discharging his official duties as Sheriff of
Selkirkshire, at Jedburgh, in the autumn of 1826
—that calamitous year which brought ruin to his
fortunes—Sir Walter Scott breakfasted at the manse
of Jedburgh with his life-long friend, Dr. Thomas Somerville, the minister of the parish. "This venerable gentleman," writes Sir Walter in his diary of that date, "is one of the oldest of the literary brotherhood; I suppose about eighty-seven, and except a little deafness quite entire. Living all his life in good society as a gentleman born; and having, besides, professional calls to make among the poor, he must know, of course, much that is curious concerning the momentous changes which have passed under his eyes." Dr. Somerville was descended from a branch of the ancient family of the Somervilles of Drum, ennobled in the peerage of Scotland in the fifteenth century. Besides other works he wrote a "History of Great Britain during the Reign of Queen Anne," which was dedicated by permission to George III. Being at the time of its publication in London, the author was introduced at St. James's, and personally presented a copy to the king. A posthumous volume from his pen, entitled "My Own Life and Times," was not published until 1861. This work embraces much that is interesting concerning the social changes alluded to by Sir Walter Scott. Extracts from the were furnished to Mr. Lockhart when engaged on the Life of the great Novelist, and from these it appears that Dr. Somerville, and more particularly his wife—" a lady of remarkable talent and humour"—had formed a high notion of Scott's future eminence at a very early period of his life. "Dr. Somerville," says Lockhart, "survived to a great old age, preserving his faculties quite entire I have spent many pleasant hours under his hospitable roof in company with Sir Walter Scott." The wife of Dr. Somerville, whose talent and humour impressed the biographer of Scott during these visits to the manse of Jedburgh, was a daughter of Samuel Charteris, Esq., Solicitor of the Customs for Scotland. Another daughter of this gentleman, Margaret, became the wife of Mr. William George Fairfax, the father of the subject of our notice, a distinguished naval officer, who, born in 1738, entered the Navy at an early age, and continued in it for the long period of sixty-three years. Mr. Fairfax (afterwards Sir William G. Fairfax) was present at the taking of Quebec by General Wolfe, in 1759; and in 1778, when in command of the "Alert," he captured "LeCoureur," the first ship taken in the French war —a service greatly enhanced from the "Arethusa" being engaged at the same time in her celebrated action with the "Belle Foule." At the battle of Camnerdown, Fairfax commanded the "Venerable," Admiral Duncan's own ship; and for his gallant conduct on that occasion he received the honour of knighthood. He was also made colonel of marines, and afterwards appointed Vice-Admiral of the Red. From the circumstance of his absence from Scotland engaged in the service of his country, it turned out that his daughter, Mary Fairfax, afterwards to become celebrated as Mary Somerville, was born in 1782, at her uncle Dr. Somerville's house—the manse of Jedburgh. Of the early years of Mary Fairfax, beloved by Dr. Somerville and his wife as "a child of the manse." we find a pleasing notice in "My Own Life and Times." Dr. Somerville thus writes: "Miss Fairfax was born and nursed in my house, her father being at that time abroad on public service. She afterwards often resided in my family; was occasionally my scholar, and was looked upon by me and my wife as if she had been one of our own children. I can truly say that next to them she was the object of our most tender regard. Her ardent thirst for knowledge, her assiduous application to study, and her eminent proficiency in literature, and in science and the fine arts, have procured her a celebrity rarely attained by any of her sex; but she never displays any pretensions to superiority, while the affability of her temper and the gentleness of her manners afford constant resources of gratification to her family and intimate friends."