ns from him
in her youth, that the cleverest young lady he ever taught was Miss Mary
Fairfax.]

CHAPTER IV.

EDINBURGH SUPPER PARTIES--TOUR IN THE HIGHLANDS--MUTINY IN THE
FLEET--BATTLE OF CAMPERDOWN.

[By this time my mother was grown up, and extremely pretty. All
those who knew her speak of her rare and delicate beauty, both of
face and figure. They called her the "Rose of Jedwood." She kept her
beauty to the last day of her life, and was a beautiful old woman,
as she had been a lovely young one. She used to say, laughing, that
"it was very hard no one ever thought of painting her portrait so
long as she was young and pretty." After she became celebrated,
various likenesses were taken of her, by far the best of which are a
beautiful bust, modelled at Rome in 1844 by Mr. Lawrence Macdonald,
and a crayon drawing by Mr. James Swinton, done in London in 1848.
My mother always looked considerably younger than her age; even at
ninety, she looked younger than some who were her juniors by several
years. This was owing, no doubt, principally to her being small and
delicate in face and figure, but also, I think, to the extreme
youthfulness and freshness of both her heart and mind, neither of
which ever grew old. It certainly was not due to a youthful style of
dress, for she had perfect taste in such matters, as well as in
other things; and although no one spent less thought or money on it
than she, my mother was at all times both neatly and becomingly
dressed. She never was careless; and her room, her papers, and all
that belonged to her were invariably in the most beautiful order. My
mother's recollections of this period of her life are as follows:--]

* * * * *

At that time Edinburgh was really the capital of Scotland; most of the
Scotch families of distinction spent the winter there, and we had
numerous acquaintances who invited me to whatever gaiety was going on.
As my mother refused to go into society when my father was at sea, I had
to find a chaperon; but I never was at a loss, for we were somehow
related to the Erskine family, and the Countess of Buchan, an amiable
old lady, was always ready to take charge of me.

It was under Lady Buchan's care that I made my first appearance at a
ball, and my first dancing partner was the late Earl of Minto, then Mr.
Gilbert Elliot, with whom I was always on v