one human being to another: nor did this proceed from any principle of morality, but from those laws he had established to himself of civil order. Always swayed by the strong and ardent feelings of his heart, by duty never, he was rash, arrogant, and intemperate; nevertheless his perceptions were keen, his discriminations just. Viewed in such a light, he was as a noble structure left to ruin and desolation; for that time which might have been devoted to useful acquirements and honourable pursuits, was squandered away on the idle and the dissipated, amongst those fashionable profligates whose rank and fortune render the contagion of their example the more dangerous, in proportion to the splendour of the pomp and affluence surrounding them. As the companion of such associates, Douglas was early introduced to scenes of gaiety, too consonant to his taste, and where his fascinating address and brilliant exterior never failed to gain him a welcome reception.
Thus passed his youth, wasting in luxury; till suddenly called to reflection by the insufficiency of his means to cope with the frequent calls upon his purse, rendered necessary by the expensive pleasures of the society in which he had enrolled himself.
According to the custom of Scottish laws, his
