Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 1.djvu/68

 said, "as to give away my pad to a beggar? If you must needs mount him on horseback, could you not have given him one of less value? Or, if he wanted any other relief, you might have supplied him otherwise, and not have parted so easily with my gift." "You have not carefully considered this matter," replied Aidan, "for otherwise you could not set a greater value on the son of a mare, than on a son of God." In this way the affair ended for the present. Not long after, when the king returned from hunting, he saw the bishop, and, remembering what had lately occurred, he laid aside his sword, threw himself at the good man's feet, and asked his forgiveness for the rude words he had uttered. Aidan, grieved to see the king in this posture, immediately raised him, and declared that the whole matter was forgot. After this interview, however, Aidan was observed to be very sad; and, on being asked the cause by some of his monks, he burst into tears, and replied, "How can I be otherwise than afflicted? I foresee that Oswin's life will be short, for never have I beheld a prince so humble. His temper is too heavenly to dwell long among us, and, truly, the nation does not deserve the blessing of such a ruler." This mournful prediction was soon after accomplished by the death of Oswin, who was assassinated in August, 651; and Aidan took the matter so deeply to heart, that he died a fortnight after.

Such is the little that we know of Saint Aidan, the apostle of Northumberland, and bishop of Lindisfarne. That he was great and good, and that ha accomplished much, is evident from the old chronicles, and especially from the history of venerable Bede, from whom the foregoing account has been chiefly gathered. The Venerable has also added to his account three miracles performed by Aidan, one of which occurred after his death; but with these it is unnecessary to trouble the modern reader. It is more agreeable to turn to his character, as drawn by Bede himself, who lived during the close of the same century, and knew Aidan well, not only from the testimony of his apostolic labours, but the reports of the old men, who had heard his words, and witnessed his doings: "These things I have written," he says, "touching the person and actions of the man aforesaid, praising in his actions what is praiseworthy, and committing it to posterity for the behoof of those who read; to wit, his concern for peace and chanty, for abstinence and humility; his utter freedom from wrath and avarice, from pride and vain-glory; his readiness alike to obey and teach the Divine commands; his diligence in reading and watching; his true sacerdotal authority in checking the proud and powerful, and, at the same time, his tenderness in comforting the afflicted, and relieving or defending the poor. To say all in few words, as far as we have been informed by those who personally knew him, he took care to omit no part of his duty, but, to the utmost of his power, performed everything commanded in the writings of the evangelists, apostles, and prophets."

AIKMAN, WILLIAM, a painter, of considerable merit, of the last century was born, in Aberdeenshire, October 24, 1682. His father was William Aikman of Cairney, a man of eminence at the Scottish bar, who educated his son to follow his own profession. But a predilection for the fine arts, and a love of poetry, which gained him the friendship of Ramsay and Thomson, induced the youth to give up studying for the law, and turn his attention to painting. Having prosecuted his studies in painting for a time at home under Sir John Medina, and also in England, he resolved to visit Italy, that he might complete his education as an artist, and form his taste, by an examination of the classic models of anti-