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ABERDEEN 

UNIVERSITY 

REVIEW 


VOLUME    III 

1915-16 


-y 


Pnnted  at  \ 

The    Aberdeen    University    Press 

1916 


"ABERDEEN    UNIVERSITY   REVIEW" 
EDITORIAL   COMMITTEE. 

Convener:  The  Very  Rev.  Sir  George  Adam  Smith,  Principal  of  the  University. 
Mr.  P.  J.  Anderson. 

Mr.  Robert  Anderson,  Assistant  Editor. 
Professor  J.  B.  Baillie. 
Professor  A.  A.  Jack. 
Mr.  W.  Keith  Leask. 

Miss   WiLLIAMINA   A.    RaIT. 

Professor  J.  Arthur  Thomson. 
Mr.  W.  Stewart  Thomson. 


LrX^I^^ 


THE  LATE  ALEXANDER  MACKIE,  M.A. 


The 

Aberdeen  University  Review 

Vol.  III.  No.  7  November  191 5 

Old  Aberdeen,  October  19 15. 

Mother  of  trees  and  towers  and  ancient  ways 

And  homes  of  studious  peace ;  to  whose  grey  Crown 
Thy  lads  come  up  through  these  October  days, 

Come  up  again  the  while  thy  leaves  fall  down —  * 

Rustling  about  the  young  and  eager  feet, 

As  if  the  spirits  of  thy  crowded  past. 
Mustering  on  high  those  latest  ranks  to  greet, 

Did  down  their  ghostly  salutations  cast — 

Ah,  this  October  many  come  no  more. 

Whose  trysted  faces  we  had  looked  to  see. 
For  on  the  fields  of  Flanders  or  that  shore. 

Steep  and  fire-swept,  of  grim  Gallipoli, 
They  fell  like  leaves,  innumerably  fell. 

And,  though  still  quick  and  keen  and  fain  for  life, 
With  as  ripe  ease  and  gentleness  of  will. 

As  the  sere  leaf  from  out  the  tempest's  strife — 
Ready  for  Death  and  their  young  sacrifice 

By  faith  in  God,  by  love  of  home  and  land. 
And  the  proud  conscience  of  the  un grudged  price 

Their  fathers  paid  at  Freedom's  high  demand. 

Though  through  thy  stripped  trees,  trailing  with  the  mist 
The  mournful  music  of  the  pipes  comes  creeping, 

Mourn  thou  not  those  who  only  failed  thy  tryst 
Because  they  kept  a  holier — and  arc  keeping. 

I 


5n  ^emotiam* 

Alexander   Mackie. 

HAVE  been  asked  to  provide  the  Review  with  an 
appreciation  of  the  late  Convener  of  the  Editorial 
Committee,  and  I  do  so  all  the  more  readily  that 
I  have  known  him  longer  and  known  him  better 
than  any  other  member  of  the  General  Council 
has  done. 

He  was  the  son  of  Joseph  Mackie,  gardener  at 
Delgaty  Castle,  Turriff,  and  was  born  there  on  ii  September,  1855  ; 
he  was  associated  with  Banff,  of  which  he  has  always  been  regarded  as 
a  native,  from  his  father  becoming  head-gardener  at  Duff  House  to  the 
Earl  of  Fife  ;  so  that  the  love  of  flowers  and  gardening  which  always 
marked  him  was  in  a  sense  born  with  him.  He  was  educated  at  the 
Free  Church  Institution,  Macduff,  and  entered  the  Grammar  School  of 
Aberdeen  in  1 870,  always  remembering  that  his  first  sight  of  the  build- 
ing was  Mr.  Pope,  still  hale  and  hearty  with  us,  in  his  garden  in  the 
now  vanii/hed  Skene  Street  front.  He  entered  the  class  of  the  Rev. 
James  Wilson  Legge,  a  name  regarded  by  him  and  by  a  generation  in 
the  school  with  peculiar  honour  and  affection,  combining  the  perfect 
antithesis  to  all  Prussianized  Kultur  with  the  visible  realization  of  every 
Beatitude.  After  forty-five  years  one  of  his  class  writes  to  say  he  re- 
members the  day  like  yesterday :  "  The  merits  or  the  demerits  of 
fresh  arrivals  were  quickly  gauged  in  those  days.  He  soon  became 
beloved  by  all  the  boys,  and  quickly  worked  his  way  to  the  front. 
His  perennial  good  temper  and  cheery  manner  always  struck  me.  I 
must  have  been  the  very  first  to  accost  him."  He  was  sixth  bursar  in 
the  Competition  of  1872,  and  had  as  class-fellows  Sir  Edward  Troup 
of  the  Home  Office,  Sir  Robert  Bruce,  Controller  of  the  General  Post 
Office,  London,  Professor  Selbie,  Principal  Skinner  of  the  Westminster 
College,  Cambridge,  and  Dr.  Hastings. 


Alexander  Mackie  3 

He  spent  three  years  at  the  Free  Church  College,  and  in  1878 
gained  the  Lumsden  Scholarship  for  an  essay  on  the  Augsburg  Confes- 
sion and  Apology.  In  the  summer  of  that  year  he  went  with  his  friend 
Selbie  to  Tubingen,  and  while  at  the  Hall  he  became  assistant  to  Pro- 
fessor Bain  in  English  and  Logic,  acting  in  that  capacity  till  the  doc- 
tor's retiral  from  the  chair  in  1880.  He  remained  till  the  last  on 
intimate  terms  with  Bain,  and  became  at  his  death  an  executor  along 
with  Professor  W.  L.  Davidson.  In  1881  he  joined  Miss  Warrack  in 
the  management  of  the  School  for  Girls  in  Albyn  Place,  and  six  years 
later  became  head  of  the  institution  which  he  conducted  with  such 
conspicuous  success  and  influence.  On  that  point  tributes  in  the 
press  by  former  pupils  leave  no  doubt  whatever ;  the  position  of  the 
school  in  the  days  of  Local  Examinations  was  unique,  and  Professor 
Minto  said  on  a  public  occasion  that  one  pupil  in  three  successive 
years  had  taken  100  per  cent.  He  was  Examiner  in  English  at  the 
University,  and  in  1902  a  candidate  for  the  Bell  Chair  of  Education 
at  St.  Andrews. 

His  wide  acquaintance  with  English  Literature  and  Natural  Science 
was  shown  in  his  writings.  These  include  editions  of  Macaulay's 
essays  on  **  Milton"  (1884:  7th  ed.,  1908)  and  "Warren  Hastings" 
(1892),  of  Scott's  "  Marmion  "  and  '*  Nature  in  Modern  Poets  "  (1906). 
At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  engaged  on  "  Banffshire  "  for  the  Cam- 
bridge County  Geography  Series,  having  written  in  191 1  the  corre- 
sponding volume  on  "Aberdeenshire,"  a  most  admirable  account  in 
every  relation,  historical,  geographical,  geological,  architectural  and 
commercial.  The  illustrations  in  this  work  are  numerous,  and  alto- 
gether it  is  a  triumph  of  varied  knowledge  and  style.  He  was  an 
ardent  and  expert  angler,  and  his  "Art  of  Worm  Fishing"  (191 2) 
may  safely  be  commended  to  all  votaries  of  the  craft.  He  issued  in 
191 3  a  volume  of  "Readings  in  Modern  Scots"  as  a  sort  of  supple- 
ment to  his  lecturing  activities.  In  the  "  Transactions  of  the  Philoso- 
phical Society  "  will  be  found  his  papers  on  "  The  Ludicrous  in  Burns  " 
and  "  The  Homeric  Simile  in  Modern  Poetry  ".  He  was  President  of 
that  body  in  190 1-3,  and  Secretary  from  191 2  to  his  death.  He  was 
on  the  Committee  of  the  Public  Library,  and  acted  as  J.  P.  for  the 
County. 

He  had  a  happy  touch  on  many  kinds  of  verse,  and  was  particu- 
larly graceful  on  the  Sonnet.  His  first  was  on  the  old  Grey  friars 
Church  in  Broad  Street,  but  I  believe  the  readers  of  the  Review  will 


A  Aberdeen  University  Review 

prefer  to  have  two  specimens  of  his  work  on  academic  subjects.  When 
Bain  died  on  i8  September,  1903,  he  sent  the  following  to  the  "Free 
Press  "  of  2 1  September,  the  day  of  the  funeral : — 

'Twere  vain  to  fret  when  Autumn  flutters  down 
Her  sere  and  wrinkled  leaves,  outworn  and  gray  ; 
'Tis  vain  to  grieve  when  sages  pass  away, 
Their  duty  nobly  done,  with  bright  renown 
Circling  their  mem'ry  like  a  golden  crown. 
So  thee  beneath  the  reverent  sod  we  lay. 
Keen- eyed  Philosopher !  whose  name  held  sway 
Where  Learning  wears  her  Academic  gown. 
The  subtle  brain  that  pierced  the  mists  of  thought 
Gives  now  no  quick  response  ;  the  kindly  heart 
Touch'd  to  sweet,  helpful  issues,  beats  no  more  : 
A  lasting  monument  thy  labour  wrought, 
Of  honest  work,  of  search  for  truth,  of  art 
To  cleave  each  stubborn  problem  to  the  core. 

On  the  opening  of  the  Marischal  College  Buildings,  27  September, 
1906,  he  wrote  *'  The  Welcome  "  : — 

•*  Cold  is  the  North  and  cold  the  Northern  Sea 

With  its  keen  winds,  and  cold  the  granite  gray." 

Thus  have  they  said ;  What  say  they  ?     Let  them  say  I 

Warm  are  the  hearts  that  beat  by  Silver  Dee 

And  glowing  welcome  do  they  pulse  to  thee. 

To  thee  our  gracious  Sire,  this  festal  day, 

And  to  thy  beauteous  Queen ;  and  humbly  pay 

Their  meed  of  grateful  homage  loyally. 

Nor  these  alone ;  for  with  us,  hand  in  hand. 

Are  gathered  now  from  many  a  distant  land 

The  wisest  and  the  best  of  those  who  reign 

In  Letters,  come  to  bless  our  ancient  fane, 

Our  renovated  pile,  which  knows  it  true 

That  frigid  hearts  in  frigid  climes  are  few. 

He  also  contributed  a  large  amount  of  angling  verse  to  the  "  Scot- 
tish Field,"  and  some  happy  lines  on  the  Silver  Dee  are  reproduced 
thence  in  "  Deeside "  :  painted  by  William  Smith,  jun.,  described  by 
Robert  Anderson  (A.  &  C.  Black,  191 1),  following  its  course  from  the 
three  springs  on  the  plateau  of  Braeriach,  past  Braemar,  Ballater, 
Aboyne,  till 

At  last  she  tastes,  at  Allenvale, 

The  brackish  waters  of  the  tide ; 
Her  eyes  grow  dim,  her  spirits  fail. 

And  soon  the  ocean's  breakers  hide 
The  Silver  Dee. 

His  position  as  an  educationist  and  teacher  of  English  was  very 

marked.     It  was  long  thought  out,  and  was  dominated  by  the  central 


Alexander  Mackie  5 

idea  that,  with  due  restrictions  and  full  recognition  of  difference  in 
original  endowments  in  this  field,  Bain  had  been  on  the  right  track  in 
English,  as  Melvin,  whom  Bain  had  highly  rated,  had  been  all  along 
in  Latin.  In  his  first  book,  "  Macau  lay's  Essay  on  Milton,  edited  to 
illustrate  the  Laws  of  Rhetoric  and  Composition,"  he  made  his  stand- 
point perfectly  clear.  Literature  is  Literature,  and  Style  is  Style,  and 
it  is  a  fundamental  and  fatal  error  to  regard  the  English  text  as  a 
means,  as  Johnny  Gibb  would  say  in  that  famous  opening  sentence, 
for  taking  off  "  the  hin'  shelvin'  o'  the  cairt "  and  disgorging  a  confused 
mass  of  irrelevant  and  ill-digested  notes  on  History,  Derivations,  Editor's 
Introductions,  and  Things  in  General.  Whatever  that  is,  it  is  not  Eng- 
lish teaching.  "  All  this  proceeds  on  the  supposition  that  the  only 
thing,  or  at  least  the  chief  thing,  for  which  the  classic  is  valuable,  is  its 
information.  The  chief  value  of  a  classic  is  one  of  style."  Here  we 
get  to  Bain  at  once,  and  since  i860  the  North  has  been  at  sea. 
Bain's  Grammar  is  like  Moore's  vase  :  you  may  curse  it,  or  crush  it, 
or  do  what  you  will,  but  the  Aberdeen  sentiment  clings  round  it  still. 
For  the  teachers  in  the  North,  knowing  only  vague  scraps  of  English 
Literature,  have  never  faced  this  question,  enslaved  to  the  demands  of 
inspectors  and  examiners  hunting  after  the  Fact  and  the  Date,  knowing 
nothing  about  and  caring  less  for  Literature  and  Style.  Mackie  be- 
lieved Melvin  and  Bain  had  been  absolutely  right.  To  this  I  turn ; 
it  is  the  key  to  Aberdeen  and  the  North  for  the  last  fifty  years. 

**  It  is  long  since  I  vowed,"  says  Professor  Masson,  "that  sometime 
or  other  I  would  say  something  publicly  about  Melvin.  I  have  known 
no  one,  and  I  expect  to  know  no  one,  so  perfect  in  his  type  as  Melvin."  ^ 
So  with  Bain,  and  he  was  all  of  one  piece,  constituting  the  vital  problem 
on  whom  and  which  much  has  been  written,  much  unmerited  eulogy 
and  uncritical  depreciation  expended,  mostly  in  air  by  men  who  never 
knew  him  or  studied  him  at  close  quarters.  Since  Melvin,  Bain  is 
the  most  striking  figure  in  Aberdeen,  and  his  influence  has  been  to 
this  hour  equally  powerful.  His  bent  was  not  to  Logic  but  to  Physics, 
and  in  1856  he  was  a  candidate  with  Clerk  Maxwell  for  the  Natural 
Philosophy  Chair.  As  the  head  of  a  Technical  College  or  Science  In- 
stitute he  would  have  been  in  his  element ;  in  a  Philosophy  Chair,  he 
was,  paradoxical  as  it  may  seem  to  many,  out  of  it,    while  in  an 

'^Memories  of  Two  Cities:  1911,  p.  251,  reprinted  from  "  Macmillan's  Magazine," 
1864-5.  With  Masson's  portrait  of  Knight,  Bain's  own  seven  papers  on  him  in  "  Alma 
Mater,"  Vol.  VI,  where  he  suggested  a  biography  of  Knight,  should  be  compared. 


6  Aberdeen   University  Review 

English  department  he  was  handicapped  by  his  natural  defects. 
Bain  was  the  result  of  the  old  Marischal  College  curriculum,  to  which 
he  clung  tenaciously  to  the  last,  and  of  the  one  man  on  that  staff  on 
whom  he  modelled  himself  This  was  Professor  William  Knight  in 
the  Natural  Philosophy  Chair  (1822-44),  for  he  had  little  to  learn  from 
George  Glennie  in  Moral  Philosophy.  Again  and  again  Knight  came 
out  in  his  Logic.  For  the  history  of  Philosophy  Bain  had  no  aptitude, 
and  he  probably,  like  Napoleon,  regarded  history  as  an  old  almanac, 
in  some  way  superseded  or  rendered  worthless  by  the  advent  of  Ben- 
tham  and  Mill.  His  was  not  a  historical  head,  and  there  were  no  vistas 
in  his  mind,  so  that  Aberdeen  in  the  competition  for  the  Ferguson 
Scholarship  had  her  guns  hopelessly  out-classed  on  being  brought  face 
to  face  with  the  fact  that  Thales  and  not  Mill  was  the  father  of 
Philosophy.  During  our  Tertian  year,  incredible  as  the  fact  may 
seem,  he  never  once  mentioned  the  names  of  Realism  and  Nominalism, 
and  of  whole  centuries  of  life  and  work  we  heard  nothing.  He  thought 
simply  in  terms  of  physics,  and  shunned  all  metaphysical  difficulties. 
His  psychology  was  coloured  by  this,  and  his  exposition  of  the  Laws 
of  Association — that  delusion  which,  as  Lecky  says,  has  never  in- 
fluenced continental  thought — seemed  like  the  grasping  at  a  straw  to 
explain  to  himself,  in  a  despairing  way,  how  the  trick  of  memory  was 
done.  To  any  one  with  an  original  endowment  in  that  field  it  was 
absolutely  futile,  and  should  on  his  own  reasoning  have  rendered  him 
Porsonian  instead  of  leaving  him  like  Montaigne,  "a  man  of  some  read- 
ing and  of  no  retention  ".  In  this  relation  it  is  curious  to  recall  a  story 
of  his  own.  He  had  to  review  Mill's  "  Logic  "  for  the  Westminster 
Review,  and  it  was  long  overdue.  Mill  found  Bain  had  been  writing 
abstracts  of  the  chapters  as  he  went  along,  inserting  slips  of  paper 
through  the  book,  so  little  gifted  was  he  with  Johnson's  demonic 
faculty  of  rapidly  bringing  the  covers  together  and  '*  tearing  the  guts  '* 
out  of  it.  In  logic  he  was  at  his  best,  and  he  knew  it  perfectly,  in 
scientific  not  metaphysical  exposition,  where  he  could  exemplify  his 
easy  mastery  of  natural  and  mechanical  science,  avoiding  the  rock  of 
metaphysics  as  Knight  had  steered  wide  of  mathematics.  He  had 
given  to  Mill  for  later  editions  many  of  his  best  examples  of  the  four 
Methods  of  Experimental  Inquiry,  such  as  Liebig's  theories  and 
Brown-S6quard's  views  on  cadaveric  rigidity.  His  psychology  was 
materialistic  and  purely  physical ;  he  discarded  all  Mill's  concessions 
to  sentiment  and  clung  to  the  hardest  doctrines  of  his  leaders,  Locke, 


Alexander  Mackie  7 

Hartley,  Bentham,  and  James  Mill.  He  seized  every  physical  opening 
and  pulled  himself  together  for  the  chance.  I  could  see  it  coming ; 
for,  being  short-sighted  and  sitting  literally  at  the  feet  of  this  Gamaliel, 
I  have  marked  his  eyes  glitter  when  he  would  launch  out,  without  a 
scrap  of  paper,  on  a  long  and  flowing  stream  of  exposition,  all  in  perfect 
diction,  on  Joule  and  the  foot-pound,  the  causes  leading  to  the  retarda- 
tion of  Encke's  Comet,  the  researches  of  Herschel  on  Dew  and  of  Sir 
John  Leslie  on  Heat,  raising  his  voice  to  a  pitch  of  exultation  over 
"that  unparalleled  fetch  of  inductive  genius,  the  governor  balls  of  Watt". 
Then  he  was  in  his  real  element.  These  were  his  field  days,  his  bursts, 
like  those  of  Christopher  North  in  a  totally  different  vein  in  his  class, 
and  at  such  times  for  ease  and  felicity  of  exposition  Bain  could  have 
been  rivalled  in  no  University  extant.     His  saltern  accumulem  donis. 

In  English,  in  every  sense  of  that  hackneyed  adage.  Style,  or  the 
want  of  it,  was  the  Man.  It  is  the  scientific  exposition  of  the  Laws 
of  the  Paragraph  that  abides  with  every  one  of  his  classes  as  altogether 
characteristic,  original  and  masterly.  "  Professor  Bain,"  Minto  writes,^ 
*'  was  the  first,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  to  consider  how  far  rules  can  be 
laid  down  for  the  perspicuous  construction  of  paragraphs.  Other 
writers  on  composition,  such  as  Campbell,  Lord  Kames,  Blair,  and 
Whately,  stop  short  with  the  sentence.  De  Quincey,  a  close  student 
of  the  art  of  composition,  felt  the  importance  of  looking  beyond  the  ar- 
rangement of  the  parts  of  a  sentence,  and  philosophized  in  a  desultory 
way  concerning  the  bearing  that  one  sentence  should  have  upon  an- 
other." Bain  and  Masson  had  once  seen  De  Quincey  in  1846,  about 
Lasswade,^  and  both  always  regarded  him  as  a  master  of  prose.  All 
old  members  of  Bain's  classes  will  be  glad  to  see  the  passage  in  De 
Quincey's  "Autobiography  "  that  influenced  Bain  and  English  teaching 
in  the  North : — 

The  two  capital  secrets  in  the  art  of  prose  composition  are  these :  first, 
the  philosophy  of  transition  and  connexion,  or  the  art  by  which  one  step  in  an 
evolution  of  thought  is  made  to  arise  out  of  another :  all  fluent  and  effective 
composition  depends  on  the  connexions :  secondly,  the  way  in  which  sentences 
are  made  to  modify  each  other ;  for  the  most  powerful  effects  in  written  elo- 
quence arise  out  of  this  reverberation,  as  it  were,  from  each  other  in  a  rapid 
succession  of  sentences  :  and,  because  some  limitation  is  necessary  to  the  length 
and  complexity  of  sentences,  in  order  to  make  this  interdependency  felt ;  hence 
it  is  that  the  Germans  have  no  eloquence.      The  construction  of  German 

1  ♦•  Manual  of  English  Prose  Literature,"  1872,  p.  13. 
'  For  the  scene,  see  Masson  above,  pp.  162-3. 


8  Aberdedn  University   Review 

prose  tends  to  such  immoderate  length  of  sentences  that  no  effect  of  inter- 
modification  can  ever  be  apparent.  Each  sentence,  stuffed  with  innumerable 
clauses  of  restriction,  and  other  parenthetical  circumstances,  becomes  a  separate 
section — an  independent  whole. 

What  to  many  rendered  his  English  class  repellent  was  his  posses- 
sion by  one  idea.  "  Grammar,"  he  said  to  the  1 873  class,  on  the  opening 
day  with  the  door  closed,  "  is  a  Science  or  it  is  Nothing."  He  directed 
his  analysis  to  the  logic  of  thought ;  for  felicities  of  diction,  allusions, 
historical  setting,  the  development  of  the  language  and  of  literature, 
he  had  no  eye.  His  reading  in  literature  and  history  had  been  small ; 
he  never  read  "  The  Vicar  of  Wakefield,"  the  extracts  from  "  Macbeth  " 
were  all  that  he  ever  cared  to  know  of  that  play,  and  he  read  no 
language  but  his  own.  For  biography  as  reflected  in  literature  he 
had  no  care.  I  have  before  me  the  little  book  prescribed  in  the  class, 
Gray's  "  Odes  and  Elegy  "  (W.  &  R.  Chambers,  1 870).  To  Mackie,  and 
to  most  men,  stanza  9  would  of  necessity  bring  up  Wolfe  at  Quebec 
on  the  St.  Lawrence;  15  would  lead  to  the  politics  of  Gray's  century, 
while  the  Epitaph  would  show  Gray's  mind  and  himself  as  the  artistic 
centre  of  the  whole.  But  if  Potsdam  in  191 4  made  war  without  con- 
sidering Grey,  Bain  pursued  his  method  without  alluding  to  Gray.^ 
To  him  the  "  Elegy  "  was  logic  and  interdependence  of  thought,  sequence 
of  circumstances,  and  development  of  the  idea.  His  elocution  was 
perfect — perhaps  a  conscious  survival  of  old  Gilcomston  days  and  of 
what  Masson  calls  "  the  beautiful,  even  consummate,  elocution  of  Dr. 
Kidd  " — for  he  took  professional  lessons  in  preparation  for  the  chair 
in  London.  If  beauty  of  utterance,  logical  analysis,  complete  assur- 
ance and  perfect  discipline  could  have  rendered  his  exposition  final,  it 
would  have  been  useless  to  criticize.  But  feeble  imitators  and  idolaters 
only  caricatured  him,  while  his  own  poor  emotional  endowment  stunted 
the  real  merits  of  his  English  methods.  Poetry?  "  There  was  the 
door  to  which  he  found  no  key."  Bacon  knew  the  secret,  and  that  to 
pick  the  lock  with  Bain's  key  was  foredoomed  to  failure.  He  explains 
this  in  a  passage  in  the  **  Advancement  of  Learning,"  whose  full  mean- 
ing would  simply  revolutionize  the  North : — 

» The  Westminster  Election  of  Mill  brought  out  as  mural  literature  his  phrase:  "If 
such  a  being  can  sentence  me  to  hell,  to  hell  I  will  go  ".  Bain  (*'  J.  S.  Mill,"  p.  122)  says 
with  strange  simplicity  :  "  Grote  thought  the  phrase  an  echo  of  something  occurring  in  Ben 
Jonson,  where  a  military  captain's  implicit  obedience  is  crowned  by  the  illustration.  I  have 
never  got  any  clue  to  the  place."  A  strange  ignorance  of  Johnson's  immortal  adaptation 
of  Juvenal,  in.  78,  and  of  a  classic  scene  in  Boswell's  biography  I 


Alexander  Mackie  9 

The  use  of  this  feigned  history  (Poesy,  Painting,  Music)  hath  been  to  give 
some  shadow  of  satisfaction  to  the  mind  of  man  on  these  points  wherein  the 
nature  of  things  doth  deny  it,  the  world  being  in  proportion  inferior  to  the 
soul ;  by  reason  whereof  there  is,  agreeable  to  the  spirit  of  man,  a  more  ample 
greatness,  a  more  exact  goodness,  and  a  more  absolute  variety  than  can  be 
found  in  the  nature  of  things.  So  it  appeareth  that  Poesy  serveth  and  con- 
ferreth  to  magnanimity,  morahty  and  to  delectation.  And  therefore  it  was 
even  thought  to  have  some  participation  of  divineness  because  it  doth  raise 
and  erect  the  mind,  by  submitting  the  shows  of  things  to  the  desires  of  the 
mind ;  whereas  reason  (science,  philosophy)  doth  buckle  and  bow  the  mind 
to  the  nature  of  things.^ 

"  I  owe  Geddes,"  said  the  deceased  Garden  G.  Smith  ('77-'79)  to 
me,  ''rather  a  grudge.  For  he  once  made  a  remark  in  the  class  that 
let  me  see  that  Poetry  was  concerned  with  the  Infinite,  and  it  has  made 
me  profoundly  miserable  ever  since."  Novalis  with  his  "  Philosophy 
a  Heimweh^  a  homesickness,"  and  Ecclesiastes  (l.  i8)  could  have 
understood  all  this,  but  to  Bain  it  was  a  mystery  to  be  exposed. 
With  some  few  natural  tears  for  humanity  Bain  may  have  started  early 
life  ;  but,  like  Adam  on  quitting  Paradise,  he  "  wiped  them  soon,"  and 
resolutely  set  himself  to  squeeze  every  drop  of  emotion  from  his  cup. 
The  flowers  and  altruistic  devices  with  which  his  system  may  disguise 
its  more  repellent  aspects  were  silently  dropped  at  the  close.  Victori- 
ous Analysis,  the  watchword  of  the  school,  which  Mill  himself  found 
to  be  "  the  worm  at  the  root  of  all  the  virtues,"  had  explained  or 
exploded  Beethoven  and  the  Moonlight  Sonata  into  a  duly  recorded 
number  of  sharps  and  flats,  and  "  there  was  nothing  left  remarkable 
beneath  the  visiting  moon"  but  a  coalition  of  discords.  He  had  suc- 
ceeded in  reducing  Existence  to  a  mere  cinder  heap  of  smiddy-coom 
or  dander.     Nike  has  her  Nemesis. 

Mackie  felt  that  Bain  had  been  deposed,  to  be  succeeded  by  an 
evil  still  worse.  After  all.  Bain  did  but  reflect  the  mental  character- 
istics of  a  county  which,  as  John  Hill  Burton  said,  was  a  layer  of 
peat-moss  spread  on  a  bannock  of  granite.  Mackie  believed  that  the 
teaching  of  English  in  the  North  had  declined.  In  the  past  the  educa- 
tional publisher  with  the  over-annotated  Chaucer,  Shakespeare,  or 
Tennyson,  was  not  in  the  land.  The  best  teachers  had  thus  to  make 
their  own  notes,  «and  personality  told.  In  the  last  number  of  the 
Review  Sir  W.  R.  Nicoll  has  paid  a  tribute  to  his  own  teacher,  Dr. 
Wilson,  at  Auchindoir  and  Banff".  He  taught  literature  "  with  his 
heart ".     To-day  he  would  do  so  at  his  peril.     Miles  Standish  turned 

1  Quoted  by  Dr.  John  Brown,  "  Horae  Subsecivae,"  Second  Series,  p.  328. 


lo  Aberdeen  University  Review 

in  the  Caesar  to  where  {B.  G,  II.  25)  the  thumb-marks  on  the  margin 
proclaimed  that  the  battle  was  hottest.  The  teacher  knows  where  the 
scent  lies  thickest  and  the  notes  are  longest.  With  a  sigh  he  resigns 
himself  to  the  methods  of  inspectors  and  Departments  ;  and  eyeless, 
like  Samson  in  the  mills  of  Gaza,  he  "  grinds  "  to  satisfy  the  demands 
of  Prussianized  and  standardized  Kultur. 

To  the  general  public  in  the  North  Mackie  was  best  known  as  a 
lecturer  and  exponent  of  Dr.  William  Alexander's  great  classic,  *  'Johnny 
Gibb  of  Gushetneuk,"  to  the  fifteenth  edition  of  which  (1908)  he  con- 
tributed an  excellent  introduction  and  appreciation.  Every  winter 
became  more  and  more  a  sort  of  campaign,  to  which  he  responded 
perhaps  far  too  generously,  giving  his  time  and  services  to  raise  local 
funds  in  the  parishes  for  church  or  other  purposes.  Indeed  I  cannot 
but  here  trace  the  beginning  of  the  end,  through  the  throat  affection 
which  ended  fatally.  He  recreated  interest  in  the  admirable  work  of 
Dr.  Alexander,  perfect  as  a  mine  of  philological  accuracy,  moral  in- 
sight and  literary  skill.  Some  books  are  really  beyond  the  reach  of 
compliment,  and  "  Johnny  Gibb  "  is  one  of  them.  Mackie  was  able  to 
preserve  many  interesting  facts  about  the  history  of  its  composition 
and  how  Sir  George  Reid  in  his  illustrations  for  the  edition  de  luxe 
drew  from  actual  faces,  from  figures  taken  in  the  Green  on  a  Friday 
market  morning,  with  touches  from  photographs  from  rural  studios. 
All  readers  of  the  book  and  admirers  of  Mrs.  Birse — "  and  there  is  a 
Mrs.  Birse  in  every  faim'ly,"  said  the  doctor  significantly — have  each 
some  favourite  chapter,  incident,  or  figure.  Mackie  loved  Molie,  the 
gudge  ;  my  own  silent  homage  has  long  been  paid  to  Archie,  the  red- 
haired  orra  man,  tempered  by  what  Balkan  diplomatists  call  a  d-marche, 
verging  on  the  tendre,  to  Eliza  Birse. 

After  long  hesitation  Mackie  resolved  to  visit  Canada  as  a  lecturer 
in  the  winter  of  191 3-14.  He  sailed  from  Liverpool  on  20  November 
by  the  White  Star  "  Baltic,"  and  was  present  at  the  157th  anniversary 
dinner  of  the  St.  Andrew's  Society  in  New  York,  meeting  Mr.  Carnegie 
the  night  before.  At  the  fifty-three  tables  Turriff,  Aberdeen,  King 
Edward,  Aboyne,  Huntly,  seemed  all  represented.  He  saw  Niagara 
and  spent  Christmas  at  Winnipeg.  "Will  you  no'  come  back  again?" 
wrote  the  Commissioner  of  Immigration  to  him  in  a  hearty  letter  after 
he  reached  home. 

I  fear  the  result  was  physically  a  strain  from  which  he  never  re- 
covered.   Early  in  July,  1914,  he  went  to  the  Sanatorium  at  Nordrach- 


Alexander  Mackie  1 1 

on-Dee,  at  Banchory,  from  which  after  six  months  he  returned  and 
died  on  25  June  of  this  year.  He  had  acted  as  Convener  of  the 
Editorial  Sub-Committee  of  the  REVIEW  from  its  start,  and  to  the  end, 
within  a  few  days  of  his  death,  he  gave  to  it  an  endless  amount  of 
labour,  correspondence,  revision  of  proofs,  and  suggestions.  Indeed 
I  feel  it  a  very  painful  memory  to  remember  him,  with  his  larynx 
going  or  gone,  sitting  up  in  bed  and  struggling  with  the  Proto-Cunei- 
form  or  Early  Aztec  script  of  contributors  or  others  who  persist  in  re- 
garding illegibility  of  handwriting  as  the  one  inherent  and  incontestable 
proof  of  original  genius.  No  less  than  500  letters  were  received  by 
his  family  from  prominent  men  in  the  North,  Canada,  and  England, 
former  pupils  and  class-fellows,  within  a  few  days  after  his  death.  This 
forms  a  very  remarkable  tribute  to  his  character  and  work.  I  believe 
that  for  the  last  fifty  years  it  is  quite  unique  in  Aberdeen.  The  reason 
may  not  be  far  to  seek.  During  all  my  long  and  intimate  acquaintance 
I  never  heard  him  make  a  censorious  or  harsh  criticism  on  any  one. 
And  this  in  Aberdeen !  Was  it  original  nature  or  was  it  reinforced  by 
the  teaching  and  tone  of  Legge  in  the  Grammar  School  ?  Yet  both 
Mackie  and  Legge  knew  a  fool  when  they  saw  him.  Perhaps  nothing 
would  have  given  him  greater  satisfaction  than  the  wreath,  with  the 
words  from  the  junior  children  in  the  school,  placed  by  themselves  on 
the  grave  in  Springbank  Cemetery. 
Sir  Edward  Troup  wrote  : — 

It  has  been  good  to  read  many  admirable  appreciations  of  his  high 
qualities  and  useful  work.  I  grieve  most  I  shall  see  no  more  the  friend  of 
my  college  days,  one  who  has  been  my  firm  and  trusted  ftriend  for  forty  years 
without  a  break.     Aberdeen  is  not  the  same  place  to  me  without  him. 

Mr.  P.  J.  Anderson  said : — 

I  know  how  futile  it  seems  to  say  anything  at  such  a  time ;  but  it  is  some- 
thing to  look  back  on  his  life  and  see  what  a  full  and  happy  one  it  was  till 
this  last  year.  To  his  friends  Aberdeen  will  never  seem  quite  the  same  again 
without  his  vivid  personality  and  cheery  presence. 

Professor  W.  L.  Davidson  wrote : — 

He  will  be  greatly  missed,  not  only  by  his  immediate  friends  but  by  the 
community  in  general ;  and  it  will  be  next  to  impossible  to  find  a  worthy 
successor  to  him  in  the  splendid  educational  work  which  he  so  successfully 
carried  on.     His  name  will  continue  for  many  a  day  in  Aberdeen. 

Professor  Selbie  added  : — 

What  Mackie  was  to  myself  and  many  other  friends,  and  what  he  was  to 
members  of  our  families  who  enjoyed  the  great  privilege  of  his  instructions,  I 


12  Aberdeen  University  Review 

should  find  it  hard  to  describe  in  words.  I  cherish  the  happiest  recollections 
of  the  days  when  he  and  I  were  fellow-students,  and  rejoice  to  thinkgthat  for 
forty  years  our  friendship  was  unbroken. 

So  after  all  we  may  say 

Nothing  is  here  for  tears,  nothing  to  wail 

Or  knock  the  breast ;  nothing  but  well  and  fair, 

And  what  may  quiet  us  in  a  death  so  noble. 

Mrs.  McLehose  suggested  to  Burns  the  idea  of  expressing  the  feel- 
ing of  separation  or  loss  as  presented  by  the  progress  or  decay  of 
Nature  through  the  four  Seasons.  I  feel  the  idea  is  at  least  impossible 
with  me,  who  have  never  had  even  a  rudimentary  instinct  for  flowers, 
or  the  ability  to  distinguish  one  tree  from  another.  Indeed  I  once 
had  to  admit  to  Mackie  that  I  could  follow  only  with  difficulty  what 
Hogg  meant  by 

When  the  bluart  bears  a  pearl 
And  the  daisy  turns  a  pea. 

Let  me  at  least  be  safe,  and  express  myself  in  a  cento  of  linear 
quotations. 

Farewell  and  not  farewell  I      For  when  the  larch 

Is  early  tufted,  and  in  mantle  green 
Blithe  Nature  hears  the  mounting  thrush  in  March, 

Like  an  unbodied  joy,  pour  all  unseen 
His  carol  over  fell  and  fountain  sheen  ; 

Or  when  the  breeze  has  sunk  upon  the  sea, 
And  fades  the  glimmering  landscape  on  the  scene 

To  blend,  with  vespers  from  the  fold  and  lea. 
The  herd-boy's  evening  pipe  and  hum  of  housing  bee : 

Or  when  the  sallow  Autumn  fills  with  leaves 

Her  lap,  with  hoarser  wind  and  deeper  rill, 
And  quavering  fainter  round  the  hamlet  eaves 

The  deep-toned  cushat  and  the  redbreast  shrill 
Mark  the  last  red  leaf  shiver  on  the  hill. 

As  in  a  wailful  choir  the  small  gnats  mourn ; 
Then — not  in  watches  of  the  night,  but  still 

Waiting  to  catch  the  grue  upon  the  burn — 
I  shall  believe,  old  friend,  your  Spirit  will  return. 

WM.  KEITH  LEASK. 


Marischal's  most  Martial  Alumnus. 

F  war  allowed  any  time  for  literary  preoccupations, 
the  thoughts  of  the  University  under  arms  must 
turn  occasionally  to  that  doughty  warrior  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  who,  as  a  boy,  moved  his 
jaws  like  a  pair  of  castanets  at  the  Bursar's  table 
of  a  certain  College,  and  who  thereafter,  equipped 
with  a  mouthful  of  Latin  and  a  good  sword  arm, 

went  to  the  foreign  wars,  where  he  stood,  as  Whittier  says  of  Barclay 

of  Ury— 

Ankle-deep  in  Liitzen's  blood, 
With  the  great  Gustavus, 

and,  like  Barclay  also — 

Charged  on  Tilly's  line 
And  his  Walloon  lancers, 

returning  home  later  to  take  a  hand  in  the  wars  of  the  Covenant,  and 
to  regain  possession  of  his  ancestral,  if  barren,  acres  of  Drumthwacket, 
on  which,  like  Warren  Hastings  on  Daylesford,  he  had  always  kept 
a  careful  and  desirous  eye.  Needless  to  say,  the  foregoing  reference  is 
to  a  Marischal  College  man  who,  although  he  be  but  a  figment  of  our 
Great  Magician's  brain,  has  nevertheless  passed  almost  into  history, 
and  receives  from  all  men  the  homage  due  to  an  historical  character.^ 
It  is  probably  the  last  triumph  of  Walter  Scott's  genius  that  we 
never  question  the  reality  of  Rittmaster  Dugald  Dalgetty.  His  name 
occurs  in  no  album  of  matriculation,  but  he  holds  his  place  in  our 
Roll  of  Honour  as  securely  as  if  he  had  been  an  actual  person. 
Those  who  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  present  at  the  reception  of 
delegates    from   the  Universities   of  the   four   quarters,    during   our 

^  The  acknowledged  original  in  part,  Captain  Dalgetty  of  Prestonpans,  need  not  be 
discussed  again.  Scott  himself  and  Mr.  Crockett  (*'  The  Scott  Originals  ")  have  exhausted 
the  subject.  For  the  connexion  of  the  name  with  the  north  through  Hay  of  Delgaty,  see 
Mr.  A.  Mackie  in  "The  Scottish  Field"  for  August,  1912. 


14  Aberdeen  University  Review 

Quater-centenary  celebration,  recall,  as  the  most  intense  moment  of 
that  memorable  afternoon,  the  thrill  of  delighted  gratification  which 
ran  through  the  audience  when  Professor  Schiick  of  Upsala  linked  the 
great  traditions  of  Sweden  with  those  of  Aberdeen  University,  in  the 
person  of  our  imaginary  alumnus.  "  In  this  connexion,"  he  said,  "  I 
may  perhaps  be  allowed  to  refer  to  the  name  of  a  Scotsman  who  has 
no  place  in  real  history,  but  only  in  a  work  of  fiction — in  Sir  Walter 
Scott's  '  Legend  of  Montrose '.  You  will  all  remember  the  hero  of  that 
novel,  the  valiant  Captain  Dalgetty,  and  you  will  remember  he  had 
two  loves  of  his  life — Gustavus  Adolphus,  King  of  Sweden,  from 
whom  he  learnt  the  art  of  war ;  and  Marischal  College,  where  he 
learnt  his  Latin  (laughter  and  cheers)."  ^  Nor  is  this  the  only 
testimony  to  Dalgetty  s  actuality.  Four  times  in  the  Index  to  Mr. 
Anderson's  great  record  of  our  celebrations  does  the  name  of  Scott's 
creation  occur,  and  there  Dugald  Dalgetty  receives  no  equivocal 
honour  of  inverted  commas,  but  is  treated  exactly  as  if  he  had  worn 
flesh  and  blood.  King's  College,  London,  in  its  Latin  address  of 
greeting,  could  not  forbear  to  mention  our  great  man.  Mr.  Alexander 
Mackie,  in  his  sketch  of  the  ceremony,  gave  expression  to  the  pleasure 
which  all  men  felt  at  Professor  SchUck's  reference ;  and  in  yet  another 
commemorative  sketch  in  that  volume,  Mr.  Neil  Munro  once  more 
invests  Dalgetty  with  all  the  attributes  of  a  real  son  of  Alma  Mater. 
Surely  never  before  was  fictitious  character  so  amply  recognized  as  a 
living  personality.  There  is  simply  no  doubt  about  Dalgetty.  We 
know  him,  we  have  him,  and  we  shall  keep  him  as  long  as  one  stone 
of  Marischal  College  remains  upon  another,  and  those  of  us  who  are 
more  intimately  attached  to  King's  College  than  to  the  newer  founda- 
tion take  equal  pride  in  the  old  soldado,  who  with  all  his  faults  and 
failings  never  missed  a  chance  to  uphold  the  name  and  fame  of  his 
Alma  Mater,  and  who  was  in  a  double  sense  written  to  our  soil.  We 
ought  to  have  his  portrait  in  the  Gallery  of  Marischal  College.  The 
thing  could  easily  be  done,  for  Sir  Walter  has  left  us  abundant 
material  in  that  minute  description  with  which  he  first  introduced  the 
hero. 

Our  affection  for  Dugald  Dalgetty  cannot  blind  us  to  the  fact  that 
his  character  was  not  altogether  estimable,  but  his  very  rascalities  and 
insolences  only  heighten  his  attraction,  and  although,  like  the  typical 

^  *♦  Record  of  the  Quater-centenary,"  p,  n6. 


Marischal's  most  Martial  Alumnus        15 

soldier  of  fortune  he  was,  he  held  his  sword  at  any  master  s  disposal, 
he  had  at  least  the  merit  of  being  punctiliously  faithful  to  that  master 
for  the  precise  term  of  his  engagement.  He  was  greedy,  cunning,  and 
bibulous,  offensively  aggressive  at  times,  and  most  lamentably  boring 
with  his  perpetual  instances  of  pedantry,  but  always  brave,  and  when 
all  is  said  and  done,  we  are  of  Jeffrey's  opinion,^  that  in  himself 
Dugald  is  "uniformly  entertaining".  We  may  agree  with  Jeffrey 
also,  on  purely  artistic  grounds,  that  the  old  soldado  engrosses  too 
great  a  proportion  of  the  work,  but  had  there  been  less  Dalgetty, 
there  would  have  been  no  "Legend  of  Montrose".  Whatever  story 
Sir  Walter  may  have  intended  to  write  was  commandeered  and  hustled 
into  the  background  by  the  imperious  Rittmaster,  who  stands  before 
us,  a  portrait  of  Shakespearian  roundness  and  finish.  We  take  him 
for  what  he  is,  and  we  do  not  even  resent  those  traits  which  Sir 
Walter  must  certainly  have  intended,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  as 
the  Edinburgh  man's  sly  hits  at  the  proverbial  idiosyncrasies  of  the 
northern  character.  It  is,  by  the  way,  rather  curious  that  Sir  Walter 
never  gave  us  an  Aberdeen  advocate,  wherein  perhaps  he  resisted 
temptation,  for  he  must  have  known  many  of  that  privileged  class ; 
and  his  Aberdeen  student,  it  must  be  remembered,  was  not  strictly  an 
Aberdonian,  but  a  Kincardineshire  man,  for  the  lands  of  Drumthwacket 
lay  just  south  of  the  Bridge  of  Dee. 

Their  precise  position  has  indeed  been  the  subject  of  some  learned 
antiquarian  inquiry,  which  seemed  likely  at  one  time  to  lead  to  con- 
troversy ;  but  a  correct  and  intelligent  reading  of  Scott's  description 
of  Dugald's  bare  acres  settled  the  question,  it  would  seem  finally, 
almost  as  soon  as  it  was  raised. ^  The  estate  of  the  Dalgetty s  was 
identified  by  the  late  Dr.  Paul  of  Banchory-Devenick  with  the  lands 
of  Drumforskie  which  lay  in  his  own  parish.  Sir  Walter  places  Drum- 
thwacket at  a  distance  of  five  miles  south  of  Aberdeen,  and  this  led 
Mr.  Sydney  Couper,  Craigiebuckler,  to  ask  in  "  Scottish  Notes  and 
Queries  "  whether  Dr.  Paul  could  be  correct,  as  he  locates  Drumforskie 
at  two  miles  and  a  half  from  the  Bridge  of  Dee.  A  later  correspon- 
dent reconciled  Sir  Walter's  and  Dr.  Paul's  distances  by  the  very  simple 
expedient  of  showing  that  each  authority  was  referring  to  a  different 
end  of  the  estate.  Sir  Walter  took  his  five  miles  from  the  southern- 
most extremity  of  the  lands  of  Drumforskie.     Here,  I  think,  we  have 

^ "  Edinburgh  Review,"  No.  65. 

a  ♦♦  Scottish  Notes  and  Queries,"  1892,  vi.  46,  64. 


1 6  Aberdeen  University  Review 

a  point  of  considerable  interest,  which  has  not  hitherto  been  brought 
out.  It  must  be  remembered  that  Sir  Walter  Scott  never  visited 
Aberdeen,  although  he  may  have  had  a  glimpse  of  it  from  the  sea 
during  his  voyage  with  the  Lighthouse  Commissioners — that  cruise 
which  in  so  brief  a  time  gave  him  the  material  for  "The  Pirate". 
His  nearest  approach  to  the  city  by  land  was  Dunnottar,  to  which  he 
made  an  excursion  from  Meigle,  during  the  autumn  of  1793,  when  as 
a  young  man  of  twenty-two  he  was  a  member  of  that  merry  house- 
party  at  James  Murray's  of  Simprin.^  It  was  during  that  fleeting 
visit  to  Dunnottar  and  its  churchyard  that  Sir  Walter  met  Old 
Mortality  in  the  flesh,  and  received  the  inspiration  for  another  master- 
piece. The  novels  were  still  a  long  way  ahead,  but  they  were  certainly 
in  the  crucible  of  the  author's  brain,  and  if  during  that  visit  to  Dun- 
nottar young  Scott  was  already  founding  future  work  and  incubating 
the  idea  of  Dalgetty  from  "  Sir  James  Turner's  Memoirs  "  and  Monro's 
**  Expedition,"  there  is  a  special  reason  why  he  should  have  been  inter- 
ested in  the  barren  and  forbidding  lands  lying  just  to  the  south  of 
Aberdeen.  Sir  James  Turner,  one  of  the  acknowledged  prototypes  of 
Dalgetty,  on  returning  from  foreign  wars,  exactly  as  Dalgetty  did,  be- 
cause he  had  heard  that  there  "was  something  to  be  doing  in  his  way 
this  summer  in  1  his  dear  native  country,"  met  with  some  reverses  of 
wind  and  weather,  and  finally  put  ashore  at  Cove.  Now,  Cove 
practically  adjoins  the  southern  extremity  of  the  Moor  ofDrumforskie, 
and,  although  proof  is  impossible,  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  suppose 
that  during  that  evening  which  Scott  spent  with  the  minister  of  Dun- 
nottar, he  may  have  made  some  enquiry  as  to  the  scene  of  Turner's 
landing.  This  the  minister  of  Dunnottar  would  have  been  well  able 
to  supply,  and  hence  we  have  the  accurate  picture  of  Drumforskie  or 
Drumthwacket  which  is  put  into  the  mouth  of  Sibbald,  Lord  Menteith's 
second  attendant  *'  If  his  estate  of  Drumthwacket  be,  as  I  conceive, 
the  long  waste  moor  so  called,  that  lies  five  miles  south  of  Aberdeen, 
I  can  tell  him  it  was  lately  purchased  by  Elias  Strachan,  as  rank  a 
rebel  as  ever  swore  the  Covenant."  ^  Scott's  point  of  view  was  plainly 
from  the  south.^ 

^  Lockhart,  chap.  vii. 

"For  the  lightness  of  the  name  Strachan  see  W.  Keith  Leask  in  "Musa  Latina 
Aberdonensis,"  iii.  338.  The  name  endured  well  into  the  nineteenth  century  at  Charles- 
ton of  Nigg,  which  is  Drumforskie. 

'  The  proprietor  of  what  was  formerly  Drumforskie,  Sir  David  Stewart  of  Banchory, 
has  recently  changed  the  name  of  a  farm  in  the  district  from  Banchory-Hillock  to  Drum- 


Marischal's  most  Martial  Alumnus        17 

There  is  another  reason,  however,  why  Scott's  interest  might  have 
been  turned  towards  this  somewhat  unlikely  spot.  Although  he  never 
set  foot  in  the  city  of  Aberdeen,  or  approached  it  nearer  than  one- 
and-twenty  miles  or  so,  he  knew  a  great  deal  about  the  town  and 
district,  and  his  knowledge  had  all  the  intimacies  of  a  legal  information, 
for,  during  the  time  that  he  was  apprenticed  to  his  father,  all  the  Town 
Council  business  of  Aberdeen  that  required  an  Edinburgh  agent 
passed  through  the  hands  of  Walter  Scott  the  elder,  and  therefore  was 
open  to  the  eye  of  Walter  Scott  the  younger.  Were  it  possible  to 
examine  Mr.  Walter  Scott's  correspondence  with  the  Council,  many 
clues  to  Scott's  marvellous  information  would  doubtless  appear.^  The 
character  of  Dalgetty  abounds  in  touches  of  this  sort.  Sir  Walter 
Scott  knew  the  original  foundation  Charter  of  Marischal  College. 
He  is  correct  about  the  existence  of  a  Bursar's  table,  whereat  poor 
Dugald  was  forced  to  eat  so  hastily  lest  he  should  receive  nothing  of 
the  provant  and  vivers  wherein  his  soul  so  hugely  delighted,  and  there 
are  echoes  of  the  strict  discipline  of  the  College,  which  Scott  could  only 
have  learned  from  the  Earl  Marischal's  deed.^  Equally  interesting  is 
the  absolute  rightness  of  Dalgetty's  position,  as  a  loyal  son  of  Marischal 
College,  towards  both  the  old  and  the  reformed  religion.  Jeffrey 
imagines  that  he  was  a  divinity  student,  but  this  is  not  so.  He  was 
an  Arts  student,  pure  and  simple.  We  do  not  hear  that  he  graduated, 
but  he  knew  the  Graduation  Oath,  in  the  spirit  of  which  he  speaks 
when  he  tells  Menteith  how,  after  he  had  joined  the  Spanish  service, 
he  was  expected  to  go  to  mass  with  the  regiment.  **Now,  my  lord," 
he  continues,  "  as  a  true  Scottish  man,  and  educated  at  the  Mareschal 
College  of  Aberdeen,  I  was  bound  to  uphold  the  mass  to  be  an  act  of 
blinded  papistry  and  utter  idolatry,  whilk  I  was  altogether  unwilling  to 
homologate  by  my  presence." 

thwacket,  to  preserve  the  interesting  association  with  Sir  Walter  Scott. — G.   M.  Fraser's 
*«The  Bridge  of  Dee"  (Abd.,  1913). 

1  Mr.  J.  W.  Davidson,  Town  Clerk  Depute,  tells  me  that  the  correspondence  exists, 
and  was  looked  out  not  long  ago,  but  is  at  present  not  easily  accessible.  The  papers  proved 
that  Sir  Walter  was  instructed  for  the  Town  in  1797,  when  he  was  of  five  years'  standing 
at  the  Bar.     His  father  was  the  Town's  agent  from  1755  to  1799. 

*0r  Mr.  James  Skene  of  Rubislaw,  Scott's  friend,  may  have  supplied  particulars.  Mr. 
W.  Keith  Leask  (whose  name,  and  not  mine,  ought  to  appear  at  the  end  of  this  paper,  so  many 
and  so  valuable  have  been  his  suggestions)  reminds  me  that  it  was  out  of  compliment  to 
Skene's  friendship  with  Scott  that  Waverley  Place  in  Aberdeen  was  so  named,  being  con- 
tiguous to  Rubislaw  Terrace  and  Rubislaw  Place,  named  because  on  the  estate  of  Rubislaw. 
They  were  laid  out  by  Skene. 

2 


1 8  Abercfeen   University  Review 

This  declaration  of  Dalgetty's  is  strikingly  illuminated  not  only  by 
the  text  of  the  graduation  oath  itself  but  by  its  foreshadowing  in  the 
Earl  Marischal's  Charter  of  Foundation,  where  the  pious  founder  laid 
down  regulations  for  a  periodical  visitation  to  be  made  at  least  once 
every  year  to  the  College.  In  the  course  of  this  visitation,  inquiry  was 
to  be  made  concerning  the  soundness  of  the  faith  of  officials  and 
students  alike.     The  passage  in  question  runs  : — 

Imprimis  vero  de  Religione  at  fidei  professione  diligenter  inquiratur,  et 
cum  hie  sit  Satanae  astus,  omni  mode  conetur  Juventutem  ab  Evangelii  pro- 
fessione denuo  ad  Papismi  tenebras,  a  quibus  per  Dei  gratiam  Regnum  hoc 
semel  liberatum  est,  abducere,  stricte  mandamus  ut  singuli  qui  in  hanc  Acade- 
miam  fuerint  coaptati  (sic),  fidei  professionem  edant,  eam  nimirum,  quae  a 
Verbo  Dei  petita  et  transcripta  in  Regni  Comitiis  edita  atque  publicata  est, 
idque  semel  et  minimum  quotannis.  Imprimis  vero  cum  admittuntur  in 
Academiam  singuli  ad  Gymnasiarcham,  dum  albo  Universitatis  inscribuntur 
Rectori,  et  dum  ad  gradum  aliquem  promoveantur  Decano  Facultatis,  fidem 
et  Religionem  puram  palam  profiteantur,  in  eaque  professione  se  mansuros 
sancte  poUiceantur. 

But  above  all  things  let  diligent  inquisition  be  made  concerning  religion 
and  the  profession  of  faith ;  and  since  such  is  the  cunning  of  Satan  that  in 
every  way  he  endeavours  to  lead  away  youth  from  the  profession  of  the  Gospel 
back  to  the  darkness  of  Popery,  from  which  by  the  grace  of  God  this  kingdom 
has  been  once  freed,  we  strictly  command  that  all  who  shall  be  elected  into 
this  Academia  shall  make  a  profession  of  faith,  that  Confession,  namely,  which, 
taken  and  transcribed  from  the  Word  of  God,  has  been  put  forth  and  published 
in  the  Parliament  of  the  realm ;  and  this  shall  be  done  once  at  least  every 
year.  But  especially  before  the  Principal  at  their  admission  into  the  Academia, 
before  the  Rector  at  their  matriculation  in  the  Album  of  the  "  Universitas,"  and 
before  the  Dean  of  Faculty  at  every  step  of  advancement,  each  shall  make  a 
public  profession  of  faith  and  true  religion,  and  shall  promise  faithfully  to 
abide  in  that  profession.^ 

The  oath  itself,  which  was  in  use  until  about  1837,  follows 
naturally  from  the  prescription  of  the  Charter,  but  is,  if  anything,  a 
little  more  vehement  and  denunciatory  in  its  anti-Popery  : — 

Ego  tester  Deum  omnipotentem,  me  puram  religionem  Christianam  pro- 
fiteri ;  Papae  Romani  tyrannidem  abhorrere,  omnesque  Romanas  haereses  odio 
habere.  Deinde  huic  Academiae,  cui  ingenii  culturam  debeo,  benevolentiam, 
quam  potero,  me  relaturum,  sancte  promitto.^ 

At  King's  College  the  reference  to  the  Vera  et  Orthodoxa  Religio 

^  P.  J.  Anderson,  '*  Fasti  Academiae  Mariscallanae,"  Vol.  I.  Words  almost  similar 
occur  in  the  Nova  Fundatio  of  King's  College,  which  reads  cooptati  for  coaptati  above ;  the 
latter  possibly  a  misprint. 

'  Abolished  by  the  Court,  on  Dr.  Bain's  motion,  7th  October,  1887. 


Marischal's  most  Martial  Alumnus         19 

which  occurs  in  Dunbar's  foundation  of  1531  was  removed  in  1641.^ 
In  the  oldest  extant  Album  of  Graduates  of  King's  College,  that  of 
1600,  the  anti-Roman  test  is  found  in  full  operation  in  a  Graduation 
Oath  therein  transcribed,  and  there  the  true  religion  is  explicitly  de- 
fined as  that  which  has  been  accepted  by  the  three  Kingdoms,  and  is 
contained  not  only  in  the  pure  Word  of  God,  but  in  the  Shorter  and 
the  Larger  Catechisms.  The  phrase  for  the  latter  volumes  (of  bitter- 
sweet memory  to  suffering  youth  !)  is  singularly  apt : — "  Catechismo 
breviori  et  prolixiori ". 

But  to  return  to  Marischal  College.  It  is  thus  abundantly  clear 
on  what  Dalgetty  was  founding  himself  when  he  declared  that,  as  a 
good  Marischal  man,  he  must  have  no  commerce  with  Rome ;  and 
when  we  say  Dalgetty,  we  mean  of  course  his  creator,  who  seems  to 
have  touched  at  all  points  upon  the  elements  necessary  for  the  right 
construction  of  the  character.  I  had  intended  to  go  rather  elaborately 
into  the  question  of  the  origins  of  Dalgetty  the  Soldier,  as  well  as  of 
Dalgetty  the  Pedant,  but  while  this  paper  was  already  in  progress 
Mr.  J.  D.  Mackie,  Lecturer  in  Modern  History  at  St.  Andrews, 
published  in  the  "  Scottish  Historical  Review "  a  most  able  study  of 
these  military  points.^  Little  remains  to  be  said  that  would  serve 
any  useful  end  about  the  sources  of  Dalgetty's  soldierly  equipment,  as 
contained  in  the  two  principal  works  consulted  by  Sir  Walter  Scott. 
These  were  the, memoirs  of  Sir  James  Turner,  already  mentioned,  and 
"  Monro,  His  Expedition,"  whereof  the  reader  must  be  spared  the  in- 
terminable title-page.  But  there  are  still  one  or  two  gleanings  to 
be  made  that  have  a  small  interest  of  their  own. 

A  novelist,  when  he  is  founding  himself  on  an  authentic  document, 
lays  it  under  contribution  in  many  ways,  not  always  perhaps  con- 
sciously. To  this  subsidiary  action  of  the  brain  may  be  due  the 
naming  of  Sibbald,  Lord  Menteith's  second  servant  in  the  novel.  In 
the  second  portion  of  Turner's  narrative,  he  says  : — **  I  went  by  land 
to  Holland,  accompanied  with  Colonell  Sibbald,  who  carried  letters 
from  Montrose,  both  to  Scotland  and  Ireland  ".^  Scott,  however, 
must   have   known  otherwise   of  Sibbald,  who,   with   Rollo,   is   in- 

^  P.  J.  Anderson,  "  Officers  and  Graduates  of  the  University  and  King's  College  "• 
Appendix  111.,  •*  Academic  Oaths". 

^  '*  Scottish  Historical  Review,"  April,  1915  :  "  Dugald  Dalgetty  and  Scottish  Soldiers 
of  Fortune,"  by  J.  D.  Mackie. 

'  "  Sir  James  Turner'si Memoirs,"  p.  92,'Bannatyne  Society,  1829. 


20  Aberdeen  University  Review 

separable  from  any  account  of  the  adventures  of  Montrose.  It  is 
noteworthy  also  that  Turner  landed  twice  at  Aberdeen  or  its  vicinity 
—once,  as  we  have  said,  in  1640,  and  again  in  165 1.  In  the  first 
instance.  Turner  had  some  difficulty  in  leaving  Sweden,  when  he  de- 
sired to  return  to  serve  the  King  against  the  Covenanters,  and  it  was 
only  by  hard  rowing  and  a  lucky  chance  that  he  got  out  to  a  ship 
bound  for  Scotland,  and  was  taken  on  board.  He  had  been  refused 
a  passage  by  a  vessel  bound  for  Hull,  but  he  pursued  a  Dane  bound 
for  Leith,  who  had  got  a  great  way  out  from  the  shore,  and  was 
staying  there  to  pick  up  a  passenger  whom  the  skipper  had  promised 
to  carry  to  Edinburgh. 

He  was  ane  old  man,  who  at  taking  his  farewell  of  his  friends  the  night 
before  had  drunk  so  much  ithat  he  had  sleepd  his  time.  Immediatlie  I 
clapd  in  fresh  men  in  my  boate,  the  others  being  overwearied  with  rowing,  and 
so  came  to  the  ship ;  neither  did  the  skipper  make  any  scruple  to  ressave  me, 
thogh  at  first  he  conceaved  his  old  man  was  in  my  companie.  To  the  neglect 
of  this  old  man,  nixt  to  all  ruleing  providence,  may  I  attribute  my  goeing  at  that 
time  to  Scotland.  On  the  sixth  day  after  my  embarkeing,  we  saw  ourselvs 
not  farre  from  Aberdeene.  I  was  glad  we  were  so  farre  north,  because  I  had 
heard  the  kings  ships  were  in  the  firth ;  hot  I  was  mistaken,  for  they  were 
gone ;  and  no  matter  they  had  been  gone  sooner,  for  any  good  service  they 
did  the  king  there.  The  skipper  set  me  ashore  at  a  place  called  the  Cove, 
from  thence  I  hired  horses  to  Edinburgh.^ 

It  may,  of  course,  be  objected  that  Scott  might  not,  during  his 
visit  to  Meigle,  have  been  acquainted  with  Turner's  Memoirs,  which 
only  came  into  real  notice  with  the  publication  of  the  extracts  by  the 
Bannatyne  Club  in  1829,  nearly  thirty  years  after  Scott  was  in  the 
north ;  but  we  know  how  voracious  he  was  from  earliest  childhood  of 
every  sort  of  military  record.^  And  as  Mr.  Shortreed  remarked,  *'  he 
was  makin'  himsell'  a'  the  time,  but  he  didna  ken  maybe  what  he  was 
about  till  years  had  passed  ".  His  memory,  though  not  good  verbally, 
was  very  tenacious  of  incidents  and  points  of  locality,  and  to  find  him- 
self on  the  iron  coast  of  Kincardineshire  may  have  meant  for  him  an 
awakening  of  literary  associations  and  a  quickening  of  interest  in  the 
locale  of  Turner's  landing.  Here,  I  am  inclined  to  believe,  is  an  ex- 
planation of  a  thing  in  itself  rather  difficult— -Sir  Walter's  placing  of 
the  property  of  his  swashbuckler  hero  in  so  unlikely  a  spot  as  the 
moor  of  Drumforskie. 

^  Turner,  op.  cit.,  p.  15.    Note  the  still  surviving  local  usage,  "  the  Cove  ". 
'  Lockhart :  Scott's  "  Autobiographical  Fragment,"  chap.  i. 


Marischal's  most  Martial  Alumnus        21 

As  to  th«  elements  contributory  to  the  actual  character  of  Dugald 
Dalgetty,  they  are  to  be  found  rather  in  Monro  than  in  Turner.  There 
is  a  richness  and  pithiness  in  Monro's  observations  which  we  do  not 
find  in  the  smoother  passages  of  the  other  soldier  of  fortune.  To  open 
a  page  of  Monro  at  random  is  to  feel  oneself  in  touch  with  the  Laird 
of  Drumthwacket.  There  is  the  same  sententiousness,  the  same  pro- 
lixity of  phrase,  an  overwhelming  copiousness  of  illustration,  the  same 
pedantry,  amounting  in  fact  to  the  vice  of  over-much  classical  quo- 
tation. Monro  and  Turner  were  both  University  men,  and  they  had 
acquired  to  the  full  'that  habit — pleasing  to  the  learned,' but  most 
utterly  detestable  to  the  unlearned — of  dragging  in  bookish  allusions. 
The  practice  has  its  uses — it  may  even,  in  skilful  hands,  have  its 
graces ;  but  it  is  an  insidious  temptation  and  one  to  be  guarded 
against  in  everyday  intercourse  with  the  world,  more  especially  in 
these  days  when  a  man  thinks  once  before  he  uses  Latin  and  twice 
before  he  quotes  Greek,  for  in  the  latter  case  verily  he  is  in  the  way 
to  incur  not  displeasure  but  downright  enmity.  I  speak  as  one  that 
has  been  himself  a  great  sinner  in  these  respects  in  former  times,  but 
I  have  learned  with  sorrow,  and  late  in  the  day,  that  illustration  from 
the  classics  is  now  an  utter  dead  letter  to  the  majority  of  mankind. 
Only  when  pedant  meets  pedant,  may  he  slap  his  thigh,  and  roll  out 
his  apposite  quotation  as  heartily  as,  Allan  Cunningham  tells  us  d 
propos  of  a  famous  lyric,  ploughman  meeting  ploughman  would  slap 
his  thigh  and  exclaim  "  The  verra  grey  breeks  o'  Tam  Glen  ". 

It  is  to  Monro  that  we  owe  those  choicely  characteristic  phrases 
which  remain  long  in  the  memory,  and  give  us  such  a  flavour  of  the 
campaigns  of  Gustavus — such  phrases  as  ''the  intaking  of  Spandau 
and  Frankfort  on  the  Oder  "  ;  and  the  wise  saws  and  modern  instances 
relative  to  strategy  are  to  be  traced  in  the  "  Observations  "  of  Monro. 
Here  it  is  that  we  get  Lumsdell,  and  Butler  with  his  wild  Irish,  and 
Monro  affords  not  only  the  germ  of  those  notes  upon  the  Dutch 
punctiliousness  in  pay  and  provant,  but  also — a  point  which  Dalgetty 
mentions  with  less  enthusiasm — that  other  side  of  the  stipendiary 
question,  the  Dutchman's  disinclination  to  fight  if  his  salary  were 
behindhand.  With  such  trade  strikes  worthy  Captain  Dalgetty  had 
no  sympathy.  He  would  bargain  hardly  for  his  pay,  but  once  he  had 
clinched  an  agreement,  he  would  not  let  any  question  of  arrears  stand 
between  him  and  the  tough  encounter.  He  contrasts  proudly  the 
practice  of  the  Scots.     Mercenary  though  he  was,  he  loved  fighting 


2  2  Aberdeen  University  Review 

for  its  own  sake,  and  fought  with  scientific  valour.  Discipline  is  in 
fact  the  ruling  passion  of  his  life.  He  was  a  seventeenth  century  walk- 
ing drill-book.  Neither  sleep  nor  good  liquor  could  entirely  over- 
come that  drill-sergeant  tongue  of  his.  During  the  telling  of  Lord 
Menteith's  story  of  the  Children  of  the  Mist,  Dugald,  half-seas  over 
and  already  half-asleep  and  in  bed,  hearing  through  his  drowsiness 
the  word  "retreated"  immediately  exclaimed— "To  your  right  hand, 
counter-march,  and  retreat  to  your  former  ground,"  which  in  the 
"Infantry  Training,"  1 91 4,  would  run — "Platoon  will  retire — about 
turn ".  It  is  from  another  work  of  Monro's,  his  "  Abridgement  of 
Exercise  for  the  Young  Souldier,  his  better  Instruction,"  that  Sir 
Walter  obtained  his  hint  for  the  half-somnolent  command  already 
quoted.     It  is  the  ordering  for 

That   evolution   called   the    Slavonian   counter- march,    where   you  lose 
ground,  the  front  being  changed  also  ;  then  you  command  the  first  rank  to 
turn  about  to  the,  right  hand,  then  you  say  to  the  rest,  Countermarch,  and 
through  to  your  former  distance  after  your  Leaders. 
Then  say,  Leaders  as  you  were ;  and  to  the  rest 
To  the  left  hand  countermarch  as  you  were  to  your  first  ground. 

What  follows,  being  most  entirely  in  the  Dalgetty  manner,  tempts 
me,  with  the  reader's  indulgence,  to  continue  the  quotation  for  a  line 
or  two : — 

The  third  sort  of  counter-march  I  esteem  most  of  to  be  practised,  being 
rather  a  conversion  very  requisite  to  be  well  known  to  all  soldiers  in  all 
armies,  chiefly  to  be  used  before  an  enemy ;  for  as  it  is  most  sudden,  so  in 
my  opinion  it  breeds  least  disorder  and  disturbance,  the  soldiers  once  used  to 
it  of  themselves  they  will  willingly  do  it  on  any  occasion.^ 

These  and  similar  passages  will  recall  Dalgetty's  disquisition  on 
the  Swedish  feathers — that  is,  the  usage  of  the  pike;  all  which 
points  Mr.  Mackie  has  referred  to  their  originals.  Further  references 
to  the  same  theme  by  one  who  is  no  academic  hoplites  but  a  mere 
literary  skirmisher  would  be  impertinence. 

In  one  respect  Captain  Dalgetty  differed  greatly  from  Monro,  who 
was  a  man  of  real  but  somewhat  too  ostentatious  piety.  Dugald,  it  is 
true,  never  failed  to  improve  the  occasion,  but  his  edification  was  not 
exactly  spiritual ;  nay,  he  was  in  very  truth  a  materialist,  gainful  of 
mind,  a  type  actual  enough,  but  perhaps  slightly  caricatured  of  set 
purpose  by   Scott,  for  southern    Scotland  is  deeply  attached  to  the 

* "  Monro,  His  Expedition,  etc.,"  1637,  p.  189;  «•  An  Abridgement  of  Exercise  ". 


Marischal's  most  Martial  Alumnus        23 

legend  of  northern  "  nearness,"  although,  if  the  truth  were  told,  it  is 
a  case  where  Pot  need  not  refer  to  the  precise  hue  of  Neighbour 
Kettle.  This  is  set  down  without  malice.  Such  things  must  be. 
There  are  certain  racial  differences  betwixt  the  men  of  Forth  and 
those  of  Don  and  Dee  that  will  never  wholly  reconcile  them,  or  bring 
them  to  complete  understanding.  It  is  mentioned  here  merely  as 
giving  a  clue  to  the  psychological  basis  of  Scott's  slight  contempt  for 
Dalgetty  the  man,  amid  all  his  real  admiration  of  Dalgetty  the  soldier, 
and  it  is  the  admiration  for  the  soldier  that  carries  the  character  to 
success,  and  has  made  it  acceptable,  even  endeared,  to  those  northern 
bodies  at  whom  Scott  was  enjoying  a  sly  fling.  The  things  of  this 
world  are  ever  first  and  foremost  with  Dugald  Dalgetty,  although,  on 
retiring  to  rest  and  at  critical  moments,  he  would,  in  the  Shakes- 
pearian manner,  "  swear  a  prayer  or  two " — that  is  to  say,  he 
mumbled,  by  way  of  incantation,  the  opening  of  the  Lutheran  Psalm, 
**Alle  guten  geister  loben  den  Herrn".  This  is  about  as  far  as  he 
goes  in  religious  matters  ;  and  that  his  spiritual  armoury  was  scanty  is 
proved  by  the  fact  that,  on  a  later  occasion  of  stress,  he  returns  to  the 
same  verse  of  the  same  Psalm.  In  theological  argument,  Marischal 
College  did  not  seem  to  have  furnished  him  forth  very  amply,  for  his 
great  disputation  with  Father  Fatsides  of  the  Scottish  Convent  in 
Wurtzburg  tended,  on  Dugald's  own  confession,  only  to  a  moderately 
clear  opinion  :  which  is  not  surprising  '*  Considering  we  had  drunk  six 
flasks  of  Rhenish,  and  about  two  mutchkins  of  Kirschenwasser ". 
With  the  Dutch  pastor  of  the  Reformed  Church,  who  quoted 
Naaman's  entry  into  the  house  of  Rimmon  as  a  precedent  for  Dugald's 
attending  mass  with  the  Spanish  troops,  the  Rittmaster  was  readier 
in  argument,  pointing  out  that  there  was  "  an  unco  difference  between 
an  anointed  king  of  Syria  and  our  Spanish  Colonel,  whom  I  could 
have  blown  away  like  the  peeling  of  an  ingan".  But  Dugald  gets 
away  from  divinity  quickly  to  the  reassertion  of  his  martial  self,  when 
he  adds  that  he  objected  to  the  casuistry,  chiefly  "  Because  I  could 
not  find  that  the  thing  was  required  of  me  by  any  of  the  articles  of 
war".  And  the  thrifty  side  of  his  nature  moves  him  to  add  hastily 
—"Neither  was  I  offered  any  consideration  either  in  perquisite  or 
pay  for  the  wrong  I  might  thereby  do  to  my  conscience  ". 

It  is  a  little  difficult  altogether  to  understand  why  Dalgetty  remains, 
when  all  is  said  and  done,  so  attractive.  The  secret  possibly  lies  in 
the  courage  with  which  the  author  has  refused  to  idealize  what  must 


24  Aberdeen  University   Review 

have  been  a  very  usual  type  of  the  soldier  of  fortune  of  that  day — a  man 
hardened  and  coarsened  by  a  life  that,  for  all  its  technical  discipline , 
was  really  little  better  than  that  of  the  freebooter.  Yet  Dugald's 
own  courage,  his  readiness  and  resource  in  action,  have  a  great  deal  to 
do  with  his  final  attraction  for  the  reader.  Of  the  finer  feelings,  so- 
called,  which  later  romancers  of  cape  and  sword,  such  as  Mr.  Stanley 
Weyman,  make  it  a  point  of  honour  to  attribute  to  their  heroes,  Dugald 
is  entirely  wanting,  except  perhaps  in  his  tenderness  for  his  horse 
Gustavus,  wherein  he  sets  a  shining  example.  But  he  is  less  of  a 
gentleman,  even  in  the  conventional  sense,  than  one  might  have 
reasonably  supposed  in  a  person  who  had  seen  some  rather  exalted 
society,  and  had  been  near  the  person  of  Gustavus,  Whether  it  was 
drink  or  sheer  crassness  we  cannot  say,  but  his  blundering  exposition 
to  Lady  Campbell  on  the  subject  of  Jean  Drochiels  is  a  glaring 
but  perhaps  quite  characteristic  solecism,  and  it  was  not  Dugald's 
fault  that  her  ladyship  did  not  understand  his  Latin  quotation,  which 
Sir  Duncan  made  haste  to  cover  over.  "  Vengeance  of  Jenny's  case  ! 
fie  on  her !  never  name  her,  child,"  as  Dame  Quickly  says  in  "  The 
Merry  Wives  "}  Both  instances  are  to  be  passed  over  lightly,  and 
both  Lady  Campbell  and  Mrs.  Quickly  were  of  a  similar  opinion 
touching  these  delicate  matters.  Scott  conceived  his  Dalgetty  roundly, 
and  set  him  roundly  on  the  page,  a  type  complete  of  the  man  he 
sought  to  draw,  and  save  perhaps  in  one  single  particular,  now  to  be 
mentioned,  entirely  accurate. 

Dalgetty,  being  drawn  from  two  originals  who  were  both  Univer- 
sity men  fond  of  pedantic  allusions,  and  both  cadets  of  good  families, 
has  given  rise  to  an  impression  that  the  majority  of  Scottish  soldiers 
of  fortune  of  that  period  were  men  well  versed  in  polite  letters,  who 
carried  with  them  through  the  adventures  of  field  and  leaguer  a  curious 
affection  for  their  Alma  Mater.  I  am  assured  by  Mr.  J.  M.  Bulloch, 
who  speaks  with  authority  on  this  point,  that  the  type  of  the  student- 
soldier  was  not  nearly  so  general  as  many  believe.  In  his  researches 
into  the  life  history  of  the  cadets  of  the  house  of  Gordon,  and  inciden- 
tally of  many  other  Scottish  families,  Mr.  Bulloch  has  found  that  only 
a  very  small  minority  were  University  men.  They  seem  to  have  cared 
little  for  schools  or  colleges.  It  is  true  that  Marshal  Keith  and  his 
brother,  excellent  later  examples  of  the  adventurous  Scot  abroad, 
spent  some  time  at  the  College  founded  by  their  forebear  and  both  were 

1  Act  IV.  Sc.  I. 


Marischal's  most  Martial  Alumnus        25 

at  the  Grammar  School.  But  their  college  career  was  brief;  for  they 
took  the  world  for  their  University,  and  some  will  say  that  their 
advantage  was  the  greater.  But  here  we  touch  delicate  ground,  and 
run  the  risk  of  possible  heresies,  whereof  it  is  impossible  to  speak 
more  particularly  in  this  place. ^ 

These  notes  have  stretched  to  an  inordinate  length,  and,  I  fear,  to 
little  purpose;  but  it  is  pleasant  to  the  writer,  at  least,  to  let  his 
thoughts  play  round  the  various  points,  good  and  bad,  of  Dugald 
Dalgetty,  and  to  try  to  discover  a  few  of  the  threads  that  ran  through 
the  fantastic  loom  of  Scott's  brain  when  he  wove  this  immortal  web 
of  fiction.  Dalgetty,  knighted  and  come  to  his  own,  lived,  we  under- 
stand, to  a  ripe  age  in  these  northern  parts  of  ours,  and  Sir  Walter 
gives  us  a  last  glimpse  of  him  cruising  about  in  that  country,  "  very 
old,  very  deaf,  and  very  full  of  interminable  stories  about  the  immortal 
Gustavus  Adolphus,  the  Lion  of  the  North,  and  the  bulwark  of  the 
Protestant  Faith  " . 

It  would  seem  that  he  is  immortal,  in  another  sense  of  immortality 
than  that  conferred  by  Scott's  pen.  There  is  some  evidence  that 
Sir  Dugald  yet  lives  and  revisits  the  glimpses  of  the  moon,  hard  by  his 
beloved  Marischal  College,  now  no  longer  the  plain  and  somewhat 
unsightly  structure  he  knew,  but  the  stateliest  and  amplest  granite 
building  in  the  world.  That  exquisite  perpendicular,  so  near  the 
Northern  Sea,  may  Heaven  preserve  from  the  cannon  of  Germans 
whom  Dugald  would  disown  !  Without  doubt  he  still  haunts  these 
regions.  At  any  rate  some  twelve  years  ago,  a  letter  was  printed  by 
Alma  MateVy  in  the  following  terms  : — 

Unto  the  Worshipful  the  Editor  of  Alma  Mater  :  These  : — 

Sir, 

•  ^Having  been  of  last  week  a  sojourner  in  our  gude  toun  of  Bon- 
Accord  to  advertise  (quhilk  may  have  been  noted  of  divers  learned)  that 
truly  pleasant  and  fertile  farm  of  Drumthwackit,  my  paternal  hereditament, 
in  the  Gallo-Belgicus^  the  Fliegenden  Mercoeur  of  Leipsic,  and  in  your  local 
diurnals  intituled  the  Free  Press  diud  Journal,  I  thought  that  I  might  again 
view  the  College  wherein  I  studied  the  humanities. 

Judge  ye  of  the  disgust  with  which  the  eyes  of  an  old  soldado  were 
greeted.  Not  one  could  I  see  wearing  the  gown,  but  a  wheen  land-laufers, 
cuUions,  and  other  petty  bisognos,  with  nothing  but  a  cloth  kep  (!)  allenarly, 

^  The  Earl  Marischal  was  a  student  at  Marischal  College,  1708-10.  Marshal  Keith 
was  a  member  of  the  Marischal  College  Class  of  1711-15,  though  for  how  long  is  not  quite 
certain.  P.  J.  Anderson,  **  Fasti,"  Vol.  II.  Professor  Cowan  (**  Univ.  Rev.,"  Vol.  I,  p.  227) 
says  the  Earl  graduated  at  Marischal  College  in  1712,  but  this  seems  doubtful. 


26  Aberdeen  University   Review 

a  kind  of  headgear  mair  befitting  the  ancient  Scythians,  or  the  salvage  Indians 
in  the  America  that  now  is,  than  academic  youth. 

I  do  remember  a  pretty  argument  held  between  the  immortal  Gustavus, 
the  Lion  of  the  North,  the  Terror  of  Austria,  the  Bulwark  of  the  Protestant 
Faith,  and  Stout  Hepburn  of  the  Scots  Brigade,  at  the  intaking  of  Frankfort 
in  163 1,  as  to  whether  a  tertia  of  Irishes  could  be  held  to  quarter  for  honour- 
able cavaliers.  Whereunto  when  Gustavus  repugned,  and  did  esteem  them  as 
fellows  that  havena  sae  mickle  as  a  German  whistle  or  a  drum  to  beat  withal 
a  march,  tattoo,  reveille,  or  other  point  of  war,  our  lads  with  an  onfall  fell 
briskly  to  work  and  put  them  all  incontinentlie  to  the  sword. 

I  could  wish  that  some  Hogan-Mogans  in  the  Senatus  that  prate  pro- 
digiously of  Crowns  and  Towers  might  be  certiorate  that  there  have  been — 
not  so  long  ago — in  that  body  men  that  would  never  have  tolerated  the  sink- 
ing of  ane  auld  and  honourable  foundation  to  the  level  of  a  Ragged  Schule. 

Hoping  that,  next  time  I  pass  that  way,  some  change  shall  appear,  and 
ihaX  peremptorie,  as  we  used  to  say  at  the  Marischal  College,  I  have  the  honour 
to  remain  your  worshipful's  humble  Servant, 

DuGALD  Dalgetty  [i.e.,  W.  K.  L.]. 

Drumthwackit,  Banchory  Devenick,  N.B., 
jfan.  26,  1903.^ 

The  occasion  was  twofold.  Not  only  had  Sir  Dugald  reason  to  re- 
buke the  Epigoni  for  their  desertion  of  the  gown,  but  his  ancestral  lands 
were  for  sale  and  duly  advertised  in  the  local  press.  It  is  doubtful, 
however,  whether  the  advertisement  published  in  the  later  diurnals 
was  inserted  by  the  Knight  himself,  but  manifestly  he  keeps  a  keen 
eye  on  what  is  done  in  the  North  generally,  and  at  Marischal  in  par- 
ticular. He  moves,  too,  with  the  times,  and  acquires  new  phrases,  as 
the  centuries  pass.  Minute  critics  might  object  that  the  phrase 
"  Hogan-Mogan  "  would  never  have  been  used  by  the  Rittmaster,  as  it 
is  not  found  earlier  than  the  time  of  William  III.  "  Ragged  Schule" 
is  also  a  later  acquisition.  But  here  is  only  another  proof  of  his 
continued  vitality,  his  continual  vigilance  and  adaptability  to  every 
emergency.  For  such  stirring  shades  it  were  inappropriate  to  breathe 
a  Requiescat. 

J.  D.  SYMON. 

^  Alma  Mater,  January  28,  1903. 


The  University  and  Soldiering. 

|0  a  large  number  of  thoughtful  people  in  our  "  corner/' 
as  they  used  to  call  it,  nothing  perhaps  has  brought 
home  the  poignant  immanence  of  the  Great  War 
so  much  as  the  participation  of  the  University  in 
the  struggle.  You  gain  that  impression  by  the 
way  in  which  the  newspaper  chroniclers  linger  over 
the  obituary  of  every  academic  victim  of  battle.  A 
boyish  Bajan  fallen  on  the  field,  will  get  more  notice  than  a  blacksmith 
who  may  have  been  Volunteering  these  twenty  years ;  and  a  great 
deal  more  than  a  Regular  Gordon  who  had  gone  through  Dargai  and 
South  Africa. 

We  have,  of  course,  seen  a  great  deal  more  fighting  than  the 
Germans ;  but  it  has  not  in  our  time  touched  academic  circles  appreci- 
ably; for,  although  the  words  *' University  "  and  "War"  have  a  close 
alphabetic  proximity,  they  have  represented  to  the  minds  of  most  people 
activities  diametrically  opposed.  The  antagonism  is  one  of  my 
earliest  memories,  for  I  recall  that  nothing  so  much  shocked  my  im- 
mediate family  circle  in  the  Franco-German  war,  which  broke  out 
when  I  was  three,  as  the  decimation  of  the  Universities  of  the  combat- 
ant countries ;  the  immolation  of  their  hopeful  youth  seemed  the  most 
profound  tragedy  of  all ;  and  I  fancy  my  own  circle  was  not  peculiar 
in  visualizing  the  campaign  thus.  That  circle  and  the  generation  to 
which  it  belonged  would  have  been  still  more  shocked  to  learn  that 
these  very  Universities,  at  least  in  Germany,  had  become  the  hottest 
hot-beds  of  militarist  propaganda,  as  if  to  revenge  in  kind  the  decima- 
tion of  1870. 

But,  although  our  own  University  and  Pacifism  seemed  to  be  syn- 
onymous, time  was  when  it  produced  Soldiers,  and  contributed  to  the 
art  of  war.  Indeed,  there  are  some  peculiarly  great  names  in  this 
connection,  contributed  by  both  the  component  parts  of  what  we  now 
know  as    Aberdeen   University — Field- Marshal  James  Keith   (1696- 


2  8  Aberdeen  University  Review 

1758),  the  inventor  of  Kriegsschachspiel,  which  might  be  described  as 
the  kindergarten  of  battle  ;  the  Rev.  A.  J.  Forsyth  of  Belhelvie  (1765- 
1846),  whose  invention  of  the  percussion  lock  revolutionized  gunnery 
and  is  the  direct  parent  of  our  modern  methods  of  ignition ;  and  Sir 
James  McGrigor  (1771-1858),  who  did  more  than  anyone  before  him 
to  conserve  the  health  of  the  soldier,  which  has  been  the  outstanding 
feature  of  the  present  war. 

But  none  of  these  did  so  much  to  make  the  name  of  the  University 
more  widely  known  to  the  outside  world  as  the  romantic  figure  of 
Dugald  Dalgetty.  Indeed,  the  Bobadil  of  Bon-Accord,  if  I  may  so 
call  him,  represents  a  distinct  type  in  the  first  of  the  two  great  periods 
into  which  Scots  soldiering  divides  itself.  In  the  earlier  period  there 
was  only  one  thing  for  the  Scots  professional  soldier  to  do ;  he  had  to 
go  abroad.  As  a  Soldier  of  Fortune,  his  activities  were  catholic. 
One  day  he  was  fighting  the  cause  of  Protestantism,  the  next  he  was 
battling  for  Rome.  Now  it  was  for  France ;  now  for  the  Holy  Roman 
Empire;  and  now  for  Russia.  He  battled  without  bias,  a  venturer 
so  competent  that  his  services  were  always  in  request.  To  this  type 
of  Soldier  the  Scots  Universities,  and  the  class  from  which  they  mainly 
drew  their  students,  were  lavish  contributors  for  generations ;  and  the 
adventures  of  these  Gentlemen-at-Arms  were  so  romantic  that  many 
books  have  been  written  about  them. 

The  second  period,  marked  roughly  by  the  Union,  introduced  the 
element  of  fighting  for  a  national  bias.  The  road  was  open  for  service 
in  England  and  her  ever-growing  dominions  beyond  the  sea,  whereas 
it  was  closing  to  service  on  the  Continent,  first  because  continental 
peoples  were  beginning  to  do  things  for  themselves,  and  secondly  be- 
cause our  alliance  with  England  involved  our  espousing  her  quarrels 
especially  against  France,  with  whom  Scotland  pure  and  simple  had 
lived  on  excellent  terms  for  many  obvious  reasons.  In  due  course  the 
Scots  Men-at-Arms  in  France  came  to  an  end.  The  Scots  Brigade  in 
Holland,  a  great  absorber  of  our  military  activity,  flickered  out :  and, 
although  Peter  of  Russia  and  to  a  smaller  extent  Frederick  of  Prussia 
enlisted  the  services  of  some  of  our  countrymen — notably  the  Gordons, 
the  Griegs,  and  the  Keiths — the  call  for  the  future  lay  nearer  home. 

If  the  Union  opened  the  way  to  England,  it  also  drove  into  exile 
many  instinctive  soldiers ;  and  in  any  case  it  involved,  as  I  have  said, 
the  espousal  of  causes  which  were  more  or  less  foreign  to  traditional 
Scots  policy.     There  was  a  peculiar  irony  in  men  who  had  opposed 


The  University  and  Soldiering  29 

the  "wee  bit  German  lairdie"  in  171 5  and  1745  crossing  the  North 
Sea  in  their  exile,  as  Keith  did,  to  fight  for  other  German  lairdies  like 
Frederick  of  Prussia,  thus  helping  them  to  create  the  domineering 
Empire  we  know  to  our  bitter  cost  to-day.  No  less  ironical  was  it  for 
those  of  our  countrymen  who  had  remained  at  home  to  have  to  enter 
on  the  long  campaign  against  their  old  hereditary  friend,  France, 
with  whom  they  had  far  more  spiritual  sympathies  than  the  geo- 
graphical area  of  England  possesses  even  at  this  moment — sympa- 
thies that  still  continue  in  Scotland. 

If  the  theoretic  possibility  of  entering  the  British  Army  as  officers 
was  opened  up  for  Scotsmen  in  1707,  the  practical  opportunity  for 
doing  so  on  a  large  scale  did  not  present  itself  till  fifty  years  later, 
when  our  struggle  with  France  for  world  power  began  in  real  earnest. 
Soldiers  were  needed  immediately  and  in  ever-increasing  numbers; 
and  it  was  then  that  the  foundations  of  Territorial  Soldiering  were 
laid ;  that  national  defence  became  a  matter  of  deep  local  interest ; 
and  the  country  went  through  a  series  of  experiences  almost  identical 
with  those  we  have  been  witnessing  during  the  past  fifteen  months, 
for  in  an  old-established  country  like  ours  and  with  an  independent 
people  like  ours,  national  temperament  does  not  change  so  rapidly  as 
with  a  mushroom,  parvenu  confederation  like  the  German  Empire 
which  has  few  traditions  that  are  not  mimetic. 

In  the  forty-five  years  which  stretched  out  arms  hungry  for  men 
between  1759,  when  the  Duke  of  Gordon's  first  regiment  (the  89th) 
was  raised,  and  1814,  when  the  struggle  ended,  four  different  types  of 
troops  were  raised  under  the  auspices  of  two  main  authorities. 
Regulars  and  Fencibles  were  raised  mainly  by  Highland  gentlemen, 
noblemen  and  landed  proprietors,  and  occasionally  by  military  officers 
with  a  local  landed  connection.  The  Militia  and  Volunteers  were 
organized  by  the  Lords-Lieutenant  of  the  Counties,  because  purely 
private  enterprise  gradually  exhausted  itself. 

The  first  call  for  officers  was  mainly  satisfied  by  lairds,  big  and  little, 
and  the  more  important  farmers'  son,  classes  that  had  numbers  of  suit- 
able men  in  their  keeping,  and  who  could  therefore  bring  quotas  of 
recruits  in  return  for  commissions.  The  University  student  was  only 
a  second  line  to  fall  back  upon,  and  was  requisitioned  usually  if  related 
to  the  regiment-raiser's  family,  or  if  connected  with  his  farmers  or  his 
landed  neighbours.  The  great  point  is  that  the  Army  under  the 
strenuous  circumstances  of  the  day  became  an  avenue  of  activity  for 


30  Aberdeen  University  Review 

capable  young  men,  exactly  as  it  has  become  again  in  our  time ;  and 
the  men  launched  into  it  at  that  time  bred  sons  who  took  to  it  and  who 
have  largely  helped  to  breed  our  military  caste — for  patriotism  almost 
invariably  becomes  a  regular  avocation. 

It  is  not  easy  to  make  a  complete  catalogue  of  the  officers  supplied 
by  the  University,  and,  even  if  it  were,  a  tabulated  treatment  of  the 
subject  would  be  out  of  place  in  a  review  like  the  present.  An  exam- 
ination of  *'  Gordons  under  Arms"  supplies  a  good  test  so  far  as  this 
one  family  is  concerned ;  and  I  shall  be  content  on  this  occasion  to 
mention  a  few  men  belonging  to  other  families. 

Notable  among  these  was  William  Finlason,  son  of  the  Supervisor 
of  Excise  at  Aberdeen,  by  his  wife  Anne  Gordon  of  the  Aberdour 
family ;  that  probably  being  the  cause  of  the  lad's  being  brought  to  the 
notice  of  the  Duke  of  Gordon.  Young  Finlason  entered  Marischal 
College  in  1756,  and  completed  his  Semi  session.  The  University  saw 
him  no  more,  for  in  1759  the  89th  Regiment  was  raised,  and  William 
got  a  lieutenancy.  From  that  time  to  the  day  of  his  death  in  181 7, 
Finlason  spent  practically  the  whole  of  his  life  soldiering  under  many 
auspices.  He  was  one  of  the  right-hand  men  of  the  Duke  in  recruiting 
for  the  Gordon  Highlanders  in  Aberdeen  in  1794,  and  in  1803  he 
raised  on  his  own  behalf  the  Loyal  Aberdeen  Volunteers,  curiously 
known  as  "  Finlason's  Fencibles,"  the  most  highly  trained  body  of 
Volunteers  that  Aberdeen  had  seen  until  our  own  immediate  time. 

Campbell's  Highlanders,  the  88th,  who  were  recruited  side  by  side 
with  Keith's,  the  87th,  attracted  another  alumnus  in  the  person  of 
James  Mercer,  who  had  entered  Marischal  College  in  1748  and  joined 
Holmes's  Regiment  before  he  took  post  in  Campbell's  in  January,  1 760. 
Although  Mercer  saw  fighting  in  Germany,  and  remained  more  or  less 
in  the  Service  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century — he  became  Major  in 
the  Duke  of  Gordon's  Northern  Fencibles  in  1778 — he  was  throughout 
his  life  much  more  the  student  than  the  soldier.  He  served  as  Dean 
of  Faculty  at  Marischal  College  ;  he  was  an  intimate  associate  of  Reid 
and  Beattie  and  other  members  of  the  Wise  Club ;  and  he  married  a 
sister  of  the  brilliant  Lord  Glenbervie.  Mercer  celebrated  the  year 
1794)  when  Finlason  was  sweltering  over  the  raising  of  the  92nd,  by 
publishing  a  volume  of  **  Lyric  Poems,"  which,  although  called  for  on 
three  occasions,  including  a  posthumous  and  biographical  edition  in 
1 806,  cannot  be  said  to  have  raised  the  Major  beyond  the  rank  of  a 
minor  poet. 


The  University  and  Soldiering  31 

These  locally  raised  regiments  formed  only  one  outlet  for  Univer- 
sity men.  The  Service  of  the  East  India  Company  offered  greater  op- 
portunities, for  the  social  responsibilities  of  the  officer  were  smaller  and 
the  chance  of  making  a  livelihood  were  greater.  Besides,  the  patron- 
age of  the  great  landowners,  who  were  often  financially  associated  with 
India  as  shareholders  in  the  Company,  was  easily  requisitioned  on 
behalf  of  likely  youths.  Another  outlet  was  for  doctors.  If  the  ordi- 
nary Arts  man  had  no  special  training  as  a  soldier,  the  medical 
student  started  from  the  University  gates  fully  equipped  for  his  task ; 
and,  although  his  military  status  was  a  poor  one  for  many  years  to 
come,  he  formed  a  recurring  link  between  the  Services  of  the  Univer- 
sity. Thus,  it  seems  to  have  been  the  medical  service  of  Dr.  George 
French  with  the  Duke  of  Gordon's  Northern  Fencibles  in  1778  which 
led  to  his  pupil  Sir  James  McGrigor  entering  the  Army,  and  that  as 
we  all  know  was  the  foundation  on  which  our  present  magnificent 
service,  the  Royal  Army  Medical  Corps,  was  laid,  McGrigor' s  design 
being  added  to  and  improved  by  such  men  as  the  late  Colonel  Johnston 
and  Colonel  Beattie,  who  has  once  more  returned  to  active  service. 
Indeed,  the  medical  side  of  the  University  has  ever  since  been  our 
main  link  with  the  Services,  for  our  contribution  to  their  combatant 
side  has,  for  reasons  which  I  shall  explain,  witnessed  great  fluctuations. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  at  this  period  there  was  no  technical 
instruction  for  officers  apart  from  the  drill  ground.  It  was  not  until 
1 799  that  a  beginning  was  made  (at  High  Wycombe)  with  what  became 
known  as  the  Staff  College,  opened  by  M.  de  Jarry,  who  had  been  a 
professor  at  the  Military  School  at  Berlin;  while  in  1802  the  Royal 
Military  College  was  opened  in  a  hired  house  at  Great  Marlow. 
Several  years  before  this  a  proposal  had  been  made  for  a  military 
academy  in  Aberdeen.  It  was  propounded  to  the  Duke  of  Gordon  in 
1784  by  Alexander  Dasti,  who  had  started  his  career  in  the  Military 
Academy  of  Luneville,  and  who  had  been  captured  at  Louisbourg  by 
Wolfe  in  1758,  drifting  to  Aberdeen  via  St.  Maloes,  Holland,  Liverpool, 
Manchester,  and  Glasgow.  Nothing  seems  to  have  come  of  Dasti's 
proposal,  which  would  have  been  a  useful  subsidiary  to  the  Univer- 
sity. 

But  the  University  itself  made  a  great  contribution  to  the  art  of  war 
in  the  shape  of  the  percussion  lock,  invented  by  the  Rev.  Alexander 
John  Forsyth,  who  was  educated  at  King's  College  (1782-86).  Like 
all  pioneers,  Forsyth  was  very  badly  treated  by  his  contemporaries, 


32  Aberdeen  University  Review 

and  his  biographers  have  been  so  inadequate  that  his  grand-nephew, 
the  late  Major-General  Sir  Alexander  John  Forsyth  Reid,  felt  com- 
pelled to  tell  the  true  story  of  this  ecclesiastical  inventor  in  a  little 
book  published  in  1909.  While  the  country  was  buzzing  with  the 
threats  of  a  French  invasion  and  Aberdeen  was  agog  with  soldiers, 
notably  the  Duke  of  Gordon's  (second)  Northern  Fencibles,  Forsyth 
began  experimenting  with  detonating  compounds  and  proceeded  to 
increase  the  inflammability  of  the  priming  in  flint  locks.  In  1805  he 
struck  on  the  idea  of  the  percussion  lock,  which,  after  he  had  been 
most  shabbily  treated  by  the  Government,  he  patented  in  1807  ;  but 
it  was  not  until  1834  that  it  was  tested  at  Woolwich  and  not  until  1840 
that  it  was  first  issued  to  a  regiment,  the  Black  Watch.  The  Gordons 
got  it  in  1845  and  the  ist  Sussex  in  1848,  whereas  the  whole  Austrian 
army  was  armed  with  it  in  1840.  Reid's  invention  alone,  which  quite 
revolutionized  modern  fire-arms,  gives  the  University  a  memorable 
place  in  the  history  of  soldiering,  of  which  his  grand-nephew  and  ad- 
mirer was  such  an  inspiring  specimen. 

Of  the  direct  influence  of  the  University  on  the  Soldiering  of  the 
day,  there  was  not  a  trace,  such  as  we  have  seen  in  the  creation  of 
the  University  Battery  and  U  Company  of  the  4th  Gordons.  The 
nearest  approach  to  it  was  the  formation  of  a  Volunteer  Company 
in  Old  Aberdeen  (i  798-1 802),  when  the  Rev.  Gilbert  Gerard,  the  Pro- 
fessor of  Greek  and  the  grand-uncle  of  that  distinguished  soldier.  Sir 
Montagu  Gerard  (i  842-1905),  became  Major-Commandant,  his  officers 
including  the  Rev.  William  Jack,  afterwards  Principal,  and  Robert 
Eden  Scott,  Professor  of  Moral  Philosophy.  The  rank  and  file, 
however,  were  citizens  of  the  Old  Town,  and  not  members  of  the  Uni- 
versity. Though  Gerard  offered  to  revive  the  Company  on  the  recon- 
struction of  the  Volunteer  force  in  1803,  his  proposal  was  declined  by 
the  authorities.  This  refusal  seems  to  have  had  a  chilling  effect  on  the 
University,  for  neither  in  the  Volunteers  of  that  period  nor  in  our  day 
did  the  Professors  of  the  University  take  any  part  until  the  University 
Battery  was  established. 

Mr.  Fortescue  has  said  that  the  institution  of  the  Military  College 
at  Great  Marlow  in  1 800  *'  imperceptibly  introduced  education  as  a 
rival  to  hard  cash  for  the  key  to  entrance  and  advancement  in  the 
Army".  But  so  far  as  our  University  was  concerned  there  was  an 
actual  slackening  of  entrants  just  at  this  period,  for  the  simple  reason 
that  the  raising  of  regiments  was  passing  out  of  the  hands  of  private 


The   University  and  Soldiering  33 

patriots  and  becoming  a  State  Affair,  controlled  by  a  central  military 
bureaucracy,  the  War  Office.     At  no  time  could  Aberdeen  students 
have  had  a  chance  with  the  money  system,  by  which  any  beardless 
youth  who  came  up  to  the  Army  Agent's  price  could  be  "danced  from 
one  newly  raised  corps  to  another".     Undesirable  characters,  '*such 
as  keepers  of  gambling  houses,  contrived,"  as  Mr.  Fortescue  tells  us, 
"  to  buy  for  their  sons  commands  of  regiments ;  and  mere  children 
were  exalted  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks  to  the  dignity  of  field 
officers  ".     On  the  other  hand,  the  disappearance  of  patronage  in  favour 
of  Staff  College  tests  was  a  great  disadvantage  to  the  north,  for  the  can- 
didates so  chosen — mostly  farmers'  and  ministers'  sons — were  selected 
for  their  good  physique  and  strong  character,  and  not  for  their  ability 
to  pass  educational  tests.     The  Duke  of  Gordon,  for  example,  might 
walk  into  a  field  and  see  the  farmer's  "  hefty"  son  filling  a  cart  with 
"  neeps ".     Attracted  by  the  lad's  manner,  he  would  get  a  **  nomina- 
tion "  for  him,  preferably  for  the  Army  of  the  East  India  Company, 
which  was  much  better  financially  than  the  Home  Army.     The  lads 
thus  selected  invariably  became   excellent  officers,  full  of  fight  and 
sound  common  sense. 

This  system  of  patronage  seemed  very  undemocratic — on  the  face 
of  it :  but  only  on  the  face,  for  the  modern  competitive  craze,  while 
setting  up  a  theoretical  equality  for  all,  has  really  resolved  itself  into  a 
matter  of  money  and  the  creation  of  a  permanent  military  caste,  for 
which  soldiering  has  been  more  or  less  a  subsidised  hobby  and  not  a 
means  of  livelihood. 

This  became  increasingly  the  case  after  the  dissolution  of  our  bigger 
army  in  1814,  when  public  interest  in  military  affairs  waned  once  more 
almost  to  the  point  at  which  Pitt  found  them  and  let  them  go  on  from 
1 784  to  1792.  Another  blow  came  forty  odd  years  later  when  the  State 
took  over  the  duties  of  the  East  India  Company,  and  the  new  Indian 
Army  became  more  educationally  exigent  than  ever.  Gradually  the 
number  of  graduates  entering  the  army  became  fewer  and  fewer,  though 
those  that  did  enter  "  made  good ".  I  may  note  Colonel  Francis 
Duncan,  R.A.  (1836-88),  the  historian  of  the  Royal  Artillery;  Sir 
George  Strahan,  R.A.  (1838-87),  who  became  a  Colonial  Governor; 
Surgeon-Major  Peter  Shepherd  (1841-79),  who  was  killed  at  Isan- 
dhlwane ;  Surgeon-Major  Andrew  Skeen  (i  842-85) ;  his  brother  William 
(one  of  whose  sons,  James,  was  the  great  inspirer  of  the  University 
Battery  in  my  day,  while  another,  Andrew,  has  had  a  distinguished 

3 


34  Aberdeen  University  Review 

career  in  the  Indian  Army) ;  and  Major-General  Sir  Alexander  Reid 
(1846- 191 3),  who  on  retirement  did  so  much  for  the  Territorial  As- 
sociation, and  ever  held  the  ideal  of  soldiering  high  in  our  midst. 
For  the  rest,  you  could  count  the  combatant  officers  of  both  Services 
as  far  as  the  younger  generation  is  concerned  almost  on  your  fingers. 

To-day,  of  course,  it  is  quite  different,  as  our  splendid  Muster  Roll 
has  shown.  We  are  now  raising  soldiers  of  all  ranks  almost  exactly 
as  our  forefathers  did  in  the  eighteenth  century.  Patronage  has  been 
(more  or  less)  revived :  educational  tests  have  gone  by  the  board  as  an 
Army  Order  issued  in  August  forcibly  reminds  us  : — 

During  the  period  of  the  war,  competitive  examinations  of  candidates  from 
the  Special  Reserve  of  Officers,  the  Militia,  the  Territorial  Force,  and  the 
ranks  for  commissions  in  the  Regular  Army  will  be  suspended,  and  qualifying 
literary  examinations  for  such  candidates  will  not  be  held. 

Meantime,  an  "arena  of  the  south,"  noting  the  highly  technical 
character  of  modern  soldiering,  had  taken  a  step  which  our  old 
eulogist  of  these  "  arenas  "  surely  never  foresaw.  Six  years  ago  a 
Chair  of  Military  History  was  created  at  Oxford,  with  Mr.  Spencer 
Wilkinson  as  its  first  incumbent.  His  experiences — and  no  man  in 
the  country  has  had  the  chance  of  testing  such  students — are  extremely 
interesting  ("Westminster  Gazette,"  12  Aug.,  191 5): — 

Since  then  I  have  seen  something  of  three  classes  of  young  men — those 
who  until  a  year  ago  were  candidates  for  commissions  in  the  Regular  Army, 
those  who  were  reading  for  honours  in  history,  and  those  who  were  elected  to 
Fellowships  of  All  Souls  College  by  competitive  examination  either  in  law  or 
in  history.  For  the  character  and  behaviour  of  all  these  young  men,  speak- 
ing generally,  I  have  nothing  but  admiration.  Their  powers  corresponded  to 
the  three  classes  described.  The  Army  candidates  were  of  merely  average 
ability.  They  were  taking  an  easy  route  to  a  degree  and  a  commission. 
They  were  not  in  search  of  knowledge,  either  of  war  or  of  any  other  subject, 
but  were  anxious  to  make  their  way  into  a  profession  for  which  they  had  a 
taste.  I  never  came  across  one  who  gave  evidence  of  special  ability.  The 
honours  men  were  on  a  higher  level  of  intelligence  and  concentration.  Some 
of  them  showed  considerable  power.  The  men  who  gained  Fellowships  were 
of  exceptional  power  and  formed  a  class  apart. 

Mr.  Wilkinson  tried  to  get  the  War  Office  to  choose  men  *'  above 
rather  than  below  the  Oxford  average,"  but  he  failed,  for  the  red  tape 
inherent  in  that  highly  conservative  bureaucracy  was  too  strong  for 
him. 

Then  came  the  war.  Immediately  the  whole  of  young  Oxford  joined  the 
Army,  becoming  officers  either  in  the  Territorials  or  in  the  new  "Regular" 


The   University  and  Soldiering  35 

regiments  that  were  being  raised.  Each  term  a  class  of  these  new  candidates 
for  war  commissions  attended  my  lectures.  They  worked  with  a  zeal  without 
precedent  in  my  experience,  and  quickly  mastered  the  elements.  In  these  classes, 
again,  I  noticed  the  difference  of  powers.  There  were  among  them  men  whose 
ability  stamped  itself  upon  all  that  they  did,  men  who,  after  eight  weeks,  were 
writing  orders  as  well  as  any  general  in  the  Army.  These  were  almost  all  of 
them  graduates  who  had  won  distinction  in  the  University.  There  were  also 
younger  men  of  the  same  type,  as  well  as  men  of  only  average  powers.  All 
alike  were  interested  in  their  work,  diligent  and  keen,  and  all  learned  quickly. 

I  have  been  amazed  all  these  months  of  war  to  see  that  the  Army  is  unable 
to  distinguish  between  these  several  classes  of  men.  It  makes  them  all  into 
second-lieutenants  and  grades  them  according  to  the  dates  when  they  joined, 
so  that  very  often  the  youngest  rank  above  their  elders,  the  pupils  above  their 
teachers. 

By  far  the  best  of  my  pupils  since  the  war  began  have  been  young  College 
tutors,  the  pick  of  the  University  graduates.  When  the  Government  awakes 
to  its  responsibilities,  means  will  be  found.to  discover  these  men  and  give  them 
opportunities  of  leading  in  proportion  to  their  powers. 

These  results  are  extremely  interesting,  and  make  one  wonder  what 
the  future  will  bring  forth  for  our  University  when  the  present  improvi- 
sations cease  to  be  necessary.  Personally,  without  expressing  any 
opinion  on  highly  controversial  subjects,  I  believe  that  national  defence 
will  become  more  and  more  an  integral  part  of  local  government ;  and 
as  the  University  is  at  present  partly  State  and  partly  Municipal  as  well 
as  Academic,  it  will  in  all  probability  be  called  on  to  supply  a  great 
many  officers — men  with  the  necessary  technical  knowledge  needed  for 
modern  soldiering,  a  knowledge  that  the  sons  of  the  landed  interests, 
no  matter  what  their  power  to  lead  may  be,  do  not  possess  as  a 
monopoly. 

Of  course  it  would  be  a  tragedy  if  University  teachers  were  to  go 
over,  body  and  soul,  to  the  doctrine  of  force  as  the  German  professors 
have  done  almost  to  a  man.  But  our  experience  of  the  past  does  not 
lend  much  countenance  to  such  a  disaster  as  that  would  be. 

As  it  is,  the  University  may  well  congratulate  itself  on  the  men  it 
has  sent  forth  to  fight — though  some  of  them  under  our  improvised 
system  might  have  been  used  to  more  advantage — and  on  those  who 
have  urged  others  to  join  the  Colours  in  the  Great  Campaign. 

J.  M.  BULLOCH. 


"  British  Diplomacy  1902-1914.'" 

I. 

OME  weeks  ago  I  read  in  one  of  our  weekly  jour- 
nals :  ^  "It  is  individualism  that  is  making  this  war 
so  hard  to  win.  It  calls  itself  *  criticism,*  or  fair 
criticism,  or  criticism  instructive,  or  constructive, 
or  salutary,  or  helpful.  But  it  is  just  the  expression 
of  personalities  rather  loathsome."  "  Loathsome  " 
is  hardly  le  mot  juste,  Edmund  Burke  more  subtly, 
but  with  not  less  sting,  castigated  the  little  men  whose  carpings 
give  "  splendour  to  obscurity  and  distinction  to  undiscerned  merit ". 
Nor  is  the  discipline  always  deserved.  A  nation  may  be  embar- 
rassed, but  need  not  be  ashamed,  if  its  actions  are  criticized  from 
within  itself.  For  the  act  not  only  connotes  a  system  of  ordered 
liberty,  but  implies  a  gift  of  humour,  without  which  a  nation,  like  an 
individual,  is  imperfect.  It  is,  in  fact,  a  British  characteristic  of 
which  we  may  be  proud,  a  quality  peculiar  to  a  community  "  whose 
heart  is  set  on  honourable  dealing  and  not  merely  on  success,"  as  Dr. 
Gilbert  Murray  has  pointed  out.^ 

One  may  admit,  too,  that  the  classification  of  so-called  pro-Germans 
haphazardly  as  philo-Germans  is  an  error  of  hasty  generalization ; 
though  it  is  irksome  to  grope  for  the  precisely  appropriate  adjec- 
tive when  scholars,  as  Dr.  Conybeare,  trumpet  urbi  et  orbi — and 
eventually  recant — their  anti-British  conclusions ;  or  when  politicians, 
as  Mr.  Ramsay.  Macdonald,  vilify  British  diplomacy  and  represent 
Sir  Edward  Grey  as  "  the  greatest  danger  for  the  British  Empire ". 
We  may  value  the  proud  forbearance  which  permits  them  the  licence 
of  utterance.  We  may  appreciate  the  spirit  of  irrepressible  individ- 
ualism which  they  represent.    But  in  that  they  shout  their  conclusions 

1 A  Paper  read  before  the  Historical  Association  of  Scotland  (North-Eastern  Branch), 
22  October,  1915. 

«Ford  Madox  Hueffer  in  "  The  Outlook,"  24  July,  1915. 
•"The  Foreign  Policy  of  Sir  Edward  Grey,"  Oxford,  1915,  p.  5. 


' '  British  Diplomacy    1902-1914"         37 

from  the  housetops  we  may  permit  ourselves  to  diagnose  their  case 
as  one  of  excessive  and  unbalanced  egoism. 

What  is  the  general  trend  of  attack  on  British  diplomacy  in  the 
past  ten  years  ?  Dr.  Gilbert  Murray  conveniently  summarizes  it  in  his 
own  experience.  He  was  unhappy  over  our  dealings  with  Persia  and 
Morocco.  He  was  profoundly  disturbed  by  our  relations  with  Ger- 
many. The  smallest  Navy  vote  took  him,  but  still  reluctantly,  into 
the  "  Aye"  lobby.  He  laughed  at  scares  and  scaremongers,  despised 
Jingoes,  especially  editorial  Jingoes,  and  longed  to  relegate  the  occu- 
pants of  certain  newspaper  offices  to  the  more  congruous  housing  of  a 
lunatic  asylum.  He  considered  that  German  hostility  was  the  conse- 
quence of  Sir  Edward  Grey's  persistent  over-rating  of  it.  On  the  eve 
of  war,  in  July,  191 4,  he  signed  a  declaration  advocating  Great  Britain's 
neutrality,  and  did  so  without  hesitation.  And  then  came  the 
awakening.  On  Germany's  innocence  he  and  his  school  of  politics 
had  founded  their  view  of  the  international  situation  and  Great 
Britain's  place  in  it.  But  now  Germany  herself  convinced  him  that 
his  conclusions  rested  on  a  false  basis,  that  in  part  Germany  was  bluff- 
ing, and  in  part  meant  murder  from  the  beginning.  In  the  light  of 
her  actions  he  saw  his  error,  and  confessed  it  in  Lord  Melbourne's 
blunt  fashion :   "  All  the  sensible  men  were  on  one  side,  and  all  the 

d d  fools  on  the  other.     And,  egad,  sir,  the  d d  fools  were 

right!" 

To  tilt  at  the  school  of  politics  which  holds  or  held  these  ante- 
bellum  views  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  paper.  It  comprehended 
many  tones  of  conviction  and  prejudice.  And  since  war  inevitably  is 
one  of  two  things,  either  the  implement  of  diplomacy,  or  the  accusa- 
tion of  its  incompetence,  diplomacy  is  peculiarly  vulnerable.  Mr.  H. 
N.  Brailsford,  for  instance,  holds  it  anathema,  root  and  branch,  the 
survival  of  aristocratic  privilege,  a  secret,  underhand  craft,  a  trespasser 
upon  democracy's  sovereignty.  To  surrender  foreign  affairs  to  what 
he  calls  the  "uncontrolled  conduct  of  a  small  caste"  "gives  the 
rein  to  caprices,  rivalries,  and  personal  interests,"  since  the  fewer 
people  engaged  in  a  public  transaction  the  less  probability  there  is, 
he  holds,  that  it  will  be  settled  in  accordance  with  public  needs.^ 
He  instances  the  Crimean  War,  and  declares  Lord  Aberdeen  to 
have  been  goaded  into  an  irrelevant  struggle  by  the  personal  caprice 
of  Napoleon  III  and  Lord  Stratford  de  Redcliffe.    But  that  is  not  true. 

* "  The  War  of  Steel  and  Gold  :  A  Study  of  the  Armed  Peace,"  London,  1914,  pp.  47, 5a. 


bfc 


38  Aberdeen  University  Review 

Lord  Aberdeen  went  to  war  because  public  opinion  made  it  impossible 
for  him  to  keep  out  of  it.  And  as  to  diplomacy's  alleged  release  from 
democratic  control,  it  is  inconceivable  that  any  Foreign  Minister,  least 
of  all  in  a  Constitutional  system,  should  tie  his  nationals  to  obligations 
they  would  be  unwilling  to  fulfil.  Indeed,  if  proof  is  wanted  of  diplo- 
macy's bondage  to  public  opinion,  we  have  only  to  look  back  upon 
July,  1914. 

Again,  Mr.  Brailsford  derides  what  he  calls  the  '*  group  system  in 
Europe  ".^  Alliances  are  the  fruit  of  treaties,  and  like  them  are  mortal, 
frail,  and  unreliable.  They  do  not  free  those  who  make  them  from  the 
need  to  take  the  very  precautions  which  would  have  been  imperative 
in  their  absence.  Of  what  use  are  they,  then?  Why  not  abandon 
"  exclusive "  ententes  ?  Why  not  throw  "  balance  of  power  "  over- 
board, return  to  the  "Concert  of  Europe"  and  its  specious  sugges- 
tion of  harmony?  The  answer  is  simple:  There  is  no  talisman 
in  a  "Concert,"  no  greater  efficacy  in  it  than  in  a  system  of 
ententes  or  "  balance  of  power ".  The  object  of  them  all  is  the 
same — to  promote  equilibrium.  Which  of  them  you  employ  depends 
upon  and  does  not  create  the  international  situation  of  the  moment. 
You  cannot  form  a  Concert  if  one  of  its  members,  like  Prussia  under 
Frederick  the  Great,  or  Germany  under  Bismarck  and  William  II,  lives 
toujours  en  vedette  among  its  neighbours.  The  strength  of  a  chain 
is  that  of  its  weakest  link,  and  the  amenities  and  structure  of  interna- 
tional society  conform  to  the  conduct  of  its  least  agreeable  or  most 
restless  member. 

Mr.  Norman  Angell  fires  a  battery  from  a  new  quarter.  All  diplo- 
macy, in  his  view,  rests  upon  a  "  cannibalistic  political  philosophy"  ^ 
which  teaches  a  nation  to  regard  its  superiors  in  strength  or  position 
as  its  enemies.  The  very  theory  of  diplomacy,  he  contends,  rests  upon 
false  conclusions  ;  that  nations  really  can  be  rivals  ;  that  they  can  add 
to  their  wealth  by  annexing  territory  ;  that  they  can  impose  upon 
other  countries  economic  conditions  favourable  to  themselves  ;  that 
they  can  be  regarded  as  "  competing  business  firms "  for  whom  suc- 
cessful war  brings  dividends.  On  the  contrary,  he  insists,  nations  have 
no  material  inducement  whatever  to  go  to  war,  or  to  build  expen- 
sive engines  of  offence,  or  to  weave  alliances.  For  under  no  considera- 
tion whatever  can  the  advantages  which  they  expect  to  result  from 

1^  "  War  of  Steel  and  Gold,"  p.  21. 

"••The  Foundations  of  International  Polity,"  London,  1914,  p.  36. 


ii 


British  Diplomacy   1 902-1914"         39 


war  actually  follow  from  it.  Some  preachers  have  admonished  us 
that  war  is  wrong.  Others  have  warned  us  that  it  is  dangerous. 
Mr.  Angell  advises  us  to  put  it  behind  us  because  there  is  no  money 
in  it! 

Of  more  potent  influence  upon  our  diplomacy  since  1905  is  a  school 
of  criticism  not  coverable  by  one  label.  It  expressed  a  sort  of  rebound 
from  the  Tory  policies  of  1 895-1905.  Anti-Chamberlainism  froze  it 
to  a  rather  shame-faced  Imperialism.  In  a  similar  impulse  of  contradic- 
tion the  French  entente  of  1 904  biased  it  towards  Germany.  It  raised 
horrified  eyeballs  against  trafficking  with  once  illiberal  Russia.  It  was 
rootedly  anti-militarist,  partly  because  it  hated  war  on  principle,  partly 
because  armaments  obstructed  an  expensive  programme  of  social 
amelioration.  Any  suspicion  of  diplomatic  "  alcoholism,"  any  action 
that  imperilled  our  "  splendid,"  but  incompetent,  isolation,  any  tendency 
to  treat  the  German  menace  as  a  serious  factor  in  the  international 
situation,  or  to  permit  the  assumption  to  guide  our  diplomacy, 
roused  it  stormily.  It  is  an  irony  of  circumstance  that  Sir  Edward 
Grey  of  all  men  should  have  borne  the  brunt  of  its  assault,  but  the 
fact  is  intelligible. 

The  explanation  is  this  :  between  the  Treaty  of  Berlin  (1878)  and 
the  signature  of  the  Anglo-Japanese  Alliance  in  1902  Great  Britain 
stood  by  herself,  isolated,  even  friendless.  New  Germany  was 
gathering  strength  for  an  ultimate  challenge.  Austria-Hungary  and 
Italy  were  bound  to  her  by  treaty  and  interest.  Russia,  unrolling  her- 
self in  Asia,  was  openly  unfriendly,  and  in  1 898  was  within  measurable 
distance  of  war  with  the  masters  of  India.  France,  pursuing  what 
an  English  statesman  called  a  "  policy  of  pinpricks,"  harassed  her  in 
Egypt  and  the  Sudan,  and  the  Fashoda  affair  in  1898  almost  pre- 
cipitated war.  The  situation  was  one  of  the  most  critical  in  the 
history  of  the  British  Empire. 

But  before  the  century  closed  it  reshaped  itself.  Bismarck, 
dying  in  1898,  lived  to  see  his  largest  fear  realized,  Paris  allied 
with  Petrograd,  and  the  foundation  of  a  European  balance  against 
Germany.  But  for  the  moment  the  Franco-Russian  entente  merely 
emphasized  Britain's  detachment  from  two  systems  equally  1  indif- 
ferent or  unfriendly  to  herself  She  was  in  a  paralysis  of  party 
strife.  Between  1880  and  the  arrival  of  Sir  Edward  Grey  at  the 
Foreign  Office  in  December,  1905,  the  Government  of  the  day  was 
defeated  six  times  at  the  polls.     The  conduct  of  foreign  affairs  was 


r 

40  Aberdeen  University  Review 

correspondingly  tentative.  But  in  1896  there  came  a  bolt  from  the 
blue— the  Kaiser's  telegram  to  President  Paul  Kriiger,  ''a  flash  of 
lightning  revealing  the  abyss  which  quietly  and  without  their  noticing 
it  had  opened  between  the  English  and  the  German  people  ".1  After 
twenty  years'  silent  preparation,  the  German  Empire  announced  itself 
with  a  Prussian  flourish.  Thereafter  it  advanced  apace.  In  1898 
the  German  Navy  League  was  founded.  In  the  same  year  the  first 
German  Navy  Law  was  passed.  In  1900  another,  vastly  more  ambi- 
tious, took  its  place,  and  an  ultimate  challenge  to  Great  Britain  was 
discussed  openly.  In  1898  Europe  was  introduced  to  the  "mailed 
fist,'*  and  in  1899  the  Boer  War  again  exhibited  Germany's  envious 
unfriendliness.  Nothing  less  than  this  new  menace  out  of  Central 
Europe  arrested  Great  Britain's  drifting  policy.  The  "  splendid  isola- 
tion" of  her  'seventies  and  'eighties  went  by  the  board.  In  1902 
she  joined  Japan  in  a  treaty  regulating  the  situation  in  the  Far  East. 
In  1904  she  removed  her  obstinate  misunderstanding  with  France. 
Simultaneously  the  Russo-Japanese  War  of  1904-5  disturbed  the 
balance  of  power  to  Germany's  advantage.  But  British  diplomacy 
was  alert,  backed  France  stoutly  during  the  Algeciras  crisis  in  1905, 
completed  the  Triple  Entente^  and  shook  hands  with  Russia  in  1907. 
For  better  or  worse  Europe  once  more  was  a  balanced  system,  and 
Great  Britain  irrevocably  was  a  unit  in  it. 

To  realize  the  dismay  of  our  political  habitations  at  these  rapid 
commitments  and  their  consequences,  we  must  recall  the  placid  condi- 
tions which  they  superseded.  Only  once  since  Waterloo  had  Great 
Britain  sent  armies  to  Europe — in  1854.  Fourteen  years  before  that 
campaign  (1840)  a  brief  crisis  disturbed  her  relations  with  France,  and 
twenty  years  after  it  (1878)  a  more  perilous  situation  embroiled  her 
with  Russia.  That  crisis  also  passed,  and  another  twenty  years  (1898) 
followed  it  before  Britain  again  came  within  hailing  distance  of  war. 
But  this  happy  quietude  vanished  with  the  old  century.  The  twentieth 
opened  upon  our  difficult  war  in  South  Africa.  It  was  hardly 
ended  before  Russia  engaged  Japan  in  the  Far  East  (1904-5).  In 
1911-12  Italy  flouted  her  partners  and  won  Tripoli  from  Turkey.  In 
191 2  and  again  in  191 3  the  Balkans  blazed  into  war.  Four  times,  at 
least,  also,  the  larger  peace  of  Europe  was  in  peril.  In  1905  and  191 1 
Morocco  threatened  it.     Had  Germany  forced  France  into  war  in  either 

^  Sir  Edward  Goschen,  quoted  in  "  The  Times  "  of  27  August,  1915. 


"British  Diplomacy   1902-1914"         41 

year,  without  a  doubt  we  too  should  have  been  involved.  In  190S 
Deutschtum  and  Slaventum  almost  came  to  blows,  after  Austria's  an- 
nexation of  Bosnia-Herzegovina,  and  again  in  1 91 2,  when  Russia  and 
Austria  faced  each  other  angrily  across  their  frontiers. 

The  accumulation  of  crises  alarmed  and  unsettled  British  opinion. 
The  nation  took  anxious  stock  of  its  position,  devoted  to  the  Foreign 
Office  an  interest  which  had  been  perfunctory  and  lethargic  in  the 
period  of  lesser  tension,  and  discussed  its  policy  as  acrimoniously 
as  the  parochial  subjects  which  hitherto  had  fed  the  appetites  of 
belligerent  politicians.  It  was  patent  to  all  that  in  191 1  we  barely 
escaped  war  with  the  greatest  military  Power  in  Europe  and,  after 
ourselves,  the  most  efficient  Naval  Power  as  well.  The  nation  had 
welcomed  the  ententes  with  Japan,  France,  and  Russia  with  sentimental 
satisfaction.  But  it  now  appeared  that  they  involved  reciprocal  and 
dangerous  obligations,  and  until  Germany  unmasked  herself  in  August, 
1 91 4,  the  country  was  not  unanimous  upon  the  policy  that  had 
created  them. 

To  unfold  the  operations  of  British  diplomacy  from  1904  to  191 4 
would  either  detain  you  till  midnight,  or  more  probably  would  find 
me  here  alone  at  that  hour.  Nor  is  it  necessary.  Its  relations  with 
Germany,  its  patient  efforts  in  the  cause  of  international  peace,  are 
familiar.  Neither  the  Congo  nor  the  Putumayo  questions  stand  upon 
the  larger  international  platform.  There  remain  Morocco  and  Persia 
and  the  two  achievements  of  British  diplomacy  which  have  been  most 
angrily  criticized — the  Anglo-French  entente  of  1904,  for  which  Sir 
Edward  Grey  was  not  responsible,  and  the  Anglo-Russian  agreement 
of  1907,  for  which  he  was.     I  propose  to  consider  them. 

The  ground  of  Great  Britain's  concern  in  Morocco  can  be  stated 
concisely — to  prevent  the  transference  of  its  littoral  under  conditions 
threatening  the  route  to  India.  To  avert  that  danger  two  alternatives 
presented  themselves :  either  to  assure  the  integrity  of  Morocco,  the 
normal  and  preferable  method  ;  or,  if  that  course  proved  impracticable, 
to  ward  off  an  unfriendly  or  powerful  European  State  from  the  coast 
opposite  Gibraltar.  From  the  point  of  view  of  British  interests  the 
settlement  of  neither  France  nor  Germany  there  was  desirable,  and  the 
Anglo-French  Agreement  of  1904  ear-marked  the  region  for  Spain. 

In  the  last  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century  keen  rivalry  developed 
among  the  European  States  for  African  trade  and  territory.  Morocco 
experienced  it  in  the    Madrid   Convention  of  3    July,  1880,  whose 


r 

42  Aberdeen  University  Review 

Article  XVII  accorded  to  all  the  countries  represented  there  the 
most-favoured-nation  status  hitherto  enjoyed  by  France  and  Great 
Britain  alone.  For  fifty  years  behind  that  instrument  France  had  been 
Morocco's  neighbour  in  Algeria,  and  in  188 1  added  Tunis  to  her 
African  interests.  Beyond  other  Powers,  therefore,  she  was  con- 
cerned in  the  political  condition  of  the  Shereefian  Empire,  and  in 
the  Moroccan  Government's  increasing  impotence.  The  Sultan  was 
a  spendthrift,  his  rule  was  chaotic,  and  the  tribes  were  out  of 
hand.  In  1901  France  insisted  that  their  lawlessness  could  not  be 
permitted  to  continue  at  her  expense.  And  as  promises  of  reform 
proved  unavailing,  M.  Delcass6  eventually  (1903)  announced  that 
France  would  take  it  upon  herself  to  "transform  Morocco  into  a 
modern  State".  Before  the  end  of  1904  he  secured  from  every 
Power,  except  Germany  and  her  Austrian  ally,  licence  or  encourage- 
ment to  undertake  the  task. 

The  most  important  of  these  diplomatic  agreements  was  the  Anglo- 
French  Treaty  of  8  April,  1904,  which  contained  nine  public  and 
five  secret  Articles.  The  public  clauses  pledged  France  specifically  not 
to  alter  "  the  political  status  of  Morocco  " .  Great  Britain,  however,  ad- 
mitted that  France's  geographical  position  imposed  upon  her  the  ob- 
ligation "  to  preserve  order  in  that  country,  and  to  provide  assistance 
for  the. purpose  of  all  administrative,  economic,  financial,  and  military 
reforms  which  it  may  require"  (Article  II).  Both  Governments, 
"  inspired  by  their  feeling  of  sincere  friendship"  for  Spain,  agreed  that 
she  derived  recognizable  interests  *'from  her  geographical  position 
and  from  her  territorial  possessions  on  the  Moorish  coast  of  the 
Mediterranean".  France  undertook  to  make  an  arrangement  with 
her  regarding  them  and  to  communicate  it  to  Great  Britain  (Article 
VIII).  Its  nature  was  defined  by  the  secret  clauses,  which  provided 
that,  in  the  event  of  the  Sultan's  authority  lapsing,  Spain  should 
receive  the  Tetuan  Riff  littoral  opposite  Gibraltar,  subject  to  her  holding 
it  open  to  international  trade,  erecting  no  fortifications  upon  it,  and 
agreeing  not  to  alienate  it. 

Outcry  has  been  raised,  particularly  by  Mr.  E.  D.  Morel,^  over  a 
treaty  whose  terms  are  candid,  consistent,  and,  in  the  circumstances, 
proper.  It  is  alleged  that  the  public  clauses  were  a  pretence.  In 
fact,  no  subsequent  act  of  either  of  the  signatories  justifies  the  allega- 

^  "Morocco  in  Diplomacy,"  London,  1912  ;  cheap  ed.,  entitled  "  Ten  Years  of  Secret 
Diplomacy,"  London,  1915. 


"British  Diplomacy    1902-1914"         43 

tion  that  their  undertaking  to  respect  the  integrity  of  Morocco  was 
insincere.  But  it  was  impossible  to  evade  the  fact  that,  if  the  pre- 
vailing anarchy  increased,  it  would  be  difficult,  perhaps  impossible,  to 
maintain  the  fiction  of  the  Sultan's  authority.  Great  Britain  therefore, 
leaving  France  a  free  hand  in  her  contiguous  sphere,  stipulated  for 
Spain's  occupation  of  the  Moroccan  coast,  in  which  Great  Britain  was 
particularly  concerned.  It  is  objected  that  this  arrangement  was 
secret  (it  was  published  simultaneously  in  France  and  England  on  24 
November,  191 1,  and  by  "  The  Times  "  on  the  following  day).  But  its 
secrecy  is  defensible  on  the  ground  that,  while  the  contingency  of 
Morocco's  collapse  had  to  be  faced,  the  measures  which  in  that  event 
were  held  necessary  could  hardly  be  made  public  without  risk  of  bring- 
ing on  prematurely  the  crisis  which  it  was  the  object  of  the  agreement 
to  avoid. 

Mr.  Morel  holds  the  Moroccan  treaty  a  flagrant  provocation  to 
Germany,  aggravated  by  the  French  Government's  "  initial  and  gratu- 
itous offence  "  ^  in  failing  officially  to  communicate  to  her  either  the 
agreement  with  Great  Britain  or  the  subsequent  agreement  with  Spain 
(October,  1904).  Undoubtedly,  France  would  have  been  wiser  to 
follow  Great  Britain's  example  in  bringing  the  Moroccan  arrangement 
officially  to  the  notice  of  the  German  Government.  But  Germany 
wears  a  mien  of  injured  innocence  awkwardly.  It  took  her  an  ap- 
preciable time  to  discover  that  the  Anglo-French  Agreement  constituted 
a  grievance  at  all.  For  a  whole  year  she  took  no  action  upon  it. 
Her  Ambassador  in  Paris  described  it  as  "  natural  and  perfectly  justi- 
fied " .  Prince  von  Bulow,  her  Chancellor,  declared  that  German 
interests  were  "  in  no  way  imperilled  by  it ".  When,  in  October,  1904, 
the  Franco-Spanish  agreement  was  made  public,  Germany  gave  no 
sign  that  her  rights  or  dignity  were  touched.  In  December,  1904, 
France  formally  urged  the  Sultan  to  introduce  the  imperatively  needed 
reforms  within  Morocco.  Still  Germany  remained  inactive,  and  not  until 
31  March,  1905,  did  the  Kaiser  suddenly  swoop  down  upon  Tangier. 
The  German  Government  very  lamely  explains  its  dilatory  action 
by  alleging  that  the  agreement  of  1904  "postulated  the  status  quo 
in  Morocco,"  in  which  alone  it  was  interested.^  Then  why  did  it  act 
in  1905?  In- March,  1905  the  status  quo  ^2iS  in  no  greater  danger 
than  it  was  twelve  months  earlier.     Beyond  the  fact  that  France  had 

^  "  Morocco  in  Diplomacy,"  p.  93.  2  /jj^.^  p,  103. 


44  Aberdeen  University  Review 

presented  a  programme  of  reform,  it  had  not  been  modified  in  any 
particular.  Mr.  Morel  suggests  that  Germany  was  outraged  by  the 
discovery  of  the  secret  agreement  of  1904.  There  is  not  a  word  in 
the  Chancellor's  explanatory  dispatch  to  the  German  Embassies  abroad 
to  support  the  contention,  and  if  Mr.  Morel  is  right,  it  is  inconceivable 
that  Germany  should  have  failed  to  base  her  action  on  the  fact.  The 
plain  truth  is  that  Germany  was  impelled  to  sudden  action,  not  by 
nice  regard  for  the  instruments  of  1880  and  1904,  but  by  Russia's 
entanglement  with  Japan,  the  consequent  disturbance  of  the  balance  of 
power  in  Europe  to  the  advantage  of  her  own  system,  and  the  apparent 
opportunity  to  secure  a  footing  in  the  Mediterranean  and  put  a  spoke 
in  France's  colonial  wheel. 

The  consequent  Act  of  Algeciras,  signed  on  7  April,  1906,  is  a  docu- 
ment of  123  Articles,  whose  pertinence  to  our  present  inquiry  is  con- 
fined to  its  preamble  and  concluding  clause.  In  the  preamble  the  Powers 
admitted  the  need  for  reforms  in  Morocco,  based  upon  "  the  threefold 
principle  of  the  sovereignty  and  independence  of  His  Majesty  the 
Sultan,  the  integrity  of  his  dominions,  and  economic  liberty  without 
any  inequality  ".  In  Article  CXXII I  they  stipulated  :  "All  existing 
Treaties,  Conventions,  and  Arrangements  between  the  Signatory 
Powers  and  Morocco  remain  in  force.  It  is,  however,  agreed  that,  in 
case  their  provisions  be  found  to  conflict  with  those  of  the  present 
General  Act,  the  stipulations  of  the  latter  shall  prevail." 

Article  CXXIII,  says  Mr.  Morel,^  is  "  the  true  basis  upon  which 
the  German  case  reposes".  He  insists:  (i)  that  Germany  was  con- 
sistent throughout  in  basing  her  action  upon  it ;  and  (2)  that  her 
diplomacy  had  no  ulterior  end  in  view.  Whether  this  judgment  is 
correct  will  become  clearer  as  we  proceed.  For  the  moment,  observe 
this  not  irrelevant  fact.  In  1909  and  again  in  191 1  Germany 
made  treaties  with  France  regarding  Morocco.  On  both  occasions 
she  had  the  opportunity  to  record  her  concern  for  the  integrity  of  that 
country.  On  neither  occasion  did  she  do  so.  By  the  Franco-German 
Declaration  of  8  February,  1909,  in  return  for  an  undertaking  "not 
to  obstruct  German  commercial  and  industrial  interests  "  in  Morocco, 
France  obtained  an  emphatic  admission  of  her  "  special  political  in- 
terests "  in  that  country.  By  the  Franco-German  Convention  of  4 
November,  191 1,  France  received,  so  far  as  Germany  could  confer  it, 

^  P.  38. 


"British   Diplomacy    1902-1914"         45 

"  full  liberty  of  action  ...  to  strengthen  and  to  extend  her  control  and 
protection"  in  Morocco,  ''subject  to  the  reservation  that  the  com- 
mercial liberty  guaranteed  by  former  treaties  is  respected".^  In  both 
agreements  Germany  addressed  herself  only  to  secure  her  commercial 
and  economic  interests,  and  provided  they  were  assured,  she  was,  at 
the  moment,  prepared  to  give  France  a  free  hand.  The  two  docu- 
ments, in  fact,  knock  the  bottom  out  of  Germany's  alleged  case  and 
the  ground  on  which  she  based  her  intervention  in  191 1.  For  France 
in  that  year  was  acting  in  strict  interpretation  of  the  "  special  political 
interests"  which  Germany  recognized  in  1909  and  more  amply  con- 
firmed subsequently.  On  neither  of  these  occasions  did  Germany 
express  the  slightest  concern  for  the  status  quo  which  in  191 1  she  pro- 
fessed herself  so  eager  to  defend. 

The  weakness  of  the  Act  of  Algeciras,  as  Dr.  Gilbert  Murray  points 
out,  lay  in  "the  unreality  of  the  principle  on  which  it  was  based  ".^ 
The  German  Chancellor  admitted  the  fact  to  the  Reichstag's  Budget 
Committee  on  17  November,  1911.^  "The  Sultan  [after  Algeciras] 
had  no  longer  the  power  to  maintain  order."  To  the  Reichstag 
itself  a  few  days  earlier  he  said :  *  **  It  was  soon  evident  that  one  of 
the  essential  conditions  [to  order  in  Morocco]  was  lacking,  namely,  a 
Sultan  who  was  actual  ruler  of  the  country  ".  Mulai  Hafid  proved  as 
incompetent  as  his  brother,  Abdul- Aziz,  and  in  1910  France,  at  the 
Sultan's  invitation,  occupied  Fez,  the  capital.  But  the  event  had 
unforeseen  consequences.  On  i  July,  191 1,  the  German  gunboat 
"  Panther  "  anchored  off  Agadir,  on  the  Moroccan  Atlantic  coast.  For 
what  purpose  ?  If  Mr.  Morel  diagnoses  Germany's  policy  correctly,  we 
should  expect  to  find  his  simple  and  straightforward  explanation  ad- 
vanced by  Germany  herself.  In  fact,  Germany's  official  apologia 
circulated  to  the  Powers  ^  fails  to  confirm  Mr.  Morel's  brief.  It  makes  no 
reference  at  all  to  the  Madrid  Convention,  or  to  the  Algeciras  Act, 
or  to  the  status  quo.  It  says  plainly  that  the  gunboat  was  at  Agadir  to 
protect  "some  German  firms,"  who  had  been  alarmed  by  '*a  certain 
ferment "  among  the  neighbouring  tribes.  Even  Mr.  Morel  realizes 
this  to  be  an  inadequate  entree  for  the  champion  of  international 
rectitude  and  deportment,  and  offers  an  explanation  as  tame  as  his 
protegee's.  Germany's  objects,  in  fact,  are  revealed  in  the  issue.  She 
was  out,  not  to  buttress  Article  CXXIII  of  the  Algeciras  Convention, 

1  Article  I.  «  P.  63.  »  Cd.  5592,  p.  3. 

*  On  9  November.     Cd.  5970,  p.  i.  «  Morel,  p.  133. 


4.6  Aberdeen  University   Review 

but  to  tear  it  up.  Her  intention  was  to  terrorize  France  into  a  deal 
advantageous  to  herself,  whether  in  Morocco  or  elsewhere  was  indiffer- 
ent to  her.  And  she  expected,  as  in  191 4,  to  tackle  France  single- 
handed. 

But  in  191 1  British  diplomacy  unmasked  itself  promptly.  On  4 
July,  Sir  Edward  Grey  warned  the  German  Ambassador  that  the 
"Panther's"  arrival  at  Agadir created  "a  new  situation,"  and  Mr.  As- 
quith  used  the  same  words  to  the  House  of  Commons  on  6  July.  The 
reiterated  phrase  is  suggestive.  France  and  Great  Britain  were  parties 
to  an  agreement  regarding  Morocco  which  was  still  operative  in  terms 
of  the  Algeciras  Act  to  which  Germany  had  put  her  hand.  Morocco 
itself  was  under  the  collective  guarantee  of  the  signatory  Powers  of 
1906.  But  Germany  was  treating  both  documents  as  "scraps  of 
paper,"  adopting  an  attitude  which  she  had  challenged  in  France  to- 
wards herself  in  1905.  Her  object  was  to  elbow  Europe  out  of  the 
Moroccan  situation,  and  to  settle  it  on  her  own  terms  with  France. 
So  far  from  demonstrating  Germany's  fidelity  to  her  signature  at 
Algeciras,  the  "Panther's"  dispatch  to  Agadir  was  a  calculated  ad- 
vertisement of  her  intention  to  treat  that  instrument  as  dead. 

To  Sir  Edward  Grey's  warning  (4  July)  Germany  made  no  reply. 
A  week  later  the  British  Ambassador  at  Berlin  (12  July)  con- 
trived to  drop  a  hint  of  a  rumour  that  she  was  negotiating 
with  France  behind  Great  Britain's  back.  He  received  immediately 
an  official  statement  that  the  report  was  untrue.  And  yet,  on  20 
July,  "The  Times"  revealed  the  fact  that  Germany  already  had 
France  by  the  throat,  that  she  was  proposing  to  scrap  the  Act  of 
Algeciras,  and  demanding,  as  her  share  of  the  loot,  the  surrender 
of  the  larger  part  of  the  French  Congo.  The  issue  is  familiar.  Great 
Britain  took  instant  action.  Mr.  Lloyd  George  gave  an  unequivocal 
warning  to  Germany  at  the  Mansion  House  on  21  July,  and  a  "  stiff" 
interview  followed  between  Sir  Edward  Grey  and  the  German  Am- 
bassador. German  finance  added  its  voice  to  convince  the  Kaiser  and 
his  fire-eating  Junkers  that  war  was  not  in  the  interests  of  the  Father- 
land, and  Germany  postponed  military  action  to  another  season. 

As  to  our  general  diplomacy  in  Morocco,  it  has  been  asked.  Why 
involve  ourselves  in  France's  concerns?  Why  not  let  her  make  terms 
with  her  enemy?  Why  embitter  our  relations  with  Germany  just 
when  the  prospect  of  an  understanding  was  opening?  For  these 
reasons.     We  had  vital  interests,  strategic  and  economic,  in  Morocco 


^^  British  Diplomacy    1902- 19 14"         47 

that  forbade  us  to  stand  aside,  unless,  upon  some  quixotic  and 
impractical  impulse,  we  were  prepared  to  surrender  them  to  unfriendly- 
control.  Again,  it  was  in  our  interest  neither  to  see  France  goaded 
into  war,  nor  to  see  her  despoiled.  A  firm  attitude  was  the  surest 
means  to  prevent  either  catastrophe.  There  is  a  further  consideration. 
Since  1909  Germany  had  been  trying  to  detach  us  from  France  in  a 
systematic  intrigue  which  culminated  in  the  proposals  of  191 2,  which 
Sir  Edward  Grey  has  exposed  recently.^  It  was  not  improbable 
that  she  might  make  a  similar  experiment  with  France,  some  of 
whose  people  looked  suspiciously  upon  the  entente  and  preferred 
a  direct  understanding  with  Berlin.  Again,  there  was  the  ques- 
tion of  prestige^  a  consideration  to  which  an  Empire  like  ours 
cannot  be  indifferent.  As  Dr.  Gilbert  Murray  puts  it :  "A  Power 
which  had  small  interests  in  Morocco,  but  immense  military  strength, 
suddenly  announced  that  all  the  treaties  which  we  had  signed  about 
Morocco  were  annulled,  sent  ships  of  war  to  a  harbour  where  by  treaty 
they  were  not  to  go,  and  proclaimed  her  intention  to  bring  the  affairs 
of  Morocco  to  *  a  definite  solution '  on  lines  which  she  entirely  refused 
to  explain  to  us ;  though  our  trade  interests  in  Morocco  were  about 
three  times  as  great  as  hers  and  our  strategic  interests  vital  ".^  That 
states  the  position  fairly  and  concisely. 

CHARLES  C.  SANFORD  TERRY. 

1  "  The  Times,"  i  September,  1915.  a  P.  74. 

{To  be  concluded^ 


Sandy  Lawrence :  A  Sketch. 

T  is  not  uncommon  to  find  among  the  humbler  classes 
men  who,  in  their  general  appearance  and  demeanour, 
remind  us  of  others  occupying  an  entirely  different,  indeed 
an  exalted,  position  among  their  fellow-men,  and  one  is 
inclined  to  wonder  as  to  whether  the  outward  appear- 
ance, so  similar  and  suggestive,  is  accompanied  by  a 
similarity  in  mental  equipment  and  emotional  nature. 
I  knew  a  cabman  in  Edinburgh  who,  mounted  on  his 
dicky,  had  the  military  appearance  and  bearing  of  a  suc- 
cessful officer.  In  the  streets  of  Stonehaven,  there  once  walked  a  tall  and  erect 
figure,  with  a  refined  and  aristocratic  face,  who  bore  himself  like  a  duke  or  any 
other  member  of  the  higher  grades  of  the  aristocracy,  and  yet  he  was  only  a  son 
of  Crispin.  The  subject  of  this  sketch,  who  was  a  jobbing  gardener,  had  a  face 
and  head  which  would  have  been  suitable  accompanied  by  the  full-bottomed 
wig  of  a  Judge,  even  of  a  Lord  Chancellor.  There  was  the  large  cranium,  the 
broad,  expansive  brow,  and  the  clear,  penetrating  eyes,  indicating  an  active  brain 
behind,  and  often  twinkling  with  latent  humour,  as  he  discussed,  possibly  with 
sarcasm,  some  homely  event  in  the  community,  or,  it  might  be,  the  more  serious 
affairs  of  Church  and  State.  Character  was  expressive  in  every  feature,  and  no 
one  could  pass  Sandy  in  the  street,  or  see  him  working  in  a  garden,  without 
feeling  that  here  was  no  common  man,  but  one  well  worthy  both  of  study  and 
respect.  As  I  have  already  remarked,  he  had  a  large  head,  but  it  was  mounted 
on  a  short,  stout  body — almost  dwarfish.  The  head  betokened  such  power  and 
intelligence  that  one  paid  little  attention  to  the  barrel-like  body.  I  have  met  with 
only  one  famous  man  who  showed  this  contrast  between  head  and  body. 
Naturalists  know  of  curious  deep-sea  Crustacea  that  have  enormous  eyes  and 
a  very  small  and  slender  body  for  carrying  about  and  nourishing  those  wonder- 
ful optical  arrangements  by  which  the  creatures  catch  and  focus  the  feeble, 
and  probably  phosphorescent,  light  glimmering  in  the  depths  of  the  ocean. 
Swinburne,  the  poet,  gave  one  the  impression  of  a  splendid  head  mounted  on 
a  delicate-looking  frame,  but  so  magnificent  was  the  head  that  on  two  occasions 
when  I  had  the  honour  of  spending  a  few  hours  alone  in  his  company,  I  was 
so  impressed  by  the  head  that  I  forgot  the  mechanism  that  carried  it  about. 
There  was  a  similar  experience  with  old  Sandy.  As  one  knew  him  better, 
one  became  more  and  more  impressed  by  his  strength  of  character,  mental  en- 
dowments, and  sound  judgment.  He  was  often  pawky,  and  all  he  said  and  did 
was  lit  up  by  a  quiet  and  scintillating  humour  that  was  irresistible. 

Sandy  was  a  native  of  Glenbervie,  the  well-known  hamlet  in  Kincardine- 
shire associated  with  the  ancestry  of  Robert  Burns.  For  many  years  he  was 
the   "  minister's  man  "  to  the  late  Rev.   Alexander  Silver,  of  the  Parish  of 


Sandy  Lawrence  :   A  Sketch  49 

Dunnottar,  and,  while  with  him,  he  acquired  a  knowledge  of  gardening,  and 
more  especially  the  taking  care  of  such  small  but  productive  gardens  as  the 
garden  of  the  manse.  Mr.  Silver  was  a  remarkable  man.  He  was  much  be- 
loved by  his  people  and  he  preached  the  Gospel  in  the  old  Kirk  of  Dunnottar 
and  looked  after  his  flock,  many  of  whom  were  fisher-folk  who  lived  in  the  old 
town  of  Stonehaven.  He  founded  and  personally  conducted  a  savings  bank 
and  encouraged  habits  of  thrift  and  economy.  I  have  heard  it  said  that  he 
gave  a  hearty  welcome  to  a  fisherman  when  he  came  to  deposit  money,  but  he 
was  not  so  agreeable  when  the  depositor  came  to  draw  money  out  of  the  bank. 
He  had  then  to  give  the  banker-minister  a  full,  true,  and  particular  account 
of  how  the  money  was  to  be  spent !  Probably  most  of  us  would  not  relish  this 
inquisitorial  method  in  dealing  with  our  banker ! 

As  the  minister's  man,  no  doubt  Sandy  had  many  journeys  in  the  gig  in 
the  uplands  of  Dunnottar,  and  they  were  in  the  habit  of  conversing  freely,  on 
many  subjects,  religious  and  otherwise.  Sandy  was  fond  of  telling  of  a  con- 
versation which  evidently  had  made  an  impression  on  his  memory.  Sandy  and 
the  minister  met  the  doctor's  gig  coming  from  a  farm-house  where  one  of  Mr. 
Silver's  parishioners  lay  seriously  ill.  "  How  is  he  ? "  asked  the  minister. 
"Oh,"  replied  the  doctor,  "he  is  in  articulo  mortisP  A  minute  or  two  after- 
wards, Mr.  Silver  turned  to  Sandy  and  asked :  "  Dae  ye  ken  fat  that  means, 
Sandy  ?  "  "  No,"  says  Sandy.  "  Oh,"  says  the  minister,  "  it  just  means  he's 
near  deid  !  "  Sandy  liked  to  repeat  the  words  ^'tn  articulo  mortis^'  in  a  rich, 
rough,  low-pitched  voice,  as  if  he  relished  the  sound.  They  were  probably 
the  only  Latin  words  he  knew,  and  he  evidently  thought  they  had  a  profound 
meaning.     The  minister's  free  translation  was  short  and  to  the  point. 

When  he  left  Mr.  Silver's  service,  Sandy  became  a  jobbing  gardener  in 
Stonehaven,  and  he  served  the  community  for  many  years.  His  views  on 
gardening  were  primitive,  but  they  were  founded  on  a  stratum  of  common 
sense  and  experience.  He  was  parsimonious  as  to  the  feeding  of  plants  and 
he  expected  a  tree  to  live  and  thrive  if  it  was  simply  put  into  the  "  grun'  ". 
Many  a  battle  royal  I  had  with  him  on  this  matter,  but  Sandy  always  finished 
the  discussion  with  an  air  of  victory.  Nor  did  he  believe  in  supporting  even 
weakly  plants  with  stakes,  as  he  held  that  "the  mair  a  young  tree  wis  blawn 
about  by  the  win',  the  mair  firmly  its  ruits  grippit  the  grun'  ".  A  good  deal  can 
be  said  for  Sandy's  contention.  At  all  events  it  illustrates  possible  uses  of 
the  winds  of  adversity ! 

Sandy  was  thoroughly  honest.  He  kept  his  little  accounts  written  carefully 
in  a  rather  crabbit  hand,  in  a  penny  note-book,  and  no  one  could  complain  of 
his  charges.  As  an  illustration  of  the  sterling  character  of  the  man,  I  may 
mention  that  he  laid  out  and  planted  my  garden  at  Maxieburn.  This  he  did 
by  contract  for  a  sum  within  limits  duly  specified.  After  a  good  deal  of  the 
work  had  been  done,  I  paid  him  a  sum  to  account,  and  several  weeks  there- 
after I  asked  him  to  look  into  his  notes  and  inform  me  what  was  the  balance 
still  owing.  A  short  time  thereafter  he  said  to  me :  "  Weel,  doctor,  I  have 
looket  into  the  accounts  and  I  find  that  the  total  expense  is  about  eicht 
pounds  below  the  estimate  ".  He  was  of  course  promptly  paid,  with  what  is 
nowadays  called  a  small  bonus,  but  I  thought  how  few  contractors  would 
have  been  so  straightforward.  I  once  told  this  incident  to  the  late  Mr.  Nicol- 
son  of  Glenbervie,  and  his  remark  was :  "  Well,  I  have  known  of  only  one 
public  building,  the  cost  of  which  was  within  the  estimates ; "  and  he  added, 


50  Aberdeen  University  Review 

**  perhaps  you  will  understand  when  I  tell  you  the  building  was  the  church  of 
!"      This  church   is  perhaps  the  most   striking  specimen  of  poverty 


of  design  and  roughness  of  execution  to  be  met  with  in  the  North-East  of  Scot- 
land. 

One  would  expect  that  a  strong  character,  such  as  Sandy  undoubtedly  was, 
would  have  his  own  views  on  many  subjects  and  especially  as  to  matters  relat- 
ing to  his  own  craft.  This  often  led  him  to  be  very  positive,  and  even 
domineering,  and  one  had  occasionally  to  put  up  with  a  good  deal  from  Sandy 
that  would  not  be  tolerated  from  another  man.  A.  Mr.  McG.,  a  well-known 
merchant  in  Stonehaven,  had  a  dispute  about  some  matter  of  gardening : 
Mr.  McG.  wished  one  course  to  be  taken,  while  Sandy  strenuously  advocated 
another.  At  last  Mr.  McG.  could  stand  the  discussion  no  longer,  and,  some- 
what angrily,  he  addressed  Sandy  thus  :  "Sandy !  you  go  on  as  if  the  gairden 
were  ye're  ain ;  ye'l  dae  nathing  but  tak  ye'r  ain  wye ! "  Sandy  looked  up 
at  the  worthy  merchant  more  in  pity  than  in  anger  and,  patting  Mr.  McG.  on 
the  arm,  said :  "  Dinna  be  angry,  Mr.  McG.,  gae  awa'  te  ye're  bit  shoppie  and 
leave  the  gairden  te  me !  "  On  another  occasion,  he  replied  to  the  expostula- 
tions of  a  patron  (after  the  patron  had  exhausted  himself  by  storming  at  Sandy 
as  to  the  way  he  worked  the  garden)  by  calmly  saying  :  "  An'  is  not  the  result 
satisfactory,  Mr.  T.  ?  "     No  more  could  be  said ! 

Sandy  made  no  special  claim  to  being  a  religious  man  and,  like  many  of 
his  class,  he  was  reserved  on  such  matters.  One  day  Mrs.  McKendrick,  who 
was  dangerously  ill  at  the  time,  asked  me  to  give  Sandy  a  book,  a  kind  of 
"Bogatsky's  Golden  Treasury,"  written  by  a  very  remarkable  man,  a  Mr. 
Bowen,  who  for  many  years  was  a  missionary  in  Bombay,  unattached  to  any 
Church  or  religious  denomination.  For  each  day  of  the  year  there  was  a  text, 
a  homily,  and  a  prayer.  I  gave  it  to  Sandy.  The  little  man  was  seated  on  a 
mat  by  a  garden  border,  weeding.  He  looked  up,  thanked  me,  and  then 
added,  in  all  sincerity:  ''But  I'm  nae  religeous,  ye  ken".  I  found  out  after- 
wards that  Sandy  read  from  this  volume  day  by  day  to  his  frail  old  wife,  and 
that  it  was  a  great  comfort  to  them  both. 

At  last  Sandy's  health  began  to  give  way.  He  was  nearly  eighty  years  of 
age  and  the  grasshopper  was  becoming  a  burden.  By  my  advice,  and  as  he 
was  well  off,  he  "treated  himself,"  as  he  said,  to  a  Bath  chair,  and  in  this 
he  was  wheeled  about.  One  day  he  came  to  Maxieburn  and  said  he  would 
like  to  have  a  little  conversation.  I  took  him  to  a  seat  in  the  garden  which 
owed  not  a  little  to  his  taste  and  foresight.  He  said,  without  preface  :  "  I've 
come  to  see  ye,  doctor,  to  hae  a  talk  about  immortality.  I  could  never 
tak  it  in,  ye  ken.  I  dinna  ken  fu'  a  man  can  live  aifter  he's  deid.  Ye  see, 
the  ministers  they  maun  say  it,  but  I  would  like  to  ken  what  ye  think  about 
it  ye're  sel'.'' 

I  was  well  aware  that  many  in  his  class  think  about  these  solemn  matters 
more  than  we  give  them  credit  for,  and  every  one  knows  how  the  great  mystery, 
in  silent  moments,  comes  home  to  all  of  us  and  our  spirit  may  well  shrink  from 
the  contemplation ;  but  I  do  not  know  if  the  difficulties  as  to  a  future  state 
were  ever  more  forcibly  put  than  by  the  old  gardener.  Knowing  that  Sandy 
had  a  great  admiration  for  Mr.  Gladstone,  whose  body  was  then  resting  in 
Westminster  Abbey,  I  said  to  Sandy :  "  Now,  Sandy,  do  you  think  that  Mr. 
Gladstone,  whom  you  admire  so  much,  who  was  so  learned,  so  wise,  and  so 
good  in  his  generation,  went  out  like  the  snuffing  of  a  candle?  "     "  No,"  says 


Sandy  Lawrence  :  A  Sketch  5 1 

Sandy,  "that  is  a  wye  of  lookin'  at  it  that  I  haev'ne  thocht  on."  To  have 
quoted  texts  to  Sandy  would  have  been  of  little  avail,  but  the  appeal  as  to 
what  he  thought  of  the  destiny  of  his  hero  helped  him.  We  had  a  long  talk  and 
I  hope  he  went  home  somewhat  comforted. 

At  last  the  end  came  and  the  old  man  passed  away.  He  now  rests  in 
the  old  kirk-yard  of  Glenbervie,  within,  literally,  a  few  feet  of  the  grave  of 
the  ancestors  of  Robert  Burns.  This  is  a  short  chapter  from  the  simple  annals 
of  the  poor.  With  better  education,  with  such  training  as  our  venerable  Uni- 
versity could  have  given  to  such  a  man  as  Sandy  Lawrence,  one  can  imagine 
to  what  a  range  of  knowledge  and  wisdom  he  might  have  attained.  Such  an 
intellect  and  such  a  grip  of  things  would  have  developed  another  kind  of 
Sandy  Lawrence.  In  a  sense  his  powers  remained  latent.  Humble  as  he  was, 
however,  he  made  a  lasting  impression  on  those  who  knew  him,  and  now  he 
rests  in  peace.      Vale. 

John  G.  McKendrick. 


Correspondence. 

ABERDEEN'S  FIRST  SENIOR  WRANGLER. 

Manse  of  Mouswald,  Ruthwell, 
Dumfriesshire, 

ijth  September^  1915. 

Sir, 

The  article  on  the  above  by  Dr.  Giles,  in  the  June  number  of 
The  Aberdeen  University  Review,  has  been  intensely  interesting  to  me,  as  a 
member  of  the  Class  that  entered  the  University  and  King's  College,  Aberdeen, 
in  1849.  The  Class  numbered  ninety-six;  and,  so  far  as  known  to  me,  I  am 
the  sole  survivor.^  It  makes  me  feel  as  if  writing  from  another  shore.  The 
article  is  most  appreciative,  eulogistic  and  sympathetic,  but  in  no  instance 
more  so  than  the  subject  deserved.  Slesser  and  I  entered  College  in  our 
sixteenth  year,  he  being  my  junior  by  the  interval  between  14  January  and 
27  April,  1834.  We  came  respectively  from  the  Parish  School  of  Rathen,  Aber- 
deenshire, and  the  Inverness  Royal  Academy — Slesser  after  a  few  months'  polish 
from  '*  Old  Grim  "  (Dr.  Melvin),  without  which  it  was  considered  that  there  was 
little  chance  of  appearing  in  the  Bursary  List.  As  it  was,  the  bursary  that 
fell  to  Slesser  was  about  the  last.  The  "  Version,"  as  the  article  states,  was 
the  main  feature  of  the  competition.  The  future  Wrangler  did  not  affect 
classics,  but  he  held  a  respectable  place  in  each  Class,  and  in  every  subject. 

Our  Bajan  year  being  completed,  Mathematics  was  taken  up  in  Session 
1850-51  — the  last  year  of  Professor  Tulloch.  The  Class-room  was  in  the  North- 
East  corner  of  the  Quadrangle  on  the  first  floor  ;  the  Natural  Philosophy  Class 
being  on  the  floor  above  it.  In  a  letter  to  his  brother,  dated  January,  1851, 
Slesser  styles  the  class  "  a  most  splendid  class  of  Mathematics  ".  This  may 
apply  to  from  a  dozen  to  a  score  of  young  men,  who  were  our  seniors  by  from 
seven  to  ten  years.  But  taken  as  a  whole  we  were  most  innocent  of  Mathe- 
matics, and  it  was  stated  and  believed  of  George  that,  at  that  time,  he  knew 
little  Mathematics  beyond  the  "  Pons  Asinorum  ".  We  began  with  Arithmetic 
at  notation  and  went  rapidly  through  the  subject,  taking  some  propositions  of 
Euclid  each  day  as  well.  There  was  then  no  special  distinction  marking  out 
the  student  from  Buchan  from  any  others  answering  to  their  names.  He 
was  stout,  round-shouldered,  with  ruddy  complexion,  and  slightly  reddish 
hair  and  rolling  gait,  and  his  place  was  at  the  right-hand  corner  of  the  front 
bench,  allotted  to  him  in  the  alphabetical  order  of  his  first  name.  Early  in  the 
year  mentioned  in  the  letter  quoted — as  I  remember  as  vividly  as  if  it  were 
yesterday — there  was  a  problem  set  by  the  Professor,  duly  inscribed  by  him  on 
the  Black-Board.  Some  students  were  called  up  to  solve  it,  and  one  after  an- 
other failed.     It  was  then  put  to  the  Class,  and  George  Slesser,  habited  in  his 

*  [The  names  of  two  others  appear  in  the  Register  of  the  General  Council — Robert 
Gray,  M.A.  1853,  M.B.  1859,  Brigade-Surgeon,  I.M.S.  (ret.),  Aberdeen;  and  George 
Robert  Samuel,  M.A.  1853,  Wesley  College,  Sheffield.— Ed.] 


Correspondence  53 


red  gown,  slowly  left  his  seat  and  marched  to  the  encounter.  There  was 
silence  for  a  time.  Then  the  Professor  scrutinized ;  and  the  solution  was  ac- 
complished. Some  days  after,  there  was  another  puzzler  placed  on  the  Board, 
and  again  the  same  Front  Bench  carried  the  day  and  there  were  compliments 
from  the  Professor  and  a  spontaneous  "ruff"  from  the  Class.  Slesser  was 
never  called  out  again,  unless  to  be  appealed  to  as  virtually  Assistant  Professor 
to  the  Class.     This  position  he  held  to  the  last. 

Professor  Tulloch  was  of  the  old  school,  but  he  was  a  sound  Mathematician. 
He  had  a  Wrangler  to  his  credit  in  the  person  of  Mr.  J.  F.  Maclennan,  Inver- 
ness, Simpson  Prizeman  of  1849,  who  entered  Cambridge  on  the  recommenda- 
tion of  Professor  Thomson,  also  a  Cambridge  Wrangler,  and  gained,  if  I  mistake 
not,  the  position  of  25  th  Wrangler  in  Trinity  College.  Tulloch  did  not  approve 
of  bringing  Englishmen,  or  men  trained  in  the  English  Universities,  to  our 
Scottish  Chairs.  This  he  sometimes  showed  to  the  students  in  comments  on 
the  Natural  Philosophy  Class  with  its  English-trained  Professor.  He  was  an 
inveterate  "joker".  One  day  a  demonstration  at  the  Black-Board  was  going 
on  in  which  Yir^  (tt  r^)  occurred ;  and  it  was  so  pronounced,  when  the  Professor 
interrupted :  "  Joannes  Mackay !  Stop,  Sir.  You  say  ir  r^.  You  will  get 
*  Pies '  up-stairs  ;  but  you  must  be  content  with  *  Peas  '  down  here  !  " 

My  lodgings  were  in  College  Bounds,  a  few  doors  from  those  occupied  by 
Slesser  in  the  Spital.  In  those  days  we  all  lived  in  this  street,  and  visited  freely 
one  another.  One  evening  Slesser  came  into  my  room,  and  found  me  in  despair 
over  some  problem.  He  took  the  pencil  and  slate  from  my  hand,  and  with  a 
few  strokes  of  the  master-hand  he  made  my  darkness  light.  Such  was  his 
career  from  the  outset.  He  was  a  Mathematical  genius  undoubtedly.  But  he 
was  an  ardent  and  prolonged  student.  Visiting  among  one  another  was  not 
always  advantageous  to  study ;  and  it  was  my  habit  with  some  others  to  go 
early  to  bed  and  to  get  up  about  3  a.m.  We  took  a  turn  out  about  4  a.m.  to 
get  a  breath  of  the  keen,  caller  air.  At  that  hour  Slesser's  window  was  alight. 
He  had  not  yet  gone  to  his  rest. 

In  Senior  Mathematics,  our  Third  Year,  we  had  Professor  Fuller.  He 
made  the  same  mistake  as  Professor  Thomson,  and  treated  our  Class  as  if  he 
was  dealing  with  those  he  was  coaching  in  Cambridge.  We  were  plunged  into 
the  deep  waters  of  the  Calculus  before  we  had  waded  any  way  from  land, 
with  the  result  that  the  majority  of  the  Class  failed  to  follow  him  and  his 
rapid  delivery  in  a  purely  English  accent,  and  we  were  obliged  to  supplement 
our  Class  work  by  private  study  and  books.  The  Senior  Wrangler  did  like- 
wise :  but  he  was  full  of  his  subject  and  needed  little  help.  He  was  facile 
princeps  in  the  examination  for  the  Simpson  Prize.  Another  Candidate, 
George  Daniel,  broke  down  in  the  middle  of  the  competition.  He  was  seized 
with  haemorrhage  of  the  lungs.  He  came  to  the  graduation,  pale,  haggard, 
with  livid  lips  and  sharp,  strained  features;  received  his  cap  of  A.M.,  and  in 
six  weeks  he  was  in  the  grave.  He  predeceased  Slesser — carried  off  by  the 
same  deadly  malady.  This  adds  corroboration  to  the  remarks  on  this  subject 
by  Dr.  Giles. 

Excuse  the  length  of  these  notes  from  the  past.  Being  now  virtually 
blind  I  write  them  much  by  guess  for  others  to  read.  They  cannot  be  read 
by  me. 

My  blindness  was  due  to  cataract,  and  befel  me  suddenly  through  the 
failure  on  a  Saturday  night  of  a  cataract  eye  that  after  operation  had  served 


54  Aberdeen  University  Review 

me  for  twenty-one  years,  till  the  retina  was  broken  by  a  sudden  cough  on  19th 
October,  191 2,  and  so  soon  as  the  necessary  procedure  was  accomplished,  I 
retired  from  the  active  pastorate  of  Little  Dunkeld  last  year.  I  am  now  in  the 
fiftieth  year  of  my  ministry  of  that  Parish.  Such  is  the  last  Survivor,  so  far 
as  known  to  me,  of  George  Slesser's  Class  of  1849-53.  It  should  be  noted 
that  Professors  Thomson  and  Fuller  were  the  inspirers  of  the  First  and  sub- 
sequent Senior  Wranglers  from  Aberdeen.  The  latter  was  most  anxious  that 
his  favourite  student  should  make  a  name  for  himself  and  his  University  in 
Cambridge.  He  put  Slesser  to  the  test  by  leaving  a  most  intricate  problem 
with  the  late  Mr.  Fraser,  the  then  Minister  of  Footdee,  also  a  Mathematician, 
with  the  request  that  he  should  give  it  to  Slesser.  This  was  done  on  a  casual 
call  of  the  Student  upon  the  Minister,  when  the  Minister  said  to  Slesser  he 
was  going  out  to  visit  and  he  would  leave  him  to  try  what  he  could  make  of 
the  problem  submitted  to  him.  On  his  return  the  Minister  was  asked  "  What 
is  your  difficulty  ?  "  and  at  the  same  time,  there  was  handed  to  him  a  success- 
ful **  Q.  E.  D."  Professor  Fuller  on  i  xeiving  the  report  said  :  "  I  have  now 
not  the  slightest  hesitation  in  sending  him  to  Cambridge  ".  It  is  truly  sad 
that  so  promising  a  life  was  so  early  closed. 

I  am,  etc., 

J.  S.  MACKENZIE,  A.M., 
Senior  Minister  of  Little  Dunkeld. 


SIR  JAMES  DONALDSON  AND  THE  MARQUIS  OF  BUTE. 

The  acting  Editor  has  received  communications  protesting  against  the 
paragraphs  in  Professor  Latta's  "  Reminiscences  of  Principal  Sir  James  Donald- 
son" (pp.  198,  199  of  the  last  volume  of  the  Review),  on  the  ground  "that 
they  are  most  unjust  to  the  late  Marquis  of  Bute,  ill-informed  and  inaccurate  "  : 
but  in  response  to  the  request  of  the  acting  Editor — because  it  is  undesirable 
in  this  Review  to  re-open  a  controversy  concerning  another  University — the 
writers  do  not  press  for  the  insertion  of  their  letters. 


Reviews. 


Studies  in  the  Odyssey.  By  J.  A.  K.  Thomson,  M.A.,  Late  Scholar  of 
Pembroke  College,  Oxford ;  Examiner  in  Classics  to  the  University  of 
Aberdeen.     Oxford :  At  the  Clarendon  Press. 

Mr.  Thomson  has  written  a  very  interesting  book.  Even  those  who  find 
themselves  unable  to  accept  its  conclusions  must  admit  its  wonderful  ingenuity 
and  the  many-sided  learning  on  which  the  author  has  drawn  in  support  of 
his  hypothesis.  There  is  a  vast  deal  of  charm  too  in  the  literary  presentation 
of  the  case.  Unlike  the  late  Mr.  Andrew  Lang,  who  frankly  abandoned  any 
attempt  at  making  literature  out  of  the  interminable  series  of  minute  details 
connected  with  the  Homeric  question,  Mr.  Thomson  is  true  to  the  exacting 
artistic  conscience  of  the  Grecian,  and,  though  dealing  with  an  immense  mass 
of  not  very  tractable  material,  succeeds  in  preserving  throughout  his  book 
an  unbroken  note  of  style.  He  has  moreover  individual  passages  of  great 
beauty — that  more  particularly  in  which  he  exhibits  the  nobler  elements  in 
Chthonian  worship  reaches  to  our  thinking  a  high  level  of  moving  eloquence. 
The  opening  chapter  professes  to  reveal  how  much  of  "  latent  and  unex- 
plored magic  and  savagery"  lurks  in  the  background  of  Homeric  poetry. 
Professor  Murray  has  tried  to  show  that  though  "  Homer  "  has  eliminated  a 
great  deal  of  what  must  have  existed  in  the  myths,  torture  of  prisoners  taken 
in  war,  for  instance,  insults  to  the  dead,  sexual  impurity,  human  sacrifice  and 
other  horrors,  yet  much  has  unconsciously  been  allowed  to  remain.  In  the 
same  way  Mr.  Thomson  holds  that  many  Homeric  similes  are  not  so  much 
similes  as  reminiscences  of  an  old  belief  that  gods  and  men  and  beasts  and 
birds  could  all  be  readily  transformed  into  one  another — that  in  fact  many 
formal  similes  are  merely  "  disguised  identifications  ".  The  story  of  Dolon 
again  half  hides  the  device  of  the  primeval  man  who  disguised  himself  as  a 
wolf  to  trap  his  enemy ;  and  the  <t>06vo<:  riov  ^cwv  which  appears  in  the 
persecution  of  Odysseus  by  Poseidon  and  also  in  the  sufferings  of  Achilles,  is 
nothing  but  the  jealousy  felt  by  deities  of  assured  and  recognized  position 
towards  merely  potential  deities  who  might  encroach  on  their  prerogatives. 
This  is  an  interesting  line  of  speculation,  but  surely  Mr.  Thomson  goes  too 
far  when  he  maintains  that  we  cannot  fully  appreciate  the  poetical  signifi- 
cance of  the  Odyssey  unless  we  realize  that  it  is  ''fashioned  out  of  materials 
of  the  most  different  ages,  and  think  ourselves  back  into  a  time  when  the 
Odyssey  did  not  exist  at  all ".  To  take  the  first  example  that  comes  to  hand, 
it  seems  in  the  highest  degree  probable  that  the  customs  described  in  Burns's 
"  Hallow-e'en  "  are  relics  of  immemorial  Magic  and  Nature  worship ;  they 
offer  alL  the  materials  for  a  fine  anthropological  essay ;  but  to  say  that  we 
cannot  fully  appreciate  the  poem  till  their  origin  has  been  investigated  would 
be  obviously  nonsense.  We  take  these  things  at  their  face  value.  Poetry  is 
one  thing,  Anthropology  another. 


56  Aberdeen   University  Review 

The  book  falls  naturally  into  two  parts  which  however  are  closely  inter- 
related with  one  another,  the  Odysseus  Myth,  and  the  evolution  of  the 
Odyssey  as  we  have  it.  The  main  contention  regarding  Odysseus,  to  which 
the  first  chapter  is  preparatory,  comes  to  something  like  this.  Odysseus  is 
primarily  not  a  Hero  but  what  Miss  Jane  Harrison  calls  an  "  Eniautos 
Daimon  "  or  Fertility  Spirit.  He  is  like  Heracles  and  Theseus  and  Orpheus 
and  Dionysus,  a  "projection,"  an  embodiment  of  a  something  in  the  mind  of 
primitive  man,  a  being  whose  favour  the  savage  seeks  to  propitiate  that  his 
crops  and  his  herds  may  not  fail.  He  descends  to  Hades  like  these  others  : 
that  is  the  death  of  Nature,  the  dead  time  of  the  year.  He  appears  again 
and  slays  the  Suitors  and  is  reunited  to  Penelope :  that  is  the  Epiphany  of 
Spring.  He  is  so  vague  a  conception  that  he  passes  readily  into  many  forms 
or  "  doubles  ".  He  has  features  that  go  to  identify  him  with  Helios,  for  the 
Eniautos  is  the  "Sun  Year,"  and  Odysseus'  sojourn  with  Calypso  "the 
Concealer  "  may  represent  the  periodic  obscuration  of  the  god,  just  as  Helios 
is  not  far  removed  in  this  aspect  from  the  god  Hades.  He  is  a  "double" 
of  Apollo:  both  are  archers.  He  is  very  near  to  Hermes:  indeed  his 
maternal  grandfather,  Autolycus,  "Very  Wolf,"  is  a  "double"  of  that  deity, 
and  Odysseus  himself  is  a  "  double  "  of  Autolycus.  His  very  name  makes 
him  a  "  Wolf  god,"  for  it  is  claimed  that  'OXvaacvs,  the  popular  and  therefore 
the  older,  as  opposed  to  the  literary  and  later  form  OSvo-o-cvs,  contains  the 
stem  X.VK — in  Xvkos,  and  so  on. 

On  this  last  head  we  fear  that  Mr.  Thomson  will  have  a  bad  time  with 
the  philologers,  who  we  imagine  now  incline  to  the  view  that  'OSvo-o-evs  is 
not  a  Greek  name  at  all,  but  "  Mediterranean "  with  a  Greek  suffix.  But 
leaving  him  to  do  his  best  with  that  '■^  irritabile  genus ^'^  it  occurs  to  us  to 
question  whether  the  mind  of  even  primeval  man  is  quite  so  involved  and 
self-contradictory  in  its  constitution  as  the  identification  of  Odysseus  with 
Helios  implies.  As  Helios,  Odysseus  (for  his  followers  are  "secondary")  kills 
the  sacred  kine  of  Helios,  on  account  of  which  Helios  incurs  the  wrath  of 
Helios,  so  that  Helios  persecutes  Helios  through  an  Odyssey  of  woes !  This 
is  a  hard  saying.  And  these  doubles  again  are  a  sore  trial  to  one's  credulity. 
As  we  shall  see,  Odysseus  weds  Penelope,  who  is  a  Wild  Fowl  goddess  of 
Arcadia  and  the  mother  of  Pan.  But  since  Odysseus  is  Helios,  Penelope 
must  also  be  the  Moon.  In  this  it  is  held  there  is  no  inconsistency,  for  as  a 
Fertility  Spirit  she  is  just  as  capable  of  becoming  the  Moon  as  Artemis  is. 
No  doubt  we  shall  be  pitied  for  senile  stiffness  in  our  mental  joints,  but  we 
do  not  seem  to  possess  the  agility  requisite  for  following  these  transformations. 
Professor  Murray,  in  his  coaxing  way,  endeavours  to  make  his  readers 
perform  feats  much  more  remarkable,  but  for  the  most  part  succeeds  only 
in  arousing  one's  suspicions  that  the  tortuosities  with  which  he  invests  the 
mind  of  primeval  man  are  nothing  but  a  reflex  of  his  own. 

The  real  kernel  of  the  book  is  reached  when  proof  is  led  to  show  that  the 
worship  of  this  Odysseus,  no\vfiop<f>o^  now  as  well  as  TroXvfirjTK,  is  originally 
associated  with  Boeotia.  "  Arkeisios,"  his  paternal  grandfather's  name,  is  very 
like  "  Arkesilaos,"  the  name  of  a  hero  buried  at  Lebadeia  in  Boeotia.  More- 
over Odysseus  had  a  son  named  Arkesilaos,  who  was  the  ancestor  of  the 
Battiadae  of  Cyrene  who  claimed  to  be  Minyans  of  Central  Greece.  There- 
fore Arkeisios  was  probably  Arkesilaos  of  Lebadeia.  Therefore  Odysseus 
was   probably    Boeotian  in   origin.     Then    there   is   the   wound   Odysseus 


Reviews  57 

received  from  the  boar  on  Parnassus,  the  prominence  of  the  Theban  Tiresias 
in  the  Eleventh  Odyssey,  and  also  the  fact  that  a  good  many  (not  quite,  how- 
ever, "all  or  nearly  all")  of  the  famous  women  in  the  Nekyia  have  Minyan- 
Boeotian  connexions.  The  sceptic,  however  sorely  tempted,  cannot  dismiss 
all  this  as  of  a  piece  with  Fluellen's  rivers  in  Monmouth  and  Macedon,  "and 
there  is  salmons  in  both  ".  It  seems  to  us  that  a  fairly  strong  case  has  been 
made  out  for  a  greater  connexion  than  is  usually  supposed  between  Odysseus 
and  Boeotia. 

From  Boeotia  Odysseus'  people  are  supposed  to  migrate  by  way  of  the 
Isthmus  of  Corinth  to  Mantineia  in  Arcadia,  where  they  find  that  Wild-Duck 
Goddess,  Penelope  {TrrjviXo\f/),  whose  marriage  with  Odysseus,  though  crossed 
by  two  other  primitive  "motifs,"  "the  Victorious  Wooer  "  and  "the  Returned 
Husband,"  is  held  to  typify  the  union  of  two  peoples  and  of  their  religions. 
From  Arcadia  they  pass  to  Triphylia  in  Elis  and  thence  to  Ithaca,  whence 
they  ultimately  make  for  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor  at  the  time  of  the  Migrations 
and  help  to  found  Ionia.  They  carry  with  them  at  the  same  time  the  legend 
that  makes  the  Odyssey. 

For  the  Arcadian  connexion,  at  least  in  this  part  of  the  assumed  legend, 
the  evidence  cannot  be  called  strong.  The  Mantineians,  it  is  said,  believed 
that  Odysseus  first  introduced  among  them  the  worship  of  Poseidon,  not 
originally,  it  is  held,  a  sea  god,  but  a  horse  god,  whose  worship  naturally 
arose  among  the  Minyans  of  Central  Greece.  And  again  on  Mantineian 
coins  of  the  fourth  century  is  found  a  device  apparently  representing 
Odysseus  planting  his  oar  there,  in  obedience  to  the  oracle  which  bade  him 
"set  it  up  among  a  people  ignorant  of  the  sea  and  to  sacrifice  to  Poseidon  ". 
But  Epirus  is  generally  given  as  the  scene  of  that  ceremony,  and  that  tradition 
is  not  disposed  of  by  the  suggestion  that  people  would  naturally,  in  a  later 
stage  of  the  myth,  select  a  place  nearer  Ithaca  than  distant  Mantineia.  And 
granting  that  Odysseus  went  to  Arcadia,  what  is  there  to  show  that  he  went 
there  on  his  way  to  Ithaca  and  not  on  his  way  back  from  it  at  a  subsequent 
time  ?  Finally,  in  spite  of  aW  the  arguments  advanced,  we  do  not  feel  at  all 
certain  that  the  Water  Fowl  deity  of  Arne  is  "  certainly  "  our  Penelope.  Un- 
less that  is  more  firmly  established  the  whole  edifice  of  proof  is  in  danger  of 
collapsing. 

The  second  part  of  the  book  deals  with  the  genesis  of  the  Odyssey,  and 
here  we  are  launched  on  the  broad  stream  of  the  Homeric  controversy.  It 
will  be  gathered  that  Mr.  Thomson  is  not  a  believer  in  a  Homer  "one  and 
indivisible  ".  He  finds  in  the  Odyssey  a  reflex  of  the  journeys  of  this  Minyan- 
lonian  people,  whom  he  traces  from  Boeotia  through  the  Isthmus  of  Corinth 
to  Mantineia  and  thence  by  way  of  Elis  to  Ithaca.  Each  stage  in  their 
wanderings  has  left  its  trace  in  the  story.  By  aid  of  the  "  Argonautica," 
which  embodies  a  Minyan  legend  of  much  greater  antiquity  than  the  myth 
of  Odysseus,  he  detaches  from  the  Odyssey  its  purely  Boeotian  elements. 
They  practically  coincide  with  the  narrative  of  Odysseus  told  in  the  palace  of 
Alcinous — the  blinding  of  Polyphemus  (which  by  the  way  is  regarded  as  a  mere 
fiction  to  account  for  the  wrath  of  Poseidon),  the  Laestrygones,  Kirke,  the 
visit  to  the  under-world,  the  Catalogue  of  Women,  the  Wandering  Rocks, 
Calypso,  the  wreck  of  the  raft,  and  the  escape  to  Phseacia.  Similarly,  with 
the  aid  of  a  short  abstract  of  the  Telegonia,  an  Epic  poem  by  Eugammon  of 
Cyrene,  preserved  by  Proclus,  we  get  the  Arcadian  element  disengaged  for 


58  Aberdeen  University  Review 

us.  The  test  applied  is  the  same  in  both  cases.  Whatever  in  the  "  Argonau- 
tica  "  or  the  "  Telegonia "  is  inconsistent  with  our  Odyssey  must  be  older 
and  must  represent  the  original  tradition.  Clearly  such  a  /Sdcravos  is  not  in- 
fallible, but  space  does  not  admit  of  its  further  discussion.  It  must  suffice  to 
say  that  this  part  of  the  book  displays  wonderful  cleverness,  and  that  each 
detail  falls  into  its  place  with  a  neatness  that  is  just  a  trifle  suspicious. 

On  the  question  why,  if  the  poem  was  of  Minyan- Ionian  origin,  the 
Achsean  people  is  so  prominent,  Mr.  Thomson  has  less  to  say  that  is  new. 
This  North- Western  stock  was  the  dominant  power  in  Greece  at  the  time 
when  the  Homeric  poems  took  their  present  shape,  and  accordingly  the  poems 
had  to  be  Achseanized  in  its  honour.  But  the  work  of  Achaeanization  has 
been  imperfectly  done,  and  much  of  the  older  substratum  peers  through  in 
spite  of  all. 

Lastly  we  come  to  the  question,  which  possesses  for  most  of  us  the  keenest 
interest,  Who  then  was  this  Homer  ? 

At  the  great  quadrennial  festival  of  the  lonians  in  Delos  a  hymn  to 
Apollo  was  chanted  by  a  Chorus.  In  such  Choruses  there  was  originally  an 
i^dpxov  or  leader  both  of  dance  and  song.  In  time  this  functionary  was  dif- 
ferentiated into  the  professional  Choregos  or  leader  of  the  dance  only,  and 
the  Aoidos  or  leader  of  the  song,  i.e..  Poet  and  Harp-player.  Later  on  a 
further  differentiation  of  the  Aoidos  took  place  into  the  Harp-player  and  the 
Rhapsode  or  professional  reciter  of  verses.  "O/xripos  then  corresponds  to  the 
Aoidos :  he  is  the  traditional  leader  of  the  Song  of  the  Delian  Maiden  Chorus. 
The  name  is  not  that  of  an  individual :  it  is  the  name  of  a  functionary. 
How  then  did  the  word  become  the  name  of  an  individual?  Quite  simply. 
The  verb  ofxrjptlv  can  mean  only  to  be  6p.-qpo^ :  it  is  applied  to  dancers  and 
singers  like  the  Delian  Kourai  including  their  Exarchon.  The  opuqpoi  "  pro- 
ject "  an  individual  "O/xrjpos,  just  as  the  Amphiktyones  "  projected "  Am- 
phiktyon,  the  Bacchoi,  Bacchus,  the  SatSaXAovrcs,  Daedalus.  There  were 
many  such  xo/ooi  in  Greece ;  the  names  given  to  the  Muses,  Helikoniades, 
Pierides,  Olympiades,  etc.,  are  evidence  thereto,  and  hence  we  can  understand 
why  so  many  cities  claimed  to  be  Homer's  birthplace.  The  name  of  this 
Aoidos  functionary  was  "O/AT/pos  at  Smyrna,  Chios,  Colophon  and  all  the  rest. 
Homer  then,  from  being  the  traditional  Aoidos  or  author  of  the  Delian 
Hymn,  came  to  be  counted  the  author  of  much  other  traditional  poetry  that 
was  recited  in  later  days  at  the  Delian  Festival.  That  poetry  included  the 
Odyssey,  which  by  frequent  repetition  became  an  artistic  epic  poem,  and  was 
ultimately  transferred  from  the  Delian  to  the  Panathenaic  Festival  at  Athens. 

A  very  pretty  theory,  but  unless  we  are  greatly  mistaken  there  is  a  screw 
loose  in  it.  If  ofx-qpos  is  a  definite  functionary,  the  Aoidos  or  poet  of  the 
Chorus,  and  if  ofxrjpeiv  means  to  be  op.-qpo'Sj  how  can  the  words  be  applied 
to  the  Delian  Kourai  even  if  we  "include  their  exarchon"?  Were  they  all 
o/x-qpoi,  these  6p.r]p€vvT€<;  and  op.-qpivaai  ?  This  won't  do  at  any  price.  Again 
Hesiod's  c^wvry  o/jtrypcvo-ai,  it  is  said,  must  mean  the  same  as  the  "  Muses " 
d/jt€i)8o/A€vai  oTTt  KoXrj,  i.e.,  singing  amoeboean  verses  in  a  contest  such  as  we 
have  in  Theocritus,  "  fitting  together  with  the  voice,"  in  the  sense  that  one 
Muse  takes  up  the  song  at  the  point  where  another  leaves  off.  Were  these 
all  ofirjpoL,  with  one  ofirjpos  par  excellence  1  The  point  is  far  from  clear.  But 
this  much  is  certain,  that  a  great  deal  depends  on  it — the  whole  notion,  for 
instance,  that  the  Rhapsodes  might  be  called  o/ATypcvvrcs  because  they  could 


Reviews  59 


be  said  tfxovfj  o/xrjpcLv,  and  might  imagine  for  themselves  an  ancestor  "Ofirfpo^ 
and  call  themselves  Homeridae  as  the  8ai8aAAovT€s  imagined  for  themselves 
an  ancestor  Daidalos.  Unless  this  point  can  be  cleared  up,  the  explanation 
of  the  name  "  Homer  "  must  go  the  way  of  many  another. 

Some  aid  to  the  theory  seems  sought  from  a  parallel  explanation  of 
paipioSo^.  It  is  said  to  mean  "one  who  stitches  lay  to  lay,"  from  pd-nreLv  wSa?, 
as  we  can  say  paimiv  jSovXds  **  to  add  counsel  to  counsel ".  It  seems  im- 
plied that  pGLTTTeiv  can  be  used  only  when  you  have  fwo  things  to  be  stitched 
together.  How  then  about  pd-rrreiv  <f>6vov,  p.dpov,  etc.,  when  there  are  cer- 
tainly not  two  (fiovoL?     Why  cannot  pdirreiv  ioSijv  mean  "to  sew  a  lay"? 

The  question  whether  Mr.  Thomson  is  right  in  contending  that  Homer 
is  no  more  than  a  type  or  representation  of  all  the  minstrels  who  produced 
the  poetry  passing  under  his  name  is  too  vast  to  discuss  here.  His  argu- 
ments have  not  induced  us  to  give  up  our  belief  in  a  Homer  any  more  than 
those  of  Professor  Murray  who  thinks  that  the  Homeric  poems  are  something 
far  more  wonderful  than  the  work  of  an  individual,  as  being  the  work  of  a 
whole  people.  But  one  contention  may  be  noticed.  In  answer  to  the 
argument  that  the  architectonic  of  the  Plot  of  the  Odyssey  implies  a  single 
mind,  Mr.  Thomson  retorts  that  Plots  are  frequently  produced  by  col- 
laboration. But  we  have  never  heard  of  the  collaboration  of  more  than  two 
at  a  time.  Is  it  credible  that  the  poets  and  audiences  collaborating  over 
many  years  could  have  produced  a  poem  with  the  unity  of  the  Odyssey,  or 
that  improvement  in  the  plot  could  come  from  the  efforts  of  the  former  to 
adapt  themselves  to  the  taste  of  the  latter?  When  some  one  individual 
writes  a  satisfactory  conclusion  to  "Edwin  Drood  "  or  "St.  Ives,"  or  "Weir 
of  Hermiston,"  then  we  shall  begin  to  think  it  worth  while  discussing  the 
question  whether  the  multifarious  tastes  and  differences  in  culture  in  many 
generations  of  hearers  and  the  varying  talents  of  many  generations  of  bards 
could  possibly  combine  to  produce  a  literary  work  of  art  in  any  sense  of  the 
term.  It  is  all  very  well  to  say  that  we  should  not  measure  the  possibilities  of 
ancient  by  those  of  modern  life  with  its  entirely  different  conditions,  but  why 
should  conditions  of  life  regarding  which  we  are  so  much  in  the  dark  be 
thought  capable  of  producing  results  which  we  do  know  are  impossible  in 
modern  society? 

One  last  remark.  Mr.  Thomson  "cannot  help  thinking  that  Greek 
scholarship  in  the  immediate  future  will  be  largely  concerned  with  the  re- 
building of  the  tradition"  latent  in  the  vast  popular  literature  of  the  myths. 
May  all  the  gods  and  goddesses  avert  it !  The  prospect  is  too  horrible  to 
contemplate — a  welter  of  individual  opinion,  scholars  plunging  about  in  an 
infinite  bog  of  uncertain  speculation !  No,  this  phase,  we  venture  to  think, 
will  pass  like  that  of  the  Sun- Myth,  and  every  other  line  of  speculation 
where,  in  the  words  of  Protagoras,  "what  seems  good  to  each  man  is  true 
for  him,"  and  where  the  proportion  of  truth  attained  is  as  one  grain  of  com 
to  a  ton  of  chaff.  Greek  literature  has  not  yet  yielded  up  all  its  secrets. 
We  do  not  often  agree  with  Professor  Murray  on  any  subject  under  the  sun, 
but  we  do  agree  with  him  when  he  says  that  the  most  pressing  work  of  pure 
scholarship  lies  in  "catching  across  the  gulf  of  years  the  peculiar  thrill  of 
what  was  once  a  winged  word  passing  from  soul  to  soul ". 

John  Harrower. 


6o  Aberdeen  University  Review 

The  South  African  Book  of  English  Verse.     Edited  by  John  Purves, 
M.  A,     London :  Longmans,  Green  &  Co. 

This  is  not,  as  the  title  carelessly  read  might  suggest,  an  Anthology  of  English 
poems  by  South  African  poets,  but  a  collection  of  EngHsh  lyrics,  from  the 
age  of  Shakespeare  to  the  present  day,  which  the  collector  believes  to  be  most 
likely  to  appeal  to  the  young  South  African  at  school  and  college.  Mr. 
Purves  is  an  Edinburgh  graduate  of  great  distinction  and  learning,  who  was 
for  a  few  years  Lecturer  in  English  Literature  and  Language  in  the  University  of 
Aberdeen.  Since  1906  he  has  been  Professor  of  the  same  subjects  in  Trans- 
vaal University  College,  first  at  Johannesburg,  now  at  Pretoria.  Few  men 
that  the  present  reviewer  knows  have  as  wide  a  knowledge  of  English  poetry 
or  so  intimate  an  acquaintance  and  sympathy  with  the  poets  of  our  own  day  ; 
certainly  no  one  has  anything  like  Mr.  Purves's  familiarity  with  European  poetry 
and  literature — English,  French,  German,  Spanish,  Italian,  Portuguese,  and 
Dutch.  Nor  is  Mr.  Purves's  judgment  and  taste  obscured  by  his  learning. 
He  is  one  of  the  not  too  many  people  who  know  a  good  poem  as  soon  as 
they  see  it,  whose  opinion  is  no  reflection  of  established  or  fashionable  tastes 
but  the  index  of  his  own  susceptibility.  It  would  be  hard  to  find  one  better 
fitted  to  cull  an  anthology. 

The  weakness  which  besets  the  anthology  gathered  for  use  in  school  or 
college  classes  flows  from  the  want  of  a  single  guiding  principle,  the  desire  to 
do  more  than  one  thing.  The  collector  is  not  contented  or  allowed  to  give 
just  the  poems  he  likes  best,  which  is  probably  the  only  way  to  draw  near  to 
that  unobtainable  ideal  success.  He  must  think  of  his  special  audience ;  and 
he  may  feel  that  it  is  his  duty  to  be  representative — representative  of  authors, 
representative  of  kinds.  All  these  difficulties  have  beset  Mr.  Purves's  path, 
leading  to  inclusions  and  omissions  with  which  a  critic  might  cavil,  and  in 
addition  he  has  undertaken  two  responsibilities  proper  to  his  work  as  a  teacher 
and  his  tastes  as  a  reader.  The  first  of  these  is  to  adapt  his  selection  to 
South  African  taste,  and  the  second  is  to  represent  the  work  of  the  living  poets 
of  to-day. 

Quite  justly  Mr.  Purves  insists  that  our  enjoyment  of  poetry  depends  to 
some  degree  on  our  close  understanding  of  the  kind  of  life  and  experience 
which  the  poetry  reflects,  the  "  admixture  of  temporal  circumstance  "  which 
€ven  lyric  poetry  admits.  We  shall  never  feel  Homer  and  Virgil,  nor  even 
Sappho  and  Catullus,  quite  as  their  contemporaries  and  countrymen  did.  The 
whole  aim  and  end  of  scholarship  is  to  help  us  towards  such  a  comprehension. 
And  so,  Mr.  Purves  argues,  we  cannot  expect  the  young  South  African  to  feel 
and  to  enjoy  poems  which,  like  Tennyson's  English  idylls  or  Gray's  Elegy ^  are 
saturated  with  suggestions  of  English  scenery  and  English  life,  its  institutions 
and  habits.  "The  scenery  and  the  manners"  of  England  "are  mirrored  in 
the  placid  surface  of  Tennyson's  poems  as  in  a  silver  lake.  And  over  it  there 
lies  the  gracious  shadow  of  the  English  country-rectory  and  the  soft  light  of 
English  skies."  "  Only  the  reader  who  realizes  how  Gray's  Elegy  is  drowned 
and  saturated  in  England  can  be  said  to  get  from  it  all  that  it  has  to  give." 
All  that  the  South  African  poet  can  learn  from  such  poems  is  "  the  art  which 
can  make  his  own  landscape  lyrical,"  and  Mr.  Purves  quotes  from  a  Mr. 
Crosbie  Garstin : — 


Reviews  6 1 

The  red  flame-flowers  bloom  and  die, 

The  embers  puff  a  golden  spark, 
Now  and  again  a  horse's  eye 

Shines  like  a  topaz  in  the  dark. 

A  distant  jackal  jars  the  hush, 

The  drowsy  oxen  chump  and  sigh, 
The  ghost  moon  peers  above  the  bush, 

And  creeps  across  the  starry  sky. 

This  last  statement  and  illustration  certainly  give  to  think,  for  they  suggest 
that  the  very  fact  which  Mr.  Purves  adduces  as  a  reason  for  excluding  such 
poems  might  be  used  to  argue  for  their  retention.  There  is  gain  as  well  as 
loss  in  want  of  familiarity  with  the  experience  with  which  a  poet  deals  so  it  be 
that  his  record  is  sincere  and  imaginative.  For  it  is  one  of  the  functions  of 
poetry  to  widen  and  enrich  our  experience.  What  Mr.  Purves  says  suggests 
that  to  a  South  African  student  English  poetry  may  be  made  to  render  the 
same  service  as  classical  poetry  has  to  an  older  world,  to  enrich  the  mind  with 
a  revelation  of  experiences  remote  from  his  own  yet  connected  with  them  by  the 
unity  of  what  is  universal  in  the  relation  of  man's  mind  to  the  natural  environ- 
ment in  which  it  lives  and  grows.  It  is  just  so  that  literature  begets  litera- 
ture. What  Mr.  Purves  suggests  that  the  poetry  of  Milton  and  Gray  have  done 
for  Mr.  Crosbie  Garstin,  Horace  and  Virgil  did  in  their  time  for  Milton  and 
Gray.  Our  magnificent  rural  poetry — as  one  may  call  it  by  way  of  dis- 
tinction from  the  conventional  pastoralism  of  Spenser  and  his  followers  to 
Pope, — English  as  it  is  in  all  the  details  of  picture  and  sentiment,  is  yet  of 
classical  inspiration.  Ben  Jonson's  attempt  to  naturalize  the  "  Beatus  ille  " 
of  Horace,  Thomson's  selection  of  the  "  Georgics  "  as  his  model  in  preference 
to  the  "  Eclogues,''  are  the  fountain-head  of  all  that  has  followed  to  the  idylls 
of  Wordsworth  and  Tennyson  of  Crabbe  and  Mr.  Masefield. 

Professor  Purves  seems  to  me  on  stronger  ground  when  he  pleads  that 
we  should  allow  no  barrier  "  of  a  literary  convention  which  is  both  artificial 
and  antiquated  "  to  stand  between  the  young  colonial  and  his  enjoyment  of 
poetry.  The  **  frustrate  mediaevalism  "  of  Tennyson's  "  Idylls  of  the  King," 
the  artificial  classicism  of  Pindaric  odes  and  classical  elegy  appeal  to  an 
interest  which  has  been  produced  by  a  long  educational  tradition  that  the 
colonial  has  never  fully  entered  into  and  probably  never  will  now — in  any 
large  numbers.  His  education  is  modern,  his  life  is  controlled  from  the 
outset  by  a  consciousness  of  the  realities  of  life,  meaning  thereby  the  simple, 
obvious  realities  of  money-making  and  material  needs  and  pleasures.  It  is 
all  the  more  essential  that  poetry  should  be  made  a  vital  factor  in  his 
education  to  quicken  and  sustain  the  ideal  and  aesthetic  impulses  which  other- 
wise might  perish  altogether.  But  poetry  that  is  to  do  this,  to  emancipate 
the  spirit  from  the  tyranny  of  material  pursuits  and  coarse,  crude  pleasures, 
must  appeal  to  him  by  the  sincerity  and  directness  of  its  emotional  appeal. 
There  is  abundant  sincerity  in  **  Lycidas  ''—pace  Dr.  Johnson  whose 
criticism,  Mr.  Purves  says,  "  would  find  many  echoes  in  South  Africa ". 
"Lycidas"  and  "Samson  Agonistes "  are  of  all  Milton's  poems — except  only 
the  personal  passages  in  "  Paradise  Lost  " — the  most  passionate  utterances  of 
Milton's  self- consciousness  at  widely  separated  periods  of  his  life.  "  Lycidas '' 
is  the  first  passionate  poem  which  Milton  wrote  and  "  Samson  Agonistes  "  is, 
as  Treitschke  said,  "  a  work  composed  at  one  gush  with  a  success  Milton 
seldom  attained :  from  first  word  to  last  a  song  of  lament  piercing  bone  and 


62  Aberdeen  University  Review 

marrow  ".  But  in  both,  this  passionate  sincerity  is  disguised,  especially  to 
the  young  reader,  by  the  elaborate  artificiality  of  form.  He  looks  for  pathos 
in  "Lycidas"  and  he  feels  with  Dr.  Johnson  that  "in  this  poem  there  is  no 
nature,  for  there  is  no  truth  ...  he  who  thus  grieves  will  excite  no  sym- 
pathy ".  But  he  is  wrong.  The  subject  of  *'  Lycidas  "  is  not  the  death  of 
Mr.  King  as  that  concerns  King  but  as  it  concerns  Milton.  The  poet  has 
been  brought  face  to  face  with  the  thought  '*  I  too  may  die  before  I  have  done 
anything  ".  That  is  the  passionate  thought  from  which  the  poem  springs, 
most  clearly  uttered  in  the  two  passages  which  transcend  the  pastoral  con- 
vention but  audible  in  the  cadences  throughout,  for  with  all  its  faults 
**  Lycidas  "  is  the  most  wonderful  poem  in  the  language  "  ringing  and  echoing 
with  music  in  every  line  ". 

Accordingly  we  should  miss  "  Lycidas  "  in  Mr.  Purves's  anthology  were  it 
not  that  it  is  easily  found  elsewhere.  The  safest  conclusion  which  he  has 
drawn  from  his  study  of  the  colonial  mind,  and  it  follows  from  the  study  of 
the  youthful  mind  in  all  parts  of  the  globe,  is  that  such  an  anthology  should 
contain  as  many  modern  poems  as  possible.  The  most  interesting  and  novel 
feature  of  this  selection  is  the  large  number  of  poems  it  includes  written  since 
the  death  of  Tennyson  and  Browning — poems  not  only  by  Swinburne  and 
Morris  but  by  Meredith,  Bridges,  Stevenson,  Francis  Thompson,  Newbolt, 
Kipling,  Yeats,  Trench,  and  Davies.  Of  more  special  interest  for  the  colonial 
are  the  examples  of  Australian,  New  Zealand,  South  African,  and  Canadian 
verse.  Only  a  small  number  of  these  are  of  enduring  value  but  some 
certainly  are ;  and  of  the  American  poems  proper  those  by  Longfellow,  Poe, 
and  Whitman  have  long  ago  established  their  claim  to  be  classics.  It  is  a 
bold  step  that  Mr.  Purves  has  taken  thus  to  include  in  an  anthology  for  the 
school  and  the  general  reader  many  poems  whose  title  to  immortality  has  yet 
to  be  adjudged  upon ;  but  it  is  a  wise  step.  To  have  made  a  wider  circle  of 
readers  familiar  with  Swinburne's  wonderful  "  A  Nympholept "  (in  stanza  4, 
for  "  the  might  of  the  Moon  "  read  "  the  might  of  the  noon  "),  Bridges'  "  I 
have  loved  flowers  that  fade,"  Thompson's  "  Hound  of  Heaven,"  and  Mrs. 
Meynell's  "  Letter  from  a  girl  to  her  own  old  age,"  is  a  service  to  the  study  of 
English  literature.  Some  indeed,  as  Stevenson's  "The  Woodman,"  have 
claimed  a  space  they  hardly  deserve,  but  the  whole  effect  is  to  make  the 
anthology  unconventional,  unhackneyed,  a  challenge  to  the  reader's  own 
judgment. 

And  this  unconventional  challenging  character  belongs  to  Mr.  Purves's 
whole  selection.  When  we  turn  from  the  modern  to  the  more  familiar  authors 
we  find  almost  in  every  case  alongside  poems  which  every  anthology  contains 
others  that  the  editor  believes  have  suffered  from  some  degree  of  undeserved 
neglect.  Campion's  "  Rose-cheekt  Laura,"  Donne's  "  Since  I  am  coming 
to  that  Holy  room,"  Milton's  **0n  Time,"  and  the  beautiful  Doric  lyrics 
from  "Comus,"  the  Canadian  Boat-Song,  Keats's  ode  "On  a  lock  of 
Milton's  hair,"  are  some  of  the  pieces  found  here  and  not  often  in  other 
Anthologies.  Of  course  the  inclusion  of  modern,  colonial,  and  less  usual 
pieces  has  led  to  many  omissions.  Only  one  of  Keats's  best-known  odes 
is  given.  But  this  has  probably  been  done  on  purpose.  Mr.  Purves  is  quite 
aware  that  his  anthology  does  not  stand  alone.  He  has  striven,  while  adher- 
ing to  the  main  tradition,  to  enrich  that  tradition,  to  wander  from  the  beaten 
track,  to  challenge  the  student's  own  judgment  on  less  familiar  poems. 


Reviews  63 


Of  individual  poets  the  most  flawless  group  is  probably  that  selected  from 
Herrick.  "  Burns  "  is  nearly  perfect,  including  "  O  Mary  at  thy  window  be," 
*'0  a'  the  airts,"  "Go  fetch  to  me  a  pint  of  wine,"  "O  my  love's  like  a  red, 
red  rose,"  "O  open  the  door  some  pity  to  shew,"  "It  was  a'  for  our  rightfu' 
king  ".  But  to  these  gems  we  should  have  liked  to  add  "  When  o'er  the 
hills  the  eastern  star  "  of  the  same  rare  quality,  and,  as  only  a  little  less  precious, 
"  The  Country  Lass,"  "  Tam  Glen,"  "  Duncan  Gray,"  and  *'  Auld  Lang  Syne  ". 
The  wish  to  be  representative  has  probably  led  to  the  inclusion  of  the  de- 
clamatory "  Is  there  for  honest  poverty,"  and  pastoral  "  O  leeze  me  on  my 
spinning  wheel  ".     The  ballads  are  excellently  selected. 

The  richness  of  English  poetry  is  overwhelming.  While  reading  Mr. 
Purves's  book  we  have  been  dipping  into  "Die  Ernte,"  a  recent  Anthology  of 
German  lyrics.  The  freshness  and  beauty  of  German  song  is  undeniable,  but 
how  limited  the  range  compared  with  English.  The  period  up  to  the 
eighteenth  century  is  represented  by  119  pages  out  of  466.  All  that  is  best 
strikes  the  note  of  folk-song.  One  poet  after  another  writes  beautiful  songs 
in  this  vein.  But  the  result  is  a  certain  lack  of  individuality.  We  have  not 
many  poets  who  can  give  to  the  strains  of  folk-song  the  warmth  and  colour 
of  Goethe,  the  poignant  passion  and  irony  of  Heine  ;  but  what  a  succession 
of  individual  poets  our  history  presents,  of  poets  each  of  whom  is  a  literature 
in  himself — Chaucer,  Spenser,  Donne,  Milton,  Herrick,  Shelley,  Wordsworth, 
their  name  is  legion.  After  Goethe  and  Heine  who  is  there  of  the  same 
rich  and  complex  individuality  ? 

H.  J.  C.  Grierson.    ^ 

Pre- Reformation  Scholars  in  Scotland  in  the  Sixteenth  Century  : 
THEIR  Writings  and  their  Public  Services.  With  a  Bibliography 
and  a  List  of  Graduates  from  1500  to  1560.  By  W.  Forbes 
Leith,  S.J.  "  A  list  of  the  Scottish  scholars  driven  from  the  land  at  the 
Reformation  for  their  attachment  to  the  Roman  Catholic  faith  would  form 
an  exceedingly  interesting  chapter  of  Scottish  literary  history'' — Sir  William 
Hamilton,  "  Discussions  on  Philosophy  ".  Glasgow  :  James  MacLehose 
&  Sons.     1 91 5.     8vo,  pp.  viii  +  156.     With  18  illustrations.     Price  6s. 

In  1882,  Franco- Scottish  history  was  enriched  by  this  local  author's  sumptuous 
work  "The  Scots  men-at-arms  in  France,"  and  during  the  following  seven 
years  the  history  of  his  Church  owed  to  his  industry  two  volumes  of  "  Narratives 
of  Scottish  Catholics,"  and  also  Lives  of  St.  Margaret  and  of  St.  Cuthbert. 
Thanks  to  careful  editorship  by  Mr.  P.  J.  Anderson,  to  whom  we  are  indebted 
for  the  satisfactory  completion  and  admirable  arrangement  of  the  volume,  his 
"Records  of  the  Scots  Colleges,"  New  Spalding  Club,  1906,  is  a  valuable 
historical  book  of  reference.  But  the  attractive-looking  and  beautifully-illus- 
trated book  before  me  contains  neither  original  history,  useful  bibliography, 
nor  collections  of  names  to  which  interest  is  attached  by  collateral  research, 
while  many  vital  errors  of  omission  and  commission  render  it  untrustworthy 
and  of  little  literary  value.  Its  purpose  is  hard  to  discover,  for  contents  and 
title  are  not  correlative,  and  Hamilton's  desideratum  is  unattained.  It  is 
hardly  ascertainable  even  from  the  introduction  (pp.  1-21)  in  which  historical 
quotations  of  a  great  many  authors,  from  T.  Bourchier,  1582,  to  Andrew 
Lang,  191 1,  are  strung  together  by  a  running  commentary  under  several  dif- 


64  Aberdeen  University  Review 

ferent  heads  striving » to  establish  that  within  the  ranks  of  the  pre-reformation 
clergy  in  Scotland  there  were  men  more  or  less  learned  in  the  classics,  phil- 
osophy, law  and  architecture,  besides  educationists,  Masters  of  Arts  and  phil- 
anthropists, and  that  not  all  were  ignorant  or  degenerate.  Being  unaware 
that  the  contrary  is  anywhere  seriously  alleged,  there  is  here  so  little  room  for 
difference  or  criticism  that  the  only  remark  necessary  seems  to  be  a  warning 
to  the  reader  of  the  book  that  it  is  dangerous  to  accept  any  of  the  numerous, 
quotations  without  examination  of  their  author's  context,  because  unhappily 
this  author  has  already  proved  himself  capable  of  gross  perversion,  as  the 
following  example  painfully  illustrates.  In  the  "  Life  of  Andrew  Melville  " 
(ed.  of  1824,  ii.  278)  Dr.  Thomas  McCrie  described  how  the  seventeenth- 
century  protestants  of  France  had  six  universities  and  fifteen  colleges,  and 
stated  that  the  number  of  Scotsmen  who  taught  in  them  was  great :  "  They 
were  to  be  found  in  all  the  universities  and  colleges ;  in  several  of  them  they 
held  the  honorary  situation  of  principal,  and  in  others  they  amounted  to  a 
third  part  of  the  professors  ".  In  Father  Forbes-Leith's  **  Narratives  of  Scottish 
Catholics,"  1885,  p.  7,  the  last  sentence  is  quoted  as  if  related  by  McCrie 
of  the  pre-reformation  clergy  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  It  is  regrettable 
to  add  that  the  late  Dr.  Rankin  and  his  editor  Dr.  Story  carelessly  accepted 
the  perversion  without  examination  in  "  The  Church  of  Scotland  Past  and 
Present,"  ii.  410. 

The  Bibliography  (pp.  23-98)  deals  incompletely  with  the  literary  work  of 
about  seventy  different  Scottish  Catholic  authors  from  Henry  the  Minstrel  of 
the  fourteenth  century  down  to  John  Barclay  (Argenis)  of  the  seventeenth, 
within  which  range  the  number  might  easily  have  been  trebled.  Very  many 
great  names,  including  those  of  George  Buchanan,  John  Knox  and  Sir  David 
Lindsay,  all  of  whom  were  "  pre-reformation  scholars  in  Scotland  in  the  six- 
teenth century,"  are  obviously  excluded  from  the  list  because  in  different  ways 
they  supported  and  influenced  the  glorious  struggle  for  religious  purity  whose 
successful  issue  earned  for  them  the  perpetual  blessing  of  their  country.  But 
it  is  difficult  to  comprehend  why  John  Barbour  and  the  Fathers  Archangel  of 
the  families  of  Forbes  and  Leslie  are  unnoticed :  why  James  Gordon  (Huntlseus) 
is  included  and  his  contemporary  James  Gordon  (Lesmorseus),  an  eminent 
Biblical  expositor,  is  excluded  ;  why  Alexander  Scot,  the  Grecian,  appears, 
while  his  friend  and  fellow- student  at  King's  College,  William  Chisholme, 
Bishop  of  Vaison,  the  assailant  of  the  Scots  Confession  in  1600,  is  unmentioned. 
The  number  of  such  omissions  is  very  large  and  other  features  of  the  section 
are  equally  defective.  The  arrangement  is  irregularly  chronological,  the  treat- 
ment methodless  and  inconsistent,  and  not  one  collation  is  complete.  Of 
many  books  only  a  single  line  description  is  given,  as  "  Ulric  in  personas. 
Chepman  and  Myllar,"  which  in  an  annexed  note  is  said  to  repose  in  the 
"  Advocates'  Library,"  although  no  copy  has  yet  been  discovered  anywhere. 
It  is  included  under  the  erroneous  heading  "  Anonymous  "  as  are  also  a  work 
by  John  de  Garlandia,  an  Englishman,  and  "  The  Porteous  of  Noblenes,"  1508, 
a  translation  from  the  French  into  Scots,  the  author  of  which,  according  to  its 
colophon,  was  Mr.  Androw  Cadiou,  who  graduated  in  Paris  in  1472,  and  after- 
wards practised  as  an  advocate  and  notary  public  in  Aberdeen.  The  unknown 
authorship  of  two  early  examples  of  the  Scottish  press,  "  Compassio  Beatae 
Marie,"  printed  by  John  Story  {circ.  1520),  and  "Strena,"a  Latin  poem  ad- 
dressed to  King  James  V,  printed  by  Thomas  Davidson  {circ.  1538)  is  attri- 


Reviews  65 


buted  to  Adam  Prsemonstratensis,  assuredly  an  egregious  blunder.  Quite  half 
the  number  of  authors  treated  are  men  of  North-east  Scotland,  and  the  early 
researches  of  Aberdeen  bibliographers,  published  in  "  Scottish  Notes  and 
Queries  "  and  elsewhere,  are  freely  borrowed ;  but  Mr.  Keith  Leask  is  called 
"W.  Keith"  on  p.  43,  and  the  "Delitiae  Poetarum  Scotorum,"on  p.  92,  is  said 
to  have  been  published  in  1557,  many  years  before  its  editors  and  most  of  its 
contributors  were  born.  Of  the  great  number  of  mistakes  perhaps  the  most 
stupid  and  careless  are  those  committed  jw<^  William  Barclay  (pp.  92-94)  where 
the  lives  and  works  of  two  Aberdeen  authors  of  the  same  name  have  been 
pounded  together  into  a  hopeless  mess.  The  most  creditable  part  of  the 
section  belongs  to  the  late  Dr.  Thomas  Graves  Law,  librarian  of  the  Signet, 
whose  bibliographical  notes  of  the  works  of  John  Major,  David  Cranston, 
Robert  Caubraith,  George  Lokert  and  William  Manderston,  with  their  defects 
and  mistakes  uncorrected,  have  been  adopted  almost  verbatim  from  the 
Scottish  History  Society's  edition  of  the  '*  Historia  Majoris  Britanniae". 

The  "List  of  Masters  of  Arts,  1500-1560"  (pp.  99-145)  is  stated  in  the 
introduction  to  contain  11 00  names,  but  I  count  only  1013,  of  which  123  are 
duplicates,  leaving  the  actual  number  of  individuals  at  890.     The  dates  set 
against  the  names  have  no  reference  to  graduation,  but  merely  to  their  oc- 
currence in  diocesan  or  public  records,  or  in  such  books  as  Joseph  Robert- 
son's "Antiquities  of  Aberdeen  and  Banff,"  or  P.  J.  Anderson's  "Aberdeen 
Friars,"  from  which  they  have  been  extracted;  e.g.  "  1513,  Laurence  Purdy, 
vicar  of  Durrisdere,"  who  graduated  at  Paris  in  1477.     It  may  therefore  be 
justly  estimated  that  about  one-half  of  the  men  graduated  before  1500,  so 
that  instead  of  displaying  the  graduations  of  less  than  sixty  years  the  list  more 
nearly  presents  those  of  a  whole  century,  and  thus  for  lack  of  better  parti- 
culars is  of  negligible  chronological  value.     The  collection  of  the  names,  to 
which  a  great  many  might  have  been  added  by  more  extended  extractions,  is 
mere  spade  work  of  the  most  elementary  description,  but  to  make  the  list 
interesting,  enlightening,  useful,  and  suitable   for   separate   publication,  ex- 
tensive further  researches  and  a  most  capable  and  accurate  editor  are  still 
required.    Were  the  names  collated  with  the  existing  registers  of  the  universities 
of  Paris,  St.  Andrews  and  Glasgow,  many  dates  of  graduation  and  other  im- 
portant information  would  be  recovered,  and  the  men  who  graduated  at 
King's  College,  Aberdeen,  where  no  register  of  the  sixteenth  century  has  been 
preserved,  would  to  a  certain  extent  become  identifiable.     In  other  direc- 
tions research  would  discover  the  successive  cures  held  by  many  of  the 
graduates,  95  per  cent  of  whom  were  celibate  priests  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  and  might  have  identified  many  good  ministers,  of  blameless  life,  who 
transferred  their  services  to  the  Reformed  Church  in  1559  and  subsequent 
years.     Other  very  interesting  researches  would   discover   the   professional 
qualities  and  private  personal  character  of  many  of  the  graduates  relative  to 
the  causes  which  made  the  reformation  of  their  church  an  absolute  necessity. 
And  here  I  observe  that  in  an  innocent-looking  footnote  Father  Forbes-Leith 
informs  us  that  "the  present  list  does  not  include  many  names  of  Masters  of 
Arts  recorded  in  the  MS.  volumes  of  the  Registers  of  the  Privy  Seal ".     But 
he  describes  his  list  as  "  a  remarkable  display  of  the  life  and  vigour  which 
had  been  given  to  the  Church  just  when  she  seemed  to  be  beaten  out  of  the 
field  by  her  foes,"  and  why  should  additional  names  so  readily  accessible  be 
withheld  ?     The  reason  why  is  easily  found,  for  the  Privy  Seal  Registers  dis- 

5 


66  Aberdeen  University  Review 

close  that  during  the  last  thirty  years  of  the  reign  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
hierarchy  in  Scotland,  the  dissolute  members  of  the  priesthood  of  every  grade 
from  cardinal  to  chaplain  and  curate  were  preparing  for  the  inevitable  crash 
by  securing  their  ill-gotten  possessions,  including  many  which  really  belonged 
to  the  Church  itself,  to  their  bastard  children  by  having  them  legitimized  to 
prevent  the  succession  of  the  Crown  as  ultima  hceres.  These  voluminous 
"Lists  of  Legitimations,"  extracted  from  the  registers  by  Dr.  David  Hay 
Fleming,  with  the  care  and  absolute  accuracy  which  distinguishes  all  his  work, 
were  published  in  his  "Reformation  in  Scotland:  its  causes,  characteristics, 
consequences,"  London,  1910,  pp.  546-569.  Therein  we  discover  that 
Cardinal  David  Beaton,  Primate  of  Scotland,  1538- 1546,  was  the  father  of 
ten  legitimized  bastards,  and  that  his  successor,  "  the  most  reverend  father  in 
Christ,"  John  Hamilton,  Archbishop  of  St.  Andrews,  1546- 15 59,  himself  a 
bastard,  had  six  natural  children  legitimized,  besides  others  who  were  dowered 
without  the  like  formality.  This  arch-hypocrite  was  the  author  of  "The 
Catechisme,"  1552,  and  of  "Ane  Godlie  Exhortatioun,"  1559,  contemptu- 
ously nick-named  by  the  Scottish  people  "The  Twa-penny  Faith,"  praised  in 
the  bibliography,  apparently  on  the  authority  of  the  late  Principal  Story,  for 
"  moral  tone  "  and  "  devotional  feeling  ".  With  these  dignitaries  and  many 
similarly  tainted  bishops,  abbots  and  other  highly  placed  "most  reverend 
fathers  "  for  exemplars,  it  is  only  natural  to  find  in  the  lists  scores,  and  some- 
times successive  bastard  generations  of  Father  Forbes-Leith's  Masters  of 
Arts.  A  few  selections  at  random  will  amply  illustrate  a  too  frequent  phase 
of  the  boasted  "life  and  vigour  "  they  gave  to  the  Church, 
(i)   1529,   June   2.     Mr.   Bernard  Bailze,    son   of  quondam  Mr.   Cuthbert 

Bailze,  Commendator  of  Glenluce.     Reg.  viii.  52. 
1550,  May  16.     John  Baillie,  son  of  quondam  Mr.  Bernard  Baillie,  rector 

of  Lammyngtoun.     xxiii.  88. 

(2)  1539-40,  Feb.   18.     Robert  Nicholsoun,  son  of  Mr.  David  Nicholsoun, 

vicar  of  Mareculter.     xiii.  74.     [In  the  same  year  they  were  appointed 
conjunctly  and  severally  Sheriff  Clerks  of  Aberdeen.] 

(3)  1545-46,  Jany.  23.     Henry  and  Nicholas  Thorntoun,  sons  of  Mr.  John 

Thorntoun,  precentor  of  Moray,     xix.  73. 
1550,  August  I.     Gilbert  Thorntoun,  son  of  Mr.  John  Thorntoun,  pre- 
centor of  Moray,     xxiv.  II. 

(4)  1546,   Oct.    28.     Mr.   Gilbert  Malcolmsoun,   rector  of  Craginche,  and 

Dominus  John  Malcolmsoun,  brothers,  sons  of  quondam  Dominus 
John  Malcolmsoun ;  and  John  Malcolmsoun,  son  of  the  said  Dominus 
John.  XX.  57.  [Dominus  applies  to  priests  who  had  not  graduated 
M.A.],. 
1546,  Oct.  28.  John  Malcolmsoun,  son  of  Mr.  Gilbert  Malcolmsoun, 
rector  of  Craginche.     xx.  57. 

(5)  1 5 52*  June  14.     William  and  Alexander  Meldrum,  sons  of  Mr.  William 

Meldrum,  vicar  of  Petircultir.     xxv.  18. 

(6)  1559,  June   23.     Mr.   Alexander   Dunbar,   succentor   of  the  cathedral 

church  of  Moray,  son  of  quondam  Mr.  Alexander  Dunbar,  Dean  of 

the  same  church,     xxix.  78. 
This  degrading  revelation  of  vigorous  decay  in  the  very  heart  of  its 
religious  life  shows  sufficient  cause  why  a  self-respecting  people  should  cast 
forth  the  church  which  tolerated  it.     If  similar  "  life  and  vigour  "  character- 


Reviews  67 

ized  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in  Scotland  to-day,  how   long  would  its 
presence  be  endured  by  the  community? 

There  were  good  priests  even  in  the  most  degenerate  days  of  the  Church. 
Witness  the  splendid  literary  appeal  of  Father  Archibald  Hay  in  the  "  Panegy- 
ricus,"  Paris,  1539,  addressed  to  Cardinal  David  Beaton  on  his  advancement 
to  the  primacy.  The  book  is  excessively  rare :  the  finest  and  largest  of  the 
few  copies  preserved  is  in  Aberdeen  University  library.  It  contains  the  best 
and  most  truthful  description  extant  of  the  abominable  internal  condition  of 
the  Pre- Reformation  Church,  and  urges  the  Cardinal  with  most  powerful  argu- 
ments to  lead  in  its  reform  by  personal  example  and  other  influences  well 
within  his  power,  advice  which  was  completely  disregarded.  An  edition 
of  this  work  with  a  good  translation  is  desiderated,  and  would  go  far  to  silence 
the  flimsy  apologetics  of  modern  whitewash. 

Ja.  F.  Kellas  Johnstone. 


The  Metaphysics  of  Nietzsche's  Immoralism.  By  Bertram  M.  Laing. 
[Reprinted  from  the  "Philosophical  Review,"  Vol.  XXIV.,  No.  4,  July, 
1915-] 

Notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  written  about  Nietzsche,  and  all  that  we 
have  heard  of  late  about  the  nature  of  his  philosophy  and  its  malign  influence 
on  the  German  people,  there  is  still  much  misunderstanding  of  his  teaching 
and  his  real  opinions,  and  much  need  for  enlightenment.  Especially  is  this 
so  regarding  the  metaphysical  foundation  of  Nietzsche's  Ethics.  This  subject, 
indeed,  has  been  almost  entirely  ignored  by  British  interpreters  and  critics. 
And  yet  a  true  conception  of  it  is  indispensable  for  the  proper  understanding 
and  appreciation  of  Nietzsche.  It  is  the  object  of  this  important  article,  by 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  our  younger  Honours  graduates  in  philosophy, 
Mr.  Bertram  M.  Laing,  to  give  such  a  conception.  That  he  has  succeeded 
in  an  eminent  degree  can  hardly  be  questioned.  He  writes  with  full  know- 
ledge, with  keen  insight,  and  with  a  thorough  command  of  his  material.  The 
clearness  with  which  he  has  brought  out  the  biological  foundation  of  Nietzsche's 
ethical  teaching  and  presented  the  just  interpretation  of  the  "superman,"  of 
"  immoralism,"  and  allied  notions,  will  be  acceptable  to  many  who  may  have 
been  puzzled  by  Nietzsche  or  even  irritated  or  repelled  by  him.  There  are 
also  in  the  article  a  telling  account  of  the  sources  of  Nietzschean  doctrine,  and 
a  compact  presentation  of  the  general  characteristics  of  Nietzsche's  philosophy, 
and,  not  least,  a  striking  comparison  of  his  positions  with  those  of  Professor 
Bergson.  Further,  there  is  enforced  the  true  bearing  of  Nietzsche's  teaching 
on  German  State  organization — which  is  specially  associated  in  our  minds  at 
the  moment  with  "Kultur".  Such  organization,  instead  of  being  a  natural 
development  of  Nietzscheanism,  is  shown  to  be  directly  opposed  to  it.  It  is 
opposed  to  Nietzsche's  leading  tenets  of  individualism,  anti-intellectualism, 
and  the  dominance  of  instinct.  "  The  organization  of  the  German  State  is 
a  purely  intellectual  structure  with,  according  to  Nietzsche's  theory,  numerous 
consequent  defects.  It  has  turned  the  structure,  which  ought  to  be  a  means, 
into  an  end  and  converted  it  into  a  mould  to  which  life  must  conform.  With 
its  faith  in  intellect,  it  has  despised  the  value  of  instinct  and  instinctive 
wisdom  ;  it  has  set  a  check  upon  individuality  ;  and,  as  in  all  cases  of  the  con- 


68  Aberdeen  University  Review 

version  of  means  into  ends,  it  has  \  brought  about  a  ruinous  waste  of  the  re- 
sources of  life." 

The  article  is  a  real  and  independent  contribution  to  the  subject  of  which 
it  treats ;  and,  as  it  is  the  writer's  first  published  essay,  I  have  special  pleasure 
in  acknowledging  its  ability,  its  freshness,  and  its  philosophical  value. 

William  L.  Davidson. 

Rudimentary  Reflections  on  the  War.  By  William  Miller,  D.D.,  C.I.E., 
Madras,  etc.  The  Christian  Literature  Society  for  India,  191 5.  Pp.  29. 
I  anna. 

This  work  by  our  revered  graduate,  the  Principal  of  the  Madras  Christian 
College,  consists  of  a  message  to  his  old  students  at  the  close  of  last  year. 
They  have  published  an  English  edition  of  it,  of  10,000  copies,  as  well  as  large 
editions  in  Tamil  and  Sinhalese,  and  translations  into  other  Indian  languages 
are  in  course  of  preparation.  The  interest  of  the  work  is  therefore  twofold  : 
— that  of  its  intrinsic  merits  as  a  statement  from  the  British  point  of  view  of 
the  causes  and  issues  of  the  present  War,  and  that  of  its  undoubted  influence 
upon  public  opinion  in  India. 

That  it  is  lucid,  candid  and  sagacious,  that  its  historical  perspective  is  just 
and  clear,  and  that  it  emphasizes  with  force  and  judgment  the  moral  aspects  of 
the  War — all  this  goes  without  saying. 

No  European  understands  the  Indian  mind — or  minds — more  clearly  than 
Principal  Miller's  veteran  experience  of  India  enables  him  to  do.  It  is 
interesting  to  see  how  he  approaches  his  objective.  He  deals  with  his  old 
students  upon  the  same  levels  as  those  on  which  he  would  address  his  fellow- 
subjects  in  this  kingdom.  He  not  only  counts  on  the  interests  which  they 
share  with  ourselves  in  the  civilisation  threatened  by  the  aggressors  in  this  War 
and  on  their  equal  conscience  of  the  moral  issues  at  stake  ;  but  also  on  their 
knowledge  of  European  history,  of  the  intellectual  virtues  of  the  German 
people  and  of  the  gradual  development  among  them  of  the  Prussian  spirit.  I 
notice,  by  the  way,  that  he  does  not  hesitate  to  draw  an  illustration  of  his 
argument  to  Hindoos  from  the  history  of  Scotland.  He  anticipates  and  dis- 
arms the  suspicions  with  which  history  may  have  taught  educated  Orientals  to 
regard  the  claims  of  France  and  Great  Britain  to  be  the  defenders  of  weak 
nations  and  champions  of  the  sanctity  of  treaties.  The  disinterestedness  and 
candour  of  his  argument  may  be  seen  from  the  following  passages : — 

Would  that  Britain  were  half  as  ready  to  make  unprecedented  sacrifices  in  defence 
of  her  ideal  as  Germany  in  defence  of  her  meaner  one  I  True  the  German  ideal  is  not  lofty, 
but  the  strength  imparted  by  passionate  devotion  to  an  ideal  is  not  to  be  measured  by  the 
nobility  or  absence  of  nobility  in  the  object  at  which  it  aims.  There  is  nothing  of  nobility 
or  even  of  reason  in  the  passion  of  a  madman,  yet  we  know  how  superhuman  is  the  strength 
that  a  maniac  can  at  times  assert.  Moreover  the  fact  that  a  cause  is  righteous  does  not 
guarantee  its  immediate  success.  All  history  testifies  to  this.  There  may  be  reasons 
inscrutable  to  us  why  the  final  triumph  of  good  causes  is  for  the  most  part  long  delayed. 
One  reason  is  extremely  obvious. 

It  is  that  those  by  whom  the  good  cause  is  championed  may  themselves  by  chastening 
and  training  be  made  even  fitter  instruments  for  perfecting  the  work  entrusted  to  their  care. 
Writing  as  I  do  from  the  district  often  spoken  of  as  the  central  battle-ground  of  Scotland  I 
cannot  but  call  to  mind  that  it  was  through  defeat  rather  than  victory  that  Scotland  won 
her  standing  among  the  nations.  The  record  of  her  long  fight  for  freedom  is  illumined  by 
some  bright  gleams  of  triumph,  but  her  roll  of  defeats  is  far  longer  than  her  roll  of  victories. 
Mainly  by  her  being  enabled  to  bear  up  against  what  seemed  to  be  overwhelming  disaster 


Reviews  69 


did  Scotland  become  fitted  to  do  her  work  for  the  welfare  of  mankind.  It  may  be — I  can- 
not tell — that  events  will  follow  a  similar  course  in  this  fight  for  the  freedom  not  of  one 
nation  but  of  all.  But  even  should  the  path  immediately  before  us  be  marked  not  only  by 
delay  but  by  disaster  for  a  time,  I  am  confident  that  our  cause  will  conquer  in  the  end.  I 
trust  that  it  will  conquer  in  our  hands,  but  even  if  not,  yet  in  worthier  hands  than  ours 
hereafter. 

"  The  burst  of  splendid  loyalty  throughout  India  "  enables  Principal  Miller 
to  assert  that  "  India  perceives  that  her  connexion  with  Britain  is  about  the 
most  precious  of  her  possessions  and  a  thing  to  be  defended  to  the  last  by 
whatever  expenditure  of  treasure  and  blood.  India  has  shown  how  fatal  the 
severance  of  this  connexion  would  be  to  the  hopes  and  aspirations  which  she 
cherishes  for  the  days  to  come."     On  this  see  further  p.  72. 

George  Adam  Smith. 

Horace  and  His  Poetry,  with  Companion  and  Glossary.  By  J.  B.  Chap- 
man, M.A.,  Classical  Master  in  Airdrie  Academy.  London  :  George  G. 
Harrap  &  Co.,  1913-15.     Pp.  142  +  135.     is.  6d.  net. 

The  first  of  these  two  small  volumes,  bound  in  one,  is  a  study  (in  the 
Poetry  and  Life  Series,  edited  by  Mr.  W.  H.  Hudson)  of  the  personality  and 
poetry  of  Horace  in  connection  with  the  politics,  the  social  circumstances  and 
the  literature  of  his  time.  On  this  well-laboured  field  Mr.  Chapman  has  suc- 
ceeded in  producing  a  work,  marked  by  mastery  of  his  materials,  an  independ- 
ent judgment  and  a  correct  and  lucid  style.  He  has  wisely  let  the  poet  be 
largely  his  own  interpreter.  The  quotations  from  the  poems  are  numerous  and 
happy ;  the  historical  setting  which  Mr.  Chapman  gives  to  them  is  adequate 
and  instructive.  The  temperament  and  genius  of  the  poet,  his  art  and  his 
philosophy  of  life  are  expounded  with  sympathy  and  justice.  The  "Com- 
panion" consists  of  notes  on  the  selections  quoted  in  the  volume  and  a 
"  Select  Glossary,"  with  two  maps  of  Rome  and  its  neighbourhood  in  the  time 
of  Horace,  a  "  Scheme  of  Conditions,"  schemes  of  metres,  and  the  definition 
of  metrical  and  grammatical  terms.  Mr.  Chapman  intends  the  Notes  "  for 
students  such  as  those  preparing  for  University  Entrance  Examinations  ".  The 
Notes  are  compact  and  illuminating.  There  is  nothing  superfluous  either  in 
them  or  the  rest  of  the  work.  It  forms  a  very  useful  introduction  to  the  study 
of  Horace,  and  may  be  heartily  commended  to  junior  students. 

Columbia.  By  Frederick  Paul  Keppel,  Dean  of  Columbia  College.  New 
York  :  Oxford  University  Press  (American  Branch) ;  London  :  Humphrey 
Milford.     Pp.  xvi  +  297.     6s.  6d.  net. 

This  is  a  volume  of  the  American  College  and  University  Series,  dealing  with 
Columbia  University,  New  York  City,  which,  if  it  has  neither  the  antiquity 
nor  the  prestige  of  Harvard  or  Yale,  has  quite  a  distinction  of  its  own.  It 
has  the  largest  financial  resources  of  any  American  University,  due  to  a 
valuable  grant  of  land  "  down  town  "  in  New  York,  and  to  individual  gifts 
and  bequests  amounting  to  twenty-six  million  dollars.  It  has  an  immense 
number  of  students,  approaching  10,000  two  years  ago  ;  and  it  is  a  thoroughly 
"  modern  "  institution  as  regards  teaching,  possessing  Schools  of  Mines,  En- 
gineering, Political  Science,  Journalism,  Agriculture,  and  Household  and  In- 
dustrial Arts,   etc.     The   history   of  its  development,  particularly  under  its 


yo  Aberdeen  University  Review 

latter-day  Presidents — Frederick  A.  P.  Barnard,  Seth  Low,  and  Dr.  Murray 
Butler — is  one  of  great  interest,  suggesting  many  comparisons  and  contrasts 
with  the  older  institutions  in  this  country.  There  are  chapters  on  Educational 
Organization,  Teachers  and  Executives,  Students  and  Student  Life  ;  and, 
altogether,  we  have  an  admirable  presentation  of  "  Columbia  "  and  the  work 
it  is  accomplishing. 

The  Making  of  a  University  :  What  we  have  to  learn  from  Educational 
Ideals  in  America.  By  W.  M.  Ramsay,  Kt.,  D.C.L.,  etc.  London  : 
Hodder  &  Stoughton,     Pp.  46.     is.  net. 

In  this  pamphlet  Sir  William  Ramsay  recounts  the  life-story  of  Isaac  Conrad 
Ketler,  who  founded  a  University  at  Pine  Grove,  originally  a  village  of  200 
inhabitants  in  Western  Pennsylvania,  now  grown  into  Grove  City,  with  a  popu- 
lation of  4000.  Ketler  "made  a  College  out  of  nothing,''  his  ideal  being  the 
formation,  not  of  savants  or  great  scholars,  but  of  American  citizens,  "  men 
fit  for  the  American  world,  and  likely  to  leave  the  American  world  a  little 
better  than  they  found  it ".  Our  Emeritus- Professor  is  evidently  enamoured 
of  the  democratic  University  thus  set  up,  with  its  purpose  of  producing  an 
ordinary  useful  man  in  some  line  of  practical  life,  and  he  contrasts  it  with  the 
tendency  of  British  Universities  to  sacrifice  the  average  commonplace  school- 
boy and  University  man  to  the  able  few.  His  brief  picture  of  American  edu- 
cational institutions  is  illuminative  in  many  ways,  while  the  allusions  to  our 
own  system  frequently  have  the  savour  of  pungency. 

The  Year  Book  of  the  Universities  of  the  Empire,  191 5.  Published  for 
the  Universities  Bureau  of  the  British  Empire.  London :  Herbert  Jenkins, 
Ltd.     Pp.  xii  -f  717.     7s.  6d.  net. 

This  useful  publication,  which  by  virtue  of  alphabetic  priority  opens  with 
the  University  of  Aberdeen,  now  makes  its  second  appearance.  It  contains 
for  each  of  the  seventy-six  or  so  Universities  and  affiliated  Colleges  in  the  British 
Empire,  lists  of  the  members  of  the  Governing  Bodies,  of  the  Professors  and 
Lecturers,  with  General  Information  as  to  the  constituent  faculties,  terms  of 
study,  degrees,  courses  and  examinations,  opportunities  for  research  students, 
libraries  and  museums,  publications,  and  the  statistics  of  students  and  degrees 
for  1 91 3- 14.  Appendices  deal  with  various  Institutes  of  Accountants,  Actuaries, 
Architects,  Chemists,  Engineers,  etc.,  etc.,  and  with  the  Royal  Colleges  of 
Physicians  and  Surgeons.  The  work,  as  we  have  tested  it,  proves  more  ac- 
curate than  the  German  year-book,  "  Minerva  ".  It  is  edited  by  Dr.  Alex  Hill, 
the  Hon.  Secretary  of  the  Universities  Bureau. 

An  Index  of  the  Adverbs  of  Terence.  By  E.  A.  Junks.  London : 
Humphrey  Milford.     Pp.  31.     2  s.  6d.  net. 

This  little  work,  one  of  the  St.  Andrews  University  publications,  is  the  result 
of  Mr.  Junks's  research  work  as  Bruce  Scholar  at  St.  Andrews  last  year,  and 
is  composed  on  the  same  lines  as  the  "Index  of  the  Adverbs  of  Plautus," 
compiled  by  Mr.  Allardyce  and  Mr.  Junks,  published  in  the  St.  Andrews 
series  of  publications  two  years  ago.     The  work  has  been  carried  out  with  a 


Reviews  7 1 


thoroughness  that  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired.  Not  only  is  the  list  of  ad- 
verbs complete,  but  the  reader  is  enabled  to  see  at  a  glance  the  number  of 
times  each  particular  word  has  been  used  by  Terence,  as  well  as  its  precise 
position  in  the  text. 

Cape  AsTROGRAPHic  Zones,  Vol.  II.  Cape  Meridian  Observations,  1905-8. 
Annals  of  the  Cape  Observatory,  Vol.  XII.,  Part  i. 

These  several  works — received  from  the  Astronomer  Royal — were  com- 
menced under  the  direction  of  the  late  Sir  David  Gill,  K.C.B.,  formerly 
H.M.  Astronomer  at  the  Cape.  The  catalogue  of  rectangular  co-ordinates 
and  diameters  of  star-images  in  the  first  volume  and  the  results  of  meridian 
observations  of  stars  in  the  second  were  completed  under  the  supervision  of 
Sir  David's  successor,  Mr.  S.  S.  Hough.  The  annals  are  an  account  of  the 
heliometer  observations  of  Jupiter's  satellites  made  by  Sir  David  Gill  in  1891, 
his  sudden  illness  and  lamented  death  preventing  him  from  completing  his 
personal  share  in  the  work. 

Dr.   Mortimer,   Turriff:  A   Memoir.     By   J.   Minto  Robertson,   M.A. 
Printed  by  the  "Banffshire  Journal,"  Limited.     Pp.  22. 

Dr.  Mortimer,  who  died  a  few  months  ago,  spent  over  half  a  century  in 
Turriff,  and  by  his  devoted  medical  work  and  attention  to  the  less  fortunate 
section  of  the  community,  he  earned  a  reputation  which  led  to  his  being  com- 
pared to  "  Ian  Maclaren's  "  William  Maclure.  He  was  an  interesting  personal- 
ity, and  his  prominent  characteristics  are  well  brought  out  in  Mr.  Robertson's 
pleasing  sketch,  not  the  least  attractive  feature  of  which  is  the  account  of  the 
doctor's  early  days. 

Some  Literature  on  the  War. 

"The  Scots  Fencibles  and  English  Service,"  an  Episode  of  1794,  by  J.  M. 
Bulloch ;  a  most  interesting  memoir,  with  extracts  from  contemporary  corre- 
spondence. The  lessons  and  morals  for  ourselves,  in  the  midst  of  another  great 
War,  are  instructive.  "  No  characteristic  of  the  troops  raised  in  Scotland  to 
fight  France  in  the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  is  so  remarkable  as 
the  intense  independence  of  the  rank  and  file — whether  Highland  or  Lowland ; 
whether  Regulars,  Fencibles,  Militia,  Volunteers  or  Local  Militia."  "  Nothing 
brought  out  the  independence  of  the  Scots  soldier  more  fiercely  than  the  Sea." 
Mr.  Bulloch  has  dealt  with  the  subject  in  his  "Territorial  Soldiering,"  but  the 
discovery  of  more  documents  at  the  Record  Office  enables  him  to  enlarge  on 
the  point  as  exampled  in  1794.  Further  "the  compulsive  measures  intro- 
duced by  panicky  Ministers  so  far  from  inducing  this  attitude  [of  dumb 
obedience]  simply  antagonised  the  Scots  and  defeated  its  own  end,  just  as  it 
tends  to  do  so  to-day,  as  any  cool-headed  man  must  see  for  himself." — "The 
Soldiers'  Watchword,"  a  Farewell  Sermon  to  the  157th  Brigade  R.F.A.  (City  of 
Aberdeen),  by  the  Rev.  James  Smith,  B.D.,  Hon.  Chaplain  to  the  Brigade 
(Aberdeen,  John  Avery  &  Co.,  1915);  a  stirring  exhortation  on  the  text 
I  Cor.  XVI.  13  ;  also  "The  Call  to  Arms,"  another  recruiting  sermon  by  the 
same  author. — "  Australia's  Battle-Hymn,"  words  by  Dr.  J.  Laurence  Rentoul, 


72  Aberdeen  University  Review 

and  music  by  Rev.  John  Mcintosh,  M.A.  (Aberdeen,  1881) ;  an  inspiring  con- 
tribution to  the  music  of  the  War,  dedicated  by  permission  to  her  Excellency 
Lady  Helen  Munro-Ferguson. — Some  sentences  on  the  War  are  well  worth 
quoting  from  the  "Address"  delivered  by  the  Hon.  Dr.  Devaprasad 
Sarvadhikary,  C.I.E.,  LL.D.  (Aberdeen),  Vice-Chancellor  of  the  University  of 
Calcutta  at  the  Annual  Convocation  last  spring.  *' Thanks  to  the  strong  arm 
that  protects  us  in  our  own  seats  of  learning  here,  we  are  free  to  follow  con- 
genial pursuits  which  in  similar  Western  seats  are,  for  a  time,  suspended." 
"  England  and  India  have  been  long  working  together  in  fields  of  peace.  They 
have  now  been  called  to  fight  side  by  side  in  the  common  cause."  "  It  was 
Great  Britain's  singular  triumph  to  encircle  the  world  with  a  girdle  of  steel. 
To-day  she  has  achieved  a  greater  glory  and  is  able  to  summon  and  receive 
prompt  and  willing  assistance  in  defence  of  the  Empire  from  all  parts  of 
the  globe.  It  is  still  more  glorious  to  be  able  to  encircle  the  world  with  a 
girdle  of  united  prayer  from  all  races,  and  creeds,  in  the  cause  of  Righteous- 
ness." Speaking  of  the  flower  of  our  youth  who  have  given  themselves  to  the 
War,  he  says :  "How  they  have  stemmed  the  tide  of  impending  disaster  in  a 
strife  in  which  the  proprieties  of  life  and  conventions  of  morality,  decorum,  and 
religion  are  mercilessly  trampled  upon,  .  .  .  and  how  visitations  of  inexpres- 
sible savagery  are  being  calmly,  yea  cheerfully,  met  in  all  ranks  and  by  all 
nationalities  gathered  round  the  flags  of  the  Allies  is  now  common  history  that 
will  be  the  world's  rich  heritage  for  all  time  to  come.  With  unwavering  deter- 
mination the  struggle  continues,  and  thinned  but  unyielding  ranks  are  readily 
filled  by  the  magic  cult  that  demands  that  every  son  of  England — larger  Eng- 
land that  now  is  the  entire  Empire — shall  do  his  duty.  They  must  do  so 
till  Right  once  again  proves  itself  mightier  than  Might,  as  of  yore  from  age 
to  age.'* 


The  following  have  also  been  received : — 

"A  Friendly  Talk  with  Socialists  and  Others,"  by  Joseph  Bibby  (Liver- 
pool:  the  P.  P.  Press;  price  6d.),  consisting  of  some  letters  on  Socialism,  the 
conclusion  of  which  is  that  "the  next  step  in  social  advancement  will  not  be 
towards  a  Democratic  Socialism,  but  in  the  direction  of  a  more  enlightened 
Capitalism  "  ;  a  paper  on  the  War,  its  unseen  causes,  and  some  of  its  lessons  ; 
and  a  paper  on  the  new  Socialism. — "  The  Laymen's  Book  of  the  General 
Assembly  of  191 5,"  edited  by  the  Rev.  Harry  Smith,  M.A.,  Tibbermore 
(Edinburgh :  J.  Gardner  Hitt ;  2s.  6d.  net) ;  a  vivid  record  of  an  Assembly 
memorable  for  the  circumstances  of  War  under  which  it  met,  and  which  are 
fully  reflected  in  these  pages. — "  Aberdeenshire,"  by  Alexander  Mackie,  M.A. 
(Cambridge  University  Press  ;  is.  6d.  net) ;  a  pocket  edition  of  Mr.  Mackie's 
contribution  to  the  Cambridge  County  Geographies  series. 


University  Topics. 

BEQUEST  FOR  AN  ENGINEERING  CHAIR. 

MUCH-DESIDERATED  addition  to  the  equipment  of 
the  University  will  be  provided  by  a  generous  bequest 
made  by  the  late  Mr.  William  Jackson,  Thorngrove, 
Aberdeen.  He  left  one-half  of  the  residue  of  his  estate 
for  the  foundation  of  a  Chair  of  Engineering,  which  will 
place  Aberdeen  University  on  a  level,  as  regards  this 
particular  subject,  with  the  other  three  Scottish  Uni- 
versities, all  of  which  possess  Engineering  Chairs.  The  bequest,  however, 
is  subject  to  the  life-rent  of  the  testator's  widow,  and  it  is  also  provided 
that  any  balance  of  the  half- residue  remaining  after  the  establishment 
of  the  Chair  is  to  be  divided  among  Aberdeen  charities.  Mr.  Jackson, 
who  died  on  15  June,  aged  sixty-five,  was  himself  an  engineer,  and  was 
long  engaged  in  the  tea  industry  in  Assam.  He  was  a  man  of  remarkable 
engineering  skill  and  inventive  genius,  inventing  in  particular  a  tea-leaf  roll- 
ing machine  which  came  into  extensive  and  almost  universal  use.  He  also 
invented  and  patented  a  tea-drying  machine,  which  is  in  use  on  most  of  the 
great  tea  estates  in  the  East,  and  he  devised  many  improvements  in  the 
machinery  employed  in  the  manipulation  of  tea.  But  for  his  inventions,  it 
has  been  said,  the  tea  industry  could  never  have  reached  the  gigantic  propor- 
tions it  has  attained  to-day. 

FORESTRY  INSTRUCTION. 

The  University  Court,  enabled  through  the  generosity  of  the  Chancellor's 
Assessor,  Dr.  J.  E.  Crombie,  to  institute  a  Lectureship  in  Forest  Botany  and 
Forest  Entomology,  the  course  in  which  subjects  will  qualify  for  the  degree  of 
B.Sc.  in  Forestry,  has  appointed  Mr.  Alexander  Stuart  Watt  (B.Sc.  Agr., 
19 1 3),  Lecturer.  Mr.  Watt  was  recently  studying  at  Cambridge,  where  he 
gained  a  travelling  research  scholarship,  which  was  intended  for  Continental 
work  and  was  arranged  for  residence  in  Saxe-Coburg-Gotha ;  but  he  had  to 
abandon  it  owing  to  the  war. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Governors  of  the  North  of  Scotland  College  of 
Agriculture  in  July,  it  was  intimated  that  Mr.  John  Sutherland,  of  the 
Forestry  Division  of  the  Board  of  Agriculture  for  Scotland;  Sir  John  Stirling- 
Maxwell,  and  Mr.  J.  M.  Henderson,  M.P.  for  West  Aberdeenshire,  had 
offered  a  sum  of  ^$  each  for  prizes  in  forestry  at  the  three  Scottish  colleges. 
The  prizes  in  each  case  will  be  for  two  approved  collections  and  specimens 
illustrative  of  the  damage  done  to  forest  trees  by  {a)  fungi,  (d)  insects,  and 


74  Aberdeen  University  Review 

(r)  mammals  (rabbits,  voles,  squirrels)  and  birds.  The  competition  will  be 
open  to  past  and  present  students  of  the  colleges,  and  also  to  foresters  within 
the  areas  of  the  colleges. 

NEW  EXAMINERS. 

The  University  Court  has  appointed  the  following  additional  Examiners 
for  degrees:  In  Physiology — Emeritus  Professor  McKendrick,  LL.D. ;  in 
Anatomy — Mr.  F.  W.  Paterson,  M.D.,  F.R.C.S.,  Professor  of  Anatomy  in  the 
University  of  Liverpool;  Law — Mr.  J.  R.  Wardlaw- Burnet,  B.A.,  LL.B. 
(reappointed) ;  Forest  Botany  and  Zoology — Mr.  William  Dawson,  M.A., 
B.Sc.  (Agr.),  Reader  in  Forestry,  University  of  Cambridge. 

The  Court  has  also  appointed  Mr.  John  Fraser  (M.A.,  1903),  Lecturer 
on  Comparative  Philology,  Examiner  in  Gaelic  for  the  Arts  Bursary  Com- 
petition. 

THE  ORDINANCE  ON  THE  PRELIMINARY  EXAMINATION. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Court  on  15  June,  the  Principal  (who  presided)  said 
the  proposed  new  ordinance  of  the  four  University  Courts  on  the  preliminary 
examination  had  been  considered  in  Committee,  when  the  following  resolu- 
tion had  been  come  to : — 

That,  without  committing  itself  to  certain  details  which  it  feels  are  in  need  of  amend- 
ment, the  Court  should  resolve  to  approve  generally  of  the  proposed  ordinance. 

The  Principal  thereupon  moved  that  this  be  the  resolution  of  the  Court ; 
and,  in  the  course  of  an  explanatory  statement,  said  that  Edinburgh  Uni- 
versity Court  approved  of  the  ordinance,  not  because  they  agreed  in  every 
detail  of  it,  but  as  a  reasonable  settlement  of  a  difficult  question.  St. 
Andrews  University  had  also  given  it  a  general  approval,  and  they  had  just 
received  intimation  from  Glasgow  University  Court  that  it  was  of  opinion 
that  the  ordinance  should  not  proceed  further.     The  resolution  was  agreed  to. 

On  the  invitation  of  Edinburgh,  a  further  conference  of  representatives  of 
the  four  Courts  was  held  on  30  October,  when  it  was  agreed,  by  14  votes  to  2, 
to  proceed  with  the  Ordinance,  and,  after  some  verbal  adjustments,  to  submit 
it  to  the  Courts. 

EMERGENCY  ORDINANCES. 

The  following  Act  to  extend  the  powers  of  the  Scottish  Universities  to 
make  Ordinances  for  purposes  connected  with  the  war  was  passed  through 
Parliament  in  July : — 

1.— (i)  It  shall  be  lawful  for  the  University  Courts  of  the  four  Scottish  Universities  to 
submit  to  His  Majesty  in  Council  a  joint  representation  showing  that  it  is  expedient  that 
specified  provisions  of  ordinances  applicable  to  one  or  more  of  the  Universities,  or  to  the 
Joint  Board  of  Examiners,  should  be  modified  or  suspended  in  their  application  to  gradu- 
ates, students,  or  intending  students,  who  are,  or  have  been,  engaged  in  naval,  military, 
or  other  public  service  connected  with  the  present  war. 

(2)  It  shall  be  lawful  for  His  Majesty  in  Council  to  refer  such  joint  representation  to 
the  Scottish  Universities  Committee  of  the  Privy  Council,  who  shall  report  to  His  Majesty 
thereon. 

(3)  It  shall  be  lawful  for  His  Majesty  in  Council  to  approve  such  joint  representation 
or  any  part  thereof;  and  by  Order  to  confer,  under  such  conditions  and  for  such  time  as 
may  in  the  said  Order  be  prescribed,  upon  each  University  Court,  and  upon  the  Joint 
Board  of  Examiners,  the  power,  after  consultation  with  the  Senatus  Academicus  con- 


University  Topics  75 

cerned,  to  modify  or  suspend  the  application  to  such  graduates,  students,  or  intending 
students,  of  the  specified  provisions,  or  any  of  them. 

2.  This  Act  may  be  cited  as  the  Scottish  Universities  (Emergency  Powers)  Act,  1915. 

On  the  second  reading  of  the  bill  in  the  House  of  Lords,  it  was  mentioned 
that  853  students  were  away  on  war  service  from  the  University  of  Edinburgh 
and  457  were  cadets  in  the  Officers'  Training  Corps,  while  from  Glasgow  there 
were  600  students  on  service  and  250  engaged  in  munition  work.  From 
Aberdeen  277  students  were  serving  in  the  Forces  and  90  in  the  Officers' 
Training  Corps.  From  St.  Andrews  140  students  and  20  members  of  the 
teaching  staff  were  on  service.  To  these  figures  might  have  been  added  that 
Glasgow  has  also  a  large  number  of  cadets  in  its  Officers'  Training  Corps. 

THE  UNIVERSITY  AND  THE  WAR. 

Since  the  Provisional  Roll  of  Service  was  closed  on  8  July  (Supplement 
to  Vol.  II  of  the  Review)  the  total  number  of  graduates,  alumni,  students 
and  members  of  the  Staff  who  are  not  graduates,  on  service  or  under  training, 
has  risen  from  13 17  to  over  1500;  the  number  on  active  service  from 
1205  to  1432.  The  number  of  graduates  has  increased  from  806  to  941,  of 
alumni  from  99  to  119,  of  students  from  256  to  over  300  (besides  25  or  26 
who  would  have  matriculated  but  for  their  war  service).  The  number  of 
students  who  have  received  commissions  was  in  July  55  and  in  November  90,  all 
but  4  in  the  combatant  ranks.  5 1  have  fallen,  3 1  graduates  and  alumni  and 
20  students  ;  while  14  have  been  reported  as  prisoners  of  war,  8  are  missing,  and 
over  100  have  been  wounded — the  total  casualties  since  the  beginning  of  the 
War  being  now  over  170.  These  figures  do  not  include  22  additions  to  the 
list  of  graduates  and  others  employed  under  the  British  Red  Cross  Society, 
nor  those  entered  on  the  Navy  List  as  Surgeons  and  Agents  at  Sick  Quarters ; 
nor  the  increasing  number  employed  in  the  making  of  munitions  and  for  other 
War  purposes.  Of  all  those  we  hope  to  publish  a  full  list  later.  The 
Principal  will  be  grateful  if  any  graduates,  alumni,  and  students  who  have  not 
yet  done  so  will  send  him  their  names  and  the  designation  of  their  units  and 
ranks  ;  or,  if  still  civilians,  of  their  employment  for  war  purposes. 

The  Principal  has  received  a  large  number  of  letters  from  the  front,  but 
the  actions  to  which  they  refer  are  too  recent  to  permit  of  the  publication  of 
even  extracts  from  them  till  a  later  number.  At  present  we  can  only  note 
that  the  4th  Battalion  Gordon  Highlanders,  in  "  D  "  Company  of  which  the 
old  University  Company  is  incorporated,  greatly  distinguished  itself  in  the 
severe  action  of  25  September,  near  Hooge  by  Ypres,  and  suffered  heavily 
as  the  list  of  fallen  and  prisoners  shows.  Captain  Mackinnon,  writing  on 
6  November,  reports  that  only  25  University  men  are  left  in  the  ranks  of  that 
Company.  Of  the  devotion  to  duty,  the  courage  and  self-sacrifice  of  all  her 
sons  on  service — both  those  who  survive  and  those  who  have  fallen — their 
Alma  Mater  may  well  be,  as  she  is,  very  proud — very  proud  and  very  grateful. 

It  is  particularly  gratifying  to  note  that  a  large  number  of  University  men 
who  are  (or  have  been)  serving  in  the  war  have  earned  special  distinction  for 
gallant  and  distinguished  conduct  in  the  field. 

The  order  of  C.M.G.  has  been  conferred  upon  : — 

Lieutenant-Colonel  David  Sydney  Wanliss,  Australian  Imperial  Force 
(alumnus,  1881-83). 

The  Military  Cross  has  been  awarded  to  : — 

Captain  George  Forbes  Dawson,  R.A.M.C.  (M.A.,  1903;  M.B.,  1906). 


76  Aberdeen  University    Review 

Captain  (temporary)  James  Murray  M'Laggan,  R.A.M.C.,  attached  3rd 
Battalion  Royal  Fusiliers  (City  of  London  Regiment),  (M.B.,  1913). 

Captain  (temporary)  William  Wilson  Ingram,  R.A.M.C.  (M.B.,  191 2). 

Lieutenant  William  Brooks  Keith,  R.A.M.C.  (M.B.,  1906;  M.D.). 

Captain  (temporary)  David  James  Shirres  Stephen,  R.A.M.C.  (M.B., 
1910 ;  M.D.,  1912). 

The  Distinguished  Service  Order  has  been  conferred  upon : — 
Captain  (temporary  Major)  James  Dawson,   6th   Gordon   Highlanders 
(M.A.,  1899). 

Lieutenant  Edmund  Hugh  Moore,  R.A.M.C.  (M.B.,  1911). 

The  following  have  been  mentioned  in  dispatches : — 

Colonel  Henry  M.  W.  Gray,  R.A.M.C.,  Consultant  Surgeon,  British 
Expeditionary  Force,  France  (M.B.,  1895  ;  F.R.C.S.). 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Charles  William  Profeit,  R.A.M.C.  (M.B.,  1893). 

Captain  (temporary  Major)  James  Dawson,  6th  Gordon  Highlanders. 

Captain  Alexander  Donald  Fraser,  R.A.M.C.  (M.B.,  1906). 

Captain  Henry  Edward  Shortt,  LM.S.,  attached  to  the  62nd  Punjabis 
(M.B.,  1910). 

Captain  George  Davidson,  R.A.M.C.,  89th  Field  Ambulance  (M.A., 
1884;  M.B.,   1887;  M.D.,  1894). 

Captain  (temporary)  W.  W.  Ingram,  R.A.M.C,  7th  Div.  Brit.  Ex.  Force. 

Captain  (temporary)  Rudolph  William  Galloway,  R.A.M.C,  ist  Cav. 
Div.  Fd.  Amb.  Brit.  Exped.  Force  (M.B.,  1914). 

Captain  (temporary)  James  Smith  Stewart,  R.A.M.C.  (M.B.,  1913). 

Dr.  William  Innes  Gerrard,  R.N.V.R.  (M.B.,  1909),  has  had  conferred 
on  him  by  the  Emperor  of  Russia  the  decoration  of  the  Order  of  St.  Anne 
(third  class)  in  recognition  of  war  services.  Dr.  Gerrard  is  assistant  school 
medical  officer  in  Aberdeen. 

Dr.  Colin  Finlayson  Simpson  (M.A.,  1906;  M.B.)  is,  it  is  conjectured, 
the  only  Briton  who  is  an  officer  in  the  Russian  Army.  A  member  of  the 
staff  of  the  Moukden  Medical  College,  Manchuria,  China,  he  was  anxious, 
when  the  war  broke  out,  to  serve  his  native  country,  but  was  unable  to  get 
through  Russia  and  so  attached  himself  toi  the  Russian  Red  Cross  Society, 
and  has  since  rendered  valuable  services.  At  the  evacuation  of  Lodz,  his 
superintendence  of  the  safe  removal  of  almost  18,000  wounded  soldiers  and 
others  from  there  to  Warsaw  received  the  highest  praises.  He  was  subse- 
quently engaged  with  the  9th  Army  in  Galicia,  daily  treating  hundreds  of 
cases  at  the  first  dressing  stations  behind  the  fighting  line.  He  has  had 
many  remarkable  experiences,  having  shared  in  all  the  exciting  incidents  of 
the  campaign.  His  services,  indeed,  are  so  much  appreciated  in  Russia  that 
the  authorities  there  will  not  hear  of  his  leaving  them.  He  now  holds  the 
rank  in  the  Russian  Army  which  corresponds  to  Lieutenant- Colonel  in  the 
British  R.A.M.C.     Dr.  Simpson  is  a  native  of  Fraserburgh. 

The  following  remarkable  record  has  been  furnished  us  by  Mr.  James 
Cruickshank  (M.A.,  1885) : — In  1895,  at  Lee-on-the  Solent,  Hants,  I  opened 
a  school  preparatory  for  the  army,  navy,  and  public  schools.  Nearly  600  of 
my  old  pupils  are  engaged  in  the  present  war  as  officers  in  the  army  or  navy. 
Two  are  V.C.'s,  several  D.S.O.'s;  a  few  have  been  awarded  the  Military 
Cross ;  and  many  have  been  mentioned  in  dispatches.  Nearly  twenty,  alas  I 
have  made  the  supreme  sacrifice. 


University  Topics  77 

LECTURE  BY  SIR  FREDERICK  BRIDGE. 

Sir  Frederick  Bridge,  C.V.O.,  M.A.,  Mus.Doc,  organist  of  West- 
minster Abbey,  delivered  a  lecture  on  "  Milton  and  Music,"  with  special 
reference  to  "The  Masque  of  Comus,"  in  the  Mitchell  Hall,  Marischal 
College,  on  the  evening  of  20  September.  He  described  how  he  had  "hunted 
down  "  the  original  music  written  by  Henry  Lawes  for  the  Masque,  discover- 
ing it  in  the  possession  of  Dr.  Cooper  Smith,  a  clergyman  at  Basingstoke.  He 
was  able  to  get  a  correct  version,  and  so  to  dispense  with  all  the  *'  miserable 
editions  "  of  the  music  which  had  been  published.  The  melodies  for  the  five 
songs,  said  Sir  Frederick,  were  absolutely  as  Lawes  wrote  them,  and  the 
harmonies — (parts  for  a  string  quartette  and  piano,  composed  by  Sir  Frederick 
Bridge) — were  in  consonance  with  his  figured  bass  ;  and  the  other  inci- 
dental numbers  introduced  into  the  musical  programme  illustrative  of  the 
lecture  might  have  been  played  when  the  Masque  was  originally  produced, 
because  they  were  by  composers  living  at  the  time,  and  some  of  them  were 
by  a  brother  of  Lawes.  Sir  Frederick  Bridge  was  assisted  by  Miss  Elizabeth 
Christie  (soprano),  Mr.  Alexander  Hastings  (baritone),  and  the  members  of 
the  University  Chapel  choir.  The  accompaniments  for  the  string  orchestra 
were  played  by  Mrs.  Burnett,  Miss  Grogan,  Mr.  Townend  and  Mr.  Robb. 

The  proceeds  of  the  lecture  were  devoted  to  the  University  War  Dress- 
ings Fund — a  fund  in  aid  of  a  movement  for  the  preparation  of  war  dressings 
which  has  been  organized  and  is  being  successfully  carried  on  by  members  of 
the  professoriate  and  teaching  staff  of  the  University.  The  net  proceeds 
amounted  to  the  gratifying  total  of  £,(i i  1 8s.  6d. 

ABERDEEN  UNIVERSITY  EDINBURGH  ASSOCIATION. 

An  appeal  having  been  made  by  the  Committee  of  the  Aberdeen  Uni- 
versity Edinburgh  Association  to  the  members,  a  sum  of  about  ^£^30  was 
raised  to  be  expended  for  the  benefit  of  graduates  and  students  of  the  Uni- 
versity serving  at  the  front.  It  was  ascertained  that  a  larger  number  of  them 
were  serving  in  the  4th  Battalion  of  the  Gordon  Highlanders  than  in  any  other 
regiment;  and,  accordingly,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Thomas  W.  Ogilvie,  C.M.G., 
the  commanding  officer  of  the  Battalion,  was  asked  to  indicate  what  would 
be  most  appreciated  by  his  University  men  as  a  gift  from  the  Association. 
He  replied  that  the  best  thing  they  could  get  would  be  one  or  two  tele- 
scopic rifle  sights.  "The  Germans,"  he  wrote,  "use  them  extensively  with 
terrible  accuracy,  and  I  am  quite  sure  that  many  crack  shots  in  the  University 
Company,  which  is  now  D  Company,  could  use  them  with  equal  effect."  The 
Scottish  Command  having,  in  response  to  an  application,  supplied  the  Com- 
mittee gratuitously  with  three  service  rifles,  these  were  fitted  with  telescopic 
sights  and  dispatched  to  the  4th  Gordons  in  the  firing  line.  Colonel  Ogilvie 
has  since  expressed  the  appreciation  and  thanks  of  the  whole  regiment  for  the 
gifts,  and  testified  to  the  efficiency  of  the  rifles  in  the  hands  of  selected  crack 
shots.  Each  telescopic  sight  costs  jQ\o  los.  so  that  the  sum  originally  raised 
is  exhausted.  Two  members  of  the  Association  have  since  given  donations 
sufficient  to  provide  a  fourth  and  a  fifth  rifle,  one  of  which  has  been  given 
to  Colonel  Ogilvie  for  the  4th  Gordons  and  the  other  to  Major  Dawson  for 
the  6th  Gordons.  The  Association  has  increased  its  fund  to  ;£ii3.  But 
as  the  military  authorities  have  taken  up  all  the  available  supply  of  lenses,  so 
that  no  further  telescopic  sights  can  be  meantime  procured,  the  Committee 
will  apply  the  balance  of  the  fund  to  an  object  equally  suitable  and  useful. 


Personalia. 

The  most  noteworthy  incidents  in  the  personnel  of  the  University  since 
our  last  issue  are  the  transference  of  two  of  our  Professors  to  the  University 
of  Edinburgh,  and  the  appointment  of  their  successors.  Professor  Herbert 
J.  C.  Grierson,  M.A.,  LL.D.,  has  been  appointed  to  the  Chair  of  Rhetoric 
and  EngUsh  Literature  vacant  by  the  retirement  of  Professor  George  Saints- 
bury  ;  and  Professor  William  A.  Curtis,  M.A.,  D.D.,  D.Litt.,  has  been  ap- 
pointed to  the  Chair  of  Biblical  Criticism  and  Biblical  Antiquities,  from 
which  Dr.  John  Patrick  recently  retired.  These  appointments  deprive  our 
own  University  of  prominent  members  of  the  staff,  two  of  its  most  accom- 
plished teachers.  While  deploring  the  loss,  we  congratulate  the  two  Pro- 
fessors on  the  added  distinction  that  has  been  conferred  upon  them  by  their 
well- merited  promotion. 

In  the  case  of  Professor  Grierson,  the  added  distinction  is  conferred  on  one 
who  is  also  a  son  of  Aberdeen  University.  Mr.  Grierson  was  a  member  of 
the  1883-87  Class,  graduating  in  the  latter  year  with  first-class  honours  in 
mental  philosophy  and  carrying  off  the  Bain  gold  medal  for  the  subject  and 
the  Seafield  gold  medal  in  English.  Proceeding  to  Oxford  in  1889,  having 
gained  an  open  classical  exhibition  at  Christ  Church,  he  obtained  a  second 
class  in  honour  moderations  two  years  later,  and  in  1893  ^  ^^st  class  in  the 
final  school  of  Literae  Humaniores  and  the  B.A.  degree.  In  October,  1893, 
following  on  Professor  Minto's  death,  Mr.  Grierson  was  appointed  by  the 
University  Court  interim  Lecturer  on  English  Literature;  and  when  the 
Chalmers  Chair  on  that  subject  was  instituted  he  was  selected  by  the  Crown, 
in  May,  1894,  to  be  its  first  occupant.  As  the  teaching  of  English  at  the 
University  had  previously  formed  part  of  the  duty  of  the  Professor  of  Logic, 
the  responsibility  of  organizing  and  developing  its  study  as  a  separate  depart- 
ment of  the  Faculty  of  Arts  devolved  upon  Mr.  Grierson ;  and,  in  the  words 
of  the  Principal's  testimonial,  "  He  achieved  this  aim  in  a  manner  which 
reflected  the  highest  credit  both  on  his  ideals  for  his  subject  and  on  his 
powers  of  organization".  An  indication  of  the  work  he  accomplished  is 
given  in  the  article  on  "The  Development  of  English  Teaching  at  Aber- 
deen," which  he  contributed  to  the  first  number  of  the  Review.  Of  the 
Professor's  attainments  as  a  scholar  and  critic  of  literature  this  is  not  the 
place  to  speak.  It  will  suffice  to  mention  that  he  is  the  author  of  an  edition 
of  "  The  Poems  of  John  Donne,"  with  introductions  and  commentary,  and 
of  one  of  the  volumes  of  Professor  Saintsbury's  "  Periods  of  European 
Literature  Series  " — the  volume  dealing  with  "The  First  Half  of  the  Seven- 
teenth Century";  while  he  collaborated  with  Professor  Macneile  Dixon  in 
the  production  of  an  anthology,   "The  English  Parnassus".      He  is  the 


Personalia  79 

author,  besides,  of  several  poems,  mostly  translations  from  foreign  writers; 
has  contributed  to  the  "  Cambridge  History  of  English  Literature  "  ;  and  has 
frequently  lectured,  inside  and  outside  the  University,  on  a  variety  of  literary 
topics.  Keenly  interested  in  the  Review,  he  has  been  a  member  of  the 
Editorial  Sub-Committee  from  the  first,  and  a  frequent  contributor  to  our 
pages. 


Professor  Curtis,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a  member  of  Edinburgh  Uni- 
versity, where,  after  carrying  off  a  large  number  of  class  prizes,  he  graduated 
M.A.  in  1897,  with  first-class  honours  in  classical  languages  and  literature. 
He  afterwards  travelled  for  a  year  in  Greece  and  Italy  as  Heriot  Research 
Fellow,  becoming  a  member  of  the  British  School  of  Archaeology  at  Athens. 
He  then  entered  the  Divinity  Hall  at  Edinburgh,  after  gaining  the  Webster 
bursary  of  j^^j  a  year  for  three  years,  and  the  Barty  memorial  prize  for 
Hebrew  and  New  Testament  Greek.  Carrying  off  a  number  of  class  and 
other  prizes,  including  the  Hepburn  prize  for  an  essay  on  "Miraculous  and 
Non-miraculous  Christianity,"  and  the  Jeffrey  scholarships  in  Biblical  Criticism 
and  Divinity,  Mr.  Curtis  graduated  B.D.  in  1901,  and  was  awarded  the  Pitt 
scholarship  of  ;£'ioo  a  year  for  three  years.  He  studied  subsequently  at 
Heidelberg,  Leipzig,  and  Oxford.  In  the  summer  of  1902  he  gained  the 
first  Gunning  prize  of  ;£"5o  in  theology  and  the  fourth  Gunning  prize  of  ;^2o 
in  natural  science.  He  was  one  of  the  candidates  for  the  Professorship  of 
Systematic  Theology  at  Aberdeen  University  in  1903,  when  the  Chair  be- 
came vacant  by  Professor  W.  P.  Paterson's  appointment  to  the  Divinity  Chair 
in  Edinburgh  ;  and  his  brilliant  appearance  in  all  departments  of  the  examination 
which  is  conducted  for  •  this  particular  Chair  led  to  his  selection,  though  then 
he  was  but  twenty-seven  years  of  age.  Professor  Curtis's  discharge  of  his 
duties  in  the  twelve  years  that  have  since  elapsed  has  in  every  way  justified 
the  expectations  formed  of  him  as  a  scholar  and  thinker.  In  1 9 11  he  pub- 
lished "  The  History  of  Creeds  and  Confessions  of  Faith  in  Christendom  and 
Beyond  " — a.  learned  work  which  received  high  commendation.  A  Doc- 
torate in  Letters  was  awarded  him  by  his  Alma  Mater^  which  last  year  con- 
ferred upon  him  the  honorary  degree  of  D.D.  Professor  Curtis,  like  Professor 
Grierson,  has  interested  himself  in  the  Review,  being  a  member  of  the 
Editorial  Sub-Committee. 


The  vacant  Chair  of  English  Literature  was  filled  by  the  appointment  of 
Mr.  Adolphus  Alfred  Jack,  M.A.,  LL.M.,  formerly  Fellow  of  St.  Peter's  Col- 
lege, Cambridge.  The  new  Professor  is  a  son  of  Dr.  William  Jack,  Emeritus 
Professor  of  Mathematics  at  Glasgow  University,  and  a  nephtfw  and  son-in-law 
of  the  late  Professor  Nichol,  of  the  English  Literature  Chair  at  Glasgow. 
He  is  forty- seven  years  of  age,  and  was  educated  at  Glasgow  and  Cambridge 
Universities.  At  Cambridge,  where  he  studied  law  and  literature,  his  career 
was  one  of  unusual  distinction.  He  took  high  honours  in  law  and  was 
awarded  the  Chancellor's  Medal  for  English  verse.  After  graduating  LL.M., 
he  was,  in  1895,  admitted  a  barrister  from  Lincoln's  Inn,  and  in  the  same 
year  he  was  appointed  to  the  newly-created  Lectureship  in  English  Language 
and  Literature  at  Queen  Margaret  College  (Women's  Department),  Glasgow. 


8o  Aberdeen  University  Review 

He  resigned  this  post  in  1902  and  went  to  London,  where  he  lectured  for  the 
extension  systems  of  London  and  Cambridge,  and  also  occasionally  for  Ox- 
ford. He  delivered  lectures  at  some  fifty  London  centres.  For  many  years, 
too,  he  gave  to  large  audiences  annual  courses  of  lectures  at  Edinburgh  each 
August  for  the  University  vacation  courses.  In  1 908  he  was  appointed  to 
the  Chair  of  English  at  Queen's  College,  London.  In  1914  he  was  invited 
to  deliver  the  annual  course  of  Clark  Lectures  at  Trinity  College,  Cambridge, 
and,  to  secure  the  leisure  requisite  for  their  preparation,  he  resigned  his  pro- 
fessorship at  Queen's  College ;  his  lectures  dealt  with  Chaucer  and  Spenser^ 
and  are  about  to  be  published.  Professor  Jack  is  the  author  of  a  number  of 
critical  essays — "Thackeray,"  "Shelley,"  "Essays  on  the  Novel,"  and  (his 
most  important  work)  "Poetry  and  Prose,  Being  Essays  on  Modern  English 
Poetry,"  published  in  191 1.  He  has  also  produced  two  plays,  "The  Prince  " 
and  "  Mathilde,"  and  has  contributed  to  the  "Cambridge  History  of  English 
Literature  "  and  the  "  Essays  and  Studies  "  of  the  English  Association. 


The  examination  of  candidates  for  the  Chair  of  Systematic  Theology  was 
conducted  by  delegates  appointed  by  the  Senatus,  the  Synod  of  Aberdeen, 
and  the  Presbyteries  embraced  in  the  Synod,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  Gordon  Murray 
being  Chairman,  and  took  place  from  the  19th  to  the  22nd  October.  There 
were  eleven  candidates.  The  competition  resulted  in  Rev.  William  Fulton, 
M.A.,  B.D.,  B.Sc,  collegiate  minister,  Paisley  Abbey,  being  appointed  to  the 
Chair.  The  next  in  order  of  merit  were — Rev.  John  Dickie,  M.A.,  Professor 
of  Systematic  Theology  and  New  Testament  Language  and  Exegesis,  Knox 
College,  Dunedin,  New  Zealand;  Rev.  Andrew  C.  Baird,  M.A.,  B.D.,  B.Sc, 
Anderston  Parish,  Glasgow;  and  Rev.  George  S.  Marr,  M.A.,  B.D.,  Dalziel 
Parish,  Motherwell.  The  newly-appointed  Professor,  Rev.  William  Fulton,  is 
thirty-eight  years  of  age,  and  was  educated  at  Glasgow  High  School,  of  which 
he  became  dux,  and  at  Glasgow  University,  where  he  graduated  in  Arts,  with 
first-class  honours  in  Classics  and  Science,  and  with  special  distinction  in 
Mathematics  and  Astronomy,  and  also  in  Divinity.  On  the  result  of  the 
examinations  for  the  B.D.  degree,  he  was  awarded  the  Black  Fellowship  as 
the  first  student  in  Divinity.  On  the  completion  of  his  college  career  at 
Glasgow  he  proceeded  to  the  Universities  of  Marburg  and  Berlin,  where  for  a 
year  he  continued  his  studies  in  Systematic  Theology  and  Biblical  Criticism. 
He  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Glasgow  in  1903,  and  became  an  as- 
sistant minister  in  St.  Cuthbert's,  Edinburgh,  under  the  Very  Rev.  Dr. 
Wallace  Williamson.  From  1906  to  1909  he  was  minister  of  the  parish  of 
Wigtown.  Since  the  year  1909  he  has  been  collegiate  minister  at  Paisley 
Abbey.  He  had  also  in  Paisley  the  appointments  of  officiating  chaplain  to 
the  Presbyterian  troops  and  chaplain  to  Dykebar  Asylum.  He  has  had  con- 
siderable experience  of  academic  teaching  at  Glasgow  University.  On  his 
return  from  Germany  he  assisted  the  Professor  of  Biblical  Criticism  by  con- 
ducting a  tutorial  class  in  New  Testament  Greek.  He  has  acted  twice  as 
Professor  of  Divinity,  once  during  the  last  vacancy,  and  again  during  the 
recent  illness  of  the  present  occupant  of  the  chair.  He  was  selected  by  the 
late  Professor  Hastie's  trustees  for  the  task  of  editing  his  Croall  Lectures  on 
"  The  Theology  of  the  Reformed  Church  ".     He  has  contributed  expository 


Personalia  8 1 

articles  on  New  Testament  subjects  to  "Life and  Work,"  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land magazine.  He  has  also  been  a  contributor  to  the  Transactions  of  the 
Glasgow  University  Oriental  Society  and  the  Glasgow  University  Divinity 
Hall  Club.  Dr.  Hastings  entrusted  him  with  articles  on  the  "Lord's  Prayer" 
and  the  "  Sadducees  "  for  his  "  Dictionary  of  Christ  and  the  Gospels,"  and 
with  an  article  on  "Paganism"  for  his  "Encyclopaedia  of  Religion  and 
Ethics,"  but  owing  to  other  work.  Professor  Fulton  relinquished  them. 


Professor  Nicol,  addressing  the  divinity  students  at  the  opening  of  the 
session,  referred  to  the  contestation  for  the  Chair  of  Systematic  Theology,  and 
pointed  out,  as  a  remarkable  fact,  that  every  one  of  the  professors  of  divinity 
holding  office  in  the  four  Scottish  Universities,  down  to  the  death  of  Principal 
Stewart  in  July  last,  had  passed  through  the  ordeal  of  the  contestation  into 
the  possession  of  their  chairs.  Principal  Stewart  obtained  the  chair  after  con- 
testation in  1887.  When  he  left  for  St.  Andrews  Professor  Paterson  obtained 
it  in  1894,  and  when  he  went  to  Edinburgh  Professor  Curtis  obtained  it  in 
1903.  It  was  well  known  that  it  was  the  excellent  appearance  made  by  Dr. 
H.  M.  B.  Reid  in  the  contestation  on  the  latter  occasion  that,  along  with  his 
fine  record  of  scholarship  and  pastoral  efficiency,  pointed  him  out  to  the  Uni- 
versity Court  of  Glasgow  and  secured  him  the  appointment  to  the  Chair  of 
Divinity  there,  then  vacant  by  the  sudden  death  of  Professor  Hastie.  Those 
appointments,  said  Professor  Nicol,  were  surely  a  remarkable  justification  of 
the  contestation.  

Mr.  Robert  Morrison  Maclver  (M.A.  Edin.,  B.A.  Oxon.,  and  D.Phil. 
Edin.),  Lecturer  in  Political  Science  and  Sociology  at  the  University,  has 
been  appointed  Professor  of  Political  Science  in  the  University  of  Toronto. 
He  was  also  awarded  the  first  Carnegie  Trust  Essay  Prize  of  ;^ioo  (instituted 
last  year),  for  a  thesis  entitled  "  Community,  a  Sociological  Study,  being  an 
attempt  to  set  out  the  nature  and  fundamental  laws  of  social  life  ".  The  prize 
was  open  for  competition  to  the  staffs  of  the  four  Scottish  Universities. 
There  were  seven  competitors. 

Professor  J.  Arthur  Thomson  was  appointed  Gifford  Lecturer  at  St. 
Andrews  University  for  1 914-15  and  191 5-16,  but  last  year's  lecture  was 
postponed,  and  the  Professor  has  been  re-appointed  Lecturer  for  19 15-16 
and  1 916- 1 7.  He  began  his  first  course  of  lectures  in  October.  The  general 
subject  is  "  A  Study  of  Animate  Nature,"  and  this  year's  course  is  entitled 
"  The  Realm  of  Organisms  as  it  is,"  including  among  other  questions  those  of 
the  Criteria  of  Livingness,  The  Problem  of  Body  and  Mind,  Organism  and 
Mechanism,  and  Adaptation  and  Purposiveness. 

At  the  meetings  of  the  British  Association  at  Manchester  in  September 
Professor  Hendrick  read  papers  in  the  Agricultural  Section  on  "The 
Manurial  Situation  and  Its  Difficulties  "  and  on  "  Composition  and  Use  of 
Certain  Seaweeds  ". 

In  the  distribution  of  honours  on  the  King's  birthday,  Mr.  James  Murray, 
Glenburnie  Park,  Aberdeen  (alumnus,  1868-72),  was  knighted,  and  Mr! 
David  Petrie,  Superintendent  of  Police,  Punjab  (M.A.,  1900),  was  made  a 
Companion  of  the  Indian  Empire  (CLE.). 

6 


82  Aberdeen  University  Review 

Mr.  George  Gall  Sim,  of  the  Indian  Civil  Service  (M.A.,  1898;  B.A. 
Oxon.,  1 901),  has  been  appointed  a  member  of  the  Legislative  Council  of 
the  United  Provinces.  He  is  meanwhile  serving  as  a  trooper  in  the  Cawn- 
pore  Squadron  of  the  United  Provinces  Horse. 


Brigade-Surgeon  Lieutenant- Colonel  James  Forbes  Beattie,  of  the  Army 
Medical  Staff  (retired),  (M.A.  King's  College,  i860;  M.D.,  CM.,  1863), 
has  been  appointed  President  of  a  travelling  Medical  Board  established  in 
connexion  with  the  London  Military  Command.  Major  Sir  [Robert]  John 
Collie,  R.A.M.C.  (M.B.,  CM.,  1882  ;  M.D.,  1885),  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Board,  the  only  other  member  of  which  is  a  military  representative,  Colonel 
Lord  William  Cecil,  CV.O. 


Mr.  John  Alexander  Simpson  (M.A.,  with  first-class  honours  in  Classics, 
1 9 13)  gained  the  second  place  in  the  recent  Indian  Civil  Service  competition. 
He  had  a  remarkably  brilliant  career  at  the  University  (see  Vol.  I.,  91,  195). 
The  first  place  in  the  competition  was  taken  by  Mr.  M.  F.  P.  Herchenroder, 
who  made  3853  marks  out  of  6000.  Mr.  Simpson's  total  was  3736.  He  took 
Classics  chiefly,  and  it  is  noteworthy  that  he  made  640  marks  in  Sanskrit  out 
of  a  possible  total  of  800.  Eight  other  candidates — all  of  them,  to  judge  by 
their  names,  Indian  students — took  Sanskrit,  but  only  one  of  them  exceeded 
Mr.  Simpson's  figures,  and  he  only  by  3  marks.  To  take  the  second  place 
in  the  Indian  Civil  Service  examination  is  a  very  high  distinction.  It  has 
been  excelled  only  twice  by  Aberdeen  men — the  late  Mr.  James  Geddes, 
a  brother  of  Principal  Sir  William  Geddes,  who  was  first  in  i860,  and  the  late 
Sir  James  Westland,  brother  of  Dr.  Albert  Westland,  first  in  1861 ;  and  equalled 
only  once — by  Sir  John  O.  Miller,  late  Commissioner  of  the  Central  Pro- 
vinces, a  cousin  of  Emeritus-Professor  Sir  William  M.  Ramsay,  who  took  the 
second  place  in  the  examination  of  1877.  Two  other  Aberdeen  students 
entered  the  examination  this  year — Mr.  W.  R.  Tennant  (M.A.,  19 14),  who 
gained  the  thirty- third  place  with  2303  marks,  and  Mr.  A.  R.  Murison  (M.A., 
1 91 2),  who  was  forty-second,  with  2126  marks.  As  there  were  only  thirteen 
vacancies  this  year,  they  were  both  cut  out.  Mr.  Simpson,  as  soon  as  the  ex- 
amination was  over,  enlisted,  and  is  now  serving  as  a  private  in  the  London 
Scottish.  Mr.  Tennant  has  joined  the  Edinburgh  University  O.T.C.  (Ar- 
tillery Unit).  

Mr.  Allan  James  Low  (M.A.,  191 4)  has  won  the  Ferguson  Mathematical 
Scholarship  of  ;^8o  per  annum,  tenable  for  two  years.  He  was  first  bursar 
in  1 910,  and  graduated  with  first  class  honours  in  Mathematics  and  Natural 
Philosophy,  carrying  off  the  Simpson  Mathematical  Prize,  the  Greig  Prize  in 
Natural  Philosophy,  and  the  Dr.  David  Rennet  Gold  Medal  in  Mathematics. 
He  was  also  awarded  the  Town  Council  Gold  Medal  as  the  most  distinguished 
graduate  of  his  year  in  the  department  of  Science. 

The  FuUerton  Scholarship  in  Classics — ;£ioo  per  annum,  tenable  for  two 
years — has  been  awarded  to  Mr.  John  Locke  Irvine  (M.A.,  191 5).  He  won 
the  Liddel  Prize  in  March. 


Rev.  Dr.  John  Smith,  minister  of  St.  John's  Presbyterian  Church,  Pieter- 
maritzburg,  Natal  (M.A.  Marischal  College,  1858  ;  D.D.,  1907),  has  attained 


Personalia  8  3 

his  jubilee  of  ministerial  service,  having  landed  in  Natal  on  9  May,  1865,  and 
ministered  there  during  the  fifty  years  that  have  since  elapsed.  On  the  for- 
mation of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  South  Africa,  Dr.  Smith  was  chosen  as 
its  first  Moderator,  and  he  again  filled  the  office  in  1903. 


Rev.  James  Donald  (M.A.,  King's  College,  1858;  D.D.,  1904),  minister 
of  the  Parish  of  Keith -hall,  Aberdeenshire,  attained  his  ministerial  jubilee  on 
1 9  September.  Several  graduates  have  recently  celebrated  their  semi- jubilee 
as  ministers,  among  them — Rev.  George  Birnie,  Speymouth,  Fochabers 
(M.A.,  1882  ;  B.D.) ;  Rev.  William  Cowie,  Maud,  Aberdeenshire  (M.A., 
1880) ;  Rev.  John  Kennedy,  Birnie.  Elgin  (M.A.,  1884) ;  Rev.  James 
Lumsden,  formerly  of  Grange,  Banffshire,  and  now  of  the  Tolbooth  Church, 
Edinburgh  (M.A.,  1884) ;  and  Rev.  Alexander  Wilson,  Ythan  Wells,  Aber- 
deenshire (M.A.,  1882). 

Mr.  Archibald  Alexander  (M.A.,  191 2)  has  been  appointed  head  master  of 
Cabrach  School,  Aberdeenshire. 


Dr.  James  Cantlie  (M.A.,  1871  ;  M.B.,  CM.,  1873)  has  been  appointed 
Principal  of  the  College  of  Ambulance  recently  established  in  London. 

Rev.  James  Taylor  Cox,  Dyce  (M.A.,  1886  ;  B.D.,  1889),  has  been  elected 
a  member  of  the  governing  body  of  the  Dick  Bequest  by  the  chairmen  of  the 
School  Boards  of  West  Aberdeenshire,  in  succession  to  the  late  Mr.  George 
Smith  of  Pittodrie.  The  representative  of  East  Aberdeenshire  is  Rev.  Dr. 
Spence,  Udny. 

Dr.  William  Brown  Davidson  (M.A.,  1890;  D.Sc,  1899;  Ph.D.  [Wiirz- 
burg],  1898),  chief  chemist  to  the  Gas  Department  of  Birmingham,  and 
formerly  Lecturer  in  Physical  Chemistry  at  Aberdeen  University,  has  been 
appointed  chemical  engineer  to  British  Dyes,  Limited,  the  new  company 
formed  to  re-establish  and  extend  the  aniline  dye  industry  in  this  country. 

The  Gladstone  Memorial  Prize  in  Political  Science  has  been  awarded  to 
Mr.  David  Shepherd  Duguid  (M.A.,  1914),  for  an  essay  on  "The  Conditions 
and  Limitations  of  an  Efficient  International  Court  of  Arbitration  ". 


Rev.  William  Dey  Fyfe  (M.A.  Edin.,  B.D.  Aberd.,  19 10)  has  been 
elected  minister  of  Rattray  Parish  Church,  Perthshire.  He  took  his  B.D.  degree 
at  Aberdeen  with  honours  in  Church  History  and  Theology.  He  was  Synod 
Prizeman  in  Church  History,  Prizeman  in  Biblical  Criticism,  Theology,  and 
Christian  Evidences,  and  gained  the  King  William  Scholarship  of  ;£'2oo,  with 
which  he  pursued  a  course  of  special  research  in  Early  Church  History  at 
the  University  of  Oxford.  Mr.  Fyfe  was  assistant  at  St.  Cuthbert's,  Edinburgh 
(1911-12),  and  had  charge  of  St.  Columba's  Church,  Newtonmore  (1912-15). 


Mr.  George  Marr  Giles  (M.A.,  1903),  who  for  a  number  of  years  past  has 
held  a  post  in  the  London  office  of  the  "  Pioneer ''  of  Allahabad,  has  received 
an  appointment  in  Renter's  Agency,  to  take  charge  of  their  Indian  news 
service. 


84  Aberdeen  University  Review 

Rev.  Alexander  Gray  (M.A.,  191 1)  has  been  elected  minister  of  the 
United  Free  Church,  Balmaghie,  Kirkcudbrightshire. 

Professor  Alexander  Robertson  Home,  of  the  Aberdeen  Technical  College 
(M.A.,  1909;  B.Sc,  Assoc.  M.  Inst.  C.E.),  has  been  appointed  organizing 
engineer  for  the  Aberdeen  area  under  the  Munitions  Act. 

Mr.  James  Cooper  Johnston  (M.A.,  191 1)  has  been  appointed  head  master 
of  Crudie  Public  School,  New  Byth,  Aberdeenshire. 


Rev.  John  McQueen  (B.D.,  1915)  has  been  elected  minister  of  the  Parish 
of  Cruden,  Aberdeenshire.  He  is  a  brother  of  Rev.  D.  J.  McQueen  (B.D., 
1907),  minister  of  Monquhitter. 


Mr.  A.  R.  Macrae  (alumnus,  1905-8),  who  has  been  District  Police 
Superintendent  at  Delhi  for  the  past  three  years,  has  been  appointed  Deputy 
Commissioner  at  Basra,  in  the  Persian  Gulf,  the  new  territory  taken  by  the 
British  early  this  year. 


Rev.  George  Minty  (M.A.,  1868),  minister  (probationer)  of  St.  Mary's, 
Fyvie,  has  retired  after  thirty-nine  years'  service. 

Mr.  William  Mitchell,  advocate,  Edinburgh  (M.A.,  1893),  who  had  been 
one  of  the  Advocates  Depute  since  March,  1913,  resigned  on  the  reconstruc- 
tion of  the  Ministry  in  June  last,  and  was  appointed  an  Extra-Advocate  Depute. 

Mr.  George  Johnston  Morrison  (M.A.,  1906)  has  been  appointed  head 
master  of  Corse  Public  School,  Leochel-Cushnie,  Aberdeenshire. 


Mr.  Francis  Grant  Ogilvie,  C.B.  (M.A.,  1879;  LL.D.  Edin.),  Director 
of  Science  Museums,  South  Kensington,  has  been  appointed  one  of  the  panel 
of  honorary  scientific  experts  to  assist  in  the  examination  of  projects  for  in- 
ventions relating  to  munitions  for  war. 


Mr.  William  Mitchell  Ogilvie  (M.B.,  CM.,  1898)  has  been  appointed 
medical  superintendent  of  the  Ipswich  Borough  Mental  Hospital. 


Sir  George  Morison  Paul  (M.A.  King's  College,  1858;  LL.D.,  1908), 
Deputy  Keeper  of  the  Signet,  is  a  member  of  the  Royal  Commission  on  the 
Civil  Service. 


Rev.  James  Rae  (M.A.,  1910)  has  been  ordained  minister  of  the  United 
Free  Church,  Morebattle,  near  Kelso. 


Mr.  Alexander  W.  Reid  (M.A.,  191 1)  has  been  appointed  head  master  of 
Badenscoth  School,  Aberdeenshire. 


Dr.  Andrew  Macgregor  Sinclair  (M.B.,  CM.,  1890;  M.D.)  has  been 
elected  by  the  Burnley  Town  Council  Mayor  of  the  borough  for  the 
current  municipal  year.     He  went  to  Burnley  in  1890  as  resident  medical 


Personalia  8  5 

officer  at  the  Victoria  Hospital,  and  is  one  of  the  best  known  medical 
men  in  the  district.  He  entered  the  Town  Council  in  1896,  sitting  until 
1902.  After  a  break  he  was  elected  again  in  1908,  since  when  he  has  sat 
continuously,  becoming  eventually  Chairman  of  the  Health  Committee.  He 
was  placed  on  the  Commission  of  the  Peace  in  August,  191 3. 

Dr.  James  Humphry  Skeen  (M.B.,  CM.,  1890),  who  has  been  medical 
superintendent  at  Kirklands  Asylum,  Bothwell,  Lanarkshire,  since  1894,  has 
been  appointed  medical  superintendent  of  the  Fife  and  Kinross  Asylum. 

Mr.  James  Gordon  Souter  (M.A.,  1903),  head  master  of  Cultercullen 
School,  Foveran,  has  been  appointed  head  master  of  Newmachar  Public 
School. 


Mr.  James  Oliver  Thomson  (M.A.,  191 1 ;  B.A.  Cantab.)  obtained  a  place 
in  the  first  class  in  the  second  part  of  the  Classical  Tripos  at  Cambridge  in  June 
last.  His  previous  successes  were  mentioned  in  Vol.  H.,  pp.  76,  272.  He 
is  now  Second  Lieutenant  3/5 th  King's  Own  Yorks.  Light  Infantry. 

Mr.  James  Strath  Whyte  (M.A.,  1903),  formerly  English  master  in  Girvan 
High  School,  has  been  appointed  head  master  of  Spennymoor  Higher  Ele- 
mentary School  and  Pupil  Teachers'  Centre,  under  the  County  of  Durham 
Education  Committee. 


Rev.  George  Tod  Wright  (M.A.,  1913  ;  B.D.,  191 5)  has  been  appointed 
assistant  minister  at  St.  Michael's,  Dumfries. 


Miss  Iva  Isabella  Bisset  (M.A.,  19 13)  has  been  appointed  assistant  teacher 
at  Macduff  Higher  Grade  School. 

Miss  Lucy  Cockburn  (M.A.,  191 2)  has  been  appointed  assistant  teacher 
in  the  Westhill  School,  Skene,  Aberdeenshire. 


Dr.  Elizabeth  Mary  Edwards  (M.B.,  CM.,  1912;  D.P.H.,  1913)  has  re- 
signed her  post  as  assistant  medical  officer  to  the  Aberdeen  School  Board, 
having  received  an  appointment  in  Worksop. 


Dr.  Elizabeth  Esther  Elmslie  (M.A.,  1910;  M.B.,  Ch.B.,  1914)  has 
gone  as  a  medical  missionary  to  Rajputana,  India.  She  is  a  daughter  of 
Dr.  Walter  Angus  Elmslie  (M.B.,  1884),  who,  with  her  mother,  had  a  great 
share,  along  with  Dr.  Laws,  in  founding  the  Livingstonia  Mission  in  Central 
Africa. 

Miss  Johanna  Forbes  (M.A.,  1903)  has  been  appointed  principal  teacher 
of  classics  in  Hutcheson's  Grammar  School  for  Girls,  Glasgow.  Another 
Aberdeen  graduate,  Miss  Esther  Legge  (M.A.,  1908),  has  been  appointed 
head  of  the  English  Department  in  the  same  school. 


Miss  Ethel  H.  Kemp  (M.A.,  191 3),  classical  mistress  at  Hamilton  Academy, 
has  been  appointed  assistant  classical  teacher  at  the  Girls'  High  School, 
Aberdeen. 


86  Aberdeen  University  Review 

Miss  Agnes  Lobban  (M.A.,  1914)  has  been  appointed  head  mistress  of 
Garmond  PubHc  School,  Monquhitter,  Aberdeenshire. 

Miss  Lilias  MacGregor  MacMillan  (M.A.,  191 5)  has  been  appointed  as- 
sistant in  the  French  and  English  department  in  the  Inverurie  Academy. 

Miss  Mary  W.  U.  Robertson  (M.A.,  191 1),  who  after  two  years  at  Newn- 
ham  College,  Cambridge,  studied  at  Rome  as  Gilchrist  student,  has  been 
appointed  temporary  assistant  Lecturer  in  Classics  and  Ancient  History  in 
Birmingham  University. 

Miss  Alice  Shirras  (M.A.,  191 3)  has  left  for  Bombay  to  undertake  mis- 
sionary work,  particularly  at  the  Girls'  High  School. 

Miss  Myra  Watt  (M.A.,  1914)  has  been  appointed  a  teacher  in  one  of  the 
schools  of  the  Kintore  School  Board. 


Among  works  by  graduates  recently  published  are  the  following  : — "  The 
Nor'  East,"  by  Rev.  W.  S.  Bruce,  D.D. ;  "Lessons  in  Geometry  "—Part  I,  by 
Dr.  Charles  M'Leod;  "The  Founders  of  Israel,"  by  Rev.  W.  M.  Grant, 
M.A.,  Drumoak  ("  Text  Books  for  Bible  Classes  Series  ") ;  "  Peter  Tamson, 
Elder  o'  the  Kirk  and  Sportsman,"  by  Captain  Dickie,  R.A.M.C. — Dr.  John 
Low  Dickie  (M.B.,  1895),  a  son  of  the  late  Professor  Dickie  and  at  present 
Registrar  of  the  Red  Cross  Base  Hospital,  Netley ;  "  The  Great  Texts  of  the 
Bible  " — two  volumes,  Jeremiah  to  Malachi,  and  Revelation — edited  by  Rev. 
Dr.  James  Hastings,  and  completing  the  series  of  twenty  volumes  ;  a  volume 
on  Hezekiah  to  Malachi  in  the  "Greater  Men  and  Women  of  the  Bible,"  also 
edited  by  Dr.  Hastings ;  and  the  first  volume  of  a  new  series  under  the 
same  editorship — "  The  Great  Christian  Doctrines,"  this  volume  dealing  with 
Prayer ;  "  Transactions  of  the  North  of  Scotland  Agricultural  College  Former 
Students'  Association,"  edited  by  Messrs.  W.  J.  Profeit,  I.  G.  Innes,  and  W.  M. 
Findlay ;  "  Practical  Prescribing  and  Treatment  in  the  Diseases  of  Infants  and 
Children,"  by  D.  M.  Macdonald,  M.D.,  F.R.C.P.E.;  and  "Selections  from 
Malory,"  an  Introductory  Reader  in  Middle  English  for  secondary  classes, 
edited  with  historical  and  linguistic  introduction,  notes,  and  glossary,  by 
Agnes  M.  Mackenzie,  M.A. 

Mention  may  also  be  made  of  "  Memoir  of  Rev.  James  Simpson,  Port 
William  "  (M.A.,  1875),  by  Rev.  Alexander  Simpson,  M.A.,  B.Sc,  Glasgow. 
Volume  IV  (Zoology)  of  the  "  Report  on  the  Scientific  Results  of  the  Voyage  of 
the  *  Scotia,' "issued  by  the  Scottish  Oceanographical  Laboratory,  includes  a 
paper  on  "  The  Habits  and  Distribution  of  the  Seals  of  the  Weddell  Sea,"  by 
Dr.  R.  N.  Rudmose  Brown,  and  contributions  on  Ornithology  by  the  late 
Mr.  L.  N.  G.  Ramsay  and  Dr.  Rudmose  Brown. 


An  interesting  account  of  the  striking  career  of  the  Hon.  and  Rev.  Dr. 
Robert  Laws,  the  medical  missionary  of  Livingstonia,  Central  Africa  (M.A., 
1872  ;  M.B.,  CM.,  1875  ;  M.D.,  1877  ;  D.D.,  1891),  was  published  in  the 
"  Record  "  of  the  United  Free  Church  for  June,  under  the  title,  "  Forty  Years  in 
Livingstonia  ".  "In  forty  years,"  said  the  article,  "  the  United  Free  Church 
has  sent  to  Livingstonia  133  missionaries,  of  whom  28  hare  died  and  10  have 


Personalia  8  7 


been  invalided,  but  of  the  original  band  Dr.  Laws  alone  remains.  During  all 
that  time  he  has  played  many  parts — minister,  doctor,  engineer,  explorer, 
architect,  surveyor,  builder,  electrician,  printer,  and  farmer.  In  1908  he  was 
called  home  and  made  the  first  Missionary  Moderator  of  the  United  Free 
Church,  which  office,  with  its  manifold  duties,  he  filled  to  the  satisfaction  of 
his  friends  and  with  honour  to  himself.  On  his  return  to  Nyasaland  he  was 
nominated  by  the  Governor  a  member  of  the  Legislative  Council,  an  office 
he  still  holds." 


Through  the  death  of  Rev.  Alexander  Giles  (see  Obituary),  Rev.  Professor 
William  Robinson  Clark,  M.A.,  D.D.,  D.C.L.,  LL.D.,  of  Trinity  Uni- 
versity, Toronto,  now  becomes  senior  graduate  of  King's  College.  Pro- 
fessor Clark  was  born  at  Inverurie  in  1829.  He  entered  King's  College  in 
1844,  and  graduated  with  honours  in  1848.  He  proceeded  to  Hertford 
College,  Oxford,  and  took  the  degree  of  B.A.  in  1863  and  M.A.  in  1866. 
Entering  the  Church  of  England  he  was  ordained  deacon  in  1857  and  priest 
in  1858  by  the  Bishop  of  Worcester.  He  served  successively  as  curate  of 
Birmington  and  curate  and  vicar  of  Taunton,  and  was  frequently  selected  to 
preach  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  and  Westminster  Abbey.  On  going  to  Canada, 
in  1882,  he  was  appointed  the  following  year  to  the  Chair  of  Mental  and 
Moral  Philosophy  in  Trinity  University,  Toronto,  which  he  has  filled  ever 
since.  In  1891  he  was  elected  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Canada. 
He  has  published  many  works  of  a  literary  and  theological  nature.  Apart 
from  his  professional  position,  Professor  Clark  is  widely  known  as  a  public 
speaker  and  lecturer.  Besides  being  one  of  the  best  known  College  men  in 
the  Dominion,  he  has  long  been  eminent  in  the  councils  of  the  Church  of 
England  in  Canada. 

The  oldest  graduate  of  the  University,  however,  is  Rev.  John  Robertson, 
New  Brunswick,  who  entered  Marischal  College  in  1838  and  graduated  in 
1842  (see  Vol.  II.,  279).  He  celebrated  his  ninety-first  birthday  early  this 
year,  having  been  born  in  1824,  a  son  of  Rev.  John  Robertson,  minister  of 
Gartly.  Mr.  Robertson  studied  theology  under  Dr.  Chalmers  in  Edinburgh 
in  1842,  joining  the  Free  Church  in  1843,  and  is  now  one  of  the  very  few 
ministers  living  who  studied  under  Dr.  Chalmers.  For  many  years  he  was 
minister  of  Black  River,  Nova  Scotia. 


At  the  summer  graduation  in  July,  the  degree  of  M.A.  with  honours  was 
conferred  on  twenty-five  students,  and  the  ordinary  degree  on  seventy-one. 
Two  students  graduated  D.Sc,  and  three  B.Sc.  ;  two  received  the  diploma  in 
Agriculture.  There  was  a  solitary  graduate  in  Law  (LL.B.).  Two  doctors 
took  the  M.D.  degree,  and  the  ordinary  degree  of  M.B.,  Ch.B.,  was  taken  by 
thirty-one.  The  degree  of  D.Phil,  was  conferred  on  the  Rev.  William  Spence 
Urquhart  (M.A.,  1897),  of  the  Scottish  Churches  College,  Calcutta,  for  a  thesis 
on  "  Pantheism  and  the  Value  of  Life,  with  Special  Reference  to  Indian  Philo- 
sophy ". 

As  in  the  previous  session,  no  awards  were  made  of  the  Caithness  prize 
in  History  and  the  Archibald  Forbes  gold  medal  in  History.  There  were  no 
candidates  for  either  the  Hutton  prize  or  the  Bain  gold  medal  in  Mental 
Philosophy. 


88  Aberdeen  University  Review 

At  the  Bursary  competition  this  year  the  first  place  was  gained  by  Alex- 
ander M.  Buchan,  last  year's  dux  of  the  Inverurie  Academy.  Robert  S. 
Walker,  a  son  of  the  schoolmaster  of  Glentanar,  and  a  pupil  of  Robert 
Gordon's  College,  was  second  bursar.  The  College  has  also  the  credit  of 
training  the  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  bursars — respectively  William  Chrystall, 
Banchory  ;  George  P.  Webster,  Aberdeen  (dux  of  the  classical  side  and  Town 
Council  gold  medallist) ;  and  William  Forbes,  Tarland  (dux  of  the  modern  side 
and  also  Town  Council  gold  medallist).  The  third  bursar  was  Thomas  M. 
Taylor,  Keith,  dux  of  the  Keith  Grammar  School.  In  the  case  of  the  seventh 
and  eighth  bursars — Anthony  M.  Henry,  Fraserburgh,  and  Robert  A.  Forbes, 
son  of  the  schoolmaster  of  Rosehearty — the  positions  they  attained  at  Fraser- 
burgh Academy  were  reversed,  Forbes  having  been  the  dux  and  the  winner  of 
the  Sir  George  Anderson  gold  medal,  while  Henry  ran  him  very  closely  for  the 
honour.  The  Aberdeen  Grammar  School  had  no  place  in  the  first  twenty, 
its  most  successful  candidate  being  twenty-fifth ;  but  it  was  subsequently 
pointed  out  that  there  was  a  conspicuous  absence  of  Grammar  School  pupils 
from  the  competition,  a  dozen  boys  who  would  have  been  in  the  highest 
classical  class  of  the  school  having  enlisted  in  the  Territorials.  The  Aber- 
deen Girls'  High  School  was  also  behind  this  year,  the  first  place  secured  by  a 
pupil  from  the  institution  being  the  twenty-sixth.  The  rural  schools  were 
well  represented.  While,  of  the  first  sixty  places,  Gordon's  College  had  eleven, 
the  Girls'  High  School  seven,  and  the  Grammar  School  three,  Fraserburgh 
Academy  and  Fordyce  Academy  had  six  each ;  Banff  Academy,  Peterhead 
Academy,  and  the  Mackie  Academy,  Stonehaven,  four  each ;  the  Gordon 
School,  Huntly,  the  Kemnay  Higher  Grade  Public  School,  and  the  Strichen 
Higher  Grade  Public  School,  three  each  ;  Keith  Grammar  School,  two ;  and 
Inverurie  Academy,  Dingwall  Academy,  Turriff  Higher  Grade  Public  School, 
and  Buckie  Higher  Grade  Public  School,  one  each. 


Obituary. 


The  Very  Rev.  Alexander  Stewart,  D.D.,  Principal  and  Primarius 
Professor  of  Divinity,  St.  Mary's  College,  St.  Andrews,  died  at  St.  Andrews  on 
21  July,  aged  sixty-eight.  He  was  minister  of  the  parish  of  Mains  and 
Strathmartine,  near  Dundee,  from  1873  to  1887,  when  he  was  elected  (by 
competition)  to  the  Chair  of  Systematic  Theology  in  Aberdeen  University, 
in  succession  to  Professor  Samuel  Trail;  and  in  1894  he  succeeded  Dr. 
Cunningham  as  Principal  of  St.  Mary's.  He  was  Moderator  of  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  in  191 1,  and  delivered  the  Croall  Lecture 
in  1902,  giving  an  account  of  the  genesis  and  contents  of  the  Creeds.  Among 
other  degrees  he  received  was  that  of  D.D.  from  Aberdeen  University  in  1906. 
Dr.  Stewart  was  the  author  of  a  well-known  "Handbook  of  Christian  Evi- 
dences "  (published  in  1892  ;  revised  and  enlarged,  1895) ;  a  sketch  of  "  The 
Life  of  Christ"  (1906);  and  "The  Religious  Use  of  the  Imagination"  (his 
Assembly  address  in  191 1).  Along  with  Professor  Menzies,  he  translated  and 
edited  part  of  Pfleiderer's  "  Philosophy  of  Religion  ".  He  was  also  a  contri- 
butor to  Dr.  Hastings'  "  Dictionary  of  the  Bible  ".  Principal  Stewart  took  a 
great  interest  in  education,  and  in  1906  succeeded  the  late  Principal  Sir 
James  Donaldson  as  Chairman  o  fthe  St.  Andrews  Provincial  Committee  for 
the  Training  of  Teachers. 


Dr.  Charles  Annandale  (M.A.,  1867  ;  LL.D.,  1885)  died  at  his  re- 
sidence, 35  Queen  Mary  Avenue,  Crossbill,  Glasgow,  on  4  September,  aged 
seventy-two.  He  was  a  native  of  Fordoun,  Kincardineshire.  He  joined  the 
literary  staff  of  Messrs.  Blackie  &  Son,  Ltd.,  publishers,  Glasgow,  in  1868,  and 
was  for  a  long  pe  iod  their  editor.  He  edited  a  number  of  dictionaries,  in- 
cluding the  revised  edition  of  the  Imperial  Dictionary,  the  Students'  Diction- 
ary, and  the  Concise  Dictionary  ;  also  the  Modem  Cyclopaedia,  and  the  New 
Popular  Encyclopaedia.  He  edited  besides  an  edition  of  Burns's  Life  and 
Works,  and  wrote  the  introduction  to  and  the  continuation  of  Thomson's 
"  History  of  Scotland  ". 


The  Very  Rev.  John  Archibald  (M.A.,  1869)  died  at  Northfield, 
Birmingham,  on  10  September,  aged  seventy-five.  He  was  incumbent  and 
afterwards  rector  of  Holy  Trinity  Episcopal  Church,  Keith,  Banffshire,  for  the 
long  period  of  thirty-six  years,  from  1876  to  1912,  being  appointed  Dean  of 
the  diocese  of  Moray,  Ross,  and  Caithness  in  1902.  He  retired  from  the 
ministry  in  191 2,  and  had  since  resided  at  Birmingham.  He  was  the  author 
of  "History  of  the  Episcopal  Church  at  Keith"  (1890),  ''The  Historic  Epis- 
copate in  the  Columban  Church  and  in  the  Diocese  of  Moray  "  (1893),  and 
"  A  Ten  Years'  Conflict  and  Subsequent  Persecutions  "  (1907). 


go  Aberdeen  University  Review 

Mr.  Alexander  Cowieson  (alumnus,  King's  College,  1856-60),  formerly 
teacher  in  Pirie's  School,  Banff,  died  at  41  Castle  Street,  Banff,  on  30  Sep- 
tember, aged  eighty-seven.  On  leaving  College,  he  taught  for  six  years  at 
Mindurno  School,  Oldmachar,  and  in  1866  was  appointed  to  Pirie's  School, 
where  he  remained  until  the  school  was  closed  in  1889  under  the  Act  of 
Parliament  dealing  with  endowed  schools. 

Mr.  John  Alexander  Duguid  (M.A.,  191 3)  died  at  Bangkok,  Siam,  on  1 1 
June,  aged  twenty-three.  He  was  the  eldest  son  of  Mr.  James  Duguid, 
blacksmith,  Park  Villa,  Strathdon.  With  the  intention  of  taking  up  teaching 
as  a  profession,  he  attended  the  Aberdeen  Provincial  Training  Centre,  but  in 
December,  1913,  he  received  an  excellent  appointment  under  D.  M.  Home 
and  Co.,  teak  and  rice  merchants,  London  and  Bangkok,  with  whom  he  had 
held  since  then  a  position  of  considerable  trust  and  responsibility  at  their 
eastern  station. 

Rev.  Alexander  Giles,  minister-emeritus  of  the  United  Free  Church, 
Ashkirk,  Selkirkshire,  died  at  his  residence,  8  Rochester  Terrace,  Edinburgh, 
on  31  August,  aged  ninety-one.  He  was  the  senior  graduate  of  King's 
College,  which  he  entered  in  1839,  graduating  in  1845  (see  Vol.  H.,  85,  159). 
He  became  a  minister  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  and  was  ordained  at 
Ashkirk  in  1866,  retiring  in  1897. 

Dr.  John  Gregory  (M.B.,  CM.,  1883)  died  suddenly  at  the  Aberdeen 
Royal  Infirmary,  on  8  September,  aged  sixty-three.  He  was  a  native  of  Dornoch, 
son  of  Mr.  John  Gregory,  who  was  the  last  parochial  schoolmaster  of  Old- 
machar ;  and  had  practised  in  Old  Aberdeen  for  many  years. 

Mr.  GusTAV  Hein  died  in  Aberdeen  on  i  August,  aged  sixty-three.  A 
native  of  Magdeburg,  Saxony,  he  came  .to  Aberdeen  about  1878,  and  began 
teaching  German  to  private  pupils  and  University  students,  becoming  ulti- 
mately senior  German  master  at  the  Aberdeen  Grammar  School  and  then 
German  teacher  at  the  Girls'  High  School.  For  some  time  he  taught  French 
and  German  at  the  University,  and  in  1894  was  appointed  Examiner  in 
Modern  Languages  for  the  degree  and  preliminary  examinations — a.  post  he 
held  for  four  years.  He  also  acted  as  Lecturer  in  German  Honours  at  the 
University  for  several  years. 

Mr.  William  Ironside,  solicitor,  Oban  (M.A.,  1882),  died  on  14  May, 
aged  fifty-three.  He  was  a  native  of  Fyvie,  Aberdeenshire.  After  gradu- 
ating, he  engaged  in  teaching  in  England  for  a  short  time,  but,  adopting  law 
as  a  profession,  was  apprenticed  to  Messrs.  C.  &  P.  H.  Chalmers,  advocates, 
Aberdeen.  He  went  to  Oban  in  1896,  and  became  a  member  of  the  Faculty 
of  Procurators  there.  In  1899  he  was  assumed  as  a  junior  partner  of  the  firm 
of  Messrs.  Hossack  &  Sutherland,  and  about  three  years  ago  became  the  sole 
partner.  He  also  became  joint  agent  of  the  local  branch  of  the  Royal  Bank, 
and  held  various  public  appointments,  besides  being  factor  for  many  estates  in 
Lorn  and  Mull. 


Mrs.  Keith  (Annie  Brown  Macdonald),  (M.A.,  1912)  died  at  Aberdeen 
on  5  August. 


Obituary  9 1 


Dr.  James  William  Norris  Mackay(M.A.  King's  College,  1849;  M.D. 
Edin.)  died  at  his  residence,  Erneville,  Elgin,  on  26  September,  aged  eighty- 
three.  He  was  a  son  of  Rev.  George  Mackay  (M.A.,  King's  College,  1809; 
D.D.,  1850),  who  was  parish  minister  at  Rafford,  Morayshire,  but  came  out 
at  the  Disruption  in  1843.  After  completing  his  medical  studies  at  Edin- 
burgh University,  he  returned  to  Elgin  and  acted  for  a  time  as  resident  doctor 
at  Gray's  Hospital,  but  soon  commenced  practice  on  his  own  account  and  in 
the  course  of  a  few  years  built  up  an  extensive  practice.  He  was  medical 
officer  for  the  burgh  of  Elgin  for  many  years,  as  also  for  the  poorhouse  and 
asylum,  and  held  a  number  of  medical  appointments  in  the  district.  He  acted 
as  Secretary  to  the  Northern  Medical  Association  for  about  thirty  years,  and 
on  retiring  in  1895  was  presented  with  his  portrait  in  recognition  of  his  ser- 
vices. He  was  a  member  of  the  Elgin  School  Board  and  its  Chairman  for  a 
number  of  years,  and  was  prominently  identified  with  the  Free  Church  (after- 
wards the  United  Free  Church)  in  Elgin. 


Mr.  John  C.  Philip,  who  was  sacrist  at  Marischal  College  for  six  years, 
1 89 7- 1 903,  died  at  Dundee  on  4  March,  aged  fifty-four.  He  entered  the 
army  when  a  young  man,  joining  the  Duke  of  Cornwall's  Light  Infantry,  and 
attaining  the  rank  of  sergeant ;  he  went  through  the  first  Egyptian  Campaign, 
being  present  at  the  battles  of  Kassassin  and  Tel-el-Kebir,  for  which  he  had 
the  medals.  After  leaving  the  army,  he  entered  the  Aberdeen  police  force, 
rose  to  be  a  sergeant,  and  was  appointed  drill  instructor  to  the  force.  Then 
he  became  sacrist  at  Marischal  College,  and  finally  left  Aberdeen  for  Dundee 
to  join  the  staff  of  the  "People's  Journal,"  having  displayed  considerable 
literary  talents,  particularly  in  the  direction  of  writing  serial  stories.  He 
wrote  "  Reminiscences  of  Gibraltar,  Egypt,  and  the  Egyptian  War  of  1882,'' 
and  "  Robert  Woodcroft,  or  the  Memoirs  of  an  Aberdeen  Detective,"  both 
published  when  he  was  in  Aberdeen. 


Dr.»  Edward  Payne  Philpots  (M.B.,  CM.,  1868;  M.D.,  1870)  died 
at  Raynes  Park,  London,  in  September,  aged  seventy-three.  In  March, 
1865,  while  still  a  student,  he  sailed  from  Peterhead  in  the  whaler  "Queen,'^ 
which  spent  upwards  of  nineteen  months  in  the  Arctic  regions,  chiefly  in 
Bethune  Bay,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Cape  Horsburgh.  He  was  assiduous 
in  exploring  the  adjacent  shores  and  in  making  botanical  collections ;  and  he 
proved  that  the  land,  previously  believed  to  be  a  peninsula,  was  in  reality  an 
island,  the  eastmost  point  of  which  is  Cape  Horsburgh.  This  land  is  now 
marked  on  maps  as  "Philpots  Island  ".  Dr.  Philpots,  under  the  pseudonym 
"  Oliver  Eaton,"  wrote  several  works  of  fiction  :  "  The  Beacon  Hydro,"  **  Re- 
sults of  Waiting,"  etc.  He  was  also  the  author  of  the  once-popular  song 
"  Paddle  Your  Own  Canoe  ".  He  contributed  a  sketch  of  Professor  Alexander 
Harvey  to  "  Aurora  Borealis  Academica  ".  Dr.  Philpots  was  a  Fellow  of  the 
Royal  Geographical  Society,  and  had  residences  in  London  and  Bournemouth. 


Dr.  James  Bernhardt  Klingner  Robb  (M.A.,  1877  ;  M.B.,  CM., 
1881  ;  M.D^  1884)  died  at  his  residence,  38  Carr  Road,  Nelson,  Lancashire, 
on  16  September,  aged  fifty-nine. 


92  Aberdeen   University   Review 

Mr.  JoosT  Marius  Willem  van  der  Poorten -Schwartz,  the  Dutch 
novelist  (better  known  by  his  pen-name  of  "  Maarten  Maartens  "),  died  at 
Zeist,  near  Utrecht,  on  4  August,  aged  fifty-seven.  He  received  the  honorary 
degree  of  LL.D.  in  1905. 

Rev.  John  Wilson  (M.A.,  1862),  senior  minister  of  Victoria  Park  United 
Free  Church,  Partick,  died  at  his  residence,  33  Queen's  Crescent,  Edinburgh, 
on  13  September,  aged  seventy-three.  After  graduating,  he  acted  for  some 
time  as  a  teacher  in  the  Gymnasium,  Old  Aberdeen,  among  his  pupils  being 
Emeritus-Profe  sor  Sir  William  Ramsay.  He  then  studied  Divinity  at  the 
Theological  Hall  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church,  and  was  ordained 
minister  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church  at  Stronsay,  Orkney,  in  1867.  He 
was  afterwards  minister  at  the  Canongate  Church,  Edinburgh  (1871-74) ;  Stow 
in  Midlothian  (1874-81),  Whiteinch,  Glasgow  (1881-88);  and  in  1888  wasap- 
pointed  minister  of  the  Victoria  Park  United  Presbyterian  Church  (afterwards 
United  Free  Church),  Partick.  A  colleague  and  successor  to  him  was  ap- 
pointed in  April,  1909. 


Up  to  the  date  of  completing  this  Obituary  list,  the  following  thirty-four 
University  men,  engaged  in  the  various  operations  of  the  war,  were  either 
killed  or  fatally  wounded  (a  few  of  the  names  appeared  in  the  "  In  Memoriam," 
in  the  "  Roll  of  Service,"  published  as  a  supplement  to  Volume  II.) : — 

Alexander  Allardyce  (M.A.,  1904  ;>  B.L.),  sergeant  in  G  Company, 
4th  Battalion,  Gordon  Highlanders,  was  killed  in  action  in  Belgium,  on  20 
July,  aged  thirty.  He  was  a  son  of  the  late  Rev.  William  Allardyce  (M.A., 
1877),  minister  of  Rothiemay,  and  was  a  solicitor  in  Aberdeen  with  the  firm 
of  Messrs.  Hunter  &  Gordon,  advocates. 


James  Anderson  (Arts  Student),  of  Portknockie,  private,  4th  Gordon  High- 
landers, who  was  reported  as  missing  after  25  September,  was  taken  prisoner, 
and  is  reported  as  having  died  of  his  wounds  and  been  buried  at  Giessen. 


George  Cameron  Auchinachie  (Medical  student,  19 10- 13),  sergeant, 
ist  Battalion,  Gordon  Highlanders,  was  wounded  in  action  on  the  morning  of 
23  August,  and  died  later  in  the  day  at  the  9th  Field-dressing  Station.  He 
was  the  youngest  son  of  the  late  Provost  Auchinachie,  Aberchirder,  Banff- 
shire.    He  was  thrice  previously  wounded. 

George  Macbeth  Calder  (M.A.,  1915),  Second  Lieutenant,  8th  Bat- 
talion, Seaforth  Highlanders,  was  killed  in  action  in  the  heavy  fighting  that 
took  place  in  the  advance  upon  Loos,  France,  on  25-27  September.  When 
the  war  broke  out,  he  was  about  to  enter  the  third  year  of  his  medical  course, 
but  he  volunteered  for  service.  He  went  to  France  as  a  sergeant  in  the  4th 
Gordon  Highlanders  in  January,  and  obtained  his  commission  in  March. 
He  was  twenty-four  years  of  age. 


James  Cruickshank  (Arts  student),  lance-corporal  in  the  ist  Gordon 
Highlanders,  died  in  July  from  wounds  received  in  action  in  Flanders.  He 
was  third  bursar  in  1 914. 


obituary  93 


Marianus  Alexander  Gumming  (M.A.,  191 2),  lance-corporal,  i/4th 
Gordon  Highlanders,  was  killed  in  action  in  Flanders  on  13  June.  He  was 
assistant  schoolmaster  at  Kemnay,  and  was  only  twenty-three  years  of  age. 

Alexander  David  Duncan  (M.A.,  1914)  aged  twenty-one,  lance-sergeant, 
i/4th  Battalion,  Gordon  Highlanders,  died  in  Hospital  at  Boulogne  of  wounds 
received  17  June.  

John  Birnie  Ewen  (M.A.,  19 14),  private  in  the  2/4th  Gordon  High- 
landers, was  killed  in  action  in  the  action  near  Hooge,  on  25  September.  He 
took  a  keen  interest  in  University  athletics,  and  was  secretary  of  the  Athletic 
Association.  He  was  successful  in  open  competition  in  obtaining  an  appoint- 
ment with  the  Health  Insurance  Commissioners  in  Wales,  and  intended  taking 
it  up  at  the  end  of  the  war.     He  was  twenty-two  years  of  age. 

James  C.  Forbes  (Agricultural  student),  aged  twenty,  a  private  in  the  4th 
Gordon  Highlanders,  was  killed  inaction  in  Flanders  on  16  June. 


John  Keith  Forbes  (M.A.,  1905),  sergeant  in  the  i /4th  Battalion,  Gordon 
Highlanders,  was  killed  in  action  in  the  action  near  Hooge,  on  25  Septem- 
ber. After  graduating,  he  was  for  a  number  of  years  a  teacher  in  Buckie, 
but  in  1 9 1 2  he  entered  the  Aberdeen  United  Free  Church  College.  He  was 
the  most  brilliant  student  of  his  year  in  any  of  the  United  Free  Church  Col- 
leges, and  in  both  the  entrance  and  the  exit  examinations  he  secured  the  first 
place  among  all  candidates  in  Scotland.  Even  in  the  trenches  Sergeant 
Forbes  pursued  his  studies,  having  sent  home  for  some  of  his  Hebrew  class 
books.  He  was  a  son  of  Mr.  Alexander  Forbes,  late  headmaster  of  Ruthrie- 
ston  School,  Aberdeen,  and  a  nephew  on  his  mother's  side  of  Professor  Arthur 
Keith.  

Alexander  John  Fowlie  (M.A.  191  i  and  student  in  Agriculture), 
private  in  the  13th  Infantry  Battalion  Australian  Imperial  Force,  is  reported 
as  killed  at  the  Dardanelles  in  August. 

Andrew  Thomson  Fowlie,  aged  twenty-six,  lance-corporal,  i/4th  Bat- 
talion, Gordon  Highlanders,  was  killed  in  action  in  Flanders  on  1 5  June.  He 
was  county  organizer  for  Orkney  under  the  North  of  Scotland  College  of 
Agriculture,  where  he  was  trained,  obtaining  the  diploma  in  Agriculture  in 
1909  ;  he  also  held  the  National  Diploma  in  Agriculture.  He  was  a  son  of 
Mr.  Fowlie,  farmer,  Auchintumb,  Strichen. 


Ian  Catto  Eraser  (Arts  student).  Second  Lieutenant,  2nd  Argyll  and 
Sutherland  Highlanders,  was  killed  in  action  in  the  fighting  around  Loos  on 
25  September.  He  was  promoted  from  corporal  in  the  i/4th  Gordon  High- 
landers. He  was  a  son  of  the  late  Mr.  John  T.  Eraser,  schoolmaster,  Petty, 
Inverness,  and  was  in  his  twentieth  year. 


Geoffrey  Gordon  (M.A.,  1903),  Assistant  Commissioner  of  the  Pun- 
jab, who  volunteered  for  service  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war  and  was  granted 
a  commission  as  Lieutenant  in  the  1 2th  Lancers,  was  killed  on  30  April,  while  on 
service  in  France.  In  an  official  notice  published  in  the  "  Punjab  Gazette," 
the  Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  province   paid  an  eloquent  tribute  to  Mr. 


94  Aberdeen  University  Review 

Gordon's  sterling  worth,  describing  him  as  "a  fearless  officer  and  gallant 
gentleman  ".  Mr.  Gordon  had  often  to  expose  his  life  to  a  grave  risk  in  the 
pursuance  of  his  duty  in  the  Punjab,  his  life  being  twice  attempted,  the  as- 
sailant in  one  case  being  blown  to  pieces  by  his  own  infernal  machine.  For 
the  five  years  preceding  the  war  he  held  a  commission  as  Lieutenant  and 
Captain  in  the  Punjab  Light  Horse,  Indian  Volunteers. 

Robert  Patrick  Gordon  (Arts  student),  aged  nineteen,  a  private  in  the  4th 
Gordon  Highlanders,  was  killed  in  action  in  Flanders  on  1 7  June. 

Herbert  Mather  Jamieson  (M.B.,  Ch.B.,  1904)  died  on  26  Sep- 
tember while  on  Admiralty  service.  He  was  in  practice  at  Newcastle-on-Tyne, 
but  shortly  after  the  outbreak  of  the  war  he  volunteered  for  medical  service  in 
the  Navy. 

Arthur  Kellas  (M.B.,  Ch.B.,  1904;  D.P.H.),  Captain  in  the  ist 
Highland  Field  Ambulance,  R.  A.M.C.  (attached  to  the  89th  Field  Ambulance), 
was  killed  in  action  in  the  Dardanelles  on  6  August,  aged  thirty- one.  He 
was  senior  medical  assistant  at  the  Royal  Asylum,  Aberdeen.  He  had  been 
promoted  temporary  major  some  time  previously,  but  the  promotion  was  not 
gazetted  till  after  his  death. 

William  Robert  Kennedy  (Medical  student),  Second  Lieutenant,  and 
Battalion,  Argyll  and  Sutherland  Highlanders,  was  killed  in  action  in  the  for- 
ward movement  in  France,  25-26  September.  He  joined  the  Gordon  High- 
landers as  a  private,  and  displayed  such  conspicuous  bravery  in  carrying 
dispatches  across  a  shell-swept  zone  that  he  was  recommended  for  the  Distin- 
guished Conduct  Medal  and  singled  out  for  promotion.  He  received  a 
commission  and  was  attached  to  the  2nd  Argyll  and  Sutherland  Highlanders. 
He  was  a  son  of  Dr.  Kennedy,  Dunbeath,  and  was  only  nineteen  years  of  age. 

Harry  Lyon  (Arts  student),  aged  twenty-two,  a  private  in  the  machine- 
gun  section  of  the  i/4th  Gordon  Highlanders,  was  killed  in  action  in  France 
on  17  June. 

MuRDO  MacIver  (Agricultural  student),  aged  twenty,  lance-corporal  in 
the  4th  Gordon  Highlanders,  was  killed  in  action  in  Flanders,  16  June. 

Ian  Charles  M'Pherson  (M.A.,  1914),  Second  Lieutenant,  3rd  Bat- 
talion, Gordon  Highlanders,  was  killed  in  action  in  the  advance  on  Loos, 
on  25  September.  At  the  outbreak  of  war  he  was  a  medical  student.  He 
enlisted  in  the  44th  Field  Ambulance,  and  was  in  training  at  Aldershot 
until  January,  when  he  was  commissioned.  Proceeding  to  the  front,  he  was 
attached  to  the  2nd  Gordon  Highlanders,  with  whom  he  fought  up  to  the 
time  of  his  death.  *'  If  ever  a  soldier  deserved  the  V.C.  he  did,  and  had  he 
lived  he  would  have  gained  it.  This  is  the  opinion  of  his  men  and  the  officers 
who  saw  him."  He  was  the  elder  son  of  Mr.  Charles  S.  MTherson,  rector 
of  the  Banff  Academy,  and  was  only  twenty -one  years  of  age.  He  was  a 
young  man  of  exceptional  promise. 

John  Cook  Macpherson  (M.A.,  1910;  LL.B.),  Second  Lieutenant,  ist 
Gordon  Highlanders  (late  private,  9th  Royal  Scots),  died  of  wounds  received 
in  action  in  the  fighting,  25-27  September.  He  was  the  third  son  of  Rev. 
Robea-t  Macpherion,  D.D.,  Elgin. 


Obituary  95 


John  Ellison  Macqueen  (alumnus,  1891-95),  Lieutenant-Colonel, 
Officer  Commanding  the  6th  Battalion  Gordon  Highlanders  (T.F.),  was 
killed  in  action  in  the  advance  on  Loos,  on  25  September,  aged  forty. 
He  was  the  eldest  son  of  the  late  Mr.  John  Otto  Macqueen,  S.S.C.,  Aberdeen, 
his  mother  being  a  sister  of  Viscount  Haldane.  He  became  a  member  of  the 
Society  of  Advocates  in  Aberdeen  in  1 900,  and  was  for  some  time  in  partner- 
ship with  his  father  and  latterly  with  Mr.  H.  J.  Findlater,  W.S.  In  1896  he 
joined  the  ist  Volunteer  Battalion  of  the  Gordon  Highlanders  (afterwards  the 
4th  Battalion,  Gordon  Highlanders,  T.F.),  retiring  as  major  in  1910.  On 
the  outbreak  of  the  war  he  promptly  offered  his  services,  and  was  placed  in 
command  of  the  2/4th  Battalion  Gordon  Highlanders,  and  in  July  last  was 
appointed  to  the  command  of  the  6th  Battalion. 

John  Hampton  Strachan  Mason  (M.A.,  19 13),  private  in  D  company, 
4th  Battalion,  Gordon  Highlanders,  was  killed  in  action  in  the  Loos  engage- 
ment, 25  September.  While  at  the  University,  he  was  prominently  identified 
with  the  social  life  of  the  students,  was  Vice-President  of  the  Literary  Society 
in  his  last  year,  and  for  more  than  a  year  edited  Alma  Mater.  When  the 
war  broke  out  he  was  engaged  in  literary  work  in  London.  He  was  twenty- 
three  years  of  age.  

Frederick  William  Milne  (Medical  student),  of  Fyvie,  private  in  the 
I /4th  Gordon  Highlanders,  was  killed  in  action  in  France,  in  October,  after 
passing  unharmed  through  the  fighting  near  Hooge. 

Gordon  Dean  Munro  (Medical  student),  private,  4th  Gordon  High- 
landers, missing  since  25  September,  died  of  his  wounds  on  2  October  in 
an  hospital  in  Belgium. 

Frederick  Alexander  Rose  (M.A.,  191 1 ;  B.A.  Oxon.),  Lieutenant  in 
the  4th  Gordon  Highlanders,  was  killed  in  action  in  Flanders  on  1 1  August. 
He  belonged  to  Huntly,  and  had  a  distinguished  career  at  the  University, 
graduating  with  first-class  honours  in  English,  and  winning  the  Seafield  Medal 
and  the  Minto  Memorial  Prize.  He  gained  a  scholarship  of  jQZo  per  annum 
at  Christ  Church,  Oxford ;  gained  the  Charles  Oldham  Shakespeare  Scholar- 
ship open  to  the  University ;  at  graduation  was  placed  in  Class  I  of  Final 
Honour,  School  of  English  Language  and  Literature  ;  and  was  elected  to  the 
Dixon  Research  Scholarship  of  ;^66  per  annum.  The  last  of  his  many  aca- 
demic achievements  was  to  win  the  Matthew  Arnold  Memorial  Prize  at  Ox- 
ford for  an  essay  on  "The  Supernatural  Element  in  Icelandic  Literature". 

In  a  letter  in  the  "Free  Press"  (17  August)  Professor  Grierson  described 
Mr.  Rose's  career  as  one  of  the  greatest  promise,  and  said  that,  in  the  pre- 
paration of  his  edition  of  Donne's  Poems,  he  had  received  invaluable  assist- 
ance from  Mr.  Rose,  both  in  the  collation  of  manuscripts  and  the  correction 
in  detail  of  difficult  proofs.  "  Throughout  last  winter,"  added  Professor 
Grierson,  "  Mr.  Rose  was  busy  preparing  to  edit  himself  the  difficult  poems  of 
Fulke  Greville,  Lord  Brooke,  the  friend  of  Sir  Philip  Sidney.  He  had  already 
made  most  interesting  discoveries  as  to  the  bibliography  of  the  volume  and 
the  sources  of  his  work." 


William  Leslie  Scott  (Medical  student),  aged  twenty-two.  Lieutenant, 
5th  Gordon  Highlanders,  was  killed  in  action  in  Flanders  on  16  June. 


96  Aberdeen  University  Review 

George  Buchanan  Smith  (LL.B.,  1914;  M.A.  Glas.),  Second  Lieu- 
tenant, attached  to  the  2nd  Battalion,  Gordon  Highlanders,  was  killed  in  action 
in  Flanders  on  25  September.  Graduating  M.A.  in  19 12  at  Glasgow — 
where  he  was  Chairman  of  the  Liberal  Association  during  the  Rectorial 
Election  that  resulted  in  the  victory  of  Mr.  Augustine  Birrell — he  studied  law 
in  Aberdeen  and  Edinburgh  Universities  during  191 2-14,  and  took  the  LL.B. 
degree  at  Aberdeen,  intending  to  proceed  to  the  Scottish  bar.  In  July,  19 14, 
he  joined  the  Special  Reserve  of  Officers,  having  served  as  Cadet  and  Cadet 
Sergeant  in  the  Glasgow  University  Contingent  of  the  Officers*  Training  Corps, 
He  was  gazetted  on  5  August,  and  attached  to  the  ist  Battalion,  Gordon 
Highlanders.  He  served  at  Stoneywood  for  four  months,  and  on  6  Decem- 
ber, 1 914,  crossed  to  Flanders  in  command  of  a  large  draft  of  men.  On  the 
early  morning  of  December  14,  while  leading  his  platoon  in  a  charge  on  the 
German  trenches  between  Kemmel  and  Wytzaechte,  he  was  severely  wounded, 
and  after  lying  out  all  day  under  fire  brought  back  the  remnant  of  his  platoon 
to  the  British  lines.  He  was  in  hospital  for  more  than  two  months.  In  May 
he  rejoined  for  duty  at  the  Depot  in  Aberdeen,  where  he  remained  till  8 
August,  when  he  returned  to  France.  There  he  was  attached  to  the  Second 
Battalion  and  on  23  September,  the  date  of  the  last  letter  received  from  him, 
he  was  second  in  command  of  one  of  the  companies.  He  fell  leading  his 
platoon  in  the  first  charge  of  the  advance  on  Loos.  He  was  the  eldest  son 
of  Principal  Smith,  and  was  twenty-four  years  of  age. 

Frederick  Charles  Stephen  (M.A.,  1909),  Second  Lieutenant,  6th 
Battalion,  Grordon  Highlanders,  was  killed  in  the  fighting  around  Loos,  25-27 
September.  After  leaving  Aberdeen  University,  where  he  had  a  brilliant 
career  in  Mathematics,  he  continued  his  studies  at  Emmanuel  College,  Cam- 
bridge, and  gained  the  Fullerton  Scholarship  and  the  Ferguson  Scholarship  in 
Mathematics.  He  was  a  noted  athlete,  both  at  Aberdeen  and  Cambridge,  and 
won  many  trophies.  Shortly  after  the  outbreak  of  the  war  he  enlisted  as  a 
private  in  the  4th  Gordons,  but  eventually  received  a  commission  in  the  6th 
Battalion.  

James  Stuart  (Arts  student),  private,  i/6th  Battalion,  Gordon  High- 
landers, was  killed  in  the  fighting  on  25-27  September. 

Bertram  Wilkie  Tawse  (M.A.,  1905  ;  B.Sc,  1906),  sergeant,  4th  Bat- 
talion, Cameron  Highlanders,  was  killed  in  action  in  the  fighting  on  26 
September.  He  carried  on  a  Business  College  in  Inverness,  and  at  the  out- 
break of  the  war  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  Camerons.  He  more  than  once 
refused  a  commission,  but  eventually  accepted  the  rank  of  sergeant.  An  ex- 
cellent linguist,  he  rendered  valuable  service  in  teaching  soldiers  French.  He 
was  a  son  of  the  late  Mr.  Peter  Tawse,  contractor,  Aberdeen,  and  was  thirty- 
one  years  of  age. 

John  McLean  Thomson  (M.A.,  191 1),  sergeant  in  the  4th  Gordon 
Highlanders,  was  killed  in  Flanders  in  July.  After  graduating,  he  studied 
divinity  at  the  Aberdeen  United  Free  Church  College,  and  he  had  been  en- 
gaged in  missionary  work  at  Tongue,  Sutherlandshire,  and  later  in  Canada. 

James  Whyte  (Arts  student),  aged  twenty-one,  private  in  the  4th  Gordon 
Highlanders,  died  of  wounds  received  in  action,  1 6  June. 


P  The 

Aberdeen  University  Review 

Vol.  III.  No.  8  February  1916. 

The  Youth  who  carried  a  Light. 

By  THOMAS  HARDY,  O.M., 
LL.D.,  Aberd.,  1905. 

I  saw  him  pass  as  the  new  day  dawned, 

Murmuring  some  musical  phrase, 
Horses  were  drinking  and  floundering  in  the  pond, 

And  the  tired  stars  thinned  their  gaze  ; 
Yet  these  were  not  the  spectacles  at  all  that  he  conned, 

But  an  inner  one,  giving  out  rays. 

Such  was  the  thing  in  his  eye,  walking  there. 

The  real  and  visible  thing, 
A  close  light,  displacing  the  grey  of  the  morning  air, 

And  the  tokens  that  the  dark  was  taking  wing ; 
And  was  it  not  the  radiance  of  a  purpose  rare 

That  might  ripe  to  its  accomplishing  ? 

What  became  of  that  light  ?     I  wonder  still  its  fate ! 

Was  it  quenched  at  its  very  apogee  ? 
Did  it  struggle  frail  and  frailer  to  a  beam  emaciate  ? 

Did  it  thrive  till  matured  in  verity  ? 
Or  did  it  travel  on  to  be  a  new  young  dreamer's  freight^. 

And  thence  on  infinitely  ? 

•^^*  Copyright  in  the  United  States  of  America. 

7 


My  Last  Schoolmaster 


HAVE  no  will  to  write  about  my  friend ;  for  I  can- 
not tell  myself  that  he  is  dead,  and  the  years  since 
I  first  met  him,  now  nearing  forty,  are  so  big  a  part 
of  my  life  that  I  am  unready  to  believe  they  are  all 
in  the  past.  Joy,  pleasure,  satisfaction,  hope — the 
white  sails  of  youth,  set  for  all  the  seas,  hang  in  the 
memory  now,  an  accepted  illusion  ;  there  are  more 
important  things  in  the  world  than  the  little  rights  and  prospects  of 
our  imaginary  selves.  It  takes  just  a  life-time  to  learn  the  lesson; 
but  it  is  to  William  Dey  that  I  owe  the  initiation.  He  taught  us  to 
"  carry  on "  for  duty.  Whatever  deviations  we  have  made  in  the 
voyage,  we  hear  always  the  words  spoken  with  such  a  passion  of  good- 
ness :  **  What  a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap  ".  "  Whatsoever 
thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  thy  might."  "Non  scholae  sed 
vitae  discimus."  Well  do  I  recall  his  grave  words  repeated  to  each 
new  class :  "  When  I  look  at  the  faces  around  me,  I  feel  that  it  is  not 
too  much  to  say  that  the  state  of  this  planet  a  thousand  years  hence 
will  depend  very  much  on  how  we  conduct  ourselves  in  this  room  ". 
That  was  the  touch  of  imagination  that  separated  him  from  every 
schoolmaster  I  have  ever  had.  He  felt  the  future  as  a  living  presence. 
He  made  us  feel  it  too.  Many  a  time  I  have  been  made  conscious 
along  with  all  the  rest  of  the  responsibility  thus  cast  upon  us  for  the 
days  to  come.  The  open  and  obvious  sincerity  of  his  utterances,  their 
transparent  and  loving  goodness,  their  moral  energy,  did  stir  in  us 
something  not  otherwise  to  be  evoked.  This  was  no  trifling  with  life. 
This  was  no  individual  punishment ;  it  was  not  punishment  at  all ;  it 
was  the  forging  of  the  inner  bond  that  linked  him  and  us  in  the  cru- 
sade of  work,  the  passion  of  duty,  the  making  of  the  world  by  the 
best  standards  that  all  our  energies  could  produce.  I  have  had  many 
professors  and  some  schoolmasters ;  but  from  none  of  them,  at  any 
time  in  any  mood,  have  I  heard  the  sincere,  unworldly  ring  of  the 


n^- 


WILLIAM  DEY,  LL.D. 


My  Last  Schoolmaster  99 

voice  of  Dr.  Dey.  He  lifted  us  with  perfect  certainty  above  the 
thoughts  of  the  moment,  and  filled  us  with  something  of  his  passion 
for  duty.  He  made  us  conscious  of  the  total  life,  richer  and  greater 
than  the  passing  hour.  That  is  what  we  owe  to  him.  It  is,  I  now  see, 
the  only  great  thing  I  have  ever  learned ;  and  if  I  still  slave  for  every 
hour  that  can  physically  be  drawn  from  the  twenty-four,  and  if  I  never 
without  pain  let  out  of  my  sight  any  aspect  of  the  multiple  unity  we 
call  "  life,"  it  is  because  he  taught  me.  He  kept  us  in  the  atmosphere 
of  the  great  minds,  and  in  the  light  of  them  every  fragment  of  the  day's 
duty  sparkled  like  diamond  dust. 

Two  boys  had  come  from  the  Highlands.  They  were  the  two 
newcomers,  and  formed  part  of  the  whole  school  as  it  gathered  in  the 
main  room.  The  master's  pulpit  stood  in  one  corner :  it  was  the  days 
before  the  reconstruction.  He  read  a  text  from  the  Bible,  and  then 
some  sentences  from  a  commentary.  This  he  followed  with  prayer. 
The  voice  is  still  speaking  in  my  ears — intense,  reverent,  stern, 
gracious:  '* The  night  cometh  when  no  man  can  work".  The  first, 
second,  and  third  classes  then  filed  out  to  their  room ;  but  we  two  were 
as  yet  unplaced,  and,  provisionally,  we  joined  the  first.  At  the  end  of 
a  year  one  of  us  went  back  to  the  Highlands,  and  I  have  never  seen 
him  since ;  the  other  passed  into  the  fourth  class  and  afterwards  into 
the  fifth.    And  these  were  my  three  years  with  My  Last  Schoolmaster. 

But  by  the  time  I  had  reached  the  fourth  class  Dey  had  dropped 
the  Bible  commentary  and  the  prayer.  Perhaps  he  felt  that  he  was 
striking  a  false  note,  that  religion  is  too  great  to  be  expressed  through 
a  single  literature,  like  the  Bible,  or  through  the  limited  interpretations 
of  it  embodied  in  the  flowing  and  evanescent  orthodoxies.  Whatever 
the  reason,  he  changed  the  morning  ceremony.  For  an  intense  five 
minutes  or  so,  he  read  to  us  from  Carlyle,  or  Robertson  of  Brighton, 
and,  one  year,  he  read  to  us  the  Introduction  to  Taine's  "  History  of 
English  Literature ".  It  is  impossible  to  convey  in  words  the  intel- 
lectual or  emotional  effect  of  these  readings  ;  but  to-day  over  the  world 
many  a  life  flows  with  greater  sweetness  because,  in  the  morning  of 
his  days,  a  good  man  spoke  great  words  with  sincerity  and  passion. 
"The  irreparable  Past,  the  available  Future,  .  .  .  there  is  a  Past 
which  is  gone  for  ever.  But  there  is  a  Future  which  is  still  our  own." 
Once  every  quarter  he  read  to  us  that  sermon  of  Robertson's.  Of 
Carlyle  he  spoke  often   and  admiringly.     He   made  us  readers  of 


loo  Aberdeen  University  Review 

Carlyle  long  before  we  could  master  his  vocabulary.  It  was  in  my 
last  quarter  that  he  read  Taine's  Introduction,  two  pages  every 
morning  till  the  whole  beautiful  sketch  was  gone  through.  He  read 
always  in  a  voice  earnest,  controlled,  and  modulated  to  the  expression 
of  every  shade  of  meaning.  Thirty  years  later,  the  readings  from 
Taine  and  the  long  studies  that  followed  them  led  me  to  the  Lake  of 
Annecy,  by  whose  blue  waters  Taine  is  buried,  and  I  rejoice  that  my 
country,  whose  literature  he  loved,  has  taken  its  great  part  in  keeping 
the  barbarians  out  of  France.  For  me,  the  feeling  kindled  by  Dey's 
beautiful  reading  can  now  never  die. 

The  school  day  was  short.  Indeed,  the  school  was  conducted  so 
differently  from  any  school  I  have  known  before  or  since  that  some 
fourteen  years  ago  I  put  a  description  of  its  curriculum  before  the 
Royal  Commission  on  Physical  Training  (Scotland) .  Curiously,  since 
the  war  began,  the  practice  of  confining  school  work  to  the  forenoon 
has,  for  reasons  of  doubtful  relevancy,  spread  to  many  schools ;  with 
Dey  it  was  a  thought-out  principle.  I  reproduce  a  few  paragraphs 
from  the  Blue  Book,  in  which  I  did  my  best  to  make  one  little  bit  of 
history  immortal. 

"As  an  illustration  of  a  secondary  school  conducted  on  lines  suit- 
able to  continuous  and  exacting  study,  I  give  some  facts  regarding 
the  Grammar  School,  Old  Aberdeen,  as  it  was  conducted  in  the  years 
1 876-1 879,  under  the  rectorship  of  Dr.  William  Dey. 

"  The  primary  work  of  the  school  was  the  preparation  of  students 
for  an  Arts  course  at  Aberdeen  University.  The  school  subjects  in- 
cluded classics,  English,  and  elementary  mathematics.  The  ages  of 
pupils  ran  from  thirteen  or  fourteen  on  the  first  class  to  any  age  up  to 
twenty  or  more  on  the  fourth  and  fifth  classes.  Roughly,  the  ages 
were  from  thirteen  to  seventeen  or  eighteen.  The  pupils  were  drawn 
from  all  parts  of  northern  Scotland,  and  represented  practically  all 
classes  in  country  and  town.  At  least  fifty  per  cent  or  more  of  the 
pupils  lived  in  lodgings  in  Aberdeen,  usually  two  in  a  room,  or  room  and 
half.  All  the  pupils,  with  very  rare  exceptions,  had  every  motive  for 
working.  They  were  in  considerable  part  picked  men  from  rural  schools, 
but  a  fair  proportion  were  drawn  from  elementary  schools  in  Aberdeen 

"The  tension  of  intellectual  work  was  higher  than  at  any  other 
school  I  have  known  or  heard  of.  Dr.  Dey  himself  taught  the  two 
highest  classes  in  all  the  subjects,  and  prescribed  courses  of  home  read- 


My  Last  Schoolmaster  loi 


ing.  His  aim  was  thoroughness  of  work  by  concentration  of  effort — 
the  antithesis  at  once  of  cram  and  of  dawdling.  He  made  it  impossible 
for  triflers  or  idlers  to  remain  at  the  school.  None  of  the  work  was  done 
in  view  of  examinations ;  everything  was  done  for  its  own  sake.  The 
results  of  fifteen  years  of  work  at  this  high  pitch  are  written  large  in  the 
history  of  Aberdeen  University. 

"  What  of  physical  training  ? 

"  In  the  ordinary  sense  there  was  none ;  no  gymnasium,  no  swim- 
ming pond,  no  time  specifically  allotted  to  training.  But  the  hours  of 
work  were  so  arranged  that  no  pupil  could  fail  to  have  two  or  three 
hours  in  the  open  air  after  school-time,  and  that  without  neglecting  his 
home  work.     This  was  secured  as  follows  : — 

"  On  three  days  a  week,  the  work  on  the  fifth  (or  highest)  class  con- 
tinued from  9  a.m.  to  12.20  p.m. ;  for  two  days  a  week,  from  9  a.m  to 
about  2  p.m.  For  the  three  short  days  there  was  no  play  interval. 
The  pupils  went  home  for  the  day  at  12.20.  For  the  long  days  there 
was  an  interval  of  twenty  minutes  or  so,  and  the  second  part  of  the 
day  was  occupied  by  a  test  examination  of  some  sort.  On  no  day 
were  the  pupils  kept  longer  than  to  2  o'clock.  Thus  the  total  school 
working  hours  were  about  nineteen  per  week  of  five  days,  or  an  average 
of  nearly  four  hours  a  day.  But  on  three  days  the  hours  never  ex- 
ceeded three  and  a  half.  No  lesson  was  longer  than  half  an  hour  at  a 
time.  The  home  work  to  prepare  normally  should  occupy  three  to  five 
hours.  This  w^s  made  possible  by  the  freedom  of  the  afternoons. 
The  recommendation  was  to  spend  some  time  of  every  afternoon  in  the 
open  air,  and  this  was  done. 

**The  exercise  indulged  in  was  very  little;  a  sort  of  cricket  or 
football,  walking,  long  walks  on  Saturdays,  occasionally  rowing.  .  .  . 
But  exercise  did  not  occupy  a  large  part  of  anyone's  time  or  thought. 
When  I  say  exercise  I  mean  systematic  physical  training. 

"  The  lower  forms  had  slightly  longer  hours.  The  intention  of 
the  shorter  hours  of  the  higher  classes  was  to  encourage  individual 
reading.     But  no  class  was  detained  after  2.30  p.m. 

"  I  cannot  recall  any  nervous  breakdown  under  the  strain  of  work, 
which  continued  from  October  to  Christmas,  with  ten  days'  interval  ; 
from  January  to  March,  with  ten  days'  interval ;  from  April  to  June, 
with  six  weeks'  interval ;  and  then  from  August  to  October,  with  ten 
days'  interval.  As  a  rule  no  members  of  the  fifth  form  remained  at 
the  school  more  than  the  year  necessary  to  pass  through  the  form. 


I02  Aberdeen  University  Review 

"  The  deductions  I  make  from  these  facts  are  : — 

"  That  experience  had  shown  that  concentration,  with  long  rest  fol- 
lowing, and  much  individual  freedom,  favoured  high  tension  of  in- 
tellectual work  ;  that  the  absence  of  systematic  exercise  was  more 
than  balanced  by  the  time  in  the  open  air  and  the  freedom  from 
strain ;  that  the  absence  of  physical  training  according  to  a  system 
was  never  felt ;  that  the  habit  of  relying  on  simple  walking  in  the 
open  air  conferred  staying  power  for  future  work  at  college,  and  that 
the  distribution  of  work  through  the  day,  with  short  breaks  for 
exercise,  would  have  tended  to  lessen  the  tension  and,  therefore,  the 
quality  of  work ;  that  it  is  sound  psychology  to  rely  on  the  fresh 
hours  from  9  to  12  for  the  organizing  and  developing  of  impressions, 
and  to  let  a  long  rest  intervene  before  preparation  is  begun." 

It  was  only  a  man  like  Dey  that  could  have  taught  on  this  plane. 
He  taught  all  the  subjects  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  classes  himself.  He 
was  the  only  schoolmaster  I  ever  knew  that  worked  harder  than  his 
pupils.  He  had  many  other  interests  in  life,  as  some  details  I  can 
give  will  prove ;  but  he  focussed  every  thought,  every  feeling,  on  the 
lesson  of  the  moment.  He  saved  us  from  the  distractions  incident  to 
change  of  class-room.  He  kept  us  in  a  state  of  mental  concentration. 
Absence  of  distraction,  intensity  of  motive — these  were  his  negative 
and  positive.  More  than  once  he  told  me  that,  when  pupils  travelled 
by  train  every  day,  they  rarely  did  well.  But  only  a  man  of  his 
ethical  force,  of  his  peculiar  richness  of  emotional  endowment,  his 
depth  and  readiness  of  sympathy,  his  passion  for  duty  could  have 
evoked  a  response  so  profound  or  stood  the  strain  of  a  ministry  so 
intense. 

Education  to  him  was  a  religion.  No  other  word  can  indicate 
his  feeling  about  it.  To  the  outside  world  the  Old  Grammar  School 
was  simply  a  cramming  place  for  the  bursary  competition.  For  this 
charge  the  list  of  high-placed  names  from  year  to  year  gave,  perhaps, 
some  superficial  justification.  But  anything  less  true  of  Dey's  teach- 
ing I  can^hardly  imagine.  Cram,  in  the  ordinary  sense,  was  incom- 
patible with  his  method.  When  a  certain  man,  not  without  some 
local  distinction[in  his  day,  gave  "  evidence  "  to  some  Commission  or 
another,  bearing  that  the  Grammar  School  of  Old  Aberdeen  was 
merely  a  crammingjplace,  Dey  made  one  of  his  rare  appearances  in 
the  local  press  and  tore  the  "  evidence  "  to  tatters.     It  was  work  at 


My  Last  Schoolmaster  103 

high  tension  certainly  ;  but  it  was  work  for  the  making  of  minds,  not 
for  the  stuffing  of  them.  And  that  is  a  difference.  Cram,  however, 
has  its  uses,  as  we  all  know.  I  once  took  the  trouble  to  write  about 
it,  and  the  best  definition  I  found  was  Dr.  Rennet's  :  **  Cram  is  the 
work  of  a  successful  opponent ".  But  to  William  Dey  cram  in  any 
form  was  hateful.  Cram  of  the  memory  is  the  antithesis  of  intellectual 
mastery  and  it  was  mastery  he  sought  to  produce. 

I  do  not  say  that  his  methods  were  faultless  ;  but  the  faults  be- 
longed less  to  him  than  to  a  vicious  tradition  of  scholarship.  Twenty 
years  afterwards,  I  argued  with  him  for  many  hours  on  the  modern 
methods  of  teaching  languages  and  the  amount  we  lost  because  we 
had  to  fit  ourselves  to  an  inelastic  University  course.  He  was  himself 
a  good  linguist.  He  admitted  all  I  said,  and  he  recognized  how  much 
weary  time  in  later  life  we  might  have  saved  had  the  rigidity  of  the 
University  curriculum  and  its  stale  iniquities  been  broken  up  earlier. 
There  was  no  option  either  in  method  or  in  subject.  Except  in  one  or 
two  departments  the  University  ran  on  the  lines  of  a  Higher  Grade 
School,  and  kept  men  on  the  beaten  highways  long  after  they  had  found 
paths  for  themselves. 

If  Dey,  in  his  earlier  days  at  the  Grammar  School,  had  to  keep 
within  the  stringent  limits  essential  for  useful  concentration,  it  was 
from  necessity,  not  from  choice.  For  in  after  days  he  did  more  than 
any  single  man  in  Scotland  to  reform  the  training  of  teachers,  tore- 
cast  the  whole  Normal  School  curriculum,  to  develop  the  idea  of  the 
King's  Student,  to  adjust  the  curriculum  of  education  to  its  proper 
climax  in  a  University  degree.  And  for  the  reform  of  the  University 
curriculum  itself  he  did  great  service.  The  excitement  of  that  first 
election  of  four  Assessors  is  a  thing  of  the  far  past ;  but  when  Dey 
made  known  his  willingness  to  stand  he  found  a  large  body  of  voters 
ready  to  support  him.  When  as  a  member  of  the  Court  he  attended 
the  Curriculum  Committee  of  the  Council,  he  sat  silent  but  sympa- 
thetic. Of  that  Committee  Professor  Bain  was  Chairman.  We  were 
all  agreed  on  two  things — that  options  were  necessary,  but  that  a  mini- 
mum for  all  students  was  equally  necessary.  Options  came  ;  the  mini- 
mum has  been  allowed  to  struggle  into  existence  as  it  could.  "  Freedom 
is  a  noble  thing,"  and  the  theoretical  freedom  of  options,  as  Mr.  Ander- 
son pointed  out  so  long  ago,  is  limited  only  by  the  algebraical  rules 
for  permutations  and  combinations.  Perhaps  we  were  all  too  rigid  in 
our  ideas.     Much  education  is  as  great  a  danger  as  a  "  little  learning". 


I04  Aberdeen  University  Review 

But  let  me  go  back  a  step.  Outside  the  school  curriculum  Dr.  Dey 
recommended  us  certain  lines  of  reading.  The  books  were  fairly 
"  strong  "  for  youths  round  about  sixteen.  For  instance,  many  of  us,  at 
his  suggestion,  read  Spencer's  "Education,"  Spencer's  "Study  of  Soci- 
ology," Carlyle  unlimited.  Mill's  "Liberty,"  Mill's  "Representative 
Government,"  Bain's  "Mind  and  Body,"  Huxley's  "Lay  Sermons" 
were  also  among  our  private  reading,  and  when,  in  1 879,  Spencer's  "  Data 
of  Ethics  "  appeared,  some  of  us  devoured  it  with  the  fury  of  a  morbid 
appetite.  In  the  pause  between  the  bursary  competition  and  my  en- 
trance to  the  University,  I  called  one  night  on  Dr.  Dey,  not  because  I 
had  anything  individual  to  say,  but  because  I  felt  that  here  was  a  great 
parting.  He  gave  me  the  whole  evening.  He  spoke  as  a  man  to  a 
man,  not  as  a  master  to  a  boy,  and  indeed  one  of  the  secrets  of  his 
great  influence  was  that,  from  the  beginning,  he  had  treated  us  as  men. 
He  had  learned  in  the  school  of  experience  the  foolishness  of  assuming 
that  there  is  any  fundamental  intellectual  difference  between  a  boy  and 
a  man.  A  difference  in  degree,  of  course,  there  always  is :  the  boy 
mostly  knows  more,  or  has  the  feeling  of  knowing  more;  but  the 
master  knows  better.  But,  in  the  gracious  and  smiling  atmosphere  of 
that  little  room,  one  spoke  out  freely  and  without  afterthought.  One 
was  taken  with  perfect  seriousness  and  sympathy.  Of  course,  we 
talked  about  the  "  Data  of  Ethics  "  and  the  "  Study  of  Sociology  "  and 
Carlyle.  It  was  then  that  he  quoted  to  me  Seeley's  great  remark 
about  Carlyle — that  he  saw  with  "  intense  gaze "  what  others 
reasoned  about.  Mill  had  said  something  of  the  kind  too,  and  when, 
on  that  hint,  I  read  the  "  French  Revolution,"  I  understood  something 
of  the  appreciation.  Dey  saturated  us  with  Carlyle  and  with  the 
gospel  of  work  and,  to  this  hour,  like  so  many  others,  I  am  drawn  to 
the  great  man  of  genius,  though  now  we  marvel  at  some  of  the  petty 
things  he  admired.  But  that  night  Dey  assured  me  that  he  had  read 
all  the  battle  pieces  of  the  ancient  classics  and  studied  them  with  care, 
but  he  found  that,  in  all  the  classics,  there  was  nothing  greater  than 
Carlyle's  battle  pieces  in  the  "  Frederick  " .  I  was  impressed  and  I 
meant  to  read  them ;  but,  somehow,  I  left  over  the  reading,  led  per- 
haps by  a  developed  hatred  of  all  tyrannies.  Twenty- five  years  of 
administrative  experience  leave  my  feeling  as  strong  as  ever,  and  I 
shall  never  read  the  "Frederick"  except  as  part  of  the  morbid 
psychology  of  the  Hohenzollerns. 

But  the  kind  of  books  discussed  showed » the  width  of  Dey's  out- 


My  Last  Schoolmaster  105 

look  and  sympathies.  To  this  hour  I  cannot  tell  what  Day  believed 
on  any  of  the  great  speculative  topics,  and  I  never  thought  of  inquir- 
ing of  him  ;  neither  did  he,  of  me.  But  the  strength  of  his  feeling  for 
the  good,  for  duty,  was  manifest  in  every  sound  of  his  voice,  in  every 
expression  of  his  features.  Years  afterwards  we  discussed  the  Spencer- 
Weissman  controversy  and  there  is  nothing  essential  in  it  that  he  had 
not  mastered.  It  was  the  same  in  all  the  main  branches  of  knowledge 
— comparative  philology,  psychology,  physics,  economics,  banking, 
currency  problems,  history,  sociology,  ethics,  criticism.  To  the  end  of 
his  long  life  he  remained  a  student  with  a  memory  of  marvellous 
tenacity,  an  intellectual  interest  of  unresting  potency.  He  never 
stopped  growing. 

That  night,  among  other  things,  he  advised  me  to  read  "  Ecce 
Homo".  "After  your  session  begins,  you  will  have  more  time;  you 
should  read  that  book."  And  he  spoke  of  it  with  a  reverence  that  I 
found  more  than  deserved.  It  was  one  of  the  great  new  books  of 
the  nineteenth  century.  To-day  it  is  painful  to  see  how  inadequate 
Seeley's  critical  ideas  were ;  anybody  can  counter  his  historical  view  of 
the  New  Testament ;  the  whole  unity  of  his  vision  of  Christ  is  now 
impossible,  except  as  ideal  construction.  But  in  its  day,  when  the 
fundamentals  were  still  credible  to  us,  and  the  "  Quest  of  the  Histori- 
cal Jesus  "  had  not  yet  lost  itself  in  the  catacombs  of  the  dead  re- 
ligions of  the  first  century,  "  Ecce  Homo  "  produced  its  full  effect  on 
every  susceptible  mind.  It  changed  our  whole  view  of  life.  It  was  a 
symptom  of  the  break  with  the  ethical  sanctions  of  the  past.  I  have 
read  much  ethical  literature  since  then,  but  I  have  found  most  of  it 
petty  and  anaemic  compared  with  Seeley.  When,  in  1882,  the 
"Natural  Religion"  appeared,  the  break  with  the  past  was  more 
manifest.  I  asked  for  it  at  the  Library,  imagining  that  a  Magistrand 
might  properly  do  so ;  but  I  was  informed  that,  by  order  of  Principal 
Pirie,  the  book  was  barred  !     That  was  in  1882. 

Dey  remained  our  mentor  right  through  the  Arts  course.  At 
the  end  of  every  session,  I  went  to  him  to  get  his  advice  on  the 
next  step.  He  knew  the  history  of  every  pupil  he  had  ever  had.  He 
kept  a  complete  account  of  their  work.  When  they  called  on  him, 
they  found  him  familiar  with  all  their  academic  and  post-academic 
records.  When,  many  years  ago,  a  group  of  us  gathered  to  give  him 
a  complimentary  dinner,  the  intimacy  of  the  rapport  between  our  old 


io6  Aberdeen  University  Review 

Master  and  his  pupils  was  shown  in  a  hundred  tones  and  looks.  It 
was  one  of  the  evenings  that  go  and  do  not  come  again.  He  was 
touched  through  every  fibre  of  his  nature.  His  emotional  richness, 
his  sympathetic  humour,  his  graciousness  to  us  all — how  can  we 
characterize  the  unseizable  ?  At  the  opening  of  his  reply,  he  gave  us 
in  the  old  voice : — 

Soothed  with  the  sound  the  King  grew  vain, 
Fought  all  his  battles  o'er  again, 
And  thrice  he  routed  all  his  foes, 
And  thrice  he  slew  the  slain. 

Then  at  the  end  he  said : — 

So  ere  I  set  Til  see  you  shine  ; 

I'll  see  you  triumph  ere  I  fa' ; 
My  parting  breath  shall  boast  you  mine ; 

Good-night  1  and  joy  be  wi'  you  a' ! 

Out  of  that  meeting  rose  the  proposal  for  his  picture,  which  was 
presented  to  the  University  a  year  or  two  later.  It  hangs  in  the 
Marischal  College  Gallery.  It  is  not  one  of  Walton's  most  im- 
mediately taking  pictures,  but  it  is  a  great  picture.  When  I  look  on 
the  photogravure  of  it,  I  see  in  every  touch  the  realization  of  the 
dominant  moral  energy  that  was  the  whole  man.  Walton's  method 
is  familiar  to  all  lovers  of  good  art.  He  keeps  the  picture  within  the 
frame.  He  did  not  aim  at  a  flashy  success.  He  aimed  at  genuine 
characterization  and  he  has  succeeded.  Dey  told  me  how  the  artist 
did  at  the  sittings  and  he  was  immensely  impressed.  Whether  he 
was  entirely  satisfied  with  the  picture,  I  cannot  tell ;  but  I  think  he 
was.  The  picture  will  grow  more  and  more  beautiful  under  ''the  un- 
imaginable touch  of  time".  The  gem  of  the  talk  at  the  presentation 
of  it  to  the  University  was  contributed  by  Dr.  Dey's  youngest 
brother,  who  had  gone  to  America  as  a  young  man  and  had  come 
across  from  Syracuse,  New  York,  to  attend  the  meeting.  With  a 
delicate  American  accent  he  said :  "  Your  Carlyle  says  that  if  it  were 
to  be  a  case  of  Shakespeare  or  the  Indian  Empire,  he  would  prefer 
Shakespeare.  I  feel  like  that  about  my  brother.  You  will  say — '  I 
think  him  perfect'.     Well— I  do." 

Of  his  methods  of  private  work  when  he  had  become  immersed  in 
the  affairs  of  the  Provincial  Committee,  the  University  Court,  and  the 
Highland  Committee,  an  example  is  enough.     A  day  or  two  after  the 


My  Last  Schoolmaster  107 


new  regulations  for  the  training  of  teachers  had  been  issued,  I  called 
on  him  at  his  house.  I  found  him  making  some  special  notes  and 
criticisms  for  his  Committee.  "When,"  said  he,  "I  received  this 
document  I  set  myself  to  study  it  for  twenty-four  consecutive  hours. 
It  is  a  masterly  document.  The  number  of  difficulties  it  has  foreseen 
and  solved  is  enormous."  It  was  a  new  development  after  his  own 
heart,  and  he  did  as  much  as  man  could  to  make  the  great  national 
scheme  succeed.  I  was  not  slow  to  communicate  his  opinion  to  the 
Maker  of  the  new  system,  to  whom  Scotland  owes  more  than  this  or 
any  generation  can  ever  know  adequately.  It  was  then  that  I  learned 
for  how  much  Dey  s  opinion  counted  on  all  administrative  problems 
of  education.  If  Aberdeen  retains  its  proud  superiority  as  the 
Teachers'  University,  it  is  in  no  small  measure  due  to  Dey's  pas- 
sionate devotion  and  encyclopaedic  outlook. 

For  some  ten  years  I  met  him,  at  least  once  a  year,  to  discuss  the 
teaching  of  hygiene  and  physical  education  at  the  Provincial  Training 
Centre.  He  was  as  ready  to  promote  the  new  health  movement 
among  teachers  and  pupils  as  he  had  been  long  ago  to  set  our  unstable 
feet  on  the  highways  of  all  knowledge.  To  meet  him  on  the  plane  of 
affairs  was  to  realize  the  ideal  continuity  of  his  life.  What  he  had 
thought  out  in  the  desert,  he  now  taught  in  the  market  place.  To 
discuss  things  with  Dey  was  one  of  the  joys  of  my  life. 

I  could  fill  many  pages  in  telling  how  much  he  was  to  me  and  how 
dark  the  shadows  are,  now  he  is  gone.  With  him  vanishes  out  of  my 
life  the  Aberdeen  I  came  to  as  a  boy.  Last  autumn  I  spent  a  day 
among  the  mountains  where  he  was  born.  For  him  there  is  the  "  peace 
that  is  among  the  lonely  hills  " ;  for  me,  the  silence  of  the  last  parting.. 

For  as  lone  as  thou  liest  in  a  land  that  we  see  not, 
When  the  world  loseth  thee,  what  is  left  for  its  losing  ? 

W.  LESLIE  MACKENZIE. 


"Billy"  Dey. 


T  is  five  and  thirty  years  since  I  first  set  eyes  on 
William  Dey :  but  it  might  very  well  be  but  five 
and  thirty  minutes,  so  clear  is  my  vision  of  him. 
That  is  a  wonderful  fact,  for  he  had  none  of  the 
idiosyncrasies  which  silhouette  men  like  "  Davie  " 
Rennet:  there  was  no  picturesqueness  of  speech 
or  point  of  view :  there  was  an  almost  total  ab- 
sence of  everything  that  we  call  colour.  To  be  perfectly  frank,  he 
was  a  somewhat  drab  figure  on  the  drab  background  of  dominie-ism : 
-and  yet  he  made  a  deep  and  lasting  impression  on  his  pupils  and  on 
all  who  came  into  close  contact  with  him,  an  impression  which  the 
4apse  of  time  actually  accentuates  even  in  the  kaleidoscopic  trans- 
formations of  our  busy  day,  which  throw  down  one  perpetual 
challenge  of  authority. 

What,  then,  was  the  secret  of  his  power?  I  confess  that  much 
cogitation  and  an  inherent  instinct  to  search  for  the  springs  of  con- 
duct leave  me  uncertain  of  his  spell ;  and  make  me  doubt  my  ability 
to  convey  to  those  who  did  not  know  him  the  abiding  place  he  erected 
for  himself  in  the  memories  of  his  pupils  and  of  his  circle  generally. 
But  I  venture  to  suggest  that  he  succeeded  precisely  because  of  his 
drabness ;  because  he  was  inspired  by  extraordinary  simplicity  and 
dignity  and  singleness  of  purpose,  and  with  all  those  consistencies 
-which  are  the  negation  of  colour  and  of  surprise.  Few  men  I  have 
known  have  conveyed  such  an  impression  of  permanence  of  purpose. 
It  exhibited  itself  in  his  actual  physical  appearance,  which  had  under- 
gone very  little  change  during  the  thirty-five  years  I  knew  him : 
indeed,  when  I  met  him  one  bleak  rainy  day  last  September  in  Union 
Street,  he  did  not  seem  to  have  aged  much,  and  I  would  not  have 
readily  recognized  that  he  had  been  thoroughly  ill  had  not  his  doctor, 
^ho  had  been  my  fellow-pupil  at  the  **Barn,"  warned  me  that  the 
thread  of  his  life  had  become  very  precarious. 


/o 


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Q 
O 


"Billy"  Dey 


109 


I  was  just  thirteen  and  a  half  years  old  when  I  (with  my  brother), 
found  my  way  to  the  "  Barn  "  after  three  or  four  desultory  years  in 
the  Preparatory  Department  of  the  new  Grammar  School ;  and  but 
for  the  anxious  intervention  of  the  head  master,  the  late  Alexander 
Green,  who  talked  my  father  over — for  which  I  never  quite  forgave 
him — we  would  have  gone  a  year  earlier.  At  that  period,  and  for 
several  years  before,  the  *'  Grammar  "  had  been  in  a  rather  bad  way. 
It  had  really  lost  its  bearings,  almost  as  if  in  the  act  of  "  flitting " 
from  the  Schoolhill  to  Skene  Street.  It  had  struck  the  transition 
period  between  the  domination  of  the  strong  Man  (like  Melvin)  and. 
the  advent  of  the  Machine  in  the  shape  of  State  interference,  so  that 
it  was  neither  one  thing  nor  another. 

The  Old  Town  Grammar  School,  on  the  other  hand,  was  still  ia 
the  sway  of  the  Man  :  and  to  it  we  decided  to  turn.  It  was  really  a 
waste  of  physical  energy  to  have  to  do  so,  for,  as  it  happened,  we  lived 
within  a  hundred  yards  of  the  new  Grammar,  whereas  its  rival  in  the 
Aulton  was  two  miles  away,  with  no  bus  or  tram  to  link  it  with  the 
New  Town.  And  what  a  contrast  there  was  between  Matthews's. 
manipulation  of  castellated  architecture  in  glistening  Rubislaw  granite 
and  the  "hummel"  harling  of  the  well-named  "Barn,"  which  was 
even  less  imposing  than  the  stuccoed  dignity  of  my  first  school,  Sim's- 
Academy  in  Union  Row. 

The  interior  spirit  was  just  as  different  as  the  external  appearance 
of  the  two  institutions.  The  new  Grammar  had  not  merely  the 
impersonalness  of  a  machine,  but  of  a  machine  which  (at  that  time^ 
was  working  most  inadequately.  The  "  Barn,"  on  the  other  hand, 
was  the  apotheosis  of  personality,  and  that  of  an  earnest  type  tO' 
which  I  had  been  accustomed  all  my  life  at  home,  where  the  ethic  of 
the  Psalm  of  Life — "  life-is-real — life-is-eamest " — was  inculcated  daily,, 
without,  however,  the  hard  utilitarianism  which  made  the  boyhood  of 
John  Stuart  Mill  a  paralysing  nightmare.  The  "Barn"  was  making 
a  great  name  for  itself,  not  merely  because  it  turned  out  bursars,  but 
because  William  Dey  was  a  personality,  a  man  with  moral  force. 
This  point  cannot  be  too  definitely  asserted.  The  "  Barn  "  has  oftea 
been  regarded  as  a  good  cramming  place  for  the  Bursary  Competition. 
But  it  was  much  more  than  that.  First  and  foremost,  it  was  a  school 
of  character,  where  the  pupils  mastered  their  lessons  because  they 
were  taught  to  master  themselves. 

Mr.  Dey,  as  he  then  was  known,  was  making  a  success  of  his. 


no  Aberdeen  University  Review 

school  because  he  was  approaching  the  problem  of  pedagogy  from  the 
standpoint  of  a  definite  theory  of  conduct.  That  theory  had  nothing 
novel  about  it.  You  can  trace  it  through  the  whole  history  of  ethics  : 
but  it  had  come  to  him  directly  from  his  cradle  country  of  Kirk- 
michael,  where  the  land  had  been  rescued  and  conquered  after  a  long 
patient  fight,  of  which  the  modern  farmer,  even  on  the  prairie,  has 
little  idea.  It  had  taken  him  to  a  King's  College  bursary :  it  had 
accompanied  him  to  **  England,"  where  an  eight  years'  sojourn  had 
served  only  to  accentuate  it,  though  the  journey  had  also  softened  his 
accent.  It  is  not  difficult  to  understand  how  Mr.  Dey  had  kept  his 
flag  flying,  steadily  though  never  aggressively :  how  he  had  gripped 
his  Principle  among  a  people  for  whom  Compromise  is  always  much 
more  potent  than  Principle,  so  that  I  often  say  in  the  moments  of  my 
own  conflict  with  them  that  they  are  never  quite  sure  whether  the 
word  ends  with  "  le "  or  "  al ".  Mr.  Dey's  tenacious  hold  of  his 
inherited  theory  of  conduct  amid  the  deflective  environment  of"  Eng- 
land "  was  set  forth  by  him,  in  his  sober  and  somewhat  unimaginative 
way,  on  the  occasion  of  the  presentation  of  his  portrait  in  January, 
1 901  : — 

As  might  naturally  be  expected,  I  found  among  my  fellow-teachers  [in 
England]  methods  of  discipline  of  which  I  could  not  approve  either  in  theory 
or  in  practice.  [Just  think  of  the  importance  attached  to  a  man  getting  his 
*'blue,"  and  donning  his  "sweater"!  Mr.  Dey  understood  "sweaters"  of  a 
very  different  character.] 

I  never  could  accept,  for  example,  without  large  reservations  the  method 
of  governing  boys  that  underlies  the  common  remarks  "Boys  will  be  boys," 
and  "You  cannot  put  old  heads  on  young  shoulders".  At  an  early  stage  of 
my  English  experience,  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  these  venerable  and 
pithy  sayings,  when  strictly  analysed,  are  found  to  contain  more  of  clap-trap 
than  of  truth.  ...  I  fully  satisfied  myself  that  boys  are  endowed  with  a  very 
considerable  amount  of  self-control.  I  therefore  definitely  settled  in  my  own 
mind  once  for  all  what  I  was  to  do  and  to  be  in  my  dealings  with  boys ;  and 
gave  them  very  clearly  to  understand  that  I  assumed  the  existence  of  this 
power  of  self-control  and  meant  to  hold  them  responsible  for  the  due  exercise 
of  it  under  ordinary  circumstances. 

I  settled  once  for  all  another  point  of  far-reaching  importance  to  every 
teacher :  namely,  that,  if  I  meant  to  exact  from  my  boys  a  fairly  reasonable 
measure  of  thoughtful  self-control  under  the  stress  and  strain  of  their  daily 
work,  then  I  must  set  them  the  example.  I  held  then,  as  I  hold  now,  that 
no  man  can  govern  either  boys  or  men  unless  he  has  learned  to  govern 
himself. 

That  in  a  nutshell  was  the  authentic  credo  of  Mr.  Dey,  learned,  as 
I  say,  in  the  hard  school  of  his  native  Kirkmichael  where  his  ancestors 


^^  Billy"  Dey  in 

had  waged  such  a  fight  with  the  climate,  nearly  as  grim  as  many  of 
them  had  waged  in  the  Peninsula  to  the  call  of  "  Bydand  "  in  a  pre- 
vious generation.  It  is  the  doctrine  of  what  is  called  the  "  sticker," 
and  is  so  typically  (though  not  exclusively)  Scots  that  Kipling  has  put 
it  in  the  mouth  of  his  immortal  engineer,  M' Andrew :  "  Law,  Orrder, 
Duty  an'  Restraint,  Obedience,  Discipline  !  " 

That  doctrine,  I  may  note  in  passing,  worked  out  in  the  terms  of 
M'Andrew's  own  craft,  has  brought  fortune  to  one  of  Dr.  Dey's 
brothers,  whose  mechanical  time-keeper,  as  an  insistent  sentinel  on 
punctuality,  is  known  in  every  factory  throughout  the  world. 

The  ethic,  on  the  broad  foundation  of  which  Dr.  Dey  sought  to 
build  everything,  gave  his  whole  life  a  sense  of  dedication,  even,  I 
fancy,  to  the  point  of  celibacy,  which  the  Roman  Church  has  adopted 
as  an  incentive  to  singleness  of  purpose  and  perhaps  as  conferring  an 
immunity  from  those  tell-tale  criticisms  which  the  conduct  of  a  man's 
children  often  creates.  If  the  doctrine  was  a  little  drab,  and  if  it  roused 
in  his  young  pupils  the  humorous  incredibility  attaching  to  all  counsels 
of  perfection,  it  was  never  priggish  and  never  domineering,  for  the 
master  felt  as  much  under  its  rule  as  the  boys  to  whom  he  preached 
it.  It  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  discredited  Smiles  theory  of  "  get- 
ting on  " — the  world  is  full  of  men  who  "  get  on  "  by  the  very  nega- 
tion of  conduct.  Dr.  Dey  certainly  believed  that  accomplishment 
would  follow  self-control :  but  he  first  of  all  taught  self-control 
and  let  the  result  of  "getting  on"  take  care  of  itself  In  short, 
nothing  more  alien  to  the  crammer's  creed  could  be  imagined.  Had 
he  possessed  that  spirit,  he  would  have  remained  in  "England" 
and  made  his  fortune  in  pursuit  of  it ;  whereas  he  chose  to  return  to 
his  native  country — on  the  departure  of  Cosmo  Grant — as  if  to  find 
suitable  soil  for  the  harvesting  of  his  ideas,  among  a  people  largely 
endowed  with  a  spiritual  outlook  similar  to  his  own.  That  the  winning 
of  educational  prizes  was  not  the  be-all  of  his  existence  and  the 
missing  of  them  no  embittering  disappointment  comes  out  in  his 
reply  to  a  letter  I  wrote  him  in  the  spring  of  190 1,  daringly  suggest- 
ing that  the  business  of  teaching  must  be  "  depressing  "  : — 

Your  remark  is  undoubtedly  plausible,  and  in  many  cases,  I  fear,  more 
than  plausible.  This  phase  of  the  question  certainly  did  not  escape  me  ;  but 
it  never  became  strong  enough  to  depress  me.  Again  and  again  [how  I  hear 
his  voice  and  his  persuasive  dogmatism  in  these  written  words]  at  the  end  of  a 
day's  work  or  a  week's  work  there  might  be  a  feeling  of  disappointment  as  to 
the  visible  results  produced ;  but  I  had  an  abiding  conviction  that  the  earnest 


112  Aberdeen  University  Review 

worker  need  not  feel  depressed  even  if  he  does  not  see  any  visible  results  at 
the  end  of  a  week  or  other  definite  period  of  time. 

In  spite  of  his  seriousness  he  was  really  a  Happy  Warrior,  for  he 
lived  in  a  land  of  promise,  symbolized  by  his  daily  walk  along  King 
Street,  that  long  unlovely  avenue  of  promise,  which,  begun  in  i8oi^ 
did  not  really  materialize  until  he  had  left  the  school  and  his  house 
in  Roslin  Terrace  altogether.  Every  morning  in  the  week,  except 
Saturday  and  Sunday,  we  could  descry  him  from  the  school  dyke 
shortly  before  nine,  just  as  he  passed  the  derelict  mill  at  the  end  of 
University  Road,  a  short  figure  in  a  shabby  frock  coat — he  rarely 
wore  an  overcoat — and  a  tall  hat,  tramping  steadily  along,  carrying  an 
umbrella  and  a  mass  of  papers,  the  pupils'  exercises  corrected  over- 
night. The  sun  might  be  shining,  the  rain  might  be  pouring,  and  the 
wind  might  be  blowing  huge  waves  over  the  South  Breakwater  ;  but 
there  he  was  to  the  minute,  the  strenuous,  earnest  soul,  intent  on  his 
mission. 

We  all  assembled  in  the  big  central  room,  and  **  Billy,"  hanging 
up  his  hat  above  him — he  had  no  sort  of  retiring  room — mounted  a 
queer  sort  of  pulpit  in  the  passage  by  the  door,  and  began  to  read — 
mostly,  if  not  exclusively,  from  Robertson  of  Brighton's  Sermons,  with 
the  brown  cloth  back  of  which  I  had  been  familiar  all  my  life.  His 
favourite  message  was  from  the  Galatians  text — ''Benot  deceived; 
God  is  not  mocked ;  for  whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also 
reap  ".  St.  Paul's  Epistle,  and  particularly  this  motive  in  it,  summed 
up  his  whole  creed,  which  was  ethical  rather  than  what  is  called  religi- 
ous, and  was  never  goody-goody.  We  on  the  scarred  benches  were 
engaged  in  sowing ;  the  man  in  the  box  foreshadowed  the  harvest. 
It  is  impossible  for  me  to  convey  a  full  sense  of  the  immense  impres- 
siveness  of  this  little  morning  dedication  to  the  work  of  the  day,  with 
its  total  absence  of  perfunctoriness  and  its  dominating  note  of  inspiring 
awe.  It  was,  when  you  come  to  think  of  it,  a  strange  note  to  strike 
before  a  lot  of  raw  loons,  but  it  impressed  all  of  us  deeply  at  the  time, 
and  more  deeply  in  after  life,  for  it  was  part  and  parcel  of  the  man's 
whole  life,  and  the  most  critical  of  us — for  young  people  see  life  with 
merciless  sincerity — could  detect  not  a  moment's  deviation  between  his 
precept  and  his  practice. 

Similarly  with  his  actual  teaching,  he  constantly  drew  our  atten- 
tion to  the  ethic  of  the  subject.     Thus  he  liked  to  demonstrate  Euclid 


"Billy"  Dey  113 


with  its  intense  sense  of  cause  and  effect ;  but  he  was  still  more  at 
home  in  teaching  Latin,  for  its  logicalness  and  its  severe  thinking  ap- 
pealed to  him ;  Cicero,  especially  in  **  De  Officiis,"  was  naturally  his 
favourite,  and  the  Ciceronian  decorum  with  all  its  implications  marked 
for  him  the  high-water  mark  of  conduct.  So  far  as  we  could  see,  he 
had  much  less  interest  in  the  aesthetic  of  literature,  and  in  the  matter 
of  textual  criticism  his  use  of  men  like  Madvig  was  all  in  the  direction 
of  demonstrating  the  "Law  and  Orrder"  of  the  Romans. 

Do  I  convey  the  impression  of  a  mere  Machine  ?  Nothing  could 
be  farther  from  the  truth.  The  establishments  which  gradually  sup- 
planted the  *'Barn"  are  the  Machines,  huge,  intricate,  and  compre- 
hensive, and  they  go  on  more  or  less  by  their  own  momentum, 
according  to  laws  imposed  on  them  from  without.  The  '*  Barn,"  on 
the  other  hand,  was  essentially  the  work  of  the  Man :  and  a  Man  of 
extraordinary  personality  to  have  carried  it  on  upon  a  high  wave  of 
success  for  seventeen  years,  almost  single-handed.  Our  educational 
system  has  broadened  far  too  much  for  one  man  to  do  that  to-day 
with  equal  force.  And  Dr.  Dey  clearly  knew  when  his  particular 
part  in  the  scheme  of  things  was  done ;  he  divined,  as  Mr.  William 
Archer  said  the  other  day,  that  the  grammar  school  in  the  literal 
sense  of  the  term  "  must  go  the  way  of  the  dame's  school  and  the 
horn  book  ".  But  even  when  he  changed  it  for  the  wider  arena  of 
the  University  Court  and  the  development  of  a  Faculty  of  Education, 
the  power  of  the  Man  was  very  great  and  the  University  as  a  whole, 
like  his  own  immediate  pupils  in  particular,  owed  him  a  deep  debt  of 
gratitude  as  a  great  exemplar  of  high  thinking  and  plain  living. 

By  a  curious  paradox  he  was  absolutely  unknown  in  the  flesh  to 
the  great  majority  of  his  fellow-citizens  until  he  had  left  the  scene  of 
his  teaching  triumphs  and  moved  from  the  cottage  in  Roslin  Terrace 
to  the  west-end ;  though  of  course  his  name  and  fame  were  known  to 
all.  During  his  teaching  career  he  had  been  so  absorbed  in  his  work 
that  he  had  led  the  life  of  a  recluse.  Indeed,  he  was  a  sort  of  myth, 
for  none  of  us  knew  whether  the  school  was  his  own  property  or 
under  some  sort  of  management  (for  we  never  had  visitors) ;  and  not 
one  pupil  in  a  thousand  had  ever  crossed  his  threshold.  When  he 
did  emerge  into  public  life  Dr.  Dey  was  found  to  be  a  most  human, 
kindly  man  with  a  rich  store  of  varied  knowledge  (he  had  frequently 
visited  America)  and  a  real  sense  of  humour,  expressed  in  an  almost 
boyish  laugh  and  in  a  myriad  of  laughter- wrinkles  at  the  corners  of 

8 


114  Aberdeen  University  Review 

his  grey  eyes.  Perhaps  it  was  this  little  occasional  escape  from  his 
serious  self  that  earned  him  the  sobriquet  of  "  Billy  ". 

I  have  said  that  a  school  equipped  as  the  "  Barn  "  was,  with  little 
more  than  the  Studium  Generate  of  the  infant  University,  could  not 
compete  with  the  huge  educational  caravanserais,  any  more  than  a 
little  grocer  can  compete  with  Harrod  or  Selfridge  or  Whiteley.  But  I 
hasten  to  add  that  at  no  time  within  living  memory  was  the  Spirit  of 
William  Dey  more  necessary  than  it  is  at  this  moment,  and  still  more 
in  the  immediate  future.  His  doctrine  of  Self-Control  might  well  be 
followed  by  almost  the  whole  of  our  dominie-ism  and  Intelligentia^ 
which  seem  to  think  it  applicable  only  to  the  unrestrained  ranks  of 
weekly  wage-earners.  His  reticence  and  courage  were  never  in  such 
real  demand.  His  industry  and  complete  economy  are  of  greater  value 
than  ever.  His  whole  creed  is  so  congenial  to  his  cradle  country  that 
w^e  who  belong  to  his  "  corner  "  are  apt  to  take  it  for  granted.  But 
it  is  more  or  less  new  in  the  arenas  of  the  south,  from  which  "  Billy  " 
departed  early  in  his  career,  as  if  by  a  sure  instinct  for  self-preserva- 
tion. Entering  his  eightieth  year,  he  was  far  more  on  the  right  track 
than  many  men  half  his  age,  and  we  who  were  trained  directly  by 
him  find  ourselves  facing  the  future  with  less  difficulty  than  had  we 
been  reared  in  a  less  strenuous  school. 

Nor  is  the  actual  harled  shell  of  the  Barn  without  its  purpose. 
To-day  it  is  housing  Soldiers.  **Law,  Orrder,  Duty  an'  Restraint, 
Obedience,  Discipline  "  continue  to  inform  it  as  when  William  Dey 
reigned  there  supreme. 

J.  M.  BULLOCH. 


Ultimus  Georgicorum. 


iT  was  with  no  little  pleasure  that  I  made  the  dis- 
covery of  my  distinction.  There  was,  no  renown, 
no  far-flung  fame  which  would  make  {my  name  a 
household  word  or  make  my  pen  a  rival  of  CrcEsus, 
but  it  was  something  in  a  common  prosaic  career 
to  be  at  least  a  person  out  of  the  ordinary,  to 
have  lived  in  the  psychological  moment  when  such 
changes  were  made  in  the  University  curriculum  \  that/  there  was  no 
possibility  of  another  conventional  Aberdeen  student  casting  the 
shadow  of  his  important  self  on  the  quadrangle.  I  was  the  last. 
If  I  did  not  leave  the  plough  stilts  to  climb  the  steep  Parnassus  hills 
of  classical  learning,  at  least  I  had  served  a  full  term  at  the  anvil 
and  the  forge,  and  during  the  months  between  Whitsunday  and  the 
opening  of  the  session  I  had  earned  my  bread  and  a  few  precious 
pounds  at  the  toil  of  the  farm  servant.  Were  Charles  Murray  to  de- 
signate me  in  the  mither  tongue  he  so  well  preserves,  he  i would  not 
deny  me  the  title  of  "  The  Hin'most  o'  the  Geordies  ". 

That  was  in  the  year  of  Jubilee,  when  the  whole  world  was  full  of 
rejoicing  over  the  completion  of  fifty  years  of  the  gracious  reign  of 
Queen  Victoria.  On  the  day  appointed  for  the  celebration  of  the 
national  festival  I  laid  down  the  scythe  in  the  hay-field  and  went  to  the 
Established  Kirk  of  Inverurie  to  take  my  place  in  the  choir,  bearing 
the  credential  of  being  the  leading  tenor  in  the  congregation  to  which 
by  birth  and  training  I  belonged.  It  somewhat  vexed  my  loyal  soul 
to  reflect  that  one  effect  of  the  tribute  I  paid  to  the  beloved  Queen 
was  that  at  the  very  least  one  hour  was  thereby  lost  from  the  study  of 
Virgil ;  but  the  sombre  reflection  of  the  scholar  who  was  puzzling  out 
the  antics  of  Juno  as  they  were  recorded  in  the  limpid  hexameters  of 
epic  poetry  led  me  to  think,  before  the  close  of  the  day,  that  the  balance 
of  chances  was  against  seeing  another  jubilee  year  in  the  too  solid  flesh 
of  earthly  life.     I  therefore  indulged  in  a  wild  dissipation  in  the  evening 


ii6         Aberdeen  University  Review 

of  that  day ;  I  closed  my  books  and  tramped  with  the  rest  of  the 
jubilant  throng  to  the  blue  heights  of  Bennachie,  from  that  command- 
ing eminence  to  see  the  myriad  flaming  tokens  of  the  nation's  grati- 
tude in  a  multitude  of  bonfires  all  over  the  country. 

Soon  the  days  sped  away,  and  when  the  great  Artist  was  painting 
every  conceivable  colour  into  the  woods  of  Keith-hall,  I  wheeled  my  box 
to  the  station  in  a  barrow — my  whole  stock  of  clothes,  books,  and  a 
supply  of  meal  and  butter  and  eggs ;  and  away  I  went,  prouder  than 
any  scion  of  a  ducal  or  royal  house  when  entering  upon  his  hereditary 
patrimony,  to  tread  the  coveted  regal  highway  to  a  University  degree. 
I  had  a  fidus  Achates,  then  rising  to  the  giddy  heights  of  academic 
eminence  as  a  Tertian  ;  he  had  told  me  many  things  as  to  how  the 
students  spent  their  time  which  gave  me  no  little  conceit  of  myself. 
I  had  the  serious  intention  of  using  every  hour  for  its  legitimate  pur- 
pose ;  there  would  no  Semi  lay  a  frivolous  finger  upon  my  body  to 
waste  a  part  of  an  hour  in  the  historic  frolics  of  the  contending  classes, 
without  at  least  knowing  that  he  had  to  deal  with  sinews  that  had 
grown  like  steel  rods  when  I  had  been  swinging  the  sledge  hammer. 
He  had  also  given  me  some  charts  of  this  untrodden  Canaan  by  which 
I  would  know  the  richest  fountains  of  milk  and  honey.  He  was  weak 
and  rather  small,  and  from  his  infancy  a  student ;  our  ways  had  been  very 
different  but  he  was  my  good,  true  friend.  How  I  miss  him  still, 
although  the  years  mount  up  since  he  met  his  death  in  the  railway 
disaster  at  Elliot  Junction. 

On  the  first  day  of  the  session  we  walked  down  together  from 
North  Broadford,  close  by  Split-the-Win*,  and  I  ventured  to  indulge 
a  little  sentiment  with  him  by  telling  him  how  I  had  looked  forward 
for  years  to  that  day,  when  I  would  actually  enter  King's.  I  was  the 
eldest  child  of  a  widowed  mother  who  had  been  left  with  a  family  of 
eight  and  no  means  of  providing  for  their  support.  A  young  man 
past  his  twentieth  birthday,  setting  out  to  get  a  University  education 
on  his  own  charges,  has  not  much  sentiment  left  for  anything  or 
anybody. 

There  were  few  gowns.  I  had  heard  of  them  but  had  never  seen 
one  before.  My  friend  had  sartorial  antipathies,  and  as  there  was  no 
compulsion  in  those  days  for  the  under-graduate  to  adorn  himself  in 
appropriate  costume,  he  did  not  possess  one.  They  had  been  de- 
scribed to  me  by  privileged  visitors  to  the  city  as  "  reed  clokkies,"  and 
as  one  of  the  vulgar  mass  I  had  no  respect   for  such  petty  marks  of 


Ultimus  Georgicorum  117 


differentiation  from  the  common  people.  I  was  actually  a  bearded 
Magistrand  before  I  wore  the  scarlet  tunic,  and  then  partly  because 
the  law  had  been  passed  to  make  it  compulsory,  but  more  because  the 
professor  requested  me  as  a  favour  to  him  to  make  myself  like  my 
fellows. 

Harrower  was  the  first  professor  I  saw.  My  spirit  contracts  yet 
as  1  recall  that  dark  frown.  I  thought  that  I  had  seen  men  of  the 
same  type,  for  whom  it  was  necessary  that  they  should  never  forget  to 
support  their  own  dignity  if  they  were  to  keep  their  charges  under 
control.  He  was  such  a  man  to  me  for  all  the  months  I  occupied  a 
place  in  his  room ;  but  his  stern  discipline,  his  relentless  perseverance 
with  class  work,  fitted  in  with  my  scheme  of  life,  and  I  respected  where 
I  did  not  revere.  How  surprised  I  was  to  learn,  when  I  accidentally 
met  him  one  day  in  the  streets  of  Glasgow  six  years  ago,  that  he 
actually  remembered  me,  not  because  I  "  had  scintillated  with  corus- 
cating brilliance  in  the  Hellenic  heaven,"  but  because  he  had  noted 
that  I  had  entered  the  Grecian  grove  without  any  of  the  approved 
probation  in  the  porch  of  Grammar  School  or  Gordon's  College.  He 
began,  after  a  devotional  exercise,  by  giving  us  a  list  of  textbooks, 
translations,  reference  books,  all  of  which  he  thought  necessary  for  the 
student ;  he  took  away  my  breath  ;  if  each  cost  even  a  modest  shilling, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  half-crown  or  half-guinea  he  quoted,  my  hoarded 
twenty-five  pounds  would  be  spent  before  I  got  my  foot  firmly  planted 
on  the  first  rung  of  the  ladder.  A  neighbour  commented  on  his  list  in 
a  language  which  saved  me  from  despair,  "  Auch,  ye  dinna  need  the 
hauf  o'  them,  an'  what  ye  hae  to  get  ye  can  get  second-han'  or  wi' 
paper  covers ;  an  ye  can  get  a  Kelly's  crib  for  a  sixpence  ". 

Then  to  Ramsay — I  have  several  of  his  books  on  my  shelves  to- 
day as  my  regular  working  and  necessary  tools.  I  wonder  if  they 
would  have  been  more  or  less  to  me  if  I  had  never  seen  him  or  heard  him. 
He  is  before  my  eyes  again,  sitting  on  one  foot,  twirling  a  pencil,  the 
background  of  his  desk  suggesting  ancient  Rome,  he  himself  most  care- 
fully groomed,  just  like  a  leading  draper  in  my  native  town.  There 
were  no  Huns  anywhere  in  all  Europe  like  those  who  despised  the 
classic  cult ;  he  talked  to  the  class  that  day  on  a  subject  about  which 
I  knew  no  more  than  I  did  about  the  prehistoric  dodo ;  it  was  a 
chapter  in  the  controversy  of  wordy  warfare  which  was  then  disturbing 
the  placid  life  of  the  Chanonry.  But  there  was  no  list  of  books;  we 
were  to  read  Horace  and  Livy  and  we  got  no  advice  as  to  what  or 


1 1 8  Aberdeen  University  Review 

where  to  buy  anything.  Ramsay  was  the  only  professor  to  whom  I 
ever  spoke,  except  in  class.  He  invited  me  to  his  house.  Shades  of 
the  wooden  horse !  My  wardrobe  boasted  of  nothing  better  than  the 
clothes  I  wore  at  college,  a  mere  convenient  change  for  unforeseen 
drookings.  I  offered  an  apology  which  was  made  true  by  the  ac- 
ceptance of  an  engagement  which  I  had  myself  procured  to  let  me  free 
from  the  fateful  terrors  of  an  evening  in  the  high  society  of  the  College 
Bounds. 

Minto — will  there  be  an  Elysium  at  all  without  him  ?  He  was  alto- 
gether human,  and  his  subject  of  English  literature  was  nectar  to  a  soul 
which  had  tasted  a  few  stray  drops  from  the  goblets  of  the  gods  and 
thirsted  for  more  as  did  the  hart  of  the  psalmist  for  the  water  brooks. 
In  my  possession  now  there  is  a  cherished  note  he  wrote  to  me  after 
I  had  finished  my  Tertian  year  advising  me  to  read  for  honours  in  Phil- 
osophy.  How  he  could  command  his  class !  We  met  him  three  times 
a  week,  after  those  who  had  spare  pennies  had  made  the  trip  up  the 
Aulton  to  regale  themselves  with  the  penny  roll  and  jam.  Many  of 
my  fellow-students  had  alluring  engagements  in  the  afternoon,  and  I  at 
least  impransus,  and  therefore  as  jealous  as  any  of  the  others  about  a 
trespass  beyond  the  bounds  of  the  hour ;  but  never  once  was  a  foot 
shuffled  when  Minto  carried  us  beyond  the  half-past  before  he  con- 
cluded. We  felt  somehow  all  the  time  that  he  was  only  giving  us  the 
spare  fragments  of  his  knowledge,  and  yet  we  did  not  grow  in  a  gaping 
wonder  at  him  or  awe  of  him.  It  was  said  that  he  was  infidel  in  his 
beliefs  and  dangerous  to  youths  who  had  a  religious  vocation  in  view. 
Without  doubt  he  was  an  empiricist.  Who  can  forget  the  impossible 
freaks  of  the  hypothetical  tyro  ?  But  never  had  infidelity  so  fair  speech 
or  foe  to  faith  so  true  and  honourable  personality.  This  Aristotle  was 
the  best  introduction  to  Plato. 

For  me  this  ended  the  daily  benefit  of  the  University.  I  could  not 
bear  to  go  into  the  library  often.  On  my  first  visit  to  it  my  fingers 
itched  to  handle  the  inviting  volumes.  In  my  ignorance  I  expected  to 
be  permitted  to  indulge  my  wish.  I  did  not  know  that  a  pontifex 
maximus  stood  guard  over  those  precincts  in  the  shape  of  a  sterling 
pound.  I  turned  away  from  those  patrician  preserves  and  refreshed 
myself  among  the  rest  of  the  plebeian  crowd  in  the  Free  Library  of 
the  city. 

The  same  impecuniosity  kept  me  from  the  societies.  The  only 
extra  shilling  I  spent  that  session  was  for  a  torch  when  we  celebrated 


Ultimus  Georgicorum  119 


the  election  of  Mr.  Goschen  as  Lord  Rector.  Morley  was '  my  man. 
I  knew  nothing  about  many  things  about  which  my  fellow-students 
knew  most  of  what  could  be  known.  Here  were  politicians,  however, 
and  I  knew  about  politicians.  Had  I  not  discoursed  far  into  the 
night  on  the  road  to  Bourtie  to  admiring  and  hostile  groups  on  the 
urgent  need  for  Home  Rule  and  the  transcendent  virtues  of  Mr. 
Gladstone  and  the  high  qualities  of  all  his  followers  ?  Morley  would 
have  been  shocked  at  the  vehemence  and  address  of  his  supporter,  but 
I  was  proud  to  have  the  opportunity  to  vote  for  him.  We  were  de- 
feated, but  I  was  now  a  civis  universitatis  first  and  a  partisan  next ;  I 
held  it  right  to  regret  the  verdict  of  the  electors  and  to  forget  the  dis- 
appointment, and  I  spent  a  precious  shilling  and  joined  the  procession, 
turning  my  overcoat  outside  in  to  save  its  appearance,  all  in  honour  of 
my  creed  of  citizenship. 

In  the  matter  of  "digs"  I  shared  a  room  with  an  embryonic 
dominie ;  I  had  the  presumption  to  help  him  with  his  Latin.  The 
cost  to  me  was  3s.  6d.  for  room,  6d.  for  coal  and  6d.  for  gas ;  the 
balance  of  9s.  per  week  had  to  supply  food ;  if  the  weekly  bill  went 
beyond  that,  the  prospect  of  getting  to  the  end  of  the  session  faded 
away. 

Was  it  hard  ?  Not  to  me.  It  was  one  unending  delight.  I  had 
the  advantage  of  going  into  King's  with  the  set  purpose  of  training 
for  the  ministry.  As  I  believed  I  could  not  worthily  fill  the  office 
unless  I  could  secure  my  degree,  the  toil  and  the  penury  were  bliss 
as  every  day  was  bringing  me  nearer  to  the  goal.  I  could  wish  that 
I  had  been  given  more  time  for  what  is  called  culture,  and  I  can  ap- 
preciate the  advantages  of  certain  modern  methods  of  academic  edu- 
cation. Still  for  the  purpose  of  fitting  a  man  to  do  his  work  in  the 
world,  without  pressing  him  into  an  artificial  mould,  I  have  seen 
nothing  better  than  the  system  of  those  days.  I  count  myself  fortun- 
ate at  least  that  I  had  the  privilege  to  be  a  Bajan  before  the  old  regime 
was  disturbed,  and  notwithstanding  all  the  advantages  of  options,  and 
moderns,  and  societies,  and  all  the  rest  to  help  the  student  and  create 
esprit  de  corps,  no  one  can  love  the  Alma  Mater  more  than  I  do,  and  I 
have  even  a  little  ragret  that  I  am  the  ultimus  georgicorum. 

G.  WATT  SMITH. 


Jeremiah's  Poems  on  War. 

Being  Part  of  the  First  Murtle  Lecture  for  191 5-16. 

|Y  purpose  is  to  give  some  account  of  the  Prophet 
Jeremiah,  of  his  work  both  as  a  poet  and  a  prophet, 
and  of  his  religious  teaching  during  a  period  of 
terrible  wars.  It  has  often  been  pointed  out  that 
in  his  ministry,  more  even  than  in  that  of  any 
other  prophet,  the  determining  factor  under  God 
was  the  prophet's  own  personality.  Jeremiah 
started  more  deeply  from  himself  than  did  anyone  else  of  his  order. 
He  stood  in  more  lonely  opposition  to  his  people.  He  asserted  more 
strenuously  than  all  except  Job  his  conscience  and  individuality  as 
over  against  God.  He  assisted  in  the  promulgation  of  a  great  system 
of  national  religion — perhaps  the  finest  the  world  has  ever  seen — but 
he  lived  to  prove  its  insufficiency  for  the  individual  and  to  experience 
the  collapse  of  his  people's  faith  in  it  on  the  defeat  of  Israel  at  Megiddo. 
He  saw  his  land  overrun  by  a  powerful  enemy,  the  strength  of  his 
nation  driven  into  exile,  and  the  fall  of  the  Jewish  state.  The 
national  altar  was  shattered,  but  he  gathered  the  fire  into  his  own 
bosom  and  carried  it  not  only  unquenched  but  with  a  purer  and  more 
brilliant  flame  to  its  everlasting  future.  We  may  say  without  exaggera- 
tion that  all  which  henceforth  became  dominant  and  creative  in  Israel's 
religion  was,  however  ancient  its  sources,  recast  in  the  crucible  of  his 
own  soul. 

For  our  knowledge  of  this  great  life — there  was  none  greater  under 
the  Old  Covenant — we  are  dependent  on  the  Book  of  Jeremiah.  Of  it 
we  have  two  editions :  the  Hebrew  text  from  which  our  Authorised  and 
Revised  Versions  have  been  made,  and  the  shorter  Greek  Version  of 
the  Septuagint.  A  comparison  proves  them  to  be  independent  re- 
censions of  the  same  original.  The  Hebrew  is  about  one-eighth  longer 
than  the  Greek.     The  Greek  has  only  some  hundred  words  not  found 


Jeremiah's  Poems  on  War  121 

in  the  Hebrew.     Between  them  they  exhibit  signs  of  a  gradual,  but 
limited,  growth  in  the  contents  of  the  Book. 

These  consist  of  three  classes:  (i)  a  large  number  of  Jeremiah's 
own  oracles  and  discourses,  of  which  he  himself  began  the  collection 
by  dictating  to  Baruch  the  scribe  his  utterances  of  the  previous  twenty 
years ;  (2)  a  number  of  narratives  of  his  life  contemporary  or  nearly 
contemporary  with  himself;  and  (3)  later  additions  partly  in  the  form 
of  titles,  notes  and  brief  enlargements  and  partly  in  the  form  of 
longer  discourses. 

The  literary  and  spiritual  qualities  of  the  Book  therefore  vary. 
The  narratives  are  direct  and  clear.  They  produce  a  consistent  and 
convincing  picture  of  the  growth  of  a  singularly  interesting  tempera- 
ment and  genius,  unfitted  by  nature  for  the  office  to  which  he  was 
called,  but  rising  to  all  its  tasks  and  sacrifices  on  the  bare  conviction  of 
a  call  from  God,  through  many  debates  and  struggles  with  the  Deity, 
and  by  the  gradual  discovery  from  the  awful  events  of  his  time  of  the 
Divine  Will  for  himself  and  his  people. 

The  character  of  the  discourses  and  oracles  is  complex  and  more 
•difficult.  The  reader  finds  his  interest  fluctuating  between  periods 
of  a  loose  copious  style  and  passages  of  exact  and  trenchant  de- 
scription, poignant  utterances  of  feeling  and  sublime  expressions  of 
religious  truth  ;  or  between  arguments  about  the  Law,  dating  from  the 
Deuteronomic  controversy,  and  daring  debates  with  God  Himself  on 
the  ways  of  His  Providence — forlorn  hopes  of  the  sufferer's  heart  and 
conscience  against  the  impenetrable  ranks  of  the  Divine  judgments. 

Part  of  this  complexity  is  due  to  a  mingling  of  poetry  and  prose. 
Modern  scholarship  has  succeeded  in  discriminating  a  number  of  pieces, 
some  fifty  in  all,  which  are  as  metrical  in  form  and  lyric  in  spirit  as 
any  of  the  Psalms  ;  in  unrhymed  couplets,  and  sometimes  triplets,  with 
a  regular  proportion  of  stresses  or  accents  and  all  the  other  marks  of 
the  poetic  style — an  order  of  words  differing  from  that  in  prose,  the 
omission  of  particles,  other  abbreviations,  the  use  of  archaic  phrases, 
and  of  unusual  but  more  sonorous  terminations  to  words,  and  so  forth. 

I  propose  to  take  these  poems  as  illustrating  Jeremiah's  power  of 
reflecting  the  life  of  his  times,  and  especially  the  wars  and  invasions 
from  which  his  country  suffered — the  Scythian  raids  which  swept 
across  Palestine  to  the  borders  of  Egypt  in  625  B.C.,  the  Egyptian  in- 
vasion in  612  when  the  King  and  the  flower  of  the  army  fell  at 
Megiddo,   and    the   treble  Babylonian   invasion   culminating   in    the 


122  Aberdeen  University  Review 

siege,  overthrow  and  sack  of  Jerusalem  in  586.  I  think  that  we  shall 
find  his  reflections  of  these  events  not  irrelevant  to  the  circumstances 
of  our  allies  and  ourselves  in  the  present  war. 

In  the  earliest  of  his  lyrics,  scattered  through  the  second  and  follow- 
ing  chapters,  in  which  Jeremiah  pleads  with  and  upbraids  his  sinful 
people,  his  dependence  on  his  predecessors  and  especially  on  the  pro- 
phet  Hosea  is  evident.  But  he  throws  this  off  and  develops  a  poetry 
which  in  its  descriptions  of  nature  and  of  the  heart  of  man — in  its  wist- 
fulness  and  poignancy,  its  echoes  of  the  tumult  of  an  invaded  and  the 
weeping  of  a  shattered  people,  its  realism  of  battle,  siege,  darkness  and 
death,  with  the  occasional  splendours  that  break  over  all  like  the  sun 
through  clouds — is  his  very  own.  He  is  a  lyric  poet  of  the  highest 
order  with  the  supreme  notes  of  simplicity  and  inevitableness.  And 
this  renders  the  translation  of  his  verses  an  impossible  task.  So  much 
depends  on  the  forms  and  sounds  of  the  original  words,  so  much  on 
the  angle  at  which  they  were  launched  and  the  notes  with  which  they 
rang  through  this  native  air.  But  at  least  you  can  mark  how  very 
simple  all  the  words  are ;  and  how  they  march — like  the  ranks  they 
describe — on  to  their  climax.  The  first  appears  to  be  a  description  of 
the  approaching  Scythians  : — 

Lo,  a  folk  under  way  from  the  north, 

A  people  astir  from  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

Bow  and  spear  they  are  grasping, 

They  are  cruel  and  ruthless  ; 

The  noise  of  them  booms  like  the  sea, 

As  on  horses  they  ride, 

In  array  as  one  man  to  the  battle, 

Daughter  of  Sion — on  thee? 

As  in  his  choice  of  words  so  in  his  use  of  metaphor  and  parable, 
all  is  simple  :  a  girl's  ornament,  a  man's  waistband,  the  stork,  the  crane, 
the  startled  horse,  the  lion,  the  leopard,  the  black  Ethiopian,  the  potter 
at  his  wheel — everyday  objects  of  the  people's  sight,  appear  without 
elaboration  but  never  bald  or  uncouth.  The  following  is  an  answer  to 
the  complaint  of  his  contemporaries  that  they  do  not  understand 
God's  meaning  and  are  tired  of  His  discipline: — 

O  generation,  you  ...(?) 
See  the  word  of  the  Lord ! 
Have  I  been  to  Israel  a  desert, 
Or  land  oi  thick  darkness  ? 

^  VI.  22  t. 


Jeremiah's  Poems  on  War  123 

Why  say  my  folk,  We  are  off, 
We  come  near  Thee  no  more  ! 
Can  a  maiden  forget  her  adorning, 
Or  a  bride  her  apparel  ? 
Yet  Me  have  My  people  forgotten 
Days  without  number.^ 

Now  and  then  there  is  irony  in  the  very  bareness  of  his  word : — 

Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Israel's  God, 
Every  skin  is  filled  with  wine. 

And  when  the  people,  irritated,  turn  upon  him  saying,  "  Don't  we  know 
that  every  skin  is  filled  with  wine  ?  "  he  replies :  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord 

Every  dweller  of  this  land  shall  I  fill. 

Every  dweller  of  Jerusalem  with  drunkenness — * 

— the  drunkenness  of  astonishment  and  terror. 

Like  all  the  prophets  whose  moral  atmosphere  blazed  as  fiercely 
as  their  physical,  who,  living  on  the  border  of  the  great  deserts  under 
the  Eastern  sun,  drew  breath  also  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord  and  beheld 
life  in  the  fire  of  His  righteousness,  Jeremiah  describes  all  things  with- 
out illusion  or  mysticism.  We  see  the  raw  •  Judaean  landscapes  under 
the  pitiless  light,  every  ugliness  clear  on  their  surface :  the  dung,  the 
carcases,  the  breached  walls,  the  tumbling  houses,  the  trodden  vineyards,, 
and  the  long  chaos  of  desert  hills,  as  you  see  them  to-day  from  his 
home  in  Anathoth,  panting  under  the  autumn  sun. 

The  bare  names  of  drought,  famine,  pestilence,  and  war  are  a 
uttered  by  the  prophet  that  you  feel  their  awful  presences,  and,  as  their 
skirts  sweep  past,  they  leave  naked  the  black  details :  bodies  of  men 
and  children  across  every  lane,  with  the  gathering  dogs  and  the  vul- 
tures. 

Sometimes  the  terror  is  nameless,  but  even  then  the  prophet' s^ 
simplicity  does  not  desert  him.  All  one  feels  is  a  horrible  shadow 
creeping  upon  the  hills — "  premature  night "  as  it  has  been  called,, 
night  without  dew,  or  coolness,  or  any  shelter. 

To  your  God  give  the  glory, 
Before  He  bring  darkness, 
Ere  your  feet  begin  stumbling 
On  the  mountains  of  twilight. 
And  ye  look  for  the  light 
But  He  turns  it  to  shadow, 
And  makes  it  thick  darkness.* 

^11.  31  f.  2xin.  12,  13.  5ixni.  16  f. 


124  Aberdeen  University  Review 

Jeremiah  has  perfected  that  art  of  realism  which  startles  us  by  the 
sudden  emergence  of  concrete  forms  of  danger  out  of  some  cloudy 
horror  that  has  been  looming  in  the  distance.  We  find  this  art  in  all 
the  prophets  and  indeed  in  the  poetry  of  vengeance  and  deliverance 
among  all  oppressed  peoples.  The  impending  judgment  is  first  painted 
in  terms  of  a  gathering  storm  or  flood — lurid  and  vague — and  then  in  a 
moment  the  far-away  clouds  and  their  lightnings  break  into  the  features 
and  arms  of  an  invader  who  has  arrived  and  who  looks  you  in  the 
eyes.  I  remember  an  abrupt  instance  of  this  among  the  negro  songs 
of  the  American  Civil  War  under  the  refrain  '*  Babylon  (that  is  slavery) 
has  fallen  "  : — 

Don't  you  see  the  lightning  flashing  in  the  cane-brakes 

Don't  you  think  we'se  gwine  to  have  a  storm  ? 
No  you  is  mistaken,  them's  the  darkies'  bayonets 

And  de  buttons  on  de  uniform. 

This  sudden  change  in  the  range  of  the  foe — with  which  a  year  of 
war  has  made  us  familiar — Jeremiah  makes  again  and  again,  for  in- 
stance : — 

I  saw  the  earth,  'twas  shapeless  and  void, 

The  heavens,  their  light  was  gone, 
I  saw  the  mountains  and  lo,  they  were  trembling, 

The  hills  were  all  restless  together. 


Hark,  'tis  the  horse  and  the  bowmen, 

The  land  is  in  flight  I 
They  are  into  the  caves,  huddled  in  thickets, 

They  are  up  on  the  rocks. 
Every  town  is  forsaken  of  men 

None  to  inhabit  I  ^ 

Or  again : — 

Lo,  the  waters  are  up  in  the  North, 

The  torrents  are  rising. 
They  deluge  the  land  and  her  fulness. 

The  city  and  them  that  inhabit. 
At  the  stamp  of  the  hoofs  of  his  stallions, 
At  the  rush  of  his  cars, 

At  the  rumbling  of  his  wheels. 
Fathers  turn  not  back  for  their  children 
Palsied  their  hands.' 

Or  take  the  second  of  the  prophet's  inaugural  visions : — 
And  the  Lord  said  unto  me,  What  seest  thou  ?    And  I  said  I  see  a 
seething  caldron  with  its  face  from  the  North.     And  the  Lord  said 

1  IV.  23,  29.  "  XLVII .  2,  3. 


Jeremiah's  Poems  on  War  125 

to  me :  From  the  North  evil  shall  boil  up  on  all  the  inhabitants  of 
the  land.  For  lo,  I  am  calling  all  the  races  of  the  Kingdoms  of  the 
North,  and  they  shall  come  and  shall  set  every  one  his  throne  at  the 
openings  of  the  gates  of  Jerusalem.^ 

There  you  have  it ;  a  lowering,  boiling  cloud  in  the  far  northern 
skies,  and  the  next  moment  the  enemy  sitting  in  the  gate. 

Few  if  any  of  Israel's  poets  equal  the  poignancy  of  Jeremiah's 
elegies  ;  none  breathe  so  exquisite  a  wistfulness : — 

From  Dan  a  sound  has  been  heard, 

Hinnying  of  his  horses, 
With  the  noise  of  the  neigh  of  his  steeds 

The  land  is  aquake. 


For  that  this  gnef  hath  no  comfort 

Sick  is  my  heart, 
Hark  to  the  cry  of  my  people 

Far  o'er  the  land ! 
"  Is  the  Lord  no  longer  in  Sion, 

Is  there  no  King  ?  " 
••  Why  have  they  vexed  me  with  idols, 

Vanities  alien  ? " 
Harvest  is  over,  summer  is  ended 

We  are  not  saved. 
For  the  breach  of  my  people  I  break, 

Horror  hath  seized  me. 
Is  there  no  balm  in  Gilead, 

Is  there  no  healer  ? 
Why  doth  the  healing  not  wax 

Of  the  wounds  of  my  people. 
O  that  my  head  were  but  waters, 

Mine  eyes  springs  of  tears. 
Night  and  day  would  I  weep 

For  the  slain  of  my  people.^ 
Call  the  keening  women  to  come, 

Send  for  the  wise  ones 
To  hasten  and  sing  us  a  dirge, 
Till  with  tears  our  eyes  run  down. 

Our  eyelids  with  water. 
For  death  is  come  up  to  our  windows 

And  into  our  palaces ; 
The  children  are  cut  from  the  streets. 

The  youths  from  the  places ; 
And  the  corpses  of  men  are  fallen, 

Like  dung  on  the  field, 
Like  swaths  the  reaper  has  left 

And  nobody  gathers. ^ 

I.  13  f.  aviii.  16  flf.  •  IX.  16  ff 


126         Aberdeen  University  Review 

Or  these  immortal  words  : — 

A  voice  is  heard  in  Ramah,  lamentation  and  bitter  weeping,  Rachel 
weeping  for  her  children ;  she  refuseth  to  be  comforted  for  her 
children :  because  they  are  not.^ 

And  thus  it  still  wonderfully  happens  that  we  find  in  God's  word 
a  sympathy  with  our  every  grief;  that  none  of  our  sorrows  are  new  or 
at  their  bitterest  unexampled ;  that  even  in  these  direst  ways  of  war 
others  His  saints  have  gone  before  us,  and  that  God's  hand  keeps  open 
through  these  inspired  verses  an  entrance  for  our  hearts  into  the  com- 
forting fellowship  of  their  sufferings. 

The  last  verses  which  I  quoted  on  the  weeping  of  Rachel,  the 
mother  of  the  tribe  to  which  Jeremiah  belonged,  and  her  refusal  to  be 
•comforted  for  her  fallen,  are  followed  by  this  Divine  command: 
Refrain  thy  voice  from  weeping  and  thine  eyes  from  tears,  for  thy  work 
jhallbe  rewarded,  saith  the  Lord,  and  they  shall  come  again  from  the  land 
of  the  enemy. 

To  trace  the  way  in  which  so  fluid  and  shrinking  a  temperament 
as  Jeremiah's  was  enabled  to  fulfil  this  command,  and  he  was  led  up  to 
the  peace  and  dignity  of  his  old  age,  with  the  assured  hope  which  in- 
spires some  of  his  latest  oracles  in  spite  of  increasing  disasters  to  his 
people — to  trace  all  this  is  now  impossible. 

It  is  enough  to  recall  the  stern  word  which  came  to  him  at  the 
start  of  his  career,  when  he  was  told  that  he  should  have  to  face  not 
only  foreign,  but  the  hostility  of  his  own  kings,  princes,  priests,  and 
people:  Be  not  dismayed  at  them  lest  I  make  thee  dismayed  before 
ihem.  As  we  have  need  of  our  Heavenly  Father's  sympathy  and 
grace  in  any  warfare  for  righteousness  to  which  He  may  call  us,  so  He 
has  need  of  such  courage  and  initiative  as,  being  His  children  and  the 
brethren  of  Jesus  Christ,  He  trusts  us  to  be  able  to  show.  The 
words  are  a  call  upon  those  primitive  powers  which  he  planted  in  us 
when  He  created  us  after  His  image.  God  needs  our  native  grit  and 
pluck,  and  we  must  not  fail  Him. 

Again  there  is  God's  later  answer  to  the  prophet's  complaint  of  the 
sufferings  of  himself  and  other  righteous  men,  and  his  challenge  to 
God's  justice  in  permitting  these.  The  answer  was  only  and  barely  this : 
If  thou  hast  run  with  the  footmen  and  they  have  wearied  thee,  then  how 
canst  thou  contend  with  the  horsemen  ?  and  if  in  a  land  of  peace  thou 
runnest  away,  what  wilt  thou  do  in  the  jungles  of  Jordan  ?  (XII.  5). 

^xxxi.  15. 


Jeremiah's  Poems  on  War  127 

To  the  prophet's  questions  of  the  meaning  of  his  trials — as  of 
many  of  our  own — there  is  then  no  answer  save  that  they  are  the 
athletic  against  others  still  to  come  and  still  more  severe.  That  is  a 
solution  we  do  well  to  lay  to  heart.  If  as  a  nation  we  have  failed  in  the 
past  it  has  been  because  of  our  blindness  to  the  magnitude  of  the  tasks 
and  sacrifices  still  before  us.  But  we  are  learning  our  lesson.  There 
is  not  a  reverse  which  we  have  suffered  but  has  braced  the  national 
spirit  and  increased  the  number  of  our  voluntary  recruits.  The  long 
<ielays  of  the  war  have  not  wearied  the  people  but  rendered  them  more 
determined  to  pursue  their  sacred  struggle  to  the  end  at  whatever  in- 
crease of  cost  and  suffering.  No  pessimism,  therefore,  and  no  depres- 
sion !  But  however  many  be  the  defeats  and  losses  which  still  await 
us,  a  constantly  rising  courage  and  hope  in  the  name  of  righteousness 
and  humanity ! 

How  patiently  Jeremiah  accepted  the  dark  assurance  given  him, 
and  having  through  his  earlier  sufferings  realised  a  better  self  than  he 
was  aware  of,  in  the  end  sacrificed  that  self  with  all  its  natural  ambi- 
tions of  influence  and  victory  to  the  Will  of  God  that  he  should  abide 
by  his  own  people  and  with  a  worthless  remnant  of  them  be  hurried 
into  exile,  and  blotted  out  of  sight  in  a  foreign  grave — all  this  is 
clearly  set  forth  in  the  Book.  He  never  saw  the  satisfaction  of  his 
travail  for  others.  But  there  is  little  doubt  that  it  was  his  patience 
and  self-sacrifice  which  inspired  the  description  of  the  Suffering  Servant 
of  the  Lord  in  the  fifty-third  of  Isaiah,  the  clearest  prophecy  in  the 
Old  Testament  of  Jesus  Christ  Himself.  We  cannot  wonder  that 
some  of  our  Lord's  contemporaries  thought  that  He  was  Jeremiah  come 
to  life  again. 

GEORGE  ADAM  SMITH. 


The  West  Point  Military  Academy,  U.S.A. 

IFTY  miles  north  of  New  York  City,  the  Hudsore 
River,  at  that  point  really  less  a  river  than  a  fjord, 
passes  for  fifteen  miles  or  more  between  the  outstand- 
ing clifTs  of  the  New  Jersey  Highlands.  Leaving  the 
comparatively  flat  lands  of  Newburgh,  the  river, 
over  a  mile  wide,  enters  the  gorge  at  Cornwall,  to 
emerge  and  broaden  out  once  more  into  the  opea 
reaches  of  Ossining,  where  Peek's  Kill  stream  enters  from  the  east. 

On  a  bend  of  the/ gorge  and  on  its  western  side,  five  miles  or  so- 
from  its  northern  end,  backed  by  the  commanding  bluff  known  as- 
Mount  Independence,  and  looking  over  the  fjord  to  the  Putnam  Heights^ 
lies  the  township  of  West  Point.  The  village  itself,  of  some  2000  in-^ 
habitants  is  of  small  importance  ;  interest  centres  rather  in  the  great 
Military  Academy  built/ on  a  plateau  about  200  feet  above  the  river- 
bank,  a  cluster  of  battlemented  buildings  where  specially  selected  sons 
of  "  Uncle  Sam  "  learn  the  art  and  science  both  of  peace  and  war. 

As  long  ago  as  1778  West  Point  was  chosen  as  the  site  of  one  of 
the  chain  of  forts  lerectedjfor  the  defence  of  the  Hudson  in  the  War  of 
Independence,  'and  high  above  the  Academic  buildings  Old  Fort 
Putnam  still  keeps  watch  over  long  reaches  of  the  river  it  was  built 
to  guard. 

Although  the  subject  had  been  mooted  several  years  before  and 
even  carried  into  practice  by  the  establishment  of  "  a  military  school 
for  young  gentlemen  previously  to  their  being  appointed  to  marching^ 
regiments,"  it  was  to  her  soldier-statesman,  Washington,  that  the 
Unitedi States  owed  the  conception  of  a  great  military  Academy  on  the 
heightsTof  the  Gibraltar  of  the  Hudson,  where  picked  lads  from  the 
Congressional  Districts* might  receive  a  thorough  education  to  fit  them 
for  the  command  of  the  'Republican  Armies  in  time  of  war,  or  for  taking 
their  places  in  peace  in  the  equally  acute,  though  perhaps  less  immedi- 
ately sanguinary,  contests  of  commerce. 


West  Point  Military  Academy,   U.S.A.    129 

It  was  not  till  1802,  however,  that  the  then  President  (Jefferson) 
founded  the  College  on  the  site  it  now  occupies.  During  the  succeeding 
decade  the  College  went  through  many  vicissitudes — for  one  period,  in- 
deed it  was  without  any  instructor — but  the  year  181 2  marked  its  re- 
organization on  the  lines,  mutatis  mutandis,  which  have  since  been 
followed  with  so  much  success.  The  secret  of  that  success  lies  in  the 
fundamental  principle  underlying  the  whole  course  of  instruction,  viz., 
that  the  training  which  tends  to  the  evolution  of  a  good  soldier  tends, 
also  to  the  evolution  of  a  good  citizen. 

"  West  Point,"  says  Henderson  in  his  brilliant  study  of  one  of  West 
Point's  most  distinguished  graduates,  "  was  much  more  than  a  military  school. 
It  was  a  University,  and  a  University  under  the  very  strictest  discipline,  where 
the  science  of  the  soldier  formed  only  a  portion  of  the  course.  Subjects  which 
are  now  considered  essential  to  a  military  education  were  not  taught  at  all. 
The  art  of  War  gave  place  to  ethics  and  engineering  ;  and  mathematics  and 
chemistry  were  considered  of  far  more  importance  than  topography  and  forti- 
fication. Yet  with  French,  history,  and  drawing,  it  will  be  admitted  that  the 
course  was  sufficiently  comprehensive.  .  .  .  The  fact  that  a  man  had  passed 
the  final  examination  at  West  Point  was  a  sufficient  certificate  that  he  had  re- 
ceived a  thorough  education,  that  his  mental  faculties  had  been  strengthened 
by  four  years  of  hard  work  and  that  he  was  well  equipped  to  take  his  place  among 
his  fellow-men.  And  it  was  more  than  this.  Four  years  of  the  strictest  dis- 
cipline were  sufficient  to  break  in  even  the  most  careless  and  the  most  slovenly 
to  neatness,  obedience,  and  punctuality.  Such  habits  are  not  easily  unlearned, 
and  the  West  Point  certificate  was  thus  a  guarantee  of  qualities  that  are  every- 
where useful.  It  did  not  necessarily  follow  that  because  a  cadet  won  a  com- 
mission he  remained  a  soldier.  Many  went  to  civil  life,  and  the  Academy 
was  an  excellent  school  for  men  who  intended  to  find  a  career  as  surveyors  or 
engineers.  The  training  and  discipline  of  West  Point  were  not  then  concen- 
trated in  one  profession,  but  were  disseminated  throughout  the  States  ;  and  it 
was  with  this  purpose  that  the  institution  of  the  Academy  had  been  approved 
by  Congress"  ("Stonewall  Jackson,"  Vol,  I,  pp.  16-17), 

The  West  Point  Military  Academy  comprises  a  cluster  of  buildings 
laid  out  in  an  extensive  national  park  and  includes  the  Cadet  Barracks, 
Library,  Gymnasium,  Administrative  buildings.  Mess  Hall,  Instruc- 
tional Classrooms  and  Laboratories,  Riding  School  and  Hospital,  while 
along  the  river  bank  are  placed  the  Artillery  batteries  for  instructional 
purposes.  The  Library,  of  over  100,000  volumes,  is  one  of  the  finest 
military  libraries  in  the  world.  In  the  Mess  Hall  (Commemorative: 
of  General  Grant)  and  the  Administrative  Buildings  hang  the  portraits 
of  famous  generals,  and  through  the  finely  wooded  grounds  and 
along  the  terraces  stand  monuments  to  those  of  America's  soldiers 
whom  she  delights  to  honour.     A  mile  north  of  the  College,  in  the 

9 


130  Aberdeen  University  Review 

silent  acre  allotted  to  those  who  have  died  in  the  service  of  their 
country,  lie  the  remains  of  Thayer,  one  of  the  first  Commandants  of 
the  Academy ;  of  Winfield  Scott,  who  directed  the  Mexican  Campaign 
of  1 847-8 ;  and  of  other  distinguished  officers.  Two  memorials 
stand  out  pre-eminently — one,  the  Battle  Monument  to  the  soldiers 
who  fell  in  the  Civil  War,  and  one  to  Kosciusko — to  the  American,  a 
martyr  in  the  cause  of  Liberty,  and  to  the  cadet  of  West  Point,  a 
national  hero  trained  in  its  classrooms.  Edgar  Allan  Poe,  it  may  be 
remembered,  was  for  a  time  a  cadet  at  West  Point. 

The  Commandant  of  West  Point  has  the  rank  of  Colonel  in  the 
United  States  Army,  and  has  as  second  in  command  a  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  who  is  Battalion  Commander  of  the  corps  of  cadets  in  resid- 
ence. The  staff  of  instructors  includes  an  Engineer  and  an  Ordnance 
officer  who  act  as  instructors  in  Military  Engineering  and  Gunnery, 
while  specially  selected  staff  officers,  termed  professors,  have  charge  of 
the  instruction  of  the  cadets  in  all  other  subjects.  These  officers  form 
the  Academic  Board.  The  number  of  cadets  in  residence  is  about 
500,  and  since  the  curriculum  extends  over  four  years  it  may  be  said 
that  about  125  freshmen  are  added  each  year.  The  average  annual 
number  graduating  is  about  sixty,  for  only  about  50  per  cent  of  those 
who  begin  the  curriculum  are — for  one  reason  or  another — able  to  com- 
plete it  and  even  then  join  the  colours. 

Election  to  vacancies  at  West  Point  is  partly  in  the  hands  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  who  has  a  number  of  nominations  at 
his  disposal,  while  the  remainder  are  in  the  hands  of  members  of  the 
Senate  and  Congress. 

The  *'Oath  of  Office,"  which  every  freshman  cadet  must  take, 
requires  that  he  should  "  serve  in  the  Army  of  the  United  States  for 
eight  years  (i.e.,  four  years  at  West  Point  and  four  years  subsequently) 
unless  sooner  discharged  by  competent  authority''.  This  discharge  is 
never  refused  save  when  the  nation  has  need  of  the  cadet's  services ; 
nor  is  the  proviso  unjust,  for  those  who  enter  West  Point  are  housed, 
fed,  and  well  educated  by  the  State  at  a  cost  of  about  $2000  per 
annum,  and  it  is  but  natural  that  the  State  should  have  a  first  claim 
on  her  pupil  for  at  least  a  limited  period  after  his  term  of  pupilage  has 
closed.  The  age  of  entry  is  between  17  and  22  ;  the  cadet  must  be 
unmarried,  adjudged  physically  fit,  and  pass  an  entrance  examination 
in  general  knowledge  which,  though  not  of  a  high  standard,  is  search- 
ing, and  includes  reading,  writing  and  orthography,  arithmetic,  algebra, 


West  Point  Military  Academy,  U.S.A.    131 

geometry,  English  grammar,  composition,  geography  and  history, 
especially  of  the  United  States.  Every  selected  cadet  must  don  the 
"  cadet  grey,"  which  costs  him  something  under  ;^20. 

The  curriculum,  as  already  stated,  extends  over  four  years,  and  the 
cadet  is  instructed  in  United  States  drill  regulations  for  infantry, 
cavalry,  and  artillery,  in  discipline  and  military  police  work,  in  gym- 
nastics, fencing,  and  the  use  of  the  sword  and  bayonet.  He  is 
thoroughly  trained  in  mathematics,  English,  French,  Spanish,  drawing, 
chemistry,  physics,  mineralogy  and  geology,  in  the  theory  and  prac- 
tice of  gunnery,  and  in  civil  and  military  engineering.  He  is  also  in- 
structed in  national  and  international  and  military  law,  and  in  the  laws 
and  customs  of  nations.  Much  of  this  instruction  is  given  practically  ; 
for  example,  all  the  drill,  gymnastics,  and  gunnery  exercises  are  per- 
formed on  the  parade  ground,  in  the  gymnasium,  or  at  the  sea-coast 
experimental  batteries  or  in  camp  during  summer.  There  are  labora- 
tories for  chemistry,  physics,  mineralogy,  geology,  and  practical  as- 
tronomy, while  civil  and  military  engineering  is  studied  both  in  the 
classroom  and  on  the  field.  The  cadet  must  be  acquainted  with  the 
theory  of  the  construction  of  trestle,  single  and  double-lock  bridges, 
with  the  principles  of  flag,  lamp,  and  telegraphic  signalling,  and  must 
also  build  such  bridges  and  transmit  and  receive  messages  by  flag, 
flash  and  wire. 

Here  is  a  day's  routine  of  duty : — 

Reveille  is  sounded  at  5*30  a.m.  when  the  roll-call  is  taken.  Twenty 
minutes  afterwards  rooms  are  inspected  and  till  6*15  cadets  are  expected  to 
clean  their  arms  and  accoutrements.  Breakfast  is  served  at  6*15  and  guard 
mounted  an  hour  later.  Until  8,  when  class  parades  are  called,  the  cadets  are 
free.  The  working  day  is  divided  into  three  periods,  viz.,  8  to  11  a.m.,  11  to 
I  p.m.,  and  2  to  4  p.m.  In  the  first  year,  the  first  period  is  devoted  to 
mathematics  and  the  second  period  to  military  exercises  such  as  fencing  and 
bayonet  drill.  The  afternoon  period  is  given  over  to  English  during  part  of 
the  year  and  during  the  remainder  to  French.  In  the  second  year,  mathe- 
matics again  occupies  the  students'  time  during  the  first  working  period,  while 
French  and  Spanish  are  studied  from  11  a.m.  to  i  p.m.  The  afternoon  hours 
are  spent  on  drawing  and  riding  alternatively.  The  third  year  presents  a  more 
varied  course  of  instruction.  The  morning  hours  are  devoted  to  physics, 
chem  stry,  geology,  mineralogy,  and  hygiene,  alternatively  during  part  of  the 
year  with  riding  and  the  study  of  drill  regulations.  The  afternoon  hours  are 
spent  alternatively  on  drawing  and  riding.  In  the  fourth  year  civil  and  military 
engineering  and  the  art  and  science  of  war  occupy  the  8  to  11  a.m.  period, 
while  from  11  a.m.  to  i  p.m.  ordnance  and  gunnery,  riding  and  drill  regula- 
tions form  the  subjects  of  study.     The  afternoon  is  devoted  to  history,  geo- 


132  Aberdeen  University  Review 

graphy,  ethics  and  law.     From  4  to  6  p.m.  special  sections  are  trained  in 
signalling  and  telegraphy  or  in  cavalry  drill. 

Dinner  is  served  at  i,  and  supper  after  "retreat  parade,"  at  an  hour  vary- 
ing with  the  season  of  the  year.  The  evening  is  spent  in  recreation  and  study 
until  "  Tattoo  "  at  9.30.  "  Lights  out "  is  sounded  at  10,  and  closes  a  strenuous 
day  for  all  classes. 

A  draft  scheme  of  the  courses  of  instruction  is  prepared  by  the 
Academic  Board  and  submitted  to  the  Secretary  for  War.  If  it  re- 
ceives his  approval  the  subdivision  of  the  working  hours  is  made  by 
the  Commandant  so  as  to  conform  as  closely  as  possible  to  the  require- 
ments of  the  scheme.  Thereafter  each  instructor  carries  out  his  por- 
tion of  the  work  in  the  way  he  thinks  best,  but  he  is  held  responsible 
both  for  the  methods  he  adopts  and  the  results  he  obtains.  He  keeps 
daily  records  of  the  progress  of  his  pupils  and  their  relative  merits  and 
demerits  and  submits  these  weekly  to  the  Superintendent,  with  recom- 
mendations for  the  transfer  of  any  student  from  a  lower  to  a  higher 
section  within  his  class  according  to  his  capacity  and  application. 

General  examinations  are  held  in  January  and  June,  the  latter 
being  the  more  formal  and  exhaustive.  The  cadets  of  each  class  are 
then  arranged  in  order  of  merit,  a  limited  number,  not  exceeding  five 
in  each  class,  being  selected  for  special  mention  and  publication  in  the 
Army  Register. 

The  distribution  of  marks  for  subjects  is  of  interest  as  showing  the  relative 
value  attached  to  them  by  the  Academic  Board.  Thus  in  one  scheme  of 
marks,  in  the  first  year  mathematics  counts  100,  English  50,  French  75,  and 
discipline  100;  in  the  second  year,  mathematics  counts  300,  French  150, 
Spanish  85,  drawing  75,  and  discipline  100;  in  the  third  year  physics  counts 
300,  chemistry,  geology,  etc.,  225,  drawing  50,  drill  regulations  67,  and  disci- 
pline 100;  in  the  fourth  year,  engineering  counts  345,  physics  300,  mathe- 
matics 400,  law  150,  chemistry  and  geology  225,  ordnance  and  gunnery  150, 
drill  regulations  100,  drawing  125,  English  50,  French  150,  Spanish  85,  history, 
geography,  and  ethics  100,  and  discipline  200. 

Breaches  of  discipline  are  of  various  grades  and  are  valued  from  one  to 
ten  points  of  demerit.  If  the  number  of  bad  marks  exceeds  a  certain  total 
(125  from  June  to  December  or  90  from  January  to  May)  the  cadet  attaining 
this  unenviable  distinction  is  dealt  with  by  the  Academic  Board. 

The  pay  of  a  cadet  is  about  ;^I20  per  annum,  but  none  of  this 
passes  to  him  in  cash.  All  his  expenses  are  paid  by  the  Treasurer  of 
the  Academy  and  any  balance  standing  to  his  credit  when  he  goes  on 
furlough  or  finally  graduates  is  handed  over  to  him.  The  Treasurer 
also  receives  four  dollars  a  month  to  form  an  equipment  fund  for  the 
young  officer  when  he  leaves  the  Academy  to  join  his  regiment. 


West  Point  Military  Academy,   U.S.A.     133 

When  the  cadet  has  successfully  completed  his  course  and  received 
his  diploma  of  proficiency  he  is  recommended  for  a  commission  as 
Second  Lieutenant ;  he  bids  farewell  to  "  Cadet  Grey  "  and  dons  the 
"Army  Blue,"  but  before  actually  joining  the  colours  he  is  allowed 
three  months'  leave  to  visit  his  friends  and  relations. 

The  internal  discipline  of  West  Point  is  exceedingly  strict.  No 
cadet  is  allowed  to  be  in  possession  of  any  article  of  dress  save  the 
prescribed  uniform.  His  hair  must  be  trimmed  to  a  certain  length 
and  he  must  be  clean  shaven.  He  cannot  dispose  of  any  articles  be- 
longing to  himself  save  through  and  with  the  approval  of  the  Com- 
mandant. He  is  not  permitted  either  to  borrow  or  to  lend ;  all  arms 
and  public  equipment  in  his  possession  are  periodically  inspected,  and 
he  is  responsible  for  their  proper  maintenance  and  custody.  The  cadet 
may  not  take  in  a  newspaper  without  permission  and  he  is  not  allowed 
to  possess  any  cards,  chess-men,  or  game  materials  of  any  sort.  He 
must  clean  his  own  room,  and  may  not  leave  it  without  permission 
during  "  study  "  hours  or  when  guards  are  posted. 

The  Mess  regulations  are  equally  strict.  The  cadets  are  marched 
to  and  from  the  Mess  Hall ;  each  has  a  fixed  place  at  table  which  he 
must  not  change  without  permission  from  the  Inspector  of  the  Mess ; 
he  must  not  talk  loudly  nor  waste  food  at  table  nor  take  anything  in  the 
way  of  provisions  from  it ;  neither  may  he  rise  without  permission  nor 
remain  seated  after  the  command  to  rise  has  been  given.  He  must  not 
smoke  nor  drink,  nor  even  have  in  his  possession  any  intoxicating 
liquor  or  tobacco ;  he  must  not  fight  with  or  even  challenge  another 
cadet,  and  he  is  prohibited  from  striking  or  disturbing  his  fellow-stu- 
dents, and  must  on  no  account  cause  any  one  of  them  to  "  fag  "  for  him  ; 
if  he  even  reproaches  or  upbraids  another  he  is  liable  to  confinement 
and  must  offer  a  public  apology  to  the  offended  party  in  the  presence 
of  his  CO.  ;  he  may  not  ask  for  or  receive  money  or  supplies,  even 
from  his  parents,  without  the  Superintendent's  permission. 

As  to  liberty  of  movement  outside  the  barracks  and  immediate 
precincts  of  the  College,  a  map  is  displayed  showing  what  districts 
are  inside  and  outside  bounds  and  very  strict  regulations  are  in  force 
in  this  relation.  Permits  are  granted  by  the  Commandant,  but  these 
are  also  limited  by  certain  restrictions. 

For  instance  if  a  permit  be  given  to  a  cadet  to  visit  a  relative,  say,  at  the 
local  hotel,  the  name  and  degree  of  the  relationship  of  the  visitor  must  be 
given  and  the  exact  time  of  the  proposed  visit.     On  arrival  at  the  hotel  the 


134  Aberdeen  University  Review 

cadet  must  write  his  name  and  business  in  a  register  kept  for  the  purpose.  He 
may  not  partake  of  any  meal  at  the  hotel  or  even  apply  for  permission  to  do  so, 
nor  may  he  enter  any  room  save  the  office  and  the  public  rooms  of  the  first 
floor  and  the  dining-room  i  only  when  that  room  is  used  for  dancing ! 

*'  While  you  wrere  at  the  Academy,"  writes  one  of  its  professors  in 
his  advice  to  the  cadet  who  has  completed  his  four  years'  course,  "you 
learned  to  obey  and  thus  became  qualified  to  command."  And  again, 
"He  (the  cadet)  will  learn  his  first  real  lesson  of  life  at  West  Point, 
and  it  will  be  a  most  trying  and  difficult  one.  The  course  of  instruc- 
tion is  a  most  thorough  one,  but  it  is  made  easy  in  consequence  of  the 
perfect  system  of  teaching." 

No  one  who  has  igiven  attention  to  the  nature  of  the  curriculum 
and  to  the  disciplinary  scheme  at  West  Point  can  say  that  these  state- 
ments are  exaggerated.  Still,  to  quote  Henderson  once  more,  "  Four 
years  of  strict  routine,  of  constant  drill  and  implicit  subordination  at 
the  most  impressionable  period  of  life,  proved  (in  1 860  as  to  this  day) 
a  far  better  training  to  command  than  the  desultory  and  intermittent 
service  of  a  citizen  army  ". 

It  is  claimed,  and  not  without  justice,  that  in  this  implicit  subservi- 
ence of  self  to  law,  coupled  with  a  soundly  devised  curriculum,  strenu- 
ously and  faithfully  followed,  lies  the  value  of  the  West  Point  training, 
not  merely  for  those  who  are  destined  to  hold  military  command,  but 
also  for  those  who  may  come  to  occupy  positions  of  trust  or  authority 
in  civil  life. 

**  Nemo  autem  regere  potest,  nisi  quid  et  regi." 

R.  J.  HARVEY-GIBSON. 


The  Glen's  Muster  Roll. 

The  Dominie  loquitur  : 

Hing't  up  aside  the  chum  ley-cheek,  the  aul'  glen's  Muster  Roll, 
A'  names  we  ken  fae  hut  an'  ha',  fae  Penang  to  the  Pole, 
An'  speir  na  gin  I'm  prood  o't — Losh !  coont  them  line  by  line. 
Near  han'  a  hunner  fechtin'  men,  an  they  a'  were  Loons  o'  Mine. 

A'  mine.      It's  jest  like  yesterday  they  sat  there  raw  on  raw, 

Some  tchyauvin'  wi'  the  "  Rule  o'  Three,"  some  widin'  throw  "  Mensa  "  : 

The  Map  o'  Asia's  shoggly  yet  faur  Dysie's  sheemach  head 

Gied  cleeter-clatter  a'  the  time  the  carritches  was  said. 

"  A  limb,"  his  greetin'  granny  swore,  "  the  aul'  deil's  very  limb  "— 

But  Dysie's  dead  an'  drooned  lang  syne;  the  Cressy  coffined  him. 

*'  Man  guns  upon  the  fore  barbette !  "  .  .  What's  that  to  me  an'  you? 

Here's  moss  an'  burn,  the  skailin'  kirk,  aul'  Kissach  beddin  's  soo. 

It's  Peace,  it's  Hame, — but  ower  the   Ben  the  coastal   searchlights 

shine. 
And  we  ken  that  Britain's  bastions  mean — that  sailor  Loon  o'  Mine. 

The  muirlan's  lang,  the  muirlan's  wide,  an'  fa  says  "  ships"  or  **sea"? 
But  the  tang  o'  saut  that's  in  wir  bleed  has  puzzled  mair  than  me. 
There's  Sandy  wi'  the  birstled  shins,  faur  think  ye's  he  the  day  ? 
Oot  where  the  hawser's  tuggin'  taut  in  the  surf  o'  Suvla  Bay ; 
An'  ower  the  spurs  o'  Chanak  Bahr  gied  twa  lang,  stilpert  chiels 
I  think  o'  flappin'  butteries  yet,  or  weyvin'  powets'  creels — 
Exiles  on  far  Australian  plains,  but  the  Lord's  ain  boomerang 
'S  the  Highland  heart  that's  aye  for  hame  hooever  far  it  gang. 
An'  the  winds  that  wail  ower  Anzac  an'  requiem  Lone  Pine 
Are  nae  jest  a'  for  stranger  kin,  for  some  were  Loons  o'  Mine. 

They're  comin'  hame  in  twas  an'  threes  :  there's  Tam  fae  Singapore — 
Yon's  his,  the  string  o'  buckie-beads  abeen  the  aumry  door — 
An'  Dick  Macleod,  his  sanshach  sel'  (Guid  sake,  a  bombardier  1) 
I  see  them  yet  ae  summer  day  come  hodgin'  but  the  fleer : 


136  Aberdeen  University  Review 

** Please,  sir"  (a  habber  an'  a  hoast) — "  Please,  sir"  (a  gasp,  a  gulp, 
Syne  wi'  a  rush)  "Please — sir — can — we — win — oot — to — droon — a — 

fulp?" 
,  .  Hi  Rover,  here  lad ! — ay,  that's  him,  the  fulp  they  didna  droort, 
But  Tarn — puir  Tarn  lies  cauld  an'  stiff  on  some  gray  Belgian  dune ; 
An'  the  Via  Dolorosa's  there,  faur  a  wee  bit  cutty  quine 
Stan's  lookin'  doon  a  teem  hill-road  for  a  sojer  Loon  o*  Mine. 

Fa's  neist?     The  Gaup  -a  Gordon  wi'  the  "Bydand"  on  his  broo, 

Nae  murlacks  dreetlin'  fae  his  pooch,  or  roon  the  weeks  o's  mou', 

Nae  word  o'  groff-write  trackies  on  the  "  Four  best  ways  to  fooge  " — 

He  steed  his  grun'  an'  something  mair,  they  tell  me,  oot  at  Hooge. 

But  ower  the  dyke  I'm  hearin  yet :  "  Lads,  fa's  on  for  a  swap  ? 

A  lang  sook  o'  a  pandrop  for  the  sense  o'  *  verbum  sap '. 

Fack's  death  I  tried  to  min  on't — here's  my  gairten  wi'  the  knot — 

But — bizz ! — a  dhObrack  loupet  as  I  passed  the  muckle  pot." 

Ay,  ye  didna  ken  the  classics,  never  heard  o'  a  co-sine, 

But  here's  my  aul'  lum'  aff  to  ye,  dear  gowket  Loon  0'  Mine. 

They're  handin'  oot  the  halos,  an'  three's  come  to  the  glen — 

There's  Jeemack  taen  his  Sam  Browne  to  his  mither's  but  an'  ben. 

Ay,  they  ca'  me  "  Blawin*  Beelie,"  but  I  never  crawed  sae  crouse 

As  the  day  they  ga  the  V.C.  to  my  filius  nullius. 

But  he  winna  sit  "  Receptions,"  nor  keep  on  his  aureole, 

A'  he  says  is,  "  Cut  the  blether,  an'  rax  ower  the  Bogie  Roll ". 

An'  the  Duke  an's  dother  shook  his  han'  an'  speirt  aboot  his  kin, 

"'Old  family,  yes  :  here  sin'  the  Flood,"  I  smairtly  chippet  in, 

(Fiech!  Noah's?     Na — We'd  ane  wirsels,  ye  ken,  in  '29). 

I'm  nae  the  man  to  stan'  an'  hear  them  lichtlie  Loon  o'  Mine. 

Wir  Lairdie.     That's  his  mither  in  her  doo's-neck  silk  gaun'  by, 

The  podduck,  sae  she  tells  me,  's  haudin'  up  the  H.L.I. 

An'  he's  stan'in'  ower  his  middle  in  the  Flanders  clort  an'  dub — 

Him  'at  eese't  to  scent  his  hanky  an'  speak  o's  mornin'  "tub". 

The  Manse  Loon's  dellin'  divots  on  the  weary  road  to  Lille, 

An'  he  canna  flype  his  stockins,  'cause  they  hinna  tae  nor  heel. 

Sennelager's  gotten  Davie — a'  mou'  fae  lug  to  lug — 

An*  the  Kaiser's  kyaak,  he's  writin',  '11  neither  ryve  nor  rug. 

^'But  mind  ye"  (so  he  post-cairds)  "  I'm  already  ower  the  Rhine." 

Ay,  there's  nae  a  wanworth  o'  them,  though  they  werena  Loom  o'  Mine. 


The  Glen's  Muster  Roll  137 

,  .  You — Robbie.    Memory  pictures :  Front  bench.    A  curly  pow, 

A  chappet  hannie  grippin'  ticht  a  Homer  men't  wi'  tow — 

The  lave  a'  scrammelin'  near  him,  like  bummies  roon  a  bike, 

^' Fat's  this?"     ** Fat's  that?"     He'd  tell  them  a'— ay,  speir  they  fat 

they  like, 
My  hill-foot  lad !     A'  sowl  an'  brain  fae's  bonnet  to  his  beets, 
A  "  Fullarton  "  in  posse — nae  the  first  fun'  fowin'  peats. 
An'  I  see  a  blythe  young  Bajan  gang  whistlin'  doon  the  brae, 
An'  I  hear  a  wistful  Paladin  his  patriot  Credo  say. 
An'  noo,  an'  noo  I'm  waitin'  till  a  puir  thing  hirples  hame — 
Ay  't  's  the  Valley  o'   the   Shadow,  nae  the  mountain  heichti  o' 

Fame. 
An*  where's  the  nimble  nostrum,  the  dogma  fair  and  fine, 
To  still  the  ruggin'  heart  I  hae  for  you,  oh  Loon  o'  Mine  ? 

My  Loons,  my  Loons !     Yon  winnock  gets  the  settin*  sun  the  same, 

Here's  sklates  an'  skailies,  ilka  dask  a'  futtled  wi'  a  name. 

An'  as  I  sit  a  vision  comes  :  Ye' re  troopin  in  aince  mair, 

Ye're  back  fae  Aisne  an'  Marne  an'  Meuse,  Ypres  an'  Festubert ; 

Ye're  back  on  weary,  bleedin'  feet — you,  you  that  danced  an'  ran — 

For  every  lauchin'  loon  I  kent  I  see  a  hell-scarred  man. 

Not  mine  but  yours  to  question  now !     You  lift  unhappy  eyes — 

"  Ah,  Maister,  tell's  fat  a*  this  means."     And  I,  ye  thocht  sae  wise, 

Maun  answer  wi*  the  bairn  words  ye  said  to  me  langsyne : 

"  I  dinna  ken,  I  dinna  ken."     Fa  does,  oh  Loons  o'  Mine? 

MARY  SYMON. 


138 


Shakespeare — "Henry  V." 

(Act  III.,  Sc.  I.) 

K.  Hen.  Once  more  unto  the  breach,  dear  friends,  once  more ; 
Or  close  the  wall  up  with  our  English  dead. 
In  peace  there's  nothing  so  becomes  a  man 
As  modest  stillness  and  humility  : 
But  when  the  blast  of  war  blows  in  our  ears, 
Then  imitate  the  action  of  the  tiger  ; 
Stiffen  the  sinews,  summon  up  the  blood, 
Disguise  fair  nature  with  hard-favour'd  rage ; 
Then  lend  the  eye  a  terrible  aspect ; 
Let  it  pry  through  the  portage  of  the  head 
Like  the  brass  cannon  ;  let  the  brow  o  erwhelm  it 
As  fearfully  as  doth  a  galled  rock 
O'erhang  and  jutty  his  confounded  base, 
Swill'd  with  the  wild  and  wasteful  ocean. 
Now  set  the  teeth  and  stretch  the  nostril  wide, 
Hold  hard  the  breath  and  bend  up  every  spirit 
To  his  full  height.     On,  on,  you  noblest  English, 
Whose  blood  is  fet  from  fathers  of  war-proof ! 
Fathers  that,  like  so  many  Alexanders, 
Have  in  these  parts  from  morn  till  even  fought 
And  sheathed  their  swords  for  lack  of  argument : 
Dishonour  not  your  mothers  ;  now  attest 
That  those  whom  you  call'd  fathers  did  beget  you. 
Be  copy  now  to  men  of  grosser  blood, 
And  teach  them  how  to  war.     And  you,  good  yeo- 
men, 


139 


AAAA  TI2  EY  AIABAS  MENETO  HO^IN  AM^OTEPOISIN 
STHPIX0EI2  Eni  THS  XEIA02  OAOY^I  AAKON. 

TYRTAEUS. 

BA2IAET2.  OvK  aS0i9,  ZvSpeSj  apjiov  cts  XLOoa-TraSij 

T€L)((ov  IT ,  rj  irXrjpcoaeT*  alyji'qTaiv  v€Kpol% ; 
npeneL  yap  ovSev  /xaXXoi/  rj  7rpdo)s  €)(€lv 
Koi  cro)(l)p6vo)s  y  orav  jxev  elprjvr)  ^vwfj  • 
€VT  av  S'  oivrr)  Sijpios  KaTaLyvcrrjy 
a-fxepSvov  ^pefiovcra,  TiypLoq  Xvcrorai/  Slktjv^ 
opOovv  re  yvla  Ka^avat^icr ai  xokov, 
opyrj  T  dfJLOpcfyo)  /fctXXo?  dWoiovv  c^vo'cw?, 
(fiopeiv  T€  yopycoTT  ofijiar,  iK<l>aviv6'  ontos 
veo)s  KeXaLvrjs  eyi^okov  ^aX/CT^Xaroi/, 
S^ois  <^o^>7/LLa,  Tcts  r  o^pv<;  ex^Lv  peOov^ 
KaTT]p€(l>eLSt  ft»s  irirpov  os  TTpov^oiv  I3d0p(p 
iireKpefxda-Orjy  ;(ei/x,acrtz/  7ro\v(l>66pois 
Opava-BivTi,  Xd/Bpoi^  t  olSfiaaiv  KeKXyafiivci)^ 
dXX'  eV,  dirpl^  expvre^;,  w  <j>lXol,  yvdOovs 
plvas  X^^V  (^vcrare,  /cd/c  twp  TrXevfiovo)}/ 
TO  TTvevfia  firj  ^^avi€T  dXX'  iyKXyjcraTef 
OvfJLOP  S'  diravTes  evTovoif;  iiraCpeTe, 
(Tovcrd^  CIS  TO  wpocrOeVf  evyevrj  fiXacTTyjfiaTCL 
iraripoiv  ''ApeoD^  I3a(f)alcnv  ev  nepLaKeXoiv, 
ot  KouOdh^  ai)(jxd(ravT€^y  AtavTos  SCKrjVf 
TTavTjfxepoL  irdXai  nor  eh  reXos  crirdvei 
dvTi(TTar(x)v  eXrjyov  •  dXXd  p/qTpdcnv 
K7)Xlha  firj  npoa-dwreT  al(r)(vvrj<;  triKpdv, 
7raT€p(i)v  8'  dKOTjeLV  TralBe^  ov  \\s€.vh(avvyiOi. 
iKfjLapTvpelT€f  Tois  dyevvT]TOL^  <^vcrw 
cvt/fV)(ta  Set/ci/wTCS  ^  iiayr^riov 
Tots  dXKifJLOis  •  vfieis  Se,  To^oras  Xeyco, 


Whose  limbs  were  made  in  England,  show  us  here 

The  mettle  of  your  pasture  ;  let  us  swear 

That  you  are  worth  your  breeding  ;  which  I  doubt  not ; 

For  there  is  none  of  you  so  mean  and  base, 

That  hath  not  noble  lustre  in  your  eyes. 

I  see  you  stand  like  greyhounds  in  the  slips, 

Straining  upon  the  start.     The  game's  afoot : 

Follow  your  spirit,  and  upon  this  charge 

Cry  '*  God  for  Harry,  England,  and  Saint  George !  " 


THY  VOICE  IS  HEARD. 

Thy  voice  is  heard  thro'  rolling  drums, 

That  beat  to  battle  where  he  stands  : 
Thy  face  across  his  fancy  comes, 

And  gives  the  battle  to  his  hands  ; 
A  moment,  while  the  trumpets  blow. 

He  sees  his  brood  about  thy  knee 
The  next,  like  fire  he  meets  the  foe. 

And  strikes  him  dead  for  thine  and  thee. 


TENNYSON. 


i4i; 


vvv  SeL^aO'  TJfJLLv  olop  i^  otaq  Tpo<jyrj<; 
KeKTrjcrde  Ovfiov  cjo-nep  eK  vofiov  fiord, 
irlo'Tiv  vifMovTes  €v  /LtctX'  €l86(tlv  y  o/io)? 
iorOXrj^  rpo<^i9S  a>9  ov^i  rrJcrS*  eXXeiTrerc. 
ouSels  yap  atSe  SvcryevT]^  icmv  (jyvcreL 
Sicrr  ofijjia  firj  yevvaiov  dcrTpdnTeiv  crcXa?. 
6p(o  fikv  v/Lia?  oTKvXaKas  o)?  MoXocr<rtou9 
opycavra^  acrcreLV  ttj^  t  aypa<;  XeXufxiiivovs. 
iovy  lov,  7r€(l)r)V€Ps  iK  r  €v/ca/>8tas 
fioaT  i<f)opix7}divT€<;  i^  ei^o?  poOov 
"  yevoLjieff  rifxels  <rvv  deols  vLKr^(f)6pot..'' 

JOHN  L.  IRVINE, 
1915.  Tertian. 


TIMHEN  TE  TAP  E2TI  KAI  AFAAON  ANAPI  MAXES0AI 
THS  nEPI  KAI  HAIAON  K0YPIAIH2  T  AAOXOY. 

CALLINUS. 

'Ifxeprrf  (rddev  av8ri  iv  ovaariv  dvSpos  ioiKtv 

y}\elvi  ov  Trarayel  TVjJLTrava,  crrjfjLa  P'd-)(ris, 
a£<^i/iSca)9  T€  (TOP  Ofifxay  yvvaiy  <l>p€(T\v  aicrt  TrpoaiiTTa^ 

Kol  fxdy  dhrjpiTov  )(€pcrlv  ip7JK€  /leVo?. 
tvtOov  ecus  crdkwLy^  la^ei  KXayyrjSop  ^Xpifja, 

nal^ovT  elSc  tckt)  yovvaaiv  dfx(f)l  reols, 
alt/ra  S'  i(f>opp.aivmv  SrjoLS,  <jf>Xoyi  ct/ceXos  dX/o;i/, 

rivapicreVf  nepl  crov  TwvSi  t  dfivvofxevos* 

J.  HARROWER. 


"British  Diplomacy   1902- 19 14'*/ 
11. 

The  general  situation  in  Persia  in  1905  bears  a  strong  resem- 
l)lance  to  that  of  Morocco — a  decaying  civilization  in  dangerous  touch 
with  Westernism ;  administrative  anarchy  and  corruption ;  and  the 
rivalry  of  European  interests.  By  the  year  1905,  when  the  story 
opens,  the  Shah  Muzafifer-ed-Din  had  squandered  his  father's  treasure, 
alienated  most  of  the  Imperial  and  national  domain,  raised  foreign 
loans  at  ruinous  interest  (from  12-15  per  cent),  and  mortgaged  the 
Customs  to  foreign  control.  His  government  was  impotent,  the  public 
services  were  paralysed,  corruption  and  peculation  were  rife,  and  dis- 
<;ontent  was  general.  In  December,  1905,  the  storm  broke.  The 
powerful  College  of  Priests  challenged  the  Shah's  misrule.  Vague 
pledges  of  reform  were  given  by  the  Government,  and  early  in  1906  a 
Council  was  nominated  to  discuss  reform.  But  nothing  came  of  it,  and 
in  May,  1906,  a  stroke  of  paralysis  made  the  Shah  more  than  ever  de- 
pendent upon  the  reactionaries  who  surrounded  him.  Popular  agita- 
tion, therefore,  was  resumed.  In  July  the  priests  fulminated  against 
the  Government  from  their  pulpits,  and  the  summary  shooting  of  one 
of  their  number  brought  the  quarrel  to  an  issue.  On  5  August  the 
Shah  accepted  a  National  Assembly.  On  7  October  he  opened  it  in 
person,  and  after  some  delay  signed  a  definitive  Constitution  on  30 
December,  1906*. 

Muzaffer-ed-Din  briefly  survived  his  surrender.  He  died  on  8 
January,  1907,  in  an  odour  of  popularity  as  the  "father  of  Persian 
liberties  ".*  His  successor,  Mohammed  AH,  at  first  adopted  a  reserved 
attitude  towards  the  Assembly,  which  that  body's  inability  to  provide 
public  funds  or  to  elaborate  a  constructive  policy  in  some  measure 
justified.*     By  May,  1907,  the  Court  was  openly  hostile  to  it  and  the 

^  A  Paper  read  before  the  Historical  Association  of  Scotland  (North-Eastern  Branch), 
-92  October,  1915. 

"  Cd.  4581,  No.  3.  3  Ibid.,  No  16.  *  Ibid.,  No.  17. 


"British  Diplomacy    1902-1914"       143 

financial  situation  was  critical :  the  police  were  on  strike  for  their  pay ; 
a  proposed  National  Bank  was  unable  to  float  for  lack  of  subscriptions, 
the  rich  refusing  to  associate  themselves  with  a  risky  venture ;  ^  the 
troops,  the  diplomatic  and  civil  services  were  unpaid,  and  even  the 
Cossack  brigade  was  two  months  in  arrears.* 

That  was  the  situation  in  Persia  when  the  Anglo-Russian  Agree- 
ment was  signed  on  31  August,  1907.  It  was,  as  Sir  Edward  Grey 
called  it,^  "  a  comparatively  simple  instrument,"  a  "  self-denying  ordi- 
nance," framed,  so  far  as  its  Persian  Articles  are  concerned,  in  the 
interests  of  our  Indian  Empire.  At  the  bottom  of  it  was  our  fear  lest 
Russia,  by  lending  money,  and  by  building  roads,  railways,  or  tele- 
graphs, might  obtain  political  influence  in  those  parts  of  Persia  adjacent 
to  our  frontier.  The  danger  was  increased  by  the  desperate  state  of 
Persia,  and  could  be  met  in  two  ways :  either  by  military  precautions, 
a  step  which  would  engender  suspicion,  or  by  agreement,  which  would 
remove  it.     Obviously  the  latter  was  preferable,  and  it  was  adopted. 

The  Persian  Articles  of  the  Anglo-Russian  Agreement  (i)  pledged 
the  two  Governments,*  '*to  respect  the  integrity  and  independence"  of 
the  kingdom,  and  (2)  recognized  that,  "  for  geographical  and  economic 
reasons,"  each  Power  had  "  a  special  interest  in  the  maintenance  of  peace 
and  order  "  on  their  respective  frontiers.  Both  therefore  bound  them- 
selves not  to  seek  concessions  for  banks,  railways,  telegraphs,  and  so  forth, 
in  the  other's  sphere  of  interest,  Russia's  in  the  north,  Great  Britain's  in 
the  east.  In  general  terms  they  expressed  themselves  as  **  sincerely 
desiring  the  preservation  of  order  throughout  Persia".  But  Great 
Britain,  at  any  rate,  was  not  prepared  to  act  as  the  missionary  of 
Liberalism  in  Persia.  Over  and  over  again  Sir  Edward  Grey  endea- 
voured to  make  that  clear  to  some  of  his  own  party.  '*  If  we  give  advice 
to  Persia,"  he  told  the  House  of  Common  on  24  March,  1909,  "  we 
are  not  going  to  undertake  responsibility  for  the  particular  kind  of 
government  which  Persia  is  to  have."  Frankly,  he  held  the  Shah's 
*'one  of  the  worst  governments  any  country  could  have".  But  if 
Persia  preferred  it,  that  was  Persia's  aflair.  Provided  it  was  efficient 
and  friendly,  Persia's  neighbours  had  no  right  to  intervene. 

On  5  October,  1907,  the  text  of  the  Anglo-Russian  Agreement 
was  communicated  to  the  Assembly  and  elicited,  apparently,  no  hostile 

1  Cd.  4581,  No.  28.  '  Ibid.,  No.  32.  »  House  of  Commons,  24  March,  1909. 

*  •♦  Parliamentary  Papers,"  Treaty  Series,  No.  34,  1907. 


144  Aberdeen  University  Review 

criticism.^  But  the  increasing  gravity  of  the  internal  situation  made 
the  Anglo-Russian  entente  particularly  opportune.  In  December,  1907, 
the  Shah  planned  a  coup  ditat  against  the  Mejliss.^  Two  months  later 
(8  February,  1908)  an  attempt  was  made  upon  his  life.^  On  23 
June,  1 908,  he  gave  orders  to  arrest  the  popular  leaders.  A  genera! 
fight  followed.  Many  were  killed  and  the  Assembly  Hall  was  closed.* 
Its  President  and  other  officials  took  "  bast "  in  the  foreign  Lega- 
tions. Tehran  was  put  under  the  control  of  Colonel  Liakhofif,  the 
Russian  commander  of  the  Cossacks  in  Persian  service,  the  other 
towns  of  the  kingdom  were  placed  under  martial  law,^  and  on  26  June, 
1908,  the  Assembly  was  dissolved  by  proclamation.  A  new  one  was 
promised  in  three  months'  time.^     The  Constitution  was  in  ruins. 

The  Shah  showed  no  haste  to  summon  a  new  Assembly,  and  was 
credited  with  the  intention  to  suppress  the  Constitution  altogether 
By  September,  1908,  a  critical  situation  developed  at  Tabriz,  where 
the  Nationalist  forces  already  numbered  about  10,000  and  the  lives 
of  Christians  and  foreigners  were  in  danger.^  In  these  circum- 
stances, **  in  the  interests  of  the  definite  restoration  of  peace  in  the 
country,"  the  British  and  Russian  Legations  (8  September,  1908), 
urged  the  Shah  "  to  announce  his  decision  to  maintain  the  Constitu- 
tion  and  to  summon  a  new  Assembly  ".^  But  the  Shah  was  obdu- 
rate, and  refused  to  summon  the  Assembly  until  Tabriz  had  been 
pacified.^ 

From  this  point  until  the  Shah's  abdication  in  July,  1909,  nearly 
a  year  later,  the  White  Paper  tells  a  story  of  growing  tumult  and 
disorder,  which  made  it  difficult  for  Russia  to  remain  passive.  In  a 
Memorandum  of  16  January,  1909,  her  Foreign  Minister  urged  that  the 
two  allied  Governments  should  make  a  joint  representation  to  the 
Shah  regarding  his  duties  as  a  Constitutional  Monarch,  and  at  the  same 
time  offer  a  considerable  loan  "to  defray  the  immediate  expenses 
necessitated  by  the  introduction  of  reforms  ".^^  Sir  Edward  Grey  did 
not  agree.  In  his  view  the  best  course  to  adopt  was  for  Great  Britain 
and  Russia  "  to  stand  entirely  aloof  from  the  internal  affairs  of  Persia, 
allowing  the  existing  chaos  to  endure  till  whatever  element  in  the 
country  is  strongest  gains  the  day  "."    That  his  antipathy  to  interven- 

1  Cd.  4581,  No.  52.  2/Wi.,  No.  92.  ^Ihid.,  No.  107. 

*  Ihid.,  Nos.  132, 133,  138.  *Ibid.,  No,  211,  End.  II. '    « Ibid.,  No.  144. 

'  Ibid.,  No.  230.  ^Ibid.,  Nos.  237,  238^  End.    *Ibid.,  No.  240. 

lo  Cd.  4733,  No.  63,  End.  ^^Ibid.,  3  February,  1909.  No.  70,  End. 


^^  British  Diplomacy   1902-19 14"       145 

tion  was  sound  is  supported  by  the  strong  anti-foreign  feeling  which 
developed  during  1909  and  1 9 10,  and  in  the  significant  warning  of  the 
Nationalists  to  the  two  Powers  in  May,  1909,  after  the  Russians  had 
relieved  Tabriz,  to  "  interfere  no  further  in  their  internal  affairs  ".^ 

By  the  end  of  March,  1909,  the  Nationalist  movement  had  spread 
to  the  ports  of  the  Persian  Gulf.  Bunder  Abbas  and  Bushire  threw  off 
their  allegiance  to  the  Shah  and  passed  under  the  control  of  the  Nation- 
alist leaders.^  On  8  April,  1909,  Russia  again  suggested  a  joint  repre- 
sentation to  the  Shah,  and  a  loan  to  facilitate  the  institution  of  reforms.^ 
But  Sir  Edward  Grey  still  objected.  In  his  opinion  a  loan  would 
strengthen  the  Shah's  reactionary  courses  rather  than  aid  him  to 
reform.*  In  any  case  he  refused  to  advance  money  to  other  than  an 
elected  Persian  Assembly.*  But  the  situation  in  Tabriz,  besieged  by 
the  royal  forces  and  in  dire  straits  for  food,  and  the  predicament  of 
the  foreign  Consuls  and  population  there,  made  it  impossible  for 
diplomacy  to  remain  passive.  Therefore,  but  with  misgiving.  Sir 
Edward  Grey  sanctioned  Russia's  military  intervention,  but  with  the 
stipulation  that  nothing  should  be  done  "  to  favour  either  one  side 
or  the  other,"  ^  and  that  the  contemplated  expedition  should  be  "of  an 
entirely  temporary  character  ".'^  Meanwhile,  on  22  April,  the  two  Le- 
gations made  an  identic  communication  to  the  Shah,  urged  him  to  fulfil 
his  promise  to  summon  a  Mejliss,  and  let  him  understand  that  no 
financial  assistance  would  reach  him  until  he  had  done  so. 

On  30  April,  1909,^  Tabriz  was  relieved  by  the  Russians.  But 
the  event  made  the  situation  gloomier  than  ever  ;  for  the  Nationalists 
announced  their  intention  to  march  on  Tehran.*  The  mere  threat  in- 
duced the  Shah  to  accept  the  advice  tendered  by  the  Legations  three 
weeks  earlier,^^  and  a  Rescript  was  published  asserting  his  intention  to 
reopen  Parliament  as  soon  as  an  Electoral  Law  had  been  prepared.^^ 
On  23  June  the  Electoral  Law  received  his  signature,^^  and  on  i  July 
it  was  promulgated.^*  But  Mohammed  All's  repentance  was  belated. 
On  13  July  the  Nationalists  took  possession  of  Tehran.^*  On  the 
1 7th  the  Shah  abdicated,  and  on  1 8  July  his  elder  son,  Ahmed  Mirza, 
a  boy  of  thirteen,  was  proclaimed  in  his  room.^* 

1  Cd.  4733,  No.  266.  2  jbij^^  No.  171.  »  Ibid.,  No.  177,  End. 

*  Ibid.,  No.  95.  5  Ibid.,  17  April,  No.  193.  «  Ibid.,  20  April,  No.  ai2. 

'  IHd.,  23  April,  No.  240.       » Ibid.,  No.  263.  •  Ibid.,  No.  266. 

i»  Ibid.,  No.  270.  "  Cd.  5120,  No.  40,  End.  i«  Ibid.,  No.  65. 

"  See  the  text  of  it  in  ibid..  No.  198, End.  **  Ibid.,  No.  112. 
^*  Ibid.,  N08.  139,  199. 

10 


146  Aberdeen  University  Review 

For  the  next  eighteen  months,  to  the  close  of  the  year  1 910,  and 
the  eve  of  Mr.  Morgan  Shuster's  descent  upon  Persia,  the  W^hite  Paper 
reveals  gathering  disappointment  at  the  meagre  results  of  the  revolu- 
tion. The  second  Persian  Assembly  proved  little  more  competent 
than  its  predecessor.  It  was  opened  by  the  Shah  on  1 5  November, 
1909,^  and  on  30  November  the  reconstructed  Ministry  announced  its 
programme  :  reform  of  the  army,  police,  and  road-guards  ;  an  immedi- 
ate foreign  loan  of  ;^500,000  and  consolidation  of  the  public  debt ; 
financial  reform  under  foreign  advisers ;  and  the  reorganization  of  the 
Government  departments  "on  modern  lines''.^  The  scheme  was 
heroic,  but  remained  unfulfilled  for  lack  of  money.  The  Treasury 
was  empty,  and  an  application  was  made  forthwith  (13  Decem- 
ber) to  the  Russian  and  British  Legations  for  a  loan.^  After  an 
interval  of  two  months  the  two  Powers  (16  February,  1 910)  agreed 
to  advance  ^400,000  ;  but  on  stringent  conditions.  They  reserved  for 
their  approval  the  objects  upon  which  it  was  to  be  expended,  ear-marked 
part  of  it  for  the  engagement  of  French  officials  in  the  Ministry  of 
Finance,  and  part  of  it  for  "  the  organization  of  a  sufficient  armed  force 
for  the  security  of  the  commercial  means  of  communication,"  claim- 
ing a  veto  upon  the  choice  of  its  foreign  instructors.  They  de- 
manded for  their  two  Governments  priority  of  option  in  the  case 
of  all  railway  concessions  to  foreign  capitalists.  They  hypothecated 
the  Customs  and,  if  necessary,  the  Mint  revenues,  as  security  for 
the  loan.*  The  terms  were  not  unreasonable,  but  the  National- 
ists were  determined  not  to  have  dealings  with  the  two  Powers.^ 
They  therefore  opened  negotiations  with  a  corporation  styled  the 
"  International  Syndicate  (Limited),"  which  undertook  to  advance 
;^5 00,000,  but  on  more  onerous  terms  than  those  the  two  Lega- 
tions had  proposed.  It  demanded  as  security  the  Persian  Govern- 
ment's petroleum  interests,  Mint  profits,  uncharged  revenues,  and  re- 
ceipts from  posts  and  telegraphs.  Apart  from  political  considerations, 
these  conditions  were  not  tolerable  to  the  two  Powers.  Persia  was 
in  heavy  arrears  to  the  Imperial  Bank,  and  the  pledging  of  her  assets 
to  a  new  creditor  was  not  reasonable.  They  therefore  quashed  the 
transaction.* 

So  the  Treasury  remained  empty.     The  general  situation  in  the 

1  Cd.  5656,  No.  7.  ^Ibid.,  No.  10,  End.;  No.  14  End. 

^Ibid.,  No.  14.  *Ibid.,  No.  45,  End. 

»/6trf.   No.  53.  6/^,7,.^  No.  67,  End.  I. 


*^  British  Diplomacy   1^^1914"       147 

country  showed  no  improvment.  The  policing  of  the  roads  was  as 
inefficient  as  ever,  and  life  and  commerce  were  insecure.  On  28  July, 
1 9 10,  Sir  Edward  Grey  drew  Russia's  attention  to  the  recent  robbery 
of  a  large  British-Indian  caravan ;  the  repeated  destruction  of  the 
Indo-European  Telegraph  Company's  wires ;  two  mail  robberies ;  an 
assault  upon  the  Telegraph  Company's  servants  within  seven  miles 
of  Tehran  itself;  outrages  on  the  Tehran-Ispahan  road,  and  outrages 
on  the  Ispahan-Bushire  road,  which  rendered  them  scarcely  passable.^ 

At  length,  on  14  October,  1910,  the  British  Minister  warned  the 
Persian  Ministry  that  unless  order  was  restored  within  three  months,^ 
Great  Britain  would  insist  upon  the  organization  of  a  local  military 
force  under  Anglo-Indian  officers  to  police  the  Bushire- Ispahan  road. 
The  existing  state  of  affairs,  the  Minister  declared,  was  simply  "  lively 
anarchy".^  Persia  replied  defiantly  (21  October).  She  denounced 
the  British  proposal  to  pay  the  projected  force  by  an  increase  of  10  per 
cent  on  the  southern  Customs  as  "  contrary  to  the  undoubted  inde- 
pendence of  the  Persian  Government,"  and  suggested  that  the  revenue 
from  that  source  should  be  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  Persian  Govern- 
ment itself  to  carry  out  the  purposes  which  the  British  Govern- 
ment had  in  view.'*  In  fact,  no  steps  were  taken  in  either  direction, 
and  the  year  1910  closed  upon  a  dark  prospect  which  the  mischief- 
making  Press  of  the  Triple  Alliance  clouded  still  more  by  representing 
the  Note  of  14  October  as  foreshadowing  the  partition  of  Persia  between 
the  two  Entente  Powers. 

The  Blue  Book  for  191 1  reveals  no  improvement  in  Persia's  inter- 
nal state.  Reports  on  the  disturbed  state  of  the  roads  occur  on 
almost  every  page,  and  in  the  course  of  the  summer  both  the  ex- 
Shah  Mohammed  Ali  and  his  brother  Prince  Salar-ed-Dowleh  chal- 
lenged the  established  regime.  Owing  to  their  refusal  to  finance  the 
government  except  upon  their  own  terms,  and  their  constant  protesta- 
tions against  the  semi-anarchical  state  of  the  country,  Russia  and  Great 
Britain  were  objects  of  increasing  suspicion  to  the  Persian  Nationalists, 
and  Russia's  continued  presence  at  Tabriz  made  her  the  particular 
target  of  their  enmity. 

At  this  critical  moment  Mr.  Morgan  Shuster  makes  his  entree.  He 
was  a  young  American  (his  photograph  suggests  an  age  of  between 

1  Cd.  5656,  No.  136.  "^Ihid.,  No.  178.  *Ihid,,  No.  189. 

^  Ibid.,  No.  199,  End.     See  also  Cd.  6104,  No.  19. 


148  Aberdeen  University  Review 

thirty  and  forty),  who  recently  had  reorganized  the  Customs  service  of 
the  Philippines,  and  had  acted  as  Secretary  of  Public  Instruction  and  a 
member  of  the  Commission  of  those  islands.  ^  On  the  recommendation 
of  the  American  Government,  he  was  appointed  on  2  February,  191 1, 
to  act  as  Treasurer-General  of  the  Persian  Empire  for  a  period  of  three 
years,^  and  arrived  in  Tehran  on  12  May.  ^  Almost  exactly  eight 
months  later  (on  11  January,  191 2),  what  Mr.  Shuster  himself  calls 
"  the  brief  and  disappointing  chapter  of  American  financial  adminis- 
tration "  in  Persia  *  came  to  an  inglorious  end. 

Mr.  Shuster' s  account  of  his  mission  makes  interesting  reading. 
But  outside  the  Persian  Committee  in  this  country,  and  its  prot^gis 
in  Persia,  it  must  be  plain  to  every  reader  that  Mr.  Shuster  was 
"  impossible ".  He  took  with  him  frank  contempt  for  diplomatic 
convenances,  utter  disregard  of  a  delicate  international  situation,  and  a 
prejudiced  interpretation  of  Persia's  domestic  problems.  He  had  no 
knowledge  of  the  country  before  his  arrival,  outside  Professor  Browne's 
book  on  "The  Persian  Revolution,"*  and  learned  from  it  that  the 
Persian  Nationalists  had  the  monopoly  of  credit,  sense,  and  honesty, 
and  that  Great  Britain  and  Russia  especially  were  bent  upon  subordin- 
ating Persia  to  their  own  interests.*  He  refused  to  call  upon  their 
Ministers  on  his  arrival,  and  records  with  satisfaction  the  Persians'  ap- 
proval of  what  he  calls  "  this  little  by-play  "  .  His  account  of  his  first 
meeting  with  the  British  and  Russian  Ministers  ^  will,  for  most  people, 
I  imagine,  sufficiently  dispose  of  his  fitness  for  a  post  of  diplomatic 
delicacy. 

It  is  characteristic  of  Mr.  Shuster's  tempestuous  diplomacy  that, 
arriving  at  Tehran  on  12  May,  he  obtained  on  30  May,  a  Law  which 
gave  him  complete  control  of  a  loan  of  ;^  1,2 50,000,  contracted  with 
the  Imperial  Bank  of  Persia  (5  April)  shortly  before  his  arrival,^  and 
on  13  June  received  '*the  direct  and  effective  control  of  all  financial 
and  fiscal  operations  of  the  Persian  Government " .  *  Not  a  penny 
thenceforth  could  be  spent  by  or  allotted  to  any  of  the  public  depart- 
ments without  his  approval.  Mr.  Shuster,  in  fact,  so  long  as  he  remained 
agreeable  to  his  employer,  was  Dictator  of  Persia.     He  proceeded  to 

1  Cd.  6104,  No.  36.  «  /Wd.,  No.  52,  End.  •  iW<f.,  No.  128,  End. 

*  "  The  Strangling  of  Persia,"  London,  1912,  p.  208.  •  Ihid.^  p.  50. 

«  See  his  letter  to  "  The  Times,"  in  "  The  Strangling  of  Persia,"  Appendix  C. 

'  "  The  Strangling  of  Persia,"  pp.  69-70. 

•Cd.  6x04,  No.  151.  End.  •/Wii.,  No.  153,  End. 


^^  British  Diplomacy   1902-1914"       149 

exercise  his  authority.  The  Minister  of  War,  whose  requirements  were 
not  sympathetically  considered  by  the  American  Treasurer-General, 
actually  jumped  into  his  carriage  in  a  huff  and  told  his  coachman  to 
"  drive  to  Europe  " .  ^  A  more  acute  quarrel  followed  with  M.  Monard» 
the  Belgian  Administrator-General  of  Customs,  who  resented  the  com- 
pulsion, under  the  Law  of  13  June,  to  submit  his  accounts  to  the 
Treasurer-General,  and  endeavoured  to  evade  the  necessity.  Mr. 
Shuster  merely  dishonoured  M.  Monard's  cheques  at  the  bank,  ^  and 
won  an  easy  victory. 

More  serious  was  a  quarrel  in  which  Mr.  Shuster  involved  himself 
with  the  Russian  and  British  Legations.  Shortly  before  his  arrival, 
in  order  to  improve  the  conditions  upon  the  public  roads,  the  Persian 
Government  had  resolved  (January,  191 1)  to  appoint  Swedish  officers 
to  organize  a  police  force.'  On  1 5  August  the  Swedes  arrived.*  Mr, 
Shuster,  however,  concluded  that,  unless  he  had  a  military  force  ex- 
clusively at  his  own  disposal,  there  was  little  chance  of  the  Treasury 
gathering  the  taxes  due  to  it.  Therefore,  but  for  reasons  which  he 
does  not  make  convincing,*  he  rejected  the  Swedish  gendarmerie,  and 
constituted  a  separate  force  for  Treasury  business.  To  organize  it  he  se- 
lected Major  Stokes,  of  the  Indian  Army,  Military  Attach^  of  the  British 
Legation  at  Tehran,  whose  duty  there  was  on  the  point  of  expiring. 
Sir  Edward  Grey  was  applied  to  for  permission  and  stated  the  con- 
ditions on  which  alone  Major  Stokes's  employment  could  be  counten- 
anced. In  the  first  place,  he  could  not  become  an  official  of  the  Persian 
Treasury  and  retain  his  commission  in  the  British  Army.  In  the  second 
place,  if  Russia  denounced  Major  Stokes's  appointment  as  a  breach 
of  the  1 907  Agreement — for  the  scope  of  his  duty  was  not  to  be  re- 
stricted to  the  British  sphere — the  British  Foreign  Office  declared  in 
advance  its  inability  to  oppose  her.'  In  characteristically  extrava- 
gant language  Mr.  Shuster  calls  this  "a  cold-blooded  attempt  to 
intimidate  the  Persian  Government  in  the  exercise  of  its  most  element- 
ary sovereign  rights".^  "Does  your  Government  quite  realize  the 
position  in  which  it  is  placing  me  before  the  Persian  people?"  he 
writes  to  the  British  Minister  at  Tehran.®  He  drew  no  instruction 
from  the  fact  that,  in  order  to  avoid  raising  an  issue  between  herself 
and  Russia  and  Great  Britain,   Persia  had  imported  her  Treasurer- 

^  Shuster,  op.  cit.,  p.  gx.  *  Ibid,,  p.  87.  »Cd.  6104,  No.  11. 

*Ibid.,  No.  282.  »  See  his  op.  cit.,  p.  97. 

•  Cd.  6104,  No.  249.  '  Op.  cit.,  p.  100.  '  Ibid,,  p.  xoi. 


150  Aberdeen  University  Review 

General  from  America,  her  Customs  Administrator-General  from 
Belgium,  and  the  officers  of  her  gendarmerie  from  Sweden.  The 
Anglo-Russian  Agreement  itself  and  the  situation  that  produced  it 
should  have  suggested  to  him  that  it  was  impolitic  to  violate  its 
spirit  and  intent.  Mr.  Shuster  asserts  that  no  one  but  Major  Stokes 
could  do  the  work  required  of  him.  But  that  is  so  incredible  a  state- 
ment that  one  suspects  the  invitation  to  Major  Stokes  to  have  been  a 
deliberate  attempt  to  make  mischief.  At  the  best,  it  was  a  tactless 
blunder. 

As  Sir  Edward  Grey  had  foreseen,  Russia  objected  to  the  proposal. 
The  Russian  Press  described  it  as  threatening  "an  undesirable  com- 
plication," ^  and  the  Government  held  the  same  view.  But  to  meet 
Mr.  Shuster's  wishes  as  far  as  possible,  it  was  suggested  that  Major 
Stokes's  activities  should  be  restricted  to  Ispahan,  practically  outside 
the  Russian  sphere.  Mr.  Shuster,  however,  rejected  the  compromise 
"  emphatically,"  ^  and  eventually  (2  December)  the  British  Government 
instructed  Major  Stokes  to  withdraw  his  acceptance  of  the  appoint- 
ment.'' 

In  spite  of  the  warning,  Mr.  Shuster  appointed  as  his  agent  at 
Tabriz  a  British  subject  named  Lecoffre,  who  was  known  as  a  strong 
Russophobe.*  Here  again,  the  reasons  he  urges  to  justify  the 
appointment  of  this  particular  man  read  unconvincingly,^  and  Sir 
Edward  Grey  once  more  supported  the  objections  of  the  Russian 
Government.^  A  final  episode  terminated  Mr.  Shuster's  Persian  career. 
On  the  instructions  of  the  Persian  Government,  he  attached  the 
property  of  Shoa-es-Sultaneh,  the  ex-Shah's  brother.  But  on  the 
ground,  actual  or  alleged,  that  the  Prince  was  under  financial  obliga- 
tions to  the  Russian  Discount  Bank,^  his  men  were  resisted  by  the 
Persian  Cossacks,  acting  under  the  directions  of  the  Russian  Consul- 
General.  An  acrimonious  controversy  with  Russia  followed,  em- 
bittered by  the  fact  that,  with  characteristic  indiscretion,  Mr.  Shuster, 
though  an  official  of  the  Persian  Government,  published  in  **The 
Times  "  of  10  and  1 1  November,  191 1,  a  fierce  attack  upon  the  Anglo- 
Russian  Agreement  in  general  and  upon  Russian  policy  in  Persia  in 
particular,  an  offence  enhanced  by  the  fact  that  the  letter  was  pub- 
lished  broadcast   throughout    Persia.      Russia's    patience   at    length 

1  Cd.  6104,  No.  253.  2  Cd.  6105,  No.  10.  3  jbid.  No.  209. 

*  Ibid.,  No.  77.  5  ii,id,^  No.  89.  •  Ibid,,  No.  95. 

'  Ibid.,  No.  loi.,  End. 


"British  Diplomacy    1902- 19 14"       151 

broke  down.  She  refused  to  tolerate  Mr.  Shuster  any  longer,  and  on 
17  November,  Sir  Edward  Grey  intimated  that  he  would  not  demur 
to  a  request  for  Mr.  Shuster's  dismissal.^  On  29  November,  support- 
ing her  action  by  military  intervention,  Russia  took  that  course,  and 
insisted  that  for  the  future  the  Persian  Government  should  not  engage 
foreign  officials  without  the  sanction  of  the  British  and  Russian  Lega- 
tions.^ On  24  December,  the  Persian  Government  yielded,^  and  on 
12  January,  191 2,  Mr.  Shuster  left  Tehran  for  Europe,  One  could 
use  other  language  for  his  epitaph  than  the  milder  statement  of  Sir 
Edward  Grey  to  the  House  of  Commons  (14  December,  191 1):  "I 
quite  admit  Mr.  Shuster's  ability  and  his  good  intentions,  but  you  can- 
not have  the  spirit  or  the  intention  of  the  Anglo-Russian  Agreement 
upset  by  the  action  of  any  individual,  however  well-intentioned  ". 

It  is  not  easy  to  pierce  the  Persian  labyrinth  beyond  this  point. 
The  Blue  Books  unfold  a  story  that  does  not  differentiate  the  period 
from  that  we  have  traversed,  nor  indicate  any  modification  of  the 
meticulously  cautious  diplomacy  of  the  British  Foreign  Office.  The 
authority  of  the  Persian  Government  was  at  vanishing-point,  while  the 
Persian  provinces  conducted  their  local  affairs  with  contemptuous  dis- 
regard of  it.  The  Russian  occupation  continued,  and  Russia  remained 
the  bugbear  of  Persian  Nationalism.  Upon  a  situation  so  ripe  for  in- 
trigue the  German  War  burst  in  the  summer  of  19 14.  By  methods  of 
intrigue,  in  which  it  is  unrivalled,  Deutschtum^  with  its  eye  upon  the 
Persian  Gulf,  laboured  not  unsuccessfully  to  regulate  the  situation  to 
its  advantage.  Stories  of  imaginary  disasters  to  the  Allies,  of  an 
armed  rising  in  India,  of  the  concentration  of  a  Geripan  army  at 
Bagdad,  of  an  impending  march  of  victorious  Germany  into  India,  were 
spread  broadcast  and  were  greedily  swallowed.  In  proportion  as 
Germany  seemed  to  be  winning  on  her  eastern  front,  her  agents  pro- 
vocateurs  in  Persia  became  yet  more  active.  Reuter's  Agency  reported 
on  2  September,  191 5  *  that  the  neutrality  of  the  Persian  Government 
was  under  grave  suspicion ;  that  German  agents  were  lavishing  money 
and  arms  upon  every  disaffected  region  in  Western  Persia ;  that  the 
German  Legation  at  Tehran  and  the  German  Consulate  at  Ispahan 
were  armed  camps  menacing  the  forces  at  the  disposal  of  the  Persian 
Government ;  and  that  a  section  of  the  Mejliss,  corrupted  by  German 
gold,  was  opposing  the  efforts  of  the  Government  to  maintain  neu- 

1  Cd.  6105,  No.  127.  '^Ihid,,  No.  182,  End.  3  /j,-^.^  Nq^  333^ 

^  '*  The  Times,"  17  September,  1915. 


152  Aberdeen  University  Review 

trality.  It  reported  the  recent  murder  of  the  Russian  Vice-Consul  at 
Ispahan  and  a  more  recent  attempt  upon  the  life  of  the  British  Consul- 
General  there.  The  Bushire  district  was  being  raided  by  unruly  tribes 
in  German  pay,  and  at  Kermansah — the  main  entrance  for  German 
agents  into  Persia — the  German  Consul  was  exercising  military 
authority  over  the  province.  On  1 1  November  Sir  Edward  Grey, 
announcing  that  the  British  and  Russian  Governments  were  in  com- 
plete accord,  declared  that  German  intrigue  was  gravely  "  risking  the 
position  of  Persia".^  On  15  November  the  Russian  Legation  at 
Tehran,  appealing  to  the  Persians,  declared  an  intention  to  put  an  end 
to  Turco-German  plottings  in  the  interests  of  Persia's  relations  with 
the  Entente  Powers."  Russia  promptly  fulfilled  her  undertaking,  and 
not  a  moment  too  soon.  The  German,  Austrian,  and  Turkish  Ministers 
had  completed  their  arrangements  to  leave  Tehran,  accompanied  or 
followed  by  the  Shah.  But  the  dispatch  of  Russian  troops  from  Kazvin 
brought  the  Shah's  advisers  to  another  mind.  On  16  November  the 
Russian  and  British  Ministers  were  received  in  audience  by  the  Shah, 
who  assured  them  of  his  friendly  disposition  and  of  his  resolve  to  re- 
main in  Tehran  under  the  protection  of  the  Allied  Powers.  He  ad- 
mitted that  the  Germans  in  the  past  year  had  made  great  efforts  to 
drag  Persia  into  war  with  Russia,  and  confirmed  his  declaration  of 
friendliness  by  calling  strong  Russophils  to  the  Cabinet.*  Thereupon 
the  Turkish  and  German  Ministers  left  Tehran,  openly  connived  at 
every  effective  means  of  disorder,  and  suborned  the  Swedish-officered 
gendarmerie  to  revolt.*  Such  is  the  situation  to-day.  In  view  of 
Germany's  activities,  of  Russia's  sacrifices,  and  of  Great  Britain's  con- 
quest of  the  Shatt-el-Arab,  Persia  cannot  possibly  revert  to  her  ante- 
bellum conditions.  A  more  rigid  dual  control  is  inevitable,  and  an 
abandonment  of  British  passivity  must  accompany  it. 

There  are  critics — for  instance,  Mr.  M.  P.  Price* — who  do  not 
scruple  to  accuse  British  policy  in  the  past  of  connivance  with  Russia 
in  a  deliberate  plot  to  smother  the  Persian  constitutional  movement, 
an  accusation  which  is  as  unfounded  as  it  is  malicious.  The  Foreign 
Office  is  vulnerable  actually  on  the  ground  of  indecision,  of  refusing  to 
take  a  firm  and  decisive  line  itself,  while  deprecating  activity  on  the 
part  of  its  ally.     But,  without  the  restraints  which  the  Anglo-Russian 

*•'  The  Times,"  12  November,  1915.  *Ibid.,  16  November,  1915. 

*Ibid.,  17  November,  1915.  *Ibid.,  8  December,  1915. 

*  "  The  Diplomatic  History  of  the  War,"  London,  1914,  p.  23. 


"British  Diplomacy   1902-1914"       153 

Agreement  of  1907  imposed  upon  its  signatories,  it  is  difficult  to  be- 
lieve that  Russia  would  have  remained  passive  in  face  of  provocative 
propaganda  directed  against  herself.  In  that  event  Persia  could  not 
have  failed  to  become  the  terrain  of  an  Anglo-Russian  conflict,  dis- 
astrous to  her  integrity. 

But  to  appraise  the  Anglo-Russian  Agreement  on  its  working  in 
localities  is  inadequate  and  misleading.  It  had  a  wider  object  than 
the  removal  of  particular  obstacles  between  ourselves  and  Russia  in 
Persia,  Tibet,  and  Afghanistan.  The  international  situation  and  the 
general  interests  of  Russia  and  Great  Britain  in  1907  equally  required 
it.  For  sixty  years — since  Count  Muravieff's  appointment  as  Governor- 
General  of  Eastern  Siberia  in  1847 — Russia  had  involved  herself  in 
Far  Eastern  adventure  which  culminated  in  the  disasters  of  Port  Arthur 
and  Tsushima  in  1905.  Sebastopol  gained  the  Russian  peasantry 
their  emancipation.  Tsushima  gave  them  a  Constitution.  And  with 
it  Russia  turned  her  face  from  the  East  to  the  West.  To  recover  her 
influence  in  Europe,  to  complete  her  economic  development  on  the 
Black  Sea,  and  to  secure  the  emancipation  of  the  Balkan  Slavs  from 
Turkish  and  German  control,  were  the  objects  of  her  new  outlook. 
To  attain  them,  her  recent  agreement  (1897)  with  France  needed 
another  buttress  against  the  Central  Powers.  Opportunely  Great 
Britain  presented  herself,  being  as  concerned  as  Russia  to  prevent 
Deutschtum  from  trampling  on  the  Balkans  and  from  menacing  the 
Near  East.  As  Sir  Edward  Grey  frankly  described  it,  the  agreement 
with  Russia  was  a  *'  self-denying  ordinance,"  in  which  each  party  sur- 
rendered something  for  a  common  end.  And  if  in  Persia  our  diplomacy 
has  been  indecisive,  halting,  and  inadventurous,  as  not  unfairly  it  may 
be  said  to  have  been,  there  are  visible  assets  to  balance  the  account. 
In  the  future  undoubtedly  they  will  be  more  ponderable. 

The  characteristics  of  Sir  Edward  Grey's  diplomacy  during  the  past 
ten  years  have  been  transparent  honesty,  and  a  disposition  to  be  con- 
ciliatory which  no  rebuff* could  repress.  It  was  confronted  by  a  wholly 
new  international  situation,  the  slow  product  of  Prussia's  victory  in 
1 87 1.  It  envisaged  a  growing  menace  out  of  Central  Europe  to  which 
some  pointed  to  flagellate  its  love  of  peace,  and  others  derided.  It 
refused  to  be  driven  into  either  extreme  course.  It  neither  thwarted 
nor  opposed  Germany's  aspirations.  It  made  no  surrender  to 
what  may  be  called  "  political  Bryanism,"  which  one  may  define  as 
sentimental  diplomatics  meticulously  insulated  from  contact  with  facts. 


154  Aberdeen   University  Review 

It  took  the  German  menace  seriously,  but  met  it  with  consideration 
and  common  sense.  It  is  arguable  that  it  maintained  that  attitude 
to  the  very  limit  of  national  safety.  But  if  it  risked  much,  it 
gained  an  incalculable  moral  asset.  "  Go  back  to  Darwin  and 
Natural  Selection,"  said  Mr.  Benjamin  Kidd  in  a  recent  interview.^ 
"  It  is  the  nation  with  the  highest  principle  that  is  destined  to  sur- 
vive, and  in  this  case  that  nation  is  not  Germany."  Diplomacy  is 
the  conversation  of  nations,  and  by  it  their  characters  are  known.  If 
we  can  face  that  test  confidently  we  owe  it  in  no  mean  measure  to 
Sir  Edward  Grey.  In  point  of  fact,  Germany's  almost  insane  hatred 
of  him  is  the  confession  of  her  knowledge  that  he  has  presented  the 
case  against  her  in  terms  of  the  principles  of  civilization  itself,  for 
which  we  stand. 

C   SANFORD  TERRY. 

^  *•  Public  Opinion,"  lo  September,  1915,  p.  251. 


(The  sketch-map  illustrative  of  this  article  has  been  prepared  by  Mr. 
T.  S.  Muir,  M.A.,  F.R.S.G.S.). 


/^f 


IVT    N 


Reviews 

Biographical  Studies  in  Scottish  Church  History  :  the  Hale  Lectures^ 
1913-14.  By  Anthony  Mitchell,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  Aberdeen  and 
Orkney.     London  :  A.  R.  Mowbray  &  Co.     Pp.  vi  +  302. 

These  Lectures  are  not  intended  to  be  an  outline  of  Scottish  Church  History, 
but  are  a  series  of  sketches  of  representative  persons  in  seven  successive  periods  ; 
and  they  were  delivered  under  the  trust-deed  of  an  American  bishop  in  a. 
Chicago  Episcopal  Church  to  congregations  mainly  composed,  doubtless,  of 
Episcopalians.  These  specialties  account  for  the  selection  of  some  of  the 
subjects  of  biographical  study,  and  for  the  partly  denominational  character  of 
the  work.  While  the  lectures,  however,  naturally  contain  some  things  which 
Presbyterians  may  not  endorse,  the  volume  merits  cordial  appreciation' 
from  members  of  all  communions  as  a  scholarly,  fair,  and  attractive  presenta- 
tion of  seven  very  notable  portraits  in  the  Scottish  ecclesiastical  gallery. 

The  "noble  and  commanding  figure  of  Columba  "  leads  the  way.  We 
have  a  graphic  description  of  his  character — a  "  strange  blend  of  opposing 
qualities  "  (p.  20),  a  "  tender  heart "  united  with  a  proud  and  passionate  spirit 
(p.  13) ;  and  of  his  work  as  miles  insulanus^  a  devoted  missionary  and  "  ruler  of 
the  Church  "  while  "  remaining  a  presbyter  "  (pp.  21,  30) ;  organizer  of  mon- 
astic worship,  doctrine,  and  enterprise ;  "a  friend  in  need  to  whom  men  came 
from  all  quarters  with  distress  of  body  and  of  soul"  (p.  21).  Particularly  in- 
teresting is  the  author's  explanation  of  many  miracles  ascribed  to  Columba 
which  even  so  sober  a  writer  as  our  late  Professor  Grub  shrank  from  altogether 
rejecting ;  viz.,  **  medical  skill  and  knowledge  remarkable  for  the  time,"  "  tele- 
pathic vision,"  "cosmical  consciousness,"  and  Celtic  "second  sight"  (pp. 
23-8).  In  describing  the  occasion  of  Columba's  Caledonian  mission  the  Bishop- 
refers  to  Adamnan's  double  and  seemingly  contradictory  representation  of  the 
saint  as  a  "voluntary"  exile  for  Christ,  yet  as  being  "excommunicated  by  a 
Synod  in  Ireland  ".  The  apparent  discrepancy  is  reconciled  by  Adamnan's^ 
further  statement  that  the  excommunication  was  quickly  reversed  by  the 
same  Synod  after  a  remarkable  testimony  by  St.  Brendan. 

The  second  study  is  that  of  the  Saint  and  Queen  Margaret,  the  Saxon 
wife  of  Malcolm  Canmore,  under  whom  and  their  three  sons  Celtic  Christian- 
ity, then  in  a  stage  of  "  degeneration  "  and  "  decay,"  yielded  gradually  to 
Saxon  influences  which  were  then  at  once  Roman  and  in  part  reforming. 
"  Margaret's  efforts  to  reform  the  customs  of  the  Celtic  Church  "  (p.  54)  are 
sympathetically  related,  including  "discontinuance  of  worldly  business  on- 
the  Lord's  Day,"  cessation  of  discreditable  non- participation  in  the  Eucharist 
by  the  laity,  and  abolition  of  the  scandal  of  letting  a  "  man  marry  his 
(widowed)  stepmother ".  In  connexion  with  Margaret  and  Malcolm,  the 
author  states  that  "  there  is  some  reason  to  believe  that  Malcolm  founded  the- 
bishopric  of  Mortlach,  the  beginning  of  the  See  of  Aberdeen,"  adding,  however, 
in  a  note  that  "the  evidence  is  of  doubtful  authority".     Cosmo  Innes,  with.- 


156  Aberdeen  University  Review 

whom  Skene,  Burton,  Bellesheim,  Lawrie,  etc.,  concur,  is  generally  held  to 
have  proved  that  the  documents  on  which  the  tradition  of  a  See  of  Mortlach 
Tested  are  spurious.  The  tradition  probably  arose  from  Malcolm  having  given 
to  Mortlach  properties  which  were  afterwards,  along  with  the  monastery  of 
Mortlach,  attached  by  David  I  to  the  See  of  Aberdeen. 

The  biography  of  Bishop  Elphinstone,  the  representative  of  the  Mediaeval 
period,  is  written  with  the  fulness  of  sympathy  natural  in  one  who  also  bears 
the  title.  Bishop  of  Aberdeen,  and  who  is  a  graduate  with  Honours  in  Arts 
and  in  Divinity,  as  well  as  an  honorary  D.D.,  of  the  University  which  Elphin- 
stone founded.  Bishop  Mitchell  recounts  his  predecessor's  high  *•  reputation 
as  an  exponent  of  ecclesiastical  law"  (p.  85) ;  his  valuable  service  as  a  tactful 
embassador  "  in  missions  to  .  .  .  France  and  England  "  ;  his  appointment  first 
to  the  See  of  Ross  and  then  to  that  of  Aberdeen  where  *'  the  clergy  needed  to 
be  reformed,"  but  where  "  under  Elphinstone's  firm  hand  this  state  of  affairs 
was  soon  remedied  "  (p.  91) ;  his  completion  of  the  Cathedral  tower  which  fell 
in  1688  (p.  102) ;  finally  his  greatest  life-work,  when  "amid  the  clash  of  old 
and  new  ideas,  the  Humanities  of  the  Renaissance  and  the  Scholasticism  which 
had  reigned  for  centuries,  he  founded  a  university  where  both  might  find  a 
hearing  and  a  home  "  (p.  70).  Referring  to  the  Founder's  tomb  in  the  College 
Chapel,  the  author  states  that  "  the  Bishop's  effigy  and  the  figures  in  brass, 
representing  the  three  theological  virtues  and  contemplation,  and  the  four 
■cardinal  virtues,  were  destroyed,  after  the  Refonrxation,  as  emblems « of  idolatry  " 
(p.  7  a)  Our  oldest  authority  (so  far  as  we  know)  is  Gordon  of  Rothiemay, 
who  in  his  *'  Descriptio"  (166 1)  declares  that  "all  were  robbed  and  sold  long 
ago  ".  Orem's  much  later  account  (in  his  "  Old  Aberdeen,"  1 724)  is  "  that  the 
tomb  was  stripped  of  its  ornaments  for  fear  of  accidents  *'.  Our  Reformers 
and  their  followers,  as  in  the  notable  case  of  St.  Andrews  Cathedral,  have  often 
suffered  discredit  for  destruction  with  which  they  had  nothing  to  do.  Thanks, 
however,  mainly,  to  Professor  Harrower,  the  tomb,  as  our  author  indicates,  will 
^oon  be  "  restored  to  something  like  its  original  beauty  *'. 

The  subject  of  the  fourth  study,  representing  the  Reformation  Period,  is 
Erskine  of  Dun.  Bishop  Mitchell  has  done  good  service  in  showing  that 
Erskine's  "  importance  in  the  Reformation  movement  has  hardly  been  ade- 
quately recognized  "  (p.  119).  Of  reforming  leaders  he  was  "  earliest  on  the 
scene  "  in  the  final  conflict,  having  been  *'  marvellously  illuminated"  (to  use 
Knox's  words)  by  the  year  1534.  He  was  the  friend  of  Wishart,  helped  to 
<3raw  up  the  first  Scottish  Covenant,  and  cordially  supported  Knox  at  various 
crises.  By  his  early  patriotic  championship  of  the  French  as  opposed  to  the 
English  alliance  he  did  much  to  counteract  the  anti -reforming  influence  of 
those  who  identified  Romanism  with  patriotism  ;  and  as  the  trusted  subject  at 
first  of  Mary  of  Guise  and  afterwards  of  Marj^  Stuart,  he  served  the  Protestant 
-cause  in  a  way  impracticable  for  most  Reformers.  "  He  represented  the 
moderate  element  in  the  Scottish  Reformation "  (p.  121).  But  "to  attempt 
an  account  of  the  Scottish  Reformation  without  making  John  Knox  its  central 
figure  "  will  appear  to  most  readers  not  only  "  bold  "  (as  the  author  admits) 
but  vain.  After  Wishart's  death  Knox  was  recognized  at  St.  Andrews  as  Re- 
forming leader;  and  during  his  subsequent  exile  he  was  in  touch,  through 
published  tracts  and  private  letters,  with  Scottish  friends  of  the  cause.  On 
his  first  return  to  Scotland  in  1555  he  persuaded  Protestants  to  cease  attend- 
ance at  Mass,  and  to  celebrate  the  Lord's  Supper  with  a  reformed  ritual, 
thus  transforming  a  Protestant  movement  into  a  Reformed  Church.     Through 


} 


Reviews  157 

his  preaching  tour  during  this  visit,  culminating  in  ten  days'  ministry  at  Edin- 
burgh in  defiance  of  the  hierarchy,  Protestant  zeal  was  aroused.  Next  year, 
when  the  Scottish  Reformers,  after  summoning  Knox  from  Geneva  to  inaugur- 
ate a  more  active  Protestantism,  timidly  stopped  him  at  Dieppe,  letters  from 
Knox  led  to  the  Covenant  which  pledged  its  signators  to  "  defend  the  Cause- 
with  substance  and  lives".  After  Knox's  final  return  in  1559,  it  was  his 
famous  Perth  sermon  against  the  idolatry  of  the  Mass  which  precipitated  the 
final  conflict  issuing  in  the  Reformation  ;  and  amid  subsequent  success  alter- 
nating with  temporary  failure,  it  was  what  our  author  signalizes  (p.  115)  as 
Knox's  "  extraordinary  vigour  and  intensity,  the  invincible  integrity  of  his  pur- 
pose and  purity  of  his  aims  as  a  Reformer  "  which  mainly  inspired  and  sus- 
tained the  Reform  party  and  secured  their  ultimate  triumph. 

In  selecting  Archbishop  Leighton  as  representative  of  the  Covenanting 
period.  Bishop  Mitchell  avoids  any  very  detailed  treatment  of  the  conflicts  of 
that  time;  but  with  commendable  candour,  he  declares  (p.  161)  that  "the 
great  strength  of  Presbyterianism  (during  the  period)  was  its  witness  for  the 
spiritual  independence  of  the  Kirk,  just  as  the  great  weakness  of  the  Episcopal 
system  was  the  subservience  of  its  bishops  to  the  Crown  ".  James  VI's  "  Five 
Articles  of  Perth  "  (the  Bishop  further  declares),  "  reasonable  in  themselves, 
were  passed  by  methods  which  will  not  bear  inspection  "  ;  "  Charles  I  drove 
the  country  into  exasperation  " ;  "  for  the  persecution  under  Charles  II  no* 
palliation  can  be  offered  "  ;  "  one  cannot  think  of  it  without  shame  and  sorrow  '^ 
(p.  203).  On  the  other  hand,  candid  Presbyterians  must  admit  that  Coven- 
anters were  equally  intolerant,  although  less  truculent,  towards  those  who 
like  the  "  Aberdeen  Doctors  "  refused  to  sign  the  National  Covenant ;  and  the 
British  Solemn  League  and  Covenant  was  intolerantly  framed  for  the  extirpa- 
tion of  prelacy  in  England  and  Ireland.  But  in  Robert  Leighton  we  have  a 
Churchman  who  rose  above  the  prejudices  of  his  age,  and  whom  members 
of  all  communions  now  eulogize  and  revere.  Bishop  Mitchell's  very  in- 
teresting biographical  study  along  with  Dr.  Dugald  Butler's  recent  "Life  and 
Letters  "  will  enhance  the  reader's  admiration  for  one  who,  while  thoroughly 
human  and  possessing  a  "keen  sense  of  humour"  (p.  174),  "was  a  man 
apart  from  his  fellows  both  in  holiness  and  spiritual  perception,  who  strove 
faithfully  to  do  his  duty  in  a  difficult  world"  (p.  212).  Most  moderate 
Presbyterians  and  Episcopalians  will  now  probably  agree  that  Leighton 's 
"  Accommodation  " — Bishops  subject  to  the  General  Assembly  and  without  a 
veto  on  the  resolutions  of  a  majority  of  Presbyters — was  a  fair  compromise  in 
then  existing  circumstances  ;  and  it  had  the  royal  sanction.  But  "  Leighton 
was  the  only  person  among  the  bishops  who  declared  for  these  methods  "^ 
(p.  206) ;  Archbishop  Sharp  "  viewed  the  proposal  as.  an  undermining  of  Episco- 
pacy "  (p.  208) ;  "  the  inferior  clergy  hated  the  whole  thing  ".  On  the  other 
hand,  bitter  experience  prevented  Covenanters  from  relying  either  on  royal; 
promises  or  on  episcopal  acquiescence ;  and  even  moderate  Presbyterians 
refrained  from  committing  themselves  beforehand  to  an  arrangement  which 
Leighton  might  have  been  unable  eventually  to  accomplish. 

The  penal  laws,  which  the  disinterestedly  persistent  Jacobitism  of  most 
episcopal  clergy  caused  to  be  imposed  in  the  time  of  George  I  and  George 
II,  meant  for  their  Church  repression  and  privation  ;  but,  as  Bishop  Mitchell 
indicates,  "the  trial  was  one  which  purged  and  purified  her"  (p.  270) ;  and  he 
selects  as  a  worthy  representative  of  that  period  John  Skinner  of  Linshart,  whose 
poetry  (including  the  famous  "  Tullochgorum  "  and  "  Ewie  ")  won  for  him? 


158  Aberdeen  University  Review 

the  admiration  of  Robert  Burns.  The  reader's  sympathy  cannot  but  be 
awakened  by  the  author's  picture  of  the  poet-parson — his  early^truggle  with 
poverty  as  a  "  dominie  "  ;  his  settlement  as  episcopal  minister  in  Buchan  ;  his 
unmerited  ill-treatment  there  at  the  time  of  the  '45,  although  he  was  "no 
Jacobite  "  ;  his  astute  evasion  and  eventual  bold  defiance  of  the  harsh  law 
limiting  Scottish  Episcopal  ministrations  to  four  persons  at  a  time  besides  the 
inmates  of  the  house  ;  his  six  months'  imprisonment  in  Old  Aberdeen  cheered 
by  the  visits  of  "  many  sympathetic  "  citizens,  and  by  the  companionship  of 
his  eight  years  old  son,  the  future  bishop ;  his  "  return  home  in  triumph  as  a 
confessor  for  Episcopacy  "  ;  his  later  effective  share  in  rebuilding  Zion  after 
the  accession  of  George  III  had  led  to  "  alleviation  of  the  lot  of  the  suffering 
Church  " ;  his  "  learned  labours  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  "  which  gained  the 
praise  of  Bishop  Sherlock  of  London  ;  his  "Nolo  episcopari  "  in  1782,  and 
his  "  joy  and  pride  "  in  the  appointment  of  his  son,  who  never  concealed  that 
"  in  all  his  measures  for  the  Church's  relief  and  prosperity  he  was,  under  God, 
more  indebted  to  the  head,  the  heart,  and  the  hand  of  his  own  father  than  to 
any  other  fellow-labourer  ".  It  is  interesting  for  Aberdonians  to  recall  that 
Bishop  John  Skinner,  "  relying  on  the  counsel  and  support  of  his  father  "  (p. 
249),  took  the  leading  part  in  the  consecration  (within  the  "  upper-room  "  in 
Longacre)  of  Bishop  Seabury,  the  first  Bishop  of  the  American  Church,  when 
the  English  clergy  shrank  from  being  mixed  up  with  a  proceeding  which  had 
not  been  sanctioned  by  the  British  Legislature ;  and  we  readily  discern  the 
father's  inspiration  when  his  son  declared  that  "  he  ventured  to  show  more 
regard  to  Acts  of  Apostles  than  to  Acts  of  Parliament  ". 

As  the  author's  series  begins,  so  it  closes  with  an  Irishman,  John  Dowden, 
theological  professor,  and  from  1886  to  19 10  Bishop  of  Edinburgh,  who  re- 
presents the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  amid  the  prosperity  of  "  Modern 
Times  ".  At  the  outset  of  his  episcopate  Bishop  Dowden  aroused  keen  re- 
sentment both  within  and  beyond  Presbyterian  circles  by  preventing  Bishop 
Wordsworth  of  St.  Andrews  from  fulfilling  an  engagement  (made  during  the 
vacancy  in  the  Edinburgh  see)  to  deliver  a  lecture  on  Christian  Unity  on  a 
week-night  in  St.  Cuthbert's  Parish  Church  ;  and  so  far  as  regards  ecclesiastical 
inter-communion  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  Episcopal  Church  of  Scotland  is 
more  correctly  represented  by  the  author  of  this  volume,  who  has  preached  in 
our  University  Chapel,  than  by  the  subject  of  his  closing  "study".  But 
Bishop  Dowden,  none  the  less,  by  his  "  Celtic  Church  of  Scotland  "  and 
numerous  other  works,  has  laid  all  students  of  ecclesiastical  history,  as  well  as 
of  doctrine  and  worship,  under  deep  obligation.  He  bore  also,  as  Bishop 
Mitchell  has  shown,  a  very  notable  "  share  in  the  expansion  and  consolida- 
tion ''  of  the  Church  which  he  loved  and  served ;  and  it  is  fair  to  add  that 
his  official  narrowness  was  united  with  personal  courtesy  towards  clergy  of 
other  branches  of  the  Scottish  Church. 

Henry  Cowan. 

Evolution  and  the  War.  By  P.  Chalmers  Mitchell,  M.A.  (Aberdon.),  M.A., 
D.Sc.  (Oxon.),  LL.D.  (Aberdon.  et  West.  Univ.  Pennsylvania),  F.R.S., 
F.L.S.,  F.Z.S.,  Secretary  to  the  Zoological  Society  of  London.  London  : 
John  Murray.     Pp.  xxv  +  114. 

In  a  very  interesting  personal  introduction  Dr.  Chalmers  Mitchell  tells  us  of 
his  first  impressions  of  Germany  and  the  Germans  and  of  their  subsequent 


Reviews  159 


confirmation  or  correction.  In  the  spring  of  1884,  as  a  new-made  graduate 
of  the  University  of  Aberdeen,  he  went  for  the  summer  to  Germany.  "  Goethe 
I  knew,  and  a  few  of  the  poets  in  translation  ;  Schopenhauer  had  bored  me, 
and  Kant  had  beaten  me,  but  the  shining  fragile  net  thrown  by  Hegel  over 
the  universe  had  enchanted  me,  and  I  was  deep-read  in  Stirling's  *  Secret  of 
Hegel '  and  in  Wallace's  '  Logic '  and  '  Prolegomena '.  All  this  to  show 
that  for  me  Germany  was  not  a  Power  among  other  European  Powers.  Old 
philosophy  and  young  life  were  all  I  cared  for."  Two  things  soon  gave  him 
the  shock  of  feeUng  that  he  was  an  alien  in  an  alien  country.  The  first  was 
the  supervisory  interest  of  the  police  (so  unintelligible  to  our  unsuspiciousness), 
whom  Mitchell  and  his  fellow-traveller  entirely  failed  to  convince  of  the  exact 
truth  that  they  had  no  business  of  any  kind  in  Berlin.  The  second  was  the  over- 
whelming evidence  of  military  activity,  for  it  was  new  to  him  to  find  soldiering 
the  urgent  business  of  a  State.  In  the  course  of  the  summer  he  enjoyed  in 
Pomerania  and  West  Prussia  "  the  amazing  Gastfreundlichkeit  of  Germany, 
something  warmer,  more  intimate,  and  adopting  than  the  best  of  English 
hospitality ".  Another  impression  was  hearing  Bismarck  in  the  Reichstag 
launch  his  World-policy.  From  his  note-book  of  thirty  years  ago  the  author 
quotes  a  conversation  with  a  Berliner  which  is  striking  in  showing  that  even 
then,  with  no  clouds  in  the  sky  between  England  and  Germany,  there  was  pre- 
paration on  a  thorough-going  scale  for  a  struggle  to  the  death. 

Dr.  Chalmers  Mitchell  goes  on  to  tell  of  his  subsequent  acquaintance  with 
Germany  as  a  country  of  great  biologists,  of  his  discovery  of  Russian  and 
French  literature  (to  be  placed  "above  all  that  was  ever  written  in  the  Ger- 
man language,  far  above  dyes  and  drugs  and  all  the  material  progress  of  Ger- 
many"). He  explains  also  how  he  came  to  write  in  1896  a  now  rather 
famous  article  in  "The  Saturday  Reviewj''.  Under  the  title  "A  Biological 
View  of  Our  Foreign  Policy  "  he  predicted  (in  terms  which  he  would  not  now 
altogether  homologate)  "'the  first  great  racial  struggle  of  the  future,''  namely, 
that  in  the  throes  of  which  we  now  are.  "  One  or  the  other  has  to  go,"  he 
wrote ;  *'  one  or  the  other  will  go." 

At  a  later  date,  after  the  author  became  secretary  of  the  Zoological  Society 
of  London,  he  had  another  experience  which  is  diagnostic  of  the  megalo- 
maniacal  disease  of  "  Deutschland  tiber  alles  ".  It  illustrates  "  the  odd  way 
in  which  a  German  will  sometimes  confide  in  you  his  scheme  for  your  own  un- 
doing ".  A  German  zoologist,  who  had  previously  accepted  some  of  Mitchell's 
professional  suggestions,  came  to  his  office  in  Regent's  Park,  and  unfolded  a 
scheme  for  establishing  in  London,  with  German  capital,  a  Hagenbeck  Zoo- 
logical Park,  which  would,  he  said,  wipe  out  the  Zoo  in  a  season.  "  He  was 
uncertain  as  to  the  most  suitable  part  of  London  to  select  for  the  enterprise, 
and  wished  my  advice  and  assistance  in  choosing  and  obtaining  a  site." 
What  can  be  said? 

We  have  lingered  over  the  introduction,  for  it  is  written  in  a  delightfully 
frank  manner  ;  but  we  must  pass  to  the  body  of  the  book.  It  contains  a  de- 
structive criticism  of  the  view,  familiarized  to  us  by  the  works  of  that  eminent 
biologist  (or  necrologist  shall  we  say?)  von  Bernhardi,  that  "war  is  a  funda- 
mental law  of  evolution  ".  The  argument  is  concrete  and  convincing,  and  the 
general  thesis  seems  to  us  sound  sense — and  naturally  enough,  for  have  we  not 
maintained  it  ourselves  ?  The  first  step  in  the  argument  is  that  the  struggle 
for  existence  in  nature  is  very  rarely  anything  like  internecine  warfare  between 
nearly  related  organisms.     Although  Darwin  headed  a  paragraph  in  "The 


i6o  Aberdeen  University  Review 

Origin  of  Species,"  "Struggle  for  Life  Most  Severe  between  Individuals  and 
Varieties  of  the  Same  Species,"  the  evidence  he  gave  in  support  of  this  was  far 
from  convincing,  and  in  other  passages  he  made  it  clear  that  his  conception 
of  the  struggle  for  existence  was  as  wide  as  it  was  subtle.  The  technical 
phrase,  which  was  to  be  taken  in  "a  large  and  metaphorical  sense,"  has  been 
narrowed  down  by  popular  expositors  (and  by  mistaken  experts  like  Huxley), 
so  that  it  suggests  to  most  minds  a  life  and  death  competition  around  the 
platter  of  subsistence,  whereas  Darwin  meant  it  to  include  all  the  varied 
reactions  and  responses  that  self-assertive,  yet  often  kin-bound,  living  creatures 
make  against  environing  limitations  and  difficulties.  The  author  has  done 
good  service  in  carefully  considering  such  well-known  Darwinian  illustrations 
of  sanguinary  competition  as  the  contest  between  brown  rat  and  black  rat, 
and  showing  that  they  are  quite  untenable.  It  is  of  great  value  to  find  a 
naturalist  of  his  distinction  pointing  out  clearly  and  circumstantially  that  what 
often  happens  in  face  of  difficulties  and  limitations  is  that  groups  of  individual 
animals  seek  out  some  unfilled  corner  or  discover  some  new  way  of  exploiting 
their  environment.  "Natural  suitability  to  the  organic  and  inorganic  en- 
vironment and  capacity  to  adapt  behaviour  to  circumstances  are  the  domi- 
nant factors  in  successful  struggle,  and  there  is  no  trace  of  the  remotest 
resemblance  with  human  warfare.  This  is  the  struggle  for  existence  as  Dar- 
win thought  of  it."  It  is  perhaps  of  still  greater  value  to  find  one  who 
describes  himself  as  "  a  hard-shell  Darwinian  evolutionist,"  recognizing  that 
the  struggle  for  existence  is  often  very  literally  an  endeavour  after  well-being, 
and  affords  no  justification  for  war  between  nations.  He  is  prepared  to  "ad- 
duce from  the  writings  of  Darwin  himself,  and  from  those  of  later  naturalists, 
a  thousand  instances  taken  from  the  animal  kingdom  in  which  success  has 
come  about  by  means  analogous  with  the  cultivation  of  all  the  peaceful  arts, 
the  raising  of  the  intelligence,  and  the  heightening  of  the  emotions  of  love 
and  pity  ". 

The  second  step  of  the  argument  is  that  modem  nations  are  not  units  of 
the  same  order  as  the  units  of  the  animal  and' vegetable  kingdoms.  Therefore, 
even  if  we  have  got  a  grip  of  accurate  biological  conclusions  (not  like  von 
Bernhardi's  "great  verity"  that  "war  is  a  fundamental  law  of  evolution"),  we 
must  be  careful  in  applying  them,  without  fresh  verification,  within  another 
universe  of  discourse.  The  point  is  that  in  the  realm  of  non-human  organ- 
isms, the  units  (species  or  varieties)  are  composed  of  individuals  united  by 
blood-relationship,  whereas  political  communities  of  men,  nationalities  rather 
than  races,  "  cohere  not  because  of  common  descent  but  because  of  bonds 
that  are  peculiar  to  the  human  race  ".  It  is  characteristic  of  the  author's 
biology  that  he  attaches  much  more  importance  to  environmental  "nurture" 
than  to  germinal  "  nature  ".  The  Mendelians  and  the  Eugenists  are  apt  to 
"  forget  the  dominance  of  what  we  call  mind  over  what  we  call  matter.  It  is 
after  the  Miltonoplasm  has  grown  into  a  sentient  being  that  the  factors  most 
potent  in  shaping  the  direction,  quality,  and  value  of  his  mental  and  emotional 
output  come  into  operation."  Thus  "  the  environment  of  the  body  and  the 
environment  of  the  mind  determine  national  differences.  These  variable  fac- 
tors, and  notably  the  environment  of  the  mind,  dif!er  from  the  factors  that  rule 
in  the  animal  and  vegetable  kingdoms,  inasmuch  as  they  involve  conscious 
human  intelligence  and  choice,  conscious  imposition  on  the  part  of  the  rulers, 
and  conscious  acquiescence  on  the  part  of  the  governed."  It  is  useful  to  have 
this  protest  against  Mendelian  fatalism,  but  it  must  not  be  allowed  to  obscure 


Reviews  i6i 

the  fact  that  environmental  nurture  and  hereditary  nature  are  complementary, 
not  antithetic,  factors  in  determining  the  individual  life. 

The  third  step  in  the  argument  is  that  Man  is  so  profoundly  apart  from 
the  rest  of  creation  that  it  is  fallacious  to  attempt  "to  justify  human  conduct 
by  referring  it  to  laws  that  may  be  supposed  to  rule  the  animal  and  vegetable 
kingdoms  " .  The  evolution  of  the  definitely  human  illustrated  selective  syn- 
thesis and  discontinuity ;  all  the  world  became  new.  "  It  is  consciousness 
that  transforms  all  the  qualities  and  faculties  acquired  by  human  beings  fromi 
the  animal  world,  and  that  is  the  foundation  of  free  and  intelligent  existence.'" 
It  matters  little  what  word  is  used  to  express  the  distinctively  human  (and 
consciousness  is  not  the  one  we  should  select) :  what  is  of  importance  is  that 
we  should  rid  ourselves  entirely  of  that  depreciatory  nightmare  view  of  Man 
which  arose  as  the  Nemesis  of  imperfectly  digested  Darwinism.  Especially  at 
a  time  like  this  it  is  of  value  to  be  reminded  (if  we  have  ever  forgotten)  that 
the  human  race  at  least  does  not  live  in  the  germ-plasm  alone,  and  that  the 
probable  dysgenic  influence  of  the  war  is  only  one  aspect  of  the  truth.  It  is 
useful  to  find  "a  lover  of  the  scalpel  and  microscope,  and  of  patient  empirical 
observation,  who  dislikes  all  forms  of  supernaturalism,"  asserting  "as  a  bio- 
logical fact  that  the  moral  law  is  as  real  and  as  external  to  man  as  the  starry 
vault.  It  has  no  secure  seat  in  any  single  man  or  in  any  single  nation.  It  is 
the  work  of  the  blood  and  tears  of  long  generations  of  men.  It  is  not  in  man, 
inborn  or  innate,  but  is  enshrined  in  his  traditions,  in  his  customs,  in  his  liter- 
ature and  his  religion.  Its  creation  and  sustenance  are  the  crowning  glory  of 
man,  and  his  consciousness  of  it  puts  him  in  a  high  place  above  the  animal 
world.  Men  live  and  die ;  nations  rise  and  fall,  but  the  struggle  of  individual 
lives  and  of  individual  nations  must  be  measured  not  by  their  immediate  needs, 
but  as  they  tend  to  the  debasement  or  perfection  of  man's  great  achievement.*' 
So  ends  a  book  well  worth  reading,  every  page  of  which  means  business.  The 
author  has  got  a  style  of  his  own — clear-cut  and  picturesque, — and  he  has 
earned  the  gratitude  of  all  who  enjoy  resolute  and  sincere  thinking. 

J.  Arthur  Thomson. 

The  Bearing  of  Recent  Discovery  on  the  Trustworthiness  of  the 
New  Testament.  By  Sir  W.  M.  Ramsay.  London :  Hodder  & 
Stoughton.     Pp.  xiv  +  427. 

In  many  respects  this  volume  is  the  most  interesting  of  the  long  and  dis- 
tinguished series  which  have  issued  from  the  unresting  pen  of  our  Emeritus- 
Professor  of  Humanity.  It  abounds  in  evidence  of  the  same  masterly 
command  of  the  distinctive  material  which  the  author  has  patiently  amassed  for- 
the  elucidation  and  vindication  of  the  Pauline  and  Lucan  writings  in  the  New- 
Testament.  It  presents  the  same  vivid  illuminations  of  geographical  andl 
historical  scenes  to  which  he  has  accustomed  us.  It  does  not  fail  in  the 
shrewd  and  often  impressive  personal  reflections  on  the  larger  lessons  of  his- 
tory, or  in  the  effective  illustrations  of  ancient  events  and  ancient  tendencies^ 
from  modern  parallels,  which  have  been  a  feature  of  his  earlier  writings.. 
There  is  not  lacking  the  old  acerbity  of  jibe  or  counter-jibe  against  the- 
"  critics,"  against  "  the  self-satisfied  and  pretentious  ignorance  of  the  critical! 
theologians."  There  is  the  same  wealth  of  valuable  and  arresting  in-- 
formation  modestly  packed  into  footnotes  which  has  rewarded  the  gleaner's* 

II 


1 62  Aberdeen  University  Review 

scrutiny  of  his  previous  writings.  But  in  this  work  Sir  William  Ramsay  has 
permitted  himself  to  take  advantage  of  his  privilege  as  an  emeritus  in  two  ways. 
He  indulges  in  a  frequent  retrospect  over  his  previous  books,  bringing  their 
principal  contentions  and  conclusions  into  a  closer  unity,  quoting  their  words 
and  making  innumerable  references  to  their  contents  in  detail.  And,  most 
interesting  of  all,  he  takes  his  readers  into  his  confidence  and  tells  the  story  of 
his  own  life  as  a  scholar  so  far  as  it  bears  upon  his  subject.  Whether  or  not 
one  can  agree  with  Sir  William's  theories  or  conclusions,  one  is  profoundly 
grateful  for  a  scholarship  so  laborious  and  so  wide,  so  full  of  human  and  per- 
sonal interest,  so  far  removed  from  pedantry  and  routine.  There  has  been 
little  work  done  in  the  world  of  New  Testament  scholarship  upon  the  same 
level,  and  his  Alma  Mater,  looking  back,  as  this  book  enables  her  afresh  to 
do,  upon  the  development  of  his  career,  may  well  cherish  a  renewed  pride  in 
his  life-work. 

The  University  Review  is  not  the  medium  for  a  technical  notice  of  the 
contents  of  a  work  like  this.  It  may  suffice  to  state  that  among  the  chapters 
which  call  for  special  mention  and  demand  special  commendation  are  those 
which  discuss  the  "General  Impression  of  Trustworthiness  in  the  Acts," 
"Trial  Scenes  in  the  Acts,"  "Magic  and  Magicians,  in' the  New  Testament 
and  in  New  Testament  times,"  "The  Magi  at  the  Birth  of  Jesus,"  "  Salvation 
as  a  Pagan  and  a  Christian  Term,"  "  Luke's  Account  of  the  First  Census," 
"  When  Quirinius  was  governing  Syria,"  and  not  least  those  entitled  "  An- 
alogies and  Fulfilment  of  Prophecy,"  and  "  Your  Poets  have  said  ".  They 
abound  in  sentences  which  merit  quotation,  and  they  will  enrich  the  next 
generation  of  commentaries  upon  the  New  Testament.  They  assist  in  a  ser- 
vice of  extreme  value  by  setting  in  a  clearer  light  scenes  and  sayings  which 
will  have  a  priceless  sanctity  for  serious  men  and  women  so  long  as  the 
Christian  faith  endures. 

But  I  may  be  allowed  to  quote  some  passages  which  will  appeal  to  the 
readers  of  this  Review  because  of  their  academically  domestic  interest.  They 
are  taken  from  the  Second  Chapter,  the  Introductory  Statement : — 

"  In  March,  1868,  at  the  end  of  my  second  year  at  the  University  of  Aber- 
deen, I  was  feeling  every  day  that  college  work  had  been  an  unalloyed  happi- 
ness, and  every  moment  spent  in  class-work  or  in  preparation  a  delight.  Even 
the  details  of  syntax  and  word-formation  had  their  fascination,  and  the  inflec- 
tion of  the  Greek  verb  was  interesting.  True,  we  never  passed  one  through- 
out two  years  of  class- work  without  some  student  being  called  on  to  conjugate 
it,  though  years  before  I  entered  college  I  could  and  did  often  write  out  the 
parts  of  every  common  verb  without  an  error,  and  the  best  of  my  class-fellows 
I  do  not  doubt  had  done  the  same.  Yet  the  unexpectedness  of  the  parts  made 
this  work  like  voyaging  on  an  unknown  sea :  in  that  primitive  period  no  ex- 
planation was  given  us  how  those  strange  vagaries  were  all  obedient  to  more 
deep-lying  laws ;  but  one  was  vaguely  beginning  to  feel  that  some  hidden 
principle  lay  under  the  apparent  caprice. 

"  On  the  final  day  we  of  the  Second  Year  gathered  in  the  Latin  class- 
room. The  feeling  was  in  my  mind  that  morning  that  something  determin- 
ing was  going  to  happen.  .  .  .  The  Professor  of  Greek,  who  knew  every 
student  by  face  and  position,  glanced  round  the  room  before  beginning  to 
read  his  list,  until  he  saw  me ;  and  as  I  caught  his  eye,  I  knew  before  he 
spoke  that  I  was  the  outstanding  figure  in  his  mind.  The  Professor  of  Latin 
mentioned  that  I  stood  apart  in  the  list.    In  that  room  my  life  was  determined : 


Reviews  163 


I  formed  the  resolve  to  be  a  scholar,  and  to  make  everything  else  subservient 
to  that  purpose  and  that  career. 

"  In  the  classroom,  also,  one  other  matter  settled  itself.  The  border- 
land between  Greece  and  the  East,  the  relation  of  Greek  literature  to  Asia,  had 
already  a  vague  fascination  for  me  ;  and  this  was  to  be  the  direction  of  the 
life  that  I  imagined  in  the  future.  As  it  has  turned  out,  that  thought  of  the  re- 
lation between  Greece  and  the  East  was  an  anticipation  of  my  life ;  but  the 
form  developed  in  a  way  that  I  did  not  imagine  until  many  years  passed.  I 
thought  of  work  in  a  room  or  a  library,  but  it  has  lain  largely  in  the  open  air 
and  on  the  geographical  frontier  where  Greek-speaking  people  touched  the 
East.  I  thought  of  Greek  literature  in  its  relation  to  Asia ;  but  the  subject 
widened  into  the  relation  between  the  spirit  of  Europe  and  of  Asia  through 
the  centuries.  .  .  . 

"  I  had  found  my  proper  work,  the  study  of  Roman  institutions  in  Asiatic 
Greece,  and  the  influence  of  Asia  on  the  Graeco-Roman  administration.  If  I 
had  been  appointed  to  a  Professorship  of  Greek,  as  I  wished,  or  had  remained 
a  Professor  of  Classical  Archaeology,  none  of  my  proper  work  could  have  been 
done  rightly.  ...  In  every  case  the  course  was  marked  out  by  the  judgment 
and  will  of  others.  In  each  step  I  had  no  thought  of  the  succeeding  step 
but  drifted  without  plan  as  fate  chose.  In  the  few  cases  where  I  formed  a 
plan,  and  started  on  my  own  initiative,  I  was  usually  disappointed,  and  afterwards 
found  that  the  disappointment  was  a  necessary  stage  in  education,  and  that 
success  would  have  been  a  calamity.  I  had  gone  to  Oxford  with  the  aim  of 
getting  a  Fellowship  as  the  way  towards  a  life  of  Research.  If  this  aim  had 
been  successful  at  the  time  and  in  the  way  that  at  first  I  anticipated,  I  should 
have  inevitably  sacrificed  my  dream  and  ambition  and  drifted  into  some  other 
line.  I  left  a  failure  ;  and  was  invited  to  come  back  successful  in  my  own 
fated  line  of  life.  Nature  and  the  world  were  wise  and  kind,  and  always 
guided  where  I  was  erring  and  ignorant ;  or  dare  one  venture  to  use  a  more 
personal  form  of  the  idea  and  speak  of  Providence?" 

In  these  reflections  upon  life's  direction  through  disappointment  Sir 
William  Ramsay  is  not  by  any  means  alone.  Others  have  undergone  the 
same  experiences  and  learned  the  same  lessons.  Some  of  his  readers,  I  do 
not  doubt,  will  be  cheered  by  his  story  and  encouraged  to  turn  their  own  re- 
buffs into  similar  directions  to  success. 

William  A.  Curtis. 

Political  Thought  in  England  :  The  Utilitarians  from  Bentham  to 
J.  S.  Mill.  By  William  L.  Davidson,  M.A.,  LL.D.  Home  University 
Library.     London  :  Williams  and  Norgate. 

It  was  a  happy  insight  which  led  the  editors  of  this  series  to  select  Professor 
Davidson  to  write  the  history  of  the  Utilitarian  movement  in  England.  Only 
a  writer  who  has  come  under  the  sway  of  the  movement  at  some  time  in  his 
life,  and  has  had  intimate  acquaintance  with  its  leaders  or  with  their  disciples, 
can  be  expected  to  do  justice  to  its  historical  influence.  Professor  Davidson 
fulfils  these  conditions.  The  result  is  this  engaging  little  volume,  written  with 
sympathy,  tact,  and  judicious,  almost  detached,  appreciation.  He  is  to  be  con- 
gratulated on  accomplishing  a  difficult  task  with  success.  For  that  strange 
modern  personage,  the  "  general  reader," — with  his  immeasurable  curiosity  and 
dimly-lit  intelligence — will  certainly  be  able  to  say  when  he  closes  this  book 


164  Aberdeen  University  Review 

that  he  does  know  something  definite  about  the  subject  discussed.  The  same 
cannot  always  be  said  of  the  volumes  in  the  attractive  series  which  bears  the 
courageous  title  of  a  Home  University  Library.  Owing  to  the  immensity  of 
the  subjects  so  often  dealt  with  in  these  tiny  books  we  feel  at  the  end  of  the 
perusal  as  if  we  had  been  trying  to  learn  the  geology  of  a  country  from  an 
express  train,  or  taking  peeps  at  the  fields  of  omniscience  from  an  aeroplane. 

We  cannot  but  regret  that  the  limitation  in  the  conception  of  the  subject 
given  to  Professor  Davidson  should  have  been  so  arbitrary.  It  would  have 
been  so  easy  to  have  completed  the  survey  of  English  Utilitarianism  by  a 
statement  of  the  main  argument  of  a  treatise  which  appeared  only  one  year 
after  the  death  of  J.  S.  Mill  in  1873.  This  was  Sidgwick's  ''  Methods  of 
Ethics,"  the  first  edition  of  which  appeared  in  1874.  Sidgwick's  book  is  the 
last  distinctive  step  in  the  development  of  the  utilitarian  theory  of  ethics. 
No  one  after  him  added  anything  of  marked  significance  to  this  scheme  of 
thought :  and  his  special  treatment  of  ethics  practically  rounded  off  the  move- 
ment initiated  by  Bentham.  It  was  all  the  more  important  that  Professor 
Davidson  should  have  been  allowed  to  include  Sidgwick  within  this  historical 
survey,  when  we  reflect  that  his  treatise  was  the  most  elaborate  and  careful 
exposition  and  defence  of  Utilitarianism  to  be  found  in  this  school  of  thought. 
And  even  apart  from  its  connexion  with  the  history  of  Utilitarianism,  the 
"  Methods  of  Ethics  "  is  a  book  which  has  few  equals  and  perhaps  no  superior 
in  the  history  of  modern  ethics. 

Professor  Davidson  lays  stress  on  the  essentially  practical  aim  of  the  Utili- 
tarians whom  he  passes  in  review.  This  is  generally  neglected  by  critics  and 
exponents  alike,  but  no  one  can  doubt  the  accuracy  of  this  judgment.  With- 
out such  a  key  to  their  domain  of  thought,  even  Professor  Davidson's  uni- 
formly generous  handling  of  their  doctrines  would  have  failed  him.  He  is 
quite  alive  to  the  defects  of  their  thinking,  and  only  stays  his  pen  because  he 
reminds  himself  that  theoretical  criticism  of  a  position  not  intended  to  be 
wholly  or  primarily  theoretical,  is  for  the  most  part  a  waste  of  energy. 
Utilitarianism  deals  mainly  with  ways  and  means,  and  only  in  a  popular  and 
ofihand  manner  with  the  question  of  the  end.  The  term  end  in  fact  is  identi- 
fied with  consequence  or  result :  Utilitarianism  knows  nothing  of  unrealized 
far-away  ideals.  And  it  makes  no  pretence  to  explain  everything  in  the  moral 
life  :  it  is  more  interested  in  the  quick  returns  of  practical  social  reform,  than 
in  the  slow  returns  of  an  inquiry  into  the  complete  truth  about  morality.  Thus 
we  find  it  picking  up  moral  assumptions  and  moral  terms  at  haphazard,  mak- 
ing the  best  of  them,  and  cutting  the  knot  of  a  difficulty  by  bluff  humour  in 
the  case  of  Bentham  or  if  necessary  by  an  appeal  to  prejudice  in  the  case  of 
J.  S.  Mill.  The  latter's  method  of  settling  the  difficult  point  as  to  how  we 
can  be  sure  there  are  differences  of  quality  in  pleasures  is  typical  of  the  speci- 
ous logical  slimness  often  found  in  the  school.  "  It  is  better,"  says  Mill, 
'*  to  be  a  human  being  dissatisfied  than  a  pig  satisfied  :  better  to  be  Socrates 
dissatisfied  than  a  fool  satisfied.  And  if  the  fool  or  the  pig  is  of  a  different 
opinion,  it  is  because  they  only  know  their  own  side  of  the  question.  The 
other  party  to  the  comparison  knows  both  sides."  But  does  he  ?  A  Socrates 
can  have  no  experience  of  the  pleasures  of  being  a  fool,  otherwise  he  would 
not  be  Socrates  :  and  a  human  being  can  have  no  experience  of  the  sublime 
satisfaction  of  a  pig,  otherwise  a  human  being  would  not  be  human. 

Practical  in  its  aim  and  method,  Utilitarianism,  as  Professor  Davidson  makes 
abundantly  clear,  was  of  the  first  importance   in  bringing  about  practical 


Reviews  165 


changes  in  social  institutions  and  in  political  life,  as  well  as  in  legislation. 
The  record  of  Bentham's  influence  in  his  time  and  for  many  years  afterwards 
is  remarkable,  and  forms  one  of  the  most  interesting  sections  in  this  volume. 
Only  second  to  Bentham's  was  the  influence  of  J.  S.  Mill,  whose  detailed 
application  of  the  empirical  method  of  Utilitarianism  to  economics  and  politics 
made  a  great  impression  on  his  contemporaries  and  is  still  valuable. 

The  connexion  between  Utilitarianism  in  ethics  and  the  philosophical  theory 
of  Associationism  is  clearly  brought  out  by  the  author  and  rightly  emphasized. 
The  reason  for  the  connexion  is  that  both  rest  on  an  appeal  for  confirmation 
to  empirical  facts  in  experience.  The  application  of  Associationism  to  the 
mind  in  general  was  furnished  by  James  Mill,  and  later  by  Dr.  Bain  :  the 
thoroughgoing  application  of  Associationism  to  the  processes  of  thought 
in  particular  was  supplied  by  J.  S.  Mill's  *'  Logic  ".  Both  of  these  develop- 
ments are  dealt  with  suggestively  by  Professor  Davidson,  though  naturally 
they  are  of  secondary  importance  to  his  main  subject. 

Utilitarianism  may  be  said  to  be  a  peculiarly  English  type  of  doctrine, 
even  though  the  two  Scotchmen,  James  Mill  and  John  Stuart  Mill,  had  much 
to  do  with  expounding  the  doctrine  and  securing  its  recognition.  It  has  not 
made  any  strong  appeal  beyond  these  islands,  at  least  amongst  minds  anxious  to 
possess  a  coherent  interpretation  of  the  moral  life.  One  of  J.  S.  Mill's  ethical 
booklets — that  on  Liberty — had  indeed  an  immense  influence  amongst  the 
young  Indians  and  the  young  Japanese  about  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago. 
But  careful  students  of  ethical  problems  have  never  been  satisfied  with  the 
logical  cogency  still  less  the  logical  completeness  of  the  position  of  Utilarian- 
ism  —  a  dissatisfaction  frankly  admitted  by  the  honest  mind  of  Henry 
Sidgwick.  In  the  fullest  exposition  of  the  whole  Utilitarian  movement  given 
by  a  foreigner — the  volume  on  ''La  Morale  Anglaise,"  written  by  the 
wonderful  youth  Guyau  at  the  age  of  eighteen — the  keen  logical  insight  of  the 
Frenchman  finds  Utilitarianism  as  a  theory  faced  with  intellectual  bankruptcy. 
"  It  is  difficult,"  he  concludes,  "  to  base  morality  in  the  strict  acceptation  of 
the  term  on  simple  facts  with  the  help  of  purely  scientific  inductions  and 
without  metaphysical  hypotheses." 

But  while  admitting  the  theoretical  defectiveness  of  Utilitarianism,  it  is  all 
the  more  important  to  acknowledge,  as  Dr.  Davidson  amply  proves  in  this 
little  volume,  the  stimulating  influence  and  the  practical  effectiveness  of  its 
doctrine.  After  all  it  is  a  great  matter  if  a  utilitarian  theory  stands  the  test  of 
its  own  principle.  Tried  by  this  test  the  theory  has  certainly  shown  itself  to 
be  useful. 

J.  B.  Baillie. 

• 

Some  Results  of  Research  in  the  History  of  Education  in  England 
WITH  Suggestions  for  its  Continuance  and  Extension.  By  Arthur 
F.  Leach.  London  :  Published  for  the  British  Academy  by  Humphrey 
Milford,  Oxford  University  Press.     Pp.  48. 

A  MELANCHOLY  interest  attaches  to  a  postumous  review.  The  author  died  in 
the  end  of  September  shortly  after  the  issue  of  this  pamphlet,  and  anything 
that  can  now  be  said  must  be  by  way  of  appreciation  of  labours  already 
finished.  Mr.  Leach  was  an  indefatigable  worker  in  the  field  of  educational 
history,  and  had  established  his  title  to  speak  with  unquestionable  authority 


1 66  Aberdeen  University  Review 

of  portions  of  that  field  hitherto  very  little  explored.  A  brilliant  Oxford 
scholar,  Fellow  of  All  Souls,  he  became  an  assistant  Charity  Commissioner  in 
1884.  In  that  capacity  he  was  called  on  to  make  enquiries  into  the  endow- 
ments of  ancient  educational  foundations,  his  first  case  being  the  Prebendal 
School,  Chichester.  His  researches  here  and  elsewhere  led  to  discoveries 
which  brought  him  "  first  to  doubt,  then  to  deny,  and  finally  to  disprove  the 
authorized  version,  and  to  revise,  recast,  or  perhaps  rather  to  create  de  novo 
the  history  of  English  education,  through  that  of  the  schools  in  which  it  was 
given".  The  accepted  account  dated  middle-class  education  in  England 
from  the  foundation  of  St.  Paul's  School  by  Colet  in  15 12  and  the  grammar 
schools  of  Edward  VI.  Working  back  from  the  records  of  the  Chichester 
School,  the  author  was  able  to  furnish  clear  documentary  proof  of  the 
existence  of  flourishing  schools  of  this  type  long  anterior  to  Edward  VI,  to 
all  the  Tudors  and  all  the  Plantagenets.  Of  Edward  VI  as  educational 
reformer  his  opinion  may  be  gathered  from  the  title  of  the  first  section  of  one 
of  his  longer  works,  "  English  schools  at  the  Reformation,"  where  he  is 
designated  "  Edward  VI :  Spoiler  of  Schools  ".  '*  The  poor,  rickety,  over- 
educated  boy  "  was,  however,  in  nowise  personally  responsible ;  "  Edward  VI  '* 
stands  for  the  Minister — Somerset,  Northumberland,  etc. — in  power  from  time 
to  time.  Following  up  the  clues  obtained  in  further  investigation  Mr.  Leach 
proceeded  to  establish  the  existence  of  schools  of  secondary  character  among 
our  Saxon  ancestors,  "decried  as  they  were  ...  as  uncivilized  beer- 
drinkers  ".  So  the  series  is  carried  back  past  Alfred  the  Great  and  right  up 
to  the  time  of  Augustine,  who  first  preached  Christianity  to  the  English. 

The  importance  of  these  results  can  hardly  be  over-rated.  They  restore 
historical  continuity  in  the  development  of  education  alongside  that  of 
civilization  in  general  and  of  religion  in  particular.  If  we  endeavour  to  read 
the  story  forward,  we  must  start  with  the  establishment  of  a  system  of  schools 
in  the  Roman  Empire  in  the  time  of  Quintilian  about  the  year  100  a.d. 
During  the  following  centuries  the  system  had  been  propagated  by  the 
preachers  of  the  Gospel,  and  when  toward  the  end  of  the  sixth  century  the 
missionaries  reached  Britain,  they  came  to  it  as  to  other  countries  with  the 
Latin  service-book  in  one  hand  and  the  Latin  grammar  in  the  other.  Con- 
verts, not  merely  priests  but  laymen,  had  to  be  taught  the  language  before 
they  could  understand  the  elements  of  religion.  Schools  were  a  necessary 
adjunct  to  the  work  of  evangelization,  the  grammar  school  became  the 
"ante-room,  the  vestibule  of  the  church".  It  is  a  large  and  important 
contribution  to  educational  history  to  have  established  an  unbroken  succes- 
sion of  these  schools  from  63 1 ,  when  Canterbury  School  was  already  so  fam- 
ous as  to  be  adopted  as  a  model  for  a  new  foundation,  down  through  Saxon 
and  Norman  periods  and  right  up  to  the  late  Tudors.  Public  action  and 
private  benefaction  were  constantly  making  fresh  provision  of  schools,  until 
by  the  time  of  Edward  VI  they  were  to  be  numbered  by  the  hundred.  A 
succession  of  scholars  like  Alcuin,  Neckam,  Wycliffe,  Skelton,  Wolsey,  affords 
concrete  proof  of  the  success  of  their  efforts.  The  complete  story  is  told  in 
Mr.  Leach's  published  volumes,  especially  "Educational  Charters"  and 
"The  Schools  of  Medieval  England,"  in  addition  to  the  one  already  referred 
to.  This  booklet  sums  up  and  enforces  his  most  important  conclusions,  his 
"  Results  ".  The  "Suggestions  "  is  an  appeal  to  the  Academy  to  undertake 
the  compilation  of  an  exhaustive  chartulary  of  all  the  records.  The  case  for 
further  investigation  may  be  considered  as  proved,  but  the  removal  of  the 


Reviews  167 


person  best  qualified  to  act  as  editor  of  the  records  now  forms  a  serious 
handicap  to  the  success  of  such  an  undertaking. 

The  author  does  not  bear  errors  or  those  who  fall  into  them,  at  all 
gladly.  Many  historians  of  repute,  not  excepting  J.  R.  Green,  come  under 
the  lash.  Dr.  John  Kerr  earns  a  share  of  the  censure  on  account  of  his 
claim,  in  his  "Scottish  Education,"  of  antiquity  for  Ayr  Academy.  All 
dear  friends  from  Cambridge  seem  to  have  a  special  faculty  for  exciting  the 
author.  The  weakness  may  be  forgiven.  He  has  deserved  well  of  educa- 
tionists, and  his  loss  leaves  a  blank  that  will  not  easily  be  filled. 

John  Clarke. 

The  Book  of  Revelation.     By  Rev.  J.  T.  Dean,  M.A.,  Coldingham,  Ber- 
wickshire.    Edinburgh:  T.  &  T.  Clark.     Pp.  191. 

This  is  not  the  author's  first  literary  venture.  His  earlier  work — "  Visions 
and  Revelations:  Discourses  on  the  Apocalypse" — has  evidently  pointed 
him  out  to  the  editors  of  the  valued  series  of  "  Handbooks  for  Bible  Classes 
and  Private  Students "  (Principal  Alexander  Whyte,  D.D.,  and  Rev.  John 
Kelman,  D.D.)  as  the  man  to  write  a  suitable  Handbook  on  this  difficult 
book  of  New  Testament  Scripture.  He  has  not  disappointed  them,  and  we 
believe  he  will  not  disappoint  any  thoughtful  reader  who  sets  himself  to  study 
it  under  his  guidance. 

Mr.  Dean  is  fortunate  in  the  time  of  the  appearance  of  his  Handbook, 
which  comes  to  us  at  the  psychological  moment.  A  few  years  ago  a  student 
in  a  B.D.  examination,  answering  a  question  as  to  the  spiritual  value  of  this 
Book  of  Holy  Scripture,  gravely  declared  that  it  had  no  spiritual  value  what- 
ever for  our  age  and  time.  We  doubt  if  he  would  make  the  same  assertion 
to-day.  To  multitudes  the  Bible  has  become  a  new  Book.  The  crisis  which 
has  overtaken  the  world  in  this  great  and  unprecedented  War  has  sent  thou- 
sands of  intelligent  men  and  women  to  read  the  Psalms,  and  the  Prophetic 
Books  of  the  Old  Testament  in  particular,  with  new  zest,  and  to  find  in  them 
meanings  which  the  gigantic  conflict  makes  plain  and  striking  to  the  earnest 
student  of  the  ways  of  God  with  men.  Nor  is  it  otherwise  with  the  great 
Prophetic  Book  of  the  New  Testament.  The  times  in  which  we  are  living 
are  themselves  apocalyptic,  and  in  their  light,  as  it  falls  upon  passages  of  St, 
John's  Apocalypse  that  were  dark  and  meaningless  before,  we  see  the  eternal 
principles  of  the  Divine  administration  of  the  affairs  of  men  and  nations 
shining  forth  clear  and  plain.  As  we  study  the  Book,  we  feel  that  the 
present  struggle  is  in  line  with  the  situation  in  Asia  in  the  Church's  first  con- 
flicts with  Roman  power,  that  it  is,  as  our  author  says,  a  recrudescence  of  the 
powers  of  evil  challenging  the  right  of  Christ  to  reign  in  the  world.  "  We 
see,"  says  Mr.  Dean,  "the  whole  resources  of  one  of  the  most  highly  gifted  of 
modern  nations  captured  in  the  interest  of  a  world-ambition  and  lust  for 
power.  Science  has  forced  from  Nature  her  deepest  secrets  only  to  direct 
them  into  channels  of  destruction.  The  principles  of  social  organization,  the 
benefits  of  education,  the  toil  and  travail  of  many  years,  are  all  visibly  con- 
centrated, in  opposition  to  the  rights  and  liberties  of  other  nations,  in  the 
attempt  to  suppress  the  life  of  smaller  peoples,  to  buttress  cynical  acts  of  re- 
pudiation of  covenants,  and  to  carry  out  the  will  of  the  strong  by  means  that 
shock  the  enlightened  consciences  of  mankind  "  (p.  48).     Of  the  permanent 


1 68  Aberdeen  University  Review 

value  of  the  Book  of  Revelation,  setting  forth  the  struggle  between  the  forces 
of  God  and  the  forces  of  Satan,  and  the  final  victory  of  Christianity  over  the 
powers  of  evil  and  the  brutality  of  men,  Mr.  Dean's  thoughtful  and  instructive 
commentary  furnishes  ample  proof. 

In  the  course  of  his  Introduction,  which  covers  some  fifty  pages,  Mr. 
Dean  describes  in  successive  chapters  the  situation  of  the  Church  at  the  time 
when  the  Apocalypse  was  written,  the  primary  purpose  of  the  Book,  the  rela- 
tion of  the  Book  to  Jewish  Apocalyptic  literature,  the  date,  authorship,  and 
permanent  value.  The  chapter  on  the  relation  of  the  Revelation  to  kindred 
Jewish  literature  shows  on  the  part  of  our  author  a  complete  mastery  of  this 
new  and  interesting  field  which  occupies  such  a  large  place  in  modern  escha- 
tological  study.  The  difficulties  as  to  the  date  and  authorship  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse are  acknowledged  and  dealt  with  in  an  impartial  spirit.  The  question 
of  the  very  existence  of  John  the  Presbyter  makes  his  authorship  extremely 
improbable.  Professor  Milligan's  learned  argument,  fifty  years  ago,  against  his 
existence  has  not  been  met,  but  rather  finds  increasing  support.  Accord- 
ing to  the  late  Dr.  Salmon  of  Dublin,  it  depends  upon  "a  doubtful  inter- 
pretation of  an  ambiguous  word  in  an  isolated  extract  from  a  lost  book  ", 
That  the  Book  was  written  by  the  Son  of  Zebedee,  the  Apostle  of  the  Lord, 
is  the  view  still  favoured  by  authorities  of  the  greatest  weight. 

The  Commentary  itself  is  a  devout  and  scholarly  piece  of  work.  The 
author's  principle  of  interpretation  is  the  historical,  and  he  applies  it  with 
soundness  of  judgment,  finding  his  illustrations  all  the  way  down  the  Chris- 
tian era  to  the  present  time.  We  trust  his  book  may  be  widely  read ;  and 
even  if  it  should  be  found  beyond  the  powers  of  the  ordinary  Bible  Class,  it 
would  be  of  great  help  to  ministers  in  expounding  the  Book  of  Revelation  to 
their  congregations. 

Thomas  Nicol. 

Holidays  in  Sweden.    By  J.  B.  Philip,  M.A.    London  :  Skeffington  &  Son. 
Pp.  viii  4-3x6. 

A  MODEST  and  unassuming  work  this,  it  is  none  the  less  an  exceedingly  in- 
teresting and  delightful  one.  We  have  here  no  commonplace  account  of  the 
stodgy  round  of  regular  "  sights  "  made  by  the  ordinary  tourist,  content  to 
follow  the  beaten  track, 

And  glance,  and  nod,  and  bustle  by ; 

no  mere  assimilation  of  details  derivable  from  guide-books.  Mr.  Bentley 
Philip  shapes  his  own  course,  makes  his  own  observations,  forms  his  own 
opinions.  •' Ilandedat  Visingso,"  he  tells  us,  for  example,  "with  a  very  im- 
perfect notion  of  what  there  was  to  see,  and  of  how  best  to  see  it."  The  spice 
of  personal  adventure  is  thus  interwoven  with  the  individual  investigation  of  a 
foreign  land.  Mr.  Philip  is  clearly  an  intelligent  observer,  with  a  true  instinct 
for  natural  beauty,  and  responding  readily  to  the  emotions  which  natural 
beauty  excites.  He  possesses,  besides,  a  quiet  humour,  sub-acid  at  times 
but  never  splenetic,  which  adds  piquancy  to  comments  characterized  by  good 
sense  and  betokening  sound  judgment. 

The  book  is  evidently  the  outcome  of  more  than  one  holiday  spent  in 
Sweden,  for  which  Mr.  Philip  has  assuredly  conceived  a  great  admiration. 
He  is  loud  in  his  praises  of  the  unspoiled  nature  of  the  country  and  its  people, 


Reviews  169 

its  magnificent  woods  and. shining  waters,  and  especially  the  glamour  of  the 
northern  twilight. 

What  is  the  source  of  the  witchery  ?  [he  asks].  Chiefly  it  is  the  clear  northern  sky, 
often  cloudless,  and  faintly  coloured  yellow  and  blue,  against  which  spires  and  domes  stand 
darkly  out.  It  is  this  wonderful  light  which,  long  after  the  sun  has  actually  set,  clothes 
everything  with  mystery  and  new  charm,  covering  irrelevant  details  but  bringing  into  relief 
the  poetry  of  castle,  of  stream,  of  tree.  You  feel  surrounded  by  some  ethereal  intelligence, 
which  fills  the  spacious  vault,  and  your  spirit  would  fain  go  out  and  hold  converse  with  the 
voices  of  the  night,  which  seem  to  be  whispering  everywhere  though  you  cannot  hear  ex- 
actly what  they  say.     Hark  I  it  is  the  North  a-calling. 

The  lakes  and  forests  engage  a  great  deal  of  his  attention,  but  by  no 
means  to  the  exclusion  of  other  features.  The  attractions  of  Stockholm, 
Gothenburg,  and  other  places  are  duly  set  forth  ;  there  is  a  charming  picture  of 
KuUen,  with  its  outlook  on  the  bright  waters  of  the  Cattegat ;  and>  University 
readers  at  least  will  be  interested  in  the  account  of  a  visit  to  Upsala,  with 
its  Cathedral  and  University  and  the  country  house  of  Linnaeus,  now  the 
property  of  the  State.  A  course  at  Upsala  University,  we  are  told,  "  moves  as 
slowly  as  many  other  excellent  things  do  in  Sweden  " — in  some  cases  lasting 
possibly  for  fifteen  years.  Mr.  Philip  is  at  his  best,  however,  when  he  leaves 
the  towns  and  penetrates  into  the  country,  and  describes  for  us  the  hill  farms, 
the  peasantry  of  Dalecarlia,  and  the  Lapps  and  their  reindeer.  Amid  much 
that  is  otherwise  interesting — sketches  of  Swedish  history  and  antiquities,  de- 
scriptions of  churches  and  museums,  particulars  of  the  native  customs,  etc., — 
two  chapters  may  be  selected  for  special  commendation — those  dealing  with 
National  Characteristics  and  with  Social  Distinctions.  The  Swedes,  according 
to  our  author,  are  a  cultured,  polite,  and  friendly  people,  with  a  passion  for  the 
subdivision  and  classification  of  labour,  and  a  disposition  to  take  most  things 
easily  and  enjoy  life. 

One  thing  more  must  be  said — and  this  about  the  author  rather  than  about 
the  book.  Mr.  Bentley  Philip  discloses  himself  as  an  ideal  traveller.  Noth- 
ing apparently  worried  him  in  his  diverse  wanderings  through  Sweden,  except 
**  the  music  of  the  night "  furnished  by  fellow-travellers  or  temporary  associ- 
ates, which  sometimes  compelled  all-too-early  rising.  If  a  train  was  slow — and 
most  Swedish  trains  seem  of  that  nature — he  complacently  set  himself  to  benefit 
from  the  dawdling  by  contemplating  the  countryside  or  studying  the  passengers. 
If,  with  the  burden  of  necessary  impedimenta  (including  a  camera,  which  seems 
to  have  gone  everywhere  with  its  owner),  a  walk  proved  longer  than  expected, 
he  made  the  best  of  it  by  carefully  noting  the  features  of  the  scenery.  If  a  hotel 
boots  disappeared  when  wanted,  he  hunted  till  he  got  him ;  and  he  accom- 
modated himself  to  all  situations,  even  to  the  wholly  negative  construction  to 
be  invariably  put  on  the  customary  Swedish  phrase,  •'  Coming  immediately  " . 
He  once  endured  an  unbroken  fast  of  eleven  hours ;  several  times  he  had  to 
be  doing  with  "the  unsatisfying  simplicity  of  the  meals  in  country  districts  "  ; 
on  one  occasion,  while  his  hostess  provided  the  victuals,  he  had  to  cook  them. 
A  man  who  could  maintain  serenity  of  temper  in  all  these  trials  could  hardly 
fail  to  make  his  experiences  vastly  entertaining. 

Robert  Anderson. 


lyo  Aberdeen  University  Review 

The  Life  of  Lord  Strathcona  and  Mount  Royal,  G.C.M.G.,  G.C.V.O. 
(1820-1914).  By  Beckles  Willson.  Cassell  and  Company,  Limited, 
Pp.  xvi.  +  63a. 

This  is  described  as  *'  the  official "  or  authoritative  biography  of  Lord  Strath- 
cona, his  family  having  placed  private  letters  and  papers  at  the  disposal  of 
Mr.  Beckles  Willson.  The  abundance  of  material  probably  accounts  for  the 
size  of  the  volume,  though  this  is  doubtless  due  as  well  to  the  long  and  varied 
life  of  the  subject,  who  lived  to  be  ninety -four  and  was  a  prominent  figure  for 
nearly  half  a  century.  We  have  in  one  sense  an  exhaustive  treatment  of  the 
subject,  so  far  as  concerns  the  administrative  work  and  public  career  of  the 
man  successively  known  as  Donald  Alexander  Smith,  Sir  Donald  Smith,  and 
Lord  Strathcona,  and  with  it  are  incorporated  much  of  the  history  of  Canada 
and  many  details  regarding  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and  the  railway  enter- 
prises with  which  Lord  Strathcona  was  prominently  identified.  A  very  proper 
estimate  of  him  is  also  given  as  "  Canada's  foremost  citizen,"  to  whom,  more 
than  any  other  man,  "  is  due  Canada's  material  prosperity  and  much  of  her 
political  temper ".  But  rather  scant  justice  is  done  to  his  lordship's  muni- 
ficent benefactions — the  total  amount  of  his  donations  exceeded  a  million  and 
a  half  sterling  ;  and  the  references  to  his  advocacy  and  support  of  educational 
schemes  and  institutions  are  brief  and  rather  perfunctory.  A  similar  fault  has 
to  be  found  with  the  passages  dealing  with  Lord  Strathcona's  Chancellorship 
of  M'Gill  University  and  of  our  own  University.  "  The  truly  remarkable 
Aberdeen  University  [quater-]  centenary  celebrations,  in  which,  as  Chancellor, 
Lord  Strathcona  was  the  foremost  figure,"  are  dismissed  in  a  page ! 

Lessons  In  Geometry.  By  Chartes  McLeod,  M.A.,  D.Sc.  Aberdeen : 
The  University  Press.     Pp.  xii.  +  507. 

This  is  an  excellent  and  practical  text-book  by  an  experienced  and  practical 
teacher.  It  is  divided  into  two  parts.  The  first  part  comprises  the  substance 
of  Euclid  I.,  II.,  Ill  ,  the  leading  propositions  of  XL,  and  the  properties  of 
Similar  Figures.  It  thus  covers  all  the  requirements  for  the  Lower  Leaving 
Certificate,  and  part  of  the  Higher.  The  second  part  covers  all  that  is  re- 
quired of  the  higher  classes  of  Secondary  Schools,  including  Trigonometry. 
The  explanations  and  illustrations  are  most  lucid  and  interesting,  and  show 
at  every  turn  the  hand  of  one  who  has  had  ripe  experience  in  the  difficulties 
of  young  students  grappling  with  the  wide  field  of  Mathematics,  and  who 
possesses  consummate  skill  in  smoothing  these  difficulties  away.  No  mathe- 
matical teacher  should  fail  to  procure  a  copy  of  this  admirable  volume.  If 
we  might  venture  one  small  criticism,  is  the  "clock  face"  on  page  17  not 
faulty  ?  It  is  the  recognised  practice  to  use  IIII  instead  of  IV.  The  illustra- 
tions, it  may  be  added,  are  unusually  numerous,  and  uniformly  helpful. 


University  Topics. 

BEQUESTS  FOR  THE  LIBRARY  BY  DR.  DEY. 

The  following  bequests  were  made  to  the  University  by  the  late  Dr.  William? 
Dey  :— 

1.  The  sum  of  ;£^6ooo,  of  which  the  free  income  shall  be  applied  in  the  pur- 

chase of  books  for  the  General  University  Library. 

2.  The  sum  of  ;^iooo,  of  which  the  free  income  shall  be  applied  in  the  pur- 

chase of  books  to  be  added  to  the  Celtic  Department  of  the  Library. 

3.  The  sum  of  ;£"iooo,  of  which  the  free  income  shall  be  applied  in  the  pur- 

chase of  books  to  be  added  to  the  Department  of  the  General  Library 
specially  connected  with  the  Lectureship  of  Education  in  the  University.. 
The  residue  of  the  estate,  after  the  fulfilment  of  various  trust  purposes,  is  be- 
queathed to  the  University  Court  for  the  purpose  of  investment,  along 
with  the  legacy  of  ;^'6ooo,  and  the  free  income  to  be  also  applied  in  the- 
purchase  of  books  for  the  General  University  Library.    The  books  belong- 
ing to  Dr.  Dey  are  also  bequeathed  to  the  University  Library. 
At  a  meeting  of  the  Court  held  on  14  December,  the  Principal,  who  pre- 
sided, referred   to  the  lamented  death   of  Dr.  Dey,  and  alluded  to  the  in- 
valuable services  which  he  had  rendered  to  the  cause  of  education  in  the 
North  of  Scotland,  and  to  that  University  in  particular.     It  was  resolved  ta- 
send  to  Dr.  Dey's  brothers  a  minute  recording  the  Court's  sympathy  and  ap- 
preciation of  Dr.  Dey's  services. 

LOUVAIN  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY. 

In  our  second  volume,  p.  185,  some  account  was  given  of  old-time  links- 
between  Louvain  and  Aberdeen.  The  Governors  of  the  John  Rylands 
Library,  Manchester,  recently  resolved  to  give  a  practical  expression  to  their 
deep  feelings  of  sympathy  with  the  authorities  of  the  University  of  Louvain, 
in  the  irreparable  loss  which  they  have  suffered;  and  decided  that  this  should 
take  the  form  of  a  gift  of  books  to  be  selected  by  the  librarian  from  the  stock 
of  duplicates  in  the  possession  of  the  Library.  The  Governors  also  invited 
other  libraries  and  similar  institutions  to  share  in  this  expression  of  practical 
sympathy,  offering  not  merely  to  house  meantime  such  volumes  as  it  may  be 
thought  proper  to  accept,  but  to  classify  the  collection  (according  to  the 
Brussels  extension  of  the  Dewey  system),  and  to  furnish  it  with  a  carefully 
compiled  catalogue,  recording  the  names  of  the  donors,  "  so  that  when  the 
time  comes  for  its  transference  to  its  new  home,  it  may  be  placed  upon  the: 
shelves  prepared  for  its  reception  and  be  ready  forthwith  for  use  ". 


172  Aberdeen  University  Review 

The  University  Court  of  the  University  of  Aberdeen,  adopting  a  recom- 
mendation by  the  Library  Committee,  authorised  the  Librarian  to  prepare  a 
•list  of  such  books  in  the  University  Library  as  were  available  and  appropriate 
for  the  purpose  described ;  and  to  submit  these  for  consideration  by  the 
'Governors  of  the  John  Rylands  Library.  It  so  happens  that  our  Library — 
formed  in  i860  by  the  union  of  the  two  old  Libraries  of  King's  College  and 
Marischal  College — contains  an  unusual  number  of  duplicates  of  books  of 
prior  date,  especially  in  the  departments  of  theology,  philosophy,  history,  and 
literature. 

As  the  outcome  of  some  correspondence  with  Mr.  Guppy,  Librarian  of 
the  John  Rylands  Library,  a  first  instalment  of  250  volumes  has  been  for- 
warded to  Manchester,  and  a  condensed  list  of  these  has  been  printed  in  the 
Aberdeen  University  Library  Bulletin^  No.  XIV. 

DIVINITY  PRIZE. 

It  was  intimated  at  a  meeting  of  the  Court  on  12  October  that  the  late  Mr. 

James  Burgess,  some  time  merchant  in  Aberdeen,  had  made  a  bequest  to  the 

University  for  the  purpose  of  founding  a  prize  for  the  best  English  essay  on 

-a  subject  connected  with  religion  and  morality,  to  be  competed  for  by  students 

in  divinity  at  the  University. 

LECTURESHIP  IN  CELTIC. 

This  subject  was  again  before  the  General  Council  of  the  University  at  its 
half-yearly  meeting  on  16  October.  The  Business  Committee  reported  that 
a  representation  in  favour  of  the  institution  in  the  University  of  a  Lectureship 
in  Celtic  (see  Vol.  II.,  p.  70)  had  been  made  to  the  Court,  but  had  not  been 
acknowledged  ;  and  directed  attention  to  a  recent  circular  issued  by  the  Scotch 
Education  Department  intimating  the  intention  of  the  Department  to  "  regard 
a  course  of  study  in  Gaelic  at  a  University  as  an  essential  part  of  the  equip- 
ment of  every  teacher  of  the  subject  ". 

Professor  Harrower  moved  : — 

That  the  General  Council  desires  once  more  to  urge  upon  the  Court  the  necessity  of 
providing  suitable  teaching  in  Celtic  at  the  earliest  possible  opportunity. 

He  thought  the  Council  would  agree  with  the  statement  in  the  minute  of 
'4he  Business  Committee  that  the  present  time  might  not  be  opportune  for 
pressing  upon  the  Court  the  desirability  of  incurring  a  new  item  of  expendi- 
ture ;  but,  all  the  same,  it  seemed  wise  to  keep  the  subject  before  the  mind  of 
-the  Court,  as  their  experience  during  the  last  few  years  went  to  prove  that  the 
subject  was  not  regarded  by  the  Court  as  of  vital  and  pressing  importance. 
The  sum  of  ;^3oo  had  been  assigned  to  Celtic  in  the  Court's  tentative  scheme 
^f  allocation,  but  owing  to  the  drop  in  the  University  revenues  arising  from 
the  introduction  of  the  inclusive  fee,  it  had  been  found  necessary  to  cut  down 
the  scheme  by  ^300.     But  why  was  Celtic  made  the  victim?     It  had  been 
-declared  to  be  a  pressing  want  many  years  before  the  other  lectureships  had 
•even  been  spoken  of.     No  fewer  than  three  representations  on  the  subject  had 
been  made  by  the  Council — one  in  1896,  another  in  1909,  and  a  third  in 
1914  ;  but,  notwithstanding,  Celtic  had  been  steadily  pushed  into  the  back- 
aground  by  the  Court.     The  Professor  went  on  to  comment  upon  the  striking 


University  Topics  173: 

fact  that  Celtic  was  taught  in  more  than  a  dozen  Universities  in  the  United 
Kingdom — in  Oxford,  Cambridge,  London,  Liverpool,  and  Manchester;  but 
not  in  Aberdeen,  which  had  produced  more  Celtic  scholars  of  the  first  rank  than. 
any  one  of  them.  He  also  contended  that  it  was  essential  for  Aberdeen  Uni- 
versity to  provide  for  the  teaching  of  Celtic  if  it  was  to  retain  its  hold  on  the 
Highlands.  Of  the  four  schools  in  Scotland  in  which  higher  work  in  Celtic 
had  been  done  for  years,  three,  he  said,  ought  to  be  within  their  sphere  of  in- 
fluence— Stornoway,  Dingwall,  and  Kingussie  ;  but  from  only  one  of  these  had 
they  anything  like  a  steady  flow  of  students. 

Mr.  Hugh  F.  Campbell,  advocate,  Aberdeen,  seconded  the  motion,  laying, 
stress  upon  the  seriousness  of  the  problem  perplexing  all  the  three  Presbyterian 
Churches,  of  providing  Gaelic- speaking  ministers  for  vacant  charges  in  the 
Highlands. 

The  Principal  stated  his  belief  that  a  representation  from  the  Council  on 
this  important  subject  would  receive  favourable  consideration  from  the  Court,, 
which  had  included  a  Lectureship  in  Celtic  in  its  original  scheme  for  the 
allocation  of  the  Additional  Government  Grant.  In  consequence,  however, 
of  the  need  of  assigning  a  considerable  sum  from  this  Grant  as  compensation.- 
for  the  financial  loss  to  the  University  through  the  adoption  of  the  Inclusive 
Fee  System,  the  Court,  with  the  approval  of  the  Senatus,  temporarily  with- 
drew the  proposal  to  institute  a  Celtic  Lectureship  out  of  the  Grant.  If  from, 
other  sources  funds  were  forthcoming,  the  Court,  he  lelt  sure,  would  be 
willing,  with  the  concurrence  of  the  Senatus,  to  take  the  necessary  steps  for 
the  establishment  of  the  Lectureship 

The  motion  was  unanimously  adopted. 

In  connexion  with  this  subject,  the  following  passage  from  the  minute  of 
the  Business  Committee  may  be  reproduced  : — 

It  is  of  some  interest  to  note  the  incorrectness  of  the  general  belief  that  it  was  the  latr 
Professor  Blackie,  of  Edinburgh,  who  originated  the  agitation  for  the  establishment  of  a 
Celtic  Chair  in  Scotland.  So  far  back  as  1835  the  subject  seems  to  have  been  under  con- 
sideration by  the  board  of  directors  of  the  Society  for  Propagating  Christian  Knowledge  ia 
the  Highlands  and  Islands  of  Scotland,  and  advantage  was  taken  of  the  bringing  in  by  Mr.. 
Bannerman,  M.P.,  on  22  June,  1835,  of  a  bill  uniting  King's  College  and  Marischal  Col- 
lege into  one  University,  to  present  a  petition  to  the  House  of  Commons  "  that  a  per- 
manent provision  should  now  be  made  for  the  establishment  of  a  Professor  [of  Gaelic]  in 
the  United  University  of  Aberdeen  for  so  useful,  so  necessary,  and  so  important  a  branch 
of  Scottish  education  ".  The  petition  was  laid  on  the  table  of  the  House  on  27  July,  but 
Mr.  Bannerman  withdrew  his  bill. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Court  on  1 1  January,  it  was  decided,  in  conformity 
with  a  recommendation  of  the  Senatus,  to  found  a  Lectureship  in  Celtic  and 
Philology,  and  to  appoint  to  it  Mr.  John  Fraser  (M.A.,  1903),  the  salary  to* 
be  contributed  by  the  Senatus  from  the  Dr.  William  Hunter  Fund. 

PATHOLOGY  LECTURESHIP. 

At  the  same  meeting  of  the  Court,  a  letter  was  read  from  Sir  Alexander 
McRobert  handing  over  to  the  University  certain  shares,  the  revenue  from 
which  is  expected  to  amount  to  jC745  or  ^750  per  annum,  as  an  endowment 
for  the  Georgina  McRobert  Lectureship  in  Pathology,  with  special  reference 
to  malignant  diseases.  The  lectureship  is  to  be  attached  to  the  Department 
of  Pathology  in  the  University. 

The  Court  expressed  the  gratitude  of  the  University  to  Sir  Alexander  for 


174  Aberdeen  University  Review 

his  enlightened  generosity  and  its  appreciation  of  the  many  opportunties  of 
research  and  teaching  which  his  gift  opened  up,  in  one  of  the  most  important 
departments  of  medical  science  and  practice. 

ELECTION  OF  ASSESSORS. 

It  fell  to  the  General  Council  of  the  University  at  its  last  meeting  (in  Octo- 
ber), to  elect  two  Assessors  on  the  University  Court  in  place  of  Dr.  Albert  West- 
land  (elected  191 1)  and  Colonel  Rev.  James  Smith  (elected,  April  19 15,  for 
the  unexpired  portion  of  the  term  of  office  of  the  late  Colonel  William  John- 
ston, who  was  elected  in  191 1).  It  was  resolved,  however,  that  application  be 
made  to  the  proper  Government  department  for  authority  to  postpone  the 
election  in  conformity  with  the  recent  Act  of  Parliament. 

The  Secretary  for  Scotland  subsequently  issued  an  Order  under  the 
Elections  and  Registration  Act,  191 5,  postponing  the  election  of  Assessors 
for  a  year  and  authorizing  the  Court  to  fill  any  casual  vacancy  that  might 
occur.  The  effect  of  the  Order  was  to  extend  the  term  of  office  of  Dr.  West- 
land  and  Colonel  Smith  to  October  191 6,  and  to  make  it  incumbent  on  the 
Court  to  co-opt  a  successor  to  the  late  Dr.  William  Dey  for  a  term  ending 
in  October,  191 7. 

As  Dr.  Dey's  successor  the  Court  appointed  Mr.  George  Smith,  M.A., 
LL.D.,  Director  of  Studies,  Aberdeen  Training  Centre.  Subsequently,  it 
appointed  Lieutenant- Colonel  John  Scott  Riddell,  M.V.O.,  M.A.,  M.B., 
Assessor  in  room  of  the  late  Dr.  Westland. 

UNIFORM  PRELIMINARY  EXAMINATION. 

A  proposal  to  this  effect  came  before  the  General  Council  at  its  meeting 
in  October,  Rev.  Dr.  Gordon  Murray  moving : — 

That  a  remit  be  given  to  the  Business  Committee  to  consider  and  report  on  the  advis- 
ability of  instituting  a  uniform  preliminary  examination  as  opening  the  door  of  the  Univer- 
sity to  any  student  in  any  of  the  faculties,  to  be  followed  in  the  case  of  Divinity  and 
Education  by  the  provision  of  courses  leading  to  degrees  on  lines  similar  to  those  followed 
at  present  in  Medicine  (M.B.),  and  in  Law  (B.L.) ;  and  to  retain  expert  advice  in  carrying 
out  the  remit. 

He  said  that  since  the  change  took  place  in  regard  to  the  M.A.  degree,  it 
•did  not  connote  anything  nowadays.  One  could  not  tell  what  course  a  stu- 
dent had  passed  through  by  knowing  simply  that  he  was  an  M.A.  of  the  Uni- 
versity, so  much  so  that  in  regard  to  the  Church  of  Scotland  the  authorities 
had  set  a  preliminary  examination  before  a  student,  even  although  an  M.A., 
■could  enter  the  Divinity  Hall.  Nowadays,  the  scholars  leaving  the  secondary 
schools,  were,  at  anyrate,  two  years  older  on  entering  the  University  than  in 
his  time,  and  something  ought  to  be  done  to  shorten  the  University  career  for 
a  profession.  Mr.  W.  Stewart  Thomson  seconded;  and  the  motion  was 
agreed  to. 

THE  CLASS  SYSTEM. 

In  the  **  Introductory  Statement "  in  Sir  William  M.  Ramsay*s  recently 
published  work  on  **  The  Bearing  of  Recent  Discovery  on  the  Trustworthi- 
ness of  the  New  Testament  *' — quoted  from  in  the  review  of  the  book  which 
appears  in  this  number  of  the  Review — the  following  remarks  on  the  class 
system  are  made  by  the  Emeritus  Professor : — 


I 


University  Topics.  175 

"At  that  time  in  Aberdeen  [1868]  the  prizes  and  places  in  each  subject 
were  not  announced  until  the  final  day,  when  they  were  declared  publicly  for 
each  of  the  four  classes  in  separate  session.  The  old  class- system  was  still 
in  full  force,  the  same  system  which  about  1760  was  carried  to  Philadelphia 
and  introduced  into  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  by  William  Smith  of 
Aberdeen,  first  Provost  of  the  University — •  (this  interesting  fact  of  University 
history  is  given  on  the  authority  of  the  present  Provost,  who  told  the  whole 
story  to  the  present  writer  in  1913) — and  which  spread  thence  over  the  whole 
of  the  United  States,  being  accepted  by  all  the  older  Universities,  except  the 
University  of  Virginia,  and  adopted  by  almost  all  the  new  foundations. 
Every  student  belonged  to  the  class  of  his  own  year,  studied  the  regular 
subjects  in  a  fixed  order,  and  passed  through  the  curriculum  among  the  same 
body  of  associates.  He  belonged  for  life  to  that  "  class,"  and  in  Aberdeen 
many  of  these  classes  kept  up  the  custom  of  meeting  once  a  year,  and  oc- 
casionally publishing  a  record  of  the  fortunes  of  each  individual.  The  annual 
meeting  of  the  classes  is  in  America  associated  with  a  public  function  of  the 
University,  and  officially  used  as  a  powerful  engine  for  preserving  its  unity  and 
its  connexion  with  former  graduates.  In  Aberdeen  the  meeting  remained 
always  a  private  gathering  of  any  class  which  chose  to  hold  such  a  re- union, 
and  the  University  took  no  part  in  it  and  no  notice  of  it.  Occasionally  some 
professor  was  invited  to  the  meeting,  but  as  a  rule  it  was  purely  a  students' 
gathering  of  a  single  class.  The  class-system  at  Aberdeen,  now  much  de- 
stroyed by  the  Royal  Commission  of  1894,  was  then  a  power  in  University  life 
and  exercised  a  strong  influence  on  every  student.  That  was  the  case  with  us, 
although  our  class  was  one  which  has  never  held  any  re-union  or  met  in  any 
general  fashion  after  the  fourth  year  ended  ;  and  this  explanation  of  the  system 
is  needed  to  explain  why  that  meeting  of  the  class  to  hear  the  declaration  of 
the  prizes  was  felt  as  a  momentous  occasion  for  young  students." 

Sir  William  Ramsay  adds  in  a  footnote  : — 

"  Royal  Commissions  rarely  do  the  good  that  might  be  expected  ;  but  that 
of  1890-94  was  peculiarly  unsuccessful.  Hardly  any  member  of  it  had  been 
educated  at  a  Scottish  University,  or  showed  any  sympathy  with  the  national 
tradition  of  college  life ;  and  Aberdeen  was  represented  on  the  board  of  fifteen 
by  a  retired  professor,  eighty  years  of  age,  who  lived  far  away  in  his  own 
country,  and  knew  the  University  only  during  his  very  efficient  professoriate. 
The  students  now  still  struggle  to  maintain  the  old  custom  in  spite  of  adverse 
circumstances.'' 


CLASS  REUNION. 

Arts  Class,  1888-92. — The  eighth  triennial  dinner  of  this  class  was  held 
in  the  Imperial  Hotel,  Aberdeen,  on  27  December.  Mr.  James  Davidson, 
Aberdeen  Grammar  School,  occupied  the  chair,  and  Mr.  William  Garden,  ad- 
vocate, Aberdeen,  the  secretary  of  the  class  reunions,  was  croupier.  There 
were  also  present — Messrs.  D.  A.  Duff",  Charles  Eraser,  A.  Meff",  Harry  M*Cal- 
lum,  and  G.  A.  Simpson.  Apologies  for  absence  were  read  from  Rev.  W.  H. 
Adam,  Mr.  J.  H.  Barron,  Mr.  W.  S.  Barclay,  Rev.  J.  A.  Cameron,  Rev.  W.  P. 
Cox,  Mr.  D.  A.  Cumming,  Mr.  William  Craib,  Rev.  A.  R.  Gordon,  Mr.  J.  G. 
Gray,  Rev.  A.  Gilby,  Dr.  Gibb,  Mr.  R.  C.  Lowes,  Dr.  W.  A.  Milligan,  Rev. 
J.  H.  Morrison,  Rev.  A.  Macpherson,  Dr.  Ross,  Rev.  A.  Ross,  Dr.  Snowball, 


176  Aberdeen   University   Review 

Dr.  H.  E.  Smith,  Dr.  Sivewright,  Rev.  J.  G.  D.  Scott,  Mr.  S.  Wilson,  and  Dr. 
J.  S.  Warrack. 

Mr.  Garden  explained  that  the  Class  Committee  and  he  had  carefully 
considered  whether  the  present  was  a  suitable  time  for  having  a  dinner. 
They  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that,  as  these  reunions  were  really  not 
primarily  festive  functions,  but  more  properly  the  milestones  in  the  life-road 
of  the  class,  where  they  halted  to  see  how  it  had  been  faring  with  their  class- 
fellows  during  the  last  mile  of  the  journey,  it  would  be  a  pity  to  have  any 
hiatus  in  these  reunions.  He  was  glad  to  be  able  to  inform  those  present  that 
they  would  see,  from  the  letters  from  absent  class-fellows  which  he  was  about 
to  read  to  them,  that  the  decision  to  hold  the  reunion  as  usual  was  heartily 
approved.  He  regretted  having  to  announce  the  death  since  the  last  occa- 
sion they  met  of  three  members  of  the  class — Mr.  W.  S.  Richardson,  school- 
master, Lumsden  ;  Dr.  J.  S.  Milne,  Hartlepool ;  and  Mr.  W.  W.  Kennedy, 
for  fourteen  years  on  the  sub-editorial  staff  of  the  Bradford  ''  Daily  Argus  ". 
Mr.  Garden  then  read  a  number  of  letters  which  he  had  received  from  all 
parts  of  the  world. 

The  proceedings  were  of  a  quite  informal  nature,  and  there  were  no  toasts 
except  those  of  "  The  King"  and  "The  Class,"  proposed  by  the  Chairman 
and  Mr.  Garden.  With  a  few  songs  and  old  memories  of  college  days,  a  very 
enjoyable  evening  was  spent. 

THE  UNIVERSITY  AND  THE  WAR. 

The  number  of  graduates,  alumni,  students  and  members  of  the  Uni- 
versity staff  on  naval  and  military  service  or  under  training,  which  in  July 
was  13 1 7,  and  when  our  last  number  was  published  in  November  (see  p.  75) 
was  over  1500,  is  now  (15  February)  touching  1600.  This  does  not 
include  those  who  have  been  attested  under  Lord  Derby's  scheme  and 
grouped.  It  is  not  possible  as  yet  to  ascertain  their  full  number ;  only  some 
thirty  have  been  reported.  The  number  of  graduates  on  service  has  risen 
since  the  end  of  November  from  941  to  998  and  several  others  have  trained 
or  are  training  in  the  O.T.C.  for  commissions.  The  number  of  alumni  on 
service  has  increased  from  99  to  133  ;  the  number  of  undergraduate  students 
commissioned,  from  90  to  108  (of  whom  four  are  in  the  R.A.M.C.) ;  ten 
more  are  Surgeon  Probationers  in  the  Royal  Navy.  Of  students  who  matricu- 
lated for  this  session,  or  who  won  bursaries  in  the  bursary  competition  of  191 5 
over  fifty  have  enlisted  (this  number  includes  five  Auxiliary  Sick  Berth  Re- 
serve Attendants  in  the  Navy).  Altogether  over  315  undergraduate  students 
are,  or  have  been,  on  service,  and  a  considerable  number  of  others  are  attested. 

The  casualties  reported  up  to  15  February  are  as  follows: — 


Killed  in  action,  or  died  of  wounds, 
or  sunk  with  their  ships,  (includ- 
ing three  dead  from  disease) 


(^  Graduates  36  "j 

Alumni  8        J- 68 

Students  24   J 

Wounded  (log  less  5  also  entered  as  prisoners  or  missing)    ....  104 

Prisoners  of  War  (besides  five  civilian  prisoners) 9 

Missing.        . 5 

Total  Casualties    186 

Neuve  Chapelle  in  March,  Hooge  (Ypres)  on  the  16-18  June,  and  Hooge 
and  Loos  on  25  September  are  the  more  fatal  dates — the  last  most  fatal  of 


University  Topics.  177 

all,  for  then  there  fell  in  the  battles  of  Hooge  and  Loos  twenty-one  or  twenty- 
two,  thirty-two  were  wounded,  and  that  day  is  responsible  for  the  prisoners 
and  missing.  Three  went  down  with  their  ships ;  four  fell  in  action  on  the 
Dardanelles,  two  in  Africa,  one  at  Singapore  and  ail  the  others  in  Flanders. 
We  have  no  satisfactory  list  as  yet  of  the  invalided. 

The  lists  of  our  graduates  and  students  engaged  under  the  British  Red 
Cross  Society,  or  entered  in  the  Navy  List  as  Surgeons  and  Agents  at  Sick 
Quarters,  or  employed  in  the  making  of  munitions  and  upon  other  War  pur- 
poses will  be  published  along  with  the  Supplement  to  the  Provisional  Roll  of 
Service  in  the  next  number  of  the  Review. 

The  University  authorities  have  been  busily  engaged  with  the  manifold 
problems  arising  out  of  Lord  Derby's  Scheme  and  the  Military  Service  Act. 
In  the  end  of  the  year,  the  Principal  joined  the  other  Scottish  Principals  in  a 
representation  to  the  Secretary  for  Scotland  on  the  case  of  attested  and 
grouped  students  due  to  sit  their  Professional  and  other  Degree  examinations 
in  March.  By  the  kind  offices  of  the  Secretary,  the  calling  up  of  these 
students  was  postponed  till  after  31  March. 

Further  lists  of  honours  awarded  to  those  who  have  earned  special  distinc- 
tion for  service  in  connection  with  the  war,  and  lists  of  those  mentioned  in 
dispatches,  include  the  following  University  men  : — 

The  order  of  K.C.M.G.  has  been  conferred  upon — 

Surgeon- General  Sir  James  Porter,  R.N.,  K.C.B.  (M.A.,  1874;  M.B., 
1877  ;  M.D.),  formerly  Director-General  of  the  Medical  Depart- 
ment of  the  Navy,  and  re-employed  for  special  service  during 
the  war. 

That  of  C.B.  on- 
Major  (temporary  Colonel)  Henry  W.  M.  Gray,  R.A.M.C.,  Consultant 
Surgeon,    British   Expeditionary    Force,    France    (M.B.,    1895 ; 
F.R.C.S.). 

That  of  C.M.G.  on— 

Colonel  Stuart  Macdonald,  Army  Medical  Service  (M.B.,  1884). 

The  D.S.O.  has  been  awarded  to — 

Major   Robert    Mitchell,  2nd    Highland   Field   Company,  Highland 

Divisional  Engineers  (M.A.,  1894;  B.L.). 
Major    William    Rae,    30th    Canadian    Infantry    Battalion    (M.A., 

1903;  B.L.). 

The  Military  Cross  to — 

Captain  Robert  Forgan,  R.A.M.C.  (M.A.,  191 1 ;  M.B.,  191 5). 

Second  Lieutenant  (temporary  Captain)  Hamilton  M'Combie,  Wor- 
cester Regiment  (T.F.)  (M.A.,  1900;  B.Sc.  [Lond.];  Ph.D.). 

Second  Lieutenant  F.  W.  Bain,  4th  Gordon  Highlanders  (former  agri- 
cultural student). 

Recommended  for  the  Victoria  Cross — 

Lieutenant  William  George  Rae  Smith,  21st  Divisional  Cyclists 
(former  agricultural  student).  Killed  while  saving  a  wounded 
man. 

12 


178  Aberdeen  University   Review 

The  following  have  been  mentioned  in  dispatches : — 

Lieutenant- Colonel  George  H.  Bower,  7th  Gordon  Highlanders  (M.A., 

1891). 
Lieutenant-Colonel  James  Dawson,  D.S.O.,  6th  Gordon  Highlanders 

(M.A.,  1899) — Second  mention. 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Thomas  Fraser,  R.A.M.C.   (M.A.,    1894;  M.B., 

1898). 
Lieutenant-Colonel   John    E.    Macqueen,  6th    Gordon    Highlanders 

(alumnus,  1891-95) — Killed  in  action. 
Major  (now  Lieutenant-Colonel)  Robert  Bruce,    7th  Gordon   High- 
landers (M.A.,  1893  ;  M.D.). 
Major  Alexander  Don,  Highland  Clearing  Station,  R.A.M.C.  (T.F.) 

(M.A.,  1884;  M.B.). 
Major  Frank  Fleming,  ist  Highland  Brigade,  R.F.A.  (alumnus). 
Major  Robert  Mitchell,  D.S.O. 
Captain  Robert  Forgan,  Military  Cross. 
Captain  George  S.  Melvin,  2nd  Highland  Field   Ambulance  (M.B., 

1909  ;  M.D.). 
Captain  John  P.  Mitchell,  R.A.M.C.  (M.B.,  1907  ;  M.D.). 
Captain  James  S.  Stewart,  Scots  Guards  (M.B.,  1913) — Second  mention. 
Captain  M.  J.  Williamson,  R.A.M.C.  (M.B.,  1908). 
Second  Lieutenant  F.  W.  Bain,  Military  Cross. 
Second   Lieutenant   James   Scott,    6th   Gordon  Highlanders   (M.A., 

1913)- 
Sergeant  Alexander  Allardyce,  4th  Gordon  Highlanders  (M.A.,  1904; 
B.L.) — Killed  in  action. 

Captain  George  A.  Williamson  (M.A.,  1889 ;  M.D.),  R.A.M.C.,  Lecturer 
in  Tropical  Diseases  in  the  University  and  Officer  Commanding  the  Aberdeen 
University  Contingent,  O.T.C.,  was  appointed  last  May  by  the  military 
authorities  in  Egypt  to  organize  and  command  a  Convalescent  Camp  in  the 
Eastern  Mediterranean.  The  Camp  opened  with  273  cases,  and  room  in- 
creased so  that  during  summer  there  were  always  about  500.  After  a  stay 
varying  from  a  fortnight  to  three  months,  most  of  the  men  treated  were  able 
to  return  to  duty  fit  for  strenuous  work,  and  there  were  no  deaths.  A  fresh 
camp  had  to  be  organized  for  winter,  in  which  on  December  ist  there  were 
550  cases,  while  arrangements  were  being  made  for  the  expansion  of  the  camp 
so  as  to  hold  from  1500  to  2000.  There  have  been  a  very  large  number  of 
dysentery  cases,  both  amoebic  and  bacillary,  and  cases  of  malaria.  The 
general  administration  of  the  Camp,  as  well  as  the  arrangements  for  dysentery, 
have  received  the  warm  approval  of  the  authorities. 

Miss  Lilias  J.  A.  Simpson,  daughter  of  the  rector  of  Fordyce  Academy,  is 
the  first  lady  student  to  leave  the  University  for  national  service.  She  had 
been  attending  classes  on  the  making  of  munitions,  and  in  the  end  of  December 
was  called  upon  to  begin  work  at  Messrs.  Mackinnon's,  Spring  Garden. 
Miss  Simpson  was  presented  by  several  fellow-students  with  an  illuminated 
address  as  a  token  of  admiration  of  her  plucky  enterprise. 


Personalia. 

Members  of  the  University  everywhere,  at  home  and  abroad,  will  have 
noted  with  pleasure  the  announcement,  in  the  distribution  of  honours  at 
the  New  Year,  that  the  King  had  been  pleased  to  confer  a  knighthood  upon 
Dr.  George  Adam  Smith,  the  Principal  of  the  University.  Those  associated 
with  the  Principal  in  the  conduct  of  the  Review  join  heartily  in  the  con- 
gratulations that  have  been  tendered  him  on  the  receipt  of  this  mark  of  His 
Majesty's  favour. 

Another  distinction  will  shortly  be  conferred  upon  the  Principal.  He 
has  been  selected  for  nomination  as  Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  of 
the  United  Free  Church  at  its  meeting  in  May.  The  selection — which  is 
made  at  a  meeting  of  the  Standing  Committees  of  the  Church — was  unan- 
imous, the  names  of  two  other  clergymen  who  had  been  suggested  for  the 
Moderatorship  (Principal  Mackichan,  Bombay,  and  Rev.  Alexander  Lee, 
Edinburgh)  having  been  withdrawn. 


The  Principal's  "Atlas  of  the  Historical  Geography  of  the  Holy  Land" 
bears  the  following  interesting  dedication  : — 

To 

The  University  of  Aberdeen 
In  Memory  of 
These  her  sons  who  in  the  nineteenth  century  were  Eminent   in  Semitic 
Scholarship  and  the  Exposition  of  the  Literature  and  History  of  Israel : — 
Professor  John  Duncan,  M.A.,  D.D. 
Professor  John  Forbes,  M.A.,  D.D.,  LL.D. 
Professor  Andrew  Bruce  Davidson,  M.A.,  D.D.,  LL.D. 
Professor  William  Robertson  Smith,  M.A.,  D.D.,  LL.D. 
Professor  William  Gray  Elmslie,  M.A.,  D.D. 

And 
The  Reverend  Peter  Thomson,  M.A. 


The  Court,  at  a  meeting  on  13  December,  appointed  the  following  mem- 
bers to  be  Governors  of  the  North  of  Scotland  College  of  Agriculture  for  the 
ensuing  three  years :  Principal  George  Adam  Smith,  Dr.  Crombie,  Sir  John 
Fleming,  and  Mr.  Patrick  Cooper.  Professor  Macdonald  was  appointed  the 
representative  of  the  Court  on  the  Trust  for  Education  in  the  Highlands  and 
Islands  of  Scotland  in  room  of  the  late  Dr.  Dey.  Professor  Jack  was  ap- 
pointed a  representative  on  the  Joint  Board  of  Examiners  of  the  Universities 
of  Scotland  in  room  of  Professor  Grierson. 


i8o  Aberdeen  University  Review 

At  the  first  meeting  for  the  academic  year  191 5-16  of  the  University 
Library  Committee,  the  committee  elected  as  chairman  and  curator  of  the 
library,  Professor  Trail,  F.R.S.  Dr.  Trail  now  enters  on  his  twenty-fifth  year  of 
office  as  curator,  having  been  first  elected  in  1891,  when  the  appointment 
was  in  the  hands  of  the  Senatus,  and  Dr.  Robert  Walker  was  librarian. 


Professor  Macdonald  has  been  reappointed  one  of  the  Assessors  from  the 
Senatus  to  the  University  Court,  for  the  usual  period  of  four  years. 


Professor  J.  Arthur  Thomson  has  been  appointed  a  member  of  the  Aber- 
deen Public  Library  Committee,  in  place  of  Professor  Grierson. 


Professor  Hendrick,  addressing  the  students  in  Agriculture  at  the  open- 
ing of  the  winter  session,  mentioned  that  he  had  devised  a  plan  for  destroying 
barbed  wire  by  chemical  means.  He  had  offered  the  military  authorities,  he 
said,  to  go  anywhere  and  help  to  put  it  into  actual  operation,  but  they  had 
not  seen  fit  to  accept  the  offer. 


The  University  Court  has  appointed  Mr.  J.  F.  Kellas  Johnstone  a  mem- 
ber of  the  University  Library  Committee  in  place  of  the  late  Colonel 
Johnston,  C.B.,  this  being  the  first  occasion  on  which  a  non-member  of  the 
General  Council  has  been  elected  to  the  Committee.  Mr.  Johnstone's  pre- 
liminary "  Concise  Bibliography  of  Aberdeen,  Banff  and  Kincardine  "  was 
issued  as  a  "University  Study"  in  191 4,  and  was  reviewed  in  our  pages  in 
Vol.  IL,  p.  166;  and  his  completed  work  on  the  same  subject  is  promised  by 
the  New  Spalding  Club  in  two  large  volumes.  He  is  to  lecture  to  the 
Glasgow  Bibliographical  Society  in  March  next  on  "  The  Academic  Theses 
of  Scotland  ". 


Professor  Shennan,  Dean  of  the  Faculty  of  Medicine,  and  Dr.  John 
Gordon,  President  of  the  Aberdeen  branch  of  the  British  Medical  Associa- 
tion, are  members  of  the  Scottish  Medical  Service  Emergency  Committee 
which  was  appointed  the  tribunal  for  Scotland  to  deal  with  questions  affecting 
the  liability  of  medical  men  to  undertake  military  service. 

The  Court,  at  a  meeting  in  October,  appointed  the  following  assistants : — 
Greek  (second) — Mr.  William  George  Reid  (M.A.,  1911);  French — Mr. 
David  Glass  Larg  (M.A.,  191 5);  Moral  Philosophy — Mr.  Thomas  Jack, 
M.A.  (with  the  status  of  Lecturer  in  Political  Science) ;  Psychology — Mrs. 
Charlotte  Sturm  (M.B.,  1906). 

The  Fullerton,  Moir,  and  Gray  scholarship  in  Mental  Philosophy  (j^i  00, 
tenable  for  two  years)  has  been  awarded  to  Miss  Ann  W.  Hastings  (M.A., 
1 91 5),  daughter  of  Rev.  Dr.  Hastings;  and  the  Robert  Fletcher  scholarship 
in  Mathematics  {/^^o,  tenable  for  two  years)  to  Miss  Mary  F.  C.  Wattie, 
(M.A.,  1 914),  daughter  of  Mr.  J.  M'Pherson  Wattie,  'H.M.  Chief  Inspector 
of  Schools. 


The  Town  Council's  gold  medals  for  the  most  distinguished  graduates  in 
Arts  last  year  were  awarded  to  Edward  MTntosh  (in  the  department  of 
Languages)  and  Peter  Morrison  (in  the  Department  of  Science). 


Personalia 


i8i 


Sir  John  Anderson,  G.  C.  M.  G.  (M.A.,  1877;  LL.D.,  1907),  has  been 
appointed  Governor  and  Commander-in-Chief  of  Ceylon.  He  was  Governor 
of  the  Straits  Settlements  and  High  Commissioner  of  the  Federated  Malay 
States  from  1904  till,  191 1,  and  since  the  latter  year  he  has  been  Permanent 
Under-Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies. 


The  Senatus  has  agreed,  on  a  report  from  the  Committee  on  Higher 
Degrees  in  Arts,  that  the  degree  of  D.Litt.  be  conferred  on  Professor  William 
Blair  Anderson2(M.A.,-^i898),  Professor  of  Imperial  Latin,  University  of 
Manchester. 


Sir  William  Bisset|Berry  (M. A.,  Marischal  College,  1858;  M.D.,  1861 ; 
LL.D.,  191 1)  has  been  re-elected  member  of  the  House  of  Assembly  of  the 
Parliament  of  the  Union  of  South  Africa  for  Queenstown,  in  the  province  of 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  He  has  represented  Queenstown — of  which  he 
was  the  first  Mayor — first  in  the  Cape  Parliament  and  now  in  the  Union 
Parliament,  continuously  since  1894,  and  was  Speaker  of  the  Cape  Assembly 
from  1898  till  1907.     He  was  knighted  in  1900. 


Mr.  Gordon  Hamilton*  Calder  (M.A.,  1902),  first  assistant  in  Newbattle 
School,  Midlothian,  has  been  appointed  headmaster  of  Coalburn  School, 
Lesmahagow.    * 

Mr.  William  Dawson  (M.A.,  1901  ;  B.Sc.  Agr.),  Reader  in  Forestry, 
Cambridge  University,  is  one  of  the  members  of  the  committee  appointed  by 
Lord  Selborne  to  ensure  that  full  use  be  made  of  home  timber  to  meet  the 
present  extraordinary  demand. 


Rev.  John  William  Downie  (M.A.,  191 1  ;  B.D.)  has  been  ordained  and 
inducted  as  colleague  and  successor  to  Rev.  Alexander  A.  Russell,  minister 
of  the  United  Free  Church,  Burnmouth,  Berwickshire. 


Rev.  David  Silver  Johnston  (M.A.,  191 1;  B.D.,  1915),  assistant,  St. 
Machar's  Cathedral,  Aberdeen,  has  been  elected  minister  of  the  parish  of 
Bervie,  Kincardineshire. 


Rev.^John  Keith  (M.A.,  King's  College,  1859),  senior  minister  of  the 
United  Free  Church,  Carmylie,  Forfarshire,  who  retired  after  thirty-two  years' 
service  and  is  now  resident  in  Aberdeen,  celebrated  on  21  December  the 
jubilee  of  his  ministry  and  of  his  ordination  at  Carmylie.  A  deputation  from 
the  congregation  presented  him  with  an  illuminated  address,  and  he  was  also 
presented  with  a  congratulatory  ^address  from  the  Presbytery  of  Arbroath  and 
Forfar. 


Rev.  Robert^Alexander  Lendrum  (M.A.,  1882),  minister  of  St.  David's 
United  Free  Church,  Glasgow,  has  celebrated  the  semi- jubilee  of  his  ministry, 
having  been  appointed  minister  of  the  Free  (afterwards  United  Free)  Church 
at  Kirkliston,  Midlothian,  in,  1890.  He  is  a  brother  of  Rev.  John  Lendrum 
(M.A.,  1888),  minister  since  1900  of  the  South  United  Free  Church,  Elgin. 


1 82  Aberdeen  University  Review 

Mr.  Donald  Macdonald  (M.A.,  1913)  has  been  selected  as  science  master 
in  Old  Deer  and  Maud  Public  Schools,  Aberdeenshire. 


Major  Farquhar  M'Lellan,  R.A.M.C.  (M.B.,  1898)  has  been  appointed 
Deputy  Assistant  Director-General  of  the  Army  Medical  Service  at  the  War 
Office.  Prior  to  the  outbreak  of  war,  Major  M'Lellan  was  Adjutant  of  the 
R.A.M.C.  Territorial  School  of  Instruction  at  Aberdeen,  and  had  latterly  been 
in  command  of  the  R.A.M.C.  Training  Centre  at  Limerick. 


Mr.  William  Meston  (M.A.,  1910;  B.Sc),  second  master  of  Craigton 
Higher  Grade  School,  Culter,  has  resigned,  in  order  to  take  up  a  position  in 
Nobel's  Explosive  Works,  Ardeer,  Ayrshire. 


Professor  A.  F.  Murison  (M.A,,  1869;  LL.D.,  1893),  Professor  of  Roman 
Law  and  of  Jurisprudence  in  University  College,  London,  has  been  appointed 
for  one  year  Deputy  Professor  of  Civil  Law  at  Oxford,  owing  to  the  illness  of 
Professor  Goudy. 

Mr.  John  Watson  Murray  (M.A.,  1900)  has  been  elected  by  the  Aber- 
deen School  Board  to  the  headmastership  of  Commerce  Street  School ;  and 
Mr.  Robert  Bain  (M.A.,  1902),  to  be  second  master  in  Walker  Road  School. 


Rev.  Thomas  Burnett  Peter  (M.A.,  1888;  B.D.),  who  has  been  minister 
of  Port  of  Monteith,  Perthshire,  since  1907,  has  been  elected  minister  of 
the  parish  of  Callander,  Perthshire. 


Mr.  Forbes  Maitland  Moir  Robertson  (M.A.,  1908),  English  master  in 
Robert  Gordon's  College,  Aberdeen,  has  been  appointed  principal  English 
master  in  Hutchesons*  Grammar  School,  Glasgow. 


Rev.  Donald  James  Ross  (M.A.,  1899),  Eccles  Presbyterian  Church, 
Manchester,  has  accepted  the  pastorate  of  the  church  in  connexion  with  the 
Presbyterian  Church  of  England  at  Penang,  in  the  Straits  Settlements. 


Rev.  Harry  Smith  (M.A.,  1887),  minister  of  the  parish  of  Tibbermore, 
Perthshire,  has  been  elected  minister  of  Old  Kilpatrick  Parish  Church,  Glas- 
gow, in  succession  to  Rev.  Dr.  Mair,  appointed  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical 
History  in  St.  Andrews. 


A  reception  was  given  at  the  Town  Hall,  Pietermaritzburg,  Natal,  on  27 
October,  by  the  congregation  of  St.  John's  Presbyterian  Church,  the  Natal 
Presbytery,  Ministers'  Association,  Church  Council,  Y.M.C.A,,  Y.W.C.A.,  and 
other  bodies,  to  Rev.  Dr.  John  Smith  (M.A.,  Marischal  College,  1858;  D.D., 
1907),  in  honour  of  his  jubilee  as  an  ordained  minister  (see  pp.  82-3).  The 
"  Times  of  Natal,"  in  its  report  of  the  proceedings,  describes  the  event  as 
"  unique  in  the  history  of  Maritzburg,  and,  in  fact,  unprecedented  in  South 
Africa  ".  Dr.  Smith's  ministerial  career  has  been  wholly  spent  in  Pietermaritz- 
burg, and  he  has  been  pastor  of  St.  John's  Presbyterian  Church  since  the 
formation  of  the  congregation  in  1870.  The  union  of  the  Presbyterian 
Churches  in  South  Africa  was  to  a  great  extent  the  result  of  his  efforts,  and 


Personalia  183 

this  was  recognized  by  his  being  appointed  Moderator  of  the  first  General 
Assembly  in  1897.  He  was  also  Clerk  to  the  Natal  Presbytery  for  nearly 
thirty  years.  Over  forty  years  ago  he  was  instrumental  in  establishing  the 
Y.M.C.A.  in  the  city,  and  was  its  first  president,  holding  the  post  for  about 
fourteen  years.  Dr.  Smith  was  presented  with  several  congratulatory  ad- 
dresses, a  silver  rose  bowl  and  two  silver  vases  from  the  congregation  of  St. 
John's,  a  silver  inkstand  and  clock  from  the  Presbytery,  an  easy  chair  from  the 
Y.M.C.A.  and  Y.W.C.A.,  and  a  travelling  rug  from  the  Jubilee  Institute. 


Mr.  Andrew  W.  Thomson,  who  is  in  his  fourth  year  at  Aberdeen  Uni- 
versity, having  entered  as  second  bursar  in  191 2,  has  been  elected  to  the  Adam 
de  Brome  classical  scholarship  of  ;£^8o  a  year  at  Oriel  College,  Oxford. 


Mr.  John  Alexander  Thomson  (M.A.,  1900),  classical  master  at  Fraser- 
burgh Academy,  has  been  appointed  headmaster  of  Rathen  public  school, 
Aberdeenshire,  vacant  through  Mr.  John  Jack  (M.A.,  1871)  reaching  the  age 
limit.  Mr.  James  Hosie  (M.A.,  1906),  principal  classical  teacher  at  Buckie 
Higher  Grade  School,  succeeds  Mr.  Thomson. 


Rev.  Dr,  Alexander  Whyte  (M.A.,  1862 ;  D.D.  [Edin.],  1881),  has  retired 
from  active  service  in  the  ministry.  He  has  been  minister  of  St  George's 
Free  (now  United  Free)  Church,  Edinburgh,  since  1870 — for  forty -five  years, 
that  is.  Dr.  White,  who  was  Moderator  of  the  Free  Church  General  Assembly 
in  1898,  was  elected  Principal  of  the  New  College,  Edinburgh,  in  1900.  He 
has  just  entered  on  the  eightieth  year  of  his  age. 


Mr.  Frederick  Wishart  (M.A.,  1909;  LL.B.,  1912),  has  just  passed  the 
final  examination  of  the  Council  of  Legal  Education  second  out  of  66  can- 
didates, being  one  of  the  only  two  who  were  placed  in  Class  I.  and  who  re- 
ceive certificates  of  honour.  Mr.  Wishart,  who  belongs  to  the  Inner  Temple, 
was  President  of  the  S.  R.  C.  He  took  the  Edmond  and  Hunter  prizes  in 
Law. 


The  following  graduates  have  been  appointed  to  the  teaching  staffs  of 
various  schools:  Messrs.  Francis  Smith  (1914),  and  John  Christie  Wilkie 
(1914);  Misses  Helen  Isobel  Anderson  (1914),  Agnes  Black  (1912),  Jessie 
Keith  Davie  (1913),  Jane  Ewen  (1914),  Eliza  Gifi'ord  (191 1),  Mary  Gordon 
(1914),  Elizabeth  Philip  (1908),  Annie  Reid  (19  r4),  and  Myra  Watt  (1914). 


Mrs.  Mary  Walker  Cruickshank  (M.B.,  Ch.B.,  1906)  has  been  appointed 
assistant  school  medical  officer  to  the  Aberdeen  School  Board. 


Among  recently  published  works  are  the  following  by  Aberdeen  University 
men:  "Atlas  of  the  Historical  Geography  of  the  Holy  Land,"  designed  and 
edited  by  the  Principal;  "The  Antiquity  of  Man,"  by  Professor  Arthur 
Keith;  *'Sub  Corona :  Sermons  preached  in  the  University  Chapel  of  King's 
College,  Aberdeen,"  edited  by  Professor  Cowan  and  Dr.  James  Hastings; 
"Theology  in  Church  and  State,"  by  Rev.  Principal  Forsyth,  D.D. ;  "Apostles 
of  India"  (the  Baird  Lecture),  by  Rev.  J.  N.  Ogilvie,  D.D. ;  "For  the  Great 
Cause  "  (a  volume  of  Peace  and  War-time  Sermons  and  Addresses),  by  Rev. 


184  Aberdeen  University  Review 

George  Walker,  B.D. ;  "  Dictionary  of  the  Apostolic  Church,"  Vol.  I.,  edited 
by  Dr.  Hastings ;  a  volume  of  "The  Greater  Men  and  Women  of  the  Bible," 
edited  by  Dr.  Hastings,  dealing  with  New  Testament  men  and  women  ;  "The 
Historical  and  the  Eternal  Christ,"  by  W.  S.  Urquhart,  D.  Phil. ;  "  The  Greek 
Tradition :  Essays  in  the  Reconstruction  of  Ancient  Thought,"  by  J.  A.  K. 
Thomson;  "A  Short  History  of  Europe,  1806-1914,"  by  Professor  Terry 
(completing  his  "  History  of  Europe  from  the  Dissolution  of  the  Holy  Roman 
Empire  to  the  Outbreak  of  the  German  War");  "Bach's  Mass  in  B  Minor" 
and  "  Bach's  Chorals,"  by  Professor  Terry  ;  **  A  Popular  Handbook  of  the  Com- 
mercial Law  of  Scotland,"  by  W.  D.  Esslemont  (new  edition) ;  and  a  number 
of  brochures  on  military  and  regimental  topics  by  J.  M.  Bulloch,  including  : 
"The  Gordon  Highlanders'  Casualties  in  the  Peninsula  Campaign,"  "The 
Contribution  of  the  Town  of  Aberdeen  to  Volunteer  Defence,  17  94- 1808," 
"  The  Beginning  of  the  Banffshire  Volunteers  MDCCXCIV,"  "  Banffshire 
Volunteers  as  raised  in  MDCCXCVH,"  "The  Independent  Volunteers  of 
Banffshire  as  raised  in  MDCCXCVHI,"  and  "  The  Volunteers  of  Banff  from 
1798  to  1808". 


*'  An  Aberdeen  Professor  of  the  Eighteenth  Century  "  was  the  title  of  an 
article  by  Mr.  J.  G.  Burnett  of  Powis  in  the  October  number  of  the  "Scottish 
Historical  Review ".  The  Professor  is  Mr.  John  Leslie,  who  occupied  the 
Greek  Chair  at  King's  College  from  1754  till  1790,  and  who,  according  to  Mr. 
Burnett,  did  not  aim  at  personal  distinction,  and  left  no  writings  to  perpetuate 
his  memory.  "  He  was  contented  to  remain  a  teacher  in  the  best  sense  of 
the  word — to  make  it  his  mission  to  instil  into  others  his  own  love  and  rever- 
ence for  learning.  His  letters  show  that  he  numbered  among  his  friends  such 
men  as  Robertson  the  historian,  '  Jupiter '  Carlyle,  Colin  Maclaurin  the  mathe- 
matician, and  Robert  Foulis  of  the  Glasgow  University  Printing  Press."  The 
article  consists  mainly  of  extracts  from  letters  written  to  Leslie  by  these  and 
other  men  which  "  afford  interesting  glimpses  of  social  life,  not  only  at  King's 
College,  Aberdeen,  but  in  the  wider  circle  of  friends  among  whom  he  moved  ". 


Dorothea  Gerard,  the  novelist,  who  died  at  Vienna  on  29  September  last, 
was  a  great-grand- daughter  of  the  Rev.  Alexander  Gerard,  Professor  of  Di- 
vinity, first  at  Marischal  College,  1760-71,  and  then  at  King's  College,  1771- 
95.  She  married  in  1886  Julius  Longard  de  Longgarde,  an  officer  in  the 
Austrian  army.  Her  sister,  Emily  Gerard  (Madame  de  Laszowska),  was  also 
a  novelist,  and  the  two  at  one  time  collaborated,  but  then  wrote  separately. 


Obituary 


We  have  to  record,  with  deep  regret,  the  death  of  two  men,  distinguished 
in  their  respective  professions,  and  prominently  identified  with  the  adminis- 
trative work  of  the  University — Dr.  William  Dey  and  Dr.  Albert  West- 
land.  They  were  both  members  of  the  Court,  and  took  an  active  part  in 
the  discharge  of  its  business  and  in  University  affairs  generally.  They  were 
also  keenly  interested  in  the  Review,  both  of  them  being  members  of  the 
Committee  of  Management,  Dr.  Westland  being  Vice-Chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee and  having  for  a  time  acted  as  Interim  Secretary. 


Dr.  William  Dey  (M.A.,  1861 ;  LL.D.,  1885)  died  at  his  residence, 
32  Hamilton  Place,  Aberdeen,  on  15  November,  aged  seventy-nine.  He 
was  Rector  of  the  Grammar  School,  Old  Aberdeen  (familiarly  known  as 
"The  Barn"),  from  1870  till  1887,  conducting  it  with  conspicuous  success, 
particularly  in  the  preparation  of  students  for  the  University.  From  1871  to 
1884  no  fewer  than  271  bursars  went  direct  to  the  University  from  the 
school,  several  of  them  being  first  bursars ;  and  in  some  years  the  school 
won  successes  in  the  bursary  competition  which  have  never  been  equalled.  In 
1877,  it  had  the  first  four  places;  in  1878,  thirteen  out  of  the  first  sixteen; 
and  in  1879,  t^"  out  of  the  first  fourteen.  Dr.  Dey's  educational  methods 
and  influence  are  described  elsewhere  in  this  number,  and  it  is  sufficient  here 
to  mention  that  on  4  January,  1901,  he  was  entertained  at  dinner  by  a 
number  of  his  former  pupils,  on  which  occasion  his  portrait,  painted  by  Mr. 
E.  A.  Walton,  R.S.A.,  London,  was  presented  to  the  University.  He  fre- 
quently lectured  on  educational  subjects,  and  so  far  back  as  1899  he  read  a 
paper  to  the  Aberdeen  branch  of  the  Educational  Institute  on  "  A  Diploma 
in  Education,"  which  was  subsequently  published.  He  was  the  author  of 
"Glimpses  of  Education,  Recent  and  Remote,"  published  in  1909,  and 
"Some  Educational  Changes  and  What  They  Imply,"  issued  in  the  same 
year.  He  was  also  the  author  of  a  pamphlet  (published  in  1888)  reviewing 
Professor  W.  M.  Ramsay's  "  Latin  v.  Version  ".  Dr.  Dey  was  elected  by  the 
General  Council  one  of  the  Assessors  in  the  University  Court  in  1889,  as  a 
representative  of  the  interests  of  education,  and  he  had  been  continuously  re- 
elected since,  being  thus  a  member  of  the  governing  body  of  the  University 
for  the  long  period  of  twenty-six  years.  He  was  elected  by  the  Court  a  mem- 
ber of  the  governing  body  of  the  Commission  for  Education  in  the  Highlands 
and  Islands — he  spoke  Gaelic — and  became  convener  of  its  Education  Com- 
mittee. He  was  also  one  of  the  University  representatives  on  the  Board  of 
Governors  of  the  Agricultural  College,  and  was  inspector  of  schools  under  the 


1 86  Aberdeen  University  Review 

Dick  Bequest.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Aberdeen  School  Board  from  1891 
till  1894,  and  was  a  prominent  member  and  for  some  time  Chairman  of  the 
Provincial  Committee  for  the  Training  of  Teachers.  Dr.  Dey  and  the  mem- 
bers of  his  family  founded  in  memory  of  their  father,  Mr.  James  Dey,  Aber- 
nethy,  Strathspey,  a  scholarship  at  the  University  of  the  annual  value  of 
;£"ioo,  which  is  awarded  to  the  graduate  who  is  most  distinguished  in  the 
subject  of  Education.  Since  1900,  Dr.  Dey  had  contributed  annually  ^£40 
to  the  funds  of  the  University  Library  :  he  had  been  a  member  of  the  Library 
Committee  since  1895.  He  left  several  bequests  to  the  University,  which 
are  specified  in  the  "  University  Topics  "  on  another  page.  Dr.  Dey  was  a 
native  of  Banffshire,  having  been  born  in  the  parish  of  Kirkmichael. 


Dr.  Albert  Westland  (M.A.,  1872;  M.B.,  CM.,  1875;  M.D.,  1877) 
died  at  his  residence,  22  Albyn  Place,  Aberdeen,  on  31  December,  aged 
sixty-two.  He  was  a  native  of  Aberdeen,  a  son  of  the  late  Mr.  James  West- 
land,  manager  of  the  North  of  Scotland  Bank,  and  a  younger  brother  of  the 
late  Sir  James  Westland,  K.C.S.L,  member  of  the  Indian  Council.  From 
1875  to  1898  he  was  engaged  in  a  large  and  influential  general  practice  as  a 
physician  in  the  Hampstead  district  of  London ;  and  since  retiring  had  re- 
sided in  Aberdeen.  He  took  the  warmest  interest  in  everything  concerning 
his  A/ma  Mater,  and  was  a  member  from  its  foundation  of  the  Aberdeen 
University  Club  in  London,  of  which  he  was  a  vice-president.  In  1905  he 
was  elected  by  the  General  Council  one  of  the  Assessors  in  the  University 
Court,  virtually  as  a  representative  of  the  medical  graduates ;  and  had  been 
continuously  re-elected  since.  He  proved  an  active  and  serviceable  member 
of  the  Court  in  many  ways,  taking  a  considerable  part  in  particular  in  the 
organization  of  the  Quater-Centenary  celebrations.  In  191 2  he  edited  a 
Record  of  his  Arts  Class  of  1868-72.  Dr.  Westland  interested  himself  in 
general  public  affairs,  local  and  Imperial,  and  rendered  numerous  services  to 
the  community.  He  was  for  a  short  time  a  member  of  the  Aberdeen  City 
Parish  Council,  and  in  1907  was  elected  an  interim  member  of  the  Town 
Council,  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  retirement  of  Mr.  G.  B.  Esslemont, 
M.P.  He  continued  to  sit  as  member  for  the  Rubislaw  Ward  until  1910, 
but  at  the  municipal  election  of  that  year  his  pronounced  views  in  support  of 
the  Avon  water  scheme  led  to  his  being  defeated.  He  was  an  acting  member 
of  the  Association  for  Improving  the  Condition  of  the  Poor,  was  Chairman 
of  the  Discharged  Prisoners  Committee,  and  was  also  Chairman  of  the  White- 
hall Industrial  School.  He  was,  besides,  a  member  of  the  Public  Library 
Committee.  He  succeeded  Mr.  Esslemont  as  President  of  the  Aberdeen 
Liberal  Association,  but  severed  his  connexion  with  the  Association  in  191 2, 
resenting  the  treatment  of  the  medical  profession  in  the  Insurance  Act.  A 
few  years  ago  he  was  President  of  the  local  Medico-Chirurgical  Society  and 
at  his  death  was  Treasurer ;  and  he  was  naturally  interested  in  the  meeting 
of  the  British  Medical  Association  in  Aberdeen  in  July,  1914,  contributing 
a  survey  of  the  proceedings  to  the  Review. 


Rev.  George  Abel  (alumnus,  1873-77)  died  at  Leylodge,  Ancrum  Road, 
Dundee,  the  residence  of  his  brother,  Rev.  A.  C.  Abel,  on  2  January,  aged 


Obituary  187 

fifty-nine.  After  studying  at  the  Aberdeen  Free  Church  College,  he  was,  in 
1 88 1,  elected  colleague  and  successor  to  the  late  Rev.  George  Archibald, 
Free  (now  United  Free)  Church,  Udny — his  first  and  only  charge.  Mr.  Abel 
had  latterly  come  into  recognition  as  a  poet  of  no  mean  powers,  particularly 
in  the  use  of  the  Aberdeenshire  dialect  as  a  medium  of  expression  ;  and  only 
a  week  or  two  before  his  death  he  published  a  selection  of  his  poems  under 
the  title,  "  Wylins  Fae  My  Wallet  " — a  volume  which  met  with  a  great  deal  of 
generous  appreciation. 


Viscount  Alverstone  (Sir  Richard  Everard  Webster),  who  was  Lord  Chief 
Justice  of  England  from  1900  till  19 13,  died  on  15  December,  aged  seventy- 
three.  He  received  the  honorary  degree  of  LL.D.  at  the  Quater-centenary 
celebrations  in  1906. 


Mr.  John  Cook  (M.A.,  1869  ;  LL.D.,  1914)  died  in  Edinburgh  on  3a 
December,  aged  sixty-seven.  He  was  a  native  of  Strichen,  Aberdeenshire. 
He  was  first  bursar  in  1865,  and  graduated  with  first-class  honours  in  mathe- 
matics and  natural  philosophy.  On  leaving  the  University  he  was  appointed 
mathematical  and  science  master  at  Morison's  Academy,  Crieff,  but  almost 
immediately  afterwards  returned  as  assistant  to  the  Professor  of  Natural  Philo- 
sophy (Thomson).  He  occupied  this  post  for  three  years,  and  then  joined 
the  staff  of  the  "Encyclopaedia  Britannica"  for  scientific  work.  In  1875  he 
became  science  master  of  the  higher  grade  school  at  Arbroath,  and  two  years 
later  he  was  appointed  Principal  of  the  Doveton  Protestant  College  at  Madras. 
In  1882  he  became  Principal  of  the  Government  Central  College  at  Banga- 
lore, and  he  occupied  this  position  with  great  distinction  until  April  1908, 
when  he  retired  on  a  pension  from  the  Mysore  Government  Educational  Ser- 
vice. For  the  last  sixteen  years  of  his  principalship  he  acted  as  Director  of 
Meteorology  for  the  province  of  Mysore ;  and  on  his  retirement  the  Mysore 
Government  passed  a  special  order,  recording  detailed  appreciation  of  his 
"  long  and  meritorious  services  to  the  State  ".  He  was  also  honoured  with 
two  entertainments  and  with  silver  presentations,  one  from  the  staff  and  stu- 
dents of  the  college  and  the  other  from  former  students  occupying  honourable 
positions  in  the  Mysore  State  and  elsewhere  in  South  India,  and  a  life-size 
portrait  of  him  was  hung  on  the  walls  of  the  College  Hall.  Recognition  of 
Mr.  Cook's  eminent  scholarship  was  not  confined  to  India,  however.  Among 
many  positions  which  brought  him  into  touch  with  home  affairs  were  his  con- 
nexion with  the  University  Boards  of  Studies  in  Mathematics  and  in  Physical 
Science,  of  which  he  was  a  member,  and  his  position  as  University  Examiner,, 
which  he  held  for  over  a  quarter  of  a  century.  He  was  elected  a  Fellow  of 
the  Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh  in  1904.  Mr.  Cook  had  written  much  for 
publication,  mostly  on  scientific  lines.  Of  his  works,  such  as  his  Algebra  for 
middle  schools,  his  Algebra  for  high  schools,  and  his  well-known  "  Physics,'^ 
many  are  standard  college  text- books.  As  Director  of  Meteorology  in  Mysore 
he  published  fourteen  volumes  of  observations  taken  at  the  four  observatories 
of  Bangalore,  Mysore,  Hassau,  and  Chitaldrug,  and  fourteen  volumes  of  rain- 
fall records,  taken  at  over  200  stations  in  the  Mysore  Province,  besides  other- 
volumes  of  equal  meteorological  importance. 


1 88  Aberdeen  University  Review 

Rev.  George  Watson  Gumming  (alumnus,  1865-69),  minister  emeritus  of 
'Charing  Cross  United  Free  Church,  Grangemouth,  died  at  Torquay,  Octo- 
ber. He  began  life  as  a  gardener  at  Huntly  Castle,  and  there  came  under 
the  influence  of  the  late  Duchess  of  Gordon  and  of  a  revival  movement  in 
which  she  was  greatly  interested. 


Mr.  William  Dunn  of  Murtle,  Aberdeenshire  (alumnus,  Marischal  Col- 
lege, 1843-45),  died  at  Murtle  on  29  June,  aged  eighty-seven.  He  became  a 
member  of  the  Society  of  Advocates  in  Aberdeen  in  1856.  He  was  Clerk  to 
ithe  Commission  under  the  bill  for  the  Union  of  King's  and  Marischal  Colleges 
promoted  in  Parliament  in  1856,  and  was  specially  thanked  by  the  Commis- 
sioners for  his  services  in  the  furthering  of  the  scheme. 


Rev.  William  Pierre  Ewen  (M.A.  [St.  And.] ;  B.D.,  1867  ;  D.D.,  1894), 
'^nister-emeritus  of  Kinning  Park  parish,  Glasgow,  died  on  1 2  December,  aged 
seventy-five.  Licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Aberdeen  in  1867,  he  was  suc- 
cessively assistant  at  Alford,  Athelstaneford,  and  Kelso,  and  in  1874  received 
a,  call  to  the  church  at  Kinning  Park,  which,  two  years  later,  was  raised  to  the 
status  of  a  parish  quoad  sacra.     He  retired  from  active  duty  in  1903. 


Mrs.  A.  C.  Grant  (Christian  Davidson  Maitland)  (B.Sc,  1908; 
M.B.  [Edin.])  lost  her  life,  along  with  her  husband,  in  the  torpedoing  by  an 
iCnemy  submarine  of  the  P  &  O  Steamer  '*  Persia,"  off  Crete,  on  30  December. 
Mrs  Grant  was  a  daughter  of  ex- Lord  Provost  Adam  Maitland,  Aberdeen,  and 
was  married  only  on  18  November.  She  graduated  in  Science  in  1908,  with 
special  distinction  in  chemistry,  and,  after  taking  her  medical  degree  at 
Edinburgh,  was  for  a  time  on  the  staff  of  the  Royal  Aberdeen  Hospital  for 
.Sick  Children.  Towards  the  end  of  1912  she  left  Aberdeen  to  enter  upon 
medical  missionary  work  at  Rajputana,  India,  going  out  as  a  missionary  of 
the  United  Free  Church  Presbytery  of  Aberdeen.  She  rendered  splendid 
service,  and  amply  justified  the  confidence  of  those  who  invited  her  to  this 
special  work.  She  was  returning  to  the  mission  field  along  with  her  husband, 
Rev.  Alexander  Colquhoun  Grant,  who  was  also  a  missionary. 


Dr.  John  Halley  ,(M.B.,  CM.,  1899;  D.P.H.,  1903),  of  Ba,  Fiji,  died 
at  the  Sanatorium,  Wentworth  Falls,  New  South  Wales,  on  6  November,  aged 
forty-two.  He  was  a  son  of  the  late  Mr.  D.  R.  Halley,  Inland  Revenue, 
Aberdeen.  His  life  was  mainly  spent  in  the  Colonial  Medical  Service.  He 
.acted  as  civil  surgeon  with  troops  in  West  Africa  in  1900  and  in  South 
Africa  in  1902,  and  in  1903  he  became  Government  medical  officer  in  Fiji. 


Rev.  Alexander  Ironside  (M.A.,  1867)  died  at  his  residence,  8  Ferryhill 
'Place,  Aberdeen,  on  3  November,  aged  sixty-nine.  He  was  a  native  of 
Auchterless,  Aberdeenshire.  After  graduating,  he  engaged  in  teaching  in 
England  and  Scotland  for  several  years,  but  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  of 
the  Church  of  Scotland  in  1882,  and  was  minister  of  the  English  Reformed 
Church  at  Amsterdam  from  that  year  till  1894.  In  1898  he  became  officiating 
chaplain  (Presbyterian)  to  the  troops  at  Shorncliffe  and  Hythe,  but  was  re- 
itired  a  few  years  ago. 


Obituary  189 


Rev.  Andrew  Meldrum  (M.A.,  King's  College,  i860)  died  at  Pitlochry 
on  14  October,  aged  seventy-nine.  He  was  a  native  of  Croughly,  in  the 
parish  of  Kirkmichael,  Banffshire.  He  was  appointed  minister  of  the  parish 
of  Clyne,  Sutherlandshire,  in  18  71,  and  five  years  later  was  elected  minister 
of  the  parish  of  Logierait,  Perthshire.  Here  he  laboured  for  thirty-seven 
years,  a  colleague  and  successor  being  appointed  in  1913.  He  was  Chairman 
of  the  School  Board  and  of  the  Parish  Council  for  twenty-seven  years.  Mr. 
Meldrum  was  a  noted  Gaelic  scholar  and  antiquarian. 


Mr.  Charles  Michie  (M.A.,  Marischal  College,  1849)  ^i^d  at  his  resi- 
dence, 22  St.  Swithin  Street,  Aberdeen,  on  7  November,  aged  eighty-seven. 
After  graduating,  he  secured  an  appointment  as  an  assistant  teacher  in  the 
West  End  Academy,  Aberdeen,  of  which  he  eventually  became  rector ;  and. 
about  fifty  years  ago  he  opened  the  North  Silver  Street  Academy,  which  he 
carried  on  till  1884,  when  he  retired.  He  was  shortly  afterwards  appointed 
assistant  librarian  at  Marischal  College,  and  continued  to  occupy  that  position 
until  about  eight  years  ago.  For  many  years,  Mr.  Michie  acted  as  secretary 
of  the  Aberdeen  University  Local  Examinations.  Three  of  his  sons  are 
graduates  of  the  University — Dr.  George  Michie,  Johannesburg  (M.A.,  1884  ; 
M.B.,  1888);  Mr.  Francis  William  Michie,  H.  M.  Inspector  of  Schools^ 
Dumfries  (M.A.,  1894) ;  and  Dr.  Arthur  Cumming  Michie,  Newcastle  (B.Sc, 
1900;  D.Sc,  1906 

Mr.  Henry  Benjamin  Mitchell  (M.A.,  1878)  died  at  his  residence^. 
Dales,  Peterhead,  on  2  October,  aged  fifty-nine.  He  had  been  in  practice  as 
a  solicitor  in  Peterhead  since  1883,  and  in  1892  was  appointed  Procurator- 
Fiscal  for  the  burgh.  He  was  a  man  of  marked  literary  accomplishments,  and 
was  the  author  of  "Notable  Landmarks  in  the  Region  of  History"  (1899), 
and  of  several  stories  contributed  to  the  "Buchan  Observer,"  including 
"  Murdoch,  a  tale  of  Peterugie"  (1902);  "Kirk  of  Aberloan  "  (1908);  and 
"  The  Redemption  of  Inchmarno  ".  He  was  secretary  of  the  Buchan  Field 
Club  from  its  formation  in  1887  till  1890,  and  was  elected  president  in  1902  ; 
and  he  contributed  to  its  "  Transactions  "  papers  on  "  The  Druids,"  "  Coast 
Names  Near  Peterhead,"  and  "Notes  on  the  Parkhouse  Circle". 


Rev.  Robert  Murray  (M.A.,  1883;  B.D.  [St.  Andrews],  1895),  minister 
of  the  Cecil  Street  Presbyterian  Church,  Williamstown,  Victoria,  died  at  the 
Manse  there  on  9  October,  aged  fifty-two.  He  was  a  younger  brother  of  Rev. 
Dr.  Gordon  Murray,  minister  of  Grey  friars,  Aberdeen.  Born  at  Fochabers,, 
he  received  his  early  education  at  Milne's  Institution.  On  leaving  Aberdeen 
University  he  went  to  Australia,  and  there,  while  engaged  in  teaching  and 
tutorial  work,  he  pursued  theological  studies  at  Ormonde  College,  Melbourne, 
of  which  he  was  a  distinguished  student.  In  1889,  he  became  minister  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Morwell,  Victoria,  was  transferred  to  the  Church 
at  Wycliff  in  1891,  and  since  1895  had  been  minister  of  the  Cecil  Street 
Church  at  Williamstown.  He  was  identified  not  only  with  the  many  activities 
of  his  own  church,  but  with  other  movements  for  the  welfare  of  the  community  ; 
he  held  a  commission  as  chaplain  in  the  Royal  Australian  Naval  Reserve  ; 
and  the  Mayor  of  Williamstown,  as  the  result  of  a  public  meeting  of  the: 
citizens,  has  taken  steps  to  commemorate  his  memory  in  a  permanent  form. 


I  go  Aberdeen  University  Review 

Rev.  James  Alexander  Paterson  (M.A.,  187 1 ;  D.D.,  1894)  died  at  his 
residence,  25  Midmar  Gardens,  Edinburgh,  on  21  November,  aged  sixty-four. 
He  graduated  at  Aberdeen  with  double  honours  in  classics  and  philosophy, 
gaining  the  Fullerton,  Moir,  and  Gray  scholarships.  He  then  studied  at 
Pembroke  College,  Oxford,  where  he  was  classical  scholar,  Pusey  and  Ellerton 
Hebrew  scholar,  and  Syriac  prizeman  in  the  University.  In  1876,  at  the  early 
age  of  twenty-five,  he  was  appointed  Professor  of  Hebrew  and  Old  Testament 
Exegesis  in  the  Theological  Hall  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church.  He 
continued  in  the  Chair  until  the  union  of  the  Free  and  United  Presbyterian 
Churches  in  1900,  when  he  was  appointed  colleague  and  successor  to  Rev. 
A.  B.  Davidson,  D.D.,  in  the  corresponding  Chair  in  the  New  College  of  the 
United  Church.  On  the  decease  of  Professor  Davidson,  Dr.  Paterson  became 
the  sole  occupant  of  the  Chair,  which  he  held  till  191 3,  when  he  resigned. 
He  was  recognized  as  one  of  the  ablest  teachers  of  the  Hebrew  language,  of 
the  technique  and  grammar  of  which  he  was  an  absolute  master.  Among  his 
works  were — "The  Period  of  the  Judges,"  the  "Book  of  Leviticus  "  in  the 
Temple  Bible,  and  the  "  Book  of  Numbers  "  in  the  Polychrome  Bible.  He 
translated  Schultz's  "  Old  Testament  Theology,"  and  edited  Professor  David- 
son's "  Old  Testament  Prophecy  "  and  "  Biblical  and  Literary  Essays,"  and  his 
two  volumes  of  sermons — "  The  Called  of  God  "  and  "  Waiting  upon  God  ". 


Mr.  James  Riddoch^  (student  in  Agriculture,  1911-13)  died  at  Tarryblake, 
Rothiemay,  Banffshire,  on  18  October,  aged  twenty-two.  He  was  tenant  of 
the  farm  of  Mains  of  Mayen,  Rothiemay. 


Sir  Henry  Enfield  Roscoe,  F.R.S.,  the  eminent  scientist,  who  was  Pro- 
fessor of  Chemistry  at  Owens  College,  Manchester,  from  1857  to  1887,  died 
at  his  residence  at  West  Horsley,  Leatherhead,  near  London,  on  1 8  December, 
aged  eighty-two.  He  received  the  LL.D.  degree  at  the  Quater-centenary 
celebrations. 


Rev.  George  Stuart  Smith  (M.A.,  1878)  died  at  The  Manse,  Preston- 
pang,  on  7  January,  aged  63.  After  graduating  and  taking  licence,  he  was 
for  some  time  assistant  at  Penicuick,  afterwards  going  to  Prestonpans,  East 
Lothian,  as  assistant  to  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  John  Struthers,  on  whose  death  he 
was,  in  1889,  ordained  minister  of  the  parish.  During  his  twenty-six  years* 
ministry,  he  did  much  to  improve  the  church  buildings.  He  was  a  native  of 
Tomintoul,  Banffshire,  and  was  twice  married,  his  first  wife  being  a  daughter 
of  the  late  Sir  James  Grant  Suttie  of  Prestongrange. 


Dr.  John  George  Stuart  (M.B.,  CM.,  1899),  Burnopfield,  County 
Durham,  died  on  12  January,  aged  49.  He  was  a  native  of  Tarland,  Aber- 
deenshire, and  had  been  in  practice  at  Burnopfield  for  the  past  twelve  years. 


Dr.  Robert  Thomson  (M.B.,  CM.,  1889),  Hawthornlea,  Main  Street, 
Uddingston,  Lanarkshire,  died  there  on  29  November,  aged  forty- nine.  He 
had  been  in  practice  at  Uddingston  since  1893,  was  one  of  the  medical  offi- 
cers for  Bothwell  parish,  and  was  a  past  president  of  the  Glasgow  and  West 
of  Scotland  Medical  Society. 


Obituary  191 


Since  our  last  issue  and  up  to  the  date  of  completing  this  Obituary  list, 
ten  University  men,  engaged  in  the  various  operations  of  the  war,  were  re- 
ported to  have  been  killed  or  to  have  died  of  wounds.  Their  names  are  the 
first  to  follow.  Additional  particulars  are  given  of  an  eleventh,  whose  death 
was  previously  recorded  : — 

George  Dewar  (M.B.,  CM.,  191 5),  Lieutenant,  R.A.M.C,  attached  to 
the  ist  Highland  Field  Ambulance  in  France,  was  killed  in  action  on  3 
February.  On  the  outbreak  of  the  war  Mr.  Dewar  proceeded  to  Bedford, 
and,  after  a  few  months'  training,  he  obtained  permission  to  return  home  in 
order  that  he  might  complete  his  medical  course  at  the  University.  He 
passed  his  final  examination  with  distinction,  and  then,  having  obtained  a 
commission,  he  resumed  military  service,  and  was  almost  immediately  sent  to 
the  front.  He  was  the  second  son  of  the  late  Mr.  David  Dewar,  draper, 
Aberdeen,  and  was  twenty-three  years  of  age. 


William  Donald,  Arts  student,  private,  4th  Battalion,  Gordon  High- 
landers, was  killed  south  of  Hooge,  in  Flanders,  between  35  and  30  Septem- 
ber. He  was  a  son  of  Mr.  Donald,  Milltories,  Rothiemay,  and  had  been 
previously  wounded  in  June. 


James  Reston  Gardiner  Garbutt  (M.B.,  191 1),  Lieutenant,  R.A.M.C, 
attached  to  the  8th  King's  Own  Scottish  Borderers,  was  killed  in  action  in 
France  on  i  December.  After  graduating,  he  proceeded  to  a  hospital  in 
Sheffield,  where  he  was  specializing  in  a  particular  department  of  the  medical 
profession.  He  joined  the  Royal  Army  Medical  Corps  there,  and  on  going 
to  France  was  engaged  at  a  base  hospital.  Lately,  however,  he  joined  the 
King's  Own  Scottish  Borderers,  so  that  he  might  get  into  the  fighting  line. 
He  was  twenty-six  years  of  age. 


Hector  MacLennan  Guthrie  (M.A.,  191 4),  Lieutenant,  3rd  Battafion, 
Lancashire  Fusiliers,  was  killed  in  action  at  Gallipoli  (reported  in  November). 
He  was  formerly  a  sergeant  in  U  Company,  4th  Gordon  Highlanders.  He 
was  twenty-three  years  of  age,  and  had  graduated  with  iirst-class  honours  in 
English. 


Alexander  David  Marr  (M.A.,  19 14),  Sergeant  in  the  7th  Battalion, 
Gordon  Highlanders,  aged  23,  was  killed  in  action  on  25  September,  in 
Flanders.  He  had  already  been  wounded  in  action  in  Flanders  in  July.  At 
the  University  he  was  equal  with  another  for  the  Greig  prize  in  mathematics. 


Roderick  Dewar  M'Lennan  (Arts  student),  private  in  the  i/4th  Battalion, 
Gordon  Highlanders,  who  was  reported  missing  since  25  September,  was  killed 
it  subsequently  transpired. 


Douglas  Whimster  Keiller  Moody  (M.B.,  CM.,  1900;  M.D.,  1902) 
lost  his  life  in  H.M.S.  "  Natal '' — on  which  he  was  serving  as  surgeon — which 
was  sunk  on  30  December  while  in  harbour,  as  the  result  of  an  internal  ex- 
plosion. He  was  formerly  house  surgeon  at  Peterborough  Infirmary,  and 
second  house  surgeon  at  Addenbrooke's  Hospital,  Cambridge.     He  ultimately 


192  Aberdeen  University  Review 

settled  in  London,  and  was  for  some  time  a  medical  officer  on  P.  and  O. 
liners.  Before  joining  the  Grand  Fleet — he  was  gazetted  only  in  September 
— he  was  a  surgeon  at  the  Haslar  Naval  Hospital.  He  was  the  author  of 
several  works,  notably  "A  Critical  Treatise  on  Beri-Beri  "  and  "  Beri-Beri 
among  the  Lascar  Crews  on  Board  Ship  ".  He  was  a  native  of  Montrose. 
He  was  the  son  of  Mrs.  Moody,  now  of  Park  Avenue,  Hull.  His  great-grand- 
father, Captain  James  Whimster,  of  the  79th  Highlanders,  fought  in  the 
Peninsular  War  at  Lisbon  and  Coruna  under  Sir  John  Moore. 


Alexander  Silver,  private  in  the  4th  Battalion,  Gordon  Highlanders^ 
died  from  wounds  in  a  German  Hospital  (reported  in  December).  Previous 
to  enlisting,  he  was  a  second -year  student  in  Agriculture.  He  was  a  son  of 
the  late  Mr.  Alexander  Silver,  Harvieston,  Kinneff,  Kincardineshire,  and  was 
twenty-one  years  of  age. 

Alexander  Slorach,  lance-corporal  in  the  4th  Battalion,  Gordon  High- 
landers, was  fatally  wounded  in  France  on  25  December,  by  the  accidental 
explosion  of  the  detonator  of  an  unexploded  shell  which  an  officer  was  re- 
moving. He  was  a  second-year  Arts  student,  and  before  entering  the  Uni- 
versity had  a  brilliant  career  at  Banff  Academy.  He  was  the  youngest  son 
of  Superintendent  Slorach,  of  the  Banffshire  Constabulary. 


William  George  Rae  Smith  (former  agricultural  student),  Lieutenant,. 
2ist  Divisional  Cyclists,  was  killed  on  24  January  while  saving  a  wounded 
man ;  his  name  has  been  recommended  for  the  Victoria  Cross.  After  attend- 
ing the  University,  he  engaged  in  farming  in  New  Zealand.  He  subsequently 
explored  the  South  Sea  Islands,  Fiji,  and  New  Guinea,  and  captained  a  small 
expedition  through  Patagonia,  riding  on  horseback  from  Punta  Arenas  to 
Buenos  Ayres.  He  then  settled  in  Rhodesia.  Hastening  home  on  the  out- 
break of  the  war,  he  enlisted  in  a  New  Zealand  corps,  and  afterwards  got  a 
commission  in  the  loth  King's  Own  Yorkshire  Light  Infantry,  from  which  he 
was  transferred  to  the  Cyclists. 


Geoffrey  Gordon  (M.A.,  1903),  Assistant  Commissioner  of  the  Punjab 
— who  volunteered  for  service  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  and  who,  as  pre- 
viously stated  (p.  93),  was  killed  on  30  April,  191 5 — revived  a  family  tradition 
in  being  educated  at  Aberdeen.  He  was  the  son  of  Rev.  Alexander  Gordon 
(born  1 841),  the  well-known  Unitarian  scholar;  who  was  the  son  of  Rev. 
John  Gordon  (1807-80),  a  voluminous  author  and  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
Midland  Christian  Union  ;  who  was  the  son  of  Alexander  Gordon  (died  1833), 
a  spirit  merchant  in  Dudley.  This  Alexander  was  the  son  of  John  Gordon, 
Drumhead,  Belhelvie ;  who  was  the  son  of  John,  session  clerk  there  till  1786  ; 
who  was  the  son  of  another  John,  died  1696,  licentiate  of  the  Church  and 
schoolmaster.  Their  ancestor  was  William  Gordon,  a  shepherd  from  Brora. 
A  short  history  of  the  family,  by  Mr.  J.  M.  Bulloch,  giving  a  bibliography  of 
their  works,  appeared  in  the  Ross-shire  Journal  of  31  May  and  7  June,  1907. 
It  is  significant  (adds  the  correspondent  who  sends  this  information)  how  the 
Gordon  fighting  blood  has  emerged  after  all  this  ecclesiasticism. 

As  we  go  to  press  we  hear  of  the  death  following  dysentery,  contracted  at 
Suvla  Bay,  of  Lieut.  Richard  Gavin  Brown,  R.A.M.C.  (M.B.  1903);  notice 
reserved. 


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Aberdeen  University  Review 


Vol.  III.  No.  9 


June  1916 


James  Clerk  Maxwell. 


iT  seems  fitting  in  every  way  that  a  proposed  series 
of  sketches  of  men  whom  we  have  known  as  Aca- 
demic  Teachers  here  in   Aberdeen  should  begin 
with  one  of  James   Clerk  Maxwell :  but  I  knew 
Maxwell  sufficiently  well  to  be  able  to  appreciate 
fully  the  difficulty  of  the  task  of  writing  such  sketch. 
I  would  fain,  however,  attempt  to  discharge  a  duty 
I  owe  to  the  most  inspiring  of  all  my  teachers  out  of  the  depth  alike 
of  my  affection  and  esteem  for  the  man,  and  of  my  unbounded  admira- 
tion of  his  genius. 

I  saw  him  nearly  fifty-seven  years  ago.  As  one  of  a  class  of  fifty-four, 
of  whom,  alas!  only  ten  now  survive,  I  had,  in  the  winter  of  1859-60, 
the  good  fortune  to  sit  under  him  as  Professor  of  Natural  Philosophy 
in  what  our  good  friends  "over  the  way"  at  King's  used  to  speak  of 
as  **the  Broad  Street  Academy  ".  It  was  the  third  year  of  our  course 
in  Arts,  and  it  was  Maxwell's  last  session  as  a  Professor  in  Marischal 
College.  In  later  life,  shortly  before  I  took  up,  in  1877,  a  second 
period  of  service  in  the  University  here,  I  attended  for  a  brief  period 
his  Lectures  as  the  first  Cavendish  Professor  of  Experimental  Physics 
at  Cambridge.  About  that  time  also  I  had  the  privilege  of  visiting 
Maxwell  occasionally  at  his  charming  Scottish  home  on  the  Urr  in 
Kirkcudbrightshire,  seven  miles  distant  from  the  manse  of  my  brother, 
my  quondam  class-fellow  at  Marischal  College. 

Yet  had  these  scattered  experiences,  with  all  their  pleasant  memories, 
been  multiplied  many  times,  my  difficulty  would  remain.  His  bio- 
graphy— a  work  for  which  every  one  of  Maxwell's  friends  and  admirers 


194  Aberdeen  University  Review 

must  feel  deeply  grateful  and  from  which  I  shall  quote  freely,  without 
further  acknowledgment,  in  what  follows — was  written  by  Professor 
Lewis  Campbell  of  St.  Andrews,  his  early  school-companion  and,  there- 
after, his  close  friend  and  correspondent  all  through  life  until  its 
lamentably  early  close.  He  speaks  of  Maxwell  as — "  a  man  of  pro- 
found original  genius,  who  was  also  one  of  the  best  men  who  have 
lived,  and  to  those  who  knew  him,  one  of  the  most  delightful  and  in- 
teresting of  human  beings  ".  Yes — "to  those  who  knew  him" — and 
therein  is  the  pinch  of  the  matter.  For  it  amounts  almost  to  a  paradox 
that  one  who,  from  very  infancy,  set  himself  to  discover  "the  go"  of 
everything  he  saw  or  handled,  and  possessed,  through  life,  a  passionate 
longing  for  the  untrammelled,  yet  reverent,  investigation  of  Nature's 
secrets  everywhere,  should  himself  have  been,  by  general  admission, 
so  much  of  a  mystery  to  others.  It  was  due,  I  believe,  in  some 
measure,  to  the  working  of  his  subtle  intellect,  whereby  he  reached, 
almost  intuitively,  and,  in  a  sort  of  mirthful  playfulness,  gave  expres- 
sion to,  what  he  discerned  to  be  the  pith  of  the  matter  in  every  sub- 
ject of  conversation,  and,  forthwith,  proceeded  on  his  way,  in  Platonic 
fashion,  unconcerned  whether  he  carried  you  along  with  him  or  not. 
And  yet  no  one  but  felt,  through  it  all,  that,  as  his  biographer  well  re- 
marks, "the  leading  note  of  Maxwell's  character  was  a  grand  sim- 
plicity". He  was  absolutely  "aefauld  ".  He  seemed  fired,  as  it  were, 
with  the  spirit  of  those  noble  words  of  Homer's  hero  through  which 
the  dear  old  "Dorian,"  Maxwell's  colleague  in  the  Greek  Chair,  strove 
to  inspire  us  with  something  higher  than  even  an  appreciation  of  Greek 
poetry : — 

3j  xirtpov  fify  KtiBj)  M  <t>pfa'iy,  &\\o  5*  ttirrj, 

or,  in  the  glowing  words  of  Pope's  translation  : — 

Who  dares  think  one  thing  and  another  tell, 
My  heart  detests  him  as  the  gates  of  hell. 

Along  with  a  never-failing  good  humour  and  an  easy  courtesy 
of  manner,  there  was  yet,  as  Professor  Campbell  admits,  "  a  certain 
hesitation  ".  It  may  have  remained  as  the  baneful  residuum  of  un- 
happy experiences  with  an  unwise  private  tutor  at  home  that  led  the 
then  widowed  father,  promptly  yet  regretfully,  to  the  determination  to 
send  the  boy  in  his  eleventh  year  to  school  at  the  Edinburgh  Academy, 
by  that  time  established  as  the  rival  of  the  Royal  High  School  which 


James  Clerk  Maxwell  195 

Maxwell's   father  had  attended.     But  I  must  not  further  anticipate 
some  brief  account  of  Maxwell's  parentage  and  early  years. 

To  anyone  who  inclines  to  a  disbelief  in  heredity  I  can  confidently  re- 
commend the  study  of  the  ancestry  of  the  subject  of  these  notes.  James 
Clerk  Maxwell  was  bom  at  No.  14  India  Street,  Edinburgh,  on  13 
June,  1 83 1.  His  parents  were  John  Clerk  Maxwell,  one  of  the  family 
of  Clerk  of  Penicuick  in  Midlothian,  and  Frances,  daughter  of  Mr.  R. 
H.  Cay,  of  North  Charlton,  Northumberland.  Maxwell  was  the  only 
child  of  this  marriage — if  we  except  a  daughter  who  died  in  infancy. 
In  the  year  1679  a  Baronetcy  of  Nova  Scotia  had  been  conferred  on 
John  Clerk,  the  inheritor  of  the  lands  of  Penicuick  as  well  as  of  an 
ample  fortune  acquired  by  his  father  as  a  merchant  on  the  Continent. 
The  son  of  this  first  Baronet  became  one  of  the  Scottish  Barons  of 
Exchequer  and  a  Commissioner  of  the  Union.  A  later  generation 
produced  John  Clerk  of  Eldin,  the  author  of  a  work  on  "  Naval 
Tactics,"  which  had  the  credit  of  contributing  to  Admiral  Rodney's 
victory  off  Dominique  in  1782,  and  his  son  was  Lord  Eldin,  a  Lord 
of  Session,  distinguished  for  his  legal  shrewdness  and  caustic  wit.  A 
brother  of  the  author  of  "  Naval  Tactics  "  was  the  great-grandfather  ot 
James  Clerk  Maxwell.  On  the  mother's  side  also  Maxwell  came  of  an 
ancestry  distinguished  in  the  Scottish  Law  Courts — his  grandfather, 
Robert  Cay,  a  friend  and  associate  of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  having  at  one 
time  held  the  post  of  Judge- Admiral  and  Commissary-General. 
Maxwell's  cousin,  Charles  H.  Cay,  whom  I  recollect  as  a  year  or  two 
my  senior  in  undergraduate  days  at  Cambridge,  displayed  mathe- 
matical powers  of  a  high  order,  but  died  at  the  early  age  of  twenty- 
eight.  Maxwell's  father  was  the  younger  brother  of  the  Right 
Honourable  Sir  George  Clerk,  the  sixth  Baronet,  who,  under  the  condi- 
tions of  entail,  had  to  relinquish,  in  favour  of  his  brother  John,  the  title 
to  the  estate  of  Middlebie  in  Dumfriesshire  which  had  descended  to 
them  through  their  grandfather.  Mr.  John  Clerk  had  also  to  assume 
the  name  of  Maxwell.  Although  the  property  thus  inherited  had  from 
various  causes  become  greatly  reduced,  Mr.  John  Clerk  Maxwell,  after 
his  marriage,  elected  to  give  up  the  profession  of  a  Scotch  Advocate 
for  a  country  life  on  these  ancestral  lands  in  the  Vale  of  Urr  in  Gal- 
loway. By  purchase  and  exchange  he  added  to  the  property,  and  to 
the  whole  he  gave  the  name  Glenlair,  from  the  name  of  one  of  the  farms. 
Here  were  spent,  under  happiest  surroundings,  the  infant  years  of  his 
gifted  son,  and  thither,  as  to  a  quiet  retreat,  that  son  ever  turned  in 


196  Aberdeen  University  Review 

the  vicissitudes  of  after  years.  His  biographer  supplies  fascinating 
sketches  of  the  boyish  activities  of  young  Maxwell.  Ere  he  was  three 
years  of  age  he  showed  himself  bent  on  discovering  '*  the  go  of  it,"  or, 
more  determinedly,  "the  particular  go  of  it,"  demanding  to  be  shown 
and  made  familiar  with  the  hidden  courses  alike  of  the  bell-wires 
indoors  and  of  the  streams  of  water  in  the  rocky  channel  of  the  Urr  in 
the  valley  below.  Or  again,  "  That  [sand]  stone  is  red — this  [whin] 
stone  is  blue — but  how  d'ye  know  that  it's  blue?" — perplexing  ques- 
tions for  mother  or  aunt  to  have  to  reply  to  from  "  a  child  like  that ". 
In  after  years  he  delighted  to  point  out  the  scenes  of  his  boyish  frolic, 
quoting,  on  one  occasion,  to  his  biographer  the  lines  of  Burns — 

The  Muse,  nae  poet  ever  fand  her, 
Till  by  himsel'  he  learn'd  to  wander, 
Adoon  some  trottin'  burn's  meander, 
An'  no  think  lang. 

On  the  occasion  of  one  of  my  visits  he  favoured  me  with  a  well- 
remembered  illustration  of  the  conditions  necessary  for  a  disruptive  dis- 
charge of  atmospheric  electricity  by  pointing  out  the  contrasted  effect 
of  a  recent  thunderstorm  on  two  trees  in  close  proximity  to  each  other. 
Of  these,  the  one,  although  of  great  height,  was  sound  and  intact,  be- 
cause its  roots  ran  into  deep,  damp  soil,  while  the  other,  though  dwarf, 
had  been  shattered  and  destroyed,  because  its  roots  rambled  bare  and 
exposed  over  a  dry  rocky  knoll. 

Through  the  pious  and  devoted  care  of  his  mother  until  her  early 
death  in  his  eighth  year.  Maxwell  developed  a  singularly  retentive 
memory  and  a  mind  inspired  with  lofty  and  ennobling  thoughts.  It 
is  said  that  at  eight  years  of  age  he  could  repeat  the  whole  of  the  1 19th 
Psalm,  and  he  knew  Milton  from  his  earliest  years.  In  Edinburgh, 
during  eight  or  nine  years,  first  at  the  Academy  and  afterwards  at  the 
University,  he  resided  at  No.  31  Heriot  Row,  with  his  father's  sister 
Isabella,  widow  of  James  Wedderburn,  at  one  time  Solicitor-General 
for  Scotland,  who  wrote  lovingly  of  her  charge,  in  the  maturity  of  his 
manhood,  "James  has  lived  hitherto  at  the  gate  of  heaven,"  which  we 
might  paraphrase  in  the  words  of  Milton  "  as  ever  in  the  Great  Task- 
master's eye  " . 

Maxwell  entered  school  at  the  Edinburgh  Academy  in  the  second 
term  of  the  second  year  of  the  curriculum.  The  Rector  was  the  Rev. 
John  Williams,  a  Balliol  College  man,  and  a  "  born  educator,"  though 
for  about  three  years  Maxwell  attended  the  junior  classes  under  Mr. 
Gloag  for  Mathematics,  and  Mr.  A.  N.  Carmichael  for  Classics.     He 


Tames  Clerk  Maxwell  197 


had  access  to  an  excellent  library  in  his  aunt's  house  and  was  happy 
also  in  the  companionship  of  a  cousin,  Jemima  Wedderburn  (after- 
wards Mrs.  Hugh  Blackburn),  some  eight  years  older  than  himself. 
During  the  father's  frequent  visits  to  Edinburgh  in  winter  and  early 
spring  the  two  walked  much  together  in  holiday  hours,  the  father 
missing  no  opportunity  of  imparting  to  the  young  inquirer  practical 
knowledge  of  every  kind,  in  connexion  with  both  natural  objects  and 
processes  of  art.  When,  again,  his  father  had,  necessarily,  to  stay  at 
Glenlair  to  look  after  the  estate.  Maxwell  strove  to  cheer  his  father 
with  frequent  letters  written  in  the  most  frolicsome  manner  and  full 
of  the  wild,  whimsical  absurdities  of  boyhood.  The  close,  mutual 
attachment  between  father  and  son  forms  a  delightful  story. 

The  school-programme  in  those  days  at  the  Edinburgh  Academy 
had  scarce  a  tincture  of  science-teaching  and  Maxwell's  biographer 
raises  the  interesting  question  whether  it  was  wise  to  retain  at  a 
classical  school,  during  the  full  curriculum,  a  youth  who,  not  yet  fifteen, 
and  while  as  yet  he  "  had  received  no  instruction  in  Mathematics  be- 
yond a  few  books  of  Euclid  and  the  most  elementary  Algebra,"  had 
contributed  to  the  Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh  a 
paper  "On  the  Description  of  Oval  Curves  and  Those  Having  a  Plurality 
of  Foci " — the  very  diagrams  and  figures  that  accompanied  the  paper 
being  sufficient  to  terrify  any  non-mathematical  mind.  Ought  he  not 
rather  to  have  been  sent  off  to  the  classes  of  Mathematics  and  Natural 
Philosophy  at  the  University  ?  His  biographer,  a  ripe  classical  scholar, 
wisely  lets  Maxwell  answer  the  question  himself,  by  stating  that  he 
never  heard  Maxwell  wish  that  it  had  been  otherwise  and  that,  while 
he  never  showed  any  desire  to  specialize  during  his  school-studies,  he 
in  after  life  adhered  to  the  opinion  that  to  make  out  the  meaning  of 
an  author  with  no  help  excepting  grammar  and  dictionary  is  one  of 
the  best  means  of  training  the  human  mind.  Though  about  a  year 
younger  than  most  of  his  school-mates,  he  finished  his  school-course 
not  only  first  in  Mathematics  and  English  but  very  nearly  first  also  in 
Latin,  and  this  although  his  attendance  at  school  during  his  last  year 
(1846-7)  had  been  much  interrupted  by  the  state  of  his  health. 

Maxwell  had  thus  entered  his  seventeenth  year  when  he  became  a 
"  private  "  student  at  the  University,  by  which  is  meant  that  he  did  not 
take  up  the  normal  course  for  the  Degree  in  Arts.  It  was  rather  the 
exception  at  this  time  in  Edinburgh  to  graduate  in  Arts.  Maxwell's 
course  of  study  was  as  follows : — 


198  Aberdeen  University  Review 

First  winter — Professor  Kelland  for  Mathematics,  Professor  James 
D.  Forbes  for  Natural  Philosophy,  and  Professor  Sir  William  Hamilton 
for  Logic. 

Second  winter — Second  courses  under  Kelland  and  Forbes  and  the 
class  of  Metaphysics  under  Sir  William  Hamilton. 

Third  winter — A  third  course  in  the  Laboratory  of  Natural  Philo- 
sophy, Professor  Gregory  for  Systematic  Chemistry  and  Mr.  Kemp 
(Lecturer)  for  Practical  Chemistry,  Professor  Wilson  ("  Christopher 
North")  for  Moral  Philosophy. 

These  were  great  teachers,  and  well  did  Maxwell  profit  by  their  in- 
struction. Professor  Campbell,  however,  inclines  to  the  opinion  that 
it  would  have  entered  Maxwell  "  sooner  and  more  fully  upon  the  study 
of  mankind,  for  which  he  had  such  large  capacity  and  opportunities 
hitherto  so  limited,"  had  he  proceeded  to  Cambridge  after  his  second 
winter  at  the  University  of  Edinburgh.  For  to  Cambridge  and  not  to 
the  Scotch  Bar,  it  had  now  been  decided  that  Maxwell  was  to  go,  there 
to  study,  as  he  himself  put  it,  "  another  kind  of  laws  "  than  those  ad- 
ministered from  the  Parliament  House  in  Edinburgh. 

As  illustrative  of  his  wide  mental  outlook  at  this  critically- formative 
period,  one  may  cite  the  following  programme  of  private  study  to  which 
he  set  himself  at  Glenlair  during  the  summer  of  1850,  after  leaving 
Edinburgh  and  before  proceeding  to  Cambridge :  In  addition  to  the 
study  of  Mathematics  of  a  very  high  order,  to  enable  him,  as  he  says, 
"to  write  Algebra  like  a  book,"  and  a  wide  range  of  experimental 
philosophy,  including  "playing  devils"  (i.e.,  practising  the  game  of 
"  Devil-on- two-sticks  "  at  which,  both  as  a  gymnastic  exercise  and  as 
an  exposition  of  dynamical  principles,  he  became  an  expert),  he  pre- 
scribed for  himself  the  study  of  "Kant's  'Kritik  of  Pure  Reason'  in 
German,  read  with  a  determination  to  make  it  agree  with  Sir  William 
Hamilton,"  and  also  "  Hobbes'  *  Leviathan,'  with  his  Moral  Philosophy, 
to  be  read  as  the  only  man  who  has  decided  opinions  and  avows  them 
in  a  distinct  way,"  and  an  "  examination  of  the  first  part  of  the  seventh 
chapter  of  Matthew  in  reference  to  the  moral  principles  which  it  sup- 
poses," and  Paley's  "Evidences,"  then  required  for  Cambridge.  His 
biographer  specially  remarks  on  the  singular  fact  that  a  born  mathe- 
matician like  Maxwell  should  have  shown  himself  so  deeply  influenced 
by  "  the  inexhaustible  learning  of  Sir  William  Hamilton,  the  enemy  ot 
Mathematics  ".  It  was,  surely,  because  Maxwell's  keen,  inquiring  in- 
tellect refused  to  be  baffled  by  any  problem  that  excited  his  interest — 


James  Clerk  Maxwell  199 


acting  in  the  spirit  of  the  maxim — "  Homo  sum :  humani  nihil  a  me 
alienum  puto ".  And,  after  all,  why  should  Mathematics  and  Meta- 
physics be  looked  on  as  antagonistic,  still  less  as  irreconcileable  ? 
Anyhow,  so  extensive  had  been  his  reading,  and  so  ample  was  his 
mental  equipment,  that,  as  his  friend  Tait  wrote — "  Maxwell  brought 
to  Cambridge  in  the  autumn  of  1850  a  mass  of  knowledge  really  im- 
mense for  so  young  a  man,"  and  another,  who  met  Maxwell  casually 
at  this  time,  wrote  that  he  showed  himself  "  acquainted  with  every 
subject  on  which  the  conversation  turned.  I  do  believe  there  is  not  a 
single  subject  on  which  he  cannot  talk,  and  talk  well  too,  displaying 
always  the  most  curious  and  out-of-the-way  information."  One  might 
have  said  of  him — "Nihil  quod  tetigit  non  ornavit". 

After  full  inquiry,  the  choice  of  a  College  at  Cambridge  was  decided 
in  favour  of  Peterhouse :  but,  the  experience  of  one  term's  residence 
there,  and  a  more  reliable  estimate  of  his  own  powers,  coupled  with  an 
appreciation  of  "  the  ampler  opportunities  for  self-improvement  which 
the  larger  College  presented,"  led  Maxwell,  under  the  advice  of  friends, 
to  "  migrate  "  to  Trinity  College.  The  facility  with  which  he  mastered 
the  work  prescribed  either  by  his  private  tutor  or  by  the  College  lecturers 
left  him  ample  leisure  time.  This  he  devoted  both  to  wide  social  in- 
tercourse (in  respect  of  which  his  wise  discernment  seems  to  have  led 
to  a  singularly  happy  selection  of  friends  and  associates)  and  to  such 
odd  digressions  as  the  translation  of  the  choral  odes  of  the  Ajax  into 
rhymed  English  verse,  and  a  rough  caricature  of  Ajax  slaughtering  the 
oxen.  A  certain  amount  of  classical  reading  was  at  that  time  (and 
even  ten  years  later,  as  I  can  remember)  required  of  all  Freshmen  in 
anticipation  of  the  "  Little  Go"  examination.  In  the  autumn  of  1851 
he  became  a  pupil  of  Hopkins,  at  that  time  the  leading  "coach"  in 
Mathematics,  who  is  credited  with  having  formed  this  remarkable  esti- 
mate of  his  powers — "  It  appears  impossible  for  Maxwell  to  think  in- 
correctly on  physical  subjects  ". 

During  his  first  year  as  an  undergraduate  at  Trinity  College, 
Maxwell  lived  in  "  licensed  lodgings  "  at  No.  8  King's  Parade ;  but, 
after  the  spring  of  1852,  he  got  rooms  in  College  (Old  Court,  Letter 
G).  Of  the  many  letters  he  ^ wrote  to  friends  at  this  time,  those  to  his 
friend  Campbell  are  specially  interesting.  He  complains  in  one  of 
these  that,  while  "  facts  are  very  scarce  here  .  .  .  there  is  sound 
intelligence  from  Newmarket  for  those  that  put  their  trust  in  horses, 
and  Calendristic  lore  for  the  votaries  of  the  Senate-house  " — the  study 


200  Aberdeen  University  Review 

of  the  University  Calendar  (known  as  the  "Freshman's  Bible")  being 
considered  indispensable  for  the  attainment  of  a  knowledge  of  the 
names  and  careers  of  the  highest  honours  men.  "  But,"  Maxwell  goes 
on  to  say,  "  man  requires  more.  He  starves,  while  being  crammed. 
He  wants  man's  meat,  not  college  pudding."  Assuring  his  friend, 
however,  that  he  is  "  not  disgusted  with  Cambridge  and  meditating  a 
retreat,"  he  says  he  is  "  persuaded  that  the  study  of  4r  and  y  is  to  men 
an  essential  preparation  for  the  study  of  the  material  universe.  ...  I 
believe,  with  the  Westminster  Divines  and  their  predecessors  ad  in- 
finitum^  that  'Man's  chief  end  is  to  glorify  God  and  to  enjoy  Him  for 
ever '."  This  whole  letter  is  most  interesting.  How  delightful  is  this  ? — 
"  Chemistry  is  a  pack  of  cards  which  the  labour  of  hundreds  is  slowly 
arranging :  and  one  or  two  tricks — faint  imitations  of  Nature — have 
been  played  ".  In  another  letter  to  Campbell  he  writes  of  a  greaitp/an 
formed  for  himself,  the  rule  of  which  is  "  to  let  nothing  be  left  wilfully 
unexamined.  Nothing  is  to  be  kofy  ground  consecrated  to  Stationary 
Faith,  whether  positive  or  negative.  All  land  is  to  be  ploughed 
up,  and  a  regular  system  of  rotation  followed.  .  .  .  No  one  but  a 
Christian  can  actually  purge  his  land  of  these  holy  spots.  ...  No  one 
can  be  sure  of  all  being  open  till  all  has  been  examined  by  competent 
persons,  which  is  the  work  of  eternity.  .  .  .  Christianity — that  is,  the 
religion  of  the  Bible — is  the  only  scheme  or  form  of  belief  which  dis- 
avows any  possessions  on  such  a  tenure.  Here  alone  all  is  free."  The 
foregoing  "plan,"  formed  before  he  was  twenty-one  years  of  age,  ex- 
presses his  mental  outlook  through  life,  on  the  question  of  the  re- 
lationship of  science  to  religion.  More  than  twenty  years  later, 
following  on  his  notable  pronouncement  regarding  molecules  as 
"  manufactured  articles,"  to  which  reference  will  be  made  later  on,  he 
was  very  strongly  pressed  to  become  a  candidate  for  admission  into 
the  Victoria  Institute,  but  could  not  see  his  way  to  consent,  on  these 
grounds :  "  I  think  men  of  science  as  well  as  other  men  need  to  learn 
from  Christ,  and  I  think  Christians  whose  minds  are  scientific  arc 
bound  to  study  science  that  their  view  of  the  glory  of  God  may  be  as 
extensive  as  their  being  is  capable  of  But  I  think  that  the  results 
which  each  man  arrives  at  in  his  attempts  to  harmonize  his  science 
with  his  Christianity  ought  not  to  be  regarded  as  having  any  signi- 
ficance except  to  the  man  himself,  and  to  him  only  for  a  time,  and 
should  not  receive  the  stamp  of  a  Society."  Some  four  years  after 
this,  when  on  his  death-bed,  he  gave  utterance  to  his  final  convictions 


Tames  Clerk  Maxwell  201 

to  his  cousin  and  close  friend,  Mr.  Colin  Mackenzie,  in  these  notable 
words — "  Old  chap,  I  have  read  up  many  queer  religions  :  there  is 
nothing  like  the  old  thing  after  all.  ...  I  have  looked  into  most  phil- 
osophical systems,  and  I  have  seen  that  none  will  work  without  a  God." 

As  the  great  contest  in  the  Mathematical  Tripos  of  January, 
1854,  drew  nigh,  Maxwell  set  himself,  after  his  own  fashion,  to  the  task 
of  "arranging  everything — so  that  examiners  may  be  satisfied  now 
and  pupils  edified  hereafter  **.  This  work  was  hindered  considerably 
by  a  severe  illness  (a  brain  fever)  in  June,  1853.  His  friend  Tait 
admits,  however,  that  even  under  Hopkins,  his  methodical  private 
tutor,  Maxwell  "to  a  great  extent  took  his  own  way,"  and  that  prob- 
ably "no  high  wrangler  of  recent  years  ever  entered  the  Senate-house 
more  imperfectly  prepared  to  produce  'paying*  work  than  did 
Maxwell.  But  by  sheer  strength  of  intellect,  though  with  the  very 
minimum  of  knowledge  how  to  use  it  to  advantage  under  the  condi- 
tions of  the  Examination,  he  obtained  the  position  of  Second  Wrangler, 
and  was  bracketed  equal  with  the  Senior  Wrangler  in  the  higher 
ordeal  of  the  Smith's  Prizes." 

After  this  brilliant  achievement,  he  resided  for  over  two  years  at 
Trinity,  first  as  resident  scholar  and,  afterwards,  as  Fellow.  To  his 
friend  Dean  Farrar  he,  later  on,  communicated  a  copy  of  a  set  of 
aphorisms  for  the  conduct  of  life,  which  he  had  drawn-up  at  this  time, 
enjoining  that — "  He  that  would  enjoy  life  and  act  with  freedom  must 
have  the  work  of  the  day  continually  before  his  eyes — not  yesterday's 
work,  lest  he  fall  into  despair,  nor  to-morrow's,  lest  he  become  a  vision- 
ary— not  that  which  ends  with  the  day,  which  is  a  worldly  work,  nor 
yet  that  only  which  remains  to  eternity,  for  by  it  he  cannot  shape  his 
actions.  Happy  is  the  man  who  can  recognize  in  the  work  of  to-day 
a  connected  portion  of  the  work  of  life,  and  an  embodiment  of  the 
work  of  Eternity.  The  foundations  of  his  confidence  are  unchangeable, 
for  he  has  been  made  a  partaker  of  Infinity." 

Maxwell  had  already  been  appointed  a  College  Lecturer,  and  was 
taking  pupils,  when,  on  February  13,  1856,  his  close  friend  and  former 
teacher  in  Edinburgh,  Professor  James  D.  Forbes,  wrote  informing 
Maxwell  of  the  death  of  Mr.  David  Gray,  Professor  of  Natural  Phil- 
osophy in  Marischal  College  and  University.  With  the  hearty  ap- 
proval of  his  father,  Maxwell  resolved  to  apply  for  the  post,  becausej 
as  he  wrote,  "  the  sooner  I  get  into  regular  work  the  better,  and  the 
best  way  of  getting  into  such  work  is  to  profess  one's  readiness  by 


202  Aberdeen  University  Review 

applying. for  it".  No  doubt  the  prospect  of  his  son  being  able,  as  the 
occupant  of  a  Scottish  University  Chair,  to  spend  the  long  vacation  at 
Glenlair  was  an  agreeable  outlook  for  the  father.  Nor  did  Maxwell 
himself  ever  regret  coming  to  Aberdeen,  for  he  wrote  toward  the  close 
of  the  second  winter  session:  **This  college  work  is  what  I  and  my 
father  looked  forward  to  for  long  and  I  find  we  were  both  quite  right 
— that  it  was  the  thing  for  me  to  do"  .  Alas !  however,  Mr.  Maxwell, 
senior,  died,  quite  suddenly,  on  3  April,  1856,  the  son's  appointment 
to  the  Aberdeen  Chair  not  being  announced  until  30  April.  For  the 
ensuing  four  winter  sessions  of  1 856-60 — all  comprised  within  the 
brief  period  of  three  and  a  half  years — this  truly  great  man  "  lived  and 
laboured  with  a  simple,  reverent  heart  "  among  us  here,  and  one  feels 
one  may  almost  continue  the  words  of  Longfellow  : — 

Fairer  seems  the  ancient  city,  and  the  sunshine  seems  more  fair, 
That  he  once  hias  trod  its  pavement,  that  he  once  has  breathed  its  air. 

As  might  have  been  expected,  Maxwell  never,  even  after  his 
marriage,  took  up  house  in  Aberdeen,  for  his  duties  did  not  require  his 
residence  in  Aberdeen  during  the  summer,  and  he  had  his  home  at 
Glenlair  in  the  Stewartry.  He  lived  in  rooms  at  129  Union  Street, 
being  on  the  South  side  of  the  street,  opposite  the  Back  Wynd,  at  the 
East  corner  of  the  steps  leading  down  to  the  Green.  His  class-room 
in  College  was  the  comer-room  in  the  upper  tier  of  the  original  left 
wing  as  you  look  towards  the  tower.  It  now  forms  part  of  the 
Surgery  Department.  I  cannot  remember  any  laboratory,  other  than 
the  lecture-table  round  which  a  party  of  us,  after  the  lecture,  used  to 
crowd,  listening  with  delight  to  what  often  developed  into  a  further 
protracted  elucidation  of  the  subject  of  the  lecture.  Our  class  was, 
however,  singularly  unfortunate  in  respect  that  we  never  reached  his 
voluntary  senior  class  of  the' second  year,  owing  to  Maxwell's  departure 
after  "  the  Fusion  " .  Such  subjects  as  Newton,  Physical  Astronomy 
and  Higher  Optics  were  thus  barred,  but  the  instruction  in  the  prin- 
ciples of  Mechanics  and  Dynamics,  Hydrostatics,  Geometrical  Optics, 
and  Electricity  and  Magnetism  (though  Faraday  was  then  only  at  the 
beginning  of  his  work)  was  admirable.  He  was  always  most  lucid 
when  he  fell  on  geometrical  methods.  He  was  also  very  instructive  in 
his  experiments  with  a  finely-constructed  Attwood's  Machine,  the  work 
of  Patrick  Copland,  one  of  his  predecessors  in  the  Chair  (177 5- 1823). 
The  text-books  he  used  were  the  series  of  Manuals   by   Professors 


James  Clerk  Maxwell  203 


Galbraith  and  Haughton  of  Dublin,  which  he  chose  because,  as  he  wrote 
to  a  friend,  they  contained  "  no  humbug,"  but  introduced  '  practical 
matters  instead  of  mere  intricacies  "  .  Whether  he  can  be  said  to  have 
been  successful  as  a  teacher  is  a  question  not  easily  answered,  owing 
to  the  difficulty  of  discovering,  and  starting-from,  some  "common 
measure"  between  the  ignorance  and  incapacity  of  his  pupils  and  his- 
own  vast  knowledge  and  ready  acumen.  He  certainly  presumed  and 
reckoned  on  the  willing  mind;  and  I  am  certain  that  no  pupil  who 
brought  that  could  fail  to  profit.     Many  profited  immensely. 

It  is  pleasant  to  read  that  Maxwell,  soon  after  he  took  up  residence 
among  us,  was  writing  thus  to  his  friend  and  biographer — "  With 
respect  to  this  'northern  hermitage,'  my  cell  is  pretty  commodious. 
In  quitting  the  coenobitic  cloister  of  Trinity  for  the  howling  wilderness 
of  Union  Street,  I  have  not  been  made  an  anchoret.  It  is  quite  con- 
sistent with  the  eremitic  life  to  modify  one's  fast  in  friends'  houses  four 
days  per  week  or  so."  In  another  letter  (27  February,  1857)  to  his 
aunt.  Miss  Cay,  he  refers  to  his  ''keeping  up  friendly  relations  with  the 
King's  College  men  "  and  that  he  had  "  not  received  any  rebukes  yet 
from  our  men  for  so  doing,  but  I  find  that  the  families  of  some  of 
our  professors  have  no  dealings,  and  never  had,  with  those  of  the 
King's  people.  Theoretically  we  profess  charity."  He  adds,  "  I  had 
a  glorious  solitary  walk  to-day  in  Kincardineshire  by  the  coast — black 
cliffs  and  white  breakers.  I  took  my  second  dip  this  season  "  (in  the 
last  week  of  February !).  "  I  have  found  a  splendid  place,  sheltered 
and  safe,  with  gymnastics  on  a  pole  afterwards."  Needless  to  re-- 
mark he  was  an  expert  and  powerful  swimmer. 

Maxwell  had  naturally,  as  a  stranger,  received  kindness  and  hos- 
pitality from  the  Principal  of  the  University,  the  Very  Reverend 
Daniel  Dewar,  D.D. — "Durdie,"  as  he  was  called,  from  the  name  of 
his  estate  of  Over  Durdie  in  the  Carse  of  Gowrie.  To  the  home  of  Dr. 
Dewar's  elder  (married)  daughter,  Mrs.  McCunn,  at  Ardhallow,  near 
Dunoon,  Maxwell  had  paid  a  visit  in  the  autumn  of  1857,  and,  in  the 
following  summer,  he  was  married  to  Katherine  Mary,  the  second 
daughter.  The  happiness  of  this  union  was  complete,  and  became,  ia 
after  years,  as  I  can  bear  witness,  manifest  to  all  Maxwell's  personal 
friends  in  his  self-sacrificing  and  devoted  attention  to  his  wife  during 
her  many  years  of  delicate  health,  so  long  as  his  own  health  continued 
vigorous  and  robust,  until  the  sudden  change  and  ending  in  the 
autumn  of  1 879. 


204  Aberdeen   University  Review 

Maxwell's  estimate  of  the  frivolous  inanity  of  much  of  the  under- 
:graduate-life  at  Cambridge  has  been  referred  to.  To  his  biographer 
we  are  also  indebted  for  a  word-picture  by  Maxwell  himself,  satiriz- 
ing an  institution  that  existed  at  Marischal  College  in  his  time.  I 
refer  to  certain  verses  descriptive  of  the  scenes  that  occurred  at  "  the 
Murtle  Lecture  "  every  Thursday  afternoon  in  the  "  Public  School  *' — 
a  somewhat  low-roofed  hall  under  the  larger  and  loftier  hall,  now  the 
Portrait  Gallery.  It  now  forms  part  of  the  corridor  and  rooms  of  the 
Students'  Union.  These  lectures  formed  a  sort  of  week-day  religious 
service  and  were  under  the  same  Trust  as  our  present  Sunday  after- 
noon Lectures  in  the  Mitchell  Hall.  Attendance  on  the  lectures  was 
-compulsory,  but  I  fear  they  were  somewhat  inadequately  appreciated 
by  the  "ingenuous  youths"  who  formed  the  auditory.  The  institu- 
tion of  "  Regents,"  in  name  at  least,  still  survived.  They  were  the 
Professors  of  Greek,  Natural  History,  Natural  Philosophy  and  Moral 
Philosophy,  for  the  Bajan,  Semi,  Tertian  and  Magistrand  years,  respec- 
tively.    Maxwell  attended  regularly  as  Regent  of  the  third  year. 

Professor  Campbell  introduces  the  verses  thus — "To  those  who 
admire  the  genius  of  the  bard  who  sang  of  The  Dee,  The  Don,  Bal- 
Ifownie  Brig's  black  wa',  the  following  lines  will  be  welcome  from  their 
resemblance  to  the  opening  of  one  of  his  poems : — 

Know  ye  the  Hall  where  the  birch  and  the  myrtle 
Are  emblems  of  things  half  profane,  haHT  divine, 

Where  the  hiss  of  the  serpent,  the  coo  of  the  turtle, 
Are  counted  cheap  fun  at  a  sixpenny  fine  ? 

Know  ye  the  Hall  of  the  pulpit  and  form, 

With  its  air  ever  mouldy,  its  stove  never  warm ; 

Where  the  chill  blasts  of  Eurus,  oppressed  with  the  stench, 

Wax  faint  at  the  window,  and  strong  at  the  bench  ; 

Where  Tertian  and  Semi  are  hot  in  dispute, 

And  the  voice  of  the  Magistrand  never  is  mute ; 

Where  the  scrape  of  the  foot  and  the  audible  sigh 

In  nature  though  varied,  in  discord  may  vie, 

Till  the  accents  of  Wisdom  are  stifled  and  die ; 

Where  the  Bajans  are  dense  as  the  cookies  they  chew, 

And  all  save  the  Regents  have  something  to  do : — 

'Tis  our  Hall  of  Assembly,  our  high  moral  School, 

Must  its  walls  never  rest  from  the  bray  of  the  fool  ? 

Oh  vain  as  the  prospect  of  summer  in  May 

Are  the  lessons  they  teach  and  the  fines  that  they  pay." 

All  that  I  can  now  recall  of  these  courses  of  lectures  is  the  deep, 
raucous  voice  of  the  Principal,  Maxwell's  father-in-law,  dilating  on  the 
instability  of  human  greatness  as  illustrated  in  the  career  of  Saladin 


James  Clerk  Maxwell  205 


whom  our  Richard  of  the  lion-heart  overthrew.  In  tones  almost 
sepulchral  he  reached  his  peroration — "  This  is  all  that  remains  of 
Saladin" — the  reference  being  to  the  legend  that,  when  the  great 
Sultan  lay  dying  he  called  to  him  his  standard-bearer  and  charged  him 
to  bear  before  his  body,  as  the  banner  of  his  death,  a  vile  rag  (his 
shirt,  according  to  some  accounts),  set  on  the  point  of  a  lance. 

During  the  later  part  of  Maxwell's  stay  in  Aberdeen  our  academic 
world  was  in  a  turmoil  over  the  question  of  the  modus  operandi  in  re- 
spect of  a  step  which,  by  Act  of  Parliament  passed  in  1858,  a  Com- 
mission was  instructed  to  carry  out,  namely,  the  Union  of  the  two 
Universities — for  Aberdeen  (like  England!)  had  then  two  Universi- 
ties. The  bone  of  contention  was — "  Union,"  or  "  Fusion  "  ?  Writing 
to  Campbell,  Maxwell  put  it  thus — "  Know  all  men  I  am  a  Fusionist 
and  thereby  an  enemy  of  all  respectable  citizens  who  are  Unionists 
(that  is,  unite  the  three  learned  Faculties,  and  leave  double  Chairs  in 
Arts) ".  In  the  long  run,  and  wisely  it  must  be  admitted,  "  Fusion  '* 
was  decreed  by  the  Commission;  and,  thereafter.  Maxwell,  not  yet 
thirty  years  of  age,  was  retired  on  a  pension  for  life — David  Thom- 
son, the  Professor  of  Natural  Philosophy  at  King's,  being  retained 
in  office,  although  thirteen  years  senior  to  Maxwell.  That  Aber- 
deen should  thus  have  seen  thrust  out  of  her  midst  a  man  of  such 
outstanding  genius  was  due,  in  great  part,  to  academic  squabbling- 
and  intrigue.  While  Thomson  had  the  ear  of  the  Commission,  he  had, 
unfortunately,  rendered  himself  unpopular  in  Aberdeen,  where  he  was 
known  as  **  Crafty  Thomson  ".  He  was  the  author  of  an  anonymous 
pamphlet  in  which  he  stirred  up  again  a  question  which  the  House  of 
Lords  had  settled  a  century  before,  namely,  the  right  of  Marischal  Col- 
lege and  University  to  grant  degrees  other  than  in  Arts.  The  two 
men  were,  in  character,  wide  as  the  poles  asunder.  Five  minutes* 
conversation  with  each,  coupled  with  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the 
situation,  would  have  shown  anybody  what  was  "thegool  it,"  and 
how  it  was  that  Aberdeen  lost  Maxwell. 

There  are  two  letters  written  to  a  friend  about  this  time  that  fur- 
nish insight  into  Maxwell's  views  on  ecclesiastico-religious  questions^ 
His  biographer  explains  that,  when  a  boy  in  Edinburgh,  he  had  usually 
attended  St.  Andrew's  Parish  Church  (Mr.  Crawford — afterwards  the 
distinguished  Professor  Crawford  of  Edinburgh  University)  in  the  fore- 
noon and  St.  John's  Episcopal  Chapel  (Dean  Ramsay)  in  the  afternoon. 
He  thus  "  became  equally  acquainted  with  the  catechisms  both  of  the 


2o6  Aberdeen  University  Review 

Scotch  and  of  the  English  Church,  and  with  good  specimens  of  the 
Presbyterian  and  Episcopalian  styles  of  preaching".  In  after  life,  in 
the  full  maturity  of  his  mental  powers,  when  he  had  not  only  studied 
deeply  the  Greek  New  Testament,  but  had  been  brought  under  the 
direct,  personal  influence  of  such  profound  English  Biblical  scholars 
as  Lightfoot,  Hort,  Westcott,  Farrar  and  others,  he  showed  in  a  prac- 
tical manner  that  "  the  particular  go "  of  this  matter  also  had  been 
fully  considered  by  him.  These,  it  is  well  to  remember,  were  the  days 
of  the  memorable  controversy  between  Macaulay  and  the  then  Bishop 
of  Exeter,  Dr.  Phillpots,  regarding  the  purport  of  the  term  "  Church 
of  Scotland"  in  the  "Bidding  Prayer"  used  before  sermon  in  Cathe- 
drals and  Collegiate  Churches.  Macaulay  established  as  a  simple  his- 
torical fact  the  attitude  of  brotherhood  and  friendly  amity  which,  at 
the  Reformation,  in  harmony  with  its  own  doctrinal  standards,  the 
Church  of  England  had  taken  up  towards  its  Presbyterian  Sister,  the 
Church  north  of  the  Tweed.  When  at  home  at  Glenlair  it  was  MaxwelF  s 
stated  custom,  along  with  the  simple  country-folk,  his  own  tenantry 

To  walk  together  to  the  kirk, 
And  all  together  pray  ; 

and  when,  in  the  early  '60s  of  last  century,  the  scattered  upland  district 
of  Corsock,  within  the  old  civil  Parish  of  Parton,  was,  mainly  through 
Maxwell's  untiring  effort  and  munificence,  made  into  a  Parish  quoad 
sacra  with  church  and  manse,  he  was  ordained  an  Elder  of  the  Church 
of  Scotland,  the  duties  of  which  office  he  faithfully  discharged  In 
Cambridge,  again,  he  might  be  seen  on  Sundays  not  only  attending 
along  with  the  Heads  of  Colleges  and  his  brother-professors,  the  Uni- 
versity Sermon  in  the  restored  "Golgotha"  of  Great  St.  Mary's 
Church,  but  at  their  Parish  Church  of  Little  St.  Mary's  he  joined  in 
the  Communion  Service  with  Stokes,  Liveing  and  others,  his  co-parish- 
ioners; and  from  the  hands  of  the  Vicar,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Guillemard, 
he  received  Holy  Communion  a  few  days  before  his  death. 

One  can  thus  understand  how  in  the  summer  of  1857,  Maxwell  in 
writing  from  Glenlair  to  an  English  friend,  refers  quite  charitably  but 
far  from  approvingly  to  the  erection  in  a  small  country  town  within 
seven  miles  of  Glenlair,  of  a  certain  Episcopal  Chapel,  "  with  great 
magnificence  at  his  own  expense,"  by  a  gentleman  who  with  a  mansion 
of  his  own  twenty  miles  away,  had  come  to  reside  in  a  hired  house  in 
Maxwell's  neighbourhood.     Maxwell  adds  the  comment — "  This  "  (i.e. 


James  Clerk  Maxwell  207 

the  country  of  Galloway)  "  is  perhaps  the  least  Episcopal  part  of  Scot- 
land, by  reason  of  the  memory  of  the  dragoons.  .  .  .  It  is  very  different 
at  Aberdeen,  where  the  Presbyterians  persecuted  far  more  than  the 
Prelatists  ;  so  there  I  actually  found  a  true  Jacobite." 

In  the  second  letter,  written  in  1858,  to  the  same  English  friend, 
Maxwell  says — "  As  to  the  Roman  Catholic  question,  it  is  another 
.  piece  of  the  doctrine  of  liberty.  People  get  tired  of  being  able  to  do 
as  they  like,  and  having  to  choose  their  own  steps,  and  so  they  put 
themselves  under  holy  men,  who,  no  doubt,  are  really  wiser  than 
themselves.  But  it  is  not  only  wrong,  but  impossible,  to  transfer 
either  will  or  responsibility  to  another ;  and  after  the  formulae  have 
been  gone  through,  the  patient  has  just  as  much  responsibility  as  be- 
fore, and  feels  it  too.  But  it  is  a  sad  thing  for  anyone  to  lose  sight  of 
their  work,  and  to  have  to  seek  some  conventional,  arbitrary  treadmill- 
occupation  prescribed  by  sanitary  jailors."  Could  the  Protestant  stand- 
point be  stated  more  concisely,  convincingly  and,  I  would  add, 
charitably  ? — "Not  only  wrong,  but  impossible".  The  argument  re- 
minds one  of  the  subtle  criticism  of  the  German  submarine  policy  in 
the  present  war  recently  uttered  by  Mr.  Balfour,  our  First  Lord  of  the 
Admiralty — "Deeds  that  were  merely  crimes  in  May,  in  September 
are  seen  to  be  blunders  ".  Maxwell  had,  no  doubt,  in  his  mind  that 
Milton,  his  early  favourite,  in  the  great  epic  in  which  he  attempted  to 

assert  eternal  Providence, 
And  justify  the  ways  of  God  to  men, 

had  written  those  lofty  words — 

I  made  him  just  and  right, 
Sufficient  to  have  stood,  though  free  to  fall. 


Freely  they  stood  who  stood,  and  fell  who  fell. 

Maxwell,  it  thus  appears,  was  (i)  a  firm,  convinced  Protestant,  who 
(2)  approved  of  Church  Establishment,  but  (3)  was  quite  opposed  to 
exclusive  Episcopacy.  If  these  be  deemed  to  be  matters  unsuited,  even 
for  reference,  in  the  pages  of  this  Review,  I  would  urge,  in  reply,  that 
it  cannot  but  be  helpful  to  put  on  record  the  opinion  of  a  man  of  such 
master-mind  regarding  matters  which  he  was  so  very  well  fitted  to  in- 
quire into,  and,  about  which.  Christian  folk,  as  it  were  by  universal 
consent,  are  striving  to  see  eye-to-eye  at  the  present  day.  My  stand- 
point is  simply  that  of  his  biographer — "  Our  age  has  much  to  learn 
from  his  example". 


2c8  Aberdeen  University  Review 

During  Maxwell's  stay  in  Aberdeen  he  found  time  to  carry  on  one 
of  his  greatest  and  most  laborious  investigations,  namely,  that  into 
the  Motions  of  the  Rings  of  the  Planet  Saturn,  being  the  subject  for 
1857  of  the  Adams  Prize,  open  to  any  graduate  of  the  University  of 
Cambridge.  Maxwell  was  awarded  the  Prize — the  Astronomer  Royal 
speaking  of  his  paper  as  "  one  of  the  most  remarkable  applications  of 
Mathematics  to  Physics  that  I  have  ever  seen  ".  In  connexion  with 
this  inquiry  Maxwell  refers  to  "  a  very  neat  piece  of  work  by  Ramage," 
a  skilled  artificer  in  Aberdeen  whom  I  remember.  It  consisted  of  a 
model  to  show  the  motions  of  the  rings,  and  it  has,  it  appears,  been 
preserved  in  the  Cavendish  Laboratory  at  Cambridge.  Maxwell 
reached  the  conclusion  that  the  rings  consisted  of  what  he  termed  "a 
flight  of  brick-bats,"  the  mechanical  theory  requiring  **that  the  only 
system  of  rings  which  can  exist  is  one  composed  of  an  infinite  number 
of  unconnected  particles  revolving  round  the  planet  with  different 
velocities,  according  to  their  respective  distances  ". 

Leaving  Aberdeen  after  the  winter  session  of  1859-60  Maxwell 
was,  in  the  summer  of  1 860,  appointed  Professor  of  Natural  Philosophy 
in  King's  College,  London,  where  he  laboured  until  1865.  In  that 
year  he  retired  to  his  Scotch  home  at  Glenlair,  to  plan  and,  in  part, 
carry  out  those  great  literary  works  that  embody  the  chief  results  of  his 
mathematico-physical  investigations.  His  Treatise  on  Heat  appeared 
in  1870,  but  his  profound  work  on  Electricity  and  Magnetism  not 
until  1873.  In  the  years  1866,  1867  and,  again,  in  1869, 1870,  he  was 
either  Moderator  or  Examiner  in  the  Mathematical  Tripos,  and  his 
work  in  these  exacting  posts  led,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say,  to  a  virtual 
remodelling  of  the  Examination  system  and  indirectly  also  to  the 
creation  of  the  great  Cavendish  Laboratory  (so  named  after  the 
Chancellor,  the  Duke  of  Devonshire,  who  had  made  the  munificent 
offer  to  build  and  furnish  such  an  institution)  and  to  the  foundation  of 
the  Chair  of  Experimental  Physics. 

In  1 87 1  Maxwell  was  appointed  to  this  Chair,  as  well  as  to  the 
magnum  opus  of  designing  and  superintending  the  erection  of  the 
Physical  Laboratory,  of  which  it  has  been  said  that "  it  would  be  difficult 
to  imagine  a  building  better  adapted  to  its  purpose,  or  one  in  the  con- 
struction of  which  more  provision  should  be  made  for  possible  require- 
ments ". 

For  the  next  eight  years  he  continued  in  the  faithful  discharge  of 
the  duties  of  these  offices,  residing  at  No.  1 1  Scroope  Terrace  when  in 


James  Clerk  Maxwell  209 


Cambridge,  and  gaining,  I  will  venture  to  say,  from  every  one  who 
had  the  privilege  of  his  acquaintance  a  warmth  of  kindly  feeling  such 
as  amounted  to  deep  personal  admiration  and  esteem.  I  do  not  believe 
he  ever  had,  or  could  have  had,  a  private  or  personal  enemy.  No 
honest  man  with  mind  and  heart  directed  aright,  could  have  felt 
that  he  was  being  wronged  by  Clerk  Maxwell 

Maxwell's  heroic  courage,  coupled  with  his  tender  consideration  for 
others  and  his  resourcefulness  in  an  emergency,  are  illustrated  by  an 
incident  thus  related  by  his  biographer — "  Once  at  Cambridge,  when 
his  wife  was  lying  ill  in  her  room,  and  a  terrier,  who  had  already  shown 
'  a  wild  trick  of  his  ancestors,'  was  watching  beside  the  bed.  Maxwell 
happened  to  go  in  for  the  purpose  of  moving  her.  The  dog  sprang  at 
him  and  fastened  on  his  nose.  In  order  not  to  disturb  Mrs.  Maxwell, 
he  went  out  quietly,  holding  his  arm  beneath  the  creature,  which  was 
still  hanging  to  his  face."  I  was  in  Cambridge  at  the  time  and  well 
remember  Maxwell  going  about  for  some  time  with  his  nose  strapped 
up  with  bandages.  Whether  or  not  the  poor  man  had  to  explain  to 
"  Coonie  "  (as  the  dog  was  called)  "  the  go  of  it  "  before  he  induced  the 
brute  to  let  go,  is  not  known.  But  it  was  this  same  dog  that  Maxwell 
gravely  told  a  friend  he  had  cured  of  a  trick  of  howling  unmercifully 
when  the  piano  was  played — "  I  took  Coonie  to  the  piano  and  ex- 
plained to  him  how  it  went " .  Let  any  doubter  keep  in  mind  that 
this  story  was  told  by  Maxwell,  and  that  the  dog  was  no  "cur  of 
low  degree,"  but  a  remarkably  intelligent  Scotch  terrier!  Professor 
Campbell  admits  that  many  persons,  listening  to  Maxwell's  conversa- 
tion, often  asked  themselves  whether  he  were  in  earnest  or  joking — a 
habit  which  certainly  rendered  it  all  the  more  difficult  to  feel  sure  that 
one  understood  aright  so  entertaining  a  conversationalist.  I  may  add 
that,  despite  the  dog's  savage  outburst  above  referred  to,  it  was  not  killed. 

That  Maxwell  was  a  man  of  deep  personal  piety  will  be  inferred 
from  what  has  been  already  said.  But  this  further  illustration  may  be 
given.  During  occasional  visits  to  Cambridge  in  the  discharge  of 
onerous  duties  in  connexion  with  the  Mathematical  Tripos  or  other- 
wise, Mrs.  Maxwell  remaining  at  Glenlair,  he  wrote  to  her  almost 
every  day,  supplying  her,  out  of  his  minute  textual  knowledge  of  the 
original  Greek,  with  hints  regarding  some  passage,  say,  in  one  of  the 
Epistles  of  St.  Paul  which  he  knew  that  she  would  be  reading  in  her 
private  devotions.  His  knowledge  of  New  Testament  Greek  was  sur- 
prising. Thus,  on  his  death-bed,  after  repeating  the  words — "  Every 
good  gift  and  every  perfect  gift  is  from  above,"  he  added,  "Do  you 

14 


2 to  Aberdeen  University  Review 

know  that  that  is  a  hexameter  ?  iraaa  B6(ri<i  dyaOrj  Kal  ttclv  Scofyrj/xa 
reXecov.     I  wonder  who  composed  it  ?  " 

The  root  of  Maxwell's  fair-mindedness  is  discernible  in  what  he 
once  said  to  his  intimate  friend,  Professor  Hort — "  My  interest  is 
always  in  things  rather  than  in  persons  .  .  .  about  the  immediate 
circumstances  that  have  brought  a  thing  to  pass,  rather  than  about 
any  will  setting  them  in  motion.  .  .  .  States  of  the  will  only  puzzle 
me.  I  cannot  ascribe  so  much  to  a  depraved  will  as  some  people 
do.  .  .  .  Much  wrong-doing  seems  to  be  no  more  than  not  doing  the 
right  thing ;  and  that  finite  beings  should  fail  in  that  does  not  seem  to 
need  the  supposition  of  a  depraved  will."  In  the  same  spirit  Maxwell, 
with  ready  wit,  once  retorted  to  a  friend's  outcry  against  the  frightful 
temper  of  a  servant  lassie,  although  "she  had  been  seven  years  in  a 
manse" — "Think  what  it  might  have  been  had  she  not  been  there 
for  seven  years  ". 

Though  there  had  been  symptoms  since  the  spring  of  1877  that  his 
health  was  not  satisfactory,  he  had  not  considered  it  necessary  to  seek 
medical  advice  until  April,  1879.  During  the  next  two  months,  before 
going  north  to  Glenlair  in  June,  he  was,  more  than  once,  seriously  ill. 
Later  on,  in  September,  there  were  more  encouraging  reports.  Alas ! 
however,  Dr.  Sanders  of  Edinburgh  having  been  called  in,  Maxwell 
was  informed  by  him  on  2  October,  that  he  had  not  a  month  to  live. 
He  went  south  to  Cambridge,  and  on  the  5th  day  of  the  following 
month  of  November  he  gently  passed  away  at  No.  1 1  Scroope  Terrace, 
being  in  his  forty-ninth  year.  After  a  preliminary  funeral  service  in 
Trinity  College  Chapel,  the  body  was  taken  home  to  Glenlair  and 
buried  in  the  Churchyard  of  Parton. 

Mrs.  Maxwell  died  about  seven  years  after  her  husband.  They 
had  no  children. 

Before  introducing,  from  the  pen  of  a  scientific  friend,  what  I  myself 
am  wholly  unable  to  furnish,  namely,  an  appreciation  (from  the 
results  of  recent  discoveries  and  inventions)  of  Maxwell's  anticipation 
of  the  principles  involved  in  certain  profound  physical  and  especially 
magneto-electric  problems,  I  shall  conclude  with  (I)  an  illustration 
of  his  remarkable  power  of  suggestive  and  lucid,  even  if  discursive, 
explanation,  (II)  a  brief  reference  to  his  view  of  molecules  as  "  manu- 
factured articles,"  and  (III)  a  description  of  his  outward  appearance. 

(I)  His  last  public  lecture  was  the  Rede  Lecture,  "  On  the  Tele- 
phone," delivered  at  Cambridge  in  1878.  He  treated  his  subject  "as 
a  material  symbol  of  the  widely-separated  departments  of  human 
knowledge,  the  cultivation  of  which  has  led,  as  by  many  converging 


James  Clerk  Maxwell  211 


paths,  to  the  invention  of  this  instrument  by  Professor  Graham  Bell. 
In  a  University  we  are  bound  to  recognize  not  only  the  unity  of 
Science  itself,  but  the  communion  of  the  workers  of  Science,"  adding 
that  we  are  not  "congregated  here  merely  to  be  within  reach  of 
certain  appliances  of  study,  such  as  museums,  laboratories,"  etc.,  and 
then,  after  referring  to  the  work  of  the  bees,  "  We  cannot  therefore  do 
better  than  improve  the  shining  hour  in  helping  forward  the  cross- 
fertilization  of  the  Sciences". 

He  then  proceeds  with  this  beautifully  simple  but  masterly  state- 
ment : — 

"  One  great  beauty  of  Professor  Bell's  invention  is  that  the  instru- 
ments at  the  two  ends  of  the  line  are  precisely  alike.  .  .  .  The  perfect 
symmetry  of  the  whole  apparatus — the  wire  in  the  middle,  the  two 
telephones  at  the  ends  of  the  wire,  and  the  two  gossips  at  the  ends  of 
the  telephones,  may  be  very  fascinating  to  a  mere  mathematician,  but 
it  would  not  satisfy  the  evolutionist  of  the  Spencerian  type,  who  would 
consider  anything  with  both  ends  alike,  such  as  the  Amphisbaena,  or 
Mr.  Bright's  terrier,  or  Mr.  Bell's  telephone,  to  be  an  organism  of  a 
very  low. type,  which  must  have  its  functions  differentiated  before  any 
satisfactory  integration  can  take  place. 

"  Accordingly  many  attempts  have  been  made,  by  differentiating  the 
function  of  the  transmitter  from  that  of  the  receiver,  to  overcome  the 
principal  limitation  of  the  power  of  the  telephone.  As  long  as  the 
human  voice  is  the  sole  motive  power  of  the  apparatus,  it  is  manifest 
that  what  is  heard  at  one  end  must  be  fainter  than  what  is  spoken  at 
the  other.  But  if  the  vibration  set  up  at  one  end  is  used  no  longer  as 
the  source  of  energy,  but  merely  as  a  means  of  modulating  the  strength 
of  a  current  supplied  by  a  voltaic  battery,  then  there  will  be  no  neces- 
sary limitation  of  the  intensity  of  the  resulting  sound,  so  that  what  is 
whispered  to  the  transmitter  may  be  proclaimed  ore  rotundo  by  the 
receiver." 

(II)  Maxwell's  well-known  pronouncement  on  molecules  as  being 
"  manufactured  articles,"  was  enunciated  in  his  address  delivered  before 
the  British  Association  at  Bradford  in  September,  1873.  After  a  re- 
ference to  the  use  of  the  spectroscope  in  comparing,  to  within  one  ten- 
thousandth  part,  the  wave-lengths  of  different  kinds  of  light,  he  adds  : — 

"  In  the  heavens  we  discover  by  their  light,  and  by  their  light  alone, 
stars  so  distant  from  each  other  that  no  material  thing  can  ever  have 
passed  from  one  to  another ;  and  yet  this  light,  which  is  to  us  the  sole 
evidence  of  the  existence  of  these  distant  worlds,  tells  us  also  that  each 
of  them  is  built  up  of  molecules  of  the  same  kinds  as  those  which  we 


212  Aberdeen  University  Review 

find  on  earth.  A  molecule  of  hydrogen,  for  example,  whether  in 
Sirius  or  in  Arcturus,  executes  its  vibrations  in  precisely  the  same  time. 
"  Each  molecule,  therefore,  throughout  the  universe,  bears  impressed 
on  it  the  stamp  of  a  metric  system  as  distinctly  as  does  the  metre  of  the 
Archives  at  Paris,  or  the  double  royal  cubit  of  the  Temple  of  Karnac. 

"  They  continue  this  day  as  they  were  created,  perfect  in  number 
and  measure  and  weight ;  and  from  the  ineffaceable  characters  im- 
pressed on  them  we  may  learn  that  those  aspirations  after  accuracy  in 
measurement  and  justice  in  action,  which  we  reckon  among  our  noblest 
attributes  as  men,  are  ours  because  they  are  essential  constituents  of 
the  image  of  Him  Who  in  the  beginning  created,  not  only  the  heaven 
and  the  earth,  but  the  materials  of  which  heaven  and  earth  consist." 

In  a  letter  written  three  years  afterwards  to  Dr.  Ellicott,  Bishop 
of  Gloucester  and  Bristol,  Maxwell  explained  that — "What  I  thought 
of  was  not  so  much  that  uniformity  of  result  which  is  due  to  uniformity 
in  the  process  of  formation,  as  a  uniformity  intended  and  accomplished 
by  the  same  wisdom  and  power  of  which  uniformity,  accuracy,  sym- 
metry, consistency  and  continuity  of  plan  are  as  important  attributes 
as  the  contrivance  of  the  special  utility  of  each  individual  thing". 
A  distinguished  teacher  of  philosophy  has  recently  been  urging  that 
**  the  Theistic  Argument "  must  be  put  in  the  form — "  How  is  the 
Universe  to  be  interpreted  ?  "  Was  Maxwell  offering  an  answer  in  the 
thought  of  the  Psalmist — **Thy  faithfulness  reacheth  unto  the  skies"? 

(HI)  Maxwell's  outward  appearance  has  been  thus  described.  It  is 
from  the  pen  of  a  close  friend  of  later  years,  but  I  can  vouch  for  its 
being  true  to  the  life  as  this  distinguished  man  of  science  might  have 
been  seen  shortly  before  nine  o'clock  any  winter  morning  following 
a  certain  settled  track  down  Union  Street,  to  Marischal  College : — 

"  A  man  of  middle  height,  with  frame  strongly  knit,  and  a  certain 
spring  and  elasticity  in  his  gait ;  dressed  for  comfortable  ease  rather 
than  elegance ;  a  face  expressive  at  once  of  sagacity  and  good  humour, 
but  overlaid  with  a  deep  shade  of  thoughtfulness  ;  features  boldly  but 
pleasingly  marked ;  eyes  dark  and  glowing  ;  hair  and  beard  perfectly 
black,  and  forming  a  strong  contrast  to  the  pallor  of  his  complexion. 
.  .  He  might  have  been  taken  by  a  careless  observer  for  a  country 
gentleman,  or  rather,  to  be  more  accurate,  for  a  north-country  laird. 
A  keener  eye  would  have  seen,  however,  that  the  man  must  be  a 
student  of  some  sort,  and  one  of  more  than  ordinary  intelligence." 


James  Clerk  Maxwell  213 


To  the  kindness  of  a  scientific  friend,  a  British  mathematician  and 
physicist  of  high  distinction,  I  am  indebted  for  the  following  compre- 
hensive estimate,  formed  on  a  retrospect  of  almost  forty  years,  of  what 
the  world  owes  to  the  genius  of  James  Clerk  Maxwell : — 

"  To  write  an  adequate  appreciation  of  Maxwell's  contributions  to 
science  requires  a  wealth  of  knowledge  I  cannot  pretend  to,  but  refer- 
ence may  be  made  to  Sir  William  Niven's  edition  of  his  collected 
works  and  to  Sir  George  Stokes's  obituary  notice  in  the  Proceedings 
of  the  Royal  Society. 

"  Probably  the  part  of  Maxwell's  work  which  has  exerted  the 
greatest  influence  on  scientific  thought  and  investigation  is  that  which 
treats  of  electrical  phenomena.  It  had  already  been  suggested  by 
Faraday  that  there  was  a  close  relation  between  light,  electricity  and 
magnetism.  Maxwell's  identification  of  the  velocity  of  propagation  of 
electrical  disturbances  with  the  velocity  of  light  placed  the  theory  on  a 
firm  basis.  Further,  his  representation  of  the  phenomena  by  means 
of  a  Lagrangian  kinetic  scheme  simplified  and  unified  their  treatment. 
An  important  result  of  his  treatment  was  that  light  was  only  one  of 
the  possible  kinds  of  radiation,  and  the  investigation  and  discussion  of 
these  other  radiations  have  led  to  discoveries  of  the  greatest  scientific 
and  practical  value,  as,  for  example,  the  radiations  utilized  in  wireless 
telegraphy. 

"Of  special  interest  in  the  present  connexion  is  the  fact  that  it  was 
during  his  tenure  of  office  at  Aberdeen  University  he  produced  his 
classical  work  on  the  '  Stability  of  the  motion  of  Saturn's  rings  '.- 
It  was  also  during  this  period  that  he  wrote  two  of  his  important 
papers  on  Colour,  viz. — *  The  Perception  of  Colour,'  and  *  The  Theory 
of  Compound  Colours,'  and  that  he  produced  a  great  part  of  his  re- 
searches on  the  *  Dynamical  Theory  of  Gases '." 

My  friend  adds :  **  The  above  is  totally  inadequate,  but  it  may  be 
of  service  to  you  and  I  hope  you  will  treat  it  in  any  way  you  see  fit ; 
the  choice  lay  between  a  statement  of  the  above  kind  or  an  exhaustive 
treatment  of  the  whole  matter  which  would  entail  a  very  large  amount 
of  labour  and  probably  be  quite  out  of  place  in  a  publication  like  th6 
University  Review." 

ROBERT  WALKER. 


[See  Note  in  the  ''Personalia'*  at p,  271.— EDITOR.] 


Two  Years  of  War :  The  Record  of  the 
University. 

HE  following  article  is  an  expansion  of  the  address 
which,  as  Vice-Chancellor,  I  delivered  at  the 
Graduation  on  28  March,  191 6.  The  records 
which  it  contains  have  been  brought  down  to  the 
end  of  June,  the  close  of  the  Summer  Term.  I 
have  not  mentioned  in  it  any  names  save  those 
of  the  fallen,  but  the  full  list  is  found  in  the  Roll  of 
Service  published  as  supplements  to  the  last  volume  of  the  Review 
and  to  this  volume.  Nor  have  I  repeated  the  names  of  those  who 
have  been  decorated ;  they  have  been  given  in  successive  numbers  of 
the  Review.  All  will  be  easily  ascertained  by  the  future  historian  of 
the  part  which  our  University  has  taken  in  the  present  War. 

With  largely  diminished  numbers  and  finances,  as  stated  by  Pro- 
fessor Hay  in  his  annual  financial  report  to  the  Court,^  the  Uni- 
versity began  in  October  last,  another  year — the  four  hundred  and 
twenty-first  if  we  reckon  from  1495.  During  the  winter  the  diminution 
steadily  continued.  But  no  departments,  save  those  of  Tropical  Medi- 
cine and  Research  in  Animal  Nutrition,  were  closed ;  though  the  in- 
stitution of  certain  lectureships,  for  which  we  recently  received  funds, 
is  necessarily  postponed.  The  offices  rendered  vacant  by  the  departure 
of  their  occupants  on  military  service  have  been  filled  by.  temporary 
appointments,  or  the  work  has  been  overtaken  by  colleagues  in  the 
same  departments.  The  thanks  of  the  University  are  due  to  those 
members  of  her  staff  who  remain,  for  the  readiness  with  which  they 
have  added  to  their  labours  or  otherwise  made  possible  the  large 
economies  that  our  present  circumstances  demand.  Though  straitened 
both  in  men  and  equipment,  the  work  of  the  University  has  not  suffered 
from  lack  of  zeal  or  thoroughness. 

^  See  p.  264. 


Two  Years  of  War  215 

But  our  thoughts  are  less  with  what  has  been  achieved  within  our 
walls  than  with  the  far  wider  and  more  severe  services  rendered  by  our 
members  to  the  country,  and  the  sacred  cause  committed  to  her  in  the 
present  war.  Besides  a  considerable  but  uncertain  number  who  are  or 
have  been  employed  in  making  munitions,  more  than  1 800  of  our  gradu- 
ates, alumni,  students  and  staff  have  entered  the  naval  and  military 
forces  of  the  King,  including  our  own  Officers  Training  Corps.  Before 
I  speak,  as  I  intend  mainly  to  do,  of  the  services  of  those  of  them  who 
have  been  engaged  at  the  front,  I  may  give  some  details  under  the 
figure  just  mentioned,  and  speak  for  a  little  about  the  camps  and 
garrisons  in  this  country  in  which  our  men  have  been  trained  since  the 
war  began. 

I.  Numbers  on  Service. 

Of  our  administrative,  teaching  and  research  staffs,  which  in  normal 
times  numbered  about  100,  at  least  64  have  been  or  are  working 
directly  for  the  purpose  of  the  war.  Of  these  21  are  in  the  combatant 
service ;  18  have  commissions  in  the  R.A.M.C.  (8  beyond  and  10  still 
within  the  University) ;  5  work  on  munitions,  etc.  ;  1 3  hold  military 
offices  of  other  kinds  (7  of  these  with  commissions),  7  are  in  train- 
ing, one  is  a  prisoner  of  war,  while  others  have  attested.  Of  our 
graduates,  945  are  commissioned  (248  in  the  combatant  service,  657 
in  the  R.A.M.C.,  and  at  least  40  as  chaplains)  and  181  graduates  are 
still  enlisted,  making  a  total  of  1 1 26  graduates  on  naval  and  military 
service.  But  that  number  does  not  include  our  graduates  who  are  in 
charge  of  Red  Cross  hospitals,  of  whom  25  have  been  reported,  nor 
about  30  others  entered  on  the  navy  list  as  surgeons  and  agents  at 
sick  quarters.  Add  these  and  we  have  over  1 1 80  graduates  in  all  on 
war  duties.  The  exact  number  of  our  ungraduated  alumni  on  service 
cannot  be  ascertained,  but  74  have  been  reported  as  holding  commissions 
and  62  as  serving  in  the  ranks — in  all  1 36.  Of  undergraduate  students, 
1 20  have  been  commissioned  and  260  have  served  or  are  serving  in  the 
ranks.  Altogether  I  reckon  that  about  380  students  have  entered  on 
service  with  the  colours  since  the  war  began  ;  of  whom  over  350  offered 
themselves  while  the  voluntary  system  of  enlistment  still  prevailed.  The 
total  of  graduates,  alumni,  students,  staff,  and  servants  of  the  University 
on  active  service  is  therefore  about  1730  as  compared  with  1200  a  year 
ago.     If  we  add  to  them  the  members  of  our  Officers  Training  Corps 


2i6  Aberdfeen  University  Review 

and  our  graduates  who  are  serving  as  volunteers  or  under  the  Red  Cross 
Society  and  at  naval  sick  quarters,  we  get  over  1850  as  a  grand  total 
of  those  on  war  service  or  under  training.  That  number  includes  3 1 
reported  as  intending  to  matriculate  for  the  first  time  but  for  their 
military  service.     There  must,  of  course,  be  many  more  of  these. 

II.  The  Camps  in  this  Country. 

At  previous  graduations  I  spoke  of  some  of  the  camps  in  this 
country  in  which  the  units  which  held  more  or  fewer  of  our  men  were 
trained  before  being  sent  to  the  front,  of  the  conditions  of  their  life, 
and  of  the  debt  which  all  who  have  at  heart  the  interests  of  our 
students  and  graduates  owe  to  their  officers,  especially  to  their  com- 
manding officers,  adjutants  and  company  commanders.  During  this 
last  year  I  have  visited  several  more  of  these  camps,  and  have  had  full 
opportunities  of  seeing  our  men  and  observing  the  operations  of  the 
units  to  which  they  belong.  Naturally  there  has  been  improvement 
in  their  conditions  and  in  their  training  in  all  directions.  There  has 
been  no  repetition,  for  instance,  of  the  tragic  want  of  hospital  accom- 
modation which  led  to  so  many  deaths  in  one  of  the  Territorial  High- 
land Brigades  billeted  in  England  last  year.  It  is  true  that  in  some 
of  the  camps  the  percentage  of  sickness  has  been  above  that  which  is 
noi*mal  in  garrisons  of  regular  troops  during  times  of  peace ;  but  this 
is  not  surprising  when  we  consider  the  unexampled  strain  to  which  the 
medical  resources  of  the  country  have  been  put  and  the  enormous  in- 
flux of  raw  recruits,  so  many  of  whom  had  been  engaged  in  sedentary 
occupations.  Where  the  material  and  moral  care  of  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  new  soldiers  has  to  be  improvised,  it  is  impossible  to 
eliminate  all  defects,  or  to  prevent  some  suffering.  But  the  cases  on 
which  public  remonstrances  have  been  founded  have  been  few  and  far 
between  ;  and  it  is  only  right  that  I  should  testify  that  1  have  not  re- 
ceived any  complaint  from  our  own  men  as  to  treatment  except  in 
two  or  three  cases  of  alleged  neglect  of  promotion,  which  have  been 
examined  and  assistance  given  where  necessary.  Nor  have  there 
been  complaints  as  to  food  or  accommodation.  In  these  respects 
there  were,  and  were  bound  to  be,  hardships,  especially  during  a 
winter  of  more  than  usually  vexing  weather.  But  they  have  been 
borne  patiently ;  our  men  have  thriven  in  spite  of  them ;  the  food  has 
been  plentiful  and  of  good  quality ;  and  the  discipline,  while  rightly 


Two  Years  of  War  217 

exacting,  has  been  administered  in  a  kindly  temper  and  with  careful 
regard  to  the  men's  moral  and  physical  welfare.  The  visitor  to  such 
large  camps,  created  in  haste  and  not  always  upon  favourable  con- 
ditions, must  marvel  at  the  complexities  and  the  success  of  their  or- 
ganization. The  winter  mud  might  and  could  not  but  prevail  on  the 
fields  on  which  many  of  the  camps  were  planted.  But  good  roads  and 
paths  have  been  laid  down,  giving  token  of  very  hard  work  in  addition 
to  the  military  exercises  of  the  soldiers  and  their  officers.  Within 
and  immediately  around  the  tents  and  huts  I  saw  no  slovenliness  ;  the 
kitchens  smelt  as  sweet  as  those  of  private  houses  ;  there  was  no  want 
of  provision ;  and  in  face  of  the  charges  of  waste  which  we  sometimes 
hear  it  is  only  just  to  record  that  with  time  and  experience  economies 
of  a  very  considerable  amount  have  been  effected. 

An  average  winter  day  may  be  thus  described  : — R6veill^  at  6  a.m., 
and  after  breakfast  drill  or  skirmishing  or  otl^r  manoeuvres  till  12.30 
or  I  p.m. ;  again  more  company  or  battalion  drill,  or  physical  drill 
and  musketry  exercises,  from  2  till  4.30 ;  in  the  evening  either  freedom 
or  a  lecture  or  a  night  parade  with  scouting ;  and,  of  course,  always  for 
some  of  the  unit,  guard  duty  all  night,  and  picket  and  patrol  duty  for 
the  evening. 

The  large  number  of  educated  men  which  our  Universities  and 
higher  schools  have  poured  into  the  ranks  must  have  had  the  same 
good  influence  in  the  camps  at  home  as  Sir  John  French,  in  one  of  his 
dispatches,  warmly  acknowledges  it  has  had  on  the  Armies  in  Flanders. 
Perhaps  th«  most  striking  difference  between  the  camps  of  1 91 4-1 5 
and  those  of  this  winter  is  the  greater  specialisation  in  military  train- 
ing which  the  experience  of  the  novel  warfare  has  rendered  necessary. 
In  the  new  schools  and  exercises  of  machine  guns,  hand-grenades  and 
bomb-throwing,  and,  of  course,  in  aviation  and  its  necessary  conse- 
quence of  instruction  in  meteorology,  in  signalling,  in  the  chemical 
and  other  sections  of  the  Royal  Engineers,  the  opportunities  of  men 
trained  at  Universities  are  numerous ;  and  I  am  glad  to  think  that,  in 
connection  with  all  these,  some  of  our  students  and  graduates  have 
received  responsible  appointments.  For  instance,  at  one  large  camp  a 
first  year's  student  in  science,  returned  wounded  from  the  front,  has 
charge  of  the  hand-grenade  school;  while  a  graduate  in  science,  a 
sergeant  of  infantry,  was  transferred  to  a  meteorological  station  of  the 
Royal  Army  Flying  Corps,  and  commissioned  for  services  in  the  field ; 
and  another,  a  member  of  our  teaching  staff,  has  received  a  commission 


21 8  Aberdeen  University  Review 

in  the  same  branch ;  a  large  group  of  arts  and  science  students  are  in 
the  chemical  section,  R.E. ;  and  three  of  the  staff  fill  responsible  posts 
in  the  departments  of  military  censorship  and  interpreting.  I  would 
mention  also  the  considerable  number  of  our  agricultural  students  and 
graduates  who  have  entered  the  Army  Veterinary  Corps. 

I  am  not  now  referring  to  our  men  only,  but  to  the  whole  masses 
of  soldiers  in  these  camps,  when  I  say  that  the  reports  on  their 
morality,  alike  from  their  officers  and  from  the  civil  and  religious 
authorities  of  the  districts  in  which  they  have  been  placed,  are  almost 
uniformly  favourable.  One  knows  that  there  are  exceptions  both 
among  officers  and  men,  but  one  learns  also,  from  the  ''Gazette"  and 
otherwise,  that  all  excesses  are  sternly  dealt  with.  A  graduate,  who 
had  bravely  enlisted  in  a  battalion  recruited  from  one  of  our  very 
largest  cities,  wrote  me  that  the  evil  language  he  has  heard  and  the 
gambling  have  been  "  a  revelation "  to  him ;  and  the  drunkenness  of 
some  soldiers,  belonging  chiefly  to  units  in  billets  and  not  in  camps, 
has  been  a  reproach.  Nevertheless,  there  is  much  truth  in  what  a 
high  authority  has  said — "  Our  armies  are  to-day  the  most  sober  part 
of  the  population  ".  It  was  good  to  hear  from  an  English  vicar  that 
there  had  been  but  three  cases  of  immorality  during  the  autumn  and 
winter  of  1914-15  in  his  parish,  in  which  one  of  our  Highland  Terri- 
torial Brigades  was  quartered.  In  a  Territorial  unit  from  this  district, 
encamped  in  a  Scottish  parish,  there  had  not  been  for  two  months, 
I  was  told,  a  single  case  of  drunkenness ;  and  similar  testimonies 
have  come  from  elsewhere.  On  the  whole,  the  nation  has  reason  to 
be  proud  of  the  discipline  and  the  morale  of  her  citizen  armies.  As 
for  our  own  students,  I  should  like  to  repeat  coram  Universitate  the 
testimony  of  the  Brigade-major,  for  the  Officer  Commanding  No.  i 
Brigade  Area,  to  the  conduct  of  our  Officers  Training  Corps  in  the 
camp  at  Rumbling  Brig  last  July — "  The  conduct  of  all  concerned  was 
what  was  expected  of  gentlemen  training  for  a  noble  profession  and 
inspired  with  high  ideals.  On  parade  and  off  duty,  the  bearing  of  all 
ranks  was  smart  and  soldier-like." 

The  spiritual  and  social  interests  of  the  camps  have  been  cared  for 
by  Chaplains  and  through  the  large  huts  or  tents  provided  by  the 
Churches  or  the  Y.M.C.A.  The  Chaplains  have  had  unique  oppor- 
tunities with  such  large  numbers  of  men  in  circumstances  fitted  to 
rouse  them  to  earnest  thinking  about  themselves ;  and  naturally  some 
Chaplains  have  been  more  suited  than  others  for  the  personal  influence 
of  man  upon  man,  the  tact  and  adaptableness,  and  the  straight  strong 


Two  Years  of  War 


219 


speaking  required  of  them  in  such  remarkable  positions.  In  two  of 
the  camps  visited  I  heard  of  the  preparation  of  hundreds  of  men  for 
their  first  communion  and  their  admission  to  the  full  membership  of 
the  Church.  The  opportunities  and  influences  of  the  Church  and 
Y.M.C.A.  huts  have  been  invaluable ;  these  huts  need  and  are  more 
than  worthy  of  all  the  support  the  nation  can  give  them. 

III.  War  Work  in  the  University. 

Before  we  pass  from  this  country,  reference  must  be  made  to  the 
work  done  for  war  purposes  by  several  departments  of  the  University. 
As  already  noted,  ten  of  the  Medical  Staff  are  serving  a  la  suite  with 
the  Scottish  General  Hospital ;  and  one  of  the  clinical  staff  is  Commis- 
sioner of  the  British  Red  Cross  Society  for  the  North-Eastern  district 
of  Scotland.  The  Chemical  Department  has  been  engaged  since  the 
summer  of  191 5  in  the  production  of  materials ;  and  the  Departments 
of  Pathology,  Public  Health,  and  Agriculture  in  medical  and  economic 
observations  and  researches  connected  with  the  war. 

Early  in  the  war  the  Senatus  instituted  a  Committee  on  Employ- 
ment for  War  Purposes,  and  this  has  led  to  the  engagement  of  a 
number  of  the  staff,  graduates,  and  students  in  the  manufacture  of 
munitions.  Two  of  the  staff  gave  the  whole  of  last  summer  vacation 
to  this  work ;  and  at  least  thirty  graduates  and  students  have  left  for 
employment  in  war  factories.  It  was  not  found  possible,  as  had  been 
hoped,  for  the  Committee  to  provide  students  in  any  number  for 
agricultural  employment  during  last  harvest ;  but  there  is  no  doubt 
that  part  at  least  of  the  reduction  in  the  numbers  of  both  our  men 
and  women  students  has  been  due  to  their  withdrawal  to  take  the 
places  in  domestic  or  agricultural  service  of  those  who  have  enlisted. 

One  of  the  most  notable  results  of  this  Committee  of  the  Senatus 
has  been  the  work  done  for  our  fighting  armies  and  their  hospitals  by 
the  Aberdeen  University  Work  Party.  The  Department  of  Materia 
Medica  has  been  placed  at  its  disposal.  The  work  has  been  organized 
by  Professor  Cash  and  a  committee  of  ladies,  and  since  the  beginning" 
of  June  last  it  has  been  able  to  dispatch  masses  of  surgical  dressings 
and  hospital  garments  and  the  like  to  the  Red  Cross  and  other 
medical  institutions  connected  with  the  Army.^  The  work  is  "  re- 
cognised "  and  "  approved  "  by  the  War  Office.      Our  warm  congratu- 

^To  6th  June,  1916,  the  number  of  articles  prepared  was:  Garments  and  hospital 
comforts,  6589;  war  dressings,  93,516.     Funds  collected  about  ;^890,  expended  £670. 


220  Aberdeen  University  Review 

lations  and  thanks  are  due  to  all — over  200 — engaged  in  these  bene- 
ficent labours. 

IV.  On  the  Eastern  Fronts. 

And  now  to  come  to  our  men  at  the  front,  or  rather  at  the  many 
fronts,  on  which  our  armies  and  those  of  our  allies  have  been  engaged 
during  this  world-wide  war.  On  every  one  of  these  the  sons  of  this 
University  have  been  fighting  the  enemy  or  serving  the  sick  and  the 
wounded — in  Africa,  in  General  Botha's  victorious  campaign,  in  which 
several  of  our  graduates  served  who  had  already  won  military  dis- 
tinction in  the  Boer  War ;  in  the  slower  but  at  last  successful  cam- 
paign in  the  Cameroons  and  Nigeria,  where  the  first  of  our  men  to 
fall  was  killed  in  action.  Medical  Officer  Thomas  Peppe  Fraser,  on 
5  September,  1914;  now  with  General  Smuts'  forces  in  East  Africa, 
and  both  in  the  home  and  the  Ceylon  and  Australasian  contingents  in 
Egypt,  where  several  of  them  hold  high  positions  in  the  Army  Medi- 
cal Corps  or  have  charge  of  Red  Cross  hospitals.  In  Asia  they  are 
found,  as  volunteers  from  the  I.C.S.  and  other  civilian  professions, 
in  many  of  the  units  garrisoning  India  and  the  Malay  States,  where  in 
the  Singapore  Mutiny,  Lieut.  Angus  Forsyth  Legge  was  killed  on 
16  February,  191 5,  having  volunteered  for  dangerous  medical  service 
in  place  of  a  married  man  first  appointed  to  it ;  or  watching  the  un- 
settled North-West  Frontier ;  at  Aden,  on  medical  service  or  in  charge 
of  machine  guns ;  and  in  Mesopotamia  on  medical  service  (where  two 
have  been  mentioned  in  dispatches  and  one  has  received  the  D.S.O.) 
or  in  Territorial  regiments  or  with  the  Army  Service  Corps.  The 
casualties  reported  from  Africa  and  Asia  are  still  few  in  number, 
but  these  cannot  be  all  that  have  happened.  In  Asiatic  Turkey  two 
of  our  graduates — a  missionary  and  a  doctor — are  prisoners  of  war. 

On  the  islands  both  of  the  Western  and  Eastern  Mediterranean 
some  of  our  graduates  are  serving  as  Chaplains  (on  Malta  there  are  no 
fewer  than  five  Presbyterian  Chaplains,  two  of  them  our  own,  who 
found  several  of  our  wounded  in  their  charge),  or  as  Doctors.  In  the 
Eastern  Mediterranean  one  of  our  graduates  was  appointed  to  create 
and  organize  last  summer  a  huge  "  convalescent  hospital "  (though 
many  others  than  convalescents  were  sent  to  it  straight  from  the 
front,  some  still  with  bullets  in  them)  at  a  height  of  6000  feet  above 
the  sea ;  and  when  winter  came  to  remove  it  to  the  plains  below.  The 
first  camp  was  organized  in  a  fortnight.     Beginning  with  273  patients 


Two  Years  ot  War  221 

he  had  afterwards  always  500  in  his  charge  and  had  arranged  to  ex- 
pand the  camp,  by  the  middle  of  January,  so  as  to  hold  1 500. 

"  The  patients  got  up  the  hill  by  motor  ambulances  in  3}  hours,  for  34 
miles  of  road  with  its  926  turns.  .  .  .  The  patients  did  very  well  indeed, 
especially  cases  of  shrapnel  wound  which  did  not  readily  heal  in  Egypt. 
Latterly  because  of  the  height  I  refused  heart  cases.  Both  officers  and  men 
improved  rapidly,  and  after  a  stay  varying  from  a  fortnight  to  three  months 
most  were  able  to  return  to  duty,  fit  for  strenuous  work.  I  am  glad  to  say 
there  were  no  deaths.  .  .  .  My  hospital  is  nearly  always  full ;  for  assistance 
I  have  a  staff  of  7  men  of  the  R.A.M.C.  with  as  many  more  of  the  R.A.M.C. 
among  the  convalescents  as  are  well  enough  for  light  duty.  A  medical  officer 
is  generally  available  as  assistant.  In  the  expanded  camp  I  shall  have  an  ex- 
panded staff,  but  whether  one  or  two  medical  officers,  I  do  not  know.  My 
knowledge  of  tropical  diseases  has  come  in  handy  with  the  very  large  number 
of  dysentery  cases  (both  amoebic  and  bacillary)  and  malaria." 

Of  this  hospital  the  O.M.S.  reported  that  he  was  very  pleased  with 
the  dysentery  arrangements,  and  that  the  general  administration  of  the 
camp  reflected  great  credit  on  our  graduate. 

On  the  narrow  fire-swept  coast  of  GallipoH,  where,  as  a  friend 
wrote — 

"  Never  on  duty  or  at  rest,  in  trench  or  in  hospital,  do  we  get  away  from 
guns  that,  with  German  Taubes  dropping  bombs,  all  combine  to  shake  and 
wrack  the  nerves  like  nothing  else  I  know  " ;  but  where,  in  spite  of  that,  the 
same  reporter  continues,  "  Our  Territorial  regiments,  lads  who  had  never  be- 
fore seen  a  shot  fired  in  anger,  and  led  by  their  officers,  professional  and 
business  men  from  civil  life,  calmly  heaved  up  their  packs  on  their  shoulders, 
climbing  the  parapets  of  their  trenches,  and  with  bayonets  fixed  made  for  the 
Turkish  lines ;  whipped  by  shrapnel  and  against  a  withering  rifle  and  machine 
gun  fire  at  point-blank  range,  they  held  on  till  they  captured  four  lines  of 
Turkish  trenches," 

— on  that  Gallipoli,  sections  of  our  University  men  were  serving  in  the 
89th  Field  Ambulance  and  in  the  Ross  and  Cromarty  (Mountain) 
Battery.  On  a  previous  occasion  I  spoke  of  the  praise  which  the  former 
received  from  the  general  in  command  of  the  expedition.  The  latter 
— the  Mountain  Battery — was  attached  to  the  Expeditionary  Force 
from  the  beginning,  took  part  both  in  the  unprecedented  battle  of  the 
landing  in  April,  in  the  equally  famous  landing  at  Suvla  Bay  on 
7  August,  and  in  the  subsequent  engagements.  They  doubtless  share 
in  the  general  tribute  to  the  Royal  Artillery — "  For  their  constant 
vigilance,  their  quick  grasp  of  the  key  to  every  emergency,  their 
thundering  good  shooting  and  hundreds  of  deeds  of  daring,  by  which 
they  have  earned  the  unstinted  admiration  of  all  their  comrade 
services ".     We  had  others  in  Gallipoli,  in  Territorial  battalions  like 


222  Aberdeen  University  Review 

the  5th  Royal  Scottish  Fusiliers,  which  were  mentioned  in  dispatches* 
as  having  specially  distinguished  themselves  in  the  severe  engagement 
of  13  July,  the  4th  East  Lancashires  and  Wiltshires,  as  well  as  in  some 
of  the  Australasian  units,  one  of  which  was  commanded  by  a  distin- 
guished alumnus  of  Aberdeen.  Several  of  our  medical  graduates  had 
charge  of  other  field  ambulances,  and  several  served  in  the  British  ex- 
pedition to  Belgrade.  We  have  no  complete  list  of  the  casualties 
among  our  men  in  Gallipoli,  but  at  least  five  fell  there  or  died  of 
disease:  Captain  Arthur  Kellas,  R.A.M.C.  (M.B.  '06),  on  the  6th, 
and  Douglas  Jamieson  (former  Agr.  stud.),  8th  Australian  Light 
Horse,  on  7  August;  Pte.  Alex.  John  Fowlie,  13th  Inf  Battn. 
Australian  Imperial  Force  (M.A.  '11);  Lieut.  Hector  Maclennan 
Guthrie  (M.A.  with  ist  Class  Hons.,  '14),  East  Lancashire  Regt.,  all 
killed  in  action,  and  Lieut.  Richard  Gavin  Brown,  R.A.M.C.  (M.B. 
'03),  who  died  at  Portsmouth  after  an  operation  following  on  dysentery. 
Seven  were  wounded  or  invalided. 

V.  In  the  French  Army. 

In  this  record,  mention  must  not  be  omitted  of  the  services  in  the 
French  army  of  one  of  our  staff  and  of  one  of  our  old  students.  The 
latter,  a  student  of  philosophy,  has  so  distinguished  himself  in  the 
action  in  Champagne  that  he  has  been  granted  the  Croix  de  Guerre 
and  recommended  for  a  commission.  The  former — a  Reservist  on  a 
half-penny  a  day  or  14s.  8d.  a  year :  "  it  must  sound  ludicrous  in  Great 
Britain,  but  it  is  true  " — served  from  the  beginning  of  the  war  in  the 
arduous  fighting  in  front  of  Belfort,  in  the  still  more  severe  warfare  upon 
the  heights  of  the  Vosges,  and  with  the  expedition  into,  and  retreat 
from,  Serbia.  Before  Belfort  his  regiment  had  eight  months  in  the 
trenches  without  a  rest  In  the  intervals  of  action  in  Alsace  he  writes 
that  he  and  some  of  his  comrades  were  engaged  in  teaching  the  children 
of  the  villages  captured  their  ancestral  French.     Again  (July,  191 5) : — 

"We  have  been  in  the  Vosges  on  outpost  duty  for  a  month.  We  have 
never  seen  a  civilian  or  entered  a  house  since  my  arrival.  We  occupy  a  ridge 
overlooking  the  Alsatian  plain  about  3800  feet  high  ...  on  conquered 
ground,  with  our  surroundings  full  of  graves  which  are  often  torn  open  by 
high  explosive  shells.  We  are  shelled  practically  every  day,  and  our  casualties 
are  heavy ;  I  cannot  understand  why  I  am  still  alive.  On  the  6th  inst.  the 
enemy  delivered  a  terrific  onslaught,  but  we  did  not  lose  an  inch  of  ground. 
Quite  close  to  us  things  are  much  worse,  and  there  is  no  sign  of  improving. 
...  If  the  Germans  are  no  more  downhearted  than  we  are  the  war  may  go 
on  for  years." 


Two  Years  of  War  223 

Then  comes  the  news  that  his  division  is  in  the  south  of  France  pre- 
paring for  an  overseas  expedition — 

"  Our  enthusiasm  is  indescribable  and  the  amount  of  artillery  and  machine 
guns  we  are  taking  is  astonishing,  considering  the  effort  we  are  making  in 
France  against  the  Germans."  Then  from  Serbia — "  a  war- wasted  country 
with  a  gallant  little  people  who  receive  us  as  brothers.  This  is  not  a  new 
war  but  the  same  old  war  against  the  enemies  of  civilisation.  We  were  lucky 
enough  to  be  encamped  for  a  week  close  to  a  British  camp.  Our  joy  was 
great  to  meet  the  Tommies  for  the  first  time  and  we  were  allowed  to  frater- 
nise freely.  They  were  fresh  from  the  trenches  a  little  wild,  but  such  good, 
kind-hearted  cheerful  fellows  !  All  looked  strong  and  healthy.  They  are 
splendidly  equipped,  have  comfortable  tents  and  magnificent  horses.  My 
first  glimpse  of  the  King's  army  has  brought  hope  and  comfort  to  me  in  my 
strange  surroundings.     I  hope  we  shall  fight  side  by  side  with  them." 

In  the  Russian  Army  Medical  Corps  one  of  our  graduates  has  re- 
ceived the  rank  of  Lieut.- Colonel  for  his  great  services  rendered  on  the 
retreat  from  Poland. 


VI.  The  F'ront  in  Flanders. 

We  now  come  to  the  Western  front,  upon  which  the  great  majority 
of  the  men  of  this  University,  both  in  the  combatant  and  the  medical 
services,  have  been  engaged.  Of  the  former  between  60  and  70 
have  served,  or  are  serving,  as  officers  or  men  in  battalions  of  the 
regular  army,  or  for  the  duration  of  the  war  in  battalions  of  the  new 
army.  One  in  the  ist  Gordons  was  wounded  in  the  retreat  from 
Mons ;  another  of  the  same  battalion  when  leading  his  platoon  on  the 
fatal  charge  between  Kemmel  and  Wytzaechte  on  14  December,  191 4; 
with  14  of  them  he  reached  a  ditch  1 5  yards  from  the  Germans,  and  after 
two  wounds  and  lying  out  all  day  under  fire  he  led  the  14  back  to 
our  lines  after  dark.  Major  Alex.  Kirkland  Robb  (Arts  stud.  '89), 
2nd  Durham  Light  Infantry,  son  of  Surgeon-General  Robb,  died  of 
wounds  received  in  action  on  20  September,  1914  ;  2nd  Lieut.  Lewis 
N.  G.  Ramsay  (M.A.  '11  and  B.Sc.  with  distinction,  '12),  2nd  Gordons, 
son  of  Professor  Ramsay,  was  killed  at  Neuve  Chapelle  on  21  March, 
191 5  ;  Lieut.  Geoffrey  Gordon  (M.A.  '03)  of  the  Indian  Civil  Service, 
who  being  on  furlough  had  entered  the  Special  Reserve  of  Officers  and 
was  attached  to  the  12th  (Pr.  of  Wales)  Royal  Lancers  was  killed  in 
action  on  20  April;  L.-Corpl.  James  Cruickshank  (ist  Arts  and 
a  high  bursar)  of  the  ist  Gordons,  died  of  wounds  received  in  action 
in  July;  Sergt.  George  C.  Auchinachie  (Med.  stud.  'io-'i3),  also  of 


2  24  Aberdeen  University  Review 

the  1st  Gordons,  after  being  wounded  thrice  in  the  war  and  return- 
ing each  time  to  the  front  was  killed  by  a  shell  on  23  August  ;^  and 
others  of  the  Regular  Forces  to  be  named  later  fell  on  the  fatal 
25  September.  The  rest,  to  the  number  of  several  hundreds,  are  in 
the  units  of  the  Territorial  Force,  nearly  all  Scottish,  and  chiefly  the 
Gordon,  Seaforth,  and  Cameron  Highlanders.  As  we  all  know,  by 
far  the  most  of  them  belong  to  the  city  of  Aberdeen's  Territoriat 
battalion,  the  4th  Gordons ;  in  which,  though  some  of  them  were  in 
other  companies,  they  formed  originally  the  whole  of  the  U  or  Uni- 
versity Company.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  time  has  come  to  give  in 
outline  at  least  the  history  of  the  service  which  the  4th  Gordons,  and 
in  particular  this  company  of  ours,  has  rendered  on  the  Flanders  front. 
At  the  outbreak  of  war  there  were  some  1 5  2  of  our  graduates  and 
students  in  the  battalion,  of  whom  about  115  constituted  the  Uni- 
versity Company.  There  were  also  15  or  16  others  who,  but  for  the 
war,  would  have  matriculated  as  students  in  October,  1914.  Till 
February,  191 5,  the  battalion  was  trained  at  Bedford.  Before  it  left 
for  the  front  it  was  reorganized  into  double  companies,  and  U  and  G 
formed  the  new  company  D  which,  when  it  started,  contained  3  officers 
and  93  men  from  the  University.  In  A,  B  and  C  double  companies 
there  were  then  8  officers  and  27  men  from  the  University — making  in 
all  131  of  our  graduates  and  students.  With  the  ist  Gordons  and  two 
other  regiments,  the  battalion  formed  the  8th  Brigade  of  the  British 
Expeditionary  Force  in  France  and  Flanders,  an  army  of  almost  half 
a  million. 

According  to  letters  received  from  them,  they  had  not  by  May 
been  in  any  of  "the  big  fighting,"  but  they  played  their  part  in  the 
trenches,  sometimes  remaining  there  for  weeks  on  end ;  and  it  was 
then  that  they  suffered  their  first  casualties.  Up  to  15  June  10 
were  killed  and  some  20  wounded.  Pte.  James  Orr  Cruickshank  (ist 
Sci.)  was  the  first  of  the  Company  to  fall — killed  by  a  rifle  bullet  on  April 
1 5  ;  he  was  well  known  as  a  runner  and  a  member  of  the  Harriers 
Club.  Sergt.  Victor  Charles  MacRae  (M.A.  with  ist  CI.  Hons.  in 
Classics, '  14)  on  2 1  April  "  was  stooping  to  lift  a  wounded  comrade  when 
he  was  shot  through  the  heart  and  died  in  ten  minutes  ".  The  next 
day  fell  Sergt.  Alex.  Skinner,  a  former  student  and  teacher  in  Dum- 
barton.      On    28    April    Corpl.    Keith    Mackay  died  in   a   Casualty 

^  His  Coy.  Officer  writes :  •*  He  was  a  very  popular  N.C.O.  and  will  be  much  missed. 
He  was  my  platoon  sergeant  and  I  cannot  speak  too  highly  of  his  soldierly  qualities." 


Two  Years  of  War  225 

Clearing  Hospital  of  a  gunshot  wound  received  on  20  March.^  On 
27  April  Pte.  Alex.  Mitchell  (2nd  Arts),  while  engaged  digging  a 
communication  trench,  was  fatally  wounded  *'  by  a  stray  bullet "  and 
died  the  next  day.^  On  5  May  Pte.  John  Forbes  Knowles  (M.A. 
'12;  United  Free  Church  Divinity  student),  who  "had  just  rejoined 
from  hospital  the  day  we  entered  the  trenches,  was  killed  the 
following  day  (5  May)  by  two  bullets  in  chest  and  face  while  out 
digging  a  communication  trench  about  200  yards  from  the  German 
trenches  and  just  behind  our  own".  On  the  7th  Pte.  David  Wood 
Crichton  (ist  Agr.)  was  hit  by  a  bullet  when  carrying  water  to  the  men 
in  the  trenches  and  died  as  he  was  borne  back  to  the  rear.  On  27 
May  Sapper  James  Sanford  Murray  (2nd  Arts),  formerly  of  E  Coy. 
4th  Gordons,  was  with  the  51st  (Highl.  Divis.)  Signal  Coy., 

*'in  a  village  some  three  miles  behind  the  firing  line  when  the  enemy  started 
shelling  us  very  heavily.  We  got  orders  to  leave  the  chateau  and  return  to  a 
farm  500  yards  away.  About  a  dozen  of  us  immediately  started  out,  and  had 
got  about  250  yards  when  another  shell  burst  right  in  the  middle  of  us  all. 
Two  were  killed  outright.  Your  boy  lived  for  about  four  hours.  The  doctor 
told  me  he  had  no  pain  and  that  the  shock  had  been  too  much  for  him."  ^ 

On  I  June  Pte.  Robert  Hugh  Middleton  (3rd  Arts)  was  killed  in 
action;  and  on  the  14th  Pte.  Marianus  Alex.  Cumming  (M.A.  'i2; 
teacher  at  Kemnay).  It  was  during  the  same  time  that  we  lost  several 
graduates  and  students  in  other  units  at  Neuve  Chapelle  and  else- 
where. I  have  named  some  already.  Corpl.  Edward  Watt  (B.Sc.  Agr. 
'14),  4th  Seaforth  Highlanders,  died  on  22  March  of  wounds  received 
in  action  at  Neuve  Chapelle  on  10  March.* 

The  valour  of  our  Territorial  regiments  and  their  endurance  were 
well  tested  during  those,  their  first,  months  of  war.  As  early  as  5 
April,  Sir  John  French  wrote  thus  of  them  :  "  In  former  dispatches  I 
have  been  able  to  comment  very  favourably  upon  the  conduct  and 
bearing  of  the  Territorial  Forces.  As  time  goes  on,  and  I  see  more 
and  more  of  their  work,  whether  in  the  trenches  or  engaged  in  more 
active  operations,  I  am  still  further  impressed  with  their  value."     This 

'  He  had  passed  all  the  examinations  for  the  Degree  of  M.A.,  which  the  Senatus 
posthumously  conferred  in  June,  1915. 

2 "  A  willing  and  most  conscientious  soldier,  most  uncomplaining  and  cheerful  even 
when  not  feeling  in  the  best  of  health." 

=*"  One  of  the  finest  young  soldiers  I  ever  met,  always  ready  and  willing  to  do  his 
work  any  time,  and  when  we  were  very  busy  quite  pleased  to  work  his  twelve  hours  without 
grumbling." 

^  "  For  nearly  a  fortnight  he  lingered  on  babbling  of  home,  just  on  the  borderland  of 
consciousness ;  always  a  child  again,  they  tell  me.  But  his  injuries  were  such  that  Death 
were  better  than  Life." 

15 


226  Aberdeen  University  Review 

is  a  great  tribute  to  the  training  they  received  before  they  left  home, 
as  well  as  to  their  grit  and  skill.  In  spite  of  dangers,  and  of  privations 
more  disheartening,  the  letters  of  our  students,  whether  from  the 
trenches  or  from  their  rest  billets,  were  extraordinarily  cheerful  and 
high-spirited,  complaining  of  nothing  but  that  want  of  artillery  and 
artillery  munitions  which  paralysed  our  armies  at  the  time  and  cost 
the  lives  of  so  many  brave  men.     One  of  their  officers  writes — 

"  We  have  been  shelled  all  day,  and  have  nothing  to  pay  the  enemy  back 
with  properly.  We  have  just  lost  4  killed  and  8  wounded.  It  is  hard 
to  lose  these  men.  I  like  them  all  so  much — they  are  so  brave  and  fine.  I 
am  not  cast  down — I  am  only  angry  with  the  carelessness  and  neglect  of  those 
who  are  responsible  for  the  shortage  of  ammunition ;  but  we  have  nothing  but 
contempt  for  the  Germans  and  a  glorious  feeling  that  one  day  we  will  knock 
them  into  a  cocked  hat." 

Again  from  one  of  themselves — 

"I  am  sitting  in  a  grassy  ditch  with  the  shells  going  over  at  the  rate  of 
eight  or  ten  a  minute,  and  an  enemy  aeroplane  hovering  overhead  trying  to 
spot  our  position,  presently  to  be  cleared  from  the  scene  by  some  of  our  air- 
craft." 

And  they  impressed  the  French  people  among  whom  they  were 
quartered.  A  French  friend,  writing  me  in  May,  says  of  some  British 
ambulances  with  a  French  force  : — 

"  They  are  most  popular  among  us.  Their  presence  will  never  be  forgotten, 
and  all  the  secular  prejudice  against  the  British  nation  is  dead  and  buried  for 
ever.  We  hear  also  from  our  fellows  who  have  relatives  where  the  British 
troops  are  quartered  that  they  behave  like  gentlemen,  and  are  as  open-handed 
as  kind-hearted.  .  .  .  Part  of  the  strength  of  the  British  Army  is  that  it  con- 
tains a  greater  percentage  of  educated  men  than  ours.  At  any  rate,  from  our 
generals  down  to  our  rank  and  file  we  are  most  satisfied  with  the  efforts  of  the 
British.  We  keep  talking  about  Neuve  Chapelle  as  if  we  had  done  nothing 
ourselves." 

On  16  June  an  attack  was  carried  out  by  the  5th  Corps  of  the 
British  Army  on  the  Bellewarde  Ridge,  east  of  Ypres,  while  holding 
attacks  were  made  by  the  neighbouring  2nd  and  6th  Corps.  The 
advance  extended  as  far  as  the  Bellewarde  Lake,  but  the  troops  who 
made  it  were  unable  to  maintain  themselves  there,  and  had  to  retire. 
Still,  according, to  Sir  John  French's  dispatch,  they  secured  and  con- 
solidated ground  on  a  front  of  a  thousand  yards.  In  this  severe  and 
successful  action  the  4th  Gordons  were  engaged,  and  D  Company  dis- 
tinguished itself  by  a  brave  assault  on  the  German  lines  in  a  wood 
near  Hooge.     I  am  told   by  eye-witnesses  that  our  men  behaved 


Two  Years  of  War  227 


magnificently.  They  lost  eight  killed,  almost  as  many  as  in  all  their 
previous  months  of  war :  L.-Corpl.  And.  T.  Fowlie  (Univ.  Dipl.  Agr. 
'09);  L.-Sergt.  Alex.  David  Duncan  (M.A.  '14);  L.-Corpl.  Murdo 
Maclver  (3rd  Agr.);  and  Privates  Harry  Lyon  (2nd  Arts)  of  the 
Machine  Gun  section,  killed  by  a  shell,  James  C.  Forbes  (3rd  Agr.),  son 
of  the  Convener  of  the  County  of  Banff,  Robert  Patrick  Gordon  (2nd 
Arts),  George  McSween  (Aberd.  Training  Centre),  and  James  Whyte 
(2nd  Arts).  At  the  same  time  fell  Lieut.  Wm.  Leslie  Scott  (3rd  Med.) 
of  the  5  th  Gordons.     Other  ten  of  our  men  were  then  wounded. 

During  the  long  weeks  of  waiting  that  followed — waiting  for  rein- 
forcements and  munitions — the  4th  Gordons  faithfully  took  their  turns 
in  manning  the  front  trenches,  and  in  providing  brigade  reserves. 
They  suffered  comparatively  few  losses.  In  July,  three  University 
men  fell  in  Flanders,  all  sergeants — John  McLean  Thomson  (M.A. 
'II,  and  student  of  Divinity),  Alex.  Allardyce  (M.A.  '04;  B.L.),  Ser- 
geant of  Bombers,  and  Alex.  David  Marr  (M.A.  '14,  and  Science  stu- 
dent) 7th  Gordons,  and  on  10  August  Lieut.  Fred.  Alex.  Rose 
(M.A.  with  1st  CI.  Hons.  in  English;  B.A.  Oxon.).  Of  the  last  one  of 
his  fellow-lieutenants  in  the  4th  Gordons  wrote  me  as  follows : — 

"At  present  D  Coy.  is  Brigade  Reserve  and  we  are  in  an  old  chateau,  a 
very  pretty  place.  It  is  very  nice  there,  even  better  than  back  in  the  rest 
camp  where  the  rest  of  the  battalion  is.  We  had  a  very  bad  time  of  it  yester- 
day evening,  just  before  we  were  relieved.  Some  high  explosive  shrapnel 
burst  right  on  the  top  of  our  trench  killing  3  men  and  wounding  7. 
Lieut.  Fred.  Alex.  Rose  was  hit  through  the  head  beside  the  ear.  He  was 
unconscious,  and  it  was  at  once  seen  that  there  was  no  hope  for  him,  and  he 
died  a  quarter  of  an  hour  later.  He  was  a  very  decent  fellow  and  only  came 
out  here  a  short  time  ago.  Another  University  man  got  his  arm  broken. 
Otherwise  the  remains  of  old  U  Coy.  are  well  and  as  fit  and  keen  as  ever." 

Besides  the  3  killed  in  July  and  August  6  University  men  were 
wounded  then  and  in  early  September. 

VII.  25  September— -Ypres  and  Loos. 

At  last  the  end  and  purpose  of  the  waiting  came  in  the  actions 
all  down  our  line  of  25  September,  and  the  4th  Gordons  topped  their 
great  services  by  a  heroic  charge  that  day  on  the  German  positions 
east  of  Ypres  and  Hooge.  The  action  in  which  they  were  engaged  is 
described  by  Sir  John  French  as  a  secondary  attack  for  the  purpose  of 
holding  the  enemy's  troops  from  the  main  assaults,  which  were  de- 
livered further  south  by  the  British  at  La  Bass6e  and  Loos,  and  by  the 


w 

228  Aberdeen  University  Review 

French  in  Champagne.  It  was  preceded  by  some  hours  of  terrific 
bombardment,  to  which  the  enemy  replied  with  guns  as  powerful. 
On  the  ground  in  front  of  the  4th  Gordons  the  entanglements  ap- 
pear to  have  been  fairly  cleared,  and  at  the  word  the. regiment  charged 
through  heavy  rain  and  waterpools,  and  "  like  veterans  "  (as  one  report 
says)  carried  the  first  German  line.  A  few  moments  there  and  they 
charged  for  the  second  and  took  it ;  and  at  least  one  company,  with 
students  among  them,  reached  the  third  line  and  drove  out  the  de- 
fenders. A  neighbouring  battalion,  however,  had  not  been  so  fortunate, 
and  our  men,  unsupported,  were  obliged  to  retire.  There  is  not  room 
here  for  all  the  experiences  of  that  great  day.     Here  are  one  or  two : — 

"  It  was  like  hell  let  loose.  We  sat  in  a  dug-out  half  up  a  communication 
trench  waiting  orders.  The  noise  was  terrible,  and  to  that  has  to  be  added 
the  flashes  from  the  bursting  of  shrapnel  and  shells.  We  heard  a  loud  report, 
then  the  ground  rocked,  and  some  half  a  minute  later  our  men  poured  up  the 
communication  trench  for  the  charge,  ducking  the  shells  and  splashing  about, 
for  the  rain  simply  teemed.  Then  a  minute  or  two  later  our  sergeant  came 
rushing  down,  one  of  our  teams  was  knocked  out  and  we  had  to  carry  on  at 
once.  I  musrt  say  I  was  rather  relieved  than  otherwise  and  felt  no  fear  in  the 
open. 

"  I  was  thrilled  as  I  plodded  up  the  communication  trench  over  the  knees 
in  mud  'through  shot  and  shell'  with  a  vengeance.  Yes,  we  laughed, 
laughed  I  It  was  really  glorious ;  one  was  absolutely  overcome  with  the  feeling 
of  wishing  to  do  anything,  anything  that  would  add  glory  to  the  already  glori- 
ous name  of  the  regiment.  But  the  feeling  is  absolutely  exquisite,  because 
our  officers  are  so  splendid ;  they  smiled  us  a  welcome,  as  though  we  were  off 
for  fun,  and  honestly  I  think  we  believed  we  were  off  for  fun.  .  .  .  Anyhow,  on 
we  went  through  holes,  catching  in  barbed  wire  and  scrambling  on.  We  had 
just  got  to  the  parapet  of  the  German  trenches  when  bang  I — shrapnel  over- 
head. .  .  .  Ah,  here  we  are,  the  parapet  at  last !  Plout  in  you  get.  A  rest 
just  for  a  moment  till  we  see  what  we  are  to  do,  and  to  pick  up  a  helmet  on  the 
way.  On  we  went,  using  dead  bodies  sometimes  to  save  us  wading  through 
mud  and  water.  At  last  we  reached  the  second  line.  Here  the  trench  was 
practically  levelled.  Our  company  had  already  advanced  to  the  third  line. 
Our  sergeant  rushed  across  in  bolts  to  that  third  line.  Arriving  there  he  dis- 
covered they  were  forcing  our  boys  out.     The  place  was  strewn  with  dead 

Germans.  ...  The  alarm  was  put  out  that  the  Huns  were  on  us.     Then 

came  forward  and  ordered  every  man  who  could  shoulder  a  rifle  to  man  the 
trenches.  The  Huns  must  have  changed  their  mind,  for  they  never  came. 
The  Huns  who  had  been  spotted  were  some  prisoners  who  came  across  with 
our  boys  when  they  retired,  Alsatians,  I  believe.  The  Prussian  Guard  were 
opposing  us,  too,  for  I  got  a  helmet."  ^ 

A  party  of  ist  Gordons  and  4th  Gordon  bombers  and  riflemen 
were  cut  off  in  one  of  the  German  redoubts,  but  jumped  the  parapet 

'  From  a  letter  from  a  student,  published  in  the  "Aberdeen  Journal,"  9  October. 


Two  Years  of  War  229 

ran  across  the  open  towards  our  trenches.  One  sound  man  and 
4  wounded  got  over.  Two  others  lay  in  a  shell  hole  between  the 
lines  from  lo  a.m.  till  dusk,  expecting  death,  and  then  crawled  back 
to  the  British  trenches  after  one  of  them  had  stumbled  on  a  party  of 
Germans  and  been  fired  at  point-blank,  but  without  injury.  With 
them  they  brought  in  a  wounded  officer  of  another  battalion  whom 
they  had  found  on  the  way. 

These  are  some  of  many  breathless  episodes  which  happened  that 
day.  In  spite  of  the  retirement.  Sir  John  French  says  that  the  attack 
was  "  most  effectively  achieved,  for  not  only  was  the  enemy  contained 
on  that  point,  but  we  have  reason  to  believe  that  reserves  were  hurried 
to  that  point  of  the  line,  and  a  number  of  prisoners  were  taken  ".  The 
4th  Battalion  received  the  warm  congratulations  of  the  corps  and 
divisional  commanders  and  of  the  Commander-in-Chief  himself.  But 
its  casualties  had  been  heavy.  Of  our  University  men  alone  there 
fell  or  died  of  their  wounds  at  least  the  following  12:  Lieut  John 
Campbell  Sangster  (M.  A.  '14) ;  Sergeants  John  Keith  Forbes  (M.A.  '05  ; 
U.F.C.  Divinity  student),^  and  Bertram  Wilkie  Tawse  (M.A.  '05  ; 
B.Sc.) ;  Corpl.  Wm.  Stephen  Haig  (M.A.  '14)  ;  Privates  James  Anderson 
(3rd  Arts),2  William  Donald  (2nd  Arts),  John  Birnie  Ewen  (M.A. 
Hons.  in  Classics,  '14),  John  Hampton  Strachan  Mason  (M.A.  '13), 
Roderick  Dewar  MacLennan^  (ist  Arts),  Gordon  Dean  Munro  (ist 
Med.),  and  Alex.  Silver.^  At  Ypres,  too,  fell  2nd  Lieut.  John  Cook 
Macpherson  of  the  ist  Gordons  (M.A.  '10;  LL.B.).  The  following 
were  posted  as  missing:  Lieut.  Alex.  Rennie  Henderson  (M.A.  'ii), 
2nd  Lieut.  George  Low  (M.A.  '14),  and  Privates  Wm.  Duncan  Alex- 
ander (2nd  Med.),  George  Kemp  Saunders  (ist.  Med.),  and  John  Wm. 
Shanks  (2nd  Arts).  Taken  prisoners  were  Corpl.  Malcolm  MacLeod 
(M.A.  '00),  L.-Corpl.  Alex.  Findlater  (ist  Arts),  and  Privates  George 
Murray  (M.A.  'i  i),  William  Alex.  Troup  (2nd  Arts),  and  Robert  Wilson 
(4th  Arts).     Thirty  others  were  wounded. 

In  the  still  greater  battles  of  the  same  day  between  La  Bass6e  and 
Loos  the  sons  of  our  University  were  also  doing  their  duty,  and  many 
of  them  to  the  death.  In  the  6th  Gordons,  its  commander,  that  very 
gallant  and  popular  officer,  Lieut. -Col.  John  Ellison  Macqueen  (Law 
student  '91-95),  fell   when  leading  his    men,  and    with  him   Lieut. 

1  For  an  account  of  his  fine  character  and  remarkable  services  see  the  •*  Record  of  the 
United  Free  Church  of  Scotland"  for  1915. 

2  He  died  of  his  wounds  a  prisoner  at  Giessen. 

3  Privates  Munro  and  Silver  both  died  as  prisoners. 


230  Aberdeen  University  Review 

Frederick  Charles  Stephen  (M.A.  with  1st  CI.  Hons.  in  Maths.  '09; 
Ferguson  Scholar  '11,  and  at  Cambridge  ist  CI.  Math.  Tripos,  Part  I, 
'10,  and  Vl^rangler,  Part  II,  '12),  and  Private  Stuart.  In  the  Seaforths 
while  leading  their  men  to  the  assault  2nd  Lieuts.  George  Macbeth 
Calder  (M.A. '15,  2nd  Med.),  and  William  Robert  Kennedy  (ist  Med.), 
were  killed ;  in  the  2nd  Argyll  and  Sutherlands  2nd  Lieut.  Ian  Catto 
Fraser  (ist  Arts) ;  and  2nd  Lieuts.  Ian  Charles  Macpherson  (M.A.  '14), 
the  son  of  the  Rector  of  Banff  Academy,  and  George  Buchanan  Smith 
(M.A.  Glasg.  ;  LL.B.  Aberd.  '14),  the  son  of  the  Principal,  both  with 
the  2nd  Gordons,  on  their  charge  from  their  trenches  before  Vermelles 
right  up  to  Hulluch  on  the  third  German  line  from  which  they  returned 
with  only  3  officers  uninjured  out  of  22.  2nd  Lieut.  I.  C.  Macpherson 
brought  his  party  of  bombers  as  far  as  Hulluch  itself,  and  fell  there  in 
the  German  counter-attack ;  they  wrote  of  him  :  *'  If  ever  a  soldier 
deserved  the  Victoria  Cross  he  did,  and  had  he  lived  he  would  have 
gained  it,  this  is  the  opinion  of  his  men  and  of  the  officers  who  saw 
him ".  2nd  Lieut.  G.  B.  Smith  had  been  designated  for  command  of 
his  company ;  having  the  night  before  the  battle  accompanied  his  Captain 
to  cut  the  wire  entanglements  in  front  of  their  trench,  and  having 
remained  alone  to  complete  the  work  under  fire  for  an  hour  and  a 
half,  he  led  his  platoon  in  the  charge  as  morning  broke,  and  was  killed 
at  the  head  of  them  by  a  shell  100  yards  on.  On  this  sector  4 
other  University  men  were  wounded. 

Altogether  on  that  single  day,  25  September,  the  men  of  Aber- 
deen University  suffered  no  less  than  one-third  of  the  total  of  their 
casualties  during  eighteen  months  of  war. 

To  return  to  the  University  Company  of  the  4th  Gordons — of 
the  120  rank  and  file  who  went  from  Bedford  to  Flanders  in  February 
of  last  year  there  were  in  December  only  3  left  in  the  ranks. 
Some  24  others  still  served  in  machine  guns,  signalling,  or  transport 
sections ;  33  had  been  commissioned,  and  19  had  fallen.  The  rest  had 
been  wounded  or  invalided.  It  has  seemed  to  me  that  after  such 
fortunes,  distinguished  by  endurance,  valour  and  self-sacrifice  beyond 
all  praise,  some  outline  at  least  of  their  service  was  now  called  for.  I 
am  aware  how  tame  and  drab  it  must  appear  in  contrast  with  the 
actual  terror  and  glory  of  these  months  of  heroic  war.  But  I  hope 
that  later  one  of  our  graduates  will  be  found  to  tell  the  story  with 
adequate  force  and  detail,  and  to  do  justice  to  all  the  individual  acts 
of  bravery  which  our  men  have  so  splendidly  multiplied. 


Two  Years  of  War  231 

Since  the  Battle  of  Ypres  the  fortunes  of  the  4th  Gordons  have 
been  less  eventful,  but  the  battalion  has  kept  its  place  in  the  British 
line,  for  some  time  still  at  Ypres  and  recently  farther  south, 
regularly  reinforced  from  home  out  of  its  second  and  third  lines. 
In  April  the  following  news  came : — 

"  The  battalion  is  in  a  good  position  and  in  excellent  health  and  spirits. 
The  weather  is  splendid  and  the  surroundings  are  quite  congenial.  In  the 
fighting  line  things  are  normal  and  the  only  event  of  importance  which  has 
affected  us  has  been  the  issue  of  shrapnel- proof  helmets.  They  resemble  the  old 
clerical  hat,  only  not  so  wide  and  rather  higher.  On  not  a  few  occasions  they 
have  already  staved  off  what  might  have  been  serious  or  even  fatal  head 
wounds.  In  one  case  the  helmet  actually  deflected  a  bullet,  the  wearer  suffer- 
ing from  nothing  but  the  impact.  .  .  .  We  never  forget  our  fallen  comrades, 
though  we  say  little  about  it.  For  myself  I  think  they  are  not  far  from  us  at 
any  time,  but  help  us  yet." 

Of  University  men  the  further  losses  have  been  :  In  October,  191 5, 
Pte.  Frederick  Wm.  Milne  (ist  Med.),  on  25  December  L.-Corpl. 
Alex.  Slorach  (2nd  Arts)  accidentally  by  the  bursting  of  a  shell.  In 
other  units  there  have  fallen,  in  addition  to  those  already  mentioned, 
Lieut.  Wm.  Geo.  Rae  Smith  (former  Agr.  stud.)  of  the  loth  King's 
Own  Yorkshire  Light  Infantry,  attached  21st  Divisional  Cyclists, 
on  25  January,  1 91 6,  while  saving  a  wounded  comrade;  Lieut.  Chas. 
Thomas  McWilliam  (M.A.  '13),  5th  Gordons,  20th  March;  Capt. 
George  Mitchell  Johnston  (B.Sc.  Agr. 'i  i),  2nd  Battn.  Royal  Jersey 
Militia,  attached  7th  Royal  Irish  Rifles,  3  April ;  and  Quartermaster 
Sergt.  Charles  McGregor  (M.A.  with  1st  CI.  Hons.  Maths.  '96),  loth 
Gordons,  who  did  more  by  his  courage  and  self-denial  to  inspire  our 
students  with  a  sense  of  duty  to  their  country  than  any  one  else 
among  us.  Though  beyond  the  military  age  he  enlisted  early  in  the 
war,  and  declining  all  offers  of  a  commission  served  in  the  ranks  and 
as  a  non-commissioned  officer  with  rare  patience,  ability,  and  great 
influence  on  all  his  comrades. 

VIII.  The  R.A.M.C.  and  the  Chaplains. 

Along  that  front  of  battle  from  the  north  of  Ypres  to  Grenay,  the 
officers  and  men  of  the  Army  Medical  Corps  were  serving  the  field 
ambulances  and  casualty  stations,  and  further  behind  the  lines,  the 
base  and  stationary  hospitals' to  the  coast  on  the  English  Channel,  in  an 
organization  the  most  perfect  of  its  kind  in  the  annals  of  warfare.  That 
in  addition  to  their  arduous  and  ceaseless  labours  they  shared  with  the 


232  Aberdeen  University  Review 

fighting  ranks  the  perils  of  the  enemy's  fire  is  proved  by  the  casualties 
they  suffered.  Of  our  own  medical  graduates  here  and  on  other  fronts 
5  have  fallen  on  the  field :  Medical  Officer  T.  P.  Fraser  in  Nigeria 
and  Captain  Arthur  Kellas  on  Gallipoli,  and  Lieut.  A.  F.  Legge  in 
Singapore  (all  already  noted) ;  and  on  the  Western  front  Lieut,  James 
Reston  Gardener  Garbutt  (M.B.  'ii),  attached  to  the  King's  Own 
Scottish  Borderers,  and  Lieut.  George  Dewar  (M.B.  '15).  Five  have 
died  of  disease:  Lieut.-Col.  Wm.  Henry  Gray  (M.B.  '86),  Indian  Medical 
Service,  Herbert  Mather  Jamieson  (M.B.  '04),  on  medical  service 
with  the  Royal  Navy,  Lieut.  Richard  Gavin  Brown  (already  noted), 
Deputy  Surgeon  General  Cyril  James  Mansfield  (M.B.  '83  ;  M.D.  '96) 
and  Private  David  George  Melrose  Watt  (ist  Med.).  Three  have 
sunk  with  their  ships :  Surgeon  Wm.  Mellis  Mearns  (M.B.  '08),  on  i 
January,  191 5,  Tempry.  Surgeon  Douglas  Whimster  Keiller  Moody 
(M.B.  '00;  M.D.)  on  30  December,  191 5,  and  it  is  to  be  feared 
Tempry.  Major  (formerly  Fleet  Surgeon)  James  Mowat  (M.B.  '91). 
Fleet  Surgeon  Wm.  Rudolf  Center  (former  Med.  Stud.,  M.B.  Edin. 
'93)  died  from  injuries  on  the  sinking  of  H.M.S.  "Russell  ".  Eleven 
others  have  been  wounded  in  action. 

The  Chaplains  too,  especially  on  Gallipoli  and  the  Western  front, 
have  performed  their  services  with  great  courage  within  the  firing  zone 
— holding  their  services,  tending  the  wounded,  and  burying  the  dead  all 
within  range  of  the  enemy's  guns.  One  illustration  from  Gallipoli 
may  be  given  : — 

*'  I  want  to  tell  you  of  the  last  Sunday  I  spent  on  the  Peninsula.  It  was 
impossible  to  hold  regular  church  parades.  I  used  to  take  a  battalion  each 
Sunday  and  go  down  the  trenches  and  speak  to  groups  of  five  or  a  dozen  men 
each  time  and  pray  with  them.  It  was  rather  a  long  business  but  I  think  it 
did  good.  On  this  particular  Sunday  evening  we  had  church  parade  by  moon 
and  star-light.  Each  Presbyterian  Chaplain  took  two  battalions,  one  service  in 
each.  The  men  gathered  in  the  trenches  leaning  on  the  parapets  and  with 
officers  grouped  round  me.  From  a  central  position  I  conducted  public  wor- 
ship. I  read  out  the  Psalm,  the  121st,  verse  by  verse,  and  so  they  sang  it. 
We  took  the  hymn  at  the  end  in  precisely  the  same  way,  *  Abide  with  me '. 
It  was  wonderful  and  most  thrilling.  As  one  of  the  men  writing  home  put  it, 
there  has  been  nothing  like  it  since  the  Covenanters  met  on  the  moss-hags 
and  worshipped  God  in  the  dark  because  of  their  enemies.  I  preached  from 
the  23rd  Psalm."  Again  "the  tale  of  casualties  would  begin,  nearly  all  the 
wounded  (that  day)  were  Scots  who  came  down  our  way,  and  men  from  our  Bri- 
gade. The  most  of  the  men  knew  me.  One  dug-out,  capable  of  holding  15 
stretchers,  the  Major  (R.A.M.C.)  devoted  to  abdominal  cases.  .  .  .  Twice  a 
day  did  I  visit  these  poor  fellows.  Nothing  more  could  be  done  for  them 
than  to  moisten  their  lips  and  wash  out  their  mouths.     They  were  very  patient 


Two  Years  of  War  233 

and  good  about  it.  .  .  .  Long  waits  I  had  also  till  graves  were  dug  in  the 
hard- baked  earth,  or  until  the  shell  and  rifle  fire  so  moderated  as  to  allow 
burial  parties^ to  venture  forth.  .  .  .  We  laid  the  poor  battered  bodies  to  rest 
3  or  4,  5  or  7  at  a  time — in  their  uniforms,  the  Highlanders  in  their  tartans : 
He  that  loveth  his  life  shall  lose  it^  and  he  that  loseth  his  life  for  My  sake  shall 
Jinditr 

For  us  there  remains  the  duty  of  recalling  our  fallen  by  name  in 
homage  to  their  valour  and  the  spirit  of  their  sacrifices  for  us.  Not 
for  glory  went  they  out,  nor  did  any  go  carelessly,  nor  in  ignorance  of 
what  was  before  him.  But  each  because  the  hand  of  God  was  upon 
his  conscience  in  the  strength  of  the  most  sacred  cause  to  which  his 
country  was  ever  called,  and  prepared  to  give  his  life  for  its  sake. 
The  father  of  one  of  them,  writing  to  me  from  a  country  manse,  says 
truly  : — 

"  From  the  brave,  bright  letters  sent  home  from  the  front,  one  fails  to  learn 
the  truth  that  some  of  them  know  in  their  hearts — that  they  are  treading  the 
road  to  Calvary.  As  I  looked  at  the  last  photograph  sent  home  from  France 
of  our  boy,  its  expression  seemed  only  sad,  but  I  know  what  it  means  now. 
*  I  shall  not  come  back,  but  I  am  going  forward,'  and  his  is  the  story  of  so 
many  others." 


The  Graduation  Address  was  followed  by  the  reading  of  the  names 
of  the  70  members  of  the  University  who  had  fallen ;  the  Very 
Rev.  Professor  Nicol  led  the  assembly  in  prayer.  The  National 
Anthem  was  sung,  and  Professor  Fulton  pronounced  the  Benediction. 

GEORGE  ADAM  SMITH. 


Postscript,  8  July,  1916.— Since  the  above  was  in  type  other  14  deaths 
have  been  reported,  and  will  be  found  on  pp.  6  and  7  of  the  Supplement  to 
the  Provisional  Roll  of  Service,  appended  to  this  number  of  the  Review. 


An  Anatomist  on  Our  Pedigree.^ 

I  HE  fascinating  problem  of  the  antiquity  of  man  has  been 
attacked  from  various  sides.  The  geological  approach 
has  its  classic  expression  in  Sir  Charles  Lyell's  *'  Geolo- 
gical Evidences  of  the  Antiquity  of  Man  "  (1863)  ;  the 
archaeological  approach  is  well  represented  by  Lord 
Avebury's  "Prehistoric  Times"  (1865,  7th  ed.,  1913) ; 
Dr.  Keith's  book  is  a  masterly  statement  of  the  anatom- 
ical contribution.  "The  anatomist  gives  ancient  man 
the  centre  of  the  stage ;  he  depends  on  the  geologist  and  the  archaeologist  to 
provide  him  with  the  scenery  and  stage  accessories."  He  has  to  work  hand 
in  hand  with  them  both,  which  is  not  always  easy,  but  his  line  of  investigation 
is  quite  distinct ;  he  traces  man  into  the  past  "  by  means  of  fossil  skulls,  teeth, 
and  limb  bones — intelligible  documents  to  him,  but  complex  and  repulsive 
hieroglyphs  in  the  eyes  of  most  people  ".  In  one  respect  his  reward  is  likely 
to  be  greater  than  that  of  his  fellow-workers,  for  his  researches  bear  directly 
on  the  problem  of  man's  pedigree  as  well  as  on  that  of  his  antiquity.  The  in- 
quisitive section  of  the  British  public,  in  so  far  as  it  has  energy  to  spare  from 
such  serious  tasks  as  solving  the  mystery  of  "  Edwin  Drood,"  may  well  con- 
gratulate itself  in  having  a  guide  like  Dr.  Arthur  Keith,  expert  yet  luminous, 
scholarly  yet  enthusiastic,  in  exploring  the  problem  of  how  and  when  mankind 
came  into  existence. 

A  Neolithic  Community. — The  first  picture  in  the  book  takes  us  back 
some  4000  years — a  few  ticks  of  the  geological  clock — to  a  Neolithic  com- 
munity at  Coldrum  in  Kent — a  settlement  of  agricultural  pioneers,  about  two 
inches  below  our  modern  British  average  stature,  with  rather  large  heads  in 
which  the  width  was  about  75  per  cent  of  the  length,  with  better 
teeth  and  broader  palates  than  we  have  in  these  days  of  soft  food,  with  brains 
up  to  the  present-day  size,  with  beliefs  concerning  life  and  death,  similar  to 
those  that  swayed  their  contemporaries  in  Western  and  Southern  Europe,  and 
with  great  manipulative  skill  as  shown  in  Megalithic  monuments  on  the  one 
hand  and  daring  trepanning  operations  on  the  other.  Four  thousand  years 
ago  "  mankind  was  already  old ;  the  human  web  already  universal  ". 

Tkc  Men  of  the  Submerged  Forest. — ^The  second  study  concerns  the  people 
of  the  forest  which  used  to  connect  England  with  France,  through  which  the 
Thames  ran  swiftly  to  join  the  Rhine  in  a  common  estuary.  Since  these  days 
great  changes  have  occurred  in  the  appearance  of  the  country,  but  careful 
study  of  the  human  remains  (there  are  no  implements  or  even  flint  chips)  from 
corners  of  the  submerged  forest  show  that  man  at  the  beginning  of  the  Neo- 
lithic period  was  very  much  as  he  is  to-day.  Yet  that  is  eight  or  ten  thousand 
years  ago. 

The  Cave  Men. — The  next  step  into  the  darkening  past  takes  us  to  the 

1  The  Antiquity  of  Man.  By  Arthur  Keith,  M.D.,  LL.D.,  F.R.C.S.,  F.R.S.,  Con- 
servator of  the  Museum  and  Hunterian  Professor,  Royal  College  of  Surgeons  of  England. 
London:  Williams  &  Norgate.     Pp.  xx  +  519.     189  illustrations. 


1> 


GENEALOGICAL  TREE. 


Showing  the  ancestral  stems  and  probable  lines  of  descent  of  the  higher 

Primates. 


.^'"' 0,'$:i^^         ,.-S#S'^ 


RECENT  & 

PLEISTOCENE^' 
-f.OOO  -P^ 
•400.000  years  : 


PLIOCENE 

spooft         < 
500,000  years    '. 


MIOCENE 

9,000  ft        < 
90opoo  years  • 


OLIGOCENE 
iZfiOO  f  ^ 

l^oopoo  years 


EOCENE 
12.000  f? 
1^00.0  00  years 


MODERN  MAN 
EOANTHROPUS 
NEANOERTHAU 

P/THECANTHROPUS 

PALjeOPITMECt/S 

PAIOOPITHE.X 

PLIOPITHECUS 
ORYOPITHECUS 


HUMAN 
STEM 

/    GREAT 
ORTHOGRADE 
•..   PRIMATES 


SMALL 
{ORTHOGRADE 
PRIMATES 


PROPUOPI  THECU& 

STEM  OF 

OLD  WORLD 

MONKEYS 

STEM  OF 

fNEW  WORLD 

MONKEYS 


/COMMON 
STEM 


An  Anatomist  on  Our  Pedigree       235 

caves  at  Torquay  and  Sennen,  Aurignac,  Cromagnon,  Mentone  and  elsewhere, 
"where  the  earth  keeps  a  more  orderly  register  of  events  than  in  the  turmoil 
of  flooded  valleys ".  In  the  floor  of  these  caverns,  along  with  remains  of 
cave-bear,  cave-lion,  cave-hyena,  mammoth,  woolly  rhinoceros,  wild  pig,  Irish 
elk,  reindeer,  and  bison,  there  are  the  remains  of  pre-Neolithic  man,  often 
with  implements  and  decorations.  "When  we  survey  the  people  and  the 
state  of  Europe  in  the  latter  third  of  the  glacial  period,  we  find  it  was  popu- 
lated with  tall  men,  evidently  separated  into  distinct  races,  having  long, 
narrow  heads  containing  large  brains — brains  which  were  capable  of  con- 
ceiving and  appreciating  high  works  of  art."  The  story  of  cave  exploration 
is  fascinating  like  the  quest  itself,  and  the  author  lingers  over  the  revelations 
of  the  later  Palaeolithic  culture — taking  us  back  25,000  to  30,000  years.  It 
is  an  extraordinary  instance  of  organic  inertia  that  some  of  the  big-brained 
skulls  of  this  time,  with  not  a  single  feature  that  can  be  called  primitive  or 
ape-like,  should  show  teeth  in  size  and  form  exactly  the  same  as  those  of  a 
thousand  generations  afterwards — and  suffering  from  gumboils  too  ! 

The  Intrusion  of  Neanderthal  Man, — The  next  great  step  brings  us  into 
the  Mousterian  or  middle  Palaeolithic  period,  probably  as  long  in  its  duration 
as  the  late  Palaeolithic,  the  Neolithic,  and  the  Metal  ages  put  together — say 
25,000  years.  It  was  during  this  time,  in  the  middle  Pleistocene  age,  that 
men  of  the  Neanderthal  type,  quite  distinct  from  those  of  to-day,  were  widely 
represented  in  Europe,  along  with  woolly  rhinoceros,  mammoth,  boar,  ibex, 
bison,  cave-hyena,  and  the  like.  He  was  a  loose-limbed  fellow,  short  in 
stature  and  of  slouching  gait,  but  a  skilful  artisan,  fashioning  beautifully- 
worked  flints  with  a  characteristic  (Mousterian)  style.  He  used  fire ;  he 
furnished  his  dead  with  an  outfit  for  a  long  journey ;  he  had  a  big  brain. 
But  he  had  great  beetling,  ape-like  eyebrow  ridges  and  massive  jaws,  and 
he  showed  "simian  characters  swarming  in  the  details  of  his  structure". 
Professor  William  King,  a  quiet  worker  at  Queen's  College,  Galway,  protested 
in  1864  against  Huxley's  conclusion  that  the  Neanderthal  man  was  merely  an 
extreme  variant  of  the  modern  type,  and  proposed  to  create  a  new  species. 
Homo  neanderthalensis ;  and  this  is  the  view  generally  accepted  to-day. 
Though  the  Neanderthal  man  has  his  own  peculiar  adaptations  and  specializa- 
tions, in  most  of  the  points  in  which  he  is  divergent  from  modern  man  he 
approaches  the  anthropoids.  It  seems  certain,  however,  that  he  was  not  a. 
low  type  and  that  he  was  not  ancestral  to  modern  man.  Indeed  men  of 
the  modern  type  seem  to  have  been  in  existence  when  Neanderthal  man  was 
still  living.  Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  thing  about  him  is  that  he  disap- 
peared with  apparent  suddenness  (like  aboriginal  races  to-day)  at  the  end  of 
the  Mousterian  period. 

The  Antiquity  of  the  Modem  Type. — In  the  earlier  Pleistocene  age,  during 
the  long  periods  known  as  Acheulean  (from  the  beautifully-worked  flint  hand- 
axes  of  St.  Acheul,  near  Amiens)  and  Chellean  (from  Chelles  in  the  valley  of 
the  Marne),  which  together  probably  cover  a  stretch  of  100,000  years  or 
more,  there  is  no  trace  of  Neanderthal  man  or  his  ancestor.  "  The  deposits 
of  the  Thames,  of  the  Somme,  of  the  Seine,  of  the  Arno,  from  one  side  of 
Europe  to  the  other,  have  revealed  the  same  story — the  existence  of  a  man^ 
a  mere  variant  of  modern  man,  one  with  a  thick  skull,  a  big  brain,  and  a 
long  head."  Man  of  the  modern  type  is  much  older  than  was  supposed  ;  the 
Neanderthal  man  was  an  intruder  when  he  entered  Europe  at  a  late  stage  of 
the  mid-Pleistocene  period.  Long  before  then,  towards  the  beginning  of  the 
Pleistocene,  there  were  men  of  our  own  type  in  Europe — back  and  back  to- 


236  Aberdeen  University  Review 

300,000  years  ago.  Beyond  that  in  the  PHocene,  there  are  the  eoliths  of  the 
stone-beds  below  the  Crags,  the  '*  humanity  "  of  which  is  widely  accepted. 

Heidelberg  Man. — Our  guide  now  takes  us  to  the  sand-pit  at  Mauer  near 
Heidelberg,  which  was  visited  almost  daily  for  twenty  years  until  at  last  the 
treasure  was  found — the  Heidelberg  man.  Not  much  of  a  man  either,  only  a 
lower  jaw,  but  enough  to  show  that  near  the  beginning  of  the  Pleistocene 
period,  along  with  lions,  an  extinct  form  of  cat,  a  dog,  two  kinds  of  bear,  a 
species  of  bison,  an  early  type  of  horse,  the  Etruscan  Rhinoceros,  and  an 
elephant,  there  lived  a  primitive  variety  of  Neanderthal  man,  probably  able  to 
speak,  but  with  a  lower  jaw  in  several  ways  distinctly  ape-like.  The  last 
skeletal  traces  of  modern  man  in  Europe  are  in  the  Chellean  remains  from 
Galley  Hill  in  Kent  (unless  indeed  the  Castenedolo  skeletons  be  admitted  as 
contemporaneous  with  the  Pliocene  strata  whence  they  were  dug) ;  the  last  of 
the  Neanderthal  men  is  in  the  sand-pit  at  Mauer. 

Pithecanthropus. — The  scene  changes  to  the  banks  of  the  Solo  or  Ben- 
.gawan  near  Trinil  in  Central  Java,  where  Dr.  Eugene  Dubois  found  the  sparse 
remains  of  Pithecanthropus  erectus  in  fossiliferous  beds  (probably  at  the  end  of 
the  Pliocene  or  the  beginning  of  the  Pleistocene)  containing  remains  of 
mammals  many  of  which  are  now  extinct.  This  discovery,  Dr.  Keith  says, 
•**  throws  more  light  on  our  early,  human  ancestry  than  any  other  yet  made  ". 
It  reveals  "  a  being  human  in  stature,  human  in  gait,  human  in  all  its  parts, 
save  his  brain" — probably  a  collateral  survivor  of  the  Miocene  ancestral  human 
stock.  For  the  author  argues  cogently  that  "  the  common  ancestor  of  modem 
races  must  have  reached  a  higher  stage  by  the  close  of  the  Pliocene  period 
than  that  represented  by  Pithecanthropus  ". 

The  Piltdown  Skull, — After  an  interesting  American  tour,  which  con- 
■vinces  us  afresh  of  the  great  antiquity  of  the  modern  human  type,  our  guide 
brings  us  back  to  England,  to  the  Weald  of  Sussex,  and  the  Piltdown  skull 
{Eoanthropus  dawsoni).  This  is  one  of  the  big  discoveries  of  the  still  young 
twentieth  century,  but  had  it  not  been  for  Mr.  Dawson's  quick  eye  and 
scientific  mood,  "  Piltdown  man,  his  flints,  and  remains  of  ancient  elephants, 
hippopotamus,  and  beaver  would  have  long  ere  now  been  ground  to  dust 
under  the  wheels  of  lumbering  farm  wagons  ".  The  Piltdown  skull  represents 
the  most  ancient  human  remains  yet  found  in  Britain  ;  it  probably  dates  from  an 
early  phase  of  the  Pleistocene  or  from  a  late  phase  of  the  Pliocene  epoch, 
perhaps  half  a  million  years  ago.  Its  great  interest  is  its  remarkable  mixture, 
e.g.,  in  teeth  and  jaws,  of  simian  and  human  characters.  "  The  anthropoid 
characters  of  the  mouth,  teeth,  and  face,  the  massive  and  ill-filled  skull,  the 
simian  characters  of  the  brain  and  its  primitive  and  pre-human  appearance  " 
justify  Dr.  Smith  Woodward's  conclusion  that  the  skull  requires  the  establish- 
ment of  a  new  genus  in  the  family  Hominidse.  But  the  very  interesting  con- 
clusion at  which  Dr.  Keith  has  arrived,  after  painstaking  reconstruction  of  the 
data,  is  that  the  Piltdown  brain  was  well  within  the  modern  human  standard 
of  size.  And  this  at  the  beginning  of  the  Pleistocene  period  !  "  All  the  es- 
sential features  of  the  brain  of  modern  man  are  to  be  seen  in  the  brain  cast. 
There  are  some  which  must  be  regarded  as  primitive.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  it  is  built  on  exactly  the  same  lines  as  our  modern  brains.  A  few  minor 
alterations  would  make  it  in  all  respects  a  modem  brain. " 

"  Although  our  knowledge  of  the  human  brain  is  limited — there  are  large 
areas  to  which  we  can  assign  no  definite  function — we  may  rest  assured  that 
^  brain  which  was  shaped  in  a  mould  so  similar  to  our  own  was  one  which 
responded  to  the  outside  world  as  ours  does.     Piltdown  man  saw,  heard,  felt, 


An  Anatomist  on  Our  Pedigree        237 

thought,  and  dreamt  much  as  we  do  still.  If  the  eoliths  found  in  the  same 
bed  of  gravel  were  his  handiwork,  then  we  can  also  say  he  had  made  a  great 
stride  towards  that  state  which  has  culminated  in  the  inventive  civilization  of 
the  modern  Western  world."  And  this  was  perhaps  twenty  or  thirty  thousand 
generations  ago ! 

Retrospect. — When  one  takes  time  to  it,  allowing  the  details  to  compose 
into  picturesque  scenes,  Dr.  Keith's  narrative  is  vividly  interesting ;  and  his 
step-by-step  argument  as  to  the  legitimate  inferences  to  be  drawn  from 
Pithecanthropus  or  from  the  Piltdown  skull  is  a  fine  lesson  in  scientific 
method.  It  will  be  noted  that  while  the  author  takes  up  a  firm  position  of 
his  own,  he  is  in  no  way  dogmatic.  He  withdraws  two  or  three  previous  con- 
clusions and  is  willing  to  withdraw  others  if  contradictory  facts  emerge.  The 
two  main  sources  of  fallacy  are  (i)  in  the  process  of  reconstructing  the  whole 
from  the  parts  (an  art  very  fully  dealt  with  in  chaps,  xxi.  and  xxii.) ;  and  (2) 
in  fixing  the  geological  age  of  the  beds  in  which  certain  remains  are  found. 
It  cannot  be  said  that  all  the  experts  agree  with  Dr.  Keith's  conclusions 
under  these  two  heads,  but  the  differences  of  opinion  are  not  such  as  to  af- 
fect the  general  result  that  the  antiquity  of  man  is  prodigiously  greater  than, 
has  been  supposed.  Once  or  twice,  we  may  notice,  Dr.  Keith  uses  the 
argument  that  so  many  hundreds  of  thousands  of  years  are  not  more  than 
enough  for  the  differentiation  to  be  accounted  for.  We  would,  with  all  re- 
spect, suggest  that,  in  view  of  our  rapidly  increasing  knowledge  of  mutations 
or  transilient  variations,  the  less  this  kind  of  argument  is  used  the  better.  In 
our  preceding  sketch  we  have  followed  the  author  from  relatively  recent 
days  backwards  ;  let  us  now,  to  get  a  coherent  view  of  our  pedigree,  turn  our 
faces  the  other  way  and  begin  at  the  beginning  ! 

Provisional  Pedigree. — Once  upon  a  time  (is  that  not  the  orthodox  be- 
ginning of  a  fairy  tale  ?)  inconceivably  long — perhaps  3,000,000  years — ago^ 
when  grass  was  beginning  to  spread  like  a  garment  over  the  earth,  in  the 
Early  Eocene  in  short,  there  emerged  an  arboreal  race  (the  Primates) — 
differentiated  from  other  Mammals  in  digits  and  teeth,  skull  and  brain. 
From  this  stock  there  diverged  in  succession  the  New  World  Monkeys,  the  Old 
World  Monkeys,  the  small  Anthropoid  Apes  (Gibbon  and  Siamang),  and  the 
large  Anthropoid  Apes  (Orang,  Chimpanzee  and  Gorilla).  This  left  towards 
the  end  of  the  Oligocene  (others  would  say  in  the  Miocene)  a  generalized 
human  stem.  According  to  Professor  SoUas's  estimates  this  was  some 
2,000,000  years  ago.  Once  we  have  left  Archbishop  Usher  (like  Peace  Budgets) 
behind  us  there  is  no  use  haggling  over  a  million  less  or  more.  Ages  passed  at 
all  events  and  from  the  generalized  human  stem  there  diverged  in  succession 
Pithecanthropus  the  erect,  the  slouching  man  of  Neanderthal,  and  the  early 
Briton  of  the  Sussex  Weald.  Thus  was  left  the  stem  of  modern  man  which 
has  broken  up  in  Pleistocene  times  into  African,  Australian,  Mongolian  and 
European  races.  If  we  mean  by  the  antiquity  of  man  the  time  since  he 
reached  what  may  be  called  the  human  standard  in  size  of  brain.  Dr.  Keith's 
conclusion  is  that  this  was  reached  by  the  commencement  of  the  Pliocene 
period,  which  means  over  a  million  years  ago.  When  the  evidence  of  flints 
is  considered,  which  is  outside  the  province  of  this  anatomical  study,  the 
tendency  is  to  go  farther  back  still,  and  the  author  concludes  his  book — an 
achievement  to  be  proud  of — with  the  sentence,  on  which  future  discoveries 
will  pronounce  judgment :  "  There  is  not  a  single  fact  known  to  me  which 
makes  the  existence  of  a  human  form  in  the  Miocene  period  an  impossibility  ". 
Reflections. — As  we  lay  down  the  book,  which  has  been  as  heavy  to  hold 


238  Aberdeen  University  Review 

as  lightsome  to  read,  three  impressions  rise  to  our  mind,  (i)  The  first  is  of 
the  grandeur  of  the  theme.  Some  learned  men  have  been  able  to  write  of 
palaeontology  as  though  it  were  a  dull  graveyard  business,  and  of  evolution 
as  though  it  were  the  making  of  a  packing-case — every  sentence  as  ac- 
curate as  the  items  in  an  inventory,  and  the  whole  much  duller  than  ditch- 
water.  Such  is  not  Dr.  Keith's  way,  for  he  makes  us  feel  the  surge  of  an 
august  progress.  We  hear  the  flow  of  the  stream  and  the  tramp  of  armed 
men,  and  when  this  is  not  to  be  heard  the  story  of  evolution  has  failed  of  its  pur- 
pose. (2)  Dr.  Keith  speaks  in  his  preface  of  **  how  mankind  came  into  exist- 
ence," but  while  he  has  successfully  tried  to  show  us  the  steps  in  the  ascent 
of  man,  he  has  left  the  problem  of  the  factors  almost  untouched.  And  per- 
haps he  is  wise  in  his  restraint,  for  it  may  be  better  science  to  search  for  more 
facts  before  we  speculate  much  as  to  the  factors.  We  wonder,  therefore,  if 
our  author  is  not  forgetting  his  habitual  restraint  when  he  says  of  Homo 
neanderthalensis  that  "  a  more  virile  form  extinguished  him  ".  But  apart  from 
the  question  as  to  the  factors  in  man's  ascent,  which  still  remains  at  a  purely 
speculative  level,  there  is  a  solemnity  in  the  patience  of  the  age-long  adven- 
ture which  has  crowned  the  evolutionary  process  upon  the  earth.  Three 
million  of  years  ago  the  Primate  stem  sends  out  its  tentative  branches,  and  we 
have  a  welter  of  monkeys ;  aeons  pass  and  the  main  stem  still  probing  its  way 
towards  the  light  gives  off  the  Anthropoids  which  rise  to  great  heights  ;  there 
is  no  satisfaction,  however,  and  without  hurry  other  experiments  are  made  the 
ends  of  which  we  know  at  Mauer  and  Trinil  and  Piltdown,  for  none  of  them 
lasted  or  was  made  perfect ;  but  the  main  line  goes  on  evolving — and  who 
will  be  bold  enough  to  limit  its  insurgence  ?  Is  there  a  race' of  super-men  im- 
plicit who  will,  when  another  half  million  years  have  sped,  look  back  on 
us  as  we  on  the  early  Troglodytes?  In  any  case  it  seems  to  us,  to  say 
the  least,  difficult  to  look  back  sanely  on  the  sublime  spectacle  of  long- 
drawn-out  patience  and  endeavour,  and  on  the  general  progressiveness  of  the 
issue,  without  the  hypothesis  (if  it  be  no  more)  of  an  increasing  and  inherent 
purpose.  (3)  Dr.  Keith's  book  was  written  and  printed  in  191 4  in  days  when 
we  thought  of  Liege  and  Namur,  which  figure  often  in  its  pages,  as  "  the  sites  of 
peaceful  antiquarian  discovery,"  not  "  as  the  scenes  of  bloody  war  ".  "We  have 
turst  suddenly  into  a  critical  phase  in  the  evolutionary  progress  of  mankind." 
Is  it  for  this  awful  reason,  then,  that  a  quiet  and  grateful  reception  has  been 
accorded  to  a  book  which  not  many  years  ago  would  have  aroused  a  storm  of 
controversy?  We  know  that  the  explanation  is  otherwise — that  everything 
has  become  an  antiquity  in  our  eyes,  and  that  man's  solidarity  with  the  rest 
of  creation  has  been  accepted  by  the  great  majority  of  intellectual  combatants. 
This  was  a  great  truth  that  we  owe  to  Darwin — the  truth  of  man's  affiliation 
with  the  realm  of  organisms.  But  for  the  realization  of  a  great  truth  there  is 
ever  a  tax  to  pay,  and  we  venture  to  suggest  (we  trust  without  a  revelation  of 
senescence)  that  the  tax  was  a  temporary  losing  sight  of  the  extraordinary 
apartness  of  man  from  the  rest  of  creation, — an  apartness  which  it  is  satisfac- 
tory to  find  as  firmly  verified  in  the  lowest  parts  of  the  earth  as  it  is  vouched 
for  in  the  highest  reaches  of  our  experience. 

J.  ARTHUR  THOMSON. 

[For  the  use  of  the  block  of  the  Genealogical  Tree  accompanying  this 
article — the  frontispiece  to  Dr.  Keith's  book — we  are  indebted  to  the 
publishers,  Messrs.  Williams  &  Norgate,  to  whom  our  thanks  are  due.] 


The  Spirit  of  Our  Northern  University. 

JOYAL  sons  of  King's  and  Marischal,  near  and  far,  will 
welcome  the  news  that  Mr.  W.  Keith  Leask  has  at  last 
consented  to  publish  in  book  form  a  selection  of  his  essays 
and  verses  which  have  appeared  in  ''Alma  Mater  "  and 
elsewhere  during  the  past  twenty- five  years.  The  pros- 
pectus which  accompanies  the  present  number  of  the 
Review  cannot  fail  to  whet  the  liveliest  expectation,  for 
in  the  summary  of  contents  readers  will  recognize  many 
old  friends,  whereof  the  very  titles  touch  chords  of  happy 
memory.  These  essays  embody  the  spirit  of  our  Northern  University.  They 
are  of  the  place  itself :  they  record  with  deft  allusion  its  manners  and  customs, 
and  portray  its  famous  men  of  earlier  and  later  years  in  a  vein  of  rich  indi- 
viduality. The  papers  stand  apart  among  our  native  documents,  for  they  at- 
tempt no  formal  chronicle,  but  are  rather  the  lightly  discursive  recreations  of 
a  scholar,  who,  amid  the  ripe  experience  of  years,  has  never  forgotten  what  it 
is  to  be  young.  La  Jeunesse,  exclaimed  Henry  Murger  in  a  tragic  chapter,  la 
jeunesse  na  quun  temps  !  But  the  writer  of  Interamna  Borealis  has  re- 
tained in  his  undergraduate  and  schoolboy  reminiscences  all  that  light-hearted 
sense  of  comedy,  that  interplay  of  sunshine  and  shadow,  which  makes  our 
college  days  a  possession  for  ever.     He  gives  youth  a  second  lease  of  life. 

The  author's  touch,  to  borrow  a  conversational  phrase  of  his  own,  **  is 
strong  upon  the  Aberdonian  key -board  " ;  he  is  alive  to  every  tone  of  aca- 
demic life,  with  side  strains  caught  from  civic  life  also,  for  these  papers  owe 
much  of  their  charm  to  a  skilful  blending  of  Town  and  Gown.  Mr.  Leask 
remembers  that  students  released  from  their  classes  are  (within  the  '*  twal ' 
mile "  limit)  wandering  scholars,  clerici  vagabundi.  Like  Rabelais's  Paris 
student  from  Limoges,  they  "  transfretate  the  Sequane  (for  us  the  Dee  and 
Don)  at  the  dilucul  and  the  crepuscul ;  they  deambulate  by  the  compites  and 
quadrives  of  the  urb,"  catch  every  passing  humour  and  frequent  odd  enter- 
tainment-booths of  inexpensive  admission.  Through  these  essays  floats  the 
melody  of  ancient  ditties,  long  since  mute  ;  we  hear  old  songs  turn  up  again  ; 
and,  as  Blackie  said  to  Sir  James  Barrie,  we  "  read  a  little  in  the  Greek 
Testament,  talk  of  the  paullo-post  future  in  the  cool  of  the  evening,  and  go 
to  the  pantomime  ".  That  was  the  Professor's  highly  original  recipe  for  an 
evening  of  social  intercourse  between  undergraduate  and  undergraduate,  in 
days  when  academic  sociability  was  not  the  highly  organized  thing  it  has 
since  become.  The  men  of  Mr.  Leask's  day  took  their  pleasures  more 
simply,  and  in  something  of  splendid  isolation,  but  they  had  at  least  the  in- 
estimable bond  of  the  Class,  with  its  clear  divisions,  marking  the  separate 
years.     They  and  their  predecessors  of  the  'fifties  were  not,  however,  without 


240  Aberaeen  University  Review 

affection  for  the  very  stones  of  our  "  alme,  inclyte  and  celebrated  Academy," 
as  witness  the  close  of  Neil  Maclean's  "  Life  at  a  Northern  University  ". 

In  the  later  time  of  Mr.  Leask's  essays  there  were  even  clearer  signs  of 
an  Academic  Revival,  which  forms  the  subject  of  an  introductory  paper, 
hitherto  unpublished.  The  author  dates  that  revival  from  Professor  Masson's 
article  in  "  Macmillan's  Magazine"  for  February,  1864.  There  Masson 
adumbrated  a  keener  sentiment  of  devotion  to  our  ancient  places  and  scenes, 
and  rhapsodising  his  student  days,  he  pictured  the  stars,  "  seeming  to  roll, 
soliciting  astrological  watch,"  above  the  roofs  of  old  Marischal  College.  On 
his  last  public  appearance  in  Aberdeen  in  1892  Masson  enlarged  that  vision, 
and  exclaimed  with  a  thrill  not  yet  forgotten  by  those  who  heard  him,  *'  Oh  ! 
there  were  never  such  stars  in  the  world  as  those  I  saw  from  the  top  of 
Marischal  College  tower  !  " 

Here,  then,  are  "  all  our  boy  feelings,  all  our  gentler  dreams  "  :  Magistrand 
walks,  between  Moral  Philosophy  lectures,  to  the  Brig  o'  Balgownie,  and  late 
sentimental  journeys  to  Girdleness  or  Donmouth  by  the  shore  of  the  loud- 
sounding  sea,  The  Crown,  the  Saracen  minarets  of  Powis,  the  unchanging  High 
Street,  drowsy  in  the  sunshine  of  summer  vacation,  the  Cathedral,  the  Her- 
mitage, Seaton,  and  Tillydrone,  the  night  wind  over  the  Links — none  is  for- 
gotten. If,  amid  much  sly  and  piquant  humour,  and  many  wise  saws  and 
modern  instances,  the  melancholy  of  Eheu,  fugaces  I  must  at  times  inform 
these  pages,  that  only  makes  them  the  more  attractive  to  those  who  find  there 
the  reflection  of  what  they  were  in  their  golden  prime. 

The  book  is  uniform  with  the  author's  Quatercentenary  edition  of  Neil 
Maclean's  famous  novel.  Every  Aberdeen  man  will  desire  to  have  the  two 
volumes  side  by  side  on  his  shelves,  for  in  both  (to  adapt  Gargantua  once  more) 
**  we  have  for  our  tutor  the  learned  Epistemon,  to  instruct  us  by  his  lively  and 
vocal  documents  ". 

J.  D.  SYMON. 


1 
I 

i 


Fae  France. 

Dear  Jock — Like  some  aul'  cairter's  mear  I'm  foonert  i'  the'feet^ 
An'  oxter-staffs  are  feckless  things  fan  a'  the  furth's  sae  weet, 
Sae,  till  the  wee  reid-heidit  nurse  comes  roon  to  sort  my  bed» 
I'll  leave  my  readin'  for  a  fyle,  an'  vreet  to  you  instead. 

Ye  hard  the  claik  hoo  Germany  gied  France  the  coordy  lick. 

An'  Scotlan'  preen't  her  wincey  up  an'  intill't  geyan  quick — 

But  fouk  wi'  better  thooms  than  me  can  redd  the  raivell't  snorl. 

An'  tell  ye  fa  begood  the  ploy  that  sae  upset  the  worl'. 

I  ken  that  I  cam'  here  awa'  some  aucht  days  aifter  Yeel, 

An'  never  toon  nor  fee  afore  has  shootit  me  sae  weel ; 

They  gie  me  maet,  an'  beets  an'  claes,  wi'  fyles  an  antrin  dram — 

Come  term-time  lat  them  flit  'at  likes,  Vm  bidin*  faur  I  am. 

Tho'  noo  an'  than,  wi'  dreepin'  sark,  we've  biggit  dykes  an'  dell't — 

That's  orra  wark ;  oor  daily  darg  is  fechtin'  fan  we're  tell't. 

I  full  my  pipe  wi'  bogie-rowe,  an'  birze  the  dottle  doon, 

Syne  snicher,  as  I  crack  the  spunk,  to  think  hoo  things  come,  roon  ; 

There's  me,  fan  but  a  bairn  in  cotts,  nae  big  aneuch  to  herd, 

Would  seener  steek  my  nieves  an*  fecht,  than  dook  or  ca'  my  gird„ 

An'  mony  a  yark  an'  ruggit  lug  I  got  to  gar  me  gree, 

But  here,  oonless  I'm  layin*  on,  I'm  seldom  latten  be. 

As  I  grew  up  an'  filled  my  breeks,  fyow  market  days  we  saw 
But  me  an'  some  stoot  halflin  chiel  would  swap  a  skelp  or  twa  ; 
It's  three  year  by  come  Can'lemas,  as  I've  gweed  cause  to  min*„ 
That  Mains's  man  an'  me  fell  oot,  an'  focht  about  a  queyn. 
We  left  the  inn  an'  cuist  oor  quytes  ahin'  the  village  crafts, 
An'  tho'  I  barely  fell't  him  twice  wi'  wallops  roon  the  chafts^ 
I  had  to  face  the  Shirra  for't.     'Twas  byous  hard  on  me, 
For  fat  wi'  lawyers,  drinks,  an'  fine,  it  took  a  sax  months'  fee. 
I  would  a  had  to  sell't  my  verge,  or  smoke  a  raith  on  tick. 
But  for  the  fleein'  merchant's  cairt,  my  ferrets  an'  the  bick. 
Ay,  sang !  the  Shirra  had  the  gift,  an*  tongued  me  up  an'  doon ; 
But  he's  a  dummy  till  his  sin,  fan  han'lin'  oor  platoon ; 
Gin's  fader  saw  his  birkie  noo,  an'  hard  the  wye  he  bans. 
He  michtna  be  sae  sair  on  some  that  fyles  comes  throu*  his  han's. 

i6 


242  Aber(feen  University  Review 

Ae  mochie  nicht  he  creepit  ben  the  trench — it's  jist  a  drain — 
An'  kickit  me  aneth  the  quyte  an'  cursed  ipe  braw  an'  plain — 
**Ye  eesless,  idle,  poachin'  htifi?;  ye're  lyTn*  snorin'  there, 
An*  Gerrnans  pryin'  to  be  killed,  but  deil  a  hair  ye  care.   .      ,     .         ^ 
Fatever  comes  ye're  for  the  Jythe,  to  scrat,  an'  gant  ari'  drink^  '      /  . 
An*  dream  aboot  the  raffy  days  fan  ye  was  i*  the  qlinfc  :  '    ,/. 

Ye're  dubbit  to  the  een,  ye  slype,  ye  hinna  focht  the  day. 
Come  on  wi'  me  an'  see  for  eence  gin  ye  aire  worth  yer  pay/' 
Man,  fan  bj&,$pak'rsae  kindly  like,  fat  was  there  left  for.  me  jfij  brc,.-;  ly 
But  jist  to  answer  hack  ;as  frank,  as  furth-the-gait  an'  free—;  .^  / 
"  Lead,  onv iny  Shirra!s  offisher,. gin  summons. ye've  to  seir' ,  ,7  .; [scy\  : r  i 
Upon  thae  billiesowre-the  loan,  rU.  beet  ye  V\\  be  there  !*i?.v  {[-::  \\--. 
Syne  laden  wi:  ajbiimoM^onaibs  we  slippit  thrg^u'  the  dark,]  \,:r\> 
An'  left  upo'  the  barbitweer  gey  tafts  o'breeH  an'  sark  •-•>-:  .  rv  5  - 
They -bumitied  an'/.droned  some  unco  tiineas  we  crap  up  j^it  Uftise-m'^ 
Like  fae  theiJaft  I've  hard  the  quire  lift  up  some  paraphrase.. ;jj  iJinu. 
Ae  crei?$hy'gvirk.that  .led; the  lave  was  bessin'lood  an'  Strang, .,,i.  ,-r[  i 
Fan  something  hat  hJuB-i' the  kytethat.fairly  changed  his  sang;   :     T 
We  benched  an'  flang,  an'  killed  a  rcurn^,  an'  soosh't  them  front  an' flank^ 
Like:  Jpons.lihat's  trru^  the  squeel  t-o  stane  yQung  puddocks  i'  the 5tank. 

The  rippitkf)ryad^  the  Bekets  f^iSe^/t^a^  time  for  hiz  to  skide,^  ^'"^; 
An' tho^  Wg^ joUkit' as 'w4  i^iri;  ati^  flappit  eisfiice  or  twiceJ,  '■  •''^■^^  blm^ ./ 
Owre  aft  oor  pig  gaed  tO^tWfe^will,  for  nob  We  strack  thfe  tiayi^^'"^'  '• ' 
Oor  brow  Lieuteh^htbfn>^Wye-^fart  k' in  lames  it  lay  f^  <-^""'^^  '^"'■■ 

A  bullet  bored Ijina.thrpu'.tJ^e  hpchs,  i^took  him  like  a, stane, 
An'  heelster-gpwdije^dooA.he  cam' .an'. brak  his. shackle-bane:      ^^  ,^  ,. 
To  hyste,hini  pg..^n'.  og  TOy^^aek-.^ott  a'  py.  pith  .ayi'  .skeel,^..  ,^^^.i,  ^,. 
For  aye  he  b^dVn^e.lat^iifnJfe,, an'  cursed  .'^-t'; :/  -, -?  ■ 

"  Ging  on  a^'.  ^le^y^  nie  herje^  ye  gype,  sin'  qaak'  yer  fe^t  yer  freen'.' 
"  Na,  na,"  says  J  ;.  V-Ye  brocjjt  m^  h^re,  I'm  nae^^aun  hame  ^y  l^en." 
He's  little  boul^it^  ay  ^n' .licht,  an^.  I'm  baith  s^too^        f  Ti^Sfv  ;  -  ^  V^  -f 
Yet  I  was.pechiii!  sair^^neuqli jifo^^  'W/  jia  kv  ! 

They  thocht  him  f^if-ljf  throij'  2^t,jii;?t  an'  threepit  he  was  ^pid,^  ,'^  "^  - 
But  it  was  na^thing.but  a  .dwaam,  brpcht  oij  by  loss  o'  bleed.,  -^ 
'Twas  months  afore  he  oo^er'd  fae.  th^t,  an'  he  was  misled  f  Jot^  ^  , 
For  fan  ye  meet  a  hearty  .l^rpet.ye'^e  sprry  gin  he's  shot^'^^V^  \^\.'-  [  ?-  ff 
His  mither  senta  ietter  tiir.s,ra  gr^^t  lang;  blqttit  s^reed^'  ''  'J  ^,  ".  ^  u 
It  wasna  oasyj  makm' t QOt,  her  yreetifj's  .9j90rse  to  read ;  ^ ^  \^ '  \  .^'^ .  j^  '^'^,  I 
She  speir't  could  she  dae  ocht  for  a^e,  sae  i  sent  back  a  line—  *       I 

*' Jist  bid  yer  man,  fanineist  I'm  up,  ca'  canny  wi'  the  fine". 


v/:)r/'j/i    Fae:  Frahcen-^^bi^jdA  ^43 

But  noo  to  tell  hoo  I  wan  aff  fae  dreelin',  dubs,  an'  din, 

An'  landit  here  wi'  nocht  to  dae  but  fite  the  idle  pin. 

Ae  foraneen  my  neiper  chap  cried — "  Loshtie-goshtie  guide's  ! 

The  foumarts  maun  be  caul  the  day,  they've  startit  burnin'  wydes." 

The  reek  at  first  was  like  ye've  seen,  fan  at  the  fairmer's  biddin', 

Some  frosty  mornin'  wi'  the  graip,  the  baillie  turns  the  midden. 

But  it  grew  thick,  an*  doon  the  win'  straucht  for  oor  lines  it  tore, 

Till  shortly  we  were  pyoch'rin.'  sair  an'  flqyed  that  we  would  smore; 

An'  as  ye  never  ken  wi'  cyaiirds  Taiir  ye'll  be  berried  neist, 

We  fixed  oor  baignets,  speel't  the  trench,  and  chairged  them  in  a  breist. 

'Twas  than  I  got  the  skirp  o'  shell  thiat'nail't  me  f  the  qiieets, 

An'  here  I'm  hirplin'  robn  the  ddors,  aii-eanha  thole  my  beets. 

•u*-:^  ! "i^iM  ri'.-v  vIj..//  v^>-:^^  ;_)::/'. 
Some  nichts  fan  I've  been^leepin';  il^,,^a'.^to^ns.jgyJa^rl  doon  my  taes, 
Aul'  times  come  reamin'  thrpu'  my  heid^  I'm.bgx:k  amp' t 
Wi'  wirms  an'  wan'  I'm  throu'  the  breem,  an'.castin'  up  the  burn, 
Land  aye  the  tither  yaljow  trb6t,,fae  iljca  ru^K^n'  turn : 
I  hash  the  neeps  an'  full  the  skull,  ah*  hin^tne  low 
Lythe  in  the  barn  Ikt  66t  for  r^pes,  or  traek^la  fik'shiotiS  cowt ; 
I  watch  the  leevers  o'  the  mull  swing  roon  for  'oors  an'  'oors, 
An'  see  the  paps  o'  Ben]:i^chie  ptan' fup^.a,twpen,th^  shooers; 
Lead  fae  a  roup  a  reistin'  stirk,  that's/ like  to  brak  the  branks. 
Or  hearken  to  the  cottar  wives  lyaugrljj^augin  owre  their  shanks ; 
I  join  the  dancers  on  the  b'uird  schpttisciiiri'  a,t  the  gslmes. 
An'  scutter  in  the  lang'feeriicHtis  wi'^ferttphin,'^^^^ 
Or  maybe,  cockit  Oh  the'sh^tt^  iaii  dairiirTcoJH'dr  liear, 
Cry  "Hie"  an'  " Wb''*  krt''^'We64^*''k|aift'ife*pidfe  the  steppin'  mear. 
An'  in  the  daylichftfeei^at'tiriiesj'fan  lyih'' here 'sa'e  salFt,  * 
I've  dream't,  gin  een^is  the  v/^i  \\^2is  by,^b**takm^ort'a'  craft. 
Fan  a'thing's  sattled  for  the  nicht  in  stable  an*  in  byre, 
It's  fine  to  hae  yer  ain  bow  cheer  drawn  up  anent  the  fir^e, 
An'  hear  a  roch  reijd-h'eidit  bairn,  wi'.fei:ny-iickledr\b^e, 
Tired  oot  an'  hungry 'fae  tlieclo^si' come  V^uJ^^  h^^s  brose; 

An'  syne  a  wife— blit,  ^NVeeshtY^br^liere^^' A^^^  ted. 

Come  cryin'  Irhaiin'dicht'my  p(^h,  an'  hirsleB  ihy-lSed. 
Gweed  nicht !— but  1)idfe,'^6r^^  fot^etfth6r6'^]U^'U'mM  thing- 
Man,  could  yb'  sen-  me  o6t'  a  iriimp-h  Vth^  ^^earibt  tet^a  spring. 
For,  Jock,  yeAvinna  grudgdthe  staibp  tbichfeir  axiweebJe  frien', 
An'  dinna  back  it  "  Sandy  ?'. noo,  hut'' SSJergearLt''Al3erdein. 

CHARLES  MURRAY. 


244  Aberdeen  University  Review 


Forsaken. 

0  waly  waly  up  the  bank, 

And  waly  waly  down  the  brae, 
And  waly  waly  yon  burn-side 

Where  I  and  my  Love  wont  to  gae ! 

1  leant  my  back  unto  an  aik, 

I  thought  it  was  a  trusty  tree ; 
But  first  it  bow'd,  and  syne  it  brak, 
Sae  my  true  Love  did  lichtly  me. 

O  waly  waly,  but  love  be  bonny 

A  little  time  while  it  is  new ; 
But  when  'tis  auld,  it  waxeth  cauld 

And  fades  awa'  like  morning  dew. 
O  wherefore  should  I  busk  my  head  ? 

Or  wherefore  should  I  kame  my  hair  ? 
For  my  true  Love  has  me  forsook, 

And  says  he'll  never  loe  me  mair. 

Now  Arthur-seat  sail  be  my  bed  ; 

The  sheets  shall  ne'er  be  prest  by^me  : 
Saint  Anton's  well  sail  be  my  drink, 

Since  my  true  Love  has  forsaken  me. 
Marti'mas  wind,  when  wilt  thou  blaw 

And  shake  the  green  leaves  aff  the  tree  ? 
O  gentle  Death,  when  wilt  thou  come  ? 

For  of  my  life  I  am  wearie. 


Forsaken  245 


AlkivoPy  alki^pov  ctTr',  a;/a  ya\o(^ov  aikivov  ^Iniy 
KoX  Kara  ras  ^Sacrcra?  alXivos  of  1)5  tTa*, 

a  T€  TTctXat  (^iXeovcra  (rvv(t>fxdpT€VP  <^i\iovTi 

iToWaKL  Trap  Trorafiop,  vvv  7rpo\eoLTo  yoo^, 

m  yap  avr)p  a-anpS  ttotI  SeVSpet  pa)T  InepeLcrdel^ 
Tjkwto'e  6aKov  e^etz/  arpOTtop  arpefxea, 

akXa  TOT  iKKkwOkp  fiia-op  ippdyrjy  a>s  fiOL  epacrra? 

TTLCTTOS  €fieP  SoK€Q)P,   0)^  dTTaTt^CreP  ifl€. 

ai^KiPOP  eiTre,  KaXos  yap  ^EpcDs  peoartyaXos  i<TTLP, 

irpcLTOP  vwqpaTov  top  -yapLP  cjcnrep  e^ft)*', 
dXX'  ore  yiqpda-KXi^  Kpvepo^  TreXet,  al\}ta  S'  aTrecr^a, 

d)s  Spocro^  aoCa  TeporeTai  deXio), 
cira  tC  Tap  /c€(^aXai/  KoafitjcrofiaL ;  elra  tl  ^aiTap 

^ap6oi(Tip  arTecfydpov^  diJi(l)LTL6o)  TrXoKdfioL^ 
pvp  y\  OTC  ft',  d\/r€vS'i79  SoK€(OPf  iipevcraT  ipaa-Tdsi 

pvp  8'  o  y'  epdi'  c^dcra?  ovk4ti  (fyaalp  ipap ; 
atal,  *TfjL7jTTo^  i^ol  crTopea-ei  Xex©?,  ov)(  *T/icVato9  • 

ov  pij^fie  pvijl(J)ok6ixo<;  hi^erat,  ets  OdXafJLOPj 
ovK€TL  Kpapalop  Trdcrofiai  ydpo^Sy  dXX'  o-tt'  ^IXktctov 

7r[ofL\  lirel  i/^eucrras  e/c  [le  XeXoiTrep  dpijp. 
alal  ifioCf  Bopia  jxeToiropLPef  irapiK'  drjcret 

<l>vXXo^6Xci)P  Siphpcop  KocTfiop  d7ro(TK€Zd(raL ; 
Si  SdpaT\  a)  noT  e/xot  TpCXXta-TO^  iXeva-eai ;  ov  yap 

Tap  fieXeap  fiiOTap  TdpSe  (l>€p€LP  Swaftat. 


H^j^.^  Aberdeen  rUniversky  Review 

'Tis  not  the  frost,  that  freezes  fell, 
Nor  blawing  snaw's  inclemencie  ; 

'Tis  not  sic  cauld  that  makes  me  cry, 

But  my  Love's  heart  grown  cauld  to  me. 

When  we  came  in  by  Glasgow  town 
We  were  a  comely  sight  to  see  ; 

My  Love  was  clad  in  the  black  velvet, 

But  rxad^J  wist,  Before  T  kist^ 
,    1  hat  love  had  been  sae  ill  to  win  : 
/' *  1  M3  lQ(f^i%y Jie^rV in  acase  of* gqwd. 
Ajid  pinn  d  it  wij:h  a  smer  pin.  *    ^ 

And, '  GJ  t '  if  my  y6ung  tal^e'  wefe  Ibprh; 

•"^"^^i^ifigl^^^^^ass^fr?^^ 

'        .-uoy^  v^i-o'V*-.-)  •vU"-i^r.v    uvv  '•j«.-.Ti5'Mi^r;-'.y  ^«'..,ii>v.,t. 
/i01\«>^o/Tr    OjV^JtitWj^ii    ?«fV>'II)tV3T'\>   'SJt>}oHMj;^-^ 

,v'»Tivx>c^'5    7X>T>^ijK!r5  ,'HoVy\o(j  ?^0'j:)dfij  .%\  >tr   /\c  ^rr-J 
;  'un\:>  'iiT)i)i\>  iVsv.'jo  v.i3'^;-V)«\>  'uv:^-;}  V  u  '^  nu'i 

,MOJiJ^l>Xj>^    ?r:?    IXyT^V^O    'fOJ^OMCHbiyf'S    ^iJ^   \r-'.    'JO 

iJo^jQviljS  M^dC\^t\>  yv)"ijc»T  MfiTOiBi  ^ixyiA-ix>^  ••x»T 


S  Kpvepos  fi€P  6  Kpvfio^f  ifiol  S'  ov  Kpvfxo^  avCa  * 
Kel  Kpvoeif;  Bopeas,  ov/c  dXcya>  Bopeov  ' 

OV  XpVXO^  TO  TOLOVTOV  €1x61  TttSc  Sct/f/OUa  KtVCl, 

ip  §€  ^€/3€t  KeCvov  ^^et/xa  7r/3o8oi'T09  ej(a>. 
COS  /caXoi'  171/  TO  Oeap^a  IBXeneiPj  oTe  tolv  in  'AOdvas^ 

Tap  oLTro  UeLpaiOJS  elpTrofxep  dfi(j)6T€poL, 
'^(a)  fjL€P  i(f)€(rTpi8:  ^X^  (jx^uap  ^'^yciXX^r',  iyo)  Se 

X^OLPap  XiSovCap  x^tpo^  i(l)€a'crafi€Pa, 
at  S'  OTe  TTpar'  e<^tXaa-*,  ore  ir/xarcc  awj/jpe^ '^EpctyraW} 

jjSe,^ oTTox;  elrj  Sva-KaTdirpaKTOS  ^E/oa)^,  , 
rj  K€U  €Pi  ^pvcrea  y\ivx^^  KicTTa  fcare/cXafa, 

eV  8'  efiixkop  Kkddf>6tt  apyOpia^^ 
at  S'  ipuoucwTiKapypjuj&lvaO^ikpjTFp^  hi\f 

TratS*  imSoiiAL  ^rpQ^pv.  yoypfno'iiv  f^^/A^wp^/  j  .,^ , .  { 
a?0€  S'  dTToii)(op.4pap  avTa^  ,, 

TVfi^op  cieoTTuJot  ^-^Xvs  virepde  Troa. 


)   .>]  — 


-^ 


248  Aberdeen  University  Review 


Killed  in  Action. 

{Reprinted  by  special  permission  of  the  Proprietors  of  *^  Punch** .) 

Thrice  bless6d  fate !  We  linger  here  and  droop 

Beneath  the  heavy  burden  of  our  years, 

And  may  not,  though  we  envy,  give  our  lives 

For  England  and  for  honour  and  for  right  ; 

But  still  must  wear  our  weary  hours  away. 

While  he,  that  happy  fighter,  in  one  leap, 

From  imperfection  to  perfection  borne. 

Breaks  through  the  bonds  that  bound  him  to  the  earth. 

Now  of  his  failures  is  a  triumph  made  ; 

His  very  faults  are  into  virtues  turned  ; 

And,  reft  for  ever  from  the  haunts  of  men. 

He  wears  immortal  honour  and  is  joined 

With  those  who  fought  for  England  and  are  dead. 

— R.  C.  L. 


Killed  in  Action  249 


ArAOni   KAKON   A*ANI2A2. 

fiaKap  (TV  fx€v  87)  TovSe  haCyiOV    iK\a\aiv  • 
rjlM€L<;  8e  TrjSe  fjLLfxvofjLev  yrjpa  ^apel^ 

0*9    OVKET     iaTiy    Koi    TToOovai    Koipd*    OflCD^y 

al8ovs  Slkyj^  t€  TrarptSos  0^  vnepOavelv. 
fiipo^  likv  r)fjLiu  \vypov  iKrpifieiv  ^iov, 
(TV  S'  av,   fJLa)(rjTrjs  €vtvx7]<;,  wqScjv  aTraf, 
Kak*  i^aKpC^€L<s,  TwvS"  drraXXa^^el?  KaKOiVj 
pyjid^  T€  Secr/Ltou?  tovs  <r    avdijfavTas  xdovi. 
vvv  h\  €fc  cr<^a\eVro9  Ka\\iviKo<;  e/LtTrpcTret?, 
&v€p,  Ta  wplv  8rj  fMYf  KoKcos  elpyacfieva 
i<rd\(ov  afieixlfas,  axrr    d<^ap7racr^els  del 
c8ov5  fipoT(ov   <T    '^/X7rt<rx€9  dfjilBpoTov  /cXeo9 
fuv  70^9  apcjyoU  'EXXd8o9  reOvTjKoa-LV. 

—J.  D.  S. 


(/4>l  iinlvj.  .  lyjlViA 

Correspondence. 

ABERDEEN'S  FIRST  SENIOR  WRANGLER. 
The  Editor,  "Aberdeen  University  Review". 

FiNCHCOCKS,  GOUDHURST, 

Sir, 

I  hopQfthati  mayvb©  allowed  tjsx'^calt  atteFLtion^  to  ,«^  passage  in 
the  article  above-named,  ^t  p.  ,22  4  of  Volume  II  pf  this  ^Review.  Speaking 
of  Slesser,  it  is  said  that,  apart  frbiti  the  lists*  in  Mathematics  and  Physics,  he 
appears  only  as' thie^fo&»^' -t)rizi?f!hiiri' in  Moral  -  Phflosophy;  "'biit  for  some 
reason  now  unkno%,  4^c4io«4  the  gr;^^  "^ .,  ^    ,  ^   -.  < .  ^  (,   ^ '] ,   ,  - . 

I  believe  the  reaspn  was  that  at  the  time  there  existed  a  rule  to  the  effect 
that  no  holder  of  ttie'l^mp^dh  orfiuttbn'^^^^^^  in  Moral 

Philosophy  ;  apf^Jrsay  «6  •  because  th^  fule  wast  ftppiUed  ta  mysell . 

The  University  Librarian  has  kindly  looked  in.to  the  matter  and  informs 
me  that  in  the  prize  list'' in  ifty  year '('1854-55)  all  the  liolders  of  the  Simpson 
and  Hutton  pfkW  (vi«.y  John  Bkcfcy  Duncan  Ma^ph^rson,  Robert  E.  Fiddes, 
and  myself)  are  S.tate4  to  have  deQlin<ed  a  AJ^ora^l ,,  philosophy  prize. 

Curiously,  the  riile  did  not  extend  to  a  prize  for  Latin  in  the  ifourth  year. 

Perhaps  the 'TOOst 'roraarkaWe^ /applidat^oij  of  the  ■  rul«  occurred  in  1848, 
long  before  my  time  at  King's  College.  I  cap  only  speak  as  to  it  from 
hearsay,  but  I  believe  that  the  fblVbwing  stdtemttitii  isubstantiaffy' correct. 

In  that  y^.Mr.  .44e5^pd^  Rpbt^ji«as;:?i  cjindidate  for  all.  t^e  three  great 
prizes  and  was  first  in  the  e^taminations  for  all  of  them.  Professor  Tulloch  an- 
nounced the  result  somewhat  as  follows  :^!       .-.,..;:  •     :• 

-     ^1     ,  *' Simpson  Mathematical  Prize,   Alexander  Robb. 
Simpson  Greek  Prize,  Alexander  Robb. 

Hutton  Prize,  Alexander  Robb. 

He  has  Robbed  you  of  them  all !  " 

Mr.  Robb  was  immediately  called  upon  to  elect  which  of  the  prizes  he 
would  accept,  and  chose  the  Simpson  Greek  prize.  The  result  of  this  was 
that  the  Simpson  Mathematical  prize  was  awarded  to  the  second  in  the  ex- 
amination for  that  prize — Mr.  Robert  Bruce,  who  was,  I  believe,  a  relation  of 
Mr.  Robb. 

So  far  as  I  know,  this  brilliant  feat  of  Mr.  Robb  is  unique.  He  became 
a  missionary  of  the  U.P.  Church  and  head  of  a  theological  college  in 
Jamaica.  Later  in  life  he  received  the  degree  of  D.D.  from  the  University 
[in  1869]. 

Mr.  Bruce  became  a  professor  in  a  theological  college  at  Huddersfield, 
and  was  also  (I  believe)  the  recipient  of  the  same  degree  from  the  University 
[in  1880]. 

Yours  faithfully, 
James  Stirling. 


:     /Correspondence  > bi'j( !  /  251 

...  [The. Hutton  prize  Of  1843  passed  to  John  Chalmers,  afterwards  a  mis^' 
sipnary  in  China;  LL.D.,  187a.  Alexander  Robb's  feat  was  repeated  ia 
1866,.  when  George  Michie  Smith,  elder  brother  of  William  Robertson  Smith,' 
won  and  was  allowed  to  retain- the  Hutton  and  the  two  Simpson  prizes.— Ed.  J 

ii..i     '  i     Uj  ^jjg  Rfevr^w  for  November, /i 9151  flietiristplaeeis^  to  ai> 

able  and  interesting  article  on  theMate  Ajexander  Magkie,  \vhom  I  knew  very 
well,  and  Who,  when  spending  his  holidays  oh  Dpnside,  lised  to  fish  in.  the 
Manse  pool  here,  one  of  the  best  pools  for  salmon  on  the  uppier  reaches  of  the 
Don.  In  the  article  a  most  unwarranted  attack  is  made  on  the  late  Professor 
Baiii.  Almost  every  statement  in  the  article  regarding  L)r.  Bain  can  bf 
proved  to  be  incorrect.  It  would  occupy  too  much  space  in  the  R,^view  tQ 
deal  in  detail  with  every  statement  that  can  be  controverted,  but  I  protest 
very  strongly  against  the  utterly  misleading  views  given  in  the  article.  Let 
me  take  a  few  statements,  from  which  it  may  be  judged  whether  the  allegation^ 
made  in  the  article  are  trustworthy  or  not.  .,. 

On  page  8  we  read,  ^^  For  felicities  of  dictiohy  allusions ^  htsiprical  settingyfKe. 
development  of  the  language  and  of  literature^  he  (Dr,  Bain)  had  no  eye  ".  I  had 
the  privilege  of  studying  under  Dr.  Bain  in  English,  Logic,  and  Mental  Science, 
and  carefully  rioted  hii^  method  of  teaching,  and  can  say  with  the  utmost  con> 
fidence  that  hone  of  these  points  escaped  his  notice^  and  that  his  elucidation 
of  the  work  in  hand  was  most  thorough  and  complete.  In  fact  from  Dr. 
Bain*s  teaching  and  textbooks,  which  I  have  found  to  be  of  the  greatest 
practical  use  in  writing  and  speaking,  I  framed  a  series  of  practical  tests,  in 
order  to  embrace  everything  necessary  to  be  known  about  any  particular 
book.  Ever  since  I  left  the  University  I  have  applied  these  tests  to  any  work 
in  English  prose  6t  poetry  in  my  study  or  teaching  of  it.  I  subjoin  them  ta 
show  the  thoroughness  of  Professor  Bain's  teaching  :— 

(i)  The  life  of  the  author ;  (2)  The  titles  and  general  scope  of  his  prin- 
cipal wofks,  with  the  order  that  they  were  written  in ;  (3)  The  social,  religious, 
and  political  circumstances  of  his  time,  and  their  influence  on  his  writings ; 
(4)  An  analysis  of  the  particular  work  under  consideration,  or  of  any  given 
part  of  it ;  (5)  The  original  form  and  date  of  its  publication ;  the  internal  evi- 
dence on  these  and  similar  points  ;  (6)  Its  influence  on  the  age  in  which  it 
was  published :  its  illustrations  of  the  author's  personal  experiences  and  his 
peculiar  genius  ;  (7)  The  plot,  general  scope,  or  outline  of  the  piece,  accor4- 
ing  as  it  is  a  play,  a  treatise,  or  a  poem  ;  (8)  The,  chief  personages  and  events 
referred  to  in  it:  showing ^Iso  their  mutual  relation;  (9)  Brief  jquotatipns 
which  illustrate  its  principal  features,  its  main  purposes,  and  its  characteristic^ 
of  style;  (10)  The  materials  from  which  the  author  composed  his  work,  qi: 
the  pre-existing  tireatises,  stpries  or  legends  which  had  a  majked  influence  in 
determinittg  the  character  bf  the  work ;  (it )  Historical,  political,  aind.  my t^^^^ 
logical  allusions ;  (12)  Idioms,  irregularities  of  grammar,  antiquated  or  archaic 
words  and  phrases,  and  the  meaning  and  etymology  of  such  words;  (13) 
Imitations  of  classical  authors  and  classical  constructions;  (14)  Passages  of 
rare  beauty,  proverbial  sayings,  striking  or  peculiar  expressions  and  their  con- 


2^2  Aberdeen  University  Review 

text;  (15)  The  interpretation  of  obscure  passages  and  allusions;  (16)  Peculi- 
arities of  verse  and  metre ;  (i  7)  Corrupt  passages,  and  those  various  readings 
that  materially  affect  the  meaning;  (18)  The  dramatic  unity,  literary  merits, 
moral  purpose,  and  general  influence  of  the  work. 

Again,  we  read  on  the  same  page,  '*  To  Poetry  he  found  no  key  ".  I  am  firmly 
convinced  that  Dr.  Bain's  mind  could  unlock  the  secret  of  poetry  as  well  as 
of  science.  He  could  appreciate  the  beauties  of  poetry,  and  I  remember  well 
some  of  his  favourite  appreciations,  and  his  sharp,  incisive  criticisms  that  no 
subsequent  writer  has  been  able  to  nullify,  and  that  showed  unrivalled  insight. 
Surely  the  writer  of  the  article  cannot  have  read  Dr.  Bain's  "  Rhetoric,"  Part  II, 
to  which  any  one  may  be  referred  who  wishes  to  know  how  well  Dr.  Bain 
■understood  what  constitutes  real  poetry.  It  is  quite  possible  for  a  man  of 
even  Dr.  Bain's  ability  to  have  a  poetical  as  well  as  a  scientific  mind.  To  the 
old  Hebrew  the  clouds  were  God's  chariots  and  He  rode  upon  the  wings  of 
the  wind ;  but  that  does  not  interfere  in  the  least  with  our  remembering  that 
-clouds  are  due  to  certain  atmospheric  conditions,  or  that  the  apparently  way- 
ward and  irresponsible  wind  is  subject  to  laws  that  are  traceable  by  man.  Dr. 
Bain  could  hold  both  conceptions  in  his  mind,  and  no  doubt  felt  the  richer 
for  so  doing. 

Again  on  page  5  we  read,  '^Hisbent  was  not  to  Logic  but  to  Physics  ".  If  this 
was  so,  how  comes  it  about  that  in  the  list  of  about  130  separate  writings  and 
publications  by  Dr.  Bain  only  two  are  directly  concerned  with  Physics,  namely 
"  On  the  Constitution  of  Matter,"  and  Neil  Arnott's  **  Elements  of  Physics  " 
^(edited  by  A.  Bain  and  A.  S.  Taylor),  while  at  least  seven  are  directly  con- 
cerned with  Logic  ?  I  should  say  that  Dr.  Bain's  bent  was  to  Mental  Science, 
and  that  this  was  the  case  is  abundantly  proved  by  his  numerous  works  relat- 
ing to  that  subject.  Out  of  his  above  enumerated  writings,  no  fewer  than 
fifty-one  are  on  Mental  Science  or  cognate  subjects.  No  doubt  some  of  his 
illustrations  are  taken  from  Physics,  but  this  is  not  to  be  accepted  as  a  proof 
of  the  bent  of  his  mind,  as  his  illustrations  were  always  chosen  for  their 
effectiveness,  and  were  not  confined  to  one  subject. 

Again  on  page  6  we  read,  "  For  the  history  of  Philosophy  Bain  had  no  ap- 
titude ".  This  is  a  pure  assumption.  Dr.  Bain  did  not  teach  in  his  classes  the 
history  of  Philosophy  for  the  simple  reason  that  he  had  no  time  to  do  so. 
Any  one  who  has  read  anything  of  this  subject  knows  that  it  would  require  at 
least  a  complete  course  of  lectures  to  itself,  and  to  find  time  for  this  in  the 
curriculum  of  Dr.  Bain's  day  was  an  impossibiHty.  But  let  those  who  doubt 
Dr.  Bain's  aptitude  for  the  history  of  Philosophy  read  his  book  "  Mental 
Science :  Psychology  and  History  of  Philosophy  "  and  they  will  soon  change 
their  opinion. 

I  might  go  on  to  examine  other  statements  such  as,  page  6,  "  His  psy- 
chology was  materialistic  and  purely  physicaly^  but  I  have  already  trespassed 
too  much  on  your  space.  I  can  assure  your  readers  that  most  of  the  state- 
ments about  Dr.  Bain  in  the  article  are  erroneous,  and  that  all  of  them  ought 
to  be  received  with  great  caution.  May  I  be  allowed  to  say  in  conclusion 
that  on  many  occasions  I  have  felt  the  benefit  of  having  sat  under  Professor 
Bain,  that  he  laid  me  under  a  deep  debt  of  gratitude,  and  that  I  have  found 
his  teaching  and  writings  to  be  of  the  utmost  value  in  the  practical  affairs  of 
iife? 

I  am,  etc., 

ALEXR.  JACK. 


Correspondence  255 


REV.  PROFESSOR  W.  R.  CLARK,  TORONTO. 

Trinity  Collbob, 
Toronto,  12  March,  1916. 

Dear  Sir, 

Through  the  kindness  of  my  colleague,  the  Reverend  Professor 
William  RoUo,  M.A.  (Aberdeen),  I  have  read,  on  page  87  of  the  November 
number  of  the  Aberdeen  University  Review,  a  paragraph  referring  to  the 
Reverend  Professor  William  Robinson  Clark  as  the  senior  graduate  of  King's 
College.  Unhappily  I  have  to  notify  you  of  his  death,  which  occurred  on 
12th  November,  191 2,  in  his  84th  year. 

He  resigned  his  chair  in  the  College  in  1909,  after  occupying  it  for  twenty- 
five   years.     From  that  date  to  the  time  of  his  death  he  held  the  title  of 
Emeritus  Professor  and  as  such  he  sat  ex  officio  on  the  Council  of  the  College. 

In  recognition  of  his  services  to  the  Church  and  to  education  he  was 
created  a  Canon  of  St.  Alban's  Cathedral  by  the  third  Bishop  of  Toronto, 
the  late  Dr.  Sweatman.  Among  the  former  services  is  to  be  counted  the 
help  he  rendered  in  the  formation  of  the  General  Synod  of  the  Church  of 
England  in  Canada,  in  1893. 

He  is  survived  by  three  sons,  two  by  his  first  wife  and  one  by  his  second ; 
by  several  daughters,  among  them  Lady  Petre,  the  Honourable  Mrs.  Petre,. 
and  Madame  de  Windt ;  and  by  his  widow,  his  third  wife,  the  only  daughter 
of  the  late  Honourable  James  Patton,  Q.C.,  D.C.L.,  sometime  Vice-Chan- 
cellor  of  the  University  of  Toronto. 

Professor  Clark  was  the  second  Aberdonian  to  whom  the  College  was- 
indebted,  the  first  being  our  founder,  the  Right  Reverend  John  Strachan, 
M.A.,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  first  Bishop  of  Toronto,  who  did  a  vast  deal  toward 
saving  the  country  to  the  British  Crown  in  the  war  of  1812-1814.  He  was 
the  intimate  friend  of  the  great  Dr.  Chalmers  from  1796  or  1797  down  to  the 
date  of  the  latter's  death,  and  likewise  of  Professor  Duncan  of  St.  Andrews 
and  of  Professor  James  Brown  of  Glasgow. 

Presently  I  hope  to  publish  a  life  of  Bishop  Strachan.    In  this  connexion 
I  shall  make  some  use  of  the  facts  set  out  in  the  article  enclosed  herewith.     If 
you  find  it  interesting,  you  are  at  liberty  to  publish  it  in  the  Review.^ 

After  so  long  a  time  as  has  elapsed  since  the  Bishop's  death  (almost  fifty 
years)  it  is  hardly  to  be  expected  that  many  Aberdonians  can  provide  me  with 
letters  and  the  like.  If  any  of  them  can  do  so,  I  shall  be  glad  to  receive 
copies  of  such  documents  or  of  pamphlets,  of  which  he  wrote  many. 

I  retain  a  very  lively  recollection  of  the  kindness  shown  to  me  in  Aber- 
deen  in  June,  191 2,  when  I  visited  the  University  as  a  delegate  to  the  Con- 
gress of  the  Universities  of  the  Empire.  Then  I  was  the  guest  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  University,  who,  I  am  glad  to  hear,  has  taken  to  himself  a. 
wife. 

Yours  faithfully, 
A.  H.  Young. 

^  We  hope  to  publish  it  in  next  number  of  the  Review. — Ed. 


:j!>n':)hnoq8'jiioO 


Atlas  of  the  Historical  Geography  of  the  Holy  Land,  designed  arid 
'  edited  by  George  Adam  Smith,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Litt.D.,  Principal  of  the 
University  of  Aberdeen,  and  prepared  under  the  direction  of  J.  6. 
•  .^  Bartholomew,  LL.D.,  F.R.S.E.,  F.R.G.S.,  Cartographer  to  the  King,  at 
':*.v.  the  Edinburgh  Geographical  Institute.     London :  Hodder  &  Stoughton. 

The  first,  duty  of  a  reviewer  in  a  magazine  representative  of  fhe 'traditions, 
sympathies,  and  scholarship  xjf  the  University  of  Aberdeen  is  nbt  merely  to 
offer  its  congratulations  to  the  Principal  of  the  University  on  the  completion 
of  this,  invaluable  work,  that  has  engaged  his  hours  and  thoughts,  and  perhaps 
haunted  his  dreams,  for  so  many  years,  but  also  to  acknowledge  his  courtesy 
and.  loyalty  in  dedicating  it  to  the  University  arid  linking  it  with  the  names  of 
some  of  heir  gifted  sons  and  influential  teachers  who  contributed  to  widen  her 
fame  and  enrich  Semitic  and  theological  scholarship  in  the  nineteenth  century. 
, ,  '  This  is  a  great  work,  and  fills  a  niohe  that  has  been  long  erhpty  in  British 
scholarship  and  cartography,  and  fills  it  in  such  a  way^^as  will  greatly  enhance 
the -reputation  of  editor  and  cartographer.  If  we  have  waited  lohg  for  k 
worthy  Bible  Atlas,  we  can; have  no  doubt  as  to  its' great  merits  and  the  in- 
valuable help  it  will  render  every  Biblical  student  now  that  it  has  been  given 
to  jjs.  The  whole  plan  and  execution  «f  the  Atlas  suggest  prolonged  and 
profound  thought,  wide  historical  and  statesmanlike  vision,  and  deep  synipathy 
with  every  phase  of  interest  centred  in  or  touching  the  Holy  Land ;  and  every 
pB^ge  bears-  unmistakable  evidence  of  unwearied  investigation,  massive  learning, 
and  sound' judgment,  and,  moreover,  of  great  accuracy  amidst  an  extra- 
ordinary mass  of  intricate  detail  where  the  least  slackness  would  have  tended 
to  compromise  the  value  and  the'  reliability  of  the  Atlas.  Students  of  the 
most  diverse  sympathies  and  interests  will  find  much  to  help  and  erilijghten 
them  here,.  No  doubt  the  Biblical  student  has  been  mostly  in  the  mind  of 
theieditorj  but  there  is  such  a  treasury  of  matter  here,  from  the  very  dawn  of 
history  to  the  present  day,  that  students  of  history,  politics,  trade,  comparative 
religion^  and  missionary  development  will  find  much  to  assist  them,  all  pre- 
sented in  a  particularly  concrete  and  illuminating  form.  Every  shade  of 
colour  and  every  variety  of  type  have  been  employed,  not  merely  to  aid  the 
eye  and  arrest  the^  attention,  but  also  to  suggest  a  real  picture  of  the  surface 
of  th^^.  country  and  to  discriminate  at  sight  between  the  names  of  localities 
and  places  at  diff"erent  eras  in  the  country's  history. 

The  aim  of  a  -Bible  At^as.is.to  put  the  Bible  reader  or  student  into  the 
position  of  appreciating  events  and  incidents  with  the  knowledge  of  the 
background  on  which  they  were  enacted  ;  its  purpose  is  to  provide  him  with 
the  geographical  details  that  have  been  acquired  by  exact  survey,  and 
strenuous  and  exhausting  travelling  on  the  part  of  many  pilgrims  to  the  Holy 


7/:>r/o>i    / Reviews?    rr-JtibifjdA  ^55 

Landj  's6*  that  he  can  apprehend  and  control  for  himself  the  movements  of 
m^  attd  nations,  and  soldiers,  prophets,  and  apostles/ and  understand  why 
ieertain"  localities  and  peoples  acquired  and  maintained  an  importance,  and 
Interest  denied  to  others.     The  Bible  Atlas  is  not  the  fruit  of  bold  adventure 
that  Ifed  men  into  farand  strange  fields,  nor  the  product  of  pious  'pilgFimafge 
that  sought  to  cultivate  religious  devotion  and  to  warm  piety  at  the  ishrines 
and  the  scenes  of  the  saints  of  the  ancient  Jewish  Ghurch,  but  is -the'  neces- 
sary tesult  of  a  changed  exegesis  or  interpretation  of  the  Bible  that  has  sotight 
to  recover  its  meaning  and  message  for  Ourselves  by  realizing  first  what  they 
'werfe  and  meant  for  those  who  worked  Out  its  incidents,  suffered  its  denuncia- 
tibh,  or  listened  to  its  comfort.     The  need  of  a  Bible  Atlas  is  ther discovery 
<i(  the  historical  interpretation  of  the  Bible,  aMit'is  fortunate  that  -this  Atlas 
has  been  editecT  by  one  who  has  worked  and  suffered  for  this  revival,  and  who 
has  also  that  spirit  of  venture  and  tfeat  joy  of  travel  that- haVe  made  him  face 
the  withering  sifoccO;  sweat  under  a  sweltering  sun;  and  wince,  it  maybe, 
under  the  biting  winds  and  the  copious  rains  of  the  Lebanonfs,  as  well  as  en- 
joy'the  indescribable  scenes  that  gradually  at  dawn  roll  out  of  the  darkness 
ffom  peaks  like  NebO,  Jebel  Osha,  Or  eVen  Olivet,  as  the  long,  shafts  of  sun- 
shine light '  up  the ;  diark  wadies  that  f ui*6 w  Western  Palestine,  paint  in  gold 
the  villages  that  sit  on  the  hill- tops  or  cling  to  the  mountain,  sides^*^^lasi! 
sorhetiines  as  widows,  desolate  and  lonely-^nd  dapple  the  fields -with  a  gliory 
Xifcdlimr.      ':;;''■''■ '^ '  '] -■■■'^■^■'^   ''■  <0''n,;=;.'>i;r:,\  .;:,?  it,i!rri:;v/  nii  oi^  c;'  -i.).-- 
'"And  thi^  brittgS  us  tb  the^^iffidtilt  ahd  =hea^^yta[sk'>of>  the  ie^toy,>  Which  he 
appears  fe  us  to  have  peifornied  with  combined  knowledge  and  imagination, 
deliciaey  and  !&ill.     He  hds  to  recOvet  %r  us  the  geograpl^y^^of  Balesti^^^^ 
It'  'T?'^  known  to-  and  •  described;  by  the  Wf iters  Of  ^ the  Bible.    rThe  physical 
features 'of  th(6cdun:try  have*;  bfcotitfeei-reniained-  the  same,'  but  k  has;>been 
desolated  so  Often  by  the  m^irch  bf  destroying  armies,  and  its  inha%iitants  have 
been  SO- often  the  prey  df  Ooiiquering  hosts-  thctt  the  very  napies  and  sites  of 
the  tbv^s  ind  villages  wh^re  they  had  their  homes  and  spent  their  lives  have 
^ecOme  lost  f  ■  and  eveh  where  there'  has  been^  -^  GOn^seious  attempt  to  maintain 
the  names  of  the  -past,  in  the  niouths  of  strange  peoples  who  may  have' re- 
stoi^d  and  ocfcupied  the  desolate  places,-  they  may  have  assumed  forms  ih 
which  thife  Old  sounds;  cannot '  be  recognized,  laftd  so  sites  have  become  en- 
slit'oiided  with  uncertainty  or  lOst  altogether*;  or  it  may  be  that  a  name  some- 
whk  sirtiildr  in  ^ourid  to  the  Biblical  name  may  strH  ex^ist,  and^  the  sitex}tf  the 
Biblical  trdwn  hks  beeti  'fixed  therej  only  to  lead  to  ihexplicable  difficulty:  and 
cOnfusibrt  Wheft'  we  try  to  fit  it  iritd  the  Biblical  narrative  as  a  wholes    .What 
B  tii'e  eij^latiatiOn  of  t^e  'Similarity  Of  names'  is  unknown  "to  iis^-^wheth^i  a 
cotffCidence' of  sound  6t  an  actual  ttansference  Of  the  old  name  to  a  new  site, 
^e  catinot  tell ;  in  ahy  cas^i  it  is  impOssib'le  to  get  a-  coherent  narrative  out  of 
f  lief  "Bible'  stoiy;^    It  thtis  becomes  apparent  that  the  real  c^ffictilty  of  the 
e'dfftOr'  of  a  Bible  Atlas  is  the  identification  or  the  recovery  of  old  sites,  aiid 
j'ti^t'feproportidn  to  his ^ticcess  in  this  direction  wilt  his  work  be- helpful.    It 
y  ea^y  to  fill  the  iiiaps  Of  Pale^ine  with  riatnes;  but  these -are  largely  modern 
Arabic  names,  which  kre  obviously  Of  hO  help  to  the  Biblical  studenty  while 
tbe  old  Biblical  names 'Will  be  found 'com^rativ^^  <  -^  >  (   .u  =?=. 

o  /  £ .  rpj^^ ;  ^^^^,  ]^ro^f essqi'  Driver,  Oxford,  in-  hi^  '■  < •  Text'  of  Saitmel, V: ;  .191  ^ j  ihfe 
"•'^^^^po^tbty  Times, '' ^ 

pPe&ed  '^I'bfoiind^' dissatisfaction  -with  inany'Of  tlieidenti*fi cations  and  con* 
jectiires  i\M  lia^  Sebn  adopted  by  the '  Palestine-  Exploration  Fund  Survey, 


256         Aberdeen  University  Review 

and  submitted  some  of  the  Principal's  identifications  in  his  "Historical 
Geography  "  to  drastic  handling,  and  claimed  that  every  site  in  regard  to 
which  there  was  any  doubt  should  be  marked  with  one  or  more  interrogatives 
according  to  the  measure  of  uncertainty  that  clung  to  the  identification. 
Professor  Driver  quite  pertinently  remarked  that  the  qualities  of  a  good  sur- 
veyor may  not  include  the  linguistic  power,  the  historical  knowledge,  and  the 
archaeological  insight  that  will  enable  him  to  see  in  a  desolate  heap  the  site  of 
a  Bible  town  or  village  rich  in  story  and  associations,  and  while  no  doubt 
w^hatever  may  rest  on  the  physical  representation  of  the  locality  in  all  its  de- 
tails, a  great  deal  of  uncertainty  may  remain  on  any  identification  that  is 
based  simply  on  some  agreement  of  sound,  or  some  local  tradition  which 
cannot  be  sifted  by  a  combined  knowledge  of  language  and  history ;  and  so, 
in  Professor  Driver's  view,  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund  Survey  has  gone 
beyond  its  function,  or  at  any  rate  its  power,  in  identifying  Biblical  sites  for 
which  it  was  quite  unfitted,  and  has  exercised  an  injurious  influence  on  all 
subsequent  map-making  that  was  based — ^and  based  quite  fairly,  as  he  ac- 
knowledges— on  the  survey,  inasmuch  as  the  accuracy  that  can  be  claimed 
for  the  physical  features  cannot  be  claimed  for  the  identifications  that  have 
been  superimposed  upon  them.  In  the  main,  the  Principal  has  followed  the 
Palestine  Exploration  Fund  Survey  even  to  identifications,  though  in  this  Atlas 
with  more  reservation  than  in  his  "Historical  Geography,"  and  perhaps  it  is 
open  to  doubt  whether  the  anticipations  of  Professor  Driver,  as  expressed  in 
the  preface  to  his  second  edition  of  the  "Text  of  Samuel"  (p.  x),  have 
been  realized  to  the  degree  he  expected.  "  But  G.  A.  Smith's  *  Historical 
Atlas  of  the  Holy  Land,'  which  is  likely  now  (Feb.,  191 3)  to  appear  shortly, 
may  be  confidently  expected  to  satisfy  all  requirements."  If  all  requirements 
could  be  satisfied  only  by  adopting  Professor  Driver's  criticism  and  sugges- 
tions, the  ideal — or  at  least  the  reliable — Atlas  has  yet  to  come. 

The  Principal  has  removed  a  number  of  doubtful  identifications  altogether, 
and  invested  with  uncertainty  some  that  he  formerly  regarded  as  certain,  and 
a  few  that  appeared  to  him  formerly  as  uncertain  have  passed  into  the  realm 
of  certainty,  but  there  remains  a  wide  field  in  which  he  maintains  his  ground. 
Which  is  likely  to  be  the  safer  guide  ?  We  have  to  remember  that  Professor 
Driver  himself  was  no  Eastern  traveller.  So  far  as  we  know,  he  was  but  a 
few  weeks  in  Palestine,  and  that  late  in  life,  and  though  he  was  a  most 
laborious  as  well  as  an  exact  scholar,  his  criticism  of  the  Palestine  Exploration 
Fund  Survey,  as  also  the  Principal's  "Historical  Geography,"  was  mostly 
based  on  a  close  and  a  comparative  study  of  the  accounts  published  by 
travellers  in  Palestine,  and,  naturally,  these  cannot  pretend  to  the  same  claim 
on  our  confidence  as  an  authorized  survey  where  we  have  exact  measure- 
ments and  details  for  which  travellers  have  usually  neither  the  time  nor  the 
means.  Many  of  them  have  not  even  acquired  the  trained  eye  for  reliable 
observation,  or  the  restrained,  sober  style  that  invites  trust.  Their  accounts 
are  mostly  in  general  terms  as  to  distance,  elevation,  time,  outline,  character, 
and  form,  and  they  usually  have  not  enjoyed  that  prolonged  stay  in  a  locality 
to  make  themselves  masters  of  it  and  the  life  and  the  incidents  that  cluster 
around  it  in  history  so  as  to  fit  it  into  a  particular  situation  in  the  remote  past. 
On  the  other  hand,  such  identifications  as  we  have  here  in  this  Atlas  have 
been  reached,  not  merely  after  full  reading  of  story  and  travel,  study  of  roads 
and  country,  but  from  actual  and  prolonged  examination  of  the  spots  them- 
selves and  from  comparison  of  alternative  localities,  all  done  with  a  richness 


Reviews  257 


of  experience,  a  maturity  of  judgment,  and  an  insight  into  history  and  Bible 
times  and  conditions,  that  inspire  us  with  the  greatest  confidence.  It  seems 
to  us  that  we  have  good  reason  for  trusting  the  verdict  of  the  Principal  when 
he  localizes  the  scenes  of  Bible  life  and  history ;  and  when  these  are  invested 
with  doubt  or  inserted  with  reservation,  we  may  rest  assured  that  he  has  gone 
as  far  as  the  evidence  presently  at  our  command  will  permit.  Perhaps  years 
hence,  when  the  soil  of  Palestine  has  been  dug  deeper,  there  may  be  richer 
material  at  our  disposal  to  permit  us  to  revise  present  conclusions  with  some 
prospect  of  improvement,  if  not  of  finality. 

The  whole  plan  of  this  Atlas  is  illuminative.  When  we  open  it,  instead 
of  finding  a  map  of  the  Holy  Land,  we  find  one  of  the  Semitic  world,  which 
in  turn  is  followed  by  maps  of  the  world  Empires  from  the  fifteenth  century 
B.C.  to  the  third  century  a.d.,  and  this  gives  us  a  clue  to  the  editor's  mind  and 
purpose.  He  does  not  look  upon  the  Holy  Land  as  an  isolated,  closed  land, 
an  asylum  for  saints,  a  nursery  of  piety,  a  fountain  of  religion,  a  quiet  home 
for  meditative  spirits  and  a  religiously-minded  people  in  a  negligible  rift  in  the 
midst  of  the  warring  nations,  but  as  a  land  that  formed  the  bridge  between 
different  civilizations  and  races  that  poured  their  material  gifts  and  intellectual 
influences  into  it,  and  carried  away  in  turn  some  religious  inspiration  and 
some  spiritual  light  from  it.  The  ancient  roads  that  carried  the  merchandise 
and  the  labour  of  nations  ran  through  it  North  and  South,  East  and  West 
(p.  9) .  We  believe  we  shall  miss  a  great  part  of  the  aim  of  the  editor  if  we 
fail  to  notice  that,  in  the  very  structure  and  arrangement  of  the  Atlas,  he  is 
trying  to  give  us  a  glimpse  into  the  vision  of  Isaiah,  who  has  moulded  his 
own  thoughts  so  deeply  and  his  style  so  richly,  when  he  says  :  "  The  labour  of 
Egypt,  and  merchandise  of  Ethiopia  and  of  the  Sabeans,  men  of  stature,  shall 
come  over  unto  thee  and  they  shall  be  thine  ;  .  .  •  and  they  shall  fall  down 
unto  thee,  they  shall  make  supplication  unto  thee,  saying,  Surely  God  is  in 
thee ;  and  there  is  none  else,  there  is  no  God  "  (Isaiah  xlv.  14). 

To  gaze  upon  some  of  these  maps,  to  think  of  their  implications,  and  to 
respond  to  their  suggestions  is  often  to  clarify  our  ideas  of  Hebrew  history. 
One  of  the  difl&culties  of  the  Book  of  Judges  is  to  realize  how  the  Hebrews 
on  entering  Palestine  became  disintegrated,  and  how  their  political  organization 
lost  coherence  and  unity,  so  that  they  became  an  easy  prey  to  surrounding 
nations  ;  but  the  map  illustrating  the  period  of  the  Judges  before  1050  b.c. 
(p.  32)  throws  a  great  deal  of  light  on  the  situation  of  the  Hebrews,  and 
shows  us  how  difificult  it  was  for  them  to  combine  against  a  common  foe. 
With  the  Plain  of  Esdraelon  right  up  to  the  Jordan  in  the  hands  of  the  Canaan- 
ites,  the  north  was  cut  off  from  the  centre ;  with  a  great  rift  in  the  middle 
right  up  to  Jerusalem  also  in  their  hands,  the  centre  was  weakened,  if  not 
isolated ;  and  with  a  number  of  intervening  tribes  between  the  centre  and 
Simeon,  the  south  was  practically  crippled,  if  not  altogether  lost.  It  is  quite 
easy  then  to  understand  how  difficult  it  was  for  the  Hebrews  to  combine 
their  forces  into  one  great  organized  army  under  a  leader  that  was  known  to 
all  the  Hebrew  tribes  and  that  would  command  their  confidence.  It  is  easy 
for  us  to  understand  the  political  problem  of  Samuel  and  how  gladly  he  would 
have  gazed  on  Saul  as  one  likely  to  solve  his  difficulties  and  unify  the  nation. 
Again,  another  difficulty  that  often  troubled  us  before  we  saw  the  country  was 
how  the  Philistines,  occupying  possibly  a  territory  about  a  fifth  of  the  size  of 
that  in  the  hands  of  the  Hebrews,  could  yet  exercise  such  a  powerful  and  pro- 

17 


258  Aberdeen  University  Review 

longed  influence  upon  their  history  up  to  the  time  of  David.  Even  if  their 
prowess  was  greater  and  their  skill  better,  we  might  have  expected  the 
Hebrews  to  equaUze  or  counterbalance  these  with  superior  numbers  ;  but 
when  we  look  at  the  map  illustrating  the  vegetation  of  Palestine  (p.  14),  we 
see  that  the  Philistines  had  a  much  richer  country  and  so  could  maintain  a 
relatively  much  greater  population,  and  thus  the  armies  of  the  two  peoples 
may  have  been  approximately  pretty  well  matched  in  numbers  apart  from  any 
consideration  of  equipment  which  the  Bible  itself  suggests  to  us  was  vastly 
better  in  the  case  of  the  Philistines. 

The  only  defect  that  we  can  urge  against  the  Atlas — and  that  compara- 
tively insignificant,  to  be  sure — is  an  occasional  want  of  uniformity  of  view 
and  representation,  due  no  doubt  to  the  long  time  during  which  the  editor 
has  been  engaged  on  the  work,  and  possibly  also  to  some  changes  of  view 
that  its  preparation  has  gradually,  perhaps  unconsciously,  produced.  For 
example,  the  main  road  running  along  the  coast  is  carried  round  the  Bay  of 
Acre  on  page  1 9,  and  this  is  in  harmony  with  the  maps  of  Guthe  and  Fischer, 
Baedeker,  and  Buhl  in  his  "  Geography  of  Palestine,"  as  well  as  with  our 
own  recollection  in  repeated  journeys  from  Haifa  to  Acre,  but  on  page  1 1  the 
main  road  is  made  to  go  round  by  Carmel,  Harosheth  and  Nazareth,  and 
there  is  but  a  track  between  Haifa  and  Acre.  On  page  35  Jabesh  Gilead  and 
Mahanaim  are  provided  with  doubtful  marks  ;  on  the  following  page  the 
marks  are  absent.  On  page  43  Dion  is  without,  and  on  page  44  with  a  doubtful 
mark,  and  is  besides  not  in  the  same  position  in  the  two  maps.  Some  names 
appear  on  the  Index  maps  that  are  absent  from  the  sectional  maps,  and  also 
from  the  Index  at  the  end.  The  insertion  of  these  doubtful  marks  in  so 
many  maps  must  have  caused  the  editor  considerable  embarrassment  so  as  to 
keep  all  the  maps  uniform ;  perhaps  a  solution  might  have  been  sought  in 
inserting  them  in  one  map  only  and  in  omitting  them  elsewhere,  or  in  insert- 
ing them  in  the  sectional  maps  only.  For,  after  all,  these  sectional  maps, 
produced  on  a  larger  scale  than  the  others,  are  the  finest  as  well  as  the  most 
authoritative  within  the  Atlas,  and  bear  on  their  face  the  evidence  of  extra- 
ordinary care  and  research  as  well  as  skill  and  delicacy  in  delineation.  They 
are  excellent  specimens  of  cartography  and  present  all  the  needs  of  an  Atlas 
with  a  clearness  of  outline,  a  delicacy  and  a  contrast  of  colouring  and  a  full- 
ness of  material  that  leave  nothing  to  be  desired.  We  have  nothing  like 
these  elsewhere.  Something  of  the  kind  we  have  in  the  "Encyclopaedia 
Biblica,"  but  even  there  the  maps  are  much  smaller  and  are  lacking  in 
-definiteness  and  clearness,  and  are  so  packed  with  names  as  to  become  be- 
wildering. It  is  in  these  larger  maps  that  we  should  have  liked  to  have  seen 
the  perennial  rivers  indicated,  and  not  in  the  smaller  maps  (pp.  13,  14,  31, 
32  and  elsewhere),  where  it  is  less  easy  to  follow  their  courses  and  realize 
their  exact  limits,  though  we  readily  admit  their  relevance  in  the  first  two 
maps  (pp.  13,  14)  dealing  with  the  Geology  and  the  Vegetation  of  Palestine 
respectively.  With  an  atlas  of  such  wealth  and  novelty,  it  may  savour  of  the 
incurable  discontent  of  human  nature  when  we  suggest  that  a  place  might 
have  been  found  for  the  reproduction  in  some  way  of  the  Raised  Map  of  the 
Palestine  Exploration  Fund,  but  the  daily  use  of  this  map  in  our  classroom 
convinces  us  there  is  no  clearer  way  of  indicating  the  real  character,  possi- 
bilities and  influences  of  a  country  than  in  this  way,  and  we  are  sure  that  the 
editor,  knowing  this,  must  have  found  diflSculties  unknown  to  us  in  including 
it  in  his  Atlas.     It  was  a  happy  idea  to  give  even  an  inset  of  Babylonia  as 


Reviews 


259 


the  home  of  the  exiled  Jews,  but,  small  and  meagre  as  it  is,  there  is  still  room 
for  more  towns  and  localities  associated  with  their  life  and  history  than  appear 
here,  and  there  is  actual  need  of  such  a  map,  for  most  maps  of  Babylonia 
have  only  the  conditions  of  the  early  Babylonian  Empire  in  view. 

The  editor  has  provided  an  ample  literature  from  which  to  enrich  our 
own  knowledge  or  to  test  his  own  identifications,  conjectures,  and  results,  and 
there  are  few  besides  himself  who  have  a  speaking  acquaintance  with  half  the 
books  to  which  he  refers.  In  view  of  what  we  have  stated  already  regarding 
the  criticism  and  suggestions  of  Professor  Driver,  it  is  unfortunate  that  the 
Principal  refers  only  to  the  first  edition  of  "  Samuel "  by  him  (1890),  for  in  the 
second  (19 13)  there  is  much  material  worth  his  consideration,  whatever  con- 
clusion he  might  adopt  in  regard  to  its  value.  Head  produced  his  second 
edition  of  the  "  Historia  Numorum  "in  191 1,  and  since  that  date  G.  F.  Hill 
has  enriched  our  numismatic  material  by  his  "Catalogue  of  the  Coins  of 
Palestine,"  19 14.  The  date  of  Wellhausen's  "  Composition  des  Hexateuchs  " 
should  be  1878  and  Vogelstein's  "  Landwirtschaft  in  Palastina  "  1894.  We 
have  failed  to  notice  any  reference  to  Neubauer's  "  Geographic  du  Talmud," 
which  would  have  proved  helpful  in  constructing  a  map  of  the  Babylonia  of 
the  exiles. 

In  this  Atlas  the  Principal  has  put  into  our  hands  one  of  the  finest  and 
richest  aids  we  can  receive  for  a  clear  understanding  of  the  background  of 
divine  revelation,  and  henceforth  it  will  be  our  own  fault,  if  we  do  not  see  the 
Bible  story  with  clearer  eyes  and  understand  it  with  fuller  reality.  We  an- 
ticipate that  many  generations  of  students  will  speak  of  his  work  with  grati- 
tude and  affection,  and  it  will  take  its  place  alongside  of  Hastings'  "  Bible 
Dictionary  "  and  the  "  Encyclopaedia  Biblica  "  as  part  of  the  daily  working 
tools  of  the  minister  and  the  student.  But  we  hope  he  will  not  stop  here. 
This  Atlas  will  naturally  from  its  size  and  cost  be  inaccessible  to  many  to 
whom  it  would  be  of  the  greatest  service,  and  to-day  calls  for  a  human,  his- 
torical, intelligent  use  of  the  Bible.  There  is  room  for  a  smaller  Atlas  that 
would  contain  in  particular  the  sectional  maps  of  Palestine  and  a  selection  of 
some  of  the  other  maps  that  would  meet  a  popular  need,  and  we  hope  the 
Principal  will  consider  how  far  he  can  widen  the  area  of  the  public  to  whom 
his  work  would  be  invaluable,  when  he  can  command  the  needed  leisure  in 
his  busy  and  many-sided  life. 

James  Gilroy. 

A  Short  History  of  Europe,  from  the  Dissolution  of  the  Holy  Roman 
Empire  to  the  Outbreak  of  the  German  War,  1806- 191 4.  By  Charles 
Sanford  Terry,  Burnett-Fletcher  Professor  of  History  in  the  University 
of  Aberdeen.  London  :  George  Routledge  &  Sons,  Ltd. ;  New  York  : 
E.  P.  Sutton  &  Co.     Pp.  Ixiii  +  602. 

Readers  of  Professor  Terry's  two  preceding  volumes.  Mediaeval,  476-1453, 
and  Modern,  1453-1806,  will  not  be  disappointed  in  the  present  volume, 
bringing  his  history  down  to  the  eve  of  the  Great  European  War ;  and  the 
interest  of  the  narrative  deepens  as  it  progresses,  instead  of  repelling  the 
student  by  the  mass  of  details,  as  is  too  often  the  case  with  "  Modern " 
histories  and  "  continuations  ".  Not  that  there  is  any  lack  of  detail  in  really 
essential  points.  Every  page  bristles  with  them.  But  the  whole  is  set  forth 
methodically  a.nd,  in  spite  of  severe  compression,  in  a  style  at  once  so  succinct 
and  lucid  as  to  constitute  a  wholly  admirable  narrative.     Recognizing  his 


26o  Aberdeen  University  Review 

self-imposed  limits  Professor  Terry  has  wisely  eschewed  notes,  references  and 
appendices,  which,  however  useful  in  themselves  and  often  necessary,  are  too 
apt  to  prove  a  tedious  interruption,  swamping  interest  in  the  progress  of  the 
text.  Occasionally  quotations  are  embodied  in  the  text.  In  the  whole  600 
pages  and  over  we  have  noted  only  one  direct  reference  (p.  35).  The  only 
exceptions  to  this  rigid  exclusion  which  the  author  permits  himself  is  in  the 
seventeen  Genealogical  Tables,  including  those  of  the  reigning  houses  of  Italy, 
Turkey,  Greece,  Denmark,  Norway,  and  the  Balkan  States,  not  omitting  the  re- 
cent *'  Mpret,"  whose  reign  was  as  brief  as  his  style  and  ridiculous  title.  Be- 
sides these  by  way  of  introduction  there  is  an  excellent  "  Outline,"  pp.  i-lxiii, 
which  summarizes  the  succeeding  narrative  and  should  prove  of  great  value 
to  the  student. 

The  text  itself  is  divided  into  nineteen  chapters,  and  these  when  neces- 
sary into  sections  according  to  the  events  and  countries  concerned  in  the 
period.  By  these  means  the  reader,  aided  by  a  useful  index,  is  enabled  to 
follow  the  fortunes  of  each  country,  in  so  far  as  its  history  is  influenced  by 
or  bears  on  the  general  course  of  European  events. 

We  note  only  one  important  omission,  probably  unavoidable  in  a  work  of 
this  size  and  cost,  the  absence  of  maps  to  illustrate  the  growth  and  decay  of 
countries,  the  many  kaleidoscopic  changes  which  have  taken  place  in  Europe 
since  the  Great  French  Revolution.  But  as  the  present  war  will  probably  re- 
sult in  considerable  changes — such  at  least  is  our  hope — on  the  basis  of 
nationalities,  we  will  merely  commend  this  final  complementary  volume,  of  an 
atlas  to  cover  all  three  volumes,  to  the  author's  consideration. 

Professor  Terry  is  a  rapid  and  very  productive  writer.  Yet  his  work  is 
never  slipshod,  and  even  in  the  minutiae  of  reading  for  press  is  singularly  free 
from  minor  errors  and  misprints.  Of  such  small  blemishes,  besides  a  very  few 
misprints,  such  as  the  reader  will  readily  correct  for  himself,  we  have 
noticed  only  a  transposition  of  "  North  "  and  "  South  "  at  the  foot  of  p.  112; 
"  Romande  "  for  Romance,  p.  221,  "Minico"  for  Mincio,  p.  355.  Here 
and  there  unfamiliar  terms,  foreign  and  technical,  crave  a  word  of  explanation, 
occasionally  elucidated  by  a  later  passage,  for  which  the  student  will  do  well 
to  turn  to  the  index.  Such  are  corvie,  robot,  aula,  Teutsche  Hof  (p.  295, 
see  p.  288).  The  mysterious  ulema,  p.  325,  is  omitted  from  the  index,  to  which 
also  might  be  added  Bundesakte,  p.  73  (which  is  a  plural  noun),  though 
Schlussakte  is  given.  To  a  reader  unfamiliar  with  German  the  varying  oc- 
currence oi  Deutsches  and  Deutsche  Reich,  Deutsche  and  Deutscher  Bund^  etc., 
following  the  laws  of  the  German  article,  is  somewhat  bewildering. 

But  these  are  small  defects  in  a  work  for  which  every  student  of  history 
must  be  sincerely  grateful  to  the  author.  It  supplies  just  that  want  so  often 
experienced,  a  history  up-to-date,  full  and  accurate,  but  not  overburdened  by  a 
mere  dreary  succession  of  "  administrations  ".  Such  in  these  pages  shrink 
into  their  due  proportions  or  disappear  altogether  in  the  true  perspective  of 
events.  Whether  Professor  Terry  has  been  equally  successful  in  gauging  and 
summarizing  the  causes  of  present  events  time  alone  can  say.  Without  un- 
duly obtruding  his  own  views,  he  states  them  urgently  and  with  conviction. 
Few  at  least  of  his  countrymen  will  differ  from  him.  But  the  very  fact  that 
they  command  our  own  sympathy,  as  they  involve  our  own  interests  and 
prejudices,  will  dispose  the  true  student  patiently  to  await  the  verdict  of 
history,  when  finally  purged  of  the  dust  and  clamour  inseparable  from  such 
an  upheaval. 

H.  F.  MoRLAND  Simpson. 


Reviews  261 

Sub  Corona.  Sermons  preached  in  the  University  Chapel  of  King's  College, 
Aberdeen,  by  Principals  and  Professors  of  Theological  Faculties  in  Scot- 
land. Edited  by  Professor  Henry  Cowan,  D.D.,  D.Th.,  D.C.L.,  and 
James  Hastings,  D.D.     Edinburgh :  T.  &  T.  Clark.     Pp.  ix  +  297. 

Of  the  many  changes  in  University  life  of  recent  years — compared  at  any 
rate  with  that  of,  say,  a  generation  ago — one  of  the  most  striking  has  been 
the  improvement  in  the  Sunday  services  in  the  University  Chapel.  They 
have  lost  their  former  perfunctory  character  and  have  become  more  decorous 
and  dignified :  they  have  benefited  greatly  by  the  introduction  of  an  organ 
and  a  regular  choir ;  and  they  attract  a  larger  attendance  of  undergraduates 
and  are  more  widely  appreciated  as  an  adjunct  of  the  University  career.  The 
quality  of  the  preaching  too — be  it  said  with  all  respect — has  improved  in  a 
remarkable  degree,  and  this  essential  element  in  the  services  is  enhanced  by 
the  frequent  occupancy  of  the  pulpit  by  divinity  professors  of  other  Univer- 
sities and  Colleges,  and  by  eminent  preachers  drawn  with  true  catholicity  of 
spirit  from  various  denominations.  The  University  Chapel  discourses  have 
thus  acquired  a  certain  brevet  of  distinction,  and  it  is  gratifying  to  find  their 
value  recognized  by  the  selection  of  a  number  of  them  to  form  a  volume  of 
*'  The  Scholar  as  Preacher"  series,  which  is  under  the  editorial  supervision  of 
Dr.  Hastings.  The  selection  has  been  made  by  Professor  Cowan  and  Dr. 
Hastings ;  and  to  the  volume  has  been  given  the  appropriate  title  of  "  Sub 
Corona,"  from  the  University  Chapel  being,  as  Professor  Cowan  puts  it,  "  under 
the  shadow  of  the  double  Crown  which  chiefly  has  won  for  King's  College  its 
architectural  celebrity  ". 

As  stated  on  the  title-page  the  selection  has  been  confined  to  sermons 
preached  by  Principals  and  Theological  Professors  in  Scotland,  but  we  may 
express  the  hope  that  the  volume  will  be  followed  at  no  distant  date  by  a 
selection  from  the  sermons  of  the  many  distinguished  English  divines  who 
have  graced  the  University  pulpit.  The  volume  contains  twenty  sermons, 
the  preachers  including,  in  addition  to  the  Principal  and  four  divinity  pro- 
fessors of  Aberdeen,  the  late  Principal  Stewart  of  St.  Andrews  and  four 
divinity  pro'^essors  of  other  Scottish  Universities  :  Principal  Iverach,  Principal 
Denney,  and  six  divinity  professors  of  United  Free  Church  Colleges  ;  and 
Bishop  Mitchell,  of  Aberdeen,  who  was  formerly  Principal  and  Pantonian 
Professor  of  Theology  in  the  Theological  College  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal 
Church.  As  the  editors  say  in  a  brief  preface — "  Each  preacher  has  spoken 
for  himself  and  is  responsible  for  his  own  doctrine  only  ;  still,  when  the 
sermons  in  this  volume  are  taken  together,  some  trustworthy  knowledge  will 
be  obtained  of  the  teaching  which  prevails  at  the  present  time  in  the  Theo- 
logical Colleges  of  Scotland  ".  In  this  respect,  the  volume  possesses  a  dis- 
tinctive character,  on  which,  however,  it  is  not  necessary  to  descant  here.  It 
will  suffice  to  say  that  all  the  sermons,  despite  the  variety  of  their  themes, 
form  admirable  addresses  to  students  about  to  enter  on  the  battle  of  life,  full 
of  inspiration  to  manliness  and  honour  and  devotion  to  work  and  duty.  At 
the  same  time,  they  are  much  more  than  students'  addresses,  dealing  as  they 
do  with  many  of  the  larger  problems  of  humanity  and  religion,  and  expound- 
ing the  fundamental  doctrines  of  the  evangelical  faith. 

To  particularize  would  be  more  or  less  invidious.  Mention  may  be  per- 
mitted, however,  of  our  own  Principal's  sermon  at  the  close  of  the  academic 
session  last  year,  reviewing  the  year  of  war  and  the  reincarnation  of  the 


262  Aberdeen  University  Review 

Napoleonic  spirit  in  Europe ;  Professor  Curtis's  survey  of  the  history  of  the 
English  Bible  on  the  occasion  of  the  three  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  Author- 
ized Version ;  and  Professor  Cowan's  sermon  at  the  earlier  Quatercentenary 
celebrations,  in  which  he  eloquently  eulogized  the  "  builders  "  of  the  Uni- 
versity. These,  of  course,  were  special  efforts,  but  the  volume  contains  many 
fine  discourses  besides,  and,  taken  altogether,  it  furnishes  a  worthy  presenta- 
tion of  the  high  quality  of  the  preaching  in  the  University  Chapel. 

Pro  Patria.    By  Pittendrigh  MacGillivray.    Edinburgh :  Robert  Grant  &  Son. 

Our  distinguished  sculptor  has  essayed  in  verse  the  expression  of  his 
"  love-militant  for  Kin-folk  and  Country — a  love  which  is  yet  so  based  in 
heart  and  kindness  that  it  would  gladly  overflow  in  friendship  with  other 
peoples  ".  So,  in  a  curiously  mixed  metaphor,  he  states  the  spirit  and  aim  of 
it.  Fine  swinging  verse  the  most  is,  as  from  a  man  whose  whole  heart  is  in 
his  themes ;  and  carrying  not  a  few  gallant  and  memorable  phrases.  The 
pieces  are  arranged  chronologically.  Songs  of  Britain's  might,  from  the 
'nineties,  open  the  way,  and  include  one  on  "Dargai  Ridge"  (1897) : — 

"  The  Cock  o*  the  North,  the  Cock  o'  the  North  1 

A  bonnie  red  comb  has  he  ! 
We're  proud  o'  his  kind,  we'll  keep  them  in  mind 

For  the  look  they  gave  Death  in  the  e'e 
On  the  rocky  ridge  o'  Dargai,  O." 

Then  come  songs  of  the  Boer  War,  and  others  between  1904  and  1912,  with 
a  call  to  "  London,"  that  for  her  decadence  there  is  no  remedy  but  the  sword, 
to  save 

"  all  the  virtues  of  our  State — 
Racial  grit,  clean  hands,  blood  that  can  thrill  I  " 

The  rest  are  of  "The  War,  1914  "  with  an  epilogue;  and  the  volume  closes 
with  a  prose  speech  on  "  Memories  of  '  the  45,'  "  "a  Souvenir  of  the  Spirit  of 
the  Gael,  Dedicated  to  the  Kilted  Regiments  ". 

We  like  the  singer  best  in  his  songs  of  home  and  country,  his  pictures  of 
our  landscapes  in  peace  or  of  ripening  harvests  under  the  shadow  of  war.  We 
like  him  least  in  his  echoes  of  Kipling  (confined  to  one  or  two  poems  on  the 
Boer  War)  or  when  he  "  dares  much,"  as  in  new  words  (on  Scotland)  to  the  air 
of  the  National  Anthem,  or  in  a  sonnet  on  Mr.  Chamberlain  and  Tariff  Re- 
form— with  only  the  success  that  might  have  been  anticipated  in  the  one  case 
from  such  a  form,  in  the  other  from  such  a  subject,  which  however  respectable 
in  itself  is  hardly  one  for  art.  It  is  significant  that  the  note  is  not  so  high  or 
fine  in  the  pieces  on  the  Boer  War  as  in  those  on  this  War,  in  the  course  of 
which  he  prays — 

*'  From  blinding  hate  defend  the  blows  we  deal 
And  keep  our  hearts  so  high  we  hate  them  not — " 

and  elsewhere  says — 

*«  A  common  thing  may  bear  the  soul's  white  seal — 
A  little  paper  scrap  be  bond  of  fame  ; 

Holding  'twixt  day  and  night  and  life  and  death  : — 
In  keeping  still  good  faith  for  human  weal, 

If  Britain  now  should  shrink  to  her  last  breath, 
Her  going  shall  be  great  beyond  all  blame." 

The  speech  which  closes  the  volume  vividly  recalls  the  principal  phases 
of  the  Forty-Five. 


Reviews  263 

An  Index  of  Symptoms,  with  Diagnostic  Methods.  By  Ralph  Winnington 
Leftwich,  M.D.     Fifth  Edition.     London  :  Smith,  Elder  and  Co. 

Dr.  Leftwich  is  not  only  a  highly  experienced  and  skilful  physician,  but  he  is 
also  an  accomplished  author.  He  keeps  up  the  fine  old  tradition  of  the 
doctor  who  is  at  the  same  time  a  man  of  wide  literary  culture.  His  brochure 
on  the  Bacon-Shakespeare  controversy  is  pungent  and  forceful.  "  I  venture," 
he  concludes,  "to  claim  that  I  have  undermined  all  this  boasted  evidence, 
and  not  till  it  is  proved  that  Michael  Angelo  was  the  real  architect  of  Henry 
the  Seventh's  Chapel,  Constable  the  real  painter  of  Turner's  pictures,  and  Tate 
and  Brady  the  authors  of  Shelley's  '  Ode  to  the  Skylark,'  will  I  believe  that 
Bacon  wrote  Shakespeare."  Dr.  Leftwich  also  writes  "The  International 
Alphabet,"  a  courageous  attempt,  by  means  of  numbered  letters,  to  make  it 
possible  to  produce  in  all  languages  the  actual  sounds  of  words. 

That  his  "  Index  of  Symptoms  "  has  quickly  passed  through  four  editions 
is  sufficient  proof  of  its  general  acceptabiHty.  The  present  edition  has  been 
completely  revised  and  considerably  amplified.  It  is  a  most  useful  compilation, 
which  should  prove  of  the  highest  value  alike  to  students  and  practitioners. 
"Diagnosis,"  as  the  author  pertinently  remarks,  "is  the  most  difficult  part  of 
medicine."  It  calls  for  the  highest  endowments,  intellectual  and  physical. 
The  present  volume,  with  its  admirable  and  exhaustive  summaries  of  symptoms 
conveniently  arranged,  should  be  of  inestimable  value,  especially  in  discrimin- 
ating between  somewhat  similar  ailments.  Dr.  Leftwich  is  to  be  sincerely 
congratulated  on  a  piece  of  most  valuable  practical  work. 

University  of  Aberdeen.  Minutes  of  the  General  Council.  Vol. 
III.  Meetings  xciii-cix,  loth  April,  i907-i7th  April,  1915.  Aberdeen: 
The  University  Press.     Pp.  635. 

This  volume  constitutes  an  exceedingly  useful  and  interesting  conspectus  of 
University  affairs  for  the  past  eight  years.  In  addition  to  a  series  of  annual 
reports  and  statistics,  it  comprises  a  large  number  of  reports  and  discussions 
on  a  variety  of  important  topics,  such  as  the  new  regulations  relating  to  'he 
curriculum,  the  various  degrees,  and  the  bursaries,  the  preliminary  examin- 
ations, the  extended  session,  the  inclusive  fee,  the  Carnegie  Trust  regulations, 
etc.     For  purposes  of  reference  it  will  be  found  most  valuable. 


Messrs.  Gale  &  Polden  (London  and  Aldershot)  have  sent  us  their  large 
plate  of  striking  reproductions  of  the  "Crests  of  our  Imperial  Forces,''  a  se- 
lection from  the  badges  of  H.M.'s  Regiments  in  India,  Canada,  Africa,  and 
other  Dominions  beyond  the  Seas  (price  is.).  It  is  a  companion  sheet  to 
their  "Crests  of  the  Royal  Navy,"  "Flags  of  the  British  Empire  and  all 
Nations,"  and  "  Crests  and  Badges  of  the  British  Army,"  all  at  the  same  price. 


A  review  of  Professor  Terry's  two  works  on  Bach  is  held  over  till  next 
number. 


University  Topics. 

THE  FINANCES  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY. 

PROFESSOR  MATTHEW  HAY,  convener  of  the  Finance 
Committee  of  the  University  Court,  at  a  meeting  of  the 
Court  on  13  March,  submitted  the  statement  of  the 
accounts  for  the  year  ending  30  September,  191 5 — a 
period,  he  said,  which  covered  roughly  the  first  year  of 
the  war.  The  revenue  showed  a  decrease  of  ;^45i9,  as 
compared  with  that  of  the  preceding  year,  which  was 
almost  entirely  due  to  the  decline  in  the  students'  fees 
(;^i3,295,  as  against  ;£i 7,789).  The  fall  would  undoubtedly  have  been 
much  greater  had  it  not  been  for  the  large  proportion  of  women  students  in 
recent  years,  whose  number,  naturally,  had  not  been  greatly  affected  by  the 
war;  and  for  the  detention  at  the  University,  on  the  advice  of  the  War 
Office,  of  medical  students  in  the  later  years  of  their  curriculum.  The  ex- 
penditure had  also  decreased — by  ;^i946;  and  as  there  was  a  surplus  on 
1 91 3- 14  of  ;£i8o6,  the  actual  deficit  on  1 914- 15  was  only  ;£']6j.  This  is  the 
first  time  for  many  years  that  there  has  been  an  actual  deficit  on  the  general 
fund.  The  decrease  in  the  expenditure  had  not  been  effected  at  the  expense  of 
individual  salaries.  There  was  a  reduction  of  upwards  of  ;£'iooo  in  salaries 
and  wages,  but  this  was  due  to  several  eligible  members  of  the  staff  having 
gone  to  the  war.  Owing  to  the  diminished  number  of  students  and  research 
workers,  a  saving  of  about  p£^6oo  had  been  effected  in  the  grants  for  class  and 
laboratory  expenses,  without  any  serious  impairment  of  efficiency;  and  the 
past  year  had  been  more  free  than  the  preceding  one  of  certain  special  items 
of  expenditure.  On  the  other  hand,  upwards  of  ;£4oo  had  been  expended  on 
the  insurance  of  the  buildings  and  their  valuable  contents  against  possible 
damage  from  aircraft  or  naval  bombardment. 

Professor  Hay  said  there  was  reason  to  believe  that  the  deficits  in  many 
of  the  sister  Universities  in  Scotland  and  England  would  be  much  greater 
than  the  deficit  in  Aberdeen  University.  So  serious,  indeed,  was  the  antici- 
pated deficit  in  several  of  these  Universities,  that  the  Treasury  was  approached 
at  the  end  of  1914  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  some  financial  assistance. 
The  eventual  outcome  was  the  offer  of  a  special  grant  of  ;;^  145,000  from  the 
Treasury  for  the  purpose  of  helping  to  make  good  the  loss  from  fees  in  all 
the  Universities  of  the  United  Kingdom,  except  the  Universities  of  Oxford 
and  Cambridge.  The  grant  is  not  an  annual  one,  and  may  not  be  renewed. 
The  Universities  have  been  told  that  the  grant  must  in  any  circumstances 
cover  the  necessities  of  the  past  financial  year  and  of  the  current  financial 
year.  The  share  of  the  grant  apportioned  to  Aberdeen  University  will,  the 
Committee  believe,  be  sufficient  not  only  to  pay  the  whole  of  the  deficit  for 
the  past  year,  but  also  to  meet  the  considerably  larger  deficit  which  will  have 
to  be  faced  at  the  close  of  the  current  financial  year.  Should  the  war  con- 
tinue beyond  the  present  year,  there  is  no  assurance  of  any  further  specific 
help  from  the  Treasury,  but,  so  far  as  the  Scottish  Universities  are  concerned, 


University  Topics  265 

it  would  be  possible  for  the  Carnegie  Trust,  Professor  Hay  believed,  to  give,  if 
they  were  so  minded,  some  assistance  to  the  Universities  beyond  the  current 
grants.  The  Universities'  loss  in  fees  has  been  the  Trust's  gain.  Last  year 
nearly  ^^15,000  of  the  Trust's  income  of  ;£'5o,ooo  for  the  payment  of  class 
fees  remained  unexpended,  and  the  residue  for  the  current  year  must  be 
considerably  greater. 

As  regards  the  investment  accounts,  Professor  Hay  added,  the  University 
holds,  exclusive  of  a  small  sum  of  £,^0  in  Consols,  ;£i4,229  of  the  3-^  per 
Cent  War  Loan,  ;£"33,582  of  the  4^  per  Cent  War  Loan,  and  ;^io,ooo  in 
Exchequer  Bonds — or,  in  all,  ;«^5 7,882. 

The  Principal,  in  seconding  Dr.  Hay's  motion  that  the  statement  of 
accounts  be  adopted,  mentioned  some  figures  of  interest  in  illustration  of  the 
drop  in  the  fees.  During  the  winter  1 914- 15  800  students  had  matriculated 
in  the  University — a  drop  on  the  previous  year,  the  year  before  the  war — of 
something  over  200.  Now,  this  winter,  the  students  have  been  further 
diminished  to  662.  The  drop  in  the  number  of  men  students  was  from  472 
to  370  or  102,  while  the  women  students  had  fallen  from  328  to  292. 

PROPOSED  NEW  DEGREE  IN  DIVINITY. 

Carrying  out  a  remit  from  the  October  meeting  of  the  General  Council 
of  the  University,  regarding  a  uniform  entrance  certificate  and  professional 
curricula  in  divinity  and  education  (see  p.  174),  the  Business  Committee  of 
the, Council,  having  received  a  report  on  the  subject  from  a  special  sub-com- 
mittee, recommended  the  Council  to  ask  the  University  Court  to  con- 
sider— 

(i)  The  recognition  of  an  appropriate  school  certificate  as  the  normal  channel  of  en- 
trance to  the  University  in  any  faculty — the  University  to  reserve  power  to  demand  proof 
of  proficiency  in  any  subject  before  admitting  to  a  class  in  that  subject. 

(2)  The  institution  of  a  degree  in  Divinity,  which,  like  M.B.  and  B.L.,  should  not  in- 
volve the  possession  of  an  Arts  degree,  but  should  be  recognized  by  the  Church  as  quali- 
fying the  holder  to  be  taken  on  trial  for  licence. 

The  report  was  submitted  to  the  half-yearly  meeting  of  the  General 
Council  on  15  April,  by  Rev,  Dr.  Gordon  Murray,  on  whose  motion  the  re- 
mit had  been  made  and  who  was  convener  of  the  sub-committee. 

Dr.  Murray  said  the  remit  was  to  deal  with  three  points — a  uniform  en- 
trance certificate  from  the  schools,  leading  from  that  to  a  curriculum  for 
divinity  which  would  lead  to  a  degree  without  the  necessity  of  taking  the  M.A. 
degree  ;  and  also  education  on  the  same  lines.  They  had  not  gone  very  far, 
however,  when  they  found  a  great  variety  of  opinion  in  regard  to  treating  edu- 
cation according  to  the  lines  proposed  in  the  remit.  Experts  and  those  who 
spoke  for  education  distinctly  laid  it  down  that  educational  bodies  were  op- 
posed to  the  suggestion  and  would  prefer  a  post-graduate  degree  in  education. 
The  committee  submitted  to  that  contention  and  had  left  education  out  of 
their  purview. 

The  first  recommendation  as  to  the  channel  of  entrance  was  arrived  at 
with  practical  unanimity.  It  had  been  the  opinion  of  the  Council  for  some 
time  that  what  was  needed  was  a  general  school  certificate  opening  the  door 
of  the  University  to  any  of  the  faculties.  If  it  was  necessary,  the  University 
could  still  further  test  the  scholarship  of  any  pupils  for  any  particular  classes. 
The  recommendation  was  on  all  fours  with  the  resolution  the  Council  had 
passed  relative  to  the  preliminary  examination. 


266  Aberdeen   University  Review 

With  respect  to  divinity  he  had  pointed  out  the  desirability  of  the  student 
who  intended  to  go  in  for  the  ministry  being  able  to  obtain  a  professional  de- 
gree, just  as  the  lawyer  or  doctor  could,  without  being  compelled  to  take  the 
degree  of  M.A.,  which  under  the  system  of  options  had  ceased  to  have  the 
significance  it  formerly  had  under  the  rigid  system  of  the  seven  subjects.  In 
this  connexion  it  had  to  be  kept  in  view  that  the  student  entered  the  Uni- 
versity to-day  at  a  much  more  advanced  age  than  was  the  case  before  the 
system  of  options  came  into  vogue — at  an  age,  in  fact,  when  under  the  old 
system  students  were  well  through  with  the  arts  curriculum  and  were  making 
up  their  minds  in  what  direction  their  future  career  was  to  lie.  He  spoke  for 
his  own  Church — he  would  notspeak  for  any  other — when  he  said  that  anyone 
who  had  to  deal  with  students  who  had  taken  the  M.A.  degree  and  then 
taken  the  ministry  found  that  they  had  practically,  for  any  useful  purpose, 
wasted  part  of  the  three  years  in  taking  a  particular  course  for  the  M.A.  de- 
gree which  was  not  helpful  to  them  for  their  future  career. 

The  curriculum  should  consist  of  relevant  cultural  subjects,  to  be  followed 
by  the  more  specially  professional  subjects,  closing  with  purely  practical  in- 
struction, as  in  the  case  of  law  and  medicine ;  and  could  be  embraced  within 
not  more  than  five  years,  instead  of  six  or  seven  years  as  at  present,  seeing 
that  no  time  would  be  spent  on  subjects  judged  unprofitable  in  the  light  of 
professional  experience.  Anyone  who  knew  divinity  and  the  Divinity  Hall 
would  realize  that  a  course  in  arts  ending  in  an  M.A.  degree  which  did  not 
include  in  that  degree  Latin,  Greek,  moral  philosophy,  and  Hebrew — as  he 
had  found  in  examining  students  entering  the  Divinity  Hall — was  not  a 
suitable  preparation  for  that  particular  profession.  He  had  found  more  than 
one  student  who  had  actually  to  sit  the  entrance  examination  in  the  whole 
four  subjects.     He  moved  the  adoption  of  the  report. 

Rev.  J.  T.  Cox,  Dyce,  seconded. 

The  first  part  of  the  recommendation  was  agreed  to  without  discussion. 
With  regard  to  the  second  part, 

Mr.  William  Rae,  advocate,  Aberdeen,  moved — 

That  the  General  Council  do  not  meantime  ask  the  University  Court  to  consider  the 
institution  of  a  degree  in  Divinity  of  the  nature  mentioned  in  the  sub-Committee's  report, 
but  resolve  to  wait  an  expression  of  the  opinion  of  one  or  more  of  the  Churches  of  Scot- 
land on  the  subject. 

Mr.  Rae,  referring  to  the  general  question  whether  a  degree  in  divinity 
ought  to  be  instituted,  said  that  from  the  general  standing  of  ministers  there 
was  much  in  support  of  the  view  that  a  high  standard  of  general  education 
should  be  insisted  upon.  In  these  days  one  could  not  hope  that  the  clergy 
would  hold  the  leading  place  in  the  community  which  they  had  done  in  the 
past  unless  they  possessed  an  excellent  general  education.  Dr.  Murray  had  re- 
ferred to  the  faculties  of  medicine  and  law.  Anyone  knew  that  as  regards  the 
M.B.  degree,  the  course  had  not  become  easier  but  more  difficult  in  recent 
years.  It  was  true  that  one  could  obtain  the  B.L.  degree  without  passing  the 
degree  of  M.A.,  but  the  fact  remained  that  very  little  value  was  now  put  on 
the  B.L.  degree,  and  very  few  took  it.  They  took  the  LL.B.,  which  re- 
quired a  previous  pass  in  the  M.A.  degree.  If  there  was  to  be  a  change  at 
all  in  the  divinity  curriculum,  the  Churches,  and  not  the  University,  ought 
to  take  the  lead.  If  the  Churches  would  give  an  expression  of  their  views, 
no  doubt  the  University  would  listen  to  them  sympathetically,  and  would  do 
what  it  could  to  give  effect  to  them.     Meantime,  if  the  Council  passed  Dr. 


University  Topics  267 

Murray's  motion,  they  were  running  considerable  risk  of  going  counter  to  the 
opinions  of  those  whose  opinions  were  best  worth  having  in  guiding  them. 

Professor  Gilroy  seconded.  If  they  were  to  take  anything  off  the  time  of 
study,  he  said,  he  would  prefer  that  it  should  be  taken  off  the  professional 
and  not  the  educative  part.  In  the  educative  part  they  set  the  standard  of  a 
man's  life.  After  all,  it  was  not  his  technical  course  which  he  used  in  the 
ministry.  It  was  not  systematic  theology,  not  Biblical  criticism,  not  Church 
history — there  was  precious  little  of  any  of  these  sometimes  in  the  pulpit. 
They  were  on  the  right  lines  in  obtaining  a  full  arts  course  whatever  else 
they  had.  Whatever  education  was  the  education  of  the  educated  man,  that 
must  be  given  to  the  minister  so  that  he  could  maintain  his  place  in  every 
parish  and  in  any  society.  It  would  be  most  invidious  to  have  a  degree  be- 
low par — an  inferior  degree  to  the  B.D. 

Mr.  Rae's  amendment  was  carried  by  7  votes  to  4. 

PRELIMINARY  EXAMINATIONS. 

The  General  Council,  at  its  April  meeting,  unanimously  adopted  a 
recommendation  of  the  Business  Committee  to  adhere  to  the  resolution  come 
to  on  October  17,  1914,  with  reference  to  the  draft  ordinance  on  preliminary 
examinations.  On  that  date  the  General  Council  reaffirmed  the  view  that  it 
would  be  more  reasonable  to  discuss  with  the  Scotch  Education  Department 
the  need  for  a  preliminary  examination,  before  setting  up  the  machinery  for 
such  an  examination.  The  University  Court  had  sent  to  the  Council  a  third 
draft  ordinance  on  preliminary  examinations  which  seemed  to  be  practically 
identical  with  that  sent  in  191 4.  The  greater  portion  of  the  draft  of  two 
years  ago  was  in  the  same  terms  as  the  draft  forwarded  in  1913.  The  second 
had,  however,  provided  that,  after  the  Scottish  Universities  Entrance  Board 
contemplated  by  the  draft  had  been  duly  constituted,  it  should  have  power  "ta 
enter  into  negotiations  with  the  Scotch  Education  Department  for  the  purpose 
of  framing  an  agreement  for  co-operation  in  respect  of  the  conduct  or  corre- 
lation of  the  preliminary  and  leaving  certificate  examinations  ". 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Court  on  9  May,  the  draft  General  Ordinance  of  the 
four  University  Courts  as  to  preliminary  examinations  was  under  considera- 
tion, together  with  reports  thereon  by  the  Senatus  and  the  General  CounciL 
After  discussion,  it  was  resolved  to  confer  with  the  other  three  University  Courts 
in  finally  approving  and  making  the  Ordinance. 

THE  CARNEGIE  TRUST. 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  Carnegie  Trust  for  the  Universities  of  Scot- 
land was  held  in  Edinburgh  on  26  January — the  Earl  of  Elgin  presiding. 
The  report  of  the  Executive  Committee  for  the  year  191 4-1 5  was  adopted, 
on  the  motion  of  the  Chairman,  seconded  by  Lord  Kinnear.  It  stated  that 
the  expenditure  of  the  Trust  on  assistance  in  payment  of  class  fees  had 
naturally  been  diminished  by  the  war,  which  has  depleted  the  Universities  of 
Scotland  of  so  many  of  their  students.  As  compared  with  a  sum  of  ^£41,^8^^ 
3s.  6d.,  which  was  paid  onbehalf  of  3901  individual  beneficiaries  for  1913-14, 
the  expenditure  for  1 914- 15  has  been  ;£'33,847  5s.  on  behalf  of  3246  in- 
dividual beneficiaries.  This  total  does  not  include  ;£"i6i  6s.  which  was  paid 
to  beneficiaries  for  classes  taken  outwith  the  academic  year,  nor  ;^2365,  the 
value  of  fee  coupons  issued  but  not  yet  cashed,  which  has  been  carried  for- 
ward as  a  liabiUty  against  the  year  now  current.     During  the  year  a  sum  of 


268  Aberdeen  University  Review 

^£"703  i8s.  yd.  was  voluntarily  refunded  by  or  on  behalf  of  eighteen  beneficiaries 
for  whom  class  fees  had  been  paid  by  the  Trust. 

In  the  appendices  to  the  report  the  following  account  was  given,  showing 
the  capital  of  the  Trust  as  at  September  30,  1915  : — ■ 

$2,800,000    United   States  Steel   Corporation 

50-year    5    per   cent    Gold    Bonds,    due 

April  I,  1 91 5,  Series  B,  valued  at     . 
$3,000,000   United   States   Steel   Corporation 


;^56o,ooo     o     o 


50-year   5    per    cent    Gold    Bonds,    due 
April  I,  1915,  Series  D,  valued  at     . 

$3,000,000  United  States  Steel  Corporation 
50-year  5  per  cent  Gold  Bonds,  due 
April  I,  19 1 5,  Series  F,  valued  at     . 

;£'4o,ooo  4-j  per  cent  War  Loan,  1925-1945. 
Cost 

;£"3 5,000  London  and  North- Western  Railway 
4-I  per  cent  Redeemable  Preference  stock 
(to  be  redeemed  at  par  on  June  30,  1925) 
Cost 

In   bank    on   deposit,   awaiting   investment 

In  bank  on  current  account  awaiting  invest 
ment       ...... 


600,000     o     o 
600,000     o     o 

39,798    II       o 


33,698 
206,900 


1,300   15     o 


;£^2,04i,698     o     o 

In  addition  there  is  a  Reserve  Fund  amounting  to  £,2 14,695,  all  invested 
in  British  securities. 

It  was  stated  in  the  report,  however,  that  the  Executive  Committee,  at  a 
meeting  held  on  4  December,  191 5,  agreed  to  exchange  the  whole  of  the  U.S. 
Steel  Corporation  Bonds  for  British  Exchequer  Bonds  of  corresponding 
values,  with  a  currency  of  five  years  and  bearing  interest  at  5  per  cent.  This 
was  done,  it  was  explained,  in  response  to  the  appeal  of  the  British  Treasury 
to  all  holders  of  American  securities  to  place  these  securities  at  the  disposal 
•of  the  Government,  so  that  they  might  be  employed  in  order  to  maintain  the 
rate  of  exchange  in  New  York. 

The  following  table  gives  the  number  of  students  in  Aberdeen  whose  fees 
were  paid,  the  total  class  fees  paid,  and  the  average  fees  paid  per  student — 
for  the  year  1914-15  : — 


No. 

Total. 

Average. 

Arts 

.      362 

^^3225     7 

0 

£^    18    2 

Science 

•       43 

559     2 

0 

13    0    0 

Medicine 

.     119 

1824     8 

0 

15     6     7 

Law 

3 

17     4 

0 

5   14     8 

Divinity 

Totals 

.       33 

211    18 

0 

685 

•     560 

£s^zi  19 

0 

£10     8     6 

THE  UNIVERSITY  AND  THE  WAR. 


Further  lists  issued  of  honours  awarded  to  those  who  have  earned  special 
distinction  for  services  in  connexion  with  the  war,  and  lists  of  those  men- 
tioned in  dispatches,  include  the  following  University  men  : — 


University  Topics  269 

The  order  of  C.B.  has  been  conferred  on — 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Henry  M'Kenzie  Adamson,  R.A.M.C.   (M.B., 
1884). 
The  order  of  C.M.G.  on— 

Lieutenant- Colonel  Arthur  Hugh  Lister,   R.A.M.C.   (M.B.,   1895  ;, 

M.D.,  1904). 
Major  George  Hall,  R.A.M.C.  (M.A.,  1900;  M.B.,  1905). 
The  D.S.O.  has  been  awarded  to — 

Major  (temporary  Lieutenant-Colonel)  George  Alexander  Smith,  8th 
King's  Own  (Royal  Lancaster)  Regiment,  formerly  of  the  4th 
Gordon  Highlanders  (law  student,  1887-88). 
Major  Robert  Mitchell,  O.C.  2nd  Highland  Field  Company,  High- 
land Divisional  Engineers,  Royal  Engineers  (M.A.,  1894  ;  B.L.). 
The  Military  Cross  to — 

Captain  Alexander  Donald   Eraser,  R.A.M.C.   (M.B.,   1906) — pre- 
viously mentioned  in  dispatches. 
Captain  Herbert  Stewart  Milne,  R.A.M.C.  (M.B.,  1909). 
Captain  and  Adjutant  William  S.  Trail,  57  th  (Wilde's)  Rifles,  Indian 
Frontier  Force  (alumnus,  1901-03). 
The  following  have  been  mentioned  in  dispatches  : — 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Henry  M'Kenzie  Adamson,  C.B. 
Captain  Richard  Edward  Flowerdew  (M.B.,  1908),  Indian  Medical 
Service  (99th  Deccan  Infantry) — in  connexion  with  the  opera- 
tions in  Mesopotamia. 
Sergeant  Henri  Coquerel,  of  the  French  Army  (former  student  of  Philo- 
sophy), has  been  awarded  the  Croix  de  Guerre  and  recommended  for  pro- 
motion to  the  rank  of  officier. 

The  King  of  Serbia  has  conferred  the  Order  of  St.  Sava  (fifth  class)  upon 
the  following : — 

Mr.  Francis  Frederick  Brown,  late  lieutenant,  R.A.M.C.  (M.B.,  191 3). 

Captain  (temporary)  William  Miller  Will,  R.A.M.C.  (M.B.,  191 1),  who 

were  members  of  the  R.A.M.C.  mission  to  Serbia,  March-June, 

1915- 

It  is  not  only  the  ranks  of  the  regular  Army  and  the  Territorial  Force 
that  have  been  fighting  since  the  war  began.  The  Indian  Police  have  also  been 
engaged:  among  them,  William  Duncan  Vivian  Slesser  (M.A.,  1908),  Super- 
intendent of  Police  at  Bannu,  North-West  Frontier  province,  commanding  500 
armed  police. 

Major  John  Low  Dickie  (M.B.,  CM.,  1895),  R.A.M.C,  has  been  ap- 
pointed medical  superintendent  of  the  "Star  and  Garter"  Home  for  Per- 
manently Disabled  Sailors  and  Soldiers,  established  temporarily  in  part  of  the 
famous  Star  and  Garter  Hotel  on  Richmond  Hill,  near  London,  the  intention 
being  to  erect  an  entirely  new  building.  The  King  and  Queen  visited  the 
Home  in  March  last  shortly  after  it  was  opened,  and  Major  Dickie  was  pre- 
sented to  their  Majesties.  He  is  a  son  of  the  late  Dr.  George  Dickie,  Pro- 
fessor of  Botany.  The  consulting  physician  of  the  Home  is  Sir  David 
Ferrier,  M.D.,  F.R.S.  (M.A.,  1863;  LL.D.,  1881). 

Major  James  William  Garden,  ist  Highland  Brigade,  2nd  City  of  Aberdeen 
Battery,  Royal  Field  Artillery  (M.A.,  1899;  B.L.) — Treasurer  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Management  of  the  Review — was  slightly  wounded  at  the  front  in 
April,  but  recovered  from  his  injuries  at  a  base  hospital  beyond  the  firing  line. 


270  Aberdeen  University  Review 

Major  Alexander  Don,  R.A.M.C.  (M.A.,  1884;  M.B.,  1894),  has  con- 
tributed to  the  "Lancet"  a  paper  based  on  a  series  of  over  150  cases  oper- 
ated on  since  the  war  began,  most  of  them  in  a  casualty  clearing  station. 

Captain  John  Lewis  Menzies,  R.A.M.C.  (M.B.,  1909),  who  is  now  serving 
in  Egypt,  lately  contributed  to  the  "  British  Journal  of  Surgery  "  some  notes  on 
a  series  of  7  5  cases  of  gunshot  wounds  of  the  chest,  and  these  have  been  re- 
printed in  separate  form. 

Dr.  Duncan  Davidson  Mackintosh  (M.B.,  1892),  Aboyne,  has  been  ap- 
pointed residential  medical  officer  to  the  Endsleigh  Palace  Hospital  for 
officers  in  Endsleigh  Gardens,  London. 

Rapid  promotion  in  the  army  has  been  not  unusual  by  any  means  in  the 
course  of  the  present  war,  and  is  well  illustrated  in  the  case  of  Captain  John 
William  Taylor,  nth  Battalion,  Gordon  Highlanders.  When  war  broke  out, 
Captain  Taylor  was  a  third  year's  Arts  student,  and  was  serving  as  a  private 
in  the  University  Company  of  the  4th  Battalion  Gordon  Highlanders.  He 
went  with  the  battalion  first  to  Bedford,  and  then  in  February  of  last  year  to 
France.  After  a  short  experience  in  Flanders  he  was  commissioned  and  at- 
tached to  the  nth  Gordons,  then  stationed  in  Aberdeen.  It  was  not  long 
till  he  was  promoted  First  Lieutenant  and  Adjutant,  and  in  February  last  he 
was  gazetted  to  a  Captaincy. 

Miss  Charlotte  Robertson,  who  for  the  past  ten  years  has  acted  as  one  of 
the  assistant  librarians  in  the  University  Library,  has  received  an  appoint- 
ment as  orderly  in  the  Scottish  Women's  Hospital  at  Salonika.  Miss  Robert- 
son has  been  granted  six  months'  leave  of  absence  from  her  University  duties. 

President  Falconer  of  the  University  of  Toronto  writes  : — 

"  Aberdeen  University  has  made  a  great  record.  In  fact,  the  educational 
institutions  have,  I  think,  proved  in  Britain  that  they  are  worthy  of  the  con- 
fidence of  the  country.  In  Canada  we  are  doing  very  well  also.  Already 
there  are  2000  of  our  graduates  and  undergraduates  from  the  University  of 
Toronto  on  active  service,  among  these  83  of  our  staff." 

WAR  REGISTER  OF  WOMEN  GRADUATES. 

In  March,  191 6,  it  was  decided  that  Aberdeen  should  follow  the  example 
of  other  Universities  and  draw  up  a  register  containing  classified  information 
about  educated  women  capable  of  filling  responsible  posts  in  the  professional, 
commercial  and  industrial  worlds  vacated  by  men  serving  with  His  Majesty's 
Forces. 

A  committee  was  formed,  consisting  of  A.  G.  Mcintosh,  J.  Badenoch, 
M.  A.  Dunn,  M.  M.  Nicol,  J.  G.  Thomson,  M.  D.  Robson,  M.  A.  Ewan,  C. 
Milne,  and  C.  Wilson,  and  forms  were  printed  and  sent  out  to  women  gradu- 
ates, a  grant  being  given  by  the  University  Court  towards  defraying  expenses. 

The  list  compiled  from  the  large  number  of  replies  received,  includes 
women  of  varied  qualifications,  some  with  experience,  some  without — scientific 
graduates  and  students,  motor-drivers,  linguists,  teachers,  organizers,  secre- 
taries and  clerks,  all  of  whom  are  prepared  to  undertake  suitable  substitution- 
ary work. 

Already  some  are  employed  doing  war  work  abroad,  in  Salonika,  Hong- 
kong, India,  Alexandria,  and  at  home  as  munition  workers,  clerks,  cashiers 
and  teachers  in  the  place  of  men  on  military  service. 

The  demand  so  far  appears  to  be  mainly  for  those  with  qualifications  in 
science,  languages,  and  social  work. 


Personalia. 

With  reference  to  the  article  on  James  Clerk  Maxwell  by  Mr.  Robert  Walker, 
M.A.,  LL.D.,  in  this  issue,  it  may  be  of  interest  to  mention  that  Maxwell's  last 
class  in  Natural  Philosophy  at  Marischal  College  (to  which  allusion  is  made 
in  the  article)  was  one  of  exceptional  distinction,  having  regard  to  the  subse- 
quent careers  of  many  of  the  students.  The  prizemen  included  Dr.  Robert 
Walker  (with  whom  James  Westland  was  bracketed  for  the  first  place),  George 
Walker,  David  Gill,  Andrew  Wilson  Baird,  Alexander  B.  M'Hardy,  and 
William  Mearns  Souttar ;  while  George  Croom  Robertson  and  George  Reith 
were  in  the  "subsequent  order".  The  prizes  for  voluntary  exercises  were 
carried  off  by  Baird,  R.  Walker,  Gill,  Westland,  and  G.  Walker ;  and  the  two 
Walkers,  Westland,  Baird,  and  Souttar  took  prizes  in  Mathematics.  Dr. 
Robert  Walker,  who  was  a  Fellow  of  Clare  College,  Cambridge,  from  1866 
till  1878,  and  has  been  Examiner  in  Mathematics  in  the  Universities  of  Aber- 
deen and  Edinburgh,  was  Librarian  of  the  University  for  sixteen  years,  and 
Secretary  of  the  Court,  and  Registrar  and  Clerk  of  the  General  Council  for 
thirty  years.  He  still  holds  the  post  of  Registrar,  having  resigned  the  others. 
It  may  be  noted  that  he  carried  off  a  number  of  first  prizes  while  a  student 
at  Marischal  College — Latin  in  his  first  year.  Mathematics  in  his  second,  and 
Natural  Philosophy  in  his  third ;  and  on  graduating  he  got  the  chief  Mathe- 
matical scholarship,  the  Gray  Bursary  as  it  was  called,  and  also  the  Town 
Council  gold  medal  as  first  in  general  scholarship.  His  brother.  Rev.  George 
Walker,  M.A.,  B.D.,  who  gained  the  second  (or  Boxill)  Mathematical  scholar- 
ship, was  for  over  forty-two  years  minister  of  the  parish  of  Castle  Douglas, 
Kirkcudbrightshire,  retiring  a  little  over  a  year  ago ;  he  was  also  Clerk  of  the 
Presbytery  of  Kirkcudbright  for  forty  years — 1875- 19 15.  Sir  James  Westland 
entered  the  Indian  Civil  Service  and  rose  to  be  Finance  Minister  and  a 
member  of  the  Council  of  India  :  he  died  in  1903.  Sir  David  Gill  was  As- 
tronomer Royal  at  the  Cape  from  1879  till  1907  :  he  died  in  19 14  (see  Vol. 
I).  Colonel  A.  W.  Baird  entered  the  Royal  Engineers,  was  Assistant  Field 
Engineer  in  the  Abyssinian  Expedition  of  1868,  became  Master  of  the  Mint 
at  Calcutta,  and  was  the  author  of  various  pamphlets  and  papers  in  connexion 
with  the  tidal  section  of  the  Trigonometrical  Survey  of  India,  of  which  section 
he  was  chief:  he  died  several  years  ago.  Lt.-Col.  Sir  Alex.  B.  M'Hardy  became 
one  of  the  Prison  Commissioners  for  Scotland  in  1886,  and  was  Chairman  of  the 
Board  from  1896  till  his  retirement  in  1909.  W.  M.  Souttar  entered  the  Indian 
Civil  Service  and  rose  high  therein,  being  Chairman  of  the  Municipal  Board 
of  Calcutta  at  the  time  of  his  death — 1881.  George  Croom  Robertson  was 
Professor  of  Mind  and  Logic  in  University  College,  London,  from  1866  till 
his  death  in  1892  ;  he  was  editor  of  "Mind,"  the  philosophical  journal  es- 
tablished by  Professor  Bain.     Rev.  George  Reith,  D.D.,  was  minister  of  the 


2"] 2  Aberdeen   University  Review 

Free  (now  United  Free)  College  Church,  Glasgow,  from  1866  till  1909,  and 
was  Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  of  his  Church  in  1914.  Among 
other  members  of  this  class  was  Mr.  David  Littlejohn,  LL.D.,  the  Sheriff 
Clerk  of  Aberdeenshire,  but  his  bent  as  a  student  was  towards  the  Classics 
and  he  gained  prizes  or  was  placed  in  the  order  of  merit  in  all  the  Latin  and 
Greek  classes. 

Principal  Sir  George  Adam  Smith  has  been  elected  a  member  of  the 
Athenaeum  Club  under  the  rule  which  empowers  the  annual  election  of  a 
certain  number  of  persons  of  distinguished  eminence  in  science,  literature, 
and  arts,  or  for  public  services. 

The  Senatus  offered  the  Gifford  Lectureship  for  191 7-19  to  Count 
Goblet  d'Alviella,  Professor  of  the  Principles  of  the  Evolution  of  Religions, 
Brussels  (LL.D.,  Aberd.,  1906),  but  the  Count  was  obliged  to  decline  it.  In 
his  letter  of  declinature  he  said — "  I  would  have  accepted  most  willingly  if 
the  tragic  circumstances  we  are  going  through  did  not  oblige  me  to  give  all 
my  time  and  my  mind  to  the  fight  for  the  restoration  of  my  country  ".  He 
had,  he  explained,  been  appointed  a  member  of  the  Belgian  Government,  and 
this  would  give  him  no  leisure  so  long  as  the  war  lasted,  and  very  likely  for 
some  time  after. 

Professor  MacWilliam  has  been  elected  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society, 
He  has  contributed  to  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  papers  on  the  physi- 
ology of  the  heart  and  arteries,  the  action  of  chloroform  and  ether,  proteids, 
muscle-sound,  blood-pressure  and  other  subjects. 


Professor  J.  Arthur  Thomson  has  been  reappointed  the  representative  of 
the  University  on  -the  Council  of  the  Scottish  Marine  Biological  Associ- 
ation. 

The  Senatus  appointed  Professor  Fulton  commissioner  to  the  recent 
General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  on  behalf  of  the  University. 

Sir  William  M.  Ramsay's  first  course  of  lectures  as  Gifford  Lecturer  in 
Edinburgh  University  was  begun  on  May  24.  The  subject  was  "  The  De- 
velopment of  Religious  Thought  and  Rites  in  the  Borderlands  between  Greece 
and  the  East".  

Rev.  Dr.  James  Allan  (M.A.,  Marischal  College,  1848;  D.D.,  1902), 
Minister  of  the  Parish  of  Marnoch,  Banffshire,  has  passed  the  sixtieth  anni- 
versary of  his  ordination  as  a  minister  of  the  Church  of  Scotland.  He  has 
been  the  "  father ''  of  the  Presbytery  of  Strathbogie  for  many  years.  He  is 
also  the  "  father  "  of  the  Synod  of  Moray ;  and  there  are  only  three  names 
between  him  and  the  position  of  "father  "  of  the  Church  of  Scotland. 

The  Council  of  the  Institution  of  Civil  Engineers  has  awarded  the  Telford 
gold  medal  to  Sir  John  Benton,  K.C.I.E.,  late  of  the  India  Public  Works  De- 
partment, ,and  Inspector- General  of  Irrigation,  1905-12  (alumnus,  1867-69) 
(see  p.  279). 

Rev.  William  Falconer  Boyd  (M.A.,  1900;  B.D.,  Ph.D.),  minister  of  the 
United  Free  Church,  Methlick,  Aberdeenshire,  has  been  elected  colleague 
and  successor  to  Rev.  Hugh  Stevenson,  minister  of  the  High  Cross  United 
Free  Church,  Melrose  (who  has  since  died). 


Personalia  273 


Rev.  William  Brebner  (M.A.,  1868),  who  has  been  minister  of  Gilcomston 
Parish  Church,  Aberdeen,  since  1876,  has  resigned  his  charge  on  account  of 
ill  health.  He  was  instrumental  in  securing  the  enlargement  and  improve- 
ment of  the  church  and  the  erection  of  a  hall,  and  the  introduction  of  an  organ 
and  of  the  electric  lighting  of  the  church.  Mr.  Brebner  has  also  resigned  his 
membership  of  the  governing  body  of  the  Aberdeen  Asylum  for  the  Blind,  of 
which  for  several  years  he  had  been  Chairman. 

Dr.  Alfred  Ernest  Cameron  (M.A.,  1909;  D.Sc,  1915,  M.Sc.  [Man- 
Chester])  has  been  appointed  Field  Officer  in  British  Columbia  under  the 
Entomological  Branch  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  of  the  Canadiart 
Government.  Since  graduating  at  Aberdeen  in  1909,  Dr.  Cameron  has 
carried  out  researches  and  held  appointments  in  the  Universities  of  London^ 
Manchester,  and  Cardiff.  In  19 14  he  had  charge  of  the  field  experimental 
work  of  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Stations  of  New  Jersey,  U.S.A.  He  has 
also  held  the  Fullerton  Scholarship  in  Science  of  Aberdeen  University,  a 
Carnegie  Fellowship  (resigned),  and  a  Government  Research  Scholarship. 

Rev.  James  Haggart  Clark  (M.A.,  1897),  minister  of  the  United  Free 
Church,  Aberlemno,  Forfarshire,  has  been  elected  colleague  and  successor  to 
Rev.  George  Anderson,  St.  Cyrus  United  Free  Church,  Kincardineshire. 

Mr.  Robert  Selby  Clark  (M.A.,  1908 ;  B.Sc.)  was  a  member  of  Sir  Ernest 
Shackleton's  staff  on  the  s.s.  "  Endurance,"  and  is  one  of  the  party  left  on 
Elephant  Island  when  Sir  Ernest  made  the  dash  for  South  Georgia  after  the 
**  Endurance "  was  caught  in  the  ice  and  sank.  Mr.  Clark,  who,  after 
graduating,  received  a  biological  appointment  in  the  South  of  England, 
accompanied  Sir  Ernest  Shackleton's  expedition  as  biologist. 

Mr.  Peter  Diack  (M.A.,  191 2)  has  been  awarded  a  Lumsden  and  Sachs 
Fellowship  at  the  Aberdeen  United  Free  Church  College. 

Rev.  James  Park  Duncan  (M.A.,  1878),  who  has  been  minister  of  the 
Free  (now  United  Free)  Church  at  Letham,  in  the  parish  of  Dunnichen, 
Forfarshire,  since  1885,  has  applied  for  the  appointment  of  a  colleague  and 
successor,  on  the  ground  of  continued  ill  health. 

Mr.  Charles  Ogilvie  Farquharson  (M.A.,  1908;  B.Sc),  Government 
mycologist,  South  Nigeria,  is  referred  to  in  a  recent  number  of  "  Knowledge  '* 
as  having  made  some  very  interesting  observations  on  large  ants. 

Rev.  John  Fleming  (M.A.,  Marischal  College,  1850),  senior  minister  ol 
Craigmillar  Park  United  Free  Church,  Edinburgh,  has  celebrated  his 
"diamond  jubilee  "  as  a  minister.  He  was  ordained  at  Forfar  in  1856,  and 
nine  years  later  was  translated  to  the  Tron  (now  Craigmillar  Park)  Church, 
Edinburgh.     A  colleague  and  successor  was  appointed  in  1887. 

Mr.  Robert  Niven  Gilchrist  (M.A.,  1909)  has  been  appointed  Principal 
of  Krishnagar  College,  Bengal.  Mr.  Gilchrist  joined  the  Indian  educational 
service  in  191 1,  and  has  for  five  years  been  Professor  of  Political  Economy 
and  Political  Philosophy  in  Presidency  College,  Calcutta.  Krishnagar  College 
is  a  Government  University  College,  affiliated  to  Calcutta  University. 

18 


2  74         Aberdeen  University  Review 

Rev.  James  Harvey  {M.A.,  1879),  minister  of  Lady  Glenorchy's  United 
Free  Church,  Edinburgh,  has  been  appointed  junior  Principal  Clerk  of  the 
United  Free  Church  General  Assembly.  He  was  secretary  of  the  Advisory 
Committee,  1905-10,  and  is  convener  of  the  General  Interests  Committee  of 
the  Church. 


Dr.  John  Macleod  Hendrie  Macleod  (M.A.  [St.  Andrews];  M.B.,  CM., 
1894;  M.D.,  1898)  has  been  elected  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  College  of 
Physicians. 


Sir  James  Scorgie  Meston,  K.C.S.I.  (LL.D.,  1913),  Lieutenant-Governor 
of  the  United  Provinces  of  Agra  and  Oudh,  has  been  appointed  a  Knight  of 
Grace  of  the  Order  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem. 

Sir  James  Meston,  on  18  March,  laid  the  foundation-stone  of  the  Georgina 
M 'Robert  Memorial  Hospital,  Cawnpore,  the  gift  of  Sir  Alexander  M'Robert, 
of  the  Cawnpore  Woollen  Mills  Company,  Limited,  and  of  Douneside,  Tar- 
land.  Sir  Alexander  M 'Robert  (LL.D.,  191 2)  founded  in  1907  the  Georgina 
M 'Robert  Fellowship  in  the  University,  for  encouraging  the  investigation  of 
the  cause,  prevention,  and  treatment  of  cancer.  Sir  James  Meston  afterwards 
opened  the  King  Edward  Memorial  Hall,  Cawnpore,  and  presided  at  a  meet- 
ing in  support  of  the  United  Provinces  War  Fund  held  in  the  Hall.  In 
addition  to  Sir  Alexander  M 'Robert,  other  five  Aberdonians  took  part  in  the 
proceedings,  these  including  two  graduates — the  Hon.  George  Gall  Sim, 
chairman  of  the  Municipal  Board,  Cawnpore  (M.A.,  1898);  and  Mr.  Alfred 
Alexander  Black,  secretary  of  the  Victoria  Cotton  Mills  Company,  Limited, 
Cawnpore  (M.A.,  1895). 


Rev.  David  Miller  (B.D.,  1875),  minister  of  the  parish  of  Ardclach, 
Nairnshire,  is  about  to  retire.  He  was  ordained  in  1874,  and  so  has  com- 
pleted forty-two  years  in  active  service,  thirty-two  of  which  have  been  spent 
at  Ardclach,  where  he  was  inducted  in  1884. 


Mr.  John  Miller  (B.Sc.  Agr.,  191 6)  has  received  an  appointment  on  a 
rubber  estate  in  the  Malay  States. 


Sir  William  Milligan  (M.B.,  1886;  M.D.,  1892),  in  the  course  of  a  letter 
to  the  "British  Medical  Journal"  (April)  denunciatory  of  the  inhuman  con- 
duct of  the  German  medical  officer  in  charge  of  the  typhus-infected  camp  for 
prisoners  of  war  at  Wittenberg,  suggested  that  the  councils  of  the  various  sec- 
tions of  the  Royal  Society  of  Medicine  should  delete  from  their  list  of 
honorary  or  corresponding  members  the  name  of  any  German  physician, 
surgeon,  or  specialist. 


The  degree  of  Jtfachelor  of  Music  of  Trinity  College,  University  of 
Dublin,  has  been  conferred  upon  Mr.  Alfred  Forbes  Milne  (M.A.,  1904), 
A.R.C.M.,  Master  of  Music  in  the  High  School,  Dundee,  and  organist  of  St. 
John's  United  Free  Church,  Dundee. 


Rev.  William  Murdoch  (M.A.,  1911),  assistant  East  Parish  Church, 
Aberdeen,  has  been  ordaioed  and  inducted  minister  of  the  parish  of  CulsaU 
mond,  Aberdeenshire. 


Personalia  275 

Mr.  James  Bennet  Peace  (M.A.,  1884;  M.A.  [Cantab.],  1891),  Fellow 
and  Bursar  of  Emmanuel  College,  Cambridge,  has  been  appointed  manager 
of  the  printing  department  of  the  Cambridge  University  Press,  in  succession 
to  the  late  Mr.  John  Clay.  Mr.  Peace,  who  belongs  to  Marykirk,  Kin- 
cardineshire, graduated  at  Aberdeen  with  first-class  honours  in  Mathematics, 
winning  the  Boxill  Mathematical  Prize  and  the  Neil  Arnott  Prize.  He  was 
fifth  Wrangler  in  1887,  when  those  above  him  were  all  bracketed  for  the 
senior  wranglership.  He  is  Lecturer  on  Electrical  Engineering  at  Cambridge, 
and  he  has  on  several  occasions  been  an  examiner  for  the  Mechanical 
Sciences  Tripos.     He  was  Examiner  in  Aberdeen  University  1895.96. 


Rev.  George  Murray  Reith  (M.A.,  1884)  has  been  appointed  minister  of 
the  Baird  United  Free  Church,  Cumbernauld,  Glasgow.  Mr.  Reith,  who  is  a 
son  of  the  late  Dr.  Archibald  Reith,  Aberdeen,  was  formerly  minister  of  St. 
Cuthbert's  United  Free  Church,  Edinburgh,  but  resigned  owing  to  ill  health 
and  in  order  also  to  allow  the  congregations  of  St.  Cuthbert's  and  Dean 
Church  to  unite.  He  has  been  editor  of  the  "  Proceedings  and  Debates  "  of 
the  General  Assembly  of  the  United  Free  Church  since  1900. 


Dr.  Andrew  James  Shinnie  (M.B.,   1908)  has  been  appointed  medical 
officer  of  health  for  the  city  of  Westminster,  London. 


Mr.  George  Findlay  Shirras  (M.A.,  1907),  Director  of  Statistics,  Govern- 
ment of  India,  has  been  appointed  a  Fellow  of  the  University  of  Calcutta. 


Mr.  Robert  T.  Skinner  (M.A.,  1888),  House  Governor  of  Donaldson's 
Hospital,  Edinburgh,  has  been  appointed  visitor  and  examiner  for  the  schools 
of  the  Dick  Bequest  Trust  in  the  counties  of  Aberdeen,  Banff,  Moray,  and 
Inverness,  in  succession  to  the  late  William  Dey,  LL.D.  There  are  129 
schools  receiving  the  benefit  of  the  Trust.  The  appointment,  it  may  be 
mentioned,  does  not  sever  Mr.  Skinner's  connexion  with  Donaldson's  Hos- 
pital. 

Mr.  John  Cormack  Slater  (M.A.,  191 2;  B.Sc,  19 13)  has  been  appointed 
Naval  Instructor  in  Mathematics  at  the  Royal  Australian  Naval  College,  New 
South  Wales. 


Mr.  John  Lamb  Walker  (M.A.,  1893)  has  been  appointed  as  missionary 
teacher  at  Blantyre,  Nyasaland.  He  has  acted  as  a  teacher  in  Cullen,  Dal- 
beattie, and  other  schools,  and  has  been  connected  with  Sunday  school  and 
Guild  work  in  the  Church  of  Scotland  for  many  years. 


Miss  Louisa  Mary  Wilson  (M.A.,  1911)  has  been  appointed  a  resident 
mistress  in  the  Ministers'  Daughters'  College,  Edinburgh. 


The  following  graduates  have  been  appointed  to  the  teaching  staffs  of 
various  schools: — Misses  Bessie  Jane  M'Connochie  (191 2),  Gertrude  Meston 
(191 3),  and  Helen  Wright  (1905). 


276  Aberdeen  University  Review 

Among  recently  published  works  are  the  following  by  Aberdeen  University 
men: — "A  Pocket  Lexicon  to  the  Greek  New  Testament,"  by  Professor 
Souter;  "The  Individuality  of  St.  Paul,"  by  Rev.  R.  H.  Strachan ;  <*Our 
Heritage,"  farewell  sermon  preached  at  Tibbermore  by  Rev.  Harry  Smith ; 
No.  II.  of  "Transactions  of  the  Scottish  Dialect  Committee,"  edited  by 
William  Grant,  M.A. ;  and  Vol.  VIII.  of  the  "Encyclopaedia  of  Religion  and 
Ethics,"  edited  by  Dr.  James  Hastings.  To  the  "Book  of  Homage  to 
Shakespeare,"  edited  by  Dr.  Israel  Gollancz,  Professor  Grierson,  Edinburgh, 
contributed  a  poem  on  "Shakespeare  and  Scotland".  The  "Aberdeen  Uni- 
versity Library  Bulletin  "  for  April  (No.  14)  contains  a  bibliography  of  recent 
publications  relating  to  "Soldiering  and  Sailoring  in  the  North-East  ot  Scot- 
land," compiled  by  J.  M.  Bulloch. 

It  it  worthy  of  note  that  Mr.  J.  Bentley  Philip's  "  Holidays  in  Sweden  " 
(reviewed  on  p.  168)  has  been  translated  into  Swedish. 

At  the  spring  graduation  on  28  March,  no  honorary  degrees  were  con- 
ferred ;  and  none  have  been  conferred  since  the  war  began.  The  degree  of 
M.A.  was  conferred  on  thirty-three  students  (on  six  of  these  with  first-class 
honours,  on  two  with  second-class  honours,  and  on  one  with  third-class 
honours) ;  B.Sc.  on  one ;  B.Sc.  (Agr.)  on  two ;  the  diploma  in  Agriculture  on 
two;  the  B.D.  degree  on  three  (on  one  of  these  with  honours);  and  M.B., 
Ch.B.,  on  seventeen  (on  two  of  these  with  second-class  honours).  The  degree 
of  D.Litt.  was  conferred  on  Mr.  William  Blair  Anderson,  M.A.,  Professor  of 
Imperial  Latin,  Manchester  University ;  and  that  of  M.D.  on  Mr.  Archibald 
Douglas  Pringle,  M.B.,  Mental  Hospital,  Cape  Town. 

The  Jenkyns  Prize  in  Classical  Philology  was  awarded  to  William  James 
Entwistle,  who  carried  off  the  Simpson  Greek  Prize  and  the  Seafield  Gold 
Medal  in  Latin  and  graduated  with  distinction  in  Comparative  Philology  and 
Greek  History ;  and  the  Liddel  Prize  was  awarded  to  Edmund  Blaikie  Boyd, 
who  also  won  the  Dr.  Black  Prize  in  Latin  and  graduated  with  distinction  in 
Greek  History.     Mr.  Entwistle  is  now  a  gunner  in  the  32nd  Battery,  R.F.A. 

The  first  of  the  "James  Campbell,  LL.D.  "  bursaries  in  Agriculture  (see 
Vol.  II.,  170)  has  been  won  by  William  J.  Grant,  Mid  Port,  Grantown-on- 
Spey.     The  bursary  is  of  the  annual  value  of  ;£so,  tenable  for  two  years. 


An  Aberdeen  Professor  is  understood  to  be  "the  Research  Scholar"  re- 
ferred to  in  "  Paris  Reborn  "  by  Herbert  Adams  Gibbons,  formerly  Professor 
of  History  at  Robert  College,  Constantinople,  who  was  for  years  correspond- 
ent of  the  "  New  York  Herald  "  in  the  Near  East.  The  author  says  he  longed 
in  vain  for  the  presence  in  Paris  in  August,  19 14,  of  the  Research  Scholar  who 
had  been  his  usual  August  companion  in  walks  "  ending  generally  at  a  certain 
table  on  the  street  in  front  of  a  restaurant  of  the  Rue  de  Rivoli  ".  The  per- 
sonality of  the  Research  Scholar  is  revealed  in  this  passage:  "If  you  have 
ever  gone  into  the  Salle  des  Manuscrits  of  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale  during 
the  past  decade  in  midsummer  between  the  hours  of  10  a.m.  and  4  p.m., 
you  have  seen  the  Research  Scholar  there,  digging  out  of  musty  manuscripts 
discoveries  in  the  field  of  patristic  Latin  that  were  some  months  later  to 
electrify  the  world  of  scholarship,  and  to  bring  further  fame  to  a  renowned 
university  in  which  the  Research  Scholar  holds  the  venerable  Chair  of 
Humanity,  established  in  the  sixteenth  century." 


\ 


Personalia 


277 


A  movement  in  favour  of  a  memorial  of  the  late  Dr.  Christian  Davidson 
Maitland  (Mrs.  A.  C.  Grant)  (B.Sc,  1908;  M.B.  [Edin.]),  who  lost  her  life 
along  with  her  husband  in  the  sinking  of  the  s.s.  ''Persia"  (see  p.  188),  re- 
sulted in  ;^2i3  6s.  6d.  being  subscribed  within  four  weeks  by  friends  in 
Aberdeen  and  the  neighbourhood.  A  total  sum  of  ;^2i8  was  raised.  The 
memorial  has  taken  the  form  of  endowing  a  bed  in  the  newly-opened  women's 
hospital  at  Ajmere,  Rajputana,  India,  the  scene  of  the  lady's  work  as  a  medi- 
cal missionary.  The  bed  has  been  named  the  "  Dr.  Christian  Maitland  "  bed, 
and  a  tablet  has  been  affixed  bearing  her  name  and  the  record  of  her  service 
in  Ajmere. 


The  deaths  having  occurred  of  Rev.  Professor  W.  R.  Clark,  Toronto,  and 
Rev.  Dr.  George  Johnstone,  formerly  of  Liverpool  (see  Obituary),  the  senior 
alumnus  and  graduate  of  King's  College  appears  now  to  be  Rev.  George 
Compton  Smith  (M.A.,  1849),  retired  Congregational  minister,  Rhynie.  The 
senior  alumnus  and  graduate  of  Marischal  College — and  the  oldest  graduate 
of  the  University — is  believed  to  be  Rev.  John  Robertson,  New  Brunswick, 
who  is  in  his  ninety- third  year  (see  p.  87). 


A  correspondent  writes — Many  of  your  readers  who  knew  that  the  late 
Mr.  Alexander  Mackie,  as  Mr.  W.  Keith  Leask  said  in  his  "  In  Memoriam  " 
article,  "  had  a  happy  touch  on  many  kinds  of  verse,  and  was  particularly 
graceful  on  the  sonnet,"  may  like  to  have  an  example  of  his  sonnets  other  than 
the  two  specimens  on  academic  subjects  which  Mr.  Leask  quoted.  The  fol- 
lowing sonnet  on  Matthew  Arnold  by  our  departed  friend  appeared  in  the 
"Free  Press"  of  15  April,  1899 — the  precise  date,  it  will  be  seen,  has  a 
significance : — 

Matthew  Arnold. 
{Died  15  A/>n7,  1888.) 

The  sunshine  of  mid-April  comes  again 
And  crowns  with  gold  sweet  Oxford's  dreaming  towers, 
And  clothes  in  green  thy  Scholar- Gipsy's  bowers — 
Cumner  and  Bagley  Wood  and  Hinkseys  twain. 

This  day  thy  sudden  summons  came,  strong  soul, 
To  join  that  stronger  soul,  thy  valiant  sire, 
In  God's  vast  labour-house  we  know  not  where. 
And  bring  thy  force  to  its  clear  purposed  goal. 

Self- poised  thou  wert :  a  stoic  mind  austere 
That  would  have  man  on  his  own  strength  rely 
And  look  within,  nor  cureless  ills  deplore. 

Untutored  still,  thy  voice  he  will  not  hear, 

Nor  heed  thy  prayer  for  peace — that  plaintive  cry 

Against  the  restless  world's  loud  brawling  roar. 


Obituary. 


It  is  with  the  greatest  regret  and  with  a  deep  sense  of  personal  loss  that 
we  record  the  death  of  Mr.  Charles  MacGregor,  the  Secretary  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Management  of  the  Review.  As  is  well  known,  shortly  after  the 
outbreak  of  the  war,  Mr.  MacGregor,  animated  by  a  strong  sense  of  patriotism 
and  of  the  obligation  on  all  men  to  rally  to  the  aid  of  their  country,  deter- 
mined to  enter  the  army.  He  was  beyond  the  age  limit  then  in  force,  but  in 
view  of  the  special  representations  he  made  and  the  singular  enthusiasm  he 
displayed,  he  was  permitted  to  enlist,  and  [in  November,  1914,  he  joined  the 
loth  battalion  of  the  Gordon  Highlanders,  which  was  then  being  formed. 
He  designed  to  serve  throughout  the  war  as  a  private  soldier,  but  his  excellent 
conduct  and  bearing  qualified  him  for  speedy  promotion  in  the  ranks  and  he 
gradually  attained  the  position  of  Quartermaster-Sergeant.  While  on  active 
service  in  France,  however,  and  when  busily  occupied  getting  supplies  taken 
forward  to  the  men  in  the  trenches,  he  was  hit  in  the  head  by  a  bullet  from 
the  gun  of  an  enemy  sniper,  and  he  succumbed  in  a  base  hospital  early  on  the 
morning  of  Sunday,  14  May. 

Mr.  MacGregor,  who  was  forty-three  years  of  age,  graduated  in  Arts  in 
1896,  with  first-class  honours  in  mathematics,  winning  also  the  Boxill  prize. 
A  year  or  two  after  graduating,  he  became  mathematical  master  and  lecturer 
at  the  Church  of  Scotland  Training  College  under  the  late  Dr.  Joseph  Ogilvie  ; 
and  on  the  union  of  the  Training  Colleges  and  the  formation  of  the  Aberdeen 
Training  Centre  about  ten  years  ago,  he  was  appointed  Master  of  Method, 
discharging  the  duties  with  marked  ability  and  efficiency.  He  filled  a  pro- 
minent place  in  the  educational  administration  of  Aberdeen,  and  no  teacher 
could  have  more  enjoyed  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  his  colleagues,  and 
the  enthusiastic  appreciation  of  the  many  students  who,  in  the  course  of  the 
last  seventeen  years,  have  been  trained  in  Aberdeen. 

Mr.  MacGregor  took  an  active  part  in  the  affairs  of  the  General  Council 
of  the  University  and  was  a  member  of  the  Business  Committee.  He  was 
specially  interested  in  the  recent  movement  for  a  degree  in  Education.  The 
proposal  to  establish  a  University  Review  found  in  him  a  most  ardent  sup- 
porter, and  as  Secretary  of  the  Committee  he  did  much  strenuous  work, 
particularly  in  its  initial  stages,  to  secure  its  success. 

We  hope  to  give  an  api>reciation  of  Mr.  MacGregor  in  our  next  issue. 


Rev.  Alexander  Adam  (M.A.,  Marischal  College,  1842)  died  at  his  resid- 
ence, Parkville,  Melbourne,  on  19  March,  aged  ninety-two.     He  was  born  at 


Obituary  279 


Muirton,  Craigievar,  Aberdeenshire,  in  1824,  and  was  educated  at  the  Aber- 
deen Academy  and  at  Marischal  College,  where  he  had  a  distinguished 
career,  graduating  with  honourable  distinction  in  1842,  when  only  eighteen 
years  of  age.  For  some  years  he  engaged  in  ministerial  duties  at  Rayne, 
Aberdeenshire ;  but  when  the  call  for  religious  workers  came  from  Australia, 
he  sailed  with  his  wife  from  Scotland  in  1853,  in  company  with  Rev.  Adam 
Cairns,  Rev.  William  Henderson,  and  Rev.  Archibald  Simpson.  Shortly 
after  his  arrival,  he  was  appointed  to  the  Beaufort  charge,  where  he  ministered 
for  forty- seven  years,  ilL health  causing  his  retirement.  The  "  Melbourne 
Argus,"  in  a  notice  of  his  death,  said  he  ''  was  almost  the  last  of  the  notable 
pioneers  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Australia  ".  He  was  a  class-fellow  of 
Rev.  John  Robertson  (see  p.  277),  and  should  have  been  bracketed  with  him 
as  the  oldest  graduate  of  Marischal  College,  on  the  death  of  Rev.  John 
Souter,  Inverkeithny  (Vol.  II,  p.  279).  It  is  a  most  remarkable  circum- 
stance that,  up  to  19  March,  the  two  senior  graduates  of  Marischal  College 
(and  of  the  University)  should  have  been  class-fellows. 


Dr.  William  Alexander  (M.A.,  1883 ;  M.B.,  CM.,  1887  ;  M.D.,  1891) 
died  suddenly,  from  angina  pectoris,  at  his  residence,  Ashwick,  Poole  Road, 
Bournemouth  West,  on  26  May,  aged  fifty-three.  He  was  in  practice  for 
several  years  at  Tarland,  Aberdeenshire,  but  on  account  of  ill-health  went  to 
South  Africa  and  practised  in  Johannesburg.  Returning  to  this  country  about 
the  outbreak  of  the  Boer  War,  he  commenced  practice  at  Bournemouth, 
where  he  succeeded  in  establishing  a  large  connexion.  He  was  a  son  of  the 
late  Mr.  George  Alexander,  Farmer,  Overhall,  Fyvie. 


Dr.  George  Henry  Anderson  (M.A.,  1862  ;  M.B.,  CM.,  1865  ;  M.D., 
1867)  died  on  8  April,  aged  seventy-three.  He  was  a  native  of  Echt.  He 
began  practice  at  Loftus-in-Cleveland,  Yorkshire,  and  at  the  time  of  his 
death  was  the  oldest  medical  practitioner  in  the  Cleveland  district. 


Mr.  William  Benton  (M.A.,  1863)  died  at  El  Paso,  Texas,  on  16  March, 
aged  seventy.  He  was  one  of  four  sons  of  Mr.  John  Benton,  farmer,  some 
time  in  Boharm,  Banffshire,  and  afterwards  at  Sheriffhaugh,  Rothes,  Moray- 
shire, who  were  all  educated  at  the  University.  His  three  brothers  were — 
Alexander  Hay  Benton  (M.A.,  King's  College,  i860),  who  entered  the 
Indian  Civil  Service,  became  a  judge,  and  is  now  retired ;  Sir  John  Benton, 
K.C.I.E.  (alumnus,  1867-69)  (see  p.  272);  and  James  Thompson  Benton 
(alumnus,  1868-69),  who  went  out  to  Texas,  and  was  murdered  there  in  1875. 
Mr.  William  Benton  also  went  out  to  Texas  and  became  a  ranch-owner, 
ultimately  joining  a  cousin,  Mr.  William  Smith  Benson  (alumnus,  1875-77) 
in  the  ownership  of  a  ranch  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Mexican  town  of 
El  Pasa  Mr.  W.  S.  Benson  was  murdered  by  General  Villa,  the  Mexican 
revolutionary  leader,  on  17  or  18  February,  1914  (see  Vol,  I,  299). 


Mr.  James  Dallas  Burns  (alumnus)  died  at  the  Schoolhouse,  Grange, 
Banffshire,  on  12  May,  aged  forty-seven.      He  was  a  son  of  the  late  Mr. 


2  8o  Aberdeen  University  Review 

Burns,  headmaster  of  Ardmiddle  School,  Turriff,  was  educated  at  the  Banff 
Academy,  and  studied  for  two  years  at  the  University.  He  then  received  an 
appointment  as  teacher  under  Mr.  Renton,  Macduff;  and  for  the  past 
seventeen  years  he  had  been  headmaster  of  Grange  School. 


Rev.  Professor  William  Robinson  Clark  (M.A.,  King's  College,  1848; 
D.D.,   D.C.L.,   LL.D.),  of  Trinity  College  and  University,  Toronto   (now 
federated  with  the  University  of  Toronto) — as  will  be  seen  from  the  letter  of 
Professor  Young,  Toronto,  elsewhere  in  this  number — died  in  Toronto  on 
12  November,  191 2,  in  his  eighty-fourth  year.     He  was  born  on  26  March, 
1829,  and  received  his  early  education  in  the  Grammar  School,  Old  Aber- 
deen, and  at  King's  College,  graduating  there  in  1848,  and  also,  some  years 
later,  at  the  University  of  Oxford.     After  holding  two  successive  curacies  for 
a  short  period,  he  was,  in  1859,  instituted  Vicar  of  the  Parish  Church  of  St. 
Mary  Magdalene,  Taunton — a  position  which  he  held  for  twenty- one  years, 
during  part  of  which  time  he  was  also  Rural  Dean  of  Taunton  and  Pre- 
bendary of  Wells  Cathedral.     Leaving  Taunton  in  1880,  he  spent  two  years 
in  literary  work  and  at  Hobart  College,  Geneva,  New  York.     Proceeding  to 
Canada  in  1882,  he  was  appointed  Special  Preacher  in  St.  George's  Church, 
Toronto,  and  a  year  later  Professor  of  Mental  and  Moral  Philosophy  in  the 
University  of  Trinity  College,  Toronto,  with  which  he  continued  an  unbroken 
connexion  till  the  time  of  his  death.     When  the  Chair  in  English  was  estab- 
lished, he  was  appointed  the  first  Professor,  holding  this  Chair  concurrently 
with  that  of  Philosophy  for  several  years,  till  he  resigned  the  latter  pursuant 
to  the  changes  brought  about  by  the  federation  of  Trinity  College  with  the 
University  of  Toronto.     To  the  onerous  duties  of  these  two  Chairs  he  added 
extra  lectures  from  time  to  time  in  History  and  in  several  branches  of  The- 
ology, a  department  of  study  with  which  he  was  thoroughly  conversant.     In 
1907  he  retired  from  active  service  with  the  title  of  Professor  Emeritus,  re- 
taining his  seat  on  the  corporation  and  continuing  to  attend  its  meetings 
regularly  as  long  as  his  physical  strength  permitted.     In  1907  he  was  ap- 
pointed Honorary  Canon  of  St.  Alban's  Cathedral,  Toronto.     Among  honours 
and  distinctions  which  were  lavishly  and  fittingly  bestowed  upon  him  by 
Institutions  of  Learning  were  the  degrees  of  D.C.L.,  conferred  by  Trinity 
College,  Toronto ;  D.D.,  conferred  by  Queen's  University,   Kingston ;  and 
LL.D.,  conferred  by  Hobart  College,  Geneva ;  his  appointment  by  the  Uni- 
versity of  Michigan  as  Baldwin  Lecturer  in  1887,  and  as  Slocum  Lecturer  in 
1889 ;  his  appointment  as  Honorary  Professor  of  Hobart  College,  Geneva,  in 
1888 ;  and  his  election  to  be  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Canada,  and  in 
1900  to  be  President  of  the  Society. 

The  Corporation  of  Trinity  College,  at  its  annual  meeting  on  21 
November,  191 2,  adopted  a  resolution  recording  the  great  debt  of  gratitude 
it  owed  to  Professor  Clark.  After  detailing  the  chief  features  of  his  career  as 
given  above,  the  resolution  proceeded  to  say : — 

"As  a  Preacher  and  public  Lecturer,  Professor  Clark  was  very  highly 
esteemed,  and  his  many  engagements  in  these  capacities  served  to  make 
Trinity  College  favourably  known  far  and  near.  He  showed  remarkable 
versatility  and  brilliancy  in  his  work,  both  in  the  class  room  and  on  the 
public   platform,   as    well   as   in   his   literary   productions,    which   embrace 


Obituary  281 

Theology,  History,  and  Literature.  Dr.  Clark's  singular  devotion  to  Trinity 
College  and  the  great  ability  with  which  he  served  it,  entitle  him  to  the  last- 
irig  regard  of  all  its  supporters,  while  his  inexhaustible  human  sympathy  and 
kindness  of  heart  ensure  for  him  the  grateful  and  affectionate  remembrance 
of  a  host  of  friends." 


Mr.  John  Duguid  (M.A.,  1870),  retired  schoolmaster,  died  at  his  resi- 
dence, 41  Gladstone  Place,  Aberdeen,  on  9  April,  aged  seventy-six.  After 
graduating,  he  engaged  in  tutorial  work  in  England,  and  then,  on  returning 
to  Scotland,  was,  in  1872,  appointed  headmaster  of  Fetteresso  school,  Kin- 
cardineshire. Four  years  later,  he  secured  the  headmastership  of  Lonmay 
public  school,  Aberdeenshire,  which  position  he  held  for  the  long  period  of 
twenty-six  years,  retiring  in  190 1.  He  was  a  son  of  the  late  Mr.  James 
Duguid,  farmer,  North  Denmore,  Oldmachar. 


Sir  James  Frederic  Goodheart,  Bart.  (M.B.,  CM.,  1871  ;  M.D.,  1873  ; 
F.R.C.P.  Lond.,  1880 ;  LL.D.,  1899),  died  at  his  residence,  25  Portland  Place, 
London,  on  28  May,  aged  seventy.  He  earned  great  distinction  as  a  physician, 
and  was  consulting  physician  at  Guy's  Hospital,  and  a  member  of  the  Con- 
sulting Committee  of  the  King  Edward  VII.  Sanatorium,  Midhurst.  In  1898 
he  was  President  of  the  Harveian  Society,  and  he  was  created  a  baronet  in 
191 1.     He  published  various  medical  works. 


Rev.  Dr.  George  Johnstone  (M.A.,  Marischal  College,  1848;  B.D., 
1870;  D.D.,  1891)  died  at  Bournemouth  on  23  March,  aged  eighty-eight. 
He  was  a  native  of  the  parish  of  Alvah,  Banffshire.  He  matriculated  at  King's 
College  in  1844,  and  was  the  senior  alumnus  of  King's,  having  been  predeceased 
by  Rev.  Professor  W.  R.  Clark,  Toronto  (referred  to  as  the  senior  graduate  on 
p.  87).  As  a  tertian,  however,  he  transferred  himself  to  Marischal  College, 
and  graduated  M.A.  there  in  1848.  For  eighteen  months  afterwards  he 
taught  in  Bellevue  House  Academy,  Aberdeen  (Dr.  George  Tulloch's) ;  but, 
selecting  the  ministry  as  his  vocation,  he  was  licensed  by  the  Aberdeen 
Free  Church  Presbytery.  In  1854  he  was  invited  to  conduct  a  movement 
that  was  then  initiated  to  establish  a  Presbyterian  congregation  in  the  south 
end  of  Liverpool.  After  two  years'  enthusiastic  and  successful  work,  in  which 
he  attracted  a  large  following,  including  several  well-to-do  Scottish  families, 
sufficient  funds  were  secured  for  building  in  Belvidere  Road,  Prince's  Park,  a 
commodious  edifice,  which  was  named  Trinity  Church;  and  in  1857  Dr. 
Johnstone  was  ordained  as  its  pastor.  There  he  ministered  for  forty-seven 
years,  retiring  in  1904,  when  he  was  presented  by  the  congregation  with  a 
testimonial  amounting  to  ;^i8oo,  which  was  invested  in  the  purchase  for  him 
of  an  annuity  of  ;^2oo.  He  was  clerk  of  the  Liverpool  Presbytery  for  thirty- 
three  years,  resigning  in  1894,  when  he  was  appointed  "clerk  honorary  and 
advisory"  to  the  Presbytery.  In  1892  when  the  Synod  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  England  met  at  Birmingham,  Dr.  Johnstone  held  the  position  of 
Moderator.  For  many  years  he  rendered  valuable  service  on  the  Board  of 
Examiners  at  the  Presbyterian  Theological  College — first  in  London,  and 


282  Aberdeen  University  Review 

afterwards  at  Westminster  College,  Cambridge ;  and  latterly  was  Chairman  of 
the  Board.  Dr.  Johnstone  had  two  sons,  both  of  whom  entered  the  Anglican 
Church  (to  which  their  mother  had  belonged),  and  in  recent  years  he  resided 
with  one  of  them,  who  is  vicar  of  St.  Augustine's,  Bournemouth. 

On  the  occasion  of  his  death,  the  Presbytery  adopted  a  minute  as 
follows : — 

"There  passed  away  on  Thursday,  the  23rd  March,  1916,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
George  Johnstone,  a  man  very  notable  for  his  character,  his  culture,  and  his 
long  record  of  service  in  this  Presbytery  and  community.  .   .  . 

"  Dr.  Johnstone  was  eighty-eight  years  of  age  when  he  died.  Yet,  to  the 
very  end  of  his  days  almost,  he  retained  that  alertness  of  mind  and  that  passion 
for  study  and  knowledge  which  he  carried  with  him  from  the  parish  school  in 
Banffshire  where  he  was  educated.  In  1870  Dr.  Johnstone,  after  he  had  left 
the  University  of  Aberdeen,  went  back  and  offered  himself  as  a  candidate  for 
the  Bachelor's  degree  in  Theology.  He  did  a  great  and  unique  thing — he 
took  all  the  departments  of  that  degree  in  one  sitting.  In  1891  the  University 
of  Aberdeen  honoured  him  with  the  Doctor's  degree,  and  no  man  who  has 
resisted  the  temptation  to  write  books  ever  deserved  more  to  have  that  honour, 
or  wore  it  more  becomingly.  He  was  a  man  who  had  all  the  greatness  of 
those  who  recognize  the  wonder  and  the  value  of  knowledge,  and  he  had  all 
the  humility  of  those  who  know  that  with  all  the  constant  labour  of  their 
studies  there  is  so  much  they  cannot  know.  ..." 


Dr.  William  Robert  Macdonell  (M.A.,  1872  ;  LL.D.,  1895)  died  at  his 
residence,  Bridgefield,  Bridge  of  Don,  Aberdeen,  on  15  May,  aged  sixty-three. 
He  was  a  native  of  Dufftown,  and  a  cousin  of  Sir  John  Macdonell,  the  well- 
known  jurist,  and  of  the  late  Mr.  James  Macdonell  of  the  "Times".  He 
graduated  in  1872  with  honours  in  mathematics,  and  in  the  following  year 
shared  the  Fullerton  mathematical  scholarship  with  Sir  Harvey  Adamson. 
For  two  years  he  attended  the  medical  classes  in  the  University,  after 
which  he  resumed  his  mathematical  studies  and  gained  an  open  mathemati- 
cal scholarship  at  Balliol,  Oxford,  subsequently  taking  a  first  class  in  Mathe- 
matical Moderations. 

Deciding  to  pursue  a  commercial  career.  Dr.  Macdonell,  in  1880,  pro- 
ceeded to  Bombay  as  a  member  of  the  Bombay  Company,  Ltd.,  of  which  firm 
he  eventually  became  a  partner.  His  standing  in  the  business  affairs  of 
India  was  shown  by  the  fact  that  he  was  three  times  elected  president  of  the 
Bombay  Chamber  of  Commerce.  He  was  for  three  years  a  member  of  the 
Legislative  Council  of  the  Governor  of  Bombay,  a  position  which  carried  with 
it  the  title  of  Honourable.  He  was  a  Fellow  of  the  University  of  Bombay, 
and  for  many  years  acted  as  an  examiner  for  that  University.  Dr.  Macdonell 
issued  a  publication  dealing  with  a  remarkable  Dante  manuscript  which  he 
found  in  a  Bombay  library,  which  attracted  considerable  attention.  Compe- 
tent authorities  held  his  scholarly  and  full  account  to  be  of  great  value  as 
bearing  on  the  received  text  of  Dante.  In  1896  he  left  India  and  went  to 
London,  where  he  continued  in  business  for  three  years,  when  he  retired  and 
took  up  residence  in  Aberdeen. 

Dr.  Macdonell  was  one  of  the  leaders  in  statistical  science,  and  was  as- 
sociated with  the  founders  of  "  Biometrika,"  the  journal  devoted  to  the  mathe- 


Obituary  283, 


matical  study  of  biological  problems.  He  was  the  first  Lecturer  on  Statistics 
and  Statistical  Methods  in  the  University  (1906-10),  and  was  in  the  unique 
position  of  being  the  only  lecturer  on  modern  statistical  methods,  not  only  in 
the  United  Kingdom,  but  also  on  the  Continent.  He  was  a  frequent  contri- 
butor to  biometrical  literature,  both  on  the  theoretical  side  and  also  in  many 
practical  applications,  especially  in  medicine  and  anthropometry.  His  work  on 
criminal  anthropometry  and  identification  of  criminals,  and  his  study  of 
English  crania  of  the  seventeenth  century,  are  well  known.  Quite  recently 
he  published  a  memoir  on  the  expectation  of  life  in  ancient  Rome. 

In  1896  Dr.  Macdonell  intimated  to  the  University  Court  his  desire  to 
return  to  his  Alma  Mater  "  the  money  which  she  so  generously  gave  "  to  him 
in  his  student  days — the  amount  being  jQ2 1  o,  the  equivalent  of  a  Fullerton 
bursary  of  ^£20  and  half  of  a  Fullerton  scholarship  of  ;£65,  each  for  four 
years — to  be  applied  to  found  a  special  library  for  the  encouragement  of 
higher  studies  in  English,  Latin,  and  Greek.  Dr.  Macdonell's  library  has 
proved  of  great  service,  and  his  example  might  well  be  followed  by  others. 

Dr.  Macdonell  was  married  to  the  eldest  daughter  of  the  late  Mr.  John 
Forbes  White,  LL.D.     Their  two  sons  are  on  military  service. 


Miss  Bella  Jane  Skinner  M'Intosh  (M.A.,  1910),  a  teacher  on  the 
staff  of  Skene  Square  Public  School,  Aberdeen,  died  at  Aberdeen  on  24 
January,  after  a  long  illness. 


Mr.  Thomas  Mackenzie  (M.A.,  Marischal  College,  1849),  died  at  his 
residence,  Tower  Gardens,  Tain,  on  1 9  May,  having  just  entered  on  his  eighty- 
sixth  year.  He  was  a  native  of  Inverness,  and  was  educated  there  and  at  the 
Aberdeen  Grammar  School  and  Marischal  College.  He  became  a  member 
of  the  Society  of  Advocates  in  Aberdeen  in  1855,  being  at  the  time  of  his 
death  the  second  senior  member  on  the  roll.  He  was  appointed  Sheriff 
Substitute  of  Sutherland  at  Dornoch  in  1859,  becoming  a  Sheriff  Substitute  of 
Ross,  Cromarty,  and  Sutherland  on  the  judicial  amalgamation  of  the  counties 
in  1870.  He  attained  his  jubilee  of  official  service  on  8  October,  1909,  and 
in  honour  of  the  event  he  was  entertained  in  Edinburgh  by  the  Sheriffs-Sub- 
stitute of  Scotland.  He  retired  in  1912,  being  then  the  oldest  Sheriff  Substi- 
tute. He  was  a  Fellow  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  Scotland,  and  was 
specially  interested  in  Scottish  coins,  of  which  he  had  a  fine  collection. 


Dr.  James  Thornton  Macpherson  (M.B.,  CM.,  1887  ;  M.D.,  1905),. 
died  at  his  residence,  58  Brunswick  Street,  Manchester,  on  13  May,  aged  fifty- 
seven.     He  had  been  in  practice  in  Manchester  for  the  last  twenty-five  years. 

Deputy  Surgeon-General  Cyril  James  Mansfield,  M.V.O.  (M.B.,  1883 ; 
M.D.,  1896),  died  at  the  Royal  Naval  Hospital,  Haslar,  Gosport,  on  7  May,, 
after  a  month's  illness,  aged  fifty-five.  He  was  a  great-grandson  of  Sir  James 
Mansfield,  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas.  Entering  the 
Royal  Navy  in  1885  he  held  various  appointments,  the  most  important  of 
which  were  Fleet-Surgeon  at  the  Royal  Naval  College,  Osborne  (1905-9)— 


284  Aberdeen   University  Review 

-when  the  Prince  of  Wales  was  there  as  a  cadet— and  Deputy  Surgeon-General 
at  the  Royal  Naval  Barracks,  Chatham  (1914-15),  and  at  Haslar  (1915-16). 


Rev.  John  Gordon  Smith  Napier  (M.A.,  1876),  minister  of  the  parish 
of  Kelso,  died  on  7  April,  aged  fifty-nine.  For  a  number  of  years  he  had 
used  the  vestry  as  a  study,  and  he  was  found  there  unconscious  at  a  late  hour, 
-death  supervening  before  he  could  be  removed  to  the  manse.  Mr.  Napier 
was  a  native  of  Montrose,  and,  after  qualifying  for  the  ministry,  acted  as  as- 
sistant at  Newington,  Edinburgh,  under  Dr.  Alison,  and  at  Park  Church, 
Glasgow,  under  Rev.  Dr.  Donald  Macleod.  He  was  called  to  succeed  Rev. 
Dr.  Hunter  at  Kelso,  and  was  ordained  there  in  March  1883. 


Dr.  Alexander  Ross  Paterson  (M.D.,  CM.,  1861  ;  M.R.C.P.  [Edin.]) 
•died  at  Bournemouth,  on  24  April,  aged  eighty-one.  He  was  in  practice  at 
Biddenden,  Kent ;  Boston,  Lincolnshire ;  and  Stockton-on-Tees  succes- 
sively, and  latterly  resided  at  Birkwood,  Banchory,  Kincardineshire. 


We  regret  to  hear  of  the  death,  at  the  early  age  of  forty-seven,  of  Rev. 
Thomas  Wesley  Powell,  M.A.,  D.C.L.,  President  and  Vice- Chancellor 
of  King's  College,  Windsor,  Nova  Scotia,  who  received  the  degree  of  D.D. 
from  the  University  of  Aberdeen  in  June,  191 2,  on  the  occasion  of  the  visit 
of  delegates  to  the  first  Congress  of  the  Universities  of  the  Empire.  He  was 
twice  Prolocutor  of  the  General  Synod  of  his  Church,  and  while  Rector  of 
Holy  Trinity  in  Toronto  rendered  noble  service  to  the  interests  of  the  poor. 
He  is  described  as  "a  capable  administrator,  able  writer  and  strong  preacher, 
but  above  all  a  distinguished  teacher  '*. 


Dr.  Theodore  Thomson,  C.M.G.  (M.A.,  1877;  M.B.  [Lond.],  1884; 
M.D.  [State  Medicine],  1892  ;  D.P.H.  [Camb.],  1888),  died  suddenly  at  Ox- 
ford on  6  March,  aged  fifty-seven.  He  was  a  son  of  Rev.  William  Thomson, 
who  was  minister  of  Belhelvie,  Aberdeenshire,  from  1843  to  1887.  About  the 
year  1886  he  was  appointed  medical  officer  of  health  for  Aberdeen,  and 
eighteen  months  later  accepted  a  similar  post  in  Sheffield.  While  in  Sheffield 
he  was  called  upon  to  deal  with  a  serious  outbreak  of  smallpox,  and  the  ex- 
perience he  gained  in  that  connexion  brought  him  prominently  under  the 
notice  of  the  Local  Government  Board.  Dr.  Thomson  was  an  inspector  of 
the  Board  from  1891  till  191 1,  when  he  was  appointed  assistant  medical  offi- 
cer. He  prepared  for  the  Board  a  number  of  reports  (which  are  highly 
prized  by  the  profession)  dealing  with  smallpox  and  other  forms  of  zymotic 
disease,  and  in  this  branch  of  medical  investigation  he  was  a  recognized 
authority  and  expert.  In  1900  he  was  a  member  of  the  Committee  of  In- 
quiry into  the  Public  Health  of  Dublin ;  in  1903  British  delegate  to  the  Inter- 
national Sanitary  Conference  of  Paris  and  Plenipotentiary  to  sign  the  Inter- 
national Sanitary  Convention;  and  in  1904  delegate  to  the  West  Indian 
Intercolonial  Sanitary  Conference,  Barbadoes.  He  was  nominated  a  C.M.G. 
in  1905  for  services  in  connexion  with  sanitary  matters  under  the  Foreign 
and  Colonial  Offices.     In  the  following  year  he  visited  Rome  as  a  British 


I 


Obituary  285 

delegate  to  the  International  Sanitary  Conference  there,  and  Plenipotentiary- 
to  sign  the  Convention ;  and  he  was  subsequently  sent  on  a  special  mission* 
of  inquiry  into  the  sanitary  defence  of  the  Persian  Gulf.  After  going  to 
London,  Dr.  Thomson  studied  law,  and  was  called  to  the  bar  at  the  Middle 
Temple  in  1894. 

Sir  William  Turner,  K.C.B.,  D.C.L.,  LL.D.,  Principal  and  Vice-Chan- 
cellor  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  died  on  15  February,  aged  eighty-four. 
He  was  Professor  of  Anatomy  in  the  University  from  1867  till  1903,  when  he  was. 
appointed  Principal.  He  received  the  honorary  degree  of  LL.D.  from  Aber- 
deen University  at  the  Quater-centenary  celebrations  in  1906.  On  the  an- 
nouncement of  his  death,  the  following  message  was  forwarded  by  Principal 
Sir  George  Adam  Smith — "The  University  of  Aberdeen  offers  its  warm  and 
respectful  sympathy  to  the  members  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh  on  the 
death  of  their  distinguished  head,  Sir  William  Turner,  and  the  close  of  his 
long  and  invaluable  services  to  the  cause  of  University  education  in  Scot- 
land ". 

Rev.  Alexander  Warrack  (M.A.  Marischal  College,  1855)  died  at  Ox- 
ord  on  29  March,  aged  seventy- eight.  After  graduating,  he  studied  divinity  at 
the  Aberdeen  Free  Church  College,  and  in  1864  was  ordained  minister  of 
the  Free  (now  United  Free)  Church  at  Leswalt,  Wigtonshire.  He  retired  a 
few  years  ago  to  devote  himself  entirely  to  literary  work.  He  edited  a  "  Scots 
Dialect  Dictionary,"  published  by  Messrs.  Chambers  in  1911 ;  and  prior  to  the 
compilation  of  this  work  Mr.  Warrack  had,  during  the  ten  years  occupied  in 
its  production,  contributed  over  200,000  quotations  of  Scottish  dialect  words 
with  their  readings  to  Professor  Wright's  "  English  Dialect  Dictionary  ". 

Since  our  last  issue  and  up  to  the  date  of  completing  this  Obituary  list, 
the  following  thirteen  University  men,  engaged  in  the  various  operations  of  the 
war,  were  reported  to  have  been  killed  or  to  have  died  of  injuries,  in  addition 
to  Quartermaster-Sergeant  Charles  MacGregor,  mentioned  in  the  ordinary 
Obituary : — 

George  Alexander  Brown  (seventh  Arts  bursar,  19 14),  private,  ma- 
chine gun  section,  4th  Gordon  Highlanders,  was  killed  in  action  in  France  on 
9  June.  He  was  a  son  of  Mrs.  C.  Brown,  59  Hardgate,  and  was  nineteen 
years  of  age.  He  was  Town  Council  gold  medallist  at  Robert  Gordon's 
College. 

Richard  Gavin  Brown  (M.B.,  1903),  Lieutenant,  R.A.M.C,  died  at 
the  5th  Southern  General  Hospital,  Portsmouth,  on  14  February.  He  was 
the  only  surviving  son  of  Deputy-Inspector-General  R.  Gavin  Brown,  M.B., 
Royal  Navy,  and  was  thirty-three  years  of  age.  He  had  been  in  practice  in 
Portsmouth  for  eight  years,  and  had  been  successful  in  securing  a  large 
clientele.  On  the  outbreak  of  the  war  he  was  appointed  a  civil  surgeon  at 
the  Alexandra  Hospital,  Cosham.  In  the  following  March  he  obtained  a 
commission  as  temporary  Lieutenant  in  the  R.A.M.C.  At  the  beginning  of 
July  he  was  sent  out  to  Gallipoli  with  the  14th  Casualty  Clearing  Station,  at- 
tached to  the  nth  Division,  which  landed  at  Suvla  Bay  on  6  August  under 
heavy  shell  fire.  In  the  engagement  which  followed  he  attended  to  the 
wounded  for  forty-four  consecutive  hours,  exposed  to  continuous  shelling 


2  86  Aberdeen  University  Review 

from  the  Turkish  batteries.  Dr.  Brown  did  excellent  work  at  Suvla  for  three 
months,  when  he  was  invalided  home  suffering  from  dysentery.  He  was  re- 
moved to  the  5th  Southern  General  Hospital,  where  he  rapidly  recovered 
strength,  and  was  sent  on  sick  leave.  He  was  about  to  return  to  active 
service,  but  on  Friday  evening  (11  February)  he  was  seized  with  an  acute  ill- 
ness as  the  result  of  dysentery,  which  necessitated  an  operation  on  Monday, 
after  which  he  lived  only  a  few  hours.  The  funeral  took  place  at  Portsdown 
Cemetery  with  military  honours. 

A  correspondent  writes  : — 

It  has  been  the  writer's  privilege  to  know  Dr.  R.  Gavin  Brown  since  his 
boyhood  days,  and  a  personal  tribute  to  the  life  now  ended  may  not  be  amiss. 

Endowed  by  nature  with  many  graces,  and  possessed  of  attainments  of  a 
high  order,  socially  and  professionally,  it  was  little  wonder  that  his  short 
career  was  so  eminently  successful.  To  these  qualities  were  added  an  un- 
tiring energy  and  devotion  to  work,  an  unflinching  straightforwardness,  a 
strong  sense  of  honour  and  duty.  In  these  days  of  self-aggrandisement  no 
mean  thought  or  action  ever  entered  his  mind ;  as  in  his  student  days,  his 
whole  nature  was  open-hearted,  generous,  kind.  In  many  homes  in  Ports- 
mouth his  name  will  long  be  remembered.  As  a  member  of  the  hospital 
staff — he  was  anaesthetist — his  time  and  skill  were  given  freely  and  ungrudg- 
ingly. Outside  his  profession  the  boyish  spirit  was  very  evident.  Fond  of 
all  in  Nature,  his  interests  were  wide,  his  companionship  delightful ;  and  the 
memory  of  his  hospitable  home,  to  which  he  was  devoted,  will  ever  remain. 
His  life,  his  all,  was  given  for  his  country ;  and  to-day  his  Alma  Mater  in 
that  northern  city  by  the  silvery  sea  will  add  to  her  long  roll  of  honour  the 
name  of  Richard  Gavin  Brown. 

"  Dulce  et  decorum  est  pro  patria  mori." 

William  Rudolf  Center  (former  medical  student;  M.B.  [Edin.], 
1893),  Fleet  Surgeon,  R.N.,  died  in  the  Naval  Hospital  at  Malta  on 
28  April,  as  the  result  of  severe  burns  received  on  board  H.M.S.  "Russell," 
the  flagship  of  Rear- Admiral  Fremantle,  which  struck  a  mine  in  the  Medi- 
terranean and  sank.  He  was  among  the  700  saved,  but  his  injuries  were  so 
severe  that  little  hope  as  to  his  recovery  were  entertained.  Fleet  Surgeon 
Center,  who  was  about  forty-five  years  of  age,  was  an  officer  of  outstanding 
personality,  and  had  close  connexions  with  Aberdeen  and  Aberdeenshire. 
He  was  the  only  son  of  the  late  Lieutenant-Colonel  William  Center,  of  the 
Indian  Medical  Service  (M.B.,  1865),  who  was  a  son  of  the  late  Rev.  William 
Center,  for  many  years  the  parochial  schoolmaster  of  Longside,  Aberdeen- 
shire (alumnus.  King's  College,  1822-26).  He  had  a  distinguished  career  at 
Aberdeen  University,  but  completed  his  medical  studies  at  Edinburgh 
University. 

Robert  Donald  (Arts  student,  191 3- 14),  Sergeant,  Intelligence  Section, 
4th  Gordon  Highlanders,  was  killed  in  action  in  France  on  9  June.  He  was 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  was  the  youngest  son  of  Mr.  William  Donald, 
Lochinch  Cottage,  Nigg,  Kincardineshire. 


James  Duguid  (student  of  agriculture,  1913-14),  Second  Lieutenant,  7th 
North  Staffordshire  Regiment,  killed  in  action  in  Mesopotamia,  9  April. 


Obituary  287 


George  Mitchell  Johnston  (B.Sc.  Agr.,  191 1),  Captain,  7th  Battalion 
Royal  Irish  Rifles,  was  killed  in  action  on  3  April.  He  had  a  distinguished 
career  as  an  agricultural  student,  and  on  leaving  the  Aberdeen  and  North  of 
Scotland  College  of  Agriculture  he  was  appointed  superintendent  of  the  ex- 
perimental farm  in  Jersey.  When  the  war  broke  out,  he  received  a  commission 
as  Second  Lieutenant  in  the  2nd  Battalion  Royal  Militia  of  the  Island  of 
Jersey,  but  subsequently  joined  the  Royal  Irish  Rifles  with  the  whole  of  the 
Jersey  Company  to  which  he  was  attached,  being  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
Captain.  He  was  a  son  of  Mr.  Alexander  Johnston,  71  Fountainhall  Road, 
Aberdeen  (one  of  the  Harbour  Commissioners),  and  was  twenty-six  years 
of  age. 

Frank  Lipp  (M.A.,  191 1),  Lieutenant,  Scottish  Rifles  (Cameronians), 
attached  to  the  Welsh  Fusiliers,  died  at  Karachi  on  30  May,  from  wounds  re- 
ceived in  action  in  Mesopotamia.  After  graduating  he  went  out  to  the  East 
Indies  as  an  assistant  on  a  rubber  estate,  and  after  two  years'  service  there 
he  returned  home  and  entered  the  North  of  Scotland  College  of  Agriculture, 
and  had  completed  one  session  when  the  war  broke  out.  He  enlisted  in  the 
Seaforth  Highlanders  and  subsequently  received  a  commission  in  the  Scottish 
Rifles.  He  was  the  second  son  of  Mr.  James  Lipp,  draper,  Fochabers,  and 
was  twenty-four  years  of  age. 


Charles  Thomas  M'William  (M.A.,  191 3),  Lieutenant,  5th  Battalion 
Gordon  Highlanders,  was  killed  in  France,  on  19  March.  He  was  a  law 
student  at  the  University,  and  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war  was  a  member  of 
U  Company  of  the  4th  Battalion  Gordon  Highlanders.  He  subsequently 
joined  the  51st  Divisional  Cyclist  Company,  and  on  receiving  a  commission 
was  transferred  to  the  5  th  Battalion  Gordon  Highlanders.  He  was  the 
younger  son  of  Rev.  Thomas  M'William,  minister  of  Foveran,  Aberdeenshire, 
and  was  twenty-three  years  of  age. 


Charles  Neilson  (M.A.,  1913),  Company-Sergeant-Major,  Gordon 
Highlanders,  was  killed  in  action  in  France  on  i  June.  He  was  the  second 
son  of  Mr.  Neilson,  senior  postman,  Ellon,  and  was  twenty-six  years  of  age ; 
and  previous  to  enlisting  was  a  teacher  at  Lossiemouth. 


Robert  Reid  (M.A.,  1914),  Second  Lieutenant,  Gordon  Highlanders, 
was  shot  on  2 1  May  while  commanding  his  platoon  at  wire  work  in  front  of 
the  British  lines  in  France.  He  was  studying  at  the  Aberdeen  Training 
Centre  preparing  for  the  teaching  profession  when  war  broke  out.  Being  a 
Territorial  in  U  Company,  4th  Gordons,  he  was  called  up  at  the  beginning 
and  went  to  a  war  station  with  his  battalion.  He  received  his  commission  in 
November,  1914,  in  a  Kitchener's  Army  battalion  of  the  Gordons.  He  had 
been  overseas  for  four  months  prior  to  his  death.  He  was  a  son  of  Mr. 
Robert  Reid,  farmer,  Bethelnie,  Oldmeldrum,  Aberdeenshire. 


Norman  John  Robertson  (M.A.,  1914),  Corporal,  Gordon  Highlanders, 
died  in  France  on  30  May,  of  wounds  received  while  on  service  on  the 
previous  day.     He  had  been  fixing  wire  entanglements  in  front  of  a  sap-head 


2  88  Aberdeen  University   Review 

when  a  bullet  passed  through  his  hand  and  penetrated  his  chest.  His  com- 
manding officer,  in  conveying  the  intimation  of  his  death,  wrote :  "  He  was 
one  of  the  best  N.C.O.'s  in  the  company,  and  was  marked  out  for  speedy  pro- 
motion, and  his  loss  is  greatly  felt  by  us  all.  He  was  popular  with  officers 
and  men,  and  did  his  duty  on  all  occasions  without  regard  to  his  personal 
safety."  He  was  the  second  son  of  the  late  Mr.  Thomas  Robertson,  M.A., 
Schoolmaster,  Lower  Cabrach,  Banffshire,  and  was  twenty-five  years  of  age. 


William  John  Campbell  Sangster  (M.A.,  19 14),  Second  Lieutenant, 
4th  Battalion  Gordon  Highlanders,  was  killed  in  action  (previously  reported 
missing)  at  Hooge,  in  Flanders,  on  25  September,  191 5.  He  was  a  student 
of  medicine,  and  when  war  broke  out  received  a  commission  in  the  2 /4th 
battalion  of  the  Gordons.  He  was  transferred  in  June  last  year  to  the  i/4th 
battalion  and  went  to  the  front  immediately  after.  He  was  the  elder  son  of 
ex-Baillie  Sangster,  Aberdeen,  and  was  twenty  years  of  age. 


David  George  Melrose  Watt,  medical  student,  private  in  K  Company, 
R.A.M.C,  died  at  Cambridge  Hospital,  Aldershot,  on  26  April.  He  was  the 
youngest  son  of  Rev.  William  Watt,  minister  of  the  parish  of  Strathdon, 
Aberdeenshire,  and  was  only  nineteen  years  of  age. 


An  "In  Memoriam"  service  was  held  in  the  University  Chapel  or> 
Sunday,  18  June.  Professor  Fulton  conducted  the  initial  part  of  the  service, 
and  after  the  reading  of  the  New  Testament  lesson  the  list  of  the  brave  sons 
of  the  University  who  have  fallen  in  the  war  was  read,  the  congregation 
standing  the  while.  The  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Principal,  who  took 
as  his  text  Psalm  xxxiv.  22,  and  Revelation  xxii.  3.  Referring  to  those 
members  of  the  University  who  were  commemorated  that  day — who  had 
carried  their  service,  their  courage,  and  their  faithfulness  up  to  death  itself — 
he  mentioned  that  in  number  they  were  already  eighty- one ;  of  graduates 
forty-seven,  of  alumni,  who  did  not  graduate,  nine,  and  of  students  twenty- 
five.  All  were  in  the  combatant  ranks  save  fifteen,  of  whom  thirteen  were 
navy  or  army  doctors,  proof  that  the  medical  profession  had  in  this  war 
taken  its  full  share  with  other  branches  of  the  forces  in  the  dangers  of  battle 
and  disease.  Some  were  very  young ;  no  fewer  than  twelve  of  twenty-one 
years,  and  under  that  eighteen;  nineteen  at  least  between  twenty-one  and 
twenty-five,  and  only  six  or  seven  above  thirty-five — the  mid-time  of  our  life. 
At  least  forty-nine  of  them  joined  or  rejoined  the  ranks  upon  the  King's  call 
for  men.  The  rest  of  the  list,  save  one,  were  already  on  naval  or  military 
service,  and  she,  the  only  woman  among  them  (Mrs.  Grant),  had  given  herself 
and  her  gifts  to  a  service  no  less  honourable  in  the  medical  missions  of  our 
religion. 


Index  to  Volume  III< 


Aberdeen  University  Edinburgh  Associa- 
tion, 77. 

Adam,  Rev.  Alexander  :  death  of,  278. 

Adamson,  Lt.-  Col.  Henry  McK. :  C.B.,  269 ; 
mentioned  in  despatches,.269. 

Alexander,  Archibald  :  note  on,  83. 

Alexander,  William  :  death  of,  279. 

Alexander,  Pte.  William  D. :  missing,  229. 

Allan,  Rev.  Dr.  James  :  note  on,  272. 

Allardyce,  Sergt.  Alexander:  death  of,  92, 
227  ;  mentioned  in  despatches,  178. 

Alverstone,  Viscount :  death  of,  187. 

Anatomist  on  our  Pedigree,  An.  By  Pro- 
fessor J.  A.  Thomson,  234. 

Anderson,  George  Henry :  death  of,  279. 

Anderson,  Helen  Isobel :  note  on,  183. 

Anderson,  James  :  death  of,  92,  229. 

Anderson,  Sir  John  :  note  on,  181. 

Anderson,  Robert:  Obituary,  89,  185,  278; 
Personalia,  78,  179,  271 ;  University 
Topics,  73,  170,  264  ;  reviews  Philip's 
Holidays  in  Sweden,  168. 

Anderson,  Professor  William  Blair  :  D.Litt., 
181,  276. 

Annandale,  Charles :  death  of,  89. 

Archibald,  Very  Rev.  John  :  death  of,  89. 

Arts  Class  Reunion,  1888-92,  175. 

Arts  "  Class  "  System,  174. 

Assessors  in  University  Court  appointed, 
174. 

Auchinachie,  Sergt.  George  C. :  death  of, 
92,  223. 

Baillie,  Professor  J.  B. ;  reviews  Professor 

Davidson's  Utilitarians,  163. 
Bain,  Professor  Alexander  :  Rev.  A.  Jack  on 

his  teaching,  251. 
Bain,  Lieut.  F.  W. :  mentioned  in  despatches, 

178  ;  Military  Cross,  177. 
Baird,  Rev.  Andrew  C.  :  note  on,  80. 
Baird,  Col.  Andrew  W. :  note  on,  271. 
Beattie,   Lt.-  Col.  James   Forbes :   note  on, 

82. 
Benton,  Alexander  H. :  note  on,  279. 
Benton,  James  Thompson :  murder  of,  279. 
Benton,  Sir  John  :  note  on,  272,  279. 
Benton,  WiUiam  :  death  of,  279. 
Benton,  William  S. :  murder  of,  279. 
Berrv,  Sir  William  Bisset :  note  on,  181. 
"  Billy  "  Dey.     By  J.  M.  Bulloch,  108. 
Birnie,  Rev.  George  :  note  on,  83. 
Bisset,  Iva  Isabella  :  note  on,  85. 


Black,  Agnes  :  note  on,  183. 

Black,  Alfred  A. :  note  on,  274. 

Blackie,  Professor  J.  S. :  not  the  first  to  ad- 
vocate Celtic  chair,  173. 

Bower,  Lt.-Col.  George  H. :  mentioned  in 
despatches,  178. 

Boyd,  Edmund  Blaikie :  note  on,  276. 

Boyd,  Rev.  William  F. :  note  on,  272. 

Brebner,  Rev.  William :  note  on,  273. 

Bridge,  Sir  Frederick :  lectures  on  Milton 
and  Music,  77. 

British  Diplomacy,  1902-1914.  By  Professor 
C.  Sanford  Terry,  36,  142. 

Brown,  Lieut.  Francis  F. :  Order  of  St. 
Sava,  269. 

Brown,  Pte.  George  A.  :  death  of,  285. 

Brown,  R.  N.  Rudmose :  note  on,  86. 

Brown,  Lieut.  Richard  Gavin :  death  of, 
192,  222,  232,  285. 

Bruce,  Robert :  note  on,  250. 

Bruce,  Lt.-Col.  Robert):  mentioned  in  de- 
spatches, 178. 

Bruce,  Rev.  Dr.  W.  S.  :  note  on,  86. 

Buchan,  Alexander  M. :  note  on,  88. 

Bulloch,  J.  M. :  notes  on,  184,  276 ;  "  Billy  " 
Dey,  108 ;  The  Scots  Fencibles,  71 ; 
The  University  and  Soldiering,  27. 

James  :    founds    Divinity    prize, 
172. 

Burnet,  J.  R.  Wardlaw:  appointed  an  ex- 
aminer, 74. 

Burnett,  J.  G.:  note  on,  184. 

Burns,  James  Dallas  :  death  of,  279. 

Bute,  Marquis  of,  and  Sir  James  Donaldson, 
54. 

Calder,   Lieut.  George  M. :  death  of,   92, 

230. 
Calder,  Gordon  Hamilton  :  note  on,  181. 
Cameron,  Alfred  Ernest :  note  on,  273. 
Cantlie,  James :  note  on,  83. 
Carnegie  trust,  267. 
Celtic  lectureship  founded,  172. 
Center,   Fleet    Surg.    Wm.   Rudolf:   death 

of,  232,  286. 
Chalmers,  John  :  note  on,  251. 
Chrystall,  William  :  note  on,  88. 
Clark,  Rev.  James  H. :  note  on,  273. 
Clark,  Robert  Selby :  note  on,  273. 
Clark,  Rev.  Professor  William  R. :  note  on 

[not   Senior  Graduate],  87;  death   of, 

253,  280. 
209  19 


290  Aberdeen  University   Review 


Clarke,  John,  reviews  Leach's  Some  Re- 
sults of  Research  in  the  History  of  Edu- 
cation in  England,  165. 

Class  Reunion,  1888-92,  175. 

"Class"  System:  remarks  by  Sir  W.  M. 
Ramsay,  174. 

Cockburn,  Lucy :  note  on,  85. 

Collie,  Major  Sir  John :  note  on,  82. 

Cook,  John :  death  of,  187. 

Coquerel,  Sergt.  Henri:  Croix  de  Guerre, 
269. 

Correspondence : — 
Aberdeen's  First  Senior   Wrangler.    By 

Rev.  J.  S.   Mackenzie,  52. 
Aberdeen's   First  Senior   Wrangler.    By 

Sir  James  Stirling,  250. 
Professor    Bain's     Teaching.      By    Rev. 

Alexander  Jack,  251. 
Professor  W.  R.  Clark,  Toronto.     By  A. 
H.  Young,  253. 

Cowan,  Professor  Henry:  note  on,  183; 
reviews  Bishop  Mitchell's  Biographical 
Studies,  155. 

Cowie,  Rev.  William :  note  on,  83. 

Cowieson,  Alexander :  death  of,  90. 

Cox,  Rev.  J.  T. :  note  on,  83. 

Crombie,  James  Edward :  helps  to  institute 
lectureship  in  Forest  Botany,  73. 

Cruickshank,  Lance-Corp.  James :  death  of, 
92,  223. 

Cruickshank,  James  :  record  of  pupils,  76. 

Cruickshank,  Pte.  James  O. :  death  of,  224. 

Cruickshank,  Mary  Walker  :  note  on,  183. 

Cumming,  Rev.  George  Watson ;  death  of, 
188. 

Cumming,  Lance-Corp.  Marianus  A. :  death 
of,  93,  225. 

Curtis,  Professor  W.  A. :  appointed  to 
Edinburgh  Chair,  79;  reviews  Sir  W. 
M.  Ramsay's  Bearing  of  Recent  Dis- 
covery, 161. 

Davidson,  Capt.  George :  mentioned  in  des- 
patches, 76. 

Davidson,  William  Brown :  note  on,  83. 

Davidson,  Professor  W.  L. :  reviews  Laing's 
Metaphysics  of  Nietzsche's  Immoralism, 
67  ;  his  Utilitarians  reviewed,  163. 

Davie,  Jessie  Keith :  note  on,  183. 

Dalgetty,  Dugald,  11. 

Dawson,  Capt.  George  Forbes :  Military 
Cross,  75, 

Dawson,  Lt.-Col.  James:  D.S.O.,  76; 
mentioned  in  despatches,  76,  178. 

Dawson,  William:  appointed  an  examiner, 
74  ;  note  on,  181. 

Dewar,  Lieut.  George  :  death  of,  igi,  23«. 

Dey,  William :  death  of,  185 ;  bequests  for 
the  Library,  171 ;  ''Billy  "Dey,  by  J.  M. 
Bulloch,  108  ;  My  Last  Schoolmaster,  by 
J.  Leslie  MacKenzie,  97. 

Diack,  Peter  :  note  on,  273. 

Dickie,  Rev.  John :  note  on,  80. 

Dickie,  Major  Johnson  ;  notes  on,  86,  269. 


Divinity  prize,  172. 

Divinity,  Proposed  new  degree  in,  265. 

Don,  Major  Alexander:  mentioned  in  des- 
patches, 178 ;  note  on,  270. 

Donald,  Rev.  Dr.  James :  note  on,  83. 

Donald,  Sergt.  Robert :  death  of,  286. 

Donald,  Private  William :  death  of,  191,  229. 

Donaldson,  Sir  James,  and  the  Marquis  of 
Bute,  54. 

Downie,  Rev.  John  W. :  note  on,  181. 

Duguid,  David  S. :  note  on,  83. 

Duguid,  John  :  death  of,  281. 

Duguid,  John  A. :  death  of,  90. 

Duguid,  Lieut.  James  :  death  of,  286. 

Duncan,  Sergt.  Alexander  D. :  death  of,  93, 
227. 

Duncan,  Rev.  James  Park:  note  on,  273. 

Dunn,  William:  death  of,  188. 

Edwards,  Elizabeth  M. :  note  on,  85. 
Elmslie,  Elizabeth  E. :  note  on,  85. 
Engineering,  Chair  of,  founder,  73. 
Entwistle,  William  James  :  note  on,  276. 
Esslemont,  W.  D. :  note  on,  184. 
Ewen,  Jane :  note  on,  183. 
Ewen,  Pte.  John  B. :  death  of,  93,  229. 
Ewen,  Rev.  William  P. :  death  of,  188. 
Examiners  appointed,  74. 

Fae  France.     By  Charles  Murray,  241. 

Falconer,  President,  on  Aberdeen  University's 
record,  270. 

Farquharson,  Charles  Ogilvie :  note  on,  273. 

Finances  of  the  University,  264. 

Findlater,  Lance-Corp.  Alex. :  taken  prisoner, 
229. 

Findlay,  W.  M. :  note  on,  86. 

Fleming,  Major  Frank :  mentioned  in  des- 
patches, 178. 

Fleming,  Rev.  John:  note  on,  273. 

Flowerdew,  Capt.  Richard  F. :  mentioned 
in  despatches,  269. 

Forbes,  Pte.  James  C. :  death   of,  93,  227. 

Forbes,  Johanna :  note  on,  85. 

Forbes,  Sergt.  John  Keith :  death  of,  93, 
229. 

Forbes,  Robert  A. :  note  on,  88. 

Forbes,  William :  note  on,  88. 

Forestry  instruction,  73. 

Forgan,  Capt.  Robert :  mentioned  in  de- 
spatches, 178  ;  Military  Cross,  177. 

•'  Forsaken  "  in  Greek.  By  Professor  A.  W. 
Mair,  245. 

Forsyth,  Rev.  Principal  P.  T. :  note  on, 
183. 

Fowlie,  Alexander  J. :  death  of,  93,  222. 

Fowlie,  Lance-Corp.  Andrew  T. :  death  of, 
93.  227. 

Eraser,  Capt.  Alexander  D, :  mentioned  in 
despatches,  76 ;  Military  Cross,  269. 

Eraser,  Lieut.  Ian  Catto :  death  of,  93,  230. 

Fraser,  John  :  appointed  an  examiner,  74 ; 
appointed  Lecturer  on  Celtic  and  Phil- 
ology, 173- 


Index  to  Volume  III 


291 


Fraser,    Lt.-Col.    Thomas:     mentioned    in 

despatches,  178. 
Fraser,  Dr.  Thomas  Pepp^ :  death  of,  220, 

232. 
Fulton,  Rev.  William  :  appointed  to  Chair  of 

Systematic  Theology,  80 ;  note  on,  272. 
Fyfe,  Rev.  William  D. :  note  on,  83. 

Gaelic  chair  advocated  in  1835,  173. 
Galloway,   Capt.   Rudolph   W. :  mentioned 

in  despatches,  76. 
Garbutt,  Lieut.  James  R.  G. :  death  of,  191, 

232. 
Garden,  Major  James  W. :  note  on,  269. 
Geddes,  James  :  note  on,  82. 
Gerard,  Dorothea  :  death  of,  184. 
Gerard,  Emily :  note  on,  184. 
Gerrard,  William  Innes :  Order  of  St.  Anne, 

76. 
Gibson,  Professor  R.  J.  Harvey  :  West  Point 

Military  Academy,  U.S.A.,  128. 
Gifford,  Eliza  :  note  on,  183. 
Gilchrist,  Robert  N.  :  note  on,  273. 
Giles,   Rev.  Alexander,  Senior   graduate  of 

King's  :  death  of,  go. 
Giles,  George  Marr  :  note  on,  83. 
Gill,  Sir  David  :  note  on,  271. 
Gilroy,  Professor  James :  reviews  Sir  George 

Adam  Smith's  Atlas,  254. 
Glen's    Muster    Roll,      The.      By     Mary 

Symon,  136. 
Goblet  d'Alviella,  Count:  note  on,  272. 
Goodheart,  Sir  James  F.  :  death  of,  281. 
Gordon,  Lieut.  Geoffrey :  death  of,  93,  223. 
Gordon,  George  :  death  of,  93,  192. 
Gordon,  John  :  note  on,  180. 
Gordon,  Mary :  note  on,  183. 
Gordon,  Robert  Patrick  :  death  of,  94,  227. 
Graduation,  July,  1915,  87. 
Grant,   Mrs.  Christian  Davidson  Maitland : 

death  of,  188. 
Grant,  William :  note  on,  276. 
Grant,  William  J. :  note  on,  276. 
Grant,  Rev.  William  M. :  note  on,  86. 
Gray,  Rev.  Alexander  :  note  on,  84. 
Gray,  Col.  Henry  M.  W. :  mentioned  in  des- 
patches, 76 ;  C.B.,  177. 
Gray,  Lt.-Col.  Wm.  Henry  :  death  of,  232. 
Gregory,  John :  death  of,  90. 
Grierson,  Professor  H.  J.  C. :  reviews  Purves' 

South   African  Book  of  English  verse, 

60 ;  appointed  to  Edinburgh  Chair,  78. 
Guthrie,   Lieut.  Hector   M. :  death  of,  191, 

222. 

Haig,  Corpl.  William  S. :  death  of,  229. 

Hall,  Major  George:  C.M.G.,  269. 

Halley,  John  :  death  of,  188 . 

Hardy,  Thomas :  The  Youth  who  Carried  a 
Light,  97. 

narrower,  Professor  John  :  advocates  Celtic 
Lectureship,  172;  reviews  Thomson's 
Studies  in  the  Odyssey,  55  ;  Tennyson's 
•♦  Thy  Voice  is  Heard"  in  Greek,  141. 


Harvey,  Rev.  James :  note  on,  274. 
Hastings,  Ann  W. :  note  on,  180. 
Hastings,    Rev.  Dr.   James:  notes  on,   86, 

183,  184,  276. 
Hay,  Professor  Matthew,  on  the  Finances  of 

the  University,  264. 
Hein,  Gustav  :  death  of,  90. 
Henderson,  Lieut.  Alex.  R.  :  missing,  229. 
Hendrick,  Professor  :  note  on,  81,  180. 
Henry,  Anthony  M.  :  note  on,  88. 
Home,  Alexander  R. :  note  on,  84. 

In  Memoriam  Alexander  Mackie.  By  W. 
Keith  Leask,  2. 

"  In  Memoriam  "  Service,  288. 

Ingram,  Capt.  W.  W. :  mentioned  in  des- 
patches, 76 ;  Military  Cross,  76. 

Innes,  I.  G.  :  note  on,  86. 

Interatnna  Borealis.  By  W.  Keith  Leask 
(announced),  239. 

Ironside,  Rev.  Alexander :  death  of,  188. 

Ironside,  William  :  death  of,  90. 

Irvine,  John  Locke:  note  on,  82;  Shake- 
speare's •*  Once  More  Unto  the  Breach,'' 
in  Greek,  139. 

Jack,  Adolphus  Alfred  :  appointed  Professor 
of  English,  79  ;  note  on,  179. 

Jack,  Rev.  Alexander:  Professor  Bain's 
Teaching,  251. 

Jack,  Thomas:  note  on,  180. 

Jackson,  William :  founds  Chair  of  Engine- 
ering, 73. 

James  Clerk  Maxwell.    By  Robert  Walker, 

193. 

Jameson,  Herbert  M. :  death  of,  94. 

Jamieson,  Douglas:  death  of,  222. 

Jamieson,  Herbert  M. :  death  of,  232. 

Jeremiah's  Poems  on  War.  By  Very  Rev. 
Principal  Sir  George  Adam  Smith,  120. 

Johnston,  Rev.  David  S. :  note  on,  181. 

Johnston,  Capt.  George  M. :  death  of,  231, 
287. 

Johnston,  James  C. :  note  on,  84. 

Johnstone,  Rev.  Dr.  George,  Senior  alum- 
nus of  King's  College :  death  of,  281, 

Johnstone,  J.  F.  Kellas :  note  on,  180 ;  re- 
views Forbes  Leith's  Pre- Reformation 
Scholars,  63. 

Keith,    Mrs.     Annie    Brown    Macdonald : 

death  of,  90. 
Keith,  Professor  Arthur  :  note  on,  183. 
Keith,  Rev.  John  :  note  on,  181. 
Keith,   Lieut.  William  B. :  Military  Cross, 

76. 
Kellas,  Capt.  Arthur  :  death  of,  94,  222,  232. 
Kemp,  Ethel  H.  :  note  on,  85. 
Kennedy,  Rev.  John  :  note  on,  83. 
Kennedy,  Lieut.  William  R. :  death  of,  94, 

230. 
"  Killed  in  Action "  in  Greek.     By  J.   D. 

Symon,  249. 
Knowles,  Pte.  John  F. :  death  of,  225. 


2()2  Aberdeen  University  Review 


Larg,  David  G. :  note  on,  i8o. 

Laws,  Rev,  Dr.  Robert :  note  on,  86. 

Leask,  W.  Keith:  In  Memoriam  Alexander 
Mackie,  2 ;  his  Interamna  Borealis  an- 
nounced, 239. 

Legge,  Lieut.  Angus  F. :  death  of,  220, 
232. 

Legge,  Esther  :  note  on,  85. 

Lendrum,  Rev.  Alexander  :  note  on,  181. 

Lipp,  Lieut.  Frank  :  death  of,  287. 

Lister,  Lt.-Col.  Arthur  H.  :  C.M.G.,  269. 

Littlejohn,  David  :  note  on,  272. 

Lobban,  Agnes :  note  on,  86. 

Louvain  University  Library,  171. 

Low,  Allan  James  :  note  on,  82. 

Low,  Lieut.  George :  missing,  229. 

Lumsden,  Rev.  James  :  note  on,  83. 

Lyon,  Pte.  Harry :  death  of,  94,  227. 

Maartens,  Maarten  :  death  of,  92. 
MacCombie,     Capt.     Hamilton :      Military 

Cross,  177. 
MacConnochie,  Bessie  Jane  :  note  on,  275. 
MacDonald,  D.  H. :  note  on,  86. 
MacDonald,  Donald ;  note  on,  182. 
MacDonald,   Professor    H.    M. :    note  on, 

179,  180;  on  Professor  Clerk  Maxwell, 

213. 
MacDonald,  Col.  Stuart :  C.M.G.,  177. 
MacDonell,  William  Robert :  death  of,  282. 
MacGregor,  Quartermaster-Sergt.   Charles : 

death  of,  231,  278. 
MacHardy,  Lt.-Col.  Sir  Alexander  B. :  note 

on,  271. 
Macintosh,  Bella  J.  S. :  death  of,  283. 
Macintosh,  Edward  :  note  on,  180. 
Maclver,    Lance-Corpl.   Murdo :    death   of, 

94.  227. 
Maclver,  Robert  M. :  appointed  to  Chair  in 

Toronto,  81. 
Mackay,  James  W.  N. :  death  of,  91. 
Mackay,  Corpl.  Keith  :  death  of,  224. 
MacKendrick,  Professor  J.  G. :  appointed  an 

Examiner,    74 ;     Sandy    Lawrence :    a 

sketch,  48. 
Mackenzie,  Agnes  M. :  note  on,  86. 
Mackenzie,  Rev.     J.    S.  :   Aberdeen's   First 

Senior  Wrangler,  52. 
Mackenzie,  Thomas  :  death  of,  283. 
Mackenzie,   W.   Leslie:    My   Last  School- 
master, 98. 
Mackie,  Alexander :    In  Memoriam,  by  W. 

Keith  Leask,  2  ;  his  Aberdeenshire,  72  ; 

Matthew  Arnold,  277. 
Mackintosh,  Duncan  D. :  note  on,  270. 
MacLaggan,  Capt.  James  Murray :  Military 

Cross,  76. 
MacLellan,  Major  Farquhar :  note  on,  182. 
MacLennan,    Pte.   Roderick   D. :  death   of, 

191,  229. 
MacLeod,  Charles :  note  on,  86. 
MacLeod,  John  M.  H. :  note  on,  274. 
MacLeod,  Corpl.  Malcolm:  taken  prisoner, 

229. 


MacMillan,  Lilias  M. :  note  on,  86. 
MacPherson,  Lieut.  Ian  Charles :  death  of, 

94,  230. 
MacPherson,  James  T. :  death  of,  283. 
MacPherson,   Lieut.   John  Cook  :  death  of, 

94. 
MacQueen,  Lt.-Col.  John  E. :  mentioned  in 

despatches,  178 ;  death  of,  95,  229. 
MacQueen,  Rev.  John  :  note  on,  84. 
MacRae,  A.  R. :  note  on,  84. 
MacRae,  Sergt.  Victor  C. :  death  of,  224. 
MacRobert,  Sir  Alexander :    founds   Patho- 
logy Lectureship,  173. 
MacSween,  Pte.  George :  death  of,  227. 
MacWilliam,  Lieut.  Charles  Thomas  :  death 

of,  231,  287. 
MacWilliam,  Professor  J.  A. :  F.R.S.,  272. 
Mair,    Professor   A.    W. :    "  Forsaken "   in 

Greek,  245. 
Maitland,  Christian  D.    [Mrs.  Grant] :  note 

on,  277. 
Mansfield,  Deputy  Surg.-Gen.  Cyril  James  : 

death  of,  232,  283. 
MarischaVs  Most  Martial  Alumnus.     By  J. 

D.  Symon,  11. 
Marr,  Sergt.   Alexander  D. :  death   of,  191, 

227. 
Marr,  Rev.  George  S. :  note  on,  80. 
Mason,  John  H.  S. :  death  of,  95,  229. 
Matthew   Arnold.     By  Alexander    Mackie, 

277. 
Maxwell,  James  Clerk.    By  Robert  Walker, 

193. 

Mearns,  Surg.  Wm.  Mellis :  death  of,  232. 

Meldrum,  Rev.  Andrew :  death  of,  189. 

Melvin,  Capt.  George  S. :  mentioned  in  des- 
patches, 178. 

Menzies,  Capt.  John  L. :  note  on,  270. 

Meston,  Gertrude  :  note  on,  275. 

Meston,  Sir  James  S. :  note  on,  274. 

Meston,  William  :  note  on,  182. 

Michie,  Charles  :  death  of,  189. 

Middleton,  Pte.  Robert  Hugh  :  death  of,  225. 

Miller,  Rev.  David  :  note  on,  274. 

Miller,  Sir  John  O.  :  note  on,  82. 

Milligan,  Sir  William  :  note  on,  274. 

Milne,  Alfred  Forbes :  note  on,  274. 

Milne,  Pte.  Frederick  W. :  death  of,  95,  231. 

Milne,  Capt.  Herbert  S. :  Military  Cross,  269. 

Minty,  Rev.  George  :  note  on,  84. 

Mitchell,  Pte.  Alex. :  death  of,  225. 

Mitchell,  Henry  Benjamin  :  death  of,  189. 

Mitchell,  Capt.  John  P. :  mentioned  in  des- 
patches, 178. 

Mitchell,  Major  Robert:  D.S.O.,  177,  269; 
mentioned  in  despatches,  178. 

Mitchell,  William  :  note  on,  84. 

Moody,  Douglas  W.  K. :  death  of,  191, 
232. 

Moore,  Lieut.  Edmund  H.  :  D.S.O.  76. 

Morrison,  George  J.  :  note  on,  84. 

Morrison,  Peter :  note  on,  180. 

Mowat,  Major  James :  death  of,  232. 

Munro,  Pte.  Gordon  D. :  death  of,  95,  229. 


Index  to  Volume  III 


293 


Murray,  Rev.  Gordon  J.  :  note  on,  80 ; 
motion  anent  uniform  Preliminary  Ex- 
amination and  new  Degree  in  Divinity, 
174,  265. 

Murdoch,  Rev.  William  :  note  on,  274. 

Murison,  Professor  A.  F. :  note  on,  182. 

Murison,  A.  R. :  note  on,  82. 

Murray,  Charles :  Fae  France,  241. 

Murray,  Pte.  George :  taken  prisoner,  229. 

Murray,  James,  Glenburnie  Park  :  knighted, 
81. 

Murray,  Sapper  James  S. :  death  of,  225. 

Murray,  John  Watson  :  note  on,  182. 

Murray,  Rev.  Robert :  death  of,  189. 

My  Last  Schoolmaster.  By  W.  Leslie 
Mackenzie,  98. 

Napier,  Rev.  John  G.  S. :  death  of,  284. 

Neilson,  Sergt.- Major  Charles :  death  of, 
287. 

Nicol,  Very  Rev.  Professor  Thomas :  re- 
views Dean's  Book  of  Revelation,  167. 

Ogilvie,  Francis  Grant :  note  on,  84. 

Ogilvie,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  N. :  note  on,  183. 

Ogilvie,  William  M. :  note  on,  84, 

Old  Aberdeen,  October,  1915,  i. 

•'  Once  More  Unto  the  Breach  "  in  Greek.    By 

J.  L.  Irvine,  139. 
Ordinance  on  Preliminary  Examination,  74. 
Ordinances,  Emergency,  74. 

Paterson,  Alex.  Ross :  death  of,  284, 
Paterson,  F.  W.  :  appointed  an   Examiner, 

74- 
Paterson,  Professor  James  Alex. :  death  of, 

190. 
Pathology  Lectureship  founded,  173, 
Paul,  Sir  George  M. :  note  on,  84. 
Peace,  James  Bennet :  note  on,  275. 
Pennsylvania,  University  of,  175. 
Peter,  Rev.  Thomas  Burnett :  note  on,  182. 
Petrie,  David:  CLE.,  81. 
Philip,  Elizabeth  :  note  on,  183. 
Philip,  John  Bentley  :  note  on,  276. 
Philip,  John  C,  Ex-Sacrist :  death  of,  91. 
Philpots,  Edward  Payne :  death  of,  91. 
Poorten-Schwartz,    Joost    M.   W.    van  der 

[Maarten  Maartens]  :  death  of,  92. 
Porter,      Surgeon-General      Sir       James : 

K.C.M.G.,  177. 
Powell,  Rev.  Thomas  W. :  death  of,  284. 
Preliminary  Examinations,   267;  motion  by 

Rev.   Dr.   Gordon  Murray,   174;  ordin- 
ance, 74. 
Pringle,  Archibald  D. :  note  on,  276. 
Profeit,  Lt.-Col.  Charles  W. :  mentioned  in 

despatches,  76. 
Profeit,  William  J. :  note  on,  86. 

Rae,  Rev.  James  :  note  on,  84. 

Rae,  William :  on  proposed  new  degree  in 

Divinity,  265. 
Rae,  Major  William:  D.S.O.,  177. 


Ramsay,  Lieut.  Lewis  N.  G. :  death  of,  223  ; 

note  on,  86. 
Ramsay,  Sir  W.  M. :  note  on,  272 ;  on  the 
'•  Class  "  system,  174  ;  his  Making  of  a 
University  reviewed,  70. 
Reid,  Alexander  W. :  note  on,  84. 
Reid,  Annie  :  note  on,  183. 
Reid,  Lieut.  Robert :  death  of,  287. 
Reid,  William  George  :  note  on,  180. 
Reith,  Rev.  Dr.  George:  note  on,  271. 
Reith,  Rev.  George  M.  :  note  on,  275. 
Reviews : — 
Bulloch,  J.  M. :  The  Scots  Fencibles  and 

English  Service,  71. 
Cape  Astrographic  Zones,  71. 
Chapman,  J.  B. :  Horace  and  his  Poetry, 

69. 
Cowan,  Rev.    Professor    H.,   and    James 

Hastings,  D.D. :  Sub  Corona,  261. 
Davidson,     Professor    William    L. :  The 
Utilitarians  from  Bentham  to  jf.  S. 
Mill,  163. 
Dean,  Rev.  J.  T. :  The  Book   of  Revela- 
tion, 167. 
Junks,  E.   A.:  An    Index  of  the  Adverbs 

of  Terence,  70. 
Keith,  Arthur :  The   Antiquity  of    Man, 

234- 

Keppel,  Frederick  P. :  Columbia,  69. 

Laing,  Bertram  M. :  Metaphysics  of 
Nietzsche^s  Immoralism,  67. 

Leach,  Arthur  F. :  Some  Results  of  Re- 
search in  the  History  of  Education  in 
England,  165. 

Leftwich,  Ralph  W. :  An  Index  of  Symp- 
toms, 263. 

Leith,  W.  Forbes,  S.J. :  Pre-Reforma- 
tion  Scholars  in  Scotland,  63. 

MacGillivray,  Pittendrigh :  Pro  patria, 
262. 

Macintosh,  Rev.  John :  Australia's 
Battle  Hymn  (music),  71. 

Mackie,  Alexander:  Aberdeenshire,  72. 

MacLeod,  Charles :  Lessons  in  Geo- 
metry, 170. 

Miller,  Rev.  William :  Rudimentary  Re- 
flections on  the  War,  68. 

Minutes  of  General  Council,  III,  263. 

Mitchell,  Bishop  Anthony:  Biographi- 
cal Studies  in  Scottish  Church  His- 
tory, 155. 

Mitchell,  P.  Chalmers :  Evolution  and 
the  War,  158. 

Philip,  J.  Bentley :  Holidays  in  Sweden, 
168. 

Purves,  John  :  The  South  African  Book  of 
English  Verse,  60. 

Ramsay,  Sir  W.  M. :  The  Bearing  of  Re- 
cent Discovery  on  the  Trustworthiness 
of  the  New  Testament,  161. 

Ramsay,  Sir  W.  M. :  The  Making  of  a 
University,  70. 

Sarvadhikary,  Hon.  Devaprasad:  Ad- 
dress, 72. 


294  Aberdeen  University  Review 


Reviews — cont. — 
Smith,   Sir  George  Adam :  Atlas  of  the 

Historical    Geography   of  the    Holy 

Land,  254. 
Smith,    Rev.   Harry :  Layman's   Book  of 

the  General  Assembly,  72. 
Smith,  Rev.  James,  B.D. :  Sermons,  71. 
Terry,  Professor  C.  S. :  ^  Short  History 

of  Europe,  1806-1914,  259. 
Thomson,  J.  A.  K. :  Studies  in  the  Odyssey, 

55. 
Willson,  Beckles:  Life  of  Lord  Strath- 

cona,  170. 
Year-book  of  the  Universities  of  the  Em- 
pire, 70. 
Riddell,   Lieut.-Col.  John  Scott;  appointed 

Assessor  in  University  Court,  174. 
Riddoch,  James  :  death  of,  190. 
Robb,  Alexander :  note  on,  250. 
Robb,  Major  Alex.  Kirkland:  death  of,  223. 
Robb,  James  B.  K. ;  death  of,  91. 
Robertson,  Charlotte ;  note  on,  270. 
Robertson,  Forbes  M.  M. :  note  on,  182. 
Robertson,  George  Croom:  note  on,  271. 
Robertson,  Rev.  John:  Senior  Graduate  of 

Marischal  College  and  of  the  University, 

87,  277. 
Robertson,    John    Minto :    Dr.    Mortimer, 

Turriff — a  memoir,  71. 
Robertson,  Mary  W.  U. :  note  on,  86. 
Robertson,  Corpl.  Norman  John :  death  of, 

287. 
Roscoe,  Sir  Henry  E.  :  death  of,  190. 
Rose,  Lieut.  Frederick  A. :  death  of,  95,  227. 
Ross,  Donald  James  :  note  on,  182. 

Sandy  Lawrence :  a  sketch.  By  Profes- 
sor J.  G.  McKendrick,  48. 

Sangster,  Lieut.  John  C. :  death  of,  229. 

Sangster,  Lieut.  William  J.  C. :  death  of, 
288. 

Saunders,  Pte.  George  K. :  missing,  229. 

Scott,  Lieut.  James:  mentioned  in  de- 
spatches, 178. 

Scott,  Lieut.  William  L. :  death  of,  95, 
227. 

Secretary  for  Scotland :  issues  Order  anent 
election  of  Assessors,  174. 

Senior  Alumnus  of  King's  College,  Rev.  Dr. 
George  Johnstone  :  death  of,  281. 

Senior  Graduate  of  King's  College,  Rev. 
Alexander  Giles  :  death  of,  90. 

Senior  Graduate  of  King's  College,  Rev. 
George  Compton  Smith,  277. 

Senior  Graduate  of  Marischal  College  and 
of  the  University,  Rev.  John  Robertson, 
87,  277. 

Shakespeare's  **  Once  More  Unto  the  Breach," 
in  Greek.    By  John  L.  Irvine,  139. 

Shanks,  Pte.  John  W. :  missing,  229. 

Shennan,  Professor  Theodore  :  note  on,  180. 

Shinnie,  Andrew  James  :  note  on,  275. 

Shirras,  Alice :  note  on,  86. 

Shirras,  George  Findlay  :  note  on,  275. 


Shortt,  Captain  Henry  E. :  mentioned  in 
despatches,  76. 

Silver,  Alex. :  death  of,  192,  229. 

Sim,  George  Gall :  note  on,  82,  274. 

Simpson,  Rev.  Alex. :  note  on,  86. 

Simpson,  Colin  Finlayson :  Lieut.-Col.  in 
Russian  Army,  76. 

Simpson,  H.  F.  Morland :  reviews  Prof. 
Terry's  Short  History,  259. 

Simpson,  John  Alexander :  note  on,  82. 

Simpson,  Lilias  J.  A.  :  note  on,  178. 

Sinclair,  Andrew  M. :  note  on,  84. 

Skeen,  James  Humphry :  note  on,  85. 

Skinner,  Sergt.  Alex. :  death  of,  224. 

Skinner,  Robert  T. :  note  on,  275. 

Slater,  John  Cormack:  note  on,  275. 

Slesser,  George :  notes  on,  52,  250. 

Slesser,  William  D.  V. :  note  on,  269. 

Slorach,  Lance-Corpl.  Alexander :  death  of, 
192. 

Stuart,  John  George :  death  of,  190. 

Smith,  Francis  :  note  on,  183. 

Smith,  George:  appointed  Assessor  in  Uni- 
versity Court,  174. 

Smith,  Very  Rev.  Principal  Sir  George 
Adam  :  jferemiah''s  Poems  on  War,  120 ; 
Two  Years  of  War:  the  Record  of  the 
University,  214  ;  reviews  Miller's  Rudi- 
mentary Reflections  on  the  War,  68; 
Moderator  of  U.F.C.  General  Assembly, 
179;  Knighted,  179;  Atlas  of  Holy 
Land,  179;  reviewed,  254;  elected 
member  of  the  Athenaeum  Club,  272. 

Smith,  Lt.-Col.  George  Alex. :  D.S.O.,  269. 

Smith,  Lieut.  George  Buchanan :  death  of, 
96,  230. 

Smith,  Rev.  George  Compton :  Senior 
Graduate  of  King's  College,  277. 

Smith,  George  Michie  :  note  on,  251. 

Smith,  Rev.  George  Stuart :  death  of,  190. 

Smith,  Rev.  George  Watt :  Ultimus  Georgi- 
corum,  115. 

Smith,  Rev.  Harry :  note  on,  182,  276. 

Smith,  Col.  the  Rev.  James :  Sermons,  71  ; 
term  of  office  as  Assessor  extended,  174. 

Smith,  Rev.  Dr.  John  :  note  on,  82,  182. 

Smith,  William :  first  Provost  of  University 
of  Pennsylvania,  175. 

Smith,  Lieut.  William  G.  R. :  V.C.,  177; 
death  of,  192,  231. 

Society  for  Propagating  Christian  Knowledge 
petition  Parliament  for  Gaelic  Chair 
at  Aberdeen,  173. 

Souter,  Professor  Alex. :  note  on,  276. 

Souter,  James  G.  :  note  on,  85. 

Souttar,  W.  M. :  note  on,  271. 

Spirit  of  Our  Northern  University,  The. 
By  J.  D.  Symon,  239. 

Stephen,  Capt.  David  J.  S. :  Military  Cross, 
76. 

Stephen,  Lieut.  Frederick  Charles:  death 
of,  96,  230. 

Stewart,  Very  Rev.  Principal  Alexander: 
death  of,  89. 


Index  to  Volume  III 


295 


Stewart,  Capt.  James  Smith :  mentioned  in 
despatches,  76,  178, 

Stirling,  Sir  James:  Aberdeen's  First  Senior 
Wrangler,  250. 

Strachan,  Bishop  John  :  note  on,  253. 

Strachan,  Rev.  R.  H.  :  note  on,  276. 

Stuart,  Pte.  James :  death  of,  96,  230. 

Sturm,  Mrs.  Charlotte :  note  on,  180. 

Symon,  J.  D. :  *'  Killed  in  Action  "  in  Greek, 
249  ;  MarischaVs  Most  Martial  Alumnus, 
II ;  The  Spirit  of  Our  Northern  Uni- 
versity, 239. 

Symon,  Mary:  The  Glen's  Muster  Roll,  136. 

Tawse,  Sergt.  Bertram  W. :  death  of,  96, 
229. 

Taylor,  Capt.  John  W. :  note  on,  270. 

Taylor,  Thomas  M.  :  note  on,  88. 

Tennant,  W.  R. :  note  on,  82. 

Tennyson's  ^^  Thy  Voice  is  Heard"  in 
Greek,  by  Professor  Harrower,  141. 

Terry,  Professor  C.  Sanford :  British  Diplo- 
macy, 1902-1914,  36, 142  ;  note  on,  184  ; 
his  Short  History  reviewed,  259. 

Thomson,  Andrew  W. :  note  on,  183. 

Thomson,  James  A.  K. :  note  on,  184. 

Thomson,  Lieut.  James  O. :  note  on,  85. 

Thomson,  John  Alex. :  note  on,  183. 

Thomson,  Professor  John  Arthur :  An  An- 
atomist on  Our  Pedigree,  234  ;  reviews 
Chalmers  Mitchell's  Evolution  and  War, 
158;  Gifford  Lecturer  at  St.  Andrews, 
81 ;  notes  on,  180,  272. 

Thomson,  Sergt.  John  M. :  death  of,  96, 
227. 

Thomson,  Robert :  death  of,  190. 

Thomson,  Theodore  :  death  of,  284. 

"  Thy  Voice  is  Heard  "  in  Greek.  By  Pro- 
fessor Harrower,  141. 

Trail,  Professor  J.  W.  H. :  note  on,  180. 

Trail,  Capt.  William  S. :  MiHtary  Cross,  269. 

Troup,  Pte.  William  Alex. :  taken  prisoner, 
.  228. 

Turner,  Principal  Sir  William:  death  of, 
285. 

Two  Years  of  War  :  the  Record  of  the  Uni- 
versity. By  Principal  Sir  George  Adam 
Smith,  214. 

Ultimus  Georgicorum.  By  Rev.  G.  Watt 
Smith,  115. 


University,  The,  and  Soldiering,    By  J.  M. 

Bulloch,  27. 
University  and  the  War,  75,  176,  268. 
University  topics,  73,  171,  264. 
Urquhart,    Rev.  William    Spence:   D.Pbil., 

87 ;  note  on,  184. 

Walker,  Rev.  George :  note  on,  184,  271. 

Walker,  John  Lamb :  note  on,  275. 

Walker,  Robert;  yames  Clerk  Maxwell^ 
193  ;  notes  on  his  Arts  Class,  271. 

Walker,  Robert  S. :  note  on,  88. 

Wanliss,  Lt.-Col.  D.  S. :  C.M.G.,  75. 

War,  The  University  and  the,  75,  176,  268. 

Warrack,  Rev.  Alexander ;  death  of,  285. 

Watt,  Alexander  Stuart :  Lecturer  in  Forest 
Botany,  73. 

Watt,  Pte.  David  G.  M. :  death  of,  232,  288. 

Watt,  Corpl.  Edward :  death  of,  225. 

Watt,  Myra  :  note  on,  86,  183. 

Wattie,  Mary  F.  C. :  note  on,  180. 

Webster,  George  P. :  note  on,  88. 

West  Point  Military  Academy,  U.S.A. 
By  Professor  R.  J.  Harvey- Gibson,  128. 

Westland,  Albert :  term  of  office  as  Asses- 
sor extended,  174  ;  death  of,  186. 

Westland,  Sir  James :  note  on,  82,  271. 

Whyte,  Rev.  Dr.  Alexander :  note  on,  183. 

Whyte,  James  :  death  of,  96,  227. 

Whyte,  James  Strath ;  note  on,  85. 

Wilkie,  John  Christie  :  note  on,  183. 

Will,  Captain  William  M. :  Order  of  St. 
Sava,  269. 

Williamson,  Capt.  George  A. :  note  on, 
178. 

Williamson,  Capt.  M.  J. :  mentioned  in  de- 
spatches, 178. 

Wilson,  Rev.  Alexander;  note  on,  83. 

Wilson,  Rev.  John  :  death  of,  92. 

Wilson,  Louisa  Mary:  note  on,  275. 

Wilson,  Pte.  Robert :  taken  prisoner,  229. 

Wishart,  Frederick  :  note  on,  183. 

Women  Graduates,  War  Register  of,  270. 

Wood,  Pte.  David:  death  of,  225. 

Wright,  Rev.  George  T.  :  note  on,  85. 

Wright,  Helen  ;  note  on,  275. 

Young,  A.  H. :  Rev.  Professor  W.  R.  Clark, 

Toronto,  253. 
Youth   who    Carried    a    Light,    The.     By 

Thomas  Hardy,  97. 


IH 


Illustrations. 

The  Late  Alexander  Mackie,  M.A. Frontispiece 

The  Late  William  Dey,  LL.D To  face  page  ^gg 

Old  Aberdeen  Grammar  School  :  The  Barn „        log 

Sketch  Map  of  the  Near  East ,,        154 

Professor  Clerk  Maxwell „        ig3 

Genealogical  Tree  :  The  Antiquity  of  Man        .....  „       235 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ABERDEEN 


SUPPLEMENT 


TO 


PROVISIONAL  ROLL  OF  SERVICE 

1915-16 


This  Supplement  to  the  Provisional  Roll  of  Service  has 
been  closed  on  June  30,  191 6,  so  as  to  cover  a  full  year  from 
the  close  of  the  Provisional  Roll  issued  in  July,  191 5,  with  Vol. 
II.  of  the  Aberdeen  University  Review. 

The  Supplement,  which  follows  the  same  divisions  as  the 
Roll,  contains  not  only  all  new  names  reported  during  the  year, 
but  the  names  of  any  transferred  from  one  branch  of'H.M.'s 
Forces  to  another  and  of  all  previously  reported  in  the  ranks 
who  have  now  been  commissioned.  A  list  is  also  given  of 
graduates  serving  under  the  British  Red  Cross  Society.  This 
is  far  from  complete. 

The  list  of  the  fallen,  eighty-four,  is  given  from  the  begin- 
ning. It  has  not  been  found  possible  to  give  a  full  list  of  the 
wounded  ;  they  number  over  one  hundred  and  thirty. 

The  references  within  brackets  are  to  the  pages  of  the 
Provisional  Roll ;  those  without  brackets  are  to  the  pages  of 
this  Supplement. 

An  article  by  the  Principal  entitled  **  Two  years  of  War  : 
The  Record  of  the  University,"  appears  on  pp.  214-33  of  the 
number  of  the  Review  with  which  this  Supplement  is  issued ; 
and  a  summary  of  the  numbers  of  graduates,  alumni,  and 
students  on  service  will  be  found  on  p.  215. 

Corrections  and  Additions  should  be  addressed  to, 

AND  WILL  be  gratefully  RECEIVED  BY, 

THE  PRINCIPAL  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  ABERDEEN. 

Marischal  College,  Aberdeen. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 


5n  /IDemoriam i 

I.  The  Staff 8 

II.  Graduates lo 

Commissioned .         .         .10 

Enlisted 21 

Attested     . .25 

British  Red  Cross  Society .26 

III.  Alumni 27 

Commissioned    . 27 

Enlisted 28 

« 

IV.  Students  . 31 

Commissioned 31 

Enlisted 35 

Officers  Training  Corps,  Aberdeen  University        ...       40 

Summary  of  Provisional  Roll  and  this  Supplement  ...      42 


5n  ^emoriam. 


Medical  Officer  Thomas  Peppe  Fraser,  H.M.  Colonial 
Medical  Service,  West  African  Medical  Stafif,  attached 
to  troops  on  reconnaissance  on  the  eastern  frontier  of 
Nigeria,  where  he  was  killed  in  action,  5  September, 
1914,  aged  35  M.B.,  Ch.B.,  '01 

Maj.  Alexander  Kirkland  Robb,  2nd  Batt.  Durham  Light 
Infantry,  died  of  wounds  received  in  action,  France, 

20  September,  191 4  Matr.  Student,  '89 
Surgeon  William  Mellis  Mearns,  Royal  Navy,  sank  with 

H.M.S.  "Formidable,"  i  Jan.,  1915,  aged  31         M.B.,  Ch.B.,  '08 
Lieut. -Col.  William  Henry  Gray,  Indian  Medical  Service, 

died  on  recall  to  Service,  January,  aged  52  M.B.,  Ch.B.,  '86 

Lieut.  Angus  Forsyth  Legge,  attached  Singapore  Volun- 
teer Corps,  killed  in  the  Singapore  Mutiny,  16 
February,  aged  25  M.B.,  Ch.B.,  '12 

2nd  Lieut.  Lewis  Neil  Griffith  Ramsay,  3rd,  attd.  2nd, 
Batt.  Gordon  Hrs.,  killed  in  action  at  Neuve  Chapelle, 

21  March,  aged  25 

M.A.,  191 1  ;  B.Sc.  (with  special  distinction  in  Botany),  *I2 
Lance-Corpl.  Edward  Watt,  4th  Seaforth  Hrs.,  died  22 
March,    of    wounds   received    in    action    at    Neuve 
Chapelle,  10  March,  aged  23  B.Sc.  (Agr.),  '14 

Private  James  Orr  Cruickshank,  D  (late  U)  Coy.  4th  Batt. 

Gordon  Hrs.,  killed  in  Flanders,  15  April,  aged  19  ist  Sci. 

Sergt.  Victor  Charles  MacRae,  D  (late  U)  Coy.  4th  Batt. 
Gordon  Hrs.,  killed  in  Flanders  when  attempting 
to  remove  a  wounded  comrade,  21  April,  aged  23 

M.A.,  1st  Class  Hons.  in  Classics,  '14 
Sergt.  Alexander  Skinner,  4th  Batt.  Gordon  Hrs.,  killed 
in  action  in  Flanders,  22  April,  aged  31 

Teacher  in  Dumbarton;  Arts  &  Sci.  Stud.,  '09-' 11 


2  In  Memoriam 

Corpl.  Keith  Mackay,  D  (late  U)  Coy.  4th  Batt.  Gordon 
Hrs.,  died  28  April,  in  a  Casualty  Clearing  Hospital, 
France,  of  wounds  received  in  action,  20  March, 
aged  20  2nd  Arts  &  ist  Med. ;  M.A.,  '15 

Private  Alexander  Mitchell,  D  (late  U)  Coy.  4th  Batt. 
Gordon  Hrs.,  died  28  April,  in  a  Field  Hosp., 
France,  of  wounds  received  27  April,  aged  25  2nd  Arts 

Lieut.  Geoffrey  Gordon  (p.  15),  Special  Reserve,  attd.  12th 
(Pr.  of  Wales  Royal)  Lancers,  killed  in  action  in 
Flanders,  30  April  I.C.S. ;  M.A.,  '03 

Private  David  Wood  Crichton,  D  (late  U)  Coy.  4th  Gordon 

Hrs.,  killed  in  action,  Flanders,  7  May,  aged  18  1st  Agr. 

Private  John  Forbes  Knowles,  D  (late  U)  Coy.  4th  Batt 
Gordon  Hrs.,  killed  in  action,  Flanders,  5  May,  aged 
24  United  Free  Church  Div.  Student ;  M.A.,'l2 

Sapper  James  Sanford  Murray,  51st  (Highl.  Divisional) 
Signal  Coy.  (formerly  Pte.  E  Coy.,  4th  Batt.  Gordon 
Hrs.),  died  in  a  Field  Hospital,  France,  of  wounds 
received  the  same  day,  27  May,  aged  20  2nd  Arts 

Private  Robert  Hugh  Middleton,  4th  Batt.  Gordon  Hrs., 

killed  in  action,  Flanders,  i  June,  aged  22  3rd  Arts 

Private  Marianus  Alex.  Gumming,  4th  Gordon  Hrs.,  killed 
in  action,  Flanders,  14  June,  aged  23 

Asst.  Teacher,  Kemnay ;  M. A,  '  1 2 

Private  Harry  Lyon,  4th  Batt.  Gordon   Hrs.,   killed   in 

action,  Flanders,  17  June,  aged  22  2nd  Arts 

Lieut.  Wm.  Leslie  Scott,  5th  Gordon  Hrs.,  killed  in  action, 

Flanders,  16  June,  aged  22  3rd  Med. 

L.-Corpl.  Andrew  Thomson  Fowlie,  4th  Gordon  Hrs.,  killed 

in  action,  Flanders,  16  June,  aged  26  Un.  Dipl.  Agr.,  '09 

Private  James  Clapperton  Forbes,  4th  Gordon  Hrs.,  killed 

in  action,  Flanders,  16  June,  aged  20  3rd  Agr. 

Private  Robert  Patrick  Gordon,  4th  Gordon  Hrs.,  killed  in 

action,  Flanders,  17  June,  aged  19  2nd  Arts 

Private  James  Whyte,  4th  Gordon  Hrs.,  died  of  wounds 

received  in  action,  16  June,  aged  21  2nd  Arts 

L.-Sergt.  Alex.  David  Duncan,  4th  Gordon  Hrs.,  died  of 

wounds  received  in  action,  16  or  17  June,  aged  21  M.A.,  '14 


In  Memoriam  3 

L.-Corpl.    Murdo  Maclver,   4th   Gordon   Hrs.,  killed  in 

action,  Flanders,  19  June,  aged  20  3rd  Agr. 

Private  George  McSween,  4th  Gordon    Hrs.,   killed    in 

action,  16  June,  aged  23  Aberdeen  Training  Centre 

2nd  Lieut.  Frederick  Alexander  Rose,  4th  Batt.  Gordon 
Hrs.,  killed  in  action  in  Flanders,  10  August,  aged  25 

M.A.,  1st  Hons.  Eng.,  *ii  ;  B.A.,  Oxon. 

Lance-Corpl.  James  Cruickshank,  3rd,  trsf.,  1st  Batt. 
Gordon  Hrs.,  died  of  wounds  received  in  action  in 
Flanders,  July,  191 5  1st  Arts;  3rd  Bursar,  '14 

Sergt.  John  McLean  Thomson,  4th  Batt.  Gordon  Hrs., 
killed  in  action  in  Flanders,  July,  I9i5,#aged  26 

United  Free  Church  Div.  Student ;  M.A.,  'ii 

Sergt.  Alexander  Allardyce,  4th  Batt.  Gordon  Hrs.,  Sergt. 
of  Bombers,  killed  in  action  in  Flanders,  20  July, 
191 5,  aged  30  M.A,  '04  ;  B.L. 

Capt.  Arthur  Kellas,  89th  Field  Ambulance,  killed  in  action 

on  the  Dardanelles,  5  August,  191 5,  aged  31  M.B.,  '06 

?  Douglas  Jamieson,  8th  Australian  Light  Horse,  killed  in 

action  on  the  Dardanelles,  7  August  Former  Agr.  Stud. 

Sergt.  George  Cameron  Auchinachie,  ist  Batt.  Gordon 
Hrs.,  killed  in  Flanders,  23  August,  191 5,  aged  24,  by 
bursting  of  a  shell ;  previously  thrice  wounded 

Med.  Student,  'io-'l3 

Private  Alexander  John  Fowlie,  13th  Infantry  Batt, 
Australian  Imperial  Force,  killed  in  action  on  the 
Dardanelles,  August,  191 5,  aged  26  M.A.,  *u 

Lieut -Col.  John  Ellison  Macqueen,  commanding  6th  Batt  ' 

Gordon  Hrs.,  killed  in  action  about  Loos,  Flanders, 
25  September,  191 5,  aged  40  Law  Student,  '91 -'9 5 

Lieut  Frederick  Charles  Stephen,  6th  Batt  Gordon  Hrs., 
(pp.  29,  42),  killed  in  action  about  Loos,  Flanders, 
25  September,  191 5,  aged  29  M.A.,  ist  Hons.  Maths.,  '09 

2nd  Lieut  George  Macbeth  C alder,  8th  Batt  Gordon  Hrs., 
(pp.  61,  67)^  killed  in  action  about  Loos,  Flanders, 
25  September,  191 5,  aged  24  2nd  Med.,  M.A.,  '15 

2nd  Lieut  Ian  Catto  Eraser,  2nd  Batt  Argyll  and  Suther- 
land Hrs.  (pp.  61,  6^\  killed  in  action,  Flanders,  25 
September,  191 5,  aged  20  1st  Arts 


4  In  Memoriam 

2nd  Lieut.  William  Robert  Kennedy,  4th  Batt.  Seaforth 
Hrs.  (pp.  63,  68),  killed  in  action  in  Flanders,  25 
September,  191 5,  aged  19  ist  Med.,  '14- IS 

2nd  Lieut.  John  Cook  Macpherson,  ist  Batt.  Gordon  Hrs. 
(pp.  17,  46),  died  of  wounds  received  in  action  about 
Hooge,  Flanders,  25  September,  191 5,  aged  29 

M.A.,  '10  ;  LL.B. 

2nd  Lieut.  Ian  Charles  McPherson,  3rd,  attd.  2nd,  Batt. 
Gordon  Hrs.,  killed  in  action  about  Loos,  Flanders, 
25  September,  191 5,  aged  21  M.A.,  '14 

2nd  Lieut.  George  Buchanan  Smith,  S.R.O.,  attd.  2nd  Batt. 
Gordon  Hrs.  (p.  15),  killed  in  action  about  Loos, 
Flanders,  25  September,  aged  24 

M.A.,  Hons.  Hist.  (Glas.);  LL.B.,  '14 

2nd  Lieut.  William  John  Campbell  Sangster,  4th  Batt. 
Gordon  Hrs.  (p.   29),  killed  in  action  about  Hooge, 
JFlanders,  25  September,  191 5,  aged  20  M.A.,  '14 

Sergt.  John  Keith  Forbes,  i/4th  Batt.  Gordon  Hrs.  (p.  44), 
killed  in  action  near  Hooge,  Flanders,  25  Sep- 
tember, 191 5  United  Free  Church  Div.  Student ;  M.A.,  '05 

Sergt.  Alexander  David  Marr,  7th  Batt.  Gordon  Hrs.  (p. 
46),  killed  in  action  in  Flanders,  25  September,  1 91 5, 
aged  23  M.A.,  Hons.  Maths.,  '14 

Sergt.  Bertram  Wilkie  Tawse,  4th  Batt.  Cameron  Hrs. 
(p.  45),  killed  in  action,  Flanders,  25  September, 
191 5,  aged  31  M.A.,  Hons.  Maths.,  '05  ;  B.Sc. 

Corpl.  William  Stephen  Haig,  4th  Batt.  Gordon  Hrs.  (p. 
45),  killed  in  action  about  Hooge,  Flanders,  25  Sep- 
tember, 191 5*  aged  22  M.A.,  '14 

Private  James  Anderson,  .4th  Batt.  Gordon  Hrs.  (p.  6y\ 
died  a  prisoner  at  Giessen  from  wounds  received  in 
action  near  Hooge,  Flanders,  25  September,  191 5, 
aged  23  3rd  Arts 

Private  William  Donald,  4th  Batt.  Gordon  Hrs.  (p.  67), 
killed  in  action  about  Hooge,  Flanders,  25  Septem- 
ber, 191 5,  aged  22  2nd  Arts 

Private  John  Bimie  Ewen,  2 /4th  Batt.  Gordon  Hrs.  (p.  44), 
killed  in  action  near  Hooge,  Flanders,  25  September, 
1915,  aged22  M. A.,  Hons.  Class., '14 


In  Memoriam  5 

Private  John  Hampton  Strachan  Mason,  4th  Batt.  Gordon 
Hrs.  (p.  46),  killed  in  action  near  Hooge,  25  Sep- 
tember, 191 5,  aged  24  M.A.,  Hons.  Engl,  '13 

Private  Duncan  MacGregor,  4th  Gordon  Hrs  (p.  66),  fell 
in  action  near  Hooge,  Flanders,  25  September,  191 5 

About  to  matriculate 

Private  Roderick  Dewar  MacLennan,  i/4th  Batt.  Gordon 
Hrs.  (p.  70),  killed  in  action  near  Hooge,  Flanders, 
25  September,  1915,  aged  18  1st  Arts,  'i4-'i5 

Private  Gordon  Dean  Munro,  i/4th  Batt.  Gordon  Hrs. 
(p.  66),  died,  a  prisoner,  of  wounds  received  in  action 
near  Hooge,  25  September,  191 5,  aged  20  ist  Med. 

Private  Alexander  Silver,  4th  Batt.  Gordon  Hrs.  (p.  69), 
died  a  prisoner  in  a  German  Hospital  of  wounds  re- 
ceived in  action  near  Hooge,  Flanders,  25  Sep- 
tember, 191 5,  aged  2 1  2nd  Arts  and  Agr. 

Private  James  Stuart,  6th  iBatt.  Gordon  Hrs.,  killed  in 
action  near  Loos,  Flanders,  25  September,  191 5 

Private  Frederick  William  Milne,  4th  Batt.  Gordon  Hrs. 
(p.  70),  killed  in  action  near  Hooge,  October,  191 5, 
aged  19  1st  Med., ' 1 4-' 1 5 

Maj.  (Tempy.)  James  Mowat,  R.A.M.C.  (p.  32),  late  Fleet- 
Surg.  R.N.,  sank  with  transport  in  Mediterranean, 
1915  M.B.,'91 

Herbert  Mather  Jamieson,  entd.  (p.  22)  as  Temporary 
Lieut.  R.A.M.C,  volunteered  for  med.  service  in  R.N., 
died  26  September,  191 5,  aged  33  M.B.,  '04 

Rev.  Robert  Murray,  Chaplain,  Royal  Australian  Naval 
Reserve  (p.  42),  died  9  October,  191 5,  aged  52 

M.A.,  '83  ;  B.D.  St.  And. 

Lieut.  Hector  MacLennan  Guthrie,  3rd,  attd.  Batt. 
Lancashire  Fusiliers  (p.  15),  killed  in  action,  Gallipoli, 
191 5,  aged  23  M.A.,  1st  Hons.  Eng.,  '14 

Lieut.  James  Reston  Gardiner  Garbutt,  R.A.M.C,  attd 
King's  Own  Scottish  Borderers,  killed  in  action  in 
Flanders,  i  December,  191 5,  aged  26  M.B.,  'ii 

L.-Corpl.  Alexander  Slorach,  4th  Batt.  Gordon  Hrs. 
(P-  69),  accidentally  killed  in  the  trenches  near  Hooge, 
Flanders,  25  December,  1915,  aged  21  2nd  Arts 


6  In  Memoriam 

Christian  Davidson  Maitland  or  Grant,  sank  with  her  hus- 
band on  the  **  Persia,"  torpedoed  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean, 30  December,  1915  B.Sc,  '08;  M.B.  (Edin.) 

Surgeon  (Tempy.)  Douglas  Whimster  Keiller  Moody,  R.N. 
(p.  14),  sank  with  H.M.S.  "  Natal"  in  harbour,  30 
December,  191 5,  aged  42  M.B.,  '00;  M.D. 

Lieut.  William  George  Rae  Smith,  loth  King's  Own  York- 
shire Light  Infantry,  attd.  21st  Divisional  Cyclists 
(p.  55),  killed  in  action  while  saving  a  wounded  com- 
rade, 24  January,  191 6  Former  Agr.  Stud. 

Lieut.  George  Dewar,  R.A.M.C.  (p.  21),  killed  in  action  in 

Flanders,  January,  1916,  aged  23  M.B.,  '15 

Lieut.  Richard  Gavin  Brown,  R.A.M.C.  (p.  20),  died  in  5th 
Southern  General  Hospital  (after  operation  following 
on  dysentery  contracted  on  service  in  Gallipoli,  14th 
Casualty  Clearing  Station,  attd.  i  ith  Div.  Suvla  Bay), 
14  February,  1916,  aged  33  M.B.,  '03 

Lieut.  Charles  Thomas  Mc William,  5th  Batt.  Gordon  Hrs. 
(p.  29),  killed  in  action,  19  March,  1 916,  in  France, 
aged  26  M.A.,  '13 

Captain  (Tempy.)  George  Mitchell  Johnston,  attd.  7th 
Royal  Irish  Rifles  (p.  30),  killed  in  action  in  France, 
3  April,  1 91 6,  aged  26  B.Sc.  (Agr.),  *m 

Lieut.  James  Duguid,  7th  N.  Staffordshire  Regt.,  killed  in 

action,  Mesopotamia,  9  April,  19 16  Former  Agr.  Stud. 

Private  David  George  Melrose  Watt,  R.A.M.C.  (p.  72), 
died  on  service  at  Aldershot,  26  April,  191 6,  aged  19 

1st  Med,  'i5-'l6 

Fleet-Surg.  William  Rudolf  Center  (p.  53),  died  from 
burning  injuries  sustained  on  the  sinking  of  H.M.S. 
"  Russell,"  28  April,  1916,  aged  about  45        Former  Med.  Stud. 

Deputy-Surg,    General    Cyril    James   Mansfield   (p.    13), 

died  at  Gosport,  7  May,  1916,  aged  55  M.B.,  '83  ;  M.D.,  '96 

Qr.M.-Sergt.  Charles  McGregor,  loth  Batt.  Gordon  Hrs. 
(p.  46),  died  of  wounds  received  in  action  in  France, 
14  May,  1 91 6,  aged  43  M.A.,  ist  Hons.  Maths.,  '96 

2nd  Lieut.   Robert  Reid,  9th  Gordon  Hrs.   (pp.  17,  47), 
killed  in  action  in  France,  21  May,  191 6,  aged  23 

Mi  A.,  Hons.  Class.,  '14 


In  Memoriam  7 

Corpl  Norman  John  Robertson,  4th  Gordon  Hrs.  (p.  47), 
died  of  wounds  received  in  action,  30  May,  19 16, 
aged  26  M.A.,  '14 

2nd  Lieut.  Frank  Lipp,  Scottish  Rifles,  attd.  Welsh 
Fusiliers,  died  at  Karachi,  30  May,  1 91 6,  of  wounds 
received  in  action  in  Mesopotamia,  aged  24  M.A.,  '11 

Coy.-Sergt.  Major  Charles  Neilson,  Gordon  Hrs.  (p.  47), 
killed  in  action  in  France,  June,  1916,  aged  26 

Teacher;  M.A.,  '13 

Private  George  Alexander  Brown,  Machine  Gun  Section, 
4th  Batt.  Gordon  Hrs.  (p.  66\  killed  in  action  in 
France,  June,  191 6,  aged  19  7th  Arts  Bursar,  '14 

Sergt.  Robert  Donald,  Intelligence  Section,  4th  Gordon 
Hrs.  (p.  66),  killed  in  action  in  France,  June,  191 6, 
aged  21  1st  Arts 

Lieut.  Alfred  George  Morris,  Gordon  Hrs.,  killed  in  action, 

I  June,  1916  Agr.  Stud.,  '11 

2nd  Lieut.  James  Smith  Hastings  (Sergt.  p.  45),   3/4 th 

Gordon  Hrs.,  died  at  Ripon,  June,  191 6  M.A.,  '12 

Corpl.  John  Bowie,  Special  Brigade,  R.E.,  died  of  gas- 
poisoning  in  France,  June,  191 6,  aged  21  ist  Arts  and  Sci. 

Corpl.  George  Dawson  (Pte.  Roy.  Scots  p.  44),  Special 
Brigade,  R.E.,  killed  in  action  in  France,  28  June, 
1916,  aged  33      M.A.,  ist  Hons.  Maths.,  '05  ;  B.Sc.  (Spec,  dist.) 

Lieut.  Robert  Mackie  Riddel,  Service  Batt.  Gordon  Hrs. 
(Pte.  p.  70),  killed  in  action  in  France,  i  July,  191 6, 
aged  24  2nd  Arts 

2nd  Lieut.  William  Adrian  Davidson,  2nd  Gordon  Hrs. 
(p.  61),  wounded  at  Loos,  25  September,  191 5,  died 
of  wounds  received  in  action,  2  July,  191 6,  aged  21  ist  Med. 

2nd  Lieut  Frederick  Attenborow  Conner,  2nd  Seaforth 
Hrs.  (p.  32),  killed  in  action  in  France,  July,  191 6, 
aged  21  1st  Agr. 

2nd  Lieut.  George  McCurrach,  13th  Highl.  Light  Infantry, 
see  p.  II,  killed  in  action  in  France,  July,  191 6, 
aged  35  Teacher;  M. A., '08 


I.  THE  STAFF. 

MEMBERS  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  COURT. 

Col.  Scott  Riddell,  M.V.O.,  Member  of  Council,  Scottish  Branch  Red 
Cross  Society  and  Commissioner  for  N.E.  District  of  Scotland. 

MEMBERS  OF  THE  TEACHING  AND  RESEARCH  STAFFS. 

Emeritus-Professor  David  White  Finlay,  B.A.,   M.D.  (Glas.),  LL.D, 

(Yale  and  Aberd.),  Tempy.   Lieut. -Col.  R.A.M.C.,  in  charge  of 

Red  Cross  Hospital,  Bellahouston,  Glasgow. 
James  Duguid,  M.A.,  Lecturer  in  Conveyancing,  Lieut. -Col.  and  Hon. 

Col.  V.D.,  National  Reserve,  Chairman  of  the  Aberdeen  Munitions 

Tribunal. 
Francis  E.  A.  Campbell,  M.A.  (T.C.D.),  Ph.D.  (Greifswald),  Lecturer 

in  the  English  Language,  2nd  Lieut.  Staff  Censorship  Dept. 
John   Eraser,  M.A.,   Lecturer  in  Celtic  and   Comparative  Philology, 

University  Assistant  in  Humanity.     Post  under  the  War  Office. 
Alex.   Stuart  Watt,  B.Sc,  Lecturer  in  Forest  Botany  and  Zoology, 

Chemists'  Section,  M  Company,  R.E. 
Thomas   Jack,    M.A.  (Glas.),    University   Assistant   in    Moral  Philo- 
sophy with   status   of  Lecturer,  Sapper  2/3 rd    Lowland    Field 

Company,  R.E.  (T.F.). 
Macgregor  Skene,  B.Sc,  D.Sc,  University  Assistant  in  Botany  with 

status  of  Lecturer,  2nd  Lieut,  ist  Highl.  Brig.  R.F.A.  (T.F.). 
Edward  Wyllie  Fenton,  M.A.,  B.Sc,  University  Assistant  in  Botany, 

2nd  Lieut,  ist  Highl.  Brig.  R.F.A. 
Bertram   Mitchell  Laing,  M.A.  ('ii),  University  Assistant  in   Logic, 

Private,  nth  Gordon  Hrs. 
David  Glass  Larg,  M.A.  ('15),  University  Assistant  in  French,  Private, 

14th  London  Regiment  (London  Scottish). 
Ranald  Macdonald,  Assistant  in  Zoology,  2nd  Lieut.  7th  Gordons. 
Robert  Pearson  Masson,  M.A.  ('06) ;  LL.B.,  Tutor  in  Law. 

8 


The  StafF  9 

George  Newlands,  M.A.  ('11),  B.Sc,  University  Assistant  in  Geology,  on 

munitions  work. 
George  Rae,  B.Sc.  ('06),  University  Assistant  in  Mathematics,  Gunner 

R.G.A. 
Wm.  George  Reid,  M.A.,  University  Assistant  in  Greek,  9th  (Scot.) 

Cadet  Batt.  Gailes,  with  view  to  a  commission. 

*^*  Several  other  members  of  the  Staff  were  attested  under  the  Group 
System  but  have  been  exempted.  Others  are  employed  during  vaca- 
tion on  munitions  or  for  other  purposes  of  the  war. 

UNIVERSITY  SACRIST  AND  SERVANTS. 

George  S.  Robertson,  2nd  Lieut,  ist  Highl.  Brigade  R.F.A. 

Harry   Alex.   Wood,    formerly   Attendant,   Chemistry   Dept.,    then 

private   Laboratory    Assistant,   Agricultural    Dept.,   2nd.   Lieut. 

nth  Gordon  Hrs. 
George  Dower,  Agriculture,  Gunner,  32nd  Brig.  R.F.A. 

SECRETARY'S  OFFICE. 
Norman  Allen  Troup,  Private  R.A.M.C. 

THE  LIBRARY. 

Charlotte  Robertson,  Assistant  Librarian,  Orderly  in  the  Scottish 
Women's  Hospital,  Salonika. 


II.  GRADUATES. 

GRADUATES  HOLDING  COMMISSIONS. 

Surg.  (Tempy.)  Alex.  Irvine  Esslemont  M.B.,  *gg 

Alfred  Scott  Mackie  (fr.  R.A.M.C,  p.  72)     M.B.,  '15 
f  „  ,,  Douglas    Whimster   Keiller   Moody,   to 

H.M.S.  "Viceroy,"  addl.  for  Haslar 
Hospital:  sank  with  the  "Natal"  in 
harbour,  30  Dec,  191 5  M.B.,  '00;  M.D. 

„  „         Roland  Sinclair  M.B.,  '10 

„  „         Harry  Forest  Stephen  (Tempy.  Examin- 

ing   Offr.    Tyneside   Scottish),  H.M.S. 
"Clio".  M.B., '15 

„  J,         William  Taylor  M.B^  '10 

SURGEON  PROBATIONERS. 

Charles  Reid  M.A,  '14;  3rd  Med.,  'i5-'i6 

John  Skinner  M.A.,  '14;  3rd  Med.,  'i5-'id 

John  Norrie,  on  War  Service  at  Chatham  Docks  for  instruc- 
tion of  Govt,  apprentices  in  engineering. 

Rev.  George  Richmond  Murison,  officiating  minister  to 

Presbyterians  in  the  Navy  M.A.,  'y$ 

REGULAR  ARMY. 

War  Office  Staff. 

John  Eraser,  University  Lecturer,  p.  18  M.A.,  '03 

Cavalry  Special  Reserve, 

f  Lieut  Geoffrey  Gordon  (late  Capt  Punjab  Light  Horse, 
Indian  Volunteers),  attd.  12th  (Pr.  of  Wales  Royal) 
Lancers,    killed    in   action    in   Flanders,    30    April 

Assist.  Commissr.  Punjab  I.C.S. ;  M.A.,  '03 
10 


Temporary  Commissions  i  r 

Infantry^  Special  Reserve  of  Officers. 

2nd  Lieut.  David  Stewart  Dawson,  3rd  Batt.  Gordon  Hrs. 

Div.  Stud.;  M.A.,  '10 
„        „      (Rev.)  James  Davidson    Easton,    Argyll    and 

Sutherland  Hrs.  M.A., '11 

REGULAR  ARMY  TEMPORARY  COMMISSIONS. 

Royal  Artillery. 

2nd  Lieut.  Alex.   Ogilvie,    1 57th  (City  of  Aberd.)  Brig. 

R.F.A.  W.S.  Edin.  ;  M.A.,  '02 

Royal  Engineers. 

2nd  Lieut.  Evan  MacDonald  Burns  (p.  44),  Signal  Service    M.A.,  '14 

Infantry. 

2nd  Lieut.  John  Lyon  Booth  (p.  44),  attd.  2nd  Seaforth 

Hrs.  M.A.,  '14 

„     y,      Chas.  Gordon  Elder,  nth  Gordon  Hrs.  Teacher;  M.A.,  '10 

„     „       Jas.  Fowler  Eraser  (Sergt.  4th  Gordons,  p.  44), 

Argyll  and  Sutherland  Hrs.  M.A.,  '14 

„     „       Robt.    Andrew    Dermond    Forrest    (Pr.    4th 

Gordons,  p.  44),  Gordon  Hrs.  M.A.,  '14 

„  „  John  Garden  Lamb  (Sergt.  4th  Gordons  and 
R.F.C.  p.  45),  commd.  for  service  in  the 
field  M.A., '13;  B.Sc.(Agr.> 

t  „  „  George  McCurrach  (Lance-Corpl.  3rd  Gor- 
dons, p.  46),  13th  Highl.  Light  Infantry, 
killed  in  action,  July,  1 916  Teacher;  M.A.,  '08- 

„     „       Hugh  Sinclair  Robertson,  9th  Border  Regt. 

Teacher;  M.A.,  '06 

„     „       John  S.  Urquhart,  14th  Argyll  and  Sutherland 

Hrs.  M.A.,  '06 

R.A.M,C.  Retired  Officers  who  are  Employed. 

Col.  Douglas  Wardrop,  C.V.O.,  commdg.  King  Edward 

VII  Convalescent  Home  for  Ofifs.,  Osborne  M.B.,  '75 

Brig.-Surg.  Lt.-Col.  James  Forbes  Beattie,  M.A.  (K.C.),  '60;  M.D..  '65 


1 2  Graduates 

R.A.M.C.  Retired  Officers  Temporarily  Employed. 
Lieut-Col.  Charles  William  Thiele  M.B.,  '80 

R,A.M.C.   Temporary  Majors. 

John  Harley  Brooks,  Mile-end  War  Hospital  M.B.,  '87 

Sir  Robert  John  Collie,  Member,  Travelling  Board,  Lon- 
don Command  M.B.,  '82 
William  McDougall                                             M.A., '96  ;  M.B.  (Edin.) 

R.A.M.C.    Temporary  Captains. 

William  Ainslie  M.B.,  '97  ;  M.D,  '13  ;  F.R.C.S.  (Edin.) 

Theodore  Chalmers  (of  Rajputana)  M.B.,  '06 

Douglas  Gordon  Cheyne  M.B.,  '10  ; .  M.D. 

Andrew  Leslie  Edmund  Filmer  Coleman  M.B.,  '07  ;  M.D. 

Alex.  Mitchell  Cowie  M.B.,  '84 

Naughton  Dunn  M.A.,  '06];  M.B. 

George  Alex.  Finlayson,  late  Capt.  Singapore  Volunteer 

Corps  M.A.,  '95  ;  M.B. 

Alistair  Sim  Garden  M.B.,  '06 

Ernest  King  Gawn  M.B.,  '95  ;  M.D. 

Herbert  William  Greig  B.Sc,  '10;  M.B. 

William  Leslie  M.A.,  '10;  M.B. 

John  Glanville  Milne  M.B.,  '94 

Alfred  Tennyson  Smith  M.B., '92 

Charles  Mollyson  Smith,  O.C.  75th  Field  Amb.  and  M.O. 

8th  Royal  Scots,  wounded  at  Festubert,  19  May,  191 5  M.B.,  '05 
William  Samuel  Ondeslowe  Waring  M.B.,  *95 

Alex.  Wilson  M.B.,  '09 

James  Leslie  Wilson  (see  p.  37)  M.A.,  '92  ;  M.B.  (Durham) 

R.A.M.C.   Temporary  Lieutenants. 

?  David  Anderson  M.A., '04;  M.B. 
John  Anderson  (Pte.  p.  71)  M.B.,  '16 
Norman  William  Anderson  M.B.,  '93  ;  M.D. 
James  Scott  Annandale  M.B.,  '10 
David  Main  Baillie,  R.A.M.C.  Training  Centre,  Long- 
bridge  Deverill,  Warminster  M.B.,  '09;  M.D. 
George  Gordon  Bruce  M.B.,  '15 
James  Ewen  Cable  (O.T.C.,  p.  74)  M.B.,  '15 
Alex.  Whyte  Cassie  M.  A.,  '97  ;  M.B. 
James  Chalmers  M.B.,  '12 


Commissions  R.A.M.C.  13 

George  Cooper  (relinquished  commission  from  ill  health)        M.B.,  '06 

Robert  Ferguson  Copland  M.B.,  '15 

William  Francis  Cornwall  M.B,,  '96 

Alex.  Henderson  Cran  M.A.,  '96;  M.B. 

Francis  William  Davidson  M.B.,  '04 
t  George  Dewar,  killed   in   action  in  Flanders,  January, 

1916,  aged  23  M.B.,'15 

Walter  James  Billing  M.B.,  '07 

George  William  Elder  M.B.,  '15 

Francis  William  Falconer  M.B.,  '05 

Alexander  Farquhar,  23rd  Div.,  B.E.F.  M.B.,'15 

Simon  John  Coulter  Fraser  M.B.,  '93  ;  M.D. 

|ohn  Sawers  Findlay  M.B.,  '94 

Harold  Turner  Finlayson  (p.  14)  M.B.,  '12 

Alexander  Fowlie  Fraser  M. A, '10  ;  M.B. 

David  Marmaduke  Gill,  9th  E.  Yorks  Regt.  M.B.,  '85 

John  Arthur  Rinder  Glennie  (p.  42),  relinq.  com.  M.B.,  '89 

James  Leslie  Gordon  M.B.,  '96  ;  M.D. 

William  Gillespie  Bryson  Gunn  M.B.,  '04 

William  Scott  Hall  M.B.,  '97 

Claude  Christian  Hargreaves  M.B.,  '15 

Arthur  Joseph  Hawes  (Corpl.  4th  Gordons,  p.  6y)  M.B.,  '16 

Stanley  Henry  M.B.,  *i6 

Harold  George  Rannie  Jamieson  M. A., '09  ;  M.B. 

Edward  Johnson  M.B.,  '08 

Donald  John  Gair  Johnston  M.B.,  '02 

?  Frederick  Leonard  Keith  M.B., '04 

Forbes  Kinnear  M.B.,  '98 

Thomas  Scott  Law  M.B.,  '16 

William  Lumsden,  Cromarty  Defences,  1 3th  Arg.  Sthd.  Hrs.    M.B.,  '97 

John  Alexander  MacArthur,  Gailes  Camp  M.B.,  '10 

Patrick  Thomson  Tulloch  Macdonald  M.A.,  '03  ;  M.B.  (Edin.) 

William  George  Macdonald,  attd.  Warwicks ;  wounded           M.B.,  '08 

William  Stuart  McGowan  M.A.,  '88  ;  M.D. 

Thomas  MacHardy,  Royal  W.  Surrey  Regt.  ,          M.B.,  '89 

Charles  McKerrow  M.B.,  '10 

Roderick  Murdoch  MacLennan  M.B.,  '86 

John  Farquhar  McLeod  M.B.,  '08 

Robert  William  MacPherson  M.B.,  '06  ;  M.D. 

Charles  Wattie  McPherson  (O.T.C.  p.  75)  M.A.,  '13  ;  M.B.,  '16 


14  Graduates 


Rae  McRae  M.B.,  *o8  ;  M.D. 

John  Gordon  Smith  Mennie  M.B.,  '15 

Duncan  Miller,  M.O.,  nth  King's  Own  Yorks.  L.  Inf.  M.B.,'ii 

James  Webster  Miller  M.B.,  '03 

Patrick  George  Milne  M.B.,  '15 

Alex.  Mennie  Mitchell  M.A.,  '95  ;  M.B. 

William  John  Moir(O.T.C.  p.  74)  M.B.,  '16 

Joseph  Henry  Patterson  B.A.  (R.U.I.),  M.B.,  '94 

Frank  Le  Quesne  Pelly  M.B.,  '03 

James  Pirie,  Tidworth  Military  Hospital  M.A.,  '84 ;  M.D. 

Mark  Poison  M.B.,  '93 

James  Burnett  Rae  M.B.,  '02 

Archibald  Ramsay  ,       M.A.,'90;  M.B. 

Alex.  Dawson  Reid,  invalided  from  Gallipoli  M.B.,  '10 

Alexander  Rennie  M.A.,  '80 ;  M.B. 

George  William  Riddel  M.  B. ,  '  1 4 

Frederick  Ritchie  M.B.,  '13 

James  Dewar  Robertson  M.B.,  '10 

Robert  Boyd  Robson  M.B.,  '02 

Thomas  Ogilvie  Robson  (O.T.C.  p.  73)  M.B.,  '16 

Hermann  Rogers-Tillstone,  M.O.  High  Wycombe      M.B.,  '81  ;  M.D. 
James  Russell  M.A.,  '84  ;  M.D.  (Edin.) 

Herbert  William  Black  Ruxton,  M.O.  and  Assist.  Comm., 

Percy  House  School  Auxiliary  Hosp.,  Isleworth  M.B.,  '04 

Benjamin  Theodore  Saunders  M.B.,  '13 

Albert  Edward  Barr  Sim  (O.T.C.  p.  75)  M.B.,  '16 

Alexander  Bruce  Simpson  M.B.,  '99 

Donald  French  Skeen  M.B.,  '06 

Richard  Arthur  Slater  M.B.,  '93 

James  Lind  Smith  M.A.,  *ii  ;  M.B.,  '13 

John  Smith  M.B.,  '15 

Alfred  John  Watson  Stephen  M.B.,  '08 

John  Edward  Thompson,  97th  (CP.)  Fd.  Amb.  30th  Div.      M.B.,  '09 
Henry  James  Thomson  M.B.,  '10 

?  Joseph  Alexander  Thomson  B.Sc,  '95  ;  M.B. 

Arthur  George  Troup,  Mil.  Hosp.,  Magdalen  Camp,  Win- 
chester, afterwards  with  Brit.  Medit.  Force.     M.B.,  '06  ;  M.D.,  '14 
Peter  Mortimer  Turnbull  M.B.,  '01 

William  Turner  M.B.,  '01 


Commissions  T.F.  15 

Leslie  Valentine,  relinq.  com.  M.B.,  '93 

Alex.  Urquhart  Webster,  No.  33  Cas.  CI.  Stat,  M.O.  Scot. 

Red  Cross  Hosp.  nth  Stat.  Hosp.,  Rouen    M.A.,  '06  ;  M.B.,  '10 
James  Mitchell  Whyte  M.B.,  '14 

William  Henry  Wishart  M.A.,  '00  ;  B.Sc. ;  M.B. 

Temporary  Honorary  Lieutenants. 

William  Durward  Cruickshank  M.B.,  '15 

Joseph  Russell  Tibbies  M.B.,  '15 

R.A.M.C,  Special  Reserve  Supplementary  Officers. 

Capt.  Robert  Scott  dimming  M.B.,  '15 

Lieut.  Alex.  Louis  Cameron  Mackenzie  M.B.,  '15 

,,      James  Melvin' (p.  64)  M.B., '15 

Capt.  Thomas  Menzies  M.B.,  '15 

Lieut.  John  Taylor  Scrogie  M.B.,  '15 

Royal  Army  Veterinary  Corps. 
2nd  Lieut.  Donald  Gunn  Munro  M.A.,  '12  ;  B.Sc.  (Agr.),  '13 

TERRITORIAL  FORCE. 

Yeomanry. 

2nd  Lieut.  John  Blackball  Anderson  (Sq.  Sergt.-Maj.  p.  43) 

Scottish  Horse  M.A.,  '90 

Royal  Artillery. 

2nd  Lieut.  George  Cruickshank  (Pte.  p.  44),  2/4th  East 

Lanes.  (How.)  Brig.  R.F.A.  M.A.,  '13 

„     Edw.     Wyllie     Fenton,     ist     Highl.      Brig., 

R.F.A.  M.A., '12;  B.Sc. 

„        ,,     James  Ross    (Pte.  4th  Gordons,   p.  47),  2/4th 

Highl.  Mtd.  Brig.  R.F.A.  M.A.,  '10 

„         „     Macgregor  Skene,  1st  Highl.  Brig.  R.F. A.    B.Sc.,'09;  D.Sc. 
,,         „     Harold  Thompson  (Pte.  4th  Gordons,  p.  48),  ist 

Highl.  Brig.  R.F.A.  M.A., '12 

Royal  Engineers. 

Lieut.  (Tempy.)  James  Barclay  Rennett  (late  Lieut.   1st 
Aberd.  R.E.  Volunteers),  Highl.  Div.  Engineers 

Advocate,  C.A. ;  M.A,  '88 


1 6  Graduates 

Infantry. 

Capt.  Alex.  John  Ramsay   Thain    (late  Capt.  and  Hon. 

Maj.  1st  Vol.  Batt.  Gordon  Hrs.),  3/4th  Gordon  Hrs.        M.A.,  '84 
„   Alexander  William  Black,  5th  Seaforth  Hrs.         B.Sc.  (Agr.),  '09 
Lieut.  James  Cruickshank  Smith   (p.   50),   4th   Gordon 

Hrs.  B.Sc,  '91 

2nd  Lieut.  Wm.  Bruce  Anderson  (Pte.  p.  44),  5th  Gordon 

Hrs.  M.A.,'ii 

„         „       Alex.    Fairweather   Both  well    (Corpl.  p.    69), 

3/4th  Gordon  Hrs.  M.A.,  '15 

(Rev.)  Douglas  W.  Bruce,  C.S.,  3/4th  Gordon  Hrs.  M.  A.,  '07 
Alex.  Cheyne  (Pte.  p.  44),   5th  Gordon  Hrs. 

U.F.C.  Div.  Stud.;   M.A., '12 
Norman  Crichton  (Pte.  2/4th  Gordons,  p.  44), 

3/4th  Seaforth  Hrs.  U.F.C.  Div.  Stud. ;  M.A.,  '11 

Robert  Thomson  Donald  (Pte.  4th  Gordons, 

p.  44),  3/7th  Black  Watch  M.A.,  '14 

Balfour  Downie  (Sergt.  3 /6th  Gordons,  p.  44), 

6th  Gordon  Hrs.  Teacher ;  M.A.,  '09 

Edgar    Hunter  Ewen  (Sergt.    3/6th  Gordons, 

p.  44),  5th  Roy.  Scots  Teacher;  M.A.,  '04 

„        „       Charles  Farquharson,  3 /9th  Argyll  and  Suth- 
erland Hrs.  Teacher;  M.A., '05 
„        „       James  Fowler  Eraser  (Sergt.  4th  Gordons,  p.  44)    M.A., '14 
„        „       Charles    Strachan     Hadden,     3/7th     Gordon 

Hrs.  M.A., '12;  LL.B. 

+„        „       James  Smith    Hastings   (Serg.  p.   45),   3/4th 

Gordon  Hrs.,  died  June,  1916  Teacher;  M.A.,  '12 

„  „  Edward  Hutton  Hay,  Gordon  Hrs.  Teacher;  M.A.,  '83 
„        „       Henry    Watt    Johnston    (Pte.    p.   45),    3/4th 

Gordon  Hrs.  Teacher;  M.A., '11 

„  ,,  John  Alexander  King,  3/4th  Gordons  Teacher;  M.A., '09 
„  „  James  Cruden  Knox,  3/4th  Gordons  Teacher ;  M. A.,  '97 
„        „       Fred.  Wm.  Law  (Pte.  p.  45),  3 /4th  Gordons 

M.A.,'12;  B.Sc.  (Agr.) 
„        „       Douglas  Meldrum  Watson  Leith  (Pte.  p.  45), 

4th  Gordon  Hrs.  M.A.,  '13  ;  B.Sc.  (Agr.) 

„        „       James  Argentine  Littlejohn  (Pte.   p.  45),  7th 

Gordon  Hrs.  B.Sc,  '08 


Commissions  T.F.  17 

2nd  Lieut.  George  Low  (Coy.  Sergt.-Maj.  p.  45),  Gordon 

Hrs.,  missing  since  25  Sept.,  191  5  Teacher;  M.A.,'14 
„  „  Edward  Mcintosh  (Pte.  p.  46),  6th  Gordon  Hrs.  M.A.,  '15 
,,        „       James  Mackie,  4th  Seaforth  Hrs.  B.Sc.  (Agr.),  '10 

„        „       John  Macpherson,  Sherwood  Forresters  M.B.,  '09 

„        „       John    McQueen   (Sergt.   2/4th   Gordon   Hrs., 

p.  46),  6th  Cameron  Hrs.  Teacher;  M.A,,  '14 

„         „     Marshall  Merson  (Pte.  4th  Gordon  Hrs.  p.  46), 

5th  R.  Sc.  Fusiliers  C.S.  Prob. ;  M.A.,  '12 

„         „     John  Munro  (L.-Corpl.  2/4th  Seaforths,  p.  46), 

Seaforth  Hrs.  M.A.,  '14 

„         „      Herbert  Murray  (Pte.    p.  47),  3/4th  Gordon 

Hrs.  Teacher;  M.A., '08 

„         „      Murdo    Murray  (Pte.    p.    47),    3/4th    Seaforth 

Hrs.  Teacher;  M.A.,  '13 

„         „     James     Buchanan     Paterson      (Sergt.     3/6th 

Gordons,  p.  47),  6th  Gordon  Hrs.  Teacher;  M.A.,  '01 
„         ,,     James  Patterson  (Corpl.  p.  47),  7th  Gordon  Hrs., 

wounded,  7  July,  1916  Law  Stud. ;  M.A.,  '15 

„         „      William  Allan  Robertson,  3/4th   Batt.  Royal 

Scots  M.A.,  '02  ;  Ph.D. 

„         „      George  Douglas  Rose,  3/4th  Gordon  Hrs.  M.A.,  '15 

„         „      George  Shepherd  (Sergt.  p.  47),  3/7th  Gordon 

Hrs.  Teacher;  M.A.,  '03 

„         „      Harold  Addison  Sinclair,  3/4th  Gordon  Hrs.  M.A., '02 

„         „      James  George  Slessor,  3/4th  Gordon  Hrs.  M.A,  '99 

„         ,,      Douglas  Robert  Smith,  8th  City  of  London  Regt.  M.A.  '12 
„         ,,     Wm.  Tarrel  (Corpl.  p.  48),  3 /4th  Gordon  Hrs. 

attd.  I /6th  Black  Watch  Teacher;  M.A.,  '13 

,,         „      Wm.  Taylor  (Pte.  p.  48),  3/4th  Gordon  Hrs. 

Div.  Stud.;  M.A.,  '13 
„         ,,     Harold   Thompson    (Pte.  p.  48)  Teacher;  M.A.,  '12 

„         „     James   Oliver   Thomson  (Camb.    O.T.C.,    p. 

48),  King's  Own  Yorks,  L.I.  M.A.,  'i  i 

„         „      (Rev.)  Michael  Cunningham  Wilson,  H.L.I. 

M.A.,  '01 ;  B.D. 

National  Reserve. 
Lieut-Col.  &  Hon.  Col.  James  Duguid,  V.D.,  see  p.  8  M.A.,  '67 


1 8  Graduates 

R.A,M.C.    Territorial  Force, 

Maj.  Cresswell  Fitzherbert  White,  mentd.  in  dispatches  M.B.,  '87 

„     (Tempy.)    John    Hector   Stephen,    invalided    from 

GaUipoH  B.Sc,  '00  ;  M.B. 

„     (Tempy.)  Walter  Richard  Stephen,  Fd.  Amb.,  France     M.B.,  '08 
Capt.  Alex.  Main  Baillie  (Sergt.  p.  72),  Highl.  Fd.  Amb.       M.B.,  '15 
„      Clifford  Thiselton  Bell,  ist  Scot.  Gen.  Hosp.  M.B.,  '96 

„      Ian  Gordon  Bisset,  ist  Scot.  Gen.  Hosp.  M.B.,  '14 

„      Patrick  Thomas  Catto  (p.  74),  ist  Scot.  Gen.  Hosp.       M.B.,  '15 
„      (?)  James  Davidson,  Highl.  Cas.  CI.  Stat.  M.B.,  *02 

„     James    Don,    M.O.    Pendawar    V.A.D.    Hospital, 

Newcastle  M.B.,  '88  ;  M.D. 

„     James'Farquhar,  attd.  2/ioth  Manchester  Regt.    M.A.,  '97  ;  M.B. 
„     Charles  Forbes,  Highl.  Cas.  CI.  Stat.  M.B.,  '01 

„      James  McLean  MacFarlane,  Highl.  Cas.  CI.  Stat. 

(fr.  p.  22)  M.B./oo;  M.D. 

,,     John  Wm.  McKeggie,  2/2nd  Highl.  Fd.  Amb.  M.B.,  '15 

„      Joseph  Ellis  Milne,   Highl.  Cas.    CI.    Stat.    (fr.    p. 

22)  M.A.,  '88;  M.D. 

„      Robert  Richards,  rst  Scot.  Gen.  Hosp.  M.B.,  '07 

,,     Wm.  Scatterty,  2nd  N.  Gen.  Hosp.  in  charge   of 

Auxiliary  Hosp.  Keighley,  Yorks  M.A.,  '81  ;  M.D. 

,,     James  Alex.  Sellar,  2/2nd  Highl.  Fd.  Amb.  (see  p.  75)  M.B.,  '15 
Lieut.  William  Alexander,  Highl.  Cas.  CI.  Stat.  M.A. ;  M.B.,  '16 

„     Walter  Bailey-Thomson,  3/ ist   Notts,    and  Derby 

Mtd.  Br.  Fd.  Amb.  M.B.,  '14 

„     Fred.  Wm.  Campbell  Brown,  ist  Scot.  Gen.  Hosp.       M.B.,  '15 
„     Bernard  Langridge  Davis,  Highl.  Fd.  Amb.  M.B.,  '15 

„     Harry  Gordon  Donald,  2/2nd  Highl.  Fd.  Amb.  M.B.,  '15 

„      Robert  Grey,  Highl.  Fd.  Amb.  M.B.,  '14 

„     Alex.     Fraser    MacBean,    Highl.     Div.     Sanitary 

Section  M.A.,  '01  ;  M.B. 

„      Arthur  Alexander  Mackenzie,  Highl.  Cas.  CI.  Stat.       M.B.,  'j6 
„      James  Mitchell  Mitchell  (O.T.C  p.  75),  N.  Midi.  Mtd. 

Brig.  Fd  Amb.  Medit.  M.B.,  '15 

„      Arthur  George  Reid  (O.T.C.  p.  74),  Highl.  Fd.  Amb.     M.B.,  '16 
„     Forbes  Simmers  (O.T.C.  p.  74)  M.B.,  '16 

„    Alex.  Urquhart,  ist  London  Cas.  Cl.  Stat.        M.A.,  '94;  M.D. 


Chaplains  T.F.  19 

Lieut.  Wm.  Chas.  Davidson  Wilson  (p.  73),  2/2nd  Highl. 

Fd.  Amb.  M.B., '15 

2nd  Lieut.  George  Stewart  Davidson  (Sergt.  O.T.C.  p.  73), 
to  unattd.  List  T.F.  for  service  with 
Aberd.  Univ.  Cont.  O.T.C.  M.A.,  '14 

„  Wm.  Calthorpe  Mackinnon  (Sergt.  O.T.C.  p. 
73),  to  unattd.  List  T.F.  for  service  with 
Aberd.  Univ.  Cont.  O.T.C.  M.A.,  '13 

Re-employed. 

Lieut. -Col.  Walter  Smith    Cheyne.  Retired   T.F.,  M.O., 

R.F.A.,  Aberdeen  M.B.,  '76  ;  M.D. 

Sanitary  Service — Sanitary  Companies. 

Lieut.    Alex.     Middleton     Brown,     2nd     London    Coy. 

M.A.,  '07;  M.B.,  'II  ;  D.P.H.,  '13  ;  M.D. 
„       Douglas  Porter,  2nd  London  Coy.  M.B.,  '08 

Sanitary  Officers. 
Capt.  Alex.  Gregor  M.B.,  '93  ;  M.D. 

Territorial  Force  Reserve  R.A.M.C. 
Lieut. -Col.  Thomas  Churton,  2nd  N.  Gen.  Hosp.        M.B.,  *y6  ;  M.D. 

INDIAN  SERVICES. 
Wm.    Duncan  Vivian  Slesser,    Superintendent   of  Police  in  Bannu, 
N.W.F.P.,  India,  commanding  500  armed  police.  M.A.,  '08 

Indian  Medical  Service. 
Lieut.  Andrew  Hunter  Brown  M.A.,  '12  ;  B.Sc.  ;  M.B.,  '15 

„     William  Peat  Hogg  (fr.  p.  21.)  M.B.,  '12 

?    „     Eric  Newton  M.B.,  '15 


ARMY  CHAPLAINS'  DEPARTMENT. 

Rev.  David  Bruce  Nicol  (C.S.),  Tempy.,  4th  CI.  M.A.,  '05  ;  B.D. 

„    Joseph  Pickthall,  Tempy.,  3rd  Class  M.A.,  '09;  B.D.,  '12 

„  Ivo  Macnaghton  Clark  (C.S.),  3rd  CI.  attd.  i/sth 
(Angus  and  Dund.)  Batt.  The  Black  Watc^ 
B.E.F.,  France  M.A.,  '04 


20  Graduates 

Rev.  William  Walker  Cruickshank  (CS.),  4th  CI.        M.A.,  'oi  ;  B.D. 

Adam  Fyfe  Findlay  (U.F.C.),  4th  CL,  Scottish  Horse  M.A.,  '89 

William  Wallace  Gauld  (U.F.C.),  4th  CI.  M.A.,  '02 

Alexander  McBain,  4th  CI.  M.A.,  '08 

Ewen  MacLean  (U.F.C.),  4th  CL  M.A.,  '06 

William  Watson  (U.F.C.)  M.A.,  '04 

Angus  Boyd  (CS.)  M.A.,  '07 

Wm.  Ogg  (U.F.C.)  M.A.,  '82 
Christian  Victor  Aeneas  MacEchern  (C.S.),  (p.  48) 

is  acting  Chaplain  to  Presbyterian  troops,  Malta  M.A.,  '07 

Indian  Army. 
Rev.  Peter  Milne  (C.S.),  N.  Bengal  Mtd.  Rifles  (Served  in 
Kimberley  Town  Guard  S.   Afr.  War,  '00-' 01   with 
medal)  M.A.,  '85  ;  B.D. 

Federated  Malay  States. 
Rev.   Ernest  Denny  Logie  Danson,  Malay  States  Rifle 

Volunteers  M.A.,  '02 
East  African  Force. 
Rev.    James   Tindall   Soutter  (C.S.),  Tempy.,  4th  Class, 

mentd.  in  despatches  M.A.,  '10 

FORCES  OF  H.M.  DOMINIONS  BEYOND  THE  SEAS. 

Canadian  Forces. 

Capt.  Charles  Hunter                                                    M.A.,  '94;  M.D. 

West  African  Medical  Service. 

Medical  Oflr.  William  Scott  Clark  M.B.,  '98 

„          „            Wm.  Edward  Glover  M.B.,  *ii 

„           „             Stephen  Goodbrand  M.;^.,  '08 

Robert  Semple                                  M.B.,  '10;  M.D. 

British  East  African  Field  Force, 

Lieut. -Col.  Wm.  Booth  Skinner  M.B.,  'Zj 

„          „    (Tempy.)  Arthur  Dawson  Milne,  mentd.  disp.  M.B.,  '92 

Capt.  Cormack  Grant,  Military  Medical  Staff  M.B.,  '88 

„      (Tempy.)  James  Hutcheon  Thomson  M.B.,  '04 

„     Charles  Thistleton  Dyer  Urquhart                       M.B.,  'Z7  ;  M.D. 

Lieut.    Charles    Cameron    Grant,    nth    Inf.   Regt.   (also 

S.W.  Afr.  Campaign,  Kimberley  Regt.)  M.A.,  '99 

„      Finlay  Geo.  MacLeod  Ross  M.B.,  '09 

,,      William  MacHardy,  unattd.,  mentd.  despatches  M.A,  '07 


Enlisted  2 1 

Australasian  Expeditionary  Force, 

Lieut.-Col.  Alexander  Horn,  A.A.M.C.,  O.C.  4th  Austral. 

Light  Horse  Fd.  Amb.  then  13th  Austral.  Fd.  Amb.  M.B.,  '07 
Major  Charles  Evans  Maguire,  Registrar,  N.  Zealand  Base 

Hosp.  Cairo,  then  O.C.  of  N.Z.   Stationary  Hosp., 

Ismailia  M.B.,  '93  ;  M.D. 

Capt.  Alex.  Taylor,  N.  Zealand  Veterinary  Corps,  Vet. 

Offr.  H.M.N.Z.  Transport  No.  11   to  Egypt  M.A.,  '92 

?  Lieut.  Frank  Wesley  Noble  M.B.,  '15 

GRADUATES  ENLLSTED  OR  RE-ENLISTED  (including  those 

Commissioned). 

Artillery. 

Bombardier  James  Alex.  Masson,  35th  Res.  Batty.  R.F.A.    M.A.,  '13 

Gunner  James  Alex.  Bowie,  R.G.A.  M.A.,  '14 

„       William  James  Entwistle,  32nd  Batty.  R.F.A.  M.A.,'i6 

George  Rae,  R.G.A,  p.  8  B.Sc,  '06 

Driver  John  Angus  MacKenzie,   4th  Highl.  (Mtn.)  Brig. 

R.G.A.  Teacher;  M.A., '12 

Royal  Engineers. 
Qm.-Sergt.  James  Henry  Hunter  (L.-Cpl.  Seaforths,  p.  45), 

Chem.  Section  Teacher;  M.A., '07 

Corpl.  George  Ogilvie  Clark,  M  Coy.  Chem.  Section  M.A.,  '15 

„       Daniel  Sutherland  Dawson  (formerly  Pte.,  R.F.A.) 

Chem.  Section  B.Sc,  '09 

f  „       George  Dawson  (Pte.  Royal  Scots,  p.  44),  Chem. 

Section,  killed  in  action,  28  June,  191 6        M.A.,  '05  ;  B.Sc. 
„       Robert  Dawson  (Pte.  4th  Gordons,  p.  44),  Chem. 

Section  M.A.,  '14 

,,       George  Knowles  Eraser,  Chem.  Section 

2  Sc.  For.,  'i5-'i6;  M.A.,  '11  ;  B.Sc. 
„       Ernest  Victor  Laing,  Chem.  Section 

2  Stud.  Agr.,  'i5-'i6;  M.A.,  '15 

Sapper  Robert  Nicol,  i/3rd  Highl.  Fd.  Coy.  Teacher;  M.A.,  '03 

„       Archibald  Dey  Wilson  M.A.,  '15 


2  2  Graduates 

Infantry. 
Private  Wm.  Macmillan  Anderson,  3/4th  Gordon  Hrs. 

Teacher;  M.A.,  '07 
„       William  Barrett,  9th  Highl.  Light  Inf.  (T.F.)  M.A.,  '09 

„       James  Thomson  Cameron,  26th  Royal  Fusiliers 

(see  p.  24)  M.B.,  *I3 

„       James  Campbell,  3/4th  Gordon  Hrs.   C.S.  Div.  Stud. ;  M.  A.,  *io 
„       David  Shepherd  Duguid,  3 /4th  Gordon  Hrs. 

Med.  Stud. ;  M.A.,  '14 
L.-Corpl.  Alex.  George  Duncan  Esson,  3/4th  Gordon  Hrs. 

(see  p.  71)  M.A,  '15 

„         Spencer  Stephen  Fowlie,  D  Coy.,  4th  Gordon 

Hrs.  Teacher;  M.A.,  '12 

„         Robert  Geo.  Porter  Howie,  4th  (Res.)  Oxf.  and 

Bucks  L.I.  M.A.,  '14 

„         Wm.  Drummond  Hunter,  3  4th  Gordons 

U.F.C.  Div.  Stud.;  M.A., '12 
Private  Bertram  Mitchell  Laing,  nth  Gordon  Hrs.,  p.  8        M.A.,  '11 
,,       David  Glass  Larg,  14th  Lond.  Regt.  (Lond.  Scot.), 

p.  8  M.A.,'15 

„       Frederick  Wm.  Lovie,  3/4th  Gordon  Hrs. 

Div.  Stud. ;  M.A.,  '12 
„       Alex.  Grant  McKimmie,  B  Coy.,  15th  Argyll  and 

Sutherland  Hrs.  Teacher  ;  M.A.,  '13 

„       Wm.  Swan-Nicoll  Middleton,  3/6th  Gordon  Hrs.       M.A.,  '15 
„       George  Murray,  2/4 th  Gordon  Hrs.,  missing  and 

prisoner  after  25  September  Teacher  ;  M.A.,  'll 

f  Coy.  Sergt.-Major  Charles  Neilson,  Gordon  Hrs.,  killed  in 

action  in  France,  June,  1916  Teacher;  M.A.,'13 

Private  John  Alex.  Nicol,  Scots  Guards  M.A.,  *02  ;  B.L. 

„       William  Reid,  3/4th  Gordon  Hrs.  Teacher;  M.A.,  '12 

Corpl.  James  Ritchie,  2nd  Royal  Scots  Teacher;  M.A.,  '11 

Sergt.  Wm.  Lorimer  Shiach,  3/6th  Gordon  Hrs.     Teacher;  M.A.,  '11 
Private  John  Alex.  Simpson,  3/ 14th  County  of  London 

Regt.  (Lond.  Scot.)  M.A.,  '13 

„       William  Allan  Smith,  Civil  Service  Rifles  M.A.,  '12 

„       Gordon  Gray  Stewart,  3/4th  Gordon  Hrs.    Teacher;  M.A., '08 
„       Herbert  Louis  Watson,    i8th  King's  (Liverpool) 

Regt.  B.Sc, 'II 

„       James  Alex.  Watson,  14th  Argyll  and  Sutherland 

Hrs.  Teacher;  M.A.,  '12 

William  Weir,  3/4th  Gordon  Hrs.  M.A.,  'il 


Enlisted  2  3 


Officers  Training  Corps. 

(Rev.)  Douglas  William  Bruce  M.A.,  '07 

„      Richard  Mackie  Clark  (C.S.  Dundee)  M.A.,  '04 

Douglas  John  Cormack,  Edin.  Univ.  O.T.C.  M.A.,  *i6 

Minto  Rodger  Gillanders,  R.H.A.,  O.T.C.  Teacher;  M.A.,  *oo 

John  Grant,  Artists'  Rifles  O.T.C.  M.A.,  '15 

Alex.  Francis  Johnston,  Inns  of  Court  O.T.C.  Teacher;  M.A.,  '07 

Charles  Joiner,  Edin.  Univ.  O.T.C.  2nd  Med.,  'iS-'i6 ;  M.A.,  '15 

Charles  Mann,  Inns  of  Court  O.T.C.  M.A.,  'ir;  LL.B. 

(Rev.)  George  Bennet  Thomson  Michie  (C.S.  Min., 

Gourock),  Inns  of  Court  O.T.C.  M.A.,  '01 ;  B.D. 

Wm.  George  Reid,  9th  (Scot.)  Cadet  Batt.,  see  p.  8  M.A.,  'li 

(The  Rev.)  Cecil  Barclay  Simpson  (U.F.  Min.  Elgin), 

Inns  of  Court  O.T.C.  M.A.,  '07 

John  Ogilvie  Taylor,  Inns  of  Court  O.T.C.  Teacher ;  M.A.,  '10 

Wm.  Robert  Tennant,  Edin.  Univ.  O.T.C.  M.A.,  '14 

Army  Service  Corps. 

Private  John  Mackinlay  Dickie  M.A.,  '15 

William  Grant,  attd.   1st  Field  Amb.  154th  In- 
fantry Brigade  M.A.,  '15 
„      John  MacDonald  (Inverness),  Motor  Transp.  Branch  M. A.,  '  1 5 

R.A.M.C. 

Corpl.  James  Thomson,  3/2nd  Highl.  Fd.  Amb.  Teacher;     M.A.,  '09 
Private  (the  Rev.)  John  Henry  Jackson   Bisset  (U.F.C., 

Fyvie)  M.A.,  '96 ;  B.D. 

„       (the   Rev.)   Alex.    Godsman   Catto   (C.S.    Inver- 

keithney)  M.A.,  '05  ;  B.D. 

„      William  Bain,  76th  Fd.  Amb.  M.B.,  '08 

„       George  Ironside  Gray,  3/2nd  Highl.  Fd.  Amb.  M.A.,  '12 

„       (the  Rev.)  George  Alex.  MacKeggie,  1st  Scot.  Gen. 

Hosp.  M.A.,  '11  ;  B.D. 

„      James  Mathewson  Milne,  2nd  Lowland  Fd.  Amb. 

Teacher;  M.A., '06 

Army  Veterinary  Corps. 

Private  Finlay  Maclver  B.Sc.  (Agr.),  '15 

„      John  Cooper  B.Sc.  (Agr.),  '15 


24  Graduates 

H.M.  FORCES  IN  INDIA  AND  OVERSEAS  DOMINIONS. 

Staff-Sergt.   Wm.   Slessor  Simpson,   Engr.    Detachment, 

Union  Central  Africa  Contingent  M.A.,  'oo  ;  B.Sc. 

Sergt.  Alfred  Alex.  Black,  Cawnpore  Squadr.,  ist  United 

Prov.  Horse  M.A.,  '95 

„     Harvey  Gordon   Burr,  Nigerian  Land  Contingent, 

Defence  Force  B.Sc.  (Agr.),  '11 

„     Robert  Smith  Machray,  Canadian  Fd.  Artillery    M.A.,  '93  ;  B.L. 
L.-Corpl.  Douglas  Harper,  138th  Batt  Canadian  Exped. 

Force  M.A.,  '02  ;  B.L. 

Trooper  Charles  Clyne,  Northern  Bengal  Mtd.  Rifles  M.B.,  '10 

Private  Alex.  Farquharson  Cum ming,  Supply  Col.  istiCan. 

Cavalry  Brigade  B.Sc.  (Agr.),  '06 

„      Alex.  Gordon  Glennie  Ellis,  Malay  Estates  Volun- 
teer Rifles  B.Sc.  (Agr.),  'il 
t    „      Alex.  John    Fowlie,    13th    Inf.    Batt.   Australian 
Imperial   Force,   killed   in  action  on  the   Dar- 
danelles M.A.,  'II 
Private  George  Pittendrigh  Hector,  E.  Bengal  Mtd.  Rifles     M.A.,  '01 
William  Main,  on  service  with  S.  African  Forces    Teacher ;  M.A.,  '06 
Private  (?)  Alex.  Ogston,  Univ.   Coy.,  Princess  Patricia's 

Canad.  Lt.  Inf.  M.A.,  '12 

„      John  Hall  Ritchie,  Nagpur  Mtd.  Infantry  M.A.,  '12 

,,      David  George  Ross,  Indian  Volunteer  Maxim  Gun 
Coy.,  Indian  Exped.  Force,  E.  Africa 

Headmaster,  Scottish  Orphanage,  Bombay;  M.A.,  '08 
„      Alfred  Gall  Sim,  B.  Coy.,  194th  Batt.  Canadian 

Forces  Teacher;  M.A., '10 

Trooper  George  Gall  Sim,  Cawnpore  Squadr.,  ist  United 
Prov.  Horse 

Memb.  Leg.  Council,  Un.  Prov.  ;  I.C.S. ;  M.A.,  '98 
„       Alex.    Allan   Simpson,    Cawnpore   Squadr.,   ist 

United  Prov.  Horse  M.A.,  '01 

„       Wm.  Robert  Watt,  Cawnpore  Squadr.,  ist  United 

Prov.  Horse  M.A.,  '10  ;  B.Sc. 

Units  Unknown. 
James  Brown  Teacher;  M.A.,  '09 

David  Stuart  Davidson  Teacher  ;  M.A.,  '08 


Enlisted 


25 


Teacher 


Alfred  Eddie 

Alex.  Glennie 

(Rev.)  Don.  MacGregor  Grant  (C.S.  Min.,  Walkerburn) 

Peter  Lorimer 

John  Robbie  McKenzie 

Robert  Pearson  Masson,  see  p.  9 

Alfred  Melvin 

John  Henderson  Mennie 

(Rev.)  Robert  Nicol  Paton  (C.S.) 

William  Poison,  an  Ambulance  Unit 

(Rev.)  John  Leslie  Robertson 

John  Scorgie  (non-combatant  service) 

William  Stewart 


M.A.,'13 
M.A.,  '15 
M.A.,  '01 
M.A.,  '16 
Teacher;  M.A.,  '09 


M.  A.,  '06  ;  LL.B. 

M.A.,  '02  ;  B.L. 

Teacher ;  M.A.,  '00 

M.A.,  '07  ;  B.D. 

M.A., '11;  B.Sc. 

M.A.,  '07 

Div.  Stud.  ;  M.A., '16 

Teacher;  M.A.,  '08 


West  Herts   Volunteer  Regiment. 

James   David   Symon,  Qm.-Sergt.  and  Secy.  2nd  Coy., 
2nd  Batt.,  Nat.  Res. 


M.A.,  '92 


Y.M.C. A.  Service  of  Troops. 

Sidney  Knight  Finlayson,  Cromarty  Div.  Stud.;  M.A.,  '13 

Rev.     Robert      Harvey    Strachan,     Eng.     Presb.    Ch., 


Cambridge 


M.A.,  '93 


GRADUATES  ATTESTED  UNDER  THE  GROUP  SYSTEM. 


Lawrence  Hay  Watt  Adan 

Alexander  Wilson  Anderson 

Robert  Bain 

John  Thomson  Baxter 

William  Chalmers  Bowie 

Alexander  Hastings 

William  Henry 

Alex.  Mackenzie  (O.T.C.  p.  75) 

William  Milne 

John  Morrison  (O.T.C.  p.  25) 

Alex.  Keith  Reid 

Charles  Thomson 


Teacher;  M.A.,  '06;  B.Sc. 

Med.  Stud.;  B.Sc,  '13 

Teacher ;  M.A.,  '02 

Teacher;  M.A.,  '98 

Teacher;  M.A.,  '01 

Teacher;  M.A.,  '13 

Teacher;  M.A.,  '00 

3rd  Med., '1 5-' 16;  M.A.,  B.Sc.  (Agr.) 

Teacher ;  M. A.,  '03 

2nd  Med.,  *i5-'i6;  M.A.,  '15 

Teacher ;  M. A.,  '08 

Teacher;  M.A.,  '03;  B.Sc. 


26  Graduates 

British  Red  Cross  Society. 

Col.  John  Scott  Riddell,  M.V.O.,  member  of  Council  of 
Scottish  Branch  and  Commissioner  for  the  N.E. 
District  of  Scotland  M.A.,  '84  ;  M.B. 

Alex.  Thomson  Arthur,  Hopetoun  Hosp.,  West  Cults,  15       M.B.,  '80 

Brodie  Cruickshank,  Ivybank  Hosp.,  Nairn,  20  M.A.,  '86;  M.D. 

Wm.  Rt.  Duguid,  Portessie  Hosp.,  Buckie,  26  M.A.,  '88 ;  M.D. 

Wm.  Manson  Fergusson,  Vj^^j^^^^  Hosp.,  Banff,  40/  ^'^-  '^^  '  ^•^• 
John  Charles  Galloway,  J  ^  ^   I  M.A.,  '96 ;  M.D. 

Chas.  Cormack  Greig,  Fyvie,  and  F.  Cottage  Hosp.,  19  M.B.,  '73 

Wm.  Hector,  Tarland  Lodge  Hosp.,  Tarland,  20  M.B.,  '93 

John  Elrick  Kesson,  Earlsmount  Hosp.,  Keith,  25  M.B.,  '07 

Thomas  MacHardy,  Hospital,  Cullen,  14  M.B.,  '89 

Eneas  K.  Mackenzie,  Balnagown  Castle  Hosp.,  Tain,  30  M.B.,  '06 
Dun.  Davidson  Mackintosh,  Bona- Vista  Hosp.,  Aboyne,  15  M.B.,  '62 
George  Mitchell,  Drumdrossie  Hosp.,  Insch,  30,  and  Leith 

Hall,  Conv.  Home,  14  M.B.,  '07 

Jas.  Mitchell  Munro,  Haddo  House  Hosp.,  7  M.B.,  '84 

Adam  Stephen  Niven,  The  Hall  Hosp.,  Turriff,  20  M.A.,  '00;  M.D. 
Alex.  Reid,  Hedgefield  Hosp.,  Inverness  M.B.,  '94;  M.D. 

Thos.  Alex.  Sellar,  Orphanage  Hosp.,  Aberlour,  20,  and 

Fleming  Hosp.,  Aberlour,  10  M.B.,  '80 

?     Stephen,  Mountstephen  Hospital,  Dufftown,  10 
Henry  Wm.  Martyn  Strover,  Hosp.  Hartlepool,  Divisional 

Surg.  St.  John  Amb.  Brigade  M.B.,  '00 

Jas.  Troup,  Stand  Hosp.,  Whitefield,  Manchester  M.B.,  '99 

Wm.  Alfred  Watson,  Huntly  Cott.  Hosp.,  15  M.B.,  '03 

John  Osbert  Wilson,  „  „         ,,15  M.A., '73 ;  M.D. 

The  nmnerals  after  the  names  of  Red  Cross  Hospitals  in  the  above 
refer  to  the  number  of  beds  in  the  Hospitals. 

Civilian  Surgeons. 

James   Spence  Geddie,  Queen   Mary   Military   Hospital, 

Whalley,  Lanes.,  aural  and  ophthalmic  surgeon  M.B.,  '01 

Alex.  Graham-Stewart,  M.O.  Auxiliary  Mil.  Hosp.,  Margate  M.B.,  '07 
James  Wallace,  Auxil.  Mil.  Hosp.,  Middlesex,  No.  6      M.A.,  '88  ;  M.D. 


III.  ALUMNI. 

ALUMNI  COMMISSIONED. 

ROYAL  NAVY. 

Sub.-Lieut.  H.  Norman  Macbeth  Stud.,  '91-92 

REGULAR  ARMY. 

Lieut.-Col.  George  Milne,  C.B.,  V.D.,  commanding  (with 
rankof  Tempy.  Lieut.-Col.  in  Army),  157th 
(City  of  Aberdeen)  Brig.  R.F.A.        Arts  Stud.,  '8i-'83 
David  Rorie,  RA.M.C,  2nd  Highl.  Fd.  Amb. 

Med.  Stud.,  '82-'83  ;  M.B.  (Edin.);  D.P.H.  (Aberd.) 
Tempy.  Maj.  (Capt.)  James  Hector  Edmond,  O.C.  A  Batt, 

io8th  Brig.  R.F.A  Stud.,  '98-'99 

Capt.  Henry  Brian  Brooke  (see  p.  57),  3rd  Gordon  Hrs. 

Agr.  Stud.,  'o6-'o7 
„     Matthew  Hay,  R.G.A. 
f  2nd   Lieut.  James  Duguid,  7th  N.   Staffordshire  Regt, 
killed  in  action  in  Mesopotamia,  9  April, 
191 6.  Former  Agr.  Stud. 

„         „        John  Farquhar  Gordon  (from  Sandhurst,  p. 

55),  Gordon  Hrs.  Former  Agr.  Stud. 

„         „        Robert  Crawford  Buchanan  Hay  (Singapore 
Volunteers,  p.  58) 
f„         „        Alfred  George  Morris,  Gordon  Hrs.,  killed  in 

action,  June,  1916  Agr.  Stud.,  *ii-'i2 

„         „        Walter   A    Reid,   15 7th  (City  of  Aberdeen) 

Brig.  R.F.A.  Former  Agr.  Stud. 

TERRITORIAL  FORCE. 

Capt.  R.  A.  K.  T.  Catto,  3/4th  Gordon  Hrs.  Stud.,  '91 -'9^ 

„     John    Kellas,   6th    Batt.    Gordon    Hrs.,    wounded 

Law  Stud.,  '02-'o4 
'^7 


2  8  Alumni 

Lieut.  E.  S.  Sinclair,  3/4th  Gordon  Hrs.  Stud.,  '91-92 

Tempy.  Lieut.  Fred.  Wm.  Bain  (Qm.-Sergt.  4th  Gordons, 
p.  56),  4th  Gordon  Hrs.,  wounded  accidentally  25 
Dec,  191 5  ;  mentioned  in  despatches;  Military  Cross 

Former  Agr.  Stud. 
2nd  Lieut.    Joseph  R.  Fraser  (Sergt.  p.  57),  7th  Gordon 

Hrs.  U.F.C.  Minister;  Former  Arts  Stud. 

?  „         „        T.  W.  McGillivray  (Pte.  p.  57)  N.D.A. 

„         ,,        David  Burr  Martin,  2/4 th    Highl.   Fd.  Coy. 

R.E.  U.D.A., '13 

„         „        Thomas  Kennedy  Reith  (L.-Corpl.,  A.S.C. 

p.  57)  1st  Highl.  Brig.  R.F.A.  Former  Agr.  Stud. 

„         „        James  Robb  (Bombr.  R.F.A.  p.   56),  3/4th 

Gordon  Hrs.  U.D.A.,  '12 

„         „        Robert  A.  Robertson  (Pte.  4th  Gordon   Hrs. 
p.  57),    1st  Highl.  Div.  Signal  Coy.  R.E. 

Sci.  Stud.;  B.Sc.  Eng.  (Glas.),  '14 
„         „        James  Ross,  2/4th  Highl.  Mtd.  Brig.  R.G.A. 

Agr.  Stud.,  'lo-'ii 
„         „        Alex.     Francis     Smith     (L.-Corpl.     A.S.C. 

p.  57),  1st  Highl.  Brig.  R.F.A.  Former  Agr.  Stud. 

„         „        Robert  James  Smith  (Pte.  4th  Gordon  Hrs. 

p.  57),  6th  Seaforth  Hrs.      N.D.A.;  Former  Agr.  Stud. 

INDIAN  ARMY. 
Capt.  Robert  Scott  Troup,  United  Prov.  Horse         Former  Arts  Stud. 

FORCES  OF  H.M.  DOMINIONS  OVER  THE  SEAS. 

Capt.    James    Bryce   Clarke,    Egyptian    Labour    Corps,* 

Medit.  Exped.  Force  (see  p.  58)  Former  Sci.  Stud. 

Lieut.  Geo.  Murray  Farquharson  Foggo,  Brit.  E.  Afr.  Fd. 

Force  About  1890 

ALUMNI  ENLISTED. 

REGULAR  ARMY  AND  TERRITORIAL  FORCE. 

Yeomanry. 

Trooper  William  Anderson,  2nd  Scot.  Horse  Former  Agr.  Stud. 

Ellis  D.  Reid  Agr.  Stud.,  'i2-'i3 

„        Peter  S.  Syme,  ist  Scot.  Horse  Agr.  Stud.,  'ii-'i2 


Enlisted  29 


Royal  Artillery. 

Gunner   Reginald    Ian  Davidson,  33rd    Reserve   Batt. 

R.F.A.  M.A.  (St  And.);  Div.  Stud,  'i3-'i6 

Bombardier  Edward  G.  Thomson  Teacher;  Stud,  'o6-'o9 

Royal  Engineers, 

Corpl.  Norman  Scrimgeour  Grieve,  Chem.  Section,  France 

U.D.A,  N.D.A, '15 

Infantry. 

Qm.-Sergt.  Lewis  Wm.  Stewart,  Transport  Section,  i/4th 

Gordon  Hrs.  Agr.  Stud,  'i2-'i3 

Private    Wm.    Keith    A.    Jopp    Chambers-Hunter,   3rd 
Seaforth  Hrs. 

Assist.  Superint.  Rubber  Plant.,  Ceylon;  Former  Med.  Stud. 
„       Robert  A.  Robertson,  1/4  Gordon  Hrs.  (p.  66), 

commd.  p.  28  Former  Sci.  Stud.;  B.Sc.  Eng.  (Glas.) 

„       James    David   Sutherland,  A  Coy.,  14th  Argyll 

and  Sutherland  Hrs.  Agr.  Stud.,  'ii-'i4 

Army  Service  Corps. 

Corpl.  Thomas  Leslie  Forbes  Burnett,  Mech.  Transport 

Agr.  Stud.,  '04-'05 

Royal  Army  Medical  Corps. 
Private  Alex.  Wilson  Gordon,  i/3rd  Highl.  Fd.  Amb.      Stud.,  'o6-'o8 

Royal  Army   Veterinary  Corps. 

Sergt.  John  Maclean  Kennedy  U.D.A. ,  '11 

,,      George  Magnus  Leslie  *      U.D.A.,  '14 

Private  Alex.  Watt  Taylor  U.D.A.,  '13 

„      Alex.  John  Watt  N.D.A. ;  U.D.A,  '15 

Unit  Unknown. 
Private  William  James  Third  Agr.  Stud. 


30  Alumni 

FORCES  OF  H.M.  DOMINIONS  OVER  THE  SEAS. 

Corpl.  James  Watt  Eraser,  2nd  (Canterbury)  Inf.  Batt.  N. 

Zealand  Exped.  Force  U.D.A.  &  N.D.A.,  '08 

Trooper  David  Anderson,  4th  Canadian  Mtd.  Rifles     Agr.  Stud., ' I  l-'i  3 
f  ?     Douglas  Jamieson,  8th  Australia  Light  Horse,  killed 

on  the  Dardanelles,  17  Aug.,  191 5  Former  Agr.  Stud. 

?     Frank  T.  Napier,  Canadian  Exped.  Force,  The  Ar- 
mories, Windsor,  Ontario  Agr.  Stud.,  '09-' 12 

OFFICERS  TRAINING  CORPS. 
Cadet  James  Waite  Mackay,  Artists'  Rifles  O.T.C.    Sci.  Stud.,  'lo-'ii 

FRENCH  ARMY. 
Sergt.  Charles  A.  Coquerel,  Croix  de  Guerre        Arts  Stud.,  'lo-'ii  ? 


IV.  STUDENTS. 

STUDENTS  HOLDING  COMMISSIONS 

{and  Surgeon-Probationers). 

Royal  Navy. 

Tempy.  Sub.-Lieut.  John  Fiddes,  Royal   Naval  Reserve 

2nd  Med.,  '14-*!  5 

Surgeon-Probationers  for  Temporary  Service. 

James  Duncan  Brown  3rd  Med.,  'i5-'i6 

Alexander  Matheson  Dugan  3rd  Med.,  'i5-'i6 

George  S.  Escofifery  3rd  Med.,  'i5-'i6 

Alex.  Riach  Forbes  (O.T.C.  p.  74)  3rd  Sci.  Med.,  'i5-'i6 

Alex.  Coutts  Fowler  (O.T.C.  p.  74)  3rd  Med.,  'i5-'i6 

Norman  B.  Gadsby  (O.T.C.  p.  74)  2nd  Med.,  'i5-'i6 

Robert  Douglas  Lockhart  (O.T.C.  p.  75)  3rd  Med.,  'i^-\^ 

Donald  F.  McGregor  (OT.C  p.  75)  4th  Med.,  'is-'i6 

Alexander  Cowie  Paterson  (O.T.C.  p.  75)  3rd  Med.,  '15-'! 6 

Alex.  Ritchie  (O.TC.  p.  74)  3rd  Med.,  'i5-'i6 

John  Alex.  Ross  (O.T.C.  p.  75)  3rd  Med.,  'i5-'i6 

Trevor  Alex.  Howard  Smith  3rd  Med.,  '15-' 16 

James  Charles  Sleigh  (O.T.C.  p.  74),  H.M.S.  "Laburnum" 

3rd  Med.,  'i5-'i6 

Alexander  Ledingham  Strachan  (O.T.C.  p.  75)  3rd  Med.,  'i5-'i6 

Frederick  Wilson  (O.TC.  p.  75)                    ^  3rd  Med.,  'i5-'i6 

REGULAR  ARMY—COMMISSIONED. 

Royal  Artillery, 

2nd.  Lieut.  John  Mortimer  McBain,  Special  Reserve  2nd  Arts,  'i4-'i5 
„        „      George  Roderick  Morgan,  2/3rd  Northumbrian 

Brig.,  R.F. A.  ist  Med.,  'i 5-'i6 

„        „      Edward  Birnie  Reid,  R.F.  A.  ist  Arts 

31 


3  2  Students 

Infantry. 

f  2nd  Lieut.  Ian  Catto  Fraser  (Corpl.  4th  Gordon  Hrs.  p. 
t>6,  and  Cadet  School,  France),  2nd  Argyll  and  Suther- 
land Hrs.,  killed  in  Flanders  25  Sept.,  191 5  ist  Arts 

Infantry  Special  Reserve  of  Officers. 

2nd  Lieut.  George  Andrew  Falconer  Henderson  (Pte.  4th 

Gordons,  p.  68),  3rd  Gordon  Hrs.  ist  Arts 

INFANTRY  TEMPORARY  COMMISSIONS. 

Lieut.   Donald  Macfarlane  (Pte.    R.A.M.C.),  lith  Gordon 

Hrs.  1st  Med.,  '14-'!  5 

2nd  Lieut.  Percy  Booth  (Sergt.  p.  66),attd.  ist  Gordon  Hrs.  3rd  Sc.  Agr. 
„         „       Fred  Attenborow  Conner  (Pte.  4th  Gordon  Hrs. 

p.  65),  2nd  Seaforth  Hrs.  ist  Sci.  Agr. 

,,         „       Henry  Burness  Cook  (Pte.  3/4th  Gordon  Hrs. 

O.T.C.  p.  74),  nth  Gordons  2nd  Med.,  '15-'! 6 

„         „       Ian  Gumming  (Pte.  4th  Gordons,  p.  65)  nth 

Gordon  Hrs.  About  to  matriculate 

,,        „       James  Findlay  (Pte.  Royal  Fusiliers),  1 5th  Batt. 

Northumberland  Fusiliers  ist  Med.,  'i5-'i6 

„         „       Murdo  Mackenzie  (Pte.  4th  Gordons,  p.  68), 

8th  Cameron  Hrs.  3rd  Arts 

„       Ronald  McRobert  (O.T.C.  p.  75),  nth  Batt. 

Royal  Hrs.  (Black  Watch)  2nd  Med.,  'i5.'i6 

„        „       Forbes  Robertson  Mutch  (O.T.C.  p.  75),  Lanes. 

Fusiliers  ist  Med.,  '15-'! 6 

•f,,  „  Robert  Mackie  Riddel  (Pte.  6th  Gordons,  p. 
70),  Gordon  Hrs.,  killed  in  action  in  France, 
2  July,  1 91 6  2nd  Arts  and  Med. 

„        „       Alfred   Ritchie   (O.T.C.    p.   75  and  Pte.  3rd 

Royal  Scots),  i8th  Royal  Scots  2nd  Med.,  'i4-'i5 

TERRITORIAL  FORCE. 

Artillery. 

2nd  Lieut.  James  G.  Mackenzie  Booth,  N.  Scot.  R.G.A.  3rd  Arts 

„        „       Alan  Alex.  Duffus  (Lieut.  R.A.M.C.  p.  62), 

Highl.  Brig.  R.F.A.  3rd  Med.,  'i4-'i5 


Commissioned  T.F.  33 

Royal  Engineers. 

2nd  Lieut.  John  Francis  Ledingham,  Highl.  Div.  Signal 

Coy.  1st  Med.,  'i5-'i6 

„         „     James  Frederick  Walker  (Pte.  4th  Gordons,  p. 

66)y  Highl.  Div.  Signal  Coy.  About  to  matriculate 

Infantry, 

2nd  Lieut.  John  Archibald  (Sergt.  p.  70),  6th  Gordon  Hrs.    2nd  Arts 
„         „      Arthur  Morison  Barron  (Pte.  p.  6y)^  7th  Gordon 

Hrs.,  wounded  2nd  time  ist  Arts 

„         „      David  Inglehart  WestwoodBirnie,  3 /5th  Black 

Watch  1st  Agr.,  '14-'!  5 

„         „     EdgarGeorge  Wm.  Bisset(O.T.C.  p.  74),  3/5th 

Gordon  Hrs.  2nd  Med.,  'i5-'i6 

„         „     Douglas  Duncan  Booth  (Pte.  4th  Gordon  Hrs. 

p.  6y),   6th    Gordon    Hrs.,    wounded    27 

April  and  25  Sept.,  191 5  ist  Sci. 

„         „     Charles  Bertie  di  Veri  (Pte.  p.  70),  6th  Batt. 

Gordon  Hrs.  2nd  Arts 

„         „      Charles  Donald  (Pte.  p.  67\  5th  Gordon  Hrs.         ist  Med. 
„         „      J.  L.  L.  Duffus  (Pte.  p.  65),  7th  Gordon  Hrs. 

About  to  matriculate 
„         „      William   Duffus   (L.-Corpl.    4th   Gordons,    p. 

66),  2/6th  Gordon  Hrs.  About  to  matriculate 

„         „      John  Findlay  Dykes  (Pte.  Highl.  Div.  Cycl. 

Batt.  p.  65),  5th  Scot.  Rifles  (Cameronians)       ist  Agr. 
„         „      Herbert  William  Esson  (Pte.  4th  Gordon  Hrs. 

P-  69)  3/4th  Gordon  Hrs.  ist  Arts,  'i4-'i5 

„         „     Albert   Edward   Gammie   (Pte.    Scot.    Horse 

Fd.  Amb.  p.  71),  6th  Gordon  Hrs.,  wounded       ist  Med. 
„         „     Donald  John  Garden  (Pte.  p.  68),  6th  Gordon 

Hrs.  1st  Arts 

„         „     John  Noble  Hendry  (Pte.  p.  70),  5th  Gordon 

Hrs.  1st  Sci.,  'i4-'iS 

„         „      John  M.  Hall  (Pte.  4th  Gordons,  p.  66) y  21st 

Northumberland  Fusiliers  (Tyneside  Scot.) 

About  to  matriculate 


34 

2nd  Lieut. 


Students 

Donald  Fraser  Jenkins  (Pte.  4th  Gordons,  p. 

70),  6th  Seaforth  Hrs.  ist  Agr.,  '14-*!  5 

Edwin      Alfred      Kennedy     (L.-Corpl.      4th 

Gordons,  p.  70),  6th  Seaforth  Hrs.         ist  Agr.,  '14-' 15 
William   Robert  Kennedy   (Pte.  4th  Gordons, 

p.  68),  Seaforth  Hrs.,  killed   in    Flanders 

25-27  Sept.  1st  Med,  'i4-'i5 

Edward    Wilson    Knox   (Pte.     p.    68),    4th 

Gordon  Hrs.  3rd  Arts 

Douglas    John    Kynoch    (Pte.    p.    70),    4th 

Gordon  Hrs.  ist  Med.,  'i4-'i5 

James  Dawson  Leslie  (Pte.  4th  Gordons,  p. 

68),  6th  Gordon  Hrs.  2nd  Arts 

Alex.  McAulay   (Pte.  4th   Gordons,  p.    68), 

4th  Seaforth  Hrs.  ist  Arts 

Ranald  Macdonald,  7th  Gordon  Hrs. 

Asst.  in  Zool. ;  2nd  Agr. 
Isaac  Maciver  (Pte.  4th  Gordons,  p.  68),  4th 

Seaforth  Hrs.  istSci. 

Douglas  Gordon  MacLean  (Pte.  4th  Gordons, 

p.  68),  6th  Gordon  Hrs.  2nd  Arts 

Louis  Wm.  James  Middleton  (O.T.C.  p.  75), 

5th  Gordon  Hrs.  2nd  Med., '15-'! 6 

John  Edward  Mills  (Pte.  4th  Gordons,  p.  70), 

4th  Gordon  Hrs.  ist  Agr. 

Alex.  James  Bolton  Milne  (Pte.  4th  Gordons, 

p.  70),  4th  Gordon  Hrs.  4th  Div.,  '14-'!  5 

James  Mundie  (Pte.  p.  70),  4th  Gordon  Hrs.    Law,  *i4-'i  5 
Andrew  John  Murray  (Sergt.  4th  Gordons, 

p.  66),  4th  Gordon  Hrs.  1st  Med. 

George  Wm.  Munro   (Sergt.  4th  Camerons, 

p.  71),  Cameron  Hrs.  1st  Agr. 

Charles  Edward  Saunders  (Pte.  4th  Gordons, 

p.  66),  4th  Gordon  Hrs.  About  to  matriculate 

John  Moir   Sim  (Pte.   4th  Gordons,  p.  69), 

6th  Gordon  Hrs.,  wounded  ist  Arts 

Arthur   Percy   Spark  (Corpl.    4th   Gordons, 

p.  67),  7th  Gordon  Hrs.,  relinquished  com- 
mission 3rd  Med. 


Enlisted  3  5 


2nd  Lieut.  Donald  Stewart,  Queen's  Own  Cameron  Hrs. 

2nd  Arts,  'i4-'l5 
„         „       James  George   Thomson  (Pte.  4th  Gordons, 

p.  69),  6th  Gordon  Hrs.  ist  Arts 

„         „        Robert  Bayne  Topping  (Corpl.  4th  Gordons, 

p.  69),  4th  Gordon  Hrs.  3rd  Sci.  Agr. 

„         „        Rupert  Sharpe  Walsh  (Sergt.  4th  Gordons,  p. 

66)^  4th  Gordon  Hrs.  ist  Sci, 

„        Hugh  Alex.  Wark  (Pte.    7th  Gordons),  7th 

Gordon  Hrs.  1st  Arts,  'i5-'i6 

STUDENTS  ENLISTED. 

Royal  Navy. 

Henry  Wood,  Sailor  Govt.  Transport  ist  Arts,  'i4-'i5 

Royal  Naval  Air  Service. 
Private  Hugh  Eraser  Hutchison,  Mechanic  ist  Agr.,  'i4-'i5 

Royal  Naval   Volunteer  Reserve. 

Robert  William  Urquhart,  accepted  for  Wireless  Service  ; 

joins  24  July,  191 6  2nd  Arts,  'i5-*l6 

Auxiliary  Sick  Berth  Reserve  Attendants. 

Patrick  Grant  Currid  2nd  Arts  &  Med.  ;  'i5-'i6 

Douglas  Ross  Dugan  ist  Med.,  '15 -'16 

John  Grant  Elmslie  (O.T.C.)  3rd  Med.,  'i5-'i6 

Henry  James  Home  ist  Med.,  'i5-'i6 

John  Ledingham  ist  Med.,  'i5-'i6 

Alfred  George  Mathieson  (O.T.C.  p.  75)  3rd  Med.,  'i5-'i6 

John  Irvine  Milne  (O.T.C.  p.  75)  2nd  Med.,  'i5-'i6 

Frederic  Herman  Molli^re  2nd  Med.,  'i5-'i6 

James  Denham  Pole  ist  Med.,  '15-'! 6 

Vincent  Murray  McAdam  Watson  2nd  Med.,  'i5-'i6 

Robert  Alex.  Grigor  Young  i  st  Med. , '  1 5  -'  1 6 

Artillery. 

Gunner  Alex.  Wesley  Christie,  N.Sc.  R.G.A.  Torry  Batty. 

2nd  Arts,  'i4-'i5 


36  Students 

Gunner  Anthony  Morrice  Hendry,  R.F.A.  ist  Arts  &  Sci.,  'i5-'i6 

Bombardier    Malcolm  Macaulay,  Ross    &  Cmty.  (Mtn.) 

Batty.  About  to  matriculate 

?  Alex.  Luias  McLeod,   157th  (City   of  Aberd.) 

Brig.  R.F.A  About  to  matriculate 

Sergt.  Alex.  Mathieson,  Ross  &  Cmty.  (Mtn.)  Batty. 

About  to  matriculate 

Royal  Engineers. 
Corpl.    Ernest  Russell   Allison,   M  Coy.    Chem.    Section 

1st  Sci., 'i4-'i5 
f  „        John  Bowie,  Special  Brigade,  previously  R.G.A., 
died  from  gas  poisoning,  France,  June,  191 6, 
aged  21  1st  Arts  &  Sci. 

„        Fred.  Grant  Duncan  Chalmers  3rd  Arts  &  Sci.,  'i4-'i5 

„        Joseph  Evans  Gordon,  Chem.  Section  3rd  Agr., 'i5-'i6 

„        William  Lawie  1st  Med.,  '14-'!  5 

Private  Alex.  Robertson,  1st  Batt.  Special  Brigade  B.E.F. 

2nd  Arts  &  Sci.,  'l5-'i6 
„       Carson    Abbott    Ainscough    Ross,     io8th    Coy. 

Special  Coys.  B.E.F.,  France  ist  Arts,  'i4-'l5 

Pioneer  Alex.  C.  Nicol,  wounded,  July,  191 6  ist  Arts,  'i5-'i6 

Pioneer  Alexander  Smith  3rd  Arts  &  Sci. 

INFANTRY. 

Scots  Guards. 
Private  Alasdair  Mclntyre  Smith  (O.T.C.  p.  74)        2nd  Med.,  'i5-'i6 

Royal  Scots. 

Private  John  Gilbert  Currid,  3rd  Batt.  U  Coy.  3rd  Arts,  *i5-'i6 

„      Alex.  Adam  Flett  ist  Sci.,  'i5-'i6 

„      Alex.  Roy  ist  Arts,  'i5-'i6 
„      Alfred  Ritchie  (O.T.C.  p.  75),  3rd  Batt,  commd., 

see  p.  32  2nd  Med.,  'l4-'l5 

„      William  Sutherland  ist  Arts,  '15-'! 6 

Royal  Fusiliers  (City-^of  London  Regt.), 
Private  John  K.  Ferrier,  ist  Sportsman's  Batt.  ist  Sci.,  '14-' 1 5 

„      James  Findlay,  commd.,  see  p.  32  ist  Med., 'i5-'i6 

„      William  Edward  McCulloch,  Pub.  Schools  Batt. 

1st  Med.,  'is-'i6 


Enlisted  3  7 

ird  Batt.  Gordon  Highlanders. 
Private  William  W.  Murison  ist  Arts,  'i5-'i6 

4/^  Batt.  Gordon  Highlanders. 
Corpl.  James  Taylor  Garden,  3 /4th  50th  Arts  Bursar,  '15 

„      John  Wm.  Grant,  3/4th  2nd  Arts,  'i4-'i5 

„      John  Ogilvie  Watt,  3/4 th  ist  Arts,  'i4-'i5 

L.-Corpl.  Robert  John  Anderson,  3/4th  5th  Agr. 

„         John  Annand  Fraser,  3/4 th  3rd  Arts,  '15-'! 6 

,,         James  Slater,  3 /4th  ist  Sci., 'i4-'i5 

„         George  Morrison  Thomson,  3/4th  3rd  Arts,  'i5-'i6 

Private  Henry  Burness  Cook,  3/4th,  commd.,  p.  32     2nd  Med.,  'i5-'i6 

„       Norman  Dawson  1st  Arts, '14-'!  5 

„       John  Russell  Grant,  3/4th  2nd  Law,  'i4-'i5 

„    .   Norman  James  Macfarlane  Hilson  2nd  Arts,  *I4-'  1 5  ;  Matr.,  '15 

„       Wm.  Dufif  Kennedy,  2/4th  2nd  Arts,  'i4-'i5 

„       Alex.  Duncan  Den  Mackay,  3 /4th 

Rose  Bursar ;  2nd  Arts,  'i4-'i5  ;  Matr.,  '15 
„       Peter  Craik  MacQuoid,  3/4th  3rd  Arts,  *i5-'i6 

„       William  Alex.  Morrison  ist  Arts,  '14-'! 5 

„       Robert  Mackie  Simpson  ist  Arts, '14-'!  5 

„       Robert  Alex.  Fordyce  Smart,  3/4th  ist  Med.,  'i5-'i6 

,,       James  Harry  Stewart  About  to  matriculate 

„       Roy  Brown  Strathdee  ist  Arts,  'i4-'i5 

„       Andrew  James  Baxter  Taylor,  3/4th  3rd  Arts,  'i5-'i6 

Atholl  Thomson,  3/4th  (p.  75)  2nd  Med.,  'i5-'i6 

^th  Batt.   Gordon  Highlanders. 
Private  Wilson  Hy.  Gordon  Park,  3/5th       ist  Arts,  'i4-'i  5  ;  Matr.,  'i  5 
„      John  Dean  Riddel,  3/5th  (O.T.C.  p.  75) 

2nd  Arts  &  Med., 'i5-'i6 

6th  Batt.  Gordon  Highlanders. 
Private  James  McPetrie  3rd  Agr. 

Seaforth  Highlanders. 
Private  John  Mackenzie  Macfarquhar,  2/4th  I  st  Arts, '  1 4-'  1 5  ;  Matr., '  1 5 
„       Malcolm  Robert  Bain,  3/6th  i6th  Arts  Bursar,  '15 

Cameron  Highlanders. 
Private  Gilbert  Alex.  Pirie,  3/4th  2nd  Med.,  *i5-'i6 


3  8  Students 

Argyll  and  Sutherland  Highlanders. 

Private  Ian  Forbes  Clark  Badenoch  Arts  Bursar,  '15 

„       Norman  McPh.  MacLennan  (O.T.C.  p.  75)     ist  Med,  'i4-'i5 
,,      Peter  Alex.  Monro  Jack  ist  Arts,  'i5-'i6 

Royal  Military  College^  Sandhurst. 
William  J.  Johnstone,  candidate  1st  Arts,  *iS-*i6 

Units  Unknown. 

Private  Wm.  James  Adam  2nd  Med.,  'i5-'i6 

?  James  Durward  3rd  Arts  and  Sc. 

Private  James  B.  Jessiman  2nd  Med.,  '15-'! 6 

„       John  Macdonald  2nd  Arts, 'i  5-' 16 

„       William  Robertson  Milne  (?  R.A.M.C.)  ist  Arts,  'i5-'i6 

„       Alex.  Reid  64th  Bursar, '15 

„      James  Robertson  1st  Arts, '14-'!  5 

ROYAL  ARMY  MEDICAL  CORPS. 

Private  Cuthbert  Alistair  Allan,  Hillsbro  Barracks,  Shef- 
field 2nd  Med.,  'i4-'iS 
„       Alex.  Guthrie  Badenoch,  4/ ist  Fd.  Amb. 

1st  Arts  and  Sci.,  *i4-'i5 
Driver  Herbert  Anderson  Eccles,  Transp.  Sect.  2/ ist  Highl. 
Fd.    Amb.,  now   B  Section,   ist.    Fd.  Amb,    154th 
Inf.  Brig.  51st  Highl.  Division^  ist  Arts 

Private  William  James  Findlay,  C  Section  3rd  Sci.  (Agr.) 

„      James  Durno  Murray  (fr.  4th  Gordons,  p.  68), 

4/ 1st  Highl.  Fd.  Amb.  ist  Arts 

„      Charles  Leslie  Noble,  2/ ist  Highl.  Cas.  CI.  Stat. 

2nd  Med.,  'i5-'i6 
f     ,,      David  George  Melrose  Watt,  died  on  service  22 

April,  19161  1st  Med.,  'i5-'i6 

\st  Scottish  General  Hospital. 

Wm.  George  Burns,  discharged  to  resume  studies  in  Med.       2nd  Med. 
Donald  Macfarlane,  now  commd.,  p.  61  ist  Med.,  'i4-'i5 

*  Correction  of  entry  on  p,  72. 


Enlisted  3^ 

Inns  of  Court  O.T.C. 

Samuel   Hoare,  aftwds.    D.   Coy.,    9th   (Scottish)  Cadet 

Batt,  Gailes  3rd  Arts,  'i5-'i6 

?  James  Hutcheon  2nd  Med.,  '15-*!  6 

Edinburgh  University  O.T.C. 

Alexander  Eric  Bruce  ist  Arts,  'i5-'i6 

James  William  Gill  2nd  Arts  &  Med.,  'i5-'i6 

George  Mackenzie  Davidson  Lobban  ist  Med.,  'i5-'i6 

Charles  Joiner  (Aberd.  O.T.C.  p.  7S)  M.A. ;  2nd  Med.,  •i5-'i6 

John  Lumsden  3rd  Arts,  '15-*!  6 

?  Ritchie  Doughty  Lyon  3rd  Arts,  'i5-'i6 

John  Irvine  Milne  (Aberd.  O.T.C.  p.  75)  2nd.  Med.,  'i5-'i6 

Richard  Robertson  Trail  4th  Arts,  'i5-'i6 

Boy  Scouts  on   War  Service. 
Scoutmaster  William  Douglas  Simpson,  under  Coastguard 
Administrative   Section   of  Aberdeen    Boy    Scouts 
Assoc.  2nd  Arts,  'i4-*i5 

ARMY  SERVICE  CORPS. 
Private  Francis  Henry  Lakin,  invalided  from  Dardanelles, 
(R.A.M.C.,  p.  72),  Sergt.  3/ist  Highl.  Div.  Train, 
A.S.C.  Corps  (T)  ist  Med. 

„      Alexander  Smart  4th  Arts, '15- 16 

ARMY  VETERINARY  CORPS. 

Sergt.  Wm.  James  McBain  ist  Sci.  Agr.,  'i4-'i5 

„      Bradley  Martin  Cameron  3rd  Sci.  Agr., 'i  5-' 16 

„      Ian  Munro  Gill  ist  Sci.  Agr.,  '14-'! 5 

„      Duncan  MacRae  2nd  Sci.  Agr.,  'i5-'i6 

„      Wm.  Andrew  Longmore,  No.  4  Base  Veterinary 

Hospital  2nd  Sci.  Agr.,  'i4-'i5 

„      John  Augustus  Jackson  Imlay  ist  Sci.  Agr.,  'i4-'i5 

L.-Corpl.  Robert  C.  M.  Maitland  2nd  Sci.  Agr.,  '15-'! 6 

„       Charles  Milne  3rd  Sci.  Agr.,  'i5-'i6 

?       James  Fairweather  2nd  Sci.  Agr.,  'i5-'i6 

CHURCH  GUILD  AND  Y.M.C.A.  WORK. 
William  Morton  Grant,  on  Guild  Tent  Work  in  Malta  3rd  Arts,  'i4-'i5 


f 


40  Students 


ABERDEEN       UNIVERSITY      CONTINGENT      OFFICERS 
TRAINING  CORPS. 

1st  SECTION  FIELD  AMBULANCE,  MEDICAL  CORPS. 

REJOINED. 

Archibald  Clive  Irvine  MA.,  5th  Med. 

Gordon  J.  Key  5th  Med. 

Douglas  Lyon  5th  Med. 

Andrew  Henry  Mitchell  5th  Med. 

ADDITIONS. 

Autumn  and  Winter  Terms. 

John  James  Hall  Anderson  ist  Med. 

Charles  Alastair  Aymer  2nd  Med. 

Hugh  Wolfgang  Corner  ist  Med. 

Robert  Henry  George  Hector  Denham  ist  Med. 

John  Mitchell  Duthie  ist  Med. 

William  Ferguson  ist  Med. 

Archibald  Newlands  Forsyth  ist  Med. 

Ronald  Kirkham  Grant  i  st  Med. 

Charles  Albert  Hay  2nd  Med. 

Douglas  Alex.  Hunter  ist  Med. 

James  Stuart  Hutchison  ist  Med. 

Edward  White  Irvine  1st  Med. 
George  Smith  Lawrence                                                   M.A;  5th  Med. 

Douglas  Reginald  Macdonald  1st  Med. 

Alex.  Mackay  ist  Med. 

Roderick  MacLeod  ist  Med. 

Donald  Meldrum  ist  Med. 

Walter  James  Meldrum  ist  Med. 

John  Milne  ist  Med. 

Robert  Bruce  Milne  ist  Med. 

Alex.  Murray  ist  Med. 

Alex.  Edwin  Reid  1st  Med. 

Edward  Norman  Duncan  Repper  ist  Med. 

Norman  Charles  Simpson  ist  Med. 

Alex.  Forbes  Stuart  ist  Med. 


officers  Training  Corps  41 


Norman  Taggart 

1st  Med. 

Andrew  James  Wolhuter 

1st  Med. 

Summer  Ternty  1916. 

Francis  Pirie  Wilson  Alexander 

1st  Med. 

Gerard  Burnett 

1st  Med. 

James  Clark 

1st  Med. 

John  Craig 

1st  Med. 

Arthur  Austin  Eagger 

1st  Med. 

George  S.  Escoffery 

4th  Med. 

Edward  James 

1st  Med. 

Matthew  Hannah  Logg 

1st  Med. 

Kenneth  Norman  Macdonald 

1st  Med. 

Hugh  McLaren 

1st  Med. 

David  George  Ewen  Main 

1st  Med. 

George  Strattam  Martin 

5th  Med. 

John  Innes  Moir 

1st  Med. 

Lewis  Morgan 

1st  Med. 

John  Bernard  Mutch 

5th  Med. 

William  Wyness  Nicol 

5th  Med. 

Charles  Reid 

M.A.,  B.Sc,  4th  Med. 

George  Saint 

1st  Med. 

Robert  Alexander  Fordyce  Smart 

1st  Med. 

John  Callagan  Souter 

1st  Med. 

Cecil  Vivian  Spark 

1st  Med. 

Robert  Thom 

5th  Med. 

Alexander  Louis  George  Thomson 

1st  Med. 

William  Duke  Whamond 

5th  Med. 

Vincent  Thomas  Borthwick  Yule 

M.A.,  5th  Med. 

Summary  of  the  Provisional  Roll  and  this 
Supplement. 


A.  ON  SERVICE. 

I.  Members  of  the  Staff  not  Graduates  of  this  University 
II.  Graduates  Commissioned — 

Royal  Navy — Medical  Service  (incl.  4  civilians) 

Regular  Army,  incl.  S.R.O.  and  Tempy.  Commissions 

„      R.A.M.C.,    incl.  S.R.O.  and  Tempy 

Commissions 

Territorial  Force 

„     R.A.M.C 

Indian  Army,  incl.  Reserve  of  Offirs.  and  Volunteers 

India  Medical  Service 

Army  Chaplains  Department     .... 
Overseas  Forces  (incl.  32  Med.  Offirs.  and  i  Chapl.) 

Total  of  Graduates  Commissioned 

Graduates  Enlisted 

„         Serving  with  Brit.  Red  Cross  or  as  Dressers 
„         on  Y.M.C.A.  Service  to  Troops 

Total  of  Graduates  on  Service 


„         in   charge  of  Red  Cross  and   other   Military 

Hospitals 

III.  Alumni  (non-Graduates)  Commd.  (incl.  7  Meds.,  i  Chapl.) 
„  „  Enlisted     .... 

„  „  Serving  with  Brit.  Red  Cross 


Total  of  Alumni  on  Service 


41 
62 

348 
166 
194 

lO 

42 
40 

42 

945 

176 

2 

3 


IV.   Students  Commissioned  ..... 

„        Enlisted 

„        Serving  as  Dressers,  etc 

Total  of  Students  on  Service 

Total  of  Members  of  Univ.  and  Alumni  on  Service 
Add  those  who  but  for  Service  would  have  matriculated     . 
„    Sacrist  and  Univ.  Servants  on  Service 

Total  on  Service 

B.  UNDER  TRAINING. 

Students  in  Aberd.  Univ.  O.T.C 

Graduates  and   Members   of  Staff  in  Aberd.    Milit.  Training 
Assocn 

Total  under  Training 
Total  on  Service  and  under  Training 


74 
60 


120 

252 

8 


S7 
26 


17 


1126 


25 


136 


380 

1684 

31 
14 

1729 


113 
1842 


LH 
5 

A3 
V.3 


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