Thomas Erskine was the youngest son of the Earl of Buchan, the representative of an old Scotch house, whose ample fortune had wasted away until the family was reduced to actual poverty. Just before the birth of the future Lord Chancellor, the Earl of Buchan abandoned his ancient seat, and with wife and children took up his abode in an upper flat of a lofty house in the old town of Edinburgh. Here Erskine was born on the 10th of January, 1750. The poverty of the family made it impossible for him to acquire the early education he craved. Some years at the schools in Edinburgh, and a few months in the University of St. Andrews, completed his academic days. He gained a very superficial knowledge of Latin, and, if we may believe Lord Campbell, “little of Greek beyond the alphabet.” In the rudiments of English literature, however, he was well instructed; and he seems, even while at the university, to have acquired something of that freedom and nobleness of manner which so much distinguished him in after-life. The condition of the family, however, made it impossible for him to complete the course of studies at the University; and accordingly, at fourteen, he was placed as a midshipman in the navy. Here he remained four years, during which time he visited different parts of the globe, including the Indies and the English colonies in North America. At the end of his term he determined, like the elder Pitt, to enter the army; and, taking the whole of his small patrimony for the purpose, he bought an ensign’s commission in the Royals or First Regiment of Foot. Here he remained from the time he was eighteen till he was twenty-five. At twenty he was married to a lady of respectability, though without fortune. But this step, which, with most persons, would have been the sure precursor of poverty and obscurity, turned out in the case of Erskine to be a means of inspiration and assistance. His mind was balanced, and his vivacity was reduced to earnestness. As the regiment was in garrison, he had abundant leisure, and he applied himself in the society of his wife to the systematic study of the masterpieces of English literature. The best parts of Milton and Shakespeare he acquired such mastery of that he continued to know them by heart throughout life. It is evident that his attainments were beginning to attract attention; for, in April of 1772, Boswell speaks of him as dining with Johnson, and characterizes him as “a young officer in the regimentals of the Scotch Royals, who talked with a vivacity, fluency, and precision which attracted particular attention.”