MORTIMER, John Hamilton, R.A., was born at Eastbourne, Sussex, in 1739; was a pupil of Hudson, and obtained a prize of fifty guineas from the Society of Arts for an oil-painting of "Edward the Confessor," and shortly after one of one hundred guineas for a painting of "St. Paul Preaching to the Britons." He painted afterwards "King John Signing Magna Charta;" the "Battle of Agincourt," engraved by Ryland, and two or three other historical subjects; and made a large number of chalk drawings, which were in great request. His drawings of groups of banditti were much admired. He was a wretched colourist, and his design, praised in his lifetime for its boldness, often borders on extravagance. He died young, and there seems reason to believe that be shortened his days by dissipation. He was elected R.A. a few months before his death, which occurred on the 4th of February, 1779; he was buried in High Wycombe church, near the altar, over which is hung his picture of "St. Paul Preaching to the Britons." There are a few etchings by him, consisting of designs from Shakspeare, studies after Salvator Rosa, &c.—J. T—e.
MORTIMER, Roger, Earl, the favourite of Edward II.'s queen, Isabella, was born about 1287. When the Despensers obtained the great ascendancy over the weak and luxurious king, which placed the sceptre virtually in their hands, Mortimer and other discontented barons demanded the dismissal of the favourites from court. Being sent to the Tower for this petition, the earl bribed his keeper, escaped, and took refuge in France. At the court of Charles the Fair he met Queen Isabella, then conducting negotiations between her husband and her brother. Common hatred of the Despensers was a bond of sympathy between the queen and Mortimer, who ere long were united by the closer ties of adulterous love. Discarding all shame and fear, they openly conspired for the overthrow of King Edward and his favourites. Having raised in the Low Countries three or four thousand men, they landed in Suffolk, were joined by the disaffected barons, captured the king, and put the Despensers to death. They now governed the kingdom in the name of Edward III., who, though a minor, was raised to the throne on the deposition of his father. That unhappy monarch fell a victim to Mortimer's fears of new insurrections, and was foully murdered in Berkeley castle. This act of violence, and the scandal raised by the queen's open adultery with Mortimer, roused great discontent in England. Mortimer sought to strengthen his position by terror, and seizing the earl of Kent, the king's uncle, had him tried for treason and executed; the earl of Lancaster he threw into prison. Despite all his precautions, however, he and the queen were seized by night in the castle of Nottingham, which the malcontents entered by a secret subterranean passage. He was taken to London, tried, and hanged in 1330.—R. H.
MORTON, Charles, M.D., a learned antiquary, was born in Westmoreland in 1716, and educated at Leyden, where he graduated doctor of medicine. He began to practise at Kendal, in his native county, but having been admitted an extra licentiate of the College of Physicians in 1748, he shortly afterwards removed to London, and was elected physician to Middlesex hospital in 1750. In 1752 he became a fellow of the Royal Society, and was appointed secretary in 1759. On the establishment of the British museum in 1756, he received the office of under librarian in the department of manuscripts and medals, and in 1776 he succeeded Dr. Maty as principal librarian. He died at his apartments in the British museum, February 10, 1799, and was buried at Twickenham.—(Dr. Munk's Roll of the College of Physicians.)—R. H.
MORTON, James Douglas, Earl of, the celebrated Scottish regent, was the second son of Sir George Douglas of Pittendriech, brother to Archibald, earl of Angus. He married Elizabeth, youngest daughter of James Douglas, third earl of Morton, who, having no male issue, obtained in 1553 a royal charter entailing his earldom and estates on his son-in-law, who succeeded to the dignity in 1553. During his early years his father and uncle were in disgrace and exile; and their extensive estates were forfeited by James V., whose anger against the Douglases was inexorable. The education of young Douglas was in consequence greatly neglected, and it is said that he was obliged even to change his name and to act as steward or chamberlain to a great nobleman in England. On the death of the king in 1542 he returned to Scotland with his relatives; and having made the advantageous match already mentioned, he assumed the title of Master of Morton, and soon gave proofs of his possessing both great abilities and a haughty spirit. On the invasion of Scotland by the English in 1544 he garrisoned and bravely defended his castle at Dalkeith. Three years later, after the fatal defeat of the Scots at Pinkie, this fortress was taken by the earl of Hertford, and Morton himself was carried prisoner into England. He remained there for several years, and formed intimacies and engagements which had a powerful influence on his future career. On regaining his liberty he applied himself assiduously to repair the defects of his education, and to improve his dilapidated estates. It was not until 1559 that he quitted his retirement, embraced the protestant cause, was enrolled among the lords of the Congregation, and was employed by them to secure the support of the English queen. On the return of Queen Mary to Scotland in 1561 Morton was sworn a member of the privy council, and in 1563 was appointed lord high-chancellor of Scotland; but his connection with the murder of Riccio soon after lost him his office and the favour of the queen. After a brief exile in England, he was pardoned on the intercession of Moray, Maitland, and Huntly, and was permitted to return home in January, 1566-67. No sooner had he reached Scotland than Bothwell and Lethington sought to involve him in the plot which had been formed for the murder of Darnley; but the crafty baron refused to have anything to do with the matter unless the queen's written consent was produced. He remained a passive spectator of the murder of the king, and of Mary's infamous marriage with Bothwell; but he joined promptly and heartily the association for the protection of the young prince, and commanded one of the battalions raised for the capture of Bothwell. On the queen's surrender at Carberry Hill, Morton conducted her into Edinburgh, where she was treated with great brutality; and next day he and the other confederate barons sent her a prisoner to Lochleven castle, which belonged to Sir Robert Douglas, a kinsman of Morton. On the deposition of the unfortunate queen and the appointment of the earl of Moray to the regency, Morton became his principal adviser; was restored by him to his office of chancellor in November, 1567; and a few weeks after, on the forfeiture of Bothwell, was appointed hereditary high admiral of Scotland and sheriff of Edinburgh. At the battle of Langside he commanded the van of the regent's army; and when Mary fled into England Morton speedily followed, and was Moray's principal assistant at the conference held first at York and then at Westminster respecting her case. After the assassination of the regent, Morton was the most prominent leader of the king's party; and on the death of the earl of Mar in 1572 he was chosen regent, mainly through the influence of the English queen, to whose interests he was devoted. He carried on the civil war against the supporters of Mary with great ferocity for several years; but at length, by his crafty policy, he succeeded in breaking up the party by detaching from it the duke of Chatelherault and the earl of Huntly, the two principal nobles who had maintained the queen's cause. He then, with the assistance of an English force, besieged and took possession of the castle of Edinburgh, in which his former associates, Kirkaldy of Grange and Maitland of Lethington, had taken refuge, and cruelly put the former to an ignominious death. In return for Elizabeth's support he shortly after delivered up to her vengeance the earl of Northumberland, who had taken refuge in Scotland after his unsuccessful insurrection. The infamy of this act was greatly aggravated by the base ingratitude which it displayed; because when Morton himself was forced to fly into England on account of his share in the murder of Riccio, he had been protected by the unhappy nobleman whom he now for a sum of money delivered up to death. Having thus completely crushed the rival faction, he set himself vigorously to enforce obedience to the law, and to restore public tranquillity throughout the kingdom. But his unscrupulous rapacity more than counterbalanced the good done by his efforts to suppress the disorders which prevailed in the country. He embezzled the royal revenue, debased the currency, robbed both the nobility and the clergy, and even converted the courts of law into engines of extortion and oppression. His tyranny at length became intolerable. A formidable coalition of the nobles was formed against him, headed by the earls of Athol and Argyll. They persuaded the king to summon a council composed of certain of the nobility, by whom it was agreed to call upon Morton to resign his office as regent, in order that the king himself might now assume the government. To the astonishment of his friends Morton at once complied with the demand, and obtained
