Part 28

[154] Mr., afterwards Sir Andrew Mitchell, was only son of the Rev. William Mitchell, minister of the High Church, Edinburgh, and who had the singular distinction of being five times Moderator of the General Assembly. After following legal pursuits at Edinburgh, Mr. Mitchell was in 1741 appointed secretary to the Marquis of Tweeddale, minister for the affairs of Scotland, and in 1747 was chosen M.P. for the Banff district of burghs. In 1751 he was sent as ambassador to Brussels, and in 1753 was created a Knight of the Bath and envoy extraordinary to the court of Prussia. He was a great favourite with Frederick the Great, whom he accompanied in his campaigns. He died at Berlin, on the 28th January, 1771. Boswell became acquainted with Sir Andrew Mitchell during his Continental tour. (See _supra_, pp. 43-47.)

[155] Archibald, third Duke of Argyll, was born in June, 1682. As colonel of the 36th regiment he served under the Duke of Marlborough. Devoting himself to civil affairs, he was in 1705 nominated Lord High Treasurer of Scotland; in the following year he became a commissioner on the Union, and in 1710 was appointed Justice General. He was wounded at the battle of Sheriffmuir in 1715, when he held a command under his brother, the Duke of Argyll and Greenwich. He succeeded his brother as Duke of Argyll in 1743, and died 15th April, 1761. He founded the family residence at Inverary, and there established a valuable library. He was a zealous promoter of learning, and excelled in conversation.

[156] The celebrated George, tenth Earl Marischal, whom Boswell had the honour of accompanying through Germany and Switzerland in 1763. Born about 1693, Lord Marischal held a high command in the army of Queen Anne, and on her death signed the proclamation of George I. Deprived of office by the Duke of Argyll, he joined the Earl of Mar in the insurrection of 1715, and at the battle of Sheriffmuir commanded two squadrons of cavalry. In 1719 he made a second attempt on behalf of the Chevalier. In the rising of 1715 he took no part. Having by a residence in Prussia gained the favour of Frederick the Great, he became Prussian ambassador at the courts of France and Spain. In 1759 he revealed to Mr. Pitt, afterwards Earl of Chatham, the family compact of the house of Bourbon; he was, consequently, invited to the court of George II., and his attainder was reversed. On possessing himself of his forfeited estates he purposed to reside in Scotland, but on the urgent entreaty of the Prussian monarch he returned to Berlin. He died, unmarried, at Potsdam, on the 28th of May, 1778.

[157] Sir Adam Fergusson, Bart., of Kilkerran, LL.D., was elected M.P. for Ayrshire in 1774; he afterwards sat for the city of Edinburgh. He died 23rd September, 1813, at an advanced age.

[158] By the cabinets of St. Petersburg and Berlin Stanislas Poniatowski was presented to the Poles as their king in 1764: owing to the partition of his dominions he died broken-hearted at St. Petersburg in 1798.

[159] Alexander, tenth Earl of Eglinton, died in 1769, and was succeeded by his brother, Colonel Archibald Montgomery.

[160] John Turberville Needham, a priest of the Roman Catholic Church, and an eminent physiologist, was born 1713 and died 1781. He received honours from many of the learned societies, and was sometime director of the Academy of Sciences at Brussels. In botanical science his name is perpetuated in the _genus needhamia_.

[161] The Hon. Captain Andrew Erskine.

[162] Sir Joseph Yorke was third son of Lord Chancellor Hardwicke. After serving in the army till he attained the rank of general, he was appointed ambassador at the Hague, where he remained thirty years. In 1788 he was created Baron Dover. He died on the 2nd December, 1792.

[163] Andrew Stuart was counsel on the Hamilton side of the Douglas case, and fought a duel with Edward, afterwards Lord Thurlow, the leading counsel for Mr. Archibald Douglas. He published, in 1773, “Letters to Lord Mansfield,” on the Douglas case, which, as models of polished invective, have been compared with the Letters of Junius. In 1798 he issued a “Genealogical History of the Stewarts.”

[164] William Nairne, son of Sir William Nairne, Bart., of Dunsinnan, was admitted advocate in 1755. He was in 1758 appointed conjunct commissary-clerk of Edinburgh, and in 1786 was raised to the bench, when he assumed the judicial title of Lord Dunsinnan. He died in March, 1811.

[165] A zealous patriot, deeply imbued with republican notions, Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun opposed the arbitrary measures of the House of Stuart, and after the revolution proved, from his irritable temper, a considerable incubus on the Government of William III. He violently opposed the union, and subsequently to that event retired from public affairs. He died at London in 1716, aged sixty-three.

[166] The celebrated Bishop Berkeley, who maintained the non-existence of matter as one of his philosophical opinions.

[167] The Hon. Peregrine Bertie, third son of Willoughby, third Earl of Abingdon, was born in 1741. He became a captain in the Royal Navy, and was sometime M.P. for Oxford. He died in 1790.

[168] General the Hon. Sir William Howe led the troops at the battle of Bunker’s Hill in 1775, and was subsequently appointed commander of the British forces in America. As an officer he somewhat lacked energy, but he was much esteemed in private life. Captain Howe, mentioned in the anecdote, was Sir William’s elder brother, afterwards the celebrated Admiral Earl Howe. Sir William Howe died in 1814.

[169] Charles Churchill, now nearly forgotten, enjoyed considerable reputation as a satirical poet. Bred to the Church, he abandoned the clerical profession and embraced infidelity. He acted honourably in discharging his debts, but was in other respects profligate. He died on the 4th November, 1764, in his thirty-third year. His political satire, referred to in the text, was the most successful of his poetical writings.

[170] Andrew Lumsden belonged to an old family in the county of Berwick. After the suppression of the rebellion in 1745 he proceeded to Rome, where he became private secretary to Prince Charles Edward. He latterly returned to Britain, and established his residence at Edinburgh. He published “Remarks on the Antiquities of Rome and its Environs,” a pleasing and judicious performance. He died on the 26th December, 1801, aged eighty-one.

[171] The Rev. James Ramsay, one of the earliest opponents of the slave trade, was born at Fraserburgh in 1733. A surgeon in the Royal Navy, he incurred a serious accident, and thereafter abandoned his profession and took orders. For some time he held two livings at St. Christopher’s, worth £700 a year. He returned to England in 1781, and became vicar of Teston in Kent. His work against the slave trade appeared in 1786. He died on the 20th July, 1789.

[172] The Rev. John Willison ministered at Dundee from 1716 till his death, which took place in May, 1750. An eminent theologian, his numerous writings found a ready acceptance, and have been frequently reprinted. Mr. Willison was a leader in the Church courts; he was much esteemed for his urbanity.

[173] Colonel Archibald Edmonstone, of Duntreath, created a baronet in 1774, was in 1761 elected M.P. for the county of Dumbarton and the Ayr burghs. He died in July, 1807.

[174] Sir Gilbert Elliot, of Minto, Bart., Lord Justice Clerk, died at Minto, Roxburghshire, on the 16th April, 1766, aged seventy-three. His father, who bore the same Christian name, was the first baronet of Minto, and a senator of the College of Justice. His grandson was created Earl of Minto.

[175] Of John, fourth Earl of Loudoun, Boswell in his “Scottish Tour” thus writes:—“He did more service to the county of Ayr in general, as well as to individuals in it, than any man we have ever had.... The tenderness of his heart was proved in 1745-6, when he had an important command in the Highlands, and behaved with a generous humanity to the unfortunate. I cannot figure a more honest politician; for though his interest in our country was great and generally successful, he not only did not deceive by fallacious promises, but was anxious that people should not deceive themselves by too sanguine expectations. His kind and dutiful attention to his mother was unremittent. At his house was true hospitality, a plain but a plentiful table; and every guest being left at perfect freedom, felt himself quite easy and happy. While I live I shall honour the memory of this amiable man.” Boswell relates that, having sent a message that he and Dr. Johnson purposed to dine with him, the messenger reported that the earl “jumped for joy.” John, fourth earl of Loudoun, was born in 1705, and died in 1782.

[176] John, fifth earl of Stair, born 1720, died 1789. Joining the army, he attained the rank of captain. He composed several pamphlets on political topics.

[177] General Philip Honywood was a cadet of the House of Honywood, Evington, baronet; he died in 1785.

[178] John Clerk, a cadet of the house of Clerk, of Pennycuik, was born in 1689, and having studied medicine, became the first physician in Scotland. In 1740 he was elected President of the Royal College of Physicians. He died in 1757.

[179] Sir John Clerk, second baronet of Pennycuik, was appointed a Baron of Exchequer in 1707. He was a patron of Allan Ramsay, and an ingenious antiquary. From his pen proceeded the song commencing, “O merry may the maid be that marries the miller.” He died 4th October, 1755.

[180] The Campbells of Succoth are descended from a branch of the ducal house of Argyll, their ancestors possessing Lochow, in Argyleshire (Nisbet’s Heraldry). John Campbell of Succoth, mentioned in the text, was progenitor of Archibald Campbell of Succoth, Principal Clerk of Session, and of Sir Islay Campbell, Lord President of the Court of Session.

[181] Anne, third wife of James fifth Duke of Hamilton, was daughter and co-heiress of Edmund Spencer, Esq., of Rendlesham, in the county of Suffolk.

[182] Sir William Gordon of Park, Bart., was grandson on the mother’s side of the celebrated Archbishop Sharp. He joined Prince Charles Edward in 1745, and was attainted, but the attainder was afterwards reversed. He died at Douay, 5th June, 1751.

[183] Charles Cochrane, of Ochiltree, grandson of the first Earl of Dundonald, succeeded his mother in the estate of Culross. He died in 1752.

[184] Charles Erskine, of Tinwald, third son of Sir Charles Erskine, Bart., of Alva, was admitted advocate in 1711. He was elected M.P. for the county of Dumfries in 1722, and nominated Solicitor-General in 1725. Raised to the bench in 1744 by the judicial title of Lord Tinwald, he was in 1748 promoted as Lord Justice Clerk. He died at Edinburgh, on the 5th April, 1763. Lord Tinwald combined a dignified deportment with much suavity of manner.

[185] Sir Walter Pringle, of Newhall, was called to the Bar in 1687. After enjoying a high reputation as a pleader, he was raised to the bench, as Lord Newhall, in June, 1718. He died 14th December, 1736, and the judges in their robes attended his funeral. The Faculty of Advocates commended him in their records, and the poet Hamilton, of Bangor, composed his epitaph.

[186] Sir Alexander Ogilvy of Forglen, Bart., second son of George Ogilvy, second Lord Banff, was Commissioner for the Burgh of Banff from 1702 to 1707. Admitted advocate, he was in 1706 appointed a Lord of Session, when he assumed the title of Lord Forglen. He died 30th March, 1727.

[187] The first wife of William, fourth earl of Dumfries, was the Lady Anne Gordon, only daughter of William, second Earl of Aberdeen. She died in 1755.

[188] John Lord Hope succeeded his father in 1742 as second Earl of Hopetown. A nobleman of considerable parts, he was appointed one of the lords of police in Scotland, and in 1754 was nominated Lord High Commissioner to the Church of Scotland. He died 12th February, 1781, aged seventy-seven.

[189] Robert Cullen, advocate, was eldest son of William Cullen, M.D., the celebrated physician. He was called to the Scottish bar in 1764, and was early noted for his forensic talents. Contrary to the estimate formed of him by Boswell, he was held in general esteem for his courteous manners, while his powers of mimicry were of a first order. He was appointed a Lord of Session in 1796, by the title of Lord Cullen. He died at Edinburgh on the 28th November, 1810.

[190] Boswell’s allusion to Frederick the Great is evidently founded on a remark of Dr. Johnson’s. Conversing with Dr. Robertson, the historian, in 1778, Johnson remarked, “The true strong and sound mind is the mind that can embrace equally great things and small. Now I am told the King of Prussia will say to a servant, ‘Bring me a bottle of such a wine, which came in such a year; it lies in such a corner of the cellar.’ I would have a man great in great things, and elegant in little things.”

[191] The Rev. John Pettigrew, A.M., was minister of Govan, Lanarkshire, from 1688 to 1712; he died in March, 1715, in his seventy-eighth year. He was remarkably facetious; a number of his witty sayings have been preserved. (Dr. Scott’s “_Fasti_,” vol. ii., p. 69.)

[192] The Rev. William Love, A.M., ministered at Cathcart, Renfrewshire, from 1710 to 1738, when he died at the age of fifty-seven. He made a monetary bequest to the poor of Paisley. (Dr. Scott’s “_Fasti_,” vol. ii., p. 61.)

[193] A portrait of Cullen in “Kay’s Portraits” (vol. ii., p. 331) does not warrant Boswell’s assertion as to his extreme ugliness. He was plain-looking, as was his father before him, but his aspect was not repulsive.

[194] Son of George Lockhart, of Carnwath, and Lady Euphemia Montgomery, daughter of the Earl of Eglinton, Alexander Lockhart passed advocate in 1722. He distinguished himself in defending the unfortunate persons who were taken at Carlisle and subjected to trial for taking part in the rebellion of 1745. Elected Dean of Faculty in 1764, he was raised to the bench in 1775 by the title of Lord Covington. He died 10th November, 1782, aged eighty-two.

[195] John, third Earl of Bute, the favourite minister of George III., a munificent patron of literature, and himself an accomplished scholar and man of science. Lord Bute died 10th March, 1792.

[196] In his “Scottish Tour” Boswell thus refers to the Lord Chief Baron Orde:—“This respectable English judge will be long remembered in Scotland, where he built an elegant house and lived in it magnificently. His own ample fortune, with the addition of his salary enabled him to be splendidly hospitable.... Lord Chief Baron Orde was on good terms with us all, in a narrow country, filled with jarring interests and keen parties.”

[197] A native of Ayrshire, Matthew Henderson long resided in Edinburgh, where his society was much cherished. Allan Cunningham relates on the authority of Sir Thomas Wallace, who knew him personally, “that he dined regularly at Fortune’s Tavern, and was a member of the Capillaire Club, which was composed of all who inclined to be witty and joyous.” When Robert Burns visited Edinburgh in 1787, Matthew Henderson was one of his chief associates; he subscribed for four copies of the second edition of his poems, and by his pleasing and beneficent manner gained a deep place in his affections. Henderson died in the summer of 1790, and his memory was celebrated by the Ayrshire bard in an elegiac poem, of which the following stanzas are familiar:—

“O Henderson! the man—the brother! And art thou gone, and gone for ever? And hast thou crossed that unknown river, Life’s dreary bound? Like thee where shall I find another The world around?

“Go to your sculptured tombs, ye great, In a’ the tinsel trash o’ state! But by thy honest turf I’ll wait, Thou man o’ worth! And weep the ae best fellow’s fate E’er lay in earth.”

In transmitting the poem to Mr. McMurdo, Burns writes from Ellisland, 2nd August, 1790, “You knew Henderson? I have not flattered his memory.” In a tract by the Lord Chief Commissioner Adam, entitled “Two Short Essays on the Study of History—the gift of a grandfather,” and printed at the Blair-Adam press in 1836, the author concludes a list of eminent Scotsmen, his contemporaries, with the following note:—“Besides these here enumerated, there were many others who made a respectable figure in the society of Edinburgh during the period here referred to (between 1750 and 1766), and there were some who stand more prominently forward, whose rank, whose wit, and whose taste and talent for conversation adorned the society when they joined it, such as Thomas, Earl of Kelly; Thomas, Earl of Haddington; Nisbet, of Dirleton; _Matthew Henderson, at a future period distinguished by Burns_; Sir Robert Murray, of Hillhead; George Brown, of Elliestoun, and others.”

[198] The Hon. Alexander Gordon was third son of William, second Earl of Aberdeen. Born in 1739, he was admitted advocate in his twenty-first year. In 1764 he was appointed Steward Depute of Kirkcudbright, and in 1788 was raised to the bench as Lord Rockville. He died 13th March, 1792. He was much esteemed for his urbanity.

[199] John Armstrong, M.D., physician and poet, was son of the minister of Castleton, Roxburghshire. Having studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, he became physician in 1732, and commenced practice in the metropolis. His “Art of Preserving Health,” an ingenious poem, appeared in 1744. He was appointed physician to a military hospital in London, and afterwards to the army in Germany. He subsequently resumed medical practice in the metropolis. He became notorious for his indolence; spending his time lounging in a coffee-house, where he received his letters. He died on the 7th September, 1779, about his seventieth year.

[200] Son of the poet of the same name, Allan Ramsay the painter was born at Edinburgh in 1713. Having studied his art in Italy, he became portrait-painter first at Edinburgh and afterwards in London. Introduced by the Earl of Bute to George III., he was appointed principal painter to the king. He was an associate of Dr. Johnson, who thus spoke of him:—“I love Ramsay. You will not find a man in whose conversation there is more instruction, more information, and more elegance than in Ramsay’s.” He died on the 10th August, 1784.

[201] Robert Dundas, of Arniston, was born 9th December, 1685, and admitted advocate in July, 1709. He was appointed Solicitor-General in 1717, and soon afterwards Lord Advocate. In 1721 he was chosen Dean of Faculty. In 1722 he was elected M.P. for the county of Edinburgh. He was raised to the bench in 1737, and in 1748 succeeded Duncan Forbes, of Culloden, as Lord President. An ingenious pleader and powerful reasoner, he was also distinguished for his sound judgment and inflexible integrity. He died on the 26th August, 1753.

[202] Sir John Dalrymple, first Earl of Stair, son of Lord President Stair, was born about 1648, and passed advocate in 1672. With his father he experienced much persecution under the rule of the House of Stewart; he afterwards made his peace at court, and in 1687 was appointed Lord Advocate. In 1688 he was raised to the bench as Lord Justice Clerk. He became Lord Advocate, and one of the principal Secretaries of State. His connection with the massacre of Glencoe brought him into odium, and compelled him to seek temporary retirement. In 1703 he was created Earl of Stair. He was a chief promoter of the Treaty of Union. He died on the 8th January, 1707.

[203] Sir Gilbert Elliot originally practised as a writer in Edinburgh, and was a vigorous supporter of the Presbyterian Church. From his adhering to the Marquess of Argyll he was found guilty of treason, and forfeited. Obtaining a remission of his sentence, he applied to be taken on trials as advocate, but was, on his first examination, rejected. He was admitted in November, 1688, and soon attained important practice. In 1700 he was created a baronet, and in 1705 was raised to the bench. He died 1st May, 1718.

[204] Sir William Anstruther, Bart., was M.P. for Fifeshire during the administration of the Duke of York in 1681, and stoutly opposed the measures of the Court. In 1689 he was appointed an ordinary Lord of Session; he afterwards obtained other offices and honours. He died 24th January, 1711.

[205] The Rev. John M’Claren was, in 1690, doctor in the Grammar School, Glasgow. He was in 1692 ordained minister of Kippen, and was translated to Carstairs in 1699. In 1711 he was preferred to the Tolbooth Church, Edinburgh. He declined the oath of abjuration in 1712, and was one of six who protested against the Seceders being loosed from their parochial charges, November, 1733. As a preacher he was most acceptable, delighting his hearers by his fertile and striking illustrations. He died 11th July, 1734.

[206] An ancient Scottish ballad, entitled “The Bonnie Earl of Murray,” is founded on the murder of James Stewart, Earl of Murray, son-in-law and successor of the celebrated regent. He was slain at his own residence at Donibristle, Fifeshire, on the 9th February, 1592, by the hereditary enemy of his house, George, sixth Earl of Huntly. According to the story, the Earl of Murray, who was young and extremely handsome, attracted the admiration of Queen Anne of Denmark, who in the king’s hearing described him as “a proper and gallant man.” This emphatic commendation offended the king, who requested the Earl of Huntly to bring him into his presence. Huntly forthwith set fire to Donibristle Castle, and the earl in attempting to escape was slain. Lord Huntly was thrown into prison, but being released at the king’s command was created a marquess. According to Boswell, James, seventh Earl of Moray, who died in 1767 was also styled “The Bonnie Earl.”

[207] Charles, eighth Lord Cathcart.

[208] Mr. Richmond of Bardarrock, an Ayrshire landowner in the vicinity of Auchinleck, remarkable for his humorous sallies.

[209] Lord George Sackville, third son of the first Duke of Dorset, entered the army in 1737, and served at Dettingen, Fontenoy, and Culloden. In 1759 he was present at the battle of Minden, serving as lieutenant-general under Prince Ferdinand. Accused of disobeying orders, he was tried by court-martial, and being found guilty, was dismissed from the army. George II. caused his name to be removed from the roll of Privy Councillors. During the reign of George III. his good fortune was restored. As Secretary of State for the colonies under Lord North, he conducted the American War. In 1782 he was created Viscount Sackville. He died in 1784, aged sixty-nine. Some have ascribed to him the Letters of Junius.

[210] The Rev. William Auld, designated _Daddy_ Auld by the poet Burns, was ordained minister of Mauchline, Ayrshire, in 1742, and died 12th December, 1791, in his eighty-third year. He was a pious exemplary clergyman.

[211] Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Francis Kinloch, of Gilmerton, married Andrew Fletcher, a judge in the Court of Session by the title of Lord Milton.

[212] Sir Francis Grant, Bart., passed advocate in 1691, and was raised to the bench as Lord Cullen in 1709. A zealous loyalist and profound lawyer, he was, according to Wodrow, a man of exemplary piety. He died on the 26th March, 1726. Sir Alexander Ogilvy, Lord Forglen, died 30th March, 1727.

[213] A respectable tavern-keeper near Edinburgh.

[214] The heroine of this anecdote, whose name Boswell omits, was his relative, Mary Erskine, daughter of Colonel Erskine of Carnock, and aunt of the celebrated Dr. John Erskine of Greyfriars Church, Edinburgh.

[215] Brother of Robert Dundas of Arniston, Lord President of the Court of Session.