Mr Smellie continued in the employment of the above gentlemen for six years; that is to say, until the year 1765, during which time we find him steadily advancing himself in life, extending his acquaintance amongst the literati of the day, and improving himself by every means within his reach. One plan for the latter purpose which he adopted, was that of entering largely into an epistulary correspondence with his acquaintances, with the view of giving him freedom and facility in committing his thoughts to paper. He likewise co-operated with a number of young men of similar habits and pursuits to his own, in establishing a weekly club, which they termed the NEWTONIAN SOCIETY, and which included the names of president Blair, Dr Hunter, Dr Blacklock, Dr Buchan, (author of the Domestic Medicine,) Dr Adam, and many others who afterwards became celebrated in their respective walks in life. After the discontinuance of this society, another was instituted in 1778, called the Newtonian Club, of which Mr Smellie was unanimously chosen secretary. This latter institution comprised the names of Dr Duncan, Dr Gregory, Dugald Stewart, professor Russell, Dr Wardrope,—in short the whole senatus of the university, with many other illustrious individuals. Mr Smellie had a decided preference to the study of natural history, especially of botany, and about the year 1760, collected an extensive Hortus Siccus from the fields around Edinburgh, which he afterwards presented to Dr Hope, professor of botany in the university. He likewise in the same year, gained the honorary gold medal given by the professor for the best botanical dissertation; and soon afterwards wrote various other discourses on vegetation, generation, &c., all of which were subsequently published in a large work solely written by himself, entitled the "Philosophy of Natural History." He was besides no mean chemist, at a time when chemistry had scarcely been reduced to a science, and was generally held as alike visionary and vain. Upon the publication of the Essays of the celebrated David Hume, printed by Mr Smellie, an extended correspondence took place between them, in which the latter contested with great logical force and acumen many of the heterodox doctrines advanced by the former; particularly that respecting the credibility of miracles. Mr Smellie afterwards drew up, in a masterly manner, an abstract of the arguments for and against that principle of our religious faith, for the Encyc1opaedia Britannica, and which was published in the first edition of that work.

In 1763, being then only twenty-three years of age, Mr Smellie married a Miss Robertson, who was very respectably connected. By this marriage he had thirteen children, many of whom he lost by death. In 1765, upon the conclusion of his engagement with Messrs Murray and Cochrane, he commenced business as a master-printer, in conjunction with a Mr Auld, Mr Smellie’s pecuniary proportion of the copartnery being advanced for him by Dr Hope and Dr Fergusson, professors in the university. In 1767, a new copartnery was formed by the introduction of Mr Balfour, bookseller, who brought along with him the property of a newspaper called the Weekly Journal, which had for a considerable time previously been established. The management of the latter was solely intrusted to Mr Smellie; but as it happened to be a losing concern, he shortly afterwards insisted on its discontinuance This led to disputes, which finally terminated in a dissolution of the copartnery in 1771; when a new contract was entered into between Mr Balfour and Mr Smellie only. About the same time, he appears to have been on terms with the eminent Mr William Strahan, to undertake the management of the vast printing concern carried on by him in London; but from some cause not clearly explained the treaty was broken off. It is worthy of mention, as showing the respect in which Mr Smellie was at this time held, that upon his entering on this new copartnery, lord Kames became security for a bank credit in favour of the younger printer, to the amount of £300. His lordship appears to have had a particular regard for Mr Smellie, and at his suggestion the latter commenced the composition of a series of lectures on the Philosophy of Natural History. About the same time the professorship of natural history in the Edinburgh university fell vacant, and great exertions were made to procure Mr Smellie’s appointment to it; but the political interest of his rival, Dr Walker, prevailed, and was even strong enough to prevent him from delivering his lectures publicly, although the Antiquarian Society, of whose Museum he was keeper, offered him the use of their hall for that purpose.

Mr Smellie’s acquaintance with lord Kames originated in his venturing to send, anonymously however, some animadversions on his lordship’s "Elements of Criticism," whilst that work was going through the press of Messrs Murray and Cochrane in 1764. Lord Kames replied by thanking the young critic, and requesting him to reveal himself. The result was a strict and intimate friendship during their lives; lord Kames uniformly submitting all his subsequent works to the critical judgment of Mr Smellie, who, after the death of lord Kames, wrote the life of his illustrious friend for the Encyclopaedia Britannica, in the third edition of which it appeared in 1800.

Amongst Mr Smellie’s many literary undertakings, one of the earliest was the compilement and entire conducting of the first edition of the work just named, which began to appear in numbers at Edinburgh in 1771, and was completed in three volumes in quarto. The plan, and all the principal articles were devised and written or compiled by him, and he prepared and superintended the whole of that work, for which he only received the sum of £200, from its proprietors, Mr Andrew Bell, engraver, and Mr Colin Macfarquhar, printer. Had Mr Smellie adhered to this literary project, there is little doubt that he would thereby ultimately have realized an ample fortune, as both the proprietors died in great affluence, arising solely from the labours of Mr Smellie in the original fabrication of the work. Unfortunately, however, when applied to by the proprietors to undertake the second edition, he fastidiously refused to meddle with it on account of their desiring to introduce a plan of biography into it, which Mr Smellie imagined would detract from its dignity as a Dictionary of Arts and Sciences.

It will, we should think, be interesting to our readers to learn something of the early history of a work which has latterly swelled out into such bulk and importance. Of the original edition—the entire work, as we have said, of Mr Smellie—it is not exactly known how many copies were thrown off. The second edition, which consisted of 1500 copies, extended to ten volumes quarto. A third edition, in eighteen volumes, was commenced in 1786, and extended to 10,000 copies. By this edition the proprietors are said to have netted £42,000 of clear profit, besides being paid for their respective work as tradesmen—the one as printer, and the other as engraver. The fourth edition extended to twenty quarto volumes, and 3,500 copies. In the fifth and sixth editions, only part of the work was printed anew; and to these a supplement in six volumes was added by Mr Archibald Constable, after the property of the work had fallen into his hands. An eighth edition, under the editorship of professor Traill, is now in the course of publication.

In the year 1780, on the suggestion of the late earl of Buchan, a society for collecting and investigating the antiquities of Scotland, was instituted at Edinburgh. Of this society, Mr Smellie was personally invited by his lordship, to become a member; which he did, and was appointed printer of their journals and transactions. Next year, he was elected keeper of their museum of natural history; and in 1793, he was elected secretary, which office he held till his death.

It is not, we believe, generally known, that with Mr Smellie originated that admirable scheme of a statistical account of all the parishes of Scotland, which was afterwards brought to maturity by Sir John Sinclair. At the desire of the Antiquarian Society, Mr Smellie, in 1781, drew up a regular plan of the undertaking, which was printed and circulated; but the individuals to whom they were addressed, do not seem to have understood the important nature of the application, and only a very few complied with the directions given in it.

In 1780, Mr Smellie commenced the publication of his "Translation of Buffon’s Natural History;" a work which has ever stood deservedly high in the opinion of naturalists, being illustrated with numerous notes and illustrations of the French author, besides a considerable number of new observations. It is worthy of notice, that Mr Smellie’s knowledge of the French tongue, which is acknowledged to have been profound, was entirely acquired by himself, without the aid of a master; and it is a curious fact, that, of a language he so thoroughly understood, he could scarcely pronounce one word. This fact gave unbounded surprise to a friend of Buffon, who came to Edinburgh on a visit, and waited on Mr Smellie. The stranger noted it down as one of the greatest wonders of his travels, intending, he said, to astonish the French naturalist, by relating it to him. It is perhaps the best of all tests, as regards the merits of Mr Smellie’s translation, that Buffon himself was highly pleased with it, and even requested him to translate some of his other works; but this, from prudential motives, Mr Smellie declined.

In the year 1780, the partnership between Mr Smellie and Mr Balfour was dissolved, when the former entered into partnership with Mr William Creech, bookseller. This connexion continued to the end of 1789, when Mr Smellie commenced, and ever afterwards carried on business, entirely on his own account.

In 1790, Mr Smellie published the first volume of his "Philosophy of Natural History," the origin of which has been already noticed. The copyright was at the same time purchased by Mr Elliot, bookseller, Edinburgh for one thousand guineas. The second and concluding volume was not published, until four years after his death. Besides this and the other larger works, which we have before adverted to, as the production of Mr Smellie, we have seen a list of upwards of forty miscellaneous essays, upon almost all subjects--from politics to poetry, from optics to divinity—which he composed at different times and under various circumstances, and from his indefatigable industry and wonderful facility of writing, it is supposed that these are scarcely a moiety of his literary effusions.

Mr Smellie’s acquaintance with Robert Burns, commenced in the year 1787, upon the occasion of the poet’s coming to Edinburgh to publish his poems, which were printed by Mr Smellie. From their similarly social dispositions, and mutual relish of each other’s wit, an immediate and permanent intimacy took place betwixt them. After Burns’s departure from Edinburgh, they corresponded frequently; but the greater part of the communications were afterwards destroyed by Mr Smellie, equally, perhaps, on the bard’s account and his own. Of the high opinion which the latter entertained, however, of his friend--and it is well known how fastidious was his taste on the score of talent, honesty, and real friendship amongst his fellow creatures—we have sufficient evidence in the poetical sketch, published in the works of Burns, commencing—