of it wholly upon himself, and he conducted it so successfully, that at the age of ten years, Gilbert was sufficiently acquainted with the Latin tongue, as to be entered a student in the college of Aberdeen, where he perfected himself in Greek, went through the common methods of the Aristotelian logic and philosophy, and took his degree of M. A. before he was fourteen. After this, much to the regret of his father, who had all along intended him for the church, he commenced the study of the law, both civil and feudal, in which he made very considerable progress. In the course of a year, however, he altered his resolution, and, agreeably to the will of his father, devoted himself wholly to the study of divinity, in which, with indefatigable diligence, studying commonly fourteen hours a day, he made a rapid progress, having gone through the Old and New Testaments, with all the commentaries then in repute, as well as some of the most approved systems | of school divinity, before he was eighteen years of age; when, having passed the usual routine of previous exercises, which at that time were nearly the same in the Presbyterian and Episcopalian churches, he was licensed as a probationer or preacher of the gospel. His father was about this time appointed a lord of session, and his cousin-german, Sir Alexander Burnet, gave him the presentation to an excellent benefice, which lay in the very centre of all his relations. He refused to accept of it, however, on account of his youth, notwithstanding the importunities of all his friends, his father excepted, who left him entirely to his own discretion. His father dying shortly after this, and one of his brothers, Robert, having become famous at the bar, his mother's relations eagerly desired him to return to his former studies, the law, in which they assured him of the most flattering encouragement; but he was immovably fixed in his purpose of devoting his life to the service of the church. In this resolution he was greatly confirmed by the Rev. Mr. Nairn, who at that time filled the Abbey church of Edinburgh, and took a deep interest in him. Mr. Nairn was reckoned one of the most eloquent of the Scottish preachers, and afterwards became well known in the west of Scotland as one of "Archbishop Leighton's Evangelists." He was remarkable in his discourses for accuracy of style, strength of reasoning, and lofty flights of imagination; yet he always preached extempore, considering the task of writing his discourses as a loss of time. Young Burnet was his great admirer, and learned from him to preach extemporaneously, which he did all his life with great ease, by allotting a part of every day to meditation on all sorts of subjects, speaking all his thoughts aloud, and studying to render his expressions fluent and correct. To Mr. Nairn, also, he was indebted for his acquaintance with various celebrated works, particularly Dr. More's works, the writings of Plato, and Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity, by the principles of which he professed to be guided through life. In 1662 he became acquainted with Bishop Leighton, who, conceiving a great affection for him, took a particular delight in overlooking his studies. Through this amiable divine, he became acquainted with the primitive writers, going through all the apologies of the fathers of the three first centuries, and Binnius' Collections of Councils, down to the second council of Nice. He had the good fortune, about this same time, to contract an intimacy with Mr. Laurence Charteris, a man of great worth and gravity, who was not only a solid divine, but an eminent master of history, both ancient and modern, well acquainted with geography, and a profound mathematician, and who also took a deep interest in finishing the education of his young friend, which had been so happily begun, and so successfully carried on. In 1663 Burnet made an excursion into England, taking Cambridge and Oxford in his way. At the first of these, he had the pleasure of being introduced to Drs. Cudworth, Pearson, Burnet (author of the Theory of the Earth), and More. At the latter place he met with great attention, particularly from Drs. Fell and Pocock, on account of his ready knowledge of the fathers and ancient councils. Here he improved his mathematics by the instructions of Dr. Wallis, who gave him a letter of introduction to that great philosopher and Christian, Mr. Robert Boyle, at London. In London he was introduced to all the eminent divines of that period, Tillotson, Stilling. fleet, Patrick Lloyd, Whitchcot, and Wilkins, all of whose characters he lived to draw in his history. Here also he had the advantage of the conversation of Sir Robert Murray, who introduced him into the first circles of society, acting at the same time the part of a faithful monitor, in pointing out to him those errors and indiscretions into which he was in danger of falling from his youth and inexperience. After spending six months in this agreeable manner, he returned to his native country, where he was again pressed to enter into orders, and to accept of a charge in the west, which he could not be prevailed on to do. Hearing of his great fame, Sir Robert Fletcher of Salton, who had been acquainted with, and had received many obligations from, his father at Paris, sent for him at this time to his country-seat, and after hearing him preach, offered him that parish, the minister having just been nominated to one of the bishoprics. Burnet would have excused himself, as he intended travelling to the Continent, and solicited the place for his friend Nairn; but Sir Robert would take no denial, being resolved to keep the place vacant till his return. In 1664 the subject of this memoir went over to Holland, and after seeing what was most remarkable in the Seven Provinces, fixed his residence at Amsterdam, where, under the care of a learned rabbi, he perfected himself in the Hebrew language. He also became acquainted here with the leading men of many different sects, among all of whom he declared he found so much real piety and virtue, that he became fixed in a strong principle of universal charity, and conceived an invincible abhorrence of all severities on account of differences in the profes sion or forms of religion. From Holland, by the way of the Netherlands, he passed into France, where, at Paris, he had the pleasure of conversing frequently with Daillé and Morus, the two Protestant ministers of Charenton, the former renowned for his learning and judgment, the latter for shining abilities and unrivalled eloquence. His stay in France was prolonged on account of the kindness with which he was treated by Lord Hollis, then ambassador at the French court. Towards the end of the year, how. ever, he returned to Scotland by the way of London, where, by the president, Sir Robert Murray, he was introduced as a member of the Royal Society. On arriving at Edinburgh, he was waited upon by Sir Robert Fletcher, who carried him down to Salton, and presented him to the parish, which he declined taking absolutely, till he should have the joint request of all the parishioners. This he very soon obtained without one single exception, and was ordained a priest by the Bishop of Edinburgh in the year 1665. At Salton he remained for five years, a bright example of what parish ministers ought to be. He preached twice every Sabbath, and once through the week. He catechized three times a week, so as to | examine every parishioner, old and young, three times in the compass of the year. He went round his parish, from house to house, instructing, reproving, or comforting the inmates, as occasion required. The sick he visited often twice a day. The sacrament he dispensed four times a year, and he personally instructed all such as gave notice that they intended to receive it. Of his stipend,' all that remained above his own necessary subsistence, he gave away in charity. On one occasion, a parishioner who had been in execution for debt, asked him for a little to help his present exigency; he inquired how much it would take to set him up again in his business, and on being told, ordered his servant to go and give him the money. "Sir," said his servant, probably piqued at his generosity, "it is all the money we have in the house." "It is well," was the reply; "go and pay it to the poor man. You do not know the pleasure there is in making a man glad." We need not wonder that such a man had the affections of his whole parish, even of the Presbyterians, though he was then the only minister in Scotland who made use of the prayers in the liturgy of the Church of England. No worth and no diligence on the part of individuals, however, can atone for or make up the defects of a wretched system; on the contrary, they often render these defects more apparent, and their consequences more pernicious. Few parishes in Scotland were filled in the manner that Salton was. Ignorant and profane persons had almost everywhere, through political interest, thrust themselves into the cure of souls, which, of course, they totally neglected, to the great offence of good men like Burnet, who drew up a memorial of the many abuses he observed among his brethren, which was highly resented by his superiors. In consequence of this, lest his conduct might be attributed to ambitious views, he sequestrated himself almost entirely from the public, and by hard study and too abstemious living, threw himself into a fever, which had nearly proved fatal. He was soon after interrupted in his pious labours, by being called upon, by the new administration that was appointed in 1668, in which his friend Sir Robert Murray had a principal share, to give his advice for remedying the public disorders, which had been occasioned by the overthrow of the Presbyterian constitution, and, along with it, the civil rights of the people. At his suggestion the expedient of an indulgence to the Presbyterians, under certain limitations, was adopted in the year 1669, by which it was hoped they would by degrees be brought to submit to the new order of things. He was at the same time employed to assist Leighton, now made Archbishop of Glasgow, in bringing forward his scheme for an accommodation between the conflicting churches. In the course of his journeyings to the west, he was introduced to Anne, Duchess of Hamilton, a very excellent woman, with a strong bias towards the Presbyterians, which enabled her to influence in some degree the leaders of that body, and rendered her somewhat of a public character. At her house the managers of the college of Glasgow had occasion to meet with the minister of Salton, and, the divinity chair being then vacant, he was unanimously elected to fill it. All this was unknown to Burnet till it was over, and he was again thrown into much difficulty, his friends insisting 1 As minister of Salton, Burnet received in stipend from the hird of Salton, in 1665, £397, 10s. Scots (equal to £33, 2s. 6d, sterling, together with 11 bolls, 2 pecks, 2 lippies, of wheat; 11 bolls, 2 pecks, 2 lippies, of bear; and 22 bolls, 1 firlot, 1 peck. 3 lippies, meal.-Receipt, MSS. Adv. Lib. signed "GILBERT BURNETT." upon him to accept the invitation, and his parishioners that he should refuse it. Leighton, however, laid his commands upon him, which he considered as law, and he therefore removed to Glasgow in the year 1669. Owing to the deplorable state of the church and nation, he encountered much trouble and many inconveniences in his new situation. His principal care, however, was to improve his pupils, to whom he seems to have devoted almost his whole time and attention. On the Mondays he made each of the students in his turn explain a head of divinity in Latin and propound a thesis from it, which he was to defend against his fellow-students, the professor concluding the exercise by deciding the point in a Latin oration. On Tuesdays he prelected in Latin, purposing in eight years to embrace a complete system of divinity. On Wednesdays he gave a lecture of an hour upon the Gospel of Matthew. On Thursdays the exercise was alternate: one Thursday he expounded a Hebrew psalm, comparing it with the Septuagint, the Vulgate, and the English version; on the other he explained some portion of the ritual and constitution of the primitive church. On Fridays he made each of his pupils, in course, preach a short sermon upon a text assigned, upon which he gave his own remarks in conclusion. This was the labour of the mornings. In the evenings, after prayers, he every day read them a portion of the Scriptures, on which he made a short discourse, after which he examined into the progress of their several studies, exhorting, encouraging, and directing them, as he found necessary. In order to keep up all these exercises, he was under the necessity of rising every morning at four o'clock, and it was ten before his preparations were completed for the labours of the day. During his vacations he made frequent visits to Hamilton, where he was engaged by the duchess to examine and put in order the papers of her father and uncle, which led him to compile the Memoirs of the Dukes of Hamilton. The Duke of Lauderdale hearing he was employed upon this work, wrote for him to come up to London, promising him such information concerning the transactions of these times as he could furnish. He went to London, accordingly, and was received by Lauderdale with much kindness. But the impious manners of this nobleman were not agreeable to him; and he made no use of the confidence reposed in him, except to reconcile his grace to the Duke of Hamilton, who had assignations given him on the revenues of the crown, in satisfaction of some old claims for which vouchers had been found by Burnet among the papers intrusted to his care; and in return the Duke of Hamilton engaged to concur with the measures of the court in the ensuing parliament. Four of the Scottish bishoprics were at this time vacant, of which Burnet was offered his choice; but he foresaw that they would entangle him in difficulties, with little prospect of his being able to effect anything good; so he utterly refused to accept any of them. In 1672 he prevented a breach between Lauderdale and the Duke of Hamilton, for which his country certainly owed him little thanks. About this time he published his vindication of the authority, constitution, and laws of the church and state of Scotland, wherein he strenuously maintained the cause of Episcopacy, and the illegality of resistance merely on account of religion. This was by the court reckoned a most acceptable service. again courted to accept of a bishopric, with the promise of the first archbishopric that should become vacant; but he still persisted in refusing. In 1673 he went again to London, in order to obtain a license He was |