We learn from another source, that Bartholomew de Leslyn, possessed the barony of Leslyn, in Aberdeenshire, so early as 1165; and that his descendant George, was honoured with the earldom alluded to above; but that the precise date is uncertain, being between the years 1455 and 1459. William the third Earl lost his life at the fatal battle of Flodden field; and his eldest son George appears to have been one of those zealous reformers, who, in 1546, seized on the castle of Cardinal Beaton at St. Andrew's, "and," says Robertson, "delivered their country, though by a most unjustifiable action, from an ambitious man, whose pride was insupportable to the nobles, as his cruelty and cunning were the great checks to the Reformation."

The fourth Earl of Rothes attended Queen Mary to France, in order to be espoused by the Dauphin; John, the sixth Earl, joined the Covenanters; but being one of the deputies from Scotland to Charles I., then in captivity, was gained over, according to Burnet, by the hopes of marrying the "Countess of Devonshire, a rich and magnificent lady."

His son John fought for Charles II. at Worcester, and returned with the King after his exile. His favour now became preponderant at court, for he was Lord High Treasurer, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, Lord Chancellor, &c. Dr. Burnet says, "the King loved him, though it was a very extravagant thing to see one man possess so many. of the chief places of so poor a kingdom." In 1680, he was created Duke of Rothes, Marquis of Ballinbriech and Cuskieberrie; but as his Grace died without male issue, the patent, in consequence of the limitations, expired with himself.

Margaret, the eldest daughter, having married Charles Hamilton, the fifth Earl of Haddington, their son John became the eighth Earl of Rothes. On the accession of George L he was appointed Lord High Admiral of Scotland, and died in 1722. John, the ninth Earl, was a Lieutenant-General, and had a regiment of guards, and his only son John, dying,

in 1773, without male issue, was succeeded by his eldest sister.

George William Evelyn Leslie, the eleventh Earl of Rothes was the son of George Raymond Evelyn, Esq., by Jane Elizabeth Countess of Rothes. He was born March 28, 1768, and after receiving the usual education, settled in England, where he married twice. His first wife was Lady Henrietta Anna Pelham, eldest daughter of Thomas Earl of Chichester; with this lady, to whom he became united May 24, 1789, he had no male issue; there were, however, three daughters, viz. Henrietta-Anne, Amelia *, and Mary. The Countess dying on December 5th, 1797, in August 1798, his lordship espoused Charlotte-Julia, daughter of Colonel John Campbell, of Dunoon, and here again there were no male children, but two females, Elizabeth-Jane, and Georgiana, the latter of whom is since dead.

In 1810, the Earl of Rothes succeeded to the titles, and some estates still vested in the family, among which is the Seignory of Rothes, a lordship on the banks of the Spey, a few miles distant from Elgin in the county of Moray. His lordship, however, never lived in Scotland, having resided for many years in the county of Surrey.

As he possessed but a small patrimony, the Earl was assisted by means of a pension from the crown, which ceased at his demise. He was extremely loyal, and was the first to move addresses of congratulation, &c. His lordship also commanded the yeomanry cavalry in the vicinity of Wimbledon, Wandsworth, &c., for many years.

His eldest daughter, Lady Henrietta, now Countess of Rothes, married a person of the name of Jenkins, who afterwards kept a botanical garden in the New Road, near Paddington, by whom she has several children, and with whom she appears to be happy. Her conduct has been strictly modest, prudent, and exemplary.

* Lady Amelia Leslie died at Long-Ditton, soon after the demise of her father the late Earl.

The death of her father, the late Earl, was sudden if not singular having been taken ill while on horseback, not on a journey, but while enjoying a ride, and carried to the house of H. Peters, Esq., of Betchworth Castle, where he expired February 10th, 1817.

As a legislator, the Earl of Rothes was not prominent; he, however, in his character of one of the sixteen peers of Scotland, seconded the dutiful and respectful address which was moved at the opening of the present parliament, and acquitted himself with a considerable share of ability, on that occasion. His demise is supposed to have arisen from the bursting of a blood vessel.

No. XVI.

CHARLES COMBE, M. D. F. R. S. AND A. S.

THIS gentleman was a native of London, having been born in that great city on the 23d of September 1743. His father, an eminent and wealthy apothecary in Southampton Street, Bloomsbury, determined to give him a good education, and doubtless had the profession of medicine in his view, from the very first. He was accordingly sent to Harrow school, of which Dr. Thackeray was then head master. There his contemporaries were of no vulgar kind; for besides several others of some note, he reckoned among his friends and playfellows, the present Dr. Parr, who afterwards became one of the instructors in that seminary, of which he has been always considered both as the ornament and the pride. With the late Sir William Jones, who went to India in the obscure situation of a puisne Judge, a post utterly unworthy of his great talents and acquirements, he was particularly intimate; he admired his rare and singular merits; he cultivated his valuable and lasting friendship; he was privy to all his plans, and he preserved a continued and uninterrupted intercourse with him, until his departure for Bengal, where he expired, a prey to one of the many diseases of that climate.

Meanwhile, on leaving Harrow, Mr. Combe returned to his father's house, and under the paternal roof, applied himself both to the study and practice of the healing art. His knowledge of the learned languages furnished a key to the theory; the lectures of professional men, conveyed an idea of the present state of medicine; while the hospitals afforded an insight into new and uncommon cases. In 1768, when he was only twenty-five years of age, in consequence of the demise

of his father, John, he succeeded to his practice, and confined himself for a considerable time, exactly to the same line.

In the course of the next year, he married Miss Taylor, by whom he has two surviving children, out of four, who were born in consequence of this union, which lasted during the long period of thirty years; that lady died in 1799.

As Mr. Combe was known to be a man, who to an excellent education superadded considerable talents, and an unblemished character, his company and conversation were greatly courted. Nor was he averse to such distinctions as men of learning usually aspire to; for so early as 1771, he became a member of the Society of Antiquaries; and in the course of five years more, was nominated a fellow of the Royal Society.

It was not until the year 1783, however, that he attained to any professional eminence. As he had not been educated at an English University, he could not obtain a degree either at Oxford or Cambridge; his friends therefore applied in his name to Glasgow; and his certificate was so respectably signed, and his respectability so well established, that no difficulty whatsoever was found in conferring the title of M. D. As this, however, did not entitle him to practise either in London, or seven miles around the metropolis, he applied to the College of Physicians, offered to submit to an examination, and was accordingly nominated a "licentiate," without any obstacle. His habits and practice pointed at the lucrative and respectable station of an accoucheur, which had procured such an immense accession of opulence to his friend, the late Dr. William Hunter. This gentleman like himself, had advanced from the very bottom of the profession, and obtained the doctorate at the University of Glasgow, after he had arrived at a mature age. The career of the former, however, although less brilliant, was respectable; and he became, first, Physician in Ordinary, and then Physician Extraordinary to the British Lying-in-Hospital, in Brownlow Street. His private practice was also both considerable, and advantageous; and had it not been for his literary, and scientific pursuits, which we are now