Note 268 — BOSWELLIANA. (continued 2)

General Robert Melville was son of the minister of Monimail, Fifeshire. Entering the army in his twenty-first year, he served in the invasion of Guadaloupe and other important concerns. After the general peace he travelled over Europe, and endeavoured to ascertain the passage of Hannibal over the Alps. He traced the sites of different Roman camps in Britain. His historical and antiquarian learning were acknowledged by several learned societies, and the University of Edinburgh granted him the degree in laws. General Melville died in 1809, aged eighty-six.