cromby. The disadvantages of union, or, as he held, absorption and extinction, were near at hand, and the advantages remote and contingent on a thousand circumstances and uncertainties. Hence to Lord Belhaven and Allan Ramsay and Abercromby union with mighty England had the look of selling the national birthright of independence and freedom won at Bannockburn.
A minor work of Abercromby was a translation of M. Beaugué's ‘L'Histoire de la Guerre d'Ecosse’ (1556) as follows: ‘The History of the Campagnes, 1548 and 1549; being an exact account of the martial expeditions performed in those days by the Scots and French on the one hand, and the English and their foreign auxiliaries on the other; done in French by Mons. Beaugué, a French gentleman; with an introductory preface by the Translator’ (1707). The ‘Preface’ is well written. The original was reprinted for the Maitland Club by one of its members (Smythe of Methuen), who betrays slight knowledge of either the language or the book, or ability to judge of Abercromby's translation. More recently the Comte de Montalembert edited a reproduction (Bordeaux, 1862, 8vo).
But the work that has kept Abercromby's name alive is his ‘Martial Atchievements of the Scots Nation; being an account of the lives, characters, and memorable actions of such Scotsmen as have signaliz'd themselves by the sword at home and abroad; and a survey of the military transactions wherein Scotland or Scotsmen have been remarkably concern'd, from the first Establishment of the Scots Monarchy to this present Time.’ This extraordinary work occupies two great folios, vol. i. 1711, vol. ii. 1716. The author modestly disclaimed the name of historian in vol. i., but in vol. ii. felt entitled to assume it. There is much of myth and ‘padding,’ but there is indubitably much more of genuine historical and biographical research. It could not have been otherwise; for besides his own untiring exertions he was ably seconded by Sir Thomas Craig, Sir George Mackenzie, Alexander Nisbet, and Thomas Ruddiman—the last his printer (in vol. ii.). With every abatement the ‘Martial Atchievements’ is a book of which Scotland, at least, may well be proud. Singularly enough, the date of his death is still uncertain. It has been assigned to 1715, 1716, 1720, and 1726. It has been alleged that he left a widow in great poverty. In 1716 he must have been living, for Crawfurd, in his ‘Peerage,’ calls him ‘my worthy friend.’ Probably he died in or soon after 1716. A manuscript, entitled ‘Memoirs of the Abercrombies,’ elaborately drawn up by him, seems to have perished.
[Works as cited; Anderson's Scottish Nation; A. Chalmers's Biog. Dict.; G. Chalmers's Life of Ruddiman, pp. 58–9; Crawfurd's Peerage (1716), p. 167; art. in Encyc. Brit. 9th ed. by the present writer.]
ABERCROMBY, Sir RALPH (1734–1801), the general who shares with Sir John Moore the credit of renewing the ancient discipline and military reputation of the British soldier, was born at Menstry, near Tullibody, in October 1734. His father was a descendant of the family of Abercromby of Birkenbog, and was the chief whig landed proprietor in the little Scotch county of Clackmannan. Mr. George Abercromby had married a Miss Dundas, and had thus increased his own political importance and prepared an important connection for his son. Young Ralph was educated at Rugby, and then studied law at the universities of Edinburgh and Leipzig. But he felt such a distaste for the legal profession, that his father gave way to him, and in 1756 procured him a cornetcy in the 3rd dragoon guards. In 1758 he accompanied his regiment to Germany, where it formed part of the English force under the command of Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, the victor of Minden, and he was soon appointed aide-de-camp to General Sir William Pitt. He now saw a good deal of active warfare, and had a good opportunity of studying the advantages and essentials of the strict discipline of the Prussian system. He was promoted lieutenant in 1760 and captain in 1762, and at the conclusion of peace went with his regiment to Ireland. Here he was stationed for several years, and had an opportunity of studying that country, which stood him in good stead at the most critical period of his military career. His life continued its even tenor of domestic and military occupation; and the prolonged life of his father, who lived till the advanced age of ninety-five, saved him from the necessity of retiring from the service and looking after the paternal estate. In 1767 he married Miss Menzies, with whom he lived very happily, and was promoted in due course major in 1770, and lieutenant-colonel in 1773.
But a change was at hand, and he was asked to contest the county of Clackmannan, which his grandfather and other members of his family had represented, in the whig interest. The election was, like all elections in Scotland at the time, contested with extreme bitterness. His opponent, Colonel Erskine, was supported by all the old Jacobite families, who felt a personal animosity against the whigs. The election terminated, as often happened at this time, in a duel between
