The Sun.
London, England, 1841-11-24 00:00:00

THE LATE LORD ELGIN.

" Mokpr, sfyos scas zaflia."
PLUTARCH, Pericl. ch.
ThiS'N-obleman, to whom England is indebted
for the most exquisite . collection of statues and
antiquities that ever adorned a land—monuments
of art,..which
.Plutarch spoke of in the phrase
above, "as transcendant for their grace and for
their beauty,"---died at his residence` in Paris
last Sunday. Hereafter the -Marbles which are
called. by his name will be the best monument
to his remembrance, and their history a lasting
memorial to the boldness and perseverance which
he displayed .on , the occasion of transferring.
front a foreign soil, and from the •hands of illite-
rate and destructive MoSlemin, the noblest relics
of Athens, after they had lain almost unnoticed,
and corroded by the lapse of 2,500 years.
Thomas Bruce,. K.G., late Earl of Elgin and
Kincardine; and also. Baron Bruce of Kinloss
and of Terry in the peerage of Scotland, was
born on the 20th of July, in the year 1766. Hav-
ing entered the army, he rose through its seve-
ral gradeOill he arrived at the rank of Lieute-
nant-Gennral. His Lordship succeeded to the
honours of his house on the demise of his bro-
ther in 1771.
His Lordship's first marriage was with Mary,
only child of William Hamilton Nisbet, Esq., of
lairleton, inithe county of Haddington, on the 11th
of March, 17.99, and by this lady he had issue
George Charles Constantine Lord Bruce, M.P.
for Southampton, now Earl of Elgin, and three
daughters, two of whom are now married. This
marriage, however, being dissolved by Act of
Parliament in 1808 (the Countess wedding sub-
sequently Robert Ferguson, Esq., of Rahn), he
married secondly, on the 21st of September,
1808, Elizabeth, youngest daughter of James
Townsend Oswald, Esq., by whom lie has seven
children—viz., four sons and three daughters.
The second son, Robert, is a Lieutenant•Colosiel
in the Grenadier Guards, and his first son' a Ba-
chelor of Arts.
His Lordship, the sixth Earl of Elgin, eleventh
Earl of Kincardine, and one of the representa-
tive Peers of Scotland, claims descent from no
less illustrious root than the Royal House of
Bruce, as is indicated by his name. The noble,
but melancholy motto of the " Bruce of Ban-
nockburn" still blazes on his escutcheon, and its
monosyllabic " Faimus"
.points is the olden clays
of glory. Among his more immediate ancestors is
the Sir Geo. Bruce of Carnocks, who carried on his
great commercial works at that place, and who
petrified King James for an instant when he
was displaying to him his extensive works.
The coal which supplied his immense salt-works
was wrought at a distance under the sea, and
then shipped at a moat under the sea-mark.
James VI. expressed a desire to visit these great
coal-works, and was conducted through them
to the moat, but his Majesty was filled, says
the old historian, with dismay, on finding him-
self in the midst of the sea. He was conducted
back, however, in a pinnace, and sumptuously
entertained by Sir George at his own abbey •of
Culross. For Edward Bruce also, one of King
James's trustiest advisers, his Majesty enter-
tained such an affection as to dowry his daugh-
ter Christian with a marriage-portion of 10,000/.
upon the auspicious occurrence of her union.
The wife of William, the eighth Earl, whose
maiden name was Janet Roberton, was noticed by
Hamilton, of Bangour, amongst the first beauties
of the time, and the Countess of Elgin, who died
in 1810, filled, with great credit to herself; the im-
portant station of Governess to the Princess
Charlotte. His Lordship had two seats, one of
which was Archerfield House, and the other
Broom Hall, both in the county of Fife.
But the chaste and spirited sculptures which,
from the hand of the immortal Phidias, adorned
the Parthenon, and gratified the correct eye of
Pericles and all Athens, form the most grand and
noticeable feature of his Lordship's life, and to
these which have given so great a celebrity to
his name we at once proceed. Stepping forward
at the critical moment, and rescuing these pre-
cious remains of art from the destroying hand of
time, and from the more destroying hand of an
uncivilized people, his Lordship bestowed a bene-
fit on the classical and artistic schools of Eng-
land, as well as 'spreading a taste for the Fine
Arts over the kingdom at large, which will ever
be held to his remembrance. The difficulties he
had to undergo in that task, and the almost in-
superable obstructions which he overcame, will
be seen in the ensuing account, which is that
which generally was accustomed to fall verbatim
from Lord Elgin's own lips :
The history of these venerated marbles may
be thus succinctly told. Lord Elgin, when he
had just been appointed Ambassador to Con-
stantinople, met with the celebrated Harrison,
of Chester, at Edinburgh, and inquiring of him
how he could best make his residence near
Greece conducive to the promotion of architec-
ture, sculpture, and other arts, he was advised
by Harrison to have casts taken of the columns,
sculpture, and architecture scattered through-
out Greece, and particularly concentrated at
Athens, chiefly for the purpose of ascertaining
the mode of " turning the volume," and having
the real projection, with the real variety of light
and shade, which must considerably surpass any
drawing or draught. Mr. Harrison also advised
Lord Elgin to take casts of whatever remains of
monuments might still be hi existence. Pitt,
Dundas, and Grenville, when applied to by Lord
Elgin to support his project,
s
advance the public money for
such an d
under-
taking. Lord Elgin, however, unassisted, sought
out for the best English artists,
the could
lcdoeurlsd,
de-
signers, &c., but finding that they were in full
employ at home, and demanded an exorbitant
price, lie, upon the advice of a friend, secured
the assistance of six distinguished Italians, who
were enthusiastic in the cause, and with them
repaired to the East. With this view he engaged
Signor Lusieri, a painter of reputation, who was
then in the service of the King of the Two Sici-
lies, together with two architects, two mo-
dellers, and a figure painter. These six
foreigners fixed themselves at Athens, in
August, 1800, and prosecuted their enterprise
with ardour. They were at first, however, greatly
discouraged by the Turks, who at that period,
namely, during the occupation of Egypt by the
French, entertained an enmity against all Chris-
tians. The Turkish Government required from
them as large a sum as five guineas fur one day's
inspection of the architectural remains. How-
ever, when the English had conquered Egypt
soon after, and then restored it generously to
the Turks, the greatest popularity was enjoyed
by Lord Elgin's confederates. The original ob-
ject of Lord Elgin has been stated above; but
when he observed the state of things—that the
Turks were daily mutilating the statues, and
using their heads for cannon-balls, and that
European travellers were every day coming and
breaking the statues into fragments, and Lking
away portions—he altered his original plan, and
determined upon transmitting to England, all
the valuable monuments he could collect. Lord
Elgin next obtained from the Turkish Govern-
ment a full license to examine, measure, and
remove whatt ver he pleased of these antique
monuments, and lie proceeded accordingly to put
to work at least three hundred workmen.
Several eminent persons had attempted this
achievement, and had obtained similar faculties
frcm the Porte, but they had uniformly failed.
When Lord Elgin and his associates had sur-
mounted innumerable difficulties, and embarked
their treasure, the vessel was accidentally driven
upon a rock, and went down with all themarbles.
However, recourse was had to Greek divers, by
whose efforts they were all regained.
Of the entire collection of the Parthenon
marbles, it may not be unworthy of remark,
that the only other piece of sculpture which was
removed from its place for the purpose of ex-
port, was taken by M. Choiseul Gouffier, when
he was Ambassador from France to the Porte.
Lord Elgin's expenses in forming this collec-
tion were large and heavy, they amounted from
1799 toJan. 1802 to 62,4401., including •
23,240/. for
the interest of money, and according to a supple-
mental account, continued from 1803 to 1816, his
additional expenses amounted to no less a sum
than 74,0001., including the same sum for interest.
The valuations or money prices set upon them
before they Were purchased by the Government
for the British Museum, were widely different.
Mr. Payne Knight estimated them at 25,000/.,
Mr. Hamilton at 60,8001., and the Earl of Aber-
.deen's .conjectural estimate of the whole, with-
out entering into particulars, was 35,000/. The
Townley collection of marbles, which were in
excellent condition when bought by the British
eputation,
Museum, were purchased in 1805 for- 20,000/.
and the marbles at . Phigalia, in . Arcadia, were
cultivation.r
bought at 15,0001. From these comparisons
some estimation of their actual worth may be
deduced.
Fine A
Considering
rt s
character, and dignity of every Government by
which they have been encouraged, and that the'
maturing of the popular mind and its growth
ha s ever how
contributedhihly t he
the .reputation,
of the
towards excellence is opened by the study of
monuments of high art, our Administration did
ro tut an service to their country by the pur-
chase of these inestimable models.
Lord Elgin was in his 76th year. He was, in
addition to his other titles and offices, a General
of the Royal Archers of Scotland, a family
trustee of the British Museum, and a member of
the Privy Council. The Earl was at all times a
generous patron ofliterature, science, and the arts.