James Ramsay MacDonald

“ It was to Ogilvie, while dining with Boswell in London, that Johnson remarked, 'Let me tell you, the noblest prospect which a Scotsman ever sees is the high road which leads him to England.' At the age of sixteen he wrote the hymn, 'Begin, my soul, the exalted lay,' afterwards included in 'Poems on several Subjects;' but his most popular work as a hymn-writer is the paraphrase he contributed to the Scottish collection of 1781, 'Lo, in the last of days behold.' His poems are long, and show learning rather than poetic gifts. ”

“ Ogilvie was also one of the pioneers of public libraries, and in May 1704 he published a pamphlet on the subject.
Meanwhile he had been giving considerable attention to the land, hot has a practical agriculturist and as one who was interested in the theoretic politics of his time. In 1772 he sold the Pittensear estate, and in the following year bought for 1,500l. some poor land in Aberdeen to show what could be done by careful cultivation, and thus gave an impetus to the farming industry in the north of Scotland. So successful was he that in 1808 he sold this Aberdeen property for 4,000l. ”

“ Peabody is justly esteemed as a public-minded citizen and humane philanthropist. Throughout his life he was a zealous American, and his first great public service was rendered to Maryland, the state where he lived. During a visit to London on business in 1835, at a time when Maryland was near bankruptcy, he negotiated a state loan of 1,600,000l. ”

“ In 1659 he was sent by Charles to the king of Denmark to negotiate for help to the royalist cause in England. He succeeded in getting a promise of ten thousand men, and preparations were being made for their equipment when news of the Restoration came. Shortly after Charles returned, the brothers Macleod were knighted, Roderick being the founder of the Macleods of Talisker. Sir Norman then retired to Bernera, but the wars had ruined him, and he appeared at court in 1662 to present a petition in which he narrated his services and losses. ”

“ In 1795 matters reached a crisis in the secession church. Peddie sided with the ‘new lights’ for toleration and liberty; and in the famous Perth congregation lawsuit, which continued from 1799 to 1815, and which decided the legal position of the party to which Peddie belonged, he was untiring in his zeal and energy. In the earlier days of the controversy attempts were made by opponents to associate the ‘new lights’ with the friends of the French revolution, and the government became suspicious. ”

“ He was twice married: first, to Margaret, daughter of John Mackenzie of Lochslin, and granddaughter of Kenneth, first lord of Kintail, by whom he had one son, John, who succeeded to the title; secondly, to Catherine, eldest daughter of Sir James Macdonald of Sleat, by whom he had two sons — one, Alexander, who became lord advocate and was knighted — and three daughters. ”

“ In 1852, when his native town was celebrating the centenary of its corporate existence, he gave 6,000l., afterwards increased to 50,000l., to found an educational institute; on the occasion of his visit to the United States in 1857 he founded the Peabody Institute at Baltimore with a gift of 60,000l., afterwards increased to 200,000l.; and when he revisited America in 1866 he gave Harvard University a sum of 30,000l. to found an institute of archæology, and Yale received a similar gift from him in aid of physical science teaching. ”

“ MACLEOD, Sir NORMAN (fl. 1650) , royalist soldier and founder of the Macleods of Bernera and Muiravonside, was born about 1600 in the island of Bernera, Inverness-shire. He was third son of Sir Roderick Macleod, chief of the clan, and Isabel, daughter of Donald MacDonald, chief of Glengarry. In December 1660 Macleod joined with seven hundred men the forces of Charles II, who had lately landed in Moray Firth. He subsequently returned again to the highlands, where he raised three hundred more followers, and, accompanied by bis brother, marched with the Scottish army into England in 1651. ”

“ William Peddie (1805–1893) , minister, son of the above, was born on 15 Sept. 1805, and, after passing through the high school and university of Edinburgh, entered the Secession Divinity Hall at Glasgow, and was licensed to preach in May 1827. In October of the following year he was appointed colleague and successor to his father by the Bristo Street congregation. He edited the ‘United Presbyterian Magazine’ for several years, and was moderator of the synod in 1855. ”

“ The volume was published in Inverness in 1830, and contained a prefatory memoir by Mackenzie. With a view to publishing other of the poems which he had collected, he went to Glasgow in 1833, and he published a second edition of Ross's poems there in 1834. In 1836 he was appointed a book-keeper in the Glasgow University printing-office, and sold his collection of Gaelic poetry to a publisher. The book appeared in 1841, under the title of 'The Beauties of Gaelic Poetry,' and it occupies a position in Gaelic literature second only to the collections that have been made of Ossian. ”

“ McCOMBIE, WILLIAM (1809–1870) , journalist, son of a small farmer, was born at Cairnballoch, in the parish of Alford, Aberdeen, on 8 May 1809. His only education was at parish schools, and at an early age he became a labourer on his father's farm. He soon showed a taste for literature, and local debating societies gave him an opportunity of cultivating his talents. ”

“ When at the divinity hall he is said to have opposed the teaching of Dr. Brown, that civil magistrates ought to have power to interfere in religious matters, and to have upheld the doctrines taught in Locke's ‘Toleration,’ of which he was a disciple. ”

“ MACLAURIN, JOHN (1693–1754) , presbyterian divine, born in October 1693 at Glendaruel, Argyllshire, was eldest son of John Maclaurin, minister at Kilmodan, and brother of Colin Maclaurin [q. v.] the mathematician. The family is said to have been at one time chiefs of Tiree. His parents died while he was still young, and Maclaurin was brought up by his uncle, Daniel Maclaurin, minister of Kilfinan, Argyllshire. He studied at Glasgow University, where he graduated in 1712, and afterwards studied divinity at Leyden. ”

“ WHITE, THOMAS (1830–1888) , Canadian politician, born in Montreal on 7 Aug. 1830, was son of Thomas White, who emigrated from co. Westmeath in 1826, and carried on business as a leather merchant in Montreal. On his maternal side he belonged to an Edinburgh family. He was educated at the High School, Montreal, and began life in a merchant's office, but soon turned his attention to journalism. ”

“ With a view to promoting friendly relations between England and America, he made his London residence the meeting-ground for English and American public men, and his Fourth of July dinners were important political functions. ”

“ He afterwards made a living as a strolling musician, attending country feasts with his fiddle, and reciting his own compositions. In 1790, having received a house and a plot of land at Inverlochy, near Fort William, he retired thither, and, with the assistance of Ewan Maclachlan [q. v.] , himself a poet, made arrangements for publishing his Gaelic verses, which duly appeared at Edinburgh in 1798, and included some work by Maclachlan. ”

“ Churchill, in the 'Journey,' refers to them as 'a tale of rueful length,' spun out 'under dark Allegory's flimsy veil.' Johnson 'saw nothing' in the 'Day of Judgment,' but Boswell thought it had 'no inconsiderable share of merit.' His philosophical works were mainly attempts to defend the theology of his day against the deists and Hume. 'In "The Theology of Plato" he treats of topics not usually discussed by the Scottish metaphysicians' (M'Cosh, Scottish Philosophy, p. 241) . ”

“ Like so many of his young contemporaries, MacCarthy espoused the repeal movement, and in 1843, within twelve months after the founding of the paper, he began to contribute to the 'Nation' a series of political verse, over the signature of 'Desmond.' He also joined in the work of the Irish political associations, but his political interests were always subordinate to his literary tastes. On the rally of the Young Ireland party in 1845, he threw all his energies into supporting the 'Nation.' He was one of the petitioners in favour of the Provincial Colleges bill, which was opposed by O'Connell ”

“ Besides his cattle-breeding McCombie gave great attention to agriculture, and was one of the largest farmers in Aberdeenshire. In 1868 he was returned as a liberal without opposition to represent the western division of his native county in parliament, and was the first tenant farmer representative from Scotland. ”

“ Among his friends his reputation as a humourist and story-teller was greater than as a poet. Even in the pulpit he could not be grave, and it is said that his sermons, though learned and able, were preached from texts humorously selected, and were spoiled by jests. ”

“ His youth was spent on his father's farm, and he received no sort of education. When a youth a fancied insult at a wedding led him to compose his first verses. The song gave much offence, and the author did not declare himself, but his father, happening to have overheard MacCodrum recite the verses before they became known, exacted a promise from the boy to do nothing of the kind again. The promise appears to have been faithfully kept until the father's death, when he again began to compose satirical verses. ”

“ Samuel Johnson's Journey to the Hebrides,' London, 1779, was a vigorous defence of the highlands against Johnson's attack, and caused Johnson to 'growl hideously.' He wrote the article on Lismore in Sinclair's 'Statistical Account of Scotland,' vol. ”

“ MACCARTHY, DENIS FLORENCE (1817–1882) , poet, a descendant of the Irish sept of Maccauras, was born in Dublin on 26 May 1817. His parents were Roman catholics. He was educated at Dublin and at Maynooth, and though destined first for the church and then for the bar, his studies were mostly literary. At school has showed that interest in Spanish which later in life be turned to good account. His first verses—'My Wishes'—were published in the 'Dublin Satirist' in 1831, and for the next two years be contributed to that paper both prose and verse. ”

“ In 1867 he made an unsuccessful attempt to enter the Ontario provincial parliament, and in 1874, 1875, and 1876 he made three fruitless efforts to be returned to the Dominion House of Commons. In 1878 the constituency of Cardwell elected him, and he represented it for the rest of his life. ”

“ He subsequently travelled over Europe and Asia with his employers until 177S, whom he married and settled down at Toledo. His 'Travels in Various Parts,' written by himself, published in London in 1790. According to this racy narrative, Macdonald, while in London with his master, Mr. Crawford of Errol. was sent to inquire after the health of Laurence Sterne, and found the novelist on his deathbed. He claims to have been among the first to walk in London with an umbrella. ”

“ Dr. John Brown (1784–1858) [q. v.] calls him 'the most profound and eloquent Scottish theologian of the last century.' After his death some of his manuscripts disappeared, but sermons and essays have been published, including: 1. ”

“ His works are: 1. 'The Day of Judgment: a Poem,' Edinburgh, 1753. 2. 'Poems on several Subjects, with Essay on Lyric Poetry,' London, 1762, an enlarged edition of which, in two vols., appeared in 1769. 3. 'Providence: an Allegorical Poem,' London, 1767. 4. 'Solitude, or the Elysium of the Poets,' 1765. 5. 'Sermons,' London, 1767. 6. 'Paradise: a Poem,' 1769. 7. 'Philosophical and Critical Observations on Composition,' 2 vols. London, 1774. 8. 'Rona: a Poem in seven books, with Map of the Hebrides,' London, 1777. 9. 'Inquiry into the Causes of Infidelity and Scepticism,' London, 1783. 10. ”

“ Birthright in Land, biographical notes, by D. C. MacDonald; Douglas's Description of the East Coast of Scotland, p. 198; Scottish Notes and Queries, 1889; Columbia College Calendar of Trustees, &c. 1793 list; Brit. Mus. Cat. ”