SIR LEWIS-ALEXANDER GRANT OF GRANT, BARONET, AFTERWARDS FIFTH EARL OF SEAFIELD, VISCOUNT OF REIDHAVEN, AND LORD OGILVIE OF DESKFORD AND CULLEN. 1811-1840.
[467] SIR LEWIS-ALEXANDER GRANT, the thirteenth Laird of Grant in actual possession, and who, as grandson of Lady Margaret Ogilvie, and heir of line of the Earl of Findlater and Seafield, succeeded to the honours and estates of Seafield, was born at Moy, 22d March 1767. He was the eldest son of Sir James Grant of Grant and Jane Duff, his wife, and apparently named after his paternal and maternal grandfathers. As he was the heir-apparent of the family of Grant, and the heir-presumptive of the family of Seafield, and gave proof of more than ordinary talent in early life, great hopes and expectations were formed of him in his opening career. If his health had not failed, he would have attained a very distinguished position.Some thoughts were entertained of sending Lewis to school towards the end of 1775, Letter by Lady Grant, 3d November 1775, at Castle Grant. and this intention appears to have been carried out. In 1780, Sir James Grant was in London, among other things, urging his claims for compensation upon the Government, and wrote thence to Lady Grant about the progress of Lewis. He says: "It would give you infinite pleasure to see Lewie, and to hear people speak of him; he is really growing very stout. I made strict enquiry as to the character of the different schools, and have at length fix'd him at Westminster. Every consideration induced me to wish to put him under the particular care of a friend who was a gentleman in his behaviour, spoke English and French perfectly well, and was otherwise accomplished. All these I found in Dr. Donald Grant, who has agreed to take care of him these two years, and they are warmly attached to one another, and as happy as possible.. . . It would give you infinite pleasure to see Lewie and him together. You will be surprised when I tell you that Lewie speaks French astonishingly, he holds a conversation with great ease in it. He and I talk'd a good deal [468] upon the road, and he speaks and reads it constantly with Dr. Grant." Letter, dated 23d June 1780, at Castle Grant. In a later epistle to Mr. James Grant, assistant minister at Urquhart, who had apparently acted as tutor to his young chief, Sir James Grant stated that Lewis was doing excessively well at Westminster. He also informed him of the arrangement made with Dr. Donald Grant, as he found his fears regarding the inexpediency of leaving a boy to himself confirmed. Letter, Edinburgh, 2d September 1780, ibid. Some months later Mr. Grant of Corriemony and Mr. Henry Mackenzie both wrote to Sir James Grant in complimentary terms of his son's progress and improvement in speech and carriage. Letters in April and May 1781, ibid.
In 1783 Lewis began to look forward to a profession, and, guided by his father's inclinations, chose to study for the Bar. In September of the following year, he wrote to his father that he had been working pretty hard at Blackstone, etc., and asks advice as to what classes he should attend- at Edinburgh. Letter, dated 27th September 1784, ibid He resided at Edinburgh during the winters of 1784-5 and 1785-6 attending the University, and in May 1786, returned to London to keep his terms there, as he purposed to qualify both for the Scotch and English Bar. In the end of March 1786, Mr. Henry Mackenzie, writing to Sir James Grant, refers to his son's intended departure for London, and mentions in gratifying terms his constant unremitting attention, his eager desire of knowledge, and the acquirements of which, in consequence of these, he was possessed; but he adds, "he has more inclination than I could have wished for philosophy, and less than I could have wished for law." In July 1787 he passed his "private examination on the Civil or Roman Law with uncommon satisfaction to his examinators," Letter from Colquhoun Grant, W.S., 28th July 1787, at Castle Grant. and in October of the following year, he passed his Scotch Law trials successfully.
In the end of the year 1786, on the suggestion of several of Sir James Grant's friends, it was proposed by Mr. Mackenzie that Mr. Grant should become a candidate for Parliamentary honours, either in Banffshire or Moray. Mr. Mackenzie, however, doubted both the expediency and the practicability of the plan, Letter, dated 2d December 1786, vol. ii. of this work, p. 492. and though Mr. Grant's name was placed upon the rolls of freeholders in the various counties, the proposal was not carried out.
[469] During the year 1788, when he was only twenty-one years of age, Mr. Grant was elected Provost of Forres, an office which had been previously held by his father, Sir James, and his grandfather, Sir Ludovick. Mr. Mackenzie, on 20th September 1788, wrote to Sir James Grant, who was then at Peterhead, "I fancy you are not to be at the election at Forres, but that Lewis is, and we expect the honour of his company at Nairn on the 29th." On 2d October Mr. Mackenzie again wrote, "You would be glad to hear that every thing went smoothly and quietly at Nairn. Louis behaved a merveille in his new dignity, both at the election and at dinner. I will tell you the reason of his having that honour conferred on him in place of his father, when we meet."
Having finished his legal studies in Scotland, Mr. Grant was in January 1789 called to the Bar, and pleaded his first case before Lord Henderland, his client being a person of the name of Fennel. This, his first appearance in his profession, won for him very favourable opinions from the presiding judge and other friends. Lord Henderland, writing to Lord Findlater, says of Mr. Grant, "His appearance was so much superior to anything I had ever heard, that I was for some time lost in admiration - his pronunciation so perfectly English, his voice harmonious, his expression correct and elegant, his humour just, his wit pointed, his transitions proper, arguments solid, accompanied with such easy fluency and forcible eloquence, that I believe there were none who heard him but must have felt as I did." Copy Letter, 2d February 1789, vol. ii. of this work, p. 504. Mr. Mackenzie also, who was not given to flattery, wrote to Sir James of his "joy and pride on Lewis's appearance in Fennel's case." "I," he says, "who have heard a good deal of Bar eloquence, will not hesitate to say that it was in a stile of elegance and animation much superior to the law oratory of modern times, and such as, with a proper degree of attention and application, must open to him the highest prospects in public life." Letter, dated 24th January 1789, at Castle Grant. From other sources also, Sir James received letters congratulating him upon his son's appearance. One of these was from Mr. James Grant, younger of Corriemony, himself an advocate, and the author of several works on the Highlands, who thus wrote: "He (Mr. [470] Grant) spoke for an hour, and delivered a speech superior in matter and stile to any pronounced within my recollection in the Court. As a first essay it was astonishing. He displayed a variety of classical learning, which was admirably applied. . . . The speech was replete with strokes of wit and humour. . . . A gentleman talking to me on the subject on Saturday, said that Mr. Dundas's compliment to Mr. Pitt, after he had finished a much applauded oration in the House of Commons, may be applied to Mr. Grant, 'Sir, if you keep clear of the dissipation of the age, you will some day rule this country.'" Letter, dated 26th January 17S9, vol. ii. of this work, p. 502.
That there was, unhappily, some danger to Mr. Grant from the source mentioned by Mr. Dundas, the "dissipation of the age," may be gathered from several letters written to Sir James Grant by Mr. Henry Mackenzie. In one epistle he says, "Lewis gets on very well, and is concerned in several causes. His appearance and expectations of him have one inconvenience, however, that, by bringing him into request, he is too feté, and is worn down, as well as kept idle, with perpetual engagements, which he, very naturally, has not always fortitude enough to resist. Mr. Mackenzie adds that Lord Findlater had invited Mr. Grant to Cullen House, but he himself thought the young man should not go, but rather keep on in the current of business, now that he is in it, and go to London to keep a term; besides that he is engaged in a cause that will probably come on to be heard in the House of Lords early in the spring. Letter, dated 16th February 1789, at Castle Grant. Mr. Grant himself seems to have thought differently on the subject of this visit north, for, in a letter to Lord Findlater a fortnight later than Mr. Mackenzie's, he wrote, "Both my reason and inclination induce me to believe that I may with propriety go north, and spend a short time with your Lordship and my other friends, and afterwards return to Edinburgh, there to continue the bulk of the vacation. . . . . . By remaining in Edinburgh during the dull season, I shall have perfect time to study law, and what I wish likewise to be acquainted with, the principles of commerce and politics. Nothing can be more necessary than the knowledge of these articles in the House of Commons, and I know not when I shall have so good an opportunity [471] of acquiring it, for my head will not then be as it is now, a perfect whirligig with balls, dinners, and suppers, and speeches, and law papers; and, as I am on an intimate footing with Adam Smith and all the philosophers in Edinburgh, I shall have every opportunity of acquiring information." He expressed his opinion that he might, with great advantage, remain in Scotland for some months. Letter, dated 2d March 1789, at Cullen House. This letter gives a glimpse of the temptations with which Mr. Grant was beset, and that they were viewed with grave anxiety by his friends, is shown by Mr. Mackenzie's repeated notes of warning to Sir James Grant. Letter, 19th March 1789, vol. ii. of this work, p. 414.
In the end, however, Mr. Grant did go to London, accompanied by Mr. Mackenzie, but returned in time to be present at the meeting of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in May 1789, an occasion made memorable by the contest between Dr. Alexander Carlyle of Inveresk and Professor Dalzel for the office of Clerk to the Assembly. Mr. Grant took part in the discussions, and won great praise from his friends. Mr. Mackenzie wrote to Sir James Grant, Lewis fully maintained his character as a speaker by his appearances at the General Assembly, though on the losing side. Letter, dated in May 1789, at Castle Grant. The Moderator of the Assembly (Dr. George Hill), also, at a later date, wrote regarding Mr. Grant in complimentary terms. Vol. ii. of this work, p. 279. Dr. Carlyle, who in the end retired in favour of his rival, Mr. Dalzel, wrote to Sir James Grant, explaining the cause of his retirement. After referring to some who had deserted his party, he writes, "But any failure in the clan was more than compensated by the young chief, your son, who really was the most admir'd speaker in the General Assembly. He gave some of my foes a dressing on Wednesday as made their faces look very long; I never in my life heard any thing superior to it. It was, indeed, a consummate specimen of popular eloquence. It made Harry Erskine knock under, for he had nothing to say in reply, but that the gentleman was too young to attempt to attack his superiors." Letter, dated 29th May 1789, at Castle Grant.
In the following year, 1790, Mr. Grant and his father were returned as Members of Parliament, Sir James for Banffshire, and his son for the [472] county of Elgin. They were both present during the debates in the House of Commons on the impeachment of Warren Hastings. Mr. Grant spoke on that occasion for the first time in the House of Commons, and met with attention and applause. Letter, Sir James to Lady Grant, 24th December 1790, vol. ii. of this work, p. 507. He supported the constitutional side of the question of impeachment, and was complimented by so excellent a judge as Mr. Fox. Letter, vol. ii. of this work, p. 208. After this first, success, however, Mr. Grant appears to have for the most part kept silence in the House, or at least to have spoken but little, a course which greatly commended itself to his friend, Mr. Mackenzie, who thought that he judged well in not being obtrusive with his speaking, and not speaking if he had not an opportunity of making himself master of the subject. Letter, dated 12th March 1791, at Castle Grant.
Unhappily the brilliant career foreshadowed by Mr. Grant's early promise and undoubted talents was not fulfilled. In the summer of 1791 his health began to fail, and rest from study and Parliamentary labours not availing to restore him, he was compelled to retire from public life.
After his father's death, and his own succession to the estates of Grant, Sir Lewis chiefly resided in the north, and on his accession to the title and estates of Seafield, he seems to have taken pleasure in passing, for occasional residence, from one part of his extensive possessions to another, though his principal residence was with his sisters at Grant Lodge in Elgin. His brother, Colonel Francis-William Grant, took charge of the administration of the Earl's estates.
Sir Lewis-Alexander, fifth Earl of Seafield, died at Cullen House on 26th October 1840, in his seventy-fourth year, and was succeeded in the estates of Grant and Seafield by his brother, Colonel the Hon. Francis William Grant, of whom a short memoir follows.
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Volume 1 Chapter 19(i) |
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