60 B I 0 G RA P H I CA L S K E T C 13 E S.
introduced to him by the late Dr. Mackenzie, shortly after the publication of the
first edition of his poems. The bard never forgot the kind attentions extended
to him. In his correspondence he frequently alludes to Sir John ; and, in the
lines addressed to him, enclosing a copy of the “Lament for James Earl of
Glencairn,”’ he pays him’a very marked compliment :-
“ Thou who thy honour aa thy God rever’st ;
Who, save thy mind’s reproach, nought earthly fear’st ;
To thee this votive offering I impart,
The tuneful tribute of a broken heart.
The friend thou valued’st, I, the patron, lov’d ;
His worth, his honour, all the world approv’d.
We’ll mourn till we too go as he has gone,
And tread the dreary path to that dark world unknown.”
After leaving Ballochmyle, Sir John resided at Whitefoord House in the
Canongate of Edinburgh. He was a remarkably smart, active, little man ; and
having been some time in the army, he retained much of the military air in his
appearance. His manners were affable, and his address that of a gentleman.
He died at his house in Edinburgh in 1803: and his son, resident in England,
inherits the title.
The females figured in the Print were well known in their day. The eldest
of the two-“ MEG MURRAY,”a s she was familiarly called-kept lodgings in
Shakspeare Square, and realised a fortune of several thousand pounds. The
other, MISS BURNS,w ho was much celebrated for her beauty, will be described
under her own proper Portrait. Why these ladies have been introduced into
the group the artist has not stated. The scene, well calculated to strike the
fancy of the artist, was most likely a real occurrence, The meeting between
Major Fraser and Erskine seems to have been accidental ; while Sir John, who
generally walked a few paces behind his friend, is represented in his usual
position in the rear. The females are passing in the opposite direction, apparently
at some distance.
1 The heir of lime of the family of Glencairn was Sir William Don of Newton, whose grandmother
waa sister to the last Earl. The late Sir Alexander Don inherited the estate of Ochiltree, which
belonged to the Earl of Glencairn, in right of his mother Lady Henrietta.
Caleb Whitefoord, Esq., who died in London in 1809, aged ninety, waa uncle to Sir John. ‘‘ He was well known in the first polite and literary circles, and possessed great talents and information.
He was the author of many works of approved merit, though he never put his name to any
of his productions. He struck out a new species of humour, which was known by the name of
cross-readings; and when he first communicated it to the public, he added the apt signature of
Papyriw CUTSW. He was a man of talent-a zealous friend to his country-a loyal subject-and a
respectable member of society. His friend Goldamith winds up his character, in Retaliation, with
the following appropriate lines :-
‘Merry Whitefoord, farewell I for thy sake I admit,
That a Scot may have humour-I had almost said wit :
This debt to thy memory I cannot refuse,
Thou best natured man, with the worst humour’d muse.”’
