268 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
KO. CVIII.
MR. JOHN WRIGHT,
LECTURER ON LAW.
MR. WRIGHT was the son of a poor cottar in Argyleshire,' who, by smuggling
between that coast and the Isle of Man, was enabled to maintain his family for
many years in comparative comfort ; but, finding his " occupation gone," in
consequence of the strict prohibitory measures enforced by Government, a short
time prior to the transfer of the sovereignty of that island in 1768, he left the
Highlands and settled in Greenock. Here the future " lecturer on law," who
had been bred to the humble occupation of a shoemaker, manifested an uncommon
desire for knowledge. Whilst employed at his laborious avocation, his
mind was generally engaged in study. It is told of him, that to aid his memory
in acquiring a knowledge of the Latin language, and not having the command
of writing materials, he used to conjugate the verbs on the wall of his work-room
with the point of his awl.
Having mastered the rudiments of the Latin tongue, he removed to Glasgow,
where, with no other assistance than the proceeds of his labour, he entered
a student at the University ; and, notwithstanding the manifest disadvantages
under which he laboured, made rapid progress in his studies. Indeed, so
decided was his success that he soon found himself almost wholly relieved from
the drudgery of shoemaking, by giving private lessons to his less assiduous
class-fellows-many of whom, being the sons of noblemen and wealthy commoners,
remunerated him liberally for his instructions. The views of our scholastic
aspirant being directed towards the Church, he was in due course of time
licensed to preach ; but finding himself destitute of patronage-and perhaps
aware, from a deficiency in oratorical powers, that he might never become popular
in the pulpit-he yielded to the advice of several of the professors, whose
friendship his talents had secured, and set about attaining a more thorough knowledge
of the higher branches of mathematics, which at that period were not considered
so essential as they now are to the student of divinity.
After having attained, if not the reality, but what was in his case much
better, the reputation of knowledge in this new study, Mr. Wright removed to
Edinburgh, where he commenced teaching mathematics and the science of military
architecture. This proved a very lucrative speculation, a great number of
young men about Edinburgh being at the time preparing to go out to India.
With the view of ultimately pushing himself forward to the bar, Mr. Wright
1 In the minutes of the Faculty of Advocates, Mr. Wright is described-"eldest son of the
deceased Mr. John Wright, of the parish of Kilfinnan, in Argyleshire."