Dr William, one of the most celebrated historians of his age, was one of those great characters, whose private life, flowing in an even and unvaried stream, can afford no important information to the biographer, although his writings will be read to the latest posterity with undiminished pleasure. He was born at the manse of Borthwick in the year 1721. His father was, at the time of his death, one of the ministers of the Old Grey Friars church in Edinburgh, which the Doctor came afterwards to supply. In 1743 he was licensed preacher, and placed in the parish of Gladsmuir in 1744; whence, in 1758, he was translated to Lady Yester's parish in Edinburgh. In 1761, on the death of Principal Goldie, he was elected principal of the university of Edinburgh, and appointed one of the ministers of the Old Grey Friars church. About this period he received the degree of Doctor of Divinity, and was appointed historiographer to his majesty for Scotland, and one of his majesty's chaplains for that kingdom.

We find it not easy to ascertain at what period were first unfolded the great and singular talents which destined Dr Robertson to be one of the first writers that refused this island from the reproach of not having any good historians. We are, however, assured, that before the publication of any of his literary performances, even from his first appearance in public life, his abilities had begun to attract the notice of observing men; and to his more intimate friends he discovered marks of such high-minded ambition, as, seconded by those abilities, could not have failed to carry him to the first honours of his profession, in whatever sphere he had been placed, and whatever opposition he might have had to combat.

The first theatre that offered for the display of his talents, was the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. It is the annual meetings of this court that produce to view men who would otherwise remain in the deepest obscurity. There the humble pastor, whose lot has been cast in the remotest corner of the Highland wilds, feels himself, for a time, on a footing of equality with the first citizen in the kingdom: he can there dispute with him the prize of eloquence, the most flattering distinction to a liberal mind; a distinction which is naturally sought after with the greater eagerness in that assembly, as the simple establishment of the church of Scotland has rendered it the only pre-eminence to which the greatest part of its members can ever hope to attain.

From the moment Dr Robertson first appeared in this assembly, he became the object of universal attention and applause. His speeches were marked with the same manly and persuasive eloquence that distinguishes his historical compositions; and it was observed by all, that while his young rivals in oratory contented themselves with opening a cause, or delivering a studied harangue, he showed equal ability to start objections, to answer, or to reply; and that even his most unpremeditated effusions were not unadorned with those harmonious and seemingly measured periods, which have been so much admired in his works of labour and reflection. He soon came to be considered as the ablest supporter of the cause he chose to espouse, and was now the unrivalled leader of one of the great parties which have long divided the church of which he was a member.

When we reflect upon this circumstance, and consider how much mankind are the same in every society, we shall be less surprised to find in the literary works of Dr Robertson, an acquaintance with the human heart, and a knowledge of the world, which we look for in vain in other historians. The man who has spent his life in the difficult task of conducting the deliberations of a popular assembly, in regulating the passions, the interests, the prejudices, of a numerous faction, has advantages over the pedant, or mere man of letters, which no ability, no study, no second-hand information, can ever compensate.

The first work which extended the Doctor's reputation beyond the walls of the general assembly, was a sermon preached at Edinburgh before the society for propagating Christian knowledge, and afterwards published; the subject of which was, 'The state of the world at the appearance of Jesus Christ.' The ingenuity with which a number of detached circumstances are there collected, and shown to tend to one single point, may perhaps rival the art which is so much admired in the bishop of Meaux's celebrated Universal History.

This sermon did great honour to the author; and it is probably to the reputation he gained by it, that we ought to attribute the unanimity with which he was called to be one of the ministers of Edinburgh—an event which happened not long after, viz. in the year 1758. In 1759, he published, in two volumes quarto, 'The History of Scotland, during the reigns of Queen Mary and of King James VI. till his Accession to the Crown of England, with a Review of the Scots History previous to that period.' This work in its structure is one of the most complete of all modern histories. It is not a dry jejune narrative of events, destitute of ornament; nor is it a mere frothy relation, all glow and colouring. The historian discovers a sufficient store of imagination to engage the reader's attention, with a due proportion of judgment to check the exuberance of fancy. The arrangement of his work is admirable, and his descriptions are animated. His style is copious, nervous, and correct. He has displayed consummate skill in rendering such passages of our history as are familiar to our recollection agreeable and entertaining. He has embellished old materials with all the elegance of modern dress. He has very judiciously avoided too circumstantial a detail of trite facts. His narratives are succinct and spirited; his reflections copious, frequent, and generally pertinent. His sentiments respecting the guilt of Mary have indeed been warmly controverted by Messrs Tytler, Stuart, and Whitaker; and, till the publication of Mr Laing's Dissertation on the same subject, (see Mary, life of) the general opinion seemed to be, that their victory was complete. That victory, however, on the part of Whitaker, is nullified by the acrimony with which he writes. Dr Robertson was no rancorous or malignant enemy of the unfortunate queen. While relating, what he doubtless believed, he makes every possible allowance for Mary from the circumstances in which she was placed; and his history will be read with pleasure by candid men of all parties as long as the language in which it is composed shall continue to be understood.

In 1769, Dr Robertson published, in three volumes quarto, 'The History of the Reign of the Emperor Charles V. with a View of the Progress of Society in Europe, from the Subversion of the Roman Empire to the beginning of the 16th century.'—The vast and general importance of the period which this history comprises, together with the reputation which our historian had deservedly acquired, co-operated to raise such high expectations in the public, that no work perhaps was ever more impatiently wished for, or perused with greater avidity. The first volume (which is a preliminary one, containing the progress of society in Europe, as mentioned in the title) is a very valuable part of the work; for it serves not only as a key to the pages that follow, but may be considered as a general introduction to the study of history in that period in which which the several powers of Europe were formed into one great political system, in which each took a station, wherein it has since remained (till within a very few years at least) with less alterations than could have been expected, after the shocks occasioned by so many internal revolutions, and so many foreign wars. Of the history itself, it may be sufficient to observe, that it is justly ranked among the capital pieces of historical excellence. There is an elegance of expression, a depth of discernment, and a correctness of judgment, which do honour to the historian. The characters are inimitably penned. They are not contrasted by a studied antithesis, but by an opposition which results from a very acute and penetrating insight into the real merits of each character, fairly deduced from the several circumstances of his conduct exemplified in the history. For this work the author received £500 sterling.

In 1779, Dr Robertson published The History of America, in two volumes quarto. This celebrated work may be considered with great propriety as a sequel to the preceding history. From the close of the 17th century we date the most splendid era in the annals of modern times. Discoveries were then made, the influence of which descended to posterity; and events happened that gave a new direction to the spirit of nations.

To the inhabitants of Europe, America was in every respect a new world. There the face of the earth changed its appearance. The plants and trees and animals were strange; and nature seemed no longer the same. A continent opened that appeared to have recently come from the hands of the Creator, and which showed lakes, rivers, and mountains, on a grander scale, and the vegetable kingdom in greater magnificence, than in the other quarters of the globe; but the animal tribes in a state of degradation, few in number, degenerated in kind, imperfect, and unfinished. The human species in the earliest stage of its progress, vast and numerous nations in the rudest form of the savage state, which philosophers have contemplated, and two great empires in the lowest degree of civilization which any records have transmitted to our review, presented to the philosophic eye at this period the most fruitful subject of speculation that was to be found in the annals of history.

The discovery of the New World, moreover, was not only a curious spectacle to the philosopher, but, by the change which it effected, an interesting spectacle to the human race. When Columbus set sail for unknown lands, he little expected that he was to make a revolution in the system of human affairs, and to form the destiny of Europe for ages to come. The importance and celebrity therefore of the subject had attracted the attention of philosophers and historians. Views and sketches of the new world had been given by able writers, and splendid portions of the American story had been adorned with all the beauties of eloquence. But, prior to the appearance of Dr Robertson's history, no author had bestowed the mature and profound investigation which such a subject required, or had finished, upon a regular plan, that complete narration and perfect whole which it is the province of the historian to transmit to posterity. And as the subject upon which our author entered was grand, his execution was masterly. The character of his former works was immediately discerned in it. They had been read with Robertson uncommon admiration. When the History of Scotland was first published, and the author altogether unknown, Lord Chesterfield pronounced it to be equal in eloquence and beauty to the productions of Livy, the purest and most classical of all the Roman historians. His literary reputation was not confined to his own country: the testimony of Europe was soon added to the voice of Britain. It may be mentioned, indeed, as the characteristic quality of our author's manner, that he possessed in no common degree that supported invention which is suitable to compositions of the higher class; and, in his History of America, he displayed that happy union of strength and grace which becomes the majesty of the historic muse. In the fourth book of his first volume, which contains a description of America when first discovered, and a philosophical inquiry into the manners and policy of its ancient inhabitants, he displays, moreover, so much patient investigation and found philosophy, abounds in such beautiful or interesting description, and exhibits such variety and copiousness of elegant writing, that future times will probably refer to it as that part of his works which gives the best idea of his genius, and is the most finished of all his productions.

In 1787 appeared a translation of the abbé Clavigero's History of Mexico; in which work the author threw out various reflections, tending in several instances to impeach the credit of Dr Robertson's History of America. This attack induced our learned historian to revise his work, and to inquire into the truth of the charges brought against it by the historian of New Spain: and this he appears to have done with a becoming attention to the importance of the facts that are controverted, and to the common interests of truth. The result he published in 1788, under the title of Additions and Corrections to the former Editions of Dr Robertson's History of America.—In many of the disputed passages, he fully answered the abbé Clavigero, and vindicated himself: in others he candidly submitted to correction, and thus gave additional value to his own work.

The literary labours of Dr Robertson appear to have been terminated in 1791 by the publication of An Historical Disquisition concerning the Knowledge which the Ancients had of India, and the progress of Trade with that country prior to the Discovery of the Passage to it by the Cape of Good Hope; with an Appendix containing Observations on the Civil Polity, the Laws, and Judicial Proceedings, the Arts, the Sciences, and Religious Institutions of the Indians.—The perusal of Major Rennell's Memoir, for illustrating his map of Hindostan, suggested to Dr Robertson the design of examining more fully than he had done, in his History of America, into the knowledge which the ancients had of India, and of considering what is certain, what is obscure, and what is fabulous, in their accounts of that remote country. Of his various performances, this is not that of which the design is the most extensive, or the execution the most elaborate; but in this historical disquisition we perceive the same patient assiduity in collecting his materials, the same discernment in arranging them, the same perspicuity of narrative, and the same power of illustration, which so eminently distinguish his other writings, and which have long rendered them the delight delight of the British reader at home and an honour to British literature abroad.

A truly useful life Dr Robertson closed on the 11th of June 1793, at Grange-Houle, near Edinburgh, after a lingering illness, which he endured with exemplary fortitude and resignation. It may be justly observed of him, that no man lived more respected, or died more sincerely lamented. Indefatigable in his literary re- searches, and possessing from nature a sound and vigo- rous understanding, he acquired a store of useful know- ledge, which afforded ample scope for the exertion of his extraordinary abilities, and raised him to the most distinguished eminence in the republic of letters. As a minister of the gospel, he was a faithful pastor, and justly merited the esteem and veneration of his flock. In a word, he may be pronounced to be one of the most perfect characters of the age; and his name will be a lasting honour to the island that gave him birth. His conversation was cheerful, entertaining and instructive; his manners affable, pleasing, and endearing.