Upon Jeffrey’s retirement in 1829, Macney Napier, Professor of Conveyancing in the University of Edinburgh, was promoted to the editorship of the _Edinburgh Review_, and Mr. Black also secured his services for the management of the seventh edition of the _Encyclopædia_. Napier was assisted by James Brown, LL.D., as sub-editor, and on his shoulders most of the hard work fell. Brown, who was trained as an advocate at the Scottish bar, relinquished this for literature. His thorough scholarship enabled him to undertake almost any department of literary work, and rendered him invaluable for the revisal of such a work as the _Encyclopædia_. He was also a ready and slashing political writer, at a time when political feeling was rampant. Remarkable alike for his mental activity and his personal irascibility, the one great difficulty lay in managing the Doctor. As an instance of this, the article “Alphabet” was entrusted to Brown for the new edition of the _Encyclopædia_. He was at the same time editor of the _Caledonian Mercury_, and on the appearance of something in that paper which led to a quarrel with Mr. Allan, the proprietor, who was also a shareholder in the _Encyclopædia_, Brown declined to go on with “Alphabet.” The part in which this was to appear was due, and Brown was inflexible. The subject was a difficult one, peculiarly suited to Brown’s abilities, and it was not easy elsewhere to find so competent a writer. In these circumstances, Mr. Black adopted the experiment of passing over that part and bringing out the succeeding one. Thus circumvented, Brown came to terms, and things again went on smoothly. But, notwithstanding his proverbial kindliness of disposition, he was hasty in coming to conclusions, and was always getting into scrapes of one kind or another; and a duel, in which he and Charles Maclaren, editor of the _Scotsman_, figured as principals, furnished the Edinburgh _gamins_ with a popular street song. He escaped all duellistic dangers, however, but his unremitting labours brought on a stroke of apoplexy, of which he died in 1841. The great feature of the new edition was the preliminary “Dissertations,” which were commenced by Professors Stewart and Playfair, who were both carried off in the midst of their labours. Sir James Mackintosh, who undertook to complete his friend’s “History of Ethical and Political Philosophy” (the Metaphysical portion had been completed by Stewart) was also summoned from his labours before the Political division was commenced; and the “History of the Physical Sciences” was brought down by Professor Leslie to the commencement of this century. “The ‘Dissertations’ produced by these four extraordinary men are still regarded with peculiar pride in Scotland; indeed, few nations can boast of such an intellectual group living at the same time, and adorning the same society; and yet, with powers of mind not far from equality, how various were their gifts, and how diversified their genius!”[14]