JAMES BEATTIE, the Scottish poet and essayist, was born at Laurencekirk, October 25th, 1735, and educated at Marischal College, Aberdeen. His family was poor, and after leaving college he spent several years as a schoolmaster in the Grampian Hills. In 1760 he became Professor of Moral Philosophy in Marischal College and held the position for many years. In 1773 he began the publication of “The Minstrel,” a poem which did much to make him celebrated. His essays published between 1770 and 1793 are chiefly on philosophical and metaphysical subjects. They brought him into such favor that the English government granted him a pension of £200 a year. He died August 18th, 1803.