George Iamesone 
 
 „..^. . ..J J 
 
 THE 
 
 Scottish V^ndyck 
 
 BY 
 
 ]()HN BULLOCH 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2015 
 
 https://archive.org/details/georgejamesonescOObull 
 
\ 
 
'^sag; ain suit; bcutjs sq; pnc '^sadcaqQ 
 em b; jbo'j jno j'sqi X«s ^[luapijuoo utjo 9M 
 ^Bq; joi.iadng os si aAoq^ sqi jo iC^jititi^ ^HI 
 
 aranx 
 
 10 aoiad aiix aaonaan 3avh 
 
 o s V a a I :>i 'o 
 
 KT r\i T r\ n rtr,i \x 
 
 90iiotnmoo 01 noissag 'ISOJ^S mJOjajJ IC 'saioo^j qiiiO W fil 
 H;m iiafl; sgi ty— Nri,l,KIVJ P "^ ONTIAVVH vJ 
 
 •89881^10 3njti.to|^ i«pjit|c^t gtq pomnsa^ snq 
 
The sketch underneath represents the eastern 
 half of the structure now used as the 
 Victoria Lodginpr-Honse, which is situated 
 in a paved court entering from Guestrow, and 
 the ground attached to whicli extends west- 
 ward to the (covered-up) Flourinill Burn. Tlie 
 property was bought the other day for £1200 by 
 Mr John Lyall Gratxt, who has come into posses- 
 sion by inheritance and purchase of a large block 
 of land and tenements between Upperkirkgate and 
 Flourmill Brae on the north and south and (Juest- 
 row and Georsie Street on the east and west. 
 The house shown in the picture, like George 
 Jainieson's in the Schoolhill, was erected some 
 three hundred years ap;o. The older part of the 
 structure, which dates from 1580, was built by Sir 
 George Skene, of I'intray, from whom it went to 
 Mr George Skene, at whose death it passed to Mr 
 ]>avid Skene, and by Adies, Douglasses, Keitlis, 
 Thomsons, and Thorns, it passed to the J)uthies, 
 whose last representative was the noble donor of 
 the park that bears her name. In 1746 the build- 
 ing was occupied by the second son of George II., 
 little to the advantage of its owner, for history re- 
 lates that " tlie Duke of Cumberland took full and 
 free occupancy of the house, and Mrs Gordon of 
 Hillhead said that, notwithstanding his promise to 
 respect her ))roperty, which she locked up, the 
 Duke consumed everything that would consume, 
 and took away every bit of china, table linen, 
 books, repeating clock, her husband's clothes, and 
 the very niglitgown, shoes, and dresses belonging to 
 her little son." The house still retains traces of its 
 pristine grandeur in the exquisitely carved mantel- 
 pieces and coved ceilings within, and the mould- 
 I ings, coats of arms, and other carved stones of rare 
 ' excellence to be seen in its exterior walls. 
 
" Le Genie, est la premiere chose que I'on doit supposer dans un peintre. C'est 
 une partie qui ne peut s'acquerir ni par I'etude, ni par le travail ; il faut qu'il soit 
 grand pour repondre h I'etendue d'un Art qui renferme autant de connoissances que la 
 peintiire, & qui exige beaucoup de terns & d' applications pour les acquerir." 
 
 De Piles (1715). 
 
 " I paint the living and they make me \'ivt."—Kjie//er. 
 
 " To saunter through the portrait gallery [at Clarencieux] and hear dealers appraise 
 
 the Lelys and the Lawrences, the Vandykes and the Jamesones 
 
 this was Trevenna's paradise." — Oitida, in " Chandos." 
 
 4 
 
GEORGE JAMESONE 
 
 THE SCOTTISH VANDYCK 
 
 JOHN BLELOCH 
 
 WITH TWO ILLUSTRATIONS F>Y GEORGE REID, R.S.A. 
 
 H DIN BURGH r DAVID DOUGLAS 
 
 1885 
 
250 Copies printed. 
 
TO 
 
 CHARLES ELPHINSTONE DALRYMPLE, Esqlire, 
 
 F.S,A., SCOT., 
 
 TO WHOM CHIEFLY BELONGS THE HONOUR OF BRINGING TOGETHKR 
 THAT INSPIRING COLLECTION OF HISTORICAL PORTRAITS 
 EXHIBITED AT THE MEETING OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION 
 AT ABERDEEN IN 1 859, 
 AND CONSPICUOUS AMONG WHICH WAS 
 THE FIRST CONSIDERABLE GROUP OF GEORGE JAMESONE'S WORKS 
 EVER SHOWN TO THE PUBLIC, 
 
 5 inscribe tbis Bool? ; 
 
 WITH THE SURE CONVICTION 
 THAT OF ALL MY MANY KIND HELPERS 
 NOT ONE 
 
 WILL GRUDGE HIM THIS REPRESENTATIVE PLACE. 
 
/ 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Preface ----------- g 
 
 Chapter I. — Introductory ------ .. 1 1 
 
 Chapter II. — State of Society at Jamesone's Birth - - - 20 
 Chapter III. — His Family Connections - ... - 24 
 Chapter IV. — His Education - -- -- --36 
 
 Chapter V. — Study at Antwerp ------ 47 
 
 Chapter VI. — EstabH.shes his Reputation, 1620- 1630 - - - 51 
 Chapter VII. — Foreign Travel, &c. _ - - - - 76 
 
 Chapter VI 1 1. — -His Closing Years 96 
 
 Chapter IX. — General Remarks ------ 108 
 
 George Jamesone's Signature - - - - - - -114 
 
 Catalogue of his Works so far as well Authenticated — 1885 - 115 
 
 Appendix ... - - 187 
 
 Index, -. - - 195 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 Page 54, 12th line from foot, after Urquhart insert Tutor. 
 
 Page 106, 15th and 19th lines from {oot,/or Helen read Mary. 
 
 Page io6, I4tb, and page 170, iith line from {oot,/or Kincorth r<frt«/ Tillycorthie. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 A T this, the hist stage of my work, it is less necessary to 
 state the motives which led to my undertaking the respon- 
 sibility of adding one book more to our already groaning shelves, 
 than to explain why I have taxed so severely the patience of my 
 subscribers by its long delay. 
 
 When about to proceed to press, two years ago, the fortunate 
 discovery of some serious mistakes as to the genuineness of a 
 few of the pictures I had tabulated, led at once to the resolve, 
 that, with growing knowledge of them, I ought to pass under 
 my personal review the whole series — both those I had seen 
 before and those I had never seen at all, but had taken on 
 trust. In a matter like this, authenticity was of the first 
 importance, although to gain it involved vexatious delay. 
 
 A secondary but not unimportant advantage has, I trust, been 
 gained by my efforts to acquire a more perfect knowledge of 
 Jamesone's works. His own somewhat conjectural life becomes 
 thereby more rounded and better understood. His personality 
 and power, which refused to develop themselves to uninformed 
 eulogisms, stand confessed in the light of his numerous works. 
 I hope these advantages may be held to compensate for the 
 delay. 
 
 In the course of the work there have not been wanting 
 voices warning me off the field as a barren one, not likely to 
 yield any reasonable fruitage. But these have been quite out- 
 
4 
 
 lo George yamesone. 
 
 numbered, not only by words of encouragement, but by deeds of 
 helpfulness. Seldom has author been so helped, and it becomes 
 at once a duty and a pleasure to express my deep obligations 
 to all who have aided me so willingly. 
 
 Specially am I bound to return my grateful thanks to the 
 noblemen, ladies and gentlemen, who possess Jamesone's 
 pictures, for the extreme readiness with which they granted me 
 permission to inspect those works ; and but for whose courteous 
 co-operation the execution of the Catalogue in its present form 
 could not have been accomplished. If it is not so complete as 
 I could desire, the blame is largely mine. 
 
 To my late friend, Andrew Gibb, Esq., F.S.A., Scot., I am 
 indebted for kind encouragement and direction. Of his large 
 resources of information I was ever made a welcome sharer. 
 To Charles Elphinstone Dalrymple, Esq., John F. White, 
 Esq., and William Alexander, Esq., I am under much indebted- 
 ness for counsel, information, and wholesome criticism ; as 
 also to George Reid, Esq., R.S.A., whose practical aid is 
 conspicuous in the two illustrations which so greatly enhance 
 the value of the volume. 
 
 It does not take much authorship to learn that a book is not 
 a finality, and conscious of many defects in this humble con- 
 tribution to the history of early Scottish art, as exemplified in 
 " Jamesone, who burst forth at once with meridian splendour," I 
 now commit it to public judgment. 
 
 JOHN BULLOCH. 
 
 Aberdeen, i6M April, 1885. 
 
GEORGE JAMESONE, 
 
 THE SCOTTISH VANDYCK. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 Jntrobuctor^. 
 
 AVERY brief sketch of the graphic arts in Scotland, before the 
 dawn of the 17th century, may fittingly introduce a biography 
 of George Jameson E, her first native artist, worthy of the name. 
 
 Early traces of painting in Scotland are very rare. This is not to 
 be wondered at, when we remember that the struggle for bare subsist- 
 ence was so engrossing. It was a hard life, and men had little inclina- 
 tion and less encouragement, being so far removed from the stimulating 
 influence of the more civilised centres of population, to think much of 
 the cultivation of the fine arts. 
 
 John Barbour relates an incident in The Bruce which gives to Queen 
 Margaret, wife of Malcolm Canmore, the credit of some knowledge of 
 the art of delineation. It was at the time that Scotland was being 
 invaded by the English, and its strongholds taken, that she prophesied, 
 by means of a cartoon, the particular method by which Edinburgh 
 Castle was to be overthrown, about 1080 : — 
 
 And off this taking that I mene 
 Sanct Margaret, the giid haly queyne 
 Wyst in hyr, throw reweling [revealing] 
 Off him that knaws, and wate all thing. 
 Therefore in sted of prophecy, 
 Scho left a takyning rycht joly 
 
George ya))iesone. 
 
 That is yeit in till hyr chapele. 
 Scho gert vveile portray a castell, 
 A leddre wp to the wall standand 
 And a man vvp thar apon climband. 
 And a wrat oucht him, as auld men sais, 
 I n Frankis, Gai-dys wouys de Fransais. 
 
 Here we have the portrayal very clearly specified, but the methods 
 by which the royal limner executed her " takyning " (token, or intima- 
 tion by sign) are not indicated. The result was probably a very 
 primitive outline in monochrome. It may be noticed here that the 
 scarcity of words relating to the art of painting is itself a proof of how 
 little it was practised in Scotland in early times. At a later period the 
 word depaynt came in, derived from the French dcpeindre, to paint. 
 
 Amongst the few remains of ancient art left, it is now impossible to 
 tell whether they are the work of native Scottish artists or of foreigners 
 — although probably of the latter. Perhaps the very earliest specimen 
 of portraiture extant occurs in an Anglo-Saxon MS., bearing the early 
 date of 1 1 59. The initial letter of this MS. is the letter M., drawn in 
 the ecclesiastical form of two rounded compartments divided by an up- 
 right line Q^^ In one of these divisions there is a portrait of David I., 
 the venerable founder of Kelso Abbey, and in the other of Malcolm IV., 
 the reigning King, a lad of 17 years of age. "The portraits are 
 supposed to have been done, in 1 159, by one who had the appearance of 
 the two [originals] fresh in his memory."* 
 
 In the Trinity Hall of Aberdeen there is a painting of King William 
 the Lion. The picture, as now beheld, was entirely repainted, in 1715, 
 by one White, at a sum " as cheap as possible, not exceeding 50s, 
 sterling." The picture extends to the knees, and the King is repre- 
 sented with a very curious helmet and a long white beard reaching to 
 his waist. In his right hand he holds a book, and in his left a long rod. 
 Below the painting runs the following inscription : — "St. William King 
 of Scots, surnamed the Lyon, the first Founder of the Trinitie Friers at 
 Aberdeen wher he had his Chapell the cheif place of retirement for his 
 
 * Cosmo Innes's Sketches of Early Scottish History. 
 
Introductory. 
 
 13 
 
 devotions. He reigned 49 yeers begining 1165, dyed at Striviling 1214 
 & was buried at Aberbrothick." 
 
 Of course no real value attaches to this picture as determining the 
 early condition of art. It can be held only as proving that at an early 
 date portraiture was attempted. The renovator of the painting has 
 been the destroyer of its artistic and archaeological value. 
 
 There exists some very ancient painted panelling at Cullen House. 
 It forms part of the ceiling of a room to which it has evidently been 
 adapted, as the scenes represented appear to have been cut to allow 
 the panels to fit their new position. On the back of one of the panels 
 the date 1325 was discovered by a workman who was making some 
 alterations a number of years ago. The painting bespeaks an early date. 
 The drawing is very bad, but the colours are still wonderfully fresh but 
 crude. The painting is in tempera, and the subjects are classical. 
 
 A most interesting specimen of a more recent date is to be found in 
 the ancient Church of Houston, in Renfrewshire. On the south wall of 
 the aisle there is a large frame of timber on which there are two pictures 
 seemingly done in oil, but much decayed. On the right side is a man in 
 complete armour resembling that of a Knight Templar, with an inscrip- 
 tion in Saxon characters over his head, some words of which are 
 effaced : — " Hie jacet Dominus Joannes Houstoun de eodem, miles, qui 
 obiit arno dom. M°CCCC." On the left hand is a picture of his lady, also 
 much effaced, and over her is inscribed : — " Hie jacet Maria Colquohoun 
 sponsa quondam dicti Domini Joannes, quae obiit septimo die mensis 
 Octobris, an. Dom. M'CCCC quinto." Pinkerton argues from this the 
 prevalence of painting in Scotland at the period. 
 
 In 1861, an interesting discovery of a fresco wall was made dur- 
 ing the removal of part of the old Church at Turriff. A mason, in 
 pulling down a built-up window, was astonished to find that he had 
 unveiled a fresco painting of a mitred abbot on the window bay, 
 with an inscription above — " S. Ninianus."* A similar fresco was 
 found on the opposite splay, but was destroyed by the falling of 
 the wall. It represented an Episcopal figure, fully habited, his 
 
 * The fresco is carefully ciescribcd in the preface to The Book of Dcir, where it is 
 reproduced in chroino-litho;,'r;\phy. 
 
 \ 
 
14 
 
 George Jamesone. 
 
 pastoral staff in his left hand, his right hand being elevated in the 
 act of benediction. It is believed that these pictures were part of a 
 series that surrounded the church. 
 
 In the history of the Abbots of Kinloss, Ferrerius asserts that 
 certain pictures there, apparently in oil, were executed about the year 
 1540. The historian adds that the artist also painted the chamber and 
 oratory of the Abbot, Robert Reid.* 
 
 It is related of Prior James Halderstone, who died in 141 3, that he 
 adorned the church of his monastery with engraved stalls and painted 
 images — " tam in sculpturis stallorum quam picturis imaginum." 
 
 Still another instance of the not infrequent use made of painting for 
 church, monumental, or memorial purposes, is to be found in that of 
 Blackfriars Church at Stirling, where the Duke of Albany and his two 
 sons, who were buried there on the south side of the great altar, had 
 paintings done of their persons and coats of arms."f" 
 
 Elgin Cathedral, too, had been in pre-Reformation times decorated 
 with paintings. Spalding mentions a picture of the Crucifixion on the 
 west side of the choir, and one of the Day of Judgment on the east side. 
 
 In 1493, Alexander Reid, Provost of Aberdeen, had his portrait 
 painted, but still by an unknown hand. As a mark of the esteem in 
 which he was held, the portrait was placed in the Kirk Session-house, 
 where it hung till 1640, when the officers of a regiment then quartered 
 in the town had it removed, as " smelling somewhat of Popery."^: The 
 proposal to put the Provost's picture in the Session-house may have 
 arisen from some benefaction made by him to the church. 
 
 It is said that James I., besides being a poet and musician, was also 
 an illuminator of books and painter of miniatures. His cultivation of 
 the polite arts was probably due to his long captivity in England. In 
 the " King's Quhair" he addresses Lady Jane Beaufort in these words, 
 referring probably to her efforts at gardening and floriculture : — 
 
 Or are ye very Nature the goddess 
 
 That have depaynted with your heavenly hand 
 
 This garden full of flowers as they stand. 
 
 * The New Statistical Account of Scotland. f The Iconographia Scotica, 
 I Kennedy's Annals, Vol. I., p. 178. 
 
Introductory. 
 
 15 
 
 After his restoration, and following the example of Robert the 
 Bruce, James invited and encouraged artists of all kinds to settle in the 
 kingdom. It is doubtless to some of the Flemish artists, thus induced 
 to come to Scotland, that we are indebted for such works of art as have 
 been enumerated. These have been chiefly ecclesiastical, yet we can 
 see in the following story how in those early days art was made to 
 subserve more utilitarian ends. 
 
 Bowar, the continuator of Fordun, relates how, " about 1430, a High- 
 land robber having taken two cows from a poor woman, she swore that 
 she would wear no shoes till she had complained to the King. The 
 savage, in ridicule of her oath, nailed horses' shoes to her feet. When 
 her wounds were healed, she proceeded to the royal presence, told her 
 story and showed her scars. The just monarch [James I.] instantly 
 despatched orders to secure the thief, who being brought to Perth and 
 condemned, the King commanded that he should be clothed in a canvas 
 frock, on which was painted the figure of a man fastening horse shoes to 
 a woman's feet. In this dress he was exhibited through the streets for 
 two days, then dragged at the tail of a horse to the gallows and 
 hanged." 
 
 The short and troubled reign of James II. is blank in artistic record 
 or achievement, although the former stimulus might have been expected 
 to have been sustained, owing to the King's marriage with Mary of 
 Guelders. 
 
 James III. was distinguished by his love of the fine arts, especially 
 of architecture. The noble picture of him and his Queen at Ken- 
 sington shows the presence of a master hand. On the rich head-dress 
 worn by the Queen are the letters P. Anag, which have ever been a 
 crux. If they are the artist's name, they nevertheless do not reveal the 
 man. Pinkerton, writing of this picture, says : — " Hardly can any 
 kingdom in Europe boast of a more noble family picture of this early 
 epoch, and it is in itself a convincing specimen of the attention of James 
 III. to the arts. Its probable date is 1484." 
 
 There exist tangible proofs of the fact that James IV. encouraged 
 painting, in the following extracts from the " thesaurer's " accounts, 
 showing sums due to his "craftismen fyne " : — 
 
i6 
 
 George yamesone. 
 
 " Item to David Prat ye Payntour, in compleit payment of ye Altar 
 Paynting as resting awind to him ij lbs iv s." 
 
 " Item being Kinges command to ye Inglise Payntour quhilk 
 brocht ye fuguris of ye King Queen and Prince of England, and of our 
 Quene xx fr. or xiiij lbs." 
 
 "July 23, 15 15 Item deliverit to Alexander Chalmer Paynteour for 
 ane hundethe and xl Pa)-ntit Armys to the Obsequys of cur souerane 
 lord King James the Fred, price of ilk pece tuelf pennys, summa viij lb." 
 
 There is a portrait of James at Abbotsford, dated 1507, in Holbein's 
 style ; but it may have been painted in France during the King's 
 travels. One John Prat, a " payntor," lived about this same time, and a 
 priest. Sir Thomas Galbraith, was chiefly employed in the illumination 
 of manuscripts. 
 
 James V. inherited all his father's fine taste, as his palace at Stirling 
 proves, long reckoned one of the wonders of Scotland for its decorative 
 carvings. These were done by native artists. He also bought foreign 
 pictures, and employed native painters, as the following notes of dis- 
 bursements show, viz. : — " 1535 October 24. Certaine fyne Picturis of 
 Planderis coft fra John Browne to the King's grace, price thereof xvij 
 libs." And in 1541 " Item to Andro Watsoun paintour for ye painting 
 of V dufan armes, v. li." 
 
 February 14th " To the Quencs Payntour to by colouris to paint 
 with in Falkland xj. li." 
 
 July 10 "To the Queue's Payntour for his wageis to August first, 
 next to come." This artist's salary was paid monthly. 
 
 A picture of James and his Queen, Mary of Guise, is in the posses- 
 sion of the Duke of Devonshire. The artist is unknown. 
 
 Brought up in France where painting was in a forward state, Mary 
 had artistic tastes, which she turned to good account. Before she 
 was married to James, she had secured his portrait. "This fair ladie . . 
 . . past to her coffer and teuk out his picture quhilk shoe had gottin 
 out of Scotland be ane secreit moyane." 
 
 During the unhappy reign of Mary, Queen of Scots (1543-156/). 
 the fine arts in Scotland may be said to have been extinct for any 
 specific trace of them that comes down to us. Genuine portraits of 
 
Introductory. 
 
 17 
 
 herself seem all to have been painted during her early youth spent in 
 France. There is a great dearth of portraits of the remarkable men of 
 that remarkable period, and it seems a mere fortuity that we possess 
 those of the Regent Murray and of John Knox. The reformers of that 
 day preached a vigorous crusade against all images in stone or on 
 canvas, lest they should be a temptation to the people's return to 
 idolatry.* They went further, and destroyed every carving and 
 painting used in religious worship.-f 
 
 Though but few works of art have come down to us executed in that 
 period, pictorial representation was not quite neglected. Buchanan 
 relates that after Darnley's death " libels were published and pictures 
 made " and hawked about, bringing home the guilt of the deed to the 
 Queen and her confederates. Put in this graphic way, they winced 
 under the charge, and instituted a rigorous search for those who made it. 
 Among other efforts to discover the guilty, all painters and writing 
 masters were naturally suspected and unsuccessfully examined. Again, 
 when the Protestant Lords took the field against Mary, they adopted 
 the same method of at once wounding her sensibilities, and of sustaining 
 the popular prejudices against her. They flaunted in the Queen's face 
 a great standard on which the catastrophe of the Kirk of Field was 
 emblazoned, and underneath the figure of the dead Darnley were the 
 words — " Judge and revenge my cause, O Lord." Art applied to such 
 base uses, only shows what primitive ideas people then had of its real 
 scope and ends. 
 
 The reign of James VI. forms an epoch in the history of painting in 
 Scotland. Portraits and historical subjects became more common, and a 
 
 * England at this period was advancing in taste. Elizabeth's amour propre was so 
 wounded at the unattractive manner in which artists executed her portraits, that she 
 issued a proclamation forbidding any to be painted but by " special cunning painters." 
 
 t The same animus existed among the Puritans of England, who, however, went 
 further still. They considered one-half the fine paintings idolatrous and the other 
 half indecent. Parliament decreed that all pictures in the royal collections represent- 
 ing Our Saviour or His Mother should be burnt. Sculptured Nymphs and 
 Graces, the work of Ionian chisels, were handed over to Puritan stone masons to 
 be made decent. 
 
i8 
 
 George jfamesone. 
 
 token of the dawn of civilisation may be seen in the fact that in a few 
 instances the wealthy began to collect works of art for the decoration of 
 their houses. The unfortunate Ruthven, Earl of Gowrie, is said to have 
 built a " fair gallery," and decorated it with pictures. Notwithstanding 
 the numerous portraits of James, he was personally averse to them being 
 painted. 
 
 During the Regency of Morton, one Arthur van Bronchorst, who 
 explored the gold mines in Scotland, became one of His Majesty's 
 sworn servants to paint small and great pictures to the King ; and, in 
 1594, Hadrian van Son is styled painter to the King in a privilege 
 granted by James to a ship belonging to this artist, " whom for many 
 reasons we greatly favour and wish him well." It is quite evident that 
 these gentlemen were something more or something less than artists. 
 There must have been, in the one case, a division of affection between 
 art and a love of gold, and, in the other, between art and merchandise. 
 James, however, appreciated their efforts in painting, and gave them 
 such encouragement as his extreme poverty and the parsimony of his 
 Parliament allowed him. Prince Henry seems to have possessed some- 
 thing more than a passing feeling for art, and had he not been cut down 
 in the flower of his youth would, in all probability, have given much 
 stimulus to the cultivation of art. " He loved," says Cornwallis, " and 
 
 did mightily strive to do somewhat in sculpture, limning, 
 
 and carving, and in all sorts of rare and beautiful pictures, which he had 
 brought with him from all countries." 
 
 Other references might be given to art and artists in North Britain, 
 but the " paintit broddis " displaying portraits or " conceptis " were either 
 the imported work of foreign artists — first those of France and then 
 those of the Low Countries — or the work of native painters, whose 
 highest .skill appears to have been equal only to the emblazoning of a 
 coat of arms. 
 
 The removal of the Court to London, in 1603, gave a decided check 
 to the progress and encouragement of art, which, after that event, had 
 no exponent, so far as native talent went, until from the far north the 
 star of Jamesone's genius rose, and his works began to attract notice by 
 their excellence. 
 
Introductory. 
 
 19 
 
 To Jamesone must be conceded the precedence of all native 
 British artists. For, while England was made familiar with art, in a 
 way that Scotland knew little of, it was still the result of foreign art or 
 foreign artists. On Macaulay's authority, as far on as the close of the 
 reign of Charles II., there is not a single painter or statuary whose name 
 is now remembered. It is strange that in England a plenitude of art 
 should have resulted in such sterility of native talent, whereas, obversely, 
 out of the comparative barrenness of Scottish art should have sprung so 
 early, an artist so well endowed as George Jamesone. It is with a 
 sincere feeling of gratitude that we think of the splendid legacy to 
 posterity in his numerous portraits. There may be two opinions as to 
 the art value of Jamesone's pictures. There can be but one as to their 
 historical importance. " I have to tell you, as a fact of personal experi- 
 ence," says Carlyle in a letter to David Laing regarding the project of 
 a National Exhibition of Historical Portraits, " that in all my poor 
 historical investigations, it has been and always is, one of the most 
 primary wants to procure a bodily likeness of the personage inquired 
 after; a good portrait if such exists, failing that, an indifferent if sincere 
 one. In short, any representation made by a faithful human creature 
 of that face and figure, which he saw with his eyes, and which I can 
 
 never sec with mine is now valuable to me All men, just in 
 
 proportion as they are ' historians ' (which every mortal is who has a 
 memory and attachments and possessions in the Past), will feel some- 
 thing of the same — every human creature something." 
 
 There is a natural instinct to perpetuate the memory of the 
 illustrious dead. With our own rude forefathers in pre-historic times 
 the feeling found expression in raising a cairn, and it became the 
 inherited duty of posterity to keep adding a stone to it. The same 
 feeling prompted the ancient Egyptians to embalm their dead, and to 
 render their effigies in their own peculiar manner. In the higher civilisa- 
 tions of Greece and Rome it led to the execution of that marvellous 
 sculpture which has given to all time such a vraiseinblance to their life 
 and literature. The modern developments of portraiture in sculpture, 
 painting, engraving, and photography, attest the survival of the same 
 instinct in increasing strength. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 State of Society at Jamesone's Birtb. 
 
 T the time of George Jamesone's advent into the world, there are 
 
 ■^^^ several reasons for the belief that there were certain conditions 
 favourable and others unfavourable to the creation and development 
 of his artistic genius. In the preceding summary sketch of the state 
 of art prior to his day there is not much to be seen of a kind to suggest 
 to or foster in his mind the artistic idea. What little of the work of 
 native artists he had seen was more likely to deter rather than pro- 
 mote any efforts of his own in the same direction. 
 
 Among the general conditions of life not favourable to the intro- 
 duction and pursuit of art may be reckoned the great ignorance that 
 prevailed, especially touching matters of aestheticism. Men's minds 
 were pre-occupied with graver questions. Not only had the peace and 
 faith of the country been recently threatened, but the national existence 
 had been imperilled. A feeling of unrest following the averted danger 
 had scarcely subsided, and that was not a congenial soil for the growth 
 of art. The sword was happily sheathed, but it was still deemed 
 mightier than the pencil, and martial prowess was more valued than 
 skill in painting. The individual struggle for existence, too, was very 
 severe, and admitted but small attention to the refinements and embel- 
 lishments of life. In short, for such art as George Jamesone introduced 
 there seemed to be little demand ; for the artist, no niche in the social 
 economy of the times. One unfavourable factor to the progress of the 
 fine arts has already been mentioned. The Union in 1603, by with- 
 drawing the King and Court, and many of the nobility, from Scotland, 
 weakened and impoverished the country, and dealt an undoubted blow 
 to that phase of the nation's advancement. 
 
 On the other hand, it has to be admitted that during the entire period 
 of Jamesone's life, although polemics prevailed in Church and State it 
 
Staie of Society at Jamesojte s Birth. 
 
 was a war of words, and did not reach its more acute stage of open 
 violence until he had succeeded in educating his countrymen to a 
 better appreciation of art. It was a lull between crucial times, and in 
 that lull Jamesone popularised painting in Scotland so effectively that 
 the impetus has never been lost. A growing connection and intimacy 
 with the Continent was also helping to widen the interest of Scotsmen 
 in the study of art. Merchants and scholars were frequently passing 
 over to France and the Netherlands, where art was to be seen in high 
 perfection, and it became not an uncommon thing for them to bring 
 home their effigy in oil by a foreign master. 
 
 In Aberdeen, Jamesone found the conditions for entering on the 
 career of his choice to be about as favourable as could be found any- 
 where in his native land. It was an old historic town, round which 
 clung many interesting traditions, whose picturesqueness could not fail 
 to stimulate the imagination and quicken the sensibilities. It was 
 pleasantly situated, and the diversified beauties of its surroundings of 
 ocean and forest, river and rich meadow lands, were attractive and 
 educative. Within its bounds were the venerable University buildings, 
 and still more venerable Cathedral of Saint Machar and Church of 
 Saint Nicholas. The entire population did not perhaps exceed 5000 or 
 6000, but certain circumstances may be recalled to justify the opinion, if 
 need be, that the citizens were for the age in an advanced state of 
 culture. 
 
 For centuries before, as a cathedral town, the presence of a bishop 
 and his court, consisting of a numerous retinue of resident clergy, could 
 not fail to leave a certain impress, and impart a certain humanising tone 
 to society. The gorgeous ritual of Saint Machar's and Saint Nicholas' 
 had so familiarised the people with a sense of the beautiful in worship 
 that we know it was with some reluctance that they adopted the balder 
 forms of the Reformed services. In the possession, too, of King's 
 College and, at a later date, of Marischal College, Aberdeen was an edu- 
 cational luminary and a centre of diffusive light for the whole northern 
 portion of the kingdom. Scholarship was in the ascendant, and 
 the leaven of learning, caught from intercourse with resident professors, 
 and the groups of ardent students who were attracted to their classes, 
 
 \ 
 
22 
 
 George Jamesone. 
 
 also added opportunities at least for culture. Whatever superiority of 
 refinement was possessed by the nobility and gentry of the north, was 
 shared by the inhabitants, inasmuch as no family of distinction was 
 without its town mansion. This, with the not infrequent visits of 
 Royalty itself, accustomed the people with modes of life and the 
 ministries of art, of which it was scarcely in mimetic human nature to 
 resist the civilising effects. 
 
 Yet another element conducive to social and material progress con- 
 sisted in contact with the outer world, already hinted at. Aberdeen 
 was essentially a seafaring town. From immemorial times an extensive 
 foreign trade was carried on with the seaport towns on the north-west 
 coasts of the Continent. Home and foreign vessels plied constantly, and 
 conducted an important exchange of commodities. The outward bound 
 carried the far-famed salmon of the Dee and the Don, pickled pork, 
 raw hides, as well as coarse textiles in woollen and linen goods, the pro- 
 duct of primitive looms; and worsted stockings, the noted product of the 
 lissome fingers of the " shank-wives " of Bon-Accord. The homeward 
 bound brought not only the natural products of more genial climes, but 
 the manufactures of peoples who had made very great progress in the 
 mechanical and in the fine arts. Rich fabrics, consisting of plain and 
 brocaded silks, the result of French skill, and fine-figured linens, from 
 the weavers of Ypres, as well as velvet from Utrecht, were imported 
 and bought for personal wear. Clocks, watches, jewellery, silver plate, 
 articles of vertu, arms, arras, books, medicines, stoneware, and much else 
 that Europe excelled in, were freely imported. The " skeely skippers," 
 who navigated the Aberdeen ships or foreign bottoms across the 
 chopping North Sea, conducted much of the merchandising, and became 
 personally enriched thereby. But, for many obvious reasons, the 
 merchants visited the Continent in person, preferring the vis-a-vis 
 transaction, albeit conducted in broken Dutch or French, in the city of 
 Amsterdam or Paris, to the less satisfactory results of a long-winded 
 correspondence. Commerce did not exhaust the passenger traffic of the 
 time. There was likewise a steady intercourse with the Continent by 
 the professional classes. Students, having completed their University 
 career at home, went abroad with the design of finishing their studies. 
 
State of Society at yaviesone's Birth. 
 
 23 
 
 Young men of rank also went abroad, either to visit at foreign Courts 
 or to enrol themselves in foreign military service. They usually 
 returned in the course of a few years, bringing with them many notions, 
 habits, and customs, which spoke of an advanced state of society. 
 In most instances personal intimacies were formed, and afterwards sus- 
 tained by an occasional interchange of visits. 
 
 These appear to have been among the influences at work at the close 
 of the 1 6th century in the gradual preparation of the soil for the nurture 
 of the native artist. And at this juncture George Jamesone appeared. 
 He betook himself to painting the portraits of the men and women who 
 made the history of his times, and has thereby helped us the better to 
 understand that history. 
 
 / 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 Ibis jfamll^ (Tonnections. 
 
 ROM time immemorial it has been customary to trace pedigrees 
 
 and family descent. However desirable it might be to make out 
 a genealogical deduction, the lapse of well nigh three hundred years 
 makes such a task in George Jamesone's case a very hopeless one. 
 For all we know he was the first distinguished member of his family. 
 
 In searching the records of the period prior to the artist's birth, his 
 patronymic is not found to be a common one in Aberdeen, but, as if to 
 compensate for its infrequent appearance, it is spelt, when it does occur, 
 with a most ingenious diversity of orthography. There seems to have 
 been no fixed standards of spelling at that time — hence we have 
 Jamesonn, Jamesoun, Jamesoune, Jameson, Jamesone, Jamison, Jamie- 
 son, Jamesonne, Jamissoune. 
 
 In 1554, reference is made to " Williame Jamesone, dekyne of the 
 masonis," who conducted business on his own account. A contract, 
 dated i8th June of that year, between him and the Dean of the Guild, 
 is for somewhat extensive repairs to the Tolbooth, namely, " the 
 bigging beyting and mending of the battelling . . . and reforming 
 and mending twa vindowis therof . . . and makand the said 
 t9lbuith vattirthicht sa far as concernis the mason craft, for the quhilkis 
 the said den of gild sell gif him xl poundis." Other references to the 
 "dekyne" show him to have been a prominent man in his day, engaged in 
 various works of a public kind, such as the superintendence of the work 
 of the Bridge of Dee. What is to be understood by this is, that this 
 noble structure, conceived and begun by the munificent Bishop Elphin- 
 stone, and completed by his worthy successor. Bishop Dunbar, from 
 working plans furnished by that most cultivated ecclesiastic, Alexander 
 Galloway, parson of Kinkell, was gratefully accepted as a gift by the 
 community of Aberdeen, who, in the person of Deacon Jamesone, found 
 
His Family Connections. 
 
 25 
 
 a practical and responsible man to keep the structure in thorough repair. 
 Its age was about a quarter of a century. 
 
 There is no certain proof of it, but it is not an unlikely supposition 
 that the worthy " dekyne," who had this important trust committed to 
 him, was none other than Jamesone's paternal grandfather. The simple 
 fact that he was of the same craft as the artist's father gives some degree 
 of probability to the suggestion. 
 
 It is satisfactory to be able to quit the region of doubt and con- 
 jecture for the sure ground. That the artist was the son of Andrew 
 Jamesone, master mason in Aberdeen, is at least one fact in his life that 
 has never been questioned. In the public records of the times Andrew 
 Jamesone's name is frequently referred to, as carrying out various 
 important building operations about the town, much as if he had 
 naturally succeeded his reputed father in similar employments, some- 
 times planning, erecting, and repairing. His position seems analogous 
 to what we now designate City Architect, and adviser of the Council 
 in matters connected with the structural crafts. Whether he succeeded 
 to it or created a business for himself, by his own industry, skill, or 
 business capacity, his position was highly respectable. Not disdaining, 
 perhaps, to work with his own hands, he was an employer of labour, and 
 had the direction of certain public works under his control. 
 
 He appears at times to have conducted his business under a co- 
 partnery. In the year 1607, in concert with William Massie, he 
 entered into a contract to execute such extensive repairs as almost 
 amounted to a rebuilding of the Bridge of Don, venerable even then. It 
 is described as having become " very ruynous and liklie to fall." The 
 work was done at three periods, after intervals of two years. The first 
 contract price was ^3333 6s. 8d. Scots, with a trifle for extras. The 
 contracting parties were the " maissonnis foirsadis," and Bishop Black- 
 burn, Principal Raitt, and Provost CuUen. The third specification of the 
 work, provided for the repair of the " waist part " of the bridge, 
 " beginnand at the new wark alreddie biggit," and for the building of 
 the " haill butreissis on ilk syd of the said brig." The work was done at 
 the sight of David Cargill, Andrew Watson, and David Anderson, 
 Master of Kirk and Bridge Works — the last-named being Andrew 
 Jamesone's brother-in-law. 
 
26 
 
 George jfamesone. 
 
 In 1610, he is again referred to in the burgh records. Under date 
 15th August of that year he signs a contract with the town for rebuilding 
 the Bow Brig over the Denburn. It was to be of " twa bowis," or 
 arches, and as the bridge lay in the way of the most important access to 
 the town, it behoved to be a structure of some little pretension. The 
 contractor is designated " Androw Jamesoun, masoun." The contract 
 price of 250 merks was paid in three instalments, presumably according 
 to the amount of the work done, and in discharging the bill Jamesone 
 gratefully adds to his signature — " I hald me weill content and payit." 
 A very pleasant ending, and one that doubtless betokened the fact that 
 his employers were as " weill content " with the workmanlike way in 
 which he had fulfilled the contract as the mason was with his merks. 
 Jamesone's bridge was but one of several structures which successively 
 spanned the Dtnburn at that spot. In one generation it was a bridge 
 of " ane bow," and in another of " twa bowis," till in our own day the 
 " stane and lyme " has been replaced by lattice iron girders over the 
 Denburn Valley Railway, which has metamorphosed the whole scene. 
 From such references it is not difficult to conceive Andrew Jamesone's 
 social position and status in the town. He must have been a well-to-do, 
 enterprising, reliable man. He was a Burgess of Guild, and took an 
 active and leading part in questions affecting the interests of his own 
 craft. In the common indenture entered into between the town and the 
 various crafts, in the year 1587, Andrew Jamesone is found to represent 
 and sign for the masons. 
 
 He was married, in 1585, to the artist's mother, Marjory Anderson, a 
 young woman of equal rank with himself, and of a respectable family. 
 The marriage entry runs — 
 
 " Thair is promess of marriage betwix Ando Jamesone, Marjore 
 Anderson." It is under date 17th August. 
 
 Her father was Gilbert Anderson, an eminent merchant in Aberdeen, 
 a Burgess of Guild, and one of the magistrates of the town. His name 
 occurs frequently in the transactions of the day. The surname 
 Anderson was a most common one, and there can be little doubt that 
 the family was of the " old blood of the town." Gilbert Anderson is 
 recorded to have married Janet Moir on the 29th May, 1576, and as his 
 
His Family Connections. 
 
 27 
 
 daughter's marriage with Andrew Jamesone occurred nine years later, 
 she, with her brother David, must have been the fruit of an earlier union. 
 She is spoken of as the eldest of her father's family. The other members 
 of the family were Alexander, Janet, and Christian, probably the half- 
 brother and half-sisters of Marjory and David. Nothing is known 
 of the two daughters, Janet and Christian, but the two sons, Alexander 
 and David, rose to be men of some distinction. Both had a decided 
 talent for mathematics, of which the former was a professor. At his 
 death his mathematical instruments and books were bequeathed to 
 Marischal College as a proper depository. David turned his attention 
 to applied mechanics, and, as the " command servand of the toun," was 
 able during a long course of years to render it many valuable services. 
 Parson Gordon's opinion was that he was " the most skilful mechanic 
 that lived in Scotland." He was, indeed, a remarkable man, and there 
 is, perhaps, no name more prominent than his in the civic activities of 
 his day. His precise official position was what is now designated town's 
 surveyor or civil engineer. He is described as a plumber, but the truth 
 is he was a master of many crafts, a sort of Board of Works — so 
 versatile that he earned at last the soubriquet of " Davy-do-a'-thing," 
 by which he is still known. In his capacity of Dean of Guild and 
 one of the magistrates of the burgh, his scientific knowledge and his 
 practical ingenuity, which knew not the purgatory of defeat, found 
 ample scope. From the " macking ane orloge in the common clerkis 
 chalmer " to the designing of a steeple for the Church of St. Nicholas, 
 and fixing up the weather cock with his own hands, or the carrying 
 out an important harbour improvement, he was a useful and successful 
 public servant. 
 
 Any reference to David Anderson is sure to suggest the oft-told 
 story of how he applied his inventive genius to the removal of a 
 huge stone known as Knock Maitland or Craig Metellan, which had 
 dangerously obstructed the fairway to the harbour mouth. It was 
 a source of continual anxiety and damage to the shipping interest until 
 Anderson, as harbour engineer, took the difficulty seriously in hand 
 and succeeded in overcoming it. His plan was a very simple one, and 
 the wonder is that it had not been adopted long before. It consisted in 
 
 4 
 
28 
 
 George Jamesone. 
 
 securing, at low water, a number of empty barrels to the stone. Their 
 buoyancy on the inflowing of the tide lifted the whole mass out of its 
 bed. It is said that Anderson seated himself on one of the barrels and, 
 with a sense of mingled triumph and humour, sailed up the harbour with 
 flying colours, and dropt the suspended block where it could do no more 
 harm. This exploit was met with grateful acclaim by the citizens, and 
 the 300 merks it cost was deemed a safe investment. 
 
 By such incidents is David Anderson best remembered, but they do 
 not cover the entire area of his services to his native town. He gave in 
 other directions proofs of his power. Into these we cannot enter, but 
 as a permanent official, it is clear that he played an important part in 
 the management of the town's affairs, and enjoyed a well-earned respect. 
 
 By his marriage with Jean Guild, Anderson became connected with 
 an important local family. Her father was Matthew Guild, described as 
 a wealthy armourer. He was a sturdy supporter of some of the use-and- 
 wont convivialities of his early days, and, in consequence, got himself 
 involved in a prosecution by the more rigid disciplinarians of later times. 
 A portrait of this worthy hangs in Trinity Hall among other dis- 
 tinguished craftsmen. It is asserted to be a copy of an earlier picture 
 by Jamesone. It would be nearer the truth to say that it is a copy by 
 Jamesone of an original which he could not have painted, since Guild 
 died when Jamesone was still a boy at the Grammar School. Jean 
 Guild's brother was the well-known Dr. William Guild, whose attitude 
 during the stormy period of the Troubles has been keenly contested 
 by men of all shades of opinion. His name need only be mentioned 
 in this connection as being thus distantly related to George Jamesone. 
 Dr. Guild was a year older than Jamesone, and is very likely to have 
 companioned him both at school and college. 
 
 The foregoing detail of the family connections of George Jamesone 
 point out definitely that socially they were highly respectable, and in 
 possession of fair means. To be environed by a circle of such friends 
 was an unspeakable advantage, especially for one who had need of 
 all the sympathy and encouragement so necessary on entering a field 
 entirely new, the fruitage of which was entirely problematical. This 
 goodly inner circle of substantial relatives, with their respective groups 
 
His Family Connections. 
 
 29 
 
 of friends and town's folks, with whom they were in close association, 
 made an outer circle more or less interested in the novel work and future 
 success of the young artist when he opened the first studio in Aberdeen, 
 and began to paint the portraits of the burghers of Bon-Accord. 
 
 In the course of time it had come to be forgotten in what part of the 
 town the Jamesone family had a fixed residence. Within the present 
 century a growing interest in the painter has led to various speculations 
 as to where he was probably born. One tradition points to the Mutton 
 Brae, the western declivity of St. John's Hill. No houses, however, 
 existed there at that early period. The Shiprow, old even in Provost 
 Davidson's day (for there he kept his taberna in the year of the Brim 
 Harlaw), has been surmised to be the locality of the Jamcsones' resi- 
 dence. There is no better ground for thinking so than the existence of 
 a passage there called Jamieson's Court. But here there is nothing in a 
 name. Another and more definite tradition has pointed to " an old 
 Flemish building which projects into a narrow street," without naming it, 
 as the home of Andrew Jamesone, and the birthplace of his illustrious son. 
 
 The building that best answers this description is obviously the 
 ancient turreted mansion on the north side of the Schoolhill, and in 
 close proximity to the church and churchyard of St. Nicholas. A some- 
 what troublesome search, some ten or twelve years ago, for the title- 
 deeds of this old property was rewarded by the discovery of Andrew 
 Jamesone's proprietary interest in it. In these deeds, the property is 
 described as " that temple tenement of land lying within the burgh of 
 Aberdeen upon the north side of the Schoolhill thereof, betwixt the land 
 sometime of the altar of Saint Lawrence and Ninian of old founded by 
 the barons of Drum," and is further described in one part " as sometime 
 of the heirs of Andrew Jamesone," and in another, "of the deceased 
 Andrew Jamesone." Complete confirmation of this has recently been 
 got in the Burgh Sasine Books by Mr. Alexander M. Munro, to whose 
 courtesy extracts therefrom are given in the Appendix (p. 187). 
 Andrew Jamesone's first sasine is dated 27th May, 1586, just two 
 months before the birth of his first child. The land is carefully 
 described, but no mention is made of a house, which naturally leads to 
 the supposition lhat the house in question was erected by Andrew Jame- 
 
30 
 
 George yamesone. 
 
 sone as a family house, in keeping with his means and social position. 
 The contiguous property was owned by Andrew Jamesone's relatives, 
 Jean Guild, and her husband, David Anderson, his brother-in-law, and 
 was ultimately bequeathed to the town for educational purposes. 
 Whether any tenement existed on the Andersons' property is not 
 known, but Jamesone's own house, in its substantial massiveness, has 
 survived all its contemporaries in the quarter, the passive witness of many 
 changes and of stirring historic scenes enacted in its neighbourhood. 
 
 This picturesque reminder of bygone centuries and generations of 
 men is, unfortunately, doomed by the exigencies of modern commercial 
 enterprise to vanish from the scene, and that, probably, ere this year is 
 out Fortunately, the building was sufficiently attractive to Mr. Billings 
 to induce him, from an architectural point of view, to give it a place in 
 his " Baronial Antiquities of Scotland." That engraving is suggestive of 
 restoration, inasmuch as in all its lines, and in the details of its fine 
 mouldings, the masonry seems fresh from the chisel of its builders. 
 Still more fortunately, the picture presented en face, etched from a 
 beautiful drawing by Mr. George Reid, R.S.A., will survive as a more 
 realistic delineation of Jamesone's birthplace. A front view of the 
 house shows between the two turrets a blank squars within a stone 
 moulding. This had probably contained a coat of arms, a usual 
 appendage on buildings of this description. See Appendix, page 190. 
 
 Various idle traditions attach to the house. Among others. Queen 
 Mary is said to have lodged in it, and also that Samuel Rutherford, the 
 banished minister, lived in it during the two years that he was a prisoner 
 on parole in Aberdeen. It has been long known as the manse of St. 
 Nicholas, and it is not improbable that at some time or other it may 
 have been occupied by some of the incumbents of the church. The 
 motto " Domus optima coelo " is said to have been at one time inscribed 
 over the doorway. Of this no trace now exists. There is an outer and 
 an inner deeply-moulded doorway. The former, facing the street, had 
 been protected by an iron gate, and gave access through the house to 
 the wooded garden behind which stretched to the margin of the loch. 
 
 The artist, as ultimate heir of his father and brother, fell into pos- 
 session of the whole "foreland" and tenements, and there continued to 
 
His Family Connections. 
 
 31 
 
 live, work, and rear up his family. It is said that he built his studio as 
 an addition to the house, behind it, with the advantage of a steady north 
 light. It has long since disappeared, and on its site an ordinary 
 dwelling-house stands. On its east and west sides are inserted corre- 
 sponding carved stones, thus — 
 
 1729 
 
 I • A 
 I • I 
 
 These initials might be those of John Alexander and Isabella 
 Jamesone, respectively the son-in-law and daughter of the artist, but the 
 date forbids. During some alterations on the property, about 1850, a 
 coin of Hieras II., King of Syracuse, was found among the rubbish. 
 An added interest in this circumstance is derived from the fact that 
 Jamesone, who was well known to be a collector of coins and antiquities, 
 may have once possessed this coin. His antiquarian taste was probably 
 acquired whilst under the personal influence of Rubens, who had a 
 penchant for the antique. 
 
 The artist's parents, as we have already seen, were married in 1585 
 — exactly three hundred years ago — and their first child, a daughter, 
 was born in the following July. On the last day but one of that month, 
 she was baptised according to the following register : — 
 "The penult day July 1586 andro Jameson marjore anderson [had a] 
 doithar in mareage callit elspaitt. — James Robertson, edward 
 donaldson, elspatt cultis, elspatt mydiller, witnesses." 
 How the social and religious life of the people of the 17th century 
 was hedged about by municipal and ecclesiastical enactments may be 
 seen in the following statute affecting the baptism of children : — 
 9th September 1573 " Ordainit that the fader off the barn that is to be 
 baptised, and, in his abscns, the neircst frcind off the barne, or 
 the gosseppis, cum the day bcfoir the barn is to be baptised, and 
 shew the Redar, to the effect he may aduerteis the Minister 
 quhidder the barn be gottin in matrymony or no." 
 In this Andrew Jamesone had no difficulty in satisfying the " Redar." 
 Hitherto it has been generally believed that George was the next 
 
32 
 
 George yamesone. 
 
 born and eldest son of his parents. This mistake has doubtless arisen 
 from the circumstance that early searchers had found him so styled in 
 documents of a certain date, subsequent to the death of an older brother 
 named Andrew. The true reading of such a phrase would therefore be 
 "eldest [surviving] son of the quondam Andrew Jamesone." Referring 
 to the sasine of 3rd December, 1607, it clearly states that the property 
 in question was " in gratiam et favore delecti filii seniores legitim Andre 
 Jamesoun." Without any record of the birth or baptism of Andrew, 
 junior, it remains to suppose that he may have been born during the 
 autumn of 1587. In September of that year Andrew Jamesone appears 
 as witness to the baptism of probably a brother's child, but his wife, 
 Marjore Anderson, is conspicuous by her absence from among the gossips 
 on the occasion. From this it may be inferred that only urgent family 
 reasons hindered her from countenancing the baptism of her niece : — 
 "The X September 1587 alex' Jameson and Isbell cruickshank [had a] 
 doithar in mareage callit elspaitt ; andro Jameson andro Knowcs, 
 elspat gordon, margaret gray, witnesses." 
 
 Passing now to the birth of the artist, in the absence of any bap- 
 tismal register, the same perplexity is met in fixing the exact date. 
 His position in order is clearly defined in the fourth sasine quoted in the 
 Appendix. He is there styled "delecti filii sui seciindo geniti Georgii 
 • Jamesoun." Allowing a similar period to elapse between Andrew's 
 birth and his own, as has been supposed to elapse between Elspet's and 
 Andrew's, it is left to conjecture George to have been born before the 
 close of 1588 — a very notable year in the country's history. 
 
 At its dawn, if there was not an actual reign of terror, very grave 
 anxieties clouded the minds of men. All eyes were directed to Spain 
 who, drawing on her then splendid resources, was equipping that mighty 
 Armada intended to lay renegade Britain low. Before the year was 
 out, and ere yet young Jamesone saw the light, his parents may have 
 seen the gale-driven remnants of the ill-fated fleet drifting help- 
 lessly past the town, up the North Sea, to certain destruction on 
 the rock-bound coasts beyond. The conflict was one of religious 
 opinions, and in Aberdeen, proof of the strained relations between 
 the rival faiths may be seen in the fact that at that time, by a lex 
 
His Family Connections. 
 
 33 
 
 talionis, the Town Council decreed that all adherents of the old faith 
 were to quit house and home by a certain day, leaving their heritable 
 property confiscate to the burgh. The animus thus generated in society 
 survived long after the crisis which occasioned it had passed away. 
 After the first excitement had subsided, the currents of life flowed back 
 into their wonted channels, ruffled only by those events which lent them 
 a piquancy, sometimes pleasant and sometimes otherwise. 
 
 In Aberdeen, during the first decade of young Jamesone's existence, 
 there were a few occurrences, mostly of a spectacular kind, which would 
 make an undoubted impression on his mind. Amongst these were no 
 fewer than three royal visits of King James. That of 1589 would pass 
 unheeded, but those of 1 592 and 1 594 might reasonably be expected to 
 interest him. On the last named occasion " his Majestic remanit v or 
 vj weekis," and only left " for skearsitie of wiueris." To a boy of seven 
 the spectacle of the King, his courtiers and soldiers, would be far 
 more than the object of the visit — the chasing of Catholic Lords — would 
 be to his father. Another important event connected with royalty was 
 the equipment of a vessel of the port, to form the town's contingent to 
 the fleet which accompanied James to the Continent on the occasion of 
 his marriage. This vessel was named the Nicholas, and no pains was 
 spared to render her worthy of the occasion. She sailed on i6th April, 
 1589. 
 
 Aberdeen, always loyal, had a more than ordinary interest in this 
 wedding, on account of the important part which one of the citizens had 
 in bringing it about. This was George, fifth Earl Marischal, who, in this 
 year, had the honour of being appointed Ambassador Extraordinary to 
 the Court of Denmark, where he stood proxy for King James in his 
 espousals with the Princess Anne. The Earl conducted the embassage 
 on a magnificent scale, and out of his own pocket gallantly defrayed all 
 the charges. 
 
 Before passing from these references to King James, it may be men- 
 tioned that Jamesone has been credited with having painted his portrait. 
 There exists no evidence in support of this. Jamesone probably had no 
 other opportunity of seeing or delineating the royal features than the 
 occasions mentioned. The portraits of the King ascribed to Jamesone 
 
34 
 
 George yamesone. 
 
 possess nothing of his characteristic mode of treatment. The tradition 
 results from the same ignorance which attributes to Jamesone so many 
 old portraits, the artists of which are now unknown. 
 
 In this same decade the Earl Marischal gave further proof of his 
 great wealth and liberality in a way that laid Aberdeen under lasting 
 obligations to him. This was his establishment, in 1593, of a new 
 College and University. In that year, exactly one hundred years after 
 King's College had been established, the Earl founded Marischal College, 
 and endowed it at first with funds sufficient for the maintenance of a 
 principal, three professors, and six scholarships for students of merit, 
 and afterwards increased his benefactions for its extended usefulness. 
 
 Its great hall is adorned with many portraits, several of which are by 
 Jamesone's hand, including those of the noble founder himself and 
 Robert Gordon of Straloch, who was the first graduate of the College. 
 Indeed, but for Jamesone we should now be without any representa- 
 tions whatever of these two remarkable men. 
 
 There were two events, in 1594, which would appeal to the boy's 
 imagination and love of the picturesque. One of these was the riding 
 of the town's outer marches with more than usual pomp and circum- 
 stance. Both his father and uncle would take a prominent part therein, 
 considering their intimate connection with the civic business. This 
 would bring the great event very much home to the boy. He would see 
 Provost CoUieson, the Magistrates, Council, Officials, the Trades, and 
 other burghers of Bon-Accord, all bravely mounted, muster at the Tol- 
 booth and troop down the Shiprow, through the Green, and furth the 
 town by the Bow Brig, with banners flying and music playing. He 
 would also eagerly watch their return in the evening, after having 
 satisfied themselves that the ancient landmarks had not been removed. 
 
 The other event was the observance of a " Wappinshawn " on the 
 Woolmanhill, a little westward of his father's house. It is more 
 than likely that its revival at this period resulted from the recent raids 
 of rievers from the wilds of Birse, who, by approaching in their lawless- 
 ness the very gates of the town, taught the " indwellers " the necessity of 
 not neglecting the arts of defence and of standing to arms. 
 
 The numerous witch-burnings of the period may be adverted to as 
 
His Family Connections. 
 
 35 
 
 affording some insight to at least one phase of the social and religious 
 condition of the people. It is difficult to realise the credulity of 
 those men who, with a remorseless zeal, could sacrifice, within a year or 
 two, the lives of dozens of poor, and certainly harmless creatures on the 
 altar of Superstition. With a view to the entertainment or admonition 
 of the people, the witches were burned in batches. It is to be hoped that 
 young Jamesone did nothing more than hear that such cruel and 
 degrading things were done. 
 
 In 1597, the most noted historic event that occurred in the town 
 was the reconciliation of Lords Huntly and Forbes with each other, and 
 both with the Church and the State. An imposing ceremony in Saint 
 Nicholas Church and subsequent civic festivities were matters of 
 universal interest to the citizens, and the meaning of it all, not beyond 
 the reach of a boy of ten who had probably been a witness of what took 
 place. 
 
 5 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 H3is Education. 
 
 OF the principal occurrences noted in the preceding chapter, 
 Jamesone had been simply an intelligent eye witness. At the 
 age of ten he reaches a new era in his life, in passing from gaping 
 spectatorship to take his personal share of the activities of the boy-world 
 — the school. Only a few paces from his father's door, the Grammar 
 School had been familiar to him from his earliest days. And although 
 there were no primary schools leading up to it, there had been some 
 degree of preparation for it, if but the horn book for a primer, learnt 
 at his mother's knee, and the Bible, as a text-book of higher education, 
 under his father's teaching.* 
 
 Before formally entering the Grammar School, pupils were probably 
 initiated in the art of writing, and also in arithmetic. It was attended 
 by the sons of the better-to-do citizens, as well as by boys from a wide 
 country area, many of them the sons of the country gentry, who had 
 received some previous training, either at the hands of the parish school- 
 master or of the family tutor, usually some poor probationer of the 
 Church. The Grammar School of the burgh was a very ancient institu- 
 tion. Proof of its existence, and superintendence by an ecclesiastic of 
 the day, is obtained before the close of the thirteenth century. It was 
 flourishing two centuries before the establishment of King's College and 
 three centuries before that of Marischal College. In 1597, when Jame- 
 sone's father introduced him to it, Thomas Cargill was the Rector. The 
 
 * One David Mackenzie had thought fit to open an elementary school in the 
 town, but, in 1593, the magistrates, thoroughly imbued with a monopolising spirit, 
 ordered him to desist. This action was taken at the instigation of the Rector of the 
 Grammar School, whose influence in educational matters can be seen in an act of 
 Council four years after, by which no other school but the Sang School was to be 
 permitted, except under his licence and control. 
 
His Education. 37 
 
 post was no sinecure. The scholars partook of the turbulent character 
 of the times, and conflicts, not always confined to a war of words, some- 
 times took place between the masters and the pupils. The latter had 
 very pronounced opinions as to their rights and privileges, and very 
 jealous of any abridgment of them. On one occasion we find them 
 appealing in Latin to the Town Council on a question of holidays, of 
 which the Rector of the day (1569) had, with more zeal than discretion, 
 deprived them. 
 
 Unfortunately such classic modes of obtaining redress were not 
 always adhered to. They sometimes revolted altogether, taking the law 
 into their own hands, and the school into their own management. On 
 these occasions the little rebels had usually to be bought off by con- 
 cessions to their demands. In order to guard against these ebullitions 
 of youthful spirit, the Council enacted " that in all tyme comying all 
 gentilmannis soneis to landward as burgessis soneis within this burgh, 
 the scholar and barne sail, be the maister to quhome he is enterit, be 
 presentit to the prouest and baillics or cuer he be receivit within ony 
 schuill of this burgh and sail set caution of burgessis, induellaris of 
 Abirden that the scholar presentit sail obey the magistrat and maister 
 and sail nawayis vsurpc aganis the ordinance of the consell wnder the 
 paine of ten poundis more of penaltic to be paid be the cautioner for the 
 barne transgressing." 
 
 There are many such references to the school, which characterise the 
 " maneris " of the little community into which Jamesone was introduced, 
 and but few which indicate the nature of the studies pursued. 
 
 In its infancy the school was entirely supported by the municipality. 
 When, however, Mr. William Carmichael was appointed to the Rector- 
 ship, in 1573, his salary was set down at the humble figure of 50 mcrks, 
 along with the sum of two shillings " ilk raith " or quarter from each 
 scholar, which was probably the origin of the system of school fees. His 
 successor was appointed on similar terms, his defined duties being to 
 impart " knowledge and maneris," and in the subsequent election of a 
 teacher, in 1603, the course of instruction for the youth embraced " the 
 airt of grammer, gude letteris, and maneris." To acquire these, the 
 school was attended not only by boys belonging to the town, but largely 
 
38 
 
 George yamesone. 
 
 by boys from the country, more especially such as intended to follow it 
 up with a view to some of the learned professions. This naturally 
 suggests the idea — Which of these did the parents of Jamesone have 
 in view as the destination of their son ? There was the Church, the 
 Bar, and Medicine. It may have been that nothing definite was in 
 view, but simply that, having the means to provide the best education 
 that could be had in a town of educational facilities, young Jamesone 
 was to be privileged as his father had never been, and fitted for what 
 course his talents best suited him. That it should have been that 
 which he ultimately pursued, it is safe to predict, was not in all their 
 thoughts. 
 
 The Grammar School was regarded as an educational luminary in 
 the North of Scotland, and here the young portrait painter would make 
 acquaintance with a crowd of contemporaries destined, like himself, to 
 play a not inconspicuous part in the history of the period. The school 
 stood in that western suburb to which it gave its name — the Schoolhill. 
 It adjoined the Convent of the Blackfriars, and in the same vicinity 
 was the Sang School, standing in the Waster Kirk Gate, next the 
 church, exactly opposite the modern No. 35 in that street now called 
 the Back Wynd. 
 
 Latin formed a- very important element in the school course of 
 instruction, and before finishing the four years of its curriculum, scholars 
 were usually able to converse in it freely. Indeed, at College they were 
 prohibited from using any other. 
 
 On leaving school, in 1601, Jamesone had a choice of two Colleges. 
 There was King's College, in Old Aberdeen, and Marischal College, in 
 the new town. His name does not occur in the lists of students or 
 alumni of the former ; and, as regards Marischal College, it is un- 
 fortunate that the first volume of the College records has been lost, 
 where it would have appeared, if at all. It is most probable it would 
 have been found there. There would seem to be something like a 
 fatality about the actual records of Jamesone, which throws a conjec- 
 tural element into his life. More of this will be seen as we proceed. 
 
 University life in the beginning of the seventeenth century partook 
 somewhat of the conventual character. Students from a distance took 
 
His Education. 
 
 39 
 
 up their residence in it, very much as is still the usual custom at the 
 great English Universities. This residential arrangement began at the 
 period when these seminaries were entirely in the hands of Church- 
 men, and more exclusively than now the nurseries of men designed for 
 the Church. Their practical seclusion from the outer world was deemed 
 favourable for the successful prosecution of studies adapted to their 
 sacred calling. The practice had the undoubted advantage of securing 
 to young men far from home an abode under a rather stricter surveil- 
 lance and protection than could have been secured without it. Students, 
 like Jamesone, living in the town had less need and were not obliged 
 to reside in College. 
 
 The students carried the independent, not to say turbulent, spirit 
 of their school-days to the more advanced academies of learning, to 
 check which, nothing is so apparent as the disciplinary character of 
 the College rules. Quarrels among the students themselves, collisions 
 between the students of rival Colleges, conflicts between town and 
 gown, had all to be guarded against. Consequently arms and offensive 
 weapons were forbidden to be worn, and breaches of the rigid rules 
 of the College were visited with corporal punishment, pecuniary fines, 
 or expulsion. The masters wisely endeavoured to give useful direction 
 to the youthful expressions of the rude health and strength of the 
 students by seeking to develop their physical education in the en- 
 couragement of such exercises as running, leaping, wrestling, fencing, 
 archery, golfing, football, swimming, and other healthful and manly 
 sports. 
 
 But, however agreeable in themselves, these pastimes were not the 
 serious occupation of the students' curriculum. The range of studies 
 was narrower than now, but there was more time and scope for its 
 thorough mastery, because greater concentration on the subjects 
 studied. The curriculum was, as it is still, a four years' one before 
 graduation. 
 
 The first year's work consisted in acquiring a knowledge of the 
 elements of Greek, besides reading critically some of the easier authors 
 in that as well as in the Latin tongue, to compose and declaim in those 
 languages. Besides this, the session finished with a short compend of 
 
40 
 
 George Jamesone. 
 
 Logic. It was the custom of the Regents to dictate to the students 
 their observations on such parts of the writings of Aristotle, Porphyry, 
 and others, as were read in their class. Indeed, one of the College rules 
 was that in public conversation students were to speak only Latin or 
 Greek. The second year's work consisted in following up the study of 
 Logic, begun in the first, along with that of Metaphysics. The work of 
 the third year was a study of the elements of Arithmetic and Geometry, 
 the works of Aristotle, and Cicero's De Officiis. Students successfully 
 passing this three years' course took the B.A. degree. In the fourth 
 year the Principal engaged the students himself Besides having 
 the supervision of the whole University, one of his duties was to 
 conduct a religious knowledge class by giving Bible expositions 
 for an hour every Monday. He also illustrated the physiology of 
 Aristotle, beginning where the third Regent left off, gave a short expli- 
 cation of Anatomy, taught the principles of Geography, Chronology, 
 and Astronomy, and introduced the students to the Hebrew Grammar. 
 
 At the close, the degree of Master of Arts was conferred on such 
 students as the Principal found deserving of that distinction. For 
 Jamesone to have come creditably through the mental discipline of such 
 a curriculum, was to be endowed with a liberal education. Even for an 
 artist such a scholarly training was valuable. A mind thus informed 
 and accustomed to the nice distinctions, analogies, and characteristics of 
 the subjects of study, could not fail to give intelligent direction to eye 
 and hand when grappling with the practical details of his art. What- 
 ever may have been the measure of his bias towards art, it lost nothing 
 that was worth preserving in being subject to the chastening restraints 
 and the classical influences of a thorough University education. 
 
 So much for the course of study, which, although gradually widening 
 in range, did not differ much from that of pre-Reformation times. That 
 it should have partaken so much of a purely classical character is pro- 
 bably due to the fact that an intimate knowledge of Latin and Greek 
 was essential at an age that knew scarcely any other culture than 
 » what these languages embodied. The College session was a long one of 
 
 nine or ten months. It began at Michaelmas, and did not end till July, 
 with but a brief break of a few days at the new year. The working 
 
His Education. 
 
 41 
 
 day was also prolonged. It began at the early hour of six or seven, a 
 practice attaching to the residential system of College life. The 
 classical text-books were all imported from the Continent, and the sale 
 of them, at high prices, was conducted by the Professors ; thus the first 
 booksellers to whom from time to time " kists of bulks " were consigned. 
 
 We glean from the history of the Family of Rose what a student 
 member of that house paid for his books at a somewhat later date. A 
 Horace cost thirty-two shillings; Virgil, thirty-six shillings; Juvenal 
 and Penseus, twenty- four shillings ; Buchanan's Psalms, thirteen shillings 
 and fourpence ; and the Confession of Faith, twenty shillings. 
 
 The ordinary students were distinguished, as they are still, by 
 a picturesque red gown, but the bursars or exhibitioners wore a black 
 one, with a girdle round the waist. The gowns of the University 
 secured their wearers against the jurisdiction of the town, of which the 
 University was independent. 
 
 At Michaelmas, 1603, then, arrayed in one or other of these, 
 Jamesone would enter Marischal College. Its situation was scarcely 
 farther from his father's door than was the Grammar School, but in 
 the opposite direction. To reach it, he would simply have to traverse 
 the Upper Kirk Gate, passing through the Port, which stood about 
 half way up that thoroughfare, then turning the corner of the Guestrow, 
 would at once be confronted with the College gateway in the Broad 
 Gate. The College buildings were the confiscated Convent of Grey 
 Friars, the only portion of which now remaining is the chapel, and 
 that in a modified form. 
 
 Apart from the benefits of study, Jamesone would naturally largely 
 extend his acquaintanceship. A certain proportion of his school-mates 
 would enter College with him, but there he would also meet many 
 students whom he did not know before, and in whose society his mind 
 would receive stimulus. There he formed some of the friendships 
 of his life, such, for example, as that with Arthur Johnston, the pre- 
 cocious little Latinist from the village school of Kintore. They were 
 precisely of the same age, and in the warm, joyous, poetic temperament 
 of the cadet of Caskieben, eager for the friendships of life, Jamesone 
 found a congenial companion. Time brought its separation, but that 
 
42 
 
 George Jamesone. 
 
 they continued good friends is more than to be surmised from the 
 mutual services afterwards rendered by the painter to the poet, and by 
 the poet to the painter. 
 
 School and education over, Jamesone, a youth of 17 or 1 8, is face to 
 face with the question which, to parents and guardians, is often the first 
 really serious one in the upbringing of youth — What to turn to as the 
 serious business of life. Such have as yet been the conditions of society, 
 that with the great mass the answer is usually determined by reasons 
 altogether apart from the wish of parents or the special aptitude of 
 youth. Necessity compels a too-early answer, too early for the develop^ 
 ment of any bias that may exist, or too early to distinguish between a 
 mere transient taste and the more permanent bent. Jamesone, however, 
 much as an excellent education may have widened his horizon, and 
 fitted him for pursuing any of the usual lines of professional or com- 
 mercial life, followed none of them. His inclination towards art stript 
 these of their interest, and over-leapt the obstacles that lay in the way 
 of his desires. These obstacles were, perhaps, more of a negative than 
 a positive character. They did not absolutely prohibit his pursuit of 
 art, but they threw him on his own resources. Happily his circum- 
 stances did not compel him to cast his lot in an uncongenial sphere, 
 but granted him the necessary leisure, slowly and painfully, to acquire 
 that dexterity which he ultimately attained. He could have had no 
 teacher, properly speaking, and, as we have already seen, but few ex- 
 amples, and most of these very primitive, to spur him on to excel. 
 
 Kennedy, in his " Annals of Aberdeen," speaks of Jamesone as 
 " endowed by nature with an uncommon genius for portrait painting, 
 which he discovered at an early period of his life." This may be so, but 
 there is one most important element in Jamesone's case that favoured 
 and helped to develop this natural bias. In his father's house, drawing 
 was familiar to him from his infancy, and the use of the pen and pencil 
 a circumstance of daily occurrence. How early in his career Jamesone 
 became habituated to the use of drawing utensils we shall never know, 
 but in his circumstances it is not unreasonable to suppose that they 
 formed a source of pleasure from his boyish years. A little later 
 his skill might find a useful outlet in assistance rendered to his father. 
 
His Educatiott. 
 
 43 
 
 No doubt a wide gulf lay between the preparing of building plans and 
 portrait painting, but still they are allied, and it is not difficult to 
 imagine how, with an innate artistic feeling and taste for pictorial 
 delineation, a perspective or front elevation of an architectural design 
 would assume the character of a picture by the introduction of a few 
 effects. If these suppositions are correct, we might expect to find 
 Jamesone's earlier efforts to consist of pictures of this character. Just 
 one such exists. It is a view of King's College, which hangs in the \ 
 Senatus room there. It is generally attributed to Jamesone, and 
 represents the front view of the College as it had existed in his day. 
 From the badness of the drawing and its false perspective, we should be 
 glad to know that it is not his work. Yet, if we suppose it to be little 
 more than a front elevation done by him as an architect's apprentice, 
 it is not, on the whole, a discreditable picture. The figures in the fore- 
 ground are tolerably good, and the colouring is pure, forecasting future 
 attainments as a colourist. 
 
 Architecture itself is one of the fine arts, and capable of giving 
 expression to some of the noblest qualities in art. Jamesone practised 
 it under such strict limitations, that in becoming an artist proper he is 
 a noted type of that class who pass the border line of one trade or 
 profession and merge it in an allied and higher one. Hogarth, the 
 silver engraver, becomes the picture engraver and painter. David 
 Roberts, the house painter, becomes the etcher and artist. The 
 handicraft grows too narrow, and the artisan developes into the 
 artist. 
 
 Allan Cunningham's remark that " Of George Jamesone much Jess 
 is known than we could wish," is specially applicable to the decade of 
 his life, from 1608 till 1618. But what is to us a period devoid of bio- 
 graphical incident must have been to him one of great industry and 
 progress. It was the period of his early manhood — full of experiment, 
 enterprise, and energy. As yet his sitters must have been limited to 
 members of his own family and people, of purely local connection and 
 celebrity. Each canvas finished, whether that of a portrait or other 
 composition, would be a forward movement, a gain in knowledge of 
 what or how to delineate. Who first encouraged the young artist with 
 
 6 
 
 V 
 
44 
 
 George jfamesone. 
 
 the responsibility of perpetuating their features on canvas or panel we 
 do not know, but a test of his quality as a faithful painter would quickly 
 justify their trust in him, and induce that current of popularity which 
 never forsook him, but went on ever broadening till his death. As 
 practice gave increased facility of execution, the period in question must 
 have been one bringing satisfaction both to painter and patrons — to him 
 in the exercise of the art of his choice, and to them in the society of 
 one to whose success they were contributing something. 
 
 Jamesone's merit, in a great measure, consists in this, that without 
 examples worthy of mention, without a master of any kind, and, pro- 
 bably, with but very poor materials — with nothing, in short, but his own 
 sense of the beautiful, and a strong determination to arrest it by his 
 brush — he reached such a degree of excellence. His progress must 
 necessarily have been both a series of inventions and a train of dis- 
 coveries. And, alongside these, there must have been many experi- 
 ments, and not a few failures. The difficulties with which he was 
 environed would have caused many a less resolute man to pause, and 
 finally to abandon the pursuit. But no, here is something that ought to 
 be done and that can be done, and by me, with such means as I possess. 
 In this spirit he set to work, and in it he conquered, not only his own 
 disabilities, but much of the prevailing ignorance on the subject of art, 
 till he reached one inevitable mark of success, in an ever-increasing 
 popularity and demand for his work. 
 
 Ten years, then, of assiduous work brought their legitimate rewards 
 of improvement and appreciation. His long apprenticeship, however, 
 only revealed to him the necessity for a wanderjahr, where he could see 
 and learn from the masters of the art very much that would advance and 
 perfect his own practice of it. 
 
 Something like a fatality seems to exist in obliterating almost every 
 historical proof of Jamesone's early career and movements. It follows 
 us when we seek to verify the tradition that he went to Antwerp and 
 entered the study of the famous Rubens, where he met, among others, 
 the brilliant Vandyck, the prince of portrait painters. But whilst there 
 is no positive evidence, there is at the same time no moral doubt. 
 
 The only doubt on the subject of his having studied abroad is as 
 
His Education. 
 
 45 
 
 to the date. What tradition has said all along is, that Jamesone went 
 to Antwerp and lived with, and studied under Rubens, and that he had 
 Vandyck for a fellow-pupil. And, as a tradition, it is not to be set 
 aside simply because there is no authentic proof to support it. There 
 is the inferential proof of manner. As has been well said by John 
 Hill Burton, " His [Jamesone's] pictures are Flemish as broad as they 
 can stare." 
 
 There is much obscurity regarding the time when Jamesone went 
 abroad, as to how long he remained there, and the date of his return. 
 Cunningham asserts that, after remaining several years with Rubens, he 
 returned in 1628. Kennedy, again, maintains simply that he returned to 
 Aberdeen in 1620. It is less difficult to show Cunningham to be in the 
 wrong than to prove Kennedy to be in the right. For one thing, 
 Jamesone's pictures, dated from 162 1 onwards, prove him to be busily 
 engaged pursuing his art at home during those very years that the 
 former would have us believe him to be with Rubens. Besides, he was 
 married in 1624, and it is not likely that he would absent himself for a 
 series of years in the circum.stances, and it ought to be remembered that 
 Vandyck left Rubens in 1620, and was only intermittently in Antwerp 
 thereafter, so that Jamesone's association with him must have been 
 slighter than the circumstantial evidence of his portraits warrants us to 
 believe. 
 
 Among the varying opinions as to the date when he went abroad, 
 we incline to the view that it was probably in 161 8. If so, then it was 
 as a man of thirty years of age that he went to increase his attainments 
 in painting. His experiences of difficulties to be overcome would at 
 that age be well realised. 
 
 He was ripe for instruction, and " I am not sure," says Dr John 
 Brown, " that it is not an advantage to be not young before seeing and 
 feeling some things." Jamesone was no raw youth who knew not to set 
 a palette when he thought of visiting Antwerp and the Continental 
 masters ; not one who had not travelled the road before and to whom 
 everything was equally new and strange ; but one who had been over 
 the ground and had still many specific inquiries before bis round of 
 knowledge had any claim to completeness. 
 
46 
 
 George jfamesone. 
 
 The Reformation was the precursor and cause of the political revolu- 
 tion which gave liberty to Holland, and both together had no unequi- 
 vocal effect on art within the domain of their operation. The revolt 
 against Romanism meant a displacement of Church art ; the revolt 
 against Spain meant a replacing of it by wholly new styles and schools. 
 It was an enfranchisement of art as well as of religious and political 
 creeds, a Renaissance much needed to give art a larger scope and a wider 
 life. Nowhere had the adoption of the new ideas been more whole- 
 hearted than in Holland, and among no people had they achieved such 
 emancipations as amongst the Dutch, though they might well have 
 exclaimed, " With a great price obtained we this liberty." Limiting 
 our consideration to the subject of painting, it made a new departure. 
 In leaving the field of religious teaching and of Church legends, and 
 entering the more realistic one of actual life, it exerted a new influence 
 on the masses. The gain was not merely in the greater humanness, so 
 to speak, of the subjects painted, but in the greater fidelity to nature 
 with which they were treated. The former subjects of angels, and 
 principalities, and powers, came to be judged too good for human 
 nature's daily food ; and painters, with a love of truth that cannot be 
 over-rated, set to work on such materials as they had, to find in many 
 cases that under a commonplace exterior they had been entertaining 
 angels unawares. 
 
 From what has already been said of the intimate connection between 
 Aberdeen and the Continent, it is easy to be seen that, as the home of 
 art, Jamesone's attention was drawn to it. Many of his fellow-citizens 
 had been there, his college friends had been across, and from them he 
 would learn what was passing. Of Antwerp especially he would hear 
 much. Its many artists, chief among whom was Rubens, who had 
 established himself there, converting his abode into a school of art, 
 would be familiar to him by name at least. Specimens of their works 
 would be brought home and admiringly studied, and perhaps copied, 
 till at length the idea would grow that the nearest road to success was 
 to visit Antwerp. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 StuJ)^ at Bntwerp. 
 
 ANTWERP was one of the Continental towns with which Aberdeen 
 had from very early times maintained a close commercial intimacy. 
 Only in point of population was it surpassed by any other European 
 city. Its commercial enterprise was unrivalled. Its fleets traded with 
 every part of the known world, laying them under contribution for all 
 that could add to its enrichment and delectation. Its free institutions 
 were the envy of most and the admiration of all. During the first three- 
 quarters of the 1 6th century, it is certain that no other city in Europe 
 wielded a more potent influence in the world than Antwerp, or proved a 
 source of greater attraction and stimulus to those adventurous spirits 
 who courted her society. 
 
 Evil days fell on Antwerp, and she was trampled upon by the 
 Spanish Fury, which decimated her ranks and reduced her supremacy, 
 so far as commercial importance was concerned. It was besieged, 
 plundered, and sacked. Writing, in 1616, Sir Dudley Carleton, the inti- 
 mate friend of Rubens, says : — " I could never set my eyes in the whole 
 
 length of a streete uppon forty persons at once In many 
 
 places grasse growes in the streetes." Art alone continued to maintain 
 its supremacy. Eight years before this, Rubens had set up his studio in 
 Antwerp, and contributed not a little to re-animate the town with some 
 of its former glory, whilst he earned for himself undying fame. There 
 were other artists of merit in Antwerp at that period, but he was pre- 
 eminent and by far the most popular. 
 
 His position was unique. He was a man of wide and varied culture, 
 all which became tributary to his art. Of great strength and nerve, 
 with unlimited confidence in his own powers, and possessing an immense 
 capacity for work, he produced, in response to demands for it from all 
 quarters, a constant succession of pictures. They were of all kinds — 
 
48 
 
 George Jamesone. 
 
 from the dainty little things he loved to paint on panels, to colossal 
 compositions on canvas — and they comprised every variety of subject. 
 Too great to be jealous, in the remotest degree, of his contemporaries, 
 he not only spoke generously of their efforts, but made his princely 
 home a sort of rendezvous for all who chose. For his brother artists 
 he kept alike an open table and an open studio. Thither flocked many 
 of the " masters " of the Painters' Guild of St. Luke, of which Rubens 
 was at one time the dean. Among others were Snyders, Jan 
 (" Velvet ") Breughel, Van Uden, engraver as well as painter ; John 
 Wilden ; not to speak of his numerous pupils, chief favourite among 
 whom was Anthony Vandyck, who is said to have lived in Rubens' 
 family. His studio was an academy in itself, and Rubens entered into 
 many a friendly partnership in work with these men — he, contributing 
 the design and figures ; they, the landscapes, animals, and accessories. 
 That these artists were his coUaborateurs was avowed by him and well 
 known, although sometimes resented. " I have engaged," he writes to 
 Sir Dudley Carleton, " as is my custom, a very skilful man in his pursuit, 
 to finish the landscapes." Now he undertakes a commission to paint a 
 picture entirely of his own hand ; and, again, a picture is spoken of as " a 
 peece scarse touched by him." 
 
 Courted by wealthy clients, "his demands ar like ye Lawes of 
 Mides and Persians, wch may not be altered," says one negotiator who 
 elsewhere speaks of him as " ye cruell, courteous Paynter." 
 
 Such was the entourage and characteristics of the great Rubens when 
 Jamesone ventured himself into his presence, a humble pupil from the 
 little, northern Scottish town of Aberdeen. To him it was a new world, 
 a very Paradise of painters. There was much to see in the shape of 
 finished work, much of work in the making, much to observe of the 
 differing characteristics of the various masters and their peculiar 
 methods of working, and so many men to associate with, artists like 
 himself, and with whom he might for the first time exchange ideas on 
 the subject which had been the passion of his life. Tradition has gone 
 absurdly out of its way to account for Jamesone's becoming a pupil of 
 Rubens by connecting his domestic history with that of his illustrious 
 instructor. The picture known as the Chapeau de Paille is a portrait of 
 
Study at Antwerp. 49 
 
 Rubens' second wife, whom he married when he was 54 and she 16. 
 Some of the French Hves of Rubens call her Helena Fremont, but the 
 more accurate Germans give her name as Forman. This was not an 
 uncommon north-country name, and the tradition is that she was an 
 Aberdeenshire girl, and a relative of Jamesone's. Helena Forman is 
 represented as rising from the humble position of a house maiden in the 
 great artist's family, and then bringing her kinsman to participate in her 
 fortunes. The story is not true in any particular. The lady was the 
 daughter of Daniel Fourment (merchant), and Rubens' niece by 
 marriage, being the child of his first wife's sister, Clara Brandt.* 
 Besides, Helena's marriage with Rubens did not occur till at least 1630 
 — ten years, probably, after Jamesone had returned to Aberdeen. There 
 is no need to invent reasons for Jamesone's visit to the Continent. The 
 attractions were obvious enough, and verified, doubtless, by many a wit- 
 ness. So clear is Allan Cunningham on the point, that after Vandyck 
 he holds Jamesone to be Rubens' ablest scholar. This is, perhaps, a 
 too partial estimate arising from a too limited knowledge of Jamesone's 
 works. But if there is something of Rubens in pafntings by Jamesone, 
 such as his peculiar-looking varnishy shades, there is much more of the 
 characteristics of his fellow-student ; and hence it is that of the two 
 cognomens, the Scottish Vandyck and the Scottish Rubens, applied to 
 Jamesone, the former is the happier and more generally recognised. 
 That the work of Vandyck and Jamesone has frequently been mistaken 
 for each other, is a fault that may readily be forgiven. Confining the 
 comparison to the common ground of simple portraiture, there is a 
 dignity, an expressiveness, and a finished life-likeness in the works of 
 Vandyck which Jamesone seldom reached. At the same time there 
 were occasions on which Vandyck forgot himself (he had many weak 
 moments), and there were occasions on which Jamesone excelled him- 
 self, and in this approximation of treatment and qualities lies the chief 
 element of perplexity in deciding, in the absence of any specific ken- 
 marks, to whom the credit of certain works belongs. That Jamesone 
 should have been more largely influenced in his style by Vandyck than 
 by Rubens, more the pupil of a fellow-pupil than of their common 
 
 * Edinburgh Review, January, 1863, p. 142. 
 
I 
 
 50 
 
 George Jamesone. 
 
 master, is not to be wondered at, especially with such marked in- 
 dividuality as Vandyck possessed. The fire of emulation is frequently 
 caught from, say, a fellow-pupil, whose attainments are not so much 
 beyond one's capacities or comprehension as the master's are. We 
 are not, therefore, surprised to miss in Jamesone the peculiar glory 
 of Rubens, his richness of colouring, and the full sweep of his "tem- 
 pestuous " brush, nor to find instead the thinner and more spiritual 
 painting, and the more elaborate detail of Vandyck. In the careful 
 attention to the hands of his sitters — a characteristic of Vandyck 
 — Jamesone sometimes reminds us of his fellow-pupil. 
 
 However long or short the period that Jamesone spent on the Conti- 
 nent, we are driven to adopt Mr Kennedy's statement as the correct one, 
 that he returned in 1620. He was at that time a man of thirty-three 
 years of age. 
 
 As to the advantage to himself of his training abroad, there can be 
 no question. He could not be a witness of the methods of such masters 
 as he met in Antwerp ; he could not view the chefs d'oeuvres which were 
 displayed in church and hall ; he could not copy such pictures as 
 attracted him, nor suffer the friendly criticism to which his work would 
 be subjected, without learning much and without unlearning more. To 
 every point — drawing, colouring, technical details, pigments, and so 
 forth — this double process had applied. His return would, therefore, be 
 with added knowledge, increased skill, higher aims, and with greater con- 
 fidence to prosecute his work. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 EstabUsbes bis IReputation, 1620*1630. 
 
 AMESONE'S return home from the Continent was the signal for a 
 
 J renewed interest in his Hfe and work. To the novelty of having 
 devoted himself to the study and practice of painting as a profession 
 was now added the further element of interest, that in order to perfect 
 himself in it he had gone abroad and studied under the greatest masters. 
 This proof of the earnestness with which he sought to pursue the 
 business of his life naturally increased the feeling of curiosity in his 
 unique position. Sir Paul Menzies, the Provost of Aberdeen, soon 
 became an influential patron. It is said that ho even introduced him 
 to King James, whose portrait Jamesone painted, as well as other 
 notables of his Court. This statement, it is to be feared, is true only in 
 part. That Sir Paul, who was Jamcsone's personal friend, should have 
 taken a lively concern in the artist's progress may be accepted without 
 hesitation ; that he was even so proud of his attainments as to introduce 
 him to the King is possible ; but if we are' asked to believe the 
 tradition that he painted the King, on the strength of the portraits of 
 James attributed to Jamesone, it may be safely rejected. 
 
 It is not to be doubted that Jamesone was now a public man, a 
 notable figure in his native town, and his familiar personal appearance, 
 his comings and goings, his traces of travel, would be all freely com- 
 mented on. On all these matters he would unconsciously gratify his 
 friends and fellow-citizens ; but he would do more. He would show his 
 studies done abroad as evidences that the real object of his travel had 
 not been in vain. The display would consist, among others, of his ten 
 Sybils and the four Evangelists, copies, doubtless, of pictures seen at 
 Antwerp. The merit of these would be appreciated, and their im- 
 provement on former efforts gratefully recognised by all, whilst to a 
 large number they would be a first lesson and revelation of what Art 
 
 7 
 
52 
 
 George Jamesone. 
 
 sought to accomplish. But, satisfactory as were these specimens of 
 work, Jamesone was soon able to give further practical proofs of his 
 growing powers. Thus the interest in the artist became widespread. 
 That of itself was encouraging. It was a great point gained. His enter- 
 prise, whatever may have been early opinions regarding it, was no longer 
 a doubtful one. And a still greater stimulus to his best efiforts was the 
 degree of confidence with which sitters flocked to his studio. These 
 were no longer confined to narrow local limits, but embraced a wide 
 range. They were men of the town and men of the gown, men of the 
 sword and men of the pen, noblemen and noblewomen, gentlemen and 
 gentlewomen, poets, statesmen, no matter what their creed, nor whether 
 they changed it or abode loyally by it. There was the little child of a 
 few summers, the blooming bridegroom in his later teens, and the old 
 man within a measurable distance of the natural term of life. 
 
 One of Jamesone's very earliest commissions on his return home 
 was that of Sir John Stewart, afterwards the Earl of Traquair. It is not 
 quite easy to understand what led this visitor from the Borders to sit for 
 his portrait thus early in Jamesone's career. It is dated 1621, and in 
 that year he had just returned from the Continent, where he had been 
 pursuing his studies, and where, possibly, he may have met Jamesone. 
 Or, having married into the Southesk family, he may have become 
 familiar with the name of the rising artist when on his visits to Kin- 
 naird Castle. There can be little doubt that the bulk of Jamesone's 
 sitters came to his studio to be painted. This was a simpler matter 
 than for him to transport himself with all his materials, including his 
 easel, canvases, and " mullers," to distant country seats. Besides, 
 many of his sitters in his native county at least had residences in 
 the city. 
 
 When the Earl of Montrose had his portrait painted by Jamesone, 
 he was a mere youth of seventeen, a St Andrews student, but even then 
 a bridegroom. His home was at his uncle's. Sir Robert Graham, the 
 Covenanting laird of Morphie, near Montrose, who, himself, also sat 
 to Jamesone. The boy bridegroom rode all the way from Morphie to 
 Aberdeen, a distance of forty miles, to give the artist sittings. With 
 such persons Jamesone was not merely an artist, but a cultivated gentle- 
 
Establishes his Reputation^ 1620-16JO. 
 
 53 
 
 man. Education had increased his correspondences. Between the 
 travelled Traquair, as well as the St. Andrews undergraduate, and 
 Jamesone there was much in common. Conversation would not flag 
 for want of topic. The portraits spoke for themselves as to the skill of 
 the artist, and the sitters could testify to the personal qualities of the man. 
 
 How much more than a merely passing interest Jamesone's under- 
 takings excited, is evinced by at least one circumstance. He had 
 engaged to paint the portrait of Lady Ann Campbell, the youthful 
 and beautiful wife of George, Lord Aboyne, afterwards Marquis of 
 Huntly, and with a feeling akin to jealousy for the reputation of the 
 artist, in executing so delicate and trying a task, his friend. Dr. Arthur 
 Johnston, addressed to him an encouraging poem in that language, in 
 the graceful manipulation of which his own fame rests. His well-known 
 version of the Psalms is the rival of George Buchanan's. 
 
 The following is the poem referred to : — 
 
 Ad Jamisonum Pictorem, de Anna Cambella, Jieroina* 
 
 Illustres, ars quotquot habet tua, prome colores, 
 
 Pingere Cambellam si, Jamisone, paras. 
 Frons ebori, pectusque nivi, sint coUa ligustris 
 
 ^mula, Passtanis tinge labella rosis. 
 Ille genis color eniteat, quo mixta corallis 
 
 Marmora, vel quali Candida poma rubent. 
 Cassaries auro rutilet : debetur ocellis 
 
 Qualis inest gemmis, sideribusque, niton 
 Forma supercilii sit, qualem Cypridis arcus, 
 
 Vel Trivias, leviter cum sinuatur, habet. 
 Sed pictor suspende nianum ; subtilius omni 
 
 Stamine, quod tentas hie simulare, vides. 
 Cedit Apollineo vulsus de vertice crinis, 
 
 Cedit Apeltea linea ducta manu. 
 Pinge supercilium sine fastu, pinge pudicos 
 
 Huic oculos, totam da sine labe Deam. 
 Ut careat naevo, form* nil deme vel adde, 
 
 Fac similem tantum, qua potes arte, sui. 
 
 The portrait of the lady whom Jam ";sone was honoured, and thus 
 * Arthur Johnston's Poems, p. 607, Amsterdam, 1637. 
 
 \ 
 
George Jamesone, 
 
 encouraged to paint, gives evidence that the artist rose to the occasion. 
 It hangs by the side of that of her husband at Gordon Castle. It has 
 been painted with great care, and in a more soUd manner than was 
 his wont — the result of a good many sittings, either at the artist's own 
 studio, or, as the town house of the Huntlys was in Old Aberdeen, 
 Jamesone, to convenience so fair a sitter, may have gone thither to 
 work. 
 
 A vague tradition has been handed down to us that Jamesone was a 
 poet himself If so, Time has not dealt so kindly by his literary off- 
 spring as with the products of his artistic genius. We are not even 
 informed whether his muse affected the classic forms of expression as 
 did Dr. Arthur Johnston's, or whether those of more familiar tones. 
 The bare existence of such a tradition proves that strong interest in 
 Jnmesone, as a public character, which desires to chronicle the out- 
 standing events of his life, or, in the absence of trustworthy data, a wish 
 to fill a hiatus even with a fiction. 
 
 In this decade Jamesone did a large amount of excellent work. 
 During its earlier years the sitters were chiefly local and north-country 
 people, but towards its close there are obvious signs that his influence 
 was extending, and that the south-country nobility and gentry were 
 beginning to avail themselves of the facile brush of their countryman. 
 Among the former were two portraits of his friend, Arthur Johnston, 
 and his scarcely less talented brother. Dr. WiLli^m Johnston ; Professor 
 James Sandilands, of King's College ; Urquhart of Cromarty and his 
 wife, and Alexander Fraser, Laird of Philorth. Among the latter were 
 the Earl and Countess of Tweeddale, Sir Robert Carnegy of Dunnichen, 
 the Earl of Buchan, and Lady Mary Erskine, Countess of Marischal and 
 Panmure. This last picture was done the same year that Lady Ann 
 Campbell was painted, and is one of the very finest portraits that the 
 artist ever executed. The lady appears to have been a very attractive 
 subject, and certainly the artist's whole-hearted endeavour had been 
 directed to the production of a very excellent portrait. Nowhere does 
 Jamesone so nearly approach Vandyck as in his treatment of the 
 pictures of the ladies he painted. They possess the same pale-faced 
 characteristics and blending of delicate flesh tints that have given to 
 
Establishes his Reputation, 1620-16JO. 
 
 55 
 
 the work of both artists a wonderful vitality and freshness. Vandyck 
 pursued this practice advisedly. " I paint for Time," he was known to 
 say, " and Time will darken them, and posterity will thank me for it." 
 And so it has, for, after the lapse of two centuries and a half, we mark 
 with how little paintiness they shine forth from their frames. 
 
 The Erskines were very good friends to Jamesone, and patronised 
 him largely. More than a dozen members of the connection sat to him, 
 but in none of the portraits has he been rewarded with such an assured 
 success as in Lady Mary's. 
 
 By this time his career as a successful painter is established. Each 
 fresh commission leads to others, and we find him the busiest of 
 men. At home his studio is well occupied by a succession of patrons ; 
 abroad, he is busy in the castles and residences of the nobility and 
 gentry of Scotland, where we find numerous traces of him. Wherever 
 he goes he is a welcome guest, quietly and quickly executing his work, 
 leaving us little other evidence of his personality than that "sunshine of 
 pictures " he has hung on the walls for Time to look at and to cherish. 
 As a rule, few lives give more trouble to the biographer than the busy 
 artist. We may follow his footsteps, as we ran<,'e his pictures, in 
 chronological or any other order, but we too often long in vain for a 
 glimpse of the man himself It is by Jamesone's works we know him 
 best, as a diligent, painstaking, honest, genial man, extenuating nothing, 
 setting naught down in malice, but conscientiously performing his work 
 up to the full measure of his knowledge and capabilities. 
 
 It is not strange, amidst all this portrait painting, that, at last, a 
 beautiful young lady should have contrived to impress her image so 
 indelibly on the painter's heart that he must needs marry her. This 
 event makes a very pretty picture in the artist's career. At the ripe age 
 of thirty-.seven he had long survived the uncertainties of his profession 
 as a means of livelihood, and had, indeed, achieved a reputation and 
 attained a position of comfort, if not of wealth, which, from a prudential 
 point of view, fully warranted this step. For all we know, Jamesone's 
 parents were now dead, and he, left with the cares of a household in 
 addition to the cares of his painting room. 
 
 Prior to the marriage, the rather formal ceremony of Hand-fasting 
 
56 
 
 George Jamesone. 
 
 was the use and wont. This was a purely private affair among the 
 friends and high contracting parties, where the marriage contracts, if 
 any, were signed, and the arrangements for nuptials made. It was 
 " ordainit be the Assemblee [that is the kirk-session] that nether the 
 Minister nor Redar be present at contractis off mariage making, as thai 
 call thair hand-fastings, nor mak na sik band . . . but that the 
 names off the promesaris be gevin in to the Redar, to proclame the 
 bannis thairby, and that na money be tane thairfoir." 
 
 Nothing whatever is known as to the family of Jamesone's bride, but 
 it may be inferred that they were town's people, as the name occasionally 
 occurs about the period. All preliminaries over, the marriage took 
 place according to the following formal entry : — 
 " 12 of Nov. 1624 George Jamesonne Issobel toche." 
 
 His wife was a lady, as might be expected, possessed of considerable 
 personal charms. The best proof of this comes from the artist's own 
 hand in a lovingly-painted family group, executed a few years after their 
 marriage. Considerable perplexity has been caused as to the existence 
 of the original painting. It was originally engraved by a descendant of 
 the artist's, who assigns to the picture the date 1623. The group con- 
 sists of Mrs. Jamesone, who occupies the foreground, with Jamesone 
 himself and a child of eight years of age in the rear. The date is thus 
 obviously wrong, and should probably be 1633. Horace Walpole, in his 
 " Anecdotes of Painting," presents an engraving of this fine picture, 
 copied from the original described, as in the possession of Sir George 
 Chalmers, the artist, also a descendant of Jamesone's. It is extremely 
 doubtful if this picture now exists, or, if so, in its original condition. 
 
 In the meantime we are thrown back to some extent on the engrav- 
 ings of this happy domestic group. Mrs. Jamesone's head is enveloped 
 in a snooded tartan plaid, with a close cap underneath, having a 
 vandycked border. She possesses very regular features, and a stately, 
 matronly air. Her breast and neck are covered with a fine linen 
 collar, trimmed with lace, and she holds in her beautifully painted hands 
 a bunch of roses. This is the only portrait of the artist's wife, and it is 
 a very pleasant one. Two inferences may naturally be drawn from the 
 picture. The artist makes much of his wife. It is her picture, and in 
 
Establishes his Reputation, 1620-16JO. 
 
 57 
 
 this he is revealed as an affectionate husband. His own modesty is also 
 betrayed in the subordinate position he occupies in the rear. There are 
 in all three portraits of himself — the one in the group just referred to, 
 that in the possession of Major Ross, his descendant, and that in the 
 deeply interesting picture attached to this work, and now engraved for 
 the first time from Mr. Reid's beautiful drawing of it. Jamesone has 
 done little more for himself in the way of characterisation than he did 
 for so many of his contemporaries. But by these three witnesses he 
 stands consistently revealed, a gentleman possessed of affection, bon- 
 homie, and goodness of disposition, bespeaking the indulgent husband 
 and father, and the faithful friend. In all three is the same smile on 
 the lip, the same mild eyes, always shaded by the broad hat, in which 
 he constantly represents himself He is said to have had weak eyes 
 that loved the shade. This circumstance, aggravated by intense 
 application, was the real reason for his wearing his hat as he did, rather 
 than that in doing so he merely wished to copy his master, Rubens, 
 or that King Charles, having sanctioned it in the Royal presence, he 
 ever after wore it at work and in company. 
 
 Jamesone had at least six children, the fruit of his marriage with 
 Issobel Tosche, first three daughters and then three sons. The former, 
 of whom there exist no baptismal registers, were probably all born 
 before 1629, and their names were Mary, Isabella, and Marjory. They 
 all survived their father. The sons, named William and Paul, with one 
 unknown, all died in early life. 
 
 The birth of Jamesone's first son and heir was an auspicious event in 
 the artist's household. The baptismal entry reads : — 
 " 1629 George Jamesone and [Issobel] toche ane son baptized be Mr. 
 robert baron the 27 day of July callet william, Mr. Patrick dore, 
 robert alexander, androw meldrum, william gordon, god-fathers." 
 
 The best known of this little group was the officiating minister. Dr. 
 Robert Baron. He was the younger son of a Fifeshire family, and 
 graduated at St. Andrews, where he attracted the attention of King 
 James as a distinguished student. Baron held the Chair of Philosophy 
 for a short time at St. Andrews, but, on the advancement of Bishop 
 Patrick Forbes to the See of Aberdeen, he succeeded the Bishop in 
 
58 
 
 (icorge Janiesone. 
 
 the care of the parish of Keith. In 1624, he was appointed one of the 
 clergy of Aberdeen ; and next year, when the Chair of Theology was 
 established in Marischal College, Baron was appointed the first 
 incumbent. He was a voluminous author, and ranks as one of the 
 famous group of Aberdeen doctors. Having maintained a consistent 
 opposition to the principles of the Covenant, he escaped formal expul- 
 sion along with the rest of his party, if not danger to his life, only by 
 flight to Berwick, where he died in 1639. Before his death he was 
 appointed to the See of Orkney, but never entered on its duties. Not- 
 withstanding Baron's uncompromising attitude to the opposite party, he 
 passed through the conflict without incurring any personal odium. 
 Baillie, who may be taken as an exponent of the views of that party, 
 mourns Baron's sad death with unaffected sincerity, for he speaks of 
 " the good Dr. Baron " as a " meek and learned person." 
 
 The first-named godfather, Mr. Patrick Dore or Durie, was after- 
 wards Principal of Marischal College, and one of the same set of learned 
 men who gave such impulse to the pure scholarship of the times, and 
 imparted to Aberdeen that air of culture so strongly characteristic of it. 
 He wrote, but less voluminously than Dr. Baron. William Gordon was 
 a mediciner at King's College. The other names are unknown to us. 
 
 The occasion was one that justified a baptismal feast as rich and 
 plentiful as the law would permit. Excess on such .occasions was a 
 social feature of the times, and one that the authorities found it neces- 
 sary to regulate by enactment. Under date 18th February, 1624 : — 
 < " The town-council in view of the great abuse ' laitlie croppin in ' of 
 
 superfluous and costlie banquetting at baptizeing of bairnes ; ordained 
 ' that no inhabitant within this burghe quhatsoeuir rank, qualitie, or 
 degrie they be of, sail at any tyme heireftir invite any mae persones to 
 be gossippis or cummeris to any of thair bairnes, bot four gossippis and 
 four cummeris at the maist, and that thair sal be bot sex wemen at the 
 maist invited, or employed to convoy the bairne to and fra the Kirk, 
 nather yit sail thairbe any mae persones invited to any denner, supper, 
 or eftirnoones drink at a baptisme bot sex men and sex wemen at the 
 most ; and withall ordains, that nane presume to have at thair ban- 
 quettis any kynd of succouris, spyceries, droggis, or confectiones brocht 
 
Establishes his Reputation, 1620-16JO. 59 
 
 from pairtis beyond sea, nather yit any kynd of wyld meat or bakin 
 meat at thair baptismes, &c., &c., under a penalty of ^^40 to be paid to 
 the Dean of Guild.' " 
 
 Exactly fifteen months after Jamesone's son, William, was baptised, 
 he presents his son, Paul, for the same purpose. The entry runs : — 
 " October 1630 yeeris. — George Jamesone and Issobell toche, ane .sone 
 baptized the 27 day, callet pauU ; paull menyzeis of kenmundie, 
 prowost, Mr. alexr- Jaffray balzie, Mr. david wedderburne, 
 Mr. robert patrie, patrick Jack, patrick fergusone, androw 
 straquhen, god-fathers." 
 
 The majority of Jamesone's friends, godfathers to his son, Paul, are 
 known to us as men of standing and of learning. Such a glimpse of the 
 private life, so to speak, through the personal friendships of the artist, is 
 invaluable. It affords a double proof of his own position and of the cast 
 of his mind, inasmuch as a mi^n is known by the company he keeps. 
 
 There is the Provost of the town, (afterwards Sir) Paul ^enzies, 
 who seems to give or to g€t the honour of the child's name. The 
 Chief Magistrate acted ^s sponsor at the baptisms of the children of very 
 influential citizens only. Sir Paul was a man of much note, and now, 
 in the seventh year of his frovostship, a popular, enterprising, and 
 public-spirited man. Jamesone had already painted his portrait, which, 
 in the course of time, has becqrpe the property of Marischal College, 
 in the great l^all of which it hangs among many other worthy citizens 
 painted by thje san^e fertile hand. 
 
 Then there is the prudent gaillie Jaffray gradually qualifying himself 
 for the highest civic honours, and the graver responsibilities which befel 
 the holder of then^ and the city he governed during " The Trubles.'' 
 He was reckoned a yery wealthj' man, remarkable in many ways, and the 
 father of a still more remarkable son, Alexander, junior, then a boy of 
 sixteen. The Baillie was a quiet, worthy citizen, whose diligent pursuit 
 pf business \i3id raised him from the rank^, to the position of a " wealthy 
 merchant." His elevation to the Chief Magistracy was an occasion 
 when some of the citizens pretended that the dignity of the office would 
 suffer detriment in the person of " the oy of a baxter." It was a post 
 qsjqally filled by the best blood of the (qwn, and one so honourable iq 
 
6o 
 
 George jfamesone. 
 
 itself that, less than a century before, the all-powerful Earl of Huntly did 
 not disdain to fill. Jaffray was, of course, raised to the position of first 
 citizen by his fellow-Councillors, who, in their more intimate association 
 with him at their Board, had come to recognise qualities in him some- 
 what superior to those of a mere pawky wadsetter. The citizens were 
 piqued, however, but they mingled with their envy a vein of grim 
 humour, and when Provost Jaffray was at Church hearing sermon, 
 they several times placed a " baken pye " before him to considerately 
 remind him of his plebeian origin. Spalding, who relates this pleasantry, 
 quaintly adds that the Provost " miskenned all, and never quarrelled 
 the samen " — a discreetness that must have gone far to convince the 
 practical jokers, of his possession of one quality at least, that is an ele- 
 ment of dignity and success in any sphere of life — perfect self-command 
 — a quality that during " The Trubles " was admittedly of vast service to 
 his derisive fellow-citizens. 
 
 Mr. David Wedderburn was a " Preacher of the Evangel," but better 
 known for his long connection with the Grammar School, of which he 
 was the Rector. He believed that his strength lay more in the way of 
 teaching than preaching. He was, however, too strict a disciplinarian to 
 be very popular with his pupils. He was a great Latinist, and became 
 a Professor of Humanity at Marischal College, of which he was amongst 
 the first alumni. He did very much to promote the advancement and 
 proper teaching of English Grammar by publishing school books on that 
 subject. He possessed the habit of the pen in the composition of Latin 
 poems, especially of elegiac verses, of a graceful kind, on the death of his 
 friends. 
 
 Another of the sponsors is Andrew Strachan, who was also a man of 
 learning, and Professor of Divinity at King's College. He was the 
 author of various works bearing more or less on subjects connected with 
 the University. The Professor, in his capacity of public orator, at a 
 capping {^Panegyricus Inaugiiralis spoken 26th July of this same year), 
 sought to inspire a feeling of emulation in the students' minds by refer- 
 ring to the many distinguished men either bred by the University, or 
 connected with it, as examples worthy of imitation ; among others, he 
 speaks of Bishop Patrick Forbes, the brothers William and Arthur 
 
Establishes his Repiiiation, 1620-16JO. 61 
 
 Johnston, Professors Sandilands, Baron, and Sibbald, and could point 
 with pride to their portraits adorning the auditorium where they were 
 assembled, and for the most part painted by his friend, George Jame- 
 sone. The oration referred to was printed at the Raban press in 1631. 
 
 The remaining godfathers are strangers to us, although they were 
 probably relatives of the artist or his wife. Excepting the Provost's 
 portrait, we do not possess a likeness of any of the other guests, although 
 it is scarcely to be supposed that either Jaffray, Wedderburn, or 
 Strachan, such intimate friends and such prominent men, should not 
 have been painted by Jamesone. It is on an occasion like this that we 
 greatly miss the possession of a reliable presentment of the features of 
 men that we can only partly know otherwise. 
 
 The conversation among such a congenial group would certainly 
 embrace " random influences from art, from nature, and the schools." 
 Town and gown were worthily represented, and not the least enter- 
 taining might be some of those guests who are, unfortunately to us, 
 silent. Jamesone would, of course, be a host in himself. The true 
 portrait painter is almost necessarily a pleasant, social man. He knows 
 the give and take of conversation, when to speak, and how to beget 
 speech. It is an essential part of his art to create that "heart affluence 
 in discursive talk " which lightens and transfigures into happiest mood 
 the features he delineates. He learns insensibly when drawing the face 
 to draw the mind as well, and to read the heart. The art thus used for a 
 specific purpose becomes eventually, by a reflex action, the painter's 
 own prevailing mood. Add to all Jamesone's acquirements in this way 
 the facts that he was a man of education, of culture, one who was mixing 
 with the best society, a travelled man, a man of information, and you 
 have one whose society it is alway a luxury to enjoy. 
 
 On an occasion like the present, does the conversation give any sign 
 of flagging ? What more grateful withdrawing- room for the gentlemen 
 to step into than the artist's adjoining studio? There, to the uninitiated, 
 would be much that was novel and interesting — curios of various kinds, 
 artists' properties, " effects " (such stuff as pictures are made of), works in 
 various stages of progress, from the "just rubbed in " features of some 
 well-known face, whose likeness stands the revealed result of a single 
 
62 
 
 George yamesone. 
 
 sitting, to the finished painting in all the glory of a " double-gilt 
 muUer." It is gratuitous to accuse the painter of having a " touch of the 
 trader " in thus exhibiting his wares, although an almost certain result 
 will be that more than one of his guests at this private view is secretly 
 resolving to give the painter a commission. Such an opportunity of 
 having one's face immortalised must not be lost, be the " terms " what 
 they may. 
 
 By this time, Jamesone may justly be suspected to be wholly given to 
 portrait painting. Importunate clients too often become the arbiters of 
 an artist's fate, and, unless he takes strong measures, determine for him 
 his roU in the artists' guild. Many a man has kicked against this form 
 of social tyranny, this compulsion to paint portraits, his ambitions and 
 abilities to do other work meanwhile becoming abort by neglect. Let 
 us charitably suppose that in Jamesone's case a discerning public 
 rescued an excellent portrait painter from the limbo of landscape 
 mediocrity. The doubtful author of " A Description of Aberdeenshire," 
 in referring to the artist, states: — "There are pieces of Jamesone's 
 painting of great value, some carried over to France and Italy and 
 esteem'd there." The superior taste of these countries may have 
 proved more appreciative of any efforts of Jamesone's in the direction 
 of landscape or historical painting than that of his native land. Be that 
 as it may, they are now either lost or difficult to authenticate. 
 
 In this same year, another transient glimpse of Jamesone is obtained 
 at the baptism of the child of James Toche, probably his wife's brother. 
 This time the artist is godfather to a little niece. The entry runs : — 
 " 1630 James toche and agnes gordone, ane dochtef baptized be Mr 
 William forbes the 2nd day of Januar called elspait, patrick 
 forbes, alexander Ramsay, george jamesone, gilbert anderson, Mr 
 Alexander gordon, god-fathers." 
 The decade from 1620 to 1630, so full of important activities and 
 progress to Jamesone, was a remarkable one to his native city. His 
 establishment there as an efficient and fruitful artist was enough to 
 signalise it. There was, however, another circumstance that distin- 
 guished it as an era of remarkable interest, pointing it out as the birth- 
 day not only of art but of literature. This was the advent of Edward 
 
Establishes hts Reptitation, 1620-16JO. 
 
 63 
 
 Raban, the self-styled " Laird of Letters, Master Printer, the first in 
 Aberdene," who, in 1622, set up his printing press in the town. Pre- 
 vious to this he had worked both in Edinburgh and St. Andrews, but, en- 
 couraged by Bishop Patrick Forbes and the Magistrates of Aberdeen, he 
 transferred himself there with all the apparatus of his craft. His place 
 of business was " on the north side of the Castle-gate, in a new house 
 belonging to the Council, of which the lower part was used as a meal 
 market." Powerfully supported by the Universities, to whom his 
 services were found to be of much advantage, and by that band of 
 learned divines and literary men by which Aberdeen was then so dis- 
 tinguished, Raban's "founts" flowed out in unbroken streams of College 
 Theses, Almanacs, volumes of Poetry, Funeral Orations, Sermons, 
 Theological and Ecclesiastical Discussions, and Versions of the Psalms. 
 He even ventured on the responsibility of authorship, committing him- 
 self as well as his customers to the eternity of type. Contemporary 
 with Raban, one David Melville was the first to engage in the distinct 
 business of bookseller and publisher. The dawn of the local literature 
 of Aberdeen is heralded by both these names as printer and publisher 
 respectively, of the earliest Aberdeen books, and with them a new 
 departure is made in the intellectual progress of the people. 
 
 1625 was marked by an event of national importance. This was the 
 death of King James and the accession of Charles. In that year, Raban 
 issued from his press a little work by David Wedderburn, entitled, 
 " Aberdonia Atrata Sub obitum Serenissimi, & Potcntissimi, Monarchic 
 Jacobii VI." It is one of his graceful contributions to the memory of 
 illustrious dead. 
 
 Up to this point Jamesone's career has been one of unbroken suc- 
 cess. Nothing has occurred to mar his prosperity. There were early 
 struggles, as have been seen, of no ordinary kind, but struggles that in 
 the retrospect become transformed into a series of victories, because 
 eventually crowned with success. He was master of his art, and had 
 received not only the approval and patronage of a host of friends, but 
 the imprimatur of the greatest living master of the art, whose " tem- 
 pestuous brush " he had been privileged to see him handle. He had 
 worked hard, had given his best energies to his profession, and had 
 
64 
 
 reaped its most legitimate rewards, and was satisfied to feel that he had 
 not been decoyed by an ignis fatuis, but that he had achieved for him- 
 self eminence and respect, and had implanted in the minds of his 
 countrymen a taste for art and a love of the beautiful. The happiness 
 resulting from unimpeded energies in a direction thus useful and so 
 much after his liking, the satisfaction of living in the kindliest inter- 
 course with all men, the joy of those who not only possess the faculty of 
 making new friends, but that of the deeper natures who possess the 
 power to retain all the old ones, the unalloyed felicity of his domestic 
 life, were now to be brought into contrast with a different set of feelings. 
 The year 1 631 dawned darkly for Jamesone and his wife and their 
 little household, for within the first few days of it two of their number 
 were snatched away by the hand of death. The following brief extracts 
 from the account of the Master of Kirk and Bridge Works, to whom 
 certain fees were payable for funerals, briefly record what must have 
 been a long sorrow to the artist and his wife : — 
 
 " 6 Januar 163 1 Ane barne of George Jamesone's bureit, iij lib." 
 And again : — 
 
 " 20 Januar 163 1 Ane uther barne of George Jamesone bureit, iij lib." 
 In the all too meagre information of these entries we can only suspect 
 that some epidemic had cut off the artist's two sons. The word " either " 
 indicates, with perhaps no intervening entry, that it might have been 
 supposed to be a duplicate of that entered only a fortnight before. It 
 may have been the clerk's mode of expressing his sympathy with the 
 parents — •" ane ut/ier barne." The names of the children are not 
 recorded, but there can be no doubt that they were Jamesone's two sons, 
 William, a child of eighteen months, and Paul, the infant, three months 
 old, at whose baptisms there were the influential and gladsome gather- 
 ings narrated in the preceding chapter. 
 
 It is probable that before the year closed Jamesone was called on to 
 suffer another bereavement in the death of his brother William. He 
 was a writer in Edinburgh, and on the loth of February the artist, who 
 is designated " Georgius Jamesoun, pictor, burgensis de Aberdein," is 
 served his heir general. From this circumstance it may be inferred that 
 William was an unmarried man. Younger than the artist, he had 
 
Establishes his Reputation, 1620-16JO. 
 
 65 
 
 enjoyed the advantage of a similar education to have followed his 
 profession. By a will executed some time before his death, probably in 
 1628, he bequeathed to Marischal College his mathematical instruments 
 and library. In making final delivery of these legacies, George obtained, 
 on the 28th January, 1633, the following discharge from the Town 
 Council : — 
 
 " The said day in presence of the prouest baillies and councell com- 
 peirit George Jamesone, painter, burgess of Aberdeine, ar, and executor 
 to umquhill Williame Jamesone, writtar in Edinburghe, his brother ger- 
 mane, and exponet and declairit that the said umquhill Williame, 
 befoir his deceas, left his haill mathematical! instrumentis and bookes in 
 legacie to the toune for the use of the professor of mathimaticques 
 within the colledge of the said burghe, and studentis in that professioun 
 present and to come : And conforme thairto the said George delyuerit 
 instantlie the saidis haill instrumentis and bookes at the directioun of 
 the magistrattis and counsall, to Mr Williame Johnstoun, doctour in 
 phisik and present professor of mathimaticques, within the said colledge, 
 be ane speciall inventar writtin and subscryveit be the said Mr Williame 
 on the end of the catalogue of umquhill secretarie Reidis lijprarie." 
 
 From the circumstance that the only portrait dated with the year 
 1631 is that of Dr. Patrick Dun, there is reason to believe that 
 Jamesone did not leave home much during that sorrowful period. In 
 the following year he had resumed his peregrinations through the 
 country, working as was his wont. 
 
 Availing ourselves of every glimpse, however transient, that in any 
 way reveals to us the man George Jamesone and gives roundness to his 
 life, we are pleased to note his action in a local enterprise of this period. 
 In 1631-1632, there was made a "voluntar contribution of the nichtborcs 
 and toun burgesses of the burgh of Aberdeen for maintenance of aiic of 
 the ministers of the said burghe to serve the cure at the kirk of futtie 
 within the freedom of the same burghe and parochine of Sanct Nicolas." 
 Here Jamesone displayed not only a very laudable desire to further this 
 church extension scheme, but gives evidence of his wish to act in 
 thorough concert with his fellow-citizens in a public enterprise. In 
 the artist there was no aloofness nor burrowing in his groove. To 
 
66 
 
 George jfamesone. 
 
 his own particular calling he was devoted and loyal, but, when the 
 occasion served, his sympathies were easily stirred — he was all for 
 " bonaccord." 
 
 The contributors were " ordainit to be registrat ad futuram rei 
 memoriam," and they are accordingly preserved on a leaf prefixed to 
 the fifty-second volume of the Council Register. Among the names 
 of fifty or sixty citizens occur these : — 
 
 Mr alex Jaffray, baillie . . vj hundreth Ix pundis iij merkis. 
 
 Gilbert menzies of Petfoddells . tua hundreth pundis. 
 
 Doctor wiUiame forbes . . tua hundreth fyve pundis. 
 
 Doctor Patrik deun . . . ane hundreth pundis. 
 
 Mr wilhame guildy minister . ane hundreth pundis. 
 
 George Jamesone . . . Thriescoir ten pundis. 
 
 Mr James Ross, minister . . Thriescoir pundis xiij sh iiij d. 
 
 Mr Alexander Ross, minister . Thriescoir pundis xiij sh iiij d. 
 
 Mr William Ogstoune, minister . Thriescoir &; vj pundis xiij sh iiijd. 
 
 David Melvill .... Threttie-three pundis six shillings iij pence. 
 
 A subscription list does not always indicate the means and ability 
 to give of the contributors. ^ We hardly think that Jamesone, in 
 putting down his name for £76, wished to vie with the well-kncwn and 
 wealthy men who gave such large sums, or that the mere vanity of 
 posing as a liberal man influericed him. He approved of the object, and, 
 according to his means, gaye conscientiously. 
 
 The year 1633 was a red letter year for Jamesone and also for Scot- 
 land. Charles, who had reigned seven years, made his first Royal visit 
 \o his ancient l^ingdqn) in that ye^r. The irnmediate occasion of it was 
 his wish to be cro\Yned King of Scotland, in the land of his nativity. It 
 is matter of l^i^tory that he would have been content to undergo the 
 ceremony at Wegtn^in^ter if he had succeeded in obtaining the Scottish 
 j-egalia for the purpose. With this view he made overtures to the 
 Scottish Parliament, who parried the request with the plea that it was 
 pontrary to the laws and the Constitution of the realm to suffer the 
 Crown of Scotland to be carried oiit of the Kingdorq ; but that if His 
 Majesty would be pleased to receive it in the seat of his ancestors, he 
 should find his subjects of that nation as loyal as those of the southern 
 portion of his dominion, f he consent of Charles tp this arrangement 
 
Establishes his Reputation, 1620- i6jo. 
 
 67 
 
 filled the people of Scotland with the liveliest excitement and joy. 
 Every effort was made by the assembly in Edinburgh of the notables of 
 the Kingdom to render the utmost service to the King that loyalty could 
 exact. The Scottish capital charged itself to leave no stone unturned 
 that could lend any eclat to the cherished visit, in arranging for which 
 they did the work very systematically. A committee of " the gravest 
 and most understanding citizens " was appointed for organising all the 
 many details. William Drummond of Hawthornden took a leading 
 part, along with Adamson, Principal of Edinburgh College, and probably 
 Jamesone acted on the committee. Drummond was great on the occa- 
 sion, writing almost fulsome " panegyrickes " both in prose and verse, 
 even to the extent of compromising posterity in their estimate of 
 Charles, with whom he pleads to " accept the homage of their humble 
 minds, accept that great good-will which they have ever carried to the 
 high deserts of your ancestors and shall ever to ypur own and your 
 Royal race, whilst these rocks shall be over-shadowed with buildings, 
 these buildings inhabited by men, and while men shall be endued either 
 with counsel or courage, or enjoy any piece of reason, sense, or life." 
 
 The eyes of the whole kingdom were on the event. On his progress 
 north the King spent some time at Welbeck, in Nottinghamshire, the 
 seat of the Earl of Newcastle, where a masque was presented for his 
 entertainment, entitled " Love's Welcome," written by Ben Jonson in 
 his capacity of Poet Laureate. He thus refers to the object of the 
 King's journey in lines far from worthy of his powerful pen : — 
 
 Our King is going now to a great work 
 Of highest love, affection, and example. 
 To see his native country and his cradle 
 And find those manners there, which he sucked in 
 With nurse's milk and parents' piety. 
 O sister Scotland ! what hast thou deserved 
 Of joyful England, giving us this King. 
 &c., &c. 
 
 With his brave cavalcade, therefore, Charles crossed the Border on 
 the 1 2th of June, and on the 15th, Saturday, he made his triumphal 
 entry into his Scottish capital amidst such an unbounded display of 
 
 9 
 
68 
 
 George ya77iesone. 
 
 magnificences that Bishop Burnet avers " the country suffered much by- 
 it" 
 
 Every place of any importance throughout Scotland sent com- 
 missioners to take part in the proceedings, besides whom there was a 
 great influx to the metropolis of people, in their private capacity, urged 
 by patriotism or curiosity. 
 
 Jamesone's visit to Edinburgh is said to have been prompted by the 
 Magistrates of that city, who commissioned him to add to the other 
 entertainments of this joyous entrance by painting a series of portraits 
 of all the Scottish monarchs from Fergus I. onwards. That some such 
 collection of portraits was displayed on each side of the Netherbow as 
 the Royal procession passed is pretty' certain, but it is ludicrous to 
 imagine Jamesone doing more in the matter of such an exhibition than 
 the arranging of such portraits as could be gathered together. To have 
 done what is implied by the tradition, Jamesone would have outstripped 
 Giordano, whom Philip II. declared to be a " painter for princes," because 
 he could paint three portraits a-day ; or David Beck, who had such a 
 facility in the composition of his pictures that Charles I. used to say, 
 " Faith, Beck, I believe you cou'd paint riding post." Yet David 
 Wedderburn seems to be influenced by the popular belief that Jamesone 
 played a not irresponsible part in connection with the graphic deduction 
 of the King's ancestry — 
 
 Ecce lamesoni tabulam pictoris ! ab alto 
 Sanguine Fergus! proavos per stemmata pictos. 
 
 [vide Vivat Rex, 1633.] 
 
 Jamesone knew better than to hazard his own reputation and affront 
 the King's discernment by any such display. Charles is well known to 
 have had a very cultivated taste in things artistic, and he is even credited 
 with some practical acquaintance with painting, and with having received 
 lessons from Rubens. " In painting," says an eulogist, " he had so 
 excellent a fancy that he would supply the defect of art in the workman, 
 and suddenly draw those lines, give those airs and lights which ex- 
 perience and practice had not taught the painter." 
 
 Vandyck, induced by Sir Kinelm Digby, also a great promoter of 
 the fine arts, had come to England, and Jamesone knew that his work 
 
Establishes his Reputation, 1620-16^0. 69 
 
 had been under the King's eye for a year, and that that was in itself an 
 education sufficient to deter any man with a regard to his reputation, 
 from hazarding it by any careless venture. The more likely theory is 
 that Jamesone was invited to Edinburgh by its Magistrates with the 
 view of his painting the King's own portrait, if opportunity offered. 
 They desired a portrait of His Majesty, but, with a pardonable pride, 
 they wished the work to be by a native artist. 
 
 Another Aberdeen man was brought prominently forward at this 
 time, Dr. William Forbes, whose brilliant eloquence and widely-known 
 abilities pointed him out as a proper man to preach before the King. 
 Forbes had before this captivated the people of Edinburgh themselves, 
 but their ecclesiastical bias and his did not go together, as did that of 
 the folks in the far north. 
 
 Aberdeen was strongly represented at the Coronation ceremonies. 
 Besides Dr. William Forbes and Dr. Robert Baron, there was Provost 
 Menzies, Patrick Leslie, Dr. Arthur Johnston, young Alexander Jaffray, 
 and Jamesone himself Bishop Patrick Forbes should have gone, but 
 was detained by illness. Both he and the Provost had seats at the 
 Convention of Estates, summoned to sit during the King's visit. From 
 the minute detail of all the circumstances attending the King's visit 
 to Edinburgh given by John Spalding, it would seem as if he had 
 been an eye-witness of what passed. It was on this occasion that 
 Arthur Johnston was introduced to Archbishop Laud, who became his 
 patron. Jaffray in his diary mentions his visit to Edinburgh, but 
 refers it to the month of January — probably a mistake of his editor. 
 Here, then, was a group of at least six gentlemen who, with some 
 servants, travelled together to Edinburgh. They made a picturesque 
 cavalcade as they wended their way from the Town-House, where they 
 had doubtless met to drink a bojiaille with the Council before their 
 departure on that early day in June. Friendly convoj's would see them 
 through the town, across the Bow Brig, past the Dovecot Hill, and the 
 Langstane, by the Hardgate, as far as the Bridge of Dee. There they 
 would part and, the travellers putting spurs to their horses, clattering 
 hoofs and jangling swords would soon cease to be heard. 
 
 With such poor roads as then existed, a ride of at least three or four 
 
70 
 
 George Jamesone. 
 
 days was before them, even With the days at the longest. If an early 
 start had been made their first rest would be Stonehaven. After having 
 passed the most sterile tract of the route, striking inland, their first 
 sleep would probably be at the ancient town of Brechin, thus covering a 
 distance of some forty-five miles — a very good day's work. Their 
 destination the second day would be Perth or Dundee — in either case 
 they would dine at Forfar. If, to save the ferry, Perth was chosen, the 
 ride, though longer, would be through a richer and more interesting 
 portion of Scotland, seeing it in a prime season. From Perth, the mid- 
 day halt would be the village of Kinross, leaving an easy ride to Dun- 
 fermline by the evening. If they had preferred the Dundee route, then 
 they traversed the rich and enterprising kingdom of Fife, via Cupar, 
 probably reaching the coast at Kirkcaldy by night-fall. The fourth, 
 and shortest day's ride, with the inevitable ferry across the Forth, and 
 with a company increased by numbers, flocking to the capital, bent on a 
 like errand with themselves, would bring them to their journey's end by 
 mid-day. 
 
 The city was all astir, bent on giving adequate expression to the 
 excitement which prevailed all over Scotland. When James and his 
 Court quitted his Scottish capital for ever, the kingdom, and especially 
 Edinburgh, sunk into provincial conditions. Now all was joyance that 
 Charles Stuart was come to his own again. The sun of Royalty shone 
 upon Scotland once more. The eclipse had been but partial after all, 
 and by many expedients the lieges tried and probably succeeded to 
 convince His Majesty, that whatever had suffered diminution and loss 
 among them in his absence, it was not their loyalty. 
 
 After the King's triumphal entry on the 15th of June, he took up his 
 abode in his ancestral palace of Holyrood. He was crowned in the 
 Abbey there on the i8th, opened Parliament on the 20th, and remained 
 in the city, entertained and entertaining till the end of the month. On 
 Tuesday, the 25th of the month, Dr. William Forbes had the honour of 
 fulfilling his commission by preaching before Charles. This he did from 
 the text — " My peace I leave with you," and with such persuasive elo- 
 quence that the King was captivated, and declared that if Edinburgh 
 became a Bishoprick, no one was so fit for the See as Dr. Forbes. In 
 
Establishes his Reputation, 1620-16JO. yi 
 
 the following January this forecast was fulfilled. Forbes occupied the 
 position during a brief incumbency of but three months, when he died. 
 
 A great deal of more or less important business was crowded into 
 the period of the King's visit. Opportunity was, however, found to 
 introduce Jamesone at Court, and, occupied as His Majesty was, 
 Charles, with that graciousness which was a characteristic, consented to 
 sit to him for his portrait. Few monarchs have sat so often for the same 
 purpose as he, and certainly no Royal features are more familiar, 
 except those of our present gracious Sovereign's, than are those of 
 Charles the First. When it is considered that there are about a hundred 
 distinct paintings of him, without speaking of sculptures, it is clear that 
 Charles must have spent no inconsiderable portion of his time in sitting 
 for his portrait. Sitting to Jamesone, the only native Scottish artist, 
 must have been an interesting engagement. Vandyck had frequently 
 ere this delineated the King, and Jamesone's intimacy with that artist 
 would at least form one topic of mutual interest. Tradition has always 
 said that Jamesone was permitted by the King to wear his hat whilst 
 engaged in his work, and when it was finished he was pleased to present 
 the artist with such a conspicuous mark of approval as a diamond ring 
 from his own hand. Whatever may have been the freedom with which 
 Jamesone executed his work, the King's portrait was a crucial task. 
 Charles had highly cultivated tastes, critical of the mediocre in art, but 
 correspondingly indulgent towards real merit. The eye that was 
 familiar with the best works of Rubens and Vandyck was not ill pleased 
 with that of Jamesone, a fact that must have greatly extended the 
 interest in the portrait and the painter. Hung in a good light, fresh and 
 glowing from the master's hand, the likeness of the King would be seen 
 and appreciated by all who, at that stirring time, had the entree of the 
 Royal apartments. Old friends, and many whom Jamesone had already 
 painted, were there, ready to speak in encouraging terms of his success. 
 New friendships were made on the strength of it. Indeed, 1633 marks 
 a distinct era in Jamesone's career. Hitherto his assiduity had secured 
 for him a steadily-growing popularity. Warranted by this, Edinburgh 
 had honourably stood sponsor for the artist, and shared in his success, 
 which amounted to a public recognition of his merits. The picture of 
 
72 
 
 George Jamesone. 
 
 the King is said to have been a full-length figure, now, unfortunately, to 
 be classed among the lost pictures, although it is probably the original 
 from which at least three replicas were taken, only one of which can 
 now be traced — that in Marischal College. Respecting one portrait of 
 King Charles, a not well-authenticated tradition has found currency. It 
 is said that Jamesone, desirous that his native town should possess the 
 King's picture, offered it to the Magistrates, hoping that it might find a 
 place in the Town-Hall. He was, however, so piqued at the poor price 
 they agreed to pay for it, that he sold it to a stranger. There were 
 really three to the making such a bargain — the Magistrates, the painter, 
 and the King, and it is impossible now to say where the discredit lay, 
 supposing the story true. Did the Magistrates cheapen the artist or 
 the Sovereign ? Did the painter exact two prices — one for his art and 
 one for the subject of it } Whichever was the case, Jamesone, who was 
 never unreasonable in hts prices, and who painted many a portrait 
 for friendship's sake, cannot be chargeable with avarice until we know 
 how much or rather how little he refused. To give it for nothing would 
 have been far easier than to huxter over the painting, since accepting 
 the price offered implied acquiesence in the valuation of the buyers. 
 The tradition has been, with reason, disallowed on the ground that " the 
 Corporation in that day was no niggard patron of learning or the arts," 
 and with such friends as Jamesone possessed in the Town Council of 
 his native city, it is very unlikely any such proposed bargain should 
 have fallen through. 
 
 Among the many noblemen and gentlemen whose acquaintance 
 Jamesone formed during his memorable visit to Edinburgh, that of Sir 
 Colin Campbell, the Eighth Laird of Glenorchy, ancestor of the noble 
 house of Breadalbane, was, without doubt, the most important. Their 
 intimacy grew to an attachment and a personal friendship ; and, con- 
 sidering Sir Colin's character and attainments, may be taken as a high 
 tribute to Jamesone's. Sir Colin was a man far in advance of his times. 
 On scholarly pursuits, so much admired by his contemporaries, he 
 engrafted artistic tastes but little understood by them. He was learned 
 not only in the classic tongues of Greece and Rome, but in the modern 
 languages of France and Italy, and had travelled on the Continent to 
 
Establishes his Reputation, 1620-16^0. 73 
 
 good purpose. An admirer of the more elegant furniture and upholstery 
 of the Continent, he was the first to import them and to introduce them 
 into domestic use in his own country. He was great in textile fabrics, 
 buying largely in the particular districts famed for their manufacture — 
 silks and tapestries in France, and linen, damask, and napery in 
 Holland. Contemporary portraits exist of his father, Sir Duncan, who 
 was a great favourite with James VI. and his Queen, but to Sir Colin 
 belongs the honour of being the first of the family who ornamented his 
 house with pictures, which he had employed artists to paint for him. 
 
 The meeting of two such men as Sir Colin and Jamesone was a 
 happy circumstance. The first intelligent native patron of the fine arts 
 in Scotland and the first trained and excellent Scottish artist were not 
 only contemporary, but intimate and congenial friends, having very 
 perfect correspondences, each exercising on the other an influence for 
 good, and extending a sympathy fostered by community of education, 
 taste, and aim. 
 
 After a fortnight spent in Edinburgh, King Charles went as far north 
 as Perth, where he held something like a review of the Glenorchy 
 Highlanders, from the wild glens of mid-Scotland. He also paid a visit 
 to Dunfermline, his birth-place, Stirling, and Falkland, and finally left 
 Edinburgh on the 12th of July. Not till then would the deputies feel at 
 liberty to leave the capital, and when they did so, it was to carry away 
 with them a load of honours, chiefly droppings of that shower of titles 
 which, with lavish hand, Charles repaid the sincerely loyal attentions of 
 his Scottish subjects. 
 
 The little party of Aberdonians had every reason to be gratified with 
 the result of their mission. They had worthily upheld the credit of the 
 town, whose loyalty was expressed in their presence. Both Forbes and 
 Jamesone had figured conspicuously, and enhanced their reputation as 
 preacher and painter respectively. Any fears that Jamesone might 
 modestly have had to moderate the pleasure of his waygoing were dis- 
 pelled, and the journey homeward brightened with his future prospects. 
 The success of his Royal commission, engagements formed among a 
 widened circle of friends, and more especially his alliance with such an 
 appreciative patron and friend as Sir Colin Campbell, were great rewards. 
 
74 
 
 George Jamesone. 
 
 Dr. Forbes, too, having discharged his sacred duties with fideHty and 
 without self-seeking, returns home with grateful satisfaction at being 
 able to speak a word in season. Both had done their duty. The 
 preaching of the saintly Forbes was but a reflex of his blameless life, 
 and exhibited the beauty of holiness. The labours of Jamesone 
 was but an expression of the artist's innate idea of the holiness of 
 beauty. 
 
 Worthy Provost Menzies carried home with him one of the half 
 hundred knighthoods dispensed by His Majesty, and was henceforth 
 to be known as Sir Paul. His father, Sir Thomas, had received a 
 similar honour from King James on the occasion of his having gone to 
 London to present to His Majesty an unusually large pearl, found in the 
 River Ythan, now said to be the top pearl of the English Crown. Sir 
 Thomas did not long enjoy his new title, for he died on his journey 
 home. It has been already mentioned that Dr. Arthur Johnston's 
 journey had not been without its fruits. And young Jaffray, a lad of 
 nineteen, if he did not bring honours home with him he found them 
 waiting him on his return, in the birth of his first-born, Alexander, 
 tertius. Married at eighteen, the early responsibilities of fatherhood 
 deepened that gravity which accompanied him creditably through so 
 many onerous duties of life, and prepared him to be the persecuted 
 pioneer of that most deeply religious sect, the Quakers, in the north. 
 
 The merest outline of Jaffray's singular and eventful career may not 
 be out of place here. Well schooled and educated by his sagacious 
 father, who had well-meant, if somewhat worldly aims in life for his son, 
 the boy's mind had from his earliest a serious bent. Referring to his 
 College career in his diary, " unhappily relating," laments Carlyle, 
 "almost all to the inner life of Jaffray," he complains that his pro- 
 fessors, Mr. Gordon, Regent, and Dr. Dun, the Principal — afterwards his 
 own father-in-law — " were both of theni unfit for training up youths, so 
 that I had no good example from them." His prudential and managing 
 father sought out a wife for the lad, who admits her to have been " a 
 meek and quiet yoke-fellow. . . . very comfortable and pleasing to 
 me." In order to acquire experience of life, he was immediately sent on 
 his travels, first to Edinburgh, then to London, and afterwards to the 
 
Establishes his Reputation, 1620-16J0. 75 
 
 Continent. On returning home, " The Trubles " shortly after broke out, 
 and Jafifray had his share. He was admitted to the Council, and rose 
 
 , eventually to the Provostship. He was captured several times during 
 the civil war, and several times narrowly escaped a violent death. He 
 fought in the disastrous battle known as the Sack of Aberdeen by 
 Montrose, in 1644, where, being "evilly horsed," he nearly fell a victim 
 to the "no-quarter" Irishes. He more than once represented the city in 
 Parliament. In 1649, he was sent as a Commissioner to Holland to 
 bring home King Charles. In 1650, he fought, was wounded, and 
 taken prisoner at the battle of Dunbar. Cromwell, with a true ap- 
 prehension of his capacity and probity for high State duties, appointed 
 Jaffray Director of the Chancery of Scotland. He was also one of 
 
 . those who negotiated the Restoration of Charles II. It is obvious 
 that Jaffray led a distinguished life, and, had his diary possessed a little 
 more of the spirit of Pepys', we should have had a less pious book, but 
 one, from Jaffray's knowledge of affairs and personal experiences, that 
 would have been an invaluable historic treasure house. His contact 
 with the Cromwellian party led first to his adoption of their religious 
 principles, and then, by an easy transition, to those of the Society of 
 Friends. He died, in 1673, at his house of Kingswells, and lies buried 
 in the trim little Quaker graveyard, on the brae-side beyond it 
 
 10 
 
 I 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 jforeign XTravel, dc, 
 
 IT is extremely unlikely that Jamesone seriously started work on his 
 return, as he shortly thereafter set out for London and the Con- 
 tinent. With that in immediate prospect, he would not commence any 
 series of engagements lest they should interfere with his travelling 
 arrangements. Except the King's portrait, the only other well-authen- 
 ticated work of the year is that of his own family group already 
 described, and whkh may have been painted by way of pastime in 
 the holiday between his two journeys. Travelling then was a tire- 
 some task, and the interval, between efforts past and to come, would 
 also have afforded a happy breathing time in Jamesone's busy life for 
 the enjoyment of the society of his wife and daughters. The peculiar 
 nature of his profession had a tendency to estrange him from his own 
 domestic circle. Besides, a prolonged journey through the Continent 
 in those days involved many preparations and arrangements, requiring 
 time and careful forecasting of various contingencies. 
 
 The prolonged tour on this occasion was one of the first fruits of the 
 kindly interest taken in Jamesone by Sir Colin Campbell. Having 
 witnessed much excellent art in the various Continental schools, he fore- 
 saw the advantage to Jamesone of a wider acquaintance with their 
 varying styles. He judged rightly that an artist of one model is apt to 
 become unduly mannered. Every true artist will have an individuality 
 of his own, which embodies the truth as known to him. A pupil may 
 appreciate that truth to distraction, may copy it, and feel inspired by it 
 for a time, but not being an emanation of his own mind, cannot live 
 by it. He exhausts it, and often only the husk remains. It i« not the 
 truth of one master or of one school, but the truths of many, passed 
 through the alembic of the artist's own mind, issuing therefrom in some 
 concrete form, all his own, which in its embodiment differentiates 
 
Foreign Travel, &c. 
 
 77 
 
 him from all others, and gives a charm to his works distinct from all 
 mere mimetic productions. Herein he is the creator of new pleasures 
 in ever new forms of artistic beauty and expression, brought about, if 
 not by new methods and novel principles, at least by fresh combinations 
 of the old. 
 
 The details of this Continental tour are disappointingly meagre. So 
 far as London at least, Jamesone was once more accompanied by 
 Alexander Jaffray, junior, bent on widening the area of his knowledge 
 and observation of men and business, preparatory to his entering on an 
 extended sphere of public usefulness designed for him by his father. lb 
 is an indication of the esteem entertained for Jamesone by the elder 
 Jaffray, and his entire confidence in him, that he should, in a measure, 
 be charged with the care of his son in these journeyings. Two other 
 citizens, Robert Skene and Andrew Birnie, completed the little party 
 who set out together on this occasion, to be augmented at Perth, 
 Edinburgh, or London, by Sir Colin Campbell. 
 
 It is doubtful at what point in the journey Sir Colin joined Jame- 
 sone. Young Jaffray relates that after returning in July from the 
 Coronation ceremonies he "shortly thereafter" went to London, 
 accompanied by Jamesone and other two Aberdeen friends, Robert 
 Skene and Andrew Birnie. From the circumstance that he makes no 
 mention of Sir Colin Campbell as a fellow-traveller, it may be infeircd 
 that London had been arranged as the place of rendezvous. The party 
 made a rest at Edinburgh on the way, and whilst there, Jamesone 
 entered himself as a burgess of that city. He foresaw that in future 
 much of his time would be spent there to overtake the work he had in 
 prospect. The following record of his entry is e.Ktracted from the 
 Edinburgh Guild Register : — 
 
 " Vigesimo octauo Augusti Jm vjc xxxiijo 
 
 " The said day in presens forsaid [Joseph Marjoribanks deyne of gild 
 and the gild counsell] George Jamesone paynter comper-ind is maid 
 Burges and gild brothir of this burgh conforme to ane act of counsell of 
 the dait of thir presentis and hes gevin his aith in maner above writtin, 
 and hes payit for his dewtie to the deyne of gild the soume of ane 
 hundrethe thriescoir sex punds thrcttene schillings four pennycs — ooo." 
 
78 
 
 George Jamesone. 
 
 Although Jamesone was a burgess of his native town, no record of 
 his entrance there has as yet been discovered. 
 
 London at the period contained something under a quarter of a 
 milhon souls, the entire population of England being under five millions. 
 At that time, as now, London was the centre of attraction to men of 
 eminence in every walk of life. Its great wealth could employ and 
 reward with affluence whatever was deemed worthy, by whomsoever 
 purveyed. Under the direction and patronage of Charles, a taste for the 
 fine arts was making rapid progress. One eulogist says that — " Already 
 had set in that passion for possessing the best that art could produce 
 or that money could buy, and already the nucleus had been made in 
 many a palace and mansion of those priceless collections, now 
 deservedly the pride of their owners." 
 
 Eminent artists found a hearty welcome in London. Rubens had 
 paid a temporary working visit, but, although he was handsomely 
 treated, dubbed Master of Arts by Cambridge, and knighted by Charles, 
 he could not be prevailed on to quit his princely home at " An t' werf " 
 for the banks of the Thames. Vandyck, however, had settled down in 
 London, and Jamesone was to renew acquaintanceship with his former 
 fellow-pupil, now become " ' Sir Anthony,' principal Paynter in ordinary 
 to their Majesties at St James's." Than Jamesone no one would rejoice 
 more sincerely at the growing powers and popularity of his friend ; but 
 no one would more sincerely lament him as a spoiled man, still person- 
 ally fascinating, but frivolous and fast, environed by difficulties of his 
 own making. He was at the very zenith of his genius ; rivalry had hid 
 its diminished head before his rising talents — he had the ball of success 
 at his foot. 
 
 Jamesone is said to have painted a portrait of Queen Henrietta to 
 match his picture of the King, done at Holyrood, and there was no more 
 convenient occasion than this same visit to London. Under such 
 favouring conditions as the artistic society of his old friend Vandyck, 
 and his new friend Sir Colin Campbell, not to speak of the King him- 
 self, we must believe that Jamesone painted his best, and received in the 
 effort some fresh impulses. Supported and introduced by such friends, 
 Jamesone would find ready admission into that society where the best 
 was to be seen and heard. 
 
Foreign Travel, &c. 
 
 79 
 
 In letters, London, notwithstanding the loss of some notable men, 
 still bristled with literary activities. This very year Massinger's play, 
 "A New Way to Pay Old Debts," appeared. The light of Ben Jonson's 
 strong genius was becoming dim, and the hand of the " Lime and 
 Mortar" Poet was palsied. Still Jamesone might see the Laureate at 
 " The Mermaid," or hear him at his own hospitable board boast to a 
 Scotchman of his own Scottish extraction, and of his long walk from 
 London to Hawthornden to see his friend William Drummond, with 
 whom Jamesone had been so lately associated. John Taylor, too, the 
 Water Poet, was to be found plying his double craft of Thames boatman 
 and poet this same year, which may be further identified as that in 
 which the immortal Pepys was born. Nine and twenty years later 
 Samuel, having the entree of the London studios and greenrooms, was 
 chattering about art and pictures like a connoisseur. Under date i8th 
 June, 1662, we find him passing an adverse criticism on Michael Wright, 
 who was a pupil of Jamesone's. Pepys had been seeing some portraits 
 at Sir Peter Lely's. " Thence," says he, " to Wright's, the painter's, but 
 Lord ! the difiference that is between their two works." 
 
 There are no other data respecting this memorable visit to the 
 Continent than that Sir Colin accompanied Jamesone to Italy, and in a 
 general way acted as his cicerone. One circumstance in this connec- 
 tion may be here alluded to, and that is Walpole's statement of the 
 existence of Jamesone's own portrait in the Gallery of Painters at 
 Florence. Sir Horace has a very graceful way of putting in an " effect," 
 and for this one he remains responsible. There is no such portrait 
 acknowledged in the catalogue of that Valhalla of artists, nor is it en- 
 shrouded as an " incogna ritratto," whose name there is legion. Had such 
 a portrait ever been there, the probability is that it would be there still. 
 At the author's special request, Mr. George Reid, R.S.A., in 1882, kindly 
 made a searching inspection of the Gallery, and is thoroughly convinced 
 that no portrait of George Jamesone is there now. Without doubt, 
 Plorence would be visited, although Rome would be the traveller's goal 
 and the great centre of attraction. It was the shrine to which art 
 pilgrims bent their steps, and it held in its churches and palaces the 
 masterpieces of the greatest painters and sculptors. Besides the works 
 
8o 
 
 George Janiesone. 
 
 of men who had passed away, Jamesone might see such men as Claude 
 and Poussin plying their busy pencils in Rome at that very time. To 
 men like Sir Colin Campbell and Jamesone, possessed of rich stores of 
 classic lore, the historic interest alone of the Eternal City would invest 
 their visit with immense value. In this respect it will be easy to imagine 
 many objects of surpassing interest suggestive of the history of that 
 world of the Roman Empire with whose rise, decline, and fall they were 
 both familiar. In Jamesone's own special department of art — por- 
 traiture — he would find an einbarras de riches, which, to a naturally 
 modest man like himself, might possibly have a humbling quite as much 
 as a stimulating effect. 
 
 Tradition asserts that Jamesone has long been represented by certain 
 works of his in the Eternal City. In the small chapel attached to the 
 Scots College there, there are four pictures, which were presented to the 
 establishment by a Marchioness of Huntly. They are supposed to 
 represent, among others, scenes of historic interest from the life of 
 Queen Margaret of Scotland and Malcolm Canmore. The College 
 authorities show these pictures, and share the freely-expressed belief 
 that they are the work of George Jamesone, the Scottish Vandyck. It 
 is very difficult to know what to make of this tradition, which, at least, 
 has its doubtful side. It finds, perhaps, some support in that already 
 quoted local tradition, that, at a certain stage of Jamesone's career, 
 he painted pictures which, presumably not being appreciated at home, 
 were " carried over to France and Italy, and esteem'd there." The case 
 is one to be decided solely by the internal evidence of the paintings 
 themselves, and, as yet, we are unaware that they have ever been criti- 
 cally examined by any one claiming to be sufficiently conversant with 
 Jamesone's manner to give a reliable verdict on the subject. There is 
 evidence that Jamesone indulged both in classic subjects, landscape, and 
 even sea pieces, but absolutely none that he ever ventured on the field 
 of such purely historical compositions as are the subjects of the pictures 
 in the Scots College at Rome. So far as we know, Jamesone's intimacy 
 with the noble house of Huntly led only to his executing portrait 
 commissions for them. From the mutual good offices of the Right 
 Reverend Bishop Macdonald, Aberdeen, and Monsignore Campbell, 
 
Foreign T^'avel, &c. ' 8i 
 
 Principal of the Scots College at Rome, a minute description of the 
 pictures there has been furnished, and will be found in the detailed 
 catalogue in the latter part of this volume. 
 
 Unless any particular reason existed for revisiting London, the pro- 
 bability is that, after a flying visit to Antwerp, where his respects might 
 be tendered, and his friend Sir Colin Campbell introduced to Rubens, 
 Jamesone would take ship either for Leith or Aberdeen. Such a tour 
 had certainly occupied several months, in the slow-pacing first half of 
 the seventeenth century. Begun in the month of August, it is scarcely 
 likely that the travellers could have been at their own firesides much, if 
 at all, before the close of the year. 
 
 The earlier months of 1634 were spent by Jamesone at home. At 
 that time the whole city was stirred by no less an event than the transla- 
 tion of Dr. William Forbes to Edinburgh. The subject mooted at the 
 Coronation ceremonies in the previous year took shape in his formal 
 nomination to the See in January of this year. At his departure shortly 
 thereafter, the Town Council, in order to give suitable expression to the 
 wide-spread feeling of respect and affection entertained by the com- 
 munity for this truly estimable and pious prelate, celebrated the occasion 
 by a farewell banquet in his honour. It was held in Skipper Anderson's 
 house in the Castlegate, and whether Jamesone was present or not, the 
 event was one to excite his interest and sympathy. As these valedictory 
 entertainments possessed some features of novelty, we are induced to 
 extract the following references : — 
 
 " Item, disbursit for ane supper in Gilbert Anderson's hous, made to 
 Doctor William Forbes minister of this burghe, befoir he went south to 
 be inaugurat bishop of Edinburgh the magistrattis and remanent of 
 tounes ministers being present thereat. 32 lib. i8s." 
 
 " Item, to the violers that nicht. 12s." 
 
 " Item, for wyne careit to the Craibstane at the said Doctour Forbes 
 departure. 2 lib. 8s." 
 
 Encouraging as were these proofs of the goodwill of his flock and 
 fellow-citizens, and sincere as were their parting good wishes for his 
 future welfare, it certainly was not anticipated that before three months 
 were over, the Bishop's useful career would be closed for ever. It is not 
 
82 George Jamesone. 
 
 unlikely that as Jamesone had partially established himself in Edin- 
 burgh in the course of the year, he, in the middle of April, followed 
 regretfully the remains of his friend to the grave. There existed a not 
 dissimilar purpose in the lives of these two men. The life and labours 
 of the Bishop spoke for the beauty of holiness, those of the artist, with- 
 out straining a point, made for the holiness of beauty. 
 
 The chief works of the year were Jamesone's fulfilment of numerous 
 painting engagements for his patron, Sir Colin Campbell, with a sprink- 
 ling of commissions from his other friends. Among other portraits 
 painted in Edinburgh was one of Lord Frendraught, from the far north. 
 For his supposed complicity in the well-known and awful tragedy of the 
 burning of his castle, he dared not leave Edinburgh that year for fear of 
 the Gordons, who diligently harried his lands in his absence. 
 
 In the charter-room of Taymouth Castle there are two letters written 
 by Jamesone to his patron Sir Colin. The first of these is dated from 
 Edinburgh, 13 October [1634]. It is to the following effect : — 
 
 " To the Richt honorable the Laird of Glenvrquhie thes. 
 "Richt honorable, — I receawed the hundreth merkis fra this berar for 
 the quhilk I shall indewor to do yowr worship better service heirefter ; 
 and as for the picturis quhilk I am yeit to maik I shall do all diligens to 
 get theam with the first occasione, bot it will be in Janvarij befoir I can 
 begin thearn, except that I hawe the occasione to meit with the pairties 
 in the North quhair I mynd to stay for tuo monethes ; and if ether ther 
 or heir I can be able to do yowr worship service, I shall be moist willing, 
 and ewer to remane your worships servand. 
 
 "George Jamesone. 
 
 " Edinburgh, 13 October [1634]." 
 
 That Sir Colin was a man of strong historical as well as artistic 
 instincts, this of perpetuating his friends and relations in portraiture 
 is a clear evidence, but he seems to have carried the matter too 
 far by employing a German artist to paint ''portraits from fancy I' some 
 of which still cover the Taymouth walls. He " bestowit and gave to 
 ane German artist whom he entereinit in his house aucht moneth. . . 
 the soume of ane thousand poundis," getting in return " threttie brads " 
 
Foreign Travel, &c. 
 
 ^3 
 
 and the said fancy portraits, and on whose account Jamesone's reputa- 
 tion has suffered some criticism. Altogether, it is a very curious spec- 
 tacle this of Sir Colin persistently endeavouring to embellish his 
 baronial halls in the mountain fastnesses of Perthshire with works of art 
 by a foreigner, until he could procure a home artist to be his coadjutor 
 in this praiseworthy ambition and forward step in civilisation and refine- 
 ment. Sir Colin was a child-like lover of pictures, and in these days of 
 the enormous increase, more especially of artistic portraiture, we shall be 
 slow to throw the first stone at his preference. Such art needs no 
 apologist, and it will become growingly popular and humanising in its 
 influence. Employed to embody the beautiful and the lovable, it 
 converts mere personality into heritable property. And whoever 
 the artist and whatever his materials and mode of working, provided 
 only he has worked with a pure mind and loyal to the truth, he is a 
 public benefactor. 
 
 Sir Colin's passion for collecting the portraits of his friends was im- 
 pelled by strong affectional as well as artistic tnotives. It was his tribute 
 to those qualities that he admired in his friends. Besides the money 
 cost of the gallery thus gathered together, it seems he had to pay another 
 penalty for the privilege, in having to present some of his friends with a 
 " double " of his own portrait. But this had its compensations. It was 
 more work to his artistic proteges, an opportunity for testing their 
 dexterity, and a means of diffusing a knowledge and love of art so dear 
 to himself The portrait which Sir Colin possessed of himself was 
 among Jamesone's early efforts on his behalf, " more careful than the 
 rest, and evidently a characteristic likeness." 
 
 The mode of address adopted in Jamesone's letter is perfectly 
 courteous, and bespeaks the manners of a gentleman. The hundred 
 merks acknowledged seem to have been more than full payment of the 
 charge made. Not mercenary, Jamesone asks a modest price ; not 
 ungenerous, his appreciative patron gives him more than he asks, 
 although, probably, not more than the real value of the work done. 
 Sir Colin was satisfied, and pays accordingly ; Jamesone was grateful, 
 and promises even better service in the future. 
 
 The letter indicates that Jamesone's hands arc so full of work that he 
 
 11 
 
84 
 
 George Jamesone. 
 
 cannot undertake Sir Colin's new commissions till the new year (1635), 
 but, as he intends going home for a couple of months, he may have an 
 opportunity of obtaining sittings from some of the north country friends. 
 It may be conjectured that Jamesone's desire, expressed in his letter 
 to Sir Colin, to be at home towards the end of the year, was one founded 
 on family reasons — probably its increase by the birth of another child. 
 We have no record of its birth, but we have of its burial, in the first 
 month of the new year, 1635, the month that was fatal to his two sons 
 two years before. It was buried on the 30th of January " in the 
 Auld Kirk " (of St. Nicholas). 
 
 The early deaths of the artist's children seem to argue a constitu- 
 tional delicacy, whether derived from the mother or the father cannot 
 now be discovered. It is certain, however, that about this time Jame- 
 sone conceived the idea of building himself a pleasure house with a 
 garden in the outskirts of the town, as a means of recreation and of 
 promoting the health of himself and family. Parents who have had 
 half their family swept away by death naturally grow anxious for the 
 safety of the survivors. Jamesone's ideas about a Lust Haus had been 
 derived from his acquaintance with Continental usage. Rubens had a 
 passion for planting and building. 
 
 The spot he pitched upon was in every way suitable for his purpose. 
 It lay at the upper end of the then lovely valley of the Denburn, down 
 which the eye might pleasantly wander, unarrested by anything but its 
 picturesquely-wooded banks until it reached the purpled Grampians 
 beyond the Dee. The patch of ground referred to was known as the 
 playfield, being, in point of fact, the site on which formerly plays used to 
 be enacted. It was but five or six minutes' walk from Jamesone's own 
 door, but sufficiently far to be considered in the country. A great 
 interest attaches to this spot, considered as the theatre of the town, an 
 institution, however, which the growing strictness of morals had 
 abolished. The dramatic representations took place, of course, in the 
 open air, and every accessory was of the most primitive character. The 
 stage was the said playfield, a level patch at the foot of the westmost 
 end of the Woclmanhill, on which the spectators ranged themselves and 
 overlooked the actors below. Companies of peripatetic actors visited 
 
 ; 
 
Foreign Travel, &c. 
 
 85 
 
 the town from time to time and entertained the lieges. Tradition saith 
 not what comedy was enacted, where the box plan of the house lay for 
 consultation, what was the scale of prices charged for admission, whether 
 the gods were as autocratic as in a modern playhouse, or at what hour 
 carriages might be ordered. 
 
 A star company visited the town on the 9th October, 1601, having 
 performed at Edinburgh on their way north before James, who passes 
 them on with a recommendatory letter, all which the following extract 
 from the Council records :— 
 
 " The samen day, the prouest bailleis, and counsall ordanis the soume 
 of threttie-tua merkis to be gevin to the Kingis serwandis presentlie in 
 this burght, quha playes comedeis and staige playes. Be reasoun thay 
 ar recommendit be his majesties speciall letter, and hes played sum of 
 thair comedies in this burght and ordainis the said soume to be 
 payit to tham be the dean of gild whilke salbe allowed in his comptes." 
 
 Charles Knight will have it in his somewhat supposititious biography 
 of Shakespeare that the great dramatist made one of the company 
 referred to on this occasion. It is very obvious that Lawrence Fletcher, 
 " Comediane to his majestie," and otherwise very closely associated with 
 Shakespeare, was one of the band, for thirteen days after he was 
 admitted a burgess of the Guild of Aberdeen, along with a number of 
 other gentlemen. " The people of Aberdeen," says Knight, " were a 
 loyal people, and we are not surprised that they welcomed the King's 
 players with rewards and honours." It scarcely concerns this narrative 
 whether or not Shakespeare figured on the playfield along with 
 Fletcher, in 1601 ; but now, in 1635, it may have been that Jamesone 
 had a very pleasant reminiscence of himself as a boy of fourteen, an 
 interested spectator of the play enacted by the " Kingis serwandis " on 
 the spot he had chosen for his recreative retreat. 
 
 Besides its naturally beautiful situation and its early associations in 
 the painter's mind, another motive still, led him to make an overture to 
 the Town Council for a lease of the playfield. These attractions were 
 likely to suffer prejudice, from the fact that the field was fast lapsing by 
 neglect and disuse into a waste, unsightly place. His proposal was, in 
 brief, to put the field into thorough repair, with a view to its permanent 
 
86 
 
 George Jamesone. 
 
 reclamation for the future good of the town, and all at his own expense, 
 provided he obtained a life-rent of it for his own use as a pleasure 
 garden. 
 
 On the 13th of May, 1635, the matter was brought before a special 
 meeting of the Town Council, and the following extract from the day's 
 record gives us the ipsissiuia verba of Jamesone's most respectful 
 petition, and the decision thereupon : — 
 
 " Apud Aberden decimo tertio die mensis Maij anno 
 dominum milesimo sextentesimo trigesimo quinto. 
 
 "The Quhilk day the prouest, baillies and counsall of the burght of 
 Abirdeine wnderwreittin thay ar to say, Sir PauU Mengzeis of Kyn- 
 mundy, Knight, prouest, Gilbert Collisoun, Maister Thomas Gray, 
 Maister Mathow Lumysden, Maister Robert Farquhar, baillies ; Walter 
 Robertsoun, deane of gild ; Robert Cruikschank, Thesaurar ; Robert 
 Johnstoun, Thomas Mortymer, George Mengzeis, Robert Alexander, 
 Dauid Aedye, Alexander Burnett, Thomas Paipi, PauU Mengzeis, Hew 
 Andersoun, goldsmith, and George Pyper wricht, being conveinit in the 
 tounes counsall house anent the petitioun gewin in to thame be George 
 Jamesoun indweller in the said burght, makand mentioun that for 
 sameikle as a greate pairt of the playfeild belongeing to the Toune whair 
 comedies were wont to be actit of auld besyde the well of Spay, is 
 spoilled, brocken, and cariet away be speat and inundation of watter and 
 is lyabill to the same danger and inconvenient heireftir, so that unles 
 some course be tackin to withstand suche speattis and invndatiounes, the 
 whole playfeild within a short space of tyme will allutterlie decay and 
 serwe for no vse ; and the said George, tacking notice of the Tounes 
 prejudice heirin, and withall havand consideratioun how this litle plott 
 of ground may be vsefull to the Toune heirefter out of his naturall affec- 
 tioun to this his native citie, he is content wpoun his awin chairges ; not 
 onlie to mak some fortificatioun to withstand the violence of speattis in 
 tyme coming, bot lykewayes to mak some policie and planting; within 
 and about the said playfeild for the publict vse and benefitt of the Toune, 
 wherof he hes takin o-casion, be this his petitioun to acquaint thair 
 \visdomes of the counsall, humblie desyiring, for this effect that thair 
 wisdomes wil be pleased to graunt him frie libertie, licience and tolerance, 
 
Foreign Travel, <2fc. \ 
 
 87 
 
 to mak sic building, policie, and planting within and about the said plott 
 of ground, as he sail think most fitting and convenient both to wyth- 
 stand the violence of the waiter fra doinge forder harme thairwnto. And 
 to the effect the same may redound to the publict use and benefitt of 
 the Toun ; onlie this muche he desyiris for his trawellis cost and expenss 
 to be bestowit on this work, that he may hawe a lease of this plott of 
 ground, and the wse thairof to his awin behowe during his lyftyme 
 allanerlie ; And efter his deceas, he is content that the magistrattis and 
 councell of this burght for the tyme intromett thairwith, and apply 
 the same in all tyme thaireftir to the publict wse and benefitt of the 
 Toune, as they sail find most convenient, without any recompense to be 
 sought be him his aires, executoris, assignayes, or successoris, for any 
 chairges that he sal happen to bestow thairwpoun, as at mair length wes 
 conteint in the said petitioun : Quhilk being red, hard, and considderit 
 be the saids prouest baillies and counsall and thay thairwith being 
 ryplie advysed thay find the desyir thairof to be most reasonable as 
 being a motioun tending to the publict gude and benefitt of the toune, 
 acknowledging thairby the petitionar to expres himselff as a weill 
 affected citizen towards the furtherance and incres of policie in this his 
 native toune. And thairfoir be thir presentis thay giwe, grant, and sett 
 to the said George Jamesoun a lease and tack of the said plott of ground 
 callit the Playfeild during all the dayes of his lyftyme allanerlie, his 
 entrie thairto to be and begin the day and date heirof, with full power, 
 libertie and priuiledge to him to build and mack sic policie and planting 
 in and about the said plott of ground in all pairts, and throughout the haill 
 bounds and limites thairof as he sail think most convenient, Payand 
 thairfoir yeirelie during his lyftyme to the thesaurar of the said burght 
 for the tyme in name of the toune thrie shillings foure penneis vsuall 
 Scottes money at the feist of Witsonday ycirlie if the same be asked 
 allanerlie, for all vther maill or dewtie that may be requyred thairfore 
 during the space foirsaid WiTH THIS alwayes conditi5 and prowisioun, 
 that immediatlie eftir the deceis of the said George the magistrattis and 
 counsall of the said burght for the tyme, in name of the Toune, or thair 
 Thesaurar in thair name, sail hawe full and frie power to mell and irftro- 
 mett with the said Playfeild, haill policie, building and planting within 
 
88 
 
 George yames07ie. 
 
 and about the same brevi manu, without any proces of law or declara- 
 tor, and to apply the same to the publict vse and benefitt of the haill 
 toune in all tyme thaireftir, without any recompense to be gewine be 
 the Toune to the aires or executoris of the said George, for any cost or 
 charges he sail happin to mak and deburse in planting and building 
 thairvpon, quhairunto the said George Jameson consentit and agriet 
 and accepted of his lywerent tak aboue writtin wpoun the condition 
 foirsaid." 
 
 Such are the bald business minutes of the Council Registers, but 
 what of all the eulogistic speeches of the Provost who moved, and the 
 First Baillie who seconded, the acceptance of Jamesone's proposals, as 
 well as the rest of their "wisdomes of the counsall " who had a right to 
 speak and a claim to be heard on this important occasion ? There is 
 no newspaper file which can be referred to for reports of what passed at 
 the meeting. Jamesone's public spirit had been made a topic of remark, 
 the personal worth of this " weill affected citizen " would be adverted to, 
 and very much made of the professional honours that had been awarded. 
 There would not be wanting the inevitable bit of humour from some 
 baillie body who deemed it his function to be funny. Of course it 
 cannot now be seen where the laugh had come in, but, no doubt, the 
 " chaumer " echoed to the peal, and so with hearts elate they voted 
 with unanimity for the motion, which transmogrified the " playfield " 
 into the " four neukit garden," by which name it has ever since been 
 known. The " Garden Neuk Close " names a lane which skirts 
 the eastern, and probably original wall of the garden to this day. 
 The completed transaction is alike creditable to both parties. 
 There cannot be a doubt of the strong vein of good feeling which 
 prompted Jamesone's action. His warm heart, informed by an artist's 
 eye for the beautiful, conspired to preserve at least one of the amenities 
 of his native town. Nor were his motives misinterpreted by his fellow- 
 citizens who, while they felt in duty bound to impose a small yearly 
 grassum, only to be paid if asked for, were evidently flattered by the 
 painter's patriotism. For a few years past he had been moving freely 
 about the country, making at times prolonged stays in Edinburgh, and 
 had probably anticipated his permanent removal before long to some 
 
Foreign Travel, &€. 
 
 89 
 
 enlarged sphere of activity. They were all proud of him. He had 
 acquired fame and reflected it on them, and his action about the play- 
 field was received as a grateful pledge that he meant to remain an 
 honoured citizen amongst them. The current of popular favour set 
 strong towards him at this time. Indeed, public opinion can always be 
 concurrently more favourable to an artist than to most men, and in 
 greater sympathy with his fame than perhaps with any other kind of 
 fame. He contributes to the stock, knowledge, and appreciation of the 
 beautiful by an art which of itself belongs to no party, and therefore 
 does nothing to arouse in us any polemic or combative feeling. He 
 pleases to instruct and instructs to please — his works are a permanent 
 heritage and his fame a popular trust. 
 
 Numerous references exist to the said garden. Parson Gordon 
 does not omit to delineate its site on his map of the town, nor to in- 
 dicate the painter's little summer-house situated in the middle of it, still 
 apparently existing, in 1661, when the map was published. Sir Robert 
 Sibbald, too, in his MS. in the Advocates' Library, refers to it in these 
 terms : — " In vicina fontis [Well of Spa] est hortus suburbanus Celebris 
 pictoris, Georgii Jamesonii, ubi Museum ejus manu depictum est 
 visendum." Dr. Arthur Johnston also takes up a similar strain, but 
 in epigrammatic form. It was just such an occasion as to excite 
 Johnston's muse : — 
 
 Hanc quoque Lanaris Mons omat amsenior illis, 
 
 Hinc ferrugina Spada colorat aquis, 
 
 Inde suburbanum Jamesoni despicis Hortum, 
 
 Quern Domini pictum suspicor esse manu ; 
 
 which in its turn is quaintly " Englished " by John Barclay : — * 
 
 The Woolmanhill which all the rest outvies, 
 In pleasantness this City beautifies, 
 There is the Well of Spa, that healthful Font, 
 Whose Yr'ned hewed Water, colloureth the Mount. 
 Not far from thence a Garden's to be seen. 
 Which unto Jameson did appertain, 
 Wherein a little pleasant House doth stand 
 Painted (as I guess) with its Master's hand. 
 
 * Succinct Survey of the famous City of Aberdeen, 1685. 
 
90 
 
 George jfamesone. 
 
 In what manner Jamesone humoured his fancy in the embellishment 
 of his garden-house is, of course, unknown. The structure was probably 
 of wood, admitting of decorations without and within, and it is easy to 
 imagine that he spent many a pleasant leisure hour in beautifying its 
 walls, or in cultivating the fruits and flowers of the garden itself Alone, 
 or in the company of his wife and daughters, or in the entertainment of 
 a garden party of his friends, it is to be hoped that the painter enjoyed 
 many delightful days in the healthful resort he had rescued from the 
 ruinous " speattis and invndatiounes " which threatened it. 
 
 The Well of Spa was one of the attractions to the locality. From 
 its mineral waters the painter is said to have received from time to time 
 considerable relief from his sufferings, caused by calculus in the bladder, 
 a disease which has for long been peculiarly common to the north-east 
 of Scotland. In addition to the expense Jamesone was at in reclaiming 
 the playfield and enclosing his garden, with a grateful generosity he 
 thoroughly rebuilt the well and protected it with a vault of hewn stone. 
 This action, in the matter of the well, speaks volumes for Jamesone's 
 goodness of disposition in his desire to perpetuate its benefits to those 
 coming after him, who might have the misfortune to be similarly 
 afflicted with himself Dr. William Barclay wrote in praise of the 
 virtues to the water, which he says was carried as far as France for the 
 relief of the sick. He mentions that the v/ell being " verie old and 
 worne, a virtuous citizen, George Jamesone, the celebrated painter, did 
 build it of new . . . because of the many proofs he had of it in his 
 own person in curing him of the stone." The fountain was again 
 repaired, in 1670, at the private charges of another eminent citizen, 
 Baillie Alexander Skene. Byron, when a boy at the Grammar School, 
 took, it is said, a daily draught at the Well of Spa. The last thorough 
 repair of the fabric took place about forty years ago ; but there is now 
 no special virtue in the water. The course of the spring seems to have 
 been disturbed by some operations at the adjoining Royal Infirmary, 
 and River Dee water has been introduced. 
 
 It may be mentioned that Jamesone's name has been identified with 
 another suburban spot about a quarter of a mile to the west, and still on 
 the course of the Denburn, in the vicinity of Cherry Vale. Judging 
 
Foreign Travel, &c. 
 
 91 
 
 from the conformation of the ground, it had been a very attractive 
 valley, and was long known as Jamesone's Garden, but with what good 
 reason does not now appear. Within the memory of persons not very 
 old, a number of composition statues adorned the locality, and probably 
 that circumstance has something to do with the tradition. 
 
 These improvement schemes being arranged, as well as a good deal 
 of local portrait-painting, Jamesone returned to Edinburgh. In June he 
 writes again from there to Sir Colin Campbell, making arrangements for 
 a long list of sixteen portraits. Interesting information may be gleaned 
 from his letter, both as to his scale of prices and the rate of speed at 
 which he worked. His usual price for a half-length was twenty merks, 
 but, if he provided a gold frame, the price became twenty pounds. 
 Modernising these values, the cost of the painting alone was £\ 2s. 6d., 
 and with a gold frame, £\ 13s. 4d. Roundly, the artist charged twice as 
 much as the carver and gilder. These apparently very low prices must 
 be viewed relatively to the poor remuneration given for all labour 
 at the period, and to low prices which ruled for all materials. The 
 country was poor and money scarce, but above all, Jamesone's 
 own circumstances, partly from his industry and partly from his 
 heirships, were sufficiently easy to content him with very moderate 
 prices. The letter makes it quite clear that he is no huxter at 
 least. He appraises his work at what he considers to be its value, and 
 it is the same to all comers, whether peer or peasant. " Thus I deal 
 with all alike." An equitable man — one to whom the love of 
 the work was of more importance than its money payment. The 
 postscript to the letter furnishes an idea of the rate of production. 
 It obviously means that in eight clear weeks he expects to execute 
 sixteen portraits — two every week. This was doubtless his most pro- 
 lific period, and it forms a useful base by which an estimate may be 
 formed as to the quantity of work which must have passed through his 
 hands during the course of his long painting career of nearly fortj'' years. 
 Making due allowance for an early want of dexterity, to the paucity of 
 sitters, and to his pursuit of other works than portraiture, as well as to 
 the inevitable interruptions which occur in the busiest of lives, it is 
 not unlikely that at least a thousand portraits left his easel from first 
 to last. The letter runs : — 
 
 12 
 
92 
 
 George yamesone. 
 
 " Richt Honorable, — I receawed yowr worships letter with ane 
 measure concerning the maiking of soume picturis, quhairof sextine 
 of theam ar set doune in not. I will werie willinglie serwe yowr 
 worship, and my pryce shall be bot the ordinarie since the measure is 
 just the ordinarie. The pryce quhilk ewerie one payes to me, abowe 
 the west, is twentie merkis, I furnishing claith and coulleris ; bot iff I 
 furniss ane double gilt muller, then it is twentie poundis. Thes I deall 
 with all alyk ; bot I am moir bound to hawe ane gryte cair of your 
 worships servvice, becaus of my gouid payment for my laist imployment. 
 Onlie thus your worship wold resolwe at quhois charges I mist go 
 throwe the countrey to maik thir picturis, for all that are heir in town 
 neidis onlie yowr worships letter to theam to causs theam sitt, and for 
 theam quhois picturis I hawe allreadie, I shall double theam, or then 
 giwe yowr worship the principall. So, leawing this to yowr worships 
 consideration and ansuer, I shall ewer remaine, your woirships willing 
 servand, 
 
 George Jamesone. 
 
 "Edinburgh, 23 Junii [1635]." 
 
 " Iff I begin the picturs in Julii, I will hawe the sixtine redie about 
 the laist of September." 
 
 Interesting collateral proof of these transactions with Jamesone's 
 most munificent patron is given in the Black Book of Taymouth — a 
 perfect repertory of information of the family history : — 
 
 " Item, the said Sir Coline Campbell gave unto George Jamesone, 
 painter in Edinburgh, for King Robert and King David Bruysses, Kings 
 of Scotland, and Charles 1st, King of Great Brittane France and 
 Ireland, and his majesties Quein, and for nine more of the Queins of 
 Scotland their portraits, quhilks are set up in the halls of Balloch the 
 sum of tua hundreth thrie scor punds." 
 
 Here are thirteen portraits detailed for a total amount of £260, 
 and : — 
 
 " Mair, the said Sir Coline gave to the said George Jamesone for the 
 Knight of Lochow's Lady, and the first Countess of Argylle, and six of 
 the Ladys of Glenurquhay their portraits, and the said Sir Coline his 
 
Foreign Travel^ &c. 
 
 93 
 
 own portrait, quhilks are set up in the Chalmer of Deass of Balloch, 
 ane hundreth four scoire punds." 
 
 Another batch of nine portraits for ;^i8o, being at Jamesone's rate of 
 £20 each.* 
 
 In full employment, and at his own prices, Jamesone was making a 
 very good annual income of not less than £\ooo or ;^^i5oo a year. This 
 must be considered very handsome for poor Scotland, which could only 
 afford King James ;^5000 a year, before he ascended the throne of 
 England, where princes and painters were much better paid. James 
 was twitted with this — 
 
 Bonnie Scot, witness can 
 England's made you a gentleman. 
 
 At that time as much as ;^30 or £^0 sterling was paid in England for a 
 painted signboard. Michael Wright, Jamesone's pupil, is said to have 
 got as high as £60 sterling for portraits he painted. 
 
 In addition to the many single portraits painted by desire of Sir 
 Colin Campbell, he further gratified the worthy knight this year, by 
 executing " ane greit genealogie brod pantit of all the Lairds of Glen- 
 urchy and of those that ar come of the house of Glenurchy." This 
 interesting work still adorns the walls of Taymouth, and is referred to in 
 connection with Jamesone's other works there. 
 
 It is quite apparent from the portraits that Jamesone produced 
 during the ensuing five years that a good deal of his time was spent 
 from home. He was among the Carnegys, in Forfarshire, where he 
 painted three of the brothers, now in Kinnaird Castle. He also did the 
 Stirlings of Keir ; and in Fifeshire he did Alexander Lesley, the Earl of 
 
 * To reduce Scots money to its sterling equivalent, it is necessary for the period 
 to divide by 12. Hence — 
 
 or 20s. Scots = 2od. sterling. 
 
 I merk „ = „ 
 
 I shilling „ = I penny „ 
 
 I plack „ = ^ of a penny „ 
 
 I bodle „ = i „ „ 
 
 I doit „ = A 
 
94 
 
 George jfamesone. 
 
 Leven, and the Lindsays of Wormistone, as well as Captain Erskine of 
 Cambuskenncth, and the full-mailed figure of Lord Cardross. 
 
 During these years Jamesone lived much in Edinburgh, although 
 there is no evidence that he removed his family there. Indeed, he can 
 scarcely be said to have had any settled place of abode, for he 
 travelled through the country to suit his sitters, not a few of whom were 
 ladies, to whom at that time of day travelling long distances was not a 
 convenient thing. Jamesone ever painted female heads the best ; his 
 thinness of manner being better adapted for delineating the greater 
 grace and delicacy of a woman's face. Sir Colin Campbell soon 
 detected the artist's forte, and hence the large proportion of female 
 portraits by Jamesone in the Taymouth collection. A few other of 
 Jamesonc's more notable sitters about this time were the Marquis of 
 Hamilton, cousin of the King, whom he accompanied to Scotland on 
 his Coronation tour ; David Beaton of Balfour, Lord Haddington, the 
 Earls of Kinghorn, Mar, and Loudon, the Chancellor of Scotland. Sir 
 Thomas Hope, the Lord Advocate, yet professed champion of the 
 Covenanters, and one of that small but invaluable race of diarists, 
 makes an interesting note respecting the painting of his own portrait. 
 He evidently sat with the grudge of a man whose hands were too full of 
 graver matters. And, in 1638, his time and attention were claimed by 
 very weighty affairs, both of Church and State. The following are the 
 brief entries of Sir Thomas : — 
 
 " 20 July, 1638, Friday. This day William Jamesoun painter (at the 
 earnest desyr of my sone Mr. Alexander) was sufferit to draw my 
 pictur." 
 
 Then, on the following Friday : — 
 
 " Item, a second draught be William Jamesoun." 
 
 In impatient haste to have the ordeal over, the old gentleman was 
 too pre-occupied to catch accurately the artist's Christian name, and con- 
 fuses it with that of Jamesone's brother, William, the Edinburgh writer, 
 whom Sir Thomas in all probability remembered. The great lawyer 
 lived in a spacious mansion in the Cowgate, and there, in obedience to 
 the hortative motto over his own door {Tecum habita — keep at home) 
 he would give Jamesone sittings. If the twt) entries in the diary indicate 
 
Foreign Travel, &c. 
 
 95 
 
 all the times he sat, which is very likely, it was scarcely doing the artist 
 justice, unless, indeed, they were more prolonged than is customary. 
 We know that Jamesone worked with great speed, using whatever means 
 would facilitate the work. Hence the meaning of the traditional 
 proverb, that " George Jamesone's thumb was worth the five fingers of 
 some." Indeed, it must be frankly admitted that the portraits of the 
 last and most hurried decade of Jamesone's work do not, as a rule, con- 
 trast favourably with those painted in the preceding ten years. There is 
 only so much that one can accomplish well. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Ibis Closing l^ears. 
 
 ECCLESIASTICALLY the period was fast becoming charged 
 with elements of grave anxiety. Public opinion and events 
 were ripening into civil commotion and warfare. From the stool- 
 projecting episode in St. Giles' Cathedral, in 1637, affairs acquired 
 gathered force during the remaining years of Jamesone's life. 
 
 He was moving freely among the principal actors in the great events 
 of these stirring times, yet it is extremely unlikely that he took any 
 active share in them. Conversant with every phase of the burning 
 questions of the day, he seems to have rigidly abstained from entering 
 the arena of controversy. His temperament and profession alike 
 forbade his doing so. A momentary doubt on this point has been 
 created by the occurrence of the name of a George Jamesone on one of 
 the most important and numerous committees of the General Assembly 
 of Glasgow, in 1638, namely, that " to consider the complaint against 
 the Prelates." The doubt has been completely dispelled by the dis- 
 covery that the said George Jamesone was a " merchand burgesse of 
 Cowper." It was scarcely in our Jamesone's way to make such a clean 
 sweep of the Bishops as did this influential but strongly partisan com- 
 mittee. It was not like him to be a " green book " for the recording 
 of any man's besetting sins, such as " Sabbath breaking," " common 
 carding," and the like. He was more willing to hand down the 
 prelates' portraits than their peccadilloes to posterity. 
 
 Aberdeen has been termed the " northern fastness of prelacy " of 
 that period ; yet Jamesone has been usually adjudged a Presbyterian in 
 principle. Up to 1638, Episcopacy had succeeded in quashing the 
 opposition of that party. Among others, Samuel Rutherford was 
 silenced and banished " with his logick syllogismes " to Aberdeen, as 
 to an ecclesiastical Siberia, where his doctrines, even if allowed to 
 
His Closing Years. 
 
 97 
 
 express them, were little likely to influence such trusty upholders 
 of the Episcopal order as were the inhabitants of the Granite City. The 
 temper of the General Assembly of 1638 g^ave most unequivocal proof of 
 the dominance of the Presbyterians, with whom, after the expulsion of 
 the Bishops, it became a first duty in the following year to coerce the 
 Aberdonians into subscription of the Covenant. With this view, and to 
 over-awe Huntly, who, as King's Lieutenant in the north, was fanning 
 the flame of Episcopal contumacy, a Covenanting army took the field, 
 under the leadership of the young Earl of Montrose, who possessed all 
 the zeal of a convert to the cause. 
 
 Never had such a well-appointed, numerous army menaced the brave 
 burgh of Aberdeen. Past Jamesone's very door (Saturday, 30th March, 
 1639) trooped 9000 men, ofiicered by many of his personal friends, 
 among others, David Lesley, Marischal, Kinghorn, Erskine, and 
 Carnegy. Horse and foot, they streamed through the town, bannered 
 " For Religion, the Covenant, and the Country." They entered by the 
 Upperkirkgate port, passed through the Broadgate and Castlegate, out 
 at the Justice port, to the Links. The inhabitants were variously 
 affected by this parade of military power. 
 
 It was the opening act of that tragic period for Aberdeen, best 
 known as " The Trubles." As such, it did not last long, nor mean very 
 much. Before three months were over, Montrose was again thundering 
 at the gates, and had to fight a two days' battle at the Bridge of Dee 
 before they were opened to him. From this period onward the plot 
 thickened, and the town was like a camp, till, in 1644, Montrose, who 
 had schooled it into the adoption of Covenanting principles, now 
 returned, and cruelly beat it with scorpions for leaving its first love. 
 Five wretched years of military exactions, organised pillage, fines, sur- 
 prises, skirmishes, changing masters, were at last crowned by a cruel 
 tableau of a successful attack, followed by an unmitigated sack of the 
 town. How for the best part of a week the defenceless town was left to 
 the tender mercies of the " Irishes," how its peaceful dwellings were 
 ransacked, and its merchants' booths plundered, and how its streets ran 
 red with the blood of its unburied citizens, must all be referred to the 
 course of general history. 
 
98 
 
 George yamesone. 
 
 So far as George Jamesone was concerned, that long spell of political 
 quiet following the Union of the Crowns, affording a breathing space to 
 the nation at large, and to himself the most favourable conditions for a 
 successful prosecution of his life work, was now broken. Now a time of 
 unsettling and of bloodshed had supervened, which, notwithstanding 
 the position he had reached, must have interfered with him in his pro- 
 fession. With what composure could he work at home, or with what 
 peace of mind could he remain for any length of time absent from it, 
 knowing it to be so constantly menaced with disturbance and danger } 
 These and other circumstances pressed on his mind and led him to 
 ponder. True, his personal fame was secured in that wealth of honest 
 work done whilst the times served. He had become a rich man and a 
 landed proprietor, with a reasonable prospect in the event of his death 
 of leaving those he loved in competent circumstances, but his own essen- 
 tially pacific disposition was perplexed at the untoward course that 
 public events had taken. 
 
 His friend Vandyck died this year. Rubens, too, their mighty 
 master, as well as Sir Colin Campbell, had passed away a year before. 
 These warnings of mortality, along with an access of the constitutional 
 infirmity under which Jamesone laboured, were not lost upon him, now 
 a man of fifty-two, and, before the year was out, he prudently began to 
 set his house in order, and devised his last will and testament. It was a 
 holograph. In it he provided for his wife and their three daughters. It 
 is also very creditable to him that by the same instrument he provided 
 for a natural daughter, whose existence had not before been surmised. 
 She is made to share in her father's property equally with her other- 
 wise more fortunate sisters, affording additional proof, if it were needed, 
 of Jamesone's good sense and right feeling. Besides leaving legacies to 
 some other relatives and friends, he remembers the poor. To Lord 
 Rothes he bequeathes a picture of " Martha and Mary in one piece," and 
 also a full length portrait of the King — probably the one for which the 
 Town Council would not give him his price. To William Murray he 
 leaves a coffer full of medals — the treasured collection of a lifetime. 
 
 Jamesone had a literary and pictorial curio on which he set a high 
 value. It was a MS. of "200 leaves of parchment of excellent write 
 
His Closing Years. 
 
 99 
 
 adorned with divers historys of our Saviour curiously limned." Mr. 
 Jamesone, of Leith, a descendant of the painter, and who furnished 
 Walpole with many details, possessed a memorandum, written and 
 signed by the painter, in which this highly prized MS. is referred to, and 
 which he values at £200. What it really was, by whom it was exe- 
 cuted, or whether it is still in existence, cannot now be determined. 
 
 Whatever solemnity of feeling may have touched the artist in 
 making these dutiful settlements of his affairs, it did not diminish 
 his activities. He continued to follow his usual pursuits, working some- 
 times at home in the midst of his family, sometimes at a nobleman's 
 seat in the country, making prolonged visits to Edinburgh and its 
 vicinity. ^ 
 
 In 1640, he was a good deal in the far north painting members of 
 the Duff family and connections. One of the finest female heads he ever 
 painted adorns the walls of Duff House, the seat of the Earl of Fife. It 
 is that of a Mrs. Duff, and forms a choice specimen of Jamesone's skill. 
 He has painted her young and beautiful face with a mastery of art suffi- 
 cient to secure him a high place among artists. He continued to work 
 for the Duff family every year thereafter till his death. 
 
 In the veracious pages of Commissary Spalding there is a reference 
 to Jamesone which cannot be overlooked. In proof of how the Covenant 
 was lengthening its stakes and strengthening its bands, in the enforce- 
 ment of its claims, he details with some viinulice the names of many 
 persons who, in June, 1640, were seized for their refusal to subscribe the 
 Covenant. At a council of war, held by Earl Marischal and General 
 Munro in the Tolbooth of Aberdeen, the recusants, consisting of several 
 Aberdeenshire lairds and burgesses of the town, were examined. Not 
 answering satisfactorily, some thirteen of them were remitted for trial to 
 Edinburgh, "leaving their friends with sorry hearts." At their re- 
 examination at Edinburgh the situation was not altered, and the verdict 
 held them as " outstanders of the good cause." Several of the party 
 were imprisoned to their great displeasure and loss of health, and on 
 others heavy fines were imposed. Thomas Nicolson was fined 2000 
 merks, David Rickart, William Petrie, and George Gordon, were each 
 fined 1000 merks ; and George Johnston and Robert Forbes were each 
 fined 1000 pounds. 
 
 13 
 
lOO 
 
 George yamesone. 
 
 Two of the prisoners, " George Moresoune and George Jamesoune," 
 although not exonerated from guilt, " be moyan wan frie, and paid no 
 fine." The George Moresoune mentioned as at both the Aberdeen and 
 Edinburgh trials, was a somewhat prominent citizen, and an ex-Dean of 
 Guild of Aberdeen. It is noticeable that George Jamesone's name 
 occurs only at the Edinburgh trial, and, although unhappily without any 
 identifying mark, refers in all probability to none other than the artist, 
 as he occurs in the group designed by Spalding as " our townsmen." 
 The explanation may be found in the suggestion that Jamesone, work- 
 ing in Edinburgh at the time, underwent only the Edinburgh trial. But 
 what need was there, it may be asked, for a trial at all in Jamesone's case 
 if he was a Presbyterian ? The reply probably tendered by his friends 
 in Court was, that being an Episcopalian in principle he could not sub- 
 scribe, but that he had not strongly identified himself with either party, 
 and might with safety be allowed immunity from fine or imprisonment. 
 Montrose, Rothes, and Sir Thomas Hope would have no great difficulty 
 in satisfying the Tables as to the artist's views. 
 
 The year 1640 was otherwise sufficiently and sadly notable to 
 Jamesone. It marked the death of two of his very oldest and warmest 
 friends — Dr. Arthur Johnston and Sir Paul Menzies. Approaching the 
 grand climacteric himself, gaps in his large circle of friends would now 
 occur with admonitory frequency, although few would be so touching to 
 him as those just mentioned. The former, with whom he was associated 
 from their boyhood in the kindliest intercourse, and the latter, with an 
 almost fatherly interest in the rising artist, filled niches in the artist's life 
 that could not be re-occupied. The painter and the poet have ever been 
 identified in their lives and pursuits : — 
 
 The first in painting, Jamesone will shine. 
 As Johnston does in poetry divine. 
 
 From this point forward, the memorial incidents in Jamesone's life 
 are very scanty. In 1641, death struck perhaps the saddest blow of all 
 at the artist's diminished and afflicted household. On the 5th of 
 October of that year, with the last of his four sons was buried any 
 remaining hope (a very natural one) that Jamesone may have enter- 
 tained of the survival of his name in his family. In the male line, it was 
 
His Closing Years. 
 
 lOI 
 
 now for ever extinct. This circumstance, coupled probably with his own 
 somewhat impaired health and the growingly disturbed state of the 
 country, probably curtailed his activities. There is reason to believe 
 that, to a certain extent, he continued his usual migratory habits — ■ 
 suiting the convenience of his clients by visiting them at their own 
 homes. He was working for the Haddington family in 1644, the year 
 that he died. An unknown portrait at Yester bears that date, and may 
 have been the very last from his hand. It is pleasant to find him so 
 near his end in the society of those with whom he had long been good 
 friends. 
 
 Of the particular circumstances of the artist's death nothing is 
 known, beyond the bald facts that he was seized with a serious illness, of 
 which he died at Edinburgh in the year just mentioned, and that he was 
 buried, where so many of his eminent countrymen lie, in the historic 
 Churchyard of Greyfriars. All else is conjecture and questionings. Did 
 he succumb to some fresh access of the distressing malady from which 
 he had so long suffered t What friends surrounded him in his last 
 hours and took their good-night of him It is not unlikely that his 
 daughter, Marjory, was married by this time, and living with her 
 husband in Edinburgh. If so, we cannot doubt that affectionate hands 
 were about him, with all the ministeries that love knows to apply. 
 
 Thus, let us hope, the gentle spirit of the painter passed away. The 
 blank to his family circle is not conjectural, nor is it doubtful that it 
 would be felt by perhaps a wider circle, where he was more favourably 
 known than many of the public personages of his day. The news that 
 the hand of the master had lost its cunning would be borne regretfully 
 not only to his native town for his attractive social qualities, but in 
 countless mansions of the land would the news be received with un- 
 feigned sorrow. In that year, 1644, the national crises of religious and 
 civil warfare were becoming more bitter every day. The men whom 
 Jamesone had painted were now fighting for and against each other, and 
 displaying more passionate characteristics than could be supposed to 
 reside under the placid features on his canvases. He happily died 
 before the worst came to the worst. It is, perhaps, a proof of the 
 strained relations of society at the time that Scotland was deprived of 
 
I02 
 
 George yamesone. 
 
 its first artistic genius, that his remains were allowed to sink into an 
 unknown and unvisited tomb. The exact spot where he lies has 
 never been discovered. 
 
 Sweet be thy sleep ! where'er thy dust 
 
 Is laid, — ^in earth or ocean's cave ; 
 Thy soul is now in peace, we trust ; 
 
 A nation's heart shall be thy grave. 
 Enough ! thy spell is o'er us cast ; 
 Thy work remains, thy toil is past. 
 
 Jamesone's death had occurred late in the year, and just at its close, 
 "nth December Mary, Issobella and Marjorie Jamesone " were served 
 heirs portioners in general to their father, Mrs. Jamesone during her 
 lifetime being secured in the free revenue of the property, which was 
 not inconsiderable. 
 
 Jamesone, however, was not without a sincere panegyrist. The kindly 
 and more facile pen, perhaps, of Arthur Johnston was at rest, but that of 
 David Wedderburn remained. The old man, now retired from his long 
 accustomed dominie duties and living on the grateful bounty of his 
 fellow-citizens, occupies his learned leisure in turning a few verses in 
 memory of his old friend. These, though printed as a broadsheet by 
 Edward Raban, and probably widely circulated, have gone the way of 
 so much fugitive literature, so that we are now indebted for their repro- 
 duction to perhaps a unique copy of a reprint of them, now in the pos- 
 session of Alexander Kemlo, Esq., Aberdeen : — 
 
 SUB OBITUM VIRI SPECTATISSIMI, 
 GEORGII JAMESONI, 
 
 ABREDONENSIS 
 PICTORIS EMINENTISSIMI, 
 
 LachrymcB. 
 Gentis Apollo sua? fuit ut Buchananus, Apelles 
 
 Solus eras Patriae sic, Jamesone, tuae. 
 Rara avis in nostris oris : Tibi mille colores, 
 
 Ora tibi soli pingere viva datum. 
 At Te nulla manus poterit sat pingere ; nempe 
 
 Lampada cui tradas nulla reperta manus. 
 
His Closing Years. 
 
 103 
 
 Quin si forte tuas vatum quis carmine laudes 
 
 Tentet, id ingenii vim superabit opus. 
 Quicquid erit, salve pictorum gloria, salve : 
 
 ^ternumque vale Phosphore Scotigenum : 
 Phosphore, namque tua ars tenebris prius obsita caecis, 
 
 Fors nitidum cernet Te praeunte diem. 
 
 Tumulus Ejusdent. 
 
 Conditur hie tumulo Jamesonus pictor, & una 
 Cum Domino jacet hie Ars quoque tecta sue. 
 
 Hujus ni renovent cineres Phcenicis Apellem ; 
 Inque urna hac coeant Ortus & Interitus. 
 
 Ejusdein Encomium meritissimum. 
 
 Si pietas prudens, pia si prudentia, vitae 
 
 Si probitas, omni si sine labe fides ; 
 Partaque si graphio Magnatum gratia, dotes 
 
 Nobilis ingenii siquid honoris habent ; 
 Si nitor in pretio est morum cultusque decori, 
 
 Et tenuem prompta saepe levasse manu ; 
 ./Emula si Belgis Italisve peritia dextrae 
 
 Artifici laudem conciliare queat : 
 Omne tulit punctum Jamesonus, Zeuxe vel ipso 
 
 Teste ; vel hoc majus Greecia si quid habeL 
 
 Amoris indissolubilis ergo 
 
 DAVID WEDDERBURNUS. 
 
 Ad Exemplar ABREDONiyE Impressum per Edwardum Rabanum, 1644. 
 
 Humanly speaking, many more years of good work might have been, 
 looked for. He died in full artistic powers at the comparatively early 
 age of 57, died, it is to be feared, from an over-application to the work 
 for whose popularity he was responsible — to his credit be it said. Never 
 a strong man, his early struggles, ardent pursuit of the profession of his 
 choice, much travelling in the exercise of it, he became a susceptible 
 victim to attacks of disease, but not before he had left numberless 
 memorials of his skill in the interesting portraits of his contemporaries. 
 
I04 George Jamesone. 
 
 and established a school of native artists, who, having bettered by his 
 instructions, take at this day a distinguished place in the ranks of art. 
 
 Although Jamesone left behind him no son to hand his name down 
 to posterity, his descendants in the female line are very numerous, 
 and move in the most respectable ranks of life. His daughter, 
 Marjory, was married to Mr. John Alexander, a native of Aberdeen, but 
 who became an advocate in Edinburgh. Turning again to Sir Thomas 
 Hope's diary, the Lord Advocate, with a little more detail than that in a 
 former reference to his interesting pages, records the admission of 
 Alexander, Jamesone's son-in-law, to the Edinburgh bar. The greater 
 circumstantiality of Sir Thomas is due to a little vanity excited by the 
 adroit young lawyer, who made him a complimentary speech on the 
 occasion : — 
 
 "22 Deer 1642. Mr John Alexander admittat advocat, quho being 
 vnknawin to me befoir that present moment, expressit his respect in 
 geiving me publiklie thanks." Thus flattered by an unusual public 
 recognition of his personal merits, the great legal adviser of the 
 Covenanters could not do less than make a note of it. 
 
 In the year following Jamesone's death this gentleman, anxious to 
 secure to the artist's family his interest in the garden at the reclaimed 
 playfield, petitioned successfully the Aberdeen Town Council to that 
 import. (See Appendix.) 
 
 At Jamesone's death the household consisted of his widow and two 
 unmarried daughters, Isabella and Mary. In the records of the 
 Burghal Sasines of Aberdeen (detailed in the Appendix) there is one 
 under date, 6th of January, 1645, favour of Elizabeth, Isabella, and 
 Mary Jamesone, of lands belonging to their late father, George Jamesone. 
 Elizabeth is doubtless the love child — one of his beneficiaries by his will. 
 Of her, nothing more is known. Marjory's name is absent, which may 
 be accounted for by the supposition that her marriage portion and 
 settlement in life precluded her sharing in this property. It is probable 
 that Isabella survived her father but a few years, and died unmarried. 
 The widow apparently survived her husband about nine years, for at the 
 end of that time, 1653, the Sheriff Records of Aberdeen give evidence 
 of the family property being divided between the two surviving sisters. 
 
His Closing Years. 
 
 Marjory (Mrs. Alexander) and Mary, still a single woman. At this 
 stage there is no mention of the natural child : — 
 
 "1653 20th May Who being solemnlie sworne upon their great 
 oathes, affirmit that the deceast George Jamesone, painter, burgher of 
 Aberdeen, and father to Marjorie Jamesone, spous to Mr John Alexr, 
 
 Advocat, and to Marie Jamesone, bearers heirof, died last 
 
 vest and sast as of fee, in all and haill the Mayns of Eslemont, with the 
 manour-place tour fortalice yardes and pertinents of the same ; in all 
 the halfe toune and lands of CowhiUs, with the pertinents, lyand within 
 the barrony of Esslemonth and SherifYdome of Abd" and that the said 
 Marjorie and Marie Jamesones are the nearest and lawful heirs por- 
 tioners of their said deceast father in the lands and others foresaid." 
 
 Mary Jamesone inherited her father's artistic tastes. These found 
 expression in such womanly ways as in her time were deemed admis- 
 sible. Like her father, she produced pictures and on canvas, but with 
 needle and thread. Four large specimens of her technical skill as an 
 industrious sewer of tapestry have found fitting use as part of the adorn- 
 ments of the West Church of Aberdeen. They consist of representa- 
 tions of certain Scripture subjects— the Finding of Moses, Ahasuerus 
 presenting the golden sceptre to Esther, Jephthah's rash vow, and the 
 Apocryphal incident of Susanna and the elders. Together they form a 
 series of the most interesting objects in the Church. The probability 
 is that it was in the West Church where Jamesone and his family 
 worshipped, and was thus selected as an appropriate home for Mary's 
 embroideries. They are still in an excellent state of preservation, and 
 were, in all probability, wrought from Jamesone's designs. It has been 
 shrewdly suspected by the late Mr. Andrew Gibb that the engraved 
 portrait on the monumental brass of Dr. Duncan Liddell, in the same 
 edifice, was from a sketch furnished by Jamesone. From the circum- 
 stance that Jamesone's artistic daughter has by tradition been desig- 
 nated " Bonnie Mary Jamesone," it is apparent that she had deriv-^ed her 
 good looks from her comely mother. Her personal attractions secured 
 for her no fewer than three husbands, by all of whom she had children. 
 Her first husband was Mr. Peter Burnett of Elrick, the owner of a small 
 property in what is now New Machar Parish. She then, in 1669, 
 
io6 
 
 George Jamesone. 
 
 married her second cousin, the famous Professor James Gregory, who, 
 Newton excepted, was perhaps the greatest philosopher of his age, and 
 the progenitor of a remarkable race of men of inherited genius. His 
 own great merit is his discovery of the reflecting telescope. Professor 
 Gregory died, in 1675, at Edinburgh, in the University of which he filled 
 the Chair of Mathematics. The circumstances of his death were 
 peculiar. In the act of examining the satellites of Jupiter through a 
 telescope, he was struck totally blind, and only survived a few days, 
 leaving Mary Jamesone a widow for the second time, with a young 
 family — a boy and two girls. 
 
 Much sympathy was shown to Mrs. Gregory in the calamity that 
 left her a second time a widow. To mark the high esteem in which her 
 distinguished husband was held, the King (Charles II.) graciously 
 extended the Royal bounty of 800 merks as an annuity until the 
 youngest child, the boy, should reach the age of sixteen. Janet, one of 
 the daughters, married the Reverend William Forbes, a younger son of 
 Sir John Forbes, of Waterton. Helen, the other daughter, married, in 
 1690, Mr. Alexander Thomson, of Portlethen, Town-Clerk of Aber- 
 deen, as was his son after him. Their daughter, Mary, married Mr. 
 James Carnegie, the first .of three generations of Town-Clerks of 
 Aberdeen. It is through Hel^n Carnegie, a daughter of this branch, 
 that Major John Ross, of Ktncorth, becomes the lineal descendant of 
 George Jamesone, being the artist's great, great, great, great grandson. 
 
 To return to Mary Jamesone, it falls to be noted that for her third 
 husband she married Baillie George yEdie, a magistrate of the town and 
 a cadet of an influential merchant family. 
 
 It is well known that Mr. John Phillip, himself a distinguished artist, 
 had it in his generous mind to erect some fitting memorial of Jamesone 
 in their native town. His own comparatively early death hindered the 
 execution of this purpose, and the only thing specially commemorative 
 of Jamesone is a stained window which was put into Saint Machar 
 Cathedral, in 1874, which had just then undergone a species of restora- 
 tion. A number of gentlemen, prominent among whom were Mr. J. 
 F. White, Mr. George Reid, R.S.A., and Mr. Alexander Walker, Dean 
 of Guild, rightly conceived the occasion a very suitable one on which to 
 
His Closing Years. 
 
 effect the double duty of beautifying the Cathedral and of honouring the 
 memories of three distinguished artists, all natives of Aberdeen — George 
 Jamesone, William Dyce, R.A., and John Phillip, R.A. — by the insertion 
 of a memorial window. The execution of the work was intrusted to 
 Mr. Cottier, of Glasgow, who fulfilled the commission with his accus- 
 tomed good taste. The Painters' Window is divided into three lancet 
 compartments, in which are represented emblematical figures of Faith, 
 Hope, and Charity, and within the intersections of the mullions are 
 portraits of Phillip, Dyce, with Jamesone in the centre space. Running 
 along the breadth of the window, at the foot, in two lines is the 
 motto : — 
 
 IN . HONOREM . GRATAMQUE . MEMORIAM . TRIUM . PICTORUM . 
 
 ABERDONENSUM 
 
 FAUTORES . ARTIUM . NONULLI . HANC . FENESTRAM . ORNANDUM 
 CURARUNT , ANNO . SALUTIS . MDCCCLXXIV, 
 
 Between these lines are three separate, distinctive inscriptions. 
 Under the Phillip compartment (" FiDES " holding a chalice), to the 
 spectator's left there is — 
 
 JOANNIS . PHILLIP . ACAD . REG . SOC . 
 
 COLORUM . SPLENDORE . ILLUSTRISSIMI 
 
 Under the Dyce compartment, to the right (" Spes " resting on an 
 anchor), is inscribed — 
 
 GULLIELMI . DYCE . ACAD . REG . SOC . 
 
 DOCTRINA . ET . SCIENTIA . CLARISSIMI 
 
 Under the central, Jamesone, compartment (" Caritas " with children), 
 is inscribed — 
 
 GEORGII . JAMESONE . PICTORIS 
 scotorum . primi 
 britannorum 
 s.€culo . suo . luahnis . unicl 
 
 14 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 General IRemarfts. 
 
 THE following general remarks on Jamesone's style and pictures 
 are intended as a connecting link between the preceding bio-; 
 graphical notices of the artist and the detailed catalogue of his particular 
 works. England has been called " The land of liberty and the land of 
 portraits," and in Scotland how fertile of the latter the field has been 
 since Jamesone's day the recent interesting Loan Exhibitions of 
 Historical Portraits must be sufficiently convincing. From George 
 Jamesone to George Reid the artistic succession of native talent has 
 been at once unbroken and richly varied, including such names as 
 Alexander, a lineal descendant of Jamesone's, Scougal, Allan Ramsay, 
 Nasmyth, Dyce, Phillip, Watson Gordon, Raeburn, Macnee, Wilkie, and 
 Herdman, all more or less notable portrait painters. 
 
 Jamesone has been spoken of as having founded a school. This 
 can only be taken in the modified sense of having preceded the men 
 whose names have just been mentioned. Excepting Michael Wright, 
 who is vaguely reported to have been a pupil of Jamesone's, it is very, 
 unlikely that Jamesone, strictly speaking, trained any one to his art. 
 
 Jamesone's portraits were widely known, but whatever influence they 
 may have possessed on the rising artists after him, no one has slavishly 
 copied him, and where his works are seen in their native condition his 
 style is sufficiently marked and characteristic to distinguish him from 
 all other artists. That there should be a considerable amount of 
 ignorance on this point is not to be wondered at, for until recent years 
 that groups of Jamesone's portraits, numerous enough for due compari- 
 son, have been brought together, very few have had the opportunity of 
 schooling themselves to the peculiar manner of his work. Jamesone 
 was in his grave more than a century before anything like a study of his 
 works was made, or before the facts of his life were sought to be 
 
General Remarks. 
 
 109 
 
 collected. Horace Walpole, in his "Anecdotes of Painting" (1762), was 
 amongst the first to give anything like a succinct sketch of Jamesone's 
 life, and to furnish an estimate of his style. Both are wonderfully 
 accurate, and reflect credit not only on the noble author, but also on his 
 informant, who must have characterised Jamesone's style for Walpole, 
 who probably never in his life saw a genuine Jamesone. 
 
 The late Earl of Buchan rendered considerable service to the subject 
 by making out a more complete list of Jamesone's works than had 
 appeared. His lordship had a very decided taste for what was of any 
 antiquarian or artistic value, and, having the entree of so many mansions 
 where Jamesone's works had a place, was able to do a good deal in the 
 way of noting them. I have been privileged to peruse his MS. in the 
 library of the Society of Antiquaries, and, although it is not complete or 
 infallible, is an intelligent attempt to rescue Jamesone's memory from 
 the semi-mystic condition into which it had fallen. He even went the 
 length of having some of the portraits copied for his own gallery at 
 Almondell. At the very close of last century, the old " Statistical 
 Account of Scotland " followed with a pretty comprehensive resume oi 
 the subject. Pinkerton gave added interest to the subject by reproduc- 
 ing several of Jamesone's portraits. Besides these, Pennant, Allan 
 Cunningham, Chambers (" Lives of Eminent Scotsmen "), Dr. Joseph 
 Robertson, and Bruce, have all more or less traversed the same ground. 
 The valuable labours of the Spalding Club should not be forgotten, 
 important side lights from general history, as well as actual references 
 to Jamesone, having helped to clarify and amplify the subject. 
 
 Jamesone's pictures may be classed as to their condition under three 
 divisions. First — Those that remain untouched and are, except as 
 altered by age, in the condition in which Jamesone left them, and these, 
 unfortunately, are not very numerous. Second — The pictures that have 
 been tampered with, euphemised under the term cleaned. Under 
 hands more or less skilful, the pictures have been worked on, and the 
 original bloom and character injured. This is infallibly the case, even 
 where the artist so working on the pictures was superior to Jamesone 
 himself. This is by far the most numerous class. The temptation to 
 improve the appearance of a portrait is no doubt very great, especially 
 
no 
 
 George jfamesone. 
 
 if it has, in the course of generations, been subjected to any evil treat- 
 ment from exposure to damp, or heat, or gaslight, or sunlight, or acci- 
 dent, or, as in some cases, to the too-officious cleansing operations of 
 ignorant domestics. Third — The pictures that have been restored, that 
 is, ruined. It is very lamentable to think of the large numbers so 
 dealt with, pictures whose historical authenticity and artistic genuine- 
 ness have been destroyed at one blow. A general semblance of the 
 person represented may be retained by a skilful artist, but that subtle 
 something of the original artist's manner is lost beyond recovery, and 
 what one instinctively says in such a case is that the picture may have 
 been once a Jamesone, but that it is now no longer one. This iniquity 
 has arisen from the ignorance or indifference of the possessors or the 
 so-called restorers, sometimes of both ; but, however brought about, the 
 disappointment is very great to all true lovers of art and historic value 
 on viewing brand new-painted portraits gleaming from walls where one 
 expected to see the well-preserved and mellowed visages of men and 
 women painted two or three centuries ago, and exhibiting a series of 
 tints that our artist never had on his palette. The reply that ought in 
 most cases to be given to all but the most judicious cleaners of pictures 
 is, " Hands off." Otherwise evil, and that continually, will be wrought 
 on those priceless art treasures that human art cannot replace when 
 once subjected to the seldom necessary treatment in question. If even 
 partial decay is threatened, very much better is it to make as faithful 
 a replica of the original as it is possible to execute. Thus, with the 
 pattern before the eye, and not under the hand of the artist, there is a 
 reasonable hope of reproducing the desired work in a more satisfactory 
 way than by burying it under fresh coatings of paint. The gain will be 
 great. In the one case the original will be destroyed without replacing 
 it with a reliable substitute. In the other the original will be preserved 
 along with its alter ego, a desirable and fresh replica. The power we 
 now possess to produce what is artistically excellent and worthy of pre- 
 servation is unprecedentedly great, but closely on the heels of this 
 productiveness there treads by devious paths a ruthless destroyer, who, 
 by natural decay and accident, is constantly robbing us of much that is 
 valuable, and there is the less need that his work of spoliation should be 
 aided and abetted by following the mistaken practices here indicated. 
 
General Remarks. 
 
 1 1 1 
 
 It must be confessed by all unprejudiced critics that, notwith- 
 standing what has been said regarding the thinness and transparency of 
 Jamesone's style of painting, his best preserved and untouched works 
 were so painted that with fair play they require, as a rule, no so-called 
 cleaning, far less restoration, and after two hundred and fifty years 
 nothing but simple Vandalism dare lift a brush at them. There is a 
 romantic charm about these fine old portraits by Jamesone where one 
 admires not only 
 
 A grave, calm, firm-fleshed, oval face, 
 Of strong unwavering lines and curves, 
 
 but the very dress, so redolent of Caroline times, is beautiful and 
 picturesque in its very simplicity of cut, yet so susceptible of 
 ornamentation. 
 
 Jamesone only occasionally signed his pictures, adding the word 
 Pinxit, but he usually dated them in one of the upper corners, along 
 with the age of his sitter — as, for example, " ANNO 1633 ^Etatis 35." 
 To the expert his works require no signature — being, so to speak, 
 signed all over with his well-defined characteristics. In the course of 
 long-continued inspections, many pictures attributed to Jamesone were 
 found to be by another hand, whilst, in the same residence, perhaps, 
 pictures, appraised by their possessors as of little value, and consigned 
 to obscurity, were discovered to be his genuine works — their very 
 neglect having happily saved them from the mutilations of the restorer. 
 Next to the pleasure of recovering a lost Jamesone is that of disallowing 
 the claims of a spurious picture to be his handiwork. This last is, of 
 course, no pleasure to the mistaken owner, even although the dis- 
 appointment should be softened by the honest assurance that the 
 picture is by a superior hand. Mr. Mark Napier's graphic story of his 
 discovery of Jamesone's " Montrose," quoted in the Catalogue, will be 
 read with interest. It is a romance of a picture, albeit his joy was not 
 on account of a recovered Jamesone, but over a revived Montrose, 
 
 What is true of Jamesone's pictures is true of many more. The 
 possession of pictures, like that of other property, seems to entail 
 responsibilities, one of which is the careful identification both of the 
 subject and the artist. This does not diminish their value or pleasure 
 
-112 
 
 George Jamesone. 
 
 to the owner, but the reverse, whilst their historical value is enhanced. 
 Pictures not so identified are tantalising, but not misleading, but the 
 neglect is apt to lead to a subsequent erroneous naming of which there 
 are many well kr»own and absurd examples. It is not difficult to 
 account for, or excuse this neglect by a glance at the road by which it 
 has travelled. 
 
 In the case of a portrait it does, appear unnecessary to label it before 
 the very eyes of the subject of it and the artist. In courteous deference 
 to the latter, at least, it needs no such kenmark. And so, though in a 
 somewhat less degree, to the succeeding generation. To those who 
 follow and who come to possess but a traditional knowledge of the 
 facts, how soon do such heirlooms as the portraits of a line of ancestors, 
 if not identified in some way, become the effigies of the dead, wrapped 
 about with the cerements of uncertainty and confusion } True, the 
 trained eye readily detects the Vandycks, the Jamesones, the Lelys, 
 and the Raeburns, and in a distant way, so helped, guesses at the persons 
 represented, but history need not go on such crutches. To obviate 
 this, a model " house " catalogues, with full particulars, each picture when 
 it is acquired. Each entry has a consecutive number corresponding 
 with one on the picture. In the course of time, when the pictures have 
 passed beyond the stage of contemporary history, the name of the 
 subject, the artist, and the date are published on the picture by being 
 neatly painted on the canvas or on a gilt label on the frame. To be 
 thus " troubled with a pride of accuracy " is to satisfy the historic manes 
 and to have a care of posterity worthy of high commendation. It 
 might be gratuitous did the gallery consist simply of the portraits of 
 the successive heads of the house. But, happily, such is not the case. 
 Distinguished branches of the house, marriage alliances, political and 
 literary connections, all contribute their share in the enrichment and 
 variety of the art treasures grouped together under one roof, and render 
 positively necessary in some form or other the desired identification. 
 
 In collating existing lists of paintings attributed to Jamesone, some 
 have had to be rejected, on internal evidence or other grounds, as not 
 the work of that artist. Others are omitted because they do not now 
 exist. Among these is Archibald, the first Marquis of Argyll. It is 
 
General Remarks. 
 
 doubtless this picture to which his Grace, the present Duke of Argyll, 
 refers in a courteous note, as "having been found in a cottage near 
 Castle Campbell, which, on being cleaned, turned out to be a very fine 
 portrait of about that date, and may have been by Jamesone or a pupil. 
 But this valuable picture was lost in the fire which burned part of my 
 house in 1877." ^ ^i^e fate overtook the picture of " Martha and Mary 
 in one piece," bequeathed in the artist's will to his friend the Earl of 
 Rothes. It is believed to have perished in a fire which occurred at 
 Leslie House. The Earl of Buchan refers to a portrait of the artist 
 himself, no trace of which has been found. It is said to have been done 
 closet size (twelve by t^n inches), and to have then been in the posses- 
 sion of a Mr. Jamieson, a wine merchant in Leith. With far less regret, 
 reference may be made to such works as Jamesone may have painted by 
 way of decorations «t the Coronation ceremonies of 1633. David 
 Wedderburn confirms the tradition that he did employ his pencil so idly, 
 as painting the portraits of the dead from the faces of the living for that 
 pageant 
 
 Ecce lamesoni tabulam pictoris ! ab alto 
 Sanguine Fergusi proavos per stemmata pictos. 
 
 The possession of Wedderbum's own portrait would have been worth 
 a gallery of such. And this naturally leads to the suggestion how many 
 notable names are absent from all lists of Jamesone's works — men 
 whom he might have been expected to have painted, and the possession 
 of which would gladden the hearts of all lovers of historic veracity. 
 Among his more prominent fellow-citizens, how we miss the Jaflfrays, 
 Edward Raban, the Laird of Letters ; worthy John Spalding, Doctor 
 Baron, and many others ! 
 
 If they ever were painted, their preservation is less likely to be 
 secured than are those pictures in the possession of landed families, 
 whose more enduring roof-tree shelters for long ages the contents 
 gathered under it. 
 
 I 
 
Through the kindness of Mr. Alexander M. Munro, by whose industry several 
 important facts of Jamesone's history have been gleaned, we are able to present 
 the above fac-simile of Jamesone's signature. It occurs on a discharge given 
 on the repayment of a loan of money granted by Jamesone. The document 
 itself is in another hand. 
 
CATALOGUE 
 
 OF THE WORKS OF 
 
 GEORGE JAMESONE, 
 
 so FAR AS WELL AUTHENTICATED. 
 
 1885. 
 
 IN preparing the following Catalogue of Jamesone's works, the main 
 object has been to verify each one as genuine. In the few cases 
 where this has not been personally done, the author has had such trust- 
 worthy evidence as to justify their admission to the list. And although 
 every reasonable clue has been followed to the discovery and recogni- 
 tion of Jamesone's works, the Catalogue will probably err in its omission 
 of un-reported pictures — portraits as yet un-noted in the mansions of 
 the Scottish nobility and gentry or else carried out of the country. 
 
 The lesson of Jamesone's style is soon learnt. It has its varieties 
 and gradations of merit, but his modus operandi has been very uniform, 
 and the general result is a pronounced individuality. With few excep- 
 tions, his portraits are half lengths — " to the waist " — as he himself 
 expresses it. The face is a three-quarters, looking to the sitter's left. 
 The head is usually slightly smaller than life size, and this, with an 
 ample development of the bust, somewhat detracts from the dignity of 
 the portraits. His treatment of the details of costume, and especially 
 of the beautiful lace collars and trimmings worn then both by ladies and 
 
 16 
 
ii6 
 
 George yamesone. 
 
 gentlemen of distinction, is very artistic. It approximates the manner 
 of the great masters, and is to be clearly distinguished from the hard 
 details wrought out with such painful, mechanical minuteness by 
 Zucchero, or the poor, unfeeling workmanship of Jamesone's Restorers. 
 The drawing of the face is, as a rule, mannered ; with, however, an easy 
 naturalness not devoid of expression. The eyes are well formed, soft 
 and restful. The nose is long, and not particularly well modelled. The 
 mouth is a characteristic feature, the corners being usually turned up. 
 This is, of course, more observable in the case of smooth-faced lady 
 sitters, and the object was doubtless to impart a pleased or smiling 
 expression. It had, however, the effect of giving a rather rounded 
 character to the lower part of the face. The lips are closed, with 
 usually the only bit of positive colour in the whole face. In 
 Jamesone's best pictures pleasant grey tones prevail, and the shadows, 
 to use Walpole's perfectly accurate description, have been " helped 
 with varnish." When first applied this varnish was a medium 
 which gave a desired chiaroscum, but in the course of ages the 
 chemical character of the impaste has changed to a yellowish but not 
 unpleasant pigment characteristic of the school to which Jamesone owed 
 some instruction. Hands are not often introduced, and where they are 
 they are not so shapely as those of Vandyck, which they are said to 
 resemble. Draperies are never introduced, and but rarely any other 
 accessories. As a whole, the portraits possess much repose, and have 
 the true artistic merit of growing in one's admiration. In describing 
 the pictures, the directions rig/U and left are used in relation to the 
 picture and not the spectator. 
 
 ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY— KING'S COLLEGE. 
 
 THE EVANGELISTS. 
 There were originally, and until a few years ago, four separate paintings of 
 these, but that of Saint Matthew has now disappeared. As already con- 
 jectured, they were probably copies made by Jamesone either from Rubens 
 or from some other great master while abroad. They have, unfortunately, 
 all been tampered with, and unfeeling backgrounds painted in by some 
 rude hand. They hang in the staircase leading to the Senatus Room. 
 
/ 
 
 Catalogue of his Works. 
 
 117 
 
 1. Saint Mark— on a Panel. 
 
 A venerable, grey-bearded man, with his left hand on a book and his right on 
 his breast. There is pen and ink beside him, and at his feet a lion couchant, 
 being his ow,n proper emblem. 
 
 2. Saint Luke— on a Panel. 
 
 A venerable man with the nimbus, his right hand on a book, and the left 
 uplifted. His peculiar emblem, an ox, is just indicated over his right 
 shoulder. 
 
 3. Saint John— on a Panel. 
 
 A youthful figure in a rapture, with raised right hand. He has the usual 
 nimbus, and wears a picturesque red gown. On a table are writing 
 materials, and at his left hand in the shadow an eagle is suggested, his 
 emblem of sublimity. 
 
 REPRESENTATIONS OF THE TEN SIBYLS. 
 
 These have always been attributed to Jamesone. It has been found 
 impossible to trace the history or to identify Jamesone's hand on these 
 canvases. The probability is that along with the four Evangelists, the 
 Sibyls were copied by Jamesone from originals he had seen on the Con- 
 tinent—possibly passing through the atelier of his master Rubens, and 
 thus the two series of pictures may be regarded as a practical outcome of his 
 residence at Antwerp. This theory of the pictures being simply copies will 
 sufficiently account for the fact that they do not conspicuously show the treat- 
 ment peculiar to Jamesone. Still another reason for this may be found in the 
 fact that in some instances, at least, the pictures have been tampered with, 
 and have been renewed by another hand. 
 
 Jamesone's classical knowledge must have given the Sibyls some interest 
 in his eyes, and furnished some inducement to the labour of making a com- 
 plete copy of the set. 
 
 They have been spoken of as portraits of the reigning beauties in Aber- 
 deen, and tradition has been so definite as to name some of the families to 
 which these ladies belonged. One family alone is said to have furnished 
 four sisters who figure in this galaxy of beauty. Unfortunately for this 
 theory, one of the ladies is black, and if adjudged a beauty it must be by a 
 different standard and from another latitude than ours. Neither the names 
 nor the emblems of Jamesone's Sibyls quite tally with the usual lists, but 
 
ii8 
 
 George yamesone. 
 
 artists who cared to delineate these subjects were not strict to accord their 
 productions with classical prototypes. 
 
 One can now scarcely pass judgment on these pictures as works of art, 
 as they have endured some ill-usage in various ways, for which it would be 
 unfair to cause the artist to suffer criticism. Although the Sibyls have been 
 painted over, and apparently with a house painter's brush, yet the rough 
 process has not been effectual in dispelling- the Jamessne feeling from them. 
 Both the drawing and colour are more suggestive of him than the pictures 
 of the Evangelists, beside whom they hang on the walls of the staircase. 
 
 4. The Sibyl " ^gyptiaca." 
 
 Is represented reading a book. The painting is at present in rather bad 
 condition, although that fact may be taken as a proof that the original has 
 not been tampered with. 
 
 5. The Sibyl " Cvmgea." 
 
 Is a very delicate painting. She wears, as a symbol, in her breast a red rose. 
 
 6. Sibylla " Erythrcea." 
 
 Is represented with an emblematical lamb in her arm. 
 
 7. The European Sibyl. 
 
 Is a very graceful figure, and wears a broad-brimmed hat, shading her forehead. 
 She reads a book, and holds a sceptre, which rests on her right shoulder. 
 It is inscribed " Evropoea." 
 
 8. The Hellespontic Sibyl. 
 
 She holds a shut volum.e in her left hand, and in her right three corn stalks, 
 with the ears rising above her shoulder, and probably symbolical of the 
 Cross, the peculiar emblem of " Helle," as the picture is designated. 
 
 9. " ITHICA." 
 
 Is probably a mistake for Ithaca, and is represented by a graceful figure with 
 downcast expression. She holds three ears of corn in her right hand. 
 
 10. The Lybian Sibyl. 
 
 Is represented by a swarthy, not to say jet, daughter of Ham, with upturned 
 gaze and crossed hands on her breast — all indicating an ecstatic condition 
 of a prophetess or a most devout worshipper. A white scarf round her 
 neck, falling in front, contrasts very strongly with the tawny complexion of 
 S[ibylla] Lybica, as the picture is inscribed. 
 
Catalogue of his Works. 
 
 119 
 
 11. The Phrygian Sibyl. 
 
 This is a very bold, well-drawn subject. She holds a sword in her right hand, 
 and she has a hopeful aspect. 
 
 12. The Samian Sibyl. 
 
 Is a striking figure with a fur hat of peculiar shape. She appears to be reading 
 an open volume in front of her, and holds in her hand, between her and the 
 book, a crown of thorns. 
 
 13. The Tiburtine Sibyl. 
 
 Is a turbaned figure in a very graceful attitude, poising a chalice in her left 
 hand. The picture is inscribed Tiburtina. 
 
 14. Dr. Arthur Johnston, M.D. (i 587-1641.) 
 
 This " fine head," according to Granger, is on a panel, and inscribed, " Anno 
 1623 . ^tatis 3^-'. Nasce te ipsnm" The picture is as it left the painter's 
 hand, and bears evidence of his most careful manner. The result is a 
 refined and thoughtful countenance, originally done with much delicacy of 
 treatment and now still farther mellowed by time. The poet has an ex- 
 pansive forehead. 
 
 " Long visaged, strong chinned, high of nose, 
 Large eyed, with gaze stern, sweet, sublime, 
 Well bearded, grand of chest and arm. 
 
 Browed as if brain to heaven would climb." 
 
 An ample piped linen collar covers his shoulders. The picture has been 
 repeatedly engraved, and is one of those copied in oil by Wales for the 
 Earl of Buchan. 
 
 Referring to Benson, who procured the erection of a monument to 
 Milton's memory in Westminster Abbey, and edited an edition of John- 
 ston's poems, a couplet of the Dunciad runs : — 
 
 " On two unequal crutches propt he came, 
 Milton's on this, on that one Johnston's name." 
 
 Before 1628, Johnston was appointed Physician-in-Ordinary to Charles 
 I., and, in 1637, was appointed Rector of King's College. He died four 
 years later, whilst on a visit to his son-in-law at Oxford, where he was buried. 
 In a biographical note of Johnston in the "Funerals of Patrick Forbes," 
 Edinr., 1845, p. 20, it is said : — "There is no portrait of the poet preserved in 
 King's College, as has sometimes been erroneously stated." So the above 
 picture must have been placed there since that date. 
 
 He was the fifth son of George Johnston, of that ilk and Caskieben (now 
 
I20 
 
 George Jamesone. 
 
 Keith-hall). After being schooled in the neighbouring burgh of Kintore, 
 he ran the curriculum of Marischal College, probably in the class with 
 Jamesone, who was exactly the same age. He graduated in medicine at 
 Padua, and was laureated at Paris in the same year, before he was three- 
 and-twenty. He continued his travels in Germany, the Netherlands, 
 Denmark, and England ; and before his return to Aberdeen was justly 
 reckoned a distinguished physician, scholar, and poet. His muse, a Latin 
 one, was facile and easily stirred, as his many minor pieces, written on a 
 great variety of occasions, amply attest. His most sustained and important 
 effort is his metrical version of the Psalms, referred to in the rather disparag- 
 ing couplet by Pope, who it is suspected knew as little of the theme as 
 of the translation. 
 
 15. Professor JAMES Sandilands, of Craibstone. (b. 1587.) 
 
 The portrait is inscribed, " 1624 yEt. 37 Splendente vivo Secedente Pereo." 
 A very fine, untouched specimen, but not in very good keeping. He has a 
 round bullet head, high brow, small keen eyes, and short crisp beard. He 
 wears a ruff, and holds in his right hand a closed book. In the upper left 
 corner is painted a flower, with a symbolical sun shining on it. 
 
 Professor Sandilands was descended from the Barons of Middlerig, in 
 Lanark, and settled in Aberdeen about 1606. He was a doctor of law, an 
 advocate before the Court of Session, and Commissionary of Aberdeen. By 
 virtue of this office he was Vice-Chancellor of King's College, where he was 
 likewise Rector and Professor of Canon Law by the nomination of Bishop 
 Patrick Forbes. He was for many years clerk to the General Assembly of 
 the Church of Scotland, and appears to have been the first who was deprived 
 of office for adhering to the measures of the King. 
 
 16. A View of the Buildings of King's College, with Figures 
 
 in the Foreground. 
 
 This is probably the only known specimen extant of landscape or architectural 
 painting by Jamesone. Were it not that the perspective has not been 
 carried out as if he quite understood the laws of it, the picture is, on the 
 whole, a very interesting production, as showing structural features long since 
 passed away or modified. There is much spirit in the manner in which the 
 figures have been put in — the artist having evidently some Dutch master 
 before him. 
 
 The costumes are those of the period, and are worth studying. The 
 picture is on panel, and measures 33 inches by 21 inches. It has been 
 engraved for Orem's " Description of Old Aberdeen," but with an entirely 
 new foreground. 
 
Catalogue of his Works. 
 
 121 
 
 MARISCHAL COLLEGE. 
 
 17. Reverend Peter Blackburn, Minister at Aberdeen. 
 
 A fine, venerable head, on which Jamesone's original tints have been fairly 
 matched by Giles. There is a becoming skull cap, a flowing old man's 
 beard. The eyes are very small, and an awkward right hand holds a closed 
 book. 
 
 Peter Blackburn was " an honest Glasgow merchant's son " ; and, 
 according to Robert Melville, was himself "a precise, honest minister to a 
 bishop." 
 
 18. Sir Thomas Burnett, of Leys. ("Anno 1624, ^Etatis 33.") 
 
 A characteristic portrait representing a ruddy-bronzed country gentleman, with 
 crisp, auburn hair, wearing the conventional, stiff, white linen ruff, with lace 
 edging. In the upper right comer is a shield, emblazoned with a saltier, 
 crenated, gules, between a bugle horn, a rake (or Y-shaped figure), a 
 trident, and a fleur-de-lis. 
 
 Sir Thomas was created a Baronet of Nova Scotia in 1626. He was the 
 son of Lord Crimond, a senator of the College of Justice, and his mother was 
 sister to Sir Archibald Johnston, Lord Warriston. His younger brother was 
 the celebrated Dr. Gilbert Burnet, Bishop of Gloucester, the historian of 
 " His own Times." Both brothers were alumni of Marischal College, and Sir 
 Thomas became an eminent physician in Edinburgh. Spalding describes 
 him as "A faithful follower of the House of Huntly, and a great Covenanter 
 also." In conjunction with the Marquis of Montrose, he threw himself with 
 ardour into the political controversies of the day, and strenuously opposed 
 the measures of the Court. He at last withdrew into private life, unmolested 
 by both parties. 
 
 19. Reverend Andrew Cant. (d. 1664.) 
 
 In very bad preservation, if not past remedy. It is in Jamesone's style, but has 
 been tampered with. The face is remarkably sharp and attenuated, bearing 
 
 " Stamp of fleshly waste 
 Through heat of intellectual flame." 
 
 His thin lips, firm set mouth, and keen eye, bespeak the incisive polemic he 
 was. He wears the skull cap and gown of the divine, with a ruffed collar. 
 His hair is advanced grey. 
 
 Cant cut a very prominent figure in his stirring times. He was an 
 active, fearless, uncompromising, but unpopular advocate of the Covenant, 
 
122 
 
 George jfamesone. 
 
 Somewhat acid in manner, he was one, says Baillie, " in whom was some 
 things evidentlie wanting." He was great in his opposition to Episco- 
 pacy, and still greater in his opposition to Popery, although Pennant admits 
 that he " Canted no more than the rest of his brethren, for he lived in a 
 whining age." Cant has incurred some ridicule from his extreme views. 
 Having on one occasion to sleep in a room in which was hung a portrait of 
 Saint Peter, he requested that it might be removed. His host did so, and 
 hung up in its place Mr. Cant's own portrait, with the lines written beneath — 
 
 " Come down, Saint Peter, ye superstitious saint, 
 And let up your better, Mr. Andrew Cant." 
 
 He was probably brought into contact with Jamesone whilst in Aberdeen as 
 one of its ministers. A good life of Cant is still a desideratum. It is 
 understood that the late Mr. Andrew Gibb was well advanced with Cant's 
 biography when his own untimely death occurred. 
 
 20. Robert Gordon, of Straloch. (i 580-1661.) 
 
 A characteristic specimen, but has suffered renewal. He has a fine dome- 
 like, bald head, with only a fringe of hair on the lower parts. His 
 features are marked, and the whole countenance instinct with intelligence. 
 An ample linen collar surrounds his neck, with a rich lace edge of two or 
 three inches deep. His doublet is dark and of brocaded stuff. His right 
 hand is displayed, with a deep, lace-edged cuff carefully painted. The 
 picture has been engraved for Chambers' " Lives of Eminent Scotsmen." 
 
 Robert Gordon was the son of Sir John Gordon, of Pitlurg ; and, after 
 being educated at the Grammar School of Aberdeen, is believed to have 
 been the first alumnus of Marischal College, after which he underwent the 
 usual course of study on the Continent. On succeeding to his father's estates 
 he settled down at Straloch to his favourite pursuits of history, antiquities, 
 and geography. It was in the last named branch that he achieved his 
 greatest successes. He applied himself with ardour to the study of the 
 geographical conformation of Scotland, which he was the first to delineate 
 on the basis of actual mensuration. 
 
 This led the way to his engagement by Charles I. to assist the Bleaus of 
 Amsterdam with one of their atlases. He took little part in the civic com- 
 motions of his times, and was exempted by Act of Parliament from the new 
 taxes levied, and he and his tenants were relieved from the exactions incident 
 to a condition of civil war. He was not unobservant of what was going on, 
 and left historical memoranda afterwards published by his son James 
 Gordon, the well known parson of Rothiemay, who inherited much of his 
 father's peculiar talent. 
 
Catalogue of his Works. 
 
 123 
 
 21. Arthur Johnston, M.D. (See No. 14.) 
 
 The poet is represented as a youngish man of perhaps thirty, and has the same 
 spirituelle expression as the portrait in King's College. He holds in his left 
 hand a rose, which surmounts his shoulder. His dress is of a brocaded stuff. 
 The picture is on panel, and is a very fine and but slightly-touched specimen 
 of Jamesone's work. 
 
 22. William Johnston, M.D., of the Family of Caskieben. 
 
 A fair specimen. The figure is enveloped in a cloak, with the right hand 
 emerging at the breast. Very singularly, a bright carnation is worn in front 
 of the right ear, with what object it is difficult to say. He is represented as a 
 ruddy man of full habit, perfectly answering to the word portrait of him by 
 the Parson of Rothiemay : — " He dyed June fourteenth [1649] before the 
 sixtieth yeare of his age, suffocate with a squinance, a disease to which he was 
 much subjecte, being a corpulent man, and a sanguinean ; he was tackne 
 awaye to the greate greefe of his freends and acquaintance." 
 
 Dr. William Johnston was a younger brother of Dr. Arthur Johnston, 
 \ whom he much resembled in his abilities and career. He was educated at 
 
 Marischal College. He went abroad, and was appointed Professor of 
 Philosophy at Sedan. From 1626 to 1640 he acted as the first Professor of 
 Mathematics in Marischal College on Duncan Liddel's foundation. Though 
 less eminent than his brother Arthur, William also was a good Latin poet. 
 
 23. Sir Paul Menzies, of Kinmundy. (1553-1640.) 
 
 A fine portrait of a handsome subject, and, notwithstanding the manifest touch of 
 another hand, is substantially what Jamesone left it. Under a bald dome 
 there is a set of fine, regular features, and the whole expression and dress 
 bespeak the gentleman. A rich lace collar, reaching from the ears to a point 
 half way down the breast, forms a suitable background to the flowing, pointed 
 beard. His arms are painted in the upper right hand corner, with S. P. ^L 
 of Kinmundy Vive vt Vivas Anno 1620 ^tatis 67. 
 
 Sir Paul was a prominent member of a family which for many genera- 
 tions had taken a leading part in Aberdeen affairs. From the beginning of 
 the fifteenth century the Provost's chair was never for long without a 
 Menzies. Sir Paul had the honour of knighthood conferred on him by 
 Charles II. at the Coronation ceremonies, which he attended as Provost of 
 Aberdeen, in 1633. He seems to have been an attached personal friend of 
 Jamesone's, and lent him his powerful support. 
 
 24. George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal. (1553-1623.) 
 
 Enclosed within an oval border, inscribed " Nobiliss Georgius Comes Mariscal 
 
 16 
 
George Jamesone. 
 
 Acad. Mariscallanae Fvndator." The Earl wears a moustache and short- 
 pointed beard, and is attired in a short sloped hat and ruff. Round his 
 shoulders are folds of a gold chain with a pendant badge with miniature. 
 The portrait is not in very good preservation, and has been engraved both 
 for Pinkerton's and Smith's " Iconographia Scotica." This picture is not an 
 original, but a Copy by Jamesone's descendant, Alexander, who with his 
 accustomed care has inscribed the back of it : — " A Protoypg [sic] Georg 
 Jameson, Depict Cosmus loano Alex^ Pinxit A D 1742 yE talis suae 18." 
 
 This nobleman, the heir of large estates in Kincardineshire and 
 Aberdeenshire, was educated at King's College, and subsequently spent 
 several years at the Universities on the Continent and at Geneva, where he 
 came under the influence and instructions of Theodore Beza. He further 
 increased his knowledge of life and of diplomacy by visiting most of the 
 Courts of Europe. On returning home, he became implicated in various 
 turbulent proceedings of those days, including the Raid of Ruthven, but was 
 able to vindicate his innocence. Recognised as a man of experience and 
 ability, he was intrusted with various commissions by the King, who held his 
 character and judgment in high esteem. He negotiated the King's marriage 
 with Anne of Denmark, and, in 1609, he was appointed Royal Commissioner 
 to the Scots Parliament. He was a cultivated man, and his founding of 
 Marischal College is a lasting proof of his advanced views on the subject of 
 education. Pennant, in an appreciative notice of the Earl, suggests that "a 
 full and authentic life would be a pleasing tribute of gratitude from some 
 member of his foundation." He died at his picturesque Castle of Dunnottar, 
 2nd April, 1623. 
 
 ABERDEEN FREE CHURCH COLLEGE. 
 
 25. Alexander Thomson, of Portlethen. 
 
 Inscribed yEtatis 65 [?] under a coat of arms, consisting of a mantled shield 
 bearing a deer's head caboshed, and in chef three stars. The portrait is a 
 fair specimen, but it has been (judiciously) refreshed, probably by Giles. He 
 wears a skull cap, and a short, chequered scarf appears below the chin beard. 
 A considerable bush of iron-grey hair falls on the plain linen collar. A 
 rather graceful hand, wearing a ring, holds a pen. 
 
 This picture was bequeathed to the College by the late Mr. Thomson, 
 of Banchory, a descendant, and probably represents the father of thg 
 Alexander Thomson, of Portlethen, Town-Clerk of Aberdeen, who married, 
 in 1690, Jamesone's grand-daughter, Helen Gregory. 
 
Catalogue of his Works. 
 
 125 
 
 ABERDEEN GRAMMAR SCHOOL. 
 
 26. Patrick Dun, M.D. On panel, 27 by 22 inches, in the Rector's 
 Room. 
 
 This portrait has evidently suffered a slight degree of restoration sufficient to 
 remove the original bloom and some of the Jamesone expression. Dr. Dun 
 is represented as a man between fifty and sixty years of age, and he wears a 
 skull cap, the token of a professional man. He also has the fluted linen 
 collar of the period. The hair of moustache and chin beard is a light brown. 
 The frame is inscribed — " mdcxxxi ^patrik ^unt ^ Presented (1864) 
 by Lessendrum." 
 
 Dr. Dun was a native of Aberdeen, and after graduating at Marischal 
 College, went abroad and studied medicine under his fellow-townsman. Dr. 
 Duncan Liddell, then professor at Helmstadt. Dun returned to Aberdeen, 
 where he pursued a successful career as a physician. He was Principal of 
 Marischal College for twenty-eight years, 1621-1649. During that period it 
 suffered from fire, and Dun contributed the handsome sum of 2000 merks 
 " for the reparatione of the edifice of the said College." Besides this, he con- 
 tributed in his lifetime his lands of Ferryhill for the support of four masters 
 in the Grammar School of Aberdeen, which constitutes him " the founder " 
 of that institution. The portrait of Dr. Dun in the Aberdeen Town Hall is a 
 copy of the above by a later hand. 
 
 ABERDEEN TRADES' (OR TRINITY) HALL. 
 
 27. Matthew Guild, Armourer, (i 542-1603.) 
 
 This picture is reputed to be a copy of Jamesone's portrait of Guild. It is much 
 more likely to be a copy by Jamesone for the Hammermen, of which Guild 
 was a prominent member, from an earlier picture. The pose, looking to the 
 sitter's right, is not such as Jamesone, without good reason, adopted ; and 
 the date forbids the idea that Jamesone could have painted Guild from the 
 life. It is inscribed in the upper right corner with a shield between Guild's 
 initials, and on the left, ^ttatis 61, Died August Anno 1603, and crown 
 and hammer. Guild wears a sugar-loaf hat, close ruff, and cloak. The 
 original, no doubt of foreign workmanship, had been solidly painted, and so 
 is the copy. 
 
 Matthew Guild was the father of Dr. William Guild and of Jean Guild, 
 Jamesone's aunt by marriage with David Anderson. He was an armourer 
 or " swerd slippar," and cut a very prominent figure in town and trade affairs. 
 
George yamesone. 
 
 As the doctrines of the Reformation began to spread in Scotland, one of 
 the fruits they bore was the prohibition in Aberdeen of such recreations and 
 pageants as Robin Hood, Abbot of Reason, and Queen of the May. As these 
 had their beginnings in Papistry, and their endings in certain irregularities of 
 conduct, the Magistrates laid such gatherings under ban. And it is in con- 
 nection with this that Matthew Guild comes to the front as a conservator of 
 the ancient customs. How he defied the Town Council and how he was 
 punished will be best seen from the following quotation from the Burgh 
 Records : — 
 
 "The said day James Masar, Lourens Masar, Methow Guild, Thomas 
 Huntayr, and Androw Wysman war convickit for the cumyng throw the 
 toune upon Sunday last wes, eftir none, with ane menslrall playand befor 
 thaim throch the Gallowgett, in contemptioune of the townis actis and 
 proclamaciouns maid obefoir, and breaking of the actis of parliament, and 
 contravening of the same ; quherfor thai wer put in amerciament of court, 
 ' and wer ordanit to remane in the tollbuth, quhill thai find sourtie for ful- 
 
 filling and satisfeing of the emends to be modifyt be the consel." 
 
 28. Dr. William Guild, (i 586-1657.) 
 
 This portrait is a Copy by Mossman from a now lost original by Jamesone. It 
 is a large, knee picture, and represents Guild seated in a chair and habited 
 in his gown. It deservedly occupies the place of honour of the fine Trinity 
 Hall, and has been engraved in Mezzotint, prints of which have been popular 
 and are well known. 
 
 He was the son of No. 27, and was one of the most wisely beneficent of 
 Aberdonians. He was educated for the Church, which he entered at a very 
 early age. Possessing a facile pen, he at once employed it in the then 
 favourite pastime of religious polemics, in which he met with a flattering 
 success. His first charge was that of the parish of King- Edward, and he was 
 afterwards translated to the diocese of Aberdeen, where his preaching was 
 highly esteemed. Possessed of ample means, and the same beneficent senti- 
 ments as his sister, he made to the town various substantial bequests, the 
 greatest of all his donations being to the Incorporated Trades, of which his 
 father, Matthew Guild, was a member. To this day, at the annual gatherings 
 of the Trades, the loving cup circulates in solemn silence to his grateful 
 memory. 
 
 Although the Episcopal side of the ecclesiastical squabbles of his day 
 had his warmer sympathies, yet, "for the peace of the Church and other 
 reasons," he signed the Covenant under certain limitations. Principal Leslie, 
 of King's College, declinihg to accept the Covenant on any terms whatever. 
 
 \ 
 
Catalogue of his Works. 
 
 127 
 
 was replaced in his post by Dr. Guild, who resigned his pastoral charge to 
 fulfil its duties. From this position he was ultimately ousted on a suspicion 
 that his bias towards Royalty was strong. He would gladly have resumed 
 his ministerial functions, for his heart was in the work, but his wish was un- 
 gratified, and he spent the remainder of his days in a beneficent retirement. 
 A handsome monument in St. Nicholas Churchyard marks his burial place. 
 
 LADY KATHERINE BANNERMAN, OF CRIMONMOGATE. 
 
 29. David Anderson, of Finzeauch. (d. 1629.) 
 
 In excellent preservation. It has probably undergone a very slight restoration, 
 and is on an oak panel. He looks a stalwart man of purpose and in the 
 prime of life. His hair is very dark and thick, and comes far down on his 
 brow. His moustache and short beard are lighter in colour. He wears a high 
 ruffed collar, with a plain close-buttoned coat. In his right hand he holds a 
 roll of paper. On the background is delineated a standard globe, with a 
 compass resting on the top of it. 
 
 David Anderson, of Finzeauch, was the artist's maternal uncle, and 
 pretty fully described in pp. 26-28. Philopolitseius, in his "Succinct 
 Survey," refers to "the renowned Art and Industrie of that ingenious and 
 Vertuous Citizen, David Anderson^" This was not a solitary opinion, and in 
 appreciation of his many public services to the community, at a head court 
 held in 1598, they voted him exempt from the payment of all taxes. The 
 service rendered by men of this type^ in the directions they may choose, 
 cannot be over-rated. Not satisfied with things as they are, they leave their 
 mark in the improvements and ameliorations they are able to effect. The 
 son of a wealthy merchant, he became himself a man of considerable 
 means, and acquired the landed estate of Finzeauch in the parishes of Keig 
 and Tough, Aberdeenshire. At his death he bequeathed " the soume of 
 Thrie hundreth marks Scots money for the benefit of the decayed Gild 
 brethern," by the hands of his son, " Mathew who compeired personallie 
 before the Provost Baillies and Counsell." 
 
 Following her husband's example, and with even a more liberal hand, 
 his widow, Jean Guild, sister to Dr. Guild, four years later mortified the sum 
 of 500 merks Scots " to widowes that hes bein the wyffes of burgesses of 
 Aberdeine, merchands or craftsmen, livand both in the time of ther widow- 
 heide, and in the time of ther mariage and cohabitatione with ther husbandes, 
 of good lyfe and conversatione frie of any publict scandell or offence and to 
 aiged virgines who are borne bairnes in Aberdeine and who haue lived in th^ 
 
128 
 
 George Jamesone. 
 
 state of virginitie and continowes in that estate to ther lyves end, frie of 
 publict Scandell." And, not content with these benefactions, in 1649, in 
 conjunction with some of her relatives, she mortified the handsome sum of 
 4700 merks Scots, besides " all and haill the tenement of land callit the 
 blakfriars manse with the yeards barnes and pertinents belonging thereto 
 lying at the Schoolhill of the burgh for the use of ten poor orphanes of both 
 sexes who are to be educat and trayned up in the knowledge of the ground 
 of Christian religion and also in reading wreiting Schewing and all such as 
 may fitt them for anie vertuous calling or trade of lyfe according to their sex." 
 
 These extracts speak for themselves, testifying not only to the wealth, 
 but to the wise benevolence and character of these good folks. 
 
 David Anderson was succeeded in his estate by his son, David, whose 
 representatives are the Bannermans, Baronets of Elsick. There were two 
 daughters, Christian, of whom nothing is known, and Janet, who married the 
 Rev. John Gregory, Minister of Drumoak, and became the mother of that 
 remarkable race — the Gregorys — so conspicuous for their inherited scientific 
 and literary genius. Mrs. Gregory is credited with possessing the mathe- 
 matical bias of her busy-brained father. 
 
 THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF BREADALBANE, 
 TAYMOUTH CASTLE. 
 
 Time and family changes have somewhat diminished the total number of pictures 
 by Jamesone in this ancient castle-palace, but it still maintains its supremacy 
 in possessing the largest collection of any other house. 
 
 30. Maria Ducessa de Longueville, Regina Scotorum. 
 
 A rather doubtful picture, on account of the solid painting and general treat- 
 ment. A crown, studded with pearls, rests on the back of the head. The 
 face is round and plump, the neck and bosom are treated precisely as the 
 Countess of Wigton's is (No. 71). She wears a yellowish silk bodice, with 
 a shawl thrown round the shoulders. Her hand is well drawn, and she 
 holds a trinket between the forefinger and thumb. The work is good, but 
 scarcely the goodness of Jamesone. The probability is that the work has 
 been much tampered with. The portrait is surrounded by an oval such as 
 Jamesone used occasionally to paint. 
 
 31. DOMINA Mariota Edmestoun. 
 
 A characteristic work of Jamesone's, and remains as he left it. She wears a 
 widow's head-dress or bonnet of the Queen Mary style, and has a standing 
 .frill which rises almost to her ears. Engraved in Pinkerton. 
 
Catalogue of his Works. 
 
 32. Annabella Drummond, Queen of Robert III. about 1390. 
 
 An untouched characteristic specimen, but in the rare attitude — looking to the 
 right. She is "naked necked," with long bare bosom. This lady was the 
 daughter of Sir John Drummond, of Stobhall, progenitor of the Drummonds 
 of Hawthornden and of the Earls of Perth. 
 
 The picture is engraved in Pinkerton, who conjectures " that Jamesone 
 had some archetype from her tomb at Dunfermline, or some old limning." 
 In any case the picture retains the undoubted merit of being an untamperecj- 
 with work of Jamesone's. 
 
 Round an oval border he has inscribed it : — Annabella Drvmond filia 
 militis de Stobhall Regina, Scotorum Anno dom. Mcccxc. She was the 
 mother of James I. as well as of three daughters, one of whom, Margaret, 
 married Sir Colin Campbell, of Lochow — hence her presence here as a pro- 
 genitor of the house. 
 
 33. Maria Magne, Britannae Regina. 
 
 Smaller than life, with a crown, and looking from left to right. Long black hair 
 hanging down over the white neck and bosom imparts a corpse-like 
 appearance, increased by a cold blue silk dress trimmed with lace. An 
 unmistakeable work of Jamesone's. 
 
 34. " Domina Joneta Stewart, filia Willielmi Domini Lome. Eivs 
 
 Sponsa, Anno Dom MCDXL." 
 
 Such is the inscription round the picture, but Douglas, in his " Peerage," calls 
 her Margaret, daughter of yohn, Lord of Lome, and wife to Sir Colin 
 Campbell. There never was a William, Lord of Lome. 
 
 A fine careful portrait of a stately lady in what looks like mourning 
 costume. She has marked features, and the aquiline nose is well modelled. 
 Over her reddish hair she wears a black velvet head dress. She also wears a 
 pearl necklace, and a suspended locket is gracefully held between her fingers. 
 Her dress is cut square across the breast, and is trimmed with insertion lace. 
 The picture is engraved in Pinkerton, 
 
 35. Margaret of Denmark, Regina Scotorum, wife of James III. 
 
 She ascended the Scottish Throne, in 1469, in her 13th year. 
 
 An attractive portrait, but with characteristics that render it a somewhat 
 doubtful Jamesone. The ^lid painting, especially for a lady's portrait ; the 
 pose, looking to the right ; and the colour, all suggest another hand. She 
 displays a broad fair bosom with square shoulders, round which is gracefully 
 thrown a richly brocaded cloak. Engraved in Pinkerton. 
 
I30 
 
 George Jamesone. 
 
 36. David II., Rex Scotorum. 
 
 This represents the King as about middle age, looking to the right. He wears 
 a dark velvet jewelled cap over a bushy head of hair. A short thick beard 
 rests on a highly ornamented dress, bordered with ermine. He holds in his 
 hand a medal suspended by a gold chain. This fine portrait is engraved by 
 Pinkerton, who suspects that Jamesone had some ancient limning before him 
 when he painted it. He thinks that being an antiquary, possessing collec- 
 tions of medals and coins, the authenticity of his ancient portraits is 
 strengthened. There can be little doubt, however, if through them we seek 
 to find 
 
 they are comparatively valueless. < 
 
 These seven paintings are properly described as " fancy pictures," that is, 
 representations of persons long dead painted probably from living subjects. 
 Jamesone had some notable exemplars for this absurd practice. 
 
 37. Sir Robert Campbell. (1641.) 
 
 A fair complexioned middle-aged man, with flowing hair and peaked beard. It 
 has been much repainted, and Jamesone's thinnish painting has been quite 
 overlaid by colour much more solid. A replica (No. 40) of this gentleman, by 
 Jamesone, is set over one of the four doorways in the same apartment. 
 
 38. Sir John Campbell. (1642.) 
 
 This is a genuine, untouched Jamesone. The colour is good, and the pose and 
 general treatment characteristic of the artist. The kenmark of this picture is 
 a purple jerkin partly covered by an ample linen collar. Another portrait 
 (No. 41) of Sir John, by Jamesone, on panel in a floriated frame-work, is let 
 into the wall over one of the doorways in the same apartment. Engraved in 
 Pinkerton. 
 
 39. Archibald, Lord of Lome. 
 
 This is a genuine, untouched work of Jamesone's, and represents a man in 
 
 picture. Probably the idea that it could not be improved has protected it 
 from the restorer. 
 
 " How far our [Scottish] portraiture 
 Illustrates [Scottish] history," 
 
 middle life, with a tangled mass of dark hair fringed down his brow and 
 flowing over an enormous linen collar. It is a stiff uncomfortable looking 
 
Catalogue of his Works. 
 
 In the splendid Baron's Hall, where the whole of Jamesone's portraits are hung, 
 the following eight, arranged in pairs, are set over the four doorways. They 
 are on panels and surrounded by floriated, carved, and gilt framework. As 
 they have been all subjected to restoration they do not all merit minute 
 description : — 
 
 40. Sir Robert Campbell. (1641.) 
 
 An old man with fair, flowing hair. (See No. 37.) 
 
 41. Sir John Campbell. (1642.) 
 
 A youngish man dressed in a red jerkin. (See No. 38.) 
 
 42. William Graham, 7th Earl of Menteith, Stratheam, and Airth, 
 
 (1637.) 
 
 An excellent specimen, notwithstanding its having been to a certain extent 
 restored. It is engraved in Pinkerton, and represents the Earl as an oldish 
 man with a face full of character. 
 
 It has a place at Taymouth because the remarkable subject of it was 
 by his mother connected with the Campbells of Glenurchy. She was Mary, 
 the daughter of Sir Colin. The Earl took a prominent part in State service, 
 being a Privy Councillor, Justice-General of Scotland, and President of the 
 Council under Charles I. Tracing back his pedigree, the Earl fancied him- 
 self to have a possible claim to the Crown. This, however, he solemnly 
 renounced, although with vanity declaring his blood to be the reddest in 
 Scotland. 
 
 The bare suggestion that he was "sib to the King" raised such a public 
 ferment and a prejudice in the mind of Charles that he quashed the titles of 
 Stratheam and Menteith and bestowed the meaner and more obscure one of 
 Earl of Airth. He was driven from office and, it is said, imprisoned besides. 
 
 43. John, Lord Neper. (1637.) 
 
 A fine specimen, but little handled. He wears a beautiful lace collar, and the 
 whole expression of the picture is attractive. The subject of it was the son 
 of the great Napier, the inventor of logarithms. 
 
 These two pairs of portraits flank the great window. The following two 
 pairs are at the opposite end of the hall : — 
 
 44.. Anne Cunningham, Marchioness of Hamilton. 
 
 She was the daughter of James, 7th Earl of Glencairn, and wife of James, 2nd 
 Marquis of Hamilton. She was a lady of a very masculine spirit, and, sprung 
 from a family of strong Presbyterian leanings, she ranged herself with the 
 
 17 
 
132 
 
 George Jamesone. 
 
 Covenanters and gave them a powerful support. Her husband's early death 
 threw her largely on her own resources and gave her prominence. Both her 
 sons joined the Royal interest, and when James, the eldest, entered the 
 Forth, in 1639, with a fleet intended to overawe the Covenanters, "she 
 appeared among them on the shore at the head of a company of horse, 
 and drawing a pistol from her saddle bow declared she would be the first to 
 shoot her son should he presume to land and attack his countrymen and 
 country." This spirited conduct of this mother in Israel is supposed to have 
 been one cause why the Duke did not land. 
 
 The portrait answers precisely to the masculine character of the 
 Marchioness, even to a soupi^on of a moustache. Her dress is severely plain 
 and her head is enveloped in an ample hood, whilst a man's ruff surrounds 
 the neck. The picture was painted in 1636, and is engraved in Pinkerton. 
 
 4$. James, 2nd Marquis of Hamilton. (1636.) 
 
 A bearded middle-aged man, with a blue ribbon. In every respect a doubtful 
 picture. It is not suggestive of Jamesone's work. The Marquis died in 1625, 
 and the picture must have been by another hand at some prior date. If it is 
 a restored Jamesone, originally painted in 1636, then the picture is more 
 probably of the third Marquis, afterwards the first Duke of Hamilton. 
 
 46. Chancellor Loudon. "Lord of Lowden 1637." 
 
 This portrait is engraved in Pinkerton. It has been considerably tampered with. 
 Loudon took an active interest in public affairs, and is said to have been the 
 most eloquent man of his time. 
 
 47. John, Earl of Mar. (1637.) 
 
 An interesting picture. He is habited in a fine rich collar, and the blue ribbon 
 of Councillor of State and Treasurer. His public career is too well known to 
 need comment. 
 
 48. The Genealogical Tree of the House of Glenorchy. 
 
 This is a very interesting piece of work, and has lately been put into the most 
 perfect state of repair and relined. It is about 5 ft. in height and about 2\ ft. 
 broad. It is very elaborately and carefully painted. The tree is stiff enough, 
 and bears about 1 50 discs, which give a record of the family history. There 
 are, at the foot, nine medallion portraits — rather primitive— including 
 Archibald, ist Lord of Argyll. 
 
 The picture is inscribed, " The Genealogie of the house of Glenorquhie 
 
Catalogue of his Works. 
 
 133 
 
 quhairof is descendid Sundrie Nobill houses." J635 Qjame/one /aciebat. 
 This date proves the work to be one of Jamesone's very earliest efforts at Tay- 
 mouth, for his other portraits are mostly dated from 1636 to 1642. 
 
 THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF BUCHAN, ALMONDELL. 
 
 49. James Erskine, ist Earl of Buchan, son of the Lord Treasurer 
 
 Mar. ■jy-^T.- 
 An undoubted work of Jamesone's, dated 1636. It is rather stiff, and Lacks 
 expression. The hair is combed down over his brows, and is long and 
 flowing behind. He wears a grey dress, surmounted by a very rich lace 
 collar, such as Jamesone delighted to paint. The picture is engraved in 
 Smith's " Iconographia Scotica." It was originally one of theTaymouth set, 
 but was considerately presented by Lord Breadalbane to Lord Buchan, the 
 founder of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, and the first to take any 
 real interest in Jamesone's paintings. 
 
 The Earl of Buchan was the eldest son of John, 7th Earl of Mar 
 (Treasurer Mar), by his second wife, Lady Mary Stewart. 
 
 He married Mary Douglas, Countess of Buchan, and thereupon assumed 
 the Earldom of Buchan, on the resignation of which, she being under age, a 
 Royal charter was granted (161 7) of the lands forming the Earldom of 
 Buchan. This charter was taken to the Countess and her husband, the said 
 James. 
 
 50. Henry Erskine, ist Lord Cardross of Dryburgh, the second son 
 
 of the Treasurer Mar. (D. 1636.) 
 This picture is a characteristic Jamesone, and presents a man of strongly- 
 marked features, high forehead, and altogether a Shakespearian cast of 
 head and face, with a very pleasing expression, peaked beard, stiff linen 
 collar, over a black dress which is striped with brocaded silk. In 
 Pinkerton's " Scottish Gallery of Portraits" there is a fine engraving of it. It 
 was painted in 1626. 
 
 Lord Cardross was the companion and bedfellow of Henry, Prince of 
 Wales. 
 
 51. David Erskine, 2nd Lord Cardross. 
 
 A full faced man, with long black hair to his shoulders, and combed down over 
 his brows. The picture is in good preservation, and, like the former two, 
 does not appear to have been tampered with. 
 
 This nobleman's first wife was a daughter of Sir Thomas Hope. 
 
134 
 
 George yamesone. 
 
 52. Sir Alexander Erskine. 
 
 A full-length mail-clad figure, which the author has not seen. The picture 
 was painted in 1638, and was removed from Almondell to his lordship's 
 London residence two years ago. 
 
 MR. JOHN BULLOCH, ABERDEEN. 
 
 53. Stewart, of Hisleside. 
 
 A capital example of Jamesone's. It is the likeness of a youth, probably under 
 20. He wears a crimson coat or jacket, with a carefully-painted right hand 
 extended over the breast. He holds his gold-laced hat in his left. In the 
 upper right corner the picture is inscribed — " Stewart of Hisleside," and in 
 the lower left — " Jamesone Pinxt." The picture is in fine preservation, and, 
 excepting the fingers of the right hand, which have been slightly painted on, 
 the rest happily is untouched. It is in its original frame, a double-gilt 
 muller. It was purchased at an auction sale at Edinburgh, in 1883, by 
 D. Bennett Clark, Esq., who, on going abroad, sold it to the author. 
 
 Although it has been found impossible to trace the descent of the picture, 
 its historic authenticity is well proved. The estate of Hiselsyde is one of the 
 earliest minor holdings in the parish of Douglas, in Lanarkshire, and is to be 
 found under various aliases — Hazleside, Heisleside, Hezilside, Hessilsyde, 
 Heyslesyde. The earliest known possessors of the lands were the all- 
 powerful family of the Douglases, who bestowed them, according to Blind 
 Harry, on one Dickson, who had rendered assistance to Sir William Douglas 
 and Wallace in some of their efforts to oust an English garrison from a castle 
 in the district. This family remained in it, and apparently changed their 
 name to that of the Barony of Symonton, which they possessed ; and, in 1605, 
 are spoken of as custodiers of the Castle of Douglas, the Castle Dangerous of 
 Sir Walter Scott's romance, in which there is a reference to Hazelside, both 
 in the introduction and in the body of the romance. 
 
 The Stewarts appear to have become lairds of Hiselsyde early in the 
 seventeenth century. On the 2nd June, 1647, William Stewart, in all pro- 
 bability the subject of the picture, is retoured as his father's heir — " haeres 
 Archibaldi Stewart de Hissilsyde, patris,— in terris et baronia de Symontoun 
 tam propriete quam tenendris cum advocatione ecclesiarum." In 1674, 
 Griselda Stewart, William's daughter, is retoured as his heir. Subsequent 
 retours find the lands merging, in 1702, into the hands of the Douglases. 
 The Stewarts do not appear in any conspicuous capacity, but as a county 
 family in possession of their estate, which had a "good house and pleasant 
 seat by a wood." The farm of Mains of Hazelside is the modern repre- 
 sentative of the property. 
 
Catalogue of his Works. 
 
 SIR ROBERT BURNETT, CRATHES CASTLE, 
 KINCARDINESHIRE. 
 
 54. Sir Thomas Burnett, created ist Baronet of Leys by Charles 
 
 II., in 1626. 
 
 A very fine portrait of this old gentleman on panel. He wears a black velvet 
 skull cap and a stiff ruff He has a rounded beard and moustache. The 
 features are well moulded, and age has mellowed the whole picture, which 
 hangs over the great fireplace in the vaulted dining hall, at the hospitable 
 table at which he so long presided. The fine, old, many-gabled Castle of 
 Crathes was a rendezvous of the Presbyterian party, and here, in his Cove- 
 nanting days, came the great Montrose and many other notables on the same 
 side. Sir Thomas looks a man between sixty and seventy, painted in a solid, 
 careful manner, and is probably the first done of the Burnett group, which 
 are the very oldest pictures of this very ancient family. 
 
 Jamesone painted another portrait of this worthy man, in 1624, when he 
 was plain Mr. Thomas Burnett, of Leys. (See No. 18.) 
 
 55. A Family Portrait. A son of Sir Thomas Burnett, ist Baronet 
 
 of Leys. 
 
 A perfect specimen of Janiesone's work on panel, painted with very great care, 
 representing a man of perhaps twenty-five, with long auburn hair, moustache, 
 and peaked beard. There is rather more than usual of the amber-coloured 
 medium which Jamesone used in his shades. A large Vandycked collar, 
 with lace edging, surrounds the youth's unusually sloped shoulders. 
 
 56. A Family Portrait. A son of Sir Thomas Burnett, ist Baronet 
 
 of Leys. 
 
 A youngish man of about 23, on panel. He has a profusion of long black 
 hair, with slight moustaches, and has a pleased expression. The plain linen 
 collar and dark dress bespeak Covenanting proclivities. Of all the five 
 pictures at Crathes this is the only one that suggests having been tampered 
 with, but, happily, it is only a suggestion, and is insufficient to raise any 
 serious doubt as to the genuineness of the picture. 
 
 57. A Family Portrait. A daughter of Sir Thomas Burnett, ist 
 
 Baronet of Leys. 
 
 A most characteristic Jamesone, on panel, almost as fresh as it came from the 
 painter's easel. She is habited in a suit of deep mourning — a black stuff 
 dress, the shoulders, breast, and neck being covered, chemoisette fashion, 
 
136 
 
 George y amesone. 
 
 with fold upon fold of an ample, plain-hemmed linen or white crape collar, 
 apparently tied with three black ribbons of different sizes. A little back 
 from the brows the hair is confined by a black band, but otherwise it flows 
 loosely down her neck and shoulders. 
 
 58. Janet Burnett, daughter of Sir Alexander Burnett, of Leys. 
 
 A stately lady, looking to the right. The picture has been much painted over, 
 so as to greatly impair the characteristic colouring of Jamesone. She is 
 richly attired in a low-bodied blue silk, probably bridal dress, trimmed with 
 red bands and bow knots, whilst a broad border of Vandycked lace environs 
 the bosom. It is on panel. A replica, vis-a-vis, with her husband, Alex- 
 ander Skene, isth laird of that ilk, is at Duff House. (See Nos. 81 and 82^. 
 
 P. MOIR BYRES, ESQ., OF TONLEY. 
 
 59. Sandilands, of Coates, near Edinburgh. 
 
 A v6ry fine picture, representing Mr. Sandilands as an old man of at least 
 seventy, in a skull cap, trimmed with lace. He has a moustache and long 
 grey beard, which falls on an ample fluted collar. The portrait has been 
 touched in a very slight manner, but in no way to injure its original feeling. 
 The worst that has befallen it is successive films of copal varnish by which 
 the canvas has been rendered as hard as a panel. It was not uncommon 
 when a mansion was under the hands of a house-painter to give the family 
 pictures a coat of varnish, pour les encourager. 
 
 60. Sir John Byres, of Coates, East Lothian. 
 
 An excellent portrait of a man in middle life, quite characteristic of the artist. 
 A heavy mass of curly hair, cut in the fashion betokening the Cavalier, that 
 is, with the right side cut shorter than the left. The eyes are dreamy and 
 almond-shaped, and the face, as a whole, is grave, with Charles I. beard and 
 moustache. An ample fluted collar surrounds the shoulders. The dress is 
 of rich stuff, with slashed sleeves and trimmed with fine lace. He is an 
 ancestor of the family. 
 
 THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF CRAWFORD AND BALCARRES, 
 HAIGH HALL, WIGAN. 
 
 61. Sir David Lindsay, ist Lord Lindsay of Balcarres. 
 
 This nobleman was one of the group raised to the peerage by Charles I. 
 during his memorable visit to Scotland in 1633. He died in 1641. 
 
Catalogue of his Works. 
 
 137 
 
 62. Alexander, 2nd Lord Lindsay of Balcarres. 
 
 It was probably as such that Jamesone painted the portrait of this nobleman, 
 who was advanced to the Earldom of Balcarres in 165 1. He died in 1659. 
 Lending his undoubted abilities to the Royal interests, he was honoured in 
 being trusted with many high offices of State, as, for example. Governor of 
 Edinburgh Castle, Secretary of State, and Commissioner to the General 
 Assembly. 
 
 63. Sir Alexander Lindsay, ist Lord Spynie. 
 
 He was the fourth son of David, 9th Earl of Crawford, and was raised to the 
 
 peerage by James VL " Spynie " took an active share in the movements of ^ ^ ( A 5 ^ I ' } 
 his day. He was present at the battle of Aberdeen, and, tarrying behind _ * \ ^ ^ 
 
 Montrose, to whose army he was attached, he was captured and imprisoned Ixw^ L#y^ 
 in the tolbooth, and afterwards conveyed to Edinburgh. 
 
 The portrait of this interesting person was, until a few years ago, the 
 property of the Stewarts and Drummonds of Grandtully, from whom it was 
 
 acquired by the late Earl of Crawford to complete his family gallery. ? zu/- 4P>>vm 
 
 SIR JAMES HENRY GIBSON-CRAIG, OF RICCARTON, BARONET. 
 
 64. Sir Archibald Johnston, Lord Warriston. 
 
 This picture presents a well-modelled, massive head, set in Jamesone's charac- 
 teristic manner. Johnston wears a black velvet skull cap, under which, on 
 either side of the face, flows a profusion of flaxen hair. He has a short neck, 
 and is apparently a man of a portly build. An ample, plain linen collar 
 surrounds his shoulders. 
 
 Johnston was an eminent lawyer, and a central figure among his con- 
 temporaries, and was deeply engaged on the side of the Covenanting party, 
 with whom he had great influence, although ostensibly their servant in his 
 capacity of Clerk of the General Assembly, a post to which he was unani- 
 mously elected in 1638. Baillie has a high opinion of Johnston, and speaks 
 of him as a "nonsuch for a clerk." On the death of Sir Thomas Hope, 
 Johnston succeeded him as Lord- Advocate. Johnston's career is too well 
 known to need dwelling on here. At the final success of the Parliamentary 
 party, Cromwell conferred a peerage on him, giving him a seat in the Upper 
 House. At Cromwell's death, the mere consistency of Johnston's political 
 principles did not save him. He fled, was outlawed, and finally brought to 
 the scaffold, in 1663. Bishop Burnet, whose uncle he was, gives, on the 
 whole, a discriminating view of this extraordinary man, 
 
138 
 
 George yamesone. 
 
 LORD CLINTON, FETTERCAIRN HOUSE, KINCARDINESHIRE. 
 
 65. Alexander Forbes, ist Lord Pitsligo. 
 
 Lord Pitsligo was raised to the peerage in 1633, and was married to Lady Jane 
 Keith, daughter of the Earl Marischal. 
 
 SIR R. K. A. DICK-CUNYNGHAM, PRESTONFIELD, 
 EDINBURGH. 
 
 66. Sir William Dick, Baronet, (i 590-1655.) 
 
 Represents an oldish man in a lace-trimmed cap. He is habited in a scarlet 
 robe, with a ruff. The picture has been ruined by being wholly repainted. 
 
 Sir William was a wealthy Edinburgh banker, who from time to time 
 replenished the Royal Exchequers of James VI. and Charles I. on the 
 security of the State revenues. From the latter he derived the honour of 
 knighthood, evidently intended as a repayment of the sums borrowed, of 
 which he got but a sorry account. He was Provost of Edinburgh, but from 
 the loss of his money, imprisonment, and fines for his supposed disloyalty, 
 he lost status, and ultimately died in prison at Westminster in absolute 
 poverty. 
 
 MAJOR GORDON DUFF, OF PARK AND DRUMMUIR, 
 BANFFSHIRE. 
 
 67. Sir Adam Gordon, of Park. 
 
 Second son of Gordon of Edinglassie. He was married first to Christian 
 Gordon, daughter of Gordon of Gicht, and afterwards to Helen Tyrie, 
 daughter of the Laird of Drumkelloc. 
 
 68. Lady Gordon, wife of Sir Adam Gordon. 
 
 These two pictures are undoubted and characteristic examples of Jamesone's, 
 but too long time has elapsed since the author saw them to warrant any 
 jiescriptioii here. 
 
 ROBERT DUNDA.S, ESQ,, OF ARNISTON. 
 
 69. Sir James Dundas, Lord Arniston. (d. 1679.) 
 
 Although restored, this picture retains much of the feeling of Jamesone. The 
 pose is very dignified. He is in armour, and a broad-fringed sash is thrown 
 across the right shoulder. Long dcirk hair falls on the usual scalloped lace 
 collar. 
 
Catalogue of his Works. 
 
 139 
 
 The Dundases of Arniston have produced several notable members, and 
 not the least was the subject of this portrait. His father was Sir James 
 Dundas, Kt., Governor of Berwick. He sat for Midlothian in the Scottish 
 Parliament, and was for a short time Lord of Session. He was knighted in 
 1641, a proof of his loyalty to the King. On the question of ecclesiastical 
 polity he sided with the Covenanters in their resistance to Laud's tyranny. 
 This induced him to resign his position rather than compromise his con- 
 sistency. His place was kept open for him for eighteen months in the vain 
 hope that he would abjure the Covenant. But on this point he remained 
 firm. 
 
 CHARLES C. BETHUNE, ESQ., OF BALFOUR. 
 70. David Beaton, of Balfour. (1574- 1636.) 
 
 Inscribed, " D.B. Anno 1636 yEtatis 62." It is easy to believe this picture to have 
 been originally painted by Jamesone, but it has been so painted over since, 
 that except in the drawing and general style it has totally lost Jamesone's 
 peculiar handling. The portrait is that of a full-faced country gentleman 
 with a grey moustache and beard. He wears a plain cap, stiff ruff, and his 
 dark doublet is marked by a series of still darker diagonal lines. 
 
 David Beaton (or Bethune) was a member of an influential Fife family, of 
 Creich and Balfour, who made, it is said, a greater number of matrimonial 
 alliances with the noble and more powerful families of the kingdom than 
 any other family. 
 
 SIR W. H. GIBSON CARMICHAEL, OF SKIRLING, BART., 
 CASTLE CRAIG, DOLPHINTON. 
 
 71. Sir Alexander Gibson, of Duric. (1570 .'-1644.) 
 
 This is not unlikely to have been by Jamesone or a copy from an original, but 
 from the circumstance that it has been wholly re-painted it is impossible 
 to tell. 
 
 Sir Alexander was a very eminent lawyer, and, in 1620, was elected a 
 Lord of Session as Lord Durie, and at length rose to be Lord President of 
 the College of Justice. He was considered an able and upright judge, and - 
 left behind him several legal works of value as a tribute to his industry. His 
 unflinching integrity once subjected him to an indignity characteristic of the 
 age when he lived. Traquair, who feared an adverse decision of his lordship 
 
140 
 
 George ya7nesone. 
 
 in a case in which he was interested, had him forcibly abducted and kept 
 in solitary imprisonnipnt for three months. During that period his friends 
 believed him to be dead and wore mournings for him. 
 
 the right hon. the earl of dalhousie, brechin castle. 
 72. Unknown Gentleman. 
 
 An undoubted Jamesone, but the picture has suffered some injury in having 
 been slightly restored. He has dark hair, moustache and chin beard, and 
 wears a plain linen collar of a dark doublet. 
 
 LORD ELPHINSTONE, CARBERRY TOWER. 
 
 73. The Earl OF WiGTON. (i 589-1650.) 
 
 A three-quarter-length portrait, inscribed " John, 2nd Earl of Wigton NA. 1589 
 OB 1650 .(Etatis SVE 62." A very graceful picture, a companion to the 
 Countess, and very probably painted at the same time, showing a man 
 approaching forty years of age. He is dressed in a snuff-brown suit. His 
 attitude is easy and graceful. In one hand he holds a glove, and in the 
 other his hat. From his left ear depends an ear-ring, with a red drop resting 
 on the white ruff. The hands are well drawn, and the whole work done in 
 an unusually elaborate manner. The Jamesone tone has been somewhat 
 lost in the course of preserving processes, and there is some reason to 
 doubt its genuineness. 
 
 The Earl of Wigton took an active share in public affairs. In 1640 he 
 was a member of the Committee of Estates, and, in 1641, was appointed a 
 Privy Councillor by Parliament. Nevertheless he entered heartily into the 
 Association to support the cause of Charles I., framed at his house of 
 Cumbernauld, in January of the latter year. 
 
 74. The Countess of Wigton. (b. 1595.) 
 
 This is a three-quarter-length or knee portrait, and is inscribed "LadyM. 
 Livingston 2nd Countess of Wigton NA. 1595 OB vEtatis SVE 30. 
 
 1625." The lady is represented in an elaborate dress and with a nimbus of 
 lace, against which a delicately-painted face and bosom makes a very fine 
 headpiece to an otherwise stately figure. This large canvas has been very 
 carefully covered down to the minutest details, and is altogether such a 
 picture as to make one hesitate to say that it is not a Vandyck. 
 
Catalogue of his Works. 
 
 141 
 
 MRS. ERRINGTON, MERRYOAK, SOUTHAMPTON. 
 
 75. Thomas Forbes, of Waterton — on a panel 19I in. by \6\ in. 
 
 The sitter is presented in a very dignified and graceful attitude, with long hair 
 and moustache. He is attired in a picturesque, dark red coat, with white 
 slashings, handsome fluted collar, edged with lace. 
 
 This gentleman was a son of Forbes, of Tolquhon, and the tragedy 
 attending his death is well known. He was killed in a fray with the 
 Kennedys of Kermucks. Their estates lying in the neighbourhood of Ellon 
 marched, and in a dispute as to boundaries they met and fought in February, 
 1652. The Sheriff-Clerk had his arm broken, a servant of Forbes' was shot, 
 and Mr. Forbes wounded in the head. He languished till June, when death 
 ended his deep sufferings. A criminal process against the Kennedys led to 
 their flight, forfeiture, and outlawry. 
 
 the right hon. the earl of erroll, slains. 
 
 76. An Unknown Lady. 
 
 This is an undoubted and untouched specimen. The lady is somewhat hard- 
 featured, with a low brow, having her light hair combed backward, under a 
 binder at the back. She wears a pearl necklace. The dress is low-bodied, 
 and trimmed with a handsome lace, which tells well on the black fabric 
 underneath. 
 
 77. An Unknown Lady. 
 
 Another undoubted and untouched specimen. It represents a young, hand- 
 some, oval face, with fine open brow, and large expressive eyes. Yellowish 
 hair falls to her shoulders. Her ear-ring is literally a ring suspended by a 
 minute chain from the ear. Her shoulders slope gracefully, and they are 
 enveloped to her throat in a fine linen collar trimmed with a double row of 
 beautifully delicate lace. 
 
 These ladies are probably members of the household of Earl Francis, 
 who, with the other Popish Lords, Huntly and Angus, gave King James so 
 much trouble. The Earl had had three wives and eight daughters, and died 
 , in 1631. 
 
 THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF FIFE, DUFF HOUSE. 
 
 78. Adam (.?) Duff, of Muldavit. 
 
 A bust of one of the ancestors of the fajiiily encompassed by an oval. A pale- 
 faced man of 30 years, with expressive eyes looking askance. He wears a 
 
142 
 
 George 'ya77iesone. 
 
 id 
 
 IJ^^ir^lxf ((06) 
 
 bright blue sash across his right shoulder. The sash is much better draped 
 than Jamesone was accustomed to do. Indeed the work has been renewed, 
 thereby greatly nterfering with its authenticity. A shield of armorial 
 bearings occupies the left corner. 
 
 It' 79. John Dup^f. ("^tatis25 — 1640.") 
 
 This is a very fine and undoubted sample of Jamesone's, notwithstanding that it 
 Fvfl^ttv llfM Sfiit ^ has been evidently repaired. Raeburn's manner is suggested in the treat- 
 
 ^ 1^ |fl j^'y* f ( mcnt of this subject, but whether the association of ideas is due to Jamesone's 
 
 Ifi I ^ / treatment of the picture, or (is it possible ?) to Raeburn's treatment of Jame- 
 
 sone, will not be easy to determine. This gentleman is distinguished by a 
 ' white satin dress, Cromwellian collar, and embroidered belt. 
 
 l^ 80. Mrs. Duff, of Muldavit. (1643.) 
 
 ' This is a companion picture to the last, and although the restorer has been at 
 
 work the spirit of Jamesone has not been lost. The lady is the wife of John 
 Duff, whom she faces by looking to the right. She is remarkable for her long 
 swan-like neck. Her dress is of blue, watered silk, and altogether one has 
 little hesitation in accepting the portrait as one of the Jamesone gallery. 
 
 81. Alexander Skene, 15th Laird of Skene. 
 
 An undoubted, untouched Jamesone. Its immunity from mis-named restoration 
 is probably due to the fact that, until the other year, it has been in Skene 
 House, where "a little wholesome neglect" has saved it. The subject is a 
 fine-looking man, about fifty, with a high forehead and peaked beard. He 
 wears the customary linen collar with a deep Vandycked lace edging, an 
 embroidered sash under it crosses the right shoulder, displaying the right arm 
 in armour. 
 
 82. Janet Burnett, wife of Alexander Skene, the last mentioned, 
 and daughter of Sir Alexander Burnett, of Leys. 
 
 A thinly painted characteristic Jamesone, with the surpassing merit of not having 
 been " improved" in any way. The pose is from left to right, and the head 
 is well set on an ample bust. She is attired in a blue dress trimmed with 
 red bows, and the display of lace over the shoulders and on the breast is 
 magnificent. Replica of No. 58. 
 
 83 and 84. John Duff, of Muldavit, and his Sister. 
 
 These are on one canvas, the boy on the right hand, about 10 or 12 years old, 
 and the girl on the left, about 1 5. They are hand in hand and exhibit much 
 naturalness of maimer, are painted in Jamesone's most careful style, 
 
Catalogue of his Works. 
 
 143 
 
 and fortunately have been left untampered with. The sleeves of the girl's 
 dress are nicely puffed. The simplicity of childhood has been very happily 
 caught, and altogether the picture is most charming. 
 
 The picture came from the collection of the Bairds, of Auchmeddan, into 
 which family IVIiss Duff married. 
 
 85. Viscountess Falkland. 
 
 An interesting picture. The lady wears a graceful, broad-brimmed hat. Her 
 dress exhibits puffed and slashed sleeves, and is trimmed with black rosettes. 
 There is an ample lace collar. It is difficult to make out the date, but it is 
 1623 or 1628, probably the latter. This fine picture has evidently been much 
 repainted, so that the work of the original artist is obliterated. It is a 
 doubtful Jamesone. The lady was probably the first Viscountess. 
 
 86. An Unknown Gentleman. 
 
 This is probably one of the Skene Family, as the picture is one of the set which 
 came from Skene House. It is the portrait of a youngish man, with his 
 hair falling to the shoulders and fringed across his brows. A huge lace 
 Vandycked collar is stretched over his breast from shoulder to shoulder. A 
 genuine Jamesone, sweet and charming in its simplicity of treatment. 
 
 COLONEL FRASER, OF CASTLE ERASER. 
 
 87. Andrew Fraser, of Muckills (the former name of Castle Fraser). 
 
 During "The Trubles" Fraser was of the Covenanting party, and, as a country 
 laird of some importance, figured in the vicissitudes of the contending 
 factions. 
 
 88. Mrs. Fraser, wife of Andrew Fraser, Laird of Muckills. 
 She was daughter to Robert Douglas, Earl of Buchan. 
 
 ALEXANDER GORDON, ESQ., OF PARKHILL. 
 
 89. Robert Gordon, of Straloch. (See No. 20.) 
 
 In excellent condition, although one of the pretty numerous class of north 
 country pictures that passed through the hands of Mr. Giles. The face has 
 been very slightly repainted and the lace collar wholly so. The open hand 
 extended across the breast is painted in a superior manner. Two coats of 
 
George Jamesone. 
 
 arms, surmounted by a ribbon and motto, are represented in the upper left 
 corner. One shield bears a saltier with a crown in the centre, and the other, 
 suspended from it, has the Gordon arms, three boars' heads. An excellent 
 engraving of this picture occurs in "Chambers's Lives of Eminent Scotsmen." 
 
 THE TRUSTEES OF THE LATE BARRON GRAHAME, ESQ., OF 
 MORPHIE, AT DUNBOG HOUSE, FIFE. 
 
 90. Sir Robert Grahame, of Morphie. 
 
 The picture is of the usual nearly-square size, 26 by 23 inches. Sir Robert's 
 portrait is without date or signature. He is dressed in a black doublet, with 
 frill or ruff round his neck. 
 
 Sir Robert Grahame figured prominently in the Covenanting times. He 
 was married to Euphemia Carnegie, sister to the ist Earl of Southesk, who 
 was, therefore, aunt to the wife of the great Montrose. It is conjectured 
 that this portrait had been executed about the same time as that of the Earl 
 of Montrose, to whom he acted as a guardian, namely, in 1629. Sir Robert 
 took the Covenanting side of the questions of his day, and played a very 
 important part in them. 
 
 SIR FRANCIS GRANT, OF MONYMUSK, BART. 
 
 91. Reverend JOHN LIVINGSTON. (1603-1672.) 
 
 A very fine head, but the peculiar modelling of the features renders it a some- 
 what doubtful Jamesone. If originally his, it has been largely repainted by a 
 modern, distinctive hand, who has also inscribed the picture, " Mr. lohn 
 Livingstone Person of Ancrum." He wears the divine's skull cap, and in his 
 left hand holds a small book. 
 
 Livingston was a cadet of the noble family of the Lords Livingston. 
 His father was a minister at Kilsyth, where young Livingston was born. 
 After some dubiety he chose the ministry as a profession, in which, although 
 of an unusually retiring disposition, he became the Whitfield of his day. One 
 of his earliest engagements was that of private chaplain to the godly Earl and 
 Countess of Wigton (Nos. 73 and 74). He preached with extraordinary 
 fervour, and was, at this period, the instrument of the famous revival at 
 Shotts. On ecclesiastical matters he felt keenly, and was too outspoken to 
 pass un-noticed. Finding but little encouragement to settle at home, he 
 
Catalogue of his Works. 
 
 145 
 
 went to Antrim for some years, and all through his life sustained a 
 sympathy with the Irish people. The course of events shortly enabled such 
 ultra-Presbyterians as himself to open their mouths more freely, and he ac- 
 cordingly returned home, and by his splendid oratorical talents and spiritual 
 gifts became a power in promoting the objects of the Covenanting party. He 
 became minister of Stranraer, was a member of the General Assembly of 
 1638, and, in 1640, was attached to the army. It was not till 1648 that he 
 went to Ancrum, and if it was as the minister of Ancrum that this portrait 
 was painted (and the portrait is that of a man of fifty), then, of course, it is 
 not the work of Jamesone at all. In 1650, Livingston was one of the group 
 who negotiated with Charles at the Hague, and perhaps the only one who 
 saw that historic episode in its hollow and farcical light. After the Restora- 
 tion he fell under the displeasure of the Government, and was obliged once 
 more to leave his native land. This time he went to the Continent, and died 
 at Rotterdam in 1672. 
 
 SIR PETER ARTHUR HALKETT, OF PITFIRRANE, BART., 
 12 ROTHESAY PLACE, EDINBURGH. 
 
 92. William Drummond, of Hawthornden. 
 
 This may be considered a favourable example of Jamesone's. The poet is repre- 
 
 sented as a man of at least 35, of a sallow complexion, but with an easy ^l\L \ '^"^ * 
 
 expressiveness, making a very pleasant picture. The silky hair of the head 
 and beard has been carefully done, and the poet holds a book in his right 
 hand. There is a very traceable likeness between this and the other portraits ^ i^^tJi^' 
 of Drummond. 
 
 Was it Jamesone that Drummond had in view as he penned the 
 following eulogy : — 
 
 " Ye who so curiously do paint your thoughts, 
 Enlightening every line in such a guise 
 That they seem rather to have fallen from the skies' 
 Than of a human hand by mortal draughts." 
 
 93. Portrait (Unknown). ' . : \ vr { 
 
 This is the likeness of a nian in middle age, with the moustache and peaked 
 beard of the period. He wears the customary collar, and the work bears 
 ample trace of Jamesone's hand. It is a bust portrait, and is somewhat hard 
 in treatment. \\-tiJu^ 1 4»^l. <'u ,- 4. Li«^«v*C t'^^^<. t 
 
146 
 
 George Jamesone. 
 
 THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF HOPETOUN, HOPETOUN HOUSE, 
 SOUTH QUEENSFERRY. 
 
 94. Sir Thomas Hope, Lord Craighall, Lord Advocate. 
 
 In a scarlet robe, fur-lined, and in a dark wig. It is so completely repainted 
 that not a suggestion of Jamesone is left but the pose, and it therefore pre- 
 sents a sad example of the I'estorer's art. 
 
 95. Sir James Hope, son of No. 94. 
 
 He is attired in the robes of a Lord of Session, but the picture, whilst retaining 
 a suggestion of Jamesone, has been completely ruined by being re-painted. 
 
 96. Countess of Haddington. 
 
 This picture has not hitherto been attributed to Jamesone, but, although a 
 slightly doubtful case, is not within the forbidden degrees. Except the 
 direction of the head (looking to the right), the drawing and colour are 
 thoroughly after Jamesone's manner. She has a fine head of brown hair, 
 which falls on her bare shoulders. Her fair skin is otherwise relieved by a 
 necklace. 
 
 She is the celebrated and beautiful Henrietta de Coligny, great grand- 
 daughter of the celebrated Admiral Coligny, and Countess of the 3rd Earl of 
 Haddington, who died in his minority, in 1645. The Countess afterwards 
 married a Huguenot nobleman, from whom she got herself separated, and 
 turned Catholic in order, it was said, that she might never see him in this 
 world or the next. 
 
 THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF HADDINGTON, 
 TYNINGHAME HOUSE, PRESTONKIRK. 
 
 97. Family Group of Thomas Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Hadding- 
 ton, his Countess, and Children. 
 
 This is an oblong picture, about 3 ft. by 7.\ ft., forming a landscape group of 
 portraits. The Earl himself, surrounded by two boys and a girl, are grace- 
 fully grouped on the left beneath a spreading tree. The Countess, Lady 
 Catherine, a daughter of the Earl of Mar, is seated on the right, on a terrace, 
 with a child standing at her knee. A dwarfish page enters from the right 
 bearing a salver with fruit. The two groups are if anything rather detached 
 by the mtervening space which develops into a distant and attractive land- 
 scape. It is the introduction of this paysage that raises the only doubt as to 
 the genuineness of this interesting work. In this feature it is unique and 
 
CatalogtLe of his Works. 
 
 147 
 
 creditable, and may have been introduced in honour of the family, who 
 appreciated Jamesone and freely patronised him. 
 
 A certain tragic interest attaches to this portrait of the Earl. He was 
 governor of Dunglass Castle, in Berwickshire ; and, in August, 1640, was 
 there with a number of Covenanting chiefs when, by a sudden accident, the 
 gunpowder in the magazine on the ground-floor exploded and blew the castle 
 with all its inmates into the air. The Earl himself perished, along with his 
 two brothers, his brother-in-law, a son of the Earl of Mar ; Sir John and 
 Sir Alexander Hamilton, and several other gentlemen, besides about fifty- 
 four men and women servants. This sad event occurred within three 
 months after his second marriage with Lady Jean Gordon, daughter of the 
 1st Marquis of Huntly. 
 
 98. Lady Catherine Erskine, Lady Binning, afterwards Countess 
 
 of Haddington. 
 
 A thinly painted bust, statuesque in colour, with cherry lips. The portrait 
 betrays signs of having been quickly painted. 
 
 This lady was fourth daughter of the Earl of Mar, and wife of the 2nd 
 Earl of Haddington (No. 97), whom she predeceased. 
 
 99. Thomas Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Haddington. 
 
 A bust portrait. Good, and quite characteristic of the artist. 
 
 This youth M'as married to the beautiful Henrietta (No. 96), great grand- 
 daughter of " the good Coligny," and died in his minority when but a year in 
 the enjoyment of the earldom. 
 
 100. General Alexander Hamilton, (d. 1649.) 
 
 A carefully and solidly painted portrait. The artist's peculiar use of varnish to 
 blend his colours is favourably seen in this example — a luniinous, railier 
 reddish, effect being produced, without those hard lines which disfigure some 
 of Jamesone's reputed pictures. 
 
 The General was fifth and youngest son of Sir Thomas Hamilton, 
 Lord Priestfield, and brother to the ist Earl of Haddington. He was 
 a General of Artillery, and held a high command in the army sent to the 
 assistance of the King of Sweden, under the ist Duke of Hamilton, in 1631. 
 
 THE HON. R. BAILLIE HAMILTON, LANGTON HOUSE, DUNSE. 
 
 lOi. Thomas, Lord of Binning, (d. 1645.) 
 
 Inscribed, " Thomas Loird of Bining, 1636." A boy of fourteen, an excellent 
 specimen, very delicately painted. He is looking to the. right, a circumstance 
 
 19 
 
George jfamesone. 
 
 which indicates it to be probably a companion picture. His hair is of a 
 yellow tinge. The nose is, perhaps, rather aquiline for one so young. He is 
 attired in a buff jerkin, with slashed sleeves and trimmed with braid. Over 
 it is a rich lace collar. 
 
 This nobleman was son of the 2nd Earl of Haddington, and held this 
 title during his father's lifetime, at whose violent death he succeeded as 3rd 
 Earl of Haddington, at which time Jamesone again painted his likeness 
 CNo. 99). He died in his minority. 
 
 102. William, 6th Earl Marischal. (1636.) 
 
 A very fine characteristic specimen, in excellent preservation, that is, cleaned but 
 not restored. The whole treatment is simple to a degree. The face is pale ; 
 with moustache. The head is surrounded by a mass of lightish hair. A 
 large, plain linen collar completely covers the shoulders, and the close- 
 buttoned coat or doublet is unmarked by any ornament, as became the Cove- 
 nanting party, of which he was an active and distinguished member. He 
 was the son of George, the 5th Earl (No. 24), and married the lovely Lady 
 Mary Erskine, daughter of the Earl of Mar, whose beautiful portrait (No. 
 143) will be found in loco.' 
 
 103. John, 2nd Earl of Kinghorn. (d. 1647.) 
 
 This picture has suffered restoration, but not sufficiently to destroy Jamesone's 
 influence. It represents a fine-looking man in his prime. His hair is parted 
 in the middle, and flows gracefully to his shoulders. He wears a Charles I. 
 moustache and beard. A large linen collar, trimmed with a rich lace, rests 
 on his dress of dark material. The picture is dated 1637. 
 
 He is an ancestor of the Strathmore Family, and with the preceding 
 (Marischal), his brother-in-law, took rank as a conspicuous leader amongst 
 the Covenanters. He was married to Lady Margaret Erskine, third daughter 
 of the Earl of Mar. 
 
 104. John, Lord Leslie, (d. 1681.) 
 
 Represents a young boy of ten or twelve years of age, painted in that happy 
 manner in which Jamesone delineated young people. He has light blue eyes 
 and fair hair. He wears a round cap, ornamented with lace, a large, plain 
 linen collar, over a tunic with slashed sleeves. His waist is confined by an 
 ornamented band. 
 
 He must have been a member of the Rothes Family, probably he who 
 became the 6th Earl and Duke of Rothes. Unlike his father, he was a 
 staunch Royalist, and tilled in succession the highest offices of .State. 
 
 148 
 
Catalogue of his Works. 
 
 149 
 
 105. Lady MARGARET Douglas. 
 
 Inscribed, " Domina Margarata Douglas filia ANGVISIE Comitis ejus Sponsa . 
 MCDXCVI." This portrait has a hard outliney, not to say corpse-like appear- 
 ance. The lady wears a rounded hat with a veil flowing from either side of 
 it. She holds a book in her right hand. This is probably one of the pictures 
 " from fancy " painted for Sir Colin Campbell, at Taymouth, to which collec- 
 tion the whole of this series belonged. 
 
 106. Lady Mariotta Stewart. 
 
 Inscribed, " Domina Mariotta Stewart filia Roberti Comitis de Fyffe et Monteith 
 Ejus Sponsa MCDVI " [sic]. A good specimen, but probably a fancy portrait. 
 The features are well modelled, but corpse-like. The lady is stately, but 
 severe in expression. Fair hair. She wears a red bodice, with a blue scarf 
 thrown round her shoulders. 
 
 107. Lady Katherine Ruthven. 
 
 Inscribed, "Domina Katherina Ruthven filia Wilhelm II Domini Ruthven 
 Ejus Sponsa A.D. MDLXXXIII." Enclosed in a painted oval and looking to 
 the right. Dark hair, enclosed behind with a jewelled ceinture. Her features 
 are hard, with a very aquiline nose. A peculiar looking red bodice, bound 
 with a blue material, rises with a collar-like expanse, forming a background 
 to the neck and bare bosom. Her left hand extends across the breast. 
 Probably one of the " fancy " set, and, as so, historically worthless. 
 
 108. Lady Mariotta Stewart. 
 
 Inscribed, " Domina Marriotta Stewart filia de Joannis de Athol." A fair haired 
 lady looking to her right. She wears a graceful hat, displays an open bosom 
 with a pearl necklace, and her left hand extends across her breast. Although 
 the treatment of the whole is flattish, there is not wanting an expression of 
 repose and dignity. The picture is, on the whole, a desirable specimen. 
 
 SIR ARCHIBALD HOPE, PINKIE HOUSE, EDINBURGHSHIRE. 
 
 109. Sir John Hope, 2nd Baronet of Craighall. (d. 1655). 
 
 Massive head of dark hair, eyes, and eyebrows. Wears an easy smiling expres- 
 sion. Attired in a black dress, slashed with white, with a fluted linen collar. 
 
 Sir John was the eldest of fourteen children of his father. Sir Thomas 
 Hope. He, with two of his brothers, was a Lord of Session, under the title 
 of Lord Craighall. 
 
George yamesone. 
 
 \ no. Lady HorE, of Craighall, ncd Margaret Murray of Blackbarony, 
 
 and wife of Lord Hope, of Craighall (No. 109). 
 This lady was still young when painted by Jamesone, and must have been a 
 more patient sitter than her father-in-law, Sir Thomas Hope, for no haste is 
 betrayed in painting her elaborate attire. She has fair hair, slightly reddish ; 
 hazel eyes. Her collar is of transparent cambric, starched out on either side 
 of the bust. She wears a necklace of heart-shaped ornaments, pendant jewel 
 — crossbar and crescent, — pear-shaped pearl hanging by a string from her 
 right ear, besides the ear-ring. The dress is of a rich black, with gold- 
 brocade stripes, slashed in strips, with a crimson bow on the bosom. 
 
 Sir Thomas Hope affectionately laments this poor lady's death, under 
 date "3 October 1641 Sounday About 9 of nycht my dear dauchter D. M. 
 Murray spous to my sone Craighall deceissit in childbirth scho and the barne 
 in her womb. God in mercie pitie me and my children for it is a sore straik." 
 
 III. Lady Wemyss, the Honourable Jean Gray, daughter of the 7th 
 Lord Gray, married, in 1610, John, ist Lord Wemyss. 
 A stately lady, with rather marked features, fair hair frizzed out, stiff linen 
 collar, forming a sort of background to the neck and bust. She wears a 
 black dress slashed with white, a black bow in front. On her bosom is sus- 
 pended a coloured jewel. 
 
 THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF KINNOULL, DUPPLIN CASTLE. 
 
 112. Sir Thomas Nicolson. 
 
 Has been entirely repainted, with the necessary effect of at once discrediting the 
 likeness and the original artist, whose influence can only be faintly traced. It 
 is still a fine massive head of a man of sixty. The expansive brow, the large, 
 restful eyes, and the square jaw, indicate a povveiful man. He has on a small 
 black velvet skull cap, from which escapes a profusion of grey hair, imparting 
 a leonine aspect. 
 
 Sir Thomas was a native of Aberdeen, and the son of a plain burgess. 
 Receiving a University education, he entered the law and rose to high emi- 
 nence at the bar. He accompanied the Embassy which negotiated the 
 marriage of James VL with Anne of Denmark. From Sir Thomas are 
 descended the Nicolsons of Glenbervie and of Kemnay. 
 
 113. George Hay, ist Earl of Kinnoull. (d. 1634.) 
 
 This picture bears evident trace of Jamesone's hand, but it has been largely re- 
 painted. He wears a fine cap, richly ornamented with lace, and a common 
 
Catalogue of his Works. 
 
 ruff, over a plain doublet. It is a usual feature of these repainted portraits 
 that the dates of Jamesone's pictures are generally sacrificed by the restorer. 
 
 He was the youngest son of Peter Hay, and was appointed a Gentle- 
 man of the Bedchamber, and honoured with the dignity of knighthood (1598). 
 He was created Baron of Kinfauns and Viscount Dupplin, in 1627, and, in 
 1633, was created Earl of Kinnoull. He married Margaret, daughter of Sir 
 James Haliburton, of Pitcur. He died in 1634. 
 
 114. George, 2nd Earl of Kinnoull. 
 
 An interesting and curious picture of a youth of eighteen, inscribed, "^tatis 
 suce 18," in the upper right corner, and the arms of the Hays in the left, with 
 '•1632" beneath. This picture has received some very shameful treatment, 
 and is now not in good preservation. • The face has been worked on by a 
 rude novice, and much injured. The collar is the feature which is noticeable. 
 It stretches straight across the breast with scolloped edges and rounds the 
 back of the neck. 
 
 THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF KINTORE, KEITH-HALL, 
 ABERDEENSHIRE. 
 
 115. Sir John Stewart, ist Earl of'Traquair, Lord Treasurer 6)fk: A^«<^a<^ iqj,*> 
 Deputy of Scotland. (1599-1659.) -ij 
 
 This is a bust portrait representing the Earl as a man past mid age and bald. 
 The handling of this picture is not strongly characteristic of Jamesone. It 
 has evidently been worked over by another hand, evidently that of Mr. Giles. 
 His costume is the usual ruff, edged with lace, over which his short, grey, 
 peaked beard falls, though with less luxuriance than would seem to justify the 
 phrase applied to him, "bearded like the pard." From a ribbon round his 
 neck is suspended the badge of his office, which he had so much " moyan " to 
 obtain. When Jamesone painted him he was in the hey-day of his pro- 
 sperity or climbing towards it, and possesses a complacent, not to say astute, 
 aspect. Clarendon commends his " wisdom and dexterity," and speaks of 
 him as "a man of great parts." Charles I. ennobled and enriched him, and 
 confided to his care his most important interests, although it has been said 
 that Traquair never did his master a good turn. He was an accomplished, 
 scholarly man. and could be eloquent when the occasion served, but we can 
 scarcely read in the placid face, hung on the line in the " Prayers Room " at 
 Keith-Hall, the " highly aristocratic " personage, " hasty and hot in the 
 temper, and full of strange oaths," that Mark Napier pictures. Traquair 
 in his politics was limp, compliant, half-hearted. He had not the courage of 
 
George Jamesone. 
 
 his opinions, and his movements were dubious, and only developed a series 
 of false positions, painful to himself, and so hateful to his contemporaries, 
 that some of whom were determined " to sweep his name furth of the land." 
 ' Traquair was married to the eldest, and Montrose to the youngest of six 
 
 daughters of the Earl of Southesk, and both bulked largely in their time, and 
 contrasted sharply in their conduct. Traquair, for whom nature had done 
 much and culture, perhaps, more, had nothing of the nobleness of his illustrious 
 brother-in-law, whose fame only excited his jealousy. The tragic fate of the 
 latter, the result of his singleness of purpose, was much preferable to 
 that of the former, whose vacillations incurred such romantic alternations 
 of fortune, that he was to be seen at last, an oldish man, traversing the 
 streets of the capital, where he is said to have died of hunger, begging an 
 alms of the passers by, and " lost to use and name and fame." His life 
 was a romance of the peerage. It is said that he died whilst smoking a pipe 
 of tobacco, and at his burial had no mortcloth. (See p. 52.) 
 
 116. George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal — the Founder of Marischal 
 •^1^ (' College. X^'Vi-it" 
 
 This picture hangs in the " Prayers Room." It is undoubtedly by Jamesone, and 
 bears a striking resemblance to the portrait in Marischal College (No. 24). 
 It has suffered restoration, in which it is not difficult to trace the hand of 
 Mr. Giles, R.S.A. 
 
 The Earl was a conspicuous figure in his day, and filled with dignity, 
 ability, and prudence, various high State functions. The title and estates 
 were forfeited, in 17 16, on account of the then Earl's share in the Rebellion of 
 that year. The Kintore Family are now the representatives of the Earls 
 Marischal. 
 
 117. Portrait (UnkBowti). • jtw.*. \<M-i^' \- 
 
 The head of a gentleman of the family. The pose and treatment thoroughly in 
 Jamesone's style. It hangs in the Dravving-Room. 
 
 118. Portrait (Unknown). \k^\u. ■2i"xn^' 
 /KW^U^ ^V\[y^l Another male member of the family, possessing all the marks of a genuine 
 
 picture by Jamesone. It hangs in the Drawing- Room. 
 
 MRS. LEITH, CANAAN LODGE, EDINBURGH. 
 
 119. George Jamesone, his Wife, and Child. a« xxci" 
 
 ' This deeply interesting picture might be more accurately described as Mrs. 
 
 y I ^ , Jamesone, her husband, and child, for the artist and little girl, who complete 
 
Catalogue of his Works. 
 
 153 
 
 the group, occupy but a subordinate place to the central figure, as described 
 in pp. 56 and 57. The picture has been handed down through the Gregory 
 line, springing from Mary Jamesone. When Walpole wrote it was in the 
 possession of Sir George Chalmers, the painter, who married a Gregory — a 
 great grand-daughter of Jamesone's, and a beautiful engraving of it appears in 
 Dallaway's edition of the "Anecdotes of Painting." It was exhibited, as the 
 property of Mr. Gregory, Edinburgh, along with about forty of Jamesone's 
 other portraits, at the Exhibition of Historical Portraits held at Aberdeen in 
 connection with the meeting there of the British Association. From his pos- 
 session it has now passed into that of his cousin, the present owner. Re- 
 calling to memory the picture of 1859 and inspecting the one of to-day the 
 contrast is extreme, and exhibits, perhaps, the most regrettable example of the 
 evils of restoration. To look at the bright, fresh painting with its clean new 
 canvas at the back, it is most difficult to believe that it is not an entirely new 
 picture, conveying no impression whatever of Jamesone's manner. Had one 
 to speak of it as a copy, it would be in terms of praise, but of the wanton 
 destruction of the original, which lies between the new canvas and the new 
 paint, very different language must be used. A well-known engraving of it was 
 executed by Alexander, a descendant of Marjory Jamesone. It is inscribed, 
 " Georgius lameson Scotus Abredonensis Patriae, suae, Apelles, eiusque uxor 
 Isabella Tosh, et Filius . Geo Jameson Pinxit Anno 1623 [1633 ?] Alex^ 
 pronepos fecit Aqua forte A. D. 1728." This plate is becoming very scarce, 
 although there are some five or six impressions in Jamesone's native town of 
 Aberdeen. 
 
 120. David Gregorie, of Kinairdie. v"^ i ' 
 
 An excellent example, although another hand has worked on it. It represents a 
 keen-looking man in a cap, dark hair, moustache, and short beard. The 
 body has more of a side turn than is usual, the right arm only being seen. 
 He holds a shut book, and on the table a skull is laid. On a little bracket 
 in the left upper corner is a sandglass. 
 
 He is a member of the famous Gregory Family, and was librarian at 
 Marischal College (1663- 1669), and father of David Gregory, Savilian Pro- 
 fessor of Astronomy at Oxford. 
 
 THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF LINDSAY, KILCONQUHAR. 
 
 121. Patrick and John Lindsay, of Wormieston. 
 
 Inscribed, " 1636 ^tatis 5 1636 yEtatis 3." This picture has unfortunately 
 suffered from the zeal of some serv ant maid, who has scoured off much of the 
 
154 
 
 George yamesone. 
 
 bloom and delicate work of the original. Happily nothing has been done 
 in the way of super-imposing colour. It represents two boys, who look 
 older than the ages recorded on the canvas by something like ten years, 
 and they are fondling a King Charles spaniel. They are dressed alike in 
 scarlet tunics, with large lace-edged linen collars and cuffs. They are both 
 fair-haired and old enough apparently to have pronounced political opinions 
 — the hair on Patrick's right and on John's left side is shortened in the most 
 orthodox cavalier fashion. The picture is in its original black-and- 
 gold frame. 
 
 The Lindsays of Wormieston to which these boys belong are a branch 
 of a very ancient, numerous, and influential family in Scotland. Their 
 principal home and holdings seem to have always been in the kingdom 
 of Fife. 
 
 / 
 
 122. An Unknown Lady. 
 
 Inscribed, "Anno 1636 ^Etatis 25." She is attired in a very ample black felt 
 hat, such as at first sight to suggest its being a male portrait. The chest is 
 covered by a linen scolloped collar tip to the neck, showing only a long strip 
 of the bare bosom in front. The face has, unfortunately, been worked on in 
 such a manner as to heighten the suspicion that the portrait is one of the 
 sterner sex. Had Jamesone's tenderly feminine tints and outlines been left 
 alone this would have been found one of his very choicest and most careful 
 works. 
 
 ALEXANDER LESLIE, ESQ., C.E., 12 GREENHILL TERRACE, 
 
 EDINBURGH. 
 
 123. John, 7th Earl of Mar, K.G., the Lord Treasurer. (D. 1634.) 
 
 This bust portrait formerly belonged to the late William Marjoribanks, Esq., of 
 Balbardie. The subject is a middle-aged person with a bald head. The face 
 is flattish, and the features do not stand out well. There is a notable want 
 of shadow or of the varnish which Jamesone used as a substitute. A blue 
 ribbon surrounds the Earl's neck, with a gold badge of office suspended from 
 it. Jamesone may have painted this picture, but it is far from being a 
 favourable example of his style. 
 
 History assigns a prominent place to Treasurer Mar. He was educated, 
 along with James VI., at Stirling Castle. He took part in the Raid of 
 Ruthven, for which he was attainted, but afterwards pardoned and received 
 back into the Royal confidence, and appointed Master of the King's House- 
 hold, Governor of Edinburgh Castle, and ultimately, in 1615, Lord High 
 Treasurer of Scotland, an office he retained for fifteen years. 
 
Catalogue of his Works. 
 
 155 
 
 THE MOST NOBLE THE MARQUIS OF LOTHIAN, 
 NEWBATTLE ABBEY, DALKEITH. 
 
 124. Archibald Campbell, 8th Earl and ist Marquis of Argyll. 
 
 (1598-1661.) 
 
 This bust bears every token of being Jamesone's work. The posture and treat- 
 ment are quite characteristic of him, although not, perhaps, what can be 
 called a very favourable example. 
 
 As a staunch Covenanter, and great opponent of Montrose in his 
 Royalist days, the Marquis figured very conspicuously in the history of his 
 times, and, in common with his rival and with so many of the principals of 
 the stirring events of the period, he forfeited his life and was executed 
 in 1661. 
 
 125. Lady Ann Dougla.s, the Marchioness of Argyll. 
 
 Inscribed, " 1634." This, at least, is an undoubted example, its excellence but 
 very slightly impaired by the cleaner. She may be called the White Lady. 
 She has fair hair, pale, almost corpse-like face and breast, white lace, and a 
 white satin dress. To the artist it must have been a rather trying task— but 
 he has contrived to produce a pleasing picture, by relieving the whiteness by 
 the introduction of a little colour in her hair band, necklace, bow knots, and 
 waistband. 
 
 She was the second daughter of William, 8th Earl of Morton, Lord 
 Treasurer of Scotland, and wife of the ist Marquis of Argyll (No. 124). 
 
 126. "William, Earl of Lothian ^t. 15." (d. 1675.) 
 
 This is a very attractive little picture — a full-length figure dressed in a red suit 
 pleasantly relieved by cross stripes of gold. It is inscribed as above. The 
 face is somewhat flattish and is wanting in expression. Indeed, the want of 
 the whole figure, which is well drawn and most conscientiously painted, is 
 that of shading. This results in a loss of roundness, but the easy grace of 
 the figure, as a whole, goes far to atone for its other defects. It is con- 
 siderably less than life size. His right hand rests on his side, and in his left 
 ' he holds his hat. 
 
 Sir William Kerr, Kt, was created 3rd Earl of Lothian in 1631. He was 
 a Groom of the Bedchamber to James VI. and Charles I., but joined the 
 Covenanters in 1638, to whom he did signal service both in a military, 
 political, and diplomatic capacity. Throughout his career it is to be re- 
 marked that he never allowed party spirit to over-ride his independence of 
 opinion. 
 
 20 
 
George Jamesone. 
 
 127. Sir Thomas Hamilton, Earl of Haddington, (i 563-1637.) 
 
 An excellent picture. The Earl is attired in a scarlet tippet, edged with fur. 
 The work has been attributed to Jamesone, but it is certainly a doubtful 
 canvas. If not by Jamesone it is the work of Vandyck, of whom, however, 
 it is scarcely a worthy specimen. 
 
 The Earl, as Sir Thomas Hamilton, was a distinguished member of the 
 bar, and from the circumstance of residing in the Cowgate of Edinburgh, 
 King James playfully designated him " Tam o' the Cowgate." His great 
 abilities soon raised him to the bench. In 1592, he \vas appointed a Lord 
 of Session, and ultimately Lord President of the Court. He was greatly 
 engaged in political affairs, reaching to such high offices as Secretary of State 
 and Lord Privy Seal. By his enormous industry, ample emoluments, and 
 successful enterprises, he amassed such wealth that the credulity of the time 
 attributed to him the discovery of the long-sought philosopher's stone. 
 
 Referring to this picture, and to other doubtful e.xamples, the Marquis of 
 Lothian expresses himself with much judgment when he says : — " I believe 
 the picture . . . was painted by Vandyck and not by Jamesone — that is 
 to say, that if other well known portraits supposed to be painted by Vandyck 
 are really by that master, then the portrait of the third earl of Lothian is also 
 his. If, on the other hand, my picture is by Jamesone, I have no doubt but 
 that others hitherto attributed to Vandyck are also really by Jamesone." 
 
 128. General Alexander Leslie, Earl of Levcn. (d. 1661.) 
 
 Attired in an embroidered coat and a magnificent collar. Attributed to 
 Jamesone, but is quite worthy of the reputation of Vandyck. 
 
 Having early adopted the profession of arms, he pursued an active 
 soldierly career on the Continent, reaching the high position of " Felt 
 Marshall" in the Swedish service. During the Covenanting wars. General 
 Leslie was recalled to take chief command of the Covenanters. This he did 
 with great skill, and he was ultimately raised to the peerage as Earl of Leven. 
 
 THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF MAR AND KELLIE, 
 ALLOA PARK. 
 
 Jco^bW*-:— 129. James Erskine, 6th Earl of Buchan — first of the Erskine.s. 
 
 ^, t>\^u^ \e^:y (D- 1640.) 
 
 ft \, ? f *Jja«« 4- ' "^'^'^ ^ favourable example of Jamesone, and does not appear to have been 
 - / tampered with. He is a heavy featured man. His hair is dark and straight, 
 
 and he wears a moustache and pointed chin beard. He is attired in a large 
 fluted collar over a slashed doublet. 
 
Catalogue of his Works. 157 
 
 He is the second son of the Treasurer Mar, by Lady Marie Stewart. 
 Having married Lady Mary Douglas, Countess of Buchan, he assumed the 
 title, afterwards confirmed by a Royal charter dated 1617, of Earl of Buchan. 
 
 130. James Erskine, 7th Earl of Buchan — second of the Erskines. 
 
 Inscribed, "^Etatis 14 . 1627." This is an excellent, untouched specimen. The 
 youth bears some resemblance to his father, the preceding subject. The ex- 
 pression is sweet and thoughtful, not to say melancholy, for one of his age. 
 A large lace-tipped collar is worn over a very carefully painted slashed and 
 embroidered dress. 
 
 He married Lady Marjory Ramsay, daughter of William, ist Earl of 
 Dalhousie. 
 
 131. John Erskine, 3rd Earl of Mar, K.B. (d. 1654.) 
 
 This is a characteristic, not to say powerful, portrait, and we venture to believe 
 that, in the highly arched eyebrows, aquiline nose, and somewhat waggish 
 air of the Earl, Jamesone has succeeded in producing a life-like portrait. 
 The picture is not in good preservation, but has suffered less from the ravages 
 of time than it may have done from Vandal attempts at restoration. The 
 Earl is attired in a brown jerkin, relieved by a plain white collar and a red 
 ribbon thrown across his right shoulder. He died in 1654. 
 
 He is the eldest son of the Treasurer Mar, by his first wife, Anne, 
 daughter of Lord Drummond. 
 
 132. Lady Mary Mackenzie, Countess of Mar. (d. about 1660.) 
 
 Bears evidence of having been a fine example of Jamesone's work, but the face 
 has been entirely re-painted. She has a luxuriant head of auburn hair, 
 several curls of which are brought over her forehead. Her shoulders slope 
 very much, and she displays a bare bosom, rich discs of lace being employed 
 to trim the surrounding linen. 
 
 She was the second wife of John, 4th Earl of Mar. 
 
 SIR JOHN MAXWELL STIRLING-MAXWELL, OF POLLOK AND 
 KERR, BART., KEIR HOUSE, PERTHSHIRE. 
 
 133. Sir George Stirling, of Keir. 
 
 The portraits of Sir George and Lady Stirling are both beautifully engraved in 
 the " Life of Montrose " by Mr. Mark Napier, whose description of them we 
 subjoin : — 
 
 "This head-sized portrait is in very good prcser\;Uion and, as well as the 
 
158 George yamesone. 
 
 companion portrait, Lady Stirling, presents a good specimen of the costume 
 of well-conditioned people in Scotland at that period. It is signed in the 
 lower corner, next the left arm, ' Jamesone,' and dated in the upper and 
 opposite corner, above the head, ' Anno 1637 Aetatis 22.' The first year of 
 'The Trubles,' most probably, both of these [Nos. 133 and 134], which 
 originally occupied one frame with a slip between, were marriage portraits, 
 and painted in their wedding garb. Jamesone has affixed his signature to 
 each of them, but has only dated the husband's. The deeds of the marriage 
 settlement are preserved in the Napier Charter Chest, and bear the date 2nd 
 January, 1637, the same year as the date on Sir George's portrait. That 
 Laird of Keir thus became the nephew of Montrose by marriage. He was 
 beloved and respected by our hero, and suffered prosecution along with him, 
 although he appears never to have served in arms. Montrose, in correspond- 
 ing with him, used to address him as ' Mou Frere,' a style which, through 
 the mistake of a transcriber, we had inadvertently printed ' Honb'^ Sir' in 
 the ' Memorials.' 
 
 " Sir George Stirling was twice married. Young as he was in the year 
 1637, Margaret Napier was his second wife. There is a melancholy story 
 attached to Sir George in early life. The following affecting inscription, in 
 date four years earlier than his second marriage, in 1637, when he was but 
 22 years of age, is preserved in ' Monteitli's Theater of Mortality,' p. 54 : — 
 
 " ' Here lyeth Dame Margaret Ross daughter to James Lord Ross and 
 Dame Margaret Scot (daughter to Walter Lord Buccleugh and sister to 
 Walter Scot Earl of Buccleugh) She was married to Sir George Sterline of 
 Keir Knight, and chief of his name, and having lived a pattern and paragon 
 for piety, and debonaritie beyond her sex and age, when she had acccrm- 
 plished seventeen years she was called from this transitory lif6 to that 
 eternal ; loth March 1633. She left behind her only one daughter Margaret : 
 who in her pure inno-cency soon followed her mother the nth day of May 
 thereafter, when she had been 12 months showen to this world, and here lyeth 
 near unto her, interred. 
 
 Dominus Georgius Sterline, de Keir, Eques auratus, familiae princeps 
 conjugi dulcissimas poni curavit . M.D.C.xxxiii.' 
 
 " Thus heavily had the hand of God visited this chief of ' Ancient Keir ' 
 when he was but eighteen years of age. The above date is immediately prior 
 to the advent of Charles 1., to his Coronation in Scotland, and to Montrose's 
 departure upon his travels abroad three years after his own boyish marriage." 
 
 134. Margaret Napier, Lady Stirling, of Keir. 
 
 "This is the companion portrait to the one just mentioned, and in former days 
 
Catalogue of his Works. 
 
 159 
 
 used to be framed along with it, as arms matrimonial are sometimes impaled 
 in the same shield. We demur to the propriety of separating such ancient 
 couples for the sake of separate modern establishments. The dress of this 
 portrait is very perfect, and displays the delicate and accurate pencillings by 
 Jamesone. But the fair complexion and the details and texture of the 
 golden hair have suffered much, and probably more from modern attention 
 than from ancient neglect. The hair is dressed, doubtless, after the fashion 
 of the day, in a very unbecoming manner." 
 
 HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF MONTROSE, BUCHANAN HOUSE. 
 
 135. The Marquis of Montrose. (Dated 1640.) 
 
 Apart from the internal evidence, which is conclusive that Montrose is the 
 subject and Jamesone the painter, few pictures come before us so carefully 
 authenticated. Mr. Mark Napier, in his " Memorials of Montrose," gives a 
 very succinct and interesting narrative of its history, first quoting the follow- 
 ing legend, which appears on the back of it, and then describmg it in his 
 own masterly fashion : — 
 
 " The great Marquis of Montrose when in England, in the year 1640, 
 took refuge in the house of Mr. Colquhoun, a clergyman, second son of the 
 Camstraddan Family, where he remained for a considerable lime. When 
 about to depart he thanked Mr. C. for the respect and tenderness with which 
 he had been treated and the fidelity with which he had been concealed, 
 regretting that he had not something more substantial than words by which 
 to express his gratitude. Mr. C. replied—' You now have it in your power to 
 repay an hundred-fold any little service we have done you ; a likeness of your 
 Highness would be inestimable ; — that if he would condescend so far, Jame- 
 sone, the Scotch painter, was in the house, a man of honour, a friend that 
 might be trusted.' The Marquis agreed, and the picture now in our posses- 
 sion was the likeness taken. About the year 1775, my father, Robeit 
 Colquhoun, of Camstraddan, became possessed of the portrait, and, in 1776, 
 Lord Frederick Campbell carried it to London and had it cleaned. On 
 bringing it back to Camstraddan, he told my father it had been greatly 
 admired by Sir Joshua Reynolds and other judges of painting. No copy was 
 ever allowed to be taken, as far as my memory serves me. Such is the 
 account I have often heard from my father, who died, 1787, aged seventy-one. 
 
 "Margt. Haldane Colquhoun." 
 
 "Melville Place, Stirling, 2. March, 1833." 
 
i6o 
 
 George yamesone. 
 
 " The attitude in this half-length portrait is precisely the same as that 
 painted in 1629. But the costume is very different. The sleeves only of a 
 pink and white satin doublet appear, and these not puffed or slashed. The 
 rest of the person is covered by a military buff coat, which imparts a fine tone 
 and colour to the picture. A broadsword belt, richly embroidered, crosses 
 the breast, and these warlike signs are relieved by a falling collar of costly 
 lace, and true Vandyck pattern, such as a countess might covet in these de- 
 generate days of male attire. One defect in the composition is observable. 
 In the portrait which Jamesone first painted the hair is naturally parted and 
 turned aside over the brow, so as completely to dis-cover it, and though 
 full and curling is of moderate length. But in that now described, while the 
 auburn locks descend in voluminous waves to the shoulder, the hair in front is 
 cut straight across and very close to the eyebrows, according to a most 
 unbecoming fashion of the day, which Jamesone and other masters too 
 frequently submitted to. This and the black calotte cap on the crown of 
 the head constitute a striking resemblance between the Camstraddan portrait 
 and the one at Buchanan House to be presently noticed, besides great 
 similarity in the features. 
 
 "Both of Jamesone's portraits possess the advantage of representing 
 Montrose in the very dress he wore. In this respect all the other portraits of 
 him that we have seen and the whole herd of prints are merely figurative. 
 It was not the habit at that time to be cased in armour like the knights of old, 
 although it was the right of every great military commander to be so pour- 
 trayed. The English Tinoret and Ghevardo dalle Notte, whose portraits we 
 have next to discuss, have given us sublime historical representations of the 
 hero. From George Jamesone we have biographical delineations of the 
 individual as boy and man." 
 
 The portrait was ultimately acquired by His Grace the Duke of 
 Montrose, in 1871, on the death of Sir Robert G. Colquhoun, K.C.B. 
 
 The portrait is one of the set of beautifully perfect engraved portraits in 
 Mr. Napier's " Life of Montrose," 1856, p. 289. 
 
 C. STIRLING HOME DRUMMOND MORAY, ESQ., OF BLAIR- 
 DRUMMOND AND ABERCAIRNY. 
 
 136. Sir Patrick Drummond. (Knighted before 1640.) 
 
 A tradition of the house is that this portrait is genuine. The author has only 
 
Catalogue of his Works. 
 
 i6i 
 
 seen the lithograph of it in the " Red Book of Menteith," and its pose and 
 general aspect favour the idea. It is inscribed, " Nolens Parui 1634." 
 
 Sir Patrick was Lord Conservator of the Scots' Privileges at Campvere 
 in 1650. 
 
 137. Two OF THE Artist's Children. 
 
 This picture formerly belonged to Charles Kirkpatrick Sharp, Esq., who left it to 
 his sister, the late Mrs. Bedford, at whose sale it was bought by the 
 present owner. 
 
 Intimation of the existence of this portrait having only been received as 
 these last sheets were in the press, there has been no opportunity of inspect- 
 ing it, and therefore no opinion is given in support of its ascription to 
 Jamesone. It is inserted here in the hope that its genuineness may yet be 
 verified. 
 
 MAJOR MORISON, OF MONTBLAIRY, ABERDEENSHIRE. 
 
 138. Sir James Crichton, of Frendraught. (d. 1636.) 
 
 Inscribed, " Anno 1634 ^Ctatis 36." This is presumably the Laird of Frendraught 
 in whose day Frendraught Castle was burned on the 27th September, 1630. 
 
 This picture has been slightly tampered with. The face has been at 
 least varnished out, and the lace collar repainted in an inferior manner. The 
 dress of black stuff, slashed with white silk, has not been touched. Sir James 
 is a very plain, low-browed, rather sad-visaged gentleman, and if the suspect 
 on account of the Frendraught tragedy, was at this very time undergoing 
 much trouble on account of it. 
 
 139. Lady Frendraught, wife of Sir James Crichton, of Frendraught. 
 
 Inscribed, "Anno i637.(Etatis 34." This picture has also been slightly tampered 
 with — it remains, however, substantially as Jamesone left it. The hair is 
 brought over the brow in a series of detached fringes or curls with a good 
 effect, and a dark snood or veil partly covers the head, falling gracefully down 
 the lady's back. A very large and particularly rich lace collar reaches from 
 the neck, leaving only a long narrow stripe of the breast exposed. A stately 
 handsome picture. 
 
 She was the beautiful daughter of the Earl of Sutherland, and nearly 
 related to the Marquis of Huntly, to whom she went the morning after the 
 burning of Frendraught. This pathetic incident is carefully related by 
 Spalding, who says " that upon the morn, after this woeful fire, the lady 
 Frendraught, backed in a white plaid, and riding on a small nag 
 
l62 
 
 George Jajnesone. 
 
 having a boy leading her horse, without any more in her company. In this 
 pitiful manner she came weeping and mourning to the Bog [now Gordon 
 Castle] desiring to speak with my Lord ; but this was refused, so she returned 
 back to her own house, the same gate she came, comfortless." 
 
 140. Lady Frendraught. 
 
 It is somewhat difficult to identify this lady, but she is more than probably the 
 wife of the ist Lord Frendraught. She is quite young, and very beautiful — • 
 dark brown eyes and wavy auburn hair, which is confined by a black velvet 
 band above her rolled brow. Over a dark dress she wears an ample plain 
 linen collar close up to the throat. The artist has excelled himself in pro- 
 ducing a most attractive portrait, which happily remains in its original con- 
 dition, absolutely untouched, and in no need of touching. 
 
 141. John Urquhart, of Craigston. ("1547-1631.) 
 
 This is probably a portrait of the "Tutor of Cromarty," so called from the cir- 
 cumstance that, as grand-uncle of the eccentric translator of Rabelais, Sir 
 Thomas Urquhart, of Cromarty, he became tutor or trustee of that gentle- 
 man's affairs. He died in November, 1631, and in an epitaph in King- 
 Edward Church, Arthur Johnston bewails him thus : — 
 
 " Posteritas, cui liquit agros et praedia, disce 
 lllius exemple vivere disce mori." 
 
 The portrait has, perhaps, been slightly touched, but remains an excellent 
 example of Jamesone. He has long hair flowing to his shoulders, a piercing 
 dark eye, and a happy expression. A Cromwellian collar over a dark coat 
 forms his simple attire. 
 
 142. Mrs. Urquhart, of Craigston, wife of " The Tutor." 
 
 Inscribed, " Anno 1625 ^tatis 43." The picture represents a portly, dignified 
 matron with well modelled features. A black snood or veil forms a back- 
 ground to a massive head of hair. A linen cape surrounds the shoulders and 
 neck, round which hangs a string of pendant ornaments. 
 
 This lady, Elizabeth Seton, was of the family of Meldrum. She was 
 entailed in the whole of that estate by her uncle, William Seton, 
 
 ALEXANDER ERSKINE MURRAY, ESQ., SHERIFF-SUBSTITUTE OF 
 GLASGOW, SUNDOWN, MONTGOMERIE DRIVE, GLASGOW. 
 
 The authentication of this large and very fine collection of portraits by Jamesone 
 is thus given by Sheriff Erskine Murray — himself a lineal descendant of Lord 
 Treasurer Mar : — 
 
 " Lady Marie Stuart, Countess of Mar, second wife of John, 7th Earl of 
 
 * 
 
Catalogue of his Wo7'ks. 
 
 163 
 
 Mar, Lord Treasurer of Scotland, had a large family. Of most of these she 
 got pictures made. She left her pictures, cabinets, &c., &c., by will to a 
 younger son of hers, Charles Erskine, by whom they came by descent to my 
 mother, and thus to me." 
 
 The mother of this family, Marie Stuart, was the daughter of Esme, 
 Duke of Lennox, and a " very imperative and autocratic little person." When 
 young, she first captivated and then liberated, much against his will, John 
 Erskine, 7th Earl of Mar. The story goes that the earl sickened of vexation. 
 The King (James VI.) hearing of the plight of the companion of his boyish 
 years, exclaimed, " Be my saul. Mar shanna dee for e'er a lass in the land." 
 The King succeeded in effecting a change in the maiden's attitude, and she 
 became to Mar an excellent wife and a fruitful mother. 
 
 143. Lady Mary Erskine, Countess of Marischal and Panmure. fkA'" 
 
 /Arf,'.. / - 
 
 Inscribed, "Anno i626./Jin»€ 29 Marie Ersken' CountWMarschaill." This is pro- T 
 
 bably the finest picture by Jamesone extant. The subject of it is comely, it /Jl', \C\ 0^ 
 
 has been painted with the utmost care, and it happily remains unimpaired in ^-Ji^j^ ^ 
 
 its original charm, exempt from the arts of the restorer. The lady's darkish ^ 
 
 hair is bound by a circlet of gold at the back of the head, and a pin seems to ^fiUltf ^ 
 
 fasten the whole. The face is charmingly painted, and there is a fine „ ' ■ 
 
 ' shading together of delicate flesh tints. The features are regular and pleasing. 
 
 The brow is expansive, the eyes bright, the nose well drawn, the mouth firm |^ ^ ^ 
 
 but not severe, and the chin well moulded. From the right ear depends ' 
 
 an ornament which rests on an ample ruff colour, painted in such a delicate 
 
 manner as to lessen its inherent awkwardness. A triangular portion of the 
 
 breast is shown. A goffered and Vandycked collar is gracefully laid on the 
 
 shoulders. The dress is a dark green, brocaded with gold lace, the sleeves 
 
 being puffed and slashed, showing a white fabric beneath. The head is well 
 
 poised, and the tout ensemble of this charming picture is that of easy dignity. 
 
 Lady Mary was married first to William, 6th Earl Marischal, and second 
 
 to the Earl of Panmure. As wife of the former she was necessarily much at 
 
 Aberdeen, where her husband was a citizen, and must have been personally 
 
 well known to the artist. In 1639, Dr. Wm. Guild dedicated the first part of 
 
 his book, " An Antidote against Popery," to 
 
 " Dame Marie Stewart Countess of Marre — The Mother 
 Dame Marie Erskin Countess of Marischal — The Daughter 
 and Dame leane Keith Ladie Petslego — The Niece." 
 
 144. Lady Ann Erskine, Countess of Rothes. 
 
 A characteristic and untouched sample of Jamesone. She possesses the same 
 21 
 
164 
 
 George Jamesone. 
 
 cast of features as her sister (No. 143}, but it is treated somewhat differently. 
 There is exhibited a great breadth of bosom — the dress being cut square 
 across it. Tlie picture is unnamed and undated. It was probably done 
 before she was married to the Earl of Rothes, and represents the same lady 
 delineated in No. 164. 
 
 She was the second daughter of the Lord Treasurer, wife of John, the 
 5th Earl of Rothes, who was a great Covenanter, and especial friend of 
 Jamesone's. She was mother of the only Duke of Rothes, who was in his 
 day a staunch Royalist, 
 
 145. Lady Margaret Erskine, Countess of Kinghorn and Strath- 
 
 more. 
 
 Mistakenly inscribed, "Lady Martha Erskine." Painted with great elaboration 
 of detail, and after all is but an average though untouched example. It is not 
 in a state of first-rate preservation, and the treatment is thin and flattish. 
 She is dressed in the height of fashion. The collar is of the richest lace, 
 and extends in wing-like dimensions on either side, worn over a russet- 
 coloured, striped silk dress, with widely-puffed sleeves. A double necklace 
 and pendant jewel contrast with her fair skin, and a large brooch joins the 
 collar in front. Lady Margaret was the third daughter. 
 
 146. Lady Catherine Erskine, Countess of Haddington. 
 
 An average, untouched example. A very erect, sprightly lady, with hair of the 
 reddish family tint, brushed back from her forehead. A small feather is 
 pinned to the right side of her head, and from her ear hangs several orna- 
 ments. A linen winged collar gives tone to her fair complexion. A neck- 
 lace of pendant jewels surrounds her neck, and an enormous, squarish^ 
 brooch is suspended by gold chains. The bodice of her dress is braided, 
 and the sleeves puffed and slashed. She was the fourth daughter (No. 98). 
 
 147. Sir Alexander Erskine, of Cambuskenneth. 
 
 Inscribed, "Anno 1638 ^tatis 26." A mailed figure, older like than the age 
 indicated. A mass of curly, reddish hair surrounds the head, and he wears 
 his moustache and beard a la Charles I. The face is almost full. A high 
 collar is worn of moderate dimensions, and there is a scarf round his right 
 shoulder. The attitude is somewhat stiff and formal, but the picture is, on 
 the whole, a favourable example. 
 
 He was a colonel in the army, and with his brother-in-law, the Earl of 
 Haddington (No. 97), was blown up at Dunglass Castle in 1640. He is 
 described as one of the handsomest of men, with a noble and expressive 
 
Catalogue of his Works. 
 
 165 
 
 countenance. The superstitious notion of his day was that his tragic death, 
 along with some eighty other persons, was the signal vengeance of Heaven 
 on him for his betrayal of Ann Bothwell, the youthful daughter of the Bishop 
 of Orkney. The pathetic and well-known ballad, " Halloo, my boy," per- 
 petuates the memory of the liason. It is supposed to have been written by 
 the victim herself, who gives an almost prophetic forecast to the event that 
 " laid the dear deceiver low." The fourth son of the Treasurer and Lady 
 Marie Stuart. 
 
 148. Sir John Erskine, of Otterstoun. (d. 1654.) 
 
 Inscribed " Jamesone." An undoubted work of Jamesone's, but it has under- 
 gone a partial restoration. It represents an erect, bright-eyed man of about 
 twenty-five. He wears a stiffish, fluted collar, sloping down almost from his 
 ears. His doublet is richly brocaded with designs of the pine-leaf pattern. 
 Fifth son of the Lord Treasurer Mar. " The bairn John," as his mother calls 
 him, acquired Otterstoun by marriage. 
 
 149. Sir Arthur Erskine, of Scotscraig. 
 
 An excellent example, and pronounced by some to be too good to be the work of 
 Jamesone. Such is not the case, for the artist who painted the lovely 
 Countess of Marischal, in the same apartment, was quite equal to this picture. 
 It represents a long-visaged man, with a short moustache and reddish hair 
 flowing to his shoulders. The unbecoming fashion of concealing the brow 
 with hair detracts from his intellectuality, but not from the artistic value of 
 the canvas. The usual collar, scolloped with lace over a dark stuff tunic, 
 completes his simple costume. The sixth son of this family. 
 
 150. The Hon. WILLIAM ERSKINE. 
 
 A genuine and untouched example. He is represented with a profusion of long, 
 reddish hair, parted in the middle. The brow is low, and the countenance of 
 the rueful type and quite bare. His shoulders are much sloped for a man, 
 and over a loose tunic he wears a neat collar with lace scollops. 
 
 This gentleman was the youngest son of the family. He was cup-bearer 
 to King Charles II., and Master of the Charter House, London. 
 
 COLONEL JOHN MURRAY, POLMAISE CASTLE. 
 
 151. Sir Alexander Gibson, of Durie. (d. 1644.) 
 
 Much re-painted, but is unquestionably by Jamesone. He wears the lace- 
 trimmed cap usually adopted by the legal profession, with a fluted collar over 
 
George jfamesone. 
 
 a cloak with tippet. He has a moustache and rounded beard — from ear to 
 ear. (See No. 71.) 
 
 152. Sir Harry Nisbet, of Dean, 
 
 Inscribed, " Sir Hairy Nisbet of Dean." A characteristic portrait. Dark hair, 
 neatly trimmed to the ears, moustache and chin beard. He wears a fluted 
 collar over a dark green doublet, slashed with white. 
 
 The subject was Lord Provost of Edinburgh, whose daughter was 
 married to a Murray, of Polmaise, which readily accounts for the presence 
 of the portrait. 
 
 153. Unknown Gentleman. 
 
 Inscribed, " 1627." This picture, although it possesses every suggestion of 
 Jamesone's work, has been entirely re-painted. He has dark hair, which 
 hangs about the brow. Fluted collar and plain doublet. His right hand is 
 introduced at his breast. 
 
 THE HON. LORD NAPIER AND ETTRICK, THIRLESTANE 
 CASTLE, SELKIRKSHIRE. 
 
 154. Archibald, ist Lord Napier. 
 
 A fine, manly portrait. Black hair, moustache, and beard. Features are well 
 modelled. He wears a thick ruff over a dark doublet, slashed with white. • 
 This picture has been well engraved for Mr. Mark Napier's " Life of 
 Montrose," and his remarks are as follows :— 
 
 "As the first Lord Napier was highly distinguished both as a courtier 
 and as a statesman in the reign of James VI. (whom he served for seventeen 
 years in the Bedchamber), and also in the reign of Charles I. (who selected 
 him as the first Scotsman whom he honoured with elevation to the Peerage), 
 it was not likely that the omission should have occurred of no portrait of him 
 having been taken by the Vandyck of Scotland. Accordingly, two portraits 
 of this Lord Napier by Jamesone are yet preserved, the one which has been 
 admirably engraved for this biography by Mr. Banks being that possessed 
 by the family, and the other, that found among the fine collection of 
 portraits by Jamesone, which decorate the baronial halls of Taymouth 
 [No. 43, misnamed John, in the Family Collection at Taymouth]. This 
 last, which we have only seen as a fixture forming a panel above a lofty door, 
 has every appearance of originality, and though obviously representing the 
 
Catalogue of his Works. 
 
 167 
 
 same individual, does not appear to be a duplicate of that possessed by Lord 
 Napier. Why it is found at Taymouth Castle is accounted for by the fact 
 that Alexander Napier, 6th of Merchiston, who fell at Pinkie, 1547, was 
 married to Anabella Campbell, daughter of Sir Duncan Campbell, of Glen- 
 orchy. Both her husband's father (Alexander, 5th of Merchiston) and her 
 own father. Sir Duncan, died at Flodden. Through this marriage the ist 
 Lord Napier was great-great grandson of Sir Duncan Campbell, of Glen- 
 orchy, the owner of the ancient Balloch, now called Taymouth. One of his 
 successors, called Sir Colin Campbell, of Glenorchy, was, says Walpole, 
 ' the chief and earliest patron of Jamesone, who had attended that gentleman 
 on his travels.' Both of the portraits mentioned above are only head-sized, 
 as here engraved. But that possessed by the present Lord Napier has not 
 been well preserved, and presents much of the appearance of having been 
 cut down from a large size. The healing of wounds in an ancient portrait 
 was not so well understood in those days as now." 
 
 Archibald, ist Lord Napier, was the eldest son of the inventor of 
 logarithms. ^ 
 
 155. Archibald, 2nd Lord Napier. 
 
 Represents a sweet-featured youth in his minority. A profusion of dark hair 
 hangs over his shoulders, round which hangs a rich, artistic lace collar. Let 
 Mr. Mark Napier again speak of this picture : — 
 
 " This interesting portrait of a very interesting personage has, like that of 
 his father, suffered severely between gallery and garret in the hands of heed- 
 less though not headless generations. Fortunately the features, complexion, 
 and costume of both have been so far preserved as to enable the engraver 
 to accomplish accurate representations of the original. But in both of these 
 instances, Jameson's tender backgrounds, never made for " The Trubles " 
 either of nation or nursery, have nearly vanished, so as to baffle all attempts 
 at discovering date or signature. Yet the hand of Jamesone may be detected 
 under the ribs of death, and these melancholy remains have considerable life 
 in them still. Moreover, the portrait of the ist Lord Napier is mentioned in 
 the catalogue of Jamesone's works, and that of the 2nd Lord is obviously 
 from the same pallet." 
 
 In company with his cousin, the 2nd Marquis of Montrose, he attempted 
 a rising in Scotland during the Usurpation, under the leadership of 
 Middleton, who was second in command to David Leslie at Philiphaugh. 
 After the failure of that ill-managed attempt he returned to Holland, where 
 he died shortly before the Restoration, when about 36 years of age. 
 
George jfamesone. 
 
 HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF RICHMOND AND GORDON, 
 GORDON CASTLE. 
 
 156. George, ist Marquis of Huntly. (1570-1636.) 
 
 Inscribed, " 1630 64." A fine picture, although it has probably undergone 
 a slight retouching. Represents a man of a stately and dignified bearing. 
 Dark hair, brushed back from an open brow, regular features, lightish 
 moustache and peaked beard. He wears the fluted collar over a coat of mail, 
 relieved by a red sash. Another portrait on a rather larger scale at Gordon 
 Castle possesses features that indicate the hand probably of Vandyck. When 
 the Castle of Strathbogie, as well as Bog o' Gight, now Gordon Castle, were 
 both residences of the family, there was probably a portrait in each. 
 
 The life and character of the Marquis are matters of public notoriety. 
 He lived in crucial times, and, filling a prominent position as Royal Lieutenant 
 in the North, he played a high game. The Cock of the North, "called with 
 the lukken hand," is said never to have drawn a sword in his own quarrel. 
 " In his youth a prodigal spender, in his old age more wise and worldly 
 . . . A great householder ; a terror to his enemies, whom he ever with his 
 prideful ken held under subjection and obedience ; just in all his bargains ; and 
 never heard for his true debt. He was mightily envied by the Kirk for his 
 religion, and by others for his greatness, and thereby had much trouble. A 
 princely, enterprising man. He was constantly building, repairing, and 
 planting, yet he died under a strange roof on his way home from Edinburgh, 
 to which he had been summoned to give an account of his loyalty." He was 
 married to Henrietta Stewart, daughter to Esme, Duke of Lennox, whose 
 name, with his own, still decorates the magnificent ruin of Huntly Castle. 
 
 157. George, 2nd Marquis of Huntly. (d. 1649.) 2() - 2:. 
 Inscribed, " 1630." A genuine Jamesone, although it has the peculiarity of 
 
 inclining to the right to pair with his Marchioness (No. 158). The face is 
 very characteristic, and exhibits a timid, vacillating man. He has long, dark 
 hair, which falls over his shoulders, with beard and moustache of Charles I., 
 whose general cast of features his own resembles. He is clad in steel and 
 gilt armour, with a deep point lace colour. 
 
 The Marquis had not the grit of his father. He was always making vain 
 demonstrations of loyalty, always in trouble with the Kirk and the Parlia- 
 ment. He allowed himself to be outwitted by the more nimble-minded 
 Montrose, whom he never forgave for his astuteness. After many alterna- 
 tions of fortune, he was brought to the scaffold on the i6th March, 1649. 
 " The man," says Baillie, " is of good discourse, but neither trusted by King 
 nur country," He was married to Lady Ann Campbell, daughter of the Duke 
 of .Argyll. 
 
Catalogtie of his Works. 169 
 
 — Pi /] ^ 
 
 158. The Marchioness OF^tJuNTLY. (1608-1638.) li!^ ^1^^^ — 5- 
 
 Inscribed, "1626 JEx. 18." Like her husband's (No. 157), this is a genuine R./l.ltf 3i| 
 example, and just as it left Jamesone's easel. It is very pure in tone, but 
 somewhat thinly painted. The face is pale, with cherry lips. Around it is a ,1 1 1 
 
 mass of auburn hair, in which a black pin ornament is seen on the right A ^ ■ Y^^i>**^ 
 long pendant ear-ring hangs on the neck. Chains surround her neck, and 
 suspend a breast ornament, whilst a magnificent brooch unites a highly- 
 ornamental point lace collar. She wears a Court dress of her time, a black 
 velvet bodice, open over a rich white robe brocaded in colours. Her sleeves 
 are studded with jewels. In short, an evident effort has been made to 
 respond to the poetical invocation of Arthur Johnston (page 53), and the 
 happy result is one of Jamesone's best portraits. 
 
 The Marchioness was a lady held in high esteem. Straloch speaks of 
 her as " a pattern of piety and virtue." 
 
 Edward Raban, on 6th June, 1638, published a work which he had com- 
 piled himself, entitled " The Glorie of Man, consisting in the Excellencie and 
 Perfection of Woman." It is dedicated to " Ladie Anna Cambel Ladie 
 Marqves of Hvntley." A complimentary couplet says — 
 
 " Let Honourable Woman live for ever 
 In all that Arte that Tyme that Fame can give her." 
 
 Poor lady ! the ink was scarcely dry when she died at Old Aberdeen on 
 the 14th of the month. Her sudden and dangerous sickness recalled the 
 Marquis from Edinburgh, where he was deeply engaged. She died before 
 her husband reached home, and she was buried in the Cathedral Church of 
 Oldmachar with all usual solemnity eight days thereafter. 
 
 Her funeral card is subjoined, and possesses some interest : — 
 
 Right assured Freynd 
 
 " It has pleased God of his mercie to call our bedfellow from this 
 transitorie lyf to the fruitione of eternall joyes, whose corpes we intend God 
 willing to interre in St Macher Kirke of auld Aberdeen vpon Tuysday the 
 xxij of Junii instant These ar therfoir to intreat yowr presens that day be 
 eleivin houres to assist for doing of the last honour to the depairted as we 
 shal be readie to acknowledge and acquyte your courtesie quhen occasion 
 shall offer. In assurance of your comeing we rest. Your assured freynd 
 
 > " HUNTLYE." 
 
 "Abed 18 Junii 1638." 
 
 159. John Gordon, Viscount Melgum. 
 
 A youngish man, a half-length in steel armour. He was the second son of the 
 
George Jamesone. 
 
 1st Marquis of Huntly. This portrait derives much interest from the circum- 
 stance that the subject of it was one of the victims who was burnt to death 
 in the House of Frendraught on the i8th October, 1630. He was married to 
 Lady Sophia Hay, a daughter of the Earl of Errol. The pathetic ballad 
 which describes the tragic event also relates the effect its narration had on 
 Lady Melgum. She upbraids the messenger : — 
 
 " O wae be to you, George Gordon, 
 
 An ill death may ye dee ; 
 Sae safe and sound as ye stand there, 
 
 And my lord bereaved from me. 
 
 " I bade him loup ; I bade him come ; 
 
 I bade him come to me ; 
 I'd catch him in my armis two ; 
 
 A foot I should not flee. 
 
 " He threw me rings from his white fingers, 
 
 Which were so long and small. 
 To give to you, his lady fair, 
 
 Where you sat in your hall. 
 
 " Sophia Hay, Sophia Hay, 
 
 O bonnie Sophie was her name'; 
 Her waiting maid put on her clothes, 
 
 But I wat she tore them off again." 
 
 MAJOR JOHN ROSS, OF KmCORTH, QUEEN'S GARDENS, 
 
 ABERDEEN. 
 
 160. Alexander Thomson, of Portlethen. 
 
 A replica of No. 25. 
 
 161. The Artist. 
 
 The genuineness of this beautiful and well-known picture has been doubted with- 
 out any better reason than a lurking scepticism, based on ignorance, that 
 Jamesone could paint so well. It may with justice be said that Jamesone 
 has done little more for himself than paint his own portrait, but happily it is 
 a masterpiece. After his " greater master," he represents himself in a broad- 
 brimmed hat, gracefully set. His silky, light-brown hair flows out over his 
 
Catalogue of his Works. 
 
 171 
 
 ears, whilst the moustache and peaked beard attest the cavalier fashion of 
 the time of Charles I. The face is the artist's usual three-quarter view. 
 
 The features are those of a refined, rather handsome, educated man, and 
 bespeak him as a person of good nature, and easy of access. He is attired 
 in a woollen stuff cloak, with some sort of embroidery, or, perhaps, gold lace 
 round the edge of the tippet. Over the cloak is worn a close fluted linen 
 collar of moderate dimensions. 
 
 The right arm emerges from the thick folds of the cloak, and in the 
 linen, wrist-'banded hand he holds an oval miniature, a style of art in which he 
 sometimes indulged, although, unfortunately, there exist no known specimens 
 in it to attest his skill. In the left hand his palette and pencils are held. 
 The lines of the picture are all more or less easy, and its prevailing tones 
 are well harmonised, and impart a rich mellow feeling to the whole 
 canvas, which is in most excellent preservation. It has come into the hands 
 of the present possessor by direct lineal descent through Mary Jamesone. 
 The picture is engraved in Chambers's " Lives of Eminent Scotsmen." 
 
 THE RIGHT HON. THE COUNTESS OF ROTHES, 
 LESLIE HOUSE. 
 
 162. John Leslie, 5th Earl of Rothes. (1600-1641.) 
 
 An excellent example, characteristic in every respect. He has long dark hair 
 brushed back behind his shoulders. He has a sedate expression, and 
 resembles a Puritan divine. A fine linen collar, with deep lace border, covers 
 a dark doublet, the inside of the sleeves being slit, showing white beneath. 
 
 The Earl was a great Covenanter, and took a most active, courageous, 
 and consistent part in the affairs of Church and State. He has always been 
 understood to be the personal friend of the artist, whom he probably met 
 for the first time at the Coronation ceremonies of 1633, on which occasion 
 Rothes carried the sceptre in the procession from the Castle to the Chapel 
 Royal. Among the various public duties of importance that he filled in his 
 day was that of Commissioner for the Scots at the Treaty of Ripon. He 
 died at Richmond after a very sudden illness. He is described as a man 
 of joyous habits, and with but little of the Puritan about him. 
 
 163. Another. 
 
 A full-length portrait. A careful inspection does not quite dispel a doubt as to 
 
 22 
 
172 
 
 George Janiesone. 
 
 its genuineness. Tliis may arise from its unwonted cliaracter. He is 
 . standing at a table on which is a large open volume, on which his hand rests, 
 and a small clock, a pillar, and curtain occupy the right of the picture. In 
 the background, on a wall, hangs a small framed picture. Over the picture 
 is painted a piece of white paper, with one corner turned up, showing a man's 
 hand, presumably that of the King, the Constitutional struggle with whom 
 was probably far advanced before this portrait of the Earl was painted. It 
 has been engraved by the Bannatyne Club in their quarto volume, containing 
 " A Relation of proceedings concerning the affairs of the Kirk of Scotland, 
 from 1637 to July, 1638," written by the Earl. 
 
 164. The Countess of Rothes and her Two Children, in full 
 
 length. 
 
 This is a companion canvas to that of No. 163. The pose of the lady is very 
 easy and natural. Her right hand rests on a table before an open window, 
 and her left is grasped by one of her little daughters. She wears in her hair 
 a small bunch of white feathers, and a large lozenge-shaped brooch on her 
 breast. Her dress is a striped or plaited stuff, reaching to the ground, and 
 scolloped at the foot. The children. Ladies Margaret and Mary, seem to be 
 about four or five years old. They wear skull caps and high collars, with 
 their dresses to the ground. The one has a lap full of flowers, and the other 
 a bunch in her hand. The group is very pleasant and domestic. On the 
 back wall of the room is a series of nine miniature portraits, very carefully 
 painted. Overhead, and at the left side, is a festooned curtain. As Lady 
 Ann Erskine (No. 144), Jamesone painted this lady before, that portrait 
 remaining in the possession of her mother, the Countess of Mar. 
 
 165. Unknown Gentleman. 
 
 An undoubted work of Jamesone's, which, however, may have undergone some 
 handling by another. He has dark hair brought over his brow. The collar 
 is large, and with a deeply-indented, Gothic lace border. A coloured scarf 
 crosses the shoulder. 
 
 It is surmised to be a portrait of Montrose, but it is wholly unlike his 
 now familiar features ; nor is Leslie House just the place where one might 
 expect to meet the Marquis. It is much more likely to be a portrait of Sir 
 Alexander Gibson, of Durie, although certainly not a replica of either of the 
 other portraits Jamesone painted of this gentleman. A portrait of Sir 
 Alexander has been said to be at Leslie, but no picture there bears his 
 name. 
 
Catalogue of his Works. 
 
 173 
 
 166. General Alexander Leslie, ist Earl of Leven. (d. 1661.) 
 See No. 128. 
 
 Inscribed, " Anno 1635 ^tatis 53," in the left corner, and the Leslie arms in the 
 right. It is not quite in Jamesone's usual style. The General is painted in 
 half length, standing with his right hand resting on a table in front. Did we 
 not know that he was of a very diminutive stature, as well as deformed in 
 person, the large, bullet-shaped head would be quite disproportionate to the 
 body. Baillie, "setting down naught in malice," calls him " an old, little, 
 crooked soldier." The face has been much repainted, which helps to dis- 
 sociate Jamesone from it. He is dressed in military uniform, with sword, 
 scarf, and belts. As the most successful of all the Generals of the Covenant- 
 ing arms, his life and career are well known. By the Covenanting party his 
 services to the good cause were justly appreciated. To his opponents he was 
 at once an object of scorn and of fear. 
 
 " From Leslie's quondam excellence 
 Who wants too long a recompence 
 For his good : yet however 
 Better he have it late than never. 
 
 Almighty God deliver us." 
 
 THE HON. THE LORD SALTOUN, PHILORTH, 
 FRASERBURGH. 
 
 167. Alexander Fraser, Laird of Philorth. (i 570-1636.) 
 
 Inscribed " 1623." A well drawn head, but unfortunately in colour bears evident 
 trace of Giles' peculiar treatment. The hair of the head is dark, that of the 
 moustache and brush-like beard lighter. The collar is small and plain. This 
 gentleman is usually designated Sir Alexander, but this appears to be an 
 error. He was the son of Sir Alexander, 8th of Philorth, founder of 
 Fraserburgh, and was married to Margaret Abernethy, daughter of George, 
 7th Lord Saltoun, and afterwards to Isabel, daughter of Sir Robert 
 Gordon of Lochinvar. 
 
 168. William Forbes, of Tolquhon. 
 
 Inscribed as above, and "Jameison" (sic). An undoubted example. An 
 oldish, spare man, with a cap worn in a jaunty way, somewhat to one side, 
 
174 
 
 George Jamesone. 
 
 and a rufif. Grayish moustache and chin beard. The picture possesses a 
 good deal of character. 
 
 Forbes, of Tolquhon, is well known in the north as of a family at once 
 ancient and honourable, namely, that of the Lords Forbes. The subject of 
 this picture built the Castje of Tolquhon. His daughter was married to Sir 
 Alexander Fraser, of Philorth, hence his presence here. 
 
 THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE RIGHT HON. THE LATE 
 EARL OF SEAFIELD, CULLEN HOUSE, BANFFSHIRE. 
 
 169. Portrait of the Artist in his Studio, Surrounded by 
 Representations of his Principal Works. "2'^ • ; ? 
 
 \fi^XA (3 ) This work is interesting from several points of view. It contains the only known 
 
 ' IV/ I , specimens of Jamesone as a painter of mythological pictures and sea pieces ; 
 >^i^lu-i i"*^ and if these miniatures are fair samples of the originals, in the loss of them 
 
 ' J^J^ artist's reputation has sustained some damage. Nothing is now known 
 
 of the circumstances in which this picture was painted, or how it has come 
 into the possession of the Seafield Family (formerly Earls of Findlater), but it 
 may be considered a brand plucked from the burning. In the year following 
 Jamesone's death, and during the fiercely contested civil war in which the 
 country was unhappily engaged, the troops of Montrose met with no resistance 
 in their spoliation of Elgin, Cullen, and Banff. In the immediate vicinity of 
 Cullen lay the house of the Earl of Findlater, and, with its valuable contents, 
 this very picture, probably, being one of them, it was spared destruction by 
 fire, only by the payment of a heavy ransom. 
 
 A reference to this picture, as engraved for the first time in the present 
 volume, will render unnecessary any detailed description of it. The features 
 of the artist are somewhat heavier than are those of No. 161, when Jamesone 
 was probably a younger man. This is certainly the latest portrait of the 
 artist. The pictures on the wall of his painting room are not easy to identify. 
 Three of them are said to be those of Charles I., Queen Henrietta Maria, and 
 Jamesone's own wife. The King's portrait is the only one quite recognis- 
 able. No conjecture has been hazarded as to the remaining four portraits. 
 The large classical piece has been supposed to be that of Perseus and 
 Andromeda, and with some reason. Perseus seems just to have discovered the 
 naked Andromeda bound to a rock. Underneath this picture is a suggestion 
 of a sea piece on one side, and a landscape on the other. Beneath all, the 
 sand-glass, armour, and escutcheon with skull, the usual properties of an artist's 
 studio of the period, are introduced. The picture is in excellent keeping. 
 
Catalogue of his Works. 
 
 175 
 
 THE HON. THE LORD SEMPILL, FINTRAY HOUSE, 
 ABERDEENSHIRE. 
 
 170. Sir William Forbes, cf Craigievar. 
 
 This picture has suffered restoration, but still retains much of the feeling of 
 Jamesone. It represents a man approaching forty, with short hair and 
 peaked beard and ruff. 
 
 Sir William took a keen interest in the politics of his day, ranging him- 
 self on the Covenanting side. He was taken prisoner at the battle of Aber- 
 deen, in 1645, where he commanded a troop of horse. He had afterwards 
 several public engagements. 
 
 171. Dr. Patrick Forbes, of Corse, Bishop of Aberdeen. (1564- 
 
 1632.) 
 
 This not very favourable example of Jamesone is rendered less interesting on 
 account of the restorer's efforts. In this case the hand of Mr. Giles is 
 apparent. The pose and general treatment are those of Jamesone. The 
 Bishop wears a black skull cap over a broad expanse of forehead. A thick 
 set beard covers the under part of the face, and a heavy ruff to his ears pro- 
 duces a very short-necked appearance. 
 
 The Bishop was of the same stock as the noble owner. It is given to 
 few men to lead such an influential life as that of Dr. Patrick Forbes, who 
 was probably the most distinguished Bishop that ever occupied the See of 
 Aberdeen. The powerful head of this prelate in Marischal College has been 
 mistakenly assigned to Jamesone. It does not in the least possess his 
 peculiar manner. 
 
 THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF STAIR, K.T., OXENFOORD 
 CASTLE, DALKEITH. 
 
 172. Unknown Gentleman. 
 
 Inscribed, "^tatis 21." This represents a bare-faced, pale youth, whose 
 paleness is enhanced by being set in a background of black hair resting on 
 his shoulders and partly covering the collar. He is habited in a brocaded 
 black stuff dress with white stripes. This is altogether a sombre portrait, 
 but neither unpleasant nor uninteresting. 
 
 173. Unknown Gentleman. 
 
 The likeness of a sallovv-complexioned man, copious yellow hair falling over his 
 
George Jamesone. 
 
 shoulders. The subject is somewhat hard of feature, and wears a plain white 
 collar and black stuff dress with white stripes. 
 
 174. Unknown Lady. viX ^' ^r' \ . i^l-, . }^\.\.\ 2 - f v I 
 
 An excellent example of the artist. It is inscribed, ' The head is 
 
 well posed ; the breast partially covered with frilled lace work. A chain, 
 with jewelled pendant, encircles the neck. 
 
 THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF SOUTHESK, KINNAIRD 
 CASTLE, FORFARSHIRE. 
 
 175. Sir David Carnegie, ist Earl of Southesk. 
 
 This is a work of great merit, showing the artist in his best form. It is in the 
 artist's " wonted attitude," but there is an unusual care and solidness in the 
 modelling of the features, and the result is a well-relieved, splendid head, 
 such as befitted the founder of the noble House of Southesk. He wears a 
 round velvet cap, and looks the age indicated on the picture. His beard is 
 grizzly, and is cloven in shape. The picture is inscribed, " ^Etatis 62, 1637." 
 
 Sir David was an eminent lawyer and a senator of the College of 
 Justice, under the title of Lord Carnegie, of Kinnaird, until raised to the 
 peerage as Earl of Southesk by Charles I. on his memorable visit to 
 Scotland in 1633. His mind was pre-eminently judicial in its caste, and he 
 bore the character of an upright judge, as well as of a " sagacious, prudent, 
 and honourable statesman." During the Constitutional struggles of the 
 period his moderation and capability well fitted him to act the part of 
 mediator between the King and the people. He was not successful in his 
 role of peacemaker, and enjoyed no more immunity from " The Trubles " than 
 the extremest of partisans. His calm and steady allegiance to King Charles 
 led to his imprisonment at the hands of the Covenanters, and, his 
 " wishing well to the King and monarchy," brought him under a fine of ^3000 
 by Cromwell. Arthur Johnston characterises him in one of his Latin 
 epigrams — 
 
 " Nec numero clauduntur opes nec limite rura 
 Carnegi, servat mens tamen alta modum." 
 
 A lithographic copy of the portrait is reproduced in the " History of the 
 Carnegies," by William Fraser, LL.D., 1867. 
 
 176. Sir Alexander Carnegie, of Balnamoon. 
 
 Inscribed, "./Etatis 50 . 1637." Jamesone's hand is very marked on this picture, 
 
Catalogue of his Works. 
 
 177 
 
 which is painted with much freedom. Sir Alexander has an abundance of 
 curly auburn hair, the rounded short beard showing it of a lighter colour. 
 The face bespeaks a man of sprightly intelligence. 
 
 Sir Alexander was a public-spirited, liberal man, and carried through 
 many useful measures in his district. Among others, he built the Church of 
 Careston, and endowed it with the sum of 4000 merks. 
 
 177. Sir Robert Carnegie, of Dunnichen. 
 
 Inscribed, "yEtatis 41 . 1629." A fine head. The bare temples, the moustache 
 and peaked beard, and general aspect, are all suggestive of Shakespeare. 
 The costume is of a black material striped with silk, the sleeves being 
 slashed with white shown beneath. 
 
 Sir Robert is the youngest of the Carnegie quartette of brothers, and the 
 portrait was painted in the same year as his young nephew-in-law, the 
 youthful Montrose. 
 
 178. Sir John Carnegie, ist Earl of Northesk. 
 
 Inscribed, "yEtatis 58 . 1637." This portrait bears a pretty strong family 
 resemblance to that of his elder brother, Sir David, and it would be stronger 
 but for the peculiar way that his hair, escaping from the velvet cap he wears, 
 hangs over his brow. The beard is cut square and is of a dark brown colour. 
 There is considerable character in the head. 
 
 Sir John took an active interest in public affairs, and his rewards for 
 adhesion to the Royal cause were his ultimate elevation to the Earldom of 
 Northesk by Charles I. in 1649, ^^id the heavy fine of ;^6ooo imposed by 
 Cromwell in 1654. Part of his correspondence has been preserved, and it 
 reveals him to have been a warm-hearted, affectionate man. 
 
 These four splendid portraits are massed together over the fire-place in 
 the dining-room in this magnificent mansion. 
 
 179. James Graham, 5th Earl, afterwards ist Marquis, of Montrose. 
 
 (b. 161 2, D. 1650.) 
 
 This painting represents Montrose at the youthful age of seventeen, still a 
 student at St. Andrews, although just on the eve of his marriage. The 
 
 picture is inscribed, "Anno 1629 yEtatis 17, Jamesone fecit." It is on a IvTttC ". 2S>' I' ^ ^ » ^ 
 panel — somewhat thinly painted — and after well nigh three hundred years 
 begins to assume that condition temptingly suggestive of restoration. How 
 to preserve the painting in its present condition is, however, the all-important 
 consideration. 
 
 The preservation of this first and invaluable portrait of Montrose is due 
 
178 
 
 George jfamesone. 
 
 to the Southesk Family, whose castle walls at Kinnaird it has not once 
 quitted since it was first hung up on the 2nd December, 1629. To the late 
 Mr. Mark Napier belongs the honour of revealing this painting as a veritable 
 portrait of the great Marquis. In this Mr. Napier has been quite as success- 
 ful as in his tireless efforts to rescue from unmerited obliquy the character of 
 his hero. The story of the discovery is so interestingly narrated by Mr. 
 Napier that no apology is needed for giving it in bis own words : — 
 
 " On the 3rd of November, 1629, Montrose rode to Aberdeen from 
 Morphie, the seat of Sir Robert Graham, one of his curators, and there had 
 his portrait painted. At this time he was just seventeen years of age, and on 
 the loth of November, 1629, as the same accounts prove, he was married to 
 the daughter of Lord Carnegie of Kinnaird (afterwards Earl of Southesk), in 
 the kirk within the park of Kinnaird. The young couple immediately took 
 up their abode in the Castle of Kinnaird on 2nd Dec, 1629, and from a note 
 in the account books the picture would seem to have been a marriage 
 present from Graham of Morphie to the young Countess. The artist's name 
 is not mentioned in the accounts, but as George Jamesone, Scotland's only 
 known artist of the period, was at that very time following the profession of a 
 portrait painter in his native town of Aberdeen, the reason of the young 
 nobleman riding to Aberdeen to sit for his portrait is manifest. The dis- 
 covery, of course, suggested the inquiry whether a portrait of Montrose was 
 yet preserved among the family pictures at Kinnaird Castle. The deside- 
 ratum was a portrait of Montrose painted in 1629, when he was seventeen 
 years 6f age, and painted by Jamesone. The facts disclosed by accounts had 
 been with those neglected papers long buried in oblivion. Yet the tradition 
 seems to have been transmitted in the family that the gallery of Kinnaird 
 could boast of a portrait of Montrose. Tradition, however, had settled on a 
 wrong one. When we first visited the castle in search of it, there was 
 pointed out as such the head and bust of a middle-aged, steel-clad warrior, 
 black and truculent as the Covenant could desire, but without any resem- 
 blance to Montrose in feature, expression, or complexion at any period of his 
 life. A glance sufficed to reject the grim usurper ; a little more was required 
 by a more experienced eye to attract it to a portrait of the young Montrose 
 decorating the same wall. A boy of fair and somewhat delicate complexion 
 was smiling at the spectator with an aspect that bespoke not of ' The 
 Trubles,' but the port, erect and lordly, the exuberant auburn hair of a 
 fairer hue than the later portraits, the ' penetrating grey eye,' the finely- 
 moulded nose, with its sensitive nostril, and the characteristic expression of 
 the pressed lips, as yet devoid of a shadow of a moustache, at once suggested 
 the young Montrose. Then the sumptuous dress — a rich olive velvet 
 doublet, profusely slashed with white satin and edge trimmed with gold, and 
 
Catalogue of his Works. 
 
 179 
 
 over the collar a lace ruff of the most delicate texture — seemed to announce 
 the Boy Benedict in his wedding bravery. A closer inspection discovered 
 these dates painted by the original artist on the upper corner, to the right of 
 the head — 'Anno 1629. ^Etatis 17 and in the background, near the left 
 shoulder, this autograph — ' Jamesone fecit.' The problem was solved. 
 
 "The pupil of Rubens and fellow-student of Vandyck might well put his 
 name to this interesting and graceful portrait, which had been called Sir 
 John Carnegie of the Craig, upon no better authority than if it had been 
 dubbed Sir John Colvil of the Dale. It is a head size generally adopted 
 ("from necessity) by Jamesone, and in the usual conventional position, half in 
 profile, with the right shoulder presented to the spectator. Like most of the 
 early portraits of that master, it is painted on panel. A slight flaw down the 
 centre, which fortunately mars no feature, is the only injury of any conse- 
 quence incurred through the lapse of two centuries. It is 'signed all over,' 
 even had the artist not added his name. For there is no mistaking the light 
 rapid pencil, warm priming, and thin transparent colouring of Scotland's only 
 artist in the great era of painting. 
 
 " No type or shadow of the warrrior's career is to be found in that 
 portrait. Not even the hilt of a dagger. The artist had only to deal with 
 the lively schoolboy, who headed the sports at St. Andrews, and led the 
 Christmas revels at Balcarres, and in many others of the ancient halls of 
 Scotland, whose college fame was chronicled by a poor ' Hungarian Poet,' 
 whose ancestral glories and early promise were lauded in more ambitious 
 strains by William Lithgow, and who, wherever he went, was welcome to the 
 rich and kind to the poor ; and fed his hunter with loaf-bread and ale ; and 
 delighted in minstrels and mummery ; and who was now, while yet a boy, on 
 the eve of separating himself from the ways and means of boyhood to settle 
 as a married man at Kinnaird with sweet Mistress Magdalene Carnegie. The 
 engraving of this long obscured work by a master of whom Scotland may 
 well be proud, now for the first time attached to a biography of its illustrious 
 subject, was executed, in 1848, for the historical collection which the author 
 compiled under the munificent auspices of the Maitland Club, and entitled, 
 ' Memorials of Montrose.' The liberality of that great literary society was 
 further extended to bestowing the plate upon this new biography of 
 the hero." 
 
 Not a bad proof that Jamesone had thoroughly succeeded in catching 
 the family likeness in this picture is to be found in the following testimony 
 of Lady M. Carnegie in reference to it. She says, " A member of the present 
 family is so very like the portrait that it may be taken for an excellent 
 likeness of his descendant after the lapse of two and a half centuries." 
 
George jfameaone. 
 
 ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL SWINTON, ESQ., OF 
 KIMMERGHAME, DUNS. 
 
 1 80. William, Lord Alexander, (d. 1638.) 
 
 Inscribed, "Anno 1628 vEtatis 24." This is one of the few portraits in armour 
 painted by Jamesone. The mail is relieved bjt a figured and fringed sash 
 which crosses the shoulder. A lace collar, carefully done, also enlivens the 
 subject. The portrait is characteristic. 
 
 This nobleman was the eldest son of the ist Earl of Stirling, who was 
 celebrated in his day as a poet, politician, and promoter of extensive schemes 
 of colonisation. The Earl was Secretary of State for Scotland, and contrived, 
 by his various enterprises, to amass an enormous fortune, which Lord Alex- 
 ander, the subject of this picture, did not live to enjoy, having pre-deceased 
 his father two years. 
 
 HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF SUTHERLAND, DUNROBIN CASTLE, 
 SUTHERLANDSHIRE. 
 
 181. Lady Jean Gordon, Countess of Bothwell, and afterwards 
 Countess of Sutherland, (i 544-1629.) 
 
 Few more interesting pictures are contained in this Catalogue. Dr. John Stuart, 
 in " A Lost Chapter in the History of Mary Queen of Scots," where Lady 
 Jean's portrait is engraved, says of it: — " Nothing is known of the artist, but it 
 seems plain that the portrait was painted when Lady Jean was well advanced 
 in years." Here there is a total ignoring of Jamesone, whose hand was, at 
 least, not perfectly obvious on the picture. Still there is not much reason to 
 doubt its genuineness. In the first place, Jamesone could not have painted 
 Lady Jean before she was an elderly woman, and although this is no proof 
 that he did it then, there is the evidence of style. This is somewhat difficult 
 to judge of, as the picture has lost tone and become very brown from succes- 
 sive varnishings, applied with the mistaken view of refreshing it. So far, 
 however, as size, drawing, and pose reveal anything, it is that Jamesone was 
 the artist. Lady Jean is attired in a bonnet, with the deep veil of a widow — 
 a widow for the third time. She is seated, and the high chair forms a sort of 
 background. The features are rather marked, and exhibit a character of 
 firmness, but one not devoid of feeling. The mouth is quite in Jamesone's 
 
Catalogue of his Works. i8i 
 
 manner. The face is very pale, and the hair perfectly silvered. Lady Jean, 
 who clung tenaciously to the old faith, wears a rosary, which is suspended in 
 her right hand, on the back of which an attached cross lies. The portrait, as 
 a whole, enables us to realise the personal appearance of one who, as Dr. J. 
 Hill Burton says, " was in a manner drifted in among the stormiest incidents 
 of her day, and then floated off into calm waters." 
 
 The grave face of this tried, prudent, and amiable noblewoman carries a 
 history with it. Lady Jean Gordon was the third daughter of George, 4th 
 Earl of Huntly, who fell at Corrichie. She was consequently much about the 
 Court and on very intimate terms with the Queen. In 1667, she married the 
 profligate Earl of Bothwell, but not before a Papal dispensation was obtained, 
 the pair being within the prohibited degrees. In no long time, Bothwell, in 
 order that he might marry Queen Mary, sued successfully for a divorce from 
 Lady Jean, the one plea being that their propinquity was too close for the 
 holy state of matrimony into which they had drifted without a dispensation. 
 When it is remembered that Lady Jean's marriage was " with aduis and 
 expres counsale of our souerane lady Marie Quene of Scotland," who gave 
 the bride a handsome dress of cloth of silver, lined with taffeta, as a wedding 
 gift, a strange insight is obtained into the views of the married relation enter- 
 tained by these three interested persons. Lady Jean's position is the most 
 inexplicable, for she was in possession of the dispensation that would have 
 established her wifely claim and did not use it, but quietly retired from the 
 scene to the Castle of Strathbogie, carrying the precious document with her. 
 Bothwell's marriage with the Queen, his disgrace and exile, are matters of 
 general history. On a false report of the death of her worthless husband, 
 Lady Jean imagined herself free to marry again, and she accepted the 
 youthful Alexander, nth Earl of Sutherland, as her second husband. To 
 her new home at Dunrobin Castle she carried her dispensation with her, and 
 there the interesting discovery was made of its actual existence in the Suther- 
 land Charter Chest by Dr. Stuart a few years ago. The Earl's death, in 
 1 594, left Lady Jean a widow a second time, with the added responsibility of 
 rearing her family and managing her vast estates. All this she did with 
 signal prudence and ability. In 1599, she contracted a third marriage with 
 Alexander Ogilvie, of Boyne, a cadet of the Findlater Family, who had been 
 formerly married to Mary Beaton (Bethune), one of the Queen's four Marys. 
 Lady Jean survived her third husband, to whom she had no family, and died 
 at Dunrobin in May, 1629. Her son, Sir Robert Gordon, of Gordonstoun, 
 the historian of the House of Sutherland, pays this affectionate tribute to his 
 worthy mother: — "A vertuous and comlie lady, judicious, of excellent 
 memorie, and of great understanding above the capacitie of her sex." 
 
l82 
 
 George yainesone. 
 
 THE MOST NOBLE THE MARQUIS OF TWEEDDALE, 
 YESTER, HADDINGTONSHIRE. 
 
 182. John Hay, ist Earl of Tweeddale. (d. 1654.) 
 
 Inscribed, '•' yEtatis 33, 1628." Little doubt exists on the question of the 
 genuineness of this portrait, yet the restoration to which it has been subjected 
 greatly effaces Jamesone's touch. Lord Tweeddale's hair is dark brown and 
 long. His moustache and beard are of the Charles I. type. He wears a 
 larg-e ruff. His doublet is black and slashed with white. 
 
 When the portrait was executed, the subject was 8th Baron of Tweed- 
 dale. When " The Trubles " began, he commanded a regiment in the 
 Royal Army ; and, in 1646, King Charles rewarded his loyalty by elevating 
 him to the dignity of an Earl. He was married first to a daughter of the 
 Earl of Dunfermline, and secondly to a daughter of the Earl of Eglinton. 
 
 183. Countess of Tweeddale. 
 
 Inscribed, " 1628." This portrait, like its companion, has been much injured by 
 being repainted in the face by an inferior hand. The Countess looks to the 
 right, and is attired in a veil and ruff. Her bodice is very flat and stiff, 
 with but little fabric feeling. The sleeves are striped and slashed. 
 
 This lady is evidently the first Earl's first wife, Jane Abercromby, 
 daughter of the Earl of Dunfermline. 
 
 184. Unknown Gentleman. 
 
 The picture is inscribed, " 1644," the year of Jamesone's death, and is probably 
 one of the last, as it is one of the finest, that ever came from his hand. The 
 subject is handsome, and painted with a becoming dignity. His hair is 
 auburn and flowing, with moustache and imperial. He wears a lace 
 collar and sash over a coat of mail. The loss of the name and historical 
 identity has in all likelihood led to such a neglect of this portrait that it 
 happily stands revealed as an untouched and most characteristic specimen. 
 
 CAPTAIN F. E. POLLARD-URQUHART, OF CRAIGSTON, 
 CRAIGSTON CASTLE. 
 
 185. Sir David Lesley, (d. 1682.) 
 
 Inscribed, " .\nno 1642." This fine picture is engraved in Pinkerton, but in a 
 manner that is wholly misleading ; the result, probably, of a faulty sketch. 
 
Catalogue of his Works. 
 
 183 
 
 The painting itself is not quite in its original condition, and betrays traces of 
 Giles' hand. Sir David has sandy-coloured, lightly, flowing hair, with 
 heavy moustache and peaked beard. His eye is keen, and his general 
 aspect that of a soldier of purpose. A rich lace collar surmounts a coat of 
 mail. 
 
 General David Lesley (or Leslie), next to his kinsman, Alexander 
 Leslie, with whom he is often confounded, was one of the most celebrated 
 Generals in the Covenanting Army. Bred in the military school of Gustavus 
 Adolphus, he returned to Scotland on the outbreak of the Civil War, and, 
 under the Earl of Leven, became a Major-General, and throughout the 
 period took a leading part in all the military enterprises. It was he 
 who, though with a far superior force, defeated Montrose at Philiphaugh, and 
 at a later date pressed sore on Cromwell himself, and, had he not been urged 
 by a committee to fight at Dunbar, might have out-generalled the Protector. 
 As it was, he suffered signal defeat. He was at the Battle of Worcester in 
 165 1, but in retreating was captured and committed to the Tower, where he 
 remained nine years a prisoner, and besides suffered a fine of ;^4ooo. He 
 was held in high esteem by his party for his services and his sufferings, and 
 received many proofs of their goodwill. After the Restoration, Charles IL 
 raised him to the peerage as Lord Newark, a title long since extinct. 
 
 186. Dr. William Forbes, Bishop of Edinburgh. (1585-1634.) 
 
 Inscribed, " D Gulielmus Forbesius Primus Episcopus Edinburgensis Anno 
 1634 jEtatis 52." Is suggestive of Jamesone, but the picture has been 
 repainted by an inferior hand, who has left it very raw. The date or the age 
 is wrong, for the date of his birth was 1585. 
 
 It is unfortunate that no worthier portrait exists by Jamesone of this 
 eminent prelate, to whom reference has been made in the text. His career 
 and character are too well known to require any extended notice here. He 
 was of the family of Forbes of Corsindae, in Aberdeenshire. He graduated 
 at Marischal College at the early age of sixteen, and whilst still in his teens 
 was appointed to the Chair of Logic there. This he filled for four years, 
 and then ran the curriculum of the principal seats of learning on the 
 Continent. On excellent natural endowments Forbes engrafted the cultured 
 results of ardent study and wide reading. These he consecrated to the office 
 of the ministry, and on his return home, in 1610, he was appointed, in suc- 
 cession to Alford, Monymusk, and St. Nicholas, Aberdeen. He was a 
 distinguished preacher, not alone for his learning and eloquence, but fur his 
 unaffected piety, and was respected and beloved by all ranks. In 1618, he 
 was appointed Principal of Marischal College, and taught in the Faculty of 
 Divinity. He was translated to Edinburgh for a short time, but returned to 
 
George Jamesone. 
 
 Aberdeen until appointed by King Charles first Bishop of Edinburgh, in 
 1634. Never a robust man, hard study and a fervid manner of preaching 
 wore him out at the age of forty nine, when he died, leaving behind him the 
 savour of a good name. 
 
 THE SCOTS COLLEGE, ROME. 
 
 Four historical pictures are freely exhibited by the authorities there as from the 
 pencil of George Jamesone. The Most Noble the Marquis of Huntly kindly 
 communicates the following information on this interesting subject : — " I 
 have much pleasure in giving you the information I possess as to Jamesone's 
 pictures in the College at Rome. The College was founded by the 
 Marchioness of Huntly, the widow either of George, 2nd Marquis, or [more 
 probably] of the 3rd Marquis, and in the Chapel there are four or five 
 pictures by George Jamesone. They are placed rather high up on panel, and 
 appear to have been painted there, or expressly for the places they are in. 
 They seemed to me excellent examples of the artist, but not so good as his 
 works at Kinnaird Castle, which I consider his best." Then the Very 
 Reverend Monsignore Campbell, Principal of the College, obligingly furnishes 
 the following details of the paintings : — " The works attributed to Jamesone in 
 the Church of St. Andrew, at the Scots College in Rome, are four oblong 
 paintings on canvas, two metres in length by one metre in height, placed in 
 compartments on the lateral walls of the church, two on each side. We have 
 nothing but tradition and the style of art in proof of their authorship. The 
 figures are life-size half lengths. 
 
 \. On the Gospel or left side, next the High Altar : — 
 
 Saintly Kings. 
 
 A King in royal mantle, crowned, and holding in his right hand a naked sword 
 with his left raised, seems to address a younger man similarly crowned and 
 robed who carries the model of a church. In the background another King 
 and noble attendants (King Malcolm Caenmore and David I. .''}. 
 
 II. On the Epistle side, facing No. I. : — 
 
 Saintly Bishops. 
 
 A bishop mitred and carrying his crozier, a white dove hovering near his shoulder. 
 Behind him another bishop with a branch of palm in his right hand and 
 crozier in his left. In the background four other bishops with croziers and 
 attendants. 
 
Catalogtie of his Works. 
 
 185 
 
 III. On the Gospel side, farthest from the High Altar : — 
 
 Saintly Queens. 
 
 A queen (Saint Margaret?^ holding an open book and contemplating the 
 symbol of the Holy Trinity in the clouds. Near her another princess, 
 crowned, regards her with veneration. In the background a number of 
 noble ladies. 
 
 IV. On the Epistle side, opposite to No. III. : — 
 
 Saintly Religious Women. 
 
 St. Ursula bearing a banner in her left and a palm branch in her right. On one 
 side a noble lady having a palm branch, on the other a religious, with a 
 branch of lilies in her hand. In the background a number of female figures 
 carrying palms." 
 
 Such is the historical evidence that awaits the confirmation of critical 
 examination in proof of the genuineness of these pictures. The former is 
 not strong and scarcely such as to presage support from the latter. Certainly 
 the 2nd Marchioness of Huntly (No. 158), the daughter of the Covenanting 
 Marquis of Argyll, neither founded the Scots College at Rome nor did she 
 commission an artist to paint such pictures. Granting that the 3rd 
 Marchioness was the foundress, the chronology will scarcely admit of our 
 believing that Jamesone executed the pictures for her. Very much cannot be 
 said as to the probability or otherwise of Jamesone executing such a class of 
 paintings ; but, pending the report of an expert on the internal evidence of 
 their style, they may be left unnumbered and our judgment suspended. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 PAGE 29. The following are extracts from the Sasines Books of 
 the Burgh of Aberdeen. They all refer to the properties in which 
 the Jamesones had an interest, and are to some extent corrective of 
 hitherto received statements of the family history. 
 
 No. I, under date 27th May, 1586, describes the Schoolhill property 
 by Andre VVatsoun in favour of " Andre Jameson latomo libero artifici 
 dicti burgi," the artist's father : — 
 
 Totam et Integram Terra sua anteriorem tarn subtur q" supra jacen infra dictu 
 burgu in vico Scholari ex boreali parte eiusdem vici Inter terra Daudis Indeaucht ex 
 orientali ex vica terra olim Adami Mair nunc vero heredid quondam Magistris V'illelmi 
 Carmichaell ex occidentali partibus ab altera Terra Interiorem dicti Andre Watsoun 
 versus borea et toiem viam regiam versus austim. 
 
 No. 2 is in favour of Meriorie Anderson, during her life, of land by 
 Andrew Jamesone, her husband. It is seemingly the same property as 
 the above, and is a provision for Mrs. Jamesone in the event of her 
 husband's death. It is dated 3rd December, 1607 : — 
 
 Totam et Integram terra suam anteriorem tarn subtur q" supra Jacen infra dictu 
 burgu in vico Scholari ex boreali parte eiusdem via Inter terra anteriore quondam 
 Dauidis Indeaucht nec vero roberti forbes te mendatarii de Monymusk ex orientali 
 ex vica terra quondam Adami Mair ex occiendatali partibus ab altera terra Imeriorem 
 Andree Watsoun fabri liguarii vertis borea et toiem viam regiam vertis austris. 
 Necnon terram sua de Novo edificatam cespitibus coopertam de prefecto Inhabitat 
 per dictis Andream Jacen in australi latero dicti via scholaris Inter terra quondam 
 James robertson nec vero ... ex occidentali ex vica cum terra dicti burgi ex 
 australi partibus ab altera et toies vias regi ab versus oriens et boream. 
 
 No. 3 occurs under the same date, and is also a sasine by Andrew 
 Jamesone to his son Andrew Jamesone, and it relates that it is given in 
 
 24 
 
George yajnesone. 
 
 " gratiam et favore delecti filii sui scnioris legitim Andre Jamesoun." 
 The sasine relates to a house on a portion of the same ground described 
 above : — 
 
 Totam et Integram Terram suam de Novo edificatum cespitibus coopertam de 
 prefecto heredid Andrea . . . Jacen infra dictu burgu in vico scholari ex australi 
 parte eiusdem vici Inter terra quondam Joannes robertsoun vero heredum quondam 
 Thome Straquhan ex occidendali ex vica cum terus ecclesia parochialis diiis Nicolas 
 dicti burgi ex australi partibus ab altra et toies vias regias vertis boream et oriens. 
 
 No. 4, still under the same date, is also by Andrew Jamesone in 
 favour of George, who is distinctly described as the second son — " in 
 favore delecti lilii sui secundo geniti Georgii Jamesoun " : — 
 
 . Totam et Integram terra suam anteriorem ad terras tegulis coopertam Jacen 
 infra dictu burgu in vico scholari ex boreali parte eiusdem vici Inter terram olim 
 quondam Davudis endeauct nec tero roberti forbes te mendatarii de Monymusk 
 ex orientali ex vica terra quondam Adami Mair ex occiendentali partibus ab altera 
 terra Interiore Andree Watsoun carpentaris vertis boream et toiem viam regiam 
 vertis austra. 
 
 No. 5 is dated 25th January, 1625, and is in favour of Georgii 
 Jamesone and Isabelle Toshe his wife, of his late father's property, 
 described at length : — 
 
 Supplicationem probi et Ingenui Juvenis Georgii Jamesone pictoris heredus 
 legitime deseniti quondam Andree Jamesone fratrus sui germani de Terra Inferius 
 bondat accessit personater cum dicto Georgio ad illam Terram de novo edificatam 
 cespitibus coopertam in qua dictus quondam Andreas legitime Infer datus et saseus 
 sue per Resignationem quondam Andree Jamesone Latomi Jucole dicti burgi sui patris 
 Jacen infra dictum burgum de Aberd^n in vico scholari ex australi parte eiusdem 
 vici Inter teram quondam Joanis Robertsone postea quondam Thome Strathauchan 
 et nunc Joanis Caddell ex occidentali ex vica Cimeterium ecclesie parochialis diui 
 Nicolai dicti burgi ex australi partibus ab altera et comunes vias regias versus Boream 
 et oriens. . . . . .......... 
 
 Totam et integram antedatam Terram suam de novo edificatam ac cespitibus 
 coopertam cum pertinen bondat et jacen ut . . . . Necnon aliam Terram suam 
 anteriorem tegulis coopertam cum pertinen Jacen infra dictum burgum in dicto vico 
 Scholari ex Boreali parte eiusdem vici Inter terra quondam Dauidis endauch nunc 
 vero heredam quondam Thome forbes de Rubislaw ex Orientali ex vica Terram 
 quondam Adami Mair ex Occidentali partibus ab altera Terra Interorem quondam 
 Andree Watsone carpentarii nunc vero Joannes Liddell versus Boream et Dinunem 
 viam regiam versu austrim. 
 
A ppendix. 
 
 No. 6, dated 7th June, 1627, is a sasine in favour of the artist, of 
 land by Alexandri Gray : — 
 
 Totam et integram illam Terram suam Anteriorem tam subtur quam supra cum 
 pertinen per eiusdem Mg"'" Duncane Forbes de Balnagask ocuptam et conquestdm 
 Jaceii infra dictum burgum in vico Scholari ex australi latere eiusdem vici Inter terra 
 comunitatus dicti burgi vocat ly kirkludge ex australi ex una Terram Robeni 
 Alexander ex Orientali partibus ab altra et comiines vias regias versus Boream et 
 occidens. 
 
 No. 7 is dated 29th May, 1635, and docquetted " Sasina Georgii 
 Jameson de fcudefarma ct portione Claustri Meiuillis et Liddell : — 
 
 Tota et Integra ilia Terra anteriore nunc ad Georgium Jameson pictorem burgen de 
 Aberden spectdn, Jacen infra dictum burgum in vico montis Scholaris ex Boreali parte 
 eiusdem vici Inter terram heredum quondam Thome forbes de Robislaw ex Orientali 
 ex vica, Terram aliquando Andree Howat et nunc Joannes Nivn ex occidtintali partibus 
 ab altera Terram Interiorem quondam Andree Watson nunc vero dictorum Mg":' Thome 
 et Dauidis Meiuillis versus Boream et comunem viam regiam versus austrum Ac etiam 
 illam portionem Claustris predicte terre Interioiis aliquando ad dictum quondam 
 Andream Watson et nunc ad dictos Mg":' Thomam et Dauidem Meiuillis herudituie 
 spectan Contogus adcatcn terre anteriori supialimitat nunc dicto Georgis Jameson 
 
 et Comprehenden Tres vluas in Longitudine a muro posterio dicte Terre 
 
 anterioris versus australe gabulum vulgo the south g.ibill predicte Terre, Interoris 
 Refernando jarnen dictis Mg'" Thome et Dauidi Meiuillis .... heredibus et 
 assignatus ; Lberum Introitium et exitum ad predictam terram Interiorem per Jaimam 
 Anteriorem eiusdem toties quoties. 
 
 No. 8 is a sasine, dated 5th November, 1641, by which Jamesonc 
 acquires a house in the " vico lemurum ly Gestravv " {i.e., the street of 
 Ghosts) from James Tosche, a merchant burgess, probably his brother- 
 in-law. 
 
 No. 9 is a sasine, dated 6th January, 1645, referred to at pa^c 104 of 
 the text. It is a long instrument, and describes afresh all the j)roperties 
 above noted in the preceding sasines. The noticeable circumstance 
 about it is the occurrence of the name of Elizabeth as co-heiress with two 
 of her sisters, Isabella and Mary. The sasine is in true legal form " per 
 terre et lapidis," by " Elizabetham Isobeilam et Mariam Jamcsones in 
 veras Itunas et propinquiorcs coheredes prcfati quondam Georgii Jamc- 
 sone earum patris de terris tenementis alijsque supralimitat cum 
 pertinen Eisdcm Elizabcthe Isobclle ct Marie Jamcsones," &c., &c. 
 
igo 
 
 George jfamesone. 
 
 Elizabeth's position in the eyes of the law may be inferred from the 
 fact that on the nth December, 1644, a few days probably after Jame- 
 sone's death, when Mary by herself, and Isabella and Marjory together, 
 went forward and served themselves his heirs-at-law, Elizabeth did not. 
 She had right to take sasine of the heritable property left her by her 
 father, but established no next-of-kin claim like her sisters. This field 
 of enquiry is, however, not exhausted, and it is hard to say what 
 additional light may yet be thrown on the subject. 
 
 Page 30. Jamesone's Arms are described as Argent — a fessi wavy, 
 azure, between three anchors. Motto, " Sine Metu " (Without Fear). 
 The crest is a ship in full sail with a flag displayed. The shield, with 
 bearings, is emblazoned in one of the eighty-four compartments into 
 which the roof of the Aberdeen Town-Hall is divided. 
 
 P^g^ 37- Extracts from the Baillie Court Books — Under 4th May, 
 1621 : — 
 
 Alex"^ Gareauche is said to be restand auchtand to Williame Jamesone secune 
 sone to umqll Andre Jamesone meason Indwellar in Abdn the soume of fourtiene 
 pundis Scottis money (vol. xlix., p. 827). 
 
 Under 22nd March, 1624 : — 
 
 The Quilk day in pn of M' Alex Cullen Baillie compeirit personallie George 
 Jamesone paynter eldest LauU sone to umqll Andro Jamesone measone Indwellar in 
 Abdn (vol. 1., p. 871). 
 
 It is clearly to be understood that George was eldest and William 
 second son at the above respective dates, because their elder brother had 
 already pre-deceased them. 
 
 Page 57. In the second paragraph Jamesone's family has, by 
 mistake, been limited to six. He had at least seven children, of whom 
 four were sons, and of these two were unnamed (see the Pedigree). 
 
A ppendix. 
 
 Page 104. The following are the terms on which the Play field 
 was leased to Jamesone's representatives, as granted by the Town 
 Council on 15th January, 1645 (Council Reg., vol. 53, pp. 36-37): — 
 
 The said day anent the supplication gevin in be Mr John Alex^ Advocat in 
 Edr, makand mention that that peice of ground calht the Playfeild besyd the 
 Womanhill (ql'' wes set to vmq'.' George Jameson, painter burges of Edr, in 
 liferent and buildit be him in a garden) Is now vnprofitable, and that the said 
 Mt John Alex^ sone-in-law to the said vmq'.' George Is desyreous to have the 
 same peice ground set to him in few heretablie, to be hauldin of the Provest baillies 
 Counsell and Comunitie of the burghe of Aber and y"^ successors for payment 
 of a reasoneable few deutie yeirly y'foir : Humblie y''foir supplicating yr honors 
 of the counsell to set in few heretablie to him the foirsaid peice of ground for 
 payment of a reasoneable few deutie yeirlie as in the said supplication at mair lenth 
 is contenit : Q'.'' being red, sein, and considerit be the said Counsell and they 
 yi'with ryplie and at lenth advised The saide Provest, Baillies, and Counsell Ordanes 
 ane heretable few charter to be past and exped To the said Mr John Alext , his aires 
 maill, and successors of the foirsaid plot of ground callit the Playfeild, or garden 
 sometyme possest be the said vmq'' George Jameson, for payment of four punds 
 scots money yeirlie of few deutie to the touns thesaurar and his successors at Wit- 
 sunday and Manimes in Winter, be equall portions The first termes payment to be 
 and begin at the feast and terme of . . . nixt to come, and sua furth, yeirlie in all 
 tymes heirefter and ordanes the limits of the said Garden to be set doun and boundit 
 in the foirsaid charter efter the sichting of the ground be the saide Provest and baillies, 
 q'.'' the Counsell appoints to be visited the morne, and that in respect the haill 
 inhabitants of this burghe being convenit within the tolbuith of the same, vpon the 
 sewint day of January instant They all in ane voice but any contradiction gave yt 
 expres consent and assent to the heretable fewing of the said peice of ground vpon sic 
 conditiones and for payment of sic yeirlie few deutie as the magistrals and Councell 
 sould think expedient. 
 
 Page 114. In 1617, the artist lent the sum of 500 merks to 
 Alexander Jamesone, who was probably his uncle. As a security for 
 this loan Jamesone obtained the disposition of a house and ground 
 situated in the Green. The money was repaid on the 22nd March, 
 1624, and an entry is made in the Baillie Court Books, signed by Jame- 
 sone, granting the borrower a discharge. The signature on page 1 14 is 
 copied from this discharge. On the 25th January, 1625, following a 
 
192 
 
 George yamesone. 
 
 custom of that period, Jamesone gives a propinquity proof, before an 
 assize, of his relationship to his late brother, Andrew, who is described 
 as " quondam Andreas Jamesoni filius senior quondam Andree Jameson 
 latomi Jucole burgi de Aber, frater germanis Georgii pictoris latomo 
 putium " [vol li" p. 129]. 
 
 Page 125. Dr. Dun's portrait in the Town House is a copy by 
 Mr. John Moir, who worked in Aberdeen in the beginning of the present 
 century. He was a son of the Rev. Dr. George Moir, of Peterhead. 
 He studied his profession partly on the Continent, and acquired very 
 considerable technical skill. His portraits are not numerous, but they 
 exhibit much care and finish. 
 
 No reference has been made in the preceding pages to Dr. Duncan 
 Liddell's interesting monumental brass in St. Nicholas (West) Church, 
 Aberdeen. The plate measures five and a half feet long by about three 
 broad. The upper half consists of an elaborate portrait of Liddell, 
 surrounded by many of the insignia of learning and science. The lower 
 half and border contain a lengthened Latin inscription. Mr. Andrew 
 Gibb gives a complete description of it, with illustrations, in the Pro- 
 ceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 13th March, 1876, 
 and ventures the opinion that the brass was probably designed by 
 Jamesone, who had just returned from Antwerp, and was at the time 
 (1623) in close friendship with Sir Paul Menzies, Provosts Nicholson, 
 Jaffray, and Dr. Patrick Dun, who were charged with its execution. It 
 was engraved at Antwerp, and Mr. Gibb contends that it may rank as 
 a work of Jamesone's. With regard to the portrait, it is not in the least 
 in the mode Jamesone would have chosen, nor are the circumstantial 
 accessories in the least degree like those of his known works. We think 
 that if Jamesone furnished the pen-and-ink sketch for the engraver, it 
 must have been copied from an existing portrait of Liddell painted by 
 a Continental artist, where he spent the best part of his life. 
 
Appendix. 
 
 193 
 
 Two members of the Alexander branch of Jamesone's descendants 
 inherited his artistic qualities. John Alexander, the son of Marjory 
 Jamesone, became a picture engraver, and it is to his burin that we arc 
 indebted for the well-known engraving of the Jamesone family group 
 (No. 119). Another descendant, Cosmo John Alexander, followed an 
 artist's career during the last century. He studied at Florence, and, 
 returning to his native country, followed in the same peripatetic way, 
 the footsteps of his illustrious relative. His pictures, which are freely 
 scattered about the mansions of the north of Scotland, possess no 
 special merit of any kind. They may be described as matter of fact, 
 and wholly lack the delicate handling of Jamesone. Let justice be 
 done to Alexander, he did possess one great merit, but it is observable 
 on the back of his canvases, where is usually to be found a historical 
 record of the subject, the artist, and the date of the picture. He copied 
 some of Jamesone's pictures, and, as in No. 24, commendably noted the 
 fact. It may be suspected that in some cases he played the restorer's 
 part, and is probably responsible for some of the perplexity now 
 experienced in identifying Jamesone's works. 
 
 Sir George Chalmers, who married a descendant of Jamesone's, in 
 the person of Marjory's great grand-daughter, was also a disciple of 
 Apelles. He was born at Edinburgh, and was representative of the 
 baronets of Cults, whose estate was confiscated for their adhesion to the 
 Stuarts. Sir George first studied at Edinburgh under Allan Ramsay, 
 and afterwards at Rome, He was patronised by General Blakeney at 
 Minorca, where he painted the portrait of that officer, which was after- 
 wards engraved and published. After his return home. Sir George 
 established himself in his profession, first at Hull, and then in London. 
 He died in 1791. Through his wife Sir George inherited the original 
 picture of the Jamesone family group (No. 119), over which some 
 mystery hangs. 
 
THE JAMESk 
 
 " Dekyne " William Jamesone. = (?) 
 
 29th M !, 
 '5761 
 
 Gilbert Anderson, = J fej 
 
 Merchant. 
 D. 2nd February, 1 598. 
 
 1585. 
 
 ritl 
 
 Alexander Jamesone. (?) Andrew Jamesone. = Marjory Anderson. Janet. Christian. Alex;|fc 
 
 Professor of kt 
 Universit- f 
 
 Elspet. 
 B. 1586. 
 
 II 
 
 - Alexander. 
 
 Andrew. 
 B. 1587. (?) 
 D. 1625. 
 
 1 2th Nov., I 
 1624. I 
 Isobel Tosh. = GEORGE JAMESONE. 
 
 B. 1588. (.') D. 1644. 
 
 William. 
 D. 1632. 
 
 David 
 Ancestij 
 of the ! 
 BanneriTiis 
 Baronets oftls 
 
 William. 
 B. July, 
 1629. 
 D. January, 
 1631. 
 
 Paul. 
 B. October, 
 
 1630. 
 D. January, 
 
 1631. 
 
 A Son. 
 Died 
 January, 
 1635- 
 
 A Son. 
 Died 
 October, 
 1641. 
 
 Isabella. Marjory. = John Alexander, 
 Advocate, 
 Edinburgh. 
 
 Ge. 
 M. 
 
 Abik 
 
 John Alexander (Engraver). 
 
 Cosmo John Alexander (Artist) 
 
 4th June, 1768. I 
 Sir George Chalmers, = Isabella Alexander. 
 Bart, of Cults (Artist). 
 D. 1791. See p. 193. 
 
 Sir Robert Chalmers. 
 
 Sir Charles W. Chalmers, R.N. 
 
 David yEdie, 
 of Newark, 
 Baillie of Aberdeen, 
 Whose daughter, Giles, married 
 the Laird of Skene. 
 
 George Skene, = Helen, 
 of Rubislaw, 
 Great Grand-Nephew 
 of Sir George Skene, * 
 
 of Fintray. 
 Provost of Aberdeen 
 from 1676-1685. 
 
 Alexander. 
 
 Ro' t. 
 Town e 
 ( 
 
 Aber ;i 
 H n 
 
 William Carnegie, 
 Town-Clerk 
 of Aberdeen 
 
 Violet Mary. i= Alex. Robertson. Ji 
 
E PEDIGREE. 
 
 ir. 
 
 y, i6oi. 
 
 6th November, 
 1570. 
 
 Matthew Guild, = Mariana Ronaldson. 
 
 Armourer. 
 
 
 B. 1542. D. 1603. 
 
 
 David Anderson, = Jean Guild. Christian. Margaret. 
 
 latics, of Finzeauch. 
 s. " Davy-do-a'-thing." 
 D. 9th October, 1629. 
 
 D. 1667. 
 
 William. William, = Catherine Roland. 
 
 Killed by D.D. & Principal of 
 John Leslie, King's College, 
 1584. Aberdeen. 
 
 B. 1586. D. Aug. 17, 1657. 
 
 Itatthew. 
 
 Christian. Janet Anderson. = John Gregory, Minister of Drumoak. 
 B. March, 1613. D. 1651. 
 
 Cousins. 
 ^1 1669. I 
 
 Mary Jamesone, =James Gregory, F.R.S., 
 B. November, 1638. 
 D. 1675. 
 Inventor of the 
 Reflecting Telescope. 
 Professor of Mathematics, 
 Edinburgh University. 
 
 Peter Burnet, 
 
 of Elrick, 
 and had Issue. 
 
 David (of Kinairdie), 
 was twice married, 
 and had 32 children. 
 See also p. 153. 
 
 ander Thomson, = Helen Gregory 
 f Portlethen, 
 
 Fown- Clerk 
 of 
 
 Aberdeen. 
 
 Janet, 
 
 II ' B. 1674. 
 
 Rev. Wm. Forbes, Professor of 
 son of Sir John Forbes, Medicine, 
 of Waterton, King's College, 
 and had 15 children. Aberdeen. 
 
 James, M.D. = Anne, daughter of 
 Principal Chalmers, 
 of King's College. 
 
 Mary Thomson. = James Carnegie, 
 Town-Clerk 
 of Aberdeen. 
 
 vidson. = Alexander Carnegie, 
 Town-Clerk 
 of Aberdeen. 
 
 James, M.D., John Gregory, M.D., = The Hon. Elizabeth Forbes, 
 
 Professor of 
 Medicine, 
 King's College, 
 Aberdeen. 
 D. 1755. 
 
 Professor of 
 Moral Philosophy, 
 King's College, 
 Aberdeen. 
 
 a daughter of 
 William, Lord Forbes. 
 
 Helen Carnegie. = John Ross, of Grenada and 
 I Granton Lodge, Aberdeen. 
 
 Major John Ross, 
 
 of Tillycorthie. 
 
 Chief Constable 
 of Aberdeenshire. 
 
 Hannah. 
 
 James Gregory, M.D., 
 Professor of Institutes of Medicine, 
 Edinburgh University. 
 
 B. 1753. D. 1820. 
 
 William Gregor>', M.D., 
 Professor of Medicine and Chemistry, 
 Aberdeen University. 
 B. 1803. D. 1839. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Abernethy, Margaret, or Fraser, 173 
 
 Aidye, Dauid, 86 
 
 ^die, Baillie George, ---------- - 106 
 
 Alexander, Cosmo John, J 92 
 
 Alexander, John, Advocate, 31,104,105,190,191 
 
 Alexander, John, Picture Engraver, 192 
 
 Alexander, Robert, 57, 86, 189 
 
 Anderson, Alexander, ---------- - 27 
 
 Andeison, Christian, - 27, 128 
 
 Anderson, David (" Davy-do-a'-tbing"), - - - - 25,27,28,30,125,127 
 
 Anderson, David, son of" Davy-do-a'-thing," 128 
 
 Anderson, Gilbert, 26, 62, 81 
 
 Anderson, Janet, or Gregory, 27,128 
 
 Anderson, Marjory, or Jamesone, - 26, 27, 32, 187 
 
 Argyll, Archibald, 1st Lord of, 132 
 
 Argyll, Archibald, ist Marquis of, 112, 155 
 
 Argyll, Lady Ann Douglas, Marchioness of, 92, >55 
 
 Arniston, Sir James Dundas, Lord, 138 
 
 Bannerman, Lady Katherine, of Crimonmogate, 127 
 
 Barclay, Dr. William, - - 90 
 
 Baron, Dr. Robert, 57> S8, 61, 69, 113 
 
 Beaton, David, of Balfour, 94» '39 
 
 Bethune, Charles C, of Balfour, 139 
 
 Binning, Lady, Catherine Erskine, 147 
 
 Binning, Thomas, Lord of, 147 
 
 Blackburn, Bishop, - - 25 
 
 Blackburn, Rev. Peter, 121 
 
 Bothwell, Ann, daughter of the Bishop of Orkney, 165 
 
 Bothwell, Earl of, 181 
 
 Bow Brig, 26, 34, 69 
 
 Bjreadalbane, Earl of, 128 
 
 Bronchorst, Arthur van, 18 
 
 Bruce, King Robert The, - - 92 
 
 Buccleugh, Walter, Lord, 158 
 
 Buccleugh, Walter .Scot, Earl of, 1 58 
 
 Buchan, Lady Mary Douglas, Countess of, 133, 157 
 
 Buchan, Lady Marjory Ramsay, Countess of, - - - ' - - - 157 
 Buchan, James Erskine, 6th Earl of, - - - - - ' - - 54, '33, '56 
 
 Buchan, James Erskine, 7th Earl of, 1 57 
 
 Buchan, Robert Douglas, Earl of, 143 
 
 lUichan, Earl of — (owner of pictures), 133 
 
 Bulloch, John, - -- - 134 
 
 25 
 
196 
 
 George Jamesone. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Burnett, Janet, or Skene, - - 136^ 142 
 
 Burnett, Peter, of Elrick, - -- -- -- -- - 105 
 
 Burnett, Sir Robert — (owner of pictures), 135 
 
 Burnett, Sir Thomas, istofLeys, - 121, 135 
 
 Byres, Sir John, of Coates, 136 
 
 Byres, P. Moir, of Tonley, - -- -- -- -- - 136 
 
 Campbell, Anabella, wife of Alexander, 6th of Merchiston, - - - - 167 
 
 Campbell, Lady Ann, Marchioness of Huntly, - - - - 53^ 54^ 168, 169 
 Campbell, Sir Colin, 8th of Glenorchy, 72, 73, 76, 77, 78, 79, 82, 91, 92, 93,98, 129, 167 
 
 Campbell, Sir Colin, of Lochow, 129 
 
 Campbell, Sir Duncan, - -- -- -- -- - 73^ 167 
 
 Cami3bell, Sir John, - - 130,131 
 
 Campbell, Mary, Countess of Menteith, Strathearn, and Airth, - - - 131 
 
 Campbell, Sir Robert, - - . - 130, 131 
 
 Cant, Rev. Andrew, - -- -- -- -- -- i2t 
 
 Cardross, David Erskine, 2nd Lord, - 94, 133 
 
 Cardross, Henry Erskine, ist Lord, ------- 133 
 
 Carmichael, William, 37, 187 
 
 Carmichael, Sir W. H. Gibson, of Skirling, Bart., - - , - - - 139 
 
 Carnegie, Sir Alexander, of Balnamoon, - -- -- -- xjd 
 
 Carnegie, James, Town-Clerk of Aberdeen, 106 
 
 Carnegie, Euphemia, Lady Grahame, of Morphia, ----- 144 
 
 Carnegie, Mistress Magdalene, Marchioness of Montrose, - . - - 179 
 
 Carnegie, Mary, ----------- - 106 
 
 Carnegie, Sir Robert, of Dunnichen, 54, 177 
 
 Chalmers, Sir George, - 56, 153, 193 
 
 Charles L, - - 71,72,73,92 
 
 Clinton, Lord, - - - - 138 
 
 Coligny, Admiral, - - - - - - - - 146 
 
 Coligny, Henrietta de. Countess of Haddington, - - ' - - - - 146 
 
 Colquhoun, Margaret Haldane, - -- -- -- -- 159 
 
 Colquhoun, Maria, - - - 13 
 
 Colquhoun, Rev. Mr., - - - ------- 159 
 
 Colquhoun, Robert, of Camstraddan, 159 
 
 Colquhoun, Sir Robert G., K.C.B., - - 160 
 
 Craig, Sir James Henry Gibson-, of Riccarton, 137 
 
 Crawford and Balcarres, Earl of, 136 
 
 Crichton, Sir James, of Frendraught, - - - - - - - - 161 
 
 Cruickshank, Isbell, or Jameson, - - - - 32 
 
 Cunningham, Anne, Marchioness of Hamilton, 131 
 
 Dalhousie, William, I St Earl of, IS7 
 
 Dalhousie, Earl of — (owner of pictures), 14° 
 
 David IL, King of Scotland, 92,1,3° 
 
 Dee, Battle of the Bridge of, -------- - 97 
 
 Dick, Sir WMlliam, Bart., - 138 
 
 Dick-Cunyngham, Sir R. K. A., 138 
 
 Don, Old Bridge of, 25 
 
 Douglas, Lady Margaret, 149 
 
 Drummond, Annabella, Queen of Robert III., 129 
 
 Drummond, Sir John, of Stobhall, - -- -- -- - 129 
 
 Drummond, Lord, - - - - - - - - - - - '57 
 
 Drummond, Sir Patrick, 160 
 
 Drummond, William, of Hawthornden, 67, 145 
 
 Duff, Adam (?), of Muldavit, Hi 
 
Index. 
 
 197 
 
 Duff, Major Gordon, 
 
 Duff, John, ^ 
 
 Duff, John, of Muldavit, - 
 
 Duff, Miss , 
 
 Duft; Mrs, of Muldavit, - 99, 
 
 Dun, Dr. Patrick, - - - 65, 66, 74, 125, 
 
 Dunbar, Bishop Gavin, 
 
 Dundas, Sir James, Kt., Governor of Berwick, ------ 
 
 Dundas, Robert, of Arniston, 
 
 Dyce, William, R.A., 107, 
 
 Edmestoun, Domina Mariota, 
 
 Eglinton, Earl of, - 
 
 Elphinstone, Bishop William, 
 
 Elphinstone, Lord, of Carberry Tower, - - 
 
 Errington, Mrs., ------------ 
 
 Erroll, Earl of, - -- -- -- -- -- - 
 
 Erskine, Sir Alexander, - - 
 
 Erskine, Sir Alexander, of Cambuskenneth, 94, 
 
 Erskine, Lady Ann, Countess of Rothes, 163, 
 Erskine, .Sir Arthur, of Scotscraig, 
 
 Erskine, Lady Catherine, Countess of Haddington, - . . - 146,147, 
 Ersk ne. Sir John, of Otterstoun, --------- 
 
 Erskine, Lady Margaret, Countess of Kinghorn and Strathmore, - - 148, 
 Erskine, Lady Mary, Countess of Marischal and Panmure, - - 54, 55, 148, 
 Erskine, Hon. William, ---------- 
 
 Evangelists in Kmg's College, - -- -- -- -- 
 
 Falkland, Viscountess, - - - .- 
 
 Fife, Earl of, - - 
 
 Forbes, Alexander, ist Lord Pitsligo, 
 
 Forbes, Sir John, of Waterton, 
 
 Forbes, Bishop Patrick, 57, 60, 63, 69, 
 
 Forbes, Thomas, of Waterton, 
 
 Forbes, Bishop William, 62, 66, 69, 70, 73, 74, 81, 
 
 Forbes, Sir William, of Craigievar, 
 
 Forbes, William, of Tolquhon, 
 
 Forbes, Rev. William, son of Sir John Forbes, of Waterton, 
 Forman, Helena, Rubens' second wife, ------- 
 
 Fraser, Alexander, of Fhilorth, -. . - - - - - - - , - .. 54, 
 
 Eraser, Sir Alexander, 8th of Philorth, 173, 
 
 Fraser, Andrew, of Muckills, - - 
 
 Fraser, Colonel, of Castle Fraser, 
 
 Fraser, Mrs., of Muckills, 
 
 Free Church College Pictures, - - - 
 
 Frendraught, Lady, wife of .Sir James Crichton, of Frendraught, - 
 Frendraught, Lady, wife of ist Lord Frendraught, 
 
 Genealogical Tree of the House of Glenorchy, 
 
 Gibson, Sir Alexander, of Durie, - - - - - - - - - 139, 
 
 Glencairn, James, 7th Earl of, - -- -- -- -- 
 
 Gordon, .Sir Adam, of Park, 
 
 Gordon, Lady, of Parl<, - - - - - 
 Gordon, Alexander, of Parkhill, 
 
 Gordon, Lady Jean, Countess of Bothwell, 
 
 Gordon, Lady Jean, Countess of Haddington, 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 38 
 42 
 42 
 42 
 48 
 92 
 24 
 39 
 38 
 
 Go 
 
 28 
 82 
 
 24 
 40 
 
 41 
 41 
 
 34 
 64 
 72 
 65 
 64 
 65 
 64 
 63 
 65 
 16 
 
 43 
 41 
 
 38 
 06 
 
 75 
 41 
 83 
 75 
 73 
 06 
 
 49 
 73 
 74 
 43 
 43 
 43 
 24 
 61 
 62 
 
 32 
 <>5 
 31 
 38 
 38 
 43 
 80 
 
 47 
 
198 George ya)nesone. 
 
 PAOB. 
 
 Gordon, John, Viscount Melgum, - 169 
 
 Gordon, Sir Robert, of Gordonstoun, - 181 
 
 Gordon, Robert, of Straloch, 34, 122, 143 
 
 Gordon, Sir Robert, of Lochinvar, 173 
 
 Grahame, Sir Robert, of Morphia, 52, 144 
 
 Grahame, Trustees of the late Barron, ------- - 144 
 
 Grammar School (new), - - - 125 
 
 Grammar School (old), - - - 36, 38 
 
 Grant, Sir Francis, of Monymusk, Bart., - 144 
 
 Gray, 7th Lord, - - 150 
 
 Gregorie, David, of Kinairdie, 153 
 
 Gregory, David, Savilian Professor of Astronomy, Oxford, - - - - 153 
 
 Gregory, Helen, or Thomson, ..- 106 
 
 Gregory James, Professor of Mathematics, Edinburgh University, - - 106 
 Gregory, Janet, or Forbes, - - - - - - - - - - 106 
 
 Gregory, Rev. John, of Drumoak, 128 
 
 Grey Friars Convent and Churchyard, -------- 41, loi 
 
 Guild, Jean, or Anderson, 28, 125, 127 
 
 Guild, Matthew, 28, 125, 126 
 
 Guild, Dr. William, 28, 66, 125, 126, 127, 163 
 
 Haddington, Henrietta de Coligny, Countess of, 146 
 
 Haddington, Lady Catherine E^rskine, Countess of, - - - - 146, 147, 164 
 
 Haddington, Thomas, 3rd Earl of, 146, 147 
 
 Haddington, Sir Thomas Hamilton, Earl of (" Tam o' the Cowgate"); " '5^ 
 
 Haddington, Thomas, 2nd Earl of, 146, 164 
 
 Haddington, Earl of — (owner of pictures), 146 
 
 Haliburton, Sir James, of Pitcur, - - • - - - - - 151 
 
 Haliburton, Margaret, Countess of Kinnoull, - 151 
 
 Halkett, Sir Peter Arthur, of Pittirrane, Bart., . - - ^ . - - 145 
 
 Hamilton, Sir Alexander, 147 
 
 Hamilton, General Alexander, I47 
 
 Hamilton, James, 2nd Marquis of, 94, 131, 132 
 
 Hamilton, Sir John, 147 
 
 Hamilton, Anne Cunningham, Marchioness of, 131 
 
 Hamilton, Hon. R. Baillie, i47 
 
 Hay, Lady Sophia, - - 170 
 
 Hope, Sir Archibald, I49 
 
 Hope, Sir James, 146 
 
 Hope, Sir John, 2nd of Craighall, 149 
 
 Hope, Lady, Margaret Murray, - - 150 
 
 Hope, Sir Thomas, - - - - - - - - 94,133,137,146,149 
 
 Hopetoun, Earl of. - - - - - - - - - - - 146 
 
 Huntly, George, 4th Earl of, - - - - - - - - 35. 53> 181 
 
 Huntly, Lady Ann Campbell, Marchioness of, - - - 53, 54, 168, 169, 184 
 Huntly, George, ist Marquis of, -------- - 168 
 
 Huntly, George, 2nd Marquis of, - 168 
 
 Jaffray, Alexander (elder), - - - 59> 61, 66 
 
 Jaffray, Alexander (younger), - - - - - - - - 59> 69, 74- 77 
 
 jamesone, Alexander, - - - - - - 32, '9' 
 
 Jamesone, Andrew, - - 35, 26, 29, 31, 32, 187, 188 
 
 Jamesone, Andrew, son of Andrew Jamesone, 32, '87) '9' 
 
 Jamesone, Elizabeth, - - - - - 104, 189, 190 
 
 Jameson, Elspaitt, daughter of Alexander Jameson, 32 
 
 Jamebone, Elspaitt, daughter of Aixlrew Jamesone, - - . - - 3.' 
 
Index. 
 
 199 
 
 Jamesone, George. — At Antwerp, 47; Arms, 190; Autograph, 114; Birth, 
 32; Catalogue of Works, 116-185; Characteristics of Style, 115; 
 Death, loi ; Education, 37 ; Family Connections, 24 ; Garden, 84, 
 190 ; Marriage, 55 ; Memorial Window, 107 ; Wedderburn's Epitaph 
 on, 102 ; Portraits of, 152, 170, 174; Portraits of his Children, 152 ; 
 161 ; Acquires various Properties, 188-191 ; Establishes his Repu- 
 tation, 5:. 
 
 Jamesone, Isabella, 31, 57, 102, 104, 189, 
 
 Jamesone, Marjory, 57, loi, 102, 104, 105, 
 
 Jamesone, Mary, 57, 102, 104, 105, 106, 
 
 Jamesone, Paul, - 57 
 
 Jamesone, William, son of Andrew Jamesone, ------ 64 
 
 Jamesone, William, son of George Jamesone, 57: 
 Jamesone, Williame, '• Dekyne," 
 
 Johnstone, Dr. Arthur, 41, 53, 54, 61, 69, 74, 100, 1 19, 
 
 Johnstone, Dr. William, 54, 60, 65, 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Kinghorn, John, 2nd Earl, ------- 
 
 Kinghorn and Strathmore, Lady Margaret Erskine, Countess of, 
 King's College, --------- 
 
 Kinnoull, Earl of — (owner of pictures), - . - - 
 
 Kinnouil, George, ist Earl of, 
 
 Kinnoull, George, 2nd Earl of, - 
 
 Kinnoull, Margaret Haliburton, Countess of, ... 
 Kintore, Earl of, -------- - 
 
 94, 97, 
 - 148, 
 36, 43, 116 
 
 Leith, Mrs., of Canaan Lodge, - - . - 
 Lennox, Esme, Duke of, - - - 
 Leslie, Alexander, Esq., C.E. — (owner of pictures), 
 Leslie, General Alexander, ist Earl of Leven, 
 Leslie, Sir David, Lord Newark, 
 
 Leslie, John, Lord, - 
 
 Leslie, Lady Margaret, daughter of Earl of Rothes, 
 Leslie, Lady Mary, daughter of Earl of Rothes, - 
 
 Liddell, Dr. Duncan, 
 
 Lindsay, Alexander, 2nd of Balcarres, - 
 Lindsay, Sir Alexander, ist Lord Spynie, 
 Lindsay, Sir David, ist Lord Lindsay, of Balcarres, 
 Lindsay, Earl of — (owner of pictures), 
 Lindsay, John, of Wormieston, - - 
 Lindsay, Patrick, of Wormieston, 
 
 Livingstone, Rev. John, 
 
 Livingstone, Lady M., 2nd Countess of Wigton, - 
 
 Longueville, Maria Ducessa de, Regina Scotorum, 
 
 Lorne, Archibald, Lord of, - 
 
 Lome, John, Lord of, - 
 
 Lothian, Sir William Kerr, 3rd Earl of, 
 
 Lothian, Marquis of, ----- - 
 
 Loudon, Earl of, Chancellor of Scotland, 
 
 Mar, Lady Anne Drummond, Countess of, - 
 Mar, Lady NLiry Mackenzie, Countess of, - 
 Mar, Lady Marie Stewart, Countess of, 
 Mar, John, 3rd Earl of, ..... 
 
 Mar, John, 4th Earl of, 
 
 Mar, John, 7th Earl of. Lord Treasurer of Scotland, 
 
 93, 156, 
 
 163, 
 
 173, 
 97, 
 
 105, 
 
 155, 
 94, 
 
 157, 
 
 132, 154, '57. 162, 
 
 90 
 90 
 89 
 59 
 65 
 59 
 24 
 
 23 
 23 
 
 48 
 64 
 20 
 50 
 50 
 51 
 51 
 51 
 
 52 
 
 68 
 
 54 
 83 
 82 
 48 
 72 
 72 
 92 
 37 
 37 
 36 
 53 
 53 
 53 
 44 
 40 
 28 
 30 
 29 
 56 
 55 
 33 
 
 57 
 57 
 62 
 
 57 
 57 
 65 
 
200 
 
 George Jamcsone. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Mar and Kellie, Earl of, 1 56 
 
 Margaret of Denmark, Queen of James III., 129 
 
 Maria Magne, Britannas Regina, -------- - 129 
 
 Marischal and Panmure, Lady Mary Erskine, Countess of, - - 54, 55, 148, 163 
 
 Marischal, George, 5th Earl, 33i 34, 97; '23, 148, 152 
 
 Marischal, William, 6th Earl, - 148, 163 
 
 Marischal College, 34,72, 121-124, 125 
 
 Mary, Queen of Scots, - - - 16, 17, 30, 32, 181 
 
 Menteith, Mary Campbell, Countess of, - - - - - - - - 131 
 
 Menteith, William Graham, 7th Earl of, 131 
 
 Menzies, Sir Paul, - - - - - - - 51, 59, 69, 74, 86, 100, 123 
 
 Menzies, Sir Thomas, ---------- - 74 
 
 Moir, Kev. Dr., of Peterhead, . . 192 
 
 Moir, John, Artist, 192 
 
 Montrose, Duke of, 159 
 
 Montrose, James, ist Marquis of, - - - - 52, 97, lu, 144, 152, 159, 177 
 
 Montrose, 2nd Marcjuis of, - 167 
 
 Moray, C. Stirling Home Drummond. of Blairdrummond, - - - - 160 
 
 Moresoune, George, ex-Dean of Guild, 100 
 
 Morison, Major, of Montblairy, 161 
 
 Murray, Alexander Erskine, Sheriff-Substitute of Glasgow, - - - - 162 
 Murray, Colonel John, of Polmaise Castle, 165 
 
 Napier, Ale.xander, 5th of Merchiston, 167 
 
 Napier, Archibald, ist Lord, - - 131, 166 
 
 Napier, Archibald, 2nd Lord, - - - - 167 
 
 Napier, Archibald, 6th of Merchiston, ------- - 167 
 
 Napier and Ettrick, Hon. Lord, - - - - - '- - - - 166 
 
 Napier, Margaret, Lady Stirling of Keir, 158 
 
 Nicolson, Sir Thomas, - -- -- -- -- - 150 
 
 Nisbet, Sir Harry, of Dean, - -- -- -- -- 166 
 
 Northesk, Sir John Carnegie, ist Earl of, - 177 
 
 Ogilvie, Alexander, of Boyne, - - - - - - - - - 181 
 
 Panmure, Earl of, - 163 
 
 Phillip, John, R.A., - - . - 106, 107, loS 
 
 Pitsligo, Lady, Jean Keith, --- - - 163 
 
 Playfield, 85-88, 104, 190 
 
 Raban, Edward, - 61,63,113,169 
 
 Ramsay, Lady Marjory, Countess of Buchan, ------ 157 
 
 Richmond and Gordon, Duke of, - -- -- - - - 168 
 
 Ross, Major John, of Tillycorthie, ------- 57,106,170 
 
 Rothes, Countess of — (owner of pictures), - - - - • . - - 171 
 
 Rothes, Lady Ann Erskine, Countess of, ------ - 163, 172 
 
 Rothes, John Leslie, 5th Larl of, 98, 164, 171 
 
 Rothes, Duke of, ----------- 164 
 
 Rubens, Peter Paul, 31, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49> 78, 98 
 
 Ruthven, Lady Katherine, 149 
 
 Saint Machar Cathedral, ----- 106 
 
 vSaint Nicholas Church and Churchyard, 84, 127, 192 
 
 Salloun, George, 7th Lord, - - - 173 
 
 Saltoun, Lord — (owner of pictures), 173 
 
 Sandilands, Professor James, of Craibstone, 54, 61, 120 
 
Index. 20 1 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Sandilands, , of Coates, - - - - - - - - - 136 
 
 Schoolhill, - • - ~- - 29, 30, 38, 187 
 
 Scots College, Rome, -------- ." - ■ -.. - - 80, 184 
 
 Seafield, Representatives of the late Earl of, ' .-' '74 
 
 Sempill, Lord, . .. . . ■■- ' 175 
 
 Sibyls, The Ten, - - - - - - . ' - ' 117 
 
 Skene, Alexander, 15th of that Ilk, - - - 136,142 
 
 Skene, Baillie Alexander, - - - 90 
 
 Shakespeare in Aberdeen, 85 
 
 Southesk, Sir David Carnegie, 1st Earl of, 144, 152, 176 
 
 Southesk, Earl of — (owner of pictures), ------- 176 
 
 Spa, Well of, : ■ - - - - 86, 89, 90 
 
 Spynie, Sir Alexander Lindsay, ist Lord, - - - - - 137 
 
 Stair, Earl of, ' - - - - 175 
 
 Stewart, , of Hisleside, - - . . - 134 
 
 Stewart, Domina Joneta, - 129 
 
 Stewart, Lady Marie, Countess of Mar, - - 157, 162 
 
 Stewart, Marietta, filia de Joannis de Athol, 149 
 Stewart, Lady Marietta, filia Roberti Comitis de Fyffe, . - - - 149 
 
 Stirling, ist Earl of, - 180 
 
 Stirling, Sir George of Keir, - - - - - - - - - 157 
 
 Stirling, Margaret Napier, Lady, of Keir, - -- -- -- 158 
 
 Stirling, Margaret Ross, Lady, of Keir, - - - - - -■ - 158 
 
 Stirling-Maxwell, Sir John Maxwell, Bart., - ' -• 157 
 
 - Strachan, Andrew, - - - - - - - - - - -59) 60, 61 
 
 Sutherland, Duke of, - - - - - - - - - - - 180 
 
 Sutherland, Alexander, iith Earl, - - - - - - - - 181 
 
 Swinton, Archibald Campbell, of Kimmerghame, ----- 180 
 
 Thomson, Alexander, of Portlethen, ------- 106, 124, 170 
 
 Toche, Elspait, - -- -- -- -- -- - 62 
 
 Toche, Isobel, or Jamesone, - - - -56, 57, 59, 102, 104, 152, 153, 188 
 
 Toche, James, ------ - 62, 189 
 
 Trades' Hail Pictures, ----------- 12, 125 
 
 Traquair, Sir John Stewart, ist Earl of, - - 52, 151 
 
 Tweeddale, Lady Jane Abercromby, Countess of, ----- 54, 182 
 
 Tweeddale, John Hay, ist Earl of, -------- 54, 182 
 
 Tweeddale, Marquis of, 182 
 
 University. Aberdeen, Pictures, - - - 1 16-124 
 
 Urquhart, Captain F. E. Pollard-, of Craigston, ------ 182 
 
 Urquhart, John, of Craigston, " Tutor of Cromarty," 54, 162 
 
 Urquhart, Mrs., of Craigston, 54, 162 
 
 Urquhart, Sir Thomas, of Cromarty, 162 
 
 Vandyck, Anthony, - 44, 48, 49, 54, 78, 98 
 
 Warriston, Sir Archibald Johnston, Lord, 137 
 
 Watsoun, Andro, Paintour, i6 
 
 Wedderburn, David, - - - - - - - - 59,60,61,63,68,102 
 
 Wemyss, Honourable Jean Gray, Lady, 150 
 
 Wemyss, John, ist Lord, - - - - - 150 
 
 Wigton, John, 2nd Earl of, - 140 
 
 Wigton, Lady M. Livingstone, Countess of, ------ 140 
 
 William the Lion, - -- 18 
 
 Wright, Michael, - - - - 79, 9 j> 1 08 
 
FniNrED AT Til?'. rUF.E PRESS OF 
 A B K R D E E N. 
 
GETTY RESEARCH INSTITUTE 
 
 3 3125 01451 7136