Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 3.djvu/41

Rh to the sacred claims and the immutable character of truth. The most impudent He, if it was supposed to favour the cause of religion, was dignified with the name of a pious fraud; and the most palpable falsehood, if it was designed to promote national glory, met, from the general impulse of national vanity, with the same indulgence. Hence that contemptible mass of falsehood and of fiction, which darkens and disfigures all, and has totally blotted out the early history of some nations. Dempster had certainly an irritable, and, in some degree, a ferocious disposition, but we do not see that he ought to be charged with moral turpitude beyond the average of the men of his own age and standing in society. Yet for the honour of his country, as he foolishly imagined, he has amassed an immense mass of incredible fictions, which he has gravely told; and seems to have hoped mankind in general would receive as well authenticated historical facts. Losing in the brilliancy of his imagination any little spark of integrity that illumined his understanding, when the reputation of his native country was concerned, he seems to have been incapable of distinguishing between truth and falsehood. In this respect, however, he does not stand alone, the earlier historians of every country being in some degree chargeable with the same failing. Even in the most splendid works of the same kind, written at periods comparatively late, many passages might be pointed out, which "there is no necessity for supposing their compilers seriously believed. With all his faults, the reputation of Dempster certainly extended itself to every country of Europe; and though his most elaborate works are digested with so little care or so little skill, that they can only be regarded as collections of ill assorted materials, exhibiting little merit beyond assiduity of transcription; yet it would perhaps be difficult to point out another Scottish writer who had the same intimate acquaintance with classical antiquity.

DEMPSTER,, of Dunnichen, (an estate near Dundee, which his grandfather, a merchant in that town, had acquired in trade), was born about the year 1735. He was educated at the grammar school of Dundee, and the university of St Andrews; after which he repaired to Edinburgh, where in 1755 he became a member of the faculty of advocates. Possessed of an ample fortune, and being of a social disposition, Mr Dempster entered eagerly into all the gayeties of the metropolis; and at the same time he cultivated the friendship of a group of young men conspicuous for their talents, and some of whom afterwards attained to eminence. In the number were William Robertson and David Hume, the future historians. Mr Dempster became a member of the "Poker Club" instituted by the celebrated Dr Adam Ferguson, which met in a house near the Nether-bow, and had for its object harmless conviviality: but a society which included David Hume, William Robertson, John Home (the author of 'Douglas'), Alexander Carlyle, and George Dempster, must necessarily have conduced to the intellectual improvement of its members. It was succeeded, in the year 1756, by the "Select Society," a much more extensive association, consisting of most of the men of talent, rank, and learning in Scotland. The object of this society was the advancement of literature and the promotion of the study and speaking of the English language in Scotland, and Dempster was one of the ordinary directors. A list of the members of this society will be found in the appendix to professor Dugald Stewart's life of Dr Robertson.

After travelling some time on the continent, Mr Dempster returned to Scotland, and practised for a short while at the bar. But, abandoning that profession early in life, he turned his attention to politics, and stood candidate for the Fife and Forfar district of burghs. His contest was a very arduous one, and cost him upwards of £10,000; but it was successful, for he was returned