William received the first rudiments of his education at a school in the village of Dudding stone, about a mile from his paternal residence, which was followed by a regular course of classical study at a grammar school, from whence he was taken, in 1752, at twelve years of age, and apprenticed on the lst of October, 1752, to Messrs Hamilton, Balfour, and Neil, printers in Edinburgh, for six years and a half; during which time he conducted himself with most exemplary diligence, and gave indication of superior intelligence; so that, two years before the expiration of his apprenticeship, his masters appointed him to the important em ployment of corrector of their press, with a weekly allowance of ten shillings. They also kindly permitted him to attend some of the classes of the University, an indulgence he appears to have turned to very good account.

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