In order to place satisfactorily before the readers of this volume the life and work of John Blackwood, a short retrospect is necessary. Without touching upon the matters which have already been fully dealt with in the first and second volumes, we must recapitulate briefly the events that led him onward from youth and early manhood, through the different stages of preparation, to the position of head of the house and editor of the Magazine which bears the family name,—a position in which he worked faithfully and successfully for thirty years.

The pleasant home where John Blackwood's young days were passed was at Newington, then a country village just outside Edinburgh, now an overgrown suburb of the town. The white stone house which his father, William Blackwood, had built for his bride, now partly covered with ivy, is still standing at the corner of Salisbury Road. It commanded, and still commands, an uninterrupted view of Arthur's Seat and the Salisbury Craigs. In the foreground Edinburgh lies in a gentle haze, all imperfections blurred over by the blue mists of smoke, the well-known features of the town showing up bravely,—the Castle Rock, the Calton Hill, and other characteristic landmarks, towering over the unsightly chimneys and other unpicturesque objects which crept into the scene long after William Blackwood built his house. The cheerful sunny garden which his wife loved is still an attractive spot; and the elms and chestnut trees which she planted, with a fine scorn for anything of smaller growth, now pleasantly shade the walks.