Life of Allan Cunningham, with selections from his works and correspondence

Front matter

■ Hi

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Preface

The object aimed at in this volume has been to ]et Allan Cunningham, as much as possible, tell his own Life, by giving selections from his works and correspondence, with a link where necessary for connecting the narrative. This is generally considered the best kind of biography, and a distinguished critic, Dr. Johnson, says, — " Those relations are commonly of most value in which the writer tells his own story." Whether the selections have been well chosen it is not for me to say, but they have been made with the intention of showing not only the literary, poetic, and social character of the man, but also of preserving the remembrance of some Scottish customs and ceremonies which have now passed away. The work has been written con amore, from admiration of " Honest Allan," and his intimate connection with

VI PREFACE.

the district of Nithsdale. I have been greatly assisted in its production by the kindness of many friends, in allowing me the use of letters, and in communicating important information with respect to the subject of the Memoir, which I did not possess. To them I tender my sincerest thanks for their generous interest in the work. I would specially mention Mr. Anthony C. M'Bryde, artist, Edinburgh, grand-nephew of Allan Cunningham, who voluntarily supplied the portrait and the two sketches, engraved by himself, and who also contributed the poem inserted at the end of the first chapter. To Mr. Allan Cunningham, nephew of the Poet, my warmest acknowledgments are also due, for the use of the bust from which the photograph was taken, and for other favours. I now entrust my book to the public, hoping that, for the sake of the subject,

it will receive their regard.

D. H.

Kirkmahoe Manse.

CHAPTER I Page

Poetic Fertility of Nithsdale — Power of Song over Legislation — No Biography of Allan Cunningham — Literary Appreciation of him — Parentage — Family Talent — Thomas Mounsey Cunningham — Education at a Dame's School — ' ' The Hills o' G-allowa' " — His Sensitiveness as to Criticism — Contributions to the "Edinburgh Magazine" — Tiff between him and the Ettrick Shepherd — Peter Miller Cunningham — His Literary Productions, . . . 1-16

Chapter II

Allan Cunningham's Birth — Education— Apprenticed to the Mason Trade — George Douglas M'Ghie — Humorous Memorial to Mr. Leny of Dalswinton — Burning of Cunningham's Letters — Fear of French Invasion — Mysterious Marking of the Houses— Discovered to be a Hoax, and Reward Offered — First efforts in Song — Meeting with the Ettrick Shepherd on Queensberry Hill — Incident at Altrive — Travels on foot to Edinburgh to see Sir Walter Scott — Attends the Funeral of Burns, . . . . 17-32

Vlll CONTENTS.

Chapter III

Page Letter to the Rev. John Wightman — Mr. Wightman's Answer — Second Letter to the Rev. Mr. Wightman, containing a Poetic Effusion — Contributes to a London Literary Magazine — Commendation of his Pieces — "The Lovely Lass of Preston Mill" — Letter, with New Poem, to his Brother James. 33-48

Chapter IV

First Meeting with Cromek — Letter from Mollance to his Brother James — First Instalment of the "Remains of Nithsdale and Galloway Song" — " She's gane to dwall in Heaven" — "Bonnie Lady Anne" — Cromek's Letters — Leaves for London, 49-70

Chapter V

Arrival in London — Preparation of the Volume — Cromek's Letter to A. Constable on the Subject — Testimony to Cunningham — Cromek's Death — Cunningham's Opinion of London Life — Engages with Bubb, a Sculptor — Becomes a Reporter in Parliament — Letter to his Brother James, enclosing New Song — Letter to M'Ghie — Letter to his Brother James, 71-89

Chapter VI

Some account of the Volume — Extracts — "Thou hast sworn by thy God, my Jeanie" — Variation on "Tibbie Fowler" — The " Salt Lairds" of Dunscore, and the " Gustin Bane" of Kirkmahoe — Private Criticisms — Professor Wilson — ■

CONTENTS. IX

Page The Ettrick Shepherd— Sir Walter Scott— The " Scots

Magazine" — "A weary bodie's blythe whan the sun

CHAPTEE VII.

The "Mermaid of Galloway" — Prefatory Note and accompanying Letter, 111-123

Chapter VIII

Cunningham discloses the Secret of the " Remains" to M'Ghie — Extracts from the Appendix — Family Worship — The Witches— The Fairies, 124-140

Chapter IX

His Marriage — Letter to M'Ghie— Introduction to Mr. Jerdan of the "Literary Gazette" — Publishes a Volume of Songs — Notices of these — Extracts — Letter to his Mother, 141-157

Chapter X

Enters the Studio of Chantrey — Notice of Chantrey — Cunningham's Responsibilities in the Studio — Reciprocal Advantages — Description of Cunningham — Contributes to various Magazines — Letter to Mr. James M 'Ghie — Letter to his Brother James, ...... 158-175

Chapter XI

Contributes to "Blackwood" — Winning the Harvest Kirn — Notice of the Cameronians — Cameronian Ballads — "The

CONTENTS.

Page Doom of Nithsdale" — "On Mark Wilson, slain in Irongray" — "The voice lifted up against Chapels and Churches" — "The Cameronian Banner," . . . 176-190

Chapter XII

Introduction to Sir Walter Scott — Scott sitting for his Bust to Chantrey — Equipment to receive his Baronetcy at the King's Levee — On his return home receives the Manuscript of "Sir Marmaduke Maxwell," a Tragedy — Letters from Sir Walter Scott— Memoranda, .... 191-206

Chapter XIII

Publishes "Sir Marmaduke Maxwell" — His own Opinion of the Work — Sir Walter Scott's Notice of it on its Publication — Extract Specimens of the Tragedy — Letter from Sir Walter Scott— Song, "MyNanie, 0," . . . 207-228

Chapter XIV

Publishes Two Volumes of Tales — Song, "The Fairy Oak of Corrie- water"— Anecdote of Cunningham on Eairy Mythology — Song, "LadySelby" — Essay on Burns and Byron, a Contrast, . 229-248

Chapter XV

Preparation of his Collection of Songs — Its Publication — "A Wet Sheet and a Flowing Sea" — Account of the Work —

CONTENTS. XI

Page Tribute to the Memory of his Father — "Lament for Lord Maxwell" — Anecdote regarding an English Dragoon and a Nithsdale Widow — Criticisms — "The Poet's Bridal-day Song"— Letter to the Ettrick Shepherd, . . 249-266

Chapter XVI

The "Farmer's Ingle" in the Olden Time — Publication of "Paul Jones" — Criticisms — Reflections on Dibdin — Romance of "Sir Michael Scott" — Correspondence with Mr. Ritchie of the "Scotsman" — Cadetships for his two Sons obtained — Letter to his Mother, .... 267-280

Chapter XVII

Publication of the "Anniversary" — Extracts from the Volume — Correspondence on the Subject with Professor Wilson and Mr. Ritchie of the "ScotsmaD," .... 281-296

Chapter XVIII

Publishes Two Romances, " Lord Roldan" and " The Maid of Elvar" — "Lives of the Painters, Sculptors, and Architects" — Letters to Mr. Ritchie — Criticisms — Revisits Nithsdale, and Entertained at a Banquet in Dumfries — Farewell to Dalswinton, 297-314

Chapter XIX

Proposes a New Edition of the Works of Burns, with a Life — Letters from his Sons in India — Letter to the late Dr. Robert Chambers of Edinburgh — "The Poet's Invitation" — Letters to his Mother — Publishes the Works of Burns —Bids Farewell to the Bard, . ... 315-335

Xll CONTENTS.

CHAPTEE XX.

Page Burns— ''Winsome Willie"— Tom Walker— " Cutty Sark," 336-357

CHAPTEE XXI.

Reflections on obtaining Place-situations — Letters to Mrs. and Mr. S. C. Hall— Family Letters — Mrs. Copland — Last Illness — Death and Burial — Concluding Remarks, . 358-373

LIFE

Chapter I

POETIC FERTILITY OF NITHSDALE — POWER OF SONG OVER LEGISLA- TION — NO BIOGRAPHY OF ALLAN CUNNINGHAM — LITERARY APPRECIATION OF HIM — PARENTAGE — FAMILY TALENT — THOMAS MOUNSEY CUNNINGHAM — EDUCATION AT A DAME'S SCHOOL — "THE HILLS O' GALLOWA' " — HIS SENSITIVENESS AS TO CRITICISM — CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE "EDINBURGH MAGAZINE" — TIFF BETWEEN HIM AND THE ETTRICK SHEPHERD — PETER MILLER CUNNINGHAM — HIS LITERARY PRODUCTIONS.

Theee is no district of equal compass within our ken which has been so prolific in poetry and song as that of Nithsdale, and it continues as fertile as ever. Apart from Burns and Cunningham, the Dii majores of song in the vale, the number of minor minstrels whom it has produced is almost incredible. Some of these are, of course, very inferior, though, all things considered, deserving of commendation for their efforts. Some, again, are highly respectable in their effusions, but circumstances, not always under their own control, have

A prevented them from soaring into fame. Some are forgotten. Some were never known to be forgotten, except by a limited circle, and some were known only anonymously, if the bull may be excused, through the medium of the local newspapers, and the magazines of the day. One generation has gone, and another come, hastening to go again, transmitting, as if by hereditary descent, the poetic faculty, and the old woodlands are still vocal with song.

We have sometimes puzzled ourselves with the endeavour to discover the why and the wherefore of this, without, however, coming to any satisfactory conclusion on the matter; and we have asked ourselves if there can be anything in the atmosphere, or in the local scenery, to account for it? or if it is altogether a mere matter of chance, a caprice of nature under heaven-born inspiration? We know parishes which, for half a century, have been prolific in producing preachers, while those adjacent never sent a single youth to college. Nor can it be said of either that the profession has run in the blood, as very few instances of this are found. From whatever cause, or whether there be a cause at all, the fact is certain, that the spirit of poesy is still hovering, as of yore, over the length and breadth of Nithsdale.

When Fletcher of Saltoun wished to have the making of his country's songs, and he would let any one else have the making of its laws, he meant veritable songs, expressing in appropriate terms his countrymen's sentiments and feelings, amorous, patriotic, pathetic, courageous. He knew that only such would take hold of the public mind, and produce the effect he desired. These must have free and unbiassed sway to maintain a permanent footing throughout the land, and not, as it is said in the present day, by paying a high royalty to some distinguished professional to sing a doggerel into temporary popularity. That will never transmit any song from one generation to another. Our songs, to become part of the country's existence, must be sung, not on the opera stage, with instrumental accompaniments, but lilted in the gloaming, and at the milking hour, warbled with the song of the lark behind the plough, or on the hill-side with the sheep, and they shall live, though it may be a matter of no concern to many whether their authors' existence is secured or not. Now, whose songs are they that we hear chanted at our rural merry-makings, at our wedding-feasts, on the harvest-field, or at the farmer's ingle in the long evenings of winter ? With some exceptions, they are those of Ramsay, Burns, Scott, Hogg, and Cunningham, though probably the fair songstress knows nothing of their author. They are all one to her, the sentiments they breathe are those of her own heart, and she pours them forth with a melody and a cordiality which stir the very souls of all around her. She sings them to her children in the cradle, and, in process of time, they to theirs, so that they are handed down to posterity with a reality of feeling which forms part of our national character.

It has long been a subject of wonderment and remark that no biography of Allan Cunningham has yet been given to the world, notwithstanding the abundance of materials for that purpose within the reach of almost any one qualified to collect and arrange them. His varied abilities, natural and acquired — his endowments, physical and mental — his rise from obscurity to an eminence which gained for him the intercourse and friendship of the noble — his connection with the metropolitan press — his association with a distinguished sculptor — his diversified literary productions — as well as the reminiscences of his early life, floating through Nithsdale and elsewhere, might have tempted some ready pen to produce an interesting record of the stonemason, poet, novelist, biographer, and sculptor, all in one. But no! A slight sketch written by himself, and of limited extent, is all that exists for the information of posterity, and which has been eagerly drawn upon by those permitted access to the treasure.

Yet Allan Cunningham was not without high appreciation in his day, as well as now, by some whose favour was worth the winning, and his society was courted in the circles of the literary and the great. Miss Landon said that " a few words from Allan Cunningham strengthened her like a dose of Peruvian bark." Mrs. S. C. Hall "remembered how her cheek flushed, and how pleased and proud she was at the few words of praise he gave to one of the first efforts of her pen." Sir Walter Scott characterized him as "Honest Allan, a credit to Caledonia." The Ettrick Shepherd described him as "the very model of Burns, and exactly such a man." Tom Hood said, he " used to look up to Allan Cunningham, who was formed by nature tall enough to snatch a grace beyond the reach of art." Talfourd said of him, that he was " stalwart of form, and stout of heart and

verse — a ruder Burns." And Southey apostrophized

him thus —

' ' Allan, true child of Scotland ; thou who art So oft in spirit on thy native hills And yonder Solway shores, a poet thou ! "

Still, notwithstanding all this appreciation, no biography has been written. We fully feel our inadequacy for such a task, and agree with the poet that "fools rush in where angels fear to tread;" but from our admiration of the man we are willing to make the attempt rather than that the work should remain undone. What we shall throw together may at a future time be useful to some one capable of doing our countryman justice.

Allan Cunningham was descended from an ancient family, who held possessions in Ayrshire bearing their name. After the battle of Philiphaugh his more immediate ancestors thought it advisable to dispose of their inheritance rather than run the risk of losing it by forfeiture, as one of them had served as an officer under the great Montrose. Having done so, they became tenants of the farm of Gogar Mains, in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, where they remained for several generations. It was here that Allan's father, John Cunningham, was born on the 26th of March, 1743. When he had reached his twenty-third year his father died, and being unwilling at so young an age to undertake the responsibilities of the farm management, he surrendered the lease, sold off the effects, and went into the county of Durham to improve himself in the knowledge of farming, as England at that

LIFE OF ALLAN CUNNINGHAM.

time was considered ahead of Scotland in agricultural progress, and that he might qualify himself for the office of land-steward or overseer wherever Providence should cast his lot. After some time he returned to Scotland, and became overseer to Mr. Mounsey of Rammerscales, near Lochmaben, in Dumfriesshire.

He then married Miss Elizabeth Harley, the daughter of a Dumfries merchant, who had formerly been a farmer in Berwickshire. She was a lady of great personal attractions and accomplishments, shrewd in judgment, poetic in fancy, and altogether possessing a very superior intellect, which she transmitted to her family, both sons and daughters. John Cunningham, having now acquired considerable experience in agricultural pursuits, resolved to improve his condition along with his young wife, and with this view took a lease of the farm of Culfaud, in the parish of Kirkpatrick-Durham, in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright. This enterprise, however, not proving so successful as he had anticipated, he was forced to relinquish farming on his own account, and became factor to Mr. Syme of Barncailzie in the same parish, upon whose death he removed to Blackwood, to fill the same situation there under Mr. Copeland, the proprietor, and finally he went to Dalswinton in the same capacity, where he greatly assisted Mr. Miller in his agricultural improvements on the estate, and with whom he remained till his death in 1800, in the fifty-seventh year of his age. He had nine children — five sons and four daughters — who all gave evidence of superior talent and high intellectual ability. He himself "was a man fond of collecting all that was characteristic of his country," and, doubtless, the continual witnessing of this by his sons, tended, in no small degree, to inspire them with a similarity of taste.

All the sons were more or less distinguished for their love of literature, and their contributions to the periodical press, a circumstance rarely to be met with in the family of a cottager, where few opportunities for writing were afforded, and little leisure was at command. They are deserving of something more than a passing notice.

James, the eldest son, was brought up to the mason trade, and afterwards, by his integrity, skill, and perseverance, he became a master-builder with very gratifying success. He was a great student of antiquarian lore, and as leisure allowed he wrote articles for the newspapers and magazines within his reach. He also maintained a considerable correspondence on literary matters with the Ettrick Shepherd, and others with whom he was acquainted, but none of his writings are forthcoming, as duplicates were not kept, and his magazine articles were without signature. He was a great favourite with his brother Allan, as we shall afterwards see, and with whom he kept up a most affectionate correspondence. He died at Dalswinton village on the 27th of July, 1832, in the fifty-seventh year of his age, being exactly that of his father at the time of his death.

Thomas Mounsey, the second son, was only a year younger than his brother James, and was born at Culfaud, on the 25th of June, 1766. He received the first elements of his education at a Dame's school, kept by one Nancy Kingan, whose whole stock of instruction consisted in the alphabet, the Shorter Catechism, the Psalms of David, and the Proverbs of Solomon. Spelling was considered useless, and a mere waste of time. Writing and arithmetic she did not pretend to, and as for grammar, she had never heard of it. Her great boast to any occasional visitor to her seminary was, " the bairns when they lea' my schule hae unco little to learn o' the Bible." Having finished with Dame Kingan, Thomas was next placed under the tutorship of Dominie Gordon, at Kellieston, who had the strongest belief that knowledge could be imparted to a pupil through any part of the body by means of physical appliance, as well as by oral instruction.

One way and another the education was completed, or, as the common phrase went, " the maister could gang nae farther," and young Thomas, at his own request, was apprenticed to a millwright in the neighbourhood. He now began cultivating the acquaintance of the Muses, and submitted his poetical productions, from time to time, to the inspection of his father, who was proud of his son, and gave what counsel and encouragement he thought judicious. By-and-by he found opportunity of getting some of his effusions brought before the public notice, through the medium of the local journals, which greatly stimulated his efforts to further success. After his apprenticeship was finished he resolved to push his own way in the world, and directed his steps to England, with the sage counsel of Mr. Miller of Dalswinton to abandon all poetical aspirations. Here for a considerable time he followed desultory employment in his trade, as we find him at Rotherham, King's Lynn, Wiltshire,

Cambridge, and Dover, but at last be had the good fortune to become managing clerk in the establishment of Sir John Rennie, the celebrated engineer in London. After nine years' poetic dormancy, he woke up in the pages of the Scots Magazine, to which he made frequent contributions, and which, at the request of the Ettrick Shepherd, he allowed to be inserted in "The Forest Minstrel." He composed several songs which attained great popularity, but by far the most popular was "The Hills o' Gallowa'." In short, it was the great song of the day, and as it is still chanted in the South we shall insert it here: —

"THE HILLS 0' GALLOWA'.

" Amang the birks sae blythe and gay,

I met my Julia hameward gaun ; The Unties chauntit on the spray,

The lammies loupit on the lawn; On ilka howm the sward was niawn,

The braes wi' gowans buskit bra', An' gloamin's plaid o' gray was thrawn

Out owre the hills o' Gallowa'.

" Wi' music wild the woodlands rang,

An' fragrance wing'd alang the lea, As down we sat the flowers amang,

Upon the banks o 1 stately Dee.

My Julia's arms encircled me,

An' saftly slade the hours awa', Till dawin coost a glimmerin' ee

Upon the hills o' Gallowa'.

" It isna owsen, sheep, an' kye, It isna goud, it isna gear, This lifted ee wad hae, quoth I,

The world's drumlie gloom to cheer.

But gie to me my Julia dear,

Ye powers wha rowe this yerthen ba', An' ! sae blythe thro' life I'll steer,

Amang the hills o' Gallowa'.

' ' When gloamin' dauners up the hill,

An' our gudeman ca's hame the yowes, Wi' her I'll trace the mossy rill

That owre the muir meand'ring rowes; Or tint amang the scroggy knowes,

My birken pipe I'll sweetly blaw, An' sing the streams, the straths, and howes,

The hills an' dales o' Gallowa'.

" An' when auld Scotland's heathy hills,

Her rural nymphs an' jovial swains, Her flow'ry wilds an' wimpling rills,

Awake nae mair my canty strains ; Whare friendship dwells an' freedom reigns,

Whare heather blooms an' muircocks craw, ! dig my grave, and hide my banes

Amang the hills o' Gallowa'."

This song was so thoroughly popular and appreciated that several authors got the credit of its composition. It was especially attributed to Burns, and appeared in an edition of his poetical works which was published by Orphoot at Edinburgh in 1820. The same honour was also accorded to the Ettrick Shepherd in the " Harp of Caledonia," edited by Mr. Struthers; but the real author was unknown. The Julia of the song was a Galloway maiden with whom Cunningham was in love, and upon her death he wrote another, entitled "Julia's Grave," very beautiful and pathetic, which appeared in the Scots Magazine for 1807. That his affection for this young lady was deep-rooted and sincere is evident from the fact that he made her the subject of several of his songs besides those noted above. Though he afterwards became the happy husband of a loving wife, yet the name of poor Julia Curtis was ever deeply impressed on his heart.

He was extremely touchy on the merits of his compositions, so that editors and he were frequently at variance. A writer in the Scottish American Journal of 7th September, 1871, says of him, " Mr. Cunningham was somewhat whimsical in his tastes, and rash in his judgments. He could not bear to hear any of his productions criticised, even by his most intimate friends, and considered professional criticism the most contemptible and worthless of occupations. He made the acquaintance and corresponded with the Ettrick Shepherd, but somehow a dryness arose between the two,, and when Hogg visited London about forty years ago, there was a mutual desire to meet, but nothing could bring them together. Hogg sat in solitary dignity in London, and Cunningham, equally obstinate, in Southwark, and who was to cross the Thames was the allimportant question. The man of Nith. invited him of Yarrow, and the man of Yarrow invited him of Nith, but neither of them would stir; and when a mutual friend interposed, he was repulsed in a style that made him almost wish that both worthies were tumbled into the Thames. They never met."

His literary taste extended to prose as well as poetry, and when the Edinburgh Magazine was started in 1817, he contributed several interesting articles on ancient and modern times, under the title of the

** Literary Legacy," but falling out with the editor, he withdrew. It was, however, in lyrical poetry he was fitted to excel, had his extremely sensitive temperament allowed him to persevere. But it is often found that superior genius is clogged with some insuperable failing which impedes the flight to fame. This idiosyncrasy of his character was greatly lamented by his brother Allan. In a letter to the Ettrick Shepherd on this point he says, " My brother's want of success has surprised me too. He had a fair share of talent ; and, had he cultivated his powers with care, and given himself fair-play, his fate would have been different. But he sees nature rather through a curious medium than with the tasteful eye of poetry, and must please himself with the praise of those who love singular and curious things." In private life he was highly esteemed by a wide circle of friends, and his business habits were regular, punctual, and faithful. He died of cholera on the 28th October, 1834

John, the third son, was also trained a mechanic, and evinced considerable talent for poetry, and literature in general, but he was prematurely cut off, while still in his teens.

Allan was the fourth son, but we shall merely mention his name at present, as he is to engage our special and whole attention afterwards.

Peter Miller, the fifth and youngest son, was born at Dalswinton, in November, 1789, and was first educated at a school similar to those at which his elder brothers had been taught. After passing through the curriculum •of medical study at the University of Edinburgh, he was appointed Assistant-Surgeon in the Royal Navy. " In this capacity," says an obituary notice of him in the Gentleman's Magazine, June, 1864, " he saw service on the shores of Spain, where the great war was raging, and on the lakes of America, where he became the close friend of the celebrated Clapperton. He also served for some years in the Eastern Archipelago, and had ample opportunities of observing the effect of tropical climates on the European constitution. Of this he profited when, peace having arrived, he was thrown out of the regular line of duty, and would have been left to vegetate on half-pay if he had not sought other employment from the Admiralty; in the course of which, to use the words of the Quarterly Review, he ' made no less than four voyages to New South Wales, as Surgeon- Superintendent of convict ships, in which was transported upwards of six hundred convicts of both sexes, whom he saw landed at Sydney without the loss of a single individual — a fact of itself quite sufficient to attest his judgment and ability in the treatment and management of a set of beings not easily kept in order.' — Quarterly Review, January, 1828.

" The result of his observations during this period was embodied in his ' Two Years in New South Wales/ which was published in 1827, in 2 vols., post 8vo, and rapidly ran through three large editions. This work is both amusing and instructive, and although necessarily superseded by more recent works on the same everextending subject, is still frequently quoted, and some centuries hence will afford a mine of information and speculation to the correspondents of the Sylvamis Urban of the Antipodes. Mr. Cunningham added the profits arising from this work to his early savings in the navy, and expended them in an attempt to open up a large tract of land, in what he then fondly regarded as his adopted country. But the locality was perhaps badly chosen ; the seasons were certainly unpropitious, and he soon abandoned the struggle, as far as his own personal superintendence was concerned. His well-earned reputation at the Admiralty, however, speedily procured him employment, and he served successively in the ' Tyne,' 18, on the South American Station, and in the ' Asia,' 84, in the Mediterranean. In the course of these years he published a volume of essays on ' Electricity and Magnetism,' and another on ' Irrigation as practised on the Eastern Shores of the Mediterranean.' He also contributed an account of a ' Visit to the Falkland Islands' to the Athenceum, and was a frequent writer in other periodicals. He was a man of remarkable powers of observation, and of the most amiable and conciliatory disposition, and, it is believed, passed through life without making a single enemy. His attachment to his brother Allan was particularly strong, and although death had separated them for more than twenty years, the name of that brother was among the last articulate sounds which passed his lips." He died at Greenwich on the 6th of March, 1864, in the seventyfourth year of his age.

Of the four daughters, one now survives (April, 1874), the sole representative of the family, with her dark eyes as lustrous, intelligent, and penetrating, as if she were only twenty instead of fourscore.

On the death of John Cunningham, his widow removed with her family to Dalswinton village, where, through the generous liberality of Mr. Miller, she was allowed a free house and a small field for a cow's grazure during her lifetime. This she did not long enjoy, however, for her daughter Mary, Mrs. Pagan at Curriestanes, kindly prevailed on her to remove from Dalswinton and reside with herself, which she was probably the more easily induced to do from the circumstance that she had not been well provided for at her husband's death. It will be seen afterwards how affectionate and mindful of his mother, in this respect, was her son Allan, till the day of his death. She was a little woman, with sharp black eyes, and retained her faculties till the age of ninety, when she died. During her lifetime she was greatly respected, both on account of her own sterling qualities, and as being the mother of Allan Cunningham.