James Boswell

[1] I happened however to be present on an occasion when a quotation from Dr. Johnson served as a special illustration of the infallible memory and rapid intuition of a man of letters in whose distinction Scotland has a considerable share. It was in the house of a lady of literary and social importance in her day, who was fond of displaying her disregard of religious decencies. At one end of the table the party were talking of a remarkable fall of some fronts of houses in Tottenham-court-road, leaving the rooms open to the street in all their usual conditions. At the other the hostess was tracing resemblances between Mormonism and Christianity, with peculiar application to their founders. Mr. Macaulay, seated in the middle, leant over to Dean Milman opposite, and said in a low tone, “You remember Johnson’s London,—

‘Here falling houses thunder on your head,
And here a female Atheist talks you dead.’”

[2] This opinion receives an accidental confirmation of its events by the publication of the Life of Sir Gilbert Eliot—a work highly honourable to a Scottish house by the dignity of its records and the talent of their reproduction. This cannot be better expressed than in the words of Lady Minto, writing from Edinburgh, February 21, 1802:—

“This country has arrived at the true pitch of comfort and happiness. The people are full of information, are natural, unassuming, and social, but with a great mixture of occupation. People meet together to be pleased, cheerful, and easy; even the Scotch pride has its uses by putting the poor often on an equal footing with the rich. A Douglas or a Scott would consider himself on a par with persons of the highest title and rank; their education is equally good, their society the same, their spirit and love of their country possibly much greater. Almost every family can boast of heroes in some generation, which excites emulation; and nothing is so uncommon as to see idle men and listless manners. All is energy, and every one has some object in view to exercise his faculties and talents. I must say, at the present time I think the race very superior to the English, who are too far gone in luxury and dissipation to be agreeable or happy. Morals here are certainly very good, and yet the manners are much more free, and one scarcely ever meets with affectation and airs. People meet like friends, and not with a cold bow and a distant curtsey.”

[3] In reference to Thomas Boswell the following entries appear in the Treasurer’s books:—May 15th, 1504. “Item, to Thomas Boswell he laid downe in Leith to the wife of the kingis innis and to the boye ran the kingis hors 18s.” Aug. 2, 1504. “Item, for twa hidis to be jakkis to Thomas Boswell and Watte Trumbull, agane the Raid of Eskdale [an expedition against the Border thieves], 56s.” January 1, 1504-5. “Item, to Thomas Boswell and Pate Sinclair to by thaim daunsing geir, 28s.” December 31, 1505. “Item, to 30 dosane of bellis for dansarris, delyverit to Thomas Boswell, £4 10s.” In his “Collection of Criminal Trials,” Mr. Pitcairn, who quotes these entries, supposes that Thomas Boswell held the position of royal minstrel. In this office he was probably the successor of Sir William Rogers, chief musician to James III. Rogers, like Boswell, obtained from his sovereign a grant of lands in guerdon of service. He suffered a violent death in 1482. (“Traquair Papers,” quoted in Chambers’ “History of Peeblesshire,” Edinb., 1861, 8vo., pp. 81-86.)

[4] Lord Balmuto was a large coarse-looking man, with black hair and beetling eyebrows. Though not vulgar he was passionate, and had a boisterous manner. My mother and her sisters gave him the nickname of the “black bull of Norr’away,” in allusion to the northern position of Balmuto.—“Personal Recollections of Mary Somerville,” Lond., 8vo., 1873, p. 55.

[5] In a MS. commonplace-book of Lord Hailes, preserved at New Hailes, near Edinburgh, occurs the following entry in his lordship’s handwriting:—“1754, Feb. 14. My friend Mr. Alex. Boswell, of Auchinleck, admitted a Lord of Session. He has told me that it was by the interest of the Duke of Newcastle. For once at least his Grace judged right.” The Duke of Newcastle was Prime Minister.

[6] This lady’s eldest sister was wife of the celebrated Dr. Alexander Webster, of Edinburgh (see postea).

[7] Dr. Stevens’ “History of the High School of Edinburgh,” pp. 100, 135.

[8] In Lord Hailes’ Commonplace-book, preserved at New Hailes, is the following entry:—“1755, April 1.—I began my office of Advocate Depute at Stirling—a ridiculous day of the year. At that time I was very ignorant of criminal law, but good intentions have, I hope, atoned for my defects.”

[9] Letter of Dr. Jortin, preserved at New Hailes.

[10] Letter to Mr. Temple, dated 1st May, 1761.

[11] “Letter to the People of Scotland,” Lond., 8vo., 1785.

[12] This person is entitled to more than a passing notice. Long before the modern publication of cheap literature by W. and R. Chambers and Charles Knight, Alexander Donaldson opened a shop in London for the sale of what were termed “spurious editions” of popular books. The London booksellers endeavoured to check his enterprise, but were defeated in the courts of law. Latterly he was unfortunate. His nephew, James Donaldson, also a printer at Edinburgh, founded and endowed the hospital in that city which bears his name. For that purpose he bequeathed the sum of £200,000.

[13] Boswell has appended this note. “Who has not heard of ‘Every man soap his own beard’—the reigning phrase for ‘Every man in his humor’? Upon this foundation B—— instituted a jovial society, called the Soaping Club.”

[14] An Edinburgh tavern.

[15] The name of this Soaper has not been discovered.

[16] Throughout his whole career Boswell entertained the idea that his mind was imperfectly balanced.

[17] Letters between the Honourable Andrew Erskine and James Boswell, Esq. London, 1763, 8vo.

[18] “Archibald Constable and his Correspondents.” Edinburgh, 1873, 8vo, vol. I., p. 32.

[19] Mrs. Davies was originally an actress, and was celebrated as a beauty.

[20] Boswell’s letter at New Hailes.

[21] Boswell’s “Life of Johnson.”

[22] Original letter at New Hailes.

[23] Original letter preserved at New Hailes.

[24] “Autobiography of the Rev. Dr. Alexander Carlyle.” Edinburgh, 1860, 8vo., p. 322.

[25] Of this society, styled the Lunan and Viney Water Farming Club, the Rev. James Roger, of Dunino, father of the writer, was on Mr. Dempster’s nomination elected perpetual secretary. The minute-book is in the writer’s possession.

[26] In 1765 Mr. Dempster obtained the patent office of Secretary to the Order of the Thistle, with a salary of £500 per annum.

[27] Cards.

[28] Letter of Boswell preserved at New Hailes.

[29] “Institutes of the Law of Scotland,” by John Erskine, of Carnock. A standard book of reference in the law courts of Scotland.

[30] This account of the quotation from Johnson’s poem of “London” is contained in a letter addressed by Boswell to Sir David Dalrymple. In the “Life of Johnson” Boswell states that the quotation was made by himself.

[31] “I could give you pages of strong sense and humour which I have heard from that great man, and which are treasured up in my journal. And here I must inform you that he desired me to keep just the journal that I do; and when I told him that it was already my practice, he said he was glad I was upon so good a plan.”—MS. letter from Boswell of 13th July, 1763, preserved at New Hailes.

[32] Dutch for “our envoy.”

[33] The meaning here is defective.

[34] “Memoirs and Papers of Sir Andrew Mitchell, K.B., Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary from the Court of Great Britain to the Court of Prussia, from 1756 to 1771,” edited by Andrew Bisset, Esq., vol. ii., p. 381.

[35] Boswell’s “Account of and Tour to Corsica,” London, 1769, 8vo., p. 288.

[36] Boswell’s “Corsica,” 3rd edition, p. 349.

[37] “Life of Johnson.”

[38] “Private Correspondence of David Hume.” Lond. 1820, 4to., p. 131.

[39] “Chatham Correspondence,” vol. ii., p. 388.

[40] Richard Owen Cambridge, author of “The Scribleraid” and other works. A gentleman of opulence, he entertained in his villa at Twickenham the literary celebrities of his time. He died in 1802, aged eighty-five.

[41] In his letters to Mr. Temple of 9th September, 1767, and 14th May, 1768, Boswell evinces a particular desire to possess Mr. Gray’s opinion of his work, and to obtain his personal acquaintance. It is hoped that he remained uninformed of the poet’s sentiments concerning him.

[42] “The Works of Thomas Gray. Edited by the Rev. John Mitford.” London: 1816, 2 vols., 4to, vol. ii., p. 498.

[43] Boswell’s servant.

[44] Sir Alexander Gilmour, Bart., of Craigmiller, M.P., Boswell’s supposed rival in the affections of Miss Blair, died unmarried in France, on the 27th December, 1792.

[45] Miss Dick was eldest of the three daughters of Sir Alexander Dick, Bart., of Prestonfield. Mr. Temple met her during his visit to Scotland on the Adamtown expedition.

[46] Letter to Mr. Temple, written from Auchinleck, 24th August, 1768.

[47] Letter from Boswell to Mr. Temple, dated Edinburgh, 9th December, 1768.

[48] “The Carron Company has furnished me them very cheap; there are two 32-pounders, four 24’s, four 18’s, and twenty 9-pounders, with one hundred and fifty ball to each. It is really a tolerable train of artillery.” (Letter from Boswell to Mr. Temple, dated 24th August, 1768.)

[49] See Correspondence between the Rev. N. Nicholls and the poet Gray, passim.

[50] Boswell’s “Tour to the Hebrides.”

[51] John, fifth Duke of Argyll, married Elizabeth, relict of James, sixth Duke of Hamilton, and daughter of John Gunning, Esq., of Castle Coote, co. Roscommon. The Duchess was a celebrated beauty.

[52] Life of Johnson.

[53] John, Lord Mountstuart, eldest son of John, third Earl of Bute, and afterwards first Marquess of Bute. He was born 30th June, 1744, and died 16th November, 1814.

[54] This lady was Margaret, daughter of Sir David Cunninghame, of Milnecraig, and his wife, Lady Mary Montgomery, daughter of Alexander, ninth Earl of Eglinton. She married, in 1767, the Hon. James Archibald Stuart, second son of John, third Earl of Bute. This gentleman was one of Boswell’s most attached friends.

[55] Afterwards Viscount Melville.

[56] A forcible rendering of what he meant by styling Dr. Johnson “Ursa major.”

[57] Letter dated 6th June, 1775.

[58] Boswell’s “Life of Johnson,” London, 1818, 10 vols., 12mo., vol. vi., p. 34.

[59] From the Register of Tailzies, preserved in the General Register House, Edinburgh, vol. xix., folio 233.

[60] The Rev. Thomas Barnard, D.D., Dean of Derry, was elected a member of the Literary Club in December, 1755. Son of William Barnard, D.D., successively Bishop of Raphoe and Derry, he was educated at Westminster School. Obtaining orders, he was appointed Dean of Derry in 1769. He was consecrated Bishop of Killaloe in 1780, and translated to the see of Limerick in 1794. He died at Wimbledon, Surrey, on the 7th June, 1806. He was a cherished friend of Dr. Goldsmith, and an associate of Johnson, Burke, and Sir Joshua Reynolds.

[61] “Life of Johnson.”

[62] The negro gained his plea.

[63] Correspondence of the Right Hon. Edmund Burke, edited by Charles Earl Fitzwilliam. Lond., 4 vols., 1844, vol. ii, p. 207.

[64] “Life of Johnson.”

[65] Mr. Croker relates the anecdote on the authority of the Marquess of Wellesley, who received it from Mr. Thomas Sydenham. That gentleman got the story from Mr. Knight, to whom it was communicated by Sir Joshua Reynolds.

[66] “Life of Johnson.”

[67] Throughout these papers Boswell adopts his peculiar system of orthography, presenting judgement for judgment, authour for author, empannael for empannel.

[68] The Honourable Mary Monckton was youngest daughter of John, first Viscount Galway. She married, on the 17th January, 1786, Edmund, seventh Earl of Cork; she died in 1840.

[69] “Life of Johnson.”

[70] This gentleman was, we believe, father of Mr. John Murdoch, the first and most efficient instructor of the poet Burns.

[71] A Mr. Twamley invented a kind of box-iron for smoothing linen.

[72] Lord Lowther was son-in-law of the Earl of Bute, and brother-in-law of Boswell’s friend, Colonel Stuart. Boswell’s relations with this influential nobleman will form a prominent feature in the subsequent narrative.

[73] Life of Edmund Malone, by James Boswell, jun., contributed to the Gentleman’s Magazine, and reprinted for private circulation.

[74] Mr. Malone published in 1778 his “Attempt to ascertain the order in which Shakespeare’s Plays were written.”

[75] A Poetical Review of the Literary and Moral Character of the late Samuel Johnson, LL.D., with Notes by John Courtenay, Esq. Lond.: C. Dilly, 1786.

[76] The celebrated Flora Macdonald.

[77] The pseudonym of Dr. John Wolcott, the eminent satirist.

[78] From the Hebrides Dr. Johnson wrote to Mrs. Thrale in these terms:—“We had a passage of about twelve miles to the point where Sir Alexander Macdonald resided, having come from his seat, in the middle of the island, to a small house on the shore, as we believe, that he might with less reproach entertain us meanly. If he aspired to meanness, his retrograde ambition was completely gratified; but he did not succeed equally in escaping reproach. He had no cook, nor I suppose much provision; nor had the lady the common decencies of her tea-table; we picked up our sugar with our fingers. Boswell was very angry, and reproached him with his improper parsimony.... I have done thinking of Sir Alexander Macdonald, whom we now call Sir Sawney; he has disgusted all mankind by injudicious parsimony, and given occasion to so many stories, that Boswell has some thoughts of collecting them, and making a novel of his life.” (Letters to Mrs. Thrale, vol. i., p. 137.)

[79] Lady Macdonald, nÉe Elizabeth Diana Bosville, was a member of the eldest branch of the Boswell family, and was one of those gentlewomen to whom early in life Boswell thought of offering his hand (see page 67). Daughter of Godfrey Bosville, Esq., of Gunthwaite, Yorkshire, she married Sir Alexander Macdonald in 1768.

[80] Sir Alexander Macdonald, Bart., was raised to the peerage, as Baron Macdonald of Slate, on the 17th July, 1776.

[81] See postea.

[82] In the Library of the British Museum is contained a copy of the pamphlet which belonged to Mr. Wilkes. In Boswell’s handwriting it is thus inscribed:—

“Comes jucundus in via pro vehiculo est.
“To John Wilkes, Esq., as pleasant a companion as ever lived.

From the Author.

“...Will my Wilkes retreat,
And see, once seen before, that ancient seat,” &c.

[83] This satirical allusion to Lord Monboddo is conceived in the very worst taste. His lordship had shown marked attention to Boswell in his youth, and had entertained him and Dr. Johnson at Monboddo, during the progress of their tour. Latterly his lordship and Dr. Johnson had differed, and probably on this account Boswell considered himself entitled to make this offensive allusion to his philosophical opinions.

[84] Boswell’s motion in Court, quare adhÆsit pavimento, is preserved as a jest in the courts of Westminster.

[85] Letter from Boswell to Mr. Temple.

[86] Letter to Mr. Temple of 22nd May.

[87] Letter to Mr. Temple.

[88] Henry Seymour Conway, a General in the army, was brother of the first Marquess of Hertford. He was under the Rockingham administration Secretary of State for Ireland, and leader of the House of Commons. He died in 1795.

[89] Pitt was brought into Parliament for the close borough of Appleby by Sir James Lowther, afterwards Lord Lonsdale.

[90] Letter to Mr. Temple.

[91] Mrs. Piozzi’s Anecdotes of Dr. Johnson. London: 1785.

[92] Boswell called on Sir John Hawkins, and complained of being slighted in his book. “I know what you mean,” said Sir John; “you would have had me to say that Johnson undertook this tour with the Boswell.” Miss Hawkins’ Johnsoniana.

[93] Malone’s Edition of Shakspere, in ten volumes, was published in 1790.

[94] Lord Chancellor Thurlow.

[95] Boswell’s Life of Johnson, edited by the Right Hon. John Wilson Croker and others, London, 1848, 12mo., vol. x., pp. 209-220.

[96] “Sermons, in two volumes, by John Dun, V.D.M. Kilmarnock, 1790,” 8vo.

[97] John Courtenay, Esq., was born in Ireland in 1741, and died in 1816. He composed the “Poetical Review of Dr. Johnson” and other works. He was, when Boswell knew him, Surveyor of the Ordnance and M.P. for Tamworth. He was a warm friend and pleasant companion.

[98] See “Life of William Wilberforce,” Lond., 1838. Vol. iii., pp. 63, 70.

[99] From the Commissariat Register of Glasgow, preserved in the General Register House, Edinburgh, vol. 74, p. 194.

[100] “Life of James Beattie, LL.D.,” by Sir William Forbes, of Pitsligo, Bart., Edinb. 1807, 3 vols., vol. iii., p. 378.

[101] Statement of Mr. William Macfarlane, of Edinburgh, to Robert Chambers. “Traditions of Edinburgh,” 1869, 12mo., p. 74.

[102] See the Poetical Works of Sir Alexander Boswell, Bart., with memoir, by Robert Howie Smith, Glasgow, 1871, 12mo.

[103] Decisions of the Court of Session, 20th March, 1851.

[104] The celebrated Nell Gwynne, who is believed to have transmitted a benefaction to the starving poet, which did not reach till after his decease.

[105] The only son of Thomas Alexander Boswell, of Crawley Grange, died in India in his 18th year.

[106] Births Register of Auchinleck.

[107] The Rev. Robert Bruce Boswell published in 1842 a volume of “Psalms and Hymns, chiefly selected,” dedicated to Daniel, Lord Bishop of Calcutta.

[108] John Maclaurin, eldest son of Colin Maclaurin, Professor of Mathematics in the University of Edinburgh, was admitted advocate in August, 1756. After a period of successful practice at the bar, he was raised to the bench by the title of Lord Dreghorn in January, 1789. He died at Edinburgh 24th December, 1796. Maclaurin was one of Boswell’s early associates; he contributed several poems to the first volume of Donaldson’s “Collection,” Edinburgh, 1760. Three dramas from his pen, entitled, “Hampden,” “The Public,” and “The Philosopher’s Opera,” are of very ordinary merit. His collected works were published in 1798 in two octavo volumes.

[109] John Nichols, printer, the celebrated author of the “Literary Anecdotes,” was born in 1744 and died in 1826. A person of ripe and varied scholarship, he enjoyed the esteem of Dr. Johnson.

[110] John Johnston, of Grange, was one of Boswell’s early and more confidential associates. Professionally a writer to the signet, he owned the small estate of Grange, Dumfriesshire, which brought him a rental of about £100 per annum. In a letter to the Hon. Andrew Erskine, dated 8th May, 1762, Boswell alludes to Johnston in these terms:—“I shall be at Dumfries soon, when I hope to see my friend Johnston. We will talk much of old Scotch history, and the memory of former years will warm our hearts. Johnston is a very worthy fellow. I may safely say so, for I have lived in intimacy with him more years than the Egyptian famine lasted.” In his reply Erskine desires to be kindly remembered to “honest Johnston.” He inquires whether “his trees are growing well at his paternal estate of Grange; if he is as fond of Melvil’s Memoirs [“Memoirs of Sir James Melvil, of Halhill,” London, 1752, 8vo.] as he used to be; and if he continues to stretch himself in the sun upon the mountains near Edinburgh.” Johnston fell into bad health. He predeceased Boswell, who became a creditor on his estate. At Boswell’s death the trustees on Johnston’s estate were indebted to his representatives in the sum of £195. (See supra, p. 188.)

[111] Sir William Augustus Cunynghame, fourth baronet of Milncraig, Ayrshire, was eldest son of Lieutenant-General Sir David Cunynghame and his wife, Lady Mary Montgomery, only daughter of Alexander, ninth Earl of Eglinton. For many years he represented the county of Linlithgow in the House of Commons; he also held several important offices in the public service. He died 17th January, 1828.

[112] The Hon. Henry Erskine, a celebrated humorist, was second son of Henry David, tenth Earl of Buchan, and brother of Lord Chancellor Erskine: he was born at Edinburgh, in November, 1746. He passed advocate in 1768, and soon attained professional eminence. He was appointed Lord Advocate on the accession of the Coalition Ministry in 1783, and three years afterwards was chosen Dean of Faculty. On the return of the liberal party to power he was reappointed Lord Advocate, and was at the same time elected M.P. for the Dumfries burghs. After a period of broken health, he died on the 8th October, 1817. Many of his sparkling witticisms and humorous sallies are included in popular collections of bonmots.

[113] Mrs. Dundas, of Melville, was daughter of David Rennie, Esq., of Melville Castle, and first wife of Henry Dundas, subsequently Viscount Melville. She died about 1790.

[114] On the 2nd June, 1790, Lord George Gordon, M.P., a younger son of Cosmo George, third Duke of Gordon, led 100,000 persons in procession to the House of Commons, to present a petition against a measure for relieving Roman Catholics from certain disabilities and penalties. The procession was followed by a riot, which continued several days, and was attended with the destruction of Catholic chapels and private dwellings. The prisons of London, too, were thrown open by the rabble, and the mansion of the chief justice thrown down. Lord George Gordon was tried for high treason, but acquitted. Afterwards convicted of libelling Queen Marie Antoinette of France, and presenting a petition reflecting on the laws and administration of criminal justice, he was committed to Newgate, where he died on the 1st November, 1793. Lord George Gordon evidently laboured under mental aberration, and ought to have been placed in a lunatic asylum.

[115] This anecdote is included by Boswell in his “Life of Johnson.”

[116] Alexander, tenth Earl of Eglinton, was a friend of the Auchinleck family, and one of Boswell’s early patrons. Born in 1726, he succeeded his father in his third year. A zealous promoter of agriculture, he was much beloved by his tenantry and neighbours. He was mortally wounded by a poacher, whom he sought forcibly to deprive of his firelock: he died on the 25th October, 1769.

[117] Dr. Hugh Blair, the celebrated preacher and rhetorician, was a central figure in the literary society of Edinburgh. He was collegiate minister of the High Church, and professor of rhetoric in the University. The first volume of his “Sermons” was published by Strahan, on the recommendation of Dr. Johnson. Dr. Blair was an early patron of Burns, and to his encouragement and active assistance Macpherson was much indebted in producing his first specimens of Ossianic poetry. Dr. Blair died at Edinburgh on the 27th December, 1800, aged eighty-two.

[118] James Macpherson, the editor of Ossian, established his residence in London in 1766, in his twenty-eighth year. In 1780 he was elected M.P. for Camelford. He died at Belleville, Inverness-shire, on the 17th February, 1796, aged fifty-eight. Boswell’s allusion to John Bull is explained by the attacks made on Macpherson by Dr. Johnson and other English writers, in reference to the authenticity of Ossian’s poems.

[119] Lady Frances Montgomerie was daughter of Alexander, ninth Earl of Eglinton, and sister of the tenth and eleventh earls. She died unmarried.

[120] Dr. John Ogilvie, was minister of Midmar, Aberdeenshire. He composed many volumes of poetry, and several of his lyrics have obtained celebrity. He died in 1814, at an advanced age.

[121] Captain Robert Temple was younger brother of Boswell’s intimate friend, the Rev. William Johnson Temple, rector of Mamhead. (See supra, pp. 36, 47.)

[122] John Hall-Stevenson was a relative of Laurence Sterne, and the “Eugenius” of his “Tristram Shandy.” His “Crazy Tales,” which appeared anonymously in 1762, are described by Sir Walter Scott as “witty and indecent.” Bishop Warburton describes Hall-Stevenson as “a monster of impiety and lewdness.” He died in 1785. He is noticed in Dr. Alexander Carlyle’s Autobiography.

[123] George Dempster, M.P. (See supra, pp. 32-34.)

[124] Dr. William Robertson, the historian, was son of a Scottish clergyman, and claimed descent from the Robertsons of Struan, an important family in the Highlands. Born in 1721, he was appointed minister of Gladsmuir in 1743; he was translated to one of the city churches of Edinburgh in 1758, and three years afterwards was appointed Principal of the University. He became historiographer royal for Scotland, and received other offices attended with honours and emoluments. His “History of Scotland during the Reigns of Mary and James VI.” appeared in 1759, and at once attracted attention. His other historical works sustained his reputation. He died on the 11th June, 1793, aged seventy-one. His sister, Mrs. Syme, was grandmother of Henry, Lord Brougham.

[125] Thomas Sheridan, father of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, whose acquaintance Boswell formed at Edinburgh early in life. Mr. Sheridan was a lecturer on elocution, and author of a pronouncing dictionary. He was latterly at variance with Dr. Johnson. He died in 1788.

[126] Sir Robert Walpole, latterly Earl of Orford. This eminent statesman was born in 1676, and died 18th March, 1745.

[127] Captain Webster, only son of the Rev. Dr. Alexander Webster, minister of the Tolbooth church, Edinburgh, was Boswell’s maternal cousin. Captain Webster attained the rank of colonel; he fell in the American war.

[128] Hugh Home, third Earl of Marchmont, was celebrated for his elegant learning and remarkable powers of debate. He enjoyed the esteem of Chatham and Walpole. Lord Cobham placed his bust in the temple of worthies at Stowe; and Pope, who enjoyed his intimacy, has thus celebrated him in the grotto at Twickenham,—

“There the bright flame was shot through Marchmont’s soul.”

Dr. Johnson entertained a prejudice against him, but was induced by Boswell to wait on him for his recollections of Pope. Johnson was received by the earl with much cordiality, and at the close of a long interview he remarked to Boswell that he “would rather have given twenty pounds than not have come.” Lord Marchmont died on the 10th January, 1794, aged eighty-six.

[129] Captain Andrew Erskine (see supra, pp. 19-24).

[130] Sir William Maxwell, fourth Baronet of Monreith, Wigtonshire. He died 22nd August, 1771.

[131] Mr. Crawfurd succeeded the Rev. John Home in 1770, as Conservator of Scots Privileges at Campvere.

[132] C. H. Trotz, the great German jurisconsult, whose lectures on civil law Boswell attended at Utrecht in 1763. Professor Trotz was born in 1701, and died in 1773.

[133] James, Lord Hope, subsequently third Earl of Hopetoun, was born in 1741; he entered the army in 1758, and was present at the battle of Minden the following year; he left the army in 1764 to accompany his elder brother on a Continental tour; he succeeded to the earldom in 1781, and was afterwards elected a representative peer. He died on the 29th May, 1816, aged seventy-five.

[134] Samuel Foote, the celebrated comedian, was born in 1720, at Truro, in Cornwall; he belonged to a respectable family, but he soon wasted his inheritance and his wife’s fortune by a course of dissipation. Compelled by necessity, he became a player, making his dÉbut in the Haymarket Theatre in 1747. From a grotesque imitation of leading persons he attained popularity, accompanied with a rancorous feeling on the part of those whom he subjected to ridicule. He was an entertaining companion, but possessed few amiable qualities. He died in October, 1777, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

[135] George Lyttleton was born in 1709. As a commoner he entered Parliament in his twenty-first year. He opposed Walpole, and in 1732 was appointed secretary to Frederick, Prince of Wales. On Walpole’s retirement he obtained a succession of offices, culminating in the Chancellorship of the Exchequer; in 1759 he was raised to the peerage. Henceforth he cultivated letters, producing various works in prose and verse. He was inclined to indolence, but was much esteemed for his high principle and moral worth. He died 22nd August, 1773.

[136] Boswell has inserted this anecdote in his Life of Dr. Johnson. Sir James Macdonald, Bart., the “Scottish Marcellus,” was eighth baronet of Sleat, and male representative of the Lords of the Isles. Born in 1741, he early distinguished himself at Eton by the variety of his accomplishments, and high hopes were entertained of his career. He was unhappily seized with a complication of disorders, of which he died on the 26th July, 1766, at the age of twenty-five.

[137] This anecdote is included by Boswell in his “Life of Johnson.”

[138] James Quin, the player, was extremely pugnacious; he fought two duels, in one of which he killed his antagonist. His latter years, on his partial retirement from the stage, were spent at Bath. He died on the 21st January, 1766, aged seventy-three.

[139] Boswell has published this anecdote in his “Life of Johnson.”

[140] Boswell was on terms of friendship with the Rev. Dr. James Fordyce, author of “Addresses to the Deity.” He died at Bath on the 1st October, 1796. His nephew, Dr. George Fordyce, an eminent physician in the metropolis, became in 1774 a member of the Literary Club. He published numerous professional works, and died 25th May, 1802.

[141] Miss Margaret Stewart, eldest daughter of Sir Michael Stewart, Bart., of Blackhall, married in 1764 Sir William Maxwell, Bart., of Springkell. She had a younger sister, Eleanora, who died unmarried.

[142] Voltaire visited England in 1724, when Dr. Samuel Clarke was in the zenith of his fame. His “Evidences of Natural and Revealed Religion” appeared in 1705, and was followed by other theological and philosophical works. Dr. Clarke was born at Norwich in 1675, and died in 1729. He displayed a playful humour among his ordinary associates, but was grave and circumspect in the presence of strangers, especially of forward or eccentric persons.

[143] With the Rev. William Brown, minister of the Scottish Church at Utrecht, Boswell became acquainted during his residence in that city. Mr. Brown had a personal history, not uneventful. Son of the Rev. Laurence Brown, minister of Lintrathen in Forfarshire, he rescued when a theological student several officers captured by the rebels at the battle of Prestonpans. The rescue took place at Glammis, the captors being followers of Lord Ogilvie, a zealous adherent of the Prince. Soon afterwards Mr. Brown was ordained minister of Cortachy, a parish inhabited by Lord Ogilvie’s tenantry. Reports to his disadvantage soon spread, and in 1748 he demitted his charge on account of “the odium of the disaffected, the prejudices of the people, and his life being attacked by a ruffian.” Through the influence of the Duke of Cumberland he was appointed chaplain to a British regiment stationed in Flanders, and was subsequently admitted pastor of the Scottish church at Utrecht. In 1757 he received a commission from the Crown as Professor of Church History at St. Andrews, but he did not obtain induction for several years; his appointment, on account of the rumours at Cortachy, being resisted both by the university and the presbytery. He was at length admitted by decree of the General Assembly. His lectures were composed in Latin, but his theological attainments were less conspicuous than his patriotism. He died on the 10th January, 1791, aged seventy-two. His son was the celebrated William Laurence Brown, Principal of Marischal College, Aberdeen.

[144] The Rev. Thomas Hunter, minister of New Cumnock, Ayrshire, from 1706 to 1757, died in 1760, in his hundredth year.—Dr. Scott’s “Fasti.”

[145] Sir David Dalrymple, Bart., a judge in the Court of Session by the title of Lord Hailes, was one of Boswell’s earliest patrons. Admitted advocate in 1748, he was raised to the bench in 1766. He employed a portion of his time in literary and historical researches. He died on the 29th November, 1792, aged sixty-six (see supra p. 10).

[146] Theodore Tronchin belonged to an eminent Protestant family at Geneva. On the mother’s side he was related to Lord Bolingbroke. Born on the 14th May, 1709, he studied medicine, and settled at Amsterdam in 1736. He attained eminence in his profession, chiefly as a promoter of inoculation. In 1757 he published “De Colica Pictorum.” He died 30th November, 1781.

[147] Boswell’s Journal was probably destroyed by his family. (See supra, p. 186.)

[148] Almack’s Hotel was thus originated: A sister of Dr. Cullen, the celebrated physician, was waiting-maid to the Duchess of Hamilton. She married the duke’s valet, whose name was Macall. They were both favourites of the duke and duchess, who resolved to establish them comfortably. As they inclined to open an hotel in London, the duke secured eligible premises. Macall was deemed a name unsuited for a London landlord, and on the duke’s suggestion it was changed to Almack.

[149] Helen Dempster, only sister of George Dempster, M.P., married General Burlington. On the death of her brother without issue, in 1818, she succeeded to the family estate of Dunnichen.

[150] An amiable man, but crushing satirist, Caleb Whitefoord was born at Edinburgh in 1734. He was intended for the Scottish Church, but preferring the concerns of business, settled in London as a wine merchant. He contributed satirical poems, in prose and verse, to the Public Advertiser, directing his shafts chiefly against Wilkes. He attracted the notice of Government, and on his recommendation Dr. Johnson was requested to prepare his pamphlet in defence of the recent negotiations respecting the Falkland Islands. He was secretary of the commissioners appointed to meet at Paris in 1782, to treat of a general peace with America on the separation of the colonies from the mother country. He latterly received a Civil List pension, and was honoured with the diplomas of the Royal and other societies. He is described by Goldsmith in his poem, “The Retaliation.” He died in 1809, aged seventy-five.

[151] The Rev. John Home, author of “Douglas,” was born at Ancrum, Roxburghshire, on the 22nd September, 1722. Having studied for the Church, he was in 1741 ordained minister of Athelstaneford. During the previous year he distinguished himself as member of a volunteer corps in support of Government; he was taken prisoner by the rebels at the battle of Falkirk, but contrived to escape from Doune Castle, where he was confined. In 1755 he produced his tragedy of “Douglas,” which soon became popular. On account of encouraging theatricals, he was assailed by his clerical brethren: he escaped deposition by resigning his charge. He obtained a Civil List pension of £300, with the sinecure office of conservator of Scots privileges at Campvere. He died 5th September, 1808, in his eighty-sixth year.

[152] A younger son of William, second Earl of Aberdeen.

[153] Secretary to the Prussian Embassy.

[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.

[216] Alexander Leslie, second son of David, third Earl of Leven, was admitted advocate in 1719. He succeeded his nephew as fifth Earl of Leven in 1729, and was appointed a judge in 1734. From 1741 to 1753 he held office as Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly. He died in 1754.

[217] The second wife of Alexander Leslie, fifth Earl of Leven, was Elizabeth, daughter of David Monypenny, of Pitmilly, Fifeshire.

[218] Bryce Blair, of Blair, died 4th February, 1639.

[219] The Rev. William Blair was son of John Blair, burgess of Irvine, and great-grandson of Blair of that ilk; his youngest brother was the celebrated Robert Blair, minister of St. Andrews. Born in 1586, he became a regent in the University of Glasgow, and in 1620 was ordained minister of Dumbarton. He died in December, 1632, bequeathing a house for a residence to his successors.

[220] Mr. Blair’s wife was Barbara Robertson, probably of the family of Orbiston.

[221] Bishop Warburton, author of “The Divine Legation of Moses,” published in 1739 a series of letters in defence of Pope’s “Essay on Man,” against Mons. de Crousaz, who had accused the poet of favouring the doctrines of Spinoza. These letters led to a close intimacy between the poet and his vindicator. Bishop Warburton died at Gloucester on the 7th June, 1779.

[222] Afterwards Sir Joseph Banks.

[223] Sir William Meredith, M.P., published a work entitled “Historical Remarks on the Taxation of Free States.” Lond., 1788, 8vo.

[224] See supra, p. 17.

[225] Sir George Colebrooke was chairman of the East India Company’s Court of Directors. He represented Arundel in three successive parliaments. He married Mary, only daughter and heiress of Patrick Gaynor, Esq., of Antigua. Sir George Colebrooke died 5th August, 1809.

[226] David Charles Solander, the eminent naturalist, was born in Sweden in 1736. He was a companion of Sir Joseph Banks in Captain Cook’s first voyage. In 1771 he received the degree of D.C.L. from the University of Oxford, and in 1773 became assistant librarian in the British Museum. He died in 1782.

[227] James Hamilton of Bangour, son of the poet, William Hamilton of Bangour.

[228] Thomas Alexander Erskine, sixth Earl of Kellie, was celebrated as a musician. Addicted to convivial pleasures, he made sacrifice of his genius, and expended in social humour talents which might have brought him eminence in the literary or political world. He died at Brussels, on the 9th October, 1781, aged forty-nine.

[229] Patrick Murray, fifth Lord Elibank, was an elegant and accomplished scholar. He studied law and passed advocate, but subsequently joined the army. In 1740 he accompanied Lord Cathcart in the expedition to Carthagena. Latterly he established his residence at Edinburgh. Dr. Johnson much enjoyed his society; in a letter addressed to his lordship he used these words:—“I have often declared that I never met you without going away a wiser man.” Lord Elibank employed much of his time in classical studies. He died 3rd August, 1778, aged seventy-six.

[230] Andrew Crosbie of Holm, an eminent advocate, the original of “Councillor Pleydell” in “Guy Mannering.” He met Dr. Johnson at Boswell’s residence in Edinburgh, and engaged with him in keen debate. In his “Journey” Boswell has described him as “his truly learned and philosophical friend.” Crosbie attained opulence in his profession, but having made an unfortunate investment fell into poverty. He died in 1785.

[231] See supra, p. 74.

[232] Orangefield, an estate in the parish of Monkton, Ayrshire, now belonging to A. Murdoch, Esq.

[233] Mr. Bennet Langton, of Langton, in Lincolnshire, was an attached friend of Dr. Johnson. Many sayings of Dr. Johnson, which he preserved, Boswell has included in his great work. Mr. Langton at first sought employment as an engineer; he was an eminent Greek scholar. Possessed of an agreeable demeanour, he excelled in conversation. He died on the 10th December, 1801, aged sixty-four.

[234] ‘History of the Life of James, Duke of Ormonde,’ by Thomas Carte. 3 vols., fol. 1735-6.

[235] Thomas, Marquess of Wharton, a vigorous supporter of William of Orange, was on account of his peculiar manners familiarly known as Tom Wharton. He remained in favour with William III., and held high offices of state under Queen Anne and George I. He composed the celebrated “Lillibullero,” and used to boast that he had sung a King out of three kingdoms. He died 12th April, 1713.

[236] Son of Archibald Campbell, of Succoth, and Helen Wallace, of Ellerslie, Ilay Campbell was admitted advocate in 1757. Obtaining distinction as a lawyer, he was appointed Lord Advocate in 1784, and was in 1799 promoted as Lord President of the Court of Session. This office he resigned in 1808, when he was created a baronet. He died on the 28th March, 1823, in his eighty-ninth year. The Most Reverend Archibald Campbell Tait, D.C.L., Archbishop of Canterbury, is his grandson.

[237] See supra, p. 255.

[238] Alexander Murray was admitted to the Scottish bar in 1758, and three years afterwards succeeded his father as sheriff of Peeblesshire. In 1775 he was appointed Solicitor-General, and was in 1780 chosen M.P. for Peeblesshire. He was promoted to the bench in 1783, with the title of Lord Henderland. He died 16th March, 1795.

[239] Charles Hay passed advocate in 1768, and with the title of Lord Newton was raised to the bench in 1806. By Lord Cockburn in his “Memorials” he is thus described:—“A man famous for law, paunch, whist, claret, and worth. His judicial title was Newton, but in private life he was chiefly known as ‘the Mighty.’ He was a bulky man with short legs, twitching eyes, and a large purple visage; no speaker, but an excellent writer and adviser; deep and accurate in his law, in which he had extensive employment. Honest, warm-hearted and considerate, he was always true to his principles and his friends. But these and other good qualities were all apt to be lost sight of in people’s admiration of his drinking. His daily and flowing cups raised him far above the evil days of sobriety on which he had fallen, and made him worthy of honours quaffed with the Scandinavian heroes. His delight was to sit smiling, quiet, and listening; saying little, but that little always sensible, for he used to hold that conversation—at least, when it was of the sort that merits admiration—spoiled good company.” Lord Newton died on the 19th October, 1811.

[240] John Maclaurin, son of the celebrated Professor Colin Maclaurin, was admitted advocate in 1756. He enjoyed a high reputation as a lawyer, and was extensively consulted by his professional brethren. In 1788 he was raised to the bench, with the judicial title of Lord Dreghorn. He died on the 24th December, 1796, in his sixty-second year. His works, chiefly on judicial subjects, were published in 1798 in two octavo volumes.

[241] David Erskine, son of the proprietor of Dun, was called to the Bar in 1698. As parliamentary representative of the county of Forfar he strongly opposed the Union. In 1710 he was appointed a Lord of Session, when he took the title of Lord Dun. He died on the 26th May, 1758, in his eighty-fifth year. Lord Dun was respected for his piety.

[242] Lord President Dundas.

[243] The Right Hon. Charles Townshend, styled by Lord Macaulay “the most brilliant and versatile of mankind,” was second son of the third Viscount Townshend. Entering the House of Commons in his twenty-second year, he became in Chatham’s last administration Chancellor of the Exchequer and leader of the House of Commons. He died suddenly 4th September, 1767, in his forty-fifth year. A considerable humorist, he marred his reputation by a tendency to sarcasm.

[244] Henry Home, Lord Kames, author of “The Elements of Criticism” and other works, was son of George Home of Kames, Berwickshire. He passed advocate in 1723, and was elevated to the bench in 1752. He died 27th December, 1782, aged eighty-seven.

[245] Second son of the Rev. Robert Wallace, D.D., George Wallace was born at Moffat in 1730. Admitted advocate in 1754, he attained considerable eminence in his profession. He published “A System of the Principles of the Law of Scotland,” vol. i., Edinb., 1760, folio; “Thoughts on the Origin of Feudal Powers, and the Descent of Ancient Peerages in Scotland,” Edinb., 1783, 4to.; “The Nature and Descent of Ancient Peerages, addressed to the Earl of Mansfield,” Edinb., 1785, 8vo.; “Prospects from Hills in Fife,” 3rd edit., Edinb., 1802, 8vo. The last work is composed in verse, the author remarking in the preface that the “Prospects” were mostly composed many years ago to afford their “author an occasional relief from the austerity and vexations of a profession very remote from poetry.” Mr. Wallace died on the 15th March, 1805, in his seventy-fifth year. His father, Dr. Robert Wallace, successively minister at Moffat and in the city of Edinburgh, was founder of the Philosophical Society, which afterwards merged into the Royal Society of Edinburgh. An expert mathematician, he assisted Dr. Alexander Webster in making calculations connected with the establishment of the Ministers Widows’ Fund. He died in 1771.

[246] Andrew Balfour was admitted advocate in 1763; he practised at the bar for nearly half a century.

[247] The negro’s name was Joseph Knight. (See supra, p. 115.)

[248] Major-General John Scott, of Balcomie, descended from Scot of Scotstarvet, author of “The Staggering State,” was one of the most noted Scotsmen of his period. About 1768 he was elected M.P. for Fifeshire. Lady Mary Hay, his first wife, was the eldest daughter of James, thirteenth Earl of Erroll. The general married, secondly, Margaret, youngest daughter of Robert Dundas of Arniston, Lord President of the Court of Session. General Scott died in December, 1775. A notorious gamester, he acquired numerous estates, and at the period of his death was regarded as the wealthiest commoner in Scotland. He is represented by the Duke of Portland.

[249] Afterwards Lord Henderland.

[250] Sir William Nairne, Bart., Lord Dunsinnan (see supra).

[251] General Sir Archibald Grant had served in the East Indies; he succeeded his father as third baronet of Monymusk. He died in 1796.

[252] William Nisbet of Dirleton died 1784. He was a patron of John Kay, the eminent Edinburgh caricaturist, who frequently resided at his house. His present representative is his great-granddaughter, Lady Mary Christopher Nisbet Hamilton.

[253] Sir Alexander Dick, Bart., younger son of Sir William Cuninghame of Caprington, Ayrshire, was born in October, 1703. For some years he practised as a physician in Pembrokeshire. Succeeding his brother in 1746 in the lands and baronetcy of Prestonfield, near Edinburgh, he assumed the name of Dick, and fixed his residence at the family seat. He was elected President of the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh, and attained other professional and scientific honours. Dr. Johnson held him in high esteem. Boswell, in his “Tour to the Hebrides,” commends Sir Alexander for his amiability and culture. He died on the 10th November, 1785, aged eighty-two.

[254] David Stuart Moncrieffe, of Moredun, second son of Sir David Moncrieffe, Bart. He was an advocate at the Scottish bar, and latterly one of the Barons of Exchequer.

[255] John Brown, china merchant in Old Shakespeare Square, and sometime one of the magistrates of Edinburgh, caused to be erected at his sole expense an elegant window of stained glass in the great hall of the Court of Session known as the Parliament House. He died 13th April, 1780.

[256] Hon. Archibald Erskine was younger brother of Thomas Alexander, the musical Earl of Kellie, and succeeded him in 1781 as seventh earl. For twenty-six years he served in the army, and became lieutenant-colonel of the 104th Foot. In 1790 he was chosen a Scottish representative peer. Through his unwearied efforts the restraints imposed on Scottish Episcopalians in 1746 and 1748 were abrogated. He died at Kellie, Fifeshire, 8th May, 1797, aged sixty-two.

[257] John Thomson, of Charleton, Fifeshire.

[258] Lady Anne Erskine was eldest daughter of Alexander, third Earl of Kellie, and wife of her cousin, Sir Alexander Erskine, second baronet of Cambo, Lord Lyon King at Arms.

[259] James Beattie, LL.D., Professor of Moral Philosophy, Marischal College, Aberdeen. His essay on “The Nature and Immutability of Truth,” alluded to by Boswell, was published in 1770. Dr. Beattie died on the 6th October, 1802.

[260] Sir Adam Fergusson, Bart., of Kilkerran, LL.D., was eldest son of Sir James Fergusson, Bart., a judge of the Court of Session by the title of Lord Kilkerran. Elected M.P. for Ayrshire in 1774, Sir Adam continued to represent that county for eighteen years. He afterwards sat for the county of Edinburgh. By the House of Lords he was found to be heir-general to Alexander, tenth Earl of Glencairn. He died 23rd September, 1813. That he was “great-grandson of a messenger” is not historically borne out. His paternal great-grandfather was Simon Fergusson of Auchinwin, youngest son of Sir John Fergusson of Kilkerran, Knight.

[261] The seat of John, fourth Earl of Loudoun.

[262] Major Andrew Dunlop was second son of John Dunlop, of Dunlop, Ayrshire. He served in the American war, and afterwards commanded the Ayrshire Fencibles. He died in 1804. His mother was Frances Anne, daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas Wallace of Craigie. She was a friend and correspondent of the poet Burns.

[263] David Kennedy was admitted advocate in 1752. He was elected M.P. for Ayrshire in 1768. In 1775 he succeeded his elder brother as tenth Earl of Cassilis, and died 18th December, 1792.

[264] David Rae was called to the bar in 1751, and soon obtained reputation as a lawyer. He was appointed a judge in succession to Lord Auchinleck in November, 1782, and was promoted as Lord Justice Clerk in 1799. He was created a baronet in 1804. He died the same year, aged eighty.

[265] John Swinton, son of John Swinton of Swinton, was admitted advocate in 1743. After several professional preferments he was raised to the bench as Lord Swinton in 1782. He published an abridgment of statutes relating to Scotland, and other works. He died 5th January, 1799.

[266] John Hamilton, of Sundrum, was for thirty-six years Convener of the county of Ayr. He died in 1821 at a very advanced age.

[267] James Burnett, of Monboddo, was admitted advocate in 1737. After a brilliant and successful career at the bar, he was raised to the bench in 1767 as Lord Monboddo. He visited London every year, accomplishing the journey on horseback. Introduced at court, he was especially honoured by George III., who much relished his conversation. An accomplished scholar, he cherished some strange ideas regarding the origin of mankind. Of his several works the most notable is his “Origin and Progress of Language.” He died on the 26th May, 1799, aged eighty-five.

[268] General Robert Melville was son of the minister of Monimail, Fifeshire. Entering the army in his twenty-first year, he served in the invasion of Guadaloupe and other important concerns. After the general peace he travelled over Europe, and endeavoured to ascertain the passage of Hannibal over the Alps. He traced the sites of different Roman camps in Britain. His historical and antiquarian learning were acknowledged by several learned societies, and the University of Edinburgh granted him the degree in laws. General Melville died in 1809, aged eighty-six.

[269] Eglinton, youngest daughter of Sir William Maxwell, Bart., of Monreith, married, 4th September, 1773, Sir Thomas Wallace, sixth Baronet of Craigie. Like her elder sister, Jane Duchess of Gordon, she was celebrated for her beauty and wit.

[270] Son of Sir James Fergusson, Bart., of Kilkerran, George Fergusson was admitted advocate in 1765. Appointed a judge in 1799 he adopted the title of Lord Hermand. He retired in 1826, and died the following year.

[271] Richard Burke, collector of Grenada, was brother of the celebrated Edmund Burke, who used every opportunity of bringing him forward. He possessed some share of his brother’s powers, which, however, he only displayed in the social circle.

[272] Andrew Stuart, M.P. (see supra), published in 1778 “Letters to the Directors of the East India Company respecting the conduct of Brigadier-General James Stuart at Madras,” 4to.

[273] Sir George Pigot, Bart., Governor of Fort St. George, Madras, was created a peer of Ireland 18th January, 1766, as Baron Pigot, of Patshul, county Dublin. At his death in illegal confinement in India, 17th August, 1777, the barony expired.

[274] William Seward, F.R.S., was born at London in 1747, his father being a wealthy brewer, partner in the house of Calvert and Seward. Educated at the Charterhouse and at Oxford, he early devoted attention to literary concerns. He published “Biographiana” and “Literary Miscellanies,” and edited “Anecdotes of some Distinguished Persons,” in four volumes, octavo. He was much esteemed for his amiable manners. He died 24th April, 1789.

[275] Sir Hugh Palliser was born at Kirk Deighton, Yorkshire, 26th February, 1722. Joining the navy, he became lieutenant in 1742. He was posted captain in 1746, after taking four French privateers. In 1759 he led the seamen who aided in the capture of Quebec. In 1773 he was created a baronet and elected M.P. for Scarborough. He became a Lord of the Admiralty, and Vice-Admiral of the Blue. In an action off Ushant on the 27th July, 1778, a misunderstanding arose between Admiral Palliser and Admiral Keppel, which was attended with a court-martial, and brought on Palliser unmerited odium. He became Governor of Greenwich Hospital, and died 19th March, 1796.

[276] Topham Beauclerk, only son of Lord Sidney Beauclerk, third son of the first Duke of St. Alban’s, was born in 1739. When a student at Trinity College, Oxford, he became acquainted with Dr. Johnson, who, though many years his senior, was partial to his society. Johnson permitted sallies from Beauclerk which others might not attempt. Beauclerk died in 1781.

[277] Robert Brompton, an artist of considerable celebrity, accompanied Lord Northampton, the English ambassador, to Venice, where he executed portraits of the Duke of York and other notable persons. He returned to London in 1767, but not meeting with sufficient encouragement he proceeded to St. Petersburg, where he died in 1790.

[278] Henry, tenth Earl of Pembroke, was lieutenant-general in the army and colonel of the first regiment of dragoons. He was born in 1734, and died 26th January, 1794.

[279] The representative of an ancient Scottish house, which produced a distinguished archbishop and a Lord President of the Court of Session, John Spottiswoode, younger of Spottiswoode, practised in London as a solicitor. His literary tastes brought him into contact with men of letters. The conversation alluded to in the text took place at Paoli’s, when Dr. Johnson, Sir Joshua Reynolds, and others were present. In his “Life of Dr. Johnson,” Boswell, who reported the conversation in reference to wine drinking, omits with unusual reticence his remark respecting his own habits. Spottiswoode was son-in-law of William Strahan, the printer. He died 3rd February, 1805.

[280] This anecdote is related in the Life of Johnson, the quotation from Horace being correctly given, thus:—

“Numerisque fertur

Lege solutis.”

[281] John Dunning was born at Ashburton, Devonshire, on the 18th October, 1731. Called to the bar, he attained a first rank in his profession. In 1767 he was appointed Solicitor-General. In 1768 he was elected M.P. for Calne. He was in 1782 created Baron Ashburton, and appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. He was an occasional associate of Dr. Johnson, who styled him “the great lawyer.” Informed by Boswell that Mr. Dunning experienced pleasure in listening to him, Dr. Johnson expressed appreciation, adding, “Here is a man willing to listen, to whom the world is listening all the rest of the year.” Lord Ashburton died 18th August, 1783.

[282] George Colman the elder was born in 1733. While studying at Christ Church, Oxford, he was called to the bar, but he soon renounced practice as a barrister and sought fame as a dramatic author. He became joint manager of Covent Garden Theatre, and was ultimately proprietor of the Haymarket. For many years he enjoyed an annuity from Lord Bath, who married his mother’s sister. After a period of mental aberration, Colman died in 1794, aged sixty-one.

[283] The Hon. Henry Erskine, second son of Henry David, fourth Earl of Buchan, was a celebrated humorist. Born in 1746, he was admitted advocate in 1768, and soon attained the foremost place in his profession. He was Lord Advocate in 1783, and again in 1806. He latterly retired from public business, residing on his estate of Amondell, Linlithgowshire, where he died 8th October, 1817. His younger brother was Lord Chancellor Erskine.

[284] Patrick Murray, an Edinburgh advocate, published, with others “Decisions of the Court of Session,” from November, 1760, to November, 1764. Edinb., 1772, folio.

[285] The outer house of the court of session, where the lords ordinary formerly sat, is a spacious hall, the ancient meeting-place of the Scottish Parliament. It is now solely used as a promenade-room by advocates and others attending on the business of the court.

[286] Household servants in Scotland formerly assembled in the hall when guests were departing, doing obeisance to each, in acknowledgment of which they expected gratuities. These were termed vails.

[287] Lady Diana Spencer, daughter of Charles Duke of Marlborough, was born in 1734, and in 1757 married Lord Bolingbroke. She was divorced in 1768, and thereafter became the wife of Mr. Topham Beauclerk.

[288] Algernon Seymour, who succeeded his mother in 1722 as Baron Percy, and in 1748 inherited the Dukedom of Somerset. His only child, Lady Elizabeth Seymour, became Duchess of Northumberland.

[289] Thomas Parnell, D.D., author of “The Hermit” and other poems, was an Irish clergyman, and a friend of Swift, who bestowed on him a share of his patronage. Early inclined to the excessive use of wine, he latterly became an habitual drunkard. He died in July, 1718, in his thirty-ninth year.

[290] Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford, Lord High Treasurer, was a steady promoter of men of letters. His career forms an important part of the political history of England. He died 21st May, 1724. The Harleian Collection of books and MSS. in the British Museum is a monument of his learning and industry.

[291] The great Dr. Benjamin Franklin, born 1706, died 1790.

[292] Jean Baptiste Antoine Suard published “VariÉtÉs LittÉraires” and “MÉlanges de LittÉrature.” He was born 16th January, 1750, and died 20th July, 1817.

[293] Thomas, second Lord Foley, died 8th January, 1766.

[294] See supra, p. 97.

[295] Sir Matthew White-Ridley, Bart., M.P. for Newcastle-on-Tyne, married, 12th July, 1777, Sarah, daughter and heiress of Benjamin Colborne, Esq., of Bath. Lady White-Ridley died 3rd August, 1806.

[296] NÉe Miss Hadfield, born at Leghorn, of English parents. She married Richard Cosway, R.A., and shared her husband’s reputation as an artist. Her musical soirÉes, at which she was prima donna, were much resorted to by persons of rank and fashion.

[297] Wilkes was in 1703 imprisoned in the Tower on the charge of sedition. In 1774 he was elected Lord Mayor of London.

[298] Probably James Hutton, M.D., author of “The Plutonic Theory of the Earth.” He was born in 1726, and may have been styled Old Hutton to distinguish him from Charles Hutton, the eminent mathematician, who was born in 1737.

[299] Charles Burney, Mus.D., author of “The General History of Music,” and other works. He was an intimate friend of Dr. Johnson, who confessedly prepared his “Tour to the Hebrides” after the model of Dr. Burney’s “Continental Travels.” Dr. Burney was born at Shrewsbury, on the 7th April, 1726, and died at Chelsea, 12th April, 1814.

[300] John, seventh Earl of Galloway, K.P., one of the lords of the bedchamber to George III. In 1796 he was created a peer of Great Britain by the title of Baron Stewart of Garlies. He died 13th November, 1806.

[301] John, Lord Daer, third son of Dunbar Hamilton Douglas, fourth Earl of Selkirk.

[302] The celebrated Edward Gibbon was born in 1737, and died in 1794. In conversation he was genial and elegant, but he occasionally indulged in flashes of irony.

[303] William, second Earl of Shelburne, subsequently Marquess of Lansdown, a distinguished statesman. In 1782 he succeeded the Marquess of Rockingham as Prime Minister. At one period he much frequented the society of Dr. Johnson. The Marquess died in May, 1805.

[304] Richard Price, D.D., a Dissenting minister in London, and eminent philosophical writer, was born in 1723, and died in March, 1791. Dr. Price was a friend and correspondent of Lord Shelburne. An advocate of civil and religious liberty, he supported the cause of American independence, and welcomed the early triumphs of the French Revolution.

[305] Dr. Brocklesby, an accomplished physician, and the generous friend of Edmund Burke and Dr. Johnson. He published various periodical papers on professional subjects. Dr. Brocklesby was born in 1702, and died 1797.

[306] William Schaw, tenth Baron and first Earl Cathcart, born 1755, died 16th June, 1843.

[307] Colonel George Hanger, an eccentric writer and clever humorist, served in the American war. He subsequently resided in London, where his society was cherished by the Prince of Wales, afterwards George IV. Several works from his pen are full of whimsicality. He succeeded his brother in 1814 as fourth Lord Coleraine, but refused to accept the title. He died in 1824, aged seventy-four.

[308] Mrs. Heron, of Heron, Wigtonshire.

[309] Rev. Ebenezer Stott, minister of Monigaff, Wigtonshire. He was ordained in 1748, and died 17th September, 1788.

[310] Houstoun Stewart, second son of Sir Michael Stewart, Bart., of Blackhall, succeeded to the entailed estate of Carnock, Stirlingshire, when he assumed the name of Nicolson.

[311] Harry Barclay, of Collairnie, Fifeshire.

[312] In 1741, Henry Home, Lord Kames, married Miss Agatha Drummond, only daughter of the proprietor of Blair-Drummond, Perthshire, who, on the death of her brother in 1766, succeeded to the paternal estate. Her proper designation was Mrs. Hume Drummond, of Blair-Drummond.

[313] Anne, only surviving daughter of Sir William Bruce, Bart., of Kinross, and heiress of his estates. She married, first, Sir Thomas Hope, Bart., of Craighall; and secondly, Sir John Carstairs, of Kilconquhar, and had issue by both marriages.

[314] Patrick Heron, Esq., M.P.

[315] John, tenth Viscount Kenmure. Died 21st September, 1824. He was Vice-Lieutenant of Kirkcudbrightshire.

[316] John, seventh Earl of Galloway, had as his first wife Charlotte Mary, daughter of Francis, first Earl of Warwick. He bore by courtesy the title of Lord Garlies before succeeding his father as Earl in 1773.

[317] Edward, Viscount Coke, eldest son of the Earl of Leicester. He married Lady Mary Campbell, daughter and co-heiress of John, Duke of Argyll and Greenwich, and died s. p. in 1753.

[318] Pope has thus described the character of this noted libertine:—“Francis Chartres, a man infamous for all manner of vices. When he was an ensign in the army, he was drummed out of the regiment for a cheat; he was next banished to Brussels, and drummed out of Ghent on the same account. After a hundred tricks at the gaming-tables, he took to lending money at exorbitant interest and on great penalties, accumulating premium, interest, and capital into a new capital, and seizing to a minute when the payments became due. In a word, by a constant attention to the vices, wants, and follies of mankind, he acquired an immense fortune. He was twice condemned for rapes and pardoned, but the last time not without imprisonment in Newgate, and large confiscations. He died in Scotland in 1731 (February, 1732). The populace at his funeral raised a great riot, almost tore the body out of the coffin, and cast dead dogs into the grave along with it.” Arbuthnot’s epitaph on Colonel Chartres is celebrated for its epigrammatic force.

[319] John, Duke of Argyll and Greenwich, celebrated as a statesman and military commander, is immortalized in these lines of Pope,—

“Argyll, the state’s whole thunder born to wield,
And shake alike the senate and the field.”

The Duke was born in 1678, and died in 1743.

[320] Lady Catherine Murray was elder daughter of William, third Earl of Dunmore.

[321] George Baillie of Jerviswoode and Mellerstain. His great-grandson, George Baillie Hamilton, became tenth Earl of Haddington.

[322] There are several versions of this song. The oldest has this opening stanza:—

“How blithe, ilk morn, was I to see

My swain come o’er the hill!

He skipt the burn and flew to me;

I met him with good-will.

Oh the brume, the bonnie, bonnie brume!

The brume o’ the Cowdenknowes!

I wish I were with my dear swain,

With his pipe and my yowes.”

[323] John McKie, of Bargaly, in the stewardry of Kirkcudbright. His grandson, who bore the same Christian name, was many years M.P. for the stewardry.

[324] Probably Sir Robert Dalzell, first Earl of Carnwath.

[325] John, eighth Viscount Kenmure.

[326] Mrs. Dunbar, of Mackermore, whose estate in the parish of Monnigaff, Kirkcudbrightshire, bordered that of Mr. Heron of Heron.

[327] Lord Mark Ker was fourth son of the first Marquess of Lothian, a distinguished military officer; he was wounded at the battle of Almanza, 25th April, 1707; he acted as brigadier-general at the capture of Vigo. In January, 1745, he was appointed Governor of Edinburgh Castle. He died 2nd February, 1752.

[328] Hugh Montgomerie, a prosperous merchant in Glasgow, and Lord Provost of the city, succeeded his uncle as fourth baronet of Skermorly. He became M.P. for Glasgow, and was a commissioner for the Treaty of Union. He died in 1735.

[329] James Corbet, merchant in Glasgow, rejoiced in tracing his descent from Roger Corbet (Roger the Raven), who came from Normandy with William the Conqueror. Till lately the family of Corbet possessed lands in Clydesdale.

[330] David Campbell, first of Shawfield, second son of Walter Campbell, Captain of Skipness, made a fortune abroad, and was elected M.P. for Glasgow; he was a commissioner in the Treaty of Union.

[331] Colonel John Irving, pronounced Irwin, of the family of Irving, of Logan, served in the Madras army, and became lieutenant-colonel of the Dumfriesshire militia.

[332] Catherine, second wife of Alexander, sixth Earl of Galloway was youngest daughter of John, fourth Earl of Dundonald.

[333] This gentlewoman was second wife of John, Lord Garlies, subsequently seventh Earl of Galloway. She was daughter of Sir James Dashwood, Bart., and was married to Lord Garlies in 1764. Her ladyship died in 1830.

[334] Son of Sir Adam Whitefoord, Bart., of Blairquhan, Ayrshire. The baronetcy is extinct.

[335] Sir William Maxwell, third baronet of Springkell; born 31st December, 1739; died 4th March, 1804.

[336] The earldom of Fife was renewed in the person of William Duff of Braco, who in 1727 was elected M.P. for the county of Banff. In 1735 he was created Baron Braco of Kilbryde, and was raised to the Earldom of Fife in 1759. He died 30th September, 1763.

[337] The reference is probably to Miss Jane Maxwell, second daughter of Sir William Maxwell, Bart., of Monreith, who married, in 1767, Alexander, fourth Duke of Gordon. The Duchess was celebrated for her beauty and wit.

[338] David, sixth Lord Stormont, died 1748.

[339] Apparently the dowager of Alexander, fourth Baron Elibank, daughter of George Stirling, surgeon, Edinburgh.

[340] Sir William Baird, Bart., of Newbyth, succeeded his cousin Sir John Baird in 1746.

[341] Robert Riddell, head of an old Dumfriesshire family, was predecessor of Robert Riddell of Glenriddell, the antiquary and an active patron of Robert Burns.

[342] James, sixth Duke of Hamilton. He married Elizabeth, one of the three beautiful Misses Gunning, who on his death espoused John, fifth Duke of Argyle. The Duke of Hamilton died on the 18th January, 1758, in his thirty-fourth year.

[343] Representative of Sir Alexander Fraser of Durris, who was created a baronet in 1673. The baronetcy is extinct.

[344] John, third Earl of Hyndford, was in 1741 appointed envoy extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the King of Prussia. He died 19th July, 1767, aged sixty-seven.

[345] John, fourth Earl of Dunmore. His eldest son, George, Viscount Fincastle, was born on the 30th April, 1762. The Earl died in March, 1809.

[346] Thomas, ninth Earl of Cassilis. Died 30th November 1775.

[347] Probably a brother of John Alexander, the celebrated painter. John Alexander studied his art chiefly in Florence; he returned to Scotland in 1720, and thereafter chiefly resided in Gordon Castle, under the patronage of the Duchess of Gordon.

[348] Henry, second Duke of Newcastle. His Grace died in 1794.

[349] George Selwyn, M.P., the celebrated humorist, was born in 1719, and died 25th January, 1791. (“Sir George Selwyn and his Contemporaries,” by J. H. Pope, 1843.)

[350] Walter Macfarlane, of that ilk, descended from the old Earls of Lennox, was an accomplished antiquary and ingenious genealogist. He died at Edinburgh, on the 5th June, 1767. His valuable MSS. were acquired by the Faculty of Advocates.

[351] Lady Elizabeth Macfarlane, wife of Walter Macfarlane, of that ilk, was eldest daughter of Alexander, fifth Earl of Kellie. She married, secondly, Alexander, eighth Lord Colville, of Culross, and died in 1794.

[352] Edward Shuter, comedian, died 1st November, 1776.

[353] The Duke de Nivernais, an eminent French statesman and poet, was born 16th December, 1716, and died 25th February, 1798.

[354] General Sir George Howard served under the Duke of Cumberland in suppressing the Scottish Rebellion of 1745. In a note to his “Life of Johnson,” Boswell styles him “My very honourable friend.”

[355] Mrs. Boscawen was daughter of William Evelyn Glanville, Esq., and wife of Admiral Edward Boscawen, a distinguished commander, and sometime a Lord of the Admiralty. In 1761 she became a widow. Her only son succeeded as third Viscount Falmouth; and of her two daughters, Frances, the elder, married Admiral John Leveson Gower, brother of the first Marquess of Stafford; Elizabeth, the younger daughter, married Henry, fifth Duke of Beaufort. In her poem entitled “Sensibility,” Miss Hannah More remarks of Mrs. Boscawen that she—

“Views enamoured in her beauteous race

All Leveson’s sweetness and all Beaufort’s grace.”

In the “Life of Johnson,” Boswell, in allusion to having met the Hon. Mrs. Boscawen at dinner at Allan Ramsay’s (29th April, 1778), writes: “Of whom, if it be not presumptuous in me to praise her, I would say that her manners are the most agreeable, and her conversation the best, of any lady with whom I ever had the happiness to be acquainted.”

[356] See postea.

[357] Sir Philip Ainslie, of Pilton, Edinburghshire.

[358] Sir John Pringle, Bart., a distinguished physician. He was in 1772 elected President of the Royal Society, and six discourses delivered by him to that body were published after his decease, under the care of Dr. Kippis. These discourses form the theme of Boswell’s criticisms. John Pringle died on the 18th January, 1782, aged seventy-five.

[359] The Hon. Patrick Boyle, second son of John, second Earl of Glasgow.

[360] Sir John Wemyss, Bart., of Bogie, Fifeshire.

[361] This improvident gentleman, who had sought refuge from his creditors in the sanctuary of Holyrood Abbey, was related to the family of Lord Colville, of Culross. From a dinner card pasted into the commonplace-book, the wife of Dr. Alexander Webster, of Edinburgh, formerly minister of Culross, thus entreats Boswell’s support to this unfortunate bankrupt:—

“Mrs. Webster begs Mrs. Boswell would set about the collection for poor Mr. Colville, who is truly starving and has not a house to cover his head. Mr. Ely Campbell has too much humanity not to give something handsome.”

[362] Sir Thomas Rumbold was created a baronet 23rd March, 1779, being then Governor of Madras and M.P. for Shoreham. He had distinguished himself at the siege of Trichinopoly and the retaking of Calcutta. He was wounded at the battle of Plassey, when acting as aide-de-camp to Lord Clive. He died 11th November, 1791.

[363] John Paradise, D.C.L., P.R.S., was son of the English consul at Salonica, by his wife, a native of Macedonia. He studied at Padua, and afterwards at Oxford. Having settled in London, he became a cherished associate of Dr. Johnson. He was distinguished for his learning and social virtues. He died 12th December, 1795.

[364] This gentlewoman, nÉe Anne Cochrane, was wife of Sir George Preston, Bart., of Valleyfield. She was daughter of William, Lord Cochrane of Ochiltree.

[365] A naval captain, of the House of Brisbane, of Brisbane in Ayrshire.

[366] Katherine, Lady Maxwell of Monreith, wife of the fourth baronet. She was daughter and heir of David Blair of Adamton, Ayrshire.

[367] Charles Cochrane, Esq., of Culross, a member of the Dundonald family.

[368] Sir Robert Monro, Bart., of Fowlis (not Sir Harry Munro), is commemorated in the churchyard of Falkirk by a massive and elegantly sculptured tombstone. He fell in the engagement at Falkirk on the 17th January, 1746.

[369] The Rev. James Rolland was ordained minister of the first charge of Culross in 1758; he died 10th December, 1815, in his eighty-eighth year, and the sixty-second of his ministry. He was reputed for his amiable manners and sterling piety. (Scott’s Fasti.)

[370] William, second Earl of Dumfries, had only one son, Lord Crichton, who reached maturity. He predeceased his father, leaving a son and daughter. The earl died in 1691.

[371] Dr. Robert James, best known in connection with the fever powder that bears his name, was born in 1703, at Kinverston, Staffordshire. After practising as a physician at Sheffield, Lichfield, and Birmingham, he removed to London, where he published his “Medicinal Dictionary.” In the preparation of this work he was assisted by Dr. Johnson, who had been his schoolfellow, and who regarded him as a skilful practitioner. Dr. James produced several other medical works. He died at London on the 23rd March, 1776.

[372] Mr. Gilbert Walmsley, an early friend and patron of Dr. Johnson. He was an elegant scholar, and contributed many translations in Latin verse to the Gentleman’s Magazine. He died on the 3rd August, 1751. A monument to his memory has been reared in Lichfield Cathedral.

[373] Thomas Sheridan, father of his more celebrated son, Richard Brinsley Sheridan (see supra).

[374] NÉe Lady Charlotte Compton, daughter of James, Earl of Northampton, and wife of Field-marshal George, fourth Viscount Townshend.

[375] James Short, the eminent optician, was a native of Edinburgh, and studied at the university of that city. In 1736 he became mathematical tutor to the Duke of Cumberland. In 1739 he made a survey of the Orkney islands. He subsequently settled in London as an optician, and obtained a high reputation for his skill in constructing telescopes. He died on the 15th June, 1768, aged 58. He had experienced the patronage of James, thirteenth Earl of Morton, and he evinced his gratitude by bequeathing a thousand pounds to Lady Mary Douglas (afterwards Countess of Aboyne), the daughter of his benefactor.

[376] Boswell refers to the Dowager Lady Colville, relict of Alexander, the eighth Baron. She was daughter of Alexander, sixth Earl of Kellie, and sister of the Hon. Captain Andrew Erskine.

[377] Thomas Alexander, sixth Earl of Kellie, an eminent musician and noted humorist. Died 9th October, 1781.

[378] David Dalrymple, son of Henry Dalrymple of Drummore, passed advocate in 1743, and was raised to the bench as Lord Westhall, 10th July, 1777. He died 26th April, 1784, in his 65th year.

[379] The parish of Carsphairn, in the Presbytery of Kirkcudbright, became vacant in May 1780, by the death of the Rev. John Campbell. The presentee, Mr. Affleck, was probably a son of John Affleck, of Whitepark, in the same county. His settlement was successfully resisted.

[380] The Rev. James Brown merits more than a passing notice. Youngest son of the Rev. John Brown, minister of Abercorn, he was born in that parish in 1721. Licensed by the Presbytery of Perth in 1745, he was in 1747 ordained minister of Melrose. In 1767 was translated to Edinburgh. At Melrose he gave an impulse to the linen manufactures of the place; he afterwards became a zealous promoter of the national charities. On his recommendation, Scripture Paraphrases were added to the Psalmody of the Church. He died on May, 1786.

[381] Lieut.-General Alexander Leslie was second son of Alexander, fifth Earl of Leven. In active service during the American war, he distinguished himself at the battle of Guildford, on the 15th March, 1781. His only child, Mary-Ann Leslie, married 15th June, 1787, John Rutherford, Esq., of Edgerstown.

[382] Sir James Johnstone, Bart., of Westerhall, was a lieutenant-colonel in the army and member of Parliament. In 1792 he laid claim to the marquisate of Annandale. He died unmarried in 1794.

[383] Mr. Robert Keith was ambassador at Vienna in 1749, and in 1758 was transferred to St. Petersburg. He died at Edinburgh in 1774.

[384] Miss Jenny Keith. The younger sister, Anne, latterly called Mrs. Murray Keith, was an intimate friend of Sir Walter Scott; she is the prototype of Mrs. Bethune Baliol, in the introduction to the “Chronicles of the Canongate.” She died in 1818, aged 82.

[385] Thomas Barnard, D.D.

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE:

—Obvious errors were corrected.

—The transcriber of this project created the book cover image using the front cover of the original book. The image is placed in the public domain.