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HUME, HUGH CAMPBELL,
third and last earl of Marchmont, was born at Edinburgh on the 15th
February, 1708, and soon became remarkable for the precocity of his
intellect, and the versatility of his genius. His mind was equally
directed to the acquisition of scholastic erudition and political
knowledge, and on all subjects he was supposed to be excelled by few or
none of his time. In 1734, when only twenty-six years of age, he was
chosen member for the county of Berwick, and entered the House of
Commons as lord Polwarth, at the same time that his younger and twin
brother, Mr Hume Campbell, came forward as representative for the burghs
of the district. The injustice and neglect which Sir Robert Walpole had
shown to lord Marchmont, was speedily avenged by the trouble which these
young men gave to his government. The former soon attained the first
place in the opposition; and how keenly his attacks were felt by the
ministry is shown in a remark made by the latter person, to the effect
that "there were few things he more ardently desired than to see that
young man at the head of his family," and thus deprived of a seat in the
house. This wish was soon gratified, for his father dying in 1740, lord
Polwarth succeeded as earl of Marchmont, nor did he again enter the
walls of parliament until the year 1750, when a vacancy occurring in the
representative of the Scottish peerage, he was almost unanimously
elected. From his talents as a speaker, his extensive information, and
active business habits, he acquired great influence in the upper house,
and was constantly re-chosen at every general election, during the long
period of 34 years. He was appointed first lord of police in 1747, and
keeper of the great seal of Scotland, in January, 1764, the latter of
which he held till his death. The estimation in which his lordship was
held by his contemporaries may be judged of by the circumstance of his
living on terms of the strictest intimacy with the celebrated lord
Cobham, (who gave his bust a place in the Temple of Worthies at Stow,)
Sir William Wyndham, lord Bolingbroke, the duchess of Marlborough, Mr
Pope, and other eminent persons of that memorable era. The duchess
appointed him one of her executors, and bequeathed him a legacy of
£2,500 for his trouble, and as a proof of her esteem. Mr Pope likewise
appointed him one of his executors, leaving him a large-paper edition of
Thuanus, and a portrait of lord Bolingbroke, painted by Richardson. The
poet likewise immortalized him, by introducing his name into the
well-known inscription in the Twickenham grotto:— "Then the bright flame
was shot through Marchmont’s soul!"
His lordship’s library
contained one of the most curious and valuable collections of books and
manuscripts in Great Britain; all of which he bequeathed at his death to
his sole executor, the right honourable George Rose.
His lordship was twice
married; first, in 1731, to Miss Western of London, by whom he had four
children, a son (who died young), and three daughters; the youngest of
whom was afterwards married to Walter Scott, Esq. of Harden. Upon the
death of his wife, in 1747, he next year married a Miss Elizabeth
Crompton, whose father was a linen draper in Cheapside, by whom he had
oneson, Alexander, lord Polwarth, who died without issue, in the 31st
year of his age. The circumstances attending this second marriage were
very peculiar, and his lordship’s conduct on the occasion, seems
altogether so much at variance with his general character, as well as
with one in his rank and circumstances in life that we reckon them
worthy of being recorded here;_and in doing so, we think we cannot do
better than adopt the account of them given by the celebrated David
Hume, in a familiar epistle to the late Mr Oswald of Dunnikier, and
published in the latter gentleman’s correspondence. The letter is dated,
London January 29th, 1748:—"Lord Marchmont has had the most
extraordinary adventure in the world. About three weeks ago, he was at
the play, when he espied in one of the boxes a fair virgin, whose looks,
airs, and manners, had such a powerful and wonderful effect upon him, as
was visible by every by-stander His raptures were so undisguised, his
looks so expressive of passion, his inquiries so earnest, that every
person took notice of it. He soon was told that her name was Crompton, a
linen draper’s daughter, that had been bankrupt last year, and had not
been able to pay above five shillings in the pound. The fair nymph
herself was about sixteen or seventeen, and being supported by some
relations: appeared in every public place, and had fatigued every eye
but that of his lord ship, which, being entirely employed in the severer
studies, had never till that fatal moment opened upon her charms. Such
and so powerful was their effect as to be able to justify all the
Pharamonds and Cyrusses in their utmost extravagancies. He wrote next
morning to her father, desiring to visit his daughter on honourable
terms: and in a few days she will be the countess of Marchmont. All this
is certainly true. They say many small fevers prevent a great one.
Heaven be praised that I have always liked the persons and company of
the fair sex! for by that means I hope to escape such ridiculous
passions. But could you ever suspect the ambitious, the severe, the
bustling, the impetuous, the violent Marchmont, of becoming so tender
and gentle a swain—an Artamenes—an Oroondates!"
His lordship died at his
seat, at Hemel Hempstead, in Hertfordshire, on the 10th of January,
1794, and leaving no heirs male, all the titles of the family became
extinct; but his estate descended to his three daughters. According to
Sir George H. Rose, who, from his family connexion with the earl of
Marchmont, had the best means of knowing, this nobleman "was an
accomplished and scientific horseman, and a theoretical and practical
husbandman and gardener. He pursued his rides and visits to his farm and
garden as long as his strength would suffice for the exertion; and some
hours of the forenoon, and frequently of the evening, were dedicated to
his books. His most favourite studies appear to have been in the civil
law, and in the laws of England and Scotland, in the records and history
of the European nations, and in ancient history; and the traces of them
are very unequivocal. The fruits of his labours in extracts,
observations, comparisons, and researches, all made in his own
hand-writing, are not more to be admired than wondered at, as the result
of the industry of one who was stimulated neither by poverty nor by
eagerness for literary celebrity. His Dutch education had given him
method, which was the best possible auxiliary to an ardent and powerful
mind, such as his was."
In the publication which
we have entitled the Marchmont Papers, are many of earl Hugh, of which
the most important feature is a diary, which he kept during three
different periods of peculiar interest in the reign of George the
Second. The first extends from the latter end of July, 1744, to the end
of that year, and embraces the events which led to the formation of what
was called the Broad Bottom Administration, when lord Carteret, who just
then became earl of Granville, was compelled to retire by the Pelhams,
the king consenting thereto very reluctantly, and when the dukes of
Devonshire, Bedford, and Dorset, and the earls of Harrington and
Chesterfield, came into office. The second period begins in September,
1745, when news had just been received in London that the Pretender was
near Edinburgh, and that it would probably be soon in his occupation. It
closes in the February following, with the extraordinary events of that
month, the resignation of the Pelham ministry, and its re-establishment
after the earl of Bath’s and the earl of Granville’s interregnum of
three days. The third period commences in July, 1747, and terminates in
March, 1748, soon after the earl of Chesterfield’s resignation, and the
duke of Bedford’s appointment to succeed him as secretary of state. |
