Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 3.djvu/187

Rh Thomas Carte, whom he accompanied on a tour through Holland, the Netherlands, and France. In Paris the two travellers spent a considerable time; and here Mr Elphinstone perfected his acquaintance with the French language. After the death of Carte, Mr Elphinstone returned to his native country, and became tutor in the family of Mr Moray of Abercairney, also a keen Jacobite. In 1750, he is found resident at Edinburgh, where he superintended an edition of the Rambler. The law of copyright at that time permitted the Scottish and Irish booksellers to reprint whatever works appeared in England, without compensation; and this was taken advantage of in the case of Dr Johnson's celebrated paper, each number of which appeared at Edinburgh as soon as it could be obtained from London. To this reprint, the subject of the present memoir supplied English translations of the classical mottoes, and with these Dr Johnson was so much pleased, as to extend his friendship to their author, and to adopt them in all the subsequent editions of his work. In a letter to Mr Elphinstone, published in Boswell's Life of Johnson, the author of the Rambler begs of his friend, to " write soon, to write often, and to write long letters;" a compliment of which any man existing at that time might well have been proud. During the progress of the Rambler, Mr Elphinstone lost his mother, of whose death he gave a very affecting account, in a letter to his sister, Mrs Strahan, wife of Mr William Strahan, the celebrated printer. This being shown to Dr Johnson, affected him so much, with a reflection upon his own mother, then in extreme old age, that he shed tears. He also sent a consolatory letter to Mr Elphinstone, which is printed by Boswell, and is full of warm and benignant feeling. The Scottish edition of the Rambler was ultimately completed, in eight duodecimo volumes, of most elegant appearance, and, as the impression was limited, it is now very scarce.

In 1751, Mr Elphinstone married Miss Gordon, daughter of a brother of general Gordon of Auchintool, and grand-daughter of lord Auchintool, one of the judges of the court of session before the revolution. Two years afterwards, he removed to London, and established a seminary upon an extensive scale, first at Brompton, and afterwards at Kensington. As a teacher, he was zealous and intelligent, and never failed to fix the affections and retain the friendship of his pupils. In 1753, he published a poetical version of the younger Racine's poem of "Religion," which, we are told, obtained the approbation of Dr Young, author of the " Night Thoughts." About the same time, finding no grammar of the English language which he altogether approved of, he composed one for the use of his pupils, and published it in two duodecimo volumes. This was the most useful, and also the most successful of all his works, though it is now antiquated; it received the warm approbation of Mr John Walker, author of the Pronouncing Dictionary. In 1763, Mr Elphinstone published a poem, entitled. "Education," which met with no success.

In the year 1776, Mr Elphinstone retired from his school -with a competency, and seemed destined to spend the remainder of a useful life in tranquillity and happiness. In consequence, however, of certain peculiarities of his own mind, his peace was greatly disturbed, and his name covered with a ridicule which would not otherwise have belonged to it. It was the impression of everybody but Mr Elphinstone himself, that he possessed no particular talent for poetry, but simply resembled many other men of good education, who possess the art of constructing verse, without the power of inspiring it with ideas. Tempted, perhaps, by the compliments he had received on account of his mottoes to the Rambler, he resolved to execute a poetical translation of Martial. As he had a most extensive acquaintance, his contemplated work was honoured with a large subscription-list; and the work appeared in 1782, in one volume quarto, but was