George Ticknor, Life, letters and journals of George Ticknor
George Hillard, Ed.

[164] and Lady Hamilton were there; Mrs. McNeill, wife of the British Ambassador to Persia, whom I knew in London and Vienna; and Wilson, who is her brother, and two or three others. I think it was very like a dinner at home. Certainly it was very agreeable; but we stayed much later than we should have done in America, for it is the way here, and was so twenty years ago.

April 28.—Our friend Mrs. Alison,¹ . . . . whom we have seen frequently since we have been in Edinburgh, invited us to go with her this forenoon to see Mrs. Dugald Stewart, who lives quite retired near Leith. We found her much broken, but still as lady-like and gentle as ever, and with one of those beautiful faces of old age whose beauty consists in their moral expression. Her very intelligent and excellent daughter devotes herself wholly to her.

We dined with the Rev. Mr. Ramsay² and Mrs. Ramsay; the latter being our old Boston acquaintance, Miss Cochrane. Mr. Sinclair and Mr. Territ, the two preachers in the old church that was Dr. Alison's and Dr. Morehead's, . . . . were of the party; Miss Sinclair, the daughter of the famous Sir John, and herself an authoress,³ Mr. Forbes, brother of the late Sir William, and one or two others, were there.

Forbes is an intelligent, spirited, accomplished gentleman, upon whom much reliance is placed that the Edinburgh monument to Sir Walter Scott shall be what it ought to be; but the rest were a sort of Tory and high Orthodox clique, whose talk was corresponding to their principles.

Mr. Ramsay is a quiet, hard-working clergyman of the principal Episcopal church in Edinburgh; and his wife is a truly kind, excellent, lady-like person.

April 29.—. . . . It was our last day in Edinburgh, and we gave it to the Alisons, who had invited us for any day we could reserve for them. The party was small, but very agreeable,—Sir Charles and Lady Bell, Professor Wilson, Sir W. Hamilton, young Mr. Gregory, brother of Mrs. Alison and son of the famous Professor Gregory. Miss Alison, daughter of the old Dr. Alison,—a very uncommon and striking person, who devotes herself wholly to her father,—came in after dinner. We all stayed late, even for Edinburgh; and Sir William Hamilton came home with us, and bade us farewell in the kindest manner, on our doorsteps.