Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 8.djvu/336

284 this matter." Here Captain Hall's good offices did not terminate, for he preceded Sir Walter to Portsmouth, to make preparations for his arrival and comfortable embarkation. Of the few days which Sir Walter Scott spent at Portsmouth on this occasion, the captain has given a full account in the third volume of his "Third Series of Voyages and Travels."

In the interview which Hall was privileged to enjoy with Napoleon Bonaparte at St. Helena, and amidst the abrupt transitions that occurred in the manifold dialogue, where he was catechized more closely than ever he had been before, he records the following part of it, so closely connected with his own personal history: "Bonaparte then said, 'Are you married?' and upon my replying in the negative, continued, 'Why not? What is the reason you don't marry?' I was somewhat at a loss for a good answer, and remained silent. He repeated his question, however, in such a way that I was forced to say something, and told him I had been too busy all my life; besides which, I was not in circumstances to marry. He did not seem to understand me, and again wished to know why I was a bachelor. I told him I was too poor a man to marry. 'Aha!' he cried, 'I now see—want of money—no money—yes, yes!' and laughed heartily, in which I joined, of course, though, to say the truth, I did not altogether see the humorous point of the joke." We do not wonder at Hall's blindness, for it was no joke at all to have been compelled to remain so long in celibacy (he was now in his thirtieth year), without a definite prospect of emancipation. Thus matters continued for eight years longer, when, in 1825, he married Margaret, youngest daughter of the late Sir John Hunter, consul-general for Spain.

Hitherto the career of Captain Hall had been a mixed one, being spent partly on sea and partly on shore, while the duties of his profession were alternated with the study of the sciences and the acquirement of languages; and whatever land he visited in the course of his many voyages, called forth from him a descriptive work, such as few literary landsmen could have written. And yet, with all this incessant mental action, and overflow of intellectual labour, the details of his profession had been so carefully studied, and its manifold requirements so well attended to, that he had attained a naval rank and reputation only accorded to those who have devoted themselves exclusively to the sea service. Now, however, we must briefly trace the rest of his life on shore, when, as a married man, he had settled down, and, in the words of Bacon, given hostages to fortune. By settling down, however, we are to understand nothing else than his abandonment of the sea, for his active inquiring spirit would have carried him into every corner of the earth, had time and opportunity permitted carried him into every corner of the earth, had time and opportunity permitted. In 1827, he repaired with his wife and child to the United States, in which they spent above a year, and where he travelled during that time nearly nine thousand miles by land and water. The fruits of his observations were given soon after his return, in his "Travels in North America," in three vols. 8vo, which he published in 1829. His next work was "Fragments of Voyages and Travels," which formed three serial publications, each consisting of 3 vols. 12mo. In 1834, he was travelling in Italy, and at Rome he formed the acquaintanceship of the distinguished Countess of Purgstall, who had been an early friend of his father. This lady, originally Miss Cranstoun, a native of Scotland, and sister of George Cranstoun, advocate, afterwards Lord Corehouse, was so famed for her eccentric liveliness, beauty, wit, and accomplishments, as to have been supposed by many to have been the original Diana Vernon, who so fascinated the novel-reading world in the pages of Rob Roy. Although this