the midst of these afflictions, so trying to the affectionate heart of a widowed mother, it is gratifying to add that she was not wholly unaided in the struggle. Her talents and her worth had surrounded her with a circle of affectionate friends who, in the worst hour, were ready not only with sympathy but aid. In 1825 an application was made in her behalf for a pension from government, subscribed by Sir Walter Scott, Francis Jeffrey, Mackenzie (the Man of Feeling), Sir William Arbuthnot, Sir Robert Liston, and Principal Baird, which was cordially granted by George IV. At first it amounted to only £50, but was afterwards increased to £100 per annum; and this, with several legacies from deceased friends, enabled her to spend the last years of her life not only in comfort, but comparative affluence. But those for whose sake she most wished to have obtained it, had one by one been snatched away! She was also, at this period, an invalid; for, nearly seven years before the pension was obtained, she had a fall in descending a stair, from the effects of which she was confined almost wholly to her house during the rest of her life. But still she was resigned and even happy, and her frequent study of the Bible during her hours of leisure, as well as her conversation with intimate friends, betokened the sure foundation upon which her comfort was established. Thus she lived, honoured and beloved, till the eighty-fourth year of her age, when a cold, that increased into influenza, ended her days on the 7th of November, 1838, and her remains were interred in the new cemetery of the parish church of St. Cuthbert's. Her chief talent lay in conversation, in which she was unrivalled, and hence the high fame she acquired among the literary circles of the day. That voice has passed away of which her works were but an echo, and thus the works themselves are now rated beneath their merits. Still, however, the "Letters from the Mountains" will continue to attest the high talent of their writer, and be perused with pleasure and profit.
GRANT, Sir William.—This able lawyer was a descendant of the Grants of Beldornie, a sept of the parent clan. His father, originally a farmer, was afterwards appointed collector of customs in the Isle of Man, an office which he held till his death. His son William, the subject of this notice, was born at Elchies, in Morayshire, in 1754, and was educated at the grammar-school of Elgin, along with his younger brother, who afterwards became collector at Martinico. William did not forget, when he had attained distinction, the place in which he had been trained, so that, thirty years afterwards, when the school was to be rebuilt, he was one of its earliest contributors. His education was completed at the old college of Aberdeen. In the choice of a profession, which was that of law, he was directed by the advice of his uncle, a merchant, who had been so successful in England, that he was enabled to purchase the estate of Elchies, on which he had been born. After the usual course of study at Aberdeen had been finished, William Grant went to London, and was entered at Lincoln's Inn. At the age of twenty-five, although he had not yet been called to the English bar, he was considered competent for colonial practice, and was appointed attorney-general of Canada. In this new office his professional talents soon brought him into universal esteem. He also showed that he understood the adage of tam Marti quam Mercurio; for on Quebec being besieged by the American army under Montgomery, the attorney-general became a bold and active captain of volunteers, and continued to perform military duty until the siege was ended. After this he continued to discharge his civil duties for several years; but finding the position of Canada too critical, as well as
