LIFE OF THE REV. JOHN LOGAN. JOHN LOGAN was born at Soutra, in the county of Mid-Lothian, in the year 1748. His father, George Logan, occupied a small farm there in the parish of Fala, and John was the younger of two sons. His father removed from Soutra to Gosford Mains, in East-Lothian, about the year 1762, and John was then sent to Musselburgh school, at that time taught by Mr Jeffray. Logan's parents belonged to the class of dissenters called Burghers in Scotland, and whilst at Musselburgh he was boarded with a respectable old woman of the same persuasion, who made him regularly read his Bible; and he himself used afterwards to relate, that his reading of it aloud used generally to act on his landlady as a more powerful soporific than the doctor's drugs. In November 1762, Logan was removed to the University of Edinburgh, where he displayed great proficiency in Latin and Greek; and there he commenced his acquaintance with the interesting Michael Bruce: they were young men of congenial minds, and were naturally attracted to each other. It was this intimacy that afterwards led to Logan's being the custodier of his friend Bruce's manuscripts, and subsequently the editor of his poems. His spirits at this time received a severe check by the melancholy death of his father, who was drowned, being overtaken by the tide on his way home, in a stormy evening. In 1765, Logan commenced the study of divinity at Edinburgh College; and in 1766 he attended the lectures of the celebrated Dr Blair, then Professor of Rhetoric and Belles Lettres, and in the exercises prescribed by him he highly distinguished himself. In 1768, he was appointed private tutor to the present Sir John Sinclair of Ulbster, Bart. This situation was procured by the friendship of Dr Blair, who had soon perceived his talents. In 1770, he published, as editor, "Poems on several occasions, by Michael Bruce;" in which were included a few of his own pieces, which has sometimes led to a confusion of the respective productions of the two bards. Logan had been brought up a strict dissenter from the Scottish church; but he soon began to see that the grounds of separation were frivolous, and he now joined the Presbyterian church. In 1770, he was licensed to preach the gospel by the Presbytery of Dalkeith, and in little more than a year afterwards, on account of his character as a preacher, he received a call to be second minister of the parish of South Leith. The validity of his election, however, was disputed, both in the civil and ecclesiastical courts, and he underwent a second course of trials before the Presbytery of Edinburgh, which he passed through with the highest credit; and he was finally ordained on 2d April 1773. His attention was now devoted to the duties of the clerical office. His genius for poetry had been early displayed, and several of his pieces had appeared in different publications. His celebrity in this respect, therefore, led to his being chosen a member of the Committee of the General Assembly, which was appointed in 1775, for revising and enlarging the psalmody of the Church. Here his industry, and his complete familiarity with the figurative language and beauty of the Sacred Scriptures, gave him a considerable ascendency in conducting the business, and he became the greatest contributor of original paraphrases: The 8th, 11th, and 58th, are exclusively his own, besides many others that he polished and re-modelled. The "Translations and Paraphrases" were published, in their corrected shape, with some additions, in 1781; and the" Poems" of Logan were first published in the same year. Of his poems, the "Ode to the Cuckoo," "The Braes of Yarrow," and his Sacred Hymns, are certaine ly the most beautiful, and entitle him to a high place among the poets of our country. This place has long been conceded to him, and his poetical fame may be considered as permanently established. In 1779 he commenced a course of Lectures in ́St Mary's Chapel, Edinburgh, 'on the Philosophy of History. He obtained a considerable class, and his Lectures were much admired; so much so, that he had nearly obtained the Professorship of Universal History in the University of Edinburgh, which became vacant about that time. But an unforeseen difficulty occurred, it being found that it had been an invariable practice to present to this chair a member of the Faculty of Advocates; and Mr Tytler, afterwards Lord Wood. |