Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 3.djvu/338

366 (how soon is only known to Him, the great. Disposer of all events) my grey hairs shall sink into the grave, and I also shall be numbered with those who have been. May a situation so awful make its due impression on my mind! and may it be my earnest endeavour to employ that short portion of life which yet remains to me, in such a manner, as that, when that last dread hour shall come, in which my soul shall be required of me, I may look forward with trembling hope to a happy immortality, through the merits and mediation of our ever blessed Redeemer!"

Nor was Sir William Forbes's acquaintance by any means confined to the circle of his literary friends, how large and illustrious soever that may have been. It embraced also, all the leading fashionable characters of the time; and at his house were assembled all the first society which Scotland could produce in the higher ranks. The duchess of Gordon, so well known by her lively wit and singular character; the duke of Athol, long the spirited and patriotic supporter of Highland improvements; Sir Adolphus Oughton, the respected and esteemed commander-in-chief, were among his numerous acquaintances. Edinburgh was not at that period as it is now, almost deserted by the nobility and higher classes of the Landed proprietors, but still contained a large portion of the old or noble families of the realm; and in that excellent society, combining, in a remarkable degree, aristocratic elegance, with literary accomplishments, Sir William Forbes's house was perhaps the most distinguished. All foreigners, or Englishmen coming to Scotland, made it their first object to obtain letters of introduction to so distinguished a person; and he uniformly received them with such hospitality and kindness as never failed to make the deepest impression on their minds, and render his character nearly as well known in foreign countries as his native city.

Of the estimation in which, from this rare combination of worthy qualities, he was held in foreign countries, no better proof can be desired than is furnished by the following character of him, drawn by an Italian gentleman who visited Scotland in 1789, and published an account of his tour at Florence in the following year. "Sir William Forbes is descended from an ancient family in Scotland, and was early bred to the mercantile profession, and is now the head of a great banking establishment in Edinburgh. The notes of the house to which he belongs circulate like cash through all Scotland, so universal is the opinion of the credit of the establishment. A signal proof of this recently occurred, when, in consequence of some mercantile disasters which had shaken the credit of the country, a run took place upon the bank. He refused the considerable offers of assistance which were made by several of the most eminent capitalists of Edinburgh, and by his firmness and good countenance soon restored the public confidence. He has ever been most courteous and munificent to strangers; nor do I ever recollect in any country to have heard so much good of any individual as this excellent person. His manners are in the highest degree both courteous and dignified; and his undeviating moral rectitude and benevolence of heart, have procured for him the unanimous respect of the whole nation. An affectionate husband, a tender and vigilant father, his prodigious activity renders him equal to every duty. He has not hitherto entered upon the career of literature or the arts; but he has the highest taste for the works of others in these departments, and his house is the place where their professors are to be seen to the greatest advantage. He possesses a very fine and well chosen selection of books, as well as prints, which he is constantly adding to. Nothing gives him greater pleasure than to bring together the illustrious men of his own country and the distinguished foreigners who are constantly introduced to his notice ; and it was there accordingly, that I met with