fcURNETT. 



Burnett, published An "Exposition of the Thirty-nine Articles 

 James. QJ i/u Church of England, a work which ranks with 



*"" "v"- {he theological treatises of that nature. He also left 

 for publication after his decease, The History of his 

 own Times, with fin Aceeunt oj" his Life, which was 

 publish-ed by his son Thomas, in two volumes folio, 

 in the- ycap-; 1723 and 1734- . This work, with all 

 its defects and redundancies of style and matter, is 

 valuable as a collection of authentic memoirs of per- 

 sons whose names are connected with some of the 

 most important events in English history ; and it is 

 not rendered the less interesting to most readers, by 

 the garrulity and egotism which it often displays, 

 but which always exhibit the writer as a man of sim- 

 plicity, integrity, and considerable parts, a great part 

 of whose life was passed in intimacy with men of 

 rank and genius, and who himself sustained a very 

 important and honourable part in the great transac- 

 tions of the day. 



Many anecdotes respecting him are in ordinary cir- 

 culation, some of little interest, and others of little 

 authority. He has himself left a record of his in- 

 strumentality in the conversion of the Earl of Ro- 

 chester, in his published account of the life and death 

 of that nobleman. Of the genuineness and saving 

 efficacy of his faith and repentance, he appears to 

 have received a full conviction, more honourable to 

 his heart than his judgment. It is also certain that 

 a visit which he made to Mrs Roberts, a mistress of 

 the king, in her last moments, suggested to him the 

 propriety or duty, as he supposed, of addressing a 

 monitory and expostulatory letter to Charles II. on 

 the vices of his life and errors of his government. It 

 is said the king gave it a second perusal before he 

 threw it into the fire, but that he never forgave the 

 writer. The life of this honest man and exemplary 

 prelate was terminated by a pleuretic fever, March 

 17, 1715, in the 72d year of his age. See Bur- 

 net's History of His own Times, and Biographia 

 Britannica. ( j. M. ) 



BURNETT, the Honourable JAMES, a senator 

 of thecollegeofjusticein Scotland, by the title of Lord 

 Monboddo, was descended from the ancient family of 

 Burnett in Kincardineshire, who have possessed the 

 domains of Leys, OH Deeside, ever since the days of 

 Robert the Bruce ; and upon whom that monarch 

 conferred the hereditary office of forester of Mar, 

 accompanying the nomination with an ivory hunting- 

 horn of very ancient workmanship. This symbol of 

 office, suspended by a white satin sash, is still pre- 

 served in the venerable and gothic mansion of Crathes 

 Castle, and forms a conspicuous part of the family 

 arms, which are not unappropriately supported 

 by a Highlander ami a Greyhound. James Bur- 

 nett, the great grandfather of Lord Monboddo, was 

 a grandson of Leys by a younger son of that'family 

 and the heiress of Craigtnyle ; and married Eliza- 

 beth, daughter of Captain Robert Irvine, of the fa- 

 mily of Kingcaussie. Besides other properties, which 

 were sold by his grandson, this gentleman acquired 

 the estates of Lagavin and Monboddo, which still 



remain in the family, and are at present possessed by 

 Mr Burnett, who married Helen, the only surviving 

 issue of Lord Monbcddo. His Lordship's grand- 

 father married his cousin, Margaret, a daughter of 

 Sir Thomas Burnett of Leys ; and his mother was a 

 daughter of Sir William Forbes of Craigievar. f The 

 subject of the present article was born at the family 

 mansion of Monboddo, in the parish of Fordoun, in 

 the end of October 17 14'. Of his early age, little 

 is now remembered. From the parish school of Lau- 

 rence'kirk he went to King's College, Aberdeen, where 

 he was distinguished as a young man ot excellent parts, 

 and where he imbibed that taste for Greek literature 

 which he retained through life. Having finished the 

 usual course of study in this university, he embark- 

 ed for Holland, as was the fashion in these day&, to 

 study civil law. At Groningen he continued three 

 years ; and it has been remarked, that, during his re- 

 sidence in that country, he entirely lost his provin- 

 cial Scotch dialect, and, from associating with some 

 English gentlemen following the same pursuits, and 

 some Protestant French refugees, he acquire* 1 a cor- 

 rect pronunciation of the French anxl English 'langua- 

 ges. On returning to his native country, he arrived in 

 Edinburgh on the memorable night when Captain Por- 

 teous, of the city guard, fell a victim to the tumul- 

 tuary fury of the inhabitants. Mr Burnett had ta- 

 ken up his lodgings not far from the prison ; and, be^ 

 ing aroused from his sleep by the noise of the mob, 

 he hastily dressed himself in his nightgown and slip- 

 pers, and sallied forth to ascertain the cause of the 

 disturbance. He used frequently to recount the cir- 

 cumstances of that violent proceeding, and dwelt 

 particularly upon the appearance of a stout fellow 

 with a dyer's apron, who demanded that the rope 

 should be given to him, and he would make Pofteous 

 dance in the air ; which he effectually accomplished, 

 notwithstanding the struggling and resistance of his 

 helpless victim. Though curiosity alone led Mr Bur- 

 nett to follow in the crowd to the Grassmarket, and to 

 witness this scene of popular outrage, yet it seems that 

 he had been marked, from the singularity of his dress, as 

 having joined in the procession to the place of exe- 

 cution, and would have been laid hold of, had it not 

 been found, upon ii.quiry, that he had arrived that 

 afternoon from Holland, and consequently could not 

 have had any share in this proceeding. 



He passed lawyer in 1738, and, from his relationship 

 with Fletcher of Saltottn, then Lord Justice Clerk, and 

 with Lord President Forbes, he was soon brought into 

 notice. Lord Ti-'wald, who was an excellent Greek 

 scholar, shewed him (he used to say) particular at- 

 tention ; and he frequently formed one of the par- 

 ty at the Lord President's Saturday's dinner an 

 honour, which he often mentioned even in h's latter 

 days, as the greatest he had ever received. During 

 the interruption of law -business by the rebellion of 

 174-5, he retired to London, where, having been -re- 

 commended by President Forbes to Dr Murdoch, 

 Dr Armstrong, Mr Thomson, and Mr Mallet, cha- 

 racters of the first celebrity in literature, he spent 



f We have given this short abstract of the genealogy of Lord Monboddo, as it forms no'improper introduction to the 

 life of a man, who considered the adventitious circumstance of birth as a matter of no small importance, and who hae evep 

 ihtfoduced the subject into hi? writings. See his Ant, Metaphysics, vok Ui., Boak. ii. chap. 8. 



