Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 4.djvu/138

484 business was afterwards continued until 1827; but, wanting a proper head—Gow himself being unable to look after it—it dwindled away; and poor Gow, after a long life of toil, during which he had gathered considerable wealth, found himself a bankrupt at a time when age and infirmity prevented him from doing anything to retrieve his fortunes.

It is difficult to describe the influence, success, and reputation of Nathaniel Gow, during all the time he conducted the fashionable bands in Edinburgh and throughout Scotland ; but certain it is, that in these respects he stands at the head of all that ever trode in the same department Not only did he preside at the peers' balls, Caledonian Hunt ball?, and at the parties of all the noble and fashionable of Edinburgh, but at most of the great meetings and parties that took place throughout Scotland; and in several instances he was summoned to England. No expense deterred individuals or public bodies from availing themselves of his services ; and it appears from his memorandum books, that parties frequently paid him from one hundred to one hundred and fifty guineas, for attending at Perth, Dumfries, Inverness, &c. with his band. One of the first objects in the formation of fashionable parties, was to ascertain if Gow was disengaged, and they would be fixed, postponed, or altered, to suit his leisure and convenience. He visited London frequently, although he resisted many invitations to settle there permanently. In the year 1797, when in London, the late duke of Gordon, then Marquis of Huntly, got up a fashionable ball for him, which was so well attended, that after paying all expenses, £130 was handed over to Mr Gow. He was in the habit, too, during every visit to the capital, of being honoured by invitations to the private parties of his late majesty, George IV., when prince of Wales and prince regent; on which occasions he joined that prince, who was a respectable violoncello player, in the performance of concerted pieces of the most esteemed composers. In 1822, when his majesty visited Scotland, Gow was summoned, with a select portion of the musical talent of Edinburgh, to Dalkeith palace, and the king evinced his enduring recollection of the musician's visits to him in London, by quitting the banquet table to speak to him; ordering at the same time a goblet of generous wine to the musician, and expressing the delight he experienced not only on that, but many former occasions, in listening to his performances. Gow was overcome by his majesty's familiar address, and all he could do was to mutter in a choked manner, "God bless your majesty." At the peers' ball, and the Caledonian Hunt ball, his majesty took pleasure in expressing the satisfaction he derived from Gow's music; so that when the latter rendered his account for his band, he added, "my own trouble at pleasure, or nothing, as his majesty's approbation more than recompensed me."

Gow had an annual ball at Edinburgh during all the time he was leader of the bands; and, until a few years before his retirement, these were attended by all the fashion and wealth of the country, there being frequently above one thousand in the room, many of whom, who were his patrons, did not stint their contributions to the mere price of their tickets. He received, besides, many compliments beyond the mere charge for professional labour. At his ball in 1811, the late earl of Dalhousie, who was his staunch supporter on all occasions, presented him with a massive silver goblet, accompanied by the following note:—"An old friend of Gow's requests his acceptance of a cup, in which to drink the health of the thousands who would wish, but cannot attend him to-night" He was presented with a fine violoncello by Sir Peter Murray of Ochtertyre, and a valuable Italian violin by the late Sir Alexander Don.

While his evenings were occupied at the parties of the great, his days were not spent in idleness. He had as his pupils the children of the first families in