XI.--Sir Robert Spottiswoode, was Lord President of the College of Justice, and Secretary of Scot land in the time of Charles I, and the author of The Practicks of the laws of Scotland. I have already given Clarendon's estimate of this learned man. Douglas speaks of him as “a man of extraordinary parts, learning and merit.” Sir Robert was born 1596, and executed for adhering to the royal cause, January 17, 1646. In 1629 he married Bethia, eldest daughter of Sir Alexander Morrison, of Preston Grange, one of the Senators of the College of Justice. The mother of Lady Bethia Spottiswoode, Eleanor Maule, was, through her ancestors, the Maules, Lords Panmure and the Lindsays, Lords Crawford, twelfth in descent from King Robert the Bruce. The third son of Sir Robert Spottiswoode was
XII.--Robert Spottiswoode, who, having studied medicine was appointed physician to the Governor and garrison at Tangiers. He went to that place with the Earl of Middleton, and died there in 1680. He was quite distinguished as a botanist, and in 1673 published a work entitled Plants within the fortifications of Tangiers. He left by his wife, Catherine, widow Elliott, only one son,
XIII.--Major-General Alexander Spotswood, born at Tangiers, 1676. The Virginian historian, Charles Campbell, a descendant of Governor Spotswood, says: “He was bred in the army from his childhood, served with distinction under the Duke of Marlborough, and in 1710 was appointed Governor of Virginia. Being a master of the military art, he kept the malitia under excellent discipline. In 1716 he made the first complete discovery of a passage over the Blue Ridge mountains. He urged upon the British Government the policy of establishing a chain of posts beyond the Alleghanies, from the lakes to the Mississippi, to restrain the encroachments of the French. He reduced to submission the Indian tribes, and, blending humanity with vigor, taught them that while he could chastise their insolence, he commiserated their fate. He took measures to extend the advantages of a Christian education to the Indian children. He was a proficient in mathematics, and well skilled in architecture. He rebuilt the College, ”
