A BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF EMINENT SCOTSMEN. A. ABERCROMBY, THE HONOURABLE ALEX- are distinguished by an ease and gentlemanlike turn ANDER (Lord Abercromby), a distinguished lawyer of expression, by a delicate and polished irony, by a of the latter part of the 18th century, and an elegant strain of manly, honourable, and virtuous sentiment." occasional writer, was the youngest son of George Mackenzie states that they are also characterized by Abercromby of Tullibody, in Clackmannanshire, an unaffected tenderness, which he had displayed and brother of the celebrated Sir Ralph Abercromby. even in his speeches as a barrister. After exempliHe was born on the 15th of October, 1745. While fying almost every virtue, and acting for some years his elder brothers were destined for the army, Alex- in a public situation with the undivided applause of ander chose the profession of the law, which was the world, Lord Abercromby was cut off by a pulmore consistent with his gentle and studious charac-monary complaint at Falmouth, whither he had gone ter. After going through the ordinary course of for his health, on the 17th of November, 1795. classes at the university of Edinburgh, he became, in 1766, a member of the Faculty of Advocates. He ABERCROMBY, JOHN, the author of several was at this early period of his life the favourite of esteemed works on gardening, was the son of a reall who knew him, not only for the uncommon hand-spectable gardener near Edinburgh, where he was someness of his person, but for the extreme sweetness of his disposition. Being given to the gaieties of fashionable life, he had little relish for laborious employment; so that, for some years after his admission into the Faculty of Advocates, his splendid abilities were well-nigh obscured by indolence or frivolity. Roused at length to exertion, he engaged with ardour in all the duties of his profession, and soon became eminent for professional skill, and distinguished as a most eloquent pleader. His reputation and business rapidly increased, and soon raised him to the first rank at the Scottish bar. In May, 1792, he was appointed one of the judges of the Court of Session, when, in compliance with the custom of the Scottish judges, he adopted the title of Lord Abercromby; and, in December following he was called to a seat in the Court of Justiciary. "In his judicial capacity he was distinguished by a profound knowledge of law, a patient attention, a clearness of discernment, and an unbiassed impartiality, which excited general admiration." His literary performances and character are thus summed up by his friend Henry Mackenzie, who, after his death, undertook the task of recording his virtues and merits for the Royal Society:-"The laborious employments of his profession did not so entirely engross him, as to preclude his indulging in the elegant amusements of polite literature. He was one of that society of gentlemen who, in 1779, set on foot the periodical paper, published at Edinburgh during that and the subsequent year, under the title of the Mirror; and who afterwards gave to the world another work of a similar kind, the Lounger, published in 1785 and 1786. To these papers he was a very valuable contributor, being the author of ten papers in the Mirror and nine in the Lounger. His papers VOL. I. born about the year 1726. Having been bred by his father to his own profession, he removed to London at the early age of eighteen, and became a workman in the gardens attached to the royal palaces. Here he distinguished himself so much by his taste in laying out grounds, that he was encouraged to write upon the subject. His first work, however, in order to give it greater weight, was published under the name of a then more eminent horticulturist, Mr. Mawe, gardener to the Duke of Leeds, under the title of Mawe's Gardeners' Calendar. It soon rose into notice, and still maintains its place. The editor of a subsequent edition of this work says, "The general principles of gardening seem to be as correctly ascertained and clearly described by this author, as by any that have succeeded him.” And further, "The style of Abercromby, though somewhat inelegant, and in some instances prolix, yet appears, upon the whole, to be fully as concise, and at least as correct and intelligible, as that of some of the more modern and less original of his successors. Abercromby afterwards published, under his own name, the Universal Dictionary of Gardening and Botany, in 4to; which was followed, in succession, by the Gardeners' Dictionary, the Gardeners' Daily Assistant, the Gardeners Vade Mecum, the Kitchen Gardener and Hot-bed Forcer, the Hot-house Gardener, and numerous other works, most of which attained to popularity. Abercromby, after a useful and virtuous life, died at London in 1806, aged about eighty years. ABERCROMBIE, JOHN, M.D., was one of the latest of that medical school of which Scotland is so justly proud. He was born in Aberdeen, on the 11th of October, 1781, and was son of the Rev. 1 Mr. Abercrombie, who for many years was one of the ministers of that town, and distinguished by his piety and worth. The excellent training which John enjoyed under such a parent, imparted that high moral and religious tone by which his whole life was subsequently characterized. After a boyhood spent under the paternal roof, and the usual routine of a classical education, he was sent, in consequence of his choice of the medical profession, to the university of Edinburgh, at that time distinguished as the best medical school in the empire. Here he applied to his studies with indefatigable diligence, and while his fellow-students marked his progress with admiration, they were not less struck with the moral excellence of his character, and the deep, practical, unobtrusive piety by which, even thus early, his whole life was regulated. It was this confirmed excellence of character, expressed alike in action and conversation, combined with his high professional talents and reputation, that afterwards won for him the confidence of his patients, | and imparted to his attentions at the sick-bed a charm that, of itself, was half the cure. When the usual prescribed course of study at the medical classes was finished, Mr. Abercrombie graduated at the university of Edinburgh on the 4th of June, 1803, while only in his twenty-second year, the subject of his thesis being De Fatuilate Alpina. He then went to London, and after a short period of study at the schools and hospitals of the metropolis, returned to Edinburgh, and was admitted a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons on the 12th of November, 1804. On this occasion his probationary essay, submitted to the president and council, entitled On Paralysis of the Lower Extremities from Diseased Spine, was characterized by such clearness of thought and perspicuity of style, as fully indicated the eminence that awaited him not only in his professional capacity, but also in the ranks of authorship. | Dr. Abercrombie added his name to the list of Part After the decease of Dr. Gregory, Dr. Abercrombie, although unsuccessful in his application for the chair of medicine, succeeded him as consulting physician, in which situation his services were often in demand, not only in Edinburgh, but over the whole of Scotland. He was also appointed physician to the king for Scotland-a mere title, it is true, but at the same time one of those honorary titles which often stamp the value of the man, and prove a passport to the substantialities of eminence and wealth. In 1834, his reputation was so completely fixed, that the university of Oxford, departing from its usual routine in behalf of the alumni of Scottish colleges, conferred on him the honorary degree of Doctor of Medicine, Thus prepared, Dr. Abercrombie, though still and in the following year he was elected lord-rector young, and almost a stranger in Edinburgh, resolved of the Marischal College of Aberdeen. Besides to establish himself at once as a physician in the these, he held other offices of distinction, most of northern capital, instead of commencing his career which were connected with benevolent societies. In in some more humble district. He accordingly took this way his life went onward, and while he increased a house in Nicolson Street, and as a general or in wealth and professional reputation, his piety made family practitioner his reputation continued to grow him the friend of the good, and his benevolence the from year to year without interruption. Even this, honoured of the poor. But all was brought to however, was not enough for his active and benevo- an abrupt termination by his sudden death, at his lent mind; and therefore, notwithstanding the in-house in York Place, on the 14th of November, crease of business, and its tempting emoluments, he gave much of his time to attendance on the poor, as one of the medical officers of the Royal Public Dispensary. Still deeming his own personal exertions insufficient, he would not rest until he had imparted | his enthusiasm to others; and therefore, when his reputation in clinical knowledge had gathered round him a host of pupils emulous to follow his example, he divided the city into districts, to each of which a few of these students were attached for medical superintendence. In this way, while the health of the humblest of the population of Edinburgh was cared for, an efficient class of experienced physicians was trained for the kingdom at large. Besides this important service, on being appointed vaccinator along with Drs. Gillespie and Bryce, he was enabled to take with them an active part in introducing the practice of the Jennerian discovery into Scotland. At length, when, after a course of years, the professional experience and reputation of Dr. Abercrombie had reached their height, an event occurred by which it was hoped their excellence would be duly honoured. This was a vacancy in the chair of medicine in the university of Edinburgh, through the death of Dr. Gregory in 1821. On this occasion 1844. On the morning of that day, having breakfasted at nine o'clock, he retired to his private room, while several patients were waiting for him, and his carriage standing at the door. As nearly an hour elapsed, his servant, alarmed at such unusual delay, entered the room, and found his master lying extended and lifeless on the floor, his death having been apparently all but instantaneous. It was found, on a post mortem examination, that the cause of his death was the bursting of a coronary artery. Thus unexpectedly was closed the life of one whom all classes esteemed, and whose loss is still felt and remembered. Dr. Abercrombie was distinguished not only as a most eminent and successful medical practitioner, but also as an able and eloquent writer. At first his exertions in authorship were confined to the Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal, and other similar professional periodicals; but when his literary strength was matured, he produced a separate treatise entitled Pathological and Practical Researches on Diseases of the Brain and the Spinal Cord, Edinburgh, 1828, 8vo. This work, which abounds in pure scientific knowledge, and evinces his profound research into mental character, as con PATRICK ABERCROMBY nected with physical condition and action, was followed in the same year by another of still higher merit, having for its title Pathological and Practical Researches on the Diseases of the Intestinal Canal, Liver, and other Viscera of the Abdomen, Edinburgh, 1828, 8vo. These, however, though so highly meritorious, were but prelusive efforts to something still more important; and after a careful study and arrangement of the materials which he had been accumulating for years, he produced two works; the one entitled Inquiries concerning the Intellectual Powers, and the Investigation of Truth, Edinburgh, 1830, 8vo: and the other, The Philosophy of the Moral Feelings, London, 1833, 8vo. Upon these works, of which the latter is a sequel to the former, his literary reputation will chiefly rest; and they will always continue to be prized by the reflective mind, from the views which they unfold of the intellectual and moral nature of man, and the harmonious combination which exists between the truths of science and the revelations of Christianity. Independently, however, of these writings, so distinguished by their profound medical, ethical, and metaphysical knowledge, and so practical in their bearings, Dr. Abercrombie's pen was employed on the subjects of humble every-day usefulness, and pure unmixed religion and vital godliness; so that shortly after the publication of his Philosophy of the Moral Feelings, he produced his Treatise on the Moral Condition of the Lower Classes in Edinburgh; and subsequently, The Elements of Sacred Truth, which were first published singly and at intervals, and afterwards collected into a small volume. "These tracts," an able reviewer has observed, "reflect the highest honour on Dr. Abercrombie. It is beautiful to see an individual of his professional celebrity thus dedicating his talents and a portion of his time to religious instruction. Such an example is above all praise." ABERCROMBY, PATRICK, historian, was the third son of Alexander Abercromby of Fetterneir, in Aberdeenshire, a branch of the house of Birkenbog in Banffshire, which again derived its descent from Abercromby of Abercromby in Fife. Francis, the eldest son of Abercromby of Fetterneir, was created Lord Glassford in 1685; but as the patent, by an extraordinary restriction, was limited to his own life only, the title did not descend to his children. Patrick Abercromby was born at Forfar in 1656, and was educated at the university of St. Andrews, where he took the degree of Doctor in Medicine in 1685. His family being eminently loyal, the young physician is said to have changed his religion to please James VII., who consequently made him one of the physicians of the court. A proceeding so dishonest and time-serving was speedily and severely punished; for, at the Revolution, Abercromby was deprived of his appointment. For some years after he appears to have lived abroad; but he returned to Scotland in the reign of Queen Anne, and devoted himself to the study of national antiquities. In 1707, he published a translation of M. Beauge's very rare book, L'Histoire de la Guerre d'Ecosse, 1556, under the title of The History of the Campagnes 1548 and 1549; "being an exact account of the Martial Expeditions performed in those days by the Scots and French on the one hand, and the English and their foreign auxiliaries on the other: done in French by Mons. Beauge, a French gentleman; with an introductory preface by the Translator." In the preface, the ancient alliance between Scotland and France is strenuously asserted. This curious French work, which gives a complete account of the war carried on by the Popish government of Cardinal Beatoun, aided by the French, against the English under Protector Somerset, was reprinted in the original by Mr. Smythe of Methven for the Bannatyne Club, 1829, along with a preface, giving an account of Abercromby's translation. The great work of Dr. Abercromby is in two volumes, folio, entitled, The Martial Achievements of the Scots Nation. He tells us in the preface, that, not venturing to write regular history or biography, he had resolved to relate the deeds of all the great men of his country, in a less ambitious strain, and with a more minute attention to small facts, than is compatible with those styles of composition. He also, with great modesty, apologizes for his manner of writing by saying, "When my reader is told that 'twas my fate to spend most part of my youth in foreign countries, to have but viewed, en passant, the south part of Britain, and to have been conversant with Roman and French rather than with English authors, he will not expect from me those modish turns of phrase, nor that exact propriety of words, Scotsmen, by reason of their distance from the fountain of custom, so seldom attain to." The first volume of the Martial Achieve ments was published, in 1711, by Mr. Robert Freebairn, and shows a respectable list of subscribers. About one-half of it is occupied by the early fabulous history of Scotland, in which the author, like almost all men of his time, and especially the Jacobites, was a devout believer. It closes with the end of the reign of Robert Bruce. The second volume appeared, with a still more numerous and respectable list of subscribers, in 1715; it was partly printed by Freebairn, and partly by Thomas Ruddiman, who not only corrected the manuscript, but superintended its progress through the press. This is said by Chalmers to have been the first typographical effort of Ruddiman. Abercromby's Martial Achievements is upon the whole a very creditable work for a Scottish antiquary of that period; the author is not superior to the credulity of his age and party, but he is eminently industrious, and his narrative is written in an entertaining style. The work shows a wide range of authorities, and is liberally interspersed with controversial discussions of the points most contested by antiquaries. Dr. Patrick Abercromby died poor in 1716, or, as other writers say, in 1726, leaving a widow in distressed circumstances. ABERCROMBY, SIR RALPH, a distinguished general, under whom the British arms met their first success in the French revolutionary war, was the eldest son of George Abercromby of Tullibody, in Clackmannanshire, a gentleman of ancient and respectable family, and of Mary, daughter of Ralph Dundas of Manor. He was born at Menstrie, in the parish of Logie, on the 7th October, 1734. His education seems to have been regarded with more care than was usually manifested by the Scottish country gentlemen of the early and middle parts of the last century. After passing through the customary course at Rugby, he became a student, first in the university of Edinburgh, and subsequently in that of Göttingen. He entered the army, as cornet in the 3d dragoon guards, May 23, 1756, and became a lieutenant, in the same regiment, in the year 1760; which rank he held till April, 1762, when he obtained a company in the 3d horse. In this regiment he rose, in 1770, to the rank of major, and in 1773 to that of lieutenant-colonel. He was included in the list of brevet-colonels in 1780, and in 1781 was made colonel of the 103d, or king's Irish infantry, a new regiment, which was broken at the peace in 1783, when Colonel Abercromby was placed on half-pay. |