i829, 30. RICHARD CLEASBY. Ixv

' I cannot take leave of Edinburgh without the expression of my extreme satisfaction as to the
manner in which I have passed this winter. My leading object was to attend the Moral Philosophy
Class and get some insight into the Scotch philosophy and metaphysics. Wilson, though a clever
and amiable man, is not, I think, exactly calculated for the Chair he fills. He has a great deal of
talent, but it is of a poetical cast; his imagination seems to hold the reins. I cannot, however, but
say that he made from time to time some very good and genuine observations displaying con-
siderable insight into human nature, especially as to the passions. His appearance is very
commanding, and the index of his mind ; it resembles much more an Apollo than a Socrates. . . .
As to Wilson's political economy, I regret to say he had neglected to get up the subject; and
certainly, upon the whole, cut but a poor figure, often coming before us quite unprepared. . . .
Chalmers and Leslie seem to be the great lights. ... I consider Edinburgh a most desirable
residence ; it has almost all the advantages of a capital without the follies and excesses.'

On the 2nd of April he left Edinburgh with his friend Forbes, a son of Lord
Medwyn, on a visit to Abbotsford. He was delighted, as so many were, with
Sir Walter Scott, and left him on the 4th, copying, before he went, the following epitaph
in Melrose Churchyard :

' The earth goeth on the earth glistering like gold,
The earth goeth to the earth sooner than it wold ;
The earth buildeth on the earth castles and towers,
The earth sayeth to the earth, all shall be ours.'

On the nth of April he was at his father's house in Cornwall Terrace, Regent's
Park, having taken a peep at the family property in Westmoreland on his way south.

Fortified with his Scotch metaphysics, he was now ready to face German philo-
sophy. On the 25th of April he left London, and on the 8th of May was back at
Dresden and Tharandt. After studying steadily till the middle of August, on the
2ist of that month he started on a tour in Poland, from which he returned on the
loth of September, highly pleased with his journey, but still more delighted to be back
' in delightful Saxony.' In Dresden he remained till the year was out, entering in his
Diary on the 3ist of December the following note :

' Since my return from Poland I have been diligently occupied in the study of history,
especially German.'

The years 1830, 1831, and 1832 were spent for the most part by Cleasby in
Germany in the earnest pursuit of knowledge. At Dresden he remained during the
early part of 1830, continuing his German studies, with occasional outbreaks for re-
creation. Thus, on the 8th of March, he sets out for a pedestrian tour to Leipzig,
distant about 55 English miles, which he and his friends accomplished in two days.
On the nth he attendee! a lecture in philosophy by Professor Krug, and

' Was not a little surprised to see him mount the desk in regular cavalry spurs, which rang so
as he came in that I thought a dragoon had entered the room. He is a man, I suppose, towards
60 years old, his physiognomy serious, his delivery clear and impressive, perhaps a little too
mannered. At eleven o'clock I heard the animated little Greek professor Hermann, likewise
towards 60 years old, who also lectured in spurs and a drab great-coat. He speaks an easy clear
Latin. The Agememnon of Æschylus was the subject, and he appeared to illustrate it ably. I
heard Wachsmuth on Universal History, a man 40 or 45 years old : he maintained a constant smile,
almost a laugh, was full of wit in his remarks, and so restless that he could scarcely remain a