For that sacrifice to a brother's comfort, I trust she also will have the lasting testimony of an approving conscience ;– and for the trouble, and pains, and anxiety, displayed on that mournful occasion, by my amiable, (and, on this account, if it were possible, more than ever endeared,) partner, in order to have the afflicted youth made as comfortable as possible, and at last removed, under her own eye, to his home, with ourselves, I have no doubt that she received a most satisfactory recompense, in the gratitude HE manifested, and the affecting manner in which he expressed himself afterwards— when he emitted, what may be called, his dying declaration on his death-bed,-as will be seen in due time.

CHAPTER XXXVII.-1827 (CONTINUED.)

The troubles and griefs of September commence early and advance rapidly.— Retire early to rest on the evening of the 22d.-An unwelcome intruder on two accounts.-Commencement of a new series of grievous sorrows.-My troubles increase.-Timely appearance of a pleasant little floweret.-It reminds me that I have yet one consolation to fly to.-Another month of dreadful and anxious suspense passes.Sad alternative to which I am once more reduced. Again call a meeting.-Results of the abstract, &c.-My present deficiences, how most satisfactorily accounted for.-Operating causes which prevented them from being to a greater extent.-Lamentable consideration, after other eight years persevering and unremitting industry.—Melancholy and afflictive details, extracted from my address on this unhappy occasion.-Kind and soothing usage I again experienced. My subsequent conduct, or the procedure I adopted after the meeting —Friendly manner in which I was received by the absentees.-Congratulatory letter from my principal creditor.The many disagreeables I had to submit to, speedily neutralized or counteracted by the reception I met with, on my journey to the westward.—Another blustering hero fallen!-Certain reminiscences connected with that afflictive period.-Consolatory advice, and comfortable assurance in a letter from an old friend, dated the last day of the year.

THE troubles and griefs of September, (and they were neither few nor small,) began to overtake me, at a very early stage of the month. So early as the 2d, I see I had a note from a certain quarter, that gave me a good deal of concern;

but this was followed by another, of a worse description, on the 8th, and how many, of a worse description still, followed, during the remainder of that-the next-and following month, I shall not, (for, it would only go to harrow up feelings I would rather wish to lie dormant,)—now pretend to say ;-suffice it to observe, that, by the beginning of the month of December, they had assumed a complexion, which, in connexion with other matters, rendered them no longer supportable,—as will soon be seen by the event.

Meantime, although my son Robert, had got so far well, as to be able to return to Edinburgh, previously to the 19th, I find, by his letter, of that date, that my valuable partner, who had no doubt taken much trouble and fatigue with him, during his illness, had been seriously indisposed, in her turn; and, certainly, before the lapse of a few days more, I had not my own troubles to seek.*

Alas! alas! these were to me the commencement of a new series of troubles, which made me bleed at every pore with mental anguish, ere they were brought to a termination,—and which, in fact, ended not, until they had brought me to the brink of despair !+

It was on Saturday evening, the 22d of the month, I observe that I retired to my bed at an early hour, in consequence of indisposition, in which the mind had its full proportion, by reason of a very distressing circumstance which had occurred on that evening-or rather memorable night-when, we were doomed to have our rest broken in upon, and our slumbers disturbed (for, as for my part, 1 had slept none) by a very, on that occasion, unwelcome intruder, although no person could have been more welcome, under other circumstances, and on some other occasion, than that young man, would have been.

But for the present, he was most unwelcome, on two accounts, first, for dis. turbing us so unseasonably, as just, when my partner, who had not yet quite recovered from her late indisposition, had fallen into a state of repose :-and secondly, for the appalling and distressing intelligence of which he was the bearer-viz. that his mother, a near connexion of ours, of whose indisposition, we had heard no accounts when I lay down-had died suddenly! were neither of us, however, in a condition to rise at the time, and being satisfied that we could be of little use otherwise, we deferred our attentions to the afflicted family till next day, when, they were not awanting so far as they could be of service.

We

+ What I experienced,—what I felt,—and what I suffered, in consequence of the opening up of the flood gates, of this new source of troubles upon me,-with others of older origin-during that, and the subsequent months of October and November, I have not room, nor, if I had, would I have fortitude, or inclination, now to mention ;-it appears however, that, by the beginning of, or early in the month of November, my feelings had been severely lacerated, and I was still smarting under the anguish of some recent intelligence, for 1 seem to have re

The last day of November came; but, still, it brought no encouragement, no comfort, for me. On the evening of that day, I wrote a pretty long letter, but not more so than the case required, requiring immediate information respecting certain matters, in which my affairs were deeply implicated. This would reach the person to whom it was addressed, on Saturday the 1st of December. The answer which I received to this letter, was far from being satisfactory; and, by the time the writer himself appeared personally, to give me further information, in respect to his intentions, I had yielded to the impulse of despair,—and resolved to call,—once more,―a meeting of my creditors;—which I did, by the following circular, dated the 6th:

"SIR,-I am extremely sorry to intimate, that, after one of the most severe struggles, that ever, perhaps, fell to the lot of a poor mortal, in such UNPRECEDENTED BAD times, as we have recently witnessed, in order to get the better of FORMER MISFORTUNES, I have been compelled to give up the contest, in consequence of, a series of losses and disappointments of the most vexatious and astounding description, experienced under circumstances depressing and heartrending in the extreme, and now crowned by such a calamity, as has left me no other alternative, but the unhappy one of calling a meeting of my creditors, on Saturday the 15th current, in the GEORGE INN, HADDINGTON, at which, your presence is earnestly requested; in order to, take into consideration a state of my affairs, with the circumstances that have more remotely and immediately led to such an unfortunate result; and after being satisfied from my statements, how far I am deserving of your commiseration and sympathy-giving your concurrence and sanction, to such measures, as may be deemed most advisable for the general good. I remain," &c.

The meeting which took place, at the time and place appointed, was rendered the more peculiarly affecting, in consequence of a circumstance that occurred about the

joiced, that a pleasing little floweret, sent me by post, in form of a card, dated the 31st October, had been put into my hands, on the 4th November, just in time to console me a little, after the sufferings I had endured, by the intelligence I had received during the short space of the three intervening days: I mean be. tween the receipt, and the date, of this little comforter, which concludes in the following manner:-"How consoling must be your reflections, dear Sir, in having dedicated your life, to the most important services to the cause which

with impotent presumption has assailed in vain. May your life be spared to benefit your fellow beings, prays your very sincere friend," &c.-Among the three pieces of disagreeable intelligence that I received in course of these three days, I observe one is the confirmation of my son's increasing illness,—the others, I forbear to mention,-but, coming upon me so thick, they could not fail to have a very injurious effect; and it would appear, made me hug, for the moment, the little remembrancer which so kindly, and so opportunely, reminded me that I had at least still one source of consolation remaining, to which I might fly in my cogitations!-and time it was-for it appears that before I received that note, the gloom of despair was fast settling down upon me, and other fountains of refuge appeared, in rapid succession, to be drying up.

same time, and with which, indeed, it was partly connected; viz., the sending out of my circulars, at the precise time when some of them must have fallen into the hands of my again poor invalid son, at the moment of his preparations to come out, and take up his LAST earthly abode with us.

At the meeting, certain statements were laid before the gentlemen assembled, accompanied by a narrative, in form of an address, which could not fail to throw every necessary light upon the subject, although I have not room at present for either the one or the other ;-in regard to the latter, however, there is the less matter, as, I dare say, my readers have had enough of documents of that kind already ;—and as to the former, the subjoined information, founded on my abstract, will give a tolerable idea.*

The few annexed extracts, from the original address now before me, being all that I can make room for, will convey some idea of the nature of my argument, and the way I was affected on that lamentable occasion, in which, for want of other honourable insignia, I might have well assumed the initials, M. S. A. G., as an addition to my name ;-from the manner I was brought to express myself, by the time I had reached the last paragraph: in which, the interpretation of these few letters, so full of meaning, is to be found.+

From the abstract thus alluded to, it distinctly appears that my debts, at that time amounted to L.3067:0:9; while the assets, or funds to meet this sum total with, was only to the extent of L.1270; 3: 8.

The deficiencies, however, which were enumerated in the abstract, were most satisfactorily accounted for, and referred to, in the course of narrative, and were found principally to have been occasioned by further losses in the disposal of stock, -books rendered imperfect, by the long continued badness of the times, preventing the people completing them,other losses by bad debts--the great expense of bringing so many unsalable articles, at so unpropitious a period to market, &c. &c. altogether to the amount of L.2300,-being upwards of L500 more than was necessary to square accounts, and make the two ends meet, had no such disastrous losses taken place and which, can only be accounted for on the supposition, that otherwise, instead of going back, we had been getting forward again in the world, and that, had it not been for Mrs M.'s exertions at the back of the counter and my own, with my Popular Philosophy, matters would have been still worse. It was certainly, however, a lamentable consideration at our time of life, to see, again, the fruits of other eight years eight months, hard earned earnings, all swept away in the general wreck.

In course of my narrative, at one part, I have occasion to proceed. What, with the long continued depression of the times, and one thing and another, I be. lieve, my losses on the disposal of the L.1400 worth of stock, which was marked

I need hardly say, that such a statement as I produced, accompanied by a narrative, written in such a spirit, was met, on the part of the creditors,—with the utmost sympathy,the kindest usage,—and, the most speedy compliance, on their parts, with whatever terms of settlement I might be disposed to accede to. Indeed, I left them to adjust and settle the terms themselves, while I retired to another room, to be out of the way of their deliberations. It was in that situation, Mr

off to be sold by auction, was even considerably more than I have calculated in the second item of L.300 more-the other losses, L.140 and L.237, can easily be explained to gentlemen conversant in the book business.-Finding the auc tion business also failing, or, carried on in such a protracted shape at a distance, as must add considerably to the expence, as well as risk (as I had now learned by dear bought experience,) I determined to call home my northern auctioneer, and to confine my operations nearer home, which, although not likely to be suffi ciently productive, would, I thought, enable me to carry through with a little more assistance from friends, without sacrificing so much of my stock, as I found had been the case of late, and which would enable me to get quit of my obligations to them the better, now that my instalments were all paid up"-alas! how much was 1 again mistaken!-For now commenced the calamities of EAST LOTHIAN, and Berwickshire, the very places I had marked out as the theatre of my future operations.

[I need not here repeat, the great originating cause of these calamities, and of our having in consequence, been obliged to carry our sales in the ensuing winter, into Forfarshire,-nor have I room to pursue this part of the subject further.]

A little further on, in allusion to the particular period, I had selected for bringing out my Popular Philosophy, I take occasion to observe, "Before I had yet time to carry my intentions into execution, the storm began to gather, —and, before I had advanced many paces in my task,-it burst, with fearful impetuosity, and most destructive influence upon the Book trade," &c, &c. And, as I approach towards the conclusion, I remark, "what may be your opi. nions, Gentlemen, of the propriety, or impropriety, of MY CONDUCT, one thing is clear, that, if it had not been for Mrs M.'s exertions in the shop, while my attention was so much taken up with other considerations, in order to make the best of, what some would have deemed a hopeless cause, long ago, very little if any thing had been left, and I may say, and say truly, that it was THIS HOPE, -the hope of being able, one day to get the better of difficulties, arising, as every one must see, now, out of former misfortunes, by our united and protracted exer. tions, that made me persevere so long, although sometimes almost against hope."

[But here comes the last paragraph, which seems to point out one of those mournful occasions, I so affectingly alluded to, at the time, I penned the last page but one, of my series of introductory chapters, (See page 95 of the present volume.)]

"I might have said more-a great deal more-to shew you, that in this most eventful period of my life-upon which so MUCH DEPENDED-and upon which my future fate and comfort may be said to have hung,—I might have been well styled, A MAN OF SORROWS AND ACQUAINTED WITH GRIEFS,' in the truest sense of the word;-but I shall, for the present, draw a veil over the melan. choly picture, trusting, that I have said enough to meet your sympathy, even if my conduct, should not altogether, meet your approbations :-up to the last moment of HOPE, I persevered when HOPE expired, what could I do, but give way to despair ?"