which remark I muft fet down Mr. Charles Fox, member for Weftminfter in the prefent parliament, as a wonderful exception. In many refpects Fox refembles Fletcher; and may he close his career fo as to deferve an equal character! "The irafcibility of Fletcher's temper, and his high fenfe of honour, made him impatient of the flightest tendency towards an affront. Lord Stair, when fecretary of state, having let fall fome expreffions in parliament, that feemed to glance at Fletcher, he feized Stair by the robe, in his place, and gave him the reply valiant. Lord Stair was called to order by the house, and was obliged to ask his pardon publicly." "Fletcher (fays the anonymous author of his character in Thomas Rawlinfon's library) was steady in his principles, of nice honour, great learning, brave as the fword he wore; a fure friend, but an irreconcileable enemy; and would not do a bafe thing to escape death. "He would not fubmit to be called either whig or tory, faying, thofe names were given and ufed to cloak the knaves of both parties. Bravo! "He had acquired the grammatical knowledge of the Italian fo perfectly as to compose and publish a treatife in that language; yet he could not fpeak it, as he found when having an interview with prince Eugene of Savoy, and being addreffed in that language by the prince, he could not utter a fyllable to be understood. In his perfon he was of low ftature, thin, of a brown complexion, with piercing eyes; and a gentle frown of keen fenfibility appeared often upon his countenance. "To the memory of this extraordinary man I have reared this monument. The bodies of men are frail and perifhing: fo are their portraits and monuments: but, upheld by the power of the Creator, the form of the foul is eternal. This cannot be represented by ftatues or by pictures, nor otherwife than by a conformity of manners. May whatever was great and truly valuable in Fletcher be for ever imitated by my countrymen, and may the fplendour of his virtues reflect honour upon his family, and glorify his kindred throughout all generations! Ille ego qui quondam patriæ perculfus amore Civibus oppreffis libertati fuccurrere aufim, Nunc arva paterna colo, fugioq; limina regum." MEMOIRS of the LIFE of Sir JAMES STEUART DENHAM, Baronet. By the Right Hon. the EARL of BUCHAN. [From the first Volume of the TRANSACTIONS of the SOCIETY of the ANTIQUARIES of SCOTLAND.] "SIR James Steuart Denham, ba ronet, was the fon of fir James Steuart of Goodtrees, bart. solicitor general for Scotland, by Anna, daughter of fir Hugh Dalrymple, bart. lord prefident of the college of justice of Scotland, who was the third fon of the illuftrious and learned lord viscount Stair. "He was born on the 10th of October, old file, 1713, and remained, during the years of his infancy, at Goodtrees, his father's feat, in the neighbourhood of Edin burgh. burgh. His first public education acute and ingenious thefis on that occafion, having before fubmitted himself, as is ufual, to a public examination by the faculty of ad. vocates. "A few months after this introduction to the practice of his pro feffion, fir James fet out upon his travels. He made the tour of Holland, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy; not to import the fashions and fopperies which are to be found in all countries, but to imitate the example of the wife Ulyffes, to study the laws, manners, and defirable improvements of the countries and cities through which he paffed, or in which he refided. employed travels in the year 1740, and became the general object of esteem and attention in his own country; not only on account of his excellent qualities, but by the elegance of his manners, and the beauty of his perfon, "The confideration of this circumftance, which is not uncommon in the experience of schools," He returned from thefe wellought to incline the protectors and conductors of them, to wait with patience and perfeverance for the later fruits of the human understanding; and the appearance of early and promifing bloffoms ought, on the other hand, to be obferved with moderate expectation, as often arifing from premature exertion, and giving birth to no future greatnefs or ability. "Sir James, having imbibed the elementary part of claffical education at the school of North Berwick, was removed to the univerfity of Edinburgh, at the age of fourteen, his father being now dead, and his mother intrufted with the care of his education. "At this univerfity our author went through a complete course of the fciences and languages there taught, and ftudied the Roman and Scottish law there alfo, with the occafional affiftance of profeffor Hercules Lindfay, an eminent civilian in the univerfity of Glafgow. This laborious inftitution being happily accomplished, he went to the bar as an advocate before the college of juftices, and publifhed an 1792. "His return to the bar was anxioufly expected by his friends and countrymen, and his abfence from it was imputed to the influence of certain connections, of a political nature, which he had formed abroad, and particularly at Rome. "In the year 1743, fir James married the lady Francis Wemyfs, eldest daughter of James earl of Wemyfs, a lady of great merit, who afterwards accompanied him, in all his troubles, with a conftancy and affection that endeared her not only to her husband, but to the public. "A few months after this happy marriage, a vacancy happened in the reprefentation in parliament, for the county of Edinburgh, when fir James took an active part in oppofition to the intereft of Robert Dundas, efq. of Arniston, one of the fenators of the college of justice, who, happening to prefide at the B meet ing of the electors for the county of Edinburgh, omitted to call over fir James's name, on the roll of the electors, on account of an alledged infufficiency of right to vote on that occafion. On this account, Mr. Dundas became the object of a legal profecution by fir James, as having difobey ed the injunctions and rules laid down and inforced by an act of parDament relating to the rolls of electors of members of parliament for Counties in Scotland. When, in the courfe of litigation, this caufe came to be heard before the col lege of juftice, fir James pled his own caufe with fo much eloquence, and in fo masterly a manner, that Mr. Dundas (commonly called lord Arniston) though a judge, came down from the bench and defended himfelf at the bar, Anappearance very uncommon, and demonftra tive of the high fenfe he had of the abilities of his opponent.. "This extraordinary appearance of our author gave the greatcft hopes of his profeffional abilities, and infpired all his friends with freih zeal for his continuance at the bar; but the fentiments and en"gagements formerly mentioned, did, in all probability, prevent fir James from availing bifelf of fo brilliant an introduction "Alter this, fruggle, he palled near two years at his feat, in the country, furrounded at all times by the nioft learned and accomplished of his countrymen, and rendering Fifelf continually the delight of all his guefts and companions, by the charms and variety of his converfation, and the polite animation of his manners, and addrefs., Among thofe were, many of the illuflrious, perfons, who afterwards engaged in the attempt to place prince Charles Edward on the throne of his ancestors, in the name of his father. "The time is not yet come when it would be proper to give an account of the hare fir James had in the political events relating to that unfuccefsful attempt. "It is certain that fir James was the perfon of the greatest talents who was fufpected of giving counfel and aid to the promoters of this intended revolution; and, on that account, he was the more fubject to the ill oflices of thofe who viewed him as a dangerous rival in political abilities, and were afraid of being fupplanted by him in the career of profeflional promotion. His name was tranfmitted to government, as privy and aiding to the rebellion; and those who sent up his name were not patriots. "The fame of fuch perfons, if they had or have any, will hardly furvive even that of this fimple and unaffected monument of fir James's reputation. If fpirit is fuperior to brute matter, and moral inisfortunes to natural, the lofs of fir James Steuart's talents to his country, muft be reckoned among the heaviest loffes fuftained by that unhappy rebellion. Thus fir James became a fugitive and an exile from that country which ought to have cherished him, and pointed him out for elevation with the finger of public applaufe., But the mind of this illuftrious man was not to be foured by dif appointment; nor was he to imitate a Coriolanus or a duke de Ripperda, by becoming an enemy to his country: he employed the years of his banishment for the good of that country, the inftruction of mankind, and the illuftration of the republic of letters, at that time, un hap "happily, the only commonwealth of which he was a member. "He refided long in France, and particularly at Angoulefme, where, having nothing elfe to occupy his active mind, he applied himfelf to -ftudy; a great part of the fruits of which are to be found in his acute and elaborate works. It was by .ftudying the language of the finan*ces, without which nobody can afk sa queftion concerning them, fo as to be understood by thofe who have knowledge fufficient to anfwer it, that fir James was enabled to collect that amazing magazine of facts relating to the revenue, which laid -the foundation for fome of the moft curious and interefting chapters of this Principles of Political Oeco .nomy.. "As foon as fir James could ask queftions properly, he applied in familiar converfation to the intendant and his fubftitutes, in the province where he lived, whom he found of courfe exceedingly curious to learn the state of British finances, under the branches of land-tax, ciftoms, excife, and other inland duties. "This led him to compare the ftate of the two nations. The information he was enabled to give, was an equivalent for the information he received, and both were mutually inftructed." The department of the intendants in France is confined to the taxes which compofe the recettes generales, namely the Taille, the Capitation, and the Vinciemes. But as all intendants have been maîtres des requetes, and bred at Paris, they could not fail to have fome knowledge of the general farms, and other branches of finance.*1 "He carefully noted down at all times the anfwers he got; and when he came afterwards to refide at Paris, he got more ample infor mation, both from gentlemen of the finance, and from perfons of the parliament of Paris, who to the number of 25 had been for fifteen months exiled in the province where fir James had lived a long time. In a word, with long ftudy and application, he was enabled to compofe the 6th chapter of the 4th part of the fourth book, which gives fo clear and fuccinct an account of the French finances as they ftood at that time. "With refpect to fir James's elaborate and ufeful difcuffion of what relates to money, he had had occafton, long before the publication of his Principles of Political Oeconomy, to write and publish concerning the principles of money as applied or applicable to the coin and money of the empire, which performance had met with much approbation. It was written in High Dutch, and published at in the year "In the year 1757, fir James publifhed at Francfort fur le Mein, his Apologie du fentiment de Monfieur le Chevalier Newton, fur l'Ancienne Chronologie des Grèes, contenant des reponses à toutes les objections qui y ont ètè faites jufqu'à préfent. This apology was written in the beginning of the year 1755, when the author propofed to have caufed it to be printed, but was prevented by other engagements. Some time afterwards, a correfpondence took place betwixt M. L. R. Defh. P. R. and fir James, on this fubje&t, and a letter of that gentleman's was published in the French Mercure for December 1755, which letter was anfwered by fir James, and printed alfo, but not for fome time after. This work of fir James has great merit: as for the great work, the Political Oeconomy, it is needlefs B 2 to to praise it, for the public will do ample juftice to it, when it has thrown from its literary meal, the high seasoned cookeries of the plagiarifts; who have obtruded fir James's facts, principles, and reafonings, on the world, without acknowledging from whence they were derived. "While fir James refided abroad, during the late war between France and Great Britain, he had the miffortune to have fome letters addreffed to him, proceeding on the miftake of his perfon and character, whereby he became innocently the object of suspicion, as furnishing intelligence to the enemy, which occafioned the imprisonment of his perfon until the mistake was difcovered:---of all men the worthy fir James was the moft incapable of ftooping to fuch a meannefs, and breach of the laws of hofpitality, as to betray the fecrets of any nation from which he received protection, and where he had fpent fo many happy years of fafe and learned leifure. Sir James, fome time after the peace of Paris, was permitted to come incognito to London, where a noli profequi and pardon was folicited for him, through different channels, and particularly through that of the great Mr. Pitt, by the interpofition of fir James's nephew, the earl of Buchan, the writer of this memoir, then lord Cardrofs; but, through the malevolence of fome unknown perfons, it became abortive at that time. In the year 1767, fir James was fully reftored to his native country, and to his citizenship, with the gracious approbation of his humane and difcerning fovereign. He then retired to his paternal inheritance, and continued still to exert his faculties for the benefit of his country. He repaired the manfion of his ancestors, } improved his neglected acres, fet for ward the improvements of the province in which he refided, by promoting high-roads, bridges, agriculture, and manufactures; publishing at this time, for the use of the public, an anonymous plan for the conftruction of an act of parliament to regulate the application of the ftatute labour of the peasants and others upon the public roads; the greatest part of which treatise has been fince adopted in the framing of acts for the different counties in Scotland. "In the year 1771, he was em ployed, on the generous offer of his gratuitous fervices, by the Eaft India Company of Great Britain, to confider the most likely methods of regulating the coin in their fettlements; and in the year 1772, at their requeft, he published the refults of his labours on that fubject; the title of which treatife is, The principles of money applied to the prefent ftate of the coin of 'Bengal.' 6 "About this time he alfo was engaged in a critique on the cele brated performance entitled Syfteme de la Nature, which he wrote out and prepared for the prefs; but which has not hitherto been publifhed. "In a letter to lord Buchan, he conveyed a plan for a general uniformity of weights and meafures, à work of great ingenuity and learning, which was intended to have been laid before the congrefs, previous to the late peace. It was written at Tubingen in Swabia, and finally corrected and enlarged at Coltnefs, his feat in Clydefdale in Scotland, in March 1778, and tranfmitted to his nephew the writer of this memoir. "In the fummer of the year 1779, he fet himself to enquire minutely |