Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 9.djvu/421

 PREFACE

ORIGINAL EDITION BY MB. ROBERT CHAMBERS.

A BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY of eminent natives of Scotland has been regarded as a desideratum in our national literature, for the greater part of a century. Such a work was successively contemplated by Sir David Dalrymple and Mr William Smellie, each of whom proceeded so far with the design as to write a few of the articles. When the editor of the present work began a few years ago to inquire into the literary and historical antiquities of his country, he found the desire of possessing a dictionary of this kind not in the least abated, but very little hope enter- tained that, under the existing prospects of literature, it would be pos- sible to present such a book to the public. He proceeded, nevertheless, perhaps rather under the influence of a peculiar enthusiasm, than any wiser or more considerate motive, to take upon himself a task which at least two of his predecessors had failed to accomplish, and for which he could not but feel himself to be in many respects imperfectly qualified. Sometime after beginning his labours, a fortunate alliance with his pre- sent publishers, who had projected a similar work, removed many of the original difficulties, and he was enabled to commence the publica- tion in 1832.

In now taking a retrospective view of his labours, he sees, with some regret, passages which he could amend, and even one or two articles which, upon a more rigid estimate of merit, he would be disposed to omit. He has much satisfaction, however, in reflecting that very few instances of error in point of fact have been indicated to him ; so that he is enabled to hope that his work, upon the whole, makes that near approach to correctness, which is the most valuable feature in a book of reference.

With regard to one very important point in the composition of the work, he trusts he may be permitted to hazard an observation. Of the many hundreds of persons whom he has commemorated, there are men of all denominations, religious and political, and even some who were the direct antagonists of each other, either in controversy or in civil war. He is aware that the most of writers, under his circumstances, would have felt it to be a duty, wherever there was occasion to allude