Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 1.djvu/85

 last proceedings of the Scottish estates—was to recommend him to the Queen "as a person meriting her gracious favour, in conferring any office or trust upon him, as her Majesty in her royal wisdom, shall think fit,"

Quite intoxicated with this success, Anderson now gave up his profession, and, resolving to devote himself entirely to the national service as an antiquary, removed to London, in order to superintend the progress of his work. The event only added another proof to what is already abundantly clear—that scarcely any prospects in the precarious fields of literature, ought to tempt a man altogether to resign a professional means of subsistence. The money voted by the expiring parliament is said to have never been paid;—the British senate perhaps considering itself not the proper heir of the Scottish estates. Apparently in lieu of money, he was favoured, in 1715, with the appointment of post-master general for Scotland; but of this he was deprived in little more than two years. What progress he now made with his great work is not very clearly known. He is found, in 1718, advertising that those who might wish to encourage it "could see specimens at his house, above the post-office in Edinburgh." As the expense of engraving must have borne hard upon his diminished resources, he would appear to have digressed for some years into an employment of a kindred nature, attended with greater facilities of publication. In 1727, he published the two first volumes of his well known "Collections relating to the History of Mary, Queen of Scotland," Edinburgh, 4to, which was speedily completed by the addition of two other volumes. This work contains a large mass of valuable original documents connected with the Marian controversy; but George Chalmers, who went over the same ground, insinuates that there is too much reason to suspect his honesty as a transcriber. If the prejudices of the two men are fairly balanced against the reputations which they respectively bear as antiquaries, we must acknowledge that the charge may not be altogether groundless.

Anderson died in 1728 of a stroke of apoplexy, leaving his great work unfinished. The plates were sold, in 1729, by auction, at £530, and it was not till 1737 that the work appeared, under the title of "Selectus Diplomatum et Numismatum Scotiæ Thesaurus," the whole being under the care of the celebrated Thomas Ruddiman. who added a most elaborate preface.

, D.D. author of a large and useful work, entitled, "Royal Genealogies," was the brother of Adam Anderson, author of the Commercial History. He was for many years minister of the Scots presbyterian church in Swallow-street, Piccadilly, and was well known among the people of that persuasion in London, by the nick-name of Bishop Anderson. He was a learned but imprudent man, and lost a considerable part of his property from too deep dabbling in the South-Sea scheme. His great work as an author was, "Royal Genealogies, or the Genealogical Tables of Emperors, Kings, and Princes, from Adam(!) to these Times," London, folio, 1732. The compilation of this huge work, in which he was aided by many eminent personages, whose families entered into its plan, cost him, according to his own account, the labour of seven years. It is certainly the completest work of the land in existence, though with no pretensions to discrimination. The author says very frankly in his preface, that, "He has avoided all terms and expressions that may give offence to any nation or family, to any person or party; having nothing to do with the national controversies of historians, nor with the ecclesiastical and religious debates of theologians, nor with the politics of statesmen, nor with the private jangles of the critics in a work of this kind, but only with facts and plain truth: so that he has let every nation enjoy its own faith; and if any find fault, he hopes they will readily excuse him, not having designed to offend them, and is willing to make satisfaction, if he lives to publish a second edition." Dr Anderson also wrote