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THE

Scots Magazine,

AND

EDINBURGH LITERARY MISCELLANY,

FOR MARCH 1806.

Description of the VIEW of LOUDON CASTLE.

LOUDON Castle, the ancient seat

of the Earls of Loudon, and now the property of the Countess of Loudon and Moira, is situated in Ayrshire, on the banks of the water of Irvine, and surrounded with extensive woods of the finest timber.

The Castle is now undergoing a thorough repair, with considerable

additions, under the direction of the

celebrated architect Mr Elliot.

The present view is of the south front, and represents the castle as it is now finishing. The place is capable of very great improvement; and from the taste and opulence of the noble proprietors, it is probable it will soon be made one of the finest places in Britain.

Memoirs of the late Marquis CORNWALLIS.

THIS
HIS nobleman was descended
from an ancient and illustrious fa-
mily, who, in the reign of Edward the
third, came over from Ireland, and
settled in Suffolk. An ancestor of
this family, John Cornwalleys, was a
sheriff of London in the year 1377,
and knight of the shire in two par-
liaments of Richard the second's
reign. The Lordship of Brome
(which gives title to the presump-
tive heir) came into the family by
marriage about this time In the
reign of Henry VII. William Corn-
wallis was among those who were
certified to be capable of supporting
the dignity of knighthood.
dignity of baron was conferred in
1661 upon Sir Frederic Cornwallis,
by Charles II. on account of the
attachment he had displayed to the

The

royal cause during the eventful period of the civil wars, "having (as "the preamble sets forth) from his "youth, with great fidelity, served "King Charles I. in court and

camp, for which he suffered the "loss of his estate."

Marquis Cornwallis was born the 31st of Dec. 1738, and seems to have been intended, from his cradle, for the army. He accordingly entered into the service at a very early age, and we find him in 1758 a captain in Colonel Craufurd's light infantry; three years after this he accompanied the Marquis of Granby to the continent as one of his aids-du camp, and was in the fields of Germany under the most skilful and celebrated generals of the day. In 1761 he was promoted to the rank

of

of lieutenant colonel of the 12th regiment of foot, at which time he was in the House of Commons as representative of the borough of Eye. He succeeded to the peerage on the death of his father, Earl Conwallis, in the year 1762, who was the fifth peer of his family, and in 1765 was nominated one of the lords of the bed-chamber, and about the same time was honoured with the appointment of aid du-camp to his present Majesty. During this period his lordship frequently voted against the minister, and sometimes took what is called the popular side of the question; in particular, when the memorable bill for securing the legislative power of Great Britain over the American colonies was introduced into the House of Lords, Earl Cornwallis was one of the five at the head of whom was the venerable Earl Camden, who refused their consent to that measure. In 1766 he was promoted to the command of the 33d regiment of foot, which he held till his death, so that whatever opposition he thought proper to make to the administration, it no ways impeded his success in obtaining military rank. Two years after this, his lordship married Miss Jemima Julikens Jones, daughter of James Jones, Esq. With this lady, who brought him two children, a son and daughter, he enjoyed every felicity the marriage state is susceptible of, until he was called to embark with his regiment for America. On this occasion Lady Cornwallis, inconsolable at the idea of parting with him, applied to his uncle, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who, at her request, procured the King's leave of absence. But notwithstand ing, military duty prevailed over conjugal affection, and a nice sense of honour urged his lordship to proceed with the forces to America. The separation, however, proved too much for the countess, who literally fell a victim to her love, and died of grief.

Shortly after his Lordship's arrival in America, we find him acting as an able and indefatigable partizan, with the rank of major-general, under Sir W. Howe. His Lordship's first enterprize in 1777, was an attempt to surprise an American post, in the neighbourhood where he then lay, in which he in part succeeded, and soon after this he received orders from General Howe to abandon the Jerseys, and in July embarked with the English commander in chief on the expedition to the Chesapeak.

After performing various services during the different campaigns of the American war, his Lordship had the misfortune to be under the necessity of surrendering with the troops under his command to the confederated French and American armies on the 17th of October 1781, at YorkTown, into which place Lord Cornwallis had withdrawn his little army, in full confidence of holding out until the arrival of succours which had been promised him. Destitute even of ammunition, his Lordship, unwil ling to expose the remains of his gallant army, consented to capitulate, and the terms were, on the whole, not unfavourable. After this unfortunate business, Lord Cornwallis returned to England, where he conti nued till the year 1790, when he went out as Governor-General of Bengal.

Marquis Cornwallis was the wisest governor of India, and the only one who encouraged a system of peace and conciliation. His idea of the government was that of a territory not to be extended, but improved; a country not to be oppressed, but reconciled. His character was happily conformable to the principles of his government. Simplicity and honesty were the strong traits of his character; and his moderation and benevolence spurned the mean ambition of trampling upon the subject powers of this vast empire, and swelling the train of Indian vassals. . But above all he abhorred that low intrigue,

so well known by the name of sub. sidiary treaties. Too generous to govern by intrigue, too honest to rule by force, he was desirous to lay the foundations of his government in the common acknowledgement and perception of its justice. His code of Indian law was humanity.

No sooner did he arrive in India than a war broke out between the Company and Tippoo Sultan, son of Hyder Ally, who, from small begin nings, had acquired extensive territories, and an immense army. The conduct of hostilities was at first intrusted to the Madras Government, but little or no progress being made, the governor-general left Calcutta, and proceeded to the scene of action, where he arrived on the 12th of Dec. 1790. After various successes, his lordship at length obliged the Sultan to accept of such terms as he chose to dictate. Tippoo consented to cede part of his dominions, paid a large sum of money, and undertook to furnish a more considerable portion of treasure within a limited period. Two of the Sultan's sons were delivered as hostages for the due performance of the treaty, and it is only justice to a prince whom we have been accustomed to style a barbarian, to observe, that he fulfilled every article of the treaty with scrupulous punctuality. This important war being thus ended, Lord Cornwallis returned to England, and though he nobly refused to be enriched out of the plunder acquired by his gallant army, honours and employments, so well earned, awaited him at home. He was created a Marquis in 1792, and admitted to the privy council; and in addition to his other appointments was nominated to the lucrative office of mastergeneral of the ordnance.

Returning once more to the bosom of domestic happiness, the Marquis seemed to promise to himself a life of ease and quiet in his native

country. Such, however, was not his destiny. Ireland was disorganized, and the English power there shook to its very centre. It was even doubtful how long it would remain an appendage to Great Britain; for it was menaced by insurrection within, and invasion from without. One of these events had actually taken place, and the other soon followed. In this critical state of affairs, the eyes of the Cabinet and the nation were once more turned towards him, and he was invested with the vice-regal powers, amidst the acclamations of both kingdoms. His administration was short; but it was successful. The union of the insurgents was dissolved, the disaffected disarmed, and an invading enemy taken captive.

The restoration of tranquillity in Ireland was soon succeeded by its union with Great Britain, on which Marquis Cornwallis resigned the government of the country, and returned to England. Here he was soon called upon to act a distinguished part in the negociations which were opened for a general peace, being in 1801 appointed the plenipotentiary of Great Britain to the congress assembled for effecting that desirable object. The result was, the peace of Amiens. The life of Lord Cornwallis was a series of honourable exertions in the service of his country, with very short intervals of repose. Little more than two years elapsed, after his return from France, when government was again desirous of availing itself of his talents and expe. rience. The affairs of India were in a critical state, and no person seemed so proper to restore them, as one under whose auspices they had formerly been so flourishing. The appointment of governor-general was accordingly offered him, and he accepted it, with a strong presentiment that he could not survive the ordinary period during which that-office is held. His health had been sensibly

oa

on the decline for some months previous to his embarkation; and he had every reason to dread the effects of a tropical atmosphere, upon a frame already yielding to the hand of time, and impaired by the variety of services in which he had been employed under every vicissitude of climate. Soon after his arrival in the East Indies, he set out to take the command of the army, when he was arrested by the hand of death at Ghazeepore, in the province of Benares, on the 5th of October. The Marquis is succeeded in his honours and estates by his only son, Charles Viscount Brome, who is married to Louisa, one of the daughters of the Duke of Gordon.

whenever a male heir succeeds to it, he shall be obliged, after a certain age, and a specified time after his succession, to marry, if he happens to be unmarried; and if he does not do so, the next substitute to succeed in the same manner, as if the succession had opened to him by a death. By this he not only expects to keep his estate among his friends, but also hopes that it shall always be in the person of one of his own descendants.

The first spare time I could command upon my return home, I have thrown Mr G's. ideas upon paper, and I request that you will give them a corner of your magazine, which is read by every description of people; that if they be approved of, they may be adopted by those who choose it; at any rate, I hope to see some ani

On a New Mode of Making ENTAILS. madversions upon what appeared to

SIR,

me to be a new mode of making entails. I am, &c.

D. R. D.

happened lately to be in Berwickshire, visiting an old acquaintance, Edinburgh, March 19. 1806. who one day had a number of his neighbours at dinner. In the course

of the afternoon, the

subject of en- CELESTIAL PHENOMENA for April

tails was introduced, when it was allowed on all hands, that they, for the most part, had the effect of preserving the estate together, if not for the descendants, at least for a branch of the family of the entailer, which appeared to be the original design of them. In the course of the conversation on this subject, I was not a little amused with an observation of one of the company, a Mr G, who seemed to think that all our entailers were wrong when they made their entails to prevent their estates going out of their family, without, at the same time, taking means to procure a family, by obliging the substitute to marry. He informed us, that he has lately entailed his estate, (which has been handed down from father to son for some generations,) but he caused his man of business draw the entail in such a manner, that

1806.

Tuesday, April 1st.

THE MOON will eclipse Leonis, a

star of the 4.5 magnitude, situated in longitude 5..21°..39"..32", and latitute 5o..42"..10" South. The star will immerge behind the dark limb of the Moon at 40 minutes after 6 o'clock in the evening, when its distance from the Moon's centre is about 16 minutes South; after continuing eclipsed for the space of 15 minutes, it will emerge from behind the Moon's western limb at 561⁄2 minutes after 6 o'clock, when it is situated about 154 minutes South of her centre: about the middle of this eclipse the Moon's Horizontal semidiameter will be 16'..14", her horizontal parallax 59′--36", and the time. of her southing 10h..41'.

On the same day, the longitude of

the

the planet Juno will be 5..14°27', and her latitude 50 minutes North. Thursday, April 3d.

The planet PALLAS is at present situated in right ascension 87°..6', and declination 5°..34' South.

Friday, April 4th.

The planet VENUS will be stationary in longitude 11..159.47'..28", and latitude 5o..22' North. She comes to the meridian about 5 minutes after 10 o'clock in the morning.

Wednesday, April 9th.

The Moon will be in conjunction with JUPITER at 48 minutes after 9 o'clock in the morning.

. The planet MERCURY will arrive at the greatest elongation from the Sun, and may be seen in the morning before sun-rise. His declination, and consequently his amplitude, are more northerly than that of the sun.

On the same day, the right ascen. sion of the planet CERES will be 105°32', and her declination 30o., 40' North.

Friday, April 11th.

The planet JUNO is at present situated in 5.1 20..56′ of longitude, and 1°..26' of North declination.

Saturday, April 12th.

The right ascension of PALLAS will be 91..11', and her declination 3°..21' South.

Monday, April 14th.

The GEORGIUM SIDUS will be in opposition with the Sun at 17 minutes after 6 o'clock in the morning, in longitude 6..23°..38'. Its latitude will be 37 minutes North; its declination 8°..36', southing 11..58'.

Tuesday, April 15th.

The planet PALLAS will arrive in opposition to the Sun at 47 minutes after 8 o'clock in the evening. His longitude will then be 6..24°.54. 26", his latitude 2°..46' North: his declination 70..10' South, and the time of his southing 12h evening.

Friday, April 18th.

The planet MERCURY will be stationary in longitude 1..12°..58'..14".

The right ascension of CERES will then be 1080..28'; and her declination 30°..18' North.

Sunday, April 20th.

The first satellite of JUPITER will immerge into his shadow at 56 minutes and 33 seconds after two' o'clock in the morning, mean time.

On the same day, at 11 minutes after 7 o'clock in the evening, the Sun will enter the sign Taurus, and his longitude will then be exactly one sign.

Monday, April 21st.

The longitude of JuNo will be 5..12..5', and his latitude 1o..57′ North.

On the same day, the right ascension of PALLAS will be 95°..28', and her declination 1°..22' South.

Sunday, April 27th.

The planet CERES is situated in right ascension 111..40', and latitude 29°..51' South.

Monday, April 28th.

minutes

The planet JUPITER will be stationary in longitude 9.8°.13.30". His latitude is then 15 North, his declination 22°.. 58' South, and the time of his southing 4h.. 12′ in the morning.

Tuesday, April 2oth.

The planet MERCURY will arrive at his inferior conjunction with the Sun at 47 minutes after 8 o'clock in the evening.

Wednesday, April 30th.

The right ascension of PALLAS will be 99°..57', and her declination 0..19' North.

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