1828.] 
D’Alunion ;”’ two other novels ; “ Connell 
and Mary,” a ballad, in Dr. Langhorne’s 
selection; and many fugitive pieces, con- 
tributed to nearly every respectable periodi- 
.cal work, from the year 1780 to the present 
time. Miss Tomlins was also the translator 
of the first History of Napoleon Buonaparte, 
that ever appeared in this country; part of 
the works of Anquetil, &c. 
In the noble spirit of devotion to a father, 
whose severe notions of duty led him to re- 
eeive the sacrifice only as a right, Miss 
Tomlins resigned the advantages attendant 
on beauty and talent. To educate his nu- 
merous family, and to perform the labours 
of his desk, she overcame the fascinations of 
literature; and, amidst the scoffs of the 
vulgar, and the high regards of the noble- 
minded, she actually superintended his pro- 
fessional concerns for scven years previously 
to his death, in 1815. Though anxiously 
and almost incessantly employed, her poeti- 
cal talent was occasionally exercised in the 
production of slight pieces, contributed to 
the periodical press. On her father’s de- 
cease, she retired to an isolated cottage, 
which, for forty years, had been in the occu- 
pation of the family ; and there, in the so- 
ciety of her revered mother and three be- 
loved sisters, she continued to pursue “ the 
peaceful tenor of her way.”’ At the time 
of her premature death, she is understood to 
have had a poem of considerable length in 
preparation. On the 7th of August, Miss 
Tomlins had the misfortune to be thrown 
froma pony. By this accident she received 
bruises, which, though not perceptibly mor- 
tal, proved unexpectedly so on the following 
morning, when, in an apparent fainting fit, 
she expired without a struggle, in the 66th 
year of her age. 
CAPTAIN CLAPPERTON. 
The family of Clapperton is ancient, and 
not without celebrity, in the north of Scot- 
land. The namc has been distinguished in 
the church and in the field; and it has ac- 
quired new fame by the dauntless and perse- 
vering spirit of enterprise with which, at the 
sacrifice of his valuable life, the subject of 
this brief and inadequate notice has pursued 
the track of African discovery. A Bishop 
Clapperton lies buried at Inch Colm, in the 
Frith of Forth; and another individual of 
the name is remembered, in the history of 
Sweden, as a field-marshal in the army. At 
a later date, the family resided in Teviot- 
dale, on the border of Scotland. The grand- 
father of Captain Clapperton studied medi- 
cine in Edinburgh, and at Paris—was an 
antiquary of some note—and collected coins, 
songs, genealogies, &c., illustrating the his- 
tory of the border countries. Having mar- 
ried a cousin of Archibald Campbell, of 
Glenlyon, Perthshire, he settled as a phy- 
sician at Lochmaben, in Dumfrieshire. His 
eliest. son, George, the father of Captain 
Clapperton, was a surgeon in Annan. Hugh 
Clappexton, the African traveller, was the 
Biographical Memoirs of Eminent Persons. 
323 
youngest of six sons, by his father’s first 
marriage. The boy’s education was not 
classical ; but, when he could read and write, 
he was placed under the care of a Mr. Bryce 
Downie, under whom he acquired a know- 
ledge of practical mathematics, including 
navigation, trigonometry, &c. 
Born in the year 1788, Hugh Clapperton, 
at an early age, served in different trading 
vessels. In 1806, he went out to Gibraltar 
in a navy transport. There, with some of 
his shipmates, he got on board the Re- 
nommé frigate, commanded by Sir Thomas 
Livingstone. Discovering that his uncle 
was serving as Captain of Royal Marines, 
on board of his Majesty’s ship Saturn, then 
also at Gibraltar, he fortunately succeeded in 
obtaining a midshipman’s berth in the 
same ship. After the Saturn had been paid 
off on her return to England, the youth was 
some time on board his Majesty’s ship St. 
Domingo, with Captain King. Unable to 
procure his discharge in time to sail to the 
East Indies with Captain Briggs, in the 
Clorinde, he followed that gentleman in 
another vessel as a passenger. In a gale of 
wind he risked his life in saving some of the 
crew—a circumstance which strongly recom- 
mended him to notice on his arrival in India. 
There he joined Captain Briggs. 
In 1813, after his return to England, 
Clapperton, and a few other clever midship- 
men, were ordered to Portsmouth dock-yard, 
to receive instructiens in the cutlass exer- 
cise from the celebrated fencing-master, 
Angelo. These young men, when perfect 
in the art, were distributed as teachers 
throughout the fleet. Clapperton’s class- 
room was the deck of the Asia, the flag-ship 
of Vice-Admiral, Sir Alexander Cochrane, 
then lying at Spithead, where she remained 
till the end of January, 1814. Clapperton 
then accompanied Sir Alexander, who was 
appointed to the command of our naval 
force on the coast of North America. His 
manly form—he stood at least six feet high, 
had great breadth of chest, and expansion of 
shoulders—fixed the attention, and tended 
to improve the patriotic spirit of the crew. 
He was an excellent table-companion ; he 
painted scenes for the ship’s theatricals, 
sketched views, drew caricatures, and was 
a universal favourite. The lakes of Canada, 
however, were on the point of becoming the 
scene of important naval operations. Pant- 
ing for distinction, Clepperton, in conse- 
quence, procured a passage to Halifax— 
bade adieu to the flag-ship—proceeded to 
Upper Canada—was made lieutenant—and 
appointed to the Confiance, schooner ; a ves- 
sel which, under his command, soon became 
as proverbial for its excellence, as it had pre- 
viously been for its laxity of discipline. 
In 1817, the British flotilla on the lakes 
having been dismantled, Lieutenant Clap- 
perton returned to Nngland—was placed on 
half-pay—and retired to Lochmaben, where 
he remained three years. ‘Thence he re- 
moved to Edinburgh, and became acquainted 
27T 2 
