RAM 



" Gentle Shepherd," which was afterwards enlarged from 

 two paftoral poems, in the form of a regular drama. He 

 now held a correfpondencc with fcvL-ral poets and other 

 ingenious perlons of the time, and his fliop in Edinburgh 

 was the refort of the men of letters who then flouridicd in 

 the capital of Scotland. He is fuppofed to have opened 

 the tirll circulating library in tlwt city, and in 1736 he 

 built a pl:iy-houfe, which was the firft ever known at Edin- 

 burgh ; but the aft prohibiting the exhibition of plays in 

 unlicenfed buildings, caufed it to be fhut up. Ramfay, 

 towards the middle of his life, withdrew from tlie field of 

 authorlhip, and attended to the much more prolltable bufi- 

 ncfs of fcUing, rather than writing of books. He died in 

 1758, at the age of 71. The poems of Allan RamCay, 

 fays an eminent critic, " difplay none of the fire of the 

 genius fo confpicuous in thofe of Burns, but have occafionally 

 an agreeable pailoral fimplicity, and are often marked with 

 a vein of humour, natural, though coarfe. The Gentle 

 Shepherd is, perhaps, one of the bed paftorals with refpeft 

 to the piftures of real life, which are drawn with great 

 propriety, and generally prefent pleafmg images." 



Ramsav, Allan, Ton of the preceding, was born at 

 Edinburgh about 1709, and having devoted himfclf to 

 painting, went at an early period of his life to ftudy in 

 Italy, and there received inltrutlions from Solimene and 

 Imperiale. 



After his return, he praftifed in Edinburgh for fome 

 time, but afterwai'ds removed to London, and by the in- 

 fluence of his countryman, the earl of Bute, was introduced 

 into the vortex of the court, painted the prince of Wales, 

 and on the death of Sliakleton in 1767, was appointed 

 principal painter to the crown ; although Reynolds was 

 then in poffeffion of the highelt reputation. 



Ramfay never ventured to attempt the higher walks of 

 the art, but confined himfelf folely to portraits, which he 

 painted agreeably. Not pofTeiled of briUiancy of genius 

 fufhcient to attempt ftrong charafter, with ftriking effefts in 

 his piftures, he contented himfelf with that portion of art 

 which meets the expeftations of common obfervers ; never 

 offending with affeftation or negleft, he finiflied his piftures 

 with care and neatnefs, and retained his friends and repu- 

 tation till he ceafed to praftife. He was fo far attached 

 to his art, that he vifited Italy four times : to what pur- 

 pofe does not appear, unlefs it were to derive benefit from 

 the portraits of Pompeo Battoni ; for no traces of higher 

 charaiSer are obfervable in his produftions. Yet he was a 

 man of found fenfe and ftrong underftanding ; poflefl'ed of 

 literary acquirements, and devoted to ftudy. Though he 

 underilood the Latin, French, and Italian languages, he 

 was not fatisfied till he added a knowledge of the Greek, 

 acquired when he was advanced in life. Tims endowed, he 

 •was emulous of literary fame, and publiflied, under the title 

 of " The Inveftigator," Eflays on Ridicule, as the teft of 

 truth, on the Naturalization of Foreigners, on Tafte, &c. ; 

 and, as occnfion prompted, the town was favoured by him 

 with fome fugitive pieces on the politics of the day. He 

 was always held to be highly eftimable as a man, and en- 

 joyed his fame and good fortune to about the advanced age 

 of 75. 



Ramsay, Andrew Michael, called the chevaher 

 Ramfay, was born at Ayr, in Scotland. He received a 

 good education at Edinburgh, where he dillinguifhed him- 

 felf fo much, that he was chofen to attend the fon of the 

 earl of Weemys at St. Andrew's. After this he went 

 to Leyden, with the view to farther improvement, where 

 he became acquainted with Poiret, one of the leaders of 

 the Quietifts, fome of whofe doftrines he imbibed. He 



R A M 



next went on a vifit to the celebrated Fenelon, archbifhop 

 of Cambray, who converted him to the Roman Catholic 

 religion, and Ramfay ever after this confidercd himfelf at 

 the dilciple of tiiat excellent prelate. Upon his works he 

 formed his literary talte, and he even adopted France for 

 his country, and made ufe of its language in his writings. 

 Here he obtained fome polls of honour and emolument, and 

 was made knight of the order of St. La/.arus, whence he had 

 the title of clievaher. His reputation caufed him to be 

 invited to Rome by the Pretender, in order that he might 

 undertake the care and education of his children. This he 

 accepted ; but having found that little court fo divided by 

 faftion, he quickly rcfigned his office, and returned to 

 Paris. In the next year, 1725, he re-vifited his native 

 country, and refided fome years with the duke of Argyle, 

 employing himfelf in the comjjofition of feveral works. 

 After his return to France, he entered into the fervice of 

 the prince of Turenne, duke of Bouillon. He died in 1743, 

 at St. Gcrmain-en-Laye, the retreat of the exiled Stuart 

 family, at the age of 57. His principal writings were, 

 " L'Hilloire de la Vie et les Ouvrages de M. de Fenelon ;" 

 " Effai fur le Gouvernement Civil ;" " Difcours fur le 

 Poeme Epique ;" " Le Pfychometre," being remarks on 

 lord Shaftefbury's Charafterillics ; " L'Hilloire du Mare- 

 chal de Turenne ;" and " Les Voyages de Cyrus." The 

 laft ij that whicli is by much the bell known, and it has 

 been frequently printed in the French and Englifh lan- 

 guages. Voltaire has flyled it a feeble imitation of Tele- 

 machus ; it is, however, written with elegance, but is 

 tedious. Another of the chevalier's works was " A Dif- 

 fertation on Free-Mafonry," of which he was grand chan- 

 cellor in France. In this he traces the origin of the In- 

 ftitution to Paleftine, in the time of the Crufadcs ; and 

 having found a great declenfion of the myftical ceremonies 

 formerly praftifed, he ftrongly urged their renewal, and 

 propofed a general afl'embly of the brotherhood of all 

 nations to be held at Paris. Biog. Brit. 



Ramsay, in Geography. See Ramsey. 



Ramsay Point, a cape on the S.E. coaft of the ifland of 

 Lewis. N. lat. 57" 44'. W. long. 6^ 36'. 



RAMSBURY, a village and parifh in the hundred of 

 Ramfbury, and county of Wilts, England, is fituatcd about 

 fix miles to the eallward of tiie town of Marlborough, and 

 70 miles weft; by fouth from London. In the time of the 

 Saxons it was a place of fo much importance, as to be con- 

 flituted the feat of the fee, when Wiltlhire was made a 

 diltiiift bifliopric by Plegmund, archbifhop of Canterbury, 

 in the year 909. Ramfbury church was then the cathedral 

 church of the diocefe, and continued to be fo till bifhop 

 Herman prevailed upon king William the Conqueror to 

 unite the bifhoprics of Wiltlhire and Sherborne, and fixed 

 his epifcopal feat at Old Sarnm. The church, an ancient 

 building, is divided into a nave, two aiiles, and a chancel, 

 with a maffive fquare tower at its weltern extremity. In 

 the chancel is a long flone, which tradition affirms to be 

 the grave-flone of a giant ; alfo an old altar tomb of Pur- 

 beck marble, witiiout any infoription, and feveral monu- 

 ments commemorative of the Jonefes of Ramfbury manor, 

 or park. This feat is now the property of fir Francis Bur- 

 dett, bart. in right of his mother, fecond daughter of the late 

 William Jones, efq. The houfe was defigncd in the Gre- 

 cian Ityle, by John Webb, nephew to Inigo Jones. The 

 inclofures are exteofive and well wooded, and are interfered 

 by a branch of the river Kennet, which fpreads itfelf cut 

 in the form of a lake, from tha fides of which the grounds 

 rife in eafy, floping lawns. 



Littlecot park, the feat of major-general Edward Ley- 

 bourne 



