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 ever, will acknowledge, that confessions under the torture form historical documents of a very questionable nature. Being tried for his supposed offence before a royal commission, he was sentenced to be broken alive on the wheel, and put to the death of a traitor. In the course of his trial, some imputations were thrown upon his Britannic Majesty, for which, in conjunction with other circumstances, the British ambassador was recalled from Stockholm. The unfortunate Blackwell was executed, July 29th, 1747, but not, it would appear, with the tortures assigned by his sentence. On the scaffold, he protested to the people his entire innocence of the crimes laid to his charge, and, as the best proof of what he stated, pointed out his utter want of all motive for engaging in an attempt against the government. He prayed with great devotion, but happening to lay his head wrong upon the block, he remarked good-humouredly, that, as this was his first experiment, no wonder he required a little instruction. The date of Mrs Blackwell's death is not ascertained. Her work was afterwards republished on the continent.

, the restorer of Greek literature in the North of Scotland, and a learned writer of the eighteenth century, was brother to the subject of the preceding article. He was born at Aberdeen, August 4th, 1701, and after receiving the rudiments of his education at the Grammar School of his native city, entered his academical course at the Marischal College, where he took the degree of A. M. in 1718. A separate professorship of Greek had not existed in this seminary previous to 1700, and the best of the ancient languages was at that period very little cultivated in Scotland. Blackwell, having turned his attention to Greek, was honoured, in 1723, when only twenty-two years of age, with a crown appointment to this chair. He entered upon the discharge of the duties of his office with the utmost ardour. It perfectly suited his inclination and habits. He was an enthusiastic admirer of the language and literature of Greece, and the whole bent of his studies was exclusively devoted to the cultivation of polite learning. He had the merit of rearing some very eminent Greek scholars, among whom may be mentioned Principal George Campbell, Dr Alexander Gerard, and Dr James Beattie. The last has borne ample testimony to the merit of his master, in his "Essay on the Utility of Classical Learning," where he styles Principal Blackwell "a very learned author."

Dr Blackwell first appeared before the public, as an author, in 1737. His Inquiry into the Life and Writings of Homer was published at London during the course of that year, but without his name. It has been positively affirmed