This is a set I was convinced into by Alex so he could get me them as a birthday present. My maiden name is Caldwell and we thought it might make for an interesting peek into the history of the family of Caldwell, surnamed Mure. I’ve already uploaded the write-up from the ‘London Quarterly Review‘ of the ‘Caldwell Papers.’
We repatriated them back from the United States. I was surprised to find they were set no. 75 of a mere 86. I’m not sure where volume 2, part 1, is though, and feel it might be a difficult search.
This post has quite the amount of information, considering its a. a Scans post and b. I’d made the decision not to copy out the letters associated with the Plates. It was the unlooked-for footnotes that got me. While the letters will be copied out, in due time, there were footnotes attached to Letter titles which I figured might be worth copying out. Had I forseen that it would take 11 hours, I might have forgone them along with the Letters for the time being. Regardless, it’s done now and I’m happy with it.
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vols.I (Parts I & II) & II (Part II), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Spines.
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vols.I (Parts I & II) & II (Part II), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Front Cover.
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vols.I (Parts I & II) & II (Part II), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Inside Front Cover, includes the Honourable Hew Dalrymple’s Library Sticker with Coat of Arms, which contains; Dalrymple (Top Left) & Houston (Top Right), more research required for the bottom two quarters.
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vol.I (Part I), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Series Title Page.
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vol.I (Part I), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Regulations for Maitland Club Publications & A Large Paper and Ordinary Copies’ List of Recipients.
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vol.I (Part I), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Ordinary Copies’ List of Recipients (Cont.). These Volumes are Numbered 75 of the 86. This List Suggests John Stewart Esq. was who our Set was Destined to Belong.
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vol.I (Part I), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Limited Edition No. 75 of 86 Copies Published & Title Page.
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vol.I (Part I), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Frontispiece, ‘Remains of the Old Place of Caldwell.’
Pg. 27 Note; “In 1608, [William] rebuilt the House of Glanderstone, which still exists, and became for a time the habitual residence of the Caldwell family; the “Tower and Manor Place” of Caldwell having been demolished during the forfeiture. Morison, Dict. of Decisions, p. 4685. The small tower still standing (see Pl. I), was but an outwork of the original building. The present house of Caldwell was built on a plan of Robert Adam in 1772.”
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vol.I (Part I), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Publisher’s Page.
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vol.I (Part I), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Presentation Page;
“PRESENTED
TO
THE MAITLAND CLUB,
BY WILLIAM MURE
OF CALDWELL.”
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vol.I (Part I), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Title Page with Maitland Club Illustration of Scotland’s Royal Coat of Arms and perhaps Linlithgow Palace in the Background.
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vol.I (Part I), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Maitland Club Members’ List of whom the Marquess of Breadalbane is president. The ‘Black Book of Taymouth‘ (1855) or ‘Breadalbane Papers’ has scans already uploaded. There is also the ‘Breadalbane Papers‘ Chapter in ‘Sketches of Early Scotch History.’ Of course, 30 years prior to this publication, we also have the Marquis of Breadalbane’s Refutation Letter & Part 1 of Mr. Alister’s Response. Part 2 is also worth a read.
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vol.I (Part I), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Maitland Club Members’ List (Cont.)
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vol.I (Part I), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Part I., Plate II., p.7, “Monument of Sir John Ross of Hawkhead, and his Spouse Marjory Mure of Caldwell; erected in the latter half of the fifteenth century.”
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vol.I (Part I), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Part. 1, Pllate III, p.24, “Monument of Hans Hamilton Vicar of Dunlop, and his Spouse Janet Denham of Westshields.”
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vol.I (Part I), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Part. I, Plate IV, p.47, “Fac-simile of the Caldwell coat of arms, from page 45 of the Manuscript Heraldry of Sir David Lindsay, Lord Lyon.”
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vol.I (Part I), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Part I, Plate V, p.135, “Holograph of No. XXXVI:
The Earl of Rothes,’1 President of the Council, to the Laird of Caldwell.
Halirood Hous
Jani 30, 1666.
Honored Sir,
Haveing somethinges to comunicate unto you, I shall desire that as soone as possibill & with all convenient hast you may repair hither to this place, & speake with him who is
Much honoured
Rothes.
1 At this time High Treasurer and President of the Council, afterwards Lord Chancellor and created Duke of Rothes.”
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vol.I (Part I), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Part 1, Plate VI, p.319, “Autographs.
1. Date and Signature of No. I. p. 49;
‘Instrument of Sasine given by a noble Sir Knight Adam Mure of Caldwell, through his procurator William Balye, of the lands of Kempisland lying in the parish of Largs and County of Ayr, in favour of Thomas Cauldwell son and heir apparent of Robert Cauldwell of Todrygges, before these witnesses, Alexr. Boyd, John Reid, James Boyd, Robert Ryburn and others.’
2. Date and Signature of No. VII. p. 60;
‘Bond of Manrent – E. of Eglinton to Johne Mure of Caldwell, 19 October, 1527.’
3. Date of No. XV. p. 83, and signatures of James Earl of Glencairn, Robert Lord Sempill, and (Sir) Robert Mure of Caldwell, – the principal parties mentioned in Nos. XIII. – XV. pp. 78-83.
‘Bond of friendship and allyance by James Erle of Glencairne to Robert Lord Semple, Robt. Mure of Caldwell, Archibald Prestoun of Valleyfield, &c. 1581.’
4. Date and Signature of No. XVI. p. 84;
‘King James the Sixth to the Laird of Caldwell. – Holyrood House, 1 Oct. 1590.’
5. Date of, and Signature to the contract of Marriage between Zachary Boyd and Margaret Mure of Glanderstone, signed “Att Glasgow, the twentie four day of Januar MDC threttie nyne zeires.” The names to be left of those of the spouses are those of the Bride’s father, of Patrick Bell Lord Provost of Glasgow, and of John Fleming Burgess of Glasgow.
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vol.I (Part I), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Part I, Plate VII, p.321, “Autographs (continued).
6. Date of Signature of No. XXVII. p. 94;
‘James Viscount Claneboys to Willm Mure of Glanderstone – 12th April 1642.’
7. Date of, and signatures to, the Contract of Marriage1 between William Mure of Glanderstone, and Euphemia Mure of Caldwell, signed “At Paisleye the twentie twa days of Januarie, the zeire of God MDC and fourtie sewine zeirs.” The signatures comprise, besides the names of the Bride and Bridegroom, those of the following persons: Jean Knox (“Lady Caldwell”), and Uchter Knox of Ramphorlie, the mother and maternal uncle of the Bride; Hew Mure of Thornton, her paternal uncle and guardian; Alexander 6th Earl of Eglinton, surnamed Greysteel from his martial temperament, and his son and successor Hugh Lord Montgomerie, – who fought on opposite sides at the battle of Marston Moor in 1644; Sir William Cochrane of Cowdon2 afterwards first Earl of Dundonald; Sir William mure of Rowallan younger; Pollock of that ilk; Porterfield of that ilk; Ralston of that ilk; Montgomerie of Langshaw; Brisbane of Bishopton, &c.; representatives of leading families of Renfrewshire and Ayrshire gentry.
1 Not printed in this Collection. The Bride’s portion was, by the Contrtact, ten thousand merks, about £560 sterling; and her outfit or Trousseau, one thousand merks. See p. 74 note;
‘The value of money appears to have rapidly fallen in Scotland during the ensuing century. From this and other contemporary documents, five or six hundred marks (£30 to £40 sterling) appears, about the middle of the 16th century, to have been considered as a fair “tocher” for a young lady of family. But by reference to other contracts in the Caldwell collection this would have been but a poor dowry a generation later. In 1583 the Lady Anne Montgomerie of Eglinton bring the Lord Sempill 6000 merks. In 1613 Jean Hamilton, ythe Vicar of Dunlop’s daughter, brought her husband 5000 merks; Jean Knox of Ramphorly in 1623, 11000 merks; Jean Mure of Glanderstoun in 1671 8000 merks; Margaret Mowatt of Inglistone in 1682, 12000 merks, &c.’
2 The small indistinct signature in the right hand corner. The Cowdon estate now forms part of the Caldwell property.
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vol.I (Part I), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Part I, Plate VIII, p. 323, “Autographs – Continued.
8. Date of, and signatures to, the Contract of Marriage between William Mure of Caldwell and Barbara Cunynghame, of Cunynghamhead, signed “At Kilmarnock toun, this secund day of Novembre, ye yeir of God forsaid” [1657]. The subscribing friends and witnesses are, the Bride’s father Sir William Cunynghame of Cunynghamhead; Sir Willm. Mure of Rowallan, senior and junior; Fullarton of that ilk; Cuningham of Craigends; Mure of Glanderstone, and his brother Captain James Mure.
9. Holograph of No. XXXVIII. p. 136;
‘Obligation by “William Robertson” to James Mure of Ballibregach – 13 Feby. 1667.’
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vol.I (Part I), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Part I, Plate IX, p. 325, “Autographs – Continued.
10. Holograph of No. XL. p. 138;
‘An Imperfect Minute of a Letter to the Lady Caldwell.1
11. Subscription of No. LII. p. 184. The signature is supplied from another document not printed in this Collection;2
‘Mr Carstairs to Secretary Hamilton.’
12. Subscription and Signature of No. XLVII. p. 180;
‘From the Earl (afterwards Duke) of Argyll3 to Mr Alexr Ruatt.4
13. Signatures of the Laird of Glanderstone and Caldwell, writer of Nos. XLVI. LXI. &c., and of Sir James Stuart of Goodtrees Lord Advocate, to the draft contract of marriage between the nephew and heir of the former and the daughter of the latter.
1 On the death of her husband in exile, at Rotterdam, on the 9th Feby. 1670. This letter, which forms part of the Wodrow Collection in the Advocate’s Library of Edinburgh, is without signature or date: but is supposed, from the handwriting and other internal evidence, to be by the Rev. Robert MacWard, a zealous Presbyterian divine of this period. It has here been greatly abridged.
2 Carstairs seems rarely to have signed his letters.
3 Son of the ninth Earl, who was executed on the 30th of June 1685. He retired to Holland after his father’s death; and returned to Britain as a follower of King William whose favour he continued to enjoy, any by whom he was created a duke.
4 Minister of Inverary, ancestor of William Ruat, Esq. of Bel Ritiro – See Part II. vol. 1. p. 17.
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vol.I (Part II), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Frontispiece, “Portrait of Baron Mure.”
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vol.I (Part II), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Publisher’s Page.
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vol.I (Part II), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Title Page.
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vol.I (Part II), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Advertisement.
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vol.I (Part II), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Part II. Vol. I. Plate III p. 8a, “Autographs.
1. See No. III. p. 9.1
‘Mr. Thomas Millar2 of Glenlee to Mr. Mure.’
2. See No. VI. p. 17;
‘Mr. Willm Rouet3 to Mr. Mure.’
3. See No. IX. p. 28;
‘Gilbert Elliot, Esq. (afterwards Sir Gilbert) of Minto,4 to Mr. Mure.’
4. See No. X. p. 30;
‘Mr. David Hume to Mr. Mure.’
5. See No. XVIII. p. 53;
‘Professor Hutcheson to Mr. Mure.’
6. See No. XIV. p. 42;
‘Sir J. Stewart5 of Coltness, to Mr. Mure.’
7. Nine Signatures of eminent Professors of Glasgow and Edinburgh Universities; derived from letters, memorials, &c. addressed by them to Baron Mure.
8. See No. XXXV. p. 108;
‘The Right Hon. Henry Pelham to Mr. Mure.’
9. See No. XLI. p. 115;
‘The Earl of Bute to Mr. Mure.’
1 The References are given to the particular document where the first or principal notice of the person occurs; which is in some cases different from the one whence the Autograph has been derived.
2 Afterwards Sir Thomas Millar, Bart. son of William Millar, Esq. of Glenlee; was born in 1717. He was appointed Lord Advocate in 1760, and returned for the Dumfries district of boroughs in n1761. In 1766 he became Lord Justice Clerk, and in 1788 was raised to the Presidency of the Court of Session, and created a Baronet. He died in the following year.
3 William Rouet, first cousin to Mr. Mure, son of his aunt Agnes Mure, and of a clergyman in narrow circumstances, was at this time travelling with John Maxwell, Yr. of Pollock. He became professor of Oriental Languages in the College of Glasgow in 1751, and of Church History in 1752. This office he resigned in 1760,for the purpose of again visiting foreign parts, as he purchased the estate of Auchendennan, on the western shore of Lochlomond, the name of which, from his Italian predilections, he changed to Bel Ritiro. He left one daughter, who became the first wife of the late Admiral Smollett of Cameron, but died without issue. The greater part of his estate was inherited by the compiler under his deed of Destination, in 1841. Mr. Rouet was a learned and highly accomplished man, living much both in fashionable and literary society; and some of his letters in this collection are as interesting in matter, as spirited and elegant in style.
4 This young “avocât malgré lui,” who afterwards attained considerable eminence as a senator and a statesman, was the eldest son of Sir Gilbert Elliot of Minto, Lord Justice Clerk. He sat in Parliament for Selkirkshire, from 1754 till 1765, and for Roxburghshire from the latter year up to 1777, the year of his death. During this period he filled with credit various important offices in the Government. He was appointed Lord of the Admiralty in 1756; Treasurer of the Chambers in 1762; Kepper of the Signet in 1767; and Treasurer of the Navy in 1770. His eloquence and talents are frequent subject of commendation in the memoirs and histories of the day, even with writers the most opposed to him in politics. Dugald Stewart, in a passage of his Philosophy of the Human Mind, describes him as “uniting, to his other well-known talents and accomplishments, a taste for abstract disquisition, which rarely occurs in men of the world, accompanied with that soundness and temperance of judgment, which in such researches are so essentially necessary to guard the mind against the illusions engendered by its own subtlety.” He also displayed facility and taste in poetical composition.
5 Sir James Stewart, Baronet, of Goodtrees and Coltness, Mr. Mure’s first cousin; born in 1713; was educated to the Scottish bar. He married, in 1743, Lady Frances Wemyss, daughter of the Earl of Wemyss, and sister of the Lord Eldcho, a distinguished follower of the Pretender. In 1745, Sir James, being himself resident in Edinburgh when the city was occupied by the rebel forces, without actually taking arms, committed himself so far as an adherent of their leader as to be involved in the general sentence of proscription against his followers. His own principles, like those of his ancestors, had hitherto been favourable to the revolution settlement. He would therefore seem to have been led to this step against his better judgment, partly by the influence of his wife’s relations, partly perhaps by personal feelings towards Charles Edward, from whom he had received attention, when abroad, in early life.
On the break-up of the ex-Prince’s affairs, Sir James effected his escape to France; or, according to some accounts, he had been previoiusly sent by the Prince on a confidential mission to that Court. Lady Frances followed in 1746, leaving their only son, then an infant, afterwards General Sir James Stewart, at Caldwell, under the care of his grand-aunt, Mrs. Mure. There he remained for several years, until, no immediate prospect being held out of his parents’ return, he was sent over to their residence abroad.
Although no severe proceedings were adopted either against the person or property of Sir James, he had yet, in spite of the exertions of numerous influential friends, great difficultyin procuring a remission of his sentence of outlawry, and his exile was prolonged during seventeen years. In 1762, while resident at Spa, he was rudely arrested and imprisoned by the French police, on suspicion of being a spy of the British Government, but was speedily released. The sympathy excited in his favour at home by this adventure led, in 1763, to a permission, from Lord Bute’s Ministery, for him to return and reside unmolested in his own country; but his full pardon was not granted until 1771.
Sir James published various works on historical and miscellaneous subjects; but the one which forms his chief title to celebrity is his “Inquiry into the Principles of Political Economy;” Lond. 1767; a book of great research and ingenuity, and which contributed much to the rapid progress of that science towards the close of the last century. In addition to various other letters, some small original compositions from his pen are embodied in the present collection. Sir James died at Coltness in 1780, aged 67.
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vol.I (Part II), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Part II. Vol. I. Plate IIB p. 92a, “Autographs of David Hume, and James Oswald of Dunnikier.”
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vol.I (Part II), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Part II Vol. I Plate IIA p. 92b, “Autographs of David Hume, and James Oswald of Dunnikier.”
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vol.I (Part II), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Part II. Vol. I Plate IV. p. 124a, “Autographs (continued).
10. See No. L. p. 125;
‘The Duke of Argyll1 to Mr. Mure.’
11. See No. LVII. p. 134;
‘Hon. J. Stuart McKenzie2 to Baron Mure.’
12. See No. LXX. p. 153;
‘Robert Wood, Esq.3 M.P. to Baron Mure.’
13. See No. LXXXVI. p. 173;
‘Mr. Charles Jenkinson4 to Baron Mure.’
14. See No. XCI. p. 179;
‘Robert Adam,5 Esq. to John Fordyce, Esq.’
15. See No. CXXIII. p. 247;
‘Principal Robertson to Baron Mure.’
16. See No. CXXIV. p. 249;
‘Earl Marischall6 to Sir James Stuart of Coltness.’
17. See No. CXXVII. p. 255;
‘Extract of Letter from Mr. Andrew Stuart to Baron Mure.’
1 Archibald, formerly Earl of Islay, now Duke of Argyll; brother and successor, in 1743, to the celebrated Duke John, from whom he also in herited and retained, till the period of his death, the chief direction of the affairs of Scotland. The following account of him must be taken with the customary allowance for thje prejudices and satirical spirit of the writer:- “He was slovenly in his person; mysterious, not to say with an air of guilt, in his deportment; slow and steady where subtleness did not better answer his purpose; revengeful, and, if artful, at least not ingratiating. He loved power too well to hazard it by ostentation, and money so little, that he neither spared it to gain friends nor to serve them… He had a great thirst for books; a head admirably turned to mechanics; was a patron of ingenious men; a promoter of discoveries; and one of the first great encouragers of planting in England, – most of the various exotics that have been familiarised to this climate having been introduced by him.” – Horace Walpole’s Memoirs of Reign of Geo. II. Vol. I. p. 242.
The following anecdote is preserved, illustrative both of his influence in Scotland, and of several of the above traits of his character. A Clansman, who held an office in the Excise, had been guilty of some irregularity, which had led the Commissioners to resolve on his dismissal. The delinquent, on his chief’s next visit to Edinburgh, solicited his friendly interference. The Duke, anxious to serve him, but seeing the case to be rather too flagrant to admit of a direct application to the Board, took the following mode of gaining his object. He instructed Mr. Campbell to call upon him at his apartments in Holyrood House early on a certain day, which was that appointed for the Commissioners of Excise to attend his levee. On their entrance, they found the Duke in close conversation with Campbell, in the recess of a window. On seeing the Commissioners enter, the great man shook his clansman cordially by the hand, and showed him out by a private door. He then turned to the gentlemen of the Board, received them graciously, and, without the slightest allusion to his guest or his concerns, conversed with them on ordinary topics. It need scarcely be added that Mr. Campbell retained his place.
2 The Honourable James Stuart Macakenzie, only brother of the Earl of Bute, took the surname of Mackenzie on succeeding to the estates of his grandfather, Sir George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh. Born in 1719, he sat in Parliament, as member for various Scottish constituencies, from 1742 to 1780. From 1758 to 1761 he filled the situation of British Minister at Turin. On the death of his uncle, Archibald, Duke of Argyll, in the latter year, he was invited home by his brother the Prime Minister, and intrusted with the direction of the affairs of Scotland, previously under the charge of the Duke. In April, 1763, on the death of the Duke of Athol, he was also appointed Lord Privy Seal for that country. After the retirement of Lord Bute, he continued to act in both the above capacities, under the Grenville administration, up to May 23, 1765, when he was unceremoniously dismissed by its leader, both from his ministerial functions and his office of state, in the face of King George III.’s promise, that he should retain the latter during his Majesty’sreign. The Privy Seal was restored to him not many months afterwards; but without his previous share in the government. He would seem, however, from several Letters in this Collection, to have been intrusted with a part at least of his old functions as to Scotland, by the Duke of Grafton, in 1768-9.
Mr. Mackenzie shared but little in his brother’s unpopularity, and is spoken of by writers of all parties as an amiable man, and upright and intelligent minister. The following voluminous, though greatly abridged, correspondence with Mr. Mure, his confidential agent and adviser, vouches both for the energy and precision of his business habits, and the honesty of his intentions. His treatment by George Grenville, in the transaction above alluded to, is as generally reprobated by writers and speakers of the period, as his own loyal and honourable conduct towards his Sovereign, under the delicate circumstances of the case, is commended. The particulars of that affair, and of the intrigues connected with it, are described at length by himself in several of these Letters.
The following character of this gentleman, from the pen of his faithful French secretaryand friend Dutens, after an experience of 42 years, though traced with a partial hand, is probably but little overdrawn. “Mr. Mackenzie was, of all the men I ever knew, the one who combined the greatest number of good qualities with fewest defects. He was gifted with a prudence that led him to avoid all risks of committing himself, and a judgment which pointed out the measures best calculated to insure success in his undertakings. His great delight was to do good; his chief care to conceal it; and if he loved distinction, it was chiefly as affording him opportunity to serve his friends. He possessed a fund of honour and veracity, very rare in the times in which he lived; and which never failed him in the most difficult emergencies. He was humane, charitable, and generous. His conversation was spirited, his information extensive; his manners were both lively and dignified; but he preferred the study of the sciences, in which he was well versed, to the pleasures of the gay world.” – Mem. d’un Voyageur qui se repose. Vol. I. p. 99.
Mr. Mackenzie married Lady Betty Campbell (his own first cousin) daughter of John Duke of Argyll, but left no family. He died in April, 1800, about nine months after the death of his wife, and, as has been said, of grief for her loss. A neat monument, with appropriate inscription, was erected to him in Poet’s Corner, Westminster Abbey, by his secretary above quoted, in the immediate vicinity of the splendid mausoleum of his father-in-law, Duke John.
3 Robert Wood, a distinguished scholar and antiquary, “well known,” says Horace Walpole, “from those beautiful Essays prefixed to the edition of the ruins of Palmyra and Balbec, whither he had travelled with two young gentlemen of fortune and curiosity. His taste and ingenuity recommended him to Mr. Pitt, for his private Secretary, when Minister. But the observance required by Pitt, and the pride, though dormant, of Wood, had been far from cementing the connection. Wood had then attached himself to the Duke of Bridgewater, and through him to the Bedord faction; but remaining in office when Mr. Pitt quitted, had with too much readiness complied with the orders of his new masters. his general deportment was decorous, but his nature was hot and veering to despotic.” – Mem. of Reign of Geo. III. vol. I. p. 364.
Although, in his literary capacity, chiefly celebrated in England as the editor of the elegant work above mentioned, Wood enjoys a more extended European reputation, on account of his “Essay on the Genius and Writings of Homer.” This work entitles him to a large share, at least, in originating those new opinions, relative to the great poet and his compositions, which have since obtained so extensive a vogue, especially in the German schools of classical criticism.
As Secretary to the Treasury, which post he held during Lord Bute’s administration, Wood was employed in the seizure of Wilkes’s papers; and, in an action of damages to which he was exposwed from that demogogue in consequence, a verdict of £1000 was awarded against him. This affair was the subject of a very keen debate in the House of Commons, on the 14th February, 1764, the longest, as Horace Walpole tells us, on the records of the House, lasting till half-past seven in the morning, and where Wood conducted himself in a very spirited manner. – (Mem. of Geo. III. vol. I. p. 362, and No. CXV. of this Collection.)
Wood resigned his Secretaryship in September, 1763, but afterwards received (as appears from No. CLXXXI. below) some other appointment, from which (in the same quarter) he is described as dismissed by Lord Rockingham in 1766. He died in 1771, aged 54.
4 Now Under Secretary of State; afterwards Lord Hawkesbury and Earl of Liverpool.
5 Robert Adam, Esq. of Blair-Adam; born 1728, died 1792; the most distinguished British architect of his time, was an intimate friend of Mr. Mure, to whom there are various Letters from him in the sequel. He cultivated his taste by travel, and, as the result of his researches on the classical shores of the Adriatic, published, in 1764, hhis great work on the Ruins of Diocletian’s Palace at Spalatro, which obtained him an European reputation. He was appointed architect to the King in 1762, which situation he resigned in 1768 – when elected M.P. for his native county of Kinross. “The worth of his character, his superior talents, and extensive acquirements,” says his French biographer, “caused his society to be much sought after. He was the friend of Hume, Robertson, Adam Smith, Fergusson, etc. and lived in habits of intimacy with many illustrious personages of his age.” He was father of the late Chief-Commissioner Adam, and grandfather of the present Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick and Admiral Sir Charles Adam.
6 George Keith, last Earl Marischall of Scotland, was attainted, at an early age, for his share in the Rebellion of 1715, but effected his escape abroad. After some years of wandering life, he finally settled at Berlin, where he became the chief personal friend and confidant of Frederick the Great, by whom he appointed Governor of Neufchatel, and Prussian Ambassador, successively, at the Courts of Paris and Madrid. At the request of Frederick to Mr. Pitt, his attainder was reversed in 1759; and he showed his gratitude, two years afterwards, by supplying that Minister with intelligence of the secret Family Compact between France and Spain, of which he had obtained knowledge while resident at Madrid. After his pardon, he remained some time in Britain, negotiating the recovery of his confiscated family estates, in which he was assisted by Baron Mure, and had thoughts of settling at home. Yielding, however, to the urgent solicitations of his Royal friend, who, in one of his letters, threatens to build a fleet and come and carry hi moff by force, he returned to Germany. He continued to reside at the Prussian Court till his death, which took place in his eighty-sixth year, in 1788. An “Éloge of Milord Maréchal,” by D’Alembert, was published at Berlin in the ensuing year. An interesting description of his habits, and of the footing on which he lived with Frederick, is given by L. Dutens, who lived in close intimacy with him at Berlin in 1777. [Memoires d’un Voyageour qui se repose; Vol. I. p. 335.] He is also described by Dr. Moore, in the narrative of his travels with the Duke of Hamilton.
The Earl was distinguished for an elegant point and conciseness of epistolary style, and for a ready fund of wit and repartee. Both of these talents will be found happily exemplified in seve4ral of his Letters in this Collection. On occasion of his audience with George III. after his pardon, when asked by a friend, as he left the Cabinet, what the King had said to him, he replied, in a passage of an old ballad relative to one of his forefathers –
The King lookit ower his left shouther,
And a grim look lookit he;
Quoth he, Earl Marischal, but for my aith,
Or hangit thou shouldst be!
He was an early patron of Rousseau, who describes him in one of his letters as his protector, friend, and father; and Scotland as “L’heureuse terre, où sont nés David Hume, et le Maréchal d’ Écosse.”
Lord Brougham, in his lately published life of Rousseau, alluding to this connection, ridicules the above “endearing titles,” as applied to pne whom his Lordship characterises as “a steady old soldier and political intriguer, wholly devoid of any sentiment beyond that of heat and cold, hunger and thirst.” We are at a loss to understand where Lord brougham found authority for so contemtuous, and, as we believe, unmerited a stigma on the memory of his distinguished fellow-countryman:- on a man whom all other authorities to which we have had access – comprising the names of Frederick, D’Alembert, Rousseau, John Moore, Dutens – represent not only as an accomplished gentleman amd courtier, but as remarkable for elegant wit, warmth of heart, and delicacy of feeling.
The celebrated Marshal Keith, one of the most distinguished Prussian Generals of the Seven Years’ War, was the Earl’s brother.
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vol.II (Part II), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Publisher’s Page.
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vol.II (Part II), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Title Page.
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vol.II (Part II), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Part II. Vol. II. Plate I. p. 44a, “Autographs.
1. See No. CLXXIII. p. 44;
‘The Rev. Dr. Hugh Blair1 to Baron Mure.’
2. See No. CLXXIX. p. 55;
‘Susanna, Countess of Eglinton,2 to Baron Mure.’
3. See No. CLXXX. p. 56;
‘Mr. John Home3 to Baron Mure.’
4a. See No. CXCVI. p. 86;
‘The Duchess of Hamilton4 to Baron Mure.’
4b. See No. CCLXVIII. p. 188;
‘Duchess of Argyll5 to Baron Mure.’
1 Author of Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres, Sermons, &c.
2 Susanna Kennedy, daughter of Sir Archibald Kennedy of Culzean, by Elizabeth, daughter of David, First Lord Newark, was third wife of Alexander and Archibald, tenth and eleventh Earls. She was also aunt to Thomas and David, mimth and tenth Earls of Cassilis; and to their sister, Anne Kennedy, (the compiler’s maternal great-grandmother,) married to John Blair, Esq. of Dunskey. She was not only one of the most beautiful women of her time, – but in spite of her spelling, which has here been preserved to the letter – a person of considerable talents and accomplishments. As chief guardian to her son, Earl Alexander, she exhibited, during many years, great tact and ability in the management of his extensive estates; and the noble park of Eglinton was planted and adorned under her direction. She was also a distinguished patroness of literature. Allan RAmsay’s Gentle Shepherd is dedicated to her, in an eloquent poetical address by Hamilton of Bangour, prefixed to the work. She died at Auchans, near Irvine, (whence this letter is dated,) an old-fashioned and now greatly dilapidated mansion of the Eglinton family, in March, 1780, in the ninety-first year of her age. In her latter days she was remarkable for some eccentric tastes. A connection of the editor, who died some years ago, and whose family residence was near Auchans, remembers, when a young boy, accompanying his father to call on her Ladyship. During the visit, he was startled by a rustling noise in a corner of the apartment. On looking round he saw a number of rats which abounded in the chateau, and which its mistress had been at pains to domesticate, feeding in a small trough placed for their convenience, and to which they resorted at stated hours for their meals.
3 Author of Douglas.
4 This lady was one of the two celebrated Irish beauties, Miss Gunnings, whose charms created so unparalleled a sensation in London, and indeed throughout Britain, on their first appearance in the fashionable world, about the middle of the last century. Though without fortune, they were of good family, daughters of John Gunning, Esq. of Coote Castle, county of Roscommon, by Bridget, daughter of Viscount Mayo. Maria, the eldest, speedily became Countess of Coventry, and her sister Elizabeth, after a short interval, in 1752, Duchess of Hamilton. The Duchess was left a widow in 1758, and married, in the following year, Colonel John Campbell, who succeeded to the Marquisate of Lorne in 1761, and the Dukedom of Argyll in 1770. By her first marriage she had two sons, successively Dukes of Hamilton, and a daughter, Elizabeth, who became Countess of Derby. By her second husband she was mother, besides other children, of the last and present Dukes of Argyll. She was thus the wife of two and the mother of four Dukes. She was created a Peeress in her own right, as Baroness Hamelden, in 1776, and died in 1793.
Lady Coventry was remarkable for little but her beauty, and died prematurely, of the effects, it was said, of an over-application of cosmetics. The Duchess, on the other hand, was not more distinguished for her personal graces than her virtue and discretion, whether as a member of society, a mother of a family, or as chief guardian, during a longminority, or the heir and interests of the House of Hamilton. These qualities will be found reflected in several of her letters comprised in this Collection.
5 The Duchess had exchanged the title of Hamilton for that of Argyll, on the accession of her husband to the latter peerage, by the death of his father, in November, 1770.
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vol.II (Part II), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Part II. Vol. II. Plate II. p. 110a, “Autographs (continued.)
5. See No. CCXII. p. 111;
‘The Honourable Thomas Erskine1 to the Honourable Alexander Gordon.’
6. See No. CCLXXII. p. 196;
‘Dr. John Moore2 to Baron Mure.’
7. See No. CCLXXVI. p. 207;
‘Sir George Colebrooke3 to Baron Mure.’
8. See No. CCCX. p. 276;
‘Mr. Jardine4 to Baron Mure.’
9. See No. CCCXXX. p. 330;
‘Baron Mure to his Sons.’
10. See No. CCCXLI. p. 347;
‘The Duke of Gloucester to Colonel Mure of Caldwell.’
11. See No. CCCXLII. p. 348;
‘General Sir Ralph Abercromby to Colonel Mure.’
1 Afterwards Lord Chancellor Erskine, fourth son of the Earl of Buchan; born in 1749, after having served years as a midshipman, he entered the army in 1768, and quitted it as a Lieutenant in 1775, in order to devote himself to the law. his unparalleled success in that profession is too well known to require comment. The brilliancy of his Lordship’s conversation was as celebrated as the powers of his eloquence; but this is the only evidence the compiler has met with of his having cultivated the poetical muse – with what success the reader may judge for himself.
His mother, Lady Buchan, was Mr. Mure’s first cousin, and a great intimacy existed between the two families. He was at this time a pretty delicate youth, of about eighteen: and a story is told of Mrs. Mure, with whom he was a favourite, having, on occasion of this or some other visit to Harrowgate, dressed him in ladies’ attire, and passed hi off to the company of the place, during a whole day, as a young female friend of whom she had undertaken to introduce into the gay world.
2 Dr. Moore was born at Stirling in 1730. After following out his course of medicinal study inthe Scottish Universities and in London, he served abroad as military surgeon. He subsequently obtained the patronage of Lord Albemarle, British Minister at Paris, and was for sometime attached to the legation. At his Lordship’s death in 1753 he returned to Scotland, and settled as practising surgeon in Glasgow, where he was selected for his present office under circumstances referred to in the previous Letters and Introductory Notice. He was the father of the late General Sir John Moore, who accompanied him as a boy on his tour; of Admiral Sir Graham Moore; and of James Carrick Moore, Esq. now of Corsewell, in Wigtonshire. A close friendship was maintained, in after life, between Sir John Moore and the Baron’s eldest son, the compiler’s father; and numerous letters from that distinguished commander to the latter are preseved inthe Caldwell repositories.
3 Sir George Colebrook, Baronet, M.P. afterwards Chairman of the East India Company, an eminent merchant, who sat for many years in the House of Common, and enjoyed the confidence of some of the leading statesman of the day. He purchased extensive estates in Lanarkshire, (still in his family,) guided, in a great degree, as appears from this and other Letters, by the advice and opinion of Mr. Mure.
He established the great Porcelain Manufactory of Colebrooke Dale, in Staffordshire. Sir Edward Colebrooke, the distinguished Oriental Scholar, was his son.
4 Mr. George Jardine was born at Wandal, in the Upper Ward of Lanarkshire, in 1742. He completed his course of academical education in the University of Glasgow, and graduated as a licentiate of the Church of Scotland. In 1771 he was appointed tutor to the two sons of the Baron, with whom he resided in Paris, at M. Brunetean’s pension, under the circumstances described in the following Letters. On his return from France, in 1773, he was unsuccessful candidate for the Chair of Humanity in Glasgow; but in 1774 was appointed assistant and successor to Mr. Clow, Professor of Logic and Rhetoric in that University. During fifty years he discharged the duties of this office with remarkable diligence and zeal; exerting himself, with acknowledged success, to infuse, into the more speculative elements of the science he taught, that spirit of practical utility which, in one of his letters in the sequel, he describes as hitherto wanting to render it really beneficial to the student in the active duties or pursuits of after life. In 1824, being then eighty-two years of age, he retired from teaching, when his former pupils, in testimony of respect and gratitude for his services, invited him to a public dinner in the Town Hall of the city. It was attended by upwards of two hundred gentlemen. the chair was filled by the late Colonel Mure of Caldwell, (the compiler’s father); and the present Marquis of Breadalbane [see above, vol. 1, pt. 1, Maitland Club Members’ List], who had studied in Glasgow, came from a great distance to officiate as vice-president. Mr. Jardine died on the 27th January, 1827, in the eighty-sixth year of his age. He married Miss Lindsay of Glasgow, in 1776; by whom he hads one son, the present John Jardine, Esq. advocate, Sheriff of Ross and Cromarty.
‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell,’ Vol.II (Part II), Presented to the Maitland Club by William Mure of Caldwell (1883), Paisley: Alexander Gardner, Part II. Vol. II. Plate III. p. 352a, “Autographs (continued.)
12. See No. CCCXLVII. p. 352;
‘Marquis of Cornwallis to Colonel Mure.’
13. See No. CCCL. p. 355;
‘Major-General (afterwards Sir John) Moore to Mr. Mure.’
14. See No. CCCLX. p. 366;
‘The Earl of Moira1 to Colonel Mure.’
15. See No. CCCXLIX. p. 354;
‘Admiral Lord Keith to Mr. Mure.’
16. See No. CCCLXXI. p. 376;
‘Viscount Melville to Mrs. Mure.2‘
1 Afterwards Marquis Hastings, then COmmander of the forces in Scotland.
2 There are other letters from Lord M. in Mr. Mure’s repositories. But they relate merely to details of uninteresting business.
9 thoughts on “‘Selections from the Family Papers Preserved at Caldwell’ (1883)”