“An Account of the Life and Writings of James Beattie, LL.D., late Professor of Moral Philosophy and Logic in the Marischal College and University of Aberdeen. Including many of his Original Letters. By Sir William Forbes of Pitsligo, Bart., one of the executors of Dr. Beattie. Second Edition. Vol. I. Edinburgh: Printed for Arch. Constable and Co., Edinburgh; Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, T. Cadell and W. Davies, and John Murray, London. 1807.” James Beattie (1735-1803) first published a volume of poems and translations in 1760, which he afterwards tried to suppress, though the book had been favourably received. The work which brought him most prominently into notice was “An Essay on the Nature and Immutability of Truth,” written to refute the scepticism of Hume; and it also gained him a Government pension of £200 a year. “The Minstrel” is Beattie’s best poem, and it will continue to be read when his philosophical productions are forgotten. His poems were again printed at Paul’s Work in 1854, in Nichol’s “British Poets.” * * * * * “The Shipwreck, a Poem, by William Falconer, a sailor. With a Life of the Author. Edinburgh: Printed by J. Ballantyne and Co., for Alexander Mackay, High Street, Edinburgh, and John Murray, No. 32, Fleet Street, London. 1807.” At an early age Falconer became a sailor on board a Leith merchantman, and in his eighteenth year was wrecked in the _Britannia_ off Cape Colonna, only three of the crew being saved. He was again wrecked with the _Ramilies_, when only twenty-six escaped out of a total of 734. After a period on shore, during which he published several poems, he joined the _Aurora_, and sailed for India in September 1769. The vessel touched at the Cape, but was never heard of again, and was supposed to have foundered in the Mozambique Channel. “The Shipwreck” is his best work, and is believed to embody his experiences in the wreck of the _Britannia_. * * * * * “Poems by James Grahame. In Two Volumes. Vol. I. containing The Sabbath, Sabbath Walks, Rural Calendar, &c. Edinburgh: Printed by James Ballantyne and Co., for William Blackwood, South Bridge Street; and Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, Paternoster Row, London, 1807.” Two neatly-printed little volumes, each containing a Glossary of Scottish words at the end. “The Sabbath” first appeared in print in 1804, and was published anonymously. So careful was the poet regarding the authorship of this work, that he exacted a promise of secrecy from the printer of the first edition, whom he used to meet clandestinely at coffee-houses for the correction of proofs, but never twice at the same house. * * * * * “Shakespeare’s Works, in eight vols. 8vo. 1807. Printed by James Ballantyne for Longman and Co., London.” * * * * *