CLXXXIX. CHAP. arguments against constructive treason, and his analysis of mental alienation in his defence of Hadfield was studied and 1821-1823. admired by philosophers. He had lived sufficiently both to nature and to glory, and if he had survived much longer, he might have permanently dimmed his reputation by the faults and follies into which he might have fallen. But while it seemed that the strength of his constitution could only be undermined by a long decay, an acute disorder saved him from these perils. CHAPTER CXC. CONCLUSION OF THE LIFE OF LORD ERSKINE. СНАР. CXC. tates Scotland. DURING his short visit to Scotland in the year 1820, Erskine had been in a perpetual hurry and bustle, and had been constantly subjected to the public gaze. He longed to con- A. D. 1823. template in repose the scenes of his infancy, and to enjoy an He mediaffectionate intercourse with his surviving relatives. His another eldest brother, the Earl of Buchan, was now residing at visit to Dryburgh Abbey, in Berwickshire, and having by long economy repaired the shattered fortunes of his family, was in comparative wealth. Henry, his second brother, had paid the debt of nature, but had left a widow—a lady of superior understanding and most agreeable manners, to whom, as well from her own merits as from a regard to the memory of the deceased, he was warmly attached. He likewise desired to form an acquaintance with the junior branches of his noble house, and for its honour to give them the advantage of his experience in directing their pursuits in life. He therefore resolved, in the autumn of 1823, to revisit his native land and to pass the ensuing winter there. When he intimated his His resowish to go by sea, he was reminded that the equinoctial gales were to be expected; but, expressing a great dislike of being boxed up in the mail coach, or posting over 400 miles of dusty road, he added: "What is a puff of wind on the German Ocean to an old sailor who has often combated a tornado in the West Indies?" Accordingly he embarked at Wapping in a Leith smack, accompanied by one of his sons. lution to go by sea. ill on the voyage. At first the weather was propitious, but when they were He is taken abreast of Harwich a violent gale arose from the north-northeast, accompanied with rain and sleet. The "old sailor" would remain on deck to show his hardihood, -till he found himself seriously indisposed. In a few hours it turned out that he was СНАР. CXC. attacked with inflammation in the chest - a complaint from which he had suffered before, and against which he ought cauA. D. 1823. tiously to have guarded himself. When the ship reached Scarborough he was so seriously ill that it was necessary to put him ashore. He rallied to a certain degree, and was able by easy stages to reach Almondell, the residence of his sister-in-law. There he had skilful medical advice, and the tenderest attentions which affection and respect could prompt; but he experienced a relapse of his malady, and after suffering severe bodily His death. pain with much fortitude, on the 17th of November 1823 he expired, in the 73d year of his age. I have not been able to obtain any farther authentic particulars of his last hours; but we need not doubt that he now found consolation in the deep religious feelings by which, when he had leisure for reflection, he was ever influenced; and we may humbly express a hope, in his own beautiful language, that, "instead of a stern accuser exposing before the Author of his nature the frail passages in a life generally well directed, their guilt was mitigated by a merciful intercession, and true repentance blotted them out for ever." His funeral. Had he died in London, he no doubt would have been honoured with a public funeral, and his mortal remains would have been deposited in Westminster Abbey, near those of his distinguished contemporaries, Pitt, Fox, and Wilberforce. But they moulder in the family burying-place at Uphall, a remote parish in the county of Linlithgow, the hearse that conveyed them thither being attended only by a few relations and private friends. On this occasion, no solemn knell announced the approach of the illustrious deceased to his last resting-place, no priest in holy vestment, with book in hand, paced the churchyard, chanting, "I am the resurrection and the life," no swelling anthem resounded through the fretted aisles of a Gothic minster. In a narrow vault covered by weeds, near a small church, erected since the Reformation, and scarcely to be distinguished from a barn, the unadorned coffin of the immortal Thomas Erskine was placed by the side of his brother Henry; and the company, having reverentially remained -- CXC. A. D 1823. silent and uncovered while the ceremony was performed, CHAP. departed, after casting a sorrowful look at the spot where he was to repose till the last trumpet should summon him to judgment. But, though the interment was conducted in the Presbyterian fashion, the horror of Popish rites was so far relaxed in the country, that the reverend Mr. Fergusson, the parish clergyman, prayed, and delivered an impressive address, before the simple procession moved from Almondell, and without cassock or surplice -he followed it to the grave. It is to be regretted that the beautiful funeral service in the English Liturgy should be rejected, as superstitious, by our Scottish brethren; but the extempore prayers and exhortations substituted in its place, for the edification and consolation of surviving relations and friends assembled in the house where the body lies, often produce an effect as touching and as salutary. Dr. Johnson himself has said, - 66 Legitimas faciunt pectora pura preces." There is no marble monument erected to Erskine's memory, His monu -nor any mural inscription to celebrate his genius and ment. public services; but the Collection of his Speeches will preserve his name as long as the English language endures, and a simple narrative of his life will best show his claim to the gratitude of posterity. On searching his papers no will was to be found, except His will. one dated so far back as the 15th of November, 1782. This had been made in contemplation of an affair of honour which proceeded to a hostile meeting in the field, but ended without bloodshed. He prefaces the disposition of his property by a declaration that, "from a sense of honour, and not from any motive of personal resentment or revenge, he was about to expose his life to great peril." Nine thousand pounds in 3 per cent. consols and one thousand pounds in bills, stated to be all acquired by his practice at the bar, he left to his then wife, with the highest expressions of confidence and affection, He was never fond of any allusion to this affair, as his antagonist was an apothecary. It arose out of an altercation in a ball-room at Lewes. СНАР. His fortune. for the maintenance of herself and her children, — they to inherit it, after her decease, in equal shares, as they attained twenty-one. But he provided that, as, on account of her youth, she might probably marry again, and as such an event, though by no means deprecated by him, might be incompatible with the interests of his children, upon such second marriage the fund should be transferred to his sister, Lady Anne Erskine, in trust for the purposes above mentioned. By a codicil, dated Oct. 2. 1786, when his property had greatly accumulated, he confirmed his will, and directed equal portions to after-born children. I am afraid that, at last, there was little forthcoming for these bequests to operate upon; but his family prized more his splendid reputation than any riches which he could have transmitted to them, and, without a murmur, thought of him with unmixed veneration and thankfulness. To be descended from such a parent was indeed a great inheritance. Many generations may pass away before his equal is presented to the admiration of mankind. Of course, I do not refer to his qualifications as a Judge; and can only say of him as a politician, that he was ever consistently attached to the principles of freedom, though by no means above the prejudices of education and country. As a parliamentary debater he was greatly inferior to several of his contemporaries; and even in our own degenerate age we could outmatch him.* But as an ADVOCATE in the forum, I hold him to be without an equal in ancient or in modern times. Statements Some have supposed that his senatorial efforts appear to us generally so by Erskine indifferent from bad reporting; but the following letter from him to Mr. Wright, respecting the editor of the "Parliamentary Debates" (the original of which is in my the manner possession, a present from my friend Mr. Surtees), shows that he was quite in which contented with the reports of his speeches in that collection, as being full his speeches and faithful: were re ported. "Dear Sir, "If I did not know from long experience your singular correctness regarding your papers, I should be almost quite sure that you had all the speeches you ever sent me in time for the publication, except two, which, coming too late, you were so kind as to say (and which I hope you will not forget) you would reprint in the manner you mentioned. I am naturally very anxious that after, through your kind attention, so many of my speeches in Parliament appear so nearly as they were spoken, that the one in question should have the same advantage. I shall be in town on Sunday, when I will call on you; and although |