THE BANNATYNE CLUB.

MACVEY NAPIER, ESQ.

ROBERT NASMYTH, ESQ.

SIR FRANCIS PALGRAVE.

LORD PANMURE.

SIR THOMAS PHILLIPPS, BART.

80 EDWARD PIPER, ESQ.

ROBERT PITCAIRN, ESQ.

ALEXANDER PRINGLE, ESQ.

JOHN RICHARDSON, ESQ.

THE EARL OF ROSEBERY.

THE DUKE OF ROXBURGHE.

ANDREW RUTHERFURD, ESQ.

THE EARL OF SELKIRK.

JAMES SKENE, ESQ.

WILLIAM SMYTHE, ESQ.

90 THE EARL SPENCER.

JOHN SPOTTISWOODE, ESQ.

EDWARD STANLEY, ESQ.

THE HON. CHARLES FRANCIS STUART.

THE DUKE OF SUTHERLAND.

ARCHIBALD SWINTON, ESQ.

ALEXANDER THOMSON, ESQ.

WALTER CALVERLEY TREVELYAN, ESQ.

DAWSON TURNER, ESQ.

ADAM URQUHART, ESQ.

100 RIGHT HON. SIR GEORGE WARRENDER, BART.

SIR THOMAS HOPE, the progenitor and founder of the family of that name in all its Scottish branches, was a person of too great celebrity and distinction in his own age, to make it necessary, in this place, to give any account of his life or character, either as a lawyer or a statesman. The following pages, to which the title of a "Diary" has been affixed, may perhaps be supposed to exhibit but a slender claim to public notice. The greater part of the volume is occupied with little more than minute chronological memoranda of his official, as well as private correspondence, during the last twelve years of his life, when he held a very important place in the service of the State, as Lord Advocate of Scotland; but it derives a considerable degree of interest and value from the numerous allusions incidentally introduced to the passing occurrences of the day, during a very critical period of our national history; and still more, perhaps, from the scattered lights that are thrown on the personal character of one of the most remarkable men of his own age, as well as on the political characters and connexions of some of his distinguished contem

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poraries. The overflowing sweetness and tenderness of his domestic habits and feelings are pleasingly conspicuous: the depth and sincerity of his religious impressions, degraded as they are by strange and humiliating indications of weakness and credulity, are unequivocally manifest: his veneration for the ancient monarchy and his anxiety for its preservation, his grateful affection for the person of the King and his anxious regards for his welfare, appear to have been put to severe trials by his conscientious zeal and unflinching attachment to that frame of ecclesiastical polity for which his countrymen were then contending; but the sincerity of his professions cannot fairly be questioned, and becomes the more conspicuous by occasional misgivings of himself, and by the distrust he sometimes betrays of the wisdom and safety of the measures which, in the perilous conflict of parties, he felt himself compelled to advocate and maintain. The honest simplicity of the disclosures in this record of his secret thoughts, will certainly do him no discredit, (with those at least who have not discarded all pretensions to candour,) how much soever opinions may be at variance as to the steadiness of his course on the troubled tide of public affairs during the last years of his life.

A collection of the letters of this distinguished person would probably afford additional illustrations of his own character, as well as of the momentous events of his own time. Very few of these are at present known to exist; but the two following, printed from the originals, seem to be consonant with the view here taken of his political conduct at the most important crisis of

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his life. The first is addressed to William Earl of Morton, one of the most zealous adherents of the King; the other to the Earl of Rothes, one of the most ardent leaders of the Covenant.

TO THE RYCHT NOBILL ERLL, MY LORD THE ERL OF MORTOUN.

PLEAS YOUR LO.,

I am glaid from my hart of your Lordship's tender and pious expreffioun, tuiching the greiffis of the fubjectis in the matter of religioun, and I am not ignorant how thair procedingis is taxt of feditioun; but as I am not to juftifie any of ther. . . . . . es, fua I wifche from my hart that the too narrow respect to the forme prejudge not the caus. It wer ane notabill teftimonie of his Majeftys love to religioun and justice, firft to purge and try the errores of theis novatiounes, and to see them rectified; but if theis be neglectit, and a courfe takin in the first place of the tranfgreffe of forme, (quhilk yit the nobilmen and barones affirmes not to be done, but legallie and according to the warrand of preceding lawis,) it wil be counted a hard measur. And I am effrayit to think of the feirfull confequence of it, quhilk can be no lefs nor the lofe and ruyne of this poor countrey; and then the greter lofs to our Sacred Soverane, quho fal lofe a number of the maist loyall and faythfull fubjectis that ever a prince had. The Lord divert this feirful calamitie, and ftrenthen your L. to do theis dewties in a matter fo important, quhilkis ar proper to your L. as a Peer of the land, and come of ane nobill hous quhom God made the protectoris and begineris of his bliffit truth thairin at the first Reformatioun. So humblie kifsing your L. handis, I reft,

Your L. humbill and bund fervitor,

Edinburgh, 21 Merche 1638.

SB THOMAS HOPE.

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TO THE RIGHT NOBILL ERLL, MY LORD THE ERLL OF ROTHESE.

PLEASS YOUR LORDSHIP,

THIS inclofit will gif your Lordship satisfaction of quhat your Lordship commandis, and the beirar will cleir any doubt therein. He hes told me of the refolutioun takin for hindering the Subfcriptioun; and I find your Lordship's letter inclyne that way, quhilk makis me almost ftupefeit; for if I had not both conceivit and cleirlie feine it to be the greteft good that ever happenit to Godis Kirke fince the Reformatioun, trewlie I fould haif bene lothe fo quicklie to haif embracit it. But quhen your Lordship, (and utheris quhom God hes bliffit with that honour to be inftrumentis to bring his Kirk to this happie estait wherein it is now, and to the full perfectioun quhairof thair is nothing inlaiking but that quhilk, on 2 Merche 1580, wes, be Actis of Kirk and Parliament, establischit for the governament of Godis Kirk in this kingdome,) dois feyme to oppugne it, I am brocht to fuiche a perplexitie that I know not quhair to fix my mynd; for I dar not deny obedience to my Souerane quhair he commandis that quhilk is laufull, and aggreabill to Godis word, and quhilk ze both think to be fo, and hes interpret fo in your particulars expreffit in that quhilk ze haif fuorne; and, on the vther part, I can not find in my hart to think or construct ill quhat theis (quhome God hes fo mercifully and wonderfully bliffit in the beginning of this work) feymes to inclyne to. But I may and will fay, I find ane good warrand for myself to do quhat I did, and prayis to the Lord that thairs may haif als good fuccefs as in hart I wifche; onlie I feir that the courfe of oppofitioun takin fall not produce to them according to thair pious intentionis; and I cannot say that intentiouns ar a good warrand ather to refuse quhat is good, or to do that quhilk is contraire. The Lord direct 30w all, and if ze wald efchew the feir of diuifioun, chok it in the entrie, be commanding ane abfolut vnioun, quhilk is very eafie if ze fall gif ordor to all to fubfcryve this, as one in fubftance with the other. Pardoun me, my Lord, if I haif exceidit the bounds of my anfuer,

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