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OEIGINAL PORTEAITS

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AND

CAEICATUEE ETCHINGS

A SEEIES

OF

. ^jf..l M
ORiaiNAL PORTRAITS

CAEICATUEE ETCHINGS

BY THE LATE
JOHN KAY
MINIATUKB PAINTEB, EDINBTTEOH
WITH
Bioflrajjfutcal Sftetcijes antr lUustratt&e ^neclrotes
NEW EDITION
VOL. II.
CONTAINING PLATES CLXXI. TO CCCXXIX., AND APPENDIX CCCXXX. TO CCCLXI.

EDINBURGH: ADAM AND CHARLES BLAGK
MDCCCLXXVII

^All Eights reserved.}

[bNTEEED at STATIONBES' HALL.]

S. n 3
IB71 (cc;
Printed ^ R. & R. Claek, Edinburgh.

ADVEETISEMENT.

In this volume is concluded the series of three hundred and sixty-one Portraits,
drawn and engraved by the late John Kay, of which, perhaps, it is not too
much to say that it forms a collection quite unique both in character and
extent. As in the case of the First Volume, there is no material alteration
in the text, which,, although whoUy reset, follows in fact the order of the First
Edition both as regards plates and pagination. The portrait of the great
bibliopole, Archibald Constable, is added at the end of the series (before the
Appendix), and supplies an important omission in the previous Edition. Though
placed last, it is not the least of the notable figures represented. Valuable
indices are given to each Volume, both of the subjects portrayed and the
numerous persons incidentally alluded to throughout the text. The latter will
often be found to supply a clue to those who take a pleasure in traciug the
origin of great men and families, and in prying into the secrets of their ancestry.
Edinburgh, December 1877.

NOTICE TO THE FIRST EDITION.

With this, the concluding Part, I feel called upon to express, in the warmest manner,
the sense I entertain of the very flattering encouragement which has been extended to
the Work. To my numerous and highly respectable Subscribers, who, coming forward
in almost every instance unsolicited, have patronised the undertaking by their counten
ance and support, I beg to offer my most sincere thanks. From the length of time
which has elapsed since the commencement of the Publication, their patience has no
doubt been fully exercised ; yet I cannot accuse myself of any unnecessary delay in its
progress through the press. The nature of the Work — the almost insurmountable diffi
culty, in many instances, of obtaining correct information — and the research which its
pages display, will, I trust, be apology sufficient for the protracted period of comple
tion. It will be observed, however, on referring to the Prospectus, that the engage
ment to publish in monthly Parts has not been exceeded ; but that, on the contrary,
several months are anticipated. Such has been my anxiety to have the Biographical
Sketches complete, that the Letterpress has been extended to nearly double of what
was originally stipulated to be given. This, of course, has been accomplished at much
additional expense on my part, without any extra charge to the Subscribers ; but
stimulated by the desire to render the Work not less valuable than curious, I feel
gratified by the approval so generally accorded, and the prospect that a still increasing
demand will amply repay my outlay of capital.
To those who have kindly supplied family information, and to the several literary
and antiquarian gentlemen whom I have had occasion to consult, and who have, with
much liberality, contributed to the historical, traditional, and local interest of the
Work, my acknowledgments are due in an especial degree.
It is to be regretted that a few Etchings by Kay have not been inserted in this
Collection. During the life of the Artist some of them were disposed of to the parties
interested, either because, as good likenesses, they wished to possess them — or, if offen
sive, that they might be withdrawn from the public. In this way several desirable
productions of his pencil are awanting ; but, from advances made by one or two indi
viduals on the subject, in whose possession some of the Plates are, I am hopeful that
a few additions may yet be made to the Collection. These, together with a -number

viii INTRODUCTORY NOTICE.
of original Drawings by Kay, and from which I have been strongly urged to take
Engravings, I may possibly be induced, at some future period, to pubhsh as a Supple
ment to the present Volumes.
It may be well here to state that, in accordance with an early formed resolution, I
have throughout the Work been most careful to avoid whatever might prove offensive
either politically or personally. This, it will readily be conceived, from the nature of
many of the subjects, was a task of no easy performance. I flatter myself, however,
that I have so far succeeded in this respect as almost to disarm censure ; while in no
instance am I aware of having stated facts without duly weighing the authority upon
which these are given. To have produced a work of similar magnitude, and of a
description so diversified, entirely free from error, or beyond the reach of criticism, is
what no one will pretend to ; and I trust the utmost allowance will be conceded.
HUGH PATON.
Edinburgh, December 1838.

j^'YEWHA avis' OU" i ' EWIWG-S LAlTGiTO JJEET.AIj'cHACKAN'SIJSrGASj'uVO,
A'Sl'^WEEX XOTJK PriPES.FOU I.rXTI.:E-WIiAN"G,TOPTIKSE OHPBHSONI
I To SXBE^JOIINNIE X)0-WIk"s GAW& TKEPvE THEUMji. VERSE ON. |

OEIGINAL POETRAITS,
ETC. ETC.

No. CLXXI
MR. JOHN DOWIE,
VINTNEK, LIBBEKTON'S WYND.
" Johnnie Dowie's Tavern " was a place of old standing, and particularly
celebrated for the excellence of its ale, " Nor' Loch trouts, and Welsh rabbits."
It was situated in a narrow alley (called Libberton's Wynd) running between
the Lawnmarket and Cowgate, which has lately been demolished to make way
for George the Fourth Bridge. The tavern, both as to internal and external
appearance, wore an unpromising aspect. The principal room, which looked
to the Wynd, was capable of containing about fourteen persons, but all the
others were so small, that not above six could be stowed into each, and so
dingy and dark 'that, even in broad day, they had to be lighted up by artificial
means. Yet, in this unseemly place of entertainment, many of the respectable
citizens, and several remarkable persons of last century, were in the habit of
meeting nightly, and found in it no ordinary degree of social comfort and
amusement. Fergusson the poet was amongst its most early frequenters. Herd,
the collector of Scottish songs — Paton, the antiquary (who has been formerly
noticed) — Cummyng, of the Lyon Office — Hunter of Blackness — Anthony
Woodhead,^ solicitor-at-law — George Martin, writer — and many other well-
known Edinburgh characters,, were its ordinary visitors. Dowie's Tavern is also
known as having been the favourite resort of Burns during his sojourn of six
months in Edinburgh, where, with Nicol of the High School, and Allan Mas-
terton — the Willie and Allan of his well-known Bacchanalian song — he held
many a social meeting.
What contributed in no small degree to the popularity of " Johnnie Dowie's
^ Anthony on one occasion introduced no less than six French horn players into Jolumie's largest
apartment, in order to amuse, as lie said, the company with "an insimmental concert." We need
scarcely add that the music was of the most overpowering description.
TOL. II. B

2 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Tavern " unquestionably was, in the first place, the good cheer which his house
afforded ; and, secondlj^, his own tact and address. He was uniformly attentive
and obliging ; and, whether with a " crum o' tripe, a fieuk, or whitin'," no one
knew better how to please the palate of a custpmer.-' The situation of the
house tended much to recommend it ; at once retired, and yet in the proximity
of the most frequented portion of the Old Town, it afforded a convenient resort
for those who took " meridians ; " and at night the strong ale drinkers found it
the vfery focus of excellent cheer and good company.
A graphic and somewhat humorous description of " Dowie's Tavern " is given
in some verses by Mr. Hunter of Blackness. These were originally ascribed to
Burns, and as such printed in slips by " Honest John," and circulated among
his acquaintances. They afterwards were included in a short biographical notice
of John himself, in the Scots Magazine for 1806, to which his portrait was pre
fixed. In this article the writer says — " We have met lately with the following
anonymous peem, written a good many years ago, in which the praises and
merits of John are duly set forth. . It is generally supposed to be the composi
tion of Burns, who, when in town, was a frequent visitor of Mr. Dowie ; and at
any rate is a good imitation of his manner. Such of our readers as know what
it is ' to weet their pipes, for little wrang,' will readily acknowledge that the
picture is drawn to the life, and will probably not be displeased with this
opportunity of recognising an old acquaintance : —
"JOHNNIE DOWIE'S ALE.
" A' ye wha wis', on e'enings lang,
To meet an' crack, and sing a sang,
And weet your pipes, for little wrang,
To purse or person,
To sere Johnnie Dowie's gang,
There thrum a verse on.
" 0, Dowie's ale ! thou art the thing,
That gars us craclc, and gars us sing,
Cast by our cares, our wants a' fling
Frae us wi' anger ;
Thou e'en mak'st passion tak the wing,
Or thou wilt bang 'er.
" How West is he wha has a groat
To spare upon the cheering pot ;
He may look blithe as ony Scot
That e'er was born :
Gie's a' the like, but wi' a coat,
And guide frae scorn.
" But tbinkna that strong ale alone
Is a' that's kept by dainty John ;
Na, na ; for in the place there's none,
Frae end to end,
' For meat can set ye better on,
Than can your friend.

' On being asked for something to eat, Johnnie's invariable reply was, " Ye can get a iujed herring."

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. j
" Wi' looks as mild as mild can be,
An' smudgin' laugh, wi' winkin' e'e ;
An' lowly bow down to his' knee,
He'U say fu' douce,
' Whe, gentlemen, stay till I see,
What's i' the house. '
" Anither bow — 'Deed, gif ye please,
Ye can get a bit toasted cheese,
A crum o' tripe, ham, dish o' pease,
(Tlie season, fittin',)
An egg, or, cauler frae the seas,
A fleuk or whitin' ;
" ' A nice beef-steak,* or ye may get
A gude buff d herring, reisted skate,
An' ingans, an' (tho' past its date), -
A cut o' veal ;
Ha, ha, it's no that unco late,
I'll do it weel.'
'-' 0, Geordie Eobertson, dreigh loun, ¦
An' antiquarian Paton soun',
Wi' mony ithers i' the town,
What wad come o'er ye,
Gif Johnnie Dowie should stap down,
To the grave before ye ?
" Ye sure wad break your hearts wi' grief,
An' in strong ale find nae relief,
War ye to lose your Dowie — chief
0' bottle-keepers ;
Three years at least, now, to be brief,
Ye'd gang wi' weepers.
" But, gude forbid ! for your sakes a'.
That sio a usefu' man should fa' ;
For, frien's o' mine, between us twa,
Eight i' your lug,
You'd lose a howff, baith warm an braw,
An' unco snug.
" Then, pray for's health this mony year,
Fresh three-'n-a-ha'penny, best o' beer,i
That can (tho' duU) you brawly cheer —
Eecant you weel up ;
An' gar you a' forget your wear —
Your sorrows seal up."
To this poetical description of "dainty John,'' we may add the prose
remarks of the Traditions : — " He was the sleekest and kindest of landlords.
Nothing could equal the benignity of his smile, when he brought in a bottle of
ale to a company of well-known and friendly customers ; and it was a perfect
¦¦¦ Jojin's best ale was only threepence the bottle. He had an inferior kind at twopence-half
penny. When ordered to bring » bottle, he generally inquired if his customer wished the
" tippenny-ha'penny or the threepenny kind."

4 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
treat to see his formality in drawing the cork, his precision in filling the
glasses, his regularity in drinking the healths of all present in the first glass
(which he always did, and at every successive bottle), and then his douce
civiUty in -withdrawing." The peculiar suavity of welcome which he invariably
extended to his friends was no less effective. " Walk in, gentlemen," he would
say ; " there's plenty o' corn in Egypt."
The ale for which John obtained so much celebrity was the production of
Mr. Archibald Younger, whose brewery was situated in Croft-an-reigh. " That
brewer," say the Traditions, " together with John Gray, City-Clerk of Edinburgh ;
Mr. John Buchan, W.S. ; Martin, the celebrated portrait-painter,-^ (the master
of Sir Henry Raeburn); and some others, instituted a club here, which, by way
of a pun upon the name of the landlord, they called the College of Dowie.
Younger's ale alone was always sold in the house, as it also was at Maut Ha' —
a snug old tavern, kept by one Pringle, in the Playhouse Close, Canongate ;
and it was owing to the celebrity which it acquired in these two establishments
that ' Edinburgh Ale ' attained its present high character."
" Do-wie's Tavern " was a house of much respectability. He was himself a
conscientious, worthy man ; and the majority of his customers were social, but
neither intemperate nor debauched in their enjoyments. The moment twelve
o'clock struck in St. Giles's, not another cork would the landlord draw. In
answer to the demand for — "another bottle, John !" his reply invariable was —
" Gentlemen, 'tis past twelve,'' and time to go home.''
The following anecdote of " Honest John " is also recorded in the Tradi
tions : — " David Herd was one night prevented by illness from joining in the
malt potations of his friends. He called for first one and then another glass of
spirits, which he diluted, more Scotico, in warm water and sugar. When the
reckoning came to be paid, the antiquary was surprised to find the second
glass charged a fraction higher than the first, as if John had been resolved to
impose a tax upon excess. On inquiring the reason, however, honest John
explained it thus : — ' Whe, sir, ye see the first glass was out o' the auld barrel,
and the second one was out o' the new ; and as the whisky in the new barrel
cost me mair than the ither, whe, sir, I've just charged a wee mair for't.' "
In each of Johnnie's rooms was a small shelf, whereon he placed the bottles
as he emptied them, to enable him to make up the reckoning. When asked
' This, we suspect, is a mistake. The person meant is more likely to have been Martin a,
writer, already alluded to. Martin the painter was a claret drinker.
^ At this period it would not have been very safe to have left the twveru between the hours of
ten and eleven ; for the moment the clock struck ten the passage of the citizens was impeded, and
their garments endangered, by certain domestic proceedings, the nature of which has been minutely
and graphically described in one of the epistles of Mrs. Winifred Jenkins. As the tenements in the"
High Street, La-wnmarket, and Parliament Square were of considerable height, and as two or perhaps
tliree families lived in each story, the fire from the windows was exceedingly brisk. The night
" flowers of Edinburgh," when wafted by the breeze, were somewhat different in their perfume from
the Sabffian odours recorded by Milton ; and the worthy inhabitants endeavoured, by burning pieces
of brown paper — for smoking was not then in very general use — to counteract the overpowering
exhalations frora the streets. It is said that.many of the dealers in brown paper realised very con
siderable sums by the sale only of this useful article.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 5
how much was " to pay," — " Whe, gentlemen, let me see," he would say, casting
an eye towards the shelf; "nine bottles (or whatever the number might be) ;
ye've dune np amiss the nicht." John was frequently puzzled, however, by the
company placing some of the bottles under the table, or otherwise concealing
them; yet he never expressed any displeasure at such jokes.
Mr. Dowie ultimately scraped together a fortune of about six thousand
pounds. He lived till 1817; and to the last continued to wear a cocked hat
— the honoured badge of former times — although he latterly dispensed with
the use of knee and shoe buckles. He was twice married, and had several
children by his first wife. His son entered the army, and attained the rank of
Captain. The successor of Johnnie Dowie continued to keep the house open, under
the designation of " Burns's Tavern," until the demolition of the Wynd in 1834.
The premises had been considerably repaired and improved, and were lighted
-with gas. The little room called 'the coffin, in which Burns used to sit, was
covered with green cloth, and fitted up with a new table.

No. CLXXII.
COLIN CAMPBELL, ESQ. OF KILBEEEY,
AEGYLESHIEE.
In his earlier years this antiquated beau had been in the army, where he
acquired an unenviable notoriety in consequence of a fatal assault committed
by him on a brother officer. Captain John Macharg (eldest son of James
Macharg of Keirs), while stationed at the Island ofMartinico, in the year 1762.
Campbell was then Major-Commandant of the 100th Regiment of Foot. The
cause of difference is said to have originated at Jersey, where the corps lay prior
to their embarkation for Martinico, and to have been owing to pecuniary diffi
culties, in which Captain Macharg had involved himself, and -which were so
formidable that Major Campbell, by the advice of his superior officer, was
compelled to take the payment of his company entirely out of his hands — a pro
ceeding which gave great offence to Macharg.
Upon the arrival of the regiment in Martinico, Captain Macharg is reported
to have taken every opportunity of vilifying the Major, which procedure having
reached the ears of the latter, he was naturally very much provoked, and imme
diately despatched the following card to his defamer : —
"Sir, — I am this moment informed that, on some occasions since our arrival here, you have
taken liberties with my character unbecoming a gentleman. I desire an immediate and explicit
answer, per bearer ; and am, till then, your humble servant, 0. Campbell. "

6 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
The reply brought by the hearer was : —
"SiB, — I have just received yours, and have taken no liberties with your character but what I
am able to answer for. Yours, etc. J. Macharg."
On receipt of this imprudent answer, although then dark (about eight o'clock
in the evening of the 26th March), Major Campbell, with a bayonet by his
side, and a small sword in his hand, proceeded to the tent of Macharg, whom
he found sitting without any other arms than a broadsword. On demanding
satisfaction — which he did in no very measured terms — the Captain endeavoured
to evade a meeting, on the ground that he had not proper weapons. The Major
thereupon struck him several times with his sword, and, seizing him by the
breast, dragged him to the door bf the tent. Being thus compelled to stand
on the defensive in the best way he could, a scuffie ensued, when both parties
fell— the Major uppermost. In this situation the victor tauntingly ordered his
antagonist to beg his life, which the latter did, but almost immediately after
wards expired. On examination it was found that Macharg had received no
less than eleven wounds, two of them mortal. Neither did they appear to
have been all given by the same instrument. One incision e-vidently had been
by a thrust of the bayonet, which was found unsheathed where the struggle had
occurred. Major Campbell was immediately put under arrest ; and, on the 6th of April
1762, tried for murder by a court-martial held at Fort-Royal, in the Island
of Martinico. The following is a summary of the evidence given before the
Court : —
"William Gillespie, who carried the letter from the Major to the Captain, and brought back the
answer, deponed — That he followed him to the Captain's tent ; that he saw him give the Captain
three or four strokes with the sword, the scabbard being on the blade ; that he asked him to turn out
— who replied that he had not a small sword ; that he then took hold of him by the breast, and bid
him turn out any way ; that he hauled him by the breast till he got him outside the tent, aud threw
him down there ; that in struggling both were down together ; that they got up, aud both fell a second
time ; and that the Major, whUe they were on the ground a second time, asked the Captain to beg
his life three or four times.
"Alexander M'Kenzie deponed — That he heard the Major say, ' Turn out if you be a man ¦ ' that
he saw them on the ground together, and that the Major said, ' Beg your life, or you are a dead
man ; ' that the Captain answered, ' I do beg my life — I am a dead man — send for the surgeon •' that
the Major said — immediately after the Captain had said ' I am a dead man ' — ' Is there nobody there
to go for the surgeon ? '
' ' Eobert Haldane deponed — That he heard the Major say, ' You have made free with my character
in town — turn out immediately ; ' that the Captain replied he had no small sword, and begged he
might get one ; that he saw them struggling together, and fall to the ground ; that the Major said
'Beg your life ;' that the Captain said, 'I do beg my life ;' that the Major afterwards asked him
again if he begged his life ? to which he replied, ' I am a dead man ;''that then the Major got up and
ordered the surgeon to be sent for.
"Donald Morison deponed — That they came out of the tent on each side of the door pole
struggling with each other ; that when they were on the ground, the Major said, ' Do you beg your
life now ?' that the Captain answered — ' Yes ;' that the Major required him to beg his life a secohd
and a third time, the Captain stiE answering — ' Yes ; ' but that at the last time he said he was gone •
and the surgeon was sent for."
Major Campbell .endeavoured to invalidate the e-vidence of the witnesses.
In explanation of being armed with a bayonet he said, it was well known by

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES., 7
all the officers on the expedition that they did not wear their swords on account
of the excessive heat, but carried bayonets instead ; and, to account for its
being found drawn, he asserted that it was so loose that it had fallen out during
the rencontre. He contended that the swords differed only in the mounting —
his o-wn being a broadsword. Respecting the wounds, he declared that the
four on the arm and hand were given on Macharg's repeated endeavours to seize
his sword ; and he contended that the Captain's sword being found near the
body, and the scabbard in the tent — its being bloody, and his (the Major's)
clothes being cut — his hand wounded, and the guard of his sword broken —
proved that Macharg was armed for his defence. He also endeavoured to prove
by a witness that the Captain followed him voluntarily out of the tent with his
sword drawn. The following was the sentence pf the court-martial : —
" 10th April 1762. — The Court, on due consideration of the whole matter before them, are of
opinion that Major-Commandant Colin Campbell is guilty of the crime laid to his charge ; but there
not being a majority of voices sufiicient to punish with death, as required by the articles of war, the
Court doth adjudge the said Major-Commandant Colin Campbell to be cashiered for the same : and
it is further the opinion of the Court, that he is incapable of serving bis Majesty iu any military
employment whatever. "
This sentence was confirmed by his Majesty ; and the Major was cashiered.
On his return to England, he presented a memorial to the Secretary of War,
bitterly inveighing against General Monckton, who commanded in the Island of
Martinico, and charging him -with numerous instances of abuse of power. A
court-martial was in consequence held at the Judge- Advocate's Office in 1764 ;
but the General was honourably acquitted.
An action for assythment was subsequently brought before the Court of
Session against Major Campbell, at the instance of James Macharg of Keirs,
father, and Quintin and Isobel Macharg, the brother and sister of the deceased
Captain. The Court having found Kilberry Uable in damages, February 4,
1767, he lodged a reclaiming petition, which gave rise to further discussion.
On the 29th of July following, their lordships, by a majority of eight to six,
confirmed their former judgment. Ultimately the damages were fixed at £200.
Major Campbell resided principally in Edinburgh, where he attracted notice
by his foppery. The Print gives an excellent representation of his figure and
style of dress.^. This foible rather increased than diminished as he advanced
in life ; and when age had rendered him bald, he wore a wig in imitation of his
own hair, which he powdered and perfumed after the most approved manner.
He was a devoted admirer of the fair sex, over whom his conquests were innu
merable — at least so he insinuated. In appearance, address, and mode of speaking,
he was a sort of Lord Ogleby. He repaired almost every summer to Buxton,
and other fashionable watering-places, that he might have an opportunity of
extending his conquests. He was never married ; and, on his death, which
occurred at Edinburgh in 1782, his estate of Kilberry descended to his nephew.
1 The Major was short and rather dumpy. His brother, who obtained the rank of Major-Gen
eral, and died of the yellow fever in the West Indies, was a tall, handsome man, and one of the best
officers in the army.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

No. CLXXIIL
THE LAWNMAEKET COACH;
OE,
A JOUENEY ALONG THE MOUND.
This Print is commemorative of an affair connected -with the formation of the
Mound, or " Mud Brig," as, in olden time, it was not unfrequently called by the
lower classes. The inconvenience arising from the want of direct communica
tion between the Lawnmarket and Princes Street began to be seriously felt as
the New Town extended towards the west. In 1783, when the Mound was
first projected. Princes Street was buUt as far as Hanover Street.
Prior to this, some individuals in Edinburgh had formed an association for
the purpose of furthering Burgh Reform. Among the members were Lord
Gardenstone, Robert Grahame of Gartmore, William Charles Little of Liberton,
and several other gentlemen holding similar opinions. This movement in the
capital was speedily responded to in the provinces, and delegates were de
spatched from almost all the Royal Burghs in Scotland to co-operate with the
committee formed in Edinburgh. The first Convention was held in Mary's
Chapel, on the 25th March 1784 — Mr. Little of Liberton,^ president — ^at which
resolutions were passed declaratory of their rights as citizens.
Some of the original promoters of the Burgh Reform Copvention, encouraged
by the success of their political exertions, began to agitate on the subject of local
improvements. Residing chiefly either in the Lawnmarket or its neighbour
hood, they had long felt the want of some kind of communication with Princes
Street more direct than by the North Bridge. They at first thought of applying
for aid by petition to the Town Council ; but, recollecting how obnoxious
their late proceedings must have rendered them to the corporation, they aban
doned the idea, and resolved to open a subscription, which they did at " Dunn's
Hotel,'"" for the purpose of constructing a thoroughfare. The subscription was
"¦ Mr. Little lived in a house at the bottom of Brodie's Close, Lawnmarket, built by his ancestor
William Little, a magistrate of Edinburgh in the reign of James -VI. , and which was entailed in the
family ; it was afterwards occupied by Deacon Brodie, from whom the Close obtained its name.
The tenement was demolished to make room for the city improvements. Several of the carved
stones, aud other parts of the house, have been taken to Inch House (Mr. Little's residence near
Liberton), as relics of the habitation of the predecessors of the family. Mr. Little afterwards
resided in a house forming the angle between Potterrow and Bristo Street, which was kno-wn, from
its shape, by the name of the Ace of Clubs.
^ A smaU public-house in the Lawnmarket, at the mouth of the uppermost entry to James's
Court, kept by Eobert Dunn, much frequented by the merchants at that period, and termed
"Dunn's Hotel," by way of burlesque — Dunn's elegant hotel iu Princes Street having been then
newly opened.

¦"'* ^y.

VAT '¦ .

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i^> ^.^^- ^ ^jsxy.w^, ^---^"|fi^-„<i>^4*xX"^l»

'^'

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. . 9
filled up with great alacrity; and, in a very short time,. a foundation of whins
and furze was laid with mock-masonic ceremony. When this had been done,
the subscribers adjourned to the " Hotel," where they chose a preses, treasurer,
and secretary, and appointed a committee to superintend the work.'
Fortunately very little of the subscription-money was required. Provost
Grieve, who resided in Princes Street, took a deep interest in the undertaking ;
and when Convener Jamieson, in order to fill up a quarry which he had opened
opposite Hanover Street, obtained authority from the Magistrates to have the
excavations of the numerous buildings then going on laid down there, the order
was continued until the Mound was entirely formed."
The "Mud Brig" having been thus constructed without much interference
or exertion on the part of the Committee of Burgh Reformers, a meeting was
called, and a state of their accounts laid before them, from which it appeared
that a considerable balance of cash remained in the treasurer's hands. With
this sum it was resolved the Committee should celebrate the completion of the
Mound by a dinner in " Dunn's Hotel ;" and it was proposed that, as they were
the first to commence the undertaking, so ihey should have the honour of
being the first to drive along the ridge on its being opened to the public. It
was therefore determined that a coach-and-six should be hired for the occasion,
to carry their wives and sweethearts, while the patriotic band should walk in
procession. This scheme unexpectedly proved abortive : their treasurer, Mr. Brown,
becoming bankrupt, and absconding with the funds, effectually put a stop to the
contemplated pageant. The disappointment which such an occurrence occa
sioned may be " better conceived than described." The affair could not be con
cealed ; and, as it gave rise to much sarcastic observation, was altogether too rich
a subject to escape the pencil of the caricaturist. The
"m\sim, or a Ftsit to tije JHuK Brig,"
therefore, stands a satirical memorial of an event which should have taken place.
The figure in advance of the procession will at once be recognised as the
well-known BAILIE DUFF. The Bailie is represented with the " quaigh " of
the Club in his hand — from which the members drained many a long
draught — and the small tartan flag over his shoulder, which used to be displayed
^ The subscribers to this fund were privileged according to the amount of their subscriptions.
Those of ten shillings were pei-mitted to express their opinions, but those of five were only entitled
to vote. At one of the first meetings held on the subject, David Finlay, hair-dresser, St.
James's Court — ^who was by no means famed for the brilliancy of his intellect — proposed that they
should form a mound from the La-wnmarket to the Calton Hill ! His motion was received with
shouts of laughter. "He's surely havering," said one of the members. "Hoot man," replied
another, " Do ye no ken he's president o' the Saveral Club/" — [one of the well-known social clubs
of the Lawnmarket].^
^ The Mound was originally thrown considerably eastward of Hanover Street. This deviation
from "the straight line was to gratify Provost Grieve, whose house was directly opposite. The irregu
larity is now obviated.
VOL. IL C

10 - BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
at thc shop door of Mr. George Boyd, as significant of the wares in which he
dealt. Bailie Duff is said to have actually attended a meeting of the Club on
o"ne occasion.
The first of the six individuals in harness, and mounted by a postillion, is
MR. JOHN LAUDER, coppersmith, whose shop was nearly in the centre of the
West Bow,' right-hand side in ascending.
Mr. Lauder was a fair specimen of the ancient shopkeepers of the Bow — one
who did business cautiously and leisurely, but to some purpose, ha-dng realised
a good deal of money. He was a member of the notable " Spendthrift Clxtb,"
which, say the Traditions, " took its name from the extravagance of the
members in spending no less a sum than fowpence halfpenny each night ! " The
social indulgence of the party consisted in a supper, at the moderate charge of
twopence halfpenny, and a pint of strong ale, which made up the sum total of each
member's debauch. The news of the day supplied the topic of conversation,
which, together with a game or two at whist, constituted the amusement of the
evening.'' ¦ '
The Club continued to exist in another part of the town (Clyde* Street),
although somewhat altered in constitution, and a little more extravagant in ex
penditure. A respectable septuagenarian whom we have consulted, although
young at the period referred to, was a contemporary of several of the original
members. They all wore cocked hats.; and it was one of the fundamental
rules that the members should remain covered throughout the evening, except
during the time grace was asked at supper — a fine being imposed on those who
neglected to comply with this rule. Well does our worthy informant recollect
the sober contour of old " Johnnie Lauder,'' as he reverently doffed his hat to
^ This ancient street, now nearly annihilated by improvements, was then almost entirely occupied
by tradesmen connected with the anvil. Fergusson, in his poem of Leith Races, thus aUudes to the
craft : — ' ' The tinkler billies o' the Bow,
Are now less eident clinkin' ;
As laug's their pith or siller dow.
They're dafiin', an' they're drinkin'."
Some curious reminiscences are preserved of this community of hammermen, their peculiarities
and the effect produced by the noise of their combined avocations. The father of the late Dr. Andrew
Thomson, when he came first to Edinburgh, took lodgings iu that famed quarter of the city. The
first day or two he felt so annoyed by the continued sound of the anvils, that he resolved on seeking
out a_more retired abode, and acquainted his landlady with his intention. The old lady by no
means willing to lose her lodger, insisted that he should make a trial for other eight days. He did
so, and was astonished to flnd how soon he got familiarised with the noise. Day after day he felt
the hammering grow less offensive, till at length it not only ceased to disturb him, but, strange to
say, absolutely became necessary to his repose ; and, on removing, in after life, to another quarter
of the city, he experienced considerable difiBculty in accustoming himself to thfe absence of it.  The
inhabitants of the Bow have been frequently heard to declare that they got less sleep on Sunday
morning than on any other, which they attributed to the want of the usual noise.
2 The Spendthrift was properly a Whiiit Club. They played at cards from eight o'clock tiU ten
and then commenced with a little to eat and something to drink.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 11
officiate, which he frequently did, in the capacity of chaplain to the Club. He
was a worthy, social, well-intentioned person; and, although by no means
distinguished for his conversational talents, usually acquitted himself to good
purpose. " Really and truly, gentlemen," was a phrase with which he invariably
prefaced the delivery of his opinions ; and it became so habitual to him, that,
even in common conversation, it formed nearly a third part of every sentence.
Mr. Lauder took an active hand in superintending the Poor-House ; and it
was mainly owing to his exertions that many abuses in its management were
corrected. He almost daUy visited the establishment, and saw that wholesome
fare was provided for the inmates. He died in 1794, leaving two daughters,
one of whom married Mr. George Carphin, senior, solicitor-at-law.
MR. JAMES LAWSON, the postilhon, mounted on Mr. Lauder's shoulders,
was a wholesale and retail leather merchant, in company with his brother Wil
liam. Their shop was in the Lawnmarket, the first above Banis; Street, on the
same side. As indicated in the Print, Mr. Lawson was short in stature and
humpbacked. He was a clever, active sort of person, and a keen politician,
but quite a cynic. He lived a bachelor, and died in his house at the foot of the
West Bow, about the year 1815.'
The other leader, MR. ALEXANDER RITCHIE, kept what used to be
called a Scotch cloth shop ; he dealt in all kinds of woollens and tartans. His
shop was at the head of Wardrop's Court. One of his sons carried on the
business many years after his death, and died about the year 1827. His eldest
son, Alexander, was a Writer to the Signet.
The first of the centre pan- represents MR. ANDREW HARDIE, baker,
Badgon (Bajan) Hole, Lawnmarket, famed for the excellence of his mutton pies.'
For this celebrity he was mainly indebted to the assistance of his wife, an active,
managing women. Besides the common order of pies, Mrs. Hardie was in the
habit of baking others of a peculiar description, formed in the shape of a smooth
ing-iron ; which, in addition to the usual allowance of minced mutton, contained
a well-dressed pigeon, neatly planted in the centre ; and all for the small charge
of threepence !
By the excellent management of his better half, Mr. Hardie was in a great
measure reheved from the drudgery of attending closely to business. During a
considerable portion of the day, he was "free to rove" wherever he wist among
his friends and neighbours ; and, in consequence, no one was better versed in
^ His brother William married a sister of Mr. Braidwood, hardware merchant.
^ Many of the Clubs of that social era were supplied with pies from the bakehouse of Badgon
Hole. Mutton was then cheap ; and a leg of lamb might be had for fivepence — if at any time it rose
to sixpence it was considered amazingly dear. The Badgon Hole, which was simply a laigh shop,
got its name from being frequented by CoUege youngsters, the first class of whom were formerly
called Bajans.

12 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
the politics of the day, or more intimately acquainted with the affairs of the
Lawnmarket. He died suddenly one Sabbath morning in 1784. His widow
carried on business till her demise in 1804, and was succeeded by her son Henry,
who died about 1832.
MR. MALCOLM WRIGHT, the next of the centre pair, was bom about
the year 1750, at Dolphinton, in Lanarkshire, on the borders of Tweeddale,
where his father occupied a farm. He was originally bred to the profession of
a writer in Edinburgh, and employed his leisure hours in keeping the books of
a widow,' who had a haberdashery shop in the Lawnmarket, betwixt Liberton
and Forrester's Wynds. In the course of time, having formed a matrimonial
alliance with his employer, he took the management of the business into, his
own hands, and continued it for a considerable number of years — latterly under
the firm of Wright and Henderson, having assumed a gentleman of that name
into partnership with him.
Mr. Wright was a member of the Town Council during a great part of the
period he was in business, and frequently held office as a Magistrate. After re
tiring from the shop he obtained the office of agent for the French prisoners of
war confined in Edinburgh Castle ; and, being unacquainted with the language,
carried on the necessary intercourse with his constituents by means of an inter
preter, who always attended him on his visits to the Castle. The duties of this
office brought him into frequent contact -with official persons. Upon one of
these occasions the Lord President and Lord Advocate had appointed to meet
him in the Council Chamber, in order that they might accompany him tp the
Castle on some business relating to the prisoners. Mr. Wright, being unavoid
ably prevented from attending, desired his clerk Mr. Alexander Fraser, who
usually officiated in his absence, to wait upon their lordships. This gentleman
appears to have entertained no small opinion of his own consequence ; for, not
only did he detain their lordships considerably beyond the time specified, but
after apologising for his absence, had the effrontery to thrust an arm under that
of each of these high legal dignitaries, and actually swaggered up between them
in this fashion to the Castle.
After the peace of 1815, his office being rendered no longer necessary, Mr.
Wright got the appointment of Bulker at the Port of Leith, which he continued
to hold till the period of his death in November 1825.
Mr. Wright was twice married. His second wife, who survived, was a
daughter of the late Convener Rankine, tailor to his Majesty for Scotland.
1 This lady was at that time among the most exteusive and spirited haberdashers in Edinburgh ;
as a proof of whioh, she went regularly every season to London to make purchases — a journey then
attended with much difficulty and delay. She always went by sea ; but in those days the only con
veyance was by what were called the Berwick traders — a class of vessels much inferior to the " Leith
Smacks," afterwards established; audit is worthy of remark, in contrast with the remarkable
improvements of our own times, that when any of the " traders " were about to sail from Leith, the
circumstance was always announced throughout the streets of Edinburgh by the bellman, at least a
fortnight previous to the day of sailing.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 13
By his first wife he had no children ; and those of the second marriage all died
before they reached maturity.
The first of the two wheelers, MR. HENRY WATSON, was a hardware
merchant, and had his shop at the head of Paterson's Court, and afterwards on
the South Bridge. Unless much belied by common fame, he was in no way
remarkable for the brilliancy of his talents. Like his friend Mr. Hardie, he
possessed an invaluable helpmate, who used to superintend his shop, by which
means he found ample leisure to pursue his own amusements.
The other wheeler, MR. WILLIAM HALL, merchant, was born at Sum-
merhaU, in the suburbs of Edinburgh^ on the 19th May 1749. He was the
youngest son of Mr. William Hall, of that place, by his wife Marion Robertson,
a lady of good family, and a relative of the historian, Principal Robertson.
At an early age he began his mercantile career in the banking-house of Messrs.
Mansfield, Hunter, and Ramsay, in which establishment his eldest brother,
Robert, held an office of trust and responsibiUty. From his enterprising
disposition he very soOn received an appointment as manager of the White
Herring Fishing Company, in which capacity he made several voyages. Shortly
afterwards he commenced business in Edinburgh as a general merchant, in which
he became very successful, having been the founder of the mercantile house of
WilUam Hall and Company.
Mr. Hall was an active and intelligent citizen ; and took a lively interest in
local matters, particularly such as were connected with useful and charitable
objects. He was for several years a member of the Town Council, and .elected
one of the Magistrates in 1797. He was much esteemed by his friends and
acquaintances. His person was graceful, and his manners peculiarly pleasing
and captivating.
From the cheerfulness of his disposition, and his great personal activity, he
was fond of all the national games of recreation. He was a good archer, and
remarkably partial to the game of golf, in which latter game he was a great
proficient, and was long a member of the Burgess Golfing Society. His attitude,
technically called/ address," in striking off the ball was exceedingly graceful, and
was so much admired that the members of the Club prevailed upon him to allow
his portrait to be taken in that attitude ; but his death prevented its completion.
In 1770, at the early age of twenty, Mr. Hall married a daughter of Mr. John
Mitchell, pf Bumfoot, East Lothian. This gentleman was a zealous supporter
of the cause of Prince Charles Edward ; and in 1745, in addition to his personal
services, rendered very efficient assistance by furnishing horses and carts for the
use of the artny. The daughter above alluded to was named Charlotte, in
compliment to the Prince. By this union Mr. Hall had eight children, five of
whom attained majority, namely, a son and four daughters. He died on the
5th April 1808.
Mr. Hall had a sister who married Mr. Bustard, an eminent merchant in

14 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
London. This lady, who resided at Dul-wich, in the neighbourhood of the
metropolis, was in the perfect enjoyment of all her faculties, though in her ninety-
fourth year.
The coachman, who declares he " will not spare them," is a striking likeness
of MR. GEORGE BOYD, a clothier, who had his shop at the head of Gosford's
Close. He in some measure deserved the elevation he has obtained by the
great interest he took in originating the design of the Mound. The inscription
on the post — " G. B.'s Bridge " — is in allusion to this. He was a brother of the
late Dr. Boyd, solicitor-at-law, author of " The Nature and Offices, and Duty
of a Justice of the Peace." 2 vols. Quarto.
"The footman, MR. WILLIAM YETTS, who is urging "Geordie" to whip
hard, kept a hairdresser and hosier's shop at the head of Forrester's Wynd.
The building is now taken down. He possessed a great fund of humour ; and,
although a member of the Club, used to indulge very frequently in ridiculing
their transactions.
The history of poor Yetts is somewhat romantic. Although he had a wife
and family,' with whom he lived reputably for many years, he thought proper to
fall in love elsewhere ; but the object of his attachment (a married lady) not
exactly comprehending his unusually liberal principles, in dignantlyrejected his suit.
The discarded Ipver, as in duty bound, instantly became inspired with the
despair of an ancient hero of romance ; and, amongst other notable results of
distracted love, imitated the well-known Kitty Fisher, who, in the zenith of her
charms, ate a Bank of England hundred-pound note between two thin slices of
bread and butter. But his meal, though less expensive, must have been more
difficult to swallow ; for he actually took jive five-pound notes of Sir William
Forbes' Bank from his pocket, and devoured them, without, however, the
bread and butter accompaniment of Miss Kitty. As a suitable termination to
this folly, the infatuated barber crowned the whole by leaving his famUy in a
destitute condition, and entering himself on board a man-of-war."
The newly-shipped tar soon found himself exposed to all the perils of active
service. He fought on board the Bellerophon at the battle of the Nile in 1789 ;
and, in the dreadful conflict which that ship maintaiiied with her stupendous
opponent, the Orient, he had several narrow escapes. While engaged in supply
ing ammunition, a tall comrade by his side had his head carried off, and the
ball passed so near to Yetts that he said he actually felt himself lifted up from
the deck.
1 The family consisted of one son and two daughters. They emigrated, we believe, to New
South Wales.
2 A friend who felt interested in the -vvelfare of the destitute family, called on Sir WUUam
Forbes, to whom he told the circumstances of the case ; and, on his single testimony alone, obtained
from that humane gentleman the sum of t'wenty-five pounds in lieu of the notes destroyed by Yetts.
This act of generosity, it may well be conceived, proved a most seasonable and unexpected supply
for the family.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 15
At what other engagements our hero of the " Lawnmarket " was present,
during the continuance of hostilities prior to the peace of 1801, is uncertain;
but that he was actively employed may be inferred from the various sums of
prize-money which he remitted to his family.
When the treaty of Amiens was concluded, Yetts returned to Edinburgh ;
and with the money he had accumulated during his sea-adventures, made another
effort to settle down in respectable citizenship. With this view he opened a
small spirit shop at the head of Turk's Close ; but the speculation proved
unsuccessful. The narration of " his hair-breadth 'scapes " no doubt brought
many loungers about his shop ; and it is possible that, with prudence, he might
have done pretty well. The reverse was the case ; and the ci-devant barber
once more put to sea. In 1806 he was on board the Blanche frigate, which,
in company with other two — the Phoebe and the Thames — were sent to the North
Seas, for the protection of the Greenland fisheries. On the 3Gth of July the
Blanche fell in with the Oueri{iere French frigate off Faro, when, after a smart
action of forty-five minutes, the latter surrendered. The Guerriere being one of
the largest class of frigates, was much superior to the BlancJie. Yetts escaped
without a wound ; and a letter written by him to a friend — the substance of
which appeared in the EdinburgkAdvertiser at the time — gave the first intelligence
of the capture.
We come now to the last scene in the chequered life of the hapless tonsor.
The following year, 1807, the Blanche frigate having been despatched to the
coast of France with sealed instructions, she struck upon a rock on the night
of the 5th of March, within about thirty miles of Brest, and went to pieces in the
course of a few hours. Forty-five persons were lost, among whom was poor
Yetts. According to the information of one of his shipmates, who communi
cated tlie intelligence of his death, he might easily have escaped from the
wreck. His companions repeatedly urged him to follow in their boat, but he
would not leave the ship, and doggedly sat down upon a stone in the galley to
await his fate, and went down -with her. This strange indifference to life was
attributed to an attachment which he had formed for a Welsh lad on board,
whom he had taught to read, and who had been washed overboard when the
vessel struck.
The survivors were taken to Brest, where they were well treated ; and were
subsequently marched off to Verdun as prisoners of war.
The principal figures in the Coach are those of Mrs. Dunn, of the " Hotel;"
Miss SiBBY Hutton (formerly described); and Mes. Penny, whose husband,
Mr. John Penny, was a writer in Forrester's Wynd, and clerk to " Johnnie
Buchan," Writer to the Signet. Mrs. Dunn occupies the centre position — Mrs.
Penny is seated above— and, to the left, will easily be distinguished the portly
figure of Sibby> Hutton. The other ladies are intended for Mes. Geieve (wife
of the Lord Provost), Mes. Weight, etc.

16 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

No. CLXXIV.
THE EIGHT HON. SELINA COUNTESS DOWAG!-EE
OF HUNTINGDON.
Lady Huntingdon was born in 1707. She was the second daughter, and one
of the three co-heiresses of Washington Earl of Ferrers. In 1728, at the
age of twenty-one, she was married to Theophiius Earl of Huntingdon, by
whom she had four sons and three daughters, only one of whom (the Countess
of Moira) survived her ladyship.' The union was one of great domestic
felicity, but not destined to be of very long continuance, as the Earl died in
1746. After the death of the Earl, the zeal which the Countess had early displayed
in the service of religion and the cause of humanity, gradually extended over
a wider field, till her example, her -writings, and her unbounded charity, at
length placed her at the head of that numerous sect, of which she was at once
the support and the ornament. At her death it was calculated that she had
expended, ui acts of public and private charity, more than One Hundred Thousand
Pounds. Lady Huntingdon died at her house in Spa Fields, near London, on the
17th June 1791, in the eighty-fourth year of her age. By her will it was
directed that her remains should be deposited beside those of her husband, and
that they should be dressed in the suit of white silk which she wore on the
occasion of opening the chapel in Goodman's Fields. The coffin was to be
covfered with black, and the interment to be conducted in the least ostentatious
manner possible. The officiating clergyman (Mr. Jones of Spa Fields Chapel)
was to receive £10 for his trouble.
A considerable portion of her ladyship's fortune was bequeathed for the
support of sixty-four chapels, which she had established in" various parts of the
United Kingdom, besides some other legacies, and £4000 yearly to be distributed
in casual charities."
^ Upon the extinction of this branch of the Earls of Huntingdon, the Baronies of Hastings, etc. ,
fell to the Moira family.
2 Her ladyship has been very severely satirised in Johnston's "Chrysal, or the Adventures of a
Guinea" — some say deservedly.

'?!! 5

17*

'^ ' T. '¦'-\ 1 *
... .. *•

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 17

No. CLXXV.
JAMIE DUFF, ALIAS BAILIE DUFF.
This is the full-length Portrait alluded to in a former notice of the Bailie.
The fool is here portrayed in all the pride of magisterial greatness, -with his
cocked hat and wig, and the brass insignia of office suspended round his neck.
Nor did he assume his imaginary dignity without occasionally attempting to put
his authority into practice ; and, where respect for his official greatness might
have failed, a dread of his irascible temper and strength of arm geherally suc
ceeded. The scenes of the titular Bailie's judicial exploits were principally confined
to the Cowgate, and the tributary wynds and alleys which intersect it. At the
head of this famed thoroughfare one day a parcel of boys were annoying a
drunk person, when the Bailie came up and dispersed them, saying, with his
accustomed oath, " Can ye no let alane the puir idiot ! ! "
The Bailie was one of those fools who was not easily to be done, or diverted
from his purpose. The late Mr. Reekie, then Deacon of the Glaziers, had
on some occasion promised Jamie a reward of twopence for a trifling service.
Wishing to tantalise the fool a little, he for some time evaded, and latterly
refused to comply with the demand. This did not appear at all. like justice
in the eyes of the magistrate ; and he resolved to compel payment in his
o-wn way. A siiitable occasion soon presented itself It so occurred that the
Deacon, in the way of his profession, was one morning perched upon a ladder
against the window of a^ house at the foot of the Old Fishmarket Close, when
the Bailie was passing, whose quick eye at once discovered the debtor. He
instantly laid hands upon the ladder, and began to shake it with increasing
violence, while he bawled out — "Tippence, noo. Deacon! Tippence, Deacon!"
The Deacon' was fairly caught, and there was no time for parley. " Gie him
tippence ! for ony sake gie him tippence ! " roared the Deacon from his altitude.
A bystander furnished the coppers, and relieved the Deacon, who descended
amid shouts of laughter.
The Bailie did not always receive the respect due to his civic authority, and
was not unfrequently annoyed by the mischievous youths of the Old Town.
They were aware, however, of the propriety of keeping a respectable distance
from the object of their sport, and his vengeance commonly fell upon the
innocent and unwary ; for, when the Bailie was irritated, he struck the first
person he met, whoever the individual might be.
On one occasion, the Bailie having been dreadfully tormented by his
VOL. IL D

18 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
mischievous subjects, he seized a ladder which stood beside him — flung it over
his shoulder — and, in desperation, actually pursued the flying enemy for some
distance ere he discovered that an apprentice of Mr. Donaldson, a painter, was
holding on by the top of it, having been carried away while painting some
letters on a sign.
We shall conclude our reminiscences of Bailie Duff with one more anecdote.
He had been intrusted to carry home a leg of mutton for a neighbour in the
College Wynd ; but hours elapsed, and the Bailie appeared not. His employer
waited long and anxiously. Dinner would be too late. Tired out at last,
and proceeding to the Bailie's dwelling, she there found him, sure enough, with
the mutton boiling nicely on his mother's fire. Provoked beyond measure, the
lady burst out in a tornado of abuse ; and, threatening to have him punished
for breach of trust, was in the act of hurrying down-stairs with the reeking
mutton, when the Baillie, grasping the boiling pot, threw it after her, exclaim
ing — " If ye tak the meat — tak the broo tae."

No. CLXXVI.
MAJOE-GENEEAL ALEXANDEE MACKAY,
deputy ADJUTANT-GENEEAL to the FOECES in SCOTLAND.
This worthy old spldier, a native of Sutherlandshire, was the second son of
James Mackay of Skerray, in the district of Strathnaver, who held his lands in
wadset from the Reay family.
His father had a lieutenancy in the Earl of Sutherland's Highland Regiment,
raised in 1759, in which corps the Major-General commenced his militarj' career
as an Ensign. After the reduction of the Sutherland Fencibles in 1763, he
served as a subaltern during the remainder of the Seven Years' War. In 1775
he purchased his appointment as Lieutenant and Adjutant to the 69th Foot ;
and in 1779 was promoted to a company in the same regiment.
In 1780, when the Hon. General Alexander Mackay was invested with the
Command of the Forces in Scptland, he chose Captain Mackay for one of his
Aides-de-Camp ; but the 69th Regiment being soon thereafter ordered abroad,
the Captain resigned his staff appointment, and sailed with his regiment for
America, where he was severely wounded in the arm.
After the ;peace with America, he returned to Britain, and obtained his
former place on the staff. In 1785 he was appointed Major of Brigade to the
Forces in North Britain; in 1793 Deputy Adjutant-General in Scotland, with
the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the Army ; andin 1797 he was advanced
¦to be Colonel in the Army.

ftABSJ^'ft

* * **-!* * '

\Ea£:.

^•i[ V - - J^^ 3

^i; '3/.

177

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 19
While Mackay was a subaltern, he travelled through France and Italy, and
other parts of Europe, for the purpose principally of acquiring a knowledge of
modern languages. He spoke French fluently. While the members of the
Royal Family of France resided at Holyrood House, where the Adjutant-
General's office was then kept, he often had occasion to tneet them, and some
times to act as an interpreter, particularly at dinner parties, to which he was
frequently invited.
At the commencement of the second French war, in 1803, he became a
¦Major-General ; and at different periods subsequently the Chief Command of
the Forces in Scotland devolved upon him.
The Print affords an excellent portraiture of the Adjutant-General.' He
obtained the soubriquet of " Buckram," from the stiffness of his appearance. In
military phrase, he walked as if he had swallowed a halbert; and his long
queue, powdered hair, and cocked hat, were characteristic of a thorough-bred
soldier of the olden time. He was much esteemed by all with whom he was
connected. He was rather abstemious in diet, and singularly correct and
methodical in all his habits of life. He lived a bachelor, and died after a short
illness, at his house. South St. Andrew Street, on the 26th April 1809, in the
sixty-eighth year of his age. He had thus been on the Staff in Scotland during
a period of not less than thirty years ; and, in discharging the important duties
of If is various appointnients, his conduct was characterised by the strictest
fidelity and honour.
A handsome tribute was paid to his memory by Lord Cathcart, who was
then Commander of the Forces in Scotland.

No. CLXXVII.
ALLAN MACONOCHIE, LOED MEADOWBANK.
The late Loed Meadowbank, son of Alexander Maconochle, -writer in Edin
burgh, was bom on the 26th January 1748. He was in early age placed
under the tuition of Dr. Alexander Adam, afterwards Rector of the High School
of Edinburgh, who acted as his private teacher, and from whom he acquired
that taste for classical studies which he retained throughout life. He subsequently
entered the University of Edinburgh ; and being destined for the bar, attended
the usual classes. In 1764 he and other five students," with the view of
\
1 Wet and dry the old General was daUy to be seen with the umbreUa under his arm.
" These were, WiUiam Creech (bookseUer) ; John Bonar (afterwards Solicitor of the Excise) ;
John Bruce (Professor of Logic) ; Henry Mackenzie (author of "The Man of Feeling") ; and Mr.
Belches. Mr. Charles Stuart was admitted a member at their first meeting.

20 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
mutual improvement in public speaking, formed themselves into a debating
club, called the Speculative Society, which met in one of the rooms of the College.
This association soon became more extensive, and assumed an aspect of
stability and eminence, which it still continues to maintain. Mr. Maconochle
was then in his seventeenth year, and his associates were all nearly of a
similar age.'
In 1768, after having completed his studies at the University, he went to
the Continent, and resided some time at Paris. On his return the following
year, he entered himself a student at Lincoln's Inn, and kept several terms —
his object being to attend the Court of King's Bench, in order to observe the
decisions of the great Lord Mansfield.
Returning to Scotland, Mr. Maconochle was admitted a member of the
Faculty of Advocates upon the 8th of December 1770 ;^ but, being still desirous
of increasing his general and practical knowledge, he soon after made a second
journey to France, where he remained till 1773. During his stay there he
chiefly resided at Rheims ; but the greater portion of his time was spent in
visiting various parts of the country.
In 1774 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Wellwood, Esq., of
Garvock, in the county of Fife. Through the influence of this connection it
is supposed he owed his return to the General Assembly of that year, as lay-
representative of the burgh of Dunfermline— a point of considerable importance
to a young barrister ; as, should he be fortunate enough to make a successful
debut in the ecclesiastical court, his future success is generally looked upon
as certain.' From this period the reputation of Mr. Maconochle began gradually to be
established. In addition to the practice of law, and a thorough acquaintance
with the Statute-book, he had studied deeply the philosophy of law ; and such
was the character which his talents and acquirements had secured for him, that,
in 1779,* on the resignation of Mr. Balfour, he was elected Professor of the
Law of Nature and Nations in the University of Edinburgh. Much to the
regret of the public, however, he gave lectures only during two sessions, his
^ It is curious to notice the contemptuous opinion entertained of the Speculative Society at its
commencement. For instance, one publication says — "A trifling club is set up under the name of
the Speculative Society."
" He was examined on Tit. xiv. Lib. xxxvii. Pand. de jure Patronatus, and found " sufficiently
qualified." — MS. Minutes of Fac. of Advocates.
' Probably the earUest appearance made by the subject of this sketch was in the important case
of Hinton v. Donaldson and others, in whioh his father was mandatory for the pursuer where the
question of copyright, and the exclusive right of authors to their works, was discussed. The six
counsel for the parties were heard at great length before the whole Court, and Mr. Maconochie dis
tinguished himself on this occasion as an able pleader. The Court, with the exception of Lord
Monboddo, was against the claims advanced for the authors ; and, on the 28th of July 1773 decided
against Hinton. A Eeport of the Speeches of the Judges was printed by James Boswell (afterwards
the biographer of Johnson), one of the counsel for the defenders. Edinburgh, 1774. 4to.
* On the 18th December 1779, upon the resignation of Mr. James Balfour, Mr. Maconochie was
elected treasurer of the Faculty of Advocates.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 21
practice at the bar having become so great that he was unable to continue the
duty of the chair.
In 1788 he was appointed Sheriff-Depute of the county of Renfrew; and,
on the death of Lord Abercromby in 1796, promoted to the bench by the title
of Lord Meadowbank. In 1804, on the resignation of Lord Methven, he was
constituted one of the Lords of Justiciary. In both of these judicial capacities
he conducted himself with the greatest ability.
In politics, Lord Meadowbank was decidedly of the Pitt and Dundas school,
or, in other words, a Tory ; but his was an enlightened attachment to the con
stitution, springing from judicious and comprehensive views of social and
political economy.' When trial by jury — the bulwark of the subject's liberty —
was proposed to be introduced into Scotland, Lord Meadowbank evinced the
soundness and liberality of his sentiments by warmly advocating the measure.
He .-wrote an excellent pamphlet on the subject, entitled " Considerations on the
Introduction of Trial by Jury in Scotland ;" and in 1815, when the Jury. Court
was instituted, he was appointed one of the Lords-Commissioners.
Amid the multifarious duties- arising from official engagements. Lord Meadow
bank still found leisure to continue his acquaintance with literature and the
progress of the sciences, of which he was a warm promoter. He was one of the
earliest members of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, to which he contributed
several valuable papers, and was for many years Vice-President. He was like
wise one of the Directors of the Astronomical Institution.
Like many of his contemporaries, Lord Meadowbank was a keen agriculturist;
and to his ingenious speculations and inquiries into this important science the
country is indebted for the invention of moss manure, now extensively employed
in various counties in Scotland.''
The character of Lord Meadowbank as a judge has been recently given by
one in every way qualified to form a just and impartial estimate of his merits.
" Above all," said Lord Brougham, in deciding a recent case in the House of
Lords (Inglis v. Mansfield, 10th April 1835), " -^e have, what with me is of
the highest authority and of the greatest weight, the very valuable opinion of
the late Lord Meadowbank, one of the best la-wyers — one of the most acute
men — a man of large general capacity, and of great experience — and with
hardly any exception, certainly with very few exceptions, if any — the most
diligent judge one can remember in the practice of the Scotch law.""
Lord Meadowbank died on the 14th of June 1816, in the sixty-ninth year
of his age." In 1792, prior to his elevation to the bench, he resided in what
was then No. 33 Hanover Street. His lordship left several children, the eldest
of whom was raised to the bench under the same title of Lord Meadowbank.
' See his opinion in the case of Andrew v. Murdoch, 1806. Buchanan's Eeports. '
' His lordship printed, for private distribution, a tract on the subject.
' Shaw aud Maclean's Reports in the House of Lords, 1835.
* For interesting notices of this judge see Cockburn's Memorials of his Time, and his Life of
Jcffre-y.

22 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

No. CLXXVIII.
GENEEAL JAMES GEANT OF BALLINDALLOCH.
Geneeal Geant entered the army as an ensign in the Royal Regiment in
1741, at the age of twenty-one, having previously applied himself to the study
of the law. In 1747 he was Aide-de-Camp to General St. Clair on his embassy
to Vienna, to which David Hume, the historian, acted as secretary. On the
journey, Hume and Sir Henry Erskine, General St. Clair's other Aide-de-Camp,
quarrelled, and would not exchange words, on which occasion Captain Grant^
had the difficult task of keeping up the conversation, while all four travelled
in the same carriage, so as to conceal from General St. Clair the terms on
which the other two stood. He saw a good deal of service both in the Low
Countries and in America : in the latter he- held several high commands during
the war. He was second in command to Lord Albemarle at the taking of the
Havarinah, directed the attack on the Morne Fortun^e at St. Lucia, and was
afterwards Governor of East Florida. After having been for some years
Governor of Dumbarton Castle, he was appointed in 1789 to the Government
of that of Stirling, in the room of Lieutenant-General Mackay, and was Colonel,
first of the 55th, and afterwards of the 11th Regiment of Foot. He represented
the county of Sutherland in Parliament for many years, and was an intimate
friend of Lord Melville and Mr. Pitt, as also of the Earls of Sutherland and
Panmure, and of General Scott of Balconie. When walking one day with the
last of these, Nisbet of Dirleton satirically remarked — " There go the Inseparables
— an honest but a simple pair." i
General Grant was one of the most noted bon vivants of his day ; and
when travelling was always accompanied by his cooks. It was an established
rule with him not to hazard his palate on any dish until its quality had been
pre-dously ascertained. While in command of the forces in the north of
England, where he kept an open table for his military friends, he would say to
his Aide-de-Camp — "Monypenny, have you ate of that dish more than once^"
If answered in the affirmative, he would add — " Then be kind enough to help
me." He usuaUy spent the winter in London, where the Prince of Wales
and the Duke of York frequently partook of his good cheer, and where he
daily entertained small and select parties. During summer he kept open house
at his country residence of Ballindalloch, beautifully situated on the banks of
the Spey and Avon, in Morayshire ; and spared no expense on its improvement.
Some parts of the -waste lands, it is said, cost him at the rate of one hundred
pounds per acre ; but he used to say that he would rather " buy land at that
rate on his own estate than at a very low one anywhere else." It was a maxim

178

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 23
of his that every young man should start in life with a determinate object in
' view. " He himself had resolved (when he had little prospect of accompHsh-
kg it, being a younger son) to have a house and estabhshment in London ;
and by so doing he had succeeded."
In his youth the General was a very active man, and was esteemed a brave
and excellent soldier. Latterly he became corpulent ; but, notwithstanding,
he lived in the enjoyment of excellent health to the age of eighty-six. He died
at Ballindalloch on the 13th April 1806, and was buried, according to his own
directions, at a favourite spot overlooking his improvements.

No. CLXXIX.
THE EIGHT HON. THE EAEL OF MOIEA,
COMMANDEE-IN-CHIEF of the forces in SCOTLAND.
Francis second Eael of Moiea in Ireland, and afterwards Maequis of
.Hastings in England, was born December 9, 1754. After finishing his educa
tion at Oxford, he made a short tour on the Continent, and then entered the
army as an Ensign in the 15th Regiment of Foot, September 1771.^ Three years
subsequently he obtained a lieutenancy in the Sth Foot, with which regiment he
embarked for America, and was present at the battle of Bunker's Hill.
The promotion of his lordship was subsequently rapid. He obtained a com
pany in the 63d; was next appointed Aide-de^Camp to Sir Henry Clinton;
and, in 1778, was made Adjutant-General of the British Army in America,
with the rank of Lieut.-Colonel. He was present at the battles of Brooklyn
and White Plains ; at the attacks of Fort Washington and Fort Clinton ; and
was actively employed in the retreat of the British from Philadelphia to New
York, as well as in the engagement which followed at Monmouth, and at the
siege of Charleston. He commanded the left wing at the battle of Camden ;
and, having been left with a small force to defend the frontiers of South Carolina,
he performed one of the most brilliant achievements of the war by attacking
and defeating the vastly superior forces under General Green at Hobkirk-
hill. A short time prior to the termination of hostilities in America, he was,
in consequence of severe illness, compelled to quit the army. The vessel in
which he sailed for Britain was captured and carried into Brest ; but his lord
ship was almost immediately relieved.
On his arrival in England he was well received by his Sovereign. He was
promoted to the rank of Colonel, appointed one of his Majesty's Aides-de-
¦1 Brydges' Edition of Collins, vol. vi. p. 688. Lond. 1812. 8vo.

24 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Camp, and created (5th March 1783) an English Peer by the title of Baron
Rawdon of Rawdon. On the King's illness, having formed an intimacy with
his late Majesty George IV., then Prince of Wales, he became a zealous adherent
of his Royal Highness, and was the mover of the amendment ih favour of the
Prince in the House of Lords. He was equally intimate with the Duke of York,
and acted as his second in the duel with Colonel Lennox.
In 1791 Lord Rawdon succeeded to the bulk of the property of his mater
nal uncle, the Earl of Huntingdon, while his mother obtained the barony of
Hastings, and the other baronies in fee possessed by her brother.'
In 1793 he succeeded his father as second Earl of Moira. The same year
he obtained the rank of Major-General, and was appointed Commander-in-Chief
of an army intended to co-operate with the Royalists in Brittany ; but before
any effective movement could be made the Republicans had triumphed.
The Earl was despatched in 1794 with ten thousand men to relieve the
Duke of York, then retreating through Holland, and nearly surrounded with
hostile forces. This difficult task he successfully accomplished. On returning
to England, he was appointed to a command at Southampton. Politics now
became his chief study. He was regular in his parliamentary duties; and,
being generally in the opposition, became very popular. One of his speeches,
delivered in the House of Lords in 1797, on the threatening aspect of affairs
in Ireland, excited considerable interest, and was afterwards printed and circu
lated throughout the country. The year following, several members of the
House of Commons ha-ving met to consider the practicability of forming a new
administration, on the principle of excluding all who had rendered themselves
obnoxious on either side, his lordship was proposed as the leader.- The scheme,
however, was abandoned.
The Earl, having been appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in Scot
land in 1803, arrived at Dumbreck's Hotel, St. Andrew Square, on the 24th
October of that year, accompanied by Sir William Keir, one of his Aides-de-
Camp, and afterwards took up his residence in Queen Street.
In 1804 his lordship was married by Dr. Porteous, the Bishop of London,
to Flora Muir Campbell (in her own right). Countess of Loudon. The ceremony
took place at the house of Lady Perth, Grosvenor Square, London. The Prince
of Wales gave the bride away.
^ The title of the Earl of Huntingdon remained dormant untU claimed by and allowed to the
late Earl in 1819. An account of the proceedings adopted towards recovering the dormant honours
was published by Mr. Nugent BeU, to whose extraordinary exertions the success of the noble
claimant was almost entirely attributable. It is one of the most amusing works of the kind ever
•written ; and the interest is kept up to the last.

EARL OL

'm'Kk.

ABBBESSIK-G-theLOTAX, JEBIJfi^-SPEAKMEN", 180

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 25

CLXXX.
THE COMMANDEE-IN-CHIEF
ADDEESSING the EDINBUEGH SPEARMEN.
This scene, with Duddingston House — his lordship's residence — ^in the distance,
refers to what has been already related in our notice of Mr. Bennet, Lieut.-
Colonel Commandant of the battalion of Spearmen. The appointment of the
Earl to the Command in Scotland gave a new impulse to the warlik;e spirit of
the volunteers. The following graphic sketch of that stirring era occurs in
" Lockhart's Life of Scott : "
"Edinburgh was converted into a camp : independently of a large garrison of regular troops,
nearly ten thousand Fencibles and -y-olunteers -were almost constantly under arms. The la-wyer wore
his uniform Under his gown ; the shopkeeper measured out his wares in scarlet ; in short, the
citizens of aU classes made more use for several months of the military than of any other dress ;
and the ne-W Commander-in-Chief consulted equaUy his own gratification and theirs by devising a
succession of manoeuvres, which presented a -Vivid image of the art of war, conducted on a large and
scientific scale. In the sham battles aud sham sieges of 1805, CraigmUlar, Preston, Gilmerton, the
Crosscauseway, and other formidable positions in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, were the scenes
of many a dashing assault and resolute defence ; and, occasionally, the spirits" of the mock-com
batants — -English and Scotch, or Lowland and Highland — became so much excited that there was
some difl^culty in preventing the rough mockery of warfare from passing into its reaUties. The
Highlanders, in particular, were very hard to be dealt -with ; and once, at least. Lord Moira was
forced to alter, at the eleventh hour, his programme of battle, because a battalion of kilted Fencibles
could not, or would not, understand that it was their duty to be beat."
At one of the King's birth-day assemblages, which were then numerously
attended in the Parliament House, on the health of the Commander-in-Chief
being given, Lord Moira addressed the meeting, congratulating them on the
spirit and unanimity which pervaded the country, and concluded by proposing
the following toast : — " May that man never enjoy the land o' cakes, who is not
willing to shed his blood in defence of it." During his stay at Edinburgh, his
lordship was highly popular ; and much gaity prevailed. The foUowing notice
of one of the entertainments we find in a journal of the day : —
"On Friday evening (Jime 14, 1805) the Countess of Loudon and Moira'' gave a grand fete at
Duddingston House, to above three hundred of the nobUity and gentry in and about the city —
among whom were, the Duke of Buccleuch, Earl of Errol, Earl of Dalhousie, Earl of Eoden, Lord
Elcho, Count Piper, Sir John Stuart, Sir "WiUiam Forbes, Sir Alexander Purves, Sir James HaU,
Countess of Errol, Coimtess Dowager of Dalhousie, Lady Charlotte Campbell, Lady Elizabeth
Eawdon, Lady Helen Hall, Lady Stuart, Lady Fettes, Admiral Vashon, and a great number of the
naval and military gentlemen, most of the judges, etc. The saloon was elegantly fitted up with
festoons of flowers, and embelUshed with an emblematical naval piUar, on which were the names of
Howe, Duncan, St. Vincent, and Nelson. The dancing commenced at ten o'clock, and was

1 The Countess was the flrst, north of the Tweed, to introduce those laconic invitation cards,
now common enough. Their concise style — "The Countess of Loudon and Moira at home" —
astonished and puzzled several of the good folks of Edinburgh to whom they were forwarded.
VOL. IL E

26 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
continued vrith great spirit tiU near two in the morning, when the company sat down to a most
elegant supper, in four different rooms, where they were served with a profusion of the best wines,
and a most superb dessert. After supper, the dancing recommenced vrith redoubled -vigour, and
was continued tiU an hour after sunrising."
In 1806, when the Opposition came into power, Lord Moira was appointed
Master-General of the Ordnance. In 1810 he was nominated Governor of the
Charter-house. The Earl being generally popular, and having zealously exerted
himself in favour of the Prince of Wales, when the parliamentary inquiry into
his financial embarrassments was going on, he thus stood high iu the favour of
the Regent. Accordingly, on the assassination of Mr. Percival in 1812, he was
empowered by his Royal Highness to form a new Ministry. With this view
Lord Grey, Grenville, Erskine, etc., were consulted by his lordship ; but, as is
well known, the proposed arrangements came to nothing.
Soon after this the Prince Regent conferred the Order of the Garter on the
Earl; and in 1813 his lordship was appointed Governor-General and Com
mander-in-Chief of the forces of British India. He remained nine years in the
East ; and during that period brought two important wars to a satisfactory con
clusion, and managed affairs with the utmost credit to himself and advantage to
the country. As a reward for his services, he was created (on the 7th December
1816) Viscount Loudon, Earl of Rawdon, and Marquis of Hastings, and twice
received the thanks of the Court of Directors of the East India Company, as
well as "of both Houses of Parliament. In consequence of ill health the Earl
was recalled, at his own desire, in 1822. He returned to England, but without
having enriched himself by his long residence in a country which had proved a,
source of wealth to his predecessor. During the summer of 1823, his lordship
and family paid a short visit to Loudon Castle,' their residence in Ayrshire,
^ This affair gave rise to much local speculation at the time. In a small volume of poems, by
John Ramsay, Kilmarnock, 1836, the'event is celebrated in a poem of some length, entitled " Hope
and Despair ; or, the Loudon Campaign." In this burlesque effusion the poet satirises his military
townsmen without mercy. In a prefatory note he says — "If half that old Fame detailed of the
preparations made at Loudon for their entertainment was true, such a slaughter had not taken place
since the dedication of Solomon's Temple. Many went from feelings of respect to the noble veteran ;
others, whose sentiments we had an opportunity of knowing, were attracted by something of a very
different nature ; and some had even promised to use their infiuence to get their friends and
acquaintances introduced to be sharers of the spoil. " It appears that Fame had indeed prodigiously
magnified the "preparations made at Loudon ;" and it is on the well-merited disappointment which
"the guzzlers'' experienced that the humour of the poet hinges.
" Slow murmuring hameward cam' the squad.
Their bellies swamp, their hearts richt sad ;
' The very Major swore — ' By G — d,
It was a sharae,
And brocht a stain and odium bad,
On Hastings' name.'
" The drummer raised his plaintive wail,
The rocks gave back the doleful tale ;
Yea, and the sober evening gale
That swept alang.
Bore far away, o'er hiU and dale,
The mournful sang."

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 27
from which they had been absent for many years. On this auspicious occasion
considerable interest was excited in the neighbourhood ; and a party of the Ayr
shire Cavalry, with the Kilmarnock Volunteers, marched out in military array
to pay their respects to the Earl on his arrival. The foUo-wing extract from a
letter to the Editor of the Free Press upon occasion of his lordship's visit, is too
interesting to be omitted : —
" Never having seen, that reno-wned warrior and statesman, the Marquis of Hastings, and being
iu the neighbourhood of Loudon Castle, we were exceedingly anxious to behold with our own eyes
the man who has done so much for his country and his friends, and so Uttle for himself. Being
provided at KUmamock with a ' guid-gaun ' vehicle, we set out ; and it was not very long -until the
turrets of the Castle were, with deUght, beheld by us, towering above the mighty oak and elm of
many hundred years' standing, and the ' bonnie woods and braes,' so justly celebrated by TannahiU.
-We were at the village of Galston by nine o'clock, and learned, with much pleasure, that the
Marquis and family were going to Ne-wmilns to hear a sermon in the parish church. From Galston
to Newmilns it is two miles ; a road level and enchanting, overshadowed by lofty trees ; on the left,
the Castle, with its beiautiful avenues and pleasure-grounds ; on the right, the water of Irvine. On
the same side, at the end of this road, and before entering Newmilns, is the MiU, rendered classic
from having given birth to Ramsay's celebrated song of ' The Lass of Patie's Mill, so bonnie, blyth,
and gay.' Nevnnilns is a smaU, neat, clean to-wn ; the new part of it divided from the old by the
water of Irvine, communicating by two bridges. It lies in a beautiful vale, surrounded by braes
covered -with rich planting. At the extremity of the vale, four miles east, is Loudon Hill, ' found
as my shield. ' We drove to the residence of Mr. Loudon, the chief magistrate, at the east end of
the town, where we had an Ayrshire breakfast in all its glory, and a hearty welcome. At eleven
the bell summoned us to church. -When we arrived at the church door, the Marquis's famUy and
suit were just at hand, in two carriages and a gig. In the first were the Marquis, Marchioness, aud
four daughters. The other contained my young Lord Rawdon ; and the factor, Mr. HamUton, was
in the gig. Every eye was eager to see them alight ; and it was done with that ease and becoming
dignity inherent in true nobility. In passing the plate of collection, the poor were not neglected.
It is said that the Castle is beset every day with poor persons from thirty miles round, none of
whom are allowed to depart without a good aumis. Before we entered the church, the noble famUy
were aU seated in the gaUery in front of the pulpit, being the family seat, which is formed of a
large enclosed compartment. "We were in, the gaUery right of the pulpit, and had a good view.
His lordship is seventy-one years of age ; and, although he has been in camp and field in all sorts
of climate, is stout and healthy. His bold, dark countenance, with frame erect, gives a most com
plete idea of the warrior ; and he possesses all that suavity and dignity of manner, -with a counte
nance beaming -with inteUigence, whioh are so characteristic of the statesman, warrior, and
philanthropist. He was very plainly dressed — dark-green coat, coloiu'ed vest, and dark cassimere
trowsers. On his breast hung a gold insignia of one of his many Orders. The Marchioness is aged
forty-six, and seems to have suffered little from the scorching climate — looks weU, and in exceUent
health. She has aU the lady in her appearance — modest, dignified, kind, ahd affectionatel The
young ladies may be characterised in the same way. Lady Flora is a young lady of most amiable
dispositions, mild and attractive manners. They have more the cast of the Marquis's countenance,
particularly in the upper part of the face. The young lord, aged twenty, is a most promising
young man — no fudge nor frippery about him, aping outlandish airs with an ostentatious conscious
ness of his high station in life. His person is tall, handsome, good-looking ; and his manners most
amiable, with every appearance to possess the' -virtues of his father. During the sermon, they aU
paid the most profound attention, and seemed deeply impressed with the force of the truths pro
pounded by the Rev. Dr. Laurie, who discharged his duty much to our satisfaction. He has a
gopd delivery and address, joined with sound sense, and is a sincere lover of the truths of the gospel,
which he delivers in a plain, neat, and impressive manner. We remarked that the Marchioness
was^ost attentive to the Doctor's discourse, examining every text which was alluded to in the
course of the lecture. During the prayer she and the Marquis seemed much affected when the
Doctor very delicately aUuded to the noble family then present. -We were much pleased with the
appearance of all the hearers in the church — a healthy, sober, and good-looking people ; aU well
dressed, with a deportment suitable to the house of God."

28 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
The Earl remained only a short time at Loudon Castle, ha-nng been ap
pointed Governor of Malta in 1824. This situation he filled for nearly two
years, much to the satisfaction of the Maltese, when, in consequence of a fall
from his horse, he was seized with a dangerous illness, and was, attended by his
family, conveyed in a weak state on board the Revenge ship-of-war. The Earl
grew rapidly worse, and died on the 28th November 1826. It was rumoured
at the time that, in a letter found after his death, his lordship had desired his right
hand to be cut off and preserved until the death of the Marchioness, then to be
interred in the same coffin -with her ladyship. His remains were interred at
Malta. The Earl of Moira was tall, and rather of a spare figure. As a cavalry officer
he looked uncommonly well. His manners were dignified, yet affable. He
was well learned in the history and constitution of his country ; and that his
talents were of the highest order is evinced by his successful government of
India. He was of a kindly and affectionate disposition — In munificence un
bounded; so much so that to his extreme liberality may be attributed the
embarrassments under which he is understood to have laboured throughout the
latter part of his life.

No. CLXXXL
ME. JOHN WEMYSS, ME. EOBEET pLEEK,
AND
GEOEGE PEATT.
JOHN WEMYSS, the figure on the left, was, as the Print denotes, one of the
Town Criers, and colleague of the eccentric and consequential George Pratt. He
had formerly been a respectable dyer ; but, owing to some reverses in business,
he was reluctantly compelled to abandon the trade ; and, from necessity, had
recourse to the calling in which he is here represented. He was for many years
officer to the Incorporation of Bonnet-makers, for which he received the sum of
fifty shillings a year !
Wemyss lived at the foot of Forrester's Wynd. He was twice married ;
and by his first wife had a son and daughter. He died in June 1788. His
son, Mr. Robert Wemyss, was more fortunate in the world. His death which
occurred on the 25th of August 1812, is thus noticed: — "At Edinburgh, Mr.
Robert Wemyss, late Deacon of the Incorporation of Bonnet-makers, Council
and Dean of Guild Officer of that city. In public and private life he was
greatly respected as a worthy and honest man ; and his death is much regretted

181

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 29
by his relatives and a numerous circle of friends ahd acquaintances." The son
of this gentleman was connected with the Commissariat Department in the
British Service, in which capacity he sustained several important offices.
MR. ROBERT CLERK, the centre figure, was for many years a book
seller and publisher in the Parliament Square. His father, John Clerk, a printer,
was said to have been descended from Alexander Clark, Lord Provost of the
city of Edinburgh at the commencement of the seventeenth century.
Mr. Clerk was bom in 1738 ; and about the age of seventeen, after finish
ing his apprenticeship, married Barbara, daughter pf John Williamson, farmer at
Bellside, near Linlithgow ; and with her it is beheved he obtained a small por
tion, which enabled him to commence bookseller on his own account.' Although
at that period the book trade of Edinburgh was comparatively Hmited, he suc
ceeded in establishing a profitable business — ^having a good many bookbinders
employed — and latterly engaging in several fortunate speculations as a pub
lisher.^ In the course of a few years he purchased a house in the Cowgate from Pro
vost Kincaid, called " Kincaid's Land," where he resided some time. In 1772
he bought a property at Newhaven — kno-wn from its size by the name of " the
Whale"' — with a large piece of ground and stabling attached. The under
part he first let to John,* father of the late William Dumbreck of Coates ; and
in the summer the upper flat was either occupied by Mr. Clerk's own family,
or let out during the bathing season. As an inn, the house was subsequently
possessed by various tenants.
In 1789, having sold off his stock, and "the Whale" being at that tirae
•without a tenant, Mr. Clerk let his house in Edinburgh, and retired to New
haven. Here he continued fpr several years, almost daily visited by his friends
from Edinburgh, a party of whom, on Saturdays in particular, were in the habit
of playing at quoits in his garden, and thereafter regaling themselves -with a
plentiful supply of gin and oysters, then and stiU a favourite indulgence at
Newhaven. At length, finding a suitable tenant for his house, " the Whale "
again became an inn ; and, under the good management of the late Mr. James
Duguid, as well as of his widow many years afterwards, was well frequented.
In 1800, in consequence of his wife's death, Mr. Clerk gave up houskeeping,
and boarded with Mrs. Duguid of " the Whale," where his old friends ralhed
^ They had eight sons, six of whom died in infancy. Eobert, the eldest, died in 1786 ; and
Alexander, the oiUy remaining son, was a Solicitor-at-law in Edinburgh.
" Among other works pubUshed by Mr. Clerk was the "Builder's Jewel" — a book of consider
able note in those days.
' "The -Whale" was totaUy destroyed by fire about 1834, but .the name is preserved bythe
-Whale Brae.
* From Newhaven Mr. Dumbreck removed to the -White Horse Inn, Canongate, and ,afterwards
opened the hotel, long kno-vto by his name in Princes Street, where he realised an independent
fortune. His son -William continued the business for some time after his death, but latterly retired
to Coates.

30 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
around him as formerly, to enjoy the sea breeze, and the choice things which
the hostess was careful to provide for them.
Mr. Clerk died in 1810, much regretted by his acquaintances, aged seventy-
two, and was interred in the Greyfriars' Churchyard. He was a jolly, warm
hearted individual — amusing in conversation, and partial to the company of his
friends ; but, though fond of rational enjoyment, he was equally an enemy to
excess ; and, in the words of one of his friends, now himself no more, there
never existed a "more honest and inoffensive man."
The third figure, we need scarcely add, is no less a personage than GEORGE
PRATT, who has already been specially noticed in the preceding Volume.

No. CLXXXII.
TWO BOOKSELLEES.
ME. WILLIAM COKE AND ME. JOHN GUTHEIE.
These two bibliopolists have apparently been brought into juxtaposition, not so
much from any intimacy subsisting between them, as from a similar peculiarity
in their habits of transacting business. They were both ready-money dealers ;
and whatever they purchased was paid in cash, and carried away by them on
the instant.
MR. WILLIAM COKE, the figure on the left, carried on business in Leith
for upwards of fifty-five years in the shop now occupied by Messrs. Reid and
Son. He commenced bookseller in 1764; and his stock, consisting principally
of minor publications, and the common articles of stationery, was not very
extensive. By perseverance and economy, his trade gradually increased, though
it is somewhat doubtful if he ever attained to easy circumstances. He -was
a most indefatigable person, however; for he has been known to travel to
Edinburgh three or four times in one day for the purpose of supplying the
orders of his customers ; and he would have performed the journey to obtain a
sixpenny pamphlet.'
Mr. Coke possessed a rather quick temper. Returning from Glasgow by
the coach on one occasion, he was seated inside with several other passengers.
The subject of conversation chancing to take a political turn, an English gentle-
^ A calculation was made from Mr. Coke's o-wn information respecting his journeys between
Leith and Edinburgh, when it was found that he had walked a distance more than twice equal to
the circumference of the globe. The late Mr. David Ramsay, publisher of the Courant, used to
compare him to a squirrel in a cage, always endeavouring to get to the top.

182

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 31
man who sat next him, chose to be very severe on Pitt's Administration,
and the volunteer system. Coke, whose politics were decidedly of the Pitt
school, could ill brook such refiections ; and during the conversation — or
rather altercation — ^which ensued, he had much difficulty in restraining his in
dignation within the bounds of civility. When at any time the dispute seemed
about to moderate, another of the travellers — afterwards an eminent publisher in
Edinburgh — contrived so to " blow the coal," that a fresh irruption was invariably
the consequence, tUl at length his opponent venturing on some expression still
more severe than what had preceded, Mr. Coke turned round in a violent
passion, and seizing him by the breast, exclaimed — " Let me see your face, sir,
that I may know, and be able to recognise you wherever I find you ! "
One day Mr. Coke had overheated himself so much in walking from Leith
to Edinburgh, that on arriving at his friend Bailie Creech, the publisher's shop,
he sent for a small quantity of whisky to bathe his forehead, as the fatigue had
produced a very severe headache. Creech, who entered whilst the remedy was
being applied, exclaimed — "Bless me ! what's that you are doing, Mr. Coke?"
" Rubbing my head -svith whisky," was the reply. " No wonder," rejoined the
civic Joe Miller, " that you are so very hot-headed I"
Mr. Coke died in 1819, above eighty years of age. He was married and
had a famUy. His son went to sea, and was never heard of. Three of his
daughters, we understand, resided in Edinburgh. His death was thus noticed
in the journals of the day : — "At Leith, on the 18th May, Mr. William Coke,
bookseller, who carried on business in the same premises, for the long period
of fifty-five years, and was the father of the bookselling profession of Scotland."
The other figure presents an accurate portrait of old JOHN GUTHRIE,
latterly of the firm of Guthrie and Tait, Nicolson Street.
Mr. Guthrie generally paid as he bought ;^ and, like his Leith contemporary,
brought home his own purchases. He was a native of the parish of Botriphnie,
in Aberdeenshire, and was born about the year 1748. Having lost his parents
when very young, he was left to the protection of an uncle, who, before he
attained his twelfth year, abandoned him to his own resources. In this forlorn
situation he scraped together as many pence as procured a small stock of needles,
pins, etc., with which he commenced travelling as a pedlar.
His boyish years were "passed in this manner, his pack gradually extending
as his capital increased. After giving up the laborious occupation of travelling
merchant, he settled in Edinburgh, and commenced a book-stall at the Linen
Hall, Canongate, which became the resort of many of the book collectors of
that time. Unlike our modern open-air merchants, who pace the length of their
stalls from morning till night, making idle time doubly tedious, he was constantly
engaged in some useful employment — knitting stockings, working onion nets, or
in soine way or other having his hands busy, tp keep, as he used to say, " the
1 Among some of the trade he obtained the cognomen of "Ready-money John," in aUusion to
which he is represented with a purse in his hand.

32 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
devil out of his heart." He next opened a shop at the Nether Bow. Here he
continued until he removed to the shop in Nicolson Street, afterwards occupied
by his successor Mr. Tait, with whom he entered into partnership. The
business was afterwards carried on under the firm of Guthrie and Tait.
Mr. Guthrie was a very inoffensive, worthy person. Few men were more
universally benevolent. Never forgetting the hardships and struggles of early
life, his hand was open to the truly necessitous ; and, as far as his chcumstances
would permit, he promoted, both by advice and assistance, the endeavours of
the industrious poor to earn an honest livelihood. He was also a constant, and
frequently a liberal, contributor to the religious and philanthropic institutions
of the city.
Mr. Guthrie was an Episcopalian when that form of worship was at a low
ebb, but lived long enough to witness its gradual re-vival and increase. His
primitive mode of transacting business was the effect of early habit, and could
not easily be laid aside by change of circumstances. He died on the 10th May
1824. He was married, but had no children.

No. CLXXXHL
WILLIAM BUTTEE, ESQ.,
AND
SIE JOHN MOEEISON.
The figure to the left represents MR. BUTTER in the. attitude of applying a
" social pinch," and engaged in an " accidental crack " -with his friend Sir John
Morrison. The father of Mr. Butter originally belonged to Peterhead, but came in early
life to Edinburgh, where he successfully carried on the business of a -wright and
cabinetmaker; and at his death left his son, the subject of the Print, in pos
session of considerable property.' His workshop was at the foot of Carrubber's
Close, where he also resided ; and it is yet told, as illustrative of the old man's
mechanical genius, and as a matter of wonder in those days, that he built an
additional story to his dwelling-house without taking down the roof This he
accompHshed— as has been frequently done more recently — by means of screws.
After the death of his father, Mr. William Butter continued to carry on
business in^the same premises, but on a more extensive scale. He was Carpenter
to his Majesty ; and, among other extensive buildings in which he was engaged
^ Mr. Butter senior was a member of the To-wn Coimcil in 1749 and 1750.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 33
may be mentioned Gayfield House, at the foot of Gayfield Square ; the house
of Sir Lawrence Dundas, then M.i*. for the city, now occupied by the Royal
Bank, St. .Andrew Square ; the Register Office, etc.
Besides the Chapel — now occupied as the " Whitefield Chapel " — ^Mr. Butter
was proprietor of several tenements in Carrubber's Close, then one of the most
fashionable portions of the Old Town, and which yet retains evidence of the
respectability of its former inhabitants. Some large houses about Shakspeare
Square (so called from the Theatre Royal which stood there) also belonged to
him, part of which stood directly in front of the Regent Bridge, forming a junction
-with Leith Street. A portion of this property was acquired by the Commissioners
for the City Improvements, for which they paid £12,000, in order to make way
for the splendid opening, formed in 1822, from Princes Street towards the
Calton Hill.
It was deemed fortunate for Mr. Butter, as the old saying has it, that " his
father was born before him." Although by no means addicted to the excesses
of the times in which he lived, yet his notions of social life were materially
different from those of his father. Fond of music and the drama, he was a
liberal patron to performers ; and, among others, the improvident Digges,^ then
the universal favourite with the Edinburgh audience, received no inconsiderable
share of his admiration and: friendship. The old man had no sympathy for the
refined tastes of his son, and he used to say that " ne'er an Italian fiddler cam'
to Edinburgh but Willie was sure to find him out." Of a kindly disposition ''
^ Mr. Digges, both as a manager and an actor, was a favourite with the play-going people of
Edinburgh. Out of compUment to the fair, but frail, George Anne BeUamy, who lived with him, he
assumed her name, and actuaUy performed as Mr. BeUamy for one if not two seasons. The foUowing
anecdote, although not related in Mrs. Bellamy's " Apology" for her life, is nevertheless authentic : —
' " The disputes between Mr. Digges and that lady at one time, when they were together in Edin
burgh, ran so high, that although it was then midnight, and in the winter season, he began to take
off his clothes in a violent rage, -with an intention to dro-wn himself in a pond which was contiguous
to their lodgings. Mrs. BeUamy surveyed the operation vrith the utmost calmness ; and, when he
had run out of the house, arose from her seat -with the same nonchalance, and fastened the street-door.
The rigour of the season, -with a little reflection, soon cooled his passion. On his return, a capitula
tion took place before entrance was granted him. His teeth chattering in his head with cold, he was
obliged to submit to the severest terms the lady in possession of the fortress thought proper to
impose ; after whioh he was permitted, to enter, and an act of general amnesty was issued for that
time. Their union, however, was shortly afterwards dissolved. "
Digges was a devoted slave to the fair, and h'is address was admirable. He was always in debt ;
and, although li-ving in splendour, contrived to pay as few of his creditors as possible. -With his
laundress he ran up a long score, and -with his washerwoman a longer. It happened that they both
arrived at his house accidentally upon the same errand, to dun him for the fiftieth time. Some diffi
culty arose in procuring access, as he was denied. Digges, hearing voices in altercation, desired the
ladies to walk upstairs, and he would give them audience separately. He caUed into operation his
powers of persuasion. He completely subdued the laundress, who left the apartment perfectly
contented, though -without receiving one farthing of the debt ; and the rugged heart of the washer
woman melted before him, and she departed penniless, exclaiming he was a sweet gentleman ! His
correspoiidence with Mrs. ^Ward, an actress of great celebrity, was printed at Edinburgh (Stevenson),
1833. Svo.
^ Kay mentions as an instance, that when the Lodge of the Eoman Eagle held a funeral meeting,
in 1789, in honour of Doctor Brown, the founder of the Institution, as soon as Mr. Butter understood
that the profits were to be devoted to the -widow and famUy of the Doctor, he without solicitation
offered the gratuitous use of his chapel iu Carrubber's ¦Close — an offer gladly accepted by the Lodge.
VOL. II. P

34 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
and agreeable manners, Mr. Butter was greatly esteemed by his workmen, among
whom, in his father's time, was the well-known " Tam Neil " (formerly noticed) ;
and in company, although occasionally inclined to the marvellous, his conversa
tion was lively and amusing. He was chosen Deacon of the Wrights in 1767 ;
and, whilst a member of the Council, uniformly voted in all the city contests
with the friends of Sir Lawrence Dundas.
Towards the close of last century, when the houses of the Old Town began
to give precedence to those of the New, and the higher order of 'inhabitants
were flying from their ancient domiciles, as if from a city infected with the
plague, it occurred to Mr. Butter that he had been long enough in Carrubber's
Close. With the view of enjoying the quietness of a secluded villa, he removed
to Kirkbrae House, nearly opposite the front pf the West Church, at the
junction of Princes Street and Lothian Road.^ This house, built by his father
many years previous, stood entirely apart from any other building ; but, so
rapid has been the extension of Edinburgh during the last thirty years, that the
villa of Mr. Butter is now surrounded on all sides by extensive and elegant
buildings. Mr. Butter died in 1 8 1 7. For some years previous to his death he was almost
closely confined from indisposition." Among the last times be mixed in public
^ This road, which leaves the western termination of Princes Street at a right angle, and stretches
away to the south, had been long projected ; but, owing to the objections made (as is usual in such
cases) by the proprietors of certain inestimable barns, sheds, and cow-houses, which required to be
removed, a long time elapsed before the plan could be brought to maturity. After several years of
speculation, and when the project was nearly conceded to by all the parties, the road was, to the
surprise of the public, and the mortification of many, completely formed, without leave being asked,
aU in one day ! It so happened that a gentleman, who had recently succeeded to his estate, laid
a bet with a friend, to the effect that he would, between sunrise and simset, execute the line of
road, extending nearly a, mile in length, and about twenty paces in breadth. This scheme he
concerted with address, and executed with promptitude. It was winter, when many labouring men
are often out of employ ; so that he found no difSculty in collecting several hundreds at the spot
upon the appointed morning before sunrise ; and he took care to provide them with a plentiful
supply of porter, usquebaugh, bread and cheese, and other inspiriting matters. No sooner had the
sun peeped over the hills, than this immense posse fell to work with might and maiu. Some to
tear down enclosures, others to unroof and demolish cottages, and a considerable proportion to
bring earth, wherewith to fill up the natural hollow to the required height. The inhabitants,
dismayed at so vast a force, and so summary a mode of procedure, made no resistance ; and so
active were the workmen, that, before sunset, the road was sufficiently formed to aUow the bettor
to drive his carriage triumphantly over it, which he did amidst the acclamations of a great
multitude of persons, who flocked from the town to witness the issue of this extraordinary under
taking. Among the instances of temporary distress known to have been occasioned to the
inhabitants, the most laughable was that of a poor simple woman, who had a cottage and a small
cow-feeding establishment upon the spot. It appears that this good creature had risen very early,
as usual, milked her cows — smoked her pipe — taken her ordinary matiual meal of tea — aud, lastly,
recoUecting that she had some friends invited to dine with her upon sheep-head kail about noon,
placed the pot uptm the fire, in order that it might simmer peaceably till she should return from
the town where she had to supply a numerous set of customers with the produce of her dairy.
Our readers may imagine the consternation of this poor woman, when, upon her return from the
duties of the morning, she found neither house, nor byre, nor cows, nor fire, nor pipe, nor pot, nor
anything that was hers, upon the spot where she had left them a few hours before — all had
vanished, like the palace of Aladdin, leaving "no wreck behind." [The gentleman, we believe,
who performed this undertaking was Sir John Clerk, Bart, of Penicuik. He succeeded his father
in 1784, and was then an oiiicer in the na-vy. He died in 1798.]

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 35
was at the dinner given by Mr. John Paton, in 1805, on being chosen one of
the Deacons of Mary's Chapel — an affair of much importance in former days.
Mr. Butter had participated in the jollity of many a " deacons choosing ;" and
on the occasion alluded to, in spite of his years and debility, entered into the
spirit of the festive board with all the energy of his younger years.
He was married, and had four daughters ; the eldest of whom, Helen, was
married to the late George Andrew, Esq., writer ; the second, Anne, continued
unmarried, and resided in Perth ; the third, Janet, became the wife of Captain
John Campbell of Glenfalloch ; and the fourth, Jane, was married to Archibald
Campbell, Esq., for many years Lieut.-Colonel of the Royal Edinburgh Highland
Volunteers. MR., or rather SIR, JOHN MORRISON, of whom the Print affords a
striking likeness, was for many years a Clerk in the Excise Office. In early
life he had been valet de chambre to Lord Charles Douglas, and was with that
nobleman in Lisbon, whither he had gone for his health, when the great earth
quake occurred there on the 1st November 1755.^ After the death of Lord
Charles, which occurred in England the year following, Mr. Morrison obtained
a situation in the Excise Office through the influence of the Queensberry
family ; and, by the same interest, he was placed on the roll of the Poor
Knights of Windsor, from which circumstance he was generally known by the
title of SiE John Moerison.
Sir John lived in a very quiet manner, first at the Calton Hill, and latterly
in one of Mr. Butter's houses in Shakspeare Square. His salary as a clerk was
only fifty pounds a year, and the gratuity from his Majesty was supposed to
amount to as much more. By the good management of Mrs. Morrison, who
took in boarders, the gross amount of his yearly income was fully adequate to
his expenditure. They had no young family to educate and bring up, " Miss
Nancy,'' as she was called, the only daughter, having passed her teens, and being
capable of aiding in the management of the house. While living at the Calton
^ The first shock was felt a little before ten o'clock a.m. The greater portion of the city, as
well as the shipping, was destroyed ; and, according to some accounts, upwards of one i hundred
thousand of the inhabitants were buried in the ruins. In a letter written by one of the domestics
of Lord Charles Douglas, dated Lisbon, November 8, the writer says — "We made our escape over
many dead bodies, that lay under the ruins, and some caUing for mercy and help ; but none dared
stay to help them for fear of their own Uves, the earth being still in motion. His lordship and all
of us were saved by staying a minute under an archway. Nobody could be more careful of his
lordship than good Mr. D. ; and, had it pleased God we should die, we had all gone together. His
lordship had surprising strength. "When the shocks were a little abated, we set out for the country,
to the British Envoy's, whose house did not fall, but was much cracked. 'We lay two nights in a
field near the house : none of us have been in bed these five nights. We are now safe on board the
Expedition packet." In another letter, from Abraham Castres, Esq., his Majesty's Envoy
Extraordinary to the King of Portugal, when speaking of the dilapidated state of his own house,
and the great number of countrymen who had taken refuge with him, he says — " I have accom
modated them as well as I could under tents in my large garden, nobody but Lord Charles Douglas,
who is actually on board the packet, besides our chaplain and myself, having dared hitherto to
sleep in my house since the day of our disaster."

36 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Hill, Sir John had a lodger who incurred no small degree of notoriety in the
city. He was a sporting Cockney, of the name of Ludborough, who gave him
self out to be the son of the then Lord Mayor of London. His fashionable
eccentricities and excessive extravagance attracted general notice ; and, it is
said although he expended little short of thirty thousand pounds during his
limited residence in Edinburgh, he became so deeply involved that, latterly, he
was compelled to take shelter from his creditors in the Abbey.
The honours of knighthood were borne very meekly by the titular Sir John ;
so much so, that he did not at times disdain to be the purveyor of water for the
family, which he carried in " stoups " as they were denominated by the progeni
tors of the Modern Athenians, from the Calton well. In those days there
were no pipes to convey the water into the houses ; numerous individuals,
principally women, consequently found employment in supplying the citizens,
which they did in barrels slung across their soulders.' Standing at his own
door in Shakspeare Square of a summer evening, it was no uncommon thing to
find Sir John unbending in conversation with these worthies, and occasionally
patronising them so far as to join in a social glass of "purl" at a neighbouring
alehouse. The dreadful earthquake at Lisbon was a favourite topic with Sir John. He
used to mention that Lord Charles was in the act of writing a letter when the
first shock occurred : that the houses were for a moment seen to undulate like
the waves of the sea — then, falling in one vast ruin, the smoke and dust so
darkened the atmosphere, that, although broad day, the city was almost wholly
enveloped in midnight gloom. The miraculous preservation of Lord Charles,
-with his own hairbreadth escapes over heaps of ruins — through narrow lanes,
and yawning apertures, where the mangled dead and dying were scattered in
hundreds — furnished him with many appalling stories. When inclined to be
facetious, the grotesque appearance of groups of fiying citizens, many of whom
had been surprised in bed, afforded abundant scope for humorous delineation.
Another point, on which Sir John used to dilate, was the fact of the dreadful
event having occurred on All-Saints-Day — one of the principal Popish festi
vals — when all the churches were filled with worshippers, the altars lighted up,
and the priests in the act of celebrating high mass ; and that, although hundreds
of Papists were killed, scarcely a single Protestant foreigner perished.''
Sir John lived to a good old age, and died at his house in Shakspeare Square
about the beginning of this century. His daughter, who survived, was respect
ably married.
1 The last instance of a "water-man" plying his avocation, as in days of yore, was "'Water
WiUie." 2 The Portuguese priesthood attributed the dreadful visitation to Divine displeasure on account
of so many heretics and foreigners being allowed to reside in the capital ; and did not faU to
remonstrate with the King on the subject The palace was totaUy destroyed ; but the Eoyal
family had fortunately gone to Belem a few days previous.

' • t >•• *^ * f

"¦"¦ -—.4.. KAY^ ISoL--^'

184

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 37

No. CLXXXIV.
JAMES ALEXANDEE HALDANE, ESQ.,
MINISTEE OF THE TABEENACLE, LEITH WALK.
This Portrait, taken at the period of his greatest popularity, represents Me.
James Alexander Haldane, a gentleman who for more than forty years
devoted himself gratuitously, and with exemplary assiduity, to the preaching of
the gospel ; and whose proceedings, as well as those of his elder brother, Robert
Haldane, Esq. of Airthrey, at one time at least, attracted much interest, not only
in Edinburgh, but throughout Scotland.
Mr. James Haldane was the posthumous son of Captain James Haldane of
Airthrey, and an immediate descendant of the Haldanes of Gleneagles, in
Perthshire, one of, the mpst ancient and highly connected baronial families in
Scotland. His mother was the daughter of Alexander Duncan, Esq., of Lundie
Castle, near Dundee, and the sister of Admiral Lord Viscount Duncan. He
was born on the 14th July 1768, at Dundee, within one fortnight after the
death of his father, who was cut off at the early age of thirty-nine, by a sudden
illness, in the bloom of manhood. His -widow only survived the death of her
husband about six years, when her two sons were left under the guardianship of
her brothers, Colonel Duncan of Lundie and the Admiral.
Both were educated at the High School and College of Edinburgh, and
boarded with Dr. Adam, the well-known Rector. At the age of sixteen Mr.
James Haldane entered the service of the East India Company as a midship
man, on board the DuTce of Montrose. He made four voyages to Bengal, Bom
bay, and China ; and at the age of twenty-five, the earliest period at which the
rules of the service permitted him to command a ship, he was appointed to the
command of the Melville Castle, previously commanded by Lord Duncan's
brother-in-law, Captain Philip Dundas.^
His life at sea was distinguished by many of those narrow escapes to which
a sailor is often exposed. On one occasion, when ordered to go aloft to reef
the sails, the man next him was knocked from the yard and drowned in the
sea. At another, time he fell out of a boat at night, and was only saved by
keeping fast hold of the oar with which he had been steering the boat. On
1 It was on board the MelviUe Castle, when lying at Gravesend, that Mr. Pitt and Mr. Dundas
had dined on that well-known occasion, when Mr. Pox moved the adjournment of the House, and
which gave rise to various satirical lampoons abont " PaUnurus nodding at the helm ;" and also to
the caricature in which Mr. Pitt was made to say, on entering the House of Commons— " I do not
see the Speaker, Harry, do you ?" To which Mr. Dundas repUes — " Not see him, Bflly — I see two I"

38 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
another occasion, he had received an appointment as Third Officer of the
Foullis Indiaman. He was detained in Scotland longer than he expected,
and when he arrived in London the Foullis had sailed. This was a great dis
appointment ; but it turned out to be a most providential circumstance, as the
Foullis was never more heard of, and is supposed to have been burned at sea.
Various other incidents of the same kind might be related, which were calculated
to make an impression on a refiecting mind, and inspire a sense of the providence
of God, and the importance of being prepared for eternity.
Immediately after his appointment as Captain of the Melville Castle, Captain
Haldane married Miss Mary Joass, the only daughter of Alexander Joass, Esq.,
of CoUeinwart, in Banffshire, by Elizabeth, the eldest sister of the celebrated
General Sir Ralph Abercromby. The circumstance of his marriage was calcu
lated to foster a desire to remain at home ; but the situation he held as Captain
of an East Indiaman was at that period the sure road to fortune, and more
especially in the case of Mr. Haldane, who had the double support of his own
and his wife's connections — the former securing to him the patronage of Lord
Melville, the President of the Board of Control — and the latter, the patronage
of Sir Robert Abercromby, the Governor of Bombay and Commander-in-Chief
of the Forces in India.
During the months Mr. Haldane remained in command of the Melville
Castle at Spithead, a mutiny took place on board the Dutton, which gave occa
sion for the display of that daring courage and presence of mind for which he
was at all times conspicuous. It was occasioned by the Captain of the Dutton
sending a man-of-war's boat to have several of his men pressed for some real
or alleged act of insubordination. The mutiny broke out in the night — shots
were fired — and one man was killed. It was under these circumstances that
Captain Haldane ordered out his boat, and went alongside the Dutton. The
mutineers threatened him with death if he attempted to come on board. The
officers and their supporters, on the contrary, invited his assistance. By the
exercise of the greatest determination he succeeded in boarding the Dutton,
amidst the clamour and menaces of the mutineers, and the cheers of the other
party, who now invited him to put himself at their head, and, sword in hand,
drive the mutinous crew beneath the hatches. This proposal, however, he
declined ; and, going forward alone into the midst of the mutineers, he addressed
them on the folly of their conduct, and the certain punishment which would
follow if they were successful in overcoming their officers. The result was,
that order was restored without further bloodshed ; and Captain Haldane, who
had always been popular as an officer, was on all hands complimented for this
service. It was, however, about this time that a great change was effected in the
mind of Captain Haldane. It was not sudden, but gradual. The follow
ing is his own simple and interesting account, in a letter to one of his mess
mates : — " I had a book by me which, from prejudice of education, and not
from any rational conviction, I called the Word of God. I never got so

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 39
far as to profess infidelity, but I was a more inconsistent character. I said I
believed a book to be a revelation from God, while I treated it 'with the greatest
neglect, living in direct opposition to all its precepts, and seldom taking the
trouble to look into it, or, if I did, it was to perform a task — a kind of
atonement for my sins. I went on in this course till, while the MelviUe Castle
was detained at the Motherbank by contrary winds, and having abundance of
leisure time for reflection, I began to think I would pay a little more attention
to this book. The more I read it, the more worthy it appeared of God ; and,
after examining the evidences with which Christianity is supported, I became
fully persuaded of its truth." Instead of being careless and indifferent a,bout
religion, he now came to see its great importance ; and he determined to be
content with his own and his wife's fortune, and to quit the pursuit of super
fluous wealth. After he adopted this resolution, it appeared difficult to
accomplish the necessary arrangements for resigning the command before the
sailing of the East India fleet. The fleet, which had already been long delayed
by contrary winds, was however detained for several weeks longer, and a
gentleman was in the meantime found, properly qualified by his service, and
also able to advance the money which was in those days necessary to purchase
the transfer of so lucrative an appointment.
Nothing was further from Mr. Haldane's purpose at this time than to become
a preacher. It was his intention to purchase an estate, and lead the quiet life
of a country gentleman. But, while residing in Edinburgh, he became acquainted
'with the late excellent Mr. Black, minister of Lady Tester's, and Dr. Buchanan,
of the Canongate Church, and others, through whom he was introduced to
several pious men actively engaged in schemes of usefulness. His enterprising
mind gradually became interested in their plans ; and he was further stimulated
to engage in preaching by the visit of the celebrated Mr; Simeon, of King's
College, Cambridge, whom he accompanied in a tour from Edinburgh through a
considerable part of the Highlands of Perthshire.
Shortly afterwards, his brother, Mr. Robert Haldane, determined to sell his
estates, and to devote his life and property to the diffusion of the gospel in India.
With this view, having sold to the late Sir Robert Abercromby his beautiful
and romantic estate of Airthrey, he applied to the East India Company for per
mission to go to Bengal with three clergymen, the Rev. Mr. Innes,' then of
Stirling, the Eev. Dr. Bogue, of Gosport, and Mr. Greville Ewing, then assistant
minister at Lady Glenorchy's Church, Edinburgh. Mr. Haldane was to have
defrayed all the charges of this mission, and was also bound to pay to each of
his associates the sum of £3000, and their passage home, in case they chose to
return. This benevolent design was frustrated by the refusal of the East India
Company to grant their sanction to a plan, the magnitude of which excited their
alarm ; and both Mr. Haldane and his brother therefore resolved to devote them
selves to the preaching of the gospel at home.
' Late pastor of the Baptist denomination, Edinburgh.

40 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Mr. James Haldane preached his first sermon in May 1797, in the village of
Gilmerton, near Edinburgh, then a very neglected spot, and, as now, inhabited
by colliers. Mr. Haldane subsequently attracted great attention, and frequently
has been kno-wn to address, in the open air on the Calton Hill of Edinburgh, a
congregation of not less than ten thousand persons, attracted by the novelty of
a layman and Captain being the preacher.
In the summer of 1797, Mr. Haldane made a very extended tour, in com
pany with his friends Mr. Aikman,' congregational minister, Edinburgh, and Mr.
Rait, minister of Aln-wick, through the northern counties of Scotland and the
Orkney Isles. This tour, partly from the novelty of lay-preaching, and partly
^ Mr. John Aikman, whose death occurred on the 6th February 1834, was born at Borrowstoim^
ness in 1770. "When quite a youth, he went out to Jamaica, where his uncle — to whose business and
effects he succeeded — had previously been established in a prosperous commercial concern. -WhUe
in Jamaica he had resolved upon establishing a circulating Ubrary ; and coming home with the -riew
of making a selection, happened to observe in a catalogue of books the title of ' ' Cardiphonia, or
Utterance of the Heart," which he supposed to be a novel ; and, having purchased it, sat down to
its perusal. To this accidental acquaintance with Mr. Newton's -work he ascribed the awakening of
those strong religious feelings which so decidedly influenced his future course. He went out again
to Jamaica ; but, no longer relishing society there, aud conceiving the mode in which business was
conducted — all days of the week being alike — to be entirely irreconcUable with Christian principles,
he made arrangements with his partner, and returned home, resolving to devote his life to the cause
of the gospel. He entered on his studies at the CoUege of Edinburgh ; and, after attending the
Di-rinity Hall for a season or two, began to preach in 1797, by delivering, like Mr. Haldane, his
flrst sermon at the vUlage of Gilmerton. As already mentioned, he was subsequently engaged,
along with Mr. Haldane, in various itinerating tours through Scotland, in the course of which his
visits were more than once extended north to Caithness and Shetland. Although the ' ' Pastoral
Admonition " of the General Assembly had been leveUed against itinerant preaching, he has been
often heard to declare that he was in numerous instances treated with great kindness and respect by
clergymen of the Establishment, and has frequently had the doors of the parish church thrown open
to him. At the Circus he continued to share with Mr. Haldane in the duties of the pulpit tUl
1801, when he built, at his own expense, the Congregational Chapel in Argyle Square (now removed).
Here, as a preacher of the gospel, he discharged his duties faithfully to a large and respectable
body, -with few interruptions, his itinerating tours having become less freqiient, owing in a great
measure to the state of his health, which at no period had ever been robu.st. "While the French
prisoners of war were conflned in the Castle of Edinburgh, and at Greenlaw Barracks, near Peni
cuik, he preached to them regularly iu their own language — in the speaking of whioh he had acquired
considerable fluency during his stay in the "West Indies. On their liberation, a deputation of the
prisoners publicly thanked him for his kind and unremitting attention to then- spiritual interests.
He also received compUmentary letters, in name of the Government, from the Secretary of State.
In doing good, Mr. Aikman was never weary. His charity was unbounded, and so readily extended,
that the artful and the knavish frequently took advantage of his generosity. As an instance on the
death of an old woman, who had for many years chiefly existed by his beneficence, upwards of £300
in cash, belonging to her, was found concealed in the bottom of a clock-case ! Mr. Cleghom the
co-pastor of the Chapel, was appointed in 1813. Although very much debilitated, Mr. Aikman
preached for the last time vrithin three weeks of his death. His remains were interred in the
Chapel under the deacons' seat ; on which occasion an address was delivered by Mr. Haldane. His
funeral sermon was preached by Mr. Ewing from Glasgow, who, in the com-se of an interestino-
panegyric on the deceased, took occasion to state his beUef that, during the whole course of his
ministry, Mr. Aikman had never pocketed one farthing by his labours. Besides a good many
charities, he left the chapel clear of incumbrances to the members, with these among other stipula
tions, that one-fourth of the seats should be free to the poor, and service performed three times each
Sabbath. Mr. "WiUiam Lindsay Alexander, A.M., was appointed his successor in the ChapeL The
death of Mrs. Aikman occurred in May 1837.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 41
from the other circumstances, produced a great sensation. The people came out
in crowds to hear ; and while, doubtless much good was effected, not a little
irritation was awakened in other quarters. In the following summer the Rev.
Rowland Hill, the uncle of Lord Hill, visited Scotland with the view of preaching.
In his published journal he gives a graphic description of his first interview
with Mr. James Haldane. He had arrived at Langholm, where he met Mr. Haldane,
accompanied by Mr. Aikman, who were on an itinerating tour through the south
of Scotland. " These gentlemen," says Mr. Hill, " were then unknown to me.
I was told, but in very candid language, their errand and design ; that it was a
marvellous circumstance, quite a phenomenon, that an East India Captain — a
gentleman of good family and connections — should turn out an itinerant preacher;
that he should travel from town to to-wn, and all against his own interest and
character. This information was enough for me. I immediately sought out
the itiaerahts. .When I inquired for them of the landlady of the inn, she told
me she supposed I meant the two priests who were at her house; but she
could not satisfy me what religion' they were of. The two priests, however, and
myself soon met ; and, to our mutual satisfaction, passed the evening together."
The following extract from Mr. Hill's dedication of part of his work to Mr.
Haldane is so characteristic that we insert it : - —
"You was educated for a maritime life ; and, from a situation creditable aud lucrative,
commenced a peddling preacher, crying your wares from town to town at a low rate, indeed ' with
out money and without price,' and scattering reUgious tracts as you travel from place to place ;
while it was my lot to be bred to the trade, and to serve a regular apprenticeship for the purpose ;
but, being spoilt in the manufacturing, I never received but forty shiUings (a story too trivial to
relate) by my occupation as a churchman. Affluence is a snare ; a decent independent competency
is a blessing — a blessing, if thereby we can preach Jesus freely, and prove to the poor of the flock
that we can sacriflce our own profit if we oan be profitable to them."
Hitherto neither of the Messrs. Haldane had left the Church of Scotland ;
but the visits of Mr. Simeon and Mr. Rowland Hill had so much increased the
excitement which existed on the part of the General Assembly that a " Pastoral
Admonition " was issued warning the people against the new preachers, and par
ticularly prohibiting Episcopal ministers from England, like Mr. Simeon or Mr.
HUl, to occupy the pulpits of the Scottish Church. This very soon compelled
the Messrs. H. and their friends to secede from the church. Mr. R. Haldane, at
an expense of upwards of £30,000, purchased or erected large chapels in Edin
burgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Dumfries, Perth, and many other places. Mr. James
Haldane became the minister of the newly-erected chapel in Leith Walk, called
the Tabernacle ; so named after Mr. Whitefield's places of worship. To keep
up the interest of the people, eminent ministers from England were in-vited to
preach in the Tabernacle ; and, although it- seated more people than any other
church in Edinburgh, it was for many years crowded to excess.
In the year 1808, however, certain changes being made in the mode of
conducting the divine service in the morning, which were very ill calculated to
attract popularity, the attendance fell off; and, the Tabernacle being too large
for the regular congregation, the lower part was converted to other purposes.
VOL. IL G

42 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Mr. Haldane continued to preach to a large congregation ; and, during the forty
years he was so engaged, his disinterested labours were rather the occasion of
his spending than of his receiving money. The seats were all free ; and he
derived no emolument whatever from his office.
Had it been the object of the Messrs. Haldane to gain a name, and become
the founders of a sect, their ambition might easily have been gratified. The
success which attended their joint labours was at first very great, and their
chapels were well attended. But this never formed any part of their scheme ;
and their adoption of Baptist sentiments separated them from .many of those
with whom they formerly acted. Since the agitation of the voluntary question,
they have taken no part in opposition to the Established Church, considering it to
be rather a political than a religious controversy.
In the early part of their career their motives were often questioned ; and
it happened more than once that Mr. James Haldane was interrupted by the
civil authorities when preaching in the open air. This happened in particular
at Ayr, at North Berwick, and in Aberdeen ; and on one occasion an action
might have been brought against an Argyleshire magistrate for arresting Mr.
Haldane and Mr. John Campbell, afterwards well known as a missionary and
traveller in Africa. Mr. Haldane, however, contented himself, after having been
liberated by the sheriff, with going over the same ground which he had
previously intended ; and the interest excited by his arrestment drew forth such
numbers to hear him as amply compensated for his previous interruption.
Mr. Robert Haldane has been also laboriously engaged in the same work to
which both he and his brother devoted themselves in their early manhood. On
the Continent, and particularly at Geneva, and at Montambau, Mr. Haldane
resided for several years after the peace, and was the means of effecting much
good among the ministers and theological students in these celebrated Protestant
seminaries. He also expended very large sums in education 'of young
men as ministers, both in England, Scotland, and the Continent. We believe
the number amounted to little short of four hundred. Among these there were
several men of great eminence, such as Principal Dewar of Aberdeen, Mr.
Russell of Dundee, Mr. Angell James of Birmingham, Drs. Paterson, Henderson,
etc. Mr. Robert Haldane also published several works of very considerable value,
particularly one on the Evidences of Christianity, and another containing a very
elaborate Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans.
Mr. James Haldane held three services every Sunday at the Tabernaclej as
well as a week-day service ; and his labours in Edinburgh, together with his
former numerous itinerating tours through Scotland, and also in England and
Ireland, have been the means of awakening thousands to concern for their eternal
welfare. It was remarked by a late eminent minister of the Church of Scotland
in Edinburgh, that when conversing with his communicants, it was surprising in
how many instances they attiibuted their first serious impressions to Mr. Hal
dane's preaching. Both brothers continued with unabated energy to pursue
the same schemes of usefulness. At the period they commenced their pubhc

TO THE MG-HT ABOUT — VI

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 43
career, towards the end of the last century, evangelical doctrine was at a very
low ebb in Scotland; and through their instrumentality, it was owing, in no small
degree, that so striking a revival has since taken place. Both brothers were
authors of theological works highly esteemed in their day. James wrote on the
Nature and Doctrine of the Atonement, and an Exposition of the Epistle to the
Galatians. Robert's writings consist of Works on the Evidence of Divine
Revelation and Inspiration of Scripture, and an Exposition of the Epistle to the
Romans. Robert died in 1842, and James in 1851. Their lives, by Alexander
Haldane of the Inner Temple, Barrister-at-law, were published in 1852, and
the work reached a second edition.

No. CLXXXV.
SEEGEANT-MAJOE PATEICK GOULD,
AND
AN EDINBUEGH VOLUNTEEE.
This is an accurate representation of the late SERGEANT-MAJOR
GOULD, in the act of teaching " the young idea how to shoot." Gould (or
rather Guild) was a native of Alva, in Clackmannanshire, one of the little villages
located at the foot of the Ochils, where both his grandfather and father appear
to have successively held the situation of village pi^er. His father, John Guild,
was t-wice married.^ Patrick, the youngest of thirteen children, was born on
the 31st of January 1749. On the death of his father, which occurred suddenly,
the widowed mother removed with her young family (four of whom survived)
to Glasgow, where the future Sergeant-Major was brought up as a tailor ; but
having a strong desire to be a soldier, and entertaining no great partiality for
the board, very soon after completing his apprenticeship he enlisted in the Foot
Guards, where his acti-vity procured him promotion.
In 1793, Gould was appointed Drill-Sergeant to the Argyleshire Fencibles,
then about to be embodied ; and the year foUo-ndng he was transferred to the
First Regiment of Edinburgh Volunteers. How well the Sergeant-Major
discharged the duties of his office is in the recollection of many citizens of
Edinburgh who profited by his instructions. He was accurate, attentive, and
active ; and as a drill none could surpass him. During his connection with the
Volunteers — a period of twenty-one years — he trained upwards of two thousand
men to military exercises. Gould added materially to his income by private
drilling, many families being in the habit of employing him to give " the young
folks " a proper carriage, as they termed it. His manner to a pupil was some-
1 Gould was related (but the precise degree of relationship is unkno-wn, nor indeed does it matter
much) to certain persons of a name almost similar, of considerable opulence in th? district where he
was born. Latterly they fell back in the world ; and some of them had charges of no very creditable
description brought against them.

44 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
what abrupt, and his language not remarkable for its refinement ; but, after two
or three lessons, the first unfavourable impressions subsided, and the Sergeant
gradually became a favourite. Indeed there was a something so peculiar in his
countenance, and more especially in the most prominent feature of it, where
"One rich carbuncle shone before,
With many a glowing ruby round,"
that it was impossible to be long in bad humour with him.
Among others whose patronage the good conduct and military talents of the
Sergeant-Major secured, was that of the Lord President Hope, then Lieutenant-
Colonel of the regiment. The high opinion entertained of him by his lordship
was manifested in various acts of kindness; and he promised, on the disem-
bpdying of the regiment in 1814, to lay his head in the grave. This mark of
respect his lordship faithfully performed, on the death of the Sergeant-Major,
which occurred on the 22d September 1815. His remains were interred — all
the officers of the late corps attending the funeral — in the Greyfriars' Church
yard, where a stone is erected to his memory.'
From " Lines Elegiac," composed on the death of the veteran by a local
poet, we give the following stanzas : —
" 'Tis but the dross of Gould lies here ;
His sterlmg part claims not a tear ;
"Wing'd, as we'd hope, where glory gleams
More splendid than the warrior's dreams !
' ' Hope stay us who are left below.
And soothe the widow's drooping woe —
-Who has no cherub Gould to smile,
Her heavy moments to, beguile."
The figure of an Edinburgh Volunteer, of such ample breadth of back, to
whom the Sergeant-Major is imparting instruction, is a burlesque on the Belly-
gerents, as the corps was waggishly denominated by Gould. A gentleman once
put the question — " Pray, Gould, who is that you are drilling in the Print
done by Kay?" The answer was highly characteristic — "I can't say, sir, unless
you turn him to the right about face !"^
Our worthy friend Bailie Smellie informs us that on one occasion when he
resided at the Castle Hill, he was astonished to hear Gould calling loudly from a
green behind the house — " The battalion will advance ! " The Bailie, unable
to comprehend what had brought, as he thought, the Volunteers there, hastened
^ A full-length portrait of Sergeant-Major Gould, with a view of the First Eegiment of Volunteers
in the background, by Mr. George "Watson, is preserved in the Council Eoom of the City Chambers.
This painting was for some time suspended in the lobby leading into the Council Chambers, where it
was subject to the ill usage of every idle lounger. In 1818, when Mr. SmelUe, printer, was in the
magistracy, he made various attempts to have it brought into the CouncU-Eoom ; and, among others
to whom he applied was the then Lord Provost (Sir John Marjoribanks), who remarked that it was
utterly absurd to permit the portrait of a Sergeant to be placed in the Couucil-Eoom. Mr. SmelUe
at last found an argument which proved successful. This was, that the picture was not to be esti
mated simply as affording a Portrait of Sergeant Gould, but as preserving the recollection of a corps
of loyal citizens, to whom the country was greatly indebted.
^ The figui-e is intended to represent Mr. James Laing, a saddler in South Bridge Street.

.^!.K. ¦f.ut.ns'

186

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 45
to the -window, when, lo! the "battalion" turned out to be Lord Binning
(afterwards Earl of Haddington) who was receiving military instructions from
the redoubtable Sergeant-Major.
Gould's notions of military discipline are best given in his own words. On
one occasion, when at drill, Gould called out to the regiment — " Steady, gentle
men, steady ; a soldier is a mere machine. He must not move — he must not
speak — and, as for thinking, no ! no ! — no man under the rank of a field-officer
is allowed to think ! "
In short, what between his broad humour and absurd pomposity, the gentle
men privates of the regiment bore from him what they would not have submit
ted to from the Lieutenant-Colonel or any of the officers. When the regiment
was reduced in 1814, his full-pay was continued to him for life — a benefit he
did not long enjoy. Until the day of his death he always wore his full-dress
regimentals.
No. CLXXXVI.
ME. BENJAMIN BELL,
SURGEON.
This eminent surgeon was a native of Dumfriesshire,^ where his progenitors
possessed the estate of Blackett House for several centuries. This property
ha-ving devolved to hun on the death of his grandfather, he gave a remarkable
instance of disinterested generosity, by disposing of it, and applying the proceeds
in educating himself and the younger branches of the family — fourteen in num
ber. The judgment displayed in this step continued to characterise Mr. Bell
through life ; and few instances are on recoud in which a sacrifice so liberal has
been followed by a more complete reward.
Having received an excellent classical education under Dr. Chapman, Rector
of the grammar-school at Dumfries, Mr. Bell became the apprentice of Mr. Hill,
a much esteemed surgeon there ; and, by the ardour with which he discharged
his duties, speedily acquired the confidence and friendship of his master.
In 1766 he repaired to the University of Edinburgh; and, while he eagerly
embraced the numerous opportunities of improvement afforded by the eminent
Professors of the day, he commended himself to their regard by his uncommon
assiduity, and laid the foundation of that celebrity which he afterwards
attained. In 1770, Mr. Bell was admitted a member of the Royal College of Surgeons;
and, after devoting two years to study in London and Paris, he returned to
Edinburgh, and commenced business about the close of 1772. He entered into
public life with no adventitious support, having scarcely any friends in Edinburgh,
^ His father, Mr. George BeU, had in early life been engaged in the Levant trade ; but, havmg
met with serious losses, and been made prisoner by the Spaniai'ds, he retired to a farm in Eskdale,
belonging to the Duke of Buccleuch, where he lived to an advanced age.

46 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
excepting such as had become attached to him during his attendance at the
University. The rapidity -with which Mr. Bell rose in his profession was remarkable.
He was not less eminent as a consulting surgeon than as an operator ; and he
enjoyed to an extraordinary degree, the confidence of his professional brethren
and of the country. In addition to his natural and acquired abilities, two points
in Mr. Bell's character seem to have contributed much to promote his success —
a fixed determination that not an hour should be misapplied, and a never-failing
kindly attention to the interests and feelings of those who placed themselves
under his care. The extent to which the first of these considerations prevailed
is evinced by the variety of his publications. Besides several treatises on distinct
professional subjects, and an extended system of surgery, he is understood to
have been the author of not a few political and economical tracts, called forth
by the engrossing interest of the times, and of a series of essays on agriculture
— a pursuit which he cherished during the busiest years of his life, and which
afforded him employment when his health no longer sufficed for much profes
sional exertion.
Mr. Bell's address was mild and engaging ; his information varied and exten
sive ; and his powers of conversation such that his society was much courted.
He was born in 1749. He married in 1774 the only daughter of Dr. Robert
Hamilton, Professor of Divinity, and died in 1806, leaving four sons.

No. CLXXXVII.
"THE FIVE ALLS."
The characters in this grotesque classification of portraitures have been previ
ously noticed, with the exception of two — Mr. Rocheid of Inverleith and his
Satanic Majesty, whose biography was, at the beginning of last century, penned
by the author of Robinson Crusoe.
The figure in the pulpit represents the REV. DR. ANDREW HUNTER,
of the Tron Church, whose benevolence might well be said to extend to all ;
and the uncombed head, in the desk beneath, is intended to indicate Mr. John
Campbell, precentor.
The gentleman in the long robe, said to " Plead for All," is the HON.
HENRY ERSKINE ; and perhaps, in reference to his character as the poor
man's lawyer, to no other member of the Scottish bar of his time could the
observation be more appropriately applied.
The centre figure is JAMES ROCHEID,' Esq. of Inverleith, a gentleman
^ Pronounced and sometimes spelt Eoughead.

L I_j >j

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 47
well kno-wn to the citizens of Edinburgh.' He was an enthusiastic agriculturist,
and brought his lands to a high state of perfection. Hence the artist has made
him the champion of that branch of industry which is still held by many political
economists to" maintain all."
The dignified attidude in which the agriculturist is portrayed refers to the
extreme hauteur of this gentleman, who had no small idea of his own conse
quence. Proceeding between Musselburgh and Dalkeith one morning after a
heavy fall of rain, he thought proper to ride on the footpath. Meeting a plainly
dressed old gentleman walking, in his usual haughty manner to supposed
inferiors, he ordered him out of his way. The unknown person remonstrated,
obser-ving, that a gentleman of his appearance ought to know that the footpath
was set apart for pedestrians. "Fellow!" said Rocheid, "do you know who I am?"
" No, sir," was the reply; " I have not that honour." " Why, sir, I am James
Rocheid, Esq. of Inverleith, Justice of the Peace, and one of the Trustees of
this road ; and who are you, sir, that presumes to question my conduct ? "
" Sir," replied the old gentleman, " you may be a Justice of the Peace, although
you seem more likely to break the peace than keep it — you may be a Road
Trustee, although a worse one can hardly be figured — and as to who I am —
why, I happen to be George Duke of Montague." ^ The confusion of Rocheid
may easily be imagined. He attempted an apology; but the Duke coolly turned
upon his heel and walked on.
Mr. Rocheid seems to have had' a predilection for obstructing pedes-trians.
He was in the custom of driving his carriage alongst a private foot-road from
Broughton Toll towards Leith, to the great annoyance of those who had been
at the expense of making it. After ineffectually remonstrating against this
most unwarrantable proceeding, the following notice was inserted in one of the
Magazines for January 1773 :¦ — " A CAKD.
" The ladies and gentlemen, who by subscription raised a foot-way, leading from Broughton Toll
towards Leith, present their compliments to the young Mr. E — h — d and his companions, and beg
they -will order their footmen to keep the carriage road, and not follow their lead in a direct line ;
for, what is spu-it in the one character, is insolence in the other. — Broughton, Tuesday even. Jan. 28."
During the political trials of 1793-4, Mr. Rocheid obtained a good deal of
local notoriety. He was one of the jury on the trial of Muir of Huntershill,
and was on very intimate terms with the Senators of the College of Justice,
several of whom were in the habit of dining frequently at Inverleith. While
at dinner there on one occasion, prior to the trials of Margaret and Gerrald, the
Lord Justice-Clerk (Macqueen of Braxfield) is Said to have made use of those
unbecoming expressions with which these individuals openly charged him in
Court. Mr. Rocheid died in October 1824.
1 His residence was Inverleith House on -the north side of the city, close to the Botanic Garden.
The vUlas of Inverleith Eow are built upon this property.
2 His Grace was the Duchess of Buocleuch's father, and then on a visit at Dalkeith Palace.

48 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
QUARTER-MASTER TAYLOR, the portly figure in the fourth division,
was one of the famous defenders of Gibraltar.
The last and most indescribable of the "Alls" — to use the artist's own
language — ^is " a Caricature of a Potentate, commonly called the PRINCE OF
THE AIR," who in former times was supposed to have considerable dealings
in Scotland, judging from the innumerable trials for witchcraft with which the
records of the Court of Justiciary are disgraced. Why his Satanic Majesty
has been thus introduced among the worthies of Edinburgh, the artist has not
explained, and we leave the gentle reader to find out.

No. CLXXXVIIL
EEV. DE. THOMAS HAEDIE,
MINISTER OF HADDO'S HOLE, AND REGIUS PEOFESSOE OF DIVINITY AND
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBUEGH.
Dr. Thomas Haedie was the son of the Rev. Thomas Hardie, one of the
ministers of Culross, in the Presbytery of Dunfermline. Of the early part of
his history little is known, but it is believed he studied at the University of
Edinburgh. His first presentation was to Ballingry, in Fifeshire (June 16,
1774), where he continued to discharge his clerical duties for several years, and
acquired a degree of local popularity, which promised, at no distant period, to
call him away to a more enlarged sphere of action. He was of an active dis
position, and by no means a passive observer of events. He felt much interested
in the divisions which then, as now, existed in the Church ; and while he per
sonally tendered his exertions on that side which he espoused, his pen was not
idle. We allude to the pamphlet which he published in 1782, entitled "The
Principles of Moderation : addressed to the Clergy of the Popular Interest in
the Church of Scotland."
The object of this publication was to review, in a dispassionate manner, the
real cause and state of division in the Church ; and he certainly succeeded in
calmly, . if not successfully, vindicating the conduct of the moderate party, or
" the Martyrs to Law," as he called them, to which he belonged. The address
was written with ability, and displayed considerable acumen and acquaintance
-with the history, as well as the law of the Church. At that time patronage was
the principal cause of dissent, and had led to the secession of a numerous body
of the people. This he lamented ; and, while he viewed patronage as an evil
to which the Church ought to bow solely and only so long as it remained law,
he was desirous of uniting all parties in procuring an amicable change in the

THE ]RE<,FATMIOT.

188

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 49
system. But, while he deprecated patronage in the abstract, he was equally
averse to popular election. The plan which he promulgated, in his address, was
similar in principle to the act in 1732. He proposed that one entire vote
should remain with the patron, a second with the heritors, and a third with the
elders ; the majority of these three bodies to decide the election of the minis
ter. In order to obtain the concurrence of the patrons to this partial divest
ment of their power — "Let it be pro-nded," he says, "that all vacant stipends
shall be declared to become their absolute property, instead of being conveyed
in trust for any other purpose;" and, by, way of explaining such an extraordi
nary clause, the Rev. gentleman adds — "The vacant stipends are appropriated
in law to pious uses within the parish, but indeed are very seldom so bestowed,
and parishes would in fact suffer nothing by their total abolition ! " This plan,
as might have been foreseen, was not at all calculated to meet the views of the
popular party; but it had the effect. of introducing the author to public notice,
and of paving the way for his subsequent advancement.
In 1 784, only two years after the publication of his " Principles of Modera
tion," Dr. Hardie was called, by the Town Council of Edinburgh, to be one of
the Ministers of the High Church. Here he soon attracted notice as a preacher ;
and an exposition which he gave of the Gospel according to St. John, was so
generally esteemed, that an Edinburgh bookseller is said to have offered him a
very considerable sum for the copyright. " On the proposal being made to him,
however, it was discovered that the' lectures had never been -written out, but
delivered from short notes only. In consequence pf delicate health, and find
ing himself unable for so large a place of worship as the High Church, he was
at his own request removed, in 1786, to Haddo's Hole, or the New North
Parish, where he continued the colleague of Dr. Gloag until his death.
In 1788 Dr. Hardie was elected to the Professorship of Ecclesiastical His
tory in the University, vacant by the death of the Rev. Robert Cumming.
For many years previously this important class had been in a languishing con
dition ; but the appointment of Dr. Hardie infused a new spirit among the stu
dents. His course of lectures was well attended ; and his fame as a Professor
soon equalled, if it did not surpass, his popularity as a preacher. His views of
church history took an extensive range ; and the boldness of his sentiments was
not less -vigorous than the manly tone of his eloquence.
Although thus placed in a situation of high honour and importance, and his
time necessarily much engaged, Dr. Hardie still interested himself actively in
matters of public moment. He was one of the original members of the " Society
for the Benefit of the Sons of the Clergy of the Church of Scotland;" and in
1791, preached the first anniversary sermon before the Society,^ which was
afterwards published. Other sermons, preached on public occasions, were also
1 "The Benevolence of the Christian Spirit ; a sermon preached in the Tron Church of Edin
burgh, 31st May 1791, before the Society for the Benefit of the Sons of the Clergy of the Church of
Scotland. By Thomas Hardie, D.D., one of the ministers of the city, and Eegius Professor of
Divinity and Church History in the, University of Edinburgh." Creech, Is.
VOL. IL H

50 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
published. One of these, entitled "The progress of the Christian Religion,"
was delivered before the Society for Piopagating Christian Knowledge, at the
anniversary in 1793 ; and a discourse on " The Resurrection of Christ" appeared
in The Scotch Preacher.
The genius and exertions of Dr. Hardie were not, however, confined to
spiritual matters. Temporal affairs occasionally engaged his attention. In 1793,
he produced his "Plan for the Augmentation of Stipends" — one of the works
to which the artist has made special reference in the Print ; and, much about
the same period, he undertook another essay, entirely of a political nature. This
was no less than a refutation of the republican dogmas of Thomas Paine. The
late Mr. Smellie had been applied to by the leading men of this city, in the
interest of Government, to write an answer to the revolutionary works of Paine ;
but his hands being full of important literary engagements at the time, he
declined doing so. Dr. Hardie having been next applied to, he produced a
well-written pamphlet, entitled, The Patriot^ for which he obtained a pension
from Government. It is in allusion to this publication that he has been called
" The Reyerend Patriot" by the artist.
In the Church Courts, notwithstanding occasional party heats. Dr. Hardie
was very generally esteemed by his professional brethren, and was elected
Moderator of the General Assembly in 1793. In private, and especially in the
domestic circle, his conduct was such as to endear him to his friends and family.
He died at a premature age in 1798, leaving a wife and several children^ to
regret the close of a career which had been so full of promise. He was
married to Agnes Young in June 1780. His residence was at one time at
Laurlston, but the house he latterly occupied for many years, and in which
he died, was that ^vhich still stands at the corner of Richmond Place and
Hill Place.
^ "Addressed to the People on the present state of affairs in Britain and in France, with
Observations on Eepublican Government, and Discussions of the Principles advanced in the
Writings of T. Paine," pp. 78. Edin. 1793. In this essay the author does not condescend on the
discussion of abstract principles. To the theories of Paine he opposes the pages of history. In the
Cromwellian era of Britain, and the sanguinary proceedings of the French Eevolution, he found
ample materials.
^ His third son, Charles -Wilkie, studied for the Church, and was presented to the parish of
Dunning, but died in the course of the year following. His death is thus noticed in the Scots
Magazine for 1814 : — "At Edinburgh, on the 7th February, the Eev. Charles "Wilkie Hardie, in the
twenty-sixth year of his age, and flrst of his ministry. Mr. Hardie was the third son of the late
Dr. Thomas Hardie of this city, and a young man, who, in the estimation of his friends, gave the
fairest promise of repairing the loss which the Church of Scotland sustained by the death of his
exceUent father. "

. -6 -S.. .

s .1

¦*'"^-

\ ^

»<.
f
\f
f.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 51

No. CLXXXIX.
SIE JAMES CAMPBELL, BAET., OF AEDKINGLASS.
This veteran soldier, who assumed the name of Campbell on succeeding to
the title and estate of his maternal grandfather, was the son of Sir James Living
stone, Bart., whose father was the Earl of Callander, and his mother the eldest
daughter of Sir James Campbell of Ardkinglass — an old baronial residence on
the banks of Loch Fine.
SiE James Livingstone Campbell entered the army early in life; 'fought
under the Duke of Cumberland in the Netherlands; and, at the battle of
Lafeldt, commanded the 25th Regiment of Foot. He subsequently served in
Ainerica during the Canadian war, and was wounded in the leg, which rendered
him lame for life.
In 1778, when the Western Fencible Regiment was raised by the Duke of
Argyle and the Earl of Eglinton, Sir James was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel,
and he held the commission until the corps was disbanded in 1783. He was
also Governor of Stirling Castle.
Sir James was small in stature, but of a military appearance. He died at
Gargunnock in 1788, and was succeeded by his son. Sir Alexander, on whose
death in 1810, the estate descended to the next heir of entail. Colonel James
Callander,! the eldest son of John Callander, Esq., of Craigforth — a Scottish
antiquary of some eminence.
^ We had occasion to notice this gentleman in a former article. -When the succession opened to
him,-^ he was resident in France ; and, having been detained by Napoleon, he sent a lady, Madame
Lina Talina Sassen, as his commissioner to Scotland. In the instrument by which she was appointed,
she was designed his "beloved wife;" and under that character was received in society. But
when the new proprietor of Ardkinglass made his appearance in propria persona, he disclaimed the
marriage, declaring that the instrument had beeu impetrated from him by intimidation. The result
was, a' suit at the instance of the lady, in which, although the Judges found the marriage not
proven, they awarded her a sum of £300 per annum, as a reparation for the deceit practised by
him, and the damage sustained by her. Sir James appealed to the House of Lords, and the
judgment was reversed ; but Madame Sassen, having been admitted to sue in forma pauperis,
raised suit upon suit against the deceiver, and continued to keep her opponent in hot water for the
remainder of their respective lives.
For several years during the sitting ot the Court, this singular person was either in attendance
in the Outer House, or in one of the gaUeries of the Inner, where she was always on the outlook to
see that no advantage was taken in any of her cases ; for she distmsted both agents, counsel, and
judges. She annoyed the former not unfrequently by visiting them half-a-dozen times a day.
"When once she had effected a lodgment, there was no getting rid of her. An eminent barrister,
afterwards a judge, who had the misfortune to be one of her counsel, was besieged by her in his
bed-room for nearly an hour, and at last was obliged to effect his escape through the window by
means of a ladder. Though a foreigner, she had acquired a tolerable idea of the Scottish forms of
legal procedure, and not unfrequently used to suggest very ingenious views of her cases ; but she
was very obstinate. So much so, that although latterly she had tired her pseudo husband into a

52 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

No. CXC.
DE. ANDEEW DUNCAN, SEN.,
PEOFESSOE OF THE THEOEY OF MEDICINE IN 'THE UNIVEESITY
OF EDINBUEGH.
De. Duncan was born in the city of St. Andrews, upon the 17th October
1744, and received his education at the University there. Having determined
to follow medicine as his profession, he repaired to Edinburgh, and completed
his studies under the superintendence of the medical teachers of that city. He
early attached himself to the Medical Society, which was instituted in the year
1737.' While a member he took an active part in its business, was for many
years treasurer, and several times elected one of its presidents. The propriety
and advantages of a Hall, the foundation-stone of which was laid by Dr. Cullen
in 1770, was originally suggested by Dr. Duncan, under whose inspection and
management it was subsequently erected. In testimony of the sense entertained
ofthe value of his services, a gold medal was voted to him in 1787, and his
full-length portrait, painted at the expense of the Society, was afterwards placed
in the Hall.
In 1768-9, Mr. Duncan went a voyage to China, as Surgeon of the East
India Company's ship Asia, under the command of Mr., afterwards Sir Robert
Preston, of Valleyfield, Bart., the male representative, it is believed, of the old
family of Preston of Craigmillar.^ His services were so highly esteemed in this
capacity, that the Captain offered him £500 to go out with him a second time.
This he declined.
In October 1769, Mr. Duncan took the degree of Doctor of Medicine at the
University of St. Andrews ; and in the month , of May following he was ad
mitted a licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians. At what period he had
very liberal offer of compromise, she rejected all terms, and would accept nothing short of a com
plete recognition of all her claims. She invariably told her agent — ' ' You must do as I bid you
I am de person to advise — ^you de person to obey. "
In her youth she had been evidently a pretty woman ; bnt misfortune and years had nearly
effaced all remains of former beauty. She was little in stature, but well made — had a good address
— and, so far as any opinion could be formed from her manners and bearing, had at one time
moved in good society. -Whether she was a lady of family, as represented by herself or an
adventurer and spy of Napoleon, as asserted by her reputed husband, are points which never were
cleared up, and probably never wiU be. Sir James Callander, or CampbeU, died, it is believed in
1832, immediately after the publication of his autobiography. 2 vols. 8vo.
1 Upon receiving a charter of incorporation from the Cro-wn, the designation was altered to the
Eoyal Medical Society.
2 He died, leaving large estates, which eventuaUy went to a younger son of the*Earl of Elgin.
The baronetcy went to the heu--male, who estabUshed his propinquity by a service.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.- 53
projected the plan of delivering private lectures on medicine in Edinburgh is
not exactly known. It was considered as a great novelty, because at that time
there had been only one instance of an attempt to deliver medical lectures without
the bounds of the University. This was by Dr. George Martin, also a physician
from St. Andrews. He commenced about twelve or fifteen years previous to
Dr. Duncan. Whether he delivered a second course Is unknown, for he was
very soon removed by death. Dr. Duncan for many years gave lectures on
different branches of medicine.
Whilst busily engaged in preparing for the commencement of his lectures,
a vacancy having occurred in the University of St. Andrews, by the death of
Dr. Thomas Simson, Professor of Medicine, Dr. Duncan immediately resolved
to stand for the chair, which is in the gift of the University. On this occasion
he produced ample testimonials from the medical gentlemen of the University
of Edinburgh, under whom he had studied, as well as other equally satisfactory
recommendations. He was nevertheless unsuccessful. This occurred in 1770.
Without relaxing his diligence during the course of that year, he published a
syllabus of what he proposed to discuss more fully in his lectures. It was
entitled "Elements of Therapeutics."
In 1772 Dr. Duncan published an essay on the use of mercury. On the 6th
September 1775 he was appointed by the patrons to teach the class of the
Institutes of Medicine, in the place of Dr. Drurdmond, at that time abroad. He
at the same time announced himself a candidate, in the event of Dr. Drummond
deehning to accept ofthe professorship. It is now generally acknowledged that
Dr. Duncan was not fairly treated in this transaction by the magistrates, who
thought proper to pass him over. At the commencement of the session, in
November 1776, he published an address to the students of medicine in the
University, in which he stated his intention to continue his lectures out of the
College. About this time he also gave to the public " Heads of Lectures on
the Theory and Practice of Medicine." His classes were well attended ; and
his not obtaining the professorship increased in place of diminishing the number
of students. The Doctor had the merit of founding, in the same year, the Edinburgh
Dispensary. 'The plan and the execution of it originated with himself An
Infirmary had been erected about forty years before that period ; but persons
afflicted with what are termed chronic diseases are not admitted into it, though
they have a very strong claim upon the sympathy and compassion of mankind.
The labour and exertion to which he submitted in accomplishing the object
intended were unremitting. He drew up a prospectus ; and, after circulating it
among his friends, and securing their approbation, he adventured to address the
public upon the subject, -which was favourably received. A Hall was erected
in West Richmond Street, with suitable accommodation. In it there is a portrait
of the founder, painted for the Dispensary by the late Sir Henry Raeburn.
The Doctor lived long to see his generous labours crowned with success ; and,
at the interval of half a century, to have the agreeable information communicated,

54 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
that upwards of two hundred thousand patients had derived benefit from the
Institution. Dr. Duncan entered warmly into every proposal which had for its object the
promotion of medical science. He projected, in 1773, a new work to be published
annually, originally under the name of "Medical Commentaries," but subse
quently under the title of "Annals of Medicine," which regularly made its
appearance for a series of more than thirty years.
The celebrated Dr. Cullen, through old age and extreme debility, having
resigned, Dr. James Gregory was elected to the professorship of the Practice of
Physic on the 30th December 1789. Upon the same day Dr. Duncan was
chosen Dr. Gregory's successor ; and he taught this class — " The Theory of
Medicine " — till within a few months of his death.

No. CXCL
DE. ANDEEW DUNCAN
IN 1797.
This portrait represents the Professor at a later period of life than the former,
although, from the difference of attitude, and the adoption of the modern round
hat, his appearance may be deemed younger. He invariably carried an umbrella
under his arm in the manner figured.
In 1807 Dr. Duncan proposed the erection of a Lunatic Asylum at
Morningside, in the vicinity of Edinburgh, the want of which had been long
felt in Edinburgh. He had many difficulties to encounter. Subscriptions at
first came in slowly, but at last the object was effected ; and a royal charter
for its erection was obtained. The year following, the Lord Provost, Magistrates,
and Town Council presented him with the freedom of the city, in testimony of
the sense they entertained of the services he had rendered to the community
by the establishment of the Public Dispensary and Lunatic Asylum.
Dr. Duncan delighted much in the pleasure of a garden, and having for
many years entertained an opinion that the science of horticulture might be
greatly improved, he succeeded, in 1809, in establishing the Caledonian
Horticultural Society. It is incorporated by royal charter ; and, by exciting
a spirit of emulation among practical gardeners, has been productive of the best
effects. Upon the death of Dr. Gregory, he was appointed, in 1821, First
Physician to his Majesty for Scotland.
Dr. Duncan was a member of the Harveian, Gymnastic, and other clubs of a

. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 55
social nature, consisting chiefly of gentlemen connected with the medical pro
fession. For their amusement he printed successively various pieces of poetry
under the title of Carminum Macaronicorum Delectus; and among his other
publications is one containing a collection of Inscriptions on the Tombstones
in the Churchyards of Edinburgh.
The practice of visiting Arthur's Seat early on the morning of the 1st of
May, is, or rather was, observed with great enthusiasm by the inhabitants of
Edinburgh. Dr. Duncan was one of the most regular in his devotion to the
Queen of May, during the long period of nearly fifty years ; and to the very last
he performed his wonted pilgrimage with all the spirit, if not agility, of his
younger years. These visits he not unfrequently celebrated by some poetic pro
duction, which he transmitted to his friends. On the 1st of May 1826, two
years before his death, although aged eighty-two, he paid his annual -visit ; atid,
on the summit of the hill, read a few lines of an address to Alexander Duke of
Gordon, then the oldest peer alive. To this the Duke furnished a reply ; and,
as a memorial of the transaction. Dr. Duncan had both effusions lithographed
and circulated among his friends, with this inscription : — " Lithographic Fac
simile of the Hand-writing of two Octogenarians." One page is the production
of the Doctor ; the other of the Duke : —
1st.
" An octogenarian physician at Edinburgh, who has been long iu the habit of walking to the top
of Arthur's Seat, at an early hour on the morning of May-day, took his wonted pedestrian exercise
on Monday the 1st May 1826. He read to numerous hearers, on the top of the hUl, the foUowing
short poetical address to the oldest Duke in Scotland : —
" Once more, good Duke, my duty to fulfil,
I've reached the summit of this lofty hill,
To thank my God for aU his blessings given.
And by my prayers to aid my way to heaven.
Long may your Grace enjoy the same delight.
Till to a better world we take our flight. "
2d.
' ' A Pony Eace proposed to the top of Arthur's Seat by the oldest Duke in Scotland to the oldest
Physician in Edinburgh, who walked to the top of Arthur's Seat on the 1st of this month of May
1826. " I'm eighty-two as well as you,
And, sound in lith and limb ;
But deil a bit, I am not fit,
Up Arthur's Seat to climb.
" In such a feat I'U not compete —
I yield in ambulation ;
But mount us baith on Highland shelts.
Try first who gains the station.
" If such a race should e'er take place,
None like it in the nation ;
Nor Sands of Leith, nor Ascot Heath,
Could show more population.
" Qordm, Castle, May 19, 1826."

56 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Dr. Duncan resided in Adam Square, and died on the 5th July 1828, in the
eighty-fourth year of his age. His funeral was a public one. In February
1771, he married Miss Elizabeth Knox, daughter of Mr. John Knox, surgeon
in the service of the East India Company, by whom he had a family of twelve
children. His son, Dr. Andrew Duncan junior, was long officially connected
with the University of Edinburgh as Principal Librarian and Secretary, and as
Professor of Medical Jurisprudence. In 1819 he was conjoined with his father
in the chair of the Theory of Physic. In July 1821 he was elected Professor
of Materia Medica — an appointment which gave very general satisfaction, as Dr.
Duncan contributed in no small degree by his learning and scientific acquire
ments to maintain the reputation of the University. He died in May 1832.

No. CXCII.
MAJOE ANDEEW FEASEE,
THE HONOUEABLE ANDEEW EESKINE,
AND
SIE JOHN WHITEFOOED, BAET.
The figure to the left, MAJOR FRASER — descended of a respectable
family in the north of Scotland — was an officer of some distinction in the
Royal Artillery, and well known for his talents as an engineer. Under his
superintendence the demolition of the harbour and fortifications of Dunkirk,
agreeably to the treaty of 1762, was carried satisfactorily into effect. In 1779
he was placed on the staff in Scotland, as Engineer-in-Chief Here he super
intended, from his own plans, the building of Fort George ; erected several con
siderable bridges in the north ; and, in Edinburgh, the church and spire of St.
Andrews,' so much admired for its exquisite proportions, stands a monument of
his excellence in design. He interested himself greatly in the improvements
of the city, and frequently presided at public meetings convened for such ob
jects. He was much esteemed by Sir James Hunter Blair; and through the
infiuence of that spirited chief magistrate^ many of his suggestions were carried
into execution.
Major Fraser was afterwards appointed Chief Engineer of the West India
^ The foundation-stone of this church was laid in 1781. The premium of ten guineas to the
successful architect was unanimously adjudged by the Lord Provost, Magistrates, and Council to
Major Fraser ; but he decUned accepting the premium, desiring that it might be given to Mr. Eobert
Kay, drawing-master in Edinburgh, whose drawings and sections of a plan of a square buUding were
deemed highly meritorious.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 57
Islands ; but this situation he held only for a limited period, in consequence of
some misunderstanding. He returned to the Continent, and died there in 1795.
The Major resided in No. 5 George Street. He married a French lady —
one of the Protestant refugees ' — whose sister was a well-known novel writer of
the ^' Minerva Press." He had two sons, who were educated at the High School.
The eldest, George, was unfortunate. He entered the army; but, having
formed some indifferent connections, he retired from the service, and died in
Switzerland. Augustus, the youngest, became a distinguished officer of artillery.
He commanded the horse-brigade during the whole of the -war in Spain, and
was repeatedly thanked in public orders by the Duke of Wellington. He was
created a Baronet and K.C.B., and died at Woolwich.
The Hon. ANDREW ERSKINE was a younger brother of the " musical
Earl of Kellie." He held a , lieutenant's commission in the 71st Regiment of
Foot, which corps being reduced in 1763, he exchanged from halfrpay to the
24th, then stationed at Gibraltar.
Erskine had little genius or inclination for a military life ; his habits and
tastes were decidedly of a literary character. He was one of the contributors
to Donaldson's "Collection of Original Poems by Scottish Gentlemen." He
is chiefly known, however, for his correspondence with Boswell (the biographer
of Johnson), printed at Edinburgh in 1763. These letters, the legitimate off
spring of " hours of idleness," consist of a mixture of prose and verse ; and
are remarkable for the spirit of extravagance which pervades them. Those of
Boswell are characteristic of the writer, and his pen might be traced in every
line ; but it would be difficult to discover in the letters of Erskine any marks
of the dull, reserved disposition which was natural to him. His manner was
unobtrusive and bashful in the extreme. He indeed occasionally alludes to
this ; and, in one of his poetical epistles to Boswell, says —
' ' You kindly took me up an awkward cub.
And introduced me to the soaping club."^
^ The foUowing notice of the "French Eefugees," we find in the London Morning Post of
September 18, 1792 : — "The subscriptions for those unfortunate people do honour to the generosity
of the nation. It is expected that iu the course of a few days it will be very considerable, as there
has been upwards of Five Thousand Pounds already subscribed. It is rather strange that the piety
of our English Bishops did not induce them to anticipate the good intentions .of the lady. The
mitred brotherhood should have been the first to have felt for the forlorn situation of the emigi'ant
priests ; but their doors seem shut against the voice of distress, and their hearts appear callous to
the calls of humanity. It is the object of the managers of the subscriptions to supply those
refugees with money, who are desirous to emigrate to other countries, where their talents and
abilities may be exercised for their own emolument, and the benefit of the state. Their next objects
of relief are those who, from affluence, have been reduced to extreme poverty, and whose pride still
prevents them from soliciting alms. To aUeviate their misfortunes, every man must administer his
mite with cheerfulness ; but those French paupers who have been long before the Eevolution in this
coimtry, and are common mendicants, it is not the intention of the subscription to embrace."
^ So called from their motto, whioh was, "Every man soap his own beard; or every man
indulge his own humour." This club met evei-y "Tuesday eve," and their favourite game was the
facetious one of snip snap snorum.
VOL. IL I

58 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Some idea of Erskine's appearance may be gathered from his friend's reply :
' ' Now, my lieutenant with the dusky face ;
For though you're clothed in scarlet and in lace,
The gorgeous glare of which to art you owe.
Yet nature gave you not my snowy brow. " ^
As a specimen of the Lieutenant's style and humour, we may quote the fol
lowing from one of his letters, dated from New Tarbat, where he appears to
have resided principally during the epistolary intercourse, and where Boswell
paid him a visit — the friends having previously met at Glasgow by appoint
ment : — ¦
" I have often wondered, Boswell, that a man of your taste in music cannot play upon the Jew's
harp ; there are some of us here that can touch it very melodiously, I can tell you. Corelli's solo
of Maggie Lauder, and Pergolesi's sonata of the Carle he cam o'er the craft, are excellently adapted
to that instrument. Let me advise you to learn it. The first cost is but three-halfpence, and they
last a long time. I have composed the following ode upon it, which exceeds Pindar as much as the
Jew's harp does the organ." \We quote the last verse.]
" Eoused by the magic of the charming wire,
The yawning dogs forego their heavy slumbers ;
The ladies listen on the narrow stair.
And Captain Andrew straight forgets his numbers.
Cats and mice give o'er their battling.
Pewter plates on shelves are rattling ;
But falling down, the noise my lady hears,
-Whose scolding drowns the trump more tuneful than the spheres.''
"Captain Andrew," however, could "touch it very melodiously" on other
instruments than the Jew's harp. He was an excellent musician — little inferior
to the " musical Earl " himself — and composed several much-admired airs.
To Thomson's Collection of Scottish Songs he contributed, among others, the
delightful air and words of
"See the moon on the still lake is sleeping," etc.
The Captain was an admirer of the drama; and wrote one or two pieces for
the Edinburgh stage. One of these, by no means deficient in spirit, published
in 1764 (6d.), bears the title of " She's not Him, and He's not Her — a farce,
in two acts, as it is performed in the Theatre in Canongate." '
Although a poet, Erskine does not appear to have been infiuenced by any
romantic adoration of the fair sex. On the subject of matrimony his notions were
very different from those of Boswell ; ^ and he remained all his life a bachelor.
On the death of Vice- Admiral Lord Colville, in 1790, he resided chiefly there
after with his sister Lady Colville, at Drumsheugh, near the Dean Bridge,
1 The fact was, they were both tinged with the complexion ascribed to the "daughters of
Jerusalem. "
2 In one of his letters to Boswell, he says — " -When you and I walked twice round the Meadows
upon the subject of matrimony, I little thought that my difference of opinion from you would have
brought on your marriage so soon. "

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 59
Water-of-Leith. His dress continued of the same fashion for nearly half-a-
century ; and he wore the garters and flapped waistcoat to the last. The only
change he latterly adopted was a curiously formed flat round hat. He was a
tall, stout man, and particularly fond of walking. , Every morning, and in all
weathers, he walked to the Hawes Inn, at Queeiisferry, where breakfast was
waiting him at his stated hour. He rang no bell — gave no orders — and seldom
saw a waiter. After breakfast, he turned up a plate, put his money in payment
upon it, and then walked back in the same solitary manner to Drumsheugh.
Like many gentlemen of his day, Erskine indulged occasionally at cards, and
he was particularly partial to the game of whist. He was, notwithstanding, no
great player, and generally came off the loser. It is supposed that an unlucky
run at his favourite game was the cause of his melancholy end. He was dis
covered drowned in the Forth. (1793), opposite Caroline Park.
Besides the works previously enumerated, Mr. Erskine was the author of
"Town Eclogues:" 1. The Hangman — 2. The Harlequins — 3. The Street
Walkers — 4. The Undertakers; London, no date, with a curious plan of Edin
burgh prefixed. The object was to expose the false taste for florid description
which then and still prevails in poetry. These satirical effusions possess great
merit. The late Archibald Constable at one time projected a complete collection
of Erskine's works, and actually advertised it ; but his other numerous specula
tions came in the way, and the project fell to the ground. This is much to be
regretted, as the book. If well edited, could not have failed to have been attractive.
SIR JOHN WHITEFOORD, the third figure, and the Hon. Andrew
Erskine, were on terms of the closest intimacy, and walked so frequently together,
that, the one being tall and the other of short stature, they were somewhat
-wittily termed — " the gowk and the titling."
Sir John was at one period a pretty extensive landed proprietor, and possessed
the estates of Whitefoord and Ballochmyle, .in Ayrshire. In consequence of
the mismanagement of his predecessor, who is said to have "supplied the
groundwork of the character of Sir Arthur Wardour in the Antiquary," Sir
John was involved in difficulties ; although perhaps not so deeply but that, with
care and prudence, he might have overcome them. The failure of the well-
known banking estabUshment of Douglas, Heron, and Co., however, compelled
him to dispose ofthe estate of Ballochmyle, delightfully situated on the Water-
of-Ayr, where he and his forefathers had long resided. Maria Whitefoord,
afterwards Mrs. Cranston, the eldest daughter of Sir John, was the heroine of
the plaintive lines by Burns, entitled the " Braes of Ballochmyle," composed on
the eventful occasion of her leaving the family inheritance : —
" Through faded groves' Maria sang,
Hersel' in beauty's bloom the while ;
An' aye the wUd-wood echoes rang —
FareweU the Braes o' BaUochmyle ! "
Sir John was one of the early patrons of Burns, the poet having been

60 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
introduced to him by the late Dr. Mackenzie, shortly after the publication of the
first edition of his poems. The bard never forgot the kind attentions extended
to him. In his correspondence he frequently alludes to Sir John ; and, in the
lines addressed to him, enclosing a copy of the " Lament for James Earl of
Glencairn,'" he pays him a very marked compliment : —
' ' Thou who thy honour as thy God rever'st ;
-Who, save thy mind's reproach, noxight earthly fear'st ;
To thee this votive offering I impart,
The tuneful tribute of a broken heart.
The friend thou valued'st, I, the patron, lov'd ;
His worth, his honour, all the world approv'd.
-We'll mourn till we too go as he has gone,
And tread the dreary path to that dark world unknown."
After lea-ving Ballochmyle, Sir John resided at Whitefoord House in the
Canongate of Edinburgh. He was a remarkably smart, active, little man ; and
having been some time in the army, he retained much of the military air in his
appearance. His manners were affable, and his address that of a gentleman.
He died at his house in Edinburgh in 1803," and his son, resident in England,
inherits the title.
The females figured in the Print were well known in' their day. The eldest
of the two — " MEd MUEEAY," as she was familiarly called — kept lodgings in
Shakspeare Square, and realised a fortune of several thousand pounds. The
other, MiSS Buens, who was much celebrated for her beauty, wiU be described
under her own proper Portrait. Why these ladies have been introduced into
the group the artist has not stated. The scene, well calculated to strike the
fancy of the artist, was most likely a real occurrence. The meeting between
Major Fraser and Erskine seems to have been accidental ; while Sir John, who
generally walked a few paces behind his friend, is represented in his usual
position in the rear. The females are passing in the opposite direction, apparently
at some distance.
^ The heir of line of the family of Glencairn was Sir "William Don of Newton, whose grandmother
was sister to the last Earl. The late Sir Alexander Don inherited the estate of Ochiltree, which
belonged to the Earl of Glencairn, in right of his mother Lady Henrietta.
^ Caleb -Whitefoord, Esq., who died in London in 1809, aged ninety, was uncle to Sir John.
' ' He was weU known in the first polite and literary circles, and possessed great talents and informa
tion. He was the author of many works of approved merit, though he never put his name to any
of his productions. He struck out a new species of humour, which was known by the name of
cross-readings ; and when he first communicated it to the public, he added the apt signatm-e of
Papyrius Cursor. He was a man of talent — a zealous friend to his country — a loyal subject — and a
respectable member of society. His friend Goldsmith winds up his character, in Retaliation, with
the following appropriate Imes : —
'Merry -Whitefoord, farewell ! for thy sake I admit.
That a Scot may have humour — I had almost said wit :
This debt to thy memory I cannot refuse,
Thou best natured man, with the worst humour'd muse.' "

Cor Wil Y^i^T

2Z^ LScottifhTafrior.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 61

No. CXCIII.
SIE JOHN SINCLAIE, BAET.
OF ULBSTEE.
The title of the Print, " The Scottish Patriot," was never more appropriately
applied than in reference to the character of the late SiE John Sinclaie.
Whether in a public or private capacity, no man laboured with greater zeal, or
more disinterestedly, to promote the interests of his country.
Mr. Sinclair was born at Thurso in 1754. His father, George Sinclair, Esq.
of Ulbster, married Lady Janet Sutherland, daughter of William Lord Strath
naver, and by her had twelve children, five of whom survived him.' The early
education. of the subject of our sketch was for some time conducted by Logan,
the poet and divine. At the age of thirteen he entered the University of Edin
burgh, where he studied with much success for four years. He then removed
to Glasgow, attended the lectures of Professor Millar, and afterwards returned
to Edinburgh to complete his studies for the Scottish bar.
By the death of his father, in 1770, Mr. Sinclair succeeded to the family
property at an early age. On the close of the winter classes, he invariably
returned to Caithness during summer, and even at that juvenile period gave
evidence of the extraordinary spirit of improvement for which he was so remark
ably distinguished in after life. The whole of Caithness, and in fact all the
northern counties, were then in a waste and unproductive condition. His
estate, although amounting to upwards of 60,000 acres, only yielded the com
paratively small rental of £2300, and was burdened to nearly half of the amount.
A remarkable instance of enterprise was exhibited in the young land by the
formation of a road over the hill of Ben Cheilt, which it was believed the whole
" statute labour " of the country would be incapable of effecting. He was then
only in his eighteenth year. Having previously surveyed the ground, and
marked out the intended line, he appointed a day of meeting, when upwards of
twelve hundred farmers and labourers assembled — and, being plentifully supplied
with tools and provisions, " a road, which had been hardly passable for horses
in the morning, became practicable for carriages before night."
With the view of facilitating his progress in public life, Mr. Sinclair entered
at Lincoln's Inn in 1774, and matriculated at Trinity College, Oxford, the
following year. About this time he made a short tour to the Continent, accom-
^ These were the late Sir John, his younger brother James, who entered the army, and three
daughters. Helen was married to Colonel Alexander Campbell of Barcaldine ; Mary, to James
Hume Eigg, Esq. of Morton ; and Janet, to the Hon. Lord Polkemmet, one of the Senators of the
College of Justice.

62 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
panied by his brother, then in bad health, and who died on the journey. On
his return he married Sarah, daughter of Alexander Maitland, Esq. of Stoke
Newington, near London, a gentleman of Scottish extraction. The lady was
heiress of a considerable fortune, and had many suitors ; but her choice was
infiuenced inadvertently by a rival, who, having just returned from an excursion
in the Highlands, unfortunately for himself related the feat which had been
performed at the hill of Ben Cheilt.'-
After marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair took up their residence at Thurso,
where his attention was chiefly occupied for a short time with a work on the
Sabbath, but which, by the advice of Dr. Adam Smith, was never published.
The friendship of this eminent philosopher he had early obtained, and to this
circumstance he probably owed his taste for the study of political economy.
Among the first of Mr. Sinclair's literary productions was an essay entitled
" Observations on the Scottish Dialect," the object of which, while it afforded
one of the fullest collections of what are called " Scotticisms," was to facilitate
the acquisition of a purer style of English among his countrymen. A deficiency
in this respect was then considered a formidable barrier to the success of a
North Briton in the capital. The essay was well received, not only as an
ingenious, but useful and amusing production. During its progress he had the
honour of forming the acquaintance of the great English lexicographer, to whom
he was introduced by Boswell.
The Parliamentary career of Mr. Sinclair began in 1780, having been chosen,
at the general election, M.P. for Caithness. The prospects of the country were
then extremely gloomy. The American war had proved ruinous — the ministry
were unpopular, and a powerful opposition existed in the Commons. Not
coinciding with the alarmists, whose views he conceived to be anti-national and
violent, he at first gave his support to the cabinet of Lord North, with whom
he was for some time on the most friendly terms.
The first of Mr. Sinclair's political pamphlets appeared in 1782, entitled,
" Thoughts on the Naval Strength of Great Britain," and was intended to
dispel the gloom into which the nation had been thrown by the desertion of
her ancient allies the Dutch, and the formidable aspect of the marine of France.
This publication was peculiarly well-timed, and the victory of Admiral Rodney
over De Grasse, on the 12th April, happening a few days afterwards, the author
was highly complimented from all quarters for his sagacity, and the solidity of
the opinions he had advanced. This pamphlet he followed up by another
1 Pre-vious to Sir John's tour to the Continent he had entered into a matrimonial negotiation
with Miss Maitland. His proposal was accepted ; the marriage contract dra-wn up ; and
nothing more required than to name the day : but Mrs. Maitland felt insuperable repugnance to the
removal of her daughter from her own neighbourhood, and insisted on a promise from her future
son-in-law, that he would reside permanently in England. To this condition public spirit withheld
him from consenting ; and as he now considered the engagement broken off, he made his excursion
to the Continent. On his return, however, he learnt, with equal surprise and satisfaction, that Miss
Maitland did not approve, as he had supposed, of the arbitrary stipulation made by her mother.
He intimated his readiness to renew his addresses — a favourable answer was returned and the
maniage was celebrated on the 26th March 1776.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 63
regarding the management and improvement of the navy. Previous to the
resignation of Lord North, owing to various causes, among which was the insin
cerity of the Cabinet on the subject of peace, Mr. Sinclair had become so
sensible of the necessity of a change, that he was a principal promoter of the
St. Alban's Club, whose deliberations led to the formation of the Coalition
Ministry. In the parliamentary history of this year, an instance of watchful attention
to his country falls to be recorded. Owing to a very unpropitious season, a
general failure of the crops throughout the northern counties had occurred, and
the people were reduced to severe distress. By the exertion of Mr. Sinclair a
grant of £15,000 was obtained from Government, by which the inhabitants df
fifteen counties were preserved from starvation. Another measure gratifying to
Scotland, obtained in 1782, and in which Mr. Sinclair deeply interested him
self, was the repeal of the act prohibiting the use of the national garb. On his
next visit to Caithness, attired in the full Highland costume, he had left his
carriage, and was enjoying a ramble on foot, followed by a crowd of natives, one
of whom, in his simplicity, assured him that if he was " come in the good old
cause, there were a hundred gude men ready to join him within the sohnd o' the
Bell o' Logierait!"
After the accession of the Shelburne Ministry, and when overtures for peace
came to be entertained, much discussion ensued on the state of the national
finances. In the opinion of Mr. Sinclair, very mistaken notions were entertained
and promulgated on the subject, both in and out of Parliament, tending to injure
Britain in the estimation of her opponents. At this juncture, he came forward
with a pamphlet " On the State of our Finances," which took a comprehensive,
accurate, and well-founded view of the resources of the country. This was suc
ceeded by another, containing a plan for the re-establishment of public credit.
These speculations gave rise to a more extended and laborious production,
published in 1784, his "History of the Public Revenue of the British Empire"
— 2 vols. 4to. This work at once established the reputation of its author as a
financier and economist. It was received with the highest encomiums abroad
as well as in England, and passed through several editions.
On the dissolution of Parliament in 1784, in consequence of the system of
alternate representation, and the unexpected opposition of Mr. Fox as a candidate,
occasioned by the Westminster scrutiny, Mr. Sinclair lost his seat for the
northern burghs. He had, however, secured his I'eturn for Lostwithiel, in
Cornwall, and took his seat accordingly. Some members of the corporation
visiting London, embraced the opportunity of waiting on their member. After
expressing their satisfaction in complimentary terms, one of them, contemplat
ing the tall figure of Mr. Sinclair, observed that they were glad to be able to
look up to their representative. "I assure you," answered Mr. Sinclair, "I
never shall looh down on my constituency."
By the death of Mrs. Sinclair, in 1785, he was so deeply affected as to pro
pose abandoning pubhc life altogether. In order to divert his attention, he set

64 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
out on a short tour to France during the Christmas recess. He travelled for
some distance "with Montgolfier, the inventor of balloons, and on his arrival in
Paris was kindly received by Necker, then Prime Minister. " The ladies of
the family," says his biographer, "seemed to have resolved on giving their
Scottish guest an agreeable reception. He found Madame Necker reading
Blair's sermons, and Mademoiselle Necker, afterwards the celebrated De Stael,
playing Lochaber no more on the piano." On his return to Britain, Mr. Sinclair
communicated hints to Government respecting several improvements with which
he had become acquainted in France ; and the title of Baronet was conferred on
him (4th February 1786) as a reward for his public services.
In 1786, Sir John proceeded on a more extended tour, in the course of
which he visited Denmark, Sweden, Russia, and Poland ; from Warsaw he pro
ceeded to Vienna — from thence to Berlin, Hanover, Holland, Flanders, and
returned to England by France, having, in the short space of seven months,
performed a journey of more than 7500 English miles. During his progress
he was introduced to nearly all the courts of the various countries — was every
where received with the utmost kindness and attention, and established a
correspondence with many of the most eminent and remarkable men on the
Continent. In Sweden, Denmark, and Russia, he met with several country
men, particularly at Stockholm, where he found many of the nobles descend
ants of Scotsmen who had fought under Gustavus during the Thirty Years'
War. Not long after his return, Sir John again entered into the married relation,
by espousing, on the 6th March 1788, the Honourable Diana, only daughter
of Alexander first Lord Macdonald. The ceremony was performed in London,
where the parties resided for a short time ; but they eventually settled in Edin
burgh, taking up house in the Canongate.' During his residence there, each
day, with the exception of an hour or two, was laboriously devoted to study or
business. His exercise usually consisted in a walk to Leith, between the hours
of two and four; and it was one of his favourite sayings that "whoever
touched the post at the extremity of the pier, took an enfeoffment of life for
seven years." To Caithness he performed regular journeys, generally divergino-
from the direct route to extend his agricultural acquaintance.
On resuming an interest in Parliamentary affairs, he became gradually
estranged from the support of the administration of Pitt, conscientiously differing
-with the Premier on many important points. The abandonment of Warren
Hastings by the minister he considered an unworthy sacrifice to popular feelino-
— and on the "Regency Question" he was decidedly opposed to the ministerial
propositions. Thus disaffected he naturally fell in with the " Armed Neutrality," a
party so called from their profession of independence, of whom the Earl of Moira
was considered the head.
Sir John now entered on a series of projects of great importance to the
^ He afterwards removed to Charlotte Square, and latterly to George Street.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 65
country. The first was the establishment of a Society for the improvement of
British wool. The breed of sheep never had been a subject of proper inquiry,
and so deteriorated had the wool become, that manufacturers were under the
necessity of importing great quantities of the finer descriptions. The Society
was ultimately formed at Edinburgh in 1791. In order to excite public atten
tion on the subject, a grand sheep-shearing festival was held, under the patronage
of the Society, at Newhalls Inn, near Queensferry. At this novel fSte the
utmost enthusiasm prevailed. The company wore pastoral decorations ; sheep
of different breeds were exhibited — the process of shearing was performed by
rival clippers — and at the close a collation followed, at which a toast, "The
Royal Shepherd of Great Britain, and success to his flock," was given by the
chairman, and received with great enthusiasm, followed by a salute of twenty-
one guns from the Hind frigate at anchor in the Firth. By the exertions of the
Society, great improvements were effected in the pastoral districts ; and many
lands were nearly doubled in value by the new mode of sheep-farming.
Sir John's great national work, " The Statistical Account of Scotland," was
undertaken about this period, and completed seven years afterwards, in twenty-
one volumes octavo. The expense, labour, and difficulties in the way of such
an immense undertaking, had been considered insurmountable by all who had
previously contemplated it, and nothing short of Parliamentary authority was
deemed equal to the task.^ The indomitable perseverance of Sir John ulti
mately prevailed, and his magnificent work stands unparalleled in any age or
nation. While it gave an impetus to the study of statistics generally, the only
true foundation of all political economy, the "Statistical Account" has tended
both directly and indirectly to promote the national character as well as pros
perity of Scotland.
Soon after the commencement of hostilities in 1793, such a stagnation pre
vailed in commerce, in consequence of a deficiency in the circulating medium,
that universal bankruptcy seemed almost inevitable. In this emergency Sir
John came forward with a plan, which, although emanating from one who had
stood opposed to them on some questions, met with the ready approval of Pitt
and Dundas. This was the issue of Exchequer Bills to a certain amount, by
way 1 of loans in small sums to the merchants and manufacturers. The plan
speedily passed, and proved the means of preventing general ruin. Several
papers were afterwards drawn up by the Baronet, recoihmending measures for
the better regulation of the circulating medium.
Sir John had early contemplated the formation of a Board of Agriculture,
to promote improvements, and act as a centre for the general diffusion of agri
cultural knowledge ; but it was not till 1793, after experiencing great opposition,
that he succeeded in its establishment. With the small funds placed at his
^ In 1781, as noticed in a former article, the late Mr. Smellie, author of the Philosophy of
Natural History, drew up a plan for procuring a statistical account of the parishes of Scotland, which
was printed and circulated by order of the Society of Antiquaries. The result of this attempt was
a report of the parish of Uphall, by the Earl of Buchan, iu which he then resided, and three others,
which are printed in the Transactions of the Society.
VOL. II. K

66 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
disposal, as President of the Board, he set about accomplishing the great objects
he had in view. Among his first proposals was a statistical account of England
similar to the one then in progress for Scotland ; but this he was compelled to
abandon, from a fear on the part of the Church, that such an exposure of the
tithe system as it would necessarily involve, might prove injurious to her
interests. All remonstrance was vain — the heads of the Establishment were
inexorable. Thus discouraged, he had recourse to county reports — and in this
way accomplished partially the object in -view.
Shortly after the institution of the Board, the following hnes — too curious
to be omitted — ^went the round of the newspapers : —
"THE FAEMER'S CEEED.
By SiE John Sinclaik, Bakt.,
President of the Board of Agriculture.
Let this be held the farmer's creed ;
For stock seek out the choicest breed ;
In peace and plenty let them feed ;
Your land sow with the best of seed ;
Let it not dung nor dressing need ;
Enclose and di-ain it with all speed,
And you wiU soon be rich indeed."
Sir John continued President of the Board for a period in all of thirteen
years, during which the most active and useful measures were pursued, and
much benefit conferred on the country. On the earnest recommendation of the
Board, Sir Humphrey Davy was induced to undertake his well-known lectures
on Agriculture, in relation to chemistry, by which the light of science was for
the first time thrown upon the art of cultivating the soil. Among the numer
ous individuals patronised and brought forward Jjy the president, were the
celebrated road improver. Macadam — and Meikle, the inventor of threshingT
machines.' Deprived of Sir John's superintendence, the Board gradually de
clined, and was finally abolished.
Although he had not entirely coincided with the foreign policy of the Admin
istration, the call to arms in 1794 was responded to with alacrity by the
patriotic Baronet. In an incredibly short space of time he appeared in the
field at the head of the " Rothesay and Caithness Fencibles," so called in com
pliment to the Scottish title of the Prince of Wales. The uniform of this
body consisted of bonnet, plaid, and trews, from a belief that the latter was
1 The tlireshing-machine was considerably improved by the late Mr. John Paton, an unassuming
but ingenious mUl-wiight at Stewarton, in the county of Ayr ; and we believe 'it is to him the
country owes the invention of sheet-iron sieves for sifting meal in corn-mUls, iu place of the hand-
sieve, whereby so much manual labour is saved. These, after three years' experiment, he brought
to great perfection, and they are now in general use. Mr. Paton was cut off suddenly in the prime
of life, in January 1829, much regretted in the district where his abilities and private worth were
well known. His character as a pious, exemplary member of society was fully and feelingly
adverted to in a sermon preached on the occasion, from these words — " For me to live is Christ, but
to die is great gain," by the clergyman of the parish, the Eev. Charles B. Steven, A.M.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 67
more ancient than the belted plaid (or kilt) worn by the other Highland regi
ments. His opinions on this subject he embodied in a pamphlet ; and in a
song, written by him for the Caithness Fencibles, the idea was not forgotten—
" Let others brag of philibeg,
Of kilt, and belted plaid,
-WhUst we the ancient trews will wear
In which our fathers bled. "
A few years after the Fencibles were embodied, Sir John raised another corps
for more extended service. This regiment, at first six hundred, and afterwards
one thousand strong, was called the " Caithness Highlanders," and served in
Ireland in suppressing the Rebellion.' During the volunteer period, he com
manded the Camp at Aberdeen, and as usual on every subject that engrossed
his attention, he published several pamphlets on military matters. One of his
essays was entitled "Cursory Observations on the Military System of Great
Britain," in which the tactics of Napoleon were investigated, and improvements
in the British system suggested.
Sir John had no seat in Parliament from 1794 tUl 1797, when he was re
turned through the interest of the Prince of Wales, for Petersfield, in Hamp
shire. The treasury was then exhausted, while its demands were increasing,
and barriers almost insurmountable appeared in the way of negotiating a new
loan. In this dilemma Pitt had recourse to his ad-vice, and the result was the
scheme known by the name of the " Loyalty Loan " the germ of several sub
sequent financial measures. So long as war seemed unavoidable, the Baronet
gave his support unhesitatingly to the ministry ; but at length, conceiving that
peace was practicable, from the disposition of the French Directory, he readily
entered into the scheme of a new administration, attempted in 1798 under
the Earl of Moira. This, however, came to nothing; and, throughout the
remaining years of Pitt's retention of power, he took a lively interest in all the
financial measures of Government, and stood forward almost alone as the
champion of economy and retrenchment. When the Union with Ireland was in
progress, he made a bold but unsuccessful effort to have the number of Scottish
representatives augmented to the amount since accomplished by the Reform
Bill. When party changes had settled down after the reign of " All the Talents,"
convinced from the conduct of the First Consul- — who had abolished all sem
blance of dehberative government in France — that safety only consisted in the
vigorous prosecution of the war. Sir John entered warmly into the measures
of Government ; and, during the Premiership of Perceval, had the honour of
being sworn a member of his Majesty's Pri-vy Council. Much, however, as he
admired the general capacity of that minister, he sincerely regretted the coun-
' -When the expedition to Egypt was undertaken, a considerable body of the Caithness Fencibles
volunteered into regiments of the line. One of them, named Sinclair, was the soldier of the 42d
regiment who took an eagle from the Invincibles at the battle of Alexandria. For this service Sir
John procured him promotion.

68 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
tenance given to the " Bullion Committee." On the subject which it involved.
Sir John both spoke and published to considerable effect ; and when the motion
of Mr. Horner came to be decided, he had the satisfaction of seeing , it nega
tived by a large majority. Sir John's speech on the bullion question was among
the last delivered by him in Parliament. Having become much embarrassed in
his private affairs in consequence of his numerous speculations and improve
ments, in which self-interest had foriped no part of his calculations, and by
the unsuccessful prosecution of certain claims on the East India Company, he
was induced, in 1811, to accept the office of Cashier of the Excise in Scotland,
with a salary of £2000 a year.
Perhaps the most unpopular measure in which the Baronet engaged was his
advocacy of the " General Enclosure Bill." The extensive commons of England
he conceived to be one of the greatest drawbacks to extended cultivation. In a
national sense, his views were highly patriotic ; but the people were not easily
to be persuaded, where an alienation of their rights was to be the only imme
diate and obvious consequence. After several attempts, seconded by all the
influence of the Agricultural Board, the measure was finally abandoned in 1812 ;
although, by the more expensive process of private bills, the object contemplated
by the general bill has been partially carried into effect.
For some years after retiring from Parliament, Sir John resided almost con
stantly in Edinburgh, devoting himself chiefly to literary labours, and superin
tending the education of his family, in the amusements even of the youngest of
whom he took great delight. The number of his pamphlets published during
these years show how laboriously he laboured in disseminating his opinions
on subjects of public interest. In 1814 he removed with his family to Ormly
Lodge, near London. Embracing the opportunity afforded by the peace, he
next year visited the Continent, to prosecute certain inquiries respecting the
prices of grain, and other matters connected with agriculture ; and although
his stay was abridged by the escape of Napoleon from Elba, he was enabled
on his return to communicate, in his " Hints regarding the Agricultural State
of the Netherlands, compared with Great Britain," a variety of interesting in
telligence. When the victory of Waterloo restored peace, he aga,in visited the Con
tinent, and repaired to the field where the great contest had been decided.
The result of this tour, in addition to his favourite agricultural inquiries, was
a " History of the Campaign," by Baron Muffiing, a Prussian General, with
whom he had been acquainted — to which was added an appendix of interest
ing particulars collected by himself At Calais, on his return home. Sir John
met with Sergeant Ewart,i of the Scots Greys, whose gallantry in capturing
^ A Print of Sergeant Ewart, in which the hero is represented on horseback, at full speed,
bearing away the captured colours, was published by "Waugh and Innes of this city, and an immense
number of copies sold. Ewart, who belonged to Ayrshire, on revisiting his native county, not long
after the battle of "Waterloo, was publicly entertained at the two principal towns — Ayr and KU-
marnock. Notwithstanding the arduous struggle in which he was engaged, and the fact of his

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 69
one of the French eagles was much spoken about. Through his interest the
gallant soldier was promoted to an ensigncy in a veteran corps.
In 1817 Sir John disposed of his villa near London, and returned to Edin
burgh, where he afterwards continued permanently to reside. The only other
political itopic of paramount importance in which he took part was the renewal
of the " bullion question." He opposed Sir Robert Peel's bill to the utmost ;
and in 1826, aided by the pen of Sir Walter Scott, under the signature of Ma-
lachi Malagrowther, succeeded in rousing an effectual resistance, in so far as
his own country was concerned, to the threatened extinction of the small note
circulation. In 1830, the " Scottish Patriot," then far advanced in years, paid a last visit
to his native county. He was received with the most affectionate attention ;
and, on his return, his parting with old friends, many of whom accompanied
him considerable distances, was in the highest degree affecting. He died at his
house in George Street, in December 1835, and was interred on the 30th, in
the Royal Chapel of Holyrood.
From this rapid sketch of the life of Sir John Sinclair, a very imperfect
idea can be formed of the multifarious labours in which he was incessantly
engaged. Besides the works already mentioned, he was the author of several
other extensive productions, among which may be mentioned the " Code of
Health and Longevity," the " Code of Agriculture," etc., while his miscel
laneous pamplets and papers, on political and other subjects, amount to nearly
four hundred.'^ Almost no question of any importance escaped his notice. In
politics he was decidedly independent. His opinions were invariably the result
of accurate information and of deep reflection. As a financier, his knowledge
was comprehensive and sound ; and his " History of the Revenue of the
British Empire " may be stUl looked upon as the best authority that can be
having kiUed three of his opponents before he succeeded in carrying off the trophy, he escaped
¦without awoimd. He is understood to have attributed much of his success to the superior training
of the horse which he rode. This animal, in consequence of his own having taken iU, he procured
only the day before the engagement, and from its smaU stature, and being entirely unacquainted
-with its disposition, he felt a corresponding want of confidence on entering the field. The confiict
had not long commenced, however, before he became sensible of the superior mettle of his charger.
Of its aptitude in attack and defence he had several striking instances. In the deadly combat
maintained in capturing the standard, and at the moment the sabre of one of h^s opponents was
poised with deadly aim, the little animal suddenly reared ; and he not only escaped the blow, but,
from the advantage of position, was enabled to cut dovpn his antagonist.
^ These embrace subjects the most varied. For example, " Address on the Com Laws " — "Plan
for Eewarding Discoveries for the Benefit of Society " — " On the Means of enabling a Cottager to
keep a Cow" — " Culture of Potatoes" — "Sketch of a system of Education" — "On the Political
State of Europe '' — "On preserving the Dress, the Language, the Music, etc., of the Ancient Inhabi
tants of Scotland" — "Address to the MercantUe Interest" — "On the Distresses of the Times"
(1816) — "Plan for promoting Domestic Colonisation, by Agricultural Improvements" (1819)
"Address to the Eeformers of Great Britain ".(1819) — "On the Causes of our National Distresses"
 "Letter on Mountain Dew" — "Hints as to a Metallic Currency and a Free Trade" — "On the
Cure and Prevention of Cholera, Fever," etc. (1826) — "Gretna Green Marriages" — "Thoughts on
Catholic Emancipation " — "On infant Schools" — "Plan for enabling Government to reduce Four
Millions of Taxes " (1830) — " Fingal, a Tragedy, iu Five Acts " — " Hints on the Tithe Question, "
etc. etc;

70 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
consulted on the subject. He was an uncompromising supporter of the Con
stitution, from a conviction of its utility; yet his Plans of Reform, in 1782
and 1831, clearly show that he was by no means insensible to improvement.
.His support of the corn laws arose from a behef that certain restrictions were
necessary for the protection of the British grower, and that the prosperity of a
country cannot be solid where the foundation does not rest on adequate cultiva
tion. The state of Europe during the greater part of his public life tended to
strengthen this maxim ; and the great aim of his ambition seemed to be, by im
proved and extended culture, to render Britain independent of foreign supplies.
Whether his politics in this respect be sound or otherwise, no one can deny
the purity of his motives. The political character and writings of Sir John
may be forgotten ; but his memory, as a practical benefactor of his country,
must remain imperishable. That he was no heartless theorist is amply attested
by the improvements effected on his own estate, in which the interests of his
numerous tenantry were equally consulted with that of the soil. In no district
of Great Britain has population increased for the last twenty or thirty years on
a ratio equal with the county of Caithness. This_ is no doubt mainly to be
ascribed to the fisheries, in the establishment of which Sir John took a leading
interest. By liberal encouragement and assistance, he induced the settlement
of companies — prevailed upon the Society for promoting British Fisheries to
form a settlement at Wick — and, besides founding several villages, introduced
various branches of industry. By his exertions, so early as 1785, in procuring
funds from the forfeited estates of Scotland, towards the formation of roads
throughout the northern counties, the influence of his public spirit has long
been felt in the improved means of communication ; industry and prosperity
now prevail where apathy and indolence formerly existed, and Caithness has
long been distinguished as the most extensive fishing district in Scotland.
Whether in improved fields, abundant harvests, the breed of cattle, or the
condition of the rural population, the public spirit and example of Sir John
Sinclair has been felt over all Scotland. In whatever regarded his native
country he took especial interest. He was President of the Highland Society
of London, as well as an original member of the Highland Society of Scotland,
and he was sensitively alive to the preservation of whatever was characteristic
in national language, dress, or manners. He frequently presided at the annual
competition of pipers in Edinburgh, and was enthusiastic in his admiration of
the music of Scotland.'
1 The foUowing instance is given by his biographer : — One year he insisted upon carrying along
with him two Italian noblemen — a Count from MUan, and a Marchese from Naples — contrary to the
wishes of his friends, who in vain assailed him with assurances that, to the refined ears of Italy, the
great Highland bagpipe would be intolerably offensive. But a great triumph awaited him. When
his Italian guests saw the exertions of the competitors, the enthusiasm of the audience, and the
exultation of the conqueror ; and when they heard the rapturous applause with which every sentence
of the oration of the preses was received, they declared that they had never witnessed any spectacle
so gratifying. " I would have come from Italy to be present," said the Count. " I am proud to
think," said the Marchese, "that we too have the bagpipe in our country ; it is played by aU the
peasantry of Calabria."

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 71
The 'foreign correspondence of Sir John was extensive. The fame of his
works, and the intimacies he had formed during his tours, created great demands
on his time. He held no less than twenty-five diplomas from institutions in
France, Flanders, Prussia, Austria, Saxony, Wurtemberg, Germany, Sweden,
Denmark, Russia, Italy, the United States, and the West Indies. With Pre
sidents Washington, Jefferson, and Adams he had frequent and interesting com
munications, as well as with almost every person of note in the old world ;
while few foreigners of any distinction visited Scotland without letters of intro
duction to him.
" In person, Sir John Sinclair was tall and spare ; and even in his advanced
years he was remarkable for the elasticity of his gait and erect carriage. From
his characteristic orderly habits, he was exceedingly neat in his dress ; and he
is said to have been, in youth, distinguished for his manly beauty. In the
private walks of life, and in the exercise of the domestic virtues, he was a perfect
model of the Christian gentleman, and with perhaps as few of the faults and
frailties inherent in poor human nature, as almost ever falls to the share of an
individual. He set a noble example to the world of intellectual activity
uniformly directed from almost boyhood to extreme old age."'

No. CXCIV.
LOED STONEFIELD.
John Campbell, son of Archibald Campbell, Esq., of Stonefield, many years
Sheriff-Depute of the shires of Argyle and Bute, was admitted to the bar in
1748, and elevated to the bench in 1762, when he assumed the title of Lord
Stonefield. In 1787 he succeeded Lord Gardenstone as a Lord of Justiciary.
This latter appointment he resighed in 1792, but he retained his seat on the
bench till his death, which took place upon the 19th of June 1801, having
^ By his flrst marriage. Sir John had two daughters — Hannah, authoress of a popular work on
the principles of Christian faith, and whose memoirs are well known ; and Janet, married to the
late Sir James Colquhoun of Luss, Baronet. By his second he had a large family — cleaving at his
death, the Hon. T;ady Sinclair with six sons and flve daughters. The eldest. Sir George, was, during
twenty-six years. Member of Parliament for the county of Caithness ; Alexander, formerly of the
H.E.I.C.S., resided in Edinburgh ; John, M.A. and F.E.S.E., author of "Dissertations Vindicating
the Chm-ch of England" — an "Essay on Church Patronage" — "Memoirs of the Life and "Works
of Sir John Sinclair," etc., was one of the ministers of St. Paul's Chapel, York Place ; ^ Archibald, ^
a Captain in the Eoyal Na-vy ; WUliam, Eector of Pulborough ; and Godfrey, the younge.st son, was
for some time engaged in the office of a Writer to the Signet. Of the daughters, one married Geoi'ge
fourth Earl of Glasgow ; another Stair Stewart, Esq., of Glasserton and Physgill ; and Misses Diana,
Margaret, and Catherine, remained unmarried. The last-named, Catherine, was the weU-known
authoress of "Scotland and the Scotch," " Modern Accomplishments," a,nd numerous other works.
She died in 186i, and a monument was erected to her memory in St. Colme Street, Edinburgh.
1 John, afterwards ArcMeaoon of Middlesex and Vicar ot Kensington, was the author of "Sketches of Old
Times and Distant Places," published in 1876, in which year he also died. >

72 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
been thirty-nine years a Judge of the Supreme Court. It is somewhat remark
able that he and his two immediate predecessors occupied the same seat on the
bench for a period of ninety years ; Lord Royston having been appointed a
judge in 1710, and Lord Tinwald in 1744.
By his wife. Lady Grace Stuart, daughter of James second Earl of Bute,
and sister of the Prime Minister, John the third Earl, his lordship had seven
sons, all of whom predeceased him. The second of these was Lieutenant-
Colonel John Campbell, whose memorable defence of Mangalore, from May 1783
to January 1784, arrested the victorious career of Tippoo Sultan, and shed a
lustre over the close of that calamitous war.
Lord Stonefield resided at one time in Elphinstone's Court, and latterly in
George Square. Of his lordship's professional history no record has been
preserved. As a scholar, his attainments were considerable, and as a judge, his
decisions were marked by conciseness of expression and soundness of judgment.
He was a zealous and liberal supporter of every scheme tending to promote the
welfare and improvement of his native country.

No. CXCV.
JOHN HOME, ESQ.,
OF NINEWELLS.
John Home, or Hume, of Ninewells (for they are truly the same name) was
the elder and only brother of David Hume, the historian.' They were the
children of Joseph Home of Ninewells and Catherine Falconer, who was a
daughter of Sir David Falconer, Lord President of the College of Justice.
1 There were two subjects of playful controversy between the historian and his kind friend John
Home, author of the Tragedy of Douglas, etc. One was about the preference of port or claret as
the better liquor. David was an advocate for port ; John was strenuous for the honour of claret, as
the approved and genuine beverage of the old Scottish gentleman, in untaxed times, before the
union of the kingdoms. The other controversy related to the just spelling of the surname. Home or
Sume. David inclined, though with due temperance, for Hume, for which he found authority in
the inscription on an old tombstone, and in some other memorials of past times. John rejected
this opinion of David's as heterodox, and stood up stoutly on all occasions as the head of the
Home faction.
With reference to these two matters, the historian, in a codicil to his settlement, written with
his own hand, expresses himself as foUows : — " I leave to my friend John Home of Kilduff ten dozen
of my old claret, at his choice, and one single bottle of that other liquor, called port. I also leave to
him six dozen of port, provided that he attests, under his hand, signed John Hume, that he has him
self alone flnished that bottle at two sittings. By this concession, he will at once termmate the only
two difi-erences that ever arose between us concerning temporal matters." This writing is preserved,
but not entered on record. It is dated 7th August 1776. Mr. Hume died on the 25th of the
same month. He had for some weeks been in a condition of evident and increasing decay. On one
occasion, David jocularly proposed to John, that they should terminate the controversy about the
name, by casting lots. " Nay, Mr. PhUosopher," said John (for so he often addressed him), "that
is a most extraordinary proposal indeed ; for if you lose, you take your own name ; and if I lose, I
take another man's name. "

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 73
The title of Lord Halkerton came by succession to her brother, as that of Earl
of Kintore has since fallen to his descendants.
Catherine Falconer had the misfortune to lose her husband, when her two
boys, John and David, and a daughter, Catherine, were stiU infants ; and on
her, in consequence, the sole charge and tutelage of them devolved. But they
suffered in these circumstances less disadvantage than might have been expected ;
for their mother was a woman of singular merit, who, though young and hand
some, and but slenderly endowed as a widow, devoted herself entirely to the
rearing and educating of her children.
The principal circumstances of the historian's life may be learned from his
own narrative, pubhshed soon after his death. His elder brother, John, pre
ferred the life of a country gentleman, and employed himself for many years,
judiciously and successfully, in the improvement of his paternal estates of Nine
wells, Hornden, etc., in Berwickshire, which had been in the possession of the
family for several generations. In the latter part of his life he gave up his
more extensive farming concerns, and went to reside in Edinburgh during half
of the year, for the education of his family.
In 1740 John Home buUt a mansion-house at Ninewells, in place of the
old one, which had been partly burned. But this was done on a very limited
scale, for he was singularly cautious and moderate in all his notions and wishes,
even in matters of income — insomuch that, to the end of his life, he never could
be induced to follow the example of other landlords, and accept the highest rent
that might be got for his lands. In 1764 he acquired, by purchase from Sir
James Home, the lands of Fairneycastle, in the adjoining parish of Colding-
hame. He had an absolute abhorrence of the contracting of debt of any sort
or degree ; and he thus missed the opportunity of at least one other advantageous
purchase of land, on which his friends strongly advised him to venture.
In 1751, John Home married Agnes Carre, daughter of Robert Carre, Esq.,
of Caverse, in Roxburghshire, by Helen Riddell, sister of Sir Walter Riddell,
of Riddell, an ancient and honourable family in the same shire. Mrs. Home's
only brother had been in possession of Caverse ; but died of consumption,
unmarried, and in early youth. On that event, an old settlement of entail, in
favour of heirs-male, carried off the estate (excepting only the patronage of the
Kirk of Bedrule) from Mrs. Home, his only sister, to a more distant male rela
tion, whose posterity have since held and now possess it.
John Home was highly esteemed by all who knew him, as an honourable,
just, and most conscientious gentleman — a strict observer of truth and of his
¦word — respectful to the ordinances of religion — and one who acquitted him
self unexceptionably in all the relations of domestic life. His children, in
particular, had reason to be grateful to him for the inestimable benefit of a
thorough and liberal education, on which, economical as he was, he spared no
expense; as, indeed, he was throughout life uniformly, and even anxiously,
provident for their welfare, in everything that might contribute to form their
morals or advance their fortune. Possessed as he was of these recommenda-
VOL. IL L

74 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
tions, and being withal a man of strong sense, and of a frank and social hum
our—an easy landlord — a reasonable master^ — a skilful farmer — and very
intelligent in country affairs, he was much liked and respected in his rural'circle ;
and was often resorted to by his neighbours of all ranks, as a safe and a fair
referee, for the settlement of such controversies as occasionally arose aniong
them. He was, moreover, a correct and careful man of business — ^understood
figures well — and seemed indeed to find a pleasure in arithmetical operations ;
insomuch, that he never engaged in any material undertaking, of which he had
not previously calculated, as far as possible, the utmost cost of the ultimate
result. In allusion to this habit of his, his brother the historian expresses himself
thus, in a letter (19th March 1751) written to his relation, Mrs. Sandilands
Dysert, on the eve of John's marriage — "Dear Madam, — Our friend, at last,
plucked up a resolution, and has ventured on that dangerous encounter. He
went off on Monday morning ; and this is the first action in his life, wherein
he has engaged himself, without being able to compute exactly the consequences.
But what arithmetic can serve to fix the proportion between good and bad
wives, and rate the different classes of each 1 Sir Isaac Newton himself, who
could measure the courses of the planets, and weigh the earth as in a pair of
scales, even he had not algebra enough to reduce that amiable part of our spe'cies
to a just equation ; and they are the only heavenly bodies whose orbits are as
yet uncertain."
Though not to be termed a scholar (in the English sense of the word), John
Home was, however, not without a fair tincture of literature, classic as well as
modern, especially history and belles lettres ; and ordinarily enjoyed the evening
over a book, Latin or French, as often as English. He was about the middle
stature — not much under six feet — and of a stout and muscular, but not a
fleshy frame. To this he did not spare to give ample exercise on all occasions ;
by which means, joined to the most temperate habits, he maintained uniform
good health till towards the close of a life of seventy-seven years.^ He was of a
keen and animated countenance, with a florid complexion, a clear grey eye, and
well formed features, which were set off to some advantage in his old age, by his
grey locks, which fell in full curls (though these are not given in the Print) on
^ "Auld Patie Johnston," tenant of Ninewells' mUl, used to allege that he and his forefathers
had held the mill as tenants for at least as many generations as the Homes had held the property.
They certainly had possessed the mill for a very long period of tirae. '
David Waite, John Home's house-servant, held that station for sixty years or thereby. Joseph
Watson, the gardener, had never been in any other service ; and he died at the age of ninety, in the
gardener's house at Ninewells. He had long been relieved of the labours of the garden by a worthy
and ingenious young man, his son Thomas. '
2 He never followed the hounds, or used the fowling-piece ; but he was a keen and a deadly hand
with the leister or salmon spear. The Whitadder runs along the lauds of Ninewells ; and the clear
waters of that pleasant stream were often stained with the bloody tokens of his prowess in that
joyous and manly sport. Occasionally, on an emergency, in thd close of a wet and broken harvest,
' the old gentleman did not think it unsuitable to join his servants for some hours in their exertions
to save the crop, and was seen to follow the loading wain along the ridge, aud deliver the sheaves
(which he did with much energy and rapidity) from the pitch-fork in his o-wn hand into the wain.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 75
his neck. He had, however, contracted (which the Print does give) an invet
erate habit of stooping, which was rather injurious to his general aspect. In
convivial society, especially when at the head of his own hospitable table, he was
much disposed to be jocular, and was liberal of his store of pithy sayings and
droll stories. In particular, he highly enjoyed the meetings of the well-known
Polcer Club, of which he was a member, along with his brother, and to which
belonged at that time, Patrick Lord Elibank, Lord EUioch, Dr. Adam Smith,
Drs. Cullen, Black, and Gregory, Dr. Adam Fergusson, Old Ambassador Keith,
Sir Gilbert Elliot, and many others ; some of them men of letters, others, persons
of high birth, or eminent in public life.
John Home was extremely regular and methodical in, all his habits, punctual
to his time in whatever he had to do, and not very tolerant with those who
failed in this (as he rightly thought it) important article. It could not be truly
affirmed that he was of an equally calm and placid temperament as his brother,
the philosopher ; but the brothers entertained the most cordial affection for each
other, and continued in constant habits of kind intercourse and mutual good
offices to the end of their lives. Under the historian's will, the principal part
of his effects went to his brother, who survived him.
John Home died at Ninewells, on the 14th of November 1786, after a short
illness, and in great composure of mind. He was interred in the family vault,
under his parish church at Chirnside. He had always been on friendly terms
with the good and worthy pastor of thalt parish. Dr. Walter Anderson, whora
indeed no one could dislike, who valued simplicity and mildness of character,
or felt the importance of the due discharge of all the duties of that holy office.
By his marriage to Agnes Carre, John Home, who survived her, had eight
children, of whom three sons, Joseph, David, and John, and two daughters,
Catherine and Agnes, survived him.-^ Joseph, when a young man, served as
Captain in the Queen's Bays or 2d Dragoon Guards. He afterwards resided as
a country gentleman, at Ninewells, where he died on the 14th of February 1832,
unmarried, and at the advanced age qf eighty-one. David was an advocate at
the Scottish bar, and held successively the offices of Sheriff-Depute of Berwick
shire, Sheriff-Depute of West Lothian, Professor of the Law of Scotland in the
University of Edinburgh, one of the Principal Clerks to the Court of Session,
arid one of the Barons of the Court of Exchequer for Scotland ; from which
office he retired, on the statutory allowance, in February 1834. John was a
man of great worth and good parts ; and nature had gifted him with no small
share of genuine pleasantry and humour, which were combined -svith a generous
and an affectionate disposition. In the earlier part of his life, he did business
with much credit, in Edinburgh, as a Writer to the Signet. In his latter years
he gave up practice there, and took up his residence at Ninewells, with his
eldest brother, the laird, who committed to him the chief or rather the entire
charge of the management of his affairs, and the improvement of his estate.
They carried into execution sundry judicious projects of draining, enclosure, and
1 The other three children, namely, Eobert, Helen, and Agatha, died in infancy or early youth.

76 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
plantation, which added materially to the shelter and fertility of the land, as
well as to the amenity of the place.
Catherine Home was married to a near Berwickshire neighbour, Robert
Johnston, Esq. of Hilton, then a captain in the 39th Regiment of Infantry, who
served in Gibraltar during the noted siege, and afterwards, with much credit,
during the last war with France, as Lieut.-Colonel of the Berwickshire Light
Dragoons — a well-disciplined, provincial corps, raised towards our defence against
French invasion and Irish insurrection. Of this marriage there survived two
daughters, Margaret and Catherine Johnston. An elder daughter, Agnes, was
married to the Rev. Alexander Scott, a cadet of the distinguished house of Scott
of Harden, and rector of Egremont, and then of Bowtel, in Cumberland. She
died, lea-ving issue two sons, Francis, a Lieutenant in the royal navy, and the
Rev. Robert Scott, fellow of one of the Colleges, Cambridge.
Agnes Home was of a more delicate constitution than her sister, and died at
her brother David's house in Edinburgh, unmarried, on 9th March 1808.

No. CXCVI.
ME. WILLIAM GEINLY,
BEOKEE AND AUCTIONEEE.
The Royal Leith Volunteers, of which corps this gentleman was Quartermaster,
were embodied in 1795, and received their colours on the 26th September of that
year. The regiment was drawn up on the Links — a detachment of the Royal
Edinburgh Volunteers being present to keep the ground — when shortly after
one o'clock the Lord-Lieutenant, attended by some of the Deputy-Lieutenants,
arrived on the field, and presented the colours to Captain Bruce,^ the Com
mandant, who delivered them to two ensigns. The ceremony concluded with a
prayer by the chaplain, the Rev. Mr. Macknight.
Mr. Grinly was originally a merchant and shipowner at Borrowstounness
the place of his nativity, where his father and brothers were respectable ship
masters. In early life he had frequently gone supercargo to Holland, France
Spain, Russia, and America, and was no stranger to the vicissitudes of a sea
faring life, ha-ving been twice captured by privateers, and as often ship-wrecked.
The Isabella, a fine new ship, homeward bound, -with a valuable cargo, was one
of the vessels taken by the enemy. The ship's company, after being robbed
were put on shore, and Mr. Grinly was stripped of everything but his watch.
One of the cases of shipwreck occurred in a storm off the coast of France when
the crew narrowly escaped with their lives, and the ship and cargo were totally
^ Brother of the late Mr. Bruce of Kennett, whose father. Lord Kennett, was one of the Senators
of the College of Justice.

mM

I.EITH vy ILIJT^TEE

196

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 77
lost. In 1773 he was presented with the freedom of the burgh of Kirkcudbright,
for his active exertions in conducting certain transactions for the interest of that
community. Finding himself unsuccessful at Borrowstounness, he proceeded to
Ireland; but after a stay of little more than two years there he returned
to Leith, where he was again doomed to misfortune through unlucky specula
tions. Instead, however, of indulging in unavailing regrets, he quickly set about
repairing his broken fortune, by commencing the world anew as a broker and
merchant. In this line his exertions were crowned with such a measure of
success, that he was latterly enabled to retire altogether from business.
Mr. Grinly was short in stature, but active — always well dressed, and
particularly smart in his appearance. From a peculiar rotundity of body, and a
strange habit of throwing out his legs and arms in walking, he obtained the
soubriquet of the Spread 'Eagle." '
Notwithstanding his somewhat grotesque rotundity of shape, it was a weak
ness of Mr. Grinly to believe himself possessed of a handsome figure. His vanity
in this respect almost exceeds credulity. • It is said that on a particular occasion
he was seen elevated on some logs of wood at the shore of Leith, surrounded by
a band of porters, whose adulation the broker's patronage in the way of employ
ment was sufficient to insure. One of them, however, had independence enough
to declare his opinion, that " the Doctor " ' was at least nearly as handsome as
himself " If I thought there was a better made man in Leith," said Grinly,
apparently highly offended, " I would go hang myself ! "
The consequential manner of Mr. Grinly, as well as his attempts at "vdt,
afforded much amusement to his friends. Having been cited to give evidence
in an action against the Hull Shipping Company, for non-delivery of goods, it is
said he took his place in the witnesses-box with an air as if about to bring the
whole bench to the hammer ! After the customary forms, the usual questions
were put to him: — "Your name is William Grinly?" "It is, my Lord."
"You are a merchant in Leith?" "I am not, mj Lord" — in a tone and
gesture that attracted all eyes. " You are here set down merchant in Leith."
" My Lord," said Grinly, archly smiling as he made use of the legal phrase,
" that is quite a misnomer !" The involuntary peal of laughter which followed,
and in which the Court heartily joined, Grinly politely acknowledged by a low
obeisance, and complacently resumed his position.
The auctioneer was at no loss for invention when hard pressed by circum
stances.. He had been summoned to serve as a juryman, but unfortunately on
a day fixed for a very extensive sale of sugars by the Messrs. Sibbald, at which he
was to be professionally engaged. Grinly felt awkwardly situated — to lose the
^ This name was given him by a merchant in Leith, who had similar appeUations for a great
many of his neighbours. The affairs of this person getting into disorder, the creditors, on examining
his books, were puzzled what to make of them, several entries appearing against "Spice-box,"
" Clock-case," " Sow's-tail " and other ridiculous designations.
^ The title of "The Doctor," we believe, was applied to this gentleman in consequence of his
having attended medical classes in his youth, and giving gratis advice to the poor, accompanied
frequently with money to purchase medicines.

78 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
sale, or pay the juror's fine, were the alternatives. He resolved that he should
do neither. Shortly after the roll had been called over, he went forward to the
bench, and, with a wo-begone countenance, begged that he might be allowed to
retire, having been suddenly seized with an urgent illness. " 0, most certainly —
go away ! go away ! " said the presiding Judge. Mr. Grinly left the Court amid
the sympathy of his friends — was at Leith in due time for the sale — and, it is said,
displayed more than usual vigour in the discharge of his duty. He was heard
frequently afterwards to boast how he had once proved a match for the law.
Like many other citizens who were smitten with the military mania. Mr.
Grinly was fond of exhibiting himself in his warlike apparel, and it is said that
he used to repair to Edinburgh regularly every Wednesday, dressed in his
volunteer uniform, " showing off " among the merchants and country people, who
usually assembled at the Cross, opposite the Royal Exchange, on that day.
Having rendered himself somewhat notorious by this pratice, Kay embraced the
advantage of his weekly exhibitions to produce the excellent representation of
the " Spread Eagle."
Mr. Grinly was twice married ; and, by his first wife, had a large family.
For several years before his death he became entirely blind, and had to be led
when he went out. He died in 1827, in the eightieth year of his age, and was
buried in the South Leith Parish Churchyard.

No. CXCVIL
THE HON. ALEXANDEE LESLIE,
LIEUT.-GENEEAL AND COLONEL OF THE NINTH EEGIMENT OF FOOT.
Geneeal Leslie, brother to the sixth Earl of Leven and Melville, was born in
1731, and commenced his military life as an ensign in the third Foot Guards in
1753. He subsequently held appointments in various regiments, and was pro
moted to the rank of Major-General in 1779. In America he experienced much
hard service during the War of Independence. He was second in command at
the battle of Guildford, fought on the 15th March 1781, in which the Americans,
under General Green, were defeated. The action was commenced by the division
led on by General Leslie, and proved successful on every point. His intrepidity
and skill were warmly acknowledged by Lord Cornwallis, who, in one of his
despatches, says — " I have been particularly indebted to Major-General Leslie
for his gallantry and exertion, as well as his assistance in every other part of
the service." He was appointed to the command of the 9th Foot in 1782 • and
from that period held the rank of Lieut. -General in the army.

KAY. f,^

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 79
In 1794, while second in command of the forces in Scotland, in consequence
of a mutiny in the Breadalbane Regiment of Fencibles, then stationed at Glas
gow,' General Leshe, Colonel Montgomerie (afterwards Earl of Eghnton), and
Sir James Stewart, left Edinburgh to take charge of the troops collected for
the purpose of compelling the mutineers to surrender. By the judicious
management, however, of Lord Adam Gordon, then Commander-in-Chief, an
appeal to force was avoided by the voluntary surrender of four of the ring
leaders, who were marched to Edinburgh Castle as prisoners, under a strong
guard of their own regiment. General Leshe and Adjut,ant M'Lean of the
Fencibles, having accompanied the party a short way out of town, they were
assailed on their return by a number of riotous people, who accused them of
being active in sending away the prisoners. The mob rapidly increased, stones
and other missiles were thrown, by one of which General Leslie was knocked
down, and he and the Adjutant were compelled to take shelter in a house, from
which they were at last rescued by the Lord Provost, with a posse of peace-
officers and a company of the Fencibles. On his way back to Edinburgh, the
General was seized with a dangerous illness, and died at Beechwood House,
about three miles west of the city, on the 27th December 1794.
General Leslie married in 1760 a daughter of Walter Tullidelph of TuUi-
delph, in Forfarshire, who died the year following, leaving a daughter, Mary
Anne, who was married in 1787 to John Rutherford, Esq. of Edgerstown, in
Roxburghshire. The General resided in St. Andrew Square.

No. CXCVIII.
DE. JAMES HAMILTON, SENIOE.
De. Hamilton was for many years one of the ornaments of Edinburgh.
His grandfather, the Rev. Wilham Hamilton, was a branch of the family of
Preston, and held the honourable station of Principal of the University in the
earlier part of last century ; and his father, Dr. Robert Hamilton, afterwards
made a distinguished figure as Professor of Divinity.^
^ The mutiny, whioh occurred on the 1st December 1794, originated in the rescue of a soldier
who had been conflned in the guard-house for some military offence. The party afterwards would
neither give up the prisoner nor those who had been conspicuous in effecting his release. The
prisoners, seven in number, were tried by a court-martial, held in the Castle, at which Colonel
Montgomerie presided. Sentence of death was recorded against all of them save two, but one only,
Alexander Sutherland, sufl'ered. The others were ordered to the West Indies and to America.
" It may be mentioned, to the honour of the last-named gentleman, and as indicative of that
uprightness and independence, which were afterwards conspicuous in his son, that he led the way to
the aboUtion of pluralities in the Church, by spontaneously relinquishing his parochial charge of
Lady Yester's, on being appointed Professor of Divinity — a distinction which was conferred on him
without solicitation. Another instance of the same qualities of mind is thus related. The clergy
man of a neighbouring parish had withheld the privUege of baptism from a child, the conduct of the

80 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
The subject of our engraving was born in 1749. He was educated at the
High School ; and, after taking his degree at the University, he spent several
years on the Continent. The respect in which his family had long been held
conspired with his own merit to secure for Dr. Hamilton an encouraging recep
tion on his return to his native city. At an early age he was elected one of
the Physicians to the Royal Infirmary ; and he afterwards obtained, in suc
cession, the same office in George Heriot's — the Merchant Maiden — and the
Trades' Maiden Hospitals. For upwards of fifty years he continued actively
to superintend these benevolent institutions — in the two first of which his por
trait is preserved, in respect for the zeal -with which he discharged the trust
reposed in him.
A field of extensive usefulness was thus opened to Dr. Hamilton, which he
cultivated with unremitting assiduity ; and while he followed the bent of his
nature in promoting, by every act of kindness, the comfort of those committed
to his care, he accumulated a mass of experience which enabled him, at a later
period, to give to the world his well-known work, entitled " Observations on the
Utility and Administration pf Purgative Medicine in several Diseases" — one
of the most elegant professional works which has ever issued from the press —
a work which may be regarded as a model, whether we consider its practical
value, or the conciseness, the perspicuity, and the modesty of its style. The
eighth edition, "Revised and Improved bythe Author, with a Chapter on
Cold Bathing, considered in its Purgative Effect," was published in 1826.
The kindliness of Dr. Hamilton's disposition could not fail to procure for
him the affectionate regard of the numerous children, and of the sick poor, under
his professional charge ; and hence he acquired an honoured notoriety among
all classes of our citizens, more general perhaps than ever fell to the lot of any
other individual.
Dr. Hamilton's appearance was so remarkable that it attracted the notice of
the most casual observer. His upright gait, his elastic step, and his dress of
the old school, have not yet faded from our recollection. His character pre
sented a rare union of the amiable with the sterner virtues. His demeanour
was highly pohshed, with more of what is termed manner — though never pass
ing the bounds of the strictest propriety — than is now generally met with.
Another prominent trait in Dr. Hamilton was the simplicity and sincerity of
his mind. Himself a stranger to the remotest feeling of meanness or duplicity,
he could ill conceal his abhorrence of these vices, when he discovered them in
others ; but while he possessed an uncommon power of discriminating charac
ter, this was not accompanied by a suspicious disposition — it merely aided him
in selecting those with whom he might indulge in social intercourse ; and with
father having given rise to a suspicion that he was not qualified to discharge the solemn obligation
imposed by that ordinance. The case was brought before the Presbytery. A protracted discussion
took place, which promised no satisfactory termination. The Professor retired unobserved • and
after holding a private conversation with the parent, he baptized the child, and returned to his
brethren, whose debate was thus abruptly closed.

K ' '7ff7

GRAND SECRETARY

199

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 81
these he gave full play to a natural gaiety of spirit, which rendered his company
quite delightful.
Dr. Hamilton's habits were active ; he adhered to the good old custom of
early rising, and took part in all the invigorating exercises in vogue. Archery,
golfing, skating, bowling, curling, and even swimming, had then, as now, each
their respective clubs. In several kindred professional associations he acted
as secretary ; and the conviviality of these meetings were mainly kept up by
him and old Dr. Duncan for nearly half-a-century. A well-regulated mind
brought -with it the almost never-failing accompaniment of a disposition not only
to enjoy, but to communicate amusement ; and these occasions served to call
forth in Dr. Hamilton what is best known by the name oi fun — a faculty which
he possessed in no common degree.' An instance of this may be given, with
which we shall conclude our sketch. At an early period of his career, he was
condoling with a contemporary (the late Dr. Yule) on the patience which they
were mutually called to exercise in waiting for professional advancement —
" But you," says he, " labour under a peculiar disadvantage." " How so ? " replies
the astonished Doctor. " 0," rejoins our friend, *' do you not see that every
one will say, a green Yule makes a fat kirkyard."
Dr. Hamilton died in 1835. He latterly, and for many years, resided in
St. Andrew Square, next door to his namesake Dr. James Hamilton junior.

No. CXCIX.
ME. WILLIAM MASON,
SECEETAEY TO THE GEAND LODGE.
This Etching is allowed, by those who recollect the " Grand Secretary," to be
a capital caricature. Like his friend the "Grand Clerk," Me. Mason was a
-writer and an assistant extractor in the Court of Session, which situation he
obtained in 1778. His masonic duties he performed with great credit for many
years. It was the province of the Secretary and Clerk to attend the Grand
Master in his -visitations to the lodges — a species of service which accorded well
with their social habits ; and, not-withstanding the ridiculous mistake about the
sow,^ a warm friendship continued to exist betwixt the portly officials.
The Grand Secretary was a person of quaint humour, and relished a joke.
He was one day on the Castle Hill, where a crowd had assembled to witness an
1 The genuine kindness of Dr. Hamilton's disposition is well illustrated by the concluding distich
of an impromptu, which was sung by an associate at one of their convivial meetings : —
" 'Twas Andrew the tnerry and Jamie the good.
In a hackney coach had ta'en hame Sandy Wood. "
2 This anecdote is related in the Sketch of the "Grand Clerk," see First Volume.
VOL. IL > M

82 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
eclipse of the sun, when a countryman accosted him, requesting to be informed
whether the eclipse would take place that day. " No," said the Secretary,
probably recollecting the reply of Dean Swift, " it has been put off till
to-morrow ! " The clown went away apparently perfectly satisfied with the
information. The following anecdote is told of the worthy Secretary. One night he was
seated solus by his own parlour fire, head of the West Bow. A bottle bf
genuine Edinburgh ale — a beverage in which he greatly delighted — stood on
the hearth, to take the " chill air off it," while, with a foot extended on each
side of the cheering grate, and his head inclining gently forward, he was dosing
away the time till supper should be prepared. From this state of pleasing
half-unconsciousness, he was suddenly roused by a smart hit on the proboscis,
the cork having sprung with great force from the overheated bottle. The
drowsy Secretary, probably dreaming of another rencontre with the Grand
Clerk, demanded in a rage to know the cause of quarrel, and involuntarily
applying his foot, dashed the luckless bottle in a hundred pieces !
Mr. Mason died on the 26th September 1795. As an assistant clerk in the
Court of- Session he was succeeded first by his son, and afterwards by his
grandson Mr. Hector Mason.

No. CC.
EEV. JAMES BAINE, A.M.
FIRST MINISTER OF THE RELIEF CONGREGATION, SOUTH COLLEGE STREET.
The Rev. James Baine, whose name holds a distinguished place in the
annals of the Presbytery of Relief, was the son of the minister of Bonhill, in
Dumbartonshire, where he was born in 1710. His education was begun at the
parish school, and having been completed at the University of Glasgow, he
became a licentiate of the Church of Scotland. On account of the respectability
of his father, and his own promising talents, he was presented by the Duke of
Montrose to the Church of Killearn, the parish adjoining that iri which his
father had long been minister. In this sequestered and tranquil scene he spent
many years ; and in after life, he has been often heard to say they were the
happiest he had ever experienced. He was here married to Miss Potter,
daughter of Dr. Michael Potter, Professor of Divinity in the University of
Glasgow, by whom he had a large family.'

1 His son, the Eev. James Baine, in early life became a licensed preacher in the Established
Church, but afterwards received Episcopal ordination, and was appointed to a chaplaincy in one of
our distant colonies. He latterly returned to his native country, and died at Alloa. Another son
became a captain in the army, served abroad during the Araerican and Continental wars, and was
afterwards, we beUeve, proprietor of an estate in Stirlingshire.

200

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 83
, The reputation of Mr. Baine as a preacher soon spread far beyond the
retired scene to which his pulpit ministrations were confined. Being somewhat
remarkable for the musical sweetness of his voice, he was honoured by his
people with the characteristic epithet of the "Swan of the West." In 1756
he was presented to the High Church of Paisley, then a new erection. Upon
the arduous duties of his important charge he entered jn the month of April,
with a high degree of popularity ; and throughout the period pf his ministra
tion in that town, continued to be greatly esteemed by a large and affectionate
congregation, as an eloquent preacher, and an able and sound divine. His per
sonal appearance in the vigour of life was prepossessing — his manner in the
pulpit, and' his powers of elocution, were peculiarly attractive ; and, though he
had the celebrated Dr. Witherspoon for, his colleague, who was considered one
of the most able clergymen of his day, his church was commonly crowded to
excess.-"- When minister of the parish of Killearn, Mr. Baine was intimate with many
of the most distinguished clergymen in the Church, and was regarded, particu
larly by his co-presbyters, as a young man possessed of much personal piety
and ministerial zeal and fidelity. So early as 1745, his name- is mentioned with
particular honour, as having been warmly engaged amongst his parishioners in
1 From the perusal of a volume of his sermons, which he published in 1777, during the period of
his ministry in Edinburgh, we have been led to consider him, in point of arrangement and composi
tion, superior to many ot his contemporaries. In this volume is to be found a judicious discourse on
the subject of the Pastoral Care, which he delivered in the Low Church of Paisley at the admission
of his colleague, in June 1757.
Dr. Witherspoon, the colleague of Mr. Baine, was a man greatly distinguished in his day for his
literary acquirements, and as a preacher and theological writer. He was the son of a clergyman,
minister of the parish of Yester, in the Presbytery of Haddington ; bom in 1721, and educated in
the University of Edmburgh. , In early Ufe he became a licentiate of the Scottish Establishment, aud
was soon afterwards presented to the parish of Beith, in Ayrshire. Being a young man of an ardent,
enterprising, and patriotic mind, on January 17, 1746, he appeared at the battle of Fal'lmk with a
party of volunteer militia belonging to his parish ; and, on that unfortunate occasion, when the royal
army suffered great loss, he was taken prisoner by the rebels. Along with Mr. Home, author of the
"Tragedy of Douglas, " and others, he was conflned in the Castle of Doune, near Stirling, from whioh he
and his fellow-prisoners, after having suffered some severe privations, made an adventurous and hair
breadth escape. In June 1757 he was translated from the parish of Beith to the Low Church of
Paisley, in which charge he continued eleven years.
From an early period of his ministry. Dr. Witherspoon was kno-wn to his contemporaries as a
clergyman particularly yersant in the knowledge of the constitutional polity of the Church of Scotland.
Like his colleague Mr. Baine, he was keenly opposed to what he considered the tyrannical measures
of the moderate, and at that time the dominant, party of the Church, and became one of their ablest
opponents by the pubhcation of his '.' Ecclesiastical Characteristics, or the Arcana of Church Polity,-"
and the grave " Apology " he afterwards pubUshed for that ingenious performance. Having pxib-
lished in London three volumes of his sermons and essays in 1764, the fame of his talents as a
theological vmter not only spread over Britain, but extended across -the Atlantic to the British Colonies.
In consequence of the reputation he had acquired, he was repeatedly solicited by the Trustees of Nassau
HaU CoUege, Princetown, New Jersey, the Presidency of whioh had become vacant, to accept of that
ofSce. He was at last induced to consent, and left his charge in Paisley, May 1768.
Upon the arrival of Dr. Witherspoon in America he was cordially received by the Trustees, and for a
number of years afterwards directed the attention of his sagacious and reflecting mind in originating
and maturing various educational improvements in that seminary, over which so many eminent men

84 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
promoting what has been considered a remarkable re-vival of religion in the
west of Scotland at that period; and about ten years afterwards, in 1754, in
a letter to the Rev. Dr. Gillies of Glasgow, he alludes, with a glow of satisfac
tion, to its remaining salutary effects in the parish of Killearn.
During the whole period of his ministerial labours in connection -with the
Established Church, he displayed great public spirit ; and, even while a country
clergjrman, confined to his retired sphere of exertion, he was, as he had oppor
tunity in the Church courts, a zealous defender of her liberty, independence, and
legal rights, and a determined opponent of what he considered ecclesiastical
tyranny, or an encroachment on her privileges. His feelings on these matters
were distinctly and strongly expressed, connected with the procedure in his
case at the bar of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1766.
The conduct of that Court, in 1752, in deposing the Rev. Mr. Thomas Gillespie,
of Carnock, from the office of the ministry, as well as some more recent pro
ceedings, were understood to have made a strong impression on his mind.
Considering them as infringing on the cause of religious liberty, they had un
doubtedly a powerful infiuence in inducing him to resign his pastoral charge in
Paisley. In- the opinion of some of his friends, however, an occurrence, toward
the close of his ministry in that town, was not -without its effect.
A vacancy in the office of session-clerk of the parish having taken place, a
keen dispute arose as to who had the right of appointing a successor — whether
the Kirk Session or Town Council. Each of these public bodies maintained
their claim -with obstinate tenacity. After much angry dispute, in which the
whole community took an interest, the case came to be litigated in the Court
of Session, and was finally decided in favour of the Town Council. This
decision produced much disagreeable feeling among the members of Session, and
some of them resigned. With the discontented party Mr. Baine accorded, and
keenly pleaded their cause ; but his reverend colleague having taken part with
the members of Town Council, a painful misunderstanding was produced
between these two distinguished clergymen, and followed with consequences
probably affecting the future destinies of both.^ To this disagreeable event Mr.
Baine particularly refers, in his letter to the Moderator of Paisley Presbytery,
had presided. It is, however, well kno-wn to those acquainted with the history of that eventful period,
that, in 1775, on the breaking out of the American revolutionary war, his laudable and useful labours
were interrupted by the confusion and disasters which ensued. The buUdings of the College were made
a barracks for the royal army ; the library, with other parts of the premises, were entirely destroyed ;
and the President himself, upon the approach of the hostUe legions, was obliged to fly to a place of
safety. Having espoused the cause of the revolted colonies, he was at an early period of the contest
appointed a member of Congress ; and, in that station, he became in a high degree beneficial to the
cause by his talents as a writer and political economist. Many of the most important papers con
nected -with the business of that Assembly were kno-wn to be the production of his pen.
After a life of great acti-vity and usefulness. Dr. Witherspoon died at Princetown, New Jersey, in
1794, in the seventy-second year of his age.
1 Kay, in his notes, alludmg to the variances of the two clergymen, somewhat wittUy remarks
that the call of Mr. Baine to the iieZie/ Congregation in Edinburgh "may be supposed to have
afforded relief to both. "

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 85
dated 10th February 1766, resigning his charge, in which he expresses himself
in the following terms : —
" I now inform you, as Moderator, that I entirely give up my charge of the High Church in this town,
and the care of the flock belonging to it, into the hands of the Presbytery. They know not how far
I am advanced in life, who see not that a house for worship, so very large as the High Church, and
commonly so crowded too, must be very unequal to my strength ; aud this burden was made more
heavy by denying me a Session to assist me in the common concerns of the parish, which I Certainly
had a title to. But the load became quite intolerable, when, by a late unhappy process, the just and
natural right of the common Session was -wrested from us, which drove away from acting in it twelve
men of exceUent character."
-After stating these and other grievances to the Moderator of the Presbytery,
he further proceeds : — '
" I would earnestly beg of my reverend brethren to think that this change in my condition, and
the charge I have now accepted, makes no change in my former creed, nor in my cordial regard to the
constitution and interest of the Church of Scotland, which I solemnly engaged to support more than
thirty years ago, and hope to do so while I live. At the same time, I abhor persecution in every
form, and that abuse of Church power of late, which to me appears inconsistent with humanity — with
the civil interests of the nation — and destructive of the ends of our ofiice as ministers of Christ."
In consequence of this letter, and his connecting himself with the Relief
Presbytery, Mr. Baine was cited to appear before the General Assembly, 29th
May 1766. Having compeared, and been heard at considerable length, in an
elaborate and keen defence, he was declared by the Assembly to be no longer a
minister of the Church of Scotland. Immediately after his deposition, Mr. Baine
published a pamphlet, entitled " Memoirs of Modern Church Reformation ; or
the History of the General Assembly, 1766, with, a brief account and vindica
tion of the Presbytery of Relief." In this publication, consisting of letter's to a
reverend friend, he gave an amusing account of the procedure of the supreme
ecclesiastical court in his case, and indulged in some acrimonious remarks on the
conduct of the leading members of the moderate party. The pamphlet, now
scarce, and indeed almost out of sight, is a curious and interesting document.
Mr. Baine had in the meantime entered on the duties of his new charge.
The Chapel in South College Street, which was the first in Edinburgh belonging
to the Relief Presbytery, was opened for public worship on Sabbath, 1 2th
January 1766. At that period the city did not extend so far south as it does
now. South College Street being then a portion of Nicolson's Park, one of the
suburbs. To this chapel he was inducted by the Rev. Mr. GiUespie, late of
Carnock, on the 13th of the following month, only three days subsequent to
the date of his letter to the Presbytery of Paisley resigning his charge of the
High Church. It has been remarked by orie of his biographers, that when he
took this step he did not contemplate an entire separation from the Established
Church ; and that, in evidence of his considering himself still belonging to its
communion, he is said, after his adinission to South College Street Chapel, to
have conducted his new congregation to the neighbouring Church of Old Grey
friars (at that time under the pastoral care of his old friend the venerable Dr.
Erskine), in order to partake of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. The
EstabUshment, however, viewed the matter in a different light; and various

86 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
opinions were formed by the religious public regarding the conduct of Mr.
Baine. Whatever might be his motives in still seeking communion with the
Church — whether from a lingering affection for a hodj with whom he had long
associated, or from a desire to test its tolerance to the utmost, we shall not
attempt to divine.^ His formal deposition at the ensuing General Assembly,
while it produced a strong sensation in the country, had the effect of. exciting
the warmest sympathy in his new congregation, who not only gave him a kind
reception as their pastor — eagerly attending on his ministrations — but afforded
him a salary equal to the income he had enjoyed at Paisley.
During the more vigorous period of an active life, one distinguishing feature
in the character of Mr. Baine was his bold and determined resolution in con
demning and exposing, on proper occasions, whatever he considered to be a
violation of public morality. While in Paisley, he published a sermon preached
before the Society for Reformation of Manners in that town (instituted under
his auspices), in which he testified in strong terms against the prevailing vices
of the age; and, when prosecuting his labours in the metropolis in 1770, the
amusements of the stage called forth a similar manifestation, of his zeal. This
discourse — the first edition of which was sold off in the course of a few days —
was occasioned by the performance of the comedy of the Minor, written by Foote,
in which the characters of Whitefield, and other zealous ministers, were held up
to proftoe and blasphemous ridicule. The sermon was entitled " The Theatre
Licentious and Perverted," and had prefixed to it the following curious and
rather singular dedication : — " TO SAMUEL FOOTE, ESQ.
" Uncommon, or rather outre, productions (witness your Minor) suit the times. This dedication
pretends to be of that quality, and entirely out of the beaten track. Instead of adulation and ful
some flattery, it is the reverse, and plain. Christianity is certainly worth something ; and you may
be assured, Sir, that in North Britain it has its admirers stUl. It haLs the countenance of law. To
insult it, therefore, was neither pious nor prudent. An Aristophanes, worthless as he and his comedy
were, compassed the death of a great man. It was fond and foolish, if you aimed at the same success
against our holy religion, or what is most venerable in it ; and wicked as foolish. When I recollect the
whole of the horrid scene, Mr. Foote and his spruce band of actors performing their part, it has once
and again brought to ray mind the day when the Saviour of our world was enclosed in an assembly of
the great and gay, dressed in a gorgeous robe, an ensign of mock-royalty, to be laughed at. In some
such manner have you treated what is most interesting in revelation, aud dear to believers of it. Cul
pable complaisance would not have told you the one-half of this. Genuine charity, perhaps, would
have said much more than I have done. Wishing, with all my heart, that you may speedily become as
conspicuous a penitent as you have done despite to the Spirit of Grace, I am. Sir, your faithful servant."
' The circumstance of Mr. Baine and some of his hearers having gone over to the Old Greyfriars,
for the purpose of communicating at the Lord's Supper, is explained by his friends on the ground
that, though the Church in South College Street had been opened for public worship, it was not then '
in such a state of forwardness as to admit of the dispensation of the sacrament : that Mr. Baine had
not been formaUy out off at that period by the Church of Scotland ; and therefore, though he himself
had taken a decided step towards ecclesiastical separation, he was wiUing to evince a friendly feeUng
for the Establishment, in matters of Church fellowship, so long as the Church should evince a simUar
feeling towards him. Belief principles, ffien as well as now, are not inimical to occasional com
munion with those who may be regarded as true foUowers of Christ, though on some points a differ
ence of sentiment may be entertained.

,T..'

^'<%M^

201

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 87
Mr. Foote considered , it necessary to reply to this attack; and, accordingly,
in 1771, appeared an "Apology for the Minor, in a letter to the Rev. Mif. Bajlne.''
In this defence the dramatist rests his argument solely upon one point — that
he merely satirised the follies and the vices of those who were only pretenders
to the character of the religious. The general opinion was, that his comedy
could never have been so keenly relished, but for the too ready disposition
of a large class of mankind to take' hold of everything connected with the
imperfections of the professors of religion. In common with all perfonnances
of a like nature, the Minor was liable to the blame imputed to it by Mr. Baine,
and justified his strictures, though considered by many too severe. Upon
the mind of the reverend gentleman himself, the effect tended only to increase
his indignant feeling against so daring an outrage on the cause of religion and
morals. Mr. Baine departed this life, 17th January 1790, having reached his
eightieth year, and sixtieth of his ministry. Though he experienced in his latter
days what has happened to many worthy ministers — a decline of popularity —
when the novelty of their first appearance had subsided, his name stands con
spicuous in the history of the Relief Church, as one of the most remarkable of
its early and venerable fathers.

No. CCL
EBENEZEE WILSON,
BRASSFOUNDEE.
This worthy of the old school — long known as the Tron Church bellman —
served his apprenticeship as a brassfounder with Mr. Robert Brown, Lawnmarket,
and became a member of the Incorporation of Hammermen in 1774. He carried
on business in a small way on his own account in Libberton's Wynd ; but he
was never remarkable for activity or enterprise. In 1788, he obtained the
appointment of ringer of the Tron Kirk bell,' with a salary of ten pounds a-year.
This small sum, with a trifling pension from the Hammermen, was latterly his
chief support. At one period, when far " down in the wind," Eben petitioned
the Incorporation for a little money, saying he had neither work nor metal. Some
of the waggish members observed, what was he going to do with metal if he
had no work !
Eben was well known to the " Hie Schule laddies," by whom he was much
annoyed. They used to call him " Ninepence," in allusion to his old-fashioned
three-cornered hat. Almost every night a band of them assembled at the door
1 He succeeded an old man of the name of Nimmo, a dyer.

88 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
of the Church, waiting his arrival ; and although they had probably tormented
him to the utmost during the day, they seldom failed to gain admission to assist
in tolling the bell, and to amuse themselves by swinging on the rope. The
laddies knew well the "weak side" of the bellman. It was no longer Ninepence,
or even Eben, but Mr. Wilson, will ye let us in to jow the bell ? "0 yes," Eben
would say, quite gratified with the respect shown him ; " but see that ye behave
yoursels." Mr. Wilson was in this way commonly saved the trouble of jowing
the bell himself
Although in general very regular, Eben committed a sad mistake on one
occasion, by tolling the curfew at seven o'clock in place of eight. The shops
were shut up, and the streets consigned to comparative darkness, when the
clerks and shopboys were delighted to find that they had gained an hour by
his miscalculation. This occurrence afterwards proved a source of great vexa
tion to him. — " It's seven o'clock, Eben, ring the bell ! " being a frequent and
itritating salutation on the part of the laddies. It had the effect, however, of
making Eben more circumspect in future. Every night as he came down the
High Street, he was careful to look into the shop of Mr. Ramage (at the west
end of the Old Tolbooth), in order, by a peep at the watch-maker's timepiece,
to satisfy himself that he was right.
Eben was a humble but pretty constant frequenter of Johnnie Dowie's'
tavern, which he used regularly to pass in going from his own house to the Tron
Kirk. When the Print of " honest John" appeared in the artist's window, it is
said that Eben was the first to acquaint him with the fact. In order to be con
vinced with his own eyes, John was prevailed On to accompany him to Kay's
shop, where the brassfounder began to indulge in much merriment at the vintner's
mortification. It so happened that Ebenezer's own likeness had been finished
some days prior, and a few impressions taken. The artist, watching the progress
of the scene outside, at last exhibited the Print of Eben beside that of honest
John ; who in turn enjoyed a hearty laugh at the dumbfoundered and chopfallen
countenance of the bell-ringer.
Eben was exceedingly wroth at the artist — he never would forgive him; and
from that day forward discarded the apron, thereby thinking to render the
portraiture less characteristic. He continued, however, to wear the old cocked
hat' and shoe-buckles tUl his death, which occurred in 1823, at the age of
seventy-five. He was succeeded in his situation by James Robertson, another
brassfounder and pensioner of the Society of Hammermen, who died in April
1836. Eben was married, and had a family. One of his daughters became
the wife of a very respectable and useful minister of the gospel in the west of
Scotland. 1 The late Dr. HamUton senior used to give him his cast-off cooked hats ; and he ahd Eben were
for a long time the only individuals iu town who wore that species of covering.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 89
No. CCIL
SIE ILAY CAMPBELL, BAET.,
LOED PEESIDENT OF THE COURT OF SESSION.
Those who recollect the late Sir Ilay Campbell will at once recognise an
excellent likeness in this etching. He is represented as proceeding to the Par
Uament House, a partial view of which, prior to the late extensive alterations,
is afforded in the background. It was then the custom of the senators to walk
to Court in the mornings with nicely powdered wigs, and a small cocked hat in
their hands.
Mr. Campbell was the eldest son of Archibald Campbell, Esq., of Succoth,
W.S.;^ his mother, Helen Wallace, was the daughter and representative of
Wallace of EUerslie. He was born at Edinburgh in 1734, and admitted to the
bar in 1757. He early acquired extensive practice, and was one of the counsel
for the defender in the great Douglas Cause. He entered warmly into the
spirit of this important contest, which for a time engrossed the whole of public
attention. As an instance of his enthusiasm, it may be mentioned, that
immediately after the decision in the House of Lords, he posted without delay
to Edinburgh, where, arriving before the despatch, he was the first to announce
the intelligence to the assembled crowds on the streets. At the Cross the
young lawyer took off his hat, and waving it in the air, exclaimed — " Douglas
for ever !"^ He was responded to by a joyous shout from the assembled multi
tude, who, unyoking the horses from his carriage, drew him in triumph to his
house in James's Court,"
During the long period Mr. Campbell remained at the bar, he enjoyed a
continued increase of business ; and there was almost no case of any importance
in which he was not engaged. or consulted. His written pleadings are remark
able for their excellence; "many qf them are perfect models of perspicuity,
force, and elegance."
In 1783 he was appointed Solicitor-General; in 1784, Lord Advocate; and
the same year was returned Member of Parliament for the Glasgow district of
1 The foUowing notice of this gentleman's demise occurs in the Edinburgh Magazine for 1790 : —
"Mr. Archibald CampbeU of Succoth, father to the Lord President, and the oldest Clerk to His
Majesty's Signet, being admitted in 1728." His father was a writer in Edinburgh.
2 The popular feeling was strong in favour of the ultimately successful claimant, about whose case
there was a sufficient degree of romance to create extreme interest. At the present date, when the
whole facts and cu-cumstances are fairly weighed, it may be doubted whether the origmal decision
ought to have been reversed.
3 His father, who then held the situation of one of the Principal Clerks of Session, resided in
James's Court.
VOL. II. N

90 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
burghs. The University of that city at the same time conferred on him the
degree of Doctor of Laws. He also held for some time the office of Lord Rector.
In politics he was warmly attached to the administration of Pitt, and proved
himself an active and efficient representative.
On the death of Sir Thomas Miller he was promoted to the Presidentship of
the Court of Session;' and placed, in 1794, at the head of the commission of
Oyer and Terminer, issued for the trial of those accused of high treason. In
these responsible departments he acquitted himself in a manner which com
manded the respect of all parties ; and the soundness of his recorded opinions
on the bench is attested by the fact that they are still held in high estimation
among the profession.
While yet in the possession of all his faculties, he resigned the presidency in
^ The foUo-wing account of his induction to this high office is not without interest, especially the
address of his lordship : —
" Nov. 13, 1789. — Yesterday the Court of Session met for the despatch of business, when, on
account of the death of Sir Thoma.? MiUer, late Lord President, Lord Hailes was elected to fiU the
chair ; upon which his lordship addressed the Court in the following words : —
" ' Mt Lords, — I am called upon to intimate ofiiciaUy to your lordships, that Sir Thomas
MUler, the President of this Court, is dead.
" ' Long did I know him, and well ; and I could descant largely in his commendation.
" ' But, sitting where I now do, I am not at liberty to spealc aught which might have the appear
ance of the partialities of private friendship.
" ' This much, however, I must be allowed to say — for in this your lordships will add your united
testimony to mine — that, in the discharge of his duty, he was assiduous and patient ; that he treated
the bench with becoming respect, and the gentlemen at the bar with that civility which is their due.
" ' His Majesty, I hope, provides a flt successor to him whom we have lost — one who, by his assi
duity and patience, by respect to the bench and civUity to the bar, wiU imitate so worthy an example.
" ' May he enjoy health of body and mind, and when the nation shaU be deprived of his services,
may he, like President Miliar, leave not one enemy behind him !,'
"After this, the King's letter, appointing Ilay Campbell, Esq., to be Lord President of the Court
of Session, was read, the Judges standing uncovered. Mr. CampbeU was then appointed to undergo
the usual trials, and, as Lord Probationer, went to the Outer-House with Lord Henderland, the
Ordinary, where a cause was pled, which Mr. Campbell reported to the Court this day.
" On Saturday the 14th, Ilay CampbeU, Esq., Lord Probationer, after the usual trials were gone
through, having taken the oaths, was called to the chair as Lord President ; upon whioh he addressed
the Court in the foUowing words : —
" ' Mt Lords, — Before we proceed to business, it may be erpected that I should say a few words.
— No one can doubt that he who has the honour of being placed in this chair, must feel the importance
of his situation, and of course the obligation which he indispensably comes under, to employ whatever
exertions he may be capable of, in a faithful and conscientious discharge of his duty. I have every
motive to bestow unremitting attention. The fame of my immediate predecessors in office, whom we
all knew, and who have passed much too quickly in succession before us, will long siu-vive them, and
cannot fail to be an incitement to anyone who succeeds to the place which they once filled. If I can
attain to any portion of merit similar to theirs, my wishes will be so far satisfied. If I prove defi
cient, the public has a good security in the tried abilities and kno-wn experience of those who are to
be my assistants, that no consequence materially bad can ensue. '
" ' Although the department to which I am now caUed is new to me, I cannot plead youth or inexpe
rience as a member of the Court. It is now almost thirty-three years since my attendance at that bar,
as an advocate, commenced. During so long a period of time, and while extensively engaged iu prac
tice, I must have acquired some knowledge of the profession to which I belonged, and some acquaint
ance with the Court, and with the individuals who compose it. If I might be allowed to say one
word for them, and particularly for my brethren of a learned and respectable Society which I have just
left, it would be this, — That no point can be of more essential importance to them, no object to which

BIOGRAPHICi-L SKETCHES. 91
1808, apparently from a conscientious desire to abandon public life before his
mind should be impaired by the infirmities of age, and was succeeded by the
late President Blair. Upon the 1 7th September following he had the honour
of a baronetcyconferred upon him. Although pretty far advanced in years, he
was still in possession of all his mental faculties ; ahd was afterwards chosen to
preside over two different commissions appointed to inquire into the state of the
Courts of Laws in Scotland, -which he conducted with his accustomed industry
and talent.
After his retirement from the bench. Sir Ilay resided chiefly on his paternal
estate of Garscube, where he lived for many years. " Until within a few weeks
of his death" (which occurred on the 28th of March 1823, in the eighty-ninth
year of his age) " he was constantly occupied -with pursuits of various kinds.
He took a principal share in the business of the county of Dumbarton, and was
much consulted by the magistracy of the neighbourhood, particularly in the late
perilous times [1817-19]. He spent much of his time in reading, and in the
study of general literature ; amused himself with agriculture ; and received the
visits of those numerous persons in England and Scotland with whom he had
been connected in public and private life.
" In these occupations, and in the exercise of that benevolence which was a
remarkable trait of his character ; possessing, untU his last short illness, -perfect
good health, and a mind as acute as it had been in the vigour of his manhood ;
loved and respected by everyone, and surrounded by his numerous descendants,
whom he delighted to assemble under his patriarchal roof, he enjoyed a period
of retirement from public life, which, in point of happiness and length of dura
tion, seldom falls to the lot of public characters, and which was the deserved
reward of those laborious .services that will be recollected as long as the law of
Scotland exists."
Sir Ilay Campbell was married to Susan-Mary, daughter of Archibald Murray
of Cringletie, Esq., one of the Commissaries of Edinburgh, by whom he had six
daughters and two sons, one of whom only survived, viz.-^-Sir Archibald
Campbell of Succoth, Bart., who, after his retirement from the bench in 1824,
resided chiefly at Garscube. The eldest daughter was married to John Macneill
of Gigha ; the second to Sir John Connell ; the third to Francis Sitwell of
Bammoor Castle ; the fourth to Crawford Tait, Esq., W.S., of Harveston;' and
the youngest to Walter Dalziel Colquhon of Garscadden.
they ought with more eagerness to look for the credit of the whole, than that the authority, the dignity,
the honour, and the independence of the Court should continue to be maintained. If this be their opin
ion, they and I are agreed. At the same time, I flatter myself, there is not a man among them who wUl
not rest assured, that from me, and I trust from aU who sit here, they shaU ever meet with that coun
tenance and protection, as professional men, and that civUity and attention as gentlemen, which, while
they continue to perform their duty, they have, in my opinion, an unquestionable right to demand.'
"His lordship then said a few words in compliment to the new Lord Advocate and Solicitor-General.
"Eobert Dundas, Esq., and Eobert Blair, Esq., were then sworn in as his Majesty's Advocate
and Solicitor for Scotland, and took their places accordingly."
1 Mr. Tait's third son, Archibald Campbell, is the present (1877) Archbishop of Canterbuiy.

92 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

No. CCIII. ¦
ME. JOHN CAMPBELL,
PRECENTOR.
Mr. Campbell officiated for upwards of twenty years as precentor in the
Canongate Church, and was well known as a teacher of English reading, writing,
and other branches of education, as well as of vocal music. He was a native of
Perthshire, and born at Tombea, about twenty miles north-west of Callander,
where his father had for many years been resident as a country wright or car
penter. By great perseverance and economy, in the course of a laborious life,
the old man had realised about five hundred pounds. Every farthing of this
sum, considered great in those days, he had unfortunately deposited in the
hands of "the laird" — a man of extravagant habits, .and who became bankrupt,
paying a composition of little more than two shillings in the pound.
Overwhelmed by a misfortune, unexpected as it was ruinous, the " village
carpenter " resolved on leaving the scene of his calamity ; and, with the first
dividend from the banlirupt's estate, amounting to a very few pounds, he
removed with his family to Edinburgh, where he did not live to receive the
second moiety of composition. He died, it may be said, of a broken heart not
long after his arrival.
The arduous task of providing for a young and destitute family thus devolved
on Mr. John Campbell,' who was the eldest, and then about twenty years of
age. To his honour he performed the filial duty, not only ungrudgingly, but
with alacrity. Having acquired some knowledge of the business of a carpenter
from his father, he applied for employment, we believe, to Mr. Butter, senior,
with whom — there being no other opening at the time in his establishment — he
engaged in the laborious avocation of a sawyer ; and for some years continued
in this way to gain a livelihood for the family.
Mr. Campbell had obtained a pretty liberal education at the grammar-school
of Stirling, and had at an early period made some proficiency in music. Along
with his brother Alexander — with whom he is grouped in another Print — he
became a pupil of the celebrated Tenducci, a fashionable teacher, who remained
in Edinburgh for some time.^ The charge for each lesson was half-a-guinea ;
1 Besides himself, the famUy consisted of his mother, his brother Alexander (the poet and
musician), and three sisters.
^ Tenducci was an unrivaUed singer of old Scottish songs ; such as, "The Flowers of the Forest" 
"Waly, waly, gin love be bonny" — "The Lass o' Patie's MiU" — "The Braes o' Ballendean" 
"Water parted from the Sea" — "One day I heard Mary say" — " An thou wert my ain thing," etc.
The foUowing notice of Tenducci occurs in O'Keeffe's Recollections : — About the year 1766, I saw

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 93
but the Italian exhibited a degree of considerate partiality for the musical
brothers, by affording them instructions at half-price. By degrees Mr. CampbeU
acquired some celebrity as an amateur vocalist, and having become favourably
known to the Rev. Robert Walker (the colleague of Blair), he was recommended
by that gentleman to the Rev. Dr. Macfarlan ' of the Canongate Church, who
procured for him, in 1775, the situation of precentor.
While studying under Tenducci, the aptitude and obliging disposition of the
scholar had been such as to gain the respect and esteem of his tutor. To the
friendship of that foreigner — displayed in a novel and characteristic manner —
Mr. Campbell attributed his first start, as well as his future success, as a teacher
of music. When about to leave Edinburgh he prevailed on the latter to sit
to Allan for a portrait ; but for what purpose he did not explain. This he had
engraved on a small scale, with the initials "C — p — ^11, P — n — r, C — g — e
C  ^li " beneath, copies of which he inclosed in circulars to all his employers
in high life, among whom were the witty Duchess of Gordon, the volatile Lady
Wallace, the Earl of Hopetoun, Sir John Halket, and other equally distinguished
persons. Tenducci having left the city without giving the smallest hint of what
he had done, CampbeU was astonished to find letters dropping into him every
other day from the families of the nobility, requesting his professional services ;
and some time elapsed ere he became aware of the obligation under which he
lay to his benefactor. Thus encouraged, in conjunction with his brother Alex
ander, he devoted himself exclusively to teaching, and rapidly attained
professional reputation and respectability.
Having fairly overcome his early difficulties, Mr. Campbell married in 1776
Margaret, daughter of Alexander Ogilvie, glover in Edinburgh. Not many
years after this his prosperity received a severe check by the flight of a brother-
in-law, for whom, along with another individual, he had become security to the
amount of a thousand pounds. From the creditors, however, he experienced
such sympathy as rendered the settlement comparatively easy.
Early steeled against misfortunes, Mr. Campbell possessed a happy equa
nimity of mind, with philosophy enough, in as far as possible, to render the various
occurrences of life subservient to his own and the happiness of all within his
circle. He was of a kind and social disposition. The poet Bums, while starring
among the " Embro Gentles,'' was a frequent and welcome guest at the table of
Tenducci in Dublin, in Arbaces in ' Artaxerxes,' which I had seen in London on its first coming out
iu 1762. His singing ' Water Parted ' was the great attraction, as were the airs he sung as the first
spirit in Comus. At his benefits there, he had thirty, forty, and fifty guineas for a single ticket. The
froUcsome Dublin boys used to sing about the streets, to the old tune of 'Over the HiUs and far away,'
' ' ' Tenducci was a piper's son.
And he was in love wheu he was young ;
And all the tunes that he could play.
Was " Water parted from the Say / ' "
In 1784, I knew Tenducci in London, when he set to music Captain Jephson's ' Campaign.' "
1 Father of Dr. Patrick Maofarlan of Greenock.

94 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Mr. Campbell. The -visits of the bard were most frequently paid in the evening,
when he usually drank tea, remained for an hour or two, and then hurried away
to become the lion of a fashionable party, or to join in the deep carousal of a
tavern debauch.
One day Mr. Campbell was surprised by a call from the bard at a much earlier
hour than usual. "I am come, Lucky," said Bums, addressing Mrs. Campbell
in his off-hand manner, " to make trial of a plate of your kail, knowing by
experience that your tea is excellent." It was just then the dinner hour ; and
the poet was of course kindly invited to partake. After duly complimenting
the hostess on the excellence of her fare, he at length adverted to the business
that had brought him so early abroad. It related to the tribute paid by the
bard to the memory of poor Fergusson. Burns wanted an introduction to
Bailie Gentle of the Canongate, whom he supposed likely to grant the favour
he required. His host at once agreed to accompany him, but stated his doubts
as to the success of the application. " Leave that to me," said Burns ; " all I
want is an introduction." When dinner was over, Mr. Campbell accompanied
him to Bailie Gentle, who, on ascertaining the object of their visit, expressed
his concurrence, in so far as he was himself concerned, but he had no power to
grant permission without consent of the managers of the kirk funds. He
promised, however, to lay the matter before them at their first meeting. " Tell
them," said Burns, "it is the Ayrshire Ploughman who naakes the request."
Shortly afterwards due authority was obtained, and a promise given, which,
we believe, has been sacredly kept, that the grave should remain in-violate ;
but another difficulty existed. This was an introduction to Mr. Gowan, marble-
cutter. Abbey Hill, in obtaining which the good offices of Mr. Campbell were
again in requisition. The poet had not yet reaped the benefit of his "Edin
burgh edition " — a circumstance which rendered an introduction to the marble-
cutter of manifold importance. Mr. Gowan at once complied with the order ;
and by him the stone, with the well-known inscription, which still marks
where the ashes of poor Fergusson repose, was erected in the Canongate
Churchyard.' This act of sympathetic devotion on the part of Burns to the
memory of an unfortunate brother poet, has been justly and universally admired ;
but there is one circumstance connected with it characteristic of the bard's
want of punctuality, or more probably of his unhappy fortune, not generally
known to the world. Mr. Gowan was never paid for the stone ! He most
likely did not care to remind the bard of the obligation while in the hey-day of
his short-lived prosperity, and still less would be his inclination under altered
circumstances. ^ The stone bears the follo-wing inscription : — " Here lies Eobert Fergusson, born 5th September
1751, died 16th October 1774. "No sculptured marble here, nor pompous lay ;
No storied urn, nor animated bust :
This simple stone directs pale Scotia's way,
To pour her sorrows o'er her poet's dust."

Let Puppy's bark and A/ses fcyay,
Each Dog, and Cur, will have his day, ^°^

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 95
Mr. John Campbell died in 1795. He was succeeded in the precentorship
by his son, Mr. Charles Campbell, who held the situation during forty years.
He resided in the Canongate, where he long taught a respectable school for
-writing, arithmetic, and other branches of education.

No. CCIV.
A MEDLEY OF MUSICIANS.
This curious Print is one of the artist's retaliatory pieces. It appears that Mr.
Alexander Campbell, offended at the etching of his brother the precentor,
and having some skill in the art of drawing, produced, by way of revenge, a
caricature of Kay — in which John Dow was represented as dragging him by the
ear to the Town Guard, whUe Bailie Duff brought up the rear, in the attitude
of administering a forcible admonition -with his foot. The .caricature, although
rudely executed, afforded considerable amusement to Mr. CampbeU's friends,
among whom it was chiefly circulated. Kay retaliated by producing the
" Medley of Musicians," in which Mr. Alexa,nder Campbell, then organist in a
non-juring chapel, appears with a hand-organ on his back — ^his brother of the
Canongate Church is straining his vocal powers in the centre — Bailie Duff, to
the right, is chanting it on the great Highland bagpipe — while behind, Meek,
the blind Irish piper, and the city Fish-HORN Blower, are lending their
" sweet sounds '' to aid the general harmony. The figure sharping a saw in the
background, whose labours may be supposed to afford an excellent counter or
tenor to the deep bass of the two long-eared amateurs, is in allusion to Mr.
John Campbell's former occupation. The scene altogther is not an inapt illustra
tion of the couplet quoted from Hudibras —
" Let puppies bark and asses bray —
Each dog and cur wUl have his day."
The early history of Mr. Alexander Campbell is already partially known from
the sketch of his brother. Of a warm and somewhat romantic temper, he was
attached to the small body of Jacobites, who still brooded over the fate of the
young Chevalier — enthusiastic in his national prepossessions — and passionately
fond of the music of his country. In addition to vocal music he taught the
harpsicord, for which many of the Scottish airs are peculiarly adapted.^
Mr. CampbeU was known as a poet and prose -vrriter as well as musician.
^ In Chanihers's Scot. Biog. ' Diet, it is stated that " Mr. CampbeU was music-master to Sir
Walter Scott, with whom, however, he never made any progress, owing, as he used to say, to the
total destitution of that great man in the requisite of an ea/r. "

96 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
His first literary production^ — "An Introduction to the History of Poetry in
Scotland," quarto ; to which were added the " Songs of the Lowlands," illus
trated by David Allan, and dedicated to Fuseli — appeared in 1798. A Dialogue
on Scottish Music, prefixed to this work, is said to have first conveyed to
foreigners a correct idea of the Scottish scale ; for which he was highly compli
mented by several eminent German and Italian composers. His next and best
work — "A Tour from Edinburgh, through parts of North Britain," etc., embel
lished with forty-four beautiful aquatint drawings by his own hand, 2 vols. 4to.
— was published in 1802. Written in a lighter and purer style than is charac
teristic of the author's other literary efforts, his " Journey," describes the then
state of an interesting portion of the country, and displays no ordinary degree of
research in reference to general history and local antiquities, while the drawings
present a variety of sketches, taken on the spot, iUustrative of the most admired
lake, river, and mountain scenery in Scotland.
In 1804 Mr. Campbell first appeared as a poet by the publication of his
" Grampians Desolate " — a work which, in his own words on a subsequent
occasion, "fell dead from the press." The notes — forming nearly half the
volume, a goodly octavo — contain much interesting information ; but the poem
posesses little merit, although here and there a few pretty enough lines occur.
The work, however, is honourable to his feelings and his patriotism. He reverts
with enthusiasm to the days
" "When every glen, and hill, and mountain side,
A hardy race possessed — proud Albion's pride ! "
The reverse of the picture claims his most intense regard : —
"The times are altered^desolation reigns
Amid the Alpine wilds and narrow plains !
The mora-nful muse recounts those recent ills
Which swept along the hoary Grampian hills !
And dost thou, stranger from afar, inquire
Where stood the Chieftain's hall, whose evening fire
Saluted oft the weary traveller's gaze.
As onward hastening to the social blaze ?
Where stood each lowly cottage, ranged around.
Within the cultured in-fieWs ancient bound.
Beside the streamlet — near the sheltering hUl,
Where stood the smithy, where the hamlet's mill,
Whose ringing anvil, and whose clapper told
Their cheering tales of toil to young and old ?

1 He had previously pubUshed — " Twelve Songs, set to Music, by Alexander Campbell, Edin
burgh." The words of only one of these appear to have been written by himself. A paraphrase of
the Maniac's Song in the Man of Feeling —
" Light be the turf on Billy's breast " —
forms the last in the collection. In the list of subscribers appear the names of Argyle, Balcarras,
Gordon, Hamilton, etc.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 97
More recent evUs, stranger, I deplore,
The Gael are banished from their native shore I
Shepherds, a sordid few, their lands possess : —
System accursed. What scenes of dire distress
Hath this not caused ? See yon deserted glen.
Of late the blessed abode of happy men ;
'Tis now a dreary void ! Save where yon tree.
By bleak winds blasted, marks the stern decree
Which doomed to ruin all the hamlet round,
And changed to sheep-walks this devoted groimd ! "
These lines, certainly among the best, embody the substance of the Poem,
which is branched out into six books, or chapters. The object of the publica
tion was to expose the depopulation policy of the Highland proprietors, and
to induce legislative attention to the subject. The proceeds of the sale were to
be given to a proposed fund for cultivating waste lands, that the Gael, in place
of expatriation, might be employed advantageously in their own country.
In the attainment of these patriotic objects, Mr. Campbell's poetical efforts
fell short ; but there is one circumstance, of a local nature, connected with the
" Grampians Desolate," which we cannot pass over in silence, strongly indicative
of the author's active benevolence, in so far as his influence and means extended.
The story is related by himself in a note to the following couplet : — ¦
" Wearied and faint, they search, and find at last
A -wretched hovel — share a poor repast."
"It was in the depth of winter (in the year l78i) ; a heavy fall of snow had lain long on the
ground ; the north wmd blew keenly, and chilled one almost to death, when Alexander Lawson, a
well-disposed person (by trade a weaver) came to me and requested my charity for a poor, destitute
family, who had taken shelter in a -wretched hovel, a few doors from his workshop. My curiosity
being excited by the description he gave of their deplorable condition, I followed him to the spot.
We descended a few steps into what had once, perhaps, been a cellar. A .small lamp, placed in one
comer of this hole, for it could not be called a habitable place, gave hardly suficient light to show
the miserable state of those persons who had taken shelter in it from the inclemency of the storm.
In one row, on a bed of straw made on the cold damp floor, were laid three men ; their only covering
plaids, for they were Highlanders, and their dissolution seemed fast approaching. A woman,
apparently past the middle period of life, who supported the head of the eldest on her lap, lifted up
her eyes as we entered, looked wistfully at us, and shook her head, but uttered not a word, nor did
a sigh escape her. ' Alas ! good woman,' said I, ' have you no one to look after you in this destitute
condition ? ' — ' She can converse in no other save her native tongue,' said my conductor ; and I
addressed her in that language ; when she instantly raised her eyes, in which a faint gleam of joy
seemed for a moment to sparkle. Laying the head of her husband (for such the eldest of the three
men was) gently do"wn on the straw, she suddenly sprang up, came forward, seized me by both hands,
cast a look upwards, and exclaimed, ' 0 God ! whom hast Thou sent to comfort "us ! ' Then looking
me stedfastly in the face, she said, ' In this wretched condition you thus see me among strangers.
My husband and these my two sons are fast hastening to their graves. Nine days and nights have
their blood boUed in the malignant illness you now see wasting them. It is now ahnost three days
since I tasted the last morsel of bread.' She then turned to her dying family, wrung her hands,
and remained sUent. On turning from this affecting scene, I observed a decent old woman coming
forward to inquire for the unhappy sufferers ; and, by the interest she seemed to take in their
welfare, it led me to hope that, through her kind assistance, I should be enabled to afford thera
some relief. Having in the meantime ordered them an immediate supply of things absolutely
necessary, I made haste to caU in medical assistance ; but, alas ! it was too late ; for the fever had
already wasted the living energy in them ; and, notwithstanding every possible aid art could
administer under such unfavourable circumstances as their cases presented, when 1 called next
morning, I found the father and his eldest son in the agonies of death. All was silent. In a few
VOL. IL 0

98 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
minutes the young man breathed his last. And now, quivering in the pangs of dissolution, the old
man lay on his back — ^his eyes fixed — the death -film covering them— and the dead-rattle, as it is
called, indicating the near approach of the end of his earthly troubles. His gaze for a moment
seemed to acquire intelligence ; and -with a keen piercing look, peculiar to the dying, he calls to his
wife to come close to him, and says — ' Companion of my youth and better days, take this clay-cold
hand — it is already dead — and I am fast a-going.' A few more inarticulate sounds issued from his
livid lips, and he expired. ' Merciful God ! my husband — ^my child too ! ' exclaimed the distracted
mother, and sank on the body of her late partner in misery. The shriek of woe tramsfixed me, and
all the man shook to tlie centre. When I had in some measure recovered from the stupor this
awful event had thrown me into, I retired, in order to get them decently buried. To provide for
the poor widowed thing and her youngest son, whose case seemed less malignant, came of course
to be considered. The favourable symptoms appearing, and the proper means cautiously used, his
recovery was soon effected ; which greatly alleviated the grief of his mother, who still continued free
of infection, and escaped wonderfuUy till every apprehension of danger entirely vanished.
' ' When a reasonable time had elapsed, I learned the story of this family from the unfortunate
widow herself, the particulars of which, so far as I recollect, are nearly the following : — There was
not a happier pair in the whole parish (-^hich lay on the banks of the Spey) than the father and
mother of this poor' family, till, by reason of the introduction of a new set of tenants from a distant
part of the country, the small farmers were ejected ; among whom were the subjects of this siraple
narrative. To add to their misfortunes, their third son, a lad about fourteen, was affected with a
white swelling (as it is caUed) in his knee-joint, which prevented him from walking ; and, when the
family took their departure for the low country, the father and his other two sons were obliged to carry
this poor lame one on a hand-barrow ; and thus traveUed onward till they reached Aberdeen, where
they got him put safely into the hospital of that city. But he was soon after dismissed incurable ;
and their little all being nearly spent, they were at a loss what next to do for subsistence. They
were advised to travel to Edinburgh, in order to procure medical assistance for the lad, and get into
some way of gaining an honest Uvelihood somewhere in or near the capital. To Edinburgh, therefore,
they dhected their course ; and, after a tedious journey of many days, they found theraselves -within
a short distance of the city. But, by this time, the little money they had saved from the sale of
their effects, was gone ; aud they now were reduced to a state of absolute want. To beg they were
ashamed ; but starve they must, m the event they could find no immediate employment. But, from
humane and charitably disposed persons they at last were obliged to implore assistance ; and by this
means they found their way to Edinburgh, where, soon after, the unfortunate lad whom they had
carried in the way already mentioned frora Aberdeen, was admitted a patient into the Eoyal
Inflrmary. It was now the beginning of harvest. The high price of labour in the north of England,
compared with that in the south of Scotland, induces many of our Highlanders to go thither, in
order to earn as rauch as, they possibly can, during the season of reaping in that quarter. This poor
family, among other reapers, travelled southward — but it was a sad journey to them ; for, being
soon seized with fever and ague, thus were they at once plunged into the deepest distress, far from
their native home, and without a friend in the world to look after them. Not even suffered to
remain any time m once place, they were barbarously hurried from parish to parish, as the custom
is, till they reached Edinburgh, where, bemg safely placed in the hospital, they soou recovered.
But, on making inquiry after the lad left behind when they went to England, they were informed
of his death, which happened a few days before their admission into the Infirmary. They now
were dismissed cured ; but where to take shelter they knew not ! for they had not a soul in the city
to assist them in the smallest matter. Feeble, tottering, and faint with hunger, they wandered
about the streets untU the evening, when they crept into that -wi-etched hovel in which I found them,
as already stated. "
From this affecting incident sprung the institution of the Edinburgh " Desti
tute Sick Society," which has existed ever since, and been of incalculable
beneflt. Mr. Campbell having made the case known to a few friends,' a sum
was collected amongst them for the widow and son ; and they entered into an
^ They were, Mr. Eobert Scott, teacher of Lady Glenorchy's school and precentor in the chapel ;
Mr. Eobert M'Farlane, teacher, and author of a Gaelic vocabulary ; Mr. David Niven, teacher ; Mr.
WiUiam Finlay, baker ; and Mr. Alexander Douglas, candlemaker.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 99
agreement to contribute a trifle weekly towards a fund for alleviating similar cases
in future. This small beginning was the origin of the present useful Society.
Mr. Campbell's next and last undertaking of any note was " Albyn's Antho
logy ; or, a Select Collection of the Melodies and Local Poetry peculiar to
Scotland and the Isles." The first volume of this work — ^published by Messrs.
Oliver and Boyd of Tweeddale Court — appeared in 1816, and the second in
1818. A third was intended, but did not follow. The musician had long con
templated a publication of this description. The design was associated with his
early national aspirations ; and throughout many years of vicissitudes, crosses,
and disappointments, he appears still to have cherished the idea of collecting
the stray melodies of his native land. In the preface to the first volume, he
says —
" So far back as the year 1790, while as yet the Editor of Albtk's Anthology was an organist
to one of the Episcopal chapels in Edinburgh, he projected the present work. Finding but small
encouragement at that period, and his attention being directed to other pursuits of quite a different
nature, the plan dropped ; till very recently, an accidental turn of conversation at a gentleman's
table, whom tp name is to honour, the Hon. Fletcher Norton (one of the Barons of Exchequer),
gave a spur to the speculation now in its career. He, with that warmth of benevolence pecuharly
his own, offered his influence with the Eoyal Highland Society of Scotland, of which he is a meraber
of long standmg ; and, iu conformity to the zeal he has uniformly manifested for everything con
nected with the distinction and prosperity of our ancient realm, on the Editor's giving him a rough
outline of the present undertaking, the Hon. Baron put it into the hands of Henry M'Kenzie, Esq.
ot the Exchequer, and Lord Bannatyne, whose infiuence in the Society is deservedly great. And
immediately on Mr. M'Kenzie laymg it before a select committee for music, John H. Forbes, Esq.
(Lord Medwyn), advocate, as convener of the committee, convened it ; and the result was a recom
mendation to the Society at large, who embraced the project cordiaUy ; voted a sum to enable the
Editor to pursue his plan ; and forthwith he set out on a tour through the Highlands and Western
Islands. Having performed a journey (in pursuit of materials for the present work) of between
eleven and twelve hundred miles, in whioh he collected one hundred and nmety-one specimens of
melodies and Gaelic vocal poetry, he returned to Edinburgh, and laid the fruits of his gleanings
before the Society, who were pleased to honour with their approbation his success in attempting
to collect and preserve the perishing remains of what is so closely interwoven with the history and
literature of Scotland."
Among the contributors to "Albyn's Anthology " appear the names of Scott,
Hogg, Maturin, Jamieson, Mrs. Grant, Boswell, and other distinguished indi
viduals — several pieces are from the pen of the Editor ; and a full fourth of
the letterpress is devoted to Gaelic verse, in which language he seems to have
been a proficient. The popular song of " Donald Caird " was contributed spe
ciaUy for the work by Sir Walter Scott — the original MS. of which is preserved
in the copy of the Anthology belonging to the nephew of the Editor. We
believe the favourite air — best known by Tannahill's song of " Gloomy Winter's
now Awa'" — is not, generally understood to have been the composition of Mr.
Campbell. It appears in the Anthology to the Editor's own words —
" Come, my bride, haste away, haste away,
Wakest thou, love ? or art thou sleeping?"
and is very modestly claimed in a footnote as follows : —
"The Editor, in thus claiming an early composition of his own, feels a mingled sensation of
diffidence and satisfaction in venturing to insert it in a selection such as the present. But as the

100 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
trifle in question has been honoured with public approbation for many years past, and has been
considered by many, nay even professional men, as one of our oldest tunes, it becomes the duty of
the composer to state briefly, yet distinctly, the fact, and leave it thus on record. In the year 1783,
while the present -writer was studying counterpoint and composition, and turning his attention to
national music, he made essays in that .style, one of which was the melody to which he has united
Gaelic and English verses of his own, written for Albyn's Anthology. It was originaUy composed
as a Strathspey ; and in the year 1791 or 1792 it was published and inscribed to the Eev. Patrick
M 'Donald of KUmore, the editor of the ' Collection of Highland Airs ' mentioned in the preface of
the present work. ' In Mr. Nathaniel Gow's Collection, the Strathspey is caUed Lord Balgowny's
Delight, and pointed out as a 'very ancient air.' It has since been published by Mr. J. M'Fadyen
of Glasgow, under the title of ' Gloomy Winter's now Awa\' a Scottish song, wi-itten by R. Tanna
hiU, with Symphonies and Accompaniments by E. A. Smith.' -Wherefore, it being now reclaimed,
this indispensable egotism will be freely pardoned by every liberal and candid mind, when a writer,
in order to do himself justice, embraces a fair opportunity, as in the present instance, of doing so."
From these extracts some idea may be formed of Mr. Campbell's literary
talents. His "acquirements, though such as would have eminently distin
guished an independent gentleman in private life, did not reach that point of
perfection which the public demands of those who expect to derive bread from
their practice of the fine arts. Even in music, it was the opinion of eminent
~ judges, that Albyn's Anthology would have been more favourably received, if
the beautiful original airs had been left unencumbered with the basses and
symphonies which the Editor himself thought essential." '
Mr. Campbell was twice married. On his second union, to the widow of
Ranald Macdonell, Esq., of Keppoch, he abandoned his profession as a teacher
of music, and commenced the study of medicine, with the view of obtaining
an appointment through the influence of his friends. In this he was disap
pointed, in consequence of some misunderstanding -with the relations of his wife,
which not only effectually prevented their interference in promoting his advance
ment, but led to still more disagreeable results. Mr. Campbell is represented
to have been somewhat hasty, but of a warm and generous temper. " After
experiencing as many of the vicissitudes of life as fall to the lot of most men, he
died of apoplexy on the 15th of May 1824, in the sixty-first year of his age."^
Respecting Meek, the blind Irish piper, we believe no record is anywhere
to be found. He was one of those wandering minstrels of whom the world
takes no charge.
The other harmonist — the FiSH Hoen Blower — is well remembered in his
avocation. He was a porter, of the name of Davidson, and resided at the
''¦ Obituary notice in the Edinburgh Weekly Journal, by Sir Walter Scott.
- After his demise, his MSS., books, and other effects were sold under judicial authority ; and
amongst other MSS. was a tragedy, which was purchased by the late Mr. WUliam Stewart, book
seller. During the latter years of his life he was employed by Sir Walter Scott in the transcription
of MSS. ; indeed this formed his chief mode of subsistence ; and often has the -writer of this note
heard him express his deep sense of the kindness and benevolence of that most amiable man.
Not-withstanding the depressed state of his circumstances, his high spirit rejected pecuniary
assistance ; and even from his patron he would take no more than he thought his services, as a
transcriber, had fairly earned. Over the social glass he was a very pleasant and intelligent companion
— full of fim and anecdote — ^never, however, laying aside for a moment the bearing of a gentleman.
He used to be very amusing on the Ossianic controversy, and did not scruple to castigate M'Pherson
for his interpolations.

WILL^WILS0K<f^//z^72^ called

I XA'!-- .teis.

205

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 101
foot pf the Candlemaker Row. He was employed and paid by the fishmongers
to announce that fish were in the market. His horn was a long, white, iron one,
which he always kept exceedingly well polished. The practice of announcing the
arrival of fish by " tout " of horn is now discontinued. Davidson was a well
doing man in his way. His wife kept a small grocery shop ; and by means
of their united efforts, brought up their family in comfort. Some of his
daughters were respectably married.
No. CCV.
WILLIAM WILSON ok "MOETAE WILLIE."
This venerable personage was a native of Perthshire, and born in 1709, to use
his own words, " -within a bow-shot of Castle Huntly," parish of Longforgan.
The first thirty years of his life were devoted to agricultural employment. He
then enlisted, fought against the Pretender, and afterwards served for nineteen
years in the army — the greater portion of which was spent in the German and
American wars.' After obtaining his discharge, he wrought for nearly twenty
years in a bark-mill in the neighbourhood of London.
About 1778 he returned to his native country, and settling in Edinburgh,
found employment in the capacity described in the Print. He was a long time
in the establishment of Dr. Burt of this city,'' who generously continued to pay
him his usual allowance of two shilhngs daily for his labour, after he had
attained the long age of a hundred years, and although unable to work more
than a small portion of the day. Willie was gratefully sensible of the Doctor's
kindness in this respect — " Eh, man," he would remark, on occasions when he
had done Uttle, " ye've got a bad bargain the day.'' He was remarkably honest
and attentive. He occasionally nursed the chUdren ; and as he sat by the fire,
used to tell them amusing stories. He always rose about four in the morning ;
and, at this early hour, seldom failed to rouse the domestics of his employer,
in order to gain admission to the laboratory. He lived in the Old Hard-Well
Close, Canongate, where he died on the 16th July 1815, m the hundred
and sixth year of his age. It is supposed that, but for a hurt he received by
a fall, he might have lived several years longer. He left an infirm old widow,
aged seventy-three, in very poor circumstances, to whom he had been married
fifty years.
'' He was for many years servant to Lord John Murray, eldest son of the Duke of AthoU, who,
in 1745, was appointed Colonel of the 42d Highlanders, and fought at the battle of Fontenoy.
^ He had previou-sly been in the employ of Mrs. Macdonald, who kept a laboratory shop in the
Lawnmarket, with whom Dr. Burt served his apprenticeship, and to whose business he afterwards
succeeded. Indeed the labours of "Mortar WUUe" were not confined to one or two employers, his
important services ha-ving been rendered, at various periods, to almost every drug establishment of
any extent in town.

102 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

No. CCVI.
DE. THOMAS SNELL JONES,
MINISTER OF LADY GLENORCHY'S CHAPEL.
The Rev. Thomas Snell Jones, D.D., was bom in the city of Gloucester on
the 1 1th of May 1754. He lost both his parents when a child ; but Providence,
on whose care alone he was thus so early cast, speedily brought forward other
friends to take an interest in his welfare. Amongst those who showed him
kindness was one gentleman, a Wesleyan Methodist, through whom he became
acquainted with many individuals of that denomination of Christians ; and it
was by them he was induced to think of devoting his hfe to the ministry. The
Countess of Huntingdon was at that time a liberal supporter of the Methodists ;
and Dr. Jones having been recommended to her notice, was, at the age of
eighteen, admitted into the academy which she had established at Trevecca,-^ in
the vicinity of Brecknock, in South Wales, for training up young men for the
ministry. He continued there for four years, prosecuting his studies ; and after
these were finished he was for some time engaged in preaching to various
dissenting congregations. In this employment he was occasionally assisted by
his fellow-students, the Rev. Mr. Clayton, of London, and the Rev. Sir Harry
Trelawney, Bart., who afterwards became a dignitary, and obtained considerable
preferment, in the Church of England.
In 1776, Dr. Jones received and accepted an invitation to become assistant
to the Rev. Mr. Kinsman at Plymouth Dock. This situation he held for
two years, during which period he became known to Lady Glenorchy, who
having a short time before completed, at her own expense, the erection of a
church in Edinburgh,' was anxiously endeavouring to procure for it the services
1 This academy was opened in 1768 ; and, during the life of Lady Huntingdon, was maintained
at her expense. In 1792, soon after her death, it was by her trustees removed to Cheshunt, in
Hertfordshire, where it now continues to flourish. The revenues, exceeding £1200 per annum, are
devoted to the education of students for the ministi-y, who are left entirely free in the choice of the
denomination of Christians amongst whom they will exercise their ministry.
" It is well known that, m 1775, some of the rainisters of the Edinburgh Presbytery were by no
means friendly to the erection of this Chapel ; and the footing on which it was adraitted into con
nection with the Church appearing to them not sufficiently broad and explicit, they brought the
matter before the Synod of Lothian and Tweeddale. Here a long and angry debate ensued, in the
course of whioh Lady Glenorchy was very roughly handled. It terrainated in a resolution, dis
charging all rainisters and probationers withiu the bounds of the Synod from officiating in the Chapel ;
a resolution, however, which was ultimately reversed by the Assembly. The following doggerel
verses, to which was prefixed this introductory notice, were composed on that occasion : —
" The very extraordinary scene which happened in the Synod upon  has called the attention

206

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 103
of a stated pastor. With this view she invited Dr. Jones to come to Scotl^ind
and preach. He acceded to her request, and the congregation having heard
him several times, ^nd being fully' satisfied, gave him a call to become their
minister. This call he accepted ; and after being ordained to the office of
pastor by the Scotch Presbytery of London, he came back to Scotland, and
on the 25th July 1779, was settled as minister of Lady Glenorchy's Chapel.
Here he continued to labour from that date until about three years previous to
his, death, which happened on the 3d March 1837, a period of nearly fifty-eight
years. In a city like Edinburgh there must of course always be great variety in the
merits of the clergymen ; and those who occupy the highest stations are not
necessarily the most popular. So it was with Dr. Jones. He was not one of the
of the pubUc, and roused the indignation of the good lady's friends, whose character was falsely and
scandalously attacked by a member of that reverend body. Though I am a great friend to L. G. (Lady
Glenorchy), I am no Enth-usiast, which, in some people's opinion, are synonymous terms. She is,
doubtless, far from being perfect ; yet we jead of one, of whom there is occasion to believe worse
things, who was set forth in the midst of a company of scribes and pharisees (I do not know if there
were any ministers among them !) and he that was without sin among them was desired to cast the
first stone at her ; yet proud and hot-headed as they were, not one had the assurance to proceed so
far. But our Modem Reformers do not betray such a pusiUanimous conduct ; they are men of raore
courage ! (though it is not their sinless perfection that entitles them to go farther than their
brethren of old, who, it seems, had a more modest assurance). They scatter firebrands and sharp
aiTows, even bitter words, and do not so much as pretend that they are in sport. Would cutting
off a right ear satisfy such rage as this ? Nothing less would appease such blind and furious zeal,
than razing to the foundations. These men are indeed sharp-edged Tools, the keenness of which
makes them often cut before the point : insomuch that the more Mannerly friends to the cause
which they so desperately espouse, cannot sit silent and hear such unjust aspersions thrown out
against a good lady behind her back. And owe, in particular, could no longer be an idle Grieve^
but rose up and reproved his brother in the spirit of Meekness —
" Not all the Robertsons'-' of Eathos
Could have spoke out with so much pathos.
Claudero, though in constant use,
Could not have hatch'd so much abuse.
I'm bold to say there is not any
Could match the Parson of Dalmeny.
In Grub-street art he cari'ies the degree.
As all the Synod know, as well as me.
Then, Master of this art, let him be made.
As he's so learned in the railing trade ;
Though in divinity he knows not A, B, C,
He theu may grace his works with a D.D. "
' This refers to a circumstance which occurred in the debate before the Synod. The Eev. Mr.
Eobertson, "the Parson of Dalmeny," instead of confining hiraself to the exact subject before the
Court, broke out into an attack upon the character of Lady Glenorchy, and was iraraediately caUed
to order by Dr. Erskine. This, however, did not induce him to desist ; he proceeded notwith
standing, until Dr. Grieve, minister of Dalkeith, and a supporter of the same views of ecclesiastical
policy, interfered, and insisted on his friend abandoning such a line of argument. Mr. Eobertson
was not prepared for any interruption from this quarter ; and, it is reported, was so much con
founded by it, that he immediately cut short a premeditated harangue upon the nature and evUs of
enthusiasm, and the paramount importance of good works !
^ Mr. Eobertson was at this time minister of Eatho.

104 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
city clergy, nor even a parochial clerg3rman ; and yet he acquired and preserved
a degree of popularity almost unprecedented, and gathered around him a congre
gation as numerous and attached as any in the town.
As a preacher Dr. Jones was very impressive and commanding. There was
much originality of thought, combined with richness of fancy, variety of iUus
tration, earnestness, and zeal. He did not read his sermons, and seldom wrote
more than a general outhne ; but there was so much method in their arrange
ment, and he had his subject so thoroughly at command, that he was never at a
loss. His articulation was frequently indistinct, and his phraseology peculiar ;
his reasoning was plausible rather than solid, but his addresses, especially at
the communion table, were full of pathos and impassioned zeal ; and when he
had fairly entered on his subject he became exceedingly animated — his voice
was often elevated to the highest pitch^ — and it was almost impossible for any
one who heard him to remain unaffected. On one occasion a Polish Jew, who
had begun to inquire into the truths of Christianity, was directed to this Chapel ;
and although he could then understand but little of what he heard, yet he was
so attracted by the manner of Dr. Jones, and so satisfied, as he himself said,
that the man was in earnest, that from that moment he resolved to become a
stated hearer. He followed up this resolution ; and the result was, in a short
time after, he was publicly baptized by the Doctor.
Dr. Jones, it may be here remarked, was one of the clergymen who, in the
year 1794, attended in prison the unfortunate Watt, who was condemned and
executed for treason. Watt left behind him a full confession of the particulars
of a conspiracy — a document which, though attempted to be discredited, was so
fully attested by Dr. Jozies and Dr. Baird as to place its authenticity beyond a
doubt. In private life Dr. Jones was highly esteemed, alike for his unaffected kind
ness and urbanity ; for his unflinching rectitude ; the extent of his information ;
and the uniform consistency of his Christian deportment. His conversation
was both instructive and amusing ; and having been acquainted with many of
the most eminent clergymen in England and Scotland, his anecdotes were very
attractive. Long before his death, a whole generation of his early clerical
friends had entirely passed away ; and, at the close of fifty years, he found him
self one of only two alive, of a hundred and forty ministers of different denomi
nations, who, within the bounds of the Synod of Lothian and Tweeddale, were
running their course when he was inducted into his charge : at that period, too,
of his own congregation there were only twenty who then survived out of nearly
two thousand who had been assembled on the day when he preached his intro.-
ductory sermon.
In 1810 the Marischal College of Aberdeen, at the suggestion of his friend,
the late Dr. William Lawrence Bro-wn, then Principal of that CoUege, conferred
on him the degree of Doctor of Divinity.
Upon the 9th June 1828, when he entered the fiftieth year of his ministry,
he was presented by his congregation with a handsome piece of plate, at a

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHED 105
public dinner given in honour of that event. Of this we find the following
notice ih the Courant newspaper : —
" On Monday afternoon, 8th June 1828, about a hundred gentlemen belonging to Lady
Glenorchy's Chapel gave an entertainment, iu the Waterloo Tavern, to their highly respected
clergyman, on occasion of his entrance on the fiftieth year of his miiiistry over that congrega
tion. Several friends of the Rev. Doctor were present, among whom we noticed the Lord Pro
vost (Walter Brown), Rev. Dr. Gordon, Dr. Dickson, Mr. Paul, Mr. Henderson, Mr. Purves,
J. S. More, Esq., and R. Paul, Esq. The chair was ably filled by John Tawse, Esq., who, in
an eloquent speech, in which he paid a high and deserved compliment to Dr. Jones for the
fidelity with which he had discharged his duties as a minister, concluded by presenting him
with au elegant silver vase, as a tribute of the respect aud esteem whioh the ^people entertained
for the uniform uprightness of his conduct during the long period they had enjoyed his ministry.
The Rev. Doctor made a feeling and appropriate reply, assuring the chairman and gentlemen
present that he required no token or mark of respect to bind him to a congregation t6 whom he
was so sincerely attached. John Bonar, Esq., of Ratho,^ and J. F. M'Farlan, Esq., acted as
croupiers." Besides a funeral sermon on the death of Lady Glenorchy, and a volume of
sermons, Dr. Jones pubUshed a Life of Lady Glenorchy, which is much esteemed.

No. CCVII.
WILLIAM FOEBES, ESQ.
OF CALLENDAR.
This " son of fortune " was a native of Aberdeen, and brought up as a tinsmith.
Having gone to London in early life, he was at length enabled to enter into
business for himself, and was struggling to rise into respectability, when, by 'a
fortunate circumstance, the path to opulence was invitingly opened to him.
In the course of the year 1780, various plans were proposed to preserve
vessels from the effects of sea-water. The late Lord Dundonald, who died at
Paris in 1831, having directed his attention to the subject, invented a species
of coal-tar, which, on trial, was found to answer the purpose ; and the ingenious
1 Mr. Bonar died on the 26th November 1836, a few months previous to Dr. Jones. His father,
the late Alexander Bonar, Esq. , one of the partners of the long-established flrm of Eamsays, - Bonars,
and Co., bankers in Edinburgh, was among the earUest and most intimate friends of Dr. Jones in
Scotland ; and was so highly esteemed by Lady Glenorchy for his Christian principles, his prudence,
integrity, and unobtrusive worth, that she nominated him as one of her trustees to manage the
affairs of her Chapel upon her death. His son continued to take a lively interest m aU that belonged
to this Chapel ; and his death, which was very unexpected, was felt as a severe loss by the friends
of that Institution. This event was also much lamented by the public at large, as Mr. Bonar was
universally respected for the kindness and frankness of his disposition, and for his readiness on all
occasions to promote the interests of those around him. In 1826-7, he was m the magistracy of the
city, and there conducted himself in a raanner that secured him the approbation of men of aU parties.
He was subsequently named one of the trustees for the city creditors ; and although in this capacity
he did not unnecessarUy obtrude his ovm views on others, he devoted his time cheerfuUy to the
duties of the office, and understood so weU the practical bearing of the different points from time
to time occurring, that his opinion was always received with much respect.
VOL. IL P

106 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
contriver, after much waste of time and money, in 1785, obtained an Act of
Parliament securing the patent of his invention to him and his heirs for twenty
years. His discovery, however, availed him nothing.^ In the meantime, the
idea of sheathing the bottom of vessels with copper beginning to be entertained,
and a hint of the intention of Government having been privately communicated
to Mr. Forbes,^ he immediately speculated in the purchase of that article to an
immense extent. A great demand almost immediately followed, the Admiralty
having resolved, instead of using the coal-tar of Lord Dundonald, to have the
ships of the line sheathed with copper. In consequence of this, Mr. Forbes
not only reaped the benefit of greatly increased prices, but was almost the only
one able to undertake the orders of Government.
Another unforeseen circumstance tended still farther to increase his good
fortune. The copper having been fastened with iron nails, a speedy corrosion
was the result ; and the whole expensive experiments being hurriedly abandoned,
Mr. Forbes is understood to have purchased the copper, which he had
previously furnished, for one farthing per lb. ! Soon after this, nails of the
same material having been suggested, the project was resumed with greater
energy than before. The workmen in the dockyards at first refused to go on,
alleging that such nails would not drive ; but, by a little finesse and a liberal
supply of porter, Mr. Forbes got over all difiiculties, and ultimately obtained
the exclusive right of coppering the royal navy and the East India Company's
ships for twenty years. At this period the domestic establishment of Mr.
Forbes was limited to one JDrivate room ; and he is said to have frankly
admitted, before the committee, that his cash did not exceed £1600 ! His
securities, however, one of whom was his good friend Admiral Byron, were
unexceptionable. Having realised a handsome fortune, Mr. Forbes began to look about him
for an eligible landed investment ; and by the sale of the Callendar estates,
about 1786, a favourable opportunity presented itself This property, forfeited
in 1715, was in the hands of the York Buildings Company, and let to the Earl
of Errol, for the annual rent, we believe, of £870. Here the Earl of Kilmarnock
resided till the fatal crisis of 1745.^ His lady, who was a daughter ofthe
^ Lord Dundonald was a most imfortunate speculator. The coal-tar, instead of enriching, com
pletely ruined him ; and he was compelled to part with his estates, including Cuhoss Abbey, which
was bought by the late Sir Eobert Preston. At one period he was offered, by an EngUsh company,
an annuity of between five and six thousand a year to surrender his patent to them ; but, unluckily
for himself, he rejected the oft'er.
^ Admiral Byron, who happened to be one of his employers, is said to have been the person who
commimicated the information ; and not only tendered hiin his advice, but enabled him in an
effectual manner to complete his extensive purchases.
* On the testiraony of one of the domestics, it is recorded that on the 17th of January 1746
(the day on which the battle of Falkirk was fought). General Hawley was entertained at dinner by
the Earl and Countess of Kilmarnock ; and that the Earl, leaving the dining-rOom on some slight
excuse, put ou his mUitary dress, and mounting his horse, left the Countess to do the honours of
the table. The female upon whose authority this circumstance is related described the panic which
seized her, when she saw the Earl put on his waistcoat of bull's hide, and grasp his sword. He left
Callendar wood by the white yett, whence a gaUop of a few hundred yards placed him on the field of
battle.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 107
attainted Earl of Linlithgow, and who succeeded eventually upon the death of
her aunt to the title of Errol, was naturally desirous of recovering her father's
possessions, but she only survived the execution of her husband a short time.
Her descendants,' it was said, entertained a simUar anxiety for these estates,
which, when brought to the hammer, were set up at a low price, to faVour them.
Forbes, however, did not fail to appear on- the spot ; and, with his copper
"transmuted to gold," became the purchaser at a remarkably cheap rate:" so
much so, that he has been frequently afterwards heard jokingly to remark that
even the wood on the estate would have bought the whole.
The neighbourhood was much excited when this result was known. The
inhabitants of the ancient burgh of Falkirk, always noted for their clannish
feeling, were in a paroxysm. The house of Callendar had ever been identified
with " the bairns o' Fa'kirk," and kept up till a late period the old feudal dignity
that had long distinguished it. So late as 1759 the following entries appear'
in the household accounts — "4th Nov. Shoes to my Lord's pyper, 2s.;" "3d
Dec. To my Lord's pyper, two weeks' kitchen money. Is." This we presume,
must have been the piper of Kilmarnock.
Mr. Forbes and his brothers experienced .the height of insult and abuse
whenever they entered the town. His younger brother, James, in particular,
was a favourite source of amusement to the then unchecked mob. He was not
of the most shrewd intellect, and his simplicity subjected him to much rudeness.
His coat-tails were cut away on one occasion ; and on another, his queue was
docked, from which he was ever afterwards named Rumpoch. It is singular
that the colhers, who had been the hereditary bondsmen of the old family,
were the most devoted to them. One night in autumn, during the militia
riots in 1797, a great band of them, aided by a few of the town's lads, went
out -with a drum, and parading round the house, so alarmed Mr. Forbes and his
brothers that they fied by a back door, and ran up through the wood. Looking
round from among the trees, they beheld the flickering blaze of Carron Works,
and imagining that Callendar House was in flames, proceeded with all speed
by the vUlage of Redding to Linlithgow, from whence they posted to Edinburgh,
¦ where, applying to Lord Adam Gordon, the Commander-in-Chief, they caused
a troop of the Lancashire Dragoons to be sent out to Falkirk, who inflicted
their unwelcome presence on the inhabitants for nearly half-a-year. It is to
this affair the caricature of Cqyperhottom' s Retreat alludes.^
Not long after he became proprietor, numerous disputes occurred between
Mr. Forbes and the tenants of the estate. The Rev. Mr. Bertram of Muir-
avonside and he disagreed about the rent of a park attached to Haining Castle.
¦¦ The titles of Linlithgow and CaUendar were in the person of the heir-male, Livingston of
Westquarter. 2 -When asked for his security, " I have it in my pocket,'' said he, and instantly tabled the cash
in one of the two largest bank notes ever issued in Scotland.
3 Mr. Forbes had a favourite old black horse, with a long taU, only ridden by his faithful servant
Johnnie Howie (who was with him for twenty-four years), to which he playfully gave the narae,
appropriately enough, of Oopperhottom.

108 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Forbes invited him one day to dinner, when, attempting to excuse his demand
for increased rent, he observed that he was but a poor man — " Be content wi'
your lot, sir," said Bertram. The latter had to yield, however; but took
revenge by preaching for several Sundays against avarice, from the text^ —
" Alexander the coppersmith has done me much evil ; the Lord reward him
according to his works ! " •
Mr. Forbes could never forget or forgive the treatment and bad feeling of
the people of Falkirk. In dealing alms to the poor, as was his practice
every Saturday from a back window, he used to be very particular in his
inquiries, whether the hundreds that got their twopence each were natives of
the town. Of course the cunning band were aware of this, and always
represented themselves as belonging to the neighbouring villages, while a
change of habiliments enabled them to assume two or three characters, and the
twopence was always unsuspectingly forthcoming.
.^Jthough strict in exacting his rents, Forbes was universally esteemed as a
good landlord. His master passion was the acquisition of cash, which he wisely
invested in the purchase of land. His injunctions, even at the last, are said to
have been fervently expressed in the exclamation — " Buy land — buy land ! "
As illustrative of his careful habits, it is told that upon one occasion only was
he induced, by the persuasive eloquence of the Duchess of Gordon, to gratify
his fashionable friends with a ball at Callendar House, which for that night
resounded to the inspiring strains of Neil Gow and his band, with all the
hilarity of former days.
In the improvement of the vast landed property which had fallen into his
possession, Mr. Forbes displayed great and successful efforts. The neglected
state of the soil, under the slovenly agriculture of former days, and the easy
rents of the paternal lords, left a wide field for his active determination to render
the Callendar estates, what they soon became, among the first in Scotland. A
valuable herd of noble stags, that had long added grandeur to the domain, were
complained of by some of the surrounding farm tenants, for leaping the wall
and destroying their crops. Instantly their doom was sealed ; and it was
announced, by tuck of drum through Falkirk, that all who chose might shoot
them. Of course the slaughter and rout were complete. A score or two of
red deer were nothing in comparison with the rent of a farm ! He prided
himself much on his farming system, which indeed soon rendered even the
barren Caermuirs a richly cultivated property, although he used to say that
before his time a hevy of hens kept upon it might have paid all the rent. He
was much indebted to the late Dr. Coventry for what was done on the estate.
No less fortunate was Mr. Forbes in his legal disputes, which were neither
few nor cheap. When any dubious question arose about the particular rights
to any parts of the estate, or the pri-vileges of the town or individuals, he never
closed a bargain -without taking the parties, or being taken by them, to the
Court of Session or House of Lords; thus, at least, making good by their
decision a questionable title.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 109
Mr. Forbes died at Edinburgh on the 21st June 1815. His figure, which
was taU and handsome, is excellently represented in a capital fuU-length portrait,
by Sir Henry Raeburn, which ornaments the dining-room at CaUendar House.'
A splendid mausoleum was erected in a dark recess of the wood to his memory
by his -widow, a lady of considerable taste.^ . '
Mr. Forbes was twice married— first to Miss Macadam of CraigengUlan
whose unfortunate brother's fate made no httle noise. She had no chUdren, and^
bemg consumptive, went out to Madeira, where she died. To her fortune her
husband generously relinquished aU claim. His second marriage, with Miss
Agnes Chalmers of Aberdeen, reaUsed his fond wish to become "the founder
of a house." By her he had two sons and three daughters, who survived hun
—a sisth chUd dying in infancy His eldest son, WiUiam, the successor to the
entaUed property, was married to the amiable and accomplished Lady Louisa,
daughter .of the Eari of Wemyss and March, and elected in 1835, and again in
1837, member of Pariiament for Sthlingshire. Local animosities are now fast
dying away, and the descendants of Mr. Forbes bid fair to take their place amid
the aristocracy of the land.

No. CCVIII.
DE. GEEGOEY GEANT.
This gentleman, long known as a respectable and eminent physician in Edin
burgh, was a brother of Mr. Colquhoun Grant, whose exploits, as an adherent
of Prince Charles Edward, have been noticed in a former article.
The education of De. Grant was carefully superintended, and perfected at
the most celebrated schools of the day. Having studied three years at the
^ "About a mile east of Falkirk [we quote from an article, -written by the Rev. Dr. Wilson, iu
the History of Stvrl-ingshvre 1817] stands CaUendar House, the princely seat of William Forbes,
Esq. of CaUendar. It enjoys a sheltered situation in a park containing four hundred Scottish acres,
of which two hundred are covered with a coppice wood, mostly oak, singularly luxuriant and
beautiful — a remnant indeed of the Caledonian Forest. The -writs of the Earls of Lmlithgow and
Callendar were, as we have been informed, lost about 1715, when the last Earl of Linlithgow and
Callendar lost his titles an3. estate by attainder. The park has been recently embelUshed by the
taste of Mrs. Forbes, lady of the late o-wner, and mother of the present. She has erected a splendid
mausoleum in memory of her departed lord. ' It is circular, forty-five feet high, with a rustic cell
nineteen feet in height and thirty-six in diameter, on which stand twelve fluted Doric columns,
which, with the capital, are nineteen and a half feet high. Over a Doric entablature rises what
within is a dome, and -without is covered vrith a stone tiUug and rib-mouldings. Over the door, in
the north side df the cell, is a Greek inscription, of which the following is a translation : —
' All things we mortals call our own
Are mortal too, and quickly flown ;
But, could they aU forever stay.
We soon from them must pass away. ' "

110 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
University of Aberdeen, and subsequently for five years at Edinburgh, he
repaired to London, Rouen, and Paris, and took his degree at Leyden about the
year 1740.'- He afterwards practised for some time at Rotterdam, where he
married Miss Sarah Lombe, a lady of much piety and high mental attainments.
By this union- he had a son and daughter. Tjie former died in infancy. Miss
Grant, afterwards married to the late Dr. Andrew Bro-wn, was much celebrated
for her acquirements. She was an accomplished musician, and performed with
science and taste on the piano and pedal harp.
Some time after the death of his first wife. Dr. Grant again entered into the
married state, by espousing a daughter of Sir Archibald Grant of Monymusk.
By this marriage he had two sons and a daughter. The eldest, Archibald,
went out to Jamaica to a relation^ Grant of Rothiemurcus — where he died.
The other son, Johnson, studied for the Church, much against the will of his
father, who was desirous that he should follow out the profession of medicine,
and settled in the vicarage of Kentish-town, London. The daughter was
courted and married by Dr. Thorpe, physician at Leeds, whUe a student at the
University of this city.
On settling in Edinburgh, Dr. Grant rapidly acquired a wide range of pro
fessional employment, chiefly among the leading families from the north ; and a
course of lectures on the Practice of Physic, delivered about, 1770, secured for
him a flattering increase of reputation.'' In chemistry he was known to possess
pretty extensive knowledge ; and part of his house was fitted up with the
necessary apparatus for experimenting on a large scale in that interesting
department of science.' It may be worth mentioning, as illustrative of his
humane disposition, that he devoted an hour, between eight and nine o'clock
every morning — winter as well as summer — to the service of the poor, to whom
he gave medicine and advice gratis. He was long a manager of the Orphan
Hospital, devoting much of his attention to its interests, and was the projector
of the Hospital at Grantown, in Strathspey.
Moving in the best circles of society, the Doctor was a joyous suppor,ter of
the social character ascribed to the last century inhabitants of Edinburgh ; and
his house in James's Court ¦* — top fiat of the left hand turnpike — was the scene
of many fashionable entertainments. His parties, at which the Duchess of
Gordon and other ladies of high rank were frequently present, were given gener
ally in the evening, and called "musical suppers."^ As an instance of the
1 While abroad Dr. Grant enjoyed the friendship of many of the most eminent medical men of
the Continent. Professor Leeal, of Eouen, vrished much that he should have become Professor of
Chemistry there.
^ In 1761 he was a candidate for the chair of the Practice of Physic in the University of
Edinburgh. ' Some valuable morbid preparations of the bones, which Dr. Grant had procured at Rotterdam,
afterwards formed part of the museums of Dr. -Barclay aud Mr. John Bell.
¦• The Doctor's horses and carriage were accommodated at Eamsay Gardens.
° The gentlemen more regularly in attendance were. Sir James Grant of Grant, Sir John Sinclair,
Mr. Henry M'Kenzie, and Mr. John Bell, surgeon. The concerts were led by the famous Stabilini.

' BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Ill
*
enthusiasm with which he entered into the spirit of such amusements, it is
reported that, in leading a dance, when upwards of seventy-six years of age, he
broke the tendo A chillis.^
Dr. Grant was a patron of the fine arts ; and a fondness for the drama was
another distinguishing feature in Jiis character. While Mrs. Siddons remained
in Edinburgh, she was frequently a guest at his table ; and to all professors of
the histrionic art he manifested his particular favour, by professionally attend
ing them and their families, when called upon, without fee or reward.
The figure and characteristic appearance of Dr. Gregory Grant are well
delineated in the Print. He dressed with minute attention to neatness, but with
out regard to prevailing fashions, strictly adhered to that of his younger years.
His coat was sometimes of a drab or black colour, but most frequently of a
dark purple, with corresponding under garments. In reference to his peculiar
style of dress, a ludicrous anecdote is told. A party of equestrians having
broken up their establishment, the pony, which had been in the habit of per
forming in the farce of the " Tailor's Journey to Brentford," was purchased by
a baker in Leith Walk for the purpose of carrying bread. One day in Princes
Street, as Dr. Grant was passing, the pony happened to be standing loose, and
no doubt fancying to recognise, in the dress and appearance of the Doctor, his
old friend the " TaUor," he immediately pricked up his ears, started off in pur
suit, and began throwing up his heels at him in the way he had been accus
tomed in the circus. Confounded at such an alarming salutation, and it is
believed considerably injured. Dr. Grant was glad to seek safety in flight, by
darting into an entry until the offender was secured.
The Doctor seldom made use of his carriage. When he went to the country
he usuaUy rode a cream-coloured horse, his servant following behind in the
Grant livery. He was a most active man, regular in all his habits, and punctual
to a moment in keeping his hours.
Although he might in some degree participate in the chivalrous feeling of his
brother for the unfortunate house of Stuart, Dr. Grant was a decided Presby
terian, and regularly attended the Tolbooth Church. The love of country was
with him a predominant feeling. He was often heard to remark that there
was no dress in Europe to compare with the Highland garb, when worn by a
graceful native Highlander ; and that there was no language which could con
vey the meaning with greater distinctness than the Gaelic. He was one of the
first promoters of the Highland Society, and an enthusiastic supporter of the
competitions of ancient music. He died at an advanced age, in 1803, leaving
considerable wealth.
' There is probably some mistake in this assertion. The dancing practised by the Doctor was
not of a violent description, being the ancient minuet, which he performed with great elegance.

112 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

No. CCIX.,
EEV. JAMES LAPSLIE,
MINISTEE OF CAMPSIE.
Few memorials have been preserved- of the early life of the Rev. James
LapsLie. In his youth he -visited the Continent, and was so fortunate, whilst
there, as to be introduced to the late Sir James Suttie of Prestongrange, who,
being on his travels, employed him as his tutor and companion ; and they made
" the grand tour " together. This connection was a favourable one, as it gave
Mr. Lapslie an opportunity of forming the acquaintance of many persons of rank
and character, and no doubt was the means of his subsequently obtaining the
Crown presentation to the Church of Campsie.
The Print by Kay, in which those who remember Mr. Lapslie will recog
nise a striking likeness, has reference to the trial of Mr. Muir of Huntershill,
in whose criminal prosecution he took a prominent and active part, a proceeding
far from creditable, the reverend gentleman having, as is rumoured, been pre
viously on terms of famUiar intimacy at Huntershill, professing' to be himself
actuated by liberal political principles. Whatever truth there may be in this
report, there can be no doubt that Mr. Lapslie, so soon as he heard of Muir's
apprehension, volunteered his assistance in procuring evidence against him ;
and his services being accepted, he became a very useful agent of the Crown.
The interference of the incumbent of Campsie, however, was attended by
one result, as humUiating as it was unexpected ; for when brought forward as a
witness, he was objected to, in consequence of proof ha-ving been adduced that
he had identified hiinself with the prosecution — had attended the Sheriffs in
their different visits to the parishes of Campsie and Kirkintilloch — and had
been present at the precognition of the witnesses, several of whom he had
questioned, and had taken notes of what they said. Henry Freeland, when
examined, declared that — " During the precognition, Mr. Lapslie also put ques
tions tp the witness. He asked him if he had got a college education, which
being answered in the negative, Mr. Lapslie said he was a clever fellow ; and
when he saw him write, he said it was a pity such a clever fellow should be a
weaver, and that it was in the power of Mr. Honyman ' (Sheriff of Lanarkshire,
and present at the moment) to ^ocu/rc Mm a birth." Further exposure was pre
vented by the Lord Advocate agreeing to dispense with his e-vidence.
Alluding to the conduct of Mr. Lapshe, Muir said, in his address to the
jury — " I am sorry for the prosecutor's timely precaution ; it prevented me
1 Afterwards Lord Armadale.

Pension Httnter

-rV^

209

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 113
from bringing a cloud of witnesses against this gentleman, to prove practices —
nay, crimes which  but I shall go no farther at present ; my most rancorous
enemy was aware of what would have followed ; and even he, it appears, would
have blushed to have brought forward this man's testimony. But I trust that
you, gentlemen of the jury, will Jhis night do justice to my innocency ; and if
by your verdict I am acquitted from this bar, I here solemnly pledge myself
that I shall in my turn become his prosecutor."
His uncalled-for zeal speedily procured for Mr. Lapslie an unenviable dis-
-tinction. He was taunted as a " pension-hunter," and stigmatised for his ingra
titude and servility. He was caricatured in the print-shops, and the ballad-
singers chanted his deeds in such strains as the following : —
" My name is Jamie Lapslie,
I preach and I pray ;
And as an informer
Expect a good fee." ^
During this period of excitement the pencil of Kay was not idle. He pro
duced portraitures of most of the individuals who had rendered themselves in
any way conspicuous, and, amongst others, the " Pension Hunter" was promi
nently set forward. The work displayed in Mr. Lapslie's hand is an "Essay
on the Management of Bees,'' published a short time before, and of which he
was the author.
The subsequent demeanour of the reverend gentleman unfortunately did not
tend to lessen the odium he had incurred in 1793. However sincere he might
be in his political sentiments, he entered too warmly into the spirit of party, and
forgot the duties of the pastor in h^s anxiety for the State. On the introduction
of the Militia Act in 1797 — so odious to the people of Scotland generally — Mr.
Lapslie vigorously exerted himself to give effect to the measure in his own
Parish.^ He was also distinguished for his active hostUity to Sunday schools,
home and other missions, which, in comtnon with many other, but more prudent
members of the Church, he believed to be tainted by democracy. •
In discharging the duties of his pastoral office, Mr. Lapslie was not remark
able for very strictly enforcing the discipline of the Church ;" but was, never
theless, a man of considerable talent as a preacher, and his sermons were held
in much repute. He mixed familiarly with his parishioners, and being of a free,
social disposition, would assuredly, had it not been for his pension-hunting pro-
1 In this expectation he was not disappointed, a pension having been granted to him almost
immediately afterwards, which was continued to his widow and daughters.
2 On the 22d August, the offices belonging to the manse of Campsie, Stirlingshire, were wUfuUy
and maliciously set on fire. Mr. and Mrs. Lapslie were from home. It is conjectured that some of
the thoughtle.ss people who had asserabled at Cadder Kirk that day, in a tumultuous manner, to
oppose the MUitia Act, may have been the cause of exciting some desperate persons to bum the
houses of those whom they considered obnoxious to them." — Scots Magazine, 1797.
* Prior to his political notoriety, Mr. Lapslie was weU kno-wn to be no bigot. In 1785, when
Lunardi descended in his balloon at Campsie, he was received with great attention by the minister,
who accompanied him on his return to Glasgow, and appeared with the aeronaut in the boxes of the
Theatre in the evening.
VOL. II. Q

114 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
pensities, have become popular. He had some pretensions to the character of
a wit, and was withal a person well fitted for rendering himself agreeable at the
table of those in the upper ranks of life, whUe he possessed variou's qualities
equally calculated to gain the esteem of the rudest and most uncultivated among
the numerous miners of his parish.
He was a man of great muscular power, and of a disposition not easily to
be intimidated. On returning home one evening from a party, he was insulted
by a band of colliers, one of whom swore that, if it were not for " his coat,"
he would give him a sound beating. Lapslie, who was in no mood to be trified
with, immediately doffed the sable habiliment, saying, as he threw it into the
ditch, " Lie you there, divinity — here stands Jamie Lapslie ! The belligerents
instantly set to work, and the collier was severely chastised for his imper
tinence.' From circumstances, as to the origin of which we shall not speculate, Mr.
Lapslie appeared always to be in a condition more ready to receive than to
bestow. In settling accounts he was ranked amongst the dreighesf of the dreigh,
and nothing in the shape of a gift came amiss to him. He held his incumbency
upwards of forty years, having been presented to the living, which is in the
gift of the Crown, in 1783, in the room of the Rev. William BeU, who had
been thirty-six years minister of the parish.
In the pulpit Mr. Lapslie possessed a very energetic style of delivery, and
was, at least externally, a perfect enthusiast in religion. In Peter's Letters to his
Kinsfolk, the oratory and personal appearance of Mr. Lapslie, about the year
1816, are graphically described. Peter is detailing the procedure of the General
Assembly, and the case under consideration was that of a minister from the
Hebrides, who had been accused of illicit intercourse -with his housekeeper : —
" The more conspicuous of the clerical orators were Dr. Skene Keith, a shrewd
bitter, sarcastic humorist from Aberdeenshire, and Mr. Lapslie, an energetic
rhapsodist from the West of Scotland. The last mentioned individual is un
doubtedly the most enthusiastic speaker I ever heard. He is a fine, tall, bony
man, with a face full of fire, and a bush of white locks, which he shakes about
him Uke the thyrsus of a bacchanal. He tears his waistcoat open — he bares his
breast, as if he had scars to show — he bellows — he sobs — he weeps — and sits
down at the end of his harangue, trembling all to the fingers' ends, like an
exhausted Pythoness. . . . The poor minister was at last found innocent •
and for how much of his safety he might be indebted to the impassioned defence
of Mr. Lapslie, I shall not pretend to guess."
Mr. Lapslie died on the 11th of December 1824.' He was succeeded by the
Rev. Dr. Norman M'Leod, of Glasgow.
1 The coUier had been refused baptism to his child, Mr. Lapslie accusing hun of drunkenness.
^ Of his famUy, we have heard that a son is still aUve, somewhere in the West Indies. From
a letter in the possession of the Publisher of this Work, addressed to his father, it appears that
Mr. Lapslie had been very anxious to have one of his sons indentured with him to a mechanical
profession.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 115

No. OCX.
O'BEIEN, THE lEISH GIANT,
AND
WILLIAM EANKEN, ESQ.
While exhibiting himself here, in February 1803, O'Beien took a fancy for a
greatcoat, and the order was forthwith given — not to Convener Ranken, as the
Prijit would infer, but to Deacon JoUie, a tailor in extensive business, and
whose shop was at the head of the Old Assembly Close. The circumstance,
trifiing as it may seem, created much noise at the time. A greatcoat for a man
who stood eight feet one inch, and weighed five hundredweight ! was a novelty
unprecedented among the " Knights of the Thimble," either in ancient or
modern Athens ; for, although giants are said to have existed in days of yore,
whose height could not be less than thirty feet, there is no evidence whatever
that they wore greatcoats.' People flocked from all quarters of the city to
have a peep at the wonderful coat ; and many were astonished how a man so
small as Mr. JoUie's foreman (the person who actuaUy measured the giant)
could have accomplished the task. The curiosity of the multitude was the
more excited, as the " little tailor " preserved a solemn silence on the subject.
^ Amongst men of extraordinary size observed m Europe, the following are among the more
remarkable. — In the year 1735 there was shown at Paris, a Finlander, born in a village near Tornea,
who was six feet eight mches and eight Imes in height. In 1760 a guard of the Duke of Brunswick,
and the giant Macgrath, were seen m London, each of whom was seven feet and some inches. A
Swedish peasant, and the giant Cajan, a Finlander, were eight feet eight Unes. The giant Gillie, of
Trent, was eight feet two mches and eight lines ; and a guard of the King of Prussia, eight feet six
inches and eight Hues.
In a letter quoted in a newspaper, 10th April 1764, it is said "that a giant had arrived from
Trent, measuring fifteen of their ells (about fourteen feet) in height, and has been so tall ever since
he was nine years old." ¦ This Italian giant beats all the other ones to sticks. He was just twice
the height of Mr. Bamford, hatter, in Shore Lane, commonly called the giant, ' ' being above seven
feet high," and who died in November 1768. There was also the Caithness giant, WiUiam
Sutherland, commonly called WiUiam More, who was born — at least so it is said — about the end of
the fourteenth century, who measured nme feet five inches. In more modern times, besides
those noticed in the previous article on Byrne, we may instance the giantess Mrs. Cooke, who
delighted the inhabitants of Modem Athens some few years since, and who presented to her visitors
a portrait of herself, beautifully depictured on the top of her handbUls ; and Mons. Louis, a
Frenchman, who is represented as seven feet six inches in height.
The least giant we have heard of is noticed in the Buda Gazette of the 6th December 1788, where
mention is raade ofthe "death of the greatest soldier in the imperial army two days before. He
measured six feet eleven mches, was born at Warburgh, and was a soldier in Laoy's battalion of
infantry. Each of his meals consisted of three pounds of boUed beef and as much bread. He was
aUowed twenty-four kreutzers per day. His body was given to the anatomy school in the University
at Pesth, where they intend to preserve his skeleton."

116 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Whether he had taken the giant's altitude by his shadow, as geometricians were
wont to measure steeples,'' or had recourse to the less scientific assistance of
chairs and stools, we know not ; but to this ^ay the secret has never been dis
closed. From what the taciturn tailor inadvertently disclosed, it appeared that
the great man was much tickled by the process, as he jocularly said to his little
friend — " You and I may yet grace the windows of the print-shops." O'Brien
was not far wrong in his conjecture ; and he perhaps spoke from some know
ledge he had of the caricaturist. Kay endeavoured by every means to catch a
likeness of the foreman. He sent for him to various " houff's " to coax him
with strong drink, but the important little man had no notion of being handed
down to posterity ; and, the more securely to conceal his precious person, he
constantly kept a screen on the shop window, that the artist might not espy
him at the board. Thus defeated in his endeavours to catch the real " Simon
Pure," the artist conferred the honour on Convener Ranken, who, opportunely
enough, had rendered himself somewhat conspicuous in city matters.
MR. PATRICK COTTER O'BRIEN—" the wonder of the age," and one
of the tallest men seen in Scotland since the days of Dunnam, in the somewhat
fabulous reign of Eugene II. , who measured eleven feet and a half — was born
at Kinsale in 1760. Of his history little more is known than that he travelled
the country for many years, exhibiting himself to all who chose to gratify their
curiosity at a trifling expense. He was eight feet one inch in height, and
weighed five hundredweight ; but, judging from the portraiture, he appears to
have been deficient in symmetry.'' " This man," says a notice in an old
magazine, "when he first began to derive a subsistence from an exposure of his
person to the public, was deeply affected by a sense of humiliation ; and often
shed tears when, among the crowd whom curiosity attracted, any spectator
treated him with respect. In time, however, all these tender feelings were
entirely subdued ; and he was latterly as much distinguished for his pride as he
was before for modesty. "Such transitions, however,'' concludes the notice, " are
not uncommon in great men." As an instance of his capricious temper, it is said
that when the tailor went home with his greatcoat, the giant found innumerable
faults with it — "By St. Patrick it w-asn't a coat at all, at all, at all!" The
little foreman, much discomfited, was in the act of retiring with " the greatcoat
under his arm," when O'Brien's servant, tapping him gently on the shoulder,
gave a word of consolation. " Och, botheration, I see ye arn't up to the great
man. Just keep the coat beside you till I let you know when he is in good
^ In that strange collection of advertisements preserved by Captain Grose, in his "Guide to
Health, Wealth, Eiches, and Honour," London, 8vo, a tailor announces the important fact that he
makes breeches by geometry ! Perhaps O'Brien's schemer may have studied under this scientific
artificer. - An eye-witness thus describes his appearance : — "He was in fact a perfect excrescence. His
hand was precisely like a shoulder of mutton. He had double knuckles — prodigious lumps at his
hip bones — and when he rose off the table, on which he always sat, his bones were distinctly heard
as if crashing agaiust one another. To support himself, he always placed the top of the door under
his oxter [arm-pit]."

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 117
key, and then the coat wUl fit to a certainty." The servant kept his promise.
In a day or two the taUor returned — found O'Brien in excellent humour ; and
the greatcoat — " 0, nothing in the world could be more completer I"
WhUe in Edinburgh, O'Brien exhibited himself in the premises known as
the " Salamander Land," ^ opposite the Royal Exchange. The following piece
of bombast was a standing paragraph in his advertisements : —
" How fortunate for Mr. O'Brien that he holds such a situation in existence that no one can
rival him in the public estimation. Kings may be dethroned — ministers dismissed — actors
supplanted— tradesmen ruined — and every other situation experience a similar reverse of fortune,
except fhe above gentleman, whose transcendent superiority is universally acknowledged ; aud
who would not be injured in the least if kings, ministers, actors, aud tradesmen were to unite
their efforts to produce a rival, since they would find themselves unequal to such magnanimous
undertaking. "
Our giant was, in money matters, a very prudent person. He managed his
receipts so well, " that," as observes his biographer,'' " at the moment he is dis
tinguished as the largest, he is also known to be not the least independent man
in the kingdom, having in the neighbourhood of his residence at Enfield several
houses his ovm property ; which render his further exhibition unnecessary."
O'Brien died at the Hot-Wells, Bristol, upon the 8th of September 1806,
and was interred at the Catholic Chapel, in Trenchard Street. His coffin was
nine feet five inches, and so broad that five ordinary men could he in it with
ease. The brass plate contained the following inscription : — " Patrick Cotter
O'Brien, of Kinsale, Ireland, whose stature was eight feet one inch, died Sth
September 1806, aged forty-six."
MR. WILLIAM RANKEN, although diminutive in contrast with the
enormous bulk of the Irish Hercules, was of the middle size, and a man of
goodly proportions. He was a native of the south side of Edinburgh, and the
son of a respectable tailor. Having been brought up to his father's profession,
he commenced business on his own account about the year 1778, in one of the
old houses" opposite the City Guard. He afterwards moved to a house in the
Lawnmarket ; and latterly resided in the land forming the north-east corner of
the Parliament Square — with piazzas and a stone stair in front — destroyed by
the great fire in 1824. This property he purchased from the heirs of the late
Mr. Dempster, jeweller.
Mr. Ranken was one of the most extensive and respectable clothiers in
Edinburgh. He took an interest in city politics, and was first chosen Deacon
of the Incorporation in 1791, and Deacon Convener in 1799 and 1800. These
ofiices he filled repeatedly afterwards, and was for many years an influential
1 So called from its having escaped two great fires ; the last of which, in 1824, destroyed the
Parliament Square, and a portion of the south side of the High Street.
2 "Extraordinary Characters of the Nineteenth Century," London, 1805, Svo ; a very rare and
curious work, which was never finished. The text and plates are both engraved on copper.
3 Since rebuUt.

118 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
member of the Town Council. He was a warm supporter of Lord Melville.
Among other things which distinguished Mr. Ranken's career as a city ruler,
was the construction of a chair for the Convener of the Trades, directly opposite
and on a level with the seat of the Lord Provost. In the accomplishment of
this most important affair he experienced considerable opposition, on the ground
that it was absurd to elevate the Convener (whose only title to pre-eminence is
the antiquity of the incorporation of which he is deacon or preses") to a level
with the Chief Magistrate. The opponents of the attempt further declared,
that it was most ridiculous to have apparently two presidents at the board.
Ranken, however, carried his point ; and the chair still remains an existing
memorial of his perseverance.
Mr. Ranken retired from business some years prior to his death, which
occurred at his house, Melville Street, on the '15th June 1815. He was twice
inarried, and had children by both unions.

No. CCXI.
FAITHFUL SEEVICE EEWAEDED.
This caricature refers to the unsuccessful issue of a bill proposed in 1793 for
the " Augmentation of Ministers' Stipends " — a subject which had engaged the
attention of the General Assembly for some time prior. In 1788, the " Sketch
of a Plan,'" was drawn up and published by the late Sir Henry Moncreiff
Wellwood, Bart., which met with the general approval of the clergy in so far
that, the year foUowing, a committee was appointed to inquire into the matter,
and to report at next meeting of the Assembly.
In, 1790 the Report — founded on the suggestions of Sir Henry — was
accordingly presented, recommending the following proposals : — " That the fund
for augmentation shall arise out of the unexhausted teinds of each parish : out
of the produce arising from the bishops' tithes ; out of the vacant stipends of
the several parishes in Scotland ; and that, in order to the accomplishment of
this end, each parish shall remain vacant at least for one year after the death
of the last incumbent. Application shall be made to the Crown for the above
tithes ; and a bill brought into Parliament to enable the Lords of Session as
Commissioners of Teinds, to appropriate the same in terms of the act : the
smallest stipends to be first augmented, and so on in regular order." After the
reading of this Report, a motion was made, and unanimously agreed to " that
the Report be re-committed, with instructions to the committee to digest and
1 Sketch of a Plan for Augmenting the Livings of the Ministers of the Established Church of
Scotland, by means of the Vacant Stipends. With Tables and IUustrations. By Su- H. Moncreiff
Wellwood, Bart, D.D. 4to, Is. 6d. Creech.

^'uiIIlIuI scf-eyiO: /vu.>ardcd ¦

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 119
ripen a plan of augmentation of the parochial stipends, aind to use all prudent,
aild proper means to learn the sentiments of the members of the Church, and of
the landed proprietors of Scotland ; and to report to next Assembly."
In accordance with this resolution, a bill was prepared by the Lord Advo
cate, (Robert Dundas, Esq. of^Amiston), and introduced into Parliament in
1793 ; but, from the little countenance extended towards it by the ministry, and
the strong opposition of the landed proprietors, he was under the necessity of
withdrawing the measure. Adverting to the subject in the ensuing General
Assembly, the Lord Advocate stated that " the bill brought into Parhament for
defining and regulating the powers of the Commission of Teinds, was not to be
considered as lost ; but was withdra-mi by him at the desire of a great body of
the landholders of Scotland, who had stated that they had not considered the
same with sufficient attention, and who requested delay."
The zeal displayed by the Lord Advocate, for the interests of the Church
was acknowledged in a vote of thanks ; and the Moderator (the Rev. Dr.
Hardie), and several other gentlemen, were added to the former committee, ¦
" with instructions that they should attend to the subject, and take such steps
as should appear to them conducive to the interest of the Church.'" But in
the discussion to which the un«xpected faUure of the bill gave rise, not-with
standing the explanation of the Lord Advocate, spme of themembers — especially
those of the moderate party — were led into warm expressions of dissatis
faction with the little sympathy manifested for them by the administration ;
and among others, Des. Caelyle of Inveresk and Geieve' of Edinburgh —
whose heads adorn the necks of the two Jackasses — went the length of
charging the ministry with ingratitude to those who had proved themselves
their best friends ; who had laboured in every way to uphold their government ;
and who, as the latter reverend gentleman ' asserted, had even risked the friend
ship of their flocks, and their own usefulness as pastors, in their efforts to serve
them. Such language as this could not fail to be displeasing to a portion of the
Assembly. Shortly after Dr. Grieve had finished his harangue, Dr.Bryce John
stone rose and remarked, that the complaint of his reverend brother had recalled
to his mind an incident that occurred some years before in that part of the country
where his lot was cast. At the ordination of a young minister, the charge
happened to be delivered by one who had been some considerable time in the
1 The exertions of the clergy were ultimately successful in procuring an augmentation of their
incomes by the passing of an Act of Parliainent, which provided that each pastor is entitled to a
manse and glebe, of the value of £40 a year, besides a salary of £150 ; and when the tithes of the
parish cannot supply this sum, the deficiency is to be made good by the Exchequer.
^ Dr. Henry Grieve — formerly of Dalkeith — was then one of the rainisters of the Old Church,
Edinburgh ; and, along with Drs. Eobertson and Carlyle, had uniformly given his iufluence to
maintain the ascendency bf the moderate, or Government party in the Church courts. He died in
1810. The following notice occurs of his death : — "Feb. 10. At Canaan House, in the seventy-
fourth year of his age. Dr. Henry Grieve, Senior Mjnister of the Old Church of Edinburgh, one of
the Deans of the Chapel Eoyal, and one of His Majesty's Chaplains in Ordinary for Scotland.

120 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
ministry, and whose observation of men and things enabled him to give many
important advices to his young brother, respecting the conduct he should pursue
towards the different classes of his parishioners.' Among others, he dwelt par
ticularly upon the heritors ; against succumbing to whom, contrary to the dictates
of his conscience in any matter, he earnestly cautioned the object of his charge.
"Be assured ofthis," said he, "that if you once yield to them in anything that
is wrong, their exactions -will always go on increasing, until, having been driven
by them from concession to concession, you will at last be urged to a point
beyond which you cannot possibly go. Here, then, you wUl be obliged to refuse
them at last ; and what will all your former concessions avail you then ? No
thing ! On the contrary, that one refusal, after so long a course of submission,
will incense them more than if you had never yielded to them at all ; while the
only plea that will be left to you, in mitigation of their wrath, will be the old
one of Balaam's ass — ' Am not I thine ass, on which thou hast ridden ever since
I was thine until this dayf"
The Doctor then went on, amid the laughter of the house, to apply his anec
dote to the case of his brethren opposite to him ; who, after sacrificing their time,
energies, and even usefulness, to the upholding of the Pitt ministry, had
received so ungracious a return ; while they had placed themselves in circum
stances, in which their remonstrances sounded pretty much like that of the ass
aforesaid !
This speech settled the debate ; but the joke was too good for Kay to lose ;
and, accordingly, in a few days afterwards, appeared the etching of "Faithful
Service Rewarded." The rider, we need scarcely mention, is the late LoED
Melville.

No. CCXII.
ME. GEOEGE WILLIAMSON,
KING'S MESSENGEE AND ADMIEAL MACER FOR SCOTLAND.
Me. Williamson was originally a printer, and for some time employed in the
Courant O&ce.' He became King's Messenger about 1784; and among the
first cases of any note, in which he was called upon to act, was that of the cele
brated William Brodie, in 1788. After the apprehension of the Deacon in
Holland, he escorted him from London to Edinburgh.
^ The individual referred to by Dr. Johnstone was Mr. James Lindsay, successively minister of
Lauder, Lochmaben, and Kirkliston.
^ Mr. David Eamsay, father of the late George Eamsay, Esq., printer, and Mr. WiUiamson,
were fellow-apprentices ; and on this account a feelmg of kindness continued to be mutuaUy
entertained.

212

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 121
On the way the prisoner behaved with much levity of manner, and
WiUiamson used to tell several amusing stories respecting him. While at
Amsterdam, Brodie met a Scots woman who asked him if he had been long
from Scotland, adding, that one Brodie, a citizen of Edinburgh, was accused of
robbing the Excise Office ; and that a great reward was offered for his appre
hension. In the same city he became acquainted with the person who had
committed a forgery on the Bank of Scotland. " He was a very clever fellow,"
said Brodie, " and had it not been for my apprehension, I could have mastered
the process in a week."
Before arriving in Edinburgh, Brodie was anxious to have his beard cropped,
an operation in which he had not indulged for several days. Afraid to trust
the razor in the hands of a person in his circumstances, Mr. WUliamson offered
to act the part of tonsor, assuring the prisoner that he was weU qualified for
the task. Brodie patiently submitted to the process, which was awkwardly and
very indifferently performed by the man of captions and homings. " George,"
said he, as the last polishing stroke had been given, " if you are no better at
your own business than you are at shaving, a person may employ you once, but
I'll be  if ever he does so again ! "
Williamson acquired considerable notoriety in his official capacity in 1793
and subsequent years, among the " Friends of the People," to whom he became
obnoxious for his activity as an emissary of the law. Muir of Huntershill and
Palmer from Dundee were among the first and most distinguished of the
Reformers whom he arrested ; and when the late Mr. Hamilton Rowan,
accompanied by the Hon. Simon Butler, came from Dublin to challenge the
Lord Advocate,' Williamson was prepared to welcome them, on their arrival
at Dumbreck's Hotel, with a warrant for their apprehension.
In the performance of his duty Mr. Wilhamson displayed considerable tact
and address ; and, without rudeness, was firm and decided. He was a man of
more gentleness and humanity than indi-viduals of his profession 'are generally
supposed to be. There are many instances in which he has been knovm, rather
than resort to extreme measures, to have himself paid the debt of the unfortunate
indi-vidual against whom he had diligence. Being Excise Constable, at that
time all the decreets for arrears of licenses were put in force through his hands,
under the direction of the late Mr. James Bremner, depute-solicitor of stamps, to
whom he invariably reported all cases of distress. The reply of that good-
hearted gentleman usually was — "I leave the matter to yourself, Mr. Wil
liamson ; the Government do not wish to make beggars, though they may be
fond of the revenue."
In extensive employment, WUliamson is understood to have at one time
realised a considerable fortune. He lived in the Lord President's Stairs,
Parliament Square, but had a country house at Liberton, where he and his
1 Hamilton Eowan was then Secretary to the Society of United Irishmen ; and some reflection's
in which the Lord Advocate had indulged at the trial of Muir were the cause of offence.
VOL. IL E

122 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
famUy resided during summer. Being a keen amateur horticulturist, he kept
a gardener at Liberton ; and his garden, long known for the superior collection
which it contained, was much frequented.
Mr. WUliamson died at Edinburgh on the 15th February 1823, in the
seventy-fourth year of his age, and was buried at Newbattle. He was twice
married, and by his first wife had two sons and a daughter. His second -wife
was a sister of the late Mr. Peacock of Stenhouse, frpm whom he held the
house and ground at Liberton on very advantageous terms.^ His eldest son,
David, was a writer to the Signet ; and James, a writer and messenger.

No. CCXIIL
ME. FEANCIS BEAIDWOOD,
CABINET-MAKER.
This caricature of a respectable citizen was meant to satirise his somewhat
extravagant and fastidious taste in matters of dress and fashion. According to
Kay's notes, he " was among the first of the bucks who appeared with shoestrings
instead of buckles."^ In the Print it will be observed that these appendages
are prominently displayed, especially on the " cloots " of one of the " fellow
bucks," with whom the artist has thought proper to confront him. The
engraving originally bore the inscription — "I say, don't laugh, for we are
brothers." Although by no means a fop, in the common meaning of the term,
Mr. Braidwood was not insensible to the advantages he possessed in a tall,
athletic frame, and commanding appearance ; but, much as the caricature was
calculated to wound his feelings, he displayed his good sense by taking no
other notice of it than to join heartily in the laugh which it produced.
The father of Mr. Braidwood (William) was a candlemaker at the head of
the West Bow ; and so strictly presbyterian and religious, that he obtained the
soubriquet of the Bowhead Saint. In burlesque of his uncommon zeal, it is told
that he once caused a bird, with its cage, to be placed in the City Guard for
profaning the Sabbath by whistling " O'er the water to Charlie." The real
^ Williamson held the ground for about 20s. an acre ; and his brother-in-law became bound to
reimburse him for any ameliorations or improvements he might make on the property. On the
strength of this agreement, WUliamson made out a claim for £900, which Mr. Peacock refused to
pay. On the demise of Mr. Williamson, his heirs carried the matter before the Sheriff, when a
remit was made, and professional men appomted to inspect and report upon the extent and benefit
of the iraproveraents. The claim was subsequently reduced to £300.
^ His adoption of shoestrings, we believe, did hot altogether arise from a desire to be at the top
of the ton. Having for some time been much annoyed by an injury on the rise of his foot — upon
whioh the buckle immediately pressed — he found great relief on abandoning the old fashion.

213

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 123
circumstances of the case were these. On one of his rounds to see that the
day of rest was properly respected — a self-imposed task undertaken by certain
of the citizens — he happened to meet a person in livery carrying a cage and
bird. Conceiving this to be a violation of public decorum, he remonstrated
with the footman, who retaliated in such an abusive manner as led to the for
cible seizure of the feathered songster.
Mr. Braidwood was a man of great personal strength, and well calculated to
act as a conservator of order. On another occasion, hearing a noise issuing from
a tavern in the neighbourhood of James's Court as he passed, he immediately
entered, and began to expostulate with the landlord. The latter at once acknow
ledged the impropriety of entertaining such brawlers on a Sabbath morning,
but told him in a whisper that he was afraid to challenge his customers, one of
them being no less a personage than Captain Porteous of the City Guard. This
notorious individual — whose fate is well recorded in the Heart of Mid-Lothian —
was a man of loose habits, and so reckless and tyrannical that few were inclined
to come into angry collision with him. Mr. Braidwood felt no such dread.
Armed with a small sword, which he usually carried, he rushed into the apart
ment, denounced the conduct of Porteous to his face, and seizing the cards with
which the party were engaged, threw them into the fire, whUe the Captain and
his associates — astonished and overawed— retreated -with precipitation.
Me. Francis Beaidwood, the subject of our sketch, was apprenticed in
eariy life to a cabinet-maker. On the expiry of his indenture he repaired to
. London, where he remained for a short time in order to acquire a more thorough
knowledge of his profession. He then returned to Edinburgh — set up in busi
ness on his own account — and was for some years eminently successful. He was
elected Deacon of the Wrights in 1795, and Deacon Convener the year following.
His workshop was at one period in the Pleasance, near the head of Arthur
Street, and his furniture shop or warehouse on the South Bridge. Latterly he
removed to Adam Square, and occupied the premises afterwards possessed by
Messrs. Dalgleish and Forrest.
Mr. Braidwood inherited a considerable portion of the personal prowess of
his father. In every way respectable as a citizen, he was no bigot in religion,
and participated joyously in the amusements and recreations peculiar to the
times. He was a member of the Edinburgh Burgess Golfing Club, and was
greatly celebrated as a golfer. He used to say that "fatigue was merely ideal."
A contemporary member of the Society recollects having played at golf with
him on one occasion from six in the morning till foijur in the afternoon ; and
while our informant admits being " quite knocked up," he states that Mr. Braid
wood did not seem in the least fatigued.^ So devotedly fond was he of this
ancient game, that when no longer able, by reason of age, to go round the
1 Mr. Braidwood was in the practice of taking bets at golf, the stipulations of which were, that
he should have two strokes at the ball "vrith a common quart bottle, whUe his opponent should have
one in the usual way with his club. However disadvantageous this might seem, he invariably came
off the victor.

124 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Links, he came regularly every Saturday and played at what are termed the
short holes ; and to the last he continued to dine regularly with the Society at
their weekly and quarterly meetings.
Of Mr. Braidwood's good nature and social humour, the foUowing instance
is told. At a convivial meeting of the Golfing Society at Bruntsfield Links on
one occasion, a Mr. Megget — one of the members, and a good golfer — took
offence at something Mr. Braidwood had said. Being highly incensed, he de
sired the latter to follow him to the Links, and he "would do for him." With
out at all disturbing himself, Mr. Braidwood pleasantly replied, " Mr. Megget,
if you will be so good as go to the Links and wait till I come, I -will be very
much obliged to you." This produced a general burst of laughter, in which
his antagonist could not refrain from joining ; and it had the effect of restoring
him to good humour for the remainder of the evening.
Mr. Braidwood was a member of the Spendthrift Club, so called in ridicule of
the very moderate indulgence of its members ; and he was one of the four B's —
" Bryce, Bisset, Baxter, and Braidwood" — who, after attending church during
the forenoon service, generally devoted the latter part of the day, if the wea
ther was fine, to a quiet stroU into the country.' Several others joined the B's
in their "Sunday walks." Mr. Smellie, and the late Mr. Adam Pearson,
Secretary of Excise, were frequently of the party. They usually met at the
Royal Exchange, immediately on the dismissal of the forenoon church ; and, as
suggested by Mr. Braidwood, their plan was always to walk in the direction
from whence the wind blew, as by that means they avoided the smoke of the
city both in going and returning.
Mr. Braidwood was a captain of the Edinburgh Volunteers, and entered with
great spirit into the mUitary proceedings of the civic warriors. Not satisfied
with the prosperity he had experienced as a cabinet-maker, he latterly began to
speculate in the working of quarries ; and contracted for buildings not only in
Scotland but in England. In these, however, he fell so far short of the success
anticipated, as to occasion a considerable diminution of the wealth he had pre
viously acquired.
Mr. Braidwood^ married a Miss Mitchell, daughter of a brewer in Leith.
At his death, which occurred about the year 1827, he left two sons^ and two
daughters. ^ The brother elders of some of the B's were not a Uttle dissatisfied at being so frequently left to
officiate smgly at the church-doors in the afternoons.
^ His brother, Mr. WiUiam Braidwood, was long manager of the Caledonian Insurance Company,
and for upwards of forty years one of the pastors of the Baptist congregation, which then met in
the Pleasance. He died in 1830, universally esteemed by all who knew him as a man of great moral
worth, and exemplary in aU the duties of Ufe. He was the author of several valuable reUgious
publications, among which were Letters to Dr. Chalmers regarding his address to the inhabitants of
the parish of KUmeny.
^ James, the eldest son, who, at the hazard of his Ufe, distinguished himself so much during the
great fires m Edinburgh In 1824 — and for which he was deservedly and -widely applauded — ^was
chosen superintendent of the fire-engines in London ; where his conduct was such as to call forth
the merited eulogium of aU who ever witnessed his daring and praiseworthy exertions for the pre
servation of life and property. WUliam, the youngest, settled in America, and the two daughters
in Edinburgh.

*?p*--i-lv*'^

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 125

No. CCXIV.
THE EIGHT HON. THE EAEL OF EGLINTON,
WHEN MAJOE OF LOED FEEDEEICK CAMPBELL'S EEGIMENT OF FENCIBLES.
Hugh Montgomerie, twelfth Earl of Eglinton, was the eldest son of Alex
ander Montgomerie of CoUsfield.' He was .bom about the year 1740, and
entered the army so early as 1755, as an ensign in Lieutenant-General Skelton's
Regiment of Foot. He served in America during the greater part of the
Seven Years' War, where he acquired the reputation of a brave soldier, and was
fourteen years Captain of a company of the First or Royal Regiment of Foot.^
At the breaking out of hostilities .with France, in 1778, he was appointed
Major in Lord Frederick Campbell's Regiment of Fencibles,^ which was raised
in the counties of Argyle, Bute, Dumbarton, Renfrew, Lanark, and Ayr, and
of which Lord Frederick was Colonel.
In 1780, at the general election, the Major was chosen Member of Parlia
ment for the county of Ayr, in opposition to Sir Adam Fergusson of Kilkerran,
^ A branch of the house of Eglinton, descended from Alexander, the sixth Earl, better known by
the expressive appeUation of G-raysteel. He was of the Seton famUy (one of the most ancient and
widely coimected in Scotland), but in consequence of his mother Margaret being the heiress of Ime
of the Montgomeries, Earl Hugh (whom he succeeded) executed an entail in his favour ; and, having
taken the name of Montgomerie, he was (through the influence of his uncle, the Earl of DunfermUne,
who was Lord Chancellor, and of Lord Binning, afterwards Earl of Melrose and Haddington), aUowed
the earldom by James the First. In the civU wars he supported the popular party, but was greatly
opposed to the execution of Charles the First. He died 7th January 1661, aged seventy-three.
The subject of this memoir was descended from Colonel James Montgomerie, fourth son of Earl
Alexander. " His lordship told many interesting anecdotes of the Araerican carapaign — among others, the
follo-wing of Sir Ealph Abercromby. That celebrated commander was leading an assault, at which
his lordship was present, upon an American fort, when, as they approached, the enemy suddenly
opened a tremendous fire on the assailants, who, for a moment were, confounded, and stood still.
Sir Ealph marched on unmoved ; but not hearing the tramp of the column behind, he turned round
as the smoke of the stunning volley was clearing away, and pointmg to the fort with his sword,
exclaimed — "-What! am I to take the place myself?" The response was a hearty cheer, and a
furious rush upon the enemy, by which the fort was carried.
At the same onset the gaUant commander was followed by a tall captain and a short Ueutenant,
both of the name of M 'Donald. The former was unfortunately shot in the breast ; and he reeled
back upon the latter, to measure himself with the earth, and finish his career of glory. The brave
lieutenant, who had not observed the fatal cause of this retrograde movement, and fearing the
courage of his clansman had given way, seized him by the coat, and in a half whisper cried in his
ear — " Eemember your name is M'Donald."
' This regiment was raised under the joint influence of the Argyle and Eglinton families, the
latter having the nomination of officers for two companies — of one of which the last Earl of Glencairn
(on whose death Burns wrote the "Bard's Lament") was appointed Captain.

126 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
who had sat in the former Parliament.' He was again returned for the
same county in 1784, but "vacated his seat in 1789, by accepting the office
of Inspector of Military Roads ; the duties of which he performed for some
years with assiduity, travelling on foot over extensive tracts of rugged ground
in the Highlands, for the purpose of ascertaining the proper courses for the
roads, to the great advantage of the public, by rendering the lines shorter, and
avoiding the expense of several bridges deemed necessary under the former
plans." '
On the declaration of war by the French Convention against Great Britain
and HoUand, in 1793, seven regiments of Fencibles were ordered to be raised in
Scotland for the internal defence of the country. One of these, the West Low
land Fencibles, being under the immediate patronage of the Eglinton and Coils-
field families. Major Montgomerie was appointed Colonel. Glasgow was fixed
as the head-quarters of this regiment. The Colonel lost no time in beating up
for recruits throughout the west country, and especially in Ayrshire, where he
was eminently successful. At the viUage of Tarbolton alone, in the immediate
neighbourhood of his paternal seat of Coilsfield, a company of volunteers were
soon congregated ; and the circumstance of their departure for head-quarters is
still remembered as a day of note in the annals of the village.^ In the morning
1 On this occasion an expedient was resorted to by the candidates, in order to prevent their friends
among the freeholders, who might have troublesome creditors, from being laid hold of at the critical
moment of election. The advertisement, which appeared in the newspapers of the day, is as
foUo-ws : — "In order to prevent vexatious diligences being used against individuals in the shire of
Ayr, by attacking the electors of either party, at the eve of the Michaelmas Head Court, or upon
the day of election, in hopes of that critical period to recover payment, Sir Adam Fergusson and
Major Montgomerie, the two candidates, have agreed that, in the event of any of the friends of
either party being attacked, a real voter present, in the interest of the opposite party, shall retire
out of Court ; whioh renders it vain for any person to think they shall have a better chance of re
covering payment, by using rash means, at this particular time. "
^ Douglas's Peerage, by Wood.
* Among others who "followed to the field" was an eccentric personage of the name of Tait.
He was a tailor, and in stature somewhat beneath the military standard ; but he was a poet, and
zealous in the cause of loyalty. He had sung the deeds of the Montgomeries in many a couplet ¦
and, having animated the vUlagers with his loyal strains, resolved, like a second Tyrtseus, to
encourage his companions at arms to victory by the fire and vigour of his verses. It is said he
coiUd not -write, nevertheless he actuaUy published a small volume of poems. These have long ago
sunk into oblivion. Still " Sa-wney Tait the tailor " is well remembered. He was a bachelor • and
like a true son of genius, occupied an attic of very small dimensions. At the "June fair " when
the village was crowded, Saunders, by a tolerated infringement of the excise laws, annuaUy converted
his "poet's corner" into a temple for the worship of Bacchus, aud became publican in a small way.
He was himself the presiding genius, and his apartment was always weU frequented, especially by
the younger portion of the country people, who were amused with his oddities. He sang with
peculiar animation ; and failed not to give due recitative effect to the more lengthy productions of
his muse : — it might be in celebration of a, bonspiel, in which the curlers of Tarbolton had been
victorious over those of the parish of Stair — of a love-match — or such other local matter calculated
to mterest his rastic hearers ; by whom his poems were highly applauded as being "unco weel put
thegither." Some of his songs obtained a teraporary popularity. One in particular on Mrs.
Alexander of BaUochmyle, was rauch talked of, probably from the circumstance of the lady ha-ving
condescended to patronise the viUage laureate, by requesting his attendance at BaUochmyle where
he recited the piece^was rewarded — and afterwards continued to be a privileged frequenter of the
haU. Poor Saunders, unluckUy, was more m repute for his songs than his needle. ¦ He was no

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 127
they were assembled round a small hill or knoll at the village called Hoodshill,
where the Colonel had caused breakfast to be prepared for them, and where a
vast crowd had assembled to witness their departure. Mrs. Montgomerie and
her two daughters, the latter of whom were attired in scarlet riding-habits, with
Highland bonnets, together with the Colonel and several of the neighbouring
gentry, also breakfasted in a tent set apart for them. When breakfast was
finished, and the soldiers marshalled in close order, the lady of Coilsfield,
ascending a proper eminence on the hill, addressed them in a neat and appro
priate speech. She regretted the occurrence of circumstances by which they
were called from their homes ; but she hoped that Scotland would never lack
the hearty support of her sons when a foreign foe threatened invasion. To the
women — some of whom were assembled no doubt to take leave of their hus
bands or lovers — she observed that, however disagreeable partuig might be,
it was a bereavement which she herself, in common with them all, had to sub
mit to, and which it became them to endure with becoming resolution. Mrs.
Montgomerie concluded her address, during which she was repeatedly cheered,
by expressing a hope that peace would soon restore their friends. The volun
teers, who were in regimentals, and presented a very fine appearance, then
deployed in marching order, the vUlagers following and cheering them for
several miles.
Immediately after the West Lowland Fencibles had been embodied. Colonel
Montgomerie raised another corps for more extended service, called the " Glas
gow Regiment," which was disbanded in 1795, th,e men being drafted into
other regiments of the line. About this time the Colonel was appointed Lieut.-
Govemor of Edinburgh Castle, in the room of Lord Elphinston.
In 1796 he was again returned Member of Parliament for the county of
Ayr ; but his seat became vacated almost immediately after, having succeeded
to the earldom of Eglinton, upon the death of his cousin Archibald,' the eleventh
Earl, on the 30th October of the same year.
While limited to the patrimonial revenue of Coilsfield,^ the Colonel was
doubt, uncommonly expeditious ; in proof of which it is told that on some particular occasion he
had made a coat in one day ; but then his "steeks" were prodigiously long, and with him fashion
was out of the question, abiding as he always did by the ' ' good old plan. " The result was, that,
wMle his brethren of the needle were paid eightpence a day, Saunders, acknowledged his inferiority
by claiming no more than sixpence ! The military ardour of the poet was somewhat evanescent.
Whether the duties were too fatiguing, or whether his compatriots had no relish for poetical excite
ments, we know not ; but true it is that, in the dusk of a summer evenmg, sorae few weeks after
the departure of the Fencibles, Saunders was seen entering the village, leading a goat which he had
procured in his travels, and followed by a band of youngsters, who had gone to meet him on his
approach. " Sawney Tait " lived to a great age ; and retained his spirit and activity to the last.
1 Brother to Alexander, the tenth Earl, who was shot in the well-kno-wn affair with Mungo
Campbell. Their mother was the celebrated Countess of Eglinton, no le.ss famed for her mental
accomplishments than her beauty. She was the patron of Allan Eamsay, who dedicated "The
Gentle Shepherd " to her, and a great patroness of literature.
^ The old family of Coilsfield are stUl remembered for their homely manner and kind attention
to the people in the neighbourhood. During the wmter season, it was no uncommon thing to see
the old Laird at the loch, surrounded by a number of his elderly tenants, in keen " curling contest "
against the Major, with an equal number of the more youthful vUlagers. These contests were

128 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
distinguished for his good taste and public spirit. No one maintained a more
liberal establishment. His horses were always of superior mettle, and his car
riage the most handsomely mounted in , the district ; but, by his succession to
the title and estates of Eglinton, a new and more extended field was opened.
His predecessors. Earls Alexander and Archibald, had greatly improved their
lands especially in the neighbourhood of Kilwinning. " They set the example,''
says a writer in 1803, "of introducing a new mode of farming — subdivid
ing the land — sheltering it by belts of wooding, and planting the little rising
mounts on their vast estates, by which means Ayrshire has become like a
garden, and is one of the richest and most fertUe counties in Scotland." Earl
Hugh was not behind his predecessors. The first thing which presented itself
as an object of improvement was the old Castle ; ivhich had been the family
seat for nearly five hundred years. It was no doubt sufficiently strong, but
always terminated by a dinner of "beef and greens," and a suitable quantity of punch, at the
expense of the vanquished ; and no person was more delighted than the Laird when he happened
to dine at the expense of the Major. '
The Major, like his father, was social in his habits ; and, among those who used to frequent
the "big house," none were more welaprae to dinner than the famous John Eankine, the Baron
Bailie of Haughmerk — a small estate in the neighbourhood of Tarbolton, then the property of one
M 'Lure, a merchant in Ayr, but which now belongs to the Duke of Portland. Eankine was locally
weU known for his -wit and Bacchanalian propensities ; but he has been rendered more enduringly
celebrated by the epistle of Burns, in which the poet addresses him —
" 0 rough,, rude, ready-vritted Rankine,
The wail o' cocks for fun and drinking."
There are many anecdotes told of the Baron Bailie's " cracks aud cants." He had always a shUUng
to spend ; aud whUe he kept the table in a roar, nothing gave him greater pleasure than to see his
cronies, one by one, brought under by the stout John Barleycorn. The Bailie always seemed to
drink fair; yet very seldom got top-heavy himself. One device by which he occasionaUy kept
the bowl in circulation was a smaU wooden apparatus, on the principle of the modem "wheel of
fortune," which he called " whigmaleerie. " -Whoever whigraaleerie pointed to was doomed to
drink the next glass ; and by this species of " thirable-rigging " it may be guessed the BaUie seldom
left raany sober in the company.
As an instance of the good old times, we raay raention, by way of gossip, that during Eankine's
bailieship of Haughmerk, when the Martmmas rents were paid, his tenants were convened at the
house of the miller on his estate, called the MiU-burn Mill, where ale and British spirits had been
retailed by each successive mUler, from tirae iramemorial, and a good dinner and drink provided 
the BaUie acting as croupier. None went from the Mill empty ; and some of the older people, who
never drank but once a year, had frequently to be taken home in the miller's cart.
The celebrated Laird of Logan was another frequent visitor at Coilsfield ; and when there on
one ocoasion with John Hamilton of Bargany, a staimch supporter of the honour and credit of his
native district of Carrick, Mossman, -a, native of Maybole, was brought before Mr. Montgomerie as
a Justice of the Peace, on suspicion of having committed an act of theft. Mr. Montgomerie called
in the aid of his friends, who were also in the commission of the peace, to investigate the case, when
it was resolved that the prisoner should be sent to Ayr jail for trial. The Laird of Logan assigned
three reasons for concurring in the warrant : — 1st, Because the prisoner had been found on the
king's highway without cause : 2d, Because he had "wan' ered in his discourse ;" and, 3d, Because
he belonged to Carrick ! The last was a fling at Bargany, and had the effect intended of provoking
him to a warm defence of his district. Mossman suffered the last penalty of the law, for the trifling
theft with which he was charged, alongst -with other two felons, at Ayr, on the 20th May 1785.
At the execution of these imfortunate men, the main rope by which they were suspended broke
when they were thro-wn off (it is supposed from having been previously saturated with vitriol) ; and
they remained in a haU-hanged state until a new rope was procured, to carry their sentence into
execution.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 129
neither commodious por elegant. He therefore had it immediately pulled down,
and a splendid new castellated edifice erected in its stead. Of the buUdings
and lands we are tempted to quote the following description, written a few
years after the completion of the structure : —
" It is one of the finest and most magnificent buildings in the west of Scotland ; nor is the
noble appearance without disgraced by the finishing and furniture within — ^everything there is
elegant and princely. Its site is indeed low, and still more concealed by being embosomed
among fine old elms. Ity stands upon an extensive lawn, which is converted into the most
beautiful pleasure-grounds. Nature here has put on none of her bold and majestic features ;
but art has done much. Neither the towering rock, nor extended lake, nor navigable rive'i',
adds to its magnificence ; only a small river runs past it on the east and north, which is ren
dered much broader than it naturally is by being dammed back. On the banks of this stream
the most delightful walks are, formed. As you walk along, at one time a thicket of shrubbery
conceals the water from your view, and at another it unexpectedly bursts upon your sight, and
raises the pleasurable feelings, no less by surprise thau by the beauty it displays ; small, how
ever, as the river is, it adds much to the beauty of the scenery ; and the vast number of trout,
which ou a fine evening are seen sporting on its surface, tend much to increase those tranquil
but pleasing emotions, which the song of the grove and the smiling landscape never fail to
excite in the mind which has a taste for the beauties of nature, and a heart fitted for relishing
the enjoyment of innocent pleasures. To these the humane and benevolent mind receives a
vast accession, on seeing around it the timorous hare sporting unmolested in numbers. This
persecuted creature finds here a safe asylum throughout this extensive policy, which contains
nearly fourteen hundred acres ; not one of them is allowed to be molested or killed. On the
dusk of a summer evening they reward his lordship's protection with their confidence, by often
playing their innocent gambols before him, round one of the largest and most beautifi,il chestnut
trees I ever saw, whioh stands on the green exactly opposite to the house. "
The Earl was an excellent farmer, and continued to improve on the plans of
his predecessors, by draining and cultivating the waste lands, and otherwise
increasing the value of his estates. Among other instances of his lordship's
anxiety to create sources of local attraction may be mentioned the institution of
" Bogside Races," which, during his lifetime, from being well attended by
gentlemen of the turf, were a vast benefit to the town of Irvine.
His attention, however, was by no means confined to his own immediate
locality, the affairs of the county, and indeed all public matters, received a
corresponding share of his attention. On the death of the Earl of Errol, in
1798, he was elected one of the representative Peers of Scotland; and was
again re-chosen at the general election in 1802.
The most extensive of all the Earl of Eglinton's undertakiUgs was one which,
although it proved in some nieasure ruinous to himself, now bids fair to realise
some of those -advantages to his descendants, which he of course never could
expect to witness himself. We refer to the formation of the harbour of
Ardrossan, and the projected canal from thence to Glasgow. The advantages
presented by such a proposal appeared so manifest to the Earl, that he ehtered
upon the speculation with the utmost enthusiasm, calculating upon his views
being at once seconded by the commercial capitalists of Glasgow and Paisley,
if not by some of the proprietors, whose lands would be considerably increased
in value by the canal. The primary object of the design was to cut off the
circuitous and even dangerous navigation of the Clyde, which, previous to the
VOL. IL s

130 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
introduction of steam-vessels, was a serious obstacle to the growing commerce
of Glasgow. The' bay of Ardrossan presented many natural advantages for an
extensive harbour, having at its entrance a depth of six fathoms at low water,
and five to three fathoms for more than one-half of its extent, with good
anchorage, wherein the largest frigates, as well as merchantmen, might ride in
safety ; while, by cutting a canal to Glasgow, a ready transit for commerce with
the west was anticipated, besides opening an internal communication through
the most populous and important districts of the country. The line of canal,
as well as the harbour and docks, were surveyed and estimated by the celebrated
Mr. Telford. According to the plan, the canal was to commence at Tradestown
in the suburbs of Glasgow ; thence stretching along by the manufacturing dis
tricts of Paisley, Johnstone, etc., traversed one of the most remarkable seams
of coal, being from seventy to ninety feet in thickness. There were to be in
all thirty-one locks on the canal. In short, it was anticipated that Ardrossan
would become to Glasgow what Liverpool is to Manchester.
The Earl immediately set about the immense undertaking, by procuring two
Acts of Parliament — one for the harbour, and another for the canal ; and on the
31st July 1806, being the anniversary of the birth of his eldest son, Lord Mont
gomerie, the foundation stone of the harbour was laid with more than usual
masonic ceremony, and amid a vast concourse of spectators.
_" On the summit of the rocks Lord Eglinton caused tents to be erected, in one of whioh were
tables for three hundred persons ; there was also an elegant tent for the reception of the ladies.
The Freemasons of the ancient mother lodge, Kilwinning, with their Grand Master, William
Blair of Blair, Esq., and a party of the Saltcoats Volunteers, with the band of the Ayrshire
Rifle Battalion, proceeded from the towu of Saltcoats along the shore to Ardrossan. Before the
procession arrived at the harbour, they were joined by the Earl of Eglinton, accompanied by a
number of tbe most respectable gentlemen of the country and neighbourhood —by Mr. Telford,
the engineer, etc. At the moment the procession, amidst crowds of spectators, arrived at the
pier, the Countess of Eglinton, attended by Lady Montgomerie, and above fifty ladies of the
first rank and distinction in the country, appeared' on the point of an eminence near the old
Castle of Ardrossan, which overlooks the bay. At three o'clock the principal foundation stone,
at the point where the pier is connected with the shore, was laid by the Grand Master, with the
usual solemnities. The Earl of Eglinton then addressed the company in a very neat speech, in
which liis lordship stated that though, in the course of nature, he could not expect to see these
works at the summit of their prosperity, he had no doubt that, long after he and many of those
who had given aid to the measure were gone, the country would reap the advantages of them,
and estimate their true value. Then, after a very impressive and suitable prayer was given by
the Rev. Mr. Duncan, minister of Ardrossan, and immediately on a flag being hoisted in the
adjacent mason's shed, where the stone had been prepared, a round was fired from eight field-
pieces placed near the old Castle, and returned from two of his Majesty's cutters, which were
stationed in the bay, with twenty-one guns. Two tables, each a hundred and twenty feet long,
were laid, and upwards of two hundred persons sat down to a splendid dinner, with choice
wines and every fruit of the season, provided by the Earl of Eglinton. After dinner several
loyal and appropriate toasts were given. About seven o'clock the Earl and his Countess pro
ceeded to Eglinton Castle, where a splendid ball concluded the evening'; at Saltcoats also
various parties spent the evening in dancing and festivity."
The cost of the harbour of Ardrossan was originally estimated at £40,000 ;
but the work was not long begun before it was evident, from unforeseen
obstructions, that that sum would not half complete it, while the merchants of

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 131
Glasgow did not enter into the scheme with that alacrity which had been anti
cipated — the city having previously expended vast sums in deepening the Clyde.
A company was no doubt formed, and the canal' ultimately cut as far as John
stone ; but, for want of funds, it never went farther. Notwithstanding the
lack pf that encouragement he had expected, Lord Eglinton continued to pro
secute, single-handed, the herculean task undertaken, although at a much slower
pace than he could have -wished. He left no means untried to keep the work
advancing, having not only sold several valuable portions of his estate, but
incurred debt to a large extent ; indeed, it is understood that, previous to his
death, he had expended on the harbour alone upwards of £70,000, without the
satisfaction of having completed what had been so much an object of his solici
tude. The Earl died at an advanced age in 1819, after having for many years
honourably discharged the duties of Lord-Lieutenant of the county of Ayr,
which were somewhat arduous, especially during the three latter years of his
life.' His lordship was created a Baron of Great Britain and Ireland in 1806,
by the title of Baron Ardrossan of Ardrossan. He was also a Knight of the
order of the Thistle.
The character of the late Earl, like that of all other persons who take a
decided part in public affairs, has been variously represented. Firmly attached
to the Government, and resolute in repelling civU innovation, as well as foreign
aggression, his opinions were of necessity not in unison with those whose
politics were of a less conservative description. In the army he was kno-wn to
be a strict disciplinarian ; and, even at the head of his own Fencibles, he some
times occasioned excitement by the severity of his punishments.^ Apart from
these considerations, the Earl was deservedly held in estimation. No man
possessed a greater degree of public spirit, or could be more magnificent in his
undertakings. In the case of the canal and harbour of Ardrossan, the result
proved his lordship to have been too sanguine ; and his estates certainly felt
the paralysing effects of such a severe encroachment on his resources ; yet the
speculation employed many hands, and fed many families. In time it is to be
hoped it -will produce a portion of the good anticipated from it. As one of the
most steady of the very few resident proprietors of Ayrshire, the Earl of Eglinton
had an undoubted claim to respect. Except when called away by his parlia
mentary and other public duties, he remained constantly at home ; and while
-he stimulated industry in his own neighbourhood, by his presence and example,
he was on all occasions the patron and active promoter of whatever might tend
to the improvement and prosperity of the country at large. In seasons of com-
1 So very active and efficient indeed were his lordship's services in that capacity, that he
obtained the approbation and applause of aU parties. In the Justiciary Hall of the County
Buildings, Ayr, there is a painting of the Earl, in the costume of the West Lowland Fencibles,
painted by Sir Henry Eaebum, from the original picture in Eglinton Castle. This portrait was
done by subscription, aud placed iu the' Hall as a tribute of respect to his lordship's memory.
2 It otight to be stated, in vindication of the Earl, that he had very bad materials to deal with.
As every one that offered was enlisted in the Fencible regiments, they were consequently greatly
mixed, and almost proverbial for the many bad characters to be found in the ranks.

132 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
mercial stagnation his lordship was ever ready to enter into any schemfe of relief;
and to the necessitous generally he was a constant friend. In domestic life he
displayed much of the spirit and manners of the ancient baron. He was always
accessible to his numerous tenantry ; and notwithstanding a certain austerity
of manner, lived on terms of familiarity with those around him.' He was much
devoted to music as an evening amusement — performed on the violin with con
siderable skill — and composed the popular tunes called " Lady Montgomerie's
Reel," and "Ayrshire Lasses," besides several other admired airs — a selection
of which was recently arranged for the pianoforte, and published by Mr.
TurnbuU of Glasgow.
Although for several years a member of the House of Commons, and deeply
interested in the political questions of the day, the Earl was never distinguished
for his oratory. Better qualified for the camp or for the field, he wisely refrained
from attempting to contend in the arena of debate ; but in all practical matters
his assistance was equally ready and efficient. The following lines by Burns
are truly descriptive of his character : —
" Thee, sodger Hugh,'^ my watchman stented.
If bardies ere are represented :
I ken, if that your sword were wanted, '
Ye'd lend your hand ;
But when there's aught to say anent it,
Ye're at a stand.^
The Earl married Eleanore, fourth daughter of Robert Hamilton, Esq. of
Bourtreehill, in the county of Ayr, and sister to Jean Countess of Crawford and
Lindsay ; and had by her two sons and two daughters.
The eldest, Archibald Lord Montgomerie, died whUe abroad for his health
in 1814.* He was Major-General, and a gallant officer; much esteemed and
' Among the privileged characters who used to frequent the Castle, Daft Will Speir, well
known in that quarter, was the most regular. On his way from the kitchen one day after dinner,
where he had beeu plentifully supplied. Will was met by his lordship, who inquired where he had
been. "Ou, ay," replied Will, in the act of polishing a pretty roughish bone, "plenty o' freen's
whan a body has ocht. Yesterday, ye ne'er looked the road I was on."
Although Will knew that notbtng provoked the Earl so much as passmg through his policies,
yet he generally took the nearest way, independent of all obstructions. , In the act of crossing a
fence one day, he was discovered by his lordship, who caUed out — "Come back, sir, that's not the
road." "Do ye keii," said WiU, "whaur I'm gaun?" "No," replied the Earl. "Weel how
the deU do ye ken whether this be the road or no ? " (The Earl was particularly careful about his
policies, ¦ and frequently prosecuted offenders with much severity.)
^ He was at that time Major Montgomerie.
' These lines, although omitted in the "Earnest Cry and Prayer,'' are given in Cunninghame's
edition of Burns, from the poet's MSS.
^ Lord Montgomerie married Lady Mary Montgomerie, eldest daughter of Archibald, the
eleventh Earl of Eglinton, by whom he had two sons. The eldest, a boy of great promise, died
when about siy years of age. He was much caressed by his grandfather, with whom he resided ;
and who caused an elegant column of white marble to be erected to his memory in a sequestered
spot among the woods, near Eglinton Castle. The second son, Archibald, born in 1812, succeeded
to the title. During his minority it is understood the estate was relieved of many of the burdens

215

Biographical sketches. 133
beloved. The second, the Hon. Roger Montgomerie, who was a Lieutenant in
the navy, fell a victim to pestilential disease at Port Royal, Jamaica, in January
1799. Lady Jane remained unmarried tUl after her father's death. She was remark
able for every domestic virtue which could adorn the female character ; and
during her long residence at Eglinton Castle, a great portion of her time was
occupied in attending the sick and relieving the destitute. To her care her
brother the Earl was intrusted during his early years — a trust which she per
formed -with the utmost affection and fidelity. Lady Jane was married to
Archibald Hamilton, Esq. of Blackhouse, late of the East India Company's
service, and resided at Roselle, a seat of the Earl of Eglinton, in the immediate
neighbourhood of Ayr ; where she continued to practise those charitable -virtues
which so much distinguished her earlier years.
Lady Lilias was married at Coilsfield, on the 1st February 1796, to Robert
Dundas M'Queen, Esq., of Braxfield, who died in 1819. Her ladyship afterwards
married Richard Alexander Oswald, Esq., of Auchincruive.

No. CCXV.
EEV. JAMES STEUTHEES,
MINISTEE OF THE EELIEF CHAPEL, COLLEGE STEEET.
Me. Stedthees was bom at the village of Glassford, in Lanarkshire, in 1770.
He early manifested abilities of no ordinary description ; and, having studied
with success at the University of Glasgow, he was licensed to preach at a period
of life when most other students are only about to commence their course of
divinity. In 1791, ere he had completed his majority, he was ordained to the
Relief Chapel in College Street^ — ^the first of that connection erected in Edin
burgh, and which had previously been filled by the Rev. Mr. James Baine.
Mr. Struthers soon became popular, and was considered one of the first
pulpit orators of his day. He was highly esteemed as a man of superior
intelligence ; and his premature death, which took place on the 13th July 1807,
was deeply and generally lamented.
Although often importuned to publish his discourses, Mr. Struthers con
stantly resisted the proposal. This diffidence was supposed to arise from a
conviction that they were better adapted for the pulpit than the closet ; but, on
on it. On obtaining the management of his ovm affairs in 1833, his lordship re-commenced the
works which had been so long suspended at Ardrossan ; and we learn that that harbour is now the
most prosperous on the whole Ayrshire coast.

134 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
looking over his manuscripts, with a -view to pubhcation after his death, they
were found in a very imperfect state ; so much so, that he had evidently not
been in the habit of committing to paper more than an outline of his discourses.
A small but handsome monument, in the Greyfriars' Churchyard, bears the
follo-wing record of his worth : — " A Tribute
of admiration, affection, and regret,
to the memory of
the late Reverend James Str-uthers,
a man of superior understanding,
intelligence, and worth ;
whose talents and success,
as
a pulpit orator,
were not excelled, and scarcely equalled,
in the place and period which were honoured
by his short but distinguished
mortal existence.
He was
born at Glassford, on the 31st Oct. 1770 ;
educated at the University of Glasgow ;
ordained Minister of the First Relief Chapel
(College Street), Edinburgh,
28th July 1791 ;
and died 13th July 1807."
Mr. Struthers married a lady possessed of considerable fortune, of the name
of Syme. By her he had six children, only two of whom survived — a son and
daughter. The son, James Syme Struthers, D.D., was called to St. Andrew's
Church and parish, Georgetown, Demerara ; and the daughter married the Rev.
George Burns, D.D., minister of the parish of Tweedsmuir, Peeblesshire. His
youngest son, John Pitcairn Struthers, died at St. Andrews on the 2d May
1814. The widow of Mr. Struthers was afterwards married to Dr. Briggs, Professor
in the University of St. Andrews.

No. CCXVI.
EEV. ME. STEUTHEES.
This Portrait of the Reverend gentleman was executed in 1801, ten years
later than the former.^ The artist was one of the seat-renters of his Chapel.
1 The Rev. Mr. French, his successor in the Chapel, is the third in succession siuce the death
of Mr. Struthers. He was preceded by Mr. Smith and Mr. Limont, who are both dead.

216

^::^1

'^^s

'^'*^f:|ii«-^
217
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 135
No. CCXVIL
LOED MONBODDO,
IN THE COUET OF SESSION.
This Etching — done in 1799- — represents the venerable Judge at a more
advanced age than any of the former Prints ; and, by those who remembered
his lordship, it was pronounced a most correct likeness.
We have already noticed the eccentric, yet amiable character of Lord
Monboddo. As a strong instance of his genuine kindness of disposition, it may
be here stated that, not-withstanding the repeated censures and sarcastic remarks
on his lordship's works, which issued from the press ofthe late Mr. Smellie, in
the " Edinburgh Magazine and Review," his friendship and good offices towards
that gentleman, wh<3m he always called his learned Printer, continued without
interruption. The house occupied for a great many years by Lord Monboddo, and where
his "learned supper parties" were given, was in St. John Street. In his
domestic economy Monboddo was extremely hospitable ; but frugal in matters
of fashionable ornament. When silver casters were introduced at table, his
daughter and housekeeper became anxious to be even with the times ; but well
knowing his lordship's contempt of everything modern, she took the liberty of
ordering a set without obtaining his permission. The article came home, and
when shown to his lordship, Miss Burnett was delighted to find him inquire
whether the dealer had any gold casters 1 In answer, and anticipating a farther
stretch of hberality, she eagerly replied, that although the goldsmith might not
have one on hand, she was certain one could soon be made to order. " Well,"
said Monboddo, " I am averse to silver ; and shall prefer one of gold — when I
require it." The good-natured reproof was sufficient.
About the year 1760, Lord Monboddo married Miss Farquharson, a relation
of Marischal Keith, and a lady of great beauty and accomplishments, by whom
he had one son and two daughters. Mrs. Burnett died at an early period ; and
his son, to whom he was tenderly attached, survived his mother only six years.
His eldest daughter was married to Kirkpatrick WiUiamson, Esq., late keeper
of the Outer-House Rolls. The youngest — a lady of an amiable disposition
and surpassing beauty — was much attached to her father ; and continued with
him until her death.
The mind of this estimable young lady, as remarked in an interesting sketch
of her character, " was endowed with all her father's benevolence of temper, and
with all his taste for elegant literature, without any portion of his whim or
caprice. It was her chief delight to be the nurse and companion of his decUning

136 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
age. It is supposed she was the person who is elegantly praised in one of the
papers of the Mirror, as rejecting the most fiattering and advantageous oppor
tunities of settlement in marriage,' that she might amuse a father's loneliness —
nurse the sickly infirmity of his age — and cheer him vrith all the tender cares
of filial affection. Her presence contributed to draw around him, in his house
and at his table, all that was truly respectable among the youth of his country.
She delighted in reading, in literary conversation, in poetry, and in the fine arts ;
without contracting from this taste any of that pedantic self-conceit and affecta
tion which usuaUy characterises literary ladies ; and whose presence often
frightens away the domestic virtues, the graces, the delicacies, and all the more
interesting charms of the sex. When Burns first arrived from the plough in
Ayrshire, to publish his poems in Edinburgh, there was none by whom he was
more zealously patronised than by Lord Monboddo and his lovely daughter.
No man's feelings were ever more powerfully or exquisitely alive than those of
the rustic bard to the emotions of gratitude, or to the admiration of the good
and the fair. In a poem which he at that time wrote, as a panegyrical address
to Edinburgh, he took occasion to celebrate the beauty and excellence of Miss
Burnett, in perhaps the finest stanza of the whole : —
" Thy daughters bright thy walks adorn ;
Gay as the gilded summer sky —
Sweet as the dewy milk-white thorns-
Dear as the raptured thrill of joy !
Fair Burnett strikes the adoring eye.
Heaven's beauties on my fancy shine ;
I see the Sire of Love on high,
And own his works, indeed, divine ! " ^
She was the ornament of the elegant society of the city in which she resided — -
her father's pride, and the comfort of his domestic life."''
1 Miss Burnett is known to have refused the late Dr. Gregory,
^ In a letter to his friend Chalmers, Bums say,? — "I inclose you two poems which I have
carded- and spun since I passed Glenbuck. One blank in the ' Address to Edinburgh ' — ' Fair
B  ,' is the heavenly Miss Burnett, daughter of Lord Monboddo, at whose house I have had the
honour to be more than once. There has not been anything nearly like her, in all the combinations
of beauty, graCe, and goodness the great Creator has formed, since Milton's Eve, on the first day of
her existence." Miss Burnett had rather indifferent teeth ; but this was known to few, as she had
so beautiful a mouth that they were corapletely concealed. Dr. Blacklock, who was blmd, when
dining with the late Mr. Smellie, made a curious reraark on a lady who had just left the room —
"That lady," said he, "has very fine teeth !" "How can you possibly know that?" inquired Mr.
SmeUie. "Because," replied the Doctor, "she laughs so long and loud. " The lady undoubtedly
had beautiful teeth. Miss Burnett always avoided laughing either loud or long ; but what was
preferable, there was always a sweet smUe on her countenance.
^ To aU her father's guests Miss Burnett paid the most unremitting attention, and more especi
ally to such as appeared difiident or bashful. " This being a failing which very much beset myself,"
says our respected informant, "the first time I had the honour of dining with her, she at once per
ceived the feelmg imder which I laboured ; and accordingly paid me such fascinating attention,
that I carae away quite delighted with her kindness." At the suggestion, and through the influence
of Lord Gardenstone, a pension of £100 per annum was conferred on Miss Burnett. She was
called the " pretty pensioner."

¦/-/ - f'

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 137
Miss Burnett frequently accompanied her father on his visits to London,
and it is supposed that too much exercise on horseback proved injurious tb her
health. She died of consumption at Braid farm, in the neighbourhood of Edin
burgh, in 1790. After her funeral, Mr. Williamson (Lord Monboddo's son-
in-law) covered her portrait with a cloth, in order to save his lordship's feelings.
It is told, as illustrative of the old judge's excessive fondness of ancient litera
ture, that, on looking up and seeing the picture covered, he said — "Right,
WUliamson ; now let us turn up Herodotus." This being immediately done,
his grief apparently subsided. Much as his philosophy might teach him to
bear such an event with fortitude, it was nevertheless evident that he was greatly
affected by her death ; and his health and spirits, it is believed, never properly
recovered the shock.

No. CCXVIIL
OLD GEOEDIE SYME,
A FAMOUS PIPEE IN HIS TIME.
The Etching of Old Geoedie Syme, piper, Dalkeith, appears to have been one of
the earliest efforts of Kay's pencil. The exact period of time when Geordie
flourished at Dalkeith cannot be ascertained. He must have been far advanced
in life when the likeness was taken ; for though he was a person who cannot by
any means be said to have kept "the noiseless tenor of his way" through life's
pilgrimage, little is known of him from tradition, and nothing in the recollection
of the oldest persons now li-ving in Dalkeith.
The Piper of Dalkeith is a retainer of the noble house of Buccleuch ; and
there is a small salary attached to the office, for which, in the days of old
Geordie, he had to attend the family on all particular occasions, and make the
round of the town twice daily, at eight o'clock evening, and five in the morning.
Besides his salary, he had a stiit of clothes allowed him annually. It consisted
of a long yellow coat, Uned with red ; red plush breeches ; white stockings, and
buckles in his shoes.
Geordie was much taken notice of by the nobihty and gentry of his time as
well for his skUl in bagpipe music as his powerful and peculiar execution of it ;
and his presence was considered indispensable at alb their entertainments.
Among his particular patrons were Lord Drummore,' and the Earl of Wemyss,
.' Hugh Dalrymple of Drummore, a Lord of Session, elevated to the bench 29th December 1726,
aud died on the 18th June 1755. "When the Prince of Hesse was in Scotland iu 1745-6, his
Highness and several of the nobUity were elegantly entertamed by Lord Drummore, then governor
VOL. IL '¦'

138 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
then Mr. Charteris of Amisfield. Lord Drummore is said to have been so fond
of the bagpipe, that he used to go about the country like a common piper. Once,
on a frolic of this kind, he was met on the way by a glazier belonging to Dalkeith,
who had been engaged to clean his lordship's windows. Taking him for a
common piper, the friendly tradesman offered him a dram, which he readily
accepted ; and in the course of discussing it, the glazier was loud in applauding
his performances : " Foul fa' me, man," gin ye dinna play amaist as weel as
our ain Geordie Syme." The glazier's surprise may easily be conceived, when,
on their arrival at the mansion-house, he was treated with wine in return for his
dram. It is not known when Geordie died. His successor in office was Jamie
Reid, who lived long to enjoy its honours and emoluments ; and who is still
remembered by a few old people in Dalkeith. He seems to have been a man of
sagacity and worldly prudence. It is reported of him that, when he understood
the late benevolent and still much revered Duchess, widow of Henry Duke of
Buccleuch, to be on" her return to Dalkeith, he would go a mile or two out of
town to meet her — place himself in some conspicuous situation — and the moment
she came in view he would blow up — " Dalkeith has got a rare thing : " and, in
like manner, when she left Dalkeith for any of her other residences, he would
escort her out of town playing " Go to Berwick, Johnnie." These two tunes
he invariably played on such occasions, and never failed to receive a reward for
his attention. " Losh keep me, man," said Jamie, one day, to a neighbour, " I
wonder how it is, for it's like the Duchess maun aye carry siller in her hand ;
for she nae sooner sees me than out paps my five shillings, without ony ane seeing
her hand gang to her pouch."
Jamie had a son called Tom, of so forward and frolicsome a disposition, that
_he was continually falling into one scrape or another, which sorely grieved his
father, who tried both entreaty and punishment to reclaim him, but in vain.
At length he adopted a singular expedient. Having a turn for mechanics, amongst
other tools for aiding him in his pursuits, he had a vice, into which, whenever
the boy would commit a trespass, he would fix him by the tails of the coat, so
that he could not move ; and then, placing the drone of his pipes to his ear,
would blow till poor Tom became quite subdued and senseless. A neighbour
once remonstrated with him on the cruelty of such a punishment, and observed
it would be better if he would apply a rod to his back. " A rod to his back !"
answered Jamie ; " haith ye little ken him. Ye may break a' the hazels in the.
Duke's wood owre him, an' he'll no be ae bit better. Na, na ! I hae tried a'
that ; but ye see this mak's the callant as quiet as poussie ; and besides dings
the music into his head ; an' I hae great hopes he will ae day mak' a grand
piper, for by this way he has amaist learned a' the tunes already."
Jamie Reid was succeeded by Robert Lorimer, who acted as town piper for
of the musical society, and the gentlemen of the catch-club." — Arnot s Hist, of Edin. On the
death of his lordship the Society held a grand concert, in honour of his memory. The company
was numerous, aud all were dressed m deep mourning.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

139

many years ; and at his death, his son was installed in the office. Besides being
piper he was a shoemaker to trade ; and was an honest unassuming man.
Although he continued to draw the salary, he had no duty to perform, save that
of repairing twice a year to Dalkeith House, dressed in the uniform described ;
and he received his clothing on his Grace the Duke of Buccleuch's birth
day. The worthy piper continued to play through the town until about the year
1821 ; but the practice had long been considered by the inhabitants as an annoy
ing and useless remnant of barbarous times ; and the following poetical
remonstrance — printed and circulated about that time — is understood to have
operated with considerable effect in accelerating its final abolition.

' 0 L  R ! thou wicked wag,
I wish thee, an' thy dinsome bag.
Were twalt feet 'neath a black peat hag.
Wet as the Severn,
Or pipiu' to the Laird o' Lagg,^
In Belzie's Cavern.
I ferlie what intention he
Could hae, wha thus commission'd thee.
Against a' rule an' harmonie.
Our nerves to shock ;
My sang ! it is a sad decree
Eor peacefu' folk.
I frankly o-wn, that for my share.
Your visits I could right weel spare ;
To rise on winter mornin's ear,
Shaws nae great sense ;
I like to hear the tempest rair —
Snug i' my spence.
Upon a heartsome simmer's morn.
Whan thousand sweets our fields adorn.
An' music, frae the brake an' thorn.
Salutes the ear —
Wha wadna rise at bugle-horn
0' chanticleer !
0 how delightfu' then to stray,
Sweet Esk ! amang thy scenes sae gay ;
To mark the glorious god o' day
Frae ocean spring,
An' wide ower tow'r an' mountain grey
His radiance fling.
But now, whan dull December doure
Has spoU'd the sweets o' simmer bow'r,
An' made our sangsters a' to cow'r
In pensive mood —
To be sae wak'd at early hour,
Aye fires my bluid.

E'er daylight peeps within my cham'er.
Is heard the vile unearthly clammer ;
Waukes the gudewife — the young anes yammer
Wi' ceaseless din ;
I seize my breeks, an' outward stammer ;
Compell'd to rin.
Sair pain'd wi' toothache, as I'm aft.
An' tir'd wi' tum'lin' like ane daft.
Should sleep a wee, wi' poppies saft.
My e'elids close,
I'm soon brought back, wi' thy curst craft.
To a' my woes.
In sleep, whan I'm sair dung wi' toil,
Aft fancy does my care beguile ;
Me to some far aff happy isle
She kindly leads.
Where basks eternal summer's smile
On flow'ry meads.
I hear lone murm'ring waterfalls —
Sweet thrilling, soothing madrigals —
Drink fairy nectar that inthrals
This mortal life ;
Till thy dissonant drone recalls
To warldly strife.
What freaks are aft play'd while we dream !
I thought that Fortune, in a whim.
Made me Lord Mayor — then I like him.
Ye weel may think,
Saw routh o' gowden guineas gleam.
An' heard them clink.
Rich coofs, wha now stand far abeigh.
An' toss the head an' look fu' heigh.
Whan this they saw, they were na' skeigh
As heretofore ;
But shook my hands, an' bending laigh,
Firm friendship swore.

^ Grierson of Lagg, one of the most unpopular of the cavaliers.

140

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

But hardly had I time to ken
What li-ves are led by Aldermen,
E'er thy joy-chasing, fearfu' din
Made me disrobe.
An' left me, baith in kith and kin,
As poor as Job.
But here it were ower lang to tell,
0' a' the ills ye heap pell-mell,
Baith on my neighbours an' mysel',
Frae day to day ;
Nor do remonstrances avail,
Ae single strae.
But lad, ye yet the day may me.
That now sae high ye crook yer mou' ;
Our B — lie sure can ne'er allow
Things sae to gang ;
Ye'U -wind yoursel' a bonny clue
E'er it be lang.

0 T — t ! ^ the witty, wise an' just,
Weel worthy o' B  ch's great trust
To thee we turn, wha ne'er nonplust
A righteous pray'r !
0 humble him into the dust —
To rowte nae mair.
Kent young B -

-ch o' our distress,
Frae Lunin he'd send down express,
To strip him o' his gaudy dress,
Frae tap to tae,
He'd ne'er permit him to harass
His lieges sae.
Swith ! send him aff by Duustaffnage,
Wi' winds an' waves a war to wage ;
There let him spend his pipin' rage,
'Mid gulls and whaups,
That ceaseless scream frae age to age
Round Jura's Paps.

No. CCXIX.
SIE JOHN LESLIE,

PEOFESSOE OF NATUEAL PHILOSOPHY IN THE UNIVEESITY OF EDINBUEGH.

This distinguished philosopher, born in 1766, was a native of Largo, in Fife.
His father, who came originally from the neighbourhood of St. Andrews, was
a joiner and cabinet-maker. His elementary education was of a desultory and
imperfect nature; but he read with avidity such books as came within his
reach; and having received some lessons in mathematics, from his elder brother
Alexander, displayed surprising aptitude for that science. At the age of
thirteen, he entered the University of St. Andrews, as a student of mathematics,
where, at the first distribution of prizes, his proficiency gained him the favour
of the Earl of Kinnoul, then ChanceUor of the University. His views being at
this time directed towards the Church, he studied in the usual manner during
six- sessions ; after which, in company with another youth, subsequently distin
guished hke himself, James (afterwards Sir James) Ivory, he proceeded to
Edinburgh, where he attended the University for three years. During that
period he enjoyed the friendship of Dr. Adam Smith, who employed him in
assisting the studies of his nephew, David Douglas, who afterwards became a
judge under the title of Lord Reston.
1 (Mr. Tait), predecessor of Mr. Scott Moncrieff as Chamberlain to His Grace the Duke of
Buccleuch, and who died about 1831.

//;

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1.' t a4»V

DEMON STRATIOlSr
CAUSE &• EFFECT.

219

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 141
Having abandoned all thoughts of the clerical profession, Leslie went pver
to Virginia, as tutor to the Messrs. Randolph, with whom he spent upwards of
a year in America. He next proceeded to London, having introductory letters
from Dr. Smith, where he proposed delivering lectures on Natural Philosophy ;
but in this he was disappointed. His first literary employment was on the
notes to a new edition of the Bible, then in course of publication by his friend
Dr. WiUiam Thomson, with whom he had become acquainted at St Andrews.
He next entered into an engagement with Murray the bookseller, to translate
Buffon's Natural History of Birds, which was published in 1793, in nine
volumes octayo. He subsequently -visited Holland; and, in 1796, proceeded on
a tour through Switzerland and Germany -with Mr. Thomas Wedgwood. On
returning to Scotland, he stood candidate for a chair, first in the University of
St. Andrews, and afterwards in that of Glasgow ; but was unsuccessful in both
attempts. In 1799 he again went abroad, making the tour of Norway and
Sweden, in company with Mr. Robert Gordon, whose friendship he had acquired
at St. Andrews.
The first fruits of Mr. Leslie's genius for physical inquiry appeared prior to
the year 1800, by the production of his celebrated Differential Thermometer,
which has been described as one of the " most beautiful and delicate instruments
that inductive genius ever contrived as a help to experimental inquiry." This
was followed, in 1804, by his well known "Essay on the Nature and Propaga
tion of Heat," which was written while residing with his brothers at Largo,
where the experimental discoveries were made for which the treatise is so much
distinguished. The Essay immediately attracted the notice of the Royal
Society, by the council of which the Rumford medals were unanimously awarded
to him. In 1806, the Mathematical chair in the University of Edinburgh having
become vacant by the translation of Professor Playfair to the chair of Natural
PhUosophy, Mr. Leslie came forward as a candidate. He was opposed by Dr.
Thomas .M'Knight, one of the ministers of the city. In addition to the fame of
his recent discoveries, Mr. Leslie was warmly recommended to the Town Council
and Magistrates by testimonials from the most scientific and abl? men of the day.
Vigorous opposition, however, was made to his election by most of the city
clergy — who accused him of infidelity' — and they insisted on their right to ,be
consulted in the choice of Professors, according to the original charter of the
College. They protested against the proceedings of the Council ; and subse
quently — on the 2 2d May — brought the affair before the General Assembly.
The leaders in this opposition were of the moderate party, while the cause of
Mr. Leslie was as warmly espoused by those usually to be found on the opposite
side. The case created great excitement. Satisfactory testimonials were pro
duced, as well as one of Mr. Leslie's own letters, confirmatory of his orthodox
principles. The debate^-in which the Rev. Sir Henry Moncreiff was one of the
'- The accusation of infidelity rested on a note in the " Essay on tte Nature and Propagation of
Heat," lu which Mr. LesUe took occasion to refer to Hume's "Essay on Necessary Connection."

142 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
most powerful speakers in favour of the accused — was not concluded till about
midnight of the second day, when his opponents were outvoted by ninety-six to
eighty-four. Mr. Leslie now took possession of the Mathematical chair without further
opposition. Finding the class apparatus very deficient, he immediately set about
remedying the defect, by making extensive collections and adding several instru
ments of his own invention ; and throughout the whole period of his professor
ship, much of his leisure was devoted to the accomplishment of stUl further
improvements. In 1810, by the aid of the hygrometer — one of his ingenious
contrivances — he arrived at the discovery of artificial congelation, or the mode
of converting water and mercury into ice, which has been characterised as a
process "singularly beautiful." In 1819, on the death of Professor Playfair, he
obtained the chair of Natural Philosophy, and thereby found his sphere of use
fulness extended, and a wider field for the display of his talents.
The various works produced by Mr. Leslie are as follow : — In 1809, "Ele
ments of Geometry," which immediately became a class book — 1813, an "Ac
count of Experiments and Instruments depending on the relation of Air to Heat
and Moisture" — 1817, "Philosophy of Arithmetic, exhibiting a progressive
view of the Theory and Progress of Calculation" — 1821, " Geometrical Analysis,
and Geometry of Curve Lines, being volume second of a course of Mathematics,
and designed as an Introduction to the Study of Natural Philosophy," for the
use of his class, of which only one volume appeared — 1828, "Rudiments of
Geometry," a small octavo, designed for popular use. Besides these, he wrote
many articles in the Edinburgh Review ; in Niclwlson's Philosophical Journal ; in
the Transactions of ihe Royal Society of Edinburgh ; and furnished several valu
able treatises on different branches of physics in the Supplement to the Encyclo
paedia Britannica. In the seventh edition of that work, begun in 1829, he-wrote
a "Discourse on the History of Mathematics and Physical Science during the
Eighteenth Century," which is allowed to be the most pleasing and faultless of
all his writings.
.In 1832, on the recommendation of Lord Brougham, then Lord Chancellor,
Mr. Leslie was created a Knight of the Guelphic Order, and a similar honour
was conferred on Herschel, Bell, Ivory, Brewster, South, Nicholas, and other
indi-viduals equally eminent for their attainments ; but he did not long enjoy
the honour conferred on him. He had purchased an estate, called Coates, near
his native place, where, by exposing himself to wet while superintending some
improvements, he caught a severe cold, which terminated in his death on the
3d November 1832.
The character of Sir John has been subject to some little stricture. All
have admired the inventive fertiUty of his genius — his extensive knowledge
and vigorous mind. As a writer, however, his style has been criticised ; and
he has been accused as somewhat iUiberal in his estimate of kindred merit,
while he is represented to have been credulous in matters of common life, and
sceptical in science. " His faults," says his biographer, " were far more than

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 143
compensated by his many good qualities — by his constant equanimity, his cheer
fulness, his simplicity of character, almost infantine, his straight-forwardness,
his perfect freedom from affectation ; and, above all, his unconquerable good
nature. He was, indeed, one of the most placable of human beings ; and if,
as has been thought, he generally had a steady eye, in his worldly course, to his
own interest, it cannot be denied that he was, notwithstanding, a warm and good
friend, and a relation on whose affectionate assistance a firm reliance could ever
be placed." In this character we are disposed to concur. One slight blemish,
however, has been overlooked — personal vanity; for, strange to say, although
in the eyes of others the worthy knight was very far from an Adonis, yet in his
own estimation he -was a perfect model of male beauty.
The general appearance of Sir John is well represented in the Print which
precedes this notice. He was short and corpulent — of a florid cemplexion ' —
and his front teeth projected considerably. In later life his corpulence in
creased ; ^ he walked with difficulty ; and he became rather slovenly in his mode
of dress — a circumstance the more surprising, as his anxiety to be thought
young and engaging continued undiminished.

No. CCXX.
OLD JOHN TAIT,
THE BEOOM-MAKEE.
The venerable personage ' represented in the Print died at the Old Kirk of
Gladsmuir, East Lothian, on the 8th January 1772, in the hundred and tenth
year of his age. He had been a miner or collier, in his younger and more robust
days ; but having, by an accident, been disabled for the pits, he was under the
necessity of having recourse to the
" Making of brooms — green brooms" —
and was long famed throughout the Lothians as a dealer in that important
branch of industry.
1 -What the natural colour of his hair may have been we cannot say ; but in consequence of the
use of some tincture — Tyriah dye it is said — it generally appeared somewhat of a purple hue.
2 -When unbending his mind from severer labours, the knight resorted to Apicius ; and to his
success in reducing to practice the gastronomical propositions of that interesting -writer has been
ascribed his somewhat remartable exuberance of abdomen. A legal friend, now, alas ! no more,
once vritnessed an amicable contest between Sir John and an emment individual, celebrated for his
taste in re cuUnana. The latter was mvincible in the turtle soup and cold punch, but the former
carried all before him when the "sweets" were placed on the table. To show how easily the
victory was won, besides other fruits produced with the dessert, the knight,^ without any effort,
devoured nearly a couple of pounds of almonds and raisins.

144 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
UntU -within a few weeks of his death he enjoyed uninterrupted good
health — possessed a happy, cheerful temper — and was a universal favourite.
Wherever he travelled, his place by the " farmer's ingle " was readUy conceded ;
and aU were delighted with his tales. of the " olden time," while, by joining in
the song and in the dance — notwithstanding his years — he contributed in no
common degree to the mirth of the younger members of the domestic circle.
About twelve years before his death. Old John entirely lost his sight ; but what
is rather remarkable, he speedily regained it ; and to the last, his vision, as well
as his recoUection, continued vigorous. He was twice married, and had twenty-
eight children registered on the record of baptisms.' To his second wife, who
survived him, he had been united upwards of sixty years.
From the artful arrangement of the inscription on the Print, it will naturally
occur to t.he reader that the title —
"AN EMINENT JUDGE—
OF BEOOM BESOMS ! ! ! "
however worthy of such a distinction Old John may have been — was meant to
satirise an individual in a much, higher station in society. The Etching bears to
have been published in 1805, shortly after the Police Act for the city of Edin
burgh came into operation, when John Tait, Esq., W.S., was appointed Judge
OF THE CoUBT ; and to this gentleman the inscription evidently apphes.
Prior to this period, the guardianship of the city was entirely in the hands of
the Town Guard, who were then disbanded, with the exception of a small body,
retained for a limited and special purpose. A Board of Police was instituted —
the extent of jurisdiction defined— ^the duties of the Commissioners and other
officials explained — and the Judge of the Court was empowered, under certain
limitations, to fine and imprison the offending lieges, -without the interference of
a Magistrate, as under the old system.
As the opening of the Court of Police, on the 15th July 1805, was an event
of considerable importance at the time, and conducted with an unusual degree
of "pomp and circumstance," the following account of the proceedings may
not be uninteresting to our readers : —
"On Monday, July 15, at twelve o'clock, the Eight Hon. the Lord Provost and Magistrates
in their robes, the Sherifi' of the county, the Member for the city, and the Commissioners of
Police, met iuthe Parliament House, when John Tait, Esq., delivered his commission as Judge
of Police, and was sworn in ; after which they walked in procession to the Police OflSoe, the
military and city-guard lining the streets. The Judge of Police was invested in the robe and
insignia of office, and supported on his right hand by the Eev. Sir Henry Moncreiff, Bart., and
on his left, by Sir William Forbes, Bait, (who had been chairman of the committee of citizens
who originaUy met to frame the bill).
"After they arrived at the Court of Police, the Rev. Sir Henry Moncrieff, Bart, (one of the
Commissioners) consecrated the institution in a very eloquent, impressive, and appropriate
prayer. The Lord Provost then desired Mr. Tait to take his seat as Judge of Police, which he
did. The Lord Provost then addressed him in the following speech : —
1 His own account of it was, that he had had twenty-eight chUdren who suffered baptism.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 145
" ' Mr. Tait — Elected as you have lately been, by the unanimous voice of the General Com
missioners, to fiU an important and arduous office, it is -with pleasure I, as Chief Magistrate of
Edinburgh, perform my official task of inducting you in that chair, as Judge of Police, for this
city, and the -vicinage.
" 'Much legal, as well as local knowledge, just and steady principles, firmness of decision,
united -with moderation and mildness of manner, ought to characterise the person invested with
such extensive powers as the act confers. I am happy iu belie-ving -you possess them aU ; and
they are in my mind swre pledges that you wiU discharge the duties of the situation, to which
you have been so honourably chosen (however arduous or unpleasant they may be), with such
fidelity and success, as to merit the grateful tjianks of your feUow-oitizens, and the approbation
of the public at large.
" ' Ou the assistance and cordial co-operatjon of the Magistrates of Edinburgh, you may
always most assuredly rely. Our ajdent and united -wish being to see this metropolis (long since
held deservedly in the highest estimation for its seminaries of learning, and its courts of law)
equally distinguished by purity of manners, propriety of conduct, and an uniforpi veneration
for, and undeviating obedience to, the laws, both oivU and religious, iu every class and indi
vidual member of the community. '
. "The Judge of Police then addressed the Lord Provost aud Commissioners in the foUow
ing speech : —
" 'I approach this seat with emotions widely different in their nature ; with extreme diffi
dence of my own capacity, but with great confidence in the houourable support which I see
around me.
" 'I am fuUy aware of the importance ofthe situation which I am now called to occupy.
Much of the virtue of a nation depends upon the exertions of the Police in preventing crimes,
in suppressing them in their infancy, aud even in cheeking them in their advanced progress,
especiaUy in the metropolis, which must always greatly influence, aud, I may say, even regu- -
late the morals of the country to which it belongs,
" 'To conduct an Establishment of Police is, therefore, an important, and reflection tells us
that it must be an arduous, task. But I here declare, that no considerations of personal labour,
no considerations of personal safety, shaU deter me from performing, so far as my abiUties, reach,
the duties which I conceive to be attached to the situation which I am uow to hold. In the
performance of these duties, I shaU have occasion to punish — I could wish it were otherwise.
The powers of this Court are limited, but these powers are a check sufficient to give an essential
protection to virtue, in every situation, and to give a check to vice and profligacy iu whatever
rank of life they may be found. The statute under which I am to act, empowers me to punish
by ftue and compensation for damages, by imprisonment iu the Tolbooth of 'Edinburgh, or by
commitment to BrideweU. The fines and compensation for damages are but small in amount,
nor can the imprisonment in the Tolbooth, or the commitment to BrideweU, be long in dura
tion. — But stiU there is extent enough to make the punishment, if properly directed, be felt in
every rank ; and I consider it to be my duty, sitting here, to pronounce judgments which may
be sensibly felt by aU those who.break through that decency and good order which contribute
so essentiaUy to the comforts of society.
" ' I shall be sorry indeed to be obliged to sink those in the inferior ranks of life still lower,
by inflicting punishments of a degrading nature. rAnd I shall regret stiU more to be obliged
to apply the punishments which naturally belong to the inferior ranks to those in a higher
class. But I am bound by the sacred oath which I have taken, to discharge my duty as my
conscience dictates ; and that conscience tells me that I am not to look to persons, but to crimes.
" ' In cases of a deep dye this Court cannot proceed to punishment, but it has, however, in
such cases, to apprehend and hand over to the superior tribunals ; and there these deeper crimes
will meet -with the punishment which they merit.
" ' In what I have said I have referred chiefly to that branch of my duty which relates to
the prevention and punishment of offences against peace and good order. There are a variety
of other branches, some oi a. judicial, some of a ministerial nature. I shaU not detain you with
an enumeration of them. The same principle must pervade the whole. Among the latter,
however, I may mention the bUleting of soldiers ; and, in that department, I hope to be able
to establish au uniformity of system, which may add to the comforts of the army, and, at the
same time, free the inhabitants liable to be quartered upon, from some inconveniences which
VOL. IL , U

146 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
the present system unavoidably produces. — To the various duties of my office I shall pay un
remitting attention. And trusting in a conscious desire to discharge my duty in an upright
manner ; trusting to the support of those around me ; and trusting, above all, in the direction
and support of that Power which has been so fervently invoked, I now take that seat, to which
I have been so honourably appointed, and so honourably introduced.'
" Mr. Sheriff Clerk ^ then address,ed the Judge of Police in a very sensible and appropriate
speech, pointing out the arduous duties of his office (which his experience as Chief Magistrate
of the county for twelve years enabled him with propriety to do), and expressing his satisfaction
that it was filled by a gentleman of so much ability and integrity.
"The Judge of Police then returned thanks to the Commissioners, particularly to Sir
WUUam Forbes, by whose unremitting attention this institution, calculated to promote virtue
and happiness, has been fostered, from the first proposal of the plan, and brought at last to its
preseut honourable state of maturity.
"The different officers were then sworn in by the Judge of Police, who gave them » very
proper exhortation respecting the duties of their office.
"The Court of Police was accordingly opened the same day (July 15) at-|jhe Office of Police,
in Eiddell's Close, Lawnmarket, where apartments have been commodiously fitted up for the
purpose. " '
Whether from a too exalted idea entertained of the trust reposed in him, or
from a dislike on the part of the public to the new system of police — or pro
bably from a combination of both — certain it is " Judge Tait " was not among
the most popular of the civic rulers. Hence the satire of the artist — "An
Eminent Judge of — broom-besoms ! " Mr. Tait was, notwithstanding, a man
of talent, as well as of considerable literary attainments ;" and his speech above
quoted is highly creditable to him. " I am bound," is his declaration, " by the
sacred oath which I have taken, to discharge my duty as my conscience dictates ;
and that conscience tells me that I am not to look to persons but to crimes!'
That this was not mere idle declamation on the part of Mr. Tait very speedily
appeared by his decisions. On the 13th of August following, two gentlemen
having been brought before him, charged with giving and accepting a challenge
— which they admitted — he caused them to be fined, and bound over in heavy
penalties to keep the peace. At the same time, while he delivered his senti
ments, in a forcible manner, on " challenging and duelling, as crimes against the
laws of the land," he expressed his determination strictly to enforce the authority
with which he was invested, for the peace of society : — " Hereafter, if persons
are brought before me, and convicted of having given or accepted a challenge, I
shall consider it my duty to send such persons to the Tolbooth of Edinburgh,
for a certain period by way of punishment, besides binding them over to keep
the peace ; and if persons are brought before me, and convicted of having fought
a duel, I shall equally consider it my duty to send them to Bridewell. Because
all respect of persons must be attached to their strict observance of the laws of
their country ; and those who bid defiance to the laws, in whatever situation
they may otherwise be placed, are equal in that respect, and ought equally to
feel the force .of those laws which they contemn."
That the situation to which Mr, Tait had been appointed was no sinecure,
^ Afterwards one of the Barons of Exchequer.
^ In his early years he had cultivated the Muses. He published two or three thin quarto
volumes of poetry. Amongst his poems is an elegy on Goldsmith.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 147
may be inferred from the fact that during the first year no fewer than 2857
cases were determined; and in the second a diminution of only 392 had taken
place. But however infiexible or abstractly just in his conceptions of equity,
the administration of justice by Judge Tait was far from satisfactory. His
conduct was viewed as too severe and unbending ; and there were not a few to
accuse him of occasionally overstepping the limits of his commission.
The clamour against Mr. Tait was for the most part ill-founded. His office
was*a difficult one; and of a nature which almost precluded the possibility of
giving general satisfaction. Ultimately it was deemed expedient to procure a
new Act of Parliament, which, among other alterations, declared the office of
Judge ofthe Police Court to be abolished. By the Act of 1805, the appoint
ment had been rendered permanent — a law presenting insuperable objections :
insomuch that while the magistracy were a changing body, and therefore in
some degree amenable to pubhc opinion, the Judge of Police remained superior
to any such control ; and whether he might happen to be a tyrant or a dunce,
the community were compelled to suffer from the severities of the one, or the
mistakes and incapacity of the other. By the new Act, the decision of police
causes was again placed in the hands of the magistrates, who successively occupy
the bench. The " last sitting " of the Court, as originally constituted, occurred
on the 6th July 1812 — on which occasion Mr. Tait delivered the following
valedictory address : —
" I am now to close this Court, after ha-ving officiated in it for nearly seven years of unabat-
ing solicitude, during which above twelve thousand cases have been determined, as appears from
the volumes on the table, containing abstracts of the judicial procedure. I wag placed here in
consequence of an Act of Parliament, of an experimental nature. The experiment has beeu made
^several defects have been discovered — aud these have been obviated by a new Act, which
makes great additions to the means of preventing off'ences, and of detecting offenders, from
which the most beneficial effects may be expected. But here I must be permitted to repeat a
remark made by the highest authority in this place, and which cannot be too strongly enforced,
that ' no institution of police can be effectual without the cordial support of the community. '
And, I may also notice, that there are many attentions necessary on the part of those who have
the charge of young persons, with respect to religious as weU as moral duties, for want of
which the greatest exertions of the best regulated police will not compensate. Leaving the
administration of the police of this place in much better hands, to whom I most sincerely -wish
aU possible success, I return, with much satisfaction, to the exercise of a profession, the cares
of which, though great, are pleasures, compared to the anxiety which I have, for some years,
experienced. I cannot, however, leave this place without expressing my acknowledgment to
the Clerk, the Inspectors, and other officers of Police, for the assistance they have rendered.
They may have had troublesome duties to perform ; and I trust that, when the difficulties
inseparable from a new institution, the smallness of the number of men employed, the want of
a fund to procure information, and other untoward circumstances are considered, great allow
ances will be made for us all."
Some of the foregoing remarks refer to the " great riot," as it is termed,
which occurred in Edinburgh on the night of the 31st December 1811.
"Hogmanay" — or the night preceding New-year's-day — has been from time
immemorial devoted to festivity ; and nowhere in Scotland was the practice
more enthusiastically adhered to than in the capital — the streets being thronged
with people of both sexes, in the pursuit of light-hearted frivolity, and the
joyous interchange of mutual good feeling. A number of young men — mostly

148 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
apprentices, some of them of dissolute habits — having formed themselves into
an organised band, armed with bludgeons, sallied forth about midnight on the
work of mischief — knocking do-wn all who came in their way — robbing the
victims of their watches and money— and maltreating those who resist|ed in the
most brutal manner. Dugald Campbell, a police officer, died of his wounds next
day ; and Mr. James Campbell, a clerk in an office at Leith, died from the same
cause on the 7th January foUowing. By the exertions of the magistrates, who'
were engaged nearly the whole night, several of the depredators were caught in
the act, with the stolen booty in their possession ; and the utmost vigilance
was afterwards used, by rewards and otherwise, in order to disband and root
out the dangerous association. Three of the youths — pursuant to a sentence
of the High Court of Justiciary — were executed in the High Street, on the 2 2d
AprU 1812, opposite the Stamp Office Close — a gibbet and scaffold having
been erected for the purpose. An immense concourse of people assembled to
witness the execution, which was conducted with more than usual solemnity.
The culprits behaved with becoming propriety and fortitude.

No. CCXXI>
JAMES HUME EIGG, ESQ. OF MORTON,
ISAAC GEANT, ESQ. OF HILTON,
AECHIBALD MACAETHUE STEWAET, ESQ. OF ASCOG,
THE HON. CAPTAIN (AFTEEWAEDS GENEEAL),
JOHN LESLIE,
AND
CAPTAIN WILLIAM WEMYSS.
The first individual portrayed in this Print is JAMES HUME RIGG of Morton.
His name was originally Rigg,' that of Hume having been assumed on obtaining,
by the death of a relative, the estate of Gammelshiels, in Haddingtonshire.
He succeeded his elder brother, Thomas Rigg, in the estate of Morton about
the year 1780.
Mr. Rigg was an extensive shareholder in the Bank of Scotland, or '" Old
Bank,'' as it was" commonly called; but, although possessed of a very ample
fortune, it was rumoured that he was somewhat parsimonious. The young lady
whom he married — a sister of the late Sir John Sinclair of Ulbster — being of a
more liberal disposition, it frequently happened that their opinions in matters
^ His father, Mr. Sheriff Rigg, married a Miss Cunningham of Enterkin in Ayrshire.

' . BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 149
of fashion and etiquette were very widely at variance ; and at no time was her
lord and husband more fretful than when the annual accounts for dress came
to be presented.
It is said that Dr. Gloag, one of the ministers of Edinburgh, was on one
occasion invited to the house of Mr. Rigg to dinner. He was entertained in a
plain but very substantial manner. On taking leave, he was pressed by the
lady to repeat his visit a few days afterwards. " This," said she, " is one of
Mr. Hume's quiet affairs ; the next will be - mine ! " Dr. Gloag kept his
appointment ; and was astonished to find himself one of a large party, for whom
a sumptuous dinner had been prepared, in a style of splendour, and with an
array of waiting-men, for which he was little prepared.'
Mr. Rigg had no children to inherit his wealth — a circumstance which
grieved him deeply ; and, by a will, supposed to have been made in one of his
fretful moods, a short time before his demise, he left only a small jointure to
his widow. He died at his house, in Gosford's Close ' (now removed to make
way for George the Fourth Bridge), on the 23d January 1788 — a month which
had been fatal to his grandfather, father, and elder brother. Patrick Rigg, Esq.,
of Dounfield and Tarvit, succeeded to the whole of his property.
The personage -svith whom Mr. Hume Rigg is represented as in conversation,
is ISAAC GRANT 'of Hilton, W.S. He was a stout, corpulent man, and
pretty far advanced in years at the time when the etching was taken. Pro
fessionally, he maintained an honourable character ; had extensive employment,
and was long Clerk to the Commissioners of Teinds.
Mr. Grant lived and died a bachelor." He was wealthy ; and, it is said,
liberal. He participated with freedom in the social spirit of the times i and,
over a bottle, was one of the most jolly men imaginable. He always
' ' Could stau' stieve ih his shoon ; ''
 ~  =  =  ^ 
^ Mrs. Rigg was altogether a lady of uncommon Vivacity and gaiety of spirit ; and her yohthful
fancies were not easUy sobered down to the quiet, cool, domestic enjoyments of mature age. Skilled
in all the femmine accomplishments, her lively temper embraced others of a more mascuUne
character. She was one of the most agile and graceful dancers of the age, and an exceUent violin
player ; and has been known frequently to accompany her movements on " the light fantastic toe "
by the mspiring strams of her own cremona.
^ A description of Mr. Bigg's house, which was situated at the bottom of the close, may furnish
an idea of the taste and fashion of the "olden time." The dining and drawing-rooms were .spacious
and lofty ; indeed, more so than those of any private modern house we have ever seen. The bed
rooms were proportionally large and elegant. The lobbies were all variegated marble, and o.
splendid mahogany staircase led to the upper storey. There was a large garden behind, with a
statue in the middle, and at the bottom was a summer-house ; but such was the conflned entry to
this elegant mansion, that it was impossible even to get a sedan chair near t6 the door.
A sister of Mr. Hume Bigg — Miss MaUy — who resided in a house adjacent to her brother, was
kiUed by the fallmg in of a chimney during the -violent hurricane 20th January 1773. The storm,
which began early in the morning, was described in the journals of the day as the severest that had
occurred since the windy January 1739. " About half an hour after four, a stack of chimnies on
an old house at the foot of Gosford's Close, Lawnmarket, possessed by Mr. Hugh Mossman, writer,
was blown down ; and, breaking through the roof in that part of the house where he and his spouse
lay, they both perished in the ruins, but their ohUplren were providentially saved. In the storey
below. Miss Mally Rigg, sister to Mr. Rigg of Morton, also perished."
^ He left several chUdren, who inherited his wealth.

150 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
and, even in his latter years, when retiring from a hard-fought field in Dunn's
Hotel, or any other convivial place of resort, he would allow no escort.
Mr. Grant died at his house, in Brown's Square, in 1784. His remains
were interred in the Greyfriars' Churchyard, where a stone records the foUowing
tribute to his memory : — SACRED,
To the Memory of
Isaac Grant, Esq., of Hilton,
Writer to His Majesty's Signet,
who died the 27th December 1791,
aged seventy years ;
universaUy esteemed and much regretted
by all who knew hira.
, In him the poor lost a friend, the rich a
cheerful, facetious companion, and
the world an honest man.
This Stone was erected at the request
of his eldest son, Isaac Grant,
Feb. 2, Anno Domini 1798.
The third, or rather the first figure in the background, represents another
old bachelor, ARCHIBALD MAC ARTHUR STEWART, Esq., of Ascog— a
gentleman somewhat eccentric in several particulars. He generally wore white
clothes, of the description exhibited in the Print, and had a peculiar manner of
throwing his legs over each other in walking, which was owing probably to his
great corpulency.
Mr. Stewart was the only son of Mr. Macarthur of Milton, and succeeded to
the estate of Ascog, under a deed of entail executed by John Murray of Black-
barony, of the lands of Ascog, and others, dated 28th May 1763. His relation
ship to the entailer is not mentioned in the deed ; and he is called to the
succession upon the failure of heirs of the entailer, and of his sister Mary and
her heirs. Mr. Murray left a large personal estate, which was invested by his
successor, Mr. Macarthur, in the purchase of lafid in Argyleshire.
Not less wealthy than Mr. Grant, and, like him, a bachelor not of the most
continent habits, he is said to have, been exceedingly parsimonious in his
domestic arrangements. Kay relates that, when he lived at the Castle Hill, he
kept no housekeeper or servant, but generally employed some neighbour's wife
or daughter to perform the ordinary drudgery of the house. He had a great
attachment to swine, and kept a litter of pigs in his bedroom. On removing
to other premises, some time after the death of his mother, with whom he resided,
it is told, as illustrative of his singular notions, that he would not allow the
furniture to be disturbed, but locked up the house, under the impression ¦ that
the old lady might occasionally come back and take up her abode there !
Mr. Stewart was proprietor of part of the lands of Coates, near Edinburgh,
and lived for some years in the old turreted house at the west end of Melville
Street. He latterly resided in Lord Wemyss' house, Laurlston, where he died

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 151
on the 28th March 1815, in the sixty-sixth year of his age. His estates were
separated — the Ascog estate falling to Frederick Campbell Stewart, Esq., the
next substitute of entail — and the Milton property returning to the heir of his
father, John Macarthur. His unentailed and personal estate was left to a lady
— a distant relation — who had for some years before his death taken charge of
him. The figure next to Stewart is that of the HON. JOHN LESLIE, then a
Captain, and afterwards a .Lieut.-General in the army. He was the son of
David sixth Earl of Leven, and born in 1759. He joined the army in 1778,
as an ensign in the first Foot Guards, with which regiment he fought against the
French in Holland in 1794, where he was wounded.^ He was subsequently
promoted. In 1808 he was made .Lieut.-General, and served on the Continent
during a considerable portion of the late war. He died about the year 1827.
His widow, the Hon. Mrs. Leslie, was a daughter of the late Thomas Cumming,
Esq., banker.
The handsome figure to the right represents CAPTAIN (afterwards Major-
General) WEMYSS of Wemyss Castle, then M.P. for the county o^ Fife.
Being cousin to the Duchess of Sutherland, he was appointed Colonel of the
regiment of Fencibles raised on her estate in 1779, and which was disbanded in
1783. When this corps was reimbodied in 1793, he was again invested with
the command, and served with the regiment in Ireland during the RebeUion.
In the meantime his rank in the army going on, he became Major-General ;
and, in 1800, was commissioned to form a regiment of the line, which he did,
chiefly composed of those who had previously served in the Sutherland
Fencibles, reduced on the suppression of the Rebellion about two years before.
This corps still exists as the 93d Highlanders.
Major-General Wemyss married the eldest daughter of General Sir W.
Erskine, Bart., by which connection the estate of Torry" fell to the possession
of his son. Captain James Erskine Wemyss, then M.P. for Fife. He died at
Wemyss Castle, on the 5th February 1822.
The ladies introduced in the Print are some of the fair friends in whose com
pany the parties were occasionally to be seen on the fashionable promenades.
Their costumes display the prevailing taste of the times. The head-dresses
were those in vogue immediately prior to the introduction ofthe Lunardi bonnets.
^ Captain Leslie was of so very spare a, figure, that his brother officers affected to be greatly
surprised at the possibility of his having received a /esA wound. The woimd was m the thigh.
" Sir James Erskine of Torry, brother-in-law of the late General -Wemyss, was a devoted
admirer of the fine arts, and formed a collection of paintings, marbles, and bronzes, said to have
cost about £15,000, the whole of which he bequeathed to the College of Edinburgh, for the purpose
of "laying a foundation for a GaUery for the encouragement of the fine arts." Sir James died in
1825. The title and estate descended to his brother John (a bachelor), on whose death in 1836,
the will of the donor became available ; and the pictures are now deposited in the National GaUery
until funds can be procured for carrying the intentions of the testator more fuUy into effect.

152 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

No. CCXXII.
EEV. DE. BUCHANAN,
ONE OF THE MINISTERS OF THE CANONGATE CHURCH.
The Rev. Walter Buchanan was born in Glasgow in 1756. After completing
his studies at the University of that city — where he was the class-fellow of the
late Rev. Dr. Dickson of Edinburgh and Dr. Robertson of Leith, with whom
he formed an intimacy which continued uninterrupted during the remainder of
their lives — he was licensed by the Presbytery of his native place in 1778.
He approved himself an " acceptable preacher ; " and at an early period had
the Scotch Church at Rotterdam offered to him. This he declined, and almost
immediately afterwards received a call to the new Church or Chapel (no-w St.
John's) South Leith ; but, while on trials for ordination before the Presbytery
of Edinburgh, the death of Mr Randall of Stirling having occasioned a vacancy
there, he was appointed, and ordained to the first charge of that town in 1780.
He remained in Stirling about nine years, and was greatly esteemed by his
parishioners, among whom he laboured with conscientious and effective zeal.
Dr. Buchanan was translated to the second charge of the Canongate Church
in 1789. He had been opposed, as a candidate, by the late Dr. Thomas
M'Knight, and the parish was much divided respecting the choice ; but, such
was his cha,racter and usefulness, he soon became respected and beloved by all —
even those who had most resolutely opposed his settlement. As a preacher he
was highly evangelical ; his oratory plain, but impressive ; his language chastely
simple ; and his manner displayed an affectionate warmth of feeling, which he
carried into the performance of all his duties.
In the discharge of his pastoral superintendence — throughout the long period
of his incumbency, unl!il within a few years of his death — he was distinguished
not less for unwearied diligence, than the charity with which he administered
to the temporal as well as spiritual wants of the distressed. ''With what
affectionate zeal" (in the language of Dr. Dickson of St. Cuthbert's),' "did he
enter into the condition of all who needed or solicited his friendly advice or
exertions ; to how many ^ bereaved widow was he like a husband — to how
many an orphan like a father — to how many of the poor a steward of heaven's
bounty — to how many helpless and destitute did he stretch out the hand of
protection, or obtain for them places of shelter or other means of relief! In
him peculiarly was the character of Job exemplified, that ' when the ear heard
^ Funeral sermon preached on the 16th December 1832.

222

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 153
him, then it blessed him ; and when the eye saw him, then it gave witness to
him ; because he delivered the poor, and him that cried, and the fatherless, and
him that had none to help him. The blessing of them that were ready to perish
came upon him ; and he caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.' The bland-
ness of his manners, and the kindness of his heart, united to the liberality -with
which he used the more abundant means and substance which the providence
of God had graciously bestowed on him, made him a special benefactor to many
of our youth who were training to the same service in which he so honourably
laboured ; and there are not a few surviving — nay, some but very lately entered
on their ministerial duties— who can trace, both to his seasonable counsels, and
to his ready loans and generous gifts of useful publications, suited to their state
of mind and the progress of their studies, the decided bias which, under God,
they then received towards that personal faith and holy living, of which, as
themselves partakers and exemplars, they are now assiduously employed in tes
tifying the importance and necessity to others."
Among other modes of encouragement, by which the Doctor sought to bene
fit his young friends, -was the practice of maintaining an open table at breakfast
every Monday morning during the classes ; on which occasions he made anxious
inquiries regarding their welfare, and the progress they were making in their
studies. A rather amusing incident occurred at one of these meetings, the first
that had been held after the commencement of a new session. Somewhat late,-
a young student of fashionable appearance rang for admission, and was ushered
into the apartment where the Doctor and those who had already arrived were
engaged in the usual devotional exercises of the morning. He of course joined
in the service, by bending the knee ; but, from the manner in which he set
about arranging his hair and adjusting his whiskers, his thoughts were evidently
very differently engaged. When prayers were finished — and after addressing a
few kindly inquiries to several of the students, as to the manner in which they
had been engaged during the vacation — the Doctor approached our friend with
the nicely frizzled hair and large whiskers, whom he interrogated in a similar
way. Evidently unprepared, and much embarrassed, the beau answered in a
general way, that his time had been principally devoted to reading. What
were the works that had occupied his attention ? was the next query put by the
Doctor. " Sermons, sir — sermons, sir ! " was the hesitating and confused reply.
" Sermons are very good," continued the worthy catechist ; " but whose, or of
what description were they V The agitation of the student was excessive — he
hesitated, he hemmed ; in vain he ran his fingers through his hair — all eyes
were turned upon him, when at last, indistinctly recollecting Harvey's Medita
tions — the only title-page of a religious work of which he seemed to have any
knowledge — he exclaimed with apparent triumph — "Sermons — among the
tombs !" It was impossible to suppress the titter occasioned by this grotesque
reading of a popular work ; even the Doctor bit his lip, and was glad to change
the subject.
Dr. Buchanan exerted himself greatly in the erection of the New Street
VOL. IL X

154 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Chapel, built a few years after he came to Edinburgh ; and indeed may justly
be said to have been its founder. He was an active promoter, and a liberal
contributor to all institutions of a religious or charitable nature. He was one
of the Secretaries of the Edinburgh (now the Scottish) Missionary Society, and
for many years took a decided interest in its management. Although much
indisposed during his latter years, and incapable of active exertion, his zeal con
tinued unabated ; and to the last his generosity was liberally extended.
Dr. Buchanan died on the 6th December 1832, and was interred in the
Canongate Churchyard, where a monumental stone contains, in addition to the
usual statements, the follo-wing lines expressive of his hope of immortality ; —
" Jesus, thy blood and righteousness,
' My beauty are— my glorious dress ;
'Mid flaming worlds in these array' d,
"With joy shall I lift up my head.
Wheu from the dust of earth I rise.
To take my mansion in the skies ;
Even there shaU this be all my plea —
Jesus hath lived — hath died for me. "

No. CCXXIIL
OLD WIDOW ELLIS.
This Print was taken from a painting by Mr. WUliam Donaldson of this city,
by whom it was exhibited and sold to the late Earl of Buchan. From a card,
in the hand-writing of his lordship, we observe in addition to the information
conveyed by the inscription on the Engraving, that WiDO-W Ellis was married
in 1745 to Francis Ellis, shoemaker in Keltic, Kinross-shire, who died next
year of an iliac passion.
At the time the portrait was executed (December 1816), Widow Ellis lived
in Rose Street, where she had resided for many years. The particulars of her
life are few and uninteresting. She was a sensible, shrewd person ; had been
active in her youth, and retained even in old age an unusual degree of fresh
ness and vigour.

%^

IS(DBEI..T^i3iaL®mAgedl0^mdm«-®f J®M^AMC :
ShcTvasBommlheparishof Crieff CoimtyafFerfliflieAjofMarckl/lS.
auddied inEdiif the 23^of April 1818.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 155

No. CCXXIV.
THE CITY TEON-MEN;
OK,
CHIMNEY-SWEEPERS.
The personal history of these men is almost entirely unknown ; and probably
few incidents in their humble progress through life would be found worthy of
recording. The elder of the two, David Gilchkist, was a worthy enough
person in his way ; and he is still remembered by some of the sable fraternity
of Edinburgh. He lived in the College Wynd, off the Cowgate.
At a remote period, there was only one individual of the name of HamUton
— resident in the West Port ' — who devoted his attention solely to the sweep
ing of chimneys. He kept a number of men and boys in his employment ;
but the city, notwithstanding, was very indifferently supplied. In order to
remedy this state of things — as well as to avoid the barbarous system of
" climbing boys " twelve men, previously porters, were appointed chimney
sweepers for the city, with an annual allowance of one guinea, and certain other
perquisites. They were called "Tron-men," from the circumstance of their
being stationed at the Trone^ or public beam for weighing, which formerly
stpod in front of the Tron Church.
A small wooden apartment was subsequently erected for them at the east end
of the City Guard-House, in which to deposit their apparatus ; and where the
men themselves were daily in waiting, ready to supply, in rotation, the demands
of their customers. In case of fire occurring, the duty of keeping watch at
night in the Guard-House devolved on one of their number alternately.
In the Print, the dress and apparatus of the " City Tron-men " are accurately
described. They wore fiat bonnets — a coat peculiarly formed — and knee-
breeches and buckles — with a short apron. A ladder — a besom — with a coil
^ Hamilton resided a little to the west of the Vennel, and was known by the name of " Sweep
Jack. " He died about the end of last century.
2 The Trone appears to hav,e been used as a pillory for the punishment of crime. In NichoVs Diary
for 1649, it is stated that " much falset and cheitting was dailie deteckit at this time by the Lords of
Sessioune ; for the whilk there was dailie hanging, skurging, nailing of lugs [ears], and biriding of
people io the Tkonb, and boring of tongues ; so that it was one fatal year for false notaries aud
witnesses, as dailie experience did witness." The weigh-ho-use, which stood at the head of the "West
Bow, built probably about the beginning of the seventeenth century, as a substitute for the Trone,
was removed in 1822, on the King's visit to Scotland, in order to make way for the Eoyal procession
to the Castle.

156 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
of ropes and a ball, completed their equipment. Besides enjoying a species of
monopoly within the city, they formed themselves into a Society, the entry money
to which was five pou-nds, and the quarterly dues 3s. 6d. This high rate was
no doubt suggested from exclusive motives. As the city increased, many new
sweepers had commenced on their own account in the suburbs, and not a few
had been admitted to participate in the privileges of the Tron-men ; although
the annual allowance of a guinea continued to be limited to the original number ;
and, as a distinguishing mark, none but the twelve were permitted to wear the
broad bonnet.
The Society of Tron-men, like most other exclusive bodies, were not without
entertaining a due estimate of their own importance and respectability. As an
instance, one of the members — Robert Hunter — was expelled the Society, and
virtually banished to Leith for the space of five years, for having brought
dishonour on the fraternity, by assisting the authorities at the execution of
Captain OgiMe — the paramour of the celebrated Catharine Nairne — on the 13th
November 1765.
After his condemnation, every exertion was made by the friends of the
Captain to procure a reversal of the sentence, by an appeal to the House of
Lords. The competency of such a proceeding had not then been finally settled ;
and, with the view of giving time for considering the question, four successive
reprieves were obtained for the prisoner — the first three for fourteen days, and
the last for seven. He was then warned to prepare for death, an appeal from
the High Court of Justiciary having been deemed irregular by the officers of
the Crown. Finding all other means of escape impossible, the Captain's friends
contrived to bribe the finisher of the law ; in the fallacious belief that if the
rope failed he could not legally be thrown off a second time. Accordingly, on
the day of execution, no sooner had the culprit been turned off than " the noose
of the rope slipped, and he fell to the ground." The Captain was immediately
laid hold of ; but he resisted with great vigour. By the " assistance of the city
servants," he was again dragged up the ladder and despatched.' As one of the
"city servants," Hunter had rendered essential aid, for which, as affirmed, he
received a reward of five pounds ; and his conduct having been greatly censured
by his brethren of the Tron, he was expelled the Society in the manner already
described. Hunter died about 1812.
When the City Guard-House was demolished in 1785, the Tron-men, along
with the Guard, were accommodated in the Old Assembly Rooms — a part of
the premises being appropriated for their use, to which they entered from Bell's
Wynd. Owing to the great increase of the city, and sundry other causes, the
chimney-sweepers began to feel the attendance exacted from them extremely
^ This is not the only instance m which the Tron-men were associated with the common execu
tioner m the performance of his duty. In 1746, when the standards belonging to the army of Prince
Charles were publicly burned at the Cross, by order of the Duke of Cumberland, they were carried
in procession from the Castle by the hangman and thirteen chimney-sweepers. The standards were
destroyed one by one, a herald proclaiming to whom they respectively belonged.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 157
irksome and disadvantageous. In order to rid themselves of the grievance,
they went to law -with the Magistrates in 1808, and again in 1810; but in
both instances they were defeated. In 1811, however, determined to be no
longer held in bondage, they sold the property of the Society — made a division
of the proceeds — and broke up the union. The city being then provided with
an efficient fire establishment, and deeming it useless to contend with them,
the Magistrates tacitly sanctioned the dispersion of the Tron-men, by refraining
from all attempts to compel their attendance.

No. CCXXV.
WILLIAM CUMMmC, ESQ.
The old gentleman represented in this Etching was a person of eccentric habits.
He was immensely rich, and carried on a very extensive and lucrative business
as a private banker — at one time in the Parliament Close, and latterly, under
the firm of Cumming and Son, in the Royal Exchange. He died in 1790. His
demise was thus announced in the periodicals of the day: — "March 27, at
Edinburgh, in an advanced age, WUliam Cumming, Esq., many years an eminent
banker." He was reputed to be extremely penurious. When walking on the streets,
he used constantly to keep his arms spread out to prevent the people from
rubbing against his coat, and thereby injuring it. Under a similar apprehension
he never aUowed his servant to brush his clothes, lest the process should wear
off the pUe ; but made him place them on the back of a chair, and blow the
dust off with a pair of beUows. He not unfrequently wore a scarlet cloak over
his suit of sables. The artist, for an obvious reason, has dispensed with this
ornament in the portraiture. He was generally known by the soubriquet of
" the Crow." His manner of walking, with outstretched arms, and the unique
appearance of his whole figure, especially at a distance, presented a striking
resemblance to that bird.
Mr. Cumming was for some time an agent of the State lotteries. A few
days previous to one of the drawings, he had returned all his unsold tickets
except one, in the confident hope that even at the eleventh hour a stray pur
chaser might be found. He for once miscalculated : the decisive day arrived,
and the ticket stiU remained unsold. Deeply grieved, and blaming himself for
his imprudence, he at last made up his mind to sacrifice a trifie, and actually
went out amongst his acquaintances — the shopkeepers of the La-wnmarket —
offering the ticket at half pi-ice ! But, with characteristic caution, not one of
them could be prevaUed on to adventure. Much mortified, the banker felt he
had no other resource than quietly to suffer the anticipated loss. His triumph.

158 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
however — and the consequent regret of those to whom the offer had been made
— may be imagined, when, by due return of post, intelligence was brought that
the very ticket, which had concerned him so much to get rid of, had turned up
a prize of £10,000!
Mr. Thomas Cumming (the son) predeceased his father. He died in 1788.
He married the beautiful Miss Chalmers, sister of the late lady of the venerable
Lord Glenlee, and daughter of an extensive grain merchant in Edinburgh. By
this lady he left one son' and six daughters, most of whom were advantageously-
married.

No. CCXXVL
EEV. JOHN WESLEY,
DE. HAMILTON, AND THE EEV. ME. COLE.
This " Triumvirate of Methodist Clergymen " was etched by Kay when Mr.
Wesley -visited Scotland for the last time, in 1790. The three gentlemen are
portrayed as they appeared in company, while returning from the Castle' Hill,
where Mr. Wesley had delivered a sermon. The inscription bears — " Ninety-
four years have I sojourned on the earth, endeavouring to do good;" but the
artist must have been misled as to the age of the patriarchal preacher, as he
was then only in his eighty-seventh year.
The leading incidents in the life of the REV. JOHN WESLEY have already
been given with his Portrait in a preceding portion of this Work. With respect
to his voluminous writings, we may remark, that many of them are extensively
known and duly appreciated, especially by the verj^ numerous sect of which he
was the founder ; but it is perhaps not generally understood that the talents of
this celebrated individual were by no means confined to religious topics alone —
philosophy, medicine, politics, and poetry by turns engrossed his pen ; and he
was a strenuous defender of the administration of Lord North.
The stout figure, supporting the right arm of Mr. Wesley, represents DR.
JAMES HAMILTON, FeUow of the Royal CoUege of Physicians, Edin
burgh. Dr. Hamilton was born at Dunbar in 1740 ; and his medical studies, it is
1 This gentleman, now dead, was in person something like his grandfather ; about the same size
but had a much greater rotundity of back. He did not, however, possess the old man's penurious
feelings ; on the contrary, he was exceedingly fond of the turf, and was usually on the race-grounds
although he seldom lett his carriage.

Jn^TYfOUR YEARS -IMVE I 226
¦' SOJOITBKED. OTOTST 'OrlK MS TH
-Emmj^oi-^Mm ixj. do good ,

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 159
believed, were chiefly' prosecuted at the University of Edinburgh. When about
eighteen years of age, he obtained the appointment of Surgeon to the Ms man-
of-war, in which situation he continued four years. " It was while in the
Mediterranean," says a Memoir by the venerable and Rev. Henry Moore of
London, " and off the Island of Malta, that he became decidedly religious. His
faith was soon tried. The Isis fell in with a French man-of-war, of seventy-
four guns, when a most desperate engagement ensued, in which Captain Wheeler
was mortally, wounded." The command then devolved upon the First Lieutenant,
who succeeded in capturing the enemy.
"Dr. Hamilton was called from the cock-pit to attend the Captain. His
case was hopeless. A cannon-ball had shattered his arm, and torn away part of
the abdomen. He spoke solemnly and kindly to the Doctor, who in return
pressed the great truths of religion on his dying Commander. The Captain
was much affected, and repeatedly prayed God to bless him. The first Lieu
tenant was then sent for. ' Sir,' said the Captain, ' you now command. Re
member, his Majesty's ship must not be given away. Fight her while she can
swjm.' The Lieutenant took his leave, and the Doctor soon after descended to
his dreadful duty. On the Lieutenant appearipg on the deck, the officers cried
out, ' Sir, shall we fire 1 ' to which he replied, ' No, not a gun, till we brush his
yards.' These orders being punctually observed, the combat became so dread
ful, the rigging of the ships being intermingled, that it was quickly over. The
French Captain and his officers, being brought on board the Isis, requested to
see the body of Captain Wheeler. They were accordingly introduced to the
cabin, when, after looking in silence for some time at the appalling spectacle,
the scene ended with the usual French shrug, and an exclamation of ' Fortune de
la guerre ! ' The French ship was carried triumphantly into Gibraltar."
On leaving tli,e navy, which he did chiefly on account of ill health, Dr.
Hamilton commenced practice as a surgeon and apothecary in Dunbar, where he
soon attained celebrity, both professionally and as a gentleman of distinguished
private worth. He became a member of the Methodist Society, and laboured
with much zeal in the service of religion. In the course of long and extensive
practice, the Doctor acquired a considerable extent of landed property in the
neighbourhood of Dunbar, and had a pleasant residence at some distance from
the town. Here he had a library, valued above five hundred pounds, always
open to his friends ; many of whom, especially of the Connection, were in the
habit of sojourning short seasons with hun, profiting by his intelligence and
friendly aid. " In the year I spent at Dunbar," says the Rev. Joseph Taylor,
"which was 1787, Mr. Wesley paid us a -visit, and was gladly entertained at
Mr. Hamilton's country house. The love and intimacy subsisting between these
two eminent men were unspeakable. Several of the preachers came from other
circuits to meet him there ; and it was a feast indeed to all present, to sit and
hear these great men converse so freely and fully about the great things of
God." Dr. HamUton left Dunbar for Leeds, Yorkshire, in 1789, or early in 1790.

160 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Here he had a wider field for his exertions, both as a temporal and spiritual
physician ; but although he readily acquired extensive practice, and was highly
esteemed by all belonging to the Connection in that quarter, he remained
amongst them only a very few years. Yielding to the repeated solicitations of
his friends in London, Dr. Hamilton repaired to the metropolis about the year
1796. Soon after his arrival, he was elected Physician to the London Dispen
sary — a situation for which he was peculiarly adapted. The conscientious
manner in which he discharged his duties, and the solicitude manifested by him
for the meanest of his patients, at once endeared him to the Directors of the
Institution, and to the poor, by whom his services were principally, required.
An instance of the esteem in which he was held is thus related by his bio
grapher : — " He was mercifully preserved in the haunts of misery and crime.
Going one day to visit a poor person in a place noted for both (Petticoat Lane),
he was surrounded by a gang of thieves, but was wondrously delivered by a
woman screaming from one of the upper windows, ' Don't touch the gentleman ;
that's the good Doctor that saved the life of Mrs. Moses.' The rogues slunk
away in all directions.''
Having been some years in London, Dr. Hamilton married for the third
time.' By this union it is understood he obtained a considerable addition to
his fortune. His subsequent progress was eminently successful ; but uninter
rupted as was his course of usefulness, he was not without his own share of the
affiictions which less or more fall to the lot of every one. Several of his sons
were in the army. Thomas and WiUiam held commissions in a Highland regi
ment. They served in Egypt, and were present at the unsuccessful attack on
Rosetta in 1807. They survived the disaster, having been only slightly
wounded ; but shortly after the return of the army to Alexandria, Thomas, the
adjutant, was seized with fever, and died in a few days' illness. The brother.
Lieutenant William, returned -with his regiment to England, and was for some
time stationed in Scotland ; but having negotiated exchange for a Captaincy in
the Buffs, then under Wellington in the Peninsula, he repaired thither ; and,
after the French had been driven out of Spain, was unfortunately wounded in
the south of France, on the 1 3th of November, when " foremost of the brave
men who were pursuing the enemy." ' He died on the 29th of the same month.
These bereavements were severely felt by Dr. Hamilton ; yet he manifested
in his conduct that steady bearing and submission to events, nobly characteristic
of the Christian. UntU extreme old age, he continued in the exercise of his
professional and ministerial duties, " dispensing the word of life in several of
the most respectable congregations (besides that to which he belonged) in the
metropolis." In a letter to a lady in Scotland, written in 1826, the Doctor
^ During his residence in Dunbar he was t-vrice married ; first, to a Miss Coutts ; and, secondly,
to a Miss Arnot from Alnwick. -What is perhaps a little singular, a brother of the latter afterwards
married a daugter of Dr. Hamilton by his first wife.
" Dr. Hamilton's eldest son, was Colonel James Hamilton, of the Colombian army, South
America. Another of his sons, Francis, resided in Kentish-town.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 161
thus speaks of himself — " I am now in my eighty-sixth year. I have never
used spectacles, nor is my hearing in the least diminished ; and my mind is as
acute as ever." He died on the 21st of AprU 1827, in the eighty-seventh year
of his age.
Dr. Hamilton's personal appearance is described as having been prepossess
ing, and his manner dignified and agreeable. His time was almost wholly de
voted to good deeds and piety ; and so much did he indulge in self-debase
ment, that he withheld from his friends all records which could a,ssist theto in
compiling any lengthened memoir of his life. He even forbade the delivery of
a funeral sermon on his demise. Several interesting reminiscences, however,
have been preserved by some of his old friends, in letters to his son, Mr.
Francis Hamilton of Kentish-town. From these we shall make two quotations.
The first, illustrative of his talent for religious conversation — the other, of his
charity : —
"I was pri-vilegedj" (says the Eev. Eobert Johnson), "with his company on a journey of
upwards of one hundred miles. He was a most pleasant and instructive travelling companion.
There were several passengers in the coach at different stages, to whom we were entire strangers.
During the whole of the journey the Doctor's conversation was upon di-vine things. He, in a
familiarly instructive and striking manner, fexplained many important passages of Scripture, and
showed the necessity of experimental and practical religion. The eyes and ears of the passengers
hung upon his lips. Amongst them was a Scotchman, who appeared quite astonished. He eyed
the Doctor from head to foot, aud on every side. At that time the Doctor dressed in the costume
of the old physicians ; having a wig, with a large square silk bag behind. The Scotchman for
a long time looked and listened : at last he said, 'Pray, sir, are you a minister?' The Doctor
very pleasantly replied, 'No ; I am only his man.' "
"Compassion for the poor" (writes the Eev. James Wood), "was another trait in the
character of my departed friend. When he resided in Leeds, he attended in the vestry of the
old chapel one day in every week, where the poor had full liberty to apply for bis ad-vice. If I
found any sick poor destitute of medical attendance, he was always ready to visit them without
fee or reward. One instance of the kindness he felt for the poor, I am thankful for an oppor
tunity of recording. When I was stationed at Leeds, Dr. Hamilton called On me one morning,
to ask me if I knew of any person in particular want, saying, he had just received a sum of money
which he had considered as a bad debt, and he therefore wished to give it to the poor. I had
just received a letter from a pious man at Sunderland, where I had beeu stationed a few years
before, stating his difficulties through want of employ, and that it had been impressed on his
mind to write to me. I showed the Doctor this letter, who gave me two guineas for the poor
man, which was sent -without delay ; shortly afterwards a letter from the same person, full of
gratitude to God and to the donor, came to hand, which I showed to my friend, who gave me
three guineas more for the worthy object. The impression on the mind of the poor man — the
time wheu the letter came — a sum of money unexpectedly received — and the inquiry made aftar.
proper objects, all concurred to show the hand of Providence, and that the Lord careth for the
righteous. "
The figure to the left of Mr. Wesley is that of the REV. JOSEPH COLE,
of whose life almost no memorial whatever has been preserved. He was for
thirty-five years a Methodist preacher, having joined the Rev. John Wesley in
1780. He maintained an unblemished character, and was esteemed an accept
able " labourer in the vineyard." His talents were respectable ; and his dis
courses were distinguished for simplicity, spirituality, and energy. He was
stationed in Edinburgh during the years 1789-90 and 1791. " His recollections
VOL. II. Y

162 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
of the apostolic Wesley, and of the great work which God had wrought in his day
never failed to inspire him -with the deepest feelings of veneration and delight,
of gratitude and praise. The infirmities of age compelled him, in the year 1815,
to retire from the labours of itinerancy. He then selected Caermarthen for his
residence ; where, surrounded by friends whom he had long known, and by whom
he was deservedly esteemed, he continued to pursue his Master's work, till his
vigorous constitution sank under the ravages of a disease, originally produced
by frequent and long rides, in excessive rain and cold, while travelling from
place to place in order to publish the Gospel of peace. Full of the hopes and
consolations inspired by that Gospel, he finished his course with joy on the
Lord's Day, January 8, 1826, in the seventy-eighth year of his age."

No. CCXXVII.
SIE WILLIAM HONYMAN, BAET.,
OF ARMADALE.
William Honyman, eldest son of Patrick Honyman of Graemsay, by Margaret,
daughter and heiress of M'Kay of Strathy,' was born in December 1756. He
was the fourth in descent from Andrew Honyman, Bishop of Orkney, the
founder of the family; who, on the streets of Edinburgh, July 1668, was
wounded in the arm by a poisoned bullet, intended for Archbishop Sharpe, of
St. Andrews, whose coach he was in the act of stepping into at the moment.^
Mr. Honyman was admitted to the bar in 1777, and appointed Sheriff-depute
of Lanarkshire in 1786, in the room of Mr. Robert Sinclair, who resigned. On
the death of Lord Dreghorn, in 1797, he was promoted to the bench, and
assumed the title of Lord Armadale — from a landed property he inherited by
his mother, in the county of Sutherland. In 1799, on the promotion of Lord
Eskgrove, he was named one of the Lords of Justiciary; and in 1804 had the
honour of baronetcy conferred on him.
Sir William Honyman, both as a lawyer and a judge, displayed very consider
able talents, as well as sound judgment. A specimen of his judicial argument is to
be found in the Appendix to Hutcheson's " Treatise on the Offices of a Justice
of the Peace," etc. in the case of " His Majesty's Advocate, v. James Taylor,
and other Journeymen Paper-makers," decided in 1808. These persons had
combined to procure a rise of wages, and were indicted to stand trial before
the High Court of Justiciary. On the relevancy of the indictment, the bench
1 She was cousin to Donald Lord Eeay.
2 The bullet was fired by one Mitchell, who had been engaged at the affair of Pentland Hills.
The Bishop never entirely recovered from the effects of the wound, and died in February 1676.

237

228

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 163
divided. . Lords Craig, Cullen, and Hermand argued against ; and Lords
Armadale, Meadowbank, and the Lord Justice-Clerk for the relevancy ; but, as
the latter had only a casting vote, the libel was found " not relevant" — and the
parties were dismissed.
On resigning his offices in the Courts of Session and Justiciary in 1811,
Lord Armadale retired to Smyllum Park, his residence in Lanarkshire, where
he died on the 5th June 1826. He married Mary, eldest daughter of the Lord
Justice-Clerk, M'Queen, of Braxfield, by whom he had a numerous family. His
two eldest .sons, Patrick and Robert, entered the army. The former served in
the 28th Light Dragoons ; and the latter, who died in Jamaica on the 20th
November 1809 — deeply regretted as an officer of much gallantry and the
highest promise — was Lieut.-Colonel of the 18th Regiment of Foot. The
following notice of his demise appeared in the journals : —
" In Jamaica, Lieut.-Colonel Robert Honyman, second son of Lord Armadale. He served as
a volunteer during the campaign in Egypt, where he was honoured with the approbation of Sir
Ralph Abercromby, and acquired the esteem and friendship of Sir John Moore, Generals Hope,
Spencer, and other distinguished officers. At the attack on the Dutch lines, at the capture of
the Cape of Good Hope, he, under Sir David Baird, led on the 93d Regiment, of which he was
Major, and was severely wounded. As Lieut.-Colonel of the 18th Foot, he lately received the
thanks of the Commander-in-Chief of the Island of Jamaica, for his active services in suppressing
a mutiny of the black troops in that Island, where he has since fallen a victim to the fever of
the country, at the age of twenty-seven. "

No. CCXXVIIL
EEV. DE. ALEXANDEE TUENBULL,
OF DALLADIES.
Dr. Alexander Turnbull was the eldest son of Mr. George TurnbuU, Writer
to the Signet, a gentleman of good family (being a descendant of the TurnbuUs
of Stracathro, in Forfarshire), and of considerable eminence in his profession.
By his mother's side, he was related in a distant degree to the celebrated
Charles James Fox.' He was "born in Merlin's Wynd (subsequently removed
on the erection of the South Bridge), in the month of February 1748. While
yet a minor, he had the misfortune to lose his father, but the loss was
mitigated by the good offices of Lord Gardenstone, whom Mr. Turnbull had
appointed guardian to his children. At the usual age the subject of this notice
was apprenticed to Mr. Walter Scott, Writer to the Signet, father of Sir Walter
Scott, a gentleman of whom he was accustomed to speak in terms of affection
1 The rise of the family of Fox is curious. Though there are peerages, viz. Ilchester and Holland,
in the family, the founder. Sir Stephen Fox, was originally a footman, iu the reign of Charles II.

164 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
and whose memory he held in the highest respect. But not relishing the
profession of the law, even although its elements were to be imbibed from so
respectable a source, he turned his attention to the Church ; and his family being
of the Scottish Episcopalian persuasion, he was some time after admitted to
orders, and appointed curate, first at Long Houghton, and next at Long Horseley,
in Northumberland, a li-ving worth about £30 a year. He appears also to
have officiated for a short time as a chaplain of a regiment. From his connec
tions, and particularly from his relationship to Mr. Fox, he had a fair prospect
of advancement in the Church ; and, in point of fact, a rectory was at an early
period -within his reach. But it is to be presumed that some pecuniary con
sideration was exacted as the condition of this preferment. On repairing to
London to make the necessary arrangements, being required prior to induction
to take the customary oaths, he declined, from conscientious motives, and
afterwards retired into private life.
For a long time after the death of his father. Dr. TurnbuU's income from
his estates was of limited amount ; but, being a man of frugal and economical
habits, his expenditure never exceeded his means : and with reference to this
period of his life, he used jocularly to say, that he always took care to keep
five pounds between him and the de-v>-il. Until latterly, his usual place of
residence was London, where he passed the greater part of his time, living
among his respectable relations, except when he visited his friends in Scotland,
which he generally did once a year. In the metropolis he had ample oppor
tunities of mixing in the best society, and of making the acquaintance of
persons of distinction or celebrity ; among the most noted of whom we may
mention Prince Talleyrand and Mr. Munro, President of the United States of
America. Although his family were non-jurors, and as such friendly to the exiled
house of Stuart, Dr. Turnbull, at an early period of life, attached himself to
the party and the political principles of Mr. Fox, for whom he entertained the
highest admiration, and continued throughout life a steadfast and uncompromis
ing friend to the liberty and improvement of mankind. Among men who
consider lukewarmness a proof of wisdom, Dr. Turnbull may have been thought
a violent politician ; and he was undoubtedly a warm admirer of the American
and French revolutions — of the former absolutely, and of the latter until it
degenerated into anarchy and military despotism ; but benevolence formed the
basis of his political creed, as well as of his personal character ; and hence,
although many dissented from his opinions, none that knew disliked the man.
In Edinburgh, where he was well known, his circle of acquaintance was most
extensive ; , and few persons who have moved in general society were ever held
in greater esteem.
Among his friends and acquaintances in Scotland were Lord Panmure and
Mr. Fergusson of Raith ; and to both he was warmly attached. For the last
fifteen years of his life. Dr. Turnbull resided at Alnwick, near to where he
had, in early life, officiated as curate. TUl age and infirmity prevented him

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES; 166
he continued regularly to visit his friends in Scotland ; and, among others, the
Hon. William Maule (afterwards Lord Panmure), of whom he always spoke in
terms of high respect and esteem. After the Doctor became unable to travel,
Lord Panmure, in his journeys to or from London, was in the practice of calling
for him at Alnwick — a mark of attention of which he felt proud.
For many years Dr. Turnbull was senior freeholder in the counties of Fife
and Kincardine. About the beginning of the century, upon occasion of a
general election, a venerable Baronet, at the head of one of the courts of law,
stood as candidate to represent the latter county in Parliament ; and an applica
tion was made to the Doctor for his vote. He promised to vote for the
candidate, provided he would answer certain questions. This having been
assented to, the Doctor proceeded to put his interrogatories — one of which was,
Why the candidate chaUenged Mr. Fox to fight a duel 1 The answer to the
question did not give entire satisfaction ; but the Doctor agreed to support the
candidate, on the condition that, " if returned member for the county, he would,
in his place in Parliament, vote against war and oppression of every kind, both
at home and abroad, and against iniquity and injustice, whenever such might
be attempted." He required a guarantee for these conditions, which was
immediately offered by the candidate.
On Mr. Kay's first publication of this Print, in place of taking offence, as
others had done, at the freedom used, the Doctor purchased a large number for
distribution among his friends. He merely remarked that the artist had in one
respect not done him justice, as the picture represented him wearing unblackened
shoes, whereas his shoes were daUy cleaned and blackened.
As a landlord, Dr. Turnbull was liberal and indulgent in no ordinary degree ;
and although in many things he required strictness and punctuality, his principle
was, never to exact from his tenants more than they were easily able to pay for
their lands. Besides, he took great pleasure in administering to their comfort
and happiness, and nothing afforded him more satisfaction than to hear of their
prosperity. From his early introduction into society, about the middle of the last century,
Dr. Turnbull, in dress, habits, and manners, naturally belonged to the " olden
time ; " and having been acquainted with many of the most eminent men of his
day, he possessed a fund of amusing anecdote and interesting information
regarding the past. He was a man of rather eccentric habits ; yet his sterling
integrity of principle, and his never-ceasing charity and good will to his fellow-
creatures — qualities which might have covered a multitude of sins — nobly
redeemed a few innocent and harmless peculiarities. Withal, he possessed in a
high degree the air and manner of a well-bred gentleman and man of the
world — and had received from society all its polish and refinement, without
contracting any of its heartlessness and insincerity. To the last his affections
were warm, his benevolence active, and his sympathy with the cause of liberty
unchilled even by the frost of age. He died at Alnwick in 1831, in the eighty-
fourth year of his age.

166 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

No. CCXXIX.
MAEGAEET SUTTIE,
A HAWKER OF SALT.
This well-known character was an native of Fisherrow. Her mother, Margaret
Suttie — for neither she nor her daughter were ever married — was reputed
a witch; and some of her "cantrips," particularly her encounter with Jamie
Vernon's dog, and the manner in which she retaliated on Jamie's cows, are still
remembered and believed by many among whom the superstitions of a former
age are not yet entirely eradicated.
After the death of the old woman, Margaret the younger took up her resi
dence at Niddry, half-a-mile south-east of Duddingston, and made her living, as
her mother had done before her, by vending salt in Edinburgh— daily going the
rounds of the city in the manner portrayed in the caricature. On leaving home
in the morning, her route was directed by the Saltpans of Joppa or Pinkie,
where she purchased a supply sufficient for the day. The price of salt at the
Pans was then thirteenpence halfpenny a peck — about seven pounds weight
— which she retaUed at sixpence a caup — a wooden measure one-fourth of a
peck' " Wha'U buy my lucky forpit o' sa-at — Na, na, deil ane yet ! " was Maggy's
usual cry, sometimes varied into a species of rhyme, as she proceeded along the
streets. By lucky she meant good measure ; and when questioned as to her
reason for repeating the words — " Na, na, deil ane yet " — her reply was, that
she always experienced maist luck on the days she used them.
Margaret had an inveterate habit of talking aloud. Whatever happened to
be passing in her mind found unconscious utterance from her lips ; and she was
frequently followed by the youngsters, who were amused by her singular ejacu
lations. One day, whUe plying her vocation in the Cowgate, an extremely
corpulent gentleman of " the cloth " happened to be wending his way a short
distance ahead. His waddling gait, and excessive breadth, immediately attracted
the notice of Maggy. " Eh, but he's fat^ — see how he shugs ! — Wha'U buy my
lucky forpit o' sa-at — see how he shugs ! " In this way she continued to sing
her cry, much to the amusement of the bystanders, until the fat man in black
had fairly waddled out of her sight.
In consequence of the repeal of the duty on salt, old Maggy's occupation
ceased, and vrith it the cry of " Wha'U buy sa-at " — which used to be a source
of great annoyance to the inhabitants. It is somewhat remarkable that this
^ The one end of the measure was a forpit ; the other, half a forpit.

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229

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 167
retail trade should have remained entirely in the hands of females. The salt-
wives were nearly as numerous at one time as the fish-wives. Margaret, however,
did not live to witness the change.'^ She died about the year 1810.

No. CCXXX.
AECHIBALD HAMILTON EOWAN, ESQ.,
OF KILLILEAGH, IN IRELAND,
AND
THE HON. SIMON BUTLEE.
This Etching represents these gentlemen as they appeared on the streets of
Edinburgh in 1793. The portraitures are extremely characteristic, particularly
that of Rowan. His figure is tall, robust, and erect, with much of that air of
nonchalance for which he was remarkable. In his hand is a huge club, bearing
the significant inscription — " A Pill for a Puppy."
In the course of the trial of Muir of Huntershill, the then Lord Advocate of
Scotland, Dundas of Arnlston, alluding to the leaders of the United Irishmen
of Dublin, spoke of them as " wretches who had fled from punishment." Dr. "
Drennan being then president, and Mr. Rowan secretary, the latter, on the
20th October 1793, addressed a letter to Dundas, demanding instant explana
tion and recantation of the false and injurious epithets ; with an assurance, that
unless a satisfactory answer was returned in course of post, Mr. Rowan would
pay him a personal visit before the expiry, of the month. No reply was made ;
and in the meantime measures were taken by the Procurator Fiscal (Mr. Wm.
Scott) to insure the apprehension of Mr. Rowan on his arrival. A petition was
presented to the Sheriff, stating " that A. H. Rowan, Esq., , of the kingdom
of Ireland, designing himself Secretary to the Society of United Irishmen
in Dublin, with a wicked and malicious intent, and for other seditious and
dangerous purposes, is just now come to this country, and is within your Lordship's
jurisdiction.'' This petition was presented on the 28th October, and a warrant
of the same date was immediately granted ; although, so far from being within
the Sheriff's . jurisdiction, the party to be apprehended had not then left
Dublin.^ ^ Prior to the reduction of the duty, the more economical portion of the workmg community were
in the habit of laymg in a small store of salt about the Martinmas time, suiEcient to serve throughout
the winter. To a managing housewife the proflt of the hawker was of considerable moment ; and
many a denizen of Edinburgh, looking back to his boyish days, must recollect how oft he has joy
fully trudged to the Pans of Joppa for his "peck o' sa't."
^ A copy of the petition and warrant appeared in the Morning Chronicle and Cornier newspapers,
as a specimen of Scottish orimmal procedure.

168 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Mr. Rowan, attended by his friend, the Honourable Simon Rutler, arrived
in Edinburgh on the 4th November, about mid-day, at Dumbreck's Hotel, when
the latter lost no time in waiting on the Lord Advocate, at his house in George
Square. He was received in a polite manner by his lordship, who said, that
although not bound to give any explanation of what he might consider proper
to state in his official capacity, yet he would return an answer to Mr. Rowan's
note without delay. Mr. William Moffat, solicitor, the agent and friend of
Muir, who had been sent for by Mr. Rowan, immediately on his arrival, was
present in Dumbreck's when Mr. Butler returned from George Square. This
gentleman had hardly finished an account of his interview, when George William
son, King's Messenger, accompanied by two sheriff-officers, made their appearance
with the Lord Advocate's answer ; and, without much ceremony, intimated the
Sheriff's warrant for the apprehension of Mr. Rowan. There was no charge or
warrant against Mr. Butler ; but he accompanied his friend in a coach to the
Sheriff's Office, attended by the messenger and his assistants.
Acting by the advice of Mr. Moffat, who protested against the legality of
the charges on which the warrant proceeded, Mr. Rowan indignantly refused to
answer the interrogatories of the Sheriff. In consequence, a warrant was issued
for his incarceration until liberated in due course of law. Colonel Norman
Macleod, M.P. for Inverness-shire, who happened to be in tovvn, and was by
this time in attendance at the Office, immediately became surety. Mr. Rowan
and his friends then adjourned to Hunter's tavern. Royal Exchange, where they
were hospitably regaled by the gallant Colonel.
On the following morning Rowan and Butler visited Mr. Muir in the Tol
booth, where, accompanied by Colonel Macleod, Captain Johnston, and Mr.
Moffat, they dined with him next day. On this occasion, Hamilton Rowan gave
Muir a pair of elegant pistols, of the finest cut steel, remarkably small, and of
curious workmanship, to be kept in remembrance of the donor, and as a safe
guard, in case of need, during the perils he was destined to encounter.'
Mr. Rowan and his friend Mr. Butler remained in Edinburgh for the space
of eight days. Pre-rious to their departure, they were entertained at a public
dinner in Hunter's tavern. Royal Exchange, given by a select number of the
Friends of the People ; among whom were Mr. Moffat, Colonel Macleod, and
about sixty other friends. The entrance to the tavern was carefully watched by
a party of sheriff and town-officers, for the purpose of noting the names of all
who attended the banquet. But the greatest harmony prevaUed ; and thus ter-
mniated the frightful vision of treason and sedition created in the minds of the
authorities by the visit of Mr. Rowan and his friend. Although held to baU
1 The pistols were afterwards taken from Muir while on board the revenue cutter in Leith Roads.
He made no secret of the present — ^frequently showing them, on account of their curious workman
ship, not only to his friends, but to the ofioers of the cutter ; and no doubt from inforraation com
municated to the Sheriff, a warrant was, granted to enforce their delivery. Repeated applications in
which Mim-'s father concurred, were afterwards made for the restoration of the pistols, but without
effect.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 169
to answer any criminal charge that could be instituted against him, nothing of
the sort was attempted by the public prosecutor ; consequently Mr. Rowan's
baU-bond fell to the ground.
The political history of ARCHIBALD HAMILTON ROWAN is pretty
generally known. His own name was HamUton — that of Rowan having
been assumed on succeeding to a property of considerable extent. The family
from which he was descended — if we are rightly informed — was of Scottish
origin, and had attained to much wealth and respectabUity. He was born
about the year 1750, and was early distinguished for a chivalrous enthusiasm
of disposition — kind and benevolent even to excess, but somewhat pugnacious
and jealous of his honour. Barrington, in his " Personal Sketches," gives the
following highly coloured, but amusing picture of his character and appearance,
prior to the unhappy political transactions in which he subsequently became
involved : —
' "There were few persons whose history was connected with that of Ireland during my time
who excited my interest in a greater degree than Mr. Hamilton Rowan. The dark points of this
gentleman's character have been assiduously exhibited by persons who knew little or nothing of
his life ; and that too, long after he had ceased to be an obnoxious character. I will endeavour
to show the obverse of the medal ; and I claim the meed of perfect disinterestedness, which will,
I think, be awarded, when I state that I never had the least social intercourse with Mr. Eowan,
whose line of politics was always decidedly opposed to my own.
"Archibald Hamilton Eowan (I believe he still lives) " — Barrington wrote in 1826 — "is a
gentleman of most respectable family, and of ample fortune : considered merely as a private
character, I fancy there are few who will not give him full credit for every quality which does
honour to that station iu society. As a philanthropist, he certainly carried his ideas even
beyond reason, and to a degree of excess which I really think laid in his mind the foundation of
all his enthusiastic proceedings, both in common life and in polities.
" The first interview I had with this gentleman did not occupy more than a few minutes,
but it was of a most impressive nature ; aud, though now eight-and-thirty years back, appears
as fresh to my eye as if it had taken place yesterday ; in truth, I believe it must be equally
present to every individual of the company who survives, and is not too old to remember anything.
" In 1788 a very young girl of the name of Mary Neil had been ill-treated by a person
unknown, aided ty a woman. The late Lord Carhampton was supposed to be the tran.sgressor,
but without any proof whatsoever of his lordship's culpability. The humour of Hamilton Rowan,
whioh had a sort of Quixotic tendency to resist all oppression, and to redress every species of
wrong, led him to take up the cause of Mary Neil with a zeal and enthusiastic perseverance
which nobody but the Knight of La Mancha could have exceeded. Day and night the ill treat
ment of this girl was the subject of his thoughts, his actions, his dreams. He even went about
preaching a kind of crusade iu her favour, and succeeded in gaining a great many partisans
among the citizens ; and in short, he eventually obtained a conviction of the • woman, as
accessory to a crime, the perpetrator whereof remained undiscovered ; and she accordingly
received sentence of death. Still Mary Weil was, not bettered by this conviction : she was
utterly unpro-vided for, had suffered much, and seemed quite wretched. Yet there were not
wanting peirsons who doubted her truth, decried her former character, and represented her .story
as that of an impostor. This not only hurt the feelings and philanthropy, but the pride of
Hamilton Eowan ; and he vowed personal vengeance against her calumniators, high and low.
' ' At this time, about twenty young barristers, including myself, had formed a dinner club in
Dublin. We had taken large apartments for the purpose ; and, as we were not yet troubled
with too much business, were in the habit of faring luxuriously every day, and taking a bottle of
the best claret that could be obtained. There never existed a more cheerful, nor half so cheap a
VOL. IL Z

170 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.,
dinner club.^ One day, while dining with our usual hilarity, the servant informed us that a
gentleman below stairs desired to be admitted for a mmrtent. We considered it to be some
brother barrister who requested permission to join our party, and desired him to be shown in.
What was our surprise, however, on perceiving the figure that presented itself ! — a man, who
might have served as a model for a Hercules ; his gigantic limbs conveying the idea of almost
supernatural strength ; his shoulders, arms, and broad chest, were the very emblems of muscular
energy ; and his flat, rough countenance, overshadowed by enormous dark eyebrows, and deeply
fuiTowed by strong lines of vigour and fortitude, completed one of the finest, yet most formid
able figures I had ever beheld. He was very well dressed. Close by his side stalked in a shaggy
Newfoundland dog of corresponding magnitude, with hair a foot long ; and who, if he should be
voraciously inclined, seemed well able to devour a barrister or two without overcharging his
stomach. As he entered, indeed, he alternately looked at us and then up at his master, as if
only waiting the orders of the latter to commence the onslaught. His master held in his hand
a large, yellow, knotted club, slung by a leathern thong round his great wrist : he had also a
long smallsword by his side.
" This apparition walked deliberately up to the table ; and, having made his obeisance with
seeming courtesy, a short pause ensued, during which he looked round on all the company with
au aspect, if not stern, yet ill calculated to set our minds at ease either as to his or his dog's
ulterior intentions.
" ' Gentlemen ! ' at length he said, in a tone and with an air at once so mild and courteous,
nay so polished, as fairly to give the lie, as it were, to his gigantic and threatening figure ;
' Gentlemen ! I liave heard with very great regret that some members of this club have been so
indiscreet as to calumniate the character of Mary Neil, which, from the part I have taken, I
feel identified with my own : if any present hath done so, I doubt not he will now have the
candour and courage to avow it. Who avows it ? ' The dog looked up at him again ; he returned
the glance ; but contented himself, for the present, with patting the animal's head, and was
silent ; so were we. ^
" The extreme surprise, indeed, with which our party were seized, bordering almost on
consternation, rendered aU consultation as to a reply out of the question ; and never did I see
the old axiom, that ' what is everybody's business is nobody's business, ' more thoroughly exem
plified. A few of the company whispered each his neighbour, and I perceived one or two steal
a fruit-knife under the table-cloth, iu case of extremities ; but no one made any reply. We
were eighteen in number ; and as neither would or could answer for the others, it would require
eighteen replies to satisfy the giant's single query ; and I fancy some of us could not have replied
to his satisfaction, and stood to the truth into the bargain. He repeated his demand (elevating
hia tone each time) thrice : ' Does any gentleman avow it ?' A faint buzz now circulated round
the room, but there was no a-iiswer whatsoever. Communication was cut off, and there was a
dead silence : at length our visitor said with a, loud voice, that he must suppose if any gentle
man had made any observations or assertions against Mary Neil's character, he" would have had
the courage and spirit to avow it : 'therefore,' continued he, ' I shall take it for granted that
my information was erroneous ; and, in that point of view, I regret having alarmed your society.
And, without another word, he bowed three times very low, and retired backwards towards the
door (his dog also backing out with equal politeness), where, with a salam, doubly ceremonious
Mr. Rowan ended this extraordinary interview. On the first of his departing bows, by a simul
taneous impulse, we all rose and returned his salute, almost touching the table with our noses
but StiU in profound silence ; which booing on both sides was repeated, as I have said, till he
was fairly out of the room. Three or four of the company then ran hastily to the window to
be sure that he and the dog were clear off into the street ; and no sooner had this satisfactory
denouement been ascertained, than a general roar of laughter ensued, and we talked it over in a
hundred different ways. The whole of our arguments, however, turned upon the question 
' which had behaved the politest upon the occasion ?' but not one word was uttered as to which
had behaved the stoutest. "

1 One of us. Counsellor Townly Fitgate (afterwards chairman of Wicklow county), having a
pleasure cutter of his own in the harbour of Dublin, used to send her to smuggle claret for us from
the Isle of Man. He made a friend of one of the tide-waiters, and we consequently had the very
best wines on the cheapest possible terms.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 171
" This spirit of false chivalry," adds Barrington, " which took such entire
possession of Hamilton Rowan's understanding, was soon diverted into the
channels of political theory." The "wrongs of Ireland," real and imaginary,
were not without their influence on a mind so susceptible of humane and
honourable impressions. In 1782 he had participated in the memorable but
short-lived triumph obtained for their country by the Volunteers, whom the
emergency of the times called into existence ; and he saw with equal regret the
return of anarchy and disorganisation which so speedily followed that propitious
effort of national unanimity. The spirit of democracy, so fearfully awakened in
the Revolution of France, acted with talismanic effect upon the people of Ireland,
where the patriotic exertions and eloquence of a Grattan and a Curran were
expended in vain against the corruption of the Irish Parliament.
In Hamilton Rowan the promoters of the societies of " United Irishmen,"
the first of which was held in Belfast in October 1791, found an infiuential and
enthusiastic coadjutor. The first sitting of the Dublin Society was held on the
9th November following ; the Hon. Simon Butler in the chair, and James
Napper Tandy, secretary. Of this body Hamilton Rowan was an original
member; but it was not till 1792, at the meeting on the 23d November,
that we find him officially engaged in the proceedings. Dr. Drennan (whose
talents as a -writer have been much admired) was elected chairman, and Mr.
Rowan, secretary.
The -views of the " United Irishmen " were ostensibly the accomplishment
of political reformation — and probably nothing farther was at first contemplated ;
but it soon became evident that measures as well as principles were in progress,
which were likely to increase and strengthen in proportion as a redress of
grievances was denied or postponed. That national independence was an event,
among others, to which the United Irishmen looked forward, is strongly coun
tenanced by concurring circumstances — although it ought to be borne in mind
that the original political associations were entirely distinct from those subse
quently ehtered into, bearing similar designations. Early in 1792 a body of
volunteers were formed in Dublin, approximating in design to the National
Guards of France — the' leaders of whom were Hamilton Rowan aud Napper
Tandy. This body of armed citizens — who " wore clothing of a particular
uniform, with emblems of harps divested of the Royal Crown " — had hitherto
met only in srhall divisions ; but a general meeting, to be held on Sunday the
7th -September, was at length announced in a placard, to which was attached
the signature of Mathew Dowling. Alarmed at this procedure the Government
issued a counter proclamation the day previous, which proved so entirely
authoritative, that the only individuals who appeared on parade in uniform
were Ro-w'an, Tandy, and Carey, printer to the Society.
Immediately following this, the " United Irishmen " met in consultation —
an energetic address to the Volunteers of Ireland, or rather the disorganised
remains of that once powerful body, was agreed on — and the Guards of Dublin
were summoned to meet in a house in Cape Street, belonging to Pardon, a

172 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
fencing-master, upon the 1 6th December. The gallery of this room was set
apart for spectators, and the body of the apartment for those who were in
uniform, about two hundred of whom assembled. Hamilton Rowan and Napper
Tandy were conspicuous at the table — both read parts of the address, and were
busily engaged in circulating copies among the audience. The address — to
which the names of Dr. Drennan and Mr. Rowan were appended, as chairman
and secretary — was of a character too democratic to escape the notice of Govern
ment. It began in the then obnoxious and revolutionary language of France :
— " Citizen soldiers ! you first took up arms to protect your country from
foreign enemies, and from domestic disturbance. For the same purposes it
now becomes necessary that you should resume them." It then went on to
state the peculiar circumstances of the times — the existing grievances — enlarg
ing on the necessity for reform— the blessings of liberty — and concluded with
this appeal — " The fifteenth of February approaches — a day ever memorable in
the annals of this country, as the birthday of new Ireland ; let parochial meet
ings be held as soon as possible — let each parish return delegates — let the sense
of Ulster be again declared from Dungannon on a day auspicious to union,
peace, and freedom ; and the spirit of the north will again become the spirit of
the nation. * * Answer us by your actions ! You have taken time for con
sideration : fourteen long years are elapsed since the rise of your association :
and in 1782 did you imagine that in 1792 this nation would still remain
unrepresented ! How many nations in this interval have gotten the start of
Ireland 1 How many of your countrymen sunk into the grave ! "
, Early in January 1 793,a fewweeks after the publication of this address,Rowan
and Tandy were arrested — brought before Justice Downes,' and liberated on
bail.^ Tandy made his escape, forfeiting his bond ; but Mr. Rowan boldly stood
his ground, and almost daily attended the King's Bench. At length finding
" no bills sent up to the grand jury against him, he moved the court by counsel,
that the recognisances entered into by him and his bail should be vacated." This
step forced on the prosecution ; and after several postponements, the trial at last
took place on the 29th January 1794. Curran v.ras counsel for Mr. Rowan,
and although he failed in procuring the acquittal of his client, made an admir
able defence. The speech deUvered by this celebrated barrister on that occasion
has been often referred to as one of surpassing eloquence. Several passages —
particularly those on Catholic emancipation and the liberty of the press — have
been often quoted, and must be famUiar to almost every one. He described
his client as " a man of the most beloved personal character — of one of the
most respected families of our country — himself the only individual of that
famUy — I may almost say of that country." The Attorney-General and
Prime-Sergeant replied to Mr. Curran, and the Lord Chief Justice (the Earl
1 Afterwards created Lord Downes, with remainder to his son-in-law. Sir Ulysses Burgh, the
subsequent Lord Downes.
2 Dr. Drennan was also arrested and brought to trial, but acquitted, as it could not be proven
that he was accessory to the publication of the libel.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 173
of Clqnmell) having summed up the evidence, the jury retired a few minutes,
and returned with a verdict of guilty, which the audience heard with strong
manifestations of disapprobation. Mr. Rowan was conveyed back to Newgate ;
and as Mr. Curran — who had been repeatedly applauded even in Court — was
about to proceed home, the horses were taken from his carriage, and he was
drawn to his own house by the people — a vast crowd of whom were congre
gated, anxiously waiting the result of the trial.
A motion was made on the part of HamUton Rowan for a new trial ; but this
being overruled, he was brought before the Court of King's Bench on the 7th
February, when Justice Boyd pronounced the sentence of the Court — " That
Archibald Hamilton Rowan should be imprisoned in the gaol of Newgate, for
two years, to commence from the day of his trial ; that he should pay a fine of
£500 to his Majesty, and remain in prison tUl the same be paid ; and that he
shall give security to keep the peace for seven years himself, in £2000, and two
sureties in £1000 each." In his defence before the Court, Mr. Rowan did not.
attempt to palliate his political conduct — " I have heard much of United Irish
men," said he ^"much calumny here and elsewhere. I avow myself to be one
— my name has appeared to several of their publications. I glory in the name.
On entering that Society I took a test, by which I am bound to seek for the
emancipation of every class of my fellow-citizens, and to procure (by spreading
information, for that is the only mode a few men assembled in Back-lane can
adopt) a reform in the representation of the people — a reform, the necessity of
which has been allowed even in Parliament. These are our objects — objects
which I am bound to pursue to their completion.''
Mr. Rowan had not been long in Newgate when, by the arrest of Jackson —
an English divine who came to Ireland as an emissary of the French — he had
every reason to think it probable that he might be implicated in a charge of
high treason. He therefore resolyed to effect his escape — which he accomplished
in a singular and romantic manner. From his station in society, and respect
abUity of character, he was frequently permitted to accompany Mrs. Rowan
-without the walls to her carriage, and indulged in many other privileges by the
gaolers. Of his escape and subsequent particulars of his history, the following
unvarnished yet interesting narrative has been given by himself : .
" Dublin, December 1816.
"When I had been in Newgate about four months, in consequence of my sentence, the Eev.
Mr. Jackson, an Englishman, and an emissary from France, came to this country. He was
accompanied by another person, to whom he had communicated the object of his mission, and who
pretended to assist his Views, but had in fact betrayed him to the minister, and accompanied
him to Ireland as a spy. They were introduced to me in the jaiL We had several conferences ;
and at last a statement of the situation ofthis country was agreed upon and given to Jackson, in
my hand--writing. Mr. Jackson's friend was employed by him to put this into the Post Office,
directed to Hamburgh. He was seized in the act, and taken before the Pri-vy Council. Mr.
Jackson was committed to prison. In the evening Mr. Jackson's friend came to my room, and
requested I would procure him admission to Jackson, which I did ; for at this time there was
no suspicion of the friend, nor of my being implicated with Jackson. In this interview he said,
that in his examination he had acknowledged the letter to have been given to him by Jackson ;

174 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
said the Privy Council seemed to be much exasperated against me, and had asked him whether
the statement was not in my hand-writing ? — which he had answered by saying he had never
seen me write ; that his examination Was not legal evidence, as he had refused to sign it ; and
that he was determined to return immediately to England ; but that at any rate it was necessary
to have two witnesses to con-vict of high treason ; and if we adhered to one another we should
be safe. I asked him whether Jackson's situation would be rendered worse in case I could
make my escape. He said, No ; but he feared the thing would be impossible. I left him with
his friend and have never seen him since. ^
"The next morning I set about my scheme, and got it accomplished at twelve that night.
It would be a waste of paper to recount the various deceptions practised on the under jailor,
which induced him to accompany me to my o-jvn house, where a rope being slung ready out of a
two pair of stairs window, enabled me to descend into the garden, and to take a horse out ot the
stable, and meet a friend who should conduct me to a place of refuge.
" When the gaoler became impatient, and forced into my wife's room, she made him every
offer if he would conceal himself and go to America, not raising a pursuit, but permitting it to
be supposed that he had accompanied me in my flight, which he absolutely refused, swearing that
he would as soon see me hanged.^ I was taken to the house of a gentleman named Sweetman,
since dead. It was soon found that the most probable means of escaping from this country
would be a small pleasure boat of Mr. Sweetman 's ; but she was neither sea-worthy, nor equipped
for a Channel cruise ; and a farther question was, who would risk themselves with me who were
not in the same danger ? Mr. Sweetman, however, did not despair, and was successful. He
procured three sailors of the vicinity of Buldoyle, where his house was, about four miles from
Dublin, to whom he promised they should be well paid if they would take a gentleman to
France in his boat ; and they consented. Two of them, the most trusty, had been in the smug
gling trade, and knew the coasts of both countries.
" The next day was occupied in procuring provisions, charts, etc. etc. In the evening, when
Mr. Sweetman returned, the three men came to him and showed him a, proclamation which
had been distributed during his absence, and which offered in different sums — from the Govern
ment, the city, and the gaoler — nearly £2000 for my apprehension. They said, ' It is Mr.
HamUton Rowan we are to take to France ;' without hesitation he answered it was. They as
instantly replied, ' Never mind it. By  we will land him safe.'
' ' We sailed with a fair wind, which, however, in the night got ahead, and blew hard. As
we could not keep the sea, we returned to our old moorings under Howth. The next day the
wind was again fair ; and after some other occurrences on the third day I landed at Eoscoff, on
the coast of Bretagne, under the fortified town of St. Paul de Leon.
' ' I remained an eventful year in France, and sailed from Ha-vre, passing as an American to
Philadelphia.' My departure from France being known, the Earl of Clare gave Mrs. H. E. an
assurance that, although the prosecution against me must proceed with the utmost rigour, yet
^ he would use his influence to procure a restoration of the estates to the family — eight children
and herself. All the forms of law were gone through, except the appointment of an agent for
^ The fate of Jackson created great excitement m Dublin. His trial took place m April 1794 ;
and being convicted, he was brought np for judgment on the 30th of the same month. He was
observed to be suffering from acute bodily pain ; and, while sentence was about to be pronounced,
he dropped do-wn and expired. On a post-mortem examination it appeared that his death was
occasioned by poison, whioh he had himself administered.
2 Two of the imder keepers of Newgate, Alexander M'Dowell and William M'Dowell, were
brought to trial at the Court of King's Bench for "aiding and assisting the escape of Archibald
Hamilton Rowan, and sentenced to be imprisoned one year and nine months, being the annexed
period of Mr. Rowan's sentence, and to pay a fine of £250 each, making £500 — the sum which Mr.
Rowan was condemned to pay."
3 Mr. Rowan arrived in Philadelphia from Havre on the 17th July 1795. He had a narrow
escape ; the vessel in which he sailed was boarded by his Majesty's ship Melampus ; and Mr. Rowan
¦was introduced to the olficer as a Mr. Thomson of South Carolina. Soon after his arrival, he had
the singular pleasure of meeting accidentally, at a cafe in Philadelphia, some of his most dis
tinguished friends, Wolfe Tone, Najjper Tandy, Thomas Addis Emmet, and others ; all active
leaders of the United Irishmen, and who had separately succeeded in reaching America.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. - 175
the Crown. This consoling information was received by Lord Clare in 1769, with a passport
from the British Government for me to meet my family in Denmark, and a farther promise of
procuring me a pardon when there should be a peace with France.
"luord Clare died between the time of the signature of the preliminaries and that of the
definite peace of 1803, and I was left without a patron. Mr. Thomas Steele, whose school-fellow
and fellow-collegian I had been, ha-ving heard these declarations, was induced by a mutual friend
to adopt my cause, and he followed it up with a zeal I can never forget. When the French
armies were approaching Hamburgh, where I then resided with my family, he procured for me
a promise of a pardon, if I would accept of it on the condition of never setting my foot in Ire
land without the permission of the Irish Government, which was to be expressed in the body of
the pardon, under a large penalty. I accepted of the terms with thankfulness, and embarked
for England. Mr. Steele procured the instrument, to be immediately drawn up and laid before
the ChanceUor to receive the great seal. The Chancellor refused to put the seal to such an
instrument ; and it was above a year after— during which time it was found that the pardon
must be under the great seal of Ireland, where the treason was committed — that he gave as a
reason for his refusal, that it would have put it in my power, on the payment of the pardon sum,
to'have gone to Ireland whenever I pleased.
" I then petitioned the Irish Government, stating the circumstances of the case, and I re
ceived an unconditional pardon. But the same condition of not residing or going to Ireland,
without the permission of the Irish Government, was implied. In the summer 1805 I appeared
in the Court of King's Bench here, and pleaded my pardon.^ I returned immediately after to
England, according to promise. Shortly after, my father died ; and I applied to Lord Castle-
reagh to procure me h, permission to pass a few months on my famUy estate, to regulate my
affairs. He was so good as to make the application ; but before Lord Hardwicke's answer arrived
a change of ministry took place ; and I then applied for a permission to reside in Ireland, which
was granted ; and I have lived here ever since, most sincerely anxious to promote peace,
harmony, and submission to the laws and constitution of Britain. "
From this period Mr. Rowan continued to reside in domestic quiet — enjoy
ing the respect of his fellow-citizens, and the entire confidence of Government.
He sat for many years on the bench as a magistrate ; and he and his family
were frequently to be met, " in dresses singularly splendid," at the Castle draw
ing-rooms, "where they were well received by the viceroy, and many of the
nobihty and gentry.'' Mr. Rowan died at his house in Holies Street, Dublin, on
the 6th November 1834, in the eighty -fourth year of his age — having outlived
his eldest son. Captain Gawin William Hamilton, C.B., so much distinguished as
a naval officer, and who expired " at Rathcoffey, County Kildare, the seat of his
aged father," on the 1 7th August previous, in the fiftieth year of his age. Mr.
Frederick Hamilton Rowan, a younger son — a midshipman in the navy — was
killed at the battle of Palamos in 1810.
The following account of Mr. Hamilton Rowan in his old age, by a gentle
man of this city, appeared in the Edinburgh Literary Journal for November
1831:— 1 "In the Court of King's Bench, Dublin, on the 1st of July, the outlawry against Mr.
Hamilton Rowan was reversed ; and, pleading his Majesty's pardon, he was discharged ; previous
to whioh he made a very handsome speech, in which he expressed his gratitude to his Majesty for
his clemency, by which he was enabled once more to meet his wife and children, who had not only
been unmolested, but had been protected and cherished when he was in a foreign country. He
regretted -with much sensibihty, the errors of his former life, and the violent measures he had
pursued, and promised to atone for them to his country and his family, by his future loyal conduct."
— Scots Magaane, 1805.

176 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
" Happening to be in Dublin in October 1829, I solicited a friend of Mr. Eowan to introduce
me to him. I considered him the object of the greatest interest in that city. He was the last
remnant of that band of patriots, who had trod every selfish feeling under foot for the sake of
their common country. I had from chUdhood deemed him an impersonation of aU that is noble,
and longed to hear from his own lips, after the sufferings he had endured, whether, in the
eighty-fifth year of his age,^ the ardent principles of his youth still held undiminished sway in
his heart. His appearance affected me much ; instead of the tall, broad, manly form I had
read of, he was sadly shrunken ; the fiery eye was dim with years, and almost blind. But his
identity was not difBcult to trace — the compressed lip, the expanded nostril, and the bold out
line — expressed that lofty moral resolution which had always distinguished his career. When
my friend presented me to him, he remarked — ' You see an old man, who should, long ere now,
have been in his grave ; my strength is fast failing me, and, as my early and dearest friends
are all in the other world, I long to follow them. But I ought not to regret having lived till
now, since I have seen the stains -wiped from my country's brow by the passing of the Eelief
Bill. ' ^ When I adverted to the prominent part he had acted in the troubles of 1793, his dim
eye flashed with young life, and he rejoined ' Yes, Ireland had then many a clear head and
brave heart.' On alluding to his unexpected meeting with his friends in Philadelphia, pulses
which had long slumbered seemed again to beat, aud lie replied, ' That was an hour of excessive
interest, and one of the happiest of my chequered life. ' In the course of my interview, I
took the liberty of asking him ' whether, after his long exile, and numerous bereavements ;
and, more than aU, the dark cloud of obloquy in which his enemies had striven to envelope his
name, he still justified his public conduct to himself?' He replied, with a solemnity and
energy that startled both his friend and me, ' So thoroughly does my conscience approve of all
I have done, that had I my Ufe to commence again, I would be governed by the same principles ;
and, therefore, should my country's interests be compromised, these principles would call me forth
in her defence, even though the obstacles were more numerous and appalling than in the times
in which I suffered. ' I remember little else of our conversation. I parted with him for ever,
with the same sentiment of profound veneration that I would have felt had I left the threshold
of a Fabricius, a Cincinnatus, or a Cato."
In 1833, the year previous to his decease, Mr. Moffat had the honour of a
short letter from Mr. Rowan, in which h« breathed a firm and consistent attach
ment to his original poUtical principles.
The Honourable SIMON BUTLER — brother of the late, and uncle of the
Earl of Kilkenny — was the thhd son of the tenth Viscount Lord Mountgarret.^
Along with Theobald Wolfe Tone, Mr. Butler was a zealous leader of the United
Irishmen. Young, sanguine, and descended of an ancient and honourable family
which claimed kindred with some of the highest and most influential branches
of the Irish aristocracy, he at once became popular among thosfe who sought a
redress of grievances. He presided at the first meeting of the Dublin " Society
of United Irishmen," and took an active interest in propagating the principles
and extending the infiuence of these associations.
That he contemplated other measures than such as might lead to a reform
of the legislature cannot justly be imputed to him, as no direct communica
tions -with the Republicans of France were entered into until 1795. On the
meeting of the Irish Parliament, early in March 1793, the Honourable Simon
^ The writer was probably misinformed as to his age.
^ The ancestors of Mr. Rowan, as well as himself, were Presbyterians.
^ The title of Earl of Kilkenny was conferred on this branch of the noble family of Butler, 20th
December 1793.

^,cO----*^,„^

delegate from. -flie SHEri'IEI.D(?(TLEED.S Conat!- Soc?
to the Bxitilli CoJiveDitiaLn- .

231

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 177
Butler and Oliver Bond were summoned before the House of Lords, on ac
count of " a paper issued by the United Irishmen." They at once avowed
the publication, but asserted that it contained nothing either illegal or uncon- '
stitutional. They were .ordered to withdraw, however, when the House voted
the paper a " scandalous libel" on their privileges ; and a motion by the Earl
of Westmeath was agreed to, that the parties should be fined each in £500,
and imprisoned for six months. Mr. Butler and Mr. Bond were then called to
the bar — the ChanceUor pronounced the sentence of the House, and they were
immediately conducted t6 Newgate.
On the expiry of his term of imprisonment, Mr. Butler accompanied his
friend Hamilton Rowan to Scotland, as already described ; and for some time
continued to aid in directing the proceedings of the body with which he had
become associated. Compelled at length to consult his safety in fiight, he fled
to Wales, where, according to Musgrave — whose statements must be taken with
caution — he " died in. great poverty."
In the Annual Register for 1797 his death, which occurred on the 19th
May, is thus recorded : — " In his fortieth year, the Hon. Simon Butler, third
son of Edmund, the late Lord Viscount Mountgarret, of the kingdom of
Ireland, brother of the late, and uncle of the present Earl of KUkenny. In
1794 he married Eliza, second daugheer of Edward Lynch of Hampstead, near
Dublin, Esq., by whom he has left one only child, named Edward Lynch
Butler, an infant about nine months old. His remains were deposited in the
vaults belonging to St. James's Church."

No. CCXXXI.
CITIZEN M. C. BEOWNE.
Almost nothing more is known of this individual than what is communicated
by the inscription on the Print. He was an enthusiastic admirer of the French
Republic; and it was at his suggestion that many of the most obnoxious
republican phrases were adopted by the Reformers of Scotland in 1 793. In the
evidence of William Carnage — on the trial of Thomas Hardy, of the London
Corresponding Society, in 1794 — Browne is thus mentioned in aUusion to the
Sheffield Association: — "The Society chose Mathew Campbell Browne, as
delegate to the Scotch Convention at Edinburgh ; upon which occasion he was
sent to him with a supply of cash, ten pounds of which he received from Shef
field, and ten pounds from Leeds. He knew not how the money was raised,
but had received it from Mr. Yates, who had since quitted Sheffield."
VOL. II. 2 ^

178 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

No. CCXXXIL
EEV. JOHN WALKEE, D.D.,
professor of NATURAL HISTORY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH.
John Walker, Doctor of Divinity, was born in the Canongate of Edinburgh.
His father — Rector of the grammar school there — was an excellent classical
scholar, and is said to have bestowed such attention to the education of his son,
that when ten years of age he could read Homer with considerable fluency.
At a proper age he entered the University, where he studied with merited
approbation, and was in due course of time licensed to preach by the Presbytery
of Edinburgh. Dr. Walker's first presentation was to the parish of Glencorse, about seven
miles to the south of Edinburgh, and which includes part of the Pentland Hills,
within its range. Here an excellent opportunity presented itself to the young
clergyman for improvement in his favourite study of botany — a science^to which
he had been early attached, and in which he had already made considerable
progress, as well as in other branches of natural history. In this sequestered
and romantic district Dr. Walker passed some of the pleasantest years of his
life. Those hours which he could spare from his pastoral duties were generally
spent in exploring the green hills of the Pentlands, and in making additions to
his botanical specimens.
This pleasing pursuit could of course only be prosecuted during the spring
and summer months, but the winter was not without its amusements. The
talents and acquirements of Dr. Walker -were not allowed to remain unnoticed
by the more distinguished of his neighbours and parishioners. Among these
were, William Tytler, Esq., of Woodhouselee, well known for his historical
researches, particularly into that portion of Scottish history which relates to
Mary Queen of Scots ; James Philp, Esq., of Greenlaw, Judge of the High Court
of Admiralty ; and Sir James Clerk, Bart., of Penicuik — a gentleman whose
skill and taste in the fine arts was undisputed ; and whose collections of paintings
and memorials of antiquity have rendered the mansion-house of Penicuik a
place of great interest to the curious. -"^ By these gentlemen the company and
conversation of Dr. Walker was greatly estimated : and a constant intercourse
existed between them.
In 1764, the General Assembly, in prosecution of a benevolent design
1 Among other remains at Penicuik is the buff coat worn by the Viscount Dundee at the battle
of KUliecrankie : the hole through whioh the fatal bullet passed is underneath the arm-pit. Sir
George Clerk, late M.P. for Edinburghshire, was the son of the late Sir James.

232

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 179
entered into some years before, respecting the religious and moral improvement
of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, appointed Dr. Walker to undertake a
mission to these remote parts of the country. This he readily undertook, and
performed his arduous task to the entire satisfaction of the Assembly. He was
also authorised by the Commissioners for the Annexed Estates to inquire into
the natural history and productions — the population — agriculture — and the fish
eries of the Highlands and Hebrides. In prosecution of these important
inquiries, he performed in all six journeys ; and, from the mass of useful informa
tion collected, a posthumous work, entitled "An Economical History of the
Hebrides," was published in 1808.
Not long after his first mission to the Highlands, which tended materially
to confirm the high opinion -entertained of his character, Dr. Walker was pre
sented by the Earl of Hopetoun to the church of Moffat, in the Presbytery of
Lochmaben, and county of Dumfries. In this extensive parish a new and invit
ing field presented itself for exploring the vegetable kingdom of nature ; and it
is probable that the frequency of his botanising excursions — the utility or
propriety of which were not appreciated by his parishioners — procured for him
the title of " the mad minister of Moffat." There was another prominent trait in
the demeanour of the Doctor, which no doubt had its due weight in countenancing
such an extraordinary soubriquet. This was an extreme degree of nicety in the
arrangement of his dress, especially in the adjustment of his hair, which it is
said occupied the viUage tonsor nearly a couple of hours every day.
It is told of the Doctor, that traveUing on one occasion from Moffat to the
residence of his friend. Sir James Clerk of Pennicuik, he stopped at a country
barber's on the way to have his hair dressed. He was personally unknown to
Strap, although the latter had often heard of him. The barber did all in his
power to give satisfaction to his customer ; but in vain he curled and uncurled,
according to the Doctor's directions, for nearly three hours. At length, fairly
worn out of patience, he exclaimed — " In all my life, I have never heard of a
man so difficult to please, except ' the mad minister of Moffat.' " This scrupulous
attention to his hair he continued to observe untU advancing years compelled
him to adopt a wig.
The Doctor himself used to mention that he was one day walking in a gentle
man's park, where he had been collecting insects, with the handles of an insect
net projecting from his pocket. Two ladies were walking near, and he heard
one of them say — " No wonder the Doctor has his hair so finely frizzled, for he
carries his curling tongs with him."
On the death. of Dr. Ramsay, Professor of Natural History in the University
of Edinburgh, in 1778, Dr. Walker made application to the Crown for the
vacant chair. In this he was successful, and obtained his commission in 1779.
At that period no direct judgment of the General Assembly stood recorded
with respect to pluralities, but the parishioners of Moffat were alarmed at the
circumstance of their minister's appointment to the professorship, justly con
ceiving that, distant as they were from Edinburgh upwards of fifty mUes, it was

180 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
impossible he could properly attend to his pastoral duties. Several meetings of
Presbytery were held on the subject, but the Doctor found ways and means to
smooth down the opposition ; and he continued for some time to hold both
appointments. Owing to the discontent of the people, however, he found his
situation extremely irksome and disagreeable. A few years subsequently he
was happUy rescued from his difficulties by the Earl of Lauderdale, who gave
him the church of Colinton, about four miles from Edinburgh ; where, from
its proximity to the town, he could more easily fulfil the relative duties of his
appointments. Dr. Walker may almost be said to have been the founder of Natural History
in the University. His predecessor only occasionally delivered lectures ; and
these were never well encouraged, owing no doubt to the little interest generally
excited at that time on a subject so important. The want of a proper museum
was a radical defect, which the exertions of Dr. Walker were at length in some
measure able to rectify. His lectures also proved very attractive, not so much
from the eloquence with which they were delivered, as from the vast fund of
facts and general information they comprised. Both in the pulpit and in lectur
ing to his classes, the oratory of Dr. Walker was characterised by a degree of
stiffness and formality.
In 1783, when the Royal Society of Edinburgh was formed, the Professor
was one of its earliest and most interested members. The opposition offered to
the incorporation of the Antiquarian Society, which principally originated in
the objections made to the delivery of a course of lectures on the Philosophy of
Natural history by the late Mr. Smellie, has already been alluded to in our
sketch of that gentleman.
In 1788 Dr. Walker delivered a very excellent course of lectures in the
University on agriculture, which is generally supposed to have suggested to Sir
William Pulteney the idea of founding a professorship for that important branch
of science. In 1792 he published for the use of his students, "Institutes of
Natural History ; containing Heads of the Lectures on Natural History delivered
in the University of Edinburgh "
Although his talents for literary composition were considerable, it is not
knovm that the Professor ever appeared before the public as the author of any
separate work of any extent. With the exception of one or two occasional
sermons, and a very curious Treatise on Mineralogy, his contributions were chiefiy
limited to the various learned societies of which he was a member. For the
Statistical Account of Scotland he drew up an account of the parish of Colinton
in a style, and with a degree of accuracy, which fully proved the peculiar talent
he possessed for topographical and statistical subjects. He intended at one
period to have published a Flora of Scotiand, but was anticipated by the Scottish
Flora of Lightfoot, Chaplain to the Duchess of Portland, who composed his
Flora during his travels in Scotland with Pennant.
Dr. Walker's knowledge of plants was not altogether of a theoretical nature.
He made some good experiments on the motion of the sap in trees which are

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 181
published in the Transactions of the Royal Society oj Edinbwgh ; and in Lord
Woodhouselee's Life of Lord Kames, there are several of the Doctor's letters, which
contain judicious remarks on various points of agriculture and gardening. There
are still to be seen some vestiges of his attention to the latter, in the Glebe of
Moffat, where a few of the less common kinds of trees, such as pinasters and
others, planted by him, are stUl growing.
The garden of the manse at Colinton, which is beautifully situated in a small
haugh by the river, was carefully laid off and embellished with a display of indi
genous and other hardy plants, which the Doctor delighted to collect and culti
vate. But these botanical rarities, like other sublunary things, were fleeting and
destined to take no permanent hold of the soU ; for the next incumbent, who
was no amateur of botany, but a good judge of the value of land, turned the
whole into a potato garden !
Although the Doctor, in his public appearances, was somewhat formal and
affected, in private life he was extremely social. He was inchned to society, and
had many amusing anecdotes, which he told with much gaiety and good humour.
He was greatly addicted to taking snuff. Bailie Creech (afterwards Provost),
in his Con-vivial hours, was in the habit of reciting several of the Professor's
stories,' at the same time imitating his manner and peculiarities.- He was fond
of dress, as may be inferred from the Etching, where he is drawn with a nosegay
in his hand.
In early life the Doctor was patronised by Lord Bute, and when in London
was presented to Rousseau, to accompany him as cicerone. They conversed in
Latin, the one not being able to speak the language of the other ; and both
experienced considerable difficulty in making themselves intelligible.
Dr. Walker died on the 22d January 1804, aged upwards of seventy. The
latter years of his life were rendered painful by violent inflammation of the eyes,
brought on, it is said, by his habit of sitting very late [at his studies, and
which ended in loss of sight. In addition to this calamity, his wife was
attacked with a severe and long Ulness. She was a sister of Mr. Wauchope of
Niddry. The late Mr. Charles Stewart, University Printer, and author of an excellent
¦^york — " Elements of Natural History," 2 vols. 8vo. — was one of Dr. Walker's
executors ; and, from his MSS., published the work already alluded to, under the
title of " An Economical History of the Hebrides and Highlands of Scotland : "
Edinburgh, 1808, 2 vols. Svo. Another volume afterwards appeared, -viz.
"Essays on Natural History and Rural Economy:" Edinburgh, 1812, 8vo.
Besides many curious and beautiful manuscripts in his o-vm handvwiting, iUus
trative of the natural history of Britain, found in his repositories, the Doctor
left a valuable assortment of minerals — a large collection of the insects of Scot
land — and a very extensive herbarium. By his will, it is understood, he gifted
^ One of these was about a stuffed fox's skin, placed by the Doctor on a cherry tree near the
window of the manse, and which he found effectual in scaring away the birds.

182 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
a sum of money for the purposes of Natural History in the University of Edin
burgh. Dr. Walker was succeeded in the Chair of Natural History by the eminent
Professor Jameson, who was his pupU, and afterwards his assistant.

No. CCXXXIII.
M. DE LATOUE,
PAINTER TO THE KING OF FRANCE, MEMBER OF THE EOYAL ACADEMY
OF PAINTING AT PARIS, . etc.
M. De Latour, an eniinent French painter, who died at St. Quentin, the place
of his nativity, in 1789, in the eighty-fourth year of his age, was remarkable,
even in boyhood, for his efforts with the pencil ; and the caricatures of the peda
gogue, at whose seminary he acquired the rudiments of learning, frequently pro
cured for him the reward of the birch.
After attending the instructions of a drawing-master, under whom he made
.great progress, he improved himself by a journey to the Netherlands, where he
had an' opportunity of studying the productions of the Flemish, school. Cam-
bray happened to be at that time the seat of a negotiation, where the represen
tatives of the various powers interested were assembled. Portraits of several
of the ministers having been successfully painted by young Latour, the English
Ambassador prevailed on him to accompany him to London, where he received
the most flatterijig encouragement.
On his return to France, an extreme irritabUity of the nervous system for
bidding him the use of oil-colours, he was obliged to confine himself to crayons,
a mode of painting to which it is difficult to give any degree of force. The
obstacles he had hence to encounter served but to animate his zeal ; and he
Bought every means of perfecting his art, by the constant study of design.
Admitted into the Royal Academy of Painting at the age of thirty -three, it
was not long before he was called to Court. His free and independent spirit,
however, led him to refuse what most as eagerly covet. At length he 'submitted
to the Monarch's conimands. The place in which Louis XV. chose to sit for
his picture was a tower surrounded with windows. " What am I to do in this
lantern V said Latour : " painting requires a single passage for the light.'' " I
have chosen this retired place," answered the king, " that we may not be inter
rupted." " I did not know, Sire," replied the painter, " that a king of France
was not master of his own house."
Louis XV. was much amused with the sallies of Latour, who sometimes
carried them pretty far, as may be conceived from the follo-wing anecdote :
Being sent for to VersaUles, to paint the portrait of Madame de Pompadour,

Tke Favoijbat

and 1)]E lA.^1

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 183
he answered surlily, " Tell Madame the Marchioness, that I do not run about
the town to paint." Some friends representing to him the impropriety of such
a message, he promised to go to Versailles on a certain day, provided no one
were permitted to interrupt him. On his arrival he repeated the condition,
requesting leave to consider himself at home, that he might paint at his ease.
This being granted, he took off his buckles, garters, and neckcloth ; hung his
wig upon a girandole, and put on a silk cap which he had in his pocket. In
this dishabille he began his work, when presently the King entered. " Did
you not promise me, Madam," said the painter, rising and taking off his cap,
^'that we should not be interrupted'?" The King, laughing at his appearance
and rebuke, pressed him to go on. " It is impossible for me to obey your
Majesty," answered he ; "I will return when the Marchioness is alone." With
this he took up his buckles, garters, neckcloth, and periwig, and went into the
next room to dress himself, muttering as he went, that he did not like to be
interrupted. The favourite of the king yielded to the painter's caprice, and
the portrait was finished. It was a full-length, as large as life, afterwards
exhibited at the Louvre, and perhaps the greatest work of the kind ever
executed. M. de Latour painted all the Royal Familj'-, and both Court and city crowded
to his closet. With an agreeable talent for conversation, just taste, a memory
stored with extensive knowledge, and an excellent heart, he could not be
destitute of friends. His house was resorted to by the most distinguished
artists, philosophers, and literati of the capital. Favoured by the sovereign,
and by the heir-apparent, he was devoid of pride, and had the modesty twice
to refuse the order of St. Michael.
In private, M. de Latour was a useful member of society, generous, and
humane. The desire of making others happy was his predominant, or rather
sole passion. Gratitude published, in spite of him, his numerous acts of
benevolence, and his door was continually surrounded by the needy.
Amongst the useful establishments to which M. de Latour turned his
thoughts, painting — the source of his fame, and in great measure of his fortune
— particularly claimed his attention. He gave a sum (equal to four hundred
guineas) to found an annual prize for the best piece of linear and aerial per
spective alternately, to be adjudged by the Academy of Painting at Paris.
Persuaded too of the benefits of good morals and useful arts, he founded an
annual prize of twenty guineas, to be distributed by the Academy of Amiens to
the most worthy action, or most useful discovery in the arts. He also founded
and endowed two establishments : one for the support of indigent children —
the other, an asylum for distressed age ; and, at St. Quentin, a free school for
drawing. Having enjoyed all the pleasures attached to celebrity in the capital, M. de
Latour at length retired to the place of his nativity. His entrance into St.
Quentin resembled a triumph — a mark of respect to which, as the benefactor
of mankind, as weU as for his talents, he was justly entitled.

184 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
No. CCXXXIV.
ME. THOMAS PAINE,
SECRETARY FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS TO THE AMERICAN CONGRESS.
This Portrait of the Author of the " Rights of Man " — whose life and -writings
are so well known — was taken from a miniature painted in America, and sent
home to the artist by a friend. Kay had a brother, we believe, and several
other relatives in America.
The Print appears to have been done in 1794, about two years subsequent
to the publication of his celebrated reply to Burke's attack on the French
Revolution. Paine had previously incurred much obloquy by his work entitled
" Common Sense," and the part which he took in the struggle for independence
in America. His vindication of the French Revolution, and the democratic
principles advocated in the " Rights of Man," rendered him still more obnoxious
to the British Government. The talent displayed in his writings — the novel
and dangerous doctrines promulgated — and above all, the prohibitory measures
resorted to, in order to suppress his works, tended to blazon the name of " Tom
Paine," and to give him a notoriety which has seldom fallen to the share of
any individual. In the full tide of his publicity, Kay would no doubt find the
sale of an author's effigy, whose works were prohibited, a very profitable
speculation.^ It is creditable to the memory of Paine, that, on the trial of Louis XVL,
he did not vote for the death of the King, but for his provisional confinement,
and expulsion after the war. He appeared at the Tribune, and being totally
unacquainted with the French language, a translation of his opinion was read.
In substance it stated, " that he preferred an error occasioned by humanity, to
an error occasioned by severity. The news of this execution will give great
pain to the sons of freedom. You ought not to adbpt such rigorous measures.
Had he (Louis) been the son of a farmer, I am certain he would not have been
a bad man." He concluded by voting "that he should be banished to the
American States."
" The Age of Reason," in which the author stood forward as the avowed
champion of infidelity, and which drew forth a reply from the Bishop of Landaff,
was written while immured in a French prison.
Paine died in America, on the 8th June 1809. The circumstance of
Cobbett bringing home his bones to England will be in the recollection of
almost every one.
1 At a sale by public auction, previous to the copperplate falling into the hands of the late
publisher, a single Print of Thomas Paine brought fourteen shillings.

-A^" - .

iV

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i-}'

' ' -1 1 -'¦
THOMAS lAZNE 7
234

335'

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 185

No. CCXXXV.
CAPTAIN JAMES BUENET,
the last CAPTAIN OF THE CITY GUARD.
The formation of the City Guard of Edinburgh, about the year 1696, is
generally believed to have been a political measure, devised for the purpose of
controlling the Jacobites, and protecting the city from any sudden tumult.'
The Guard consisted of about one hundred and twenty men," divided into
three companies, armed ^nd equipped in a style peculiar to the times. The
' Arnot, in his "History of Edinburgh" — published in 1788^gives the following account of the
origiu of the Guard : — "Of old, the citizens performed a species of personal service for defence of
the town, called ¦watching and warding. By this, the trading part of the inhabitants were bound,
in person, to keep watch alternately during the night, to prevent or suppress occasional disturbances.
In the progress of manners, this personal attendance was found extremely inconvenient ; and the
citizens were con-viuced that their o-wn ease would be promoted, and the'-'city more effectually
protected, by a commutation of their services into money, to be paid by them for maintaining a
regular Guard.
" Conform to this idea, the To-wn Council, in a.d. 1648, appointed a body of sixty men to be
raised, whereof the captain to have a monthly pay of £11 : 2 : 3 sterlmg ; two lieutenants of £2
each ; two sergeants of £1 : 5s. ,; three corporals of £1 ; and the private men of 15s. each per
month. No regular fund being provided to defray this expense, the old method of watching and
warding was quickly resumed ; but those on whora this service was incumbent, were become so
relaxed in their discipline, that the Pri-vy Council informed the Magistrates, if they did not pro-vide
a sufficient guard for preserving order in the city, the King's troops would be quartered in it.
Upon this, forty men were again (1679) raised as a Town Guard. This body was, in the year
1682, augmented to one hundred and eight men, at the instigation of the Duke of York. The
appointment of the officers was vested in the King, who was also declared to have ¦¦<. power ot
mar^ching this corps wherever he thought proper. To defray the expense of this company, the
CouncU imposed a tax upon the citizens ; and the imposition was ratified by the King.
"Upon the Revolution, the To-wn Council represented to the estates of Parliament that -they
had been imposed upon to establish a Town Guard, and complained of it as' a grievance which they
wished to have removed. Their- request was granted, and the citizens had recourse once more to
watching and warding. So speedily, however, did they repent themselves of the change," that the
very next year they applied for the authority of Parliament to raise, for the defence of the city, a
corps of no fewer than one hundred and twenty-six men, and to assess the inhabitants for discharging
the expense.
' ' Since that period, the number of this corps, which is called the Town Guard, has been very
fluctuating. For about these thirty years it has consisted of only seventy-five private men ; and,
considering the enlarged extent of the city, and the increased number of inhabitants, it ought
undoubtedly to be augmented. This, however, cannot be the case, \mless new means are devised
for defraying the expense, since the cost of maintaining the present Guard exceeds the sum allowed
by Parliament to be levied from the citizens for that purpose.
" The Lord Provost of Edinburgh is Commander of this useful corps. The men are properly
disciplined, and fire remarkably well. Within these two years, some disorderly soldiers, in one of
the marching regiments, having conceived an umbrage at the To-wn Guard, attacked them. They
were double in number to the party of the Town Guard, who, in the scufle, severely wounded
some of their assailants, and made the whole of them prisoners."
2 During the disturbances of 1715 and 1745, the number was considerably augmented.
VOL. IL 2 B

186 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
service of these civic warriors was limited to the guardianship of the city, and
the preservation of public order. They were in reality a body of armed police,
whose duty it was to attend the Magistrates in their official capacity — to be
present on all public occasions — and, while the capital continued to maintain
the character of a walled city, so many of their number were nightly placed as
sentinels at the gates.' Only a limited portion, however, of the three companies
was kept regularly on duty. The remainder were allowed to work at their
trades, subject, however, to be called out at a moment's notice.
The Guard was mostly composed of discharged soldiers ; men who, although
they might have seen a good deal of service, were still able to shoulder a mus
ket, or wield a Lochaber axe, and possessed sufficient spirit to render them for
midable in a street brawl. The officers were at times old military men, who
had infiuence enough with the Town Council to procure their appointment ; and
not a few of them had spent their youth in the service of the Dutch, as soldiers
in the Scots brigade.
From the nature of their duties, the City Guard was repeatedly brought into
contact with the people during periods of excitement. The most notable affair
of this kind was the well-known " Porteous mob ;" and it is probable that much
of the odium which subsequently attached to the corps arose from associating
this unpopular individual with it. Prior to his appointment, almost no notice
whatever occurs of the City Guard in the local history or traditions of the times.
During the greater part of last century, however, a sort of hereditary feud seems
to have existed betwixt the lower order of citizens and the " Town Rats," as
they were caUed ; and no opportunity of annoying them was aUowed to escape.
Fergusson, the poet, repeatedly alludes to these rencontres with the "black
squad," whose " tender mercies " he had probably too often experienced in the
course of his Bacchanalian irregularities : —
' ' An' thou, great god o' aquavitae I
Wha sway'st the empire o' this city ;
Whan fu', we're sometimes capernoity ;
Be thou prepar'd
To hedge us frae that black banditti —
The City Guard. "
" In fact," says the Author of Waverley, " the soldiers of the City Guard,
being, as we have said, in general discharged veterans, who had strength enough
remaining for their municipal duty, and being, moreover, in general, Highlanders,
' The city of Edinburgh, by the extended walls, built immediately after the battle of Flodden,
in 1513, had five principal ports or outlets — namely, the West Port, so named from its being the
western boundary of the city, situated at the foot of the Grassmarket ; Bristo Port, head of the
Candlemaker Row ; Potterrow Port, which originally bore the name of Kirk-of-Field Port, head of
Horse Wynd ; Cowgate Port, foot of St. Mary's Wynd ; and the Nether Bow Port, at the head of
the Canongate. This Port, running across the High Street, formed the principal entrance to the
city, and was a handsome building, two stories high, with a spire and battlements. The gate was
in the centre, and a -wicket for foot passengers in the southern tower. This ancient structure was
taken down, by order of the Town-Council, on the 31st August 1764 ; the nan'ow passage which it
afforded havmg been found exceedingly mcommodious.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 187
were, neither by birth, education, nor former habits, trained to endure with
much patience the insults of the rabble, or the provoking petulance of truant-
boys and idle debauchees of all descriptions, with whom their occupation brought
them into contact. On the contrary, the temperss of the poor old feUows were
soured by the indignities with which the mob distinguished them on many
occasions, and frequently might have required the soothing strains of the poet
just -quoted : — " 0 soldiers ! for your ain dear sakes.
For Scotland's love — the land o' oakes,
Gie not her bairns sic deadly paiks.
Nor be sae rude,
Wi' firelock or Lochaber axe,
, As spUl their blude."
" On all occasions — ^when holiday licenses some riot or irregularity — a skir
mish with these veterans was a favourite recreation with the rabble of Edinburgh."
The recollection of many of our readers will enable them to appreciate the
truth of this quotation from the Heart of Mid-Lothian. The " Town Rats," when
annually mustered in front of the Parliament House —
" Wi' powdered pow an' shaven beard,"
to do honour to the birth of his Majesty, by a feu de joie — were subject to a
species of torture, peculiarly harassing — dead cats, and every species of " clarty
unction," being unsparingly hurled at their devoted heads :
" 'Mang them fell mony a gawsey snout,
Has gusht in birth-day wars,
Wi' blude that day."
The last vestige of the Town Guard disappeared about the year 1817 — a
period particularly fatal to many of the most ancient characteristics of the Old
Town. " Of late,"' continues the Author of Waverley, " the gradual diminution
of these ci-vic soldiers reminds one of the abatement of King Lear's hundred
knights. The edicts of each set of succeeding Magistrates have, like those of
Gonerill and Regan, diniinished this venerable band with the similar question —
' What need we five-and-twenty 'i — ten 1 — or five V And it is now nearly come
to — ' What need we one V A spectre may indeed here and there still be seen
of an old grey-headed and grey-bearded Highlander, with war-worn features, but
bent double by age : dressed in an old-fashioned cocked hat, bound with white
tape instead of silver lace ; and in coat, waistcoat, and breeches, of a muddy-
cbloured red, bearing in his withered hand an ancient weapon, called a Lochaber
axe, namely, a long pole with an axe at the extremity, and a hook at the back
of the hatchet. Such a phantom of former days still creeps, I have been
informed, round the statue of Charles the Second, in the Parliament Square, as
if the image of a Stuart were the last refuge for any memorial of our ancient
' The "Heart of Mid-Lothian " was published in 1817.

188 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
manners ; and one or two others are supposed to glide around the door of the
Guard-House, assigned to them at the Luckenbooths, when their ancient refuge
in the High Street was laid low. But the faith of manuscripts bequeathed to
friends and executors is so uncertain, that the narrative containing these frail
memorials of the Old Town Guard of Edinburgh, who, with their grim and
valiant corporal, John Dhu (the fiercest looking fellow I ever saw), were in my
boyhood, the alternate terror and derision of the petulant brood of the High
School, may perhaps only come to light when all memory of the institution has
faded away, apd then serve as an illustration of Kay's Caricatures, who has pre
served the features of some of their heroes."
Towards the close of last century several reductions had taken place in the
number of the Guard; and, in 1805, when the New Police Bill for Edinburgh
came into operation, the corps was entirely broken up. ¦ At the same time, how
ever, partly from reluctance to do away aU at once with so venerable a munici
pal force, and by way of employing, instead of pensioning off, some of the old
hands, a new corps, consisting of two sergeants, two corporals, two drummers,
and thirty privates, was formed from the wreck of , the former. Of this new
City Guard, as it was called, the subject of bur sketch, Mr. James Burnet — the
senior Captain — was appointed to the command, and was the last who held the
situation. Captain Burnet was a native of East-Lothian. He was one of the Captains
of the Guard who had not previously been in the army ; and if we except his
experience as a member of the First Regiment of Edinburgh Volunteers, may be
supposed to have been a novice in military matters. Previous to his appoint
ment, he kept a grocer's shop at the head of the Fleshmarket Close.
The personal appearance of Mr. Burnet is well delineated in the Portrait.
He was a man of great bulk ; and when in his best days, weighed upwards of
nineteen stone. He was, nevertheless, a person of considerable activity, and of
much spirit, as wiU appear from the follo-wing instance. Along with one or two
gentlemen, he was one summer day cooling himself with a meridian draught in
a well-known, tavern, when the late Mr. James Laing, Deputy City Clerk, who
was one of the party, took a bet with the Captain that he would not walk to
the top of Arthur's Seat, from the base of the hUl, within a quarter of an
hour. Mr. Burnet at once agreed to the wager ; and Mr. SmeUie, who happened
to be the lightest and most active of the company, was appointed to proceed
with the pedestrian in the capacity of umpire. The task, it must be admitted
by all who know anything of the locality, was an amazing one for a person of
nineteen stone on a hot summer day ! The Captain courageously set about
his arduous undertaking, steering his way by St. Anthony's WeU, up the
ravine. But to describe his progress, as he literally melted and broiled under
the rays of the pitUess sun, would require the graphic pen of a Pindar. Never
did " fodgel wight or rosy priest " perforin such a penance. When he reached
the most difficult part of his journey, the Captain looked as if about to give up

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 189
the ghost ; but Mr. Smellie, still keeping ahead with a timepiece in his band,
so coaxed and encouraged his portly friend, that he continued his exertions, and
actually gained the top of the hill, within half-a-minute ofthe prescribed period.
The moment he achieved the victory, he threw himself, or rather fell down, and
lay for some time like an expiring porpoise — neither able to stir nor speak a
single word. WhUe thus extended at full length, a young cockney student, who
had been amusing himself on the hill, came forward, and holding up his hands,
exclaimed, as he gazed in amazement at the Captain — " Good heavens ! what an
immense fellow to climb such a hUl 1 " When Mr. Burnet had sufficiently re
covered, Mr. Smellie and he returned victorious to their friends ; and it need
not be doubte'd, potations deep were drunk in honour of the feat.
Few men of his time enjoyed their bottle with greater zest than Captain
Burnet ; and at the ci-vic feasts, -with which these palmy times abounded, no one
did greater execution with the knife and fork. He seldom retired with less
than two bottles under his belt, and that too without at all deranging the order
of his " upper story.'' " Two-and-a-half here," was a frequent exclamation,
as he clapped his hand on his portly paunch, if he chanced to meet a quondam
lon vivant, on his way home from the festive board.
The Captain was altogether a jolly, free sort of fellow, and much fonder of
a stroll to the country on a summer Sunday, than of being pent up in a crowded
church. In a clever retrospective article in Chambers' Journal, he is alluded to
as one of the " Turners," so called from their habit of taking a turn (a walk) on
the Sabbath afternoon. " About one o'clock," says the paper aUuded to, " Mr.
J[ohn] L[ittle] might be seen cooling it through Straiton,i in the midst of a slow
procession of bellied men — his hat and wig perhaps borne aloft on the end of his
stick, and a myriad of fiies buzzing and humming in the shape of a pennon from
behind his shining pow. Perhaps Captain B[urnet], of the City Guard, is of
the set. He has a brother a farmer about Woodhouselee,'' and they intend to
call there and be treated to a check of lamb, or something of that kind, with a
glass of spirits and water ; for really the day is very warm. The talk is of Sir
Ralph Abercromby, and General Brune, and the Duke of York, and the Texal :
or a more interesting subject still, the last week's proceedings of the Edinburgh
Volunteers in the Links."
Captain Burnet was also one of the well-known Lawnmarket Club, described
in the Traditions as a dram-drinking, newsmongering, facetious set of citizens,
who met every morning about seven o'clock ; and after proceeding to the Post
Office to ascertain the news, generally adjourned to a public-house, and refreshed
themselves with a libation of brandy.'
^ In the parish of Liberton, about four miles south of Edmburgh, on the road to Penicuik,
Straiten, possessed by Mr. Jamieson, was the property of James Johnstone, Esq., M.P. for the
Stirling district of burghs.
^ The -writer of this has been under a mistake. Mr. Burnet's brother was a farmer at Seton.
^ Although this may have been the practice of the Club, it is proper to state that Mr. Burnet
was an exception. He was not known to indulge in morning drams. He was, however, a keen
politician, and much interested in the news of the day.

190 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
From such reminiscences it may be guessed that the philosophy of Mr. Burnet
was not of that morose description which converts the sweets of life into sour.
He saw much in life worth living for ; but yet, while he possessed a " feeling
for all mankind," there existed within him enough of the devil to render applic
able in his case the well known-motto of the thistle. He was not to be insulted
with impunity. Having gone into a tavern with a few friends one excessively
warm day, the Captain, in order to cool himself, laid aside his sword and belt.
in the meantime, another party entering the room, one of them, in approaching
the table, took the liberty of removing Mr. Burnet's sword ; and, by way of
ridicule, placed it in a position which few men of spirit would have submitted
to in silence. Neither did our excellent friend. Springing to his feet in a
paroxysm of rage, he unsheathed the weapon, and, running on the offender,
would have transfixed him to the wall, but for the interference of a third party,
who fortunately parried the thrust.
The death of this veteran of the Guard, which occurred on the 24th August
1814, is thus recorded in the Scots Magazine : — "At Seton, Mr. James Burnet,
many years Captain of the Town Guard of this city. Mr. Burnet is much
regretted by a numerous acquaintance, who greatly respected him as a cheerful
companion and an honest man."

No. CCXXXVL
SAMUEL M'DONALD,
IN THE UNIFORM OF THE SUTHERLAND FENCIBLES.
This is another Print of the Scottish Hercules. Annexed to the former Portrait
a short sketch of his life has already been given ; but a few additional anecdotes,
illustrative of his amazing strength, may not be improper here.
One night Sam happened to be placed as sentry over a piece of ordnance
which would have taken two or three ordinary men to remove. He had not
been long at his post, however, when his comrades, who were enjoying them
selves at the guard-room fire, were astonished at his entrance with the huge mass
of cast-iron over his shoulder. On being asked what he meant by deserting his
post — ¦" Why, what's the use," said he, " of standing out there in a cold night,
watching that bit of iron, when I, could as well watch it in here !"
On another occasion, in the barrack-room, one of the men requested M'Don
ald to hand down a loaf from a shelf, which he could not easily get at himself
Sam good-naturedly turned round, aud catching the individual behind the neck
held him up at arm's length, saying, " There — take it down for yourself ! "
While the Sutherland Fencibles were stationed at Dublin, Sam was gene-

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 191
rally intrusted to act as purveyor for the men of the room to which he belonged.
The butcher with whom he had dealt for some time used frequently to quiz him
about his reputed strength, and was perhaps inclined to think, from the sUence
maintained by Sam on the subject, that it was not just so great as report
stated. One day, while higgling a little about the price of some purchase —
" Come, come," said the knight of the cleaver, and pointing to a bulk of very
exceUent appearance, "take that on your shoulder; and if you carry it to
Richmond, you shall have it for nothing." The proposed task, strong as Sam
was, seemed infinitely beyond his power, Richmond barracks being distant
nearly two miles. The offer, however, was extremely tempting ; and he well
knew what eclat such a prize would obtain for him among his fellows. Sam
therefore got the carcase on his back ; and, to the astonishment of the chop-
fallen butcher, succeeded in carrying it triumphantly to the barracks.
Many of the Highland Fencible regiments were accompanied by stags of a
large size, which were at once the pets of the men, and the wonder of the dif
ferent to-wns they lay in. Big Sam was not the only human giant paraded in
a similar way, as a specimen of what the north could produce. The Argyle
shire regiment had their champion in the person of a George Buchanan, who
marched at their head with a fine stag. He was fully as tall as Sam, but
wanted the symmetry and muscle that rendered him so remarkable ; neither was
his voice so gruff as M'Donald's, which had something ventriloquial about it,
as if he spoke from the inside of a barrel. Sam treated every other bully as a
conscious Newfoundland dog does the impertinences of a troublesome cur.
Buchanan had many wrestling bouts, however, with strong men in various places,
but uniformly threw them with great ease. When in Falkirk (during the
American war) he exhibited his muscular prowess by holding a heavy cart-wheel
upon his arm, which was afterwards passed through the nave, the wheel being
made to spin round like a mill-wheel on its axle.

No. CCXXXVII.
MR. CHARLES SINCLAIR,
ONE OF THE DELEGATES TO THE BRITISH CONVENTION.
Sinclair was apprehended along with Margaret, Gerrald, and others ; but
neither he nor Citizen Browne were tried. Little is now known either of then-
lives or characters. Sinclair is understood to have subsequently become an
informer ; and there is reason to suspect that from the first he had acted merely
as a spy.

192 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

No. CCXXXVIIL
EEV. DAVID BLACK,
MINISTER OF LADY YESTER'S CHURCH, EDINBURGH.
This popular preacher was born at Perth, 23d May 1762. Both his father
and grandfather ' were distinguished clergymen of that town, and his mother
was a daughter of the Rev. Neil MVicar, of the West Kirk, Edinburgh, who,
when the Pretender took possession of the city in 174^, displayed uncommon
zeal in the discharge of his duty — being the only clergyman who had courage
enough to enter the pulpit on the Sabbath following. After praying for King
George in the usual manner, Mr. M'Vicar thus adverted to the claims of the
Prince : — " As for this young man who is come amongst us, seeking an. earthly
crown — grant him, 0 Lord, a crown of glory !"
In his early years Mr. Black was remarkable for piety, having his mind con
stantly fixed on the ministry as a profession. At the age of sixteen he com
menced keeping a diary — a practice which he regularly continued. His studies
were chiefiy prosecuted at the University of Edinburgh ; and on their completion,
after undergoing the usual trials — in which he acquitted himself with the highest
approbation — he was licensed by the Presbytery of Perth, August 25, 1784.
As a preacher, his first appearance fully equalled the expectations of his
friends; and, the following year, he was presented by the patron, Mr. Richard
son of Pitfour, to St. Madoes — a small country parish in the neighbourhood of
Perth. Here he remained until 1794, when Lady Yester's Church becoming
vacant, the Magistrates and Town Council, concurring in the sentiments of the
congregation, gave him the presentation of that important charge.
Possessing all the qualities essential in the ministerial character — sincere piety,
zeal, a fiuent and impressive delivery — Mr. Black speedily acquired the reputa
tion of one of the most attractive preachers in Edinburgh ; and his church was
usuaUy so much crowded, that it was with considerable difiiculty an occasional
hearer could obtain a seat. In discharging the private duties of his office, he
was equally faithful and respected ; and, in the propagation of the gospel, he
displayed the most lively interest — aiding with great alacrity in forming the
Edinburgh Missionary Society, of which he continued a zealous member.
During his incumbency, in consequence of the decayed state of Lady Yester's
1 The Rev. Thomas Black was presented, in 1707, to the Professorial Chair of Divinity in the
University of St. Andrews ; but the importunate solicitations of his flock, by whom he was gi'eatly
beloved, induced him to forego the appointment. He was the intimate friend of Professor
Halyburton of St. Andrews, and edited a posthumous volume of sermons by that well-kno-wn
author. ,

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238

THO'MAS JjEFFJEIlSOI^
ftesidemt of the Vnited States
of Amejricj^

239

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. U
Church (founded by Dame Margaret Ker, Lady Yester, in 1647), it was four
necessary to rebuUd it. While the work was in progress, an arrangement wi
entered into, by which Mr. Black obtained permission to officiate every Sabbal
forenoon in the Chapel of Ease belonging to St. Cuthbert's parish.
The new church having been completed with as* httle delay as possible, w;
opened for worship on the 8th December 1805. This was a consummation i
which Mr. Black had no doubt anxiously looked forward ; but he was permitte
little more than to witness its accomplishment. About the middle of Februai
following, he was seized with a fever, and died on the 25th of the same mont
On the evening previous, a large body of the congregation, and other friene
assembled in Lady Yester's Church, and offered up prayer for his recovery-
circumstance strongly indicative of the peculiar estimation in which he was hel
His habits of life were simple, his temper mild, and his manners gentle.
In compliance -with a reiterated desire on the part of the public, a volun
of his sermons, -with a brief memoir of the author, was given to the public
short time after his demise. These were much esteemed. A second editic
was published in 1812 ; and the work is now, we believe, seldom to be met wit
Mr. Black married, in 1795, Miss Agnes Wood, daughter of George Woe
of Warriston, Esq., and left six chUdren.

No. CCXXXIX.
THOMAS JEFFERSON, ESQ.,
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
This Portrait of President Jefferson, who died on the 4th July 1826, w;
etched by the artist from an original miniature forwarded to him from Americ
Mr. Jefferson, descended from a famUy of consideration in Virginia, was bo:
in 1743. He received an excellent classical education — studied law — was W(
acquainted -with geography, natural history, and astronomy — and devoted
attached to literature and the fine arts. Elected in his twenty-fifth year
member of the Virginia Assembly, he was early distinguished by his abilitii
and for the decided tone of hostility he assumed towards the mother counti
He next became a member of the Old Congress, and was an active promoter
those measures which led to the Revolution. From 1777 tiU 1779 he w
engaged with Mr. Pendleton and Mr. White in the construction of a code of la^
abridged from the English statutes; and, in 1780, he was chosen Governor
Virginia, which office he held during the remainder of the War of Independem
VOL. IL 2 c

194 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Shortly after the termination of hostilities, Mr. Jefferson was despatched as
envoy to France, where he remained for a considerable time ; and in his negotia
tions displayed much ability as a diplomatist. Having visited England, he
returned to America in 1789, and was spe'edily thereafter appointed Secretary
of State. This office he resigned in 1794, retiring to his seat at Monticello;
and from that period was regarded as the chief of the Opposition.
In a few years he was called from his obscurity to fill, under Mr. Adams,
the chair of the Vice-President; and in 1801 was elected the successor of that
gentleman. Being re-chosen, he held the Presidency until 1809. When
solicited to accept the office a third time, he peremptorily declined ; and, retiring
into private life, the evening of his days was devoted to the calm pursuits of
agriculture and the enjoyments of literature.
In his public character President Jefferson displayed uncommon activity
and zeal for the public service, though probably too much of the phUosopher
and speculatist to be practicaUy wise in his deliberations.' The extensive
improvements introduced into almost every department of Government, while
he held the reins of power, were effected too summarily ; and though in them
selves well calculated to work beneficially, the country was injured by being
kept in a state of continual transition.
Mr. Jefferson first appeared as an author in 1774, when he published "A
Summary View of the Rights of British America." In 1781 his "Notes on
Virginia " were given to the public ; and among the scientific he is known as
the writer of a work entitled '' Memoirs on the Fossil Bones found in America."
It may not be out of place here briefly to notice a circumstance connected
with the history of Washington, by which it has been attempted to fasten on
that Ulustrious man a charge of selfishness, totally at variance with his character.
We allude to the site of the federal city. At the period when it was fixed
upon, in the district of Columbia, at the junction of the Potomac and the eastern
branch of that river, this territory was situated on the great post road, exactly
equidistant from the northern and southern extremities of the Union, and nearly
so from the Atlantic Ocean to the Ohio, upon the best navigation, and in the
midst of the (then) richest' commercial compass in the States, commanding the
most extensive internal resources, and was by far the most eligible situation for
a capital aind the meetings of Congress. Part of Columbia lies in Virginia, and
was the property of General Washington's family. That its value would naturally
become enhanced by the proposed bounds of the dreamt-of city, there, is no
doubt ; and that Washington gave his powerful influence in seconding the plan
is true ; but that the President either conceived the idea, or did more than
sanction the palpable p'ropriety of the site, is contrary to fact. A young man
had left Scotland for America before the breaking out of the war, in which he
bore ultimately a commission. After his return, and when the freedom of the
' During the short misunderstanding with Great Britain in 1807, his plan for preserving the ship
ping and commerce of the States from the cruisers of France and England, by an embargo on all
the ports of the Republic, was not less extraordinary than effectual.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 195
United States had been achieved, he again went abroad ; allured, like hundreds
of his countrymen, by the briUiant prospects that then began to dawn. He
had previously visited all the States, and published the result of his observations
in a now scarce volume, entitled "A View of North America," etc. The
profession of a land-surveyor, in which he now engaged, afforded facilities that
were at once made available when Congress determined to proceed with the
building of the city. He had submitted his ideas to Washington himself prior
to 1799, and they were unanimously adopted by Congress, which decreed that
the plan of the city (by a French officer) should be marked out on the ground.
The great tide of emigration has long since continued to roll to the far West,
and left Washington in the -words of Moore —
" That famed metropolis, where faney sees —
Squares iu morasses, obelisks in trees ! "
Still the propriety of its being fixed where it was is creditable to the sagacity
of the individual who proposed it. His name was George Walker, the son of a
farmer at Sheardale, in the parish of Dollar, Clackmannanshire ; and having been
induced to purchase an extensive tract of land, including the Eastern Capital
and great part of the site, he reasonably anticipated that future grandeur of
the American metropolis which would have rewarded his enterprise, but which
has never been realised. We may close this episode by a quotation from a letter
written by Jefferson to Lord Buchan : — " I feel a pride in the justice which
your lordship's sentiments render to the character of my Ulustrious country
man — Washington. The moderation of his desires, and the strength of his
judgment enabled him to calculate correctly, that the road to that glory which
never dies, is to use power for the support of the laws and liberties of our
country, not for their destruction ; and his will accordingly survive the wreck of
everything now living."

No. CCXL.
MAJOR-GENERAL AYTOUN,
AND
THE DUC D'ANGOULEME.
This Sketch, entitled "The Great and the SmaU," was published in 1797.
The Due d'Angouleme, then residing at Holyrood, constantly attended the
Saturday drills of the Royal Edinburgh Volunteers, whose uniform — blue -with
red facings — very much resembled that of the French National Guards ; and

196 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
the Etching was meant to contrast the athletic Scotsman and the fragUe French
man, then a youth of twenty-two, and of a somewhat feeble frame.
MAJOR-GENERAL ROGER AYTOUN was the eldest son of John
Aytoun of Inchdairney, in the county of ;Fife, and of IsabeUa, daughter of
Robert Lord Rollo. His family represent the ancient house of Aytoun of that
Ilk, in Berwickshire. Young Aytoun entered the army as a Cornet of
Dragoons. His regiment happened to be quartered in Manchester at the time
of the American war ; and so keenly were persons of all ranks infected with the
mUitary contagion, that many individuals came forward with private contribu-
, tions, and offers of personal service, to assist in reducing the rebel colonists to
subjection. Amongst others, a regiment of infantry was offered to Government
by the city of Manchester ; and Cornet Aytoun, having married a lady of that
city, who possessed a considerable property in its neighbourhood, eagerly entered
into the recruiting service.
He was, as may be seen by the prefixed Etching, a man of remarkable
stature, being upwards of six feet four inches in height, and broad and strong
in proportion. His winning address and familiar demeanour made him a great
favourite among the lower classes, and rendered him peculiarly useful in the ser-
-vice in which he was engaged. Like Frederick of Prussia, he had a great
penchant for tall grenadier-looking soldiers ; and, in the course of his duty,
spared no pains to induce such Anakim to join his standard. One day, having
observed a carman of uncommon proportions, whose legs were at least as strong
as the celebrated Paddy Carey's, Comet Aytoun accosted him with the usual
recruiting phrase. The carman, however, was a very shy bird, and most cau
tiously kept his hands concealed in his pockets, to avoid the fatal contact of the
bounty money. " I'll tell thee what it is, Captain," said he at last, " I'ze no
gurt objection to sarve his Majesty ; but I'm dommed if ony man 'lists me,
unless he cun lick me first ! " " And suppose you are licked, and soundly
too," asked Aytoun, " will you enlist then ?" " That will I," answered the
other ; " but mind, he mun gie me a woUoping." " You shan't want that long,
my fine fellow," said Aytoun, peeling on the spot. The carman, though taken
considerably aback at this unexpected acceptance of the chaUenge, followed his
example. A ring was made ; and, in less than a quarter of an hour, the carman
gave in, owned the superior prowess of the Scot, and actually mounted the
cockade. Another circumstance, which occurred about the same time, caused a consi
derable sensation in Manchester. Cornet Aytoun had been paying a visit a
few miles from town, and was returning home alone in a post-chaise. At an
unfrequented part of the road, he was stopped by two footpads, who awakened
him from an agreeable slumber to the consciousness that a brace of pistols were
in dangerous vicinity to his head ; and that his purse, if not his life, was in ex
ceeding jeopardy. Most men would. have been startled at this — not so Cornet
Aytoun, who, with a sudden sweep of his hand, struck down the pistols, leapt

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 197
from the chaise, and, in the twinkling of an eye, prostrated the nearest assailant.
The other fellow took to his heels ; but Aytoun, who was as swift of foot as he
was strong of arm, gave chase, and captured the unlucky footpad, whom, along
-with his companion, he bundled into the chaise, and cqnveyed to Manchester,
where they were handed over to the civic authorities.
In a very short time the regiment of Royal Manchester Volunteers (after
wards the 7 2d of the line) was raised and sent out to Gibraltar, under Lieut.-
Colonel Gladstone. Mr. Aytoun was appointed to the Command of the Grena
dier Company, and remained in the fortress during the whole of the memorable
siege. On the return of the regiment to Britain he was promoted to the rank
of Major, and shortly afterwards married his second wife, Miss Sinclair of Bal-
gregie. After this he retired on half-pay, and was never again actively engaged,
although he subsequently rose to the rank of Major-General.
On the formation of the First Regiment of Edinburgh Volunteers — some
what emphatically denominated "the True Blues" — General Aytoun, as one of
the mihtary men residing in Edinburgh, was invited to superintend the drilling
of the corps. This, it may be imagined, was no easy task, considering the
material of which the regiment was composed ; however, the volunteers them
selves were abundantly satisfied with the appearance they made, and were
undeniably as good " food for powder" as if they had handled the musket from
their youth upwards. Their nominal Colonel was Provost Elder, who, it is
allowed on all hands, cut a most martial figure in his bandoliers of a Saturday,
but was not quite the fittest person for a drill, being somewhat unused to the
comphcated evolutions which it was his duty to direct.
In 1797, when General Aytoun was drilling the Blues, Count d'Artois and
the Due d'Angouleme were residing at Holyrood. The Duke, as we have said
before, was a constant attendant at the drills ; but Count d'Artois never could
get over his horror at the uniform of the Volunteers, which reminded him too
sadly of his own domestic tragedy in France. Kay's contrast of the Duke and
General Aytoun is very happy. The Portrait of the General, in particular, is
acknowledged by all who knew him as an excellent hkeness. The title of the
" Great and the SmaU" is further applicable to the figures of the other volunteers.
Mr. Osborne, the right-hand man of the company was a perfect giant, being two
inches taller than the General ; and his burly form is well set off against the
diminutive figure of Mr. Rae the dentist, who acted as fugleman to the corps,
and was very expert at the -manual exercise.
General Aytoun died at his family estate of Inchdairney, we believe, about
the year 1810, leaving behind him a large family of sons and daughters. He
was succeeded by his grandson, Roger Aytoun of Inchdairney, eldest son of John
Aytoun (served Aytoun of Aytoun in 1829), and who was long a prisoner at
Verdun.' 1 James Aytoun, Esq., advocate, who for several years was an efficient member of the Town
Council of Edinburgh, and who stood candidate for the representation of the city in Parliament, was
a son of the General.

198 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
The DUC D'ANGOULEME, eldest son of Charies. X., was born in 1775,
He accompanied his father, then Count d'Artois, to this country in 1796 ; and
resided with him for several years at the Palace of Holyrood. The Print, exe
cuted in 1797, affords a fair likeness of the young Due d'Angouleme. Small
as his figure is, in contrast with Colonel Aytoun's, it is considered even too stout
by those who recollect him at that early period. In height he was not above
five feet four, extremely slender in figure, and of a quiet, easy manner ; presenting
a strong contrast to his brother, the Due de Berri, who, in the words of an old
inhabitant of the Abbey-HiU, was a " stout, country-looking, curly-headed, stirring
boy." '
The marriage of the Due d'Angouleme, in 1799, to his cousin, the only
daughter of the ill-fated Louis XVL, was celebrated in Courland, once an inde
pendent duchy, but since 1795 attached to Russia. The Duke and Duchess
sojurned for some time afterwards in Sweden, where they were visited by th<-
Ccfunt d'Artois in 1804. During the war with Napoleon they continued in
active concert with the Allies, and endeavoured, by every possible means, to
create a reaction of popular feeling in France. The Duke himself was by no
means well qualified, either physically or mentally, to act in extraordinary
times ; but he found an able substitute in the Duchess, whose talents, activity,
and spirit, elicited the well-known remark of Napoleon, that she was " the only
man in the family ! "
With the exception of entering France at the head of the British army, in
1814 — appearing publicly at Bordeaux, to rouse the loyalty of the inhabitants — ¦
and bravely continuing in arms after the landing of Napoleon at Frejus on the
20th of March 1815, the Due d'Angouleme took no prominent part in the event
ful circumstances which led to the re-establishment of his family on the throne
of France. Devoutly sincere in his religious principles, but of an inactive and
unambitious temper, he seldom intermeddled with politics during his father's
reign ; and when the events of the Three Days compelled Charles to abdicate,
he waived his rights in favour of his nephew, the young Due de Bordeaux.
On quitting the shores of France, Charles X., then in his seventy-third
year, appears to have at once contemplated returning to the Palace of Holy-
rood — the scene of his former exile, and where he had experienced many years
of comparative happiness.^ With this view, he applied to the British Govern
ment, which granted the permission solicited ; and after a short residence in Eng
land, he arrived at Edinburgh on the 20th of October 1830. He and his suite,
including the young Due de Bordeaux and the Due de Polignac, were conveyed
from Poole in an Admiralty yacht,^ and landed at Newhaven. The ex-king
not having been expected for several days, there were few people on the beach.
1 The Count d'Artois, even when King of France, still remembered with gratitude the kindness
he experienced while resident in Edinburgh. This was shown m many acts of peculiar favour to
Scotsmen ; and particularly by his munificent donation for behoof of those who suffered by the
great flre m 1824.
2 The yacht' was commanded by Lieut. Eyton, who received from the King a handsome gold
snuff-box, inscribed— " Given by Charles X. to Lieut. Eyton, E.N., 1830."

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. , 199
By those assembled, however, he was received with a degree of respect scarcely
to have been expected in the then excited state of the public mind. Amongst
those that pressed forward to bid him welcome was a jolly Newhaven fish-
woman, who, pushing every one aside, seized the hand of the King as he was
about to enter his carriage, and with a hearty shake exclaimed, " 0, sir, I'm
happy to see ye again among decent folk." Charles smUed, and asking her
name, she replied — " My name's Kirsty Ramsay, sir, and mony a guid fish I hae
gien ye, sir ; and mony a guid shilling I hae got for't thirty years sin syne."
On the Saturday following his arrival a dinner was given to between thirty
and forty respectable citizens, by several of the ex-monarch's old tradesmen, in
honour of his return to Edinburgh. The entertainment took place in John
ston's Tavern, at the Abbey. After dinner the party repaired to the Palace
square, and serenaded its inmates with the old Scotch song " Should auld
acquaintance be forgot," which was excellently sung in parts by about twenty
individuals. Three hearty cheers followed the conclusion of the song.
The Due and Duchesse d'Angouleme, having travelled incognito by land,
arrived at Douglas's Hotel on the 27th of October. From thence, in the course
of a few days, they removed to No. 21 Regent Terrace, where they passed the
-winter, as apartments in Holyrood House had not been prepared for them.
Besides the parties already mentioned, the Duchesse de Berri, the Baron de
Damas, the Marquis de Barbancois, the Abb6 de Moligny, and several other
persons of high rank, were in the train of the King,^ most of whom maintaining
separate establishments in various quarters of the city, diffused a considerable
custom amongst the merchants and tradesmen of Edinburgh. To the poor of the
Canongate Charles was extremely liberal, causing a daily supply of provisions
to be distributed ; and he allowed his medical attendant. Dr. Bugon, a consider
able sum weekly to procure medicine for poor patients, who also received advice
gratis from this distinguished physician.^ Nor was the generosity of his Majesty
limited to the immediate locality of the Palace. Both he and other members
of the family contributed frequently and liberally to the funds of the Poor's
House, the House of Refuge, and other charities. They also gave a handsome
donation for the purpose of educating the children of the poor Irish resident in
Edinburgh. WhUst they resided in this city, the conduct of the illustrious exiles was
unobtrusive and exemplary. Charles himself, it was remarked, appeared
thoughtful and melancholy. He frequently walked in Queen Mary's garden,
being probably pleased by its seclusion and proximity to the Palace. Here,
with a book in his hand, he used to pass whole hours in retirement ; sometimes
engaged in the perusal of the volume, and anon stopping short, apparently
absorbed in deep refiection. In dress and appearance on these occasions, he had
very much the appearance of a plain country gentleman, though he who paused
1 There were in all a hundred persons in his suite.
^ The Doctor having been very successful in the cure of disease, obtained the reputation of
considerable science and skill. He was consulted by numerous wealthy as well as indigent persons.

200 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
to look again might easily discover, in his bearing and manner, enough to recall
the remembrance of his high lineage and unexampled misfortunes.
Charles sometimes indulged in a walk through the city ; but the crowds of
people that usually followed him, anxious to gratify their curiosity, in some
measure detracted from the pleasure of these perambulations. When he first
appeared in this manner, a few days after his arrival, he escaped observation
for some time ; but in Hanover Street the crowd became so great that, though
not the slightest insult was offered him, he deemed it prudent to abridge his
walk ; and passing along the Mound returned to the Palace by the High Street
and Canongate. With the exception of a slight stoop, the King appeared so
little altered since he had formerly sojourned in Edinburgh, that many old
people easily recognised him. Though far advanced in years, he walked with a
firm step ; and his health and strength were such that he often went on shoot
ing excursions, accompanied by the Due d'Angouleme and his suite ; sometimes
crossing the ferry to Fordel, the estate of Sir Philip Durham, but more frequently
enjoying himself on the property of the Earl of Wemyss. That his Majesty
was an excellent shot, the quantity of game brought home to Holyrood House
amply testified. In Dalmeny Park, on one occasion, he bagged thirty-six
pheasants, besides hares and partridges, in an incredibly short space of time.
In their habits and general deportment the Due and Duchesse d'Angouleme,
or more properly speaking, the Dauphin and Dauphiness, were as unostentatious
as his Majesty. Early in the morning of a market-day, they might be met arm-
in-arm perambulating the Canongate and High Street, apparently much
interested in the busy scene around them ; the one attired in an old blue great
coat, the other enveloped in a cloak not mantle, or much superior in appearance.
Unlike the Duke, however, the Duchess was a well-proportioned, active-looking
woman. The former, strict in his religious observances, was a regular attendant
at mass ; the latter employed more of her time in the perusal of books, or in
carrying on a correspondence with the friends of the family in France. ,
Arthur's Seat and the King's Park afforded many a solitary walk to the
exiled party, and they seemed much delighted with their residence. It was
e-rident from the first that Charles, when he sought the shores of Scotland,
intended to make Holyrood House his home ; and it may be imagined how
keenly he felt, on finding himself, after a residence of nearly two years, under
the necessity of removing to another country. Full of the recollection of
former days, which time had not effaced from his memory, he said he had
anticipated spending the remainder of his days in the Scottish capital, and
lajdng his bones amongst the dust of our ancient kings in the Chapel of
Holyrood. The unexpected departure of Charles and his suite is ascribed to a remon
strance addressed by Louis Philippe to the British Government, which, having
recognised the latter as King of the French, felt it necessary to discounte
nance the foreign correspondence alleged to have been carried on by the royal
inmates of Holyrood. The order, though couched in polite language, is under-

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 201
stood to have been imperative, namely, either to discontinue all political
intercourse, or leave the British dominions. The ex-king felt inclined to submit
to these hard conditions rather than seek an asylum elsewhere ; but the
Duchesse d'Angouleme, and other members of the family, were indignant at a
proceeding which they deemed equally inhospitable and . insulting ; whilst the
cold and almost repulsive reception given to the Due de Blacas in London, led
them to regard this as the forerunner of some measure of a still harsher
kind. In these circumstances, they decided to accept the kind invitation of the
Emperor of Austria to take up their abode in one of the imperial palaces near
Ratisbon. When it became known that the royal exiles were on the eve of their
departure from Edinburgh, a general feeling of regret was manifested by the
inhabitants. Charles had intended embarking early in September 1832 ; but,
in daily expectation of a Government yacht, which had been promised to carry
him to Hamburgh, a delay of several weeks occurred ; and at length, despairing
of the fulfilment of a promise which had evidently been reluctantly given, he
engaged the United Kingdom steam-ship for the voyage.'
Tuesday, the eighteenth of September, having been fixed for his Majesty's
departure, various methods were adopted by the citizens to show their respect
for the fallen Sovereign, whose private virtues had dignified and even ennobled
his misfortunes. On the Saturday previous, the tradesmen who had been
employed by the ex-royal family entertained the members of the household at
dinner in Millar's tavern, Abbey. In reply to the expressions of regret for their
departure, the Frenchmen said "they regretted the separation, the more especially
as they had just been long enough here to form friendships, which were now to
be torn asunder. If they did not return to France, there was no place on the
face of the earth where they would be more anxious to remain than at Edinburgh."
On Monday an address from a considerable portion of the inhabitants was
presented to Charles X. by Bailie Small and the Rev. Mr. Badenoch,^ expressive
of the sentiments they entertained of the " urbanity, beneficence, and virtuous
conduct manifested by his Majesty and the distinguished personages attached
to his suite during their residence in Edinburgh." Charles was much affected,
and in a few sentences expressed the gratification he felt in receiving such a
mark of respect from the citizens of Edinburgh.
Early on Tuesday morning a deputation, consisting of the Lord Provost,
Colonel George Macdonell, John Menzies, Esq., of Pitfodels, Mr. (afterwards Sir
Charles) Gordon, WUliam Forbes, Esq., advocate, John Robison, Esq., Secretary
' There had been strange mismanagement in this matter. Charles sailed, as above stated, early
on the Tuesday ; and, at flve o'clock on the evening of the Thursday following, the Lightning
steam-packet arrived at Leith for the purpose of conveying his Majesty and suite. It was too late,
and was probably meant to be so. The Duchess d'Angouleme had been previously treated in the
same manner. After bemg for some time detained in London, in expectation of a Government
steamer, which had also been promised, to convey her to Rotterdam, she was at last obliged to
hire a vessel for the purpose at her ovm expense.
'^ The Bailie and Mr. Badenoch were deputed with the address, chiefly because ' through their
hands the donations of his Majesty to the Poor's House, the Board of Health, etc., had been conveyed.
VOL. IL 2 D '

202 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
of the Royal Society, Dr. Browne, advocate, and several other gentlemen waited,
by appointment, on his Majesty, to present another address, which had been
signed by Provost Learmonth, in the name of the inhabitants generally. "This
address, which afterwards excited so great a sensation both in this country and
on the Continent, was drawn up by Dr. Browne ; and that his Majesty might
be fully aware of its contents, a French translation had been placed in his
hands the previous evening. After a few words from the Lord Provost, Dr.
Browne proceeded to read the address, at one part of which, containing a
touching allusion to the Due de Bordeaux, Charles was almost overcome by his
emotions. " I am unable," said his Majesty, " to express myself in English ;
but this (clasping the address to his heart) I will conserve as amOngst the most
precious possessions of my family." He then shook hands cordially with the
members of the deputation, all of whOm retired, except some few friends who
waited to hear mass in the Oratory, which was celebrated by the Rev. '(after
wards Bishop) Gillies. When the service terminated, a great many ladies and
gentlemen of fashion paid their respects to his Majesty, the Due d'Angouleme,
and the young Due de Bordeaux, who was a great favourite. In the hall of
the Palace a large party were also in waiting, with all of whom the King shook
hands and bade them adieu. On the outside the palace yard was filled with
people, many of whom wore white favours ; and when tlie royal exUes appeared
in the court, they were greeted with cheers and the waving of handkerchiefs.
The royal party then drove to Newhaven, where an immense crowd had
assembled. The Society of Newhaven Fishermen, with Thomas Wilson at
their head, formed a sort of body-guard, keeping clear the entrance to the
Chain-Pier, which was crowded' with a large assemblage of respectable persons,
a great number of whom were ladies.^ After shaking hands with many who
pressed forward to testify their respect, the royal party proceeded along the
pier, and descending the steps, which were covered with white cloth, they
embarked on board the Dart, and were speedily conveyed to the United
Kingdom, which, commanded by Mr. Paton of Leith, almost instantly proceeded
to sea. A few gentlemen, amongst whom were Colonel Macdonell, the Rev. Mr.
GUlies, John Robison, Esq., and Dr. Browne, accompanied his Majesty to the
steam-ship, which they did not leave until she was under weigh. The distress
of the King, and particularly of the Dauphin, at being obliged to quit a country
to which they were so warmly attached, was in the highest degree affecting.
The Due de Bordeaux wept bitterly ; and the Due d'Angouleme, embracing Mr.
Gillies a la Frangaise, gave unrestrained scope to his overpowering emotions.
The act of parting with one so beloved, whom he had known -and distinguished
in the salons of the Tuileries and St. Cloud, long before his family had sought
an asylum in the tenantless halls of Holyrood, quite overcame his fortitude, and
¦^ One of the Misses "WiLliamson of Lixmonnt presented the King with a handsome white silk
favour, which his Majesty received with great politeness and gaUantry ; and, making a profound
bow, placed it on his left breast.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 203
excited feelings too powerful to be repressed. When this ill-fated family bade
adieu to our shores, they carried with them the grateful benedictions of the poor
and' the respect of all men of all parties, who honour misfortune, when ennobled
by virtue.

No. CCXLI.
MR. CLINCH AND MRS. YATES,
IN THE CHARACTERS OF THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF BRAGANZA.
Though an actor of considerable merit, we are not aware that any biographical
notice of MR. CLINCH is to be found. He appears to have played in Edin
burgh during three seasons only ; first, in the winter and summer of 1785, and
again in the winter of 1786. Early in January of the former year he was
announced as forming one of the corps dramatique;i but he did not come for
ward till the end of February, when we find his arrival thus noticed : — " Mr.
Clinch, from the Theatre Royal, Dublin, who has been so long expected here,
is arrived, and is to appear in the part of Othello on Monday."
The manner in which he acquitted himself on his " first appearance in this
kingdom " is recorded in the following critique of his performance : —
"This character has always beeu considered as a most arduous one, from the variety of
qualifications it requires in the actor. * » * jir Clinch, with a figure happily suited to
the part, and a voice powerful and agreeably modulated, entered into the spirit of the much-
injured Moor in a manner that deeply interested the audience, and exhibited in lively colours
the tortures of him ' 'Who doats, yet doubts ; suspects, yet strongly loves. '
The passages in whioh Mr. Clinch particularly excelled were that in which lago makes the
first impression on him, and in that beautiful speech beginning —
'  Had it pleased' heaven
To try me with affliction — had it raiued
All kinds of sores and shames on my bare head —
' Steeped me in poverty to the very lips —
Given to captivity me and my hopes—
I should have found in some place of my soul
A drop of patience. '
[Though we do not think that the declamatory parts iu the beginning of the play were so well
sustained as those scenes in which Othello is 'perplexed in the extreme,' yet Mr Clinch's per
formance, taken altogether, was a piece of excellent acting, and amply entitled him to the
applause bestowed by a genteel, numerous, and, what is not so often the case, an attentive
audience." During his first season Mr. Clinch enacted Castalio, in the Unhappy Mar
riage ; Alexander, in the Rival Queens ; the Duke of Braganza, etc.
^ The Theatre was then under the management of Mr. Jackson, author of a "History of the
Scottish Stage."

204 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 1
MRS. YATES was an actress of the first class, and had few superiors—
not excepting the great Mrs. Siddons herself Her performances in Edinburgh,
at the period to which the Print refers, 1785, were paid at the rate of one
hundred guineas each night. Though not her first -yisit to the Scottish capital,"
and at the time pretty far advanced in years, her talents were such as to ensure
crowded houses. The tragedy of Braganza'' was performed the first and second
nights of her engagement. " It must give pleasure," says a newspaper notice
of the day, " to all lovers of the drama, to perceive that this justly celebrated
actress still possesses, in a high degree, those powers which made her so distin
guished a favourite of the public. The tragedy of Braganza is esteemed among
the best of our modern plays. The story is well chosen — the situation interest
ing — and the language pure, nervous, and classical. The scene between Velas
quez and the Monk, in the third act, is perhaps equal to any on the stage. Mr.
Woods was everything the author or audience could wish for in Velasquez.
Mr. Clinch and Mr. Ward were spirited and respectable in the characters of Don
Juan and Ribero."
During her stay Mrs. Yates played Lady Macbeth ; Jane Shore ; Margaret
of Anjou, in the Earl of Warwick ; Portia, in the merchant of Venice ; Lady
Townly ; Medea ; Zulima, in the Prince of Tunis ; and Lady Randolph. Her
performance in the 'last of these characters was thus announced in the bills of
the day : — " BY PARTICULAE DESIRE.
Mrs. Yates has deferred her journey to England for one day, in order to have an opportunity
of performing the part of Lady Randolph, being expressly her last appearance in Scotland this
season." Mr. Powell of Covent Garden enacted the part of Douglas.
Mrs. Yates was born in London, but her parents were from Scotland. By
the death of her mother, she , was left at a tender age under the sole guar
dianship of her father, who was a sea-captain, and at one period in affluent cir
cumstances. Unremitting in his parental care, the education of his daughter
was prosecuted to advantage ; and no accomplishment within his means was
withheld ; but her adoption of the stage was probably more the result of un
foreseen occurrences than premeditated choice. Her father — depressed by the
loss of all his children save herself, and overwhelmed by a sudden reverse of
fortune — was at last still more severly afflicted by the total loss of sight. Thus
urged by the ruin in which a respected parent was involved ; and possessed of
surpassing beauty — a full, clear, and mellifluous voice — a tall and commanding
figure, together with a well ciiltivated taste and judgment — the young debu
tante found little difficulty in obtaining an opportunity of appearing before a
London audience.' She made her first attempt at Drury Lane, in the charac-
1 Both Mr. and Mrs. Yates were ilr-Edinburgh while Digges Had the Theatre.
^ Printed in 1754, London, Svo. Of the author, Henry Crisp, nothing is known, except that
he held a situation in the Custom-House.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 205
ter of Martia, in Crisp's tragedy of Virginia ;^ and, before the end of the season,
she performed, with applause, the difficult part of Jane Shore, -with Mr. Garrick,
Mrs. Cibber, and Mr. Mossop in the other principal characters.
From this period Mrs. Yates continued to rise in public estimation, taking
her place in the " shining constellation " which then " illuminated the dramatic
hemisphere ;" and one of the highest gratifications arising from her success was
the means which it afforded her of effectually administering to the wants of her
unfortunate father, for whom she made ample provision, and kindly cherished
him in his declining years. Her talents were not less versatile than they were
uncommon. Limited to no particular line of acting, she appeared with appro
bation in above ninety characters, many of them the very opposite of each other.
In the sublime of tragedy, in elegant or simple comedy, she was equally meri
torious and true to nature. " Great in all," is the words of a contemporaneous
notice, " we have seen her,, with the same unerring pencil, delineate the haughty,
injured, -v^indictive Margaret of Anjou ; and the patient, uncomplaining, penitent,
suffering Shore : the cruel, ambitious, murderous Lady Macbeth, exciting her
husband to crimes at which humanity shudders ; and the**generous, exalted,
patriotic Louisa, mildly persuasive — the wife, the mother, and the queen — ^urging
her irresolute Braganza to mount, by the paths of rectitude and honour, the
hereditary throne, of which his ancestors had been unjustly deprived, and defy
ing, in the hour of danger, the sword of the assassin, with that steady heroism
which is the companion of conscious virtue ; the tenderly maternal Andromache,
Mandone, Zapphira, Thanyris, Lady Randolph : the raving Constance, in the
delirium of affiiction, lamenting her pretty Arthur ; and the despairing Horatia,
uttering pretended execrations of her country ; and provoking, with dissembled
fury, the dagger of her triumphant brother ; have seen her paint, in the same
vivid colours, the lofty Medea — the sublime, wildly-impassioned, commanding^
daughter of the Sun — and the gentle, artless, bashful Viola,
' Who never told her love,
But let concealment, like a worm i' the bud.
Feed ou her damask cheek.' "
In coriiedy she played a variety of characters. Her Lady To-wnly was pecu
liarly admirable, having no equal in this character save Mrs. Woffington — an
actress of similar beauty, figure, and accomplishments.
The private character of Mrs. Yates is said to have been -rirtuous and exem
plary. Mr. Yates, to whom she was married, was an actor of some eminence
in Drury Lane when they became acquainted. Their summer residence was for
many years at Mortlake, on the Thames. Here the poor experienced the gene
rosity of her disposition to an extent which long endeared her memory. Though
accustomed to the highest circles, possessed of a fortune reahsed by her own
1 This Tragedy, from the pen of Eobert Jephson, Esq., M.P. for the borough of Old Leighlin in
the Irish Parliament, a dramatic author of the last century, was, on its origmal appearance, very
successful, but fell into neglect after the flrst season. It was printed in Svo. 1775. Jephson was
a vigorous and spirited writer, and his dramas are in general well constructed. He died May ZI,
1803.

206 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
talents, and standing high in the applause of the world, she was remarkable for
simplicity and the absence of everything like professional affectation.
The announcement of Mrs. Yates when in Edinburgh, that the part of Lady
Randolph would be her " last appearance in Scotland," proved to be more lit
erally true than she probably contemplated at the time. Her death, little
more than two years afterwards, was thus announced in the journals : — " At
her house (2d May 1787), in Pimblico Terrace, in the fifty-ninth year of
her age, Mrs. Yates, who had been justly deemed one of the brightest ornaments
of the English stage. The disorder which occasioned her death was dropsy."
At her own request, she was buried near to the grave of her father, in the '
chancel of Richmond Church.

No. CCXLII.
ALEXANDER M'KELLAR;
OR
"THE COCK 0' THE GREEN."
The game of Golf (or Scottice Goff) — of which the scene represented in the
Print affords some idea — is a pastime, although not entirely unknown in England,
more peculiar to Scotland, and has long been a favourite with the citizens of
Edinburgh. In the Teutonic, or German, kolbe signifies a club ; and, in Holland,
the same word, pronounced kolf, describes a game — of which the Dutch are
very fond — in some respects akin to the Scottish pastime of golf.^
At what period this amusement came to be practised in Scotland is not pre
cisely known ; but, from the circumstance of foot-hall being prohibited by a
statute in 1424, in which no mention is made of golf, while it is specially noticed
in a later enactment, 1457, the presumption is, that the game was unknown at
the former period ; and consequently that its introduction must have been
about the middle of the fifteenth century.
The prohibitory laws, against foot-ball and golf were enacted that these
pastimes might not interfere with the practice of archery ; the bow being then
an instrument of war, in the use of which the Scots sometimes fatally experienced
the superiority of their English neighbours. But a change having been effected
by the invention of gunpowder, archery was no longer of national importance
as a military exercise — the laws for its encouragement fell into desuetude 
and the people were permitted again to indulge, without restraint, in the
popular recre'ations. '
^ An accurate description of holf is given in the Statistical Account of Scotland  ^parish of
Inveresk — from the pen of the late Rev. Mr. -Walker, Canongate, who had been for some time
resident in Holland.

Jj/ i/te. la^ J/a./^?y^
Ths sha/l /wife for JToikin/j/

Cock oi tjhj: iR-pe

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 207
Golf was a favourite amusenlent of the citizens of Perth during the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries ; so much so, that the younger portion of the
community could not withstand its fascination even on the Sabbath day. In
the kirk-session records is an entry — 2d January 1604 — in which the "visitors
report, that good order was keeped the last Sabbath, except that they found
some young boys playing at the gowf, in. the North Inch, in the time of preaching,
afternoon, who were warned then by the officiars to compear before the session
this day." They accordingly appeared ; and the ringleader, Robert Robertson,
was sentenced "to pay ane merk to the poor;" and ordained, with his
companions, " to compear the next Sabbath, into the place of public repentance,
in presence of the whole congregation." '
Early in the reign of James VI. the business of club-making had become
one of some iraportance. By "ane letter" of his Majesty, dated Holyrood
House, 4th April 1603, "William Mayne, bower, burgess of Edinburgh,"
is made and constituted, " during all the days of his lyf-time, master fledger,
bower, club-maker, and speir-maker to his Hieness, alsweill for game as weir ; "
and in 1618 the game of golf appears to have been so generally in practice,
that the manufacturing of balls was deemed worthy of special protection.
In "ane" other letter of James VI., dated Salisbury, 5tli August of the
above year, it is stated that there being " no small quantity of gold and silver
transported zeirly out of his Hieness' kingdom of Scotland for bying of goff
balls," James Melvill and others are granted the sole right of supplying that
article within the kingdom, prohibiting all others from making or selling them
for the " space of twenty-one zeirs." The price of a ball was fixed at " four
schillings money of this realm ;" and " for the better tryell heiroff, his Majestie
ordanes the said James Melville to have ane particular stamp of his awin,
and to cause mark and stamp all suche ballis maid be him and his foirsaidis
thairwith ;^ and that all ballis maid within the kingdome found to be
otherwayis stamped sail be escheated."
From this period the game of golf took firm hold as one of the national
pastimes — practised by all ranks of the people, and occasionally countenanced
by royalty itself. " Even kings themselves," says a writer in the Scots Magazine
for 1792, "did not decline the princely sport; and it will not be displeasing to
the Society of Edinburgh Golfers to be informed that the two last crowned
heads that ever visited this country used to practise the golf in the Links of
Leith, now occupied by the Society for the same purpose.
" King Charles I. was extremely fond of this exercise ; and it is said that,
when he was engaged in a party at golf on the Links of Leith, a letter was
delivered into his hands, which gave him the first account of the insurrection
and rebellion in Ireland. On reading which he suddenly called for his coach ;
1 Chronicle of Perth, privately printed for the Maitland Club, 1831, 4to, p. 69. From the
same curious record we leam that foot-ball was also a favourite amusement of the Perth Citizens.
^ This practice is still continued.

208 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
and learning on one of his attendants, and in great agitation, drove to the Palace
of Holyrood House, from whence next day he set out for London." i
" The Duke of York, afterwards James IL, was not less attached to this
elegant diversion. In the year 1681 and 1682, being then Commissioner from
the King to Parliament, while the Duke resided at Edinburgh, with his
Duchess, and his daughter the Princess Anne (afterwards Queen), a splendid
Court was kept at the Palace of Holyrood House, to which the principal nobility
and gentry resorted. The Duke, though a bigot in his principles, was no
cynic in his manners and pleasures. At that time he seemed to have studied
to make himself popular among all ranks of men. Balls, plays, masquerades,
etc., were introduced for the entertainment of both sexes; and tea, for
the first time heard of in Scotland, was given as a treat by the Princesses to
the Scottish ladies who visited at the Abbey. The Duke, however, did not
confine himself merely to diversions within doors. He was frequently seen in
a party at golf on the Links of Leith with some of the nobility and gentry.
' I remember,' says Mr. Tytler of Woodhouselee, ' in my youth to have often
conversed with an old man, named Andrew Dickson, a golf club-maker, who
said that, when a boy, he used to carry the Duke's golf-clubs, and to run before
him and announce where the balls fell.' Dickson was then performing the
duty of what is now commonly called a, fore-cadie."^
^ In the " Rules of the Thistle Golf Club, with Historical Notices relative to the Progress of
the Game of Golf in Scotland " — a thin octavo — by Mr. John Cundell, privately printed at Edm
burgh in 182i, the author observes, in a note, that there is an evident mistake in saying that
Charles set off the next day after he had received news of the Rebellion ; as, in point of fact, he
stayed m Scotland till the dissolution of the Scottish ParUament. This mistake does not, however,
affect the truth of Charles's partiality for golf.
'' Connected with a house of some antiquity m the Canongate of Edinburgh — said to have been
built by one John Patersone, an excellent golf player — the following tradition is preserved : — •
"During the residence of the Duke of York in Edinburgh, that Prince frequently resorted to Leith
Links, in order to enjoy the sport of golfing, of which he was very fond. Two English noblemen
who followed his Court, and who boasted of their expertness in golfing, were one day debating the
question with his Royal Highness, whether that amusement were peculiar to Scotland or England ;
and having some difSculty in coming to au issue on the subject, it was proposed to decide the
question by an appeal to the game itself ; the Englishmen agreeing to rest the legitimacy of their
national pretensions as golfers, together with a large sum of money, on the result of a match, to-be
played -with his Royal Highness and any Scotsman he could bring forward. The Duke, whose
great aim at that time was popularity, thinking this no bad opportunity both for assertmg his
claims to the character of a Scotsman, and for flattering a national prejudice, immediately accepted
the challenge ; and, in the meantime, caused diligent inquiry to be made, as to where the most
efficient partner could be found. The person recommended to him for this purpose was a poor man
named John Patersone, a shoemaker, who was not only the best golf-player of his day, but whose
ancestors had been equally celebrated from time immemorial. On the matter being explained to
him, Patersone expressed great unwillingness to enter into a match of such consequence ; but, on
the Duke encouraging him, he promised to do his best. The match was played, in which the Duke
and his humble partner were of course victorious, and the latter was dismissed with a reward corre
sponding to the importance of his service — being an eq\ial share of the stake played for. With this
money he immediately built a comfortable house in the Canongate, in the wall of which the Duke
caused a stone to be placed, bearing the arms of the family of Patersone, surmonnted by a crest
and motto, appropriate to the distinction which its owner had acquired as a golfer."
Patersone's house is No. 81, on the north side ofthe Canongate. The armorial bearing is placed near

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 209
The following entries, from the note-book of Sir John Foulis, Bart, of Ravel-
ston, prove the game to have been a fashionable one prior to the Duke of York's
visit to Scotland : —
1672,
Jan. 13. Lost at golfe with Pittarro and Commissar Munro, £0 13 0
Lost at golfe with Lyon and Hary Hay, . . . 14 0
Feb. 14. Spent at Leithe at golfe  2 0 0
Feb. 26. Spent at Leithe at golfe  19 0
March 2. For three golfe balls, .'  0 15 0
Lost at golfe, at Musselburgh, -with Gosford, Lyon, etc. ,350
April 13. To the boy who carried my clubs, when my Lord Register
and Newbyth was at the Links, . . . . 0 4 0
Nov. 19. Lost at golfe with the Chancellour, Lyon, Master of
Saltoun, etc.,  5 10 0
For golfe balls  0 12 0
Nov. 30. Lost at golfe with the Chancellour, Duke Hamilton, etc., !4 15 0
Dec. 7. For a golfe club to Archie (his son), . . . 0 6 0^
From these extracts it is evident the game was in high repute with the first
men in the kingdom. It is hardly, perhaps, necessary to mention that the pay
ments are in Scots, not sterling money.
At this time Bruntsfield Links — now a much frequented field — does not
seem to have been used for golfing. It formed part of the Burro-wmuir, and
perhaps had not been cleared. The usual places of recreation were Leith and
Musselburgh Links — the former more especially of the Edinburgh golfers. In
a poem, entitled " The Goff " (by Thomas Mathison, at one period a writer in
Edinburgh, but subsequently minister of Brechin) first published in 1743, and
again, by Mr. Peter Hill, in 1793, the locality is thus alluded to : —
" North from Edina, eight furlongs and more,
I Lies that famed field ou Fortha's sounding shore ;
Here Caledonian chiefs for health resort —
Confirm their sinews by the manly sport.

the top of the building, and consists of three pelicans Vulned, on a chief three mullets — crest, a
dexter hand grasping a golf club — motto, " Far and sure. " On the front wall of the second flat is a
tablet, on which the foUowing epigram, by Dr. Pitcairne, commemorative of the event, is engraved : —
" Cum -victor ludo, Scotis qui proprius, esset,
Ter tres victores post redimitos avos,
Patersonus, humo tunc educebat in altum
Hanc, quae victores tot tulit una, domum."
' Underneath this distich is placed the singular motto of — " I hate no person," which is found to be
an anagrammatical transposition of the letters contained in the words "lohn Patersone." The Pater-
sons of Dalkeith, of old, carried three pelicans feeding their young, or in nests, vert, with a chief, .
azure, charged with mullets argent. A commentator on the Latin poems of Dr. Pitcairne (said to be
Lord Hailes), in the Edinburgh Magazine, remarks that the above epigram seems the least spirited
one "in the whole collection. It had the fortune to be recorded in gold letters ou the house itself,
near the foot of the Canongate, almost opposite Queensberry House. "
' Nugse Scoticse; Miscellaneous Papers relative to Scottish Affairs, 1535 — 1781 :" Edinburgh,
1829, Svo, privately printed. ,
VOL IL 2 E

210 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
The author then goes on in a lively strain to describe some of the ''chiefs"
— the " cocks o' the green " at that period : —
" Macdonald and unmatched Dalrymple ply
Their ponderous weapons, and the green defy ;
Eattray for skill, and Corse for strength renowned,
Stewart and Lesly beat the sandy gi-ound ;
And Brown and Alston, chiefs well known in fame,
And numbers more the muse forbears to name.
Gigantic Biggar here full oft is seen.
Like huge Behemoth- on an Indian green ;
His bulk enormous scarce can 'scape the eyes ;
Amazed spectators wonder how he plies.
Yea, here great Forbes,' patron of the just —
The dread of -villains, and the good man's trust ;
"When spent with toils in serving human kind.
His body recreates and unbends his mind. "
The oldest golfing associations, or clubs, are the " Edinburgh Burgess" and
"Bruntsfield Links" Golfing Societies, instituted in 1735. The "Edinburgh
Company of Golfers," under the patronage ofthe city, originated in 1744. An
act was passed by the Town Council on the 7 th of March, " appointing their
treasurer to cause make a silver club, of £15 value, to be played for on the
Links of Leith the first Monday of April annually. The act appoints that
the candidates' names be booked some day of the week preceding the match,
paying 5s. each at booking : that they be matched into parties of two's, or of
three's, if their number be great, by lot : that the player who shall have the
greatest number of holes be victor ; and if two or more shall have won an equal
number, that they play a round by themselves, in order to determine the match:
that the victor be styled Captain of the Goff: that he append a piece of gold or
silver to the club : that he have the sole disposal of the booking money — the
determination of disputes among goffers, with the assistance of two or three of
the players — and the superintendency of the Links.' - Accordingly, the first
match was played on 2d April, by ten gentlemen, and won by Mr. John
Rattray, surgeon in Edinburgh."
Except in the years 1746 and 1747, the club was regularly played for; and
as a farther encouragement, the Society themselves gave two annual prizes —
the one, a silver cup, value ten guineas, on which was engraved the winners
name and coat-of-arms, with a suitable inscription. The other prize -was a gold
medal, given to the best player at golf, and worn on the breast of the conqueror
for a year, and as many years after as he might be able to maintain his
superiority. In 1768 about twenty-two members of the Society having subscribed £30
each, they built what is called the " Goff-House," at the south-west corner of
Leith Links, wherein the Company might hold their meetings, social as well as
connected with business. The Company not being a corporate body, this pro-
^ Duncan Forbes, Esq., Lord President of the Court of Session. It is reported of this great man,
that he was so fond of golf as to play on the sands of Leith when the Links were covered with snow.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 211
perty, feued from the city of Edinburgh, was " vested in Mr. St. Clair of Roslin,
Mr. Keith of Ravelston, and Mr. W. Hogg junior, banker, for behoof of the
whole subscribers."
In 1800 the "Honourable Company of Golfers" was incorporated by a
charter from the Magistrates ;' and, for more than twenty years afterwards, the
meetings of the Club — which could boast of the most illustrious Scotsmen of the
day amongst its members — continued to be regularly held at Leith. Latterly,
some alterations having been made on the Links, and the playground ceasing
to be attractive, the stated meetings of the Club were given up about 1830 ;
and it was ultimately deemed advisable, or rather became necessary, from the
state of the funds, to dispose of the Goff-House and furniture. This was accord
ingly done ; and it is much to be regretted that various pictures of old members,
and other articles, connected, it may be said, with the history of the Club, were
not reserved. These sold for trifling sums, and, in many instances, to parties
unconnected with the Society, from whom they cannot now be repurchased.
About three years ago, however, through the activity of some of the old
members, the stated meetings were revived on Musselburgh Links ; and a great
accession of young members having taken place, the Edinburgh Golfing Company
is once more in a fiourishing condition.
Besides the Societies already noticed, several others have temporarily existed.
The "Thistle Golf Club,'"' instituted in 1815, continued till within these few
years, when, like the " Edinburgh Company of Golfers," they broke up on account
of the impaired state of their playground, the Links of Leith. The affairs of
these Societies are usually managed by a President, or Captain, as he is termed,
Secretary, Treasurer, Recorder of Bets, Medal-holder, and Council.
The Links, or Commons, being free to all, there are innumerable players
unconnected with any of the Golfing Societies ; and many who resort to Brunts
field Links occasionally for amusement and exercise, are accommodated with the
loan of clubs by the maker for a trifling remuneration.
In the making of golf clubs and balls no monopoly now exists. At Mussel
burgh they are still manufactured ; and they were at Leith until a few years
ago. , At Bruntsfield Links the business is carried on with increasing spirit by
Mr. P. M'Ewan, club-maker, and Mr. W. Gourlay, ball-maker, to the Golfing
Society. UntU the grandfather of these men (Mr. Douglas Gourlay) commenced
business at the Links in 1792, the balls were brought from St. Andrews" and
1 The "Edinburgh Burgess Society " obtained a charter at the same time. Their insignia is an
embroidered star — worn on the left breast — containing two clubs and two balls, with the motto —
"Far and Sure."
2 The uniform of this Club consisted of " a scarlet single-breasted coat, with a green collar, and
plam gUt buttons ; a badge on the left breast, with the device of the thistle embroidered with gold
upon green cloth ; the trowsers white." The Thistle Golf Club was reinstituted in 1871.
' At St. Andrews about twelve hands are constantly employed in making jballs ; and besides the
quantity required for their own locality — averaging from three to four thousand — upwards of eight
thousand are annually disposed of in other markets. There are two Golflng Clubs belonging to St.
Andrews. One of them, instituted in 1754, is composed of the nobility, gentry, and professors ;
the other, of a more plebeian order of citizens. The former are distinguished by wearing red coats ;
the other, green.

212

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

retailed by the tavern-keepers at 6d. painted, and 5d. unpainted — so little had
they advanced in price from the days of our Sixth James, when a ball cost 4s.
Scots (ie. 4d. sterling). The price of a club at present is 3s. 6d.; and of a
baU, 2s.'
The bat or club is accurately represented in the Engraving. The handle,
which is straight, is generally about four feet and a half in length, and usually
made of ash, or hickory, which ¦ is aUowed to be better. The curvature
made of thorn, is affixed to the bottom, faced with horn, and backed -vrith
lead : — " Forth rush'd Castalio, and his daring foe ;
Both armed -with clubs, and eager for the blow.
Of finest ASH Castalio's shaft was made ;
Pond'rous with lead, and faced with horn the head ;
The work of Dickson, who in Letha dwells.
And in the art of making clubs excels. "2
The ball is a little one, but exceedingly hard, being made of leather, and
stuffed with feathers. There are generally two players, who have each of them
his club and ball." The game consists in driving the ball into certain holes made
in the ground, which he who achieves in the fewest strokes, obtains the victory.
The golf lengths, or the spaces between the first and last holes, are sometimes
extended — where the ground will permit, such as at St. Andrews — to the
distance of two or three miles ; the number of intervening holes appears to be
optional,* but the balls must be struck into the holes, and not beyond them :
when four persons play, two of them are sometimes partners, and have but one
ball, which they strike alternately.
It is no unusual thing for a player to have along with him eight or ten clubs
of different forms, adapted for striking the ball in whatever position it may be
^ These details are now altered by the change in the manufacture and use of gutta percha. Ed.
1877.' 2 Poem of Goff, formerly quoted. Andrew Dickson, club-maker, is the person alluded to as
having acted the part of fore-cadie to the Duke of York.
^ It is almost indispensable for a player to have at least two clubs, a long one for driving, and a
short one for putting near the hole ; aud on Links such as St. Andrews, where there are many sand-
holes, or bunkers, as they are termed, a club with an iron head (differing in form from the heads of
the wooden clubs) is required. Of these iron clubs there are various kinds, adapted to the different
situations of the green.
The holes are not limited to any particular number. On the Links of Leith, which had flve

the lengths were —

#

POEMEELY.
LATTEELT.
Feet.
Yards.
Feet.
Yards.
First hole 
12421383
127814851305
414
461426495435
First hole
975
1221
127814851805
325407426
495435
Third hole 
Third hole 
Fourth hole. . 
Fourth hole. .
Fifth hole 
Fifth hole 
6693
2231
6264
2088
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 213
placed.' These are usually carried by a boy denominated a cadie;' and the
players are generally preceded by a runner, or fore-cadie, to observe the ball, so
that no time may be lost in discovering it. Bets of a novel nature, which set
the ordinary routine of the game entirely aside, are occasionally undertaken by
the more athletic. An amusing and difficult feat, sometimes attempted from
Bruntsfield Links, is that of driving the ball to the top of Arthur's Seat!'
In this fatiguing undertaking, being a species of steeple chase, over hedges and
ditches, the parties are usually followed by bottle-holders and other attendants,
denoting the excessive exertion required.
In 1798 bets were taken in the Burgess Golfing Society, that no two
members could be found capable of driving a ball over the spire of St. Giles's
steeple. The late Mr. Sceales of Leith, and Mr. Smellie, printer, were
selected to perform this formidable undertaking. They were allowed to use six
balls each. The balls passed considerably higher than the weather-cock, and
were found nearly opposite the Advocate's Close. The bet was decided early
in the morning in case of accident, the parties taking their station at the south
east corner of the Parliament Square. The feat is described as one of easy
performance. The required elevation * was obtained by a barrel stave, suitably
fixed ; and the height of the steeple, which is one hundred and sixty-one feet,
together with the distance from the base of the Church, were found to be much
less than a good stroke of the club.
When confined to its proper limits, the game of golf is one of moderate
exercise, and excellently calculated for healthful recreation. In the west of Scot
land it is comparatively unknown.* One cause for this may be the want of
Commons, or Links, sufficiently large for the pastime to be pursued to advan
tage. In Glasgow a golf club was formed some time ago ; but we understand
the members were under the necessity of breaking up, in consequence of having
been prohibited the use of the green, part of which is preserved with great care
for the purposes of bleaching, In Stirling two or three golfers may occasionally
be seen playing in the King's Park, but the game has evidently ceased to be
^ By the rules of the game (with certain exceptions) the ball must be struck whei-e it lies.
" The cadieSj though generally boys, are in some instances professional players who continue the
occupation in addition to some other calling. They are for the most part very skilful players, having
a thorough knowledge of the game, which makes their services the more valuable, from the judicious
advice they are capable of affording the player whose clubs they carry.
' This does not appear to have been attempted prior to the period when Hugo Arnot wrote his
History of Edmburgh. In a, critical note on the letters of Topham, who wrote in 1775, Arnot
remarks that the author "has been pleased to make the top of Arthur's Seat, and those of the other
hills tn the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, flelds for the game of the golf. This observation is still
more unfortunate than the general traih of his remarks. -Were a person to play a ball from the top
of Arthur's Seat, he would probably have to walk upwards of half a mile before he could touch it
again ; and we will venture to say, that the whole art of man could not play the ball back again."
This, however, has actually been done.
* The elevation was taken by Mr. Laidlaw, teacher of Mathematics in Edinburgh. For a bet a
ball was driven, some years ago, by Mr. Donald M'Lean, -W.S., over Melville's Monument, in St.
Andrew Square.
^ This remark does not apply now — ^Prestwick Links, in Ayrshire, being one of the best and most
favourite flelds for the game in Scotland. Ed. 1877.

214 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
popular there. An attempt was at one time very injudiciously made to stop the
players by the tacksman, but ineffectually. About Edinburgh, Musselburgh,
Perth, St. Andrews, and other districts, where no restraints exist, golf maintains a
decided superiority, and seems at the present time to be followed -with new spirit.
Indeed the game was never more popular. In addition to the old Clubs in the
districts already mentioned, another was some time ago established at North
Berwick, the meetings of which are numerously attended. St. Andrews, how
ever, has been denominated the Doncaster of golfing. A great many of the
nobility and gentry of the neighbouring counties are members of the Club, which
bears the name of the tutelar Saint, and the autumn meeting may be said to
continue for a week, during which the crack players from all quarters of the
country have an opportunity of pitting their strength and skill against each
other. On these occasions the Links, crowded with players and spectators, present
a gay and animated scene. Two medals are played for — the one belonging to
the Club, and the other a gift of King William the Fourth — which latter was
competed for at the meeting in 1837 for the first time, and attracted a very
great assemblage of the best golfers. At the ordinaries in the evening, the
parties " fight their battles o'er again," and new matches are entered into. The
day on which the King's medal was played for terminated with a ball, given by
the Club, which was numerously and fashionably attended. In London a society
of golfers still exists, principally composed, we believe, of Scotsmen, called the
"Blackheath Golf Club," which was established prior to the year 1745.'
Alexander M'Kellar, the " Cock o' the Green'' — whom the Print represents
as about to strike the ball — was probably one of the most enthusiastic golf-
players that ever handled a club. When the weather would at all permit, he
generally spent the whole day on Bruntsfield Links ; and he was frequently to
be found engaged at the " short holes " by lamp light. Even in winter, if the
snow was sufficiently frozen, he might be seen enjoying his favourite exercise
alone, or with any one he could persuade to join him in the pastime. M'Kellar
thus became well known in the neighbourhood of the green ; and his almost
insane devotion to golf was a matter of much amusement to his acquaintances.
So thoroughly did he enter into the spirit of the game, that every other
consideration seemed obliterated for the time. " By the la' Harry," or " By
gracious, this won't go for nothing!" he would exclaim involuntarily, as he
endeavoured to ply his club with scientific skill ; and when victory chanced to
crown his exertions, he used to give way to his joy for a second or two by dancing
round the golf hole. M'Kellar, however, was not a member of any of the
Clubs ; and, notwithstanding his incessant practice, he was by no means con
sidered a dexterous player. This is accounted for by the circumstance of his
having been far advanced in years before he had an opportunity of gaining a
^ For the best and most recent account of this game, see " Golf : A Royal and Ancient Game,"
with Illustrations. Edinburgh : R. & B. Clark. 1875.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 215
knowledge of the game. The greater part of his life had been passed as a
butler, but in what family is unknown ; nor indeed does it matter much. He
had contrived to save a little money ; and his wife, on their coming to Edin
burgh, opened a small tavern in the New Town. M'Kellar had thus ample
leisure for the indulgence of his fancy, without greatly abridging his income, and
golf may be said to have virtually become his occupation ; yet no perseverance
could entirely compensate for the want of practice in his younger years.
His all-absorbing predilection for golf was a source of much vexation to his
managing partner in life, on whom devolved the whole duty of attending to the
affairs of the tavern. It was not because she regretted his want of attention to
business — for probably he would have been allowed to appropriate a very small
portion of authority in matters which she could attend to much better herself;
but she felt scandalised at the notoriety he had acquired, and was not altogether
satisfied with the occasional outlay to which he was subjected, though he never
speculated to any great amount.
No sooner was breakfast over than M'Kellar daily set off to the green ; and
ten to one he did not find his way home until dusk ; and not even then, if the
sport chanced to be good. As a practical jest on the folly of his procedure, it
occurred to his " better half " that she would one day put him to the blush, by
carrying his dinner, along with his night-cap, to the Links. At the moment of
her arrival, M'Kellar happened to be hotly engaged ; and, apparently without '
feeling the weight of the satire, he good-naturedly observed, that she might wait,
if she chose, till the game was decided, for at present he had no time for dinner!
So provoked at length was the good dame, that she abhorred the very name
of golf, as well as all who practised it ; and to her customers, if they were her
husband's associates on the green, even a regard for her own interest could
scarcely induce her to extend to them' the common civilities of the tavern.
What betwixt respect for his wife and his fondness of golf, M'Kellar must
have been placed in a rather delicate situation ; but great as the struggle might
be, all opposition was eventually overcome, and he determined to enjoy his
game and be happy in spite of frowns, lectures, or entreaties. One thing alone
annoyed him, and that was the little countenance he was enabled to give his
friends when they happened to visit him. At length an opportunity occurred
apparently highly favourable for an honourable amende to his long neglected
acquaintances. Ha-ring resolved on a trip to the kingdom of Fife, where she
calculated on remaining for at least one night, his " worthy rib '' took her depar
ture, lea-ving him for once, after many cautions, with the management of affairs
in her absence. Now was the time, thought M'Kellar. A select party of
friends were invited to his house in the evening : the hour had arrived, and the
company were assembled in the best parlour — ^golf the theme, and deep the liba
tions — ^when, (alas 1 what short-sighted mortals are we !) who should appear to
mar the mirth of the revellers, but the golf-hating Mrs. M'KeUar herself! Both
-winds and waves had conspired to interrupt the festivity ; the ferry had been
found impassable, and the hostess was compeUed to refurn. What ensued may

216 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
be imagined. The contemplated journey was postponed sine die ; and M'Kellar
internally resolved to make sure, before giving a second invitation, that his
spouse had actually crossed the ferry 1
Happening to be at Leith one day, where his fame as a golfer was not
unknown, M'Kellar got into conversation in the club-maker's shop with a
number of glass-blowers, who were blowing very much about their science in the
game of golf After bantering him for some time to engage in a trial of skill,
a young man from Bruntsfield Links opportunely made his appearance. "By
gracious, gentlemen !" exclaimed M'Kellar, whose spirit waa roused; "here's a
boy and I will play you for a guinea ! " No sooner said than a match of three
games was begun, in all of which the glass-blowers were defeated. The " Cock
o' the Green " was triumphant ; and, not waiting tUl the bet had been forth
coming, he ran to the shop of the club-maker, announcing the joyful intelligence
— " By gracious, gentlemen, the old man and the boy have beat them off the
green ! "
By way of occupying his time profitably on the seventh — the only day in the
week he could think of employing otherwise than in his favourite amusement —
M'Kellar was in the habit of acting as door-keeper to an Episcopalian Chapel.
On entering one day, old Mr. Douglas Gourlay, club and ball maker at Brunts
field, jocularly placed a golf ball in the plate, in lieu of his usual donation of
coppers. As anticipated, the prize was instantaneously secured by M'Kellar,
who was not more astonished than gratified by the novelty of the deposit.
It was at the suggestion of the late Mr. M'Ewan and Mr. Gourlay that Kay
produced the Etching of the " Cock o' the Green." Going out purposely to
the Links, the artist found him engaged at his usual pastime, and succeeded in
taking an accurate and characteristic likeness. When informed what Kay had
been doing, M'Kellar seemed highly pleased. " What a pity," said he ; " by
gracious, had I known, I would have shown him some of my capers ! "
The Print was executed in 1803. Although then pretty far advanced in
life, M'Kellar continued to maintain his title of the " Cock o' the Green " for
a considerable time. He died about the year 1812. ,

No. CCXLIIL
LOED POLKEMMET.
William Baillie of Polkemmet,^ descended from an ancient family of Linlith
gowshire, was the eldest son of Thomas Baillie, W.S. He was educated for the
bar, and passed advocate in 1758. He acted as Sheriff-Depute of the before-men-
1 According to Sibbald, in his "History of Linlithgowshire," the seat of the BailUes was originally
termed " Paukommot."

243

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 217
tioned county for above twenty years; and in 1792 was promoted to the bench. ^
He was zealous in the discharge of the important duties of his office till within
a very few years of his death, when he resigned his gown and retired from the
bustle of public life, to spend the remainder of his days in quietness with his
family, and to enjoy the society of a very few of the devoted friends of his early
years. Lord Polkemmet, while on the bench, was remarkable for his good nature.
Although not considered as a first-rate lawyer, or at all fitted to solve difficult
legal questions, he had a fund of good sense, which in the great mass of cases
enabled him to discharge his judicial duties with propriety. His lordship not
unfrequently used the broad Scottish dialect when addressing counsel. Upon
one occasion Henry Erskine had been heard at very great length in a case —
a presumption that it was not a very good one, as he was not accustomed to
waste his time in idle harangue (as is too much the practice now-a-days), when
he had the right side of ,a cause. The judge was somewhat mystified by this,
as he thought, uncalled-for piece of declamation. He shrewdly suspected that
it was a regular attempt to bamboozle ; but he was not to be done. At the
termination of the pleading he observed — ^" A vera fine speech, ' Harry — vera;
but I'll just mak' it play wimble-wamble in my wame o'er my toddy till the
morrow." He accordingly made (to use the ordinary legal phrase) a-vizandum —
in other words, took the process home, and returned it in due time, with an
interlocutor (decision) — showing that the lawyer's eloquence had been in vain
expended. Lord Polkemmet was twice married ; first to a daughter of Sir James
Colquhoun of Luss, Bart., by whom he had a large family, five of whom — one
son and four daughters — survived him. He married, secondly. Miss Janet
Sinclair, a sister of Sir John Sinclair, Bart., and cousin-german to his first
wife. She had no family, and died in 1833.
It was the intention of Government to confer the dignity of a baronet upon
his lordship, and the necessary arrangements were in progress for that purpose,
when he died. The honour was subsequently conferred on his son. Sir William
Baillie, Bart, in 1823. Lord Polkemmet was a great supporter of the Church,
and intimate with many of the clergy, who had always a hearty welcome at
Polkemmet. He was a tall, good-looking man.^
^ His lordship is said to have owed his preferment to Lord Braxfleld, who had been his profes
sional adviser in a suit iu which he was engaged aa to the succession to an estate of some value. His
opponent had offered liberal ternis of comproraise, which, by the advice of Braxfleld, were rejected —
unfortunately, as it happened, for his client was ultimately unsuccessful. As he thought himself the
cause of his friend's suffering a considerable loss, he did all he could to repair it, by procuring for him
a seat on the bench. Braxfleld, though he loved his friend, loved his joke too ; and as Baillie was
not an orator, some one having objected to the appointment very strongly, especially on that ground,
Braxfleld replied, " Nonsense, man ; I've bargained that he's never to speak." A very clever imita-'
tion of Lord Polkemmet's judicial style is given in the celebrated Diamond Beetle Case, ajeu d'esprit
by a most accompUshed individual, and one of the Senators of the College of Justice.
2 He was remarkable for the length of his fingers, and -at the impugning of the Theses, which
takes place in presence of the judges, the candidate for legal hoiiours was certiorated of the proper
VOL II. 2 F

218 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

No. CCXLIV.
JAMES GILLESPIE, ESQ., OF SPYLAW,
AND HIS BROTHER,
MR. JOHN GILLESPIE.
As the founder of " Gillespie's Hospital," James, the elder of the two brothers,
is well known ; yet it is rather surprising that no record of their history has
been preserved. It is believed they were born at Rosslyn, about seven miles
from Edinburgh ; but, with respect to their family connections, no accurate
information is to be obtained. They had a sister, mother of the late Mr.
Richard Dick, tobacconist, who succeeded to his uncle's shop ; but whether they
had any other near relatives is uncertain. If they had, no communication was
maintained with them.
The early years of the Messrs. Gillespie are understood to have been the
reverse of affluent ; their steady and industrious conduct, however, overcame
all difficulties, and by a fortunate speculation, during the American war — when
the price of tobacco experienced an unexampled rise — -their good fortune was
effectually augmented. The retail shop, a short way east of the Cross, on the
north side of the High Street,' was attended by John, the younger brother, while
James (" the Laird," as he was styled), constantly resided at Spylaw,'' a property
which he purchased at Colinton, and where he erected a mill for grinding snuff.
I Neither of the brothers was ever married. Although frugal and industrious,
they were by no means miserly." On the contrary, James, in particular, is
described as one of the best and kindest of men ; living amongst his domestics
in the most homely and patriarchal manner. He invariably sat at the same
table with his servants, indulging in familiar conversation, and entering -with
much spirit into their amusements. Newspapers were not so widely circhlated
season to put on the cocked hat used on such occasions, by his lordship holding up his first gigantic
digit. He, in consequence, was good-naturedly termed by the bar, with the members of which he
was a great favourite, the " Judicial Fugleman."
¦' The shop is No. 231, and is at present occupied by George Cotton, tobacconist. Their flrst shop,
on the same site, was taken down and rebuilt.
^ This pleasant residence is distant about four miles west of Edinburgh. It is situated on the
banks of the "Water of Leith, at the head of the hollow or strath occupied by the village of Colinton.
The house is of a somewhat antiquated form, but in excellent repair ; and the courtyard and walks
around are tastefully kept in order. After Mr. Gillespie's death the snuff-mill, immediately in the
rear of the house, was purchased, and long busUy employed by Messrs. Ralph Richardson and Brothers,
tobacconists, 105 "West Bow.
^ Many of the last century characters of Edinburgh were supplied -with snuff gratis by the Messrs.
Gillespie. Among others, Laird Robertson and Jean Cameron had their " mulls" regularly filled.

^ts

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 219
at that period as they are now ; and on the return of any of his domestics from
the city, which one or other of them daily visited, he listened -with great atten
tion to "the news," and enjoyed -with much zest the narration of any jocular
incident that had occurred.
Of the younger portion of his dependants he took a fatherly charge, instil
ling into their minds the most wholesome advice, and to all recommending
habits of sobriety and industry. "Waste not, want not," was a favourite
maxim in his household economy ; yet the utmost abundance of every necessary,
of the best quality, and at the command of all the inmates, was unscrupulously
provided. Neither was his generosity confined to objects of his o-wn species.
It extended alike to every living creature about his establishment. From his
horses to his poultry, all experienced the bounty of his hand ; and wherever
he went, in the fields, or about his own doors, he had difficulty in escaping
from their affectionate gambols and joyous clamour. The almost companion
able fondness, reciprocal betwixt the laird and his riding-horse was altogether
amusing. Well fed, and in excellent spirit and condition, it frequently
indulged in a little restive curvetting with its master, especially when the latter
was about to get into the saddle. " Come, come," he would say on such occa
sions, addressing the animal in his usual quiet way, " hae dune noo, for ye'U no
like if I come across your lugs (ears) wi' the stick." This " terror to evil-doers "
he sometimes brandished, but was never known to " come across the lugs " of
anyone. As a landlord Mr. Gillespie was peculiarly indulgent. On his property were
numerous occupiers of small cottages and portions of ground. From these he
collected his rents just as they found it convenient to pay, and he scrupled not
to accept the most trifling instalment. Andrew,' his apprentice in the mUl, was
frequently despatched in the capacity of collector of arrears. On his return
the old man would inquire — " Weel, laddie, hae ye gotten onything?" Andrew's
reply frequently intimated the amazing receipt of one shilling ! " Weel, weel,
it's aye better than naething ; but it's weel seen they're the lairds and no me."
To legal measures he never resorted.
Even to extreme old age Mr. Gillespie continued to maintain the industrious
habits he had pursued through life. With an old blanket around him and a
night-cap on, covered over with snuff, he attended regularly in the mill, super
intending the operations of his man, Andrew. He kept a carriage, for which
the Hon. Henry Erskine facetiously suggested as a motto —
" -Wha wad hae thocht it,
That noses had bocht it."
^ Andrew Fraser served his apprentice.ship with the Messrs. Gillespie, and was in all eight years
with them. He was employed almost constantly at Spylaw. -When he began his term of service,
Mr. James GiUespie might be in his seventieth year. For Andrew, the old man entertained a great
regard ; frequently telling him, that if he remained in his employ he would " make a man of him. "
Andrew, unluckily for himself, was prevailed on by bad advice to leave his employer. After a life
of hard, but for himself unprofitable labour, he found at last a comfortable home in the sanctuary
provided by his first master.

220 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
The carriage, however, the plainest imaginable, contained no other inscription
than the initials " J. G." Until within a year or two of his death, when no
longer able to walk any distance, he almost never made use of it — not even on
Sabbath, for the church of Colinton is not above five or ten minutes' walk from
Spylaw. He, notwithstanding, held Cameronian principles, and regularly
attended the annual tent-meetings of that body at RuUion Green.
Mr. James Gillespie survived his brother John about two years, and carried
on the business till his death, which occurred at Spylaw on the 8th of April
1797, in the seventy-first year of his age. He was buried in the churchyard of
Colinton, in the same vault with his brother John.
By his will, executed in 1796, Mr. GUlespie bequeathed his estate, together
with £12,000 sterling (exclusive of £2700, for the purpose of buUding and
endowing a School), •' for the special intent and purpose of founding and endow
ing an Hospital, or charitable institution, within the city of Edinburgh, or
suburbs, for the aliment and maintenance of old men and women." In 1801,
the Governors, on application to his Majesty, obtained a charter, erecting them
into a body politic and corporate, by the name and style of " The Governors
of James Gillespie's Hospital and Free School."
The persons entitled to be admitted into, and maintained in the Hospital,
are — " 1st, Mr. Gillespie's old servants, of whatever rank they may be. 2d,
Persons of the name of Gillespie, fifty-five years of age and upwards, whatever
part of Scotland they may come from. 3d, Persons belonging to Edinburgh,
and its suburbs, aged fifty-five years and upwards. 4th, Failing applications
from persons belonging to Edinburgh and its suburbs, persons belonging to
Leith, Newhaven, and other parts in the county of Mid-Lothian. 5th, Failing
applications from all these places, persons fifty-five years, of age, coming from
all parts of Scotland." It is further provided, " That none shall be admitted
who are pensioners, or have an allowance from any other charity. And seeing
the intention of Mr. Gillespie, in founding the Hospital, was to relieve the poor,
none are to be admitted until they shall produce satisfactory evidence to the
Governors of their indigent circumstances ; and the Governors are required to
admit none but such as are truly objects of this charity ; and it is hereby
ordained and appointed, that none but decent, godly, and well-behaved men and
women (whatever in other respects may be their claims) shall be admitted into
the Hospital ; and the number of persons to be constantly entertained shall be
so many as the revenue of the Hospital can conveniently maintain, after deduct
ing the charge of management, and of maintaining the fabric, and keeping up
the clothing and furniture of the house."
The Board of Management consists of the Master, Treasurer, and twelve
assistants of the Merchant Company ; five members of the Town Council, who
are elected by that body ; and the ministers of the Tolbooth and St. Stephen's
Churches. The Hospital, a commodious and not inelegant structure, designed by the
late Mr. Burn, is built on the site of a property called Wrytes House, an ancient

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 221
castellated mansion, the demolition of which, by the Trustees of the Institution,
occasioned much regret among the lovers of antiquity. From the Edinburgh
Magazifie for 1800 we quote the following remarks by a correspondent: —
" How grateful must it have been to the inhabitants of Edinburgh, to be able to point the
attention of a prejudiced stranger to the towering and venerable fabric of Wrytes House, one
existing memorial, among many others, of the ancient power and greatness of Scotland, and of
her early proficiency in the architecture and sculpture formerly in repute. 'Will persons of taste
in this country believe it? — ^will liberal and lettered Englishmen believe it? — this beautiful
castle, in the environs of the capital, and the ornament of Bruntsfield Links, a public resort, ia
at this moment resounding the blows of the hammers and axes of final demolition ! "
" The Managers of the late Mr. Gillespie's mortification ha-ving, by reason, it is said, of the
voracity of some greedy proprietor, been disappointed in their original intentions,
' They spied this goodly castle.
Which choosing for their Hospital,
They thither marched.'
And who could have doubted that it might easily have been transformed into a most capacious
and elegant hospital — a truly splendid abode for decayed Gillespies !
*****
" But do-wu it must come, if it should be for the sake only of the timber, the slates, and the
stones. Its fate is now irretrievable. A few weeks will leave scarcely a trace to tell where
once it stood. Ten thousand pounds would not rear such another castle ; and, if it did, still it
would be modern.
"'Wrytes House" was of considerable antiquity. Above one window was the inscription,
'Sicut Oliva fructifera, 1376;' aud above another, 'In Domino confdo, 1400.' There are
several later dates, marking the periods, probably of additions, embellishments, or repairs, or
the succession of different proprietors.! The arms over the principal door were those of Britain
after the union of the crowns. On triangular stones, above the windows, were five emblematical
representations — ' And in those five, such things their form express'd.
As we can touch, taste, feel, or hear, or. see.'
A variety of the virtues also were strewed upon different parts of the building. In one place
was a rude representation of our first parents, and underneath, the well-known old proverbial
distich— f ' "When Adam delv'd and Eve span,
Quhair war a' the gentles than. '
In another place was a head of Julius Csesar, and elsewhere a head of Octavius Secundus, both
in good preservation. Most of these curious pieces of sculpture have been defaced or broken,
no measure having been taken to preserve them from th6 effects of their fall.^ This is much
to be regretted, as there can be little doubt that some good gentleman, who would not only
have given the contractor an advanced price, but would have so disposed of these relics as to
ensure their future existence and preservation. Had the late Mr. Walter Boss been alive they
would not have been allowed to dash against the ground and shiver into fragments ! What,
suppose the Managers themselves were yet to erect a little Gothic-looking mansion, in some
convenient corner, constructed entirely of the sculptured and ornamented stones of the castle.
! In a note by the editor of the Magazine, it is stated as the opinion of another antiquary, that
these dates were more hkely to have been inscribed at the same period, to record some particular eras
in the history of the ancestors of the o-wner ; and that the neatness, distinctness, and uniformity of
the letters, rendered this opinion, highly probable.
^ " A long stone, on which was curiously sculptured a group resembUng Holbein's Darwe of Death,
was some time ago (July 1800) discovered at the head of Forrester's Wynd, which in former days was
the western boundary of St. GUes's High Churchyard. This relic, too, was much defaced, and broken
in two, by being carelessly tossed down by the workmen. It was a curious piece. Amid other musicians
who brought up the rear, was an angel playing on the Highland bagpipe — a national conceit, which
appears also on the entablature of one of the piUars of the supremely elegant Gothic chapel at Roslin."

222 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Thus, so far from misapplying their funds, they might at once produce a beautiful summer-
house, or termination of a vista, and discharge an imperious debt they owe to their countrymen
and to posterity— the preservation and transmission of those specimens of Scottish workmanship
of remote ages. Such a building, composed chiefly of antique carved stones, may be seen near
St. Bernard's Well, in the policy, or pleasure-grounds of the gentleman last-mentioned ;! and
Portobello Tower, built by Mr. Cunningham, consists principally of the sculptured and orna
mented stones found in the houses which were pulled down to make way for the South Bridge.'"
The suggestions of the antiquary were not attended to by the Managers.
The Hospital, which was opened in 1802, is capable of containing sixty-six
pensioners, but the Governors have never been able to make provision for more
than forty-two persons.' The internal management is committed to the charge
of a House-Governor, or Chaplain, and a Governess, who act under the immediate
direction of the Treasurer — the whole being under the control of the Board of
General Governors.
In the Council Room of the Hospital is a capital painting of the founder,
by Sir James Foulis of Woodhall, Bart., in which the venerable proprietor of
Spylaw is represented as seated on a rudely formed chair, or summer-seat, in the
garden, with his hands resting on his staff. His countenance has all the mUd
ness of expression observable in the Etching by Kay.'
The School endowed by Mr. Gillespie stands entirely detached from the
Hospital. The number of children taught average one hundred and fifty. The
first teacher was Mr. John Robertson, who held the situation at the opening
of the school in 1803 ; and was aided by an assistant.
1 " Mr. Walter Ross, a gentleman of much taste and suavity of manners, whose memory is cher
ished by all who knew him, and know how to estimate probity, honour, and rare accomplishments,
of which Mr. Ross possessed au eminent share indeed. The deUght which he took in works of art
and antiquities led him to coUect some curious fragments of old buildings about Edinburgh, some
of which he has preserved by fixing them in and about the tower, under which his remains lie buried.
In the middle of the field in which this turret is built, a huge block of freestone stands erect ; it is
partly cut out in the form of a human figure, and, if report speaks truly, it was intended by the then
magistrates of Edinburgh to form the effigy of Oliver Cromwell : but the Restoration put an end to
the design ; and the fine equestrian statue of Charles IL, to be seen in the ParUament Square, was, by
the prudent magistrates, ordered in its stead. In consequence, the above shapeless mass lay upwards
of a century and a half neglected and unknown, till Mr. Ross, having obtained possession of this
precious piece of antiquity, placed it upright with its face fronting the city ; in which position it
remains a standing joke against the unsteady loyalty of the times." — Campbell's Journey from,
Edinburgh. Among other curiosities coUected by Mr. Ross, were four heads, in alto relievo, which
formerly were placed over the arches of the Cross of Edinburgh : also the baptismal fonts belonging
to St. Ninian's Chapel, which stood near the Register House.
^ Many of the carved stones of Wrytes House are preserved at Woodhouselee.
^ In a late article in the Scottish Pilot newspaper, this circumstance was earnestly recommended
to the notice of the public, with the view of promoting the funds of the Institution. " The cost of
the establishment," says the statement, "for the maintenance of each inmate, is from £12 to £15 per
annum — the rate varying according to the price of provisions and other contingencies. If the latter
sum is assumed to be necessary, and as the Governors can dispose of money bearing interest at five
per cent, a sum of £7000, or thereby, would suffice for the required object — the support of twenty-
four additional inmates — that being the number of vacancies in the Institution."
^ At the time Kay executed the Print he resided in one of the flats above the shop of the tobacco
nists, from whom, it is said, he received flve pounds to suppress it. It is more probable that the flve
pounds were given for the mmiature. The one appears to be a copy of the other.

245

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 223

No. CCXLV.
REV. DR. JOHN COLQUHOUN,
OF THE CHAPEL OF EASE (nOW ST. JOHN'S CHURCh) LEITH.'
Dr. Colquhoun was the son of a small farmer on the' estate of Sir James
Colquhoun, Bart, of Luss, Dumbartonshire, where he was born on the first of
January 1748. He received the rudiments of education at a neighbouring
school under the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge in Scotland;
and, as an instance of his early thirst for religious information, it is related
that a perusal of Boston's Fourfold State having been recommended to him by
his teacher, he travelled to Glasgow, a distance of nearly fifty miles going and
returning, in order to procure a copy of the work. Manifesting a decided inclina
tion for the ministerial office, and having made some progress in the Latin
tongue, he became a student at the University of Glasgow about the year 1768.
Here he continued to prosecute his studies in the languages, in phUosophy, and
in theology, for the greater part of ten years. ¦ He then repaired to Edinburgh,
attended the University for a season ; and returning to Glasgow, was licensed
by the Presbytery of that district early in August 1780.
A vacancy having about this time occurred in the New Church or Chapel,
South Leith, Dr. Colquhoun received a call to be its pastor, and was ordained
on the 22d of March 1781. From that period, throughout the greater part of
half a century, he continued to discharge the duties of his office with distin
guished zeal ; and, untU within a few years of his death, with the happiest
results to a respectable and numerous congregation. Taking little part in, and
almost unconscious of what was going on in the world around him, his time
was exclusively devoted to study and to his pastoral cares, seldom if ever absent
ing himself from his charge, save when called away to aid in the sacramental
dispensations of his brethren. To the young, especially such as were desirous
of communicating, he afforded ample instruction by his monthly meetings for
that purpose ; and not the least interesting and salutary portion of his labours
were the weekly conversations held on the Friday evenings at his own house.
^ The Chapel (built by subscription) was opened for public worship on Sabbath, the 12th of
December 1773, and continued to be regularly suppUed by ministers and preachers in connection with
the Church of Scotland. In November 1775, the Rev. Mr. Burnside, having been elected by the
Trustees, members of the congregation, heads of famUies, and renters of seats, was regularly ordained
as minister of the Chapel, by the presbytery of Edinburgh. — Memorial of the Managers. Mr. Burn
side was translated to Dumfries in 1780. A call was then given to the Rev. Walter Buchanan (late
of the Canongate), which was at first accepted, but afterwards declined, in consequence of an invita
tion to Stirlmg. Dr. Colquhoun was thereafter chosen.

224 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
AU who chose to come were welcome ; and many students were in the habit of
attending, to profit by his instructions, and obtain his advice, ever readily
extended, as to the prosecution of their studies.
A characteristic feature in Dr. Colquhoun was an unvarnished sincerity and
simplicity of manner. These natural traits, possessed even to a fault, and
probably increased by his seclusive habits, led him sometimes into positions
which the exercise of a due degree of prudence would have avoided. The
unhappy misunderstanding with his congregation, towards the close of his life,
respecting the appointment of an assistant, and which had nearly the effect of
breaking up the Church, was an instance of injudicious policy, if not questionable
feeling, which even his advanced age could scarcely palliate.
Several rather amusing anecdotes are told, illustrative of his exceeding
severity of religious sentiment. On the laying the foundation stone of the New
Church of North Leith, which was done -vrith masonic honours, his venerable
contemporary. Dr. Johnston, as a principal party concerned in the new erection,
very appropriately presided at the dinner given in the evening. After the cloth
had been withdrawn, and the glass in circulation, a song happened to be called
for by one of the company. Dr. Colquhoun instantly rose, and addressing the
chair, protested in strong terms "against indulging in such mirth, declaring that
prayer was more suitable to the occasion than a profane song. To this his Rev.
friend good-humouredly replied by observing that " everything is beautiful in
its season," and not only assented to the call for a song, but to the delight of
the company, set the example himself, by immediately singing a favourite old
Scottish ditty.
For several years before his death Dr. Colquhoun had been unable to preach
regularly. He appeared for the last time in the pulpit on the forenoon of the
18th November 1826. He survived, however, till the 27th of November next
year. He was interred in the churchyard of South Leith, and his funeral sermon
was preached by Dr. Jones, of Lady Glenorchy's Chapel, one of his earliest and
most attached friends.
Dr. Colquhoun is known as an author by the publication of various works.
The first, "A Treatise on Spiritual Comfort," appeared in 1813 : another, "On
the Law and the Gospel," in 1815: "On the Covenant of Grace," in 1818:
" A Catechism for the Instruction and Direction of Young Communicants,'' in
1821 : "On the Covenant of Woj-ks," in 1822: "A View of Saving Faith,
from the Sacred Records," 1824 : "A Collection of the Promises of the Gospel,
arranged under their proper Heads, with Refiections and Exhortations deduced
from them," 1825 : and lastly, in 1826, "A View of Evangelical Repentance
from the Sacred Records." A small posthumous volume of " Sermons, chiefly
on Doctrinal Subjects," with a memoir of the author, was published by J. and
D. Collie in 1836.
Dr. Colquhoun was twice married, but had no children.

246

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 225

No. CCXLVL
MAJOR CHARLES JOHNSTONE,
WHEN AN ENSIGN IN THE HOPETOUN FENCIBLES.
The late Major Johnstone was descended from the Johnstones cif Poldean, in
the parish of Wamphray, an old family in that district. His great-grandfather
was William Johnstone of Granton, a property situated at the head of the vale
of Annandale, but which is no longer in possession of the family. His grand
father was an officer in the Scots Greys, and at one period aide-de-camp to John
Duke of Argyle. His father had also been in the army — had held the commis
sion of lieutenant in the third Buffs — and was an officer in the Hopetoun Fenci
bles at the same time with his son.
When the Print was executed by Kay, m 1795, the Hopetoun Fencibles
were quartered in the Castle of Edinburgh. Johnstone was then only in his
fifteenth year, but had much of the soldier in his manner and appearance.
Fired with the ambition of military glory, the young Ensign did not long remain
in the Fencibles. In 1796 he obtained an ensigncy in the second battalion of
the Royals, and with that regiment served with much ardour and gallantry in
the expedition to HoUand in 1799. During one of the actions in which he
was engaged, having incautiously advanced too far in front of his men, he was
separated from them among the sand hills, and taken prisoner by the enemy,
who proceeded to plunder him. On his sword being demanded, he presented it
-with the scabbard ; but at the moment the Frenchman took hold of it, the pain
ful thought shot across his mind, of the grief his revered father would feel on
hearing that he had delivered up his sword, and actuated by a sudden impulse,
he quickly drew it out of the scabbard, disengaged himself with it from his
enemies, and safely rejoined his companions, who were advancing at no great
distance, with no other injury than a musket-ball, fired at him in his retreat,
having struck the heel of his boot. In the course of the campaign,' however)
he , received a severe contusion on the breast, from, a spent ball, the effects of
which, it is believed, he never entirely recovered.
In the beginning of the year 1800 he was promoted to a lieutenancy in the
fourth Regiment of Foot ; and, at his own request, was again removed to the
second battalion of the Royals. With this corps he served in Egypt during the
campaigns of 1801. At the landing, on the Sth of March, a grapeshot passed
through the crown of his hat, without injuring him ; but, at the battle of
Alexandria, fought on the 21st, he was severely wounded by a musket-baU,
which lodged among the small bones of his foot, and was not extracted for six
VOL II. 2 G

226 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
months afterwards. From the effects of this wound he suffered occasionally as
long as he lived. He afterwards served at Gibraltar, under his Royal Highness
the Duke of Kent ; and, in the West Indies, was present at the capture of St.
Lucie and Tobago in 1803. The foUowing year he was promoted to a company.
In 1807 Captain Johnstone was married, at Springkell, to Miss Isabella
Maxwell, a young lady then residing at Dumfries, daughter of the late William
MaxweU, Esq., of the East India Company's Civil Service ; and from 1808 until
181 4,, when he was promoted to the rank of Major in the army, he acted as
Major of Brigade to the Staff in Scotland. In consequence of very severe suffer
ing, occasioned by the wound in his foot, in 1814 he was induced to apply to
Lord Palmerston (then Secretary at war) to be placed on the pension list. His
claims, though he was unsuccessful in his application, were strongly recommended
by his Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, whose letter to the Secretary not only
speaks highly of the character of Major Johnstone as an officer and a soldier,
but displays the kindness of heart and the warmth of feeling with which his
Royal Highness invariably advocated the claims of every deserving officer who
served under his command. The following is a copy of the letter : —
, December 21, 1814.
"My Dear Lord, — Having been applied to by Major Johnstone, of the 71st Regiment, who
was formerly of the Royal Scots, for a letter to your lordship, to strengthen his claims to an
allowance for a wound received in Egypt, I beg to state to your lordship that I was informed
by the late Lieut.-Colonel Duncan Campbell, who commanded the battalion at the time, that
such was Major Johnstone's gallantry, that, although pressed by his medical attendants to lay
himself up tUl the ball could be extracted, he returned to his duty. At the time he was unable
to walk, and served the remainder of the campaign with the ball in his foot, on horseback. I
am also enabled to declare, that at various times, while under my command, the recurrence of
severe pains and cramps, from the effects of that wound, incapacitated him from doing his duty,
and I understand that the sam^e is frequently the case at this time. It may also be right to
observe, at the storming of Morne Fortune, in St. Lucie, in 1803, where Captain Johnstone
headed the light infantry of the second battalion of the Koyal Scots, he was particularly men
tioned to me by Lieut. -Colonel M'Donald, who commanded the battalion, as having been the
second man in the Fort, notwithstanding his lameness, into whifch he was literally lifted by the
men, from his inability on that account to scramble in himself; and I well remember at the
time it being considered by all who heard of it as a very distinguished act of gallantry, which
in my humble opinion, and I will venture to say will, in your lordship's, greatly enhance his
claims to the allowance he now solicits.
" To Lord Palmerston, Secretary at War, etc. etc. (Signed) Edward."
Ha-ring in 1812 exchanged into the 7 1st Light Infantry, Major Johnstone
was with that regiment at Waterloo, where, on the 18th of June 1815, he was
again severely wounded, but did not leave the field. In 1820 he retired on
half-pay, in consequence of the broken state of his health, occasioned in a great
measure by the different wounds he had received. From this period he resided
chiefiy in Edinburgh, where, in the quiet of domestic life, his latter years were
devoted to rehgion ; and, though somewhat unexpectedly summoned, he met the
" last enemy of man '' in the strong confidence of faith and hope. He died on
the 21st of May 1832, on which day he completed his fifty-second year.

yt-nd^^,^?v .^ <m^al{U<rri/

247

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 227

No. CCXL VII.
ANDREW DONALDSON,
TEACHER OF GREEK AND HEBREW.
Of the family or early history of this eccentric personage little is kno-wn. He
was born, it is believed, at Auchtertool,^ and was educated with a view to the
pulpit ; but his resources were limited, and, no doubt with the resolution of
embracing the earliest opportunity of following out his original intention, he
accepted the situation of Master in the Grammar School of Dunfermline. He
was an ardent student; and it is supposed that too close application, particularly
in acquiring a knowledge of the Greek and Hebrew languages, tended to impair
the faculties of a mind which might otherwise have shone forth with more than
ordinary lustre. The result was, he soon tired of the irksome duties of a pre
ceptor, and resigned his situation. He "was sure Job never was a schoolmaster,
otherwise we should not have heard so much of his patience."
Among other whims entertained, he deemed it unla-wful to shave, on the
ground that, as man was created perfect, any attempt at mutilation or amend
ment was not only presumptuous but sinful. FoUowitig up this theory in
practice, he increased the singularity of his appearance, by approximating still
more closely to the dress and deportment of the ancient prophets. His usual
attire was a loose great-coat, reaching nearly to the ankle. In his hand he
carried a staff of enormous length ; and, as he seldom wore a hat or any other
covering, his flowing locks, bald forehead, and strongly marked countenance,
were amply displayed. He adhered to the strictest simphcity of diet, and
preferred sleeping on the floor, with or without a carpet, if permitted by his
friends. He was tenacious of his beard ; and when on one occasion entreaty so
far prevailed as to induce his consent to be shaved, the violence of his regret
for what he considered a sinful compliance, was so excessive, that those inter
ested in his welfare, convinced of the danger of such an experiment, refrained
in future fi-om all. simUar attempts.
Notwithstanding his grotesque and formidable appearance, unless when under
some transitory excitement, Andrew was a man of gentle, kind, and even engag
ing manners. OccasionaUy, when actuated by some strong mental paroxysm,
he has been known to exchange his pilgrim's staff for an iron rod, with which
^ " lith December 1714. Andrew, son to Gilbert Donaldson and Elizabeth ThaUon, was baptized.
Witness, George Skene and James Venters. "
" Extracted from Auchtertool parish Register, the 1st day of March 1838, by
"John Thomson, S. Clk."

228 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
he would walk about the streets of Dunfermline, declaring that he was sent to
" rule the nations with a rod of iron." Abhorring every one who had even
the appearance of making "gain of godliness," he one day, in his magisterial
wanderings, observed a " causeway preacher " in the act of sermonising for the
sake of the few halfpence which might be thrown into his hat, which, for the
purpose of receiving the gifts, lay open before him. Andrew's ire was kindled
at the exhibition ; he stepped forward, repeating in a solemn tone — " Thou
shalt break them with a rod of iron ; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a
potter's vessel ; " and, suiting the action to the words, with one blow of his iron
rod he felled the unlucky propounder of the Gospel to the ground. For this
breach of the peace, the only one he was ever known to commit, Andrew was
imprisoned in the jail of the burgh, from which he was in a short time liberated
on bail. In after life he often referred to his incarceration, remarking, in ridicule
of the circumstance, that " such a place was more likely to make a wise man
mad, than to cure the frenzy of a madman, which the magistrates in error
thought he was."
Andrew was undoubtedly an excellent scholar ; and, on relinquishing the
Grammar School of Dunfermline, he came to Edinburgh, giving himself out as
a private teacher of Greek and Hebrew. Although well qualified to act in this
capacity, it was not to be supposed, from the state of his mind, that his employ
ment would be extensive, or that he was capable of pursuing any vocation with
the necessary application and perseverance. A small circle 6f friends — of whom
the late Mr. William Anderson, ironmonger, foot of West Bow, was one — who
were pleased with the simplicity of his manners, contributed the moderate sum
required for his subsistence.' But acting upon the Scripture injunction, that "if
any would not work, neither should he eat," Andrew, with honourable indepen
dence of mind, refused all gratuitous aid. Either professionally as a teacher,
or in any other -vyay he could be serviceable, he always insisted on rendering an
equivalent. His peculiarly conscientious idea of independence occasionally placed him
in circumstances somewhat ridiculous ; and his scruples against eating when
he did not work were frequently carried so far as to threaten starvation. His
objections were only to be overcome by his friends suggesting the performance
of some trifling piece of labour, such as bringing a " rake " or two of water
from the well, or arranging the goods on the shelves of the sale shop. Having
applied a salve to his conscience in this way, he would then sit down to dinner.
But even this device ceased to be effective, some of the young wags persuad
ing him that such labour was unprofitable, and tended only to indulge the
indolence of the housemaid or shopboy. Thus driven to extremities, and
effectually to appease the phantom by which he was pursued, Andrew at one
time hired himself as a labourer to a master builder ; and what further proved
the disinterested nature and purity of his motives, as he had a competency, his
1 Latterly he was chiefly supported by the remittances of a distant relative, a medical gentleman
resident in England.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 22
wages were to be given away in charity. One day, whUe engaged with his fello-v
barrowman in carrying up stones to the masons, as might have been expecte(
he felt much fatigued ; and a passage of Scripture — " Do thyself no harm "-
coming opportunely to his recollection, he at once laid down his portion of tl
barrow. His companion behind, still holding the shafts, and provoked by tl
untimely delay, broke out into a volley of dreadful oaths and imprecations ; 1
prevent which Andrew resumed the burden sooner than he intended. Whe
the labours of the day were over, he was asked by a friend, to whom 1:
repeated the occurrence, if he had forgot the sum of the second table of tl
law, which says, " Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself?" Andrew replie
that it did not occur to him at the time. On his friend reminding him tha
had he been the undermost bearer of the barrow, his own safety would ha-\
dictated a different course, he cordially assented — " You say right ; that is vei
true." His opposition to the prevailing customs of society arose from an indiscrin
inate and rigid interpretation of particular portions of the Sacred Writings ; an
probably the same cause led to his dissent from the ordinary modes Of publ
worship. He used to say that he had read of a church in Ethiopia, where tl
service chiefiy consisted in reading the Scriptures. " That," said he, " is tl
church I would have attended." He preferred reading the Bible in the origina
and to his extreme fondness for expounding the Scriptures, the attitude in whi(
he is portrayed in the Print evidently refers. At the time the building of tl
South Bridge was in progress, Andrew has been often seen at a very early hoi
on the Sabbath morning — long before his fellow-citizens were roused from the
slumbers — seated in the fresh air to the south of the Tron Church, with h
Hebrew Psalter in his hand.'
He frequented those churches where the greatest portion of Scripture we:
read, and generaUy visited more than one place of worship in the course of
forenoon. He repaired first to the Glassites, who met in Chalmers' Close-
then to the Baptists, in Niddry Street, or to the Old Independent Church :
the Candlemaker Row. The former he preferred for their Scripture readin
and the latter for the doctrines taught. In short, the Bible was the standai
to which he seemed desirous of assimilating himself,- not more in faith than
manners ; and his language formed on the same model, abounded in Scriptu
phrases and quotations, applicable to almost every circumstance in life. Mi
taken he might be in some of his views, and over rigid in others; but :
1 On the first leaf of a Hebrew Grammar, whioh he occasionally used, he had inscribed two Ui
of classical Latm, copied from Melancthon, somewhat to the following effect : —
" I rise each day from my bed with the impression that it may be, and with the purpose of spei
ing it as if it were to be, my last."
After which was -written, as under : —
" Nothing but GOD, and GOD alone you'll find,
Can fill a boundless and immortal mind."

230 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
referring to the Bible as his authority, he always did so with the utmost rever
ence and respect.
Had Andrew been dictator, the fashions and customs of society would have
been pristine indeed. He abominated superfluity ; and no one partial to a
fine house and gaudy attire could in his opinion have any pretensions to religion.
A gentleman with whom he was intimate, happening to be at Glasgow, embraced
the opportunity of calling on the Baptist preacher, Mr. Robert Moncreiff, brother
of the late Rev. Sir Henry Moncreiff Wellwood, Bart. On his return from the
west he was closely questioned by Andrew as to what sort of a man Robert
Moncreiff was (for he never addressed any one by a higher appeUation than his
Christian name) — had he a fine house — and did he dress richly 1 On being
answered that in these particulars Mr. Moncreiff was pretty much in the style
of other respectable people — " 0, then," said Andrew sorro-rtrfuUy, " he cannot
be sincere. The rich man was ' clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared
sumptuously every day.' "
" CaU no man master " was a portion of Scripture upon which he acted in
the strictest sense. He never applied the terms Master or Mistress to anyone,
always using the proper nanle if he knew it. In cases where he did not, he
got over the difficulty in the following manner : — Two ladies, who stood in the
relation to each other of mother and daughter-in-law, by their uniform kindness
had secured his respect and gratitude. The elder being a widow, he spoke of
her without hesitation as Widow  . The younger, whose first name he
did not know, asked him how he distinguished her in conversation from her
mother-in-law. " 0," said he, " you read in the Scriptures of the wife of
Cleophas : I call you the wife of  ." If told anything detrimental to the
reputation, or tending to lower his good opinion of any one, he would say —
" I did not hear it before — I am sorry to hear it ;" and anything of this kind
he was never known to repeat to another.
Apparently well aware of the position in which he was placed by his singular
opinions and habits, he seemed anxious on all occasions to justify his principles.
Visiting at the house of an acquaintance one day, he asked permission to take
the infant daughter of his friend in his arms. Although somewhat surprised at
the request, it was nevertheless readily granted. He pressed the little one to
his breast — then holding her out — " Now," he exclaimed with triumph, " dost
thou not see a convincing proof? If the beard of man was not according to
nature, that child would have cried at my appearance." The same experiment
he frequently repeated by inviting children of a more advanced age to read
their lessons to him. His famUiarity and ready approval generally gave them
confidence ; and he was much pleased if they did not seem afraid of him.
Andrew's ideas as to cleanliness were as singular as his other notions, and
did not well agree with the practice of those amongst whom he sojourned. He
thought people gave themselves a great deal of unnecessary trouble. When
sweeping a room, he would say to the servant, " Cannot you let the dust lie
quietly. You stir it up only to get better mouthfuls of it." And when wash-

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 231
ing a fioor, he would exclaim — " Dear sirs, she'll wear all the boards rubbing
them so." There was one friend on whom he called, sufficiently particular in
matters of this kind, who insisted that he must wipe his feet well before he
came in. " You remind me," said Andrew, " of my nephew's servant-maid
who would not alUow me to enter the house until I had put off my shoes. Indeed
I used to tell her she was abominably cleanly."
Andrew could occasionally say a good thing. Many still living must
remember having heard of a Mr. Low in Dunfermline, much famed for his
success in setting broken bones, and adjusting dislocations. His cures were
performed gratis ; and his aid was only to be obtained through the mediation
of a friend, or for mercy's sake. A gentleman in the medical profession, hearing
Andrew speak in approbation of some of Mr. Low's cases, expressed his distrust
in such a practitioner, since he had not studied anatomy. " Ay, that's true,"
replied Andrew, "but Low acquired his anatomy at the grave's mouth" — refer
ring to his inspection of the bones as cast up by the grave-digger.
Of the simplicity and anchorite-like demeanour of Andrew Donaldson, there
are several curious reminiscences. The late Dr. Charles Stuart — father of James
Stuart, Esq., of Dunearn — ^had for some time meditated withdrawing from the
Established Church before he actually did so. Hearing of his intention, although
entirely unacquainted with him, Andrew resolved on paying a visit to the manse
of Cramond, of which parish the Doctor was then minister. -Taking his long
staff in his hand, and " girding up his loins," as he would himself have expressed
it, he set out on his journey early one forenoon. When near to Cramond, and
not exactly certain whereabout the manse stood, he observed two well-dressed
men walking in a field near to where he supposed it should be. Towards them
he bent his course ; and, as he approached with his bald head, flowing beard,
and pilgrim's staff, the gentlemen were at first so struck with his singular
appearance, that they were irresolute whether to retreat or await his advance.
On nearing them, he inquired if they could inform him where Charles Stuart,
minister of Cramond, lived 1 To this one of the party replied, " I am Charles
Stuart, the person you refer to." " Then," said Andrew, extending his arm to
grasp the hand of the Doctor, " I have heard that thou dost intend separating
thyself from the Church, and hast set thy face heavenward — I wish thee God
speed ! " So saying, he wheeled about and proceeded on his return to Edin
burgh, leaving the worthy Doctor and his friend not less astonished at the nature
of the brief interview, than curious as to the character of their visitor. The
result of the Doctor's inquiry as to this singular enthusiast having been favour
able, he became ever after his steady and warm friend.
Andrew remained all his days a bachelor ; but that he was not altogether a
misogamist, is testified by the fact, that he at one time entertained the idea of
venturing upon the cares of wedlock. In the habit of visiting at the house of
Bailie Horn, in Dunfermline, he had observed and been pleased with the
deportment of the servant-maid, -with whom he occasionally entered into
conversation. At length he addressed her in his usual laconic style, stating his

232 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
intention, and desiring to know whether she would have him. The girl, in
astonishment, exclaimed that she could never think of such a thing ; and
declared, if that was his object, never to show his face again. Little versed in
courtship, Andrew bowed submissive to the first rebuff, remarking, as he dolor
ously departed — " The Lord's -will be done ! "
It was probably about the same period that Andrew made a second attempt
to form a matrimonial alliance ; but in this instance he was resolved not to
trust his suit to the decision of the fair one herself. To her father, who was
reputed to be in easy circumstances, and who had been a sincere friend to
Andrew, he accordingly made known his intention of taking unto himself a
wife, adding, that he thought his daughter would make a suitable companion.
" But," said his friend, " how should you think of a wife, Andrew 1 you have
not where-with to maintain her." " Oh, dear," replied the simple-minded
suitor; " that's nothing — you have plenty !" This explanation, however candid,
failed to give satisfaction ; and Andrew found it necessary, as on many former
occasions, to yield to fate with his usual equanimity.
When Kay published his likeness, it was universally admired for its fidelity.
A friend talking of the picture in the hearing of Andrew, and greatly com
mending the exactness of the resemblance, the latter advanced, and smoothing
down his beard, as his custom was, repUed — "Ay; but I present you with
the living picture."
The closing years of this singular person's life were passed at Dunfermline,
where he resided with a nephew. He died at an advanced age ; and his remains
are interred in the parish churchyard. The stone erected to his memory
contains the foUo-vring inscription : — " Here lies Andrew Donaldson, a good
scholar and sincere Christian, who died June 21, 1793, aged eighty."

No. CCXLVHI.
"PETTICOAT GOVERNMENT."
The appearance ofthis Print in 1795, at the time the Breadalbane Fencibles
were stationed in Edinburgh, created no small sensation among the fair portion
of the higher circles. Though unaccompanied by any other explanation than
what is given on the Engraving, the parties represented were generally supposed
to be Lord and Lady Breadalbane. To "rule a wife and have a wife," is
a difficulty of old experience with the lords of the creation ; but whether the
Marquis was more or less fortunate in this respect than most other famUy men
is a query which, were all good husbands brought to the confessional, would
adnait of a very doubtful solution. The Etching, we believe, originated in no

or
die ffrai/ //////¦/• /s d'it'./Jr//r/-jffo/-7r.

248

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 233
personal knowledge possessed by the artist, and rumour has not assigned any
particular circumstance matrimonial as a foundation for the caricature.^ His
lordship was universally kno-wn to be a very excellent and patriotic man — good-
natured, though not so to a fault ; and we are not aware that the Countess had
a more inordinate desire of domination than is common to most other ladies of
spirit. JOHN FIRST MARQUIS of BREADALBANE, Earl op Ormelie, etc.,
was bom in 1762. He was the eldest son of Colin Campbell of Carwhin, by
Elizabeth, daughter of Archibald Campbell of Stonefield, Sheriff of Argyleshire,
and sister to Lord Stonefield, one of the Senators of the College of Justice.
He was educated at Westminster School ; and afterwards resided for some
time at Lausanne, in Switzerland. He succeeded to the earldom and estates of
Breadalbane on the death of his cousin (father of the late Countess de Grey)
in 1783. In 1784 his lordship was elected one of the sixteen representative Peers of
Scotland; and untU created a British Peer in 1806, by the title of Baron
Breadalbane, was rechosen at all the subsequent elections.
In 1793 heraised the Breadalbane Regiment of Fencibles, which was afterwards
increased to four battalions. One of these was enrolled, as the 1 1 6th Regiment,
in the regular service, and his lordship appointed Colonel of the corps. He
subsequently held the rank of a field officer, and was created a Marquis in 1831,
at the coronation of William IV.
The habits and disposition of the noble lord were not such as to make him
ostentatiously forward in public affairs. His attention was chiefiy devoted to
the improvement of his immense estates, great portions of which, being unfitted
for cultivation he laid out in plantations. In 1805 he received the gold medal
of the Society of Arts for his success in planting forty-four acres of waste
land, in the parish of Kenmore, with Scots and larch firs, a species of rather
precarious growth, and adapted only to peculiar soils. In the magnificent
improvements at Taymouth his lordship displayed much taste ; and the Park
has been frequently described as one of the most extensive and beautiful in the
country. Prince Leopold (afterwards King of the Belgians), when on a tour through
part of Scotland in 1819, paid a visit to Taymouth, where he was received with
all the hospitality characteristic of the olden times. His lordship's tenantry
being summoned to attend in honour of the distinguished guest, about two
thousand men assembled in front of the Castle,
" All plaided and plumed in their tartan array,"
where they performed a variety of evolutions very much to the gratification of
the Prince.
' It was said the Prmt was suggested by some of the officers of the Fencibles, who, having been
refused leave of absence, attributed their want of success to the interference of Lady Breadalbane.
VOL II. 2 H

234 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
The Marquis married, in 1793, MARY TURNER GAVIN, eldest daughter
and co-heiress of David Gavin,' Esq., of Langton, by Lady Elizabeth Maitland,
daughter of James seventh Earl of Lauderdale. The issue of this union were
two daughters and one son. The eldest, Lady Elizabeth Maitland, was married
to Sir John Pringle, of Stitchel, Bart., and the youngest, Lady Mary, to the
Marquis of Chandos, afterwards second Duke of Buckingham.
The Marquis of Breadalbane died at Taymouth Castle, after a short illness,
in 1834, aged seventy-two.^ He was succeeded by his son, John Earl of Ormelie,
lately M.P. for Perthshire.' He married, in 1821, the eldest daughter of
George BaUlie, Esq. of Jerviswood, then heir-presumptive to the earldom of
Haddington, but had no issue.
As a substantial proof that the " sway " of the surviving Countess Dowager
sat lightly, her ladyship was left one of the richest -widows in Scotland. Another
instance of peculiar esteem, on the part of the Marquis, was the fact that, a few
years before his death, he caused to be erected, at great expense, a Cross of the
most elegant architectural design, in honour of the Marchioness, upon which is
an inscription highly complimentary to her ladyship. The Cross stands in a
delightful and conspicuous situation, at the extreme end of the celebrated "Beech
Terrace," at Taymouth.

No. CCXLIX.
CAMPBELL OF SONACHAN
LAUGHING AT THE PRINT OF "PETTICOAT GOVERNMENT."
The shop of the artist, a place of much attraction, was unusually so while
the novelty of the above Caricature continued. Mr. Campbell, whose pro
perty bordered on that of Breadalbane, was acquainted with the Earl; and
happening, as rarely occurred, to be in Edinburgh, he was induced to gratify
his curiosity by a peep at Kay's window, where, little dreaming of the trap laid
for him by his friends, he no sooner recognised the burlesque representation
1 This gentleman made a fortune in Holland or the Netherlands. Subsequently settling in Scot
land, he purchased the beautiful estate of Langton (the ancient seat of the Cockburns), near Dunse,
in Berwickshire. ^ The whole of the personal estate of the late Marquis, it is said, exceeding £300,000, had been
directed by his wiU to accumulate for twenty years, at the end of which it was to be laid out on
estates, to be added to the entailed property ; but his settlement was partly set aside by the Marquis
of Chandos, in right of his -wife, who obtained an affirmance, by the House of Peers, of the decision
of the Court of Session, declaring that the Marchioness and her husband, in her right, were entitled
to demand legitim. '

t

i-j

250

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 235
of the Earl and his lady, than he burst out into an immoderate fit of laughter.
The artist, apprised of the visit, was in readiness, and the next portraiture that
appeared was the jolly Laird of Sonachan in the attitude described.
Donald Campbell, Esq., of Sonachan, in the county of Argyle, was born in
the year 1735 ; and in the early part of his life served as a lieutenant in the
first West Fencible Regiment. He afterwards became an active and judicious
agriculturist, and dedicated his whole attention to country affairs. His paternal
estate not being large, he was, soon after quitting the army, appointed Chamber
lain of Argyle, by the late John Duke of Argyle, and subsequently Collector of
Supply for that county — ^both which situations he held for a period of nearly
twenty years.
He married, in the year 1777, Mary, only daughter of Robert Maclachlan,
Esq., of Maclachlan, by whom he left four sons and two daughters. His
brothers were John, a Captain of Cavalry in the East India Company's service,
killed in India ; and Archibald, a subaltern in the British army, killed in
America. Mr. Campbell died in March 1808, in the seventy-third year of his age.
His eldest son, who succeeded to the property, was for many years a Writer to
the Signet in Edinburgh.

CCL.
MR. THOMAS SOMMERS,
HIS majesty's glazier for SCOTLAND.
Thomas Sommers — the friend and biographer of Fergusson the poet — was
originally from Lanarkshire. He came to Edinburgh early in life ; so early in
deed, that he may be said to have been brought up in the city almost from
infancy. He first became acquainted with Fergusson in 1756, who, then in the
sixth year of his age, was a pupU of Mr. Philp, an Enghsh teacher in Niddry's
Wynd, and who was on terms of intimacy with Mr. Sommers.
After finishing his apprenticeship as a glazier, Sommers proceeded to London.
He was then about twenty years of age ; and shortly after his arrival, as he used
frequently to relate, he had the satisfaction of witnessing the coronation of
George HI. and his consort. In the capital he found good employment' for
several years ; and he was enabled, on his return to Edinburgh, to commence
business for himself, by opening a paint and glazier's shop in the Parliament
Square. Possessed of an education much superior to most of his contemporaries in
the same station of life, Mr. Sommers soon acquired infiuence in the manage-

236 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
ment of Mary's Chapel.^ He was elected Deacon of the Masons in 1770-1, and
again in 1776. In the latter year, remarkable in the annals of the council
for a keen contest for supremacy,^ he espoused the side of Sir Laurence Dundas,
through whose interest he procured the appointment of " His Majesty's Glazier
.for Scotland." A taste for literature had been early imbibed by Mr. Sommers ; and although
thirteen years the senior of Fergusson, a reciprocity of sentiment produced a
warm and steady intimacy betwixt them. With Woods, the Scottish Roscius,
as he was termed, and several other friends of the poet, he was well acquainted,
and long after the latter had closed his short and ill-fated career, they continued
to cherish his memory with the utmost affection. Possessing considerable
facility in composition, with pretty extensive general knowledge, his acquirements
Avere well calculated to elevate him above the level of the great mass of his fel
low-citizens. In ^ the Corporation, of which he was a member, and while one of
the Town Council, Mr. Sommers stood pre-eminent — frequently astonishing his
brethren, accustomed as they were to conversational debates, by the force of his
arguments and the fiights of his fancy. Interested in all public matters, he was
ever zealous for the public good ; and the humanity and kindness of his disposi
tion invariably led him, as a member of Mary's Chapel, to advocate warmly the
cause of the necessitous, who had claims on the Incorporation. As may be
inferred, " His Majesty's Glazier " possessed a truly social temper. He was a
member of the well-known Cape Club, and for several years Secretary to the
Grand Lodge of Freemasons, by whom he was regarded as an oracle.
He had long amused himself with literary composition for the periodical
^ " The United Incorporation of Mary's Chapel. It consists of the foUo-vring crafts : — Wrights,
masons, bowyers, glaziers, plummers, upholsterers, painters, slaters, sieve-wrights, and coopers. This
community has, in Niddry's Wynd, a modern hall, for holding their meetings. It is called Mary's
Chapel, having been originally a chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. " — Arnot s Hist, of Edin.
Two deacons are annuaUy chosen ; one to represent the wrights, and another the masons. Some
years ago, the election of Deacon for Mary's Chapel was a matter of very great importance.
^ The political strife which marked this period had its origin in the general Parliamentary elec
tion of 1774, when exertions were made to oust Sir Laurence from the representation of the city. His
opponents on that occasion were David Loch, Esq. , of Over-Cambie, formerly an extensive merchant
at Leith, and the author of "Letters on the Trade and Manufactures of Scotland;" and Captam
James-Francis Erskine of Forrest, who only intimated his intention of standmg on the day of election.
A charge of bribery and corruption was preferred against Sir Laurence, and a letter to one of his
agents, relating to the burgh of Dunfermline, produced in proof. The electors were in consequence
much embarrassed ; and a delay having occurred. Provost Stoddart came forward as a candidate.
The votes were, for Sir Laurence, twenty-three — for Mr. Stoddart, six — and for Captain Erskine,
three. One of the CouncU, Mr. Laurie, Old Provost, was absent. Both Mr. Stoddart and Mr. Loch
protested — the latter, on the ground that the election had been brought about by undue influence.
The opposition to Sir Laurence still becoming more popular, a keen trial of strength took place at
the election of Deacons and CounciUors m 1776. Several letters were published, and much recrimin
ation indulged in through the medium of the press. The friends of Sir Laurence were again trium
phant ; and both parties in the Council united in the choice of Alexander Kincaid, Esq. , as the Chief
Magistrate. In the evening, some of his lordship's friends having expressed their joy by a bonfire
and illumination, a riot was the consequence, and much damage done by breaking windows, and other
mischief. Provost Kincaid died in oifioe, 1777. It may be curious to add that, at this compara
tively recent period, the house occupied by the Lord Provost -was situated in the Cowgate, in a small
court west of the Horse Wynd. The house is still kno-wn as " Kmcaid's Laud."

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 237
works of the day, but it was not till 1794 that Mr. Sommers, impelled by the
political excitement of the times, committed himself to the public, by the pro
duction of a pamphlet on the " Meaning and Extent of the Burgess Oath." '
This essay, inscribed to Provost Elder, is written in a clear and forcible style.
The aim of the author was to exhibit to his fellow-burgesses the nature and
duties by which they were bound, and the evil effects consequent on disunion,
disaffection, and civil war. As the pamphlet is now scarce, we may quote the
following passage as a specimen : — " How valuable, how important then, the
blessings of internal peace — national peace ! Consequently, how criminal the
conduct of those who would endeavour to deprive us of them ! Peace, at her
leisure, plans and leads out industry to execute all those noble improvements
in agriculture, commerce, architecture, and science, which we behold on every
side. Peace sets the mark of property on our possessions, and bids justice
guarantee them to our enjoyment. Peace spreads over us the banner of the
laws, whUe, free from outrage, and secure from injury, we taste the mUk and
honey of our honest toil."
His Life of ' Fergusson appeared in 1803.'' The author was prompted to
this performance by a desire to vindicate the character of the poet, and rescue'
his memory from the misrepresentations of " those biographers who knew him
not, and who have taken their materials from others little better informed than
themselves.'' The story of the poet's accidental meeting with the Rev. John
Brown, in the churchyard of Haddington, and the extraordinary effect resulting
from the conversation, is strongly doubted by Mr. Sommers. " This rural
excursion, and singular dialogue," says he, " with all its supposed direful effects,
has even found its way into the first volume of the Supplement to the Encyclo-
pcedia Britannica, and is held forth in that part of their biographical history as
a sterling circumstance in the life of the unfortunate Robert Fergusson ! I
know, however, that account to be ill-founded in most particulars, although the
visit alluded to was in the year 1772. The day before Robert Fergusson set
out upon it, I saw and conversed with him ; and the evening on which he
returned to town was in his company ; and not one word dropped from him of
any such thing having happened, though he was then in every respect possessed
of all his mented faculties. ,
With regard to the accusation preferred against the poet, " that he was an
utter stranger to temperance and sobriety, and that his dissipated manner of
life had in a great measure eradicated all sense of dehcacy and propriety," Mr.
Sommers observes, that " those who were personally acquainted with him, wUl
1 " Observations on the Meaning and Extent of the Burgess Oath, taken at the admission of every
Burgess in the City of Edinburgh, as comprehending the duties of ReUgion, AUegiance to the King,
Respect and Submission to the authority of the Civil Magistrate, and the relative duties which the Bui^
gesses owe to each other. By Thomas Sommers, Burgess and Freeman Glazier of Edinburgh. " Svo.
2 " Life of Robert Fergusson, the Scottish Poet, by Thomas Sommers, Burgess and Freeman of
Edinburgh, and his Majesty's Glazier for Scotjand." Edin. 1803, 12mo. This biographical sketch
was intended to accompany an edition of Fergusson's Poems, printed in 12mo,-by Chapman and Lang,
1800, and which Sommers characterises "as the best yet published."

238 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
not subscribe to that opinion ; for even when in his more devoted hours at the
shrine of Bacchus, he preserved a modesty and gentleness of manners, exhibited
by few of his age, sprightly humour, and unpatronlsed situation."
Of the intimacy betwixt the poet and his biographer, the following anecdote
affords a characteristic instance. Mr. Sommers, alluding to his shop in the
Parliament Square, states that he was frequently visited by the poet, when
passing to or from the Commissary Office : — " In one of those -risits I happened
to be absent ; he found, however, my shopboy Robert Aikman (a great favourite
of Fergusson), then engaged in copying from a collection of manuscript hymns
one on the Creation, given to him by a friend of the author, in order to improve
his hand in writing. Fergusson looked at the hymn, and supposing that I had
given it to the boy, not merely to transcribe, but to learn its serious contents,
took the pen out of his hand, and upon a small slip of paper wrote the following
lines : — ' Tom Sommers is a gloomy man.
His mind is dark within ;
0 holy  ! glaze his soul.
That light may enter in.'
He then desired the boy to give his compliments to me, delivered to him the
slip of paper, and retired."
Another circumstance relative to the only portrait known to have been taken
of the poet, is too interesting to be omitted. Speaking of Runciman, the painter,
Sommers says — " That artist was at this time painting, in his own house in the
Pleasance, a picture on a half-length cloth of the Prodigal Son, in which his
fancy and pencil had introduced every necessary object and circumstance sug
gested by the sacred passage. At his own desire I called to see it. I was
much pleased with the composition, colouring, and admirable effect of the piece,
at least what was done of it ; but expressed my surprise at observing a large
space in the centre, exhibiting nothing but chalk outlines of a human figure.
He informed me that he had reserved that space for the Prodigal, but could
not find a young man whose personal form and expressive features were such
as he could approve of, and commit to the canvas. Robert Fergusson's face
and figure instantly occurred to me ; not from an idea that Fergusson's real
character was that of the Prodigal; by no means — but on account of his
sprightly humour, personal appearance, and striking features. I asked Mr.
Runciman if he knew the poet ? He answered in the negative, but that he
had often read and admired the poems. That evening at five I appointed to
meet with him and the poet in a tavern, ParUament Close. We did so, and
I introduced him. The painter was much pleased, both with his figure and
conversation. I intimated to Fergussoil the nature of the business on which
we met. He agreed to sit next forenoon. I accompanied him for that purpose ;
and in a few days the picture strikingly exhibited the bard in the character of a
prodigal, sitting on a grassy bank, surrounded by swine, some of which were
sleeping, and others feeding; his right leg over his left knee; eyes- uplifted ;

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 239
hands clasped ; tattered clothes ; and with expressive countenance bemoaning
his forlorn and miserable situation ! This picture, when finished, refiected high
honour on the painter, being much admired. It was sent to the Royal Exhi
bition in London, where it was also highly esteemed, and there purchased by a
gentleman of taste and fortune at a considerable price. I have often expressed
a -wish to see a print from it, but never had that pleasure ; as it exhibited a
portrait of my favourite bard, which, for likeness, colouring, and expression,
might have done honour to the taste and pencil of Sir Joshua Reynolds.''
This painting is now lost or unattainable. In the Prodigal's Return, how
ever — another picture by Runciman — the likeness of the poet, though in a
different attitude, is said to have been strictly adhered to. From this picture
an engraving ^ was prefixed to an edition of Fergusson's Poems, published in
1821, with Preface and Life of the Author, by James Gray, then of the High
School, Edinburgh.
Although the Life of Fergusson is almost the only production for which Mr.
Sommers is known, his time was much occupied by literary pursuits ; and it is
probable that the gratification of his taste in this way was inimical to the due
prosecution of business. After giving up his shop in the Parliament Square,
he resided for some years in the land known by the name of the " Clamshell
Turnpike ;" and latterly in the Advocate's Close. From the following draught
of a letter in his own handwriting (found among his papers), some idea may be
formed of the circumstances in which he was then placed, and the cause to which
he attributed his want of success in trade. The paper is addressed to the Hon.
Henry Erskine, who, during the brief administration of " All the Talents," held
the office of Lord Advocate of Scotland : —
"Mt Lord, — Although I approach your lordship -B'ith some diffidence, yet it is at the same
time mixed -with a degree of confidence, while I humbly call on you to listen to the following
short detail of facts.
" In the year 1776 I was a member of the Council of Edinburgh — a period singularly marked
for political bustle and contention, respecting the City's then worthy representative in Parlia
ment, Sir Laurence Dundas. I was one of his friends, and suffered much by the combined
interest of the Duke of Buccleuch and the House of Arnlston. Sir Laurence, however, justly
prevailed in the contest, but soon after died ; previous to which he procured for me the appoint
ment of His Majesty's Glazier for Scotland ; but as Mr. Henry Dundas and his friends came into
the political management of the city, my interest failed ; and to this day, now thirty years, no
pecuniary advantage whatever has arisen to me from that commission (whioh I still hold), not
even so much as to the value of the official expenses in obtaining it ! My worthy friend. Lord
Dundas, is well acquainted with these circumstances, to whom I -wrote, upon the late change of
administration, soliciting his lordship's interest in a small Crown appointment, independent of
the influence or control of the To-wn Council. I have, not, however, been honoured with a return
from his lordship, which may probably be o-wing to his attention having been engaged in busi
ness of higher importance.
"My Lord, I am now sixty-four years of age ; notwithstanding of which, 1 have, from an
attachment to my country, been a Field-Sergeant in the battalion (late Spearmen) of Edinburgh
Volunteers, now commanded by my worthy friend, William Inglis, Esq., and in which corps, I
hope I have, since it was first embodied at the instance of the trades, been a constant and active
member. Although my age and state of health prevent me from being fit for active business
^ The engraving was shown to the late Robert Pitcairn, Esq., Keeper of the Register of Probative
Writs, who was well acquainted with Fergusson, but he could trace no resemblance to the Poet.

240 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
as a glazier ; yet, if your lordship's merited influence, in concert -with that of my valuable friend
Lord Dundas, would procure for me a renewal of my commission, connecting with me in said
commission, an active and prospering young man, a freeman glazier of this city, it would prove
the happy means of placing me in a situation truly comfortable iu my advanced age, and tend
not only to atone for past neglect, but soothe and render the closing scene of life tranquil and
serene ! Your lordship favouring me with an answer will be highly esteemed by,
" My Lord,
"Edinbwrgh, 21s< Feb. 1807. "Your lordship's truly devoted and very humble Servant,
"Right Hon. Henry Erskine, M.P. , "T. S."
" Lord Advocate of Scotland, London."
Nothing beneficial appears to have resulted from this memorial, if indeed it
ever was presented. Mr. Sommers latterly obtained a situation connected with
the Convention of Royal Burghs, for which he had a salary of £40 a year. This
small sum was his chief dependence. He was also Clerk to the Incorporation of
Fleshers, for which he had a trifling allowance ; and much of his time was
occupied in drawing up petitions, and othervrise assisting those who sought the
aid of his pen. Having no children, though twice married, his domestic estab
lishment was limited ; and to the last he maintained a degree of respectabUity
in his appearance. He always dressed in black ; and when his own hair failed,
wore a neatly tied and powdered wig. His house in the Advocate's Close con
tained a small apartment, lighted from above, where, even in advanced age, he
used to sit for days together, occupied in some literary project — a species of
amusement he has been often heard to declare essential to his happiness. He
contemplated several extensive works. The last of these was a History of the
Improvements of Edinburgh. Proposals for this work — of which the following
is a copy — were issued in 1816 : —
" Soon will be published, in one Volume Octavo, in boards, Price Is.
DEDICATED TO
THE RIGHT HON. WILLIAM ARBUTHNOT, LORD PROVOST, MAGISTRATES,
AND COUNCIL, A
RETROSPECT
OF THE
PUBLIC BUILDINGS, AND THE OTHER EXTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS,
OF
THE CITY OF EDINBURGH,
From the lith of September 1753, to the 9th July I8I6, inclusive;
BEING THE RESULT OF
SIXTY-THREE YEARS PERSONAL OBSERVATION :
WITH OOOASIONAL REMARKS, NOT ONLY ON THESE IMPROVEMENTS, BUT ON THE
RELIGIOUS, MORAL, AND POLITICAL CHARACTER OF ITS INHABITANTS ;
AND
A VIEW OF THEIR MANNERS DURING THAT PERIOD.
CONCLUDING WITH A WARM, SEASONABLE, AND AFFECTIONATE
ADDRESS TO THE CITIZENS AT LARGE.
BY
THOMAS SOMMERS,
Burgess and Freeman of Edinburgh, and His Majesty's Glazier for Scotland."

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 241
A good many subscribers were procured for the " Retrospect ; " the manu
script was nearly completed ; and arrangements for printing it so far entered
into, that the Print by Kay was engraved as a frontispiece to the book.' The
death of the author, however, prevented the publication. He died on the 16th
of September 1817, in the seventy-fourth year of his age, and the oldest Deacon
of the fourteen Incorporated Trades of Scotland.
The "Retrospect" probably contained much curious matter. The manu
script remained in the hands of his widow; but on her death in 1832, his
papers unfortunately were so much scattered and destroyed, that almost no
vestige of the work remains.
Mr. Sommers married, first, Joan Douglas, daughter of a glazier who resided
in Libberton's Wynd ; and, secondly, Jean or Jeanie Fraser, sister of the -wife
of Nathaniel Gow, the famous musician.

No. CCLI.
MR. FRANCIS ANDERSON, W.S.,
MR. JAMES HUNTER,
AND HIS SON, MR. GEORGE HUNTER.
This graphic scene appears from the Print to have occurred in the Parlia
ment Square, and was probably witnessed by the artist from his own shop win
dow. Mr. Hunter is in the act of inviting his friend Mr. Anderson to dinner
— the excessive deafness of the latter accounting for the singular posture in
which the parties are placed.
MR. FRANCIS ANDERSON, brother to the banker of that name,
was a Writer to the Signet, and held the appointment of Deputy-Auditor
in the Exchequer. He resided in George Street, and had his office in the
Royal Exchange. His father, who lived at Stoneyhill,^ was factor to the
Earl of Wemyss, to which situation the subject of our notice latterly suc
ceeded. 1 It will be observed, in confirmation of this, that the volume displayed in the hand of the
author contams an outline of the spire of St. Giles. Sommers' History was probably suggested by
Creech's Comparative View of Edmburgh in the years 1763 and 1783, which was subsequently
brought do-wn to 1793.
' The villa of StoneyhiU is situated on the river Esk, about half a mUe above Musselburgh. It
was formerly the residence of Sir WiUiam Sharp, sou of Archbishop Sharp ; and more recently of
the notorious Colonel Charteris.
VOL. IL 2 I

242 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Mr. Anderson, though somewhat rough in his manner, was of a benevolent
and amiable disposition, and was much esteemed by his friends. He lived long
a bachelor ; but at length ventured on leading to the hymeneal altar a Miss
Martin, whose mother was one of the gate-keepers at the seat of the late Lord
Melville. It was a matter of some surprise' that Mr. Anderson did not attempt to
choose from a higher rank. This he accounted for in his own blunt but honest
manner. When asked by the Earl of Wemyss one day, how he came to " marry
his sister's waiting-maid," he replied — "I couldna be fashed courting a lady;
for weel did I ken nae lady would tak' a lang-leggit, deaf, thick-shankit 
like me ; besides, I liked the lassie, and the lassie liked me ; an' that's the way
I took her." '
Three sons and two daughters were the issue of the union.
MR. JAMES HUNTER, the centre figure, was a hardware merchant, and
occupied one of the many booths on the north side of the Parliament or Outer
House — nearly one half of which was monopolised by hatters, jewellers, book
sellers, and coflTee-rooms.
Mr. Hunter contrived, by the exercise of great caution and economy, not
only to rear a large family, but to realise a considerable fortune. He lived in
Turk's Close, demolished to make way for the County Hall. His death, which
occurred on the 9th June 1805, is thus noticed: — "At Edinburgh, aged sixty-
four, Mr. James Hunter, hardware merchant, who for many years possessed,
and was the last tenant of, a shop in the Parliament House, before the enlarge
ment of the outer House."
MR. GEORGE HUNTER, the figure to the left, is fairly represented in
the Print. The artist states, that when the Etching appeared, he was very
wroth to find that he had not been made as tall as his father. In conversation,
he constantly affected the southern accent ; and was generally known by the
soubriquet of " English George." A gentleman making some purchases from
him one day, put several questions as to the quality of the articles, all of which
Mr. George answered in his usual pompous manner. At length the buyer ven
tured to inquire by whom they were manufactured 1 " 0," said George, swell
ing on tiptoe, " we make 'em all — we make 'em all ! Wee Maikom' adhered to
him for many years afterwards.
Mr. George acquired what he considered to be the English tone, from having
spent a considerable time in London, Birmingham, and Liverpool, whither he
proceeded at an early period, to gain a more thorough knowledge of the business
^ A bachelor on this subject remarks to us, that the system of female education usually pur
sued, in modern times, in which the useless predominates over the useful, either induces celibacy
on the part of males, or leads to what are termed "mesalliances." If young ladies would pay
more attention to domestic affairs, and less to frippery and folly, their chance of procuring husbands
would be considerably increased.
^ The Scottish surname Malcolm is, amongst the lower classes, often pronounced Maikom.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 243
in which he had been initiated while acting as assistant to his father. On
his return he opened a shop, on his own account, on the east side of the
Parliament Square, where, under the designation of an army contractor, he
dealt largely in the supply of furnishings for the volunteer and militia corps ;
and it is believed that to this branch of his traffic his success at the outset was
mainly attributable.
In 1802 he removed to a shop he had purchased on the South Bridge,
afterwards occupied by the respectable firm of Peter Forbes and Co., wine
merchants ; and here he carried on an extensive business for many years. Latterly
he occupied "premises in Princes Street, which, together with the tenement on
the opposite, or west, corner of St. Andrew Street, was his own property.
Notwithstanding a pervading degree of vanity, Mr. George was considered a
long-headed, calculating man of the world, and of excellent business habits.
Few knew better how to drive a bargain ; though, when once concluded, no
one could be more prompt or honourable in the fulfilment of his engagements.
His business was of a multifarious nature — military clothing and accoutrements
of every description, fancy and other dresses, cutlery and j'ewellery, forming
only a portion of what his emporium supplied. He was a capital judge of
the quality of diamonds ; and he dealt to a considerable extent in the gems
indigenous to Scotland. These, worked into a variety of shapes, he disposed of
to great advantage. He used to pride himself greatly on his knowledge of
cutlery, remarking that to deal in cloth required no superiority of intellect, but
a thorough acquaintance with the properties of steel involved a vast field of
mental inquiry !
A short time prior to 1822, having, as he termed it, acquired a competency,
Mr. Hunter advertised his intention of retiring from business. He soon relin
quished this idea, however, on hearing that George the Fourth intended paying
¦ a visit to Edinburgh. In the course of three weeks, during that auspicious era,
he is said to have booked no less a sum than thirty thousand pound's, in supplying
fancy clothing, arms, and ornaments, for the occasion. He furnished the
Highland dress worn by his Majesty ; and to a great many of the nobility he
supplied national uniforms of the most costly description.'
Mr. Hunter ultimately retired from business in 1824, and was succeeded by
Meyer and Quiller. In his retirement he amused himself with mechanical
contrivances, and actually had taken out a patent for a piece, of machinery, the
precise nature of which we do not recollect, and which he did not live to complete.
Mr. Hunter died at his house in Dublin Street, about the year 1834. Besides
the estates of Drunkie and Callander in Perthshire, which he purchased,
he drew rents to a very large amount from his property in the New Town ;
and it is believed the money accumulated at his death amounted to upwards
of one hundred thousand pounds. As he left no will, the whole was
1 It may be curious to notice, that in the course of his business, he had the honour of furnishing
several splendid Scottish garbs for foreign prmces ; and, amongst- others, one for the late Emperor
Alexander of Russia.

244 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
divided in equal portions betwixt his four sisters, one of whom was the mother
of David Urquhart, Esq., late secretary to the British legation at Constantinople,
and author of a work on the Resources of Turkey, which excited considerable
sensation in the diplomatic circles. This gentleman acquired a complete
knowledge of the Turkish language, and was kno-wn in the city of the Sultan
by the cognomen of the " English Bey." '

No. CCLII.
REV. ROBERT CULBERTSON,
OF THE ASSOCLVTE CONGREGATION, LEITH.
Mr. Culbertson was born at Morebattle, on the 21st September 1765. His
father, Mr. James Culbertson, was a farmer and feuar there, an infleuntial mem
ber of the Secession congregation, and much respected for his piety and worth.
He died in January 1826, at the advanced age of ninety-eight.
Mr. Culbertson was taught first at the school of his native parish, and
afterwards at the grammar-school of Kelso. He entered the University of
Edinburgh in 1782, where, with the exception of a season passed in attending
the Natural Philosophy Class of Professor Anderson, of the Glasgow College, he
continued to prosecute his studies till their close.
Having passed through the usual examinations and trials with much appro
bation, Mr. Culbertson was licensed in 1790; and the following year received
a unanimous call from the body, now styled the Associate Congregation, St.
Andrew Street, Leith. Their own place of worship being then small, he was
ordained in the Chapel of Ease, Dr. Colquhoun having kindly offered it for the
occasion. The Rev. Professor Bruce presided.
The congregation to which Mr. Culbertson had, been called was exceedingly
limited ; but daily becoming augmented, a new meeting-house was ultimately
found necessary. An enlarged place of worship was accordingly built; and
although the old site, with all its disadvantages, was retained, he continued to
the last to attract a large and respectable body of hearers. His pulpit oratory,
if not of the highest order, was impressive ; and his discourses were distinguished
for simplicity, clearness, force, and brevity. He was regular and exemplary in
the performance of his pastoral duties, and much respected by his fiock. In
the Missions of the General Associate Synod he was much interested ; and to
him the introduction of the Secession into Orkney was mainly owing.
In 1805 Mr. Culbertson was chosen Clerk of the Associate Presbytery in
^ The other sisters of Mr. Hunter were Mrs. Marshall, wife of the late Mr. Marshall, jeweller,
Regent Terrace ; Mrs. Easton ; and Mrs. Hall, the latter of whom was married to an English
gentleman of fortune.

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252
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 245
Edinburgh, the duties of which office he performed with the utmost fidelity.
While holding this situation, the Associate Union was accomplished — a mea
sure in which he greatly rejoiced, and was one of the committee appointed to
. negotiate the conjunction.
Mr. Culbertson is known to the religious world as a writer of considerable
merit. He was one of the original editors of the Christian Magazine, of which
the following account is given by his biographer, Mr. Duncan of Mid-Calder :^
" Among some brethren who were assisting in the dispensation of the Lord's
Supper at Craignailing, in the year 1796, the Evangelical Magazine, then the
only religious periodical publication, having become the subject of conversation,
the project of setting on foot a work of the same description in Scotland was
conceived, discussed, and resolved upon, provided proper and steady coadjutors
could be found. With Mr. Culbertson, the Rev. Messrs. Black of Dunfermline,
(one of the projectors), Peddie, M'Crie, and Moore, of Edinburgh, Whytock of
Dalkeith, and others, were associated as editors ; and under their management,
with a respectable body of contributors, that valuable repository of theological
and biblical knowledge commenced. After beihg carried on for seven or eight
years, it was left in the hands of Mr. Whytock of Dalkeith and (the late) Dr.
M'Crie. At the close of 1806, one year after the demise of the former, the
work was given up by the latter. It was then claimed by Mr. Culbertson, as
one of the original editors; and, in 1807, a new series was commenced by
him, in conjunction with Mr. Black of Dunfermline, and the writer of this
memoir. The Rev. Mr. Simpson, once minister at Thurso, who had been
brought up under the pastoral care of Mr. Culbertson, having been admitted
to the charge of the Associate Congregation, Potterrow, Edinburgh, was assumed
next year into the editorship, and constituted chief conductor of the work. To
this Magazine Mr. Culbertson contributed largely, both in the old and in the-
new series. At length, when occupied with his Lectures on the Revelation,
he retired, together with Dr. Black, and left the work to the two remaining
editors, by whom, with the help of respected brethren, it was carried on till the
union of the two great bodies of Seceders, when it was conjoined with the
Christian Repository, under the title of the Christian Monitor."
The various publications by Mr. Culbertson appeared in the foUowing order: —
In 1800, "Hints on the Ordinance of the Gospel Ministry"— an exposure of
lay-preaching, and the inconsistency of latitudinarian fellowship. The same
year, "A Yindication of the Principles of Seceders on the Head of Com
munion;" and, in 1808, "The Covenanter's Manual, or a short Illustration of
the Scripture Doctrine of Public Vows." Besides two sermons entitled ," Con
solation to the Church," Mr. Culbertson pubUshed, in 1817, "The PiUar of
Rachel's Grave, or a Tribute of respect to departed Worth " — a sermon on the
death of the Princess Charlotte, and her infant son ; and, in 1820, on the demise
of George III., " The Death and Character of Asa, King of Judah."
His chief work — "Lectures, Expository and Practical, on the Book of
Revelation " — ^was first pubhshed in two volumes, a few years prior to his death.

246 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
These, embracing the two latter of the three heads into which Revelation is
usually divided, were -so favourably received that the author was induced to
undertake the elucidation of the first division of the subject. He had coUected
ample materials for this purpose, but did not live to see the additional volume
put to press. WhUe attending a meeting of Presbytery at Edinburgh, he was
seized with an illness, and died nine days afterwards, on the 13th December
1823. A new edition of his Lectures on Revelation, in three volumes, was pub
lished in 1826, containing a memoir of the author, and dedicated to the Mar
chioness of Huntly, by James Culbertson, his son. ^
Mr. Culbertson married, in 1793, Miss Ehzabeth, daughter of Mr. John
Richmond, seed-merchant in Edinburgh, by whom he had a family of five sons
and four daughters.

No. CCLIII.
THE RIGHT HON. CHARLES HOPE OF GRANTON,
WHEN LORD ADVOCATE OF SCOTLAND.
Charles Hope, Lord President of the Court of Session,' was bom in 1763.
His father, John Hope,i sometime an eminent merchant in London, and M.P.
for the county of Linlithgow, was grandson of the first Earl of Hopetoun ; and
his mother was a daughter of Eliab Breton of Norton and Fortyhall, in the
county of Middlesex. After obtaining the rudiments of education at Enfield
School, in that county, he was placed at the High School of Edinburgh,
where he was distinguished as dux of the highest class. Designed for a pro
fession, in which several of his ancestors had risen to distinction, his studies
at the University were directed for the Scottish bar, and he was admitted a
member of the Faculty of Advocates in 1784. Two years subsequently he was
nominated Judge-Advocate of Scotland; in 1791 Sherifi' of Orkney and Zet
land; and in 1801 Lord Advocate of Scotland. Shortly afterwards he was
presented with the freedom of Edinburgh, together with a piece of plate of one
hundred guineas value, for his services in drawing out, and otherwise aiding the
Magistrates in obtaining a Poor's Bill for the city. At the general election in
1802 he had been returned member of Parliament for the Burgh of Dumfries ;
but in December of the same year, in consequence of the elevation of Mr.
Dundas to the Peerage, he was unanimously chosen member for the city of
Edinburgh. During the few years he continued in Parliament, the Lord Advocate was
^ Mr. Hope cultivated the muse, and produced a volume of poems in Svo, entitled " Thoughts
in Prose and Verse, started in his walks." Stockton, 1780. One of the pieces is addressed "To
Captain Fraser, superintending the Demolition of Dunkirk," of whom a portrait appears in a
previous part of this Work.

253

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 247
unremitting in his attention to business ; and, notwithstanding the pressure of
official duties, rendered more so by the threatening aspect of the times, he
brought forward several important measures. Among these may be mentioned
the Edinburgh Road Improvement BUl, and an Act for augmenting the Salaries
of the Parochial Schoolmasters of Scotland. His parliamentary career is
rendered still more memorable, owing to a charge having been brought against
him by Mr. Whitbread, for an alleged abuse of the power invested in him as Lord
Advocate. The circumstance alluded to was stated by his accuser as follows : —
" Mr. Morrison, a farmer in Banffshire, had a servant of the name of Garrow, who entered
into a volunteer corps, and attended drills contrary to his master's pleasure ; and on the 13th
of October last, upon occasion of an inspection of the company by the Marquis of Huntly, he
absented himself entirely from his master's work, in consequence of which he discharged him.
The servant transmitted a memorial to the Lord Advocate, stating his case ; and begging to know
what compensation he could by law claim from his late master for the injury he had suffered.
His lordship gave it as his opinion that the memorialist had no claim for wages after the time he
was dismissed, thereby acknowledging that he had done nothing contrary to law ; but he had
not given a bare legal opinion — he had prefaced it by representing Mr. Morrison's conduct as
unprincipled and oppressive, and that without proof or inquiry. Not satisfied with this, he
had next day addressed a letter to the Sheriff-Substitute of Banffshire, attributing Mr. Morrison's
conduct to disaffection and disloyalty.^ This letter was addressed to Mr. Forbes, the Sheriff-
Substitute, who ordered it to be put on record, as a monument of the disapprobation of Mr.
Morrison's conduct. The Sheriff-Clerk at the same time wrote to Mr. Morrison, gi-ving an
account of the Lord Advocate's opinion, and ad-vising him to settle with his servant, by some
pecuniary offer, in order to avoid more disagreeable consequences. The Hon. gentleman moved,
that as much of the public records of the county of Banff as contained the letter of the Lord
Advocate, addressed to Mr. Forbes, the Sheriff-Substitute, be laid before the House ; as also
as much of the public record of said county as contained the letter of the Sheriff-Depute to the
Sheriff-Clerk on the subject."
The motion of Mr. Whitbread was made in absence of the Lord Advocate,
then attending his duties in Scotland. But the papers having been produced,
the subject again came before Parliament, when an interesting discussion ensued,
in which Fox and Pitt took part. The Lord Advocate defended himself in
an able manner : —
1 The following is the letter alluded to : — "Edin. Dec. 30, 1803.
"Sir, — I return you the memorial, with my opinion ; and, in the circumstances of this case, I
declme taking any fee, which I also return to you. The^case in the memorial is one of those for
which, unfortunately, no provision is made in any of the Volunteer -Acts, and therefore, of course, a
person who neglects his master's work, on account of drills or reviews, is, I am afraid, in the same
situation of a servant domg so from any other cause. The conduct of Morrison, however, is most
atrocious ; and every possible means ought to be taken to stigmatise him, and to punish, by the
scorn and conterapt of all the respectable men in tbe county, who ought to enter into a resolution
to have no communication or dealing with him whatever. And farther, as I consider that Mon-ison's
conduct can only have arisen from a secret spirit of disaffection and disloyalty, it is my order to you,
aa Sheriff-Substitute of the county, that on the flrst Frenchman landing in Scotland, you do immedi
ately apprehend and secure Morrison as a suspected person, and you will not liberate him vrithout
a communication with me ; and you may inform him of these my orders. Aud farther, I shall do
all I can to prevent him from receiving any compensation for any part of his property which may
either be destroyed by the enemy, or the King's troops, to prevent it from faUing into the enemy's
hands. I am. Sir, " Your most obedient humble servant,
"GEOEaE PoEBBS, Esq. "C. Hope,"
" Sheriff-Substitute of Banffshire."

248 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
"I have, seldom addressed this House ; and much less did I expect that I should have been
obliged now to defend myself from the charge of wilful' injustice and oppression. These are
charges I am not accust9med to have made against me ; and I wUl say, the words injustice and
oppression have never before been coupled with the name I bear. I am very happy that this
charge has been brought by a gentleman not acquainted with me, or with my character. The
House, too, is unacquainted with me ; but I will venture to say, that in my own country, where I
am kno-wn, it would not be believed that I had acted with wilful injustice or oppression against '
any man. Was the Hon. gentleman to represent nie so in the city where I principally reside
(Edinburgh), there would be an hundred thousand tongues ready to repel the charge, and probably
several arms raised against him who made it. " ,
*****
" Before I enter into the consideration of Mr. Morrison's conduct and of mine, it will be
necessary to put the House in possession of the peculiar and critical situation of Scotland at the
time that letter was -written. It -will be necessary for me to infoi-m them what are the nature
and duties of the office of Advocate-General of Scotland ; what is the responsibility attached at
all times to the situation, but more peculiarly so in the times aud circumstances at the period
to whioh the charge refers. "
He then described the defenceless state of the country, and continued —
" Under these circumstances, I would act as the safety of the State required, and not
measure my responsibility by the frigid rules of strict law. I acted under the fuU conviction,
that if the enemy were to land in the north, the salvation of Scotland could only be achieved
by its volunteers ; and it appeared more probable that they would land in the north, than
direct their attacks against Edinburgh itself. Letters had been received by all the lord-lieutenants
of counties, from the Secretary of State, that the information of Government w-as such, that an
immediate attempt was to be expected on the part of the enemy : this information arrived in
Scotland only a few days before my writing this letter. Lord Moira attached such credit to it
that he would not sleep out of Edinburgh a single night ; and positively refused to pass a night
at Dalkeith (only six miles distant), lest, in case of invasion, it might delay au hour the orders
for the troops to march. He conferred with me upon the subject ; and I, too, considered the
country in such a crisis, that though it was in the Christmas holidays, when everybody left
Edinburgh that could leave it, I did not think it safe to sleep a night out of town. Such was
our opinion at the time in which I wrote that letter ; and I declare, sir, upon my honour, that,
when I -wrote it, I did expect the French would land in Scotland before the Sheriff of Banffshire
had received my letter.
" Under such circumstances, I do not so much speak of the legality of the act as of the necessity
of it. I come now to speak of the nature and duties of the situation of Lord Advocate of
Scotland : it is by no means an ofiice so dry, formal, and precise, in its nature, as the office of
Attorney-General in England. The powers of a Lord Advocate are not easily defined. I -wish
the hon. gentleman could define them, as there are no burdens he could possibly lay ou me,
which I suppose would be equal to what are, in my opinion, the duties of a Lord Advocate.
Formerly the Government of Scotland was carried on by a Cabinet Council, composed of the
Great OflOicers of State. Soon after the Union in 1707, the Privy Council of Scotland was
abolished, the office of Chancellor was also abolished, and the whole powers of the resident
Government of Scotland devolved upon the Lord Advocate and Lord Justice-Clerk ; but the
Lord Justice-Clerk has been merely a criminal judge, and the Lord Advocate in Scotland
exercises the whole power of the Government. Every different departm ent of Government looks to
me for advice and assistance, even in military matters, whioh are most foreign tb my professional
studies, and the Generals of the force-s daily confer with me." -* -* * * "In
England the different departments of the State are so arranged, that evei-ybody knows where
he should apply on an emergency. It is not so in Scotland. The weight of all the departments
of the State rests upon the shoulders of the Lord Advocate. If I have -written one letter, I
have written at least eight hundred letters to magistrates, with respect to the instructions
received from Government.
" In order to give the House some idea of the powers which have been always assumed by
the Lord Advocates of Scotland, I shall mention one or two instances.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 249
" In the beginning of the American war, the Lord Advocate of that time, hearing that there
were many vessels bound to America, full of emigrants, who, he conceived, might be forced into
the American armies at their landing, but who would, at all events', be lost to their country,
assumed to himself a power of laying those vessels under an absolute embargo ; and for so doing,
he not only received an indemnity, but the thanks of Parliament.
" My predecessor in oflice was certainly never reckoned a harsh or oppressive man ; and yet
he took the responsibility on himself for an act which by law is felony. He received certain
information of a letter being put into the Post Office at Perth for Edinburgh, which he appre
hended to be of important consequence to the State, and he did not hesitate, upon his own
responsibility, to have it taken out of the Post Office. It was this letter which led to the dis
covery and conviction of the traitor Watt.
" I myself, having learned that several vessels were on the point of sailing for America, which
had not on board above a third of the provisions necessary for the passengers on the voyage,
positively laid them under an embargo, until the captain should satisfy the Custom-House
officers of having taken in a sufficient quantity of provisions for the voyage ; and an act of' Par
liament has since been passed to prevent such practices for the future. In that case, too, I
acted perhaps contrary to law, but I did not think it necessary to ask for an indemnity. Again,
at the time of the insurrection in Ireland, last year, I thought it probable that many fugitives
would come to Scotland. On a former occasion, the Irish Government would not allow any
person to leave that country without passports. There was no law in Scotland which required
the production of such passports ; but I took it upon my own responsibility to order that no
person coming from Ireland -without a passport should be suffered to land in Scotland. There
was no positive law which gave me power to do so ; and not ha-ving applied for au indemnity,
I may be now-liable to actions of damages to those people who by my orders were prohibited
from landing. But still, I conceive it is the duty of a Lord Advocate of Scotland, to act
decidedly in all cases where the State is in danger, upon his own responsibility ; and I will tell
the hon. gentleman fairly, that if his motion does not deprive me of my place, I shall always act
in the same manner, under similar circumstances. "
*****
' ' I shall now tell the real story of the transaction. Garrow had, with the knowledge of his
master, entered into a volunteer corps. By attending after his work was finished, he had
qualified himself as a soldier ; and in order to obtain those exemptions that the law gave, it was
necessary that he should be inspected. Before the day of inspection, he a,sked his master's leave
to go, but was refused : he was so anxious then to reconcile his duty to his country to his duty
to his master, that he got up in the middle of the night, and performed that task which his
master had assigned him, and then went to inspection. On his return, Mr. Morrison turned
him off, notwithstanding he offered to make any amends by additional labour, or by deduction
from his wages ; but how did he turn him off ? Not as the hon. gentleman (Mr. Whitbread)
would have turned off his servant ; no, he refused to pay him the wages he had earned before
that day, and would not pay him till he was compelled by a decree of the Sheriff's Court. The
time when he discharged him was also material. It was on the 13th of October, when a labourer
in Scotland, who is generally engaged by the half-year, could not easily get employment. As
there are no poor rates in Scotland, Garrow and his family might have starved in the winter, if
they could not find employment. This then is the real case ; and now I -will appeal to every
man in this House, where ought the charge of injustice and oppression to attach ? I almost
doubt [fear] now that my legal opinion was correct, and [believe] that, under all the circumstances
of the case, Mr. Morrison could be compelled to pay Garrow his wages for the remainder of the
half-year, as there was no neglect of duty on his part. The House -will now judge whether it is
Mr. Morrison or Garrow who is the injured man.
" Although I confess I had no particular information against Morrison, yet I must, in my
defence, mention another circumstance which I was informed of. Early in the French Revolu
tion, there had existed at the town of Portsoy, within two miles of Morrison's house, a Society
called 'the Friends of Universal Liberty,' who corresponded -with the Jacobin Club of France.
I knew that the head and primum mobile of that Society was a man who was likely to have
considerable influence over Mr. Morrison. I know that, after the meetings of that Society had
become so seditious, when the Sheriff was obliged to crave leave ' to be admitted to the honour
of their sittings,' they split into smaller parties ; and one of their favourite measures was to
obstruct and discourage the raising of the volunteer force."
VOL. IL 2 K

250 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Pitt, in concluding an able speech in his defence, contended that " Great
allowances were to be made for an active and ardent mind, placed in the situation
of the Advocate General. He felt under peculiar circumstances the pressing
perils of the country, and his conduct should be judged of on the principles of
indulgent consideration, with which the law judges the conduct of inferior
Magistrates, when they act, as in this instance, with pure and upright motives ;
for these and other reasons, he should vote for the order of the day, and against
the original motion."
When the House divided, there were eighty-two for the motion, and one
hundred and fifty-nine against it. Majority, seventy-seven.
On the death of Sir David Rae, Bart., Lord Justice Clerk, Mr. Hope was
appointed in his room. He took his seat on the opening of the Court, 28th of
November 1804, and addressed the judges in a concise but chaste speech, ex
pressive of the importance he felt to be attached to the appointment, the duties
of which, by the assistance of their lordships, he trusted to discharge in a satis
factory manner. In this he was eminently successful. During the seven years
his lordship presided in the Criminal Court, justice was well administered ; and
under none of his predecessors had the office been filled with greater ability, or
the business conducted with a dignity and solemnity more in keeping with the
procedure of a Court of Justiciary.
An address by his lordship, delivered at Glasgow, on closing the assize in
1808, was so much admired for its elegance and power, that, on the earnest
solicitation of the magistracy of that city, he consented that it should be printed.
The speech is of considerable length, but the topics are interesting, and an ex
tract or two may not improperly be admitted here. After his lordship, in the
usual manner, had inquired whether there were any persons present who had
cause of complaint against the judicial conduct of the Sheriffs of this district, he
said : —
" This ceremony of calling up the Sheriffs at the conclusion of each Justice Eyre, and making
open proclamation for any person to come forward who thinks he has been injured by them in
the exercise of their office, is of considerable antiquity in our law, and was originally of great
utility. At the time when the ceremony was enjoined, almost all our sheriffdoms were heredi
tary in the families of great and powerful barons, who often were the rivals of the king himself ;
and from whom, therefore, if they were guilty of oppression, the people subject to their juris
diction were little likely to obtain redress. It was therefore wisely provided by our ancestors,
that, at the conclusion of each Justice Eyre, before dismissing the jury, the Sheriffs should be
obliged to stand up and answer to any complaint made against them before the Grand Justiciar
invested with the whole majesty of the law, and armed with the power of the whole array of the
district. " Thank God, we live in times when the original cause which' led to this ceremony no longer
exists. The office of Sheriff is now intrusted to professional gentlemen, qualified by their
education to administer justice with ability, and without power, without temptation, to transgress
the laws ; and, besides, from their judgment there lies a regular appeal to the Supreme Courts
of Session and Justiciary.
" But although the original reason for this ceremony has ceased, I am far from thinldng that
it has become useless. On the contrary, I hope and trust that it never will be abolished. While I
sit here, it shall never be omitted. We all must feel how apt the best of us are to become
intoxicated -with power ; and, therefore, how useful it must be, from time to time, to remind
Magistrates that they are responsible for their conduct. Even if I thought this ceremony might
now be safely discontinued as to you, I wish it to be preserved for my own sake ; for I cannot

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 251
thus remind you of your duty, and of your responsibility, without at the same time being
reminded of my own ; and I am not vain enough to think that such responsibility is less
necessary for me than for you. Perhaps the higher the office, and the greater the power, it ia
the more useful that frequent opportunities should recur of reminding Magistrates that their
powei^ is conferred on them for the benefit of others ; and that, in the exercise of it, they are
accountable to their superiors."
Next addressing " the gentlemen Sheriffs, the Lord Provost and Magistrates,"
his lordship adverted to the assize in which they had just been engaged ; and,
from a list of commitments and prosecutions officially transmitted to him, en
larged at considerable length on the vast disproportion of crime in England and
Scotland. He said it had been stated by a political writer, that one Quarter
Sessions at Manchester sends more criminals for transportation than all Scotland
in a year.i This enviable inferiority of his native country he attributed to its
laws and institutions — the education of youth — a resident clergy — and the
maintenance of religion. " Let us then, gentlemen, be thankful for the blessings
we enjoy. While we venerate the general constitution of England, by our
union with which our liberties have been secured on a surer basis than by the
old constitution of Scotland, let us not undervalue our local laws and institutions,
by which essential advantages are given to us, and which we ought not rashly
to endanger by attempting violent innovations, the full bearing of which it is
impossible ' to foresee."
Alluding to the Revolution in France, and the war then waging with Napo
leon — a war in which, his lordship observed, " our very existence as a nation is
at stake," he concluded his energetic appeal as follows : —
" Let ua, then, maintain our Constitution as it stands, satisfied with the liberty we have,
and dreading, ifrom the example of France, that an attempt at perfect freedom may land us in
the extremity of slavery and debasement. Above all, let us maintain our Constitution from
foreign invasion. If subjection to a foreign foe be, and it is, the most dreadful calamity whicli
can -befall a people, even when its own Government is bad, think what would be the misery of
conquest to us. Language never tittered — imagination never conceived — humanity never endured
the horrors whioh await us, if subdued by the arms of France. To be utterly extirpated would
be mercy, compared with the outrages we must suffer ! Let, then, the resolution of us all be
fixed as yours — to bring this contest to a happy termination, or perish in the attempt. Hard
ships and privations we may expect ; but, when we compare them with those we shall avoid —
when we consider them as the price, and the cheap price, of liberty such as ours — for ourselves
and our children, I trust that we shall bear them with cheerfulness, and receive our reward in
the gratitude of posterity."
The address of the Lord Justice-Clerk was listened to with profound atten
tion. The peculiar interest which it excited is of course referable to the then
state of the country — agitated as it was by the fear of an immediate invasion
from the armies of France. It is at all events highly creditable to the spirit
and eloquence of the Judge.
On the death of Lord President Blair, in 1811, the Right Hon. Charles
Hope was promoted to his place. On taking his seat, 12 th November of that
year, he entered into a warm and feeling panegyric of his gifted predecessor.
1 It is a remarkable fact, that the wliole criminal trials in Scotland, at the autumn circuit in
1808, amounted only to eighteen ; and throughout the year they were no more than eighty ! Now,
however, they are seldom less than seventy at a single circuit in Glasgow alone ; and the yearly
average for the whole of Scotland may be stated as not under six hundred.

252 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
He was diffident to follow one so greatly endowed ; and he said — " It is well
known, I believe, to aU your lordships, that I did long and earnestly decline
this office. But, as it is a fixed principle of my life, that a public man, when
he has no infirmities of age or sickness to excuse him, is bound to serve his
country in any station to which his Sovereign may call him, I did not think
myself ultimately justified in disobeying the gracious commands of his Royal
Highness the Prince Regent."
The ability with whioh Lord President Hope filled the high station to which
he was appointed is well known to all who are capable of appreciating his
character. In Petei^s Letters to his Kinsfolk, the eloquence and dignified bearing
of his lordship are portrayed with the author's usual felicity and power ; and
the scene described is interesting, the more so that it is happily one of rare
occurrence. The writer has just been speaking of the Second Division of the
Court of Session, and he continues —
' ' In the other Division of the Court, I yesterday heard, without exception, the finest, piece of
judicial eloquence delivered in the finest possible way by the Lord President Hope. The requi
sites for this kind of eloquence are, of course, totally different from those of accomplished
barristership — and I think they are in the present clever age infinitely more uncommon. When
possessed in the degree of perfection in which this Judge possesses them, they are calculated
assuredly to produce a yet nobler species of effect than even the finest display of the eloquence
of the bar ever can command. They produce this effect the more powerfully, because there are
comparatively very few occasions on which they can be called upon to attempt producing it ;
but besides this adventitious circumstance, they are essentially higher in their quality, and the
feelings which they excite are proportionally deeper in their whole character and complexion.
" I confess I was struck with the whole scene, the more because I had not heard anything
which might have prepared me to expect a scene of so much interest, or a display of so much
power. But it is impossible that the presence and air of any judge should grace the judgment-
seat more than those of the Lord President did upon this occasion. When I entered, the Court
was completely crowded in every part of its area and galleries, and even the avenues and steps
of the bench were covered with persons who could not find accommodation for sitting. I looked
to the bar, naturally expecting to see it filled with some of the most favourite advocates ; but
was astonished to perceive, that not one gentleman in a gown was there ; and, indeed, that the
whole of the first row, commonly occupied by the barristers, was entirely deserted. An air of
intense expectation, notwithstanding, was stamped upon all the innumerable faces around me ;
and from the direction in which most of them were turned, I soon gathered that the eloquence
they had come to hear, was to proceed from the bench. The Judges, when I looked towards
them, had none of those huge piles of paper before them, with which their desk is usually
covered in all its breadth and in all its length. Neither did they appear to be occupied among
themselves with arranging the order or substance of opinions about to be delivered. Each Judge
sat in silence, -wrapt up in himself, but calm, and with the air of sharing in the general expecta
tion of the audience, rather than that of meditating on anything which he himself might be
about to utter. In the countenance of the President alone, I fancied I could perceive the work
ings of anxious thought. He leaned back in his chair ; his eyes were cast downwards ; and his
face seemed to be covered with a deadly paleness, which I had never before seen its masculine
and commanding lines exhibit.
" At length he lifted up his eyes, and, at a signal from his hand, a man clad respectably iu
black rose from the second row of seats behind the bar. I could not at first see his face ; but
from his air, I perceived at once that he was there in the capacity of an offender. A minute or
more elapsed before a word was said ; and I heard it whispered behind me that he was a well-
known solicitor or agent of the Court, who had been detected in some piece of mean chicanery,
and I comprehended that the President was about to rebuke Mm for his transgression. A
painful struggle of feelings seemed to keep the Judge silent, after he had put himself into the

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 253
attitude of speaking, and the silence in the Court was as profound as midnight ; but at last,
after one or two ineffectual attempts, he seemed to subdue his feelings by one strong effort, and
he named the man before him in a tone that made my pulse quiver and every cheek around
me grow pale.
" Another pause followed — and then, all at once, the face of the judge became flushed all
over with crimson, and he began to roll out the sentences of his rebuke with a fervour of indigna
tion, that made me wonder by what emotions the torrent could have been so long -withheld from
flowing. His voice is the most hollow and sonorous I ever heard ; and its grave wrath filled the
whole circuit of the walls aroupd, thrilling and piercing every nerve of every ear, like the near
echo of an earthquake. The trumpet-note of an organ does not peal through the vaults of a
cathedral with half so deep a majesty ; aud I thought within myself that the offence must indeed
be great, which could deserve to call down upon any head such a palsying sweep of terrors. It
is impossible I should convey to you any idea of the power of this awful voice ; but, never tUl
I myself heard it, did I appreciate the just meaning of Dante, where he says, 'Even in the
wilderness the Lion imll tremble, if he hears the voice of ajiist Man.'
" Had either the sentiments or the language of the Judge been other than worthy of such
a vehicle, there is no question that the effect of its natural potency would soon have passed
away. But what sentiments can be more worthy of borrowing energy from the grandest music
of nature, than those with which an upright and generous soul contemplates, from its elevation
of .purity, the black and loathsome mazes of the tangled web of deceit ? The paltry caitiff that
stood before him must have felt himself too much honoured, in, attracting even , indignation
from one so far above his miserable sphere. With such feelings, and such a voice, it was
impossible that the rebuke he uttered should not have been an eloqueiJit rebuke. But even the
language in which the rebuke was clothed, would have been enough, of itself alone, to beat into
atoms the last lingering reed of self-complacency, on which detected meanness might have
endeavoured to prop up the hour and agony of its humiliation. Mens est id quodfacit disertum ;
and whatever harrowing words the haughtiness of insulted virtue, the scorn of honour, the cold
ness of disdain, the bitterness of pity might supply, came ready as flashes from a bursting
thunder-cloud, to scatter tenfold dismay upon this poor wretch, and make his flesh and his
spirit creep chill within him like a bruised adder. His coward eye was fascinated by the glance
that killed him, and he durst not look for a moment from the face of his chastiser. He did
look for a moment ; at one terrible word he looked vrildly round, as if to seek for some whisper
of protection, or some den of shelter. But he found none. And even after the rebuke was at an
end he stood like the statue of Fear, frozen in the same attitude of immovable desertedness.
' ,fr * * * * *
"This Judge was formerly President of the Criminal Court; and after being present at
this scene, I have no difficulty in belie-ving' what I hear from everyone, that, in pronouncing
sentence he far surpassed every Judge whom the present time has witnessed, or of whom any
memory survives. Had any gone before him, his equal in the ' terrible graces ' of judicial
eloquence, it is not possible that he should soon have been forgotten. Feelings such as this
man possesses, when expressed as he expresses them, produce an effect of which it is not easy
to say whether the impression may be likely to abide longest in the bosoms of the good, or in
those of the -wicked.
" As I came away through the crowd, I heard a pale, anxious-looking old man, who, I doubt
not, had a cause in Court, whisper to himself— " God be thanked, there's one true Gentleman
at the head of them all.' "
In 1820 the President presided at the Special Commission for trying the
cases of high treason at Glasgow and other places. His address to the grand
jury, on opening the Commission, was pubhshed at their request.
On the death of the Duke of Montrose, in 1836, by virtue of an Act of
Parhament, he became invested with the office of Lord Justice General, the
highest official office in Scotland ; and he presided in the Justiciary Court on
several occasions, thus going back to the Justiciary Court after an absence of
twenty-five years. At the proclamation of Queen Victoria he wore the robes
of Lord Justice General.

254 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
The Society of Writers to the Signet requested his lordship to allow his
portrait to be painted for the Society ; and the picture, as painted by Mr.
Watson Gordon, in the robes of Justice General, is now hung in the staircase
of the library.

No. CCLIV.
RIGHT HON. CHARLES HOPE,
LIEUT.-COLONEL, COMMANDING THE EDINBURGH VOLUNTEERS.
When the warlike spirit of the country was roused by the menacing attitude
of " haughty Gaul," no one stepped forward in her defence with greater alacrity
than Lord President Hope, who was then Sheriff of Orkney. He enrolled him
self as one of the First Regiment of Royal Edinburgh Volunteers, and served in
it as a private and Captain of the Left Grenadiers till 1801, when, by the unani
mous recommendation of the corps, he was appointed Lieut.-Colonel. From
that period, with the exception of one year, when the corps was disbanded at
the peace of Amiens in 1802, he continued in command until the regiment was
again disembodied in 1814. His lordship did much to improve the discipline,
and animate the zeal of the Volunteers. While he personally set an example
of unwearied exertion, his speeches on particular occasions, and his correspond
ence with the Commander-in-Chief, breathed a patriotism not less pure than
hearty in the common cause. " We did not take up arms to please any minister
or set of ministers," is his declaration on one occasion, "but to defend our
native land from foreign and domestic enemies.''
On the King's birthday, 1807, the Volunteers paid a handsome, compliment
to their commander. Previous to the grand military parade in honour of his
Majesty, the regiment having been formed into a hollow square, Thomas Martin
Esq., sergeant of grenadiers, in name of the non-commissioned officers and
privates, presented him with a valuable sword, of superb and exquisite work
manship, as a testimony of their regard for him as an officer and a gentleman ;
and for his great attention in promoting the discipline and welfare of the regi
ment. Mr. Martin addressed the Lieut.-Colonel in the foUowing words : —
" I am deputed to deliver you a sword, as a small mark of the sincere regard aud high esteem
entertained for you by your fellow-soldiers of the regiment.
" It is now upwards of thirteen years since an alarming and eventful crisis gave birth to the
volunteer system. On that occasion this regiment was among the first to step forward in
defence of our King and country. We recollect with pleasure your serving in the ranks ; and,
by your exemplary attention, affording an instructive and impressive lesson of the first duties of
a soldier. When afterwards called, by the unanimous voice of your associates, to command us,
we found your abilities as an officer not less conspicuous than your conduct as a private. In
both capacities you have earned the meed dearest to a mind such as yours, the gratitude and
affection of your fellow-citizens.
" I consider it a happy coincidence, that the first opportunity which has occurred for
presenting this sword should be the birthday of our beloved Sovereign. In putting it into your
hands, we add an additional safeguard to his sacred person and throne, while we feel assured

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255

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 255
that it never will be drawn by you, but to support that constitution whioh has rendered this
country great and powerful, and its inhabitants free and happy.
" I shall detain you no longer from the duties of the day, than by wishing that every gift,
such as the present, may be equally well merited, and bestowed with an equal degree of sincerity
and pleasure, as that which I have now the honour to put into your hands.
In reply, the Lieut.-Colonel said — '
" I shall not make use of the common profession of wanting words to express my feelings
on this occasion,. I am much raore afraid that I do not, and that I never can feel as I ought
towards this regiment. But whatever may be the degree of my feelings, I hope you are well
convinced that it does not require any excitement of this kind to call them forth ; and I can,
with truth, assure you, that without such expensive proofs as this, I am well satisfied of the
place I hold in the regard and affections of this regiment.
" With respect to the preseut you have now made me, I hope and trust, for the sake of our
country, that I may never have occasion to use it but on occasions such as this, of parade and
rejoicing ; but if against the enemies of our King and country, I have only to pray that I may
be enabled to behave as becomes the commander of such a regiment."
The military services of the' Lord President did not terminate with the
disbanding of the Volunteers in 1814. The regiment having been embodied
for the third time, during the political disturbances of 1819, his lordship was
again at their head, and daily inspected them while doing duty in the Castle,
in the room of the regular troops, all of whom were sent to the West country,
where the disaffection chiefly prevailed.
The Lord President married, in 1793, Lady Charlotte Hope, eighth daughter
of John second Earl of Hopetoun, by whom he had a numerous family. He
retired from the bench in 1841, and was succeeded by the Right Hon. David
Boyle. His eldest son, John Hope, Esq., was appointed in 1841 Lord Justice-
Clerk.

No. CCLV.
THE RIGHT HON. WILLIAM PITT.
This Portrait of the "PUot who weathered the storm" is one of the few
likenesses taken by Kay whUe in London in 1800. The name of the Right
Hon. William Pitt is indissolubly associated -with an important epoch in the
poUtical history of this country. Our readers are aware that he was the son of
the first Earl of Chatham; that under the vigUant superintendence of his'
illuistrious parent, the genius of the future Premier was early matured ; and
that he first entered the House of Commons as one of the nominees of Su- James
Lowther, where he soon distinguished himself by those capabilities, as a firm
and eloquent debater, which afterwards enabled him to beat down one of the
most formidable oppositions ever arrayed against a Cabinet.
It was the peculiar fortune of Pitt to be called to the helm of affairs, when,
at the conclusion of the American War of Independence, Britain laboured under

256 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
severe financial and commercial depression ; and, in whatever light his principles
or politics may be viewed by contending parties, certain it is that under his
administration the nation attained an unusual degree of prosperity ; and his
financial arrangements were such that the treasury was enabled to sustain an
unexampled demand upon its resources.
The great struggle in which the Minister was engaged does not seem to have
left him much leisure for the cultivation of literature ; and so far from being
a patron of learned men, he was generaUy supposed to entertain a feeling of
hostility towards them : —
" Few friends are found for poetry and wit,
From North well-natured to imperious Pitt."
It must be remembered, however, that some of the most distinguished literary
characters of the time were in politics violently opposed to him.
The debates in the House of Commons, from his first connection with the
Ministry, furnish many instances of Pitt's matchless eloquence, and of the force
and readiness of his replies to the philippics of his powerful opponents. His
sarcastic allusion to theatrical authorship, as a rejoinder to some witty observa
tions of Sheridan on one occasion, recoiled with severity on his own head, by
the happy analogy drawn by the latter betwixt the young Chancellor and
Kastrill, the Angry Boy in the Alchymist ! — an appellation which adhered to
Pitt many years afterwards.
The extreme youth of the statesman was a prolific theme for satire by the
Opposition prints. In the "Rolliad" he is thus described : —
" Above the rest, majestically great,
Behold the infant Atlas of the State ;
The matchless miracle of modern days.
In whom Britannia to the world displays
A sight to make surrounding nations sta^e —
A kingdom trusted to a school-boy's care ! "
Of the Minister's aptitude for business, comprehensive mind, and astonish
ing powers of memory, many anecdotes are related ; but there are very few
instances of his having indulged, like some of his celebrated contemporaries, in
pleasant or witty sayings. His reply, however, to an offer made by a certain
London Incorporation, to raise a volunteer corps, on condition that he would
assure them against being called on to leave the country, is an exception : — " I
wiU," said the Minister, " engage that they shall not leave this country, except
in case of an invasion I"
The death of Mr. Pitt occurred in January 1806, at the premature age of
forty-seven. He never possessed much strength of constitution; but intense
apphcation to public business — the trouble and anxiety of nund produced by
the impeachment and removal from office of his valuable colleague, Lord MelvUle,
and the intelligence of the success of Bonaparte in his attack upon Austria,
particularly his capture of Ulm, e-ridently hastened the catastrophe.

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