CHAP. I.] CLERKS OF PENICUIK. 17 



"He served in the Parliament of Scotland, and ac- 

 quired the lands and barony of Lasswade. He married 

 Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Henderson, Esq., of Elvington, 

 and grand-daughter of Sir William Drummond, of Haw- 

 thornden, the poet. Sir William Drummond had only two 

 daughters, the younger of whom married W. Henderson. 

 Their daughter Elizabeth was wonderfully talented and 

 accomplished, and had a speciaT gift for music. Sir John 

 died in 1722. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Sir 

 John Clerk, a man of great learning, who was appointed in 

 170*7 one of the Barons of the Exchequer in Scotland, which 

 judicial employment he retained during the remainder of his 

 life. He was also one of the Commissioners of the Union." 



The Baron's precepts to his son George when at school in 

 Cumberland are worthy of Polonius. He advises him to be 

 kind to his companions, as he could not tell what they might be 

 able to do for him thereafter, and to be sure to take the opportunity 

 of " learning the English language," in which the Baron himself 

 regrets his own deficiency. " You have nothing else to depend 

 on but your being a scholar and behaving well." He is described 

 in the autumn of his days as " humming along and stuffing his 

 pipe in order to whiff it away for half an hour," while " my lady 

 is engaged reading over some newspaper. Miss Clerk is labour- 

 ing with great industry at a very pretty open muffler. Mrs. 

 Dean is winding three fine white clews upon a fourth one," etc. 

 " My lady's " letters to her son George dwell much on family 

 matters, and are full of old-fashioned piety. 



" He was highly accomplished in music, painting, and 

 languages. At the age of nineteen he went abroad for three 

 years to finish his education. He studied one year under 

 the celebrated Dr. Boerhaave at Leyden, where he was a 

 pupil of William Mieris in drawing. He afterwards went 

 to Florence and Rome, where he had lessons in music from 

 Antonio Corelli, and in painting from Imperiale. He wrote 

 an opera which was performed in Rome. His brother, 

 William Clerk, married Agnes Maxwell, heiress of Middlebie, 

 in Dumfriesshire." 



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