Editing Thomas Carlyle (section)

=== Mineralogy, law and first publications (1818–1821) ===

[[File:Jane Baillie Welsh, Mrs Thomas Carlyle, 1801 - 1866. Wife of the historian Thomas Carlyle.jpg|thumb|upright|Jane Baillie Welsh by [[Kenneth Macleay (painter)|Kenneth Macleay]], 1826, shortly before marriage]]

In the summer of 1818, following an expedition with Irving through the moors of [[Peebles]] and [[Moffat]], Carlyle made his first attempt at publishing, forwarding an article describing what he saw to the editor of an Edinburgh magazine, which was not published and is now lost.{{Sfn|''Reminiscences''||p=319}} In October, Carlyle resigned from his position at Kirkcaldy, and left for Edinburgh in November.{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=1:143}} Shortly before his departure, he began to suffer from [[dyspepsia]], which remained with him throughout his life.{{Sfn|''TR''||p=50}} He enrolled in a [[mineralogy]] class from November 1818 to April 1819, attending lectures by [[Robert Jameson]],{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=1:149}} and in January 1819 began to study German, desiring to read the mineralogical works of [[Abraham Gottlob Werner]].{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=5:28}} In February and March, he translated a piece by [[Jöns Jacob Berzelius]],{{Sfn|Dyer|1928|p=30}} and by September he was "reading [[Goethe]]".{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=1:196}} In November he enrolled in "the class of [[Scots law]]", studying under [[David Hume (advocate)|David Hume]] (the advocate).{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=1:208}} In December 1819 and January 1820, Carlyle made his second attempt at publishing, writing a review-article on [[Marc-Auguste Pictet]]'s review of [[Jean-Alfred Gautier]]'s ''Essai historique sur le problème des trois corps'' (1817) which went unpublished and is lost.{{Sfn|''Reminiscences''||pp=318–319}} The law classes ended in March 1820 and he did not pursue the subject any further.{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=1:236}}

In the same month, he wrote several articles for [[David Brewster]]'s ''[[Edinburgh Encyclopædia]]'' (1808–1830), which appeared in October. These were his first published writings.{{Sfn|Shepherd Bibliography||p=1}} In May and June, Carlyle wrote a review-article on the work of [[Christopher Hansteen]], translated a book by [[Friedrich Mohs]], and read [[Goethe's Faust|Goethe's ''Faust'']].{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=1:251, 253, 254}} By the autumn, Carlyle had also learned Italian and was reading [[Vittorio Alfieri]], [[Dante Alighieri]] and [[Sismondi]],{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=1:272–273}} though German literature was still his foremost interest, having "revealed" to him a "new Heaven and new Earth".{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=1:286}} In March 1821, he finished two more articles for Brewster's encyclopedia, and in April he completed a review of [[Joanna Baillie]]'s ''Metrical Legends'' (1821).{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=1:352}}

In May, Carlyle was introduced to [[Jane Welsh Carlyle|Jane Baillie Welsh]] by Irving in Haddington.{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|p=79}} The two began a correspondence, and Carlyle sent books to her, encouraging her intellectual pursuits; she called him "my German Master".{{Sfn|''Letters''||loc=1:368}}