A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen

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VOLUME nr.

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BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY

EMINENT SCOTSMEN.

EDITED BY

ROBERT CHAMBERS,

ONK 01- TllK EUllOES or ' CHAMBEES'S KDINBUBOH JOURNAL.'

NEW EDITION. KEVISED AND CONTINUED TO THE PRESENT TIME.

WITH NUMEROUS PORTRAITS.

DIVISION IV.
FORDYCE- HORNER.

BLACKIE AND SON:

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SIR WILLIAM rORDYCE, F.R.S. 377

slept in our diflerent apailinents, and mine had a door of communication with
his, so he could not stir without my hearing-. He awoke about two o'clocli
and lighted a Max bougie at liis lamp, one of which stood on a dumb waiter,
at his bed-side, with his medicines and cordials. He lighted it to take the
ethereal spirit ; but forgetting to blow it out, it unluckily took fire in the
bunch ; the smell of which awoke him perhaps in some alarm. He then
called to me, who was just in my first sleep, and springing up eagerly in the
dark, I stumbled, and struck my Lead against the door ; the blow for a
few minutes stunned me and made me reel in coming up to him. I affected
to be well that he might not be alarmed. * I called to you, my love, lest
the smell of fire which the bougie occasioned, nn'ght have frightened you.
You have paid dear for coming to me by this blow.' Saying so he got up,
and calling the women witli a. finn voice three or four times, they and my
niece were all at once with us. I was praying him to return to bed, but he
refused until he should get me, from their hands, some sal volatile. He then
said, * i\re you better?' I answered *0 well, well.' — ' God be praised,' said
he, raising his liands, and with the words in liis mouth he fell in our anus
without a groan, a sigh, or so much as the rattle in the throat. The spirit was
instantly fled and for ever, to^the God that gave it. He was talcen from my
arms, who will ever live in my heart, and I sa^v him no more."

Dr Fordyce's first literary attempt was made as editor of the posthumous work
of his brother, Mr David I'ordyce, published in 1753, entitled the " Art of
Preaching." But he is best known to the world by the ingenious and elegant
sennons which he addressed to young women ; and his addresses to young-
men. He \vas author, however, of several other publications/ and was remark-
able for the energy and usefulness of his pulpit instructions. His private
character was amiable, his manners those of a gentleman and Christian. He
blended great cheerfulness with sincere and ardent piety. He possessed a
cultivated understanding, a Avarm heart, and great liberality of sentiment. He
Avas a steady friend of civil and religious toleration — not from indifference
but from a true spirit of Christian philanthropy.

f FORDYCE, Sir William, F.R.S., a distinguished physician, ',\as a younger
brother of David and James Fordyce, whose lives have already been recorded,
and was born in the year 1724. Like his brethren, he was educated at the

1 The following is a list of Dr Ford) ce's works.

1. "The eloquence of the Pulpit, an ordination sermon, tu which is^added a charge,"
12mo, 1752.

2. " An essay on the action proper for the pulpit," ]2mo. Both these are published at
the end of " Theodorus, a Dialogue conceniiiig the art of preaching, by David Fordyce," 3d
edition, 12mo, 1755.

^ 3. "The method of edification by public instruction," an ordinntion sermon, to which
is added a charge, 12mo, 1754. 'ihese were delivered at the ordination of ?.Ir John Gibson,
. minister of St Ninians, IMay 9th, 1754.

4. " The Temple of Virtue," a dream, 12mo, 1747. 2d ediUon, much altered, 1755.

5. " The folly, infamy, and misery of luilawful pleasures," a sermon preached before
the general assembly of the church of Scotland, 25th i\Iay, 17C0 — 8vo, 1760.

6. " A Sermon occasioned by the death of the Rev. Dr Samuel Lawri:nce, who departed
this life 1st October, 1760, with an address at his interment," 8vo, 1760.

7. " SermoTis to yo"ang women," 2 vols. 12mo, 1766.

6. " The character and conduct of the female sex, and the advantages to be derived by
young men from the society of virtuous young women;' a discourse in three parts, deliv-
ered in Rlonkwell Street chapel, 1st January, 1776, Svo, 1776.

9. "Addresses to young men," 2 vols. 12mo, 1777.

10. " The delusive and persecuting spirit of popery;" a sermon preached in the Monkwell
Street chapel on the lOth of February, being the day appointed for the general fast, Svo, 1779.

11. " Charge delivered in Moiikwell Street chapel, at the ordination of the Itev. James
Lindsay," Svo, 1783. Printed with the sermon delivered by Dr Hunter on that occasicn.

12. " Addresses to the Deity," ISmo.

13. " Poems " l2mo, 1786.

IX. 3B

378 JOHN FORDUN, oa DE FORDUN.

3Iarisclial college, of which ho died lord rector. At the <ige of eighteen, he
fiiiisliod his academic studies, in wliich ho had distiuguislied himself, parti-
cularly by his proficiency in Greek and mathematics, tlie most solid as
well as the most ornamental parts of academic knowledge. Having studied
physic and surgery under a native pi-actitioncr, he joined the army as o
Tolunteer, and afterwards served as surgeon to the brigade of guards on
the const of Franca, and in all the miliLiry transactions which took place
in Germany, The «ann support of his military friends co-operated witli
his own merit in early recommending him to distinguished practice in London.
His publications, particularly his treatise on fevers and ulcerated sore throat,
greatly extended his fame ; and he was sent for to greater distances, and receiv-
ed larger fees, than almost any physician of his time. The wealth which he
thus acquired he libei-ally expended in benevolent actions, and was thus the means
of doing much good, as well as some harm. Having patronized his brother
Alexander, who was a banker in London, he enabled that individual to enter
upon an unusually extensive series of transactions, which, tliough sound in them-
selves, exposed him to a malevolent combination of his brethren in trade, and
hence tlie great bankruptcy of Fordyce and Co., which may be termed one of
the most important domestic events in Britain during the latter par: of the eigh-
teenth century. i3esides the losses which Sir William Fordyce thus incurred,
he soon after became engaged for ten thousand pounds more, which was lost by
his brother in the project of a manufacture which totally failed ; and had it not
been for the generosity ot the 3Iessrs Drummond, bankers, who advanced him
the necessary sum, he must have submitted to a loss of personal liberty. Not-
withstanding these severe shocks to his fortune. Sir William continued to main-
tain two poor families, whom he had taken under his patronage, and who had no
other resource. It is also to be mentioned, to the honour of this excellent man,
that, besides his own losses by Alexander, he repaid those incurred by his brother
James, amounting to several thousand pounds. The benevolence of Sir William
Fordyce was a kind of enthusiasm. When he heard of a friend being ill, he
would run to give him his advice, and take no fee for his trouble. His house
was open to all kinds of meritorious persons in distressed circumstances, and he
hardly ever wanted company of this kind. He was also indefatigable in his
good offices towards young Scotsmen who had come to London in search of em-
ployment. His address had much of the courtly suavity of a past age, and his
conversation, while unassuming, was replete with elegant anecdote and solid in-
formation. His eye beamed gentleness and humanity, ennobled by penetration
and spirit. Although originally of a delicate constitution, by temperance and ex-
ercise he preserved his health for many years, but sulTered at last a long and sevei^
illness, A\hich ended in his death, December 4, 1792. Sir William, Avho had
been knighted about 17 37, wrote a treatise on the Venei-eal Disease, another, as al-
ready mentioned, on Fevers, and a third on Ulcerated Sore Throat ; besides Avhich,
he published, immediately before his death, a pamphlet on the " Great Impor-
tance and Proper iMethod of Cultivating Rhubarb in Britain for medicinal uses."
FORDUN, or DE FORDUN, John, the celebrated author of the " Scotichroni-
con," was probably born about the middle of the fourteenth century, and at the vil-
lage of Fordun, in Kincardineshire, from which he seems to have taken his name.
Walter Bower, the continuator of his history, speaks of him as a simple man,
who never gi-aduated in the schools. It would appear, however, that he possess-
ed sufficient learning to fit him for the profession of a priest, and the composi-
tion of a Latin history, as these two various kinds of labour were then practised.
He was a priest of the diocese of St Andrews, and a canon of the church of
Aberdeen, -nheve he is said to have resided at the time when he composed his his-

JOHN FORDUN, or T)E FORDUN. 379

tory. TJiis great composition was in process, as he himself informs us, in the
leig-n of Richard II. of England, which extended between the years 1387, and
1399 ; and this, vague as it is, is one of the few dates that can be supplied re-
specting the life of the clironicler. The work produced by Fordun, though de-
formed by the superstitious and incorrect ideas of the age, is nevertheless a re-
spectable production, fully qualified to bear compai-ison with the works of the
contemporary English historians. The merit of the author is increased in no
mean degree by the motive which prompted him to undertake the composition —
a desire of supplying the want of those historical monuments which Ednard I.
carried away to England. To quote the quaint words of a monkish writer' :
" After the loss of these chronicles, a venerable Scottish priest, by name John
Fordun, arose, and feeling his heart titillated and effervescent with patriotic zeal,
he applied his hand boldly to the work ; nor did he desist from the undertaking,
until, by the most laborious study and perseverance, traversing England and the
adjacent provinces of his own country, he had recovered so much of the lost
materials as enabled him to compose five volumes of the delectable gasts of the
Scots, which he drew up in a sufficiently chronicle-like style, as they are to be
found in the gi'eat volume entitled, the * Scotichronicon.' In this undertaking,
it is impossible to refrain from bestowing great praise upon the industry of the
author. For, adverting to the fact, that to coumiit all the records of past ages
to the memory, is the attribute of God rather than man ; he, upon this considera-
tion travelled on foot, like an unwearied and investigating bee, through the
flowery meadows of Britain, and into the oracular recesses of Ireland ; taking his
Avay through provinces and towns, through universities and colleges, through
churches and monasteries, entering into conversation, and not unfx'equently shar-
ing at bed and board with historians and chronologists : fn'iiiug over their books,
debating and disputing with them, and pricking down, or intitulating in his de-
scriptive tablets all that most pleased him ; in this manner, and by pursuing in-
defatigable investigation, he became possessed of the knowledge which was be-
fore unknown to him, and collecting it with studious care in the revolving sin-
uosities of his parchment code, like rich honeycombs in an historical hive, he, as I
have already premised, divided them into five boolcs of elegant composition,
which brought down the history to the death of the sainted king David."

The result of Fordun's labours is, that we possess an account of several ages of
Scottish history, which otherwise would have been in a gTeat measure blank.
The two first of the five books into which he divides his work, may be laid aside,
as relating only to the fabulous part of the history ; the last refers to the period
between 1056, and 1 153, and is a valuable piece of history. Posterior to the year
last mentioned, Fordun has only Mritten detached notes, Avhich, however, are
themselves of no small value for the facts which they contain. When the venera-
ble canon found himself too infirm to continue his labours, he committed the ma-
terials which he had collected to Walter Bov.er, who, as noticed elsewhere, be-
came abbot of Inchcolm in 1418, and by whom the work was brought down to the
year 1436. The Scotichronicon was afterwards copied in various monasteries,
and has accordingly been handed down in several shapes, each slightly different
from the other, under the titles of the Book of Scone, the Book of Paisley, and
other denominations. Finally, the earlier pai-t formed a substructure for the
amplified work of Hector Boece, and the elegant one of Buchanan. The work
itself has been twice printed, first at Oxford, by Hearne, in five vols. 8vo. and af-
terwards at Edinburgh in one volume folio, with a preface by Goodal ; but a trans-
lation is still a desideratum in Scottish historical litei-ature.

1 As translated by Mr P. F. T3 tier, in his " Livesof Scottish Worthies,'' article Fordun.

380 REV. THOMAS FOPRESTEn.

F()MHKSTI':H, Urv. Thomas, uas tlie third minister of Melrose after tlie ro-
foriiiation, the second beinq; 3h- .lolni Kuo\, a nephew of the Ifcformer, \\honi
Forrester succeeded in l(i23. 'i Ills reverend divine uas a very extraordinary
character in his time. Uhilc the attempts of Charles I. to complete an episcopal
system of church-government in .Scotland, vvere the sul/ject of violent and univer-
sal discontent, at least in tlie southern parts of the kingdcm, Forrester appears
to have belield them vvilh the utmost gratiilation and triumph, giving- way to his
feelings in occasional satires upon those uho oj)posed the court. His vein of
poetry is generally allowed to have been of no mean order; and even in a later
age, when many of the alhisions are unintelligible, its poignancy is sufficiently
obvious. Tliis was accompanied by a general eccentricity of conduct ainl
opinion, which was highly absurd and indecorous. For instance, he publicly
declared that some kinds of Avork might be done on the Lord's day ; and, as an
example to his people, brought home his corn on that day from the harvest field.
He maintained that the public and ordinary preaching of the word, was no ne-
cessary part of divine worship, that the reading of the liturgy was preferable to
it, and that pastors and private christians should use no other prayers, than what
were prescribed by authority. He made no scruple to declare, that the reform-
ers had done more harm to the Christian church, than the Popes at Rome had
done for ten ages. It may easily be supposed, that a man who acted upon
maxims so opposite to the spirit of the age, could not be very popular, either
with his brethren or the public. Accordingly, among the acts of the general as-
sembly of 1G3S, when the authority of the court was set at defiance, we find the
deposition of 3Ir Thomas Forrester, accused of popery, Arminiaiiisni, and other
ofTences.

The reverend satirist appears to have indulged himself in a characteristic re-
venge. He composed a mock litany, in which the most respected characters of
the day, and the most solemn of their proceedings, were profanely ridiculed.
It begins with an allusion to the assembly by which he had been deposed.

From Glasgow Raid, to which mad meeting

Huge troops from all quarters came fleeting,

With dags and guns in form of war,

All loyal subjects to debar ;

WJiere bishops might not show their faces,

And mushroom elders filled tiieir places :

From such mad pranks of Catlieri s,

Almighty God deliver us !

From sitting in that convocation,
Discharged b3open proclamation.
Who did not stir till they had ended
All the mischief they had intended ;
From fill their cobbling knobs and knacks,
Set out in form of public acts,

And all sucli pranks. &c.

From a subsequent stanza, it might perhaps be infciTcd, that Forrester had
endeavoured to publish a pamphlet in favour of the episcopal cause, but was pre-
vented by the covenanters having comujand of the printing house : —

From usui-ping the king's press.
So that no book could have access,
Which might maintain the king's Just title,
Or cross the covenant ne'er so little ;

REV. THOMAS TOREESTER. 3Sl

It's strange, though true, books of that strain,

Are barred under the highest pain,
And all such pranks, &c.
Some other specimens of tliis curious but ribald effusion of anti-ccvenanfiting
wratli, are subjoined : —

From one thing said, another seen,
From the outrage done to Aberdeen ;
From hollow hearts and hollow faces,
From ridiculous prajers and graces ;
From peremptorie reprobation,
From Henderson's rebaptization, i
And all such pranks, &c.

*
From turn-coat preachers' supplication?,
And from their mental reservations.
From lawless excommunications,
From laics' household congregations,
From unsupportable taxations —
Thir are the covenanting actions,
And all such pranks, &c.

* • *

From Dunse Law's rebels rabbled out,
Rasads from all r[uarter3 sought out ,
Fair England's forces to defeat.
Without armour, money, or meat :
True, some had forks, some roustie dags,
And some had bannocks in their bags.
And all such pranks, &c.

From the Tables' emissaries,

From mutineers of all degrees :

Priests, lords, judges, and clerks of touns.

Proud citizens, poor country clowiis;

Who in all courses disagree.

But join to cross authoritie,

Fi'om all such pranks, &c.

• * •

From Will Dick,2 that usurious chuff.
His feathered cap, his coat of buff;
For all the world a saddled sow,
A worthie man and general too ;
From both the Duries, these mad sparks,
One bribing judge, two cheating clerks,
And all such pranlts, &c.

* * *

From the most stupid senseless ass
That ever brayed, my cousin Casse,

1 An allusion to the celebrated Alexander Henderson, who at first was an episcopalian.

2 The celebrated provost of Edinburgh, who contributed so much "sinew" to the coye-
nanting war.

3 Probably meaning Sir Thomas Hope of Carse, lord-advocate — the chief legal adviser of
the Covenanters. No description could be more unjust than that in the text, though the verse
is certainly a witty one.

382 -WILLIAM FORSYTH.

He is the ass; mbly's voice, and so,
Th' asscnil)! y i> his cdio.
The fool spcalts fu-st, and all Uie rett
To say the samo arc ready prcst,
And all such pranks, tfcc.

The poet concludes witli Uie two following stanzas :
From noble beggars, beggar-makers,
From all bold and blood undertakers,
From liungry catch-poles, knighted loun<-,
From jjerfumed puppies and baboons,
From Giterpillars, moths, and rats,
Horsc-L'cches, slate blood-sucking bats,
And all suoh pianlis, &c.

From Sandic Hall, and Sandie Gibson,
Sandie Kinneir, and Sandie Johnston,
Whose knaver}' made llien covenanterj,
To keep their necks out of the helters
Of falsehood, greed, when youll't name.
Of treachery the}' think no shame ;

Yet these the mates of Catherus,

Frcm NTliome good Lord deliver us ! ■•

Of the ultimate fate of this strange satirist we liavo met uith no record.

FORSYTH, William, distinguished in the science of arboriculture, was born
at Old 3Ieldruni, in Aberdeenshire, in 1737. Having been bred to the business
of a gardener, he went to London in 17G3, and soon after became a pupil of the
celebrated Philip Miller, gardener to the company of apothecaries, at their
physic-garden in Chelsea. In 1771, he succeeded his master in this respectable
situation, in which he remained till 1784, when he was appointed by George
HI. chief superintendent of the royal gardens at Kensuigton and St James's,
■\vhich employments he held tiU his death.

About the year 1768, Mr Forsyth paid particular attention to the cultivation
of fruit and forest trees, and turned his thoughts more especially to the disco-
very of a composition to remedy the diseases and injuries incident to them.
After repeated trials, he at length succeeded in preparing one which fully an-
swered his expectations ; and in the year 17 89, the success of his experiments
attracted the notice of the commissioners of the land revenue, upon whose re-
commendation a committee of both houses of parliament was appointed to re-
port upon the merits of his discovery. The result of tlieir inquiries was a per-
fect conviction of its utility, and in consequence, an address was voted by the
liouse of commons to his majesty, praying that a reward might be granted to iMr
Forsyth, upon liis disclosing the secret of his composition to the public ; Avhich
was accordingly done : and in 1791, Mr Forsyth published his "Observations
on the diseases, defects, and injuries of fruit and forest trees," which also con-
tains the correspondence between the commissioners of the land revenue, the
committee of parliament, and himself. In 1802, he published the final result
of his labours in " A treatise on the culture and management of fruit trees."
In this work, or in Kees's Cyclopedia, article " Composition for trees," may
be found a complete accoiuit of Mv Forsyth's discoveries and mode of treat-

■* We copy these extracts from an exceedinglv curious vilume, entitled " A Book of Scot-
tish Pasquiis," printed in 1828. Catherus is a cant word for purit<m, formed from the Greek,

ROBERT AND ANDREW FOULIS, 383

inw injured wood. It may be sufficient here to mention, that his composition, cr
medicament, was formed according to the following- receipt : " Take ono
bushel of fresh cow-dung-, half a bushel of lime-rubbish of old buildings, (that
from the ceilings of rooms is preferable,) half a bushel of MOod-ashes, and a
sixteenth part of a bushel of pit or river saiid ; the tliree last articles are to
be sifted fine before they are mixed ; then work them well together with a
spade, and afterwards with a wooden beater, until the stuff is very smooth, like
fine plaster used for the ceilings of rooms."

Mr Forsyth, who was a member of the Antiquarian, Linnaean, and other
societies, died July 25, 1804. He enjoyed the honours paid to him for his
useful invention, with an unaffected modesty, which gave them a higher grace;
and his benevolence and private worth were warmly attested by his friends.
A particular genus of plants has been named Forsythia, in honour of his name.

FOULIS, KoBERT and Andrew, eminent printers in the eighteenth century,
were natives of Glasgow, and wave born, the elder brother on the 20th of
April, 1707, and the younger on the 23d of November, 1712. Their
mother, who seems to have possessed shrewdness and intelligence beyond her
station, educated them at first under her own care, and had not Robert's
talents attracted attention, they would probably never have proceeded farther
in the acquisition of linowledge. At an early age Robert was sent an appren-
tice to a barber ; it would even seem that he afterwards practised the art on
his own account for some time. While thus humbly employed, he came under
the notice of the celebrated Dr Francis Hutcheson, tlien professor of moral phi-
losophy in Glasgow university. This acute obsei'ver discovered his talents, —
inflamed his desire for knowledge, — and suggested to him the idea of becom-
ing a bookseller and printer. Foulis did not, hoAvever, receive a complete
university education, although he attended his patron's lectures for several
years, and his name is so enrolled in the matriculation book. Andrew, who
seems to have been designed for tha church, entered the university in 1727,
and probably went through a regular course of study.

For some years after they had detei-niined to follow a literai'y life, the
brothers Avere engaged in teaching the languages during the winter, and in
makin<r short tours into England and to the continent in summer. These ex-
cursions were of great advantage to them ; they brought them into contact
with eminent men, enabled them to form connexions in their business, and
extended their knowledge of books. On some of these occasions they made
considerable collections, which they sold at home to good account. Thus pre-
pared, the elder brother began business in Glasgow as a bookseller about
the end of 1739, and in the following year published several works.
Three years afterwards his connexion with the university commenced. In
March, 1743, he was appointed their printer, under condition " that he shall
not use the designation of university printer without allowance from the uni-
versity meeting in any books excepting those of ancient authors."' The first
productions of his press, which were issued in 1742, were almost exclusively of
a religious nature, many of them relating to the well known George Whitefield.
In 1742, he published Demetrius Phalereus de Elocutione, apparently the first
Greek work printed in Glasgow, although we are certain that there existed a
fount of Greek letters there nearly a century before. It would be tedious to
notice each work as it appeared : the immaculate edition of Horace, an edition
of Cicero's works in twenty volumes, Cesar's Commentaries in folio, Calli-
machus in the same size, with engravings executed at theii" academy, form but
a small part of the splendid catalogue of their classics.

1 The date at which Andrew joined him in business is somewliat uncertain-

384 ROBERT AND ANDREW FOULIS.

Tlie success which had attended their exertions ns printers, induced the
older Foulis to attempt the csUiltlislinient of an atuideiiiy for tlic cuhivation of
the line arts, a sclieiuc for uhich Scotland >vas but ill i)repared by tiic dissen-
sions A\liich bad follo>vcd the union, and wbicb bad been succeeded by the
rebellions of 1715and 1715. In 1751, lie uent abroad, partly with tbe view of
extending- his connnercial connexions, but principally with the intention of
arranging for the establisbnient of this institution. After remaining on the
continent for about two years, and sending home several artists whom he had
engaged in his service, he i-etiirned to Scotland in 1753. His design was
considered romantic ; many of his friends exerted all their eloquence to per-
suade him to desist. But Foulis, who possessed a degree of determination
which might perhaps not unjustly be termed obstinacy, was fixed in his " high
resolve," and although he must have observed with niortiiiration, that (to use
his own expression) " there seemed to be a pretty general emulation who
should run the scheme most down," he established his academy in the course
of the same year. He soon found that he had embarked in an undertaking
of no common difficulty. From a letter in the Scots 3Iagazine for 1759, it
appears that the selection of proper teachers had cost him much trouble and
anxiety. He had to contend, besides, with the national prejudices in favour
of the works of foreign artists ; and after amassing a considerable collection,
he found it extremely difficult to dispose of it to advantage. In the same year
it was proposed, that such persons as were willing to support the institution
should advance certain sums yearly, for which they should be entitled to select
prints, designs, paintings, &:c. to the amount of their subscriptions.

In the meantime, the operations of their press went on with increasing
vigour. If we may judge from the catalogue of their books, the period be-
tween 1750 and 1757, seems to have been the most flourishing era in their
trade. During that time " Proposals for publishing" by subscription the
whole wox'ks of Plato " were issued, and considerable progress made in collating
MSS. in the Vatican and national libraries. But the embarrassments occasioned
by the ill-fated academy seem to have prevented the publication of this as Avell as
many other works, which might have added much both to their fame and their
wealth. Yet while we condemn the obstinacy with which this institution was
cari'ied on, when it was a daily souixe of anxiety and pecuniary difficulties, it
should be remembered, that it was the means of bringing forward the " Scot-
tish Hogarth," David Allan, and Tassie the medalist. The latter of these,
while a stone mason, acquired a relish for the arts in visiting the academy on
a holiday, when the pictures were generally exhibited gratis.

It would be foreign to the purpose of the present work to notice the various
books which issued from the Foulis press at this and subsequent periods. It
may be sufficient to say, that in the latter part of their history the brothers
seem to have lost much of their original energy, and the celebrity of their
press may be considered as expiring with their folio edition of Milton, pub-
lished in 1770. They continued, indeed, to print till the death of Andrew,
which took place suddenly on the ISth of September, 1775; but many of the
works published at that period were of inferior workmanship.

We shall close the history of these remarkable but unfortunate men in a few

* As a curious estimate of the expense of classical rending in these clays, we extract the
first article in the proposals. " I. In nine volumes in quarto, of which" the Greek in six
volumes and the Latin translation with the notes in three. The price to subscribei-s, one
penny sterling per sheet. The whole will be contained in about 600 sheets, so the piice
will be about £2, Is. 8d. in quires, on a fair paper. A number will be printed on a line
laige paper at twopence sterling per sheet."

SIMON FRASER. 385

■vTords. After the death of the younger bi'other, it was determined to expose the
works belonging- to tlie academy to public sale. For this purpose Ixobert, ac-
companied by a confidential ^vorkman, went to London about the inontii of
April, 1776. Contrary to the advice of the auctioneer, and at a period when
the market was glutted by yearly importations of pictures from Paris, his coL
lection was sold oiT, — and, as the reader may have anticipated, greatly under
their supposed value. Irritated at the failure of this his last hope, and with a
constitution exhausted by calamities, lie left London and reached Edinburgh on
his way homeward. On the morning on which he intended setting out for
Glasgow he expired almost instantaneously, in the 6 9th year of his age.

Robert Foulis was twice married. From his second marriage Avith a
daughter of Mr Boutcher, a seedsman in Edinburgh, was descended the late
Andrew Foulis, who died at Edinburgh, in great poverty, in 1829. He had,
besides, by his first marriage with Elizabeth Moor, a sister of the celebrated
Grecian, five daughters ; all of wliom are now dead.

Of the Scottish works produced at the Foulis press the greater number
were ballads, some of them original, and all of them since published in the
collections of bishop Percy, Rilson, Cromek, &c. The " ^lemorials and Let-
ter relating to the History of Britain " in the reigns of James I. and Charles
I., published by Lord Hailes, principally from the Denmylne MSS. in the Ad-
vocates' Library, were also published at Glasgow. But the. greatest service
that they could have performed for Scottish history, Avould have been the pub-
lication of Calderwood's MS. history. This tliey undoubtedly had in view.
It appears from the records of the university of Glasgow that they got per-
mission to borrow their BIS.^ in September, I7u8. They did not, however,
accor.iplish their patriotic purpose, and this valuable work still remains acces-
sible only to the liistorian and the antiquary. Let us hope that tlie period is
not far distant, when some of the clubs of the present day shall imuiortalize
themselves by laying it before the public.'*

FRASER, Simon, twelfth lord Lovat, a person too remarkable in history to
be overlooked in this work, though his want of public or private virtue might
otherwise have dictated his exclusion, was the second son of Thomas Eraser of
Beaufort, by Sybilla Macleod, daughter of the laird of TtJacleod, and was born
at Beaufort, near Inverness, in the year 1667. Of his early years we have
no very distinct account. He has himself asserted that, at the age of thirteen,
he was imprisoned for his exertions in the royal cause, though we do not well
see how this could happen. That his elder brother, however, Avas in the insur-
rection of the viscount Dundee, and himself, after the death of Dundee, in that
under general Buchan, is certain. After all the pains his lordship has been at
to set forLh his extreme zeal for the Stuarts, nothing can be more evident than
that, from his earliest days, the sole purpose of his life was to promote his own
power by all feasible means, this end being the only object of his solicitude.
Agreeably to this view of his character, we find him in the year 1694, while
yet a student at the university of Aberdeen, accepting of a conmiission in the
regiment of lord IMurray, afterwards earl of Tullibardine. This commission
had been procured for him by his cousin, Hugh lord Lovat, who was brotlier-
in-law to lord Murray, with the express view of bringing him " forward most
advantageously in the world ;" and though he professed to have scruples in
going against the interest of king James, these were all laid asleep by an
assurance, on the part of lord Slurray, that the regiment, though ostensibly

3 It is not, however, the oiighial MS.

* Abridged from a volume entitled " Notices and Documents jllustrative of the Literary
History of Glasgow," prusciited by Richard Duncan, Es(i., to the MaiUaiid Club.

386 SIMON FRASER.

raisoil, ami in the meantimo to take the oailis to, anil receive tlio pay of Uin!»
William, was really iiiteii<lo<l for liinaf James, uho would not lail to be in the
country to lay claim to anil revive liis rights in the course of the succeeding
year. No sooner had young Beaufort received this assurance than ho led into
the regiment .1 complete company, almost entirely made up of ihe young- gentle-
men of his <;lan. In the course of llie succeeding year, lord Murray was, by
the favour of king William, appointed secretary of slate for Scotland, and, in
place of doing any thing forking James, inforccd upon every ofiicer in his
regiment the oath of abjuration.

15eing a young man, at liberty to follow out his education, and in the re-
gular receipt of his pay, Beaufort, it might have been supposed, would have
found his situation comfortable, and been, in some measure, content ; but his
spirit seems to have been naturally restless, and any thing like an under part
in the dranua of life did not square with his dispcsition. In the course of the
year lOyfi, a company of lord Murray's regiment being stationed at tlie castle
of Edinburgh, where the earl JMarischal, lord Drunnuond, and other of the
Jacobite lords were imprisoned, a visit from the Pretender being at tlie time
expected, Simon, the subject of this narrative, entered into an engagement with
the rebel lords to seize upon the castle, and to hold it under the earl 3iarischal
for the French and king James. In this project, which appears not to have
been executed, only because the French were unable to make the promised
demonstration, Beaufort was to have been assisted by another captain of the
same regiment, Avho seonss to have been ecpially faithless and equally servile
with liimsclf.

But ^vhile he was thus careful to watch the tides, and to take advantage of
every wind that might ruflle the ocean of politics, his eye was steadily fixed
upon the estate of Lovat, which, as his cousin Hugh lord Lo\at had but one
child, a daughter, he had already marked out as his own. For this end he
seems to have embraced every opportunity of ingratiating himself with his
cousin, who appears to have been a man of a facile and vacillating disposition,
and to have been considerably under the influence of lord Miu-ray, his brother-
in-law. Of this influence, Simon of Beaufort was perfectly aware, and watched
with the utmost assiduity an opportunity to destroy it. This opportunity lord
JMurray himself aflbrded him in the a;Tair of the colonelcy of the regiment,
which, upon his appointment to the office of secretary, it was expected he would
have given up to his brother-in-law, lord Lovat. Nor is it at all unlikely that
such was originally his lordship's intention ; for, in the year 1G96, he sent for
him to London, apparently with the intention of doing so, after having pre-
sented him to the king. Lovat unfortunately carried along with him his
cousin, Simon, whose chai-acter must, by this time, have been pretty well
known to king William, and whose companionship, of course, could be no
great recommendation to the royal favour. Lovat was, however, presented to
the royal presence, most graciously received, and gratified with a promise of
being provided for. /is this was all that Lovat expected, he took leave of his
majesty, along with lord P.Iurray, leaving no room for William to suppose, for
the present at least, that he either wished or had any occasion for a further inter-
view. This his cousin Simon highly resented, telling him tliat it was a con-
trivance of lord 3IuiTay's to deprive him of an opportunity of soliciting a regi-
ment for himself, and he prevailed with him instantly to demand of lord 3Inr-
ray the reason for which he had brought them at this time to London, at such
an enormous expense. Lord Murray frankly told him that it was his design
to have resigned to him the command of his regiment, but that the king had
positively enjoined him to keep it in his own hands till such time as the

SIMON FRASER. 387

r;imours of an invasion should subskla, Avhen lie should certainly suiTonder it
into his hands.

Had Lovat been left to himself, this answei* would most probably have been
altogether satisfactory ; but it did not satisfy Simon nor his friends lord Tar-
bat and Alexander Mackenzie, son to the earl of Seaforth, both of whom wer-j
at that time in London, and were of service to Beaufort in persuading- lord
Lovat that lord Murray had been all along- his mortal enemy. By the advice
of all three, Lovat sent back to lord Murray two commissions, that of captain
and lieutenant-colonel, wliich he held under him, expressing, at the same time,
in strong language, his resentment of his treachery, and his fixed resolution
never moi'e to see him nor any individual of his family, excepting his own
wife. At the same time tliat the poor old man was thus eager in casting- olf
his old friends, he was equally warm in his attachment to the new. " Im-
pressed \vith the tender aftection of the laird of Beaufort, and the resolution
he maniiested never to leave liim, he declared that he regarded him as his own
son ;'' and as he liad executed, at his marriage, some papers which might per-
haps be prejudicial to tiie claims of this said adopted son, he obliged him to
send for an attorney, and made a universal bequest to him of all his estates,
in case he died without male issue. This aflectionate conduct on the pai't of
lord Lovat, deeply, according to his own account of the matter, affected our
hero, who pretended " tliat he would for ever consider him as his father." In
consequence of so much anxious business, so much chagrin and disappointment,
with a pretty reasonable attendance on taverns, lord Lovat fell sick ; but after
convalescing a little, was brought on his way home as far as Edinburgh by his
affectionate Simon, where he left him, proceeding- by the way of Dunkeld to
meet with his wife. He had not been many days at Dunkeld when he again
fell sick, and retired to an inn at Perth, where he Avas again waited on by
Simon of Beaufort, and, in a state of distraction, died in his arms the morn-
ing after his arrival.

Though, as we have seen, the subject of this msnioir h:td got a deed exe-
cuted by a London attorney under the direction of his cousin, the late lord
Lovat, constituting him heir to the estate, it was judged by him the more pru-
dent method to put forward his fatlier, as the nearest male heir, to take pos-
session of the estate, with the honours, contenting himself with the title of
master of Lovat. No sooner, however, had he assumed this title than he was
questioned on the subject by his colonel, now lord TuUibardine, who made him
the offer of a regiment, with other preferments, which should be to liim an
ample provision for life, provided he would execute a formal surrender of his
claim to that dignity. Tbis produced a violent altercation between them, which
ended in the master of Lovat throwing- up his commission, whicli he bade his
lordship, if he pleased, bestow upon his own footman. Tlirougli the friendship
of Sir Thomas Livingston, hovrever, he received another company in the regi-
ment of Macgill, and his father having taken possession of the estate and the
honours of Lovat, without muoli apparent opposition, he must have been, in
some degree, satisfied with his good fortune. In order, however, to secure it,
and to render his claims in every respect unexceptionable, he made love to the
heiress of his cousin, the late lord Lovat, and had succeeded in persuading her
to marry him, without the knowledge of her friends, when one of his agents
betrayed trust, and she was carried out of his way by the marquis of Athol, after
the day of the marriage had actually been appointed.

The marquis of Atliol, late lord lullibardine, probably aware that he had an
adversary of no common activity to deal with, lost no time in concluding a
match for the heiress with lord Salton, or Fraser, whom he also took measures

388 SIMON FRASER.

for Imviiig doclnrfcl head of (ho clan Fraser. The first part of liis plan was not
<li(]icult to liavo heeii executed; but tlio latter j>art, for which the first was
ahino ci)iileiii|»lale<l, Avas not of so easy a character, beint;- opposed t(t the sjiirit
of Uii^hland clansliip. A coiisidorablo time, liovvever, was spent in atteinptin^f
to bring it to bear. A few IVasers only could be broiij^lit to eno^ai^e in it ;
whoso treadiery no sooner came to tiie cars of the lord and the master of Lovat,
tlian orders were issued to apprehend and punish tlie:ii according to their de-
serts ; and it was only by a timely and well-concerted flight that they escaped
being hanged. A letter was, at the same time, sent to lord Salton, signed by
the principal men of the clan, begging him not to attempt forcing himself upon
tliem, and thus destroying their tranquillity, and endangering his own life.
Salton returned a soft answer; but, confident in the power of the marquis of
Athol, and, at any rate, in love witii the consequence attached to tlie fair estate
of Lovat, \vhether he was in love with the heiress or not, persevered in I'oHoav-
ing out his plan, and with a considerable train of retainers came to Beaufort,
at that time the residence of the dowager of Lovat, Avhose sonin-law he intend-
ed to be. Thomas, lord Lovat, hapjicucd to be at this time on tlie Stratlierriclc
estate, a district which stretches along the south banic of Lochness, and was
requested by bis son Simon, to cross the lake by the nearest way to Lovat,
which is only three miles from Beaufi>rt, in order to meet with lord Salton,
while li3 himself hastened to the same place by tiie Avay of Liverness. At In-
verness the master learned that lord Salton, persevering in his original design,
had fully matured his plans at the house of the dowager lady Lovat, whence he
intended next day to return into his own coimtry, calling at Athol, and marry-
ing the heiress of Lovat by the way, without waiting to see cither the lord or
the master of Lovat Irritated, as well as alarmed by this intelligence, he
wrote by a spscial messenger to lord Saltan, calling upon him to adhere to
his word " passed both to his father and himself, and to meet him next day at
two o'clock in the afternoon, three miles from Beaufort, either like a friend, or
with sword and pistols, as he pleased-'' This letter lord Salton received at
six o'clock in the evening, and returned for answer that he would meet the
master of Lovat at the time and place appointed, as his good friend and humble
servant. In the meantime it was concluded by him and his followers to break
up from their present quarters, and to pass the bridge of Inverness before the
master of Lovat could have any suspicion of the.ir being in motion, and thus
escape a meeting with him for the present. The master, however, was too
good a calculator of probabilities in this sort of intercourse to be thus taken
in, especially as his messenger to lord Salton, from what he had observed at
Beaufort, had strong suspicions of wliat was intended. He was, accordingly, at
the road very early in the morning, attended by six gentlemen and two ser-
vants, all well mounted and armed, and meeting lord Salton, lord 3Iungo JMur-
ray, and their follo\vers, to the number of forty, issuing from a defile in the
wood of Bunchrive, about five miles from Inverness, disai'uied and dismounted
them • fii-st lord 3Iungo IMurray, then lord Salton, and the rest singly as they
came forward, w ithout stroke of sword or the firing of a single musket. Though
the party of the master of Lovat was so inconsiderable at the outset, lord Salton
and his party soon found tliemselves surrounded by some hundreds of enraged
enemies, by whom^ under the direction of the master, they were carried priso-
ners to the castle of Fanellan, Avhere they Avere closely shut up under a certifi-
cation that they should be all hanged for their attempt to intrude themselves
into the inheritance, and to deprive the owner of his lawful and hereditary
rights. Nor had they any right to consider this as a mere bravado : the history

SIMON FRASER. 339

of clan wars could easily furnish them with numerous examples of such bar-
barous atrocity, where there was not greater provocation.

Having thus completely marred the marriage of lord Salton, the master of
Lovat immediately set about the celebration of his onn. Tiie heiress of Lovat
was safe in the hands of bev friends at Atbol ; but the dowager, her mother,
was in the house of Beaufort, every avenue to which he beset with his follow-
ers, so that it was o'.it of her power to inform her friends of any tiling that was
going on ; then, entering the house with a parson, whether catholic or episco-
pal is unkno'.vn, he made the lady go through the ibrm of marriage with himself,
had her forcibly undressed and put to bed, whither he as forcibly followed her
before M-itnesses, thus constituting it, as he supposed, a lawful marriage. This
is one of the most atrocious of the many revolting actions in the life of this prc-
ilio-ate nobleman, though one to which he lias given a flat denial in liie memoir
which he has written of himself. The truth is, it was as foolish as it was
wicked ; and, after the purpose for whicb it was connnitted, viz. to remove the;
enmity of the Athol family, had utterly foiled, ho himself must bave been heartily
ashamed of it. There is, indeed, a total falsehood in one reason that he insists
upon as proving its improbability. She was old enough, he says, to have been
his mothei-. Now she was only four years older than himself, having died at
Perth in the year 1743, in the eightieth year of her age. She had been either
so frightened by him, or so cajoled, as to offer, if we may believe the duke of
Arf>yle, writing to the Rev. Mr Carstairs, to give her oath before the court of
justiciary tiiat all that had passed between her and Lovat was voluntary, and
as much her inclination as his; and she lived to hear him deny his being at all
concerned with her, and to see him twice afterwards married.

Uut to return from this short digression. Having, as he supposed, put him-
self in a fair way for being acknowledged by the house of Athol, the master of
Lovat abandoned the idea of hanging so many of the members and allies belong-
ing to it, as he had in custody in his castle of Fanellan, contenting himself
with extorting a bond from lord Salton for eight thousand pounds, with four
low-country barons as his sureties, if he ever again interfered with the atHiirs of
the estate of Lovat, or if ever he or the marquis of Athol prosecuted any one
individual for any thing that had been transacted in this whole afiiiir. This
was only a little more of the same folly which had guided him through the
whole business, and tended but to excite the wonder of his friends, and the
hatred and contempt of his enemies, the latter of whom, on a representation to
the privy council, had him intercommuued, and letters of fire, and sword issued
out against him and all his clan. This, though perfectly in the natural order
of human affairs, was altogether unexpected by the master of Lovat, and seems
to have reduced him to great extremity. Besides the family of Athol, which
was much more po^verfal than his own, troops were ready to pour in upon him
from all quarters, and even those upon whom he depended for counsel and as-
sistance seem at the time to have declared against him. To the laird of Csil-
loden we find him writing from Beaufort in the month of October, 1097.
" 'i'hir Lds. att Inverness, w'. y'' rest of my implacable enemies, does so con-
found my wife, that she is uneasy till she sec them. I am afraid they are so
mad witli this disappointment, that they will propose something to her that's
danoerous, her brother having such power with her ; so that really till things
be perfectly accommodate, 1 do not desire they should see her, and I kno\v
not how to manage her. So I hope you will send all the advice you can to
your obliged, &c. &c. I hope you will excuse me for not going your lenglii,
since I have such a hard task at home." The advice given him by CuUoden has

390 SIMON lllASEll.

not been preserved; but that it w.is not to his mind, wo learn from a letter
written by thatgenllciuan from hiverhtchy, ab.)iit ten or twelve days after. " I
am nuicli concerned," says ho, " lliat your neii^hbour IJcaiifort hatli played not
the fool but the madmau. If, by your persuasion, he cannot be induced to de-
liver up tiie so much abused lady upon assurance of pard<in, in all pi'obability he
will ruin both hiiusi'lf and his friends, 'lis not long since he was here, and
promised mj other things ; but since he has run a quite contrary course, and
Elands neither to his own nor the proposals of any other, I have sent down two
hundred men,'' &:c.. &c This view of the matter is still further confirmed by
another letter from Lovat to Cullodcn, a few days after the above, when he seems
to liavc felt that he was pretty much in the power of his enemies. " I pray you
receive the inclosed account of my business, and see if your own conscience,
in the sight of God, do not convince you that it is literally true. I had sent to
you upon Saturday last, but you were not at home ; however, I sent it that day
to the laird of Calder, who, I hope, will not sit down upon nie, but transmit it
to my best friends ; and I beseech you, sir, for God's salve, tliat you do the like.
I know the chancellor is a just man, notwithstanding his friendship for Tulli-
bardine. I forgive you for betraying of me ; but neither you, nor I, nor I hope
God himself, will not forgive them that deceived you, and caused you do it. I
am very hopeful in my dear wife's constancy, if they do not put her to death.
Now, I add no more, but leaves myself to your discretion," &a At
the same time his father, lord Lovat, wrote to the duke of Argyle an explana-
tory letter upon the subjoct, signed by himself and all the principal Prasers.
The great benefit of the marriage to tlie estate of Lovat is chiefly insisted on
in this letter, and represented as the sole cause of the enmity of the Athol
family ; who, it states^ Avished to appropriate that fair domain to themselves.
Argyle, on the receipt of this letter, wrote to Mr Carstairs, who was king Wil-
liaui's principal adviser in all that related to Scotland, and, after a considerable
length of time, was gratified by receiving the pardon he had solicited for all the
treasons witii which his client had been chai'ged, leaving the story of the rape
for a subject of futui-e investigation. For this also, had there been a little
patience and prudence exercised, there cannot be a doubt but lie would have
obtained a full romission.

To be out of the way of this storm at its comaiencement, lord Lovat had
taken shelter in the island of Skye, -ivitli his brother-in-law the laird of Macleod,
where he died in the beginning of 1698. Simon, who had defended himself
in the best manner he could, tlien assumed the title of lord Lovat, but to escape
the rage and superior streng-th of his enemies, was also under the necessity of
taking refuge in the isles, where he remained till the follo\ving year, when the
duke of Argyle, with the promise of a pardon, brought him to London. De-
lays took place, however, in procuring his remission to pass the Scottish seals,
till the king set out for the United Pioviuces, and Lovat took an excursion into
France, for the purpose of lodging, at the court of St Germains, a complaint
against the marquis of Athol, and soliciting James's protection against the ma-
lignity of his powerful family. Having obtained his rerpiest, and been enjoined
by the exiled monarch to wait on and make his peace with king William, Lovat
proceeded by the way of London to the court of that sovereign, at Loo, being
favoured with a letter from the duke of Argyle to Mr Carstairs, through whom
he received a reuiission, he himself says, of all crimes that could be imputed
to him, but restricted by Seafield in passing the Scottish seals, as has been
above stated. With this remission, such as it was, he ventured to make his
appearance in public, had a citation served upon the marquis of Athol and his
family for falsely accusing him, and for devastating his estates ; and, making a

SIMON TEASER. 391

progress through the north, returned to Edinburgh with a hundred gentlemen
as honourable as himself, to support his charges, and bear witness to the inno-
cen(;e and integrity of his character ; or rather to browbeat the authorities, and
extort from fear a decision which he well knew could never be procured from
the voice of truth and justice. Finding, however, that he had undertaken what
would fail him in the issue, he once more set out for London, the day before
the trial should have come on, and was nonsuited in his absence ; and thus, by
his imprudent temerity, lost the opportunity of being fairly instated in the
estate and honoui-s of Lovat, as ho would certainly have been, through the inte-
rest of Argyle and his other friends, liad he allowed them to do their own work
in their own Avay.

The restoration of king James was now Lovat's sheet anchor ; and, lest the
Murrays, whom he suspected of being warmer friends to James than he wrs
himself, should also be before him here, it was necessary forliim to be peculiarly
forward. Accordingly, on the death of king William in the early part of the
year 1702, he procured a commission from several of the principal Scottish
Jacobites to the court of St Germains, declaring their being ready to take up
arms and hazard their lives and fortunes for the restoration of their lawful
prince ; as usual, paying all manner of i-espect to the court of Versailles, and
requesting its assistance. With this, he proceeded by the way of England and
Holland, and reached the court of St Germains about the beginning of Septem-
ber, 1702 ; just in time to be particularly us.^fal in inflaming the contentions
that distracted the councils of James VIII., for the direction of whose affairs
there was a most violent struggle among his few followers. lie had for his
fellow-traveller his cousin-german. Sir John Maclean, well known in the history
of the intrigues of that time, who, leaving hiui at Faris, was his precui-sor to
the court of St Germains, whence in two days lie returned to conduct him into
the presence of the duke of Perth, from whom he i-eccived private instructions
how to conduct himself towards the queen. The principal of these was to re-
quest of the queen that she should not make known any part of ^vhat he pro-
posed to lord Middleton, who, at the time, was the rival of lord Perth for the
supreme direction of their affairs, which might be said to lie chiefly in sending
out spies, fabricating reports, and soliciting pensions. Nothing could be more
agreeable to Lovat, the very elements of whose being seemed to be mystery,
and with whom to intrigue was as natural as to breathe. To work he Avent,
exacted the queen's promise to keep every thing secret from 3Iiddleton ; and by
the aid of the marquis de Torcy, the marquis Callieres, and cardinal Gualterio,
the pope's nuncio, fancied himself sole administrator of the affairs of Scotland.
The queen herself was so much pleased with the opening scene, that she glad-
dened the heart of Lovat, by telling him she had sent her jewels to Paris to be
sold, in order to raise the twenty thousand crowns he had told her were neces-
sary for bringing forward his Highlanders in a properly effective manner.
But she was not long true to her promise of secrecy ; and Middleton at once de-
picted Lovat as '' the greatest traitor in the three kingdoms :" nor did he treat
his favourite Highlanders Avith any more respect, representing them as mere
banditti, excellent at plundering the Lowlanders, and carrying oft' their cattle,
but incapable of being formed into a regular corps that would look a well ap-
pointed enemy in the face. From this day forward, Lovat seems to have
fallen in the opinion of Mary d'Este, who was a woman of rather superior ta-
lents, though he seems to have gone on well with de Torcy, Callieres, and
Gualterio, who found in him, as they supposed, a very fit tool for their purpose
of raising in Scotland a civil war, without nmch caring whether it really pro-
moted the interests of James or not. After much intriguing with Perth and

502 SIMON FRASEll.

Middleton, ns veil ns ^\ith the Freiicii luir.istry, I.ovat oblriiiiod n. Cdnmiiseion to
visit Scotlruid in 1703, but rallicr ns nii oiniss.-iry <>f the I'reiidi goveruiiient,
than an accredited aj;ent Air James. 'J he object of tiie 1 leiicli government waa
to liave an inmiediiilc diversion cre.ifed in the Highlands, and they fiiriiishcd
liis lordship with six thousand francs (Lii50) to defray the expenses of his jour-
ney, and a commission to be a niajor-general, >vilh power to raise troops and
appoint cfticers, as lie should find needful. At the same time, to be the
Avitncss ot liis behaviour, they joined with him John IMurray of Abercairney,
a gentleman wlio ought to liave been ashamed of such a ccimpanion as Lovat,
and had the address to send James Jluiray, brother to 3Iurray of Stanhope, so
as to be in Scotland at least a month before him, where he told it openly, that
Lovat WHS on his way, as agent for the pope and the king of France, to raise a
civil war in Scotland, contrary to the positive orders of the King and his mother
the queen. Owing to this and the well known character of Lovat, many of the
Jacobites were shy of communicating with him, though he certainly found a low
willing to depend upon his promises, and to enter into his projects, liis prin-
cipal object, however, most probably was to see if there were yet any openings
whereby he might reconcile himself with the government, and be allowed to
take possession of the estate of Lovat, the fust and the last grand object of his
ambition. lie accordingly threw himself in the way of Qucensberry, to whom
he betrayed all — perhaps more than he knew, respecting his old friend, loid
Murray, now, by the death of his broiher and the (jucen's favour, duke of
Athol, and his associate in politics, the duke of Hamilton ; but his best friend
the duke of Argyle dying at this time, he appears to have obtained nothing
more than a free passport, and perhaps some promises in case of further disco-
veries ; and with this he passed again into Fiance. Having, while in London
fallen in with, or rather been introduced to, a well known Jacobile, ^^■illiam
Keith, and the well known framer of plots, Ferguson, who was shortly after
taken up, the whole of liis transaction took air before he had time to reach
Paris. The companion of his travels, too. Sir John Maclean, coming to Fng-
land about the same time, surrendered himself prisoner, and, in consideration
of obtaining his liberty ai.d a small pension, laid open the wliole of Lovat's
proceedings from first to last, so that lie was discovered to both courts at the
same time. The reader, however, if he supposes that Lovat felt any pain at
these discoveries, is in a great mistake. They were unquestionably the very
events he wished, and from which he expected to rise in worldly estimation
and in wealth, which is too often the chief pillar upon which that estimation is
founded. There was at this period, among all parties, a thirst for emolument
wliich was perfectly ravenous, and scrupled at no means by which it might
attain its gratification. Of this fatal propensity, the present afiair is a re-
markable instance. Lovat had received from king James the present of
his picture, which, with a commission for a regiment of infantry, he had in-
closed in a box made frr the purpose. Ihis, on leaving Scotland, he commit-
ted to his friend, Campbell of Glendaruel, to keep for him, and his back was
scarcely turned when dlendaruel went to the duke of Athol, and offered him
the box, with its contents, provided he would give him a company in a regiment
that was held by Campbell of 1 inab, and was worth about one hundred and
seventy pounds a year, which he at once obtained, and the box with its <;ontenls
was in a short time lodged in the hands of queen Anne. Lovat, in his me-
moirs, relates the transaction, and exclaims against its treachery, though it was
wholly his own contrivance ; the box being given for the express purpose of
procuring a pension for his friend, and giving Anne and her ministers ocular
demonstration of his OAvn importance.

SIMON FRASER. 393

On his arrival in France, lord Lovat found tlie earl of Middleton and the
exiled queen, as miidi opposed to him and his projects as ever, but he continued
his assiduities with the French courtiers, who informed him, that he might ex-
pect very soon to be the first of the Scottish nobility, since he would be called
on to head the insurrection not only as a general officer to king James, but as
a general officer in the army of France ; every thing necessary for the success
of the expedition, land forces, a squadron of ships, arms, and ammunition,
being already prepared, and nothing remaining to be done but the form of car-
rying it through the privy council, uhich a day or two would accomplish. In
a day or two it was proposed in the council, when the king himself declared,
that, though he had the highest opinion of the excellence of the proposed plan,
the queen of England had positively refused to sign commissions for her subjects
to engage in it, and therefore, for the present it was necessary to lay it aside.
This was a sad blow to the hopes of Lovat; and being always fond of letter-
writing, he wrote a letter to the queen, in which he told her, that she hatl at
one blow oi'erturned a project which he had sacrificed his property and exposed
his life to bring to periection ; and he affirmed, that, so long as her majesty
followed implicitly the advice of the people who were at the head of the English
parliament, Jesus Christ would come in the clouds before her son would be
restored ; and he concluded by saying, that, for his own part, he would never
draw a sword for the royal cause, so long as the regency was in her majesty's
hands.

In consequence of this letter, lord Lovat was at the queen's instance im-
prisoned thirty-two days in a dark dungeon, three years in the castle of Angou-
leme, and seven years in the city of Saunnir. In the meantime the project was
not abandoned. Colonel Hooke succeeded to the part that Lovat had played
or attempted to play. A large armament, under admiral Forbin, was fitted out
in the year 1708, and in winch James himself embarked, and had a sight of the
Scottish shore, when meeting with admiral Byng and afterwards encountering a
violent storm, the whole Avas driven back upon the French coast, with great
loss. In this expedition the friends of Lovat had requested James to employ
him, and they had received the most determined refusal, which finally, with
the failure of the expedition, cut off all his hopes from that quarter. What
added greatly to the bitterness of his reflections, the heiress of Lovat was now
mai-ried to Mr Alexander Mackenzie, (son of lord Prestonhall,) who had as-
sumed the title of Fraserdale, with the estate of Lovat settled on him for life,
with remainder to the heirs of the marriage, who were to bear the name of
Eraser, and of which there were already more than one. Thus circumstanced,
he confessed, that he " would not merely have inlisted himself in the party of
the house of Hanover, which was called to the crown of Scotland, England, and
Ireland, by all the states of the kingdom, but with any foreign prince in the
universe, who would have assisted him in the attainment of his just and laudable
design of re-establishing his family, and proclaiming to all Scotland the bar-
barous cruelty of the court of St Germains." In this state of mind he formed
the resolution of escaping from Saumur, in company with some English prison-
ers, and throwing himself at the feet of the dukes of Marlborough and Argyle,
entreating them to inte»-pose in his favour with queen Anne. This design cir-
cumstances prevented him from executing ; but he transmitted on various oc-
casions, letters to the duke of Argyle and others of his friends, upon whom he
supposed lie could depend, stating the determination he had come to, and re-
questing their good offices to effect his reconciliation with the queen. Some cf
these letters Avere returned to the court of St Germains, shown to the court of
France, and nearly occasioned his being sliut up in the Bastile for life. Ke

394 SIMON FBASER.

was very soon, houcver, engaged in fonning' another jilan for tlio invasion of
Scotland, in which he expected to bo employed; but the terrible canipaif^ns of
1710 and 1711, put it out of the power of the court of IVaiue to attend to
any tiling beyond domestic concerns; and the marquis de la I'u/iJiere, the
principal friend be possessed at tiie French court, dying at the same time, ren-
dered all bis prospects in that country hopeless. '1 be conclusion of peace,
and the appointment of tlie duke of ilamilton to represent queen Anne at the
court of Nersaillcs, tilled him with still more gloomy apprehensions, from which
lie was not delivered till be read in the public papers the fatal duel that had
been fought between that nobleman and lord 31obun, when he again took
courage, and ap})lied once more to the French court to be set at liberty. The
pei-son he employed, however, had no success; his character seemed to be
losing rather tlian gaining at that court, and he was advised to make his escape-
Others, certain that the king would be immediately restored by Anne and her
ministers, and was even now on the point of setting out for Scotland to be at
hand when ^vanted, assured him that to depart for Scotland without his per-
mission was only to rush upon inevitable destru<;tion. This seems to have
filled him with great apprehension, and he laboured to be reconciled to the
Pretender with the greatest but the most fruitless industry, till he was driven
to utter despair by the death of queen Anne, and tidings that all the Jacobite
clans in the north were arming in behalf of James, who had again and again
declared, that, without the consent of the duke of Athol, lie would never hear
of his name. In this dilemma, one of the Frasers arrived to request his
presence with the clan, and advising him to join the party of Argyle, who was
their old friend, and the only one that Avas likely to be able to aflord them
protection. He had previously to this written to Argyle, but does not seem to
have liad any reply. He now despatched a trusty sen'ant to consult with him
and Hay, CuUoden, Grant, Kilravock, and other of his old friends, who stated,
that if he could make his way safely to London, the business was done. This
at once determined him to set out for England, taking the best precautions
he could to avoid being arrested. On the 1st of November, 1714, after an im-
prisonment of ten years, he arrived at Dover, where, on account of extreme
fatigue, he rested for one night. He then, by a journey of two days, arrived
safely in London.

Here his first care was to despatch his trusty friends, James and Alexander
Eraser, for the earl of Hay and brigadier-general Grant. The brigadier lost
not a moment in waiting on him, expressed great joy to see him safe and well,
and assured liim of every good office in his power. Hay, on the contrary, ex-
pressed considerable regret at his having quitted the provision which, amid all
the severe treatment he met with, had been made for him in France, while in
England he had not even the security of his life, but he engaged to bring his
case before the king and the prince that very night, and to let him know the
result next day. 'I'he circumstances in which Lovat had thus placed himself
Avere by no means pleasant. In Scotland there was a sentence of death in full
force against him, and a price set upon his head, while he had nothing to rely
upon but a precarious pi-omise from a few friends, Avho, after all, might neither
have the will nor the power to pi-otect him. He was, however, too deeply em-
barked to draw back, and he determined, regardless of consequences, to throw
himself upon the protection of the duke of Argyle and the earl of Hay, to take
no step in his aflairs but by their direction, and to live and die in their service.
How happy had it been for his lordship had he never lost sight of this prudent
detennination. Next day Hay informed him that he had spoken of his case
both to the king and the prince, who were well disposed towards him ; but,

SIMON FRASER. 395

without some security fur his future loyalty, Viere not willing to grant him a
free pardon. It would therefore be necessary for him to present an address to
the king, signed by all his friends who were well affected towards the present
government, and that, in this address, they should enter into an engagement
for his loyalty in any sum the king pleased. Such an address as would be
proper, Hay promised to draw up, which he accordingly did two days after ; and
Lovat, by his trusty friend, James Fraser, immediately despatched it to the
north, with the following letter to his old friend, John Forbes of Culloden,
who was at the time canvassing for the county of Inverness :

" Much honoured and dear sir, — The real friendship that I know you have
for my person and family makes me take the freedom to assure you of ray
kind service, and to entreat of you to join with my other friends betwixt Spey
and Ness to sign the address the court requires in order to give me my remis-
sion. Your cousin James, vho has generously exposed himself to bring me
out of chains, will inform you of all the steps and circumstances of my affairs
since he saw nie. I wish, dear sir, you were here ; I am confident you would
speak to the duke of Argyle and to the earl of Hay, to let them know their own
interest and their reiterated promises to do for me. Perhaps they may have
sooner than they expect a most serious occasion for my service. But it's need-
less now to preach that doctrine to them, they think themselves in ane infallible
security. I wish they may not be mistaken. However, I think it's the in-
terest of all those who love this government betwixt Spey and Ness to see me
at the head of my clan, ready to join them, so that I believe none of them will
refuse to sign ane address to make me a Scotchman. I am persuaded, dear sir,
that you will be of good example to them on tliat head. But secrecy, above all,
must be kept, without Avhich all may go wrong. I hope you will be stirring
for the parliament, for I will not be reconciled to you if you let Prestonhall
outvote you. Brigadier Grant, to whom I am infinitely obliged, has Avritten to
Foyers to give you his vote, and he is an ingrate villain if he refuses him. If
I was at home, the little pitiful barons of the Aird durst not i-efuse you. But
I am hopeful that the news of my going to Britain will hinder Prestonhall to
go north, for I may meet him when he least thinks of me. I am very impa-
tient to see you, and to assure you most sincerely how much I am, with love
and respect, right honourable," &&

Tlie above is a fair specimen of Lovat's manner and address in compliment-
ing those whom he had an interest in standing ivell with. He had indeed use
for all his activity on this occasion. The secrecy which he recommends was
also very necessary, for Fraserdale no sooner heard of his intention of coming
down to Scotland, which was only a few days afier this, than he applied to the
lord justice clerk for an extract of the process and sentence against him, no
doubt with the intention of putting it in execution, before his friends should be
able to interpose any shield of legal authority in his defence. All his friends,
however, especially Culloden, were particularly active. The address and bond
of security to the king was speedily signed by all the whig gentlemen of con-
sequence in the north, and remitted to lord Hay, who carried it to London in
the month of March, 1715. Culloden, in the meantime, had, through his
brother Duncan Forbes, afterwai-ds lord president, transmitted to be presented
by lord Hay, a most loyal address to the king, signed by the Frasers, with a
tender of their clan to Argyle as their chief. This was intended to counter-
balance the address of the Jacobites that had been transmitted to the earl of
Marr, but which he durst not present, and to strengthen the interest of Ar-
gyle, which the other was calculated to weaken. Through the opposition of the
duke of Montrose, however, who had been gained over by Prestonhall and the

390 SIMON FRASER.

duke of Atliol, Lovat's business ivas jn-otractcd (ill llic moiilli of .Tiily, 1715;
when the news of tlie preparations of the I'letender for an invasion of Great
Britain, transmitted by tiiu carl of Stair, then ambassador at I'aris, and the
general ferment that prevailed throiioh the country, had aroused the fears of the
government. Hay availed himself of these «ure,uiiistances fur turning the at-
tention of the I'higlish minister more partit^ularly to that too long delayed
afl'air. The addresses which had been obtained in his favour were then given
in to his majesty, whose gracious pardon he obtained, and in October, making
the best of his way for the north, he was arrested by a loyal party at Dumfries
as a Jacobite, lieferring for liis <;haracler to the marquis of Annandale, who hap-
pened to be in the neighbourhood, and to whom he was known, he was im-
mediately set at liberty. Here he volunteered his services to lead a party of
the to>Misnien in attacking the rebels in their quarters at Lochmaben, but the
attack after it had been resolved on was abandoned through the prudent advice
of the marquis of Annandale, who was afraid of the consequences both to them-
selves and the good cause in which they ^vere engaged.

Leaving- Dumfries, his lordshiji found his way into the north, where the in-
surgents were nearly triumphant, being in possession of the whole country
save the shires of Sutherland, Koss, and Caithness, with perhaps a detached
castle or two in some of the neighbouring counties. Among these was the cas-
tle of CuUoden. The Grants and the Munroes had also been able in some
measure to preserve their own territories ; but the rebels were every where
around them in great force. The first of Lovat's proceedings was to hold a
counsel with his general, as he long after called him, Duncan Forbes, and his
brother the laird of CuUoden, who was, perhaps, the most trust-worthy man in
the north ; after which he went home, where he was waited upon by a con-
siderable number of Frasers, with whom he marched for Stratherrick, one of his
estates, and by the way compelled the clan Chattan to lay down their arms
and disperse to their homes. JMacdonald of Keppoch, too, who had three
hundred pien assembled on the braes of Abertarf, dismissed them the moment
he was apprized of Lovat's approach. At Stratherrick he was waited upon by
Fraser of Foyers, and Iraser of Culduthill, with their retainers ; and to prevent
the Slacdonalds from reaching the other side of Lochness, he himself crossed
over at Bonat, and with tAvo hundred picked men marched according to agree-
ment for Inverness, by Kinmayles. Colonel Grant, with a number of his own,
Elclieiz's and Knockandow's men, captain Grant with three hundred Grants,
and all the other gentlemen engaged in the enterprise, Avere at the same time
approaching the northern capital in order to rescue it from the hands of the
rebels. For this end, it was proposed that the gentlemen of Moray, in con-
junction with lord Lovat and the Grants, should set upon it from the south,
while the earl of Sutherland, lord Bae, the Munroes, and the Bosses, should
attack it on the north. These latter gentlemen, however, having some of them
upwards of fifty miles to march, besides ferries to cress, it was not thouglit ad-
visable to wait for them. Captain Arthur Bose, brother to Kih-avock, Avas
therefore ordered to enter the toAvn, Avhile those that Avere already come up
proceeded to invest it in the best manner they could. Lord Lovat, Avith his
detachment Avas stationed on the Avest end of the bridge, captain Grant on the
south side, to enter by Castle Street, and the Moray lieutenants, Kilravock,
Letham, Brodie, Sir Archibald Campbell, Dunphail, &c. Avere to attack the
east part. The attack Avas led on Avith great spirit by captain Arthur Bore,
Avho was unfortunately killed pressing on in the front of his men ; and Sir
John Mackenzie, the rebel governor, seeing himself .nbout to be overpoAvered,
abandoned the place, escaping Avith his men across the Frith in a number of

SIMON FRASER. 307

boats, which but a few days before he had intended to destroy, in order to cut
oft" all communication by tlie ferry. This was upon Saturday the 12th of
November, the day before the battle of Sheriffmuir and the surrender of Preston.
Thus the rebels were completely broken in the north, and it was a triumpli ob-
tained with very little loss. Much of the credit of the achievement was given
to Lovat, nmch more indeed than was his due ; but he was in want of something
to elevate his character, and his friends were willing to give him all advantages.
The immediate consequence of the honour he acquired on this day was the
desertion of tlu-ee hundred Frasers, who, under Fraserdale, weie in Marr's
camp at Perth ; but now denying his authority to lead them, put themselves
under the charge of lord Lovat at Inverness, where they remained till the
rebellion was finally put down by the earl of Argyle and general Cadogan.
But there was another consequence not very remote and of far greater impor-
tance : it secured him at once in the estate and all the honours of Lovat, which
it had been the great object of his whole life to compass, but which, ivithout
some such strange event, joined to the false step of his rival in joining the rebel
standard, was most certainly for ever beyond his reach. I'restonhall had mar-
ried the heiress of Lovat, in whose person, by a decree of the court of session,
so far back as the year 1702, rested the honours and dignity of Lovat, He
had assumed in consequence the name of Fraser and the title of Fraserdale,
and had a numerous offspring to inherit as heirs of marriage the estate which
he had so long possessed, and had he maintained his loyalty, nothing but a
revolution, with singular folly on his own part, could have dispossessed him of
the property. Most fortunately for Lovat, when he arrived in the north, Fraser-
dale was Avith the earl of Marr at Perth, and there was nothing to prevent him
from executing his purpose, of taking immediate possession of his estates,
which he did before proceeding to act vigorously in behalf of the government,
every member of which knew that such was the reward he expected. The for-
tunate issue of this his first action too called forth all the natural ai'rogancy and
presumption of his character. We find him in the ensuing March, only four
short months after, writing to Duncan Forbes in the folloxving style. " My
dear general, I send you the enclosed letter from the name of Macleod, which
I hope you will make good use of, for it's most certain I keeped the Macleods
at home, which was considerable service done the government." How had he
kept the Macleods at home, when the rebellion was at its height before it was
so much as known if ever he would be allowed to enter it ? But he goes on to
speak of his own achievements still more boastingly, and of the recalling of Ar-
gyle, which he says, has made him sick. '' I hope my dear general you Mill
take a start to London to serve his grace and do something for your poor old
corporal, (meaning himself;) and if you suft'er Glengarry, Fraserdale, or tha
Chisholm to be pardoned, I will never carry a musket any more under your
command, though I should be obliged to go to Afric. However, you know
liow obedient I am to my general's orders ; you forgot to give the order signed
by you and the other deputes to meddle with Fraserdale's estate for the king's

service. I entreat you send it me, for is afraid to meddle without

authority." How his lordship wished Fraserdale to find no mercy is obvious
from what is above stated ; but why should Glengarry and the Chisholm find
none for the very same reason ? Their estate lay contiguous to those of Fraser-
dale ; and if they could be all escheated to the king, why might not Lovat for
his own extraordinary services have got all the three as well as one ? Fraserdale
was escheated and Lovat had only to wait till the month of August, when a
grant passed his majesty's privy sctil of Scotland " for the many brave and
loyal services done and performed to his majesty by Simon lord Lovat, parti-

398 SIMON FRASER.

cularly for tlic zeal and activity lio sliowctl in sujiprcssiner the late uniiatural
rebellion in the north of Scotland, and lor his known allection to his majesty's
person and ii-oTeriinu'nt, jijiving, grantinfj, and disjjonint^ the escheat of all
goods, gear, debts and sums of money, jewels, gold, silver, coined or uncoined,
utensils and domecills, horse, nolt, sheep, corns, cattle, bonds, oblinations, con-
tracts, decreets, sentences, conipromilts, and all other poods and c^ear escheatn-
ble, which belonged to Alexander jMackenzie of Fraserdale, together with the
said Alexander ^lackenzie his life-rent escheat of all lands, heritages, tene-
ments, annual rents, tacks, steadings, rooms, possessions, as also five hundred
pounds of sterling money, fallen in the king's hands by the said sentence, &."c.

ITiis was certainly an abundant reward, though Lovat had been a much bet-
ter man, and his services more ample than they really were. It was nothing
more, however, than he expected, and it excited no gratitude, nor did it yield
any thing like content. Fraserdale's plate he had attempted to secure, but it
fell into the bands of general Wightnian ; who, it was at the time remarked,
had a happy knack of keeping what he got. However, he engaged to return
it, Lovat paying him the one half in money, the whole being only valued at
£150, sterling. In the month of April, he was, on his own request allowed to
come to London, to look after all tliose great affairs that were then going on ;
and his mode of writing about them gives a curious view of a worldly man's mo-
rality : — " I want," he says to his friend Duncan Forbes, " but a gift of the
escheat to make me easy. But if it does not do, you must find some pretence
or other that will give me a title to keep possession, either by thetailie my lord
provost has, or by buying off some creditors ; in short, you must make a man
of it one way or other." He was also at this time on the eve of his marriage
with 3Iargaret Grant, daughter of Ludovick Grant, of Grant ; and his moral
feeling on this subject is equally interesting to that which regarded the estate
of Lovrit : — " I spake to the duke, and my lord Hay, about my marriage, and
told them, that one of my greatest motives to the design, was to secure the
joint interest of the north. They are both fully for it, and Ai-gyle is to speak
of it, and propose it to the king. But Hay desired me to write to you, to know
if there would be any fear of a pursuit of adherence from the other pei-son,
(the dowager of Lovat) which is a chimerical business, and tender fear for me
in my dear Hay. But when I told him that the lady denied before the justice
court, that I had any thing to do with her, and that the pretended maiTiage
had been declared null, which Hay says should be done by the commissaries
only ; yet when I told him, that the minister and witnesses were all dead, who
had been at the pretended man-iage, he was satisfied they could make nothing
of it, though they would endeavour it. However, I entreat you, write to me or
?.Ir Stewart a line on this head, to satisfy my lord Hay's scruple." — This puts an
end to all doubt respecting the rape charged upon his lordship, of which he
had often before, and did often again declare, that he was as innocent as the
chUd unborn. All was now, however, forgiven ; the duke of ^\i-gyle wrote in
his favour to the Grants, recommending the match, and in the course of the
next year he obtained the young lady for his bride.

Lovat might now have been, if worldly success could make any man so, a
very happy man. He had been, for many years, an exile and a prisoner, pro-
scribed at home and abroad, and alUie odious to both parties in the state, and
botli claimants of the crown. He had ventured home at the hazard of his life,
had obtained the gi*ace of the reigning prince, the countenance of all his
friends, possession of the inheritance of his fathers, two honourable commissions
among his countrymen, a young and beautiful wife, and a handsome pension ;
yet he was the same as before, querulous and discontented.

SIMON niASER. 399

In the beginning of the year 1717, wc find him resuming the subject of the
grant, and he requests Duncan Forbes to employ Sir Walter Fringle, and any
one else he pleases, and consult together of some legal way for his keeping
possession of his estate ; "for," says he, " I must either keep violent possession,
which will return me my old misfortunes, or I must abandon the kingdom and
a young lady whom my friends have engaged me to marry. So, my dear ge-
neral, I beg you may give me some prospect of not being again forced to leave
the kingdom, or to fight against the king's forces. The one or the other must
be, if I do not find any legal pretence of possessing the estate but by this gift."
And all this was because a Mr Murray or a lord IMurray had made a motion in
the house of commons, for a redeeming clause to be added in favour of Fraser-
dale's lady, which occasioned a few hours' debate, and was improved for making
remarks on lord Lovat's character and conduct, but at last came to nothing. Per-
haps he WRS also a little disturbed by the movements of tlie Spanish court in
favour of James, which were still more contemptible than any party motion that
ever was made in the house of commons.

For a number of years after this, Lovat was fully occupied with the legal
campaigns which he carried on under the direction of Duncan Forbes, for the
final settlement of the Lovat estate, during all which time the aflairs of the pre-
tender gave him no trouble ; nay, they seem to have been totally forgotten.
After the lapse of a number of years, however, when he had got every thing
secured in his own way, we then find him again treating with the pretender for
a generalship and a dukedom, and all his old uneasinesses returning upon him.
Having no more to expect from his " dear general " the lord president, he
ceased to correspond with him ; and on the breaking up of the black watch,
one of the companies of which had belonged to him, he withdrew his affections
entirely from the existing government, and became ready once more to act for
the exiled family of Stuart.

The nation was now involved in war ; and the friends of the pretender, stirred
up by the emissaries of the court of France, which protected him for no other
purpose but to make him a tool on such occasions — began to bestir themselves.
Lovat, whose political views were very limited, never doubted but that France
had at all times the power to restore the pretender, if she had but the will, .and
now that her promises were so magnificent, he fell at once into the snare, and
was the first to sign, in the year 1740, that association Avhich brought entire
ruin upon the cause, and nearly all that had connected themselves with it.
Still he acted upon the old principle : he stipulated that he was to have a pa-
tent creating him a duke, and a commission constituting him lieutenant of all
the Highlands, and of coui-se elevating him above even the great Argyle.

Though Lovat had now committed himself, and was fairly in the way of '' hav-
ing all his old troubles returned upon him," common sense, as in most cases,
did not forsake him all once. He was employed in making preparations for
the new scenes of grandeur that to his heated fancy lay before him, but he did
not run the hazard of disappointment by any ridiculous parade, or any weak
attempts prematurely to realize them. When prince Charles landed at Bora-
dale, accompanied, not, as had been agreed upon with the association, at the
head of which Lovat had unfortunately placed his name, by thirteen thousand
men with aU necessary equipments, but with seven persons and a few domestics ;
his friends were perfectly astonished, and none of them more so than Lovat.
Accordingly, when he received Lochiel's letter stating that Charles was come,
and that he had brought the papers stipulated upon, viz. the patent for the
dukedom, and the general's conmiission, Lovat returned a cold and general an-
swer, that he might rely upon what he had promised. Lochiel, however, being

-A(n.H) A

400 SIMON FRASER.

led lo take part in the enterprise, «lro\\ in some of liis neighbours, and when
the gatherin:^ had begun, who could tell where it uould end? It might be at
last successlul, and all who had been backward at the outset might expect no
mercy in the end. Still Lovat was cautious. He only sent one of his distant
I relations, " mad Tom of (iortuleg,'' to meet Cliarles at Invergarry, and to ad-
! vise him to come by Stratherrick to Inverness, and by the time he reached the
I latter place, Sir Alexander IMacdonald and 3Iacleod would have time to come
up ; besides, he might expect to be there joined by the Grants, the x^Iackenzie?,
. and the 3Iaclun toshes. 'Ihese were all engaged to come forward, as well as
I Lovat, who was no\v, from a number of circumstances, doubtful of their con-
j stancy, and, while he presened the character of a leader, wished to see them
I all committed before he began to piny his part. All his finesse, however, was
i of no avail. Charles took other advice. Sir Alexander IMacdonald, and his
powerful neighbour, .Alacleod, stood entirely aloof; and to crown all, his
j " dear general," the lord president, to whom he owed all that he possessed in
I the world, and to whose acute powers of perception he was no stranger, became
i his next door neighbour, with the almost avo\ved purpose of watching his every
! action. All these circumstances reduced him to the necessity of acting with the
utmost caution, and at the same time sul)jected him to the most tormenting
anxiety. His preparations for joining the pretender he dared not entirely sus-
I pend, lest some inferior neighbour might rise to that pre-eminent place in the
I prince's favour, that, in Cxise he were successful, it was the dearest Avish of his
soul to occupy, and he knew not how to proceed, lest he might stand fairly com-
mitted, and be compelled to abide by the consequences. He did, however,
what he could : he compelled his son to leave liis studies Avith a view to make
him the leader of his clan, and he employed, in an underhand way, his depen-
dents to bring all matters connected with the expedition into a state of forward-
ness, \vliilc he himself Avrote letters to the lord president, filled with lamenta-
tions for his unhappy country, and his more unhappy situation, as having to do
with such mad people, and such an untoward and ungrateful son. After the
brilliant aflair at (jladsuiuir, however, wlien he saw " that as sure as God was
in the heavens, the mad young man would prevail," he took a little more cou-
rage, and sent to congratulate him on the victory, and to say, that being an old
man, he could not come liimself with five thousand men, as he had originally
intended, but that he would send his son, Avhich he hoped would be regarded
the same as if he had come himself. As the course of events seemed to favour
or fronn upon the attempt, his lordship's conduct continued to be more open,
or more concealed, till lord Loudon found it to be h.is duty to take him into
custody. Still, as he appeared undecided, and but few of his men had gona
south, and it was hoped he might still countermand them, his confinement was
only nominal. In an evil hour he made his escape from lord Loudon, and,
when it was utterly useless, threw the whole weight of his influence into the
rebellion. The master of Lovat had a share in the afi'air of Falkirk, but was
only coming up with his reinforcements to join the army of Char-les, when he
met it, totally routed, a few miles from the fatal field of Culloden. On the
evening of that fatal day, Lovat was petrified with the first and the last sight
he ever had of Charles. This was at Gortuleg, where the unfortunate prince
an'ived about sunset, a miserable fugitive, accompanied by his Irish counsellors,
Sheridan, Sullivan, O'Xeil, and his secretary John Hay. Lovat, on being told
of his appi'oach in this forlorn condition, poured forth against him the bitterest
execrations, as having brought utter ruin on the house of Lovat, and on the en-
try of his unexpected visitant, he is said to have run about the house in a state
of distraction, calling upon his domestics to chop off his aged head. Charles,

SIMON FRASER. 401

however, who poss&ssed the art of flattery in great perfection, sootlied liira by
the promise of another and better day with tlie elector, observing at tlie same
time, tliat he had already had two, while the elector had but one. That one,
however, unluckily for him and Lovat, was better than all the days either of
them had seen, or were ever again to see. But the joke satisfied the old man :
supper was hastily prepared, as hastily eaten, and at ten o'clock Charles changed
his dress, and bade his entertainer an everlasting farcAvell.

Lovat had now abundance of leisure to reflect upon his folly in rejecting the
sound advice of his friend the lord president ; but as he could have little hope
of being again pardoned, he studied to prolong his liberty and life in the best
manner he could, first by proposing a mountain campaign, which, was found im-
practicable, and then by betaking himself to the fastnesses of his country, with
which he was well acquainted. From one of these retreats he had the misery of
seeing his house of Castledownie laid in ashes, and his estates every where plun-
dered, the cattle driven off, the sheilings set on fire, and the miserable inmates
driven to the mountains. He had also the misfortune to see it given over by com-
mission from the duke of Cumberland to James Fraser of Castle Cullen for
the behoof of the government, which, considering what it had cost him, and the
value he set upon it, must have been worse than many deaths. As he had been
so long a conspicuous character, and one of the most active movers of this re-
bellion, the search after him was continued with the utmost patience and perse-
verance, and he was at last found upon an island in Loch iMorar, where he was
living comfortably with 3Iacdonald of 3Iorar, the proprietor of the island,
without any suspicion of being found out, having carried all the boats upon the
loch into the island, and being at a considerable distance from the
sea. Information, however, having been obtained, captain Ferguson, of his
majesty's sliip Furnace, sailed round till directly opposite the island, when the
men of war Ijoats were carried over land and launched into the loch. Most of
those that were upon the island fled by their boats aiid escaped ; but Lovat
being totally lame, was unable to escape in this manner. He was, however,
carried upon his bed into the woods, and was not found till after a search ci
three days. Being in no condition to make any resistance, he suiTcndered
himself at once, delivered up his arms and his strong box, was carried aboard
captain Ferguson's ship, and brought round to Fort William, where he wrote
a letter to the duke of Cumberland, boasting of the extraordinary services he
had performed for his family, of the great kindnesses he had then met with, and
of the vast benefits he was still capable of bestowing, should he be made a par-
ticipant of the royal mercy. Of this letter the duke took no notice, but he
treated him with much kindness. A litter having been provided for him, he
was brought to Fort Augustus on the 15th of June, 1746. On the fifteenth of
July he was sent to Stirling castle, where he remained some days. From Stir-
ling he was sent to Edinburgh, and thence by Berwick to London, the journey
being divided into twenty stages, one only of which he Avas required to travel
in a day. In this easy way he reached Barnet on the 14th of August, and on
the 15th, the Friday before the execution of the lords Kilmarnock and Bal-
merino, he ai-rived in London. On his way to the Tower, he passed the scaffold
that had been erected for the execution of those noblemen, which he looked at
with some emotion, exclaiming "Ah! is it come to this!" When brought
to the Tower, he was received by general Williamson and conducted to the
apartment prepared for him, where, as his trial did not come on till the begin-
ning of next year, he had abundance of leisure to contemplate the ruin he had
brought upon himself and his house by indulging a most insatiable avarice and
a ridiculous ambition. He, hoAvever, took possession of his dreary habitation

402 SIMON FRASEB.

w'nh n. degree of fortitutlu .iiul an equanimity of mind v.ovlliy of ." 1)elter mnn
and a bolter causf*.

On the 11 til of December lie was inn)ea<"iied of hi^:li treason by tlie bouse of
commons, a committee of wiiich was .'Hipointed to draw up tbe articles and
prepare evidence. Dn the 1 1th, lie was brought to the bar of the bouse of
lords and t!ie articles road to him. On this ocr.ision his lordship made a lone;
speech, in wliicii be cxpi-essed the hisb.est esteem for his majesty and all the
royal family, enumerating at great length the many ser^i<'es he had per-
formed for them during the rebellion in 1715, and singular favours bestowed
upon him in return by the late king and his minist rs. He then enlarged with
great elocjuence upon his age and intirniilies, particularly liis deafness, in con-
sequence of which bo said he had not heard one word of t!io charges jireferred
against him. They were of course read over to him again, when he presented
a, petition, praying that he might have a copy of them, and counsel and soli<-,itors
might be assigned him. He also acquainted their lordships that his estate had
been taken forcible possession of, in consequence of which he had nothing
eitlier to support him or to bear the expenses of his ti'ial. Their lordships
gave orders that he should be allowed the income of the estate for his subsist-
ence, lie also petitioned for his strongbox; but this was refused. On this
day his lordship displayed great ability and excited considerable sympathy.
On the 13th of January, 17 47, his lordship was again placed at the bar and
gave in an answer to the articles of impeachment, every one of which he de-
nied. After making a vci-y long speech, his trial was fixed for February the
23d. He was this day carried back to the Tower amid the hissings and exe-
crations of a vast mob that attended him. In consequence of a petition from
his lordship, his trial was put off till the 5th, and on a second petition till the
9th of March, on which day [Monday] it commenced, and was continued till
Thursday the I'Jth, when it was concluded, his lordshij) having been found
guilty by an unanimous vote of his peers, by the lord chancellor pronouncing
upon him the a^vful sentence of the law.

To give any particular account of this trial would be to give a history of the
rebellion. Suffice it to say that on AVednesday, the sixth day occupied by his
trial, his lordship read his defences, which were drawn up with all that sarcas-
tic shrewdness for which he was remarkable, and displayed his talents to very
oreat advantage. After being sentenced, the old man made a short speech, beg-
gino- their lordships to recommend him to his majesty's mercy. Turning to
the commons at the same time, he said, that he hoped the wortliy managers, as
they were stout, would be merciful. Going from the bar, he added, " Bly lords
and gentlemen, God Almighty bless you all. I wish you an everlasting fare-
well, for we shall never all meet again in one place."

Thoun-h he was sentenced on the 19th of 31arcli, there were no orders is-
sued respecting his execution till the 3d of April, when it was fixed for the
9th of that month. He had been in the meantime to all appearance perfectly
at his ease, and indifferent alike to life or death. Eeing importuned to peti-
tion his majesty for a pardon, he replied he was so old and infirm that his life
was not worth asking. He presented, however, a petition for the life of his
son, who was a prisoner iu the castle of Edinburgh, and who had been drawn
into the rebellion solely by his counsels. The notification of his death he re-
ceived with perfect composure, drank a glass of wine to the health of the mes-
senger who brought it, and entertained him for a considerable time with a most
cheerful conversation, assuring him that he would not change situations with
any prince in Europe. Next day he talked freely of his own affairs, and took
praise to himself for having been concerned in all the schemes that had been

SIMON FRASER. 403

formed in behalf of the Stuarts since he was fifteen years of age, and boasted
that he never betrayed a private man nor a public cause in his life. He add-
ed, perhaps with more truth, that he never shed a drop of blood with his
own hand, nor ever struck a man except one young nobleman [meaning-, av3
suppose, lord Fortrose in a public meeting at Inverness] whom he caned for
his impertinence and impiety. On the Sabbath he talked of his family, and
showed to his attendants a letter he Irnd written to his son in a style affec-
tionate and pious, breathing the resignation of a martyr. Being asked this
day some question about his religion, he answered that he was a Roman catholic,
and would die in that faith. Wednesday, the day before his execution, ho
awoke early and prayed for a considerable time with great fervency, but was
very merry dui-ing the day, talking generally of public affairs, particularly of
the bill that was in its progress through parliament for abolishing heritable
jurisdictions, which he highly reprobated. Timrsday, the day of his execution,
he awoke about three in the morning, and prayed with great fervour. At
five he rose, called as usual for a glass of wine and water, and being placed in
his chair, sat and read till seven, when he called for another such refreshment.
The barber shortly after brought him his wig, which he found fault with for not
being powdered so deeply as usual, saying that he went to the block with
pleasure, and if he had a suit of velvet would put it on for the occasion. He
then ordered a purse to put money in for the executioner, which when brought,
was not to his taste, " yet he thought no man could dislike it with ten guineas in
it." At nine he called for a plate of minced veal, of which he ate heartily, and
afterwards in wine and water dranli the healths of se-veral of his friends. In
the meantime the crowd was collecting on Tower hill, where, about ten o'clock,
the fall of a scaffold converted many idle spectators into real mourners, upwards
of twenty persons being killed an«i a vast number maimed. Lovat, it is said,
made the remai-k that " the more mischief the better sport." About eleven
the sheriff came to demand the body, and he was conducted to a house near
the scaffold, where he delivered to his lordship a paper saying he might give
the word of command 'ivhen he pleased and he would obey. He then said
a short prayer, desired that his clolhes might be given to his fiiends along
with his body, took a little brandy and bitters, and was conducted to the scaf-
fold, in going up to which he looked round hun and exclaimed, " God save
us, why should there be such a bustle about taking off an old grey head, that
can't get up three steps without two men to support it." Observing one of his
friends very much dejected, his lordship clapped him on the shoulder, saying
" Cheer up, man, I am not afraid : why should you F" On the scaffold, the
first object of his attention was the executioner, to whom he gave his purse
with ten guineas, bidding him do his work well. He then felt the edge of
the axe, saying he believed it would do, looked at his coffm, on which was
written "Simon Dominus Fraser de Lovat decollat, April. 9, 1747, aetat. suae 80,''
and sitting down in a chair set for him, repeated from Horace
'* Duke ct decoium est pro patrin mori,"

and from Ovid,

" Nam genus et pioavos et qux noii fLcinius ipsi
Vix ea nostra voce."
He then said a short prayer, called for his solicitor, William Fraser, to whom
he "^ave his gold headed cane and his hat, and requested him to see that the
executioner did not touch his clothes. Being undressed he kneeled to the
block, gave the signal in half a minute, and the executioner at one blow severed
liis head from his body.

Thus died Simon lord Lovat, one of the most extraordinary characters re-

404 GEORGE HILTON.

corded in Scottish liistory. Ife was possossed of good iintinal talents, \\hicli,
considerinq^ tlio age in whidi lie lived, and tlie troul)lcd life he led, had been
considerably cultivated, but he was totally dustitute of tliat wliich alone consti-
tutes true dignity of character, moral Avorth. His private character, as may
well be conceived, from what we have detailed of his jmblic one, was vicious,
liis appetites coarse, and liis pleasures low and unscrupulous. He had, however,
seen mucli of the world, possessed great address, and when he had a purpose to
serve, could nuake himself peculiarly agreeable, lew men have ever been so
very fortunate, and .as few have recklessly thro\vn their good fortune from them.
" A protracted course of wickedness," one writer has remarltcd " sccnis at last
to have impaired his natural shrewdness ; he digged a pit into ^vhich he him-
self fell, spread a snare with his own hands in which he was caught, and in the
just judgment of God, his hoary hairs cauie to the grave mih blood."

Besides his early affair with the dowager of Lovat his lordship was t^vice
married, first to IMargavet, daughter to the laird of Grant, and secondly to
Primrose, daughter to John Campbell of 3Iamore. This latter marriage was
singularly unfortunate, and after the most unheard of barbarities exercised upon
the lady, his lordship was under the necessity of granting her a separate main-
tenance. By his first wife he had three children, two sons and one daughter,
and by the second one son, who eventually succeeded to the estate of Lovat.

FULTON, George, the author of an improved system of education, was born,
February 3, 17 52. He served an apprenticeship to a printer in Glasgow, and
afterwards worked as journeyman with Mr Willison of Edinburgh. He also
practised his profession for a time at Dumfries. In early life he married the
daughter of Mr Tod, a teaclier in Edinburgh. His first appearance as a teacher
was iu a charity school in Niddry's Wynd, which he taught for twenty pounds
a-year. There an ingenious and original mind led him to attempt some im-
provements in what had long been a fixed, and, we may add, sluggish art.
Adopting his ideas partly from the system of Mr Sheridan, and partly from his
late profession, he initiated his pupils with great care in a knowledge of the
powers of the letters, using moveable characters pasted on pieces of wood, (which
were kept in cases similar to those of a compositor in a printing house,) the re-
sult of which was, a surprising proficiency generally manifested by his scholars,
both in the art of spelling, and in that of pronouncing and reading the English
language.

Having thus given full proof of his fjualifications as an instructor of youth,
Mr Fulton was appointed by the town council one of the four teachers of
English under the patronage of the city corp u-ation, in which situation he con-
tinued till about the year 1790, when a dispute with the chief magistrate in-
duced him to resign it, and set up on his own account. He then removed from
Jackson's Close in the Old Town, to more fashionable apartments in Hanover
Street, Avhere he prospered exceedingly for more than twenty years, being more
especially patronised by Thomas Tod, Esq., and the late Mr Eamsay of Barn-
ton, In teaching gi-ammar and elocution, and in conveying to his pupils coiTcct
notions of the analogies of our language, 3Ir Fulton Avas quite unrivalled in
his day. Many teachers from other quarters became his pupils, and were suc-
cessful in propagating his system ; and he had the honour to teach many of the
most distinguished speakers of the day, both in the pu'pit and at the bar.
During the long course of his professional life, he was indefatigable in his en-
deavours to improve his method, and simplify his notation; and the result of
his studies was embodied in a Pronouncing Dictionary, which was introduced
into almost all the schools of the kingdom.

Blr Fultou was an eminent instance of the union of talent with frugal and

EICHAUD GALL.- FRANCIS GARDEN. 405

virtuous habits. HaFing realized a considerable fortune by teadiino- he re-
signed his school to his nephew, Sir Andrew Kniglit, and for the last twenty
years of his life, enjoyed otium cum dignitate, at a pleasant villa called Suni-
nierfield (near Newhaven), which he purchased in ISOG, In the year 1820,
Mr Fulton married, for the second wife, I\Iiss Eliza Stalker, but had no children
by either connection. He died, September 1, 1 SS 1, in the 80th year of his age.

G

GALL, Richard, a poet of considei'able merit^ was the son of a notary in
the noighbourliood of Dunbar, where he was born in December, 1776. He
received a limited education at Haddington, and at the age of eleven was ap-
prenticed to his maternal uncle, who was a house-carpenter and builder. A
decided repugnance to this mechanical art induced him soon after to abandon it,
and enter the business of a printer, which was only a degree more suitable to
Iiis inclinations, from its connection with literature, to which he was already
much attached. In the course of an apprenticeship to i\Ir David Ramsay, the
liberal and enlightened printer of the Edinburgh Evening C'ourant, he made
great advances in knowledge, and began at length to attempt the composition
of poetry in the manner of Burns. At the expiry of his time, he had resolved
to abandon even this more agreeable profession, as affording him too slight op-
portunities of cultivating his mind, when fortunately he obtained the appoint-
ment of travelling clerk to Mv Ramsay, an employment which promised him
much of tliat leisure for literary recreation, of which he was so desirous. He
continued to act in this capacity till his death by abscess in his breast. May 10,
1801, when he wanted still some months to complete his twenty-fifth yeai*.

In the course of his brief career, Mr Gall had secured, by his genius and
modest manners, the friendship of various literary characters of considerable
eminence, in particular BIr Alexander 3Iurray, afterwards Professor of Oriental
Languages, Blr Thomas Campbell, author of the Pleasures of Hope, and Mr
Hector 3Iacneill, author of many admired poems in the Scottish dialect. His
poetical remains were published in 1819, in one small volume, and include
some pieces which have retained their place in the body of our popular poetry,
though in general they ai'e characterised by a tameness of thought and language,
which will for ever prevent their author from ranking in nearly the same form
with Fergusson, Ramsay, and Burns.

GARDEN, Francis, a distinguished judge under the designation of lord
Gardenstone, was born at Edinburgh on the 24th of June, 1721. He vas the
second son of Alexander Garden of Troup, in Banflsliire, and of Jane, daughter
of Sir Francis Grant, lord Cullen, one of tlie judges of the court of session.
He followed the usual course of education at the grammar school and univer-
sity, and being destined for the bar, entered as a member of the faculty of
advocates on the 14th of July, 1744. During the eax'lier stages of his profes»
sional career, Mr Garden was distinguished for his conviviality, at a period when,
especially in Scotland, it must be admitted that real proficiency was requisite
to procure fame in tliat qualification. A strong hale body and an easy benevo-
lent mind gave him a particular taste for social hilarity; had he lived at a dif-
ferent age, he might have turned these qualities into a diflerent channel, but
they suited with the period, and he accordingly became the prince of jolly livers.
Nor, when he reached tliat period of life when certain bodily feelings generally

400 FRANCIS GARDEN.

iiiiike ancient bacclianalians look back willi bitt-rness on tlieir yoiitbfiil frolics,
did his ever contented mind lose its cfjtianiniily. If lie wnti no longer able to
indulge bjniself, be bore the indulgences of otbei-s «itli charity. His mind was
of the same ov{!illi>\\innr de.sciij>tion, and contiiuied, after the bwly was disabled,
to j>ertoriii its part in the social circle, .^lany characteristic anecdotes have been
preserved of his «;onvivial proi)ensities daring his early practice at the Ijar. On
one occasion, during tlio time when prin(;o Charles ildward was in possession
of iMlinbingh, he and a Mr Lumiingham (afterwards general) are said to have so
far preferred wine and oysters, to watching and warding, that, when sent as a
patrol by Sir John Cope, to watch the coast towards 3Iiisselbiirgh, instead of
proving a protection to the army, they were themselves taken prisoners, just
vtben the feast was at its highest, by a single individual, \\lio happened to be
proAvling in the neighbourhood. It must, however, be allowed, that at
that period, there were not many inducements to exertion held out to Scots-
men of the higher rank. There ^vere few men eminent for their genius, or
even for the more passive acquirements of classical learning, which distinguish-
ed the neighbouring country. The bar was the only profession Avliich, from its
respectability and emoluments, offered itself as a resource to the younger sons
of the landed proprietors, then sufficiently poor; aud while the learning and
information at that time required by its members in their professional capacity
were not great, the jealousy of England, just after the Union, allowed but to
one family in Scotland, the rational prospect that time and labour might be
Avell spent in preparing for the duties of a statesman. The state of the country
and its political influence were singularly discouraging to the upper classes, and
from many naturally active spirits being left unemployed, they turned to indolence
or unprofitable amusements those talents which might have rendered them the
best ornaments of their country. The nation had tlien, indeed, begun by degrees
to shake off its lethargy, and by the time the subject of tliis memoir had ad-
vanced a little in life, he became one of the most admired and beloved social
members of a circle of illustrious philosophers and historians, whose names are
dear to the memory of their countrymen, as those who first roused their slum-
bering energies.

On the 14th of July, 1744, Mr Garden Avas made sheriff of Kincardineshire,
and he soon after showed the soundness of his perception and the liberality of
his mind, by stretching forth his hand to assist the modest talent and elegant
taste of the author of the Minstrel. To those who may, from its lingering rem-
nants at the present time, have formed any idea of the stately coldness preserved
by the higher classes in Scotland towartls their inferiors, in the middle of the
eighteenth century, it will opei-ate as no small evidence of the discernment and
kindness of the judge, that he began his acquaintance with the poet and philoso-
pher, when that individual was only a cotter boy sitting in a field writing with
a pencil. In August, 1759, iMr Garden was chosen one of the legal assessors
of the town of Edinburgh ; and as a higher step in professional advancement,
in April, 17G1, accepted office in the latter days of Mr Pitt's administration, as
joint solicitor-general of Scotland, along with IMr James 3Iontgomery, after-
Avards lord chief baron. What were his professional attainments as a lawyer,
it is at this distance of time difficult to determine, as he has left behind him no
professional work, the only index which can lead to a knowledge of his mere tech-
nical attainments as a baii'ister. As a pleader, ho\\ever, we know he was highly es-
timated— as his connexion with a renowned lawsuit, which spread its fame over all
Europe, and created in Scotland a ferment of disputation inferior only to the hent
of religious controversy, has well shown. The appearance made by Mr (iardca
in the Douglas cause rendered his name better known, and his talents more ap-

FRANCIS GARDEN. 407

predated, than generally falls to the lot of a mere forensic pleader. He mt.s
eai-ly connected with the proceedings of this great case, in the Tournelle pro-
cess in France, where he appeared as senior to his future friend and literary
associate, the classical Burnet of Monboddo, and is generally repoi-ted to have
left behind liim a high opinion of his learning, and the powers of his eloquence,
even when clothed in a foreign language. He became connected with the case
on its transference to England, but amidst its multifarious changes, he was
raised to the bench as successor to lord Woodhall on the 3rd of July, 17G4,
in time to act as a judge on the case, then very different in its aspect and mate-
rial from what it was \vhen he performed the part of a counsel.

In 1762, Mr Garden had purchased the estate of Johnston, in Kincardine-
shire, and in 176 5, he coimiienced those improvements on his estate, which, if
not among the most brilliant acts of his life, are perhaps among those whicli
deserve to be longest and best remembered. At the time when the estate of
Johnston was purchased, the village of Lawrencckirk, if a village it could then
be called, contained but fifty-four inhabitants, living there, not because it was a
centre of commercial or industrial circulation, but because cliance had brought a
few houses to be built in each other's vicinity. Lord Gardenstone caused a new
line of street to be planned out on his own property ; he gave extremely mo-
dei'ate leases of small farms, and ground for building upon, to the last, for
the period of 100 years; he established a linen manufactory, built an inn, and
■with a singular attention to the minute comforts and happiness of his rising
flock, seldom equalled by extensive projectors, he founded a library for the use
of the villagers. To assist the progress of society in reducing men dispersed
over the country into the compact limits of a town, is an easy, and generally a
profitable process, but to found towns or villages where there is no previous spi-
rit of influx, is working to a certain degi'ce against nature, and can only be
accomplished by labour and expense. Although the benevolent mind of lord
Gardenstone, caused a mutual understanding and kindness betwixt himself and
his tenants, which mere commercial speculators fail in producing, yet many of
Lis best formed plans for the prosperity of the village proved unavailing, and he
was frequently subject to disappointment and needless expense. He seems,
however, to have felt the pleasure of being kind without profiting himself. At
much expense he supported a printfield and manufacture of stockings, and pur-
cliased a royal charter erecting Lawrencekirk into a burgh of barony, with a
regular magistracy. He had the satisfaction before his death to find the popu-
lation increase to five hundred souls, and in a letter to the inhabitants which he
published late in life, he says, — " I have tried in some measure a variety of the
pleasures which mankind pursue ; but never relished any thing so much as the
pleasure arising from the progress of my village."

In 1776, lord Gardenstone, in addition to his seat on the civil bench, was
appointed to fill the office of a lord commissioner of justiciary, or ordinary
judge in the criminal court, as successor to lord Fitfour. Nine years after-
wards, having succeeded, by the death of his elder brother, to the extensive
estate of Ti-oup, he relieved himself for ever from some of his laborious judicial
duties, and for a time from them all, and resolved to attempt to recruit his fail-
ing constitution, by making a pleasure tour through the continent. According-
ly, in 1786, he passed into France by Dover, visiting Paris and Lyons, re-
maining during part of the winter at Marseilles. In the ensuing spring he
passed to Geneva, where he saw the ruined remnant of Voltaire's village at
Ferney, from which he was able to draw a comparison much in favour of his
own, where the people enjoyed permanent political rights, which would render
them independent of any future superior who might not be disposed to imitata

408 FRANCIS GARDEN.

tlie beiielicence of tlie orin:iiia] pntron. liord Gardenstone spent the reiuaincler
of Ills allotted time in traversing the Netherlands, (ierniany, and Italy ; niakinjr,
in his progress", a collection of natural curiosities, and connuitting to writing a
ninnber of cursory remarks on the men and manners he encountered, and the
Avorks of art he had seen on his tour or met any where else, part of which were
submitted to the world in t\vo duodecimo volumes, denominated " Travelling
Memorandinus made in a Tour upon the Continent of Eui'ope in the year 17!)2,"
and a remaining volum6 was published after his death. About the same time
ho published " 3Iiscellanies in Prose and Verse," a collection of petty produc-
tions which had given him amusement, either in composing or liearing, during
his earlier days. Perhaps without aii'ectation, the gravity of the judge might
have restrained the man from giving to the world a publicntion which could not
have raised the better part of his reputation. Lord (jiardeustone was either not
a poet born, or his imagination had not stood the ordeal of a pi-ofession A\liich
deals in fact and reason. His serious verses have all the stiffness of the French
school, without cither the loftiness of Pope, or the lire of Dryden, The autlior
had to be sure an ever teeming mind, which never emitted any thing common
or contemptible, but it is to be feared, that the merits his verses possess, are
those of rhetoric rather than of poetry ; for, though constructed in the same
workshop which formed words and ideas that thrilled through the minds of a
subdued audience, they are certainly very flat and inelegant as poetical produc-
tions. The satiri(;al pieces have a singular pungence and acuteness, and are
fine specimens of the early natural powers of the author ; but they are rather
destitute of the tact acquired by professed satirists. A biogTapher, avIio seems
to have been intimate with his lordship,' describes him as having expressed
great contempt for the affectation of those who expressed disgust at the indeli-
cacies of Horace or Swift, and it must certainly be allowed, that, in his humour-
ous fragments, he has not departed from the spirit of his precepts, or shown
any respect for the feelings of these weaker brethren. Lord Gardenstone
spent the latter days of his life, as he had done the earlier, in an unrestricted
benevolence, and a social intercourse with the world, indulging in the sama
principles, which years had softened in their activity, but had not diminished.
He was still an ornament and a useful assistant to the circle of great men which
raised the respectability of his country. He continued to use his then ample
fortune, and his practised acuteness, in giving encouragement to letters, and in
useful public projects, the last of which appears to have been the erection of a
building over the mineral spring of St Bernaid's, in the romantic vale of the
water of Leith, a convenience whicli seems to have been much more highly ap-
preciated formerly than now, and is always mentioned as one of the chief inci-
dents of the judge's life. He died at Morningside, near Edinburgh, on the
23nd of July, 1793. The village which had aHbrded him so much benevolent
pleasure exhibited, for a considerable pei-iod after his deatii, tlie outward signs
of grief, and, what seldom happens in the fluctuations of the world, the phi-
lanthropist Avas mourned by those mIio had experienced his public munificence,
as a private friend.

In person, lord Gardenstone is described as having been a commanding man,
with a high forehead, features intellectually marked, and a serious penetrating
eye. He was generally a successful speaker, and di!fei-ed from many orators in
being always pleasing. The effect appears to have been produced more by a
deep-toned melodious voice, a majestic ease, and carelessness of manner, which

1 Life introductory to vol. 3d of Travelling IMemorandums, the only life of Gardenstone
hitherto publishfd — iit ienst the one which, mulatis i.'iiUandis, has been attached to his name
In biogrujihical dictionaries.

COLONEL JAMES GARDINER. 409

made liim appear unburdened with difficulties, and a flow of language which

Avhether treating of familiar or of serious subjects, was always copious than by

the studied art of forensic oratory. His political principles were always on
the side of the people, and so far as may be gathered from his remarks, he
would have practically wished that every man should enjoy every freedom and
privilege which it might be consonant with the order of society to allow, or
which might with any safety be conceded to those who had been long accus-
tomed to the restraints and opinions of an unequal government. From all that
can be gathered fi-om his life and character, it is to be regretted that lord Gar-
denstone, like many other eminent persons of his profession in Scotland, should
have left behind him no permanent work to save his memory from oblivion.
His " Ti'avelling Blemorandums " display the powers of a strongly thinking
mind, carelessly strewed about on unwortliy objects ; the ideas and information
are given with taste and true feeling ; but they are so destitute of organization
or settled purpose, that they can give little pleasure to a thinlting mind, search-
ing for digested and useful information, and are only fit for those desultory
readers, who cannot, or, like the author himself, will not devote their minds
to any particular end. The author's criticisms, scattered here and there through
his memorandums, his letters to his friends in the Edinburgh Magazine, and
numberless pencil marks on the margins of his books, are always just and
seai'ching, and strikingly untrammelled by the prejudices of the day, a quality
well exhibited in his praises of Shakspeare, then by no means fashionable, and
of the satellites of the great bard, Shirley, Marlow, Massinger, and Beaumont
and Fletcher, who were almost forgotten.

GARDINER, James, a distinguished military officer, and christian hei'o, was
born at Carriden in Linlithgowshire, January 11, 16SS. Of this remarkable
person we shall abridge the pleasing and popular memoir, written by Dr Dod-
dridge, adding such additional particulars as have fallen under our observation
in other sources of intelligence.

Colonel Gardiner was the son of captain Patrick Gardiner, of tlie family of
Torwood-head, by Mrs IMary Hodge, of the family of Gladsmuir. The cap-
tain, who was master of a handsome estate, served many years in the ai-my of
king William and queen Anne, and died abroad with the British forces in Ger-
many, shortly after the battle of Hochstet, through the latigues he underwent
in the duties of that celebrated campaign. He had a company in the regiment
of foot once commanded by colonel Hodge, his brother-in-law, wlio was slain
at the head of that regiment, at the battle of Steinkirk, IG92.

IVlrs Gardiner, the colonel's mother, Avas a lady of a very valuable character ;
but it pleased God to exercise her with very uncommon trials ; for she not only
lost her husband and her brother in the service of their country, but also her
eldest son, Mr Robert Gardiner, on the day which completed the 1 6th year of
his age, at the siege of Namur in 1695.

She took care to instruct her second son, the subject of this memoir, at a
very early period of his life in the principles of Christianity. He was also
trained up in human literature at the school of Linlithgow, v.Iiere he made a
very considerable progress in the languages. Could his mother, or a
very religious aunt, of whose good instructions and exhortations he often
spoke with pleasure, have prevailed, he would not have thought of a military
life. But it suited his taste ; and the ardour of his spirit, animated by
the persuasions of a friend who greatly urged it, was net to be restrained.
Nor will the reader wonder, that thus excited and supported, it easily over-
bore their tender remonstrances, when he knows, that this lively youth
fought three duels before he attained to the stature of a manj in one of

F

410 COLONEL JAMES GARDINER.

wliieh, \vlion Iio was but ci^lit years old, lie received from a boy niiirh older
tlian hiiusoir, a wound in liis ri<rlit clieek, the sc:ir of uliich was always very ap-
parent. The false sense of honour which instij^ated him to it, miyht seem in-
deed somethiiio- excusable in tliosc unripeiied years, and considering the pro-
fession of his father, brother, and uncle ; but ho was often hcr.rd to mention
this rashness with tiiat regret, which the retieclion would naturally give to so
wise and good a man iu the maturity of lite.

lie served lirst as a cadet, whicli nuist have been very early; and when at
fourteen years old, he bore an ensign's commission in a Scots regiment in the
Dutch service ; in whidi he continued till tlic year 170-2, when ho received an
ensign's commission from queen Anne, which he bore in the battle of Ramillies,
being then in the nineteenth year of his age. In this memorable action, which
was fought Ttlay 23, ITOli, our young officer was of a party in a forlorn hope,
commanded to dispossess the French of the church-yard at Ramillies, where a
considerable number of them were posted to remarkable advantage. They suc-
ceeded much belter than was expected ; and it may well bo supposed, that Mr
Gardiner, who had before been in several encounters, and had the view of
making his fortune, to animate the natural intrepidity of his spirit, was glad
of such an opportunity of signalizing himself. Accordingly, he had planted his
colours on an advanced ground ; and while he was calling to his men, he re-
ceived a shot into his mouth ; which, without beating out any of his teeth, or
touching the fore part of his tongue, went through his neck, and came out
about an inch and a half on the left side of tho vcrtebrre. Not feeling at first
the pain of the stroke, he wondered what was become of the bail, and in the
wildness of his surprise, began to suspect he had swallowed it ; but dropping
soon after, he traced the passage of it by his finger, when he could discover it
no other way. This accident happened about five or six in the evening ; and
the army pursuing its advantages against the French, without ever regarding
the wounded, (which was the duke of Blarlborough's constant method,) the
young officer lay all night in the field, agitated, as may well be supposed, Avith
a great variety of thoughts. When he reflected upon the circumstances of his
wound, that a ball should, as he then conceived it, go through his head without
killing him, he thought God had preserved him by miracle ; and therefore as-
suredly concluded, that he should live, abandoned and desperate as his state
seemed to be. His mind, at the same time, was taken up with contrivances to
secure his gold, of which he had a good deal about him ; and he had re-
course to a very odd expedient, which proved successful. Expecting to be
stripped, he first took out a handful of that clotted gore, of which he was fre-
quently obliged to clear his mouth, or he would have been choked ; and put-
ting it into his left hand, he took out his money, (about 19 pistoles,) and
shutting his hand, and besmeai'ing the back part of it with blood, he kept it in
this position till the blood dried in snch a manner, that his hand could net
easily fall open, though any sudden surprise should happen, in which he might
lose the presence of mind Avhich that concealment otherwise would have re-
quired. '

In the morning the French, who were masters of that spot, though their
forces were defeated at some distance, came to plunder the slain ; and seeing
him to appearance almost expiring, one of them was just applying a sword to
his breast, to destroy the little remainder of life ; Avhen, in the critical moment,
a Cordelier, who attended the plunderers, interposed, taking him by his dress
for a Frenchman; and said, " Do not kill that poor child.'' Our young soldier
heard all that passed, though he was not able to speak one woi'd ; and, opening
his eyes, made a sign for something to drink. They gave him a sup of some

COLONEL JAMES GARDINEK. 411

spirituous liquor, which liappened to be at hand ; by which he said he found
a more sensible refreshment than he could remember from any thinn- he liad
tasted either before or since. He was afterwards carried by the French to a
convent in the neighbourhood, and cured by the benevolent lady-abbess in the
course of a few months. His protectress called him her son, and treated him
Avith all the affection and care of a mother ; and he alnays declared, that every
thing- which he saw within^ these Malls, Avas conducted with the strictest decency
and decorum. He received a great many devout admonitions from the ladies
tiiere, and they would fain have persuaded him to acknowledge A\hat they
thought so miraculous a deliverance, by embracing the Catholic Faith, as they
were pleased to call it. ]3ut they could not succeed : for though no religion
lay near his heart, yet he had too much of the spirit of a gentleman lightly to
cliange that form of religion whicii he wore, as it were, loose about him.

He served with distinction in all the other glorious actions fought by the duke
of Marlborough, and rose through a course of rapid and deserved promotion. In
1706, he was made a lieutenant, and very quickly after he received a cornet's
commission in the Scots Greys, then commanded by the earl of Stair. On the
3 1st of January, 1714-15, he was made captain-lieutenant in colonel Ker's
regiment of dragoons. At the taking of Preston in Lancashire, 1715, lie
headed a party of twelve, and, advancing to the barricades of the insurgents,
set them on fire, notwithstanding a furious storm of musketry, by which eight
of his men were killed. A long peace ensued after tbis action, and Gardiner
being favourably known to the earl of Stair, was made his aid-de-camp, and
accompanied his lordship on his celebrated embassy to Paris. When lord Stair
made his splendid enti-ance into Paris, captain Gardiner Mas his master of the
horse ; and a great deal of the care of that admirably Mcll-adjusted ceremony
fell upon him ; so that he gained great credit by the manner in Mhich he con-
ducted it. Under the benign influences of his lordship's favour, M'hich to tiie
last day of his life he retained, a captain's commission was procured for him,
dated July 22, 1715, in the regiment of dragoons commanded by colonel Stan-
hope, then earl of Harrington ; and in 1717, he Mas advanced to tha majority
of that regiment ; in which office he continued till it was reduced, Novem-
ber 10, 1718, when he was put out of commission. But his majesty, king-
George I., was so thoroughly apprised of Iiis faithful and important services,
that he gave him his sign manual, entitling him to the first majority that
should become vacant in any regiment of horse or dragoons, which happened
about five years after to be in Croft's regiment of dragoons, in Mhich he re-
ceived a commission, dated June 1st, 1724 ; and on the 20th of July, the same
year, he Mas made major of an older regiment, commanded by the earl of
Stair.

The remainder of his militai-y appointments may be here summed up. On
the 24th Januaiy, 1729-30, he Mas advanced to the rank of lieutenant-colonel
in the same regiment, long under the command of lord Cadogan, Mith whose
friendship this brave and vigilant officer Mas also honoured for many years ;
and he continued in this rank and regiment till the 19th of April, 1743, Mhen
he received a colonel's commission over a nevv' regiment of dragoons, at the
head of which he Mas destined to fall, about two years and a half after he had
received it.

Captain Gardiner lived for several years a very gay and dissolute life, inso-
much as even to distinguish himself at the dissolute court of the regent Or-
leans. His conduct was characterized by every species of vice, and his consti-
tution enabled him to pursue his courses Mith such insouciance of njanner, that
he acquired tlie name of " the happy rake."

412 COLONEL JAMES GARDINER.

Still the cliecks of conscience, and some remaining principles of good
education, would break in upon his most licentious hours; and 1 particularly
remember, says Ur Doddridge, he told me, that when emne of his dissolute com-
panions were once connratulating him on his distinguished feli<;ity, a do;^- hap-
pening- at that time to come into the room, he could not fori)ear groaning in-
wardly, and saying to liimself " Oil that I were that dog !" I5ut tiiese remon-
strances of reason and conscience were in vain ; and, in short, he carried
tilings so far, in this wretched part of his life, that I am well assured, some
sober Englisii gentlemen, who made no great pretences to religion, how agree-
able soever he might have been to tiiem on other accounts, rather declined
tlian sought his company, as fearing they might have been ensnared and cor-
rupted by it.

Tiie crisis, however, of tliis cour.-c of wickedness, arrived at last. I am
now come, says his biographer, to that astonisliing part of his story, the ac-
count of his conversion, which I cannot enter upon without assuring the
reader, that I have sometimes been tempted to suppress many circumstances of
it ; not only as they may seem incredible to some, and enthusiastiail to others,
but I am very sensible they are liable to great abuses ; which was the reason
that he gave me for concealing the most extraordinary from many persons to
whom he mentioned some of the rest.

This memorable event happened towards the middle of July, 1719; but I
cannot be exact as to the day. 'Ihe major had spent the evening (and, if I
mistake not, it was the Sabbath) in some gay company, and had an unhappy
assignation with a married woman, of what rank or quality I did not particular-
ly inquire, whom he was to attend exactly at twelve. The company broke up
about eleven ; and not judging it convenient to anticipate the time appointed,
he went into his cliamber to kill the tedious hour, perhaps with some amusing-
book, or some other May. But it very accidentally happened, that he took up
a religious book, which his good mother or aunt had, without his knowledge,
slipped into his portmanteau. It was called, if I i-emember the title exactly,
Tlie Christian Soldier, or Heaven taken by Storm ; and was written by IMr
Thomas Watson. Guessing by the title of it, that he should find some phrases
of his own profession spiritualized, in a manner which he thought might aflbrd
him some diversion, he resolved to dip into it ; but he took no serious notice
of any thing he read in it : and yet, while this book was in his hand, an im-
pression was made upon his mind, (perhaps God only knows how,) which drew
after it a train of the most important and happy consequences. There is in-
deed a possibility, that while he was sitting in this solitude, and reading in
this careless ar.d profane manner, he might suddenly fall asleep, and only
dream of what he apprehended he saw. But nothing can be more certain,
than that, when he gave me this relation, [1739,] he judged himself to have been
as broad awake during the whole time, as he ever was in any part of his life ;
and he mentioned it to me several times afterwards as Mhat undoubtedly passed,
not only in his imagination, but before his eyes.

He thought he saw an unusual blaze of light fall on the book while he was
reading, which he at first imagined might happen by some accident in the can-
dle. But litting up his eyes, he apprehended, to his extreme amazement, that
there was before him, as it were suspended in the air, a visible representation
of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross, surrounded on all sides with a glory ;
and was impressed, as if a voice, or something equivalent to a voice, had come
to him, to this effect, (for he was not confident as to the very words,) * Oh, sin-
ner ! did I suffer this for thee, and are these the returns ?' But whether this
were an audible voice, or only a strong impression on his mind equally strik-

COLONEL JAMES GARDINER. 413

ing, lie did not seem very confident, though to the best of my remembrance, he
ratlier judged it to be the former. Struck witli so amazing a phenomenon as
this, tliere remained hardly any life in him, so that he sank down in the arm-
chair in which he sat, and continued, he knew not exactly how long, insensi-
ble ; which was one circumstance, that made me several times take the liberty
to suggest, that he might possibly be all this while asleep ; but however that
were, he quickly after opened his eyes, and saw nothing more than usual.

It may easily be supposed, he was in no condition to make any observation
upon the time in whicii he had remained in an insensible state. Nor did he,
throughout all the remainder of the night, once recollect that ci-iminal and de-
testable assignation, Avhich had before engrossed all his thoughts. He rose in a
tumult of passions, not to be conceived ; and walked to and fro in his chamber,
till he was ready to drop down, in unutterable astonishment and agony of
heart ; appearing to himself the vilest monster in the creation of God, who had
all his lifetime been crucifying Christ afresh by his sins, and now saw, as he
assuredly believed, by a miraculous vision, the horror of what he had done.
With this was connected such a vicAv, both of the majesty and goodness of God,
as caused him to loath and abhor himself, and to repent as in dust and ashes.
He immediately gave judgment against himself, that he was most justly worthy
of eternal damnation : he was astonished, (hat he had not been immediately
struck dead in the midst of his wickedness : and (which I think deserves parti-
cular remark,) though he assuredly believed that he should ere long be in hell,
and settled it as a point with himself for several months, that the \visdom and
justice of God did almost necessarily require, that such an enormous sinner
should be made an example of everlasting vengeance, and a spectacle as such
both to angels and men, so that he hardly durst presume to pray for pardon ;
yet what he then suffered, was not so nmch from the fear of hell, though he
concluded it would soon be his portion, as from a sense of that horrible in-
gratitude he had shown to the God of his life, and to that blessed Redeemer
who had been in so affecting a manner set forth as crucified before him.

TJie mind of major Gardiner continued from this remarkable time till towanl
the end of October, (that is, rather more than three months, but especially the
t\vo first of them,) in as extraordinary a situation as one can well imagine. He
knew nothing of the joys arising from a sense of pairdon ; but, on the contrary,
for the greater part of that time, and w ith very short intervals of hope towards
the end of it, took it for granted, that ho must in all probability quickly perish.
Nevertheless, he had such a sense of the evil of sin, and of the goodness of the
Divine Being, and of the admirable tendency of the Christian revelation, that
he resolved to spend the remainder of his life, while God continued him out of
hell, in as rational and as useful a manner as he could ; and to continue casting
himself at the foot of divine mei-cy, every day, and often in a day, if peradven-
ture there might be hope of pardon, of which all that he could say was, that he
did not absolutely despair. He had at that time such a sense of the degeneracy of
his own heart, that he hardly durst form any determinate resolution against sin,
or pi-etend to engage himself by any vow in the presence of God ; but he was
continually crying to him, that he would deliver him from the bondage of cor-
ruption. He perceived in himself a most surprising alteration with regard to
the dispositions of his heart ; so that, though he felt little of the delight of re-
ligious duties, he extremely desired opportunities of being engaged in them ;
and those licentious pleasures which had before been his heaven, were now ab-
solutely his aversion. And indeed, when I consider how habitual all those cri-
minal indulgences were gi'own to him, and that he was now in the prime of
life, and all this while in high health too, I cannot but be astonished to reflect

414 COLONEL JAMES GARDINER.

u])on it, that he should be so wonderfully sanctified in body, as well as in soul
and spirit, as that, lor all the future years of his life, he, from that hour, should
find so constant a (lisinrliuation to, and abhorrence of, those criminal sensuali-
ties, to which ho fancied he was bei'ore so invincibly impelled by his very con-
stitution, that he was used strangely to think and to say, that Umnipotence it-
self could not refiirm him, ivithout destroyino- tiiat body and giving him another.

Nor was he only delivered from that bondage of corruption which had been
habitual to him for many years, but felt in his breast so contrary a disposition,
that he was grieved to see hun;an nature, in those to whom he was most entirely
a stranger, prostituted to such Ion- and contemptible pursuit* lie, therefore,
exerted his natural courage in a very new kind of combat, and became an oj)en
advocate for religion, in all its principles, so far as he A\as acquainted with
them, and all its precepts, relating to sobriety, righteousness and godliness.
Yet he Mas very desirous and cautious that he might not run into an exti-eme,
and made it one of his first petitions to God, the very day after these amazing
impressions had been wrought in his mind, that he might not be sutiered to be-
have with such an affected strictness and preciseness, as would lead others about
him into mistaken notions of religion, and expose it to reproach or suspi-
cion, as if it were an unlovely or uncomfortable thing. For this reason he
endeavoured to appear as cheerful in conversation as he conscientiously could ;
though, in spite of all his precautions, some traces of that deep inward sense
which he had of his guilt and misery, would at times appear. He made no
secret of it, however, that his views Mcre entirely changed, though he concealed
the particular circumstances attending that change. He told his most intimate
companions freely, that he had reflected on the course of life in %vhich he had
so long joined them, and found it to be folly and madness, unworthy a rational
creature, and much more unworthy persons calling themselves Christians. And
he set up his standard, npon all occasions, against principles of infidelity and
practices of vice, as determinately and as boldly as ever he displayed or plan-
ted his colom-s, when he bore them with so much honour in the field.

Such is the account given by an exceedingly honest, able, and pious wTiter
of the remarkable conversion of colonel Gardiner ; an account too minute and
curious to be passed over by a modern biographer, whatever credence may be
given to the circumstances of which it is composed. While the minds of our
readers will probably find an easy explanation of the " phenomenon'' in the
theories which some late writers have started respecting such impressions of the
senses, we shall present a remarkably interesting notice of the pious soldier,
which \vas written twenty years before his death, and a still longer period an-
tecedent to Doddridge's publication, and must therefore be considered as entitled
to particular attention and ci-edit. It is extracted from a journal of the
historian Wodrow, [MS. Advocates' Library,] where it appears under date
May 1725, as having just been taken down from the mouths of various in-
formants :

" From him and others, I have a veiy pleasant account of major Gardiner,
formerly master of horse to the car] of Stah-, and now lately on the death of

Craig, made major of Stair's gi'ey lioi-se. He seems to be one of the

most remarkable instances of free grace that has been in our times. He is one
of the bravest and gallantest men in Britain, and understands military affairs
exactly well. He was a lieutenant or a captain many years ago in Glasgow,
where he was extremely vicious. He had a criminal correspondence with
■ ,^ as my informer tells us he owns with sorrow. He acknow-

1 The name is expressed in a secret hand used by tlie venerable liistorian.

COLONEL JAMES GARDINER. 415

ledges with the deepest concern there was scarce an evil biit what he was ad-
dicted to it, a:id he observes tliat he on many accounts has reason to reckon
himself the chief of sinners, much more than Paul, for besides the multitude of
the most horrid sins, he did them not ignorantly and through unbelief, but over
the belly of light and knowledge. When he was with my lord Stair, ambassa-
dor at Paris, he was riding on one of his most unruly and fiery horses, Avhich
could not bear the spur, and in the streets met the hostie and crowd with it.
Whether of design or accidentally I cannot say, but his hoi-se and he soon
made a clean street, and the hostie came to the gTound. The ambassador's
house was attacked for the abuse of the hostie, and he was obliged to write
over to court about it. The change wrought on the Major a few years ago was
gradual and imperceptible. I think profane swearing was the lirst thing he
reii-ained from, and then other vices, and still as he refrained fx-om them, he
bore testimony against them in others, in the army, at court, and every where,
and reproved them in great and small with the utmost boldness. At length he is
thoroughly refomied, and walks most closely in ordinances, and while with his
troops in Galloway, he haunts mostly at the houses of the ministers ; and has
made a sensible reformation among the troops he commands, and nothing like
vice is to be seen among them. His Avalk and conversation is most tender and
christian ; he I'ises by four in summer and winter, and nobody has access to
him till eight, and some later, and these hours he spends in secret religion.
He is a close and exemplary keeper of ordinances, and a constant terror to vice
wherever he is, and a serious keeper of the Sabbath. We have at this time
several excellent officers in the army, and who have been in it. Colonel
Blackader, colonel Ei'skine, lieutenant-colonel Cunningham, and this gentle-
man. Bfay the Loi'd increase them!"

"This resolute and exemplary Christian now entered upon that methodical
manner of living, which he pursued through so many succeeding years of life.
A life any thing like his, could not be entered upon in the midst of such com-
pany as he had been accustomed to keep, without great opposition ; especially
as he did not entirely withdraw himself from all the circles of cheerful conversa-
tion ; but, on the contrary, gave several hours every day to it, lest religion
should be reproached, as having made him morose. He, however, early began
a practice, which to the last day of his life he retained, of reproving vice and
profaneness ; and was never afraid to debate the matter with any, under the
consciousness of such superiority in the goodness of his cause.

A remarkable instance of tliis happened about the middle of -the year 1720,
though I cannot be very exact as to the date of the story. It Avas, however,
on his first return, to make any considerable abode in England, after this re-
markable change. He had heard, on the other side of the water, that it was
cui-rently reported among his companions at home, that he was stark mad :
a report at \vhich no reader, Avho knows the wisdom of the world in these mat-
ters, will be much surprised, any more than himself. He concluded, therefore
that he should have many battles to fight, and was ^villing to despatch the busi-
ness as fast as he could. And therefore, being to spend a few days at the
country-house of a person of distinguislied rank, with whom he had been very
intimate, (whose name I do not remember that he told me, nor did I think it
proper to inquire after it,) he begged the favour of him that he would contrive
matters so, that a day or two after he came down, several of their former gay
companions might meet at his lordship's table ; that he might have riw oppor-
tunity of making his apology to them, and acquainting them with the nature
and reasons of his change. It was accordingly agxeed to ; and a pretty large
company met on the day appointed, with previous notice that major Gardiner

416 COLONEL JAMES GARDINER.

uoiild be there. A good deal of raillery passed at diiii'or, to uliicli tlic major
made very little answer. liiit when tiie cloth was laken auay, anrl the servants
retired, he he^y^rd their jjatience for a few niiniiles, and then plainly and seri-
ously told tiieni what notions he entertained of \irtiie and religion, and on what
considerations he had alisohilely determined, that hy the grace of tiod he would
make it the care and business of life, whatever he might lose by it, and wliatever
censure and contempt he might incur, lie well knew how improper it was in
such company to relate the extraordinary manner he was a»\akened ; which
they would probably have interpreted as a demonstration of lunacy, against aU
the gravity and solidity of his discourse ; but he contented himself Avith such
a rational defence of a righteous, sober, and godly life, as he knew none cf
them could with any shadow of reason contest. He then challenged them to
propose any thing they could urge, to prove that a life of irreligion and de-
bauchery was prelerable to the fear, love, and worship of the eternal God, and
a conduct agreeable to the precepts of liis gospel. And he failed not to bear
his testimony from his own experience, that after having run tlie widest I'ound
of sensual pleasures, with all the advantages the best constitution and spirits
could give him, he had never tasted any thing that deserved to be called hap-
piness, till he had made religion his refuge and his delight. He testified
calmly and boldly, the habitual serenity and pe.ice that he now felt in his omh
breast, and the composure and pleasure with which he looked forward to ob-
jects, which the gayest sinner must ackno\vledge to be equally unavoidable and
dreadful, I know not what might be attempted by some of the company in
answer to this ; but I Avell remember he told me, the master of the table, a per-
son of a very frank and candid disposition, cut short the debate, and said,
* Come, let us call another cause : we thought this man mad, and he is in good
earnest proving that we are so.' On the whole, this well-judged circumstance
saved him a great deal of future trouble, ^^hcu his former acquaintance ob-
served that he Avas still conversable and innocently cheerful, and that he A^as
immoveable in his resolutions, they desisted from farther importunity. And he
has assured me, that instead of losing any one valuable friend by this change
in his character, he found himself much more esteemed and regarded by many
who could not persuade themselves to imitate his example.

I meet not with any other remarkable event relating to major Gardiner,
Avhich can properly be introduced here, till the year 172G ; Avhen, on the 11th
of July, he was married to the right honourable lady Frances Erskine, daughter
to the fourth earl of Buchan, by whom he had thirteen children, five only of
Avhich survived their father, — two sons and three daughters. From this period
till the commencement of the French war, he lived either at his villa of Eank-
ton in Fast Lothian, or moved about through the country with his regiment.
Towards the latter end of 1742, he embarked for Flanders, and spent some
considerable time Avith the regiment at Ghent ; where he much regretted the
Avant of those religious ordinances and opportunities A\hich had made his other
abodes delightful. As he had the promise of a regiment before he quitted Eng-
land, his friends Avere continually expecting an occasion of congratulating him
on haA'ing receiAed the command of one. But still they Avere disappointed ;
and on some of them the disappointment seemed to sit heavy. As for the
colonel himself, he seemed quite easy about it ; and appeared much greater in
that easy situation of mind, than the highest military honours and preferments
could have made him. His majesty Avas at length pleased to give him a regi-
ment of dragoons, Avhicli Avas then quartered just in the neighbourhood of his
OAvn house in Scotland. It appeared to him, that by this remarkable event
providence called him home. Accordingly, though he had other preferments

COLONEL JAMES GARDINER. 417

offered him in the army, lie chose to return, and I believe, the more willingly,
as he did not expect there uould have been an action."

The latter years of his life were rendered gloomy by bad health, and for
some time before his death he appeared to move constantly under a serious
anticipation of that event. When the insurrection of 1715 commenced in the
Highlands, his raw regiment of dragoons constituted an important part of the
small military force with which Sir John Cope was required to meet the com-
ing storm. Cope marched in August into the Highlands, leaving Gardiner's
and Hamilton's dragoon regiments in the low country ; and when the insur-
gents, by a strange manoeuvre, eluded the government general and descended
upon the Lowlands, these inexperienced troops were all that remained to op-
pose their course. After an ineffectual attempt to protect Edinburgh, the two
regiments fled in a panic to Dunbar, where tliey were rejoined by the foot under
the command of Sir John Cope, and the whole army then marched towards the
capital in order to meet and give battle to the tlans. The worthy colonel was
much depressed by the conduct of his men, and anticipated that they would not
behave better in the action about to take place : he said, however, that though
he could not influence the conduct of others, he had one life to sacrifice for his
country's safety, and he would not spare it.

" The two hostile bodies came into view of each other on the 20th of Septem-
ber in the neighbourhood of his own house near Prestonpans. The Colonel
drew up his regiment in the afternoon, and rode through all their I'anks, ad-
dressing them at once in the most respectful and animating manner, both aa
soldiers and as Christians, to engage them to exert themselves courageously in the
service of their country, and to neglect nothing that might have a tendency to
prepare them for Avhatever event might happen. They seemed much affected
Avith the address, and expressed a very ardent desire of attacking the enemy
immediately : a desire, in which he. and another very gallant oflicer of distin-
guished rank, dignity, and character, both for bravery and conduct, would
gladly have gratified them, if it had been in the power of either. He earnestly
pressed it on the commanding ofiicer, as the soldiers were then in bettei
spirits than it could be supposed they would be after having passed the night
under arms. He also apprehended, that by marching to meet them, some ad-
vantage might have been secured with regai-d to the ground ; with which, it is
natural to imagine, he must have been perfectly acquainted. He was over-
ruled in this advice, as also in the disposition of the cannon, Avhich he would
have planted in the centre of our small army, rather than just before his regi-
ment, which was in the right wing. And Avhen he found that he could not
carry either of these points, nor some others, which, out of regard to the com-
mon safety, he insisted upon with unusual earnestness, he dropped some intima-
tions of the consequences he apprehended, and which did in fact follow ; and
submitting to providence, spent the remainder of the day in making as good a
disposition as circumstances would allow.

He continued all night under arms, wrapped up in his cloak, and generally
sheltered under a rick of barley which happened to be in the field. About
three in the morning, he called his domestic servants to him, of which there
were four in waiting. He dismissed three of them, with most affectionate
Christian advice, and such solemn charges relating to the performance of their
duty and the care of their souls, as plainly seemed to intimate, that he appre-
hended it at least very probable he was taking his last farewell of them. There
is gi-eat reason to believe, that he spent the little remainder of the time, which
could not be much above an hour, in those devout exercises of soul, which had
so long been habitual to him, and to which so many circumstances did then

II. 3 G

418 COLONEL JAMES GAEDINER.

concur to call liiin. Tlie army was alarmed by break of day by Uie noise of
the approach of the enemy, and the attattk wns made before sunrise; jet it uas
light enough lo discern what passed. As soon as the enemy c^me within gun-shot,
they made a furious lire ; and it is said tliat the dragoons which constituted the
left wing innuedialely lied. '1 he Colonel, at the beginning of the onset, uhich
in the whole lasted but a few minutes, received a Mound by a bullet in his left
breast, which made him give a sudden spring in his saddle ; upon which his
servant, who had led the horse, would have persuaded him to retreat: but he
said, it was only a wound in the flesh, and fought on, thougli he presently after
received a sliot in his right thigh. In the meantime it was discerned that some
of the insurgents fell by him.

Events of -this kind pass in less time than the description of them can be
written, or than it can be read. 'Ihe Colonel Mas for a few moments sup-
ported by his men, and particularly by lieutenant-colonel Whitney, who was shot
through the arm here, and a few months after fell nobly in the battle of Fal«
kirk; and by lieutenant West, a man of distinguished bravery; as also by
about fifteen dragoons, who stood by him to the last. Ijut after a faint fire,
the regiment in general was seized with a panic : and though their Colonel and
some other gallant officers, did what lliey could to rally them once or twice,
tliey at last took a precipitate flight. And just in the moment when colonel
Gardiner seemed to be making a pause, to deliberate what duty required liim
to do in such a circumstance, he saw a j)arty of the foot, Avho were then bravely
fighting near him, and whom he was ordered to support, had no officer to head
them : upon which he said eagerly, " Those brave fellows will be cut to pieces
for want of a counnandcr ;" or words to that eti'ect : whi<;h while he was speak-
ing, he rode up to them, and cried out aloud, " Fire on, my lads, and fear
notliing." But just as they were out of his mouth, a Highlander advanced to-
wards him Avitli a scythe fastened on a long pole, with which he gave him such
a deep Avound on his right arm that his sword dropped out of his hand ; and at
the same time several others coming about him while he was thus dreadfully en-
tangled with that cruel Aveapon, he was dragged off his horse. The moment he
fell, another Highlander gave him a stroke, either with a broad sword, or a
Lochaber-axe, on the hinder part of his head, which was the mortal blow, AU
that his faithful attendant saw farther at this time was, that as his hat was falling
off, he took it in his left hand, and waved it as a signal to him to retreat ; and
added, what were the last words he ever heard him to speak, " Take care of
yourself:" upon which the servant retired, and fled to a mill, at the distance
of about two miles from the spot of ground on which the Colonel fell ; where he
changed his dress, and disguised like a miller's servant, returned as soon as pos-
sible ; yet not till nearly two hours after the engagement. The hurry of the ac-
tion was then over, and he found his much honoured master, not only plundered
of his watch and other things of value, but also stripped of his upper garments and
boots ; yet still breathing, though not capable of speech. In this condition, he
conveyed him to the church of Tranent, from whence he was immediately taken
into the minister's house and laid in bed ; wliere he contiimed breathing and fre-
quently groaning, till about eleven in tlie forenoon ; when he took his final leave
of pain and sorrow. Such was the close of a life, Avhich had been so zealously
devoted to God, and filled up with so many honourable services.

His remains were interred the Tuesday following, September 24, at the
parish church at Tranent — where he had usually attended divine service — with
gi-eat solemnity. His obsequies were honoured with the presence of some per-
sons of distinction, who were not afraid of paying that piece of respect to his
memory, though the country was then iu the hands of the enemy. But indeed

WILLIAM GED. 419

there was no great hazard in this ; for his character ^vas so well known, that
even they themselves spoke honourably of him, and seemed to join with his
friends in lamenting the fall of so brave and so v/orthy a man.

In personal appearance, colonel (Jardiner was tall, well pi-oportioned, and
strongly built, his eyes of a dark grey, and not very large ; his i'orehead pret-
ty high ; his nose of a length and height no way remarkable, but very well
suited to his other features ; his cheeks not very prominent, his mouth moder-
ately large, and his chin rather a little inclining to be peaked. He had a
strong voice, and lively accent; wiih an air very intrepid, yet attempered with
much gentleness : and there was something in his manner of address most per-
fectly easy and obliging, which was in a great measure the result of the great
candour and benevolence of his natural temper ; and which, no doubt, Avas
much improved by the deep humility which divine grace had wrought into his
heart ; as well as his having been accustomed from his early yo'ith, to the com-
pany of persons of distinguished rank and polite behaviour."

GED, William, the inventor of stereotype printing, was a goklsmith in Edin-
burgh, in the early part of the eighteenth century. He is said to have first
attempted stereotyping in the yeai' 1725. The invention, as may be generally
known, consists in casting, by means of a stucco mould, a representation of the
superficies of arranged types, which, being fitted to a block, may be used under
the press exactly as types are used, and, being retained, may serve at any time
to throw oft" an additional impression. As the metal required for this process
is very little compared to that of types, stereotyping is accomplished at an ex-
pense, which, though it might come hard upon ordinai'y jobs, is inconsiderable
in others, where it may be the means of saving a new composition of types for
subsequent impressions. In tlie case of a book in general use, such as the Bible,
and also in cases where the publication takes place in numbers, and one number
is in danger of being sold to a greater extent than another, the process suggested
by Ged is of vast utility.^ In July, 1729, Mr Ged entered into a partnership
with William Fennex', a London stationer, and, for the purpose of carrying his
invention into practice, alloAved Fenner half the profits, in consideration of his
advancing the necessary funds. Afterwards, Mr John James, an architect,
was taken into the scheme for the same purpose, as was likewise Mr Thomas
James, a letter-founder, and Mr James Ged, the inventor's son. In 1730, the
association applied to the univei-sity of Cambridge for printing Bibles and
Common-Prayer books, by stereotype, and, in consequence, the lease was sealed
to them, April 23, 1731. In their attempt they sank a large sum of money,
and finished only two prayer-books, so that it Avas forced to be relinquished,
and the lease was given up in 1738. Ged imputed his disappointment to the
villany of the pressmen, and the ill treatment of his partners, particularly
Fenner, whom John James and he were advised to prosecute, but declined. In
1733, this ingenious man returned Avith blighted prospects to Edinburgh.
Afterwards, hoAvever, by the advice of his friends, he gave to the Avorld, a
specimen of his invention, in an edition of SaUust, finished, it is said, in 1736,
but not published till 1744, as the foUoAAing imprint on the title page testifies : —
*' Edinbui-gi, Gulielmus Ged, Aurifaber, Edinensis, non typis mobilibus, ut
vulgo fieri solel, sed tabeUis seu laminis fusis, excudebat, mdcc::mv," James

1 The editor trusts he may mention, without anj- appearance of oLtrusivencs:, that his elder
brother and himself have found an advantage in stereot} ping ^Yhich was not formerly expe-
rienced, and which may be described as a new power developed in the art. In a periodical
work published by them, the process is emplojed to cast more plates than one, in order that
the work may be published in various parts of the empire at the same time, v.ithout the cost
of a dilTerent composition of t) pes for each pkce, and so as to avoid a carriage of paper, which
would otherwise be enormously expensive.

420 ALEXANDER GEDDES.

CJcd, liis son and ioniicr partner, engaged in the insurrection of 1745, as a
captain in llie duke of IVith's regiment, and heinjr taken at Carlisle, Mas con-
denuied, but, on his father's account, by l)r Smith's interest A\Jth ti;e duke of
Newcastle, \>as released in 1715, lie afterwards went to Jamaica, A\here he
settled, an<l ^\here his brollier AN illiani was already established as a printer.
AMlliaui Ged, the inventor of an art which has been of incalculable advantage
to mankind, experienced what has been the fate of too many ingenious and
useful men ; he died, October ID, 1749, in very indifterent circumstances, after
his uter.sils had been shipped at Leith for London, where he intended to renew
partnership with his son James. 'J he IMisses Ged, his daughters, lived many
years after in Julinburgh, where they kept a school for young ladies, and were
much patronized by the Jacobite gentry." Another member of the family, by
name Dougal, was a captain in the town guard, or military police, of Edinburgli,
in the da)s of I'ergusson the poet.

GEDDES, Ai.EXANDFjj, celebrated ns a poet, a critic, and miscellaneous writer,
was born at Arradowl, in the parish of Ruihven, l^antlshire, in the year 1737.
His father, Alexander Geddes, rented a small farm on the Arradowl estate,
and, in common with that class of people in Scotland at that time, was in very
poor circumstances. His mother was of tlie rtlitchells of Dellachy, in the
neighbouring p;irish of I'ellay, and both were of the Roman catholic persuasion.
The parents being anxious to procure for their son the benefits of learning,
he was, with a view to the service of the church, at a very tender age, put to
learn his letters under a woman who kept a school in the village, of the name
ofSellar. Here he learned to read the English Bible, which seems to have
been the only book his parents possessed, and which, contrary to the general
practice of people of their communion, they encouraged him " to read with
reverence and attention." In perusing this book, young Geddes took a singu-
lar delight, and, by the time he was eleven years of age, had got the historical
parts of it nearly by heart. At this period the laird of Arradowl having en-
gaged a tutor of the name of Shearer, from Aberdeen, for his two sons, was
looking about him for three boys of pi'omising parts, whom he might educate
gi'atuitously along with them, and ivlio nn'ght afterwards be devoted to
the service of the church. Young Geddes, ah-eady celebrated for liis talents,
and for his love of study, immediately attracted his notice, and, along with a
cousin of his own, John Geddes, who afterwards became titular bishop of Dun-
keld, and another boy, was taken into the house of Arradowl, Avhere he enjoyed
all the advantages peculiar to the laird's superior situation in life, and, we may
reasonably suppose, though we have not seen it noticed, that his improvement
was correspondent to his privilege. From the hospitable mansion of Arradowl,
he was, by the influence of the laird himself, admitted into the Catholic free
seminary of Sculan, a seminary intended solely for young men who were to be
afterwards sent abroad to receive holy orders in some of the foreign universities.
No situation was ever better chosen for the educating of monks than Sculan
standing in a dismal glen, overhung with mountains on all sides, so high as to
preclude the sun from being seen for many months in the year. " I'ray, be
so kind," said Geddes, writing from that dreary spot, to one of his fellow
students, who had obtained leave to visit his friends, "as to make particular
inquiries after the health of the sun. Fail not to present my compliments to
him, and tell him I still hope I shall one day be able to renew the honour of

ray

obtii ^

guiihed partisanof tlie family of Stuari.

ALEXANDER GEDDES. 421

personal acquaintance with him.'' Here, to a knowledge of the vulgar English
Bible, he added a knowledge of the vulgar Latin one, which appeai-s to Iiave
been all the benefit he received by a seven years' seclusion fioni the sun, and
from the world which he illuminated. Having attained the age of twenty-one,
he Avas removed to the Scots college at Paris, where he completed his knowledge
of the Latin language, to whicli he added Hebrew, Greek, Italian, French,
Spanish, German, and Low Dutch. Theology and biblical criticism Mere the
principal objects of his attention, for he had already formed the design of
making a new translation of the Bible for the use of his Catholic countrymen,
to the accomplishing of which all his studies seem to liave been directed from a
very early period of his life. When he had completed his course in the Scots
college at Paris, be was solicited to take a share of the public labours of the
college, and to fix, of course, his residence in that gay metropolis. This,
however, after some hesitation, he declined, and, after an absence of six years,
returned to liis native country in the year 1764. Having entered into orders,
Geddes, on liis arrival in Scotland, was, by his ecclesiastic superior, ordered
to i-eside at Dundee, as officiating priest to the Catholics of Angus. This situ-
ation he did not long fill, being invited by the earl of Traquair to reside in his
family at Traquair house, Avliilher he repaired in the month of May, 17G5.

Here IMr Geddes was situated as happily as his heart could have wished, he
had plenty of time, with the use of an excellent library, and he seems to have
prosecuted his favourite study with great diligence. He had been in this happy
situation, hoMCver, little more than a year, when the openly displayed affection
of a female inmate of the house, a relation of the earl, rendered it necessary
for him, liaving taken the vow of pei-petual celibacy, to take an abrupt de-
parture from the Arcadian scenery of the Tweed. Leaving with the innocent
author of his misfortune a beautiful little poem, entitled Ihe Confessional, he
again bade adieu to his native land, and in the varieties and volatilities of Paris,
endeavoured to forget his pain. Even in this condition, however, he did not
lose sight of his great object, as, during the time he remained in Paris, he made
a number of valuable extracts from books and manuscripts which he consulted
in the public libraries.

Paris never was a place much to his mind, and it was less so now than ever,
when it presented him with no definite object of pursuit. He therefore re-
turned to Scotland in the spring of the year 1769. He had by this time
recovered, in some degree, possession of himself, but lie dared not encounter
the fascination of the beloved object, or re-engage in the domestic scenes from
which he had found it necessary to fly. Tui-ning-, therefore, to the scenes of
his early life, he was oflercd the charge of a Catholic congregation at Auchin-
halrig, in the county of Banff, whicli he accepted. Tlie members of this little
community were poor, their chapel Mas in ruins, and the most inveterate rancour
pulisisted among themselves, and between them and their Protestant neighboui's.
31r Geddes, however, Mas not to be appalled by the prospect of difficulties,
hoMCver numerous and formidable. His first object Mas to pull doMii the
old chapel, and to build a nCM' one on the spot. His own house, too, Mhich his
biographer dignifies Avith the name of a parsonage-house, he found necessary
to repair almost from the foundation, and he added to it the luxury of an ex-
cellent garden, from which he Mas able, en many occasions, to supply the ne-
cessities of his people. In these proceedings, Mr Geddes Mas not only useful,
in directing and overseeing the Morkmen, t»ut as a Morkman himself, many of
the most important operations being performed Mith his OMn hands. Having
thus provided for the assembling of his congregation, his next object was to
coiTCct that extreme bigotry by Mhich they Mere characterised. For this end,

422 ALEXANDER GEDDES.

he laboured to pain their nd'ectioiis by the nio'^t puiictilioiu attention lo every
part of his p.wlor.il tluty, ami by lh"> most iiiibfiiii»<lc<l clwrity ami beiieroleiico.
Tiio ceremonies of popery ho despisetl ;is ii&ii-tily as any preshyU'rian. 'J he
ycriptures lio earnestly recommended to liis people, and evhorted them to think
for themselves, and to allow the sjnne privilege to others. Many of ilie ]»e<ai-
liarjlies of popery, indeed, he deiioiinctcd as most initjuilous, and utterly repii!»-
iiant to the spirit of genuine citholicity. In his judgment of others, (.ieddes
himself showed the utmost liberality ; and he even yentured to appear as a wor-
shipper in the church of a neighbouring parish on dilferent occasions. By
these means, if he did not convert lo his views the papists of Auchinhalrig, which
we believe he did not, ho acquired a very high character to himself, and formed
many valuable friendships among men of all descriptions, 'llian this conduct
nothing could be belter lilted to attain the object which Ihe papists were by this
time vei7 generally beginning to enlerlain, — tliat of obtaining political power
and inlluence ; and in this respect, Geddes, by dereliction of principle, did
more for their cause than all other men beside : yet their zeal could not
be restrained, even for this most obvious purpose, and he had the mortilication
to find that he uas provoking very generally the resentment of Itis clerical
brethren. His diocesan bishop. Hay, threatened him with suspension if
he did not behave with greater circumspection, particularly in regard to the
dangerous and contaminaling influence of herelLcal intercourse ; but having- no
supreme court before whicii to bring the refractory and rebellious priest, the
bishop was under the necessity of letting the controversy drop. Unfortunately the
poor priest had become personally bound for considerable suras expended in build-
ing the chapel and repairing the manse, for the payment of which he had trusted
to the liberality of his people. There was no appearance of his expectations
being realized, and his creditors — a class of people whom lie could not so
easily set at defiance as the bishop, — becoming clamorous, a " cliarge of horn-
ing," Avas likely to suspend him more eftectually than the oi'der of his
diocesan, Avhen, through the friendship of the earl of Traquair, he was intro-
duced to the notice of the duke of Norfolk, ivho, having learned the extent of the
obligations he had come under in his pastoral capacity, claimed the privilege of
discharging them as an earnest of future friendship. Geddes was thus relieved
from serious embarrassments, but his income was far too scanty to supply his ne-
cessities, though they were by no means so numerous as those of many others in his
situation. In order to provide for himself without burdening his congregation, he
took a small farm at Enzie, in Fochabers, in the vicinity of Auchinhalrig, which he
stocked by means of a loan, built a little chapel upon it, where he proposed to
officiate as well as at Auchinhalrig, and in imagination saw himself already hap-
py and independent. There have been men of letters, who have been, at the
same time, men of business. They have been, however, but few ; and Geddes
was not of the number. It was in the year 1775 that he commenced his agri-
cultural speculations, and by the year 1778, he found himself in a slill deeper
state of embaiTassment than when he had been relieved by the duke of Norfolk,
The expedient he adopted on this occasion, was one that was much more likely
to have added to his embarrassments than to have relieved them. He published
at London "Select Satires of Horace, translated into English verse, and for the
most part adapted to the present times and manners.''' This publication, con-
trary to all human probability, succeeded so well that it brought him a clear
pi'ofit of upwards of one hundred pounds, which, with some frieudl}' aid from
other quarters, set him once more clear of pecuniary embarrassments. The
remark of one of his biographers on this circumstance ought not to be sup-
pressed:— "To be brought to the brink of ruin by farming and kirk building,

ALEXANDER GEDDES. 423

and to be saved from it by turning poetaster, must be allowed to be rather out
of the usual course of events."

Finding that his pen was of more service to him than his plough, Mr Geddes
now seriously thought of quitting his retii'ement, and trying his fortune in Lon-
don. He was, however, so strongly attached to his floclv, that it might have
been long before he put his design into execution, had not a circumstance oc-
curred to give it new vigour. Lord Findlater had about this time married a
daughter of count Murray of Melgum, who, being educated abroad, was unac-
quainted with English. Olr Geddes ^\as employed by his lordship to teach her
that language. In the house of his lordship he was introduced to the Rev. Mr
Buchanan, who had been tutor to his lordship, and was now minister of the
parish of Cullen, with whom he formed a most intimate acquaintance, and did
not scruple to attend occasionally upon his ministry in the church of Cullen.
This latter circumstance rekindled the long smothei'ed ire of bishop Hay, who
sent him an angry remonstrance, wliich he followed up by suspending him
from all his ecclesiastical functions. This at once dissolved the tie between Mr
Geddes and his congregation, from whom, in the end of the year 1779, he
took an affectionate leave ; and selling off what property he possessed at Enzie
by public roup, prepared, without regret, to leave once more his native
country. His people testified their affection for him, by buying up, with extra-
ordinary avidity every thing tliat belonged to him, even to the articles of broken
cups and saucers. Nor '.vere his protestant friends wanting to him on this occa-
sion. Through their joint influence, tlie university of Aberdeen stepped for-
ward with praiseworthy liberality, and conferred on him the degi-ee of doctor
of laws.

Leaving Enzie, Ur Geddes devoted a few weeks to visits of friendship, and in
company with lord Traquair, repaired to London in the beginning of the year
1780. Through the influence of lord Traquair he was almost immediately
nominated to be officiating priest in the chapel of the imperial ambassador. The
literary fame he had already acquired by his imitations of Horace, and the let-
ters with which he was honoured by his friends in the north, introduced him
at once to the most celebrated literary characters of the day, whicli gave great
elasticity to his natui-ally buoyant spirits. Several libraries, too, both public
and private, being thrown open to him, he resumed with redoubled ardour his
early project of translating the Bible for the use of his Roman Catholic coun-
trymen. Through the duchess of Gordon he was also introduced to lord Petre,
who was like himself a catholic, and was anxious to have a translation of the
Bible such as Or Geddes proposed to make. To enable him to go on without
any interruption, his lordship generously allowed him a salary of two hundred
pounds a year till tlie work should be finished, besides being at the expense of
whatever private library he might find necessai-y for his purpose. This was en-
couragement not only beyond what he could reasonably have hoped for, but
equal to all that he could have wished ; and the same year he published a
sketch of his plan under the title of an " Idea of a new version of the Holy
Bible, for the use of the English catholics." This Idea in general, for we have
not room to be particular, was " a new and faithful translation of the Bible,
from corrected texts of the original, unaccompanied with any gloss, commentary,
or annotations, but such as are necessary to ascertain the literal meaning of the
text, and free of every sort of interpretation calculated to establish or defend
any particular system of religious credence." At the close of this year he
ceased to ofiiciate in the imperial ambassador's chapel, the establishment being
suppressed by an order from Ihe emperor Joseph II. He continued to preach,
however, occasionally at the chapel in Duke Sti'eet, Lincoln's Inn Fields, till the

42't ALEXANDER GEDDES.

Easter holidays of 1782, ulion lie foiintl liis time so coinplctely taken up by
his literary projects, csjiecially lus translation, that he voluntarily withdrew
from every stated ministerial function. The following year l)r doddcs paid a
visit to Scotland, during which he wrote " Linton, a Tweeddale pastoral, In
honour of the birth of a son and heir to the noble house of Iracpiair." lie
passed with the earl and his countess on a tour to the south of i Vance, came back
with them to Scotland, and shortly after returned to London, lie was about
this time introduced to Ur Kcnnicot, by \vhom he was introduced to DrLowtli, and
both of them took a deep interest in his undertaking. At the sui;gcstion of the
latter, Dr (icddes wrote a new prospectus, detailing more fully and explicitly the
plan ho meant to follow. This was given to the public in l7yG : it had a
very general circulation, and was well received. In the year 1785, he was
elected a corresponding member by the Society of Scottish Antiquaries, — an
honour ivhich he acknowledged in a I'oetical L'pistle to that respectable body.
This epistle is printed in the first volume of the transactions of the society, as
also a dissertation on the Scoto-Saxon dialect, with the first eclogue of Virgil,
and the first idyliium of Theocritus, translated into Scottish verse.

He was now advancing with his translation ; but in the year 1787, he published
an appendix to his prospectus, in the form of a " Letter addressed to the bishop of
London, containing queries, doubts, and difficulties relative to a vernacular version
of the Holy Scriptures." He published the same year a letter to Cr I'riestly,
in which he attempted to prove, by one prescriptive argument, that the divinity
of Jesus Christ was a primitive tenet of Christianity. About the same time he
published his letter on the case of the Protestant dissenters. In the year 1788, he
engaged as a contiibutor to the Analytical Review, for which he continued to fur-
nish many valuable articles during the succeeding five years and a half. It \vas dur-
ing the year just mentioned, that he issued "Proposals for printing by subscrip-
tion a new translation of the Holy Bible," &c. His " General Answer to the coun-
sels and criticisms that have been connuunicated to him since the publication of his
proposals for printing a New Translation of the Bible," appeared in the year
17t)0. Of the same date was his " Answer to the bishop of Comana's Pastoral
Letter, by a protesting Catholic," followed by " A letter to the R.Pi. the archbishop
and bishops of England, &c. Carmen Seculare pro Gallica, &c. and an Ejnritola
Macaronica ad Fratrem,'^ &:c. In the year 1791, he was afilicted with a dan-
gerous fever, and on his recovery, accepted of an invitation to visit lord Petre at
his seat at Norfolk. This journey produced " A Norfolk Tale, or a Journey from
London to Norwich, with a Prologue and an Epilogue," published in the Ixdlow-
ing year. The same year he published "An Apology for Slavery," a poem, en-
titled VAvocat du Liable, &c. and " The first book of the Iliad of Homer, verbal-
ly rendered into English verse," &c. Amidst these multifarious avocations, he was
still proceeding with his translation, and in the year 1792, though his subscrip-
tion list was far from being filled up, he published " The first volume of the Holy
Bible, or the books accounted sacred by Jews and Christians, otherwise called
the books of the Old and New Covenants, faithfully translated from corrected
texts of the originals, Avith various readings, explanatory notes, and critical re-
marks."

Dr Geddes had by this time engaged a house for himself in AIsop's Build-
ings, New Road, Blary-le-bone, which he had fitted up with his own hands
in a curious and convenient style. He had also a garden both before and be-
hind his house, whi he cultivated with the industry of a day labourer, and
with the zeal of a botanizing philosopher ; he had " a biblical apparatus
[a library] through the princely munificence of lord Petre,'' superior to most in-
dividuals, and he wanted only the incense of the world's aoplause to this idol of

ALEXANDER GEDDES. 425

a translation, which he had set up to outrage alike the faith of Jews and Chris-
tians, to malce his triumph perfect and his happiness complete. The vain man
had by his '' Idea," his " Prospectus," his " Appendix," and his " Answer to
counsels and queries," secured, as lie supposed, the concurrence of mankind,
while he had in fact only excited expectations wliich, though his talents had
been increased a hundred fold, he ^vould have found himself unable to satisfy.
What must he have felt or thought ^hen he found that the book, instead of
i pleasing- all the world, as he had vainly hoped, pleased nobody. Cliristians
I of eveiy description considered it an insidious attack upon the foundations of
I their faitii, and the Catholics, for whose benefit it was stated to have been
I mainly intended, were by a pastoral letter from their vicars apostolic forbidden
j to read it. Geddes, in an address to the public tlie foUouing year, defended
I hin^self with great boldness, laying claim, like every other infidel, to the most
i fearless honesty and the strictest impartiality. The failure of his Iiopes, how-
ever, atfucted him so deeply that his biblical studies were for a time nearly sus-
pended, and it required all the attentions of his friends to prevent him from
I sinking into the deepest despondency. In the meantime, he soothed, or at-
I tempted to soothe liis chagrin by writing two Latin odes in praise of the French
j revolution, but which, on the representations of his friends, he allowed to lie un-
published till the period of the peace in the year 1801. He also wrote and
j published at this time a trar.slation of Gresset's Ver Vert, or the Parrot of Nevers,
! \vhich did him no honour, the poem having been only a short while before
I translated more happily by John Gilbert Couper. In the year 17'J5, he pub-
' lished an Ode to the lionourable Thomas Pelham, occasioned by liis apeech on the
I Catholic question in the Irish house of commons, which was followed, in 1796,
I by a Hudibrastic paraphrase of a sermon which had been preached by a Dr Coult-
i hurst on tlie anniversary of his majesty's accession, before the university of Cam
bridge. In 17'J7, he published "The battle of B * ng * r, or the Church's
Triumph, a comic lieroic poem in nine cantoes." The subject of this poem was
i suggested by the notable contest between bishop Warren and 3Ir Grindly, and
i it is unquestionably the most finished of all his English poems. The same year
he published the second volume of his translation of the Bible, which brought
it to the end of the Book of Ruth, beyond which it was not destined to advance
I in its regular form.

j During the t^vo succeeding years he published two burlesque sermons,

j ridiculing the fast-day sermons of the established clergy, and in the year 1800,
i his Cx'itical Remarks on the Hebrew Scriptures, corresponding with a new trans-
I lation of the Bible, vol. I., containing remarks on the Pentateuch. If there had
been any doubt on the public mind respecting the principles of Dr Geddes, this
volume must have removed it. These remarks are less scurrilous perliaps, but
not less impious thrf?i those of Thomas Paine, and, professing to be the result
of laborious learning, sound philosophy, and a most enlarged and enlightened
Christianity, are to weak minds much more dangerous, and to the well informed
more offensively disgusting, than even the flippancies of that celebrated unbeliever.
Tliey had not, however, the merit of meeting the general ideas of mankind, and
we believe are already nearly forgotten. The encouragement with which he
commenced liis publication was greatly inadequate to meet the expense ; and this
encouragement, instead of increasing, had greatly fallen off; — the work being
printed, too, solely at his own expense, he soon found himself involved iii
pecuniary difficulties, from which he had not the means of extricating himself.
Never had a reckless man, however, such a singularly good fortune. We
liave already seen him twice rescued from ruin in a way,- on both occasions,
which no one less fortunate than himself could have hoped for, and on

420 ALEXANDER GEDDES.

tin's occ.ision his situalimi w.is no sooner disclosed than a plan was devised
I'lir his relief, and executed alnuist uiliioiit his kn(M>Iedi^o. " It is to the
credit of the ago in which uc live," says his biographer, " that, without any fur-
ther application on his own p.irt, p rsons of every rank and religious persuasion,
protesUmts and (vith'dics, clergy and laity, nobility and gentry, several of whom
had never known him but by name, and many of whom had professed a dislike
of liis favoinite tenets, united in one charitable cfTJirt to rescue him from anx-
iety and distress ; nor should it bo forgotten that some part at least of tho
amount subscribed proceeded from the right reverend bench itself. The sum
thus collected and expendod for him, from the year 171)3 to the middle of the
year ISQO, independent of his annuity from lord I'etre, amotnited to nine hun-
dred poinids sterling. Xor was this all : measures were taken at the same
time to prevent any such disagreeable occurrence in future. In the buoyancy
of spirit ^vhich this great deliverance excited, ho published a modest apology
for the Catholics of Great Britain, addressed to all moderate Protestants, par-
ticularly to the membcre of botii houses of parliament. This work was pub-
lished anonymously ; but it had been ^vritten twenty years before, and from the
style and the Avhispers of his friends, was soon known to be his. It Avas trans-
lated into the French and German languages, and, considered as the work of a
man who professed himself to be a catholic^ is certainly a most singular perfor-
mance. It was about this time the famous rencounter between William Gifford,
author of the Baviad, and Dr Wolcott, better known by the name of Peter
Pindar, took place in the sliop of Mr Wri^rht, bookseller in Piccadilly, on which
Ur Geddes published " .Oardomachia, or the Battle of the Bards." This he was
at the trouble of composing first in Latin and afterwards translating into English,
so that it was published in both languages. In the following year, 1801, Ur Ged-
des sustained an irreparable loss in the death of his noble patron, lord Petro.
His lordship died of an attack of the gout in July 1801, in the sixty-eighth
year of his age. By his latter will ho bequeathed to Dr Geddes an annuity of
one hundred pounds; and his son, the heir of his virtues as well as of his
honours, when he intimated the circumstance to the Doctor, politely proposed to
add a yearly salary of the same amount. Nor ought it to be suppressed on this
occasion, that 3Ir Timothy Brown of Chiswell street, before Dr Geddes was ap-
prised of lord I'etre 's generous intentions, had engaged that the two hundred
pounds a year which he was likely to lose by the death of his pati-on, should bo
supplied by the voluntary contributions of those friends who had so generously
come forward on the late occ^islon, or in case of their declining it, by an equal
salary to be annually paid by himself. Though he was thus no loser in a
pecuniary point of view, he felt the void hereby produced in his happiness, and
almost in his existence, to be irrepai-able ; and it was lung before his mind re-
covered so much calmness as to i-eason on the subject, or to admit the sympathies
of surviving friends. His grief, however, began to assume a milder char-
acter, and he attempted to soothe his feelings by composing for his departed
friend a Latin Hlegy, and he gave successive proofs that the embers of his
habitual hilarity still glowed with a few vital sparks. He did not, however,
feel himself at any period sufficiently collected for a regular prosecution of his
favourite undertaking. At the pressing request of his friends, he began to pre-
pare for the press the Psalms, to be printed in a separate volume. With the
translation he did not get further than the one hundred and eighteenth. ij
A trilling Ode on the restoration of peace, written in Latin, Avas one of
his amusements at this time, and a Latin Elegy on the death of Gilbert
^^ akeiield was the last of his compositions, filr Wakefield died in the month
of September, ISO I, when Dr Geddes was already deeply aflected with

ALEXANDER GEDDES, 427

ilie painful disease that carried him off early in the following spring,
'ihrough tlie uhole of the winter, his sufferings must often have been ex-
treme, tliough he had intervals in which he was comparatively easy. He died
suddenly 0:1 the 20th of February, 1802, in the sixty-fifth year of his age.

As there has been a story told of Dr Geddes having recanted his opinions on
his death-bed, it becomes an imperious duty to state the manner of his death, as
related by those who were about him at the time. The rites of that com-
nmnion to which he professed to belong, were, notwithstanding his avowed
contempt for the greater part of tliem, administered to him by his friend M. St
Martin, a doctor of the Sorbonne and professor of divinity. Ihe day before
his death, Dr Geddes was visited by this friend, who was anxious to recall him
from those aberrations he had made from the faith, and for this purpose had a
list of questions drawn up, to which be meant to insist upon having answei-s. The
state into Avhich by tliis time the Doctor had fallen, rendered this impracticable.
Sensible tliat he was in gi-eat danger, M. St Martin endeavoured to rouse him
from his lethargy, and proposed to him to receive absolution. Geddes observed
that in that case it would be necessary for him to make his confession. M. St
Martin, aware that this was beyond his strength, replied that in extremis this
was not necessary, that he had only to examine the state of his own mind, and
to make a sign when he was prepared. He could not, however, aroid putting
a question or two upon tlie more important points upon which they ditl'ered.
** You fully," said he, *' believe in the Scriptures?" (Geddes, rousing himself
from his sleep, said " Certainly." " In the doctrine of the Trinity ?" " Certain-
ly, but not in the manner you mean." " In the mediation of .Tesus Christ ?"
" No, no, no, — not as you mean ; in Jesus as our Saviour — but not in the atone-
ment." After a pause he said, " I consent to all " — but of these words M. St Mar-
tin did not comprehend the meaning. The Doctor shortly after gave the sign that
he Avas ready, and received from M. St Martin absolution in the way he had pro-
posed. It was the intention of M. St Martin to have passed the night with him,
but calling in the evening, found that the physician had forbidden any of his
friends to be admitted. A domestic, however, in a neighbouring house, of the
catholic persuasion, who knocked at the door during the night, just as he was
dying, was admitted, and, according to the rites of her church, repeated over him
the Creed, Paternoster, and Ave Maria. Dr Geddes opened his eyes as she
had concluded, gave her his benediction, and expired.

Perhaps there is not in the histoi-y of literary men a character that calls more
loudly for animadvei-sion, or that requires a more skilful hand to lay it open, than
that of Dr Geddes. He professed a savage sort of straight-forward honesty, that
was at war on multiplied occasions Avith the common charities of life, yet amid
his numerous writings, Avill any man take it on him to collect Avhat were really
his opinions upon the most important subjects of human contemplation ? He
professed himself a zealous catholic ; yet of all or nearly all that constitutes a
catholic, lie has spoken with as much bitterness as it was possible for any prc-
testant to have done. If it be objected that he added to the adjective Catholic
the noun Christian, when he says that he admits nothing but what has been
taught by Christ, his apostles, and successors in every age and in every place,
we would ask how much we are the wisei-. He professed to believe in
Jesus Christ, and in the perfection of his code, but he held Moses to have been
a man to be compared only with Numa and Lycurgus ; a man who like them
pretended to personal intercourse with the Deity, from whom he never
received any immediate communication ; a man who had the art to take advan-
tage of rarely occurring natural circumstances, and to persuade the Israelites
that they were accomplished under his direction by the immediate power cf

428 JAMES GEDDES.— MICHAEL GEDDES.

Gotl ; a man, in short, conspinioiis above all men as a jtiagiing impostor. Now
to the divine mission of Closes, we have the «lii-c<;t testimony of Jesus Christ
himself, uith the express assurance, lh.it without l)clievin<5 in INIoses it was im-
possible to believe in him. Jhit we cannot here follow out the subject, nor can
we enter into any particular analysis of his woiKs, to which the eccentricities of
his character, the singularity of his opinions, and the peculiar circumstances of
his life, gave for a time an interest, to >\hich tliey were not at any time entitled.
His translation of (he Jiiblo, afier all liie j)rofessioiis he had made, the
means he had accumulated, and the expectations lie had excited, was a complete
failure, and has only a<lded another demonstration to the thousands that had
preceded it, how much more easy it is to write fluently and plausibly about
great undertakings, than to perform them. We intended here to have noticed
more particularly his translation of the lirst book of the Iliad of Homer, which
he undertook for the purpose of demonslrating his superiority to Cowper, but upon
second thoughts have forborne to disturb its peaceful slumbers. Upon the ^\ho]e,
Dr Geddes was unrjuestionably a man of learning and of genius, but from an un-
happy temper, and the preponderating intiuence of arrogance and vanity in his
constitution, they were of little avail to himself, and have not been greatly use-
ful to the general interests of mankind.

(;EDUI',S, .Iames, an advocate at the Scottish bnr, was born in the county of
Tweeddalc, about the year 1710, and being the son of a gentleman in good
circumstances, was educated by tutors under his father's roof. The progress which
he made in the learned languages and philosophy, >\as considered extraordi-
nary ; and he fulfilled every promise at the university of Edinburgh, wliei'c be
distinguished himself, particularly in mathematics, wiiich he studied under the
celebrated 3Iaclaurin. Having prepared himself for the bar, he entered as an
ad\ocate, and soon acquired considerable reputation. His labours as a lawyer
did not prevent him from devoting much time to his favourite studies — the poets,
philosophers, and historians of antiquity; and in 1748, he published at Glas-
gow his " Essay on the Composition and Planner of AVriting of the Ancients,
particularly Plato." The year after this publication, he died of lingering con-
Bumption, much regretted, both on account of his learning — the fruits of which
had not been fully given to the world — and for his manners and disposition,
which weie in the highest degree amiable.

GEDDES, 3I1CHAEL, a distinguished divine of the church of England, and
author of some admired works, was educated at the university of Edinburgh,
where, in 1071, he took the degree of master of arts, in which he was incorpo-
rated at Oxford, on the 1 1th of July, in the same year. He was one of the
first four natives of Scotland who were permitted to take advantage of the ex-
hibitions founded in Baliol college, Oxford, by bishop Warner, with the view
of promoting the interests of the Episcopal church in Scotland. Geddes, how-
ever, did not return to propagate or enforce the doctrines of that body in his
native country. He went in 1G7S to Lisbon, as chaplain to the English fac-
tory ; the exercise of >vhich function giving otience to the inquisition, he was
sent for by that court in 10 SG, and forbidden to continue it. This persecution
obviously arose from the attempts no\v making by king James at home to esta-
blish popery. The luiglish merchants, resenting the violation of their privilege,
wrote on the 7th of September to the Ijisliop of London, representing their case,
and their right to a chaplain, as establislied by the conmiercial treaty between
England and Portugal ; but before this letter reached its destination, the bishop
was himself put into the same predicament as Mr Geddes, being suspended from
his functions by the ecclesiastical commission. Einding that his case had be-
come hopeless, Geddes returned to England, in 3Iay, 10 8S, where he took the

ALEXANDER GERARD, D.D. 429

ilogi-ee of doclor of laws, and after the promotion of Burnet to the bishopric of
Salisbury, was made by him chancellor of his church.^ During his residence at
Lisbon, he had amassed a great quantity of documents respecting Spanish and
Portuguese history, which enabled him, in 1694, to publish a volume, styled
" The Church History of Malabar." Of this work, archbishop Tillotson says in
a letter to bishop Burnet, dated June 2Sth, KJlil, " 3Ir Geddes's book finds a
general acceptation and approbation. I doubt not but he hath more of the
same kind, with which I hope he uill favour the world in due time." He was
accordingly encouraged in 109G to publish the " Church History of /Ethiopia,"
and in 1097, a pamphlet entitled " The Council of Trent plainly discovered
not to have been a free assembly." His great work, however, was his " Tracts
on Divers Subjects," which appeared in 1714, in tiu-ee volumes, being a trans-
lation of the most interesting pieces which he had collected at Lisbon, and of
which a list is given in Moreri's Grand Dictionnaire Historique, art. Geddes.
The learned doctor must have died previous to the succeeding year, as in 1715
appeared a posthumous volume of tracts against the Roman Catholic church,
which completes the list of his publications.

"GERARD, Alexander, D. D., an eminent divine and writer, was the eldest
son of the reverend Gilbert Gerard, minister of the chapel of Garioch, a parish
in Aberdeenshire, where he was born on the 22nd of February, 1728, He
was removed at the period destined for the commencement of his education, to
the parish of Foveran, in the same county, the humble schoolmaster of which
appears to have possessed such superior classical attainments, tliat the reverend
gentleman felt justilied in delivering his son up to his care, — a preference which
the future fame of that son, founded on his coi-rectness of acquisition and ob-
servation, must have given his friends no cause to regret. At the age of ten,
on the death of his father, ho was removed to tlie grannnar school of Aberdeen,
Avhence he emerged in two years, qualified to enter as a student of Blarischal
college. Having there peri'ormed his four years of academical attendance in
the elementary branches, he finished his career willi the usual ceremony of
" the graduation," and appeared before the world in the capacity of master of
arts at the age of sixteen, — not by any means the earliest age at which that de-
gree is frequently granted, but certainly at a period sufficiently early to entitle
him to the character of precocious genius. Immediately after finishing these
branches of education, he commenced in the divinity hall of Aberdeen his
theological studies, which he afterwards finished in Edinburgh.

In 1748, he was a licensed preacher of the church of Scotland, and about
two years thereaftex-, 3Ir D. Fordyce, professor of natural philosophy in Marisch-
al college, having gone abroad, he lectured in his stead ; and on the regretted
death of that gentleman, by shipwreck on the coast of Holland, just as he was
returning to his friends, Mr Gerard was appointed to the vacant professorship.
At the period when 3Ir Gerard was appointed to a chair in Marischal college,
the philosophical curi»iculum, commencing with logic, proceeded immediately to
the absiract subjects of ontology and pneumatics, the course gradually decreasing
in abstruseness with the consideration of morals and politics, and terminating
>vith the more definite and practical doctrines of natural philosophy. Through
the whole of this varied course it was the duty of each individual to lead his
pupils; mathematics and Greek being alone taught by separate professors. The
evils of this system suggested to the professors of IMarischal college, the forma-
tion of a plan for tlie radical alteration of the routine, which has since been
most beneficially conducive to the progress of Scottish literature. A very cu-
rious and now rare pamphlet, from the pen of Dr Gerard, exists on this subject;
1 Birch's Life of Tillotson, 334.

430 ALEXANDER GERARD, D.D.

it is entitled, *' Plan of lulucation in the IMarisclial Collei(e and University of
Aberdeen, with tlie Ueasons ot" it, drawn n]» by order of the Facuilx ,"' printed
at Aberdeen in 1755; a Utile uorli of admirable purspicnity <ind SDund logical
reasoning. '1 bo i-ationalc of ibe ancient system was foinidud on tbe presump-
tion, tbat, as it is by the use of \nu;\i: and tbe otlier nietapbysici! sciences alone,
that no can arranoe, digest, and reason upon tbe facts Mlncb come under oi;r
observation, tlicse must be committed to tiie mind as rules of management, be-
fore any facts collected can be applied to their proper piiii>oses, and thai before
any knowledge of nature, as it exists, is stored in the intellect, that intellect must
be previously possessed of <-erlain regulation', to the criterion of which the
knowledge gained must be submitted. A quotation from Dr (xcrard's little
work will alibrd one of the best specimens of the now pretty generally under-
stood confutation of this falLu^y ; speaking of logic, he sajs : — " This is one of
the most abstruse and ditlicult bi-ani-Iies of philosophy, and therefore fjuite im-
proper to begin with. It has a strict ilependence on many parts of kno^^ledge :
ihesc must of consequence be premised, before it can be rightly apprehended, —
the natural history of the human understanding must be known, and its pheno-
mena discovered ; for without this, the exertions of the intellectual faculties,
and their application to the various subjects of science will be unintelligible.
These phenomena must be not only narrated, but likewise, as far as possible,
explained : for without investigating their general laws, no certain and general
conclusions concerning their exercise can be deduced : nay, all sciences, all
branches of knowledge whatever, must be premised as a groundwork to genuine
logic. Histoi-y has one kind of endence, mathematics another ; natural philo-
sophy, one still diflerent ; the philosophy of nature, another distinct from all
these ; the subordinate branches of these several parts, have still minuter pecu-
liarities in the evidence appropriated to them. An unprejudiced mind will in
each of thes3 be convinced by that species of argument which is peculiar to
it, though it does not reflect how it comes to be convinced. By being conver-
sant in t/iein, one is prepared for the study of lorjic ; for they supply them with
a fund of materials : in fhej)i the ditl'erent kinds of evidence and argument are
exemplified : from them only those illustrations can be taken, without which its
rules and precepts would be unintelligible." * * # << In studying the par-
ticular sciences, reason will spontaneously exert itself: if the proper and natural
method of reasoning is used, the mind Avill, by the native force of its faculties,
perceive the evidence, and be convinced by it ; though it docs not reflect how
this comes to pass, nor explicitly consider according to what gesieral rules the
understanding is exerted. By afterwards studying these rules, one uill be far-
ther fitted for prosecuting the several sciences ; the knowledge of the grounds
and laws of evidence will give him tlie security of reflection, against employing
Avrong methods of proof, and improper kinds of evidence, additional to that of
instinct and natural genius/^ The consequence of this acknowledgment of
the supremacy of reason and practice over argumentation and theory, was the
establishment of a course of lectures on natural and civil history, previously to
inculcating the corresponding sciences of natural and mental philosophy ; an in-
stitution from which, — wherever the former part consists of anything better than
a blundering among explosive combustibles, and a clattei-ing among glass ves-
sels, or the latter is anything superior to a circumstantial narrative of ancient
falsehoo<ls and modern dates, — the student derives a basis of sound and useftil
infonnatlon, on v>hich the more metaphysical sciences may or may not be built,
as circumstances or inclination admit. It is a striking instance of the propen-
sity to follow with accuracy the beaten track, or to deviate only when some
powerful spirit leads the way, that the system has never advanced further than

ALEXANDER GERARD, D.D. 431

as laid down by Dr Gerard ; — according to his system, jurisprudence and politics
are to be preceded by pneuraatology and natural theology, and is to be mixed
up " with tiie perusal of some of the best ancient moralists." Thus the studies
of jurisprudence and politics, two sciences of strictly modern practical origin,
are to be mixed with the dogmas of philosophers, who saw governments but in
dreams, and calculated political contingencies in the abstract rules of mathema-
ticians ; and the British student finds, that the constitutional informatio'i, for
which he will, at a more advanced period of life, tliscover that his country is
renowned, is the only science from which the academical course has carefully ex-
cluded him, and which be is left to gather in after-life by desultory reading or mis-
cellaneous conversation and practice. The change produced by Br Gerard was suf-
ficiently sweeping as a first step, and the reasons for it were a sufKcient victory fur
one mind over the stubbornness of ancient prejudice. It is to be also remembered,
that those admirable constitutional works on the government and constitutional laws
of England, (\vhich have not'even yet been imitated in Scotland,) and that new
science by which the resources of governments, and the relative powers of dif-
ferent forms of constitutions are made known liice the circumstances of a private
individual — the work of an illustrious Scotsman — had not then appeared. It
will be for some approaching age to improve this admirable plan, and to place
those sciences which treat of men — in the methods by which, as divided in dif-
ferent clusters through the earth, they have reduced abstract principles of
morals to practice — as an intermediate exercise betwixt the acquisition of mere
physical facts, and the study of those sciences which embrace an abstract specu-
lation on these facts ; keeping the mind chained as long as possible to things
which exist in the world, in morals as well as in facts — the example of the
tyrannical system never deviated from till the days of Bacon and Des Cartes —
and of many reasonings of the pi-esent day, which it might be presumjitioii to
call absurd, showing us how naturally the mind indulges itself in erecting ab-
stract edifices, out of proportions which are useless when they are reduced to
the criterion of practice. In 175G, a prize oflered by the philosophical society
of Edinburgh, for the best essay on taste, was gained by Dr Gerard, and in
1759, he published this essay, the best and most popular of his philosophical
works. It passed through three English editions and two French, in which
language it Avas published by Eidous, along with three dissertations on the same
subject by Voltaire, D'Alembert, and Montesquieu. This essay treats first of
what the author calls taste, resolved into its simple elements, and contains a
soi't of analytical account of the different perceptible qualities, more or less
united, to be found in any thing we admire : he then proceeds to consider the
progress of the formation of taste, and ends with a tliscussion on the existence
of a standard of taste. The author follows the system of rciiex senses, pro-
pounded by Hutchinson. The system of association, upon which Mr Alison af-
terwards based a treatise on the same subject, is well considered by Gerard,
along with many other qualifications, which he looks upon as the sources of the
feeling — qualifications which other writers, whose ideas on the subject have not
yet been confuted, have referred likewise to the principles of association for their
first cause. Longinus, in his treatise on sublimity, if he has not directly main-
tained the original influence of association — or in other words, the connexion of
the thing admired, either through cause and affect, or some other tie, with what is
pleasing or good — as an origin of taste, at least in his reasoning-s and illustrations,
gives cause to let it be perceived that he acknowledged such a principle to
exist.^ The first person, however, who laid it regularly down and argued upon
it as a source of taste, appears to have been Dr Gerard, and his theory Avas ad-
J This is particular]}' remarkable at the commencement of the 7lh section.

432 ALEXANDER GERARD, D.D.

mitle«l by !?ii" .Joshua Heyiiolds, in as far as niaiiitaiiiiii^- that hcaiity consists in
an aptness ol" parts for the end to wliicii tlicy are assii;neil, may be consi-
«lered an admission of the ])rin<iplc of association, at a period \\licn one of
an inversely (>j)j)ositc natm-e \»as supported by lUirke and I'ricc. To those
uho have folio>vod these two, tiie name of Dugald Stewart has to be addc.l ;
^vhile tlint eminent sciiolar and jrreat jdiilosoplier, Richard I'aync Kniglit,
has, amidst the various and rather ill-arranged mass of useful information and
acute remark, accumulated in his inquiry into the principles of taste, well illus-
trated the theory i)r()pounded by Dr (ierard, and it has been linally enlarged
and systematized by Dr Alison, and the author of a criticism on that Avork in the
Edinburgh Review, one of the most beautiful and perfect specimens of modern
composition. At the period when Dr Gerard produced this uork, he was a
member of a species of debating institution half way betwixt a society and a
club, subject neither to the pompous state of the one, nor the excess of the
other. This society is well known in Scottish literary history, as embracing
among its members many of the iirst men of the time. 3Iore or lass connected
with it were the classical Blackweli, and Gregory, and Held, the parent of that
clear philosophy which has distinguished the country, and Beattie, who, though
his merits have perhaps been too highly rated, was certainly fit to have been an
ornament to .any association of literary men. The use of literary societies has been
much exaggerated ; but still it cannot be denied, that wherever a spot becomes
distinguished for many superior minds, there is one of these pleasing sources of
activity and enjoyment to be founcL That it is more the eftect than the cause
may be true. Such men as Gerard, Reid, and Blarkwell ^vould liave been dis-
tinguislied in any sphere of life; but if the princi})Ie should maintain itself in
no other science, it is at least true of philosophy, that intercommunication and
untechnical debate, clear and purify the ideas previously formed, and ramify
them to an extent of which the thinker had never previously dreamed. It nmst
have been grateful beyond conception to the members of this retired and un-
ostentatious body, to have found learning and elegance gradually brightening
under their influence, after a dreary and unlettered series of ages which had
passed over their university and the district, — to feel that, though living apart
from the grand centres of literary attraction, they had the enjoyments these
could bestow beside their own retired hearths and among their own professional
colleagues, — and to be conscious that they bestowed a dignity on the spot they
inhabited, ^vhich a long period of commercial prosperity could never bestow,
and gave a tone to the literature of their institution which should continue when
they were gone. In June 1760, Dr Gerard was chosen professor of divinity in
Marischal college, being at the same time presented with the living of the Grey
Friars' church, in Aberdeen. During his tenui*e of these situations, he published
liis " Dissertations on the Genius and Evidences of Christianity," a subject which
he treated with more soundness, reason, and gentlemanly spirit, than others of
the same period have chosen to display. In June 1771, he resigned both these
situations, and accepted the theological chair of King's college, and three years
afterwards published "An Essay on Genius ;" this production is stamped with the
same strength of argument, and penetrating thought, every ■\\liere to be found in
the productions of the author. The heads of the subject are laid down with
mucli philosophical correctness, and followed out with that liberal breadth of
argument peculiar to those wlio prefer \vhat is reasonable and true, to ivhat sup-
ports an assumed theory. The language is not florid, and indeed does not aim
at -what is called elegant -writing, but is admirably fitted to convey the ideas
clearly and consistently, and seems more intended to be understood than to be
admired. It commences with a discussion on the nature of " genius." which is

TF^

GILBERT GERARD, D.D.

separated from the other mental powers, and particularly from '* ability," with
which many have confounded it. Genius is attributed in the first process of its
formation to imagination, which discovers ideas, to be afterwards subjected to
the ai-bitration of judgment ; memory, and the other intellectual powers, being
considered as subsidiary aids in instigating the movements of imagination, Dr
Gerard afterwards presented to the world two volumes of sermons, published in
1780-82. He died on his G7th birth-day, 2 2d February, 1795. A sennon
was pi-eached on his funeral, and afterwards published, by his friend and pupil,
Dr Skene Ogilvy of Old Aberdeen, which, along with the adulation conunon to
such performances, enumerates many traits of character which the most undis-
guised flatterer could not have dared to have attributed to any but a good,
able, and much esteemed man. A posthumous work, entitled " Pastoral Care,"
wns published by Dr Gerard's son and successor in 1799.

GERARD, Gilbert, D. D. , a divine, son of the foregoing, was born at
Aberdeen on the 12th of August, 17G0, and having acquired the earlier ele-
ments of his professional education in his native city, at a period when the
eminence of several great and well known names dignified its universities, he
finished it in the more extended sphere of tuition furnished by the university
of Edinburgh. Before he reached the age of twenty-two, a vacancy having
occurred in the ministry of the Scottish church of Amsterdam, a considera-
tion of his father's qualifications prompted the consistory to invite the young
divine to preach before theai, and he was in consequence waited upon by that
body, with an offer of the situation, whicii he accepted. During his residence
in Holland, he turned the leisure allowed him by his clerical duties, and his
knowledge of the Dutch language and of general science, to supporting, witli
the assistance of two literary friends, a periodical called " De Recensent."
What may have been the intrinsic merits of this publication, it Avould be difii-
cult to discover either through the medium of personal knowledge or general
report, in a nation where modern Dutch literature is unnoticed and almost un-
kno\vn ; but it obtained the best suflrage of its utility in the place fur \vhich it
was intended, an extensive circulation. During the same period, he likewise
occupied himself in contributing to English literature ; and on the establishment
of the Analytical Review in 1783, he is understood to have conducted the de-
partment of that periodical referring to foreign literature, — a task for which his
hereditary critical acuteness, his residence on the continent, and knowledge of
the classical and of several modern languages, some of which were then much
neglected, or had but begun to attract tlie attention of educated Englishmen,
must have given peculiar facilities.

During his residence at Amsterdam, he received as a token of respect from
his native university, the degree of doctor of divinity. Soon after this event,
his professional and literary pursuits experienced a clieck from a severe illness
Avliich compelled him to seek early in life a restorative for his weakened con-
stitution, in breathing the air of his native country. The cliange of climate bad
the desired effect, and he returned restored in health to his duties in Holland.
These he continued to perform until April, 1791, when strong family motives
induced hira to relinquish a situation which habit and friendship had endeared
to him, and his resignation of which was followed by the regrets of those who
had experienced the merits of their pastor. He soon after accepted the vacant
professorship of Greek in the King's college of Aberdeen, a situation which he
held for four years. Although the students of Ring's college are not very
numerous, and the endowments connected with the institution are by no means
affluent, both are very respectable, and there is every opportunity on tlie part
of tlie instructor to exhibit, both to the world in general, and to his students,

434 GILBERT GERARD, D.D.

those qualifications uliich make the uinn respected and esteemed. From the
youth of the scholars generally conimilted to his care, the professor of Greelt
is not only the public lecturer in his dcparlmenL of literature, but the instructor
cf its elemeuts ; and he has not only to perforin the nuire ostentatious duty of
«xliibitin<^ to and laying i)efore them the stores of his own Uno^^k•dge, but to
iind the means by Avhich this know ledge shall enter the mind of each in<lividual
student. '1 he instructor meets his pupils during a considerable portion of the
diiy, and for several months together; and a knowledge of individuals is thus
ac<juired, which gives the benevolent and active disccrner of character an op-
portunity of uniting the friend and the instructor towards the young man who
looks to him for knowledge. The discernment of the young rcsjjecting tliose
■who have cognizance over them is proverbially acute, and it frequently happens that
while the learned world has overlooked, in the midst of brilliant talents or deej*
learning, the absence or presence of the other more personal qualities requisite
for the instruction of youth, the pupils have discovered these, and, as a conse-
quence, ha^e pursued or neglected their proper studies, as they have personally
respected or disliked the teacher of them. It was the consequence of the
learning and personal worth of Dr Gerard, that his pupils respected his per-
sonal character, and acquired, from his knowledge and his kind friendship to-
wards them, an enthusiasm for Greek literature, which few^ teachers have had
the good fortune to inspire, and which has very seldom made its appearance in
Scotland. A course of lectures on Grecian history and antiquities, (unfor-
tunately never given to the world,) which he delivered to his students, is still
remembered by many to whom they have fonned a stable foundation for more
extended knowledge of the subject.

During the latter years of his father's life, he had assisted him in the per-
formance of his duties as professor of divinity, and on his death succeeded to
that situation, where he brought, to the less irksome and more intellectual duties
of instilling philosophic knowledge into more advanced minds, the same spirit
of friendly intercourse Avhich had distinguished his elementary instructions.
The Scottish student of divinity is frequently a person who stands in need of a
protector and friend, and when he has none to trust to but the teachers of the
profession, on whom all have a claim, it is very natural that it might happen
that these individuals should abstain frcm the exercise of any little patronage
on which there is an indefinite number of claimants. It is, however, worthy of
remark, to the honour of the individuals who have filled these situations, that
many of tiiem have been the best friends to their students, and that although
they had at that period to look to them for no professional remuneration, they
considei-ed themselves as being from the commencement of the connexion, not
only the temporary instructors, but the guardians of the future conduct, and the
propagators of the future fortune, of their students. Of these feelings on the
pai't of Dr Gerard, many now dispersed in respectable ministerial situations
through the counti-y, retain an atl'ectionate recollection. Kis influence, which
was considerable, was used in their favour, and whei-e he had not that to be-
stow, he was still a friend. In 1811, he added to his professorship the second
charge of the collegiate church of Old Aberdeen, and continued to hold both
situations till his death. During the intervening period, he permitted his use-
ful leisure hours to be occupied with the fulfilment of the duties of the master-
ship of moi-tifications for King's college, — certainly rather an anomalous oflice
foi- a scholar, and one which, with a salary that could have been no induce-
ment, seems to have brought along with it the qualities of its not very auspicious
name. The duties, though petty and irksome in the exti'eme, were performed
with the same scrupulous exactness which distinguished the professor's more ini-

ADAM GIB. 435

portant pursuits ; and he liad in the end, from his dih'gent discharge of these
duties, and his being able to procure, from his personal influence with the
government, a grant in favour of tlie university, the satisfaction of rescuino- it
from tiie poverty with which it was threatened, by a decree of augmenta-
tion of the stipends of several churches, of which the college was titular. Dur-
ing this period of adversity, Dr Gerai-d had before his eyes the brighter prospect
of a benefice in the Scottish metropolis, which many of his friends there at-
tempted to prevail on him to accept ; but the retired habits consequent on a
studious life, the small but select circle of intimate friends in the neighbour-
iiood of liis college, to whose appearance and conversation long intercourse had
endeared him, and a desire to benefit an institution he might almost call pater-
nal, px'oinpted him to continue his useful duties.

Dr Gilbert Gerai'd died on the 28th of September, 1815 ; and amidst the
regrets of his acquaintances, the professional tribute to his memory was be-
stowed by the same reverend friend who preached his father's funeral sermon.
His only published work is entitled " Institutes of Biblical Criticism," pub-
lished in Edinburgh in 1808. It has received from his profession that ap-
proval which the author's merit had given cause to anticipate. It is character-
ized by the author of the Biographie L^niverselle as " Un ouvrage plein d'Eru-
dition, ct compose dans un bon esprit."

GIB, Adam, long distinguished as leader of the religious party called Anti-
burghers, was a native of Perthshire, and born in 1713. He received his edu-
cation at the university of Edinburgh. In the year 1741, he wfis ordained a
minister of the Associated Presbytery, recently formed by Mr Ebenezer Er-
skine and others, as detailed in the life of that eminent individual, fllr Gib's
charge was one of the most important in the kingdom — namely, the congresn-
tion in the southern suburbs of Edinburgh, -wliioh was afterwards administered
to by the late Dr Jamieson, the learned author of the Scottish Etymological
Dictionary. It is well known, tliat during the progress of the rebellion of
1745-6, no body of individuals in Scotland manifested a warmer loyalty
to the government than that to which Mr Gib belonged. When tho insur-
gents were approaching Edinburgh, about tliree hundred of the congregation
iu and around the city took up anus for its defence, hired a sergeant to teach
them the military exercise, and were the last to deliver up their arms to the cas-
tle, when all hope of holding out the town had been abandoned. During the
six weeks occupation of the city by prince Charles, the established presbyterian
clergy were, with one exception, mute, having mostly fled to the country. Mr
Gib was also obliged to abandon his meeting-house ; but he did not fly so far
as the rest, nor i-esign himself to the same inactivity. He assembled his con-
gregation at Dreghorn, about three miles from the town, and within a short dis-
tance of CoUington, where the insurgents kept a guai'd, and not only preached
the gospel as usual, but declared that he \\as doing so, as an open proof and tes-
timony " that we are resolved, through the Eord's grace, to come to no terms
with the enemy that has power in the city, but to look on them as enemies,
showing ourselves to be none of their confederacy. In oui' public capacity,"
he continued, " it is fit that we make even a voluntai-y removal from the place
where they are, as from the seat of robbers, showing ourselves resolved that
their seat shall not be ours." 3Ir Gib thus discoursed en five different Sundays,
*' expressly preaching up an abhorrence of the rebellion then on foot, and a
hope of its speedy overthrow, and every day making express mention of the
reigning sovereign in public prayer; praying for the safety of his reign,
the support of his government, a blessing on his family, and the preservation of
the protestant succession in that family ; at the same time praying for the sup-

43G JAMES GIBBS.

pression of tlie reljQllion, expressly under llie cliaracteia of an unnatural and
anli-cliristian rebellion, lieaded by a popish pretender.'''' \Vliat is most sur-
prising of all, to j)iirsue 31r (>ib's oun relation of tlie circnnistances, " ^\liile I
was doing so, I orilinarily liad a party of the rebel jniiard from Collington, \\\\o
understood l.'nglisli, standing before me on the outside of the multitude. * *
* * * * '1 hough they then attended with signs of great displeasure,
they Mcre restrained from using any violence : yet, about that time, as I was
passing on the road near Collington, one of them, who seemed to be in some
command, fired at nie ; but, for any thing that appeared, it might be only with
a design to fright nic."

In a subsequent part of the campaign, when the Seceders re-appeared in arms
along with the English armv, Mr Oiib stems to have accompanied them to I'al-
kirk, where, a few hours before the battle of the 1 7th January, he distinguished
himself by his activity in seizing a rebel spy. When the rebels in the evening
took possession of Falkirk, they found that person in prison, and, being in-
formed of what 3Ir Gib had done, made search for him through the town, with
the intention, no doubt, of taking some measure of vengeance for his hostility.

Referring the reader to the article Ebenezer Erskine for an account of the
schism which took place in 1747, in the Associated Presbytery, resj»ecting the
burgess oath, we shall only mention here that ]Mr Gib took a conspicuous part
at the head of the more rigid party, termed Antiburghers, and continued dur-
ing the rest of Jiis life to be their ablest advocate and leader. A new meeting-
house was opened by him, November 4, 1753, in Nicholson Street, in which he
regularly preached for many years to about two thousand persons. His emi-
nence in the public affairs of his sect at last obtained for him the popular epithet
of Po'pe Gib, by which he was lonif remembered. In 17G5, when the gen-
eral assembly tcok the subject of the Secession into consideration, as a thing
that " threatened tlie peace of the country," JMr Gib WTOte a spirited remon-
strance against that injurious imputation ; and, as a proof of the attachment of the
Seceders to the existing laws and government, detailed all those circumstances
respecting the rebellion in 1745, which we have already embodied in this
notice. In 1774, 3Ir Gib published " A Display of the Secession Testimony," in
two volumes 8vo ; and in 1784, his " Sacred Contemplations," at the end of
which was " An Essay on Liberty and Necessity," in answer to lord Karnes's es-
say on that subject. JMi- Gib died, June 18, 1788, in the 75th year of his age,
and 48th of his ministi-y, and was interred in the Grey Friars' church-yard, Avhere
an elegant monument was erected to his memory, at the expense of his grateful
congregation.

GIBBS, James, a celebrated arcliitect, was born in Aberdeen, according to the
most approved authority, in the year 1674, though Walpole and others place
the date of his birth so late as 16 83, a period which by no means accords with
that of his advancement to fame in his profession. He was the only son (by
his second wife)' of Peter Gibbs of Footdeesmii-e, a merchant, and, as it would
appear from his designation, a proprietor or feuar of a piece of ground along
the shore at the mouth of the Dee, where his house, called " the white house in
the Links," remains an evidence of the respectability and comparative wealth of
the family. Old Gibbs retained during the stormy period in which he lived,
the religion of his ancestors, and was a staunch non-juror. An anecdote is
preserved by his fellow townsmen characteristic of the man, and of the times.
The conflicting religious doctrines of presbyterian and episcopalian, and of

1 Cunningham errs in supposing that Jarnes Gibbs was the only s >" and only child of Peter
Gibbs. '1 here was a son William, by tlie fii-st wife, who went abroad after his father's death —
what became of Jiim is not known.

JAMES GIBBS. 437

course the political doctrines of whig and tory, found in Aberdeen a more
equal balance than perhaps in any other part of Scotland ; and history has
shown, that in the event of a serious struggle, the influence of the Huntly fa-
mily generally made the latter predominate ; in these circumstances, it may
easily be supposed that the city was a scene of perpetual potty jarrinsr, and that
pasquinades and abuse were liberally given and bitterly received. Gibbs being
a Roman catholic, was the friend of neither party, and an object of peculiar
antipathy to the presbyterians, who testified their sense of liis importance and
wickedness, by instructing the children in the neighbourhood to annoy the
old gentleman in his premises, and hoot him on the streets, (jiibbs, to
show his respect for both parlies, procured two fierce dogs for his personal
protection, and engraved on the collar of the one " Luther," and on that
of the other " Calvin ;" the compliment was understood by neither party ; and
the dogs and their master being summoned before the bailies to answer for
their respective misdemeanours, the former were delivered over to the proper
authorities, and executed according to law, at the cross, the public place of
execution.

The subject of our memoir attended the usual com"se of instruction at the
grammar school, and was afterwards sent to Mai'ischal college, where he
accepted of the easily acquired degTce of master of arts. At that period,
when the Scottish colleges were partly remnants of liioi.astic institutions,
partly schools for the instruction of boys, having the indolence of the Roman
catholic age strangely mingled with their own poverty and the simpli-
city of presbyterian government, there were but two classes of persons at
the universities, — the sons of the noblemen and gentlemen, living in a style
superior to the citizens, and a poorer class who were supported by the bursa-
ries, or even common charity ; the two classes wore different dresses, and of
course had little communication with each other, excepting such as might exist
between master and servant. To which of these classes Gibbs may have be-
longed is not known ; that it should have been the latter is not so improbable
as it may appear, as custom, the master of every thing, made it by no means
degrading to those of inferior rank ; while a burgess, whatever might have been
his wealth, would hardly in that age have been so daring as to have forced his
son upon the company of the offspring of lairds. For some time after his fa-
ther's death, he was reared and educated by his uncle-in-law and aunt, IVIr and
Mrs Momson, people in much the same respectable circumstances with his fa-
ther ; but, destitute perhaps from his religious principles, of influence sufficient
to enable him to follow his father's business with success, or more probably
having a natural bent for more tasteful pursuits, Gibbs, at the early age of
twenty, left his native town, nor did he ever retui-n to a spot not very congenial
to the pursuit of a profession wliich must be studied among the remains of an-
cient gTandeur, and practised in the midst of luxury and profusion. From
1694 to 1700 he studied architecture and the mathematics in Holland, under
an architect to whom the biographers of Gibbs have given the mei-it of possessing
reputation, while neither his own talents, nor the subsequent fame of his scholar
has preserved his name from oblivion. Here the young architect made himself
acquainted with the earl of Mai-r, then on a visit to the continent, who, accord-
ing to the praiseworthy custom for which Scotsmen have received rather unchari-
table commendation, of assisting their countrymen when they meet them in a
foreign country, gave him recommendatory letters to influential friends, and
money to enable him to pursue the study of his profession, for which it would
appear the earl had a taste. After leaving Holland he spent ten years in
Rome, where, according to Dallaway, he studied under P. F. Garroli, a sculptor

433 JAMES GIBDS.

and arcliitect of ooiis'ulerahle inRrit ; and whore, like inriny wlm have afterwards
issiU'd from the jjroat inaiiufactory of artists, In astimish ami •jnilify llie world,
he prohahly spent iiis days in labour and unnoticed rolircnienU

In 17 1'), (iiblis returned to liritain, and by tlie inlluence of the earl (if
MaiT, then secretary of stiite for Scotland, in (jueen Anne's tory ministry,
the means of eviiibiliii;;^ his knowleib^o to advautacfe, and f>ainin^ emolu-
ment, WL'rc amply provided. The renowned lei^isiative uie.asure, by which
the metropolis ^v•as to be made religions liy a(;t of parliament, on the erection
of lifty new churches, havinj^ been passed, ti>e name of Gibbs was added by his
generous patron to the list of those eminent architects \vho were to put the vast
plan in execution. Previous, however, to connnencincT this undertaUincf, he
completed the first of his architectural labours, the additional buildiii'^s to
King's collcj^e, Cambridge. It is generally allowed thrit this is a production
on \vhich the architect could not have founded much of his fame. — " I'he dimi-
nutive Doric portico," says DalLaway, " is certainly not a happy performan<:e,
eitlier in the idea or the execution. Such an application of the order would
not occur in a pure and classic instance." While, on the other hand, the histo-
rian of tlie uniyei-sity of Cambridge, remarlcs, — " It is built of white Portland
stone, beautifully carred,^ with a grand portico in the centre ; and contains
three lofty floors above the vaults. The apartments, which are twenty-four in
number, are exceedingly well fitted up, and in every respect coiTespond with
the outward appearance, which equals that of any other building in the uni-
versity."— The latter part of the sentence, in reference to the spot which con-
tains King's college chapel and Clare hall, is sufficiently complimentary for the
architect's best works. The truth appears to be, that those trammels Avhi<;h archi-
tects have had more reason to detest than any other class of artists, restrained tho
genius of Ciibbs in this instance, and that being obliged to apply given form,
size, and number of apartments, to given space, he had no opportunity of dis-
playing the beauties whi<;h attend his other Avorks. The first of " the fifty,"
which Gibbs completed, was St Martin's in the Fields, a Avork which, with its
lalm tastefulness and simple grandeur, might have been honourable to the fame
of the greatest architect the world ever saw. Tho west front of this building-,
surmounted by a light and neatly designed spire, is decorated with Corinthian
columns, over which is a pediment, bearing the royal arms , the order is con-
tinued round the sides in pilasters, and there is a double series of windows in
the inter-colunmiations, an unfortunate sacrifice of architectural effect to internal
accommo<Lation. The interior is divided into tiiree unequal parts, by a range
of four Corinthian columns and two pilasters on each side, standing on tall
pedestals ; tlie central space or nave being covered by a semi-elliptical ceiling,
rising from the top of the entablature over each column, and is rich in mould-
ing and ornament The following plainly told, but judicious opinion of this
building, is given by lialph, in his " Critical Review of Public Buildings," —
" The portico is at once elegant and august, and the steeple above it ought to
be considered as one of the most tolerable in town ; if the steps arising from the
street to the front could liave been made regular, and on a line from end to
end, it would have given it a very considerable grace ; but, as the situation of
tlie ground would not allow it, this is to be esteemed rather a misfortune than a
fault. The round columns at each angle of the church are very well conceived,
and have a very fine effect in the profile of the building : the east end is re-
markably elegant, and very justly challenges particular applause. In short,
if there is anything wanting in this fabric, it is a little more elevation, which I
presume is apparently wanted within, and would create an additional beauty
without." — '• All the parts," says Allan Cunningham, " are nicely distributed.

JAMES GIBBS. 439

aud nothing- can be added, and nothing- can be taken away. It is complete h\
itself; and refuses the admission of all other ornament." Much discussion
seems to have been wasted on the portico ofSt Martin's, some insistiii"- that it is
a mere model of the portico of the Pantheon, or some other pi-oduction of clas-
sic art; others maintaining its equality in merit and design to the best speci-
mens of Grecian architecture. A portico, to l>ear the name, must have base-
ments, pillars, capitals, and an entablature, just as a house must have a roof and
Avindows, and a bridge arches ; so that all originality can possibly achieve in
such a work, is the harmony of the proportions and ornaments with each other,
and Avith the rest of the building- ; it is in having made the proportions and or-
naments different from those of the Pantheon, and adapted them to a totally
diflerent building, that Gibbs has been original, and it is on the pleasure which
the whole combination affords to the eye, that his merit depends ; a merit, how-
ever, whicli cannot come in competition with that of the inventor of the portico.
The next church of the lifty, undertaken by Gibbs, was St Mary's in the Strand,
a Avork on which, if we may judge from its appearance, he besto^ved more la-
bour Avith less effect. Instead of appearing- like the effort of a single grand
conception, forming- a complete and harmonizing Avhole, it is like a number of
efforts clustered together. Instead of being one design, the interstices in Avhich
are filled up by details, it is a number of details united together ; in gazing on
AA'hich, the mind, instead of absorbing the grandeur of the Avhole at one view,
Avanders from part to part, finding no common connexion by Avhich the joint
effect of all may be summoned before it at once.

Gibbs had just prepared the plans of the buildings we have described, and was
in the high and palmy state of his fortunes, Avhen his kind patron, having had
his overtures to jn-ocui-e the allegiance of the Highland clans contumeliously
rejected, and having been disgusted and thrown in fear by the impeachment of
Oxford and Stafford, and the exile of Ormond and Bolingbi'oke, resolved to
avenge his personal Avrongs, by a recourse to the feudal fiction of the divine
origin of hereditai'y right, to maintain the theoretic purity of which, a nation
contented Avith its king Avas plunged in civil Avar, that the king they ought not
to liave been contented Avithout, should be restored. Family ruin followed the
rebellion of the earl ; but the architect, fortified by the practice of a profession,
the principles of Avhich politics could not sway, and possessing knOAvledge Avhich,
unlike the art of governing, could not be deprived of its efficacy by the influ-
ence of the party in power, x-emained unmolested on the step to Avhich he had
advanced, and looked forward to tlie prospect of other honours.

The most magnificent, though perhaps not the purest of Gibbs's Avorks, is the
Radcliffe Library at Oxford, on the completion of Avhich, he received the degi-ee
of master of arts from that university. The Radcliffe Library is of a circular
form, rising in the centre of an oblong square of 370 feet by 110, Avith a
cupola 140 feet high and 100 feet in diameter. The lofty dome of this build-
ing- raises itself in the centre of ahnost every prospect of Oxford, and gives a
characteristic richness to the landscape. " The Radcliffe dome," says Allan
Cunningham, " in fact conveys to every distant observer the idea of its being
the aii'-hung croAvn of some gigantic cathedral or theatre. It is, perhaps, the
grandest feature in the grandest of all English architectural landscapes ; it
rises Avide and vast amid a thousand other fine buildings, inteiTupts the horizon-
tal line, and materially increases the pictui-esque effect of Oxford ;' on a nearer
and more critical vievv", however, the spectator is disappointed to find that a
Avant of proportion betwixt the cupola and the rest of the building, slight, but
stUl very perceptible, deadens the effect of the magnificent Avhole, a mistake on
the part of the architect, Avhich has frequently turned the Avhole mass of taste

440 JAMES GIBBS.

titid beauty, into nil object of ri(liciilc to tlio hitter critic It may 1)0 in pcneral
fjueslioiicd how far siicii a biiiidiii!,'", liowevcr iiimli its sweliiiiif iiiasriiificenco
may servo to a(bl dignity to a vast prospect without, or soleiniiity to an inipor*
tant pageant \villiin, is suited for the more retired pinposes of a library, Tho
student sehh)ni wishes to have iiis attention obstructed i>y the intrusion uf a wide
prospect upon bis view, whenever lie raises bis eyes ; and perhaps wiiou extent
and grandeur arc desired, a more suitable method of accoinmodating them with
comfortable rctii-cmeut may be found in a corridor or gallery, where any one,
if he is anxious, may indulge iiiniself by standing at one end, and luxuriate
in the perspective of the whole length, while he who wislies to study uninter-
rupted may retire into a niche, whence his vie\v is bounded by the opposite
side of the narrow gallery. In the completion of tho quadrangle of All Souls,
Gibbs had the great good fortune to receive a growl of uncharitable j»raiso
from \\ alpolc. " (iibbs," says the imperious critic, " though he knew little of
Gothic architecture, was fortunate in the fpiadrangle of All Souls, which he has
blundered into a picturesque scenery not void of grandeur, especially if seen
through the gate that leads from the schools. The assemblage of buildings in
that quarter, tliough no single one is beautiful, ahvays struck me with singular
pleasure, as it conveys such a vision of large edifices unbroken by private
houses, as the mind is apt to entertain of renowned cities that exist no longer."
Such is the opinion of one, whose taste in Gothic architecture, as represented by
the straggling corridors, and grotesque and toyish mouldings of Strawberry
Hill, would not, if curiosity thought it of sufficient importance to be inquired
into, bear the test of a very scrutinizing posterity. A compai'ison of his various
opinions of the dillerent works of Gibbs are among the most amusing specimens
of the construction of the noble critic's mind. Where the aixhitect has been
tasteful and correct, lie only shows that mere mechanical knowledge may avoid
faults, without furnishing beauties, " and where lie has been picturesque and
not void of grandeur, the whole is the efl'ect of chance and blunder." Among
the other works of Gibbs are the monument of Holies, duke of Newcastle, in
Westminster Abbey, the senate house at Cambridge, a very favourable specimen
of his correct and tasteful mind, and some buildings in the palace of Stowe.
The west church of St Nicholas in his native city, a very fine specimen, if we
may believe the accounts of contemporaries, of Gothic taste, having fallen nearly
to ruin, Gibbs presented the magistrates with a plan for a church that might
reinstate it. In this production we look in vain for the mind which imagined
the lofty pomp of the liadclift'e, or the eye that traced the chaste proportions of
St Martin's ; and one might be inclined to question with Avhat feelings the great
architect made his donation. The outside is of no description of architecture
under the sun " in particular ;'' it just consists of heavy freestone walls, Avith a
I'oof, and plain Roman arched windows. 'Ihe inside is a degree worse.
Heavy groined arches, supported on heavier square pillars, overtop the gallery.
There is in every corner all the gloom of the darkest Gothic, with square corners
instead of florid mouldings, and square beams instead of clustered pillars ; while
the great arched windows of the Gothic piles, which send a broken and beautiful
light into their farthest recesses, are specially avoided, a preference being given
to wooden square glazed sashes, resembling those of a shop — in the whole, the
building is one singularly repulsive to a correct taste.

Gibbs, in 1728, published a folio volume of designs, which have acquired
more fame for the knowledge than for the genius displayed in them. By this
work he gained the very considerable sum of ^^lyOO. Besides a set of plans
of the Badcliffe Library, this foniis his only published work : his other pa-
pers and manuscripts, along with his library, consisting of about 500 volumes.

SIR ALEXANDER GIBSON. 411

he left ns a donation to the Radcliffe Library. After five years of suflerinff
from a lingering and painful complaint, tliis able, persevering, and unri"-ht
r.;an died in London, in 1754, having- continued in the faith of his ancestors
and unmarried. He made several becjuesls, some to public charities, others to
individuals, one of which in particular must not be passed over, Hememberino-
the benefactor who had assisted him in the days of his labour and adversity, he
left £1000, the whole of his plate, and an estate of £280 a year to the only
son of the earl of Marr ; an unconmion act of gratitude, which, however party
feeling may regret the circumstances which caused it, will in the minds of good
and generous men, exceed in merit all that the intellect of the artist ever
achieved.

GIBSON, (Sir) Alexander, lord Durie, an eminent lawyer and judge, was
tlie son of George Gibson of Goldingstones, one of the clerks of session. The
period of his birth we have been unable to discover ; but as we find him admit-
ted a clerk of session in 1594, we may conclude that he was born considerably
more than twenty years previous to that period. It appears that the appoint-
ment of Gibson to this duty created a ne\v clerkship, and as the addition in
number would x-educe the arbitrary sources of emolument of the other two clerks,
it was naturally apprehended that the interloper would be received with the
usual jealousy of those whose interests are unduly interfered with. King James
the sixth, who had generally some deep and mysteriously wise purpose in all he
did, chose to be personally present at the appointment of his nominee, in order
that the royal choice miglit meet with no marks of contempt. The mindful
sovereign was on this occasion pleased to be so highly delighted with the disin-
terested conduct of his obedient clerks, who had so willingly received a partner
"at his liighness's wish and special desire," that he promised in pi-esence of
the court, to remunerate them with " anc sufficient casualty for said consents."
The chamber in the Register house instituted by this appointment still retains
the denomination of " Durie's OfHce." At that period the duties of a principal
clerk of session were of a more politically important nature than they have been
since the union : these officers had to register the decrees and acts of parlia-
ment, in addition to their present duties. The only remnant of their former
occupations, is their acting as clerks at the elections of the Scottish representa-
tive peers. Gibson continued in his clerkship for all the remainder of his life,
notwithstanding the higher ofiices to which he was afterwards promoted. In
1G21, he was appointed a lord of session, and as the duties of judge and clerk
were rather anomalous, we find by the books of sederunt, that the prudent clerk
had procured in the previous month his son to be installed in the office. Mr
Alexander Gibson, junior, being appointed conjunct clerk with Mr Alexander
Gibson, senior, during the life of the longest liver, the senior, it may be pre-
sumed, continued to draw the salary, witiiout being much troubled with the
duties. Seven years after his appointment to the bench, Ave find him accepting
a baronetcy of Nova Scotia, with a grant of some few square miles of land in
that district. In 1633, he was appointed a member of one of the committees
for the revision of the laws and customs of tlie country. In 1G40, he appears
to have been elected a member of the committee of estates, and liis appointment
as judge was continued under a new commission to the court in 164]. I'roin
the period of his elevation to the bench in 1621, till the year 1642, this
laborious lawyer preserved notes of such decisions of the court as he considered
worthy of being recorded as precedents, a task for which a previously extensive
practice had fitted him. Ihese were published by his son in one volume folio,
ill 16SS, and are valuable as the earliest digested collection of decisions in
Scottish law. Their chief peculiarities are their brevity, and, what would not

442 PATRICK GIBSON.

appenr nt iii'sl sight a iialural consequence, llieir obscurity. Eut Gibson pro*
duced by a too niggai-dly sujiply, the efl'ect which U frequently attributed to a
too great niuUilude of words. lie appears, houover, to have always known his
own moaning ; and >\hun, with a little consideration, his raiio/ns decidendi arc
disovored, they are I'ound to bo soundly stinted. The clamours whicli other
judjjes of the day caused to be raised against their dishonesty and cupidity,
were not applic«l to Durie. He seems, indeed, as lar as the habits ol" the times
could allow the virtue to exist, except in an absolutely pure being, to have b<;cn
a just and fearless judge, for in a period of general legal rapine and pusillani-
mity, the possession of a very moderate slmre of honesty and firmness in the
judgment seat, made their proprietor worthy of a nation's honour. If the affir-
mation of a professional brother may be credited, Durie possessed, according to
the opinion of i'orbes, a later collector of decisions, most of the intellectual
and moral (puilities which can dignify the bench. It is a proof of the respect
in which his brethren held him, that while the office continued elective in the
senators of the college, he was repeatedly chosen as pi-esident. At that period,
the legal practice of Scotland appeared to liave improved for the mere puipose
of substituting sophism and injustice under form, for rude equity ; it was a han-
dle to be made use of, rather than a rule to be applied. The crown had re-
course to legal fictions, and unjust and arbitrary presumptions, in its dealing-s
with the subject. The subject, instead of calling for a recourse to constitutional
principles, sometimes rose against the adniinislration of the law, just or unjust.
With private parties, the more powerful got the command of the law, and used
it against the weaker. A striking instance of contempt towards the laws, whicli
took place during one of the presidencies of Gibson of Durie is mentioned in
Douglas's Baronage, and Forbes's Journal, and is more fully and pleasingly
narrated in the i^Iinstrelsy of the Scottish Border. The earl of Traquair had
an action depending in court, in which it was understood the president would,
by his ijifluence, cause the court to give judgment against him. A border free-
booter, or gentleman thief, known by the name of Christie's Will, owed to the
peer some gratitude and allegiance, having gained his protection by an insolent
jest on the subject of his having been imprisoned for theft. This person being
a gentleman both by descent and education, insinuated himself into the presi-
dent's company during his usual morning ride on the sands of Leith. On the
two reaching a very lonely spot, the judge was snatched from his horse, rolled
into a blanket, and carried off he knew not where. He was imprisoned three
months, during whicli time his friends and himself considered that he was in
fairy-land. The case was decided in favour of Traquair, and a new president
appointed, when the judge one morning found himself laid down in the exact
spot from which he had been so suddenly carried ofl", and returned to claim his
privileges. This useful man died at his house of Durie en the 10th of June,
1G44. He left behind him a son of his own name, who was active among the
other persons of high rank, who came forward to protect their national church
from the imposition of a foreign liturgy. He is known as having boldly re-
sisted one of king Charles the first's prorogations, by refusing the performance
of the duty of clerk of parliament, already alluded to. He appears, however,
not to have always given satisfaction to the cause he had so well espoused, as he
is more than once mentioned in Lamonl's Diary as a malignant. He was
raised to the bench in IGlo. Besides this son, the wealth of tlie father allowed
him to provide a junior branch of the family with the estate of Adistone in
Lothian.

GIBSON, Patrick, an eminent artist and writer upon art, was born at Edin-
burgh, in December, 17 S2. He was the son of respectable parents, Avho gave

PATRICK GIBSON. 443

hiin an excellent classical education, partly at the High School, and pai-tly at
.1 private academy. In his school-boy days, he manifested a -decided taste for
literature, accompanied by a talant for drawing figures, Avhich induced his father
to place hitn as an apprentice under Mr Nasniytli, the distinguished landscape-
painter ; who was, in this manner, the means of bringing forward many men
of genius in the arts. Contemporary with Mr Gibson, as a student in this
school, was Mr Nasmyth's son Peter ; and it is painful to think, that both of
these ingenious pupils should have gone down to the grave before their master,
Mr Nasmyth's academy Avas one in no ordinary degree advantageous to his appreu-
tices : such talents as they possessed were generally brought into speedy use in
painting- and copying landscapes, which he himself finished and sold ; and thus
they received encouragement from seeing works, of which a part of the merit
was their own, brought rapidly into the notice of the world. About the same
time, I\Ir Gibson attended the trustees' academy, then taught with distin-
guished success by Mr Graham. While advancing in the practical part of
his profession, Mr Gibson, from his taste for general study, paid a greater
share of attention to the branches of knowledge connected Avith it, than the
most of artists had it in their power to bestow. lie studied the mathematics
with particular care, and attained an acquaintance Avith perspective, and Avith
the tlieory of art in general, Avhich Avas in his OAvn lifetime quite unexampled in
Scottish — perhaps in British — art. Mr Gibson, indeed, might rather be de-
scribed as a man of high literary and scientific accomplishments, pursuing art as
a profession, than as an artist, in the sense in Avhich that term is generally un-
derstood. In landscape painting, he showed a decided preference for the clas-
sical style of Domenichino and Nicholas Poussin : and having studied arcliitec-
tural drawing Avith much care, he became remarkably happy in the vicAvs of
temples and other classical buildings, Avhich he introduced into his works.
When still a very young man, Sir Gibson Avent to London, and studied the best
Avorks of art to be found in that metropolis, — the state of the continent at that
time preventing him from pursuing his investigations any further.

Mr Gibson painted many landscapes, Avhich have found their Avay into the
collections of the most respectable amateurs in his native country. His own
exquisitely delicate and fastidious taste, perhaps prevented him from attaining
full success at first, but he was continually improving ; and, great as the tri-
umphs of his pencil ultimately Avere, it is not too much to say, that, if life had
been spared to him, he must have reached still higher degrees of perfection.

Mr Gibson's professional taste and skill, along Avith his Avell knoAvn literary
habits, pointed him out as a proper individual to write, not only criticisms upon
the AVorks of modern art brought under public notice, but articles upon the
fundamental principles of the fine arts, in Avorks embracing miscellaneous know-
ledge. He contributed to the Encyclopasdia Edinensis, an elaboi-ate article un-
der the head " Design," embracing the history, theory, and practice of paint-
ing-, sculpture, and engraving, and concluding- Avith an admirable treatise on his
favourite subject, " Linear Perspective." This article extends to one hundred
and six pages of quarto, in double columns, and is illustrated by various draAV-
ings. It is, perhaps, the best treatise on the various subjects Avhich it embraces,
ever contributed to an encyclopaedia. To Dr Brewster's more extensive Avork,
entitled the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, Mr Gibson contributed the articles. Draw-
ing, Engraving, and Miniature-painting, all of which attracted notice, for the
full and accurate knowledge upon Avhich they appeared to be based. In the
Edinburgh Annual Register for 1816, published in 1820, being edited by Mr
J. G. Lockhart, Avas an article by Mr Gibson, entitled " A View of the Progress
and Present State of the Art of Design in Britain." It is written Avith much

444 PATRICK GIBSON.

iligcriiuiiialion aiwl iiuli;iii<.'iit, ami is corlainly \u)itliy i<f bein;( tiaiisiVnetl into
some more cxtondiMl spliore of ijnlilir.ition llian llie local work in wliiiili it ap-
peared. An article of a similar kind, l.iit coiitiiHMl to the jiroirress of ti>e I'iiie
Arts in Scotlaml, apju^ared in the New Ldinbin-^h iU'vicw, eililed by L)r HidiarJ
I'oole. In l>il^, 3Ir Gibson i»iibiislicil a thin qnarlo voliune, cnlilletl
" Ktchinijs of Select Views in I'.dinburijli, with lelter-i>ress descrijitions." Tiie
subjects chielly selected were eitlier street scenes about to be altered by the re-
moval of old buildings, or parts opened up tempoiarily by the prooress of im-
provements, and which therefore could never aj^ain be observable in the point
of view chosen by the artist. The most remarkable critical erturt of 31r (jibson
»vas an anonymous ^'eu d'e-tprit, published in \b22, in reference to the ex-
hibition of the works of living artists then open, under the rare of tlie Royal
Institution for the encouragement of the Fine Arts in Scotland. It assumed the
form of a report, by a society of Cognoscenti, upon these works of ad, and
treated the merits of the Scottish painters, 3Ir Gibson himself included, with
great candour and impartiality. The style of this primphlct, though in no case
unjustly severe, Avas so dilierent from the indulgent remarks of periodical
writers, whose names are generally known, and ^vhose acquaintance with the
artisls too often forl)ids rigid truth, that it occasioned a high degree of indigna-
tion among the author's brethren, and induced them to take some steps that
only tended to expose themselves to ridicule. Suspecting that the traitor was
a member of their own body, they commenced the subscription of a paper, dis-
claiming the authoi-siiip, and this being carried to many did'erent artists for their
adherence, was refused by no one till it came to 3Ir Gibson, who excused him-
self upon general principles from subscribing such a paper, and dismissed the
intruders with a protest against his being supposed on that account to be the
author. The real cause which moved 3Ir Gibson to put forth this half-jesting
half-earnest criticism upon his brethren, ^vas an ungenerous attack upon his own
works, which had appeared in a newspaper the previous year, and which,
thougli he did not pretend to trace it to the hand of any of his fellow labourers,
was enjoyed, as he thought, in too malicious a manner by some, to whom ho
had formerly shown much kindness. He retained his secret, and enjoyed liia
joke, to the last, and it is only here that his concern in the pamplilet is for the
lii-st time disclosed.

In IS2G, he gave to the world, " A Letter to the directors and managers of
the Institution for the encouragement of the Fine Arts in Scotland." Towards the
close of his life he had composed, with extraordinary care, a short and practical
work on perspective, which A\as put to press, but kept back on account of his
decease. It is to be hoped tliat a work composed on a most useful subject, by
one so peculiarly qualified to handle it, will not be lost to the world.

In June, IS 18, 3Ir Gibson was married to 3Iiss Isabella M. Scott, daughter of
his esteemed friend Mr William Scott, the well-known writer upon elocution.
By this lady he had three daughters and a son, the last of whom died in
infancy. In April, 1S21, lie removed from Fdinburgh, where he had spent
the most of his life, to Dollar, having accepted the situation of professor
of painting in the academy founded at that village. In this scene, quite un-
suited to his mind, he spent the last five years of liis life, of which three were
embittered in no ordinary degree by ill health. After enduring with manly
and unshrinking fortitude the pains of an uncommonly severe malady, he ex-
pired, August 26, 1829, in the forty-sixth year of his age.

Mr Gibson was not more distinguished in public by his information, taste,
and professional success, than he was in private by his upright conduct, his
mild and aficctionate disposition, and his righteous fulfilment of every moral

GEORGE GILLESPIE. 415

duty. He possessed great talents in conversation, and could suit himself in such
a manner to every kind of company, that old and young, cheerful and grave,
were alike pleased. He had an inuuense fund of humour ; and v.hat gave it
perhaps its best charm, was the apparently unintentional manner in which he
gave it vent, and the fixed serenity of countenance which he was able to pre-
serve, while all were laughing around him. There are few men in whom the
elements of genius are so admirably blended with those of true goodness, and
all that can render a man beloved, as they were in Patrick Gibson.

GILLESPIE, George, an eminent divine at a time Avhen divines were
nearly the most eminent class of individuals in Scotland, was the son of the
Rev. John Gillespie, minister at Kirkaldy, and was born January 21, IG13.
His advance in his studies was so rapid, that he was laureated in his seventeenth
year. About the year IGSl, when he must have still been very young, he is
knoAvn to liave been chaplain to viscount Kenmure : at a subsequent period, he
lived in the same capacity with the earl of Cassils. A\ hile in the latter
situation, he 'vn-ote a work called " English Popish Ceremonies," in ^^hich, as
the title implies, he endeavoured to excite a jealousy of the episcopal innovations
of Charles I., as tending to popery. This book he published when he was
about twenty-two years of age, and it Avas soon after prohibited by the bishops.
Had episcopacy continued triumpliant, it is likely that Mr Gillespie's advance
in the church would have been retarded ; but the signing of the national cove-
nant early in 1G38, brought about a different state of things. In April that
year, a vacancy occuri-ing at Wemyss in Fife, he was appointed minister, and at
the general assembly which took place at Glasgow in tiie ensuing November, he
had the honour to preach one of the daily sermons before the house, for which
he took as his text, " The king's iieart is in the hands of the Lord." The earl
of Argyle, who had then just joined the covenanting cause, and was still a
member of the privy council, thought that the preacher had trenched a little, in
this discourse, upon the royal prerogative, and said a few words to the assembly,
with the intention of warning them against such errors for the future.

In IG41, an attempt \vas made to obtain the transportation of Mr Gillespie
to Aberdeen ; but the general assembly, in compliance witii his own wishes, or-
dained han to remain at Wemyss. When the king visited Scotland in the autumn
of this year, Mr Gillespie preached before him in the Abbey church at Edin-
burgh, on the afternoon of Sunday the 1 2th of September. In tlie iucoeeeding
year, he was removed by the general assembly to Edinburgh, of whicli he (con-
tinued to be one of the stated clergymen till his death. Mr Gillespie had the
honour to be one of the four ministers deputed by the Scottish churcli in 1513,
to attend the AVestminster assembly of divines ; and it is generally conceded,
that his learning, zeal, and judgment were of the greatest service in carrying
through the work of that venerable body, particularly in forming the directory
of worship, tiie catechisms, and other important articles of religion, which it
was the business of the assembly to prepare and sanction. Baillie thus alludes
to him in his letters : " We got good help in our assembly debates, of lord
Warriston, an occasional commissioner, but of none more than the noble youth
Mr Gillespie. I admire his gifts, and bless God, as for all my colleagues, so
for him in particular, as equal in these to the first in the assembly." It appears
that Mr Gillespie composed six volumes of manuscript during the course of his
attendance at the Westminster assembly; and these were extant in 1707,^
though we are not aware of their still continuing in existence. He had also,
when in England, prepared his sermons for the press, — part being controversial,
and pai-t practical ; but they are said to have been suppressed in the hands of tlio
1 Wodrow's Anakcta, (MS. Adv. Lib.) i. 329,

printer, willi «hoin lie left tliein, tliroiiph tlie iiislnnnent.ility of llie Iii(lc|ion-
iloiits, who (hradetl tlioir imlilicatioii. He also wrote a joeco ai^aiiist tulrnlion,
entitled " Wholesome Severity reconciled with Cliristian l/iljerty."

In IG 18, ."Mr (iil!esi>io liad the honour to i)0 moderator of the {general as-
sembly ; and the last of his composilions was the Commission of the Kirk's An-
swer to tlie Mstates' ()i»scrvatioiis on the Declaration of the Cencral Assembly
C'»ncerning- the nnlawfnlness of the enj^agenicnt. For some months beforo this
assembly, he had Iieen preatly reduced in body by a cotioh and j>ersjiiration,
•\\-hich noTT at length came to a height, and threatened fatal consequences.
Tiiinhiiig, perhaps, tiiat bis native air would be of eorvice, he went to Kirkaldy
with his wife, and lived tlicre for some montlis ; but his ilhiess nevertheless ad-
vanced so fast, that, early in December, his friends despaire*! of his life, and
despatched letters to liis brother, to IMr Samtiel llutherford, the marquis of Ar-
gyle, and other distinji^tiishcd individuals, who took an interest in him, men-
tioning- that if thoy wished to see him in life, speed would be necessary. The
remainder of his life may be best related in the words of Wodrow, as taken in
1707, from the moiitli of 3Ir Patricia Simpson, who was cousin to Mr Gillespie,
and had witnessed the whole scene of his death-bed :

" 3Ionday, December 11, came my lord Argyle, Cassils, Elcho, and Warris-
ton, to visit him. He did faithfully declare his mind to them as public men,
in that point whereof he hath left a testimony to the view of the world, as after-
wards ; and though speaking was very burdensome to him, and troublesome, yet
lie spared not very freely to fasten their duty upon them.

" The exercise of his mind at the time of his sickness was very sad and con-
stant, without comfortable manifestations, and sensible presence for the time ;
yet he continued in a constant faith of adherence, which ended in ane adher*
ing assurance, his gripps growing still the stronger.

" One day, a fortnight before his death, he had leaned down on a little
bed, and taken a fit of faintness, and his mind being heavily exercised, and
lifting up his eyes, this expression fell with great weight from his mouth. * O !
my dear Lord, forsake me not for ever.' His weariness of this life was very
great, and his longing to be relieved, and to be where the veil would be taken
away.

"December 14, he was in heavy sickness, and three pastoi-s came in the
afternoon to visit him, of whom one said to him, * The Lord hath made you
faithful in all he hath employed you in, and it's likely we be put to the trial ;
therefore what encouragement do you give us thereanent ?' Whereto he an-
swered, in few words, ' 1 have gotten more by the Lord's immediate assistance
than by study, in the disputes I had in the assembly of divines in England;
therefore, let never men distrust God for assistance, that cast themselves on him,
and follow his calling. For my part, the time I have had in the exercise of the
ministry is but a moment !' To which sentence another pastor answered, ' But
your moment hath exceeded the gi-ay heads of others ; this I may speak with-
out flattery.' To which he answered, disclaiming it with a noe ; for he desired
still to have Christ exalted, as he said at the same time, and to another ; and at
other times, when any such thing was spoken to him, ' What are all my right-
eousnesses but rotten rags ? all that I have done cannot abide the touchstone of His
justice ; they are all but abominations, and as an unclean thing, when they are
reckoned between God and me. Christ is all things, and I am nothing.' The
other pastor, when the rest were out, asked whether he was enjoying the com-
forts of God's presence, or if they ^\ere for a time suspended. He answered,
'Indeed, they are suspended.' Then within a little while he said, * Comforts!
ay couiforts !' meaning that they were not easily attained. His wife said, ' What-

EEV. THOMAS GILLESPIE. 447

reck? the comfort of believing is not suspended.' He said, * Noe.' 8peakin<»
further to his condition, he said, ' Although that I should never more
see any light of comfort, that I do see, yet I shall adhere, and do believe that
He is mine and that I am His.' "

Mr Gillespie lingered two days longer, and expired almost imperceptibly,
December 16, 164G. On the pi-eceding day he had written and signed a paper,
in which " he gave faithful and cbar testiin3:ay to the work and cause of t5od,
and against the enemies thereof, to stop the mouths of calumniators, and confirm
his children." The object of the paper was to prevent, if possible, any union
of the friends of the church of Scotland with the loyalists, in behalf of an un-
covenanted monarch. The Conunittee of Estates testified the public gratitude to
Mr Gillespie by voting liis widow and children a thousand pounds, which,
however, from the speedily ensuing troubles of the times, was never paid.

GILLESPIE, Rev. Thomas, was the first relief minister, and founder of tlie
Synod of Relief. He was born in the year 170S, at Clearburn, iu the parish of
Duddingstone near Edinbin-gh, of parents distinguished for their piety. He
lost Ills father, who was a farmer and brewer, when he was very young. His
mother, who seems to have been a woman of decided piety, and at the same time
of active business habits, continued lier husband's business as farmer and brewer
after his death. Gillespie, who was of delicate constitution and melancholy tem-
perament, seems throughout life to liave been marked by the shyness of disposi-
tion, the reserved manners, the fondness for retirement, and the tenderness, yet
conscientiousness of feeling, which usually distinguish the boy brought up in a
retired domestic way, under a fond and widowed mother. His mother was ac-
customed to attend the services, at the dispensation of the Lord's supper, by Mr
Wilson of Maxton, Mr Boston of Ettrick, Mr Davidson of Galashiels, and other
eminent evangelical ministers, with whom the south of Scotland was at that time
favoured. On these occasions she commonly took with her, her son Th-omas,
in whom the anxious mother had not yet traced those satisfactory evidences of
decisive piety which her maternal regard for his best interests so earnestly de-
sired; on one of these occasions she mentioned her distress on account of Jier son
to Mr Boston, who, at her request, spoke to him in private on his eternal inter-
ests. His counsels made a decisive impression upon the mind of Gillespie, at that
time a young man about twenty years of age, and led him soon after to commence
his studies, as preparatory to the ministry, which he prosecuted at the university
of Edinburgh.

After the origin ofthe Secession, his mother became attached to that body ; and
througli her advice and influence, Gillespie went to Perth to study under Mr
Wilson, their first theological professor. In this step he seems to have been
influenced more by a desire to comply with the wishes of a fond and pious mo-
ther, than by personal attachment to the peculiarities ofthe Secession. His whole
stay at Perth was ten days ; for as soon as from conversations with BIr Wilson, he
fully comprehended the principles on which the Secession were proceeding, he
withdrew. He proceeded to England, Avhere he pursued his studies at the Theologi-
cal Academy in Northampton, at that time superintended by the celebrated Dr
Philip Doddridge. When he thus went to England, DrErskine states (in his preface
to his Essay on Temptations,) that he had attended the humanity, philosophy, and
divinity classes in the college of Edinburgh, and th.it he carried with him attes-
tations of his personal piety, and acquirements in philosophical and theological
literature, from several ministers of the church of Scotland: viz. liev. IMessrs
Davidson of Galashiels, Wilson of Maxton, Wardlaw of Dunfermline, Smith of
Newburn, Gusthart, Webster, and Hepburn, of Edinburgh, James Walker of Ca-
nongate, M'Vicar of West Kirk, Kid of Queensferry, Bonnar of Torphichen,

443 UKV. THOMAS GILLESPIE.

nnd "Wardropc of Wliilbiirii — nil of whom mculi.>n [heir li.ivin^ been intiuiatoly
ac>|iinii)t<-(1 witli liiin.

After tlic usual trials, lie was li.vii-cil to p-vadi tlio pospel, 30th October, 1710,
by a rosi>ci't.ible <lass of l'".ii;;lisb disveiilers, ainoii;^ whom l)r l)o<Uhi(li(e prcbid-
Cil as iMoilerator, and ordaiiu-d to tlie work of tlio iiuiiisli7, '22d Jan. 17tl.
It is said that liis first charge was over a disseutinfj conrriegalimi in the north
of England. If so, it must have been for a very short time, for in 3Iardi fol-
lowin;;- lie rolnrned to Scotland, l)ringing witii him warm and amj)h' recommen-
dations from Dr Doddridge, Mr JobOrton, and thirteen other ministers in tiiat
iiei^hbi)tirliO()d, " as a deeply experienced Cliristian, well (piaiilied for the im-
portant work of the ministry, and one who bade fair to prove an ornament to
liis holy profession, and an instnimeut of considerable usefulness t;» the souls of
men."

Soon after bis return to Scotland lie got a regular call to the parish of Carnock
near Dunfermline, to which be was presented by 31r lirskine of Carnock. At
that time, the forms of procedure in the churcli of Scotland seem to have been
not so strict, and luiaccommodating to circmnstarces, as they are now ; for in in-
ducting him into Carnock, the presbytery of Dunfermline proceeded on his deed
of license and ordination by tlie iMigiish dissenters as valid, and dealt by him
as one who had already held a charge. At his admission into Carnock, he show-
ed the influence which his theological education at Northampton, and liis inter-
course with the English dissenters had exerted upon his opinions as to christian
liberty, by objecting to the doctrine of the Confession of Eaith respecting the
power of the civil magistrate in religion ; he was permitted to subscribe with an
explanation of liis meaning upon this point. The passages of the Confession to
■vvliich he objected, were the 4th section of the 20th chapter, and the 3d section
of the 2.3d chapter; which declare that those may bo proceeded against by the
power of the civil magistrate, who publish such opinions, or maintain such prac-
tices, as are contrary to the light of nature, the known principles of Christianity,
or the power of godliness, or \vhich are destructive to the external peace and
order which Christ hath established in the churcli ; and that tlie civil magistrate,
hath raithoi-ity, and it is his duty, to take order that unity and peace be preserv-
ed in the church, that the truth of God be kept pure and entire, that all blas-
pliOUiies and heresies, all corruptions and abuses in worship and discipline, be
prevented or reformed, and all ti:c ordinances of God duly settled, administer-
ed, and observed, for the better eflecting of which, lie hath power to call Synods,
to be present at them, and to provide tint whatever is transacted in them be
according to the mind of God.

Mr Gillespie laboured as parish minister of Carnock till the year 1752. He
■was a careful student, a diligent and faithful niiuister, and generally acceptable
and useful in his pulpit labours, both in his own pai'ish, and as an occasional as-
sistant elsewhere. The acceptance which liis pulpit discourses met, was not ow-
ing to any advantage of manner, for his delivery was uncouth, and his whole
manner that of one nervously afraid of his audience. Ihit he was solemn and
affectionate, much impressed himself, as conscious of his awful charge. He had
struggled hard himself against the oppression of a constitutional tendency to
despondency ; and in his discouvscs he sought especially to comfort and counsel
the desponding and tempted Christian. Dr John Erskine, who was several
months his stated hearer, and who besides this often heard him occasionally,
bears witness in his preface to 3Ir Gillespie's Essay on the continuance of im-
mediate revelations in the church, that " he studied in his ministry what ^vasmost
neetU'ul for the bulk of his bearers, giving law and gospel, comfort ai;d terror,
privileges and duties, their proper place. I never (says he) sat under a minis-

r.EV. THOMAS GILLESPIE. 419

try better calculated to a\vakeii the thoughtless and secure, to caution convinced
sinners against what would stifle their convictions, and prevent their issuing in
conversion, and to point out the difference between vital Christianity, and spe-
cious counterfeit appearances of it.''

During the eleven years that IMr Gillespie occupied the charge of Carnock,
he kept close to the humble and unostentatious yet useful duties of tlie pastor of
a country parish. He seems never to have taken any prominent part in the
business of the church courts ; he was, both from habit and disposition, retiring
and reserved, fond of the studies of the closet, but destitute alike of the ability
and the inclination for managing public afiliirs, and leading the van in ecclesi-
astical warfare. It was his scrupulous conscientiousness, not his ambition, that
made him the founder of a party. He was thrust on it by circumstances beyond
his intention.

Mr Gillespie entered the ministry in the Church of Scotland, when the harsh
operation of the law of patronage, was causing painful and lamentable contests
between the people and the dominant party in the church courts. It liad al-
ready caused the Secession ; and there still remained in the church of Scotland
many elements of discord and sources of heart-burning ; whole presbyteries even
refused to act, when the settlement of obnoxious presentees was enjoined by the
superior courts ; — and to elfect the execution of their sentences appointing the
settlement of unpopular individuals, the general assembly bad at times Avholly
to supersede the functions of the presbytery, and appoint the induction to be
completed by committees of individuals not connected with the presbytery ; it
might be men who, without scruple, were willing to act on whatever was ecclesi-
astical law, and carry through tlie matter intrusted to their care, in the face of the
menaces or mui-murs of a dissatisfied and protesting people.

This metliod of settling obnoxious presentees by riding cotnmittees, as tliey
were called in those days by the populace, was confessedly a most irregular and
unconstitutional device. It was a clumsy expedient to avoid coming in dix'ect
collision with recusant presbyteries. It was found to answer the purpose very
imperfectly: and it was soon seen, that there remained to the General Assembly
but two alternatives, either to soften the operation of the law of patronage, and
give way to the popular voice, or to compel the presbyteries to settle every
man who received a presentation, against whom heresy or immorality could not
be proved ; otherwise there would be perpetual collision between themselves and
the inferior courts. The assembly chose the latter and the bolder alternative.
In 1750, accordingly, the assembly referred it to their Commission, " to con-
sider of a method for securing the execution of the sentences of the Assembly
and Conniiission, and empowered them to censure any presbyteries which might
be disobedient to any of the sentences pronounced by that meeting of Assembly."

In 1751 Mr Andrew Richardson, previously settled atBroughton, in the parish
of Biggar, was presented to the charge of Inverkeithing, by the patron of the
parish. He was unacceptable to the body of the people, and bis call was signed
only by a few non-resident heritoi-s. Opposition being made to his settlement
by the parishioners, the presbytery of Bunfermline, and after them the synod of
Fife, refused to comply with the orders of the commission to proceed to the set-
tlement of Mr Richardson. The case came before the assembly in 1752 ; and it
was justly anticipated that it would bring to an issue, the conflict between recu-
sant presbyteries, who had a conscientious regard for the rights of tiie people, and
the dominant party in the assembly, who had no regard for them, but were re-
solved to give.efl'ect to every presentation. The lord conmiissioner, the earl of
Leven, in his opening speech, with sufficient plainness indicated the course of
proc-jdure which the government desired and expected the assembly should pur-

450 REV. THOMAS GILLESPIE.

sue, ill the circiinislanrps ; nnd sai«l that it was more llian hipli time to put a stop
to llie jrrowinjr evil of jiiferior courts .nssiiminj; llio liberty oftlispuliii!; and diso-
beying their derisions. The ridin<r party in tiic assembly were prompt in obey-
in"- tliesc orders of the lord coinmissioiicr. They acted with m<tre energy than
prudence or tenderness. When the Inverkeithiof; t^asc cime to be considered,
the assembly sent the ])resbytery fntm tlieir bar to lnverkt'ithini» with orders to
complete Mv Richardson's induction : they enjoined every member of presbytery
to be present at the admission : tiiey clian-;ed the les^al «inornm from tliree to
five. These orders were issued by the assembly on Monday ; the induction was
appointed to take place on Thursday, and tlio members of the presbxtery were
all connnandod to ajipear at the bar of the assembly, on Friday, to report their
fuUilmcnt of these orders.

On I'riday \\hen the members of the Dunfermline presbytery were called up-
on, it appeared that only three had attended at Inverkeithing, and they not be-
in"- the number rofpiired by the decision of the assendjly to constitute a presby-
tery, did not feel themselves authorized to proceed to the admission. Of the
other six, 3Ir Gilles[>ie and other five pleaded conscientious scruples, and gave
in a paper in defence of their conduct, (juoting in their justifii^ation, the lan-
guage of the assembly itself, who in 1730 had declared, that '• it is, and has
been ever since the Reformation, the principle of the church, that no minister
shall he introduced into any parish contrary to the will of the congregation ; and
therefore it is seriously recommended to all judicatories of the church, to have a
due regard to the said principle in planting vacant congregations, so as none
be intruded into such parishes, as they regard the glory of God, and the edi-
fication of the body of Christ."

The assembly paid small regard to their own former declarations thus brought
under their notice. They felt, indeed, that it would be rather trenchant and
severe, by one fell swoop to depose six ministers all equally guilty : they resolv-
ed, however, by a majority, to depose one of the six. This was intimated to
them with orders to attend on the nion-ow. Next day 3Ir Gillespie gave in a
paper, justifying a stateriient made in their joint representation, that the assem-
bly had themselves stigmatized the act of 1712, restoring patronages, as an
infraction of the settlement made at the union. The proof of this statement, which
had been questioned in the previous day's debate, he proved by quotations from
the assembly's act of 173G, made at the time when they wished to lure back and
reconcile the four seceding brethren — the founders of the Secession.

After prayer to God for direction — which, in the circumstances of the case, and
in the predetermined state of mind in which the ruling party in the assembly
were, was a pi'ofane mockery of heaven, — they proceeded to decide \\iiich of
the six should be deposed. A great majority of the assembly (a hundred and
two) declined voting ; fifty-two voted that 3Ir Gillespie should be deposed, and
four that some one of the others should be taken. The moderator then pro-
nounced the sentence of deposition on 3Ir Gillespie. He stood at the bar to
receive it, and >\hen he had henrd it to an end, with the meek digrity of con-
scious innocence, replied, " 3Ioderator, I receive this sentence of the General As-
sembly of the church of Scotland, with reverence and awe on account of the
divine conduct in it. But I rejoice that it is given to me on the behalf of Christ,
not only to believe on liim, but to suffer for his sake."

This hard measure dealt to him, excited general commiseration and sympa-
thy even among the ministers of the church. He was humble and unassuming,
a quiet, retired student, not one versant in the Avarfare of church courts. Sir
H. 3Ioncrieff, in his Life of Dr Erskine, testifies, that he was one of the most
inoffensive and upright men of his time, equally zealous and faithful in his pa.E-

EEV. THOMAS GILLESPIE. 451

toral duties, but one ivlio never entered deeply into ecclesiastical business and
Avho was at no time a political intriguer. His sole crime was, that from a con-
scientious feeling-, he would not be present or take any active part in a violent
settlement, and they must be strangely fond of sti-etches of ecclesiastical poMer,
who will pronounce the deposition of such a man in such circumstances, either
praiseworthy or wise.

The sentence of deposition was pronounced on Saturday. On Sabbath, the
day following, he preached in the fields at Carnock to his people, from the
words of Paul, " For necessity is laid upon me, yea, woe is unto me if I preach
not the gospel." He told his hearers, that though the assembly had deposed
him from being a member of the established church, for not doing what he
believed it was sinful for him to do, yet, he hoped through grace, no public
disputes should be his theme, but Jesus Christ and him crucified,^ and then
Avent on to illustrate his text, without saying any thing in justification of him-
self, or in condemnation of the assembly.

He preached in the fields till the month of September, when he removed to
the neighbouring town of Dunfermline, where a church had been prepared for
liini. At the following meeting of assembly, in 1753, an attempt was made by
the evangelical party in the church, to have the sentence of deposition rescinded ;
but, though some of those who voted for his deposition, stung by their own con-
sciences, or moved by sympathy, expi-essed their regTct in very poignant lan-
guage,' yet the motion was lost by a majority of three.

He laboured in Dunfermline for five years, without any ministerial assistance,
and during that period, he dispensed the sacrament of the Lord's Supper thir-
teen times, preaching on these occasions commonly nine sermons, besides the
exhortations at the tables. When he first determined to celebrate the Lord's !
Supper in his congregation at Dunfermline, he requested the assistance of some j
of the evangelical ministers in the church of Scotland ; but from fear of the |
censures of the assembly, they refused him their aid. I

The first minister wlio joined Mr Gillespie in his separation from the church I
of Scotland, was Mr Boston, son of the well known author of the Fourfold |
State. The parish of Jedburgh becoming vacant, the people were earnestly ' I
desirous that Mr Boston, who was minister of Oxnam, and a man of eminently
popular talents, might be presented to the vacant chai-ge. No attention, how- |
ever, was paid to their wishes. The people of Jedburgh took their redress into
their own hands, they built a church for themselves, and invited Mr Boston to j
become their minister; and he resigning his charge at Oxnam, and renouncing |
his connexion with the church of. Scotland, cheerfully accepted their invitation.
He was settled among them, 9th December, 1757. He immediately joined 3Ir
Gillespie, to whom he was an important acquisition, from his popular talents,
and extensive influence in the south of Scotland. Though associated together,
and lending mutual aid, they did not proceed to any acts of government, till by
a violent settlement in the parish of Kilconquhar, in Fife, the people were led
to erect a place of worship for themselves, in the village of Colinsburgh, to
which they invited as their pastor, the Rev. Thomas Collier, a native of the
district, who had for some time been settled at Ravenstondale, in Northumber-
land in connexion with the English Dissenters. At his admission to the charge
of the congregation formed in Colinsburgh, on the 22d of October, 1761, Mr
Gillespie and Mr Boston, with an elder from their respective congregations,
first met as a presbytery. In the minute of that meeting, they rehearsed the
cu-cumstances connected with their separation from the church of Scotland, and

' 1 Dr Erskine's Preface to his Essaj' on Temptations.

2 Memoir of Gillespie, in the Quarterly Magazine, by Ur Stuart.

452 REV. THOMAS GILLESPIE.

dcclnrcd tlint tlicy liaJ formed tlicinse'vcs into a presbytery fur the relief of
Cliriatiaiis oppressed in their privileges.

Tlie number of congregations in connection with the Relief rnpidly increased.
It aft'ordcd an aj-yhun for those wlio desired to have the choice of their own
ministers, yet could not accede to the peculiarities of the Secession. Relief
from patronage, the asscrtidU of tlio people's right to choose their own niiuiaters,
the extending of their communion to all visible saints, to all sound in tlie faith
and of holy life — these were the dibtinguisliing peculiarities wnich marked the
Relief. Tiiey were distinguished from the two bodies of the Secession by their
permission of occasional hearing, tlicir disregard of the covenants sworn by
our Scottish ancestors, their neglect of the duty of covenanting, and their not
restricting their communion to their own Ciiristian societies. These peculiarities
provoked the reproaches of the Secession writers of the daj*. In the progress
of time, however, a Luge section of the Scccders came to bo of one mind with
their Relief brethren on all matters of doctrine and discipline. In the year 1847
the two bodies were joined together under the designation of the United Presby-
terian church. This respectable denomination now (1S53) numbers 505 congre-
gations, with an aggregate attendance of 400,000. Tlic Relief and United
Secession churches were both opposed to the principle of an Established church;
and although the voluntary principle of the United Presbyterian church is not
formally avowed in her standards, it is distinctly implied in her position and actings.

It has been said, that Gillespie cooled in his attachment to the Relief, in the
latter part of his life, and that he even expressed a wish that his congregation
should join the Established church, as a chapel of ease. This last assertion is
certainly questionable. It has been contradicted by Jlr. Smith, in his Historical
Sketches of the Relief Church, who, holding a charge in Dunfermline, and living
among the personal associates of Gillespie, may be reckoned a competent witness
as to M-hat was known of Mr Gillespie's sentiments. He states, that the church
and part of the congregation were carried over to the Establishment by the undue
influence and representations of Mr Gillespie's brother; and that Mr Gillespie
had no diftcrence with his brethren as to the constitution and principles of the
Relief church. lie never discovered to his pco[)le any inclination to be connected
again with the Establishment. His disapprobation of the church which deposed
him, continued to the end of his days. He was, however, dissatisfied with somo
of his brethren for the willingness they showed to listen to the application of
Mr Perrie (1770), to be received into the body. Perliaps, too, his being thrown
into the shade in the conduct of the public affairs of the body, by the active
business habits of Mr Bain, after his accession to the Relief, might heighten his
cliagrin. These circumstances, operating on the tenderness of temper incident to
old age and increasing infirmities, seem to have created in his mind a degree of
dissatisfaction with some of his brctliren ; but that he repented of the steps ho
had taken in the formation of the presbytery of Relief, or that ho had changed
his sentiments on the terms of communion, on the impropriety of the civil magis-
trate's interference in ecclesiastical affairs, or similar points, there is no evidence.

The only productions of Gillespie that have been publislied are, an Essay on
the Continuance of Immediate Revelations in the Church, published in his life-
time, and a Treatise on Temptation, in 1774, after his death, both prefaced by
Dr J. Erskine of Edinburgh. The first is designed to prove that God does not
now give to any individuals, by impressions, dreams, or otherwise, intimations
of facts or future events. lie argues the point solidly and sensibly, and with
some ingenuity. From his correspondence, it appears that the topic had occupied
his thoughts much. He corresponded with Doddridge, Harvey, and president
Edwards ; and his correspondence with Edwards was published in the Quarterly

r.EV. THOMAS GILLESPIE. 453

Masazine, conducted by Di- Stuart, son-in-law to Dr Erskino. Mr Gillespie always
prepared carefully for the pulpit. He left in IMS. about eight hundred sermons,
fairly and distinctly written. He died on the 19 th of January, 1774.

GILLESPIE, (Uev.) William, minister of Kells in Galloway, was the eld-
est son of the Kev. Jolin Gillespie, who preceded liim in tiiat charge ; and
was boiui in the manse of the parish, February 18, 177fi. After receiving the
rudiments of education at the parish school, he entered the univei'sity of Ed-
inburgh, in 1792, and was appointed tutor to 3Ir Don, afterwards Sir Alexan-
der Don, bart., in whose company he was introduced to the most cultivated
society. While acting in this capacity, and at the same time prosecuting his
theological studies, he amused himself by writing verses, and at this time com-
menced his poem entitled the " Progress of Refinement," which was not com-
pleted or published till some years afterwards. Among other clubs and societies
of which he was a member, may be instanced the Academy of Physics, which
comprehended Brougham, Jeffrey, and other young men of the highest abilities,.
and of which an account has already been given in our article, Dr Thojyias
Brown. In 1801, having for some time completed his studies, and obtained a
license as a preachor, he was ordained helper and successor to his father, with
the unanimous approbation of the parish. Soon after, he was invited by liis
foi'mer pupil, Mr Don, to accompany him in making the tour of Europe ; and
he had actually left home for the pui-pose, when the project was stopped by intelli-
gence of the renewal of the war with France. In 1 805, l\Ir Gillespie published
" the Progress of Kefinement, an allegorical poem,'' intended to describe the
advance of society in Britain, from its infancy to maturity, but which met with
little success. It was generally confessed that, though Blr Gillespie treated every
subject in poetry with much taste and no little feeling, he had not a suffi-
cient draught of inspiration, or that vivid fervour of thought which is so called,
to reach the highest rank as a versifier. In ISOG, by the death of his father,
he succeeded to the full charge of the parish of Kells. For some years afterwards,
he seems to have contented himself in a great measure with discharging his
duties as a clergyman, only making occasional contributions to periodical
works, or communicating information to the Highland Society, of which he
was a zealous and useful member. At length, in 1815, he published, in an
octavo volume, " Consolation and other Poems," which, however, received only
the same limited measure of applause which had already been bestowed upon his
Progress of Kefinement. Mr Gillespie, in July 18:25, married Miss Charlotte
Hoggan ; but being almost immediately after seized with erysipelas, which ended
in general inflammation, he died, October 15, in the fiftieth year of his age.
As the character of this accomplished person had been of the most amiable kind,
his death was very generally and very sincerely mourned : his biogTaphei', IMr
Murray, in his Literary History of Gallo^vay, states the remarkable fact, that,
amidst the many wet eyes which surrounded his grave, " even the sexton — a
character not in general noted for soft feelings — when covering the remains of
his beloved pastor, sobbed and wept to such a degree that he was liardly able
to proceed with his trying duty."

GLASS, John, founder of a sect still known by his name, was the son of the
Kev. Alexander Glass, minister of the parish of Auchternmchty, in the county
of Fife, where he was born on the 21st of September, 1695. In the year
lG97,his father was translated to the parish of Kinclaven, at which place
Mr John Glass received the rudiments of his education. He was afterwards
sent to the grammar school of Perth, where he learned the Latin and Greek
languages. He completed his studies at the universities of St Andrews and
Edilibu^rgh, and having been licensed as a preacher by the presbytery of Perth,^
was, in 1719, ordained a minister of the church of Scotland, in the parish of

454 JOHN GLASS.

Tealing, in tlio nciglibourliood of Dumlcc. Mr Glass liad been a diligent
student, was deeply impressed with tlie importance of the uiiuiitcrial char-
acter, and the awful rosponsibilily which attached to it, and was anxious, iu
no common degree, about tlic due discharjifc of the various duties whieli it in-
volved. In his public services he was liighly acceptable ; had a singular gift of
prayer; and in his sermons, which, according to the fashion of the time, were
seldom less than two, sometimes three, hours in Icngtli, ho attracted and kept
up the unwearied attention of crowded audiences. His fame as a preacher, of
course, soon spread abroad, and his sacramental occasions attracted vast crowds
from distant quarters; the usual concomitant, in those days, of popularity.
But it was not public services alone that absorbed his attention ; the more private
duties of his station were equally attended to. Even so early as 1725, only
two years after his settlement, he had formed within his parish a little society
of persons, whom he found to be particularly under serious impressions, and
with whom he cultivated a more inlimato intercourse, though no part of his
charge was neglected. It is probable, however, that his peculiar notions of
the constitution of a Christian church were by this time beginning to bo de-
veloped, and this intercourse with a detached and particular part of his charge,
must have tended to hasten the process. Breach of covenant engagements,
from a combination of circumstances, was at this time very generally insisted
on in the ministrations of the Scottish clergy. The binding obligation of both
the National Covenant of Scotland, and the Solemn League and Covenant of the
three kingdoms, being universally admitted, Mr Glass began to preach against
these covenants, as incompatible with the nature of the gospel dispensation
and the sacred rights of conscience. A paper written by him at this time
to the above effect excited a very great sensation throughout the country,
and called forth some of the ablest defences of these famous deeds that have
yet appeared. In the above paper, Mr Glass did not state himself as formally
an enemy to the covenants, but only as an inquirer, wishing further light and
information respecting them ; yet it was evident to every intelligent person
that he was no longer a Presbyterian. He was forthwith summoned before the
church courts; and refusing to sign the formula, and some passages of the Con-
fession of Faith, was, by the synod of Angus and Meanis, deposed from his office,
on the 12th of April, 1728.

The same year he published his " King of Martyrs," in which he embodied his
views more fully matured. This book had no inconsiderable share of popularity,
and it has served for a general storehouse, whence Mr Patrick Hutchison, and
after him all the modern advocates of spirituality, as a peculiar and distinguishing
characteristic of the New Testament church, have drawn their prineijjal arguments.
On his deposition, Mr Glass removed from Tcaling to Dundee, wliere, several
persons joining him, he formed the first church of the kind in Scotland. This
small body was not without its share of the obloquy to which Independency had
long been exposed in Scotland, nor were the members without their fears respecting
the practicability of the scheme, being doubtful of a sufficiency of gifts in the lay
brethren. ^Yilen they came to the proof, however, they were agreeably disap-
pointed ; and wherever they had occasion to form churches, which was in a short
time in a great many places, appear to have found no lack of qualified persons. In
the year 1733, yiv Glass removed from Dundee to Perth, where he erected a small
meeting-house, which was tliought great presumption, especially as the handful of
people that attended arrogated to themselves the name of a church. Attempts were
even made to eject them forcibly from the town, and a zealous lady beholding Mr
Glass in the street, was heard to exclaim, "why do they not rive [tear] him in piecesl"
In the year 1739, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the same that

JOHN GLASS. 455

g.ive positive orders to the commission to proceed against the Seceders with the
censures of the church, took off, by a very curious act, the sentence of deposi-
tion that had been passed against Mr Glass. In this act he is stated to hold
some peculiar views, which the Assembly do not think inconsistent with his beinjj
a minister. They accordingly restored him to the character of a minister of the
gospel of Christ, but declared at the same time, he Avas not to be considered
a minister of the Established church of Scotland, or capable of being called and
settled therein, till he should renounce these peculiar views. This act, even among
the anomalous acts of church courts, was certainly a very strange one. If Mr
Glass, however, was satisfied on scriptural grounds that he was a minister of
Christ, it could make little difference, whether he belonged to the church of
Scotland or not. At the time of his deposition, Mr Glass had a large family,
and when he was deprived of his stipend, had no visible means of supporting it.
This, taken in connection with the persecutions of another kind which he was
made to endure, affords sufficient evidence, whatever any may think of his prin-
ciples, that he was sincere and conscientious in their profession. In this sacri-
fice of worldly interests, it is pleasing to learn that he had the cheerful con-
currence of his excellent wife, Catharine Black, a daughter of the Rev. Mr
Black of Perth. This worthy woman, persuaded that the cause in which he was
engaged was the cause of God, encouraged him in his darkest moments to perse-
verance, and to a cheerful trust in Divine providence, even for such things as
might be needful for this present frail and transitory life ; nor was his confidence
in vain. In the death of their children (fifteen in number, all of whom he survived),
their faith and patience were also severely tried, especially in the case of such of
them as had arrived at the years of maturity. One of his sons was the occasion
of much trouble to him, and left his house a disobedient son. Like the prodigal
in the parable, however, he repented in his affliction, and returned a very diffe-
I'cnt person. His son Thomas lived to become a respectable bookseller in Dundee,
where he was settled in life, and was pastor to the congregation which his father
had left in that place ; but he was cut off in the prime of life by a fever. Another
of his sons, George, was a sea-captain, and known as the author of the History
of the Canary Islands, published by Dodsley, in 1764. He afterwards went out
for a London company to attempt forming a settlement on the coast of Africa,
where he was seized by the Spaniards, and kept a prisoner for several years.
The men whom he had conducted to Africa were in the meantime murdered, and
his ship plundered. Having, by a pencil note inclosed in a loaf of bread, found
means to make his case known to the British consul, the government interfered,
and he was set at liberty. He took his passage with his wife and daughter for
London, intending to revisit his native country. The ship in which he embarked
was unfortunately loaded with specie, which, awakening the cupidity of a part of
the crew, they conspired to murder the captain and secure the vessel. Captain
Glass, hearing the disturbance on deck when the mutiny broke out, drew his
svt'ord, and hastening to the rescue, was stabbed in the back by one of the con-
spirators, who had been lui-king below. Mrs Glass and her daughter clung to
one another imploring mercy, but were thrown overboard locked in each other's
arms. The murderers landed on the coast of Ireland, where they unshipped the
money chests, which they hid in the sands, and went to an ale-house to refresh
themselves. Here they were taken up on suspicion, confessed the atrocious crime,
and were subsequently executed. Mr Glass and his fi-iends in Perth had been
apprised by letter that his son was on his voyage home, and were in daily expecta-
tion of his arrival, when intelligence of the fate of the ship and her crew reached
Perth in a newspaper. Mr Glass sustained the shock with his wonted resignation
and equanimity. He died in 1773, aged 78. The doctrines and practices of his

450 JAMES GLENNIE.

ecct were aftcrwaitls modificJ by his son in-law, Mr Robert Sandcman, author of
the letters on Tlicron and Aspasio, and from whom tlic members of the body are
Bomctimes denominated Sandcmanians.

(iLENNIli, J.vMKi, a dislingiiisliL'd ircometrician, a native of life, was b )rn in
1750. His father was an olUoer in the army, and saiv much severe service.
Glennie rei;eived tlie rudiments of his education at a jiarochial si;Iiool, and
was afterwards removed to the university of St Andrews, wliere he made consid-
erable proficiency in the Greek and Latin languai;es, but early discovered a
strong- and peculiar propensity to tlie sciences in general, but more par-
ticularly to geometry, a branch wliich ho pursued with such zeal and success ns
to carry o'.X two successive prizes in the matliematicxal class, when he was only
ID years of age. (ilennie was originally intended lor the ciiurch, and with this
view, attended the divinity class, where he also distinguished himself, becoming
R keen polemic and theologian, and an acute and>able disputant. \Vhether,
however, from his finding a dillicuUy in obtaining a churcli, or from the im-
pulse of his own disposition, he abandoned the idea of entering into holy orders,
and chose i-alher to seek his fortune in the army. Through the interest of tho
earl of Kinnoul, then chancellor of the university of St Andi-ews and of tho
professors of that university, to whom Glennie's talents had strongly recommend-
ed him, he obtained a connuission in the artillery, a branch of the service for
which his geometrical knowledge eminently fitted him. On the breaking out
of the American war, in 1775, dlennie embarked for that country with tho
troops sent out by the mother country to co-operate with tliose already there,
in the suppression of the insurgents. On his arrival, now a lieutenant of artil-
lery, he was placed under the command of. general St Leger ; his reputation
liowever, as a promising ollicer and skilful engineer, was already so great, that
he was left in full command of his own particular department. 'Jhroughout the
whole campaign which followed, he conducted all his operations with such
judgment and intrepidity, as to attract the notice of the marquis of Townshend,
w!io, without solicitation or any interest whatever being made, transferred
Glennie to the engineers ; and this flattering cixxumstance, together with the
reasons annexed, were certified in the London Gazette. In 1779, he was
further gratified by being nominated one of the thirty practitioner engineers,
and appointed second, and soon after first lieutenant. So active and industrious
were Glennie's habits, that even while engaged in the ai-duous and dangerous
duties of his profession in America, he wrote a number of important papers on
abstruse subjects. These he transmitted to the Royal Society, where they were
read and deemed so valuable, as to procure him the honour of being elected a
member, and that, as in the case of tiie celebrated Dr Franklin, without fees,
and even without his knowledge.

On his return to England, 3Ir Glennie married 3Iis3 3Iary Anne Locke,
daughter of the store-keeper at Plymouth.

The good fortune, however, which had hitherto attended Glennie, and the
prosperous career which apparently lay still before him, were now about to
close in darkness and disappointment. The first blow to Glennie's hopes of
future promotion, proceeded from a circumstance sufficiently remarkable in it-
self. The duke of Richmond, who was at the time of Glennie's return from
America, master general of the Board of Ordnance, in which he had displaced
Glennie's early patron the marquis of Townshend, had conceived the absurd
idea of fortifying all our naval arsenals, and of fonning lines of defence on
the coast, instead of increasing the navy, and Irusting to that arm for protection
ao^ainst a foreign enemy. The Duke was much opposed on this point in par-
liament ; but as it was a favourite idea, he persevered, and supported as he was

JAMES GLENNIE, 457

by the influence and eloquence of Pitt, would have carried the measure, but
for the skill and talent of a subaltern of artillery ; and that subaltern, who coped
successfully uith a minister of state on a great national question, was Glennie.

The duke of Richmond, aware of Glennie's talents in the sciences of gunnery
and fortification, frequently and anxiously endeavoured to obtain his approbation
of his plans ; with more candour than wisdom, ho^vever, he not only steadfastly
withheld this approbation, but unhesitatingly declared them to be absurd and im-
practicable. Glennie's early patron, the marquis of Townshend, knowing the for-
mer's opinion of the duke of Richmond's plans, invited him to his residence, where
he detained liim until he had composed, which he did at the marquis's request, a
pnmphlet on the suliject. The pamphlet, which was written with great ability
and discovered a profound knowledge of the matter of which it treated, \Yas im-
mediately published, and produced a prodigious effect. It instantly opened tlie
eyes of the public to the absurdity of the minister's ideas : his projects were
overturned, and the country was saved ; but Glennie was ruined.

In this celebrated pamphlet, which is simply entitled " A Short Essay," it
was demonstrated that extensive lines produce prolonged weakness, not strength,
and showed that troops are much more formidable as an active and movable
force, than as an inert body, cooped up in fortifications. It showed further, that
the sum (calculated at 40 or 50 millions) which should be required to carry the
duke's plans into efiect, was more than Avould be necessary to build a new and
complete fleet, superior to that of any power on earth. Besides all this, it was
shown, that it would require 22,000 soldiers for the intended fortifications of
Portsmouth and Plymouth alone.

Glennie, perceiving that all hopes of further promotion were now at an end,
resigned his commission and emigrated to British America with his wife and
children. Here he purchased a tract of land, and soon afterwards became a
contractor for ship timber and masts for govcinment. Ihe speculation failed,
and both Glennie himself, and a partner, a wealthy man who had joined him
in it, were ruined. Driven back to England, but now, as many years had
elapsed, forgotten and without friends, Glennie applied to the earl of Chatham,
■who recognizing his merits, but unable to do more for him, retained rather
than employed him as " engineer extraordinary." Soon after, however, he
procured Glennie the appointment of instructor to the East India Company's
young artillery officers, with salary and emoluments amounting to £400 per
annum. Glennie's good fortune was, however, again but of short duration.
He was summoned as an evidence on some points in the celebi'ated trial of the
duke of Yoi-k and Mrs Clarke ; his evidence was unfavourable to the duke ; the
consequence was, that he soon afterwai-ds received an oflicial letter from the
board of directors, dispensing with his services.

In 1812, Glennie, now in the 62d year of his age, ■\\ent out to Copenhagen
at the request of a gentleman who then held a seat in parliament, to negotiate
the purchase of a certain plantation, (jilennie, having set out on his mission
without coming to any explicit terms with his employer, his claim for compen-
sation on his return was disputed, and referred to arbitration ; but the referees
could not agree, and the matter therefore was never adjusted. Glennie, now
in an exceedingly destitute condition, without friends who could assist him, his
health destroyed, and himself far advanced in life, made an unsuccessful attempt
to procure a few mathematical pupils, and finally died of apoplexy on the 23d
November, 1817, in the 67th year of his age. His remains were interred in
the church-yard of St IMai'tin's in the Eields.

Amongst other proofs of Glennie's geometrical knowledge is to be found a
solution of Dr Matthew Stewart's " 42d proposition on 3'Jth theorem," whicli

458 •WALTER GOODAL.

had romained iinsolu'd ami had puzzled tlie loariicd for (55 yeare ; and also a
denumslralioii «»f tho inij)n&silii]ity of "Sfjiiariii"- tlic circle," a fjnostion ^^liirh
lias loll"- excited i)iil)Iic, «Miii(isity, and « liicli it is said engaged the attention
and eluded the research of tlie great NcHtoii.

(TOODAfy, Walter, well kno^vn as an historical antifjnary, was the eldest son
of John (Toodal, a firmer in Hanflsliire, and was born about the year 1706.
In 1723, he was entered as a student in King's college, Aberdeen, but did not
continue long enough to take a degree. In 17.30, he obtained cini)loynu'nt in
the Advocates' Libi-ary at Edinburgh, under the famous 'riiouins Huddiman,
who was a native of the same district, and perhaps patronized him on account
of some local rccouuneudations. lie assisted liiiddiman in the compilation of
the fii-st catalogue of the lil)rary, ^vhi(?h was published in 1742. A\ hen Kuddi-
man was succeeded by David llumc, Goodal continued to act as sub-librarian,
probably upon a very small salary. Lilve both of his successive superiors, he
was a tory and a Jacobite, but, it would r.ppear, of a far more ardent character than
either of them. I'eing, almost as a matter of course, a believer in the innocence of
queen IMaiy, he contemplated writing her life, but afterwards limited his design
to a publication entitled " An examination of the letters said to be written by
]Mai-y to James earl of Both well," which appeared in 1751. In this work,
says 3Ir George Chalmers, he could have done more, if he had had less preju-
dice and more coolness. Hume had become librarian two years before this
period ; but *' the chief duty," we are informed, " fell upon Walter, or, as he
good-naturedly permitted himself to be called, Wcittt/ Goodal. One day, while
(ioodal was composing his treatise concerning queen ."Mary, he became drowsy,
and laying down his head upon his manuscripts, in that posture fell asleep.
Hume entering the library, and finding the controversialist in that position,
stepped softly up to him, and laying his mouth to Watty's ear, roared out with
the voice of a Stentor, that queen IMary was a whore, and had murdered her
husband. Watty, not knowing whether it Avas a dream or a real adventure, or
whether the voice proceeded from a ghost or living creature, started up, and
before he was aAvake or his eyes well opened, he sprang upon Hume, and seiz-
ing him by the throat, pushed him to the further end of the library, exclaiming
all the while that he was some base presbyterian parson, who was come to
murder the character of queen Mary as his predecessors had contributed to
murder her person. Hume used to tell this story Avitli much glee, and Watty
acknowledged the truth of it with much frankness."

In 1753, Mr Goodal acted as editor of a new edition of the work called
Crawford's JMemoirs, which he is genei-ally blamed for not having corrected or
purified from the vitiations of its author. In 1754, he published an edition,
with emendatory notes, of Scott of Scotstarvet's Staggering State of Scots
Statesmen, and wrote a preface and life to Sir James Balfour's I'racticks. He
contributed also to Keith's catalogue of Scottish bishops, and published an
edition of Fordun's " Scotichronicon," with a Latin introdiu;tion, of which an
English version was given to the world in 17G9. Goodal died July 28, 1706, in
very indigent circumstances, which BIr Chalmers attributes to habits of iutem-
perance. The following extract from the minutes of the faculty of advocates,
throws a melancholy light upon the subject, and is fully entitled to a place in
Mr D'Israeli's Calamities of Authors : — ■

" A petition was presented in name of Mary Goodal, only daughter of the
deceased IMr Walter Goodal, late depute-keeper of the Advocates' Library, re-
presenting that the petitioner's father died the 2Sth last month; that by reason
of some accidental misfortunes happening in his affairs, any small pieces of
household furniture or other movables he hath left behind, will scarcely defray

ALEXANDER GORDON. 459

the expense of liis funeral ; that if there is any overplus, [it] will be attached
by Ills creditors ; that she is in the most indigent circumstances, and without
friends to give her any assistance ; that she proposes to go to the north coun-
try, where slie hath sonie relations, in order to try if she can be put upon any
way of gaining her bread ; that she would not be permitted to leave the town
until she should dischai'ge some small debts that she was by necessity obliged
to conti'act ; tiiat, besides, she was in such want of clothes and other neces-
saries, that she can scarcely appear in the streets ; and tliat, in lier most dis-
tressed situation, slie hath presumed to make this humble application to the
honourable the Dean and Faculty of Advocates, praying that they would be
pleased to order her such a sura from tlieir fund as they shall judge her necessi-
ties require.

" The Dean and Faculty, taking- this clamant case under their consideration,
were unanimously of opinion that the petitioner should Iiave some allowance out
of their fund." The sum given was ten pounds.

GORDON, Ai.EXAXDKR, author of various learned and useful antiquarian
works, is one of the numerous subjects for the pi'esent publication, of whom
nothing is known except their I>irth in Scotland, and their transactions in pub-
lic life oitt of it. He was a well-educated man, possessing, what was not in his
time common among the Scottisli literati, an intimate knowledge of the Greek
language. In early life, he travelled througli France, and other parts of the
continent, and spent some years in Italy. His first publication x'eferred to the
antiquities of his native country, which he seems to have explored with minute
and pains-taking fidelity. The work appeared in 172(3, under the title of
" Itinei-arium Septentrionale, or a Journey through most parts of the counties
of Scotland, in two parts, with sixty-six copper-plates," folio : a supplement,
publishedin 1732, was entitled, " Additions and Corrections to the Itinerarium
Septentrionale, containing several dissertations on, and descriptions of Roman
antiquities discovered in Scotland since publishing the said Itinerary." These
wei*e among the first efforts in Avhat may be called pure antiquities Avhich were
made in Scotland. The Itinerary was considered so valuable a work, that it
was translated into Latin, and published in Holland in 1731, (the Supplement
included,) for the use of general scholars throughout Europe. In 1729, Mr
Gordon published " The Lives of Pope Alexander VI. and his son Cffisar Bor-
gia, comprehending the wars in the reign of Charles VIII. and Lewis XII.,
kings of France, and the chief transactions and revolutions in Italy from 1492
to 1516, with an appendix of original pieces referred to in the work." This
work Avas also in folio. In 1730, he published in octavo, " A Complete His-
tory of Ancient Ampliitheatres, more particularly regarding the architecture of
these buildings, and in particular that of Verona ; by the marquis Scipio Maf-
fei ; translated from the Italian." In 1736, Mr Gordon Avas appointed secre-
tary to the Society for the encouragement of leai'ning, with an annual salary of
fifty pounds ; and also secretary to the Antiquarian Society : the former place
he resigned in 1739, and the latter in 1741. About the same time, he of-
ficiated as secretary to the Egyptian Club, an association of learned individuals
who had visited Egypt, comprising lord Sandwich, Dr Shaw, Dr Pococke, and
other's of nearly equal distinction. Mr Gordon publislied two other works —
*' An Essay towards explaining the hieroglyphical figures on the cofiin of tlie
ancient mummy belonging to captain William Ivethieullier," 1737, and
" Twenty-five plates of all the Egyptian mummies and other Egyptian antiqui-
ties in England,'' about 1739 — both in folio.

Mr Gordon was destined, after doing so much to explain the antiquities of
the old world, to the uncongenial fate of spending his last years in the new,

4G0 GEOUGE GOKDON.

ulierc there are no anrieut roiuaiiis uliatovci*. He was iii<Iuce(l in 1741, to
accdinpany governor (ilen to ("nrolina in Ndrlh America, wliere, besides a grant
of land, lie Iiad several oflices, particularly that of register of the province.
He died about 1750, leaving a valuable estate to his family.

tiOUUOX, (JEonoE, commonly called lord George (jordon, one of the most re-
markable Scotsmen who have llourished in modern political history, was the
third son of Cosmo Cieorge, third duke of Gordon, by Catharine, daughter of
William, earl of Aberdeen, He was born in Upper Brook Street, London, in Dea
1750, and was baptized in Jan., 1752 ; George II. standing as his sponsor or
god-fatlier. Of his boyhood or education, we know little or nothing; nor docs
there ai>pear to have supervened any peculiar trait of conduct, or bias of disposi-
tion, during his juvenile years, to distinguish him from his compeers, or forebode
the singular eccentricity and erratic waywardness of his future career. At a very
tender age he entered tiie navy, in which he arrived, by due gi-adation, at the
rank of lieutenant. The reason of his afterwards abandoning the naval profes-
sion, was a pretended disappointment at non-promotion in the service, \\hile it
was, in fact, a mere job effected by some of the opposition members to Avin
him to their ranks, as will afterwards be seen. In the year 1772, being then
scarcely twenty years of age, he went to reside in Inverness-shire, witii the view
of opposing general Fraser of Lovat, as member for the county, at the next
general election, which Avould, of necessity, take place in two years there-
after at farthest. This was indeed bearding the lion in his den, and appeared
about as Quixotic an undertaking, as that of displacing one of the chieftain's
native mountains. Such, however, were his ingratiating qualities, the frank-
ness of his manners, the uftability of his address, and his happy knack of ao
commodating himself to the humours of all classes, that, when the day of elec-
tion drew nigh, and the candidates began to number their strength, Lovat
found, to his unutterable confusion and vexation, that his beardless competitor
had actually succeeded in securing a majority of votes ! Nor could the most
distant imputations of bribery or undue influence be charged upon the young
political aspirant. All was the result of his winning address and popular man-
ners, superadded to his handsome countenance, which is said to have been of al-
most feminine beauty and delicacy. He played on the bagpipes and violin to
those who loved music. He spoke Gaelic and wore the philabeg, where these
were in fashion. He made love to the young ladies, and listened with p.i-
tience and deference to the garrulous sermonizing of old age. And, finally,
gave a splendid ball to the gentry at Inverness, — one remarkable incident
concerning wliich, was his hiring a ship, and bringing from the isle of Skye
the family of the 31'Leods, consisting of fifteen young ladies — the pride and
admiration of the north. It was not to be tolerated, however, that the great
feudal chieftain should thus be thrust from his hereditary political possession by
a mere stripling. Upon an application to the duke, lord George's eklest
brother, a compromise was agreed on, by Mhich it was settled, that upon lord
George's relinquishing Inverness-shire, general Fraser should purchase a seat
for him in an English borough ; and he was accordingly returned for Ludgers-
hall, the property of lord 3Ielbourne, at the election of 1774.

It would appear, that for some time after taking his seat, lord George voted with
the ministry of the day. He soon, however, and mainly, it is affirmed, by the influ-
ence of his sister-in-law, the celebrated duchess of Gordon, became a convert to
the principles of the opposition ; and it was not long ere, at the instigation of
governor Johnstone and IMr Burke, he fairly broke with the ministry, upon
their refusal to comply with a most unreasonable demand for promotion over
the heads of older and abler oflicers, which the gentlemen just named liad

GEORGE GORDON. 4.61

incited him to make. From this time forward, he became a zealous opponent
of government, especially as regarded their policy towai'ds America, uhere dis-
contents against their measures were becoming rife and loud. It was not, how-
ever, until the session of 1776 that ho stood forth as a public speaker, when he
commenced his career by a furious attack on ministers, whom he accused of an
infamous attempt to bribe him m'er to their side by the offer of a sinecure of
^£1000 a year. Whether this charge was true or false, certain it is that ministers
felt the effects of the imputation so severely, reiterated and commenled on as it
was in the withering eloquence of Fox, Burke, and others, that an attempt was
made to induce him to cede his seat in parliament, in favour of the famous Irish
orator, Henry Flood, by the offer of the place of vice-admiral of Scotland, then
vacant by the resignation of the duke of Queeiisberry. Notwithstanding that
lord George's fortune was then scai-cely £700 per annum, he had the fortitude
to resist the proffered bait, and seemed determined, like Andrew Jlarvel, to
prefer dining for three days running on a single joint, rather than sacrifice his
independence by the acceptance of couii-fovour. His lordship, indeed, soon
began to estrange himself from both parties in the house, and to assume a posi-
tion then entirely new in parliamentary tactics, and somewhat parallel to the
course chalked out for themselves by a few of our patriots in the house of com-
mons at a recent period. Disclaiming all connexion with cither whigs or
lories, he avow^ed himself as being devoted solely to the cause of the people.
Continuing to repi'esent the borough of Ludgershall, he persevered in animad-
verting with great freedom, and often with great wit, on the proceedings on
both sides of the house, and became so marked, that it was usual at that time to
say, that " there were three parties in parliament — the ministry, the opposi-
tion, and lord George Gordon."

A bill had been brought into parliament, in the session of 1778, by Sir George
Saville, who is described by a wi-iter of tha whig party as one of the most upright
men Avhich perhaps any age or country ever produced, to relieve the Eoman
catholic subjects of England from some of the penalties they Mere subject to,
by an act passed in the eleventh and twelfth year of King William III., — an act
supposed by many to have originated in faction, and which at all events, from
many important changes since the time of its enactment, had become unneces-
sary, and therefore unjust.

On the passing of this bill, which required a test of fidelity from the parties
who claimed its protection, many persons of that religion, and of the first
families and fortunes in the kingdom, came forward with the most zealous pro-
fessions of attachment to the government ; so that the good effects of the in-
dulgence were immediately felt, and hardly a murmur from any quarter was
heard. This act of Sir Geoi-ge Saville did not extend to Scotland ; but in the
next winter, a proposition was made by several individuals to revise the penal
laws in force against the catholics in that kingdom also : at least a report prevail-
ed of such an intention. The people in general, having still a keen recollection
of the religious dissensions of the preceding century, were strongly excited by
this rumour, and formed numerous associations throughout the country, for the pur-
pose of resisting, by petition, any remission of the catliolic penalties. In this
movement, they were countenanced generally by the less moderate section of
the national clergy, and, perhaps, the public fervour wr.s raised by no circum-
stance so much as by the indifference with which the majority of that body had
treated the subject in the General Assembly of 1778, when the idea of a pro-
spective declaration against the measure, was coldly negatived. The proceedings
in Scotland, and some inflammatory pamphlets, published about the same time,
gradually awakened the public mind in England, or at least the less informed part

4G2 GEORGE GORDON.

of it, to a conviction of tlio <lanper of Sir George Savillo's net, and a powerful
society was fonned at London, under (lie name of tlie " Protestant Association,''
for endeavooriii!> lo procure tlie repeal of the bill. Larpe subscriptions were raised
In dilfercnt parts of the kine;<h)ni, a secretary was publicly chosen, and coires-
pondences set on foot between the diU'crent so«:ieties in l>n<;laud and .Scotland,
To crown all, in November, 177!), lord (ieorg-e (iordon, I\l. 1*., was unanimously
invited to become president of the assooialion, of which situation he accepted.
One tliiiin- oiinht here to be observed, in judginj;- of the sincerity of this noble-
man in tJie part he took in the subsequent public proceedint>s on this subject,
both in and out of parliament, that he ofl'urc<l no ojiposition whatever to the
passinjj of Sir (ieorire Saville's repeal act.

In detailing- the fearful events which ensued both in I'^ngland and Scotland,
in consequence t)f this struggle of parlies, it is necessai-y that some regard be
had to chronological order; and we must, therefoie, first of all turn our atten-
tion to llie posture of art'airs in our own country.

Soon after the passing of the tolerating act in favour of the I'nglish and
Irish Catholics, those of that creed in Scotland, encouraged, as we have said,
by demonstrations in their fi^vour in various inlluential quarters, prej<arcd a
petition to ^>arliament, jH-nying for the enjoyment of the same rights and privi-
leges which had been extended to their more fortunate brethren. At this
junctin-e an anonymous pamphlet appeared at Edinburgh, which caused an ex-
traordinary sensation throughout the country. Its efiecls were first developed
by the proceedings in the provincial synods, by almost all of which (excepting
tliat of J^othian and Tweeddale) violent and angry resolutions weie passed
against the papists, and the firmest determination expressed to oppose their
petition. Tliese resolutions being published in the newspapers, soon propagat-
ed the ferment and fanned the popular excitement into a blaze. Numerous so-
cieties were organized at Edinburgh, Glasgow, and elsewhere, who severally
passed resolutions to the same effect. That at Edinburgh, together Avith all
the incorporations of the city, excepting the surgeons, the merchant company,
and the society of candlemakei-s, petitioned the town council early in Jan.
1779, to oppose the bill, which was agreed to; and the members for the city
and county were instructed accordingly. Similar proceedings also took place at
GlasgOAV.

The populace, however, were far too highly irritated to await patiently the
issue of these decided measures, and on the 2d of lebruary their fury burst out at
Edinburgh with uncontrollable violence. Incendiary letters had previously been
distributed in the streets, calling upon the people to meet at the foot of Leilh Wynd
on the .above day, ^' to pull down that pillar of popery lately erected there " —
alluding to a house, occupied, along with other families, by a i'.oman catholic
bishop, and which was supposed to contain a catholic place of worship. A large
mob accordingly assembled, and in spite of the exertions of the magistrates,
backed by a regiment of fenciblcs, the house was set on fire and reduced to
ashes. The house of another popish clergyman in Elackfiiars' Wynd was
completely gutted. The catholics in all the other parts of the town were in-
distTiminately abused, and their houses pillaged. Kor against these alone was
the violence of the mob directed. Every liberal protestant, known to favour
toleration towards the catholics, became equally the objects of popular fury.
Amongst these Avere the celebrated professor Koberlson, and Mr Crosbie, an emi-
nent advocate, whose houses Avei-e attacked, and which, but for the timely in-
terference of the military, would doubtless, like the rest, liave been fired and
razed to the ground. Seeing no likelihood of a tennination to the tuiuults, the
proYOst and nuigistiutes. after several days' feeble and ineffectual efforts to re-

GEORGE GOKDON. 4G3

store order, at length issiied a proclamation of a somewhat singular dess.ription
assuring tlie people that no repeal of the statutes against papists should take
place, and attributing the riots solely to the " fears and distressed minds of
well meaning people." This announcement, nevertheless, had the eHect of par-
tially restoring quiet. The example of Edinburgh was in part copied in Glas-
gow ; but the disturbances there, owing to the exertions and influence of the
principal merchants and others, were soon got under ; — the provo&t and magis-
trates, finding it necessary, however, to issue a notice similar to that of their
civic brethren at Edinburgh. But notwithstanding that these magisterial as-
surances were corroborated by a letter to the same effect, from lord Weymouth,
home secretary, dated 12th Februai-y, addressed to the lord justice clerk, the
excitement throughout the country every day increased, instead of abating. At
no period of our liistory, unless, perhaps, during the political crisis in 1831-32, has
either branch of the legislature been addressed or spoken of in language half so
daring, menacing, or contemptuous. The resolutions passed by the heritors
and heads of families in the parish of Carluke, Lanarkshire, may vie with the
most maledictory philippics poured forth on the heads of the " Boroughmon-
gers " in modern days. To such a height did this anti-catholic feeling at last
rise, that the papists deemed it at last prudent to memorialize parliament on the
subject, and pray for protection to their lives and property, as well as redress
for what they had already suffered. This petition was laid before the house by
Mr Burke on the 18th of March, and it is in the debate which thereupon en-
sued, that we fii'st find lord George (jordon standing forth in parliament as the
champion of the protestant interests. In the following August, after the rising
of the session, lord George paid a visit to Edinburgh, where he was received with
extraordinary attention, and unanimously chosen president of the " commit-
tee of correspondence for the protestant interest." We ought to have mentioned
that, in the month of April, the sum of XI 600 had been adjudged by arbitration
to the catholics in compensation of their loss in the city of Edinburgh, ivhich
amount was paid from the city's funds.

The remarkable respect and honours which lord George experienced from
the protestant societies in Scotland, appear to have operated, like quicksilver in
his veins. He forthwith devoted himself heart and hand to their cause ; and
on his return to London he was, as we have already mentioned, chosen presi-
dent of the formidable Protestant Association.

Encouraged by the deference paid by government to the wishes of the
Scottish protestants, the members of the London association entertained the most
sanguine hopes of getting a repeal of the late toleration act for England, The
most strenuous exertions by advertisement and otherwise were therefore made
to swell the numbei'S of the society ; meetings were called, and resolutions
passed, to petition tlie house of commons for an abrogation of the obnoxious
act.

After various desultory motions in parliament, which it is unnecessary to
specify, lord George, on the 5th of May, presented a petition from Plymouth,
praying for a repeal of Sir G. Saville's act. Finding, ho^vever, the govern-
ment and legislature little disposed to pay any attention to these applications, the
members of the association resolved upon adopting more active and unequivo-
cal measiu-es to accomplish their object. A meeting was accordingly held in
Coach-maker's Hall, on the evening of the 29th May — at which lord George,
who was in the chair, addressed them in a long and inflammatory harangue
upon the wicked designs of the papists, tlie fearful increase of popery in the
kingdom, in consequence of the late act — and the measures indispensably ne-
cessary lo be adopted for the salvation of protestantism. He said their only

464 GEORGE GORDON.

ro50Ujce \va« to go in a body to tlie house of commons, and exjuess tlicir d«>-
tcrmi nation to |>rote(t their icli:;ioiis |iiiviU'g«'a with their lives; that for his
part, he would run all Ii izards willi " the jtoople,'' and if tliey were too luke-
uanu to do tiie liUe \>ith him, tliey might choose another leader. 'Ihis spoetli
Mas received with tremendous acclamations ; and resolutions were passed, that
the whole prolestant association should assemble in St (jcorjje's fields, on the fol-
lowing Friday, (.lune ^d,) to accompany his lordship to the house of coimnons,
where he was to present the protcstant petition, and that they should niai-ch
to the house in four divisions, and by dilVerent routes. His lordship also added,
that unless 20,000 people, each decked with a blue cockade, assembled — he
would jiot present the petition. Next evening-, lord George gave notice in
the house of connnons, of his intention of presenting the petition on the ap-
pointed day, as also of Uie proposed processions of the association ; and it is
a remarkable fact, that although by the act of 10(31, such a proceeding was de-
clared quite illegal, not the slightest intimation was given to him by the
niinislry, to that ctloct.

On the day appointed, ail immense concoui-se of people, not less it was
computed than 100,000, assembled in St George's fields. Lord George,
arrived about twelve o'clock, and after haranguing them for a considerable
time, directed them how they were to march. One party, accordingly, pi'O-
ceeded round by London bridge, another over Dlackfriars, and a thir«l ac-
companied their president over Westminster bridge. The petition, to which the
subscriptions of the petitioners wei'e appended, on an immense number of rolls
of parchment, Mas borne before tJie latter body. On their assembling at the
two houses of parliament, Mhich they completely surrounded, they announced
their presence by a general shout, and it Mas not long ere the more unruly of
them began to exercise the poMcr they now felt themselves to possess, by abus-
ing and maltreating the niembei"s of both hauses, as they severally arrivc<L At
the door of the house of lords, the archbishop of York, the biships of Litch-
field and Lincoln, the duke of Northumberland, lords Bathurst, 3Iansfield,
Townshend, Hillsborough, Stormont, Dudley, and many othei-s. Mere all more
or less abused, both in character and pei-son. Lord Boston, in particular, Mas
so long in the hands of the mob, that it Avas at one time proposed thr.t the liouse
should go out in a body to his rescue. He entered at last, unwigged, and with
his clothes almost torn from his person.

In the meantime, the riotei-s had got complete possession of the lobby of the
house of connnons, the doors of which they repeatedly tried to force open ; and
a scene of confsision, indignation, and uproar ensued in the house, almost ri-
valing tliat ^vhich Mas passing out of door.*. Lord George, on lii-st entering the
h( use, had a blue cockade in his hat, but upon this being conmiented upon as
a sigoal of riot, he dreM- it out. The greatest part of the day was consumed in
debates (almost inaudible from the increasing roar of the multitude Mithout,)
relative to tlie fearful aspect of aftaii-s ; but something like order being at last
obtained, lord George introduced the subject of the protestant petition, Mhich,
he stated, was signed by 120,000 protestants, and moved that it be immediately
brought u]). Leave being given, he next moved that it be fortlnvith taken
into consideration. This informal and unprecedented proposition, was, of
course, resisted ; but lord George, nevertheless, declared his detei-mination of
dividing the house on the subject, and a desultory but violent debate ensued,
which was terminated by the motion being negatived by 192 to 9. During
the course of the discussion, the riot without became every moment more alai-m-
ing, and lord George Mas repeatedly called upon to disperse his followers ; but
his manner of addressing the latter, which he did from the top of the gallery

GEORGE GORDON. 4G5

stairs, leaves it doubtful whether his intention was to quiet or irritate tliem siill
farther. He informed them, from time to rime, of the progress of tlie debate
and mentioned by name (certainly, to put the best construction upon it, an ex-
tremely thoughtless proceeding,) tiiose members who opposed the immediate
consideration of the petition ; saying, — " Mr so and so is now speaking against
you," — He told them that it was proposed to adjourn the question to the follow-
ing Tuesday, but that he did not like delays ; that " parliament might be pro-
rogued before that, and there would be an end of the affair." Durin"- his li/i-
rangues, several members of the house warmly expostulated with him on the im-
prudence of his conduct ; but to no purpose. General Grant attempted to draw
him back, begging him " for God's sake not to lead these poor deluded people
into danger ;" and colonel Gordon, (or, as other authorities say, colonef 3Iur-
ray, uncle to the duke of Athol,) a near relative of his lordship's, demanded of
him — " Do you intend, my lord George, to bring your rascally adherents into
the house of commons ? If you do, the first man that enters, I will plunge my
sword not into his body, but yours.'''' — In this state did matters continue until
about nine o'clock at night, when a troop of horse and infantry arrived. Lord
George then advised the mob to disperse quietly, observing " that now their grr.-
cious king was made aware of the wishes and determination of his subjects, he
would no doubt compel his ministers to comply with their demands." Those
who attended from purely religious motives, numbering, it is said, not more
than GOO or 700, immediately departed peaceably, first giving the magistrates
and soldiers three cheers. The remainder also retired about 1 1 o'clock, after
the adjournment of the house; but soon began to display the villanous designs
which had congregated them. Dividing themselves into two bodies, one pro-
ceeded to tiie chapel of the Sardinian ambassador in Duke street, Lincoln's-lnn-
Fields, the other to that of the 13avarian ambassador in Warwick street, Golden
square, both of which edifices they completely gutted, burning the furniture,
ornaments, &c. , in heaps on the public street. A party of guards arrived, but
after the mischief was over, who succeeded in capturing thirteen of the rioters.
In concluding our account of this eventful day's proceedings, wc must mention,
that great negligence was charged, and seemingly not without reason, against
government as \vcll as the magistracy, for the absence of every thing like pre-
paration for preserving the peace, — aware, as they perfectly were, of the in-
tended multitudinous pi'ocession.

Next day (SaturcLiy) passed over without any disturbance ; but this quies-
cence proved only a " lull before the storm." In the afternoon of Sunday, an
immense multitude met simultaneously, and evidently by previous concert, in
MoorJields, and raising the slogan of " No Popery," " Down with the Papists,"
&c., immediately attacked and utterly demolished the catholic chapel, burning
the altar, images, pictures, &:c., in the open street. Here again, the guards
arrived (to use an Iricism) in time to be too late ; and encouraged by this cir-
cumstance, as well as by the lenient deportment of the military, who up to
this time, had refrained from the use of either sabre or fire-arms, the rioters
hourly grew more daring and outrageous. Tliey renewed their violence early on
Monday, (the king's birth-day,) by destroying a school-house and three dwelling
houses, with a valuable library, belonging to papists, in Kope-maker's Alley.
Separating their force into several detachments, they proceeded into various
quarters of the city at once, — thus distracting the attention of the authorities,
who appeared to be paralyzed by the fearful ongoings around them — lost all self-
possession, and of course, their efficiency in checking the career of the rioters.
The houses of Sir George Saville and several other public and private gentle «
men, together with several popish chapels, quickly fell a prev to pillage and

II. 3 N

4CG GEORGE GORDON.

nniiic. Tlio violence of the luoh also rcrci\o<l an nccosslon of fury (liis «lay
from two cireunistaiH't'S — viz. a j»r<i<laiiiatiiiii oderiiifj a reward of ISUO^ for llio
discovery of tliosc coiicoriieil in tleslroying the IJavarian and .Sar<liiiian (•haj>el8 ;
and the piibhc conuuittal to Newgale ol throe of tlie siijiposetl rin<;U'aders on
those occasions.

It must here be recorded, that early on the same uiorninp: (!\Ionday 5lh .Iiino,)
the Protestant Association distributed a circular, disclaiiuincj all connexion «ilii
the rioters, and earnestly counselling all good protestants to maintain peace
and good order.

Tuesday the Gth, being the day appointed for the consideration of the pro-
testant petition, a multitude not less numerous than that of the previous Iriday,
assembled round both houses of parliament, coming in ho^vever, not in one
body, but in small parties. A disposition to outrage soon manifested itself,
and lord Sandwich, A\ho fell into their hands, \vith difliciilty escaj>c<l with life,
by the aid of the military, his carriage being smashed to pieces. '1 he house of
peers, after several of their lordships had commented on the unprecedented cir-
cumstances in uhich they wei*e placed, unanimously decided on the absurdity of
transacting business, while in a state of durance and restraint, and soon broke
up, after adjourning proceedings till the Thursday following. In the house of
commons, after several remarks similar to those in the upper house, and the pass-
ing of various resolutions to the same effect, a violent attack was made upon minis-
ters by IMr Burke, Mr Fox, and others of the opposition, on account of the re-
laxed state of the police, which had left the legislature itself at the mercy of a reck-
less mob. Lord George Gordon said, if the liouse would appoint a day for
the discussion of the petition, and to do it to the satisfaction of the people, he
had no doubt they would quietly disperse. Colonel Herbert, remarked that
although lord George disclaimed all connexion with the rioters, it \\ns si range
that he came into the house with their ensign of insurrection in his hat, (a blue
cockade,) upon which his lordship pulled it out. A conmiittee was then ap-
pointed " to inquire into the causes of the riot, &:c. ," and the house adjourned
to Thursday. Upon the breaking up of the house, lord George addressed the
multitude, told them what had been done, and advised them to disperse quietly.
In return, they unharnessed his horses, and drew him in triumph through the
town.

In the meantime, a furious attack lund been made on the residence of lord
North, in Downing Street, which was only saved from destruction by the in-
terposition of the military. In the evening, the house of justice Hyde was
surrounded, sacked, and all the furniture, pictures, books, &c., burned before
his door. The rioters then directed their steps towards Newgate, for the pur-
pose of releasing their ccmpanions in outrage, who Avere there confined. On
arriving at the gates, they demanded admittance ; which being refused by
Mr Akerman, the governor, they forthwith proceeded to break his windows, and
to batter in the doors of the prison with pick-axes and sledge-hammers. Flam-
beaus and other firebrands being procured, these were thrown into the gover-
nor's house, which, along with the chapel, and other parts of the prison, was
speedily in flames. The prison doors were also soon consumed, and the mob
rushing in, set all the prisoners, to the number of 300, (amongst whom were
several under sentence of death.) at liberty. One most remarkable circumstance
attending this daring proceeding nmst not be passed over in silence, — that from
a prison thus enveloped in flames, and in the midst of a scene of such uproar
and confusion, such a number of prisoners, many of them shut in cells to which
access was at all times most intricate and difficult, could escape without the loss
of a single life, or even the fracture of a limb ! But A\hat will appear, perluips,

GEORGE GORDON. 4G7

scarcely less astonishing-, is the fact, that within a very few days, almost the
whole of the individuals thus unexpectedly liberated were recaptured, and lodged
either in their old or moi"e secure quarters.

Still more emboldened by this reinforcement of desperate confederates, the
rioters proceeded in different detachments to the houses of justice Cox and Sir John
Fielding, as also to the public (jffice in Bow Street, and the new prison, Clerk-
enwell ; all of M'hich they broke in upon and g-utted, liberating- the prisoners in
the latter places, and thereby gaining fresh numbers and strength. But the most
daring act of all, Avas their attacking the splendid mansion of lord chief justice
Mansfield, in Bloomsbury Square. Having broken open the doors and win-
dows, they proceeded, as was their custom, to fling all the rich and costly fur-
niture into the street, where it was piled into heaps and burned, amid the most
exulting yells. The library, consisting of many thousands of volumes, rare
3ISS., title-deeds, &c., together with a splendid assortment of pictures — all
were remorselessly destroyed. And all this passed, too, in the presence of be-
tween 200 and 300 soldiers, and under the eye of the lord chief justice himself,
who calmly pei-mitted this destruction of his property, rather than expose the
wi-etched criminals to the vengeance of the military. At Inst, seeing preparations
made to fire the premises, and not knowing where the conflagration might ter-
minate, a magistrate read the riot act ; but without effect. The military were
then reluctantly ordered to fire ; but although several men and women were
siiot, the desperadoes did not cense the work of destruction until nothing but
the bare and smoking walls Avere left standing. At this time the British
metropolis may be said to have been entirely in the hands of a lawless,
reckless, and frenzied mob ! The vilest of the rabble possessed more power
and authority than the king upon the throne ; the functions of govern-
ment were, for a time, suspended ; and the seat of legislation had become
the theatre of anarchy and misrule. So confident now were the rioters in
their own irresistible strength, that on the afternoon of the above day, they sent
notices round to the various prisons yet left standing, to inform the prisoners at
\vhat hour they intended to visit and liberate them ! If any one incident con-
nected with a scene of such devastation, plunder, and triumphant villany, could
raise a smile on the face of the reader or narrator, it would be the fact, that
the prisoners confined in the Fleet, sent to request that they might not be turned
out of their lodgings so late in the evening ; to which a generous answer was re-
turned, that they would not be disturbed till next day ! In order not to be
idle, however, the considerate mob amused themselves during- the rest of tlie
evening in burning the houses of lord Petre and about twenty other individuals
of note — protestant as well as catholic, — and concluded the labours of the day
by ordering a general illumination in celebration of their triumph — an order
which the inhabitants Avere actually compelled to obey!

On Wednesday, this horrible scene of tumult and devastation reached ita
acme. A party of the rioters paid a visit to lord Mansfield's beautiful villa at
Caen-wood in the forenoon, and coolly began to regale themselves Avith the con-
tents of his larder and Avine-cellar, preparatory to their commencing the usual
Avork of destruction. Their orgies Avere interrupted, hoAvever, by a party of
military, and ihey fled in all directions. It Avas not until the evening that the
main body seriously rene;vcd their diabolical Avork ; and the scene Avhich
ensued is described by contemporary Avriters, Avho Avitnessed the proceedings,
as being too frightful for the poAver of language to convey the slightest idea of.
Detachments of military, foot and horse, had gradually been draAving in from
different parts of the interior ; the civic authorities, Avho up to that time had
been solely occupied consulting and debating upon the course they should pur-

408 GEORGE GORDON.

sue in llie awful niul unimrnlleled ciiTumstniices in wliicli llu-y were jilaced, l>o«
cnn to gatliei* rcsolulion, to concenlrate their force, and to jierreivc tlic absolute
necessity of actin"^ witli vij;oni' and decision — a necessity which every moment
increased. Tiic slrontif arm o/' the law, which lind so lonjj hunp j(araly/e<l over
the heads of tlie wretclied criminals, once more became nerved, and i»rej)arcd
to avenge the cause of justice, humanity, and social order. 'Ihe strugcle, how-
ever, as may well be conceived, was dreadful ; and we gladly borrow the lan-
guage of one who witnessed the a\vful specitacle, in detailing the events of that
ever-memorable night. '1 he King's i5cnch, I'leet Prison, JJorough Clinic, and
SuiTcy Jiridewell, were nil in tlames at the same moment, and their inhabitants
let loose to assist in the general havoc. No less than tliiitij-six fearful con-
flagrations in dillercnt parts of the metrojjolis, were seen raging simultane-
ously, " licking up every thiiKj in their ivaf/," as a writer at tJie time expres-
sively described it, and " hastetting to meet each othci:''''

"Let those," observes the writer before alluded to, " cr.ll to their imnjjina-
tion flames ascending and rolling in vast voluminous clouds from the Kind's
Bench and Fleet Prisons, the Surrey Bridewell, and the toll houses on Black-
friars bridge ; from houses in flames in every (juarler of tlie city, and particu-
larly from the middle and lo^verend of Holborn, where the premises of 3Iessrs
Langdale and Son, eminent distillers, were blazing as if the whole elements
were one continued flame ; the cries of men, women, and children, ninning up
and down the street, with whatever, in their fright, they thought most necessary
or most precious ; the tremendous roar of the infernal miscreants inflamed ^vitIl
liquor, who aided the sly incendiaries, whose sole aim was plunder ; and the
repeated reports of Hie loaded mustjuetry dealing death and worse than death
among the tlironging multitude !" But it was not what was doing only, but
what might yet he done, that roused the fears of all classes. When they beheld
the very outcasts of society every where triumphant, and heard of their at-
tempting the bank ; threatening Doctors-Commons, the Exchange, the Pay-
Oflice ; in short, every repository of treasure and office of record, men of every
persuasion and party bitterly lamented the rise and progress of the bloody and
fatal insurrection, and execrated the authors of it. Had the bank and public
ofiices been the first objects of attack, instead of the jails and houses of 2>rivate
individuals, there is not the smallest reason to doubt of their success. The con-
sefjuences of sucli an event to the nation may Avell be imagined !

The regulars and militia poured into the city in such numbers during the night
of Wednesday and tlie morning of Thursday, that, on the latter day, order was
in a gi-eat measure restored ; but the alarm of Uie inhabitants was so great that
every door remained shut. So speedily and effectually, however, did the strict
exercise of authority subdue the spirit of tumult, that on Friday, the Oih of
June, the shops once more were opened, and business resumed its iisual course.

So terminated the famous riots of 1780; an event which will long be mem-
orable in the history of our country, and ought to remain a warning beacon to
future popular leaders, of the danger of exciting the passions of the multitude
for the accomplishment of a particular purpose, under the idea that they can
stop the career of the monster they have evoked, wJien ihe wished-for end is
attained. It ivas impossible to ascertain correctly the exact number of the un-
happy beings, whose depravity, zeal, or curiosity hurried them on to a fatal
doom. The sword and the musket proved not half so deadly a foe as their own
inordinate passions. Great numbers died from sheer inebriation, especially at
the distilleries of the unfortunate IMr Langdale, from which the unrectified
spirits ran down the middle of the streets, was taken up in pailfuls, and held

GEORGE GORDON. 409

to the mouths of the deluded multitude, many of ^vhom dropt down dead on
the spot, and were burned or buried in the ruins.

The following is said to be a copy of the returns made to lord Amherst of
the killed and wounded by the military, during the disturbances : —

B}' associatiun troops and gunrds, . . . 109 7 •Killprl

By light horse, . . . . -101 y ^'"'^''

Died in hospitiils, . . .75

Prisoners under cure, . . . • 173

453

To this fatal list, Avhich, it will be seen, is exclusive of those who perished
by accident, or their own folly or infatuation, may be added those whom the
vengeance of the law afterwards overtook. Eighty-fi/e were tried at the Old
I'ailey, of whom thirty-five were capitally convicted, forty-three acquitted,
seventeen respited, and eighteen executed. At St IMargaret's Hill forty were
tried under special commission, of whom about twenty were executed. Be-
sides these, several of the rioters were afterwards from time to time appre-
hended, tried, and executed in various parts of the country. Amongst those
convicted at the Old Bailey, but afterwards respited, probably on account of
the immediate occasion for his services, was the common liangman, Edward
Dennis, the first of his profession, we believe, who was dubbed with the soubri-
quet of Jack Ketch. In concluding our account of these riots, Ave may men-
tion that similar disturbances also broke out at the same time at Hull, Bristol,
Bath, and other places, but were suppressed without ahnost any mischief, and
no bloodshed.

On Thursday the 8th, the commons met, according to appointment, but as it
Avas still thought necessary to keep a guard of military round the house, a state
of investment incompatible with free and deliberative legislation, they im-
mediately adjourned to the 19th. On Friday, a meeting of the privy council
was held, when a warrant was issued for the apprehension of lord George
Gordon. This was forthwith put into execution, and lord (ieorge was brought
in a hackney coacli to the Horse Guards, where he underwent a long examina-
tion, and was afterwai-ds committed a close prisoner to the Tower, being' es-
corted by a strong guard of horse and foot. It is scarcely necessary to state,
before tracing tlie subsequent career and fate of this singular individual, that
no repeal of the toleration act took place. The question was taken up in the
house of commons on the very first day after the recess, when all parties were
unanimous in reprobating the desired repeal, and the " Protestant Petition,"
which had given occasion, or been made the pretext for so much mischief and
loss of life, accordingly fell to the ground.

Having given such ample details of the cause, rise, and progress of what
some zealous protestant writers of the day termed, rather inconsistently, the
" Popish Riots," it would be equally tedious and supererogatoi-y to enter into a
lengthened account of the trial of the individual upon whom government
charged the onus of the fatal events. The proceedings, as may be imagined,
engrossed the undivided attention of the whole kingdom, during their pro-
gress, but almost the sole point of interest connected with them now, after such
a lapse of time, is the speech of the celebrated honourable Thomas Ei-skine,
counsel for the prisoner, which has been regarded as one of the very highest of
those flights of overpowering eloquence with which that remarkable man from
time to time astonished his audiences, and, indeed, the whole Avorld. The
trial of lord George Gordon did not come on until the 5th of February, 1781 ;
the reason of this delay — nearly eight months — we do not find explained.

470 GEORfiE GORDON.

During his confinement, lord Greorge was frequonlly visited by liis brother the
duke, and oilier illustrious individuals, and every ntlonlinn was paid to bis
rouilort and coiivcnience. Ho was ai'Coinjianicd from llie 'J'ower to Westmin-
ster ball by tl'e duke, and a j^rcat number of olbcr noble relatives. His coun-
sel were .^Ir (al"ier\\ar»ls lonl) Kenyon, and tbc honourable '1 bomas i'rskine.
'I'lie ebargc agTiinst ibe juisoncr was that of big b treason, in atlciiiplin;; to raise
and levy \>ar and insurrection against the king, &.C. His lordsbiji pleaded not
(fttilli/. 'Ibc trial commenced at nine o'clock on llie morning of ."Monday ibe 5th,
I and at a quarter past live next morning, tbe jury returned an iinqiialilied verdict
I of acriuitlal. Twenty-tbrce witnesses were examined lor tbc crown, and sixteen
for tbe prisoner. 'Ibe evidence, as may be imagined, Avas extremely contra-
dictory in its tendency, proceeding, as it did, iVom individuals whose impres-
sions as to tbe cause and character of the fatal occmrrences, \\ere so very tlissimilar,
— one party seeing in tbe conduct of lord (ieorge merely that of an unprincipled,
callous-hearted, and ambitious demagogue, reckless of consequences to tbe «ell«
being of society, provided he obtained bis own private ends ; while another
looked upon him as an ill-used and unfortunate patriot, whose exertions to
maintain tbe stability of tbe protestnnt religion, and vindicate tbe rights and
privileges of tbe people, had been defeated by the outrages of a reckless and
brutal mob. By the latter party, all the evil consequences and disreputability
of the tumults ^vere charged upon the government and civic authorities, on ac-
count of tbe lax state of the police, and the utter want of a properly organized
defensive power in the metropolis. A third party (we mean in the kingdom)
there was, who viewed lord George merely as an object of compassion, attri-
buting his, certainly unusual, behaviour to an aberration of intellect, — an
opinion ivhicb numerous subsequent eccentricities in his conduct, have induced
many of a later era to adopt.

The speech of Jlr Erskine was distinguished for that originality of style
and boldness of manner which were the chief characteristics of his forensic dis-
plays. One very remarkable passage in it has been considered by bis political
friends and admirers as the ne 2:)/«s ultra of rhetorical tact and elective ener-
gy, although we confess, that, as a precedent, we Avould reckon the employ-
ment of such terms more honoured in tlie breach than tbe observance. In re-
viewing lord George's conduct and deportment during the progress of tbe
unhappy tumults, the orator abruptly broke out ivitb the following emphatic
intei'jection : — " I say, Br God, that man is a ruffian who will dare to buiid
upon such honest, artless conduct as an evidence of guilt!" Tbe effect of this
most unexpected and unparalleled figure of oratory, is described by those who
heard it to have been perfectly magical. The court, the jury, tbe bar, and
tbe spectators were for a while spell-bound with astonishment and admiration.
It is acknowledged by all, that tbe speech of 3Ir Erskine on this occasion was
almost the very highest effort of bis powerful and nervous eloquence. The speech
of I\lr Kenyan was likewise remarkable for its ability and efTect. Great rejoic-
ings took place on account of his lordship's acquittal, amongst his partisans,
particulai'ly in Scotland. General illuminations were held in Edinburgh and
Glasgow ; congratulatory addresses were voted to him ; and .C4S5 subscribed
to re-imburse him for tbe expenses of his trial. Although, however, lord
George continued in high favour with tbe party just named, and took part in
most of tbe public discussions in parliament, as usual, his credit seems to have
been irr-etricvably ruined with all the moderate and sober-minded' part of tbe
nation. He was studiously shunned by all bis legislative colleagues, and was in
such disgrace at court, that we iind him detailing to his protestant correspon-
dents at Edinburgh, in language of the deepest mortification, his reception at

GEOEGE GORDON. 471

a royal levee, where the king coldly tiu-ned his back upon him, without seem-
ing to recognize him. Repeated efforts appear to have been made by liis re-
latives at this time, to induce him to witlidraw from public life, but without suc-
cess ; and his conduct became daily more eccentric and embarrassing to his
friends. It is impossible, indeed, to account for it upon any other ground than
that of gradual aberration of mind.

In April, 1787, two prosecutions were brought against Lord George at the
instance of the crown ; one for preparing and presenting a pretended petition
to himself from certain prisoners confined in Newgate, praying him to intercede
for tliem, and prevent their being banished to Botany Bay ; the other for a
libel upon the queen of France and French ambassador. !RIr Wilkins, the
printer of tlie petitions, was also proceeded against. Both pleaded not guilty.
It is a somewhat carious fact, that on this occasion Mr Erskine, Lord George's
former counsel, appeared against him. Lord George acted as his own defen-
dant, on the score of being too poor to employ counsel. The Newgate petition,
evidently his Lordship's production, was a mere farrago of absurdity, treason, and
blasphemy, reflecting on the laws, railing at the crown-officers, and condemn-
ing his majesty by large quotations from the book of Moses. He was found
guilty, as was also Mr Wilkins. Upon the second charge, the gist of which
was a design to create a misunderstanding betwixt the two courts of France and
En'>-Iand, he was also found guilty. His speech on this last occasion was so
extrava^-ant, and contained expressions so indecorous, that the attorney general
told him " he was a disgrace to the name of Briton." The sentence upon him
was severe enough : upon the first verdict he was condemned to be imprisoned

two yeai's, upon the second, a further imprisonment of three years ; at the

expiration of which he was to pay a fine of £500, to find two securities in
£2300 each, for his good beliaviour for fourteen years ; andhimself to be bound
in a recoonizance of JtJl0,000. In the interval, however, between the verdict
and the passing of the sentence, he took an opportunity of escaping to Holland,
where he landed in May. Here, however, he was not allowed to remain long.
He was placed under arrest, and sent back from Amsterdam to Harwich, where
he was landed in the latter end of July. From that place he proceeded to Bir-
mingham, where he resided till December ; having in the meantime become a
proselyte to Judaism, and performing rigidly the prescribed rites and duties of
that faith. Information having reached government of his place of residence,
and the increasing eccentricities of his conduct evidently pointing him out as
an improper person to be allowed to go at large, a messenger Avas despatched
fi^ora London, who apprehended him and brought him to town, Avhere he was
lodged in Newgate. His appearance in court when brought up to receive
the sentence he had previously eluded, is described as being miserable in the
extreme. He was wrapt up in an old greatcoat, his beard hanging down on his
breast ; whilst his studiously sanctimonious deportment, and other traits of his
conduct, too evidently showed an aberration of intellect. He bowed in silence,
and with devout humility, on hearing his sentence. Soon after his confinement,
he gof printed and distributed a number of treasonable handbills, copies of
which he sent to the ministry with his name attached to them. These, like his
" prisoners' petition," were composed of extracts from Moses and the prophets,
evidently bearing upon the unhappy condition of the king, who was then in a
state of mental alienation.

In the following July, 1789, this singular and unhappy being addressed a
letter, or petition to the National Assembly of France, in which, after eulogizing
the progress of revolutionary principles, he requests of them to interfere on his
belialf with the English government to get him liberated. He was answered

472 JAMES GORDON.— nOBERT GORDON.

by that bn<ly, th:it lln'y tlid not feel theiuselves at liberty to iiiterlerc ,* but ho
\sas visiteil in prison by se>oi"al ui' the most eiiiineiit rovoliitionists, ^^llo assured
his lorJ-yliip ot" their best ollii'es for his oiilart^emont. To the aj)i)ii(;ation of
these iiuHvidiials, lio\vever, h)nl (irciiville answered tiiat their entreaties could
not be conij)lie(l with. Nothing fm-lhcr worthy of mention remains to be told
in tho career of this uuliapi>y man. After lord lirenville's answer, ho re-
mained quietly in prison, occasionally sending- letters to the printer of tho
Public Advertiser, written in tho same hall-frenzied style as his former produc
tions. In N\)vcmbor, ITD.T, afier being conlincd ten months loiiq^er than tlic
prescribed term of his imprisonment, for Avant of the necessary security for his
enlargement, he expired in Newgale of a fever, having been delirious lor three
days previous to his death.

GOllDJN, James, a member of the noble family of Ciordon, and distinguished
for his erudition, was born in tiie year 1513. Having been sent to Homo for
his education, he there became a Jesuit, wliile yet in the twentietli year of his
age, and such was his extraordinary progress in learning, that in six years
afterwards (15(3 9,) ho was created doctor of divinity. He next became professor
of languages and divinity, in which capacity he distinguished liimself in various
parts of Europe, particularly in Home, Paris, and Bourdeaux. In these duties
ho was occupied for nearly lifty years, during which time lie acipiired much
reputation for learning and acuteness. Gordon was frerpiently deputed as a
missionary to England and Scotland, and was twice imprisoned for his zeal in
attempting to make converts. He was also, on account of his superior abilities,
often employed by the general of his order in negotiating their affairs ; a duty
for which liis penetration and knowledge of the world especially qualified him.

Alegambe describes Gordan as a saint; but with all his talents and learning,
he does not seem to have had any very great pretensions to tlie honour of ca-
nonization, since it is beyond doubt that he led, notwithstanding Alegambe's
account of hiui, an exceedingly dissipated life. He, however, rigidly practised
all the austerities of his order, and, with all his irregularities, rose every morning
at three o'clock. His only writings, are " Controversiarum Eidei Epitome,"
in three parts or volumes; the first printed at Limoges, in 1G12, tho second at
Paris, and the third at Cologne, in IG20.

GORDON, Robert, ofStraloch, an eminent geographer and antiquary, was
born at Kinmundy in Aberdeenshire, on the lith September, 15S0. Ho was
the second son of Sir John Gordon of Pitlurg, a gentleman who long stood higli
in the favour of his sovereign, James VI., as appears, amongst other circumstances,
from some curious letters addressed to him by that monarch, in one of which
he is laid under contribution, though in the most atlectionato terms, for a horso
for the king's approaching marriage, and in another is warmly invited to the
baptism of the unfortunate Charles I.

Robert Gordon received the first rudiments of his education at Aberdeen,
and having passed the usual course of tho humanity, mathematical, and philo-
sophical classes, was the ^/,si graduate of the 3Iarischal university, then recently
founded by George earl of 3IariscliaL In 1593, being in his eighteenth year,
he was sent to Paris to complete his education. Here he remained for two
years. On his father's death, which happened in 1600, he returned to
Scotland, and in 1608, having married a daughter of Alexander Irvine of
Lenturk, he bought tho estate of Straloch, ten miles north of Aberdeen, and
now devoted himself to the pursuit of his favourite studies, geography, history,
and the antiquities of Britain. To the first of these he seems to have been
especially attached, and it was his perseverance, industry, and accuracy in this
science, then in an extremely rude state, which first obtained him the celebrity

ROBERT GORDON. 473

which h3 afterwards enjoyed. iiiere were only at this time three maps of
Scotland in existence, all of them so rude and inaccurate as to be wholly useless.
The inaccuracy of these sketches had been long known, and was the subject of
n-reat and universal complaint. Urged ou by this, and tlie general dissatisfaction,
iMr Gordon employed himself in making geograpliical surveys by actual men-
suration ; a labour which none of his predecessors had ever subjected themselves
to. He has, therefore, the merit of being the first who applied this indispensable
but tedious and Laborious process for securing accuracy in topographical surveys,
to Scotland.

One consequence of 3Ir Gordon's zeal and industry in these patriotic pursuits,
was a great extension of his celebrity, which at length even reached the royal
ear. In 1G41, king Charles \vas applied to by the celebrated map and atlas
publishers, the Bleaus of Amsterdam, for his patronage of an atlas of Scotland,
which they Avere then contemplating, and requesting his majesty to appoint
some qualified persons to assist them witli information for tlie intended work ;
and, in especial, to arrange and amend certain geographic sketches of one
Timothy Font,^ of wliich they had been previously put in possession, but in a
confused and mutilated state. This task, king Charles, in the following flat-
tering letter, devolved upon IMr Gordon. " Having lately seen certain charts
of divers shires of this our ancient kingdom, sent here from Amsterdam, to be
corrected and helpit in tlie defects thereof, and being informed of your suffi-
ciency in that art, and of your love both to learning and to the credit of your
nation ; we have therefore thought fit hereby, earnestly to entreat you to take
so much pains as to revise the said charts, and to help them in such things as
you find deficient thereuntil, that they may be sent back by the direction
of our chancellor to Holland ; whicli, as the same will be honourable for your-
self, so shall it do us good and acceptable service, and if occasion present we
shall not be unmindful thereof. From our palace of Holyrood house, the 8th
October, 10 1 1."

Mr Gordon readily undertook the task thus imposed upon him, and in IG43,
tlie atlas was published with a dedication from 3Ir Gordon to Sir John Scott of
Scotstarvit, who had greatly encouraged and forwarded the work. A second
edition of this atlas, which was long the standard book of reference for Scotland,
and its numerous islands, was published in 1655, and a third in 1GG4. It is now,
of course, superseded by later and more scientific surveys.

The work consists of IG maps, general and particular, with ample descrip-
tions and detached treatises on the antiquities of Scotland. Of such importance
was this undertaking considei'ed, that, wild and disordered as the times were,
]Mr Gordon was during its progress made a special object of the care and pro-
tection of the legislature. An act of parliament was passed exempting him from
all new taxations, and relieving liim from the quartering of soldiers. To carry
this law into effect, orders were issued frOm time to time by the various com-
manders of the forces in North Britain, discharging all officers and soldiers,
as well horse as foot, from troubling or molesting, or quartering on Mr Robert
Gordon of Straloch, his house, lands, or tenants, and from levying any public
dues on the said 3Ir Robert Gordon, or on any of his possessions. ■'

The charts exclusively executed by Mr Gordon were: 1st. A cliart of Great,
Britain and Ireland, taken from Ptolemy, and the most ancient Roman authors.
2d. A map of ancient Scotland, as described in the Roman Itineraries. 3d.
A map of modern Scotland. 4th, X map of the county of Fife, from actual
survey and mensuration. 5th. A map of the counties of Aberdeen and Banrf,
with part of the county of Kincardine. 6th. A large map or geographical view,
1 Son of 3Ir Robert Puiit, minister of the West Kirk, Edinburgh.

474 ROBERT GORDON.

taiccii from actual survey, of the must inland piovinces of Scollaiul, lying between
the river 'lay and the 31iinay frith. 7. A lar<re map, from actual survey, of the
most norlliorn, mountainous, and inaccessihk- parts of ^>c<itliuul, including part of
the island of Shy. 'I'o all of these 31r (ionhui appended treatises^ dc.sci'i])-
tive of every thing remarkable contained within their various hounds — towns,
castles, religious houses, antiquities, rivers, lakes, fvc, and occasionally intro-
ducing some interesting accounts of the most distinguished families in the diflur-
cnt counties.

One of the treatises alluded to is particularly curious, from its containing an
attempt to overturn the commonly received opinion as to the ultima Thule of the
Romans. This tract, which is entitled " Ue Insula Thule Dissertatio," endeavours
to show that none of the Orkney or Shetland islands, and still less Iceland,
answers to I'tolemj's chart of Ihule; and I\lr Gordon concludes it by giving it
as his opinion, that the island of Lewis the most westerly of the Hebrides, is the
real Thule of the ancient liomans. Besides these meritorious works, 3Ir Gordon
wrote many detached pieces of much interest and value ; none of which, how-
ever, though many extracts hare been made from them, have yet been published.
Amongst the most important of these are, a critical letter in Latin to 3Ir David
Buchanan, containing strictures on the histories of Boyce, Buchanan, and Knov,
and on Buchanan's treatise, " De jure Kegni apud Scotos;'' and a preface in-
tended to be prefixed to a new edition of ypottiswood's history. The last work
of any importance which he undertook, was a history of the family of (iordon.
This work, however, is incorrect in many important particulars, and in many
instances en-oneous with regard to its historical facts, especially previous to
the year 1403. When 3Ir (jordon undertook this work he was far advanced iu
years, led a retired life, and had no ready access to those docinnents and records
which alone could have ensured accuracy, circumstances which maybe admitted
as some apology in the case of a man who had already done so much, and had
rendei-ed such important services to his country. 31r Gordon finally closed a
long and active life iu August, 1661, having then attained the Slst year of his
age. It is much to be regretted, that he did not, as he appears to have contem-
plated, write an account of his own times, which embraces one of the most im-
portant periods of Scottish history. There was no one better fitted for this task,
as well from the talents which he possessed, as from the uncommon opportunities
which he enjoyed, of studying the leading characters and events of these stirring
times, for his superior judgment, peaceable demeanour, and generally judicious
conduct, gained him the confidence and esteem of all parties, and thus brought
him often in contact, as an adviser and mediator, with the chief men of both the
factions which then distracted the state. With the view of compiling such a
woi'k as has been alluded to, Mr Gordon had collected a vast quantity of in-
teresting documents relative to the Montrose wars. These his son, 3Ir James
Gordon, afterwards employed, in compiling such an account as his father had con-
templated. This work, which was never published, and which contains the
transactions of the northern part of Scotland beyond the Forth, from 1G37 to
1643, is now in the Advocates' Library, at Edinburgh.

As has been already said, 3Ir (Gordon, though residing in the very midst of
civil war and commotion, was not only permitted to live in quiet, and to pursue
his studies without interruption, but was frequently sunnuoned to attend the meet-
ings of the commissioners appointed by parliament, and by the general assem-
blies of the church.

One of these invitations from the earl of 3Iarischal and general Bliddleton,
besides showing the importance which was attached to IMr Gordon's advice, is
BufHciently cui-ious in itself. It is addressed " to the right honourable, the laird

ROBERT GORDON. 475

of Strallocli," and runs.is follows : — " Riglit Honourable, in regard we are called
to be here for the time, for taking course for Avliat may concern the public, &c.
these are, therefore, to desire that you A\illbe here at Aberdeen on Friday next,
the 3d of October, 1G45, when we shall meet you there. So looking assuredly
for your meeting us, as you will testify your affection to the business, and have
us to remain youi- aflectionate friends, (signed) SIarischal, John Middleton."

Anotlier extract, still more interesting, from one of many letters addressed to
I\Ir Gordon, by lord Gordon, craving his advice and assistance, Avill not only
show the deference which was paid to his candour and judgment ; bat will
also show how fully they were appreciated by both parties. Lord Gordon, who
was afterwards killed at Aiford, after earnestly soliciting a meeting for advice,
adds, " If I be too far engaged, or be not well advised, my friends and I botii
may find the prejudice. In conscience this is no draught, but a mere necessity,
which I hope you will consider. I do neither envy you in enjoying your furred
go'.vn nor the fireside, I promise you, but do earnestly wish to see you."

Besides his other accomplishments, Mr Gordon was a profound classical scholar,
and wrote Latin with much readiness and elegance.

GORDON, RoBE^.T, founder of the hospital in Aberdeen which bears his
name, was born about tlie year 1G6 5. His father, Arthur Gordon, was the
ninth son of the celebrated Robert Gordon of Pitlui-g, (commonly designated of
Stralloch,) and rose to some eminence as an advocate in Edinburgh. In the lat-
ter part of his life he settled in Aberdeen, where he died IG80, leaving two
cliildren, — the subject of this memoir, and a daughter who was married to Sir
James Abercromby of Birkenbog, near Cullen.

With regard to the founder of Gordon's hospital, very little is known with cer-
tainty. That he was a gentleman by birth is certain, and that he was a man of
parts and education, is generally allowed. He is said to have had a patrimony of
about £l 100 ; and, according to some accounts, he spent most of this fortune while
travelling on the continent witli a friend. According to other accounts, he went
to Dantzic, and having engaged there in the mercantile line, realized a consi-
derable sum of money. It is probable that he betook himself to business after
having acted the prodigal in the earlier part of his life, and therefore both ac-
counts may be in some measure correct. It is certain, however, that he resided
on the continent for a considerable time, and returned to his native counti-y
about the beginning of tlie last century, taking up his residence in Aberdeen.
From all that can be leai-ned, he did not, during the remaining part of his life,
engage in any sort of business, and he must therefore Imve brought home with
him money to a considerable amount, otherwise we cannot well account for the
large fortune of which he was possessed at the time of his death, even taking
into account his extreme parsimony. Whether he set liis heart upon accumulat
ing wealth previous to his return from abroad, or afterwards, cannot be clearly
ascertained. It is said that a disappointment in love was the primary cause cf
his forming this resolution, and there are not wanting instances of men, who,
Avhen they found the god cf love unpropilious, have transferred their devotions
to the shrine of 5Iammon. The same disappointment is also said to have de-
termined him to live and die a baclielor — a detennination to which he most
faithfully adhered. We fiud in the librai^ of 3Iarischal college a copy of Bur-
ton's Anatomy of Melancholy which had belonged to him, and which he had
purchased in liondon, as appears from his own liand-Avriting upon a blank leaf.
Might he not have purchased this booli to divert his melancholy, while suffering
under the pangs of unrequited love ?

During the latter part of his life, he carried his parsimonious habits to
the utmost extreme. He is said to have lived in a small apartment, which

4"G ROBERT GORDON.

lie rcntcil, denying liinisclf all the con'iforts and conveniences of life, and even
U:ing its necessaries in tlic most siiaiing manner; insomuch, tliat Lis whole per-
sonal expense, room rent in.ludod, did not exceed .£j sterling annurdly. Many
of the anecdotes which liavc been handed down by tradition, rospceting the
Labits and privations of this singular individual, seem to be nearly the same
which arc related of certain English misers of celebrity. It is told of him, for
instance, that he used to keep hinu-elf warm by walking backwards an J forwards
in his room with a bag of coals on bis back, judging, no dcubt, that this was a
more economical method of procuring heat, than by burning the coals. Also, that
he somctinics contrived to satisfy the cravings of appetite by going to the market,
and tasting a litilc of the various arficles of [(revision, such as meal, butter,
cheese, &c., by way of ascertaining their quality before he should make any
purchase. Another anecdote is recorded of liim, which seems less incredible. A
particular friend of his who was in the way of spending an evening with him
occasionally (for he was naturally of a social disposition), was so highly honoured
that, as often as the meeting took place, a small rush-light was produced to
enliven the scene. One evening, however, the same friend perceiving the rays
of the moon shining brightly into the apartment, observed, no doubt with the
view of ingratiating himself more with his host, that it was a pity to waste the
candle when the moonlight was quite sufficient. The hint was not lost, and
afterwards when the two friends met it was most scrupulously attended to. He
is said to have been fond of reading, and in order to indulge his literary taste
without expense, during the dark evenings, he is said to have bored a hole in the
floor of his apartment, to allow the light from a cobbler's lanip in the room be-
low to shine through, and by lying down on his side, he thus contrived to get
as much light as to see the page before him.

Yet although avarice had taken a strong hold of his mind, and subjected
him to the most severe privations, it was never able fully to eradicate the
natural sociability of his disposition, or to destroy his relish for the luxuries and
enjoyments of life : for he is said to have mixed in society as often as he could
do so without affecting his purse, and to have indulged pretty freely in the
pleasures of the table, when the banquet was not furnished at his own expense.
As he was a person of shrewdness and intelligence, and one who had seen a
good deal of the world, and was also known to possess wcaltl), it may be supposed
ho was not an unwelcome guest at the table of many of his fellow citizens.

It has been asserted by some, that Mr Gordon's parsimonious habits arose
from the design which he had lormcd, of founding and endowing an hospital for
the benefit of the male children of the poorer class of citizens; and we should
be glad to be able to establish the truth of this assertion; but from all we can
find, it was not till a considerable time after the desire of amassing wealth by
every possible means had taken possession of his mind, and within, perhaps, a
few years of Lis death, that he entertained the benevolent design above alluded
to. Severe animadversions have been passed upon his character, on account of
his having bequeathed no part of his fortune to his poorer relations, especially
to his sister, who was in indigent circumstances, and had a numerous family;
and indeed, it is difficult to justify his conduct in this respect. Perhai>s it was
sufficient for him to know that he was not legally bound to make any provision
for his poor relatives ; and we know that avarice tends to harden the heart and
stifle the feelings of natural affection. While conversing on one occasion with
the provost of Aberdeen, on the subject of the settlement which he was about
to make, the latter is said to have hinted to him that he ought to remember liis
relations as well as the public; but this, instead of having the desired effect,
drew from him the following severe rebuke: — "What have I to expect, sir, when

EGBERT GORDON. 477

you, who are at the Load of the town of Aberdeen's affairs, plead against a settle-
ment from M'hich your citizens are to derive so great benefits ?"

The deed of mortification for founding and endowing the hospital, was drawn
up and signed by him, on the 13th December, 1729. By this deed he transferred,
in favour of the provost, baillies, and town council of the burgh of Aberdeen,
together with the four town's ministers, and their successors in their respective
offices, the sura of £10,000 sterling, or such sum or sums as his effects might
amount to at his death, in trust for erecting and maintaining an hospital, to be
called Robert Gordon's Hospital, for educating and maintaining indigent male
children, and male grandchildren of decayed merchants, and brethren of guild
of the burgh of Aberdeen, of the name of Gordon, in the first place, and of the
name of Menzies in the second (the nearest relations of the mortificr of the
names of Gordon and Menzies, bein:,' always preferred), and the male children
of any other relations of the mortifier that are of any other name, in the third
place, to be preferred to others. After these, male children, or male grandchil-
dren, of any other merchants or brethren of guild of Aberdeen, to be admitted ;
and after them the sons or grandsons of tradesmen or others, under certain re-
strictions mentioned in the deed. The provost, baillies, town council, and the
four town's ministers, and their successors, were appointed perpetual patrons
and governors. A certain sum of money was appointed to be laid out in erect-
ing the building, but no boys were to be adaiitted till the intended sum of .£10,000
sterling was made good by the accumulation of interest. An appendix to the
deed of mortification was executed by the founder, on the 19th September, 1730,
containing a few trifling alterations. His death took place in January, 1732, in
consequence, it is said, of his having eaten to excess at a public entertainment ;
but the accounts on this subject are contradictory, and therefore entitled to little
credit. His executors buried him with great expense and pomp in Drum's Aisle,
and it is likely that the occasion was one of joy rather than of mourning. Mr
Gordon was somewhat tall in person, and of a gentlemanly appearance, with a
mild and intellectual countenance, if we may judge from an original portrait of
him in the hospiial. That he was possessed of more than ordinary intelligence
and good sense, may be inferred from the excellent regulations which he framed
for the management of the hospital. The importance he attached to religion as
an element of education, is shown by the anxiety which he manifested, and the
ample i^rovision made in the deed of mortification, for the support and encourage-
ment of true religion and good morals in the institution founded by his muni-
ficence. He also appears to have been a man of taste, and he left behind hiaa
a good collection of coins and medals, and also of drawings.

By his deed of mortification, Robert Gordon excluded females from any office
whatever in his projected institution. Tliis has been ascribed to an antipathy
■which he is believed to have entertained to the sex in general. With greater
reason it has been supposed that their exclusion was dictated by an over-scrupu-
lous regard to the moral training of the boys who were to be educated in the
hospital; and the same fantastic notion no doubt suggested the introduction of
another clause, enjoining celibacy upon the master and teachers. These monastic
restrictions were fitted to produce the very effect wliich they were intended to
prevent, besides depriving the institution of everything like home comfort and
influence. Before the rule excluding females had been long in operation, the
Governors, finding it to be exceedingly inconvenient, if not impracticable, to
carry out the founder's views in this respect, resolved "that women servants bo
taken into and employed in the hospital ; " and afterwards they appointed a
matron to superintend them. That part of tlie deed condemning the master and
teachers to a life of celibacy, was strictly enforced until the year 1842, when the

478 KOBBTIT GORDON.

Governors resolved tliat the teachers bhouUl be allowed to live out of the hos-
pital, and (hat they, and also the nia-tcr, \\ho w;U) to reside constantly in tlio
house, might marry without forfeiting their ollicui — a plan which lias likcwiso
been adopted in Heriot's Ilosiiital, Edinlmrgh.

At Mr Gordon's death, his property was found to amount to £10,300 sterling,
a very largo sum in those times. His executors immediately proceedcfl to tlic
execution of tlieir important trust, and erected an hospital (according to a plan
designed b}' Mr AVilliara Adam, architect, Edinburgh, father of tho more cele-
brated architect, Robert Adam) ; and the place eliosen for the building was the
ground which furmerly belonged to the IMack Friars, situated on the nortli side
of the School-hill. Tlie expense of the erection was <£3oOO ; and as this had
trenched considerably on the original funds, the plan of the founder could not
be cari-iod into ctlcct until the deficiency was made up by the accumulation of
interest on the remainder of the fund. Owing also to tho disturbances which
took place in 1745 G, and certain other causes, the hospital was not ready fur tlio
reception of boys till 1750 ; but the funds by this time had accumulated to
£14,000. The number of boys at first admitted Avas thirty; but as the funds
continued to increase, owing to good management, by purchases of lauds, rise in
rents, and other causes, the number was increased from time to time. In 1816,
an additional endowment was made to the hospital by Alexander Simpson, Esq.,
of CoUyhill, under the management of the Professors of Mariichal College, and
four of the city clergy. By this endowment, which came into operation in 1838,
twenty-six additional boys are maintained and educated in the hospital. At pre-
sent the whole number of boys in the institution is one hundred and fifty. A
Lead-master, having under him a house-steward, superintends the estabhshment ;
there are three regular teachers, and three others who attend the hospital at stated
hours. Tlie branches taught arc, besides religious instruction — English, writing,
aritlimetie, book-keeping, Latin, French, geography, mathematics, natural pliilo-
sophy, church music, instrumental music, and drawing. Tliere is also a masier for
drill exercises. Tlie funds are at present in a most flourishing state, and the
yearly revenue is about £3500.

Very extensive additions have been made to the original building; and the
hospital, as it now stands, presents a spacious and imposing appearance. Acconimo-
dalions are furnished for about two hundred and forty boys, although many years
must elapse before such a number can be admitted, unless the funds be greatly
augmented by additional bequests. The concerns of this institution have been
all along managed in a praiseAvorthy manner, and the benefits arising from it have
been visible in numerous instances. Many children have, by means of it, been
rescued from poverty, ignorance, and vice — have been fed, clothed, educated, and
enabled to pursue honourable callings. Not a few have prospered in their native
city and elsewhere as merchants, tradesmen, &c., and several have risen in the
world, and have amassed very considerable fortunes. Yet it has been remarked
that rarely has the institution turned out any man of genius; and the same remark
has been made in regard to other similar institutions. There are, it must be con-
fessed, evils and defects attending all institutions of this kind, in so far as they
may be regarded as an engine for the moral, religious, and intellectual training of
youth ; and many enlightened philanthropists of the presont day are beginning to
doubt whether the evils and defects inherent in such institutions, are not of such
a magnitude as to call for a radical change in them. Tlie worst feature which
these institutions exhibit, is the unnatural position in which they place so many
young boys, shutting them up together, both good and bad, confining them almost
entirely to the society of one anotlier, cutting them off from the endearments,
and the softening and humanizing influences of home, and of the family circle.

ROBERT GORDON. 479

and from parental care, admonition, and example. Under such circumstance?
it need not excite wonder that boys in hospitals, even under the best manat^e-
ment and tuition, should be found to be listless and indifferent in regard°to
learning and improvement; that their moral feelings should be blunted, and
their natural affections Aveakened; and that their intellectual faculties should
be less developed than those of other boys of the same age, placed in ordinary
circumstances. It may be laid down as the result of the united experience of
Gordon's and Heriot's hospitals in Scotland, and of similar institutions in England,
that no amount of intellectual instruction can make up for the loss of parental
and family influence in the formation of character.

GORDON, Thomas, an eminent party writer, and translator of Tacitus, is
supposed to have been born in the parish of Kells, in the stewartry of Kirkcud-
bright, about the end of the seventeenth century. His father, the representa-
tive of an ancient family, descended from the Gordons of Kenmuir, was pro-
prietor of Gairloch in that parish. Thomas Gordon is said to have received a
university education in his own country, and then to have gone to London as a
literary adventurer : joining- these circumstances with his avowed infidelity, it
is probable that he was a renegade student of divinity, or licentiate — almost al-
ways an unprincipled and odious character. In London, he supported himself
at first as a teacher of languages, and gradually became an author by pi-ofession.
He is said to have been employed as a political \rater by the earl of Oxford,
in the support of the tory ministry of which that nobleman was the head ; but
this hardly corresponds with the other dates of his literary exertions, for Mr
Gordon appears to have written nothing of wliich the title has been commemor-
ated, till he formed an intimacy with Mr Trenchard ; and, on the 20th of Janu-
ary, 1720, commenced in conjunction with that individual, a weekly political
sheet called " the Independent Whig." If Gordon wrote in the reign of queen
Anne, what was he doing in the course of the six intervening years ? Nor is it
of small importance to his reputation that this point should be settled, as he be-
came a distinguished patriot, and a supporter of Sir Robert Walpole — the very
reverse, in every respect, of what he is said to have been in the days of
queen Anne's tory ministry. It is our own opinion that the latter allegation
is not well founded ; it does not appear in the original memoir of Gordon in
the Biographia Britani/ica, 1766, an article evidently written by a person that
must have known himself, or at least his surviving family ; that sketch represents
him in the more probable character of a young man taken into employment by
Mr Trenchard as an amanuensis, and subsequently so much improved by the con-
versation and instructions of his employer, as to be fitted to enter into a literary
partnership with him as an independent patriotic writer. Thus we see much .
cause to relieve the memory of this clever person from no small share of the odium
which has been cast upon it by subsequent biographical writers.

Trenchard, the partner of Gordon, was a political writer of some standing,
and no small influence. "It was in consequence of a pamphlet from his pen,
that the parliament obliged king William to send home his Dutch guards ; a
proceeding which is said to have moved that grave monarch to tears, and almost
induced him to go back to Holland himself. JMr Trenchard was the author of
a work which appeared in 1709, under the title of " the Natural History of
Superstition," and held the office of commissioner of the forfeited estates in Ire-
land. His acquaintance with Gordon appears to have been commenced without
the formality of an introduction. " From a perfect stranger to him," says the
latter, " and without any other recommendation than a casual coffee-house ac-
quaintance, and his own good opinion, he took me into his favour and cai'e,
and into as high a degree of intimacy as ever was shown by one man to another.

460 THOMAS GORDON.

'1 liis uas llio more remarkable," (■ nliiiiies (iunlon, "ami did iiie llie gicaler
honour, as he w.is iiatiiraily as shy in niaivini; li-ien(!.slii|is, as he was eminently
c'onsUint to those whic.ii lie had already nuide." The Independent W hij;', which
seems to have been llieir lirsl joint produetion, was continued for a >ear, stop-
ping in January, 17:J1. Jielore its conclusion, namely in November, 17'20,
the two writers had begini a series of leltei"s signed Culo, in the London, and
nflerwards in the JSritish Journal, which \>as continued almost to the death of
Mr 'Irenchard, an event that happened in December, I7;;i3. A new e«lilion of
the Independent Whig, including a renewed series published by (iordon, after
3Ir 'I'renciiard's death, appeared in two volumes, l;imo. A similar collection of
Cato's Letters, appeared in four volumes, and went into a fourth edition in 1737.

Of the Independent ^Vhig, Dr 3Iurray thus speaks in his Literary History of
Galloway. " It is a fortunate circumstance, that this work is known only by
name ; for it is disfigured by sentiments Avhich are deserving of great reproba-
tion. It was more immediately directed against the hierarchy of the
church of England ; but it was also meant, or at least has a direct ten-
dency to undermine the very foundation of a national religion, under any
circumstances, and to bring the sacred profession, if not religion itself, into
contempt. The sacerdotal office, according to this book, is not only not re-
commended in scripture, but is unnecessary and dangerous : ministers of the
gospel have ever been the promoters of corruption and ignorance, and distin-
guished by a degree of arrogance, immorality, and a thirst after secular power,
that have rendered them destructive of the public and private welfare of a nation.
* One drop of priestcraft,' say they, ' is enough to contaminate tiie ocean.'

" The object of Cato's Letters,'' continues Dr 3Iurray, " is nearly the
same with that of the Independent Whig — with this ditlerence, that its theologi-
cal and ecclesiastical discussions are much blended \\h\i political disquisitions.
It was, indeed, directed particularly against the South Sea scheme ; the knavery
and absurdity of which our authors had the merit of exposing, at a time when
almost the whole nation was intoxicated with dreams of wealth and independence,
which it artfully cherished, and by which so many were ruined and betrayed.

" Notwithstanding the insuperable objections we have stated to the most of the
principles of these works, they are characterized, we must confess, by no mean
portion of talents and learning. The authors seem always masters of the subjects
of which they treat, and their discussions are clear, close, and vigorous.

** Like every person who, in any way, attenipls to undermine the welfare
and interests of society, Gordon and Trenchard laid claim to great purity of
intention. According to their own statement, they l"ormed the only two wise,
patriotic, and independent men of the age in which they lived. 'As these let-
ters,' says Gordon, in his preface, ' were the work of no faction or cabal, nor
calculated for any lucrative or ambitious ends, or to serve the purposes of any
party whatsoever ; but attacked falsehood and dishonesty, in all shapes and parlies,
without temporizing w ith any, but doing justice to all, even to the weakest and
most unfashionable, and maintaining the principles of liberty against the prac-
tices of most parties : so they were dropped without any sordid composition, and
without any consideration, save that it was judged that the public, after its
terrible convulsions, was again become calm and safe.' "

After the death of 3Ir Trenchard, his widow, after the manner of ladies in
a more expr-essly commercial rank of life, became the second wife of her hus-
band's journeyman and partner, 3Ir Gordon, — apparently induced to take this
step by the usefulness of Gordon in nianaging her afliiirs. 13y this lady, who
survived him, and was living in 17GG, he had several children. His circum-
etances were now very easy and agreeable, and he appears to have contemplated

WILLIAM GORDOX. 481

tasks which required leisure, and promised to give him a permanent fame. A
translation of Tacitus executed by him, (the tiiird pi-inted in tlie English lan-
guage,) with discourses taken from foreign commentators and translators of that
historian, appeared in 1728, two volumes folio; and the subscription being
patronized by Sir Robert Walpole, it proved a very lucrative speculation. (Jf
this work, one writer speaks as follo^vs : — " No classic Avas ever perhaps so
miserably mangled. His (Gordon's) style is extremely vulgar, yet affected,
and abounds with abrupt and inharmonious periods, totally destitute of any re-
semblance to the original ; while the translator fancied he was giving a correct
imitation."^ Another writer, adverts to it in very different terms. " Though
it is now," says Dr Murray,' " in a great degree superseded by the elegant
translation of IMr Murphy, it is nevertheless a work of no inconsiderable degree
of merit. Mr Gordon probably understood his author better than any who have
presented him to the world in an English dress ; and the only objection that has
been made to the work, even by Murphy himself, is, that he foolishly attempted
to accommodate the English language to the elliptical and epigrammatic style of
the Roman historian." Gordon afterwards published a translation of Sallust in
the same style as his version of Tacitus.

During the long period of Walpole's administration, the subject of this me-
moir acted as his literary supporter, enjoying in return either a regular pay, or
the office of first commissioner of wine licenses. After his death, which happened
on the 28th of July, 1750, two collections of his fugitive writings appeared un-
der the respective titles of " A Cordial for Low Spirits," and " The Pillars
of Priestcraft and Orthodoxy Shaken ;" works which had better, both for his
own fame and the Avelfare of society, been suppressed. Finally, a volume en-
titled " Sermons on Practical Subjects, addressed to different characters," ap-
peared in 1788.

GORDON, William, of Earlston, a zealous defender of the covenant, and this
by inheritance as well as principle, being lineally descended from Mr Alexan-
der Gordon, who entertained some of the followers of John Wickliffe, the first of
the English reformers — reading to them, in their secret meetings in the Avood of
Airds, a New Testament translated into English, of which he had got possession.

As the subject of this notice, however, was — notwithstanding his zeal in the
cause of the covenant, and his steady and warm friendship for those who adhered
to it — himself a retired and peaceful man, little of any interest is left on record
regarding him. And, excepting in one of the last acts of his life, he mingled
little with the public transactions of the period in which he lived. So far, how-
ever, as his personal influence extended, he did not fail to exhibit, both
fearlessly and openly, the religious sentiments which he entertained. He would
give no lease of his lands to any one, whatever they might offer, but on condi-
tion of their keeping family worship ; and he was in the habit of meeting his
tenants at a place appointed, every Sunday, and proceeding with them to
church. He had also acquired a reputation for his skill in solving crises of con-
science, of which some curious enough instances are to be found in Wodrow's
Analecta, a manuscript work already more than once referred to in the present
publication. His first public appearance, in connexion with the faith to which
he was so zealously attached, occurred in the year 1663, soon after the restora-
tion of Charles II. An episcopal incumbent having been appointed by the
bishop to the church of Dairy, to which Mr Gordon had a right of patronage,
he resisted the appointment, on the twofold ground of its being contrary to the

1 Chalmers's General Biographical Dictionan', xvi. 107
^ Literary History of G;illo\^ay, second ediU'oii, 182.

482 NATHANIEL GOW.

religious tenets of the conorror>ntion to admit an episcojtal minister, and an in-
valiilation of his own privato liijht as patron. For tlii» conliniiacy ho was
charged to appear heforo the council ; hut not oheyin<r the sunnnons, lie was
soon al'ter charged a second time, and acwised of keeping conventicles and pri-
vate meetings in his house, and ordered to forbear thu same in time coming.
Disobeying tills also, as he had done the first, he was immediately after sonlcnced
to banishment, and ordered to quit the kingdom within a month, and bound to
live peaceably during that time, under a penalty of iL 10,000. Still disobeying,
Gordon was now subjected to all the hardships and rigoms of persecution. Ho
was tm-ned out of his house by a military force, and compelled to wander up and
down the country like many others of his persecuted brethren. In the mean-
time the battle of r.othwell IJridge took plac^e, and (iordon, unaware of the de-
feat of his friends, was liastening to join the ranks, when he was met, not far
from the field of battle, by a party of English dragoons, by whom, on refusing
to surrender, he was instantly killed. The troubles of the times preventing his
friends from removing his body to the burial place of his family, he was inten-ed
in the churcli-yard of Glassford, where a pillar was afterwards erected to his
memory.

GOW, Nathamkl, ^vho, as a violinist and composer, well deserves a place
in any work intended to perpetuate the names of Scotsmen who have done
honour or service to their country, was the youngest son of the celebrated
Neil Gow. His mother's name was 3Iargaret Wiseman, and he was born at
Inver, near Dunkcld, Terthshire, on the 2Sth 3Iay, 17GG. Nathaniel, and
his three brothers, William, John, and Andrew, having all given early indica-
tions of musical talent, adopted nmsic as a profession, and the violin, on which
their father had already gained so much reputation, as the instrument to which
their chief study was to be directed. All the brothers attained considerable
eminence, and some of them acquired a fortune by the practice of this instru-
ment; but viewing all the circumstances applicable to each, it will not be looked
on as invidious or partial, when we say, that Nathaniel must be considered the
most eminent of his family or name, not only as a performer and composer, but
as having, more than any other, advanced the cause and popularity of our na-
tional music during his time, and provided, by his publications, a permanent re-
pository of Scottish music, the most complete of its kind hitherto given to the
world.

Nathaniel ivas indebted to his father for his first instructions. He commenced
on a small violin commonly called a kit, on which his father Neil had also made
his first essay, and which is still preserved in the family. At an early age he
was sent to Kdinburgh, where he continued the study of the violin, first under
Robert 3I'Intosh, or Ked Hob, as he was called, until the Latter, from his cele-
brity, was called up to London. He next took lessons from 3I'Glashan, better
linown by the appellation of king 3I'Glashan, which he acquired from his tall
stately appearance, and the showy style in which he dressed ; and who besides
was in high estimation as an excellent composer of Scottish airs, and an able and
spirited leader of the fashionable bands. He studied the violoncello under
Joseph Reneagle, a name of some note in the musical world, who, after a long-
residence in Edinburgh, was appointed to the professorship of music at Oxford.
With Reneagle he ever after maintained the closest intimacy and friendship.
The following laconic letter fi-om the professor in 1821, illustrates this : —
" Dear Gow, I write this to request the favour of you to give me all the parti-
culars regarding the ensuing coronation^ viz. — Does the crown of Scotland go ?
Do the trumpeters go ? Do you go ? Does Mrs Gow go ? If so, my wife and
self will go ; and if you do not go, I will not go, nor my wife go." Gow's

NATHANIEL GOW. 483

first professional appearance, it is believed, was in the band conducted by king
M'Glaslian, in which he played the violoncello. After the death of M'Glashan,
he continued under his elder brother William Gow, v,ho succeeded as leader, a
situation for which he was well fitted by his bold and spirited style ; but having
been cut ofl' about the year 1791, at the early age of forty, Nathaniel took his
place, and maintained it for nearly forty years, with an eclat and success far
beyond any thing that ever preceded or followed him.

So early as 1782, when he could not have been more than sixteen years of
age, Gov^ was appointed one of his majesty's trumpeters for Scotland, a situation
which requii-ed only partial attendance and duty, being called on only to offi-
ciate at royal proclamations, and to accompany the justiciary judges on their
circuits for a few Aveeks, thrice in eacli year. The salary is small, but it is made
up by handsome allowances for travelling expenses, so that in all it may yield
the holder about :C70 per annum. This situation he held to the day of his
death, although during some of his later years, he was forced to employ a sub-
stitute, who di'cw a considerable portion of -the emoluments.

He had for many years previously, by assuming the lead of the fashionable
bands, become known not only as an excellent violin player, but as a successful
teacher, and as having arranged and prepared for publication the first three
numbers of the collection of reels and strathspeys published by his father. So
much, however, and so quickly did he advance in reputation after this, and so
generally did he become acquainted with the great and fashionable world, that
in 179G, without giving up or abating his lucrative employment as leader, he
commenced business as a music-seller on an extensive scale, in company with the
late 3Ir Wm. Shepherd ; and for fifteen or sixteen years, commanded the most
extensive business perhaps ever enjoyed by any house in the line in Scot-
land. In 1813, however, after his partner's death, the business Avas wound
up, and Avhatever profits he may have drawn during the subsistence of the part-
nership; he was obliged to pay up a considerable shortcoming at its close.

It was in 1799 that he continued the work commenced by his father and
himself; and from that time till 1824, in addition to the three first collections,
and two books of Slow Airs, Dances, Waltzes, &c., he published a fourth, fifth,
and sixth Collection of Strathspeys and Reels ; three volumes of Beauties, being
a re-publication of the best airs in the three first collections, Avith additions, —
four volumes of a Repository of Scots Slow Airs, Strathspeys, and Dances — tv,o vo-
lumes of Scots Vocal IMelodies, and a Collection of Ancient Curious Scots Melo-
dies, besides a great many smaller publications, all arranged by himself for the
harp, piano forte, violin, and A'ioloncello. During the life of his father, he
Avas assisted by him, and the first numbers Avere published as the Avorks of Neil
Gow and Son. 3Iany collections had been published previously by ingenious in-
dividuals, the best of Avhich, perhaps, Avas that of Oswald ; but Gov.'s collections,
beyond all dispute, are the most extensive and most complete ever submitted to
the public ; embracing not only almost all that is good in othei-s, but the greater
part of the compositions of Neil and Nathaniel Goav, and other members of that
musical family.

After an interval of a few y'ears, Goav commenced music-seller once more, in
company Avith his only son Neil, a young man of amiable and cultivated mind,
Avho had receiA'ed a finished education at Edinburgh and Paris for the profes-
sion of surgeon, but Avho, finding no favoui-able opening in that overstocked
calling, and having a talent and love for music, abandoned it and joined his fa-
ther. This young gentleman, Avho Avas the composer of the beautiful melody of
" Bonny Prince Charlie,'' and a great many others, Avas not long spared to liis
father and friends, having been cut off by a lingering disease in 1823. The

484 KATIIANIEL GOW.

biishiosii u.is aflei-waitls rontiiiued until 1 S27 ; but, wanting a |tr(ii)ei- liea«l — Gow
liiniSL'lt' being unable to look after it — it dwindled away; and pocii- dow, after a
long life of toil, during wliicli he bad gatbeivd considerable wealtli, found liini-
self a bankrujit at a time wlien age and inliruiily prevented liiui from duing any-
thing to retrieve Iiis fortunes.

It is dilbcull to describe tlie influence, success, and reputation of Nathaniel
Gow, during all the time he conducted tiie fashionable bands in lulinljurgh and
throughout Scotland ; but certain it is, that in these respects he stands at the
head of all that ever trodc in the same department. Not only did he pri-side at
the peers' balls, Caledonian H'.iut ball?, and at tlie parties of all the noble and
fashionable of Edinburgh, but at most of the great meetings and parties that took
place throughout Scotland ; and in several instances he uas sunnnoneil to IJig-
land. No expense deterred individuals or public bodies from availing themselves
of his services ; and it appears from his memorandum boolcs, that parties fre-
quently paid him from one liundrcd to one hundred and fifty guineas, for at-
tending at Perth, Dumfries, Inverness, &:c. with his band. One of the first
objects in the formation of fashionable parties, was to ascertain if Gow was dis-
engaged, and they would be fixed, postponed, or altered, to suit his leisure and
convenience. He visited London frequently, although he resisted many invita-
tions to settle there permanently, lu the year 17D7, when in London, the lato
duke of Gordon, then Marquis of Huntly, got up a fashionable ball for him,
which was so well attended, that after paying all expenses, ^130 was handed
over to 3Ir Gow. He was in the habit, too, during every visit to the capital, of
being honoured by invitations to the private parties of his late majesty, George
IV., when prince of Wales and prince regent; on wliich occasions he joined
that prince, who was a respectable violoncello player, in the performance of con-
certed pieces of the most esteemed composers. In 1822, Avhen his majesty
visited Scotland, Gow was summoned, with a select portion of the musical talent
of Edinburgh, to Dalkeith jialace, and the king evinced his enduring recol-
lection of the musician's visits to him in London, by quitting the banquet table
to speak to him ; ordering at the same time a goblet of generous wine to the
musician, and expressing the delight he experienced not only on that, but many
former occasions, in listening to his performances. Gow was overcome by his
majesty's familiar address, and all he could do was to mutter in a choked man-
ner, " God bless your majesty." At the peers' hill, and the Caledonian Hunt
ball, his majesty took pleasure in expressing the satisfaction he derived from
Gow's music ; so that when the latter rendered liis account for his band, he
added, " my own trouble at pleasure, or nothing, as his niajesty's approbation
more than recompensed me."

Gow had an annual ball at Edinburgh during all the time lie was leader of the
bands ; and, until a few years before his retirement, these were attended by all
the fashion and wealth of the country, there being frequently above one thousand
in the room, many of whom, who were his patrons, did not stint their contributions
to the mere price of their tickets. He received, besides, many compliments
beyond the mere charge for professional labour. At his ball in 1811, the late
carl of Dalhousie, ■who was his staunch supporter on all occasion?, presented
liim with a massive silver goblet, accompanied by the following note : — " An old
friend of Gow's i-equests his acceptance of a cup, in which to di-ink the health of
the thousands who would wish, but cannot attend him to-night.'' He was pre-
sented with a fine violoncello by Sir Peter 31urray of Ochtertyre, and a valuable
Italian violin by the late Sir j\lexander Don.

While his evenings were occupied at the parties of the great, his days were
rot spent in idleness. He had as his pupils the children of the first families in

NATHANIEL GOW. 485

tlie country, for tlie violin and piano-forte accompaniinont ; from wlioni he i-e-
ceived the highest rate of fees known at the time ; indeed, it appears from In's
hooks, that at one time he went once a week to the duke of Buccleugh's at Dal-
keith palace, a distance of only six miles, and received two guineas each les-
son, besides travelling expenses.

Although engaged, as already said, in the most extensively patronized musical
establishment in Scotland, it is questionable if he ever at any time realized
profit from it, while it is certain, that towards the close he was a great loser ;
indeed, it can seldom be otheruise where the proprietor has otlier avocations,
and leaves the management to his servants. But from his balls, teaching, and
playing, the emoluments he derived were very great, and he was at one time
Avorth upwards of £20,000 ; but this was ultimately swept away, and he was forced,
while prostrated by a malady from which he never recovered, to appeal to his old
patrons and the public for their support, at a ball for his behoof in JWarch, 1827,
which he did by the follo\ving circular : " When I formerly addressed my kind
patrons and the public, I had no other claim than that which pi-ofessional men
generally have, whose exertions are devoted to the public amusement. By a
patronage the most unvarying and flattering, I was placed in a situation of com-
fortable independence, and I looked forward without apprehension, to passing
the decline of my days in the bosom of my family, with competence and with
happiness. Unfortunately for me, circumstances have changed. By obligations
for friends, and losses in trade, my anxious savings have been gradually wasted,
till now, Avhen almost bed-rid, unable to leave my house, or to follow my pro-
fession, I am forced to surrender the remnant of my means to pay my just and
lawful creditors. In this situation some generous friends have stepped forward
and persuaded me, tliat the recollection of my former efforts to please, may
not be so entirely effaced, as to induce the public to think that my day of dis-
tx'ess should pass without notice, or without sympathy."

The appeal was not in A'ain — the ball Avas crowded, and handsome tokens of
remembrance were sent by many of his old friends, so that nearly £300 Avas
produced. The ball Avas continued annually for three years afterwards, and
though not so great as the first, they still yielded sufficient to prove the deep
sympathy of the public, and to afford him a consolation and support in his
hour of trial and sickness. It should not be omitted, that the noblemen and
gentlemen of the Caledonian Hunt, Avho had, during all his career, been his
Avarraest patrons, voted fifty pounds per annum to him during his life; and Ave
Avill be forgiven for lengthening this detail a little, by quoting one letter out of the
many hundreds received, Avl.ich Avas from his ever-generous friend IMr iMaule of
Panmure : " Your letter has given me real uneasiness, but»although Scotland for-
got itself in the case of Burns, I hope the present generation Avill not allow a Gow
to suffer for the Avant of those comforts in his old age, to Avhich his exertions for
so many years for their amusement and instruction, so Avell entitle him. My
plan is this, that an annuity of £200, should be got by subscription, and if
the duke of xVthol, lords Breadalbane, Kinnoul, and Gray, (all Berthshire
noblemen,) Avould put their names at the top of the list, it would very soon be
filled up ; this in addition to an annual ball at Edinburgh, which ought to pro-
duce at least £200 more, Avould' still be but a moderate recompense for the
constant zeal, attention, and civility, Avhich you have sho^vn in the service of
the public of Scotland during a long period of years. I, for one, shall do my
part, because I never can forget the many happy hours 1 have passed, enlivened
by the addition of your incomparable music." Tlie subscription did not take
place, but Mr iMauIe did /lis part indeed, for every year brought a kind letter
and a substarti; 1 accompaniment.

486 NATHANIEL GOW.

In estiui.iliiig tlie piofessional character of N.itlinnicl fiow, it will be iiioro
just to his iiieiiiory to consider his merits in that ihpartmcnt uhich lie made his
peculiar province, than as a ijcnenil musician ; I'or although he was well ac-
quainted with the compositions of the great masters, and joined in their jicr-
forniancc, and taught them to his pupils, yet his early aspirations, and his more
mature delight and study, were directed to the national nmsic of Scotland. As
a performer lie had all the lire and spirit of his celebrated father in the quick
music, with more relined taste, delica<y, and clearness of intonation in the slow
and plaintive melodies. To an equally Hue ear, and deep feeling of the beauties
and peculiarities of Scottish melody, he added the advantages of a more general
cultivation of musical knowledge, with more varied and frequent opportunities
of hearing the most classical compositions, executed by the most al)le i>erfor-
mers. These, while they did not tempt him to sacrilicc any of the character or
simplicity of his native music, enabled him to give a taste and finish to the exe-
cution of it, which placed liim, by general and ungrudging consent, as the mas-
ter spirit of that branch or department which he had selected, and in which,
for a long- course of yeai-s, he walked in unapproachable triumph. There are
many living contemporaries to whom less than even the little we have said, will
be necessary to make them concur in this statement ; those who never listened
to his playing, can only be referred to the universal subjugation of the Avorld
of fashion, taste, and pleasure, to his sway for so long a period, as a pretty cer-
tain testimony in support of our humble opinion.

As a composer, his works remain to support his claims, lie has published
in his collections, and in sheets, upwards of two hundred original melodies and
dancing tunes, and left nearly a hundred in manuscript; which, along with his
more recent collections, bocaiue the property of Messrs Robertson of Prince's
Street, lidinburgh. Of these we r.iay only refer to a very few — his " Caller
Herring," which was so much admired, that it was printed in London, and
imitated by celebrated composers — "Sir George Clerk," and " Lady Charlotte
Dui-hani," as specimens of his slow compositions, — and to " the Miller of Drone,"
" Largo's Fairy Dance," and " Mrs Wemyss of Castleliill," to which last air the
song of "St Patrick was a Gentleman,'' is sung, as specimens of his lively
pieces. There are many of our finest melodies, of which the composers are
unknown ; but we are persuaded that few will contradict us when we say, that
from the number and talent of his compositions, no known Scottish composer,
not even his celebrated father, can contest the palm with him, as the largest
and ablest contributor to the already great stock of our national music.

Independently of these, he has claims upon our gratitude, not only for per-
petuating, in his very ample collections, so large a proportion of the scatter-
ed gems of national music ; but for giving it, during his whole career, such
prevalence and eclat, by liis admirable execution, and constant encouragement, and
exhibition of its spirit and beauty to the public. In all these respects he is
entitled to the first praise as its greatest consenator and promoter. It is no
doubt true, that of late years the introduction of foreign music and dances, has
for a time neutralized his exertions, and kept somewhat in abeyance the native
relish for our own music and dancing. But there are such germs of beauty in
the former, and such spirit and character in the latter, that we have little fear
of their being soon revived, and replaced in all their wonted freshness and
hilarity in their proper station among our national amusements. It is painful
to hear some of the young ladies at our parties, reddening with a kind of hor-
ror at being asked to join in a reel or country dance, and simpering out, " I
can't dance reels — they're vulgar ;" at the same time that their attempts at the
foreign dances are perhaps little superior to the jolting pirouettes of stuffed dolls,

NEIL GOW. 487

or pasteboard automatons in a rarce show. How different from the time when
the first nobles in the land were proud when a reel or strathspey was named
after them, and would pay considerable sums for the composition. AVe have be-
fore us a letter of the late duke of Buccleugh to Nathaniel Gow, in which he

says " I wish that at your leisure you would compose [start not, gentle misses !]

a reel according to the old style. It should be ivild, such as your father would
have liked — highland, — call it * the Border Raid;'" and we are happy to learn
that the present duke and duchess encourage the resumption of our national
dances, \vhe never they have an opportunity. The neglect of them has no way
improved the openness and cheerfulness of our female character.

Nathaniel Gow Avas a nian of great shrewdness and good understanding — gen-
erally of a lively companionable turn, with a good deal of humour — very cour-
teous in his manners ; though, especially latterly, when misfortune and disease
had soured him, a little hasty in his temper. He was a dutiful and affectionate
son, as his father's letters abundantly prove — a kind brother, having resigned
his share of his father's succession to his sister, who wanted it more than he did
at the time; and indulgent and fiiithful in his duties to his own family. In his
person he was tall and " buirdly " — and he dressed well, Avhich, added to a de-
gree of courtliness of manner on occasions of ceremony, gave him altogether a
respectable and stately appearance. His illness came to a crisis in the be-
ginning of 1831, and finally terminated in his death, on the 17th of Janu-
ary of that year, at the age of sixty -five. He was buried in the Greyfriars'
churchyard; but no stone points out to the stranger where the Scottish
minstrel sleeps.

He was twice married. By his first wife, Janet Fraser, he had five daughters
and one son, of whom two of the daughters only survive — Mary, married to
Mr Jenkins of London ; and Jessie, to Mr Luke, treasurer of George Heriot's
Hospital. By his second wife, Mary Hog, to whom he was married in 1814, ho
had three sons and two daughters, only two of whom survived him — namely,
John, who was educated in Heriot's Hospital; and Augusta, who became a
teacher of music in Edinburgh, after having undergone five years' training in
London. A spirited likeness of Mr Gow was painted by Mr John Syme of
Edinburgh, which, with the portrait of his father Neil, the Dalhousie Goblet,
and small kit fiddle, are in the possession of Mrs Luke.

GOW, Neil, a celebrated violin player and composer of Scottish airs, was
the son of John Gow and Catharine M'Ewan, and was born at Inver, near
Dunkeld, Perthshire, on the 22d of March, 1727. He was intended by his
parents for the trade of a plaid weaver, but discovering an early propensity for
music, he began the study of the violin himself, and soon abandoned the shuttle
for the bow. Up to the age of thirteen he had no instructor; but about that
time he availed himself of some lessons from John Cameron, a follower of the
house of Grandtully, and soon placed himself at the head of all the performers
in the country; although Perthshire then produced moi'e able reel and strathspey
players than any other county in Scotland. Before he reached manhood, he
had engaged in a public competition there, and carried off the prize, which
was decided by an aged and blind, but skilful minstrel, who, in awarding it,
said, that "he could distinguish the stroke of NeiVs how among a hundred
players." This ascendancy he ever after maintained, not only in his native
place, but throughout Scotland, where it has been universally admitted that, as
a reel and strathspey player, he had no superior, and, indeed, no rival in his
own time.

Neil Gow was the first of his family, so far as is known, who rendered the
name celebrated in our national music; but his children afterwards proved that

4S3 KEIL GOW.

in their case at any rate, genius .iihI talent \vcic licre'lilary. Altlioii£>Ii NciJ
was 1)0111, and lived tiie whole ot" a loni^ lile in a small village in the lli^;hlands
of I'erthsIiii'C, with no anihilioii for the honours and athancenient \\hi(;h, in
il^eneral, are only to lie ohtaincd hy a residence in tjreal cities ; and although
li3 was in a manner a selt-taiiglit ai list, and contined his labours chielly to what
may bo coiisi<lered a subordinate liranch of the i»n)('ession of music; \el lie ac-
quired a notoriety and renown beyond A>hat was destined to many able and
icientific professors, of whom hundreds have llourished and been forgotten since
his time, \ihile his name continues, especially in Scotland, familiar as a house-
hold word.

3Iany causes contributed lo this. The chief ones, no doubt, were his un-
questioned skill in executing the national music of Scotland, and the genius
lie displayed in the composition of a great number of beautilul melodies.
But these were enhanced in no small degree by other accessory causes. Thero
^vas a peculiar S2)irit, and Celtic chai-acler and enthusiasm, which lie threw into
his performances, and which distinguished his bow amid the largest band. His
a})pearance, too, was prepossessing — his countenance open, honest, and pleasing
— his figure compact and manly, which was shown to advantage in the tight
tartan knee-breeches and hose, which he always wore. There was also an
openness and eccentricity in his manner, which, Avliile it was homely, easy,
and unartected, was at the same time characterised by great self-possession and
downrightness, and being accompanied by acute penetration into the character
and peculiarities of others, strong good sense, and considerable quaintness and
humour, and above all, by a perfect honesty and integrity of thought and action,
placed him on a footing of familiarity and independence in the presence of the
proudest of the land, which, perhaps, no one in his situation ever attained,
either before or since. ?<Iany who never heard him play, and who are even
unacquainted with his compositions, fired by the accounts of those who lived in
his time, talk to this day of Neil Gow as if they had tripped a thousand times
to his spirit-stirring and mirth-inspiring strains.

Living in the immediate neighbourhood of Dunkeld house, he was early
noticed and distinguished by the duke of Athol and his family, which was soon
followed by the patronage of the duchess of (jiordon, and tlie principal nobility
and gentry throughout Scotland. But while his permanent residence was at
Inver, near Dunkeld, he was not only employed at all the balls and fashionable
parties in the county, but was in almost constant requisition at the great parties
-which took place at Perth, Cupar, Dumfries, Edinburgh, and the principal
towns in Scotland. So necessary was he on such occasions, and so much was
his absence felt, that at one time, when indisposition prevented him attending
the Cupar Hunt, the pi-eses called on every lady and gentleman present to
" dedicate a bumper to the better health of Neil Gow, a true Scottish character,
whose absence from the meeting, no one could sufficiently regret." We have
already said, that he lived on terms of great familiarity with his superiors, in
whose presence he spoke his mind and cracked his jokes, unawed by either their
rank or wealth— indeed, they generally delighted in drawing out his homely,
forcible, and humorous observations ; and while he, in turn, allowed all good
humoured freedoms with himself, he at the same time had suflicient indepen-
dence to repel any undue exhibition of aristocratic hauteur, and has brought
the proud man to his cottage with the white flag of peace and repentance, before
lie would again consent to " wake the minstrel string" in his halls. With the
duke of Athol and his family, a constant, kindly, and familiar intercourse was
kept up; indeed, so much did the duke keep his rank in abeyance when Neil
was concerned, that, when the latter was sitting for his portrait to the late Sir

NEIL GOW. 489

Ileni-y Raebiini, his grace would accompany him to tlie sitting-j and on leaving
tlie artist, would proceed arm in arm with the musician through Edinbiiroh, as
unreservedly as he would with one of the noble blood of Hamilton or Argyle.
The duke and duchess walked one day with Neil to Stanley hill, in the neigh-
bourhood of Dunkeld, when his gi'ace began pushing and strugglino- with him in
a sportive humour, until the latter at last fairly tumbled down the " brae." The
duchess running to him, expressed her hope that he was not hurt, to Avhich he an-
swered, " Naething to speak o', — I was the mair idiot to wrestle wi' sic a fiile !'' at
which they both laughed heartily. The didie, lord Lyndoch, and the late lord
Jlelville, one day calling at Neil's house, were pressed to take some shrub. Lord
Melville tasted it, and was putting- down the glass, Avhen his host said, " ye
maun tak' it out, my loi'd, it's very good, and came frae my son Nathaniel —
I ken ye're treasurer o' the navy, but gin ye were treasurer o' the universe, ye
maunna leave a drap.'' The duke at the same time smelling his glass befoi-e he
drank it, Neil said, " yo need na put it to your nose ; ye have na better in your
ain cellar, for Nathaniel sends me naething but the best." Being- one day at
Dunkeld house, lady Chai'lotte Drummond sat down to the piano-forte, when
Neil said to the duchess, " that lassie o' yours, my leddy, has a gude ear.'' A
gentleman present said, " I thought Neil you had more manners than to call
her grace's daughter a lassie.'' To which our musician replied, " What wud I
ca' her? I never heard she was a laddie;'' which, while it more astonished the
gentleman, highly amused the noble parties themselves. On another occasion
in Athol house, after supper was announced, a portion of the fashionable party
lingered in the ball room, unwilling to forsake the dance. Neil, who felt none
of the fashionable indifference about supper and its accompaniments, soon lost
patience, and addressing himself to the ladies, cried out, " Gang doun to your
supper, ye daft limmers, and dinna baud me reelin' here, as if hunger and drouth
were unkent in the land — a body can get naething dune for you." These say-
ings are not repeated so much to support any claim to humour, as to ilhistrato
the license which his reputation, popularity, and honest bluntness of character
procured him among the highest of the land.

When at home, during the intervals of his professional labours, he was fre-
quently visited by the gentlemen of the county, as ^vell as by strangei-s, whose
curiosity was excited by the notoriety of his character. They would remain for
hours with him, in unconstrained conversation, and partaking of whisky and
honey, commonly called Athol brose, or whatever else was going. Tlie late
j\Ir Graham of Orchill, used to sit up whole nights with Neil Gow, playing
reels with him, and on one occasion Neil exclaimed, " Troth, Orchill, you play

weel ; be thankfu', if the French should overturn our country, you and I can

win our bread, which is mair than mony o' the great folk can say." On one
occasion, when the duchess of Gordon called for him, she complained of a
giddiness and swimming in her head, on which he said, " Faith, I ken something
o' that mysel', your grace; when I'vj been fou the night afore, ye wad think
that a bike o' bees were bizzing in my bonnet, the next mornin'."

In travelling he was frequently spoken to by strangers, to whom description
liad made his dress and appearance familiar. At Hamilton, once, he was ac-
costed by two gentlemen, who begged to know his name, which having told
them, they immediately said, "Oh! you are the very man we have come from

to see." "Am I," replied Neil, "by my saul, ye're the mair fules ; I

wadna «»-ang half sae far to see you.'' On another occ^asion, uhen crossing in one
of the passage boats from Kirkaldy to Leith, several gentlemen entered into
conversation Avith him, and being strangers, instead of lieil, as Mas usual, they
always addressed him as Master Gow. When about to land, the Dunkeld carrier,

490 NEIL GOW.

liappening to be on tlie pier, said, " Oti, Neil, is tliis yon ?'' " Whisht man,''
aiisweietl Neil, with a sly exjU'ossion, " let me laiul or ye ca' me Neil ; 1 line
got naclhiiis: but Maixtcr a' the way o'er."

There are fe\v professions wiiere persons are more exposed or (omptetl to
habits ot' indtili;-enee in li(jiior, than those whose calling' it is t<» minister iiuisic
to the midnight and morning revel. '1 he latigne of playing l'i»r hoiirs in crowded
and healed rooms — at those times, too, which arc usually devoted to sleep — re-
quires stinmlants; and not a Icmv have fallen victims to habils acquired in such
situations. But, though exposed to these temptations as much as any man ever
was, Neil (jow was essentially sober and temperate. He never indulged in un-
mixed spirits, and when at home, without company, seldom took any drink but
water. At the same time, he was of a social disposition, and delighted in the
interchange of friendly and hospitable intercourse ; and it befits not the truth of
our chronicle to deny, that prudence, though often a conqueror, did not on
every occasion gain the race with good fellowship, or in plain words, that Neil
did not find at the close of some friendly sederunts, " the mautaboon the meal.'

At least we would infer as much, from an anecdote that has been told of him

Returning pretty early one morning from Kuthvcn Works, where he had been
attending a yearly ball, he was met with his fiddle under his arm, near the
bridge of Almond, by some of his friends who lamented the lenc/th of the road he
had to walk to Inver, when Neil exclaimed, " Deil may care for the lenc/th o'
the road, it's only the breadth o't that's fashin' me now.'' It was, perhaps, with
reference to the same occasion, that a friend said to him, " I suspect Neil, ye've
been the waur o' drink." " The waur o' di-ink?" responded the musician,
" iia ! na, I may have been fou, but I ne'er was the waur o't.'' His son Natha-
niel frequently sent him presents of shrub and ale. In acknowledging one of
them, he wrote, " I received the box and t\venty bottles of ale, which is not
good, — more hoj) than faith — too strong o' the water, &;c. My compliments
to jMeg, and give her a guinea, and ask her which of the two she would accept
of first."

lie was a man most exemplary in all the private relations of life — a faithful
husband, an alfectionate parent, and a generous friend. In more cases than
one, he refused lands Avhich were offered to him at a trifling purchase, and
^vhich would have been worth thousands to his successors, and chose the more
disinterested part, of giving money to the unfortunate owners to enable them to
purchase their lands back. He not only had religion in his heart, but was
scrupulous in his external observances. He Avas constant in his attendance at
divine worship, and had family prayers evening and morning in his own house.
In regard to his private character altogether, we may quote from a very elegant
biographical sketch from the pen of Dr IMacknight, who knew him well, and
ivhich appeared in the Scots 31agazine in 1809. "His moral and religious
principles were originally correct, rational, and heartfelt, and they were never
corrupted. His duty in the domestic relations of life, he uniformly fulfilled
with exemplary fidelity, generosity, and kindness. In short, by the general
integrity, prudence, and propriety of liis conduct, he deserved, and he lived
and died possessing as large a portion of respect from his equals, and of good
M'ill from his superiors, as has ever fallen to the lot of any man of his rank."

In a professional point of view, Neil Gow is to be judged according to cir-
cumstances. He never had the advantage of great masters, and indeed waa
almost entirely self-taught. It would be idle to inquire what he might have
been had he devoted himself to the science as a study. He did not, so far as
is known, attempt the composition of difficult or concerted pieces ; and it is
believed, did not do much even in the way of aiTangement to his own melodies.

NEIL GOW. 491

He was one of nature's musicians, and confined himself to uhat genius can con-
ceive and execute, without the intei'vention of much science — the composition
of melodies : and, after all, melody is the true test of musical genius ; no com-
position, however philosophical, learned and elaborate, can live, if it wants its
divine inspiration, and the science of Handel, Haydn, and Mozart would not
liave rescued their names from oblivion, had the soul of melody not sparkled
like a gem through all the cunning framework and arrangement of their noble
compositions. He composed a great number of tunes, nearly a hundred of
which are to be found in the collections published by his son Nathaniel at
Edinbui-gh. The gi-eater portion of them are of a lively character, and suited
for dancing, such as reels, strathspeys, and quick steps. It would not be in-
teresting in a notice like this to enumex'ate the titles of so many compositions ;
but we may safely refer to the beautiful air of " Locherroch side," to which Kurns
wrote his pathetic ballad of "Oli! stay, sweet Marbling woodlark, stay," and
which is equally effective as a quick dancing tune — to the " Lament for Aber-
cairney," and his " Farewell to Whisky" — as specimens which entitled him to
take his place among the best known composers of Scottish music, which our
country has produced.

As a perfonner of Scottish music on the violin, we have already said that he
Avas acknowledged to have been the ablest of his day ; and we cannot do bet-
ter than once more quote from the biographic sketch Mritten by Dr IM'Knight,
himself a skilful violinist, and who frequently lieard Neil play, to illustrate the
peculiar character of his style: "There is perhaps no species whatever of
music executed on the violin, in Mhich the characteristic expression depends
more on the power of the bow, particularly in what is called the upward or re-
turning stroke, than the Highland reel. Here accordingly was Gow's forte.
His bow-hand, as a suitable instrument of his genius, was uncommonly power-
ful ; and when the note produced by the up-boiv was often feeble and indistinct
in other hands, it Avas struck in his playing, with a strength and certainty,
which never failed to surprise and delight the skilful hearer. As an example,
may be mentioned his manner of striking the tenor C, in ' Athol House.' To
this extraordinary power of the bow, in the hand of great original genius,
must be ascribed the singular felicity of expression which he gave to all his
music, and the native highland (/out of certain tunes, such as * Tulloch Gorum,'
in which his taste and style of bowing could never be exactly reached by any
other performer. We may add, the eifect of the sudden shoid, with Avhich he
frequently accompanied his playing in the quick tunes, and which seemed in-
stantly to electrify the dancers ; inspiring them with new life and enei'gy, and
rousing the spirits of the most inanimate. Thus it has been well observed,
* the violin in his hands, sounded like the harp of Ossian, or the lyre of Or-
pheus,' and gave reality to the poetic fictions, which describe the astonishing-
effects of their perfoi'mance."

Such was the estimation in which Neil Gow was held, that the late Sir Henry
Eaeburn, the most eminent portrait painter then in Scotland, was employed first
to paint his portrait for the county hall of Perth, and afterwards, separate por-
traits for the duke of Athol, lord Gray, and the honourable Mr Olaule of Pan-
mure, besides his portrait, now in possession of his grand-daughter Mrs
Luke, and many copies scattered through the country. His portrait has also
been introduced into the " View of a Highland Wedding," by the late Mr Al-
lan, along Avith an admirable likeness of his brother Donald, Avho Avas his steady
and constant A'ioloncello.

Neil Gow Avas twice married — first to Margaret Wiseman, by Avhom he had
five sons, and three daughters. Of these, three sons, and two daughters died

402 DOUGAL GIIAIIAM.

heforc Iiimself, but not before two of his sons, William and Andrew, bad nt>
(jiiired a reputation as violin-players, worthy of tlio name tliey bore ; the for-
mer having suneeded iMMilasban as leader of the fashionable bainis at I'Min-
bnrijli, and the laltcr liavinn^ acfiuired some wealth in London in prosecuting
liis profession. He was kind and adeclionate to all his ebildicn, and «hningr
liie last illness of his son Andrew, he brotij^ht liim frr)iii London. On tiiis subject
lie >vrote, " If the sprinj;' were a little advan<;cdand warmer, I would have Andrew
come down by sea, and I will come to lulinburgh or Dundee to conduct him
home. We will have milk uhich he c^m get warm from the cow, or fresh but-
ter, or uhey, or chickens. He shall not want for any thing." Andrew's eyes
were closed by his father under the roof \\here he was born. Neil Goav took as
liis second wife 3Lunarct L'rquhart, by whom he had no family, and who pre-
deceased himself a few years, lie retained his faculties to the I:ist, and con-
tinued to play till within a year or two of Jiis death. About two years before
that event, he seemed to feel the decay of his powers, and wrote to his son
Nathaniel — " I received your kind invitation to come over to you, but I think
I will stay where I am. It will not be long, for I am very sore failed.'' lie
died at Inver, where he was born, on the 1st of ftlarch, 1S07, in the BOtii year
of his age, after acquiring a competence, which was divided among his children,
lie left behind him two sons and a daughter : John, who settled in London as
leader of the fashionable Scottish bands, and died in 1827, after acquiring a
large fortune ; Nathaniel, who settled in Edinburgh, and of whom we have
given a brief memoir ; and 3Iargaret, now the only surviving child, who is
at present living in Edinburgh. Neil (.iow was buried in Little Uunkeld church,
where a marble tablet has been raised to his memory by his sons, John and
Nathaniel.

GltAHA3I, DouoAL, the rhyming chronicler of the last rebellion, was pro-
bably born early in the seventeenth century. Unfortunately, none of the
works we have met with give any account of his parentage or early lil'e. It has
been said that he was engaged in tlie rebellion of 1745-4G, but without suf-
ficient authority. He had, to use his own words, " been an eye-witness to
most of the movements of the armies, from the rebels' first crossing the ford of
Frew, to their final defeat at Culloden :" but it would seem from this expres-
sion, as well as from the recollections of some of his acquaintances, that it was
only in the capacity of a follower, who supplied the troops with small wares.
But Dougal's aspiring mind aimed at a higher and nobler employment, — the
cultivation of the muse ; and no sooner was the rebellion teruiinated by the
battle of Culloden, than he determined to write a history of it " in vulgar
rhyme." Accordingly, the Glasgow Courant of September 29, 1740, contains
the following advertisement : " That thei'e is to be sold by James Duncan,
printer in Glasgow, in tlie Salt-IMercat, the second shop below Gibson's Wynd,
a book entitled, A full, particular, and true account of the late rebellion in the
years 1745 and 174G, beginning with the Fretender's endjarking for Scotland,
and then an account of every battle, siege, and skirmish that has happened in
cither Scotland or England : to which is added, several addresses and epistles
to the pope, pagans, poets, and pretender, all in metre, price fourpence. But
any booksellers or packmen may have them easier from the said James Duncan,
or the author, D. Graham. The like," the advertisement concludes, " has not
been done in Scotland since the days of Sir Uavid Lindsay !" This edition is
now to be procured 7iec prece nee pecunia ; the eighth edition, hoHcver,
contains a preface by the author, in ^vhich he thus states his reasons for under-
taking so arduous a task. " First, then, I have an itch for scribbling, and hav-
ing wrote the following for my pleasure, I had an andjition to have this child

DOUGAL GRAHAM. 493

of mine placed out in the world ; expecting, if it should thrive and do well, it
might bring credit or comfort to the parent. For it is my firm opinion, that
parental affection is as strong towards children of the brain as those produced
by natural generation." — " I have wrote it in vulgar rhyme, being what not
only pleased my own fancy, but what I have found acceptable to the most part
of my countrymen, especially to those of common education like myself. It I
have done well, it is what I should like, and if I have failed, it is what mankind
are liable to. Therefore let cavilers rather ivrite a better one, than pester
themselves and the public with their criticisms of my faults." Dougal's history
has been on some occasions spoken of with contempt, — and, as it appears to us,
rather undeservedly. The poetry is, of course, in some cases a little grotesque,
but t/ie matter of the work is in many instances valuable. It contains, and in
this consists the chief value of all such productions, many minute facts which
a work of more pretension \s-ould not admit. But the best proof of its popu-
larity is, tliat it has run through many editions : the eighth, Avhich is now
scarce, was printed at Glasgow in 1808, with a " True Portraiture" of the au-
thoi-. Beneath it are the lines ;

" From brain and pen, O virtue! drop:
Vice! fly as Charlie and Jolin Cope!"

As the book became known, Bougal issued editions " greatly enlarged and
improved," That of 1774, while it contains many additions, is said to want
much of the curious matter in the editio princeps.

In 1752, Graham styles himself "merchant in Glasgow," but it would ap-
pear that his wealth had not increased with his fame :

" I have run my money to en'
And have nouther paper nor pen
To write thir lines."

Afterwards he became a printer; and it has been affirmed, that, like Buchan,
the chronicler of Peterhead, he used to compose and set up his works without
ever committing them to writing.' The exact date at which he became bell-
man is not known, but it must have been after 1770, At this time, the situa-
tion was one of some dignity and importance : the posting of handbills and the
publishing of advertisements were not quite so common ; and whether a child
had " wandered," — " salmon, herring, cod, or ling " had arrived at the Broomie-

law or the grocers had received a new supply of " cheap butter, barley,

cheese, and veal," the matter could only be proclaimed by the mouth of the
public crier.

After several years of, it may be supposed, extensive usefulness in this ca-
pacity, Dougal was gathered to his fathers on the 20th of July, 1779. An
elegy upon the deaai of that " witty poet and bellman," written with some
spirit, and in the same verse as Ferguson's elegy upon Gregory, and that of
Burns upon " Tam Samson," was published soon after. M'e may be allowed to
sum up his character in the words of its author :

'« It is well known unto his praise.
He well deserv'd the poet's bays ;
So sweet were his harmonious laj s :

Loud sounding fame
Alone can tell, how all his dajs

He bore that name,

1 M'Ure's Hist, of Glasgow, neiv ed. p. 315.

494 REV. JAMES GRAIIAME.

Of witty jokes la- luid sudi store,
Juliiisoii could not Iiave plfflstil you more,
Or "iih loud laughtiT made \ou roar,
, As he could do;

Hi) had still somelhing nu'er before
Kxpos'd to view.

Besides his liistory, Doiigal wrote many other poems and sonn^s, some of
which, tlioufifh little known, are highly graphic. They would Ibrni a pretty
large volume, hut it is hai-dly probable that in this fastidious age any attempt
will bo made to collect them.

GRAHA3IE, (Rev.) James, the author of" The Sabbath" and otiier poems, was
born in (Glasgow on the a^d of April, 1705. lie was the son of I\Ir Thomas
firahame, Mriter in that city, a gentleman at the head of the legal profession
there, and mIio held a high place in the esteem of his fellow citizens for strict
integrity and many amiable qualities. His mother Avas a woman of very
uncommon undei-standing ; and it may be Mcll supposed, that the young bard
owed much of that amiable disposition which distinguished him in after-life, to
the mild and benevolent tuition of his parents. From them also he imbibed
those ultra-liberal opinions on politics, Avhich, on the first breaking out of the
French revolution of 1781), found so many supporters in this country, and
which 3Ir Grahame no doubt adopted under a sincere impression that the dillusion
of such opinions Mas likely to benefit the human race. He was educated at the
grammar school and university of Glasgow. At this time his father possessed
a beautiful villa on the romantic banks of the Cart, near Glasgow, to which the
family removed during the summer months ; and it is pleasing to remark the de-
light with which James Grahame, in after years, looked back upon the youthful
days spent there. In the " Birds of Scotland," we have the following pleasing
remembrances, which show that these days were still green in his memory :

I love thee, pretty bird ! for 'twas thy nest

Which fii-st, unhelped by older eyes, I found ;

The very spot I think I now behold 1

Forth fjom my low-roofed home I wandered blythe

Down to thy side, sweet Cart, \vhere cross the stream

A range of stones, below a sliallow ford,

Stood in the place of the iiow-spaiming arch ^

Up from Uiat ford a little bank there waSj

"With alder copse and willow overgrown,

Now worn awa} by mining winter floods ;

There, at a bramble root, sunk in the giuss,

The hidden prize, of withered field-straws formed,

Well lined with many a cjU of hair and moss,

And in it laid five red-veined spheres, I found.

James Grahame eminently distinguished himself both at school and college ; and
we have an early notice of his poetical genius having dispkyed itself in some
Latin verses, which, considering his age, were thought remarkable for their ele-
gance. At this period he was noted among his companions for the activity of
his Itabits, and the frolicsome gayety of his disposition ; his character, however,
seems to have undei-gone a change, and his constitution to have received a shock,
in consequence of a blow inflicted in wantonness on the back of his head,
which ever afterwards entailed upon him occasional attacks of headache and
stupor; and there seems to be little doubt, tliat this blow was ultimately the
cause of his death. After passing through a regular academical course of edu-

EEV. JATMES GRAHAIME. 495

cation at the university of Glasgow, during which he attended a series of lec-
tures delivered by the celebrated professor Miliar, whose opinions on politics
were by no means calculated to alter those which his pupil had derived
from his father, he was removed to Edinburgh, in the year 1784, where
he commenced the study of Law under the tuition of his cousin, Mr Laurence
Hill, writer to the signet. This was a destination wholly foreign to his char-
acter and inclination ; his own wishes would have led him to the clerical pro-
fession, ^vhich was more congenial to his tastes than the busy turmoil of legal
avocations ; but young Grahame passively acquiesced in the arrangement which
his father had made, more from considerations connected with his own means of
advancing him in the legal profession, than from regard to the peculiarities of
his son's disposition and character.

After having finished his apprenticeship, he was admitted a member of the
Society of Writers to tlie Signet, in the year 1791. His prospects of success in
business were very considerable, in consequence of the influence possessed by his
father, and his other i-elations ; but the death of his father towards the close of
the year 1791, seems to have freed him from the restraint which bound him
to his profession, and he resumed his original desire of entering the churclu
For a time, however, the persuasion of his friends induced him to relinquish
his intention of changing his profession; and, at length, in the year 1795, in
the hope that the avocations of the bar would prove more congenial to his taste,
and allow him, dui-ing the vacations, greater leisure to indulge his literary pro-
pensities, than the more irksome details of the other branch of the profession,
he became a member of the Faculty of Advocates.

James Grahame, while yet at the university, printed and circulated among his
friends a collection of poetical pieces. Of this work no trace is now left ex-
cept in the memory of the members of his own family, and it is only curious
as it seems to have contained a rough drauglit of those sketches whicli he after-
wards published under the title of the " Rural Calendar." It was in the year
1797, that these pieces appeared in their amended form. Being on a visit to
a friend in Kelso when the " Kelso JMail" was commenced, he conti-ibuted
them anonymously to that newspaper ; he afterwards published them, greatly
enlarged and improved, in the 12mo edition of his Avorks, in 1807. In the
year ISOl, he published a dramatic poem, entitled, " I\Iary, Queen of Scot-
land ;" but his talents were by no means dramatic ; and although tins production
was a great favourite of his own, it is only deserving of attention as containing
some beautiful descriptive passages.

In the year 1802, Mr Grahame was nuirried to Miss Grahame, eldest daughter
of Richard Grahame, Esq., Annan, a woman of masculine understanding and
very elegant accomplishments. She at first endeavoured to discourage her
husband's poetical" propensities, from the idea that they interfered with his pro-
fessional duties ; but on the discovery tliat he was tlie author of the Sabbath,
she no longer attempted, or wished, to oppose the original bias of his mind.
The Sabbath was published not only anonymously, but the poet even concealed
its existence from his dearest relations. The mode Avhich he took to communi-
cate it to his wife presents a very pleasing picture of his diffident and amiable
disposition. In relating this anecdote, we shall use the words of one who was
vei7 intimate with the poet and his family. " On its publication he brought
the book home with him, and left it on the parlour table. Retui-ning soon
after he found Mrs Grahame engaged in its perusal ; but without venturing to
ask her opinion, he continued to Avalk up and down Uie room in breathless
anxiety, till she burst out in the wal-mest eulogiuin on the performance ; adding
* Ah James, if you could but produce a poem like this.' The acknowlodg-

490 REV. JAAIES GRAHAME.

itipiit of tlic aulliorsliip, niul llie plonsure of inaUiiijr tlio tlisclostire under sucli
circiiiustauccs, may he easily iiuaniiu-d." '1 ho Sal)l>atli was siil)j(;cte(l to a severe
ordeal of c^rilieisiu in the J!dinhiir:;li Heview ; hut llie <;rili<- afterwards made
ample atonement to the \voiiiided feelings of the poet and his friends, in re-
viewing his siil)stMjiient work, the Hritish (ieorgics — an example which one can-
not hut wish tliat Lord Hyron had imitated, hy expressing some contrition for
the wanton and <"ruel alta<;k made in his iMiglish linrds and Scotch Reviewers
on the gentle and amiahle poet of llie Sahbath.

About the year IbOli, IMr (irahame pidjjished a well written pamplilet on tho
subject of the introduction of jury trial in civil causes in Scotland, entitled
*' 'I'houghts on i'rial by Jury." This was a favourite project of his jiarty in
politics, about tlie beginning of the present century; and during the whig ad-
ministration of lSOG-7, a bill was brought into parliament by tiie ministry for
the purpose of extending that mode of trial to Scotland. 'lliaL bill fell, on the
change of administration ; but some years afterwards, a bill having the same
object was carried through parliament by the succeeding administration ; and
in ISIG, jury trial in civil causes was introduced under certain modifications,
and has since been made a permanent part of the civil judicial procedure in
this country.

But for the bad heallh to which he was occasionally sul)ject, 3Ir Grahame
might have enjoyed much happiness, surrounded as he was by his family, to
Avliom he was devotedly attached, and mixing during the winter months on
familiar terms Milh the intellectual and polished society which J'dinburgh at
all times affords, and which, at the time alluded to, was peculiarly brilliant ;
while, to vary tlie scene, he usually spent the summer either at Kirkhill, on the
banks of the Esk, or at some other rural retirement. It Avas at Kirkhill, sur-
I'ounded with some of the loveliest scenery in Scotland, that he composed
" The Birds of ^Scotland." But in spite of the happiness which such a state
of literary ease was calculated to afford, IMr Grahame still looked with longing
to the condition of a country clergyman — a vocation which his imagination had
invested with many charms. The authority already referred to mentions a cir-
cumstance strongly indicative of the constant cuirent of his thoughts : — " llie
writer will never f(5rget the eager longing with which he surveyed the humble
church of Borthwick, on a fine summer evening, A\hen the sun's last rays had
gilded the landscape, and rendered every object in nature more s>veet and im-
l)ressive. He cast a look of delighted complacency around the peaceful scene,
and said, with an accent of regret, " I wish such a place as that had fallen to
my lot." And when it was remarked, that continued retirement might become
wearisome, "Oh ! no," he replied, " it would be delightful to live a life of use-
fulness among a simple people, unmolested with petty cares and ceremonies."
At length, yielding to his long cherished wish, he entered holy orders as a
clergyman of tlie church of England. After having spent the summer months
of IbQS, at a pleasant villa in the neighbourhood of Annan, where he ccniposed
" The British Georgics," he proceeded to England in the s^)ring follo^ving ;
and after encountering some dilRculty, was ordained by Dr Bathhurst, bisliop
of Norwich, on Trinity Sunday, being the 2Sth of 3Iay, 1809. That good pre-
late was so much delighted with Mr Grahame, that he was anxious to persuade
him to remain in his diocese, but Mr Grahame was prevented from acceding to
this request by the prevalence of fever and ague in the district. He resided
for some weeks after his ordination at the city of Chester ; and there he ob-
tained the curacy of Shefton in Gloucestersliire, which he held from July until
the month of iMarch in the following year, when he was called to Scotland by
family allairs. The accomplishment of his long cherished and ardent desire to

REV. JAMES GRAHAIME. 497

enter the clerical profession, does not seem to have aftbrded him that full mea-
sure of happiness which he anticipated. This was partly to be attributed to
broken health ; and perhaps, also, to a natural restlessness of disposition, but
more particularly to the change having been too long deferred. Indications of
this fact may be traced in the following beautiful lines in the British Georgics,
wliich show how deeply he loved and how fondly he regretted leaving his na-
tive land :

How pleasant came thy rusliing, silver Tweed,

Upon mine ear, when, after roaming long

In southern plains, I've reach 'd thy lovely banks 1

How bright, renowned Sark, thy little stream,

Like ray of column'd light chasing a shower,

^Vould cross my homeward path ! how sweet the sounds

When 1, to hear the Doric tongue's reply.

Would ask thy well-known name.

And must I leave,

Dear land, thy bonny braes, thy dales.

Each haunted by its wizard-stream, o'erhung

With all the varied charms of bush and tree ;

Thy towering hills, the lineament sublime,

Unchanged, of Nature's face, which wont to fill

The e3e of Wallace, as he musing plann'd

The grand emprise of setting Scotland free ?

And must I leave the friends of 30uthful years,

And mould my heart anew to take the stamp

Of foreign friendships in a foreign land ?

Yes, I may love the music of strange tongues,

And mould my heart anew to take the stamp

Of foreign friendships in a foreign land ;

But to my parched mouth's roof cleave this tongue.

My fancy fade into the yellow leaf.

And this oft- pausing heart forget to throb,

If, Scotland, thee and thine I e'er forget.

On his return to Scotland, he was an unsuccessful candidate for St George's
episcopal chapel, Edinburgh. This disappointment was severely felt by his
friends, who, fondly attached to him, and admiring him much as a preacher,
were exceedingly anxious to have him settled amongst them ; but he bore the
frustration of his hopes without a murmur. In August, 1810, he was appointed
interim curate to the chapelry of St Margaret, Durham, Avhere his eloquence as
a preacher quickly collected a crowded congregation ; and after having of-
ficiated there for a few months, he obtained the curacy of Sedgefield, in the same
diocese. Having been affected with oppressive asthma and violent headaches,
he was induced to try the effect of a change to his native air ; and after spend-
ing a few days in Edinburgh Avith his only surviving sister, Mrs Archibald
Grahame, he, along with his wife, who had joined him in Edinburgh, proceeded
to Glasgow, where he expired two days after his arrival. He died at White-
hill, the residence of his eldest brother, IMr Robert Grahame of Whitehill, on
the 14th of September, 1811, in the forty-seventh year of his age; leaving
two sons and a daughter.

The most characteristic feature in the mind of James Grahame, was a keen
and refined sensibility, which, while it in some measure incapacitated him for
encountering the hardships and enduring the asperities of life, and gave tlie
appearance of vacillation to his conduct, at the same time rendered him sensi-

U. 3K

498 JAMES GRATIA.M.

lively alive to tho intellectual i>le:isuios of the world, and shed an amiable
purity over liia chai-acter and niannei-s. It is deeply to be regretted, that the
Avishos of his father should have thrown an imitodiiucnt in the way of his em-
bracinif, at the oiilsut of life, tliat professinn which was so conrrenial to tiic be-
nign gentleness of liis disposition. His mild manners and many amiable
qnalilics made a deep impression on all who knew him, while his surviving
friends cherish his memory with feelings of the sinoerest allection and reverence.
Possessed of a pleasing and intellectial fund of conversation, there was about
him an infantine simplicity of character, which rendered him alternately the
companion of the late Francis Horucr, and of Jeffrey, Cocljburn, Brougham, and
of his other distinguished contemporaries, and the delight of his own children,
in whose most playful gambols he would often join. His personal appearance
■was particularly striking; bis dark complexion harmonizing well with his finely-
formed and cxpi-essivc features, over which thcro hung a deep shade of languor
and pcnsivcncss ; his figure was tall, and while discharging the duties of his
gacred office, his air and manner were truly apostolic.

GRAHA:M, James, the celebrated marquis of iMontrose, was born in the year
161-2, and succeeded to his father, John, earl of Montrose, in 1G2G, being then
only fourteen years of age. As he was the only son of the family, he was per-
suaded by his friends to mai-ry soon after, which greatly retarded his education.
Preceptors were, however, brought into his house, and by assiduous study he bo-
came a tolerable proficient in the Latin and Greek languages. He afterwards
travelled into foreign parts, where he spent some years in the attainment of mo-
dern languages, and practising the various exercises then in vogue. He re-
turned to Scotland about the year lG3i, with the reputation of being one of the
most accomplished gentlemen of the age. Being a man of large expectations,
and meetin"- with a reception at court which he considered not equal to his
merits, he, on the fifteenth of November, 1G37, joined the Tables at Edinburgh,
to the great dismay of the bishops ; who, according to Guthrie, " thought it time
to prepare for a storm, when he engaged.'' — That the reader may be at no loss
to understand our narrative, it may not be improper here to inform him that the
Tables were committees for managing the cause of the people in the contest they
were at this time engaged in with the court for their religion and liberties : — they
were in number four — one for the nobility, another for the genti7, a third for the
burghs, a fourth for the ministers ; anrt there was a special one, consisting of de-
legates from each of the four. The Table of the nobility, we may also remark,
consisted of the lords Rothes, Lindsay, Loudon, and Montrose : the two latter
of Avhom were unquestionably the ablest and probably the most efficient mem-
bei*s. In point of zeal, indeed, at this period Montrose seems to have exceeded
all his fellows. When Traquair published the king's proclamation approving of
the Sei-vice Book, Montrose stood not only on the scaffold beside IMr Archibald
Johnston, while he read the protestation in name of the Tables, but got up, that
he nii"lit overlook the crowd, upon the end of a puncheon ; which gave occasion
to the prophetic jest of Rothes, recorded with solemn gravity by Gordon of

Straloch " James, you Avill never be at rest till you be lifted up there above

your fellows in a rope ; — which was afterwards," he adds, " accomplished in
earnest in that same place, and some even say that the same supporters of the
scaffold were made use of at ^lontrose's execution.'' Ihe Tables having prepar-
ed for renewing the national covenant, it Has sworn by all i-anks, assembled at
Edinburgh, on the last of February and first of March, 163 S ; and, in a short
time, generally throughout the kingdom. In this celebrated transaction, Mon-
trose was a leading actor. In preparing, swearing, and imposing the cove-
nant, especially in the last, no man seems to have been more zealous.

JAMES GRAHAM. 499

In the fullest confidence of Ms faithfulness and zeal, he had been no-
minated, along with Alexander Henderson and David Dickson, to proceed to
Aberdeen, in order to persuade that refractoi-y city, the only or.e in the king-
dom, to harmonize with the other parts of it ; but they made very few converts,
and were, upon the whole, treated in no friendly manner. The pulpits
of Aberdeen they found universally shut against them ; nor even in the open
street, did they meet with any thing like a respectful audience. This triumph
of the northern episcopalians Avas carefully reported to Charles by the marquis of
Huntly : and the monarch was so much gi-atified by even this partial success of his
favoui-ite system, that, at the very moment when he was showing a disposition to
give way to the covenanters, he AVTote letters of thanks to the magistrates and
doctors, promising them at all times his favour and protection. Montrose soon
after returned to Edinburgh, and through the whole of the eventful year 1638,
to all appearance acted most cordially in favour of the covenant.

In the beginning of the year 1639, when the covenanters luid finally set the
king at defiance by abolishing episcopacy, and were preparing to defend their
measures by force of arms, Montrose received another commission to visit the
Aberdonians, and to provide against the probability of their stirring up an insur-
rection in the north, when his majesty might be di-awing the public attention
wholly towards the south. While Tdontrose was preparing for this ex-
pedition, having learned tliat a meeting of the covenanters in that quarter had
been appointed at Turefl^, and that Huntly, who had taken possession of Aber-
deen, had Avritten to his friends and followers to assemble for the purpose of
preventing the meeting, he resolved to protect his friends, and ensure their
convocation in spite of Huntly. For this purpose he collected only a few of his
friends upon whom he could depend, and by one of those rapid movements by
which he was afterwards so mudi distinguished, led them across that wild moun-
tainous range that divides Angus from Aberdeenshire ; and, on the morning of
February the 14th, took possession of Tureff, ere one of the opposite party
was aware of his having left Angus. Huntly's van, beginning to arrive in the
forenoon, were astonished to find the place occupied in a hostile manner, and
retired to the Broad Ford of Towie, about two miles to the south of TurefT,
where Huntly and his tiain from Aberdeen shortly after joined them. Here it
was debated whether they should advance and attack the place, or withdraw for
the present — and being enjoined by his commission from the king to act as yet
only on the defensive, Huntly himself dissolved the meeting, though it was uj>-
wards of two thousand strong. This formidable array only convinced 3Iontrose
that there was no time to lose in preparing to meet it ; and hastening next day
to his own country, he beg.an to raise and to array troops, according to the com-
mission he held from the Tables. Seconded by the energy and patriotism of the
people, his activity was such, that in less than a month he was at the head of a
well-appointed army of horse and foot, drawn from the immediate neighbour-
hood ; at the head of which he marched directly north, and on the 29th of
Blarch approached the town of Aberdeen. 12ie doctors who had given
him so much trouble on his former mission, did not think fit to wait his
coming on this occasion ; and the pulpits were at the service of any of
his followers who chose to occupy them. It is admitted, on all hands, that
Montrose on this first visit acted with great moderation. Leaving a garrison in
Aberdeen under the earl of Kinghorn, he set out on the 1st of April to meet
the marquis of Huntly, who had now dismissed his followers and retired to one
of his castles. On the approach of Montrose, Huntly ser.t his friend, Gordon of
Stialoch, to meet him, and to propose an armistice ; and for this purpose a meet-
ing took place between the parties at the village of Lowess, about midway be-

600 JAMES GRAHAM.

tween Aberdeen and the caslle of Stratliboji;ie. The slipulalions under uhich
tliis meeting took place were strongly diar.ulciistic of a senii-harbaroiis state of
Sdciety. JCacli of the parties \\as to be accouipanied by eleven rollo>vers, and
those armed t)nly with swords. Kich party, too, before nicelinp, sent an ad-
vance f>tiard to search the <ither, in case any of the parties niij;hi liavc forgotten
or overlooked this so lar pacific arrangement. After considiiable time sjient in
rather passionate conversation, it was agree<l between them, that 31ontroso
should march his army from Invcrury, where it w.as now encuampcd, to Aberdeen,
leaving lluntly and his cotnitrymen in the meantime unmolested, diithrio
aliirms that lluntly subscribed a writ substantially the same with the covenant.
Other writers contradict this, and say that he only signed a bond of maintenance,
as it was called, obliging himself to maintain the king's authority, and the laws
and religion at that time established, which indeed appears substantially tho
same with the covenant; though the phrase " established religion " was some-
what equivocal, and probably was the salvo, on this occasion, of the marcpiis's
conscience. 3Iontrose, on his return to Aberdeen, without any of the formali-
ties of moral suasion, imposed the covenant, at tlie point of the sword, upon
the inhabitants of the town and the surrounding country, who very generally
accepted it, as there was no other way in which they could estrapc the outrages
of the soldiery. As a contribution might have been troublesome to uplift, a
handsome subsidy of ten thousand merks from the magistrates was accepted as an
equivalent. This is the only instance with which we are acquainted, in which
the covenant was really forced upon conscientious recusants at the sword's point ;
and it is worthy of remark, that the agent in the compulsion was one of the most
idolized of the opposite party. Having thus, as he supposed, completely
quieted the country, 3Iontrose gave it in charge to the Frasci-s and the
Forbeses, and on the 13th of April, marched for Edinburgh with his whole
army, leaving the Aberdonians, though they had put on a show of con-
formity, more exasperated against the covenanters than ever. Scarcely had the
anny left the city, than, to testify their contempt and hatred of their late guests,
the ladies began to dress up their dogs with collars of blue ribbons, calling them,
in derision, covenanters, a joke for which they '.\crc, in the sequel, amply re-
paid.

In the meantime, the preparations of the king were rapidly going for-
ward, and by the first of fllay the marquis of Hamilton, his lieutenant, entered
the Firth of Forth with a fleet of twenty-eight sail, having on board five thou- !
sand foot soldiers, and a large quantity of arms. This circumstance had no
real effect but to demonstrate the utter hopelessness of the king's cause to all i
those who witnessed it ; yet, operating upon the highly excited feelings of the I
Gordons, they flew to arms, though they had no proper leader, the marquis of j
Huntly being by this time a prisoner in Edinburgh castle. Their first move- j
nient was an attack, ISth 3Iay, upon a meeting of covenanters at Tureff,
which, being taken by surprise, was easily dispeised, few persons being either kill-
ed or wounded on either side. This was the first collision of the kind that took
place between the parties, the prologue, as it were, to the sad drama that was to
follow; and it has ever since been remembered by the ludicrous appellation
of " The Trot of TureftI" Proceeding to Aberdeen, the Gordons, as the fruit
of their victoi-y, quartered themselves upon their friends the citizens of that
loyal city, where they gave themselves up to the most lawless license. Here they
were met by the historian, Gordon of Straloch, \\ho endeavoured to reason them
into more becoming conduct, but in vain. Finding that they intended to attack
the earl 3Iari3chal, who was now resident at Dunnottar castle, Straloch hastened
thither to mediate between them and the earl, and if p ssible to prevent the

JAMES GRAHAM. 501

eil'tision of human blood. The Gordons folloued rapidly on his lieels ; but hav^
ing lain one night in the open fields, and finding the earl Marischal determined
to oppose them, they at last hearkened to the advice of Straloch, and a<n-eed to
disband themselves^ without committing further outrages. Unhappily, however
they had been joined at Durris by one thousand Highlanders, under lord Le'.vis
Gordon, third son to the mai-quis of lluntly, who, though a mere boy, had made
his escape from his guardians, assumed the Highland dress, and appeared at the
head of these outrageous loyalists for the interests of his father, 'Ihis band of
one thousand heroes it was impossible to send Iiome till they had indulged their
patriotic feelings among the goods and chattels of their supposed enemies ; ^hich
tliey did to such an extent, as to provoke the deepest resentment. The earl 3Iaris-
chal with his little army advanced against them, and on the 23d of IMay en-
tered Aberdeen, tiiirty Highland barons maliing a precipitate retreat be-
fore him.

For the suppression of these insurrections, Montrose liad been again com-
missioned to the north, with an army of four thousand men, with which he en-
tered Aberdeen on the 25th of 3Iay, only two days after the earl 3Iarischal.
Having discovered, by numerous intercepted letters, the real feelings of
the inhabitants, and that their former compliance with his demands had been
mere hypocrisy, practised for the purpose of saving their goods, IMontrose im-
posed upon them another fine of ten thousand merks, — his men, at the same
time, making free with whatever they thought fit to take, no protections being
granted, save to a very few burgesses, who were known to be genuine covenan-
tei-s. In revenge for the affront put upon their blue ribbon by the ladies, not
one single dog upon which the soldiers could lay their hands, was left alive
within the wide circuit of Aberdeen. The Gordons, meanwhile, learning that
the Frasers and the Forbeses were advancing to join Montrose, crossed the
Spey with one thousand foot and upwards of three hundred horse, and
took post on a field near Elgin, where the Frasers and Forbeses lay with
an army superior to theirs in number. A parley ensued, and it was settled
that neither party should cross the Spey to injure the other. Both parties, of
course, sought their native quarters ; and the Gordons, sensible of their inability
to cope with Montrose, determined, individually, to seek each his own safety.
Having nothing else to do, and possessing abundance of artillery, Montrose re-
solved to reduce the principal strength belonging to the party, and for this end
had just sat down before Gicht, the residence of Sir liobert Gordon, wlien he
learned that the earl of Aboyne, second son of the marquis of Huntly, had
arrived at Aberdeen with three ships, having obtained from the king, at York,
a commission of lieutenantcy over the whole north of Scotland. He, of course,
hasted back to Aberdeen, where he aiTived on the 5th of June ; Aboyne had not
yet landed, but for what reason does not appear. JMontrose left Aberdeen next
day, marching southward with all his forces, as did the earl IMavischal at tlic
same time. Aboyne, of course, landed, and raising his father's vassals and de-
pendents, to the number of four thousand men, took possession of Aberdeen — at
tiie cross of which he published the king's proclamation, bestowing all the lands
of the covenanters upon their opponents. He then proposed to attack Mon-
trose and the earl ]\Iarischal, marching for this purpose along the sea coast,
ordering his ships with the cannon and ammunition to attend his progress. A
west wind arising, drove the ships with his artillery and ammunition out to sea,
60 that he came in contact with Montrose and the earl iMarischal advantageously
posted on the Meagra-hill, a little to the south of Stonehaven, Avithout the
means of making any impression upon them. A few shots from the field-
pieces of Montrose, so completely dislieartened the followers of Aboyne,

502 JAMES GRAHAM.

lliat tliey fell back upon Aberdeen in n stale of utter confusion, Mith tlie loss
of lialf llioir nuiiiLer, leaving to the covenanters a bloodless victory. Aboyne
was rajiidly follouod liy tlie >ictoi"s ; but uith the gentlemen ulio jet
adiiered to liiui, lie took jmst at tlie bridge of Dee, ubirli lie determin-
ed to defend, for tlie iiroservation of Aberdeen. 31ontrose attacked this posi-
tion on llie Iblli of June, uilh his usual impetuosity, and it >vas maintained for
a whole day with great bra\ery. Next morning ^lonlrose ma<le a movement as
if he intended to cross the river farther up; and the attention of the defenders
heing thus distracted, 31iddleton made a desperate charge, and carried the
bridge in defiance of all opposition. The routed and dispirited loyalists fled
with the utmost trepi(Lntion towards the town, and were closely pursued by the
victorious covenanters. Aberdeen was now again in the hands of the men of
whom it had more reason than ever to be afraid: it had already eudured re-
pented spoliations at the hands of both parlies, and was at last threatened with
indiscriminate pillage. At their first entry into the town, June 19th, the troops
behaved with great rudeness ; every person suspected of being engaged in the
last insuri'ection was thrown into prison, and the general cry of the army was to
set the town on fire. There was some disagreement, however, among the chiefs
respecting tlie execution of such a severe measure, and next day the question
was set at rest by the news of the pacification of IJerwick, which had been con-
cluded on the 18th, the day that the parties had been so holly engaged at tlie
bridge of Dee. 3Iontrose ^vas probably not a little son-y to be confined in the
north, quelling parties of Highland royalists, when there was a probability of
actions of much greater importance taking place in another quarter, upon which
the eyes of all men were fixed with a much more inteiise interest than they
could possibly be upon the rock of Dunnottar, the bog of Gicht, or even the
" brave to\vn of Aberdeen." Now that a settlement had taken place, he has-
tened to the head-quai ters, that he might have his proportion of what was to bo
dealt out on the occasion, whether it were public honours, public places, or pri-
vate emolunierits.

It now struck the mind of the king, that if he could but gain over the nobility
to his side, the opposition of the lower clnsses would be rendered of little efii-
cacy ; and that he might have an opportunity of employing his royal elo-
quence for that puq>ose, he invited fourteen of the most influential of the gi-a:i-
dees, that had taken part against him, to Avait upon his court at Berwick, under
the pretence of consulting them on the measures he n;eant to adopt for promot-
ing the peace and the prosperity of tlie country. Aware of his design, the
states sent only three of their number, 3Ioiitrose, Loudon, and Lothian, to make
an apology for the non-appearance of the remainder. Ihe ai)ology, however,
was not accepted ; and by the king's special command, tliey wrote for the noble-
men \vho had been named to follow them. This the noblemen probably ;vere not
backward to do, but a rumour being raised, that he intended to seize upon
them, and send the whole prisoners to London, the populace interfered, and, to
prevent a tumult, the journey was delayed. Charles was highly offended with
this conduct; and being strongly cautioned by his courtiers against trusting
himself among the unruly Scots, he departed for England, brooding over his de-
pressed cause, and the means of regaining that influence of which he had been
deprived by his subje<-ts. Of these who did Avait upon him, he succeeded in
seducing only one, the earl of iMontrose, who Avas disappointed in being placed
under general Leslie, and who had of late become particularly jealous of Argyle.
Mow much reason Charles had to be proud of such an acquisition we shall see
in the sequel, though there r^n be no doubt tliat the circumstance emboldened
1 im to proceed in his policy of only granting a set of mock refonns to the Scot-

JAMES GRAHAM. 503

tish people, Mith the secret purpose of afterwards replacing- the affairs of the
kingdom on the same footing as before. In the spirit of this design, the earl of
Traquair, Avho was nominated his majesty's commissioner for holding the stipu-
lated parliament and general assembly, was directed to allow the abolition of
episcopacy, not as unlawful, but for settling the present disorders ; and on no
account to allow the smallest appearance of the bishops' concurring (though
several of them had already done and did concur) in the deed. He was to con-
sent to the covenant being subscribed as it originally was in 1 5S0 — " provided
it be so conceived that our subjects do not thereby be required to abjure episco-
pacy as a part of popery, or against God's law." If the assembly required it
to be abjured, as contrary to the constitution of the church of Scotland, he was
to yield rather than make a breach : and the proceedings of the assembly at
Glasgow he ^\c^s to ratify, not as deeds of that meeting, all mention of which
he was to avoid, but as acts of this present assembly ; and to make every thing
sure his own way, when the assembly business was closed, immediately before
prayers, he was enjoined to make protestation, in the fairest way possible, that in
respect of his majesty "not coming to the assembly in person, and his instruc-
tions being hastily written, many things may have occurred upon which he liad
not his majesty's pleasure ; therefore, in case any thing had escaped him, or
been condescended upon prejudicial to his majesty's service, his majesty may be
heard for redress thereof in his own time and place." By these and other
devices of a similar character, Charles imagined that he could lawfully ren-
der the whole proceedings of the assembly null and void at any time he might
think it proper to declare himself. Traquair seconded the views of his
master with great dexterity ; and the assembly suspecting no bad faith, every
thing Avas amicably adjusted.

In the parliament that sat down on the last day of August, 1639, the day after
the rising of the genei'al assembly, matters did not go quite so smoothly. Epis-
copacy being abolished, and with it the civil power of churchmen, the fourteen
bishops, who had formed the third estate of the kingdom in parliament, were want-
ing. To fill up this deficiency, the other two estates proposed, instead of the bishops,
to elect foui'teen persons from the lower barons ; but this was protested against by
the commissioner, and by and by their proceedings were interrupted by an order
for their prorogation till the 2d day of June, 1040. Against this prorogation
the house protested as an invasion of their rights ; but they nevertheless gave in-
stant obedience, after they had appointed commissioners to remonstrate with his
majesty, and to supplicate him for a revisal of his commands. Before these
commissioners found tlieir way into the presence of Charles, however, he had
fiilly resolved upon renewing the war, and all tlie arguments they could urge
were of course unavailing. Charles, on this occasion, certainly displayed a want
of consideration which was very extraordinary ; he had emptied his ti*easury by
his last fruitless campaign, yet continued his preparations against Scotland,
though he could not raise one penny but by illegal and desperate expedients,
which alienated the hearts of his English subjects more and more from him
every day. The Scots were, at the same time, perfectly a\rare of what was
intended, and they made such preparations as were in their power to avert
the danger. As the subject of this memoir, however, seems not to have
taken any particular or prominent part in these prepai'ations, we must pass
them over, refen'ing the reader to the lives of those individuals who at this
time took the most active part in conducting public aftairs. SufRce it to say
that, to oppose the army of Charles, Avhich he had with great difiicujty in-
creased to nineteen thousand foot and two thousand horse, the Scots had an
army of twenty-three thousand foot, three thousand horse, and a considerable

504 JAMES GRAHAM.

train of nrtillory. Ol" tlii* army, Alexander Leslie was again appointed coni-
niandcr-in-cliief ; lord Almond, brother to the earl of Livingston, lieutenants
peneral ; W. Haillie, of the lianiingtnn family, inajdr-general ; colonel A.
Hamilton, general of artillery, colonel John Leslie, «juarter-niaster-{;enei'al ; and
A. (iilison, yoiinsfer of Durie, commissary general. The nobles in general had
the rank of colonel, »\ith the assistance of veteran ofiicors as lieutenant-colonels.
IMontrosc, though his disaflection to (he cause \vas now no secret, had still as
fonnerly, two regiments, one of horse and another of foot. All these appoirt-
nicnts were made in the month of April, l(ilO, but excepting some smaller
bodies for suppressing local risings in the north, the army did not begin to as-
semble till liie middle of July, and it was not till the end of that month that it
was marched to Chouseley wood, about four milos to the west of Dunse, and
within six of the border.

'Ihe Scots had from the beginning of these troubles determined to carry
the war, should war become inevitable, into England. 'Ihis was sound policy;
but as they did not wish to make war upon the English people, who were
suflering equally with themselves, and were making the most praiseworthy
exertions to limit the royal prerogative, it required no ordinary degree of
prudence to caiTy it into execution. Tlie leaders of the covenant, how-
ever, possessed powers fully adequate for the occasion. Notwithstanding of their
warlike preparations, which were upon a scale equal to the magnitude of the
enterprise, they continued to preserve the most perfect decorum, both of lan-
guage and manner, and they sent before the army two printed papere, the one
entitled " Six considerations, manifesting the lawfulness of their expedition into
England," the other " The intentions of the army of the kingdom of Scotland
declared to their brethren of England." In these papers, which for cogency of
argument and elegance of composition may safely be compared with any similar
productions of any age, they set forth in strong but temperate language the na-
ture, the number, and the aggi-avations of their gi-ievances. Their repre-
sentations coming in the proper time, had the most powerful eflect. If there
was yet, at the time the parliament was convened, in a majority of the
people, some tenderness towards the power of the monarch and the dignity of
the prelates, every thing of the kind was now gone. The dissolution of
a parliament, which for twelve years had been so impatiently expected
and so firmly depended on, for at least a partial redress of grievances, and
the innumerable oppressions that had been crowded into the short space be-
tween that dissolution and this appearance, on the part of the Scots, together
with the exorbitances of the convocation,— that, contrary to all former pre-
cedent, had been allowed to sit, though the parliament was dissolved, — had
so wrought upon the minds of men, that the tiireatenings these remonstrances
breathed against prelates were grateful to the English nation, and the sharp ex-
pressions against the fonn and discipline of the established church gave no cf-
fence save to the few who composed the court faction. So completely did these
declarations meet the general feeling, that the Scots were expected with impa-
tience, and every accident that retarded their march was regarded as hurtful to
the interests of the public. The northern counties, which lay immediately ex-
posed to the invasion, absolutely refused to lend money to pay troops, or to fur-
nish horses to mount the rausqueteers, and the train-bands would not stir a foot
without pay.

Anxious to make good their professions, the Scots were some time be-
fore they could advance, for want of money. The small supplies with which
they had commenced operations being already nearly exhausted, two of the
most popular of the nobility, along with I\Ir Alexander Henderson, and

JAMES GRAHAM. 505

secretary Johnston, were sent back to Edinburgh to see wliat could be done
in the way of procuring gratuitous supplies. As it would have been displeasing
to the English, had the army been under the necessity of cutting down trees,
for erecting huts, as had been the practice in former times, when inroads
^vere made upon their border, the connnissi oners were instructed to use
their influence with their countrymen, to provide as much cloth as would serve
for tents during their encampments in that country. It was late on a Saturday
night when the commissioners arrived in Edinburgh, but the exhortations of the
ministers next day were so effectual, that on Monday the women of Edinburgh
alone produced webs of coarse linen, vulgarly called ham, nearly suflicient
for tents to the whole army ; and the married men, with equal promptitude, ad-
vanced the sum of one hundred and twenty thousand pounds, with a pro-
mise of remitting as much more in a few days, which they did accordingly.
Having obtained these supplies, and a considerable train of black cattle
and sheep to be used as provisions, the Scottisli army moved from Chousa-
ley wood towards Coldstream, where they intended to enter England by a
well-known ford over the Tweed. The river being s\^ollen, they were ob-
liged to camp on a spacious plain called Hirsel Haugb, till the flood should
subside ; and here they first proved the cloth furnished them for tents, by the
good women of Edinburgh. On the 20th, the river having sunk to its ordinary
level, it \vas resolved that the army should march forward. This, however, was
considered so momentous an affair, that not one of the leading men would vo-
lunteer to be the first to set hostile feet upon the English border ; and it was
left to the lot to decide v.\\o should have the honour, or the demerit of doing so.
The lot fell upon Jlontrose, who, auare of his own defection, and afraid of
those suspicions with which he already sa\v himself regarded, eagerly laid hold
of this opportunity to lay them asleep. Plunging at once into the stream,
he waded through to the other side without a single attendant, but immediately
returned to encoui-age his men ; and a line of horse being planted on tlie upper
side of the ford to break the force of the stream, the foot passed easily and
STfely, only one man being drowned of the \vhole army. The commanders, like
IMontrose, with the exception of those who commanded the horse employed to
break the force of the water, waded at the head of their respective regiments,
and though it was four o'clock, p. m., before they began to pass, the whole were
on the English side before midnight. They encamped for that night on a liill
tliat had been occupied by a troop of English liorse, set to guard the ford, but
which had fled before tlie superior force of the Scottish army ; large fires were
kindled in advance, which, says one of the actors in the scene, " rose like so
many heralds proclaiming our crossing of the river, or rather like so many pro-
digious comets foretelling the fall of this ensuing storm upon our eneuiics in Eng-
land ;" contrary to tlie intentions of the Scots, " these fires so terrified the country
people, that they all fled with bag and baggage towards the south parts of the
country," according to the above author, " leaving their desolate houses to the
mercy of the army." Charles left London to take command of his army, which
had already rendezvoused at York, on the same day the Scottish army cross-
ed the Tweed. This army, as we have stated above, was s:iid to be twenty-one
thousand strong; but from the aversion of the people in general to the
service, there is reason to suppose, that in reality it fell far short of that num-
ber. The earl of Northumberland was nominated t%the command, but he felt,
says an English historian, disgusted at being called forth to act the most con-
spicuous jiart in a business \vhich no good man in the kingdom relished ; and
taking advantage of a slight indisposition, he declared himself unfit to perform
tlie duties of liis function. Stafrbrd, of course, exercised the supreme command,

500 JAiSIES GRAHAM.

thongli only ivith the title of liciitcnaiit-^oiitMal, not rann"' to aBsunio tlmt
of general, because of the envy and odium tliat atlendud him. Lord Con-
uay. Mho coimuandod under Slafloid, had been stationed at Newcasllc wilh
a stronn; garrison to protect the town, «hidi it was 6U])[osed he might onsily
do, as it was fortified, and well stored >vilh provisions.

On the "2 1st, the Scottish army marched in the direction of Newcastle, and en-
camped for the night on INIillfieldliace. On the 22d, they proceeded to the river
Glen, wlicre they were joined by about seven thousand of tlieii* brethren, who had
entered England by Kelso. The uhole marched the same night to 3Iiddleton
Ilaugh. On Thursday the 27th, they came in sight of Newcastle. During this
whole march, the Scots acted up to their previous professions ; every English-
man that came into the camp, they caressed and loaded with kindness, and now
they despatched a drunnner to Newcastle with two letters, one to the mayor, and
another to the military governor of the city, demanding in the most civil man-
ner liberty to pass peaceably through, that they might lay their petition at the
feet of their sovereign. The messenger was, ho\vevcr, sent back with his letters
unopened, because they were sealed ; and before he reached the anny in his
retui-n, the general had determined to pass the Tync at Ncwburn, about five
or six miles above Newcastle. The principal ford below the village of Newburn,
as well as two others, Conway had commanded by trenches, but as the river was
passable in many other places not far distant, he had resolved on a retreat. Staftcrd,
however, who undervalued the Scots, was anxious for a battle, if it were only
to see w hat was the mettle of tlie parties, and commanded him to abide at his
post. In approaching Newburn, general Leslie and a few of the chief noble-
men, riding a little in advance, narrowly escaped being cut off by a party of
English horse, that had crossed the Tyne'for the purpose of reconnoitering. At
sight of each other, both parties called a halt, and some more of the Scottish
horse appearing, the English judged it prudent to retreat. The Scots during
tlie night, encamped on HaddenLaw, a rising ground behind Newburn, having
a plain descent all the way down to the water's edge. The English were en-
camped on the opposite side of the Tyne, on a perfect level, that extended behind
them to the distance of more than half a mile. The Scottish position was de-
ficient in water, but in return they had abundance of coal from the pits in the
neighbourhood, with which they made great fires all around their camp, which •
tended not a little to magnify their appearance to the enemy. In the morn-
ing it was found that their camp overlooked completely that of the English, and
they were able from the nature of the ground to plant their cannon so as to
command completely the trenches cast up by the English at the fords. The
morning was spent coolly in making preparations, both parties watering their
horses at the river, (the tide being up,) without molestation. As the river be-
came fordable, however, they became more jealous, and about mid-day a Scot-
tish officer watering his horse, and looking steadily on the entrenchments on
the opposite side, was shot dead by an English sentinel. This Avas the signal
for battle ; the Scottish batteries immediately opened, and the trenches thrown
up by the English at the fords were soon rendered untenable.- A few horse-
men volunteers under a major Ballaiityne, sent over tlie water to reconnoitre, with
orders only to fire at a distance, and to retreat if necessary, found the whole of
the breast-works abandoned. 'I'he general's guard, consisting of the college of
justice's troop, commanded by Sir Thomas Hope, Avith two regiments of foot,
Crawfuid's and Loudon's, were then sent across; and a battery being opened at
the same tiuie from a hill to the eastward, directly upon the great body of the
English horse on tlie plain below, a retreat was sounded, the cannon were
withdrawn from the trenches, and the Scots passed in full force Avithout farther

JAMES GRAHAM. 507

opposition, Tlie English foot sought refuge in a wood, .and the horse in cover-
in'>' their retreat, Avere attacked by a fresh body of Scots, defeated Mith some
lo3s and their commanders made prisoners. The scattered parties escaped
under cover of night, to carry dismay and confusion into the main body. The
loss was inconsiderable, but the rout was complete. The English horse, who but
the day before had left Newcastle with their swords drawn, threatening to kill
each a dozen of covenanters, made their way into the town in a state of the ut-
most disorder and dismay, crying, as they rode full speed through the streets, for
a guide to Durham ; and having strewed the roads behind them -ivith their arms,
which they had thi-oivn away in their liaste to escape. The Scottish army rested
that night upon the ground which the English had occupied, one regiment being-
still on the north side of the Tyne with the baggage, which the return of the
tide had prevented being brought across. Despatches for the governor and mayor
of Newcastle, of the same respectful character as had been formerly sent, were
prepared on the morning of Saturday ; but the committee learning that the
garrison had abandoned it during the night, and retired with lord Conway to
join the main army at York, it was thought proper to advance without ceremony.
The array accordingly moved to Whiggam, within two miles of Newaistie, where
they encamped for tlie night, and next morning, Sunday the 3i3th of August,
the mayor sent an invitation to enter the town. The troops were accordingly
marched into a field near the suburbs, after which the gates were thrown open,
and the committee, with the principal leaders, entered the town in state. Sir
Thomas Hope's troop marshalling the way, and the laird of West Quarter's
company of foot keeping the post at the end of the bridge. The whole com-
pany were fronted at the house of the lord mayor, who was astonished to ob-
serve that they all drank his majesty's health. After dinner the company re-
paired to the great church of St Kicholaa, where a thanksgiving sermon was
preached by Mr Henderson. In the town they found next day between four
and five thousand stand of arms, five thousand pounds' weight of cheese, some
Inindreds of bolls of pease and rye, a quantity of liard fish, with abundance of
beer ; -which had been provided for the king's troops, but now was taken posses-
sion of by his enemies.

Nothing- could be more encoui-aging than the prospects of the covenanters at
this time. The same day in which they gained tlie victory at Newburn, the castlo
of Dumbarton, then reckoned an impregnable fortress, sun-endered to theirfriends
in Scotland, as did shortly after that of Edinburgh ; and the capture of New-
c:istle was speedily followed by the acquisition of- Durham, Tyneniouth, and
Shields. The number and the splendour of these successes, with the delightful
anticipations which they naturally called forth, could not fail to strike every
pious mind among the Scots ; and a day was most appropriately set apart by the
army, as a day of fasting and prayer, in acknowledgment of their sense of the
divine goodness. Stafibrd who, from bad health, had not yet come into action,
was hastening to the combat, when he met his discomfited army at Durham ; and,
from the ill-timed haughtiness which he displayed, was soon the only enemy his
army was desirous to overcome. His soldiers even went the length of vindicat-
ing their conduct at Newbui-n ; afhrming-, that no man could wish success to the
war against the Scots, without at the same time wishing the enslavement of Eng-
land. The prudexit magnanimity of the Scots, Avho, far from being elated with
the victory, deplored the necessity of being obliged to shed the blood of their
English brethren, not only supported, but heightened the favourable opinion that
had been from the beginning entertained of them. Their prisoners, too, they
treated not only with civility, but with such soothing and affectionate kindness,
as insured their gratitude, and called forth the plaudits of the whole nation.

508 JA^IES GRAHAM.

E;iq;er to profit by tliis state of tliinpfs, in restoring ortlcr and concord between
/he king and iiis people, the .S(H)ttish connniltee, on the iind of .September, sent
a letter to the carl cf J-.mark, bis majesty's seiuetary of slate lor Scotland, en-
closing a petition which they re<piosted him to lay beCore the king. 'Jo this
petition, which was couched in the most delic^ate terms, the king returned an
answer wilhout loss of lime, requiring tlieni to state in more plain terms the
claims they intended to make upon him; informing them, at the same time,
that he liad called a meeting of tiie peers of Ihigland, to meet at York on the
2 lib instant. 'J'his was an antiquated and scarcely legal assendjiy, ^vllich
Charles bad called by bis own authority, to supersede the necessity of again
calling a parliament, — the only means by whicii the disorders of the government
coidd now be arrested, and whicii the Scottish committee in their petition bad
rerpiested him to call innnedialely. To this connuiinication, the couimittee re-
plied; " that the sum of their desires was, that bis majesty would ratify the acts
of the last Scottish j>arliament, garrison the castle of Edinbiu'gb and the other
fortresses only for tlie defence and security of his subjects, free their country-
men in England and Ireland from further persecution for subscribing the cove-
nant, and press them no further with oaths and subscriptions not warranted by
law — bring to just censure the incendiaries who had. been the authors of these
combustions — restore the ships and goods that bad been seized an<l condemned
by bis majesty's orders ; repair the wrongs and repay the losses that bad been
sustained ; recall the declaration that bad been issued against them as traitors —
and, finally, remove, with the consent of the parliament of England, the garrisons
from the borders, and all impediments to free trade, and to the peace, the reli-
gion, and liberties of the two kingdoms.

These demands were no doubt ;.s unpalatable as ever to Charles, but t'le
consequences of bis rashness were now pressing him on all sides. His exche-
quer was empty, his revenue anticipated, bis army undisciplined and disafiect-
ed, and himself surrounded by people who scarcely deigned to disguise their
displeasure at all bis measures. In such extreme embarrassment, tlie king
clung, like a drowning man, to any expedient which presented itself, rather
than again meet, with the only friends who could efiectually relieve him,
his parliament. There was unfortunately, too, a secret party among the
covenanters, who, uith all the pretensions to religion and to patriotism they
bad put forth, were only seeking their own aggrandisement, and were
determined never to admit any pacification that did not leave them at the
bead of public affairs. Of these, among the Scots, 3Iontrose was the most
conspicuous. We have seen with what zeal he imposed the covenant ujion
the recusant Aberdonians. But he had, since then, had a taste of royal
favour at Ilerwick, and, as it was likely to advance him above every other
Scotsman, bis whole study, ever since that memorable circumstance, bad been
bow he might best ailvance tiie royal interest. For this purpose he had
formed an association for restoring the king to an unlimited exercise of all his
pi'erogatives, which was subscribed at Cumbernauld, on the sixth day of the pre-
ceding July, by himself, the earl of Wigton, the lords Fleming, Boyd, and Al-
mond, who held the place of lieutenant-general in the covenanters' army ; and
afterwards by the earls of Jlarischal, IMarr, Athol, Kinghorn, Perth, Kelly,
Home, and Seaforth ; and by the lords Stewart, Erskine, Drummond, Ker, and
Napier. Though this association was unknown at the time, the predilections of
Montrose were no secrets, and, of course, bis credit among his friends was rather
on tlie decline ; but a circumstance now occurred which displayed his character
in the full light of day, and neai-ly extinguished any little degree of respect that
yet remained to him among the members of the liberal party. It bad been laid

JAMES GRAHAM. 509

down, at the commencement of the campaign, that no person in the army should
communicate with eitlier the English court or army, but by letters submitted to
the inspection, and approved of by the committee, under the pain of treason.
In obedience to tins rule, when Sir James RIercev was despatched with the peti-
tion to the king, a number of letters from Scotsmen in the camp to their friends
in the royal army, were submitted to the committee, and delivered to him, to be
carried to tlieir proper destination. Among these letters was one from Mon-
trose to Sir Richard (xraham, which had been read and allowed by the commit-
tee ; but when Sir James Mercer delivered Sir Richard the letter, who instantly
opened it, an enclosed letter dropped out and fell to the ground, Avhich Sir
James, politely stooping to lift, found, to his astonishment, was addressed in the
hand-writing of Montrose to the king. Certain tliat no such letter had been
shown to the committee. Sir James was at once convinced of what liad been for
some time suspected, that Pilontrose was betraying the cause in which he had
been such a fiery zealot; and on his arrival at Newcastle, instantly com-
municated the circumstance to general Leslie, who, at a meeting of the commit-
tee, of Avhich it was Montrose's turn to sit as president, that same afternoon,
moved that Sir James ftlercer should be called in and examined concerning the
letters lie had carried to court. Sir James told an unvarnished tale, that would
not admit of being denied ; and Montrose, with that constitutional hardihood
which was natural to him, finding no other resource, stood boldly up and chal-
lenged any man to say, that corresponding with the king Avas any thing else
than paying duty to their common master, Leslie told him that he had Ivnown
princes lose their heads for less. He had, however, too many associates to his
treason, to render it safe or rather prudent at the present moment to treat him
as convicted, and he was only enjoined to keep his chamber. ^Yhile Montrose
was thus traitorously spiriting up the king to stand up to all his usurpations, on
the one side, Strafford was no less busy on the other, knowing that nothing could
save him from the hands of public justice but the king ; nor could the king
do so, but by strengthening rather than abridging his prerogative. The voice
of the nation, however, was distinctly raised, and there was nothing left for
Charles but compliance, real or apparent.

From this period forward, we know of no portion of history that has a more
painful interest than that of Charles L Our limits, however, do no-t allow us to
enter into it farther than what may be necessary to make the thread of our nar-
rative intelligible. The Scottish connnittee being sincerely desirous of an ac-
c tmmodation, the preliminaries of a treaty were, on their part, soon settled ;
ad commissioners from both sides being appointed, a meeting took plac?,
0(;tober 1st, at Rippon, half way between the cjuartei-s of the two armies; where
it was agreed that all hostilities should cease on the 26th of tlie same month.
Charles was now necessitated to call a parliament, and on his consenting to this,
the peers agreed to give their personal security to the city of London for a sum
of money suflicient to pay both armies — for Charles had now the Scottisli
army to subsist as well as his own — till such time as it was expected tJie
national grievances would be fully settled by a parliament. The Scottish army
was to be stationary at Newcastle, and was to be paid at tlie rate of eight hun-
dred and fifty pounds a day ; but the commission for settling the terms of peace
was transfen-ed to London, in order to attend the parliament, whicli was sum-
moned to meet on the 3d of November,

Unfortunately for the king, and latterly for the cause of liberty, the Scots
who had attracted so much notice, and conducted themselves with so much
prudence, were now no longer principals, but auxiliaries in the quar-
rel. The English pai'liament, occupied with the grievances which bad

I 510 JAMES GRAHAM.

been so lonj>- coiin»lainod of, and profiling; by the iiniircssion Mliicli tlie
successful resistance of the Scots had made, were in no liaste to forward
tlie ti-eaty; so that it was not linished till the month of August, IG-tl.
The Scottish army all this time received their stipulated daily pay, and the
parliament fiirtiicr gTatiliod them with what they called a broUierly assistance,
the sum of throe hundred thousand pounds, as a compensation for tlie losses they
had sustained in the war, of which eighty thousand pounds was paid down as a
first instahuent. Tlie king, so long as he had the smallest hope of managing
the English parliament, was in as little haste as any body to wind up tlie ne-
gotiations, and, in the meantime, was exerting all his king-i.-raft to coiTupt the
commissionei's. 3Ionti-ose, we have seen, he had already gained, liolhes,
ivhose attadiment to the covenant lay also in disgust and hatred of the oi)posite
party, was likewise gained, by the promise of a rich marriage, and a lucrative
situation near the king's person. A fever, however, cut him oJf, and saved him
from disgracing himself in the manner he had intended. Aware that he was
not able to subdue the English parliament, Charles, amidst all his intriguing,
gave up every thing to the Scots, and announced his intention of meeting with
Ins parliament in Edinburgh by the month of August. This parliament had sat
down on the 19th of November, lu40, and having re-appointed the committee,
adjourned till the llth of January, IGLl ; when it again met, re-appoint-
ed the committee, and adjourned till the thirteenth of April. The com-
mittee had no sooner sat down, than the Cumbernauld bond was brought before
them. It had been all this while kept a secret, though the general conversation
of those who were engaged in it had excited strong suspicions of some such thing
being in existence. The fust notice of this bond seems to have dropped from
lord Boyd on his death-bed ; but the full discovery was made by the lord Al-
mond to the earl of Argyle, who reported it to the committee of parliament.
The committee then cited before them Montrose, and so many of the bonders as
happened to be at home at the time — who acknowledged the bond, and attempted
to justify it, though by no means to the satisfaction of the committee, many of
the members of which were eager to proceed capitally against the offenders.
Motives the most mercenary and mean, however, disti'acted their deliberations,
and impeded the course of even-handed justice ; tlse bond was delivered up and
burned ; the parties declared in Avriting that no evil was intended ; and the
matter was hushed.

At a meeting of the committee, IMay 2Gth, probably as a set o(i' against the
Cumbernauld bond, jMr John Graliam, minister at Auchterarder, was challenged for
a speech uttered by him to the prejudice of the duke of Argyle. He acknow ledged
the speech, and gave for his authority IMr Robert 31urray, minister of Methven,
who, being present, gave for his author the earl of Blontrose. Montrose con-
descended on the speech, the time, and the place. The place ^vas in Argyle's
own tent, at the ford of Lyon ; the time, when the carl of Athol and eight other
gentlemen were there made prisoners ; the speech was to this eiiect — that they
[the parliament] had consulted both lawyers and divines anent deposing the king,
and were resolved that it might be done in three cases : — 1st, Desertion — 2d, In-
vasion— 3d, Vendition; adding, that they thought to have done it at the last sit-
ting of parliament, and would do it at the next. For this speech IMontrose gave for
ivitness John Stuai-t, commissary of Dunkeld, one of the gentlemen who were
present in the tent ; and undertook to produce him, which he did four days
afterward. Stuart, before the committee, subscribed a paper bearing all that
Montrose had said in his name, and was sent by the committee to the castle.
In the castle he signed another paper, wherein he cleared Argyle, owned that he
hiuiself had forged the speech out of malice against his lordship ; and that bj

JAMES GKAHAM. 511

the advice of Montrose, lord Napier, Sir George Stirling- of Keir, and Sir An^
drew Stuart of Elackhall, he had sent a copy of the speech, under his hand, to
the liing by captain Walter Stuart. Argylo thus implicated in a charge of the
most dangerous nature, was under the necessity of presenting Stuart before the
justiciary, where, upon the clearest evidence, he uas found guilty, condemned,
and executed.

On the Ilth of June, Montrose, lord Napier, Sir George Stirling, and Sir
Andrew Stuart of BlacMiall, were cited before the committee, and after exami-
nation committed close prisonei-s to the castle, where they remained till to-
wards the close of the year. Parliament, according to adjournment, liaving
met on the 1 5th of July, letters were read, excusing his majesty's attendance
till the loth of August, when it ^^as resolved to sit till the coming of his
majesty, and to have every thing in readiness against the day of his arrival.
Montrose was in the meantime summoned to appear before parliament on
the 13tli day of August. He requested that he might be allowed advocates
for consultation, which was granted. So much, however, Mas he hated at
the time, that no advocate of any note would come forward in his behalf, and
from sheer necessity he Mas obliged to send for Mr John, afterwards Sir John
Gilmour then a man of no consideration, but in consequence of being Montrose's
counsel afterwards held in high estimation, and employed in the succeeding
reion for promoting the despotic measures of the court. On the 13th of
Ausvust, Montrose appeared befoi-e the parliament, and having replied to his
charge Avas continued to the tv.enty-fcurth, and remanded to prison. At the
same time, summonses Mere issued against the lord Napier and the lairds of Keir
and Blacldiall, to appear before the pai-liament on the tMcnty-eighth. On the
fourteenth his majesty arrived in Edinburgli, having visited in his way the Scot-
tish army at Newcastle, and dined with general Leslie. On the seventeenth he
came to the parliament, and sat there every day afterwards till he had accom-
plished as he supposed, the purposes of his journey. The king, perfectly a^vare,
or rather perfectly determined to break with the parliament of England, had no
object in view by this visit except to gain over the leaders of the Scots, that
ihey mioht either join him against the parliament, or at least stand neuter till
he had reduced England, Mhen he knew he could mould Scotland as he thought
fit. He, of course, granted every thing they requested. The earl of Montrose
appeared again before the parliament on the twenty-fourth of August, and Mas
continued de novo, as Mere also tlie lord Napier and the lairds of Keir and
Blackball, on the twenty-eighth. In this state they all remained till, in return
for the king's concessions, they Avere set at liberty in the beginning of the year
1642.

Though in pi-ison, Montrose had done all that he possibly could to stir up an
insurrection in favour of the king Mhile he Mas in Scotland ; and he had also ex-
erted himself, though unsuccessfully, to procure the disgrace of the marquis of
Hamilton and the earl of Lanai-k, both of M'liom he seems bitterly to have envied,
and to have hated almost as heartily as he did Argyle. It Mas probably owing to
this, that upon his liberation he retired to his own house in tlie country, living
privately till the spring of 1643 ; when the queen returning from Holland, he
hasted to Mait upon her at Burlington, and accompanied her to York. He em-
braced this opportunity again to press on the queen, as he had fonnevly done on
the king, what he was pleased to denominate the dangerous policy of the cove-
nantei-s, and solicited a commission to raise an army and to suppress them by
force of arms, as he Mas certain his majesty would never be able to bring them to
his measures by any other means. The marquis of Hamilton thwarted him, how-
ever, for the present, and he again returned home.

613 JAMES GEAHAM.

Having been uiisucrcssrul in so many altcnipls to servo llic kinff, and Iiis ser-
vices bcini"; now aljsdliik'ly lejcctfd, it nii<;iit ii.ivc been sii|»|>(>se<l liiat .Montrose
uoiiUl either have returned to bis old iVicnds, or that lie uoiiid iiave \vitli(ha\vn
Jiiniself as I'ar as it was possible from jmlilic life. J»iit be was animated by a
spirit of deadly hatred ai^ainst the party willi wliom be bad aeled, and be had
Mitbin him a restless spirit of andjition which notiiinif could satisfy but the su-
preme direction in all public managements : an ambition, the unprincipled ex-
ercise of which rendered him, from the very outset of bis career, the " evil
genius," first of the covenanters, and lalterly of the miserably misled monarch
whom be laboured apparently to serve, and whom lie alfected to adore. By sug-
gesting the plot against Argyle and Hamilton, known in history by the name of
the Incident, during the sitting of the parliament, with Lbarks at ils licad in
Edinburgh, be checked at once the tide of confidence between him and bis parlia-
ment, ubich was rapidly returning to even more than a reasonable height, and
created numberless suspicions and surmisings through all the three kingdoms,
that could never again be laid while he was in life ; and by betraying the secrets
of the covenanters, he led the unwary monarch into such an extravagant notion
of the proofs of treason A\liich might be established against some members of
the lower house, that, forgetting the dignity of his place, he came to the
parliament house in person, to demand five of its meudjers, who, he said, had
been guilty of treason ; an unhappy failure, which laid the broad foundation of
his total I'uin. With ceaseless activity 3Iontrose, at the same time, tam-
pered with the leaders of the covenant, who, anxious to bring him back to
their cause, held out the prospect of not only a pardon, but of their giving him
the post of lieutenant-general. Under the pretence of smoothing some difhculties
of conscience, he sought a conference with the celebrated preacher, 3Ir Hender-
son, that he might pry into the secrets of his former friends ; which he had
no sooner obtained, than he hastened to lay the whole before his majesty in a
new accusation, and as offering additional muiives for bis majesty issuing out against
tiiem commissions of fire and sword.

The king, having now disengaged himself from the controlling influenre of
the marquis of Hamilton, entered into an arrangement, in terms of which the
earl of Antrim, who was at the time waiting upon his majesty, undertook to
transport into Scotland a few thousands of his Irish retainers, at whose head,
and with the assistance of a band of Highland royalists, iMontrose was to attempt
the subversion of the existing Scottish government. The time appointed for the
execution of this scheme was the beginning of April, IGM. Arms and am-
munition were in the meantime to be imported from the continent, and a small
auxiliary force procured from the king of Denmark.

As the time approached, :\Iontrose, raised to the rank of marquis, left Oxford
with the royal commission, to be lieutenant-general for Scotland, under prince
Rupert, and accompanied by about one hundred cavaliers, mostly bis person al
friends. To these he added a small body of militia in passing through the north-
ern counties of England, and on the 13th of April entered Scotland on the western
border ; and pushing into Dumfries, he there erected his standard, and proposed
to wait till he should hear of the arrival of his Irish auxiliaries. In two days,
however, he was under the necessity of making a precipitate retreat to Carlisle.
This so speedy catastrophe did not tend to exalt the character of iMontrose
among the English cavaliers, who had pretty generally been of opinion that a
diversion in Scotland in the then state of the country was utterly impracticable.
IMontrose, however, had lost nothing of his self-confidence, and he applied to
prince liupert for one thousand horse, with wliicii he promised to cut his way
tlu-ough all that Scotland could oppose to him. This the prince promised he

JAMES GRAHAM. 513

should have, though he probably never intended any such thing-, for he regarded
him in no other light than that of a very wi'ong-headed enthusiast. Even his
more particular friends, appalled by the reports of the state of matters in the
north, began to melt from his side, and lie uas universally advised to give up
his commission, and reserve himself for a more favourable opportunity. The.
spirit of Scotland was at this time decidedly warlike. Leslie was in England
with a large amny of Scotsmen, who shortly after performed a prominent part
at the decisive battle of RIarston Moor. I'here was an army in the north,
which had suppressed the insurrection of the Gordons, and sent Haddo and
Logie to the block ; and the earl of Callendar, formerly lord Almond, was or-
dered instantly to raise five thousand men for the suppression of Montrose.
The commission of the general assembly of the church, in the meantime, pro-
ceeded against that nobleman, with a sentence of excommunication, ^^hich was
pronounced in the high church of Edinburgh on the twenty-sixth day of April,
scarcely more than ten days after he had set hostile foot on Scottish ground.
Not knowing Avell what to do, Montrose made an attack upon a small party of
covenanters in Morpeth, whom he drove out of the town, and secured the castle.
He also captured a small fort at the mouth of the Tyne, and stored Newcastle
plentifully with corn from Alnwick and other places around. He was requested
by prince Rupert to come up to the battle of JMarston Tiloor, but on his way
thither met the prince flying from that disastrous field.

He now determined to throw himself into the Highlands, where he still had
high hopes of assistance and success. JMaking choice of two persons only for
his companions. Sir William RoUock and colonel Sibbald, he disguised himself
and rode as Sibbald's groom, and in this manner, taking the most wild and
unfrequented ways, they arrived, after riding four days, at Tullibalton, near the
foot of the Grampians, the house of his friend, Patrick Graham of Inchbrackie,
Avheve he halted for some days, passing his time through the night in an ob-
scure cottage, and in the day among the neighbouring mountains. His two
companions in the meantime were despatched to collect intelligence respecting
the state of the country, and privately to warn his friends. -The accounts pro-
cured by his friends were of the most distressing kind, the covenanters being
every where in great strength, and the cavaliers in a state of the most complete
dejection. In a few days, however, .1 letter was brought by a Highlander to
Inchbi-ackie, Mith a request that it might be conveyed to the marquis of Blontrose,
^\herever he might be. This was a letter from Alexander M'CoU, alias M'Donakl,
a distinguished warrior, who had been entrusted -with the charge of his re-
tainers by the marquis of Antrim, with a request that he, Montrose, would ccme
and take the command of the small but veteran band. This small division had
about a month before landed in the sound of iVIull, had besieged, taken, and
garrisoned three castles on the island of that name, and afterwards sailing for the
mainland had disembarked in Knoydart, where they attempted to raise some of
the clans. Argyle, in the meantime, coming round to that quarter wilh some
ships of war, had taken and destroyed their vessels, so that they had no means of
escape ; and, with a strong party of the enemy hanging on their rear. Mere pro-
ceeding into the interior in the hope of being assisted by some of the loyal
clans. Montrose wrote an immediate answer as if from Carlisle, and appointed
a day not very distant when he would meet them at Blair of Athol, which he
selected as the most proper place of meeting from the enmity which he knew
the men of Athol had t) Argyle. On the appointed day, attended by Inch-
brackie, both dressed in the costume of ordinary Highlanders and on foot, he
travelled from Tullibalton to the place of meeting, and to his great joy found
twelve hundred Irishmen quartered on the spot. They had already been joined

511 JAMES GRAHAM.

by small bodies of Highlamlers, and the men of Athol seemed ready to rise al-
most to a man. When 3IoMtruse presentutl liinisclf to them, thougli lie exlii-
bited his majesty's commission to act as lieulenant-gener.il, llio Irisli, from
the meanness of his appearance, could scucely believe tliat he \\i.\s tlie man he
gave himself out to bo. But the Highlanders, who received him ^vitil the
warmest demonstrations of respect and affection, put the matter beyond doubt,
and he was Iiaiicd with the highest enthusiasm. He was joined the same day by
the whole of the Athol Highlanders, including the Stuarts, the Robertsons, and
other smaller clans, to the number of eight hundred, so that his army was above
two thousand men. Aware that Argjle was in pursuit of the Irisli, he led his
army the next day across the hills towards Stralhearn, ^vhcrc he expected
reinforcemcnls- Passing the castle of Wiem, the scat of the cLin ^lenzies, he
commenced liis career by burning and ravaging all the neighbom-ing lands, in
revenge for the harsh treatment of one of his messengers by the i'amily, to
strike a salutary terror into all who might be disposed to offer him violence,
and to gratify his followers, whose principal object he well knew \\as pluuder.
I'assing through glen Almond next day, an advanced party of his men were
surprised with the appearance of a large body of men drawn up on the hill of
Ijuckenty. These were men of 3Ienteith, raised by order of tlie committee of
estates at Edinburgh, marching to the general rendezvous at Perth, under tlie
connnand of lord Kilpont, eldest son of tlie carl of Jlenteith. Eeing mostly
Highlanders and officered by gentlemen of the family of Montrose, or of the
kindled clan Drummond, tliey were easily persuaded to place tliemselves under
the royal standard, ^^liicll increased his force to three thousand men.

Resolving to attack Perth, where some raw levies were assembled under the
command of lord Elcho, Montrose continued his march all niglit, intending to
take the place by surprise. Lord Elcho, however, had been warned of his ap-
proach, and liad drawn his men to the outside of the town, intending to hazard
a battle ibr its defence. In crossing the Tippermuir, a wild field about five
miles from Perth, IMontrcse came in sight of the enemy, upwards of six thou-
sand in number drawn up in one long line, with horse at either end.
Lord Elcho himself led the right wing. Sir James Scott of Rossie, tlie only
man in the army who had ever seen service, the left ; and the earl of
Tullibardine, the main body. Montrose dre^v out his little army also in
one long line, thi'ee men deep. The Irish who were veteran troops, he
placed in the centre ; the Highlanders he placed on the wings to oppose
the horse, being armed with swords, Lochaber axes, and long clubs. He him-
self led the right \ving, that he might be opposed to Sir James Scott, who was
an officer of good reputation, having served in the wars abroad — from the lords
Elcho and Tullibardine, he apprehended little danger. 'I'he covenanters' horse
fled at the first onset, being overpowered, according to WisJiart, by a shower
of stones, but more probably induced by the treachery of lord Di-ummond, and
his friend Gask. The flight of (he horse threw the ill-disciplined foot into irre-
mediable confusion, and they followed in such breathless haste, that many ex-
pired through fatigue and fear, without even the mark of a wound. Fe\v were
slain in the engagement, but there were upwards of three hundred killed in the
pursuit, 3Iontrose had not a single man killed, and only two wounded. The
whole of the artillery and baggage of the vanquislied fell into the hands of the
victors ; and Lord Drummond, whose treachery Lad chiefly occasioned the rout,
joined Montrose as soon as the affair was over. 3Iontrose entered Perth the
same niglit, where he levied a subsidy of nine thousand merks, and stipulated for
free quarters to his army for four days. They remained only three, but in
these three they supplied themselves with wbatever they wanted, whether it were

JAMES GRAHAM. 515

clothes, arms, Ibod, money, or ammunition. The stoutest young men were
rAso impressed into the ranks, and all the horses seized without exception.

On the 4th of September, Montrose crossed the 'lay, and proceeded tlirough An-
gus for Aberdeenshire. The first night of his march he halted at Collace, where
lord Kilpont was murdered by Stuart of Ardvorlich, who struck down a sentinel
with the same weapon, with which he had stabbed his lordship, and made his es-
cape. Proceeding to Dundee, fllontrose summoned the town ; but it was occu-
pied by a number of the P'ife troops, and refused to surrender. The approach
of the earl of Ai-gyle, with a body of troops, prevented Slontrose from venturing
upon a siege. Proceeding towards Aberdeen, the Aberdonians, alarmed at his
approach, sent oft" the public money, and their most valuable etVects to Dun-
notter, and having a force of upwards of two thousand men, they threw
up some fortifications at the bridge of Dee, for the defence of the city.
3Iontrose however, remembered the bridge of Dee, and, avoiding it, crossed
the water by a ford at the mills of Drum, which rendered all their prepara-
tions vain. A summons was sent into the town to siUTender, and the cove-
nanters' army being on the marcli, the messengers who brought the summons
were hospitably entertained and dismissed. By some accident the drummer on
his return was killed ; on which Blontrose ordered preparations for an im-
mediate attack, and issued the inhuman orders to give no quarter. Lord Bur-
leigh and Lewis (Jordon, a son of Huntly's, led the right and left wings of the
covenanters, which consisted of horse, and the levies of Aberdeenshire, a ma-
jority of whom were indifferent in the cause. The centre was composed of the
Fife soldiers, and those who had joined them from principle. ]>lontrose, still
deficient in cavalry, had mixed his musketeers Avith his liorse, and waited for the
covenanters. Lord Lewis Gordon, who had forced a number of the Gordons to
engage in opposition to the inclination and orders of his father, rushed precipi-
tately forward with tiie left wing, which by a steady fire of musketry was sud-
denly checked, and before it could be rallied totally routed. The right wing
experienced a similar fate, but tlie centre stood finu and maintained its post
against the whole force of the enemy for two hours. It too at length gave
way, and, fleeing into the town, was hotly pursued by the victors, who killed
without exception every man they met ; and for four days the town was given
up to indiscriminate plunder. Monti'ose, lodging with his old acquaintance,
skipper Anderson, allowed his Irishmen to take their full freedom of riot and de-
bauchery. " Seeing a man well cled,'' says Spalding, " they would tirr him
to save his clothes unspoiled, and syne kill him. Some women they pressed to
deflour, and some Ihey took perforce to serve them in the camp. The wife
durst not cry nor weep at her husband's slaughter before her eyes, nor the
daughter for the father, Avhich if they did, and were heard, they were
presently slain also." The approach of Argyle put an end to these horrors.
Expecting to be joined by the marquis of Huntly's retainers, Montrose hasted to
Inverury, but the breach of faith in caiTying the marquis forcibly to Edinburgh
after a safe conduct being granted was not forgotten ; and Argyle too being at
hand, his ranks ^vere but little augmented in this quarter. When he approached
the Spey, he found the boats removed to the northern side, and the Mhole force
of Moray assembled to dispute his passage. Without a moment's hesitation he
dashed into the wilds of Badenoch, where with diminished numbers, for the high-
landers had gone home to store their plunder, he could defy the approach of any
enemy. Here he was confined for some days by sickness from over fatigue, but
a few days restored him to wonted vigour, -v^hen he descended again into Athol
to recruit, MacDonald having gone on the same errand into the Highlands. From
Athol, Montrose passed into Angus, where he wasted the estates of lord Cowper,

>1G JAMES GRAHAM.

and plundered the place of Drum, in «hidi were deposited all the valuables belong-
ing to tlie town of 31onlrose and the surrounding country; there also he ob-
tained a supply of arms, and some pieces of artillery, Argyle >vith a greatly
superior force, \vas follo\ving his footsteps; but, destitute of military talents, he
could neither bring him to an engagement, nor interrupt his progress. Having
Buppliod his wants in Angus, and recruited his army, JMonlrose suddenly re-
passed the (irampians, and spreading ruin around him, made another attempt to
raise the (iordons. Disappointed still, he turned to the castle of Fyvie, where ho
was surprised by Argyle and Lothian, and, but for the most miserable mis-
nianageuient, must have been taken. After sustaining two assaults from very
superior numbers, he eluded them by stratagem, and ere they were aware, was
again lost in the wilds of Badenoch. Argyle, sensible perhaps of his inferiority,
returned to luiinburgh, and threw up his commissicni.

IMontrose, no^v left to act as he thought proper, luning raised, in his re-
treat through Badenoch, portions of the dans IM'Donald and Cameron, aii<l
been joined by the Stuarts of Appin, whom his friend Alister 31' Coll had
raised for him, he, Avith tlie consent and by the advice of his associates, pre-
pared to lay waste the territory of his hated rival Argyle. For this puroose he
divided his army into two divisions, tlie one consisting of the levies from
Lochaber and Knoydart, under John iMuidartach, the captain of the Clanronalds,
entered by the head of Argyle ; the other under his own direction, by the banks
of Loch Tay and Glen Dochart. The country on both tracts belonging either
to Argyle or his relations was destroyed without mercy. In this ivork of de-
struction IMontrose was assisted by the clans of 3i'Gregor and JI'Aab ; who,
whatever miglit be said of their loyalty, Avere, the former of them especially,
as dextrous at foraying and fire raising, as the most accomplished troop in his
service. For upwards of six weeks was this devastation prolonged. Every per-
son capable of bearing a weapon was nun-dered, every house Avas razed, castles ex-
cepted, whi(;h they were not able for the want of artillery to master. Trustin*
to the poverty and difficulty of the passes into his country, Argyle seems never to
have anticipated such a visit, till the niamuders were within a few miles of his
castle of Inverary, when he instantly took boat ar.d sailed for the Lowlands,
leaving all behind to the uncontrolled sway of these insatiate spoilers, Avho " left
not a four-footed beast in his hale lands," nor, as they imagined, a man able to
bear ai'nis. Having- rendered the country a desert, they bent their way towards
Inverness, by Lochaber, to meet the earl of Seaforth, who with the strength of
Ross. Sutherland, and Caithness, occupied that important station.

Argyle in the meantime having met with general Baillie at Dumbarton, and
concerted a plan with him, hastened back to the Highlands, and collecting his fugi-
tive vassals and his dependants, followed at a distance the steps of his enemy, in-
tending to be ready to attack him in the rear, when Baillie, as had been agreed
bet\veen them, should advance to take him in front. IMontrose w as marching tlu-ough
Abertarf, in the great glen of Albin, when he was surprised with intelligeni e
that Argyle was at Inverlochy with an army of, at least, double the number of
that which he himself commanded, and aware that Baillie and Hurry were both
before him, was at no loss to conjecture his intentions. A'i ithout a moment's
hesitation, however, lie determined to turn back, and taking bis antagonist by
surprise, cut him oft' at one blow, after wliich he should be able to deal with tlio
enemy that was in his front, as circumstances should direct. For this purpose
he placed a guard upon the level road down the great glen of Albin, which he
had just traversed, that no tidings of his movements might be carried back, and
moving up the narrow glen formed by the Tarf, crossed the hills of Lairee
Thurard. Descending thence into the lonely vale at the head of the Spey,

JAMES GRAHAM. 517

and traversing- Glen lioy, lie crossed another range of mountains, came in upon
the water of Spean, and skirting the lofty Ben-nevis, was at Inverlochy, witliin
half a mile of Argyle, before the least hint of his purpose liad transpired ;
having killed every person they met A\ith, of whom they had the smallest
suspicion of carrying tidings of their approach, and the route they had chosen
being so unusual a one, though they rested through the niglit in the clear
moonlight, in sight of tlieir camp, the Campbells supposed them to be only
an assemblage of the country people come forth to protect their property ;
and they do not seem to have thought upon Montrose, till, with the rising sun
and his usual flourish of trumpets, he debouched from the glen of the Nevis,
with the rapidity of a mountain torrent. Argyle, mIio was lame of an arm at
the time, had gone on boai-d one of his vessels on the lake during the night,
but a considerable portion of his troops that lay on the farther side of that
lake, he had not thought it necessary to bring over to their fellows. His
cousin, however, Campbell of Auchinbreck, a man of considerable military ex-
perience, who Iiad been sent for from Ireland, for the purpose of leading this
array of the Campbells, marshalled them in the best order circumstances would
permit ; but they fled at once before the wild yell of their antagonists, and, -with-
out even attempting to defend themselves, were driven into the lake, or cut
down along its shores. On the part of Montrose, only three privates were killed
and about two hundred wounded, among whom was Sir Thomas Ogilvy, who
died a few days after. On the part of Argyle, upwards of fifteen hundred were
slain, among whom were a great number of the chief men of the Campbells. This
victory which Mas certainly most complete, was gained upon Sunday the 2nd of
February, 1645 ; and if, as there are abundant grounds for believing, the lettei*
of Montrose concerning it to the king, was the means of causing him to break
off the treaty of Uxbridge, when he had determined to accept of the conditions
oflered him, it was more unfortunate than any defeat could possibly have been.

Instead of following his rival Argyle to Edinburgh, and demonstrating, as
he somewhat quaintly boasted in his letter to the king, that the country was
really confjuered, and in danger of being called by his name, Montrose resumed
his march to the north east, and, after approaching Inverness, which he durst not
attempt, made another foray tln-ough Blorayland ; where, under pretence of
calling forth all manner of men, between the ages of sixteen and sixty, to serve
the king, he burned and plundei'ed the country, firing the cobbles of the fisher-
men, and cutting their nets in pieces, Elgin was saved from burning by the
payment of four thousand merks, and its fair of P^asten's Eve, one of the greatest
in the north of Scotland, was that year not held. The greater part of the in-
habitants fled with their wives, their children, and their best goods, to the cas-
tle of Spynie, which only afforded an excuse for plundering the town of what ^^ as
left. The laird of Grant's people, who had newly joined Montrose, no doubt
for the expi-ess purpose, were particularly active in the plundering of Elgin,
" breaking down beds, boards, insight, and plenishing, and leaving nothing
that was tursable [portable] uncarried away." Leaving the Grants thus honourably
employed for the king in I'lgin, Montrose with the main body of his army, pro-
ceeded on the 4th of March to the bog of Gight, sending before him across the
Spey the Farquharsons of Braemar to plunder the town of Cullen, which they did
without mercy. Grant having deserted his standard and thus become an assistant
in robbery, as might naturally have been expected in this sort of Avarfarc, the
garrison of Inverness sent out a party to his house at Elchies, Avhich they com-
pletely despoiled, carrying off plates, jewels, wearing apparel, and other articles;
after which they plundered the lands of Coxtoun, because the laird had followed
Montrose along with the lord Gordon. This compelled all the gentlemen of that

518 JAMES GRAHAM.

(j.iartcr to go back for the protection of I licir own estates, Montrose taking their
parole to continue faithful to the king or at least never to join the covenantere.
This the most part of them kept as religiously as he liaJ done the oath of the
covenant. At the bog of (jight he lost his eldest son, a youtli of sixteen, who
had accompanied him through all this desultory campaign ; and dying here, was
buried in the church of IJellie.

Having received a reinforcement of five hundred foot and one hundred
and sixty horse, which was all tliat lord Gordon was able to raise among
his father's vassals, ftlontrose moved from the bog of Gight, intending to
fall down upon the Lowlands through Hanflshiro and Angus, In passing the
house of Cullen, he plundered it of every article of plate and furniture, and
Avould iiave set it on fire, but that the countess (tho earl of Findlater being in
Edinburgh) redeemed it for fifteen days, by paying five thousand marks in hand
and promising fifteen thousand more. From Cullen he pro(;ceded to Boyne, which
he plundered of every article, spoiling even the minister's books and setting
every * biggin' on fire. The laird himself kept safe in the craig of iioyne ;
but his Avhole lands were destroyed. In Banff he left neither goods nor anus, and
every man whom they met in the streets they stripped to the skin. In the neigh-
bourhood of Turrelf he destroyed sixty ploughs belonging to the viscount Frend-
draught, with all the movable property of the three parishes of Inverkeithny, For-
gue, and Drumlade. He was met by a deputation from Aberdeen, who " declared
the hail people, man and woman through plain fear of the Irishes, was fleeing away
if his honour did not give them assurance of safety antl protection. He forbade
them to be feai'ed, for this foot army wherein the Irishes were, should not come
near Aberdeen by eight miles." And " this," Spalding exultingly exclaims,
" along with some other friendly promises, truly and nobly he kept !" Though
he liad promised to keep tb.e Irishes at due distance, he sent one of his most
trusty chieftains, Nathaniel Gordon, along with Donald Farquharson and about
eighty well-horsed gentlemen, into Aberdeen, to seize some stores belonging to
the estates, and to look out for Baillie, Avhom he expected by that route.
These having partly executed their commission, sat down to enjoy themselves,
and Avere surprised by general Hui-ry, who, with one hundred and sixty horse
and foot, secured the gates and avenues of the town, and falling upon the un-
suspecting cavaliers, killed many of theui as they sat at their wine, and seized
all their horses. Among those that were slain was Donald Farquharson, " one
of the noblest captains," according to Spalding " amongst all the Highlanders
of Scotland." Hurry retired at his leisure, unmolested, carrying with him a
number of prisoners, who, as traitors to the covenant, were sent to Edin-
burgh. Among these prisoners was the second son of Montrose, now lord
Graham, a young boy attending the schools, who along with his pedagogue
was imprisoned in the castle of Edinburgh. The corpse of Donald Farquhar-
son " was found nex-t day in the streets stripped naked, for they tirred
from oft' his body a rich suit which he had put on only the samen day. Major-
general IM'Donald was sent in on the Saturday afternoon with one thousand
Irishes, horse and foot, to bury Donald, which they did on Sabbath, in the laird
of Drum's Isle." Dux-ing these two days, though the Aberdonians were in great
terror, M'Donald seems to have kept his Irishes in tolerably good order, " not
doing wTong, or suffering much wrong to be done, except to one or two cove-
nanters that were plundered;" but on Monday, when Le had left Aberdeen to
meet Montrose at Duriss, " a number of the Irisli rogues lay lurking behind
liini, abusing and fearing the town's people, taking their cloaks, plaids, and
purses from them on the streets. No merchant's booth durst be opened ; the
stable doors were broken up in the night, and the horses taken out ; but the

JAMES GRAHAM. 519

major hearing tliis returns that sanien Monday back, anil drove all thir rascals
witli sore skins out of the to'.vn before him ; and so both Aberdeens were clear
both of him and them, by (jod's providence, who looked both for lire and plunder-
ing-— yet he took up his cloth ai.d other commodities, amounting to the sum of
ten thousand pounds and above, to be cloathing to him and his soldiers, and
caused the town to become obliged to pay the mercliants, by i-aising of a taxa-
tion for that artect, whilk they were glad to do to be quit of their company."
On the same Sunday, the 1 7th of Blarch, Montrose burned the parish of Dur-
rjs, " the hail laigh biggins and corns, and spoiled the hail ground of nolt,
sheep, and other guids." The lands of Craigievar lying in the parish of Fin-
try, and the minister's house of Fintry, were served in the same manner the
same day. He proceeded on the 20th to Dunnottar, where he summoned the
earl fllarischal to *' come out of the castle and join him in the king's service."
On receipt of the earl's answer " that he would not fight against his country," he
sent a party \vho plundered and burned tlie Avhole lands of Dunnottar. They set
lire at the same time to the town of Stonehaven and to all the fishing boats that
lay in the harbour. The lands of Felteresso, including an extensive and finely
ornamented deer pai'k, the village of Cowie, and the minister's manse of Dun-
nottar, shared the same fate.

After so many burnings and such reckLss plundering, it must by this time
have become necessary for Montrose to shift his quarters. Kapine, indeed,
Avas almost the sole object of his follower ; and when they had either too
much or too little of it, they were sure to leave him. The north having been
repeatedly gone over, he seems at last to have meditated a descent upon the
south. A pitched battle with Baillie and Hurry, who were stationed at Erc-
chin with a considerable army, he seems also to have thought a necessary pre-
liminary to his further progress. For this pui-pose he came to Fettercairn,
only eight miles from their camp, where he purposed to rest till they should by
some movement indicate their strength and their intentions. Baillie and Hurry
were both good officers, and they had a force more than sufficient to cope with
Montrose ; but they were hampered in all their movements by a parliamentary
committee sent along Avith tliem, without whose advice or suffrage they were not
allowed to act. In consequence of this, their conduct was not at all times of a
very soldier-like character, nor their motions so prompt as they ought to have
been ; Montrose, however, was but a short time in his new quarters, when
Hurry, who was general of the horse, came out Avith six hundred of his troopers
to inspect his situation, and, if possible, ascertain his real strength, Montrose,
apprized of his approach, drew out all the horse he had, about two hundred,
Avhora he placed on an eminence in front of his camp, with a strong body of
musketeers concealed in a hollow behind them. Hurry made a dash at tlie
horse, but met with such a warm reception from the concealed musketeers,
as made him quickly retreat. Hurry, however, who was a brave soldier,
placed himself in the rear of his retreating squadron, and brought them
safely back to the camp with very little damage. This encounter kept both
parties quiet for some days, and induced Montrose to attempt getting into the
Lowlands without fighting Baillie, as he had originally proposed. For this end
he sent back the Gordons, that they might be ready to defend their own coun-
try, in case Baillie should attempt to wreak his vengeance upon them, after he
had thus gotten the slip. He then skirted along the Grampians with the re-
mainder of his ai-my towards Dunkeld. Baillie made no attempt directly to stop
him, but preserved such a position as prevented him making his intended descent.
After being for two days thus opposed to each other on the opposite banks of the
Isla, Montrose sent a trumpeter, challenging Baillie to fight, either coming

620 JAMES GRAHAM.

over tiie water to tlie nortli, or .illo>ving liini to come over to tlic south ; it 1>(V
lug iiiulerstood that no molestation was to bo i>ive!i to eillier till (airly clear of
the water, or till he «leclared liimselt' ready to (i<jlit. Daillie made a I'eply, which
it had been avcII lor his own repulation and for his Cduntry, that he had at all
times continued to act upon. He would look, he said, to his own business, and
did not require other men to teach liim to fight, lioth armies then resumed
tiieir marcli, and resi)octivcIy ari-ivod at Duukeld and I'erth nearly at the same
time.

Findinn- that he could not pass IJaillie without a battle, and being informed
by his scouts that he had left Terth and gone to the pass of Stirling; Monli-ose,
as an interim employment, that would help to pass the time, and encourage his
f(dlowers by the abundance of spoil it would ad'ord, determined on a visit to
Dundee, — a place that Avas strenuous for tlie covenant, and which had haughtily
refused to admit him after the battle of Tipperumir. Sending otl" his baggage,
and the less efiicient of his men to Brechin, on the 3d day of Aj)ril he led a hun-
dred and fifty horse, with six hundred picked musketeers against that city ; and
continuing his march all oight, arrived before it by ten o'clock on the forenoon of
the 4th, Montrose innnediately gave the place up to military execution ; and,
jjei-haps, for a kind of salvo to his credit, retired to the top of Dundee Law,
leaving the command to lord Gordon and Alister 3I'Coll. The attack was made
at three different places siuiultaneously, and all of them in a fe\v minutes were
successful. The town was set on fire in various places. 'Ihe most revolting
scenes of outrage and rapine followed. The abundance of spoil, ho\\ever, of
the most alluring description, happily diverted the robbers from indulging in
butchery ; and, ere they were aware, Baillie and Hurry Avere both at
their heels. Had 3Iontrose been in the town, the whole had been surprised
and cut ofl' in the midst of their revel ; but from his post on the hill, he
was apprized of the approach of the enemy just in time to recall his men ;
tlie gTeater part of them being so drunk that it was with difli(;ulty they could
be brought forth at the one extremity of the town as Baillie and Hurry
entered at the other. Placing the weakest and most inebriated in the front,
while he himself with the horse and the beit of the musketeers brought
up the rear, Montrose marched directly to Arbroath ; and from want of unity
of plan and of spirit in the two commanders opposed to him, brought off the
whole with but a trifling loss. He reached Arbroath, seventeen miles east of
Dundee, long before day. Here, however, he could not rest without exposing
himself and his army to certain destruction ; and anxious to regain the moun-
tains, where alone he judged himself safe from his pursuers, he wheeled about in a
north-westerly direction, right athwart the county of Forfar, and, before morn-
ing, crossed the south lisk at Cariston castle, where he was only three miles from
the Grampians. The march, Avhich in the two nights and a day this army liad
performed, could not be much short of seventy miles, and they must now have
been in great want of rest. Baillie, who had taken post for the night at For-
far, intending in the morning to fall down upon Montrose at Arbroath, where
he calculated upon his halting, no sooner learned the manner in which he
had eluded him, tlian, determined to overtake him, he marched from Forfar,
with such haste that his horse were in sight of Rlontrose, ere that general
was apprized that he was pui-sued. His men were in such a profound sleep, that
it was not without difficulty they were awakened ; but they were no sooner so
than they fled into the recesses of Glenesk, and Baillie abandoned the pursuit.
The part of IMontrose's troops that had been with the baggage sent to Brechin,
liad also by this time taken refuge among the Grampians, and in the course of
next day joined their companions.

JAMES GRAIIAIvr. 521

The parliamentary committee seem now to have i-egarded Qlontrose as a sort
of predatory outlaw, ivhom it was vain to pui-sue upon the mountains and if
they could confine him to these mountains, wliich he had already laid in many
places Maste, they seem for a time to have been willing to be satisfied. Baillie
was accordingly stationed at Perth, to defend the passes into the southern
shires, and Hurry was to defend, if possible, the northern counties from that
spoliation to which they had been oftener than once subjected. Monti-ose's fol-
lowers, in the meantime, going home to deposit their plunder as usual, his nu-
merical force was for a time considerably reduced. He, however, came as far
south as Grief, for the purpose of meeting with his nephew, the master of Napier,
viscount Aboyne, Stirling of Pieir, and Hay of Dalgetty, who, with a few horse,
had left their friends in England for the pui-pose of joining with him. Here Bail-
lie attacked him, and chased him into the fastnesses at the head of Strathearn ;
Avhence, next day, April the 19th, he proceeded through Balquhidder to iMen-
teith, where he had the good fortune to meet with his friends at the ford of
Cardross. Here he had certainly been cut off from the Highlands, but that
fll'Coll had broken down upon the lordship of Cupar Angus, killed the minister
of Cupar, and was laying waste the whole lands of lord Balmerinocli, which at-
tracted the attention of Baillie. Montrose, in the meantime, learning that
Hurry was too many for his friends in the north, marched through Strath Tay
and Aihol, rhising the Highlanders every where as he went along ; and before
Huri'y was aware that he had crossed the Grampians, suddenly appeared behind
his position at Strathbogie. Though thus taken by surprise, Huii-y made his
retreat good to Inverness ; and being reinforced by the troops lying there,
marched back the next day to Nairn, with the design of attacking Blontrose,
Mho, he learned, was posted at the village of Auldearn. Montrose would now
have avoided a battle, but that he knew Baillie would soon be up, when lie would
have both Hurry and Baillie to contend with. It was on the 9th of May,
16 15, that the two armies came in sight of each other. Montrose, who was de-
ficient in numbers, made an admirable disposition of his troops. One division,
consisting of the (jordons and tlie horse, he placed on the left, to the south of
the village ; the other, comprehending the Irish and the Highlanders, he aiTang-
ed on the right, amidst the gardens and enclosures, to the north. The former
he commanded in person, with lord Gordon under him ; the latter was given to
M'Coll. Hurry, unacquainted with the ground, led on his best troops to the
attack of the right, as the main body, which was inclosed in impenetrable lines,
and where he was exposed to the fire of cannon which he had no means of
silencing. M'Coll, however, Avho was no general, provoked by the taunts of his
assailants, came out of his fastnesses, and overcome by superiority of numbers and
discipline, was speedily put to the rout. Montrose, who was watching an op-
portunity, no sooner perceived Hurry's men disordered by their success, than
with his unbroken strength he attacked them in flank. This unexpected attack,
however, was received with great steadiness by Lothian's, Loudon's, and Buchan-
an's regiments, who fell uhcre they fought ; and the day might perhaps have
been I'etained, or at least left doubtful, had not colonel Drummond, one of
Hurry's own officers, by a treacherous manoeuvre, wheeled his horse into
the midst of the foot, and ti-ampled them down while they were at the hottest
of the engagement with the enemy, In this battle, as in all of Montrose's, the
carnage was horrid, between two and three thousand killed, few or none being
made prisoners. Sixteen colours, with all the baggage and ammunition fell into
the hands of the victors. Hurry, though an unprincipled mercenary, had ab-
stained from wasting by fire and sword the possessions of the anti-covenanters,
and consequently had provoked no retaliations; bufrMontrose, more ferocious than

JAMES GRAHAM.

ever, ravaged tlie v.liole district anew, comiiiittinij to the flnmes the o;l(>anin£rslio
li.iil in liis ibniier rapacious and merciless visitations been compelled to leave,
through incapacity to destroy. Nairn and I'.lgin were plundered, and tlie chief
houses set on lire ; CuIIcn uas totally laid in ashes, and " sic lands as uerc left
nnburnt lip before were now burnt up." Hui-ry, in the meantime, was allowed
the quiet possession of Invernoss.

On the very day that Hurry was defeated at Auldearn, Baillie had come to
Cairn-a-niount on his way to join him. He had just ravaged Athol, and the
Highlanders were on their way for its rescue, when he was ordered to the north;
and by the Cairn-a-mount came to Cromar, where he learned the fate of his col-
league at Auldearn. On the lOth of IMay he broke up his camp at Cromar,
having peremptory orders to hazard a battle. He himself had experience sut!i-
cient to instruct him in the danger of leading a few raw and dispirited troops
against an army of so much experience and so much confidence as that of
IMontrose ; but having no alternative, he marched to CocVilarachie, whence
he could discern IMontrose's anny in number, as he supposed, nearly equal
to his own, encamped among some enclosures in the neighbom-hood of
that to>vn. The same night he was joined by Huny, with a hundred horse,
the remnants of the army that had fought at Aiddearn, with whom he had fought
his way through Montrose's very lines. Next morning he expected to have had
an encounter, but to his sui-prise ^Montrose was fled. He was followed at some
distance by Baillie, but he took up an impregnable position in Badenoch, where
he awaited the return of M'Coll and his reinforcements, having it in his power
to dra>v from the interior of that wild district abundant supplies. Baillie, on
the contrary, could not find subsistence, and Mithdrew to Inverness to recruit his
commissariat ; ivhich having accomplished, he came south and encamped at New-
ton in the Garioch.

Montrose, in the meantime, penetrated as far as Newtyle in Angus, anti-
cipating an easy victory over the earl of Crawford, who lay at the distance
of only a few miles, with a new army, composed of draughts from the old
for the protection of the Lowlands. When on the point of surprising
this force, he was called to march to the assistance of the Gordons, whose lands
Baillie was cruelly ravaging. On the last day of June, he came up ^\ith Baillie,
advantageously posted near the kirk of Keith, and, declining to attack him,
sent a message that he would fight him on plain ground. Baillie still wished to
clioose his own time and his own way of fighting ; and 3Iontrose recrossed the
Don, as if he designed to fall back upon the Lowlands. This had the
desired effect, and Baillie was compelled, by his overseeing committee, to pm-
sue. On the 2d of July the two armies again met. Montrose had taken
post on a small hill behind the village of Alford, with a marsh in liis rear.
He Ivad Avith him the greater part of the Gordons, the whole of the Irish, the
IM'Donalds of Glengarry and Clanronald, the IM'Phersons from Badenoch,
and some small septs from Athol, the whole amounting to three thousand men.
Baillie, on the other hand, had only thirteen hundred foot, many of them raw
men, with a few troops of lord Balcan-as', and Halket's horse regiment. Montrose,
having double the number of infantry to Baillie, drew up his ai-my in lines six
file deep, with two bodies of reserve. Baillie formed also in line, but only three
file deep, and he had no reserve. Balcarras, who commanded the horse, which
■were divided into three squadrons, charged gallantly with two ; but the third,
when ordered to attack in flank, drew up behind their comi-ades, where they
stood till the others were broken by the Gordons. The foot, commanded by
Baillie in person, fought desperately, refusing to yield even after the horse had
fled ; nor was it till Montrose had brought up his reserve, that the little band

JAMES GRAHAM. 523

was overpowered and finally discomfited. The victory \vas complete, but Mon-
trose had to lament the death of lord Gordon, whose funeral he celebrated
shortly after the engagement witli great military pomp at Aberdeen. No sooner
had he accomplished this, than he sent a party into Euchan, which had hitherto,
from its insular situation, escaped the calamitous visitations that had fallen upon
most places in the north, to bring away all the horses, for the purpose of fur-
nishing out a body of cavalry. It was also proposed to send two thousarjd men
into Strathnaver, to bring the marquis of Huntly safely home through the hostile
clans that lay in liis way. Hearing of the army that was assembling against
him at Perth, however, he laid aside that project, and hastened south to the
little town of Fordun in Kincardineshire, wliere he waited for H'CoU, who very
soon arrived with seven hundred Ptl'Leans, and the whole of the Clanronald,
amounting to five hundred men, at the head of whom was John Muidartach, who
is celebrated in the Highlands to this day for his singular exploits. Graham
of Inchbrackie brought the Athol Highlanders in full force, with the M'Gx-egors,
the BI'Nabs, the Stuarts of Appin, the Farquliarsons of Braemar, with many other
clans of smaller number and inferior note. With this force, which mustered be-
tween five and six thousand men, about the end of July, Montrose came down up-
on Perth, whei-e he understood the parliament was then assembled, hoping to be
able to disperse their army before it came to any Iiead, or even to cut off the
whole members of the government. After he had made ft-equent flourishes as if
he meant to attack them, the army at Perth, being considerably strengthened,
moved forward to offer him battle, when he once more betook himself to the
hills to wait for I'einforcements. Having received all the reinforcements he was
likely to get, and more a great deal than he could expect to keep for any length
of time without action and plunder, he marched back again, oftering tlie army
of Perth battle, ^vhich they did not accept. Not daring to attack their posi-
tion, he passed to Kinross, hoping to draw them into a situation where they
could be attacked with advantage, or to escape tliem altogether and make his
way into England. Baillie followed him by Lindores, ilossie, and Burleigh,
and was joined upon his march by the three Fife regiuients.

From Kinross, Blontrose suddenly took his route for Stirling bridge ;
and in passing down the vale of the Devon burned castle Campbell, tlie beauti-
ful seat of the earl of Argyle ; he burned also all the houses in the
parishes of Dollar and Muckhart ; and while he and his chief officers were
feasted sumptuously by the earl of ftlarr, his Irish auxiliaries plundered the
town of Alloa. Stirling being at this time visited by the plague, Montrose did
not approach it, but, going fui-ther up the river, crossed the Forth at the
ford of Frew. Paillie's army marched close upon his track down the Devon,
passed the Forth by the bridge of Stirling, and on the 14th of August, was
led forward to Denny, where it crossed the Carron, and from thence to a
place called llollan-bush, about four miles to tlie east of Kilsyth, where it en-
camped for the night. In the whole warfare that had been Avaged with Mon-
trose, the game had been played into his hand, and on this occasion it was more
so tlian ever. He had taken up his ground ^\iih mature deliberation, and l.e
had prepared his men by refreshments, and by every possible means for the en-
counter. The covenanters, on the other hand, after a toilsome march across tie
country, took up a position, which tlie general was not allowed to retain. Con-
trary to his own judgment, ho was ordered to occupy a hill which the enemy, if
they had chosen so to do, could have occupied before him. The orders of the
committee, however, were obeyed, the change of ground was made; and while
it was making, a company of cuirassiers, drew from Montrose a remark,
" that the cowardly rascals durst not face them till they were cased in

)24: JAMES GRAHAM.

her. To show our contempt of them let us fight llicm in our shirls.'
With that he threw oil' his coat and waistcoat, tucked up liie sleeves of Iiis sliirt
like a butcher going to kill cattle, at the same time drawing his sword with
fero(;ious resiihition. Tlie proposal was received witli applause, the cavalry
threw olV their upper garments, and tucked up their sleeves ; the foot stripped
themselves naked, even to the feet, and in this state were ready to rush upon
their opponents before they could lake up the places assigned them, 'J he con-
sequence was, the battle was a mere massacre — a race of fourteen miles, in whUh
space six thousand men ^verc cut down and slain.

The victory of Kilsyth gave to Montrose almost the entire power of Scotland ;
there was not the shadow of an army to oppose him ; nor was there in the kin"-
dom any authority that could direct one if there had. What he had formerly
boasted, in his letter to Charles, would now most certainly have been realised
had he possessed either moral or political iniluence. He possessed neither. His
power lay entirely in the s\\ord, and it \\as a consequence of the savage warfare
which he bad waged, that be was most odious to bis countrymen in general, few
of whom loved him, and still fewer dared to trust him. Kctwithstanding the sub-
missions he received from all quarters, there was nothing that with propriety he
could have done but to have taken refuge for another quarter of a year in the
wilds of I3adenoch. He was gratified, however, A\ith submissions from many
quarters during the days he remained at Glasgow and IJothwell, at both which
places he fancied himself in the exercise of regal authority. He had now
his commission as lieutenant-governor of Scotland, and general of all his
majesty's forces there. He was imoowered to raise and command forces in Scot-
land, to march, if expedient, into England, and act against such Scottish sub-
jects as were in rebellion there ; also to exercise unlimited power over the
kingdom of Scotland, to pardon or condemn state prisoners as he pleased, and
to confer the honour of knighthood on whom he would. 15y another connuis-
sion he was impowered to call a parliament at Glasgow on the 2Sth of October
next, where he, as royal commissioner, might consult Mith the king's friends
regarding the further prosecution of the Avar, and the settlement of the king-
dom. He proceeded to knight his associate IMacdonald, and he summoned the
parliament \vhich was never to meet. His mountaineers requested liberty,
which, if he had refused, they would have taken, to depart ^ith their plunder.
The Gordons retired with their chief in disgust, and Alister, now Sir Alister
M'Coll, as there was no longer an army in Scotland, seized the opportunity
to renew his spoliations and revenge his private feuds in Argyleshire.

To save his army from total annihilation, i^Iontrose turned his views to the
south. Hume, Roxburgh, andTraquair, had spoken favourably toward the royal
cause, and he expected to have been joined by them Avith their followers, and a
body of horse which the king had despatched to his assistance, under lord Digby
and Sir iMarmaduke Laiigdale. Ibis party, however, was totally routed in com-
ing through Yorkshire. A party Avhich these two leaders attempted to raise in
Lancashire was finally dispersed on Carlisle sands, a short while before Blon-
trose set out to effect a junction with them ; and while he Avaited near the boi'-
dei's for the promised aid of the three neighbouriiig earls, David Leslie surprised
him at Philiphaugh, near Selkirk, giving as complete an overthrow as he had
ever given to the feeblest of his opponents, on the 13th of September, 1G45.
One thousand royalists were left dead on the field ; and one hundred of the Irish,
taken prisoners, according to an oi-dinance of the parliaments of both kingdoms,
were afterwards shot. JMontrose made his escape from the field Avitli a tew fol-
lowers, and reached Atbol in safety, where be was able still to raise about four
hundred men. Huntly had now left his concealment; but be could not be prcAailed

JAMES GRAHAM. 525

on to join fllontrose. Disappointed in liis attempts to gain Huntly, Montrose re-
turned by Braeniar into Athol, and thence to Lennox, Mhere lie quartered for some
time on the lands of the Buchanans, and hovered about Glasgow till the execution
of his three friends, Sir William Rollock, Sir Philip Nishet, and Alexander Ogil-
vy, younger of Inverquliarity, gave him warning to withdraw to a safer neighbour-
hood. He accordingly once more withdrew to Athol. In the month of Decem-
ber he laid siege to Inverness, before which he lay for several weeks, till Mid-
dleton came upon him with a small force, ^vhen he tied into Tioss-shire, The
spring of lGi'3 he spent in marching and countennarching, constantly endea-
vouring to excite a simultaneous rising among the Highland sepls, but con-
stantly unsuccessful. On the last day of JMay he was informed of the king's
surrender to the Scottish army, and, at the same time, received his majesty's or-
der to disband his forces and withdraw from the kingdom. Ihrough the
iniiuence of the duke of Hamilton, whose personal enemy he had been, he pi-o-
curod an indemnity for his followers, with liberty for himself to remain one
month at his own house for settling his affairs, and afterwards to retire to the
continent. He embarked in a small vessel for Norway on the 3d of September,
1040, taking his chaplain, Dr Wishart, along with him, for whose servant he
passed during the voyage, being afraid of his enemies capturing him on tlio pas-
sage.

From Norway, he proceeded to Paris, where he endeavoured to cultivate the
acfjuainlance of Henrietta Maria, the queen, and to instigate various expeditions
to Britain in favour of his now captive sovereign. It was not, however, thought
expedient by either Charles or his consort, to employ him again in belialf of the
royal cause, on account of the invincible hatred with which he was regarded by all
classes of his countrymen. In consequence of this he went into (Germany, and
offered his services to the emperor, who honoured him with the rank of mareschaJ,
and gave him a commission to raise a regiment. He vas busied in levying this
corps, Avhen he received the news of the king's death, which deeply affected him.
He was cheered, ho\vever, by a message soon after to repair to the son of the late
king, afterwards Charles II., at the Hague, for the purpose of receiving a ccm-
nn'ssion for a new invasion of his native country. With a view to this expe-
dition, he undertook a tour through several of the northern states of Europe,
under the character of ambassador for the king of Great Britain, and so ardently
did he advocate the cause of depressed loyalty, that he received a considerable
sum of money from the king of Denmark, fifteen hundred stand of arms from
the queen of Sweden, five large vessels from the duke of Holstein, and from the
state of Holstein and Hamburg between six and seven hundred men. Having
selected the remote islands of Orkney as the safest point of rendezvous, he des-
patched a part of his troops thither so early as September, IG49 ; but of twelve
hundred whom he embarked, only two hundred landed in Orkney, the rest per-
ishing by shipwreck.

It was about this time, that in an overflowing fit of loyalty, he is alleged to
have superintended the disgraceful assassination of Dorislaus, the envoy of the
English parliament at the Hague ; on which account young Chai'les v,as under
the necessity of leaving the estates. W hen fliontrose arrived in the Orkneys
in the month of March, 16 50, with the small remainder of his forces, he found
that from a difference between the enrls of Morton and Kinnoul, to the latter
of whom he had himself granted a commission to be commander, but the former
of whom claimed the rigiit to connnand in virtue of his being lord of the
islands, there had been no progress made in the business. He brought along
only five hundred foreigners, officered by Scotsmen, which, with the two hun-
dred formerly sent, gave him only seven hundred men. To these, by the aid

626 JAMES GRAHAM.

of sereral loyal geiitleiucn, Iio was able to add about eight hundred Orcadians,
who from their unwarlike habits, and their disinclination to the service, added
little to his etVeclive strength. After a residence in Orkney of three weeks, ho
embarked the whole of his forces, fifteen hundred in number, at the Holm
Sound, the mcst part of them in fishing boats, and landed in safety nea
.lolin O'tiroat's house. Caithness, Sutherland, and Ross had been exempted
in tlie late disturbances from those ravages that had overtaken every place
south of Inverness, and 3Iontrose calculated on a regiment from each of them.
For this purpose he had brought a great banner along with him, on which was
painted the corpse of Cluales I. the head being separated from the trunk, uitli
the motto that was useil for the nmrdered Darnley, " Judge and avenge my
cause, O Lord." It had no elVect, however, upon the simple natives of these
regions, except to excite their avci-sion, and they every wliere fled before him.
In order to secure a retreat to the Orkneys, the castle of Dunbeath \vas taken
possession of, and strongly garrisoned by 3Iontrose. /ive hundred men were
also sent forward to occupy the hill of Ord, which they accomplished just as the
earl of Sutherland was advancing to take possession of it. Sutherland retired
rapidly before him, leaving his houses of Dunneciiin, Shelbo, Ski bo, and Dornoch,
under strong garrisons for the protection of his lands. Blontrosc, mortified to find
in Sutherland the same aversion to him as in Caithness, and confident of his
strength and of the distance of his enemies, sent a message to the earl of
Sutherland, threatening to subject liis estates to military execution if he
continued to neglect his duty and the royal cause. Colonel Strachan had,
ho^vever, by this time readied Tain, wliere he met with his lordship and his
friends the Rosses and 3Iunroes, to the amount of five or six hundred men.
Here it was determined that Sutherland should get behind 3Iontrose, so as to
prevent his i-etreat to the north, while Strachan with four troops of horse, as-
sisted by the Rosses and Munroes, should march up in his front. When witiiin
two miles of him, they concealed themselves in a field of broom, and sent out
scouts to observe the motions and calculate the strength he had brought along
■with him. Finding that IMor.trose had just sent out a party of forty horse, it
was resolved that the whole should keep hid in the bi"oom, one troop of liorse
excepted, (vhich might lead him to think he had no more to contend witli.
This had the desired effect. JMontrose took no pains to strengthen his posi
tion but placing his horse a little in advance, waited their approach on a piece
of low ground close by the mouth of the river Kyle. Straclian then mai-shalled
his little party for the attack, dividing the wliole into four paiis, the first of
which be commanded in person ; and it was his intention, that \vhile he himself
rode up with his party, so as to confirm the enemy in the notion that there were
no more to oppose, the remaining parties should come up in quick succession, and
at once overwhelm him A\ith the announcement that he was surprised by a lamo
army. The plan ^\as completely successful. 3Iontrose no sooner saw the
strength of tlie presbyterians, than, alarmed for the safety of his foot, he oi-dered
them to retire to a craggy hill behind his position. Strachan, however, made
such haste that though it was very bad i-iding ground, he overtook the retiring-
invaders before t!iey could reach their place of refuge. The mercenaries alone
showed any disposition to resist — the rest threw down their arms without so
much as firing a shot. Slontrose fought with desperate valour, but to no avail.
He could only save himself by flight. The carnage, considering the number of
the combatants, was dreadful. Several hundrec's were slain, and upwards of
four hundred taken prisoners. On the part of the victors only two men were
Avounded and one drowned. The principal standard of the enemy, and all
Montrose's papers, fell into the hand^ of tlie victors.

JOHN GEAHAM. 627

Montrose, who fled from the field upon his friend the young viscount Fren-
draught's Iioi-se, his o'.vn being killed in the battle, I'ode for some space with a
friend or two that made their escape along with him ; but the ground becoming
bad, he abandoned in succession his horse, his friends, and his cloak, star, and
sword, and exchanging clothes with a Highland rustic, toiled along the valley
on foot. Ignorant of the locality of the country, he knevv' not so much as
where he was going, except that he believed he was leaving his enemies
behind him, in which ha was fatally mist.aken. His pursuers had found
in succession, his horse, his cloak, and his sword, by which they conjectured
that he had fled into Assynt ; and accordingly the proprietor, iNeil ^lacleod,
was enjoined to apprehend any stranger ha might find upon his ground.
Parties were immediately sent out, and by one of them he was appre-
hended, along with an ofiicor of the name of Sinclair. The laird of Assynt
had served under 3Iontro3e ; but was nosv alike regardless of the promises and
the threalenings of his old commander. The fugitive was unrelentingly deli-
vered up to general Leslie, and by Strachan and Halket conducted in the same
mean habit in which he was taken, towards Edinbui'gh, At the house of the
laird of Grange, near Dundee, he had a change of raiment, and by the as-
sistance of an old lady had very nearly effected his escape. He had been ex-
communicated by the church and forfeited by the parliament so far back as
1644, and now sentence v.as pronounced against him before he was brought
to Edinburgh. His reception in tlie capital was that of a condemned ti-aitor,
and many barbai-ous indignities were heaped upon him ; in braving which he be-
came, Avhat he could never otherwise have been, in some degree an object
of popular sympathy. He was executed on Tuesday the 2 1st of 3Iay, 1G50, ia
a dress the most splendid that he could command, and with the history of his
achievements tied round his neck ; defending with his latest bi'eath his exertions
in behalf of distressed royalty, and declaring that his conscience was completely
at rest. His limbs were afterwards exposed \vith useless barbarity at the gates
of the principal towns in Scotland.

Montrose appeared to cardinal du Retz as a hero fit for the pages of Plu-
tarch, being inspire<l by all the ideas and sentiments which animated the classic
personages whom that ^n-iter has commemorated. He certainly is entitled to
the praise of great military genius, of uncompromising ardour of purpose, and
of a boldness both in the conception and execution of great designs, such as
are rarely found in any ckss of men. It is not to be denied, however, that
ambition was nearly his highest principle of action, and that the attainment of
his objects was too often sought at the expense of humanity. As might be ex-
pected, his memory was too much cherished by his own party, and unreasonably
detested by the other ; but historical truth now dictates that he had both his
•^■lorious and his daxli features, all of which were alike the characteristics of a
great and pregnant mind, soaring beyond the sphere assigned to it, but hardly
knowing how to pursue greatness with virtue.

GRA°liA3I, John', viscount of Dundee, was the elder son of Sir William
Graham of Ckiverhouse, an estate with an old castle attached near Dundee.
The family of Claverhouse was a branch of that of 3Iontrose, and the mother of
the subject of this memoir was lady Jean Carnegie, third daughter of John,
first earl of Northesk. Young Graham ivas educated between 1G60 and 1670,
at St Andrews univei-sity, where he distinguished himself by a proficiency in
mathematics, by an enthusiastic passion for Highland poetry, and the zeal in-
herited from his family in behalf of the then established order of things in
church and state. His abilities recommended him to the attention of archbishop
Sharpe, Avhose death he afterwards revenged by so many severities. He com-

528 JOHN GRA^A.^^.

menced liis military career as a volunteer in the IVcncli service, and ulien tlio
Britisl) war uilli Holland was concluded, became a cornet in the guards of the
pi-ince of Orange, wliose life he saved at the battle of Senolf, in the year 1671 ;
a service for ivliich he was rewarded by receiving a captain's commission in the
same corps. One of the Scottish regiments in the service of the States shortly
after becoming vacant, from the favour of the prince, and his interest with the
court of England, (jraham was induced to ofler himself as a candidate for it.
It was, however, carried against him, in consequence of which he determined to
abandon the Dutch service, and in 1677 returned to Scotland, bringing with
him particular recommendations from the prince of Orange to Iting Charles, who
appointed him captain to the first of three troops of horse which he was raising
at that time for enforcing compliance with the established religion. Of all who
Avere employed in this odious service, capLiin Cirahani was the most indefatigable
and unrelenting. His dragoons were styled by the less serious part of the
people, the ruling elders of the church ; and recusancy was the great crime tliey
had it in charge to repress. Conventicles, as they were called, the peaceable
assemblies of the people in the open fields, to hear from their own ministers the
word of God, were the objects against which Clavers, as he was called in con-
tempt, had it in charge to wage an exterminating warfare ; and to discover and
bring to punishment' such as frecpiented them, he spared not to practise the most
detestable cruelties. But though the subject of this memoir was the most forward
and violent, he was not the sole persecutor of the field preachers and their ad-
herents. In every quarter of the country, particularly in the shire of Fife, and in
the southeiui and western counties — there was a Sharp, an Earlshall, a Johnston, a
Bannatyne, a Grierson, an Oglethorpe, or a 3Iain, with each a host of inferior
tyrants, who acted under him as spies and informers — in consequence of whose
procedure no man was for a moment safe in his life or his property, either in
house or in field, at home or abroad. Arms, of coui-se, were necessarily resort-
ed to by the sufferers, and a party of them falling in by accident with the pri-
mate Shai'pe, in the beginning of iMay, 1G79, put him to death, Avhich excited the
fears, and, of course, the rage of the whole of the dominant parly to the high-
est pitch of extravagance ; and in pursuit of the actors in that afrair, and to put
down all conventicles by the way, Claverhouse and his dragoons, ivith a party of
foot, were immediately sent to tlie west.

JMeanwhile a party in arms had assembled in Evandale, to the number of eighty
persons, with Robert Hamilton of Preston at their head, and came to Ruther-
glen, on the 29tli of May, the anniversary of the restoration — extinguished the
bonfires that were blazing in honour of the day — and having burned the act of
supremacy, the declaration, &c., published at the market cross of that burgh, a
short testimony against all these acts, since kno^vn by the name of the Ruther-
glen Declaration, returned to Evandale. Sermon having been announced by
some of their preachers on the approaching Sunday, June the first, in the
neighbourhood of Loudon hill ; Claverhouse, who it appears was either in
Glasgow or its neighbourhood at the time, and had information both of what
they had done and of what they intended to do, folloAved almost upon their
heels, and on Saturday the 31st of May, surprised and made prisoners in the
neighbourhood of Hamilton, Mr John King, and seventeen persons on their way
to join the meeting at Loudon-hill. Tying his prisoners together, two and two,
and driving them before him like cattle, to be witnesses to the murder of their
brethren, he hasted on Sunday morning early, by the way of Strathaven, to surprise
them before they should have time to be fully assembled. 1 he service, ho\vevtr,
was begun by 3Ir Thomas Douglas, Avho had been an actor in the publicalion
of the Rutherglen Declaration on the preceding Thursday, before he could come

JOHN GRAHAM. 529

up; and having notice of liis appi'oacli, about fifty horsemen, and from one
hundred and fifty to two hundred foot left the meeting, and met their persecu-
tors at Drumclog-, ^vhere, being united in lieart and mind, and properly con-
ducted, they in a few minutes routed the royal troops. Claverhouse him-
self naiTOwly e?papcc1, with the loss of his colours, between thirty and forty of
Ills men, and all his prisoners. Of the country people there were not above
three killed and but few wounded. Claverhouse fled with the utmost precipi-
tation to Glasgow, where he had left the lord Ross with a number of troops ;
and, had the covenantei'S pursued him, they might have been masters of
tlie city the same day. They waited, however, till next day, before they at-
tacked Glasgow, and the streets having been barricaded, they Mei-e repulsed
witli considerable loss by the troops, ^vho were thus enabled to fight under cover.
As the countrymen took up ground at no great distance, and as their numbers
■were rapidly augmenting, Claverhouse and lord Ross did not think it prudent to
aitempt keeping possession of Glasgow, but on the Sd of June, retreated towards
Stirling, carrying along with tliem in carts a number of the wounded country-
men that had fallen into their ]iands,and on Larbert muir, in the neighbourhood
of Falkirk, were joined by a body of the king's foi-ces under the earl of Lin-
lithgow. Still they did not think themselves a match for the covenanters, and
wrote to the council that it was the general sense of the oflicers, that his niajosly
should bo written to for assistance from England without loss of time.

The duke of Monmouth was in consequence appointed to the counnaiid of the
army; the whole of the militia v.ere called out, and two regiments of dragoons
under Oglethorpe and Main, then in sunnner quarters in the north of England,
ordei'ed to join them. On the 17th, Monmouth arrived at Edinburgh. He
joined the army, Mhich had been increased to upwai-ds of ten thousand men, on
the 19th, and on Sunday the 22d, confronted the poor insurgents in their
original encampment upon Hamilton muir, and instead of m.aking preparations
to receive an enemy, quarrelling about the manner in which their grievances
should be stated, or whether they were to supplicate or to fight ; yet a part
of the countrymen, with some pieces of cannon, stationed to defend the passage
of Roth well bridge, behaved with the coolness of veteran troops. After hav-
ing maintained the unequal conflict for upwards of an hour, this little band of
heroes were obliged to retreat for the want of ananunition. Blonmouth's whole
force crossed by the bridge, and it was no longer a battle but a disorderly i-out,
every individual shifting for himself in the way he thought best. Claverhouse
requested tliat he might be allowed to sack and to burn Glasgow, Hamilton,
Stratliaven, and the adjacent country, for the countenance they had given
to the rebels, as he termed them, but in reality for the sake of spoil, and to
gratify a spirit of I'evenge for the affront he sustained at Drumclog. This,
however, the duke had too much humanity to permit. Rut he had abundant
room for satiating his revenge afterwards, being sent into the west with tlie
most absolute powers ; which he exercised in such a manner as has made his very
name an execration to this day.

In 1GS2, Claverhouse Mas appointed shei'ift'of Wigton, in which office his bro-
ther, David (Graham was joined \\ith him the year following. To particularize tlie
murders and the robberies committed by tlie brothers, in the exercise of their
civil and military callings, would require a volume. E-nsnaring oaths and healths,
Claverhouse himself had ever at his finger ends ; and if any refused these, they
Avere instantly drr.ggcd to prison, provided there was a prospect of making any
thing out of them in the May of money ; otherwise they had the advantage of
being killed on the spot, though sometimes not without being victims of the
most refined cruelty. This was particularly the cause with regard to John

530 JOHN GRAHAM.

Brown styled the Cliristian Carrier, whom Claverhonsc laid liold of in a summer
moniinij in ItiSS, e:oin£r to his \vorl< in tlie fit'lds. Intendinjr to kill this
innocent and uortliy |»ei-son, tlie peisecutor broiia;hl liini back to liis own house,
and siili'iectcd hiui to a long examination, before his wifo and family. J5c-
inn- solidly and seriously answered, he tauntinnly inquired at his prisoner
if he was a preacher; and in the same spirit, when answered in the nec^ative,
remarked, " If he had never preaclied meikle, he had prayed in his time;"
informing him at the same time that he was instantly to die. The poor nnoffend-
ing- victim addressed himself to the duty of prayer, along with his family, w ith
all the fervour of a devout mind in the innnediaLe prospect of eternity, and thrice
by Claverhouse was interrupted by llie remark, that he had got time to pray, but
was beginning to preach. With one simple reply, that he knew neither the
nature of praying nor preaching, the good man \vent on and concluded his ad-
dress, Avithout the smallest confusion, lie was then commanded to take farewell
of his Avifc and children, which he did with the most resigned composure, kissing-
them individually and wishing all purchased and promised blessings, along with
his own, to be multiplied upon them. A volley from six of the troopers then
scattered his head in fragments upon the ground ; when Claverhouse, mounting
his horse, as if to insult the sorrows of the woman whom he had thus wickedly
made a widow, asked her what she thought of her husband now. " I thought
ever nmch of him," was the reply " and now as much as ever." — " It were
justice,'' said he, " to lay thee beside him." — " If ye were pcnnitted,'' said the
much injured woman, " 1 doubt not but your cruelty would carry you that length ;
but how will you make answer for this morning's work?'' — " To man I can be
answerable,'' said the audacious tyrant, " and for God, I will take him in mine
own hand ;" and putting spurs to hishox'se, galloped off, leaving the Avoman with
her bei'eaved babes, and the coi-pse of her murdered husband, without a friend or
neighbour that was not at some miles distance. The poor woman, borrowing
strength from her despair, meantime set down her infant on the ground, ga-
thered and tied up the scattered brains of her husband, straighted his body,
wrapping it up in her plaid, and, Avith her infants around her, sat down and
wept over him. Claverhouse had, in the year previous to this, been consti-
tuted captain of the royal regiment of horse, was sworn a privy councillor,
and had a gift from the king of the estate of Dudhope, and along with it the
oonstabularyship of Dundee, then in the hands of Lauderdale, upon paying a
sura of money to the chancellor.

On the accession of James VII. he was left out of the privy council, on
pretence, that having mari-ied into the family of Dundonald, it was not fit that
he should be intrusted ^vith the king's secrets. He was very soon, however,
restored to his place in the council, had the rank of a brigadier-general be-
stowed on him in 1 6 86, and some time afterwards, that of major-general. On
the l'2th of November, 16 88, being then with the king in London, he was creat-
ed a peer, by the title of viscount of Dundee and lord Gi-aham of Claverhouse,
This was a week after William prince of Orange had landed to reverse the order
of thino-s under which his lordship had reaped so much honour and pre-
ferment. When his majesty withdrew to Rochester, Lord Dundee strongly
dissuaded him from leaving the kingdom, promising to collect ten thousand
of his disbanded soldiers, to mai-ch through England, driving the prince
of Orange before him. Happily for the country, and perhaps for Dun-
dee, his advice was not taken, and still meditating mischief, he came to
Edinburgh, bringing a troop of sixty horse along with him, which had
deserted from his regiment in England. The westland men, however, who had
come into the city of Edinburgh to protect the convention, till regularly author-

JOHN GRAHAiT. 531

ized troops should be raised, had their eye upon liim, as one who ought to be
called to account for the many slaughters he had committed ; and suspecting that
he intended by tlie help of his dragoons, to add that of the lords Crawford and
Cardross to the number, they mounted guard upon the lodgings of these two
noblemen. This seemed to give great uneasiness to the lord Dundee, who in the
convention which he attended only for a few days, was always putting the
question, what Avas meant by bringing in the rabble; Avhich not being answered
to his lordship's mind, he thought it prudent to retire from the city. Gene-
ral Slackay with fifteen troops of horse, by orders from the convention, pur--
sued him through the shires of Perth, Angus, Aberdeen, Buchan, Banff, Moray
and Nairn. On the 1st of May, 1G89, Dundee, with one hundred and fifty
horse, joined Macdonald of Keppoch, who with nine hundred men had invested
Inverness, partly because they had proclaimed the prince of Orange king, and
partly for assisting the Jl'Intoshes, with Avhom he was at odds. The town, how-
ever, compromised the matter by a gift to Keppoch of two thousand dollars,
Dundee acting the part of a mediator between them. He offered himself in the
same character to M'Intosh; but the chieftain refused to submit to his dictation,
for which tliey drove away his cattle, and divided them, — part to the use of
the army, and part to Keppoch's tenants. x\fter having subsisted upon this
booty along \vith Keppoch for upwards of six weeks, he, with his hundred and
fifty horse, came unexpectedly upon the town of Perth, where he made some
prisoners, seized upon a number of horses, and appropriated nine thousand
marks of the king's cess and excise. From Perth he marched upon Dundee,
but the citizens sliut their gates against him ; and, unable to force an entrance,
he turned aside to liis own house at Dudhope. After occupying this mansion
two niglits he returned to Keppoch, whence, after a residence of six weeks, he
marched into Badenoch to meet general Mackay and the laird of Grant, who had
an army of nearly two thousand foot and upwards of two hundred horse. Mac-
kay and Grant, though superior in numbers, retreated before him till they had
passed Strathbogie. Dundee pui'sued with great ardour till he came to Edin-
glassy, where he learned that Mackay had received considerable reinforcements :
after resting a few days, he returned to Keppoch. Here, besides recruits
from Ireland, he was joined by 31acdonald of the Isles with five hundred men, by
Macdonald of Glengary, the captain of Clanronald, Sir John Maclean, Cameron
of Lcchiel, and others, each with a body of retainers eager to be led against the Sas-
senach, for the sake of their expatriated sovei'eign. Thus reinforced with an army
of t'.vo thousand five hundred men, he advanced upon Blair in Athol. General
Mackay being at Perth, hasted to meet him with an army of three thousand
foot and two troops of horse. IVIarcliing through the pass of Killicranky, he
found Dundee with his anny posted on an enunence, ready to attack him as he
emerged from that dangerous defile. Having little choice of position, Mackay
di-ew up his men in line, three deep, as they could clear the defile, having a
narrow plain before them, and behind them the craggy eminences they liad just
passed, and the deep and rapid water of TummeJ. Dundee's army was fonned
in dense masses, according to their clans, on an opposite eminence ; whence about
an hour befoi-e sunset they descended, in their shirts and doublets, with
the violence of their own mountain torrents; and, though they received three fires,
which killed a great number of them, before they reached Blackay's lines, their
attack was such as in the course of a few minutes threw nearly his whole force in-
to irretrievable confusion. One or two of his regiments happily stood unbro-
ken ; and while he hasted with these to'secure an orderly retreat, Dundee rode
Up at full speed to lead on the IMacdonalds, to complete the victory : but as he was
pointing them on to tbe attack, a random shot struck him below the armpit, and

532 JAMES GKAIXGER.

he fell from his horse inurLnlly wounded. He w.is carried into a neighbouring
<:uttage, where he died the same nii;iit, July 27, 10 Si). In his i^rave were buried
the iniiis of ills victory, ami for a time liie best iiojies of iiis l»arty, who, «iiile they
eulogized his ciiaracter in the laiigiiane of uiimeasiirctl paneiryric, could not
help seeing tiiat liie <^ause of legitimacy, in S<;(it!and, jierished willi him. It is
hardly necessary to remark, tliat tiiis aiiticijiation was fully jnslilie<l by the
event.

Lord Dundee was married to the honourable Jean Cocliraiic, tli'rd and young'-
cst daughter of lord \\ illiam Cochrane, brotlier to the earl of Umulonald, by whom
he had issue one son, who died in infancy. Of his character, after tlie brief detail
■which ^\Q have given of his actions, it is s<;arcely necessary to speak more particu-
larly. That he was free from many of the debasing vices which disgraced the
greater part of his associates, we have seen no reason to doubt ; but if be was less
sensual, he was umre haughty, more persevcriiigly active, and moreuniformly
and unrelentingly cruel in the exercise of those illegal powers which he was
called upon by a most unprincipled court to exercise, than all his coadjutors put
together.

GilAINGEK, James, a physician and poet of some eminence, was born in
Uunse, about the year 1723. After receiving such eduration as his native town
alforded, he came to Edinburgh, and was bound apprentice to a iMr Lauder, a
surgeon. While in the employment of this gentleman, he studied the various
branches of medicine ; and having qualitied himself for practice, joined the
army, and served as surgeon to lieutenant I'ulteney's regiment of foot, during
the rebellion in Scotland of 1745. On the conclusion of the war, Grainger went
in the same capa(;ity to Germany, but again returned to England at the peace
of Aix-la-Chapelle. lie now sold his connuission, and entered upon practice in
London, but without much success. In 1753 he publislied a treatise in Latin
on some diseases peculiar to the army, entitled '' Historia Febris Intermit-
tentis Armatorum, 1746, 1747, 1748." In the medical knowledge, however,
which this work contained, and which evinced much learni-.ig and skill, together
^vith acuteness of observation, he was, unfortunately for his interest, anticipated
by Sir John Pringle in his celebrated work on the diseases of the arm\'.

During- Dr Grainger's residence in London, he became intimately acquainted
with many of the men of genius then resident there ; amongst these were Shen-
stone, Br Percy, Glover, Dr Johnson, and Sir Joshua lieynolds; by all of
\vhoni he was much esteemed for his amiable mannei's, and i-especled for his
talents.

The poetical genius of Dr Grainger was first made known by his publishing
an " Ode on Solitude," whicli met with a favourable reception, and Avas, al-
though now perhaps but little known, much praised by the reviewers of the day.
His want of professional success now compelled him to look to bis literary
talents for that support which his medical practice denied him, and he endea-
voured to eke out a scanty livelihood by wTiling for booksellers ; and in this way
he was employed by iMr IMiller in compiling the second volume of iMaitland's
history of Scotland, from the materials left by the latter at his death.

In 175S, he published a ti-anslation of tiie " Elegies of TibuUus," This work
was severely handled in the critical reviews, where it was allowed none of the
merit which in reality it possesses.

Dr Grainger now got involved in a controversy with Smollett, with whom he
had formerly been on terms of friendship. The cause of their difference is not
now kno\vn, but if it bore any proportion to the severity with which Smollett on
all occasions treated his quondam friend, it must have been a serious one. He
abused Dr Grainger in every possible shape, availed himself of every oppor-

SIR FRANCIS GRANT. 533

tunity of reviling and humiliating liiin, and pursued his system of hostility with
the most unrelenting bitterness.

Soon after the publication of tlie " Elegies," Dr Gx-ainger went out as a physi-
cian to the island of St Christopher's, where an advantageous settlement had been
oftered him. On the voyage out he formed an acquaintance, in his professional
capacity, with the wife and daughter of Matthew Burt, esq., the governor of St
Christopher's ; tiie latter of whom he married soon after liis arrival en the island.
Having thus formed a connexion with some of tlie principal families, he there
commenced his career with every prospect of success. To his medical avoca-
tions lie now added those of a planter, and by their united profits soon realized
an independency.

On the conclusion of tiie wai', Dr Grainger returned for a sliort time to Eng-
land. While there, he published (1764) the result of his West India experience,
in a poem entitled the " Sugar Cane." This work was also much praised at
the time, and certainly does possess many passages of great beauty; but without
arraigning the author's talents, since his subject precluded any thing like senti-
ment or dignity, it cannot be considered in any other light, than as an ill-
judged attempt to elevate things in themselves mean and wholly unadnpted for
poetry.

In the same year (1704) he also published " An Essay on the more common
West India diseases, and the remedies which that country itself produces ; to
Avhicli are added, some hints on the management of negroes." Besides these
works, Dr Grainger was the author of an exceedingly pleasing ballad, entitled
" Bryan and Pereene." After a short residence in England, he returned to St
Christopher's, where he died on the 2ith December, 1767, of one of those epi-
demic fevers so counnon in the West Indies.

GRANT, Sin Francis, of Cullen, a judge and political writer, was the son of
Ai'chibald Grant of Bellinton,' in the north of Scotland, a cadet of the family
of Grant of Grant, tlie various branches of which, at that period, joined the
same political party, which was supported by the subject of this memoir. He
was born about the year 1600, and received the elementary part of his educa-
tion at one of the universities of Aberdeen. He was destined for the profession
of the law ; and as at that period there were no regular institutions for the attain-
ment of legal knowledge in Scotland, and the eminent schools of law on the
continent furnished admirable instruction in the civil law of Rome, on which the
principles of the greater part of the Scottish system are founded, — along with
most of tlve aspirants at the Scottish bar, Mr Grant pursued his professional
studies at Leyden, where he had the good fortune to be under the auspices
of the illustrious commentator Joiin Voet ; an advantage by whlcii he is said to
have so far profited, that the great civilian retained and expi-essed for years
afterwards a high opinion of his diligence and attainments, and recommended to
ills other students the example of his young Scottish pupil. He seems indeed
to have borne thi'ough his whole life a character remarkable for docility, mo-
desty, and unobtrusive firmness, which procured him the countenance and re-
spect of his seniors, and brought him honours to which he did not apparently
aspire. Immediately on his return to Scotland, and in consequence of the ex-
hibition of Ills qualifications at the trial preparatory to his passing at the bar, wo
find him attracting the notice of Sir George M'Kenzie, then lord advocate, at
the head of the Scottish bar, and in tiie full enjoyment of his wide-spread repu-
tation ; a circumstance creditable to the feelings of both, and which must have

1 Such is his pnternily, as given in Haig and Brunton's History of the College of Justice, on
tiie authority of Milne's iffiiealogical MS. VVo'Jrow, inoue of fiis miscellaneous manuscripts,
ays, he understood liini to be tlie son of a clergyman.

534 SIR FRANCIS GRANT.

been peculiarly gi-atifying to the younger man, from the circumstance of his
early displaying- a detcnninefl opposition to llio political measures of the lord
advocate. iMr Cirant was only twonty-ei^lit years of age, when he took an ac-
tive part in that memorable convention (vhich sat in the earlier part of the year
IGSU, to decide on tlie claims of the prince of Orange ; and when older politi-
cians va<;lllatcd, and looked to accident for the direction of their future con-
duct, he boldly adopted his line of politit^s, and argued strongly, and it would
appear not without eifect, that tlie only fit course to pursue, was to bestow on
the prince the full riglit of sovereignty, with those limitations only which a care
for the integrity of the constitution might dictate, and without any insidious
provisions wliicii miglit afterwards distiMct tiie nntion, by a recurrence of the
claims of the house of Stuai-t. His zeal for the cause he had adopted prompt-
ed him at that juncture to publish a small controversial work, which ho
c;ilied, " Tile Loyalist's Keasons for his giving obedience, and swearing allegiance
to the present (iovernment, as being obliged thereto, by (it being founded on)
the Laws of God, Nature, and Nations, and Civil, by F. (i." In Uie freedom of
modern political discussion, the arguments which were produced as reasons for
a change of government would appear a little singular ; tlic whole is a point of
law tightly argued, as if fitted to meet the eye of a cool and skilful judge,
who has nothing to do but to discover its accordance or disagreement with the
letter of the law. The ground, however, upon which ho has met his adversaries
is strictly of their own choosing, and the advocate for a revolution seems to have
adhered with all due strictness to relevancy and sound law. He founds his
arguments on certain postulates, from which, and the facts of the case, he de-
duces that king James had forfeited his superiority, by committing a gi-and
feudal delict against his vassals ; and the throne being thus vacated, he shows,
in several theses, that the prince of Orange had made a conquest of the same,
and had relinquished its disposal to the country, and the country having thus the
choice of a ruler, ought to bestow the government on the generous conqueror.
The whole is wound up by several corollaries, in a strictly syllogistic form. The
i-eascnings are those of an acute lawyer, well interspersed with authorities from
the civil and feudal law ; and it may easily be presumed, that such reasoning,
when applied judiciously and coolly to the subject, had more eftect on the re-
stricted intellect of the age, tlian the eloquence of Dalrymple, or the energy of
Hamilton. Indeed the eflect of the work in reconciling the feudalized minds of
the Scottish genti-y to the alteration, is said to have been practical and appar-
ent; and while the author received honours and emoluments from the crown,
his prudence and firmness made him respected by the party he had opposed.

The tide of IMr Grant's fortune continued to flow with steadiness from the
period of this successful attempt in the political world, and he was constantly in
the eye of government as a trustwortliy person, whose sei'vices might be useful for
furthering its measures in those precarious times. With such views, a baronetcy
was bestowed on him, unexpectedly and without solicitation, in the year 1705,
preparatory to the genei-al discussion of the union of the kingdoms ; and after
the consummation of that measure, he was raised to the bench, where he took
his seat as lord Cullen, in the year 1709. He is said to have added to the
numberless conti'oversial pamphlets on tiie union ; and if certain pamphlets call-
ed " Essays on removing the National prejudices against a union,'' to which
some one has attached his name, be really from his pen, (which, from the cir-
cumstance under which they bear to have been Amtten, is rather doubtful,) they
show him to have entered into tlie subject with a libemlity of judgment, and an
extent of information seldom exhibited in such controversies, and to have pos-
sessed a peculiarly acute foresiglit of the advantages of an intercliange of com-

SIR FRANCIS GRANT. 535

nierce and privileges. Lord Cullen was a Avarm friend to the church of Scot-
land, a maintainer of its pi-istine purity, and of what is more essential than th^
form, or even the doctrine of any church, the means of preserving its moral
influence on the character and liabits of the people. " He was," says Wodrow,
" very useful for the executing of the la^vs against immorality." The power of
the judicature of a nation over its morality, is a subject to which he seems to have
long paid much attention. We find him, in the year 1700, publishing a tract
entitled, " A brief account of the Rise, Nature, and Progress of the Societies for
the Reformation of manners, &c. in England, with a preface exhorting the use
of such Societies in Scotland.'' This pamphlet embodies an account of the insti-
tution and regulation of these societies, by the Rev. Josiah Woodward, which the
publisher reconunends should be imitated in Scotland. The subject is a delicate
and difficult one to a person who looks forward to a strict and impartial adminis-
tration of the law as a judge, a duty which it is dangerous to combine with
that of a discretionary censor morum ; but, as a private individual, he proposes,
as a just and salutary restraint, that such societies should " pretend to no autho-
rity or judicatory power, but to consult and endeavour, in subserviency to the
magistracy, to promote the execution of the law, by the respective magistrates ;"
a species of institution often followed by well-meaning men, but which is not
without danger. This tract is curious from its having been published for gratis
distribution, and as perhaps the earliest practically moral tract which was pub-
lished for such a purpose in Scotland. The strict religious feeling of the author
afterwards displays itself in a pamphlet, called " A short History of the Sabbath,
containing some few grounds for its morality, and cases about its observance;
with a brief answer to, or anticipation of, several objections against botli ;" pub-
lislied in 1705. This production aims its attaclvs at what the author says are
improperly termed the innocent recreations of the Sabbath. It has all the qua-
lifications which are necessary to make it be received within the strictest defini-
tion of a polemical pamphlet : authorities are gathered together from all quar-
ters of the world; the sacred text is abundantly adduced; and laboured
parallels are introduced, in some cases where there is little doubt of the application,
in others where it is somewhat difficult to discover it. Controversial tracts are
frequently the most interesting productions of any age : they are the ebullition
of the feeling of the time. Called out, generally, by the excitement of a criti-
cal state of aftairs, and unguarded by the thought and reflection bestowed on a
lengthened work, they are, next to speeches accurately reported, the best evi-
dence posterity possesses of the cliaracter of a public writer. Those which Ave
have already referred to are anonymous ; but we have every reason to believe
they have been attributed to the proper quarter ; and before we leave the sub-
ject, we shall tate the liberty of referring to one more tract, which we happened
to pick up in the same situation, on a subject which, some years ago, deeply occupied
the attention of the public, in a position converse to that in which it was pre-
sented to the subject of our memoir. The pamphlet is directed against the re-
storation of church pati-onage ; and it will be remarked that, from the date of its
publication, 1703, it appeared several years previously to the passing of the
dreaded measure ; it is entitled, " Reasons in defence of the standing Laws about
the right of Presentation in Patronages, to be ofl^red against an Act (in case it be)
presented, for the alteration thereof: by a member of Parliament.'' The same
spirit of acute legal reasoning on rights and property, and the means by Avhich
they are affected, to be found in his arguments on the revolution, here, perhaps
with better taste, characterize the author ; and they are, at all events, merely
the conventional colouring of sound and liberal views maintained with discre-
tion and propriety.

53G SIR TRANCIS GRANT.

Lord Ciillen liinl, as liii «'()iup;iiii<)iis on the bciK'li, Cockburn of Orniistoa,
M'Keiizic of Koystoii, lu-skiiie of Dun, ami I'riiigle of Newliall, under tlie pro-
ijidency of Sir Hew Dalryinple, son to tlie celebrated viscount Stair. In the courso
of seventeen years, during- wliich lie tilled tlie responsible station of a judge, and
the more than ordinarily responsible situation of a Scottish judge, lie is assert-
ed by his friends to have been impartial in tlie interpretation of the laws,
vigilant in their application, and a protector of the poor and pcisocuted, and,
what is more conducive to the credit of the assertion, no enemy has contradicted
it. A character of his manner and qualifications is thus given in rather obscure
terms by Wodrow: — " His style is dark and intricate, and so were his jjleadings
at the bar, and his discourses on the bench. One of his fellow senators tells me
lie was a living library, and the most I'cady in citation. When the lords wanted
any thing in the civil or canon law to be cast up, or acts of parliament, he
never failed them, but turned to the place. He seemed a little ambulatory iji
his judgment as to church government, but was a man of great piety and devo-
tion, wonderfully serious in prayer, and learning the ^vord." It is not impro-
bable, that by the terms " dark and intricate," the historian means, ^vhat would
now be cxpi-esscd by "profound and subtle." The confidence which his friends,
and the country in general, reposed in his generosity and justice, is said to have
been so deeply felt, that on his intimating an intention to dispose of his paternal
estate, and invest the proceeds, along ■with his professional gains, in some other
manner, many decayed families otiered their shattered estates for his purchase,
in the hope that his legal skill, and undcviating equity, might bo the means of
securing to them some small remnant of the price — the condition of incumbrance
to which they had been long subjected, and the improbability of their being
enabled, by the intricate courses of the feudal law, to adjust the various secui-ities,
forbidding them to expect such a result by any other measure. On this occasion
lie purchased the estate of Monymuslc, still the property of his descendants, and
it is nobly recorded of him, that he used his legal acuteness in classing the various
demands against the estate, and compromising with the creditors, so as to be
enabled to secure a considerable surjilus sum to the vender of a property which
was burdened to an amount considci'ably above its value.

Although acute, however, in his management of the business of others, lord
Cullen has borne the reputation of having been a most remiss and careless
manager of his own affairs ; a defect which seems to have been perceived and
rectified by his more prudent and calculating spouse, who bore on her own
shoulders the whole burden of the family matters. It is narrnted that this sa-
gacious lady, finding that the ordinary care which most men bestow on their
own business was ineffectual in drawing her husband's attention to the proper
legal security of his property, was in the habit, in any case where her mind
misgave her as to the probable effect of any measure she wished to adopt, of
getting the matter represented to him in the form of a " case," on which his
opinion was requested as a lawyer.

'iliis excellent and useful man died at Edinburgh on the 23d of 3Iarcli,
172G, of an illness which lasted only two days, but which, from its commence-
ment, was considered mortal, and thus prepared him to meet a speedy death.
His friend, Wodrow, stating that the physician had given information of his
mortal illness to lord Cullen's brother-in law, IMr Fordyce, thus records the
closing scene : — " IMr Fordyce went to him, and signified so much, IMy lord,
after he had told liim, smiled and put forth his hand and took my infoi-mer by
the hand, and said, Brother, you have brought me the bast news ever I heard,
and signified he was desirous for death, and how welcome a message this was.
He had no great pain, and spoke to the edification of all who came to see him,

sill SAMUEL GREIG. 537

and that day, and till Wednesday at 12, ->\Iien he died, was without a cloud,
and ill full assurance of faith."'

Besides the works already mentioned, lord Cullen published " Law, Religion,
and Education, considered in three Essays," and " A Key to the Plot, by reft 'c-
tions on tlie rebellion of 1715." He left behind him three sons and five
daughters. His eldest son, Sir Archibald, for some time represented the shire
of Aberdeen in parliament. The second, William, was a distinguished orna-
ment of the Scottisli bar. He was at one time procui-ator to the church, and
principal clerk to the General Assembly. In 1737, he was appointed solicitor-
general, and in 1738, lord advocate, an office which he held during the re-
bellion of 1745 ; a period which must have tried the virtue of the occupier of
such a situation, but which lias Icfc him the credit of having, in the words of
lord Woodhouselee, perlbnned his duties, "regulated by a principle of ecjuity,
tempering the strictness of the law." He succeeded Grant of Elchies on the
bench iu 1754, taking his seat as lord Prestongrar.ge, and afterwards be-
came lord justice clerk. Ho was one of the commissioners for improving the
fisheries and manufactures of Scotland, and afterwards one of tlie commissioners
for the annexed estates. He died at Ijath, in 1764.

GREIG, (5ir) Samuel, a distinguished naval officer in the Russian service,
was born 30th November, 1735, in tlie village of Inverkeithing in the county
of Fife. Having entered the royal navy at an early period of life, he soon be-
came eminent for his skill in naval afihirs, and remarkable for his zeal and at-
tention to the discharge of his duty, — qualities which speedily raised him to the
rank of lieutenant, and ultimately opened up to him the brilliant career which
he afterwards pursued.

The court of Russia having requested the government of Great Britain to
send out some British naval officers of skill to improve the marine of that coun-
try, lieutenant Greig had the honour of being selected as one. His superior
abilities here also soon attracted the notice of the Russian government, and he
was speedily promoted to the rank of captain, the reward of his indefatigable
services in improving or rather creating tlie Russian fleet, which had been
previously in the most deplorable state of dilapidation.

On a Avar some time after breaking out between the Russians and the Turks,
captain Greig was sent under the command of count Orlow, with a fleet to the
IMediterranean. The Turkish fleet, which they met here, was much superior to
the Russian in force, the former consisting of fifteen ships of the line, the latter of
no more than ten. After a severe and sanguinary but indecisive battle, the
'I'urkish fleet retired during the night close into the island of Scio, where they
were protected by the batteries on land. Notwithstanding the formidable
position which the enemy had taken up, the Russian admiral determined to pur-
sue, and if possible destroy them by means of his fire-ships. Captain Greig's
well known skill and intrepidity pointed him out rs the fittest person in the
fleet to conduct this dangerous enterprise, and lie was accordingly appointed
to the command. At one o'clock in the morning captain Greig bore down
upon tlie enemy with his fire-ships, and although greatly liarassed by the
cowardice of the crews of these vessels, whom he had to keep at tlieir duty by
the terrors of sword and pistol, succeeded in totally destroying the Turkisli
fleet. Captain Greig', on this occasion assisted by another British officer, a
lieutenant Drysdale, who acted under him, set the match to the fire ships with
his own hands. This perilous duty performed, he and Drysdale leaped over-
board and swam to their own boats, under a tremendous fire from the Turks,
and at the imminent hazard besides of being destroyed by the explosion of

I Wodrow's Analccta, MS. v. 175.— Ad. Lib.
n. 3 Y

538 DAVID GREGORY.

their own fire-ships. The Russian fleet, following^ np this success, now attacked
tlie town and batteries on sliuio, and by nine o'chxk in the morning there was
scarcely a vestige rcnuiining of either town, fortifications, or fleet. For this
Lnportant service, captain (ireig, who had been appointed conniiodore on his
being placed in connnand of the fire-ships, was inniiediately promoted by count
Orlow to the rank of admiral, an appointment which was confirmed by an ex-
press from the empress of Russia. A peace was soon afterwards concluded be-
tween the two powers, but this circumstance did not lessen the importance of
admiral Greig's services to the government by which he was employed. He
continued indefatigable in his exertions in improving the Russian fleet, ro-
iModeling its code of discipline, and by his example infusing a spirit into every
dcpai'tment of its economy, wliich finally made it one of the most formidable
marines in Europe.

Tiiese important services were fully appreciated by the empress, Mho re-
warded them by promoting Greig to the high rank of admiral of all the Rus-
sias, and governor of Cronstadt. Not satisfied with this, she loaded him with
honours, bestowing upon him the different orders of llie empire, viz. St Andrew,
St Alexander Newskie, St George, St Vlodomir, and St Anne.

Admiral Greig next distinguished himself against the Swedes, whose fleet he
blocked up in port, whilst he himself rode triumphantly in the open seas of the
Baltic. Here he was attacked by a violent fever, and having been carried to
Revel, died on the 2Gth of October, 17 8S, on board of his own ship, the
Rotislaw, after a few days' illness, in the 53d year of his age. As soon as the
empress heaid of bis illness, she, in the utmost anxiety about a life so valuable
to herself and her empire, instantly sent for her first physician, Dr Rogerson,
and ordered him to proceed immediately to Revel and to do every thing in his
power for the admiral's recovery. Dr Rogerson obeyed, but all his skill was
unavailing.

The ceremonial of the admiral's funeral was conducted witli the utmost pomp
and magnificence. For some days before it took place the body was exposed
in state in the hall of the admiralty, and was afterwards conveyed to the grave
on a splendid funeral bier drawn by six horses, covered with black cloth, and
attended in public procession by an immense concourse of nobility, clergy, and
naval and military officers of all i-anlcs ; the whole escorted by large bodies of
troops, in dift'erent divisions ; with tolling of bells and firing of cannon from
the ramparts and fleet : every thing in short was calculated to express the sor-
roAv of an empire for the loss of one of its most useful and greatest men.

GREGORY, David, the able commentator on NeAvton's Principia, and Savilian
professor of astronomy at Oxford, was born at Aberdeen on the 24th of June, 1G61.
His father, IMr David Gregory, brother of the inventor of the reflecting telescope,
had been educated as a merchant, and spent a considerable time in Holland ;
but by the death of his elder brother he became heir to the estate of Kinnairdie,
and from a predilection for the mathematics and experimental philosophy, he
soon afterwards renounced all commercial emplojniients, devoting himseir
entirely to the cultivation of science. The peculiarity of JMr Gregory's pur-
suits, caused him to be noted through the whole country, and he being the fii'st
person in Scotland ivlio possessed a barometer, from A\hich he derived an exten-
sive knowledge of the weather, it was univei'sally believed that he held inter-
course with the beings of another world. So extensive had this belief been
circulated, that a deputation from the presbytery waited on him, and it was
only one fortunate circumstance that prevented him from undergoing a formal
trial for witchci-aft. He had from choice obtained an extensive knowledge of the
healing art, his opinion was held in the highest estimation, and as be practised

in all cases without fee, he was of great use in the district where lie lived. It
was this circumstance alone that prevented the reverend members of the pres-
bytery from calling- him to account for his superior intelligence. His son
David, the subject of this sketch, studied for a considerable time at Aberdeen,
but completed his education at Edinburgh. In 16 84, when he was only twenty-
three years of age, he made his first appearance as an author, in a Latin work
concerning the dimensions of figures, printed in Edinburgh, and entitled, " Exerci-
tationes GeometriccB." The same year in which this work Avas published, he was
called to the mathematical chair in Edinburgh college, which he held with the
greatest honour for seven years. Here he delivered some lectures on optics, which
formed the substance of a work on that science, of acknowledged excellence.
Here also Gregory had first been convinced of the infinite superiority of New-
ton's philosophy, and was the first who dared openly to teach the doctrines of
the Principia, in a public seminary. This circumstance will ever attach honour
to the name of Gregory; for let it be remembered, that in those days tin's was a
daring innovation ; and Cambridge university, in which Newton had been edu-
cated, Avas the very last in the kingdom to admit the truth of what is now re-
garded by all as the true system of the world. Whiston, in his Memoirs of his
Own Time, bewails this in " the very anguish of his heart," calling those at
Oxford and Cambridge poor wretches, when compared with those at the Scottish
universities. In the year 1691 Gregory went to London, as there had been cir-
culated a report that Di* Edmond Bernard, Savilian professor at Oxford, was
about to resign, which formed a very desirable opening for the young mathe-
matician. On his arrival in London he was kindly received by Newton, who
had formed a very high opinion of him, as we learn from a letter written by
Sir Isaac to Mr Flamstead, the astronomer royal. Newton had intended to
make Flamstead a visit at Greenwich observatory, with a view to introduce
Gregory, but was prevented by indisposition, and sent a letter with Gregory by
way of introduction. " The bearer hereof is Mr Gregory, mathematical professor
at Edinburgh college, Scotland. I intended to have given you a visit along with
him, but cannot ; you will find him a very ingenious person, a good mathematician,
worthy of your acquaintance." Gregory could not fail to be highly gratified by
the friendship of two of the greatest men of the age, and most particularly emi-
nent in that department of science, which he cultivated Avith so much zeal
and success. Such a mind as Newton's was not likely to form an opinion
of any individual, on a Aague conjecture cf their ability, and the opinion once
established Avould not be liable to change ; accordingly we find that his attach-
ment to the interests of the young mathematician, were only terminated by
death. In a letter addressed a considerable time afterwards to the same amiable
individual, he Avrites thus, " But I had rather have them (talking of Flamstead's
observations upon Saturn, for five years, Avhich NeAvton Avished from him) for the
next tAvelve or fifteen years — if you and I live not long enough, Mr Gregory
and Mr Halley are young men."

Gregory's visit to London Avas important to his future fame as a mathematician.
He Avas elected a felloAV of the Royal Society, and afterAvards contributed many
valuable papers to their transactions. At the head of these must be mentioned
that Avhich he delivered on his first introduction to their meetings, a solution
of the famous Florentine problem, Avhich had been sent as a challenge to the
British mathematicians. Gregory's solution, Avhich is extremely beautiful, Avill be
found in the lumiber of the Philosophical Transactions for January, 1694. On the
8th of February, 1692, David Gi'egory Avas made master of arts, of Baliol college,
Oxford ; and on the eighteenth of the same month he received the degree of
doctor of physic. At this time he stood candidate Avith Dr Halley for the

540 DAVID GREGORY.

Savillan professorship of nstroiioiiiy at OxfurJ. (irogory lia<l a f(jrini(lal)le rival
to contend \vitli,as great interest was used for llalley at court, and he had besides
rendered liiniself eminent by his numerous and important discoveries, (ircgory
in all likeliiiood would not have obtained this situation, notwithsUinding the
zealous inteiression of Newton and Flamstead, had it not been for a circumstance
which is slated l)y Wiiiston in his 3Iemoirs of his Own Time, as follows : " llalley
being thought of as successor to the mathematiciil chair at Oxford, bishop Siill-
ingfleet was desired to recommend him at court ; but hearing that he was a scej)-
tic and a contemner of religion, the bishop scrupled to be concerned till his
chaplain 3Ir I'entley should Uilly with him about it ; which he did, l)ut iJalley was
so sincere in his infidelity, that he Avould not so much as pretend to believe the
Christian religion, though he was likely to lose a professorship by it — which
he did, and it was given to l)r Gregory." To the honour of science let it be
mentioned, that tliis circumstance, which opposed the interest of these two mathe-
maticians so directly to each other, instead of becoming the cause of those petty
jealousies or animosities, Avhich in such cases, so commonly occur, uas in the pro-
sent instance the foundation on Avhich was raised a lirnl and lasting friendship.
Nor is it perhaps too bold to suspect, that the liberality displayed in this in-
stance by these two eminent men, proceeded not so much from themselves as
from the science which they cultivated in common. The scruples of Stilling-
fleet in time lost their efHcacy, and Gregory had soon after the pleasure of
having Dr Halley as his colleague, he having succeeded Dr Vi'allis in the Savilian
chair of (leometry.

In 1G95, he published at Oxford a very valuable work on the reflection
and refraction of spherical surfaces. This work is valuable as it contains the
first hint for a practical method of improving the refracting telescope and de-
stroying the chromatic defect of these instruments. The difiiculty to be avoided
in those telescopes which operate by glasses instead of mirrors, lies in procuring
a large field of view, and at the same time retaining distinctness of vision.
Gregory drew an analogy from the construction of the eye, and by referring to
the method by which this was effected in nature, gave the hint that the same
principle might be applied in practice. This, perhaps, paved the way for
the achromatic glasses, one of the finest triumphs of modern science. A
simplicity pervades the whole work truly characteristic of the author's mind.
But the work on Avhich the fame of David Gregory must ultimately depend, was
published in 1702, entitled " Elements of Physical and Geometrical Astronomy."
This woi-k was a sort of digest of Newton's I'rincipia. Great originality was
shown in the illustrations, and the arrangement was so adapted as to show the pro-
gress the science had made in its various gTadations to\vards perfection ; and it
was allowed by Newton himself that Gregory's work was an excellent view of
his system.

Sir lleni-y Savile had projected a design of printing a uniform scries of the
ancient mathematicians ; in pursuance of which Gregory publislied an edition of
Euclid, and in conjunction with Dr Halley, he commenced the Conies of Appol-
lonius ; but scarcely had he entered upon this interesting undertaking, whei
death put a period to his existence. He departed this life in 1701, at 3Iaiden-
head in Berkshire, where it is believed his body is interred. His wife erected
a monument at Oxford to his memory, with a very simple and elegant inscrip-
tion. Of the talents of Dr Gregory ample testimony is borne by the works
which he bequeathed to posterity, and of his worth as a private individual by
the respect in wliich he was held by his contemporaries, Flamstead, Kcil, Hal-
ley, and above all. Sir Isaac Newton, who held him in the highest estimation. Ot
Newton's respect for him we sliall add one other instance : Sir Isaac had in-

JAMES GREGORY. 511

trusted Gregory with a copy of his Principia in manuscript, on mIijcIi Gregory
wrote a commentary ; of the benefit of whicli the great author availed hinist;]t'
in the second edition. Dr John Gregory presented a manuscript copy of this
to the university of Edinburgh, in the library of nhicli it is carefully pre-
served. Of his posthumous works, two deserve particuLarly to be noticed ; one
on practical geometry, published by Mr Colin Maclaurin, and a small treatise
on the nature and arithmetic of Logarithms, subjoined to Keil's Euclid, wliich
contains a simple and comprehensive view of the subject.

An anecdote is told of David Gregory of Kinnairdie, Dr Gregory's father,
^^hich it would not perhaps, be altogether proper to omit. He had, as was re-
marked at the beginning, a turn for mathematical and mechanical subjects, ar.d
I during queen Anne's \\ars had contrived a method to increase the etrect of field
j ordnance. He sent it to the Savilian professor, his son, \vishing his opinion,
I together with Sir I. Newton's. Gregory showed it to Newton, Avho advised him
i earnestly to destroy it, as said Newton, " Any invention of that kind, if it even
were effectual, would soon become known to the enemy, so that it would only
increase the horrors of war." There is every reason to iliink that the professor
I followed Newton's advice, as the machine was never afterwards to be four.d.

It is a more singular circumstance, and indeed without parallel in the

scientific history of Scotland, that this old gentleman lived to see three of Ills

i sons professors at the same time, viz. David, the subject of the preceding sketch ;

j James, v»ho succeeded his brother in the chair of mathematics at Edinburgh ;

j and Charles, professor of mathematics in the university of St Andrews.

GREGOllY, James, whose valuable discoveries served so much to accelerate
the progress of the mathematical and physical sciences in the seventeenth cen-
tury, Avas born in 1638, at Drumoak in Aberdeenshire, where his father, the
reverend John Gregory, was minister. Little is known of James Gregory's
father, but from some slight notice of him in the IMinutes of the General Assem-
bly ; and whatever part of the genius of the subject of this memoir was pos-
sessed by inheritance seems to have descended jrom the mother. It is an
observation of a distinguished pliilosopher of the present day, Dr Thom-
son, that, " he never knew a man of talent whose mother was not a superior
woman ;" and a more happy instance of the truth of this remark could not be
found than that of James Gregory, I\Irs Gregory seems to have descended from
a family of mathematicians. Her father was ilr David Anderson of Finghaugh,
whose brother, Alexander Anderson, Mas professor of mathematics, (about the
beginning of the seventeenth century,) in the university of Paris, and he him-
self Avas long noted for his application to mathtmatical and mechanical subjects.
The reverend Jolin Gregory died when the subject of this article was yet in his
boyhood, and left the care of the education of James to David, an elder brother,
and the surviving parent. The mother having observed the expanding powers
of his mind, and their tendency to mathematical reasoning, gave these early
indic^ations of his genius all possible encouragement, by instructing him herself
in the elements of geometry. Having received the rudiments of liis classical
education at the grammar school of Aberdeen, lie completed the usual course oi
studies at IMarischal college. For a considerable time after leaving the uni-
versity, James Gregory devoted his attention to the science of optics. The
celebrated French philosopher Descartes had published his work on Diop-
trics the year before Gregory was born, nor had any advances been made in
tliat science until James Gregory published the result of his labour's in
a work printed at London in I6S3, entitled, " Optics I'romoted, or the mys-
teries of reflected and refracted rays demonstrated by the elements of geometry ;
to which is added, an appendix, exhibiting a solution of some of the most dilii-

542 JAMES GREGORY.

cult problems in astrouomy." In this work, which forms an era in the history
of the science of tlint century whicli its anllior so cmiiioiitly adorned, and wliich
was published when he was only twenty-four, there was first given to the
world a description of (he reflecting telescope, of \vhi(;h (iregory is the in-
disputable inventor. He proposed to himself no other advantage from using
mirrors instead of glasses in tlie constnu;lion of telescopes, than to correct the
error arising from the spherit^al figure of the lenses, and liy forming the reflectors
of a parabolic figure, to bring tlie rays of light into a perfect focus, being ig-
norant of the far greater error arising from the unequal refrangibility of the
rays of light, which it Avas reserved for Newton afterwards to discover, (irc-
gory went to London a year after the publication of his Mork on optics, with a
view to the construction of his telescope, and was introduced to 31r Rievcs, an
optical instrument maker, by Mr Collins, secretary to the Koynl Society.
Rieves could not finish the mirrors on the tool so as to presei've the figure, and
so unsuccessful was the trial of the new telescope that the inventor was deterred
from making any farther attempts towards its improvement, nor were these
reflectors ever mounted in a tube. Sir I. Newton objected to this teles-
cope, that the hole in the centre of the large speculum would be the cause of the
loss of so much light, and invented one in which this defect was remedied.
The Gregorian form is universally preferred to the Newtonian, Mhen the instru-
ment is of moderate size, the former possessing some material advantages; yet
the latter was always employed by Dr Herschel, in those large instruments, by
which the field of discovery has, of late, been so much extended. Although the
inventor of the reflecting telescope has received all the honour which posterity
can bestow, yet it is lamentable to think that he never had the satisfaction of
seeing an instrument completed in his own lifetime. It is only necessary to
remark farther, on this subject, that some papers of great interest passed be-
tween Gregory and Sir Isaac Newton, concerning the reflecting telescope, which
may be consulted with advantage by those who would wish to investigate the
subject. His work on optics contains, besides the discovery of the reflecting
telescope, that of the law of refraction. Descartes had made a similar discovery
long ere this, but Gregory had not heard of it till his own work was ready for
publication — to which circumstance ho alludes in his preface. Flayfair, in con-
sidering this subject, very justly remarks, that " though the optics of Descartes
had been published twenty-five yeai's, Gregory had not heard of the discovery
of the law of refraction, and had found it out only by his own efforts ; — happy
in being able, by the fertility of his genius, to supply the defects of an insulated
and remote situation,"' The method in which Gregory investigated the law of
refraction is truly remarkable, not only for its singular elegance, but originality,
and the series of experimenis which he instituted for the purpose of demonstra-
tion, aflx»rds an indelible proof of the accuracy of his observations. It is truly
remarkable, that the calculations by this law tllfTer so little from those obtained
by the most accurate experiments. There is yet another discovery of the very
highest importance to the science of astronomy, which is falsely and, we would
hope, unknowingly attributed to another philosopher, ivhose manifold brilliant
discoveries throw an additional lustre over the country which gave him birth.
We allude to the employment of the transits of Merctn-y and Venus, in the de-
termination of the sun's parallax, the merit of which is always ascribed to Dr
Halley, even by that eminent astronomer Laplace. But it is plainly pointed
out in the scholium to the 2Sth proposition of Gregoi-y's work, published many
years prior to Halley's supposed discovery. The university of Padua was at

1 Pla) fair's Dissertation, in tho Supplement to the Encyclopscdia Britannica, part Jst, p.Tgc
25, 6tli edition.

JAMES GREGORY. 543

this (ime in high repute for mathematical learning, and Gregory repaired thitlier
from London, about the end of 1G67, for the purpose of pi-osecuting- his favourite
study. Here he published a Latin work on the areas of the circle and hyper-
bola, determined by an infinitely converging series; a second edition of Avhicli
he afterwards published at Venice, witli an appendix on the transmutation of
curves. Mr Collins, who always showed himself zealous in Gregory's favour,
introduced this work to the notice of the Royal Society of London, of which he
was secretary. Tiiis work received the commendation of that distinguished no-
bleman lord Brounker, and Dr Wallis, the celebrated inventor of the arithmetic
of infinites. Gregory's attention was once more drawn to tlie squaring of curves,
by tlie metiiod of converging series, on account of receiving an instance of the
case of the circle in a letter from his friend Collins, who informed him that
Newton had discovered a general method for all curves, mechanical and geome-
trical. Gregory speedily returned to Collins a method for the same purpose,
which he was advised by his brother David to publish. Gregory refused to do
this, and that from the most honourable motive : as Newton Mas the original in-
ventor, he deemed it unfair to publisli it, until Sir Isaac should give his method
to the public. Soon after, he returned to London, and from his celebrity as a
mathematician, he was chosen a fellow of the Royal Society. lie read before the
society, the account of a dispute in Italy concerning the motion of the earth, which
Riciolli and his followers had denied, besides many other valuable communica-
tions. Huygens had attacked Gregory's method of quadrature in a journal of
tliat period, to which he replied in the Pliilosophical Transactions. The dispute
Avas carried on witli great warmth by both, and from Gregory's defence it would
appear he was a man of warm temperament, but acute and penetrating genius. Of
the merits of either, in this dispute, it would be out of place here to enter into
detail. Leibnitz, who considered tlie subject with attention, and whose capacity
of discernment in such matters cannot be questioned, is of opinion, that al-
though Huygens did not point out errors in the work of Gregory, yet he ob-
tained some of the results by a much simpler method.

The small work " Exercitationes Geometricas," published by Gregory at
London in 166 8, consisted of twenty-six pages, containing however a good
deal of important matter. No where do we learn more of the real private
cliaracter of Gregory than in the preface and appendix to this little work. He
speaks in explicit terms of his dispute with Huygens, complains of the injustice
done him by that philosopher and some others of his contemporaries ; and we are
led to conclude from them, that he was a man who, from a consciousness of his
own powers, Avas jealous of either a rival or improver of any invention or dis-
covery witli Avhich lie was connected. The same year in Avhich he published
iliis last work, he was chosen pi-ofessor of mathematics in the university of- St
Andrews. The year following he married flliss filary Jamieson, daughter of Mr
George Jamieson, the painter whom Walpole has designated the Vandyke of
Scotland, By his wife he had a son and two daughters. The son, James, wcs
grandfather of Dr Gregory, author of the " Theoreticce Mcdicinfe," and professor
of the theory of medicine in tlie university of Edinburgh. James Gregory remain-
ed at St Andrews for six years, when he was called to fill the mathematical
chair in the univei'sity of Edinburgh. During his residence at St Andrews, he
wrote a satire on a work of Mr George Sinclair's, formerly professor of natural
philosophy in Glasgow, but who had been dismissed on account of some political
heresies. Dr Gregory did not live to enjoy the chair in Edinburgh more than
one year ; for returning liome late one evening in October, 1675, after showing
some of his students the satellites of Jupiter, he was suddenly struck blind, and
three days afterwards expired. Thus, at the early age of thirty-seven, in the vigour

514 JAMES GREGORY, M.D.

of manliood, was put a melancholy (erminatiou to tlio life of James Gregory.
Of llic character of this great man little can be said. His knowledge of mathe-
matical and physical science was very extensive; acuteness of discrimination and
originality of thought arc conspicuous in all his works; and he seems to have
possessed a considerable degree of independence and warmth of temper.

(iKli(iOHV, James, 31. D., nn eminent modern medical teacher, «as the eldest
son of Dr John (Gregory, equally celebrated as a medical teacher, by the iionour-
able Elizabeth Forbes, daughter of William, tliirteenth lord Forbes. lie was
born in 1753, at .Aberdeen, where his fatlier then jtractised as a jthysic.ian. I'eing
removed in boyhood to Edinburgh, where his fatlier succeeded Dr Rutherford
as professor of the practice of physii;, he received iiis academical and professional
education in that city, and in 1774, took ids degree as doctor of medicine, his
thesis being " Ue 3Iorbis ("odi IMuiatione ."Medendis." An educiition conducted
under the most favourable circumstances had improved, in the utmost possible de-
gree, the excellent natural talents of Dr Uregory, though he had the ndsfortune
to lose his father before its conclusion. Notwitiisianding the latter event, he was
appointed, in 177G, when only twenty-three years of age, to the chair of tho
theory of physic in the Edinburgh university. As a text book for his lectures,
he ]>ublished in 17S0-2, his " Conspectus IMedicinrc Iheorelicffi," wliicli soon
became a work of standard reputation over all Europe, not only in consequence
of its scientific nseritSj but the singular felicity of the classical language with
which it was written.

In consequence of the death of Dr CuUcn, the subject of this memoir was ap-
pointed, in 17'J0, to the most important medical professorship in the university,
that of tlie practice of physic ; an office upon which unprecedented lustre had
been conferred by his predecessor ; but wiiich for thirty-one years he sustained
with even superior splendour. During this long period, the fame which
his talents had acquired, attracted students to Edinburgh from all parts of the
world, all of whom returned to their homes with a feeling of reverence fur his
character, more nearly resembling that which the disciples of antiquity felt for
tiieir instructors, than anything which is generally experienced in the present
situation of society. Descended by the father's side from a long and memora-
ble line of ancestors, among whom the friend and contemporary of Newton is
numbered, and by the mother's from one of the oldest baronial fannlies in the
country, the character of Dr Gregory was early formed upon an elevated model,
and thro'Jgliout his whole life he combined, in a degree seldom equalled, the
studies and acquirements of a man of science, with tiie tastes and honourable
feelings of a high-born gentleman. By these peculiarities, joined to the point
and brilliancy of his conversation, and his almost romantic generosity of
nature, he made the most favourable impression upon all who came in contact
with him.

Dr Gregory had early bent his acute and discriminating mind to the study
of metaphysics, and in 179 2, he published a volume, entitled " riiilosophical
and Literary Essays," in which is to be found one of the most original and
forcible refutations of the doctrine of Necessity, which has ever appeared. His
reputation as a Latinist was unrivalled in Scotland in his own day ; and the
numerous inscriptions which he was consequently requested to write in this
tongue were characterized by extraordinary beauty of expression and arrange-
ment. His only philological publication, however, is a " Dissertation on the
Theory of the floods of Verbs," which appears in the Transactions of the Royal
Society of Edinburgh, 1700. Dr Gregory's enunence as a man of science, and
his fame throughout Europe, were testified by his being one of the few British
honoured with a seat in the Institute of France.

DR. JOHN GREGORY. 545

While officiating- for nearly fifty years as a medical teacher, Dr Gregory car-
ried on an extensive and lucrative practice in Edinburgh. As a physician, he
enjoyed the liigiiest reputation, notwithstanding a certain severe sincerity, and
occasional brw^querie of manner, which characterized him in this capacity. It
is probable that, but for the pressure of liis professional engagements, he might
have oftener employed his pen, both in the improvement of medical knowledge,
and in general literature. His only medical publication, besides his matchless
" Conspectus," was an edition of Cullen's '' First Lines of the Practice of
Physic," 2 vols. 8vo. It is with reluctance we advert to a series of publica-
tions of a di/lerent kind, which Dr Gregory allowed himself to issue, and which
it must be the wish of every generous mind to forget as soon as possible. They
consisted of a variety of pampiilets, in which he gave vent to feelings that
could not fail to excite the indignation of various members of his own profes-
sion ; the most remarkable being a memorial addressed, in 1800, to the
managers of the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, complaining of the younger
members of the college of surgeons being there allowed to perform operations,
A list of these productions is given in the preface to Jlr John Bell's Letters
on Professional Characters and Planners, 1810, and we shall not therefore
allude further to the subject, than to say, that the language employed in several
of them affords a most striking view of one of the paradoxes occasionally found
in human character, the co-existence ia the same bosom of sentiments of
chivalrous honour and benevolence, with the most inveterate hostility towards
individuals.

Dr Gregory died at his house in St Andrew's square, Edinburgh, April 2,
1821, leaving a large family, chiefly in adolescence.
GREGORY, (Dr) John, a distinguished physician of the eighteentli century,
was descended from a family of illustrious men, whose names and discoveries
will ever form a brilliant page in the history of the literature of Scotland.
Many of the members of this family held professorships in the most distinguish-
ed universities, both ill this and the southern kingdom ; and we may turn to
the name of Gregory for those who raised Scotland to an equal rank with any
other nation in the scientific world. John Gregory was born at Aberdeen, on
the 3rd of June, 1724, being the youngest of the thi*ee children of James
Gregory, professor of medicine in King's college there. This professor of me-
dicine was a son of James Gregory, the celebrated inventor of the reflecting
telescope.

When John Gregory was seven years of ago, he lost Lis father, wherefore the
charge of his education devolved upon his elder brother, James, who succeeded
his father in the professorship. He acquired his knowledge of classical litera-
ture at the grammar school of Aberdeen, wliere he applied liimself with much
success to the study of the Greek and Latin languages. He completed a course
of languages and pliilosophy, at King's college, Aberdeen, under the immediate
rare of principal Chalmers, his grandfather by the mother's side. He studied
vith great success under Mr Thomas Gordon, the professor of philosophy in that
college ; and, to the honour of both, a friendly correspondence was then com-
menced, which was maintained till the end of Gregory's life. In noticing those
to whom Gregory was indebted for his early education, it would be unpardon-
able to pass over the name of Dr Keid, his cousin-german ; the same whose
" Inquiry into the Human Mind" forms so conspicuous a feature in the his-
tory of the intellectual philosophy of the eighteentli century ; — and here we may
remark the existence of that family spirit for mathematical i-easoning, wliich has
BO long been entailed on the name of Gregory. The essay on quantity, and
the chapter on the geometry of visibles, prove this eniinently in Dr Reid ; and

540 DH. JOHN GREGORY.

the success uitli wliicli Grcsfory sUidied under IMr (iordon, «an leave no doubt of
its existence in liini. In 17H, (irefrory lost his elder broliier (ieorge, a young
man concerning wliom there uas eiitorlained tiie iiiglicst expectation ; and the
year followinaf, .lolui and iiis niotlior removed from Aberdeen to lulinburgh, lie
studied throe years at l']dinbin-gli, under iMonro, Sinclair, and Kutherford ; and
on his first coming to l'"dinburgh, ho became a member of the me<lical sociely
there, whicli nas the cause of an intimacy between him and 31ark Akenside,
author of " The Pleasures of Imagination."

The university of Leyden uas at tiiis time in vei-y high reputation, and (Gre-
gory repaired thither, after having studied at Edinburgh for three years. Here
ho liad as his preceptors, three of tiie most eminent men of the age — Goubius,
Iloyen, and Albinus ; he also cultivated the acquaintance of some fellow students
who afterwards became eminent in the literary and political world ; amongst whom
the most eminent were John Wilkes, esq., and the honourable Charles Towns-
hend. A\ liile prosecuting his studios at Leyden, John Gregory \\as honoured
with an unsolicited degree of doctor of medicine, from King's college, Aber-
deen ; and after two years' residence on the continent, he returned to liis na-
tive country, and was immediately called to fill the chair of philosophy in thai
seminary where he had first been nurtured, and which, lately, had conferred
on him so great a mark of her regard. He lectured for three years at Aberdeen
on the mathematics, and moral and natural philosophy; when, in 1749, from
a desire to devote himself to the practice of medicine, he resigned, and took a
few weeks' tour on the continent, of which the chief object seems to have been
amusement. Three years after the resignation of his professorship, Dr Gregory
maiTied Miss Elizabeth Forbes, daughter of lord Forbes, a lady of extraordinary
wit, beauty, and intellectual endowment.

The field of medical practice in Aberdeen was already almost entirely pre-
occupied by men of the first eminence in their profession, and the share which
fell to Dr Gregory was not sufficient to occupy his active mind. He went to
London in 1754, and his fame as a physician and as a literary man being al-
ready far extended, he had no difliculty in being introduced to the first society.
Here it was that the foundation was first laid of that friendship which existed
between him and lord Lyttleton. It was at this period, also, that he became
acquainted with lady Wortley iMontague and her husband. This lady kept as-
semblies, or conversaziones, where the first characters of the kingdom resorted.
By this lady he was introduced to all the most eminent men in the kingdom
for taste or genius ; yet he is indebted to her for a favour of a far higher
order — the continuance of that friendship she had ever shown towards him, to
his posterity. About this period Dr Gregory was chosen felloiv of the Ivoyal
Society of London, and his practice was daily increasing. Dr James Gregory,
professor of medicine in King's college, Aberdeen, to whose care Gregory owed
so much, died in 1755, which created a vacancy in that chair. Dr John Gre-
gory was elected in his own absence, and being a situation Avhicli suited his in-
clination he accepted it. There were many circumstances which would render
a return to his native country agreeable. He was to be restored to the
bosom of the friends of his infancy, he was to be engaged in the duties of a pro-
fession in which he felt the highest interest, and to the enjoyment of the society
of Reid, Beattie, Campbell, and Gerard. He entered on' the duties of his new
office in tlie beginning of 1756.

A literary club met weekly in a tavern in Aberdeen, which was originally
projected by Drs Eeid and Gregory. It was called the Wise Club, and its mem-
bers consisted of the professors of both Marischal and King's college, besides the
literary and scientific gentlemen about Aberdeen. An essay was read each

DR. JOHN GREGORY, 517

niglit by one of the members, in rotation. Most of the distinguishing features
of the philosopliical systems of Gregory and liis colleagues, Avho have been already
mentioned, were first delivered in this society. Gregory's work on the
faculties of man and other animals, was first composed as essays for the Wise
Club, but afterwards arranged and published under the patronage of his friend
loi'd Lyttleton — the first instance in which Gregory appeared to the world as an
author. Tliis work, Avhicli was published in London, 1764, Avas entitled, " A
Comparative View of the State and Faculties of Man, with those of the animal
world."

Dr Gregory remained in the chair of medicine in Aberdeen for eight years,
when, with a view to the increase of his practice, he removed to Edinburgh, and
two years afterwards was appointed successor to Dr Rutherford in the university
there, as professor of the practice of physic, and in the same year, 1766, ho
succeeded Dr Whyt as first physician to his majesty in Scotland. Dr Gregory
lectured for three years solely on the practice of physic ; but at that time an
agreement was entered into by his honoured colleague Dr Cullen — the celebrated
author of the system of Nosology which goes by his name — that they should
lecture in turn on the theory and practice of medicine, which was continued for
many years. None of Dr Gregory's lectures were ever written, except a few
introductory ones on the duties and qualifications of a physician; which probably
would not have made their appearance, had it not been the circumstance of one
of his students off'ering a written copy, taken from notes, to a bookseller for sale,
which induced Gregory to publish the work, the profits of which he gave to a poor
and deserving student. This will always be a standard work among medical
men, and will ever remain a lasting monument of the author's profound research,
energy of mind, and liberality of opinion. Nothing could so effectually convince
us, as the perusal of this work, of the truth of one of his observations — " that
the profession of medicine requii-es a more comprehensive mind than any other."
Tliis work was publislied in 1770, and the same year he published his Elements
of the Practice of Physic, a work which was intended as a text book for his
pupils, and was excellent as far as it went, but never was completed.

The amiable and accomplished wife of Dr Gregory lived only with him nine
years, during which period he enjoyed all the pleasure which domestic happi-
ness could aftord. He regretted her death exceedingly; and, as he says himself,
he, for the amusement of his solitary hours, wrote that inimitable little work — ''A
Father's Legacy to his Daughters. " In this work he feelingly states, that Avliile
he endeavours to point out to them what they should be, he draws but a very
faint and imperfect picture of what their mother was.

Gregory inherited from his mother a disease, with which he had from the
age of eighteen been frequently attacked. This was the gout, of which his
mother died suddenly while sitting at table. The doctor often spoke of this to
his friends, and one day when talking with Dr James Gregory, his son (author
of the Conspectus Theoreticse Medicin£e), it was observed by the latter, that as
he had not had an attack these three years past, it was likely the next would be
pretty severe. Dr Gregory was not pleased with this remark of his son, but un-
fortunately the prediction was true. Dr Gregory had gone to bed in his usual
health on the 9th of February, 1773, and seems to have died in his sleep, as
he was found in the morning without the slightest appearance of discomposure
of feature or limb. Dr Beattie laments him pathetically in the concluding stanzas
cf the Minstrel : —

Art thou, my Gregory, for ever fled,
And am I left to unavailing woe ;

543 ALEXANDER GREY.

"XVIipn fortune's storms nssail tliis weary head

Where cares loii>; since liave bhcil untimely snow]
All ! now for ever uliithcr shall I go?

Ko mure thy southing vuice my anguibh chcer.%
Thy I'lacid eyes with smile no longer glow,

^'y hopes to cherish and allay my foars.
'Tis meet that I should mourn — How forth afresh, n-.y tears.

Dr Gr-cgory was coiisitlerably nbovc tlic middlo s'zp, and altlicu:;li Iio could
not bo called Iiandsonic, yet lie was formed in good proportion. He Avns slow
in liis motion, anil bad a stoop forward. His eye and couutcuaiico bad a rather
dull appearance until tbcy were lighted up by conversation. His conversation
was lively ar.d always interesting ; and although he bad seen much of the world,
he was never given to that miserable refuge of weak minds — story-telling. In
bis lecturing be struck the golden mean between formal delivery and the case
of conversation. lie left two sons and two daughters : Dr James Gregory, who
was the able successor of bis fa'.her in the university of Edii-burgh ; "William
Gregory, rector of St. Mary's, Bentham; Dorothea, the wife of th.e Rev. A.
Allison, of Baliol college; and Margaret, wife of J. Forbes, Esq. of Blackford.

GREY, Alexandilr, a surgeon in the service of the honourable East India
Company, and founder of an hospital for the sick poor of the town and county
of Elgin, was the son of deacon xVlexandcr Grey, a respectable and ingenious
tradesman of Elgin, who exercised the united crafts of a wheel-wright and
Avatclnnaker, and of Janet Sutherland, of Ashose bi-other, Dr Sutherland, the
following anecdote is related by some of the oldest inhabitants of Elgin. It is
said that the king of Prussia, Erederick William I. being desirous to liave his
family inoculated with small pox, applied in England for a surgeon to repair to
Berlin for that pm-pose. Though this was an honourable, and probably lucra-
tive mission, yet from the severe and arbitrary character of the king, it was re-
garded by many as a perilous undertaking to the individual, as it was not im-
possible that he might lose some of his patients. Sutherland^ at all hazard?,
offered his services, v/as successful in the treatment of his royal patients, and
was handsomely rewarded. On his return to England, his expedition probably
brought him more into public notice, for we afterwards find him an JM.D. i-e-
siding and practising as a physician at Bath, until he lost his sight, when he
came to Elgin, and lived with the Greys for some years previous to 1775, A\hcn
lie died.

Deacon Grey had a family of three sons and two daughters, and by his own
industry and some pecuniary assistance from Dr Sutherland, he was enabled to
give them a better education than most others in their station. Alexander, the
subject of this imemoir, born in 1751, was the ymmgest of the family. Induced
by the advice or success of his uncle, he made choice of the medical profession,
and was apprenticed for the usual term of three years to Dr Thomas Stephen,
a physician of great respectability in Elgin. He afterwards attended the medi-
cal classes in the college of Edinburgh, and having completed his education he
obtained the appointment of an assistant surgeoncy on the Bengal establish-
ment. It does not appear that he was distinguished either by his professional
skill or literary acquirements, from the greater proportion of his profession?.!
brethren in the east. When advanced in life, lie married a lady much younger
than himself, and this ill-assorted match caused him much vexation, and embit-
tered his few remaining years. They had no children, and as there was no con-
geniality in their dispositions nor agreement in their habits, they separated
some time before Dr Grey's death, which happened in 1808. By economical

ALEXANDER GREY. 5-19

habits he amassed a consiJerable fortune, and it is the manner in \Yluch he diis.
posed of it tliat gives him a claim to be ranked among distinguished Scotsmen.

It is no improbable supposition that, in visiting the indigent patients of the
humane physician under whom he conniienced his professional studies, his
youthful n)ind was impressed with the neglected and uncomfortable condition of
the sick poor of liis native town, and that ^vhen he found himself a man of
wealth without family, the recollection of their situation recurred, and he formed
the benevolent resolution of devoting- the bulis of his fortune to the endowment
of an hospital for their relief. He bequeathed for this purpose, in the first in-
stance, twenty thousand pounds, besides about seven thousand available at tlie
deaths of certain annuilants, and four thousand pounds more, liable to another
contingency. From various causes, over which the trustees appointed by the
deed of settlement had no control, considerable delay was occasioned in real-
izing the funds, and the hospital was not opened for the reception of patients
until the beginning of 1819. It is an elegant building of two stories, in the
Grecian style, after a design by James Gillespie, Esq. architect, and is erected
on a rising ground to the west of Elgin, 'Ihe funds are under the manage-
ment of the member of parliament for the county, the sheriff depute, and the
two clergymen of the established church, ex ojficio, with three life directors
named by the founder in the deed of settlement. A physician and surgeon ap-
pointed by the trustees at fixed salaries, attend daily in the hospital. For
several years there Avas a prejudice against the institution among the class for
whom it ^vas founded, but this gradually wore off, and the public are now fully
alive to, and freely avail themselves of the advantages it affords.

Mr Grey did not limit his beneficence to the founding- and. endowing- of the
hospital which will transmit his name to future generations ; he bequeathed the
annual interest of two thousand pounds to " the reputed old maids in the town
of Elgin, daughters of respectable but decayed families." This cliarity is
placed under the management of the two clergymen and the physicians of tlie
town of Elgin, and it is suggested tliat, to be useful, it ought not to extend be-
yond eight or ten individuals. At the death of Mrs Grey, a farther sum of one
thousand pounds was to fall into this fund. Tiio annual interest of seven thou-
sand pounds was settled on the widow during her life, and it was directed that at
her death four thousand pounds of the principal shouM bo appropriated to the
building- of a now church in the town of Elgin, under the inspcclion of the two
clergymen of the town, and that the interest of tliis sum should be applied to tha
use of the hospital until a church should be required. This is the contingency
alrcady rcfeired to ; and as a durable and handsome new church, of dimcnsiong
sufficient to accommodate the population of the town and parish, was erected by
the heritors, at an expense exceeding eight thousand pounds, not ninny years ago,
the funds of the hospital, in all probability, will for a long time have the ad-
vantage of the interest of this bequest. Grey was kind, and even liberal to Iiis
relatives during his life, and to his sister, the only member of his family who
survived him, he left a handsome annuity, with legacies to all her family un-
provided for at her death, On the whole he seems to have been a warm-hearted
and benevolent man ; but being disappointed in the happiness which he ex-
pected from his matrimonial connexion, his temper was scured, and a consider-
able degree of peevishness and distrust is evident througliout the whole of his
deed of settlement. Whatever were his failings, his memory will be cherished
by the thousands of poor for whom he has provided medical succour in the hour
of distress ; while the public at large cannot fail to remember with respect, a
man who displayed so nmch benevolence and judgment in the disposal of the
gifts of fortune.

550 WILLIAM GUILD.

GUILD, William, an oniiiiciil. (liviuc, was tlic son of a wcaltliy trailcsiii.in in
Aberdeen, uliere lie was bmn in the year 15y(). He received his othicition at
Marischal college, then recently lounded ; and, while still very younj|;-, and be-
fore taUino- orders, juiljlislicd at London a work entitled " The New .Sacrifice
of Christian Incense," and nnother soon after, called " The Only Way to Salva-
tion." His first pastoral charge ^vas over the parish of King Ldward, in the
presbytery of TiirelF and synod of Aberdeen, lie here acquired botii the af-
fections of his llock, and an extended reputation as a man of learning and ad-
dress, so that, when king- James visited Scotland in 1017, bishop Andrews, Avho
accompanied his majesty as an assistant in his schemes for the establishment or
episcopacy, paid great attention to this retired northern cleri-yman, and took
much of his advice regarding the proper method of accomplishing the object
in view. Mr Guild acknowledged his sense of the bishop's condescension, by
dedicating to him in the following year his excellent ^vork entitled " flloses
Unveiled," which points out the figures in the Old Testament allusive to the
Messiali. This was a branch of theological literature which JMr Guild had
made peculiarly his own province, as he evinced further in the course of a few
years, by liis work entitled " The Harmony of the Prophets."

In 1610, iMr (liuild \vas married to Catharine Holland, daugliter of Holland
of Disblair, by whom he had no issue. Not long after the royal visit above al-
luded to, he \vas appointed one of the king's chaplains. The degi-ee of doctor
of divinity was also conferred upon him. From his retirement at King Edward,
he sent out various tlieological works of popular utility, and at the same time
solid learning and merit. Of these his " Ignis Fatuus," against the doctrine of
Purgatory, " Popish glorying in antiquity turned to their shame," and his
" Compend of the Controversies of Religion," are particulai-ly noticed by his
biographers. In the mean time he displayed many marks of attachment to liis
native city, particularly by endowing an hospital for the incorporated trades,
which is described by Mr Kennedy, the historian of Aberdeen, as now enjoying a
revenue of about £1000, and affording relief to upwards of a hundred indi-
viduals annually. In 1631, he was preferred to one of the pulpits of that city,
and took his place amongst as learned and able a body of local clergy as could
be shown at that time in any part of either South or North Britain. His dis-
tinction among the Aberdeen Doctors, as they were called, in the controversy
Avhich they maintained against the covenanters, was testified by his being their
representative at the general assembly of 163S, when tlie system of church
government to which he and his brethren were attaclied, was abolislted. The
views and pi-actice of Dr Guild in this trying crisis, seem to have been alike
moderate ; and he accordingly appears to have escaped much of that persecu-
tion which befell his brethren. He endeavoured to heal the animosities of the
two parties, or ivather to moderate the ardour of the covenanters, to whom he
was conscientiously opposed, by publishing " A Friendly and Faithful Advice to
the Nobility, Gentry, and others;" but this, it is to be feared, had little effect.
In 1640, notwithstanding his position in regard to the popular cause, he was
chosen principal of King's college, and in June, 1641, he preached his last ser-
mon as a clergyman of the city. The king, about this time signified his appro-
bation of Dr Guild's services, by bestowing upon him " a free gift of his house
ajid garden, which had formerly been the residence of the bishop." The reve-
rend principal, in his turn, distributed the whole proceeds of the gift in charity.

Dr Guild continued to act as principal of King's college till he was deposed
by Monk in 1651, after which he resided in Aberdeen as a private individual.
In liis retirement he appears to have written several works — " the Sealed J'look
Opened," or an explanation of the Apocalypse, and " the Novelty of Popery

HENRY GUTHRIE. 551

Discovered," which was published at Aberdeen in IGSG, and " an Explication
of the Song' of Solomon," which appeared two years after in London. He also
exerted himself during this interval in improving the Trades' Hospital, and in
otlier charitable pursuits. Upon these incorporations he bestowed a house on
the soutli side of Castle Street (in Aberdeen,) the yearly rents of which he
directed to be applied as bursaries, to such of the sons of members as might be
inclined to prosecute an academical course of education in the fliarischal col-
lege ; and of this fund, we are informed by Mr Kennedy, six or eiglit young
men generally participate every year. As an appropriate conclusion to a life bo
remarkably distinguished by acts of beneficence, Dr Guild, in his will dated
16 57, bequeathed seven thousand merks, to be secured on land, and the yearly
profit to be applied to the maintenance of poor orphans. By the same docu-
ment, he destined his library to the university of St Andrews, excepting one
manuscript, supposed to be the original of the memorable letter from the states
of Cohemia and Bloravia, to the council of Constance in 1415, relative to John
Huss and Jerome of Pi-ague : this curious paper he bequeathed to the university
of Edinburgh, where it is still faithfully preserved. Dr Guild died in August,
10 57, aged about 71 years. A manuscript work which he left was transmitted
by his widow to Dr John Owen, to whom it was designed to liave been dedi-
cated, and who published it at Oxford in 1659, under the title of " The Throne
of David ; or an Exposition of Second [Book of] Samuel." Mrs Guild, having
no children upon whom to bestow her wealth, dedicated it to the education of
young men and other benevolent purposes ; and it appears that her foundations
lately maintained six students of philosophy, four scholars at the public school,
two students of divinity, six poor widows, and six poor men's children,

GUTHRIE, Henry, afterwards bishop of Dunkeld, Avas born at the manse of
Coupar- Angus, of which his father, Mr John Guthrie, a cadet of the family of
Guthrie of that ilk, was minister. At an early age he made considerable pro-
gress in the acquisition of the Gi-eek and Latin languages, and was soon aftei'-
wards transferred to the university of St Andrews, Avhere he continued to study
with the same success, and took his tlegrees in arts. After finishing the philoso-
phical part of his education, he became a student of divinity in the New College
at the same place.

The qualifications of Mr Guthrie, added to the great respectability of his
family, easily procured for him the appointment of a chaplain, which Avas then
considered as a sure step to promotion in the church. Tlie family of the earl of
Marr, with whom he remained in thai capacity for several years, treated him
with much respect ; and on leaving them, he obtained through the earl's recom-
mendation, a presentation to the church of Stirling, to Avhich he was episcopally
ordained.^

" Being now a minister in the church,'' says his biogi'apher, Mr CraAvfurd,
" he Avas diligent in the pastoral care in all the parts of his function, and Avas
well affected to the government in church and state." Unfortunately for Mr
Guthrie, hoAvever, the minds of the Scottish people had become impatient under
the innovations begun by king James, and obtruded upon them Avitli less caution
by his son. But in justice to the moderate episcopalians, it must be mentioned,
that they disapproved of the introduction of a liturgy by force.

At length the call for a General Assembly became so urgent, that its " induc-
tion " Avas consented to by the king, and it accordingly took place at GlasgOAv
in 1638. Guthrie, Avith many of his colleagues, took the covenant required by
it, but does not seem to have obtained much credit Avith his brethren in the
ministry ; nor Avas his conduct, vieAved in the most favourable light, conciliating.

1 Account of Guthrie by Crawford, preface to his Blemoirs, edit. 173S, pp. 3 — 5.

552 HENRY GTJTIIRTE.

Upon the eslahlislimcnt of I'"[>iscopriry io Irelaiul, some of tlio Scottish iiiliabi-
taiits liaJ dctennined to eiiii^iate to Now iMiglaiid, Mlicre liberty of coiiscienco
uas pcnnilted, but neie driven back by storm, and as <;onr<)rniity was rigidly
insisted upon, many of tliein returned to Scotland, where tiiey obtained a fa-
vourable reception. '1 lie " errors of Urownisni,'' bad, in the nieantinie, «;rcpt in
amoniv tliein, but their rcmarliablc piety procured the good will of the people,
till they reached our author's parish of Stirling The laird of Leckie, a gen-
tleman who is said to have sulfercd nuich at tiie i\ands of the bishops, was at this
time much esteemed for Iiis intelligence and seriousness, and many who could
not conscientiously acipiiesce in the services of the church, had been in the habit
ofasscmbling with him for the exercise of private worship. In tiiese meetings,
it had been alleged, but whether with truth we are not informed, that he had
in prayer used some expressions prejudicial to 31r (nilhrie. 'Ihe holders of such
meetings were therefore "delated" before the presbytery, and expelled their
bounds, but (iuthrie was not willing to dismiss them so easily — he left no means
untried to injure their character, and the name of " sectarian" was at this time
too powerful a weapon in the bands of a merciless enemy. In the assembly of
IG'S'J, he tried to obtain an act against private meetings ; but some of the lead-
ing clergymen, fearing more injury to the cause of religion from his injudicious
zeal than from the meetings he attempted to suppress, prevented the matter from
being publicly brought before the assembly. lie was still, however, determined
to have some stronger weapon in his hand than that of argument — a weapon it
reed hardly be said the assembly allowed him, — and in order to prepare for a
decisive conclusion at the next session, he roused the northern ministers, '' put-
ting them in great vehemency," to use Baillie's expression, " against all these
things he complained of." Accordingly, in the assembly of M 10, after nuich debate,
an act anent the ordering of family worship, was passed. Ey this act it was
ordained, that not more than the members of one family should join in private
devotion — that reading prayers is lawful where no one can express themselves
extemporaneously — that no one should be permitted to expound the Scriptures
but ministers or expectants approved of by the presbytery — and, lastly, that no
innovation should be permitted without the express concurrence of the assem-
bly. But this decision rather Avidened than appeased their differences, and
the subject was again investigated in 1C41, when an act against impiety and
schism was draivn up by ^Ir Alexander Henderson.

For several years after this period, little is mentioned by our historians rela-
tive to Mr Guthrie. On Sunday the 3d of October, IGli, he had the honoul-
of preaching before his majesty in the abbey church of Edinburgh,^ but Sir
James Balfour does not give us any outline of this sermon — a circumstance the
more to be i-egretted as none of his theological works have come do\An to us. In
his memoirs he mentions having addressed the assembly of 1G43, when the
English divines presented a letter from the Westminster Assembly, and the de-
claration of the English parliament, in which Ave are told they proposed " to
extirpate episcopacy root and branch." It is remarkable that principal Baillie,
the most minute of all our ecclesiastical historians of that period, and avIio has
left behind him a journal of the proceedings of that very assembly, takes no no-
tice of this speech ; but it is evident from what he says elsewhere, that the pres-
byterians found it necessary to overawe 3Ir Guthrie. He had, in name of the
presbytery of Stirling, written " a most bitter letter " to ]Mr Robert Douglas,
" concerning the conmiissioners of the General Assembly's declaration against
the cross petition;" and though it was afterwards recalled, it seems to have been
used in terrorem, for, to quote the expressive woi'ds of Mr Baillie, " 3Ir HaiTy
1 Btilfour's Historiciil WorlvS, vol. iii. p. 89.

JAMES GUTHRIE. 553

Guthrie made no din " in tliat assembly. The last public appearance he made
wliile minister of Stirling- was in [Gil , when the king ^yas delivered by the
Scots to tlie English parliament. He was among- the number of those who ex-
onerated themselves of any share or approval of that transaction ; " and as for
the body of the ministry throughout the kingdom," says he, '' the far greater
part disallowed it ; howbeit, loathness to be deprived of their funclion and liveli-
hood restrained them from giving a testimony."'

It has been already stated, that the Scottish clergy do not appear to have
placed much confidence in Mv Guthrie ; and from his opposition to many of their
favourite measures, this is little to be wondered at. In 1G47, when the parlia-
ment declared for " the engagement," the ministex'S declaimed against it, as con-
taining no provision for the support of their religion ; but Guthrie and some
others preached up the lawfulness of the design, and although no notice was
taken of this at the time, no sooner ivas the Scottish army defeated, than they
were considered proper subjects of discipline. " Upon November fourteentli,
[1648], came to Stirling that commission which the General Assembly had ap-
pointed, to depose ministers in the presbyteries of Stirling and Dumblane, for
their malignancy, who thrust out Mr Ileni-y Guthrie and 3Ir John Allan, minis-
ters of tlie town of Stirling," &:c.~

From the period of his dismissal from his charge, till after the Restoration,
Guthrie lived in retirement. He is mentioned by Lament of Newton, as
" minister of Kilspindie in the Carse of Gowrie f but the Rev. IMr P.Iacgrc-
gor Stirling, in hfs edition of Ninnno's History of Stirlingshire, merely says that
he lived there. In IGGI, when Mr James Guthrie was executed on account of
his writings, Henry Guthrie became entitled by law, and was indeed invited by the
town council, to resume his duties at Stirling, but he declined on account of bad
health.* He Avas well known to the earl of Lauderdale, and was recommended
by him to the diocese of Dumblane, then void by the death of bisliop Halybur-
ton. He had during his retirement devoted his attention to the study of church
government, and liad become convinced, " that a parity in the church could not
possibly be maintained, so as to preserve unity and order among them, and that
a superior authority must be brought in to settle them in unity and peace."
With this conviction, and with a sufficient portion of good health for this ap-
pointment, he accepted the diocese, and remained in it till his death, whidi
happened in 1676.

The only woi'k which bishop Guthrie is knovin to have left behind him, is liis
" Memoirs, containing- an Impartial Relation of the affairs of Scotland, Civil ar;d
Ecclesiastical, from the year 1G37 to the Death of King Charles I." — wxitten, it
is believed, at Kilspindie. The impartiality of his " Relation " is often ques-
tionable,— nor could we expect that it should be otherwise, at a period when
both civil and ecclesiastical dissensions ran so high. In point of style it forms a
striking contrast to most of the other histories of that time, -^vhich, liov.ever valu-
able otherwise, are often tedious and uninteresting.

GUTHRIE, James, one of the most zealous of the protesters, as they -were
called, during the religious ti'oubles of the 1 7th century, was the son of the laird
of Guthrie, an ancient and highly respectable family. Guthrie was educated at
St Andrews, Avhere, having- gone through the regular course of classical learning-,
he commenced teacher of philosophy, and was nmch esteemed, as well for the
ccp'.animity of his temper as for his erudition. His religious principles in the

' I\Iemoii-s, edit. 1743, p. 2;i9.

" Guthrie's IMimoirs, p. 299.

^ Lfimoiu's Diary, edit. 1830, p. IS].

* Mr Stirling's ISimmo's Stirlingshire, p. 37G, r.ote.

II. 4 A

5o4 JAMES GUTHRIE.

earlier part of his life are said to liave been liiglily prelatical, and, of course,
opposite to those >vliicli ho afterwards adopted, and for wliicli, in the spirit
of a niai'tyr, lie afterwards died, Jlis conversidii from the forms in ^vhich he was
first bred, is attributed princii)ally to the inlhience of IMr Samuel Hutherford,
minister of Anwoth, himself a zealous and able defender of the Scottish church,
Avith whom he had many opportunities of convevsing^.

In l(i3y 3Ir (iulhrie was appointed minister of Lauder, ^vhere he remained
for several years, and where he had already become so celebrated as to be ap-
pointed one of the several ministers selected by the committee of estates, then
sitting in Edinburgh, to wait upon the unfortunate Charles I. at Newcastle, when
it was learned that the unha])py monarch had delivered himself up to the Scot-
tish army encamped at Newark.

In IGiS), 3Ir tiutlirie was translated from Lauder to Stirling-, where he re-
mained, until his death. While in this charge he continued to distinguish him-
self by the zeal and boldness with which he defended the covenant, and opposed
the resolutions in favour of the king (Charles II.). He was now considered leader
of the protesters, a party opposed to monarchy, and to certain indulgences pro-
posed by the sovereign and sanctioned by the committee of estates, and who were
thus contra-distinguished from the resolutioners, which comprehended the
greater part of the more moderate of the clergy.

Blr Guthrie had, in the meantime, created himself a powerful enemy in the
earl of 3Iiddleton, by proposing to the commission of the Genei-al Assembly to
excommunicate him for his hostility to the church ; the proposal was entertain-
ed, and Guthrie himself Mas employed to cai'ry it into execution in a public
manner in the church of Stirling. It is related by those who were certainly no
friends to Guthrie, regaiding this circumstance, that on the morning of the Sab-
bath on which the sentence of excommunication was to be carried into efl'ect
against 3Iiddleton, a messenger, a nobleman it is said, arrived at Mr Guthrie's
house with a letter from the king, earnestly requesting him to delay the sen-
tence for that Sabbath. The bearer, waiting until he had read the letter, de-
manded an answer. Guthrie is said to have replied, " you had better come to
church and hear sermon, and after that you shall have your ansAver." The mes-
senger complied ; but what was his sui'prise, when he heard the sentence pro-
nounced in the usual course of things, as if no negotiation regarding it lund
taken place. On the dismission of the congregation, he is said to have taken
horee and departed in the utmost indignation, and without seeking any fui-ther
interview with Guthrie. It is certain that a letter ^as delivered to Guthrie, of
the tenor and under the circumstances just mentioned, but it was not from the king,
but, according to ^A'odrow, on the authority of his father w ho had every opportunity
of knowing the fact, from a nobleman. Who this nobleman was, however, he does
not state, nor does he take it upon him to say, even that it was written by the king's
order, or that he Mas in any way privy to it. However this may be, it is stated
further, on the authority just alluded to, that the letter in question was put into
Mr Guthrie's hands in the hall of his own house, after he had got his gown on,
and was about to proceed to church, the last bell having just ceased ringing ;
having little time to decide on the contents of the letter, he gave no positive an-
swer to the messenger, nor came under any promise to postpone the sentence of
excommunication : with this exception the circumstance took place as ah'eady
related.

Soon after the Restoration, Mr Guthrie and some others of his brethren, who
had assembled at Edinburgh, for the purpose of drawing up what they called a
supplication to his majesty, and who had already rendered themselves exceed-
ingly obnoxious lo the government, were apprehended and lodged in the castle

JAMES GUTHRIE. 553

of Edinburgh ; fi-om thence Mr Guthrie was removed to Dundee, and afterwards
back again to Edinburgh, where he was finally brought to trial for high ti-eason,
on the 20th of February, IGGl ; and, notwithstanding an able and ingeni-
ous defence, was condemned to death, a result in no small degree owing to the
dislike which Middleton bore him for his ofiiciousness in the matter of his ex-
communication, and \vhich that nobleman had not forgotten.

It is said that Guthrie had been long impressed with the belief that he should
die by the hands of the executioner, and many singular circumstances which he
himself noted from time to time, and pointed out to his friends, strengthened
him in this melancholy belief. Amongst these it is related, that when he came
to Edinburgh to sign the solemn league and covenant, the first person he met as
he entered at the "tVest Port was the public executioner. On this occasion, struck
with the singularity of the circumstance, and looking upon it as another intima-
tion of the fate which awaited him, he openly expressed his conviction, that he
would one day suffer for the things contained in that document which he had
come to subscribe*

Whilst under sentence of death, Guthrie conducted himself with all the liero-
ism of a martyr. Sincere and enthusiastic in the cause which he had espous-
ed, he did not shrink from the last penalty to which his adherence to it c uld
subject him, but, on the contrary, met it with cheerfulness and magnanimity. On
the night before liis execution he supped with some fi'iends, and conducted him-
self throughout the repast as if he had been in his own house. He ate heartily,
and after supper asked for cheese, a luxury which he had been long forbidden
by his physicians ; saying jocularly, that he need not now fear gi-avel, the com-
plaint for which he had been restricted from it. Soon after supper he retired
to bed, and slept soundly till four o'clock in the morning, when he raised him-
self up and prayed fervently. On the night befoi'e, he wrote some letters to his
friends, and sealed them with his coat of arms, but while the wax was yet soft,
he turned tlie seal round and round so as to mar the impression, and when asked
why he did so, replied, that he had now nothing to do with these vanities. A
little before coming out of the tolbooth to proceed to execution, his Avife embrac-
ing him said, " Now, my heart," her usual way of addressing him, " your time is
drawing nigh, and I must take my last farewell of you." — " Ay, you must," he
answered, " for henceforth 1 know no man after the flesh." Before being brought
out to suffer, a request was made to the authorities by his friends, to allow him
to wear his hat on the way to the scafibld, and also that they would not pinion
him until he reached the place of execution. Both requests were at first denied ;
the former absolutely, because, as was alleged, the marquis of Argyle, who had
been executed a short while before, had worn his hat, in going to the scaffold, in
a manner mai-kedly indicative of defiance and contempt, and which had given
much offence. To the latter request, that he might not be pinioned, th.ey gave
way so far, on a representation being made that he could not ^valk Avithout his
staff, on account of the rose being in one of his legs, as to alloAV him so much
freedom in his arms as to enable him to make use of that support, but they would
not altogether dispense with that fatal preparation. Having ascended the
scaffold, he delivered with a calm and serene countenance an impressive ad-
dress to those around him ; justified all for Avhich he Avas about to suffer, and re-
commended all Avho heard him to adhere firmly to the covenant. After hang-
ing for some time, his head Avas struck oftj and placed on the KetherboAV Port,
Avhere it remained for seven and tAventy years, Avhen it Avas taken down and
buried by a Mr Alexander Hamilton at the hazard of his own life. The body,
after being beheaded, Avas carried to the Old Kirk, Avhere it Avas dressed by a
number of ladies Avho Avaited its arrival for that purpose ; many of Avhom, be-

553 WILLIAM GUTHRIE.

sides, (lij)petl tlieir nnpkins in his blood, tliat they micfht preserve Ihein ns nio-
morials of so admired a imrtyT. Wliile these goiillewoiueu were in the art of
dischargiiig this pious duly, a yo\in:^ ^enllenian suddenly ai)peaiTd auionf>-st them,
and witliout any explanation, proceeded to pour out a botlle of rich perfume
on the dead hody. " <uid bless you, sir, for this labour of love," said one of
the ladies, and llien uithout nltcring- a word, this singular visitor deparled. He
was, however, afterwards discovered to be a stn-geon in lulinburgh named
George Stirling. Guthrie was executed on the 1st June, IGGl.

GIJTIIUIE, WiLijAM, the author of the well known work entitled, "The
Christian's Great Interest," was born at Pitforlhy in For.*'arshire, in tlie year
\'j20. His father was proprietor of that estate and Avas a cadet of the family
of that ilk. He had five sons, of whom it is remarkable that four devoted them-
selves to the ministry. Of these AVilliaiu was the eldest.

The rank and estate of 3Ir Guthrie enabled him to educate his sons liberally
for the profession whidi so many of them had from their early years chosen.
William, witli whom alone we are at present concerned, made while very young'
such advances in classical literature, as to give high hopes of future emi-
nence. His academical education was conducted at St Andrew's University un-
der the immediate direction of his relation, Mr James Guthrie, afterwards an
heroic martyr in the cause of civil and religious liberty. The records of the uni-
versity for this period are unfortunately lost, so that the time of his matriculation,
or any other informatiou respecting his advancement or proficiency c^annot be
obtained from that source. We know, however, that after completing the
philosophical curriculum he took the degree of master of arts, and then devoted
his attention to the study of divinity under Mr Samuel Rutherford. At length he
applied to the Presbytery of St Andrew's for licence, and having gone through
the usual "tryalls" he obtained it in August, 1C42. Soon afterwards he left
St Andrew's, carrying Mith liim a letter of recommendation from the professors,
in which they expi-essed a high opinion of his cliaracter and talents.

jMr Guthrie was now engaged by the earl of Loudon as tutor to h.is son lord
PJauchlin. In that situation he remained till his ordination as first minister of
Fenwick — a parish which had till that time formed part of that of Kilmarnock.
Lord Boyd, the superior of the latter, a staunch royalist and a supporter of the
association formed at Cumbernauld in favour of the king in 16 i I, — had also the
patronage of I^'enwick. This nobleman was most decidedly averse to 3Ir Gutli-
rie's appointment — from what reasons does not appear, although we may be al-
lowed to conjecture that it arose either from Mr Guth.ric's decided principles,
or from the steady attachment of the Loudon family to the presbyterian interest.
Some of'the parishionei's, however, had heard him preach a preparation sennon in
the church of Galston, became his warmest advocates, and were supported in
their solicitations by the influence of the heritors. I\Ir Guthrie was after some
delay ordained minister of tlie parish on the 7th of November, IClL

The difficulties A\hich 3Ir tjiuthrie had to encounter when he entered upon his
charge were neither few nor unimportant. From the former lai'gc extent of tlie
parish of Kilmarnock, the nature of the country, and the badness, in many cases
the total Avant, of roads, a large mass of the people must have entirely wanted the
benefits of religious instruction. He left no plan untried to improve their con-
dition in that respect By every means in his power he allured the ignorant
or the vicious : to some he even gave bribes to attend the church ; others in
more remote districts he visited as if incidentallyti'avclling through their country,
or even sometimes in the disguise of a sportsman ; in such cases, says the author
of the Scots Worthies, " he gained some to a religious life whom he could Isavfe
had little influence upon in a minister's dress."

WILLIAM GUTHRIE. 557

I In August, 1645, Mr Gutlirie luanied Agnes, daughter of David Campbell

of Skeldon in Ayrshire, but he was soon called to leave his happy home by his
appointment as a chaplain to the army. He continued Mitii them till the battle
of Dunbar was fought and lost : after it he retired with the troops to Stirling-;
from thence he went to Edinburgh, where we find him dating his letters about
six weeks afterwards. The last remove was viewed by the clergy with consider-
able jealousy ; and their suspicions of an " intended compliance," intimated to
him in a letter from 3Ir Samuel Rutherford, must have been a source of much
distress and embarrassment to him. That such was not his intention his subse-
quent conduct showed, nor was it any part of Cromwell's policy to convert the
Scottish clergy by torture or imprisonment. Upan entering the metropolis he
intimated that he did not wisli to interfere with the religion of the country,
and that those ministers who had taken refuge in the castle might resume their
functions in their respective parishes.

But while Cromwell determined to leave the clergy and people of Scotland
to their own free will in matters of religion, it is lamentable to observe that
they split into factions, which were the cause of some violent and unchristian
exhibitions. Wiien they divided into the grand parties of resolutioners and
remonstraters, or protesters, Mr Guthrie joined the latter : but he displayed
little of that animosity which so unfortunately distinguished many of his
brethren. He preached with those whose political opinions differed from his
own, and earnestly engaged in every measure which might restore the peace of
the church. But while we cannot but lament their existence, these dissensions
do not seem to have been unfavourable to the growth of religion in the country.
On the contrary, both Law and Kii-kton inform us that " there was great good
done by the preaching of tlie gospel" daring that period, " more than Avas ob-
served to have been for twenty or thirty years." We have some notices of pub-
lic disputes which took place during the Protectorate, — particularly of one at
Cupar in 16 52, between a regimental chaplain and a presbyterian clergyman.'
It is highly probable that this freedom of debate, and the consequent liberty of
professing any religious sentiments, may have been one groat cause of so re-
markable a revival.

From this period to the Restoration, few interesting events present themselves
to the reader of Scottish history. We do not find any notice of 3Ir Guthrie
till the year 1661, when all the fabric which the presbyterians had raised during
the reign of Charles I. was destroyed at one blow. Of the exaggerated benefits
anticipated from the retoration of his son every one mIio has read our national
history is aware. Charles II. was permitted to return to the throne with no far-
ther guarantee for the civil and religious liberties of his people than fine speeches
or fair promises. It was not long before our Scottish ancestors discovered their
mistake ; but the fatal power, which recalls to the mind the ancient fable of
the countryman and the serpent, was now fully armed, and was as uncompro-
mising as inhuman in its exercise. In the dark and awful struggle which fol-
lowed, 3Ir Guthrie was not an idle spectator. He attended the meeting of the
Synod of Glasgow and Ayr, which was held at the former place in April,
1661, and framed an address to the parliament at once spirited and moderate.
Unfortunately, when this address was brought forward for the approbation of the
Synod, the raembei-s were so much divided tliat one party declared their de-
termination to dissent in the event of its being presented. In such circum-
stances it could only prove a disgraceful memorial of their distractions, and
many, otherwise approving of its spirit and temper, voted agiinst any further
procedure. The " Glasgow Act," by which all ministers who had been ordained
1 Lamont's Diary, ed. 1S30. p. 4-S.

658 WILLIAM GUTHRIE.

after 1649, and did not receive coUaliou irmn their bisiiop, were baiiisliod,
60011 followed ; but it did not art'ccl IMr (iullirie.

Through the t^ood offices of tlio earl of (.loiicairii, (lo whom IMr CulluJe liad
some <)ii[)orlunity of doing a favour during his iuiprisonnient before the Kestor-
ation,) lie lia<l hitlierto escaped many of the evils which had visited so large a
majority of his brethren. Dv Alexander Burnet, archbishop of Glasgow, now
be«»^an to act with great severity towards the nonconforming clergy of his dio-
cese. To the intreaty of lord Cileniairn and of other noblemen, that lie would
in the meantime overlook 3Ir Guthrie, the haughty prelate only replied " That
cannot be done, — it shall not : he is a ringleader and a keeper up of schism
in my diocese." With much difficulty he prevailed upon the curate of Calder, for
the paltry bribe of live pounds, to intimate his suspension. The parishioners of
Fenwick had determined to oppose such an intimation even at tlie risk of re-
bellion, but were prevailed upon to desist from an attempt which would have
drawn undoubted ruin upon themselves. The paltry curate, therefore, pro-
ceeded upon his errand with a party of twelve soldiers, and intimated to Mr
Guthrie, and afterwards in the parish church, his commission from archbishop
Burnet to suspend him, Wodrow mentions that ^vhen he wrote his history it
was still confidently asserted " that 3Ir Guthrie, at parting, did signify to the
curate that hg apprehended some evident mark of the Lord's displeasure was
abiding him for what he was now doing," — but that this report rested on very
doubtful authority. " Whatever be in this," he continues, " I am well assured
the curate never preached more after he left Fenw ick. He came to Glasgow, and
whether he reached Calder — but four miles beyond it — I know not : but in
four days he died in great torment of an iliac passion, and his wife and chil-
dren died all in a year or thereby. So hazardous a thing is it lo meddle \vith
Christ's sent servants."

Mr Guthrie remained in the parish of Fenwick for a year after this time
without preaching. In the autumn of 16 G 5, he went to ritforthy, where his
brother's alTairs required his presence. He had only been there a few days
when a complaint which had preyed upon his constitution for many yeais, a
threatening of stone, returned with great violence, accompanied by internal
ulceration. After some days of extreme pain, in the intervals of which he often
cheered his friends by his prospects of happiness in a sinless state, he died in
the house of his brother-in-law, the Rev. Lewis Skinner, at Brechin on the
10th of October, 166 5.

IMr Guthrie would in all probability never have appeared before the world as
an author, had it not been requisite in his own defence. In 1656 or 1637, a
volume was published, containing imperfect notes of sermons preached by him
on the 55th chapter of Isaiah. Although it had a considerable circulation, he
was not less displeased with its contents than the pomposity of its title. It was
true, indeed, tliat it was not brought forward as his production, yet Mr Guthrie
" was reputed the author through the whole country," and therefore bound to
disclaim it in his own vindication. He accordingly revised the notes which he
had preserved of these sermons ; and from thence wrote his only genuine work
" The Christian's Great Interest," now better known by the title of the First
Part, " The Trial of a Saving Interest in Christ." Any praise that could here
be bestowed upon the work would be superfluous. It has gained for itself the
best proof of its merits, — a circulation almost unparalleled among that class of
readei-s for which it was perhaps chiefly intended, the intelligent Scottish
peasantry.

John Howie mentions, in his Scots Worthies, that " there were also some dis-
courses of 3Ir Guthrie's in manuscript," out of which he transcribed seventeen

WILLIAM GUTHRIE 559

sermons, puljlislied in the year 1779. At the same period there were also a
great number of MS. sermons and notes bearing his name. Some of these had
a2>parently been taken from his widow by a party of sokliers who entered her
house by violence, and took her son-in-law prisoner in 168:3.

It may be necessary here to allude to another work connected with jlr
Guthrie's name, — " The heads of some sermons preached at Fenwick in August,
1G63, by Mr ^Villiam Guthrie, upon Matt. xir. 2i, &c. anent the trials of the
Lord's people, their support in, and deliverance from them by Jesus Christ,''
published in 1680, and reprinted in 1714. This work was wholly unauthor-
ized by his representatives, being taken, not from his own MSS. but from
imperfect notes or recollections of some of his hearers. His Avidow published
an advertisement disclaiming it, a copy of which is preserved in the Advocates'
Library, among the collections of the indefatigable Wodrow.

Memoirs of Mr Guthrie Avill be found in the Scots Worthies, and at the be-
ginning of the work " The Christian's Great Interest." A later and more com-
plete sketch of his life, interspersed with his lettei's to Sir William Rluir,
younger, has been written by the Rev. William Muir, the editor of the inter-
esting genealogical little work, " The History of the House of Rowallan."
Fx'ora the latter, most of the materials for the present notice have been drawn.

GUTHRIE, V/iLLiAM, a political, historical, and miscellaneous writer, was
born in Forfarshire, in the year 1708. His father was an episcopal minister at
Brechin, and a cadet of a family which has for a long time possessed consider-
able influence in that part of the counti-y. He studied at King's college in
Aberdeen, and having taken his degrees, had resolved to retire early from the
activity and ambition of the Avorld, to the humble pursuits of a Scottish parochial
schoolmaster; fi-om this retreat, however, he seems to have been early driven,
by the consequences of some unpropitious affair of the heart, hinted at but not
named by his biographers, which seems to have created, from its circumstances,
so great a ferment among the respectable connexions of the schoolmaster, that
he resolved to try his fortune in the mighty labyrinth of London. Other ac-
counts mingle Avith this the circumstance of his having been an adhei-ent of the
house of Stuart, which is likely enough from his parentage, and of his conse-
quently being disabled from holding any office under the Hanoverian govern-
ment— a method of making his livelihood which his character informs us he
would not have found disagi'eeable could he have followed it up ; at all events,
Ave find him in London, after the year 1730, Avorking hard as a general literary
man for his liA'elihood, and laying himself out as a doer of all Avork in the pro-
fession of letters. Previously to Dr Johnson's connexion Avith the Gentleman's
Magazine, Avhich commenced about the year 1738, Guthrie had been in the habit
of collecting and arranging the parliamentary debates for that periodical, or ra-
ther of putting.such Avords into the mouths of certain statesmen, as he thought
they might or should have made use of, clothing the names of the senators in
allegorical terms : a system to which a dread of the poAver of parliament, and
the uncertainty of the privilege of being present at debates, prompted the press
at that time to haA'e recourse. When Johnson had been regularly employed as
a Avriter in the magazine, the reports, after receiving such embellishments as
Guthrie could bestoAv on them, Avere sent to him by Cave, to receive the final
touch of oratorical colouring ; and sometimes afterAvards the labour Avas perform-
ed by Johnson alone, considerably, it may be presumed, to the fame and appre-
ciation of the honourable orators. Guthrie soon after this period had managed
to let it be known to government, that he Avas a person Avho could Avrite Avell, and
that it might depend on circumstances Avhether he should use his pen as the me-
dium of attack or of defence. The matter Avas placed on its proper footing, and

500 "WILLIAM GUTHRIE.

Mr (iiitlirie received iVoiii tlie Pelliam ndniinislration a pension of ,£200 a-year.
He was a man wlio knew better how to maintain liis ground than tlie ministry
did, and he manas>cd with his pension to survive its fall. Nearly twenty years
aficrwards, we fnid liiin making laudable eliorts for the continuance of his allow-
ance by the ihen adininislralion : — tlie following letter addressed to a minister,
one of the coolest specimens of literary commerce on record, Ave cannot avoid
quoting-.

Jwie 3d, I7G2.

" 3Iy Lord, — In the year 1745-G, 3Ir Pelliam, then first lord of the trea-
sury, acijuainled me, that it was his majesty's pleasure I should receive till better
provided for, which never has happened, £200 a-ye;ir, to be paid by him and
liis successors in the treasury. I was satisfied with the august name made use of,
and the appointment has been regularly and quarterly paid nic ever since. I
have been equally punctual in doing the government all the services that fell
within my abilities or splicrc of life, especially in those critical situations \vhich
call for unanimity in the service of the crown. Your lordship will possibly now
suspect that I am an author by profession — you are not deceived ; and you will
be less so, if you believe that I am disposed to serve his majesty under your lord-
ship's future patronage and protection, with greater zeal, if possible, than ever.
1 have the honour to bo, my lord, &:c.,

William Guthrik."
This application, as appears from its date, had been addressed to a member of
the Cute administration, and within a year after it was written, the author must
have had to undergo the task of renewing his appeal, and changing his political
principles. Tlie path he had chosen out was one of danger and difficulty ; but
Ave have the satisfaction of knowing, that the reward of his submission to the
powers that Avere, and of his contempt for common political prejudices, Avas duly
continued to the day of his death.

The achievements of Guthrie in the literary Avorld, it is not easy distinctly or
satisfactorily to trace. The Avorks Avhich bear his name, Avould rank him as,
perhaps, the most miscellaneous and extensive author in the Avorld, but he is gen-
erally believed to have been as regardless of the preseiTation of his literary
fame, as of his political constancy, and to haA-e shielded the productions of au-
tiiors less known to the Avorld, under the sanction of his name. About the year
1763, he published " a complete History of the English Peerage, from the best
authorities, illustrated Avith elegant copperplates of the arms of the nobility, &:c.''
The noble pei-sonages, Avhose ancestors appeared in this Avork as the embodied
models of all human perfection, Avere invited to correct and revise the portions
in Avhich they felt interested before they Avere committed to the press; neverthe-
less tlie Avork is full of mistakes, and has all the appearance of liaving been touched
by a hasty though someA\hat vigorous hand. Thus, the battle of Dettingen, as con-
nected Avith the history of the duke of Cumberland, is mentioned as liaAing taken
place in June, 174i, Avhile, in the account of the duke of ^Marlborough, the period
retrogrades to 1742 — both being exactly the same distance of time from the
true era of the battle, Avhich Avas 1743. Very nearly in the same neighbourhood,
George the II. achieves the feat of leaAing Kanover on the IGth of June, and
reaching Asclialfenberg on the 10th cf the same month; in a similar manner
the house of peers is found addressing his majesty on the subject of the battle of
Cullodenon the 2yth of August, 174'j, just after the prorogation of parliament.
To this Avork iMr Guthrie procured the assistance of Mr lialph Bigland. Guthrie
afterwards Avrote a History of England in three large folios ; it commences Avith
the Conquest, and terminates, rather earlier than it would appear the author had
at first intended, at the end of the Republic. This work has the merit of being

WILLIAM CxTJTHRIE. 561

the earliest British liistory which placed reliance on the fund of authentic infor-
mation, to be found in tlie records of parliament. But the genius of Gulhrie
v/as not to be chained to the history of the events of one island; at divers times
about the years 17G4-5, appeared portions of " A General History of the World,
from the creation to the present time, by William Guthrie, esq., John Gray, esq.,
and others, eminent in this branch of literature," in tAvelve volumes. " No au-
thors," says the Critical Review, "ever pursued an original plan with fewer
deviations than the writers of this work. They connect history in such a man-
ner, that Europe seems one republic, though under different heads and constitu-
tions." Guthrie was then a principal writer in that leading periodical, in which
his worlcs received much praise, because, to save trouble, and as being best acquaint-
ed with the subject, the author of the books took on himself the duties of critic,
and was consequently well satisfied with the performance. In I7G7, Mr Guthrie
published in parts a History of Scotland, in ten volumes, octavo. It commences with
" the earliest period," and introduces us to an ample acquaintance with Dornadilla,
Durst, Corbred, and tlie numerous other long-lived monarchs, whose names Fa-
ther Innes had, some time previously, consigned to the regions of fable. Of se-
veral of these persons he presents us with very respectable portraits, which prove
their taste in dress, and knowledge of theatrical effect, to have been by no means
contemptible. In this work the author adheres with pertinacity to many opinions
which prior authors of celebrity considered they had exploded; like Goodail,
he seems anxious to take vengeance on those who showed the ancient Scots to
have come from Ireland, by proving the Irish to have come from Scotland, and
a similar spirit seems to have actuated him in maintaining the rcgiam marjesta-
tem of Scotland, to have been the original of the recjiam potestatem of Glanvil —
Nicholson and others having discovered that the Scottish code was borrowed
from the English. With all its imperfections, this book constituted tlie best
complete history of Scotland published during the last century, and it is not
without regret that we are compelled to admit its superiority to any equally
lengthy, detailed, and comprehensive history of Scotland which has yet appear-
ed. The vic'.vs of policy are frequently profound and accurate, and the know-
ledge of the contemporaneous history of other nations frequently exhi-
bited, sliows that attention and consideration .might have enabled the author to
have produced a standard liistorical work; towards its general merits Finker-
ton has addressed the following growl of qualified praise : — " (juthrie's History
of Scotland, is the best of the modern, but it is a mere money-job, hasty and inac-
curate," It would be a useless and tedious task to particularize the numerous works
of this justly styled " miscellaneous writer." One of the works, however, which
bear his name, has received tlie unqualified approbation of the world. " Guth-
rie's Historical and Geographical Grammar" is known to every one, from the
school-boy to the philosopher, as a useful and well digested manual of informa-
tion. This work had reached its twenty-first edition before the year 1 8 10; it
was translated into French in 1801, by Blessieurs Noel and Soules, and the
translation was re-edited for the fourth time in a very splendid manner in 1807.
The astronomical information was supplied by James Gregory, and rumour be-
stows on Knox, the bookseller, the reputation of having written the remaining
part under the guarantee of a name of literary authority. Besides the works
already enumerated, Guthrie translated Quintilian, Cicero De OfUciis, and Ci-
cero's Epistles to Atticus — he likewise wrote, " The Friends, a sentimental his-
tory," in two volumes, and " Remarks on English Tragedy." This singular in-
dividual terminated his laborious life in March, 1770. The following tribute to
his varied qualifications is to be found on his tombstone in Mary-le-bone, —
"Near this place lies interred the body of William Guthrie, esq., Avho died,

662 DAVID HACKSTON.

9th IMarcli, 1770, nned sixty-two, representative of the ancient fiiiiiily of Guthrie
of Halkerlon, in (he counly of Anj^iis, North Britain : eminent for knowledge in
nil hrandies of literature, and of tiie iJritisii const iUilion, ^vhidi his many works,
historical, geographical, cl.issioal, critical, and political, do testify ; to whom tiiis
monument was erected, by order of his brother, Henry (juthrie, cs(j., in the year
1777."

Guthrie was one of those individuals who live by making themselves useful to
others, and his talents and habits dictated the most profitable occupation for his
time to he composition : he seems to have exulted in the self-imposed term of
"an author by profession;" and we find him three years before his death com-
placently styling himself, in a letter to the earl of Buchan, " the oldest author by
profession in Britain :" like many who liave maintained a purer fame, and tilled
a higher station, his political principles were guided by emolument, wiiich, in
his instance, seems to have assumed the aspect of pecuniary necessity. Had not
liis engagements with the booksellers jirompted him to aim at uniting the various
qualities of a Hume, a Robertson, a Jolnison, a Camden, and a Cowley, atten-
tion to one particular branch of his studies might have made liis name illus-
trious. Johnson considered him a person of suflicient eminence to regret that
his life had not been wi'itten, and uttered to Boswell the following sententious
opinion of his merits: — " Sir, he is a man of parts. He has no regular fund of
knowledge, but by reading so long, and writing so long, he no doubt has picked
up a good deal." Boswell elsewhere states in a note — " How much poetry he
wrote, I know not, but he informed me, that he was the author of the beautiful
little piece, ' the Eagle and Robin Red-breast,' in the collection of poems en-
titled ' The Union,' though it is there said to be written by Archibald Scott, be-
fore the vear IGOO."

H

HACKSTON, David, of Eathillet, is a name of considerable celebrity in the
annals of Scotland, from its connexion with th.e events of 1679-80, and from
its pre-eminence in some of the most remarkable transactions of that stormy
period. Hackston, though indebted for his celebrity to the zeal and courage
which he displayed in the cause of the covenanters, is said to have led an ex-
ceedingly irreligious life during his earlier years, from which he was reclaimed
by attending some of the field preachings of the period, when he became a sin-
cere and devoted convert. The first remarkable transaction in which he was
engaged in connexion with the party with which he had now associated himself,
was the murder of archbishop Sharpc. Hackston of Rathillet formed a con-
spicuous figure in the group of that prelate's assassins, although in reality he had
no immediate hand in the murdei-. He seems, however, even previous to this
to have gained a considerable ascendency over his more innnediate companions,
and to have been already looked up to by his party, as a man whose daring
courage and enthusiasm promised to be of essential service to their cause. AYhen
the archbishop's carriage came in sight of the conspirators, of whom there were
eight besides Hackston, they unanimously chose him their leader, pledging them-
selves to obey him in every thing in the conduct of the proposed attack on the
prelate. This distinction, however, Hackston declined, on the ground that he
had a private quai-rel with the archbishop, and that, therefore, if he should take
an active part in his destruction, the world would allege that he had done it tc

DAVID HACKSTON 563

gratify a personal hatred — a feeling, of vvhich he declared he entertained none
whatever towards their intended victim. He farther urged scruples of conscience
regarding the proposed deed, of the lawfulness of which he said he by no means
felt assured, the archbishop, as is well known, having only come accidentally
in the way of Hackston and his associates. Hackston having refused
the command of the party, another was chosen, and under his dii-ections
the murder was perpetrated. Whilst the shocking scene was going forward,
Hackston kept altogether aloof, and countenanced it no further than by looking
on. He seems, however, to have had little other objection to the commission of
the crime, than that he himself should not have an innnediate hand in its accom-
plishment ; for when the unfortunate old man, after being compelled to come out
of his carriage by the assassins, appealed to him for protection, — saying, " Sir, I
know you are a gentleman, you will protect me,'' he contented himself with re-
plying that lie would never lay a hand on him. iiathillet was on horseback,
from which he did not alight during the whole time of the murder. Next
day, tlie conspirators divided themselves into two parties — three remain-
ing in Fife, and five, with Rathillet, proceeding north in the direction of
Dumblane and Perth. Soon after they repaired to the west, and finally join-
ed a body of covenanters at Evandale. Here the latter having drawn up a
declaration, containing thoir testimony to the truth, Rathillet with another, Mr
Douglas, one of the most intrepid of the covenanting clergymen, was appointed
to publish it. For this purpose he proceeded with his colleague to the town
of Rutherglen, where, on 29th Maj^, after burning, at the market cross, all
those acts of parliament and council which they and their party deemed pi'e-
judicial to their interest, they proclaimed the testimony. Hackston's next
i-emarkable appearance was at the battle of Drumclog, where he distinguished
himself by his bravery. On the alai-m being given that Claverhouse was in sight,
and approaching the position of the covenanters, who, though they had met
there for divine worship, were all well armed, Hackston and Hall of Haugh-head
placed themselves at the head of the footmen, and l«d them gallantly on against
the dragoons of Claverhouse. The result of that encounter is well known. Tho
bravery of the covenanters prevailed. The affair of Drumclog was soon after
followed by that of Bothwell Brig, where Rathillet again made himself conspi-
cuous by his intrepidity, being, with his troop of horse, tiie last of the whole
army of the covenanters on the field of battle. He had ilown from rank to
rank, when he saw the confusion which was arising amongst the covenanters,
and alternately threatened and besought the men to keep their ground. Finding-
all his efibrts vain, " My friends," he said, addressing his troop, " we can do no
more, we are the last upon the field ;" and he now, retreating himself, endea-
voured as much as possible to cover the rear of the flying covenanters. Rathillet
sought safety in concealment, for, besides what he had to fear from his hav-
ing carried arms against the government, he had also to appi'ehend {\\q conse-
quences of a proclamation which had been issued, offering a reward of 10,000
merks for his apprehension, or any of those concerned in the death of the arch-
bishop of St Andrews. For twelve months he contrived to escape, but was at
length taken prisoner at Airsmoss, by Bruce of Earlshall. Rathillet, with about
sixty other persons, had come to the place just named, to attend a preaching by
Richard Cameron, the celebrated founder of the sect called Cameronians, when
they were surprised by Bruce with a large body of horse, and after a desperate
resistance, during which Hackston was severely wounded, he and several others
were taken. Cameron himself was killed in this aflair, with nine of his adherents.
Hackston gives a very interesting account of this skirmish, and, Avithout the
slightest aim at eflect, has presented us with as rsmarkable and striking an in-

OGI DAVID IIACKSTON.

stance of the spirit of the times, of the nimost romantic bravery and resolution

^^ili^h religious fervour had iiis|»irc<l into tiie covenanters, as is upon record. It
appears from the account alhulod to, that tiie parly to wliicii llackstoii was at-
tached, iiad hcen inlorined that tiie military were in search of thcni, and that,
to avoid tlie latter, they had spent some days and nights, previous to their en-
countering them, in the moors. On the day on A\hich the skirmish took place,
Avhile wandering through the morasses, they cnriio upon a spot of grass, which
tempted them to halt. Here they laid themselves down and took some rcfresh-
inont, hut while thus employed, they were startled with the intelligence that their
enemies were aj>proaching thom, Ilackston conje^itures, to the number of at
least 112 men, Avell armed and mounted ; while the force of the covenanters did
not amount to more than sixty-three, of which forty were on foot, and twenty-
three on horseback, and the greater part of them but poorly appointed. Un-
nppalled by those odds, Ilackston innuediately formed his little host in battle
array, and, while doing so, asked them if they were all Avilling to fight. The
reply was readily given in the aflirmative, and preparations were instantly made
for a desperate conflict. In the meantime the dragoons were fast advancing to-
wards them. Ilackston, however, did not wait for the attack, but put his little
band also in motion, and bravely marched on to meet their enemy. " Our
horse," says Hackston, " advanced to their faces, and we fired on each other. I
being foremost, after receiving their fire, and finding the horse behind me broken,
rode in amongst them, and went out at a side without any wrong or wound.
I was pursued by severals, with whom I fought a good space, sometimes they
follouing me and sometimes I following them. At length my horse bogged, and
the foremost of theirs, A\hich Avas David l?amsay, one of my acquaintance, we
both being on foot, fought it with small swords without advantage of one another;
but at length closing, I was striken down with those on horseback behind me,
and received three sore wounds on the head, and so falling, he saved my life,
■which I subnntted to. They searched me and carried me to their rear, and laid
me down, where 1 bled much, — where wci'e brouglit severals of their men sore
wounded. They gave us all testimony of being brave resolute men." Hack-
ston with several others were no^v, his little party having been defeated, carried
prisoners to Douglas, and from thence to Lanark. Here he was brought before
Dalyell, who, not being satisfied A\ilh his answers, threatened in the brutal man-
ner peculiar to him to roast him for liis contumacy. Without any regai"d to the
miserable condition in which Hackston was — dreadfully wounded and worn out
with fatigue — Dalyell now ordered him to be put in irons, and to be fastened
down to the iloor of his prison, and would not allow of any medical aid to alle-
viate his sufferings. On Saturday, two days after the afiair of Airsmoss, l\athillet,
with other three prisoners, were brought to Edinburgh. On arriving at the
city, they were carried round about by the north side of the town, and made to
enter at the foot of the Canongate, where they were received by the magistrates.
Here the unparalleled cruelties to which Hackston was subjected commenced.
Dcforc entering the town he was placed upon a horse with " his face backward,
and the other three were bound on a goad of iron, and 3Ir Cameron's head car-
ried on a halbert before him, and another head in a sack on a lad's back."
And thus disposed, the procession moved up the street towards the Parliament
Close, where the pnsoners were loosed by the hands of the hangman. Rathillet
was inmiediately carried before the council, and examined regarding the nuirder
of archbishop Sliarpe, and ou several points relative to his religious and political
doctrines. Here he conducted hin\self with the same fortitude which had dis-
tinguished him on other perilous occasions, maintaining and defending his opin-
ions, however unpalatable they might be to his judges. After undergoing a

LADY ANNE IIALKET. 5G5

second examination- by the council, he uas handed ovei- to the court of justi-
ciary, with instructions from the former to the latter, to pioceed against him with
the utmost severity. On the 29tli of July he was brougiit to trial as an acces-
sory to the nuirdor of the primate, for publishing two seditious papers, and for
having carried arms against his sovereign. HathiUet declined the jurisdiction
of the court, and refused to plead. This, however, of course, availed him no-
thing. On the day following he was again brought to the bar, and in obedience
to the injunctions of the council, sentenced to suffer a death unsurpassed in
cruelty by any upon record, and which had been dictated by the council pre-
vious to his trial by the justiciary court, in the certain anticipation of his con-
demnation. After receiving sentence, the unfortunate man was carried directly
from the bar and placed upon a hurdle, on which he ^vas drawn to the place of
execution at the cross of Edinbui-gh. On his ascending the scaffold, ^\here none
were permitted to be with him but two magistrates and the executioner, and his
attendants, the cruelties to which he had been condLiumcd were begun. His
right hand was struck off"; but the hangman performing the operation in a tardy
and bungling manner, Kathillet, when he came to take off" the left hand also, de-
sired him to strike on the joint. This done, he was drawn up to the top of the
gallows with a pulley, and allowed to fall again with a sudden and violent jerk.
Having been three times subjected to this barbarous proceeding, he Avas hoisted
again to the top of the gibbet, when the executioner with a large knife laid open
liis breast, before he was yet dead, and pulled out his heart. This he now stuck
on the point of a knife, and showed it on all sides to the spectators, crying,
" Here is the lieart of a traitor." It Avas then thrown into a fire prepared for
the purpose. His body was afterwards quartered. One quarter, together w'lOi
his hands, Avere sent to St Andrews, another to Glasgow, a third to Leitli, and a
fourth to IJurntisland ; his head being fixed upon the Ketherbow. Tims
perished llackston of l\alhillet, a man in whose life, and in the manner of whose
death, we find at once a remarkable but faithful specimen of the courage and
fortitude of the persecuted of the seventeenth century, and of the inhuman and
relentless spirit of their pci'secutors.

HALKET, (Lady) Anme, whose extensive learning and voluminous theological
Avritings, place her in the first rank of female authors, was the daughter of BIr
llobert Murray, of the family of Tullibardine, and was born at London, January
4th, 1622. She may be said to have been trained up in habits of scholastic
study from her very infancy, her father being preceptor to Charles I., (and after-
wards provost of Eton college,) and her mother, who was allied to the noble
family of Perth, acting as sub-governess to the duke of Gloucester and the
princess Elizabeth. Lady Anne Avas instructed by her parents in every polite
and liberal science ; but theology and physic were her favourite subjects ; and she
became so proficient in the latter, and in the more unfeminine sciences of surgery,
that the most eminent professional men, as well as invalids of the first rank, both
in Britain and on the continent, sought her advice. Being, as might have been
expected, a staunch royalist, her family and herself suffered with the misfor-
tunes of Charles. She was marriid on March 2d, IG56, to Sir James Halket,
to whom she bore four children, all of whom died young, with the exception of
her eldest son Robert. During her pregnancy with the latter, she wrote an ad-
mirable tract, " The Mother's Will to the Unborn Child," under the impression
of her not surviving her delivery. Her husband died in the year 1G70 ; but
elie survived till April 22d, 1691), and left no less than twenty-one volumes be-
hind her, chielly on religious subjects, one of which, her " Meditations," was
printed at Edinburgh in 1701. She is said to have been a Avoman of singular
but unaffected piety, and of the sweetest simplicity of manners ; and these quali-

5G0 SIR JAMES HALT,.

lies, together with her great tiilents and learning, drew upon her the universal
estoeiu and respect of her coteniporaries of all ranks.

HALL, (Sir) Jamks, l?art., was boni at Dunglass iu East Lothian, on the 17tli
January, 17GI. He \Yas the eldest son of Sir John Hall, who had married his
cousin, 3Iagdalen, daughter to .*^lr Robert I'ringle of Stitchell in Berwickshire.
The subject of our memoir received a private education until his twelfth year,
when he was sent by his father to a public school in the neighbourhood of Lon-
don, where he had the good fortune to be under the cai'e and superintendence
of his uncle, Sir John Pringle, the king's physician. He succeeded to the
baronetcy by the death of his father, in July 177G, and much about the same
period entered himself in Christ's college, Cambridge, where he remained for
some years, lie then proceeded with his tutor, the reverend Mr Brand, on a
tour on the continent, whence ho returned to Edinburgh, when twenty yeai's
old, and lived there Avith his tutor until he became of age, attending, at the same
time, some of the classes of the Edinburgh university. In 1782, Sir James
Hall made a second tour on the continent of Europe, where he remained for
more than three years, gradually acquiring that accurate information in geology,
chemistry, and Gothic architecture, Avhich he afterwards made so useful to the
world. During this period he visited the courts of Europe, and made himself ac-
quainted wi'ih their scientific men. In his rambles he had occasion to meet with
the adventurer Ledyard ; the interview between them, its cause, and consequence,
are, with a sense of gratitude and justice not often witnessed on similar occa-
sions, detailed in the journals and correspondence of that singufar man ; and the
scene is so honourable to the feelings of Sir James Ilall, that we cannot avoid
quoting it in Ledyard's own words :

" Permit me to relate to you an incident. About a fortnight ago, Sir Jinnes
Hall, an English gentleman, on his way from Paris to Cherbourg, stopped his
coach at our door, and came up to my chamber. I was in bed, at six o'clock
in the morning, but having flung on my robe de chambre, I met him at the door
of the anti-chamber — I was glad to see him, but surprised. He observed, that
he had endeavoured to make up his opinion of me with as much exactness as
possible, and concluded that no kind of visit whatever would surprise me. I
could do no otherwise than remark that his opinion surprised me at least, and
the conversation took another turn. In walking across tlie chamber, he laugh-
ingly put his hand on a six livre piece, and a louis d'or that lay on my table,
and with a half stifled blush, asked me how I was in the money way. Blushes
commonly beget blushes, and I blushed partly because he did, and partly on other
accounts. ' If fifteen guineas,' said he, interrupting the answer he had demand-
ed, ' will be of any service to you, there they are,' and he put them on tlie
table. * 1 am a traveller myself, and though 1 have some fortune to support my
travels, yet I have been so situated as to want money, which you ought not to
do — you have my address in London.' Ke then wished me a good morning and
left me. This gentleman was a total stranger to the situation of my finances,
and one that I had, by mere accident, met at an ordinary in Paris.'"

The sum was extremely acceptable to Ledyard, for the consumption of the
six livre piece and the louis d'or would have loft him utterly destitute ; but he
had no more expectation or right to assistance from Sir James Hall, than (to use
his own simile) from the khan of Tartary. On his return to Scotland, Sir James
Hall married, in 17S6, the lady Helen Douglas, second daughter of Dunbar, earl
of Selkirk. Living a life of retirement, Sir James commenced his connexion
with the Royal Society of Edinburgh, of which he was for some time president^

1 Life and Travels of John Lcdjard, from Lis Journals and Correspondence, 182S, pp.223,
224.

SIR JAMES HALL. 567

and enriched its transactions by accounts of experiments on a bold and exten-
five scale. The results were in many instances so important, that they deserve
to he cursorily mentioned in this memoir, which, treating of a scientific man,
would be totally void of interest without some reference to them. He was a
supporter of the theory of Dr Plutton, Avho maintained the earth to be the pro-
duction of heat, and all its geological formations the natural consequences of fu-
sion ; and his experiments may be said to be special evidence collected for the
support of this cause. Among the minute investigations made by the supporters
of both sides of the controversy, it had been discovered by the Neptunians, that
in some granites, where quartz and feldspar were united, the respective crystals
were found mutually to impress each other — therefore, that they must have been
in a state of solution together, and must have congealed simultaneously ; but as
feldspar fuses with less heat than is required for quartz, the latter, if both were
melted by fire, must have returned to its solidity previously to the former, and
so the feldspar Avould have yielded entirely to the inipi-ession of the crystals of
the quartz. Sir James Hall discovered, that when the two substances were pul-
verized, and mixed in the pi'oportions in which they usually occur in granite,
a heat very little superior to that required to melt the feldspar alone, fused both,
the feldspar acting in some respects as a solvent, or flux to tlie quartz. Making-
allowance for the defects of art, the result of the experiment, Avhile it could not
be used as a positive proof to the theory of the Huttonians, served to defend
them from what might have proved a conclusive argument of their opponents.
But the other experiments were founded on wider views, and served to illustrate
truths more important. The characteristic of the theory of Dr Hutton, distin-
guishing it from those of others Avho maintained the formation of the earth by
means of fire, was, that perceiving the practical efl'ect of heat on most of tlio
bodies which formed the crust of the earth, to be calcination, or change of state,
and not fusion, or change of form, and knowing from the experiments of Dr
Black, that, in the case of limestones, the change depended on the separation of
the carbonic acid gas from the earth, the theorist concluded, that by a heat be-
yond what human agency could procure, calcareous eartbs might be fused, pro-
vided the gas were prevented from escaping, by means of strong pressure. Sir
James Hall, conceiving it possible that a sufficient heat might be procured, to ex-
emplify the theory on some calcareous bodies, commenced a series of experiments
in 1798, Avhich he prosecuted through success and disappointment for seven
years. The result of these experiments produced an elaborate paper, read be-
fore the Royal Society of Edinbux'gh, and published in the Transactions of that
body in 1 806 ; they were in number one hundred and fifty-six, some success-
ful, others productive of the disappointment to which accident frequently ex-
poses the zealous chemist, — conducted Avith considerable danger, great expense,
and unvarying patience and labour, and on the Avhole singularly satisfactory
in their results. The plan folloAved by Sir James Avas, to procure a tube Avhich
might afford a strong resistance to iuAvard pressure, for Avhich purpose he alter-
nately tried iron, and porcelain ; one end being closed up, pulverized chalk or
other limestone Avas inserted, and the space betwixt its surface and the mouth of
the tube being closely packed Avith some impervious substance, such as clay baked
and pounded, fused metal, &c., the open extremity was hermetically sealed, and
the end Avhich contained the substance to be experimented upon, subjected to the
action of a furnace. The iron or the porcelain was frequently found insuffi-
cient to sustain the pressui-e ; the substance rammed into the tube to prevent the
longitudinal escnpe of the gns had not always the effect, nor could Sir James,
even in the most refined of his experiments, prevent a partial though sometimes
scarcely perceptible escape of gas ; yet the general results showed the truth of

5G8 SIR JAMES HALL.

tlio theory on whW.h lie had proceetlt-il to at;t, uilh sing^ular applicability; — the
first successful experiment procured him from a piece of common dialk, broken
to powder, a liard stony mass, which dissolved in muriatic acid Avith violent
eflervescence — somdimes the fruit of his labour A\as covered wilh crystals
visible to the naked eye — provinjj fusion, and re-formation as a limestone
mineral. 'Jhe results of-thuse experiments, as applicable to the formation of the
earlh, Averc reduced to a table, in which, by a presumption that the pressure of
■water had, been the agent of nature, the author considers that 1700 feet of sea,
uith tiie assistance of heat, is suflicient for the formation of limestone — that by
3U00 feet a complete marble may be formed, &c.; — it may bo remarked that
a fragment of marble, manufactured by Sir James llall in the course of his ex-
periments, so far deceived the worlcman e:i)ployed to give it a polish, tiiat, act-
ing under the presumption that the fragment had been dug np in Scotland, he
remarJved, that if it were but a little whiter, the mine where it was found nn'ght
be very valuable.

In 1S08, Sir James liall represented the burgh of St r.Iichael's in Cornwall ;
but after the dissolution of parliament in 1812, he did not again o/ler himself
as a candidate. In 1S13, he published his well known "Origin, Principles,
and History of Gothic Architecture," in one volimie quarto, accompanied with
plates and illustrations. It contained an enlargemei.t and correction of the
contents of a paper on the same subject, delivered before the Eoyal Society of
Edinburgh in the year 1797. This elegant volume is the most popular and
esteemed work on the subject of which it treats, both in the particular theory it
espouses, and the interest of its details. Tiic origin and formation of Gothic
architecture had given birth to many theories, accounting for it on the imitative
principles which guide the formation of all architecture, some ingenious, but
none satisfactory, Warburton pointed out the similarity of Go'Jiic aisles, to
avenucr of growing trees. JNIilncr adopted the theory propotnided in Rentham's
History of Ely Cathedral, that the pointed arch uas formed by the interlacina^
of two semicircular arches ; and 3Iurphy referred the whole formation of Gothic
architecture to an imitation of the form of the pyramid. Sir James Hall per-
ceived that no form could be appropriately assumed in Gotiiic architecture
%vhich might not be constructed in \vicker-ware ; and considered that the earliest
stone buildings of this peculiar form were imitations of the natural forms as-
sumed in constructions of boughs and twigs. " It happened," he says, in giv-
ing a lively account of the circumstance which hinted such a theory, " that the
peasants of the country through which I Mas ti*avelliug -were employed in col-
lecting and bringing home the long rods or poles, which they make use of to
support their vines, and these Avere to be seen in every village, standing in
bundles, or waving partly loose in carts. It occurred to me that a rustic dwel-
ling might be constructed of such rods, bearing a I'csemblance to Avorlvs of
Gothic architecture, and from which the peculiar forms of that style might
liave been derived. This conjecture Avas at first employed to account for the
main parts of the structure, and for its general appearance only ; but after a
diligent investigation, carried on at intervals, Avith the assistance of friends,
both in the collection of materials, and the solution of difiiculties, I liaA'e been
enabled to reduce even the most intricate forms of this elaborate style to the
same simple origin ; and to account for every feature belonging to it, from an
imitation of wicker Avork, modified according to the piunciples just laid down,
as applicable to architecture of every sort." Sir Janses, avIio Avas never fond of
trusting to the poAver of theory Avithout practice, erected Avith twigs and boughs
a very beautiful Gothic edifice, from Avhich he drcAV conclusions strikingly illus-
trative of his theory. But it must be alloAved, that he has carried it in some re-

THOMAS HALYBURTON. 569

Epects a little beyond the bounds of certainty, and that, liowevex' much o'lr taste-
iiil ancestors continued to follow the course which chance had dictated of the
imitation of vegetable formations in stone, many forms \vere iuiitated, which
■were never attempted in tlie dicker edifices of our far distant progenitors. A
specimen of this reasoning is to be found in the author's tracing tiie origin of
tiiose graceful spherical angles, which adorn the interior parts of the bends of
the mullions in the more ornate windows of Gothic churches, to an imitation of
the curled form assumed by the bark when in a state of decay, and ready to
drop from the bougli. The similitude is fanciful, and may be pronounced to be
founded on incorrect data, as the ornament in question cannot be of prior date
to that of the second period of Gothic architecture, and was unknown till many
ages after the twig edilices were forgotten. The theory forms a check on the
extravagancies of modern Gothic imitations, and it were well if those Avho per-
petrate such productions, would follow the advice of Sir James Hall, and correct
their work by a comparison with nature. This excellent and useful man,' after
a lingering illness of three and a half years, died at Edinburgh on the 23d day
of June, 1S32. Of a family at one time very numerous, he left behind him
five children, of whom the second was the late disiinguislied captain Basil Hall.

HALYEUKTON, Thomas, an eminent author and divine, and professor of
divinity in the university of St Andrews, was born in December, 1G74, at
Dupplin in the parish of Aberdalgy, near Perth, of which parish his father had
been clergyman for many years, but being a " non-conformist," was ejected
after the Uestoration. Upon his death, in 1G82, his widow emigrated to Hol-
land with Thomas, her only son, then eight years old, on account of the perse-
cutions to which those of their persuasion were still exposed in their native
country. This event proved fortunate for the subject of this notice, mIio attained
uncommon proficiency in all branches of classical literature. He returned to
Scotland in IG37, and after completing the usual curriculum of university edu-
cation, turned his vie^vs to the church, and entered upon the proper course of
study for that profession. He was licensed in 1G99, and in the following year
was appointed minister of the parish of Ceres, in Fifeshire. Here he con-
tinued till 1710, distinguished by the piety of his conduct, and the zeal with
which he performed the duties of this charge, when his health becoming im-
paired in consequence of his pastoral exertions, he was appointed, upon the re-
commendation of the Synod of Fife, to the professor's chair of divinity in St
Leonard's college at St Andrews, by patent from queen Anne. About this
period, Deism had partly begun to come into fashion in Scotland, in imitation
of the free-thinking in England and on the continent, where it had been re-
vived in the preceding century. Many writers of great learning and tolent
had adopted this belief, and lent their pens either directly or indirectly to its
propagation, the unhappy consequences of which were beginning to display
themselves on the public mind. To counteract their pernicious influence, Ml-

1 The following anecdote of Sir James Hall, which has been related to us by the individual
concerned in it, appears to be characteristic of the philosopher. Our fii; nd h;id become in-
terested in some improvemetits suggested upon the quadrant by a shoemaker named Gavin
White, resident at Aberdour in Fife ; and he sent an account of them to Sir Jnmes Hall,
desiring to have his opinion of them. A few da}s after. Sir James Hull visited our friend,-
and, with little preface, adiircssed him as follows : '■'• Sir, I su])pose \ou thought me a proper
person to write to on this subject, because 1 am president of the Ro}al Societj'. 1 beg to in-
form )0U that I am quite ignorant of the quadrant, and therefore unable to estimate the
merit of INIr White. I liavcaso.i, however, a very clever fellow, now at Loo Chco : if he
were here, he would be your mnn. Good morning, Sir." It occurs lo the editor of these
volumes, that few philosophers of even greater dis'.inction than Sir James Hall, would have
had the candour to confess ignorance upon an}' subject — although unquestionably to do so is
cue of the surest marks of superior acquirements and intellect.

570 COUNT ANTHONY HAMILTON.

Hnlyburton assiiliiously .ipjilieil liiiusell', aii<l on his iiuliirlion (o llie professor's
chair, <leiiveri'«l an inaii<;iiial disi:(iui-sc,laiiinjj lor liis siihject a recout publica-
tion by the celebrated Ur I'jleaini of Ldinburjili, containing an attack on re-
vealed religion under the feigned name of " lipistola Arcliiniedis ad Hegeni (jc-
loneni alba; <iraM;e repcrta, anno xv:c Christiana', llJ^^H, A. I'itcarnio, 31. D. nt
vulgo credilur, auctore." One of the earliest, and perhaps the most powerful,
of all the deistical writers that have yet appeared, was lldward lord Herbert
of Cherbury in Shropshire, felder brother of the amiable (ieorge Herbert, the
well known English poet,) who figured conspicuously in the political world in
the time of Charles I., and wrote several works in disproof of the truth or ne-
cessity of revealed religion. His most important publication, entitled " De
Veritate," was originally printed at I'aris in ltJ:;il, in consequence, as the author
solemnly declares, of the direct sanction of heaven to that etfect, but was after-
wards republished in London, and obtained very general circulation. 31r Haly-
burton applied himself vealously to refute the doctrines contained in these works
and others of similar tendency from the pens of dilferent other writers, and
produced his " Natural Religion Insufficient, and Revealed Necessary to JMan's
Happiness," a most able and elaborate performance, in which he demonstrates
with great clearness and force the defective nature of reason, even in judging
of the character of a Deity, — the kind of worship which ought to be accorded
him, &c. Dr Leland, in his letters, entitled " View of Deistical Writers," ex-
presses great admiration of this performance, and regrets that the narrowness
and illiberality of the writer's opinions on some points operated prejudicially
against it in the minds of many persons. Neither this nor any other of Mr
Halyburton's works were given to the world during his life, which unfortunate-
ly terminated in September, 1712, being then only in his thirty-eighth year.
Besides tlie above work, which was published in 1714, the two others by which
he is best known in Scotland are "The Great Concern of Salvation," published
in 1721, and "Ten Sermons preached before and after the celebration of the
Lord's Supper," published in 1722. A complete edition of his works in one vo!.
8vo. was some years ago published at Glasgow.

HAMILTON, (Count) Anthont, a pleasing describer of manners, and writer oi
fiction, was born about the year 1G4G. Although a native of Ireland, and in after
life more connected with Trance and England than with Scotland, the paren-
tage of this eminent writer xvarrants us in considering him a proper person to
fill a place in a biography of eminent Scotsmen. The father of Anthony Ham-
ilton was a cadet of the ducal house of Hamilton, and his mother was sister to
the celebrated duke of Ormond, lord lieutenant of Ireland. The course of
politics pui'sued by the father and his connexions compelled him, on the execu-
tion of Charles the First, to lake refuge on the continent, and the subject of our
memoir, then an infant, accompanied his parents and the royal family in their
exile in France. The long residence of the exiles in a country where their
cause was respected, produced interchanges of social manners, feelings, and
pursuits, unknown to the rival nations since the days of the Crusades, and the
young writer obtained by early habit that colloquial knowledge of the language,
and familiar acquaintance with the magnificent court of France, which enabled
him to di-aw a finished picture of French life, as it existed in its native purity,
and as it became gradually engrafted in English society. At the age of four-
teen he returned with the restored monarch to England, but in assuming the
station and duties of a British subject, he is said to have felt a reluctance to
abandon the levities of a gayer minded people, whidi were to him native feel-
ings. The return of the court brought with it Englishmen, who had assimilated
their manners to those of the Erench, and Frenchmen, anxious to see the

COUNT ANTHONY HAMILTON. 571

country Mhich had beheaded its king-, and not averse to bestow the polish of
their own elegant court on the rough framework of the re-constructed kingdom.
Of these polished foreigners, the circumstances under which one celebrated in-
dividual visited the British court are too much interwoven with the literary
fame of Anthony Hamilton, to be here omitted. The chevalier, afterwards
count de Grauimont, one of the gayest ornaments of the court of Louis, found
it inconvenient to remain in France after having disputed with his master the
hsart of a favourite mistress. High born, personally courageous, enthusiastic in
the acquisition of " glory," handsome_, extravagant, an inveterate gambler, a
victor in war r.nd in love, Volage, et meme un pen perfide en amour, the
French emigrant to the court of England was a perfect human being, according
to the measure of the time and the place. The admired qualities with which he
was gifted by nature, were such as control and prudence could not make
more agreeable ; but the friends of the chevalier seem sometimes to have re-
gretted that the liaisons in which he was frequently engaged Avere so destructive
to the peace of others, and would have prudently suggested the pursuit of in-
trigues, which might have been less dangerous to his personal safety. The
chevalier found in his exile a new field rich in objects that engaged his vagrant
affections. Tired of alternate conquest and defeat, he is represented as having
finally concentrated his affections on the sister of his celebrated biographer, on
whom the brother has bestowed poetical charms, in one of the most exquisite
of his living descriptions of female beauty, but who has been less charitably
treated in the correspondence of some of her female rivals. The attentions of
the chevalier towards Miss Hamilton were of that decided cast which admitted
of but one interpretation, and justice to his memory requires the admission,
that he seemed to have fixed on her as firm and honoui-ablc an affection as so
versatile a heart could form. But constancy was not his characteristic virtue.
He forgot for an interval his vows and promises, and prepai-ed to return to
France without making any particular explanation with the lady or her brother.
When he had just left the city, Anthony Hamilton and his brother George
found it absolutely necessary to prepare their pistols, and give chase to the
faithless lovei-. Before he had reached Dover, the carriage of the offended
brothers had nearly overtaken him. " Chevalier De Grammont," they cried,
" have you forgot nothing in London?" — "Beg pardon, gentlemen," said the
pursued, " I forgot to marry your sister." The marriage was immediately con-
cluded to the satisfaction of both parties, and the inconstant courtier appears to
have ever after enjoyed a due share of domestic felicity and tranquillity. The
chevalier returned with his wife to his native country, and Hamilton seems to
have added to the attraction of early associations a desire to pay frequent visits
to a country Avhich contained a sister for whom he seems to have felt much af-
fection. Hamilton and Grammont entertained for each other an esteem which
was fostered and preserved by the similarity of their tastes and dispositions. A
third person, differing in many respects from both, while he resembled them in
his intellect, was the tasteful and unfortunate St Evremond, and many of the
most superb wits of the brilliant court of Louis XIV. added the pleasures,
though not always the advantages of their talents to the distinguished circle.
Wit and intellect, hov.ever perverted, always meet the due homage of qualities
which cannot be very much abused, and generally exercise themselves for the
benefit of mankind; but unfortunately the fashion of the age prompted its
best ornaments to seek amusement among the most degraded of the species,
who were in a manner elevated by the approach which their superiors strove to
make towards them, and these men could descend so far in the scale of human-
ity as to find pleasure even in the company of the notorious Blood. Antiiony

572 COUNT ANTHONY HAMILTON.

Ilaiiiillon w s natiaally a favourite at tlie court of J-'t ficrinains, and luaiiitainctl
n pruniinciit ligurc in many of the gorgeous cntertainincnls of tlie epicurean
monarch. He is said to ha^e performed a pait in tlie celiljrated ballet of tho
Triumph of Love. ]iein!v by birth and education a professed Ifoman catliolic,
Charles II., \vlio befriended him as a courtier, dared not, and could not by tho
la\vs, beslo^v on liim any ostensible situation as a statesman. His brotlier
James, however, was less scrupulous, and under his short reign Hamilton found
himself colonel of a regiment of foot, and governor of I/.imeric. Having en-
joyed tho fruits of the monarch's rasimess, Hamilton faithfully bore liis share of
the conso(juen(;es, and accompanied his exiled prir.ce to fc't i-ermains, but he was
no lover of solitude, seclusion, and tho Jesuits, and took little pains to conceal
his sense of the disadvantageous change whicli tho palace liad experienced since
his previous residence within its walls. The company of the brilliant Mils of
j'Vance sometimes exhilarated his retirement, but the playful count fr.quently
found that in ihe sombre residence of the exiled monarch, the talents whicli had
astonished and delighted multitudes must bo confined to his own solitary person,
or discover some other method of displaying themselves to the world ; and it is
likely that we may date to the loyalty of the author, the production of one of
the most interesting pictures of men and manners that was ever penned. All
the works of count Anthony Hamilton wei'e prepared during his exile, and it was
then that he formed, of the life and character of his brother-in-law, a nucleus
round Avhicli he span a vivid description of tlie manners of tl;e day, and of the
most distinguished persons of the English court. In the " Msmoirs of Gram-
mont," unlike Le Sage, Cervantes, and Fielding, the author paints the vices, fol-
lies, and Aveaknesses of men, not as a spectator, but as an actor, and he may be
suspected of having added many kindred adventures of his own to those partly
true and partly imagined of his hero. But the elasticity of a vivid and lively
imagination, acute in the observation of frailties and follies, is prominent in liis
graphic descriptions ; and no one who reads his cool pictures of vice and
sophism can avoid the conviction that the author looked on the A\ho'e with the
eye of a satirist, and had a mind fitted for better things — while at the same
time the spirit of the age had accustomed his mind, in the words of La Ilarpe,
7ie co7inoitre cVautre vice que le ridicule. The picture of the English court
drawn by Hamilton is highly instructive as matter of history — it represents an
aspect of society which may never recur, and the characters of many individuals
whose talents and adventures are interesting to the student of human nature :
nor will the interest of these sketches be diminished, when they are compared
with the characters of the same individuals pourtrayed by the graver pencils cf
Hyde and Burnet. That the picture is fascinating with all its deformity, has
been well objected to tho narrative of the witty philosopher, but few who read
the work in this cerkiinly more proper and becoming age \\\\\ find much in-
ducement to follow the morals of its lieroes ; arid those who w ish a graver history
of the times may refer to the Atalantis of Sirs IManlcy, where if the details are
more unvarnished, they are neitlier so likely to gratify a well regulated taste,
nor to leave the morals so slightly affected. 'Ihe other works written by count
Anthony Hamilton in his solitude were Le Belier, Fleur d'epine — Les quatre
Facurdins et Teneyde. IMany peisons accused him of extravagance in Iiis
Eastern Talcs — a proof that his refined wit had not allowed him to indulge suf-
ficiently in real English grotesqueness, when he wished to caricature the Fi-ench
out of a ravenous appetite for the wonders of the Arabian Nights Entertain-
ments. Count Anthony Hamilton died at St Germaiiis in 1720, in his G4ih
year, and on his death-bed exhibited feelings of religion, which Voltaire aid
others have taken pains to exhibit as inconsistent with his professions ar.d the

GAVIN HAMILTON. 573

conduct of his life. His works liave been higlily esteemed in France, and
■\vlietliei' from an amalgamation of tiie feelings of the two nations, or its intrin-
sic merits, Englishmen have professed to find in one of them the best picture of
the habits and feelings of that brilliant and versatile nation, (jlrnnimont him-
self is maintained by St Simon, to have been active in bringing- before the
world the work in which his own probity is so prominently described, and to
have appealed to the chancellor against the decision of Fontenelle, who as cen-
sor of the ^vork considered it a very improper attack on so eminent a person as
the count de Grammont. The first complete collection of Hamilton's works was
published in six vols. 12mo, along- with his correspondence, in 1749. A fine
impression of Gran)mont was prepared by Horace Walpole at Strawberry Hill
in 1772, in 4ito, with notes and portraits — a rare edition, less tastefully re-
published in 1783. In 1792, Edwards published a quarto edition, with correct
notes, numerous portraits, and an English translation, -which has been twice re-
published. Two fine editions of the author's -whole works were published at
Paris,! 8 12, four vols. Svo, and 1813, five vols. 18mo, accompanied with an de-
tract from a translation into French, of Pope's Essay on Criticism, by the count,
said still to exist in manuscript.

HAMILTON, Gavin, a distinguished painter, was descended from the ancient
family of the Hamiltcns of Murdieston, originally of Fife, but latterly of Lan-
arkshire ; and he was born in tlie town of Lanark. From a very early period
of liis life, he entertained a strong- love for historic painting. It cannot be
traced with any degree of certainty under what master he first studied in his
native country, as there was no fixed school of painting- established in Britain at
the time, but being sent to IJome wliile yet very young, he became a scholar of
the celebrated Augustine Blossuchi. On his return to Scotland after many
years' absence, his friends wished him to apply himself to portrait-painting, but
having- imbibed in Italy higher ideas of the art, after a few successful attempts,
lie abandoned that line and attached liimself entirely to historic composition.
Few of his portraits are to be found in Eritain, and of these two full lengllis of
the duke and duchess of Hamilton are considered the best. The figure of the
duchess with a greyhound leaping- upon her is well kno^vn by the mezzotinlo
prints taken from it, to be found in almost every good collector's hands. There
is said to bo another unfinished portrait of the same duchess by him, in which
the then duke of Hamilton thought the likeness so very striking-, that he took
it from the painter, and would never allow it to be finished, lest the resemblance
should be lost. He remained but a few months in liis native country, and re-
turned to Kome, where he resided for the principal part of liis life. From the
advantages of a liberal education, being perfectly familiar with the works of the
great mnstex's of Grecian and Koman literature, he displayed a highly classic
taste in the choice of his subjects ; and the style at which he always and success-
fully aimed, made him at least equal to his most celebrated contemporaries.
The most capital collection of Mr Hamilton's paintings that can be seen in any
one place, was, and if we mistake not is at present, in a saloon in the villa Bor-
ghese, which was wholly painted by him, and represents in ditlerent compart-
ments the story of Paris. These were painted on the ceiling, and other scenes
form a sei-ies of pi(;tures round the alcove on a smaller scale. This worl';,
though its position be not what an artist would choose as the most advantageous
for exhibiting- his finest efforts, has long been accounted a performance of very
high excellence. The prince Borghese, as if with a view to do honour to Scot-
tish artists, had the adjoining- apartment painted by Jacob 3Iore, who excelled
as much in landscape as Hamilton in historical painting. He had another saloon
in the same palace painted by Mengs, the most celebrated German artist, ai:d

674 GAVIN iiA^rir/roN.

tliesc three apartments were conceived to exhibit the finest specimens of modem
painting- tiien to be found in Italy.

In his histori<'al pictures, some of \\birli liavc conic to r.ritnin, I\Ir Ilaniilton
plainly discovers that he studied the chaste models of antifpiity uith more atten-
tion tlian the living figures around him; uhicli has given his paintings of an-
cient histories that propriety uith regard to costume, which distinguished them
at the time from most modern compositions.

One of his greatest works uas his Homer, consisting of a series of pictures,
representing- scenes taken from the Iliad ; these have been dispersed into va-
rious parts of Eurojie, and can now only be seen in one continued series in the
excellent engravings made of them by C'unego, inider the eye of Mr Hamilton
himself. Several of these paintings came to Britain, but only three reached
Scotland. One of these, the parting of Hector and Andromache, was in the
possession of the duke of Hamilton, Another represents the death of Lucretia,
in the collection of the earl of Hopetoun, and was deemed by all judges as a
capital performance. The third was in the house of a 3Irs Scott, in the neigh-
bourhood of Edinburgh. It represents Achilles dragging- the body of Hector

round the walls of Troy A sublime picture, which if not the chef d''ceuvre of

IMr Hamilton, would alone have been sufficient to have transmilted his name to
posterity as one of the greatest artists, was painted for the duke of Uedford,
and had been in his possession some time before the unfortunate accident which
deprived him of his son the marquis of Tavistock, whose disastrous fate had
some resemblance to the story of the picture, being thrown from his horse and
dragged to death, his foot having stuck in the stirrup ; none of the family could
bear to look on the picture, and it was ordered to be put away. General Scott
became the purchaser of it at a very moderate price. The figure of Achilles in
this picture is ])ainted with surprising- characteristic justness, spirit, and fire,
and might stand the test of the severest criticism. It was in the grand and ter-
rible Mr Hamilton chiefly excelled. His female characters had more of Uie
dignity of Juno, or the coldness of Diana, than the soft inviting playfulness of
the goddess of love.

He published at Eome in 1773 a folio volume, entitled " Schola Ficturaj
Italian," or the " Italian School of Fainting," composed of a number of fine en-
gravings by Cunego, mailing- part of the collection of Firaneisi ; he there traces
the different styles from Leonardi da Vinci, to the Carraccis ; all the drawings
were made by Mr Hamilton himself, and this admirable collection now forms
one of the principal treasures in the first libraries in Europe. All his best pic-
tures were likewise engraved under his own eye by artists of the first ability, so
that the world at large has been enabled to form a judgment of the style and
merit of his works. In reference to the original pictures from whence the en-
gravings were taken, many contradictory opinions have been expressed ; some
have considered his figures as wanting in the characteristic purity and correct-
ness of form so strictly observed in the antique — otViers have said he was no
colourist, though that was a point of his art after which he was most solicitous.
But setting all contending opinions apart, had Mr Hamilton never painted a
picture, the service he otherwise rendered to the fine arts would be sufficient to
exalt his name in the eyes of posterity. From being profoundly acquainted
with the history of the ancient state of Italy, he was enabled to bring to light
many of the long buried treasures of antiquity, and to this noble object he de-
A'oted almost the whole of the latter part of his life. He was permitted by the
government of the Roman states to open scavos in various places ; at Centum-
cellse, Yelletri, Ostia, and above all at Tivoli, among the ruins of Adrian's vilia;
and it must be owned, that the success which crowned his researches made ample

PATRICK HAMILTON. 575

amends for the loss Avhich painting may have suffered by the intermission of his
practice and example. IMany of the first collections in Gei-many and Kussia
are enriched by statues, busts, and bas relievos of his discovery.

In the collection of the Museo Clementino, next to the treasures of Belvidere,
the contributions of Hamilton were by far the most important. The Apollo,
with six of the nine muses, were all of his finding. At the ruins of ancient
Gabii (celebrated by Virgil in his sixth book of the iEneid, and by Horace,
epistle xi. b. 1.) he was also very fortunate, particularly in the discovery
of a Diana, a Germanicus, a Fan, and several rich columns of verd antique, ar-d
marmo fiortio. The paintings in fresco, preserved also by liis great care and
research, are admitted to surpass all others Ibund in Italy.

He visited Scotland several times in the decline of his life, and had serious
thoughts of settling altogether in Lanark, where he at one time gave orders
for a painting-room to be built for him ; but finding the climate unsuitable to
his constitution, he abandoned the idea and returned to Rome, where he died,
according to Bryan's account in his History of Painting, about 1775 or 1776.

All accounts of this artist agree in stating, that however exalted his genius
might be, it was far sui-passed by the benevolence and liberality of his character.

HAMILTON, Patrick, one of the first martyrs to the doctrines of the reformed
religion, was born about the year 1 503. He was nephew to the earl of Arran
by his father, and to the duke of Albany by his mother ; and was besides related
to king James V. of Scotland. And by tliis illustrious connexion there stands
forth another proof of the erroneousness of the commonly received opinion, that
the first reformers were generally men of inferior birth. He was early edu-
cated for the church, Miih high views of preferment from his powerful con-
nexions, and in order that he might prosecute his studies undisturbed by any
cares for his present subsistence, had the abbacy of Ferme bestowed upon him.
While yet but a very young man, he travelled into Germany, with the view of
completing those studies which he had begun at home, and to which he had ap-
plied himself with great assiduity. Attracted by the fame of the university of
Wirtemberg, he repaired thither, and after remaining some time, removed to
that of Marpux'g, where he was the first who introduced public disputations on
theological questions. Here he formed an intimacy with tlie celebrated refor-
mers Martin Luther and Philip Melancthon, who finding in Hamilton an apt
scholar, and one already celebrated for superior talent, soon and successfully
instructed him in the new views of religion which they themselves entertained.
His rapid progress in these studies delighted his instructoi'S, and not only they
themselves but all who were of their way of thinking, soon perceived that
in their young pupil they had found one who would make a distinguished figure
in propagating the new faith ; and accordingly he became an object of great
and peculiar interest to all the disciples of Luther and Melanclhon, who waited
with much anxiety to see what part the youthful reformer would take in the
hazardous and mighty enterprise of at once overthro^\ing the church of Rome
and establishing that of the true religion ; a task Avhich not only required
talents of the highest order to combat the learned men ivho were of the op-
posite faith, but also the most determined courage to face the dangers which
were certain to accompany their hostility. In the meantime, Hamilton had come
to the resolution of beginning liis perilous career in his native country, and with
this view returned to Scotland, being yet little more than tAventy-three years
of age. The gallant young soldier of the true church had no sooner ar-
rived, than, although he knew it was at the hazard of his life, for Huss and
Jerome in Germany, and Resby and Ci*aw in Scotland, had already perished by
the flames for holding tenets opposed to those of Rome — he began publicly to

570 ROBERT HAMILTON, LL D.

expose the corruptions of t!ie Roinisb chuicli, and to point out the errors whicli
liad crept into its reli;ii()n as professed in Scotland. Haniilton's gentle de-
meanour and powerful eloquence soon procured liini niniiy followers, and these
>vcre every day increasincf in number. 'Hie Hoinisli ecclesiastics becatuc
alarmed at this progress of heresy, and determined to put an innnediale stop to
it. Not choosing-, however, at first to proceed openly against him, 15eaton, tlien
archbishop of Si Andrews, under pretence of desiring- a friendly coniVrence
uitii him on religious matters, invited him to that city, then tiie head-quarters
of the l?omish church in Scotland. Deceived by the terms of the invitation,
Hamilton rejtaired to St Andrews. All that I5eaton desired uas now attained ;
the young reformer was within his grasp. One Campbell, a prior of the black
friars, ivas employed to confer with him, and to ascertain what liis doctrines
really Averc. This duty Campijell performed by means of the most profound
treachery. He alTectcd to be persuaded by Hamilton's reasoning, ackno\-iledged
that his objections against the Komisli religion were well founded, and, in short,
seemed a convert to the doctrines of his unsuspecting victim ; and thus obtained
from him acknowledgments of opinions uhich brought him immediately under
the power of the church. Campbell having from time to time rei>orted the
conversations which took place, Hamilton was at length apprehended in the
middle of the night, and thrown into prison. On the day after, he was brouglit
before the archbishop and his convention, charged with entertaining sundry
heretical opinions, Campbell being his accuser, and as a matter of course being
found guilty, was sentenced to be deprived of all dignities, honours, orders,
offices, and benefices in the church ; and furthermore, to be delivered over to the
secular arm for corporeal punishment, a result which soon followed. On the af-
ternoon of the same day he was hurried to the stake, lest the king should in-
terfere in his behalf. A quantity of timber, coals, and other combustibles
having been collected into a pile in the area before the gate of St Salvator's
college, the young martyr was bound to a stake in the middle of it. A train
of powder had been laid to kindle the fire, but the effect of its explosion was
only to add to the victim's sufferings, for it failed to ignite the pile, but
scorched his face and hands severely. In this dreadful situation he remained,
praying fervently the while, and maintaining his faith with unshaken fortitude,
until more powder was brouglit from the castle. The fire -was now kindled,
and the intrepid sufferer perished, reconnuending his soul to his God, and call-
ing upon him to dispel the darkness which oversliadowed the land.

The infamous and most active agent in his destruction, Campbell, was soon
after Hamilton's death, seized with a remorse of conscience for the part he had
acted in bringing about that tragedy, which drove liim to distraction, and he
died a year after, under the most dreadful apprehensions of eternal wrath.

HA31ILT0N, KoBERT, LL.D., a mathematician and political economist, was
born in June, lliS. He was the eighth son of Gavin Hamilton,^ a bookseller
and publisher in Edinburgh, whose father was at one time professor of divinity
in, and afterwards principal of, the university of Edinburgh. In the life of a
retired and unobtrusive student, who has hardly ever left his books to engage
even in the little A\arfares of literary controversy, there is seldom much to at-
tract the attention of the ordinary reader: but when perusing the annals of one
of the most feverish periods of the history of the world, posterity may show a
Avish to know something about the man who discovered the fallacy of the cele-

1 Gavin Hamilton, executed an ing-enious and accurate model of Edinburgh, which cost him
some years' labour, and was exhibited in a room in the Ro}al Infirmary in 1753 and 1754;
alter his death it was negketed and broken up for firewood.' It represented a sclieme for an
access to the II;gh Street, by a sloping road from the West Church; precisely the idea
Bubsequently acted upon iu the improvement of the city.

EGBERT HAMILTON, LL.D. 577

brated sinking fund, and checked a nation in the career of «xtravao-ance by
dis^jlaying to it, in characters not to be mistaken, the unpalliated truth of its
situation. Holding this in mind, we will be excused for giving to the world
some minutias of this remarkable man, whom neitlier the events of his life in
general, nor his connexion Avith the literary history of the age, would have ren-
dered an object of mucli biographical interest. Like many men who have sig-
nalized themselves for the originality or abstractness of their views, Hamil-
ton in his early years suffered much from constitutional debility, an affliction
from which his many after years uere signally exempt, till his last illness, bis
only complaint being a frequent recurrence of lumbago, which gave him a char-
acteristic stoop in walking. He is described as having shown, in the pi-ogress
of his education, an appetite for almost every description of knowledge, and to
liave added to the species of information for which he has been celebrated, a
minute acquaintance with classical and general philosophical subjects : a respect-
ed friend, long belonging to the circle of Hamilton's literary acquaintance, has
described his mind as having less quickness in sudden apprehension of his sub-
ject, than power in grappling with all its bearings, and comprehending it
thoroughly after it had been sometime submitted to his comprehension ; it
vas exactly of that steady, strong, and trust-worthy order, on Avhich teachers
of sense and zeal love to bestow their labour. He was, in consequence, a general
favourite with his instructors, and more especially witli the celebrated 3Iatthew
Stewart, professor of mathematics in Edinburgh, who looked on the progress and
prospects of his future scholar with pride and fi-iendly satisfaction. The par-
tiality of Mr Hamilton for a literary life he was compelled to yield to circum-
stances, which rendered it expedient that he should spend some time in the
banking establisiiment of Messrs William Hogg & Son, as a preparatory intro-
duction to a commercial or banking profession ; a method of spending his time,
less to be regretted than it might have been in the case of most other literary
men, as, if it did not give him the first introduction to the species of speculation
in which he afterwards indulged, it must have early provided him uith that prac-
tical information on the general money system of the country, which his works
BO strikingly exhibit. Soon after this, Mr Hamilton began to form the literary
acquaintance of young men of his own standing and pursuits, some of whom ga-
thered themselves into that knot of confidential literary connnuiiication, which
afterwards expanded into a nursery of orators, statesmen, and philosophers, of
the highest grade, now well known by the name of the Speculative Society, The
manner in which the young political economist became acquainted with lord
Kaimes, has something in it of the simplicity of that literary free masonry,
which generally forms a chain of friendly intercourse between the celebrated
men of any particular period, and those who are just rising to replace them in
the regard and admiration of the woi-ld. His lordship's attention having been
attracted by the views on one of his own works, expressed in a criticism
which had been anonymously supplied by BIr Hamilton, to one of the periodi-
cals of the day — he conveyed through the same paper a wish that the author of
the critique, if already known, might become better known to him, and if a
stranger, would communicate to him the pleasure of his acquaintance. The diffi-
dent critic was with difficulty prevailed on to accept the flattering ofler ; the
elegant judge expressed considerable surprise at the youth of the writer, when
compared with the justness and profundity of his views, and communicated to him
by a general invitation to his house, the advantages of an intercourse with his
refined and gifted circle of visitors. In 1766, Mr Hamilton, then only
twenty-three years of age, was prevailed on by his friends to oifer himself as a
candidate for the mathematical chair of jMarischal college in Aberdeen, then va-

678 ROBERT HAMILTON, LL.D.

cant by the death of Mr Stewart, aiul ihoiiijh unsuccessful, the ai»pointnioiit be-
ing in favour of lAlr 'JVail, lie left bchinil him a very hii;h sense of his abililics
in the minds of the judges of the conipetilion, one of \>h(im, in a letter to Dr
Gregory, states, that " he discovered a reniari\abic genius for mathematics, and
a justness of ai)j)rehension and perspicuity, that is rarely to be met with." — " Ifo
is," continues the same individual, " an excellent demonstrator ; always planned
out his demonstration with judgment, and apprized his audience ^vhere the stress
lay, so tliat he brought it to a conclusion in a most perspicuous manner, and iu
such a way that no person of common understanding could miss it." After this
Unsuccessful attempt to acquire a situation more congenial to his pursuits, Mr
Hamilton became a ]>artner in the conducting of a paper mill, which had been
established by his father — a concern which, in 1701), lie relinquished to the care
of a manager, on his appointment to the rectorship of the academy at i'erth.
In 1771 he married 31iss Anne 31itchell of Ladath, whom ho had the misfortune
of losing seven years afterwards. In 1779, the chair of natural piiilosopliy in
Marischal college, iu the gift of the crown, was presented to Dr Hamilton.
From this chair Dr Copland, — a gentleman whose high scientific knowledge and
private worth rendered him, to all who had the means of knowing his attain-
ments, (of which he has unfortunately left behind him no sjiecinien,) as highly
respectetl for liis knoAvledge of natural philosophy and history, as his colleague
was for that of the studies he more particularly followed, — had been removed
to the mathematical chair in the same university. The natural inclination and
studies of each, led him to prefer the situation of the other to his own, and
after teaching the natural philosophy class for one year, Dr Hamilton effected
an exchange with his colleague, satisfactory to both. He was not, however,
formally pi-esented to the mathematical chair till several years afterwards. A
short time previously to the period of his life ^\e are now discussing, Dr Hamil
ton had commenced the series of useful works which have so deservedly raised
his name. In 1777, appeared the practical work, so well known by the name
of " Hamilton's Merchandise;"^ — he published in 1790, a short essay on
Peace and War, full of those benevolent doctrines, which even a civilized age so
seldom opposes to the progress of licensed destruction. In 1796, Dr Hamilton
published his Arithmetic, a work which has been frequently reprinted, — and in
1800, another work of a similar elementary description, called "Heads of a
Course of Mathematics," intended for the use of liis own students : but the great
work so generally attached to his name, did not appear till he had passed liis
seventieth year. The " Inquiry concerning the liise and Progress, the Re-
demption and Present State of the National Debt of Great Britain," Avas pub-
lished at Edinburgh in 1813 — it created in every quarter, except that which
might have best profited by the warning voice, a sudden consciousness of the
folly of the system under which the national income was in many i-espects con-
ducted, but it was not till his discoveries had made their silent progress through
the medium of public opinion, that they began gradually to affect the measures
of the government. The principal part of this inquiry, is devoted to the con-
sideration of the measures which have at different periods been adopted for at-
tempting the reduction of the national debt. The earliest attempt at a sinking
fund Avas made in the year 1716, under the auspices of Sir Robert \A'alpole, a
measure of which that acute minister may not improbably have seen the inutility,
as in the year 1733, he applied five millions of the then sinking fund to the
public exigencies: the principal always nominally existed, although it was not
maintained with constant regularity and zeal, until the year 1786, when the
celebrated sinking fund of xMr Pitt was formed, by the disposal of part of the
income of the nation to commissioners for the redemption of the debt, a inea-

ROBERT HAMILTON, LL.D. 579

sure which was modified in 1792, by the assignment of one per cent annually,
on tlie nominal capital of each loan contracted during the war, as a sinking fund
appropriated for the redemption of the particular loan to which it Mas attached.
It underwent several otiier modifications, particularly in 1802 and 1807.
The great prophet and propounder of this system, the celebrated Dr Price, un-
folded his views on the subject, in his treatise " Of Reversionary Annuities,"
published in 1771. It is a general opinion, that an application to studies
strictly numerical, will abstract the mind from the prejudice and enthusiasm of
theory. Dr Price has proved the fallacy of such a principle, by supporting- his
tables of calculations, with all the virulence and impatience of a vindicator of
the authenticity of Ossian's Poems, or of the honour of queen ]\Iary. Dr Price
has given as a glowing example of his theory, the often repeated instance of the
state of a penny set aside and allowed to accumulate from the time of Christ : — if
allo^ved to remain at compound interest, it will accumulate to, we forget exactly
how many million globes of gold, each the size of our own earth — if it accu-
mulate at simple interest, the golden vision shrinks to the compass of a fe\y
shillings — and if not put out at interest at all, it will continue throughout all ages
the pitiful penny it was at the commencement. The application of the princi-
ple to an easy and cheap method of liquidating the national debt, Avas so obvious
to Dr Price, that he treated the comparative coldness with Avhich his advice was
received, as a man who considered that his neighbours are deficient in compre-
hending the first rules of arithmetic ; and it certainly is a singular instance of
the indolence of the national mind, and the readiness with which government
grasped at any illusive theory, which showed a healing alternative to the extra-
vagance of its measures, that no one appeax-ed to propose the converse of the
simile, and to remind the visionary financier, that in applying it to national
borrowing, the boiu'ower, by allowing one of the pennies he has borrowed to
accumulate in his favour at compound interest, is in just the same situation as if
lie had deducted the penny from the sum he borrowed, and thus prevented the
penny and its compound interest from accumulating against him. The practical
results of Dr Price's theories were, the proposal of a plan, by which a nation
might borrow at simple interest, and accumulate at compound interest a fund for
its repayment : boldly pushing his theory to its extremities, and maintaining
that it is better to borrow at high than at low interest, because the debt will be
more speedily repaid; and as a corollary, that a sinking fund during war is
more efficient than at any other time, and that to terminate it theii, is " the
madness of giving it a mortal blow. " The supposition maintained by Dr Hamil-
ton, in opposition to these golden visions of eternal borrowing for the purpose
of increasing national riches, did not require the aid of much rhetoric for its
support — it is, that if a person borrows money, and assigns a part of it to accu-
mulate at compound interest for the repayment of the whole, he is just in the
same situation as if he had deducted that part from his loan — and hence the
genei'al scope of his argument goes to prove the utter uselessness of a borrowed
sinking fund, and the fallacy of continuing its opei'ation during war, or Avhen
the expenditure of the nation overbalances the income. The absurdity of set-
ting aside a portion of- the sum borro\ved for this purpose, (and generally bor-
rowed at more disadvantageous - terms as the loan is to any degree increased,)
rtas partially prevented by a suggestion of Mr Fox ; but the sinking fund was
strictly a borrowed one, in as far as money was laid aside for it, while the na-
tion was obliged to borrow for the support of its expenditure. The evil of the
system is found by Dr Hamilton to consist, not only in the fallacy it imposes on
the public, but in its positive loss of resources. The loans are raised at a rate
more disadvantageous to the borrower than that at which the cieditor afterwards

5S0 rOBERT HAMILTON, IJ, T).

receives payment of tliem, and the management of the system is expensive; if a
man who is in tlelit borrows merely for the jmrpose of |>ayin>r his dt;ljt, and tran-
sacts the business liimself, he merely exposes liimself to more trouble than lio
ivouhl have encoiinlercd by continuing debtor to liis former creditor; if he em-
ploy an a^cnt to transact the business, lie is a loser by tin- amount of fees paid
to tlial agent. These truths Dr Hamilton is not content with provinjj ar"-nmen-
tatively — lie has coupled them \\ith a niiiiuto history of the various tiiiaiicial pro-
ceedings of the country, and tables of practical calculation, giving, on the one
hand, historical information ; and, on the other, showing the exact sums which the
government has at dili'erent periods misapplied. Along with 3Ir I'itt's system of
finance, he has given an at^couiit of that of lord Henry I'etty, established in
1 S07 ; a complicated scheme, the operation of which seems not to have been per-
ceived by its inventor, and wlii(;h, had it continued for any length of time, might
liave produced etlects more ruinous than those of any system \\hich has been de-
vised. 'I he summary of his proofs and discussions on the subject, as expressed in
his own words, is not very llatlering to the principle Avhich has been in general
followed : " The excess of revenue above expenditure is the only real sinking
find by which the public debt can be discharged. The increase of the revenue, or
the diminution of expense, are the only means by \\hich a sinking fund can be
enlarged, and its operations rendered more ellectual ; and all schemes for dis-
charging the national debt, by sinking funds, operating by compound interest,
or in any other manner, unless so far as they are founded upon this principle,
are illusory." But it cannot be said that Dr Hamilton has looked with a feeling
of anything resembling enmity on the object of his attack ; he has allowed the
sinking fund all that its chief supporters now pretend to arrogate to it, although
the admission comes more in the form of palliation than of approbation. " If
the nation," he says, " impressed with a conviction of the importance of a sys-
tem established by a jjopular minister, has, in order to adhere to it, adopted
measures, either of frugality in expenditure, or exertion in raising taxes, which
it would not otherwise -hare done, the sinking fund ought not to be considered
inefficient: and its etlects may be of great importance." — " The sinking fund,"
says an illustrious commentator on Ur Hamilton's work, in the Supplement to the
Encyclopredia 13ritannica, following up the same train of reasoning, " is there-
fore useful as an engine of taxation ;" and now tiiat the glorious vision of the
great financial dreamer has vanished, and left nothing behind it but the opera-
tion of the ordinary dull machinery, by which debts are paid off through indus-
try and economy, one can hardly suppose that the great minister who set the
engine in motion, was himself ignorant (however much he might have chosen
others to remain so) of its real powerlessness. 'Ihe discovery made by Dr
Hamilton was one of those few triumphant achievements, which, founded on the
indisputable ground of practical calculation, can never be controverted or doubt-
ed: and although a few individuals, from a love of system, while apparently ad-
mitting the truths demonstrated by Dr Hamilton, in attempting to vindicate the
system on separate grounds, have fallen, mututo nomine, into the same fallacy,'
the Kdinburgh reviewers, Kicardo, Say, and all the eminent political econo-
mists of the age, have supported his doctrine ; while the venerable lord Gren-
ville — a member of the administration which devised the sinking fund, and for
some time first lord of the treasurj' — has, in a pamphlet which aflPords a striking
and noble specimen of political candour, admitted that the treatise of Dr Hamil-
ton opened his eyes to the fallacy of his once favourite measure.

A year after the publication of this great work, the laborious services of the

1 Vide " A Letter to lord Grenville on the sinking fund, b) Thomas Peregrine Courtenay,
Tsq., M. P., London, 1S28."

EGBERT HAMILTON. 581

venerable pLilosoplier were considered as well entitling Lim to leave the labori-
ous duties of his tliree mathematical classes to the care of an assistant, who was
at the same time appointed his future successor. Tlie person chosen was Mr John
Cruicksliank, a gentleman who, whether or not he proved fruitful in the talents
which distinguished his predecessor, must be allowed to have been more success-
ful in preserving the discipline of his class, a task for which the absent habits of
Dr Hamilton rendered him rather unlit. In 1825, Dr Hamilton's declining years
were saddened by the death of his second wife, a daughter of Mr Morison of
Elsick, whom he had married in 1782; and on the 14th day of July, 1829, he
died in the bosom of his family, and in that retirement which his unobtrusivo
mind always courted, and wliich he had never for any considerable period reUu-
quished. Dr Hamilton left three daughters, of whom the second Avas married to
the late Mr Thomson of Banchory, in Kincardineshire, and the youngest to the
Rev. Robert Swan of Abcrcrombie, in Fife. He had no family by his second
wife. Several essays were found among Dr Hamilton's papers, which were
published by his friends in 1S30, under the title of " The Progress of Society;"
and although the mnjorify of them contain very deep and abstruse remarks
well worthy of attention, there are others which may, perhaps, be said to con-
tain too many of the general principles of which the earlier metaphysicians of
Scotland were very fond, and too little of the close and practical reasoning which
generally distinguishes their author's mind, to be such as he might have thought
fit to have given to the world in their present state. The commercial policy
argued by Dr Hamilton in these tracts, is the system which was first inculcated
by Dr Adam Smith in 177G, and which, after the lapse of seventy years, was
embodied in the great and beneficent free-trade measure of Sir Robert Peel,
under the operation of which the nation is developing its resources of trade and
manufacture with fresh energy, and all ranks of the community, but more espe-
cially the working-classes, enjoy an unexampled degree of prosperity. It is to
be lioped that the successful experiment of Great Britain will encourage the
other nations, both of the old and new woi-ld, to follow so wise and salutary an
example, and reciprocate the advantages which they also have derived from it.
Dr Hamilton held a peculiar view on the subject of a metallic currency, believing
its value to arise, not from its worth as a commodity, but chiefly from its use as
an instrument of exchange. This opinion he maintained with great power and
plausibility.

The Essays on Rent, and the consequent theory of the incidence of tithes,
argued ^\^t\\ a modesty Avhich such an author need hardly have adopted, are
M ell worthy the consideration of those who have turned their attention to these
abstruse subjects. Tiie author appears to doubt the theory discovered by Dr An-
derson, and folloMcd up by Sir Edward West, Olalthus, Ricardo, and M'CuI-
loch, ivhich discovers rent to be the surplus of the value of the produce of more
fruitful lands of a country, over the produce of the most sterile soil, v.hich the
demands of the community rcquii'es to be taken into cultivation. " \A hat,"
says our author, in answer to the assumption of Dr Anderson, " would happen
if all the land in an appropriated country Avere of equal fertility ? It would
hardly be affirmed that, in that case, all rent would cease." To this the fol-
lowing answer might be made — Were the population insufficient to consume the
whole produce of rich fertile land, (which could not long be the case.) certain-
ly there would be no rent. Were tlie consumption equal to or beyond the pro-
duce, the rent Avould be regulated thus : — If foreign corn could be introduced
at a price as low as that at which it could be raised, theie would still be no
r«nt — if, either from the state of cultivation of other countries, or the imposition
cf a duty, corn could only be imported at a price beyond that at Avhich it can

682 RORF.llT HAMILTON.

be grown, rent ■would bo demanded to sucli an extent as to ra'so tlio prico of
the Lome produce to a par witli llio imi)ortcd — in the former case tlie rent being
the natural conscqucuee of conmierce, in the latter the creature of legislation.
Tiic princi[)le maintained by Dr Anderson would here exactly apply, tlie liiglicr
price of imporlin;^ corn to that of producinfj it at homo, being a parallel to the
liigher cost of raising produce in sterile than in fruitful soils. But this intricate
subject, unsuited to the present work, wo gladly relinquish, more especially as
the discus-.>ion of our author's ideas on this topic has fallen into other and abler
bands. lu these Essays we think we can perceive licre and there traits of that
simplicity and abstraction friiui tlie routine of the \vorld, Avhicli A\as on some oc-
«^^8ions a «haractcristic of their author. I\Icn avIio mingle unobserved Avith tlie
rest of their species, may be \vell vcrsant in tlic lighter and more historical por-
tions of the philosophy of mind and matter ; but the illustrious examples of New-
ton, Locke, Smith, and many others, have shown us, that the limitation of the
lunuan faculties calls to the aid of the moi'e abstruse branches of science, a par-
tial, if not total abstraction from all other subjects, for definite periods. Dr
Hamilton was remarkable for bis absence ; not that he mingled subjects with
each other, and mistook Avhat he was thinking about, the error of a weak mind,
but he Avas frequently engaged in his mathematical studies, when other persons
were dilierently employed. As with other absent men, numberless are the anec-
dotes which are preserved of his abstractions — many of them doubtless un-
founded, while at the same time it must be allowed, that he frequently afforded
anniseuient to inferior wits, lie possessed a singular diffidence of nianner,
which in a less remarkable man might have been looked upon as humility.
Taking advantage of this feeling, and of his frequent abstractions, his class
gave him perpetual annoyance, and in the latter days of his tuition, the spirit
of mischief and trickeiy, natural when it can' be followed up in classes the
greater portion of Avhich consisted of mere boys, created scenes of perfect
anarchy and juvenile mischief. The author of this memoir recollects distinctly
his stooping shadowy figure as he glided through the rest of his colleagues in
the university, Avith his good-humoured small round face, and his minute but
keenly twinkling eyes, surrounded by a thousand wrinkles, having in his man-
ner so little of that pedagogical importance so apt to distinguish the teachers of
youth, especially in spots where the assumption of scientific knowledge is not
held in curb, by intercourse «ith an extensive body of men of learning. It is
not by any means to be presumed, however, that the subject of our memoir,
Ihough retired, and occasionally abstracted in his habits, excluded himself from
his duo share in the business of the world. lie led a generally active life.
He maintained a correspondence with varrious British statesmen on important
subjects, and with Say and Fahrenbcrg, the latter of whom requested j^ermission
to translate the work on the national debt into German. He frequently rei^rc-
sented his college in the General Assembly. On the bursary funds of the uni-
versitj', and on the decision of a very important prize intrusted to him and his
colleagues, he bestowed much time and attention ; and he gave assistance in
the management of the clergymen's widows' fund of Scotland, and in plans for
the maintenance of the poor of Aberdeen.

It was once proposed among some influential inhabitants of Aberdeen, that
a public monument should be erected to the memory of this, one of the most
eminent of its citizens. Sti'angers have remarked, not much to the credit of
that flourishing town, that while it has produced many great men, few havcJ
been so fortunate as to procure from its citizens any mark of posthumous rc-
epect. We sincerely hope the project may not be deserted, and that such a
testimony of respect will yet appear, to a man on whom the city of Aberdeen

JAMES HAMILTON. 583

may with .more propriety bestow such an honour than on any stranger, however
illustrious.

HAMILTON, James, third marquis, and first duke of Hamilton, was born m
Uie palace at Hamilton, on the 19th of June, 1006. His father, James, mar-
quis of Hamilton, was held in high favour by James 1., who, amongst other
honours which he bestowed on him, created him earl of Cambridge, a title
which was at an after period a fatal one to the unfortunate nobleman who is
the subject of this memoir.

Before the marquis had attained his fourteenth year, his father, who was then
at St James's court, sent for him for the purpose of betrothing l,im to the lady
Margaret Fielding, daughter to the earl of Der.'oigh, and niece of the duke of
Buckingham, and then only in the seventh year of her age. After this cere-
mony had taken place, the marquis Avas sent to Oxford, to complete those studies
which he had begun in Scotland, but which had been sei-iously interrupted by
his coming to court. He succeeded his father as marquis of Hamilton, March
2, 1625, while as yet considerably under age.

An early and fond intimacy seems to have taken place betiveen prince Charles
and the marquis. That it was sincere and abiding on the part of the latter, the
whole tenor of his life and his melancholy and tragical death bear testimony.
On Charles succeeding to the throne, one of his first cares was to mark the es-
teem in which he held his young and noble friend, by heaping upon him favours
and distinctions.

Soon after the coronation of the king, however, in which ceremony he car-
ried the sword of state in the procession, he returned to Scotland for the pt r-
pose of superintending in person his family afl'airs, Avhich had been much
deranged by the munificence of his father. The marquis, who does not seem to
have ever been much captivated by the life of a courtier, soon became warmly
attached to the quiet and retirement of the country, and spent the greater part
of his time at Brodick castle, a beautiful and romantic residence in the island
of Arran.

The king, however, whose attachment to him seems to have gained strength
by his absence, wrote to him repeatedly, and with his own hand, in the most
pressing terms, to return. All these flattering invitations he for some time re-
sisted, until his father-in-law, the earl of Denbigh, came expressly to Scotland
Avith another earnest request from the king that he Avould come up to London,
and at the same time, offering him the appointment of master of the horse, then
vacant by the death of the duke of Buckingham.

Unable longer to resist the entreaties of his sovereign, now seconded by the
earl, the marquis complied, and proceeded with his father-in-law to court, Avhere
he arrived in the year 1628. The promised appointment Avas immediately be-
stowed on him ; and in the fullness of his majesty's happiness at his young
friend's return, he further made him gentleman of his bed-chamber, and privy
councillor in both kingdoms. The amiable and unassuming manners of the mar-
quis saved him at this part of his career from all that hostility and jealousy Avhich
usually attend the faA^ourite of a sovereign, and he was permitted to receive and
enjoy all his offices and honours Avithout a grudge, and Avithout the cost of
creating an enemy.

At the baptism of prince Charles in 1630, he represented the king of
Bohemia as one of the sponsors, and on this occasion the order of the garter
Avas conferred upon him, together Avith a grant of the office of chief steward of
the house and manor of Hampton court. A more active life, hoAvever, Avas
noAV about to open upon the favourite courtier. King Charles, having in the
duke's name entered into a treaty with the celebrated Gustavus Adolphus, king

58i JAMES HAMILTON.

of Sweden, to funiisli liiiu •,\iili GOOO men for liis iiitoiuleil iiivnsinii of Germany,.
Willi the view of lliiis enaMiiig his bn.llier-iii-Iaw, llie JJectw J'nlntinc, to re-
gain Ills lieretlitary teiritorios from «Iiich he hail been driven, the marquis wns
empowered to raise the stijtiilatid force. '1 liese he soon collected, and was on
tlie point of embarkinij whh ihem himself, when lie found th a a charge of high
treason had been preferred ai;aiiist him hy lord Ochiltree, son of (hat captain
Jnnics Stewart who had usurped the Hamilton estates and dignities in the time
of his grandfather. The king himself was the first to inform the duke of the
absurd cliarge which luid been brought against him, and which consisted in the
ridiculous assert;;,'."^ that the marquis intended, in place of proceeding to Germany
wiih the forces he liad raised, to employ them in asserting a right to the Scot-
tish crown. Although, in the face of all existing circumstancos, it was impossi-
ble that any one could be expected to believe that there was any truth in the
acciisatioiij yet the marquis insisted that his innocence sliould be established by a
public trial. To this proposal, however, the king not only would not listen,
but to slio\v liis utter incredulity in the calumny, and liis confidence in the mar-
quis's fidelity, he invited him to sleep in the same bed-chamber with him, on the
very night on which he had informed him of the charge brcught against him by
lord OcIiiUrec. The forgeries of the latter in support of his accusation having
been proven, he Avns sentenced to perpetual imprisonment, and thrown into the
cr.stle of l^lackness, where he remained a captive for twenty years, when he
was liberated by one of Cromwell's oflicei"S.

On the IGtli of July the marquis sailed from Yarmouth roads with his army and
forty ships, and arrived in safety at Llsineur on the 27 th of the same month.
Here he went on shore to wait upon the king of Uenmark, and on the 29th
Bailed again for the Oder, which he reached on the 30th. Here he landed his
men, and having previously received a general's ccmmission from the king of
Sweden, marched into Silesia, where he performed many important services,
took many fortified places, and distinguished himself on all occasions by his
brnvery and judicious conduct. After various turns of fortune, however, and
much severe service, during which his army was reduced by the casualties of
war, and by the plague, which swept off' great numbers of his men, to two jn-
camplete regiments ; and, moreover, conceiving himself slighted by the king of
Sweden, who, flushed witli his successes, forgot that respect towards him with
which he had first received him ; lie Avrote to the king, requesting his advice as
to his future proceedings, and not neglecting to express the disgust with which
Gustavus's ungracious conduct had inspired him. Charles immediately replied
'•' that if he could not be serviceable to the Palatinate he should take the first
civil excuse to come home." This he soon afterwards did, still parting, how-
ever, on good terms with the Swedish king, who expressed his esteem for him
by saying at his departure, " in whatever part of the world he were, he would
ever look upon him as one of his own." There seems to h.ive been a sort of
understanding that the marquis would return to Germany with a new levy
of men ; but this understanding does not appear to have been very seriously en-
tertained by either party : at all events it never took place. The marquis, on
his return to the English court was received with unabated kindness, and again
took his place amongst the foremost in the esteem of his sovereign.

In 1633, he accompanied the king to Scotland, when he came dov,n to re-
ceive the crown of that kingdom; but from this period until the year 163S, he
meddled no further with public auairs.

'I he troubles, liowever, of that memorable year again brought him on tlie
stage, and his love for his sovereign, ard zeal for liis service, induced him to
•Uike a more busy and a more prominent part then than he would otherwise

JAMES HAMILTON. 585

have done. To put an end, if possible, to the religious distractions in Scot-
land, and nliich \vere then coming to a crisis, the marquis was despatched to
Scotland with instructions, and a power to grant further concessions on some
important points. The demands of the covenanters were, however, greater than
•was expected, and this attempt at mediation was unsuccessful. He returned
to London, and was a second time sent down to Scotland with enlarged
powers, but as these embraced no concession regarding the covenant, this jour-
ney was erpuilly fi'uitless with the other. The marquis now once more returned
to London. In the beginning of winter, he was a third time despatched, witJi
instructions to act as commissioner at the (.ieneral Assembly, which had been ap-
pointed to meet for the settlement of differences, and \\hich sat down at Glasgo-.v
in November. Tlie concessions, however, which he was authorized to make, were
not considered at all sufficient. The opponents of the court in the assembly
proceeded from measure to measure inimical to the king's authority, carrying
every thing befox-e them in despite of all the max'quis's efforts to resist them, and
to stem the tide of disaflection. Finding this impossible, he dissolved the
court. The covenantei's, however, were in no humour to obey this exercise of
authority. They continued their sittings, went on subscribing the co\enant,
and decreed the abrogation of bishops in the Scottish church. Having been
able to render the king little more service than the gain of time which his
negotiations had secured, the marquis returned to London. Indeed more
success could not have been expected from an interference where the cove-
nant, the principal subject of contention, was thus spoken of by the opposite
parties : the king writing to his commissioner, " So long as this damnable
covenant is in force, I have no more power in Scotland than a duke ot
Venice ;" and the covenanters again replying to some overtures about its re-
nunciation, that " they would sooner renounce their baptism." The king,
who had long anticipated a violent issue with the Scottish malcontents,
had in the meantime been actiiely employed in collecting a foroe to subdue
them ; and the marquis, soon after his arrival in England, was appointed to a
command in this armament, and sent down to Scotland, no longer as a negotiator,
but as a chastiser of rebels. Whilst the king himself proceeded over land with
an anny of 25,000 foot and 3000 horse, the mai-quis sailed from Yarmouth with a
fleet, having on board a further force of 5000 men, and arrived in Leith roads
on the 1st of May. On his arrival, he required the leaders of the covenanters
to acknowledge the king's autiiority, and seemed disposed to proceed to hos-
tilities. Eut the king, in the meantime, having entered into a pacific arrange-
ment with the covenanters, his military command ceased, and he proceeded to
join his majesty at his camp near Berwick. Soon after this, the marquis once
more retired from public employment, and did not again interfere in national
affairs for several years. In 1642, he was once more sent to Edinburgh
by the king to promote his interest, and to resume negotiations Avith the cove-
nanters ; and on this occasion was so successful as to alarm Pickering, the agent
of the English parliament at Edinburgh, who wrote to his employers, recom-
mending them to bring him immediately to trial as a disturber of the liarmony
between the two kingdoms. This representation of Pickering's, however, was
attended with no immediate result, whatever effect it might have on his ultimate
fate ; and it is not improbable that it was then recollected to his prejudice. As
a reward for his faithful and zealous services, the king now bestowed upon him
by patent, dated at Oxford, 13th April, IG43, the title of duke. The same
patent invests him also with the title of marquis of Clydesdale, eai-l of Arran and
Cambridge, and lord Avon and Innerdale. By one of those strange and sudden
revei-ses, however, to which the favourites of kings are so subject, the duke was

586 JAMES ha:^iilton.

thrown into iiiison by tlint xovy sovereign ^\lio but ;i sJiort uliilc since liad
loaded biiii uitli titles and Iwtnoiirs.

\ arioiis niisrcprest'iflalioiis of the duke's conduct in Scotland had reached
the king's eaas. lie was iliar^etl wilh unfailhfulness to the tiast reposed in
liini ; of speaking disiesjieclluily of the kinsj ; and of still entcrUiiniii;^ views
upon the .Scotlisli crown. '1 hcse accusations, absurd, incredible, and coiitradi<;toi'y
to facts as lliey were, had been so oflen repeated, and so urjjenlly pres-'ied on
the unfortunate and distracted monarch, that they at length shook his faith in
liis early friend. Deserted, opposed, and harassed upon all hands, he was pre-
pared to believe in any instance of treachery that might occur, and clinging to
every hope, however slender, which presented itself, was too apt to imagine
tliat the accusaticn of others was a proof of friendship to himself on the part of
the acciisi'r.

The king's altered opinion regarding him having reached the ears of the
duke, lie instantly hastened, accompanied by his brother, the earl of Lanark,
Avho was also involved in the accusation, to Oxford, where his majesty then wiis.
Conscious of his innocence, the duke, on his arrival, sought an audience of the
king, that he might, at a personal interview, disabuse hiiin of the unfavourable
reports which he had hctird regarding hiui. An order, however, had been left
at the gates to stop liim until the governor should have notice of his arrival.
Through a mistake of the captain of the guard, the carriage wliich contained the
duke was allowed to pas.s unchallenged, but was immediately followed with a
command directly from the king himself, that the duke and his brother should
confine themselves to their apartments. This intimation of the king's disposi-
tion towards him was soon followed by still more unequivocal indications. Next
day a guard was placed on his Icdgin^s, with orders tliat no one should speak
with him but in presence of one of the seci'etaries ; and finally, notwithstand-
ing all his protestations of innocence, and earnest requests to be confronted
with his accusers, he was sent a prisoner, first to Exeter, and afterwards to Pen-
dennis castle in Cornwall. His brother, who had also been ordered into confine-
ment in Ludlow castle, contrived to make his escape before his removal, and re-
turned to Scotland ; a circumstance which increased the severity with which
the duke was treated. His servants were denied access to him, his money was
taken from him ; and he was refused the use of writing materials, unless to be
employed in petitioning the king, a privilege which was still left to him, but
Avliich availed him little, as it did not procure him any indulgence in his con-
finement, or effect any change in the sentiments of the king regarding liim.
Whilst a prisoner in Fendennis castle, the duke's amiable and gentle manners
80 far won upon the governor of that fortress, that he not only gave him more
liberty than his instructions warranted, but offered to allow him to escape.
With a magnanimity, however, but rarely to be met with, the duke refused to
avail himself of a kindness which would involve his generous keeper in ruin.
The intimacy between the governor and tlie duke reaching the eai's of the court,
tlie latter was instantly removed to the castle of St Michael's IMount at Land's
End, where he remained a close prisoner till tlie month of April, 1646, when
ha was released, after an unmerited confinement of eight and twenty montlis,
en the suiTender of the place to the parliamentary forces. Feeling now that
disgust with the world, which the treatment he had met with was so well calcu-
lated to inspire, the duke resolved to retire from it for ever. From this
resolution, however, his afl'ection for the king, which, notwithstanding the hard
usage he had received at his hands, remained as wann and sincere as ever, in-
duced him once more to depart ; and when tliat unhappy monarch, driven from
England, sought protection from the Scottish armv at Newcastb, the duke of

JAMES HAMILTON. 587

Hamilton was amongst Uie first to wait upon him there, with offers of assistance
and consolation ; and this at a time too, when he was abandoned by many on
whom he had much better, or at least, more unqualified claims. When the king
and the duke first met on this occasion, both blushed; and the latter in tlie
confusion of the moment, after saluting his majesty, was about to retire into the
crowd which filled the apartment, when the king asked him " If he was afraid
to come near him." The duke returned, and a long and earnest conversation
ensued between tiiem. The king apologised for his ti-eatment of him, and con-
cluded by requesting that he would not now leave him in the midst of his dis-
tresses. The appeal was not made in vain. The duke once more embarked
with all his former zeal in the cause of iiis beloved master, and made every ef-
fort, to retrieve his desperate fortunes. These efforts were vain, but they have
secured for him who made them a lasting and an honourable fame ; and now
that the conflicting opinions of the times in which he lived have long since been
numbered with the things that were, we can recognise in the conduct of James,
first duke of Hamilton, only a noble example of unshaken and devoted loyalty.

When the question, whether the king, now in the hands of the Scottish mal-
contents, should be delivered up to his English subjects, was discussed in the
Scottish parliament, the duke exerted his utmost influence and power to prevent
its being carried in the affirmative. " Would Scotland," he exclaimed, in an
elegant and enthusiastic speecii which he made on the occasion, " Would Scot-
land now quit a possession of fifteen hundred years' date, which was their interest
in their sovex'eign, and quit it to those whose enmity against both him and them-
selves did now so visibly appear? Was this the effect of their protestations ot
duty and aflection to his majesty ? Was this their keeping of their covenant,
wherein they had swoi-n to defend the king's majesty, person, and authority ?
Was this a suitable x-eturn to the king's goodness, both in his consenting to all
the desires of that kingdom in the year 1641, and in his late trusting his person
to them ? What censure would be passed upon this through the whole world ?
What a stain would it be to the whole reformed religion ? What danger might
be apprehended in consequence of it, both to the king's person and to Scotland
from the party that was now prevalent in England." The duke's brother, the
earl of Lanark, was not less earnest in his opposition to the disgraceful proposal,
and when his vote was asked, he exclaimed with much energy, " As God shall
have mercy upon my soul at the great day, I would choose rather to have my
head struck off at the Market-cross of Edinburgh than give my consent to this
vote.'' These generous efforts of the noble brothers, however, as is well known,
were unavailing, the measure was carried, and the unfortunate monarch was
delivered into the hands of the English parliament.

Defeated in his attempts to prevent the king's being given up to his English
subjects ; the duke, still hoping to avert the consummation of his unfortunate
sovereign's misfortunes, now entertained the idea of relieving him by force of
arms. Encouraged in this project by something like a re-action of public feel-
ing in favour of the king, and, sanctioned by the vote of the estates, though not
of the kirk of Scotland, he proceeded to raise an army with which he propos-
ed to march into England, where he expected to meet Avith an active and power-
ful co-operation from the royalists of that kingdom. With these views, he
hastily collected together a force of 10,000 foot and 4000 cavalry, and with
this army, which, besides the inadequacy of its numbers, was indifferently ap-
pointed, ill disciplined, and unaccompanied by artillery, he marched into Eng-
land. Passing Carlisle, where he was received with ringing of bells and other
demonstrations of welcome, he continued his march by Penrith, Appleby, and
Kendal, driving before him detached bodies of Cromwell's troops, and finally

588 JAl^IES nAJIILTON.

reached I'l-eslon on the 17lh of Augtist, where he \\M opposed by Cromwell in
peisoii \\\l\\ his veteran battalions; and notwitlislandini,' thai the duke had been
reinforced since lie enteied lingland, by ."{OOO to lUOO loyalists iindt r .Sir Mar-
niaduUe Langdale, and arLer\vards by "2i)00 loot and 1000 lioise, connnanded by
fciir (ieorgo ."Munro, ihc result ol various sl^iiniisiies \viiicli here took place, \>a«
llie totiil defeat of his army. 'I'he duke himself, ac<;onipanied by a few ofiicers
and cavalry, proceeded on to L'ttoxeter in Stallbrdshire, where he surrendered to
Lambert, on assurance of personal safety to himself and his followers. 'J he un-
fortunate duke was no\v carried to Uurby, thence to Ashby-de-la-Zouche, where
he remained till December, when he was removed to Windsor, and placed under
a strong guard. On the second niglit of his conlinement here, while taking a
turn after supper in the court-yard, a sergeant made up to him, and, Avith the
utmost insolence of manner, ordered him to his apartment: the duke obeyed,
but remarked to lord Bargeny, who was then a j)risoner also, that what had just
happened was a singular instance of the mutability of worldly things — that he
who, but a short while since, had the command of many thousand men, A\as now
conunandc'd by a common sergeant.

A few dajs after the duke's arrival at Windsor, his ill-fated master, \vho was
then also a prisoner there, was ordered for trials. Having learned when the king
was to proceed to the tribunal, the duke pre^'ailed upon his keepers to allow him
to see his majesty as he passed. On the a]t.proa<'h of the king, he threw himself
at his feet, exclaiming in an agony of sorrow, his eyes suffused with tears, " 3Iy
dear master!" The king-, not less affected, stooped down and embraced him,
replying, with a melancholy play upon the word dear, " I have indeed
been so to you." The guards Avould permit no further conversation, but,
by the order of their commander, instantly Imrried off the king. The
duke followed his beloved master, Avith his eyes still swinnning in tears, so
long as he could see him, impressed with the belief that they would never
meet on earth again. Aware from the king's execution, which soon after
took place, that a similar fate awaited him, the duke, Avith the assistance of
a faithfid servant, effected his escape i'rom Windsor. Two horses waited at a
convenient place to carry him and his servant to London, Avhere he hoped
to conceal himself until an opportunity occuiTed of getting to a place of greater
safety ; but he was instructed not on any account to enter the city till seven
o'clock in the morning, when the night patrols, who prowled about the town and
suburbs, should have retired from duty. By an unaccountable fatality, the un-
fortunate duke neglected to attend to this most important injunction, and enter-
ed the city at four o'clock in the morning. As if every thing had resolved to
concur in the destruction of the unfortunate nobleman, besides tlie risk which he
ran as a matter of course from the patrol, it haj)pened that there was a party of
horse and foot in Southwark, where the duke entered, searching for Sir Lewis
Dives and another gentleman, who had also escaped from confinement the night
beibre. By these the duke was taken while in the act of knocking at a door
where he had been long seeking admittance. At first he imposed upon the sol-
diers by a plausible story, and as they did not know him personally, they were-
disposed to alloAV him to depart; but some suspicious circumstances attracting
their notice, they searched him, and found in his pockets some papers which at
once discovered him. He was now carried to St James's, where he was kept a
close prisoner till the Gth February, 1G4S, when he was brought to trial before
the High Court of Justice, and arraigned as earl of Cambridge, for liaving
" traitorously invaded this nation (England) in a hostile manner, and levied
war to assist the king against the kingdom and people of England, &;c." The
duke pled that he was an alien, and that his life besides was secured by tlie

JAMES ILOIILTON. 589

firticles of his capitulation to Lambert. To the first it was replied, that he al-
Avays sat as a peer of England, and as such had taken tlie covenant and negative
oatli. With regard to the second objection, it was afiirnied by two Avitnesses,
lords Grey and Lilburn, that he was taken prisoner before the treaty was signed.
After a lengthened trial, in whicli none of his objections availed him, the un-
fortunate nobleman was sentenced to be belieaded on the 9th of IMarch. The
■whole tenor of the duke's cotuluct after sentence of death Avas passed upon him,
evinced the greatest magnanimity and resignation. He wrote to his brotlier in
favour of his servants, and on the morning before his execution, addressed a
letter to his children, recommending tliem to the protection of their iieavenly
Father, now that they were about to be deprived of himself. He slept soundly on
the night previous to his death, until half-past three in the morning, when he Avas
attended by liis faithful servant Cole, the person Avho had assisted him in his
attempted escape. To him he now, Avith the utmost composure, gave a variety of
directions to be carried to his brother. The remainder of tlie morning, up to
nine o'clock, he spent in devotion. At this hour he was desired to prepare for
tlie scaflbld, \vhich he soon after ascended with a smiling and cheerful counten-
ance, attended by Dr Sibbaid. After again spending some time in secret prayer,
he arose, and embracing Dr Sibbaid, said, laying his hand upon his heart, " I
bless God I do not fear — 1 have an assurance that is grounded here ;" he next
embraced his servants severally, saying to each of them, " You have been very-
faithful to me, the Lord bless you."

Turning now to the executioner, he desired to know how he should place
himself to receive the fatal stroke. Having been satisiied regarding this fearful
particular, he told the executioner, that after he had placed himself in the ne-
cessary position, he would say a short prayer, and that he would extend his
right hand as the signal for his doing his duty. He noAv stretched himself along,
and placed his neck ready for the blow, prayed a short Avhile with much ap-
pearance of fervour, then gave the fatal signal, and Avith one stroke his head was
severed from his body.

The head of the unfortunate nobleman Avas received in a crimson tafteta scarf,
by two of his servants, Avho knelt beside him for the purpose of performing this
last act of duty for their kind master.

The duke's head and body were placed in a coffin \\hich lay ready on the
scaffold, and conveyed to a house in the Blews, and afterwards, agreeably to
his own directions before his death, conveyed to Scotland, and interred in the
family burying ground.

Thus perished James, duke of Hamilton, a nobleman whose fortitude at his
death gives but little countenance to the charge of timidity which has been in-
sinuated against him, and whose zeal for, and adherence to, the royal cause, in
the most desperate and trying circumstances, afford less encouragement to the
accusation of infidelity to his sovereign ^vith A.hich he has been also assailed.

HA3nLT0N, James, fourth duke of Hamilton, was the eldest son of William,
earl of Selkirk, and Anne, duchess of Hamilton. He Avas born in 1G57, edu-
cated in Scotland, being by the courtesy of his country entitled eai-1 of Arran,
and after spending some time in foreign travel, repaired to the court of England,
Avhere he mixed in the gallantries of the time. As it Avas Avith a duel that his
life closed, so a duel is the first remarkable circumstance to be noticed in the
account of his youthful years. In consequence of a quarrel with lord ?<Iordaunt,
afterwards earl of Peterborough, he met that nobleman on foot in Greenwich
park, Avith sword and pistol. Arran fired first, and missed ; his antagonist dis-
charged liis ball in the air, but nevertheless insisted that the combat should pro-
ceed. They accordingly engaged with their swords, and Mordaunt having first

£90 JAMES HAMILTON.

rocoiretl a slight uoiiml about tlie f^roiii, jiierrod Anan's thigh, and broke Itif
own suord. '1 he earl hail now in turn an ojjportunily to display his geiittrosity,
and sjiarini; the life which was at his mercy, the two young iiobleuien parted
good iViends.

Airan enjoyed the favour of Charles 11. uho made him one of the knights of
his bed-chamber, and sent him envoy extraordinary to the court of IVance, to
oHer congratulations on the birth of riiilip, duke of Anjou, afterwards king ot
Spain. Whilst upon this embassy, he was one day hunting with the king, and
t-iking oflence at some part of the conduct of an ecclesiastical dignitary, \\ho
also rode in the company, he disregarded equally the profession of his oppo-
nent and the royal presence, and pulling the reverend gentleman from his horse,
and grasjting liis sword, lie was prevented from exa<ting a bloody vengeance
only by the interj)osition of his majesty. 'Ihe particulars of this aH'air are not
related with that distinctness which would enable us to decide who was in the
urong ; but the earl's contemporaries, provided they saw a display of spirit, did
not often stop to inquire whether it were borne out by prudence ; and acuiord-
ingly, a writer of the time tells us his lordship came off upon this occasion, in
the opinion of the world, " with high commendations of his courage and au-
dacity."

When James II. ascended the throne, the earl of Arran suffered no diminu-
tion of court favour. Indeed he seems to have earned it by readily yielding to
James's designs. He Mas one of the privy council who in 1G87, signed the
letter of the Scottish government, concurring with the proclamation to repeal
the laws made against papists. In reward of his acquiescence, he was installed
a knight of the thistle, when that order, — which, according to the king's party,
was instituted about the year of our Lord 809, by Achaius, king of Scots, and
never disused till the intestine troubles, which liappened in the reign of Jlary, —
Avas " restored to its full lustre, glory, and magnificence." The writers, whose
politics Avere different, maintain that, however honourable this badge might be,
it was never worn as such before. Burnet says it ^vas " set up in Scotland in
imitation of the order of the garter in England ;" and lord Uartniouth adds,
that " all the pretence for antiquity is some old pictures of kings of Scotland,
with medals of St Andrew hung in gold chains about their neclcs." Whether
old or new, it was conferred as a mark of James's esteem, and in farther proof
of his confidence he enti-usted the earl of Arran with the command of a regiment
of horse, when the new levies took place on the descent of the duke of JMon-
niouth. At a period of greater disaster to James's fortunes, when lord Churchill,
afterwards the gTeat Marlborough, m ent over to the prince of Orange, the duke
of Berwick was advanced to the station he had occupied as colonel of the 3d
troop of horse guards, and in the room of his grace, Arran was made colonel
of Oxford's regiment. From the course which events took, however, the earl
had no opportunity of signalizing his bravery in the cause of his master; but
he cai-ried his fidelity as far as any man in the kingdom, having been one of
the four lords who accompanied James to Cravesend, when the fallen monarch
repaired thither on his way into foreign ©Kile. Returning to London, Arran
complied \vith the general exam2>le, and waited on the prince of Orange ; being
one of the last that came, he oflered an excuse which partook more of the
bluntness of the soldier than of political or courtlike dexterity : " If the lung
had not withdra\vn out of the country," he said, " lie should not have come at
all." 'Ihe next day the prince intimated to him that he had bestowed his regi-
ment upon its old colonel, the earl of Oxford.

Nor was Arran solicitous to appease by subsequent compliance the displeasure
incurred in his first interview with the prince. On the 7th January, William

JAMES ITA]\nLTON. 591

assembled theScottisli nobles and gentlemen then in London, and told them that
he uanted their advice " uhat was to be done for securing the protestant re-
ligion, and restoring their laws and liberties, according to his declaration.''
His highness withdrew after making this request, and the duke of Hamilton^ mss
chosen to preside. The politics of his grace were quite different from those of
his son; and the fact of his being selected to preside over their deliberations
was an intimation of the course which the assembly intended to pursue. But
Arran either did not perceive, or did not regard this circumstance ; he proposed,
that as the prince had desired their advice, they should move him to invite the
king to return, and call a free parliament, " which, in my humble opinion," he
added, " will at last be found the best way to heal all our breaches." Nobody
seconded this proposal ; but it seems to have astounded the deliberators a good
deal : they dispersed, and did not re-assemble till the second day after, when
their resolution to stand by the prince of Orange and to exclude the exiled
James, having been strengthened by some remarks from the duke of Hamilton,
they recommended the measures which the emergency seemed to them to re-
quire.

A short time after the settlement of the throne upon William and 3Iary, as
the earl of Arran was passing along the streets in a chair, about eleven at night,
he was set upon by four or five people with drawn swords. He defei'ded him-
self courageously, and being vigorously seconded by Iiis footman and chairmen,
came off with only a few slight hurts in the hand. This incident was charged
against the new monarch, as if he had sought to rid himself by assassination of
one who had so very coolly, if not resolutely, opposed his reception in England.
But there was neither any disposition nor any necessity for resorting to such
means for weakening the ranks of the adherents of James. The attack upon
the earl is believed to have proceeded from another cause ; namely, the involve-
ment of his lordship's pecuniary affairs, and to have been the act of an exas-
perated creditor. The earl, however, certainly was obnoxious to government at
this period. He was shortly after committed to the Tower, Avilh Sir Robert
Hamilton and two others of his countrymen ; but was soon liberated upon bail ;
upon which he judged it prudent, both on account of the suspicion to which his
political opinions exposed him, and of embarrassments in his private fortune, to
retire to Scotland. There his father enjoyed the full confidence of government;
his services in the convention of the states, of which he was president, having
mainly contributed to the settlement of the crown upon AYilliam. Here Arran
lived in retirement, the progress of affairs and the paternal authority tending to
reconcile him to the revolution. At his father's death in 1695, the earl of Ar-
ran was not advanced in rank and not very much in fortune. The title of duke
had been conferred upon its late possessor to be held during his lifetime, by
consent of the heiress, Avhom he had married ; and at his deatli it remained
with her, together with the bulk of the estate. It was not till the marriage of
Arran in 169 8, with lord Gerrard of Bromley's daughter, that his mother con-
sented that her eldest son should assume the honours of the family. Upon this
William, willing to gratify the family, signed a patent, creating him duke of
Hamilton, Avith precedency in the same manner as if he had succeeded to the
title by the decease of his mother.

The events hitherto recorded in this nobleman's life were not of great
moment: he was a young man, acting in a great measure from personal bias,
and his opinions had little weight or influence beyond the sphere of the private
friends with whom he associated. We now approach a period when his conduct
in the legislative assembly of his country, determined more than that of any other
1 Tiie earl of Selkirk bore this title in riglit of marriage to the duchess.

502 JAMES HAMILTON.

of its nicnibcis llie fale of tlie two most iiioiiKMitous j)ol;iic:il nieasiiros llial ever
were debated in it — the act of scctirily and llic act of union, 'llic events of
M iliiani^s reinn liad been hij;bly oxas|)eiMtiii<j to the S<-<)llisli nation. Not only
had connuercial entei'in'ise been ^(•pres:^ed, but tiiis IkhI bf.'en done in ibe most
base and most cruel manner. 'J he same nioiianJi wlio sanctioned the massacre
of (ilencoe, first granted a charier to the Uarien company, and then exerted
Ills inHiience >vith foreign nations in order to wiihiiold from tlieir colony
the necessary supplies, and sent instructions to the governor of the English
colonies to the same eli'ect. IMany perished of famine, " murdered,'' sa\s Sir
^V alter Scolt, " by king William's government, no less than if they had been shot
in the snows of (ilencoe." The spirit of an ancient people, never tolerant of
contumely, far less of cruelties so atrocious as these, did not burst out into im-
mediate ainl open defi.ince of their more powerful neighbour, but reserved itself
for a period more favourable for the vindication of its insulted rights. During
the rest of his life, William could draw no subsidies fro)n Scotland, nor a single
recruit for his continental wars, 'I'lie instability of a new reign ali'ordcd a fit-
ting opportunity for the assertion of independence. An act had been ])assed in
the time of king William, empowering the parliament in being at his death to
continue, and take the steps necessary for securing the protestant suc<;ession.
In virtue of this act queen Anne thought proper not to call a new parliament ;
but a party, at the head of whom w?.s the duke of Hamilton, maintained that
the purposes contemplated by that provision were sufliciently satisfied by the
settlement of her majesty on the throne. Accordingly, before the royal com-
mission >vas read, the duke took a protest against it, and retiring with twenty-
nine who adhered to him, their retreat was greeted with shouts of applause by
the people assembled without. This proceeding may be considered the gcrin
of that opposition which ripened in the two following years into the formidable
act of security.

The parliament of 1703, instead of proceeding in conformity A^ilh tlio wishes
of government, to settle the crown of Scotland on the same person for whom
that of England was destined, resolved that this was the time to obtain an
equality of commercial privileges, and to rescue the country from the state of a
degraded and oppressed province of England, They accordingly passed an act
stipulating tliat the two crowns should not be held by the same monarch, unless
the Scottish people were admitted by the English to the full benefit of trade aiid
navigation : to make good the separation of the countries if it should be neces-
sary, every man capable of bearing arms was to be regularly drilled, and all
commissioiis, civil and military, were to lose efi'ect at the moment of tlie queen's
demise, in order that the states of Scotland might then appoint an entirely new-
set of magistrates and officers, faithful mainlainers of the independence of the
kingdom. The duke of Hamilton and the marquis of Tweeddale headed the
country party, by whom this measure was passed. It was debated with the ut-
most fierceness by the speakei's on both sides, with their hands on tlieir swords.
The queen's conmiissioner refused his assent, and was obliged to dismiss the a;-
fiembly Avithout obtaining supplies, every demand of that kind being answered
with shouts of " Liberty before subsidy I"

At this time the duke was involved in the accusations of Eraser of Lovat, who
detailed to the government a plot, in which he alleged that he had engaged
several Scottish noblemen for the restoration of the son of James II. The par-
liament of England took up the matter, and passed a resolution, declaring that
a dangerous conspiracy bad been formed in Scotland to overthrow the protestant
succession. Hamilton, and the others named with him, defended themselves by
mainLaining that the whole afihir was nothing but a malicious attempt of the

JAMES HAMILTON. 503

court, in consequence of tlie decided part they Iiad taken in behalf of their coun-
try's rights, to destroy their reputation* and weaken the patriotic party to which
they belonged. Their countrymen were in no mood to take part against them :
on the contrary, they considered the vote of tlie Enghsh legislature as a fresh
encroachment upon their liberties, another unwarrantable interference with
matters beyond their jurisdiction. When the states met in 1704, therefore,
there was no alteration in their tone — the act of security was insisted upon with
the same determination ; and it was now wisely acceded to.

Scotland was thus legally disjoined from England, and the military prepara-
tions, provided for in the act of security, were immediately commenced. This
jueasure, however threatening it might appear, produced ultimately the moit
beneficial effects, having had the effect of rousing the English government to
the danger of a rupture with Scotland. Should that nation make choice of
a separate sovereign, it was likely to be one who had claims to the throne of
England ; and thus not only might the old hostilities between the two countries be
rekindled, not only might a Scottish alliance be resorted to by foreign courts,
to strengthen them in their designs against England, but the prince who held his
court at Edinburgh, would have numerous adherents in the southern part of the
island, as well as -^in Ireland, by \\hose assistance long and harassing Mars might
be maintained, with too probable a chance of the ultimate establishment of the
exiled family on the British throne.

The prospect of dangers such as these induced the English government to da ■
vote all their influence to the formation of a treaty, by which the two countries
might be incorporated, and all causes of dissension, at least in a national point
of view, removed. During the discussion of this measure, the details of which
proved extremely unsatisfactory to the Scottish people, they looked up to th.e
duke of Hamilton as the political leader on whom the fate of the country en-
tirely depended. That nobleman seems in his heart to have been hostile to the
union. In the earlier stages of the proceedings, he displayed considerable firm-
ness in his opposition, and out of doors he was greeted with the most enthusias-
tic plaudits. The duke of Queensberry, who acted as royal commissioner, had
his lodging in Holyrood house ; so had the duke of Hamilton. The queen's re-
presentative could only pass to his coach through lanes of armed soldiery, and
hurried home amidst volleys of stones and roars of execration ; while the po-
pular favourite was attended all the way from the Parliament Close by crowds,
who encouraged him with loud huzzas to stand by the cause of national inde-
pendence. A plan was devised, with the duke's consent, for interrupting the
progress of this odious treaty, by a general insurrection. But when tlie agents
had arranged matters for the rising of the Cameronians in the west country,
either doubting the practicability of the scheme, or reluctant to involve the coun-
try in civil war, he despatched messengers to countermand the rising, and was
so far successful, that only an inconsiderable number repaired to the place of
rendezvous. It was next resolved that a remonstrance should be presented by
the nobles, barons, and gentry hostile to the union ; and about four hundred of
them assembled in Edinburgh, for the purpose of Avaiting upon the lord commis-
sioner, with this expression of the national opinion. The address was drawn
up with the understanding that it should be presented by the duke of Hamilton;,
but that nobleman again thwarted the measures of his party by refusing to ap-
pear, unless a clause were inserted in the address, expressive of the willingness
of the subscribers to settle the crown on the house of Hanovei-. To this pro-
posal the Jacobites, who formed a large portion of the opponents of the union,
would not listen for a moment; and while discussions and disputes were pro-
tracted between the dukes of Athol and Hamilton, the gentlemen who had at-

)\)i JAMES IIAT^IILTON.

tended their summons to swell the ranks of the reinonslranls, dispersed to their
homes, chagrined and disaj)pi)intcd.

Jlainilloii next asseniMed the leaders of the opposition, recommended that
they should forgot foriuer jarriiigs, and endeavour to repair previous misnianage-
luent by a vigorous and united elloi-t for llie defeat of the obnoxious treaty. He
proposed that a motion ionuerly made for settling tlie succession in tlie liousc of
Hanover should be renewed, in conjunction with a pr<»posal fatal to the union;
ftnd that, on its being rejected, as it was sure to be in sucii circumstances, a strong
protest should be taken, and the whole of their party should publicly secede
from parliament. The consequence of this step, he argued, must be, that the
government would abandon further proceedings, as they could not pretend to
carry t1u-ough a measure of such importance with a mere handful of the national
representatives, whose opinions were so conspicuously at variance with the wishes
of the great mass of the people. The Jacobites objected to the preliminary mo-
tion, but the duke overcanie their scruples by representing, that as it must ne-
cessarily be rejected, it could not entangle them in any obligation inconsistent
with their principles. Finally, he assured them, that if this plan failed of its
effect, and the I'^nglish should still press on the union, he would join them to re-
call the son of James U. The purpose of the anti-unionists having come to the
knowledge of the duke of Queensberry, he sought an interview, it is said, with
the leader of the popular party, and assured him that if the measure miscarried,
his grace should be held accountable for its failure, and be made to sutler for it
in his English estates. Whether mtiniidated by this threat, or that his own un-
derstanding did not approve of the course which his feelings prompted, Hamil-
ton was the first to fail in the performance of the scheme which he had taken so
much pains to persuade his coadjutors to consent to. " On the morning ap-
pointed for the execution of their plan," says Sir Walter Scott, " when the
members of opposition had mustered all their forces, and were about to go to
parliament, attended by great numbers of gentlemen and citizens, prepared to
assist them if there should be an attempt to arrest any of their number, they
learned that the duke of Hamilton was so much afflicted with the toothach that
he could not attend the house that morning. His friends hastened to his cham-
bers, and remonstrated with him so bitterly on this conduct, that he at length
came down to the house ; but it was only to astonish them by asking whom they
had pitched upon to present their protestation. They answered, with extreme
surprise, that they had i-eckoned on his grace, as the person of the first rank in
Scotland, taking the lead in the measure which he had liimself proposed. The
duke persisted, however, in refusing to expose himself to the displeasure of the
court, by being foremost in breaking their favourite measure, but offered to se-
cond any one whom the party might appoint to offer the protest. During this
altercation, the business of the day was so far advanced, that the vote was put
and carried on the disputed article respecting the representation, and the op-
portunity of carrying the scheme into eti'ect was totally lost. The members who
had hitherto opposed the union, being thus three times disappointed in their
measures by the unexpected conduct of the duke of- Hamilton, now felt them-
selves deserted and betrayed. Shortly afterwards most of them retired alto-
gether from their attendance on parliament, and thosj who favoured the treaty
Avere suffered to proceed in their own way, little encumbered either by remon-
strance or opposition."

Such is the story of the duke of Hamilton's share in these two great measures.
It presents a curious view of perseverance and firmness of purpose at one time,
and of the utmost instability at another in the same person, both concurring to
produce a great and important change in the feelings and interests of two na-

JAMES HAMILTON. 595

tioiis powerful in old times from their hai-dihood and valour, rendered more
powerfid in later times by the union of these qualities with intelligence and en-
liglitened enterprise. Tlie conspicuous and decided manner in which the duke
of Hamilton stood forward, as the advocate of the act of security, carried it
through a stormy opposition, and placed the kingdom in a state of declared but
legalized defiance of England ; while the unsteadiness of his opposition to the
union paved the way for the reconciliation of the two nations. Had the Scottish
people never asserted their independence with that determination which forced
the English government to sanction the act of security — had the duke's resolu-
tion failed liim here, the terms of equality subsequently offered by England
would not have been granted : — had the states persevered in the same intractable
spirit when the union \vas proposed to them — had the duke manifested any por-
tion of his former firmness, the mutual interests of England and Scotland migjit
have been barred, tlie two kindred people might have been thrown back into in-
terminable hostilities, and the glory and happiness which Great Britain has
attained might never have been known.

Though the consequences of the union have been so beneficial to Scotland, yet
the treaty was urged forward by means which no friend of his country could
approve. The body of the nation regarded it as disgraceful and ruinous ; its
supporters were purchased with bribes — one nobleman sold himself for the
miserable sum of eleven pounds sterling ; and its opponents were awed to silence
by threats. No wonder that men of honourable minds were fired with indigna-
tion, and many of them prepared to resort to desperate measures to wipe away
the national disgrace. The opportunity seemed favoui-able for a movement
among the Jacobites, and an agent from France engaged a number of the nobles
to join tiie chevalier if he should land on the Scottish shores. Among these was
the dulte of Hamilton, who, although pressed to declare himself prematurely,
adhered to the letter of his agreement, and by his prudence saved his large
estates from confiscation. Whilst the French ships were on the seas, with the
design of an invasion, his grace was taken into custody as a disaffected person,
but suffei-ed a very short restraint. This did not prevent his being named among
the sixteen Scottish peers who took their place in the first British parliament, in
which he attached himself to the tory party, and "stickled as nmch," to use the
words of a biogi-apher of that period, " for Dr Sacheverell and the high church
interest, as he had done about three years before for the security of the Scottish
kirk," The whigs losing their influence in the councils of queen Anne, the op-
posite party began to be received into favour ; and in June, 1711, Hamilton Avas
createcl duke of Brandon. He was at that time one of the representatives of
the Scottish nobility, but claimed to take his seat as a British peer. In this he
was vehemently opposed, notwithstanding the precedent afforded by the admis-
sion of Queensberry in virtue of the title of duke of Dover. xVfter a long de-
bate, in which a motion to take the opinion of the judges v/as rejected, it was
decided, that since the union no Scottish peer could take his place in the British
parliament in any other character than as one of the sixteen i-epresentatives.
This decision so highly incensed the Scottish lords that they seceded from the
house : they were appeased and prevailed on to return, but the point was not
conceded at that time, although the queen interested herself in behalf of the duke
of Hamilton. Nor was it till so late as the year 1782, when his descendant
again preferred his claim, that, the judges having given an unanimous opinion
in his tavour, the eligibility of Scottish noblemen to the full privileges of peers
of Great Britain was established.

The duke had married, to his second wife, Anne, daughter of lord Dlgby
Gerrard, by Elizabeth sister to the earl of JMacclesfield. Lady Gerrard was iofS

51)0 JAMES HAMILTON.

by Iier Imsbnnd's will guardian to Iiei" daughter, whose foitune amounted to
about .£G0,000; and while tlie duke courted her, he ollered to content himself
with that dowry, and bound himself in a bond ol" .£10,000 to give her mother
a relief of her guardianship two <lays after llie marriage. 'Ihis engagement,
however, he not only declined to perform, but sought relief of his bond in (-han-
cery, which was so highly resented by lady Gerrard that she left all she had to
her brother, and be<]ueathed to her child a legacy of five shillings, and a
diamond necklace in case the duke should consent to give the release in ques-
tion. This his grace persisted in withholding, and the earl of 3Iacclesfield set-
tled his estate, to the prejudice of the duchess of Hamilton, on another neice
who liad married tlie lord .Alijluin. The lawsuit to compel that nobleman, as
executor ot lady Gerrard, to give an account of his guardianship, was continued ;
and the feelings of the two parties were nuitually much embittered in the course
of the proceedings. iMohun was a man of violent temper, and in his youth ac-
customed himself to the most depraved society. When he was about twenty
years of age, one of his companions niurderod 3Iountford, a comedian in Drury
Lane ; and, the principal having absconded, Mohun was tried by the house of
peers. Fourteen voices pronounced him guilty, but sixty-nine cleared him. So
far, however, was the shameful situation in whicli he had been placed from re-
claiming him, that he plunged again into the same courses, and seven years after
was arraigned at the same bar on a similar accusation. This time, indeed, it was
proved that his lordship had no participation in the crime, but had used some
endeavours to prevent it. Thereafter he abstained, indeed, from dissolute and
lawless brawls, but he carried into the pursuits of politics no small share of the
heat which marked his early career. '' It is true," says a contemporary writer,
who seems to have been willing to excuse his faults, " he still loved a glass of
wine with his friends ; but he was exemplarily temperate when he had any busi-
ness of moment to attend." His quarrelsome disposition was notorious, and the
duke's friends had been long apprehensive that a collision would take place, and
repeatedly warned his grace to be on his guard. On the lltli of November, the
two noblemen had a meeting at the chambers of IMr Orlebar, a master in chan-
cery, in relation to the lawsuit, when every thing passed oft" quietly. Two days
after, on the examination of a person of the name of Whitworth, who had been
a steward to lady Gerrard, the duke was so provoked by the substar.ce of his de-
position, as openly to declare, " He had neither truth nor justice in him." To
this lord 3Iohun rejoined, " He had as much truth as his grace." No further
recrimination passed; another meeting was arranged for the Saturday following,
and the duke, on i-etiring, made a low bow to 3Iohun, who returned it. Ihere
were eleven persons present, and none of them suspected any ill consequence
from what had just taken place. His lordship, however, immediately sent a
challenge to the duke, whi(-h was accepted. On the 15th of November, 1713,
the day that had been fixed for a resumption of their amicable conference, they
repaired to the Ring in Hyde Park, and, being both greatly exasperated, they
fought with peculiar determination and ferocity. 'Ihis is attested by the number
and deadliness of the wounds on both sides. Lord 3Iohun fell and died on the
spot. He had one wound mortal, but not iuniiediately so, entering by the right
side, penetrating through the belly, and going out by the iliac bone on the left
side. Another dreadful gash, in which the surgeon's hands met from opposite
sides, ran from the groin on the left side down through the great vessels of the
thigh. This ^vas the cause of inmiediate death. There were some slighter in-
cisions, and two or three fingers of the left hand were cut oft'. The duke's body
suft'ered an equal havoc, partly inflicted, it was alleged, by foul play. A cut in
the elbow of the sword-arm severed the small tendons, and occasioned so much

JOHN HAJIILTON. 507

loss of blood as to be fatal. A wound in the left breast, between tlie tliird and
fourth upper ribs, pierced downwards through the niidritf and caul, sufiicieut to
produce death, but not immediately. He had also a dangerous slash in the right
leg. It is believed that the duke, after his right arm was disabled, being am-
bidexter, shifted his Aveapon, and killed IMohun with his left hand. The Avound
in his own breast AAas the last that Avas inflicted, and colonel Hamilton gave his
oath that it Avas the sword of general JMacartney, IMohun's second, Avhich dealt
it. So strong A\as the presumption of the truth of this, that the general abscond-
ed, and Avhen brought to trial in the ensuing reign, the evidence upon AAhich he
was acquitted still left the matter doubtful.

The death of two men of rank in so bloody a rencounter, Avas in itself enough
to produce a strong feeling of horror in the public mind. The unfair play by
Avhich it Avas believed one of them had been sacrificed, filled every honourable
bosom with indignation ; and the agitation Avas increased by reports that the
duke had fallen a victim to assassination instigated by political hatred. Imme-
diately before the duel took place, he had been named ambassador extraordin-
ary to Paris, Avilh powers to efiect an arrangement for the restoration of the
exiled family on the death of the queen ; and the party avIio Avere desirous of
such a consummation, openly alleged that his death had been conspired by the
Avhigs with a view to prevent it. This does not appear to have been the case,
hoAvever true it may be that Mohun Avas a zealot in politics, and disreputable in
his priA'ate character.' The duke's body Avas conveyed to Scotland for burial.
The deplorable death of so amiable a nobleman spread a very general regret ;
a bill to prevent duelling Avas in consequence introduced into the house of com-
raons, but it Avas dropt after the first reading.

HABIILTON, John, a secular priest, made himself remarkable in the Kith
century by his furious zeal in behalf of the church of Kome ; leaving all the
Scottish ecclesiastics of that period far behind by the boldness and energy Avith
Avhich he defended the tenets of the Romish church, and assailed those of tlie
reformed religion. There is nothing knoAvn of the earlier part of his life, but

1 The following curious anecdote respecting the fifth duke of Hamilton, son of the above,
occurs in a manuscript account of the duciii family, in the possession of I\lr Chancellor of
Shieldhill:—

" Upon the 31st of October, 1726, he Avas, at the palace of Holjroodhouse, instiilled knight
of the most noble order of the thistle, b) James, earl of Findlater and fcieafield, appointed fur
that effect representative of king George I.

" The regalia, noAV after the imion, being locked up in the castle, they wanted the sAvord of
sbite for that purpose, and, as the storie Avent, they had recourse to the earle of Rotlies's,
Avhich was not only gifted by general IM'Kertney to him, but the same Avith Avhich he should
have so basely star)bed the duke his father. And the guards, Avho drew up about the earle
( f Findlater, as king's commissioner, chanced also to be the Scots Fuzielieres, then under the
command of the said JM'Kertney ; Avhich occiisioned the follo\Aing vereca:—

" Ye sons of old Scotland, come hither and look
On Rothes's sword, that knighted the duke.
Dispell all your thoughts, your cares, and a our fears,
Bting noblie guarded by your OAvn fuzieliers.

Yet
The peers and the heraulds Avere in a sti'ange bustle,
How they could install a knight of the thistle ;
For, Avanting the sword and honours of state,
What shame could they get to lay on his pate ?

Some voted a cane, and others a mace,

Uut true-hearted Seafield spoke thus to his grace :
My lord, upon honour, the regalia are fled,
"Which Avere basely sold olf bj me and 5 our dade, —

But here's Rothes's SAvord — so doAvn on your knee 1

NoAv, rise up a knight and a kiiave lyke me."

503 JOHN HAMILTON.

tliore is some groiuid for believing that his violence and activity rendered him
obnoxious to the Scottish government, and that he was in consequence compelled
to leave the kingdom. Whatever may have been the cause of his departure
from Scotland, he estaUislie.l himself at I'aris in the year 1573. Here he ap-
^lieil to the study of theology, and with such success, tiiat he was soon afterwards
appointed professor of phih)sophy in the royal college of Navarro.

In 157i), lie became tutor to the cardinal de 15ourbon, and in 1578, to
Francis de Jayeuse, afterwards promoted to a similar dignity. Besides these
there wero many other young persons of quality entrusted to liim in consequence
of the high opinion entertained of his talents and learning. In 1581, still
burning with zeal, he published a work entitled " Ane Calholick and Facile
Traictaise drawin out of the halie Scriptures, treulie exponit be the ancient doc^
trines to confirm the reall and corporell praesence of Christis pretious bodie and
blude in the Sacrament of the altar." This \vork he dedicated to " His sove-
rane 31arie, the Quenis 3Iajestie of Scotland." To this book were appended
twenty-four Orthodox and Catholic Conclusions, dedicated to James VI., whom, by
the aid of some reasoning of his own, he termed king of Scotland. These
" Conclusions" he prefaced with equal prolixity as the work itself, but more
characteristically — " testimonies for antiquitie of religion and succession of
pastors in the catholick kirk, and certane quest ionis to the quhilkis we desire
the ministers mak resolute answer at their next generall assemblie, and send the
same impi-entit to us with diligence, utherwise v,e protest that their pretendit
religion is altogidder antichristian and repugnant to (iod and his halie kirk."
What fortune attended this bold challenge does not appear, but his own in the
meantime, was steadily advancing. In 1584, he was chosen rector of the
university of Paris, and in 1535, while yet a licentiate in theology, he was
elected to the cure of St Cosmus and Damian by that part of the students of tlie
university of Paris called the German nation. His election on this occasion was
disputed, but finally confirmed by a decree of parliament.

Still amongst the foremost and most violent in all religious discords, Hamilton
became a furious zealot for the Catholic League of 1 5G 6, which it is well known
had for its object the extermination of protestants, without regard to the means,
and figured during that celebrated era under the title of Cure de S. Cosine.
In the same spirit he again distinguished himself when Henry IV. of France be-
sieged Paris in the year 1590.

On that occasion he mustered the Parisian ecclesiastics, drew them up in bat-
tle array, and led them on against the forces of the heretics under Henry,
making them halt occasionally to sing hymns as they advanced. As the king
of France was compelled to abandon the blockade of Paris before he finally car-
ried the city, by the duke of Parma, who, despatched by Philip, king of Spain,
now arrived with an army to assist the leaguers who defended it, Hamilton
not only escaped the fate which Avould certainly have awaited him, had Henry
succeeded in the siege, but became more active and turbulent than ever, and
soon after was one of the celebrated " council de Seize quarlier," who took upon
them, with an effrontery which has no parallel in history, to dispose of the
croivii of France ; and actually went the length of offering it to Philip II. of
Spain, to be bestowed on whomsoever he thought fit. Of all the bigoted and
merciless fanatics who composed the fraternity of the " Seize,'' Hamilton was
the most bigoted and relentless ; and when those wretches had resolved on the
murder of Brisson, president of the parliament of Paris, together w ith L' Archer,
and Tardif, two obnoxious councillors, it ^vas Hamilton who ai-rested the latter,
and dragged him from a sick bed to the scaffold ; and although the duke of
"layenne came immediately to Paris on hearing of these attrocities, and hanged

JOHN HAMILTON. 599

four of the ring-loaders of the infamous fratei-nity by which they hatl been per-
petrated, yet Hamilton by some means or ether contrived to escape sharing in
tlieir punishment. In 1594, his unextinguishable zeal again placed him in an
extraordinary and conspicuous position. On the day on which Henry IV. en-
tered Paris, after embracing tJie catholic religion, and while Te Deum was
celebrating for the restoration of peace and good government, Hamilton, with
some of his frantic associates, flew to arms, with the desperate design of still
expelling the king, in whose convei'sion they had no faitli. The attempt, how-
ever, as raioht have been expected, was a total failure, and Hamilton was taken
into custody, but was afterwards allowed to leave France without farther punish-
ment. Tiie parliament, however, some time after his departure, sentenced him
to be broken on the wheel for the murder of Tardif. and as he A\as not then
forthcoming in person, ordered that tlieir decree should be carried into execu-
tion on his eflfioy. Hamilton in the meantime had retired to the Low Countries,
and was now residing at Brussels, under the Spanish government.

In 1600, he published another work on religious matters, entitled " A Cata-
lo"ue of one hundred and sixty-seven heresies, lies, and calumnies, teachit and
practisit be the ministers of Calvin's sect, and corruptions of twenty-three pas-
saoes of the Scripture be the ministeris adulterate translations thereof." This
work he dedicated to the Scottish king. In 1601, Hamilton retunied to his
native country, after an absence of above thirty years. He was there joined
by one Edmond Hay, an eminent Jesuit, equally turbulent and factious v.ith him-
self. The aiTival of these two dangerous men, whose characters were well
known, especially that of Hamilton, having reached the eai-s of the king, he
immediately issued a proclamation, enjoining their instant departure from the
kingdom under pain of treason, and declared all guilty of the like crime who
harboured them.

Notwithstanding this edict, Hamilton contrived to find shelter in the north,
and to elude for some time the vigilance of the government. Amongst
others who contravened the king's proclamation on this occasion was the lord
Ogilvie, Avho afforded him a temporary residence at his house of Airly. At
length the Scottish privy council, determined to have possession of so danger-
ous a person, despatched a party of life-guards to apprehend him. When
found and desired to surrender, this indomitable and factious spirit, Avho had
bearded the king of France in his might, treated the orders of a Scottish privy
council with contempt, and endeavoured to resist them, but in vain. His life,
however, was afterwards spared by the king, Avho, by a very slight stretch of
certain laws then existing, might have deprived him of it. This clemency is
said to have arisen from James's regard for Hamilton's nephew, then Sir Thomas
Hamilton, afterwards earl of Haddington. The former, after his capture, spent
the remainder of his days in the Tower, where he was sent at once for his own
safety and that of the kingdom.

Amongst other peculiarities of Hamilton, it is recorded that he entertained a
strong aversion to the introduction of English words into the Scottish lang-uage,
a practice which was then becoming fashionable ; and in the abuse \\hich he was
constantly heaping on the protestant preachers, he frequently charges them with
" Knapping Suddrone," (aiming at English,) and still greater enormity Avith
having it " imprentit at London in contempt of our native language ;" and in
proof at once of his abhorrence of all innovation in this particular, and of his
partiality for the native unadulterated language of his own country, he always
wrote in a style somewhat more uncouth than was Avarranted by the period in
which he lived.

600 JOHN HAMILTON.

IIA3IILT0\, John, arclibisliop of Si Aii<Iic\\s, ;iiiii the last Scottish prinialo
of tlie Iioiiian catliolic fjiiili, uas llie uatiiral son of James, earl of Arran, by .1
gentlewoman of Ajrsliirc. No nearer approximation seems to have been
made to the period of his birtii, than that it must have Iiappened some time
durinjj tlie reinn of James ^'. The early education of a jterson so situated
is not likely to iiave attracted much attention, and wc may, with a pretty equal
chance of arriving at the truth, either receive or reject tlic statement of
M'Kenzie,' made uitli the laudaljlc desire of bioi,n-aphcrs, to allbrd complete
and minute inturmation, that he sndied tlie belles leltres and pliilosopliy at
Glasgow, and theology in France, where he entered into holy orders. It is, how-
ever, sulliciontiy ascertained, that he returned in the year 1 513, from some
residence or journey in France, and found himself abliot of i'aisley, a situation
witliin the limits of t!ie extensive church patronage of his fatiier, to which the
son was nominated in 1511.' The circumstance of his journey through England
in his return from France introduced this ambitious man to tlie commencement or
his restless career. He was graciously received by Henry VIII., and either in
duplicity, or ignorance of the scene of action about to open to him, he entered
into the views of the English monarch with regard to a matrimonial alliance
wJrli Scotland, which he was afterwai-ds to use his best endeavours to frustrate.
On his arrival in Scotland he found tlie path of distinction just opened to his
view, by the recent advancement of his vacillating brother to the regency of the
kingdom, and may have conceived those high projects which the weakness of his
unhappy relative fostered, while it interfered with their consummation. He
joined cardinal Beaton in that opposition which the primate's fears f(;r the safety
of the church prompted him to exhibit towards the matrimonial alliance with
England, and the enemies of Hamilton have not been backward in attributing
to him an unhesitating application to the most ungenerous and inlVnious means
for the achievement of his ends, throughout the heart-burning and unfortu-
nate progress of that renowned conference. The change produce d in the re-
gent's policy by the persuasion of the abbot, and the something more than per-
suasion of tlie cardinal, assisted by the insults of the English monarch, is well
known, with all its calamitous consequences. The perseverance of Hamilton
was rewarded by the offices of privy seal, and of high treasurer, in which latter
he succeeded Kirkaldy of Grange. In 1515, he was further rewarded by tiie
wealthy bishopric of Dunkeld. \Vith much modesty he wished to retain, after
his elevation, both the dignity and emolument of his abbacy, but was prompted
to resign them on his brother James being nominated his successor, with the
moderate reservation of the fruits of the benefice during his lifetime, and the
power to re-enter, in the event of surviving his brother. On the death of

1 IM'Ktr.zie's Lives of Scots AViitei's, iii. 102. — The accurate nutliois of tlie History of
the Sciintors of the College of Justice, have referred this presentation to so early a period us
1525. These authors'are usually extremely minute in their ref-^rences, but here the author-
ity is omitted. We presume it to be that of Crawford, who in his Officers of State refers I he
event to the same period. The latter is certainly the more veracious authority of the two,
yet, admitting that we have not undergone the labour of an investigation among the original
records which might clear up so wide a divergence, we are inclined in this instance to believo
the dictum of ISl'Kf iizie. The authors of the late work alluded to falsify the statement of
ISI'Keiizie, that Hamilton wason the continent for some years previously to 1543, b) a reference
to the records of parliament, in which the ablwt of Paisley is mentioned in two sederunts,
that of 1531-, and that of 1540. If Hamilton w.is not appointed till 1541, this must have
been the pi-eviou3 abbot. If he was appointed in 1515, we can only accede to M'Kenzie's
statement of his absence on the continent, on the supposition that he liad taken advantage of
the act 3d. James I. chap. 52, which entitled prelates, earls, &c. to appear by their procura-
toi-s, on ])roducing proof of a necessary cause of absence— a privilege which, if it was ever
taken advantage of, fell soon after into disuse.

JOHN HAMILTON. GOl

cardinal Beaton, Hamilton was translated to the archbishopric of St Andrews.
Unniindlul of the fate of his predecessor, he commenced his inauspicious career
with blood. A man of the name of Adam Wallace, was tried before him in a
synod, in the Blackfiiars' church of Edinburgh, and being found guilty of acting
as a vagrant preacher, baptizing his own children, and of inability to discover the
term *' mass" in the Holy Scriptures, he was delivei-ed over to the civil j^idge,
and burnt at the stake. But the archbishop was not one of those who wel-
comed the rising strength of the Reformation with fire and sword. He was a
strong thinking and acute man, with a mind conversant in the weaknesses and
prejudices of men, and well adapted to hold the balance firmly and cautiously
between contending parties. He was not of those spirits framed to be the
scourges of the earth, but fate had cast him in evil days on an unhappy land,
where men were not accustomed to scruple at the measures by which they grati-
fied their passions or prejudices, and the minds formed in more peaceful times
for the best things, burst the regulating power, which might have restrained
them in a period of less temptation.

Hamilton saw the coming enemy, and the moderation and firmness with
Avhich he defended the church, protracted for a short period the fall of the
crumbling fabric. He used his utmost endeavours to put to rest a fiery contro-
versy, which inflamed his district, on the subject of addressing the Lord's
prayer to the saints; a heterodox English priest having maintained that it should
be addressed to the Deity alone, Avhile an orthodox friar of St Andrews proved,
by a syllogistic ^ camination of each department of the prayer, that there were
good reasons why it ought to be addressed to the saints, because there were no
references in it which would not apply to their situation, excepting towards the
end, where requests were made which it ^\as entirely beyond the power of saints
to grant, and in which their intercession only should be presumed to be re-
quested. Out of the discussions on this matter, arose disputes on the exact men-
tal value of the appeal to the saints, some maintaining it to be made to the saints
materialiter , while it Mas made to the Deity formaliter — others, that while it was
addressed to the Deity principaliter, it came before the stiints minus priiicipali-
ter : and the grades of distinction being too nuuierous for tlie consideration of
the primate, who was never a casuist without having some purpose in view, he
remitted them to a provincial synod, which duly attended to the interest of the
saints. At this synod the ai'chbishop performed one of those prudent acts of re-
conciliation, by which he sought to avert the fall of his order. He had prepared
a catechism containing an exposition in English of the commandments, the creed,
and the Lord's prayer, which was formally approved of by the synod, and or-
dered to be read to the people on Sundays and holidays, by the curates of the
respective churches, and which was afterwards circulated through the country at
such a small price as nn'ght remunei'£ite the hawkers by whom it was vended. In
the year 1551, the days of this ambitious priest appeared to be nearly ended by
a stubborn asthmatic complaint, which defied the skill of the Scottish physicians,
who pronounced his recovery as hopeless. The celebrated Cardan was induced,
by a magnificent remuneration, to visit him, and the disease yielded either to
the medicines of the empyric or to nature. JM'Kenzie has taken much pains to
prove that, in calling for the assistance of this singular individual, the primate
did not appeal to the powers of magic, as Buchanan and others have accused
him of having done ; but it is much to be doubted whether, from the character
of both parties, the patient did not suppose he was receiving, and the physician
that he was administering, the aid of unholy powers. The influence of Hamil-
ton's mind over that of his brother, is sliown by the advantage taken of his sick-

602 JOHN HA^riLTON.

ucsy. llie fjuceii motlier seized the ojiportunily wliidi lier o\\u aiiibitiotis views,
and ilie iusligalions ol" lior lainily I'-'id prepriied Ikt to use, and extiacled fi-oni
the feeble regent a resijjnalion ol liis aulliorily into hev own liaiids. 'llie arch-
bishop on his recovery I'ell tbe indignation natural to a (iercc and ambitious
spirit, compelled by his situation to depend on a pei-son ubose facile mind re-
quired to be kept at its purpose by the lirniness of his own. According to Sir
James Melville, the convaltscent priest received tlie intelligence with a burst of
rage ; " lie cursed, and cried out that the governor was a very beast for quitting
the government to her," bestowing an epithet not vei'y decorous on the princess
who stood between his brother and the throne. 13iit Sir James Melville men-
tions the intelligence as having been received by him A\hcn abroad, and from the
information of captain Ninian Cockburn, " a busy meddler," — and however cer-
tainly we may judge of the ambitious prospects of the archbishop, it is not likely
that lie would have uttered them in a situation which would have admitted their
being reported to such a person. 'Ihe etfecl of his recovery is a farther evi-
dence of his powerful mind. The resignation not duly and formally completed
was revoked, and with all the advantage of possessing the dignity, the power-
ful princess was compelled to submit for a time. After a protracted conference,
the queen mother, aided by the influence of those whom her polished manners
had secured, and of the protestant party in general, whom she atfected to pro-
tect, seconded by tha will of her daughter, no longer an infant, obtained her
end ; but the advantages stipulated for by the archbishop on the part of his
brother, were the same as those ^vhich had been held out to him as a bait at the
commencement of the contract, acknowledging, as a principal article, the ex-re-
gent's right of succession, failing" the young queen, which seems to have presented
to the archbishop golden views of ambition which it were difficult to fathom.
Hitherto the primacy of Hamilton had been marked by but one act of persecu-
tion, with which he was but indirectly connected ; but just after the period of the
last incident described, he appalled the nation by the perpetration of an act, for
which neither religious bigotry, opposition to the regent, nor the alleged influ-
ence of the abbot of Kilwinning, are sufficient satisfactorily to account, in a man
who knew so uell the advantage of moderate counsels. '»^ alter filill, an aged
protestant minister, uas tried at St A.ndrews, before the archbisliop, found guilty
of heresy, and condennied to death by the flames. Men looked with such deep
horror on the act, that an individual possessing the requisite powers could hardly
be found to add the supplementary authority of the civil judge — no one would
furnish a rope to bind him to the stake, and the archbishop had to provide with
his own sacred, hands the necessary implement. 1 he people of the country
marked the spot of the reputed martyr's death by rearing over it a heap of
stones, and so often as these were removed, the sullen memorial was restored by
the patient and unyielding people. This was one of the marked acts which
either terrify, or give impulse to a slowly approaching enemy — it had the latter
effect — Knox preached soon after in the pulpit of his cathedral church, and the
usual destruction attended his presence, 'ihe archbishop, who, whatever he
might be in politics, was no bigot in religion, strove to compromise with the
arch-refirnier, admitting that there were many evils in the church which should
be remedied, but that " he should do wisely to retain the old policy, which had
been the work of n:any ages, or then put a better in its place, which his new
model was far from," — but the proffer was unnoticed. He made a last and dar-
ing effort in the committee of estates in 1560, which gave the sanction of law
to the docti-ines and government of the protestant faith. He there objected to
his own brother, the bishop of Argyle, and to the bishop of Galloway being ad-

JOHN HAMILTON. G03

niitted as lords of the articles, to prepare the measure for the adoption of the
house, according to the constitution of the parliament of Scotland, because they
had embraced presbyterianism, and were therefore disqualified by the constitu-
tion they were about to alter : and, along Avith the bishops of Dunkeld and
Dumblane, gave an unavailing opposition to the measures.

Three years after this convention, he became amenable to one of its
provisions, which prohibited the celebration of mass, and was committed
to the castle of Edinburgh, whence he was released through the i-eiterat-
ed tears and intercessions of queen Mary. Royal favour still beamed on
the archbishop, but it was clouded by popular hatred. In I5GG, at the impru-
dent request of the queen, he baptized the young prince with the ceremonies of
the church of Rome, and with still more imprudence, if not with a design of
aiding the perpetration of deep wickedness, he was, on the 23d of September,
of the same year, personally re-invested by the queen's signature, in the consis-
torial jurisdiction, of which the clerg-y in general had been deprived by the
legislature. Whitaker, with the purposes of a special pleader before him, main-
tains this not to have been a revival of the jurisdiction, but the special gift of
an authority which had not been discontinued. Not to argue on the improba-
bility, that a jurisdiction belonging to the body of right, should be bestowed on
one particular member by favour, the act of parliament which transfers to the
commissaries the consistorial authority of the church, is as plain as a Scottish act
usually is. The dangerous and invidious jurisdiction thus bestowed, ^vas used on
one great occasion, and history has preserved no other instance of its applica-
tion : he granted a commission to judges, who severed the inconvenient bonds
bclAvixt earl Bothwell and his wife, which interfered in some respects with
the formality of a marriage with the queen, and this act, coupled with the cir-
cumstance that the anihbishop was one of those who prepared the account of the
murder of Darnley, so hastily transmitted to the French court, originated in the
minds of his enemies suspicions of deep guilt, the justice of which we do not pre-
tend to judge.

The fidelity of the archbishop towards the queen, however much party spirit
may account for it on ambitious gi-ounds, is, by a charitable interpretation, a
pleasing part of his character. He was the heart and head of the party which
associated for her cause, during her confinement in Lochleven. He aided her
escape, and boldly urged on the battle, so unfortunate to the queen, whidi
followed. He now bid a pei'petual adieu to the state and pomp he had so long-
sustained, and seems to have for more than a year wandered through the coun-
try in search of a roof to protect him. On the capture of Dunbarton castle in
1571, the governor of which had bestowed on him temporary protection, he was
tried on an accusation of four several acts of treason. First, " That he knew,
and was participand or accomplice in the murdering of king Henry, the queen's
husband. 2d, That he conspired against the king's person at the murdering of
the first regent, intending to have surpr-ised the castle of Stirling, and to liave
been master thereof at his pleasure. 3d, That he kneiv, or was participand in
the murder of James, earl of Murray, the late regent. 4th, That he lay in wait
at the wood of Calendar, for the slaughter of Matthew, earl of Lennox, the pre-
sent regent," With a candour which ought to Aveigh much with the world, in
the consideration of the other atrocities of which he has been accused, he con-
fessed with contrition a participation in the third crime laid to his charge :
much confusion and mystery attend the accounts of this trial which have reached
our time, but it would appear that some ditficulties, either in form or evidence
attending the proof of the crimes laid to his charge, prompted recoui-se to a fie-

G04 JOHN HAMILTON.

tinn convenient on such occasions, nnd di8n;rnc«fiil to the law in nliich it found
a pl;ice — :ui act of forofaulture iti absence li.ul been passed against the archbishop
in the first parliament of recent IMurray, and in terms of that act he uas hanged
on the common gibbet oi' Stirling, in his pontificial robeS, on the 5th April,
1571. 'I'hc law of that period, like a weapon of war, was used by party
against party, and was a protection to none but those who could wield it, a ter-
ror to none but those against ^vhom some powerful adversary <ould direct it ;
and hence even those punishments, which, as abstract rewards of guilt, might be
looked on as eqiitablc, beciime unjust — because they were the oHspring of
malignity, and not dealt for the prevention of farther crimes. 'Ihe archbishop
had couimitted the crime of religious intolerance, Avhich is a crime under what-
ever form it appears, however casuists may vindicate it by the arguments which
may be used in vindiciition of any crime whatever — prejudice and conviction
of the mind — and a crime which mankind may be said never to forgive or
forget, but to treasure for the indignation of future ages. Yet those crimes
which are perpetrated by the assistance of the law, are not fit for receiving
punishment from that instrument: public opinion, and the weight of the public
voice are the restraints which men and legislatures should feel under such temp-
tations; for the punishment of persecution, being always bestowed by the party
which has been persecuted, is a repetition of the crime, and a re-opening of the
wounds of party rancour. The ignominy gratuitously bestowed on the reverend
head of their party and religion was not soon forgot by the adherents of the
Hamiltons, and long after his haugluy indomitable spirit had ceased to oppose
the progress of the reformation, his name, and the memory of his fate, were
bonds of union to the papists, and dreaded by the protestants. Like that of all
violent partizans, the memory of Hamilton has been coloured with much blame,
and with much praise. Buchanan has wasted good Latin both in prose and
verse in ascribing to hini all the vices of Avhich poor human nature is susceptible
— "Archiepiscopus etiam in onniium rerum licentia suis cupiditatibus obsequeba-
tur ;'' — nor does he hesitate to charge him with accession to two deliberate mur-
ders, from the punishment consequent on one of which, his influence protected
tlie principal perpeti-ator, the father of his mistress. His incoiitiuence is a charge
W'liich circumstances have, to a considerable extent, justified.

His open and received mistress was a female of the name of Semple, ■whom
his defenders maintain he had married early in life, and before he had entered
into holy orders ; but the proof is insufficient to meet the contrary presumptions.
An article of the treaty of Perth has been discovered, restoring the son of the
archbislioi) to the possessions of his father, forfeited through treason. It appoints
•' that the heirs and successors of persons forfeited, properly comprehended under
this pacification, and now deiiarted this life, shall be restored, and made lawful
to enter by brieves to their lands and possessions, notwithstanding of the for-
feitures laid against their fathers or predecessors, and as giff they had died at
our sovereign Lord's faith and peace, and especially of John, archbishop of St
Andrews," &c. The circumstance is rather unintelligible ; if the son Avas in law
illegitimate, the restoration could not without legitimation admit his suing forth
a brief of service to his father, and the circumstance of the father having been
a priest, was sufficient to establish the illegitimacy, whether a marriage had taken
place before his advancement to the priesthood or not. It would appear that
the female in question was the wife of another man, while she was the mistress
of the archbishop. " But supposing," says M'Kenzie, " that the bishop had made
this slip in his youth, it is not a sufficient ground to stain the whole course of his
after life with."

GLASGOW: W. G. BL^ICKIE AND CO., PEIMtES, VlLLAilELD.

A

BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONAEY

OP

EMINENT SCOTSMEN.

H.

IIAIMILTON, (TriE Eight Hon'ourable Sir) William, British ambassador at the
court of Naples, and celebrated for his patronage of the fine arts, and his inves-
tigations on the subject of volcanoes, was born in 1730. Neither biographers
nor contemporary periodical writers have furnished any account of his education
or early habits ; all that is conimemorated regarding him previous to the com-
mencement of his public life, is, that his family, a branch of the noble house of
Hamilton, was in very reduced circumstances. He was in the most difficult of
all situations — poor, highborn, and a Scotsman. " I was condemned," to use
his own words, " to make my way in the world, with an illustrious name and a
tiiousand pounds." Like many of his countrymen so situated, he had a choice
betwixt semi-starvation in the army, and an affluent marriage — he prudently
preferred the latter; and in 1755 he found himself most happily settled in life,
with a young lady of beauty, connexions, amiable qualifications, and £5000
a-year. It is very probable that BIr Hamilton spent his hours in pliilosophical
ease, until his acquisition of that situation in which lie afterwards distinguished
himself. In 176 i, he was appointed ambassador to the court of Naples, where
he continued till the year 1800. If his appointment as a resident ambassador
for so long a period, is to be considered as but a method of expressing in more
consequential terms the employment of an agent for advancing the study of the
arts, the person was well «;hosen for the purpose, and the interests of the public
were well attended to ; but if Mr Llaniilton's claims to national respect are to
be judged by his merely diplomatic duties, the debt, in addition to the salary he
received, will be very small. The reason why a permanent representative of
the British government should have been found requisite in Sicily, is in reality
one of those circumstances which a diplomatist only could explain. The fame ac-
quired in other departments by the subject of our memoir, has prompted his
biographers to drag to light his diplomatic exertions, yet, although nothing-
has been discovered which can throw a blot on his good name, the amount of
service performed in thirty-six years is truly ludicrous. He entered into ex-
planations with the marquis Tanucci, first minister of Sicily, regarding some im-
proper expressions used by a gentleman of the press of the name of Torcia, in
his " Political Sketch of Europe." He managed to keep Lis Sicilian majesty
neuter during the American war. He acted with prudence during the family
misunderstandings between Spain and Naples in 1784 ; and finally, he exerted
liimself in preventing any mischief from being perpetrated by "an eccentric

2 • SIR -^AULLIAM HAMILTON.

character among our nobilily," anIio had made attempts to give much trouble to
prudeiil ju'dplo, by liis coiuliK't at Naples. 15uL the kiiii;d(iiii of (lie two Sicilies
was but tlie shatlow of a Kuropoan power, and ^\as only regarded ;is it followed
one or other t)f the great nations whose contests shook the Avorld. It alForded
in its active existence no arena for the statesman or the soldier. It was in the
dust of buried ages that was hid beneath its soil that the active mind found em-
ployment in tliat feeble kingdom, and these were the only objects worthy to ab-
sorb tiie attention of the distinguished person whom we arc connnemorating.

On his arrival at the interesting country of his mission, iMr Hamilton re-
peatedly visited A'esuvius and Etna, and from a minute examination of the whole
surrounding country, colle(;ted numerous important geological observations,
mIucIi were from time to time, between the years 17(J(J and 177'J, transmitted
to the Ixoyal Society, and afterwards made their appearance in the transactions
of that body, and in the Annual Register. It was the design of Sir William
Hamilton, to point out in these observations such evidence as might lead geolo-
gists to a better comprehension of the influence of subterraneous fires on the
structure of the earth, and to display the first links of a chain of reasoning,
wliich it was his hope future industry might make complete. It Avas his opinion
that the land for many miles round Naples, was not, as it was generally sup-
posed, a district of fruitful land, subject to the ravages of flame; but a part of
the surface of the globe which owed its very existence to the internal conflagi-a-
tions by which it was shaken. In illustration of this he considered Etna to
have been formed by a series of eruptions, at protracted periods, as the smaller
eminence of 3Ionte Nuovo, near Puzzuoli, had been formed by one eruption of
48 hours' continuance. Among other minute ciixumstances, he discovered that
the streets of Pompeii were paved with the lava of a former age, and that there
was a deep stratum of lava and burnt matter under the foundations of the town,
showirg that the earliest eruption of history was not the first of nature, and
that the labours of man might have been more than once buried beneath such
coverings. As illustrations of these valuable remarks, the author collected a
magnificent assortment of the various descriptions of lava, which he lodged in
our national museum, that naturalists might be able to trace a connexion be-
twixt these immediate productions of the volcano, and other portions of the crust
of the globe. These remarlvs were afterwards digested and systematized, and
produced, first " Observations on mount Vesuvius, mount Etna, and other vol-
canoes of the two Sicilies," published in London in 1772. The next, a more
aspiring work, was published at Naples in 1776, in two folio volumes, and cal-
led " Campi riilegrsBi, Obsei-vations on the Volcanoes of the two Sicilies, as they
have been communicated to the Royal Society of London, by Sir William Hamil-
ton." The numerous plates in this magnificent work of art, from views taken
on the spot by Blr Valris, a British artist, are faintly engi-aved in little more
than outline, and coloured with so much depth and truth, that they assume the
appearance of original water-colour drawings of a very superior order. They
are illustrative of his favourite theory, and i-epresent those geological aspects of
the country which he considered peculiarly applicable as illustrations. It is
to be remarked, that neither in his communications to the Royal Society, nor in
his larger works, does this author trace any complete exclusive system. He
merely points out the facts on which others may work, acknowledging that he
is disposed to pay more respect to the share which fire has had in the formation
of the crust of the earth, than Bufibn and others are disposed to admit. " By
the help of drawings," he says, " in this new edition of my comnmnications to
the society, which so clearly point out the volcanic origin of tliis country, it
IS to be hoped that farther discoveries of the same nature may be made, and

SIR WILLIAM HAMILTON.

tliat subterraneous fires -(vill be allowed to have had a greater share* in the for-
mation of mountains, islands, and even tracts of land, than has liitherto been
suspected." Many men of eminence at that time A'isited Sir William Hamilton,
and marked the progress of his discoveries, and among the rest Monsieur Saus-
sure, professor of natural liistory at Geneva, Avho accompanied him in his in-
vestigations, and acceded to the arguments lie derived from them. During the
course of his communications to the Koyal Society, it was the fortune of the au-
thor to have an opportunity of witnessing Vesuvius in eruption.

In October, 1767, occurred the eruption which is consiclered to have been the
twenty-seventh from that which in the days of Titus destroyed Herculaneum and
Pompei. The mountain was visited by Hamilton and a party of liis friends during
this interesting scene, which has afforded material for cnc of the most gi'aphic
of his communications. But a grander scene of devastation attracted his atten-
tion in October, 1779, when the unfortunate inhabitants of Ottaiano had reason
to dread the fate described by Pliny. Of this memorable eruption our author
transmitted an account to Sir Joseph Banks, which he afterwards published as a
supplement to his '' Campi Phlegi-asi."

Previously to the period of the last event we have mentioned, the subject of
our memoir was connected with the preparation of another great work, for
which the world has incurred to him a debt of gratitude. He had made a vast
collection of Eti-uscan antiquities — vases, statues, and fresco paintings, partly dug
from the earth, and partly purchased from the museums of the decayed nobility,
among which was that great collection now deposited in the British museum,
which had belonged to the senatorial house of Porcinari. Of the most precious
of these remains of antiquity, Hamilton allowed the adventurer D'Hancerville,
to publish illustrated plates, liberally allowing the artist to appropriate the whole
profits of the work. " Long since," he says " IMr Hamilton had taken pleasure
in collecting those precious monuments, and had afterwards trusted them to him
for publication, requiring only some elegance in the execution, and the con-
dition, that the Avork should appear under the auspices of his Britannic ma-
jesty." The Avork accordingly was published at Naples, under the title of " An-
tiquites Etrusques, Greques, et Romaines.'' The abbe Winckelman raentions, that
two volumes of this Avork Avere published in 1765, and two others the year fol-
loAving. Along Avith the author of a notice of Sir William Hamilton's Life,
Avhich appeared in BaldAvins Literary Journal, Ave have been unable to discover
a copy of the tAvo former volumes of this Avork, or to find any reference to them
on Avhich Ave can repose trust, nor do Ave perceive that the tAvo latter volumes
bear the marks of being a continuation, and neither of the after editions of
Paris, 17S7, and Florence, 1801 and 1808, Avhich might have informed us on
this subject, are at present accessible to us. The two volumes Ave have men-
tioned as having seen, contain general remarks on the subjects of the plates, in
English and French, Avhich both the imaginative matter, and the language, sIioav
to have been translated from the latter language into the former. 'I he plates,
by far the most A'aluable part of the Avork, introduced a ncAV spirit into the
depiction of the useful remains of antiquity, Avhich enabled the artist Avho Avished
to imitate them, to have as correct an idea of the labours of the ancients, as if
the originals Avere before him. The terra-cotta vases predominate ; some of
these are votive oflerings — others have been adapted for use. A general vieAV
of the form of each is given, Avith a measurement, along Avilh Avhich there is a
distinct fac-simile of the paintings Avhich so frequently occur on these beautiful
pieces of pottery ; the engraving is bold and accurate, and the colouring true
to the original. This Avork has been the means of adding the bold genius of
classic taste to modern accuracy and skill in Avorkmanship. From the painter

SIR ^YILLIAM HAMILTON.

and statuary, to the fjibricatoi- of tlie most grotcstjiie tlriiikiiig cup, it lias iS-
foidcd niotlels to artists, and is confMleiitly a-isoiled to liavc gone I'ar in altering
and improving- lliu general taste of tlic age. During llic exertions Me liave
been connucmoratinrv, liaiuilton >vas in tiie year 177 JJ, created a kniglit of tlio
Batli, a circumstance uliii'li will account for our sometimes varying liis designa-
tion, as the events mentioned liajipcned previously to, or after liis elevation.
The retired jdiilosopliical habits of Sir ^Yillianl Hamilton prevented him in the
earliest years of his mission fr(mi forming intimacies with persons similarly
situated, and he lived a life of domestic ])rivacy, study, and observation of na-
ture. 15ut fame soon forced friends on his retirement, and all the eminent per-
sons who visited his interesting neighbourhood became his guests. One of his
friends, the I'rench ambassador at the court of Naples, has told us that he pro-
tected the arts because the arts protected him, and enriched him. 'Ihe motives
of the chara(;lcristic may be doubted. A love of art fascinates even mercenary
men into generosity, and the uhole of Sir William Hamilton's conduct shous a
love of art, and a (virelessness of personal profit by his knowledge, not often ex-
hibited. Duclcs, secretary of the IVench academy, on visiting Naples, has drawn
an enthusiastic picture of the felicity then enjoyed by Sir \Mlliam Hamilton —
his lady and himself in the prime of life, his daughter just opening to woman-
hood, beauty, and accomplishments ; the public respect paid to his merits, and
the internal peace of his amiable family ; but this state of things was doomed to
be s.idly reversed. In 1775, Sir AVilliam lost his only daughter, and in 1782,
he had to deplore the death of a wife who had brought him competence and
domestic peace. After an absence of twenty years, he revisited Britain in 1784.
1 he purpose of this visit is ".vhispered to have been that he might interfere Avith
an intended marriage of his nephew, jMr Oii-eville, to Biiss Innua Hart. If such
was his view', it was fulfilled in a rather unexpected manner. It is at all times
painful to make written reference to these private vices, generally suspected and
seldom pi'oved, the allusion to which usually receives the name of "scandal;"
but in the case of the second lady Hamilton, they have been so unhesitatingly
and amply detailed by those who have chosen to record such events, and so
complacently received by the lady herself and her friends, that they must
be considered matters of history, whi<;h no man will be found chivalrous
enougli to contradict. This second Theodosia passed the earlier part of her
life in obscurity and great indigence, but soon showed that she had various ways
in which she might make an independent livelihood. Some one who has
written her memoirs, has given testimony to the rather doubtful circumstance,
that her first act of infamy was the consequence of charitable feeling, Avhich
prompted her to give her virtue in exchange for the release of a friend who
had been impressed. JJe this as it may, she afterwards discovered more profita-
ble means of using lier charms. At one time she was a comic actress — at
another, under the protection of some generous man of fashion ; but h.er chief
source of fame and emolument seems to have been her connexion with lionmcy
and tiie other great artists of the day, to whom she seems to have furnished the
models of more goddesses than classic poets ever invented. DlrGreville, a man
of accui'ate taste, had chosen her as his companion, and the same principles of
correct judgment which regulated his choice probably suggested a transference
of his charge to the care of Sir William Hamilton. His own good opinion of
her merits, and the character she had received from his friend, prompted Sir
William soon afler to marry this woman, and she took the title of lady Hamilton
in 1791. At that time both returned to l;ritain, where Sir William attempted
in vain to procure for his fair but frail bride, an introduction to the British
court, which might authorize, according to royal etiquette, her presentation at

SIR ^YILLIAM HAMILTON.

tlie court of Xaples. But this latter was found not so difficult a barrier as that
Mhich it was considered necessary to suriuount before attempting it. The
beauty and, perhaps, tlie engaging talents of lady Hamilton procured for her
notoriety, and notoriety brings friends. She contrived to be essentially useful,
and very agreeable, to the king and queen of the Sicilies; ar.d procured for
herself their friendship, and for her husband additional lionours. Her connec-
tion with lord Nelson, and the manner in which she did the state service, are too
Avell known ; but justice, on passing speedily over the unwelcome subject, cannot
help acknowledging that she seen:s here to have felt something like real attach-
ment. The latter days of this woman restored her to the gloom and obscurity
of her origin. She made ineffectual attempts after the death of her husband to
procure a pension from government. Probably urged by necessity, she insulted
the ashes of the great departed, by publishing her correspondence with lord
Nelson, followed by a denial of her accession to the act, which did not deceive
the public. She died at Calais in February, 1815, in miserable obscurity and
debt, without a friend to follow her to the grave, and those who took an interest
in the youthful daugliter of Kelson, with difficulty prevented her from being
seized, according to a barbarous law, for the debts of her mother.

But we return with pleasure to the more legitimate object of our details.
There was one subject of importance on which some prejudices on the part of
the Sicilian government, prevented Sir William Hamilton from acquiring that
knowledge which he thought might be interesting and useful to his country. A
chamber in the royal museum of Portici had been set aside for containing the
manuscripts, of which a small collection had been found in an ediffce in Pom-
peii ; and on the discovery that tlicse calcined masses were genuine manuscripts
of the days of Pliny, the greatest curiosity was manifested to acquire a kno\vledge
of their contents. The government was assailed by strangers for the watchful-
ness with which these were kept from their view, and the little exertion which
had been bestowed in divulging their contents : the latter accusation was perhaps
scarcely just ; some venerable adherents of the church of Pome did not hesitate
to spend months of their own labour, in exposing to the world the sentences
which an ancient Poman had taken a few minutes to compose. The public were
soon made sufficiently acquainted with the subject to bo disnppointed at the
exposure of a few sentences of the vilest of scholastic stuff'; and the narrow-
mindedness of which Sir William Hamilton had to complain, has been since dis-
continued, and England has had an opportunity of showing her skill in the art of
unrolling papyrus. To acquire the information, for Avhich he found the usual
means unavailing. Sir William Hamilton entered into an agreement with father
Anthony Piaggi, a Piarist monk, the most diligent of the decypherers, by which,
in consideration of a salary of ^6100, the latter was to furnish the former with a
weekly sheet of original information, which, to avoid ministerial detection, was
to be written in cipher. 'Ihe contract seems to have been executed to the
satisfaction of both parties, and Sir AA'illiam procured for father Antliony an
addition to his salary, equal to the sum at which it was originally fixed ; and on
the death of the father in 1798, he bequeathed all his manuscripts and papers (o
his patron. Sir W'illiam Hamilton, on his visit to Britain in 1791, was created
a privy councillor. — The circumstances which in 1798 compelled him to accom-
pany the Sicilian court to Palermo, are matter of history, and need not be here

repeated In the year 1800, he left Sicily, and soon afterwards, accompanied

by captain Leake, and lieutenant Hayes, undertook a journey through Pgypt,
visiting and describing >\ith great minuteness the city of Ihebes, and the other
well-known, parts of that interesting country. The notes collected by him on
this occasion were published after his death in the year 1809, under the title

WILLIAM HAMILTON, M.D.

*' 'l\?ypt'''ica, or Some Account of the Ancient and IModeni State of Kgypt, a»
obtained in the years 1801 and 1802, Ijy \\ illiani Hauiiltitn, F, A. S." — " This
uork," says tiic Jldinbin-gli Jteview, " will bo foiuid an excellent siijiiilement to
the more elaborate and costly work of Denon. His style is in general simple
and unallerted ; and liierefore, loses nothing', in our opinion, when compared
witii that of some of the travellers who have gone before him." Sir William Hamil-
ton died in April, 1303, in the 72nd year of his age. His death deprived the
world of two great works which he hoped to have lived to prepare, on the subject
of the amseum of I'ortici.

IIA-AIILTOX, William, a celeljratcd surgeon, and lecturer on anatomy and
chemistry in the university of (Glasgow. This meritorious individual was unfor-
tunately cut olffrom the world too early in life, and too suddenly, to be enabled
to give to the world those works on his fovourile science, on which he might
have founded his fame, and the circle of his influence and renown was hardly so
extensive as to attract the attention of posterity ; but a tribute to his memory, in
the form of a memoir of his life, and remai-ks on his professional acquirements,
I'ead by his friend professor Cleghoi-n to the Royal Society of Kdinburgh,* and
inserted in the transactions of tluit eminent body, justifies us in enumerating
him among distinguished Scotsmen. William Hamilton was bom in Glasgow,
on the 31st July, 1738. His father was Thomas Hamilton, a respectable sur-
geon in Glasgow, and professor of anatomy and botany in that university ; and
his mother, daughter to ^Ir Anderson, professor of church history in the same
institution. He followed the usual course of instruction in the grammar school
and college of his native city, from which latter he took the degree of master
of arts in 1775, at the age of seventeen. Being supposed to show an early predi-
lection for the medical profession, he proceeded to Edinburgh, then at the height of
its fame as a school for that science, where he studied under CuUen and Black,
the early friends of his father. The bad health of his father recalled the young
physician after two sessions spent in Edinburgh, and both proceeded on a tour
to Bath, and thence to London, where the son was left to pursue his studies,
with such an introduction to the notice of Dr William Hunter, as a schoolfellow
accjuaintanceship between his father and that distinguished man Avarranted.
The prudence, cai'efulness, and regularity of the young man's conduct, while
surrounded by the splendour and temptation of the metropolis, have been com-
mended by his friends ; these praiseworthy qualities, joined to a quick percep-
tion on professional subjects, and an anxiety to perfect himself in that branch
of his profession which calls for the greatest zeal and enthusiasm on the part of
the medical student, attracted the attention of liis observing friend. He was
requested to take up his residence in Dr Hunter's house, and finally was trusted
with the important charge of the dissecting room, a valuable, and probably a
deliglitful duty. He seems to have secured the good opinion he had gained,
by liis performance of this arduous and important function. " I see and hear
much of him," says Dr Hunter, in his cori-espondence with the young man's
father, " and every body regards him as sensible, diligent, sober, and of amiable
dispositions." — " From being a favourite with every body, he has connnanded
every opportunity for improvement, which this great town afforded, during his
stay here ; for every body has been eager to oblige and encourage him. I can
depend so much on liim, in every way, that if any opportonity should offer of
serving him, whatever may be in my power, I shall consider as doing a real
pleasure to myself." Such were the character ar.d prospects of one, who, it
's to be feared, was then nourishing by too intense study the seeds of dissolution
iu a naturally feeble constitution. Soon after, the father's state of health
1 Vol. iv. p. 35, read 6t.U Noveinber, 1792.

WILLIAM HAMILTON.

imperiously requiring an assistant in his lectures, the son undertook that duty,
and in 1781, on Jiis father's final resignation, was nominated his successor, a
circumstance which enabled his kind friend Ur Hunter to fulfill his former
promise, by stating to the marquis of Graham, that he considered it " the in-
terest of Glasgow to give him, rather than his to solicit the appointment." The
father died in 1782, and the son was then left the successor to his lucrative and
extensive practice, in addition to the duties of the university. During the short
period of Iiis enjoyment of these desirable situations, he received from the
poorer people of Glasgow, the character, seldom improperly bestowed, of ex-
tending to them the assistance, which a physician of talent can so well bestow.
He Icept for the purpose of his lectures, and for his own improvement, a regular
note-book of oases, which he summed up in a tabular digest at the tennination
of each ye;xr. Of these notes, he had before his death commenced such an ai*-
rangement as would enable him to form from them a system of surgery which
he intended to have published. Some extracts from this collection are pre-
served by the biographer we liave mentioned, as characteristics of the style of
his composition, and the extent of his observation. In 1783, lie raai-ried Miss
Elizabeth Stirling, a lady accomplished, and of good connexions in Glasgow.
Within a very few years after this event, tlie marked decay of his constitution
alarmed his friends, and his knowledge as a physician enabled him to assure
himself that death was steadily approaching. He died on the 13th day of
March, 1790, in the 3 2d year of his age. Few, even of those who have de-
parted in the pride of life — in the enjoyment of talents, hopes, and prosperity,
seem to have caused greater regret, and it cannot be doubted that it was de-
served. His manner as a public instructor is thus described by Mr Cleghorn :
" As a lecturer, his manner was remarkably free from pomp and affectation.
His language was simple and perspicuous, but so artless, that it appeared flat to
those who place the beauty of language in the intricacy of arrangement, or the
abundance of figures. His manner of speaking corresponded with his style,
and was such as might appear uninteresting to those who think it impossible to
be eloquent without violent gestures, and frequent variations of tone. He used
nearly the tone of ordinary conversation, as his preceptor Dr Hunter did befwe
him, aiming at perspicuity only, and trusting for attention to the importance of
the subjects he treated."

HAMILTON, William, of Bangour, a poet of considerable merit, was the
second son of James Hamilton, Esq. of 13angour, advocate, and was born at
Bangour in 1704, He was descended from the Hamiltons of Little Earnock
in Ayrshire ; his great-grandfather James Hamilton, (second son of John Hamil-
ton of Little Earnock,) being the founder of the family of Bangom*. On the
death of his brother (who maiTied Elizabeth Dalrymple) without issue, in
1750, the subject of this memoir succeeded to the estate. Born in
elevated circumstances and in polished society, Mr Hamilton received all
the accomplishments wliich a liberal education, with these advantages, could
afford ; and although exposed, as all young persons of his rank usually are, to
the light dissipations of gay life, he resisted every temptation, and in a great
measure dedicated his time to the improvement of his mind. The state of his
health, which was always de>licate, and his natural temperament, leading him to
prefer privacy and study to mixing frequently in society, he early acquired a
taste for literature, and he soon obtained a thorough and extensive acquaintance
with the best authors, ancient and modern. The leaning of his mind was towards
poetry, and he early composed many pieces of distinguished merit. Encouraged
by the approbation of his friends, as well as conscious of his own powers, he was
easily induced to persevere in the cultivation of his poetic powers. Many of his

8 "^'ILLTAM IIAJIILTON.

songs breallio llie true spirit of Scottish melody, especially his far-famed " I'raes
of \ arrow."

Ilms in calm retirement, and in the pursiiil of knowledge, his life might have
passed serenely, imdistiirhcd hy the calls of ambition or the toils and alarms of
war, had it not been for the ill-judged but chivalrous attempt of an adventurous
prince to recover the tlironc of his ancestors from what was considered the grasp
of an usurper. At the conunencement of the insurrection of 1745, IMr Hamil-
ton, undeterred by the attainder and exile of his brother-in-law the earl of
Carnwath/ for his share in the rebellion in 1715, took the side which all brave
and generous men of a certain class in those days uere apt to take ; he joined
the standard of prince Charles, and celebrated his first success at Prestonpans in
the well-known Jacobite ode of " Gladsmuir." After the battle of Culloden, so
disastrous to the i>rince and his followers, he fled to the mountain and the glen ;
and there for a time, endured much wandering and many hardships. Finally,
however, he succeeded, with some others in the same proscribed situation, in
escaping into France. But his exile was short. He had many friends and
admirers among the adherents of king George, and through their intercession
his pardon was speedily procured from government. He accordingly returned
home, and resumed possession of his paternal estate. His health, however, at all
times weak, hy the hardships he had endured, as well as from his anxiety of
mind, had now become doubly so, and required the benefit of a warmer climate.
He therefoi-e soon afterwards returned to the continent, and for the latter years
of his life, took up his residence at Lyons, where a slow consumption carried
him off, on the 25th 3Iarch, 1754, in the fiftieth year of his age. His corpse
was brought to Scotland, and inten-ed in the Abbey church of Holyrood.

Sir Hamilton was twice married, into families of distinction, and by his first
lady, a daughter of Sir James Hall of Dunglass, baronet, he had issue one son,
James, who succeeded him. .;

Though IMr Hamilton's works do not place him among the highest class of
Scottish poets, he is fully entitled to rank among those of a secondary order.
What was much in his favour, certainly not in furtherance of his facility of com-
position, but as an advantage to his fame, is, that for a whole century previous
to the time he began to write, few names of any consequence were known in
Scottish poetry. From 1615 till 1715 no poet of any note — except only Druni-
mond and Stirling — had appeared.

From the days of Buchanan, the only other poets we could then boast of,
following the example of that leading intellect, had composed in a language
utterly opposite to their own, in construction, copiousness, and facility — we mean
the Latin : and inferior poets as well as inferior scholars to Hamilton, in com-
pliment to the reigning fashion, continued to use that didactic and ditiicult lan-
guage for tlie expression of their sentiments. Hamilton, therefore, had much
to overcome in entering the lists as an original writer in his own language, the
elegance, the purity, and the freedom, though perhaps not the force nor the
energy, of which he understood so well. He was convinced that the greater part, if
not the Avhole, of those authors who preferred composing in a dead language would
be utterly unknown to posterity, except perhaps to a few of the literati and the
learned. But at the dawn of the eighteenth century the scholastic spell was at
length broken, and Hamilton and Ramsay were among the first who gave utter-
ance to their feelings, the one in English and the other in his native Scottish
dialect ; and this perhaps, even to the present day constitutes the principal cause
of their fame. It may safely be asserted that in the w orks of Hamilton and Ram-
say there is more genuine poetry, than in the woi'ks of the whole century of
' The carl married, as his thiid wife, Margaret, the poet's sister.

"WILLIAIM HAMILTON.

Latin poets ^vho preceded them ; though this may be denied by tliose classic
readers, \\lio are still in the habit of poring into the lucubrations of those authors,
the greater part of A\hom have long ceased to be known to the general reader,
\\hile the Avorks of Hamilton and l^anisay are still read and admired.

Mr Hamilton's pcems Avere first published by Foulis, at Glasgow, in 1748,
12mo, and afterwards reprinted ; but this volume was a pirated publication, and
appeared not only Avithout his name, but Avithout his consent, and even Avithout his
knoAAledge ; and as might have been expected, it abounded in errors. He
Avas then abroad, rnd it AAas thought the appearance of that collection Avould have
produced from him a more perfect edition : but though on his return lie cor-
rected many errors, and considerably enlarged some of the poems, he did not
live to furnish a new and complete edition. It remained therefore for his friends,
after his death, to publish from his original manuswipts the first genuine aid
correct collection of his Avorks. It appeared in one volume small Svo, at Edin-
burgh, in 17G0, Avith ahead by Strange, Avho had been a felloAV adventurer Avith
him in the cause of prince Charles.

This volume did not at first attract any particular notice, and his poems Avere
rapidly fading from public remembrance, Avhen an attempt vvas made by the late
professor Michardson of GlasgoAv, to direct the attention of the public to his
merits. In a very able criticism from the pen of that gentleman which appeared
in the Lounger, among other observations no less just, the folloA\ing formed one
of his principal remarks : " The poems of Hamilton display regular design, just
sentiments, fanciful invention, pleasing sensibility, elegant diction, and smooth
versification." Mr Richardson then enters into an anal) sis of Hamilton's prin-
cipal poem of " Contemplation," or " the Triumph of Love." He descants
chiefly on the quality of fanciful invention, as being the principal characteristic
of poetical composition. He says " that Mr Hamilton's imagination is employed
among beautiful and engaging, rather than among aAvful and magnificent images,
and even Avhen he presents us Avith dignified objects, he is more grave than
lofty, more solemn than sublime." — " It is not asserted," continues Mr Eichard-
snn, in illustrating the ' pleasing sensibility' he ascribes to Hamilton, " that he
displays those vehement tumults and ecstasies of passion that belong to the higher
Idnd of lyric and dramatic composition. He is not shaken A\ith excessive rage,
nor melted Avith overwhelming sorroAv ; yet Avhen he treats of grave or afiecting
Bubjects, he expresses a plaintive and engaging softness. He is never violent
and abrupt, and is more tender than pathetic. Perhaps ' Tlte Braes of Yarroiv;
one of the finest ballads ever Avritten, may put in a claim to superior distinction.
But even with this exception, I should think our poet more remarkable for
engaging tenderness than for deep and aftecting pathcs. In like manner, Avhen
he expresses the joyful sentiments, or describes scenes and objects of festivity,
which he does very often, he displays good humour and easy cheerfulness, rathe J
than the transports of mirth or the brilliancy of wit."

IMr Richardson, in illustration of these characteristics, quotes some passages
Avhich conveys the most favourable impression of Mr Hamilton's poetical poAvers.

Mr Dl'Kenzie, the ingenious editor of the Lounger, enforced the judgment
pronounced by 3Ir Richardson, in a note, in AAhich he not only fully agrees Avith
him, but even goes farther in Mr Hamilton's praise. Lord Woodhouselee Avas
also among the first to acknoAvledge his excellence and vindicate his fame. He
thus speaks of Mr Hamilton in his life of lord Kames, " Blr Hamilton's mind
is pictured in his verses. They are the easy and careless effusions of an elegant
fancy, and a chastened taste ; and the sentiments they convey are the genuine
feelings of a tender and susceptible heart, which perpetually owned the dominion.
of some favourite mistress : but whose passion generally evaporated in song, and

10 \VILLTA1M IIA1\[ILT0N.

ln.^c^e no serious or pcrniancnt impression. His j)oenis liad an a<l(lilional clinnn
to liis contemporaries, Ironi beiiiy connnonly n<Ulri'ssi'(l to liis familiar friends of
either sex, by name. There are few minds ii;sensible to liie soothing flattery of
a poet's record."

These authorities in Hamilton's favour are high and powerful, and it min;lit
have been expected tliat, with liis own merits, they might have obtained for liim
a greater share of popularity than has fallen to his lot: but notwithstanding
those and other no less favourable testimonies, the attention of the public was
never steadily fixed upon his works. And although they have been inserted
in Johnson and Chalmers' edition of tlie English poets, there has been no demand
for a separate edition ; nor is Hamilton among those writers, whom we often
hear quoted by the learned or the gay.

As a first adventurer in English literature, rejecting altogether the scholastic
school of poetry, IMr Hamilton must be allowed to have obtained no ordinary suc-
cess. In his language he sho^vs nearly all the purity of a native ; his diction is vari-
ous and powerful, and his versification but rarely tainted with provincial errors.
He delights indeed in a class of words, which though not rejected by the best
English writers, have a certain insipidity which only a refined English ear, per
haps, can pei'ceive ; such as beauteous, dubious, duteous, and even melancliolious !
The same peculiarity may be remarked of most of the early Scottish writers in
the English language. In Thomson it is particularly observable. We also some-
times meet in Hamilton with false quantities ; but they seem oftener to proceed
from making a Procrustian of a poetic license, than from ignoi'ance or inadver-
tence, as in the following verse :

" Where'er the beauteous heart-com poller moves,
She scatters wide perdition all around :
Blest with celestial form, and crown 'd with loves,
No single breast is refractort/ found."

If he had made the " refractory" precede the " is," so as to have rendered
the latter the penultimate in this line, the euphony and the rhythm would have
been complete : but in his days, we believe, this word was accented on the first
syllable.

Lord Woodhouselee calls Hamilton's poems the " easy and careless cflusions
of an elegant fancy, and a chastened taste." This does not quite agree with the
'* regular desig7i" ^^hich Richardson discovei-s in them ; nor indeed with ivhat
his lordship himself tells us elsewhere, that " it appears from Hamilton's letters
that he conmiunicated his poems to his friends for their critical remarks, and was
easily induced to alter or amend them by their advice. " Contemplation,'' for
instance, he sent to IMr Home (lord Kames), witli whom he lived in the closest
habits of friendship, Avho suggested some alterations, which were thus aclaiow-
ledged in a letter trom Hamilton, dated July, 1739 : " I have made the correc-
tions on the moral part of ' Contemplation,' and in a post I will send it to
Will Crawford, who has the rest." Mr Hamilton had evidently too passionate a
devotion to the muses, to be careless of his attentions to them. The writing of
poetry, indeed, seems to have formed the chief business of his life. Almost the
whole of his poems are of an amatory cast ; and even in his more serious pieces,
a tone of love, like a thread of silver, runs through them. It Avould seem, how-
ever, that to him love, with all its pangs, was only a poet's dream. Perhaps the
following is the best illustration of the caprice and inconstancy of his aflection.
In a letter to 3!r Home, dated September, 174S, in answer to one from that
gentleman regarding some remarks on Horace, of the same tenor, it would
appear, as those which he afterwards published in his Elements of Criticism, Sir

WILLIAM HAMILTON. 11

Hamilton after alluding to these remarks thus questions himself: " Why don't I
rest contented with the small, perhaps, but sincere portion of that happiness
furnished me hij my poetry, and a few friends ? Why concern myself /o jo/ease
Jeanie Stewart, or vex myself about that happier man, to nhcm the lottery of
life may have assigned her. Qui fit, Mcscenas, qui fit ? Whence comes it. Alas
■whence indeed?

• Too long by love, a wandering fire, misled,
My better days in vain delusion fled :
Day after day, year after jear, withdrew,
And beauty blest the minutes as they flew ;
Those hours consumed in joy, but lost to fame,
With blushes I review, but dare not blame;
A fault wliich easy pardon might receive,
Did lovers judge, or could the wise forgive :
But now to wisdom's healing springs I flvj
And drink oblivion of each charmful eye :
To love revolted, quit each pleasing care,
Whate'er was witty, or whate'er was fair.'

I am yours, &c"

The " Jeanie Stewart" above alluded to complained to IVIr Home, that she
was teased with Mr Hamilton's continually dangling after her. She was con-
vinced, she said, that his attentions to her had no serious aim, and she hinted an
earnest wish to get rid of him. " You are his friend," she added, " tell him he
exposes both himself and me to the ridicule of our acquaintance." — *'No, madam,"
said Mr Home, who Itnew how to appreciate the fervour of ]Mr Hamilton's pas-
sion, " you shall accomplish his cure yourself, and by the simplest method.
Dance with him to-night at the assembly, and show him every mark of your
kindness, as if you believed his passion sincere, and had resolved to favour his
suit. Take my word for it, you'll hear no more of him." The lady adopted
the counsel, and she had no reason to complain of the success of the experi-
ment.^

In poetry, however, no one could paint a wai'mer love, or breathe a fiercer
flame. In some rather conceited lines, " upon hearing his picture was in a
lady's breast," he chides it for

" Engrossing all that beauteous heaven,
That Chloe, lavish maid, has given ;"

And then passionately exclaims, that, if he were the lord of that bosom —

" Vd he a miser too, nor give
An alms to keep a god cdive."

A noble burst of fancy and enthusiasm ! A most expressive image of the bound-
less avarice of love.

Of Mr Hamilton's poems not devoted to love, the most deserving of notice is
" The Episode of the Thistle," which appears intended as part of ^larger work
never completed, called " The Flowers." It is an ingenious attempt, by a well
devised fable, to account for the selection of the thistle, as the national emblem
of Scotland. The blank verse which he has chosen for this uncomplete poem,
does not seem to have been altogether adapted to his powers ; yet, on reading

1 " Bonnie Jeanie Stewart of Torsonce," as she was here fully described in ordinary par-
lance, married the earl of Dundonald, and was mother of the late ingenious earl, so distinguished
by his scientific investigations, and by the generally unfortunate tenor of his life.

13 WILLIAM IIA^nT,TO>T.

tlio piece, we wore e(;iinlly surprised and pleased with tlic felicity niul modulation
ol" its language.

The only poem \\lil(h Mr llamilton wrote in Iiis native dialect was tlie
" Jiraes of Yarrow," wliicli lias been almost universally acknoAvledged to be one
of the linest ballads ever written, liut 31r Pinkcrton, whose ojdnion of the
ancient ballad poetry of Scotland lias always had considerable weight, has pass-
ed a dillercnt judgment on it. " It is," says he, "in very bad taste, and quite
unlike the ancient Seottish manner, being even inferior to the poorest of the
old ballads with this title. His repeated words and lines causing an eternal
jingle, his confused narration and alFected pathos, throw this piece among the
rubbish of poetry," Tlie jingle and allected pathos of which he complains are
sometimes indeed sickening. •

"Lang maun she weep, laiif maun she, maun she weep,
Lang maun she weep with dule and sorrow," &c.
" Tlicn bulk), then buikl, j c sisters, sislcrs sad,
Ye sisters sad, his tomb with sonow," &c.

On the other hand, the isolated condemnation of 3Ir Pinkerton must be al-
lowed to have little weight against the interest with which this poem has so sig-
nally impressed 3Ir Wordsworth, as appears from his beautiful poems of " Yar-
row Unvisited " and " Yarrow Visited."

There exists in manuscript another fragmentary poem by IMr Hamilton,
called the " ^laid of Gallowshiels." It is an epic of the heroi-comic kind,
intended to celebrate the contest between a piper and a fiddler for the fair
Maid of Gallowshiels. 3Ir Hamilton had evidently designed to extend it to
twelve books, but has only completed the first and a portion of the second.
Dr Leyden, who owns himself indebted to the friendship of Dr Robert Ander-
son for his knowledge of this 3IS., gives the following account of it in his
preface to the " Complaynt of Scotland." " In the first (book) the fiddler chal-
lenges the piper to a trial of musical skill, and proposes that the maid herself
should be the umpire of the contest.

' Sole in her breast^ the favourite he shall reign
Whose hand shall sweetest wake the warbled strain ;
And if to me th' ill-fated piper }ield,
As sure I trust, tliis well-contested field ;
High in the sacred dome his pipes I'll raise.
The trophy of my fame to after dajs ;
That all may know, as they the pipes survcj ,
The fiddler's deed, and this the signal day.

All Gallowshiels the darling challenge heard.
Full blank they stood, and for their piper fear'd :
Fearless alone he rose in open view.
And in the midst his sounding bagpipe threw.'

" The history of the two heroes is related with various episodes; and the
piper deduces his origin from Colin of Gallowshiels, who bore the identical bag-
pipe at the battle of llarlaw, with which his descendant resolves to maintain the
glory of the piper race. The second book, the subject of which is the trial of
skill, commences with the following exquisite description of the bagpipe :

' Now, ill his artful hand the bagpipe held,
Klate, the piper wide surveys the field ;
O'er all he throws his quifk-diicerning e)es,
And views their hopes and fears alternate rise ;

VaLLIAM HAMILTON. IS

Old Glenderule, in Gallowshiels long fam'd
For works of skill, this perfect wonder fram'd ;
His shining steel first lopp'd, with dexterous toil.
From a tall spreading elm the branchy spoil ;
The clouded wood, he next divides in twain,
And smoothes them equal to an oval plain ;
Six leather fulds in still connected rows
To either plank conform 'il, the sides compose ;
The wimble perforates the base with care,
A destin'd passage opening to the air:
But once inclosed within the narrow space,
The opposing valve forbids the backward race ;
Fast to the swelling bag, two reeds combin'd,
Receive the blasts of the melodious wind ;
Round from the twining loom, with skill divine,
Embost, the joints in silver circles shine;
In secret prison pent, the accents lie.
Until! his arm the lab'ring artist ply:
Then, duteous, they forsake their dark abode,
Felons no more, and wing a separate road ;
These upward through the nariow channel glide,
In wajs unseen, a solemn murmuring tide :
Those through the narrow part their journey bend,
Of sweeter sort, and to the earth descend ;
O'er the small pipe at equal distance lie.
Eight shining holes, o'er which his fingers fly ;
From side to side the aerial spirit bounds,
The flying fingers form the passing sounds,
That, issuing gently through each polish'd door,
I\Iix with the common air, and charm no more.'

*• This poem, however, does not seem ever to have been corrected, and the
extracts we have given are from the first rude draft of it. It would be unfair,
therefore, to consider it as a test of 3Ir Hamilton's powers, though had he lived
to complete it, we do not doubt, from the germs of excellence it evinces, but
that it would have been a fitter criterion than any other of his works."

Blr Hamilton's poems, notwithstanding the melody of his numbers and the
gayety of his fancy, bear all the marks of studious productions ; and the ease
whch they undoubtedly possess, is the ease resulting from elaboration and
art. To this, in a great measure, his circumstantiality of painting is to be attri-
buted.

The measure which Mr Hamilton was most partial to, is the octosyllabic ; and
certainly this being the smoothest and most euphonious, it best suited the refine-
ment of his mind. He sometimes, however, attempted the decasyllabic measure ;
but here, as in his soaring to a greater height in his subjects, lie did not
succeed so well. His blank verse, like his conception, is \vithout grandeur —
without ease — without dignity : it is surcharged, rugged, and verbose. Of this
he was himself aware, for he seldom attempted to clothe his sentiments in the
style which was perfected by IMilton and Shakspeare.

I\Ir Hamilton's amatory poetry abounds with " quaint conceits," and pleasing
fancies : for example, in dedicating " Contemplation" to a young lady, speaking
of the etTects of unsuccessful love, he says,

" Gloomy and dark the prospect round appears;
Doubts spring from doubts, and fears engender fears.

14 WILITAM IIAMTLTON.

Hope after hope goes out in endless night,
And all is angiiisli, torturi>, and ali'iigiit.
Oh i beauteous friend, a gentler fate be thine ;
Still may thy star with mildest influence shine ;
IMay heaven surround thee with peculiar care,
And make tiiee happy, as it made thee fair."

Again, speaking of mutual aflection, he calls it

" A mutual warmth that glows from breast to breast,
Wlio loving is belov'd, and blessing blest,"

Can any tiling be finer llian the following couplet, witli which lie concludes an
artlent aspiration for lier happiness! " Such," he says, " be thy liappy lot," is
the fond wish of liini,

" Whose faithful muse inspir'd the pious prayer,
And wearied heaven to keep thee in its care."

The poem of " Contemplation" itself is full of beauties. Among his odes
there is one " to fancy," in which his lively imagination and exquisite delicacy
of sentiment, shine out to the greatest advantage. His descriptions of female
loveliness are Avorthy of the subject — they are characterized by sweetness,
beauty, and truth. What can surpass this image ?

" Her soul, awak'ning every grace,
Is all aljroad upon her face;
In bloom of youth still to survive,
All charms are there, and all alive."

And in recording in his verses the name and the beauty of another of his mis-
tresses, he says that " his song " will " make her live beyond the grave :"

" Thus Hume shall unborn hearts engage,
Her smile shall warm another age."

But with all this praise of his quieter and more tngaging style, we must admit
that his poems, even the most perfect, abound in errors. Blany of his questions
are very strange, nay some of them ludicrous :

" Ah 1 when we see the bad preferr'd,
Was it eternal justice err'd."

•' Or when the good could not prevail.
How could almighty prowess'fail I"

" When time shall let his curtain fall,
Must dreaiy nothing swallow all !"

"Must we the unfinish'd piece deplore,
Ere half tlie pompous piece be o'er.''

What is the meaning of these questions, or have they any ?

Mr Hamilton's correspondence with his friends was varied and extensive,
but seldom very important. He wrote for writing's sake, and his letters, there-
fore, are just so many little pieces of friendly gossip. Of those poets who were
his contemporaries, or who immediately succeeded him, some have taken notice
of him in their works. The most distinguished of those is the unfortunate Fcr-
gussoii, who in his " Hame Content," thus alludes to Hamilton on his death :

" O Bangourl now the hills and dales,
Nae mair gie back thy tender tales ;

ANDREW HART.— HENRY (Blind Harby). 15

The birks on Yarrow now deplore,

Thy mournful muse has left the shore ;
Near what bright bum, or chrjstal spring,
Did you jour winsome whistle liing ?
The INIuse shall there, wi' wat'ry e'e,
Gie the dank swaird a tear for thee ;
And Yarrow's genlits, dowy dame 1
Shall there forget her blood-staiii'd stream,
On thy sad grave to seek repose,
Wha mourn 'd her fate, condol'd her woes."

Mr Hamilton of Bangour is sometimes mistaken for and identified witli
another poet of the same name, AVilliam Hamilton of Gilbertfield in Lanark-
shire, a lieutenant in the navy, who Mas the friend and correspondent of Allan
Kamsay, and the modernizer of Blind Harry's poem of Wallace. The composi-
tions of tin's gentleman display much beauty, simplicity, and sweetness ; but he
is neither so well known, nor entitled to be so, as the " Bard of Yarrow."

Mr Hamilton's private virtues were no less eminent than his poetical abilities.
His piety, though fervent, was of that quiet and subdued cast that " does good
by stealth, and blushes to find it fame." His manners were accomplished — in-
deed so much so, as to earn for him the title of " the elegant and amiable Wil-
liam Hamilton of Bangour." ^

HAUT, Andrew, deserves a place in this record, as one of the most distin-
guished of our early typogx'aphers. He flourished in the reign of James VI.
Previous to 1600, he was in the habit of importing books from abroad ; he was
at this time exclusively a bookseller. From a mere bookseller he seems to
have gradually become a publisher : several bcoks were printed in Holland
about the years IGOO and 1601, "at his expense." Finally, he added the
business of printing to his other dealings. The productions of his press specify
that his shop was in the High Street of Edinburgh, on the north side, opposite the
cross ; being, by a strange chance, the identical spot, from which Mr Archibald
Constable, two Imndred years after, issued so many noble efforts of Scottish
genius. Hart's edition of the Bible, 1610, has always been admired for its fine
typography. He also published a well-known edition of Barbour's Bruce. In
addition to all other ckims upon our praise, Hart was a Avorthy man. He died
in a good old age, December, 1621, as we learn from a notice in Boyd of,
Trochrig's Obituary, quoted below."

HENKY, the minstrel, more commonly styled Blind Habrt, was a wandering
poet of the fifteenth century, who wrote a well-known narrative of the life of
Sir William Wallace.

The character of a wandering bard or minstrel was in early ages highly
valued and honoured, although at a late period it fell into discredit. Henry
THE Minstrel, or Blind Harrt, had not the fortune to live during the sunshine
of his profession ; for in the Scottish laws of his own time, Ave find bards classed
with " vagabondis, fuilis, and sic like idill peopill ;" but the misfortune of his
blindness, and the unquestionable excellence of his talents, would in all proba-
bility secure to him a degree of respect and attention which was not then genei*-
ally bestowed on individuals of his class. Indeed, Ave learn from Major, that
the most exalted in the land countenanced the minstrel, and that he recited his

1 A manuscript, containing many poems by Hamilton which never saw the light, Avas in
the possession of the late George ChSlmers, Esq. author of " Caledonia." A list of them is
given in the transactions of the Antiquarian Society of Scotland, a'oL iii., Avliere a portrait of
Mr Hamilton has also been given.

* Le moy de Dec. 1621, mourut a Edin. le bon liomme, AndreAv Hart, impremeur et
libraire ; decide en bonne veillesse ; homme de bieii et notre ancien amj'.

IC HENRY (Blind ITarrt).

j)(ioti<al narratives boTore lliem. 31ajor is the only ^vriter from wliom any
information regarding Blind Harry is derived, and the nicagreness of tliat infor-
mation niciy be judged of, ^vllcn it is known, that llie uliole is comprised in tlie
following brief sentence. " Integrnm librum (jiullielmi Vallacci Jlenriciis, a
nativitate luminibiis captus, meai inlantiai tempore cudit ; et qua; vulgo diceban-
tur, carmine vulgari, in quo peritus erat, conscripsit; (ego autem talibus scriptis
St lum in parte iidem impertior ;) qui liistoriarum recitatione coram principibus
victimi et vestitum quo dignus erat nactus est.'" — " Henry, who was blind from
his birth, in the time of my infancy composed the wliolc book of IVilUatn U'tti-
lace ; and committed to writing in vulgar poetry, in >vhich he was well skilled,
the things that were connnonly related of him. For my own part, I give only
partial credit to writings of this description. ISy the recitation of these, how-
ever, in the presence of men of the highest rank, he procured, as he indeed
deserved, food and raiment."

Brief, however, as this passage is, Ave gather from it the principal points of
ilenrj's lile — namely, that he was born blind — that he was well skilled in ver-
nacular poetry — that he composed the book of ^A'illiam Wallace — and that by
reciting it he procured food and raiment. The passage, also, is the only source
from which we can learn the date of the poem or the period when its author
flourished. Major was born in the year 11G9, and as he says that the book of
William Wallace was composed in his infancy. Blind Harry must have lived
about that time, and the date of this Avork may be placed between 1 170 and
14.S0. IMore than this, regarding the biography of a once popular poet, and
0113 whose name is still familiar in the mouths of his countrymen, cannot be
ascertained. Of the book itself, a few observations may be taken.

" That a man," says 3Ir Ellis,- born blind should excel in any science is
extraordinary, though by no means Avithout example : but that he should become
an excellent poet is almost miraculous ; because the soul of poetry is description.
I'erhaps, therefore, it may be easily assumed th.at Henry Avas not inferior in
point of genius either to Barbour or Chaucer, nor indeed to any poet of any age
or country." The question of what a man miylit have been under certain cir-
cumstanc'.s, is one of assumption altogether, and is too frequently used by indi-
viduals regarding themselves as a salve for their indolence and imperfections.
Neither can we admit that description is the soul of poetry : Ave consider it rather
as the outward garb or frame-Avork of the divine art, Avhich unless inspired by an
inward spirit of contemplation, has no further charm than a chronicle or gazet-
teer. Olilton Avas blind Avhen he composed Paradise Lost, and although he had
the advantage of Henry in that he once saw, yet Ave haAe often heard his calamity
adduced, to increase OJr Avonder and admiration of his great Avork, Avhereas, had
he retained his eyesight, Paradise Lost Avould probably never have been finished,
or, if finished, might not liaAC proved, as it has done, one of the noblest produc-
tions which a human being ever laid before his fellow creatures. Although, Iioav-
ever, Ave disapprove of assuming a possible excellence in Henry had he been
, blessed Avith vision, it Avould be unjust not to acknoAvledge the disadvantages
under AAhich his poem has come doAvn to us. He himself could not write it ; noi
is there any probability that it was regularly taken down from his dictation ; the
incorrectness and unintelligibility of many of its passages rather proAe that much
Df it must have been written from recollection, Avhile editors have, in too many
instances, from gi-oss misappi-ehensior.s, succeeded in rendering absurd Avhat Avas
previously only obscure. With all this, the poem is still of extraordinary merit
— and, as a poem, is superior to Barbour's or Wintcn's. In an historical light.

1 Hist lib. iv. c. 15.

* "Siicdmens of Enrlj- Engii^li Poets," vol i.

ALEXANDER HENDERSON. 17

doubtless, its value can never be put in competition with the works of the above
autliors ; it is ratlier a romance than a history, and is full of exaggerations and
anachronisms ; the nanative Henry professes to have derived from a complete
history of Wallace (now lost) written, in Latin, partly by John Blair and partly
by Thomas Gray ; and this circumstance, if true, exculpates the poet from the
invention at least of its manifold and manifest absurdities. His information
seems to have been, for the period, respectable. In his poem he alludes to the
history of Hector, of Alexander the Great, of Julius Caesar, and of Charlemagne ;
but without profiting from the character which these heroes exhibited in history,
of policy combined with prowess and bravery, he has in his book taken the child-
ish or gross conception of a warrior, and held up Sir William Wallace as a mere
man of muscular strength and ferocity — capable of hewing down whole squadrons
with his single arm, and delighting in the most merciless scenes of blood and
slaughter. It is in this point that the Minstrel is so far inferior to Barbour. He
is destitute of that fine balancing of character displayed by the latter, and those
broad political vicAvs \\hich render " The Bruce " as much a philosophical his-
tory as a poem.*

HENDERSON, Alexander, one of the most eminent of the many eminent
men whose names are interwoven with the annals of Scotland at probably the
most interesting period of her history, (the middle of the 17th century,) was born
about the year 1583. He is supposed to have been descended from the Hender-
sons of Fordel, " a house," says Wodrow, " of good quality in Fife." Of his
early life there is little farther known than that he was distinguished for his
assiduity and progress in learning, in which he greatly excelled all his school
fellows. Having been sent to the university of St Andrews to complete In's
studies, he there went through the ordinary routine of learning, but with much
more than ordinary reputation, a cii'cumstance sufficiently evinced by his having
been made master of arts, and soon after admitted regent or professor of philo-
eophy. As tliis appointment took place previous to the year IGll, when he
could not be more than eight and twenty years of age, it is evident that Hen-
derson was already considered a man of no common attainments. The siiuation
of professor of philosophy he held for several years, discharging its duties with
a zeal and ability which acquired him much reputation.

It is not surprising to find, that at this period of his life he was a strenuous
advocate for the donn'nant or episcopal party in the church. His patrons
hitherto wci-e of that party. He had long associated with men who entertained
its pi'inciples, and, unable to foresee the gi'eat changes which were about to take
place in the civil and religious polity of the kingdom, as well as that which
afterwards happened in his own private sentiments, he naturally enough, while
perfectly sincere in the opinions which he then entertained on religious matters,
conceived besides, that in the direction of these opinions, and in that direction
alone, lay the road to preferment. Inspired by the ambition of a mind con-
scious of its powers, Henderson, after the lapse of a few years, becoming impa-
tient of the circumscribed sphere to which a professorship of philosophy confined

3 In his work, entitled "Lives of Scottish Worthies," jSIt P. F.Ty tier has expressed
his deliberate conviction, founded upon recent invesligalions, tliat the minstrel holds too low a
rank as a credit-worthy historian, "lam persuaded,'' sa3S Mr Tytler, "that Wallace is
the work of an ignorant man, who was yet in possession of valuable and authentic materials.
On what other supposilion can we account for the fact, that whilst in one page we meet with
errors which showa deplorable'perversion of history, in the next we find circumstances unlaiown
to other Scottish historians, yet corroborated by authentic documents, by contemporary English
annalists, by national monuments and records onl}- publishi d in modern times, and ♦" which
the minstrel cannot be supposed to have had access. The work, therefore, cannot be treated
as an entire romance." 'the ingenious historian then adduces a number of instances in wliich
Henry's statements ai'e proved by lately discovered documents to have been correct.

18 ALEXANDER IlENDERSON.

liim, turned his attention to divinity, as opening a uider field for the exercise
of his talents.

After preparing himself for the ministerial calling, he was appointed to the
church of Leiichars, in Fife, through the patronage of archbishop (iladstancs.
His appointment, however, was exceedingly unpopular : all his talents and
learning couhl not reconcile his parishioners to a man introduced amongst them
by episcopal influence, and who was known to be himself of that detested party.
The consequence was, that on the day of his ordination he was received with
every mark of popular dislike. The church doors Avere shut against him and
carefully secured in the inside, to prevent all possibility of admittance. Deter-
mined, however, in despite of these very manifest tokens of public feeling, to
perform the cerempny of ordination, Henderson's party entered the church by a
window, and proceeded with the business of the diy.

Wliatever were 3Ir Henderson's otlier merits, and these were certainly of no
ordinary kind, it is known that any extraordinary anxiety about the spiritual
interests of his parishioners was not amongst tlie number. At this period of his
life, in short, altliough not remarkable for the reverse, he seems to have been
but slightly impressed with the sacredness of his new calling, and to have taken
but little farther interest in matters of religion, than abiding by the general
principles in which he had been educated. This conduct, however, and these
sentiments were soon to undergo a remarkable change, and that under circum-
stances in themselves not less remarkable. Having learned that the celebrated
Mr Bruce of Kinnaird was to assist at a communion in the neighbourhood ot
Leuchars, Henderson, desirous of hearing the preaching of a man who liad long
been conspicuous as an opponent of the court measures, and whose fame for
peculiar gifts in matters of theology was widely spread, repaired to tlie church
where he was officiating. Not choosing, however, to be recognized, he sought to
conceal himself in a dark corner of the building. Bruce, nevertheless, seems to
have been aware of his presence ; or, if not, there was a singular coincidence in
the applicability of the text which he chose, to the remarkable circumstances
which attended Henderson's induction to his charge. Be this as it may, the
sermon which followed made such a powerful impression upon him as effected an
entire change in his religious conduct and sentiments ; and from being a careless
and indiflerent pastor over his flock, and an upholder of a system odious in the
highest degree to the people, he became a watchful and earnest minister, and a
resolute champion in the cause of presbyterianism.

In three years after his appointment to Leuchars parish, which took place
some time previous to the 3-ear 1615, Mr Henderson, though sedulous in the
discharge of his ministerial duties since the period of his conversion, made no
public appearance on the side of that party whose principles he had embraced.
The opportunity, however, which was all that was wanting for his making such
an appearance, at length presented itself. In August, 1618, the celebrated Five
articles of Perth, which occasioned so much clamour in Scotland, from their con-
taining as many points of episcopal worship, v\hich James was desirous of
tlirusting on the people of that kingdom, having been carried by a packed
majority in an assembly held at Perth, Henderson stood among the foremost of
those who opposed, though unsuccessfully, the obnoxious measure ; and this too,
in defiance of tiie king's utmost Avrath, Avith which all who resisted the adoption
of the Five articles were threatened. ** In case of your refusal," said the arch-
bishop of St Andrews, addressing the assembled clergymen, "the whole order
and estate of your church will be overthrown, some ministers Avill be banished,
others will be deprived of their stipends and office, and all will be brought under
the wrath of authority."

ALEXANDER HENDERSON. 19

Not at all intimidated by this insolent and indecent threat, Henderson uilh
several of his brethren courageously opposed the intended innovations.
For this resistance, to which was added a charge of composing and publishing a
book against the validity of the Perth assembly, he was witli other two ministers
summoned in the month of August, itilO, to appear before the court of Higli
Commission in St Andre\vs. Obeying the summons, Henderson and his brethren
presented themselves before the bishops, when the former conducted himself with
such intrepidity, and discussed the various matters charged against him and his
colleagues with such talent and force of reasoning, that his judges, though they
eagerly sought it, could gain no advantage over him, and were obliged to con-
tent themselves with threatening, that if he again offended he should be more
hardly dealt with. With this intimation Henderson and his friends were dis-
missed. From this period to the year 1637, he does not appear to have
meddled much with any transactions of a public character. During this long
period he lived retired, confining his exertions within the bounds of his own
parish, in which he found sufficient employment from a careful and anxious dis-
charge of his pastoral duties. Obscure and sequestered, however, as the place
of his ministry was, his fame as a man of singular capacity, and as an eloquent
and powerful debater, ivas already abroad and Avidely known ; and when the
hour of trial came, those talents were recollected, and their possessor called upon
to employ them in the behalf of his religion.

Before, howevei-, resuming the narrative of Mr Henderson's public career, it
may be necessary to give a brief sketch of the circumstances which induced him
to leave his retirement and to mingle once more in the religious distractions oi
the times. The unfortunate Charles I. inheriting all the religious as well as
political prejudices of his father James VI. had, upon the moment of his accession
to the throne, entertained the design of regulating church worship in Scotland
by the forms observed in that of England. In this attempt he was only follow-
ing out an idea of his father's : but what the one with more wisdom had
little more than contemplated, the other determined to execute. Unfortunately
for Charles he found but too zealous an abettor of his dangerous and injudicious
designs in his favourite counsellor in church affairs, Laud, archbishop of Canter-
bury. Encouraged in the schemes of violence which he meditated against the
religious principles of Scotland, and urged on to their execution by Laud,
Charles, after a series of lesser inroads on the presbyterian mode of worship in
Scotland, finally, and with a rash hand fired the train wliicli he had prepared,
and by which he set all Scotland in a blaze. This Avas the imposition of the
Litui-gy or Service Book on the church of Scotland. This celebrated book, which
Avas principally composed by Wedderburn, bishop of Dunblane, and Maxwell,
bishop of lloss, and afterwards revised by Laud, and Wren, bishop of Norwich,
Avas grounded upon the book of connuon prayer used in England, but contained,
besides, some parts of the catholic ritual, sudi as the benediction or thanksgiving
for departed saints, the use of the cross in baptism and of the ring in the cele-
bration of mai-riage, the consecration of water at particular times by prayer, Avith
many other ordinances of a similar character. Most of these observances Avere
introduced by Laud Avhen revising the original Avork. When the book Avas com-
pleted, the king gave instructions to the archbishops and bishops regarding its
introduction ; and immediately after issued a proclamation requiring his subjects,
both ecclesiastical and civil, to conform to the mode of Avorship Avhich it
enjoined, concluding Avith an order that every parish should be furnished Avith
two copies, between the publication of the injunction and Easter. The book
itself, a large folio, Avas prefaced by a charge from the king, denouncing as
rebels all who refused it. To complete the measure of Charles's rashness on the

20 ALEXAJ^DER HENDERSON.

6ub;tHt t)l" llie service book, it was iiitiodiicetl into Scotland witiioiit liavinjj been
Bubniilted to presbjteries, and witlioiit liio sanction of tlio General Assembly.

'Ilie conse<juence of tlie introduction of the liturgy, ng^gravatcd as it A\as by
llie manner of its introduction, \\i\s, as mii^lit have been exi>€cted, in the last
degree serious and iinporlant. The coinitry rose nearly to a man against the
popish innovation. In Edinburgh the bishops who presided at the ceremony of
ils (irst introduction were mobbed and maltreated : and the ministers everywhere
carefully ])repared their congregations to resist the obnoxious volume. 'Ihe
whole land, in short, was agitated by one violent connuotion, and the minds of
men were roused into a state of feverish excitement, Avhich threatened the most
serious results. It was at this critical moment that Henderson came again upon
I he stage. In the same predicament with other clergymen, Henderson was
charged to purchase two copies of the liturgy for the use of his parish within
fifteen days, under the pain of rebellion. On receiving the charge, Henderson
immediately proceeded to Edinburgh and presented a petition to the privy
council, representing that the service book had not received the sanction of the
General Assembly nor was authorized by any act of parliament ; that the cli'iixh
of Scotland was free and independent, and ought not to be dictated to except
through her own pastors, who were the proper and the best judges of what was
for her benefit ; that the form of worship received at the Reformation was still
sanctioned by the legislature and the supreme ecclesiastical judicatory, and could
not be invaded excepting by the same authority ; that some of the cex'enionies
enjoined by the book had occasioned great divisions, and were extremely obnox-
ious to the people, who had been taught to hold them in abhorrence. This bold
statement Henderson concluded by soliciting a suspension of the charge. What
hope Henderson entertained that this supplication or rather remonstrance would
be formally listened to by the privy council, cannot now be ascertained. There
is no reason, however, to conclude, that he possessed any secret intelligence
regarding the real dispositions of that body. 'J he credit, therefore, must be
awarded him of having come forward on this perilous occasion trusting to the
sti-ength of his cause alone, and fully prepared to meet the consequences, what-
ever they might be, of the step which he had taken. The result Avas nioi-e
favourable than probably either Henderson or the country expected. Tiie
council granted the suspension required, until the king's further pleasure should
be known ; but, for the remuneration of the king's printer, ordained by an
express act, as the decision in Henderson's case \vas of course understood to
apply to the whole kingdom, that each parish should provide itself with two
copies of the book, but without any injunction to make use of them. The
order for reading the liturgy «as also suspended, until new instructions on the
subject should be received from his majesty. The king's answer, however, to
the representations of the privy council, at once overturned all hopes of conces-
sion in the matter of the liturgy. Instead of giving way to the general feeling,
lie repeated, in a still more peremptory manner than at first, his commands that
the service book should be read, and farther ordered that no burgh should choose
a magistrate which did not conform. This uncompromising and decided conduct
on the part of the king was met by a similar spirit on the part of the people,
and the path which Henderson had first taken was soon crowded by the highest
and mightiest in the land, all pushing onward with the utmost eagerness and
zeal to solicit the recall of the obnoxious litm-gy, and discovering on each repulse
and on the appearance of each successive obstacle to their wishes, a stronger and
stronger disposition to have recourse to violence to accomplish their object, if
supplication should fail. On the receipt of the king's last communication on the
fill-engrossing subject of the service book, the nobility, barons, ministers, and

ALEXANDER HENDERSON. 21

r<;pi'esentatlves of boroughs, presented a supplication to the piivy council, iii-
treating that the matter might be again brougiit before the king. In this and in
all other matters connected with it, Henderson took a leading part : he suggested
nnd directed all the proceedings of the nonconformists ; drew up their memo-
rials and petitions, and was, in short, at once the head and riglit hand of his
party, the deviser and executor of all their measures.

The result of this second supplication to the king was as unsatisfactory as the
first. The infatuated monarch, urged on by Laud, and in some measure by erro-
neous impressions regarding the real state of matters in Scotland, still maintained
his resolutions regarding the liturgy. He, however, now so far acknowledged the
appeals which had been made to him, as to have recourse to evasion instead of
direct opposition as at first, a co'irse at all times more dangerous than its oppo-
site; inasmuch, as while it exhibits all the hostility of the latter, it is entirely
without its candour, and is destitute of that manfulness and promptitude, which,
if it does not reconcile, is very apt to subdue.

In place of giving any direct answer to the supplication of the nobility and
barons, the king instructed his privy council in Edinburgh to intimate to the
people by proclamation, that there should be nothing regarding church matters
treated of in the council for some time, and that, therefore, all persons who had
come to Edinburgh on that account, should repair to their homes within twenty-
four hours, on pain of being denounced rebels, put to tlie horn, and all their
movable goods being escheat to the king. This proclamation was immediately fol-
lowed by another, announcing an intended removal of the court of session from
Edinburgh to Linlithgow, and this again by a third, calling in, for the purpose
of being burned, a pamphlet lately published against the service bcolc

These proclamations, which but too plainly intimated that nothing would be
conceded to supplication, and that there was no hope of any change in the sen-
timents of the king, instantly called forth the most decided expressions of po-
pular resentment and determination. The city Avas at this moment filled with
strangers — noblemen, gentlemen, clergymen, and commissioners from the
dirterent parishes, besides immense numbers of persons of Inferior rank, whom
curiosity or interest in the engrossing topic of the day, had assembled in the me-
tropolis from all parts of the country. The town, thus surcharged, as it were,
with inflammable matter, soon became a scene of violence and insubordination.
The leaders of the nonconformists again met in the midst of the storm, and in
defiance of the proclamation which enjoined their departure, proceeded to deli-
berate upon the question of what was next to be done. Tlie result was some far-
ther supplications and petitions to the privy council and to the king. Ihese; how-
ever, being still unsuccessful, were followed up some months afterwards by a de-
termination to appeal to the people, to unite them in one common bond, and
to make the cause at once and unequivocally, the cause of the whole nation.
The leaders resolved to adopt a measure which should involve all in its results,
be it for good or for evil ; by which, in short, not a leader or leaders, nor a
party, but an entire kingdom should stand or fall, by swearing before their God
to peril the alternative.

This measure was a renewal of the national covenant of 15S0and 1581,
adapted, by changes and additions, to the existing circumstances. The re-
modeled document was drawn up by Mr Henderson, with the assistance of the
celebrated Archibald Johnstone, an advocate, and was first exhibited for signa-
ture, February 28th, 1638, in the Grey Friars' church in Edinburgh, where an
immense multitude had assembled, for the purpose of hailing the sacred docu-
ment, and of testifying their zeal in the cause which it was intended to support,
by subscribing it. On this occasion Henderson addressed the people with so

22 ALEXANDER HENDERSON.

iiiiK.h fervour and elofjueiice, that tlieir focliii'^s, already excited, were wound up
to the higliest pitch, and a dei;ree oi' enthusiasm perv.uled the niuUitwde ^\hicli
sufliciently assured tiicir leaders of the popularity of tlieir cause. '1 he instru-
ment itself, wliicli was now sui)uiiUed for sii^nature, Nvas a roil cf parchiuent four
feet long and lliree feet eiyht inclies jjroad; yet sudi was the general zeal for
the covenant, that this inuuense siieet was in a short time so crowded with
names on hoth sides tiirougliout its whole space, that there was not room latterly
for a single additional signature; even the margin was scrawled over with sub-
scriptions, and as the docuuient tilled up, the subscribers were limited to the
initial letters of their names. Copits were now sent to difi'erent parts of the
kingdom, and met every where, excepting in three places to be afterwards
named, whh the same enthusiastic reception which had marked its appearance in
Edinburgh, receiving thousands of signatures wherever it was exhibited. The
tiiree excepted places were Glasgow, St Andrews, and Aberdeen. In the two
former, however, the feeling regarding the covenant amounted to little more
than indillerence ; but in the latter city it wns absolutely resisted. Anxious to have
the voice of all Scotland with them, and especially desirous that there should not
be so important an exception as Aberdeen, the leaders of tlie covenanters des-
patched several noblemen and two clergymen, one of \vlioni was Henderson, to
that city, to attempt to reclaim it; and this object, chiefly through the power-
ful eloquence of the subject of this memoir, they accomplished to a very con-
siderable extent, obtaining no less than five hundred signatures, many of them
of the highest respectability, immediately after the close of a discourse by 3Ir
Henderson, in which he had urged the most irresistible arguments for the sub-
scribing of the covenaiit. Blr Henderson was now universally acknowledged as the
head of the nonconforming Scottish clergy. On his moderation, firmness, and
talent, they reposed their hopes; and to his judg-ment they left, with implicit
confidence, the guidance and direction of their united efibrts. Of this feeling
towards him they were now about to afford a remarkable proof. 'Ihe king,
though still without any intention of yielding to the demands of the covenan-
ters, having consented that a General Assembly should be held, empowered his
commissioner, the marquis of Hamilton, to convoke it. On the second day of
the meeting of this celebrated assembly, A\hich sat down at Glasgow on the 21st
November, 1638, i\Ir Henderson was chosen moderator, without one single dis-
senting voice. To form a correct idea of the general esteem for his amiable
qualities, and the appreciation of his abilities which this appointment implied, it
is necessary to consider all the singular and important circumstances connected
with it — circumstances which altogether rendered it one of the utmost delicacy,
difiiculty, and hazard. He A\as, at a moment of the most formidable religious
distraction, called upon to preside over an assembly whose decisions were either
to allay or to promote that distraction ; who were to discuss points of serious
difference between their sovereign and the nation ; who Avere to decide, in
short, whether the nation was to proclaim open war against their sovereign — a
sovereign backed by a nation of much greater power and larger population ;
an assembly by >vhose proceedings the religious liberties of Uie kingdom were
either to stand or fall, and one, in consequence, on which the eyes of the whole
people were fixed \\ith a gaze of the deepest and most intense interest. Impor-
tant, however, and responsible as the appointment was, Henderson was found
more than equal to it, for he conducted himself on this trying occasion not only
with a prudence and resolution which increased the respect and admiration of his
own party for his character and talents, but with a foi-bearance and urbanity
wliich secured him also the esteem of those who ^^ere opposed to them. " We
have now " said Henderson at the conclusion of the eloquent and impassioned

ALEXANDER HENDERSON. 23

address whicli terminated the sittings of the assembly, " we have now cast
down the walls of Jericlio ; let him tliat rebulkleth them beware of the curse of
Iliel the Bethelite :" a sentence which comprised typically all that had been done
and all that would be done in the event of such an attempt being made. Epis-
copacy was overthrown, the king's authority put at defiance, and such an
attitude of hostility to the court assumed as fell short only of a declaration of
open war.

Such was the accession of popularity Avhich Henderson's conduct procured him
on this occasion, that, a day or two before the rising of the assembly, two sup-
plications were given in from t\vo different places earnestly soliciting his pastoral
services, the one from St Andrews, the other from Edinburgh. Henderson him-
self was extremely unwilling to obey either of these calls. Strongly attached
to Leuchars, the charge to which he had been first appointed, and which he had
now held for many years, he could not reconcile himself to the idea of a re-
moval, pleading in figurative but highly expressive language, tliat " he Avas now
too old a plant to take root in another soil." The supplicants, however, with
a flattering perseverance pressed tlieir suits, and after a strenuous contest be-
tween the two parties who sought his ministry, lie acquiesced in a removal to
Edinburgh ; in favour of which the competition terminated by a majority of
seventy-five votes. He only stipulated, that when old age should overtake him,
he should be permitted to remove again to a country charge. Soon after his
removal to Edinburgh, he was promoted to be, what Avas then called, first or
king's minister. This change, however, in no way abated his zeal in the cause
of the covenant ; he still continued to be the oracle of his party, and still stood
with undisputed and unrivaled influence at the head of the church as now once
more reformed.

In the year after his translation to Edinburgh (1639) he was one of the com-
missioners deputed by the Scottish army, then encamped on Dunse Law, to treat
witli the king-, who, Avith his forces, had taken post at the Birks, a plain on the
English side of the Tweed, within three or four miles of Berwick. During the
whole of the various negotiations which took place at this critical and interesting
conjuncture, Henderson conducted himself with his usual ability, and moreover
with a prudence and candour which did not escape the notice of the king. One
of the Avell known results of these conferences was the meeting in Edinburgh of
the General Assembly in the following month of August. On this occasion the
earl of Traquair, who Avas now his majesty's commissioner, Avas extremely de-
sirous that Mr Henderson should be re-elected moderator, a sufficient proof of
the estimation in Avhich he Avas held by men of all parties. The idea, however,
of a constant moderatorship was exceedingly unpopular, and contrary to the
constitution of the church ; and the suggestion of Traquair Avas overruled to the
entire satisfaction of Mr Henderson himself, avIio Avas one of the most strenuous
opponents of the proposition. As former moderator, hoAvever, he preached to
the assembly, and towards tlie close of his discourse, addressed the earl of Tra-
quair— " We beseech your grace," he said, " to see that Cresar have his own ;
but let him not have Avhat is due to God, by Avhom kings reign. God hath ex-
alted your grace unto many high places Avitliin these few years, and is still do-
ing so. Be thankful, and labour to exalt Christ's thi'one. When the Israelites
came out of Egypt they gave all the silver and gold they had carried thenc* for
the building of the tabernacle ; in like manner your grace must employ all your
parts and endowments for building up the church of God in this land," He
next addressed the members, urging them to persevere in the good cause, but
cax'efully inculcating prudence and moderation in all their doings ; for zeal, he
said, Avithout these, Avas ''• like a ship that hath a full sail, but no ruddar."

24 ALEXANDER HENDERSON.

Oil tlie 31st of tlie same inoiUli, ( Ann^ust,) 31r IIon<lersoii was called upon to
preside, in his <;Ieric«al cajiacity, nt the opeiiinjr of the i)ariianient, and on tiiat
occasion delivered a most iMi|nvssive discourse, in ^vliich he treated of tlie dulie3
and utility of governors with singular aliilily and judnnieiit.

A proof still more ilalteriiig, perhaps, than any he had yet received of the
estimation in wliic-h his character and talents were held, was all'orded him in the
following year, (tiJiO.) Previous to this jieriod the <;ollege of l-^dinburgh was
without 'any presiding oflicer to regulate its alTairs, these receiving only such
attention as might result from an annual visit of the town council. As this was
little more than a visit of ceremony, the system of education, and almost every
thing else connected with the university, was in a most deplorable condition. To
remedy these evils the town council came to the resolution of having a rector
appointed, to be cliosen annually, and whose duty it should be to direct all
matters connected with the college, to keep an eye on the conduct of the prin-
cipal and professors, and to superintend the education of the students, and the
disposal of the revenues. .

To this honourable and highly responsible ofiu;e Mr Honderson was unani-
mously elected; an appointment not more indicative of the general opinion
entertained of his moral qualities, than of his learning and abUilies ; for besides
the merely legislative duties which were connected with it, the rector, by the con-
stitution of the office, was to be invited by the preses at all solenni meetings of
the college, " to go before the rest in all public disputes of philosophy and
divinity."

Mr Henderson, notwithstanding his other various and important avocations,
discliarged the duties of tiiis office witii an attention, ability, and judgment,
Avhich soon placed the univei'sity on a very dift'ei'ent footing from what it had
hitherto been. lie added to and improved its buildings and its approaches, be-
stowed especial care on the education of candidates for the ministry, instituted a
professorship of oriental languages, a department which had previously been greatly
neglected, to the serious injury, in particular, of the students of divinity, vhose
knowledge of the Hebrew was left to be gleaned from one short weekly lecture
on that language ; and, in short, he overlooked nothing whicli could contribute to
its interests and prosjierity. His own personal influence, together with the high
respectability which his sagacious administration had procured for the college,
was so great, that the citizens of Edinburgh, ^vith a spirit of emulation which \vas
very far from existing before, strove who should most contribute to the accom-
modation of its members. The consequence of these judicious and important
services was, that Mr Henderson was continued, by re-election, in the office of
rector till his death.

From these peaceful pursuits Henderson was occasionally directed to take
a share in the renewed distractions of the times. The king having refused to
ratify some of the points agreed upon at the Birks, both parties again took up
arms : Charles denouncing the covenanters as rebels, marched towards Scotland
with an army; while the latter, with three or four and twenty thousand men,
penetrated into England. Some partial successes of the Scottish army on thii
occasion, together with some defections in liis own, again brought the unfortu-
nate monarch to pacificatory terms Avith the covenanters. A conference was be-
gun at Kippon, and afterwards, as the king's presence was required in London,
transferi'ed to that city. The commissioners who were despatched thither by the
covenanters to conclude the conference, took with them several of the most po-
pular of the clergy, and amongst these was 3Ir Henderson, on whose talents they
relied for all the subsidiary efforts which were at once to bring the conference
to an issue satisfactory to themselves, and to impress the English with a favour-

ALEXANDER HENDERSON. 25

able opinion of llieir cause, licith of these objects they acconiplislied, and that
in no small measure by means of the impressive eloquence and literary talents of
Mr Henderson, who, besides exerting himself in the pulpit and elsewhere in for-
warding the views of the conunissioners by discourses and lectures, wrote also
several able tracts and papers which attracted much attention, and produced im-
portant effects in favour of the cause which he had come to support.

During Mr Henderson's stay in London on this occasion, he had an intervievir
with the king, by whom he Avas graciously received. The conference Avas a
private one, and although on the part of Henderson it was sought specially for
the purpose of soliciting a favour for the university of Edinburgh, it is not un-
likely that it embraced objects of much greater interest. On his return to
Edinburgii in July, 1641, having been detained in London nine months, he was
again chosen moderator of the General Assembly, then sitting at Edinburgh, and
which had removed thither from St Andrews, where it first met, for the greater
conveniency of the nobles who were attending parliament, and, a striking proof
of his importance, that it might at this critical period have the advantages of Mr
Henderson's services as moderator.

On this occasion Mr Henderson delivered to the assembly a letter from a number
of ministers in London, requesting the advice of their Scottish brethren on certain
points of church government. Li some perplexity they liad written, " That al-
migiity God having now of his infinite goodness raised up our hopes of removing
the yoke of episcopacy, (under which we have so long groaned,) sundry other forms
of church government are by sundry sorts of men projected to be set up in the room
thereof." Henderson was instructed to reply to this letter. In his answer he
expressed, in the name of the assembly, the deep interest which they took in
the state of what they called, by a somewhat startling association of words, the
kirk of England, and earnestly urged a uniformity in church government
throughout Britain. Soon after this (M-th August) the unfortunate Charles ar-
rived in Edinburgh. Foreseeing the approaching war between liimself and his
English parliament, he had come down to Scotland with the humiliating view of
paying court to the leaders of the prcsbyterian bodj-^, and of following up, by
personal condescensions, the concessions by which he had already recovered, for
the time at least, the favour of that pai-ty ; thus hoping to secure the aid of
Scotland Avhen he should be assailed by his subjects at home; — the unhappy
monarch's situation thus much resembling that of a bird closely pursued by a
hawk, and which, preferring a lesser to a greater evil, flies to man for protec-
tion. On this occasion the king appointed 3Ir Henderson his chaplain, and by
this well judged proceeding at once gi-atified the people, whose favourite preacher
he had long been, and not improbably also gratified his own predilection in his
favour, resulting from Henderson's temper and moderation in those instances
where they had been brought in contact. Henderson constantly attended the
king during the time of his residence in Edinburgh, praying every morning
and evening before him, and preaching to him in the chapel royal at Holyrood
house every Sunday, or standing by his chair when another performed that duty.
Henderson, Avho, although of incorruptible integrity, and a zealous presbyterian,
as the share which he took in tiie struggles of tliat party sufliciently witness, was
yet a mild and humane man, could not help sympathizing with the sorrows of
his unfortunate sovereign. The religion of which he was so eminent a profes-
sor, taught him to entertain charitable and benevolent feelings toward all man-
kind, and his was not the disposition to except an humbled and unhappy prince
from this universal precept, whatever were the faults which had placed him in
these melancholy circumstances. The mild and amiable disposition of the man,
too, which frequent interviews must have forced upon Henderson's notice, must
in. I>

2G ALEXANDER HEXDERSDN.

have in some measure obliterated in liis mind the eirors of tlie moiiaicli. It wns
liard, then, that Henderson for this sympathy, for opening liis heart to the best
foelinys of iiumanity, for practisinj^ one of tlie lirst and most amiable virtues
which tlie Christian religion teaciies and enjoins, should have been, as he was,
subjected to the most bitter cahnnnies on his character and motives. 'J'hese
cahmuiies alleded liis pure and generous nature deeply, and in the next assem-
bly lie entered into a long and impassioned defence of those parts of his con-
duct which slander had assailed. His appeal touched the hearts and excited the
sympathy of his brethren viho assured him of their unshaken confidence in his
integrity.

This assurance restored the worthy divine to that cheerfulness of which the in-
jurious reports which had gone abroad regarding him had for some time de-
prived him. If any thing were wanting to establish Henderson's character for
integrity besides the public testimony of his brethren, it is to be found in the
opinion of one who widely dirtered from him regarding the measures of the day,
bearing witness that " his great honesty and unparalleled abilities to serve this
church and kingdom, did ever renmin untainted."

In 1642, JMr Henderson conducted the correspondence with England which
now took place on the subject of ecclesiastical reformation and union, and was
soon after dssiied to hold himself in i-eadiness with certain other conmiissioneis
to proceed to England, in the event of such a proceeding being necessary.
After some delay, occasioned by the open rupture which took place between the
king and the English parliament, Henderson, wilh the other commissioners, set
out for the sister kingdom. While there he used every effort, but un-
fortunately to no purpose, to eflect a reconciliation between Charles and his
English subjects; he proposed to the king to send the queen to Scotland,
with the view of exciting an interest in his behalf. He even went to Oxford,
where the king then was, to endeavour to prevail upon him at a personal
interview, to make some advances towards a reconciliation, and at the same
time to offer him the mediation of Scotland. All his efforts, however, were
unavailing ; the king, in place of acknowledging error, endeavoured to defend
the justice of his cause, and on better grounds expressed high indignation at the
interference of the Scots in the church refonnation of England. Finding he
could be of no further service, Henderson, together with his colleagues, returned
to Edinburgh, where his conduct throughout the whole of this delicate mission
was pronounced by the General Assembly to have been " faithful and wise." In
1643, he was once more chosen moderator of the General Assembly under
peculiar circumstances. This was the presence in that body of the English
commissioners sent down to Scotland by the parliament of England, to solicit the
aid and counsel of the former in their present emergency. Mr Hendei'son,
with several other commissioners, was soon after sent up to London to attend
the celebrated Westminster assembly of divines, to represent in that assembly
the church of Scotland, and to procure its assent, with that of both houses of
parliament, to the solemn league and covenant, all of which important duties,
with the assistance of his colleagues, he discharged with his usual ability and
judgment. On this occasion he remained for three years in London, during
all which time he was anremittingly employed in assisting the assembly in pre-
paring the public formularies of the religious union between the three king-
doms. In 1645, he was appointed to assist the commissioners of the Scottish
and English parliaments to treat with the king at Uxbridge, and finally, Avas
deputed to negotiate with the latter when his fortunes had reached a crisis, at
Newcastle. Henderson arrived on his mission at Newcastle about the middle of
May, 1G46, and met with a cordial reception from his majesty. After some

ALEXANDER PTENDETISON. 27

discussion on religious subjects, it was agx'eed that the scruples of the king
should be treated of in a series of papers written alternately by his majesty and
Henderson. In the last of these papers, addressed by the former to the latter,
and all of which and on both sides were written with great talent, the king at
once expressing his high opinion of Blr Henderson, and his determination to
adhere to the sentiments which he had all along entertained, says, " For in-
stance, I think you the bast preacher in Newcastle, yet 1 believe you may err,
and possibly a better preacher may come, but till then must retain my opinion.'
Immediately after this, Henderson, whose health was now mu(;h impaired, re-
turned to Edinburgh by sea, being unable to bear the fatigue of travelling by
land. The illness ^vith which he was afflicted rapidly gained upon him, and he
at length expired on the 19th of August, 1646, in the G3d year of his age, not
many days after his return from Newcastle. After the death of this celebrated
man, his memory was assailed by several absurd and unfounded calumnies. It
Avas alleged that he died of mortification at his having been defeated in the
controversy with the king ; others asserted that he had been converted by the
latter, and that on his death-bed he had expressed regret for the part he had
acted, and had renounced presbytery. All of these charges were completely re-
futed by the General Assembly, who, taking a becoming and zealous interest in
the good name of their departed brother, established his innocence on the testi-
mony of several clergymen, and still mox'e decisively by that of the two who
attended him on his death-bed, and who heard him in his last moments pray
earnestly for a " happy conclusion to the great and wonderful work of Refor-
mation." Henderson was interred in the Grayfriars' church-yard, where a
monument was erected to his memory by his nephew Mr George Henderson.
This monument, which was in the form of an obelisk, with suitable inscriptions
on its four sides, was, with others of the leading covenanters, demolished at the
Restoration, but was again replaced at the Revolution.

Tliis sketch of one of the greatest divines that Scotland has produced, cannot
be better concluded than in the following estimate of his character by Dr Thomas
M'Crie, Avho had intended to add a life of Henderson to his lives of Knox and
Melville, but proceeded no further than the outline sketched in his miscellaneous
writings: — "Alexander Henderson was enriched with an assemblage of endow-
ments which have rarely met in one man. He possessed talents which fitted him
for judging and giving advice about the political affairs of a nation, or even for
taking an active share in the management of them, had he not devoted himself
to the immediate service of the Church, and the study of ecclesiastical business.
Ho was not more distinguished by the abilities which he displayed in his public
conduct, than by the virtues which adorned his private character. Grave, yet
affable and polite ; firm and indeiDendent, yet modest and condescending, he com-
manded the respect, and conciliated the affection, of all who were acquainted
with him ; and the more intimately his friends knew him, they loved him the
more. The power of religion he deeply felt, and he had tasted the comforts of the
gospel. Its spirit, equally removed from the coldness of the mere rationalist,
and the irregular fervours of the enthusiast, breathed in all his words and
actions. The love of liberty was in him a pure and enlightened flame ; he loved
his native country, but his patriotism was no narrow, illiberal passion ; it opened

to the welfare of neighbouring nations, and of mankind in general

Called forth by the irresistible cry of his dear country, when he found her reduced
to the utmost distress, by the oppression of ambitious prelates, supported by an
arbitrary court and corrupt statesmen, he came from that retirement which was
congenial to him, and entered upon the bustle of public business, at a time of life
■when others think of retiring from it. Though he sighed after his original soli-

28 DR. ROBERT HENRY.

tudc, and sufl'orcd from tlie fatigues and anxiety to \vhieh he was sulijccted, yet
ho did not relinquish his station, nor shrink from tho ditficult tasiis imposed upon
him, unlil his feeble and shattered conslilution sunk under them, and he fell a
martyr to the cause."

IlliNUV, (1)r) Hobekt, an eminent historian, was born in the parish of St
Ninians in Stirlingsliire, on the I Nth of J'ebruary, 1718; — his father was .lames
Henry, a respecUihle farmer in Muirtoun of the same parish, who had married
the daughter of 3Ir (iailoway of Burrowmeadow in Stirlingsiiire. As a respect-
able farmer's son, young Henry enjoyed opportunities of instruction beyond the
average of those wiio study for the ciuirdi in Scotland, and lie found little ditli-
culty in indulging his inclination to become a member of a learned profession.
He commenced his education under x^Ir Nicholson of the parish school of St
Ninians, and having attended the granmiar school of Stirling, perfected liimself
in liis literary and philosophical studies at the university of Ixlinburgh. After
leaving that institution, lie occupied himself in teacl-.ing, the usual resource of
the expectants of the Scottish church, and became master of the grammar school
of Annan. The district in which he \\as so employed was soon afterwards
erected into a separate presbytery, and Henry was admitted as its first licentiate,
on the 27th of Blarch, 1746. In 1748, he was ordained as clergyman of a
congregation of presbyterians at Carlisle. Here he remained for twelve years,
when he was transferred to a similar dissenting congregation at Berwick
upon Tweed. In 1763, he married Ann Balderston, daughter of Thomas Bal-
derston, surgeon in Berwick. Little is said of this lady by Henry's biogra-
phers, except in reference to the domestic happiness she conferred on her hus-
band. During his residence at Berwick, Dr Henry applied his active mind to
the preparation of a scheme for establishing a fund to assist the widows and
orphans of the dissenting clergymen in the north of England. The admirable
fund which had some time previously been so firmly and successfully established
for bestowing similar benefits on the families of the clergy of Scotland, formed
the model of his imitation; but in assimilating the situation of a dissenting to
that of an established church, he laboured under the usual difficulties of those
who raise a social fabric which the laws will not recognize and protect, Ihe
funds which, in Scotland, were supplied by the annual contribution of the clergy,
enforced by act of parliament, depended, in the English institution, on the so-
cial and provident spirit of its members. Ihe perseverance of Henry overcame
many of the practical difficulties thus thrown in his way : the fund was placed on
a permanent footing in the year 1762, and Henry, having for some years un-
dertaken its management, had afterwards the satisfaction to see it flourish, and
increase in stability and usefulness as he advanced in years. Ihe design of his
elaborate history, which must have gradually developed itself in the course of
his early studies, is said to have been finally formed during his residence in
Berwick, and he commenced a course of inquiry and reading, which he found
that the resources of a provincial town, and the assistance of his literary friends
in more favoured situations, Avere quite incapable of supplying for a subject so
vast and intricate, as that of a complete history of Britain from the invasion of
Julius Cffisar. In this situation Dr Henry found a useful friend in Mr Laurie,
provost of Edinburgh, who had married his sister. Ihe interest of this gentle-
man procured for his brother-in-law, in the year 1768, an appointment to the
ministry of the new Grey Friar's church in Edinburgh, whence, in 1776, he
was removed to the collegiate charge of the Old Church.

In tlie extensive public libraries of Edinburgh, Dr Henry found means of pro-
secuting his researches with effect, Ihe first volume of his history was publish-
ed in quarto in the year 1771, the second appeared in 1774, the third in 1777,

DR. ROBERT HENRY. 29

the fourth in 17b I, and the fifiii in 17 85. Tlie method of treating the subject
was original and bold, and one the assumption of which left the author no excuse
for ignorance on any subject which had the slightest connexion with the cus-
toms, intellects, and history of our forefathers, or the constitution of the king-
dom. The subject was in the first place divided into periods, which were con-
sidered separately, each period occupying a volume. The volume was divided
into seven chapters, each containing a distinct subject, linked to the correspond-
ing subject in the next volume by continuance of narrative, and to the other
chapters of the same volume by identity of the period discussed. The subjects
thus separated were — 1st, The simple narrative of the civil and military transac-
tions of the country — 2d, 'Ihe ecclesiastical history — 3d, The information
which is generally called constitutional, narrating and accounting for the rise
of the peculiarities in the form of government, the laws, and the courts of
justice — 4th, The slate of learning, or rather the state of literature which
may be called purely scholastic, excluding the fine arts, and constitutional
and political information — 5th, The history and state of arts and manufac-
tures— 6th, A history of commerce, including the state of shipping, coin, and
the prices of commodities ; and lastly, The history of the manners, customs,
amusements, and costumes of the people. — The writer of a book on any subject
on which he is well informed, will generally choose that manner of explaining
his ideas best suited to his information and comprehension. It may be ques-
tioned whether the plan pursued by Henry was adapted for the highest class of
liistorical composition, and if the other great historians who flourished along
with him, would have improved their works by following his complicated and
elaborate system. It is true that mere narrative, uninterwoven with reflection,
and such information as allows us to look into the hearts of the actors, is a gift
entirely divested of the qualities which make it useful ; but there are various
means of qualifying the naiTative — some have given their constitutional infoi'-
mation in notes, or detached passages ; others have woven it beautifully into the
narrative, and presenting us with the full picture of the times broadly and truly
coloured, have prevented the mind from distracting itself by searching for the
motives of actions through bare narrative in one part of the work, and a variety
of influencing motives to be found scattered through another. The plan, which
we may say was invented by Dr Henry, has only been once imitated, (unless it
can be said that the acute and laborious Hallani has partly followed his arrange-
ment.) The imitator was a Scotsman, the subject he encountered still more ex-
tensive than that of Henry, and the ignorance the author displayed in some of
its minute branches excited ridicule. Tliis is an instance of the chief danger of
the system. The acquisition of a sufficient amount of information, and regularity
in the arrangement, are the matters most to be attended to ; Henry's good sense
taught him the latter, his perseverance accomplished the former, and the author
made a complete and useful work, inferior, certainly, as a great literary pro-
duction, to the works of those more gifted historians who mingled reflection
with the current of their narrative, but better suited to an intellect wliich did not
soar above the trammels of such a division of subject, and which might have fal-
len into confusion without them.

The circumstances of the first appearance of the earlier volumes of this useful
book are interesting to the world, from their having raised against the author a
storm of hostility and deadly animosity almost unmatched in the annals of liter-
ary warfare. The chief persecutor, and grand master of this inquisition on re-
putation, was the irascible Dr Gilbert Stuart. Tlie cause of his animosity against
a worthy and inoffensive man, can only be accounted for by those whose pene-
tration may find its way to the depths of literary jealousy.

30 DR. ROBERT HENRY.

I'lie letters of SliiMrt on the subjert, have bocii rarefiilly collected hy D'ls-
raeli, and jmlilislied in iiis " ( alaniities of Authors," and wlien coupled uilh
such traces of the intliience of the peiseciitor as are to be found scattered here
and there amonc^ the various j)orio<licals of tlie age, furnisii us \vitli the i>ainful
picture of a man of intellicentie and liberality, made a fiend by literary hate.
Stuart conunenced liis dark work in the " Ediidjurgh Magazine and Ifeview "
established under his ausj)ices in 1773. Dr Henry had preached before the
Society (in Scotland) for Promoting Christian Knowledge, a sermon entitled
'* Hevelation the most effectual means of civilizing and reforming mankind,"
and in pursuance of the custom on such occasions, the sermon was pul)lislied.
The sermon was as similar to all others of its class, as any given piece of
niechanisnj can be to all others intended for similar purposes ; but Stuart dis-
covered audacity in the attem])t, and unexpected failure in the execution ; it
required " the union of phib)Sophy and political skill, of erudition and elo-
quence, qualities whicb he was sorry to observe appeared here in no eminent
degree."' Dr Macqueen published a letter in an anonymous form, defending
the sermon, and the hidden literary assassin boldly maintained it to be the
work of Dr Henry, an accusation not withdrawn till the respectable author an-
nounced himself to the world. Dr Henry was soon after apj)ointed by the
magistrates to the situation of morning lecturer to the Tron church. Under
the disguise of the comnmnication of a correspondent, who mildly hints that the
consequence of the proceeding will be a suit against the magistrates, we
find the rounded periods of Stuart denouncing the act in those terms in whicii
indignant virtue traces the mazes of vice and deceit, as " affording a pre-
cedent from Avhich the moi'tifications of the pious, may be impiously prostituted
to uses to which they were never intended." In token of high respect, the
General Assembly had chosen Dr Henry as their moderator, on his first return
as a member of that venerable body ; and being thus marked out as a leader in
the affairs of the church, he took a considerable share in the proceedings of the
ensuing session. Here his enemy keeps an unsleeping eye on his motions.
Whilst the speeches of others are unnoticed or reported in their native simplicity,
the narrator prepares himself for the handling of a choice morsel when he ap-
proaches the historian. " The opinion of one niember,'^' he observes, " we .
shall lay before the reader, on account of its singidarity. It is that of Dr Henry,
the moderator of last assembly ;"" and then he proceeds to attract the finger of
scorn towards opinions as ordinary as any opinions could well be conceived.
'Ihe Doctor cannot even absent himself from a meeting w ithout the circumstance
being remarked, and a cause assigned which will admit the application of a pre-
concerted sneer. Dr Robertson was the opponent of Dr Henry in this assem-
bly. The periodical writer was the enemy of both, and his ingenuity has been
taxed to bestow ridicule on both parties. Stuart at length slowly approa(;hes
the head and front of his victim's offending, and fixes on it with deadly eager-
ness. After having attacked the other vulnerable points of the author, he rushes
ravenously on his history, and attempts its demolition. He finds that the unfor-
tunate author " neither furnishes entertainment nor instruction. Difluse,
vulgar, and ungrammatical, he strips history of all her ornaments. His conces-
sions are evidently contradictory to his conclusions. It is thus perpetually with
authors who examine subjects which they cannot comprehend. He has amassed
all the refuse and lumber of the times he would record." " The mind of his
readers is aJfected with no agreeable emotions, it is awakened only to disgust

' Edinburgfi Review and INTagazine, i. lf)9.
^ Edinburgh Review and Magazine, i. 357.

DR. ROBERT HENRY. 31

and fatigue."^ But Stuart was not content with persecution at home, be wished
to add the weapons of others to his own. For this purpose he procured a wor-
thy associate, Whitaker, the historian of Manchester, and author of the
" (ienuine History of the Britons." Stuart, a vague theorist in elegant and
sonorous diction, who was weak enough to believe that his servile imitations ot
Montesquieu raised him to a parallel with that great man, associated himself in
this work of charity with a minute and pugnacious antiquary, useful to literature
from the sheer labour he had encountered, but eminently subject to the prejudices
to which those who confine tlieir laborious investigations to one narrow branch
of knowledge, are exposed ; — a person who would expend many quarto pages
in discussing a flint arrow-head or a tumulus of stones, occasionally attempting
with a broken wing to follow the flights of Gibbon, but generally as flat and
sterile as the plains in which he strove to trace Roman encampments ; two more
uncongenial spirits hardly ever attempted to work in concert. It may easily be
supposed that the minute antiquary looked with jealousy on the extended
theories of his generalizing colleague ; and the generalizer, though he took oc-
casion to praise the petty investigations of the antiquary, probably regarded
them in secret Avith a similar contempt. But Stuart found tlie natural malignity
of Whitaker a useful commodity ; and the calm good sense of Henry aftbrded
them a common object of hatred. A few extracts will give the best display oi
the spirit of Stuart's communications to his friends during his machina-
tions. " David Hume wants to review Henry: but that task is so precious, that
I will undertake it myself. Moses, were he to ask it as a favour, should
not have it ; yea, not even the man after God's own heart. I wish I could
transport myself to London to review him for the Monthly — a fire there, and
in the Critical, would perfectly annihilate him. Could you do nothing in the
latter? To the former I suppose David Hume has transcribed the criticism he
intended for us. It is precious, and would divert you. I keep a proof of it
in my cabinet, for the amusement of friends. This great pliilosopher begins
to dote."* To-morrow morning Henry sets off for London, with immense hopes
of selling his history. I wish sincerely that I could enter Holborn the
same hour with him. He should have a repeated fire to combat with. I en-
treat that you may be so kind as to let him feel some of your thunder. I shall
never forget the favour. If Whitaker is in London, he could give a blow.
Paterson will give him a knock. Strike by all means. The wretch will trem-
ble, grow pale, and return with a consciousness of his debility. I have a thou-
sand thanks to give you for your insertion of the paper in the London
Chronicle, and for the part you propose to act in i-egard to Henry. I could
wish that you knew for certain his being in London before you strike the first

3 Edinburgh Review and Magazine, vol i. p. 266 — 270.

4 D'Israeli's Calamities of Authors, ii. 67. 'I'he author appends in a note " The critique
on Henr}-, in the Monthly Review, was written by Hume, and because the philosopher was
candid, he is here said to have doted." We suspect this is erroneous, and founded on mere
presumption. We have carefully read the two critiques on Henry in the Monthly Review,
which appeared previous to Hume's death. The elegance and profundity of Hume are want-
ing, and in giving an opinion of the work, which is moderate and tolerably just, the Reviewer
compares it somewhat disparagingly with the works of Hume and Robertson, a piece of con-
ceit and affectation which the great philosopher would not have condescended to perpetrate.
That Hume prepared and published a Review of Henry's book we have no doubt. In the
ICdinburgh Magazine for 1791, and in the Gentleman's IVIagazine for the same year, a critique
is quoted, the work " of one of the most eminent Jiistorians of the present age, whose history
of the same periods justly possesses the highest reputation." Without the aid of such a state-
ment, the st\le stamps the author, and we may have occasion to quote it in the text as the
work of Hume. Where it made its first appearance, a search through the principal periodi-
Ciils of the day has not enabled us to discover. It is in the first person singulai', and may have
been in the form of a letter to tlie editor of a newspaper.

32 PR. ROBERT TTENRY.

blow. An iiHjuiry at t'adcH's will give lliis. Wlieii you Imve an eiieiuy to at-
tack, I sliall ill ictiiiii i;ivc my best assistaiirc, and aim at liim a mor/al blow ;
ami riisii forward to iiis <>\erllii()w, tboiigli iho nainus of lieil sliould start up to
oppose me."

Henry was not in possession of tlie poisoned weajions wbi(!li would have
enabled him to retaliate, and bis j^ood sense and cfjiianiniity of mind were no
permanent protection against assaults so un(;easiiig and virulent. He felt liim-
self ibe personal subject of ridicule and perversion, bis expected gains denied,
and tlie fame wbicb be expected from years of labour and retirement snatcbed
from bis grasp by tbe band of a rutlian.* In tbe midst of tbese adversities
Henry went to London for actual sbelter, but tbe watcbful enemy observed bis
motions — attacks were inserted in one jirint and copied into anotiier — tbe iiiHu-
ence of bis persecutor is widely perceptible in tbe peri(idi(%il literature of tbe
age. Tbe Critical Keview bad praised tbe first volume of bis bistory. 'I'be
second meets with a very dilferent reception : " it is whh pain tbe reviewer
observes, tbat in proportion as bis narrative and inquiries are applied to cultivated
times, bis diligence and labour seem to relax," and a long list of alleged inaccu-
i'iicies, cbiefly on minute and disputed points, follows: tbe style is evidently not
tbe natural language 'of tbe pompous Stuart, but it is got up in obedience to bis
directions on tbe vulnerable points of tbe bistorian, and tbe minuteness bints at tbe
band of Wbitakei*. Henry answered by a moderate letter defending bis opinions,
and acknowledging one mistake. Tbe reviewer returns to bis uork witli reno-
vated vigour, and among otlier tbings accuses tbe bistorian of wilfully perverting
authority. Tbe charge of dishonesty rouses the calm divine, and ^^ ith some
severity he produces tbe Avords of the authority, and tbe use be has made of them.
The editor claims tbe merit of candour for printing the communication, and as
there is no gainsaying tbe fact it contains, appends an obscure bint which seems
tc intimate he knows more than be chooses to tell ; a mode of backing out of a
mistake not uncommon in periodical works, as if the editorial dignity wei'e of so
delicate a nature as not to bear a candid and honourable confession of error.
\ ears afterwards, it is singular to discover the Critical Keview returning to its ori-
ginal tone, and lauding the presence of qualities of which it had found occasion
to censure the want. Stuart associated himself with his friend Whitaker in conduct-
ing the English Keview in 1783, and it is singular, that amidst the devastation of
that irascible periodical, no blow is aimed at Henry. But Stuart did not neglect bis
duty in the Political Herald, published in 1785, an able disturber of tbe tranquillity
of literature, of which he was the sole conductor. Here he gave his last and deepest
stab ; accusing the venerable historian in terms the most bitter and vituperative,
of a hankering after language and ideas, unworthy of his pi-ofession ; concluding
with the observation tbat " an extreme attention to smut in a presbyterian cler-
gyman, who has reached the last scene of his life, is a deformity so sliocking,
that no language of re])robation is strong enough to chastise it.'"" The heartless
insinuation was probably dictated by the consciousness tbat, whether true or false,
no charge would be more acutely felt by tbe simple-minded divine. Stuart had,
liowever, a very acute eye towards tbe real failings of Henry, and in bis Protean
attacks, he has scarcely left one of them without a brand. It was not without
reason that he said to bis London correspondent, " If you would only transcribe
bis jests, it would make him perfectly ridiculous." Henry was fond of garnish-

^ Behold the trmmph of the calumniator in the success of his labours: " I see every day
that what is written lo a man's disparagement is never foroot nor forgiven. Poor Henry is on
the point of death, and Ids friends declare that I have killed him; I received the inlbrmation
as a compliment, and begged they would not do me so much lionour." D'lsracli's Calami-
ties, i:. 7-2.

* Political iJerald, v i. \\ 209.

DR. ROBERT HENRY. 33

iiig with a few sallies of wit, liis pictures of human folly ; but he was unliappy in
the bold attempt. They had too much pleasing simplicity and good-humoured
gi-otesqueness for the purpose to which they were applied. 3Iore like the good-
natured hmnour of Goldsmith, than the piercing sarcasm of Voltaire, they might
have served to strike the lighter foibles exhibited in our daily path ; but to attack
the grander follies of mankind displayed in history, it may be said they did not
possess sufficient venom to make formidable so light a weapon as wit.

We have been so much engrossed with the dreary details of malignity, that we
ivill scarcely find room for many other details of Henry's life ; but the history
of the book is the history of the author — in its fate is included all that the world
need care to know, of the unassuming individual who composed it. It is with
pleasure, then, that we turn to the brighter side ; Henry calmly weathered out
the storm which assailed him, and in his green old age, the world smiled upon
his labours. Hume, who had so successfully trod the same field, was the first to
meet Henry's book uith a welcome hearty and sincere ; he knew the difficulties
of the task, and if he was sufficiently acute to observe that Henry was far behind
himself, neither jealousy nor conceit provoked him to give utterance to such
feelings. " His historical narratives," says this able judge, " are as full as
those remote times seem to demand, and at the same time, his inquiries of the
antiquarian kind omit nothing which can be an object of doubt or curiosity. Ihe
one as well as the other is delivered with great perspicuity, and no less propri-
ety, which are the ti'ue ornaments of this kind of writing ; all superfluous
embellishments are avoided ; and the i-eader will hardly find in our language
any performance that unites together so perfectly the two gi-eat points of enter-
tainment and instruction." Dr Henry had printed the first edition of the first
five volumes of his bot,k at his own risk, but on a demand for a new edition,
he entered into a transaction with a bookseller, which returned him £3300. In
the middle of its cai'eer the work secured royal attention ; lord Mansfield recom-
mended the author to George the Third, and his majesty " considering his dis-
tinguished talents, and great literary merit, and the importance of the very use-
ful and laborious work in which he was so successfully engaged, as titles to his
royal countenance and favour," bestowed on him a pension of a £100 a-year.
For the honour of royal munificence, it is to be hoped that the gift Avas the
reward of labour and literary merit, and not (as the author's enemies have
proclaimed) the wages of the political principles he inculcated. The insinuation
is, indeed, not without apparent foundation. Henry, if not a perverter of history
in favour of arbitrary power, is at least one of those prudent speculators who
are apt to look on government as something established on fixed and perma-
nent principles, to which all opposing intei'ests must give way — on the govern-
ment as something highly respectable, — on the mass of the people as somsthing
not quite so respectable — on the community as existing for the government, and
not on the government as adapted to the conveniences of tlie community.

Five volumes of Dr Henry's history appeared before his death, and the ample
materials he had left for the completion of the sixth were afterwards edited by
Mr Laing, and a continuation was written by Mr Petit Andrews. Ihe laborious
author prepared the whole for the press with his own hand, notwithstanding a
tremulous disorder, which compelled him to write on a book placed on his knee.
In the latter years of his life, he retired to Milnfield, about twenty miles from
Edinburgh, where he enjoyed the company of his friend and relative, Mr Laurie.
In 1786, his constitution began visibly to decline; but he continued his labours
till 1790. About that period his wife was affected with blindness from a cata-
ract, and he accompanied her to Edinburgh, where she submitted to the usual
operation, which, however, had not the desired eft'ect during her husband's life-
iir. K

34 EDWARD HENRYSON, LL.D.

time. Ur Heiiiy diotl on the 24lh of November, 17'J0, in the 73d year of his
age. — The filth edition of the History of liritain was published in 1823, in
twelve volumes 8vo. A French translation was publisliod in 178!} — 90, by
M.M. Rowland and ("antweli.

1II']NHVS()N, I'dward, LL.O., an eminent civilian and classical scholar, and a
senator of the College of Justice. Tlie period of the birth of this eminent man
is unknown, but it nnist have taken place early in the sixteenth century. I're-
viously to the year 1551, we find him connecting himself, as most Scotsmen of
talent and education at tiiat period did, with the learned men on the continent,
and distinguishing himself in his linowledge of civil law, a science which,
although it was tlie foundation of the greater part of the miniicipal law of Scot-
land, he could have no ready means of acquiring in his own country. This study
he pursued at the university of I'ruges, under tlie tuition of Equinar l^aro, an
eminent civilian, with whom he afterwards lived on terms of intimacy and strong
attachment. It is probable that he owed to tliis individual his introduction to a
munificent patron, who afterwards watched and assisted his progress in the world.
Ulric Fugger, lord of Kirchberg and Weissenhome, a Tyrolese nobleman, who
had previously distinguished himself as the patron of the eminent Scottish civilian,
Scrimger, extended an apparently ample literary patronage to Henryson, admit-
ting him to reside within his castle, amidst an ample assortment of valuable books
and manuscripts, and bestoAving on him a regular pension. Henryson after-
wards dedicated his works to his patron, and the circumstance that Baro inscribed
some of his commentaries on the Roman law to the same individual, pi-onipts us
to think it probable that Henryson owed the notice of F^ugger to the recommen-
dation of his kind preceptor.' Dempster, who in his life of Henryson, as usual,
refers to authors who never mention his name, and some of whom indeed wrote
before he had acquired any celebrity, maintains that he translated into Latin
(probably about this period, and while he resided in F'ugger's castle) the " Com-
mentarium Stoicorum Contrariorum " of Plutarch ; and that he did so must be
credited, as the work is mentioned in Quesnel's Bibliotheca Thuana ; but the book
appears to have dropped out of the circle of literature, and it is not now to be
found in any public library we are aware of. In the year 1 552, he returned to
Scotland, where he appears to have practised as an advocate. Ihe protection and
hospitality he had formerly received from the Tyrolese nobleman, was continued
to him by Henry Sinclair, then dean of Glasgow, afterwards bishop of Ross, and
president of the Couit of Session ; — thus situated, he is said to have translated the
Fncheiridion of Epictetus, and the Commentaries of Arrian ; but the fruit of his
labours was never published, and the manuscript is not known to be in existence.
Again Henryson returned to the continent, after having remained in his native
country for a short period, and the hospitable mansion of F'ugger was once more
open for his reception. About this period I'aio, whom we have mentioned as Hen-
ryson's instructor in law, published aTractatus on Jurisdiction, which met an attack
from the civilian Govea, which, according to the opinion expressed by Henryson,
as an opponent, did more honour to his talents than to his equanimity and can-
dour, Henryson defended his master, in a controversial pamphlet of some length,
entering with vehemence into the minute distinctions which, at that period, dis-
tracted the intellects of the most eminent jurisconsults. This work is dedicated
to his patron Fugger. He was in 1554 chosen pi'ofessor of the civil law at
Bruges, a university in which one who wrote a century later states him to have
left behind him a strong recollection of bis talents and virtues. In 1 555, he
published another Avork on civil law, entitled " Commentatio in Tit. X. Libri

1 Vide the dedication to Tractatus de Jurisdictione Henr3soni, Meerman's Thesaurus,
vol. ii.

EDWARD HENRYSON, LLJ). 35

Secuudi Institutionuin de Testainentis Ordinandis." It is a sort of running
commentary on the title of which it professes to treat ; was dedicated to
Michael D'Hospital, chancellor of France, and had the good fortune along with
his previous Tractatus, to be engrossed in the great Thesaurus Juris Civilis et
Canonici of Gerard Meernian, an honour which has attached itself to the works
of few Scottish civilians, Henryson appears, soon after the publication of this
work, to have resigned his professorship at Bruges, and to have returned to
Scotland, where lucrative prospects were opened to liis ambition.

A very noble feature in tlie history of the Scottish courts of law, is the atten-
tion with which the legislature in early periods provided for the interests of the
poor. Soon after the erection of the College of Justice, an advocate was named
and paid, for conducting the cases of those whose pecuniaiy circumstances did
not permit them to conduct a law-suit ; and Henryson was in 1557 appointed
to the situation of counsel for the poor, as to a great public office, receiving as
a salary £20 Scots, no very considerable sum even at that pei-iod, but equal to
one-half of the salary allowed to the lord advocate. When the judicial privileges
whicli the Roman catholic clergy had gradually engrossed from the judicature
of the country, were considered no longer the indispensable duties and privileges
of churchmen, but more fit for the care of temporal judges, Henryson was
appointed in 15(j3 to the office of commissary, with a salary of 300 nierks.
Secretary Maitland of Lethington having in January, 1566, been appointed an
ordinary, in place of being an extraordinary, lord of session, Henryson Avas
appointed in his stead, filling a situation seldom so well bestowed, and generally,
instead of being filled by a profound legal scholar, reserved for sucli scions of
great families, as tlie government could not easily employ otherwise. Henryson
was nominated one of the commission appointed in Blay, 1566, " for viseing,
correcting, and imprenting the Laws and Acts of parliament." Of the rather
carelessly arranged volume of the Acts of the Scottish parliament, from 1424 to
1564, which the commission produced in six months after its appointment, he
was the ostensible editor, and wrote the preface; and it was probably as holding-
such a situation, or in reward for his services, that in June, 1566, he received
an exclusive privilege and license ** to imprent or (;ause imprent and sell, the
Lawis and Actis of Parliament ; that is to say, the bukes of Law callit Hegiam
Majestatem, and the remanent auld Lawis and Actis of Pai'liament, cousequentlie
maid be progress of time unto the dait of thir presentis, viseit, sychtit, and cor-
rectit, be the lordis conunissaris speciallie deput to the said viseing, sychting,
and correcting thairof, and that for the space of ten yeires next to cum."^ In
November, 1567, he was removed from the bench, or, in the words of a con-
temporary, taken " off sessions, because he was one of the king's council.'"
This is the only intimation we have of his having held such an office ; and it is a
rather singular cause of removal, as the king's advocate was then entitled to sit
on the bench, and was frequently chosen from among the lords of session.
Henryson was one of the procurators for the church in 1573. The period oi
his death is not known, but he must have been alive in 1579, as lord Forbes at
that time petitioned parliament that he might be appointed one of the commis-
sioners for deciding the differences betwixt the Forbeses and Gordons.

Henryson has received high praise as a jurisconsult, by some of liis brethren
of the continent, and Dempster considered him — " Solis Papinianis in juris
cog?iitione inferior.^ A monument was erected to his memory in the Grey Friars'
churchyard of Edinburgh, by his son Thomas Henryson, lord Chesters, Avho is
said by Dempster and others to have displayed many of tiie legal and other
qualifications of his father.

' Reports from the Record Commission, i. 257.
Denmilii MS. — Haig and Brmiton's History of the College of Justice, 133.

36 ROBERT HENRYSON.

HF,NRYSf)N, or HKNDIJHSON, Kobkht, a poet of tlie fiiieenlli reiitiiry, is
described as liaving been vhief sclioolninsler of Diiiifeiiiiline, ami ibis is almost
llie only parlinilar of his life tliat is siitHcienlly ascertaineil. According to one
writer, be was a notary public, as well as a s<-lio(ilinaster : and anotber is inclined
to identify bini «ilb Henryson of Fordell, ibc fallier of James Ilenryson wbo
was king's a«lv()cate and justice clerk, and wbo perislied in tbe fatal battle of
Klodden. 'Ibis very dui)ioiis account seems to bave oriijinated witb Mr Kttbert
Douglas; \\ bo avers tbat l{oi)ert Ilenryson appears to bave been a person of
distinction in tbe reign of James tbe '1 bird, and tbat be was tbe falber of tbe
king's advociite. Douglas refers to a <;ertain cbarter, granted by tbe abbot of
Dunfermline in 1178, wbere Hobert Ilenryson subscribes as a witness;' but in
tliis ciiarter be certainly appears witbout any particular distinction, as be merely
attests it in tbe cbaracter of a notary public. A later writer is still more ina<v.
curate wben be pretends tbat tbe same witness is described as Robert Ilenryson
of Fordell ;"^ in tins and otber two cbarters wbicb occur in the Chartulary of
Dunfermline, be is described as a notary public, without any other addition.''
Tbat tbe notary public, tbe schoolmaster of Dunfermline, and tbe proprietor of
Fordell, were one and tbe same individual, is by no means to be admitted upon
such slender and defective evidence. Henryson, or, according to its more
modern and less correct form, Henderson, was not at tbat period an uncommon
surname. It is not however improbable that tbe schoolmaster may bave exer-
cised the profession of a notary. While the canon law prevailed in Scotland,
this pi-ofession was generally exercised by ecclesiastics, and some vestiges of
the ancient practice are still to be traced ; every notary designates himself a
clerk of a particular diocese ; and by tbe act of 15S4, Avhich under tbe penalty
of deprivation prohibited the clergy from following tbe profession of tbe law,
they still retained tbe power of making testaments; so that we continue to ad-
mit the rule of the canon law, which sustains a will attested by the parish priest
and two or three witnesses.* If therefore Henryson was a notary, it is highly
probable that he was also an ecclesiastic, and if he was an ecclesiastic, he could
not well leave any legitimate offspring. The poet, in one of his works, describes
himself as " ane man of age;" and from Sir Francis Kinaston we learn tbat
" being very old he died of a diarrbse or fluxe." AVith respect to the period of
his decease, it is at least certain tbat he died before Dunbar, who in his Lament,
printed in the year 1508, commemorates him among otber departed poets:

" In Dunfermlitig he hes tane Broun,
With gude Mr Robert Henr3S0un."

The compositions of Henryson evince a poetical fancy, and, for tlie period
when he lived, an elegant simplicity of taste. He has carefully avoided tbat
cumbrous and vitiated diction which began to prevail among the Scottish as
well as the English poets. To his power of poetical conception he unites no
inconsiderable skill in versification : his lines, if divested of their uncouth ortho-
graphy, might often be mistaken for those of a much more modern poet. His
principal work is the collection of Fables, thirteen in number, which are written
in a pleasing manner, and are frequently distinguished by their arch simplicity;
but in compositions of this nature, brevity is a quality which may be considered

' Douglas's Baronage of Scotland, p. 518.

" Sibbald's Chrouicie of Scottish Poetry, vol. i. p. 88.

* Chartulary of Dunfermline, f. 6-i. a.— Robert Hennsonis a witness to other two charters
which occur in the same record, f. 63. a. b. His onl) mark of distinction is that of being de-
signated Magister, whiig the names of several other witnesses appear witiiout this title. He
had perhaps Uiken the degree of master of arts.

* Decretal. Gregorii IX. lib. iii. tit. xxvi. cap. x.

ROBERT IIENRYSON. 37

as almost indispensable, nor can it be denied that those of Henryson sometimes
extend to too great a length. The collection is introduced by a prologue, and
another is prefixed to the fable of the lion and the mouse.

The tale of Vpoulands Mouse and the Burgesse Mouse may be regarded as
one of his happiest eftbrts in this department. The same tale, which is boiTowed
from iKsop, has been told by many other poets, ancient as well as modern.
Eabrias has despatched the story of the two mice in a few veraes, but Henryson
has extended it over a surface of several pages. Henryson's Tale of Sir Chaun-
tecleire and the Foxe is evidently borrowed from Chaucer's Nonnes Preestes
Tale. From these apologues some curious fragments of information may be
gleaned. That of the Sheepe and the Dog, contains all the particulars of an
action before the consistory court, and probably as complete an exposure of
such transactions as the author could prudently hazard. The proceedings of the
ecclesiastical courts seem about this period to have been felt as a common grievance.

Another conspicuous production of Henryson is the Testament of Cresseid,^
which is the sequel to Chaucer's Troylus and Creseyde, and is commonly printed
among the works of that poet. It evidently rises above tiie ordinary standard
of that period, and on some occasions evinces no mean felicity of conception.
The silent interview between Troilus and Cresseid is skilfully delineated ; and the
entire passage has been described as beautiful by a very competent judge of old
poetry," It is unnecessary to remark that for " the tale of Troy divine," neither
Chaucer nor Henryson had recourse to the classical sources : tiiis, like some
other subjects of ancient history, had been invested with all the characteristics of
modern romance ; nor could the Scottish poet be expected to deviate from the
models which delighted his contemporaries. Sir Troilus is commended for his
knightly piety; a temple is converted into a kirk ; Mercury is elected speaker
of the parliament ; and Cresseid, on being afflicted with a leprosy, is consigned
to a spittal-house, in order to beg with cup and clappei-. The personages are
ancient, but the institutions and manners are all modern.

Henryson's tale of Orpheus is not free from similar incongruities, and pos-
sesses fewer attractions ; it is indeed somewhat languid and feeble, and may have
been a lucubration of the author's old age. Sir Orpheus is represented as a king
of Thrace, and is first despatched to heaven in search of the lost Eurydice.

Quhen endit was the sangis lamentable,

He take his harp, that on his breast can hj-ng,

Syne passit to the hevin, as sais the fable,
To seke his wj f, hot that auailit no thing :

5 The Testament of Cresseid, compylit be Mr Robert Henr3Sone, Sculemaister in Dun-
fermeling. Imprentitat Edinburgh be Henrie Charteris, 1593, 4to. — " Ffor the author of
this supplement," sa}s Sir Francis Kinaston, " erf lied the Testament of Cresseid, which may
passe tor the sixt and hist booke ot this story, I have very sufficiently bin informed by frir. Tho.
Ereskin, late earle of Kelly, and divtrs aged schoUers of the Scottish nation, that it was made
and written by one Mr Robert Henderson, sometime chiefe sclioole-master, in Dumfermling,
much about the time that Chaucer was fust printed and dedicfited to King Henry the 8th by
Mr Thinne, which was neere the end of his raigne. This l\lr Henderson wittily observing
that Chaucer in his 5tli booke had related the death of Troilus, but made no mention what
became of Cresseid, he learnedly takes upon him, in a fine poeticall way, to expres the punish-
ment and end due to a false unconstant whore, which commonly terminates in extreme misery."
See the Loves of Troilus and Cresseid, written by Chaucer; with a Commentary by Sir Fran-
cis Kinaston, p. xxix. Lond. 1796, 8vo. Kinaston had translated into Latin rhjme two books
of Chaucer's poem, and had published them under the title oi Amomm Troili et Ci eseidtE libri
duo prioies Anglico-Latini, Oxoniae, 1635, 4to. He completed his version of the poem, together
with a commentary ; and his manuscript at length came into the possession of Mr Waldron,
who announced his intention of committing it to the press, but did not find encouragement to

proceed bejond a short specimen.

6 Scott's Notes to Sir Tristrem, p. 362.

38 ROBERT IIENRYSON.

Hy Wiidlyng slrute' Jie went but taniiig,
Sync come lioun tlirou tliu speic of Saturn aid,
Quliilk fiulcr is ofall tliir slcinis c.ilil.

Havinjv scardiod llie sun and planets uitliout success, lie directs his course
towards the earth, and in his passage is regaled uith the music of the spheres,
liis subse>|uent adventures are circumstantially, hut not very poetically detailed.
In enumerating the various characters nhom he finds in the domains of I'luto,
the poet is guilty of a glaring anachronism: here Orpheus finds Julius Caesar,
Nero, and even popes and cardinals ; and it is likewise to be remarked that the
heathen and Christian notions of hell are blended together. But such anachron-
isms are very frequently to be found in the writers of the middle ages. Dlr
Warton remarks that Chaucer has been guilty of a very diverting, and what may
be termed a double anachronism, by representing Cresseid and two of her
female companions as reading the Thebaid of Statius.^ Like the fables of llen-
ryson, his tale of Orpheus is followed by a long moral ; and here he professes to
have derived his materials from 13oethius and one of his conmientators.

'Ihe Bludy Serk is an allegorical poem of considerable ingenuity. Ihe poet
represents the fair daughter of an ancient and Avorthy king as having been car-
ried away by a hideous giant, and cast into a dungeon, where she was doomed
to linger until some valiant knight should achieve her deliverance. A worthy
prince at length appeared as her champion, vanquished the giant, and thrust him
into his own loathsome dungeon. Having restored the damsel to her father, he
felt that he had received a mortal wound : he requested her to retain his bloody
shirt, and to contemplate it whenever a new lover should present himself. It is
unnecessary to add that the interpretation of this allegory involves the high mys-
teries of the Christian faith.

The Abbay Walk is of a solemn character, and is not altogether incapable of
impressing the imagination. Its object is to inculcate submission to the various
dispensations of Providence, and this theme is managed with some degree of
skill. But the most beautiful of Henryson's productions is liobene and JVIakyne,
the earliest specimen of pastoral poetry in the Scottish language. I consider it
as superior in many respects to the similar attempts of Spenser and Browne ; it
is free from the glaring improprieties Avhich sometimes appear in the pastorals of
those more recent writers, and it exhibits many genuine strokes of poetical deli-
neation. The shepherd's indifference is indeed too suddenly converted into love ;
but this is almost the only instance in which the operations of nature are not
faithfully represented. The story is skilfully conducted, the sentiments and man-
ners are truly pastoral, and the diction possesses wonderful terseness and suavity.

The Fables of Henryson were reprinted in 1832, for the Bannatyne Club,^
from the edition of Andrew Hart ; of which the only copy known to exist had
been recently added to that great repository of Scottish literature, the Advo-
cates' Library.

7 Watling-slreet is a name given to one of the great Roman ways in Britain. (Horsley's
Roman Antiquities of Britain, p. 3S7. Lond. 1732, fol.) I'liis piissage, which to some per-
sons may appear so unintelligible, will be best explained by a quotation from Chaucer's House,
of Fame, b. ii,

Lo, quod he, caste vp thyne eye,

Se jonder, lo, the Galaxye,

The whiche men clepe the Milky Way,

For it is whyte ; and some perfay

Callen it Watlynge strete.

8 In Shakspeare's Troilus and Cressida, sajs Mr Douce, " Hector quotes Aristotle, Ulysses
speaks of the bull-bearing Milo, and Pandarus of a man born in April. Friday and Sunday,
and even minced-pies with dates in them, are introduced," (Illustrations of Shakspeare, vol.
ii. p. 291.)

^ From the accurate memoir prefixed to this volume, we have, by the kind permission of tho

JAMES BONAVENTURA HEPBURN. 39

HEPBURN, James Bonaventura, of the order of the 31iiiims, said to have
been an extensive linguist, lexicographer, grammarian, and biblical commenta-
tor. When the histoi'ian and biographer happens within the i-ange of his sub-
jects, to find accounts of occurx'ences evidently problematical, and as evidently
based on truths, while he can discover no data for the separation of truth from
falsehood, his critical powers are taxed to no inconsiderable extent. There are
three several memoirs of the individual under consideration. The first is to be
found in the Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Scotorum, of Dempster, an author
whose veracity we have already had occasion to characterize. Another is in the
Lives of" Scots Writers, by Dr George M'Kenzie, a work to which we have made
occasional allusions, and which shall hereafter receive due discussion ; and the
third is in the European Magazine for 1795, from the pen of Dr Lettice.
Dempster's account is short and meagre, except in the enumeration of the great
linguist's works ; the second is as ample as any one need desire ; and the third
adds nothing to the two preceding, except the facetious remarks of the author.
Among other authorities wliich might have given some account of his writings,
or at least hinted at the existence of such a person, all we can discover bearing
reference to any of his twenty-nine elaborate works, is the slight notice we shall
presently allude to. According to M'Kenzie, "■ Dempster says that he is men-
tioned with great honour by Vincentius Blancus, a noble Venetian in his Book
of Letters;" on reference to Dempster, the apparentfy extensive subject shrinks
into " De Literis in manubx-io cultelli sancti Petri." Now we might have sus-
pected that Dempster had intended to perpetrate a practical joke in the choice
of a name, had we not, after considerable research, discovered that there is such
a discussion on the pen knife of St Peter in existence, from the pen of Vincenzo
Bianchi, a Venetian ;' to this rai-e work, however, we have not been so fortunate
as to obtain access, the only copy of it, of which we have been enabled to trace
the existence, being in the library of the British museum, and we must leave the
information it may afford on the life of Hepburn to some more fortunate
investigator. M'Kenzie farther states that " he is highly commended by that
learned Dr of the canon law, James Gafterel, in his book of Unheard of Curiosi-
ties ;" on turning to this curious volume, we find the author " highly recommend-
ing " Heurnius and his book, " Antiquitatum Philosophise Barbaricas."^ But
unfortunately for the fame of our linguist, the author of that book was Otho
Heurnius, or Otho Van Heurn, a native of Utrecht, and son and successor to tlie
celebrated physician Ian Van Heurn. We now turn with some satisfaction to the
only firm ground we have, on which to place the bare existence of Hepburn as
an author. In the Bibliotheca Latin o-Hebraica of Imbonatus,^ amidst the other
numberless forgotten books and names, it is mentioned in a few words that
" Bonaventura Hepbernus Scotus ord. min." wi'ote a small Hebx'ew lexicon,
printed in duodecimo : its descx'iption shows it to have been a small and trifling

editor, Dr Irving, abridged the above article. In the Lives of Scottish Worthies, Mr P. F.
Tytltr has entered at considerable length into the merits of Henr}son's poetr}', of which he
gives copious extracts. He sa}s — " of the works of this remarkable man it is difKcult, when
we consider the period in which they were written, to speak in terms of too warm encomium.
In strength, and sometimes even in sublimity of painting, in pathos and sweetness, in the
variety and beauty of his pictures of natural scenery, in the vein of quiet and playful humour,
which runs through many of his pieces, and in that fine natural taste, which rejecting the
faults of his age, has dared to think for itself — he is altogether excellent."

' Vincenzo Bianchi Parere intorno alii caratteri che sono sopra il manico del coltello di S.
Pietro, 4to, Ven., 1620.

" Jarobi Gaflarelli Curiosi tales inauditre, de figuris Pei'sarum talismanicis, cum notis, &c.,
ex editione Gregorii Michaelis, Hamb. 1676, 2 vols., 12mo, vide pp. 22, 35, 61, 134.

^ Bibliotheca Latino-Hebraica, sive de scriptoribus Latinis, qui ex diversis nationibus,
contra Juda;os, vel de re Hebraica utcumque scripsere, &c. auct. et vend. D. Carole J oseplu
Imbonato, Mediolanensi, p. 14.

40 JAMES BONAVENTURA HEPBURN.

priKliirtion, of a very <ii(ieit'iit dcscriplioii t'toiu llie vast volumes \vliicli Demp-
ster and iM'Keiizie liave [•ndiisoly att.i<;lied to liis name. We liave been unalilo
to procure access to this tlictionary, or to ascertain its existence in any public
library. Without some more ample data or authority, we should deem ourselves
worthy of the reproa(-h ol' pedantry, were we to aljbreviate the accounts presented
to us, and tell the reader, ex catliedra, what he is to believe and what he is to
discredit. We have then before us tiie choice, either to pass .Mr Hepburn over
in silence, or brieliy to state the circ;unistances of his life, as they have been pre-
viously narrated. To follow the former would be disrespectful, not only to the
veracious authors we have already mentioned, but also to the authors of the va-
rious respectable biographical works who have admitted Hepburn on the list of
the ornaments of literature ; and the latter method, if it do not furnish food for
investigation, may at least give some amusement.

James 15onaventura Hepburn, was son to Thomas Hepburn, rector of Old-
hamstocks in Lothian. Bl'Kenzie states that he was born on the 14lh day of
July, 1573, and, that we may not discredit the assertion, presents us with a re-
gister kept by the rector of Oldhamstocks, of the respective periods of birth of
his nine sons. He received his university educ^ition at St Andrews, where,
after his philosophical studies, he distinguished himself in the acquisition of the
oriental languages. Although educated in the principles of the protestant reli-
gion, he was induced to become a convert to the church of Rome. After this
change in his faith, he visited the continent, residing in France and Italy, and
thence passing through " Turkey, Persia, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Ethiopia, and
most of the eastern countries," gathering languages as he went, until he became
so perfect a linguist, " that he could have travelled over the whole earth, and
spoke to each nation in their own language." On returning from these la-
borious travels, he entered the monastery of the IMinims at Avignon, an order
so called from its members choosing in humility to denominate themselves
" Minimi Fratres Eremitae," as being more humble still than the fliinores, or
Franciscans. He afterwards resided in the French monastery of the holy Trinity
at Home. Here his eminent qualities attracted a ferment of attention from the
learned world, and pope Paul the fifth, invaded his retirement, by appointing
him librarian of the oriental books and manuscripts of the Vatican.*

W^e shall now take the liberty of enumerating a few of the many weighty
productions of our author's pen, chiefly it is to be presumed written during the
six years in which he was librarian of the Vatican. Dictionarium Hebraicum
— Dictionarium Chaldaicum — Peter Malcuth, seu gloria vel decus Israelis, [con-
tinet cent, homilias sive condones] — Epitomen Chronicorum Romanorum —
Gesta Regum Israelis — Grammatica Arabica, (said to have been published at
Rome in 1591, 4to.) He translated Commentarii Rabbi Kimchi in Psalterium —
Rabbi Abraham Aben Ezra Librum de IMyslicis numeris — Ejusdem Librum
aliuni de septemplici modo interpretandi sacram scripturam.

W'e shall now turn our consideration to one work of the celebrated linguist,
from which a little more information appears to be derivable. This is the
** Schema Septuaginta Duorum Idiomalum, sive virga aurea — quia Beat*
Virgo dicitur tot annis in vivis fuisse; et ille numerus discipulorum est Christi,
et Romanae Ecclesise cardinalium, et tot mysteria in nomine Dei : Romae, 1610."
M'Kenzie says, " this was comaaunicated to me by the late Sir John i\lurray of

* It is singular that a person in the 17th century, living in Italy, professing so many lan-
guages in a country where linguists were rare, a librarian of the Vatican, and one whose " em-
inent parts had divulged his fame through the whole city'' — should have entirely escaped the
vast researches of Andre in general literature, Fraboschi's ample Investigation of Italian
Literature, the minute Ecclesiastical Bibliographies of Dupin and Labbe, and other works of
the same description.

JAMES BONAVENTURA HEPBURN. 41

Glendoich, and since it is a singular piece of curiosity, I shall gire the reader
a particular account of it, with some reflections upon the different languages
that are here set down by our author." Whether by the term " communicated"
the biographer means to intimate that he saw the production he criticises, is
somewhat doubtful ; but at all events, our opinion of 31'Kenzie's veracity is such,
that we do not believe he would deliberately state that he had either been in-
formed of or shown any particular work by Sir John Murray, and thereafter ,
give a full and minute account of it, without some sort of foundation oh
which to erect his edifice of narrative. M'Kenzie proceeds to assure us that
this is a large print, engraved at Rome in the year 1616, and dedicated to Pope
Paul V. That upon the top is the blessed virgin, with a circle of stars about
her head, wrapt in a glorious vestment, upon which is her name in Hebrew,
sending forth rays of eulogiums in Latin, (ireek, and Hebrew, while over her
head appear the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Angels and the apostles are at
her side, and the moon and stars beneath her feet. Then follow seven columns
in Avhich these encomiums are translated into the numerous dialects with which
the mighty linguist was familiar. A great northern philologist, recently de-
ceased, has been held up to the wonder of the human race, as having been ac-
quainted with thirty-two languages ; but in a period Avhen few were acquainted
with more tongues than that of their native place, along with the Greek and
Latin, and when the materials for more extensive acquisitions Mere Avith diffi-
culty accessible, the craving appetite of Hepburn could not be satiated Avith
fewer than seventy-two. We have among these — The Cussian, the Virgilian,
the Hetruscan, the Saracen, the Assyrian, the Annenian, the Syro- Armenian, the
Gothic, and also the Getic ; the Scythian, and the Mceso-Gothic. Then he
leaves such modern labourers as Champolion and Dr Young deeply in the shade,
from his knowledge of the Coptic, the Hieroglyphic, the Egyptian, the Mercurial
Egyptiac, the Isiac-Egyptiac, and the Babylonish. He then turns towards the
Chaldaic, the Palestinian, the Turkish, the Rabbinical, the German Rabbinical,
the Galilean, the Spanish-Rabbinical, the Afro-Rabbinical, and what seems the
most appropriate tongue of all, the '* Mystical."^ Gradually the biographer rises
with the dignity of his subject, and begins to leave the firm earth. He proceeds
to tell us how Hepburn wrote in the " Noachic," the " Adamean," the " Solo-
monic," the " Mosaic," the " Hulo-Rabbinic," the " Seraphic," the "Angelical,''
and the " Supercelestial."^ " Now," continues M'Kenzie, with much complacency
at the successful exhibition he has made of his countryman's powers, but certain-
ly with much modesty, considering their extent, " these are all the languages
(and they are the most of the whole habitable loorld,) in which our author has
given us a specimen of his knowledge, and which evidently demonstrates that
he was not only the greatest linguist of his own age, but of any age that has
been since the creation of the world, and may be x'eckoned amongst those pro-
digies of mankind, that seem to go beyond the ordinai'y limits of nature."

Hepburn dabbled in the doctrines of the Cabala, but whether in vindication
or attack, the oracular observations of his biogi-aphers hardly enable us to as-
certain. He died at Venice in October, 1620, a circumstance in which Demp-
ster has the best reason to be accurate, as it is the very year in which he pens
his account. M'Kenzie finds that " others" (without condescending to mention
who they are,) " say that he died at Venice, anno 1621, and that his picture is
still to be seen there, and at' the Vatican at Rome." Dr Lettice, in the refined

* Perhaps the Cabalistic arrangement of the alphabet. »

^ Perhaps M'Kenzie may in naming this alphabet have had some confused idea in his
mind, of an arrangement of the celestial bodies, by alternate contortion, into something re-
simbling the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, followed Insome of the worshippers of the secret
scienrts. The arrangement was called the celestial alphabet. Vide Cafferel.
IIJ. F

42 KOHKRT HEPBUKN.

spirit of a |)!iil()S(n>lii(al bio<ji;ii)liei-, lias dr.nvii of liim the followiii;^ character:
" Alth()ti<>h llcphiini's atlaiimieiils in laiii^iiage were wortliy of great admira-
tion, 1 find no reason t(» beheve tliat his mind uas enhirged, or his understand-
ing remarkably vigorous. lie does not apj^ear to have possessed tiiat cjiiick
sense of remote but kindred objects, that a<;tive /'acuity of combining and felicity
of expressing related ideas, or tluxt intuitive «liscernnieiit betwixt heterogene-
ous ones ; tliose creative powers, in short, of thought or exj)ression, by which
original works of whatever kind are produced ; those works in the contempla-
tion of wliich alone, taste ever recognizes the fascination of genius." Did we
possess the power of creating opinions out of nothing, which the Ur possessed,
and to which he seems to refer, we should have tried his canons of criticism,
on a minute review of all Hepburn's works, but in the meantime, we can only
say, we can scarcely agree with him in thinking that the linguist had not a quick
sense of " remote but kin<lred objects," or that he had any delect in his dis-
cernment of heterogeneous ideas ; nor do we conceive that his biographer has
allowed him too narrow an allowance of " creative power."

HEPBUKN, Robert, of Bearford, a fugitive writer, who at a very early age
distinguished himself by the exhibition of strong talents, and an original genius,
which the briefness of his life did not permit to rise to maturity, was born about
1690 or IG'Jl. He studied civil law in Holland, with the intention of be-
coming a member of the legal profession in his native country. He returned
home in 1711, and in his twenty-first year attempted to imitate in Scotland the
fugitive literature which the Tatler had introduced to England. Hepburn's
work was an avowed imitation of that periodical. He named it " The Tatler,
by Donald Macstaft' of the North." This work was carried through thirty
weekly numbers ; it is, we believe, extremely rare, and we have been unable
to obtain a perusal of it. Lord Woodhouselee, who appears to have been
acquainted with it, says, in his Life of Karnes, " These papers are evidently the
production of a man of vigorous native powers, and of a mind not meanly stored
with ancient learning, and familiar with the best writings of the moderns. The
author might have shone in the treatment of general topics of moral discussion,
or of criticism ; but from a propensity not unnatural, where talents are combined
with an ardent temperament, and sarcastic turn of mind, his compositions were
fitted to give much offence, by the description of known characters, and
by the personal satire which he employed, with no gentle or delicate
hand, on some men of note, both in the ecclesiastical and civil department.s,
among his countrymen." In 171-2, Blr Hepburn became a member of the
faculty of advocates, but death quenched his fiery and ambitious spirit, before
he had an opportunity of exercising his professional talents. He left behind
him two opuscula, " Demonstralio quod Deus sit," published at Edinbin-gh in
1714, and " Dissertatio De Scriptis ritcarnianis," 1715. In the concluding
number of the Tatler, he announced for publication a translation of Sir George
M'Kenzie's curious tract " Idea Eloquentife Forensis ;" a project he appears to
have been prevented irom fulfilling. There is extant a curious pamphlet, " A
Discourse concerning the character of a Man of (ienius, by Mr Hepburn,"
Edinburgh, 1715. We have no doubt that this is from the hand of Mr Hep-
burn of Bearford ; it is the production of no ordinary mind. This small work
is divided into sections, each of which contains a condensed moral precept, or
aphorism : the quotation of one or two of these will give the best idea of the
author's talents, which can be now furnished. The reader will be surprised to
find "in our extracts, reflections which have now become common- place, but
which strikingly resemble many of those on which some of the moral and polite
philosophers of the last century raised their renown.

DAVID HERD.— GEORGE IIERIOT. 43

Sec. 7. " I (lont know by wiiat fate it happens, that some men have the for-
tune to be counted witSy only for jesting a little out of the common road, and for
endeavouring, in opposition to all the reason and sense of mankind, to turn
into ridicule those things which are, in their own nature, the most sacred and
venerable. But as a man is not infamous for being del'amed, so it is no dis-
paragement to any person or thing, to be laughed at, but to deserve to be so.
It was a wise answer of Diogenes, which we find mentioned by Plutarch, wlien
some of his friends told him that his enemies were laughing at him ; * but 1,'
replied he, ' am not derided.' "

Sec. 9. " A man of genius ought not, in my opinion, to think even his dress
below his notice; as the world is but too apt to judge by appearance."

Sec. 15. " A man discovers the extent of his genius, if, upon all occnsionsj
be handsomely acts his part, and behaves witli a good grace in every scene and
circumstance of human life. The care of doing nothing unbecoming has accom-
panied the greatest minds to the* last moments: they avoided an indecent posture,
even in the very article of deatli."

HERD, David, an ingenious and useful inquirer into our national antiquities,
was born in the parish of St Cyrus, Kincardineshire, about the year 1732. (>f
his education, and early life in general, nothing has been ascertained. He
probably served an apprenticeship under a country writer, and then, like many
young men in his circumstances, sought a situation of better promise in the
capital. Throughout a long life, he appears to have lived unambitiously, and a
bachelor, in Edinburgh, never rising above the character of a Writer''s clerk.
He was for many years clerk to Mr David Russel, accountant. A decided taste
for antiquities, and literary antiquities in particular, led Mr Herd to spend a
great part of his savings on books ; and although the volumes which he pre-
ferred were then much cheaper than now, his library eventually brought the
sum of £254, I'J*. 10c?. The same taste brought him into association with the
principal authors and artists of his own time : Runciman, the painter, was one
of his intimate friends, and with Ruddiman, Gilbert Stuart, Fergusson, and
Robert Burns, he was well acquainted. His information regarding Scottish his-
tory and biography was extensive. Many of his remarks appeared in the
periodical woi-ks of his time, and the notes appended to several popular works
were enriched by notes of his collecting. Sir Walter Scott, for instance, was
much indebted, in his Border Minstrelsy, to a manuscript of Mr Herd's, which is
frequently quoted by the editor, both for ballads and for information I'especting
them. Mr Herd was himself editor of what Scott calls " the first classical col-
lection" of Scottish songs, which first appeared in one volume in ITtiQ, and
secondly in two volumes, in 1772. At his demise, which took place, June 25,
1810, he was understood to have left considerable property, which fell to a
gentleman in England, supposed to have been his natural son, and who is said
to have died a major in the army.

HERIOT, George, founder of the excellent hospital in Edinburgh which
bears his name, and jeweller to king James VI., was descended from the Heriots
of Trabroun in Kast-Lothian. This respectable family was connected with some
of the most distinguished names in Scottish history. The mother of the illus-
trious Buchanan was a daughter of the family, and it was through the patronage
of James Heriot of Trabroun, his maternal uncle, that the future poet and stntes'
man Avas sent to prosecute his studies at the university of Paris. Elizabeth,
daughter of James Heriot of Trabroun, was the mother of Thomas Hamilton ot
Friestfield, first earl of Haddington, president of the court of session, and
secretary and prime minister to James VI. But the family may, with more
reason, boast of their connexion with the subject of this memoir, who, though

44 GEORGE HERIOT.

filling only the iinaristooratic rank of a tra«lt'snian, lias been the means of
flrnwinjv forth fnmi olisrurity some persons of hinh talent, aii<l inuni/ who liavo
moved in the middle ranks uilh the greatest honour to tlieniselves and benefit to
Society.

(ieorsje lleriot, senior, was a jroldsniith in l'Minl)urt;h and a person of wealth
and consideration. lie filled some of the most responsible <-.ivi(; situations in
the .Scotlisii metropolis : liis name often occurs in the rolls of the Scottish
jiarliament as a conuuissioner for lulinburgh, in the parliaments and conventions
of estates, and he was frequently appointed a commissioner by parliament for the
consideration of important questions.'

George, his eldest son (the subject of our inquiry) is supposed to have been born
in June, 15(53. He was destined to follow his father's profession, at that time
one of the most lucrative and honourable among the burgesses. The goldsmiths
of Edinburgh were, in ancient times, classed with the hammermen ; at what
time they were separated seems uncertain. Tl^ey received (in August, 1581)
a clmrter of incorporation from the magistrates, in ^\hich many privileges,
amounting in fact to a monopoly of their trade, were granted to them, and these
were afterwards (15SG) confirmed by a charter from James VI. 'Ihey were,
besides, for a long period, the only money lenders ; and the high rate of interest,
Avith their frequent counuand over the resources of the court and the nobility, ren-
dered them persons at once of wealth and power.

At the age of twenty-three George Heriot entered into a contract of marriage
uith Christian Marjoribanks, daughter of Simon INIarjoribanks, a substantial bur-
gess of Edinburgh. On this occasion, his father presented him with 1000
merks " to be ane begyning and pak to him," and 500 more to purchase the
implements of his trade and to fit out his shop. By his wife he received 1075
merks, which appear to have been lent out at ten per cent, interest, the usual
rate of that period. Their union does not appear to have been of long dura-
tion, although the date of this lady's death is unknown ; it is even doubtful if
she had any children — if she had, none of them survived her.

Master Heriot was admitted a member of the incorporation of goldsmiths on
the twenty-eighth of May, 1588. In 1597 he was appointed goldsmith to the
queen by a charter from James VI,, and this (to use the expression of a contem-
porary chronicler, Birrel,) " was intimat at the crosse be opin proclamatione and
sound of trumpet ; and ane Clei, the French man, dischargit, quha was the
queen's goldsmithe befor." Heriot was soon after constituted goldsmith and
jeweller to the king, with all the emoluments attached to that lucrative office.
It would appear that he had already amassed a considerable fortune from his
transactions with the court, but no notice of his work occurs in the treasurer's
books till September, 1599, when we have the following:

" Payit at his majesties special command, with advyiss of the lords of secret
counsal, to George Heriot, younger, goldsnuth, for a copburd propynit to 31on-
sieur Vetonu, Frenche ambassadour, contening the peces following, viz. : twa
basingis, twa laweris effeiring thairto, twa flaconis, twa chandilleris, sex couppis
with coveris, twa couppis without coveris, ane lawer for water, ana saltfalt with
ane cover ; all chissellit wark, and dowbill owirgilt, weyand twa stane 14 pund
and 5 unces at aucht mark the unce, £4160, Item, for graving of 28 almessis
upon the said copburd £14," Scots money.

No other notice of him appears between this period and that of the removal of
the court to England, whither he soon followed it.

Heriot was now possessed of large fortune, and determined upon forming a mar-
riage connexion with a family of good rank. The object of his choice was Alison

' Acts of the Parliaments o*' Scotland (folio edition), iv. 181, .379.

GEORGE HERIOT. 45

Primrose, eldest daughter of James Primrose, clerk to the Scottish privy council;
a gentleman whose industry and talents had raised him to that honourable office,
and who was the grandfather of the first earl of Koseberry. Heriot was also
destined to survive this lady, who died, without leaving issue, on the 16th
of April, 1612. "The loss of a young, beautiful, and amiable partner, at a
period so interesting," Sir Walter Scott conjectuies, ** was the probable reason
of her husband devoting his fortune to a charitable institution." She was interred
in the south aisle of the choir of Saint Gregory's church, where her sorrowing
husband erected a handsome monument, bearing a Latin inscription, to her
niemory.

From the period of Heriot's settlement at London little is known of his his-
tory. Many of the accounts of jewels furnished by him to the queen have been
preserved, and several are printed by Mv Constable in his memoir of Heriot,
These accounts, from 1605 to 1615, amount to many thousand pounds sterling,
but there does not appear to have been the same liberality towards all the mem-
bers of the royal family. We find the duke (then marquis) of Buckingham,
writing to his " dere dad, gossip and steward," the king, from the Spanish
court in the following manner relative to the prince ; " Hitherto you have beine
so sparing [of jewels] that wliereas you thougiit to have sent him sufficiently for
his one [own] wearing, to present to his mistris, who, I am sure shall shortlie
now louse that title, and to lend me, that 1 to the contrarie have bene forsed to
lend him." About the same period Charles writes the following letter from
Madrid to his royal father :

" 1 confess that ye have sent mor Jewells then (at my departure) I thought to
had use of; but, since my cumming, seeing manie jewels worne here, and that
my braverie can consist of nothing else, besydes that sume of them which ye
have appointed me to give to the Infanta, in Steenie's oppinion and myne are
not fitt to be given to her ; therefore I have taken this bouldness to entreate
your majesty to send more for my own wearing, and for giving to my mistris,
in which 1 think your majesty shall not doe amiss to take Carlyle's advice."^
It is said that Heriot furnished these jewels, and that they were never paid for
by James, but that their price was deducted from the purchase-money of the
barony of Broughton when bought by the trustees of the hospital.^ If this is
the case, it is the last transaction in which we have found Heriot engaged. He
died at London on the 12th of February, 1624, and was buried at St Martin's in
the Fields on the 20th of the same month.

Of Heriot's private character little unfoi'tunately is known. He seems to
have possessed those strict business-like habits of accuracy for which he is so di.s-
tinguished in the novel of the Fortunes of Nigel. With his relations he must
have lived on amicable terms, for besides the munificent provision made in his
will for the establishment of an hospital, he left considerable sums to many of his
relations. Of these the nearest were two natural daughters.

By his will, (dated 20th January, 1623,) he left the whole of his fortune, af-
ter deducting the legacies to his relations, servants, &c. to *' the provost, bail-
liffs, ministers, and ordinary council, for the time being, of tlie said town of
Edinburgh, for and towards the founding and erecting of an hospital within the
said town of Ldinburgh, in perpetuity ; and for and towards purchasing of cer-
tain lands in perpetuity to belong unto the said hospital, to be employed for the

« Stark's Picture of Edinburgh, p. 232.

^ Ellis's Letters illustrative of English history, (first series) iii. 143, 6 Buckingham adds
the following postscript in his usual sule: " 1 )our doge (dog) sayts \ou htve manie jewels
neither fill for your one (own,) jour sonts, nor )our daughters, wearing, liut very fitt lo be-
stow on those here who must ntcessarilie liave presents; and this wn) will be least chargeable to
vour m;ijesty in my poure opinion."

46 ROBERT HERON.

maintenance, relief, brin<rinnf up, and cdiKTition of so many ])oor fatherless
boys, freemen's sons of tiie town of iMlinljursi^li, as tlie means uliicli 1 j;ive, and
the yearly value of tiie lands purchased by tiie provost, Ijaiiills, ministers, and
council of tiie said town shall amount, or come to." '1 he oduc^Ttion of the Ijoys
is superintended by al>ie masters, and they are not only taught to read, write,
and cast accounts, (to which the statutes of the hos})ital originally confined tiie
trustees,) hut Latin, (n-cek, ^latiiematics, &c. If the boys ciioose a learned pro-
fession, tliey are sent to the university for four years, willi an annual allo\\ance
of tiiirty pounds. 'Hie greater numljer are bound apprentices to tradesmen in
the city, and are allowed the annual sum of ten pounds for five years; at the
end of their apprenticeship they receive five pounds to purdiase a suit of
clothes, upon producing a certificvite of good conduct from their master.

The foundation of the present magnificent structure (designed by the cele-
brated architect Inigo Jones,) was laid on the 1st of July, 1628, but from the
disturbed state -of the country continued unfinished till April, IG59. From the
rise in the value of their property, the yearly revenue at the disposal of the
trustees has very greatly increased, especially during the last half century. A
body of statutes by which the institution is governed was drawn up by Dr Bal-
canqual, dean of Kochester, the well known author of a " Declaration concerning
the late tumults in Scotland," 1639, published in name of king Charles I.

HEKOX, Robert, a miscellaneous writer, was born in the town of New
Galloway, on the Gth November, 1764. His father, John Heron, was a weaver,
generally respected for his persevering industry and exemplary piety. I'y his
grandmother, 3Iargaret Murray, aunt of the late Dr Alexander 3Iurray, he
claimed no very distant relationship to that profound philologist. He was early
instructed in his letters under the rareful eye of a fond parent, and was not sent
to the school of the parish until he had reached his ninth year. He soon be-
came remarkable for the love he showed for learning, and the unwearied anxiety
with which he pursued his inquiries after every point connected with his studies.
This being early perceived by his parents, they resolved to give him the benefit
of a liberal education as far as their means would allow. He had scarcely re-
mained two years at school when, at the age of eleven, he contrived to maintain
and educate himself by mingling with his studies the labour of teaching and
writing. From his own savings out of a very limited income, and a small as-
sistance from his parents, he was enabled to remove to the university of Edin-
burgh at the end of the year 1780.

His hopes of preferment at that time being centered in the church, he first ap-
plied himself to the course of study Avhich that profession requires. Wiiile
attending the college he was still obliged to devote a considerable portion of his
time to private teaching, as well as writing occasional essays for newspapers and
magazines, in order to provide for his subsistence. To quote his own words,
*' he taught and assisted young persons at all periods in the course of education,
from the alphabet to the highest branches of science and literature." Eeing
(veil grounded in a knowledge of the French language, lie found constant em-
ployment from booksellers in translating foreign works. His first literary pro-
duction, publislied with his name, appeared in 1789, " A Critique on the Genius
and Writings of Thomson," prefixed to a small edition of the Seasons. It was
highly spoken of, and reflected much credit on the judgment and taste of the author.
His next work was a version of Fourcroy's Chemistry, from the I'rench, followed
by Savary's Travels in Greece, Dumouriei-'s Letters, Gosner's Idyls in part, an
abstract of Zimmerman on Solitude, and several abridgments of Oriental Tales.

In 1790-1, he says he " read lectures on the law of nature, the law of na-
tions, the Jewish, Grecian, Roman, feudal, and canon law — and then on the

ROBERT HERON. 47

several fonns of municipal jurisprudence established in modern Europe;" — these
lectures, he says, were to assist gentlemen who did not study professionally, in
the understanding of history. Though he devoted mu(;h time and study to pre-
pare these lectures, he was afterwards unfortunate in not being able to obtain a
sufficient audience to repay him for their composition — they were consequently
soon discontinued. A syllabus of the entire course was afterwards published. Still
the sums of money he continued to receive from his publishers were amply sufficient
to maintain him in a respectable manner, if managed with prudence and discretion;
but his unlortunate peculiarity of temper, and extravagant desire of supporting a
style of living which nothing but a liberal and certain income would ad-
mit of, frequently reduced him to distress, and finally to the jail. He might
have long remained in confinement, but that some worthy friends interceded ;
and, on their suggestion, lie engaged himself to write a History of Scotland, for
which IMessrs Morrisons of Perth were to pay him at the rate of three guineas
a sheet, his creditors, at the same time, agreeing to release him for fifteen
shillings in the pound, to be secured on two thirds of the copyright; before this
arx'angement was fully concluded, melancholy to relate, nearly the whole of the
first volume of the History of Scotland was written in jail. It appeared in
1793, and one volume of the work was published every year successively, until
the whole six were completed. During that period he went on a tour through
the western parts of Scotland, and from notes taken on the road, he compiled
a work in two volumes octavo, called " A Journey through the Western Parts
of Scotland." He also gave to the world, " A Topographical Account of Scot-
land," " A New and Complete System of Universal Geography," " A fllemoir
of Robert Burns," besides many contributions to magazines and otlier periodical
works. He was also engaged by Sir John Sinclair, to superintend the publica-
tion of his Statistical Account of Scotland. By this time he had acquired great
facility in the use of his pen, and, being extremely vain of the versatility of his
genius, he flattered himself there was no range in literature, however high, that
was not within the scope of his powers. Impressed \vitli these ideas, he made
an attempt at dramatic composition, and having some influence with the manager
of the theatre, lie contrived to get introduced on the stage an after-piece,
written, as he says, in great haste, called, *' St Kilda in Edinburgh ; or. News
from Camperdown ;" — but as if to verify the adage, " Things done in a haste are
never done well," so it turned out with St Kilda. Being devoid of every tiling
like interest, and violating in many parts the common rules of decency, it was
justly condemned before it reached tiie second act.

Our author's vanity must have on this occasion received a deep MOund, being-
present in tlie house at the time ; — overwhelmed with disappointment, he flew to
his lodgings and confined himself to bed for several days. Still blinded by
vanity in the midst of his mental sufferings, he imputed the failure of his play to
the machinations of his enemies. He therefore determined on " shaming the
rogues" by printing. It is needless to say, it neither sold nor was talked of.
The most amusing part of this affair was tlie mode in which he persisted in forc-
ing his production on the public. We shall present our readers with an ex-
tract from his highly inflated preface. It commences with a quotation from
Sterne's Tristram Shandy. " The learned bishop Hall tells us in one of his de-
cades, at tlie end of his Divine Meditations, that it is an abominable thing for a
man to commend himself, and verily I think so; and yet, on the other hand,
when a thing is executed in a masterly kind of fasliion, which thing is not likely
to be found out, I think it is fully as abominable that a man should lose the hon-
our of it. This is exactly my situation." In the following he quotes Swift:

" When a true genius appears in the world, you may know hira by this sign —

48 ROBERT HERON.

that the diincex are all in (umfetleracy aijaiiist liiiii." Yet, tlionp^l) blinded by
lolly and ueii,'lu'd down by distress, still his filial atlections \\ero alive, and, al-
tlioii<>h he could not alKtiil his parents any |><'iiiianent siijtpoit, he seemed an-
xious to promote the ethication of their family ; which the following extracts
from liis letters will siitiiciently prove:

" I liope by living,' more pious and carefully, liy managing my income frimally,
and appropriatins^ a pari of it to the servi(^e of you and my sisters, and by livin<r
with you in future at least a third part of the year, to reconcile your allections
more entirely tome, and <rive you more comfort than 1 have yet done. Oh foroet
and fors^jive my follies; look on me as a son who will anxiously strive to com-
fort and please you, and, after all your misfortunes, to render the evening of
your days as happy as possible." And again, — '' We will endeavour," says he,
" to settle our dear (irace comfortably in life, and to educate our dear little
Betty and 3Iary aright." He brought his eldest brother, J<ihn, to lidinburgh,
to study at the university, uith the view of his entering the ciiurch ; he was a
youth of promising abilities, but of weak constitution, and sank into an early
grave in 1790. As the other children increased in years, faithful to his pr(H
mise, he brought his favourite sister, IMary, to live with him in Iulin])urgh to
complete her education. His irregularities, and consequent embarrassments,
made her situation in town any thing but an enviable one. Her mortifications,
however, in this life were not of long duration, as she died at his lodgings in
1798. To a mind of his quick sensibility this was a dreadful shock. Almost
frantic with grief at the loss he experienced, he gave himself up to the wildest
despair : every unkind action or word he made use of towards her rushed to
his distracted memory, until life itself was almost insupportable. Neither the
sympathy of friends, nor the consolations of religion, could mitigate his woes.
At tlie same time his means of subsistence became every day more precarious ;
his literary labours were ceasing to pay, so that, added to his other misfortunes,
starvation and a jail were hourly staring him in the face. Shunning as much
as possible all his former companions, he might now be seen wandering about
the suburbs of the city, with wasted cheek and sunken eye, a miserable victim of
want and care. By degrees, however, he was recalled to a better state of mind,
when, finding his views not likely to succeed any longer in Scotland, he was
induced to go to London in 1799. For the first few years of his residence
there, it appears he found good employment, and his application to study being
very great, his profits and prospects were alike cheering. In a letter written to
his father about the time we are speaking of, he says —

" 3Iy whole income, earned by full sixteen hours a-day of close application
to reading, writing, observation, and study, is but very little more than three
hundred pounds a-year. But this is sufficient to my wants, and is earned in a
manner which I know to be the most useful and honourable — that is, by teach-
ing beneficial truths, and discountenancing vice and folly more eftedually and
more extensively than 1 could in any other way. This 1 am here always sure
to earn, while 1 can give the necessary application; and if I were able to exe-
cute more literary labour I might I'eadily obtain more money.''

He for a time pursued his literary vocations with an unwearied industry, and
there was scarcely a publication then in London of any note but contained some
of his fugitive writings. He realized in consequence a good income, but, unfor-
tunately, for no great length of time. His former bad habits i-eturned, and while
money continued to flow in, he indulged in the wildest extravagance. Wish-
ing to be thought an independent man of fortune, he would carry his folly
BO far as at times to keep a pair of horses, with a groom in livery. All
this time his pen was laid aside ; and until warned of his fate by the appearance

ROBERT HERON. 4!)

of his last shilling, he seemed altogether devoid of reflection. Then he would
betake himself to his work, as an enthusiast in every tiling, confining himself for
weeks to his chamber, dressed only in his shirt and morning gown, and com-
monly with a green veil over his eyes, which were weak, and inflamed by such
fits of ill regulated study.

In 180G, he addressed a letter to Mr Wilberforce on the justice and expedi-
ency of the Slave Trade. He wrote a short system of Chemistry, and a few
months previous to his death he published a small work called the Comforts of
Life, whicii, it appears, met with a ready sale.

The last years of his life were spent in the deepest misery. His friends
and associates by degrees deserted hiui ; some offended at his total want of
steadiness, others worn out by constant importunities, and not a few disgusted
at the vanity and envy he displayed on too many occasions ; added to all this,
his employers found they could place no dependence on his promises, as he
would only resume his pen when urged to it by stern necessity, so that he found
at last, it was with great difficulty he could procure even a scanty subsistence.
Deep in debt, and harassed by his ci'editors, who were all exasperated at his
constant want of faith, he was at last consigned to the jail of Newgate, where
he dragged on a miserable existence for many months. From that vile prison
lie wrote the following pathetic appeal to the Literary Fund, which we derive
from a most appropriate source, U'lsraeli's " Calamities of Authors."

" Ever since I was eleven years of age I have mingled with my studies the
labour of teaching or writing to support and educate myself. During about
twenty years, while I was in constant and occasional attendance at the university
of Edinburgh, 1 taught and assisted young persons at all periods in the course
of education, from the alphabet to the highest branches of science and literature.
1 read lectures on the law of nature, the law of nations, the Jewish, the Girecian,
the Roman, and the canon law, and then on the feudal law, and on the several
forms of municipal jurisprudence established in modern Europe. I printed a
Syllabus of tliese lectures, which was approved ; they were as introductory
to the professional study of law, and to assist gentlemen who did not study it
professionally, in the understanding of history. I translated Fourci'oy's Chem-
istry twice, Savary's Travels in Greece, Dumourier's Letters, Gesner's Idyls in
part, an abstract of Zimmerman on Solitude, and a great diversity of smaller
pieces. I wrote a journey through the western parts of Scotland, which
has passed through two editions ; a History of Scotland in six volumes 8vo ; a
topographical account of Scotland, which has been several times reprinted ; a
number of communications in the Edinburgh Magazine ; many prefaces and
critiques. A Memoir of the Life of Burns, which suggested and promoted the
subscription for his family, has been reprinted, and formed the basis of Dr Cur-
rie's life of him, as I learned by a letter from the Doctor to one of his friends; a
variety oijeux d^esprit, in verse and prose, and many abridgments of large works.
In the beginning of 1799, I was encouraged to come to London. Here I have
written a great multiplicity of articles in almost every branch of literature, my
education in Edinbiu-gh having comprehended them all. The London Review,
the Agricultural Magazine, the Universal Magazine, the Anti-Jacobin Review,
the Public Characters, the Annual Necrology, with several other periodical works,
contain many of my communications. In such of these publications as have
been received, I can show that my anonymous pieces have been distinguished
with very high praise. I have written also a short system of Chemistry, and I
published a fe\v weeks since a small work called the Comforts of Life, of which
the first edition was sold in one week, and the second edition is now in rapid

50 DR. GEOnnK II ILL.

sale. In tlie newspapers — The Oracle, The Porcupine, when it existed. The
(jieneral Evenin^ I'ost, The llorninjr Tost, 'I'lie Hrilish I'ress, Tlie Courier, &:c.
1 have publisiied my reports of the debates in parliament, and I believe a
greater variety of i'ligitive pieces than I know to liave been \\ritten by any one
person. 1 iiave written also a great variety of compositions in J-atin and
Frencii, in favour of which I have been honoured witii tiie testimonials of liberal
approbation.

" I have invariably written to serve the cause of religion and morality, pious
Christian education, and good order in the most direct manner. I have con-
sidered what I have written as mere trifles, and I have incessantly studied to
qualify myself for something better. I can prove that I have for many years
read and written one day with another from twelve to sixteen lioin-s a-day. As
a human being I have not been free from follies and en-ors ; but the tenor of
my life has been temperate, laborious, humble, quiet, and, to the utmost of my
power, beneficent. 1 can prove the general tenor of my writings to be candid,
and ever adapted to exhibit the most favourable views of the abilities, disjwsi-
tions, and exertions of others. For the last ten months 1 have been brought to
the very extremity of bodily and pecuniary distress.

** I shudder at the thoughts of perishing in a jail.

" 92, Chancery Lane, Feb. 2d. 1807. (In confinement.)"

His life Mas now fast drawing to a close. With a mind bowed down by want
and despair, and a body emaciated from increasing disease, he was incapable of
farther exertion ; and being removed to an hospital as his last and only hope,
in one week after his entrance there, he breathed his last, on the 13th of April,
1807, without a friend to console or assist him. Thus perislied Robert Heron
in the prime of life, with talents and acquirements of a very rare descrip-
tion, which, if governed by prudence, were eminently calculated to gain for
him an honourable independence in the world. It is difficult to estimate the
true depth of his genius by his miscellaneous publications in prose ; his style
was of a mixed description, — sometimes pompous and declamatory, at other times
chaste and elegant. But it must be considered he was seldom allowed the
choice of a subject, being all his life under the dictates of a publisher.^ He
composed with great rapidity, and seldom made any corrections but in his proof
sheets. His appearance was at most times impressive and dignified ; his figure,
above the middle size, stately and erect, and his countenance had a benevolent
expression, though pale and care-worn from study and confinement.

With all his faults he had still many redeeming virtues; and above all a
strong sense of the respect which is due to religion and morality. In a diary
of his life, kept at various times, wliich contains a free confession of his senti-
ments, he has recorded, tliat, in whatever manner he spent tlie day, he never
closed his eyes at night without humbling himself in prayer before the throne
of the jMost High,

The brief memoir of this accomplished scholar affords another striking in-
stance of the impossibility of shielding genius from poverty and disgi'ace when
blinded by passion, or perverted by eccentricity.

HILL, (Dr) George, an eminent leader of the church of Scotland, and prin-
cipal of St Mary's college, St Andrews, was born in that city, in the month of
June, 1750. His father, the Rev. John Hill, was one of the ministers of St
Andrews ; and he went through his whole coui-se of education in the univereity
there. The elements of education he received very early, after which he was

' A specimen of Uie writings of this extraordinary genius is given in the present worli,
under the head " Robert Burns."

DR. GEORGE HILL. 51

sent to the grammar school, then taught by Mr Dick, who afterwards obtained a
chair in the university. While he continued at school, he made a rapid pro-
gress, and was generally at tlie head of his class. At the age of nine years, he
exhibited so much precocity of talent as to compose a sermon, superior in his
father's opinion to many sermons he had heard from the pulpit ; and the late
countess oi Buchan was so much pleased with it, that she requested it might be
dedicated to her, and carried it to London with her, with tlie intention of having
it printed. The intention, however, \vithout any loss to the world we presume,
was never brought into act. He entered upon his academical coui-se in the
eleventh year of his age, and in all the different classes maintained a decided
superiority. His tasks he performed always with ease; and he was highly
respected by all the professors under whom he studied. At foui-teen years of
age, he had completed liis pliilosophical course, and was made a niasler of arts ;
and, having determined to devote himself to the church, entered upon the study of
theology in his fifteenth year. During the second session of his theology, the earl
of Kinnoul, having been appointed chancellor of the university of St Andrews, gave
for the encouragement of learners, a number of prizes, to be bestowed on the
most deserving in the various classes. These prizes his lordship distributed to
the successful candidates with liis own hand ; and young Hill, having gained one
of them, though he had to contend with many that were greatly his seniors,
attracted the particular notice of his lordsiiip, who from tliat moment took a
warm interest in his success in life, giving him directions for his conduct, and
aid for the prosecution of liis scliemes, with the warmth of a parent rather than
the cold and stately formality of a patron. During his college vacations, he was
in the habit of visiting frequently at Temple, his uncle, Dr M'Cormick, the
biogi-apher of Carstairs, by whom he was introduced to the metropolitan of the
Scottish church, principal Robertson, and by the principal he was recommended
as tutor to the eldest son of Pryce Campbell, M. P., and at that time one of the
lords of the treasury. In consequence of this appointment, he repaired to Lon-
don in November, 1767, not having completed his seventeenth year. Such a
series of fortunate in<;idents occurs in the lives of few individuals. " Educated,"
says his biographer, " in the genuine principles of whiggism, he considered the
great design of government to be the promotion of the liberty and the happiness
of the people ;'' but in the close of the very same paragrapli this writer intro-
duces the subject of his panegyric saying to his mother, " as I have seen nothing
but mobbing and the bad effects of faction since 1 came to England, I am very
moderate, and think it the duty of an honest man to support almost any min-
istry," Mr Hill was, indeed, a whig of a somewhat odd kind ; the man whom he
most admired was lord North, and tlie objects of his aversion and his vituperation
were the American colonists, JMessrs Beckford, Wilkes, and the other members of
the opposition in the house of commons.

Mr Hill, while at St Andrews, had been an ambitious member of those associa-
tions generally formed at colleges for the purpose of exercising the talent of
speech, and he was not long in London till he found his way into the Bobin
Hood Debating Society, Avheie he even then consulted his interest by defending
the measures of administration. His account of this society gives no very high
idea of its members. ** Last night I went to the Robin Hood Society and w<i3
very highly entertained there. We had speakers of all kinds, shoemakers,
weavers, and quakers, whose constant topic was the dearness of provisions.
There were one or two who spoke very <;omical]y, and with a great deal of
humour. But what surprised me much, I heard one of the easiest and most
masterly speakers tiiat ever I heard in my life. His dress was rather shabby,
but he is a constant attendant and by long practice has greatly improved. I

52 DR. GEORGE HILL.

spoke once or twif.e, aud had the lioiioiir of hoinij listened to with gi-eat atten-
tion, which is .a CDMijjiinienl in ;v society of tiiis i^ind, whicii is nirule up of [»ef>ple
of all descriptions. It sits on .Mondays from eii;lit to ten. A ticket costs six-
pence, for wliicii yon g^et a well ii-'hted room and as much porter and lemonade
as yon choose to drink. There is a siiljject fixed, and if that fail, the president
gives another. 1 shall he a constant attendant, not only as it is one of the
highest entertainmenls, but as the best substitute for the select clubs which I have
left." — " 1 carried,'' he says in another letter to his mother, " my pupil to the
Robin Hood Society, along with 31r IJrodie, 31r Campbell's parochial clergyman
at Calder, who was on a visit to London. I made a sphjndid oration, \vhicli had
the honour of a loud clap, and was very much approved by Mr Hrodie. It is
a Hue exercise for oratorical Lilents." (Jn another occasion I\Ir Hill thus
expresses himself: " I am obliged to you for your observations on the knowledge
of mankind. The true secret certainly for passing through life with comfort, and
especially to a person in my situation, is to study the tempers of those about himand
to acconnnodate himself to them, I don't know whether 1 am possessed of this
secret, or whether there is something remarkable in the persons with whom I
converse, but I have found every body with whom I have had any connexion
since I came to England or Wales, exceedingly agreeable. From all I have
met with politeness and attention, and, from many, particular marks of favour
and kindness. I may be defective in penetration and sagacity, and in judging
of character, but I am sure I am pliable enough, more than I think sometimes
quite right. I can laugh or be grave, talk nonsense, or politics, or philosophy,
just as it suits my company, and can submit to any mortification to please those
witii whom I converse. I cannot flatter; but I can listen with attention, and
seem pleased with every thing that any body says. By arts like these, which have,
perhaps, a little meanness in them, but ai'e so convenient that one does not
choose to lay them aside, I have had the good luck to be a favourite in most
places." This at eighteen, except perhaps in Scotland, will be looked upon as
an amazing instance of precocious worldly sense. In the scramble for the good
things of this world, had such a man failed, who could ever hope to succeed?

In a subsequent letter to his mother, referring to the circumstance of a younger
brother entering upon his education, he observes, " What is the learning of any
one language, but throwing away so much time in getting by heart a parcel of
words in one language, and another parcel corresponding to the fii"st in another?
It is an odd thing that some more rational and useful employment cannot be
found out for boys of his age, and that we should still throw away eight or ten
years in learning dead languages, after we have sponged out of them all that is
to be found. God certainly never intended that so much of our time should be
spent in learning Greek and Latin. The period allotted to us for action is so
short that we cannot too soon begin to fit ourselves for appearing upon the stage.
31r Campbell cannot read (jreek, and he is a bad Latin scholar ; yet he is a
philosopher, a divine, and a statesman, because he has improved his natural
parts by reading a great de.al of English. I am, and perhaps all my life shall
continue a close student ; but I hate learning. 1 have no more than is absolutely
necessary, and as soon as I can I shall throw that little away." Whatever was his
Latinity, Mr Campbell's interest was good and promised still to be better, in
consequence of which r>lr Hill's friends were instant with liim to go into the
church of England, where, through the attention of Mr Campbell, he might be
much better provided for than he could be in the church of Scotland, to which,
notwithstanding, he still professed not only adherence, but a high degree of
Feneration.

From this temptation he was delivered by the death of 31r Pryce Campbell.

DR. GEORGE HILL. 53

wlio was ctit off in the prime of his days, and in the midst of his expectations.
Mr Hill, however, was still continued with his pupil, who was now under the
protection of his grandfather ; and as great part of his estates lay in Scotland,
tliat his education might be con-esponding to the duties which, on that account,
he might have to perform, young Campbell was sent for two sessions to the
university of Edinburgh, and that he might be under the eye of principal
Robertson, he was, along with his tutor, boarded in the house of JIrs Syme, the
principal's sister. During these two sessions, Mr Hill attended the divinity
class and the meetings of the Speculative Society, where he acquired considerable
eclat from a speech in praise of the aristocracy. He also waited on the General
Assembly, in the debates of which he took so much interest as to express his wish
to be returned to it as an elder. With Dr Robertson his intercourse was uninter-
rupted, and by him he was introduced to the notice of the principal men in and
about Edinburgh. By his uncle, Ur M'Cormick, he was introduced at Arniston
house, and in that family (Dundas) latterly found his most efficient patrons. While
he was thus swelling the train of I'ank and fashion, it was his fortune to meet for
the first time, dining at general Abercrombie's, Avith the celebrated David Hume,
of whom he thus wrote immediately after : " I was very glad to be in company
with a man about whom the world has talked so much ; but I was greatly sur-
prised with his appearance. I never saw a man whose language is more vulgar, or
whose manners are more awkward. It is no affectation of rudeness as being a
philosopher, but mere clownishness, which is very surprising in one who has
been so much in high life, and many of whose writings display so much
elegance." During all this time, the progress of his pupil was not commensu-
rate to the expectations of his friends, and the expenses it occasioned ; and
with the approbation of his patron, lord Kinnoul, 31r Hill resigned his charge.
Mr Morton, professor of Greek in the university of St Andrews, at tliis time
wishing to retire on account of the infirmities of age, Mr Hill became a candidate,
was elected after some little opposition, and on the 2lst of May, 1772, was
admitted joint professor of Greek, being yet only in the twenty-second year of
his age. He now went to London with his former pupil, and visited Cam-
bridge, where Mr Campbell was to finish his studies ; and, having received from
lord Kinnoul and Dr Robertson ample testimonials to the ability and faithfulness
with which he had discharged his duty while residing in Edinburgh, the family
parted with him, expressing their thankfulness, their respect, and regret. Return-
ing to Scotland, he spent some time with his uncle, preparing for meeting with
his class, which he did in the end of the year 1772. 1 he duties of this charge
did not prevent him from various ether pursuits. In the year 1774, Mr Camp-
bell, in order to make the most of his parliamentary interest in the shire of
Nairn, gave to a number of his friends votes upon life-rent superiorities, and among
others conferred one upon Mr Hill, who, while at Nairn performing his friendly
office as one of Mr Campbell's voters, nearly lost his life by sleeping in a room
that had been newly plastered. His gxoans, however, happened to be heard, and
a physician being in the house to give immediate assistance, he was soon
recovered. The year following, he formed the resolution of entering the church,
and having made application to the presbytery of Haddington, with which,
through his brothei'-in-law Mr Murray of North Berwick, he considered himself
in some sort connected, he was by that reverend court licensed to preach the
gospel on the 3d of May, 1775. He was immediately after this employed as
assistant to principal Tullidelph in the parochial church of St Leonard's, which
has always been united with the principalty of the college. In this situation,
he continued till the death of principal Tullidelph in the year 1777. The same
year he was otlered the parish of Coldstream by the earl of Haddington ; hut he

54 Dn. GEORGE II ILL.

did not think it worlli ncrcpdni., 'J'|i,> following year, on tlic dcrillj of Dr
l?aiilie, professor of tlu'oloi;y in Hie <:olli-j;e of (.lasgow, iirinciiml Jioberlson
desirt'd liini to stand candidate for that «;liair ; but lie seems to liave taken no
sleps for lliat piajtose, jtrobabiy from tlie cirrnmslance of iiis being only a
j»readier, wliicli niiglit liave operated against liim in (uise of a well siipjuirled can-
didate coming forward. '1 be same year, probably to be ready in case of a similar
emergency, be again applied to the presbytery of Haddington, and was by llieni
ordained to tbe lioly ministry. In the year 1771), tlnoiigb Hie interest of prin-
cipal Kobertson, and his uncle Dr M'Cormick, he was oflered one of the cburclies
of Kdinbiirgb, with tbe j»rospect of a chair in the university in a short time.
This also he detdiiied with a view to some contemplated arrangements of lord
Kiniioul. In conse<jiience of the death of principal 31<)ris()ii, l3r (iillespie Avas
shortly after removed from the first charge in the city to the principally of the
new college. Dr Adanison, the second minister, was promoted to Dr dillespie's
benefice, and Mr Hill was elected by the town-council successor to Dr Adanison.
In consefpience of his holding the professorship of Greek, I\Ir Hill's induction
was protested against by a member of the presbytery of St Andrews, and the
case was brought before the General Assembly in the year 1780, which dismissed
it without ceremony, as it did also overtures on the subject from the synods of
Fife, Perth, and Stirling. Mr Hill was, accordingly, with the full concurrence
of the congregation, admitted to the church in which his father had officiated,
on the 2-2nd day of June, 1780. Since his settlement at St Andrews as a pro-
fessor of Greek, he had sat in the General Assembly as an elder ; he now
appeared in the more weighty character of a minister, and on the retirement of
Dr Robertson became the most important member of the house, and confessedly
the leader of the moderates.

We have already noticed his acceptance of a life-rent superiority, by which he
became a freeholder in the county of Nairn in the year 1774. He continued to
stand on the roll of fi-eeholders for that county till the winter of 1784, when a
new election came on; but Mr Campbell, from being on the side of the ministry,
was now violent on the side of the opposition. In this case, for Mr Hill to have
given his vote to 3Ir Campbell's candidate would have been considered by the
ministry as open rebellion against their claims on the church, for which they
might have selected another leader, and have, at the sam3 time, withdrawn every
mark of their favour from him. They might also have prosecuted him before
the justiciary on a charge of perjury, as they had already done some others in
similar circumstances. Under this complication of difficulties, Mr Hill as usual
had recourse to the earl of Kinnoul, and to his brother-in-law Mr Murray of
North Eerwick. Lord Kinnoul most ingeniously gn\e him back his own views ;
did not, as chancellor of the university think he was warranted to allow him to
desert his professional duties for the purpose merely of giving a political vote ;
and stated, that though he himself could have greatly extended his interest by
such votes as 31r Hill possessed, he had never granted one of them. A charge
of perjury he admitted, might be brought against any person who received them,
and whether it might be well founded or not, it was a charge to which, in his
opinion, no minister of tbe gospel should expose himself. '1 he judgment of his
lordship we cannot but appi-ove, though it is probable that if the candidate had
been a ministerial one, the (ireek class might have been allowed a few holidays
without the smallest impropriety. JMr IMurray, Avhile he regretted (though he
no doubt knew it from the first,) that his friend should ever have accepted such
a vote, applauded his purpose of relinquishing it, and of refusing, under all cir-
CJ-inistances, to comply with the requisition to attend the election. IMr Hill's
biographer labours hard to clear him from any degree of blame in this afiair,

DR. GEORGE HILL. 55

but without efTect : it carnes its character full in its face, and liolds up a most
important lesson to all clergymen, to beware of intermeddling in political
intrigues of any kind.

In 1787 Mr Hill was honoured by the university with the title of D.D., and
in 1788 was appointed to succeed Dr Spens as professor of divinity in St Mary's
college. He had been the previous year appointed dean to the order of the
thistle, a place that had been first created to gratify Dr Jardine for his services
in support of Dr Robertson, but with no stated salary ; the dean only claiming a
perquisite of fifty guineas on the installation of every new knight. During Dr
Hill's incumbency, no instalment took place, and he of course derived no
pecuniary benefit from the situation. He had been little more than three
years in the divinity chair, when the situation of principal became vacant
by the death of Dr Gillespie, and it was by lord Melville bestowed on
Dr Hill. This appointment in his letter of thanks he considered as peculiarly
valuable, as being tlie best proof that lord Melville approved the mode in which
he had discharged the duties of the divinity professorship. " I will not attempt,
he continues, to express by words the giatitude which I feel ; but it shall be the
study of my life to persevere as a clergyman in that line of conduct upon which
you have generously conferred repeated marks of your approbation." This was
the termination of his university preferment ; but he Avas shortly afterwards
nominated one of his majesty's chaplains for Scotland, with a salary annexed ;
and, on the death of his uncle Dr M'Cormick, he succeeded him as one of the
deans of the chapel royal. The deanery of the thistle already noticed
w.is unproductive ; but the above two situations, while they added nothing to his
labours, increased his income in a matex'ial degree. In his management of the
General Assembly Dr Hill copied closely after Dr Robertson ; except that the en-
tire satisfaction of himself and his party with the law of patronage as it then stood,
was marked by withdrawing from the yearly instructions to the ctmimission,
the accustomed order to embrace every opportunity of having it removed, and by
still bolder attempts to do away with the form of moderating calls for presentees
and to induct them solely upon the footing of presentations. In his progress Dr
Hill certainly encountered a more formidable opposition than Dr Robertson
latterly had to contend with. In one case, and in one only, he was com-
pletely defeated. This was an overture from the presbytery of Jedburgh con-
cerning the imposition of the Test upon memhers of the established church of
Scotland, which it was contended was an infringement of the rights of Scotsmen,
and a gross violation of the privileges and independence of the Scottish church.
In opposition to the overture it was maintained by the moderates of the assembly
that the Test Act was a fundamental article of the treaty of union ; and Dr Hill,
in particular, remarked that there were no complaints on the subject except from
one single piesbytery, nor was there any ground to complain ; for, to a liberal
and enlightened mind it could be no hardship to partake of the Lord's Supper
according to the mode sanctioned by a church whose views of the nature and
design of that ordinance were the same with his own. For once the popular
party gained a triumph, and the accomplished and ingenious leader was left in
a minority. A series of resolutions moved by Sir Henry Moncrieff were adopted,
and by the unanimous voice of the assembly a committee was appointed to follow
out the spirit and purpose of these resolutions. Care, however, was taken to
render the committee of n'> avail, and nearly thirty years ela2}sed without any
thing further being done, ffe cannot enlarge on Dr Hill's administration of
the affairs of the church, and it is the less necessary that no particular
change was effected under him. Matters generally went on as usual, and
the influence of political men in biasing her decisions were, perhaps, fully

5Q DR. GEORGE HILL.

more <"oiispicuous tlian under his jtredecesBor. Of his expertness in business,
and general powers of management, tlie very liighest sense was entertained by
the public, though ditfureiices of opinion latterly threatened to divide his sup-
porters.

Ill 1807 Dr Ilill had a severe attack, from whidi it was ajiprehended
he would not recover ; contrary to all expectation he did recover, and the
fulloHing year, on the death of Dr Adamson, he was presented to the first
ecclesiastical charue in the city of St Andrews. Eight years after, namely, iu
18l(i, we find him as active in the (ieneral Assembly as at any former period of
liis life. Shortly after this time, however, he was attacked with slight shocks of
apoplexy, whicii impaired his speech, and unfitted him for his accustomed exer-
cises. He was no more heard in the assembly house ; but he continued to
preach occasionally to his own congregation till the year 1819, when he was
laid aside from all public duty. He died on the lUth of December that year,
in tiie seventieth year of his age, and thirty-ninth of his ministry.

Dr Hill married in 1782, 3Iiss Scott, daughter to IMr Scott, a citizen of Edin-
burgh, who had chosen St Andrews as his place of retirement in his old age,
after he had given up business. By this lady, who survived him, Dr Hill had a
large family, several of whom are yet alive. His eldest son is Dr Alexander
Hill, professor of divinity in the university of Glasgow. In a life of principal
Hill, it would be unpardonable to pass over his various publications, some of
whicli possess high excellence. We cannot, however, afford room for criticism,
and shall merely notice them in a general way. Single sermons seem to have
been his first publications, though they are mentioned by his biographer in a
very indistinct manner. One of these, preached before ihe sons of the clergy,
seems to have been sent to the bishop of Loudon, whose commendation it re-
ceived. Another, from the text, "Happy art thou, O Israel ; who is like unto
thee, O people saved by the Lord ?" was published in the year 1792, as a seda-
tive to the popular excitement produced by the French revolution. The sermon
was an unmeasured panegyric on the existing order of things in Great Britain,
and had, for a short time, an immense popularity. "I believe it will be agree-
able to you," writes his bookseller, "to inform you that I have had success with
respect to your sermon, beyond my most sanguine imagination. I have written
a hundred letters upon the subject, and have got all the capital manufacturers in
Scotland to enter into my idea. I have printed off ten thousand copies of the
coarse, and one thousand copies of the fine. I have got letters of thanks from
many capital persons, with proper compliments to you. * * * I congratulate
you upon the extensi\'e circulation of the sermon, for never was such a number
of a sermon sold in this country before, and I flatter myself it will, in a great
measure, answer the purpose for which it was intended." The following year
he published a third sermon, " Instructions afforded by the present war to the
people of Great Britain." In 1795, he published a volume of sermons, which is
said to have met with limited success. Several years afier, Dr Hill published
" Theological Institutes," containing Heads of his Lectures on Divinity, a work
which continues to be highly estimated as a theological text-book ; " a View of
the Constitution of the Church of Scotland;" and " Counsels respecting the
duties of the Pastoral Office.'' This last is an interesting and valuable work. In
1812, he published, " Lertures, upon portions of the Old Testament, intended to
illustrate Jewish history and Scripture characters." To this work is prefixed the
following dedication : "To the congregation which attends the author's minis-
try, this specimen of a Course of Lectures, in which he led them through the
Books of the Old Testament, is, with the most grateful sense of their kindness,
and the most affectionate wishes for their welfare, reipectfully inscribed." There

SIR ROGER HOG. 57

is no mode of publication a minister f;an adopt so likely to be useful as this. It
g'ives a most pleasing idea of a clergyman when he thus takes, as it were, a last
farewell of his people, who cannot fail to peruse a work bequeathed to them
under such circumstances, with peculiar interest. These lectures, we doubt not,
were regarded among his parishioners more than all his other wox'ks. Of Dr
Hill's character the reader has been furnished with materials for forming a judg-
ment for himself. His precocious abilities, his talents for adapting himself to the
uses of the world, his diligence in all his offices, and his powers of managing
public business and popular assemblies, conspire to mark him out as a very ex-
traordinary man. It may only be remarked that, for the most of tastes, his con-
duct will in general appear too much that of a courtier.

HOG, (Sir) Roger, lord Harcarse, a judge and statesman, was born in Ber-
wickshire about the year IG35. He was the son of William Hog of fiogend,
an advocate of respectable i-eputation, to whom is attributed the merit of having
{irepared some useful legal works, which have unfortunately not been given to
the public. The subject of this memoir passed as an advocate in June IG6 1, and
continued in the enjoyment of a lucrative and successful practice, till a breach
between Nisbet of Uirleton, and the powerful and vindictive Hatton, opened for
him a situation on the bench on the resignation of that judge in 1677 ; being
marked out by the government as a useful instrument, the appointment was ac-
companied with the honours of knighthood from Charles the Second. At this
period the judges of the Scottish courts, like ministerial officers, held their situa-
tions by the frail tenure of court favour, and were the servants, not of the laws,
but of the king. It was the good fortune of Harcarse to be, in the eai'lier part
of his career, particularly favoured by the ruling pow ers ; and on the 1 8th No-
vember, 1678, we accordingly find Sir John Lockhart of Castlehill summarily
dismissed from the bench of the court of justiciary, and Harcarse appointed to
fill his place. At this period he represented the county of Berwick in the Scot-
tish parliament, an election which, from the journals of the house, we find to
have been disputed, and finally decided in his favour. A supreme judge of the
civil and criminal tribunals, and a member of the legislative body, Harcarse must
liave had difficult and dangerous duties to perfonn. The times were a labyrinth
full of snares in which the most wary went astray : few of those who expe-
rienced the sunshine of royal favour, passed with credit before the public eye,
and none were blameless. Among the many deeds of that bloody reign, which
mankind might well wish to cover with a veil of eternal oblivion, was one dar-
ing and unsuccessful attempt, with regard to which, the conduct of Harcarse, in
such an age and in such a situation, had he been known for nothing else, is wor-
thy of being commemorated. In IG81, the privy council had called on Sir
George M'Kenzie, as lord advocate, to commence a prosecution for treason and
perjury against the earl of Argyle, for his celebrated explanation of his under-
standing of the contradictions of the test. To the eternal disgrace of that emi-
nent man, he brought with him to the prosecution those high powers of argument
and eloquence with which he had so frequently dignified many a better cause.
The relevancy of the indictment was the ground on which the unfortunate earl
and his counsel. Sir George Lockhart, placed their wiiole reliance, but they lean-
ed on a broken reed. In a midnight conclave, held it would appear after the
minds of most of the judges were sufficiently fatigued by the effect of a long day
of labour, the full depth of iniquity was allowed to the crime " of interpreting the
king's statutes other than tiie statute bears, and to the intent and effect that they
wei-e made for, and as the makers of them understood." Queensberry, who pre-
sided as justice general, having himself been obliged to accompany the oath with
a qualification, remained neuter, and to oppose the insult on sense and justice,

58 SIR ROGER HOG.

was left to llarcarse. and Colliii<;1oii, a yelcraii cavalier. In order to do the busi-
ness with certainty, and prevent his majesty's interest from being sacrificed to
opposition so unusual and captious, Nairn, an inlirniand superannuated judge, was
dragged from his bed at dead of night, and the feelde frame of the oWl man
yielding to the desire of sleep while the clerk read to him a sununary of the pro-
ceedings, he was roused from his slumber, and by his vote the relevancy of the
indictment was ciuried by a majority of one. 1 lie i-ourse pursued by lord llar-
carse in tliis trial escaped the vengeance of government at the time, but his con-
duct was held in remembrance for a future opportunity. In the year 1688, a
question came before the court of session, in which the matter at issue was, whe-
tiier a tutory, named by the late niarcjuis of Monti'ose, should subsist after the
death of one of the tutors, who had been named, in the language of the Scottish
law, as a " sine <]ua non." In a matter generally left to the friends of the pu-
pil, the unusual measure of the instance of the lord advocate was adopted by go-
vernment, for the purpose of having the pupil educated in the Homan catholic
faith. Wauchope lord Edmonstone and Harcarse voted for the continuance of
the trust in the remaining tutors, and on a letter from the king, intimating to the
court that, " for reasons best known to himself," it was his royal will and plea-
sure that they should cease to act as judges, both were removed from the bench,
" notwithstanding," says Fountainhall, with some apparent astonishment, " that
Edmonston was brother to Wauchop of Nidrie, a papist." The doctrine of the
law, previously vaccilating, has since this decision been considered as properly
fixed, according to the votes of the majority ; but an opposition to the will of
government in such a matter can be attributed to no other motives but such aa
are purely conscientious. Other opinions on government and prerogative,
maintained in a private confeience with some of the leaders of the ministry, are
alleged to have contributed to this measure ; but these were never divulged. At
the period of his downfall, a public attack was made on the character of lord
Harcarse, on the ground of improper judicial interference in favour of his son-
in-law, Aytoun of Inchdarnie, by an unsuccessful litigant. These animadversions
are contained in a very curious pamphlet, entitled " Oppression under colour of
Law ; or, my Lord Harcarse his new Practicks: as a way-marke for peaceable sub-
jects to bewai« of playing with a hot-spirited lord of Session, so far as is possible
when Arbitrary Government is in the Dominion," by Robert Pittilloch, advocate,
London, 1689.^ The injured party is loud in accusation ; and cei-tainly if all the
facts in his long confused legal narrative be true, he had reason to be discon-
tented. He mentions one rather striking circumstance, that while the case was
being debated at the side bar of the lord ordinary, previous to its coming before
the other judges, " my lord Harcarse compeared in his purple gown, and de-
bated the case as Inchdarnie's advocate;" a rather startling fact to those who
are acquainted with the comparatively pure course of modern justice, and which
serves with many others to show the fatal influence of private feeling on our ear-
lier judges, by whom an opportunity of turning judicial influence towards family
aggrandizement, seems always to have been considered a gift from providence not
to be rashly despised. After the Revolution, the path of honour and wealth was
again opened to lord Harcarse, but he declined the high stations proffered to
him ; and the death of a favourite and accomplished daughter, joined to a disgust
at the machinations of the court, prompted by his misfortunes, seems to have work-
ed on a feeble frame, and disposed him to spend the remainder of his days in
retirement. He died in the year 1700, in the 65th year of his age, leaving be-
hind him a collection of decisions from 1681 to 1692, published in 1757, in the
form of a dictionary, a useful and well arranged compilation. The pamphlet of
* Re-edited b) Mr Maidment, Advocate, in J827.

JOHN HOLYBUSH. 59

the unsuccessful litigant, previously alluded to, though dictated by personal and
party spleen, has certainly been sufficient somewhat to tinge the judicial integ-
rity of lord Harcarse ; but those who had good reason to know his qualities have
maintained, that " both in his public and private capacity, he was spoken of by
all parties with honour, as a person of great knowledge and probity;"^ it would
indeed be hard to decide how far the boasted virtues of any age might stand the
test of the opinion of some more advanced and pure stage of society, did we not
admit that in a corrupt period, the person who is less vicious than his contem-
poraries is a man of virtue and probity ; hence one who was a profound observer
of human nature, an accurate calculator of historical evidence, and intimately
acquainted with the state of the times, has pronounced Harcarse to have been
" a learned and upright judge." ^ Some unknown poet has penned a tx-ibute
to his memory, of which, as it displays more elegance of versification and pro-
priety of sentiment than are generally to be discovered in sucli productions,
we beg to extract a portion.

" The good, the godlj-, generous, and kind
The best companion, father, husband, friend ;
The stoutest patron to maintain a cause.
The justest judge to square it by the laws ;
Whom neither force nor flattery coukl incline
To swerve from equity's eternal line;
Who, in the face of tyranny could o\vn.
He would his conscience keep, though lose his gown;
Who, in his private and retired state
As useful was, as formerly when great ,
Because his square and firmly tempered soul.
Round whirling fortune's axis could not roll ;
Nor, by the force of prejudice or pride,
Be bent his kindness to forego or bide.
But still in equal temper, still the same,
Esteeming good men, and esteemed by them ;
A rare example and encouragement
Of virtue with an aged life, all spent
Without a stain, still flourishing and green,
In pious acts, more to be felt than seen."

HOLYBUSH, John, a celebrated mathematician and astronomer, better known
by the Latin terms, de Sacrobosco, or de Sacrobusto, occasionally also receiv-
ing the vernacular appellations of Holywood and Hallifax, and by one writer
barbarously named Sacerbuschius. The period when this eminent man flour-
ished is not known wth any thing approaching even to the usual certainty in
such cases, and it is matter of doubt whether he existed in the 13th or 14th cen-
tury. Nor is his birth-place less dubious ; as in many other instances during the
same period, England, Scotland, and Ireland have contended for the honour — the
two former with almost equal success, the last with apparently no more claim than
the absence of certain evidence of his belonging to any other particular nation.
When a man has acquired a fame apart from his own country, and in any pursuit
not particularly characteristic of, or connected with his native land, the establish-
ment of a certainty of the exact spot of his birth is of little consequence, and
when easily ascertained, the fact is only useful for the purpose of pointing out
the particular branch of biography (as that subject is generally divided) to which
the individual belongs, and thus preventing omission and confusion. Entertain-

* Memoir prefixed to his Decisions.
» Laing's Hist, of Scot. iv. 123.

60 JOHN HOLYBUfiH.

in;; such an opinion, we shall just glance at the arguments adduced by the writers
of the two nations in delence of tiielr respective claims, and not pretoiidini; to
deiide a matter of sticii obscurity, consider it a suflicient reason uhy he should be
a (it subject for connnemoration in tills work, that no decision can be come to
betwixt the claimants. It will be very clear, where there are doubts as to the
century in uhich he lived, that lie is not mentioned by any authors uho did not
exist at least a century or two later. In an edition of one of liis works, pub-
lished at Lyons in l(iOt), it is said, " I'atria fuit fju;c nunc Anglia Insula, olim
Albion et lirettania appellata." Although the apparent meaning of this sentence
inclines towards an opinion that our author >vas an Englishman, the sen-
tence has an aspect of considerable ignorance of the divisions of Britain, and
confounds the Ij^ngland of later times, with the Albion or Britannia of the Ro-
mans, ^vhich ini;luded England and Scotland. Leland and Camden vindicate
his l^nglish birth, on the ground that John of Halifax in Yorkshire forms a
translation (though it must be admitted not a very apt one) of Joannes de Sacro-
bosco. On the other hand Dempster scouts the theory of Leland with consider-
able indignation, maintaining that Halifax is a name of late invention, and that
the mathematician derived his designation from the monastery of Holy wood in
Nithsdale, an establishment of sufficient antiquity to have admitted him within its
walls. 3I'Kenzie repeats the assertions of Dempster with a few additions, stating
that after having remained for some years in the monastery, he went to Paris,
and was admitted a member of the university there. " Upon the 5th of June,
in the year 1221," Sibbald in his manuscript History of Scottish Literature' as-
serts, that besides residing in the monastery of Holy wood, he was for some time
a fellow student of the monks in Dryburgh, and likewise mentions, what 31'Kenzie
lias not had the candour to allude to, and Dempster has sternly denied, that he
studied the higher branches of philosophy and mathematics at the university of
Oxford. Presuming Holybush to have been a Scotsman, it is not improbable
that such a circumstance as his having studied at Oxford might have induced his
continental commentators to denominate him an Englishman. 3I'Kenzie tells us
that he entered the university of Paris " under the syndic of the Scots nation ;"
for this he gives us no authority, and we are inclined not only to doubt the as-
sertion, but even the circumstance that at that early period the Scottish nation
had a vote in the university of Paris, disconnected with that of England — at
all events, the historians of literature during that period are not in the habit of
mentioning a Scottish nation or syndic, and instead of the faculty of arts being
divided, as 31'Kenzie will have it, " into four nations, France, Scotland, Pi-
cardy, and Normandy," it is usually mentioned as divided into France, Britain,
Picardy, and Normandy. That Holybush was admitted under a Scottish syndic,
was not a circumstance to be omitted by Bulaeus, from his elaborate and minute
History of the University of Paris, where the mathematician is unequivocally de-
scribed as having been an Englishman. There cannot be any doubt that Holy- .
bush became celebrated at the university for his mathematical labours ; that he
was constituted professor of, or lecturer on that science ; tliat many of the first
scholars of F'rance came to his school for instruction ; and that if he was not the
first professor of the mathematics in Paris, he was at least the earliest person to
introduce a desire for fcdlowing that branch of science. M'Kenzie states that
he died in the year 1256, as appeai-s from his tombstone. The author of the
History of the Univei-sity of Paris, I'eferring with better means of knowledge to
the same tombstone, which he says was to be seen at the period when he writes,
places the date of his death at the year 1340. The same well informed author
mentions that the high respect paid to his abilities and integrity, prompted the
1 Hist. Lit. Gentis Scot. MS. Adv. Lib., p. 164.

HENRY HOME. 61

university to honour him with a public funeral, and many demonstrations of
grief. On the tombstone already referred to, was engraved an astrolabe, sur-
rounded by the following inscription : —

" De Sacrobosco qui computista Joannes,
Tempora discrevit, jacet hie a tempore raptus.
Tempora qui sequeiis, memor esto quod morieris;
Si miseres, plora, miserans pro me precor ora."

The most celebrated work of Holywood was a treatise on the Sphere, discuss-
ing in the first part the form, motion, and surface of the earth — in the second
those of the heavenly bodies, and, as was customary before tiie more full revival
of pliilosophy, mingling his mathematics and astronomy with metaphysics and
magic. Although the discoveries displayed in this work must be of great impor-
tance, it is impossible to give any account of their extent, as the manuscripts of
the author seem to have lain dormant till the end of the i5th or beginning of the
16th century, ^vhe^ they were repeatedly published, witii the connnents and ad-
ditions of able mathematicians, who mingled the discoveries of Holybush with
those which had been made since his death. The earliest edition of this work
appears to have been that published at Padua in 1475, entitled " Francisci Ca-
puani expositio Sphjerae Joannis a Sacrobosco." In I4S5 appeared " Sphaera
cum Theoricis Purbachii et Disputationibus Johannis Kegiomontani contra Cre-
monensium Deliramenta in Planetarum Theoricas," being a mixture of the dis-
coveries of Holywood, with those of George Purbach, (so called from the name
of a town in (;rermany, in which he was born,) and Regiomontanus, whose real
name was Muller, two celebrated astronomers and mathematicians of the 1 5th
century. During the same year there appears to have been published a com-
mentary on Holywood by Cichus Ascolanus, In 1507, appeared an edition for
the use of the university of Paris, with a commentary, by John Bonatus. In
1547, an edition was published at Antwerp, with figures very respectably exe-
cuted, and without the name of any commentator. Among his other commenta-
tors, were Morisanus, Clavius, Vinetus, and many others of high name, whom it
wei'e useless here to enumerate. Some late authors have said that Melancthon
edited his Computus Ecclesiasticus ; of this edition we have not observed a copy
in any library or bibliography, but that great man wrote a preface to the
Sphaera, prefixed to an edition published at Paris in 1550. Besides these two
Avcrks, Holybush wrote De Algorismo, and De Katione Anni. Dempster also
mentions a Breviarium Juris, which either has never existed, or is now lost.
M'Kenzie mentions a Treatise de Algorismo, and on Ptolemy s Astrolabe, frag-
ments of which existed in MS, in the Bodleian library. In the catalogue of
that institution the former is mentioned, but not the latter.

HOME, Henry, (Lord Kames,) a lawyer and metapiiysician, son of George
Home of Kames, was born at his father's house in the county of Berwick, in
the year 1696. The paternal estate of the family, which had once been con-
siderable, was, at the period of the birth of the subject of this memoir, consider-
ably burdened and reduced by the extravagance of his father, who appears to
have pursued an easy hospitable system of living, unfortunately not compatible
with a small income and a large family. With the means of acquiring a liberal
education, good connexions, and the expectation of no permanent provision but
the fruit of his own labours, the son was thrown upon the world, and the history
of all ages has taught us, that among individuals so circumstanced, science has
chosen her brightest ornaments, and nations have found their most industrious
and powerful benefactors. In the earlier part of the last century, few of the
country gentlemen of Scotland could afford to bestow on their children the ex-

C2 HENRY HOME.

pensive ediicntion of an luicjiisli university, and an intuitivo liorror at a coi tacf
uilli tlie lower ranks, frequently induced tlieni to rcjccL the more simple system
of education provided by the universities of Scotland. Whether from this or
some other cause, young Home was denied a puMic education, and received in-
structions from a private tutor of the name of Winfjate, of whose talents and
temper lie appears to have retained no ha|)py recollection.' The classical edu-
cation which he re<;eived from this man appears to have been of a very imperfect
description, and althou'rh on enterinc; the study of his profession, he turned his
attention for some leni^th of time to that branch of study, he never acrpiired a
knowledge of ancient languages suffi(;iently minute to balance his other varied
and extensive acquirements. 3Ir Home was destined by his family to follow
the profession of the law, the branch first assigned him being that of an agent.
He was in consequence apprenticed to a writer to the signet in the year 1712,
and he continued for several years to perform the usual routine of drudgery,
unpleasant to a cultivated and thinking mind, but one of the best introductions
to the accurate practice of the more formal part of the duties of the bar. The
ample biographer of Home has detailed in very pleasing terms the accident to
which he dates his ambition to pursue a higher branch of the profession than
that to which lie was originally destined. The scene of action is represented as
being the drawing room of Sir Hew Dalrymple, lord president of the court of
session, where Home, on a message from his master, finds the veteran judge in
the full enjoyment of elegant ease, with his daughter, a young beauty, per-
forming some favourite tunes on the harpsichord. " Happy the man," the sen-
timental youth is made to say to himself, " whose old age, crowned with honour
and dignity, can thus repose itself after the useful labours of the day, in the
bosom of his family, amidst all the elegant enjoyments which affluence, justly
earned, can command! such ate the fruits of eminence in the profession of the
Ia»v!" If Home ever dated his final choice of a profession from the occurrence
of this incident, certain praises which the president chose to bestow on his
acuteness and knowledge of Scottish law, may have been the part of the inter-
view which chiefly influenced his determination.

Having settled the important matter of his future profession, 3Ir Home ap-
plied himself to the study of the laws, not through the lectureship which had
just been established in Edinburgh for that purpose, but by means of private
reading, and attendance at the courts. He seems indeed to have entertained an
early objection to the discipline of a cLiss-room, and to have shown an indepen-
dence of thought, and repugnance to direction in his mental pursuits, wliich
have been by some of his admirers laid down as the germs of that originality
which his works have exhibited. Perhaps the same feeling of self-assurance
prompted him in the year 1723, to address a long epistle to Dr Samuel Clarke,
" from a young philosopher," debating some of that learned divine's opinions on
the necessity, onuiipotence, and omniscience of the Deity. A very concise and

' T\ tier, in his life of Karnes, mentions an amusing scene which took place betwixt the
scliolar and ma-ter some time after their separation. When Home was at the height of
his celebrity as a barrister, the pedagogue had contrived to amass a sum of money, wliich he
cautiously secured on land. Anxious about the security of his titles, he stalked one mornino-
into the study of his former pupil, requesting an opinion of their validity. The law\er having
GirefuUy examined the several steps of the investment, assumed an aspect of concern, and
hoped .Mr Wingate had not concluded the bargain; hut Mr Wingate had concluded the bar-
gain, and so he had the pleasure to listen to a long summary of objections, with which the
techniciil knowledge of liis former pupil enabled liini to pose the uninitiated. When the
lawyer was satisfied with the erftctof his art, the poor man was relieved from the torture, with
an admonition, which it were to be wished ;dl followers of "the delightful task" would hold
in mmd: «' You may remember, sir, how jou made me smart in da\s of yore for very small
ortences— now I think our accounts are closed. Take up your papers, nian, aiid go home with an
easy mind j jour titles are excelk-nt."

HENRY HOME. G3

polite answer was returned, for the brevity of ivhich the writer excuses himself,
" as it is according to his custom, and the time allowed him for such matters."
No encouragement was given to continue the correspondence, and the application
was not repeated. He appears at the same time to have maintained a conference
with Mr Andrew Baxter, on certain points of natural philosophy ; but that
gentleman finding it impossible to bend the young philosopher's mind to the con-
viction, that motion was not the effect of repeated impulses, but of one impulse,
the effect of which continues till counteracted, (the doctrine generally received by
tiie learned world,) seems to have lost all proper philosophical patience, and
given up the controversy in a fit of anger.

Mr Home put on the gown of an advocate in the year 1723, when there were,
as there ever will be in such institutions, many eminent men at the Scottish bar ;
but although many were respectable both for their talents and integrity, it could
not be said that more than one revered individual, Forbes of Gulloden, was justly
illustrious, for a distinguished display of tlie former, or an uncompromising and
undeviating maintenance of the latter quality. The baneful corruptions of
family and ministerial influence, wiiich had long affected the court, ceased to
cliaracLerize it : but their shadows still hovered around their former dwelling-
place, and many curious little private documents on which the world has ac-
cidentally stumbled, have shown that the most respectable guardians of justice,
have not administered the law uninfluenced by some of those little worldly mo-
tives which affect a man in the management of his own affairs. From the period
when Mr Home commenced his practice at the bar, he seems to have for a time
forgot his metaphysics, and turned the whole of his discriminating and naturally
vigorous intellect to the study of the law; In 1728 he published the first of his
numerous works, a collection of the " Remarkable Decisions of the Court of
Session," from 1716 to 1728, a work pui-ely professional, which from the species
of technical study being seldom embodied by an author so comparatively youth-
ful, seems to have attracted much attention from the court and the leading
lawyers of the time. It is probable that the hue and arrangement given to the
pleadings, now the chief defect of that compilation, may have rendered it at tlie
time it was published attractive from the originality of the method. A small
volume of essays " upon several subjects in Scots Law," which he published four
years afterwards, afforded more scope for ingenuity and refinement of reasoning
than could possibly be infused into other mens arguments ; and in the choice
of the subjects, and the method of treating them, full advantage has been taken
of the license. Such of the arguments and observations as stood the test of more
mature consideration, were afterwards embodied by the author in one of his more
extensive popular law books. Mr Home seems to have been one of those gifted
individnials who could enjoy hikrity without dissipation, and gayety without fri-
volity. In early life he gatliered round him a knot of familiar and congenial
spirits, with wliom he enjoyed tiie fashionable and literary society of Edinburgh,
then by no means despicable as a school of politeness, and just dawning into a
high literary celebrity. Hamilton of Bangour, Oswald, and lord Binning, were
among his early and familiar friends, and though he soon extended to more
gifted minds the circle of his philosophical correspondence, an early intercourse
with men so refined and learned must have left a lasting impression on his sus-
ceptible intellect.

In 1741, at the prudent age of forty-seven, Mr Home married Miss Agatha
Drummond, a younger daughter of Mr Di-ummond of Blair, in Perthshire, a lady
of whom we hear little, except that she had a turn for quiet humour, and that
she perplexed her husband's economical principles by an inordinate affection for
old china, being in other respects generally reported to have been a prudent and

C4 HENRY HOME.

docile wife. In 1711, Mr Home puMisliod tlie well known Diclioiiary of tlio
Decisions of tlie Court of Session, aflerwanls continiioil and perfected Ijy liis
friend and l)iograi>lier, lord Woodiionsclee ; a very lal»orioiis work, and of great
{)racti<*il utility, though now superseded by the gigantic compilation of Morison,
and tiie elaborate digest of the late Mr Hrown. During the rebellion of 1745,
the business of the court of session was suspended for eleven months, and those
lawyers whose minds were not engaged in the feverish struggles of the times, had
to seek some occupation in their retirement. IMr Home seems at no time to
have busied himself in active piditics, excepting such as c;ime within the range of
his judicial duties — and the early predilection of his family to the support of the
Stuart dynasty, may have been an additional motive for his preserving a strict
neutrality during that disorderly period. In the midst of his retirement, he ga-
thered into a few short treatises, which, in 1747, he published under the title
of ''Essays upon several subjects concerning British Antiquities," some facts and
observations intended to allay the unhappy diderences of the period, although it
is rather doubtful whether the Highlanders or their intelligent ciiiefs found any
solace for their defeat and subjection to the laws, in discussions on the authority
of the Kegiam 3Iajestatem, or nice theories of descent. The su)>jects discussed
are of a highly useful and curious nature ; and had the author brought to the
work an extensive collection of facts, and a disposition to launch into no theories
but such as his own good sense dictated to he applicable and sound, the coun-
try might have had to thank him for a just and satisfactory account of her an-
cient laws and customs, and the rise of the constitution, which the talent of her
bar has not yet produced. But these essays are brief and desultory, the facts
are few and paltry, and the reasoning fanciful and unsatisfa(;tory. The argu-
ments against " the Hereditary and Indefeasible Right of Kings," if they ever
produced any good effect, would certainly constitute a proof that the human
mind, as exhibited in any arguments which might be used by his opponents, was
then more perverted by ]»rejudice, than it is generally believed to have been
in any civilized country. To the truisms contained in that essay, the refine-
ments on hereditary descent form a curious converse ; where the feudal system
has its origin from the tendency of bodies in motion to continue in a straight
line, and the consequent tendency of the mind to pursue its objects in a course
equally direct, which proves that, " as in tracing out a family, the mind descends
by degrees from the father first to the eldest son, and so downwards in the
order of age, the eldest son, where but one can take, is the first who presents
himself."

The next production of Mr Home's pen, was one of a nature more con-
genial to his habits of thought : — in 1751, he published " Essays on the Principles
of Morality and Natural Religion." One of the grand leading aims of this work,
is the maintenance of innate ideas, or principles of right and wrong, in opposi-
tion to the opinions of Locke and Hume. After the clear logical deductions of
these great men, the duty of an opponent was a task of difficulty ; while it is at
tiie same time generally allowed by both parties in this grand question, that the
view adopted by lord Kames, while it agrees more happily with the general feel-
ings of the world, cannot bear the application of the same chain of clear and subtle
reasoning which distinguishes the position of his antagonists. Like too many of the
best works on metaphysics, the Essays on Morality give more instruction from
the ingenuity of the arguments, and the aspects of the human mind brought be-
fore the reader in the course of deducing them, than in the abstract truths pre-
sumed to be demonstrated. It has been frequently noticed, to the prejudice of
most of the works of the same author, that, instead of arranging his arguments for
the support of some general principle, he has subdivided his principles, and so

HENRY HOME. 65

fhiled to bring' his arguments to a common point. The failing, if cliaracleristio
of lord Kames, was not unusual at the period, and is one whicli time, and the
advantage of the labours of previous thinkei-s, tend to modify; — in the work we
are just considering, the line of argument maintained bids defiance to the adop-
tion of any one general principle, wliile much confusion is prevented, by the
author having given a definition of what he understands those la^vs of nature to
which he refers our consciousness of good and evil to consist of. Althougli the
author in the advertisement avows the purpose of his work to be *' to prepare
the way for a proof of the existence of tlie Deity," and terminates the whole
with a very pious and orthodox prayer, he had the fortune to bring the church
of Scotland like a hornet's nest about him, on the ground of certain principles
tending to infidelity, which some of its active adherents had scented out in his
arguments. A zealous clergyman of the name of Anderson published, in 1753,
" An Estimate of the Profit and Loss of Religion, personally and publicly stated ;
illustrated with references to Essays on Morality and Natural Religion ;" in which
the unfortunate philosopher is treated with no more politeness than the opponent of
any given polemical disputant deserves. This blast of the trumpet was followed
up by an *• Analysis" of the same subject, " addressed to the consideration of
the church of Scotland ;" and the parties rousing themselves for battle, the hand
of the respected Dr Blair, stretched forth in moderation of party rancour, and
defence of his esteemed friend, protracted but did not prevent the issue. A mo-
tion was made in the committee for overtures of the General Assembly, " How
far it was proper for them to call before them, and censure the authors of in-
fidel books." After a stormy debate the motion was lost, but the indefatigable
Mr Anderson presented in name of himself and those who adhered to his opin-
ions, a petition and complaint to the presbytery of Edinburgh, praying that the
author of the Essays on Morality, &c. might be censured " according to the law
of the gospel, and the practice of this and all other well governed churches."
Defences were given in, and the petitioner obtained leave to reply, but before
the matter came to a conclusion he had breathed his last, and the soul of the
controversy perishing along with him, lord Kames was left to pursue his philoso-
phical studies unmolested. The chief subject of tiiis controversy, may be dis-
covered in the curious and original views maintained by the author of the essays,
on the subject of liberty and necessity. Full freedom to the will of mankind he
maintains to be in opposition to the existence and operation of a Deity, who pre-
judges all his actions, and has given him certain motives which he cannot avoid
following ; while, to preserve common uniformity with the doctrine of an innate
sense of right and wrong previously maintained, the author is obliged to admit
that man must have a consciousness of free-will, to enable him to act according to
that innate sense : he therefore arrives at a sort of intei-mediate doctrine, which
may be said to maintain, that while the will is not in reality free, it is the
essence of our nature that it should appear to us to be so. " Let us fairly own,"
says the author, " that the truth of things is on the side of necessity ; but that it
Avas necessary for man to be formed with such feelings and notions of contin-
gency, as would fit him for the part he has to act." " It is true that a man of
this belief, when he is seeking to make his mind easy after some Lad action, may
reason upon the principles of necessity, that, according to the constitution of his
nature, it was impossible for him to have acted any other part. But this will
give him little relief. In spite of all reasonings his remorse will subsist. Na-
ture never intended us to act upon this plan : and our natural principles are
too deeply rooted to give way to philosophy." * * * " These discoveries are
also of excellent use, as they furnish us with one of the strongest arguments for
the existence of the Deity, and as they set the wisdom and goodness of his

CO HENRY HOME.

providence in the most slrikinaf light, Nothinir carrioB in it more exprpss ehnr-
notei's of desijjn ; nothing: <aii be «;oiircivod more opposite to chance, tiian a ])lan
60 nrlfiiliy contrived for iidjustinsf our iiiiitrcssions and foelin!>s to ihc pin-poses
of life." '1 he doctrine may appear at first sioht anoniaiotis; but it displays e<|iial
ingenuity in its discovery, and acufeness in its support, and is well worihy ot liie
deepest attention. A certain clerirymnn of the «;hurch of Scotland is said to
have seen in this theory an admirable exposition of the doctrine of predestina-
tion, and to have hailed tlie author as a brother ; and certainly a little com-
parison nill show no slight analojy betwixt the two systems; but other persons
tiio'ight dillerently, and the reverend gentleman was sui)ei-seded. 'Ihese fiery
controversies have carried us beyond an event which served to mitigate their ran-
cour— the elevation of 3Ir Home to the ben(;h of tiie court of session, where he
took his seat in February, 175-i, by the title of lord Kanies ; an appointment
which, as it could not be but agreeable and satisfactory to the learned and in-
genious, seems to have met the general concurrence and approbation of the com-
mon people of the cotnitry. Arguing from the productions of his pen, no one
would hesitate to attribute to lord Kanies those qualities of acuteness, ingenuity,
and plausible interpretation, necessary for the acquirement of distinction and
success at the bar — but that he was characterized by the unprejudiced and un-
wavering uprightness of the judge, whose conclusions are formed less on finely
spun theories and sophisms than on those firm doctrines of right and wrong which
can form a guide alike to the ignorant and the learned, would seem question-
able, bad we not the best authority to believe, that his strong good sense, and
knowledge of justice, taught him as a judge to desert, on most occasions, the
pleasing speculations which occupied his mind as a lawyer. " He rarely," says
Tytler, " entered into any elaborate argument in support of his opinions; it was
enough that he bad formed them with deliberation, and that they were the re-
sult of a conscientious persuasion of their being founded on justice, and on a fair
interpretation of the laws." Unfortunately there are some exceptions to this
general characteristic ; refined speculation seldom entirely deserts its favourite
abode, and in some few instances lord Karnes was a special pleader on the bench.
In 1755, lord Kames was appointed a member of the board of trustees, for the
encouragement of the fisheries, arts, and manufactures of Scotland, and likewise
one of the commissioners for the management of the annexed estates, on botii of
which important duties it would appear he bestowed the attention his ever active
mind enabled him to direct to many difi'erent subjects. In the midst of his va-
ried judicial and ministerial labours, two legal works appeared from the pen of
lord Kames. " The Statute Law of Scotland abridged, with Historical Notes,"
published in 175S), was never known beyond the library of the Scots lawyer,
and has now almost fallen into disuse even there. " Historical Law Tracts,"
published in 1757, was of a more ambitious sort, and acquired something be-
yond professional celebrity. The matters discussed in this volume fire exceed-
ingly miscellaneous, and present a singular mixture of "first principles" of
morality, metaphysics, &c., and Scots law. The author has here displayed, in
the strongest light, bis usual propensity for hunting all principles so far back into
the misty periods of their origin, that, attempting to find the lost traces of tiie
peculiar idea he is following, he pursues some fanciful train of thought, which
has just as much chance of being wrong as of being right. " I have often
amused myself," says the author, " with a fanciful resemblance of law to the
river Nile. When we enter upon the municipal law of any country in its present
state, we resemble a traveller, who, crossing the Delta, loses his way among the
numberless branches ()f the Egyptian river. But when we begin at the source,
and follow the current of law, it is in that case no less easy and agreeable; and

HENRY HOME. G7

all ils relations and dependencies are traced with no greater difliculty tlian are
tlie many streams into which that magnificent river is divided before it is lost in
the sea." If the philosopher meant to compare his searches after first principles
to the investigation of the source of tiie Nile, the simile was rather unfortunate,
and tempts one by a parody to compare his speculations to those of one who will
discover the navigability or fertilizing power of a river, by a confused and end-
less range among its vai-ious sources, when he has tlie grand main body of the
river open to his investigations, from which he may find his way, by a sure and
undoubted course, to its principal sources, should he deem it worlh his Hhile to
penetrate them. This work exhibits in singularly strong coloui-s the merits and
defects of its autlior. While Iiis ingenuity has led him into fanciful theories, and
prompted him to attribute to the actions of barbarous irovernments subtle inten-
tions of policy, of which the actors never dreamed, it has enabled him to point
out connexions in the history of our law, and to explain the natural causes of
anomalies, for which the practical jurisconsult might have long looked in vain.
Ihe history of criminal jurisprudence is a prominent part of this work. The
author attempts to confute the well founded theories of Voltaire, Montesquieu,
and many others, tracing the origin of punishment, and consequently the true
principles of criminal jurisprudence, from the feelings of vindictiveness and in-
dignation inherent in human nature when injured, — a principle we fear too
often followed to require a particular vindication or approval. We cannot pass
from this subject without attracting attention to the enlightened views thrown
out by lord Kames on the subject of entails, views whidi he has seen the impor-
tance of frequently repeating and inculcating, though with many others he spoke
to the deaf adder, who heeded not the wisdom of his words. He proposed the
entire repeal of the statute of 1685, which, by an invention of the celebrated Sir
Thomas Hope, had been prepared for the purpose of clenching the fetters of
Scots entails, in a manner which miglit put at defiance such efforts as had en-
abled the lawyers of England to release property from its chains. But the equity
of the plan was sliown in tiie manner in which the author proposed to settle the
nice point of the adjustment of the claims on estates previously entailed. Ihe
regulations enforced by these he proposed siiould continue in force in as far as
respected the intei'ests of persons existing, but should neither benefit nor bind
persons unborn at the time of the passing of the act proposed. Such an adjust-
ment, though perhaps the best that could possibly be supposed, can only be put
in practice with great difliculty; the circumstance of an heir being expected to
be born, nearer than any heir alive, and numberless others of a similar nature,
would render the application of the principle a series of difficulties. Lord Kames
communicated his views on this subject to lord Hard\vick and lord Mansfield,
and these great judges admitted their propriety ; it had been well had the warn-
ing voice been heeded — but at that period tlie allegiance of Scotland might have
been endangered by such a measure. The duke of Argyle was then the only
Scotsman not a lawyer, who could look \vithout horror on an attempt to infringe
on the divine right of the lairds.

In 1760, appeared another philosophically legal work from our author's
prolific pen, entitled *' Principles of Equity," composed with the ambitious view
of reconciling the distinct systems of jurisprudence of the two nations — a book
which might be of great use in a country where there is no law, and which,
though it may now be applied to but little practical advantage in Scotland, it is
rather humiliating to tiiink, should have ever been considered requisite as a
guide to our civil judges. But the opinions of this volume, which referred to
the equity courts of England, received a kindly correction from a masterly
hand. In tracing the jurisdiction of the court of chancery, lord Kames pro-

C8 HENRY HOME.

SiJined it to be possessed of peifeclly arbitrary powei-s, (soiiietbinc^ rescmliliiig
tliose at one lime enjoyed by tbe court of session,) enablinij it to do justice ac-
cording to tbe merits, in every «uise ubicb tlie coninion law r^)iirts did not
reacli ; and wilb i;reat consideration laid d<tvvn rules for tbe reffolation of its
decisions, forgetlinj' tiiat, if sucii rules could be aj>|»lied to any «yjurt so purely
ar<;uing from circumstances and conscience, tbe iiiles of an a«* <jf parliament
luigbt bave been as well cbosen, and ratiier more strictly followed, tban tbose of
tbe >collisb judge. But it ai)pcars tliat lord Kam<s bad formed erroneous ideas
of tbe powers of tbe Englisb ef|uiiy courts; and in a portion of Sir William
Blackstone's Lonuneiitary, attributed to tbe jtcn of lord 31ans(ield, be is tlius
corrected : ** on tbe contrary, tbe system of our courts of equity is a laboured,
connected s\stem, governed by establisbed rules, and bound down by precedents,
from wbicli ibey do not depart, altbougb tbe reason of some of tbem may j»er-
baps be liable to objection." Tytler, on all occasions tbe vindicator of bis
friend, bas altempled to support tbe tbeory of lord Kames, by making Black-
stone contradict bimself : be bas discovered tbe following- passoge in tbe Intro-
duction to tbat autbor's works, — " Equity depending essentially upon tlie parti-
cular circumstances of eacb individual case, tbere can be no establisbed rules
and iixed precepts of equity laid down, witbout destroying its very essen«;e, and
reducing it to a positive law." But in tbis passage, be it recollected, tbe autbor
speaks of courts of pure equity like tbe Brsetorian tribunals of tbe Koinans, un-
trammelled by act or precedent, and left entirely to judicial dis(;retion, a species
of institution of wbicb be does not admit tbe existen<;e in England. But let us
not relinquisb tbis subject, witbout bestowing our meed of approbation on tbe
noble efforts wbicb tbe learned autbor bas made in tbis, and more eliectually in
others of bis works, to reconcile tbe two countries to an assimilation in laws.
Tbere is no more connuon prejudice, than tbe feeling, tbat the apprcacb of one
country to tbe laws and customs of another, is not an act of expediency, but
an acknowledgment of inferiority, and it generally requires a harsher struggle
on the part of the weaker, tban on that of the stronger people. It is irequently
maintained that a love for ancient institutions, and a wish to continue them,
however cumbersome, is tbe characteristic safeguard of freedom ; but might it not
be said, that tbe firmness of a nation consists in the obedience it pays to the
laws \\hile they exist, paying them not tbe less respect in their execution, tbat
they look upon them as systems which should be altered by tbe legislative
authority. *' Our law," says lord Kames, " will admit of many improvements
from that of England ; and if the autlior be not in a mistake, through partiality
to his native country, we are rich enougli to repay with interest all we have
occasion to borrow ;" a reflection which might produce good seed, if it would
teach some narrow intellects to examine tbe merits of some petty def( rmities of
Scottish law, for which antiquity bas given tbem an affection. And if tbe proud
legislators of a neighbouring country would desert for a moment the stale jest
which forced itself into the words " nolumus leges Anglise mutari," and admit
tbe possibility that the niighty engine of English jurisprudence might admit
some improvement from the working of a more simple and in many things very
efficacious machine, the high benefits of a participation in tbe excellencies of
their own system, which they show so much anxiety to extend across the border,
would be received with less jealousy and suspicion.

Passing over tbe introduction to the Art of Thinking, published in
1761, we turn with much pleasure to the contemplation of another of the
philosophical productions of tbis eminent writer, tbe work on which his
reputation chiefly depends. In 17G2 was published, in three octavo
volumes, " The Elements of Criticism." Tbe correspondence and previous

HENRY HOME. G9

studies of the author show the elaborate and diversified matter of these volumes
to have been long the favourite subject of his reflections. It had in view the
aim of tracing the progress of taste as it is variously exhibited and acknowledoed
to exist, to the organic principles of the mind on which in its various depart-
ments it is originally founded, displaying the art of what his biographer justly
calls " Philosophical Criticism," in opposition to that which is merely practical,
or applicable to objects of taste as they appear, without any reference to the
causes why the particular feelings are exhibited. But that lord Kames was in
this " the inventor of a science," as his biographer has termed him, is a slate-
ment which may admit of some doubt.

The doctrine of reflex senses propounded by Hutchinson, the father of the
Scottish System of Philosophy, had many years previously laid a firm foundation
for the system, afterwards so ably erected. Some years previously to the publi-
cation of the Elements of Criticism, Hume and Gerard had drawn largely from
the same inexhaustible source, and, if with less variety, certainly «ith more
correctness and logical accuracy of deduction ; and Burke, though he checked
the principle of the sensations he has so vividly illustrated by arbitrary feelings
assigned as their source, contributed much to the advancement of that high study.
Nor is it to be denied, that the ancients at least knew tlie existence of this
untried tract, if they did not venture far within its precincts, for few can read
Cicero de Oratore, Longinus, or the Institutions of Quinctilian, without perceiv-
ing that these men were well acquainted with the fundamental principles of the
rules of criticism. But relinquishing the discussion of its originality, the Ele-
ments of Criticism is a book no man can read without acquiring many new ideas,
and few without being acquainted with many new facts : it is full of useful infor-
mation, just criticism, and ingenious reasoning, laying down rules of composition
and thought, which have become classical regulations for elegant writers. The
author is, however, a serious transgressor of his own excellent rules ; his mind
seems to have been so perpetually filled with ideas, that the obstruction occa-
sioned by the arrangement of a sentence would cause a considerable interruption
in their flow ; hence he is at all times a brief, unmelodious composer, and the
broken form of his sentences frequently renders their meaning doubtful. The
following specimen, chosen by chance, is an example of a good rule ill observed
by its maker : " In arranging a period, it is of importance to determine in what
part of it a vvoi-d makes the greatest figure, whether at the beginning, during
the course, or at the close. '1 he breaking silence rouses the attention, and
prepares for a deep impression at the beginning ; the beginning, however, must
yield to the close : which, being succeeded by a pause, aflbrds time for a word
to make its deepest impression. Hence the following rule, that to give the
utmost force to a period, it ought, if possible, to be closed with that word which
makes the greatest figure. The opportunity of a pause should not be thrown
away upon accessories, but reserved for the principal object, in order that it may
make a full impression : which is an additional reason against closing a period
uith a circumstance. There are, however, periods that admit not such a struc-
ture, and, in that case, the capital word ought, if possible, to be placed in the
front, A\hich next to the close, is the most advantageous for making an impres-
sion" (v. ii. p. 72). But were we to scrutinize ^vith malicious accuracy, we
might find sentences like the following, bidding defiance to form and sense.
" Benevolence and kindly affection are too refined for savages, unless of the
simplest kind, such as the ties of blood," (Sketches of Hist, of Man, v. i. p.
270 ;) or, " Here it is taken for granted, that we see external objects, and that
we see them with both eyes in the same place ; inadvertently, it must be
acknowledged, as it flatly contradicts what he had been all along inculcating,

70 HENRY HOME.

tli.it external objects are not visible, otherwise than in iniaa^i nation," (Isssays on
IMorals, p. 270). It has been said, and not without reason, that the critical
principles of lord Kanius are nu>re artificial liian natural, niorj tlio produce of
reliiied reasoning' tiian of feelinij or sentiment. I'he whole of his deductions
are, indeed, foundetl on tlie dix^trine of taste beiiig increased and improved,
and almost l\)rnie<l Ity art, and his personal character seems not to iiave sugj^ested
any other ni -dium for his own acijuisition of it. He pined the vulgar cry of
the period on the barbarism of tiie (iothic architecture, probably beoiuse the
general disrespect in which it was lield prevented him from being anxious to
discover any " lirst principles" on which to erect for it a character of propriety
and elegance. In bis plans for the improvement of his grounds, we fnid him
falling into practical abortions of taste, of whicli, had they been presented to
him as speculative (piestions, he might have seen the defin-mity. In a letter to
the accomplished .Mrs 3Iontague, he says, " a rill of water runs neglected through
the fields, obscured by pretty high banks. It is proposed that the water be
raised in dilFerent places by stone buildings imitating natural rocks, which will
make some beautiful cascades. The banks to be planted with flowering shrubs,
and access to the whole by gravel paths. The group ^vill produce a mixture of
sweetness and liveliness, which makes fine harmony in gardenino- as well as in
life ;" and farther on, " But amongst my other plans, I have not forgot the
spot pitched upon by you for a seat; and because every thing belonging to you
should have something peculiar, the bottom, to be free from wet, is contrived to
fold up, and to have for its ornament a plate of brass with this inscription, ' rest,
and contemplate the beauties of art and nature.'" The Elements of Criticism
had the good fortune to call forth a little of the virulence of Warburton, who
seems to have complacently presumed that lord Kanies composed his three thi(;k
volumes with the sole and atrocious aim of opposing some of the theories of the
learned divine ; and Voltaire, celtifying the author by the anomalous name of
" x\Ial«iims," has bestowed on him a few sneers, sparingly sprinkled with praise,
provoked by the unfortunate Scotsman having spoken of the Henriade in slight-
ing terms, and having lauded Shakspeare to the prejudice of the Frem^h drama.
In April, 1763, lord Kames was appointed a lord of justiciary, in the criminal
court of Scotland. Some have acx^used him of severity as a judge ; but in the
character of the man who can stretch the law against the criminal, there is some-
thing so repugnant, and — acting in a court where judges decide vary much fron
discretion, and from which the accused enjoys no appeal — something so truly
abhorrent, that we would require much and strong evidence indeed, before we
could attribute to a man of great benevolence, of much and tried philanthi'opy,
and of general virtue, the characteristic of a cruel judge. Surrounded by judi-
cial duties and innnersed in professional and literary studies, he was still an
active supporter of the useful institutions which he had some time previously
joined, investigating along with the celebrated Dr Walkei', the proper grounds
for improving the cultivation and manufactures of the Western Isles, and the
more remote parts of Scotland, In 1766, a new field was opened for his exer-
tions, by his succession, through the death of his wife's brother, to the extensive
estate of Blair Drunnnond, which made him a richer, but not a more illustrious
man. The chief circumstance which renders this accession to his fortune inter-
esting to the world, is the commencement of a vast system of improvement, by
floating into the Firth of Forth the surface of a moss, extending over portions
of his own, and many contiguous estates, and shrouding what cultivation has
made and is still making the finest land in Scotland. The next issue from
the pen of lord Kames, were, a small pamphlet on the Progress of Flax Hiis- '
bandry in Scotland, published in the year 1765, and in the ensuing year, a

HENRY HOME. 71

continuation of his Remarkable Decisions from 1730 to 1752. He now beijan
to approacii that age which has been marked out as a period reached by a small
proportion of tlie human race, but though stricken in years, and pressed upon
by official duties, he did not flinch from a new and elaborate undertaking on a
subject of many diversified brandies, some of which were totally disconnected
with his previous literary labours. Lord Kames appears to have had his mind
perpetually filled with the matter he was preparing to discuss, and to have con-
stantly kept open to the world the engrossing matter of his thoughts ; it is thus
that, for some time previously to the publication of his " Sketches of the History
of Man," (which appeared in 1774,) we find an ample correspondence with his
literary fi-iends, — with Dr Walker, Sir James Nasmith, Dr lieid, and Dr Black,
affording some most interesting speculations on the gradations of the human race,
and the analogy between plants and animal subjects — whicli had long been
speculated upon by our author. On these branches of philosophy, he has bestowed
considerable attention in the Sketches of the History of Man, to little satisfac-
tion. In reasoning a priori from the history of man in the world, and the
various aspects of his tribe, the author erects a system in opposition to
that of revelation, to which ho\vever he afterwards yields, as to the
authority of the court, allowing it to be true, not by any means from the supe-
riority of the system to his own, but because holy writ has told it. But if the
work be hereafter perused, to gratify an idle hour with its amusing details, few
will search in it for much information on a subject which has received so much
better illustration from Blumenbach, Prit(;hard, and Lawrence. But the subjects
of these sketches are multifarious; Ossian's poems are ingeniously introduced as
part of the history of man, constituting a sort of barbaro-civilized period, when
probably the same amount of polish and of rudeness which still exists, held sway,
though without neutralizing each other, and both displayed in the extreme ;
government is also discussed, and finances. The political economy is old and
narrow, looking- upon national means too much in the light of an engine to be
wielded, rather than as a self-acting power, which only requires freedom and
room to enable it to act ; nevertlieless it is sprinkled with enliglitened views
such as the following : " It appears to be the intention of Providence, that all
nations should benefit by conunerce, as by sunshine ; and it is so ordered, that
an unequal balance is pi-ejudicial to the gainers, as well as to the losers : the
latter are immediate suHerers ; but not less so ultimately are the former."

In his latter days, the subject of our memoir produced four more extensive
works, of which we shall only mention the names and dates : " The Gentleman
Farmer," in 1776, — " Elucidations respecting the Conmion Law of Scotland,''
in 1777, — " Select Decisions of the Court of Session from 1752 to I76S,'' pub-
lished in 1780, — " Loose Hints on Education." The last of his works, was pub-
lished in 1781, in the 85th year of the author's age, a period when the weak-
ness of the body cannot fail to communicate itself to the thoughts. The green
old age of lord Kaiues seems to have been imbittered by no disease but that of
general decay. He continued his usual attention to the agricultural and manu-
facturing projects of the country ; gratified his few leisure hours in the society
of his select literary friends, attended the court of session, and even performed
the arduous duty of travelling on the circuits : he was indeed a singular specimen
of a mind whose activity age could not impede. His correspondence continues
tdl within a short time of his death, and before leaving the world, he could
spare some consideration for assisting in the establishment of an institution, the
pleasures and profits of whicli could not be reaped by him, The Hoyal Society
of Scotland. During his short and last illness, he expressed no dread except
that he might outlive the faculties of his mind ; to the usual solicitations, which

72 JOTIN HOME.

friends can never aroid nrnkinjcr on surli orawions, that he Mfould submit himself
lo the care of a jJiysician — " Donn talk of my «lisease," he answered, " 1 have
no disease hut ohl aijc. 1 know tJtat 31rs Drmniniind and my sun are of a
dillerent o|»inion ; l»nl nhy slionld I distress tliem 8«)oncr tiian is neressary. I
know well that no pliysirian on earth <an do me the smalli-st sorvire : for I feel
that I am dyin<r ; and 1 tliank dod that my mind is i>n|»are<l for (hat event. I
leave this world in peai-e and ijood-wili lo all mankin<l. You know the dread I
liave had of oiitlivinjr my faculties; of that 1 trust there is now no great pn>l)a*
bilily, as my body de<;ays so iast. My life lias been a lon<y one, and prosper-
ous, on the whole, beyond my deserts : but 1 would fain indulge the hope that
it has not been useless to my fellow frealures."

A week before he died, lord Karnes took a final farewell of his old friends
and professional companions, on that bench to which he had been so long an
ornament, lie parted from each as a private friend, and on finally retiring
from the room, is said to have turned round on the sorrowful group and bid his
adieu in an old favourite epithet, more expressive of jovial freedom than of
refinement, lie died on the 'iTth of December, 1782, in the S7th year of his
age. We have narrated the events of his life with so much detail, that a sum-
mary of his character is unnecessary ; he is said to have been parsimonious, but
if the epithet be applicable, the private defect will be forgotten in the midst of
his public virtues. He possessed the dangerous and powerful engine of sarcasm ;
but he used it to heal, not to wound. 'Ihe following instance of his reluctance
to give pain, to be found in a letter to 31r Creech, is so characteristic of a truly
worthy man, that we cannot abstain from quoting it. " In the fifth volume of

Dodsley's collection of poems, there is one by T D at page 22G, which

will make a good illustration of a new Rule of Criticism that is to go into the
new edition of the Elements ; but, as it is unfavourable to the author of that
poem, I wish to know whether he is alire ; for I would not \villingly give pain."

H03IE, John, an eminent dramatic poet, was born at Leith on the •22d of
September, (O.S.) 1722. He was the son of ]>lr Alexander Home, town-clerk
of Leith, whose father was the son of Mr Home of 1-lass, in Berwickshire, a
lineal descendant of Sir John Home of Cowdenknowes, from whom the present
earl of Home is descended. John Home, who during his whole life retained a
proud recollection of his honourable ancestry, was educated, first at the gram-
mar school of his native town, and then at the university of Edinburgh. In
both of these seminaries, he prosecuted his studies with remarkable diligence
and success. While he attended the university, his talents, his progress in
literature, and his peculiarly agreeable manners, soon excited the attention,
and procured in no small degree the favour, both of the professors and of his
fellow students. He here formed an acquaintance which lasted through life,
with many of those eminent men, who elevated the literary character of Scot-
land so highly during the eighteenth century. After qualifying himself by the
ordinary course of studies, to undertake the duties of a clergyman in the Scot-
tish church, he was licensed to preach on the 4th of April, 1745.

The natural character of Home was ardent and aspiring. Under the meek
garb of a Scottish licentiate, he bore a heart which throbbed eagerly at the
idea of military fame, and the whole cast of his mind was romantic and chival-
rous. It might have been exi>ected that, in the celebrated quarrel which divided
the national mind in 1745, such a person would have been unable to resist the
temptation of joining prince Charles. It happened, however, that the chivalry
of Home was of a whiggish cast, and that his heart burned for civil freedom as
well as for military glory. He therefore became a volunteer in a royal corps
which was raised at Edinburgh to repel the attack of the Chevalier. 1 his corps,

JOHN HOAra. 73

when the danger approacheil in all its reality, melted almost into thin air : yet
Home was one of a very small number who protested against the pusillanimous
behaviour of the rest. Having reluctantly laid down his arms, he employed
himself next day in taking observations of the strength of the Highland forces,
which he appears to have communicated to Sir John Cope : while thus engaged,
he was near enough to the prince to measure his stature aaainst his own. In
the early part of the succeeding year, he reaj>peared in arms as a volunteer,
and was present at the disgraceful affair of Falkirk, where he was taken
prisoner. Being conveyed to Doune castle, then under the keeping of a nephew
of Rol) Roy, he was confined for some days, along with several companions in
misfortune ; but the whole party at length escaped, by cutting their blankets
into shreds, and letting themselves down upon the ground. He now took up
his residence at Leith, and for some time prosecuted his professional studies,
mixed, however, with a kind of reading to which his inclination led, that of
the historians and classics of Greece and Rome.

" His temper," says his friendly biographer Mackenzie, " was of that warm
susceptible kind, which is caught by the heroic and the tender, and which is
more fitted to delight in the world of sentiment than to succeed in the bustle
of ordinary life. His own favourite model of a character, and that on which
his own \vas formed, was the ideal being Young Norval in iiis own play of
Douglas, one endowed with chivalrous valour and romantic generosity, eager for
glory beyond any other object, and, in the contemplation of future fame, en-
tirely regardless of the present objects of interest and ambition. The same
glowing complexion of mind, which gave birth to this creature of fancy, co-
loured the sentiments and descriptions of his ordinary discourse ; he had a very
retentive memory, and was fond of recalling the incidents of past times, and of
dramatizing his stories by introducing the names and characters of the persons
concerned in them. The same turn of mind threw a certain degree of elevation
into his language, and heightened the narrative in which that language was em-
ployed ; he spoke of himself with a frankness which a man of that disposition is
apt to indulge, but with which he sometimes forgot that his audience was not al-
ways inclined to sympathize, and thence he was accused of more vanity than in
truth belonged to his character. The same warm colouring was employed in
the delineation of his friends, to whom he assigned a rank which others would
not always allow. So far did he carry this propensity, that, as Dr Robertson
used jokingly to say, he invested them with a sort of supernatural privilege
above the ordinary humiliating circumstances of mortality. ' He never,' said
the Doctor, * could allow that a friend was sick till he heard of his death.'
To the same source were to be traced the warm eulogies whicli he was accustomed
to bestow upon them. ' He delighted in bestowing as well as in receiving flat-
tery,' said another of his intimates ; ' but with him it had all the openness and
warmth of truth. He flattered all of us, from whom his flattery could gain no
favour, fully as much, or, indeed, more willingly, than he did those men of
the first consequence and rank, with whom the circumstances of his future life
associated him ; and he received any praise from us with the same genuine feel-
ings of friendship and attachment.' There was no false coinage in this currency
which he used in his friendly intercourse ; whether given or received, it had
with him the stamp of perfect candour and sincerity."

Such was the enthusiastic young man who was destined for the strange glory
of producing, in Scotland, a tragedy upon a Scottish story. In 1746, he was
pi'esented by Sir David Kinloch of Gilmerton, to the church and parish of
Athclstaneford in East Lothian, then vacant by the death of the Rev. Robert
Blair, the author of the Grave. Previous to this period, his passionate fondness

74 JOHN HOMR.

for riiitaicli, liail led liiiii to coinineiicc a lra<;t'(ly njion <iiio of liis lieroes — Agis
— wliicli lie liiiisliod soon after lio was setlle<l in Alhelstanefonl. In 1719, he
went to London, antl olVered liis work to (iarric.k, lor rei)resentation at Drury
Lane, of wliicli tliat groat actor liad recently heconie manager. But tlie Knglish
l{osciiis did not think it well adajded to tlio stage, and «leciined bringing it on,
nnicli to tlie niorlilication of tlie autlior, ulio, uilli tlie feeling natural to such a
situation, wrote tlie following verses on tlie tomb of Shakspeare, in Westminster
Abbey :

Imiigeof Sliakspiarc! to this place I come,

To ease my bursting lx)som at thy tomb;

For neither Greek nor Uomaii poet fired

!My fancy first — tliee ciiiefly I admired ;

And, day and night revolving^slill thy page,

I hoped, like thee, to shake the British sUige ;

liut cold neglect is now my only niied,

And heavy falls it on so proud a head.

If powers above now listen to my lyre,

Charm them to grant, indulgent, my desire ;

Let pttrifaction stop this falling tear,

And fix my form for ever marble here.

After this unsuccessful journey to London, he turned his mind to the com-
position of the tragedy of Douglas, which was founded upon the beautiful old
ballad of (iil Morris. Having finished this in the intervals of his professional
labours, he set out upon another expedition to the metropolis, February, 1755,
with the favourable hopes of a circle of most intelligent friends, to whom he had
intrusted it for perusal. It was, however, as ill received as Agis : Mr Garrick
returned it with the declaration that it was totally unfit for tlie stage. With
this opinion, which many excellent English critics still maintain, neither the
poet nor his friends were at all satisfied. Those friends, looking upon it with the
eyes of Scotsmen, beheld in it something quite superior to the ordinary run of
English tragedies ; and accordingly they recommended that it should be pre-
sented upon the Edinburgh stage, which was then conducted by a gentleman
named Digges, whom Mr Mackenzie describes as possessed of great powers,
(though with many defects,) and of gi-eat popularity in Scotland. The recom-
mendation was carried into effect ; and all Edinburgh was presently in a state
of wild excitement, from the circumstance of a play being in preparation by a
minister of the established church.' The actors at the Edinburgh theatre hap-

' If we are to believe an authority good in theatrical matters — the Edinburgh Weekly
Chronicle newspaper, while under the management of Mr Edward Hislop, — Dr Carlx le, and
others of his brethren, not only attended the rehearsals of Doujilas, but themselves performed
in the fii3t of them : " It may not be generally known," sajs the authoritj just referred to,
" that the first rehearsal took place in the lodgings in the Canongate occupied by Mrs Sarah
Warde, one of Digges's company ; and that it was rBheai-sed Ij)-, and in presence of, the most
distinguished literar) characiers Scotland ever could boast of. The following was the Ciist of
tile piece on the occasion : —

Dramalis Persoiiee.

Lord Randolph, . . Dr Robertson, principal, Edinburgh.

Gknalvon, . . . David Hume, historian.

Old Norval, . . . Dr Carl_\le, minister of Musselburgh.

Douglas, . . . John Home, the author.

Lady Randolph, . . Dr Ferguson, professor.

Anna Cthe Maid), . Dr Blair, minister, High Church.

The audience that day, besides Mr Digges and Mrs Warde, were the right honourable
Patrick lord Elibank, lord INIilton, lord Karnes, lord Monboddo, (the two last were then only
law\ers,) the Rev. John Steele and William Home, ministers. TJie company, all but Mrs
Warde, dined afterwards at the Griskin Club, in the Abbey. The above is a'sigiial proof of
the strong passion for the drama which tlien obtained among the literati of this capital, since

JOHN PIOJIE. 75

pened to be, in general, men of some ability in their profession, and the play
was thus casf ; Digges, Young Norval; Hayman, Old Norval ; Love, Glenalvon ;
Mrs Warde, Ladt/ Randolph. But the name Barnet was at this time used for
Randolph, and Norval was called Norman. The first representation, which took
place December 14, 1756, was honoured by the presence of a large audience,
comprising many friends of the author, clerical as well as otherwise. It was re-
ceived with enthusiastic applause, and, in the conclusion, drew forth many tears,
which were, perhaps, a more unequivocal testimony to its merits. The town was
in an upi-oar of exultation, that a Scotsman should write a tragedy of the first
rate, and that its merits were first submitted to them.

But the most remarkable circumstance attending its representation was the
clerical contest which it excited, and the proceedings of the church of Scotland
regarding it. Owing to certain circumstances, — among ^^hich was reckoned the
publication of lord Kames's " Essays on Natural and Revealed Religion," which
were suspected of a tendency to infidelity, besides the issue of a work in
England, entitled " England's Alarm," in which Scotland was accused of cher-
ishing great corruptions in religion, — there obtained in th^ church a more zealous
disposition than usual to lop ofl' heresies, and chastise peccant brethren. Hence
the prosecution raised against Mr Home, which at any rate must have taken
place, was characterized by an appearance of rancour which has often since been
the subject of ridicule.

The presbytery of Edinburgh commenced the proceedings by publishing a
solemn admonition ; in which they expressed deep regret at the growing irre-
ligion of the times, and warned all persons within their bounds, especially the
young, against the danger of frequenting stage-plays. This document only pro-
voked the mirth of the public ; it was replied to by a perfect torrent of jeux
d^esprit. The church, however, though unable to inflict any punishment upon
the people at large for their admiration of the play, had the author and all his

then, unfortunately, much abated. The rehearsal must have been conducted with very great
scerec) •, for what would the kirk, which took such deep oH'ence at the composition of the piece
by one of its ministers, have said to the fact of no fewer than four of these being engaged in
rehearsing it, and two others attending the exhibition ? The circumstance of the gentle Anna
having been personated by ' Dr Blair, minister of the High Church,' is a very droll one."—
Kdiiiburgli Weekly Chronicle, January 21, 1829.

This statement may not be accurate — it is only a quotation from a newspaper ; but assum-
ing that it has some truth in it, we hesitate not to say that it is far from being either " droll "
or creditable to the eminent persons to whom it refers : " Sir," said Dr Johnson, upon one oc-
casion, " this merriment of parsons is very oflensive."

As to Dr Robertson's share in these transactions, it is only fair to quote what is said by his
biographer. Mr Stewart's words are as follows: "The extraordinary merits of Mr Home's
performance, which is now become to Scotsmen a subject of rational pride, were not suf-
ficient to atone for so bold a departure from the austerity expected in a presbjterian divine;
and the oli'ence was not a little exasperated by the conduct of some of ftir Home's brethren,
who, partly from curiosity, and parti}- from a friendl}- wish to share in the censure bestowed
on the author, were led to witness the first representation of the piece on the Edinburgh
stage. In the whole course of the ccclesiastiad proceedings connected with these incidents,
Dr Robertson distinguished himself by the ablest and most animated exertions in defence ot
his friends ; and contributed greatly, by his persuasive eloquence, to the mildness of that sen-
tence in which the prosecution at last terminated. His arguments, on this occasion, had, it
may be presumed, the greater weight, that he had never himself entered within the walls of
a pla) house ; a remarkable proof, among numberless others which the history of his life af-
fords, of that scrupulous circumspection in his private conduct, which, while it added so much
to his usefulness as a clergyman, was essential to his influence as the leader of a party •, and
which so often enabled him to recommend successfully to others the same candid and indul-
gent spirit that was congenial to his own mind." — Account of the Life and Writings (if Dr
Robertsim, by Dugald Stewart, Esq., p. 1'2.

In this passage Mr Stewart discountenances, in general terms, the belief that the Principal
gave the tragtdy of Douglas any active patronage, by attending the representations or other-
wise ; but the statement that Dr Robertson " had never himself entered within tiie walls of
a playhouse," cannot be considered as an absolute contradiction of iiis having been present at
tlie rehearsal " in the lodgings in the Canongate occupied bj Mrs Sarah Warde."

76 JOHN HOME.

cleric.ll abettors coiiniletely in their power. 31r Home only escn])e<l (le!?rada«
tioM by nb(li(;atiiig his pulpit, wliicii he «licl in June, 1757. His liiends uho
had been present at the re|>resentation, were censured or jiunished according to
the decree of their supposed misconduct. 31r ^\ hite, the minister of Libberton,
was suspen<led Inr a monlh, a mitii^atcd sentence in (lonsideration of his apology,
uhich was — tliat lie ha<l attended the representation only once, when he en-
deavoure<l to conceal hiniself in a corner, t*> avoid giving offence.

The misfortune of the ^Scottish «:hurch, on this occasion, consisted only in a
little want of discrimination. 'Ihey certainly did not err in <:haracterizing the
stage as inunoral ; lor the stage, both then and since, and in almost all periods
of its existence, has condescended to represent scenes, an<l give currency to
language, which, in the general society of the period, could not be tolerated.
13ut though the stage seems thus to claim a privilege of lagging behind the
moral standard of every age, and in general calculates itself for the gratification
of only a secondary order of tastes, there wfis surely something to be said in
favour of a man who, having devoted his leisure to the cultivation of an elegant
branch of the belles leltres, had produced a work not calculated to encourage
the immoral system complaine«l of, but to correct it by introducing a purer taste,
or which could at least not be played, without for that night j)reventing the re-
presentation of something more fatal to good manners. There were many, no
doubt, who were rather rejoiced than saddened, at finding a stream of purer feel-
ing disposed to turn itself into the Augean stable of the theatre ; because they
calculated that since men cannot be withheld from that place of amusement, tho
next best course is to make the entertainment as innocent as possible.

3Ir Home had been introduced some years before, by Sir David Kinloch, the
patron of his parish, to lord justice clerk iMilton, who then acted as Sous Mhiis-
tre for Scotland, under Archibald duke of Argyle. Being introduced by lord
3Iilton to the duke, his grace said that, being now too old to be of any material
service in improving liis prospects, he would commit him to his nephew, the
earl of Bute, who was succeeding to that nameless situation of trust and patron-
age which had been so long held by himself. Accordingly, on 3Ir Home's going
to London in 1757, he was kindly received by lord Bute, who, having that in-
fluence with (>arrick which had been found wanting in the merit of the play
itself, soon caused it to be brought out at Drury Lane. Not>vithstan«ling Gar-
rick's unchanged opinion of its merit, it met with distinguished success.

Lord Bute, besides procuring Mr Home this highest gratification which lie
was capable of receiving, provided for his personal wants by obtaining for him
the sinecure situation of conservator of Scots privileges at Campvere. '1 hus se-
cure as to the means of subsistence, the poet reposed with tranquillity upon his
prospects of dramatic fame. His tragedy of Agis, which had been written
before Douglas, but rejected, was brought forward, and met ^^ilh success, Gar-
rick and 31rs Gibber playing the principal characters. The Siege of Aquileia
was represented in 1750, but, owing to a want of interest in the action, did
not secure the favour of the audience. In 17t)0, he printed his three tragedies
in one volume, and dedicated them to the prince of Wales, whose society he had
enjoyed through the favour of the earl of Bute, preceptor to the prince. When
this royal personage became king, he signified his favour for Mr Home by
granting him a pension of <£300 a-year from his privy purse — which, in ad-
dition to an equal sum from his office of conservator, rendered him what in
Scotland might be considered affluent. About this period, he spent the greater
part of his time in London, but occasionally came to Scotland, to attend his
duties as an elder in the General Assembly, being appointed to that trust by
the ecclesiastical establishment at Campvere, which then enjoyed a representa-
tion in the great clerical council of the nation. In 17G7, he forsook almost

JOHN HOME. 77

entirely the company of the earl of Bute and his other distinguished friends at
London, and planted himself down in a villa, which he built near his former
residence in East Lothian, and where he continued to reside for the next twelve
years. To increase the felicity of a settled home, he married a lady of his own
name in 1770, by whom he never had any children.

Three tragedies, the Fatal Discovery, Alonzo, and Alfred, successively ap-
peared in 1769, 1773, and 1778 ; but, though received at first with considera-
ble applause, they took no permanent hold of the stage ; and thus seemed to
confirm the opinion which many English critics had avowed in regard to the
success of Douglas — that it was owing to no peculiar powers of dramatic com-
position in the author, but simply to the national character of the piece, with a
slight aid from its exhibition of two very popular passions, maternal and filial ten-
derness.^ The reception of the last mentioned play was so cool, that he ceased
from that time to write for the stage.

* " As we sat over our tea," says Bosvvell on this subject, "Mr Home's tragedy of
Doiiglas was mentioned. 1 put Dr Johnson in mind that once, in a Cofl'ee-house at Oxford,
he ciilled to old Mr Sheridan, ' How came jou, sir, to give Home a gold medal * for writing
that foolish play ]' and defied Mr Sheridan to show ten good lines in it. He did not insist
that they should be together ; but that there were not ten good lines in tlie whole play. He
now persisted in this. I endeavoured to defend that pathetic and beautiful tragedy, and re-
peated the following passage :

Sincerit}',

Thou first of virtues, let no mortal leave

Thy onward path, altho' the earth should gape,

And from the gulph of hell destruction cry.

To take dissimulation's winding wa}'.
Johnson. ' That will not do, sir. Nothing is good but what is consistent with truth or proba-
bility, which this is not. Juvenal indeed gives us a noble picture of intiexible virtue :

Esto bonus miles, tutor bonus, arbiter idem

Integer: ambigusB si quando citabere testis

Incertajque rti, Phalaris licet imperet, ut sis

Falsus, et admoto dictet perjuria tauro,

Summum crede nefas, animam prteferre pudori,

Et, propter vitam, vitse perdere ciiusas.'

He repeated the lines with great force and dignity; then added, ' And after tin's comes
Johnny Home, with his earth gaping and h\s destruction crying ! — Pooh !' " — Boswell's Journal
of a Tour to the Hebrides.

It must be acknowledged Boswell was not fortunate in the specimen he produced, and that
the passage quoted by Johnson from Juvenal is infinitely superior. The circumstances at-
tending the representation of Douglas were not such as to dispose an English critic to allow
its merit. In the first place, the national taste was in some degree committed in the judg-
ment passed upon the play by the favourite actor and manager; and it was not only gallino;
to himself, but to all who relied upon his taste, that he should have been mistaken. In tl e
next place, the Scots did not use their triumph with discretion ; they talked of the merits of
Douglas in a strain quite preposterous, and of which no unfair specimen is to be found in the
anecdote of a Caledonian who, being present in the pit of Drury Lane one night of its per-
formance, is said to have exclaimed, in the insolence of his exultation, '• W)'ar's your WuU^
Shakspeare nou 1" Such ridiculous pretensions are now forgotten; but they were advanced
at the time, and, from their extreme arrogance and absurdity, could not fail to exasperate a
mind so read} to repel insult as Johnson's, and so keenly alive as his was to the honour of the
national literature of England. The natural consequence followed : he decried Z)o?/^'/as per-
haps as much as it was overvalued by its admirers; and his acquaintance with far superior
compositions, must have enabled him, as in the instance above quoted, to pour derision upon
it with an efTect which the more judicious part of its admirers could not contend with, the
more especially as the noise of undiscriminating applause with which it was hailed, had in-
duced tliem to assume higher ground than their sober judgment would have led them to fix
upon. And indeed, it may be a question whether the same cause that contributed to the first
popularity of Z)o!f^fos does not still continue to operate, preserving to our only tragedy a
higher rank than it really is entitled to occupy: it is rare that the parents of an only child
do not love and admire him for virtues which all the world else fails to discover that he is
possessed of.

* " The elder Sheridan, then manager of the theatre at Dublin, sent Mr Home a gold medal in
testimony of his admiration of Douglas ; and his -wife, a woman not less respectable for her
virtues than for genius and accomplishments, drew the idea of her admired novel of Sijdney
H'lddvlph, as her introduction bears, from the genuine moral effect of that excellent tragedy."—
Alacke/izie's Xi/e of Home, p. 47.

78 JOHN HOME.

Mr Home, ns nlrendy inentioiicl, liveil in temis of tlie greatest intimncy

witli all liie literary men of his time : lie seems, Iiouever, to liave clierislied no
friemUliip willi so mncli ardour as tliat wliicli lie entertained (or liis |)hil()So|ilii<al
namesake David Hume. Diirinif tlie course of a loii;;tliene<l period of friendly
intercoui-se uitli tliis individual, only two tritliiifj <lilierenccs liatl ever risen be-
tween tlieni. One referred to the orlho;irai>hy of their nause, which the
di-amatic jioet spelt after the old and constant fashion of his family, while the
philosopher hail early in life assumed the spelling in<licated by the pronuncia-
tion. David Hume, at one time, jocularly proposed that they should determine
this controversy by castino lots ; but the poet answered, " Nay, that is a most
extraordinary proposal, indeed, ."Mr I'hilosoither, for, if you lose, you take your
own name, wliereas, if I lose, 1 take another man's name.

The other controversy refened merely to their tnste in wine. I\lr .Tohn
Home had the old Scottisli prepossession in favour of claret, and utterly de-
tested port. When the former diink was expelled from the market by high
duties, he wrote the following epigram, as it has been called, though we confees
we are at a loss to observe anything in it but a narrative of supposed facts : —

" Firm and erect the Caledotiian stood,

Old was his mutton, and his claret good ;
' Let him drink port,' an English statesman cried —

lie drank the poison, and his spirit died."

David Hume, who to his latest breath continued the same playful being he
had ever been, made the following allusion to the two controversies, in a codicil
to his will, dated only eighteen days before his death. " I leave to my friend
3Ir John Home of Kildutf, ten dozen of my old claret at his choice ; and one
other bottle of that other liquor railed port. I also leave him six dozen of
port, provided that he attests, under his hand, signed John Hume, that he has
himself alone finished that bottle at two sittings. By this concession he will
at once terminate the only two differences that ever arose between us concern-
ing temporal matters."

When this eccentric philosopher ^\aa recommended for his health to pay a
visit to Bath, his faithful friend Home accompanied him, and was of great ser-
vice, by his lively conversation and kind attentions, in supporting him against
the attacks of a virulent disease. The journey took place in April, 1776, and
3Ir Mackenzie has preserved a curious diary by Mr Home, detailing the principal
matters which passed between him and his fellow traveller in conversation. IMany
of the anecdotes told by the philosopher are exceedingly valuable as snatches of
what is styled secret history.

iMr Home spent the latter moiety of his long life in a state little removed
from indolence. He removed to Edinburgh in 1779, and tlienceforward lived
in the enjoyment of that high literary society which the character of his mind
fitted him to enjoy, and in which his income fortunately permitted him to in-
dulge. Careless of money in the highest degree, he delighted in entertaining
large companies of friends, and often had his house filled to a degree which
would now be considered intolei'able,with permanent guests.

The only production of his later years was a History of the Rebellion of
1745 ; a transaction of which he was entitled to say, pars fui. He had pro-
jected something of the kind soon after the event, but did not proceed with it
till after he had given up dramatic writing. If there was any literary man of
the day from whom, rather than from any other, a good work upon this subject
might have been confidently expected, it was Mr Home, who had not only taken
a strong personal interest in the affair, but possesssed that generous and chival-

SIR JOHN HOPE. 79

rous colour of mind which was most apt to do it justice in narration. Unfor-
tunately, before setting about this work, he had met with an accident by a fall
from iiis horse, in consequence of which his intellect was permanently afiected.
As a pensioner of king- George III., he was also prevented from giving that full
expression to his sentiments which was so necessary in the historian of such an
event. This work, therefore, when it appeared in 1802, was found to be a
miserable sketchy outline of the transaction, rather than a complete narrative —
here and there, indeed, as copious as was to be wished, and also showing oc-
casional glimpses of the poetical genius of the author, but in general '* stale,
flat, and unprofitable." The imperfections of the work have been partly ac-
counted for, without contradiction, by the circumstance of its having been sub-
mitted to the inspection of tiie reigning family, with the understanding that they
wei-e at liberty to erase such passages as they did not wish to be made public.

Mr Home died on the 5th of September, 1808, when he was just on the
point of completing his eighty-sixth year. As a man, he was gentle and ami-
able, a very warm friend, and incapable of an ungenerous feeling. As a poet,
lie deserves the credit of having written with more fervid feeling, and less of
stiffness and artificiality, than the other poets of his time ; his genius in this re-
spect approaching to that of his friend Collins. The present age, however, has,
by its growing inditference to even his sole successful play, pronounced that his
reputation on account of that exertion, was in a great measure the result of
temporary and local circumstances, and that, being ill based, it cannot last.

HOPE, (Sir) John, latterly earl of Hopetoun, a celebrated military com-
mander, was son to John, second earl of Hopetoun, by his second marriage with
Jane, daughter of Robert Oliphant of Rossie, in the county of Perth. He was
born at Hopetoun in the county of Linlithgow, on the I7th of August, 17GG.
After finishing his education at home, he travelled on the continent, where he
had the advantage of tiie superintendence of Dr Gillies, author of the History of
Greece, now historiograplier to the king. Mr Hope entered the army as a vol-
unteer at a period so early as his 1 5th year, and on the 28th of May, 1784,
received a cornetcy in the 10th regiment of light dragoons. We shall briefly
note his gradual rise as an officer until he reached that rank, in which he could
appropriate opportunities of distinguishing himself. On the •24th of December,
I7S5, he was appointed to a lieutenancy in the lOOth foot; on the SlstOc-
tobei-, 1789, to a company in the 17th dragoons; on the 25lh of April, 1792,
to a majority in the 2nd foot; and on the 26th of April, 1793, to a lieutenant-
colonelcy in the 25th foot. It was the period when the claims of rank began
to meet witli less observance in the British army, and severer duties called for
the assistance of active and persevering men ; and these had before them a sure
road to honour. So early as 1794, lieutenant-colonel Hope was appointed to
the arduous situation of adjutant-general to Sir Ralph Abercromby when serving
in the Leeward islands ; during the three ensuing years he was actively em-
ployed in the campaigns in the West Indies, where he held the rank of
brigadier-general ; during this service he is characterized in the despatches of
the commander-in-chief, as one who " on all occasions most willingly came for-
ward and exerted himself in times of danger, to which he was not called, from
his situation as adjutant-general."

In the parliament of 1796, Mr Hope was returned as member for Linlithgow-
shire : as a legislator he has been very little known, and he soon relinquished a
duty not probably accoi'ding with his taste and talents. As a deputy adjutant-
general lie attended the expedition to Holland, in August, 1799, having, in the
interval betwixt his services abroad, performed the duty of a colonelcy in the
nortli Lowland fencibles. In the sharp fighting at the landing at the Helder,

80 SIR JOHN lion;.

with which the proceedin!»8 of the secret expedition to Holland commenced,
colonel Hoi)e had llio luisfortnnt' to he so severely wounded as to render his
farther attendance on tiie e\|>C(lilion ini|ira<-licaltic. From the eO'ecLs of his
wound ho recovered diirini"; the ensuinij Ortolier, uiien he was a]>|>i»inlcd adjii-
tant-ncneral to the duke «f York, lieiitenant-colnnel Alexand.sr Mope, his
brother hy his fatiier's third niarriau^e, heing ap.ioinled his successor as deputy
adjiitantseneral. In 1800, colonel Hope joined tlio expedition to \''.g\\>l
under Sir Italph Ahercromby, who had been his conMuandini^ olliecr at the at^
tack on the llclder. Ho still aeted as adjiitant-f'eneral, and on the l.'Uh of
."May he was appointed briji;adier-oeneral in tiio Mediterranean. Were we to
follow this active ofli(-er's footsteps tlirou<;h the pro-jress of the Egyptian war, we
should merely repeat wiiat the best pens in I'^urope have been engaged in dis-
cussing for thirty years, and what generally is known ; snfi'ice it to say, that he
was engaged in the actions of 8tli and 1 .Jlh Marih, ISOl , and liiat he received
a woiuid on tlie hand at the battle of Alexandria. In .lime he was able to pro-
ceed with the army to Cairo, where he has received credit as an able negotiator,
for the manner in which he settled the convention for the surrender of that
place with tlie French commander, general r.elliard. On tlie 11th of IMay,
1802, he was promoted to the rank of a major-general. On the 30th of .June,
1805, he was appointed deputy governor of Tortsmouth : an ofHce he resigned
the same year, on being nominated to a command with the troops sent to the
continent under lord Cathcart. On the 3rd of October, 1 805, he was made
colonel of the 2nd battalion of the 60th foot, and on the 3rd of January, 180G,
colonel of the 92nd foot. On the 25th of April, 1 808, he was made a lieutenant-
general.'

Lieutenant-general Hope was among the most eminent and persevering par-
takers in that exterminating war in the Peninsula, where, as in the conflicts of
ancient nations, every thing gained was the jjrice of blood. On the 8th of Au-
gust he landed with the British forces in Portugal ; — during the ensuing month
he was appointed British commandant at Lisbon ; and on the French gradually
evacuating the town, in terms of their convention, he took possession of the cas-
tle of Beieni on the 10th, and of the citadel on the 12th. The restless spirit
of the Portuguese, on the knowledge that the F>ench were to leave the country,
caused their long-smothered indignation to appear in insults, threats, and even
attempts on the lives of the general officers ; to depart in safety was the ob-
ject of the French, and general Hope had the difficult task of preventing the
oppressed people from making dangerous displays of public feeling, a duty he
performed witii moderation and energy, and which he was enabled finally to
complete.

Sir John Moore divided his forces into two columns, one of which under his
own connnand, marched by Almeida and Ciudad Rodrigo, while the other pro-
ceeded to the Tagus under the command of general Hope. While thus sei)arat-
ed from his celebrated commander, both experienced the full danger and
doubt which so amply characterized the disastrous campaign. The few Spanish
troops who had struck a blow for their country, fleeing towards the Tagus,
brought to general Hope the traces of the approach of the victorious French.
His cohunn, consisting of three thousand infantry and nine hundred cavalry,
were in want and difficulty. The inhospitable country aftbrded insuffi(;ient sup-
plies of provision, they were destitute of money, and of many necessary articles

SIR JOHN HOPE. 81

of military store. To enable his troops in some measure to obtain supplies, he
separated his whole column into six divisions, each a day's march distant from
the others, and thus passing- through an uncultivated country destitute of roads,
whose few inhabitants could give no assistance and could not be trusted, and
harassed by the neighbourhood of a powerful enemy, he had to drag his artil-
lery and a large park of ammunition to join the commander-in-chief, whose
safety depended on his speedy approach. At Almaraz he endeavoured to dis-
cover some path which might guide him through the hills to Ciudad Rodrigo,
but not finding one easily accessible, the jaded state of his few remaining
horses compelled him to relinquish the attempt to cross these regions. On
reaching Talavera, to the other evils with which he had to contend was added
the folly or perfidy of the Spanish functionaries : the secretary at war recom-
mended to him a method of passing through Madrid, which on consideration he
found would have been the most likely of all methods to throw him into the
hands of the French army. Resolving to make a last effort to obtain assistance
from the nation for which the British troops were wasting their blood, he proceeded
in person to Madrid ; but the uncontrolled confusion of the Spanish government
threw additional clouds on his prospects, and he found tliat the safety of his men
must depend on their own efibrts. Avoiding the path so heedlessly proposed,
he passed Naval Carnero, and reached Escurial, where he halted to bring up
his rear, and to obtain bullocks for dragging his artillery and amnmnition.
Having crossed the mountains on tlie sixth day after leaving Madrid, his situa-
tion became more melancholy, and he fell into deeper ditficulties. He received
the intelligence of additional disasters among the Spaniards ; and his scouts
traced the vicinity of parties of the enemy. " The general's situation," says
colonel Napier in his History of the Peninsular War, " was now truly embar-
rassing. If he fell back to the Guadarama, the army at Salamanca would be
without ammunition or artillery. If he advanced, it must be by a flank march
of three days, with a heavy convoy, over a flat country, and within a few hour's
march of a very superior cavalry. If he dehtyed where he was, even for a few
hours, the French on the side of Segovia might get between him and the pass
of Guadarama, and then, attacked in front, flank, and rear, he would be re-
duced to the shameful necessity of abandoning his convoy and guns, to save his
men in the mountains of Avila. A man of less intrepidity and calmness would
have been ruined ; but Hope, as enterprising as he was prudent, without any
hesitation ordered the cavalry to throw out parties cautiously towards the French,
and to maintain a confident front if the latter approached ; then moving the in-
fantry and guns from Villacastin, and the convoy from Espinosa, by cross roads
to Avila, he continued his march day and night until they reached Feneranda :
the cavalry covering this movement closed gradually to the left, and finally oc-
cupied Fontiveros on the 2nd of December." ^ Not without additional dangers from
the vicinity of the enemy, to the number of ten thousand infantry, and two
thousand cavalry, with forty guns, he at length reached Salamanca, and joined
the commander-in-chief. He partook in the measures which the army thus re-
cruited endeavoured to pursue, as a last effort of active hostility, passing with
his division the Douro at Tordesillas, and directing his march upon Villepando.
In the memorable retreat which followed these proceedings, he had a laborious
and perilous duty to perform. He commanded the left wing at the battle of
Gorunna; — of his share in an event so frequently and minutely recorded it is
scarcely necessary to give a detailed account. After the death of the commander-
in-chief, and the wound which compelled Sir David I3aird to retire from the
field, general Hope was left with the honour and responsibility of the supreme

'' Vol. i p. 437.

83 SIR JOHN HOPE.

coinmaiHl, nn«l in the lanariinpe of t'ne desi»atdie», to his " abilitiei and exer-
timis, in llie <!iieiti«n of tho anlont z<'al ;unl iin(:()n(|iit'ml)ie valour of liis majes-
ly's troops, is to he atliibtited, iiudcr i'rovidenw, tiie siirrt'ss of the day, which
lerniinatt'd in (he ronipk'te and entire rejudse an<l defeat of liie enemy."

It was tlie ininiediato decision of Sir John Hojte, not to follow up a victory
over so ]»owerfiil an enemy, Imt takiii<( advantage of the confusion of the !• rench,
to proceed with the orioinal design of emharkins: the tnjops, a measure per-
formed with true military alacrity and pfood order, not without the strenuous
exertions of the general, wiio, after the fatii^ucs of the day, personally searched
till a late liour tli^e purlieus of the town, to prevent stragglers from failing into
the hands of the enemy, deneral Hope wrote to Sir Uavid Haird a succinct and
clear account of the battle, in uhich his own name seldom ocaas. .As exhibiting
the subdued opinion he expressed of the advantage gained, and as what is
very probably a specimen of his style of composition, we quote the following
passage from this excellent document: "Circumstances forbid us to indulge
the hope, that the victory with which it has pleased Providence to crown the
eflbrts of the army, ain be attended with any very brilliant consequences to
Great Brluiin. It is clouded by the loss of one of her best soldiers. It
has been achieved at the termination of a long and harassing service. The
superior numbei-s and advantageous position of the enemy, not less than the
actual situation of this army, did not admit of any advantage being reaped from
success. It must be, however, to you, to the army, and to our country, the
sweetest reflection that the lustre of the British amis has been maintained,
amidst many disadvantageous circumstances. 'Ihe army which had entered
Spain amidst the fairest prospects, had no sooner completed its junction, than,
owing to the multiplied disasters tliat dispersed the native armies around us, it
was left to its own resources. The advance of the British corps from Douro
afforded the best hope that the south of Spain might be relieved, but this gener-
ous eflbrt to save the unfortunate people, also afforded tiie enemy the oppor-
tunity of directing every effort of his numerous troops, and concentrating all his
principal resources, for the destruction of the only regular force in the north
of Spain."

Ihe thanks of his country crowded thickly on general Hope, after the airival
of the despatches in P-ngland ; a vote of thanks to him and to the officers under
his command was unanimously passed in the House of Lords, on the motion of
the earl of Liverpool ; in the House of Commons, on that of lord Castlereagh.
As a reward for /tis services, his brotlter (the earl of Hopetoun) was created a
baron of the united kingdom, by the title of baron Hopetoun of Hopetoun in
the county of Linlithgow, and himself received the order of the bath, in which
he was installed two years afterwards, along with twenty-two other knights.
Soon after his return to Britain, Sir John was appointed to superintend tlie
military department of the unsatisfactory expedition to the Scheldt. It was the
intention of the planners of the expedition, that by landing on the north side
of South Bevelar.d, and taking possession of the island, Sir John might incom-
mode the PVench lleet while it remained near Flushing, and render its retreat
more dif!i<'ult, while it might be subject to the attacks of the British ships. Sir
John's division landed near Ter-Goes, took possession of the important post of
Baltz, and removed all impediments to the progress of the British vessels in the
West Scheldt, For nine days Sir John occupied his post, waiting impatiently
for the concerted ai-rival of the gun-boats under the command of Sir Home
Popham, harassed by frequent attacks from the enemy, in one of which they
brought down about twenty-eight gun-vessels, and kept up a cannonade for
several hours, but were, after much exertion on the part of the general, com-

SIR JOHN HOPE. 83

pelled to retreat. The termination and efiecl of the expedition are well known
and need not be here repeated. At the termination of tlie expedition Sir John
Hope was appointed commander-in-chief of the forces in Ireland, but he soon
left this unpleasing sphere of duty, to return in 1813, to the scene of his former
exertions in the Peninsula. At the battle of Nivelle he commanded the left
wing, and driving in the enemy's out-posts in front of their entrenchments on
the Lower Nivelle, carried the redoubt above Orogue, and established himself on
the heights immediately opposite Sibour, in readiness to take advantage of any
movement made by the enemy's right. On the 10th of December, nearly the
whole army of the enemy left their entrenchments, and having drawn in the
piquets, advanced upon Sir John Hope's posts on the high road from Bayonne
to St Jean de Luz. At the first onset, Sir John took 500 prisoners, and repulsed
the enemy, while he received in the course of the action a severe contusion on
the head. The same movement was repeated by the enemy, and they were in a
similar manner repulsed. The conduct of Sir John on this occasion has i-eceived
the approbation of military men, as being cool, judicious, and soldierly ; and he
received the praises of the duke of \A'ellington in liis despatches.

In this campaign, which began on the frontiers of Portugal, the enemy's line
of defence on the Douro had been turned, and after defeat at Vittoria, Soult
had been repulsed in his efforts to relieve St Sebastian and Pamplona, and the
army of France had retreated behind the Pyrenees. After the fall of the latter
place, the army entered France, after many harassing operations, in which the
progress of the allies was stoutly impeded by the indomitable Soult. In the
middle of February, 1814, the passage of the Adour was accomplished. While
the main body of the army under the duke of Wellington, prosecuted the cam-
paign in other quarters, Sir John Hope was left with a division to invest the
citadel and town of Bayonne on both banks of the river. Soon after these
operations commenced, Sir John received information from two deserters, that
the garrison was under arms, and prepared for a sortie before day-light next
morning. By means of a feint attack at the moment they Avere so expected,
and by the silent and stealthy movements of some of their men through the
rough ground, many of the sentinels were killed, and several lines of piquets
broken. The nature of the spot, with a hollow way, steep banks, and inter-
cepting walls, deprived those so attacked of the power of retreating, and the
whole vicinity was a series of scattered battles, fought hand to hand, with deadly
bitterness. The chief defence of the besiegers lay in the fortified convent of
St Bernard, and in some buildings in the village of St Etienne ; to the latter
post Sir John Hope proceeded \vith his staff, at the commencement of the attiick.
Through one of the inequalities of the ground already mentioned, which formed
a sort of hollow way, Sir John expected to find the nearest path to the village.
When almost too late, he discovered that the banks had concealed from him the
situation of the enemy, whose line he was just appi-oaching, and gave orders to
retreat; before, however, being extricated from the hollow way, the enemy
appi'oached within twelve yards' distance, and began firing : Sir John Hope's
horse received three balls, and falling, entangled its rider. While the staff
attempted to extricate him, the close firing of the enemy continued, and several
British officers were wounded, among whom was Sir John himself, and the
French soldiers pouring in, made them all prisoners. The Fren«;h with diffi-
culty extricated him from the fallen horse, and while they were conveying him
to the citadel, he was severely wounded in the foot by a ball supposed to have
come from the British piquets. From the effects of this encounter he suffered
fitr a considerable period.

On the 3rd of May, Sir John was created a British peer by the title of baror

84 SIR THOMAS HOPE.

Niddry of Niddry, county of Linlithgow. He declined being a partaker in the
penniiai-y grant, wlii(;li, on the '••tli of .Imie i-nsuiiig, was moved by the rhan-
cellor of U>e exchec^uor, as a regard for tiio s rviccs of him and other di«tin-
guisiied generals. On tlie death <.f his hiollwr i>y iiis falhei's |.ri(.r marriage,
ho succeeded to the family title of earl of liuix'toun, and in August, I'ilD, he
attained to the rank of general. He died at I'aris, on the 27th August, 1W23,
in the S'^th year of his age. From the I'.dinhurgh Annual Uegister for lH-23,
we extract a character of this excellent and able man, which, if it have a small
degree too much of the beau i<leal in its composition, seems to be bettor fitted to
the person to whom it is ai.i)lied, tlian it might be to many equally celebrated.

" As the friend and companion of Moore," says tliis chronicle, " and as
acting under Wcllin-ton in the Pyrenean c.nnpaign, he had rendered himself
consj^ciious. Ihit it was when, by succession to the earldom, ho be<;ame the
head of one of the nu)st ancient houses in Scotland, and the possessor of one of
its most extensive properties, that his character shone in its fullest lustre. He
exhibited then a model, as perfect seemingly as human nature could admit, of
tlie manner in which this eminent and useful sUition ought to be filled. An open
and magnificent hospitality, suited to his place and rank, without extravagance
or idle^parade, a full and public tribute to the obligations of religion and
private morality, without ostentation or austerity; a warm interest in the
improvement and welfare of those extensive districts with which his possessions
brought him into contact — a kind and generous concern in the welfare of the
humblest of his dependents, — these qualities made him beloved and respected in
an extraordinary degree, and will cause him to be long remembered."'

HOPE, (Sir) Thomas, an eminent lawyer and statesman of the fifteenth cen-
tury, and the founder of a family distinguished for its public services, was the
eon of Henry Hope, a considerable Scottish merchant, whose grandfather, John
de Hope, was one of the gentlemen attending Magdalene de Valois, first consort
of James V., at her coming into this country in 1537.

Henry Hope, a younger brother of the subject of this memoir, following the
profession of his father, was the progenitor of the great and opulent branch of
the Hopes of Amsterdam; a house, for extent of commerce and solidity of
credit, long considered superior, without exception, to any private mercantile
company in the world.

Thomas Hope, after having distinguished himself at school in no small degree,
entered upon the study of the law, and made so rapid a progi-ess in juridical
knowledge, that he was at a very early age cjilled to the bar. However, like
the generality of young lawyers, he enjoyed at first a very limited practice ; in
1606, he burst at once upon the world on the following occasion.

Six ministers of the church of Scotland having thought proper to deny that
the king and his council possessed any authority in eccilesiastical affiiirs, were on
that account imprisoned for some months in Blackness c^istle, indicted for high
treason, and on the 10th of January, 1(506, put upon trial at Linlithgow, before
a jury consisting chiefly of landed gentlemen of the three Lothians. As it was
carefully promulgated that the king and court had openly expressed the highest
displeasure against the ministers, and had declared that they would show no favour

' The esteem and affection in which the earl was held in the scenes of private life, and in
his character as a landlord, has, since his de;ith, been testified in a remarkable manner b) the
erection of no fewer than three monuments to his memory, on the tops of as many hills — one
in Fife, on the mount of Sir David Lindsay, another in Linlithgowshire, near Hopetoun
House, and the third in the neishbonrhood of Haddington. An equestrian stahie of his
lordship has also been erected in St. Andrew's Square, Edinburgli, with an inscription
from the pen of Sir "Walter Scott. A correct and masterly engraving of Lord Hopetoun,
representing him standing beside his horse, has been published.

SIR THOMAS HOPE. 85

to any person that should appear in their behalf, none of the great lawyers cho.9e
to undertake their cause ; even Sir Thomas Craig, although he was procurator
for the church, refused to be concerned in this affair, and Sir William Oliphant,
who had at first promised to plead for them, sent word, the day before, that he
must decline appearing. The ministers, thus abandoned, applied to Mr Hope,
who, pitying their case, with the greatest cheerfulness and resolution undertook
their defence ; and, notwithstanding the reiterated endeavours of the court to
perplex and browbeat him, contradicted it in so skilful and masterly a manner,
that he made a deep impression on the jury. However, by an unlawful tamper-
ing with the jurors (some of the lords of council having procured admittance to
them after they were locked up,) and assurance that no harm was intended against
tlie persons or goods of the accused, nine of the fifteen jurymen were induced to
bring in a verdict of guilty, and the ministers were sentenced to banishment forth
of the kingdom, which was accordingly executed.

By the commendable intrepidity, knowledge of the law, and singular abilities,
manifested by Mr Hope at this important trial, he became so greatly the favour-
ite of the presbyterians, that they never afterwards undertook any important
business without consulting him ; and he was retained in almost every cause
brought by that party into the courts of justice, so that he instantly came into
the fii'st practice of any lawyer at that period. By this, in a few years he
acquired one of the most considerable fortunes ever made at the Scottish bar ;
which enabled him to purchase, between 1013 and 1642, the lands of Grantoun,
Edmonstoun, and Cauldcolts in Mid Lothian, Prestongrange in East Lothian,
Kerse in Stirlingshire, 3Iertoun in the Merse, Kinninmonth, Arnydie, Craighail,
Cei'es, Hiltarvet, and others in Fife.

It was the policy of king Charles I. to bestow honours and emoluments upon
those who had most power to obstruct his designs, and hence, in 1626, the great
presbyterian barrister was made king's advocate, with permission, revived in
his favour, to sit in the bar, and be privy to the hearing and determining of all
causes, except those in Avhich he was retained by any of the parlies. He was
also in 1628 created a baronet of Nova Scotia. If the king expected by these
means to gain him over from the presbyterians, he was grievously disappointed,
for although Sir Thomas discharged the duties of his high office with attention
and propriety, Iiis gratitude, principles, and inclination, were all too powerfully
engaged to his first friends and benefactors to admit of his deserting them : it
was, on the contrary, with pleasure that he beheld that party increasing every
day in numbers and consequence. It would draw out this account to too great .n,
length, to enumerate all the various steps taken by them in pursuance of his
advice ; it is enough to say that he acted as their confidant throughout the whole
affair of the resistance of the Liturgy in 1 637, and that he was intimately con-
cerned in framing the bond of resistance, entitled the National Covenant, which
was subscribed by nearly the whole population of Scotland in the succeeding
year. The king, with fatal weakness, nevertheless retained him in an ofiice,
which, of all others in the state, implied and required a heai-ty service of the royal
cause. In 1643, when a parliament was required to meet in order to settle the
Solemn League and Covenant with the English parliament. Sir Thomas, to get over
the dilemma of illegality which nmst have characterized such a meeting, as it
could not legally take place till the next year, recommended a convention of
estates upon the precedent of some such transaction in the reign of James V. ;
and thus was aciiieved a measure which, more than any other, perhaps, was fatal
to the royal cause : the army voted in this in-egular meeting being of great avail
in the decisive battle of Longmarston-moor, which was fought soon after.

Charles, nevertheless, still persisting in his unfortunate policy, appointed Sir

8G FRANCIS HORNEIL

Thomas Hope to be his commissioner to the General Assembly, which met in
Aiii^ust, l(i l.'j ; an honour never before or siii(;e l)('slowed upon a ronnnoner.
Tlio royalists were so niii/-li inrensol at the a|>|)ointnicnt of an enemy instead of
a friend, tliat lliey very cfeneraily absented tliemselves from tlie asseml)ly, and
the fiebl A\as therefore left in a great measure «:lear to tiie covenanters, uho
carried ail before them. As the sane.tion of this body was necessary to the
transaction above alluded to, the credit of the whole, direct or indirect, lies with
Sir Thomns Hoj>e.

In 1G15, Sir 'I'homas Hope wag appointed one of the commissifuiers for
managing the exchequer, but did not long en.joy that oflice, dying the next
year, Itjli). He had the singular happiness of seeing, before his death, two of
bis sons seated on tlie bench wiiile he was lord advocate ; and it being judged
by the Court of Session unbecoming that a father should plead uncovered before
his children, the pri\ilege of wearing his hat, while pleading, was granted to
him. 'Ibis privilege his suc('essors in the oftice of king's advo<;ate have ever since
enjoyed, though it is now in danger of being lost through desuetude.

The professional excellencies of Sir Thomas Hope are thus discriminated bv
Sir George Mackenzie, in his Characteres Advocutorum. " Hopius niira inven-
tione poUebat, totque illi fundebat argumenta ut aniplificntione tenipus deesset;
non ornabat, sed arguebat, niodo uniformi, sed sibi proprio. Nam cum argunien-
tum vel exceptionem protulisset, rationem addebat ; et ubi dubia videbatur,
rationis rationem. Ita rhetorica non illi defuit, sed inutilis apparuit."

The following are the written or published works of Sir Thomas Hope. — 1,
Carmen Seculare in serenissinum Carolum I. Britanniarum 31onarchani,

Edin. 162(3 2, Psalmi Davidis et Canticum Solomonis Latino c^armine reddi-

tuui, IMS. — 3, IMajor Practicks. — 4, 3Ilnor Practicks, (a very well known work),
— 5, Paratitillo in universo Juris Corpore. — and 6, A Genealogie of the Earls
of ISIar, MS.

In Wood's Ancient and Modern account of the Parish of Cramond, from
which the above facts are chiefly taken, is given a very perfect account of the
numerous descendants of Sir Thomas Hope, including the noble race of Hope-
toun, and many other races distinguished in the two past centuries, by oflicial
eminence and public service.

HORNEH, Francis, whose virtues, ttilents, and eloquence, raised him to an
eminent rank in public life, while yet a young man, was born at Edinburgh on
the 12ih of August, 1778. His father, who was at that time a linen manufacturer
and mercer upon an extensive scale, took delight in cultivating the excellent
talents which his son early displayed, and doubtless contributed much to the
formation of those intellectual habits, and sound and liberal principles, which
marked the boy as well as the full-grown man. Francis was sent to the High school,
where he soon became a favoui-ite with the late Dr Adam, who then presided over
that eminent seminary as rector, and who was accustomed to say of his distinguished
pupil, that " Francis Horner was the only boy he ever knew who had an old
head upon young shoulders." Nor was this remark dictated by undue partiality,
although some of the most eminent men of the present age were among young
Horner's class-fellows : for he was never known to join in the field-sports or
recreations of any of the boys, and he kept the rank of dux at school by his
own industry and talents alone, having no private tutor to direct his studies.
Francis indeed needed no adventitious aid ; but it has been thought by some of
his medical friends that these early propensities to retirement and constant study
contributed to sow the seeds of that pulmonary disease which assailed liis youth,
and finally led to an untimely grave.

A\ hen removed to the university he enjoyed the instructions of several eminent

FRANCIS HORNER. 87

professors, and, in particular, attracted the notice of Dugald Stewart : but the
theatre, perhaps, wliich tended more than any other to unfold his talents and
views was the Speculative Society, an institution for improvement in public
speaking-, and in science in general, without peculiar reference to any of the
learned professions, the members of which met weekly during the sitting of the
college. There are few associations of this kind which have numbered so many
young men of splendid talents on their roll of members. Lord Henry Petty,
the second son of the first marquis of Lansdown, and Messrs Brougham and
Jeffrey were amongst Mr Horner's associates in the arena of debate, and con-
tributed by their mutual iniluence on each other's minds to invigorate and
sharpen those intellectual powers which were afterwards to raise them to stations
of the highest eminence and widest influence in society. Mr Horner first
directed his attention to the Scottish bar, but like his two last-mentioned friends
with very limited success. The attainment of sufficient practice before the
Scottish court can only be the result of undismayed perseverance and great
industry ; real talent will ultimately reach its object there, but the necessary
probation is apt to dishearten conscious merit. There was something also in the
political character of the times inauspicious to young men of independent prin-
ciples, who sought to make their way without friends or interest by dint of talent
alone ; the aristocracy possessed overwhelming influence, and a considerable
amount of prejudice existed in the midst of the commonalty against the first
manifestations of that more liberal spirit which now began to show itself in
various quartei's, and more especially characterized the debates of the Speculative
Society. The intervention of a jury was also unknown in civil causes, and thus
the principal field for forensic elocjuence was denied to the youthful aspirant.
These considerations appear to have so far weighed with Mr Horner as to induce
him, though already admitted a member of faculty, to direct his attention to the
English bar; and with this view he left his associates, now busily engaged with
the early numbers of the Edinburgh Review, and repaired to London, where he
commenced the study of English jurisprudence.

In the meantime his friend lord H. Petty, after having taken his degree at
Cambridge, and visited the continent, returned to England, and was immediately
elected one of the two representatives of C'alne. In the new parliament
just then convoked, this young nobleman soon began to be considered a very
able and formidable ally of the opposition ; and upon the final success of Mr
Fox's party, lord Henry Petty found himself, at the very early age of twenty-
one, chancellor of the exchequer, a member of the privy council, and M. P.
for the university of Cambridge. In this commanding situation lie strongly
recommended his young Scottish friend to the notice of his coadjutor, as a gen^
tleman whose principles, character, and talents eminently fitted him for supporting
the new ministry. Mr Horner was accordingly brought into parliament for the
borough of St Ives in 1806. By the dismission of the Koxo-lirenville admin-
istration, Mr Horner was for a time deprived of his parliamentary seat; but the
talents and integrity which he had exhibited while in office, pointed him out to
the friends of liberal principles as an ally too important to be consigned to
oblivion. Accordingly, on the retirement of viscount Mahon from the represen-
tation of Wendover, Sir Horner was immediately nominated for that place, and
soon afterwards was appointed one of the commissioners for investigating the
claims on the late Nabob of Arcot, whose debts had been guaranteed by the East
India Company, — an office of considerable emolument but proportionate labour.
This situation, however, he afterwards resigned, tliough receiving little or no
emolument from professional business, which indeed he did not aim at acquiring.
Once established, however, in parliament, Mr Horner continued gradually to ac-

83 FRANCIS HORNER.

quire the confidence of the house, and that hold upon public opinion, without
which no nienibor of the Hrilish senate can be an elliiient statesinan. His
•pei'ches were little reniarUable for ornament, or in a higli degree tor what is
generally called ehxjiienre ; but ho broiigbl to the examination of every subject
the power of a dear and matured understanding; and as he made it a point
never to address the house upon any subject of which he had not made himself
fully master, he never (ailed to couMnand attention and respect. The excellence
of the speaker consisted in accurate reasoning, logical arrangement of the facts,
and clear and forcible illustration.

On the ist of February, 1 S 1 0, Mv Horner entered upon that part of his j>arlia-
nientary career in Avliich be reaped bis most brilliant reputation. The extraor-
dinary depreciation of the paper-currency, and the unfavourable sLite of the
ex<-bange8 for the last two years had attracted the attention of the best econo-
mists of the day, and engaged Messrs 3Iusbet, Kicardo, and lluskisson, and
many others, in the investigation of tiie general principles of circulation, and of
the various results which are occasioned in ditlerent countries by the variations
in their respective currencies. This was a subject up(ui which Mr Horner felt
himself at full liberty to enter. He had early turned bis attention to economi-
cal subjects, and had given the result of his inquiries to the public in various
articles which he contributed to the Edinburgh Review, which iiad attracted very
considerable notice from their first appearance. Accordingly, pursuant to notice,
he moved for a variety of accounts and returns, and during the spring of that
year, called the attention of the house at different times to the important subject
of the circulating medium and bullion trade. At the same time that 3Ir Horner
was establishing his reputation as an economist, he neglected not the othor duties
of a statesman. On the 10th of 3Iay, 1810, when Alderman Gombe made a
motion censuring the ministers for obstructing the address of the Livery of
London to his majesty in person, we find JMr Horner supporting it in the fol-
lowing constitutional terms: " He considered it as a question of vital importance,
respecting \vhich ministers had attempted to defend themselves by drawing the veil
from the infirmities of their sovereign. It was the right of the Livery of London, as
it was of other subjects, to have access to his majesty's person in the worst times, —
even in those of Charles H. these had not been refused. The most corrupt min-
isters indeed, had no idea it would ever be refused. How complete would have
been their triumph if they had discovered the practice which of late had pre-
vailed ! The obstruction of petitions was a subversion of the fundamental law
of the land." Towards the conclusion of the same session, the house marked
its sense of 3Ir Horner's superior information by placing his name at the head
of " the bullion connnittee." 3Ir Horner presided for some time as chairman
of that committee during the examination of the evidence, and drew up the first
part of the report ; the second was penned by Mr Huskisson ; and the third by
Mr Henry Thornton. They reported " that there was an excess in the jiaper
circulation, of which the most unequivocal symptoms were the high price of
bullion,' and next to that the low state of the continental exchange ;^ that the
cause of this excess was to be found in the suspension of cash-payments, there
being no adequate provision against such an excess, except in the convertibility
of paper into specie ; and that the unfavourable state of the exchange originated
in the same cause, and was farther increased by the anti-connuercial measures of
the enemy." Ihey added " that they could see no sufficient remedy for the
present, or security for the future, except the repeal of the law suspending the

' Gold had att-iined a maximum of 15J per cent, above the mint price.
' The cxcliangfes on Haml)urg and Amsterdam had been depressed towards the latter end
of 1809, from 16 to 20 per cent, below par; while the exchange on Paris was sliil lower.

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