MEN OF THE DAY. No. 128.

MAJOR-GENERAL THE HONOURABLE JAMES MACDONALD, C.B.

GODFREY, sometimes called Bosville, but otherwise Macdonald, Lord of the Isles, had a younger son whom he sent to Harrow, and thence into a marching regiment. The young Highlander was as poor as it is possible for a Highlander of the Isles to be, but he was shrewd, pleasant, and particularly handsome, and when he exchanged into the Life Guards he was welcomed with open arms by all those who delight in well-looking, well-bred young men. He was a fortunate and favourite cornet from the very first; the smart people took him to their hearts as one of themselves; the dandies who then flourished adopted him as the best and readiest of companions; and there was not a boudoir in London which was not open to handsome "Jim." With so much popularity, added to considerable ability, and above all to a great natural talent for appreciating men and their position, he was the hero of many adventures and the confidant of many scrapes; nor was his tact ever wanting or his discretion at fault in the most delicate conjunctures. Prince George of Cambridge, then himself a youngster in the Army, saw and appreciated qualities of so especial a value to a Royal personage, and at once attached himself to the young soldier, who has ever since been his inseparable companion, his best and staunchest friend, and his trusted adviser and guide. From youth to middle age Jim Macdonald has led the choicest of choice lives, and has probably shot more coverts and eaten better dinners than any man of his age in Europe. Not till past forty did he leave his bachelor freedom for the bonds of matrimony, and even then his usual good fortune accompanied him and brought him the most charming of companions in wife and children.

The confidences of two generations of the best sets of London, the ear and advice of the Commander-in-Chief, a reputation for social tact and genial good nature, honours, and a sufficient income, together with troops of friends and no enemies—such is the result which he has at six-and-sixty achieved, and such the reputation which may be commended to all young men.

MEN OF THE DAY. No. 128.

GODFREY, sometimes called Bosville, but otherwise Macdonald, Lord of the Isles, had a younger son whom he sent to Harrow, and thence into a marching regiment. The young Highlander was as poor as it is possible for a Highlander of the Isles to be, but he was shrewd, pleasant, and particularly handsome, and when he exchanged into the Life Guards he was welcomed with open arms by all those who delight in well-looking, well-bred young men. He was a fortunate and favourite cornet from the very first; the smart people took him to their hearts as one of themselves; the dandies who then flourished adopted him as the best and readiest of companions; and there was not a boudoir in London which was not open to handsome "Jim." With so much popularity, added to considerable ability, and above all to a great natural talent for appreciating men and their position, he was the hero of many adventures and the confidant of many serapes; nor was his tact ever wanting or his discretion at fault in the most delicate conjunctures. Prince George of Cambridge, then himself a youngster in the Army, saw and appreciated qualities of so especial a value to a Royal personage, and at once attached himself to the young soldier, who has ever since been his inseparable companion, his best and staunchest friend, and his trusted adviser and guide. From youth to middle age Jim Macdonald has led the choicest of choice lives, and has probably shot more coverts and eaten better dinners than any man of his age in Europe. Not till past forty did he leave his bachelor freedom for the bonds of matrimony, and even then his usual good fortune accompanied him and brought him the most charming of companions in wife and children.

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Yale Center for British Art, 2013