits of Thomas Watt and Margaret Sherrer, as well as of James Watt, sen., of Greenock, and of Agnes Muirheid, then hung on their walls, and are now associated in a family series with those of their more illustrious descendant,-the boy grew to the age of nearly eighteen, a contemplative, yet far from inactive youth. But his ideas were destined to be expanded, and his hopes to be checked, amid increasing reverses of his father's fortunes. So far, indeed, did those reverses at last extend, that it became necessary that both of Mr. Watt's sons, at as early an age as possible, should be trained to rely for their future comfort or distinction, and indeed for their very subsistence, on their own independent and unaided exertions. Of John, the elder of the two lads, we have already spoken, and told how a shipwreck in the Atlantic Ocean removed him from "the waves of this troublesome world." From the aptitude which James displayed for all kinds of ingenious handiwork, and in accordance with his own deliberate and earnest choice, it was decided that he should proceed to qualify himself for following the trade of a mathematicalinstrument-maker;—a career, in which, besides the prospect of turning to good account his habits of industry, his accuracy of eye, and neatness of hand, he doubtless foresaw opportunities, * Humboldt's Cosmos, translated by Mrs. Sabine, vol. ii. p. 92, ed. 1849. such as no other calling within his reach was likely to afford, of gratifying his thirst for the knowledge of physical science. On the peculiar range of employment to which the main force of his mind was to be directed, he seems, as he grew up, always to have looked with a more than affectionate predilection. The call, indeed,—that fixed purpose of soul, declaring itself in action, and leading a man to walk with firmness in a predestined and beloved path,—which made Watt a mechanical philosopher, seems to have been as decided as that which took Burns from the sheepfolds and raised him to be a fervid bard, or transferred Wilkie from the austerities of a Presbyterian manse to become a glowing and triumphant painter. It was such as calls into life every energy, strengthens into devotion every desire, and creates at once the glory and the happiness of all who, like him, "Stifle the contradictions of their fate, "And to one purpose cleave, their Being's godlike mate! With these views he came to Glasgow in June 1754, being then eighteen years of age, and remained under the roof and care of his maternal relations, the Muirheids, till the month of May in the following year. There is still extant a document which bears amusing testimony to the almost primitive simplicity with which his migration from the paternal home was performed. It is entitled, in the clerkly hand of their youthful possessor, "A list of James Watt's clothes taken to "Glasgow ;" and, after certain "silk stockings," "ruffled shirts," and "cut velvet" waistcoats, there follow in it "one working ditto," "one leather apron," "a pair bibels," about a score of the most needful tools of carpentry, and a quadrant. Of all the latter items (with the exception of the pair bibels," which were, it seems, somehow or other unac * Wordsworth's Stanzas to Liberty. Poetical Works, vol. v. p. 102, ed. countably left behind!) it will soon be seen that he made dexterous and successful use. During his stay at that time in Glasgow, young Watt enjoyed the advantage of being introduced to the notice and acquaintance of several of the most learned Professors in the University, through the instrumentality of his mother's kinsman, Mr. George Muirhead, who had then just exchanged the Professorship of Oriental languages for that of Latin, and was associated with his colleague Professor Moor in scholarlike labours which have honourably perpetuated his name.* Professors James Moor and George Muirhead were the joint editors of the magnificent Homer, in four volumes folio, which was printed at the University press by the brothers Robert and Andrew Foulis, in 1756 and 1758; and of which Dr. Harwood says that it is "one of the most splendid editions of "Homer ever delivered to the world, and I am informed that "its accuracy is equal to its magnificence. Since the pub"lication of the first edition of this work," he adds, "I had "occasion carefully to read through this edition, and I only "discovered two trivial errors." (View of the various editions of the Greek and Roman Classics, with remarks, by Edward Harwood, D.D. 3rd edition. London, 1782.) "As the eye "is the organ of fancy," says Gibbon, "I read Homer with "most pleasure in the Glasgow folio. Through that fine "medium the poet's sense appears more beautiful and trans"parent. Bishop Lowth has said that he could discover only one error in that accurate edition-the omission of an iota "subscribed to a dative." In the Life of Winckelmann it is stated that he never travelled without Homer; "his com"panion at every instant of his life;" and that the edition which he had with him on his last journey (in the course of which he died), "era quella di Foulis, stampata molto ele"gantemente a Glasgow nel 1756-58." In 1804 a copy of 66 this bibliographical treasure, on large paper, illustrated with Flaxman's plates to the Iliad, and some drawings, by Miss Wilkes, to the Odyssey, sold for 397. 188. Watt, however, was not so fortunate as to become the pupil of any Professor in the ancient University, which the talents of men such as Adam Smith and Robert Simson then so greatly adorned; and the youthful student has himself recorded that he never attended any course of lectures delivered within the walls, or by the teachers, of the College. But he at once gained the favourable notice of Dr. Dick, who was joint Professor of Natural Philosophy with his father from 1751 to 1757, to whose society the subjects of his pursuits formed an immediate attraction, and of whose abilities, as well as of the kind interest he manifested in his success, Mr. Watt always spoke in terms of the most grateful praise. Dr. Dick having observed the qualifications of his young friend, and being consulted as to his outset in life, strongly recommended his proceeding to London, to acquire better instruction in the art which he designed to practise, than could at that time be gained in Glasgow, or, indeed, anywhere in Scotland; at the same time furnishing him with a personal introduction which proved very serviceable in obtaining for him the advantage of such tuition. It being then arranged that young Watt should follow this counsel, on the 7th of June, 1755, he set out for the great metropolis, in charge of his connection Mr. John Marr,* who, we believe, afterwards became the captain of an East Indiaman, but soon after their arrival in London accepted the office of naval instructor on board the Hampton Court, a seventy gun ship, then lying at anchor in the Thames. They travelled, as was common a century ago, on horseback, riding the same horses throughout the journey, which they performed in twelve days, including two of partial or entire rest. "There was, in the days of which I write," says Sir Walter Scott, "an old-fashioned custom on the English road, which I suspect is now obsolete, or prac 66 * Mr. Marr's wife was a cousin-german of Mr. Watt. "tised only by the vulgar. Journeys of length being made "on horseback, and, of course, by brief stages, it was usual "always to make a halt on the Sunday in some town where "the traveller might attend Divine service, and his horse "have the benefit of the day of rest, the institution of which "is as humane to our brute labourers as profitable to our"selves." Their route was by Coldstream, Newcastle, Durham, York, Doncaster, Newark, and Biggleswade; and the principal note made by the young traveller in the new scenes through which he now passed, is a laconic one:"I like the country very [well], but think the people are "very sharp." It must be added, in explanation of this concise and "canny" conclusion, that nearly one-third of the time occupied on the road was spent in riding through Yorkshire; in fact, the letter which contains it † was written at York! On their arrival in London no time was lost in endeavouring to find a fitting instructor in the mathematical-instrument line, a task which at first appeared likely to prove one of unexpected difficulty; for the number of masters skilled in that scientific trade was then small, and it was "the custom "of London" not to dispense with the regular apprenticeship of seven years on indenture. "I have not yet got a master; "we have tried several; they all make some objection or "other," writes the poor lad. "I find that if any of them 66 agree with me at all, it will not be for less than a year; and " even at that time [they] will be expecting some money."‡ Having been nurtured in the observance of rigid frugality, and being most dutifully anxious to avoid all encroachment on his father's means, which seem to have diminished in an inverse ratio to his own necessities, his narrow finances were now a cause of uncomfortable apprehension; and altogether his early impressions of life in London were very far from being either joyous or encouraging. But by degrees a little light began to dawn above the dim *Sir W. Scott, ROB ROY, chap. iv., 12 June, 1755. Abbotsford edition, vol. iii. p. 59. † Mr. Watt to his father, York, Mr. Watt to his father, London, 1 July, 1755. |