regarding them." This was better still than the housekeeper of Moliere! One circumstance connected with this gentle home tribunal of criticism first gave him the hope that fame was within his reach. He was reading his "Fare thee well, for I must leave thee," when his sister, and a young lady, a cousin of his own, who was present, were so deeply affected, that they burst into tears. After such an incident, some of our readers might wish to know the song: it is as follows:—
"Fare thee well, for I must leave thee,
But, O! let not our parting grieve thee;
Happier days may yet be mine,
At least I wish them thine—believe me!
"We part—but, by those dew-drops clear,
My love for thee will last for ever;
I leave thee—but thy image dear,
Thy tender smiles, will leave me never.
"O! dry those pearly tears that flow—
One farewell smile before we sever;
The only balm for parting woe
Is—fondly hope 'tis not for ever.
"Though dark and dreary lowers the night,
Calm and serene may be the morrow;
The cup of pleasure ne'er shone bright,
Without some mingling drops of sorrow!
"Fare thee well, for I must leave thee,
But, O! let not our parting grieve thee;
Happier days may yet be mine,
At least I wish them thine—believe me!"
The rest of the incidents in Mr. Gilfillan's tranquil life scarcely require commemoration. Independently of his devotion to poetry, which was his master affection, he took pleasure in the various departments of light and every-day literature, and was a frequent contributor to the "Edinburgh Journal," and the "Dublin University Magazine." Although he continued to the end of his days a bachelor, he was not the less subject to painful bereavements, and these, too, at that period of life when the affections are most confirmed; for his mother died in 1844, and his sister in 1849, and thus the voices that had hitherto cheered him onward were no longer heard. His own death occurred on the 4th of December, 1850, and was occasioned by a stroke of apoplexy. His remains were buried in the church-yard of South Leith, where a monument, by the subscription of his admirers, has been erected to his memory.
GILLESPIE, Rev. Thomas, D.D.—Was born in the parish of Clossburn, Dumfries-shire, but in what year we have been unable to ascertain. He received the rudiments of education at the celebrated seminary of Wallacehall, in his own native parish, and afterwards went through the curriculum of the Dumfries Academy, a place noted for its excellence among the educational establishments of Scotland. Having been designed for the church, Mr. Gillespie enrolled as a student in the University of Edinburgh; and after having been distinguished in the Divinity-hall by his talents and scholarship, was licensed as a preacher, and a few years afterwards was presented by the United College, St. Andrews, to the parish of Cults, in the presbytery of Cupar-Fife. In this ministerial charge he was the immediate successor of the Rev. David Wilkie, father of the cele-
