The wise as well as the foolish are sometimes endowed with a powerful memory. Dr. Gregory, an eminent Edinburgh physician, one of the cleverest and most agreeable men I ever met with, was a remarkable instance of this. He wrote and spoke Latin fluently, and Somerville, who was a good Latinist, met with a Latin quotation in some book he was reading, but not knowing from whence it was taken, asked his friend Dr. Gregory. "It is forty years since I read that author," said Dr. Gregory, "but I think you will find the passage in the middle of such a page." Somerville went for the book, and at the place mentioned there it was.
I had the grief to lose my dear father at this time. He had served sixty-seven years in the British Navy, and must have been twice on the North American station, for he was present at the taking of Quebec by General Wolfe, in 1759, and afterwards during the War of Independence. After the battle of Camperdown he was made a Colonel of Marines, and died, in 1813, Vice-Admiral of the Red.
Geology, which has now been so far advanced as a science, was still in its infancy. Professor Playfair and Mr. Hutton had written on the subject; and in my gay young days, when Lady Helen Hall was occasionally my chaperone, I had heard that Sir James Hall had taken up the subject, but I did not care about it; I am certain that at that time I had never heard the word Geology. I think it was now, on going with Somerville to see the Edinburgh Museum, that I recognised the fossil plants I had seen in the coal limestone on the sands at the Links of Burntisland. Ultimately Geology became a favourite pursuit of ours, but then minerals were the objects of our joint study. Mineralogy had been much cultivated on the Continent by this time, especially in Germany. It had been established as a science by Werner, who was educated at an institution near the silver mines of Friburg, where he afterwards lectured on the properties of crystals, and had many pupils. In one of our tours on the Continent, Somerville and I went to see these silver mines and bought some specimens for our cabinet. The French took up the subject with great zeal, and the Abbé Haüy's work became a standard book on the science. Cabinets of minerals had been established in the principal cities of Great Britain, professors were appointed in the Universities, and collections of minerals were not uncommon in private houses. While quite a girl, I went with my parents to visit the Fergusons of Raith, near Kirkcaldy, and there I saw a magnificent collection of minerals, made by their son while abroad. It contained gems of great value and crystallized specimens of precious and other metals, which surprised and interested me; but seeing that such valuable things could never be obtained by me, I thought no more about them. In those early days I had every difficulty to contend with; now, through the kindness and liberal opinions of my husband, I had every encouragement. He took up the study of mineralogy with zeal, and I heartily joined with him. We made the acquaintance of Professor Jameson, a pupil of Werner's, whose work on mineralogy was of great use to us. We began to form a cabinet of minerals, which, although small, were good of their kind. We were criticized for extravagance, and, no doubt I had the lion's share of blame; but more of minerals hereafter.
Abbotsford is only twelve miles distant from Jedburgh, and my father-in-law, Dr. Somerville, and Sir Walter Scott had been intimate friends for many years, indeed through life. The house at Abbotsford was at first a mere cottage, on the banks of the Tweed; my brother-in-law, Samuel, had a villa adjacent to it, and John, Lord Somerville, had a house and property on the opposite bank of the river, to which he came every spring for salmon fishing. He was a handsome, agreeable man, had been educated in England, and as he thought he should never live in Scotland, he sold the family estate of Drum, within five miles of Edinburgh, which he afterwards regretted, and bought the property on the Tweed he then inhabited.
There was great intimacy between the three families, and the society was often enlivened by Adam Ferguson and Willie Clerk, whom we had met with at Raith. I shall never forget the charm of this little society, especially the supper-parties at Abbotsford, when Scott was in the highest glee, telling amusing tales, ancient legends, ghost and witch stories. Then Adam Ferguson would sing the "Laird of Cockpen," and other comic songs, and Willie Clerk amused us with his dry wit. When it was time to go away all rose, and, standing hand-in-hand round the table, Scott taking the lead, we sang in full chorus,
Weel may we a' be,
Ill may we never see;
Health to the king
And the gude companie.
At that time no one knew who was the author of the Waverley Novels. There was much speculation and curiosity on the subject. While talking about one which had just been published, my son Woronzow said, "I knew all these stories long ago, for Mr. Scott writes on the dinner-table. When he has finished, he puts the green-cloth with the papers in a corner of the dining-room; and when he goes out, Charlie Scott and I read the stories." My son's tutor was the original of Dominie Sampson in "Guy Mannering." The "Memorie of the Somervilles" was edited by Walter Scott, from an ancient and very quaint manuscript found in the archives of the family, and from this he takes passages which he could not have found elsewhere. Although the work was printed it was never published, but copies were distributed to the different members of the family. One was of course given to my husband.