Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 22.djvu/397

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Grant
391
Grant

edit. 1864. 27. ‘Steps and Stages on the Road to Glory,’ 1865. 28. ‘The End of all Things, or the Coming and Kingdom of Christ,’ 1866. 29. ‘Hymns of Heaven, or the Song of the Saints in Glory,’ 1867. 30. ‘Seasons of Solitude, or Moments of Meditation on the Things of Eternity,’ 1868. 31. ‘The Religious Tendencies of the Times, or how to deal with the Deadly Errors and Dangerous Delusions of the Day,’ 1869. 32. ‘Memoirs of Sir G. Sinclair, Bart.,’ 1870. 33. ‘Sources of Joy in Seasons of Sorrow, with other Help on the Heavenward Way,’ 1871. 34. ‘The Plymouth Brethren, their History and Heresies,’ 1875. 35. ‘Papist Versions of the Scriptures and the British and Foreign Bible Society,’ 1876. 36. ‘Meditations on the Loving Words of Our Lord,’ 1877.

[Times, 26 May 1879, p. 9 ; Morning Advertiser, 27 May 1879; Athenæum, 31 May 1879, p. 697; Notes and Queries, 4th ser. x. 55, xi. 451, 6th ser. ii. 15; Cat. Advocates' Library; Brit. Mus. Cat.]

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GRANT, JAMES (1840–1885), Scottish antiquary, born in 1840 in Glen Urquhart, Inverness-shire, was educated at Aberdeen University, where he took the degree of M.A. He obtained the Grant bursary, and studied law at Edinburgh with a view to the Scottish bar; but his grotesque dwarfish figure and his odd voice making success in this wellnigh unattainable, he devoted himself to studies connected with Scottish antiquities.

For a number of years he acted as assistant to Professor Cosmo Innes (whose books owe a good deal to him), and did much work under John Hill Burton and Professor Masson, in preparing for publication the Scots privy council records (Register of the Privy Council, introduction (Burton), vol. i. p. liv; introduction (Masson), vol. iii. p. lxxxviii). The work by which Grant deserves to be remembered, however, is his 'History of the Burgh and Parish Schools of Scotland' (in two volumes: the first, on the burgh schools, has alone been published (1876); the second volume exists in a completed or almost completed state). The special excellence of this work is that it is largely based on hitherto unpublished sources, which the author collected with vast labour and patience. It is full of curious and minute details, which shed light, not only on the educational, but on the social history of Scotland. The book excited little notice when it appeared (a neglect which the author felt somewhat keenly); but it is of permanent value, and it is almost impossible to suppose that it can ever be superseded by a more learned or exhaustive treatise. Grant also wrote a 'History of the University of Edinburgh' (unpublished). He was elected a F.S.A. (Scotl.), and enjoyed the friendship and esteem of David Laing and other distinguished Scottish scholars. He died at his brother's house, 114 Bell Terrace, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 9 Aug. 1885, and was buried on the 13th in his native glen.

[Scotsman, 10 and 14 Aug. 1885; Inverness Courier, 13 Aug. 1885; Memoir of Cosmo Innes (Edinburgh, 1874), p. 78; personal recollections.]<

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GRANT, JAMES (1822–1887), novelist and miscellaneous writer, was born at Edinburgh 1 Aug. 1822. He was eldest son of John Grant and grandson of James Grant of Corrimony (1743?-1835) [q. v.], advocate. From his grandfather, James Grant, the novelist inherited strong Jacobite proclivities, and he was connected by descent with the Veitches of Dawyck, Peeblesshire, and thus possessed a strain of border blood. His mother, who died when he was a child, belonged to the Watson family of Overmains, not unknown in the artistic annals of Scotland, and through her he was intimately related to Sir Walter Scott, the Swintons of Swinton, and other eminent families. Captain Grant, his father, of the 92nd Gordon Highlanders, had served with distinction throughout the Peninsular war. After his wife's death Captain Grant obtained a command in Newfoundland, whither he sailed in 1833, taking with him his three sons. After spending six years in American barracks Grant returned home with his father, who had resigned his command, in 1839, and in 1840, through the influence of Lord Hill, under whom Captain John Grant had served in Spain, was gazetted to an ensigncy in the 62nd foot, and joined the provisional battalion at Chatham. He was soon appointed to command the depot, but in 1843 resigned his commission and entered the office of Mr. Rhind, architect, Edinburgh. He became a skilled draughtsman, but other and literary tastes were showing themselves, and he now devoted himself to novel writing, speedily becoming a most prolific writer. His first novel, and in some respects his best, 'The Romance of War,' appeared in 1845. It owed its birth to the many anecdotes of Spain and the French war, which had been related to him by his father, and described the adventures of the Gordon highlanders in the Peninsula. The vivid description of battles speedily procured for it an enormous sale; but it only produced 20l. for its author. A sequel entitled 'The Highlanders in Belgium' soon followed. Then came 'The Adventures of an Aide-de-Camp,' of which the popularity equalled that of his first novel. 'The Yellow Frigate,' 'Both-