Page:Biographia Hibernica volume 2.djvu/301

 HAMILTON. 297 take i t . He had for some weeks resided a t Hampstead, and i n December his sisters joined him. Calm, patient, and affectionate, h e endeavoured t o cheer them, preserving, t o the last moment, a l l the sensibilities that endear the man, o r exalt the christian. This valuable being, i n the prime o f life, and with the most gratifying prospects o f distinction, terminated his earthly career o n the 14th o f March, 1792. His remains were privately interred i n Bunhill Fields; and a monument was afterwards erected b y his sisters a t Belfast. ELIZABETH HAMILTON, The sister o f the foregoing, and alike celebrated f o r her virtue and talents, was born a t Belfast, July 25th, 1758; her father died i n 1759. At the age o f six years, i n con sequence o f the perplexity o f her mother's situation, she was surrendered t o the care o f Mr. and Mrs. Marshal, who resided i n a solitary mansion near Stirling, i n Scot land. Mrs. Marshal, a sensible and accomplished woman, adopted with fond affection the daughter o f a beloved brother; and Mr. Marshal appears t o have partaken o f the same feeling, and t o have attended t o her education, with a l l the delight and ardour o f parental tenderness. The first two years, she was confined but little t o her books, but suffered, a s i t were, t o run wild, with a playmate o f the other sex; with him she was stimulated t o feats o f hardi hood and enterprise; with him she would ford the burns i n summer, o r slide i n winter over their frozen surface. By these means nature had free scope, and she acquired that force o f character, activity, and decision, which fitted her for the arduous situations o f life. Having completed her eighth year, i t was judged necessary t o habituate her t o regular application. I n the town o f Stirling there were many day schools; but a s the distance o f four miles pre cluded daily attendance, Mrs. Marshal adopted the expe dient o f boarding her niece from Monday t o Saturday with a female friend, from whose house she could easily attend