When he appeared in public he looked,--such is the language of one who probably had often seen him,--like Atlas conscious that a world was on his shoulders.

But the airs which he gave himself only heightened the respect and admiration which he inspired.
His demeanour was regarded as a model.

Scotch men who wished to be thought wise looked as like Paterson as they could.
His plan, though as yet disclosed to the public only by glimpses, was applauded by all classes, factions and sects, lords, merchants, advocates, divines, Whigs and Jacobites, Cameronians and Episcopalians.
In truth, of all the ten thousand bubbles of which history has preserved the memory, none was ever more skilfully puffed into existence; none ever soared higher, or glittered more brilliantly; and none ever burst with a more lamentable explosion.

There was, however, a certain mixture of truth in the magnificent day dream which produced such fatal effects.
Scotland was, indeed, not blessed with a mild climate or a fertile soil.
But the richest spots that had ever existed on the face of the earth had been spots quite as little favoured by nature.

It was on a bare rock, surrounded by deep sea, that the streets of Tyre were piled up to a dizzy height.