Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 1.djvu/334

 employ the remainder of his life in the cause to which he had been previously devoted: he pursued perseveringly to near its termination, this happy course, and just lived to complete an extensive manuscript work, bearing for its title. 'The Notable places of the Scripture expounded,' at the end of which he adds, in a tremulous and indistinct hand-writing, 'Heere the author was neere his end, and was able to do no more, March 3d, 1653.'"

Mr Zachary had been twice married, first, to Elizabeth Fleming, of whom no memorial is preserved, and secondly, to Margaret Mure, third daughter of William Mure of Glanderston, (near Neilston, Renfrewshire.) By neither of his wives had he any offspring. The second wife, surviving him, married for her second husband the celebrated Durham, author of the Commentary on the Revelation to whom, it would appear, she had betrayed some partiality even in her first husband's lifetime. There is a traditional anecdote, that, when Mr Zachary was dictating his last will, his spouse made one modest request, namely, that he would bequeath something to Mr Durham. He answered, with a sarcastic reference to herself, "I'll lea' him what I canna keep frae him." He seems to have possessed an astonishing quantity of worldly goods for a Scottish clergyman of that period. He had lent eleven thousand merks to Mure of Rowallan, five thousand to the Earl of Glencairn, and six thousand to the Earl of Loudon; which sums, with various others, swelled his whole property in money to £4527 Scots. This, after the deduction of certain expenses, was divided, in terms of his will, between his relict and the college of Glasgow. About £20,000 Scots is said to have been the sum realized by the College, besides his library and manuscript compositions; but it is a mistake that he made any stipulation as to the publication of his writings, or any part of them. To this splendid legacy, we appear to be chiefly indebted for the present elegant buildings of the College, which were mostly erected under the care of Principal Gillespie during the period of the Commonwealth. In gratitude for the munificent gift of Mr Zachary, a bust of his figure was erected over the gateway within the court, with an appropriate inscription. There is also a portrait of him in the Divinity Hall of the College. Nineteen works, chiefly devotional and religious, and none of them of great extent, Mere published by Mr Zachary during his lifetime; but these bore a small proportion to his manuscript writings, which are no less than eighty-six in number, chiefly comprised within thirteen quarto volumes, written in a very close hand, apparently for the press. Besides those contained in the thirteen volumes, are three others "Zion's Flowers, or Christian Poems for Spiritual Edification." 2 vols. 4to. "The English Academic, containing precepts and purpose for the weal both of Soul and Body," 1 vol. 12mo. and "The Four Evangels in English verse."

"Mr Boyd appears to have been a scholar of very considerable learning. He composed in Latin, and his qualifications in that language may be deemed respectable. His works also bear the evidence of his having been possessed of a critical knowledge of the Greek, Hebrew, and other languages. As a prose writer, he will bear comparison with any of the Scottish divines of the same age. He is superior to Rutherford, and, in general, more grammatically correct than even Baillie himself, who was justly esteemed a very learned man. His style may be considered excellent for the period. Of his characteristics as a writer, Ins originality of thought is particularly striking. He discusses many of his subjects with spirit and ingenuity, and there is much which must be acknowledged as flowing from a vigorous intellect, and a fervid, and poetical imagination. This latter tendency of his genius is at all times awake, and from which may be inferred his taste for metaphor, and love of colouring, so conspicuous in his