promptitude and business-habits which, in connexion with literary
ability, are essential for such an office. The _Dumfries Courier_, which
had formerly occupied a neutrality in politics, became, under his
management, a powerful organ of the liberal party. But the editor was
more than a politician; the columns of his journal were enriched with
illustrations of the natural history of the district, and sent forth
stirring appeals on subjects of social reformation and agricultural
improvement. Devoted to his duties as a journalist, he continued to
cherish his literary enthusiasm. In 1817 he published an edition of
Cowper, with an elegant memoir of the poet's life. "The Scrap-Book," a
work of selections and original contributions in prose and verse,
appeared in 1820, and was speedily followed by a second volume. In 1823
he composed a memoir of Goldsmith for an edition of the "Vicar of
Wakefield," which was published in Edinburgh. The _Dumfries Magazine_
was originated under his auspices in 1825, and during the three years of
its existence was adorned with contributions from his pen. In 1830 he
published "Sketches from Nature," a volume chiefly devoted to the
illustration of scenery and character in the districts of Dumfries and
Galloway. "The Picture of Dumfries," an illustrated work, appeared in
1832. A description of Moffat, and a life of Nicholson, the Galloway
poet, complete the catalogue of his publications. In 1820 he was offered
the editorship of the _Caledonian Mercury_, the first established of
the Scottish newspapers, but preferred to remain in Dumfries. He
ultimately became sole proprietor of the _Courier_, which, under his
superintendence, acquired a celebrity rarely attained by a provincial
newspaper. In 1847 he was entertained at a public dinner by his
fellow-townsmen. His death took place at Dumfries, on the 18th November
1852, in his sixty-third year.

A man of social and generous dispositions, M'Diarmid was esteemed among
a wide circle of friends; he was in habits of intimacy with Sir Walter
Scott, Jeffrey, Wilson, Lockhart, the Ettrick Shepherd, Dr Thomas
Gillespie, and many others of his distinguished contemporaries. To his
kindly patronage, many young men of genius were indebted for positions
of honour and emolument. An elegant prose-writer, his compositions in
verse are pervaded by a graceful smoothness and lively fancy.

NITHSIDE.

AIR--_"There 's a bonnie brier bush in our kail-yard."_