22 JAMES CLERK MAXWELL. [CHAP. I. 



friend and comrade of young Walter Scott. And it may be 

 observed here, by the way, that the friend of both, John Irving, 

 was half-brother to Mrs. Clerk, John Clerk Maxwell's mother. 1 



"Sir George Clerk Maxwell died in 1*784, and was suc- 

 ceeded by his eldest son, Sir John, who married Mary Dacre, 

 but died without children in 1*798. His brother James 

 was a lieutenant in the East Indian Navy, and married Janet 

 Irving of Newton. He died in 1*793, leaving two sons and 

 a daughter. The elder son, afterwards the Eight Honourable 

 Sir George Clerk, 2 succeeded to Penicuik on the death of his 

 uncle, Sir John Clerk, in 1798; and the younger son John 

 succeeded to the property of Middlebie, which descended to 

 him from his grandmother, Dorothea, Lady Clerk Maxwell, 

 and took the name of Maxwell. He married in 1826 

 Frances, daughter of Robert Cay of Charlton, and had one 

 son, James Clerk Maxwell, born in July 1831, and died in 

 Nov. 1879." 



The Maxwells of Middlebie are descendants of the seventh 

 Lord Maxwell, and, in the female line, of the Maxwells of 

 Spedoch in Dumfriesshire. Their early history, like that of 

 many Scottish families, is marked with strong lights and sha- 

 dows, 3 and John, the third laird, on coming into his inheritance, 



1 Many notices both of William Clerk and of John Irving occur in 

 Mr. John C. Maxwell's Diary. The following are of some interest : 

 " 1846, Sa., Nov. 5. Called on William Clerk, and sat a good while 

 with him. He was in bed, and not able to raise himself, but spoke 

 freely and well, though very weak and thin. His appetite quite good, 

 and eats plenty, but gains no strength. Dec. 12, Sa. Called on W. 

 Clerk, and sat 45 minutes with him. Weak, but hearty to talk. 

 1847, Jan. 7. Wm. Clerk died early this morning." 



2 For many years Member for Midlothian, and one of the most 

 prominent politicians of his day. He held office under Sir Robert 

 Peel, who had great confidence in the breadth and soberness of his 

 judgment. He was noted for his command of statistics, and of ques- 

 tions of weights and measures, etc. He had also considerable skill in 

 music, and was a good judge of pictures. 



3 The famous feud between the Maxwells and Johnstones is 

 celebrated in the old ballad, entitled " Lord Maxwell's Good-night." 



