an historian, the palm
must be awarded to Gibbon. But Robertson surprises us most from the fact
that a quiet Scotch pastor, who never travelled, should have attempted,
and so gracefully treated, subjects of such general interest as those he
handled.

William Robertson was the son of a Scottish minister, and was born at
Borthwick, in Scotland, on September 19th, in the year 1721. He was a
precocious child, and, after attending school at Dalkeith, he entered the
University of Edinburgh at the age of twelve. At the age of twenty he was
licensed to preach. He published, in 1755, a sermon on _The Situation of
the World at the Time of Christ's Appearance_, which attracted attention;
but he astonished the world by issuing, in 1759, his _History of Scotland
During the Reigns of Queen Mary, and of James VI. until his Accession to
the Crown of England_. This is undoubtedly his best work, but not of such
general interest as his others. His materials were scanty, and he did not
consult such as were in his reach with much assiduity. The invaluable
records of the archives of Simancas were not then opened to the world, but
he lived among the scenes of his narrative, and had the advantage of
knowing all the traditions and of hearing all the vehement opinions _pro_
and _con_ upon the subjects of which he treated. The character of Queen
Mary is drawn with a just but sympathetic hand, and his verdict is not so
utterly denunciatory as that of Mr. Froude. Such was the popularity of
this work, that in 1764 its author was appointed to the honorable office
of Historiographer to His Majesty for Scotland. In 1769 he published his
_History of Charles V._ Here was a new surprise. Whatever its faults, as
afterwards discerned by the critics, it opened a new and brilliant page to
the uninitiated reader, and increased his reputation very greatly. The
history is preceded by a _View of the Progress of Society in Europe from
the Subversion of the Roman Empire to the Beginning of the Sixteenth
Century_. The best praise that can be given to this _View_ is, that
students have since used it as the most excellent summary of that kind
existing. Of the history itself it may be said that, while it is greatly
wanting in historic material in the interest of the narrative and the
splendor of the pageantry of the imperial court, it marked a new era in
historical delineations.

HISTORY OF AMERICA.--In 1777 appeared the first eight books of his
_History of America_