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Kay's Originals Vol. 2

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73 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. been thirty-nine years a Judge of the Supreme Court. It is somewhat remarkable that he and his two immediate predecessors occupied the same seat on the bench for a period of ninety years; Lord Ropton having been appointed a judge in 1710, and Lord Tinwald in 1744. By his wife, Lady Grace Stuart, daughter of James second Earl of Bute, and sister of the Prime Minister, John the third Earl, his lordship had seven sons, all of whom predeceased him. The second of these was Lieutenant- Colonel John Campball, whose memorable defence of Mangalore, from May 1783 to January 1784, arrested the victorious career of Tippoo Sultan, and shed a lustre over the close of that calamitous war. Lord Stonefield resided at one time in Elphinstone’s Court, and latterly in George Square. Of his lordship’s professional history no record has been preserved. As a scholar, his attainments were considerable, and as a judge, his decisions were marked by conciseness of expression and soundness of judgment. He was a zealous and liberal supporter of every scheme tending to promote the welfare and improvement of his native country. No. cxcv. JOHN HOME, ESQ., OF NINEWELLS. JOHHNO MEo, r HUME,o f Ninewells (for they are truly the same name) was the elder and only brother of Da,vid Hume, the historian.’ They were the children of Joseph Home of Ninewells and Catherine Falconer, who was a daughter of Sir David Falconer, Lord President of the College of Justice. There were two subjects of playful controversy between the historian and his kind friend John Home, author of the Tragedy of Douglas, etc. One waa about the preference of port or claret as the better liquor. David was an advocate for port ; John was strenuous for the honour of claret, aa the approved and genuine beverage of the old Scottish gentleman, in untaxed times, before the union of the kingdoms. The other controversy related to the just spelling of the surname, Home or Hum. David inclined, though with due temperance, for Hume, for which he found authority in the inscription on an old tombstonr, and in some other memorials of past times. John rejected this opinion of David’s as heterodox, and stood up stoutly on all occasions aa the hed of the How faction. With reference to these two matters, the historlan, in a codicil to his settlement, written with his own hand, expresses himself as follows :-‘‘ I leave to my friend John Home of Kilduff ten dozen of my old claret, at his choice, and one single bottle of that other liquor, called port. I also leave to him six dozen of port, provided that he attests, under his hand, signed John Humq that he haa himself alone finished that bottle at two sittinge. By this concession, he will at once terminate the only two differences that ever arose between as concerning temporal mattera.” This writing ie preeerved, but not entered on record. Mr. Humo died on the 25th of the same month. On one occasion, David jocularly proposed to John, that they should terminate the controvenry about the name, by casting lots. “Nay, Mr. Philosopher,” said John (for so he often addressed him), “that is a most extraordinary proposal indeed i for if you lose, you take your own name ; and if I lose, I take another man’s name.” It is dated 7th August 1776. He had for some weeka been io a condition of evident and increasing decay.
Volume 9 Page 95
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