142 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Racking their brain for gold to line your pockets.
Since Heav’n ha8 cut and form’d thee out for gain,
And fate haa fixed thee in the &chest vain ;
Led by Dame Fortune, that blind fickle L h ,
Who’s smit you with the whilie silver itch,
Selling what hungry authors coin in heaps,
Supporting printers’ pressecl, and their types.
Now since you’ve rais’d yourselves by your own nurit,
Ddl lake them who envy what you inherit.”
About 1793 Mr. Martin sold his premises in Gourlay’s Land to the Bank of
Scotland, when he removed to 94 South Bridge, where he continued for a
number of years. Not long after this he bought the Golf-House, at the east
end of Bruntsfield Links, as a private residence, where he resided for several
years. In 1806 Martin moved to No. 2 Lothian Street, but in a year or two
after retired altogether from business, and died in the month of February 1820,
nearly eighty years of age.
He was twice married, and by his first i f e had several children j but as he
mentions himself, in the letter already alluded to, they died in infancy. His
second wife (to whom he was married in December 1788) was a Miss Katherine
Robertson, daughter of Mr. Robertson, schoolmaster in Ayr. She had a
brother many years surgeon in the 42d Highlanders. Mrs. Martin survived
her husband about seven years; and at her death his nephews in America
received a sum equal to the half of his estate, and her brother received the
remainder.
While in his auction-room, Martin was full of anecdote and humour, but
somewhat fond of laughing at his own jokes. “ He is apt,” says Mr. Kay, ‘‘ to
grin and laugh at his own jests, and the higher that prices are bid for his prints,
the more he is observed to laugh and the wider to grin.” Martin (nothing to
his discredit, considering his humble origin), was somewhat illiterate-at least
he was no classical scholar-and perhaps in the course of his business he frequently
suffered by his ignorance of the dead languages.’ If the book he was
about to sell happened to be Greek, his usual introduction was-‘‘ Here comes
waw-taes, or whatever else you like to call it ;” and on other occasions, if the
volume happened to be in a more modern language, but the title of which he
was as little able to read, he would say to the students, after a blundering
attempt, “Gentlemen, I am rather rusty in my French, but were it Hehew,
ye ken I would be quite at hame !‘Is
1 Owing to ignorance, he sold many valuable Greek and Latin books for mere trifles. Sometimes
when at a loss to read the title of a Latin or French book, he would, if he could find a young student
near him, thrust the book before him, saying, “ Read that, my man ; it’s sae lang since I was at the
College I hae forgotten a’ my Latin.”
a Having one night made even a more blundering attempt than usual to unriddle the title of a
French book, a young dandy, wishing to have another laugh at Martin’s expense, desired him to read
the title of the book again, a8 he did not know what it was about. ‘‘Why,’’ said Martin, ‘‘it’g
something about mnners, and that’s what neither you nor me has ower muckle o’.”
