great man in the requisite of an ear. Mr Campbell was twice married, and on
the second occasion with such prospects of advancement, that he Mas induced to
abandon his profession, in which he was rising- to eminence, and turn his attention to the study of medicine, which, however, he never practised on an
extended scale, though he was ready and eager to employ his skill for benevolent purposes. The connections of Mr Campbell's second wife were of so
elevated a rank in life, that he entertained hopes of obtaining, through their
means, some employment under government, in his medical capacity; but in
this, as in many other things, he was destined to experience a bitter disappointment. In 1798, he published his first literary work, namely, "An Introduction
to the History of Poetry in Scotland," quarto; to which were added, "the
Songs of the Lowlands," with illustrative engravings by David Allan. The
History of Poetry, though written in a loose style, and deformed here and
there by opinions of a somewhat fantastic nature, is a work of considerable
research. It was dedicated to the artist Fuseli. It is worth mentioning that a
Dialogue on Scottish Music, prefixed to the History, was the first means of
giving foreign musicians a correct understanding of the Scottish scale, which,
it is well known, differs from that prevalent on the continent ; and it is consistent with our knowledge, that the author was highly complimented on this
subject by the greatest Italian and German composers. About this time, Mr
Campbell began to extend his views from literature to the arts; and he attained
to a very respectable proficiency as a draughtsman. In 1802, appeared his
best work, " A Tour from Edinburgh through various parts of North Britain, &c." 2 vols. quarto, embellished with a series of beautiful aquatint drawings by his own hand. This book is very entertaining, and, in some parts, (for instance,
the account of Scottish society in the early part of the eighteenth century,) it betrays powers much above the grade of the author's literary reputation. In 1804, Mr Campbell was induced to appear as an original poet, in a work
entitled " the Grampians Desolate." If in this attempt he was not very successful in the principal object, it must at least be allowed, that his various knowledge, particularly in matters of Scottish antiquity, and the warm zeal with which he
advocates the cauce of the exiled Highlanders, give the work an interest for the patriot and the antiquary. Mr Campbell finally published, in 1816, two parts of a collection of native Highland music, under the title Albyn's Anthology,
for which Sir Walter Seott, Sir Alexander Boswell, and other eminent literary men, contributed modern verses. Unhappily, Mr Campbell's acquirements, though such as would have eminently distinguished an independent gentleman
in private life, did not reach that point of perfection which the public demands of those who expect to derive bread from their practice of the fine arts. Even in music, it was the opinion of eminent judges, that Albyn's Anthology would
have been more favourably received, if the beautiful original airs had been left unencumbered with the basses and symphonies which the editor himself thought essential.
Mr Campbell, in early life, had been possessed of a handsome person, and a lively and social disposition. Gifted, as he then was, with so many of those accomplishments which are calculated to give a charm to existence, it might have been expected that his life would have been one of happiness and prosperity. It was in every respect the reverse. Some unhappy misunderstanding with the relations of his second wife led to a separation between them, and two individuals, who, united, could have promoted each other's happiness lived for ever after apart and miserable. A numerous train of disappointments not exclusively literary, tended further to embitter the declining years of this unfortunate man of genius. Yet his own distresses, and they were numerous,
