,,notes ,,on ,,the ,,art ,,treasures    
,,at ,,penicuik  ,,house ,,midlothian   
,,by ,,john ,m4 ,,gray ,f4,s4,a4 ,,scot4
  ,,curator ,,scottish ,,national       
,,portrait ,,gallery4    ,,reprinted1   
,,with ,,large ,,additions1  ,,from     
8,,the ,,scottish ,,leader40            
,illustration    ,,fifty ,,copies  ,,for
 ,,private ,,circulation4  #ahhi4       
,,the ,,art ,,treasures ,,of ,,scotland4
      ,,iii4 ,,penicuik ,,house4        
,i4    ,there are few ,scottish families
 that1 during the last two hundred      
years1 have been more closely connected 
with the progress of culture in  their  
native country than the ,clerks of      
,penicuik4    ,claiming descent from the
 ,drummonds of ,hawthornden1 through    
,elizabeth  ,henderson1 grand-daughter  
of the poet and first wife of the first 
,baronet of ,penicuik1 they have        
produced1 both in the main line and in  
its younger branches1 a goodly          
proportion of men of intellect and mark4
  ,at present we need only name ,sir    

,john ,clerk1 the second ,baronet1 one  
of  the ,commissioners for the ,union1  
and a ,baron of the ,exchequer1 a man   
of varied attainments and the strongest 
individuality1 and known as  an         
enthusiastic antiquary2 his son1 ,sir   
,james1 who was the architect  of the   
present mansion of the family2 whose    
brother1 ,sir ,george ,clerk  ,maxwell1 
the fourth ,baronet1 distinguished      
himself by his efforts to  promote the  
commercial interests of his country1    
establishing a linen  manufactory at    
,dumfries1 engaging in mining schemes   
for copper and  lead1 and writing much  
upon agricultural and industrial        
subjects2  ,john ,clerk of ,eldin1      
younger brother of the last-named1      
author of  the celebrated 8,essay on    
,naval ,tactics10 and known as an artist
 by  his series of etchings which       
preserve in a manner so interesting  to 
the antiquary the aspect of many of the 
historical edifices of  ,scotland2 his  
well-known son ,john ,clerk1 8the       

,coryphus of the ,scottish  ,bar10      
afterwards ,lord ,eldin2 and the ,right 
,hon4 ,sir ,george ,clerk1  sixth       
,baronet1 the friend of ,sir ,robert    
,peel1 one of the prominent  politicians
 of his time1 and especially versed in  
all matters of  statistics4 ,william    
,aikman1 the portrait-painter1 too1 was 
descended  from the house of ,penicuik1 
his mother having been the eldest sister
  of ,sir ,john ,clerk1 the first       
,baronet2 and1 in our own time1         
,professor  ,james ,clerk ,maxwell1     
whose father was grandson of the fourth 
,baronet  and brother of the sixth1 has 
by his eminence in science added new    
lustre to his parental name4    ,but not
 only have the ,clerks been themselves  
witty--using the word in  its best1 its 
old ,english1 sense--they have been the 
cause of wit in  others2 by their loyal 
friendships with the best ,scottish     
painters and  poets of their time1 and  
their open-handed patronage of these    
men's  work1 they have identified       

themselves with the history of art and  
literature in ,scotland4 ,one can hardly
 pronounce the name of ,allan  ,ramsay  
without thinking of ,sir ,john ,clerk of
 ,penicuik1 or the name of  ,alexander  
,runciman1 without recalling that of    
,sir ,james1 his son and  successor4    
,the mansion of the family is situated  
about a mile and a half from  the       
village of ,penicuik1 on a commanding   
situation1 overlooking the  wooded      
valley of the ,esk1 a 8classic stream0  
which1 at this point1  is still         
uncontaminated by the chemicals of the  
paper-makers1 whose  manufactories begin
 to appear a little lower1 at the       
village itself4  ,manifestly great care 
and the finest taste have been expended 
by the  successive owners of the place  
in laying out the grounds1 which are  a 
triumph of landscape-gardening1 so      
filled are they with pleasant           
combinations of woodland1 lawn1 and     
flowers2 and we shall hardly forget     
their gorgeous aspect on that summer day

 when we first saw them1 with  their    
wealth of purple rhododendron blossoms1 
and1 here and there1  a touch of        
particularly vivid crimson of           
beech-leaves diversifying  the          
8greenery0 of ,june4 ,especially        
noticeable is the skill which has       
arranged that spaces of shadowed and    
closely enclosed foliage shall  lead1   
with all the force of sharp and grateful
 contrast1 to amplest  breadth of       
outlook and extended view2 and so aptly 
does the peak of the  ,black ,hill top  
the belt of trees that bounds the ,upper
 ,pond1 and with  such a perfect sense  
of definitely calculated balance1 of    
satisfying  composition1 does the blue  
outline of ,mendick complete the view as
 we  look up the stream from near the   
south front of the house1 that1 in a    
fanciful mood1 we could well believe the
 whole to have been the result  of      
something more than a mere happy        
chance1--could almost imagine  that he  
who designed the place had been gifted  

with a wizard's power1  greater than    
that of the ,prophet himself1 that the  
mountains had indeed  been at his beck  
and call1 that they had come at his     
bidding1 and taken  their stations1 each
 in the precise spot best fitted to give
 to the  prospect its last1 its crowning
 perfection4    ,nay1 ,nature herself1  
even in her moments of wildest storm1   
seems to  have been working in harmony  
with the designer of the place1 and     
making for its beauty4 ,when you have   
surveyed the last-named prospect1  and  
turned a little towards the left to     
follow the depressions of  the ground   
which mark the position of the unseen   
bed of the ,esk1 you  note the          
greensward that borders the stream2 and 
this leads the eye  beyond to the       
further bank1 where an open space of    
clearing among the  trees diversifies   
the succession of their rounded tops1   
this break  and point of pause being    
again repeated further up to the left   
among  the trees that crest the hill4   

,the last opening was the work of the   
tempest1 which1 by overturning a trunk  
or two1 disclosed a glimpse of  the     
distant ,peeblesshire moor behind1      
giving just that final touch1  that hint
 of the beyond 8over the hills and far  
away10 which perfects  the view1--not   
only to the painter1 as completing the  
lines of its  composition1 but to the   
poet as well1 by adding that sense of   
extended  outlook1 as of a vista        
piercing into the breadth of the world1 
which is  needful1 for finest           
imaginative effect1 in every landscape4 
,then1 too1 there are the ,penicuik     
,gardens to be seen1--the old garden1   
lying on a sheltered slope to the south1
 with its glass-houses1  the first1 or  
all but the very first1 of the kind in  
,scotland2 the  extensive modern garden1
 bounded by brick walls1 the soft mellow
  colouring of which tells so pleasantly
 through the green of the trees2  and   
especially the 8,american ,garden10 with
 its wealth of many-coloured  azaleas   

springing from the midmost space of     
softest turf1 8a garden  inclosed0 like 
the garden of the ,canticles1 cloistered
 and protected1  like some princess of  
romance1 by thick-set hedges and a      
circle of  sheltering wood1 lest any    
eager and nipping air of our northern   
clime  should visit its cheek too       
roughly1 and blanch the beauty of its   
ardent  face of flowers4      ,,ii4     
,the house1 which fronts us as we       
approach the termination of the  drive1 
is a modern edifice1 built by ,sir      
,james1 the third ,baronet1  in #agfa1  
after he had returned from a residence  
in ,italy1 saturated  with classical    
ideas4 ,it was erected entirely from the
 ,baronet's own  designs2 but1          
doubtless1 these were produced under the
 influence of  ,robert ,adam1 the       
celebrated architect1 whose sister had  
been married  in #agec to ,john ,clerk1 
author of the 8,naval ,tactics10 ,sir   
,james's  younger brother4 ,consequently
 the present house does not possess the 

interest of having been the             
meeting-place of ,allan ,ramsay1 who    
died in  #ageh1 and his friends and     
patrons of the ,clerk family2 an        
association  erroneously assigned to the
 present structure by ,dr4 ,daniel      
,wilson  in his 8,reminiscences of ,old 
,edinburgh10 a work which contains many 
curious particulars regarding the       
,clerks1 and especially of the ,baron1  
the second ,baronet4 ,the house in which
 the poet and the antiquary spent       
together many a genial evening of       
8honest talk and wholesome wine0 no     
longer exists4 ,it occupied a site close
 behind the present mansion1 on  whose  
completion it was removed4 ,some of the 
old cellars remain under  the earthen   
mound to the south1 and are still in    
use4 ,we may sigh a  little over the    
memories and associations of old        
,penicuik ,house1 over  the vanished    
picturesqueness of its 8crowstep0 gables
 and its circular  corkscrew turrets1 of
 which a shadow still survives in the   

sketch by  ,john ,clerk1 reproduced in  
the ,bannatyne ,club issue of his       
etchings2 but  doubtless the present    
mansion is vastly more commodious and in
 better  harmony with modern ideas of   
comfort than was its predecessor1 and it
  takes its place excellently in the    
landscape2 its effect not greatly       
marred by the more recent wings added by
 ,bryce in #aheg-h2 its straight        
perpendicular and horizontal lines      
contrasting excellently with the        
flowing curves of ground and trees1 in  
that fashion which ,turner  recognised  
and loved1 and emphasised so            
delightfully in his early  drawings of  
four-square ,english mansions set amid  
the rounded forms of  wood and hill and 
stream4    ,as we turn our eye towards  
the offices of ,penicuik ,house1 which  
are situated a little to our right1 two 
objects of rather singular  aspect      
arrest our attention4 ,regarding one of 
them--a tall1 very                      
ecclesiastical-looking steeple garnished

 with the usual large gilded            
clock-face1 which in the oddest fashion 
surmounts the stables--a  curious bit of
 tradition lingers in the neighbourhood4
 ,it seems that  ,sir ,james designed   
not only his own mansion1 but also the  
parish church  of ,penicuik4 ,when the  
plan of the latter1 however1 was        
submitted to the  heritors or           
kirk-session1 it appears that they would
 have none of the  steeple1--for what   
reason is not recorded1 whether it was  
that their  architectural tastes did not
 chime in with those of the ,baronet1 or
  that they considered it as too        
decorative a feature to be in accordance
  with severe ,presbyterian principles1 
or whether1 finally1 the expense  was   
too great for their pockets4 ,declined1 
at any rate1 the steeple  was1 so local 
tradition affirms4 ,but ,sir ,james was 
by no means willing  that the structure 
which his brain had devised should only 
be dimly  visible upon paper1 and never 
take substantial embodiment in stone and

  lime2 so he reared it1 at his own     
proper cost1 in his stable-yard1  where 
it still forms so imposing and unusual a
 feature4    ,the other curious erection
 is a rounded dome on the opposite side 
of the court1 raising its height above  
the stable buildings4 ,this  is nothing 
less than an accurate reproduction of   
8,arthur's ,o'on10  which formerly      
existed on the north bank of the        
,carron1 a mile and a  half from        
,falkirk1 believed by 8,sandy ,gordon10 
the great antiquarian  friend of the    
second ,baronet of ,penicuik1 to be a   
,roman ,sacellum1 or  chapel in which   
military standards and insignia were    
deposited1 and  fully described and     
discussed in his 8,itinerarium          
,septentrionale10  that precious folio  
which ,oldbuck had captured and was     
beginning to  examine when we make his  
acquaintance in the opening chapters of 
8,the  ,antiquary40    ,turning1        
however1 to the house itself1 we may    
remark1 as we enter1 that  the ornaments

 of the front--the stone vases that     
break the sky-line1  and the graceful   
8,chippendale0 shield of arms1 furnished
 with the  decorative1 not heraldic1    
adjunct of wings--were designed by ,john
  ,clerk of ,eldin1 author of the       
8,naval ,tactics10 a cadet of the       
family4  ,also that the grisaille       
painting on the lower side of the roof  
of  the raised portico was executed--so 
,james ,jackson's 8,account of the      
,parish of ,penicuik0 informs us--by    
,alexander ,runciman1 when he was  an   
apprentice with ,john ,norie1 the       
well-known decorative painter and       
landscapist of ,edinburgh1 and that it  
was the ability displayed in  this work 
that induced ,sir ,james to assist in   
sending the youth for  four or five     
years to ,rome1 whence he returned to   
execute the mural  paintings of the ,st4
 ,margaret ,staircase and the ,ossian   
,hall of ,penicuik  ,house4 ,the motto1 
from ,cicero's ,de ,officiis with which 
the portal is  inscribed1 was chosen by 

the ,earl of ,perth1 grandson of ,john  
,drummond1  the attainted ,earl of      
,melfort1 a close friend of ,sir        
,james's2 and a  letter regarding it may
 be transcribed1 as a quaint example of 
the  stately epistles of our ancestors4 
8,,sir1--,upon considering the manner of
 your ,house of ,pennicueik1      where 
,i had the pleasure of beeing some days 
in ,november last1      and admiring the
 ,architecture of it1 after #dj years   
ponderating      7sic7 in my mind a     
,precept of ,cicero's1            ,non  
,domo ,dominus1 sed ,domino ,domus      
honestanda est1        found for the    
first time that it was obtemperate1 and 
should      wish for leave to inscribe  
it on ,pennicueik ,house as the real    
sentiment of            ,your most      
obedient              ,servant and      
,cousin                  ,,perth4       
8,,lundin ,,house1 ,ap4 #bb1 #agga40    
,,iii4    ,in the ,entrance ,hall       
various antiquarian and artistic        
treasures  decorate the walls or are    

preserved in glass cases1--the colours  
of  the local volunteer regiment that   
was raised at the time of the ,french   
,invasion scare1 full-sized marble      
copies of various antique statues1      
excellent old china1 several fine       
missals1 the fan and necklace of  ,mary 
,queen of ,scots1 said to have come into
 the ,clerk family from ,mary  ,gray1   
wife of the first ,john ,clerk of       
,penicuik1 through her mother1  ,mary   
,gillies1 to whom it was given before   
the execution at ,fotheringay1  and the 
gold snuff-box presented by the         
,scottish ,widows' ,fund to ,lord       
,eldin1 in #ahbe1 in recognition of his 
services at the time of the  foundation 
of the company4      ,,iv4    ,turning  
to the right from the ,hall we enter the
 ,dining-room1 where  the most important
 of the portraits are hung4 ,but here   
the places of  honour on the walls1     
above the fireplaces and fronting the   
long line of  windows which light the   
apartment1 are occupied by no family    

portraits1  by no effigies of           
distinguished heads of the house4 ,even 
the portrait  of the second ,baronet1   
the potent ,baron of ,exchequer himself1
 even the  great ,raeburn group of the  
fifth ,baronet and his comely wife1     
,mary  ,dacre1 have been waived to less 
important positions2 and the pictures   
which hold the chief places represent a 
poet and a painter who were  loved and  
honoured by this family of ,penicuik4   
,over the fireplace to the right is an  
excellent portrait1 by ,william         
,aikman1 of ,allan ,ramsay the elder1 a 
man who1 though his verses may  seem a  
little artificial and a little dull to  
the readers of our own  day1 is worthy  
of all honour1 not only for having aided
 in turning  ,scottish poetry into a    
freer and more natural channel1 but also
 for  having established a theatre and  
the first circulating library in        
,edinburgh1 and so distinctly served the
 cause of culture in ,scotland4  ,he was
 the sworn friend of the house of       

,penicuik1 the chosen associate  of the 
second ,baronet1 and of his son1        
afterwards ,sir ,james1 whom he         
addresses in that homely and vigorous   
8,epistle10 beginning--        8,blythe 
may he be who o'er the haugh1      ,all 
free from care1 may sing and laugh10    
which is dated 8,pennycuick1 ,may #i1   
#agee40    ,the present picture1 very   
similar to that which was excellently   
mezzotinted by ,george ,white1 shows the
 poet nearly to the waist1 clad  in a   
brown coat1 the shirt open at the throat
 and without a cravat4 ,no  wig is worn1
 but the head is wound round tightly1   
cap-fashion1 with  a low-toned orange   
handkerchief1 beneath which appears the 
bright1  alert1 intelligent face1 with  
its bushy eyebrows and very black eyes1 
its wide-nostrilled1 humorous1 slightly 
retrouss nose1 and its  large-lipped    
mouth1 full and rippling over with      
good-nature and  sensitiveness4 ,we are 
enabled to fix the exact date of the    
picture by  means of the following      

interesting inscription on the back1 in 
the  autograph of ,sir ,john1 the second
 ,baronet3--      8,a ,roundlet in ,mr4 
,ramsay's own ,way4        ,here painted
 on this canvass clout1      ,by        
,aikman's hand is ,ramsay's snout1      
,the picture's value none might doubt1  
,for ten to one ,i'll venture1      ,the
 greatest criticks could not tell       
,which of the two does most excell1     
,or in his way should bear the bell1    
,the ,poet or the ,painter4             
,j4 ,c4 ,pennicuik1 #e ,may #agbc40     
,the picture accordingly represents the 
poet in his thirty-seventh  year1 and   
was painted when the artist was about to
 leave ,scotland to  settle in ,london1 
an occasion on which ,ramsay inscribed  
to him his  8,pastoral ,farewell10--not 
his only poetical tribute to his friend1
  for previously1 in #agba1 he had      
penned another 8,epistle10 in which he  
thanks the portraitist because          
8,by your assistance unconstrain'd1     
,to courts ,i can repair1      ,and by  

your art my way ,i've gained        ,to 
closets of the fair40    ,there are many
 other portraits which enable us to     
gather what was the  personal appearance
 of the author of 8,the ,gentle         
,shepherd40 ,there is  the print in     
which the poet appears in all the bright
 bravery of youth1  clad in a kind of   
fanciful ,scottish costume1--a coat     
slashed at the  sleeves1 a plaid laid   
over his right shoulder1 a broad        
,highland bonnet1  with a ,st4 ,andrew  
badge1 set on the head4 ,this is the    
frontispiece to  the first quarto       
edition of his works1 published by      
,ruddiman in #agba3  it is engraved by  
,t4 ,vereruysse1 and bears the initials 
,j4 ,s4 ,p41  which1 as we learn from   
the engraving by ,vertue1 evidently from
 the  same picture1 in ,ramsay's 8,poems
 and ,songs10 #agbh1 stands for 8,john  
,smibert1 ,pinxit40 ,this painter1 born 
in ,edinburgh in #afhd1 was a friend    
and correspondent of ,ramsay's1 and it  
was to him1 while studying art in       

,italy1 that the poet addressed that    
8,epistle to a ,friend in ,florence0    
which is included in his works4 ,he     
accompanied ,bishop ,berkeley to ,rhode 
,island in #agbg1 and afterwards settled
 in ,boston1 where he resided till  his 
death in #agea4 ,in ,britain his works  
are scarce1 but a portrait of  ,berkeley
 by his hand is in the ,national        
,portrait ,gallery1 ,london1 and  there 
is at ,monymusk1 ,aberdeenshire1 along  
with minor examples of his  art1 an     
important group of ,lord ,cullen and his
 family1 including twelve  life-sized   
figures1 which he painted in #agbj4     
,smibert is believed to  have executed a
 second portrait of ,allan ,ramsay1 that
 kit-cat likeness  with the head turned 
nearly in profile to the left1 which    
formed  the frontispiece to 8,the       
,gentle ,shepherd1 with ,illustrations  
of the  ,scenery10 ,edinburgh #ahad1    
engraved by ,a4 ,wilson1 from a drawing 
made  by ,a4 ,carse from the picture    
7now at ,new ,hall1 ,mid-,lothian71     

which  had belonged to the poet himself1
 and afterwards to ,janet ,ramsay1 a    
daughter who survived him4    ,again    
there is a singularly heavy-looking and 
spiritless portrait  engraved in the    
second volume of ,ruddiman's #agbh      
edition of ,ramsay's  works1 marked as  
by ,strange's master1 8,r4 ,cooper1 ad  
vivum sculpsit1  ,edinr10 showing the   
figure to the waist1 the right hand     
holding a  volume of the ,poems2 and the
 smaller print1 without name of painter 
or  engraver1 which seems to be an      
improved adaptation of this portrait1   
the face become refined and delicate1 a 
fitting face for a poet4    ,there is1  
further1 that interesting and           
characteristic chalk drawing1  by the   
poet's artist son1 preserved at         
,woodhouselee1 and inscribed  8,his     
first attempt of that kind from the life
 444 #agbi10 done  when the youth--who  
in the words of his father in a letter  
to the  above-mentioned ,smibert1 had   
8been pursuing his science since he was 

a dozen years auld0--was just sixteen1  
seven years before he started  for      
,italy1 to study art in ,rome2 and there
 is a print in which the  same portrait 
is treated as a bust on a pedestal1     
drawn by the younger  ,ramsay and       
engraved by ,cooper4 ,there is also the 
well-known portrait1  done by the same  
filial hand1 that was engraved by ,david
 ,allan in  the #aghh quarto edition of 
8,the ,gentle ,shepherd10 a bust        
likeness1  with the strong-featured1    
firmly modelled face turned in profile  
to  the right1 appearing from behind a  
parapet on which lie the various        
symbols of the pastoral muse1 a mask1 a 
staff1 a crook1 and a rustic  pipe4 ,in 
interest1 however1 and in all life-like 
qualities1 the picture  at ,penicuik is 
fully equal to the best of those we have
 named as  portraying the shrewd and    
cheerful countenance of the homely poet4
    ,the portrait which hangs to the    
left1 over the other fireplace of the   
,penicuik ,dining-room is also by       

,aikman1 and its subject is the painter 
himself4 ,here again an additional      
interest is given to the picture1 in    
this case a most pathetic interest1 by  
its inscription4 ,on its back  is a     
note1 also in the hand of the second    
,baronet of ,penicuik1 the  painter's   
cousin3--8,mr4 ,aikman1 painted by      
himself when dying1 and left  as a      
legacy to me1 ,j4 ,c41 anno #agcc40     
,this artist was born in #afhb1 the son 
of ,william ,aikman of ,cairnie1        
,forfarshire1 by his second wife1       
,margaret1 sister of the first ,sir     
,john ,clerk4 ,in his youth he was      
possessed1 as ,douglas of the ,baronage 
says1 with even more than his customary 
solemnity1 of a 8mighty genius  for     
portrait-painting40 ,his father1 like so
 many of the ,scottish  gentry1 was a   
member of the ,scottish ,bar1 and       
desired that his son  should enter upon 
the studies that would qualify him for  
the same  profession--studies which     
would reasonably occupy his time1 put   

him  in the way of intellectual effort1 
and give him enough law to enable  him  
to manage his estates profitably1 and to
 sit with dignity and  propriety upon   
the bench of county magistrates4 ,but   
the parental wishes  were in vain2 the  
8mighty genius for portrait-painting0   
was not to be  controlled4 ,aikman      
studied art for three years in          
,edinburgh1 under ,sir  ,john de        
,medina1 of whose portraiture there is a
 representative series  in ,penicuik    
,house2 and1 when he came into          
possession of his ancestral  acres1     
which were valuable then1 and have      
become doubly valuable since1  he       
promptly parted with them1 sold all that
 he had for the sake of  art2 and having
 rid himself of the burden of ponderable
 and engrossing  material things1       
started a free man to study painting in 
,rome4 ,during  the five years that he  
spent abroad he even visited            
,constantinople and  ,smyrna1 a 8far    
cry0 indeed for a ,scottish laird of the

 beginning of the  seventeenth century4 
,returning to his native country in     
#agab1 he was  in time patronised by    
,john1 ,duke of ,argyll1 and in #agbc he
 established  himself in ,london1 where 
he moved in the best and most cultured  
circles1 numbering among his friends    
,sir ,robert ,walpole1 ,pope1 ,swift1   
,arbuthnot1 and ,gay1 several of whom   
still live upon his canvases4  ,at the  
age of forty-nine he was prosperous and 
happy1 in excellent  practice as a      
portrait-painter1 busied upon a great   
group of the  ,royal ,family1           
commissioned by the ,earl of            
,burlington1 and now in the  possession 
of the ,duke of ,devonshire4 ,but this  
work was destined never  to be          
completed4 ,his only son1 one of those  
8bonnie bairns0 to whom  ,allan ,ramsay 
refers in his 8,pastoral ,farewell to   
,mr4 ,aikman10 a youth  of great        
artistic promise--several etched studies
 after ,van ,dyck by his  hand still    
exist to prove his talent#a--sickened   

and died at the age  of eighteen1 and   
the father never recovered the blow4 ,he
 pined away1  died six months           
afterwards1 #agca1 and was buried in the
 same grave  in the ,greyfriars'        
,churchyard1 ,edinburgh4 ,mallet wrote  
his epitaph2  ,ramsay1 ,thomson1 and    
,somerville have recorded his virtues   
and the charm  of his presence4         
#a ,a three-quarters length portrait of 
the younger ,aikman1      with a grave  
earnest face1 clad in a long-skirted    
grey coat1      and holding a sketch in 
his hand1 is in the possession of the   
representative of the family at ,the    
,ross1 ,hamilton4 ,it is an             
excellent example of the elder ,aikman's
 portraiture4    ,at ,penicuik we are   
enabled to trace the development of     
,aikman's art  from first to final      
phase4 ,his portrait of 8,dame          
,christina ,kilpatrick10  second wife of
 the first ,baronet1 is marked on the   
back by the  painter's cousin1 8painted 
#agjf by ,mr4 ,aikman when he was       

learning to  paint1 but very like40 ,the
 portrait of the second ,baronet        
himself1  similarly inscribed1 8painted 
by ,mr4 ,aikman1 about the year #agjf1  
when  he was beginning to paint10 is    
identical in style with the work of his 
master ,medina4 ,in the ,red ,bedroom   
are hung his school copies after        
classical subjects by ,maratti1 done at 
,rome2 and we have seen that the        
portrait of himself was one of the very 
last canvases that his brush  touched4  
,this portrait of ,aikman showing the   
figure nearly to the waist within  a    
painted oval1 is practically identical  
with that in the ,national  ,gallery of 
,scotland1 formerly in the possession of
 ,mrs4 ,forbes1 the  artist's eldest    
daughter1 and engraved in 8,the ,bee10  
vol4 xviii4 #agic4  ,the only difference
 is that here the draperies consist of a
 coat and  vest of a cool               
yellowish-brown velvet1 passing into    
definite yellow in  the high lights1    
while in the ,national ,gallery version 

a golden-brown  gown and a flowered vest
 of the same colour is substituted4 ,the
  well-balanced1 handsome1 oval face1   
with its ripe mouth1 rippling in  its   
lines and dimpled at the corners1 fine  
dark-blue eyes1 and rounded1  slightly  
cleft chin1 is turned in three-quarters 
towards the right1 and  surmounted by a 
voluminous powdered wig4 ,another       
portrait of ,aikman  by himself is      
preserved at ,florence in the ,painters'
 ,gallery of the  ,uffizi4 ,here the    
pose of the figure is similar to that in
 the two other  pictures2 but the coat  
is of crimson1 the lower part of the    
body is  wrapped in a dark mantle1 and  
no wig is worn1 its place being taken by
  a white handkerchief which is wound   
round the head4 ,among the portraits  of
 ,aikman at ,the ,ross is another from  
his own hand1 showing him as he         
appeared on his travels1 bearded1 and   
wearing a turban and a ruddy  ,eastern  
gown4    ,we may now turn to the family 
portraits with which the walls of the   

,dining-room are covered4 ,the earliest 
of them is a portrait of ,john  ,clerk1 
father of the first ,baronet1 and the   
founder of the family1  known for       
centuries in the familiar traditions of 
the ,penicuik nursery  under the playful
 title of 8,musso10 from his prolonged  
residence in  ,france4 ,he was born in  
#afaj1 the son of a merchant-burgess of 
,montrose1  and baptized at ,fettercairn
 by the ,bishop of ,caithness1 on the   
#bb;d  ,december of that year4 ,bred a  
merchant1 he settled in ,paris in #afcd1
  where he acquired 8a fortune of at    
least #aj1jjj10 as his grandson  informs
 us4 ,in #afdg he returned to ,scotland1
 married1 acquired the  lands of        
,penicuik and of ,wrightshouses1 near   
,edinburgh1 and died in  #afgd1 at the  
age of sixty-three4    ,his portrait1   
which hangs in the ,dining-room1 is not 
a contemporary  work1 but a copy        
executed by ,aikman--to range with the  
other family  pictures--from a          
miniature1 done in ,paris by an unknown 

painter1 and  still preserved in the    
,charter-room4 ,this original1 inscribed
 on its  gold case 8,john ,clerk of     
,pennicuik1 #afdd10 is a bust portrait  
painted  in oils on a small oval slab of
 bloodstone1 the polished green surface 
of which1 with its red markings1 serves 
for background4 ,the face shows  a      
delicate1 prominently aquiline nose1 a  
forehead broad rather than  high1       
sharply pencilled black eyebrows above  
the dark blue eyes1 a  full1 brightly   
red lower lip1 a small moustache of     
darkest brown1  turned up at the ends1  
and a tiny tuft on the chin4 ,the bust  
is clad in  that pseudo-,roman costume  
so much affected in the portraiture of  
the  period1 similar to that in which   
,charles ,,ii4 appears in the equestrian
  statue in the ,parliament ,square1    
,edinburgh1 and very closely resembling 
the dress worn by ,george ,lauder1      
author of 8,the ,scottish ,souldier10 in
  the scarce portrait engraved by ,j4   
,hermanni after ,j4 ,reyners4 ,the tunic

  is of a bright blue colour1 cut square
 at the neck1 and edged with  gold lace1
 decorated on the breast and shoulders  
with gold ornaments  worked into the    
shape of satyr and lion heads1 and a    
bright red mantle  falls in graceful    
folds on either side4 ,the little       
picture is of  excellent workmanship and
 is delicately finished1 much of its    
precision  of detail having been lost in
 ,aikman's not very refined life-sized  
copy4    ,above the fireplace in the    
,drawing-room is another portrait of    
this  same ,john ,clerk1 a large1 dark1 
gallery full-length1 stated to have     
been executed1 like the miniature1 in   
,paris4 ,here the founder of the  family
 is depicted standing1 in a black dress1
 his right hand resting  on the stone   
ball which surmounts and decorates the  
parapet of garden  walk1 his left hand  
sustaining his sword4 ,the countenance  
is manifestly  the same as that in the  
miniature4 ,this picture is stated by   
family  tradition to have been painted  

by 8,de ,wit10 a portrait-painter we    
have  not as yet been able to identify4 
,it bears no resemblance in style to    
the portraits executed by ,james de     
,witt at ,holyrood in #afhd-e1 and at   
,glamis ,castle in #afhf-h2 and it could
 hardly have been the same artist  who  
was working at ,paris before the year   
#afdg4 ,nor1 of course1 is it by  ,jacob
 de ,wit1 the painter of a subject in   
the ,library to be afterwards           
described1 who was not born till #afie4 
,the portrait of the wife of ,john      
,clerk1 ,mary1 daughter of ,sir ,william
  ,gray of ,pittendrum1 is also a copy1 
and of this a delicate and spirited     
contemporary miniature is preserved at  
,penicuik4 ,it was executed about  the  
end of the last century by ,miss ,ann   
,forbes1 a grand-daughter  of ,william  
,aikman's1 and consequently a connection
 of the ,clerks1  whose work1 chiefly in
 crayons1 though this is an oil picture1
 is  to be found in many ,scottish      
houses1 as1 for instance1 at ,the ,ross1

  ,hamilton1 the seat of the present    
head of ,aikman's family4 ,a few other  
examples of her brush are preserved in  
the present collection2 and  her own    
portrait1 painted by ,david ,allan1 a   
carefully handled cabinet  picture1 very
 clear and silvery in tone1 showing her 
standing in  three-quarters length1     
holding a portcrayon and a portfolio1 is
 in the  ,scottish ,national ,portrait  
,gallery4 ,the portrait of ,mrs4 ,mary  
,clerk1  like that of her husband1 shows
 the figure to the waist2 the face is in
  three-quarters to the right4 ,she has 
light hazel eyes1 neutral brown         
eyebrows and hair1 the latter           
elaborately curled1 fastened with bows  
of black ribbon1 and decorated in front 
with a small plume of white  ostrich    
feathers1 and she wears pearl ear-rings 
and a double string of  large pearls    
round the neck4 ,the costume is a black 
flowered dress1  worn low at the breast1
 with a tall white lace collar standing 
up  behind the neck4      ,v4    ,we    

come now to examine the portraits of    
,sir ,john ,clerk1 the first  ,baronet  
of ,penicuik1 who was born in #afdi2    
served repeatedly in  ,parliament1 after
 the ,revolution of #afhh1 as member for
 the county of  ,edinburgh2 was         
,lieutenant-,colonel of a regiment      
commanded by the ,earl  of ,lauderdale2 
was created a ,baronet by ,charles ,,ii4
 in #afgi2 acquired  the lands of       
,lasswade in #agjj2 and died in #agbb4  
,he is described by his  son as 8one of 
the strongest men of his time1 but not  
full in stature1  being scarce #e feet  
#f inches10 8finely made1 had           
proportionate breadth1  and a ,hercules 
shoulders10 8a man of knowledge and     
application10 8a  pretty good scholar1  
and exceedingly knowing in ,divinity40  
,no fewer than five portraits--pictures 
and miniatures--at ,penicuik  are stated
 to represent this first ,baronet4 ,the 
earliest is that  preserved in the glass
 case beside the entrance to the        
,library4 ,it is  a miniature1 executed 

on paper with the brush and ,indian ink1
 showing  a small head1 turned in       
three-quarters to the left1 and         
garnished with  a long wig4 ,on the back
 is inscribed1 in the handwriting of the
 ,chief  ,baron1 the first ,baronet's   
son1 8,sir ,john ,clerk then in those   
days  in ,london a counselar at ,law    
great wigs were in fashion #afhi40 ,in  
the same case is a second miniature of  
similar general character1 but  drawn   
upon vellum1 accompanied by a companion 
miniature of the first  ,baronet's      
second wife1 ,christian1 daughter of the
 ,rev4 ,mr4 ,kilpatrick4  ,another      
portrait of this lady1 an oil-portrait1 
showing the figure to  the waist1 is in 
the ,dining-room4 ,here she wears a     
claret-coloured  dress and an           
amber-brown mantle4 ,the hair is        
yellowish brown1 the  eyes of a dark    
rich brown1 and the face1 which is a    
little out of  drawing1 though curiously
 individual and life-like1 has          
peculiarly  raised eyebrows4 ,this work 

is inscribed in the handwriting of her  
son-in-law--8,dame ,christian           
,kilpatrick1 my father's second wife1   
painted #agjf by ,mr4 ,aikman1 when he  
was learning to paint1 but very         
like0--an early example of the artist1  
done when he was studying under         
,medina1 the year before he left for    
,italy4    ,in the ,dining-room are     
three other works1 all life-sized       
oil-portraits1  stated to be likenesses 
of the first ,baronet4 ,one of them1    
showing ,sir  ,john clad in a brown gown
 lined with red1 is manifestly a        
companion  portrait done at the same    
time as the last-named portrait of his  
wife4  ,it also bears a similar note by 
the ,baron--8,my father ,sir ,john      
,clerk1  painted by ,mr4 ,aikman about  
the year #agjf1 when he was beginning to
  paint40 ,in its style of handling1 as 
well as in its combinations of  colour1 
it recalls most strongly the works of   
,sir ,john ,medina1 its  painter's      
master4    ,a second portrait is also by

 ,aikman1 a later and more accomplished 
work4 ,here the figure is seen nearly to
 the waist1 turned to the right1  with  
the face slightly in the same direction4
 ,a curled wig is worn1 and  a          
single-breasted coat of pale blue       
velvet4 ,the eyes are of a clear  blue  
colour2 and the face is of that firm1   
powerful1 large-featured  type which for
 generations was habitual in the house  
of ,penicuik4 ,this  picture1 again1 is 
inscribed in the son's                  
handwriting--8,sir ,john ,clerk  of     
,pennicuik1 my ,father1 painted by ,mr4 
,aikman4 ,he was born in ,april  #afdi1 
and died in ,march #agbb1 aged #gc40    
,very considerable difficulty attaches  
to the remaining portrait1  which is    
believed to represent the first ,sir    
,john ,clerk1 and to the  manifestly    
companion portrait beside it1 which has 
been held to portray  his first wife1   
,elizabeth1 daughter of ,henry          
,henderson of ,elvington1  and          
grand-daughter of ,william ,drummond of 

,hawthornden1 a poet 8of an  excellent  
,fancy for the times he lived in10 as   
the ,baron remarks1  rather             
patronisingly1 in the family history    
with which he begins his  account of his
 own life4    ,it has been stated       
7,catalogue of ,national ,gallery of    
,scotland1 #ahhg7  that these portraits 
8are dated #afgd40 ,this1 however1 is   
inaccurate1  as no inscription appears  
upon either work4 ,it has also been     
asserted  7,catalogue of ,royal         
,scottish ,academy ,loan ,exhibition of 
#ahfc7 that 8the  original ,scougal     
accounts for the price paid for them0   
are preserved  at ,penicuik2 but a      
search which we have made through the   
old receipts  of the period has failed  
to disclose such a document4 ,probably  
this  second reference is not to the    
painter's receipt1 but simply to an     
entry of the payment which is to be     
found in an interesting old             
account-book preserved in the           
,charter-room at ,penicuik1 one of that 

8great many journals and writings0 which
 the ,chief ,baron records that  his    
father left 8under his hand1 which will1
 ,i hope1 bear testimony  to the regard 
he always had for virtue and ,honesty40 
,this volume the  ,chief ,baron--partly 
in filial piety1 more perhaps with the  
instinct  of the accurate and omnivorous
 antiquary--has docketed as follows3    
8,book of ,accompts by my ,grandfather  
,mr4 ,jo4 ,clerk1 and ,father ,sir ,john
  ,clerk1 ,whereon are several things   
remarkable4 #a1 their methodes of       
accompting4 #b1 their methodes of       
management4 #c1 the different  prices of
 things4 ,john ,clerk1 #agcc40 ,here on 
a page headed ,june #afgd1  but under   
date of 8,novr #afge10 the following    
entry appears--8,to ,john  ,scougall for
 #b pictures #cf02 and it is curious1 as
 illustrating 8the  different prices of 
things10 and also as showing how a love 
of all the  various fine arts prevailed 
then among the ,clerks1 as it has       
prevailed  among them ever since1 to    

note another entry1 which appears a few 
lines  beneath3 8,to ,mr4 ,chambers for 
,teaching ,g4 and me to play ye violl   
#aej10 both sums being in ,scots        
currency4    ,there can be no doubt that
 the portraits above referred to are the
 8#b  pictures0 by ,scougall mentioned  
in the account-book1 for a comparison   
with other works by that painter proves 
them to be excellent and most  typical  
examples of his brush1 and there are no 
other pictures in the  house painted in 
a style recalling that artist1 except   
the portrait of  ,lord ,justice-,clerk  
,sir ,archibald ,primrose1 which will be
 afterwards  referred to4 ,it has been  
assumed1 but on less sufficient         
evidence1 that  they represent the first
 ,sir ,john ,clerk 7by whom they were   
certainly  commissioned7 and his first  
wife1 and that they were painted to     
celebrate the wedding of the pair1 which
 occurred in #afgd4 ,it is to  be noted1
 however1 that the account-book gives no
 information as to  who the personages  

are that appear in the pictures2 that   
there is no  contemporary inscriptions  
on the works themselves to prove that it
 is  the first ,baronet and his wife    
that are portrayed and not merely two   
of their friends2 that in the male      
portrait the face is delicate in  its   
curves and contours1 with a long thin   
nose1 drooping at the point1  quite     
unlike the countenance which appears in 
the pictures certified in  the          
handwriting of the son as representing  
the first ,baronet2 and that  the       
present picture seems to portray a man  
of more than twenty-five or  twenty-six1
 the age of the first ,sir ,john when   
the work was executed4    ,but1 whomever
 they portray1 the pictures are         
excellent and interesting  examples of a
 little-known ,scottish artist1 by far  
the finest works  by ,john ,scougall    
with which we are acquainted2 and they  
afford  most interesting representations
 of the costume of the end of the       
seventeenth century4    ,each of them   

shows its subject to the waist4 ,the    
male figure is turned  to the right1    
clad in a black doublet1 with richly    
wrought silver  buttons1 partly open in 
front and disclosing the shirt1 which   
also  appears at the arms1 beneath the  
short sleeves of the coat2 and the      
short embroidered cravat is drawn       
through a loop and spread out1 in       
fan-like folds1 on either side4 ,the    
thin1 nervous-looking face wears  a very
 peculiar expression2 the eyes dark     
blue1 the long yellowish  hair curling  
down to the shoulders3 it is a face     
eminently individual1  utterly          
unforgetable4    ,the lady's portrait is
 even a more beautiful and fascinating  
old  picture4 ,here the figure is turned
 to the left2 the face1 seen in         
three-quarters1 is rather pallid in its 
flesh-tints1 as was usual with  the     
painter1 a characteristic which appears 
also in the male portrait4  ,the eyes   
are of a neutral grey-blue2 the         
yellow-brown hair is worn flat  on the  

top1 and bound with a string of pearls1 
from beneath which it  flows in         
carefully arranged ringlets4 ,the dress1
 of plain white satin1  with voluminous 
sleeves1 is cleverly handled and        
excellently expressive  of the texture  
and sheen of the material2 and a brooch 
of pearls and  dark stones is set at the
 breast1 clasping a scarf of faint      
blending  blue and yellow tints1 which  
floats over the lady's right shoulder1  
and  flows freely behind4    ,of ,james 
,clerk of ,wrightshouses1 the second son
 of the first ,john ,clerk  of          
,penicuik1 and brother of the first     
,baronet1 we have an imposing           
three-quarters length painted by ,sir   
,peter ,lely4 ,he appears standing1     
robed in a rich crimson gown1 which     
shows its orange-tinted lining1  with an
 elaborate lace cravat1 and ruffles     
appearing at the hands1 one  of which is
 laid gracefully against his side1 while
 his right arm rests  on a stone parapet
 to the left4 ,the face is of a man of  

between thirty  and forty1 with handsome
 regular features and the rounded1 oval 
cheeks  and small1 ripe1 red-lipped     
mouth which the painter loved to depict1
  and with much individuality and       
character in the firm clear-cut line of 
the nose4 ,a dark curtain appears behind
 the figure1 and a low-toned1           
wintry-looking distance of landscape4   
,the companion picture of ,mary ,ricard1
 8a ,french lady10 wife of  ,james      
,clerk of ,wrightshouses1 also shows the
 figure standing and in  three-quarters 
length4 ,she is clad in a low-breasted1 
short-sleeved  dress1 richly brocaded   
with crimson1 yellow1 and green flowers1
 and  with a simple string of large     
pearls round the neck4 ,she has brown   
eyes1 light brown eyebrows1 moderately  
arched1 and dark brown curling  hair1   
one curl lying isolated on her white    
shoulder4 ,she is arranging  flowers in 
a yellow brown pot decorated with       
,cupids' heads1 which  stands on a table
 to the left1 and behind the figure is a

 wall with a  pilaster1 a red curtain1  
and a glimpse of landscape with blue    
mountain  peaks1 which may very well be 
the southern slope of the familiar      
,pentlands as seen from ,penicuik       
,house4      ,,vi4    ,of the first     
,baronet's eldest son1 ,sir ,john       
,clerk1 second ,baronet1 and  one of the
 ,barons of ,exchequer1 several         
portraits are preserved at  ,penicuik2  
but even a more complete picture of this
 stout old gentleman1  perhaps the most 
potent and memorable figure that appears
 in this  family history1 may be        
gathered from the voluminous diaries in 
his  hand that are preserved in the     
,charter-room1 and from that 8,history  
of  my ,life10 which he himself compiled
 from these1 and which the present      
,baronet has placed at the disposal of  
the ,scottish ,history ,society for     
publication2 a manuscript affording a   
clear narrative of the events of  the   
,baron's life1 and throwing curious and 
valuable side-lights upon  the manners  

and public occurrences of the time1     
while1 in almost every  line of its     
pages1 it gives a vivid1 if unconscious1
 picture of the  quaint1 masterful      
personality of its writer4    ,he was   
born1 as he tells us1 on the #hth of    
,february #afgf--not in  #afhd1 as      
stated by his biographers2 studied at   
,penicuik ,school and  ,glasgow         
,university2 and1 at the age of         
nineteen1 went to ,leyden to  be        
instructed in law by 8a very learned    
man1 ,philippus ,bernardus  ,vitrianus40
 ,here he boarded with a ,german who    
taught mathematics1  philosophy1 and    
music1 and he applied himself to all of 
these studies  as well as to law1 having
 previously1 as he remarks with proper  
pride1  8played tolerably on the        
harpsicord1 and since ,i was #g ,i      
touched the  violin a little40 ,nor do  
these exhaust the list of his pursuits1 
for  8among other things ,i learned to  
draw from ,francis ,miers1 a very great 
painter2 this proceeded partly from     

inclination1 and partly from the  advice
 ,i had from some of my ,dutch friends1 
for all their young ,folks  learn to    
draw from their being #g years of ,age1 
and find it vastly  useful in most      
,stations of ,life40 ,his great friend  
at ,leyden was ,herman  ,boerhaave1 then
 a man of twenty-six1 afterwards        
world-famous as a  physician1 and he    
gives a curious account of his being    
treated by the  young doctor with a     
8chymecal medicine he had discovered    
which would  carry off the smallpox     
before they came any length10 and which 
was  successful at the time1 though the 
malady returned in full force three     
months afterwards1 when ,clerk had gone 
to ,rome4 8,we not only lived like      
brothers while ,i studied in ,leyden1   
but continued a correspondence  together
 while he lived02 and forty-four years  
afterwards ,boerhaave  bequeathed to the
 ,baron a collection of his books1 which
 still forms  part of the ,library at   
,penicuik ,house4    ,after leaving     

,leyden ,clerk visited ,germany1 ,italy1
 ,france1 and  ,flanders1 and the two   
large ,,ms4 volumes of his 8,travels0   
during this  period--not only           
descriptive of the various places that  
he saw1 and  very particularly of the   
antiquities of ,rome1 but also giving an
  account of the laws manners1 and      
customs of the several countries that   
he visited--prove how diligent and      
observant the youth had been during  the
 whole time4 ,at the end of these       
volumes he sums up the results of  his  
residence abroad1 as follows3--         
8,n4,b4--,my improvements abroad were   
these3    8,i had studied the civil ,law
 for three ,winters at ,leyden1 and did 
not  neglect it at home1 by which means 
,i passed ,advocate1 by a privat and    
publick examination some months after my
 return1 with great ease and  some      
credite4    8,i spoke ,french and       
,italian very well1 but particularly    
,dutch1  having come very young into    
,holland1 and kept more in the ,company 

of  ,hollanders than those of my own    
country4    8,i had applied much to     
classical learning1 and had more than   
ordinary  inclination for ,greek and    
,roman ,antiquities4    8,i understood  
pictures better than became my ,purse1  
and as to ,musick  ,i 444 performed     
better1 especially on the ,herpsicord1  
than became a  gentleman4    8,this1 to 
the best of my knowledge1 is a faithful 
account of myself40    ,the volumes are 
illustrated with over fifty drawings of 
the landscapes1  buildings1 statues1    
etc41 which he had seen during his      
travels1 8a few  of many hundreds       
executed while ,i was abroad40    ,in   
#agjb he was elected member for         
,whithorn in ,galloway1 which he        
represented till #agjg2 and his         
8,history0 contains curious particulars 
of the last sittings of the ,scottish   
,parliament1 and personal  references to
 the prominent political figures of the 
period1--to the  ,duke of ,queensberry1 
the ,duke of ,argyll1 the ,marquis of   

,tweeddale1 the  ,earl of ,stair1       
,robert ,dundas1 second ,lord ,arniston1
 and ,fletcher of  ,salton--8a man of   
republican principles10 8a little       
untoward in temper1  and much inclined  
to ,eloquence40 ,in #agjf-g1 through the
 influence of  the ,duke of             
,queensberry1 his first wife's cousin1  
and the ,duke of  ,argyll1 he was       
appointed a ,commissioner for the       
,union2 and in the  following year he   
became one of the ,barons of the newly  
constituted  ,court of ,exchequer in    
,scotland4    ,from this period till his
 death on the #dth of ,october #agee1   
his life  was occupied with his official
 duties2 with planting and improving    
his various estates2 with the classical 
studies to which he continued  faithful 
all his days2 with the composition of   
various learned  pamphlets1 several of  
which have been published--his          
8,historical  ,view of the ,forms and   
,powers of the ,court of ,exchequer in  
,scotland10  written in conjunction with

 ,baron ,scrope1 having been edited by  
,sir  ,henry ,jardine in #ahbj2 in the  
enjoyment of the society of his friend  
,allan ,ramsay1 the poet2 and in        
correspondence with ,roger ,gale1 and   
with ,alexander ,gordon1 in the         
subscription list of whose 8,itinerarium
  ,septentrionale0 he is entered for    
8five books10 in company with such      
well-known names as 8,mr4 ,adams1       
,architect02 8,the ,right ,hon4 ,duncan 
,forbes1 ,lord ,advocate of ,scotland02 
8,james ,gibbs1 ,esq41 ,architect02     
8,the ,right ,hon4 ,the ,lord ,lovat02  
8,richard ,mead1 ,m4,d402 8,the ,hon4   
,sir  ,hans ,sloane1 ,bart402 and 8,mr4 
,john ,smibert10 the portrait-painter4  
,gordon styles him 8not only a treasure 
of learning and good taste1 but  now one
 of its chief supports in that country10
 and pronounces that  8among all the    
collections of ,roman antiquities in    
,scotland1 that of  ,baron ,clerk claims
 the preference1 both as to number and  
curiosity40  ,it was one of the ,baron's

 antiquarian experiences at a supposed  
,roman  camp on his property of         
,dumcrieff1 in ,dumfriesshire1 which1   
narrated  to ,scott by his son1 ,john   
,clerk of ,eldin1 suggested the episode 
of the  8,prtorium0 in 8,the            
,antiquary40    ,occasionally across the
 quiet and characteristic pages that    
narrate  his daily doings there falls   
the shadow of larger national events3 of
  the ,rebellion of #agae1--8,the ,earl 
of ,mar was not only my acquaintance    
but my particular friend02 of the ,south
 ,sea ,scheme1 in connection with  which
 ,clerk held stock1 and was a consequent
 sufferer2 and of the  ,rebellion of    
#agde1 when the ,highlanders in         
occupation of ,edinburgh  visited       
,penicuik ,house1 demanding food and    
drink4    ,as a poet--or1 at least1 a   
rhymester--the ,baron is known by the   
really  vigorous verses which he added  
to the single surviving stanza of the   
old ,scotch song        8,o merry may   
the maid be      ,that marries the      

miller10    which will be found in      
,johnston's 8,musical ,museum10 but were
 first  published anonymously1 in #agea1
 in 8,the ,charmer02 and by the lines   
beginning        8,harmonious pipe1 how 
,i envye thy bliss      ,when pressed to
 ,sylphia's lips with gentle kiss10     
which he sent1 screwed up in a flute to 
,susanna ,kennedy1 afterwards the       
celebrated ,countess of ,eglintoune1 to 
whom ,allan ,ramsay dedicated his       
8,gentle ,shepherd10 and of whom ,clerk 
was a lover in his youth1 at the  time  
when1 as he tells us1 he suffered from  
his father's 8attempts0 to  find him a  
wife1 and especially to wed him to a    
lady--whose name he  honourably         
suppresses--8not to my taste1 and indeed
 it was happy for me  to have stopt     
short in this amour1 for she proved the 
most disagreeable  woman ,i ever knew1  
tho' otherways a wise enough country    
woman40 ,there  also exist in ,,ms4     
8,some ,poetical ,ejeculations on the   
,death of my dear  wife1 ,lady ,margaret

 ,stuart10 that 8choice of my own10 who 
became his  first wife1 8a very handsome
 woman1 for the most part bred up in    
,galloway1 a stranger to the follies of 
,edinburgh10 8the best ,woman that  ever
 breathed ,life40    ,the earliest of   
the portraits of the ,baron preserved at
 ,penicuik ,house  hangs in the         
dressing-room of the present ,baronet4  
,it is a small1  carefully finished     
pencil-drawing2 an interesting memorial 
of ,sir  ,john's student days at        
,leyden4 ,the figure is portrayed to the
 waist1  clad in a loose gown1 and with 
a voluminous cravat wrapped round the   
neck4 ,the hands are not shown4 ,the    
hair is long and curling4 ,the face     
full1 beardless1 and youthful1 set in   
three-quarters to the right1  is        
modelled with excellent thoroughness1   
and very crisp and incisive  in the     
touches that express the lips and the   
dimple at the corner  of the mouth4 ,the
 background is dark to the left1 and to 
the right  appears a wall decorated with

 pilasters4 ,the drawing is inscribed on
  the background 8tatis #ai10 and       
beneath 8,my picture done at ,leyden1   
,jo4 ,clerk02 while on the back is      
written 8,my picture done at ,leyden by 
,francis ,miris10 the two latter        
inscriptions being in the handwriting of
  the ,baron himself4    ,a comparison  
of the dates leads to some dubiety as to
 who was the  actual draughtsman of this
 portrait4 ,there were three well-known 
,dutch  painters of the name of         
,mieris--,frans ,van ,mieris1 the pupil 
of ,gerard  ,dow1 born at ,delft in     
#afce1 died at ,leyden #afha2 ,willem   
,van ,mieris1 his  son1 born at ,leyden 
#affb1 and died there1 #agdg2 and his   
son1 ,frans ,van  ,mieris1 the younger1 
born at ,leyden #afhi1 died there in    
#agfc4 ,the year  in which the drawing  
was executed must have been #afie1      
consequently it  cannot be the work of  
the elder ,frans2 nor can it have been  
done by  his grandson1 the younger      
,frans1 who was then only six years of  

age4  ,a solution of the difficulty     
seems to be afforded by a comparison of 
the 8,travels0 and the 8,history0 of the
 ,baron4 ,in the former1 a journal      
written at the time1 he states that he  
was instructed in art at ,leyden1  by   
8,miris10 but in the latter1 compiled   
from the former many years  afterwards1 
he states that 8,francis ,miers1 a very 
great painter10  was his teacher1 the   
,christian name being apparently added  
from  memory1 which1 in the present     
case1 seems to have played him false4   
,there can be little doubt that the     
portrait was drawn by ,willem ,van      
,mieris1 who at the time of ,clerk's    
residence at ,leyden was forty-one      
years of age1 and in full practice as an
 artist4 ,as corroborating  this        
supposition1 we may notice that in the  
account of the ,clerks of  ,penicuik    
contributed by ,miss ,isabella ,clerk to
 the 8,life of ,professor  ,james ,clerk
 ,maxwell10 and 8chiefly derived from a 
book of autograph  letters which was    

long kept at ,glenlair1 and is now in   
the possession  of ,mrs4 ,maxwell10 it  
is stated that the ,baron was a pupil of
 ,william  ,mieris in drawing2 and      
further1 that a drawing of two men's    
heads  similar in style to the present  
portrait1 preserved in the ,penicuik    
,drawing-room1 is inscribed in the      
,baron's hand1 8,originall by ,william  
,van ,miris1 #afif10 indicating that    
about the date he must have been in     
communication with this artist4         
,three oil portraits1 showing the ,baron
 in later life1 hang in the             
,dining-room4 ,in the first1 by ,sir    
,john ,medina1 he appears still as  a   
young man1 seen to the waist1 clad in a 
bright blue coat and a  crimson cloak--a
 combination of primary colours in which
 the painter  frequently indulged4 ,his 
right hand is laid on a book1 which     
rests on  an unseen table in front to   
the right4 ,he wears a long yellowish   
wig1  with powdered curls1 and the blue 
eyes and the alert mouth are full  of   

activity and energy4 ,probably this     
portrait was executed at the  time of   
his marriage1 in #agjj1 for there is a  
companion picture of his  first wife1   
,margaret ,stewart1 daughter of the     
third ,earl of ,galloway1  and          
grand-daughter of ,james1 ,earl of      
,queensberry1 painted by ,aikman4  ,as  
was to be expected in so early a work of
 the artist's--he must have  been under 
twenty when he painted it1 for the lady 
died in #agja--this  latter is full of  
faults1 stiff in pose1 with little      
suggestion of the  figure under the     
draperies of white and blue3 still it   
conveys the idea  of a charming and     
attractive personality1 fitting as that 
of the lady  for whom the ,baron--as    
shown in the 8,history of his           
,life10--mourned so  truly4    ,there is
 a second bust-portrait of the ,baron by
 ,sir ,john ,medina1 a  low-toned       
picture1 executed with care if with     
considerable hardness4  ,here the       
costume is a lilac gown1 with a long    

curled wig1 and a  white cravat2 the    
body seen turned to the right1 and the  
face in  three-quarters to the left4    
,the finest1 however1 of the portraits  
of the second ,baronet1 is  the         
three-quarters length by his cousin1    
,william ,aikman4 ,here he  appears     
robed in his black gown as ,baron of the
 ,exchequer1 worn over  a yellow-brown  
coat4 ,long white hanging bands appear  
at the breast1  and lace ruffles at the 
wrists2 and the grave face1 with its    
strongly  marked features1 is surmounted
 by a long curled wig4 ,his left hand   
hangs down in front fingering among the 
folds of his gown1 and the  right rests 
upon a red-covered table4 ,the whole is 
relieved against a  plain brown         
background1 with a low-toned space of   
crimson curtain to  the left4 ,it is an 
excellent example by the painter1 well  
arranged1  dignified1 firmly handled1   
and manifestly faithful to the          
personality  portrayed4 ,a bust-portrait
 similar in costume and wig to this one1

 but  with some difference in the       
features1 was engraved1 in line1 by ,d4 
,lizars1 8from a portrait in the        
possession of ,john ,clerk of ,eldin1   
,esq40    ,of ,sir ,james1 the third    
,baronet1 the architect of the present  
house of  ,penicuik1 we1 unfortunately  
find no adequate portrait4 ,the only    
effigy  of him that is here preserved is
 a small silhouette in white paper1     
relieved against a black background1    
marked as cut two years after his  death
 by ,barbara ,clerk1 his fifth sister1  
and as being considered very  like by   
those who knew him4 ,it shows a small   
face1 looking a little  downwards1 with 
a high forehead1 beneath the wig1       
impending over the  delicate features4  
7,see ,note at page #fi47    ,in the    
,dining-room there hangs another picture
 by ,aikman1 marked in the  ,baron's    
writing1 8,my eldest son1 ,john ,clerk1 
by ,lady ,margaret ,stuart1  born #agja1
 died #agbb1 painted by ,mr4 ,aikman40  
,the figure is seen nearly  to the      

waist2 the costume1 a long curled grey  
wig1 and a lilac-grey  gown1 lined with 
blue4 ,the small eyes are of a blue     
colour2 the face  pale1 refined1 and    
delicate-looking4 ,this was 8the most   
accomplish'd  ,son10 of 8bright aspiring
 mind10 whose birth cost the life of the
  ,baron's first wife1 and whose own    
death1 some twenty-one years later1  was
 mourned by ,ramsay in the verses       
addressed to the bereaved father1  which
 may be read in his works4 ,on another  
wall hang three pictures1  portraying1  
in pairs1 the ,baron's six daughters by 
his second wife4    ,near the portrait  
of his son is a half-length by ,aikman1 
rather hard  in execution1 showing a    
gentleman1 with face turned to the left1
 in  a purple-grey coat1 the end of his 
white cravat being thrust through  one  
of its button-holes4 ,this is ,dr4 ,john
 ,clerk1 grandson of the first  ,baronet
 of ,penicuik1 whose father1 ,robert    
,clerk1 was a physician in  ,edinburgh1 
and a close friend of ,dr4 ,pitcairn4   

,the son1 born #afhi1  died #ageg1 was a
 personage of greater mark4 ,for above  
thirty years  he was the most eminent   
physician in ,scotland2 on the          
institution  of the ,philosophical      
,society of ,edinburgh in #agci1 he was 
elected a  ,vice-,president1 an office  
which he held till his death2 and from  
#agdj  to #agdd1 he was ,president of   
the ,royal ,college of ,physicians1 in  
whose  ,hall in ,edinburgh another      
smaller portrait of him is preserved4   
,he  purchased the lands of             
,listonshiels and ,spittal in           
,mid-,lothian1 and  founded the family  
of the ,clerks of ,listonshiels4 ,his   
name appears in  the list of subscribers
 to the collection of ,ramsay's poems1  
published  in #agba1 and he is believed 
to have contributed songs to the        
8,tea-table  ,miscellany40 ,the portrait
 of his second son1 ,colonel ,robert    
,clerk1 in a  red military uniform1 is  
also preserved in the ,penicuik         
,dining-room4    ,two other works by    

,aikman may here be mentioned1 two      
drawings in red  chalk upon blue paper1 
which hang in a passage near the        
,library door4  ,they evince more of an 
ideal aim than any other of the         
productions of  this painter with which 
we are acquainted4 ,evidently they are  
companion  works1 and the female        
portrait is dated #agcj1 the year before
 the  artist's death4 ,this shows a     
girl's head in profile to the left1 a   
young attractive little face1 with the  
faintest half-smile playing  round the  
tiny mouth1 and the short hair decorated
 with a chaplet of  leaves1 or of       
leaf-like ribbons4 ,it is a portrait of 
,jean ,clerk1 the  ,baron's third       
daughter1 who married ,james ,smollet of
 ,bonhill1 one of  the ,commissaries of 
,edinburgh4    ,the other drawing shows 
a male face in three-quarters to the    
right1  with flowing hair over the      
shoulders1 and a heroic expression on   
the  high-arched brows1 the raised eyes1
 and the rippling lips2 the dress       

thrown carelessly open at the throat4   
,this is ,patrick ,clerk1 the  ,baron's 
third son4 ,his life-record is a brief  
one1 as given in the  ,baronage along   
with that of three of his brothers3     
8,patrick1 ,henry1  ,matthew1 and ,adam1
 died abroad1 in the service of their   
country40 ,we  learn from the ,baron's  
,,ms4 that he died at ,carthagena in    
#agdd4      ,,vii4    ,we now come to   
consider the prime artistic treasure in 
,penicuik  ,house1 the largest and      
finest of the three ,raeburns that hang 
in  the dining-room1 that admirable     
group of ,sir ,john ,clerk1 the fifth   
,baronet1 and his wife ,rosemary 7so she
 signed her name7 ,dacre4 ,it is  an    
oblong picture1 showing the two         
life-sized figures almost to the  knees1
 and turned towards our right4 ,nearly  
one-half of the picture1  that to the   
left1 is occupied with a landscape of   
undulating country1  diversified by     
darker passages afforded by tree-masses1
 with flashes  of light playing over the

 grass in points where it is quickened  
by  the radiance of the setting sun1 and
 with still sharper flashings  which    
mark the course of the 8classic ,esk40  
,to our extreme right an  elm-tree      
raises its great forked stem1 and throws
 out a slenderer  branch1 bearing       
embrowned leafage4 ,this is carried over
 the upper edge  of the picture1 across 
nearly its whole extent1 repeating1 by  
its mass  of dark against the sky1 the  
arm of the male figure standing beneath1
  which is extended1 dark against the   
distant expanse of dimly-lighted        
landscape background4 ,the sky1 against 
which the heads of the figures  are set1
 is filled with the soft mellow light of
 a sunset after rain1  struggling with  
films of fluctuating misty clouds1--a   
sky in the  treatment of which ,raeburn 
has used a portrait-painter's licence1  
making it lower in tone than would have 
been the case in such a natural  effect4
 ,the figure furthest to our right is   
that of the lady1 clad in  white muslin1

 a dress utterly without ornament1 but  
8adorned the most0  in the absolute     
simplicity of its soft overlapping      
folds1 delicate and  full of subtlest   
gradation as a pile of faintly yellow   
rose-leaves4 ,the  waist is girt with a 
ribbon of a more definite yellow1 though
 this too  is subdued1 taking grey tones
 in shadow4 ,the light comes from behind
  the figures1 and the edges of the     
dress1 catching its brightness1 are  the
 highest tones of the picture4 ,the     
lady's face is one of mature  comeliness
 and dignity1 the hair brown and        
slightly powdered1 the light  touching  
and outlining sharply the rounded       
contours of cheek and chin1  and the    
edge of the throat1 which rises from the
 masses of pure soft  muslin--itself    
still purer and more delicate in tone   
and texture4 ,her  left hand hangs down 
by her side1 fingering a little among   
the folds  of the dress and compressing 
its filmy fabric2 and her right hand    
rests on her companion's left shoulder1 

its hand1 an admirable piece  of        
draughtsmanship and foreshortening1     
hanging over1 loose from the  wrist1    
which is circled by a sharply struck    
band of black ribbon4 ,the  ,baronet    
stands by her side1 with his left       
arm--on whose shoulder the  lady's hand 
rests--circling her waist1 and his right
 relieved against  the background as it 
stretches across the canvas1 pointing1  
over the  river1 to the mansion of      
,penicuik1--which is manifestly visible 
to the  pair in the distance1 though    
unseen to the spectator of the picture4 
,he  wears a soft felt hat1             
broad-brimmed1 low-crowned1 and         
,quaker-like in  fashion1 with an oval  
metal clasp set in front in its band4   
,his coat  is low-toned greyish yellow  
in its lights1 and low-toned olive green
  in shadow1 the vest and breeches      
showing a lighter tone of the same2  and
 a white cravat and ruffles appear at   
throat and wrists4 ,his face  is a      
well-conditioned face of middle life1   

small-mouthed1 with cheeks  plumply     
rounded1 and a nose delicately aquiline4
 ,he stands1 quietly  expectant1 looking
 into the lady's face1 which is gazing  
right onward  into the background4      
,there is in this group none of the     
strong1 positive1 insufficiently        
gradated colour1 which is sometimes     
rather distressing in ,raeburn's  work4 
,it is far quieter and more delicate    
than is altogether usual in  his art1   
full of tenderness and subtlety2 the    
faces exquisitely lit  by reflected     
light1 their half-shadows softly        
luminous and delicate  exceedingly1     
never sinking with a crash into         
blackness and opacity4 ,the  artist has 
seldom produced a finer or more artistic
 group1 has seldom  given us a more     
fascinating portrayal of well-born      
manhood and of  female loveliness4      
,it is not at all in originality of     
general conception that the  greatness  
of ,raeburn's portraiture usually lies1 
in the novel groupings  of its figures1 

or in any suggestion of story in their  
combinations4  ,some other painters have
 contrived to throw a hint of narrative 
into  works which1 in first and main    
aim1 were mere likenesses2 but ,raeburn 
was a portraitist in the strictest and  
most exclusive sense2 and he  simply    
adopted the accepted poses of the figure
 that were current in  the ,scottish    
portraiture of his day1 though to these 
his original  genius gave a finer grace1
 catching from ,nature an added ease4   
,but  in the grouping of this picture1  
and in its lighting--so abnormal in     
arrangement--we certainly have as       
definite a departure as could well  be  
imagined1 from the stock traditions that
 have guided the art of  portraiture    
from time immemorial2 and some other    
reason than a purely  technical one is  
suggested by the marked originality of  
the work1  in both conception and       
treatment4 ,was this strange and most   
unusual  distribution of light in the   
picture a mere artistic experiment in   

chiaroscuro8 ,did the painter devote    
half of his canvas to an extended       
landscape vista1 merely in honour of the
 ,baronet's ancestral acres2 and  was   
that pose of regardant countenance and  
interlacing arms selected  only because 
it made for a graceful flow of changeful
 line8 ,hardly was  all this the case1  
one fancies4    ,may it not1 then1 be   
conceivable that when the portrait had  
been  commissioned1 and while its       
details and way of treatment were being 
discussed by the pair--painter and      
baronet--as they sat together1 in  quiet
 after-dinner hour over their wine1 in  
this very room where the  completed     
picture now holds its place1--is it not 
just conceivable that  ,sir ,john1 in   
some such time of genial                
heart-expansion1 as he poised  his glass
 to catch the last warm gleam of summer 
evening light that  streamed across the 
darkening woods1--that the childless    
man1 beginning  now to verge gently     
towards age1 may have been stirred by   

ancient  memories1 and have told the    
artist of some bygone scene to which    
these  ancestral woods were once the    
witness8 ,is it a walk of plighted      
lovers  that the painter hints at on his
 canvas1 and has the bride just caught  
first sight of her future home8 ,or1 can
 the scene be one tenderer  still8 ,the 
middle-aged lover looks--calmly1        
earnestly expectant1  waiting for an    
answer that will not come from the      
lady's lips1 that  will certainly not be
 given by their words--at the noble face
 of the  mature and stately beauty by   
his side1 into her dear grey eyes that  
never meet his1 but gaze right on into  
the distance--into the future  is it8   
,has the painter then meant to show us  
one of those strenuous1                 
delicately-poised moments that come in  
mortal lives1 when 8words are  mere     
mistake10 when                          
8,a lip's mere tremble1      ,looks half
 hesitation1 cheeks just change of      
colour10    at once crystallise         

intensest emotion and afford its fullest
  expression1 and sign and seal a human 
soul with final impress of  success or  
failure8 ,is--in briefest ,english--the 
man waiting for the  sign that will make
 him accepted or rejected lover8        
,this portrait1 the chief treasure of   
,penicuik ,house1 would surely  possess 
enough of interest from the power of its
 artistry1 and the  romantic            
associations with which our fancy may   
possibly invest it2 but  its interest is
 deepened1 and it gathers a yet more    
intimate charm when  we have heard the  
beautiful old-world story connected with
 the lady's  birth4    ,of this curious 
episode there are varying versions      
extant1 which  are given and fully      
discussed by ,ellen ,k4 ,goodwin1 in a  
pamphlet  7,kendal1 #ahhf7 reprinted    
from the 8,transactions of the          
,cumberland  and ,westmoreland          
,antiquarian and ,archological          
,society40 ,there is a  puzzling        
difference between the date of #aeth    

,november #agde1 given by  ,lady ,clerk 
as the day of her birth1 and that of    
#c;d ,november which  appears in the    
register of ,kirkliston parish as the   
day of her baptism2  but this           
discrepancy--we may suggest--would be   
lessened to within a  single day1 if her
 ,ladyship has calculated according to  
,new ,style1  introduced in ,scotland in
 #afjj1 and the register has estimated  
by  ,old ,style1 current in ,england    
till #ageb2 while the presence of the   
,highlanders at ,carlisle at the time   
would be accounted for if they  crossed 
the border on 8the #gth or #hth of      
,november10 ,new ,style4    ,the        
following is the interesting version of 
the story1 communicated by  ,lady ,clerk
 herself to the ,editor of 8,blackwood's
 ,magazine03--        8444 ,the incident
 occurred ,november #aeth1 #agde4 ,my   
father1 ,mr4      ,dacre1 then an       
officer of ,his ,majesty's ,militia1 was
 a prisoner      in the ,castle of      
,carlisle1 at that time in the hands of 

,prince      ,charles4 ,my mother 7a    
daughter of ,sir ,george le ,fleming1   
,bart41      ,bishop of ,carlisle7 was  
living at ,rose ,castle1 six miles from 
,carlisle1 when she was delivered of me4
 ,she had given orders      that ,i     
should immediately be privately baptized
 by the ,bishop's      chaplain 7his    
,lordship not being at home7 by name of 
,rosemary      ,dacre4 ,at that moment a
 company of ,highlanders approached     
headed by a ,captain ,macdonald1 who    
having heard there was much      plate  
and valuables in the ,castle came to    
plunder it4 ,upon the      approach of  
the ,highlanders1 an old grey-headed    
servant ran out      and entreated      
,captain ,macdonald not to proceed1 as  
any noise or      alarm might cause the 
death of both lady and child4 ,the      
,captain      enquired where the lady   
had been confined4 #8,within this       
house1'      the servant answered4      
,captain ,macdonald stopped4 ,the       
servant      added1 #8,they are just    

going to christen the infant4'          
,macdonald1      taking off his cockade1
 said1 #8,let her be christened with    
this      cockade in her cap1 it will be
 her protection now and after if        
any of our stragglers should come this  
way3 we will wait the      ceremony in  
silence1' which they accordingly did1   
and they went      into the coachyard1  
and were regaled with beef1 cheese1 and 
ale1 then went off without the smallest 
disturbance4 ,my white      cockade was 
safely preserved and shown me from time 
to time1      always reminding me to    
respect the ,scotch1 and ,highlanders in
      particular4 ,i think ,i have      
obeyed the injunction by spending my    
life in ,scotland1 and also by hoping to
 die there4                ,,rosemary   
,,clerk4               99       99      
99       99       99                    
8,,edinburgh1 ,april #ba1 #ahag40       
,in memory of the event1 ,lady ,clerk   
always wore the cockade1 along with  a  
white rose1 upon her birthday4 ,it has  

been said that she presented  it to     
,george ,,iv4 on the occasion of his    
visit to ,scotland1 and its  existence1 
unfortunately1 cannot now be traced3 but
 a still living  connection of the      
family informs us that she had seen the 
relic in the  possession of ,lady       
,clerk1 at a more recent date than that 
of the royal  progress4    ,it will be  
remembered that ,scott1 to whom in his  
youth ,sir ,john and  ,lady ,clerk had  
been kind1 with his keen and            
appreciative eye for the  picturesque1  
has seized upon this incident and turned
 it to excellent  account in the opening
 chapter of 8,the ,monastery40    ,that 
white cockade1 the symbol of a cause so 
full of poetry and  romance1 seems to   
have brought a benison with it to the   
babe ,rosemary  ,dacre1 to have dowered 
her with beauty1 and gifted her with an 
unusually magnetic attractiveness4 ,as  
she grew into fairest womanhood  she had
 many lovers1 declared and undeclared1  
and in the hearts of  those who failed  

to win the lady her memory seems to have
 lingered  tenderly with no touch of    
bitterness2 to have been1 to some of    
them1 a  kind of lifelong inspiration1  
evoking gentle wistful feelings1 such as
  ,dante ,rossetti has so exquisitely   
recorded in one of the finest of his    
earlier poems1 his 8,first ,love        
,remembered40    ,some curious records1 
some strange hints of the potent part   
which  the lady of the white cockade1   
and the memory of her1 played in the    
lives of certain men whom she never     
wedded are preserved at ,penicuik1      
casketed in the dainty little           
,chippendale workbox that once was hers1
  among other personal relics1--her long
 black gloves1 with a space of  black   
lace inlet from palm to top2 her cap    
edged with delicate lace2  a long tress 
of her dark brown hair1 marked 8,june   
the #fth1 #agid1 aged  #dh02 and her    
silhouette1 cut in black paper1 showing 
a strong dignified  profile1 beneath a  
tall hat1 wound round with a veil4      

,two of the interesting letters         
preserved in this quaint old workbox    
are from ,lord ,chancellor ,eldon1 who  
in his youth1 as they clearly  indicate1
 had been a lover of ,rosemary ,dacre2  
though the impression can  hardly have  
been overwhelmingly deep or very        
permanent1 for he was only  twenty-one  
when he eloped with ,bessy ,surtees1 a  
step which entailed the  loss of his    
,oxford fellowship1 closed his hopes of 
preferment in the  ,church1 and obliged 
him with 8a most kind ,providence for my
 guide10 as  he says1 to take to the    
study of law1 one of his earliest legal 
efforts  being the delivery1 as         
,deputy-,vinerian ,professor for ,sir   
,robert  ,chambers1 of a lecture on 8the
 statute of young men running away with 
maidens40 ,but in his youth the future  
,lord ,chancellor was1 as he used  to   
confess1 8very susceptible40 8,oh10 he  
would say1 8these were happy  days2 we  
were always in love then40    ,the first
 letter of the old man of nearly eighty 

runs as follows3--            8#ad      
,april #ahbi4        8,,dear ,,mary     
,,dacre1--,pardon my use of a name1     
which belonged to      you when ,i first
 knew you4 ,i can sincerely assure you  
that ,i      have often1 often thought  
of the person who bore that name        
when ,i knew her1 with1 may ,i say1     
sentiments of most sincere              
affection8 ,if ,i had been ,lord        
,stowell1 her name now might            
neither have been ,molly ,dacre1 nor    
,mary1 ,lady ,clarke4        8,thank you
 a thousand ,times1 thank you for your  
,letter1 which ,i      have this moment 
received4 ,i would thank you more at    
large if      ,i could delay in an hour1
 in which ,i am much engaged1 to thank  
you1 but that ,i cannot persuade myself 
to do4        8,i have done my best to  
defeat this disastrous measure4 ,if ,i  
am      wrong ,god forgive me6 if ,i am 
right ,god forgive others1 if ,he       
can6 ,lady ,eldon1 ,bessy ,surtees1     
sends her ,love to you with that        

of1            ,yr obliged and          
affectionate ,friend1                   
,,eldon4        ,mary ,lady ,clarke1    
#ajj ,princess ,street1                 
,edinburgh40      ,the second letter is 
written1 on the #bith of ,june in the   
same year 8as  ,lady ,eldon's           
,secretary0 to thank ,lady ,clerk for a 
present of jewellery4        8444 ,after
 the ,lapse of so many years to be      
remembered by one      whom we remember1
 ,i can most sincerely say1 with        
,respect and      affection1 is perhaps 
the most gratifying circumstance that   
could have happened to either of us4 ,i 
feel the ,value of your      kindness to
 her ten thousand ,times more than any  
that could      have been shown to      
myself4 ,she will wear the ,ornaments   
from      you and the ,grampians as in  
,truth the most valuable she has1       
as long as she lives1 and we shall both 
take some ,pains to      secure its     
being1 in the possession of those who   
follow after      us1 an heir ,loom4 ,i 

know not why we search the ,world over  
for      ,diamonds1 when the ,grampians 
can furnish what equals1 if it      does
 not surpass them1 in beauty and        
brilliancy4        8,how often have     
,lady ,eldon and ,i--distant as we are  
from your      ,habitation--fancied that
 we have been looking at ,molly ,dacre1 
and listening to #8,auld ,robin ,gray'  
sung exquisitely by her8      eyes and  
ears alike highly gratified4 ,excuse    
this--remember      that it comes from  
one1 who1 in his last ,letter1 expressed
 a      wish that he had been ,,the     
,,elder ,,brother4        8,with ,lady  
,e's ,thanks and affectionate ,regards1 
,yr              ,dear ,madam1          
,eldon4                      ,,eliz3    
,,eldon40      ,the allusion at the     
close of the first letter is to the     
,catholic ,relief  ,bill which ,lord    
,eldon so strenuously opposed4 ,only    
four days before the  date of the note  
his name had headed the protest of the  
,peers against  the measure4    ,the    

,lord ,stowell referred to is the       
,chancellor's elder brother1 ,judge  of 
the ,high ,court of ,admiralty4 ,he was 
born in the same year as ,mary  ,dacre1 
and1 curiously enough1 his birth also   
was associated with the  presence of the
 ,pretender's army4 ,as in the other    
case there are  varying versions of the 
story4 ,one tradition asserts that the  
town of  ,newcastle being fortified and 
closed in anticipation of the approach  
of the ,jacobites1 who were then in     
possession of ,edinburgh1 it was        
thought that his mother should be       
removed to a quieter place1 in          
anticipation of her confinement2 and    
that this was effected by her  being    
lowered in a large basket into a boat in
 the river and conveyed  to ,heworth1 a 
village four miles distant4 ,the other  
version assigns the  perilous descent to
 ,dr4 ,hallowel1 her medical attendant1 
who was let  down from the top of the   
town wall of ,newcastle in order to be  
present  at ,heworth at the critical    

moment4    ,the remaining letters afford
 even a more curious glimpse of the     
fascination which ,rosemary ,dacre      
exercised upon those who came within    
the circle of her influence4 ,the first 
is addressed to her husband's  nephew   
and successor the ,right ,hon4 ,sir     
,george ,clerk1 and is dated--          
8,,chitton ,,lodge1              #c     
,june #ahcj4        8,,my ,,dear ,,sir  
,,george1--,enclosed ,i send you ,capt4 
,morris's verses      which ,i mentioned
 to you4 ,the circumstances which       
occasioned      them were the following4
 ,lord ,stowell1 ,lord ,sidmouth1 and   
,capt4 ,morris1 with some other         
,friends1 were dining with me      last 
,spring1 when ,lord ,stowell remarked   
that although ,capt4      ,morris was   
the same age as himself he was much more
 active      and elastic4 ,capt4 ,morris
 attributed this to his having been     
ardently in ,love for the whole of his  
,life2 and on being      pressed to     
disclose the object of his passion      

confessed that it      was ,lady        
,clarke1 who at the age of sixteen won  
his affection1      and that although he
 had been since married she had never   
ceased to exercise an influence on his  
heart1 and be a source      of          
animation4 ,lord ,stowell immediately   
acknowledged that by      a remarkable  
coincidence he also had been enamoured  
of ,lady      ,clarke1 and at the same  
age of sixteen1 and that although twice 
married1 the recollection of her charms 
had not been effaced      from his mind4
 ,this of course gave rise to much mirth
 among the      company1 ,lord ,sidmouth
 particularly laughing at the ,lovers1  
who at the age of eighty-four declared  
that their passion was      undiminished
 towards a ,lady who had attained the   
same age1            ,i am1             
,my dear ,sir ,george1                  
,yours truly1                           
,,john ,,pearse40      ,then follows a  
copy of the enclosure from ,captain     
,morris of the ,life  ,guards1 who1 it  

may be remarked1 was a well-known       
politician and  popular song-writer1 and
 a boon companion of the wits at        
,brooks4  ,his portrait1 engraved by    
,greatbach1 is given in an early volume 
of 8,bentley's ,miscellany10 and another
 portrait1 painted by ,james  ,lonsdale1
 was recently acquired by the ,national 
,portrait ,gallery1  ,london4           
8,,no4 #a ,,thornhaugh ,,st4            
,,bedford ,,sq4              ,may #bi1  
#ahbi4        ,,my ,,dear               
,,sir1--,looking in my ,scrap ,book     
to-day1 ,i find a few      ,stanzas1 on 
my deathless ,passion for my first love1
      written in my latter days1 and as 
such an extraordinary and      singular 
coincidence on that subject occurred at 
your table on      ,wednesday1 ,i take  
the liberty of enclosing them to you1   
the      more so as ,lady ,sidmouth is a
 correspondent1 and perhaps might       
have no objection to honour them with a 
perusal2 if you think      so1 and will 
let her ,ladyship see them1 ,i beg      

permission to      commit them to your  
care1 and ,i remain1                ,my 
dear ,sir1          ,most gratefully and
 faithfully                  ,yours1    
,,chas4 ,,morris40        8,i beg leave 
to add that it is sixty-eight years     
since ,i lived      in ,carlisle with my
 ,father and mother4 ,lady ,clark will  
of      course have no recollection of  
my ,boyish adoration1 but to      recall
 it1 if possible1 to her memory1 ,i     
would wish her to      know that it is  
,chas4 ,morris1 son of ,col4 ,morris1 of
 the #agth      ,regt41 who lived with  
my mother at ,carlisle1 and with whom   
,lady      ,clark and the ,dacre ,family
 were acquainted40    ,then follows the 
brave old jingle of rhyme which the     
ever-faithful  lover had made in praise 
of his lady3--        8,though years    
have spread around my ,head        ,the 
sober ,veil of ,reason1      ,to close  
in ,night sweet ,fancy's light1         
,my ,heart rejects as ,treason2      ,a 
spark there lies1 still fann'd by       

,sighs1        ,ordained by ,beauty's   
maker1      ,and fix'd by ,fate1 burns  
yet1 tho' late1        ,for lovely      
,molly ,dacre4        ,oh6 while ,i miss
 the days of ,bliss        ,i pass'd in 
rapture gazing1      ,the ,dream        
impress'd still charms my breast        
,which ,fancy ever raising4      ,tho'  
much ,i meet in ,life is sweet1         
,my ,soul can ne'er forsake her1        
,and all ,i feel1 still bears the ,seal 
,of lovely ,molly ,dacre6               
,whene'er her course in chaise or horse 
,conveyed her to our city1      ,how did
 ,i gaze1 in bliss'd amaze        ,to   
catch her smile of pity2      ,and round
 her door the night ,i wore1            
,still mute as any ,quaker1      ,with  
hope-fed ,zeal1 one glance to steal     
,from lovely ,molly ,dacre4        ,when
 rumour dear proclaimed her near1       
,her charms a crowd amazing1      ,how  
would ,i start with panting ,heart      
,to catch her eye when passing4         
,when home she turned1 ,i ran1 ,i burned

        ,o'er many a distant ,acre1     
,to hope by chance one parting glance   
,from lovely ,molly ,dacre4        ,i've
 often thought the happy lot        ,of 
,health and ,spirits lent me1      ,is  
deem'd as due to faith so true1         
,and thus by ,fate is sent me4          
,while here she be there's life for me1 
,and when high ,heaven shall take her1  
,alike last breath1 ,i'll ask of ,death 
,to follow ,molly ,dacre4               
,m40    ,surely it was with true        
significance that ,rosemary ,dacre's    
seal--the  seal which always descends to
 her name-child in the house of         
,penicuik--was engraved with the sign of
 a single star1 shedding a  benign and  
steadfast light over a pathless         
vastitude of air and a  fluctuating     
waste of sea2 for the ,lady's memory    
seems to have shone  with an ideal light
 through many human lives4      ,,viii4 
,the next portrait by ,raeburn          
represents ,john ,clerk of ,eldin1 the  
seventh son of ,baron ,clerk1 second    

,baronet of ,penicuik1 and author of    
the celebrated 8,enquiry into ,naval    
,tactics40 ,he was educated at the      
,grammar ,school of ,dalkeith and the   
,university of ,edinburgh1 and in  that 
city he engaged in business as a        
merchant till about #aggb1 when  he     
purchased the property of ,eldin1 in the
 parish of ,lasswade1 and  obtained a   
post in connection with the ,exchequer1 
the secretaryship to  the ,commissioners
 on the ,annexed ,estates in ,scotland4 
,he was a man of a  vigorous and active 
mind1 and seems to have possessed equal 
aptitudes  for art and science4 ,some of
 his sketches are dated as early as     
#ageh1  but it was in #aggj that he     
began to etch upon copper1 and in the   
next  twelve years he produced a series 
of over a hundred plates4 ,these are    
founded upon a careful study of the old 
,dutch masters of the art4 ,in  their   
topographical aspect they are of great  
interest as portraying  many ancient    
buildings which have since been removed 

or altered2 and as  examples of etching1
 in spite of certain amateurish defects1
 they form  a curious connecting-link   
between the period of ,rembrandt and the
 early  days of our own century1 when   
the process was taken up and carried to 
such fine artistic issues by two other  
,scotsmen1 ,geddes and ,wilkie4 ,a      
large collection of ,mr4 ,clerk's       
etchings and drawings is preserved in   
the ,library at ,penicuik4 ,a series of 
the former1 tinted by ,robert ,adam1    
the celebrated architect1 whose sister1 
,susannah1 ,mr4 ,clerk had married  in  
#agec1 was presented to ,george ,,iii4  
in #aghf1 at the suggestion of  the     
,earl of ,buchan4 ,twenty-eight of them 
were issued to members of the           
,bannatyne ,club in #ahbe1 and other of 
the coppers having been recovered1  a   
series of fifty-five etchings and       
reproductions of sketches were  issued  
to the same ,club in #ahee with an      
admirable memoir by ,david ,laing4      
,in his scientific pursuits ,clerk was  

the intimate associate of ,dr4  ,james  
,hutton1 whose geological papers his    
pencil was ever ready to  illustrate1   
and it is believed that the ,professor's
 8,theory of the  ,earth0 owed something
 to his friend's suggestions4 ,the first
 part of  ,clerk's celebrated 8,enquiry 
into ,naval ,tactics0 was published in  
#aghb1  and the second1 third1 and      
fourth parts were added in #agig4       
,though a  work of great interest and   
value1 the assertion that it was the    
means  of ,rodney's adopting that mode  
of breaking the enemy's line which led  
to the celebrated victory off ,dominique
 on #abth ,april #aghb1 seems to be  one
 incapable of absolute proof4 ,we have a
 pleasant characterisation  of him1     
propos of his death1 ,may #ahab1 in     
,lord ,cockburn's  8,memorials03--      
8,an interesting and delightful old man2
 full of the peculiarities that         
distinguished the whole family--talent1 
caprice1 obstinacy1 worth1  kindliness1 
and oddity1 444 he was looked up to with

 deference by  all the philosophers of  
his day1 who were in the habit of       
constantly  receiving hints and views   
from him1 which they deemed of great    
value4  ,he was a striking-looking old  
gentleman1 with his grizzly hair1       
vigorous features1 and ,scotch speech4  
,it would be difficult to say  whether  
jokes or disputation pleased him most40 
8,a striking-looking old gentleman0 he  
certainly shows in ,raeburn's           
portrait--which1 technically1 is an     
excellent example of the #8square       
touch' and vigorous modelling of that   
painter--with the strong face1  clear   
light yellowish eyes1 broad forehead1   
and white hair1 rising  from the        
high-collared old-fashioned coat4 ,the  
picture has been  lithographed by ,a4   
,hahnisch in the #ahee ,bannatyne ,club 
issue of the  etchings1 and the         
personality of its subject may be       
gathered from  two other portraits2--a  
crayon likeness by ,skirving1 showing   
less of  dignity and more of shrewdness1

 which passed by bequest to the ,blair  
,adam family1 and was admirably         
mezzotinted by ,s4 ,w4 ,reynolds in     
#ahjj2  and a three-quarters length     
portrait in oils by ,james ,saxon1 now  
in  the ,scottish ,national ,portrait   
,gallery1 where he is represented seated
  at a table holding a plan which       
depicts his naval manuvre of breaking   
the line4 ,the latter belonged to the   
father of ,w4 ,h4 ,carpenter of the     
,british ,museum1 who caused the ships  
in the distance to be painted in  by    
,william ,anderson4    ,the remaining   
example of ,raeburn at ,penicuik ,house 
is a portrait of  ,mr4 ,clerk's eldest  
son1 ,john ,clerk1 ,lord ,eldin4 ,lord  
,cockburn tells a  pretty story of the  
relation between the two4 8#8,i         
remember1' the father  used to say1     
#8the time when people seeing ,john     
limping on the street1  used to ask what
 lame lad that was2 and the answer would
 be1 ,that's the  son of ,clerk of      
,eldin4 ,but now1 when ,i myself am     

passing1 ,i hear them  saying1 ,what    
auld grey-headed man is that8 ,and the  
answer is1 ,that's  the father of ,john 
,clerk4' ,he was much prouder of the    
last mark than  the first40    ,from his
 earliest years the future judge        
possessed all that love for  art which  
has been constant in the family of      
,clerk2 his own drawings  possess       
considerable vigour and character4 ,he  
was an enthusiastic  collector1 and the 
crowd that was gathered in his house in 
,picardy  ,place1 ,edinburgh1 at the    
sale of his collection after his death  
in #ahcb  was so excessive that the     
floor gave way1 causing the death of one
  person1 and the serious injury of     
several others4 ,vigorous and lifelike  
sketches of his vehemence and wit and   
curiously eccentric and powerful        
personality will be found in the pages  
of ,lord ,cockburn and in 8,peter's     
,letters to his ,kinsfolk40 ,from their 
student days ,raeburn and he were       
chosen friends1 and it must have been   

about the date of the present  portrait 
that the whimsical episode occurred     
which ,allan ,cunningham  records in his
 account of the painter1 an account that
 has left little  to be gleaned by later
 biographers4 8,raeburn received an     
invitation to  dine with ,clerk1 and    
hastening to his lodgings1 he found the 
landlady  spreading a cloth on the      
table1 and setting down two dishes1 one 
containing three herrings and the other 
three potatoes4 #8,and is this  all8'   
said ,john4 #8,all1' said the landlady4 
#8,all6 ,did ,i not tell ye1  woman1' he
 exclaimed1 #8that a gentleman was to   
dine with me1 and that  ye were to get  
six herrings and six potatoes8' ,the    
tables of both were  better furnished   
before the lapse of many years2 and they
 loved1 it is  said1 when the wine was  
flowing1 to recall those early days1    
when hope  was high and the spirit      
unrebuked by intercourse with the       
world40    ,the present portrait shows  
,clerk in the character of a budding    

barrister4 ,the figure is life-sized1   
seated1 seen in three-quarters to  the  
left1 the wigged head turned nearly in  
pure profile to the left4  ,the figure1 
clad in black coat1 black satin vest1   
and knee-breeches  of the same1 and with
 ruffs at breast and wrists1 lies back  
easily in  the chair1 the right hand    
extending over its arm1 and holding a   
law  paper1 the left placed1 with       
outspread fingers1 on the table in      
front1  which is covered with a richly  
tinted cloth1 on which lie 8,stair's    
,institutes10 the 8,regiam ,magista10   
and other volumes in 8law-calf10  while 
on the other side1 as though to hint at 
the advocate's artistic  tastes1 appears
 a cast of a classical head1 just as in 
the later  ,raeburn portrait a little   
bronze version of the ,crouching ,venus 
nestles  among the bundles of briefs4   
,the face1 wearing an expression of     
great  earnestness and intentness1 is as
 yet beardless1 unformed1 and rather    
heavy-looking2 different indeed from the

 emphatic furrowed countenance  that    
appears in the later portraits which    
show him when age had  developed his    
full individuality4 ,the eyes are pale  
bluish grey1 and  the eyebrows very     
light in colour4    ,there are no other 
early portraits of ,lord ,eldin1 by     
which we can  judge of his appearance at
 the time that this one was executed4   
,the  admirable three-quarter seated    
portrait by ,raeburn1 where he appears  
holding his spectacles in his right     
hand1 and with the other supporting  a  
folio which rests on a table1 shows him 
in later life4 ,it passed by  bequest to
 the house of ,riccarton1 and has been  
powerfully mezzotinted  by ,charles     
,turner1 the plate appearing1 after it  
had been reduced in  size1 in the       
,bannatyne volume of ,mr4 ,clerk's      
,etchings1 #ahee4 ,a somewhat  similarly
 arranged portrait1 of cabinet size1    
painted by ,andrew ,geddes1  another of 
,lord ,eldin's artistic friends1 was in 
the possession of  the late ,mr4 ,james 

,gibson ,craig2 and there is the        
lithograph by ,b4 ,w4  ,crombie1 a      
bust-portrait1 in ordinary dress1       
executed in ,june #ahcg1  showing in the
 shrewd profile face much of that       
8thoroughbred shaggy  terrier0 aspect   
upon which ,lord ,cockburn remarks in   
his 8,life of  ,jeffrey02 and also the  
bust by ,joseph1 engraved in line by    
,robert ,bell1  of which a cast is in   
the ,scottish ,national ,portrait       
,gallery4    ,in addition to these there
 are several caricatures which doubtless
  preserve much that was characteristic 
of the man4 ,there is the etching  by   
,kay1 in the plate of 8,twelve          
,advocates who ,plead with ,wigs on10   
showing an eager countenance1 with      
opened mouth and protruding under  lip2 
and the four very vivid and lifelike    
sketches by ,robert ,scott  ,moncrieff1 
reproduced in 8,the ,scottish ,bar      
,fifty ,years ,ago40 ,the first  of     
these latter shows him in               
suppressed--but most belligerent--mood  

seated as an advocate listening to the  
pleadings of the council on the         
opposite side1 with mouth compressed1   
and lips drawn down at the ends1  his   
left hand grasping his spectacle-case1  
the other cast over the arm  of his     
chair and grasping his papers4 ,another 
shows him pacing the  floor of the      
,parliament ,house1 briefs in hand1 his 
gown trailing behind  him1 his wig      
perched knowingly in front1 his         
spectacles pushed far up  his           
forehead1--much as ,carlyle1 in his     
8,reminiscences10 records that he  saw  
him1 when he visited the ,parliament    
,house in #ahji1 on his arrival  in     
,edinburgh to begin his student-life4   
8,the only figure ,i distinctly         
recollect1 and got printed on my brain  
that night1 was ,john ,clerk1  then     
veritably hitching about1 whose grim1   
strong countenance1 with  its black     
far-projecting brows and look of great  
sagacity1 fixed him  in my memory40 ,the
 third of ,mr4 ,moncrieff's drawings    

shows him in the  full fury of his      
vehement eloquence as a pleader1 his    
gown flying about  him in mighty folds1 
his right fist clenched and raised in   
excited  action4 ,a fourth sketch1 a    
rather terrible one1 depicts him in     
latest  age1 seated on the bench1 his   
hands laid in front and muffled in his  
judge's gown1 his great mouth with its  
prominent under lip firmly set1  and his
 small eyes keenly observant through his
 spectacles4 ,one other  caricature     
remains to be noticed1 the little       
etching marked 8,x4 ,y4 ,z410  which is 
often to be found bound up along with   
copies of his sale  catalogue1 showing  
him in full-length ascending a flight of
 stairs1  snuffbox in hand4    ,in the  
,business-room there hangs a small      
portrait of ,lord ,eldin's  younger     
brother1 ,william ,clerk1               
advocate--8only less witty and odd than 
his great ,swiftian brother10 as ,dr4   
,john ,brown has truly remarked--who    
figures so prominently in the biography 

and correspondence of ,sir  ,walter     
,scott4 ,at college they were           
contemporaries and bosom friends1  they 
passed their ,civil ,law and their      
,scots ,law examinations on the  same   
day1 and together assumed the advocate's
 gown4 ,it was in his  company that the 
young ,scott1 after a fishing expedition
 to ,howgate1  visited ,penicuik ,house1
 when he 8was overwhelmed with kindness 
by the  late ,sir ,john ,clerk and his  
lady0--the pair who figure in the great 
,raeburn group1 and when 8the pleasure  
of looking at fine pictures1  the beauty
 of the place1 and the flattering       
hospitality of the owners  drowned the  
recollection of home for a day or two40 
,the friendship  thus begun was         
continued through life2 and in his      
latest years ,scott  dwells1 in his     
,diary1 with especial gusto upon the    
snug little dinners  in ,rose ,court1   
,edinburgh1 when a few chosen spirits   
gathered round  ,clerk's bachelor board4
    ,the present picture1 a             

cabinet-sized bust1 is somewhat         
amateurish in  its execution1 but still 
full of character and individuality2 the
  features of the shrewd1 wrinkled face1
 its definitely curved nose1            
sharply-cut mouth1 thin compressed lips1
 and dark1 brilliantly blue  eyes       
beneath the bushy white eyebrows1       
combine into what is doubtless  a       
faithful rendering of that friend of    
whom ,scott wrote in his ,diary1  in    
#ahbe1 8,i have known him intimately    
since our college days2 and  to my      
thinking ,i never met a man of greater  
powers or more complete  information on 
all desirable subjects40 ,it is the work
 of ,mrs4 ,hugh  ,blackburn1 a lady so  
well known for her excellent renderings 
of birds  and animals2 but another      
oil-portrait of ,william ,clerk1 a      
cabinet-sized  bust1 turned to the right
 and dated #ahdc1 the work of ,miss     
,isabella  ,clerk1 sister of the seventh
 ,baronet1 is also preserved at         
,penicuik4    ,among the portraits of   

more recent members of the ,clerk family
 are  various works representing their  
eminent politician and statistical      
authority1 the ,right ,hon4 ,sir ,george
 ,clerk1 ,d4,c4,l41 the sixth ,baronet1 
who repeatedly represented the county of
 ,mid-,lothian in ,parliament2  who was 
a ,lord of the ,admiralty under the     
,liverpool ,administration2  succeeded  
,mr4 ,gladstone as ,master of the ,mint 
in #ahde1 and in the  same year was     
appointed ,vice-,president of the ,board
 of ,trade1 and  a member of the ,privy 
,council4 ,several miniatures           
representing him  are preserved in the  
,drawing-room1 and there are also two   
life-sized  three-quarter-length        
portraits in oil4 ,that hung in the     
smaller  ,drawing-room is an excellent  
example by ,william ,dyce1 ,r4,a41 a    
distant  connection of the family's1 and
 was painted in #ahcj4 ,it is executed  
with great delicacy1 quietude1 and      
reticence1 and does full justice  to the
 ,baronet's refined and handsome face1  

then in its prime4 ,this  picture has   
been excellently mezzotinted by ,thomas 
,lupton4 ,that in the  ,dining-room1    
painted by the vigorous hand of ,sir    
,john ,watson ,gordon1  portrays ,sir   
,george in later life1 seated in an easy
 chair1 and holding  one of the         
statistical blue-books which his soul   
loved4 ,of his wife1  ,maria1 second    
daughter of ,ewan ,law of ,horsted      
,place1 ,sussex1 there is  also an oil  
portrait in the ,dining-room1 showing a 
refined face1 with  a delicate          
complexion1 bearing the trace of        
suffering in the firmly  compressed yet 
pathetic mouth1 and the straight dark   
eyebrows1 which  are knit a little and  
contracted over the pale grey wistful   
eyes4 ,the  picture has a rather slight 
and unfinished appearance1 and is       
somewhat  chalky in its whites4 ,its    
painter1 the late ,j4 ,r4 ,swinton1     
worked  comparatively little in oils1   
and examples of his better-known crayon 
drawings may be studied in the portraits

 of the ,dowager ,lady ,clerk and  her  
sister-in-law1 the ,hon4 ,mrs4          
,elphinstone1 which hang in the smaller 
,drawing-room4    ,it should also be    
noticed that many characteristic        
likenesses of the  sixth ,baronet are   
included in an interesting volume of    
sketches1  done in old days by his niece
 ,mrs4 ,hugh ,blackburn1 and now        
preserved  at ,penicuik1 a series       
portraying familiar scenes there1 and at
 ,sir  ,george's ,london residence in   
,park ,street1                          
,westminster1--card-parties  and musical
 evenings in which ,piatti and other    
eminent performers took  part1 days     
spent on the ice1 or picnicking among   
the ,pentlands1 rides  in the ,park or  
over lonely stretches of                
moorland--drawings highly  humorous1    
plentifully touched with caricature1 yet
 including not a  little substantial    
truth of portraiture4    ,there is also 
in the ,dining-room an interesting      
cabinet-sized portrait  of ,sir         

,george's younger brother1 ,john ,clerk 
,maxwell of ,middleby1 that  genial1    
practical1 individual ,scotsman of whom 
a most interesting  account is given in 
the life of his distinguished son1      
,professor ,james  ,clerk ,maxwell4 ,the
 picture is the work of his niece1 ,miss
 ,isabella  ,clerk1 and shows some      
traces of the amateur1 especially in the
 size and  uncouthness of the hands1 but
 a comparison with the engraving from   
the  portrait by ,watson ,gordon1 given 
in the above-mentioned volume1 proves   
it to be a substantially faithful       
likeness of the good old man4      ,,ix4
    ,we now come to glance at the       
portraits at ,penicuik ,house which do  
not represent members of the ,clerk     
family4 ,among the earliest of  these1  
hung in the ,dining-room1 is a          
three-quarter-length seated  portrait of
 ,sir ,archibald ,primrose1 ,lord       
,carrington1 that ancestor of  the      
,rosebery family who played an important
 part in politics during  the           

,restoration period1 who fought under   
,montrose1 was captured at              
,philiphaugh1 and barely escaped being  
executed for treason2 who was  appointed
 ,lord ,clerk ,register in #affj1 and   
,lord ,justice-,general in  #afgf1      
presiding1 in that office1 at the trial 
in #afgh1 of ,mitchell  for the         
attempted assassination of ,archbishop  
,sharp2 and whose later  years were     
spent in steady opposition to the       
administration of the  ,duke of         
,lauderdale4 ,he is styled by ,burnet   
8the subtelist of all ,lord             
,middletoun's friends1 a man of long and
 great practice in affairs 4442  a      
dextrous man of business1 he had always 
expedients ready at every  difficulty40 
,in the picture he appears in his black1
 gold-laced robes  as ,lord ,clerk      
,register1 his right hand resting on the
 arm of his chair1  the left raised1 and
 his face seen in three-quarters to the 
right1  with its thin prominent nose    
drooping at the point1 small chin1 and  

lips rising towards the ends and pursed 
and dimpled a little at the  corners4 ,a
 similar picture1 but only bust-sized1  
stated 7,catalogue of  ,royal ,scottish 
,academy ,loan ,exhibition1 #ahfc7 to be
 dated #afgj1 has  been long at         
,dalmeny1 and a copy of it was presented
 by ,lord ,rosebery  to the ,faculty of 
,advocates in #ahhc1 and now hangs in   
the ,parliament  ,house4 ,his ,lordship 
has recently acquired1 from the ,rothes 
,collection1  another1 a three-quarter  
length1 version of the picture2 and we  
are  informed that there is also a      
similar-sized version in the possession 
of ,lord ,elphinstone4 ,a portrait of   
,sir ,archibald ,primrose appears in    
,mr4 ,a4 ,h4 ,millar's list of the      
portraits at ,kinnaird ,castle1 but we  
have not examined this work1 and cannot 
say whether it is a repetition  of the  
present portrait4    ,two interesting   
oil pictures showing ,charles1 third    
,duke of  ,queensberry1 and his         
celebrated ,duchess1 hang near the      

portrait of ,lord  ,carrington4 ,the    
,duke1 the correspondent of ,swift1     
painted rather dryly  and hardly by     
,miss ,ann ,forbes1 whose work we have  
already referred  to1 is seen to below  
the waist1 clad in peer's robes1 the    
figure  turned towards the right4 ,the  
face1 shown in three-quarters1 closely  
resembles that in the cabinet-sized bust
 in oils at ,ballochmyle1 and  in the   
mezzotint engraved in #aggc1 by         
,valentine ,green after ,george         
,willison1 with the same high           
cheek-bones1 and prominent high-bridged 
nose1 and the eyes are of a warm brown  
colour2 but the face is older  than in  
either of the other portraits1 grave and
 worn1 and covered with  wrinkles4      
,the companion portrait of the ,duchess1
 8,prior's ,kitty1 ever young10  the    
eccentric patroness of ,gay1 a work by  
,aikman1 recalls in most of  its details
 her portrait by ,charles ,jervas1 in   
the ,national ,portrait  ,gallery1      
,london4 ,she is shown in three-quarters

 length1 slim1 graceful1  and youthful1 
clad in a coquettish country costume1 a 
dress of greyish  brown1 of dainty      
proportions at the waist1 low-breasted1 
and with short  sleeves that display the
 well-turned arms1 with a small white   
apron1  and a little close cap set on   
the head and almost entirely concealing 
the dark brown hair4 ,the face1 with its
 blue eyes and fresh delicate           
complexion1 is drooping a little1 turned
 in three-quarters to the left2  her    
left hand rests on the edge of a        
milk-pail1 and her right holds  what    
appears to be a broad round-brimmed hat4
 ,the background is a  landscape1 with  
rocks and trees rising behind the lady  
to the left1  and with a stretch of     
green meadow to the right--in which1    
however1 no  figures appear1 as in the  
,national ,portrait ,gallery            
picture1--and a  space of blue sky      
faintly tinged with red towards the     
horizon4    ,we are informed that these 
three last-named works were acquired at 

a  sale1 about the end of the last      
century4    ,near them hangs a          
three-quarter-length portrait which     
forms an  interesting memorial of one of
 the second ,baronet's most congenial   
friendships4 ,it represents that        
prominent statesman in the days  of     
,queen ,anne and ,george ,i41 ,thomas1  
eighth ,earl of ,pembroke1              
,lord-,lieutenant of ,ireland in #agjg1 
a man of great refinement and  varied   
culture1 ,president of the ,royal       
,society1 of which body ,baron  ,clerk  
was elected a member in #agbh1 8an      
honour0--as he states in  his           
8,history0--8,i value much40 ,clerk     
first made his acquaintance  during his 
student-days at ,leyden1 when the ,earl 
was acting as ,first  ,plenipotentiary  
at the ,treaty of ,ryswick4 ,in his     
account of that ,treaty  in the         
8,history of my ,own ,times10 ,bishop   
,burnet remarks that 8there  was        
something in his person and manner that 
created him an universal  respect2 for  

we had no man among us whom all sides   
loved and honoured  as they did him40   
,in #agbf ,clerk tells us that he       
corresponded with  ,lord ,pembroke upon 
classical and antiquarian subjects2 it  
was then  that the ,earl 8sent me his   
,picture which is now among the         
,ornaments of  ,mavisbank10 one of ,sir 
,john's houses2 and after he visited    
,london in  the following year1 and     
examined its chief artistic collections1
 he  records with delight his pilgrimage
 to his friend's seat of ,wilton1 and   
his appreciation of the princely        
gathering of statues1 coins1 medals1    
etc41 which he had brought together     
there1 and especially of his great      
ancestral treasure1 the ,van ,dyck group
 of ,earl ,philip and his family4  ,the 
eighth ,earl1 it may be noticed1 died in
 ,january #agcb-c1 not  #agjb-c1 as     
given in ,noble's 8,granger10 or        
#agbb-c1 as stated by ,chaloner  ,smith4
    ,in the portrait he appears in      
three-quarters length1 clad in armour1  

with a lace cravat1 and a long dark     
curling wig1 the jewel of the  ,garter  
being suspended by its blue ribbon under
 his right arm4 ,the  figure is turned  
to the left1 but the sallow1 shaven     
face1 with its  dark eyes appearing from
 beneath bushy black eyebrows1 looks in 
three-quarters to the right4 ,his right 
hand is raised holding a baton1  behind 
which is placed a helmet1 the left rests
 on a gold-hilted sword2  and there is a
 rocky background1 disclosing a space of
 sky and sea with  a ship and boats4    
,the picture is evidently a version of  
the portrait of the ,earl painted  by   
,william ,wissing1 mezzotinted by ,john 
,smith in a plate to which the  date of 
#agji has been assigned1 though the     
painting must have been  executed much  
earlier1 as ,wissing died in #afhg4 ,the
 naval background  is stated to be from 
the brush of 8,vandevelde10 having      
evidently been  introduced by that      
artist1 after the death of the original 
painter of  the work1 at the time when  

the ,earl was appointed ,lord ,high     
,admiral of  ,great ,britain and        
,ireland1 a post which he held in #agja1
 and again in  #agjh4 ,the younger      
,william ,vandevelde must be the artist 
indicated1 as  the elder painter of the 
same name died in #afic4    ,among the  
other portraits in the ,dining-room may 
be mentioned a fine  three-quarters     
length of the ,earl of ,denbigh1 by     
,lely2 a vigorous  bust-portrait of the 
,duke of ,norfolk1 by ,kneller1--the    
eighth ,duke1  as is proved by the robe 
and collar of the ,garter which appear  
in the  picture2 and a copy from the    
well-known ,janssen portrait of         
,drummond of  ,hawthornden1 in the      
possession of the ,earl of ,home3 while 
the portraits  of ,prince ,charles      
,edward and of his wife the ,princess   
,stolberg1 known  as the ,countess of   
,albany1 though sufficiently indifferent
 works of  art1 possess a certain       
interest as having been presented to    
,rosemary  ,clerk by ,miss ,law of      

,princes ,street1 ,edinburgh1 after she 
had heard the  tale of the ,white       
,cockade1 as recorded by ,lady ,clerk   
herself1 in the  postscript to her      
letter to the ,editor of 8,blackwood's  
,magazine10 which  we have already      
quoted4      ,x4    ,in the ,corridor   
hangs an important and striking portrait
 of ,lord  ,godolphin1 probably from the
 hand of ,william ,aikman1 a work       
doubtless  acquired by the ,baron as    
representing an eminent ,english        
statesman with  whom he had been brought
 into contact about the time of the     
,union4 ,the  figure is seen to below   
the waist1 turned in three-quarters to  
the  right2 and the face is more        
individual and characteristic1 if less  
dignified and well conditioned1 than    
that which appears in ,houbraken's      
line-engraving1 or in ,smith's mezzotint
 after ,kneller4 ,the nose is  small and
 clear-cut1 the mouth has a thin upper  
lip drawn inwards a  little1 the        
eyebrows are straight1 slight1 and of a 

dark brown colour1  and there are strong
 lines on the cheeks curving downwards  
from the  nostrils4 ,a long grey curling
 wig is worn1 and a claret-coloured     
coat1  with a plain cravat falling in   
front2 and a ruddy cloak is wrapped     
round the waist1 and passed over the    
left arm4 ,his right hand rests  against
 his side1 and his left is laid         
gracefully over a parapet4    ,in the   
same ,corridor1 hung over a door in an  
exceedingly bad light1 is  a            
bust-portrait titled on the back1 in an 
old hand1 8,calderwood the  ,historian  
by ,jamesone40 ,the costume is a small  
black cap and a black  doublet with a   
round ruff4 ,the face1 seen in          
three-quarters to the  right1 against a 
dark background1 is full of             
intelligence2 the features  small1 the  
eyes grey1 the moustache and beard of a 
moderate length1  yellowish-brown in    
colour4 ,the flesh-tints are ruddy1     
inclining1  indeed1 to an unduly hot    
tone1 but the picture has evidently been

 much  repainted4 ,it is undoubtedly a  
production of the period indicated  in  
the inscription1 and resembles works    
that have been attributed  to ,jamesone2
 but we are not acquainted with any duly
 authenticated  portrait of the         
historian of the ,kirk of ,scotland with
 which it might  be compared4    ,the   
excellent bust-portrait in the          
,drawing-room1 attributed to ,holbein1  
is certainly incorrectly titled as      
representing ,sir ,thomas ,more4 ,this  
vigorous1 ruddy1 bearded countenance is 
quite unlike the worn1 shaven1          
student's face which appears in the     
,chancellor's authentic portraits by    
,holbein1--in his two drawings in the   
,royal ,collection at ,windsor1 and  in 
the pen sketch1 for the lost oil picture
 of the ,family of ,sir ,thomas  ,more1 
which he himself sent to his friend     
,erasmus1 by the hand of the  painter1  
when ,holbein returned to the ,continent
 in #aebi1 a sketch still  preserved in 
the ,museum of ,basle4    ,again1 the   

curious1 but much injured1 panel picture
 in the smaller  ,drawing-room1 of a    
lady wearing a white pipe-frilled cap1  
with a bowed  veil over it1 titled      
8,mary of ,guise10 shows no resemblance 
to such  authentic portraits of the     
,queen as that at ,hardwick1 in which   
she  appears with her husband ,king     
,james ,v42 and the impaled lozenge on  
the  background bears no trace of the   
arms of either ,lorraine or ,scotland4  
,,xi4    ,we have now to examine the    
mural decorations of ,penicuik ,house1  
which  include the celebrated ,ossian   
ceiling of the room designed for a      
picture-gallery1 and now used as the    
,drawing-room4 ,but first1 two  smaller 
cupolas surmounting the staircases which
 give access to the  upper floor of the 
mansion are deserving of notice4 ,one is
 decorated  in upright compartments1    
showing ,jupiter in his car drawn by    
snakes1  wielding his thunderbolts1 with
 a moonlit landscape beneath1 and on    
the other side a figure of ,apollo1 with

 yellow rays circling his  head1 driving
 his team of fiery white steeds over a  
landscape which  is beginning to blush  
beneath the rosy light of dawn4 ,between
 these  are ranged a series of          
allegorical figures of the ,months1 each
 marked  with a sign of the ,zodiac1 and
 surrounded by scrolls1 grotesque birds1
  and beasts1 and vases4 ,the whole is  
relieved against a light green          
background1 and the compartments are    
divided by broad bands of ochre4        
,this curious example of the decorative 
art of the end of the last  century is  
the work of ,john ,bonnar1 then a       
decorative painter in  ,edinburgh2 and  
when1 a hundred years after its         
execution1 his grandson  and            
great-grandson1 who were at the time    
pursuing the same business in  the same 
city1 cleaned and restored the work1    
along with the ,runciman  ceilings1     
their ancestor's signature was disclosed
 upon a corner of its  surface4    ,the 
other cupola is decorated by the hand of

 ,alexander ,runciman1  with scenes from
 the life of ,st4 ,margaret of          
,scotland1 whose history  furnished only
 the other year a subject for the brush 
of another of the  most imaginative of  
our ,scottish painters1 ,sir ,noel      
,paton4 ,curiously  enough we can find  
no single reference to this important   
,st4 ,margaret  series in any of the    
biographies of ,runciman1 or in the     
anonymous  pamphlet1 published in #aggc1
 which so elaborately describes the     
ceiling  of the ,ossian ,hall4 ,both    
series are executed in oil colours upon 
the  plaster4 ,here the decorations     
consist of four oval compartments1 each 
occupied with a scene from the life of  
the ,queen4    ,the first shows 8,the   
,landing of ,st4 ,margaret40 ,its       
background is a  rich blue sky1 and a   
distance of stormy sea4 ,in the centre  
is ,king  ,malcolm1 clad in a broad     
,scottish bonnet with a little white    
plume1 red  knee-breeches1 white hose   
and white shoes with ample rosettes1 and

 with  a red cloak flapping around him  
in voluminous folds4 ,with one hand he  
leads the lady1 robed in a yellow mantle
 and a white dress1 her long  yellow    
hair tossed by the wind1 and with the   
other points energetically  towards the 
church before them1 where white-robed   
monks1 with clasped  hands1 are awaiting
 their arrival4    ,the second subject  
is 8,the ,royal ,wedding40 ,the pair are
 being united  by a venerable and aged  
ecclesiastic with a grey beard1 whose   
bronzed1  weather-beaten countenance    
tells splendidly against his elaborate  
white  vestments4 ,to his right is the  
,king1 crowned and robed in red1 placing
  the ring on the hand of the ,queen1   
who stands draped in gold-brocaded      
white and green4 ,an altar appears to   
our right1 and beside it a  mail-clad   
knight1 with head bowed in worship4 ,the
 figures of women are  introduced to our
 left1 and white flowers and a steaming 
censer lie on  the ruddy marble pavement
 beneath4    ,the third subject shows   

the manner of the saint's queenship4    
,she is  known to her people in the     
breaking of bread2 clad in the same     
robes  that she wore at the marriage    
festival1 she is feeding the poor1 and  
her husband1 in his red mantle and      
wearing his royal crown1 follows in     
attendance upon her1 bearing a heaped   
platter4    ,the fourth subject shows   
the final development of ,queen         
,margaret's  saintship4 ,having on earth
 filled herself with the life of heaven1
 she  is now seen1 white-clad1 and with 
a red robe falling from her shoulders   
like the mortal life that she is done   
with1 ascending inevitably into  skies1 
where the clouds dispart to disclose the
 benignant figure of  the ,almighty     
,father and the white shape of the ,holy
 ,dove4 ,beneath is  outspread a        
familiar landscape which she is leaving 
for ever--the  ,fifeshire hills appear  
on the right on the farther side of the 
,firth1  and beneath is the town of     
,edinburgh1 with the ,palace1 and the   

,castle rock crested with her chapel1   
and to the left the ,pentlands  which   
overlook ,penicuik1 with a kindly ray   
streaming from above1 and  irradiating  
their summit4    ,in spite of all       
deductions that may be made on account  
of occasional  crudities and defects1   
and of the glaring anachronisms of      
costume that  are apt to offend our more
 archologically cultured eyes1 the      
series is  a remarkable one1 with great 
richness and variety of colouring1 and  
with a dramatic power which goes        
directly to the heart of the legendary  
tale1 and portrays its incidents in a   
vivid and impressive manner4  ,dealing  
for the most part with definite history1
 the series is more  complete in its    
realisation than was possible in some of
 the visionary  subjects from ,ossian   
which the painter afterwards essayed in 
the ,hall  of ,penicuik ,house4    ,the 
three last-named subjects are signed3   
the second bears the date of  8,sept4   
#g1 #aggb10 the third 8,octr4 #ad1      

#aggb10 and the fourth 8,octr4 #f1      
#aggb40 ,the inscriptions are           
interesting as showing that the subjects
  were executed immediately after the   
painter's return from ,italy1 and as    
illustrating the impetuous speed with   
which he must have worked4      ,,xii4  
,runciman next turned to the larger     
undertaking of which the ,st4  ,margaret
 ,cupola was but the prologue1 and upon 
which he worked with  equal energy1 for 
the ceiling of the ,ossian ,hall of     
,penicuik ,house can  hardly have been  
commenced before the end of #aggb1 and  
it was certainly  completed during the  
following year4    ,it was just ten     
years previously that 8,fingal0 7#agfb7 
and 8,temora0  7#agfc7 first appeared1  
and the controversy regarding their     
authenticity  still raged fiercely4 ,dr4
 ,johnson and ,david ,hume denied their 
claim  to be regarded as genuine ,celtic
 poems1 but they were defended by  ,lord
 ,kames1 ,dr4 ,gregory1 and by ,dr4     
,blair1 who pointed out their           

adaptability to the purposes of the     
painter1 as presenting fitting  subjects
 for the exercise of his brush4 ,it was 
probably upon this  suggestion that the 
,ossian ceiling was commissioned by ,sir
 ,james ,clerk1  and commenced by       
,alexander ,runciman4    ,the centre of 
the ceiling is occupied by a large      
elliptical  compartment1 depicting      
,ossian old and blind1 singing1 and     
accompanying  his songs on the harp4 ,in
 front is seated the white-draped shape 
of ,malvina1 and around are grouped a   
varied crowd of listeners4 ,the         
distance is a rocky coast1 with ruined  
castles1 and a fine expanse of  sea1    
across which white sails are speeding2  
and above1 the clouds take  strange1    
fantastic1 half-defined shapes as of    
spiritual presences1 the  figures of the
 vanished heroes of whom the poet       
sings1--8,the awful  faces of other     
times look from the clouds of ,crona40  
,this compartment  is surrounded by an  
ornamental border of gold1 which in its 

turn is  enclosed in a wreath of        
vine-leaves and fruit2 and the four     
corners are  occupied by figures        
symbolical of the four great rivers of  
,scotland1  the ,tay1 the ,spey1 the    
,clyde1 and the ,tweed1--figures        
manifestly  reminiscent of the work of  
,michael ,angelo in the ,sistine        
,chapel4    ,beneath1 round the ample   
cove or volto of the room1 is ranged a  
series of smaller subjects from         
,ossian--8,the ,valour of ,oscar10 8,the
  ,death of ,oscar10 8,the ,death of    
,agandecca10 8,the ,hunting of          
,catholda10  one of the finest of the   
subjects1 very graceful in the figure of
 the  nymph drawing a bow2 8,the        
,finding of ,corban ,cargloss10 an      
attractive  moonlit scene2 8,golchossa  
mourning over ,lamderg10 8,oina ,morval 
serenading ,ossian10 a vigorous subject 
of 8,cormac attacking the ,spirit  of   
the ,waters10 8,the ,death of ,cormac10 
8,scandinavian ,wizards at their        
,incantations10 in which the grotesque  

is in excess of the terrible1 and       
8,fingal engaging the ,spirit of ,lodi40
    ,if we were to criticise the ceiling
 purely as an example of decorative     
art1 we might well object that the      
elaboration and wealth of detail in  the
 work is hardly suitable to its         
position1 that designs so placed  should
 have been simpler and more salient in  
their component parts1  and executed in 
a lighter and more airy scheme of       
colouring1 so as to  carry the eye      
freely upwards4 ,but as an example of   
poetic art1 in its  earnestness of aim  
and vigour of conception1 it is         
deserving of all  praise1 as one of the 
very few instances that ,scotland has to
 show of  a serious effort to produce a 
monumental work1 a pictorial epic1--an  
effort honourable alike to the painter  
and his patron4 ,the art of  ,runciman1 
as here displayed1 may be regarded as   
the precursor of the  art of ,david     
,scott1 another of ,scotland's most     
imaginative painters1  who was also     

powerfully attracted by the ,ossianic   
legends1 choosing  8,fingal and the     
,spirit of ,lodi0 for the subject of one
 of his earliest  works1 and in another 
depicting ,ossian himself1 not          
surrounded by  sympathetic listeners as 
in this central compartment by          
,runciman1  but seated alone by the     
sea-shore1 amid the last dying radiance 
of a  sunset1 with his harp lying idle  
by his side4    ,it is recorded that    
about #agbj ,john ,alexander1 the       
grandson of ,george  ,jamesone of       
,aberdeen1 executed a 8,rape of         
,proserpina0 on a staircase in  ,gordon 
,castle4 ,after the completion of his   
work at ,penicuik ,runciman  decorated a
 church in the ,cowgate of ,edinburgh   
7now ,st4 ,patrick's  ,catholic ,chapel7
 with sacred subjects1 of which a       
portion still remain2  and--presumably  
in humble imitation of the ,ossian      
,hall--,alexander ,carse  painted an    
oval subject on the ceiling of the      
8,pennecuik ,parlor0 of ,new  ,hall1    

,mid-,lothian1 depicting 8,the ,troops  
of ,tweedale in the ,forest of          
,selkirkshire1 convened by ,royal       
authority in ,may #afhe1 as described in
  ,dr4 ,pennecuik's ,poems40 ,this brief
 list may be said to include almost  all
 the mural art--excepting such as was   
simply decorative--executed in          
,scotland during modern times4    ,the  
,ossian ceiling formed the subject of a 
learned and elaborate  descriptive      
pamphlet1 published anonymously1 in     
#aggc1 by ,a4 ,kinnaird  and ,w4        
,creech1 ,edinburgh2 and the painter    
would appear to have intended  to       
preserve a record of his work--in the   
manner afterwards adopted by  ,barry1 in
 the case of the illustrations of       
8,human ,progress10 with which  he      
decorated the walls of the ,hall of the 
,society of ,arts in ,london1  for      
etchings1 executed by ,runciman's own   
hand in a free and somewhat  loose      
style1 of the first two subjects of the 
,st4 ,margaret ,cupola1 and  of 8,cormac

 attacking a ,spirit of the ,waters10   
and 8,the ,finding of  ,corban          
,cargloss10 from the ,ossian ceiling1   
are frequently to be met  with4    ,we  
have not been able to discover in       
,penicuik ,house ,alexander  ,runciman's
 easel ,picture of 8,nausicaa at ,play  
with her ,maidens10  executed during his
 residence at ,rome1 and shown in       
,london1 in the  ,free ,society of      
,artists' ,exhibition of #agfg1 a work  
which ,allan  ,cunningham informs us was
 8painted for ,pennycuik03 and1 on      
account of  the delicacy and            
transparency of its colouring1 we should
 be inclined  to attribute to ,john     
,runciman1 who died at ,naples at the   
early age of  twenty-four1 that sketch  
of 8,david with the ,head of ,goliath10 
which has  been commonly assigned to the
 elder of the two brothers4 ,certainly  
by  ,john ,runciman is the excellent    
picture of 8,belshazzar's ,feast10 hung 
in the ,billiard-room1 a work so        
delicate in its handling1 so mellow in  

the golden and ruddy tones of its       
colouring1 as to support the opinion    
held by some discerning critics1 that   
this artist's brief life afforded       
definite promise of his becoming a far  
subtler and more refined painter  than  
the better-known member of his family   
ever was4      ,,xiii4    ,in the       
,drawing-room hang many admirable and   
interesting works1 to  a few of which we
 may direct attention4 ,chief among them
 is the  noble three-quarter-length of  
,anthony ,triest1 ,bishop of ,ghent1 by 
,rubens1 a portrait most characteristic 
in pose1 vigorously lifelike  in        
expression1 and accomplished in colour4 
,another portrait of this  prelate1 a   
seated half-length turned to the right1 
was painted by ,van  ,dyck1 ,rubens'    
great pupil1 and etched by his own hand 
in a plate which  was afterwards        
completed with the graver by ,peter de  
,jode4 ,in the same  room is ,van       
,dyck's rendering of 8,a ,lady of the   
,coningsby ,family10 a  graceful        

full-length1 draped in rose-colour1 the 
gloved right hand  resting on a         
flower-pot which is relieved against a  
wooded background1  and the right foot  
raised as the figure stands on a flight 
of stone  garden-steps4 ,a bust-sized   
male portrait of an unknown subject also
  bears the name of ,rubens1 and1 by    
whatever hand1 it is certainly an       
admirable example of ,flemish art4 ,the 
costume is black with a piped  ruff2 the
 face worn1 the brow furrowed1 the hair 
yellowish1 slightly  silvered with age1 
the thick beard and moustache of a ruddy
 colour1  and the flesh-tones most      
attractive in the quietude and cool grey
  quality of their shadows4 ,by ,zeeman1
 an esteemed ,dutch painter of naval    
subjects1 known1 too1 as an etcher of   
much directness and simplicity of       
method1 is a large sea-piece1 with      
shipping and a great expanse of sky  in 
which the clouds are beginning to grow  
mellow towards the sunset2  and by      
,melchior ,hondecoeter we have a        

vigorous picture of 8,fighting  ,cocks10
 firmly painted1 and effective in the   
contrast of the white  plumage of the   
nearer bird to the glowing brown and    
ruddy tones of the  rest of the picture4
    ,the ,library1 a particularly sunny 
and spacious room on the upper  floor1  
contains in addition to its             
books--which1 as we have already  said1 
include those bequeathed to the ,baron  
by ,boerhaave1 his early  friend1--a    
fine and extensive collection of prints1
 duly catalogued and  arranged in       
volumes according to their various      
schools4 ,among the rest  are some rare 
,drer items1 and a set of ,john ,clerk's
 etchings in their  progressive states1 
along with many original sketches by his
 hand4    ,over the fireplace is inlet  
in the wainscoting an attractive subject
  representative of 8,music10 executed  
in grisaille on canvas1 in clever       
simulation of a marble bas-relief4 ,it  
is signed by its painter1 ,jacob  de    
,wit1 a native of ,amsterdam1 born      

#afie1 died #aged1 who 8attained a      
marvellous excellence in the imitation  
of sculpture of all kinds of  materials1
 bronze1 wood1 plaster1 and particularly
 white marble1 in  which he produced    
such complete illusion that even the    
practised eye  is deceived40 ,his most  
notable work of this kind was the       
decoration1  in #agcf1 of a hall in the 
,htel de ,ville of ,amsterdam2 and it is
  further stated by ,kugler that 8a     
favourite subject with the master was   
the representation of pretty children in
 the taste of ,fiammingo40 ,the  present
 picture1 in the satisfying arrangement 
of its composition and  in the grace of 
its flowing lines1 possesses a more     
legitimate artistic  value than could   
come from any merely imitative dexterity
 in rendering  the effect of sculpture  
by means of painting4 ,the musicians are
 a party  of naked1 chubby children4    
,the figure of their leader is an       
especially  charming one1 standing      
holding up a music-book in one hand1    

beating  time with a roll of papers held
 as a baton in the other1 and singing   
with open mouth2 his raised face1 with  
the soft hair clustering about  the     
rounded cheeks1 wearing an entranced    
expression which embodies the  very     
spirit of melody4 ,beside him one of his
 infant musicians touches  the wires of 
a lyre1 another bends over a great      
mandoline1 of which a  third is         
tightening the strings1 and a fourth    
breathes softly on the  flute4    ,at   
the entrance to the ,library door are   
placed two large glass cases1  one      
filled with natural history specimens1  
the other containing the  valuable      
collection of ,roman remains1 in metal1 
pottery1 coins1 etc41  accumulated by   
,baron ,clerk1 which it would require   
the skill of an  archologist rightly to 
estimate4 ,among them is a curious and  
most  interesting ivory carving1        
inscribed1 on a parchment label1 in the 
,baron's handwriting1 8,an ,antient     
piece of ,sculpture on the ,tooth of  a 

,whale1--it was found by ,john ,adair1  
,geographer1 in the ,north of           
,scotland1 ,anno #afhb1 all the figures 
are remarkable40 ,in this year  ,adair1 
the ,geographer for ,scotland1 was      
appointed by the ,privy ,council  of    
,scotland to make a survey of the       
kingdom and maps of the shires1 of      
which only a portion was published4 ,the
 carving represents a crowned  queen1   
seated holding a lapdog on her knees2   
with a knight1 wearing a  surcoat over  
chain-armour1 and bearing a sword and a 
shield blazoned  with a chevron chequ1  
standing on her left2 and on her right a
  musician playing on a crowde1 an old  
instrument resembling a violin2  while  
between these1 round the rest of the    
ivory1 is a row of female  figures1     
wearing long flowing robes1 standing    
with clasped hands1 that  beside the    
musician holding a palm-branch4 ,the    
carving is described and  figured in    
,dr4 ,daniel ,wilson's 8,prehistoric    
,annals of ,scotland40 ,dr4  ,wilson    

considers it to be a queen piece of a   
chess set1 and assigns it  to the       
fourteenth century4      ,,xiv4    ,in  
the ,charter-room are preserved1 in     
addition to documents1 many  curious    
miscellaneous relics of an artistic and 
personal sort4 ,the  ,,mss4 include the 
account-books of the family1 extending  
well into the  seventeenth century1 kept
 with the minutest accuracy1 and        
containing  many entries of great       
interest to the student of the social   
manners  of the past4 ,there are also   
voluminous devotional compositions1     
commonplace-books1 etc41 by the first   
,baronet2 and the ,,ms4 8,history  of my
 ,life10 and the two volumes of the     
8,journal of my ,travells for #e  years 
,through ,holland1 ,germaine1 ,italy1   
,france1 and ,flanders10 by the  second 
,baronet1 ,baron ,clerk1 along with the 
,,mss4 of several of his  published and 
unpublished historical and antiquarian  
pamphlets4    ,a somewhat grim          
development of portraiture is seen in a 

couple of  waxen death-masks--one of    
them shows the face of ,lady ,margaret  
,stuart1  the ,baron's much-loved first 
wife--each casketed in its little wooden
  case or shrine4 ,the habit of         
preserving such masks seems to have been
  common in ,scotland during the        
seventeenth and eighteenth              
centuries1--we  remember that the       
,abertarff sale included several        
representing various  members of the    
,lovat family3 a survival1 one may call 
it1 of the  old ,roman custom of        
preserving the waxen images of          
ancestors1 which  prevailed1 too1 in    
,france1 in the days when ,clouet was   
summoned to  ,rambouillet1 to cast the  
waxen effigy of the dead ,francis ,i4   
,in the ,charter-room are various       
interesting old miniatures and          
drawings1 among the latter one of a     
cupid and a griffin1 attributed to      
,raphael2 one by ,guido2 a couple of    
designs by ,inigo ,jones--one marked    
8given me by the ,earl of ,burlington in

 #agbg0 7the year of the ,baron's  visit
 to ,london71 8,i very much value this  
and the other drawing by  ,inigo4 ,john 
,clerk1 #agdd20 and the original sketch 
for the picture of  ,st4 ,cecilia1 still
 preserved at ,penicuik1 by ,francesco  
,imperiali1 an  artist of repute in his 
day1 who died at ,rome in #agda1 under  
whom the  ,baron studied art when in    
,italy1 and who was afterwards one of   
the  instructors of ,allan ,ramsay1 the 
portrait-painter4    ,another relic of  
the ,baron's days in ,italy is the small
 marble bust of  ,cicero--preserved in  
the ,charter-room--which1 as he tells us
 in his  8,history10 was bequeathed to  
him by 8,montignia ,chapigni1 a learned 
antiquarian and philosopher40 ,yet      
another is a little wooden casket1      
fragrant still with a sweet old-world   
perfume1 as we open the drawers  filled 
with neatly stoppered bottles4 ,this is 
the 8,box of ,chymical  ,medicines1     
still at ,penicuik10 which was presented
 to the ,baron on his  leaving          

,florence1 along with 8all the variety  
of wines and sweet meats  which his     
country produced10 by the ,grand ,duke  
,cosimo ,,iii41 who had  previously     
honoured the young ,scotsman by         
bestowing on him 8a patent  under the   
privy seal signed by himself and his    
,secretary of ,state1 the  ,marquise de 
,ricardi1 appointing me a ,gentleman of 
his ,bedchamber1 which  patent lies now 
in the ,charter-room40    ,on one of the
 shelves is placed another curious      
family relic1 a basket  filled with     
artist's materials1 marked 8,oil colours
 brought from ,rome  by ,uncle ,sandy10 
a son of the first ,baronet1 that       
,alexander ,clerk who  figures in the   
,baronage as 8bred a painter10 and whose
 name appears1  in #agbi1 on the        
original indenture of the ,edinburgh    
,school of ,st4  ,luke1 as a member of  
that first academy founded in ,scotland 
for the  study of art1 in which1 six    
years later1 ,strange the engraver      
received  instruction4 ,in this old     

document1 so significant in the history 
of  painting in our country1 and now    
fittingly in the possession of the      
,royal ,scottish ,academy1 ,richard     
,cooper1 ,strange's master1 appears  as 
,secretary4 ,among the other signatures 
are those of ,james ,clerk1             
,alexander's elder brother1 afterwards  
third ,baronet of ,penicuik2 his  nephew
 ,hugh ,clerk1 ,junr41 who 8served with 
the allied army in ,germany1  and died  
soon after the battle of ,minden02 the  
two ,ramsays2 8,ja4 ,norie0  and 8,jas4 
,norie1 ,junior02 ,john ,patoun1 whose  
portrait of ,thomson the  poet is now in
 the ,national ,portrait ,gallery1      
,london2 ,john ,alexander1  the         
portrait-painter1 who engraved the      
family group of his grandfather1        
,george ,jamesone of ,aberdeen2 and     
,william ,denune1 known by his portraits
  of ,thomas and ,mrs4 ,ruddiman1 of    
,professor ,robert ,simson of ,glasgow  
7#agdf71 and of the ,rev4 ,william      
,harper1 ,episcopal clergyman in ,leith 

7#agde74    ,there is one other of the  
contents of the ,charter-room to which  
we must  refer1 a volume containing a   
complete set of ,turner's 8,liber       
,studiorum0  prints1 evidently an       
original subscriber's copy2 most of the 
plates are  in excellent impressions1   
and some are proofs4    ,for permission 
to examine these1 and all the other ,art
 ,treasures at  ,penicuik ,house--to    
many of which we have been unable even  
to refer--we  have to express our       
grateful thanks to ,sir ,george ,clerk1 
the owner of  the mansion1 and to the   
,dowager ,lady ,clerk1 its present      
occupant4      ,,note4    7,see page    
#cj47    ,we have just had an           
opportunity of examining the portraits  
of ,sir ,james  ,clerk1 the third       
,baronet1 and ,elizabeth ,cleghorn1 his 
wife1 in the  possession of ,miss       
,eliott ,lockhart1 at #ag ,rutland      
,street1 ,edinburgh4  ,in each the      
figure is seen to the waist1 within a   
painted oval4 ,the  ,baronet is clad in 

a yellowish pink gown1 worn over a red  
vest1 with  the shirt unbuttoned at the 
throat4 ,the face1 turned slightly to   
the  right1 has clear-cut features1 full
 blue eyes1 and dark eyebrows1 the  hair
 being entirely concealed by a blue cap4
 ,the left hand is laid on  the top of a
 folio volume1 resting on a table to the
 right1 which is  covered with a        
brilliantly patterned cloth2 and a green
 curtain appears  behind to the left4   
,in the portrait of ,lady ,clerk the    
face is seen in  three-quarters to the  
left1 and has pale yellow hair and      
eyebrows1  and blue eyes4 ,the costume  
is a white dress worn low at the throat1
  and a blue mantle4 ,a tree-trunk      
appears behind the head1 and a wooded   
landscape to the right4 ,each picture is
 signed with the name of a              
portrait-painter which we have not      
elsewhere met with--8,gul3 ,mosman      
pingebat #agci40 ,the handling of the   
works is hard and definite4      ,,the  
,,end4