out the book. Hume is said to have complained that he 'had not been used like a gentleman;' and this probably is the only notice that he deigned to take of the professor's labours.
In 1771 appeared anonymously the first book of the 'Minstrel,' which passed through four editions before the publication (in 1774) of the second book. The harmony of versification and the beauty of the descriptive passages have preserved this poem from the oblivion which has overtaken Beattie's other writings. Immediately after the publication of the first book Gray wrote to congratulate the author and offer some minute criticism. In a letter to the Dowager Lady Forbes, dated 12 Oct. 1772, Beattie confessed that he intended to paint himself under the character of Edwin.
His health having been impaired by the the labour bestowed on the composition of the 'Essay on Truth,' Beattie went for a change to London in the autumn of 1771. Here he made the acquaintance of Mrs. Montagu, Hawkesworth, Armstrong, Garrick, and Dr. Johnson. In one of his letters he writes: 'Johnson has been greatly misrepresented. I have passed several days with him and found him extremely agreeable.' He returned to Aberdeen in December. Partly for the sake of his health and partly in the hope improving his prospects, he came again to London in April 1773, accompanied by his wife. Having called on Lord Dartmouth with a letter of introduction, he was shortly afterwards invited to wait on Lord North, who assured him that the king should be made acquainted with his arrival. At the same time he became familiar with Dr, Porteus, afterwards bishop of London. By Lord Dartmouth he was presented, at the first levée after his arrival, to the king, and a few days later he received the honorary degree of doctor of laws at Oxford. On 20 Aug. an official letter arrived from Lord North's secretary announcing that the king had conferred upon him 200l. a year. Shortly afterwards Beattie paid his respects to the king and queen at Kew, and was received very affably. 'I never stole a book but one,' said his majesty, 'and that was yours. I stole it from the queen to give it to Lord Hertford to read.' They conversed on the state of moral philosophy and deplored the progress of infidelity, the king remarking that he 'could hardily believe that any thinking man could really be an atheist, unless he could bring himself to believe that he made himself; a thought which pleased the king exceedingly, and he repeated it several times to the queen.' About this time his portrait was painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds, who generously made him a present of it. In the picture Beattie is represented in his doctor's gown, with the 'Essay on Truth' under his arm; beside him stands Truth, holding in one hand a pair of scales, and with the other thrusting down three figures (two of which are meant to represent Hume and Voltaire) emblematic of Prejudice, Scepticism, and Folly. After five months' stay in London Beattie returned to Aberdeen.
In 1773 Beattie declined the offer of the vacant chair of moral philosophy at Edinburgh; nor could he be persuaded to accept a living in the Anglican church. Three years afterwards appeared a new edition, published by subscription, in quarto, of the 'Essay on Truth,' to which were appended three essays, 'On Poetry and Music as they affect the Mind,' 'On Laughter and Ludicrous Composition,' and ' On the Utility of Classical Learning.' A new edition of the 'Minstrel,' together with such other poems as the author wished to preserve, was published in 1777. A letter to Dr. Blair, 'On the Improvement of Psalmody in Scotland,' was printed for private circulation in 1778, which was followed (in 1779) by a 'List of Scotticisms,' published for the use of those who attended his lectures. In 1780 he contributed a paper 'On Dreaming' to the 'Mirror;' and in 1783 he published 'Dissertations Moral and Critical,' a book which met with the most enthusiastic praise from Cowper, who declared, in a letter to Hayley, that Beattie was the only author he had seen 'whose critical and philosophical researches are diversified and embellished by a poetical imagination that makes even the driest subject and the leanest a feast for epicures.'
To seek relief from domestic troubles (his wife's insanity being now confirmed), Beattie paid a visit to London in 1784, and afterwards spent some time with Dr. Porteus (now bishop of Chester) at Hunton near Maidstone. In 1786 he published his 'Evidences of the Christian Religion,' and in the following year he came again to London, on which occasion he visited the king and queen at Windsor. The first volume of his 'Elements of Moral Science' appeared in 1790, and about this time he superintended an edition of Addison's 'Periodical Papers,' adding a few notes to Tickell's Life and Johnson's Remarks. Vol. ii. of the 'Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh ' contains some remarks by Beattie 'On Passages of the Sixth Book of the Æneid.' On 19 Nov. he suffered a severe affliction by the loss of his eldest son (aged 22), James Hay Beattie, a young man of considerable promise.
