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.