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THE

ABERDEEN
UNIVERSITY
REVIEW

VOLUME IX

X93X-23

Printed at

The Aberdeen University Press

1922

/.

\V

••THE ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY REVIEW."

COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT.

Convener: •The Very Rev. Principal Sir Gborob Adah Smith
{Convener of Editorial Sub-Committee).

Vice-Convener: *Mr. P. J. Anderson.

Secretary {and Assistant Editor) : *Mr. Robert Anderson.

Hon. Treasurer: Mr. Jambs W. Garden, D.S.O.

Mr. Henry Alexander.
•Professor J. B. Baillie, O.B.E.
•Miss Maud Storr Best.

Mr. Henry J. Butchart, D.S.O.

Dr. Jambs £. Crombie.

Professor William L. Davidson.

Rev. Professor James Gilroy.
•Mr. William Grant.

Miss Annib Grbig Macintosh.

Professor Matthew Hay.
•Professor A. A. Jack.

Mr. J. F. Kellas Johnstone.
•Mr. W. Keith Leask.

Professor Ashley W. Mackintosh.

Mr. David M. M. Millioan.

Mr. William Murison.

Rev. Dr. Gordon J. Murray.

Professor R. W. Reid.

Colonel J. Scott Riddell, C.B.E., M.V.O

Rev. Professor John A. Sblbie.

Dr. Macgrbgor Skene.

Professor C. Sanford Terry.

•Professor J. Arthur Thomson.

•Mr. Theodore Watt {Convener of Busi-
ness Sub-Committee).

The President of thb S.R.C.

•Members of the Editorial Sub-Committee.

1

v/

/

The

Aberdeen University Review

Vol. IX. No. 25 November, 1921

The Case for the Classics.

^HE curriculum is always in the melting pot. Nor
is the reason far to seek. Knowledge grows from
more to more, conditions change from age to age.
Education, being the practical answer to the
necessities of the time, must respond to changing
conditions, and must at each period select the
forms of knowledge best suited for its purposes.
The upheaval of war and the birth of a new world have in our days
rendered the processes of revision and adaptation more than ever
necessary. Thus it is that successive Prime Ministers have seen right
to appoint special Committees to deal with the four great departments
of study — Natural Science, Modern Languages, Classics, English —
and have entrusted to them the task of examining their respective
claims to a place in the national system of education. We have before
us the findings of the Classical Committee, to which its authors have
given the title '• The Classics in Education ". The reports on Natural
Science and Modern Languages appeared a year or two ago.

The Committee, whose chairman was the Marquess of Crewe, was
instructed to enquire into the position which the Classics should hold,
and to advise as to the means of maintaining and improving their
proper study. It would hardly have claimed to be a judicial body.
Like the other committees, it was briefed for its own client. If, in the
domain of linguistic study, the Modern Languages Committee may
be regarded as counsel for the prosecution, the tone of much of the
Classical Report is that of counsel for the defence. It was its business
to make the strongest case it could. The nation must in the end
decide or compromise among the rival claimants.

I

2 Aberdeen University Review

The Report contains nine parts extending to 308 pp., and is both
voluminous and exhaustive. It is very good " in parts," but there
are too many parts ; and the arrangement is by no means ideal.
Few readers, it is to be feared, will wade through a Part like No. II.,
with its bewildering list of Entrance examinations, and the same re-
mark applies to much of Part IV. — Universities, For such material,
surely the proper place was in the Appendix. To the Scottish
reader, the Introduction, Part III. (organization, method, etc.), and
Part V. (Scotland) may be specially recommended ; they contain the
gist of the Report, as it concerns us in the North. It is with portions
of these that this article will mainly deal.

The subject of the Report cannot claim to be new. But, in view
of recent criticism, the Committee was well advised to restate the case
for the Classics, as is done in the Introduction. Premising that it is
difficult, if not impossible, for any man to determine exactly what he
owes to his education or to any particular part of it, the Committee yet
ventures to claim certain more or less peculiar benefits that the Classics
have conferred upon their votaries. If a man has successfully gone
through a full Honours course of Classics in the university : —

{a) He has obtained access to a literature, unique, inimitable, and
irreplaceable, which in the judgment of many is " absolutely the
noblest in the world ".

{b) He has had the advantage of studying on a smaller scale and
in simpler form many of the fundamental problems of our own civiliza-
tion.

{c) In order to attain this access to beauty and this power of
understanding, he has enjoyed a mental discipline of peculiar value,
which furnishes a remarkable combination of memory training,
imagination, aesthetic appreciation and scientific method.

Before examining these arguments in detail, it may be well to
note that, in their general tenor, but with certain qualifications,
they have been admitted and even considerably strengthened by the
findings of the Modern Languages Committee. The classical ideal is
what the latter desires to see established in its own department. A
cl:issical education, it says, still inspires the best of our teachers and
our students. Such an education is no mere linguistic study, the dry
bones of word forms. It implies scholarship, with a training in form
and order, a discipline of taste, a passion for accuracy. But it implies
still more — an intimate acquaintance with all that is best in the

The Case for the Classics 3

greatest minds of two great races. It means more still: "it aims at
an imaginative comprehension of the whole life of two historic peoples,
in their art, their law, their politics, their institutions, and their larger
economics, and also in their creative work of poetry, history, and
philosophy". An ideal of this kind makes fine even the action of
gerund grinding. During the dreary stages of initial study, such
aspirations raise the whole level of effort. Before long the best pupils
catch the inspiration. In the past, a classical training has produced
some of the best historians, the best critics, even the best professors
of English literature, and, beyond that, men with the widest outlook,
the most balanced judgment, the finest taste. The best is very good
indeed, the excellence springs in great part from the high ideal.

This is the case for the Classics as stated by their advocates, ad-
mitted and amplified by their rivals. It suggests some comments.
To begin with, the plea urged by the Classical Committee under head
(<:) has now generally been abandoned. Every exercise of mental
function trains the mind so far. It cannot be proved, nor is it at all
probable, that the Classics improve the memory in any peculiarly
valuable way. Much, too, of the material memorized is almost worth-
less as a permanent possession. So, in the early stages of classical
instruction as traditionally conducted, scope for the imagination is
conspicuously wanting. Latin grammar is anything but a stimulus
to fancy or to aesthetic appreciation ; nor is it, as usually taught,
a training in scientific method. Mental function cannot be trained
in vacuo. It requires material, and that material should be congenial,
comprehensible, and call forth strenuous exertion. The excellence of
the classical mind has come, in part, from its original endowment, in
part, from prolonged energetic exercise in material fulfilling these
conditions. But to how many pupils have classics proved uncon-
genial ? It has ever been

The drill 'd dull lesson, forced down word by word
In my repugnant youth ;

the daily drug which turned
My sickening memory.

The classical mind is not necessarily superior to the non-classical.
The two are different, that is all we are warranted in assuming.
The classical standard was for long the only measure of ability.
Tested by it, the non-classical pupil, of course, cuts a poor figure.
Now we have other standards, as well as a wider view of mental

4 Aberdeen University Review

endowment, and fuller acquaintance with intellectual types and idio-
syncracies. Undoubtedly the student must be possessed of pronounced
ability who succeeds in becoming a competent classical scholar. But
the kind of effort expended on the study of mathematics, or of plant
or animal life, or on history or geography, though different from
that bestowed on Latin or Greek, is not, therefore, less in degree or
inferior in kind. Several subjects are at least equal to Latin or Greek
in their appeal to memory, superior in imaginative possibilities, not
inferior in aesthetic stimulus, some of them affording a model of
scientific procedure. The argument based on mental function — {c) —
is thus quite unconvincing.

When we go back to {b), the difficulty is of another kind. The
opponent of the Classics may admit all that is urged on behalf of
the study of the political and economic conditions of other nations,
ancient or modern. He will concede that the Athens of the fifth
and the Rome of the first century B.C. will offer to his view an
extremely varied field of social experience, and enable him to see
the underlying principles at work much more clearly than if he at-
tacked direct the same problems in the enormously large and com-
plicated civilization which now surrounds him. But he will not go
for his information to Thucydides or Livy. He will be glad to
come by the knowledge without personally conducting the necessary
investigations. In like manner, he will seek to become acquainted
with similar problems, in mediaeval Italy, without learning Italian,
in Arabia and the East during the rise of Mohammedanism, without
studying Arabic. The native literature of English is so rich in his-
torical materials that resort to foreign sources is, for ordinary purposes,
unnecessary. The argument (b) does not carry conviction either,
though it does suggest a question to which reference will be made
later — the relation of a knowledge of a language to acquaintance
with the life of the people speaking it.

For the moment we revert to (a), the value of literature as such,
and of classical literature in especial. At this point comes a parting
of the ways of Classicists and Modernists. The Modern Languages
Committee, as has been seen, accepts the classical ideal, with all that
it implies, regarding the language, literature, and life of two great
peoples. But cannot the high ideal, it would ask, be transferred to
the field of modern studies, which have a much more direct and
intimate bearing upon the life of the twentieth century? If ancient

The Case for the Classics 5

Greece and Rome are so serviceable, why not modern France and
Germany, Italy and Spain? The question whether " modern studies "
can afford an education equivalent to the best classical training can,
the Modern Languages Committee says, be answered only by put-
ting it to the test. " The equivalence cannot be denied by the wise
until the experiment has had a full trial with all favourable conditions
throughout at least a whole generation."

Thus a formidable rival to the traditional Humanities is to be found
in modern Humanism. Nor are the claims of the latter exhausted by
modern foreign languages, for the Mother Tongue is itself for us the
greatest of all the Humanities. It was at the very period when the
literatures of England and other countries of Modern Europe were
taking form that the sway of the Classics began seriously to be dis-
puted. Up to that time, the literature of the world had been classical.
The whole record of human thought, human effort, man's achievements
in political life, in legislation, colonization, arts and letters was con-
tained in the Classics. The more distinct decline of classical studies
in our time and country has been almost concurrent with the emer-
gence into importance of English studies in school and university.
The simultaneous introduction of modern foreign languages into the
curriculum has somewhat obscured the part played by English itself.
But the crucial fact is that the essential elements of humanistic cul-
ture are in great measure available without resort to unknown and
difficult tongues, either ancient or modern. It happened most
unfortunately for the Classics, too, that the attainment of literary
rank by English and other modern languages was also coincident
with the rise of modern science. Bacon, who may be regarded
as the father of modern science, was a contemporary of the scholars
who produced the Authorized Version of the Scriptures, a work
which has done more than any other to give dignity and status to
the English language as a literary instrument, and to impart to it a
sanctity which is no small part of its influence. Bacon, it is true,
still wrote chiefly in Latin, and so did Newton half a century later.
But the fate of Latin as the language of science had already been sealed.
Bacon himself illustrates the transition from ancient to modern.

On the comparative merits of English and classical literature
we need not dwell. Large portions of Greek literature and con-
siderable portions of Latin are unique, irreplaceable, belonging to
the world and the race rather than to the ages and nations that

6 Aberdeen University Review

gave them birth. It would without doubt be an irreparable loss
to humanity if, to mention but a few, Homer, Thucydides, Sophocles,
Aristophanes, Plato; Lucretius, Horace, Vergil, Tacitus, were lost,
or even remained closed books. But modern literature has so far
embodied and transcended the efforts of earlier ages that the loss
would be more than perceptibly mitigated. Our own literature is
unrivalled both in range and quality. Other modern literatures are
hardly, if at all, less excellent But when all is said, classical litera-
ture has a specific value for which there is no exact substitute.

Now, whatever the inherent merits of a literature, ancient or
modern, its full appreciation demands knowledge of the language.
As is admirably set forth in the Report, translations have their value
and their limitations, their use and their abuse. Literature, in
any true sense, is the product of the individual mind, presenting
a combination of form and substance which constitutes its essence
and life. Destroy the form and the life is gone. In scientific writings
literary form is not the main aim. It is incidental, the chief object
being to set forth facts and reasonings which are in great measure
independent of the form. Under these circumstances, a translation
may not merely be as good as the original but actually an improve-
ment upon it Something of the kind has happened in the case
of our matchless Authorized Version. The New Testament at any
rate is not inferior to the original Greek. By comparison, its modern
rivals, though preserving here and there a grain more of verbal
accuracy, are banal and repellent. But to speak of translating
Horace is like proposing to judge a statue by its weight of marble or a
painting by its extent of canvas. In order to get to the real Horace —

it is a curse
To understand, not feel thy lyric flow —

or even the real Homer, the languages in which the poets wrote must
be mastered ; no other access is to be had to their poetry. Latin or
Greek literature cannot be made a unique instrument of culture with-
out a knowledge of Latin or Greek. By the substantive value of
ancient literature, therefore, the claims of the ancient languages must
primarily and principally be judged.

But there is another argument on which one would have been
glad to see the Committee lay more stress at this point. Rome
was the mother of modern Europe. Our whole political system
derives from Rome. Our language is in vocabulary half or more

The Case for the Classics 7

than half Latin. Our literature, too, is a lineal descendant of
Latin. Its background and presuppositions, where not Scriptural,
are classical. Without a knowledge of the sources, it is largely
a puzzle, sometimes wholly unintelligible. If we are to know our-
selves, the stream of our life history as a civilized nation must be
traced back to its sources. The student of Modern Languages
stands in even greater need of a knowledge of their ancestry, unless
the philology of French and the other Romance languages is to remain
an edifice without foundation. The relation of language to studies of
this kind — a question reserved above — is a point of much importance.
The connection is admitted, or assumed, by the Committee on Modem
Languages, which says that "the study of foreign peoples is an attrac-
tive pursuit and that it cannot be carried far without an intimate
knowledge of their languages ". The matter is no doubt one of degree.
As already seen, much may be gleaned by reading about Roman laws,
camps, and coins, about Greek architecture, pottery, games and drama.
But without the language, the reader cannot penetrate the thoughts
or appraise the genius and spirit that produced all these ; he must
remain to the end an outsider. He is travelling through a foreign
land with whose people he can hold no communication. How super-
ficial and imperfect his acquaintance must be ! The languages are the
sacred fire of classical study. Suffer it to be quenched, and the cause
is lost. Conviction and policy alike demand that its study be placed
in the forefront.

For reasons of this kind, Latin may be regarded as an integral
portion of our birthright. The nature of the language itself adds
strong confirmation of its claims. By similarity of form yet contrast
of structure, it gives an insight and a grasp of English vocabulary
and syntax for which it is difficult to find any exact equivalent Its
extraordinarily logical genius renders it an admirable discipline. More
cannot safely be claimed ; for other disciplines may be equally ad-
mirable. Broadly regarded, the case for Latin seems proved ; nor
can the period be at present foreseen when ancient Rome will lose for
us its living interest, or a hold over our education.

Latin is a necessity, Greek is more in the nature of a luxury. The
Report quotes Dr. Johnson's remark, " Greek, sir, is like lace : a man
gets as much of it as he can ". It is so. The accomplishment is very
precious, Greek is probably the last of his intellectual possessions with
which a man would be willing to part. Though Greece can make no

8 Aberdeen University Review

such appeal as Rome in regard either to our language or our civiliza-
tion, it is by no means devoid of distinctive claims of its own. Greek
is the language of the New Testament and of ancient philosophy. In
our own day, it is still a useful weapon with which to attack the
vocabulary of science. Greek thought, the alertness and enterprise
of the Greek mind have for two thousand years been an inspiration
and an incentive to progress. The Greek spirit is eternally youthful,
fresh, vigorous, attractive. The Greeks were an imaginative, nimble-
witted people, with an extraordinarily delicate appreciation of har-
mony, beauty, grace of form and movement. Greece has contributed
elements to human progress, the loss of which would leave us much
the poorer. Its literature is immeasurably superior to that of Rome.
It may with confidence be asserted that the language will more than
repay such study of it as will give free entrance to the literature. We
cannot afford to let Greek die. We must provide for it its oppor-
tunities and bestow the needful encouragement.

Two illustrations may be permitted as characteristic of the Greek
genius and its contributions to life. The Greek verb is a marvel of
skill and resource, one of the most perfect instruments for its purpose
that the brain of man can ever have devised. In the most systematic
and scientific fashion — though seldom, it is to be feared, so taught or
learned — from a simple stem, as tvtt or Tperr, a set of inflectional forms
is developed to the number of five or six hundred, each expressing its
nuances of time, state, person, number, voice, and each clearly dis-
tinguishable from its fellows. A few simple principles guide to an
acquaintance and recollection of them all. Memory is often abused by
being asked to carry them as a mixed assortment of verbal curiosities.

Again, here is a fragment from Sappho : —

Otov TO yXvuvfiaXov epevdfrai aKpca eV vabat
aKpov fir aKpoTOTCi • \e\ddovTO 8e fiaXo8p6iTT)€s,
oi) flap iicXeXddovT, aXX' ovk e8vvavT i^'iKeadai.

Like as the sweet apple hangs blushing on the outmost bough, outmost on the
outermost : surely the pickers must have forgotten it. No, that they did not,
but they could not reach it

— a very prosaic rendering of what must be felt rather than heard.

But why has not some imaginative Hellenist given us the concluding

three lines ?

So the sweet maiden, that quite impossible She, sits by her mother's side, waiting
to be gathered. Has no suitor come by ? Yes, hosts have come and tried,
but none could reach the heart

The Case for the Classics g

— a still poorer version of what the poetess alone could have fittingly
clothed in words.

But of what good are such things to life and its needs? Every
good ; they add years to it, for they make a man young again.

The conclusion under this head runs thus : the claims of classical
study rest essentially upon the intrinsic value of classical literature ;
on content and not merely form, much less on some supposed occult
influence exercised upon the mind, potent in proportion to its
repulsiveness. The ultimate ground of Greek study is that one may
with some degree of pleasure take down Homer, or Sophocles, or the
Lyric Poets (alas ! only the disjecta membra), or Plato, or Demosthenes,
or other of the great masters, and receive instruction and inspiration,
or, it may be, comfort from what they have to teach, from their out-
look on life, their attitude toward the great problems of human
destiny ; or from the lightning play of their fancy, their mirth, their
optimism, their joys and their sorrows. From this direct contact with
the thought and spirit of Greece all collateral studies and aids to study
derive, and to it they are subsidiary.

We pass on to consider ways and means — school organization,
training of teachers, method and curriculum, and cognate topics con-
tained in Part III. Regarding these, the Committee has sound and
weighty counsel to offer. It is keenly alive to the importance of
the age of entry on the study of a foreign language, to the merits
of different methods of teaching the Classics, to the aims of the
teaching, and to the claims of the various items composing the classical
curriculum — texts, translations, grammar, composition, history, and art.
It is not enamoured of the so-called "direct" method except in so
far as the procedure contains a recognition of the important part
played by oral instruction. Its predilection seems to be for the tradi-
tional method, which still produces so good results, " where time
suffices," that classical teachers have not generally found it necessary
to avail themselves of any other weapons than those which served
their predecessors well. Yet, as the heading of the paragraph informs
us, there is need for a new outlook ; and, as we read a few pages
further on, the cause of classical education has been seriously injured
by the dominance of the ideal of an austere and difficult discipline
which has rendered Latin and Greek a dreary wilderness haunted by
lingu Stic problems, and has concealed from pupils the fact that what
they were reading was literature at all. The Report does not make

lO Aberdeen University Review

very plain what the new outlook is to be, while so much is said —
a great deal of it just and sane — on each and every mode of instruction
that it would be difficult to present in brief space a connected view of
what are to be regarded as the essentials of method.

The general attitude of the Committee seems to be — while adopt-
ing the traditional method, make the text somewhat more prominent,
and use all illustrative aids of history, archaeology, art, museums, and
libraries, in order to stimulate interest and widen the scope and appeal
of the instruction. But the Committee has scarcely sufficiently grasped
the importance of the time element throughout the whole range of
the modern curriculum. Everything turns upon the application of
" where time suffices".

There are two general principles which we venture to think
go some considerable way toward determining the place of Latin
and Greek no less than of other subjects. One is, that educational
gain, like other forms of profit, must be reckoned in relation to cost.
An attainment may be bought at too high a price in time and energy.
This is so, when, as regards the individual, something as good may be
procured at less cost, or something better at equal cost. We are long
past the time when there was no alternative to the Classics, when it
was a choice of beginning Latin or getting no education at all. Classi-
cal teaching is chargeable with an enormous expenditure, and often
waste, of time. In our days time never " suffices " to bestow a
moment of it superfluously. There is no more vital condition of the
Classics keeping their place than the reduction to the very minimum
of their demand upon the time table already so overcrowded. The
other principle is closely akin : the period of most fruitful and econom-
ical study of any subject whatever must be determined by the course
of mental development. The principle has been grossly transgressed
by the whole course and method of Latin teaching. The reform of this
abuse is another requirement of the situation upon which much depends.

We are at one with the Committee in desiring a start in foreign
languages not later than the age of eleven, preferably with good pupils
about ten ; but possibly for other than the Committee's reasons. The
Committee finds that, on the whole but with marked exceptions, the
balance inclines toward French as the first language. The question
has, in Scotland at any rate, been already settled. To begin Latin
at ten is educationally unsound, ruinously wasteful of time, and
intellectually injurious. Latin is highly synthetic in character, unlike

The Case for the Classics ii

the familiar structure of the mother tongue with its "of" "to"
•* from " ; the substantives have endless varieties, the verbs have no
pronouns, the subjunctive, if the pupil reach it, is a new and strange
phenomenon. The memory is plastic enough up to twenty to re-
tain all that it requires of grammatical forms, while the appropriate
material at the age of ten to twelve for storing as well as exercising
it is something very different Are Burns and Scott, Coleridge,
Wordsworth and Stevenson, Milton, Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Her-
rick, Wootton and the rest of the glorious company less suitable than
the Eton Latin grammar and Erasmus' Colloquies? Nor need the
classical interest meantime suffer. This is the period at which to
orient the pupil's mind toward classical study. Let him read the
heroic and patriotic stories of Greece and Rome, let him con Kingsley's
tales and memorize poems like Horatius and Virginia. Let him see
representations of Greek vases, statues, buildings, Roman imple-
ments, standards, coins. Let him learn about ships and naval
affairs from Troy to Actium. Let the inscriptions be a challenge
to his curiosity. Let him feel that the ancient life has charms
and examples and lessons for himself. In short, create in him
an interest and something of a desire to know, and you will have
predisposed him toward the studies and secured the first condi-
tion of success — an eager and intelligent pupil. The problem of
English etymology may be utilized to make a similar appeal and to
furnish an additional incentive. Thus the time will be usefully filled
in till such stage of mental development has been reached, at thirteen
or later, that the study of Latin may appropriately be begun. The
apparent loss of a year or two at the outset will prove in reality an
enormous gain in rate of progress, intelligibility of the study, and
enthusiasm of the pupil ; and will far more than compensate the initial
delay. He is fortunate who, through happy accident or the unwonted
wisdom of parents and teachers, has escaped the dreary drudgery,
wasted effort and missed opportunity, so long associated with the
daily drug of Latin grammar in his repugnant youth —

With the freshness wearing out before
My mind could relish what it might have sought,
If free to choose.

It will be a new idea to many that any one should seek to begin Latin !

The incidental gain in respect to French is one of the objects of

the delay of Latin. French is not beyond the capacity of ordinary

12 Aberdeen University Review-

children of ten or eleven. Two or three years of its study will have
imparted knowledge of the language such that its subsequent demands
upon time ought thereby to be greatly reduced. French provides a
transition to Latin, for example, in the verb inflections, which renders
the latter more intelligible. French is particularly useful as a test
of linguistic capacity : pupils will be encouraged to proceed to Latin
on the strength of their French record. French will, also, reinforce
the etymological appeal already made by English and give an added
motive for wishing to ascend to the fountain head of origins in Latin.

By the age of fifteen or a little later, Greek may be begun, and
German either at the same time as an alternative, or, for classical
pupils desiring it, a year later. The normal combinations of languages
will thus be French, Latin, Greek ; French, Latin, German : the ex-
ceptional, French alone, for pupils at the lower end of the scale ; French,
Latin, Greek, German, for a few at the upper end. Some boys and
many girls will wish to specialize in French and German. As a rule,
if they are good enough to be specialists in modern languages, they
ought not to omit Latin, the study of which is quite compatible with
the demands of their main languages. Adequate time must be reserved
in the school programme for English with History, Mathematics,
Science, and Drawing. The arrangement of the time table no doubt
requires some skill, the more so, as one pupil may wish this group, and
another that The placing of languages en Echelon, as described, reduces
to manageable dimensions their demands on time at any one period of
school life.

The Committee, it may be observed, accepts as the first of the
objects of classical teaching that pupils should " understand and
use" the classical languages. On the principle that the end re-
gulates the means, exception must at once be taken to the words
"and use". There will be general agreement that in the case
of a living language, we wish by studying it — that is, for practical
not philological purposes — to be enabled to read, converse, and
correspond in this medium. If a language is no longer spoken —
" dead " is an unhappy term — the main, possibly sole, object of its
study is to read it, thereby to gain access to the literature and life of
the nation whose it once was. Latin we practically never wish to
*' use " as a vehicle of thought. If we employ methods of teach-
ing that point toward that object, they must be justifiable on some
other ground. Grammar, syntax, composition, are all subsidiary to the

The Case for the Classics 13

main objective — facility of comprehension with a view to access to the
literature. Syntax is meaningless apart from a context, and the
statement that it may advantageously be taught " on a basis of pure
grammar, founded on the analysis of thought as such " is, in its appar-
ent meaning, almost incredible. To teach syntax in any other way
than as the principles underlying the forms and arrangement of words
in a given text, a very concrete thing, seems a wholly mistaken, if not
impossible, method.

Lastly, and in particular, classical teaching has for ages been obsessed
by the bogey of composition. Perhaps it is a remnant of the practice
of the Jesuits who had to prepare their pupils for the use of Latin by
speech and pen, in pulpit and on platform, as the language of learning and
debate. Writing, of course, makes the exact man, but the exactness
will come all in due time. Two very pertinent facts seem habitually
to be forgotten. First, even in the mother tongue, the child is not
asked to write, i.e. "compose," until, through long familiarity with
the spoken word, he has accumulated a stock of vocabulary and con-
struction, even some experience and fund of thought, on which to
draw. Second, when he is asked to write, it is his own, not another's,
thoughts that he is required to express. In Latin this is all reversed.
Reading and composition are made to proceed pari passu. The pupil
is asked to express ideas not his own, sometimes not clearly under-
stood, in an unfamiliar idiom, with a vocabulary of the most scanty
description. It is a pure travesty, and inevitably futile. What
wonder if a diligent youth latins " It is all over with the army," omne
est super cum exercitu ? Omne and exerdtu are indeed quite meritorious.

The value of composition in its time and place will not be under-
rated by anyone who knows what scholarship means : up to a certain
point, it is necessary in verse no less than in prose. But the time is
comparatively late, not in the initial stages ; the amount comparatively
small, not the hour-and-half exercises which make the Classics a weari-
ness to the flesh even with the willingest of pupils. The higher Latin
Composition is for the very few. All our classical pupils are not
going to be college dons. We cordially agree with much of what
the Committee urges in regard to the value of the higher compo-
sition, the rethinking, fusing, remoulding in Latin periodic structure,
a piece of good narrative or a train of reasoning in English. But
even so, we prefer the public orators, who are free to express
their own thoughts in their own way, to the stately, often frigid,

14 Aberdeen University Review

renderings of Addison, Gibbon, or Macaulay, after the style of Livy
or Tacitus. Much of the benefit might for the ordinary pupil be
secured if more attention were bestowed upon translation. In
rendering into idiomatic English, there is the same recasting and
re-expression in a new idiom as in composition, with the important
difference that the new form is one with which the pupil is already
familiar, and the exercise such that he is asked to do only one
thing at a time. It is more than enough to have to transmute
and rearrange the thought, without the added difficulties of vocab-
ulary and idiom. Translation is too often understood to be a
loose acquaintance with the meaning, expressed in what is no
better than lexicon English. If the same pains were bestowed in
shaping, pruning, embellishing the English sentence and paragraph,
it would be to much greater and more abiding profit, to greater insight
into radical differences of structure and arrangement, not to say
of the "lumps of experience" underlying single terms, than is mean-
time gained from collecting a cento of idiomatic phrases and dubbing
it Latin prose. When pupils manifest a desire to employ Latin to
express their own thoughts, they may be permitted and encouraged
to do so. But they should not be forced : in education, "too soon"
is as ominous as " too late ".

By improved method and more intensive study from about the age
of fourteen onward, the chances of the Classics in competition with
other languages could be greatly improved. There is room for both
series of studies, but only if the former largely abate their claims
upon time. Those who are going to be specialists will not cause
much difficulty. They can generally stand and walk alone. But
the ordinary educated man (or woman) must, if possible, be led
to regard Latin, at any rate, as an essential element in his course.
The reduction of time, with which is involved the radical im-
provement of method, is the most pressing necessity of the case.
It may be that the care of Greek will have to be assumed by the
universities to a larger extent than hitherto. The schools are the
seedplots, and every endeavour must be made to enable them to
do their part. The most effectual agent being an enthusiastic teacher,
graduates in Classics must be encouraged to take service as teachers.
But if the worst come to the worst, the universities must take the lead
in organizing the Hellenic forces. With them are to be associated the
Training Colleges and Theological Colleges. The cult of Greek is

The Case for the Classics 15

specially appropriate in an institution whose mission is to foster the
liberal " Arts ". Subjects not taught in the schools have to be begun
in the university, and if Greek should be crowded out of the schools,
there is no reason why it should be made an exception to this rule.
The amount of time necessary to gain a working knowledge of the
Classics has been greatly exaggerated. Good teaching will enable a stu-
dent of the age of eighteen to twenty-two to acquire reasonable facility
in Greek in three months, say, sixty-five hours of class instruction. By
the end of six months, he will be able to make his way unaided,
though it may be that he will still be unable, as required in a recent
public examination, to describe a scene of purse snatching in " He
struck him so as to prevent him from running away," or to instruct his
friend in court etiquette, " Say nothing unless the king bids you
speak ". If Greek does not lay its spell upon the man who has en-
joyed skilled and wise tuition in it for six months or, in the extreme
instance, a year, there is nothing more to be said.

The Scottish members of the Committee were our own Principal,
Sir George Adam Smith, and Professor Burnet of St. Andrews. If it
may be presumed that the section dealing with Scotland is chiefly
their work, we shall have no hesitation in congratulating them upon
a succinct, straightforward statement of facts, and a definite line of
policy, whose features can at once be grasped. Mention is deservedly
made of the devoted labours of Professor Harrower in keeping the in-
terests of Greek before the country, and in seeking to promote them
both within and without the University. One would desire to put on
record a like tribute to his distinguished predecessor, Sir William D.
Geddes, whose lifelong services to the same cause were quite invalu-
able both in themselves and as a basis of subsequent effort ; and in
whose hands Greek became not only an instrument of scholarship but
also the nucleus and core of a broad culture of mind and character.

The position of Greek in Scotland is more favourable than in
England. It is taught in more than eighty schools, while other schools
have competent teachers but no pupils in the subject. The regulations
of the Scottish Education Department have indeed now made it im-
perative for all secondary schools to be prepared to teach Greek if
pupils desire it. This is so far satisfactory ; yet the Committee finds
" that Greek does not get a fair chance in Scotland at the present
time ". The fault is in the conditions under which the schools have

1 6 Aberdeen University Review

to work. The simple fact is, Greek is being killed by the Leaving
Certificate Examination. Entrance to the universities has since 1890
been regulated by the standard of the Leaving Certificate, which is al-
leged to be "exorbitantly high" for an entrance examination. Yet
the standard is not really attained, for " much slovenly and inaccurate
work is allowed to pass ". Greek has suffered, and is being squeezed
out. A more modest standard must be set up, and measures must be
taken to ensure that it be really attained. The whole conception of a
'* Normal General Course " for the Leaving Certificate has, in the
Committee's opinion, hopelessly broken down, and it would be prefer-
able for the Department to publish a list of the alternative courses
which it is willing to admit. The Universities Entrance Board and
similar bodies could then decide which, for their own special purposes,
they were prepared to recognize.

These proposals cannot here be discussed at length. Confessedly,
Leaving Certificate, University Entrance, and Bursary Competition are
in a very tangled and unsatisfactory state. But the main difficulty
is generally thought to lie further back. The rigidity of the Inter-
mediate Certificate "queers the pitch" and renders later adjustment
impossible. That again leads back to the Qualifying Examination,
which stands as a barrier to entrance to the intermediate stage of in-
struction- If the earlier stages were reformed, a good deal might be
said in favour of a normal general course or courses. The alternative
courses suggested by the Committee look much simpler than they
would in practice prove. In number they would run into hundreds,
and would probably be found quite impracticable to specify. But the
whole position urgently needs clearing up : on that there is no difference
of opinion. Of the Committee's recommendations, one advocates the
prescription of definite books for the Leaving Certificate, with a wide
choice among them ; another, that Latin (or Greek) should be required
for entrance to the Arts Faculty. For the latter proposal much may
be said, but, as it has emanated from the Entrance Board, it has
aroused considerable hostility.

The Report as a whole suggests one or two concluding reflections,
based on the foregoing discussion. The Committee gives the
impression of placing great reliance on machinery. It is true that
the machine stands in need of extensive overhaul and repair.
But rearrange examinations as you may, open up scholarships,

The Case for the Classics 17

reconstitute courses of approved study, found new chairs : yet the root
of the trouble has not been reached. A subject must eventually
stand or fall by its intrinsic merits, that is, by the contribution it
makes to life, as it has to be lived by a particular nation at a particular
time ; for ourselves, here and now. The Classics must not be sub-
jected to unfair handicaps, they must have an equal opportunity with
other subjects ; but they can make no further claim. Their longevity
is to some extent proof of their vitality, but it might also be used to
prove that their dissolution is overdue and is imminent. The Renais-
sance managed by means of them to establish a system of culture
which produced the man of affairs, the fine gentleman, the scholar,
and the moralist. But " knowledges " have so increased and multiplied
that, while more of the products of education are required, numerous
alternalive means of production have been devised, from which a
selection may be made by each pupil. The change lies, not in the
end, which is, in general feature, much the same in the twentieth cen-
tury as it was in the sixteenth, but in the ways of attaining the end.

The question of questions is. Can the Classics still furnish one
of the modes of culture suitable to our day. The answer is a
distinct aflfirmative, at any rate for Latin, perhaps less pronounced
and more limited for Greek. But this answer is subject to strict
qualifications, most of which have incidentally appeared. First,
as the Classics no longer come close enough to life to furnish a
complete education, the man who knows Classics and nothing else
sees awry and is out of touch with much of the civilization in which
his lot is cast ; they require supplementing. Then, the Classics
must abate their claim upon time and effort, so as to leave room
both for complementary and competing subjects ; for this purpose
their methods must be radically reformed. Again, the grammatical
and other linguistic elements must be brought into due subordination
to the main objective — literature, with what of history, art, religion,
and cognate topics clusters round it. Further, the aim must be not
merely to produce a select few, the scholars, essential though they
be, but to diffuse the classical influence as widely as possible among
ordinary students.

The Classics may pray to be saved from some of their professed
friends. No greater disservice could be rendered than to bolster
them up by untenable arguments — mental discipline, disinterested-
ness, and the like. In especial, the lessons of experience should

2

1 8 Aberdeen University Review

be laid to heart in regard to compulsion. Sooner or later the recoil
comes with redoubled violence. Whatever it may have been in the
days of the Inquisition, the only effective agent in our day is per-
suasion. It lies with classical students themselves to be the living
evidence that their culture is at least equal to that gained in any
other way. The world may be trusted to read the moral. By their
fruits ye shall know them.

Rightly viewed and fully understood, ancient and modern, literary
and scientific, as applied to educational disciplines, are not opposed
but complementary terms. A man need not adopt an exclusive
alternative, becoming either an impracticable theorist or a blatant
materialist. Education, if it means anything, carries in it a sympathy
wide enough to embrace knowledge, aspiration, and service in every
field of human effort. The classic must regret that he knbws so
little of biology or chemistry ; the physicist or the chemist, that he
cannot appreciate a choral ode of Sophocles or interpret for himself the
living oracles as they fell from the lips of prophets and apostles. He
has gained but a poor entry into the secrets of wisdom who has had no
vision of the boundless realms that lie beyond, into which his fellow
labourers have been permitted to enter.

In an age that has witnessed such portents of physical force, and
such triumphs of mechanical skill, the reminder is more than ever ne-
cessary that man's life is spiritual. It is not the least of the claims of
the humanistic studies that they are, above all things, hostages for
the spiritual and the ideal. The ancient Humanities, if they no
longer stand alone, serve and always will serve to link us with the
fellowship of the immortal past, to be a constant witness how bravely
and nobly men could live even though ignorant of what is now known
as science, though ready to see a nymph in every pool and to hear a
god in every wind.

JOHN CLARKE.

P.S. — The Report of the English Committee, whose Chairman
was Sir Henry Newbolt, has just appeared. Its conclusions must be
collated with those of the three Committees whose Reports are before
us. It is too late to attempt to embody them in an article already of
somewhat excessive length. If initial impressions are to be trusted,
the findings of the English Committee amply confirm what has been
said above regarding the place and importance of the Mother Tongue.

J. C.

The Calendar.
I.

TO THE BEGINNING OF THE CHRISTIAN ERA.

I HE calendar at present in use in this country for
civil purposes dates from 1582 A.D. though it was
not adopted in Great Britain till 1751. It is the
result of successive modifications of earlier calendars,
it having been found necessary from time to time
to make corrections. The present calendar has
been the subject of criticism, and various suggestions
have been made for its alteration, their object in general being to re-
move some of the more obvious defects ; for example, the inconvenience
resulting from the fact that term days and other special days do not
fall on the same day of the week or may coincide with other special
days.

In order to examine the problem which the modification of the
calendar presents, it is proposed in what follows to give some account
of the different divisions of time used, to trace the history of the de-
velopment of the calendar, to examine how far the problem involved
can be regarded as solved, and to consider the simplest method of
modifying it which will remove the more outstanding disadvantages.

It is convenient to begin by considering the divisions of time which
are involved — the year, the month, the week, the day. Of these, the
year, month and day are clearly related to natural phenomena, viz. the
three most readily recognized periods marked by the motions of the
celestial bodies : the solar year which is the period in which the
seasons recur, the lunar month which is the period after which the
phases of the moon recur, and the solar day which is the period of re-
volution of the earth about its axis, and which is marked by the alter-
nation of light and darkness. These three constitute the natural
divisions of time, the other divisions of time commonly used are conven-
tional.

20 Aberdeen University Review

The true solar day at any time of the year is the period that elapses
between two consecutive transits of the sun's centre across the same
terrestrial meridian, but this period is not constant ; it varies from day
to day although the difference in length between any two days is not
great. This variation is due to two causes : the sun's apparent path
among the fixed stars is not in a plane parallel to the plane of the
earth's equator, and the earth's orbit round the sun is not a circle but
an ellipse of small eccentricity. As it is inconvenient to take account
of the resulting small irregularity in the reckoning of time from day to
day, a conventional day known as the mean solar day is used. The
mean solar day is the interval between two successive transits of an
imaginary sun supposed to move in the plane of the equator with the
mean angular velocity of the true sun. The greatest value of the
difference in time between the transit of the mean sun and that of the
true sun is about sixteen-and-a-half minutes, and this occurs on the first
day of November in each year. The part of the day which is reckoned
as the beginning has varied in practice ; the present usage is that the
astronomer's solar day is reckoned from noon to noon, while the civil
day is reckoned from midnight to midnight. The division of the day
into twenty-four hours, twelve morning hours being reckoned from
midnight to noon, and twelve evening hours from noon to midnight,
has been adopted from the Egyptians. This sub-division of the day
was not used universally. The Greeks divided the day into two parts,
the natural day and the natural night, each of these parts being sub-
divided into twelve hours. Except at the equinoxes the night hours
differed in length from the day hours, and further, the length of the
hours differed from day to day. The early Romans divided the day
into three periods marked by sunrise, noon and sunset. In neither
case was there a division of the day which enabled any part of it to be
accurately fixed.

The most ancient method of equal sub-division of the hour is pro-
bably that which was used by the Chaldeans, viz. the division of the
hour into one thousand and eighty equal parts. It is not possible to
assign with certainty the grounds on which the numbers of sub-divisions
of the day or hour have been chosen though they are probably con-
nected with the duodecimal system, which again may be related to the
number of months in a year.

The month is originally derived from the moon's period, although
in most cases the period of time denoted by a month is not a true

The Calendar 21

lunation but some convenient subdivision of the year. There is little
doubt but that the earlier calendars or methods of reckoning intervals
of time greater than a day were lunar, and the importance of the moon
to primitive man can be readily appreciated when regard is had to his
conditions of life. The fact that at certain times the light of the moon
is continuous with daylight coming immediately after it, while at other
times there is an interval between the end of daylight and the be-
ginning of moonlight, the moonlight lasting till day comes again, would
inevitably lead to their arranging their longer expeditions to fit in with
these phenomena. This would lead to the observation that the phases
of the moon recurred regularly, that the interval between two con-
secutive identical phases was the same, and events would come to be
identified as having happened during a particular phase of a former
moon. A further step would be the recognition that the number of
days in a moon was twenty-nine and a half. Reckoning by the periods
of the moon was adequate in earlier times, but when the inhabitants of
the temperate zones began to keep flocks, and later to cultivate the
soil, the recurrence of the different seasons, spring, summer, autumn,
winter, became of primary importance to them, and the need for some
method of reckoning time that would take account of this recurrence
and its effect on their mode of life forced itself on them. As they
were probably using a method of reckoning by moons, the problem
they had to solve was to discover a method of reckoning time which
would fit in with their existing method as nearly as possible and at
the same time take account of the seasons. Since twelve lunations do
not differ greatly from a year, the period of the recurrence of the seasons,
the month was retained and the almost universal practice of reckoning
twelve months to the year is due to this relation between a year and a
lunation. The cumulative effect of the difference of eleven days and
a fraction between the length of the year and the duration of twelve
lunations is considerable in a few years and would make itself evident
by the transfer of the seasons to a different time of the calendar year.
Different methods of treatment of this difficulty have been devised
and in some cases the attempt to reconcile reckoning by the moon's
period with reckoning by the sun's period has been abandoned, the
calendar in such cases being wholly regulated by the motion of the sun.
There is no general agreement between different calendars as to the
number of days in a month but two distinct methods can be traced.
One method, that used by the ancient Egyptians, is to make all the

22 Aberdeen University Review

months of the same length ; thirty days were reckoned to each month,
and, in order to make up the year, five supplementary days were added
at the end of each year. The other method is to distribute the extra
number of days, i.e. the number by which the year exceeds 360, over
the year so that the months are of different length as in our calendar.
The subdivision of the month into shorter periods, each consisting
of a number of days, has been effected in different ways. The Greeks
divided the month of thirty days into three decades of ten days each,
and this method has the advantage that the number of the day or the
name in the decade does not change from month to month, e.g. the
fourteenth day of the month is always the fourth day of the second
decade. This method has been used by other peoples ; for example,
the new calendar of the French Republic at the beginning of the
nineteenth century divided the month in this way. The Romans
divided the month into three periods marked by the Calends, the
Nones and the Ides, a particular day being identified by the number
of days it came before the particular period, Nones, Ides or Calends.^
As the number of days in the month of the Roman calendar was not
the same for all the months, and the days of the months on which the
Nones and the Ides fell were not the same in every month, the num-
ber of the day of the month had not an invariable relation to its num-
ber in the period of the month. It may be noticed that, in addition
to these three periods, the Romans used another period more closely
resembling the week ; this was an eight day period, marked in their
calendar by the first eight letters of the alphabet, which repeat them-
selves in the same order. The seven day week was not introduced
among the Romans till the time of the Emperor Theodosius. The
origin of the seven day week cannot be definitely assigned, though it
appears to have been used by most eastern peoples. The most widely
accepted hypothesis as to its origin is that it is derived from the seven
celestial bodies known to the ancients whose position in the heavens
changed relatively to the other celestial bodies, the fixed stars ; these
were the Sun, the Moon, and the five planets Mercury, Venus, Mars,
Jupiter, Saturn. It has also been suggested that the seven day week
is derived from the phases of the moon, but the relation between the
duration of a phase and the length of a week is not sufficiently close
to make this probable. It is known that in the Astronomy of the
Egyptians the order of the seven bodies known to them which move

^ There is some evidence that originally the Calends denoted the new moon and the
Ides the full moon.

The Calendar 23

relatively to the fixed stars was Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun,
Venus, Mercury, the Moon, the most distant being reckoned first
Each hour was consecrated to one of these seven bodies in the order
named, and the day took its name from the body to which the first
hour of that day belonged. Thus the first day of the week was
Saturday, its first hour belonging to Saturn ; as there are twenty-four
hours in the day, the first hour of the second day belongs to the fourth
body, that is, the Sun, the first hour of the third day belongs to the
seventh body, that is the Moon, and so on, giving the days of the week
in the order they still have. Saturday was made the last day of the
week by the Hebrews after their exodus from Egypt.

The principal divisions of time to be used in a calendar being fixed,
it is possible to state the problem presented by the making of a
calendar. In its simplest form the problem is to distribute the days
of the year equally among the twelve months, and to arrange that the
beginning of the year shall always be as nearly as possible at the same
distances from the solstices and equinoxes, to secure that the same days
in different years shall recur at the same seasons. Now the solar
astronomical year, which marks the recurrence of the seasons, being
the period of the earth's revolution about the sun, consists of 365 days
5 hours 48 minutes 49*62 seconds of mean solar time. The number
365 is not a multiple of twelve and therefore all the months cannot
contain the same number of days if all the days of the year are to be
included in the months, and further, as the solar year does not consist of
an exact number of days, it is clear that the number of days in a year
cannot be the same for all years if the beginning of the year is at con-
stant distances from the solstices and equinoxes, for the civil year must
begin at the same instant as the first day of the year, and the fraction
by which the solar year exceeds 365 days cannot be taken account of
until there is a sufficient number of them to make a whole day, and
when there is this sufficient number an additional day must be added
to the year. In our calendar the year contains 365 days except when
the number denoting the year is a multiple of four when the year con-
tains 366 days, unless the year is one that completes a century. When
the number of the year that completes a century is a multiple of four it
contains 365 days unless the number of the century it completes is a mul-
tiple of four when it contains 366 days. This calendar, as already stated
above, has only been used since the middle of last century, and in order
to understand how it took this form it is advisable to trace the history

24 Aberdeen University Review

of its development. In common with the calendars of all European
nations it is derived from the Roman calendar. The origination of the
Roman calendar is ascribed to Romulus, but there is no record of the
method of reckoning time practised in that part of Italy previously, or of
whether, as is likely, the calendar was borrowed with or without modi-
fication from some other people. The accounts of this calendar are not
very precise but in it the year contained 304 days, distributed in un-
equal numbers oven ten months. The first month was Martius, the
second Aprilis, the third Maius, the fourth June ; while the remaining
months were denoted by their numbers in order counting from the
beginning of the year, Quintilis, Sextilis and so on to the tenth or last
month of the calendar. After a comparatively short experience it was
found that this year of 304 days was too short and that to correct the
discrepancy the civil year must begin before the solar year. Romulus
is credited with revising the calendar, which he is said to have done
by ordering the intercalation of two months in every year, but these
months do not appear to have been inserted in the calendar nor to
have been named.

The Roman calendar was modified by Numa who inserted two new
months in the calendar, Januarius and Februarius and the year of Numa's
calendar contains 354 days. It should be noticed that 354 days is
the exact number of days in twelve lunations, which would appear
to indicate that Numa's calendar was derived from some already exist-
ing method of reckoning by the moon. The beginning of the year
was transferred to January, March being the second month and Febru-
ary the last. Somewhat later on, as an odd number was considered
more lucky than an even one, an additional day was added, making the
number of days in the year 355. The difference between the length
of this year and the solar years is a fraction more than ten days, and
to preserve the coincidence of the months with the seasons an additional
month was intercalated every alternate year ; these additional months
containing twenty-two and twenty-three days alternately were inserted
between the 23 rd and 24th of February, and the regulation of the
intercalary months was entrusted to the pontiffs.

Numa's calendar continued in use unchanged until 452 B.C. when
the Decemviri changed the order of the months and placed February
after January, and the order they made is the order we still retain.
The fact that the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth months in the
calendar bear names that denote seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth is a

The Calendar 25

result of the changes made by Numa and the Decemviri. The months
as arranged by the Decemviri had thirty days and twenty-nine days
alternately, with the exception of January which had thirty -one days.

A period of four years in this calendar contained 4 x 355 + 22
+ 23 = 1465 days, which made the average length of the year 366^ ;
and this is a fraction more than a day too much. There are some indica-
tions that an attempt to correct this error was made later by ordering
that every third period of eight years should contain only three inter-
calary months of twenty-two days instead of the four intercalary months
in the other two periods ; and, as the four ordinary intercalary months
contained ninety days, this arrangement would have the effect of re-
ducing the number of days in the intercalary months of a complete
period of twenty-four years by go - 66 = 24 days and the average
length of the year would be 365;^ days. The eight year period was
borrowed from the Greeks, but it is doubtful whether the arrangement
was ever carried out by the administrators of the calendar.

The regulation of the intercalations in the calendar was in the
hands of the pontiffs and they appear to have abused their trust to
serve different political ends. They would shorten or extend the
period of a magistracy by intercalating a greater or less number of
days than the proper number ; postpone or precipitate an election in the
same way ; and the publicans or taxgatherers, to whom the collection
of the revenues was farmed, would also benefit or suffer loss by the
intercalation of a number of days greater or less than the proper
number. The result of these abuses was that in the course of time
the calendar fell into hopeless disorder : at the beginning of the Chris-
tian era the equinox of the calendar differed by no less than three
months from its true position, and the winter months had been trans-
ferred to the summer.

H. M. MACDONALD.

{To be continued^

"Ours" in the Great War.^

HE Roll of Service of the Great War, which Miss
Mabel AUardyce and her colleagues have mustered
from the shadows with consummate care, is not
merely an epic — pyrrhic, poignant, and pathetic —
of the University of Aberdeen which it concerns
in particular. It is a symbol of the travail that
the universities in general suffered at the hands of
the indiscriminating, brutal interrupters of their multitudinous and
beneficient energies, for the war exacted from them a terrible toll of
youth at its best, helped to lower the whole academic ideal, and
crippled their immediate and prospective finances and potentialities
generally.

Of course the universities did not stand alone in this tragic tribute :
for the avowed purpose of the German begetters of the great tragedy
was to obliterate the old distinctions between combatant and non-
combatant : to make everybody in every country, even in the neutral
countries, bow down to Mars ; contra vim Mortis non est medicamen in

hortis ;

The lusty Lord, rejoicing in his pride
He draweth down ; before the arm^d Knight
With jingling bridle-rein he still doth ride :
He crosseth the strong Captain in the fight :
The Burgher grave he beckons from debate :
He hales the Abbot by his shaven pate,
Nor, for the Abbess waiting will delay :
E'en to the pyx the Priest he followeth,
Nor can the Leech his chilling finger stay.

These lines from Austin Dobson's " Dance of Death," dedicated as
they >vere to Holbein, apply literally in every detail to the Hohen-
zollerns. But we are conscious of the swathes with which Mars litters
the field far more in the case of the universities than of any other
section of the community, for the university is our most clearly defined

^ University of Aberdeen Roll of Service in the Great War, 1914-1919. Edited by
Mabel Desborough Allardyce. Aberdeen University Press, 1921. 4to, pp. xi + 441 + [i].

"Ours" in the Great War 27

unit of youth : and such a rare quality of youth — the hope of the
Home, the glory of the Senate, the potential source of so much service
to the State.

But if War had, indeed, become the " despots' Despot," the irony
of it for the universities — and surely it was the grimmest of all the
monstrous ironies of Armageddon — lay in this, that the universities of
Germany, as part of the State, which was synonymous with the Sword,
had been commandeered to formulate a new dogma of War, turning it
into a Crusade for " Kultur ". If the word does not quite connote our
•* Culture," it bears the impress of the academic mind, and as such it
did incalculable damage to the whole university ideal, which was pro-
stituted to supplement and extend the scope of strategy by supplying
it with a knowledge of the sciences far more deadly than anything the
mere soldier had ever dreamt of. In consequence, the Great War be-
came the most calculatingly cruel war that the world has ever seen.

The professional German soldier, dull witted as he was, had been
quick enough to see that the universities could be his greatest allies,
not merely in the matter of supplying battalions of youth for the
actual fight, but by indoctrinating youth at its most receptive period
with a reasoned plea for battle. Speaking though he did in jest, our
olim civis, Macgregor Rose, put his finger on the spot when he summed
up the Kaiserly creed with the words " In times of Peace brebare for
Wars ". The German student " brebared " theoretically in the class-
room, and practically in the old-fashioned duel and the ridiculously
scarred cheek and jaw. His owlish (and ghoulish) mentors concentrated
with characteristic thoroughness in all their lectures to keep the student,
and through him the nation, well up to the mark, destroying all the
veracities in order to give an air of validity to their utterly vicious
dogma. The Professors of History, perverting facts, taught it as a
national necessity — Germania contra mundum. The Doctors of Divinity
fashioned the " higher criticism " to de-Christianize the Christian creed
in favour of a fire-eating mythology, in which Wagner's Ring stood for
the book of Exodus. But, worst of all, the Professors of Science
turned the beneficent laboratory into the lethal chamber, distilling
poison gases far more destructive than the " soon speeding gear "
which the wretched apothecary of Mantua handed surreptitiously to
Romeo. Never surely was there such a wholesale denial of our own
motto — Initium sapientice timor Domini. As a result, the German
universities, pursuing their remorseless passion for the syllogism,

28 Aberdeen University Review

however fallacious, even to its reductio ad absurdum^ committed j'^/f? de
se on an unexampled scale ; for everything in the Fatherland had to
be kolossal.

Had the German universities immolated only themselves, we could
have shrugged our shoulders ; but it was an essential part of their creed
to immolate all other universities, denying them any of that sense of
sanctuary which had previously been theirs. As with all mimicries,
whether voluntary or enforced, the imposition of the German creed
proved far more exigent for us than for its barbaric begetters. Not
only were our students sent to the Front : but our old university men
in the high offices of State were sent to the Rear, in favour of impro-
vised administrators, who could not construe even " Adsum " and openly
glorified in the fact. It almost looked as if the man in the street, in
his bewildered search for safety, was determined to make them the
vicarious victims of a vengeance on the academic ideal which Germany
had prostituted. Except for a tendency to reactionary politics, put
forward rather timidly in the name of historic impartiality, our pro-
fessors and graduates had not lent themselves to the worship of any
war gods. But that was of no avail, for some of the best of them in
office were ruthlessly " scuppered," so that of the five men who signed
the Peace on our behalf, only two had ever been at a university, and
only one at a public school : while, incidentally, not one was wholly
an Englishman, although 4,000,000 men from the geographical area
called England had joined the colours.

I am not pleading that the universities represent the end of all
wisdom : but the " new model " had hardly the beginning of it, and to-
day we are suffering acutely from a lack of knowledge and vision in
the higher direction of State, involving endless experiments in problems
which our ancestors solved long ago : wasting our time on questionings,
which so far from being obstinate, can be answered by an old edition
of Hadyn's " Dictionary of Dates," or a superannuated Mulhall.

If the State has suffered, the universities have suffered even more.
During hostilities they not only lost their students, but the teaching
team was turned astray, having to exchange the Class-room for the
Government Office, only to find that their knowledge of the conduct
of former wars and previous treaties of peace was, as often as not,
ignored by people who had not even learned how to learn.

Nor does it end there, for the rising generation of students, who
were in knickerbockers or short frocks when the war broke out, find

"Ours" in the Great War 29

themselves faced with increased fees in consequence of it : while the
spread of our knowledge has been made enormously difficult, and in
cases impossible, by the exorbitant price of paper and print. In short,
while Cambridge University gave us Mr. Scott Oliver's " Ordeal by
Battle" — which is now littering the fourpenny boxes — a boy from a
board school could reply with some such Roland as "Battle as Boom-
erang ".

The irony of it, which is very obvious, and inevitable on reflective
retrospection, is a part of the present : but the poignancy of it belongs
to the deadly years when the battle was still in progress, and as such,
under a merciful dispensation, it is apt to fade into the light of common
day, when it is very difficult to recapture our emotions. Indeed, during
the course of the war itself I constantly tried to reconstruct my own
youth, by wondering how when " the sough o' war gaed through the
land," I would have faced the necessity of exchanging my scarlet gown
for a khaki tunic — even although I was an enthusiastic volunteer. Still
more, I used to wonder how my immediate family, accustomed to the
long spell of peace, and with a regular-soldier tradition too far behind
them to have any active influence, would have contemplated the call up.

I remember the old traditional attitude of the north to soldiering,
typified by the geographical aloofness of the Barracks on the Castle
Hill, and summed up with humour by Mr. R. J. MacLennan in his
amusing book " In Yon Toon," when Miss Macpherson informed Mrs.
Simpson in the Shiprow milk shop about the " terrible thing " Mrs.
Thomson's loon had done in "jinin' the sojers". I remember half a
dozen students who enlisted in my time — one of them, an ex-trooper of
the Blues, came to me the other day as an out-of-work docker in in-
describable khaki rags — and how they all were regarded as having
committed social suicide. I know that the call of 1914 was answered
in a time of compelling emotion, and that many of the students had
been partly acclimatized by service in the 4th Gordons. But even
then I am lost in admiration of the selfless spirit which these lads
displayed from the very first ; and still more I marvel at the quiet
courage displayed by their people, who had not the incentive of active
excitement to carry them along, but had to sit quietly in their little
towns or lonely glens, watching and waiting like the old cottar woman
whom Charles Murray has pictured as "greetin' at her shank aleen".

I shall never forget seeing one train load off" from Aberdeen : the
mothers did not dare to "greet" until the train steamed out and they

30 Aberdeen University Review

could cross the ugly bridge in Guild Street on their way home in the
lampless night. The Donside farmer who suppressed his emotion in
describing a heavy British defeat as an " akward " affair was true to
the same inarticulate or, at any rate, grimly reticent type. But the
reticence had often to be paid for quietly : confirming what I have
heard Bairnsfather often say, that for every man killed in the field of
battle, some one faded away at home out of sheer anxiety and grief

It has not, of course, been Miss Allardyce's business to deal with
the irony, or to picture the pathos of the period. The irony must re-
main a weapon — and there never can be too many weapons — in the
armoury of those who, in Mr. Belloc's phrase on another occasion,
mean by all the gods of scorn to rub the moral in, and to prevent any
future relapse into barbarism. What Miss Allardyce and her col-
leagues have done has been to build up with quiet, unemotional,
cumulative effect the story of the great sacrifice in the terms of the
little life stories of the lads who were standing joyously at the threshold
of life in 1914-1919. And it has been a fitting task for a woman to
undertake — for Miss Allardyce has had the assistance of Miss H.
Ogilvie, Miss N. Wilson, Miss Bisset, Miss A. Christie, Miss Cook,
and ** others " — not only because the most famous of our northern
units, the Gordon Highlanders, was raised by a woman, the intrepid
Jane Maxwell, but because women played a more active part in the
Great War than Bellona herself ever anticipitated. But before that
two notable contributions to northern military literature were made by
women, for the military history of Perthshire has been done by the
present Duchess of Atholl, and the warlike achievements of the family
of Gordon were traced by Mrs. Skelton, in what has become the rarest
of all the publications of the New Spalding Club. Having, in the
course of annotating an interleaved copy of that remarkable book
with the names of 628 officers named Gordon in the war, had to
penetrate the unparalleled, and sometimes unnecessary, secretiveness
of War Office data, I can testify to the extraordinary difficulties
that have faced Miss Allardyce and her colleagues in mustering the
inspiring Roll Call — " luminous with names of those who might have
found some other path to greatness," as Lieut. William Hamilton,
M.G.C., said in a fine phrase most fittingly selected as a motto to the
Roll. But, if it has been difficult to trace the records of service,
however briefly, it has been infinitely more difficult to collect the 335
portraits for the fuller biographies of the 341 who fell. That task

"Ours" in the Great War 31"

would be formidable even for the editor of an illustrated newspaper
with all a big organization at his command. In passing, I may note
that one of the six missing portraits could not be extracted from a
father who has spent his life in writing biographies of other people,
including seven hundred to the D.N.B. He simply would not answer
the makers of the Roll.

The Roll is divided into five main sections as follows : —
(i) (pp. I -1 10). The 341 men who were killed or died, arranged
chronologically : with 335 portraits.

(2) (pp. 1 1 1-429). The Roll of Service, of 2852 names, arranged

alphabetically : those who died being referred back to the
first section.

(3) (PP- 431-439)- The work of the Staff.

(4) (p. 440). The civilian prisoners of war, seven in number.

(4) (p. 441). Orders, decorations, medals, etc., totalling 1066, and
including 51 D.S.O.'s : 190 M.C.'s : 501 mentions in dis-
patches : and 93 foreign honours.

It is, however, very difficult to convey any adequate idea of the
real content of the Roll, which is by far the best thing of the kind I
have yet seen. If there is one criticism to be made it is in the lack of
a comprehensive preface, analysing and evaluating the services
rendered by " Ours ". It is, of course, a very different sort of " Ours "
from the usual interpretation of the term, for, although the initial
unit of the University was D Company of the 4th Gordon Highlanders,
" Ours" was represented not only in scores of different regiments but in
every branch of the services — on sea, on land, and in the air ; in the Forces
of the Dominions beyond the seas ; and even in the French Army. I
only wish I had the time to make a broad summary of the multi-
tude of facts marshalled with such meticulous method. But even then
it would need different types of mind to do this thoroughly, for every
reader will come to the Roll with different preconceptions, and rise
from it with different conclusions. I can only indicate some broad
generalizations that suggest themselves.

The Roll is a unique contribution to the history of the University,
taking its place in that long series of quartos mainly inspired by Mr.
P. J. Anderson, whose infective enthusiasm has commandeered a suc-
cession of workers to write the records of Alma Mater. With the eye of
a true journalist — though I cannot imagine him ever picturing himself in
the terms of the Fourth Estate — he has seized every opportunity of

3 2 Aberdeen University Review

evaluating the University, starting with his own laborious Fasti of both
the old Universities. While I was still a student, he seized a Rectorial
election to induce me to write a little history of the office of the Rectors
in general. The Quater-centenary afforded him a still more spacious
opportunity, beginning with the serialized sketches of the University
written by Dr. Rait and myself, to be followed by five volumes,
running into thousands of pages, and produced by a team of experts,
including the late Colonel Johnston, without whose " Roll of Graduates
1 860- 1 900" the personalia in this REVIEW could hardly be set forth.
Latest, but probably not last of all, he has turned the Great War to his
purpose : hence the Roll of Service.

But the Roll has a wider import : it forms a magnificent contribu-
tion to the biographical history of the North of Scotland as a whole.
That is the most unexpected, and not least ironic result of all the
enemy's horrible miscalculations, for he worked entirely on the sup-
pression of the individual. War to him was a colossal effort of masses
of men manoeuvred like a machine. The State was everything : the
individual citizen less than a cipher. But it was individuality that
really won the war : the small nation like Serbia, and the small man,
asserted their right to live, if only in memory, for never have the
fighters in any of our wars been so widely commemorated. Up and
down the whole countryside, graven in granite, or preserved in print,
are thousands of names which not only add to the pride of the present
generation, but afford a Who's Who on an unparalleled scale for the
historian. It was very different in the past, for even with the com-
paratively small number of men who fought at Waterloo, it is almost
impossible even to name the rank and file, as I found to my cost in an
attempt to re-muster the men of the 92nd who faced Napoleon. In
the bad old days the soldier was soon forgotten, turned adrift on de-
mobilisation, often without a pension, for the army, officered by dukes
and manned by dockers — and they have many simple affinities — was
practically a caste of hereditary fighters, who were taken very much for
granted, with the instinct to " carry on " independent of any notice of
the general public.

But the Great War turned most of that public into helpers and
servers of one kind or another, or eager watchers on events : and the
general public therefore cannot forget, so that the poorest private is
now being commemorated, while the Supermen who were going to
rule everybody are being execrated for failing in what they should

"Ours" in the Great War 33

never have attempted, the German Superman in particular occupying
his uneasy leisure in writing apologia, while the so-called " mob," once
the creatures of his so-called Will, contemptuously watches him at
work from the area railings. There could be no greater symbol of all
this than the beatification of the Unknown Soldier, who has captured
the imagination of all the peoples involved in a way that has amazed
even the most cynical. Fortunately, our national temperament — more
especially the pure Englishman's, which is all for the conservation of
nervous energy — serves to keep us free from the risk of regarding the
memorials of our dead as incentives to vengeance.

Again, Miss Allardyce's book serves to round off the history of the
naval and military contribution of the North of Scotland to the safety
of the nation which was sketched in the New Spalding Club history of
Territorial Soldiering between 1759 and 1814. That is no mere hobby
of the antiquarian : it is essentially a practical matter of to-day, for it
is only by treating defence as an integral part of local government
that we shall ever be able to solve the problem satisfactorily. I only
wish Miss Allardyce could have given us an account, however brief,
of the military training of the University since the days of the creation
of the Battery, of which I was once an inadequate gunner.

The Roll, however, connotes an energy far beyond the immediate
shire, and serves to show us how severely the north generally has
suffered. Our "corner" has long been the greatest exporter of men
in the whole kingdom, a fact due to several causes, notably a high level
of general education, a climate difficult to conquer, and an extra-
ordinary energy and spirit of enterprise. And, while that is true of
the countryside as a whole, it is even truer of the University, which is
essentially an exporter of talent : so that our part of the country
suffered from every angle. It is significant of this that Dr. Thomas
Peppe Fraser, the very first University man to fall, was killed in
the first month of the war, while serving against the Germans in
Togoland, and he was buried at the age of thirty-four at Mora, in
Northern Nigeria, The last to fall was Captain Robert Scott Cum-
ming, who succumbed at Basra on 14 March, 1921, to an illness con-
tracted through exposure on the battlefield.

One of the many forms of analysing the Roll might be given in the
terms of the first man to fall in certain specific categories, thus : —

ist Student — Pte. J. O. Cruickshank, 4th Gordons ; k. 15 April, 1915.
1st Graduate — Dr. Thomas Pepp^ Fraser (as above).

3

34 Aberdeen University Review

1st Naval Ofificer — Surg. W. M. Mearns; torpedoed i January, 1915.

ist Regular Soldier — Major A. K. Robb, Durham L.I. ; died of wounds, 20 September,

1914.
1st Flyingman — and Lieut. E. G. W. Bisset ; died of wounds, 7 January, 1917.
1st Non-Comm. — L.-Corpl. E. Watt, Seaforths; died of wounds, 22 March, 1915.
ist in Australian Army — Pte. A. T. Fowlie ; k. 16 June, 1915.
1st in Canadian Army — Pte. W. Gray; k. 23 April, 1915.
1st in French Army — Corp. R. A. Dieterlen ; missing, 25 September, 1915.
ist in New Zealand Army — Serg. R. Maitland ; k. 29 August, 1918.
ist in S. African Army — Pte. W. M. Reid, died of wounds, 3 January, 1917.
, 1st Professor's Son — Lieut. L. N. G. Ramsay, 3rd Gordons; k. 21 March, 1915.

The most poignant kind of analysis of the Roll, however, centres
on the men each of us knew personally. I have been too long away
from Alma Mater to know them, for most of them belonged to the
younger generation. But not even a youngster did finer work than
my old class-mate, " Joe " Milne, who left his large practice in Aber-
deen for France one April morning in 191 5 at the age of forty-seven,
and after the most heroic and inspiring service, which brought him
the D.S.O., fell near Ypres on 22 February, 1917. When the order
came for men of his age to leave the actual firing line for a post at the
base, Milne felt so dismayed that he got my brother to go specially to
Sir Alfred Keogh for permission to remain at the front among his be-
loved men, with whom he had played and suffered with a spirit as high
as the youngest subaltern displayed.

I also recall that bright happy spirit, John Keith Forbes, a brilliant
member of a fascinating family. The last time I saw him was in the
autumn of 191 3 when I encountered him, knapsack a'back, turning his
face like Richepin's Ragged Robin, to what sun there was in that
bleak No Man's Land, the Cabrach. It was with a very different
knapsack that he turned his face to Flanders, to fall at Hooge on the
terrible 25 th of September, 191 5 ; but I am sure he went down as
joyously as when James Grant — who himself joined up at the age of
fifty — and I saw him breasting the bleak uplands of the Buck. Among
the 2852 men — graduates, alumni, and students — remustered by Miss
Allardyce, there must for those who knew them be many such
memories. If any of us had known them all, our hearts would have
surely broken.

But in whatever category we may compute the Roll, it serves from
cover to cover to assure us that the University, in war-born phraseology
which might have disturbed Dr. Bain, " did its bit ". She gave us, to
use a variant on Henry James's great paean on France in the Fight —

"Ours" in the Great War 35

" a view of her nature and her mind, in which, laying down almost
every advantage, every art and every appeal that we have generally
known her by, she took on energies, forms of collective sincerity,
silent eloquence and selected example that were fresh revelations " ;
and after bleeding at every pore, she has never in all her history stood
" so completely erect ".

We can never forget our debt of gratitude to the men and boys in
this great Roll, for as the Principal, in a deeply understanding fore-
word, asks — "What do we not owe them ?" And we owe much to
Miss Allardyce, who has set forth their claims to that gratitude with
such loving care. It is a perfect mine of memories, a model of how
such work should be done. It represents a world of patient work,
which no one who has not tried it can have any conception of. But
to Miss Allardyce — who by the way had three brothers of her own in
the services — it has been " an honour and a privilege " to do it. It is
equally an honour and a privilege for every one of us to possess our-
selves of this record of the Great Sacrifice, which had to be made amid
long drawn agonies, and many unseen tears, but which eventually
achieved what it set out to accomplish.

J. M. BULLOCH.

Laudatio Funebris— Old Style.

Hie sita est Amymone Mard optima et pulcherrima
lanifica pia pudica frugi casta domiseda.

C. I. L., vi, 1 1602.

Here lies Rob Allan's bonny Bell,

A tenty dame.
That span her 'oo', an' said her prayers,

An' bade at hame.

W. M. CALDER.

\

The Aberdonian Abroad/ — I.

JHE Aberdonian — including in that term the man of the
shire as well as him of the city — the Aberdonian is
ubiquitous. He is to be found nearly everywhere — often
occupying a distinctive position, conspicuous in the field
of business or the arena of administration, or prominent
in public service of some kind or other. This Aber-
donian of the wider world, too, wherever he goes,
generally carries with him the characteristics which we
are fond of reckoning essentially Aberdonian — physical stamina, grit and grip,
power of hard work and endurance, intellectual keenness and perception^
mental capacity and resource. '-^

THE UBIQUITY OF THE ABERDONIAN.

The wandering nature of the Aberdonian was piquantly revealed in the
following advertisement which appeared in the local newspapers a little over
a year ago : —

"David Ronald, who left Marywell Street, Aberdeen, 1867, to join

the ship 'Golden Sheaf at London, and sailed from there bound for

Buenos Aires. He left at that port, and is desirous to hear of any of his

relations. Any communication to be sent to Captain Buchan, Coupar

Angus."

What may we not conjure up from this ingenuous advertisement? — the

romance of travel, adventures in foreign lands, the acquisition of fortune,

perhaps also its loss, and with its loss the loss of friends, and, finally, that

curious innate disposition to revert in old age to one's relatives and one's

early associations. It would be interesting to know what was the result of

this truly pathetic appeal.

Other instances of the wandering Aberdonian are to be constantly found
in the same source. Quite recently, an advertisement appeared requesting
information regarding descendants or relatives of James and Alexander Cock,
who left Aberdeen early in the 'Sixties and were engaged in the tea trade at
Shanghai and died there; and the Aberdonian abroad figures frequently —

^ Lecture delivered to the Aberdeen Philosophical Society, i8 November, 1920.

''Lord Meston, in a recent speech, referring to the special qualities of the Aberdeen
graduate abroad which contributed to his success, added to his physical endurance and
intellectual industry — (i) the habit of suffering fools, " if not altogether gladly, at least
decorously " ; (2) the real democratic spirit inculcated at Aberdeen — " no nonsense, no snob-
bishness, but taking things at their face value " ; and (3) in spite of that real democracy of
mind, "a great gift of reverence and respect for the real good things of life" (See
Review, viii, 16S}.

The Aberdonian Abroad — I 37

one might almost say continuously — in the news columns. The attention
thus paid to sons of the city and the shire located in foreign parts is sometimes
ridiculed by outsiders as petty and parochial, but the spirit which dictates it
is nevertheless commendable as the manifestation of a very proper sense of
provincial pride and of continuous interest in the careers of former townsmen.
A few samples of this laudable newspaper work, noted within the past twelve
months, may be cited. Mention was made of the deaths of George Barrack,
a native of Aberdeen, who was one of the pioneers of gold mining in Alaska ;
George Johnstone, born at Moreseat, Cruden, one of the early sugar planters
in Natal, latterly engaged in gold mining at Johannesburg ; and John Nicol,
C.M.G., born at Ramstone, Monymusk, a prominent builder and contractor in
Durban, and at one time Mayor of the city. Even the deaths of people at
home serve to show how widely spread their children become. A recent
notice of the death of Mr. Alexander Rae, Burnbank, Tipperty, Logie-Buchan,
informed us that one son had an engineering business in New Zealand,
a second was a warehouseman in the United States, and a third was chief
inspector of the Anglo-South American Bank, Buenos Aires.

Nearly every churchyard in the country testifies to the world-wide disper-
sion of country folk. I have in my mind's eye a tombstone in the old Walla
Kirkyard at Glass — that of the family of a former minister of the parish.
One son, a doctor in the East India Company's service, died at sea between
Suez and Bombay. Another, a surgeon in the Bombay Army, died near
Murzee, on the Indus. A third was a member of the Legislative Council,
Cape Coast Castle, and died at Lisbon. A fourth was in the Civil Service of
Victoria, Australia.

Their graves are sever'd far and wide,
By mount, and stream, and sea.

Similar examples could be readily multiplied by an analysis of Mr. John A.
Henderson's valuable book on "Aberdeenshire Epitaphs,"

" Next to the Germans," says Viscount Bryce, in his work on " South
America," "the most ubiquitous people in the world are the Aberdonians,"
adding that, accordingly, he was not surprised to meet one at Oruro, in the
highlands of Bolivia, some 12,000 feet above sea level, in the person of the
principal doctor of the place, ^ with whom he had a talk " about our friends on
the banks of the far-distant Dee." The Principal has a delightful story that,
at the conclusion of one of his addresses in the course of his " objects of the
war " mission in the United States, a voice from the gallery rang out — " Weel
deen, Aiberdeen ! " The late Mr. Alexander Mackie told me that, in the
course of his lecturing tour in Canada, in almost every city and town he
visited he had to hold an informal reception at the end of his lecture to
exchange greetings with self-expatriated Aberdonians who rushed up to wel-
come him. Fully twenty years earlier, and long before emigration to Canada
became the common thing it is to-day, a brother of mine, while engaged on an
irrigation enterprise in an uncultivated and little-peopled region of the
Dominion, discovered in the occupant of a rude " shack " a woman who had
attended the Porthill Sunday School and still treasured the hymn-book she
got there. On another occasion, while transacting some business in a bank
office in a little town practically in " the wilds," his attention was arrested by

» Presumably, Dr. James R. Smith (M.A., 1892 ; M.B., 1896).

38 Aberdeen University Review

the accent of the clerk serving him, and he instantly exclaimed — "You come
from Buchan ! " The youth admitted the soft impeachment,^

A journalist friend of mine, while touring in Australia, visited a public
park in Brisbane and got into conversation with one of the gardeners, and dis-
covered that he hailed from Aberdeen. Another journalist friend was for several
years a reporter in Kobe, Japan, and on my suggesting that he had probably
encountered Aberdonians in Japan, he wrote me : —

"Yes, in Kobe alone, with a 'foreign' (European and American)
community of about 500 men, women, and children, there were in my
time five or six grown-up Aberdonians, two of them at least settled there,
and both since dead. One was Alexander C. Sim, a brother of George
Sim, the naturalist. I knew him quite well. I think it would be right
to say that he was the leading athlete of Japan for quite twenty years
or so. He had a chemist's shop in Kobe, and died in 1900 or 1901 ;
and he is probably the only 'foreigner' who has a memorial in Japan
outside a cemetery. It was put up to him on the Kobe recreation ground,
symbolizing his quite catholic enthusiasm for outdoor sports. In my
time, his day was over, but he was still a big man at the recurring sports
events.

" I have an idea that a notable Aberdeen graduate settled in Japan
was one Murdoch, who while I was there published quite a considerable
history of Medieval Japan. I rather think he was a sort of professor in
Tokyo, and had adopted, as I understood, a completely Japanese mode of
life — including a Japanese wife, I think — a somewhat pale shadow, per-
haps, of the celebrated Lafcadio Hearn. When I was at Kobe, we used
to hear of him as dwelling away somewhere in the Japanese hinterland —
quite lost to the customs and conventions of his own countrymen."

The person thus alluded to is, I believe, Mr. James Murdoch, who gradu-
ated at Aberdeen University in 1879, and is the author of what I have seen
described as a "great" " History of Japan," the third volume of which was
published in 191 1. Only a few days ago, an Aberdeen lady lent me two
interesting works — the life of a botanist explorer in Hawaii and the journal of
another explorer written 128 years ago. They were compiled and published
by her brother, Mr. W. F. Wilson, one of three sons of the late Mr. George
Washington Wilson, the well-known photographer, who are now settled in the
Hawaiian Islands. ^

^ Quite recently my brother wrote me that in the Legislative Chamber at Edmonton,
Alberta, he was introduced to Mr. Alexander Koss, a leading Labour member. "Vou
come from Aberdeen ? " my brother guessed. " Aye, frae Gartly ! " was the rather sur-
prising answer.

2 The Aberdeen papers of 30 August, 1921, contained reports of a "Mutch Picnic"
held on 6 August at the shore of Mr. David Mutch, Mt. Herbert, Prince Edward Island,
Canada. It was a "grand re-union" of the descendants of Alexander Mutch, who
emigrated from Aberdeenshire over 150 years ago. There were 75 Mutches present,
besides 50 or more people descended maternally from Alexander Mutch ; and a paper on
Alexander Mutch, the progenitor of the Mutches of Prince Edward Island, was read by
Mr. J. Robert Mutch, of Mt. Herbert, a great-great-grandson. Alexander Mutch and his
brother John enlisted in the British army in the American revolutionary war ; they were in
the same regiment, and fought at the battle of Bunker Hill, 1775. John is supposed to
have been killed in the battle, but Alexander survived the campaign and in 1786 he
emigrated to Prince Edward Island.

The Aberdonian Abroad — I 39

I may be pardoned adding a personal experience of my own in illustration
of this ubiquity of the Aberdonian.

On my first visit to Colorado, now many years ago, I made a railway
journey with my brother to one of the passes through the Rocky Mountains.
We alighted at a junction called Salida, about 6 o'clock in the evening, in-
tending to join a return train at 9. We arranged to order supper at 8, and
in the interval to have a walk through the town — a very small town then,
mostly of frame (or wooden) houses ; when I last saw it, it had grown im-
mensely. The hotel entered from the station platform, the hotel office being
a sort of lounge for railway passengers waiting for trains. You have to register
at all American hotels, even the humblest, and even for a single meal, and I
duly entered my name, giving my address, of course, as Aberdeen. When
we returned from our walk, the office clerk informed us that in the interval
inquiry had been made for the gentleman from Aberdeen. We could only
surmise that some one belonging to Aberdeen on a passing train, having to wait
for a little time, had been scanning the hotel register — a very common practice
in a country where inquisitiveness is a universal trait — and, noticing my address,
had, not unnaturally, been desirous of greeting a fellow-Aberdonian. In the
circumstances, the greeting, had it been given, could only have been of the
nature of " Hail and Farewell ". The incident strongly impressed me at the
time, being in its way so reminiscent of Longfellow's lines : —

Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing ;
Only a signal shown, and a distant voice in the darkness.
So, on the ocean of life, we pass and speak one another ;
Only a look and a voice, then darkness again and silence.

II.

WHENCE THIS UBIQUITY?

Whence this ubiquity of the Aberdonian — this evident propensity to
travel and to settle and work in other lands ? I am not to maintain that he
has a monopoly of the wandering spirit — it is to a large degree characteristic
of " Moray loons " as well, and Scotsmen generally, whatever the county of
their origin, have ever been roamers. But the propensity is very conspicu-
ously marked in the case of the Aberdonian, and its existence presents a
problem which is somewhat difficult of solution. Probably, the tendency of
the Aberdonian to seek a career abroad is in large measure attributable, like
the development of his special characteristics, to his environment. John Hill
Burton, in his " Scot Abroad," suggested that granite and east wind had a
good deal to do with the making of some noted Aberdeenshire men. The
theory, of course, is that the rearing of men under harsh and unpromising
circumstances — a rigorous climate, lack of adequate means, absolute or com-
parative poverty — develops energy, trains character, and stimulates ambition,
the ambition to rise above one's surroundings and carve out a career of dis-
tinction. An easy deduction is that, in the circumscribed area of a small
provincial town, the " lad o' pairts " can only find elsewhere an outlet for his
energy and abilities — for his ambition, if you will. Possibly this does not
quite solve our psychological puzzle. Perhaps something should be allowed
— in past generations, and particularly in our own — for the restlessness of
youth, its impatience under home restrictions, its desire for individual and

40 Aberdeen University Review

independent life. I am content, however, to accept the theory in a general
way, and would point out how signally its soundness was demonstrated in the
case of the late Sir William MacGregor, one of the most distinguished of
Colonial Governors. He was a native of Towie, the son of a farm labourer,
and educated himself by a severe struggle. He spent forty years in the
Colonial service, first as a doctor, then as an administrator, and he became
successively Governor of New Guinea, of Lagos, of Newfoundland, and of
Queensland. Professor Reid sketched his life — which was fruitful in labours
for the many communities he served — in the Aberdeen University Review,^
and he concluded his article with the following noticeable appreciation of Sir
William MacGregor by " a great surgeon who knew him well from his student
days " :—

" He was a great block of rough, unhewn granite, but recognized to
be of sterling character and possessed of excellent, indeed unusual,
ability, although I am sure no one could have predicted then that he
would rise to the great position he ultimately occupied in the service of
his country. As iron sharpeneth iron, so his intercourse with all sorts
of men in so many parts of the Empire, hewed and polished his rough-
ness of manner, until he became the polite and courteous man of later
life. But even that did not remove all his angles. He maintained to
the last an independent reticence and a stubborn opinionativeness, which
were the result no doubt of a life which had fought its own way through
a hard fight to a position of great eminence. I am sure, that if there
had been a Carnegie Trust in his day, and all his fees had been paid for
him, he would never have been the Governor of Newfoundland and
Queensland. To bear loneliness and poverty in youth and to despise
them and struggle on in spite of them, is to get an original impetus,
which no obstacles in after years can wholly withstand. To the man
who has conquered such initial difficulties, anything seems to be possible."

My purpose at present, however, is not to discuss how the Aberdonian
is made or why he goes abroad, but, accepting the fact that he does go
abroad, to see what he makes of himself Such a survey of the Aberdonian
abroad can be only of a very general and limited nature, with rather scrappy
results. The work to be properly done would require to be undertaken by a
Commission of local experts, whose labours and researches might be prolonged
for years. But as the outcome of some desultory reading and a little observa-
tion, I have gathered a few notes which may warrant me in essaying this
paper, though, in preparing it, I have made the lamentable discovery that the
reading might have been more extensive and the notes much fuller.

in.

THE ABERDONIAN AS A TRADER.

The wandering Aberdonian first presents himself to us, naturally, as a
trader with foreign countries. Aberdeen has been associated with foreign
trading from quite an early date, and though few details of this early foreign
trade can now be gleaned, numerous allusions in the municipal records in-
dicate that the commercial intercourse of the town with other towns overseas

iVol. VII, 1-14.

The Aberdonian Abroad — I 4.1

was of no insignificant dimensions, considering the times. It is certain, at
any rate, that by the fifteenth century, and possibly long before, trading rela-
tions had been established between Aberdeen and Flanders, Denmark, and
ports in the Baltic. Like other towns on the east coast of Scotland, Aber-
deen, by its situation and its proximity to the mainland of Europe, was
favourably placed for the establishment and development of such relations.
The trading seems at first to have been conducted solely by Flemings, but it
was not long before Aberdonians were found enterprising enough to take part
in it. As early as 1449 the trade with Flanders must have assumed respect-
able dimensions, for in that year the Aberdeen magistrates ordained that every
merchant sending goods to Bruges should contribute to the repair of the
parish church of St. Nicholas, the contribution or levy being in fixed propor-
tions on the goods shipped — 4 groats (a groat being fourpence) for every
sack of wool, 4 groats for every parcel of skins, i groat for every barrel (of
kippered fish or pork), and i groat for every "dacre" of hides. Seven years
later, in 1456, mention is made in the Town Council records of the appoint-
ment of Lawrence Pomstrat as " host and receiver " of Scotsmen at Flushing —
a certain indication that Aberdeen merchants were in the way of trading at
that port.^

From an early period, too, Aberdeen enjoyed with other east coast towns
the privilege of dealing with the "Staple" port in the Netherlands. The
Staple, which originated in the fifteenth century, was an organization for con-
ducting Scottish commerce with the Netherlands by which the merchants in
royal burghs secured a monopoly in foreign trading, to the exclusion of
" unfree burghs " and " unfreemen ". The organization was controlled and
directed by the Convention of Royal Burghs, and for about 300 years and
down even to the eighteenth century, a great deal of the Scottish foreign
trade was conducted through the agency of the Staple. Bruges and Middel-
burg were in turn the staple or market port, and both these towns, and
Antwerp as well, competed for the Scottish trade ; and Aberdeen had dealings
with all three. The staple was ultimately transferred to Campvere and
business was concentrated there. With Campvere Aberdeen had for many
years exceedingly close and intimate business relations ; " the merchants of
Aberdeen," it has been said, " long boasted that they were the most faithful
frequenters of Campvere." Aberdeen men even settled in the town and
several of them, " members of burgess families — Skenes, Gordons, Gregorys,
Lumsdens, and Allardeses — held from time to time, or in continuous succes-
sion, the coveted and lucrative oflfice of factor to the Staple," while Sir
Alexander Cumming of Culter acted as Conservator for a brief period in 1709.
The staple trade consisted principally of the export from Scotland of hides,
wool, and salted fish, and the import of wine, spiceries, and corn ; later, cloth
was added to the exports. Aberdeen eventually came to do a large business
in the export of pickled pork to Campvere, where an extensive market for it
was found, particularly for the victualling of Danish ships."

The foreign trade of Aberdeen in early days was by no means confined to
the Low Countries, however. The political alliance which so long subsisted
between Scotland and France had its complement in a commercial intercourse
which, if not so distinctive, contributed none the less to the maintenance of

^ " Extracts from the Burgh Records of Aberdeen, 1398-1570," Spalding Club.

^ See " The Scottish Staple at Veere," by John Davidson and Alexander Gray, igog.

42 Aberdeen University Review

friendly relations between the people of the two countries. A large trade
was carried on between Scottish and French ports, the commodities exchanged
being much the same as those already specified ; and in this trade Aberdeen
actively participated, vessels plying between it and Bordeaux and Rochelle.
But a much more special feature of Aberdeen's foreign trade was that con-
ducted with Baltic ports, particularly with Danzig and Konigsberg. The
Baltic trade, like that with the Low Countries, also dates from a ver>' early
period, for there is a record in 1487 of a communication sent by the Aberdeen
magistrates to Danzig deploring the fact that ships of that town sailed to more
remote parts of Scotland — Dundee and Leith, to wit. Nearly a century later,
in 1566, a special duty was imposed on all goods from Danzig for the expense
of " the great light on the gable of St. Ninian's Chapel " on the Castle Hill,
which had become part of the equipment of the port of Aberdeen. The
Baltic trade speedily developed, becoming so extensive that in the course of
the sixteenth century it was reckoned almost as important as the trade with
the Low Countries. It is evident that by this time the foreign trade of the
town had come to be relatively of considerable importance, for as late as 1583
Aberdeen occupied the third* place among the Scottish burghs in respect of
the amount of export duties imposed, being exceeded only by Edinburgh and
Dundee. Conspicuous among the exports to Danzig were lambskins, one
Aberdeen merchant (according to Alexander Skene's "Succinct Survey,"
published in 1685) exporting as many as 30,000 in one year. Stockings and
other knitted woollen goods were also exported.

In the seventeenth century the bulk of the internal trade in Poland —
which then bordered on the Baltic, Danzig being indeed a Polish town — was
conducted by Scottish merchants, prominent among whom were men from
Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. These Scottish traders were practically pack-
men or pedlars travelling through the country — " whilk is a trade to which
our native subjects of Scotland are specially addicted," as King James is made
to say in " The Fortunes of Nigel " — the wares they disposed of including
tin utensils, woollen cloth, and " linen kerchiefs ". They kept, besides, small
shops in the towns and had booths at the fairs, at which they sold scissors,
knives, and other iron goods, and also cloths. As John Hill Burton puts it —
*' The Scot discovered in the seventeenth century a good investment for his
skill, sagacity, and endurance in Poland, Russia, and other territories occupied
by tribes inapt at business and affairs ". Or, as a modern writer phrases it —
" Nothing could be wider than the difference between the plodding, matter-
of-fact temperaments of the Chalmers, Davidsons, Tamsens, Thors, Gems,
and Rosses, and the people they came to live with, people who despised
trade, and kept their rich, corn-bearing country by the strength of their swords
alone." ^ The opportunities thus afforded were eagerly seized by adventurous
Aberdonians whose prospects of engaging in trade or in any way " getting on "
at home were doubtless very limited, and numbers of them not only prosecuted
general trade in Poland, but, as in the similar case of Campvere, settled in
Danzig.^ They were generally successful, and not a few of them amassed
fortunes, and, returning to their native country, purchased estates in Aber-
deenshire and became the founders of leading families in the city and county.

1 Miss Beatrice Baskerville in •' The Scots in Poland," ed. by A. Francis Steuart,
Scottish History Society, 1915.

* See lists of Scotsmen who became burgesses of Danzig and other documents in " The
Scots in Eastern ar.d Western Prussia," by Th. A. Fischer, 1903.

The Aberdonian Abroad — I 43

A conspicuous example was Robert Gordon, who, however, remaining a
bachelor, instead of raising a family founded a hospital for boys, leaving the
money he accumulated as a merchant in Danzig for the establishment and
maintenance of Robert Gordon's Hospital (now College). "Leslies and
Farquhars, sons and other relatives of the Covenanter Provosts," says Mr.
William Watt, in his history of the county, "with Chalmerses, Couttses,
Burnetts and Barclays, Mores, Blacks and Abercrombies, are among the
other Aberdeenshire names connected with the trade in Poland." "Numbers
of Aberdonians and other Scotsmen," he adds, " were settled at Cracow,
Posen, Kulm, Thorn, Plock, Lipno, and all centres of population." So con-
siderable, indeed, became the Aberdeen " colony " in Poland that in 1699
the Principal and Regents of Marischal College addressed to them a special
"Supplication" for donations towards the rebuilding of the College — an
appeal which produced fairly gratifying results. A document preserved in
the University archives gives the names of fifty-four Aberdonians resident in
Konigsberg and twenty-one in Warsaw who contributed.^ Some of the Aber-
deen merchants who settled in Poland also founded families there, and the
personal names of these families still survive, though commonly in modified
form. John Johnston, an eminent Polish naturalist, was descended from an
Aberdeenshire merchant at Danzig.

The development of trade with the West Indies in the beginning of the
eighteenth century opened a new field of enterprise! of which Aberdeen took
advantage. A street in the harbour quarter still bears the name of Sugar-
house Lane, reminiscent of the time when sugar was directly imported into
the city ; and many men belonging to both city and county were connected
with the West Indies as merchants and planters or as medical practitioners
and clergymen. " It is surprising," says Mr. Watt, " how many landed
estates in Aberdeenshire and the adjacent counties were purchased by means
of fortunes acquired in the trade of the West Indies." In particular, members
of the numerous Gordon families in Aberdeenshire owned many of the
plantations and were identified with the colonization of the islands. Details
are given in a brochure on " The Making of the West Indies : The Gordons
as Colonists," by Mr. John Malcolm Bulloch. He mentions, for instance,
James Gordon, laird of Knockespock (died 1768), who owned several estates
in the West Indies, to which he went out as a young man ; Robert Gordon,
Governor of Berbice (died 18 14), a younger son of Robert Gordon of
Hallhead, in Leochel-Cushnie, and grandfather of Adam Lindsay Gordon,
the Australian poet ; and several Gordons of less pretentious ancestry, who
simply "hailed from Aberdeen".

IV.

THE ABERDONIAN AS WANDERING SCHOLAR.

The foreign trade of Aberdeen to-day is not the outstanding feature of
the city's commercial life it once was. It has been cynically said of Aberdeen
in these latter days that it has only two articles of export — granite and brains :
the cynic, to be accurate, ought to have added — in pre-war times at least —

1 See " Records of Marischal College and University," ed. by P. J. Anderson ; New
Spalding Club, I., 357-60.

44 Aberdeen University Review

herrings, while perhaps he would be obliged to cancel the allusion to granite,
seeing that Aberdeen has now taken to importing it. Undoubtedly, however,
there is — and always has been — a considerable trade in the export of brains :
Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire scholars are sent abroad in every direction.
Those who have read John Buchan's delightful story, "Prester John," may
remember that the hero (a southern Scot), on his voyage to South Africa,
discovered a man on board the ship who " turned out to be a Mr, Wardlaw
from Aberdeen, who was going out [to a place in the far north of the Transvaal]
to be a schoolmaster. He was a man of good education, who had taken a
University degree, and had taught for some years as an under-master in a
school in his native town. But the east winds had damaged his lungs, and
he had been glad to take the chance of a poorly-paid country school in the
veld." At a critical moment in one of the thrilling adventures of the hero,
Wardlaw sends him by a Kaffir a message in Latin, " which was not a bad
cipher," the hero says. "Wardlaw's message," he continues, "gave me in-
formation of tremendous value. I repented that I had ever underrated the
schoolmaster's sense. He did not come out of Aberdeen for nothingJ^ The
incident may be purely fanciful, of course, but none the less we must feel
flattered by the compliment paid to us Aberdonians. At any rate, fanciful
or not, the allusion to Wardlaw is illustrative of the wandering tendencies of
our scholars as well as of our traders.

In the early days of learning, many an Aberdeen youth became a peri-
patetic or wandering scholar, ultimately finding his vocation in the schools
and colleges of Europe, and, by his teaching and his published works,
exercising considerable influence in the creation of the culture of the
Continent. Dr. Joseph Robertson, in his " Book of Bon- Accord," and Mr.
William Watt in his " County History," have given us accounts of the more
outstanding of these scholars, and these accounts have been largely supple-
mented in recent years, particularly by Mr. Kellas Johnstone in the article
on "The Aberdeen University Educator" which he contributed to the
Quatercentenary volume of "Studies in the History of the University of
Aberdeen," and by Mr. William Keith Leask in the introduction he furnished
to the third of the New Spalding Club's volumes on " Musa Latina Aber-
donensis".^ Mr. Leask asserts emphatically — and I am not in the leats
disposed to dissent — that " The output of Aberdonians abroad, the result
of two Universities in a little town on the North Sea, is nothing other than
a phenomenon, to be best felt by those who can trace and estimate it in
detail ". I cannot do better than cite a few of the more illustrious names
mentioned in these two works, with the accompanying particulars of their
achievements.

The earliest of our local wandering scholars of whom there is record
was Peter Davidson, Peter the Scot, one of " three learned men " called
from Germany to inaugurate the studies in the University of Copenhagen,
founded in 1479 ; he was born either in the town or in the diocese of
Aberdeen.

The first Aberdonian to see a book of his own in print was James
Liddell, a Professor in Paris, who published, about 1493, a guide to the

1 See also Mr. LeasWs article on " The Bibliography of Aberdeen " in the last number
of the Review (viii, 219).

The Aberdonian Abroad — I 45

literary disputations upon appointed theses which formed part of the
academic course of the period.

Gilbert Crab, a member of the family whose name is linked with the
Crabstone and Craibstone Street, was Regent of the Burgundian College at
Paris somewhere about 1503 ; his works, along with those of Liddell,
" form the earliest known bibliographical items in the annals of Aberdeen ".

Alexander Scot, a graduate of King's College, settled at Carpentras,
near Avignon, and practised as advocate and judge (died 1615) ; his
greatest work was a famous annotated edition of the " Commentaries of
Cujas," a great French lawyer, " which is still used as a book of reference
and quoted authoritatively by French lawyers."

James Cadenhead (died 1679) was Professor of Logic at Padua, in
Italy.

Alexander Anderson — a cousin of the famous " Davie do a' thing "
— located in Paris in the early part of the seventeenth century, was one
of the greatest mathematicians of his time.

The wandering scholar, however, was not always a professor or preceptor,
a writer of books, a disseminator of learning and culture. The Continent was
visited by men studying medicine, mainly because instruction in medicine was
then purely scholastic and was bound up with the course in arts and
philosophy. Thus many of the eminent Aberdeen doctors of the olden times
gained a reputation abroad before settling down to practice in their native
city. Here, again, we can only glance at a few of our distinguished doctors
who flourished in the seventeenth century.

Dr. William Barclay, who restored the Well of Spa and proclaimed its
healing powers in a well-known local work, " Callirhoe, or the Nymph of
Aberdene Resuscitat " (first published 1615), spent many years at Louvain
and Paris.

Dr. Duncan Liddell of Pitmedden (1561-1613), who left that estate
and 6000 merks to found the Mathematical Chair in Marischal College,
along with several bursaries and prizes, was first physician to the Court
of Brunswick and the chief support of the medical school of the Univer-
sity of Helmstadt.

His pupil, Gilbert Jack, a professor at Leyden, wrote " Institutiones
Medicse," which, published at Leyden, in 1624, was long held in repute
on the Continent.

Dr. Thomas Forbes was Professor of Medicine in the University of
Pisa, 1658-62.

Dr. James Cargill studied at Basle and became a botanist of repute,
his name being given to a genus of plants, the Cargillia ; he was the
founder of the Cargill bursaries at Marischal College.

Another notable botanist was Dr. Robert Morison (1620-83), ^ native
of Aberdeen and a graduate of Marischal College. A zealous Royalist,
he was obliged to take refuge in France, and was appointed by the Duke
of Orleans Keeper of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Blois. After the
Restoration he became Professor of Botany at Oxford. The plants
named Morisonia were called after him.

William Davidson, a graduate of Aberdeen, was the first Professor of
Chemistry at Paris (1647-51), and was also Director of the Jardin des
Plantes. He was subsequently physician to the King of Poland.

46 Aberdeen University Review

Several of our early " mediciners," by the way, gained distinction at the
Court of England, which we may perhaps reckon as "abroad" in those days.
Arthur Johnston, the celebrated Latin poet, was Physician-in-Ordinary to
Charles I. Sir Alexander Fraser of Durris was one of Charles II. 's physicians :
he was wont to compare the air of Durris to that of Windsor, considered the
finest in England. And Dr. Thomas Burnet is said to have been physician
to Charles II., James II., William III., and Queen Anne in turn, which is
just possible, as only fifty-three years separated the reign of the first of these
monarchs from that of the last of them.

To proceed further with the enumeration of the list of distinguished
wandering scholars associated with Aberdeen would be to unduly prolong
this paper. " It is a remarkable list," says Mr. Keith Leask, " and is pro-
bably unequalled by that of any other city in Scotland at the time. Every
European country, with the exception of Turkey, has been familiar with the
Aberdeen Wanderer." He goes on to show how these scholars were spread
all over Europe, and concludes by saying — "These names are but a few out
of the crowds of wandering scholars, the remarkable output of the little city
by the Don and Dee, who garrisoned the Protestant colleges of France and
the German universities round the Baltic."

The shire, as will have been seen, contributed its quota as well as the
city. The Buchan district in particular has a notable contingent of its own,
as was properly recalled by the late Dr. James Middleton of Peterhead in an
article contributed by him to " The Book of Buchan ". I may cite two or
three of the wandering scholars mentioned by him.

First and foremost comes Thomas Dempster, born in 1579 at
Cleftbog, son of the laird of Muiresk. "We find him," says Dr.
Middleton, " drifting across the Continent as pupil, professor, tutor ; in
Belgium, in France, in Spain, in Italy." He was for three years Pro-
fessor of Civil Law in the University of Pisa, and afterwards Professor of
the humanities at Bologna: he had knighthood conferred on him by
Pope Urban VIII.

James Cheyne, son of the laird of Arnage, taught philosophy at St.
Barbe in Paris, and was afterwards Rector of the Scots College at Douay.

George Con or Conn, of the family of Con of Auchry, near Turriff,
was educated at Douay, at the Scots College at Paris, and at Rome. A
Catholic, he filled several important ecclesiastical positions, and was
selected to be papal agent at Queen Henrietta's English Court in 1636.

John Johnstone, one of the group of Latin poets belonging to Aber-
deenshire who flourished in the sixteenth century, was a native of
Crimond. He made the usual pilgrimage of the Continental Universities
and is found at Helmstadt and Geneva. He subsequently became the
colleague of Andrew Melville at St. Andrews and ably assisted Melville in
his resistance to King James's efforts to introduce Episcopacy.

ROBERT ANDERSON.

{To be continued.^

Ter-Centenary of the Birth of New Scotland.

■|T Annapolis Royal on 3 1 August, in presence of a distin-
guished assemblage, three bronze tablets were unveiled
commemorative of the granting of the charter of Nova
Scotia three hundred years ago, of the establishment of
English Common Law in Canada two hundred years
ago, and of the arrival in Annapolis one hundred years
ago of Thomas Chandler Haliburton (" Sam Slick"), the
celebrated jurist and author. These symbolised the
three-fold dowry of Race, Law, and Literature, which Nova Scotia gave to
Canada. Greetings were read from the Lord Chancellor of Great Britain and
the Chief Justice of the United States, William Howard Taft.

A paper on the "Charter of New Scotland, 162 1," by a graduate of Glasgow,
Colonel Alexander Fraser, M.A., LL.D., D.Litt., is contained in the Official
Report of the proceedings, copies of which may be obtained on application to
L. M. Fortier, Esq., President, Historical Association, Annapolis Royal, Nova
Scotia. Dr. J. Murray Clark of Toronto delivered an address upon the re-
lations between the Dominion of Virginia and the Dominion of Canada in
which he reviewed the coming of the common law of England to "The
English Nation of Virginia," so called by Sir Walter Raleigh in dedicating the
colony to his beloved Queen Elizabeth. We take the following report of Dr.
Clark's address from the Toronto " Globe " of i September.

From Virginia, he explained, the Dominion received its heritage of justice,
in the form of the common law which now ruled in all of Canada, except
Quebec, and in all the United States of America, except Louisiana. He here
pointed out that, in spite of the fact that the statute books of the United States
had been loaded at the rate of 62,000 enactments within five years, more than
90 per cent, of the important disputes in that country had been decided by
the principles of common law.

In 1 72 1, he said. Governor Richard Philipps, in announcing the form of
government to be observed in the Province, said that he had been directed to
make the laws of Virginia the rule and pattern for the Government until such
time as the Government should be settled according to the laws of Great
Britain. Those laws had been brought to Virginia by settlers, among whom
were many who had aided in defeating the Spanish Armada, who, with the
** sure heritage " of British precedent to go upon, had developed during the
century that followed the sound, safe and sane laws upon which almost all
Canadian jurisprudence was later to be founded.

Dr. Clark emphasised the fact that common law developed by reason of
natural evolution, based upon the needs of the people, and was akin to the
inexorable laws of nature, whereas statute law more than often defeated the
very ends for which it was enacted, citing in one instance the laws designed to

48 Aberdeen University Review

lower rates of interest, which, he said, in every case had worked out directly
opposite. At the same time Dr. Clark did not underestimate the value of
statute law, when enacted by those who possessed a thorough knowledge of
all the circumstances surrounding the subject to which the legislation was
directed.

"The common law," he reminded his hearers, "is founded upon liberty,
justice and truth, which are mighty and will prevail."

In leading up to an attack upon radical Socialism and Communism, Dr.
Clark quoted Lord Bryce's words : " The two safeguards upon which democracy
must rely are law and opinion ". He then went on to show that whenever and
wherever Communism had been tried it had resulted in starvation. He quoted
from the words of one of the Communists who wrote of the Socialistic trials in
the early days of Virginia and said : " The most honest men among them would
hardly take soe much true paines in a weeke as now for themselves they will doe
in a day ; neither cared they for the increase, presuming that howsoever the
harvest prospered the generall store must maintain them so that wee reaped
not so much come from the labours of thirtie as three or foure doe provide for
themselves."

Thus, because profit was an absolutely essential attribute of property, the
elimination of profit meant the destruction of property. It was, therefore,
plain that if the elimination of profit destroyed property it also destroyed
liberty and all true freedom, because no man was really free who was denied
the right to acquire, hold and enjoy, private property.

To illustrate his point Dr. Clark referred to the ancient classics and touched
upon experiments in Communism through the centuries up to the establish-
ment of the Soviet system in Russia.

Reviews.

Miscellanies : Literary and Historical. By Lord Rosebery. 2 vols.
Pp. viii +372 and vi + 347. London : Hodder & Stoughton, Ltd.
30s. net.

" One of the rarest of all combinations," says Lord Rosebery in an address
now incorporated in these volumes, " is that of a bookish statesman who is at
the same time a man of practical business and affairs." His lordship is him-
self a remarkable instance of this rare combination. As a Minister, he was
distinguished for his grasp of public affairs, but he was none the less a man of
literary leanings, with a wide knowledge of books and their authors and a
happy faculty of ready reference and apt illustration. An orator in the political
arena, he was equally effective in other branches of public speaking, and in
his day he was unmatched for the felicity and charm of his platform addresses
on themes outside the range of politics. Many of those addresses and of
Lord Rosebery's occasional writings were informative in a high degree, all of
them were interesting ; and it is well to have them collected in these two
volumes. The gathering of them together is the work of Mr. John Buchan,
Lord Rosebery having at last consented, on the repeated importunity of Mr.
Buchan, to the republication of his miscellanies, " he himself standing aside
in benevolent neutrality " ; and the collection will be widely welcomed by Lord
Rosebery's admirers and by many others as a fine memorial of a cultured
statesman, a literary critic of distinction, and, last but not least, a patriotic and
enthusiastic Scot.

The first volume is devoted to " Appreciations ". Lord Rosebery in his
hey-day was in great demand as an " occasional orator " — one who could be
relied upon to deliver an appropriate address on the unveiling of a statue or
other memorial to one of our great departed, or on a centenary or other
anniversary ; and here we have tributes to men so diflferent in character and
in their careers as Cromwell, Burke, Dr. Johnson, Burns, Dr. Chalmers,
Thackeray, Mr. Gladstone, and Lord Salisbury. With them may be associated
Nelson, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Cecil Rhodes, tributes to whom figure
in the second volume under the general classification of " Vignettes ". Ap-
preciations of men so diversified as those just named, even by one so skilled
in the art as Lord Rosebery, are necessarily unequal. Perhaps the least
satisfying is that on Cromwell, which is too much occupied with the discussion
of whether the Protector was or was not a hypocrite. The fullest and most
satisfactory appreciation, to our mind, is that of Johnson, in the course of
which we have this interesting personal revelation : " I, speaking from experi-
ence, can say that in sickness, when all other books have failed, when Dickens,
Thackeray, Walter Scott, and other magicians have been useless to distract,
Boswell's book is the only one which could engage and detain the languid
attention of an invalid ". Frank criticism of some of the illustrissimi other^vise

50 Aberdeen University Review

extolled is not wanting. For instance, Lord Roseberry confesses that Steven-
son's "The Master of Ballantrae," powerful as it is, has never been a
favourite of his, because the story is so utterly repulsive — " the conflict of a
scoundrel against a maniac narrated by a coward " ; and he dwells on certain
defects and blemishes in Thackeray's "Vanity Fair" and "Esmond," in con-
demnation of which, however, nearly all critics now concur. His lordship, by
the way, enunciates a canon of criticism, not quite sound perhaps, but which
will comfort many people disturbed by the higher " ethics of criticism " pro-
pounded by some modern writers — " One likes what one likes, and one dis-
likes what one dislikes ". Grouped in the Appreciations we have also memoirs
of Sir Robert Peel and Lord Randolph Churchill, which have been already
published in book form. Here, perhaps. Lord Rosebery is at his best, due
probably to the subjects belonging to the political sphere, in which Lord
Rosebery occupied such a distinctive place, and also, in the case of Lord
Randolph Churchill, to a personal knowledge founded on intimate friendship.
The estimates of the two statesmen are just and discriminating, and they are
combined with much sagacious reflection on sundry constitutional questions,
such as the working of the Cabinet and the position and functions of the Prime
Minister. Hardly anything has been better said of Lord Randolph's incessant
attacks on Mr. Gladstone than Lord Rosebery's comparison of them to " an
audacious light-weight sparring up to a recognised champion ".

Lord Rosebery has had an experience which is surely unique. He has
been Lord Rector of all the four Scottish Universities and is now Chancellor
of the University of Glasgow ; he has, as he himself phrases it, " lived many
rectorial lives ". His four Rectorial addresses and his address as Chancellor
of Glasgow University occupy a very large part of the second volume of the
" Miscellanies ". Although Lord Rosebery declares that " The most dismal
moment that can occur in a man's life is the moment when he is about to
deliver a Rectorial address," his own efforts go far to negative the presump-
tive corollary that they must form dismal reading. These addresses really
constitute, in some respects, the most important and the most inspiring
sections of Lord Rosebery's literary output, dealing, as they do for the greater
part, with various features of Scottish history and character, and containing
fervid appeals to the youth of the country. The undergraduates of Aberdeen
were the first to honour Lord Rosebery, electing him Lord Rector in 1878,
when he was only thirty-one years of age. His address, delivered in 1880,
dwelt on the importance of the University teaching of history, especially of
Scottish history, and deplored the fact that in all our Scottish Universities
there was then no provision for the teaching of Scottish history — a defect,
however, which has been largely remedied since. The Edinburgh address
(1882) dealt with "The Patriotism of a Scot," and was an argument for the
preservation of the distinctive national character ; the truest patriotism of
every Scot, he maintained, was to be capable and reliable. Much the same
idea — the service rendered to one's country in faithfully following one's profes-
sion— underlay the Glasgow address (1900), although its subject, "Questions
of Empire," was of much wider range. The St. Andrews address (191 1) was
delivered on the occasion of the five hundredth anniversary of the foundation
of that University, and was, almost of necessity, influenced and coloured by
the anniversary note. It bears the allusive title of " The Struldbrug "
(borrowed from " Gulliver's Travels ") and depicts in a very graphic manner
the course of Scottish history which the first Lord Rector in 14 11 would have

Reviews 5 1

witnessed had he been a Struldbrug and had Uved down through the centuries.
Seldom, indeed, have the picturesque episodes in Scottish history and the
transformations that have taken place in the condition of the people been so
brilliantly summarised as in many passages in this admirable address, an
address which will bear more than one reading. In his address as Chancellor
of Glasgow University (1908), Lord Rosebery reverted to the theme of "The
Formation of Scottish Character," pleading strenuously for the cultivation of
the Scottish characteristic of self-reliance, which he contended was the heart
of Scottish independence and Scottish success. These various addresses are
supplemented, in a sense, by one on " The Union of England and Scotland "
delivered to the Edinburgh Philosophical Institute, and another on "The
Service of the State " delivered to the Associated Societies of Edinburgh Univer-
sity. All these addresses contain many eloquent passages, but, for a specimen,
we content ourselves with a few sentences from the Aberdeen address, which
are as pertinent to-day as when delivered forty years ago : —

Let me point out one more inducement to the study I advocate. You are in the
city perhaps most calculated to give an interest to the study of those times, for surely no
place ever suffered so much for its prominence. From the time that the Covenanting
Commissioners refused to drink the cup of Bon Accord, and were followed by Montrose
with an army which slaughtered the dogs which had been made the innocent instruments
of satire, this unhappy city was compelled to undergo as many outward changes of compli-
ance as the Vicar of Bray or Bobbing John of Mar. In those days the greatest seat of
learning in Scotland, it was the late ot Aberdeen, as of Leipsic, to learn that a famous and
hospitable University is no protection against siege or outrage. Your well-sacked city,
surviving the successive onslaughts of Malignants and Covenanters and impartial High-
landers, remains a noble monument of the stirring and perilous past of our country.

Around you learning spreads her various wares ; you have but to pick and choose.
You are the generation that holds for the present the succession to the long roll of famous
men who have adorned this University. They have handed to you the light ; it is for you
to transmit it. The vestal lamp of knowledge may flicker, but it never dies ; even in the
darkest hours of dormant civilisation, it found loving hands to cherish and to tend it. To
you that lamp has been given by those who have watched over it in these ancient colleges.
I hope and believe it will not wax duller in your hands, but rather that you will show forth
its radiance in whatever part of the world you may be called upon to wield that influence
which every educated man must exercise.

A Hundred Years in the Highlands. By Osgood Hanbury Mackenzie,
of Inverewe. London : Edward Arnold. Pp. xvi H- 272. i6s. net.

Mr. Mackenzie of Inverewe is a son of Sir Francis Mackenzie, the 5th
Baronet of Gairloch, Ross-shire, and uncle therefore of Sir Kenneth John
Mackenzie, the present baronet. He is seventy-nine years of age, and has
lived all his life practically at Gairloch or on the neighbouring property of
Inverewe, which was bought for him in 1862. His own reminiscences carry
him back to the middle of last century, and with them he has combined the
reminiscences of his uncle, Dr. John Mackenzie, from whom he inherited ten
manuscript volumes of "Highland Memories," covering the period 1803 to
1830. The result is a delightful volume, abounding in charming pictures of
life in the Highlands in the old days. Gairloch is depicted for us as a veritable
Arcadia. Dr. John Mackenzie maintained that the seasons seemed more
" seasonable " and the summers far hotter than in his later days ; for months
in summer men wore nankeen jackets and trousers. Peaches and nectarines
grew in the gardens, in the open air ; honey was obtained for nothing from
wild-bees' nests. Game of all kinds abounded ; deer forests and exorbitant
rents did not exist — the author started his life as a regular sportsman at the

52 Aberdeen University Review

early age of thirteen, his mother hiring for him an outlying sheep farm of
something like 7000 or 8000 acres for ;;^io per annum ! The only drawback
was that there were no roads. When the family made their annual migrations
to and from Gairloch, the larger tenants had to provide several days' labour
by men and horses for the journey. Dr. Mackenzie wrote — " My eyes and
ears quite deceived me if those called out on these migration duties did not
consider it real good fun, considering the amount of food and drink which was
always at their command ". The old clan feeling of attachment and devotion
to the chief subsisted ; certain families served the lairds generation after
generation. There was little or no schooling, but character was developed
without education. Gaelic was the common language. The author was taught
Gaelic as well as English, and says he and his daughter speak Gaelic to each
other as often as they do English. He is very much — as is perhaps not un-
natural— a eulogist of the olden times, and many modern features of life and
manners in the Highlands he heartily dislikes.

I quite agree with my grandfather and father that Eton and Harrow, Oxford and
Cambridge, do not by any means produce the best men as Highland proprietors ; such
trjuning just turns them into regular Sassenachs ! It is surely better that a Highlander
should be something a little different from an Englishman. When they are sent to English
schools as small boys of eight or nine years old, and their education is continued in the
south, they lose all their individuality. They may be very good, but they have nothing
Highland about them except the bits of tartan they sport, which were probably manufac-
tured in the south and their kilts tailored in London ! . . . Why should the present
chiefs and lairds call themselves Highland if they can't speak a word of the language of
their people and country ? Then, again, many of the lairds are so unpatriotic as to have
forsaken the Church of their forefathers. Instead of worshipping with their tenantry and
their servants in the Presbyterian Church in their neighbourhood, they motor great dis-
tances to some chapel where they can find very ritualistic services and probably hear only
a very poor sermon.

Much of the volume is devoted to sport — accounts of deer-stalking, fishing,
hunting for birds' eggs, etc. ; but there are interesting chapters on the crofters
and agriculture, on old-time communions and funerals, smuggling and sheep-
stealing, and local superstitions. One chapter is of particular interest, for it
gives the results of the author's experiments in arboriculture at Inverewe.
Altogether, the work is highly attractive for its delineations of social conditions
that have vanished, probably without the possibility of being recalled.

Balmoral in Former Times : An Historical Sketch. By the Rev.
John Stirton, B.D., F.S.A. (Scot.). Forfar: W. Shepherd. Pp. 57.

Balmoral, as the Highland home of the Sovereign, has naturally an interest
for most people. Apart, however, from the royal occupation, which dates
only from 1848, Balmoral has quite an interesting history, and in this little
volume, Mr. Stirton, the minister of Crathie, presents that history in conse-
cutive form. He is not unfamiliar with the kind of work involved, being the
author of an account of the parish of Glamis, where he was formerly minister,
and he has in a sense a special qualification for dealing with Balmoral, as the
last of the Balmoral Farquharsons was married to his cousin, Captain Archibald
Chisholm of Glassburn, Strathglass. Mr. Stirton has executed his task with
taste and discrimination, for the early history of Balmoral is vague and un-
certain, and he has produced an account which practically comprises all the
ascertainable facts.

Balmoral was originally a part of the earldom of Mar, and a curious thing

Reviews 5 3

about it is that, long before the Victorian possession, it was Crown property.
The earldom was appropriated by James I. in 1435, on the death of Earl
Alexander of Harlaw renown, and it was administered on behalf of the
sovereign until 1565, when it was granted to John, Lord Erskine. Balmoral
itself seems to have been tenanted and subsequently owned by Gordons, and
in a valuation of lands in 1635 there is mention of Balmoral "pertaining to "
James Gordon, but who this James Gordon was cannot be determined. Mr.
J. M. Bulloch, in his account of the Gordons of Abergeldie in the first volume
of " The House of Gordon," incidentally threw out a suggestion — merely by
way of a query — that James might have been the youngest (the sixth) son of
Alexander Gordon, the fourth laird of Abergeldie ; but, "on the other hand,"
says Mr. Stirton, " there is equal reason to beUeve that he was the descendant
of a Gordon of Abergeldie of a former generation," but the reason for this
belief is not stated. Anyhow, Balmoral did not long remain in the hands
of the Gordons, and by the middle of the seventeenth century the Farquharsons
of Inverey had become the proprietors, and that by the process, not uncommon
in olden days, of acquiring a wadset of the lands. Gradually a family of
Farquharsons of Balmoral was established, and it is somewhat striking, in
view at least of the ultimate destination of the property, that the Farquharsons
of Balmoral were Jacobites. William Farquharson, who may be reckoned the
first of Balmoral, took part in the campaigns of the Marquis of Montrose.
His successor, his younger son Charles, fought at Killiecrankie ; and ChaVles's
successor, his nephew James, was aide-de-camp to the Earl of Mar in the
1 7 15 rising and also took part in the '45 — he was known as "Balmoral the
Brave ". The family of Farquharsons of Balmoral became extinct, and
Balmoral reverted to the Farquharsons of Inverey and then to the Farquharsons
of Auchendryne, one of whom sold Balmoral to the second Earl Fife in 1798.
The story of the connection of the present royal family with Balmoral is too
well known to require recapitulation.

It was almost inevitable that the Farquharsons of Balmoral should figure
most prominently in Mr. Stirton's historical survey. More is known of them
for one thing, and, besides, their characters and careers and vicissitudes
furnish many picturesque incidents, which Mr. Stirton has drawn upon to
good purpose. He has added interesting particulars regarding other members
of the great Farquharson family, weaving into his story fascinating details of
some " Prince Charlie " relics ; and the charm of his delightful little work is
very considerably enhanced by the admirable reproductions of portraits of
sundry Farquharsons of note now in Clova House, Aberdeenshire.

The Physical Geology of the Don Basin. By Alexander Bremner, M.A.,
D.Sc. (Publications of the Aberdeen Natural History and Antiquarian
Society ; Aberdeen University Studies, No. 83). Aberdeen : The Uni-
versity Press. Pp. viii + 129. 6s. net.

This monograph may be regarded in a sense as the complement of that on
"The Physical Geology of the Dee Valley," by Dr. Bremner, which was
published by the Aberdeen Natural History and Antiquarian Society nine
years ago. It is gratifying, at any rate, to have the geological features of our
two principal river valleys so methodically and meticulously mapped out and
delineated as has been done by such an accomplished scientist, and it is safe
to say that the reputation which Dr. Bremner earned by his work on the Dee
will be enhanced by this work on the Don. The later work follows very much

54 Aberdeen University Review

the lines adopted in the earlier, the subject being treated in several chapters,
such as the Age and Origin of the River, the Glaciation of the Don Basin,
River Terraces, etc. Dr. Bremner's exposition is invariably lucid, informative,
and authoritative, while on occasion he does not hesitate to dissent from some
current geological theories or hypotheses. Thus, pointing out that the course
of the Don is first north-east and then, broadly speaking, east, he challenges
the theory which represents the whole drainage system of the British area as
having originated on a peneplain tilted to the south-east. On other points he
differs sometimes from recognised " authorities," but never without furnishing
reasonable ground for his own opinion. Dr. Bremner's investigation of the
Don and its life history is exceedingly exhaustive and at the same time exact,
and it discloses some highly interesting features. In the origin of the river,
for instance, we find a remarkable illustration of the phenomenon of " river
capture". The Avon, eating its way back by erosion and solution along
limestone and soft black schist, " pirated " twelve miles of the Upper Don, and
altogether, through captures by the Avon and its tributaries, the drainage of
nearly sixty miles of the original basin of the Don was diverted to the Spey —
an area, too, which had the heaviest rainfall. The glaciation of the Don
basin — which is dealt with in great detail — also presents many features that
are specially noticeable. Whereas, in Dr. Bremner's opinion, the Dee Valley
glacier extended as far eastward as Dinnet, many miles from the source of the
river, the Don Valley glacier, compared with it, was *' a feeble affair," and
probably did not extend below Bellabeg and Invernochty. It "would be
formed and fed mainly by ice-streams descending the tributary valleys from
gathering grounds seldom exceeding 2500 feet in elevation. The valley it
occupied, too, was a winding one, along which the glacier would have difficulty
in forcing its way." The ice-movement in the valley, however, has left its
traces in erosion, diversion of the stream, formation of river terraces, and so
on. Many of the existing features of the river are traceable to ice action,
while evidence is not wanting of features that have vanished. The river at
one time, for example, circled round Seaton Haugh, and also flowed through
Persley Den. Altogether, the " story " of the Don is depicted for us in this
monograph in a most masterly manner, and that by one who is evidently full
of his subject and has given to it elaborate and most patient investigation.

Common Plants. By Macgregor Skene, D.Sc, Lecturer on Plant Physiology,
Aberdeen University. (The " Common Things " Series : edited by Pro-
fessor J. Arthur Thomson, LL.D.) Melrose. 6s.net.

Dr. Macgregor Skene has added quite a distinctive volume to the " Common
Things " series. In the preface he pays a compliment to his former professor
for constant encouragement, advice and criticism rendered, in which readers of
the University Review will note a happy continuation of the relations of
teacher and student, which is one of the larger hopes of the future and an aim
which the present book will assist in furthering. We shall expect to see others
of Professor Thomson's disciples giving still further proof of the inspiration of
their master.

Dr. Skene's object has been not merely to tell his readers of the marvels
that the life-histories and relationships of common plants reveal, but also to
include economic considerations and to bring out as the theme develops a
survey of the vegetable kingdom, which will provide a course in the main

Reviews 5 5

essentials of this great division of biological science. In fact, the student who
may have omitted Botany from his course of study will find in these chapters
sufficient to give him a working knowledge of the subject in its bearings upon
the questions of general education which all should understand, and particularly
as regards the most recent developments of the subject. Such things as Noel
Bernard's investigations on mycorhiza in relation to the germination and growth
of orchids, the paragraphs on the various stimuli, the investigations into the
breeding of wheats and other plants by Mendelian hybridization and pure line
selection, the wonders of plant chimaeras and of the alternation of generations,
the place, work and control of fungi and bacteria, " Plants and Ants " and even
such things as a " Study in Weeds," where the common stinging nettle is con-
sidered, bring us in close touch with fresh information and suggestion. Each
study in the book has been written round a common plant which serves as a
special illustration of some aspect of plant life.

The association of different species as co-workers is one of the themes
which Dr. Skene invests with special interest, as there appears to be almost a
human note in the living together of two plant organisms in those relationships
of mutual advantage which Naturalists designate symbiosis. In the character-
istic case of the lichens we are entertained to a model presentation of those
romantic partnerships in all their bearings, with parallel cases in the animal
kingdom like that of the Convoluta of Roscoff and the free-swimming green
alga — " And we should mention the daring theory that the chloroplasts of the
higher plants were originally free-living algae that invaded a colourless plant,
and have become so closely associated with it, that they now pass for definite
organs of its cells. The green plant itself on this hypothesis is a dual organism
of a yet more highly integrated type than the lichen."

The author thinks it necessar}' to offer some apology on the score of his
inclusion of certain species under the heading of "common plants". But
though the coco-palm does not fringe our shores, nor Cytinus brighten our
heaths, these and others are familiar to all readers of works of travel and
popular biology ; while many foreign species touched on are closely related to
our own examples. The work possesses other qualities necessary in books that
seek to popularize the discoveries of science. To freshness of outlook,
stimulating exposition and vivid style there are added those touches of poetry
and appreciation of beauty that are fast coming to take their place as an
aesthetic department of natural science. Researches into the life histories and
tissues of plants are not merely interesting, they are the ground-work, but the
sheer beauty and soul of Nature will win every one and fill the mind with
satisfaction. Dr. Skene in many passages gives us this also.

Of the twenty-six plates most are original : the sources of the others are
indicated. The photographs are fine examples of selection and workmanship,
and the drawings distinctly illustrative. The index is accurate and tolerably
full.

A. Macdonald.

The Electric Furnace. By J. N. Pring, M.B.E,, D.Sc, Research Depart-
ment, Royal Arsenal, Woolwich. London : Longmans, Green & Co.
1921. Pp. xii + 485. 32s. net.

Although not a few books dealing with the electric furnace and with electrical
methods of heating as applied to industrial operations have been published,

56 Aberdeen University Review

the author of the volume under review makes a very useful, distinctive, and
well-written contribution to the literature of the subject. The book appears
at a very opportune moment when, with a view to the conservation of fuel
resources and the development of vital industries, projects for the generation
of electrical power and for the industrial application of electricity are being
much debated. Until recently, in this country, industrial electrochemistry and
the industrial applications of electricity have met with comparatively little
favour ; and the view has been widely held that electrochemical processes
cannot be worked economically in countries which, like our own, are depend-
ent mainly on electricity generated from steam-power. The author, therefore,
does good service in pointing out and making clear by statistics that this view
is a mistaken one, and that there are many directions in which high -tempera-
ture operations can be successfully carried out even when electricity has to be
produced by the burning of coal.

The author is to be congratulated on the range of subject matter treated
and on the clearness and accuracy of his descriptions. All the high tempera-
ture applications of electricity of any importance and the different types of
electric furnace, as well as the methods of temperature measurement, receive
consideration, and the text is amply illustrated by means of diagrams and
pictures of manufacturing plant ; attention is also paid to the economics of the
processes discussed. Of special interest at the present time is the author's
description of the nitrogen industries, in the development of which this country
has been so deplorably backward, and constant reference is made to the im-
portant Report of the Nitrogen Products Committee. One is glad to think that
in this all-important field of human endeavour, the outlook is somewhat less
gloomy than it was a few years ago.

In view of the industrial position of this country and of the suggestions
which have been made for the use of electricity on a vastly more extended
scale than at present, the two chapters on "Water-power development and
electrochemical centres " and " Steam-power stations and electrochemical
centres " are of particular importance. This country, it appears, possesses
less available water-power than any other, and it has been amongst the most
backward in developing even such resources as it possesses. It is to be hoped
that in the near future the water-power of Great Britain, which is situated
mainly in the west and north-west of Scotland, and has been estimated to amount
to over 180,000 e.h.p., will be developed and so enable a large and flourishing
electrochemical industry to be established in the Highlands.

An excellent bibliography is appended which adds greatly to the value of
a book the perusal of which can be heartily recommended to all students of
chemistry and to all who take an interest in industrial developments.

Alexander Findlay.

SPANISH LITERATURE.

El Alcalde de Zalamea. By Calder6n. Edited by Miss Ida Famell :
Manchester University Press. 3 s. 6d. net.

El Viejo y la Nina. By Moratin. Edited by L. B. Walton, B.A.,
Forbes Lecturer in Spanish in the University of Edinburgh : Manchester
University Press. 3s. 6d. net.

Reviews 57

A Phonetic Spanish Reader, By E. Allison Peers, M.A, : Manchester
University Press. 2s. 6d. net.

The Manchester University Press is doing a great service; for the ever-increas-
ing number of students of Spanish in this country by issuing cheap editions of
the works of the great Spanish writers. The general editor is Mr. E. Allison
Peers, M.A., Cantab., External Examiner in Spanish in Aberdeen University.

In the first place we must congratulate Mr. Peers on having chosen two
such well-equipped scholars as Miss Farnell, formerly Scholar of Lady
Margaret Hall, Oxford, and Mr. Walton, as editors of these initial volumes.
Very valuable introductory chapters, with all information necessary for under-
standing the setting of these two dramas, are given. Thus Miss Farnell
delights us with one chapter on "Spain under the Hapsburgs," another, on
"The Rise of the Spanish Drama," while follow "The Life of Calder6n de la
Barca," "The Story of the Play," and the " Influence of the Spanish Drama".
It is no less a pleasure to read Mr. Walton's introduction to "El Viejo" under
the headings of "Spain and Spanish Literature under the First Bourbons,"
"Spanish Drama during the Eighteenth Century," "Life of Moratin," "The
Art of Moratin," " The Story of the Play ". Notes are added and a compre-
hensive bibliography.

The student, in short, is saved the trouble of groping among musty tomes
of old dusty libraries. Everything necessary for the full study of the plays is
put at his disposal in one volume. Briefly put, the " Alcalde " is an historical
tragi-comedy, adapted from an earlier play of the same name by Lope de Vega.
Philip II, not the bigot as portrayed in English history-books, and the great
soldier Don Lope de Figueroa, pass across the stage, but the story centres
round the betrayal of a maid Isabel by a highborn, Hunlike, swashbuckling
captain, Alvaro de Ataide. Then follow swift the vengeance due, the scrupu-
lous observance of the pundonor. Near the end Calder6n, soldier-priest,
makes the father of the wronged girl say " My daughter has already chosen a
convent, and she has a Husband who makes no distinctions between plebeian
and patrician ". The play is full of fine character drawing but is distinctively
Spanish, and one of Isabel's speeches has been considered by some to be
" worthy of the Greek Antigone ". In the comedy of " El Viejo y la Nina "
one can see for oneself the theme dealt with in "Auld Robin Gray" or in the
marriage between May and December. But the subject is treated some-
what a la Fran^ise. We look forward with eagerness to the next volumes
promised by the Manchester Press.

" The Phonetic Spanish Reader " by Mr. Peers is the first of its kind in
England and is indispensable to all students of Spanish. It is a practical
class-room manual and consists of over no pages of carefully selected passages
of prose and verse with the phonetic pronunciation on the opposite page. So
easy is the system to follow that a sub-title for Mr. Peers's book might almost
be "Or Spanish Pronunciation Self-taught ".

Charles Davidson.

Aberdeen University Library Bulletin, No. 23. May, 192 1.

In this number Mr. J. M. Bulloch, LL.D., has begun " A Bibliography of the
Gordons". Nobody has suggested, he says, that the Gordons — essentially
men of action, and mostly action in the field — hold high rank in belles-lettres,

58 Aberdeen University Review

yet the most cursory examination of a catalogue like that of the British
Museum discloses the fact that a great many books are associated with the
Gordons in one way or another. There are Gordons indeed who have been
authors.

If one does not expect the Gordons to be bookmen in the sense of aesthetics, one is
even more surprised that some of them have concentrated on producing very laborious
books of the encyclopasdic and theological type. It is, of course, easy to understand the
genesis and genius ot an Adam Lindsay Gordon ; without a thought of writing " hterature "
he simply expressed the typical Gordonesque dash, highly developed in our most dashing
Dominion, in a swinging verse that all who run may read. Indeed it is his Voice that we
always hear in these galloping measures of his, not the Hand that wrote. On the other
side we get a profound scholar like the Rev. Dr. Alexander Gordon, the distinguished
Unitarian (originally of Ross-shire and Belhelvie stock), who has not only a large number
of books to his credit, but who contributed no fewer than 700 memoirs to the '• Dictionary
of National Biography ". Again, there are the two Gordons — if, indeed, they are not one
and the same — who produced Dictionaries (of words), one of which inspired Dr. Johnson
to his own magnum opus. I have, however, come across only one Gordon in the publishing
business itself, namely, the rather shadowy figure of Charles Gordon in a London firm,
whom Mrs. Fyvie Mayo recalled in the " Book Monthly " (August, 1904) as having been
her literary godfather.

The instalment of the bibliography in this number deals solely with works
relating to " Chinese " Gordon, and runs to forty-one pages.

Mr. James F. Kellas Johnstone contributes an interesting article on
" The Lost Aberdeen Theses," furnishing details of the theses that have been
recovered of recent years. The accounts of the recovery of some of them
constitute fresh items in the ever-expanding " Curiosities of Literature ". Mr.
Kellas Johnstone himself bought a copy of the King's College theses of 1691
from an Edinburgh bookseller for ;£i is. When the Kirkwall Bibliothek
(founded in 1683) came to be sold, it was found that the collection contained
the Marischal College theses of 1616, 1656, 1658, and 1686 ; and these were
presented to the University by Archdeacon Craven of Kirkwall, who bought
the collection. In the dispersal of the Slains Castle Library, in which he
played an important part, Mr. Kellas Johnstone was able to secure for the
University Library the King's College theses of 1696, 1706, and 1711. The
recent presentations of theses by Sir Thomas Burnett of Leys and the Marquis
of Aberdeen and Temair have been chronicled in the Review.

LiVRET DE L'Etudiant, Universitc de Paris, 1921-22. Bureau des Renseigne-
ments Scientifiques a La Sorbonne ; Berger-Levrault, Paris-Nancy-
Strasbourg. Pp. 323.

This volume is virtually what we understand by a University Calendar — the
first of its kind we have seen from the University of Paris. Prefixed is a brief
Calendar proper for the current academic year — from which we learn that this
commences on the first week of November and extends to June, with vacations
of eight days at the New Year and fifteen at Easter. The First Part of the
Livret concerns the University itself. Chapter I. gives its council, officials,
conditions of admission and matriculation, and other regulations ; and
Chapters II. -VI. details of its various Faculties — Law, Medicine, Science,
Letters, and Pharmacy, with their courses, examinations, degrees, and separate
libraries. Chapter Vll. is devoted to University Extension and Chapter VIII.
to the " Ecole Normale Superieure ". The Second Part treats of the Official
Establishments of the Higher Education, which are outside the University —

Reviews 5 9

such as the College of France, and schools in history, languages, the fine arts,
and applied sciences. In the Third Part we have the Free Establishments , of
the Higher Education, including the Catholic and Protestant Faculties of
Theology and divers schools in politics, law, medicine and science. The
Fourth Part treats of Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and the Fifth of
Works, Associations, and Services organized for the Students. Throughout
this valuable guide to the opportunities of Higher Education in Paris will be
found instructions for the special guidance of foreign students. The volume
has been deposited in the University Library.

The Layman's Book of the General Assembly [Church of Scotland]
OF 192 1. Edited by the Rev. Harry Smith, M.A., Old Kilpatrick.
Edinburgh : R. & R. Clark, Ltd. Pp. vi + 207. 2s. 6d. net.

Two unwelcome announcements are made in the "advertisement" to this
volume. The first is that the work may have to be discontinued, at least as
published by the Elders' Union, the dissolution of which, owing to various
unfortunate circumstances, is under consideration. The second is that Rev.
Harry Smith, a graduate of Aberdeen University, formerly minister of Tibber-
more, feels obliged, through pressure of other duties, to relinquish the
editorship, which he has so efficiently conducted during the past ten years.
Mr. Smith's withdrawal will be widely regretted, for he has given the " Lay-
man's Book" a distinctive character by his prefatory notes to the daily
summary of the proceedings. The spectacular features of this year's Assembly
were the appearance and speeches of the Lord Chancellor and the represen-
tatives of the Lambeth Conference, and otherwise, says Mr. Smith, the
Assembly was characterised by a " get-on-with-the-business " spirit and " may
be placed in that valuable and really progressive class known as ' the quietly
useful ' ". The Moderator was Dr. McClymont, formerly of Holburn Church,
Aberdeen, and an admirable portrait of him forms the frontispiece.

A Practical Geography of Dumfriesshire. With maps and diagrams.
By John Murray, M.A. Robert Dinwiddie, Dumfries, 1921.

This book ought to prove useful to teachers not only in Dumfriesshire but
elsewhere, as it indicates many ways in which practical work in Geography
may be carried out in Schools. It has been carefully prepared, but it is some-
what overweighted by exercises which are arithmetical rather than geographical,
and it does not always afford clear guidance as to the best methods of cor-
relating the results which have been obtained.

A pamphlet, titled "Present Day Questions" by Rev. James Milne, M.A.,
Thames, New Zealand, deals with industrial unrest, the liquor question, and
Church Union, concluding with a verse on the League of Nations. Mr. Milne
advocates industrial co-partnerships, approves the Board of Control experiment
at Carlisle, and regards Church Union as calculated to exalt Christian life
above dogma or formulated creed.

University Topics.

ELECTION OF RECTOR.

HE Rectorial election this year had an unprecedented
feature — three candidates were nominated. This was
primarily due to the arrangement among the students
that the contest should be on political lines, and due,
secondarily, to the existence of a Labour Association
in addition to the Coalitionist and Independent Liberal
Associations. The candidates put forward were : —
Sir Robert S. Horne, M.P., Chancellor of the Exchequer (Coalition

Unionist).
Sir Donald Maclean, M.P., Leader of the Opposition in the House of

Commons (Independent Liberal).
Professor Frederick Soddy, Professor of Chemistry, Oxford (Labour).
The election took place at Marischal College on 5 November, and re-
sulted in the return of Sir Robert Horne. The votes were cast in the various
nations as follows : —

Home

Maclean

Soddy

Angus. Moray. Bucban. Mar. Total.

124 75 166 192 557

65 80 116 139 400

55 38 77 83 253

Altogether, 1481 matriculated students were on the electoral roll. Of that
number 12 10 recorded their votes.

The new Rector — the Right Hon. Sir Robert Stevenson Horne, P.C.,
G.B.E., K.C., M.P. — is fifty years of age. He is a "son of the manse," his
father having been minister of the parish of Slamannan, Stirlingshire. He
was educated at George Watson's College, Edinburgh, and at Glasgow Uni-
versity, where he graduated M. A., with first class honours in Mental Philosophy,
in 1893, having been joint Clark Scholar in the previous year; and he won
the Ewing Fellowship in 1894. In 1895 he was appointed Lecturer in
Philosophy in the University College of North Wales, and for four years
(1896- 1 900) he was one of the Examiners in Philosophy in Aberdeen Uni-
versity. Choosing the law as his profession, Mr. Horne (as he then was),
after taking the LL.B. degree, was called to the Scottish bar in 1896. His
success as an advocate was such that in 19 10 he became K.C. Then he
entered the political arena, and was the Conservative candidate for Stirling-
shire at the two elections in 1910, but was defeated on both occasions. At
the next general election, in December, 1918, he was returned for the
Hillhead division of Glasgow. By this time he had gained considerable

University Topics 6i

distinction by his administrative work during the war. He was appointed
Assistant Inspector-General of Transportation in 191 7, and was subsequently
Director of departments of the Admiralty dealing with materials and labour.
He was made K.B.E. in 19 18 (promoted G.B.E., 1920). Shortly after
entering Parliament he joined Mr. Lloyd George's Ministry as third Civil
Lord of the Admiralty. In 1919 he was appointed Minister of Labour, with
a seat in the Cabinet, and in the following year he succeeded Sir Auckland
Geddes as President of the Board of Trade. In April of this year, on the
reconstruction of the Ministry consequent on the retirement of Mr. Bonar
Law, Sir Robert Home became Chancellor of the Exchequer in succession to
Mr. Austen Chamberlain. To have attained the high position of Finance
Minister within two years of entering Parliament is a remarkable achievement,
and is (as was claimed by his student supporters) " without a precedent in the
last hundred years of our Parliamentary history ". As President of the Board
of Trade, Sir Robert occupied a prominent position last year in the prolonged
and complicated negotiations respecting miners' wages, and he displayed very
great ability and resource in the endeavour to secure a settlement.

THE RETIRING RECTOR.

At the close of the meeting of the University Court on 1 1 October, at
which the Rector, Viscount Cowdray, presided, the Principal expressed the
thanks of the Court to his lordship on the conclusion of his period of office.
In Lord Cowdray, he said, the University of Aberdeen had been proud to
have a Rector of unique ability and experience in business, in the employ-
ment of labour, and the national and international questions arising from these,
and in the conduct of vast commercial enterprises, one might almost say all
over the world. He had given the University, and, through it, the nation, the
results of that experience in his memorable Rectorial address, for which they
especially desired to thank him. It had added distinction to the University
to be the platform from which an address so rich in experience and so states-
manlike had been delivered. The Principal was sure he expressed the feelings
of all his colleagues on the Court when he asked the Rector to convey to
Lady Cowdray their respects and their grateful appreciation of the generous
hospitality of her ladyship.

Sir John Fleming, the Rector's Assessor, endorsed the remarks of the
Principal, and alluded to the gift by Lord Cowdray of copies of his address
to the students and other members of the University.

In reply, the Rector thanked the Principal and Sir John Fleming for the
terms in which they had spoken of his services. It had been a great honour
for him to be officially connected with Aberdeen University, the extent and
quality of whose work he had more highly appreciated with every stage of the
increase of his familiarity with it. Its students went out over the world, and
next only to the pride in their country, carried abroad their pride in their
University. He thanked the speakers for their allusion to his address. In it
he had tried to express the experiences of a lifetime. Passing to a review of
the present economic situation, he said that no one could deny the very
critical character of the times through which they were passing. He empha-
sized that no one who knew labour, or had anything to do with it, would have
the least fear for its future. We had emerged from a war of great endurance,
a war of patience, a war in which men had to spend many days marking time.

62 Aberdeen University Review

and no one could be surprised at the resulting restlessness from which our
men suffered on their return from service. But within the last few months
labour had come to learn and recognize that the condition of the world was not
to be bettered except by better work ; that certainly it was not to be improved
out of that bottomless purse from which they drew during the war ; and that
this country was going to live and prosper only by labour. There was no
doubt that every worker — and we were all workers — was gradually learning
that lesson, and that in consequence we would get down to normal conditions
within a year or two. By normal conditions he did not mean a return to
sweated labour, but to pre-war conditions, with wages enhanced by better
work. He concluded by once more thanking the Principal, Sir John Fleming,
and the Court.

CONTEST FOR THE COUNCIL ASSESSORSHIP.

The election of Assessors for the General Council to the University
Court led to a contest. The retiring Assessors were — Rev. James Smith,
St. George's-in -the- West Parish Church, Aberdeen, and Mr. David M. M.
Milligan, advocate, Aberdeen, Convener of the Business Committee of
the University Council. At the Council meeting in October these two
gentlemen were duly nominated, their proposers laying stress on the "con-
cordat " which had been in existence since 1889, when the number of Assessors
was increased from two to four. By that " concordat " it was arranged that
the four Assessors should be representative of the four leading professions —
divinity, law, medicine, and education ; and that arrangement had been
faithfully adhered to since, except on one occasion (1907). A third gentleman
was nominated, however — Mr. George Duncan, advocate, Aberdeen, Chairman
of the City Education Authority and Lecturer in International Law in the
University ; and on his behalf it was argued that what was needed in the
election of an Assessor was the best man available, irrespective of his pro-
fessional qualifications, and that, moreover, Mr. Duncan would represent the
Lecturers in the Court. On a show of hands, the following votes were
recorded : —

Mr. Duncan 67

Mr. Milligan -53

Mr. Smith 27

A poll by post was demanded, and took place on 5 November, with the
following result : —

Mr. Duncan 1668

Mr. Milligan ..... 1470
Mr. Smith 628 '

Mr. Duncan and Mr. Milligan were accordingly declared elected. Mr.
Smith lodged a protest against the eligibility of Mr. Duncan to sit in the
Court, because his election vitiated the number of members of the University
staff in the Court, and because it was improper for him to hold ofifice in a
governing body by which he was appointed and paid.

It may be of interest to note that a University Lecturer has been elected
one of the Council Assessors at Glasgow, and also at St. Andrews. The re-
sult is that clerical representation has been swept away in all the four

University Topics 63

Councils. The Aberdeen Council has as Assessors two lawyers (one also a
lecturer), a doctor, and a teacher ; Glasgow, a doctor, a lawyer, and two
teachers ; St. Andrews, a doctor (who is also a lecturer), a lawyer, and two
teachers ; Edinburgh, two doctors, a lawyer, and a teacher.

THE PROFESSORSHIP OF POLITICAL ECONOMY.

There were no fewer than seventeen applicants for the Professorship
of Political Economy, the new Chair founded by Sir Thomas Jaffrey. The ap-
pointment rests with the University Court, which, at a meeting on 5 August,
selected Mr. Alexander Gray, M.A. [Edin.], head of the Approved Society
branch of the Insurance department under the Ministry of Health.

Mr. Gray, who is thirty-nine years of age, had a distinguished University
career. He graduated at Edinburgh in 1902 with first class honours in
mathematics, being also medallist in the departments of mathematics, natural
philosophy, logic, English literature, history, political economy; and political
science. In addition, he was awarded the Bruce and Grangehill Mathematical
Scholarship in 1902 and the Drummond Mathematical Scholarship in 1903.
He spent a year on the Continent, studying at the Universities of Gottingen
and Paris. Returning to Edinburgh University, he took first class honours in
economic science in 1905, winning also the Gladstone Memorial Prize in
economics and history. In 1905 he took second place in the Home and
Indian Civil Service examinations.

From 1905 to 1909 Mr. Gray held an appointment under the Local
Government Board (England). From 1909 till 191 2 he was in the Colonial
Office, and from 1912 to 1919 he was a member of the National Health
Insurance Commission, being for one year (1913-14) Secretary of the Depart-
mental Committee on Sickness Benefit Claims. He was afterwards seconded
for propaganda work, and since the formation of the Ministry of Health in
19 1 9, he has been head of the Approved Society branch of the Insurance
department. From 1909 to 191 2 Mr. Gray was external Examiner in Eco-
nomics at Edinburgh University. He was awarded the Peddie Steele Prize
of 1 00 guineas (open to all Scottish graduates) for an essay on " Scotland's
debt of gratitude to her parish schools, her grammar schools and her Uni-
versities," which was offered on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the
foundation of St. Andrews University in 191 1.

Mr. Gray has published a number of works, including " The Scottish Staple
at Veere " (with the late Professor Davidson) (1909), an admirable contribution
to economic history ; the above-mentioned Peddie Steele prize essay, under
the title "The Old Schools and Universities in Scotland," in "The Scottish
Historical Review" (January, 1912) ; "The True Pastime : Some Observations
on the German Attitude towards War" (1915); "The Upright Sheaf: Ger-
many's Intentions after the War" (1915); "The New Leviathan: Some
Illustrations of Current German Political Theories" (1915) ; and the following
translations: Works of Dr. Grelling — "J'Accuse" (1915); "The Crime" (3
vols., 1917-18); "Belgian Documents" (1919) ; von Edelsheim — "Overseas
Operations" (19 15); Nippold — "The Awakening of the German People"
(1918)'; and "Ballads chiefly from Heine" (in the Scottish dialect, 1920).

In making his application, testimonials were produced by Mr. Gray from
Sir John Anderson, Under-Secretary for Ireland ; Mr. E. A. Gowers, C.B.,
Permanent Under-Secretary for Mines ; Sir Walter S. Kinnear, Controller of

64 Aberdeen University Review

the Insurance Department of the Ministry of Labour; Sir Richard Lodge,
Edinburgh University ; Mr. J. W. Headlam-Morley, C.B.E., historical adviser
to the Foreign Office ; Sir W. Arthur Robinson, Secretary, Ministry of Health ;
and Professor J. Shield Nicholson, Professor of Political Economy, Edinburgh
University.

VISIT OF OVERSEAS UNIVERSITY DELEGATES.

Seven of the overseas University delegates to the Conference of the
Universities of the Empire at Oxford paid a visit to Aberdeen. They were
present at the reception which followed the graduation ceremony in July, and
next day were conducted over Marischal College and King's College, and
entertained to luncheon in the Palace Hotel by the University Court.

The Principal, in a brief speech, welcomed the delegates, and short
speeches in reply were made by Principal A. S. Hemmy, Government College,
Lahore, Punjab ; Dr. H. Marshall Tory, President of the University of Alberta,
and Professor A. C. Paterson, Rector and Chairman of the Senate of the
University of South Africa. All the delegates expressed their deep apprecia-
tion of the welcome which they had received in this country, and of the warm
hospitality and kindness which they had experienced in Aberdeen.

The Principal, with reference to some remarks made by the delegates, said
that the University was not anxious to encourage undergraduate students from
abroad. Canada, South Africa and India, had now well-equipped Universities
of their own, and young men who intended to live in these countries, ought,
he felt, to be graduates of one of their own Universities. When they had
graduated in their own countries, they could, with advantage, come to this
country for post-graduate work, and a warm welcome would always await them.
Similarly, he felt that it would be to the advantage of students of this country
if they went to some of the newer Universities of the Empire overseas for post-
graduate work.

The delegates were the guests of the Principal at tea at Chanonry Lodge,
and in the evening most of them returned south.

The delegates were : —

Alberta— H. Marshall Tory, M.A., D.Sc, LL.D. (McGill), President of the University.

Calcutta — Rev. W. S. Urquhart, M.A. D.Phil,, Professor of Philosophy and Logic in
the Scottish Churches College, Calcutta, and University Lecturer in the Department of
Philosophy.

Madras — Rev. A. Moffat, M.A., B.Sc, Professor of Physical Science at Madras Christ-
ian College.

Manitoba — A. B. Clark M.A. (Edin,), Professor of Political Economy in the University.

Punjab — A. S. Hemmy, B.A., M.Sc, Principal of the Government College, Lahore,
and Fellow of the University.

South Africa— A. C. Paterson, M.A. (Edin and Oxon.), Chairman of the Senate of the
University, Rector and Professor of Latin and Hebrew in Transvaal University College,
Pretoria.

J. H. Hofmeyr, M.A., Principal and Chairman of the Senate, and Professor of Classics,
University College, Johannesburg.

UNIVERSITY CENTENARIES.

No fewer than three Universities celebrate centennial periods about this
time — McGill University, Montreal, and the University of Buenos Aires their
first centuries, and the University of Padua its seventh. As their delegate to
the McGill celebrations in October, the University Court appointed Professor
J. J. Rickard MacLeod, M.B. (1898), of the Chair of Physiology in the Univer-
sity of Toronto, and sent the following address : —

University Topics 65

GUBERNATORIBUS ET PRINCIPALI ET SOCIIS UNIVERSITATIS
MACGILLIANAE UNIVERSITAS ABERDONENSIS S.P.D.

Vix dicere possumus quantam voluptatem ex vocatione vestra perceperimus
benignissime his diebus nobiscum communicata. Fama enim vestrae inlustris
Universitatis, etiam si brevem ut in his rebus vitam adhuc habuit, ad ultimos
terminos orbis terrarum propagata est. Ut alios taceamus, gratissimo animo
recordamur quam luculenter Medicinae studio profuerit Gulielmus Osier,
Latinitatis Gulielmus Peterson. Inter omnes quoque constat principalem
olim vestrum Aucklandum Geddes, cum genus humanum in summo periculo
versaretur, ad metropolin Britanniarum revocatum a Ministro Regis Primario,
bello tandem confecto non rursus ad Canadam, sed potius ad Unitas Civitates
legatum Britannum missum. Non est quod enumeremus multitudinem prae-
cipue Scotorum qui ad Montem Regalem convolantes ibi alteram quasi patriam
invenere. His vero diebus potius recolendum est quantum pretiosi sanguinis
in Galliae campis simul profuderimus, quo sacrificio inmenso speramus liber-
tatem perpetuam orbi terrarum fore condonatam. Neque dubitandum est
quin in restauranda vita humana Universitates partes insignes acturae sint, et
pro certo confidimus huic officio amplissimo non defuturam Macgillianam.

Sed ne tacita solum voce litterarum testificemur, legatus noster Johannes
Jacobus Rickard McLeod, M.B., ipse gratulationes nostras sincerissimas
proifitebitur.

Datum Aberdoniae Kal. Oct. a.d. MCMXXI.

Georgius Adam Smith, Eq., LL.D.,
Vice-Cancellarius et Fraefectus.

H. J. BUTCHART,

Universitatis Secretarius.

To the University of Buenos Aires, now containing, in the largest city of
South America, between 4000 and 5000 students and a staff of over 350,
this address was sent above the same signatures : —

Cum bene compertum habeamus quantum Universitas illustris Bonaerensis
intra hos centum annos studia cuiusque generis promoverit, quantumque
alumni vestri Rei Publicae Argentinae scientia sua profuerint, gratias vobis
maximas agimus quod nos dignos existimastis qui de caerimoniis in honorem
eventus huius paratis fiamus certiores. Etsi et vos et nos extra fines antiqui
Imperii Romani habitamus, baud sine superbia recolimus illud maximum
debitum quo semper erimus inter nos coniuncti, quodque numquam poterimus
persolvere. Nos quoque speramus id quod usque adhuc inter nos et vos
perstiterit studiorum consortium, perpetuom atque aeternum fore.

Datum Aberdoniae Kal. Oct. a.d. MCMXXI.

The University of Padua, founded in 1222, forwarded the intimation that
it will celebrate its seventh centennial in the spring of next year ; and the
following greeting has been sent from Aberdeen in reply : —

Salue parens Universitatum !

Cum nemo sit nostrum qui inlustrem Universitatem Patavinam ignoret,
cumque grato animo recordemur primum quanta benivolentia festum nostrum
abhinc sedecim annos celebratum legato misso prosecuti sitis, deinde quot
nostrates sive studuerint sive docuerint in Universitate vestra, vobis libenter

5

66 Aberdeen University Review

gratulamur annum septingentensimum celebrantibus. Hunc diem laetum
salutassent Antenor urbis vestrae fundator, Titusque Livius civis maxime
venerandus. Deum vero optimum maximum precamur ut semper Aponae
telluri, civitati Patavinae, urbis Universitati suum plenissimum favorem in-
dulgeat. Venetiae autem nunc novum vitae curriculum intranti gloriam in-
finitam auspicamur. Sanguis noster simul effusus fundamentum sit fixum
atque inmobile amicitiae renovatae nee non eorum laborum communium qui
pro libertate populorum omnium nunc cum maxime strenue sunt subeundi.
Ex aulis vestris semper prodeant viri feminaeque qui scientia et virtute sua
vitam humanam ubique meliorem reddant.

Datum Aberdoniae Kal. Oct. a.d. MCMXXI.

The University Court is indebted for the composition of these three
addresses to Professor Souter. Each of the originals is ornamented by the
Arms of the University of Aberdeen.

APPOINTMENT OF LECTURERS.

In the vacancy created by the death of Dr. Scholle, M. Ennemond Casati,
L.-es-L., has been appointed interim Lecturer in French, for the year 1921-22
only.

Professor MacWilliam has been appointed the John Farquhar Thomson
Lecturer on "The Care and Functions of the Human Body," for 1921-22.

The following Lecturers have also been appointed : —
English Literature — Mr. W. D. Taylor, M.A., formerly Lecturer in the
English Language.

English Language — Mr. Claud CoUeer Abbott, B.A.

Chemistry (Junior) — Mr. T. Harold Reade, M.Sc. (Birm.), B.A. (Cantab.),

A.LC.

NEW EXAMINERS.

Captain A. W. Hill, M.A., D.Sc, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, has been
appointed Examiner of the theses for the degree of D.Sc.

The following additional Examiners have been appointed : —

Anatomy — Professor Edward Fawcett, M.D., Professor of Anatomy,
Bristol University.

Classics — Professor James O. Thomson, Professor of Latin, Birmingham
University (M.A., Aberd., 1911).

Mathematics and Natural Philosophy — Mr. William G. Eraser, H.M.
Inspector of Schools (M.A., Aberd., 1893).

Physiology — Professor Hugh M'Lean, M.D., D.Sc, Professor of Medicine,
St. Thomas's Hospital, London (M.B., Aberd., 1903; M.D., Aberd., 1904).

Zoology — Professor Gregg Wilson, O.B.E., B.Sc, Ph.D., Professor of
Zoology, Queen's University, Belfast.

THE SIR WILLIAM NOBLE PRIZE.

The Sir William Noble Prize for a poem in "braid Scots" has been
awarded to Mr. Alexander Macintosh Buchan, M.C. (M.A., Hons.,
1919), English master, Forres Academy. The poem will be published in
the next number of the Review.

University Topics

THE BLACKWELL PRIZE ESSAY.

67

The subject prescribed for the Blackwell Prize Essay for 1922 is "The
Influence of the Social and Political Ideas of the Latin Peoples on the
Civilization of Europe during the Nineteenth Century ", The prize is j£sOy
and is open to unrestricted competition.

THE PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION.

At the preliminary examination in September one candidate entered for
Spanish, this being the first occasion on which a candidate has done so. Two
candidates entered for Telugu, in place of a modern language. Altogether,
there were 102 entrants, a slight increase on last year's number.

INCREASE OF FEES.

As was briefly mentioned in our last number, a General Ordinance of the
Universities of St. Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Edinburgh regarding
increases in fees has been approved by His Majesty in Council.

As a consequence of this each student matriculating on and after i Septem-
ber, 192 1, shall pay a matriculation fee of ;£2 2s., instead of ^1 is. as
formerly, " at the commencement of each academic year for the whole year
next ensuing ; but any student joining a class or classes during the Summer
Term only, without having matriculated at the commencement of the academic
year shall, in respect of each Summer Term, pay a matriculation fee of ;^i is.
only ».

The effect of this provision is to double the matriculation fee in each case.
Under the same Ordinance examination fees have been increased, and, as
increased, they are as follows : —

Degree of M.A.

£7

17

6

„ ,, B.Sc. in any department

9

9

0

„ „ D.L. .

7

17

6

„ „ LL.B.

9

9

0

„ ,, B.L. . . .

7

17

6

Degrees of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor

of Surgery

34

13

0

Degree of B.Ed.

9

9

0

„ „ B.Com. .

7

17

6

„ „ Mus.Bac.

15

IS

0

„ „ Doctor of Medicine .

21

0

0

„ „ Letters .

IS

IS

0

„ „ „ „ Science in

any

department

IS

15

0

BEQUEST TO THE UNIVERSITY.

The late Miss Catherine Fyfe Grant, of Seafield Place, CuUen — the last
surviving member of the family of Mr. George Grant, Town Clerk of CuUen —
who died on 9 July, bequeathed the residue of her estate, amounting to about
^^2250, to the University for the purpose of founding bursaries in the Faculty
of Medicine to be called the " Grant Medical Bursaries ". The bursaries are
to be of such amount and awarded in such manner as the University Court,
after consultation with the Senatus, may decide, but preference is to be given

68 Aberdeen University Review

to candidates born in or having a substantial personal connection with the
parishes of CuUen and Huntly. A brother of the deceased lady, Dr. George
Grant (M.A., Marischal College, 1849; M.D. [Edin.], 1855), was in medical
practice in Huntly; he died in 1867.

GIFT OF BOOKS FROM YALE UNIVERSITY.

The University of Yale has presented to the Aberdeen University Library
sixty-six volumes, printed at the Yale University Press. These volumes had
been selected, it was stated, "as apt to interest your patrons and to strengthen
the ties of friendship and understanding between your nation and our own ".
There has been inserted in each volume a special book plate in the^ following
terms : —

"Presented to the University of Aberdeen by the Yale University Press,
in recognition of the sacrifices made by Scotland for the cause of liberty and
civilization in the world war, and to commemorate the part played in the
struggle by the 8000 Yale graduates in the services of the Allied Govern-
ments, 1 9 14- 1 91 8."

EXTENSION OF THE LIBRARY.

Plans have been approved and tenders amounting to ;^3333 have been
accepted for the construction of a new Stack Room at the University Library,
King's College. The work will be proceeded with at once.

THE NEW COURSE IN GREEK.

An interesting report has been prepared by Professor Harrower dealing
with the results of the new graduation course in Greek History, Literature, and
Art in the University. This course is a new experiment in the Scottish
Universities. It is intended for students who have no knowledge of the
Greek language, but who desire to acquire some general grasp of the part
which the Greeks have played in European culture and civilisation (see Review,
vii., 266). Professor Harrower deprecates any hasty conclusion based upon a
single year's experiment, but he says that the results, so far as they have
appeared, are encouraging.

The course was divided into three sections of 25 lectures each, tHe first
on " Early Greek History," by Miss Frances G. Mordaunt ; the second on
" Early Greek Sculpture," by Professor Harrower ; and the third on " Greek
Literature," by Miss Mordaunt. The number of students taking the first sec-
tion was 28. Twelve took the sculpture section and 34 the literature section,
amongst the last being a number of students who were reading for honours in
English literature or modern languages, and took this opportunity of widening
their range of literary study.

Any fear that the course would be a " soft " option has been dissipated by
experience ; indeed, the very opposite has happened. In addition to the
periods dealt with in the class, a general knowledge of the three subjects was
required, and in the case of Literature,, large portions of translations were
prescribed for home reading. The course, says Professor Harrower, has proved
severely trying, but the experience of the first session has suggested modifi-
cations and reforms which will remove superfluous difficulties without impairing
efficiency.

University Topics 69

The examination papers in the three sections are appended to Professor
Harrower's report, and we reproduce that for Literature, as indicating the scope
of the new course. The student had the choice of answering four or five
questions : —

Describe Aeschylus' use of metaphor and simile.

" And then it was revealed, it was revealed

That I should be a priest of the Unseen "

— Browning on " Aeschylus ".
Discuss.

Show how the " Philoctetes " and the " CEdipus Coloneus " differ from the other re-
maining plays of Sophocles and discuss the purely dramatic value of these plays.

Describe and criticise Euripides' innovations in tragedy.

Discuss Homer's use of epithet and simile, and describe the differences between
" authentic " and " literary" epic.

Write an account of the different kinds of Greek lyric poetry, and give an outline of
the work of any one lyrical poet who has particularly interested you.

" Pure poetry is associated with realism in the work of Theocritus." Discuss this.

Write short essays on (a) The Greek Anthology : (b) Nature in Greek poetry.

" A peculiar vein of constitutional sadness belongs to the Greek temperament." Dis-
cuss, and illustrate from your reading in Greek literature.

The percentage of passes in the three sections was very high.

At the Classical Association's Conference at Cambridge in August, Pro-
fessor Harrower read a paper on " The Best Method of Strengthening the
Position of the Classics in English and American Education ". He said that
the recently published report by the Prime Minister's Committee had brought
into the clearest light the dangerous position in which Classics, and especially
Greek, were placed in England and in Scotland. A true bill had been brought
in by the Committee against the Scottish Education Department for the
disability and obstacles under which Greek had laboured in the schools of
Scotland. But the mere removal of those obstacles and disabilities was not
going to save Greek. A constructive policy was necessary. A great danger
had been experienced in the past from the cheery optimist who acquiesced in
the situation, which had reduced Greek classes to a handful of honours men
at the top and another handful of students at the bottom struggling up to a
bare pass. After discussing several suggested remedies which were more
specious than real — the diminution of grammar, the abolition of composition,
the introduction of archaeology to illustrate reading, the direct method of Dr.
Rouse, the prescription of Greek when only one Classical language was possible
in a school, etc. — Professor Harrower explained his scheme of the Aberdeen
" Tearless Greek " course and its object, which was not to provide a substitute
for the study of the language, but, on the one hand, to give students who
otherwise would leave the University ignorant of Greek History, Art, and
Literature, some idea of what Greek had stood for in the world ; and, on the
other hand, to induce some to take up the study in its linguistic side before
they took their degree.

PROPOSED APPOINTMENT OF " READERS ".

The University Court has drafted an Ordinance providing for the appoint-
ment of members of the teaching staff with the title of Reader. What may
be termed the " enacting clause " of the Ordinance is as follows : —

The University Court may institute the office of Reader (Readership) in any subject
or department of study, provided that the Reader, normally, shall be head of the depart-
ment of study to which he is appointed, and that the scope and duties of his office shall be

yo Aberdeen University Review

similar to those of a professorship. Yet, notwithstanding, the University Court may, in
exceptional cases, after consultation with the Senatus, appoint a Reader in a subject or
department of study, although such subject or department is not independent, and although
the Reader to be appointed shall be under a Professor.

A Reader is to be appointed by the University Court for a period of five
years, and shall be ex officio a member of such Faculty or Faculties as the
Court may determine.

PROPOSED UNIVERSITY REFORM BILL.

At the April meeting of the General Council of the University, the Busi-
ness Committee was instructed to arrange with the other three Councils for a
Conference to discuss what changes would meet with acceptance by all the
four Scottish Universities. The Conference was held at Perth on 25 June.
The Aberdeen Council suggested four clauses as requisite for a Parliamentary
Bill, and, after discussion, of these and of amendments, the Conference agreed
upon the following summary of the clauses that should be inserted in the
proposed bill : —

1. A University Lecturer shall ex officio be a member of General Council during his
tenure of office.

2. A Senior University Lecturer shall be eligible for election to membership of the
Senatus: but the whole University Lecturers in each University shall be entitled to elect
as Members of Senatus such number of Senior Lecturers as shall most nearly correspond
to the fourth of the whole Senatus for the time being.

3. The University Court, in addition to the duties imposed on it by the Universities
(Scotland) Act, 1889, shall make Ordinances, subject to such conditions as it thinks fit,
with the approval of His Majesty in Council, and subject to the provisions respecting pro-
cedure set forth in Section 21 of the said Act, ordaining : —

(i) " That a University Lecturer may be appointed for a term of years or may be given
a permanent appointment, subject to such age limit as the University Court may
from time to time prescribe."

{2) " That University Lecturers be members of or represented on their Faculty or
Faculties."

4. For the purposes of this Act " University Lecturer " shall mean a non-professorial
teacher appointed by the University Court to teach a subject having a definite position in
the curricula for graduation.

"University Senior Lecturer" shall mean a Lecturer who is in charge either of a
department not under a Professor, or, in co-operation with a Professor, of a sub-department
having a definite position in the curricula for graduation ; and whose tenure of office has
become permanent after a probationary period of University service.

5. There shall be a comprehensive scheme of pensions.

The Conference afterwards discussed certain other matters, and resolved
to recommend : —

(i) That the University Court should submit, for consideration by the respective
General Councils, legislative changes proposed by the Courts, before the Courts signify
approval of these ; as Draft Ordinances and Alterations of Regulations are at present
submitted.

(2) That there should be modification of the powers by which at present one University
can put obstacles in the way of reforms which another University desires to introduce.

(3) That there be a reasonable age limit or period of service for all Principals, Pro-
fessors and others.

After some discussion, a resolution was passed unanimously to the effect
that the time is ripe for the constitution of a representative body to inquire
into the whole position ot the Scottish Universities, with the view of determin-
ing in what directions and manner the existing constitution and arrangements
may with advantage be reformed so as to enable the Universities more effici-

University Topics 71

ently to discharge their functions. The Conference accordingly recommended
the General Councils to approach their respective University Courts and urge
them to take steps for setting up such a representative inter-University body ;
foiling which, the General Councils should themselves take joint action for the
purpose.

At the half-yearly meeting of the Aberdeen Council on 15 October,
Mr. William Rae, advocate, reported on the Conference. The suggestions
made by the Aberdeen Council, he said, were altered more or less, but in
substance they were all carried, with one exception — as to the extent to which
Lecturers should be entitled to representation upon the Faculties. On that
subject there was a rather acute difference of opinion. The Aberdeen Council
suggested that a Lecturer should be ex officio a member of his Faculty, but
this suggestion was very seriously amended by the Conference.

With reference to the proposal for the constitution of a representative
body to inquire into the whole position of the Scottish Universities, Mr. Rae
said it was a misapprehension to think it was to be a permanent body. Those
who suggested it meant merely a temporary body representative of the four
Universities, which would meet to discuss various matters with a view to
arriving at unanimity on certain subjects that might be embodied in any Act
of Parliament which would meet with the cordial approval of all the Uni-
versities. The alternative was suggested of having a Royal Commission, but
it was thought it was not the time to press the Government to appoint a Royal
Commission, which would be very expensive and very tedious in its procedure.

The report was adopted, and the Conference delegates were reappointed
in view of a possible meeting of the Conference before the next meeting of
the Council.

The Courts have drafted and are now considering a bill.

THE TEACHING OF MODERN LANGUAGES.
At the October meeting of the Council, Dr. George Smith moved : —

That the General Council represent to the Court that Honours in Modem Languages
should include the following groups: —

French with German, or Latin, or Spanish, or any other approved language as a
subordinate language.

German with French, or Spanish, or any other approved language as a subordinate
language.

Celtic with French, or German, or Latin, or Greek as a subordinate language.

The standard to be attained in the subordinate language shall be an Intermediate
Honours ; but the standard to be attained in the principal language shall be higher than
that of the present Honours. When the principal language is French or German, the
requirements shall include a year's work at a University or approved institution in a
French- or German-speaking country.

Mr. A. A. Cormack seconded.

Rev. J. T. Cox, Dyce, took exception to the third alternative. Celtic, he
said, was a dying language and would very soon be dead. Why was not the
same prominence given to Spanish as to French and German ? Commercially,
Spanish was of much more importance than French. Why not substitute
Spanish for French or German or Latin as a subordinate language ?

Dr. Smith said he was quite willing to accept an additional group with
Spanish as the primary subject, on the understanding that Celtic remain.

It was agreed to add a group for Spanish, and to include "Spanish-
speaking country " in the last paragraph of the motion.

72 Aberdeen University Review

THE SUMMER GRADUATION.

The summer graduation took place on 14 July, the degrees being con-
ferred by the Chancellor, the Duke of Richmond and Gordon, The honorary
degree of D.D. was conferred on the Rev, Eugene de Fa ye, Professor of
Church History in the Protestant Faculty of the University of France (at Paris),
and the Right Rev. Ernest Denny Logie Danson, Bishop of Labuan and
Sarawak, in absentia ; and that of LL.D. on Sir George Carmichael,
K.C.S.I., Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay, and Dr, William
Maddock Bayliss, F,R,S,, Professor of General Physiology, London Univer-
sity, The degree of M.A. was conferred on seventy-five students (on six of
these with first-class honours, on nine with second-class honours, and on three
with third-class honours) ; Ed,B. (Bachelor of Education) on two; B.Sc, on
eight ; B.ScAgr. on twelve ; B.Sc.For. on one ; B,Com. (Bachelor of Com-
merce) on one; B.D. on two; LL,B, on two; and M,B, on twenty-four
(on one of these, Miss Annie Thain, with first-class honours, and on two
with second-class honours) — 127 in all. Of the Arts graduates, forty were
men and thirty-five women ; the two Education graduates were men ; all the
B,Sc. graduates but two were men ; the Agriculture and Forestry graduates
were all of the male sex, as were the B.Com. and the B,D,'s. Of the LL.B.'s,
however, one was a man and the other a woman ; and the Medical graduates
were also equally divided — twelve of each sex. Altogether, there were seventy-
seven men graduates and fifty women. This was the first occasion on which
the degrees of Ed.B. and B.Com. were conferred. The diploma in Agricul-
ture was conferred on eight students (male), and the diploma in Forestry on
two (male). The degree of M.D. was conferred on Dr. John Kirton,
Stromness ; Dr. George Fowler Mitchell, Aberdeen ; and Dr. Alexander
James Will, Long Bennington, Lincolnshire. The diploma in Public Health
was conferred on six candidates.

. Mr. William Lillie, Watten, Caithness, carried off the Hutton Prize in
Mental Philosophy, and the Bain gold medal in Mental Philosophy ; Mr,
James Runcieman Sutherland, Aberdeen, the Seafield gold medal in
English, the Minto Memorial Prize in English, and the Senatus Prize in
English Literature ; Mr. Ian James Simpson, Monymusk, the Kay Prize in
Education ; and Mr. John Souter Mitchell, Kemnay, the Town Council
Prize in Economic Science. The John Murray Medal and Scholarship and the
Lyon Prize, both awarded to the most distinguished graduate in Medicine for
the year, were gained by Miss Annie Thain, Aberdeen. Miss Thain, who
passed her final medical examination with first-class honours, having taken each
subject with special distinction, has the honour of being the first lady medical
graduate of Aberdeen to do so. The last occasion on which a student took
first-class honours in Medicine was three years ago, when the successful student
was a man (Mr. George S. Escoffery). The Struthers Medal and Prize in Ana-
tomy fell to Miss Annie Anderson, Oldmeldrum. For the Lizars Medal in
Anatomy Mr. Edward C. Chitty, London, and Mr. William Gunn,
Halkirk, Caithness, were equal. The Edmond Prize in Law was won by
Mr. Donald Benjamin Gunn, Halkirk, Caithness.

The following awards were also made : Croom Robertson Fellowship —
Mr. Archibald Forbes Hyslop (M.A., 19 14). Gladstone Memorial Prize —
Mr, James L. Mowat, a third-year Arts student.

University Topics 73

THE BURSARY COMPETITION.

At the Bursary competition this year the first place was gained by
Margaret Wattie, a daughter of Dr. J. M. Wattie, H.M. Chief Inspector
of Schools (M.A., 1883 ; LL.D., 1919) ; she has been wholly educated at the
Girls' High School, Aberdeen, of which she was dux last session, winning the
Town Council gold medal. The second bursar was James Ian Cormack
Crombie, a son of Mr. John A. Crombie (of Messrs. Lewis Smith & Son,
wholesale stationers, etc.), Aberdeen ; he was educated at the Grammar
School, in the Classical Department of which he was dux last year, also
winning the Town Council gold medal for English. Alexander Wilson,
Cairnie, was third bursar ; he was left without parents some years ago, and
has been a pupil at the Gordon Schools, Huntly, during the past four years,
being dux this year. The fourth bursar, Robert W. Brownlie, son of a
sheet-metal worker at Inverurie, was educated at the Inverurie Academy, being
dux last session. Donald J. Campbell, son of the headmaster of Balloch
School, CuUoden, was fifth bursar ; educated at the Royal Academy, Inverness,
he was dux at this year's prize-giving and was awarded the County Member
of Parliament's gold medal, winning also the silver medal presented by Dr.
William Mackay to the dux in English, the Raigmore gold medal presented
to the dux in Classics, and the silver medal presented by the Edinburgh
Inverness-shire Association to the dux in Mathematics. The sixth bursar,
Peter Walker M'Gillivray, son of a quarryman at Kintore, was a former
pupil of Kintore Higher Grade School and was dux medallist at the age of
fourteen ; passing to Inverurie Academy, he has studied there for two years
and was dux of his classes — he was under seventeen years of age at the time
of the competition. An analysis of the list showed that out of the first sixty,
Robert Gordon's College, Aberdeen, had eleven places ; Aberdeen Grammar
School, seven ; Inverurie Academy, Aberdeen Girls' High School, and Peter-
head Academy, six each ; Fordyce Academy, five ; Central H.G. School,
Aberdeen, four ; Huntly Gordon Schools and Inverness Royal Academy, three
each ; and Banff Academy, Strichen H.G. School, and Fraserburgh Academy,
two each.

THE MARISCHAL COLLEGE KAYAK.

Mr. David MacRitchie, in an article in the " Aberdeen Daily Journal "
of 2 August, called attention to a passage in an old diary kept by a Rev.
Francis Gastrell, who made a tour of Eastern Scotland in 1760 (now preserved
in the Shakespeare Museum at Stratford-on-Avon). The passage relates to
a visit paid to King's College Chapel, Old Aberdeen, on 12 October, 1760,
in the course of which, Mr. Gastrell says, he there inspected " a canoe about
7 yards long by 2 feet wide, which about thirty-two years since was
driven into the Don with a man in it who was all over hairy and spoke a
language which no person there could interpret. He lived but three days,
though all possible care was taken to recover him."

There is little room for doubting (continued Mr. MacRitchie) that this
canoe is a certain skin-covered " kayak " of the kind still used by Eskimos
which is preserved in the Anthropological Museum at Marischal College. It
is probably the lightest " kayak " in Europe, for it weighs only 34 lbs. Its exact
length is 17 feet 9 inches, while its greatest breadth is scarcely 18 inches.
Francis Douglas, who saw it at Marischal College in or about the year 1782,

74 Aberdeen University Review

describes it [in his " General Description of the East Coast "] as " a canoe
taken at sea with an Indian man in it, about the beginning of this century.
He was brought aUve to Aberdeen, but died soon after his arrival, and could
give no account of himself". Until now it has been assumed that the date
indicated by Douglas was not later than 1710 or earlier than 1695, but
Gastrell gives us a definite date, for "about thirty-two years since " clearly
indicates the year 1728, or at most a few months before or after 1728.

Are there two canoes in question, or do the two stories, despite their
discrepancies, relate to the same canoe and the same incident ? Mr. Mac-
Ritchie leans to the latter conclusion, holding that " the two stories are merely
diiferent versions of one event, the positive truth having become somewhat
blurred in course of time ". He suggests, however, that it is possible to learn
more about the canoe and its occupant, and he concluded his article with the
remark — " The Aberdonian antiquary who decides to investigate the matter
may find his labour well repaid by a fresh discovery."

[An account of the kayak, accompanied by an illustration, appeared in
the "Aberdeen Journal Notes and Queries," iv., 264.]

A " WANDERING SCHOLAR ".

At a meeting of the Deeside Field Club at Blairs College on 17 September,
Mr. James F. Kellas Johnstone read a paper on George Strachan, a Kincardine-
shire man, whose " Album Amicorum " belongs to the library of the College.
Strachan, said Mr. Kellas Johnstone, was bom in 1570 and educated at
Aberdeen, probably graduating M.A. before he went to Paris, following the
path of all Scots students seeking higher education. He was a scholar, poet,
and courtier, whose memory was preserved by the publication of excerpts of
his verse (See " Musa Latina Aberdonensis," Vol. HI). Mr. Kellas Johnstone
dealt specially with Strachan's "Album Amicorum," 1599-1609, which dis-
closed that Strachan was our earliest autograph-hunter. His collection con-
tained encomia addressed to him by many of the best Scots scholars of the
period occupying professorial chairs in Continental Universities, in their own
handwriting and generally stating the place and date. He (Mr. Johnstone)
had never previously seen anything of the kind of so early a date. Not only
did the book reveal the many wanderings to various places of Strachan, but it
threw much light upon the scholastic and literary life of the Scot abroad, while
its historical value was considerable.

Personalia.

The Principal has been appointed the representative of the Scottish
Universities on the Executive Committee of the Universities' Bureau of the
British Empire.

The Principal has reUnquished his commission as an Army Chaplain
(ist Class) and has been granted the retiring rank of Hon. Chaplain (ist Class).

The Principal, Sir John Fleming, and Dr. James E. Crombie have been
appointed the representatives of the University Court on the governing body
of the North of Scotland College of Agriculture for three years from i January,
1922.

Professors Henry Cowan and William L. Davidson have been re-
appointed Governors on the Milne Bequest for the ensuing five years.

Professor John Marnoch, C.V.O. (M.A.. 1888; M.B., CM., 1891), has
been appointed by the Home Secretary a medical referee under the Workmen's
Compensation Act, 1906, for the Sheriffdom of Aberdeen, Kincardine, and
Banff, to be attached more particularly to the counties of Aberdeen and
Kincardine — in place of Sir Alexander Ogston, K.C.V.O. (M.B., 1865 ;
M.D., 1866; LL.D., 1910), resigned.

Professor J. Arthur Thomson is to deliver another short course of six
lantern lectures — mainly for juveniles — in the Aberdeen Art Gallery this
winter. The subject of the lectures will be " The Natural History of Common
Animals ".

Mr. Robert Blair Forrester, M.A., Lecturer in Political Economy in
the University, has received the Research Degree of M.Com. of Manchester
University in recognition of his study of "The Cotton Industry in France".

Dr. James E. Crombie has been nominated by the University Court a
member of the Advisory Committee for the Edinburgh Meteorological Office,
as from i April, 1922.

Mr. John Clarke, Lecturer in Education, has been appointed repre-
sentative of the University on the Scottish Universities Entrance Board for a
period of four years from i February, 1922.

Aberdeen University has recently furnished two new Professors. Mr.
John Eraser (M.A., 1903), Lecturer in Celtic and Comparative Philology in
the University, has been appointed to the Chair of Celtic in Oxford University,
which has been vacant since the death in 19 15 of Sir John Rhys. Mr. Eraser
graduated at Aberdeen in 1903 with first class honours in Classics, after a
brilliant career as a student, which culminated in his winning the Ferguson
Scholarship in Classics, open to all four Scottish Universities. He twice won

76 Aberdeen University Review

the Jenkyns Prize at Aberdeen for Comparative Philology, and he showed
great literary taste as a writer of Greek verse, his contributions to Professor
Harrower's " Flosculi Graeci Boreales " being beautifully finished productions.
Mr. Fraser went into residence at Trinity College, Cambridge, in October, 1903.
In the two following years he won the Brown Gold Medal for Greek and Latin
epigrams, and in 1905 he was elected a major scholar of Trinity College, and
was placed in the first division of the first class in the Classical Tripos, Part I.
For Part II. of the Classical Tripos he took the subject of Comparative
Philology, adding Sanskrit to his general linguistic studies. He continued
these studies at Jena, specializing in Sanskrit and Lithuanian; and in 1907
he was placed in the first class of the Second Part of the Classical Tripos.
being also proxime accessit in the examination for the Chancellor's Classical
Medals.

Returning to Aberdeen, Mr. Fraser became assistant to the Professor of
Humanity and Lecturer in Comparative Philology. He held the former
position until 19 16, when the Lectureship in Celtic was instituted, and from
that date he has taught Comparative Philology and Celtic with conspicuous
success. Starting with Scottish Gaelic as his mother tongue he has acquired
a deep and extensive familiarity with the other forms of the language and its
literature. He is a fluent speaker of the modern dialect of Ireland. He
knows Welsh literature well, and writes Welsh with ease and correctness.
He has published in the " Revue Celtique " and other periodicals devoted to
Celtic philology many works which are recognized as authoritative and final,
his pronouncements on knotty points commanding the respect of the most
eminent scholais A notable example is to be found in his researches in
Irish palaeography, where he has in several cases overcome great difficulties of
decipherment.

Mr. Fraser's equipment in languages led to his being employed by the
British Government on very special work during the war ; and he rendered
great services in London as a translator of languages practically unknown to
the generality of scholars.

In connection with Mr. Fraser's appointment, it may be noted that the
principal University teachers of Celtic are Aberdeen graduates. Dr. W. J.
Watson (M.A., 1886 ; LL.D., 1910) is Professor of Celtic in Edinburgh
University, and Rev. George Calder (M.A., 1881 ; B.D. [Edin.], 1884;
D. Litt.) is Lecturer on Celtic Languages and Literature at Glasgow University.
Mr. Percival Robson Kirby, A.R.C.M. (M.A., 1910), has been ap-
pointed Professor of Music at the University College, Johannesburg. He
had held the position of Acting Professor for some time, having been seconded
for that purpose by the Natal Education Department. After graduating at
Aberdeen, Mr. Kirby went to the Royal College of Music, London, studying
under Sir Hubert Parry, Sir Charles Stanford, Sir Frederick Bridge, and Dr.
Charles Wood. There he won several exhibitions and prizes, including the
Arthur Sullivan prize for composition, in which subject he took his diploma.
In 1 9 14 he went to South Africa on his appointment as Musical Adviser to
the Natal Education Department. During 1918-19 he gave extensive lectures
on musical subjects at the Durban Technical Institute. He has had much
experience in playing and conducting in Aberdeen, London, and South Africa.
Several of his compositions have been performed by the Cape Town Orchestra.
Professor William Sharpe Wilson (M.A., 1884), formerly Professor of

Personalia 77

English Literature at Petrograd University, who was released from Bolshevist
prisons in August 1920, and reached England, via Finland, at the New
Year (see Review, vii., 281 ; viii., 87, 181), has accepted the posts of English
Lecturer at the Latvian University of Riga, and of Director of Studies and
Professor of English Literature at the State Training College for Teachers of
English, The second of these posts was offered him on his arrival in England
by the Latvian Deputy-Minister of Education, who had studied under Mr.
Wilson at Petrograd University. The appointment to the University Lecture-
ship was made in the usual course at the end of the Easter term, at the
suggestion of several young lecturers of the New University, who had also
been students of English at Petrograd.

Rev. Dr. Alexander Alexander (M.A., 1874; D.D., 1913), on retiring
from the pastorate of Waterloo Presbyterian Church, Liverpool, was presented,
at a congregational farewell conversazione, with a barometer from his assistant
ministers, "a rather numerous band, who have justified the promise revealed
while under his superintendence". It was announced that the gift of the
congregation had taken the form of a life annuity. Dr. Alexander is to reside
at Lockerbie.

Rev. Herbert Alexander Darg Alexander (M.A., 19 15) has been
ordained and inducted as minister of the United Free Church congregation of
Monquhitter and New Byth, Aberdeenshire. During the war Mr. Alexander
served in the East with the R.A.M.C. for about three years. He was assistant
for some time to the late Rev. J. S. Stewart, North United Free Church,
Aberdeen, and was locum at Castlehill, Forres, and locum and assistant to Dr.
Cameron, Inverness.

Mr. Ernest Russell Allison (B.Sc, 192 i) has been appointed assistant
teacher of Mathematics and Science in Dumbarton Academy.

Messrs. John B. Anderson, Logie-Coldstone (M.A., 1890); James S.
Barron, Wick (M.A., 1914) ; William Maclean, Portsoy (M.A., 1882) ; and
Benjamin Skinner, Strichen (M.A., 1893) have been elected members of the
Council of the Educational Institute of Scotland.

Mr. Alexander Angus (M.A., 1886), Divisional Inspector under the
Yorks (West Riding) Education Authority, has been transferred from Wake-
field to Harrogate.

Mr. William Alexander Asher (M.A., 19 19) was gazetted Lieutenant
in the Army Educational Corps in January last. He is at present stationed at
Constantinople.

Mr. William BaRrett (M.A., 1909) has been appointed H.M. Inspector
of Factories for the Rochdale district.

Rev. Angus Boyd (M.A., 1907), minister of the parish of Weem, Perth-
shire, has been elected minister of the parish of Urquhart, Inverness-shire.

Mr. Edmund Blaikie Boyd (M.A., 1916) has been appointed private
secretary to Sir James Masterton-Smith, Permanent Under-Secretary of State
for the Colonies.

A mountain and a cape in Spitsbergen have been named Mount Rudmose
and Cape Rudmose respectively, presumably in honour of Dr. Robert N.
Rudmose Brown (B.Sc, 1900; D.Sc), who accompanied Dr. W. S. Bruce in
his expedition to Spitsbergen in 191 9 and took over the command on Dr.
Bruce's recall to Scotland on urgent business.

Major Robert Bruce (M.A., 1905 ; B.L., 1906), 51st (Highland)
Divisional Signals, has been awarded the Territorial Decoration.

78 Aberdeen University Review

Mr. Alexander MacIntosh Buchan, M.C. (M.A., Hons., 19 19) has
been appointed principal English master in Forres Academy.

Mr. James Black Calder (M.A., 19 10), Kinmundy School, Aberdeen-
shire, has been appointed Headmaster of Rathen School. He was presented
with a wallet of Treasury notes on leaving Kinmundy.

Rev. Samuel Wood Cameron (M.A., 191 1 ; B.D.), assistant, Parish
Church, Forfar, has been appointed assistant in Morningside Parish Church,
Edinburgh.

The report of the Botanical Survey of India for 1919-20 has been issued
by Mr. Charles Cumming Carter (B.Sc, 1908 ; B.Sc. Agr. ; F.L.S.),
Curator of the Botanic Gardens, Calcutta, who, from 11 October, 1919, till
the end of the official year, officiated as Director of the Survey and Officer-
in-Charge of the Industrial Section of the Indian Museum.

Mr. Patrick Cooper (M.A., 1879), advocate in Aberdeen, has been re-
elected President of the Incorporated Society of Law Agents in Scotland.

Mr. James Cormack (M.A., 1885), Headmaster of the Central School,
St. Fergus, Aberdeenshire, has resigned, for reasons of health, on his attaining
the age of sixty. He has given nearly thirty years' service at St. Fergus, and
altogether nearly forty years' service as pupil teacher and master. He took
a very active interest in the social life of the village of St. Fergus, particularly
in the provision of hot dinners for the school children ; and on retiring was
presented with handsome gifts from the parishioners and former pupils and
from the Rattray Lodge of Free Gardeners. Mr, Cormack has been succeeded
by Mr. William Tarrel, Portmahomack (M.A., 1913).

Mr. Henry Cowie (M.A., 1884) was made the recipient of several gifts
by the community of New Deer on the occasion of his retirement from the
Headmastership of the Central School. During his twenty-four years' stay
in New Deer, Mr. Cowie, apart from his scholastic duties, took an active
interest in the social life of the village.

Mr. George Cruickshank (M.A., 1913; B.Sc, 1920; B.A. [Cantab.]),
teacher of Mathematics and Physics at Robert Gordon's College (Secondary
School), has been appointed Lecturer in Mathematics at Westminster Training
College, London.

The Right Rev. Ernest LogieDanson (M.A., 1902), Bishop of Labuan
and Sarawak, on whom the degree of D.D. was conferred, in absentia, in July,
has just completed three missionary journeys in the interior of Sarawak, and
has been living among the former head-hunters, the Dyaks, teaching them
the Faith and baptizing and confirming. He hopes to visit this country next
year, and we look forward to hearing then, in the University Chapel, an
account of his most interesting work.

Mr. David Stuart Davidson (M.A., 1908), St. Paul Street School,
Aberdeen, has been appointed first assistant in Sunnybank School, Aberdeen.

Dr. Norman Davidson (M.B., 1899), MedicalOfficer of Health, Peterhead,
has been appointed by the Admiralty as Surgeon and Agent for the care of
sick and wounded seamen and marines at Peterhead and for duty when
required at the Harbour of Refuge Works.

Mr. Alexander Davie (M.A., 1910) has been appointed Headmaster
of Culsalmond Public School, Aberdeenshire.

Rev. Dr. James Donald (M.A., King's Coll., 1858 ; D.D., 1904), minister
of the parish of Keith-hall, Aberdeenshire, was entertained at a complimentary

Personalia 79

dinner by the Presbytery of Garioch in July last, on attaining his ministerial
jubilee.

Professor John Wight Duff (M.A., 1886; M.A. [Oxon.], 1895 ; D.Litt.
[Durh.], 1910 ; D.Litt. [Oxon.], 191 1 ; LL.D. [Aberd], 1920) was one of the
Lecturers on Latin at the Oxford University Extension course in August.

Mr. James Duthie (M.A., 1903), Headmaster, Ternemny Public School,
Rothiemay, Banffshire, has been elected a Fellow of the Educational Institute
of Scotland.

Rev. Adam Fyfe Findlay (M.A., 1889), minister of Bristo United Free
Church, Edinburgh, has been appointed minister of the High United Free
Church, Linlithgow. Mr. Findlay (who is the elder brother of Professor
Findlay, of the Chair of Chemistry in the University) had a notable career as
a student both at home and abroad, having studied at the University of Athens
and at other foreign centres of learning. He held charges at Whithorn and
at Arbroath before going to Edinburgh eight years ago. Last year, his name
was submitted by a large number of Presbyteries for the Professorship of New
Testament Language and Literature in the Aberdeen United Free Church
College, and this year he was the Kerr Lecturer in the Glasgow College ; it is
understood that his lectures, " Byways in New Testament Literature : Studies
in the Uncanonical Gospels and Acts," will be published shortly. During the
war Mr. Findlay served as Chaplain to the Forces for two years, chiefly in
Egypt and Palestine. He took part with the Lowland (S2nd) Division in the
second battle of Gaza, and, as Chaplain to the i-6th Highland Light Infantry,
in General AUenby's advance to Jerusalem.

Dr. Robert Forgan (M.A., 191 1; M.B., 1915), who has been on the
staff of the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary since October of last year, has been
appointed V.D. Medical Officer for the county of Lanark under the Scottish
Board of Health.

The Shah of Persia has conferred the Order of the Lion and Sun of the
second class on Major (Acting Lieut. -Colonel) Archer Irvine Fortescue,
D.S.O., R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1904), on account of the services rendered by him
in dealing with a severe epidemic of typhus which occurred in a camp for
Bolshevist prisoners of war at Shahr-i-No, near Teheran. The official account
stated: "The prisoners, to the number of about 500, were confined in a
prison outside the town of Teheran, where Colonel Fortescue found them in
an appalling condition of filth, starvation and misery, and dying of typhus at
the rate of twenty a day. By the prompt and vigorous measures which he
adopted, he succeeded almost at once in stamping out the disease, and saving
the lives of over 400 potential victims."

Dr. Douglas Morrison Milne Eraser (M.A., 1913; M.B., 191 6),
assistant in the Pathology Department, Aberdeen University, has been
appointed Pathologist to the Aberdeen Royal Hospital for Sick Children.

Rev. William Dey Fyfe (M.A. [Edin.] ; B.D., 19 10) has been elected
minister of Broughty-Ferry Parish Church. Mr. Fyfe — who is a son of
Mr. W. T. Fyfe (M.A., 1881), who succeeded Dr. William Dey as Rector of
the Old Aberdeen Grammar School — had a brilliant record as a student
He graduated B.D. at Aberdeen with honours in Church History and Syste-
matic Theology, and also gained the King William Scholarship (j^ioo
annually, tenable for two years). At his examination for licence he was first
in all subjects. At Oxford he pursued a two years' course of special research

8o Aberdeen University Review

in early Church History. Between terms at Oxford he was assistant minister
for about six months in St. Cuthbert's Church, Edinburgh, and was subse-
quently at Newtonmore, Kingussie, and Elgin, from which last-mentioned
place he was elected to Rattray in July, 191 5, as successor to the late Rev.
John Hunter. He joined up during the war, and was ultimately appointed
a Chaplain to the Forces, in which capacity he served in France.

Mr. John Gillies (M.A., 1879), who has just retired (under the age
limit) from the Headmastership of the Higher Grade School, Old Deer,
Aberdeenshire, was presented, on leaving the district, with an oak and silver
tray (suitably inscribed) and a wallet of Treasury notes, along with a gold
bracelet watch for Mrs. Gillies.

Mr. Alexander Gordon (M.A., 1898), Headmaster of Lonmay Public
School, Aberdeenshire, since 1905, was presented by parishioners and friends
with a wallet of Treasury notes, on leaving to become Headmaster of Insch
Higher Grade School.

A fountain has been erected at the lower end of a road recently constructed,
leading from the Dufftown-Huntly road at Alnaboyne, Auchindoun, to the
Glenmarkie distict, in memory of the late Dr. George Cowie Grant (M.B.,
1894), County Councillor for the landward part of the parish of Mortlach, and
in recognition of his valuable help and generosity towards the formation of
the road.

Mr. John Gordon Grant (M.A., 1885), owing to ill-health, has resigned
his position as Lecturer in Physics and Mechanics to the London County
Council. He has been in the service of the Council for over thirty-one years,
having been formerly special science master at Berner Street School and
afterwards at Thomas Street Central School.

Sir Robert Blyth Greig, M.C, LL.D., who was Fordyce Lecturer in
Agriculture in the University from 1903 to 19 10, has been appointed Chairman
of the Scottish Board of Agriculture, in succession to Sir Robert Wright, re-
tired.

Mr. Alexander Harvey (M.A., 1888), Headmaster of Culsalmond
School, Aberdeenshire, was presented with a wallet of Treasury notes, from
a large number of subscribers, on the occasion of his transference to the
Headmastership of Oyne Public School. In addition to praise of his educa-
tional work, it was incidentally stated that Mr. Harvey had served as session
clerk of the parish church for twenty-seven years, and, "in times of emergency
he filled the precentor's pew, played the organ, and even filled the pulpit with
great credit ".

At a special Convocation of Durham University on 2 1 July, the degree
of Doctor of Science was conferred on Professor Sir Arthur Keith (M.B.,
1888; M.D., 1894; LL.D., 1911; F.R.S.). The Professor has been
appointed a member of the Medical Research Council, in consultation with
the Ministry of Health, for the investigation of the causes of dental decay.
Sir Arthur Keith has been left ;^3oo by Sir Thomas Wrightson, formerly
M.P. for Stockton and for East St. Pancras. Sir Thomas had studied the
anatomical and physical problems connected with the sense of hearing, and
the bequest to Sir Arthur Keith was stated in the will to be " in recognition
of our co-operation ".

Dr. Gordon Cecil Lawson (M.A., Hons., 1907 ; B.Sc. [sp. dist.] ; D.Sc),
Old Cumnock Higher Grade School, has been appointed Rector of Inverurie

Personalia 8 1

Academy. While at the University he served as demonstrator in the Natural
Science Department. He also gave valuable service as a teacher of Science in
Kilmarnock and Ayr Higher Grade Schools. He received the D.Sc. degree
for research work in Orkney.

Lieut. -Colonel William Lethbridge (M.B., 1895), Indian Medical
Service (retired), has been appointed a specialist in Tropical Diseases to the
Ministry of Pensions at Leeds.

Mr. George Murray Leys, one of the two first Ed.B. graduates at the
University, has received an appointment on the staff of Daniel Stewart's
College, Edinburgh.

Mr. William Lillie (M.A., 192 1) has been awarded the Ferguson
Philosophical Scholarship of ;^8o per annum, tenable for two years. Mr.
Lillie — who is the son of Rev. David Lillie (M.A., 1874; B.D., 1877),
minister of the parish of Watten, Caithness — graduated in July last with first
class honours in Mental Philosophy, carrying off the Hutton prize and the
Bain gold medal. During the war he served at home and abroad, first with
the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and later with the Royal Garrison
Artillery. Last year he won the Gladstone Memorial Prize.

In memory of the late Mr. William Lorimer (M.A., 1880) a Celtic cross
of Kemnay granite has been erected over his grave in Forglen churchyard,
Banffshire, by the parishioners, an inscription recording that he was "for
thirty-five years a faithful schoolmaster in this parish" (see Review, viii., 93).

Mr. William James M'Bain (Diploma in Forestry, 192 1) has been
appointed Inspector of Forests under the Sudan Government.

Mr. Alexander Macdonald (M.A., 1887), late Headmaster of Cross-
roads Public School, Durris (who has been retired), and Mr. James McLean
(M.A., 1893), formerly Headmaster of Lumphanan Public School, now trans-
ferred to Peterhead, were recently entertained at a complimentary luncheon
by the members of the Deeside branch of the Educational Institute of Scotland.

Dr. Angus MacGillivray (M.B., 1889; M.D., 1897 ; D.Sc. [St. And.])
has been appointed Assessor for the General Council to the University Court,
St. Andrews University. He has also been appointed President of the newly-
formed Dundee, Aberdeen, Banff and Kincardine Association. Rev.
Stephen Forsyth (M.A., 1884), minister of Chapelshade Parish Church,
Dundee, is one of the Vice-Presidents.

Dr. George Mortimer M'Gillivray (M.B., 191 2) has been appointed
Tuberculosis Medical Officer for Fifeshire.

Dr. James Pittendrigh MacGillivray (LL.D., 1909) has been granted
a Civil List pension of ;^7S a year, in recognition of his distinction in the
art of sculpture and for his services in advancing the cause of that art in
Scotland.

Mr. James McLean (M.A., 1893), Headmaster of Lumphanan Public
School, Aberdeenshire, was presented by members of the School Interests
Committee with "a well-filled combination purse and wallet," on his leaving
to assume the Headmastership of the Central Public School, Peterhead.

Rev. Dr. Robert Macpherson (M.A., 1869; B.D., 1872; D.D., 1904),
who has been minister of Elgin Parish Church since 1881, has resigned his
charge. He is a son of the late Rev. Dr. Robert Macpherson, who was
Professor of Divinity at King's College, 1852-60, and in the University,
1860-67.

82 Aberdeen University Review

Mr. John Reid M'Rae (M.A., 192 1) has been appointed teacher of
Science and Mathematics in Insch Higher Grade School.

Rev. William M'Robbie (M.A., 1869), United Free Church of LesHe
and Premnay, Aberdeenshire, who has retired from the ministry after forty-
five years' service, was presented by the congregation with a Chesterfield settee.

Mr. Ernest Main (M.A., 191 2) has resigned his position on the editorial
staff of the Daily Mail, and has joined the foreign staff of the new West-
minster Gazette.

Rev. Peter Milne (M.A., 1885 ; B.D., 1889), formerly of the Duars,
Bengal, India, has been elected minister of Gilmerton Parish Church, Edin-
burgh. Most of his life hitherto has been spent in the mission field.

Dr. David Roger Moir (M.A., 1893 ; M.B., 1898) has been selected for
admission as an Honorary Associate of the Order of the Hospital of St. John
of Jerusalem in England.

Mr. James Alexander Morrison (M.A., 1905) has been appointed
Headmaster of Lonmay Public School, Aberdeenshire.

Sir William Robertson Nicoll, C.H. (M.A., 1870; LL.D., 1890) was,
on 10 October, the principal guest at a dinner party given in celebration of
his (Sir William's) seventieth birthday by Sir Ernest Hodder-Williams, of
Messrs. Hodder & Stoughton, the publishers. Mr. Lloyd George, the Prime
Minister, was amongst those present and proposed Sir William NicoU's health,
referring to him as one of his oldest and truest friends — a friend who had
stood by him steadfastly throughout a trying political career. The October
number of the Bookman had an article on Sir William, who has edited that
literary magazine since it was started thirty years ago — in 189 1. Sir William
Nicoll has also been editor of the Expositor since 1884 and of the British
Weekly from its commencement in 1886.

Mr. Peter Scott Noble (M.A., 192 1) has been elected to an open
classical exhibition of ;^ioo per annum at St. John's College, Cambridge,
tenable for four years. He closed a distinguished career as a classical student
at Aberdeen University by graduating with first class honours and carrying
off the Simpson Greek prize and Robbie gold medal, the Dr. Black prize and
the Seafield gold medal in Latin, and the Jenkyns prize in Classical Philology,
and being equal for the Liddel prize for Greek verse.

The Very Rev. Dr. James Nicoll Ogilvie (M.A., 1881 ; D.D., 1911),
Convener of the Foreign Missions Committee of the Church of Scotland,
whose visit to the mission stations in India last year had to be abandoned on
account of a break-down in health at Kikuyu, Africa, has undertaken the
visit this year, and set out for India in October.

Mr. Lawrence Ogilvie (B.Sc, 1921) has been awarded the Fullerton
Scholarship in Science (value, ;^ioo annually), for two years, 1921-23.

The official interpreter at the recent trials of German war officers at
Leipzig for cruel treatment of British prisoners during the war was Dr. Willy
Ernest Peters, Professor of Languages at Leipzig University — a graduate
of Aberdeen University (M.A., 1907).

Mr. David Petrie, CLE., C.B.E., M.V.O. (M.A., 1900), has been
attached, as Police Officer, to the staff of the Prince of Wales during the tour
of His Royal Highness in India.

Rev. Edmund James Petrie (M.A., 1886), Rector of St. Margaret's
Episcopal Church, Newlands, Glasgow, has been appointed a Canon of the
diocese by the Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway.

Personalia 83

Mr. James Philip (M.A., 1888), on retiring from the Rectorship of
Inverurie Academy after twenty-two and a half years' service, was presented
with several gifts by the staff, pupils, and former pupils.

Dr. James Charles Philip, O.B.E., F.R.S. (M.A., 1893; B.Sc, 1895;
D.Sc, 1906; Ph.D. [Gott.], 1897), was entertained at dinner recently by his
students, past and present, on the completion of his twenty-one years of
service as Professor of Physical Chemistry at the Imperial College of Science,
South Kensington ; and was presented with an illuminated address, a tea and
coffee service, and a full purse, along with a gold watch-bracelet for Mrs.
Philip. Sir Richard Gregory, President of the Imperial College of Science
Association, occupied the chair; and the presentation was made by Sir
William Tilden.

Dr. John Smith Purdy, D.S.O. (M.B., 1898; M.D., 1904; D.P.H.
[Camb.] 1903), was an officer in the Australian Army Medical Corps during
the four years of the war, his last position being that of Colonel commanding
the third Australian General Hospital, which he held for five and a half months
of the strenuous year of 1918. He served in Egypt, the Dardanelles, and
France, one of his pleasant recollections, he says, being the hospitality of the
Scottish hospital at St. Omer and the pleasure of again meeting Professor
Ashley Mackintosh. On completing his war service, he returned to Australia
and resumed his civil duties as Metropolitan Medical Officer of Health of
Sydney — no mean post, as the combined metropolitan sanitary district has a
population of wellnigh a million. Dr. Purdy was invited by the Public
Service Board of New South Wales to take this position in 1913, and resigned
the post of Chief Health Officer of Tasmania to do so. He also acts as
Health Officer for the city of Sydney proper, with a population of 108,500.
There are altogether 56 local municipalities in the area, and Dr. Purdy has
a staff of 40 inspectors, clerks, etc., in the city and 104 inspectors in the
suburban municipalities. — A brother of Dr. J. S. Purdy — Dr. James Robert
Purdy, C.B.E. (M.B., 1883) — in medical practice in Wellington, New Zealand,
is a Colonel in the New Zealand Territorial Army and acted during the war
as D.M.S. of the New Zealand Defence Forces in New Zealand. His eldest
son. Major R. D. Purdy, M.C., Croix de Guerre (a grandson of the late
Captain Jobberns, Aberdeen), was killed in April, 1918, when the Fifth Army
was broken. — A third brother — Rev. Henry David Purdy (M.A., 1894) — is
a minister of the English Presbyterian Church at Bishop Auckland, Co.
Durham.

Mr. Alexander M'Donald Reid, Central School, Peterhead (M.A.,
1877) ; Mr. John Gillies, Old Deer (M.A., 1879); ^"d Mr. Henry Cowie,
New Deer (M.A., 1884), were entertained at a complimentary luncheon at
Maud, by the Deer branch of the Educational Institute of Scotland on 18
June, on the occasion of their retirement from their respective headmasterships
on reaching the age limit. Mr. Cowie, who had acted as treasurer of the
branch for eight years, was also presented with twenty-five volumes of historical,
philosophical, poetical and other works.

Dr. John Rennie (B.Sc, 1898; D.Sc, 1903), University Lecturer in
Parasitology and Experimental Zoology, has been appointed an additional
examiner for Zoology at St. Andrews University.

Mr. Alexander Riddel (M.A., 1877), Headmaster of the Public School,
Oyne, has retired (owing to the age limit) after forty-two years' service. He

84 Aberdeen University Review

was presented with several gifts by pupils, former pupils, and friends, in
recognition of his public services.

Rev. Donald James Ross (M.A., 1899), formerly of St. Andrew's Scots
Church, Penang, who was recently locum tenens in Ferryhill Parish Church,
has since been acting in the same capacity in Wick United Free Church, and
subsequently as locum tenens in St. Matthew's United Free Church, Glasgow.

Dr. Joseph Hambley Rowe (M.B., 1894), Bradford, has been re-elected
Chairman of the Council of the Bronte Society for 1921-23.

Dr. James Alexander Sellar (M.B., 1915; D.P.H., 1921) has been
appointed to the medical staff of the Perthshire Education Authority.

Mr. George Findlay Shirras, F.S.S. (M.A., 1907), Director of Statis-
tics, Government of India, has been appointed a member of the Legislative
Council of the Governor of Bombay.

Mr. Ian James Simpson (M.A., 1920) has been awarded the James Dey
Scholarship for 1921-22 (value, ;!£"ioo), the subject of his thesis having been
" The Teaching of Shakespeare in School ".

A marble bust of Rev. Dr. John Skinner (M.A., 1876; D.D., 1895;
D.D. [Oxon.], 1920), Principal of Westminster College, Cambridge, has been
placed in the College Library.

Mr. Harry Williamson Smart (M.A., 1909) has been appointed
principal teacher of English at Fraserburgh Academy.

Rev. Harry Smith (M.A., 1887), minister of Old Kilpatrick Parish, has
resigned the editorship of The Layman! s Book of the General Assembly^ to
which he was appointed in 191 2, in succession to Rev. Professor H. M. B.
Reid, D.D., Glasgow University. Mr. Smith was also for nineteen years
(1899-1917) editor of Morning Rays, the Children's Magazine of the Church
of Scotland, having succeeded in that office Rev. Professor George Milligan
(M.A., 1879; B.D., 1883; D.D., 1904), Glasgow University.

Rev. Hugh M'Connach Smith (M.A., 1879), who has been minister of
the parish of Nigg, Kincardineshire, since 1888, has been presented with a
pony and trap as a token of the affection and esteem of his congregation.

Rev. James Smith, V.D. (M.A., 1874; B.D., 1877), Army Chaplain (ist
Class), having attained the age limit, is retired in accordance with the regu-
lations, and has been granted the retiring rank of Hon. Chaplain (ist Class).

Dr. James Smith (M.A., 1890; M.B., 1893) has been appointed Medical
Officer of Health for the parish of Peterhead, in succession to Dr. James
Stephen (M.A., 1869; M.B., 1872; M.D., 1876).

Mr. Charles Stewart, O.B.E. (M.A., 1883), has resigned the Principal-
ship of Robert Gordon's Technical College, Aberdeen. Mr. Stewart has
been connected with Gordon's College since the year he graduated, when he
was appointed one of the teachers. He was promoted to be head of the
EngHsh Department in 1889 ; he succeeded the late Dr. Alexander Ogilvie as
Headmaster in 1901 ; and when the Technical College was established in 19 10
he was appointed Principal. The Secondary School was detached from the
Technical College last year, and Mr. Stewart then preferred to remain Principal
of the Technical College, Mr. George A. Morrison (M.A., 1889) being ap-
pointed Headmaster of the Secondary School.

Mr. John Alexander Thomson (M.A., 1900), Headmaster of Rathen
Public School, who has just been transferred to New Deer Higher Grade
School, was presented by a deputation from the Rathen district with a sporting

Personalia 8 5

gun, in appreciation of his services in various spheres. The Cortes Recreation
Club presented him with a fishing rod.

Dr. Daniel Ironside Walker (M.A., 1916 ; M.B., 1920 ; D.P.H.,
192 1 ), recently on the staff of Kingseat Asylum, Aberdeen, has been appointed
/^sistant Medical Officer to the Dundee Education Authority.

Mr. A. M. Macrae Williamson has been awarded the Hunter Gold
Medal in Roman Law for an essay on " The Influence of Roman Law on the
Law of Scotland ".

Mr. Alexander McDonald Younie (M.A., 1890) has been presented
with a gold watch on the occasion of his semi-jubilee as Headmaster of the
Public School, Longside, Aberdeenshire, the presentation being made by past
and present pupils of the school and a number of friends.

Dr. Burton Yule (M.B., 1919 ; D.P.H., 1920) has been appointed
junior Medical Officer in the venereal diseases department of the Aberdeen
Royal Infirmary.

Dr. Vincent T. B. Yule (M.A., 1912 ; M.B., 1917; D.P.H., 1920),
who for the past year has acted as medical officer at the Aberdeen City
Hospital, has been appointed medical officer to the Mexican Eagle Oil
Company.

Miss Augusta E. Rudmose Brown (M.A., 1904) has been appointed
Lecturer in English and Vice-Principal at the Dudley Training College.

Miss Helen Cameron (M.A., 1920 ; B.Sc, 192 1) is now assistant Mathe-
matical Mistress in the Municipal High School, Rotherham, Yorkshire.

Miss Jessie Ann Dickie (M.A., 1920) has been appointed French teacher
at the Hermitage Higher Grade School, Helensburgh.

Miss Charlotte Clark Forbes (M.A., Hons., 1913), principal English
mistress, Dunoon Grammar School, has been appointed assistant English
mistress in the Central Secondary School, Aberdeen.

Miss Jane Ellen Eraser (M.A., Hons., 1910) has been appointed
teacher of French and German in Robert Gordon's College (Secondary School) ;
and Miss Dorothy Mary Bannochie (M.A., 1920) an additional primary
class teacher.

Miss Jessie Harper Hadden (M.A., 1919) has been appointed principal
teacher of Modern Languages at Inverurie Academy.

Miss Helen Margaret Harvey (M.A., 1920 ; L.R.A.M.) has been
appointed assistant French teacher at Greenock Academy. She graduated-
with second class honours in English and French.

Miss Ann Wilson Hastings (M.A., 191 5), H.M. Inspector of Factories,
Piatt Abbey, Rusholme, Manchester, has been appointed District Inspector of
Factories for North Leeds.

Miss Jeannie Elizabeth Henderson (M.A., 191 2) has been appointed
an assistant teacher in Turriff Secondary School.

Dr. Elizabeth Jane Innes (M.B., 1908) has been appointed Lecturer
in first aid and sick nursing at the Aberdeen School of Domestic Science.

Miss Isabella Margaret Innes (M.A., 1919) has been appointed to
the teaching staff of Banchory Central Higher Grade School.

Miss Eleanora M. P. Law (M.A., 1918 ; M.B., 192 1) is at present a
resident physician in the Victoria Royal Infirmary, Newcastle-on-Tyne.

Miss Mary V. Littlejohn (M.B., 19 19) is now resident medical officer
in Hatton County Asylum, Warwickshire.

86 Aberdeen University Review

Miss Netty Margaret Lunan (M.A., 1918), Somerville College, Oxford,
has been awarded second class honours by the examiners in the Final Honours
English (Language and Literature) examination at Oxford University.

Miss Dorothea M. A. Lyon (M.A., 192 1) has received a teaching
appointment in Wilton Higher Grade School, Roxburghshire.

Miss Elizabeth McHardy (M.A., 1906) has been working for two
years and a half in Poland with a Relief unit of the mission organized by
the Society of Friends in this country for the relief of the destitute in Poland.
She is stationed at Warsaw but has general supervision of the work of relieving
the privations of the students, male and female, in all the Polish Universities,
and the professorial staffs as well, and this work has latterly been extended
to the students of the Technical High Schools and of the Training Colleges.

Miss Dorothy Mitchell (M.B., 192 1) is now assistant physician in
Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

Miss Alice Mary Philip (M.A., 1916) has been appointed assistant at
Maud Higher Grade School.

Miss Isabella Esslemont Robb (M.A., 1920) has been appointed
assistant in English and French at the Torphins Higher Grade School.

Miss Jane Winifred Robb (M.A., 1904) has been appointed Warden of
the Moray House Hostel, St. John Street, Edinburgh. Miss Robb, after some
experience in teaching, became a student at the Woodbroke Settlement,
Birmingham, and gained the Social Science diploma of Birmingham University.
During the war she acted as organizer for hostels for war-workers in the south
of England ; and was subsequently in charge of two centres, under the auspices
of the Society of Friends, for the care of children from the famine areas of
Europe.

Miss Beatrice Mary Rose (M.A., 19 12), assistant to Professor Jack in
the department of English Literature, has graduated M.A. at Oxford Uni-
versity.

Miss Agnes L. Semple (M,B., 19 18) has obtained the Diploma in Public
Health.

Miss Muriel D. Simpson (M.A., 1920) is assistant English Mistress in
Lanark High School.

Miss Annie Thain (M.B., 1921) is at present a resident physician in the
Westminster Hospital, London,

Miss Amy S. Walker (M.A., 192 1) has been appointed English Mistress
in Arbroath High School.

Miss Doris Walker (M.A., 19 18), who completed her training as a
teacher at Bedford College, London, last July, has been appointed History
Lecturer in the Cheltenham Training College for Women. For two years
prior to entering Bedford College, Miss Walker was employed on special work
in the Record Office at Scotland Yard, London, and was later transferred to
the War Office on cognate duty.

Miss Nora I. Wattie (M.B., 1921) is at present resident physician in
the Bruntsfield Hospital for Women and Children, Edinburgh.

Miss Catherine Isobel Whyte (M.A., 1920) has been appointed
teacher of French and English in Beltrees School, Greenock.

The following have received teaching appointments under the Aberdeen
Education Authority : —

Personalia 8 7

Miss Mary Ann Craig (M.A., 1919) ; Miss Margaret Simpson Duncan
(M.A., 1909) ; Miss Mary Gordon (M.A., 1914) ; and Miss Alison Marion
Grant (M.A., 1914).

Among works by University men recently published were : —

"TertuUian Concerning the Resurrection of the Flesh," translated by
Professor Souter (in the series of Translations of Christian Literature published
by the S.P.C.K.) ; "A Short History of Scotland," by Professor Terry (an ab-
breviated edition of his " History of Scotland ") ; " Mountain and Moorland "
and " The Control of Life," by Professor J. Arthur Thomson ; " Concerning
the Soul," by Professor James A. Robertson ; " The French Cotton Industry,"
by R. B. Forrester; "Common Plants," by Macgregor Skene, D.Sc. (The
Common Things Series) ; " Analysis and Energy Values of Foods," by Dr.
R. H. A. Plimmer, head of the Bio-Chemical Department of the Rowett
Research Institute of Animal Nutrition ; " Metaphysical Lyrics and Poems
of the 17th Century," by Professor Grierson ; "Lord Byron, Arnold, and
Swinburne," the Warton Lecture on English Poetry delivered before the
British Academy, by Professor Grierson; "Principles of Political Science,"
by Professor R. N. Gilchrist of Krishnigar College, Bengal ; " Princes of the
Church," by Sir William Robertson Nicoll ; " The Victorious Banner : Stories
from Exodus Re- told for Young Folk," by Professor A. R. Gordon ; "Trans-
actions of the Scottish Dialects Committee, Part IV., edited by William
Grant, M. A. ; " Passages for Paraphrase, Interpretation, and Precis," chosen
and edited by D. MT. James (M.A., 1876); "History of Inverkeithing
and Rosyth," by Rev. William Stephen, B.D. (M.A., 1891); Vols. IV., V.,
and VI. of "The Children's Great Texts of the Bible," edited by Rev. Dr.
James Hastings ; " Results of a Study of Bird Migration by the Marking
Method," by A. Landsborough Thomson, D.Sc. (reprint from the 3is).

Professor William L. Davidson's recent Croall Lectures have just been
published under the title of " Recent Theistic Discussion ". He explains in
an introductory note that the volume may be regarded as a supplement to his
Burnett Lectures of 1892-93 on "Theism as grounded in Human Nature ".

Professor Terry's important work on " Bach's Chorals " (see Review, iv.,
57, and v., 46) will shortly be completed by the publication of the third
volume, which will deal with " The Hymns and Hymn Melodies of the Organ
Works," giving the source and earliest published form of each and a translation
of every hymn used by Bach.

By the death of Mr. Alexander Emslie Smith (see Obituary) Mr. Robert
Collie Gray, S.S.C, Edinburgh (alumnus, Marisch. Coll., 1856-58), now
becomes the senior member of the Society of Advocates in Aberdeen (ad-
mitted, August 1864), the next in order being Dr. William Gordon, O.B.E.,
the Town Clerk of Aberdeen (alumnus Marisch. Coll., 1854-57; LL.D.,
Aberd., 1903) (admitted, October, 1864).

Miss Margaret Giles, the eldest daughter of Dr. Peter Giles (M.A.,
1882; LL.D., 1903; Litt.D. [Cantab.]), Master of Emmanuel College, and
Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University, was married on 27 September, to
Mr. Owen Bernard Wallis, M.A., of Emmanuel College. The marriage took
place in the Chapel of Emmanuel College, and is noticeable as the first that
has taken place in the College Chapel. A few days later, Dr. Giles delivered
his retiring address as Vice-Chancellor. He was recently appointed by the
Council of the Senate of Cambridge University a member of the Universities
Bureau of the British Empire.

Obituary.

Dr. David Hunter Ainslie (M.B., 1898; D.P.H., 1900; Diplomate
in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Camb., 1905) died at Hong-Kong on
20 June, aged forty-six. He was the second son of the late Mr. William
Ainslie of Logierieve, Aberdeenshire. He became medical officer for the
Anchor Steam Navigation Co. (Glasgow), 1899; Lagos Government Railway,
West Africa, 1901 ; Gold Coast Government Railway, 1901-04, and Demon-
strator in the School of Tropical Medicine (London), 1905. Thereafter he
joined the firm of Drs. Stedman, Rennie, and Harston, Hong-Kong. About
1906-07, Dr. Ainslie had a general medical practice at Amoy, China. When
war broke out in 19 14, he was appointed surgeon with one of our Mediter-
ranean squadrons, and was later on in the war lent to the French and Japa-
nese naval squadrons also operating in the Mediterranean. Within the last
year or so he was surgeon (medical officer) on the s.s. "Keemuo," of the
Ocean Shipping Company. Dr. Ainslie was a prominent Freemason.

Dr. John Alexander (M.B., 1874; M.D., 1877) died at his residence,
3 Saltoun Gardens, Kelvinside, Glasgow, on 31 August, aged sixty-nine. He
was a son of the late Mr. John Alexander, bank agent, Aberchirder, Banffshire.
At a comparatively early age he succeeded to the post of medical superin-
tendent of the Western Infirmary, Glasgow, and during his eight years in this
position the Infirmary was doubled in size and grew rapidly as a teaching as
well as a curative institution. On retiring from this post. Dr. Alexander joined
the visiting medical staff, and for some years was a dispensary physician and
then an assistant physician in the wards. In later life he confined his attention
to private practice. He was for several years one of the examiners for medical
degrees in Aberdeen University.

Dr. Alexander Gregory Allan (M.A., 1887 ; M.B., 1891 ; M.D.,
1903) died at his residence, 49 Myddleton Road, Bowes Park, London, on
31 October, aged fifty-four.

Mr. John Buckley Allan (alumnus, 1872-74 and 1875-78), advocate
in Aberdeen, died at his residence, 15 King's Gate, Aberdeen, on 25 August,
aged sixty-five. He was a son of the late Mr. George Allan, advocate in
Aberdeen, and became a member of the Society of Advocates in 1881. He
was a partner of his father's firm, Messrs. Allan, Buckley Allan, & Milne,
from 1887-1904, and of Messrs. Allan, Buckley Allan, & Co., from 1904,
After his father's death in 191 2 he carried on the business as sole partner
until this year, when he assumed Mr. Allan T. T. Whitehouse, solicitor, as a
partner. He was educated at Chanonry House School, Old Aberdeen (known
as "The Gymnasium"), and in 1885 he published an interesting volume of
reminiscences, " The Gym, or Sketches from School ".

Mr. George Allen Anderson (M.A., 1861) died at Gainsborough,
Saskatchewan, Canada, on 2 October, aged eighty-four. After graduating, he

Obituary 89

took up planting in Ceylon, but returned to Aberdeen in 1880 and became
superintendent of the Oakbank Industrial School — a post which he held for
six years. He then left for Canada, settling first in Manitoba and afterwards
in Saskatchewan.

Dr. William Speirs Bruce, F.R.G.S. (LL.D., 1907), the well-known
naturalist, geographer, and oceanographer, died in Edinburgh on 28 October,
aged fifty-four. He was identified with several Arctic and Antarctic ex-
peditions and with the recent exploration of Spitsbergen.

Mr. George Crabb (alumnus, 1862-65) died at his residence, 32 Harvard
Court, Hampstead, London, on 22 June. He was the eldest son of the late
Mr. Robert Crabb, bank agent, Auchinblae, Kincardineshire ; and had been in
business for many years, chiefly in London.

Mr. David Craib (M.A., 1873; M.A., Cape of Good Hope, 1881) died
at Cape Town on 27 October, aged seventy-three. He was a native of
Macduff, and was educated at the local school and afterwards at the Old
Aberdeen Grammar School. Winning the second bursary at the University in
1868, he became a prominent member of the 1868-72 Arts Class, which
included an unusually large number of men who have risen to distinction
(see Review, vii., 169). He graduated with honours in mathematics; and,
after acting for some time as tutor at Dr. Paul's private school at Banchory-
Devenick, and in the Corporation Academy, Berwick-on-Tweed, be became
in 1873 headmaster of the Public School, Ballater. In 1881 he was appointed
Professor of Mathematics and Natural Science in Gill College, Somerset East,
South Africa. When home on furlough in 1889, he was offered and accepted
a Lectureship in the Church of Scotland Training College, Aberdeen. He
also acted for some years as one of the Examiners for the preliminary ex-
amination in the University. Returning to South Africa in 1899, he was
appointed an Inspector of Schools under the Education Department, Cape
Town, but he retired from this post a few years ago.

Mr. James Forbes Crombie (M.A., 1887), of 24,Chesham Place, London,
a partner of the firm of Messrs. J. & J. Crombie, Ltd., woollen manufacturers,
Grandholm Mills, Woodside, Aberdeen, died at a nursing home in Aberdeen,
on 25 August, aged fifty-five. He was a son of the late Mr. John Crombie,
Jun., and, on finishing his education, entered the firm of Messrs. Crombie.
After serving for eight years in the office at Grandholm Mills, he went to
the London office of the firm, where he was engaged till the time of his death.
He took ill while on a holiday in Aberdeen, and was removed to the nursing
home where he died.

Mr. John Paton Cumine (M.A., Marischal Coll., i860) died at his resi-
dence, Ferryhill House, Aberdeen, on 4 September, aged eighty-one. He
was a native of Fraserburgh, a son of Mr. Peter Cumine, a shipowner there.
He studied for the law and was admitted a member of the Aberdeen Society
of Advocates in 1866. Four years later he became a partner of the late Mr.
John Watt, and since 1897 he had been in partnership with Mr. Alexander
Sands, solicitor, the firm name of Watt & Cumine being retained. He held
several appointments of a public nature ; had been secretary and treasurer of
the Aberdeen Dispensary since 1870 and clerk to the board of directors of the
Aberdeen Reformatory and Industrial schools since 1885 ; and was clerk to
the School Board of Peterculter from 1885 to 1888. Mr. Cumine was a
prominent member of the Episcopalian body. For over forty years he took an

90 Aberdeen University Review

active part in the management of the affairs of St. John's Church, and had
been one of the churchwardens since 1875, He was appointed Registrar and
Treasurer for the diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney in 1889, and in 19 16 Bishop
Mitchell made him Chancellor of the diocese.

Mr. Douglass Duncan, V.D. (alumnus, Marischal Coll., 1856-59) died
at Aberdeen on 20 October, aged eighty-one. He was the third son of
the late Mr. John Duncan, advocate, Aberdeen (M.A., Marischal Coll.,
1818). He was admitted a member of the Society of Advocates in Aberdeen
in 1865, and became a partner with his father, the firm name being John &
Douglass Duncan. In 1889 he was appointed factor, secretary, and librarian
to the Society of Advocates, a post which he resigned a few years ago. He
was particularly identified with the Volunteer movement in Aberdeen, having
forty-one years' unbroken connection with the local rifle regiment (ultimately
the I St V.B. Gordon Highlanders), of which he was Colonel from 1890 till
1900.

Rev. James Duncan (M.A., King's Coll., 1850) died at his residence
Kelmscott, Caterham, Surrey, on 4 September, aged ninety. He was one of
the oldest of the former pupils of the Aberdeen Grammar School, which he
attended in the days of Dr. Melvin. After graduating, he became schoolmaster
of Alvah parish school, Banffshire, and while holding that post attended divinity
classes and qualified as a minister of the Church of Scotland. He served for
thirty -nine years as a Presbyterian Chaplain in the Army, five of them with the
Black Watch and thirty-four with the Brigade of Guards at the Dep6t at
Caterham. When the war broke out in 19 14, he was made a temporary
Chaplain to the Forces, and retired in the following year, when he was made
an Honorary Chaplain.

Mr. Adam Argo Duthie (alumnus, 1862-65), general merchant, Tarves,
died at a nursing home in Aberdeen on i March, aged seventy-one.

Surgeon-Commander Henry Rule Gardner, R.N. (M.B., 1895), ^^^^
at Portsmouth on 31 October, aged forty-eight. He entered the Royal Navy
in 1898, and reached the rank of Surgeon-Commander in 191 2. Besides
sea service in home waters and abroad, he filled appointments in Sheerness
Dockyard, Malta Hospital, and latterly as Surgeon-Commander on the Staff
of the Admiral Commanding in Scotland. During the war, with the exception
of a few months on H.M.S. "Jupiter" in the White Sea (Russian Order of
Stanislas, 2nd Class), he served in ships of the Battle Cruiser Force, Grand
Fleet, North Sea ; H.M.S. " Nottingham " (Jutland Battle) ; H.M.S. " Glori-
ous" (Heligoland). When H.M.S. "Nottingham" was sinking after torpedo
attack by enemy submarine, he was reported as having shown coolness and
zeal in danger. While at the University, Gardner entered heartily into
student life. He was a prominent member of the Rowing and Swimming
Clubs, and played cricket and football. Although he did not take a prominent
place in his classes, his keenness in practical work, his manner, and his
temperament all gave promise of a successful medical career. In the Navy
his exceptional abilities as a surgeon and physician were recognised, and his
work was always well reported on by his commanding officers. His devotion
to duty was keen, and his record was such that promotion to the higher ranks
in the service was assured, and there is no doubt that had he lived he would
have been a great credit to his University, of which he always spoke with
pride and affection.

Obituary 9 1

Hon. John Garland, K.C, M.L.C. (M.A., 1882 ; LL.B. (dist.) [Edin.],
1886 ; M.A., Sydney [adeund.)), died at his residence, Carnston, Victoria Road,
Bellevue Hill, Sydney, on 23 February, aged fifty-eight. He was a native of
Fordyce, Banffshire. He went to Australia when he was twenty-five years of
age, and in November, 1888, about twelve months after his arrival, he was
called to the Sydney bar. Mr. Garland had a distinguished career as a lawyer,
being characterised as " one of the ablest and most honourable leaders at the
bar," and as an advocate of conspicuous force of character. He earned
besides considerable reputation as a politician, and had held several Ministerial
posts. In 1898 he was elected a member of the New South Wales Legislative
Assembly for Woolahra, and he represented that constituency for three years.
In 1903 he was elected for Tamworth, and held that seat till the following
year. From December, 1909, to October, 19 10, he was Solicitor-General and
Minister for Justice in the Gk)vemment of Mr. C. G. Wade, with a seat in the
Legislative Council, to which he was appointed in 1908. Subsequently, Mr.
Garland was Solicitor-General and Minister for Justice in the Ministry formed
by Mr. W. A. Holman, and succeeded to the post of Attorney-General, which
he held until April, 1920, when the Holman Ministry resigned. For many
years Mr. Garland was Procurator of the Presbyterian Church in New South
Wales and also of the Presbyterian Church in Australia, being in addition
Lecturer on Ecclesiastical Law and Procedure in the Theological Hall (St.
Andrew's College), Sydney.

Mr. Holman, the ex-Premier, in the course of a long and enthusiastic
appreciation of Mr. Garland which he contributed to a Sydney newspaper,
said : —

He was intellect incarnate. His study, his culture, his reading, his very sports, all
contrived to sharpen and re-sharpen, polish and re-polish the keen steel of his mind.
Where other and weaker minds sank under a fresh complication, Garland hailed it as some-
thing giving new zest and variety to his daily intellectual fare. He was always ready to
take over the " insolubles " from everybody's department and discover — as he almost
always did — that they were capable of ready solution. . . .

Garland was a learned lawyer, but had none of the aridity of the purely legal mind.
He was widely read — like every true Scot — in European literature, and always maintained
an active interest in modern French. His knowledge of history was almost illimitable.
He was keenly interested in science ; he knew the politics of Great Britain and of
Australia like a book ; he had apparently read every decent work of fiction that has ever
been written ; and it was impossible to get on to any subject in which he was not entirely
at home, well-grounded, and solid.

Combined with these things he had a gift of utterance such as few men achieve. The
late Mr. John Norton, himself a most powerful speaker and a most severe judge of others,
once expressed the opinion in the hearing of a group of us that in the House of Commons
Garland would find himself in the company of his peers among such men as Balfour and
Asquith. . . , He was a great speaker, with reservoirs of emotional power which were, it
is true, but rarely drawn upon, and with an immense gift of lucidity which rose frequently
into the most biting sarcasm. On the other hand, he also knew how to tender the olive
branch when the olive branch was needed.

Mr. James Greig (M.A., 1883), late of H.M. Customs, Leith, died at 35
Arduthie Street, Stonehaven, on 5 July, aged fifty-seven. He was the eldest
son of the late Mr. James Greig, gardener, Inverurie. After serving an
apprenticeship to a firm of advocates in Aberdeen, he was appointed in 1886
an officer of H.M. Customs.

Dr. George Forbes Hunter (M.B., 1908) died at the Ministry of
Pensions Hospital, Tooting, London, on 19 September, aged thirty-five. He
was a Lieutenant in the Royal Army Medical Corps.

92 Aberdeen University Review

Professor Henry Jackson, O.M., F.B.A. (LL.D., Aberd., 1895), Senior
Fellow and formerly Vice-President of Trinity College, Cambridge, and Regius
Professor of Greek, Cambridge University, died at Bournemouth on 25 Sep-
tember, aged eighty-two.

Dr. William Lawson (M.B., 1873; M.D., 1888; D.P.H. [Camb.], 1890)
died at his residence, Dibrughur, West Bromwich, Staffordshire, on 19 August,
aged seventy-one. He was a native of Tullynessle, Alford, Aberdeenshire.
After practising at Tarland, he went out to Dooma, Upper Assam. He had
been in practice at West Bromwich for several years.

Captain Robert James McKay, D.S.O., M.B.E., M.C. (alumnus, 1900),
died from black-water fever at Kumasi, Ashanti, on 27 October, aged thirty-
nine. He was a son of the late Captain William McKay, of the 93rd
Highlanders and the Army Hospital Corps. Educated at Robert Gordon's
College, he entered the University with a high place in the bursary list in
1899, and he was attending the Arts classes when, in 1900, he responded to
the call for men for South Africa and enlisted in the regular army, joining the
Royal Army Medical Corps. He served at the Cape, and at the close of
hostilities proceeded with the Burgher Mounted Infantry to Somaliland, where
he again saw active service and was wounded at Obbia. Several tours of
service in Northern Nigeria as a non-commissioned officer with the Colonial
forces followed. He was at Aldershot when war was declared in 19 14, and
he went to France with the British Expeditionary Force as sergeant-major of
the R.A.M.C. Headquarters Staff. While thus engaged, he greatly dis-
tinguished himself and was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry during
the retreat from Mons, having the honour, it is believed, of being the first
man from the north of Scotland to secure this decoration. In 1916 he
received his commission and was posted to his father's old regiment, the 2nd
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. While holding the rank of Acting
Captain, he took part in the action at High Wood, where by his conduct,
although severely wounded, he greatly distinguished himself and was awarded
the D.S.O. The official account of his deed states that " though wounded
earlier in the attack, he stuck to his post and seized a portion of the enemy's
line with a small party of about twenty men. This he held against repeated
attacks till he was forced back by overwhelming numbers four hours later."
On recovering from his wounds, Captain McKay was sent to West Africa,
where he held the appointment of Staff-Captain of the Gold Coast section of
the West African Field Force. At the conclusion of hostilities he held the
position of adjutant of the Gold Coast Regiment, with headquarters at
Kumasi, a position which he continued to hold to the time of his death. For
his services in West Africa, Captain McKay was awarded the M.B.E. In
addition to the decorations won during the war, Captain McKay was on three
occasions mentioned in dispatches.

Rev. James Rose Macpherson (M.A., 1872; B.D., 1875) died at the
Manse, Dingwall, on 29 June, aged sixty-eight. He was a son of the late
Rev. Dr. Robert Macpherson, Professor of Divinity, King's College, 1852-60,
and Systematic Theology, Aberdeen University, 1860-67, and his mother was
a daughter of Dr. Duncan Mearns, Professor of Divinity, King's College,
1816-52. He was one of three brothers, who were all graduates of the
University, the elder two being the late Rev. Dr. Duncan Macpherson
(M.A., Bang's Coll., 1855 ; D.D., Aberd., 1880), Church of Scotland Chaplain

Obituary 93

at Bombay; and Rev. Dr. Robert Macpherson (M.A., 1869; B.D., 1872;
D.D., 1904), senior minister of Elgin (see p. 81). Mr. James Macpherson had
a distinguished record as a student at the University, being second in Junior
Mathematics to Mr. George Chrystal, afterwards Professor at Edinburgh, while
in Divinity, besides taking the Brown Scholarship, he took his degree with
honours — then a very rare occurrence. In 1879 he ^^s ordained and inducted
minister of Kinnaird, Carse of Gowrie, and nineteen years later was translated
to Dingwall, in 1898. He was noted for his interest in Oriental research, and
was for a time secretary of the Palestine Exploration Fund. He was a regular
speaker at the Keswick Convention.

Dr. John Alexander Mearns (M.B., 1901) died at his residence, 11
Southgate, Leicester, on 26 October, aged forty-three. He was the elder son
of the late Mr. Alexander Mearns, saddler, Aberdeen. He settled in Leicester
about fifteen years ago, and built up an extensive practice. During the war
he was a Captain in the R.A.M.C., and served for two years in India.

Mr. James Duff Miller (alumnus, 1861-65) died at- "The Gazette"
House, Forres, on 26 September, aged seventy -seven. He was a son of the
late Mr. John Miller, who founded the Forres Gazette in 1837, and early in
life he became associated with his father in the editorship of the paper, and
on his father's death in 1873 he succeeded him as editor and proprietor. He
took a keen interest in the Volunteer movement, and retired after about fifty
years' service with the rank of Major. He was a well-known competitor at
the Wimbledon rifle meetings, and afterwards at Bisley.

Dr. William Moir (M.B., 1892; M.D., 1897; D.P.H. [Camb.], 1903)
died at his residence, Balnedon, Loughborough Road, West Bridgeford,
Nottingham, on 4 April, aged fifty-seven. While out in the grounds of his
residence on the previous evening, he had a seizure. Three eminent medical
men in Nottingham were summoned, but despite their efforts he never rallied
and passed away from heart failure in the early morning. Dr. Moir was a
native of Forgue, Aberdeenshire. After graduating, he was for some time
assistant to Dr. Bastable, Blackburn, Lancashire, and about 1895 he started
practice in Darwen. He speedily built up a lucrative practice, but he remained
a student all his days, devoting himself specially to the study of public health
in all its varying aspects. He secured the diploma in public health of
Cambridge in 1903, and the B.Sc. (Public Health) of Victoria University in
1908. He then turned his studies to law, and in 191 3 — when he was fifty
years of age — he became a barrister-at-law of Gray's Inn. Among other
honours and appointments he held were those of referee to the Ministry of
Pensions, Fellow of the Royal Institute of Public Health, and member of the
Society of Medical Officers of Health, while he had occupied the presidency
of the Blackburn division of the British Medical Association and the presidency
of the Darwen branch. In the autumn of last year he was appointed a
Medical Officer of Health under the Ministry of Health — one of the twenty-
six doctors selected for this purpose — with the counties of Nottingham and
Derby under his charge and Nottingham as his residence. The whole country
is now brought under the direct supervision of these medical officers of health,
who are responsible to the Ministry of Health and to that department only.
Dr. Moir was particularly well qualified for the post, and the regret was
general in Darwen and elsewhere that he had not been spared to demonstrate
his efficiency.

94 Aberdeen University Review

Dr. Thomas Henry Morton (M.D., 1876), of 29 Glen Road, Nether
Edge, Sheffield, died on 26 August, aged eighty-one; he was the oldest
member of the Sheffield Division of the British Medical Association. He was
born in Burmah, where his father was a British Commissioner. He received
his early education at Newark, and was then apprenticed to Dr. Slater of
Bawtry. Later he passed to the Old Sheffield Medical School, and obtained
the diplomas of M.R.C.S. in 1861 and the L.S.A. in 1862. For a time he
acted as demonstrator of Anatomy at his old school, and then entered general
practice by acting as assistant to a doctor in Gainsborough. In 1864 he
settled in Brightside, Sheffield, and conducted a large practice in this area for
nearly thirty-four years, retiring in 1898. He took the M.D. degree at
Aberdeen in 1876. He was President of the Sheffield Medico-Chirurgical
Society in 1880, and contributed occasionally to medical literature.

The "British Medical Journal," in an obituary notice, said —

Dr. Morton had many hobbies. He was a connoisseur and collector of old oak. His
collection was justly admired, and was considered one of the finest in Yorkshire. An
ardent disciple of Isaak Walton, he enjoyed nothing better than a day with the rod, in-
cidentally picking up any piece of old oak which caught his fancy. He was an accom-
plished photographer, and was particularly successful with interiors of cathedrals and
churches. During the great epidemic of small-pox in Sheffield in 1.S88, Morton made a
fine collection of lantern slides depicting the various phases of the disease. He was the
only Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society in Sheffield, and he was very proud of the
fact. He was a Churchman, and for many years took an active part in the work of St.
Mary's Church. He was beloved by his patients, and his benevolence to his poorer
patients was a marked trait in his character.

Rev. George Robb (M.A., 1881), minister-emeritus of the First United
Free Church, Kirriemuir, died at his residence, 1 7 Devonshire Road, Aberdeen,
on 26 July, aged sixty-one. After graduating, he took the theological course
at the United Presbyterian Hall in Edinburgh, and in 1886 became minister
of the West United Presbyterian (afterwards United Free) Church, Kirriemuir.
A few years ago, the Bank Street congregation (an old Relief Chureh) and the
West Church (an old Secession Church) united under Mr. Robb's ministry and
formed the First United Free Church. Mr. Robb, owing to failing health,
retired in April 1918 ; and since then he had lived in Aberdeen. A daughter
is a graduate of the University.

Dr. James Smart (M.A., 1894; M.B., 1899) died suddenly at the Kyles
Hydropathic, Rothesay, on 1 3 July. He was delivering a lecture when he was
seized with haemorrhage and passed away a few hours later. Dr. Smart was the
son of a builder in Aberdeen, and was forty-eight years of age. At the* outbreak
of the war he was registrar of the First General Scottish Hospital with the rank
of captain. Very soon afterwards he was promoted major, and in 19 16, when
the commanding officer mobilised an hospital for overseas, Major Smart was
promoted Lieutenant-Colonel, and became acting commanding officer of the
First Scottish General Hospital. In 19 18 he took over temporarily the
command of Bangour War Hospital, and later proceeded to London, where
he commanded the Fourth General Hospital, a post which he held until his
demobilisation. Colonel Smart was in command of the First Scottish General
Hospital in Aberdeen from 1916 to 191 8. He had about twenty years'
Territorial service. After the war he resumed practice in Aberdeen. He
married a daughter of the late Rev. W. S. Chedburn, Crown Terrace Baptist
Church, Aberdeen, by whom and a daughter he is survived. He was a deacon
of Crown Terrace Baptist Church.

obituary 9 5

Mr. Alexander Emslie Smith (alumnus, King's Coll., 1850-52), advocate
in Aberdeen, died at his residence, Summerhill House, South Stocket, Aber-
deen, on 24 August, aged eighty-eight. He was the eldest son of Mr.
Alexander Smith, farmer and timber merchant. Burns of Deskford, Banffshire,
and was educated at Banff Academy and Fordyce Academy. He became a
member of the Society of Advocates in Aberdeen in 1858, and at the time of
his death was the senior member of the body. He retired from practice
several years ago. In his day he was one of the ablest and most prominent
pleaders at the Aberdeen bar, and was engaged in a large number of important
cases. He specialised in ecclesiastical law, and figured in many keenly
contested proceedings, both in the Church courts and in the civil courts,
notably the Pitsligo manse case, the Old Deer case, the Portlethen case, and
the Strichen manse case. Mr. Smith, who was a man of wide culture and
interests, engaged occasionally in literary work. He edited "St. Paul's
Episcopal Chapel Register of Baptisms " which appeared in one of the New
Spalding Club volumes, furnishing a " Historical Introduction " ; and he was
the author of several brochures, these including "Corgarff Castle" (1901),
"St. Paul's Church, Aberdeen " (1901), "Episcopal Church in Aberdeen at the
Revolution" (1905), "Cullen House" (1907), and "The Mystery of Dubrach
in Braemar" (1908).

Mr. Maurice George Temple, Assoc. Memb. I.E.E. (M.A., 1896),
died at Jamaica on 1 3 September, aged forty -seven. He was a son of the late
Rev. Dr. William Temple, Rector of St. Margaret's Episcopal Church, Forgue,
author of " The Thanage of Fermartyn ". By profession an electrical engineer,
Mr. Maurice Temple was at the Coatbridge Electric Lighting Station for a
short period, and was afterwards in the service of the Anglo-American Tele-
graph Company. He eventually became chief electrician of the West India
and Panama Telegraph Company, and was responsible for the installation of
wireless telegraphy on the islands served by the company.

Dr. Ellerington Reed Turner (M.B., 1891) died at Ashfield, Kintore,
on 19 October, aged fifty-nine. He settled in Kintore shortly after graduating
and established a large practice. Dr. Turner took an active interest in public
affairs. He was Provost of Kintore for several years and was still a member
of the Town Council at the time of his death. He was also Chairman of the
former School Board.

Dr. William Wallace (M.A., 1866; LL.D. [St. And.], 1899), formerly
editor of The Glasgow Herald, died at his residence, 106 University Avenue,
Hillhead, Glasgow, on 17 July, aged seventy-seven. He was a native of
Culross, Fifeshire, and a brother of the late Dr. Robert Wallace, formerly
editor of The Scotsman and afterwards M.P. for East Edinburgh ; another
brother was for several years minister of the parish of New Deer, Aberdeenshire.
After graduating. Dr. William Wallace became a teacher of Classics at the
Ayr Academy, but he early abandoned the profession of teacher for that of
journalism. He secured a position as assistant editor on The Edinburgh
Courant, afterwards becoming editor of The Dumfries Herald. After seven
years' residence in Dumfries, he went to London, wrote for The Echo and
other newspapers, and contributed to The Spectator, then under the editorship
of Mr. R. H. Hutton and Mr. Meredith Townsend, and to Eraser's Magazine,
edited by Mr. J. A. Froude. Incidentally, he studied law and was called to
the bar at the Middle Temple in 1887. I" ^888 he became assistant editor

96 Aberdeen University Review

of The Glasgow Herald, and he succeeded the late Dr. Charles Russell in the
editorship in 1906. Three years later, however, he retired owing to the state
of his health. Dr. Wallace was recognised as a leading authority on Burns,
and in 1896 he published a revised and re-written edition ^(in four volumes)
of Robert Chambers's " Life and Works of Robert Burns ". In 1898 he edited
the correspondence of Burns and Mrs. Dunlop. He was President of the
Burns Federation, and he took a prominent part in promoting the movement
for the foundation of the Chair of Scottish History and Literature in Glasgow
University. He was a considerable contributor to " Chambers's Encyclopaedia "
and " Chambers's Cyclopaedia of English Literature ". He published several
volumes of essays, one of the best known being " Scotland Yesterday ".

ERRATUM.

A slight error crept into our notice of Mr. William Mackray (M.A,, 1846), the senior
graduate of Marischal College and of the University (Review, viii., 183). Mr. Mackray's
father, we are informed, was not a Congregational minister, but a minister in the Original
Secession body.

The

Aberdeen University Review

Vol. IX. No. 26 March, 1922

The Calendar.
11.

|RRANGEMENTS were made by Julius Caesar
for the reformation of the calendar, and he em-
ployed Sosigenes, an Alexandrian astronomer, to
advise as to the changes necessary to make the
times of the calendar correspond with the seasons
and to prevent as far as possible the recurrence
of the state of disorder into which the calendar
had fallen. Sosigenes came to Rome and a new calendar was
prepared under his direction. He naturally borrowed from the
Egyptian calendar to which he was accustomed, and the new Roman
calendar prepared under his direction, while it embodied the essential
features of the Egyptian calendar, retained as many of the characteristics
of the Roman calendar as was compatible with the Egyptian method
of time-reckoning.

At an earlier time the Egyptians used a lunisolar year, the corre-
sponding calendar being one which took account of the motions of the
sun and of the moon. This calendar was superseded by a calendar
which depended on the solar year. The Egyptian year, as already
stated, was divided into twelve months of thirty days each and five
supplementary days were added at the end of the year. This was the
religious year and it continued in use although they had discovered
that it was approximately one day wrong in every four years.^

The beginning of the true Egyptian year was fixed at the heliacal
rising of Sirius, which, in Lower Egypt, takes place about July 20 in

' Eratosthenes, 275-194 b.c, suggested the calendar in which every fourth year contains
366 days and which was the calendar advised by Sosigenes.

7

98 Aberdeen University Review

our calendar. The five supplementary days added at the end of the
year to make up 365 days were named after Sirius, and Sirius was
named the dog star by the Greeks. Thus the Greeks and after them
the Romans called the supplementary days of the Egyptian calendar the
canicular days, and it is for this reason that the days about the middle
and end of July are still called the dog days not because of the
supposed effect of the sun's heat on dogs, although they coincide with
the hottest days of the year in northern latitudes.

The beginning of the Egyptian religious year is coincident with the
heliacal rising of Sirius only once in 1461 religious years, there being
approximately one day less than the proper number in every four
years ; thus 1461 Egyptian years are equivalent to 1460 years of 365 J
days each, and this period of 1461 Egyptian years is a Sothic period.
A Sothic period is said to begin when the heliacal rising of Sirius falls
on the first day of the religious year. This occurred in 139 A.D.,
1322 B.C., and 2982 B.C., the latter date being the beginning of the
first Sothic period. As the heliacal rising of Sirius moves right
through the nominal months in a complete period, a knowledge of the
day of the nominal month on which the heliacal rising of Sirius
occurred determines the year of the Sothic period.

The Egyptians knew that the average length of the year was rather
less than 365 J; the difference was calculated by Hipparchus,^ who
computed it to be about one day in 300 years. ^ In framing the new
Roman calendar Sosigenes appears to have decided to ignore this
difference and took the average length of the year as 365^ days. He
advised the abolition of the lunar year and the intercalary month, and
he proposed to regulate the civil year by the sun according to the
Egyptian practice, taking the average length of the year to be 365^
days, every fourth year containing 366 days, the other years 365 days.
The Roman names of the months were retained in the same order as
they were arranged by the Decemviri 452 B.C., with the exception of
the month Quintilis which was renamed Julius after Julius Caesar to
commemorate the reformation of the calendar. The distribution of
the days among the months was altered and the following more
convenient arrangement was substituted ; the first, third, fifth, seventh,
ninth, and eleventh months, that is January, March, May, July,

> Hipparchus, 160 B.C., determined the average duration of the year within six minutes
of its value.

' The difference is approximately one day in 128 years.

The Calendar 99

September, November, were each given thirty-one days, the remaining
months, with the exception of February were each given thirty days,
while February was given twenty-nine days in each ordinary year and
thirty days each fourth year. The old method of reckoning the days
from the Calends, Nones, and Ides, was also retained, and the additional
day in February every fourth year was inserted between the twenty-
fourth and the twenty-fifth days of the month, the twenty-fifth day of
the month being counted twice, and as this was the sixth day before
the Calends the years with the additional day were termed Bissextile.^

Julius Caesar ordered the adoption of the calendar prepared by
Sosigenes, but before it could be brought fully into operation certain
adjustments were necessary. In particular the vernal equinox had to
be restored to the same place in the calendar as it occupied in Numa's
calendar, the twenty-fifth day of March. To effect this he ordered the
insertion of two additional months in the current year between
November and December, one of thirty-three days, the other of thirty-
four days, and as the intercalary month of twenty-three days also fell
to be inserted in that year the last year before the institution of
the new calendar contained 445 days. This year is known as the
last year of confusion, and the first year of the Julian calendar,
as it is named, begins with the first day of January 46 B.C. or
708 A.U.C.

The Roman calendar as now amended was an immense improve-
ment on the former Roman system of time reckoning and it is worthy
of notice that the amendments were made in such a way as to produce
the least possible dislocation, everything being retained that did not
conflict with the essentials of the new calendar, the change in the
name of the month Quintilis alone excepted.

In spite of the simplicity of the new calendar, the pontiffs either
through ignorance or carelessness did not regulate the insertion of the
additional day every fourth year, and it was found in the time of
Augustus, the succeeding Emperor, that by the end of thirty-six years
from the beginning of the Julian calendar three days too many had
been added. Augustus therefore made an order that the twelve years
beginning with the thirty-seventh and ending with the forty-eighth year
of the Julian calendar should be ordinary years of 365 days. He also
made use of the occasion to change the name of the month Sextilis to

1 The insertion of the additional day between the twenty-fourth and the twenty-fifth of
February is still adhered to in the Ecclesiastical Calendar.

loo Aberdeen University Review

Augustus, and added a day from February to his month so that it
should be of equal length with the month belonging to Julius. Later
emperors made similar orders changing the names of months to their
own names but none of these changes persisted.

The method of intercalation of the Julian calendar is simple and
convenient but, as its average year exceeds the true average year by
rather more than eleven minutes, the vernal equinox instead of being
always at the same distance from the beginning of the year gets
gradually nearer to it, and after the lapse of a few centuries the change
becomes appreciable. The vernal equinox fell on March 25 when the
Julian calendar was instituted in 46 B.C., and at the time of the Council
of Nice, 325 A.D. it was found that the vernal equinox having retro-
graded four days fell on March 2 1 . This day was then assigned to it,
but the method of intercalation was not altered. During the middle
ages great importance was attached to the observance of Easter on
the appropriate day in relation both to the moon and the vernal
equinox, and the retrogression of the vernal equinox in the calendar
gave rise to difficulties. In order to deal with these difficulties and
reform the calendar the Pope, in 1474 A.D,, invited a mathematician
Regiomontanus to come to Rome and undertake the matter. His
premature death prevented the realization of any change at that time,
and another century passed before the reformation of the calendar
was arranged for by Gregory XIII. On this occasion the whole
question was fully considered by a council of mathematicians and
astronomers set up by Gregory XIII. for the purpose, and after ten
years' discussion the new calendar known as the Gregorian calendar
was instituted in 1582 A.D. As it was found that the vernal equinox
had retrograded to the eleventh day of March in the calendar, the ten
days gained since the date of the Council of Nice were ordered to be
taken from the calendar in that year, the fifth of October being termed
the fifteenth, to restore the vernal equinox to the place it occupied in
the calendar at the time of the Council of Nice, It was also found
that the error in the system of intercalation of the Julian calendar
amounted approximately to three days in 4(X) years, and it was
accordingly ordered that the intercalation of the additional day in
every fourth year should be omitted in the case of century years unless
the number of the year is a multiple of 400.

The Gregorian rule thus gives ninety-seven intercalations of a day
each in 400 years, therefore 400 civil years contain 146,097 days, and

The Calendar loi

the average length of the civil year is 365 242 5 days. The length
of the tropical year is given by the expression 365-24219879 -
000000006 14 {x - 1900) days where x is the year, giving an error of
0*0003025 for the present year, that is an error at the rate of one day
in 3300 years approximately. To take account of this error it has
been proposed that the year 4000 A.D. and all the years which are
multiples of 4000 should be common years of 365 days, as the amount
of the error is of the same order as one day in 4000 years. If the
Gregorian rule were amended in this way, 969 additional days would
be intercalated in 4000 years and the average length of the civil year
would be 365 24225 days which differs from the present length of the
tropical year by 0*0000525, an error at the rate of one day in 19,000
years approximately.

The degree of accuracy of the calendar depends on the difference
between the average length of the civil year and the length of the
tropical year, and also on the length of the period in which the in-
tercalations repeat themselves, as the shorter this period is for a given
difference between the average length of the civil year and the length
of the tropical year, the less is the maximum distance of the equinox
of the calendar from its true position. The most convenient way
of treating this question is to convert the fraction 0*24219879 -
0*0000000614 (x - 1900) by which the length of the tropical year
exceeds 365 days into a continued fraction. When this is done the
successive quotients are 4, 7, i, 3, etc., the successive convergents
to the fraction are J, ^, ^^, ^^, etc. ; and expressed as decimal
fractions they are 0*25, 0*241379, 0*242424, 0*2421875, etc., being
in excess and defect of the actual value alternately. Any one of
these fractions after the second gives a closer approximation than
the Gregorian rule for intercalating ninety-seven days in 400 years, and
any one after the third gives a closer approximation than the pro-
posed amended rule for intercalating 969 days in 4000 years. The
third convergent is the one actually used in the Persian calendar ; the
period of thirty-three years is divided into seven consecutive periods
each of four years followed by one period of five years, the fourth
year in a four year period has one day added to it and the fifth year
in the five year period has one day added to it. The difference
between the average length of the civil year in the Persian calendar
and the present length of the tropical year is o*ooo2267<a?. which gives
an error at the rate of one day approximately in 44 1 1 years, and this

I02 Aberdeen University Review

is a much closer approximation than the Gregorian rule for inter-
calating ninety-seven days in 400 years gives. As has been observed
above the advantage of a short period in which the cycle of intercala-
tions is completed is that at any time during the period the equinox
of the calendar is never very far from its mean position ; in this respect
the Persian calendar, which was introduced in the eleventh century, is
preferable to the Gregorian calendar, the period of the Persian calendar
being thirty-three years and that of the Gregorian calendar 400 years.
The Persian calendar has the further advantage that the sub-periods are
four years and five years, while the sub-periods of the Gregorian calendar
are four years and eight years.

Before the introduction of uniform rules, such as the rules of the
Persian and Gregorian calendars, for determining the beginning of the
year, the day from which the beginning of the year was reckoned was
fixed by astronomical observation. The day of the heliacal rising of
some well-defined star or constellation such as Sirius or the Pleiades
determined the beginning of the year for some peoples, while others
have made use of observations of the solstices.^ It is interesting to
notice that it was proposed to fix. the beginning of the year in this
way for the calendar introduced by the French Republic in 1793.
This calendar fixed the civil year as beginning at midnight immediately
preceding the day on which the true autumnal equinox fell, and,
although in general the day of the equinox could be accurately
determined, it would be difficult to decide on which day the equinox
actually fell if the time of the Sun's entering Libra were very close
to midnight.

The objections to fixing the beginning of the year by astronomi-
cal observation are that the intercalations would follow each other
irregularly, and that it would occasionally happen that it would be
impossible to fix with certainty the day on which the civil year should
begin. The use of a uniform rule for fixing the beginning of the year
is an improvement comparable with the improvement due to the use
of mean solar time.

It appears from the foregoing that the present calendar is capable
of improvement in two respects, the rule for fixing the beginning of
the year and the method of distribution of the days of a year among
the months and weeks. Since the length of the tropical year exceeds

^ It J8 very probable that the stone circles were observatories whose principal purpose
was to regulate the beginning of the year and determine the days on which festivals should
be kept.

The Calendar 103

365 days and is less than 366 days it is evident that the rule for fixing
the beginning of the year must assign 365 days to some years and

366 days to other years. It has been pointed out above that the rule
of the Persian calendar is superior to the rule of the Gregorian calendar.
The period of the Persian rule is thirty-three years made up of twenty-
five years each of 365 days and eight years each of 366 days, the eight
366 day years being the 4th, 8th, 12th, i6th, 20th, 24th, 28th and 33rd
years of the period. If the next convergent to the fraction by which
the length of the tropical year exceeds 365 days, viz. ^^, is taken, the
period for the corresponding rule would have 128 years made up of
ninety-seven years each of 365 days and thirty-one years each of 366
days, the period of 128 years would be divided into three periods each
of thirty-three years followed by a period of twenty-nine years, a period
of thirty-three years would be sub-divided into seven sub-periods each
of four years followed by a sub-period of five years, the period of
twenty-nine years would be subdivided into six sub-periods each of
four years followed by a sub-period of five years, and the last year of
a four year sub-period or a five year sub-period would contain 366
days, all the other years containing 365 days. Thus the years
of the 128 year period which contain 366 days would be the 4th,
8th, 1 2th, 1 6th, 20th, 24th, 28th, 33rd, 37th, 41st, 45th, 49th,
53rd, 57th, 6ist, 66th, 70th, 74th, 78th, 82nd, 86th, 90th, 94th, 99th,
103rd, 107th, I nth, 115th, 119th, 123rd, 128th. If this latter rule for
fixing the beginning of the year with a 128 year period were adopted the
rate of error at present would be very approximately one day in
100,000 years and would be decreasing while the rate of error of
the thirty-three year rule is approximately one day in 441 1 years and is
increasing. If the year a + i A.D. were the first year of a cycle, the
number giving the position of the year x A.D. in a cycle is the
remainder when x ~ a is divided by 128; if this remainder r is one
of the numbers i to 31 both inclusive, the year contains 366 days when
r is a multiple of 4 and 365 days when r is not a multiple of 4 ; if
the remainder r is one of the numbers 32 to 64 both inclusive, the
year contains 366 days when r - i is a multiple of 4 and 365 days
when r - I is not a multiple of 4 ; if the remainder r is one of the
numbers 65 to 97 both inclusive, the year contains 366 days when
r - 2 is a multiple of 4 and 365 days whenr - 2 is not a multiple of
4; if the remainder r is one of the numbers 98 to 125 both inclusive,
the year contains 366 days when r - 3 is a multiple of 4 and 365

I04 Aberdeen University Review

days when ;- - 3 is not a multiple of 4, and if the remainder r is
zero the year contains 366 days.

The chief defect of the mode of distribution of the days of the
year among the months and weeks in the present calendar is that a
particular day of a month may fall on any day of the week, e.g.
Christmas day may be on a Sunday or any other day of the week, or
a term day may fall on a Sunday. This defect can be removed by
arranging that the civil year should always begin on the same day
of the week. As a year does not contain an integral number of seven
day weeks, a year of 365 days must have a supplementary day outside
the fifty-two weeks or one of the weeks must contain eight days, and
a year of 366 days must have two supplementary days outside the
fifty-two weeks or one of the weeks must contain nine days or two of
the weeks must contain eight days each. Another possible arrange-
ment is that the civil year should always contain 364 civil days, one
of the civil days in a year of 365 natural days being forty-eight hours
in length, and two of the civil days in a year of 366 natural days being
each forty-eight hours in length. The following are convenient ways
of arranging the supplementary days or longer weeks or longer days
in a year : {a) in a year of 365 natural days the fifty-two weeks succeed
each other and the supplementary day comes after the last day of the
fifty-second week being followed by the first day of the first week of
the succeeding year, and in a year of 366 natural days the other
supplementary day comes between the last day of the twenty-sixth
week and the first day of the twenty-seventh week ; (^) in a year of 365
days the fifty-second week contains eight days and in a year of 366 days
the fifty-second week contains nine days ; {c) in a year of 365 days the
fifty-second week contains eight days and in a year of 366 days the
twenty-sixth week and the fifty-second week contain eight days ; {d) in
a year of 365 natural days the last day of the civil year contains forty-
eight hours and in a year of 366 natural days the one hundred and
eighty-second day and the three hundred and sixty-fourth day both
contain forty-eight hours. The first of these different arrangements
involves the least change in the present method and is otherwise
preferable to the others.

A further simplification of the calendar can be effected by a slight
change in the method of distribution of the days among the months.
It is evident that the most convenient arrangement is obtained by
distributing the 364 days, omitting the supplementary day or days,

The Calendar 105

among the months so that each quarter of three months contains ninety-
one days or thirteen weeks. In this arrangement one of the three
months in a quarter will contain thirty-one days and each of the other
two months will contain thirty days ; the supplementary day or days
can be regarded as outside the quarters and months as well as outside
the weeks, or in a year of 365 days the first and last months of the
last quarter contains thirty-one days each, while in a year of 366 days
the first and last months of the second quarter also contain thirty-one
days each. The days would be distributed among the months as
follows : in a year of 365 days the months of February, March, May,
June, August, September and November would each contain thirty
<lays, and the months of January, April, July, October and December
would each contain thirty-one days, the thirty-first day of December
being the supplementary day outside the weeks and coming between
Sunday the thirtieth day of December and Monday the first day of
January in the succeeding year ; in a year of 366 days the month of
June would contain thirty-one days, the thirty-first day of June being
the second supplementary day of the year outside the weeks and
coming between Sunday the thirtieth day of June and Monday the first
day of July.

If the calendar were modified in the way suggested above, the four
quarters of the year would be identical and corresponding days in
every quarter would fall on the same day of the week, e.g. the twenty-
eighth day of May and the corresponding quarter days would all fall on a
Wednesday in every year, Christmas would always be on Tuesday, and
similarly for other such days. The thirtieth day of December 1928
will be a Sunday, and, if the thirty-first day of December 1928 were
treated as a supplementary day, the following year 1929 would begin
on a Monday; thus 1929 would be a convenient date for making the
modification, and it has the further advantage that counting backwards
1 801 would be the first year of a 128 year period.^

Many different suggestions have been made for the modification
of the calendar ; in addition to those already indicated the following
may be mentioned It has been proposed to begin the year at the
winter solstice and, if this were found desirable, the necessary change
could be effected along with the changes treated of above, although a
different date would have to be chosen for instituting the change to

^ The foregoing is the portion dealing with the present calendar of the address on the
<:alendar given to the University Association by the writer in 1919.

io6 Aberdeen University Review

avoid undue dislocation with the present calendar. It has also been
proposed that each month should contain an integral number of weeks,
a quarter containing one month of five weeks and two months each of
four weeks.

Another proposal is that the year should always contain an integral
number of seven day weeks, some years containing fifty-two weeks and
the other years containing fifty-three weeks. The rule for determining
the years that contain fifty-three weeks will be somewhat complicated if
the average length of the civil year is to be as close an approximation to
the length of the tropical year as in the 128 year period with years of
365 days and years of 366 days, and, further, the distance between the
beginning of the year and the vernal equinox would vary considerably.

Again it has been proposed that the weeks should contain ten days
each, a month containing three weeks or decades, there being twelve
months in the year and five or six supplementary days at the end of
the twelfth month to make up the year of 365 days or 366 days ; the
128 year period would clearly be applicable with this arrangement.

H. M. MACDONALD.

To Professor Ashley Mackintosh, M.A., M.D.

Tyrrhena regum.

— Horace, Car. in. 29.

Son o' baith King's an' Marischal, Mac,

Here waits a grey-beard filled for you
Afore the war, an' up the glack

Dog-roses hing ye' re free to pu' ;
Lay by your gibbles, leave Balgownie's Brig,
Lectures an' links, an' broomy braes o' Nigg.

Quit Kirks an' Clubs, forsake them a',

Your Toon-hoose wi' its to'er abeen.
Your granite streets, your Mitchell Ha',

The reek, the din o' Aiberdeen.
Changes are Hchtsome, lat a bowl o' brose,
Neth cottar's thack, reduce your wecht an' woes.

The stars were lowein' reid the streen.

The sun is bleezin' in the Sooth,
An' neither herd nor sheep hae seen

Sae mony weary days o' drooth ;
Lyin' forfouchen in yon woody shaw
They ferlie that the Dee can rin sae sma'.

Ye're worriet owrc the Toon an' State,

Noo a' the warl' is waur than weel.
An' Irelan's broken oot o' late

Wi' auncient sair that's ill to heal :
God wisely hides the future fae oor sicht,
An' lauchs when mortals fain would prob the nicht

io8 Aberdeen University Review

Mak' then the maist o' what ye hae,

The lave sweels by ye like the burn

That daunders singin' roon the brae,
An' roars in ragin' spate in turn,

Till beasts an' brigs an* trees an' riggins syne

Ging soomin' seaward like in '29.

Laird o' his saul, content an' mair,

Is he wha ilka nicht can say
" Noo fesh the mornin' foul or fair,

I carena. I hae lived the day."
Nor can the Sire himsel' for a' his po'er
Alter the ootcome o' ae vanished 'oor.

Fortune, the limmer, likes to see

The fash her fickle favours bring,
Kind whiles to him, an' whiles to me;

I reese her till on souple wing
She sklims the lift ; syne, a' but virtue gone,
Oontochered Thrift I woo, an* warsle on.

Lest ships should skale on houderin' seas
Their far-bocht bales that's nae insured,

Nae mine to bargain on my knees

That hasna saxpence- worth aboord ;

But safe my coble rowes owre girnin' bars,

Convoyed by canny winds an' lucky stars.

CHARLES MURRAY.

James Murdoch.

VERY brilliant and exceedingly accomplished
graduate of the University, who had a varied and
interesting career, has passed away in the person
of Mr. James Murdoch, Professor of Oriental
Studies in the University of Sydney. Little known
in this country, he had a great reputation in Japan
and latterly in Australia. Resident for over twenty
years in Japan, withdrawing from European intercourse and steeping
himself in the life of the country, he acquired a singularly wide know-
ledge of its language and its history. In the former he became so
efficient as to be recognized as an authority, even by the Japanese
themselves — quite a unique distinction for a Briton. He wrote a great
" History of Japan " in four volumes (unfortunately not completed),
based on laborious researches in official and other archives — a remark-
able feat to be accomplished by a foreigner. Recently recalled to
Australia, where his career began, he was engaged in organizing the
Oriental Studies in school and university which the authorities there
now deem essential in view of the position of Australia as an Eastern
Power. A man of prodigious learning and industry, he bears a simi-
larity to Thomas Davidson, the famous scholar, who was also a son of
Aberdeen University. And he had a career, too, in which there were
many novel incidents, much wandering, and not a few vicissitudes.
He died at Sydney in the end of October last (his funeral took place
on the 31st), aged sixty-five. To notices of him in Japanese and
Sydney papers we are indebted for much of the sketch that follows,

James Murdoch was born at Stonehaven, Kincardineshire, on 27
September, 1856, the son of William Murdoch, a grocer in the town,
who had also a little farm in the vicinity ; and he helped on the farm
and in the shop as soon as he was big enough to be of use. He had
very little education in his early days, but was sent to the Fetteresso
Public School when he was about eleven years of age. There is a
story that he was then totally ignorant of the multiplication table and
was told to learn the first table, astounding the schoolmaster at the

no Aberdeen University Review

end of the day by having learned all the tables and being able to re-
peat them correctly. This is cited as an early instance of the extra-
ordinary memorizing power he possessed. It is said that in after-life,
in the course of conversation he would often quote an author textu-
ally, or, taking down a book from his well-filled shelves, would turn to
the exact page where a reference he had cited was to be found.
Murdoch was intensely bent on educating himself, and by strenuous
application he speedily overcame the deficiencies by which he was at
first handicapped. He studied for a time at the Grammar School,
Old Aberdeen, and ultimately he won the first bursary at the University,
in the competition of 1875, though by that time he had reached the
somewhat advanced age of nineteen.

Murdoch was essentially of the type of Northern student who
prosecutes his studies with straitened means and consequential priva-
tion, for he had to maintain himself chiefly on his meagre bursary ;
but, like many another " lad o' pairts " who has undergone the same
rigorous discipline, he studied with unabated zest and with very notable
success. He passed through the University curriculum with great
distinction. In his first session he ** swept the board," taking the first
prize in each of the five classes, and in his second session he stood first
in the classes devoted to the Classics ; later on, he distinguished him-
self in Logic and Philosophy. His wonderful memorizing powers were
again manifested, for on one occasion when-5Professor Geddes gave
out the " CEdipus Tyrannus" for homet work, Murdoch recited a large
portion of the choral odes to a fellow-student the same . afternoon.
He graduated in 1879 with first-class honours 'in^Classics and second-
class honours in Mental Philosophy, carrying off the^Simpson Greek
Prize, the Hutton Prize, and the Seafield Latin Medal, while he sub-
sequently won the FuUerton Scholarship for Classics. He studied
for a time at Oxford and afterwards at Gottingen and the Sorbonne
in Paris.

Somewhere about his middle "twenties," Murdoch emigrated to
Queensland and for a time was Rector of the Grammar School at
Maryborough. He gave up teaching for some reason or other, and
for several years devoted himself to journalism, especially in connection
with the Labour movement, which was then beginning to be a factor
in Australian politics. It was the time of the agitation for the restric-
tion of Chinese coolie immigration and the formulation of the idea of
a " white Australia ". Murdoch was commissioned by a leading

James Murdoch

III

newspaper to investigate the subject of immigration and the introduc-
tion of Chinese cheap labour. He proceeded to China, taking a
steerage passage in order the more thoroughly to ascertain the con-
ditions under which the coolies lived in the steamers that brought
them to Australia and returned them again to China. After complet-
ing his investigations in Hong-Kong and Canton, he went on to Japan ;
and, according to a biographical sketch of Murdoch in the Japan
Weekly Chronicle (17 Nov.), he settled in Japan in 1890, engaged in
teaching, ran a weekly paper (of which there were only six issues,
however), and published a volume of satirical verse, entitled " Don Juan
in Japan," and a novel with the title of " Felix Holt Secundus ".

Then, in 1893, occurred one of the most curious incidents in
Murdoch's extraordinary career. He became associated with a
scheme organized by a man William Lane, a Brisbane journalist, to
establish a Socialist colony in Paraguay to be called " New Australia ".
A grant of about 450,000 acres of land was obtained near Villa Rica,
about no miles from Asuncion, and this land was to be settled by
400 families. The common ownership of the land and the equal
division of expenses and profits was a fundamental principle of the
settlement, and an endeavour was to be made to run the settlement
in conformity with other Socialistic doctrines. Murdoch determined
to throw in his lot with this novel community, to which he offered his
services as schoolmaster, and he was appointed Minister of Education
in the new colony. He was speedily disillusioned, however — in a
fortnight, he is reported to have once said. Lane told him one day
— so the story goes — that he had been consulting with God about the
affairs of the community, and Murdoch thereupon came to the con-
clusion that with a leader of that kind " New Australia was no longer
any place for James Murdoch ". He accordingly left the community,
which before long was rent by dissensions and secessions.

The Odyssey of this " wandering scholar " of ours began again.
He travelled through Paraguay on foot, and embarked on a Grerman
tramp steamer bound for Europe. It touched at Japan, and there
Murdoch was landed, sick and impecunious, spending his first days in
a hospital. Recovering his health, he accepted the post of English
teacher at the High School at Kanazawa, where he remained for
several years. He then took up his residence at Shinagawa, a suburb
of Tokyo, and seems to have taught Japanese in Japanese Colleges ;
and subsequently he became English teacher at the High School at

112 Aberdeen University Review

Kagoshima. Murdoch lived for over twenty years in Japan, adopted
the Japanese mode of life, married (as his second wife) a Japanese
lady, and set up a fruit farm at Kagoshima, on which he intended to
stay for the rest of his life. Like Lafcadio Hearn, he made it his aim
to enter into the very heart of the country by personal association
and intercourse with Japanese of all classes, and the better to assimilate
the true Japanese feeling he avoided, so far as possible, European
society and contact with European influences.

In the process of this assimilation of Japanese ideas Murdoch
devoted himself to the study of the history of Japan, and gradually
became imbued with the notion of producing a work on the subject.
His investigations were at first directed to the period of early foreign
intercourse with Japan, from 1 542, when Japan may be said to have
been discovered by the Portuguese, to 1639, when the country was
finally closed to foreigners. The result of his labours was the publica-
tion by the Japan Chronicle, in 1903, of the first volume of his
" History of Japan," which he entitled " The Century of Early Foreign
Intercourse ". The volume has been characterized as one " that alone
will prove an enduring testimony of his great capacity and the skill
with which he pieced together the fragments of an engrossing story
of the past ", After its publication it occurred to Murdoch to treat the
whole of Japanese history from its early and legendary beginnings to
the present day. To do this, however, he felt it necessary to study
official and other documents in the language in which they were
written. He had by this time acquired a knowledge of Japanese,
Chinese, and Sanskrit, as well as of Ethnology and Comparative
Religion, which, obviously, were cognate to his historical inquiry, but
he had now to learn archaic Japanese, which is quite a different thing
from colloquial Japanese, and he had to do this when he was approach-
ing fifty years of age. " Nevertheless," we are told, " by dint of his in-
domitable will, he persisted until he could read the ancient records with
comparative ease." In fact, he came to be recognized as an authority
in the languages named — recognized by the Japanese themselves, as
well as by specialists in Britain, Europe, and America. He was
familiar, too, with Spanish and Portuguese, a knowledge of which was
essential to his work.

After these preliminary labours, Murdoch set himself to compile
his systematic "History of Japan". The first volume, bringing the
history down to the date of the discovery of Japan by the Portuguese,

James Murdoch 113

was issued by the Asiatic Society of Japan in 191 1. It has been de-
scribed as "a book of extraordinary learning and originality," the out-
come of twenty years' research work in many libraries in Japan ; some
50,000 pages of old and medieval Japanese, it was pointed out, were
" boiled down " to 636 pages of text. Murdoch's intention was to
complete the history in two more volumes, thus making four in all.
The history of the Tokugawa period (1639-185 3) was to form one
volume, and that of the Meiji era (1853-1911) the other. The manu-
script of the Tokugawa volume was completed, but Murdoch postponed
its publication until a time of greater leisure and better financial
capacity : the volume, apparently, still awaits publication. The Meiji
volume (the fourth volume of the complete work) will never be
published, it seems, the following curious explanation of this most re-
grettable loss to literature being furnished by Professor MacCallum,
of Sydney University, in an appreciation of Murdoch contributed to the
Sydney Morning Herald (5 Nov.) : —

The conclusion of " The History of Japan " is absolutely lost. In a way the last
volume was finished, and in a way it was never begun. This is no paradox : Murdoch's
method of working explains its absolute truth. He had a memory, like Macaulay's, extra-
ordinarily retentive and ready, so that he seemed able to recall at will anything he ever
knew, e.g. the number of a page in which some passage occurred, though he had not read
the book for years. The gift, so useful to a historian, determined his procedure. He
hunted out all the authorities, assessed them, assimilated their information, pondered it in
his mind — all this without taking a single note — and when the heterogeneous material was
reduced to a coherent and organic whole, took his pen and gave it its final shape in words.
A few weeks before his death he said : " My fourth volume is now ready ; I have only to
write it, which will take a month or two ". Now, that fourth volume, though ready, will
never be read. In this as in much else his death was premature, though he lived till sixty-
five.

The writing of the monumental "History of Japan" did not com-
plete Murdoch's remarkable career. Five or six years ago, it was
thought advisable to introduce the teaching of Japanese in the course
at the Australian Military College at Duntroon, and the Australian
authorities consulted the British Government on the selection of an
instructor, with the result that, on the recommendation of the British
Embassy at Tokyo, Mr. Murdoch was appointed. About the same
time, various leaders of commerce urged the University of Sydney to
take up the teaching of Japanese. In 1917, a provisional arrangement
was made by which the University secured a share of Mr. Murdoch's
services, and this continued until, at the end of 19 18, he was attached
altogether to the University staff as Professor of Oriental Studies

8

114 Aberdeen University Review

(Japanese and Chinese). Judging from Professor MacCallum's ap-
preciation, Mr. Murdoch entered on his new sphere of labour with
enthusiasm, keenly recognizing that Australia is primarily a Pacific,
and therefore an Eastern, Power, and should accordingly acquire a
thorough knowledge of its neighbours, and also regarding Sydney
University as the proper home for a great school of Oriental learning.
Unfortunately, he has been cut off before he had the opportunity of
fully manifesting his powers in his new vocation and developing his
ideas, which embraced the inclusion of Japanese in the ordinary school
curriculum. According to Professor MacCallum — who characterizes
Mr. Murdoch as "one of the most remarkable men in the Empire" —
he has left no successor. " The teaching of Japanese," writes the
Professor, " will doubtless proceed efficiently, but where shall we find
one so able to interpret to our students the conditions and culture of
our Near East ? It may safely be said that, in the wide commonwealth
of British nations, he has no successor. And who has the requisite
knowledge, zeal, and circumspect energy, to advance his scheme of
Oriental study ? Again it must be answered that he has left none even
second to himself"

"D" (presumably Mr. James Davidson, M.A., 1881), in the course of an
appreciation of Professor Murdoch, under the title " A Scottish Scholar," in
the Bulletin, Glasgow, of 30 December, said : —

James Murdoch, Professor of Oriental Studies in the University of Sydney, whose
death is announced, was a hero of my youth. At Aberdeen University from 1875 to 1879,
where he graduated with honours in Classics and Philosophy, he was regarded, by seniors
as well as us juniors, with admiration approaching to awe of his extraordinary cleverness.
He was otherwise different from the common undergraduate. He had worked himself up
to university level with very little tutoring or schooling, and as he was older than most of
his classmates, it is probable that he had had to work for his living at the same time, though
he seemed to pass through his course with financial ease. Anyhow, he was not only aloof
and inclined to be dogmatic when drawn into debate, but he had a curious mental twist
that might have repelled worship. It did not; his queerness did not count against his
scholarship and quickness of apprehension that was quite out of the common. Perhaps
M'Naughton, who was the classical " don " of the preceding class, and who died Professor
of Greek in M'Gill, was considered a more solid classic. But he left on me no such im-
pression as Murdoch did. Of all my contemporaries, I have been curious about none more
than Murdoch the classic. To the youngsters it seemed almost a calamity when he did not
carry off a first prize, and that was not often, and there was strong competition in a class
that included Sir Francis Grant Ogilvie (one time Principal of Heriot-Watt, and now Prin-
cipal Assistant Secretary in the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research) ; Charles
Chree, LL.D. (Superintendent of Kew Observatory) ; and Professor Milligan of Glasgow.

There is generally a man in a University class who strikes his contemporaries thus.
Their anticipations of great doings by their hero are often disappointed, but it was not so
in Murdoch's case. True to character, he made a queer start in workaday life, and I have
always wondered how he " got on " with fellow- writers in Japan and Australia, but he cer-
tainly made a fine use of his exceptional brain.

Murdoch made good, and it is a reproach to his Alma Mater that in all these years she
never laureated her distinguished graduate of 1879.

The AuP Gairdner/

BY A BUCHAN LOON.

The Gairdner 'bade aside the village meer.

A clump o' fir-trees, dodderin' fae the wear

O' win* an' time, sae happit fae the ken

O' passin' fouk, his housie but an' ben,

That bare' the riggin' o' the thack wis seen,

An' wan'erin' smeers o' reek that furled abeen.

Ayont, the Tap 'rase up, wi' bracken din

An* peaty mosses, fin the year blaws in,

Till simmer hists the gowden funs an' heather

Scarlet like bleed, near faur the grouse forgaither.

Afore the door wis laid the bittie yaird

Faur the aul' jottin' Gairdner, his ain laird,

A' throu' the se'son, kale an' camomiles

Micht grow, wi' tenty han' for hame ; an' fyles,

To sell, for siller 'mang the fouk a' roun'

An' eke his livin', for he'd mony a stoon

O' he'rt an' heid to gaither the bawbees,

For a bare moo'fu', milk an' breed an' cheese.

Weel ower in years, he tyned the wife he lo'ed

An' laneliness cam' on him. Sae he wooed

Anither time, an' eident lass an' yet

Nae wife for him, wha'd care, only to sit

An' watch the daisies grow an* bloom an' fade.

Jean had nae thocht for flo'ers, she wis sair-made

To wash an' men' an' dae her housewifery

An' earn a half-croon wi* her slavery

To keep their twa bit bairnies hose-an'-sheen.

Her man wis brawly, but wis ower weel-gi'en

^ Being the Poem to which was awarded Sir William Noble's Prize for " A Poem in
Braid Scots".

ii6 Aberdeen University Review

An' widna tak' his due ; he'd tyave himsell
For 'oors, to keep fouks' gairdens an' nae tell
His chairges, tho' the days brocht aye the swither
To gar the tae week's ein* clink wi' the t'ither.

A couthy, weel-respeckit man forbye

The Gairdner meeved amo' the villagery.

Nae bairns bit likit 'im, an' ower the meer

Wad rin, as seen's they glintit 'im, to hear

The learnin' he could gi'e o' the bricht stars

Orion's belt an' soord, the fouk o' Mars,

Venus, that cam' at even fyles, an' fyles

As bricht's the e'e o' morn, wakenin' to toils

An' lang day's trachle a' the commonty.

Wi' gaupin' moo' an' lugs, an' lauchin' glee

The baimies croodit roun' him, takin' tent ;

An' wi' them by, the Gairdner wis content

Just to be tellin'. In sic' simple ploys,

Wark, an' the love o' lear an' hame, his joys

Were ta'en, that neen could scant 'im o'. Nae thocht

O' his ain sell, or girn o' anger, brocht

The burnin' word till's moo', but aye on wean

An' ilka weary body, fae abeen

He socht a blessin' an* wis nae refee'st.

Ae mornin' Jean, miskennin' fat cam' neist,
Doon ower the wash-tub, gar't the thievel spin .
Fin throu' the yaird, the Gairdner wan'er't in :
"Jean, lass, I'm takin' ower a bittie Ian'
To clear an' dell," he said, "an' then I'm gyan*
To saw't wi* corn, that winter throu', we'll hain^
Richt thriftily, for meal to feed oor ain,"
Happy wis Jean to hear't, sin' lichtlisome
Wis word o' mair whauron to gyang an' come ;
An' prood wis the aul' Gairdner. He had deen
The best he micht, to tak' the wark afF Jean
An' ease her trachle, but for a' his he'rt
Aul' airms grow fushionless an' tyne their airt,.
The body's nae sae kibble's eence it wis
An' ithers ken o't. But this ploy o' his

The AuP Gairdner 117

He'd dee wi' ony man ; an' fin the craws
Were biggin' i' the firs, he ploo'd his raws
An' saw'd the seed aboot him, row'd it in,
An' lippen't Gweed to sen' the rain an' sin.
The dewy mornin's brocht the breer green,
Takin' its dwafu' wye, 'mang clod an' steen
To caller air an' weety sho'er, an' then
Aneth the sinny lift, fair clamourin'
To rax its length, it gar't the Gairdner's e'e
Wi' pride, lauch in his heid richt merrily,
An' gi'ed him joukin' words, fin wark wis throu'.

Seener than thocht, in simmer, green craps grow.

An' seener than we're 'war', the hairst maun be.

Fu' seen the Gairdner turned his eidentry

To fell wi' scythe an' heuk, the bonny grain

He'd sawn nae mony months sin' syne, his ain,

Baffin' its gowden heids afore the win'.

Jean foUow't him, to gaither an' to. bin',

An' the twa lassies rakit. Sic content

Had Aggie an' wee Jean, as doon they bent

Ower a' the corn-rig, gaitherin' the strays

Or poo'in' at the rake fae en' to en'. Afraise

Een wi' the t'ither, they wad ha'e a houp

O' milk, choke on a bite o' breed, near coup

The flagon, an' rin aff like widdifies.

An' fyles, the Gairdner an' his Jean wad ease

Their toilin', lauchin' at the merry weans,

An' want to ha'e a runt themsells ; their beens

Wis crackin' wi' the heuk, fae heid to fit ;

Their faces peeled, their duds wis clam wi' sweat;

But they were happy, for their gaitherin'

Wad see the winter throu', a new year in.

That even, roun' the cottage-table, fite
Wi' carefu' scrubbin', gaither't for their bite
O' supper, gweedman, wife, an' bairns, fordeen,
Forfochen, gantin', wearit to the been.
The Gairdner, wi' he'rt fu' o' thankfu'ness
For mercies o' the lang day, said his grace :

Ii8 Aberdeen University Review

An', for the lassies, drowsy-e'ed, wad wyle

The reamiest o' the parritch milk an' smile

To see them noddin' ower their speenfu', ere

Wi' dichtit face an' han's, an' reddit hair,

They gaither't till his knees, an', gweed words said,

Were cairri't, soun' asleep, aff to their bed.

Bonny as rose in simmer-time were they,

The dawties o' the Gairdner, i' the grey,

Caul' even o' life. The greet wis in his e'e

As doon he bow't an' clappit tenderly

The curly, bussy heids, sae mercifu'

Kept fae the thocht that harra's ower the broo.

An' sae, eence mair, as fin a soople chiel.

The Gairdner bucklet to the flail, an' weel

He threesh the grain, yird aifter thuddin' yird,

Nae muckle bookit, fin the stray wis tirred.

The fairmer o' the Ord, wi' kin' intent,

Offert to muU't alang wi' his, an' sent

The loon, niest day, roun' by, to hurl't awa'

Ower to the mullart, lookin' unco sma'

An' tynet-like, 'mang the buirdly seeks, but dear

To oor aul' Gairdner, as a miser's gear.

A lang 'ook warslet till an' ein'. Nae cairt

Cam' by ; an', wi' anither 'ook, the scairt

O' fear, 'gan fret the Gairdner an' his Jean.

Seerly the loon had hurlet by, an' ta'en

Their pickle millin' wi' him. Jean wis thrawn

To sen' the Gairdner, jist to unnerstan'

Fat had come ower't ; an' foo laith's he wis,

Mair gleg to gi'e than tak' whate'er wis his,

For fear o' their twa lassies' poverty

Withoot their parritch, he maun gyang an' see.

A fyle upo' the road he dauchlet, sweer

Even to tak' his ain, ashak' for fear

It micht be tyned, an' spak' a prayer afore

He chappit, an' the fairmer h'ard the door.

" Naithing but mine," he said, " cam' here yestreen

Ower fae the mullart ; an' he maun ha'e gi'en

The Aul' Gairdner 119

A'thing he had o' oors ; jist ye stoy roun'
To ken for siccar." Shakkin' to the foun',
The Gairdner hurried, amaist satisfiet
That heavy, noo, upon an aul' worn breet
The warst wad tum'le, an' his fear stan' true,
The mullart thriepin' that nae seek wis due.
He'd haud nae bargie wi' dishonesty.

Runtit o' a' he'd gi'en aul' age to ha'e,
O' bonny-picturet dream, wi' but a lame
Left in his han', the Gairdner turned for hame.
His heid sunk doon, his een were starin' glum ;
The thocht gyan' throu* his min' wis lanelisome.
Nae breed in plenty for the hungry wean ;
Nae ease o* waesome darg for hard-vrocht Jean ;
Nae evenin's, gi'en to readin', for himsell.
But aye the tyave, fae morn till even, fell
An' brakin' to the he'rt, fin strength langsyne
Wis wearin' deen — tyave till the very ein'.
Alang the road for hame he wan'er't, ponderin' :
Aye here an' there, the stooks were weatherin'
Upon the gowden stibble i' the win' ;
Laich i' the lift, the hairst-meen gyan' awa',
Made fite wi' silky rime, forest an' ha'
An' field ; an' deckit wi' a siller croon
Dim ghaists o' mountains, layerin' aroon'.
For bonny earth the Gairdner had nae een.
An* h'ardna, sweetly welcomin' the meen,
The mavis, makin' music wi' its sang.
He had nae singin' in his h'ert ; ower lang
He'd focht an' trachlet, houpin' to mak' gweed
His labours, an' they'd fa'n aboot his heid.
An' aul' man's tyavin', little worshippit.

Hame till his yaird, an' hirplin' throu' the yett
Upo' the dees he sat, his een aglower
On naething, an' his shouthers bowin' ower.
Nae need for Jean to spier " Fat's ailin' ye ? "
For weel she kent his eeran'. Pitifu'

I20 Aberdeen University Review

An' mitherly, she strokit the fite pow,

An' lo'ed her aul' man, noo his wark wis throu'.

" We needna mourn aboot it ; we ha'e fan'

In a' oor tribbles that there's aye a han'

That bauds us ; though it's hard to bide an' sair

To ha'e the breed, we've trachlet late an* ear'

To gaither, riven fae us noo ; an' yet

We jist maun thole't, we craiturs, withoot fret."

Across the meer Aggie wis ciyin' Jean.

" Peer lassies," said the Gairdner, " I'd ha'e gi'en

A' my fyow days to keep them lauchin' sae."

An' fae his rucklet lips, the words cam' wae,

An', for awhile, faither an' mither steed,

Watchin' the burnin' meen sink doon, bricht reed,

Watchin' the stars gyan' furlin' throu' the sky,

Thinkin' mirk thochts o' dool an' misery.

Lang years sin' syne, the Gairdner an' his Jean
Ha'e lain thegither, wi' the sod abeen.
Their vera grave-steen, layer 't grey wi' fog,
Styters upon its foun' ; a bairn's shog,
A puff o' win', wad ding it doon. Ootbye,
Aneth the thack 'twis eence his pride, the kye
Tak' shelter fae the win' an' sleety shoo'er ;
Throu' a' the bonny gairden, tansies flo'er,
'Mang berry-busses grown to haulm ; an' aye,
As oorlich as the greetin' hellwarye,
The crafters, mossin' to the Tap, can hear,
Hine, hine awa' the grouse scraich ower the meer.

ALEXANDER M. BUCHAN.

A Forgotten Aberdeenshire Monastery.

UR Celtic Christian sites in Aberdeenshire have
usually been ascribed to St. Columba and his
Scotic disciples from lona, but recent research has
shown that most if not all of them belong to a
different source and may claim a higher antiquity.
The whole question of the introduction of Christi-
anity into Pictland has recently been exposed to
searching investigation by the Rev. Archibald B. Scott, minister of
Kildonan in Sutherland. Mr. Scott, in his book on the " Pictish
Nation," and in his smaller work on "St. Ninian,"^ has shown that
much of the credit commonly awarded to Columba and the Scottish
School of lona, is really due to Ninian and his British missionaries
from Strathclyde, who were actively spreading the Gospel in Aberdeen-
shire a full century and a half before Columba set foot on the pebbly
beach of lona. Ultimately, with the political ascendancy of the Scots
over the Picts, the Scottish or Columban church absorbed its pre-
decessor. While the Columban Church conformed early to Rome, the
remnants of the native Pictish Church, founded from Strathclyde, con-
tinued dissidents to the last as the Culdees of the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries. Hence all through the later Middle Ages the
Roman Church writers systematically garbled the records of Celtic
Christianity, ascribing to Columba and the lona brethren much of
the work which was in fact performed by Ninian and Kentigern and
their disciples. Thus, to take one instance only, the famous Monastery
at Deer in Buchan was believed in medieval times to have been
founded by Columba, whereas in reality it was founded, a full genera-
tion before Columba even landed in Scotland, by one of Ninian's
disciples, Colm, who also established churches at Oyne, Daviot, Birse,
and Belhelvie, at each of which places he was afterwards confused or
equated with Columba.

1 " The Pictish Nation : its People and its Church," 1918 ; " St. Ninian, Apostle of
the Britons and Picts," 1916.

122 Aberdeen University Review

One of the most famous of these pre-Columban Missionaries in
Aberdeenshire was St Moluag (Molocus or Lugadius as he is called
in the Latin records). Unlike most of our Celtic apostles, he did not
come from Strathclyde, but from the great monastery at Bangor in
Ulster: "Bangor of the hosts" as it was called, from the three
thousand monks which it numbered in its greatest days. From this
famous monastery, which founded colonies as far away as Switzerland
and Lombardy, St. Moluag was sent into Pictland in 562, the year
before Columba established his community at lona. St. Moluag
laboured in Argyll, Ross, and Banfif, but he is pre-eminently associated
with Aberdeenshire. Three of his churches are in the valley of the
Dee — Tarland, Migvie, and Durris. Others are at Newmachar and
Clatt It is interesting to note that the famous Newton Stone at
Insch may be a relic of his activities in Aberdeenshire, for a
recent version of its mysterious inscription contains the name of
Moluag.^ If so, this stone is surely one of the most impressive
memorials of the dawn of its recorded history which our county can
boast. The great apostle of Aberdeenshire died while labouring in
the Garioch on 25 June, 592, and was buried at his monastery of
Rosemarkie in Ross-shire. His crozier, the Bachuill More, is still
preserved, a remarkable relic of the early Celtic Church, in the
hereditary guardianship of the Duke of Argyll. " It is a dull intelli-
gence," Mr. Scott truly remarks, " which is not startled by the sur-
vival of this pastoral staff into the twentieth century." ^

The most important of St. Moluag's foundations in Aberdeenshire
was at Clova in Kildrummy. His choice of this locality for a
missionary centre is amply justified by the earth houses and other
evidences of a thriving prehistoric population with which this district
is crowded. The site is a gentle eminence on the left bank of the
Little Mill Bum, a small tributary of the Mossat which rises in Hill
of John's Cairn. It is just east of Little Mill Smiddy and slightly
over half a mile south of Clova House, or a mile south-west of the
village of Lumsden. Near it is, or was, Simmerluak's (St. Moluag's)
Well. Within a plantation may still be seen the rubble foundations
of the parish Church of Cloveth, which in medieval times took the

^See "Proc. Soc. Ant. Scot.," 1907-8, pp. 56-63; "Trans. Scot. Eccles. Soc.," 1911-
12, Vol. Ill, Part III, p. 308.

* Sec " Trans. Scot. Eccles. Soc.," igii-12, Vol. Ill, Part III, pp. 294-309 ; also Wilson,
« ' Prehistoric Annals of Scotland," 2nd Ed., Vol. II, pp. 478-9, where the crozier is figured.

A Forgotten Aberdeenshire Monastery 123

place of the old Celtic monastery. They indicate a building about
30 feet 8 inches long by 21 feet 4 inches broad exteriorly, oriented
to north-east. The walls were apparently some 2 feet 8 inches
thick : but as the whole south side of the building has been com-
pletely wrecked, and lies buried under a heap of stones, it is not pos-
sible to give very precise dimensions. One or two dressed slabs still
lie about the site ; and in the grounds of Clova House are preserved
a number of fragments which show that the little church was not
without architectural pretensions. These fragments comprise large
portions of a square headed window with a splayed central mullion ;
several splayed rybats and lintels ; a portion of the font ; and one
finely wrought stone with mouldings whose deep hollows and bold rolls
seem to indicate a date in the thirteenth century. In Clova House
are also preserved four remarkable stone crosses which were dug up
in 1875 ^^ ^c ^^^ churchyard. They are quite plain and roughly
hewn, or rather hacked out, and may well be relics of the early Celtic
monastery. All were found erect beneath the surface of the soil into
which they had sunk, and associated with them were traces of inter-
ment The Museum at Clova also contains a remarkable perforated
bead in dark blue stone, veined in white, red, light blue, and green,
which was found in 1876 under the north-west corner stone of the
foundations of the ancient chapel.^

Standing on this very ancient and sacred site, is it not strange to
think of it as the scene of a busy little Culdee community, where
manuscripts were read and copied, and where schools were established
to spread religion and civilization among the rude inhabitants of
Kildrummy and Auchindoir, at a period when the adjoining earth
houses may still have been inhabited, and when beacons blazed often
on the vitrified fort at Tap o' Noth to give warning of approaching
war? Still more remarkable is the reflexion that our remote district
was witness of such godly labours at a period when in the west of
Europe the Lombard hordes were pouring into that part of Italy to
which they gave their name, and wresting the conquests of the great
Justinian from the nerveless grasp of his successors ; when at Rome
Pope Gregory I was at the height of his power ; when in the east the
Empire was locked in that titanic struggle with Persia from which by
the genius of Heraclius it emerged triumphant, only to be humbled

^ I have to acknowledge the kindness of Capt. H. P. Lumsden of Clova in permitting
access to the fragments of the old church and to the Museum at Clova House.

124 Aberdeen University Review

almost to the dust before the rival might of Islam ; at a period, also,
before St. Augustine had landed in the pagan wilds of Saxon Kent,
and when St. Columba had barely commenced his great work among
the Scotic immigrants of Dalriada.

We may readily picture our little community, with its group of
wooden or wattle huts, its smithy, its barns and byres, its bakery, its
kiln for corn-drying, and its little heather-thatched church of un-
cemented stone — all enclosed by a fencible dry-built wall and earthen
bank, and surrounded by the neat patches of cultivated soil upon
which the holy brethren worked. The life of the inmates, too, may
be realized with tolerable clearness from a consideration of the well-
known characteristics of Celtic missionary monasticism. Most of
them would be laymen, exempt from the heavy duties of religious
service, and wholly taken up with the practical work and manual
labour of the community. The religious brethren, or monks proper,
were grouped into three classes — the Seniors, who were old men past
active work and rich in holiness ; the Working Brethren, on whom
the main burden of the missionary and educational work of the
monastery was cast; and the Juniors, or novices under instruction.
The system of devotional exercises was very severe. A feature was
the Laus Perenms, or "perpetual praise" maintained in the church
day and night by relays of brethren. Thus in the Life of St.
Kentigern, we have an account of his monastery at Llanelwy in
North Wales, in which it is stated that three hundred and sixty-five
monks, " divided into companies, so that the praise of God never
ceased," " devoted themselves to the divine office in church by day
and by night, and scarcely ever went forth out of the sanctuary " ^ —
that is, the comraich or sacred precincts of the monastery. The dress
of these monks was of the simplest form, consisting of a shirt reaching
to the heels, and an upper garment with hood and sleeves ; shoes of
hide ; and a white surplice for use at festivals. All classes lived with
the greatest austerity, sleeping on beds of stone, or at the best on
boards covered with straw ; each monk had his own cell or hut ; and
celibacy at any rate in the early and best days of Celtic monasticism
was strictly enforced. Up in the surrounding hills — in the Correens
or in the wilds of the Cabrach — would be the " diserts," or retreats
whither the holy brethren would withdraw on occasion for solitary
meditation. These hermitages were a great characteristic of the

^ " Kalendars of Scottish Saints," ed. Bishop Forbes, p. 368.

A Forgotten Aberdeenshire Monastery 125

Celtic monasteries. On the south side of Tap o' Noth, looking
towards Clova, is an immense jutting rock called Cloch-Malew, " the
stone of Moluag," which no doubt formed the " disert " or retreat of
the Saint while labouring in these parts.

In addition to the work connected with the maintenance of the
civil and religious life of the monastery, there was also the missionary
activity of which each community was a centre. The brethren would
go forth, generally in couples, for long periods, sometimes months on
end, preaching to the natives and setting before them the ideals and
standard of a Christian life. Moreover, every monastery possessed
its school, and we also know that they provided systematic teaching
in agriculture, and gifted seed to the faithful in the neighbourhood.
In the life of St Nathalan occurs the wise and beautiful remark that
"among the works of men's hands the cultivation of the earth
approaches nearest to divine contemplation " ; ^ and this thought was
fully translated into practice by the Celtic church. In the East,
monasticism abandoned itself to purposeless and selfish introspection :
in the West, on the lines established by St. Martin of Tours, and
strictly maintained by St. Ninian and his school in Scotland, it became
an institution of the highest practical value for the spreading of
spiritual and material blessings. It has been well pointed out that
whereas the medieval monastery was a refuge whither men fled from
the vices of their fellow-men, the monastery in Celtic times was a
training school for warriors who boldly issued forth to wrestle with
the evil around them.

We know very little of the community at Clova during the six
hundred years of its activity. Its founder placed it under the larger
settlement which he had planted at Mortlach in Banffshire. Practic-
ally the only notice of it which has been preserved amid the darkness
of those early ages tells us that the church and lands of Cloveth were
confirmed by Malcolm Canmore to the parent monastery at Mortlach.
This grant, however, which is dated 1062, "has been," in the words
of our great legal antiquary, Cosmo Innes, " very generally denounced
as a palpable forgery ".^ After long continuing to fulfil the high
purpose of its founder, the little monastery at Clova was finally merged
in the Anglo-Norman parochial system which replaced the old Celtic
missionary organization in the twelfth century. In 11 57 a bull of

^ " Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 417.

* " Registrum Episcop. Aberdon.," Vol. I, Prefiace, p. xi.

126 Aberdeen University Review

Pope Adrian IV assigned the town and monastery of Mortlach, with
its five dependent churches and the monastery at Cloveth, to the See
of Aberdeen.^ It has been conjectured that the old Celtic Christianity
still retained its hold upon the inhabitants, since we are told by
Hector Boece that Gilbert de Sterling, Bishop of Aberdeen from 1228
to 1239, recovered Cloveth from "wicked Highlanders".^ Thereafter
Cloveth became a parish, and the ancient monastery was replaced by
the parochial church whose foundations remain, and which in the
Roman fashion was dedicated to St. Luke. Luke was probably de-
liberately chosen by the Romanists from the resemblance of his name
to that of Moluag, particularly when the honorific prefix "Mo" is
omitted — the form which is Latinized as Luanus or Lugadius.
Macfarlane's Topographer, writing in 1725, speaks of a "chapel
dedicated to St. Luke called Sommiluak's Chappel, formerly much
frequented by all the northern pariochs".^ His testimony to the fame
of the ancient monastery is powerfully reinforced by the fact that
the name of its Celtic founder has outlived both the Roman dedication
and the faith of Rome itself.

In the fourteenth century, as a result of the disturbances and im-
poverishment caused by the great struggle with the Plantagenets, it
was considered advisable to merge the parish of Clova in Kildrummy.
The two parishes, we are told, had been " devastated over and over
again by war ". Probably the military operations connected with the
two sieges of Kildrummy Castle, in 1306 and 1335, had pressed
heavily on the district The union between the two parishes was
accordingly carried out on 18 January, 1362, and was duly approved
by Alexander, Bishop of Aberdeen, on 4 April, 1364.* Thereafter
the church of Cloveth fell to ruin, and the ecclesiastical history of
this ancient and holy site came to an end.

Although the foundations of the medieval church are wellnigh
gone, and nothing whatever remains of the turf and wooden buildings
which made up the old Celtic monastery, it is impossible to visit this
venerable and historic site without feelings of profound emotion, when
we consider the noble work which was here accomplished at the very
dawn of our country's recorded annals. No finer task has perhaps
been entrusted to man than was given these early missionaries to

1 " Registrum Episcop. Aberdon.," Vol. I, pp. 5-7. ^Ibid., Preface, p. xxiii.

3 " Macfarlane's Topographical Collections," Vol. I, p. 30.
*" Registrum EoiscoD. Aberdon.." Vol. I. dd. 102-^.

' Registrum Episcop. Aberdon.," Vol. I, pp. 102-3

A Forgotten Aberdeenshire Monastery 127

perform. In a wild land, under circumstances of great personal hard-
-ship and danger, they lived strenuous lives of the purest self-sacrifice
for the great cause to which they were unreservedly consecrated, body
and soul. Moreover, theirs were practical lives, rich in well-ordered,
fruitful toil, both physical and intellectual. I need not dwell upon
the spiritual uplift caused by the adoption of Christianity in Pictland
at large, and its political effect in bringing these out-of-the-way dis-
tricts into eventual touch with the main currents of European develop-
ment. Not less important was the purely local work which these
monkish settlements performed in introducing to the untutored natives
an improved husbandry and winning them to a higher standard of
social life. It may be freely granted that by the twelfth and thir-
teenth centuries Celtic Christianity had worn itself out, and that its
absorption in the Church of Rome was necessary and inevitable, both
spiritually and politically. But let us not thereby allow ourselves to
forget the great work done by the native church, although all that
remains to tell us of her activities are the forgotten sites of her
perished monasteries, the church foundations and holy places which
mark the wanderings of her great apostles, and the legends which
have gathered round their names — legends which, adopted by the
medieval church and garbled in her interest, have too often served
only to obscure the work of the primitive missionaries.

W. DOUGLAS SIMPSON.

From the Greek Anthology.
I.

Bpdyfxa naXai Xa^valov, iprjiMaiov re K€X.v(f)o?

ofXfxaTOS, ay\(j}(T(TOV G* apixovCrj (rrojJi.aTO'iy
^v\r)<; acrOeve^ ipKO<s, dTvp,^evTOV davdroio

Xelxfjavov, eivohtov BaKpv irapep^ofxevajv,
Kelcro TreXa? npifivoio irap' drpawov, 6<f>pa fidOjj Tt5

dOpTJcraSi Ti nXeov (jyeiBofxevo) ^lorov.

CRINAGORA&

Skull whereon in day gone by

Rippled thick the ringlets fair,

Gaping socket, void of eye.

Scurf-frayed now and gaunt and bare :

Fabric of the tongueless jole

Where no more doth come the breath,

Frail pavilion of the soul.

Relic of unburied death !

As the traveller takes his way

He shall drop a tear on thee,

Where thou liest, mouldering clay.

Disregarded by the tree,

And shall learn the lesson plain,

" Thrift of life is folly vain ".

J. HARROWER-

From the Greek Anthology 129

II.

Aiet fioL hivel fxev iv ovacriv rjx'^'^ *E/3a>ro9,
oixfia Se crZya Ild^ot? to ykvKv Sct/cpu (^epet •

ovS* 17 vv^y ov <f)€yyos eKot/xt(rev, aXX* vtto <l>ikTpoiv
TJhr) TTOV Kpahia yvacTTOs eveom twos.

^ TTTavoi, fir) KaC ttot e^iTrraor^at fxev, *E/3a)T€S,
otSar, aTroTTT'^vaL S' ovS' o<rov to^vere.

MELEAGER.

Whirling ever in my brain

Is a music, Love's refrain,

And my yearning eyes are dim,

With sweet and silent tears abrim.

Night nor day can bring me rest,

On my heart is deep imprest

That familiar character.

Graven of the Sorcerer.
Love imps his wings to fly to me.
His pinions droop when he would flee.

J. HARROWER.

The Aberdonian Abroad — II.

V.

THE ABERDONIAN AS TEACHER IN THE NEW WORLD.

\HE wanderings of the Aberdeen scholar were not con-
fined to Europe — he found his way to the New World
as well. One of the early pioneers of education in
America was Rev. Patrick Copland, a native of Aberdeen
— born there in 1572, and educated at the Grammar
School and Marischal College. His wanderings were
many and diverse. He was for several years a chaplain
to the East India Company, and while in its service
made two vogages to India, returning from one of them by way of Japan.
About 162 1 he conceived the plan of establishing a church and school in
Virginia and collected money for the purpose. He received a grant of
land from the Virginia Company, was appointed one of the Council of State
of the colony, and was chosen as Rector of the Henrico College, to which his
proposed school was to be affiliated. His intention of going out to Virginia,
however, was frustrated by a massacre by Indians, which put an end to the
project. Copland's interest in colonization and the Christian education of
the American natives continued unabated, nevertheless ; and, receiving a
legacy of ;^30o from a friend to establish an Indian School on the Somers
Islands (the Bermudas), he proceeded thither, about 1626, to set the school
in operation. He remained there for twenty years, actively prosecuting the
work of a missionary and educationalist. This work was finally interrupted
by ecclesiastical feuds, and Copland, owing to his Puritanism, was imprisoned
for some time. In 1648 he sailed to Eleuthera, one of the Bahama group,
and he died there, probably between 165 1 and 1655, when he was about or
possibly over eighty years of age. He founded the Professorship of Divinity
in Marischal College in 161 7 by a mortification of 2000 merks, which he
subsequently increased to 6000 merks.

The College at Philadelphia, which developed into the University of
Pennsylvania, was founded in 1755 by Dr. William Smith, a native of the
parish of.Slains, who studied at King's College, 1743-47. He went to
America in 1 75 1, and attracted the attention of Benjamin Franklin by the
publication of a scheme of university education. He was the first Provost
of the Philadelphia College. Leaving Philadelphia in 1780 for Chestertown,
Maryland, he there instituted the seminary which is now Washington College.
His scheme of University education was practically identical with that pre-
vailing in Aberdeen at the time, and it formed the basis of the curriculum
adopted in all American Universities — quite a unique distinction, which
Aberdeen owes to one of its wandering scholars.^

^ See " Aberdeen Influence on American Universities," by P. J. Anderson, in Aberdeen.
University Review, v., 27-31.

The Aberdonian Abroad — II 131

The founder of Trinity University, Toronto, was John Strachan, M.A.,
King's College, 1797 ; and St. John's College, Rupertsland, was founded by
John M'Callum, who graduated at King's College in 1832.

Many Aberdeen graduates have been professors in American and
Canadian Colleges. Henry Hopper Miles, M.A., King's College, 1839, was
for many years Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in Bishop's
College, Lennoxville, and ultimately became Secretary of the Department of
Public Instruction in Canada : he was the author of the histories of Canada
used in the elementary schools of the Dominion.

VL

OUR MODERN " EXPORT OF BRAINS ".

The export of brains still continues. I took the trouble one evening
recently to run over two dozen pages of the list of graduates given in the
University " Calendar " — barely a fifth of the total — and note the present occu-
pation and location of the various men. There were professors, lecturers.
College instructors and teachers in Canada, South Africa, Australia, New
Zealand and India, not a few of the teachers being ladies ; medical men all
over the world, even in such remote places as Raratonga, New Guinea, and
Klondike ; clergymen and medical missionaries in China, India, Nyasaland,
Nigeria, and the New Hebrides, including a Bishop, the Bishop of Labuan
and Sarawak, in the person of a son of the late Dean Danson ; members of
the Indian Civil Service and the Indian Forestry Service, and of the Consular
and Customs services abroad ; rubber planters in the Malay States, a barrister
in Australia, a solicitor in Edmonton, Canada, a banker in Mexico, a min-
ing engineer in Johannesburg, a stockbroker in Pretoria, a farmer in the
Argentine, and another in Saskatchewan, who has named his holding
" Bennachie " — which reminds me that an Aberdeen friend of mine who
settled in the sunny clime and fruitful land of California dubbed his farm, so
he said, " Pech nae mair ". In this connection I may mention incidentally
that in the course of the past two years no fewer than eighteen graduates of
Aberdeen University have been appointed to Professorships at home and
abroad.^

Buchan — selecting this district of the shire again merely as a sample — is
not behind in its contribution to the export of Aberdeenshire brains in modern
times. I hope I may be excused referring to the two last pages of my own
edition of Pratt's " Buchan," where an enumeration was given of some of the
more distinguished of then contemporary scholars hailing from the district.
They included Charles Niven, Professor of Natural Philosophy at Aberdeen
University; his brother. Sir William D. Niven, Director of Studies at the
Royal Naval College, Greenwich ; Dr. Peter Giles, now Master of Emmanuel
College, Cambridge ; Professor A. F. Murison, London University ; Principal
Cook, Government College, Bangalore, India ; and Thomas Davidson, a
native of Fetterangus, probably the most brilliant scholar that Buchan — or
Aberdeenshire, for the matter of that — ever produced. He emigrated to
America and acquired a high reputation by his philosophical and educational

1 See Review, vii, 81-82, 164, 178-79, 274-75.

132 Aberdeen University Review

writings. When he died (in 1900) the Spectator eulogized him as "one
of the most gifted and remarkable men of the latter half of this century,"
" one of the dozen most learned men on this planet ". At the date of the
publication of that edition of Pratt (1901), Buchan was most worthily repre-
sented in theology by Dr. A. B. Davidson, Professor of Hebrew, New College,
Edinburgh (a native of Ellon) ; in divinity by Rev. Dr. William Mair, Earl-
ston (native of Savoch), Moderator of Assembly, 1897 ; in law by Mr. James
Ferguson of Kinmundy, Sheriff of Argyll and later of Forfarshire ; and in
medicine by Sir James Reid (of Ellon), and by Dr. Charles Creighton (of Peter-
head), author of "A History of Epidemics in Britain".

Mr. Keith Leask bears striking testimony to what he terms " the roving
propensities of the Aberdonian" in that exceedingly interesting and most
entertaining book of his, " Interamna Borealis ". Writing on the record of
the Grammar School Class of 1807, he points out that members of it found
their way to Valparaiso, Lima, Java, Montreal, Charleston, China, and
Jersey, etc. And writing on the University Arts Class of 1884-88 he says —

" One medical man, an unsuccessful candidate for the Yukon Terri-
tory in the Canadian Parliament, has made things lively in Dominion
circles. Another doctor has travelled over Uganda and explored the
uninhabited plains between Lake Victoria Nyanza and Kilima-Njaro,
Rhodesia, and the ancient ruins of Matabeleland. Two in the Class
have died at sea. Their outward-bound sails have long left the pier of
Aberdeen far behind, and the wanderers are found in every quarter of
the globe. They range from St. Kilda, * plac'd far amid the melancholy
main,' to China. Canada, America, Cape Colony, and the Hudson Bay
Territory have all taken toll. The globe has been circumnavigated by
at least two. Lately we noticed in ' Round the World on a Wheel ' how
three cyclists, breaking down in the interior of China, were succoured by
a member of the Class."

VII.

THE ABERDONIAN AS SOLDIER.

Something ought, perhaps, to be said of the Aberdonian as soldier, but,
frankly, it is a field I have not investigated, and I am somewhat doubtful if
the investigation would yield any profitable results. It would be interesting,
ofl course, to be assured that Aberdonians — limiting the term for the moment
to men of the city — were to be found in the famous Scots Guard of France,
best known to most of us, I suppose, by the account of it given in " Quentin
Durward," and the history of which and of the ancient league between France
and Scotland has been so well delineated by Burton in his " Scot Abroad ".
It would be equally interesting to know positively that Aberdeen furnished
some of the Scots troopers who fought indiscriminately on any side in the
Thirty Years' War in Germany (1618-48), of whom the typical representative
is Sir Walter Scott's Dugald Dalgetty of Drumthwacket, on the estate of
Banchory-Devenick.^ I am afraid, however, that the Aberdonian of the
olden days was not a fighting man, but was more concerned in pursuing

^ See " Marischal's Most Martial Alumnus," by J. D. Symon ; Review, iii. 13-26.

The Aberdonian Abroad — II 133

peaceful trade at home than in serving as a trooper abroad ; and this opinion
is strengthened by an incidental remark of Dr. P'ischer — " The most influen-
tial Scotsmen settled in Germany were merchants. . . . Whilst in France we
hear of nothing but of the heroisms of Scottish warriors, it was the Scottish
trader in Germany who chiefly left his imprints upon the country of his
adoption."^ Such Aberdonians as took part in Continental campaigns seem
mainly to have belonged to the county and to have been younger sons of
impecunious lairds, who enrolled in foreign armies, impelled thereto either
by love of adventure or by dire necessity, the paternal acres being insufficient
to maintain them as idlers at home, or because, as in some cases, proscribed
for their political or religious views and the persistent and troublesome pro-
clamation thereof. Three notable and well-known instances in illustration
are furnished in the chaper on "The Soldier" in "The Scot Abroad ".^
Patrick Gordon of Auchleuchries, in Cruden, after serving in the Swedish
and Polish armies, had a brilliant career in the Russian service, and Burton
expresses the opinion that, "after his friend and master Peter the Great, it
may be questioned if any other one man did so much for the early consoli-
dation of the Russian empire as Patrick Gordon ". James Francis Keith, of
the once powerful and historic Buchan family of Keiths, forced to leave the
country after the '15 and the attempted Jacobite rising in Glenshiel four years
later, won much distinction in the Russian army, and, transferring his ser-
vices to Prussia, ultimately became one of Frederick the Great's most trusted
generals. And with him is associated his elder brother, the last Earl Maris-
chal, who, however, was more a diplomat and an administrator than a soldier,
a man of culture, the friend of Voltaire, and one of the literary circle with
which Frederick surrounded himself.

Much the same remark — that the Aberdeen soldier was generally an off"-
shoot of a county family and not at all a city man — falls to be made from a
perusal of that colossal work, brilliantly executed — in many respects, a remark-
able tour deforce — the volume on " Gordons Under Arms " by Mrs. Skelton
and Mr. John Malcolm Bulloch, as well as of Mr. Bulloch's many individual
contributions to the history of the Gordons. The gallant and heroic Gordons,
and the turbulent and discreditable ones of them as well — please to note that
the familiar descriptive epithet should be "The Gey Gordons "and not as
metamorphosed by latter-day journalists " The Gay Gordons," and I do not
need to tell an Aberdeen audience the meaning that attaches to " gey " — the
Gordons were mostly members of county families, and arms and battles and
raids and fighting were to them a sort of natural heritage. On the other hand,
trading in all its ramifications was more congenial to the douce burghers of
Aberdeen ; the ellwand was their favourite weapon, not the sword. We are
all proud, of course, of the worthy part played in the recent war by Aberdeen
men, who showed, just as their ancestors did many times, that they could
fight when the occasion arose ; still, it is very noticeable that in the recent
war Aberdeen produced only one man of high military rank — General Sir
George F. Milne, G.C.M.G, K.C.B., D.S.O., the Commander-in-Chief of the
Salonika force, son of a George Milne, who was the agent of the Commercial
Bank in King Street and occupant for several years of the house at- Queen's

^" The Scots in Eastern and Western Prussia."

'See also the section on "The Army" in "The Scots in Germany," by Th. A.
Fischer, 1902.

134 Aberdeen University Review

Cross which is now the Convent of the Sacred Heart. ^ We must not forget,
too, that Aberdeen men " did their bit " quite as valiantly in the Peninsular
War, at Waterloo, and in the many campaigns of the century that followed —
in the Crimea, the Indian Mutiny, Afghanistan, the Sudan, South Africa, and
so on, not overlooking the famous charge up the heights of Dargai to the
inspiring strains of the bagpipes played by Piper Findlater, a Turriff man,
though what precisely was the tune he played still remains matter of con-
troversy. After all, however, the deeds of such of these Aberdeen men as
displayed conspicuous bravery are more properly part of the history of the
regiments to which they belonged, and can hardly be classed with the in-
dividual achievements of Aberdonians abroad which we are now considering.

VIII.

THE ABERDONIAN AS COLONIST AND ADMINISTRATOR.

Finally, let us glance for a moment at the Aberdonian as a colonist and a
settler. If the direct intercourse of Aberdeen with foreign countries resulting
from trade connections has ceased to be so marked as it was in past centuries,
it has been replaced in some measure by the inter-communication which has
followed upon the emigration of Aberdonians to the various colonies and
dominions and to the United States of America. Large numbers of
Aberdonians have from time to time exchanged existence in their native city
for life in lands of more sunshine and better prospects of " getting on ". They
have engaged in the pioneer work of settlement in all parts of the world ; and
in the remarkable exodus to Canada from Scotland, organized and directed by
the Canadian authorities, which took place in the first dozen years of the
present century, numerous contingents were furnished by Aberdeen and
the adjacent counties. During the height of this exodus, Mr. J. M. Gibbon,
an Aberdonian, who is now the Publicity Agent of the Canadian Pacific
Railway, contributed to the Aberdeen Daily Journal a series of articles (subse-
quently reprinted) on " The Scot in Canada," descriptive of " a run through
the Dominion ". At a place named Indian Head, near Regina, the capital of
Saskatchewan, "it was natural to find some Indians," he wrote, "but what
surprised me was to see an Indian woman wearing a fine plaid of the Gordon
tartan ". Asking whether any Scot was farming in the neighbourhood, he was
advised to go and see John Murray — " he is the best man we have round
here," he was told. He discovered that John came from Banchory-Devenick,
where he had once been a blacksmith, that he still spoke the rich Doric, and
that he owned a splendid farm. Digging up potatoes for their mid-day meal,
John remarked — " Ye dinna grow tatties like yon in Banchory-Devenick. If
they saw me owning soil like yon in Aberdeen, they'd a' tak' their hats aff to
me ! " Mr. Edward W. Watt, of the Aberdeen Free Press, who attended the
Imperial Press Conference at Ottawa this year (1920) and participated in the

^Another could be named, perhaps — Major-General Sir William Edmund Ironside,
K.C.B., D.S.O., Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces at Archangel, 1918-19, and
Divisional Commander in Mesopotamia from 1920. He is described in " Burke " as a son
of the late Surgeon-Major W. Ironside, R.H.A., of Ironside, co. Aberdeen; but I must
confess I am ignorant of where Ironside is. Sir William is understood to be connected with
the Dingwall-Fordyces of Brucklay.

The Aberdonian Abroad — II 135

accompanying tour through Canada, in the course of an address to the
Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce, said : —

" The trail of the Scot is all over Canada. From Sydney to Van-
couver he is in evidence, proud of his native land, and, in many cases,
even prouder of the land of his adoption. I had many inquiries about
Aberdeen from exiled Aberdonians, and it was a pleasure to meet
several men who had fought during the Great War in the ranks of our
own Territorial regiment. An incident which occurred one night as we
were travelling down the Pacific slope quaintly illustrated the ubiquity
of the Aberdonian. When the train stopped somewhere about one
o'clock in the morning, I woke and heard some hammering outside
and then a voice said 'Are ye a' deen noo, boys? Ca awa'.' The
accent was unmistakable."

Many of the men who have migrated to the new lands of the earth have
displayed both energy and ability, and have not only proved successful in
various walks of life, but have won for themselves much distinction in their
respective localities, particularly in the field of politics and administration,
and in such departments of business and affairs as call for the exercise of
superior mental faculties. " Look to India and the Colonies and every country
with which we are connected," Sir Mountstuart Grant Duff once said, "and
you will find that Aberdeen men are doing hard intellectual work all over the
world". India in particular has been an exceedingly fruitful field for the
display of the administrative capacity of the Aberdonian. I doubt if we can
over-estimate the possession by the Aberdonian of this essential quality of
"efficiency" — it has been so abundantly demonstrated. A few years ago,
three of the permanent heads of great departments of State were Aberdeen or
Aberdeenshire men — Sir Edward Troup, Permanent Under-Secretary at the
Home Office, a native of Huntly (a nephew of George MacDonald, by the
way) ; Sir John Anderson, Permanent Under-Secretary at the Colonial Office,
born at Gartly ; and Sir Robert Bruce, Controller of the London Postal
Service, a graduate of Aberdeen. Sir John Anderson is now dead, and Sir
Robert Bruce has retired.

Aberdeen's contribution to the Indian Civil Service has been enormous.^
I will content myself with citing the names of a few living men only. The
first that occurs, and the foremost, on account of many and important services
rendered and still being rendered, is that of Sir James (now Lord) Meston,
son of a well-known Registrar of Births, etc., in the city, who recently resigned
the very high post of Finance Minister of India (held a few years ago by
another Aberdonian, Sir James Westland, son of a former manager of the
North of Scotland Bank). Lord Meston was called to London to assist the
Indian Secretary in piloting the Indian Home Rule Bill through Parliament.
Then we have Mr. G. F. Shirras, the Director of the Department of Statistics
in India ; Sir George Carmichael, member of the Council of the Governor of
Bombay ; Sir Alexander Henderson Diack, Senior Financial Commissioner of
the Punjab (recently retired) ; and Sir James Walker, Commissioner of the
Nerbudda Division of the Central Provinces — all AlDerdeen men ; and Sir
Harvey Adamson, late Lieutenant-Governor of Burma — a native of Turriff.
Lord Meston, by the way, was formerly Lieutenant-Governor of Agra and

^ See " Aberdeen and the Indian Civil Service," in Review, ii., 250-53.

136 Aberdeen University Review

Oudh, and in March, 19 16, he laid the foundation-stone of a Hospital at
Cawnpore, the gift of Sir Alexander M 'Robert of Douneside, Tarland, who is,
I think, president of the Cawnpore Woollen Mills Company. A notable thing
was that, in addition to Sir Alexander M 'Robert, other five Aberdonians were
present at the ceremony, these including Mr. (now Sir) Leslie Watson,
formerly of the Stoneywood Works, and the Hon. George Gall Sim, Chairman
of the Municipal Board of Cawnpore.^

The Aberdonian abroad figures not infrequently as a politician. Not
many years ago the Speaker of the United States Congress was a Mr. David
Bremner Henderson, who hailed from Old Deer. When I was last in America
I introduced myself, in a railway train, to Mr. John D. Stephen, the Republican
candidate for the Governorship of Colorado — a State, by the way, larger than
Great Britain. He was by birth an Aberdonian. A prominent South African
politician is the Hon. Sir William Bisset Berry, a son of the late Baillie James
Berry, the optician. He is a doctor, and has represented Queenstown, Cape
Province, in the Legislative Assembly, with a short interval, since 1894, and
was Speaker of the old Cape House of Assembly from 1898 to 1907. The
Right Hon. W. A. Watt, son of an Aberdeen man, was formerly Premier of
Victoria, and was appointed Treasurer in the Government of the Common-
wealth of Australia in 1918. He resigned, however, in May, 1920, while in
this country representing Australia at the International Conference on Finance.
As allied to politics, we may include Mr. B. C. Forbes, of whom we have been
hearing lately. A native of Fedderate, New Deer, be began life as a com-
positor on the Peterhead Sentinel. He budded forth as a reporter, went to
South Africa, and then to the United States. There he specialized in
financial journalism, and ultimately became financial editor of the New York
Journal of Commerce. Three years ago he started the Forbes Magazine, an
American fortnightly for business men. Nor should mention be omitted of
the late Senator Gibson, of Ontario, who belonged, I think, to Peterhead : he
dubbed his Canadian home " Inverugie " at any rate.

Not infrequently, as I have already indicated, the Aberdonian turns up in
the most unlikely places and occupying the most surprising positions. A
few instances may be cited. General Hugh Mercer, who commanded the
American troops at the battle of Princeton in 1777, was born in Aberdeen
and was educated at Marischal College : he was a second cousin of a Major
James Mercer, who built Sunnybank House. Dr. Charles Smart, an Aberdeen
man, a medical graduate of the University, served as a surgeon in the Federal
army during the American Civil War, and retired with the rank of Brigadier-
General. • The first Governor of Pennsylvania was Patrick Gordon, an Aber-
deen man, son of John Gordon, Aberdeen, who was the son of John Gordon,
a merchant in Poland. John Mair, a noted "apostle of temperance" in
North America, was bom in Aberdeen in 1788. Henry Farquharson, who took
a leading part in organizing the Russian Navy, entered Marischal College in
1 69 1. Francis Masson, the pioneer of botanical science in South Africa, was
an Aberdonian. Dr. Adam Thom, a Canadian judge, and Mr. Angus Mackay,
a Minister of Education in the New South Wales Government, were both

1 See speech of Lord Meston at the dinner of the Aberdeen University Edinburgh
Association in Review for March, 1921, p. 167. " There was no corner of the world," said
his lordship, " where the Aberdeen graduate was not known and welcomed. Truly, they
were citizens of the world."

The Aberdonian Abroad — II 137

Aberdonians ; and half a century ago the Town Clerk of Sydney was Mr.
John Rae, the son of an Aberdeen town's officer.

This enumeration reminds me of a story told by Rev. Mr. M'William of
Foveran in his little book, " Scottish Life in Light and Shadow ". He says he
once asked a typical Aberdonian, semi-sarcastically, whether he did not think
that, taking Scotsmen generally, an Aberdeenshire man was " just the pick of
the lot ". The Aberdonian, insensible to the irony implied, simply gave a
pleased little laugh and said — "Noo, that's rale true!"

Apart from individual illustrations of the Aberdonian abroad which could
be multiplied indefinitely — it is no unusual thing to find something like an
"Aberdeen colony" in many European settlements in foreign countries, in
such places, for example, as Hong-Kong and Singapore. Contingents of
Aberdonians were to be found in Ceylon in the early days of coffee-planting,
and, later, when tea-planting superseded coffee-planting; Aberdonians in
numbers are to be met with to-day in Assam and other tea-planting districts
of Upper India ; and I am sure that by now all the rubber-growing districts
of the East and of South America have their contingents of men hailing from
the Granite City or from the county. A very large number of quarry-workers
from Aberdeen and the neighbourhood are located at Barre, the chief seat of
the granite industry in Vermont. There is a flourishing Aberdeen, Banff and
Kincardineshire Association in Winnipeg, which held its tenth annual meeting
last September. One of its vice-presidents is an Ellon man, two of its
secretaries hail from Fraserburgh, and a third from Lonmay. Among the-
early Governors of Fiji was Sir Arthur Hamilton Gordon (afterwards Lord
Stanmore), an uncle of the Marquis of Aberdeen. He interested himself in
the development of the islands, especially in the cultivation of sugar-cane,
and not a few of the sugar-planters hailed from Aberdeenshire, particularly
from the Haddo House estates. A later administrative official of Fiji was.
another Aberdeenshire man — Sir William L. Allardyce, K.C.M.G., son of the
late Colonel James Allardyce of Culquoich. He was Deputy-Governor of the
colony, 1901-02 ; and Colonial Secretary, 1902-04.

The name " Aberdeen " itself has also acquired a certain degree of ubiquity.
Eight towns at least in the United States are so called, and towns of the name
are to be found in New South Wales, Queensland, and the Cape Province.
Aberdeen is the name of a parish in New Brunswick, in a district where a
" colony " of emigrants, mainly from Aberdeenshire and Glasgow, settled in
1 86 1. There is an Aberdeen Lake in Keewatin, Canada — probably named,
however, after Lord Aberdeen, when he was Governor-General of the
Dominion ; and "Aberdeen Island " off Hong-Kong possesses an "Aberdeen
harbour ". The choice of the designation " Aberdeen " in so many and such
various places could hardly have been haphazard, but must have been
determined presumably by a predominance of Aberdonians in the locality, or
selected in deference to the wish — or in honour — of some official or influential
resident who came from Aberdeen. Either way, the choice of the name
demonstrates — what is abundantly demonstrated otherwise — the immense
capacity of the Aberdonian for " peaceful penetration ".

Much more, very much more, could be said of the Aberdonian abroad,
both in the past and in the present day. I have been obliged to leave many
phases of the subject unexplored. There is the large field of missionary
enterprise, for instance, in which Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire men and women

138 Aberdeen University Review

have taken — and are still taking — a prominent and honourable part; the
names will readily occur of Mackay of Uganda, Dr. Robert Laws, Dr. Hedder-
wick, Mary Slessor, and Rev. Dr. James Shepherd. Cognate to missionary
work, there is the very remarkable share that Aberdonians have had in the
compilation of dictionaries of native languages — quite extraordinary, I am
assured. Nor have I so much as mentioned Aberdeen's participation in the
building and sailing of the once famous clipper ships, and in the annual
ocean-racing from China with the new season's teas, or referred to the great
number of Aberdonians who man the engine-rooms of the liners that have
supplanted the clippers. Kipling, by the way, has put one of his toughest
yarns into the mouth of a chief engineer whose speech was " the speech of
Aberdeen ". I have said enough, however, I hope, to show that the Aberdon-
ian ranges far and wide, playing no unimportant part in the world's work.
So extensive is that range that we might well employ the classic phrase.
Quae regio in terris nostri non plena laboris ?

There is a temptation — not unnatural, I fancy, and certainly not easily
resisted — to indulge in a little self-glorification, in the manner of the familiar
Scottish " sentiment " — " Here's to oorsel's ; wha's like us ? " Perhaps I have
been indulging in it all through, indirectly if not directly. For fear of the
implied laudation being too excessive, and to obviate any danger of our
becoming too conceited, I shall end with the warning conveyed in a delicious
story furnished by Rev. Mr. Cowan, late of Banchory. During the war he
acted as a chaplain to the forces, and was stationed at Malta, where a large
military hospital was established. Writing home one time, he said he had
two soldiers in hospital lying side by side, one a Welshman, the other an
Aberdonian. He went in with some newspapers one day. The Welshman
said, " It's a good thing you've come. That'll keep him quiet for a time.
He's continually lecturing us all on the unsurpassable glories of Aberdeen."

"Well," said the Aberdonian, "Aberdeen is ." The Welshman, in a

tone of mingled weariness and disgust, instantly interrupted — -"There he
^oes again ! "

ROBERT ANDERSON.

On Bach/

fROFESSOR TERRY is to be congratulated on the com-
pletion of what he is justified in describing as an " ardu-
ous labour". The publication of such an elaborate
work is significant of the vastly increased appreciation
of Bach's music among us of late years. Had it ap-
peared fifty years ago, it would have been regarded as a
conspicuous example of misdirected zeal. Now, how-
ever, nothing even remotely connected with the life or
works of the great musician is without interest to an ever-widening circle of
worshippers. The famous saying of Schumann that the debt owed by music
to John Sebastian Bach is as great as that owed by Christianity to its Founder,
which at the time of its utterance must have appeared to all but a select few
an almost grotesque exaggeration, has become little short of a truism.

That Professor Terry should have chosen Bach's use of the German
•chorale as a subject for research and exposition is not to be wondered at if
we remember the prominence accorded to it in the greatest of the master's
compositions for the Church. In the colossal B Minor Mass, indeed, and
other works meant to be used in Roman Catholic ritual, it could find no
place by reason of its distinctively Protestant origin and spirit. But in all the
other great sacred works — in the Passions of St. Matthew and St. John, in the
cantatas, in the organ preludes — Bach's employment of chorales is the
dominating characteristic. Those grand old tunes, some of them dating from
the Reformation period, a few of them the composition of Luther himself,
embodied the very soul of North German Protestantism during the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries, and formed the nucleus of its worship. Every
child learnt them, both words and music, as an essential part of its education.
And if evidence should be desired of their influence over the German tempera-
ment having extended to a yet later age, we have it in the declaration of
Mendelssohn that if life were bereft of all hope and faith, the one chorale
" Schmiicke dich, O Liebe Seele " would renew them for him. One happy
consequence of German familiarity with the old chorales in and before Bach's
time was that organists were left free to introduce into their accompaniments
all manner of variations, arabesques, interludes, and fugal devices, sure that
the congregation might be trusted to maintain the cantus in full volume.
From this practice was gradually evolved the Chorale-Prelude for the organ
alone, a species of composition which Bach brought to the highest pitch of
perfection, and of which he composed no fewer than 143. "These," writes
Mr. Ernest Newman, " are the key to the very heart of Bach. If everything

1" Bach's Chorals." By Charles Sanford Terry, Litt.D., Cantab. Part III., "The
Hymns and Hymn Melodies of the Organ Works," Cambridge: at the University Press
1921. Pp. xiv + 361.

140 Aberdeen University Review

else of his were lost, from these we could reconstruct him in all his pathos
and almost all his grandeur."

It may seem strange that such masterly works should be so little known
and so seldom performed in this country. For this comparative neglect
various reasons might be assigned. For one thing, the melodies of the
chorales are unknown, and without a knowledge of these the preludes based
upon them must be in great part unintelligible. Then until recently English
organs were in some respects ill fitted to produce the effects contemplated by
the composer. It was Bach's frequent habit to put the cantus into the bass
part, to be thundered out by a powerful pedal stop or combination of stops^
the manuals meanwhile contributing a complex superstructure of florid
counterpoint. The effect thus produced has hitherto been unattainable on
most British instruments, owing to the weakness of the pedal organ. There
is the further difficulty that the organ preludes, as the composer left them,
contain no directions as to registration — an omission the more remarkable
from the fact that Bach was noted for his exceptional skill in the choice of
stops, occasionally not disdaining to aim at piquant effects such as present-
day purists would be ready to brand as " sensational ". There is also to be
lamented the absence of all guidance as to tempo and degree of loudness,
sometimes leaving the performer at a loss whether to play a movement quickly
or slowly, forte or piano.

To these hindrances in the way of an intelligent appreciation and render-
ing of the organ preludes is to be added our ignorance of German hymnody.
We know from the testimony of a pupil that Bach himself laid great stress on
the importance of playing the preludes " according to the tenor of the words ".
With much reason did Beethoven complain to George Thomson of Edinburgh
of the difficulty he found in harmonizing Scottish airs without having the
words before him. Any one attempting to play one of the chorale preludes
while knowing nothing of the words associated with the melody will find him-
self confronted by a similar difficulty. The music must be played in the spirit
of the hymn which suggested it. Moreover Bach, like St. Paul, had a habit
of " going off on a word ". In the preludes passages are of frequent occur-
rence in which the natural development of the thematic material is interrupted
by the appearance of some apparently incongruous figure. This can only be
accounted for by a reference to the words of the hymn, where some sentiment
or image has been laid hold of by Bach as an opportunity for his favourite
practice of tone-painting. Grief and pain are depicted by a profusion of
chromatic harmony ; the flow of a river by a rippling succession of quavers ;
the flight of angels by ascending and descending scale-passages.

In this third volume of his trilogy Professor Terry has done yeoman service
in paving the way for a deepened appreciation of the chorale preludes, and
also, it may be hoped, for a more general and adequate performance of them.
After a lengthy introduction containing an enumeration of the tunes used as
themes and the organ pieces founded upon them, supplemented by a wealth
of biographical and bibliographical details regarding the authors of the hymns,
and the composers of the music — the fruit of a prodigious amount of research
— the writer enters on the main portion of his task. The melodies of the
chorales are given in their earliest known form (which Bach subjected to
frequent alteration). Each melody is followed by an English translation of
the hymn to which it was set. Various translators have been drawn upon —

On Bach 141

Catherine Winkworth, George MacDonald, and others less known — not the least
successful versions being contributed by Professor Terry himself. Occasion-
ally his laudable desire to be faithful to his original betrays him into a pain-
fully prosaic rendering such as that of the concluding lines of " Der Tag, der
ist so freudenreich ". An invariably interesting feature of the annotations
is the frequent mention of those instances above referred to where the treat-
ment of the chorale is clearly affected by the words of the hymn. In a few
cases it may be suspected that Professor Terry sees more meaning in Bach's
music than Bach himself was conscious of. It may be that in one prelude the
faltering steps of the aged Simeon are depicted by the syncopated and halting
rhythm of the pedal part, and that the semiquaver phrases in another symbol-
ize the rolling away of the stone from the sepulchre. But when the author
sees in the " extraordinarily wide spacing " of a theme a proclamation of
Bach's adherence to the Lutheran doctrine of the Sacrament as opposed to
the Zwinglian, he is surely investing music with a faculty for doctrinal ex-
egesis which to the majority of his readers will be far from obvious.

No one can rise from the perusal of this monumental work without a feel-
ing of profound respect for Professor Terry as a scholar and musician. No
less conspicuous is his love and veneration for the consummate genius whose
productions he has done so much to elucidate. He has achieved a fine piece
of work of which he has every reason to be proud ; which needed to be done
by some one, which could hardly have been done better by any one else, and
which should earn for him the gratitude of all lovers, students, and players of
Bach to the end of time.

H. W. WRIGHT.

The Lure of the North.

A REVERIE AT A REUNION OF ABERDEEN GRADUATES IN

EDINBURGH.

fOME one has said that Patriotism is fed from three foun-
tains— God, The Home and History. It can only be
true if God be in it. It can only be tender if our Home
be in it. It can only be strong if History be in it. It is
a mysterious instinct or passion — awakened by the lilt of
a tune — a sprig of heather or shamrock — the waving of
an old flag — a letter from home — but it wields a mighty
force and has played a splendid part in the history of
races and peoples.

What is the secret of it in its narrower or wider applications ? Why do
we love the land of our birth — the city or village or glen where our youth
was spent— the school or college where knowledge was gathered and character
trained? Is it race — or community of interest — or a common tradition — or
mere sentiment — or what Professor Bain called " the habituation of ideas " ?
Is it not kin to the love of one's father or mother — divinely created and
running in our blood ? Thus we speak of our Fatherland or Motherland, and
name our College " Alma Mater ".

Some time ago the Principal of Glasgow University broke into a paean
of the Highlands — the land of mountain and mist — of torrent and glen —
of chieftain, clan and pibroch. Even a lowlander can appreciate the secret
of such emotion and thrill with the magic of the forest and glen.
But how can we explain the love of Aberdeen ?

A county for the greater part bleak and cold — its land stony and hard —
its tillage severe and slow — a county in large measure bereft of verdure — few
" gay landscapes or gardens of roses " — and its people like its soil, to outward
appearance dour and hard and cold. Yet there is a lure in the north. Byron
felt it ; and our latest poet, " Hamewith," strikes the chord when he sings of
" the road that's never dreary back where his heart is a' the time ".

As I feel the Lure of the North I see its dark spaces of land and sea and
sky where the infinite seems to dwell — nearer than in the sunny south with
its warmth and verdure. Do not our windows open to it and our "wee
things turn them northward when they kneel down at e'en " ?

As I think of the north countree I seem to see the Aurora Borealis so
vividly in the crisp keen night that I catch the music of the firmament and
hear the rhythmic tread of the Merry Dancers as they flit across the dark
spaces of the northern sky.

Or again I hear the thunders of the sea, the measured sweep of the long
rollers breaking on the shore — " So vast an arc of open sea as from the beach
near Aberdeen " — or the ceaseless booming of mighty storms across the bar.

The Lure of the North 143

Or yet again I revel in the blast of the East Wind — keen and cold and
clear — as it circles round from the Russian Steppes and the ice-clad fields —
bracing the nerve, kindling the blood and fortifying the brain with new
energy.

Or I think of the mountains that girdle our county on the west — that
clustre of giants that stand enthroned in invincible strength.

Or I dream of the city itself — sparkling in the sun or glistening in the
rain — the smokeless, silent city by the sea ; and I catch the glamour of the
Old Town, between Minster and Crown sleeping peacefully, but its heart
ever awake.

But what shall I say of the people — reserved and taciturn yet outspoken
— dull yet intellectually keen — rude yet kind — cold yet generous — simple yet
shrewd ? As Masson writes : " All the qualities which the English are in the
habit of attributing to the Scotch, the Scotch themselves hand over to the
Aberdonian — specially the worst qualities ". They are Scotissimi Scotorum.

To one and all of our many critics, we can repeat the old motto : " They
have said : what say they ? let them say ".

In spite of all, our heart turns northwards and we may adopt the words-
of Stevenson "The old land is still the true love, the others are but pleasant
infidelities. ... It seems at once as if no beauty under the kind heavens
and no society of the wise and good can repay me for my absence from my
northern countree ". " The seas call, and the stars call, and oh, the call of
the sky."

What is true of the county and city is true superlatively of our "Alma
Mater ".

When I travel backwards the forty odd years since I sat on the benches
at " King's," I turn instinctively 'to what it was in my time — the late seventies.

There were in those days burning questions on the classical topic of
University reform. Every Professor had his nostrum, and every student had
his solution, not always to the credit or benefit of the Professors. The short-
lived "Academic" — which issued seventeen or eighteen numbers in 1877
and 1878 — thus epitomized the urgent reforms of that day: "English Chair;
Age-worn Professors ; Students' Recreation Ground ; Crown Professorial
election ; Re-organisation of the Curriculum ".

There is now an English Chair. The Professors of to-day seem to me so
young compared with the venerables that had filled their chairs for a genera-
tion or were appointed in their old age to train ardent youth. The University
has ceased to grow potatoes, and is now cultivating the sinews and muscles
of her sons and daughters. The curriculum has been reorganised beyond
recognition. I do not remember that in my time there was any real reform,
but we, old students, bowed before the silence and authority of things as they
were. And in the words of " Homer," when translating a line from the
Antigone of Sophocles, we could say : " With all thy faults, we love thee
still " ; or with Goldsmith : —

Where'er I roam, whatever realms I see,
My heart untravelled fondly turns to thee.

What then, may we ask, is the secret of this love to our Alma Mater?
Can we analyse this strange emotion that is stirred by the sight of a scar-
let gown, by the memory of the grey stone crown of King's or the white

144 Aberdeen University Review

pinnacles of Marischal ? I have no doubt this love to one's college is common
to all students, but we think we have a more stable foundation for our loyalty
than others, for " None of them can possibly surpass our weather and our
heather and our sea ".

What is the source of this emotion ?

Was it our Professors ? The sarcasm of " Davie " — the ripple of
"Freddie's" English — the common humanities of Black — the profound
philosophy of Fyfe — the relentless logic of Bain — the circumlocutions of
Pirie — or the loud sounding but strangely attractive interpretations of
" Homer " ? These Professors were too far above us to evoke such trivial
sentiments as affection and love. They were passionless deities compelling
submission and obedience — or a fine. But we canonized them, and they have
-entered the Pantheon of Alma Mater.

Was it our fellow-students ? We see them through the mist of years with
some glow of affection. When we were jostling each other in the quadrangle
or tearing gowns in those turbulent years, we were competitors with each
other — rivals in cramming — critics in debate — and broken up into sects and
factions. But they are all united now in the sacred shrine of memory.

Was it the fights for the flag in old Rectorial Elections — when according
to our pride in our Rector was the pandemonium with which we greeted him
as he came to address us ? Still somehow the dust of old conflicts rises in
the vista of the past.

Does our love for Alma Mater arise by after-visits to the old quadrangles ?
Revisit the College at any time of the session and you feel a stranger. You
resent the intrusion of these boys and girls in the sacred courts which once
were filled with men.

If you would find the tender emotion awaken in your heart, visit the
College — say King's — when the quadrangle is empty and the evening sky
shadows the ancient walls, and the Royal Crown is canopied by the deep
azure, and the ghosts of the dim centuries people the vacant spaces ; and the
magic mystery will cast its spell over you. Or dream of it — think of it — and
the Aurora Borealis will draw your eyes northwards, and you will cry, " If I
forget thee, let my right hand forget her cunning ".

What are the contents of this love to Alma Mater ?

There is veneration of the long past. When we first went to College, this
laid hold of our imaginations. What these buildings stood for — the cloud
x)f witnesses that encompassed them — and the treasures of knowledge which
our Mother laid at our feet.

There is gratitude for the nourishment we received. She was our mother.
Our hungry minds drew out of her fulness. Knowledge, impulse, resolve,
vision, dream, all met us under her wings. We profited differently. Some
garnered rich harvests, others but a few ears, but all received some good.
We heard a voice — we felt the touch of a hand — the fragrance of a presence.
Even at the lowest we were given di point of view from which to look out at
this strange world and strive to read the riddle of life and duty and truth.

But the associations count for much, and each of us has his own treasure
trove. Friends and comrades — days and hours in which it was good to be
alive — and then, over all, the beauty of situation, the symmetry of fabric and
the harmony of environment in that " calm and changeless minster town and
ever-changing sea ". Will our memories of King's ever be complete without
the refrain of Walter C. Smith : —

The Lure of the North 145

O'er the College Chapel, a grey stone crown
Lightsomely soars o'er tree and town
Lightsomely fronts the minster towers
Lightsomely chimes out the passing hours
To the solemn knell of their deep toned bell.

Kirk and College keeping time

Faith and Learning Chime for Chime ?

And yet in the love of Alma Mater there is more than memory of the
past. Our venerable goddess has sat on her throne for over four hundred
years, but her strength is nowise abated and her vision is undimmed. Her
sceptre is still uplifted. Her fame is undiminished and untarnished. Never
was she more regal than to-day. Her teachers, her students, her influence,
and, in these last years, the sacrifices made by her sons in far-off fields of
battle, all awaken veneration, gratitude, pride and love. The tie of loyalty
between her and her sons and daughters holds fast throughout the years.
Her bells are heard by her exiled children across land and sea, and they in
dreams behold her face, and bow to her authority.

JAMES HARVEY.

10

Correspondence.

AN ABERDEEN GRADUATE IN VIRGINIA.

We have much pleasure in publishing the following interesting letter : —

i8J South Main Street,
West Hartford, Conn., U.S.A.,
7 November, 1921.
Mr. W. K. Leask.

My Dear Sir,

As I know your deep interest in all that belongs to the former
days of our Almj Mater I have much pleasure in relating to you the circum-
stances attached to a curious fini. Two months ago or thereby I went with
my granddaughter to Virginia to visit my youngest son who has for some years
been one of the teachers at the Hxmpton Institute and Agricultural College
of Virginia. Waile we were there we were, of course, taken to all sights
which were within reach and an automobile can cover a considerable distance.

Himpton was at the outset known Xiy its Indian name of Kequotan, and
its fortune was to be always burned down and destroyed whenever there was
a war at hand. The church had, of course, to go down with the rest, and
the present church has several tim^s been so destroyed and rebuilt. On the
site of what is known as the second church of Kekotan (and now it is only
a field with some trees) I found a concrete slab with some fragments of old
tombstones embedded in its face. One of these fragments is : " Here lyeth
the body of Rev. M. Andrew Thompson, ivha w^s born at S'.onehive in Scot-
land and was minister of this parish for seven years and departed this life the

day of September, 1719 ".

On reading this my attention rested first on the M which suggested Magister
Artium and then came Stpmhive which was very familiar. It was soon seen
that Andrew Thomson graduated at Mirischal in 1691 (" Mar. Coll. Records,"
ii, p. 262). The lives of George Keith the Quaker, and Andrew Thomson
seem naturally to run together, but that of George Keith has pretty clearly been
worked out as in the " Diet. Nat. Biography," and that of his friend Andrew
Thomson is all but lost. Yet what would we not give for a few lines from
him about his experiences before he lay down to die at Kekotan !

Bishop Meade in his volume, " Old Churches and Families of Virginia,"
says he died at the age of forty-six, and* this is very likely, as longevity was an
unknown quantity in those days of hardship and danger. Meade unfortunately
gives no details of his life or work, except that " he left the character of a
sober and religious man ". I wonder how much lies under that word sober :
we are glad, however, to note the word.

As we returned I woke up at Trenton, N.J,, where General Hugh
Mercer ("Mar. Coll. Records," ii, p. 315), was wounded and died at the Re-
volution. He was son of the minister of Tyrie in Buchan, ran off from his

Correspondence 147

medical studies to join the Jacobites, and somehow found his way to America
where he joined the Anti-English party and proved an able soldier although
little more than a boy.

We visited all that remains of the old Jamestown where there stands only
the remains of the old church : all the rest has gone down with the encroach-
ments of the James River. We then drove to the place where Lord Corn-
wallis capitulated to General Washington at Yorktown, and to Williamsbury,
which was the original capital of the Dominion : there was the Bruton Church
where Washington and six or seven of the Early Presidents were church
wardens and constant worshippers. At Bruton Church there is shown the
font where Pocahontas was christened, but the most curious old relics are to
be found in the vestry of St. John's Church at Hampton, Va., where they are
carefully locked away in an iron safe and shown only to the Rector's friends.

I have all but finished a list of the patron saints of Scotland, and I am
the more interested in it as I begin to realize that the saints are not
FOREIGNERS but almost entirely of a national character. I expected to find it
mostly Irish as a general list, and specially Roman in character and substance,
but it is a sturdy Scotch.

I am.

Yours faithfully,

James Gammack.

Reviews.

The Cotton Industry in France. A Report to the Electors of the
Gartside Scholarships. By R. B. Forrester, M.A., M.Com. The Uni-
versity Press, Manchester. Longmans, Green & Co., 192 1. 10s. 6d. net.

The cotton industry of France differs from that of England in various im-
portant respects. It is not localized to the same extent, which is but another
way of saying that no region in France offers the industry the same geographical
and economic advantages as does Lancashire ; the labour employed is not so
highly specialized and the benefits of what is often termed inherited skill are
lost ; variety of output rather than mass production is one of its distinguishing
features; its market is not a world market but a protected one in French
territory at home and abroad. Its organization is therefore a matter of con-
siderable interest, but until the publication of Mr. Forrester's book no competent
account of it had appeared in English, nor does any French writer cover exactly
the same ground as he does. For during his stay in Manchester as Gartside
scholar and University teacher he was brought into contact with the Lancashire
industry, a fact which has enabled him to make many useful and informing
comparisons between the two countries. Part of his material has, of course,
been derived from official and unofficial reports, but much is the result of
personal investigation, and the whole has been considered in the light of
current economic theory. The result is a valuable study in realistic economics.
The geographical distribution of the industry, its characteristic features and
economic organization, its foreign trade and industrial policy are all carefully
considered. Two of the most interesting chapters deal, one with the standard
of living among French operatives and with various schemes of social better-
ment, and the other with the new problems brought about by the annexation
of Alsace and the devastation of the Nord. In his Introduction the Professor
of Political Economy at Oxford says that the book is " admirable in its concise-
ness, and in its combination of descriptive and analytic treatment ". With thi&
verdict, we fancy, all will agree.

John M'Farlane.

The King's Council in the North. By R. R. Reid, M.A., D.Lit.
London: Longmans, Green & Co. Pp. xii +552. 28s. net.

Viewed in a historical sense, this admirable work may be regarded as an
essay upon the remark by Bishop Creighton, quoted in its opening sentence,
that " English history is at bottom a provincial history ". The book is divided
into four parts, of which the first, containing six chapters, describes the special
nature of the problems — geographical, political, economic, social — that con-
fronted the Plantagenet and Lancastrian kings in their attempts to establish
the royal supremacy and lay the foundations of orderly government in the wild

Reviews 149

and isolated region north of the Trent. These early efforts to solve the pro-
blem, and particularly the policy inaugurated by Richard III and Henry VII,
whereby the special character of the district was recognized in the creation of
a special authoritj' to govern it, are described and analysed in great detail.
In the second part of the book, which contains four chapters, the establish-
ment by Henry VIII of the King's Council in the North is fully related, and
the rapid development of its functions, administrative and judicial, is traced
through the succeeding reigns to the Union of the Crowns. The third part,
consisting of six chapters, reviews minutely the organization, procedure, and
criminal and civil jurisdiction of the Court at York, explores its varying rela-
tions with the local Courts, and describes the constant strife in which it be-
came involved with the Supreme Courts at Westminster. The tendency of
the administrative side of the Council to suffer in the face of its great im-
portance as a law court ; the immense amplification of the legal business of
the Council ; and the good work which it performed in bringing cheap and
impartial justice within the reach of the humbler classes — oppressed by the
multifarious liberties and honours, whose courts lay wholly in the caprice of
the great folk — are all treated in masterly fashion. The last division of the
book, containing three chapters, describes the decline of the Council in the
North, its brief revival under the energetic administration of Wentworth, and
its final collapse at the outbreak of the Civil War. There is a very full Ap-
pendix, containing a bibliography, copious extracts from official documents,
and much useful statistical information. A feature of the book is the coloured
map of England north of the Trent in 1525, with its lucid exposition of the
various honours and liberties by which the authority of the Crown was so
drastically pruned throughout the Middle Ages, and in consequence whereof
the power of the " overmighty subject " attained its highest development in
these parts.

The book is legal rather than historical in tone, and presupposes large
acquaintance with medieval law. But every page is packed with historical
matter, and a knowledge of Dr. Reid's work will in future be essential to all
who desire a clear understanding of the problems, policy, and methods of
Tudor and Stuart government. It is impossible here to specify the numerous
historical questions upon which Dr. Reid's researches shed helpful light : but
the general historian will be particularly interested in his justification of that
much maligned champion of good government, and upholder of the poor
man's cause, Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford. Dr. Reid's style is always
lucid, and the skill with which he conducts his reader through an immense
body of facts is worthy of admiration. The book bears evidence of hasty
proof reading, and there is occasionally an embarrassing vagueness in the
acknowledgment of quotations. But these small blemishes do not impair
the value of a work which invites recognition among the weightiest of recent
contributions to English historical literature.

W. Douglas Simpson.

England Under the Lancastrians. By Jessie H. Flemming, M.A.
London: Longmans, Green & Co. Pp. xxii + 301. 12s. 6d. net.

Miss Flemming's book is No. 3 of the University of London Intermediate
Source-Books of History. The period covered is 1399- 1460. It comprizes

150 Aberdeen University Review

a selection of contemporary documents varying in origin and in character.
The chief of these are public records (records of the Chancery, of the Ex-
chequer, and the Judicial records), local records and ecclesiastical records,
principally the Bishop's registers ; but the editor has also made good use of
contemporary chronicles of the monasteries and of the towns, the latter being
of more importance in this period' of diplomatic and private correspondence
and of the general literature of the time. The wide range of documents from
which selection has been made — some are from MSS. not yet edited — be-
speaks much labour on the part of the editor. The arrangement is happy
and in the political section particularly, the extracts are so intelligently pieced
together as to present a continous narrative, lively and interesting. The
section dealing with the economic and social life of the period tends, perhaps
inevitably, to be more scrappy. One wishes to know more of the common
life of the time, peeps into which are given by such documents as the
" Paston Letters ". On the whole a series such as this is bound to be helpful
to those who wish to begin an earnest study of English history.

John Kellas.

Scotland's mark on America. By George Eraser Black, Ph.D. New
York, 192 1. Pp. 126.

Last year an exhibition was organized in New York for the purpose of
illustrating •' America's Making," and one item of it was an historical pageant
in which over thirty nationalities took part. No doubt there had been a
certain amount of friendly rivalry among these, and the Scottish section,
rallying to the call with traditional fervour of patriotism, made a specially
fine appearance. A bright inspiration suggested as a supplement to their
performance, that a short record of the Scotsmen who had done eminent
service for their adopted country should be compiled, in order that absolute
proof should thus be available, and no man able to call it an empty boast,
that Scotland has printed her mark deep on the American nation : and this
book is the outcome.

Proof was not really needed. If all records should perish, that mark
would still remain evident and indisputable in the similarity of character
and of outlook to be seen in the two peoples. Sturdy independence of thought,
belief in the intrinsic value of a man, energy in the pursuit of an aim whether
practical or ideal — these were Scotland's virtues before ever they were America's :
and if we turn to the other side of the picture we find no less, the faults and
failings of the older nation reflected in the new. Perhaps indeed these latter
bear more eloquent testimony to Scotland's influence than does the assimilation
of her virtues ; for the failings of a small nation, fighting for each step up
fortune's ladder, would not naturally be the same as those of a large and
wealthy country like America, were it not that they are bound up in the
heritage of her leading men.

However, chapter and verse are always useful in demolishing doubters,
and perhaps this book was produced partly for that purpose. It was drawn
up, so Dr. Black tells us, in a great hurry, to be available for the above-
mentioned pageant, and he had no time to do more than give the bare
bones of the story of Scotland's contribution to America. Had this not
been so, something much bulkier than this volume might well have appeared,

Reviews 151

for each page could be expanded into a book itself, each one tabulating as
it does the names of many men who influenced their generation. When
nine Presidents have to be dismissed in less than a page, and six Librarians
in one small paragraph, it is easy to see there has been no padding ! In
this last category should have been found — had not modesty insisted on
exclusion — the name of Dr. Black himself, whose bibliographical work is
of outstanding excellence, and to whom Scotsmen in all countries owe a
debt of gratitude for his admirable "List of Works Relating to Scotland," re-
viewed in our pages of November, 191 6.

It will be permissible in a local magazine to call special attention to the
names of Aberdonians who have distinguished themselves in America ; more
particularly as Mr. Robert Anderson's very interesting account of " The
Aberdonian Abroad " is still appearing in the Review, giving in picturesque
detail what is here only touched upon. One of the greatest of these names
is that of William Smith, first Provost of the College of Philadelphia, who
was bom in Slains, Aberdeenshire, and whose influence on the whole of
American University Education is discussed by Mr. P. J. Anderson in the
Review of November, 191 7. Of the others we must content ourselves
with giving only a selection, partly for lack of space and partly because
the scope of Dr. Black's book does not admit of many interesting particulars
for every name. The earlier ones include those of George Keith, Surveyor-
General of New Jersey in 1684, honourably known as author in 1693 of
the first printed protest against slavery ; and Robert Barclay of the Ury family.
Governor of E. New Jersey in 1682 : two names which suggest that the harass-
ment to which the Quakers were subject at that time had driven many of
them abroad, John Lawson, a native of Aberdeen, was Sur\ey or- General of
North Carolina in the seventeenth century and highly appreciated as an
author. John Kemp, 1 763-181 2, bom at Auchlossan, had considerable
political influence and became Professor of Mathematics in Columbia University.
Later on we come to J. Lendrum Mitchell, 1 842-1 900, State-Senator of
Wisconsin, who was grandson to an Aberdeenshire farmer ; and Professor
A. J. Chalmers- Skene, born in Fyvie in 1837, one of the most famous
gynecologists in America. These are a few of the outstanding Aberdeen
names, but no doubt many readers of this review could add to them very
considerably, from their own knowledge and without reference to Dr. Black's book.

It is a curious trait in human nature, this tenacious clinging to the past,
this yearning towards the rock whence we were hewn. The more virile
and energetic the nation, the deeper seems to be its desire to connect on
with the earlier story of the race. One might imagine that a great people
like that of the United States, looking with pride on its 400 years of
growth, might be tempted to say in the vain-glory of youth " Alone I did
it" and to ignore as far as possible its descent from wrinkled, sin-scarred
Europe, whose 2000 years and more are weighted with blunders and crimes.
But it is not so. Those of Irish descent in America still sing of their Dark
Rosaleen, and groan over wrongs wrought upon her long before the Stars
and Stripes first floated to the breeze ; the Scots, the self-contained, the
self-controlled, will let themselves go in a passion of oratory and enthusiasm
at the mention of Robbie Bums ; while the English, quite as persistent, if
not so vociferous, stoutly assert their kinship with Shakespeare, Milton and
Wordsworth. It is a deep-seated instinct, and in most cases is perfectly

152 Aberdeen University Review

consistent with a ver}' fervent patriotism for the country in which they are
citizens. As Mr. Foord points out in his interesting Foreword, the Scotsman
is none the less a loyal American because his heart turns back at times
to the sterner land which gave him birth, or which sheltered his forebears.
The old country is bound to send her sons away, for her beautiful but barren
hills are not sufficient for their needs. Her spirit she gives them, her heroic
examples, her great traditions, and with these they must go out into the
world and offer their true allegiance to another land.

Here in this book we have evidence of how loyally this has been done
by Scots in America. Presidents of the nation, presidents of Universities,
governors, educators, physicians, lawyers — there seems no walk in life where
the Scot has not entered and made a success. We will hope that in the
near future. Dr. Black may add to our debt, by expanding his notes and
giving us fuller particulars of these men, of whom Scotland and America
together have a right to be proud.

Maud Storr Best.

Cruickshank Science Library Subject Catalogue. Aberdeen University
Studies No. 82. Aberdeen : Printed at The University Press. Pp. 337.

Catalogue of the Taylor Collection of Psalm Versions. Aberdeen
University Studies No. 85. Aberdeen : Printed at The University Press.
Pp. 307.

The Subject Catalogue of the Cruickshank Science Library, we are informed
in an introductor)' note, contains the titles of about one-third of the books
in the departments of pure science (Mathematics, Astronomy, Physics,
Chemistry, Geology, Palseontology, Biology, Botany, Zoology, Anthropology)
and Agriculture, including Forestry and Veterinary Science — being those
which it is specially desired to bring under the notice of the student. The
remaining two-thirds are titled either in the catalogues already in print, or
in the manuscript sheaf catalogues in the Library. The general editing of
the Catalogue was entrusted to Miss Helen Paterson, chief assistant in the
University Library, and the different lists had the benefit of revision by the
teachers of the several subjects. It is superfluous to commend the work,
which is characterized by the care and accuracy that are such conspicuous
features of our University catalogues. The introductory note, it may be
mentioned, contains a detailed explanation of the system of classification
and notation employed, which is a modification of the Dewey system now
in use in many libraries.

More interest attaches to the Taylor Psalmody Collection Catalogue.
The late Mr. William Lawrence Taylor, who conducted a bookselling busi-
ness in Peterhead for wellnigh sixty years (1851-1910), made a hobby of
gathering together metrical versions of the Psalms, and in the course of his
lifetime he amassed a collection which was not only large but in many
respects unique, for it contained a number of works which are not to be
found in the British Museum. On his death this psalmody collection was
acquired by Dr. William Dey, who generously presented it to the University
on condition that it should be fully catalogued. The catalogue has ap-
peared in the *' University Library Bulletin " in instalments, and these have
now been revised and run together as an independent volume. Such

Reviews 153

psalmody literature as was already in possession of the University has
been re-titled and the actual books have been amalgamated with Mr.
Taylor's, except where they formed integral parts of special collections,
but the exceptions have been duly entered in the Catalogue with their
appropriate shelf marks.

It is believed, says Mr. P. J. Anderson, the University Librarian, in
a prefatory note, that no list of Psalters of such detailed completeness
has hitherto appeared, and perhaps we are not far wrong in adding that the
bibliography of psalmody has never before been so well executed. This
Catalogue is no mere list of psalm-books with their dates of publication,
but amounts practically to an analytical survey of the development of this
interesting branch of literature. In addition to the exact transcription of
the title of each individual book — which was made, "with the utmost zeal
and accuracy," by Miss Charlotte Robertson, assistant librarian — we have a
full description and collation of the work, with relative notes where neces-
sary. Further, to illustrate the alterations in and frequent eccentricities of
versions of the psalms (extending in date over three centuries and a half),
there has been reproduced as a sample of each versifier's work the opening
stanza of the familiar Hundredth Psalm. " Probably," says Mr. Anderson,
" the most universally known English psalm-rendering is that attributed at
different times to Thomas Sternhold and to John Hopkins, but now known
to have been written by a northern Scot, William Kethe, an exile at Geneva
in 1557, and instituted Rector of Childe Okeford, near Blandford in 1561."
Kethe's version appeared for the first time in print in that year (156 1), but
it was not the earliest English metrical rendering, there having been three
earlier ones. The first two verses of Kethe's version are as follows : —

Al people yt on earth do dwel,

sing to ye lord, with cherefiil voice :
Him serve wt fear, his praise forth tel,

come ye before him and reioyce.

The Lord ye know is God in dede,

with out our aide, he did us make :
We are his folck, he doth us fede,

and for his shepe he doth us take.

Three noteworthy variations have crept into modern versions : " fear "
changed into " mirth " and " Know that the Lord is " substituted for " The
Lord ye know," both these alterations first appearing in the Scottish Psalter
of 1650; and "folck" changed to "flock," apparently a printer's error in
a Psalter of 1585, which has been perpetuated. A study of the variants
and of the many metrical versions that have been attempted is interesting,
and not without amusing features even. After all, Kethe's version of the
Hundredth Psalm maintains its supremacy, alike for thought and feeling
and expression, and for genuine poetry as well. Even such well-known
hymn-writers as Dr. Watts, Charles Wesley, and John Keble fail utterly
to approach it.

Of the collection itself it will suffice to say that it contains psalters in
many languages besides English — Latin, Greek, German, French, Dutch,
Gaelic, Irish, Welsh, etc., not omitting "braid Scots," though the speci-
mens of the " translations " by Henry Scott Riddell and Dr. Hately Waddell
are far from felicitous; Dr. Waddell's first line, "Skreigh till the Lord,

154 Aberdeen University Review

the hail yirth, maun ye," is positively repellent. There is also a version of
the Psalms printed phonetically and published by Pitman in 1850. The
first and oldest item in the Catalogue is a Latin Psalter published in Paris
in 1546. It is followed by an English version published at Geneva in
1559 (like the one preceding, not metrical), and then we have the first
complete edition of George Buchanan's version (in Latin), dated probably
1564 or 1565. The earliest Sternhold and Hopkins (English version) Mr.
Taylor had was an edition published in 1578; the earHest Scottish psalm-
book is one dated 1595, an edition interesting as showing that the use
of the Gloria at the close of the psalm was common in Scotland at that
date. To go through the list of these rare and curious psalters, however,
would unduly prolong this notice, but we may call attention to one remark-
able instance of the careful collation that Ras been made. Mr. Taylor
possessed a 161 7 copy of Ainsworth's Psalter, believed to have been printed
at Amsterdam. It was from this book that the heroine of Longfellow's
" Courtship of Miles Standish " sang : —

Open wide on her lap lay the well-worn psalm-book of Ainsworth,
Printed in Amsterdam, the words and the music together,
Rough-hewn angular notes, like stones in the wall of a churchyard,]
Darkened and overhung by the running vine of the verses.
Such was the book from whose pages she sang the old Puritan anthem.

Yet, it is pointed out in the Catalogue, the words of the Old Hundredth do
not appear therein !

The collection, for cataloguing purposes, has been divided into three
sections — complete versions of the psalms, with few exceptions metrical,
and for the most part English ; partial versions, together with collections
of paraphrases and hymns ; and books relating to metrical versions of the
psalms, or to hymnology generally. To the Catalogue is prefixed a sympa-
thetic sketch of Mr. Taylor by Dr. Peter Giles, the Master of Emmanuel ;
and an admirable photograph of the worthy bookseller and collector forms
a frontispiece to the volume.

The Old Deeside Road (Aberdeen to Braemar) : Its Course, History, and
Associations. By G. M. Eraser. Aberdeen : The University Press.
Pp. xvi -1-260. I2S. 6d. ^'^ ■

" It will be found," says Mr. Eraser, " that, with all changes, nothing shows a
greater persistency through ages than a line of road," and thus, owing to this
persistence, the story of such a road as the old Deeside road, leading from
Aberdeen to Braemar, properly expounded, becomes the story of the region
it traverses. In one sense, indeed, the road is the great antiquarian relic of
the district. It is — we must now unfortunately say it was — the dominating
feature of the region, the connecting link between all parts, the chief means
of inter-communication. Trade and commerce are associated with it and
dealings with the outside world. The tide of national life flowed more or less
along it. It is indelibly associated with history, nay even with romance. And
then, too, as Mr. Eraser also points out, " roads are always a specially human
feature, friendly arid inviting, connecting generations as well as places," and
of this quality in the old Deeside road he gives a very felicitous illustration.
His book is in the main a description of such portions of the old road as
remain unabsorbed in the turnpike road or in agricultural cultivation, and the

Reviews 155

track of which can still be traced. A " charming bit " of the old road is yet
to the fore immediately to the north of the Bieldside golf club-house, and of
it Mr. Fraser remarks : —

It would be too much to expect that in the far-back days those who passed along there
with their creels of wool, or loads of timber or peat, or drove their cattle, would have much
of an eye for a prospect, but to-day, when that sense has been awakened to some extent,
one may enjoy, from that bit of road, an absolutely glorious view along the Dee Valley and
along all the northern flank of the eastern Grampians. In that view — with church and
college and roads and residential properties — you have before you a fair conspectus of the
movement of civilization in this region.

This new work of the librarian of the Aberdeen Public Library is sub-
stantially an inquiry into "the course and history and associations of the old
Deeside road, the Mounth passes over the Grampians, the ferries and fords
on the Dee, and the cross-country roads that were connected with the old
highway ". It was undertaken on behalf of the Aberdeen Natural History and
Antiquarian Society more than five years ago, and it has been carried out
with a fulness that leaves nothing to be desired. Numerous authorities, both
personal and documentary, have been consulted, and, in addition, Mr. Fraser
derived ready and valuable help from the head teachers of schools throughout
the district, no fewer than a dozen of whom are specifically thanked for their
assistance — a pleasing assurance, were it needed, that the country school-
master is much more than a mere " dominie ". The result of all this labour
and co-operation, as just indicated, is an admirable piece of work, on which
Mr. Fraser and all his coadjutors are to be heartily congratulated. The work,
indeed, will remain not merely a well-informed and authoritative exposition of
the road itself, but a no less authentic record of much of the local history of
Deeside, its towns and villages and places of interest.

The old Deeside road is traced from its emergence from the Hardgate at
the group of ruinous houses connected with what was long known as Palmer's
Brewery, along Broomhill Road, over the rising ground at Kaimhill, to the
" Two-mile Cross," and so onward. Its course thereafter might almost be
likened to that of Tennyson's " Brook " : —

By thirty hills I hurry down,

Or slip between the ridges,
By twenty thorps, a little tovwi.

And half a hundred bridges.

Mr. Fraser proves an indefatigable guide. If the track of the road be
momentarily lost, he will show us where it ran, and will pick it up for us
again, tracing it through fields or woods and bringing us face to face with
genuine bits of it. And so on we go, ever westward, up through the Pass of
Ballater — perhaps the longest continuous stretch of the old road now left us
— with little bits showing about Crathie, Caimaquheen, Inver, etc., the last bit
to be seen being a portion, about 150 yards long, opposite Braemar Castle.

The book, however, is much more than a mere description of how the old
road ran. We are given a mass of detailed information on incidental but ab-
solutely relevant matters — the ferries, fords, and bridges across the Dee, the
passes over the Grampians (two elaborate and informative chapters), the cross-
country roads from Drumoak, Banchory, Torphins, etc., the making of the
military roads, the construction of the Deeside turnpike and the Deeside
Railway, the growth of Ballater, and so on. Added to all this we have a
running commentary on the history of the various places that come under

156 Aberdeen University Review

purview, with notes on the place-names, and accounts of properties and their
proprietors. The wealth of information furnished, indeed, is truly remark-
able, and well justifies Mr. Eraser's concluding panegyric on the old Deeside
road : " It is a road of multitudinous interests, of which only a fraction of the
less known have been touched upon by the way as we journeyed west, but
enough may have been said or suggested to indicate the profound interest of
Deeside, and the enlightening quality of many unsuspected historical interests
generally in this north-eastern district of Scotland ".

The Port of Aberdeen : A History' of its Trade and Shipping from the
1 2th Century to the Present Day. By Victoria E. Clark, M.A. Aber-
deen : D. Wyllie & Son. Pp. xiii + 178. 9s.

It is somewhat singular that, notwithstanding the number of books dealing
with the history of Aberdeen, there has hitherto been no book dealing with
the history of the port. Casual references to shipping and the shipping trade
there are in plenty in the works relating to the city, but there is no regular
survey or sectional sketch even of these important adjuncts of the city's
growth and prosperity. A beginning of such a historical outline was made
by Mr. Alexander Clark in his excellent little book, " A Short History of the
Shipmaster Society," published ten years ago, but it has been left to Miss
Victoria E. Clark, one of our younger graduates, aided by a Research Fellow-
ship of the Carnegie Trust, to undertake the task on a scale befitting its in-
terest and importance. By a careful examination of the Aberdeen Burgh
Records and other civic documents, the Privy Council Register, the Records of
the Convention of Royal Burghs, and the records of the Customs authorities in
Aberdeen and in London, she has collected a great number of facts and inci-
dents relating to various phases of Aberdeen shipping, and now presents them in
a consecutive and narrative form. Her book is an illustration of the important
work that is being accomplished by research. It is an authentic account of
the history of the port and of its shipping trade, bridging over what has up to
this time been a lacuna in the story of the city's development. The work
has been admirably done, and the author is to be congratulated, not only on
producing a volume that is interesting in itself, but one that is doubly inter-
esting as making a valuable contribution to local history.

Aberdeen has been a place of considerable shipping trade from the earliest
times, but its history is one of many vicissitudes. A regular trade was carried
on with Flanders in the thirteenth centur)% cured fish being the chief export,
and during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries trading was extended from
the Low Countries to the " Easter Seas," while the commodities shipped came
to include wool, cloth, hides, and skins. Here is a sample of the trading
which is of special interest to our readers : —

One of the most interesting accounts was that of Bishop Elphinstone, who was then
engaged on his great undertaking, the building of King's College. His remittances were
made in wool, lasts of salmon, barrels of trout, and a certain proportion of money. In ex-
change he imported carts, wheelbarrows, and gunpowder to quarry the stone for his college.
Spices and comfits, clothes, church vessels, " a counterfeit chalice and two chalices of silver
double overgilt each in its case " were among the articles shipped to him in 1498.

The Baltic trade was a prominent feature of the Aberdeen shipping trade
in the sixteenth century, there being much commercial intercourse with the

Reviews 157

Baltic cities of Prussia, Pomerania, and Poland, particularly Danzig and
Stralsund ; there was also a flourishing trade with Campvere. (By the way,
if Miss Clark will again consult her reference, she will find that the founder
of Robert Gordon's College was not "of Straloch" but "of the Straloch
family".) Subsequent incidents in Aberdeen shipping — now progress, then
set-backs, and then marked improvement — are duly noted, the story becoming
ever more and more interesting. The final chapter of the book deals with
"Progress since 1800," this including the clipper era, the development of
shipbuilding and of shipping companies, the improvement of the harbour ac-
commodation, the inauguration of the trawling industry, etc. There are
many features of interest in the book to which we have not referred, such as
piracy, privateering, the impressment of seamen, naval fights, shipwrecks,
and smuggling, but the mere mention of them is sufficient to indicate the
range and comprehensiveness of Miss Clark's valuable volume.

Transactions of the Buchan Club (Buchan Field Club), 192 i.
Vol. xii., Part 2. Pp. 60.

This part is noticeable for the retiring presidential address of Dr. A. W.
Gibb, the Lecturer in Geology, which, delivered as it was at Peterhead, dealt
very appropriately with "The Natural History of Granite". The address is
an exceedingly lucid exposition of the subject. Dr. Gibb shows how granite
is formed, what are its characteristics, and what is its world distribution. The
old idea that granites are the oldest rocks in the world, he says, can no longer
be maintained ; perhaps some of them are, but certainly some of them, geo-
logically speaking, are quite young. Scotland has no monopoly in granite,
and the wonder really is that the Aberdeen district has taken and maintained
such a prominent position in the granite markets of the world, especially as
there is nothing in Aberdeenshire granites that makes them superior to foreign
stones. Referring further to foreign granites, Dr. Gibb said it seems a pity
that, in centres of the granite industry like Peterhead and Aberdeen, there are
no municipal collections worth the name to give at least an idea of the world's
granites and their industrial possibilities.

Mrs. A. Clark Martin, Peterhead, contributes a paper on " Three Notable
Workers in Buchan " — Miss Margaret Comrie, her sister. Miss Georgina
Comrie, and Miss Annie Forbes — all of them well-known school teachers in
Peterhead in their time, who exercised a great influence both in and out of
school. It is well that the Transactions of a local club like the Buchan Club
should have a permanent record of the work of such notable women — work
that in its way was an inspiration to the community at large. The third
paper — by Mr. John Cranna, Fraserburgh — is " A Record of Shipwrecks in
the Fraserburgh District ". The Buchan coast, owing to what may be termed
natural conditions, has been long noted for its number of shipwrecks, and
this was particularly the case when sailing vessels predominated. Quite a
historic shipwreck was that of the " Edward Bonaventure " off Rosehearty in
November, 1556. The ship was bound from the White Sea to London, was
commanded by Richard Chancelour, a well-known navigator of the sixteenth
century, and had on board Osep Napea, sent by the then Emperor of Russia
as the first Russian Ambassador to the English Court The Ambassador
was one of the very few saved. Other notable shipwrecks are dealt with by
Mr. Cranna.

158 Aberdeen University Review

The Buik of Alexander. The Scottish Text Society.

Among the cycles of romance on which our mediaeval ancestors loved to write
poems, the story of Alexander of Macedon held a high place. His exploits
were sung in all lands from India westward by Egypt to France and Britain.
A Scots version is " The Buik of Alexander," which Dr. R. L. Graeme Ritchie,
Professor of French in Birmingham University, is editing for the Scottish
Text Society. *' The Buik " was translated from French originals, and the
Scots and the French are here printed on opposite pages. The source of the
greatest part of " The Buik " is " Les Vceux du Paon," a very popular
fourteenth century French work. It exists in many manuscript copies and is
now printed for the first time. The Scots version, of which no MS. is
extant, is printed from a unique copy of Arbuthnet's edition, published in
Edinburgh about 1580. The first part to be issued is vol. ii., which
abundantly proves the wisdom of the Society in entrusting Professor Ritchie
with the task. His wide and deep scholarship is no less manifest than his
accuracy and skill as editor. The other volumes will be eagerly looked for,
especially that in which the editor discusses the authorship of "The Buik".
For a battle royal has been fought on the question whether or not John
Barbour, Archdeacon of Aberdeen, was the translator.

Aberdeen University Library Bulletin, No. 24. January, 1922.

In this number there is a curious list of " Lost Local Literature," compiled
by Mr. P. J. Anderson, the University Librarian — a list of local books known
to have existed at one time, whose location has now become an absolute
mystery. The list is published in the expectation — a rather faint one, we sus-
pect, seeing that most of the publications wanted are of sixteenth or seventeenth
century date — that some readers of the " Bulletin " may be able to furnish
information as to the whereabouts of some at least of the missing works. The
chance is not altogether hopeless perhaps. For example, Miss Best, in a pre-
fatory note to the list, mentions that the late Mr. J. P. Edmond stated that his
authority for the existence of the "Aberdeen Almanacs " of 1623, 1624, and
1625 was the owner of them, who permitted the title-pages to be photographed,
only on the express condition that their resting-place should not be divulged.
" And these three local rarities of printing," she adds, " still remain in their
hiding-place, unless — as is only too probable — the owner has since died and
the precious leaflets have been destroyed by careless heirs." Of the interest
inherent in many of the missing works. Miss Best says : —

The books in this List are largely concerned with matters relating to the University, the
city, or the county of Aberdeen ; and among them are some whose mere titles give an
insight into the lile and customs of the past. The " Papers prined on the bristis of thes
that stand on the scaffold " suggest times when the Gallowgate had a more direct and
sinister meaning in its name than we now recognise. The "Table of pettie custumes"
calls up a picture of the old market-women, stopped on their entrance into the city and
made to give toll of their produce — an egg here, a pound of butter there. The " Edicts
and Programs for a professor of Mathematics " issued by the Town Council arouse
curiosity, for what should the Council have to say on such a purely academic affair ? The
explanation is that when Duncan Liddel founded the Mathematical chair for Maiischal
College in 1613, he judged it expedient to give the town of New Aberdeen a closer interest
in its University, and vested the right of appointment in the Town Council. Here in these
Edicts the necessary qualifications of applicants were set forth, with the salary offered and
terms of appointment — in fact, all that would now be put into an advertisement for the
newspapers. ... In the " Burgh Accounts " we find poets attaining a pale immortality,

Reviews 159

through the money acknowledgments made to them. William Cargill and Alexander
Forbes, for instance, b )th are paid for their verses in honour of the Council and of the
Town. The poems themselves, alas ! proved not so imperishable as their authors and
subjects hid hoped ; but they would no doubt be interestmg reading now, and a useful
stuJy in these diys when the literature addressed to Town Councils is rarely of so urbane
a character.

The Parish Register of Kingston, Upper Canada, i 785-181 i. Edited,
with Notes and Introduction, by A. H. Young of Trinity College, Toronto,
for the Kingston Historical Society. Kingston : The British Whig
Publishing Co., Ltd., 1921.

The Revd. John Stuart, D.D., U.E.L., of Kingston, U.C, and His
Family, a Genealogical Study by A. H. Young. Whig Press, Kingston.

These works have been undertaken by Mr. Young in preparation for a life of
Bishop Strachan who called the Reverend Dr. Stuart his spiritual father. They
are the product of much laborious research and are of more than a merely
local interest. A graduate of the College of Philadelphia (University of
Pennsylvania), John Stuart was ordained deacon and then priest within the
same month in 1770, served as missionary to the Mohawks in New York State
and elsewhere, as schoolmaster and Chaplain in Montreal and Upper Canada,
and as Bishop's OScial in Upper Canada from 1789 to his death in 181 1.
He was the first schoolmaster in Upper Canada. He and his wife had eight
children, of whom one was Dean of Ontario, one the Solicitor-General of
Lower Canada, and one Chief Justice of that province. Many of their
children had also distinguished and useful careers of service not only in
Canada but throughout the Empire. Several of the family served in the late
war and one is Col. Sir Campbell Stuart, Managing Director of The Times,
" who raised the Irish Regiment of Montreal for service in the recent war and
subsequently did excellent work in the field of diplomacy ".

Self-Government and the Bread Problem, a series of Lectures by J. W.
Petavel, late Captain, R.E., Lecturer on the Poverty Problem, Calcutta
University. Second Edition. Published by the University of Calcutta.
1921.

Calcutta University is seeking, with praiseworthy energy and discretion, to
direct some of the disruptive forces now working in India into constructive
channels by appealing to all the thoughtful among the " advanced " sections
of the population to study ways in which they might bring about the progress
they desire, both social and political, by working for economic co-operation.
These lectures are part of this propaganda. They explore, for their social
applications, the possibilities of the enormous power given to industrial labour,
even among the most unskilled workers, by industrial progress. They are four
in number, on " The Two Aspects of Non-Co-operation," " Economic and
Political Emancipation," " India's Problem and the Problem of the World's
Industrial Classes," and "Co-operation," with an introduction summarising
" the vitally important economic facts it is desired specially to call attention
to ". The volume not only expounds those important facts, and illustrates the
present conditions of India, but is rich in sound advice.

University Topics.

THE UNIVERSITY AND PRINCESS MARY'S WEDDING.

I HE following telegram was dispatched on the wedding day
of Princess Mary, 28 February : —

" Her Royal Highness The Princess Mary
and Viscount Lascelles,
" Buckingham Palace, London.
" Warmest wishes from the University of Aberdeen."
And this reply was received : —

" Rector,
" University of Aberdeen.
" Princess Mary and Lord Lascelles deeply appreciate the good wishes of
the University of Aberdeen.

" Dorothy Yorke, Lady in Waiting."

LECTURER IN CELTIC AND COMPARATIVE PHILOLOGY.

The University Court has appointed Mr. John Macdonald (M.A.,
1909), Lecturer in Classics and Ancient History, Armstrong College, Uni-
versity of Durham, to the Lectureship in Celtic and Comparative Philology,
vacant by the appointment of Mr. John Fraser as Jesus Professor of Celtic
at Oxford University (see p. 75).

Mr. Macdonald graduated M.A. at Aberdeen University in 1909, with
first class Honours in Classics. At Cambridge he was in the first class
(Div. IL) of the Classical Tripos Part L in 19 12, and in the first class Classical
Tripos Part U. in 1913. From 1913 to 1918 he was Senior University
Assistant and Lecturer in Greek in the University of Aberdeen, and from
1918 to 1920 Deputy Professor of Classics and Ancient History in Armstrong
College, and subsequently Lecturer in that subject.

Mr. Macdonald, although he offered himself for military service, was re-
jected on account of defective eyesight.

NEW LECTURERS, ETC.

The following appointments have been made : —

Lecturer in Bio-Chemistry — Mr. Edgar Beard, B.Sc, A.LC.

Assistant in Agricultural Chemistry — Mr. George Milne, B.Sc.

Assistant in Mathematics (part-time) — Mr. David Burnett (M.A.,
Aberd., 192 1).

Assistant in Pathology — Mr. Willl^m Buchan (M.A., Aberd., 19 16;
M.B., 1918; D.P.H.).

German-speaking Assistant in German — Dr. Eugen Dieth.

University Topics i6i

PROPOSED CHAIR OF GEOLOGY AND NATURAL SCIENCE SCHOLARSHIPS.

At a meeting of the University Court on 13 December, communications
were submitted from the Special Committee appointed to consider the be-
quests made by Dr. Alexander Kilgour and Mr. Alexander Kilgour of South
Loirston, recommending that the funds be devoted to the foundation of a
Chair of Geology and the endowment of senior and junior scholarships for
promoting the study of Natural Science and Natural History. There was
also received from the Senatus a scheme for the junior and senior scholar-
ships. The report of the committee, together with the scheme for scholarships,
was ordered to be sent to Mr. Alexander Kilgour's trustees for approval. The
trustees subsequently intimated their acquiescence in the foundation of the
Chair and in the proposed Scholarships, subject to the express condition of
Mr. Kilgour's settlement that the bequest should never be diverted from the
special objects for which it had been assigned. The Ordinance founding the
Chair is now before Parliament.

Under the scheme for the endowment of senior and junior scholarships in
Natural Science and Natural History, it is proposed that there shall be three
junior scholarships open to competition each year, each scholarship to be
tenable for three years. The value of each junior scholarship shall be the sum
of money necessary to pay the fees of the classes attended by the scholars,
with the approval of the Faculty of Science. In regard to senior scholarships
it is proposed that there shall be as many of these as the free revenue of the
fund, after making provision necessary for paying the junior scholarships, will
permit. A senior scholarship shall be tenable for two years, and the value
shall be ^1^200 for the first year, and ;^25o for the second year.

ADVANCED ECONOMIC HISTORY.

The University Court, on the recommendation of the Senatus Academicus,
has agreed that advanced economic history be added as one of the optional
subjects for History Honours, and that it be also recognized as a subject
qualifying for the degree in Commerce.

THE GRANT MEDICAL BURSARIES.

The University Court has approved the scheme for these bursaries (see
p. 67). The bursaries number four, of the annual value of ^2^ or thereby,
tenable for four years. They are restricted to students entering on their second
winter session.

APPOINTMENTS FOR COMMERCE STUDENTS.

In 1 9 1 9 a degree in Commerce was instituted by the University and various
new appointments were made in order to provide the necessary teaching in
connection therewith. The facilities thus offered were taken advantage of by
a considerable number of young men, most of whom had been recently de-
mobilized. Between fifteen and twenty of these may reasonably be expected
to complete their course and graduate as Bachelors of Commerce next July,
and in order to assist them in obtaining appointments a Committee has been
formed upon which there are representatives of the University and members of
the Chamber of Commerce. An appeal is here made to all graduates of the
University, but more especially to those engaged in commercial work, to assist

II

1 62 Aberdeen University Review

the Committee either by finding employment for Aberdeen men in their own
firms or by giving information regarding possible vacancies elsewhere. Many
of the students in question have already had business experience ; a number
held responsible posts in the Army either as commissioned or non-commissioned
officers ; all have shown during their University career a capacity for study and
strenuous work. A memorandum has been prepared giving a brief account of
the qualifications of each student seeking employment, and copies of it may
be had on application to Mr. J. McFarlane, Department of Geography, Marischal
College. Mr. McFarlane, who is acting as Secretary of the Committee, will
also be glad to give any further information which may be desired regarding
any particular student.

GIFTS TO THE UNIVERSITY.

From Lord Pentland, late Governor of Madras — A number of books on
Indian history.

From Mr. F. C. Eeles, Westminster, formerly of Stonehaven (to the
Geology Department) — A collection of 120 typical rocks and minerals of
Cornwall.

From Sir John Ross, LL.D., Dunfermline — A portrait of the late Mr.
Andrew Carnegie.

THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY.

At a recent meeting of the Library Committee, the Librarian (Mr. P. J.
Anderson) reported the receipt from H.M. Stationery Office of a complete
set — numbering 84 volumes — of the monthly Army Lists for the period
19 1 4-1 8. Soon after the beginning of the war the issue of these lists to
the public was completely suspended, but Mr. Anderson had represented the
claims of the University Library to his friend, Mr. Ian Macpherson, when
Under-Secretary of State for War, and had been promised that the request
would be kept in view. When recently in Aberdeen Mr. Macpherson inquired
whether the lists had ever made their appearance, and the present gift is the
outcome of his efforts.

It is worthy of note that during the height of hostilities the monthly Army
List increased from the normal pre-war size to an average of 4000-5000
pages. Taken in conjunction with the late Colonel W. Johnston's bequest of
his file of Army Lists from 1755, ^^^ "^^ accession makes the University's
collection of these lists the most complete outside London.

The Committee adjusted the list of periodicals to be taken next year, and
added the names of several new magazines and transactions. The number
of serials received by gift or purchase now exceeds 850. The languages
represented are English, Gaelic, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch,
Swedish, Norwegian, and Japanese.

The Library has received 50 volumes presented by the University of
California.

COLLECTION OF JACOBITE WORKS FOR THE LIBRARY.

At a meeting of the University Library Committee on 1 7 November — at
which Professor Souter was re-elected Curator for the current academical
year — Mr. P. J. Anderson, the Librarian, reported the arrival from New York
of fourteen large boxes containing the collection of Jacobite books presented

University Topics 163

to the Library by Mr. William M. MacBean, of Yonkers, New York State
(see Review, vi., 70). Mr. MacBean, a native of Nairn, has been resident in
America for the greater part of his life, and has devoted much attention to
historical research, especially as bearing on the relations between Scotland
and the United States. His " Contribution towards a Jacobite Iconography "
was printed in 1903-04, and he has been for some time engaged on a work
dealing with the membership of the St. Andrew's Society of New York, founded
in 1756, and still in vigorous life. His deed of gift in favour of Principal Sir
George Adam Smith was dated 21 August, 19 18, but difficulties of transport
had hitherto delayed the dispatch of the books.

It has been (Mr. MacBean wrote to Mr. Anderson) a source of great annoyance to
me that I could not send them sooner, but we have had such a succession of strikes, one
after the other, ever since the scarcity of ships was overcome, that it was very risky to
ship them, as they might have lain on a pier for weeks liable to dampness. Even at the
last moment a teamsters' strike threatened to prevent me getting them on the " Cameronia,"
but the Cunard people came to my rescue and got their own horses and wagon to fetch
them from the storage warehouse. . . . Sir George writes me that you have a new gallery
in which to locate the books and that they will be under your own immediate supervision.
This to me is particularly good news. I am encouraged to believe that you will find
yourselves the owners of one of the largest collections of Jacobite literature. ... I wrote
Sir George that probably 1 would come over next year, but that is on the knees of the
gods. I shall certainly hanker after a sight of these books when they have been laid away
on your shelves and probably will not rest satisfied, if my health continues, until again I
lay eyes on them.

Mr. MacBean subsequently sent a draft for ;^io to cover the cost of a
cabinet to hold the necessary title slips, and promised from time to time to
send further small remittances for the purpose of binding pamphlets and such
works as need repair. "I trust," he added, "that the collection will be
of lasting benefit not only to your University, but to Highland students
generally who are interested in the Jacobite episode of Scottish history. It
is a living theme which has survived persistently, and will continue to do so
as long as Highland sentiment exists."

Mr. MacBean's books will be the most valuable gift received by the
University Library since, in 1856, Miss Agnes Melvin presented the collection
of her late brother, Dr. James Melvin.

CHINESE WORKS FOR THE LIBRARY.

A remarkable collection of Chinese prints and manuscripts has been pre-
sented to the Library by Mr. James Russell Brazier, a son of the late Professor
Brazier. Mr. Brazier, who was a member of the King's College class of
1875-79, having spent the greater part of his life in the Consular service of
the Chinese Government, had unusual opportunities for picking up literary
and artistic treasures, several of them rescued from the destruction of the
Han-lin College at Peking in 1900 ; and a selection of these he has now pre-
sented to his " Alma Mater ". The selection embraces two large albums of
drawings, one Buddhistic, the other comprising copies of the original pamt-
ings of the Hermit of the Sleeping Dragon of the Sung dynasty (a.d. 960-
II 27). A great curiosity is a specimen essay submitted by a candidate at the
competitive examination formerly held for Government appointments — an ex-
amination held in a hall at Peking which had 8500 cells, in one of which each

164 Aberdeen University Review

competitor was confined for three periods of three days each. The penman-
ship of this surviving essay is so exquisite as to excite the envy of examiners
who have to deal with papers written by Aberdeen candidates.

Of even greater interest is a section (No. 11,907) of the extraordinary
Chinese Encyclopaedia, "Yung Lo Ta Tien". This amazing work was com-
pleted in MS. in the year 1407, and ran to no fewer than 22,877 sections.
At the downfall of the Ming dynasty in 1644, the original of 1407 and one of
two MS. copies made in 1567 perished by fire, and the remaining copy was
placed in the Han-lin College, where it was jealously guarded till 1900, when
it, too, was destroyed by fire. Only the merest fragments of the great work
were rescued from the flames. A ifew of the sections are now preserved in
the Bibliotheque Nationale, the British Museum, the Bodleian, and the Cam-
bridge University Library ; and a section is in the possession of the Aberdeen
Grammar School, having been presented to the School Museum by a former
pupil of the school, Mr. R. R. Hynd, of the Hong-Kong and Shanghai
Bank, who was in the British Legation at Peking when it was besieged
during the Boxer rising of 1900. (As the Han-lin College was next to the
British Legation, it was set on fire by the Chinese troops with the object of
destroying the Legation.) The volume presented to the University is in a
marvellous state of preservation, in its original binding of yellow silk. It
deals with the manners and customs of Canton 500 years ago.

FRATERNAL GREETING FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF UPSALA.

The University of Upsala, Sweden, has sent to the University Library a
fraternal tercentenary greeting from its Library, which was founded by
Gustavus Adolphus in 162 1. The greeting, together with a Latin reply com-
posed by the Curator, appeared in the last number of the Library Bulletin.

THE STUDENTS' UNIONS.

Important developments are in prospect in connection with the improve-
ment of social life among the students. There is already in existence a
Students' Union which is housed in Marischal College and is practically under
the regulations and the supervision of the University authorities. It is urged,
however, that, so long as the Union is housed within the University buildings,
the members cannot enjoy as much liberty and independence as is desirable,
and, as a consequence, there is a feeling in favour of the establishment of the
Union in a separate building outside the University. At the same time, there
is a very strong feeling that a Union should be provided for women students,
who now number 500. An opportunity for taking definite steps in one or
both directions, it is surmised, will speedily occur.

The Carnegie Trustees have accumulated a large sum of money, represent-
ing students' fees which would normally have been paid to the Universities,
but which, on account of the absence of many students during the war, were
left undrawn. It has been intimated by the Trustees that this money is lying
at the credit of the Universities, and that they are prepared to hand it over for
purposes specially applicable to the students. This would cover schemes such
as the erection of residences and the provision of playing fields, or Student
Union facilities. The share of this fund which is expected to fall to Aberdeen
is some ;^io,ooo.

In addition, a large sum available for purposes such as those indicated, has

University Topics 165

been paid by the University Grants Committee. When this Committee
recently visited Aberdeen, a proposal for the erection of a residence for
students was laid before Sir William McCormick and his colleagues. They
are understood to have expressed a personal preference for proposals in
the direction of Students' Union facilities rather than of residences. It was
made clear, however, that the Committee regarded the social life of the students
as an important aspect of University welfare. It is understood that the Com-
mittee have given effect to this in their recommendations, and that they earmark
a definite proportion of the new Government grants for this purpose. The
sum available in Aberdeen will amount to a very substantial figure, and
altogether the funds which will be at the disposal of the University authorities
in Aberdeen for all the above purposes will be well on to ^^20,000.

STUDENTS' HALF-HOLIDAY.

A new feature has been introduced in University undergraduate life — a
weekly half-holiday. During December a plebiscite of the students was taken
on the question of instituting an "off" afternoon on Wednesdays, to be
devoted to outside physical exercises. The proposal was approved by 943
votes to 82. Thereafter, the Senatus, acting on the report of a special
committee, agreed that a Wednesday half-holiday should be instituted pro-
visionally during the spring term, making it clear, however, that this was only
in the form of an experiment.

The first half-holiday under this arrangement occurred on 11 January, and,
according to a report in the Free Press, " Considerable exuberance of spirit
prevailed as the students trooped homeward at the conclusion of the forenoon
classes, free for the day. Perhaps the novelty of the occasion contributed, in
some degree, to the exceedingly whole-hearted rally which was made during
the afternoon to the playing fields at King's College. A large turnout of
ladies engaged in exhilarating games of hockey, both there and on the Seaton
fields, while the Rugby and ' Soccer ' pitches were fully occupied by athletic
young fellows, who spent a very arduous time until darkness began to fall."

PROPOSED REDUCTION OF UNIVERSITY GRANTS.

The sister Universities of Birmingham, Durham, Leeds, Liverpool,
Manchester, and Sheffield recently addressed a letter to the Prime Minister
urging, on grounds of national importance, the danger of any reduction in the
grants now made by the Government to the Universities and University
Colleges of Great Britain. The Universities have received official information
that it is proposed to reduce the grant, which for the year 1921-22 was
;^i, 500,000, by the sum of ;^3oo,ooo.

In an accompanying memorandum it is contended that the reduction now
announced would gravely embarrass the Universities in their work, especially
in the development of advanced studies in science, medicine, literature, and
technology, and would also restrict their work in adult education. The value
of the assistance rendered to the nation by the Universities during the war has
been recognized in official circles, and their importance as the source to supply
the future needs of the Empire demands that a requisite amount of support be
given.

During the last academic year almost all the sister Universities sustained a
financial loss, and to meet this they have made every effort of self-help.

1 66 Aberdeen University Review

Economy has been practised in all structural expenditure and in the mainten-
ance and equipment of laboratories ; the fees for courses of study and
examinations have been raised, so that about a third of the University incomes
comes from students' fees ; private benefactors have contributed during the
last three years ;^ 1,750,000, and the local authorities in the University areas
have increased their annual grants from ;^74,263 to ;^i35,868. It is stated
also that the Government urged on these efforts by encouraging the University
authorities to hope that what was raised locally would be met by a correspond-
ing increase in Government grants.

The memorandum concludes : " Retrenchment in the present grants would
threaten the Universities with debility, and would check their growth as
democratic institutions. Their work is part of the life insurance of the nation.
To fail to keep up the premiums would, we submit, be unwise. A refusal to
spend upon Universities what University work requires would discredit Britain
in the eyes of other peoples, not least in the eyes of the sister nations of the
Commonwealth, and would disconcert and dishearten the most intelligent of
our citizens, especially those of the younger generation."

PRE-FUSION GRADUATES.

The list of still living pre-Fusion graduates and alumni of King's College
and Marischal College is rapidly shrinking. The numbers, as given in the
General Council Register at different dates, are : —

King's graduates .....

„ alumni ......

Marischal graduates .....

„ alumni .....

1644 3i6 71

Of those who entered either College not later than 1850 the following
are believed to be the only survivors : —

King's College.

Rev. George Compton Smith, Rhynie; matr. 1845 5 M.A., 1849.
Hugh Green, Limerick; M.D., 1846.

Rev. William Brand, Dunrossness [not there since 1918]; matr, 1850;
M.A., 1854.

Alfred Hill, Freshwater Bay, Isle of Wight; M.D., 1854.

Marischal College.

William Mackray, Croydon; matr. 1842; M.A., 1846.

Rev. William Cormack, Capetown ; matr. 1846.

Rev. John Fleming, Edinburgh; matr. 1846; M.A., 1850.

George Falconer Muir, London ; matr. 1 848.

Rev. Andrew J. B. Baxter, Edinburgh; matr. 1849; M.A., 1853.

William Farquhar, I.M.S. (ret.); matr. 1846; M.D., 1857.

William Stewart, Paraguay ; matr. 1849; M.B., 1852.

Henry Thomas Sylvester, V.C., London; matr. 1849; M.B., 1853.

Rev. Alexander Blake, Bangalore; matr. 1850; M.A., 1854.

i868.

1908.

1922

872

158

27

109

23

6

517

102

29

146

33

9

University Topics 167

THE CARNEGIE TRUST.

The annual meeting of the Carnegie Trustees was held in London on
8 February — Lord Sands presiding. His lordship was appointed Chairman
of the Trust in succession to the late Lord Balfour of Burleigh ; and the follow-
ing were appointed members of the Trust to fill the vacancies caused by deaths
during the year — the Duchess of Athol, Mr. Bonar Law, Viscount Novar, and
Sir Francis Grant Ogilvie, the two last-named being also appointed members of
the Executive Committee.

Lord Sands, in moving the adoption of the annual report, referred at con-
siderable length to the subject of the payment of students' fees. It was un-
doubtedly an unsatisfactory feature of the situation, he said, that, apart from
one or two exceptional cases, they could not give more to the Carnegie
students than about 40 per cent, of their class fees. That raised a problem of
some difficulty. The question was whether it was desirable to go on paying a
proportion of the fees of a large number of students, or pay the whole fees of
a more limited number. If they were to do the latter, they must have some
system of inquiry and selection. Their late Chairman, Lord Balfour of Bur-
leigh, had been strongly adverse to any system of particular inquiry, if that
could be obviated. In the present position of the Trust, and of the country,
and of education, he thought they could hardly come to a final decision upon
this matter. They must rather wait a little and allow things to stabilize some-
what before making a new and drastic departure. In the meantime, they were
doing all they could by way of requiring from applicants and from their
guardians stringent attestations of necessity of assistance.

His lordship also referred to the return of money by the beneficiaries of
the Trust. Mr. Carnegie had contemplated that something of that kind would
be done, and he (Lord Sands) thought it important that the public should have
before them what was in Mr. Carnegie's mind. The Trust had paid away
^880,000 in fees, and it had had ;^i 1,000 or i'2 7 per cent, in repayments.
The number of students helped was 21,749, and 299 had in after life repaid
the amounts by which they were assisted. The reasons for this comparatively
small response were, he thought, twofold. He believed there was an impres-
sion abroad that the funds of the Trust were ample, that they had an over-
flowing treasury, and that there was sufficient both for the present generation
and for future generations. That was an entirely mistaken view. Then there
was the other view, that, while it might be highly meritorious to return this
money, it was not the sort of thing to be expected of any ordinary man. It
was as if one were to imitate those patriotic gentlemen who, in the furore of
their war zeal and patriotism, subscribed for war bonds and then put them in-
to the fire. This, he thought, was also a mistaken view, because it was clear
that Mr. Carnegie did not so regard it as something extraordinary, but some-
thing naturally looked for from the ordinary self-respecting Scot.

The report was adopted.

The report stated that during the year there had been a slight decrease in
the total amount paid for class fees, the comparative figures being : —

Beneficiaries. Amount.

1919-20 4912 ;^68,59l

1920-21 ....... 4860 65,284

Decreases 52 3>307

1 68 Aberdeen University Review

The average per beneficiary had fallen from j£is ^9^- 3^. to j£is 8s. 8d.
With j£2 2o spent in providing assistance beyond the payment of class fees, the
total expenditure in this branch of the funds was ;^65,204, against an ordinary
income of ^^60,220 — a deficit of j£4gS4. Against this had to be set ^^1279
received in voluntary repayments, leaving a net deficit of ;^4oo5 to be paid out
of the Trust's general reserve fund.

Funds for the payment of class fees were allocated to the four University
centres during the year as follows : —

Students. Amount.

St. Andrews

424

;^6,o25

Glasgow ....

. 1837

23,760

Aberdeen ....

922

12,289

Edinburgh ....

. 1677

23,210

rhe details for the Aberdeen centre are : —

Beneficiaries.

Payments.

Faculty. Men. Women. Tl.

Men. Women.

Total.

Arts . . 169 245 414

£^42S 3 ;^2048

£3A76 3

Science . 113 51 164

1609 4 832

2,441 4

Medicine . 255 70 325

4901 19 1344

6,245 19

Law ..325

19 15 II

30 15

Divinity . 14 — 14

95 0 —

95 0

Totals, 554 368 922 ;^8o54 i ;^4235 ;^i2,289 i
Average per beneficiary, ;^i3 6s. 7d.

GRADUATES' DINNERS.

ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY CLUB, LONDON.

The half-yearly dinner of the Club was held on 1 7 November. General
Sir George Milne, K.C.B., G.C.M.G., D.S.O., presided, in the absence through
illness of Sir William Robertson Nicoll ; and the company, which numbered
about 100, included Sir Henry Craik, K.C.B., M.P., Sir Edward Troup,
Sir James Porter, Sir Archibald Reid, Sir James Galloway, Sir Arthur Keith,
Sir F. G. Ogilvie, Professor Marnoch, Professor Ashley Mackintosh, Professor
W. J. R Simpson, Mr. J. M. Bulloch, LL.D., Mrs. Binns, etc.

Sir George Milne, in proposing "The University and the Aberdeen Uni-
versity Club, London," expressed regret that their original Chairman was not
present and read a letter from Sir William Robertson Nicoll, who referred to
the bitter sorrow with which he had had to bow to the advice of his two
doctors and stay away. He also read letters of apology from the Principal,
the Rector, and the Marquis of Aberdeen and Temair.

Continuing, Sir George Milne said he deeply appreciated the honour they
had done him in asking him to be their chairman. He appreciated the
honour the more as he was not himself a graduate, the reason being a formid-
able letter which he received some forty years ago from the Senatus, intimating
that owing to his irregular attendance at classes his further attendance at the
University would not be required. Since then he had travelled a great deal
about the world, and everywhere, from Central Africa to Central Asia, he had
found the ubiquitous Scotsman, and the almost equally ubiquitous Aberdonian,

University Topics 169

always doing the same thing — always showing the same grit and (he continued
with a smile) always usurping the best places. He put their success down to>
the early training in Scotland — the training which began with the Shorter
Catechism and ended with the University.

The toast of "The Guests" was proposed by Mr. J. D. Symon, whc
coupled with it the names of Professor John Adams, Dr. Tough, Professor
Mackintosh, and Mr. William Will. Professor Adams replied. The health
of the Chairman was proposed by Mr. Howard A. Gray.

ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY EDINBURGH ASSOCIATION.
Dr. Laws on the Work of the Livingstonia Mission.

This vigorous association held its thirty-third annual dinner in the County
Hotel, Edinburgh, on 3 February — " Bursary Night " — according to its
honoured custom. The President for the year. Dr. A. W. Russell, Glasgow,
occupied the chair, and the principal guest was Rev. Dr. Robert Laws,
Livingstonia. Apologies were intimated from, among others. Principal Sir
George Adam Smith, Professors James Cooper, Cushny, and W. P. Paterson,
and Rev. Dr. David Paul.

After the usual loyal toasts, the Chairman suggested a happy innovation by
asking each of those present to rise in his place in succession and announce
himself — a. method of mutual introduction which seemed to be highly
appreciated.

In proceeding thereafter to propose the toast of the principal guest, the
Chairman acknowledged the generous distinction bestowed on him in bringing
him from the West to be their president for a year, and commented on the
advantages of such an association, deploring the want of it in the Glasgow
district with its 200 or more alumni within easy reach of the city. He hoped
it would still be possible this season — say, in March — to arrange for a Saturday
luncheon, at which graduates of both sexes might be present. He then
referred to the great characteristics that had gone to the making of the dis-
tinguished missionary whom they had invited as their special guest that evening,
and concluded by proposing his health.

[The speech of Dr. Laws in reply seemed so important that he was asked to
provide an extended note of it for the benefit of a larger audience.]

Dr. Laws said — I am glad of the opportunity of telling you something of
the geographical, commercial and political changes which have taken place in
Central Africa since I went out there first in 1875. At that time there was
not a single school or church between me and the west coast of Africa, and to
the north the nearest mission was at Assiout on the Nile, and to the east at
Zanzibar, or at one of the stations of the Universities' Mission on the mainland
opposite. The people belonged to separate tribes living in warfare with one
another, and the slave-trader from the coast fostered these quarrels so as to
provide himself with victims ; and thousands of these were annually carried
across Lake Nyassa on their way to the slave markets of the coast.

The missionary does not go out with colonization as his aim, but commerce
and good government often follow in his steps. In this way the Livingstonia
Mission has been the pioneer of the extension of the British Empire. In 1878,
Sir Bartle Frere said it must stop at the Zambesi, but now we have the
Nyassaland Protectorate, with an area of 39,573 square miles or about a fourth

170 Aberdeen University Review

larger than Scotland. To the west of it lies Northern Rhodesia, with an area
of 291,000 square miles, while to the north of Lake Nyassa is Tanganyika
Territor)' (formerly German East Africa), with an area of 384,180 square miles,
or nearly equal to the combined area of France and Germany. In early days
extension of the Empire was tabooed, otherwise we might have been saved the
late war in Central Africa. When Sir Harry Johnston was making treaties
near Kilimanjaro, orders came to him from the Foreign Office that they did
not want new territory, and so the recent additions have come to Britain in a
more costly way than if added then. The advent of the British Government
to Nyassaland has resulted in the abolition of the slave trade, and practically
the extinction of domestic slavery. Good government, with the peace it
brought, has given security to Mission work, and has fostered the extension of
planting industries and commerce. In 1879 I brought ^^25 of silver and
copper into the country, and for five years it was sufficient for all the com-
mercial transactions of the Mission. (Dr. Laws here cited some commercial
statistics, remarking that these figures told of progress and pointed to the
need for further development.)

In South Africa they are realizing the benefit of the union of the States
there under a High Commissioner. There is great need north of the Zambesi
for a similar group of Tropical States under similar administration. Mr.
Churchill has referred to some of them, but he left out two which ought to be
included. We need and should have Nyassaland, Northern Rhodesia, Tangan-
yika Territory, Kenya Colony (formerly British East Africa) and Uganda as a
block of Tropical States under a High Commissioner, with the capital, not at
Zanzibar, which is hot and unhealthy, but on the Highlands of the interior,
probably somewhere on the Dar es-Salaam-Tabora-Ujiji Railway, central for, and
get-at-able from, the other States. These should have legislation providing for
one common penal code ; one language (English) for the higher training of the
natives and the common use of the Europeans ; one (English) monetary
standard, but preferably decimal, using the florin as the unit, to be divided into
cents, as already begun in Tanganyika Territory ; and one Customs Union,
replacing the present cumbrous and unfair system whereby on Lake Nyassa, in
addition to the Portuguese Customs, there are three separate and varying
British Customs tariffs to be dealt with.

As an Aberdeen University Association, educational effort has a fascination
for us, and so I am glad to be able to tell you that the first school begun by
the Livingstonia Mission in 1875 ^^^ become, at the close of 1920, 682
schools, with 1,222 teachers and monitors and 36,34:5 pupils. In Nyassaland
alone eleven Missions carry on 1,991 schools, with no European teachers and
a roll of 125,159 pupils. By our widespread elementary education we aim at
getting the people able to read the Word of God in their own vernacular and
carry on correspondence in the same. For higher courses of training English
is the medium employed. I have no faith whatever in education which leaves
out of account the spiritual side of a man's nature. Such a thing is unscientific.
The foundation of the instruction we give is that of our University motto —
Initium Sapientiae Timor Domini. Medical Mission work is steadily carried
on, and at our hospital medical courses for hospital orderlies and assistants are
arranged. Industrial training is given in various trades, so that we may have
crofters and craftsmen resembling those who have been the backbone of our
Scottish homes. There are training courses for teachers, evangelists and
pastors. In the evangelistic work all our efforts culminate, and at the end of

University Topics 171

1920 we had twelve central stations with forty-one congregations, six ordained
native ministers, 604 elders and deacons, and 13,877 communicants. In 1920,
2,750 adults and children were baptized as compared with nine adults in the
first ten years of our mission work. The census of 1921, just to hand, shows
that 130,000 professed themselves Christians, and that the number had doubled
during the last decade.

The extension of our Empire, by the addition of the vast areas I have
mentioned, and their millions of inhabitants, brings with it vast responsibilities,
which, I fear, few in this country adequately realize and many do not think of.
As a Christian nation, we have to give them the Gospel of Christ, and many
forms of service are incumbent on us, whether engaged as rulers, in com-
mercial pursuits, in the healing of the sick, or in educational and evangelistic
work. We need to cultivate and show a sympathetic spirit in our dealings with
all those long downtrodden races. They are wonderfully responsive to justice,
righteousness and kindly advances, and no one can go from this country to live
among them without being under the microscope of their eyes and their shrewd
criticism of his character by the campfire at night. They need all the help we
can give them ; they are worthy of it and will respond to it.

The toast of " Alma Mater " was proposed by Rev. Dr. Sclater with char-
acteristic felicity, and Mr. William Chree, K.C. repHed. Professor Grierson
proposed " The Sister Universities," and Sir George Berry, the prospective
Unionist candidate for the Universities, replied. The orators were all in form
and the evening passed too quickly. Special appreciation of the services of
Mr. Robert Fortune, S.S.C., as Hon. Secretary, was expressed ; and Lieut-
Colonel Alexander Ogilvie was unanimously elected the President for the
coming year.

WEST RIDING ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY GRADUATES' SOCIETY.

This Society held its fifteenth annual dinner at the Queen's Hotel, Leeds,
on II November, under the presidency of Dr. T. Irvine Bonner, Shipley.
The company numbered forty-five, and included Sir Henry Craik, K.C.B.,
M.P., and Mr. John Gordon, ex-Lord Mayor of Leeds, who started his school-
days with Sir J. M. Barrie at Kirriemuir. The Society was founded in 1901
with Dr. Thomas Logan as President. The other Presidents have been —
Dr. Wardrop Griffith, Rev. Dr. Robert Bruce, Dr. Dunlop, Dr. Churton,
Dr. Angus, Dr. Allan, Dr. Scatterty, Dr. Leslie Milne, Dr. J. Hambley Rowe,
Dr. Robert Mitchell, Dr. J. W. Myers, Dr. G. H. Johnston, and Dr. Andrew
Little. The toast of " The University " was proposed by Dr. Leslie Milne,
and was responded to by Mr. J. M. Bulloch, LL.D.

Mr. Bulloch said: I have to thank you for the great, and, I think,
unique honour you have conferred on me in inviting me to reply to the
toast of our University. I can only imagine that you have consigned the
reply to me because I am intensely interested in the University, and have
written and rhymed about it by the yard during the period of nearly forty
years. That interest is hereditary, for my grand-uncle, Rev. William Malcolm,
of Leochel-Cushnie, entered King's College in 1809 — that is, 112 years ago ;
my grandfather, Andrew Malcolm, schoolmaster, of Leochel-Cushnie, was
there in 1820-24; and his son, my uncle, William Malcolm, was at the
University exactly forty years later, becoming seventh wrangler in 187 1 ;
while my brother has been examiner in the University, and has blossomed
into a full-blown professor in the strange University of London.

172 Aberdeen University Review

The foundation of the University 427 years ago was one of the greatest
acts of faith imaginable. Here in Leeds, and, indeed, in every University
centre in England, beyond Oxford and Cambridge, the University has been
the long-delayed aftermath of a busy civilization. In Aberdeen, on the other
hand, the University preceded and, to a large extent, created that civilization.
William Elphinstone, the son of an astute Glasgow merchant, and a very
able business man himself, went north to Aberdeen as Bishop in 1488 at
the age of fifty-seven. It was a very small place, little more than a glorified
fishing village, almost wholly isolated from the rest of the country by formid-
able hills, looking out on the bleak North Sea, backed by an almost impassable
hinterland of moor and forest, and inhabited by a people whom he described
in Latin as " rude and ignorant ". In 1494 he got the permission of the
Pope to dump down on this bleak spot a University complete in all four
faculties, for it is one of our glories that Aberdeen was the first University in
the British Isles to possess a faculty of medicine. It was certainly an extra-
ordinary act of faith, for, although the town had possessed a grammar school,
which still flourishes, before 1262, the mass of the people stood more in need
of the three R's than of the four faculties. And then, as if that were not
enough, almost exactly a century later another rival University was established
by the Earl Marischal, so that Aberdeen possessed two complete Universities,
while all England had no more.

The two Aberdeen Universities were from the first democratic, and not
exclusive cloisters as Oxford and Cambridge were at that time. Much has
been written about them, but their full effect on the whole bleak hinterland
has never yet been measured. For centuries King's College was the edu-
cational centre of gravity of the whole countryside, sending out priests and
ministers to every parish, circulating its life blood in the whole countryside
through a race of splendid dominies, whose greatly to be regretted disappear-
ance is mainly the result of Scotland having to level down its primary edu-
cational standard to the primitive necessities of the dominant partner. And
its influence extended far beyond its own hinterland. Founded as it was by
a great missionary, it sent out its sons as missionaries in all capacities to
every corner of the world ; even to the arenas of the south where, till the
other day. Dr. Giles was Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge, and where the
University Press, which celebrated its quarter-centenary yesterday, has an
Aberdeen graduate as its printer. Indirectly, I think we may claim that the
influence of our University gave Mr. George Stuart Gordon, formerly con-
nected with the Oxford Press, to Leeds University. Since our day, England
has taken a leaf out of Scotland's book, and created for herself Universities —
nearly all in the vigorous North and Midlands — beginning in 183 1 with
Durham, where we are represented by Professor Wight Duff. But the rise
of these Universities in districts flowing with milk and money has only be-
stirred the University of Aberdeen to greater efforts. Thus, when I was
there in 1884-88, there were but twenty-two professors and one lecturer. To-
day there are twenty-six professors and sixty-eight lecturers ; and the number is
likely to increase. If Elphinstone ever looks down on his bantling by the
sea from the Elysian fields he must surely be amazed, even although his faith
as founder was so expansive.

Every time I go north, said Mr. Bulloch in conclusion, I see how the
University is expanding its usefulness in every direction, especially in the
actual business of life, such as agriculture, though it is not degrading itself

University Topics 173

into a mere technical school. In no department of its expansion does it
fascinate me more than in the great development of the library, which has
become a splendid institution with a journal of its own, under the guidance
of Mr. P. J. Anderson, who has done more for the interests of the University
than any man I know. And the University will continue to grow still more
if we who have benefited by it will only continue to remember "Alma Mater,"
not only in our memories, but in our pockets.

CLASS REUNIONS.

Arts Class, 1886-90. — The eleventh reunion of this Class was held in
the Imperial Hotel, Aberdeen, on 6 January. Dr. Alexander Wood, Long-
side, occupied the chair, and Rev. Canon J. B. Jobberns, Carnoustie, was
croupier. The other members of the Class present were : Mr. J. B. Anderson,
Logie-Coldstone ; Rev. George Bartlet, Aberdeen ; Dr. G. Black, Tomintoul ;
Rev. A. Copland, Forfar; Mr. A. Davidson, Mr. C. Davidson, Mr. W. Fyfe,
Dr. A. Low, Dr. W. L. Marr, Mr. A. A. Prosser, Mr. W. M 'Queen Smith,
Aberdeen ; and Mr. A. M. Younie, Longside. After the usual loyal and
patriotic toasts, Dr. W. L. Marr proposed "The University," which was re-
plied to by Dr. A. Low. The toast of "The Professions " was submitted by
Mr. W. M'Queen Smith, and acknowledged by Rev. George Bartlet (Divinity),
Dr. G. Black (Medicine), Mr. A. A. Prosser (Law), and Mr. J, B. Anderson
(Teaching). The toast of the evening, "The Class," was submitted by
Canon Jobberns, who gave an interesting record of the careers of the various
members. Dr. Wood replied in a felicitous and reminiscent speech. " Absent
Class Fellows " was proposed by Rev. A. Copland. The remainder of the
evening was spent pleasantly with song and sentiment.

Arts Class, 1888-92. — The tenth triennial dinner of this Class was held
in the Imperial Hotel, Aberdeen, on 27 December — Rev. Alexander Mackenzie,
Banchory-Devenick, presiding. Mr. William Garden, advocate, Aberdeen,
the Class Secretary, acted as croupier. There were also present : Mr. W.
Edmund Bell, solicitor, Aberdeen ; Mr. James Davidson, Aberdeen ; Mr.
J. B. Duff, Aberdeen ; Mr. Charles Fraser, schoolmaster, Stoneywood ; Mr.
F. W. Kay, advocate, Aberdeen ; Mr. Alexander Meff, Mr. G. Anderson
Simpson, rector, Fordyce Academy ; Mr. Alexander Sivewright, Edinburgh ;
and Mr. David Troup, solicitor, Peterhead. In the course of the evening
Mr. Garden read some interesting letters which he had received from old
class-fellows conveying their best wishes to their old comrades present at the
dinner, and their regrets at being unable to be present themselves. Mr.
Garden regretted to have to intimate that since the last reunion in December,
19 18, two members of the Class had died — Mr. Alexander M'Lean, at
Glasgow, on 3 October, 191 9, and Dr. James Leslie Wilson, at Newcastle-on-
Tyne, where he was a well-known figure in medical circles, on 6 January,
1920. Mr. Garden reported that he had had a very hearty response to the
circular which he had recently sent out to the Class for up-to-date information
to enable an addendum to be prepared for the Class Record which was
issued by him in 1902. With song and recollections of the old days at
" King's " a very enjoyable evening was spent.

Arts Class, 1890-94. — This Class had a reunion dinner in the Palace
Hotel, Aberdeen, on 5 January. There were present : Mr. J. C. Dewar,

174 Aberdeen University Review

solicitor, Arbroath ; Rev. W. W. Reid, Parish Minister of Dumbarton ; Mr.
F. W. Michie, H.M.I.S. ; Dr. Thomas Fraser, D.S.O. ; Mr. Robert Mitchell,
D.S.O., advocate; Mr. Peter Smith, Gordon's College; Mr. C. J. Mackie,
advocate ; Mr. James A. Johnston, schoolmaster, Tullynessle ; Mr. A. E. P.
Gardner, solicitor, Stonehaven ; Rev. A. J. Kesting, Parish Minister of
Mossgreen, Fifeshire ; Mr. C. D. Rice, Rector of Peterhead Academy. Mr.
Dewar presided, and a very pleasant evening was spent. The Class Record
is in course of preparation, and an opportunity was taken to go over the
names of a number of those whom the Secretary had been unable to trace,
and the names also of the departed, to whose memory the company drank in
silence. The hope was expressed that the Class Record might be ready for
distribution at next reunion.

Arts Class, 1893-97. — This Class held a reunion in the Imperial Hotel,
Aberdeen, on 23 December, when there were present : Professor W. S.
Urquhart, D.Phil., University of Calcutta, who presided ; Dr. Alex. Whyte
Cassie, Govan ; Mr. John Christian, headmaster, Inveravon School, Ballin-
dalloch ; Mr. W. G. A. Morgan, headmaster, Higher Grade Public School,
Torphins ; Dr. Henry Peterkin, aural surgeon, 17 Bon-Accord Crescent ; Rev.
John Thomson, U.F. Church, Carmyllie ; and Mr. J. MacDiarmid, advocate,
173A Union Street, Class Secretary. The Secretary intimated apologies from
Professors W. L. Davidson and J. Harrower, who were invited as guests but
unfortunately had previous engagements ; and from the following members of
the Class: Mrs. Shirreffs, 183 Great Western Road; Mr. D. M. Andrew,
headmaster, Hamilton ; Mr. George Badenoch, headmaster, Thornhill, Dum-
friesshire ; Rev. William Cruickshank, Manse of Kinneff, Bervie ; Mr. James
C. Knox, classical master, Aberdeen Grammar School ; Mr. John Nicol,
teacher. New Cumnock, Ayrshire ; Rev. Johnston Oliphant, The Manse,
Abercorn, South Queensferry ; and the first bursar, Mr. William A. Ross,
Ministry of Health, London. This being the first reunion of the Class since
the war, the evening was spent hearing the experiences of those present. In
the course of the evening the following toasts were submitted: "The King,"
by the Chairman ; " H.M. Forces," proposed by Rev. John Thomson, and
replied to by Captain MacDiarmid; "The University," proposed by Mr. John
Christian, and replied toby Dr. Peterkin; "The Professions," proposed by
the Chairman, and replied to by Rev. John Thomson for the Church, by Dr.
Cassie for medicine, and Mr. Morgan for teaching ; " The Class," proposed
by Mr. MacDiarmid, and replied to by the Chairman. The toast of " The
Chairman " was proposed by Dr. Cassie. It was resolved that the next
reunion should be held three years hence.

Arts Class, 19 14- 18. — More than thirty members of this Class dined
together in the Bon- Accord Hotel, Aberdeen, on 23 December. Mr. A. G.
Badenoch, M.A., presided. The guests of the evening were Principal Sir
George Adam Smith, Professor W. L. Davidson, Professor Souter, Mr. R. B.
Forrester, and Dr. J. L. MTntyre. The toast-list included "The Class,"
" Our Alma Mater," and " The Professors ". Dancing was afterwards engaged
in. A Class Record will be prepared, and future reunions arranged by the
newly-appointed Secretaries, namely, Mr. W. M. Dickie, M.A., Mr. A. Lyall,
M.A., Miss G. M. Mitchell, M.A., and Miss M. Livingston, M.A.

Personalia.

The following honorary degrees were conferred at the spring graduation on
30 March : —
D.D. :—

Rev. Peter Dunn, minister of the parish of Dalineny, Linlithgowshire
(M.A., Aberd., 1865).

Rev. W. F. LoFTHOUSE, Tutor in Old Testament Language and Literature
and in Philosophy at Handsworth (Wesleyan Methodist) College, Birmingham
(M.A., Oxon.).

Rev. George Pittendrigh, lately Professor in the Madras Christian
College, now a member of the Aberdeen Education Authority (M.A., Aberd.,
1880).

Rev. Robert Harvey Strachan, minister of St. Andrew's United Free
Church, Edinburgh, formerly of Langside Hill United Free Church, Glasgow
(M.A., Aberd., 1893; M.A., Cantab.).

Rev. George Walker, minister of the East Parish Church of St. Nicholas^
Aberdeen (M.A., B.D., Edin.).

LL.D. :—

Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Wardrop Griffith, C.M.G., Professor of
Medicine in the University of Leeds (M.B., Aberd., 1882; M.D., 1888;
F.R.C.P.).

Mr. John Masefield, author and poet, Oxford.

Cuthbert Hamilton Turner, Fellow of Magdalen College and Dean
Ireland's Professor of Exegesis, Oxford (M.A., Oxon.; D.Litt., Durh.; F.B.A.).

The Principal, who was appointed the Baird Lecturer for 1922, delivered
a course of six lectures in February and March. The subject of the lectures
was " Jeremiah : the Book, the Man, and the Prophet ".

The Principal and Professor Macdonald have been reappointed by the
University Court Governors on the board of Robert Gordon's College for a
period of three years from i January, 1922.

Professor Fulton has been appointed representative of the Senatus on the
Aberdeen Endowments Trust, in succession to Professor Cowan.

Professor Hay has been reappointed representative of the University on
the General Medical Council.

Professor Macdonald has been appointed Assessor of the Senatus to the
University Court, in succession to Professor MacWilliam, whose period of office
has expired. He represented the University at the Air Conference held in
London in February.

176 Aberdeen University Review

Professors Ashley Mackintosh and MacWilliam have been granted leave
of absence on grounds of health.

Professor J. Arthur Thomson has been appointed representative of the
University on the Scottish Marine Biological Association for the current year.

Emeritus- Professor Cash, who, in 19 19, retired from the Chair of Materia
Medica in the University, which he had held since 1886, has left Aberdeen
and settled in the west of England.

Emeritus-Professor Sir William M. Ramsay (M.A., 187 1 ; LL.D., 191 2 ;
D.C.L. [Oxon.]) was compelled in December, owing to ill health, to cancel the
remainder of his programme of lectures before American universities and scien-
tific associations which he began last September, and returned to this country.

Sir Robert Home, the new Rector, has appointed Sir John Fleming
(LL.D., 1902) as his Assessor on the University Court for a period of three
years. Sir John has been Rector's Assessor continually since 1908, having
been appointed by Mr. Asquith, Mr. Andrew Carnegie, Mr. Churchill, and
Viscount Cowdray successively.

The Principal and Lady Adam Smith were present at the Ball in the Bute
Hall of the University of Glasgow on the occasion of the reception by that
University of the eighty students of the University of Aberdeen who went to
Glasgow to play against Glasgow University teams in Rugby and Association
football, in shinty, and in men and women's hockey.

A gathering of graduates and alumni of this University resident in Glasgow
^nd the neighbourhood, to meet the Principal, was held on 18 March. The
gathering was arranged by Dr. Alexander W. Russell, Sheriff Blair, and Mr.
A. M. Williams. An account of the proceedings is held over till next number
of the Review.

Mr. Robert Blair Forrester (M.A. [Edin.] ; M.Com. [Manchester]),
who has been Lecturer in Political Economy in the University for a number
•of years, has received an appointment in the London School of Economics,
which is attached to London University and is the chief centre of economic
study in this country. Mr. Forrester left Edinburgh University about twelve
years ago to conduct researches in England and France into the conditions of
the cotton industry, and he recently received the Commerce degree of Man-
chester University for a work on that industry. Settling in Manchester, he
became assistant to Professor Chapman in the Victoria University. He threw
himself into the workers' educational movement, and, as tutor in centres like
Bacup, Blackburn, Chorley, and Oldham, he showed the extent of his ideal.
When Dr. Turner, Lecturer in Economics in Aberdeen University, was ap-
pointed to the Health Insurance Commission, Mr. Forrester filled the vacant
place, and at once made himself popular in the University. His students had
a vast fund of economic knowledge placed at their disposal, and they soon
learned to appreciate the matter and manner of his lectures. He has been
not only an efficient University teacher, but willingly gave his services in other
directions. He took a warm interest in the sports and the University societies.

Dr. Robert H. A. Plimmer (D.Sc), who, since September 191 9, has
been head of the Bio-Chemical Department of the Rowett Institute of Research
in Animal Nutrition at Craibstone, near Aberdeen, has been appointed Pro-
fessor of Medical Chemistry at St. Thomas's Hospital Medical School in
London University.

Personalia ^ 177

Dr. Alexander Greig Anderson (M.A., 1905 ; M.D. ; M.R.C.P.
{Lond.]) has been appointed medical officer to the Morningfield Hospital for
Incurables, Aberdeen, in succession to the late Dr. George M. Edmond.

Mr. P. J. Anderson, the University Librarian, has offered the Inverness-
shire Education Authority ;^ioo to found a medal or prize in the Royal
Academy, Inverness, in memory of his father, Peter Anderson, and his uncle,
George Anderson, authors of the " Guide to the Highlands and Islands of
Scotland," and both of them former pupils at the Academy. The medal or
prize is to be awarded to the student showing most proficiency in knowledge
of the history and topography of the Highlands, with especial reference to
Inverness-shire.

A diploma in psychological medicine has been conferred on Dr. James
Scott Annandale (M.B., 1910), Maudsley and Sheffield.

Mr. Alexander James Barclay (M.A., 1884), Headmaster of the Public
School, Cove, Kincardineshire, for many years, has just demitted office under
the age limit. He was presented by local friends with a gold watch in token
of his long and devoted service.

Rev. William Beveridge (M.A., 1884), minister of the United Free
Church of New Deer and Maud, has been appointed by the Jewish Mission
Committee of the Church to the responsible post of senior missionary and
superintendent of the mission at Budapest. Mr. Beveridge went out tem-
porarily to Budapest for six months last year, and his success, coupled with
his scholarly attainments, has led to this permanent appointment. Before
leaving for Budapest, Mr. Beveridge was presented by the congregation and
friends in the district with a gold watch and a wallet of Treasury notes, and a
silver-mounted toilet outfit and a diamond and sapphire ring for Mrs.
Beveridge. He was also entertained at a complimentary dinner by the
members of the Deer United Free Church Presbytery. Mr. Beveridge pre-
sented to the Higher Grade School, New Deer, a valuable collection of arrow-
heads, flint knives, stone balls, etc.

Dr. John Fairbairn Binnie (M.A., 1882; M.B., 1886), Kansas City,
has been unwell for some time, and towards the end of last year the president
of the Jackson County Medical Society appointed a Committee to send him
some form of appreciation in his illness. The Committee drew up a letter
and sent it to him, with a basket of fruit and flowers, on Christmas Day.
The letter, after expressing sympathy with " Our dear Dr. Binnie " in his
illness, went on : —

You would be the first to know that men are constrained from saying all that they feel,
of affection and of admiration, about one another. But you may not realise that we have
thought of you so constantly as the foremost man among us, that it seemed commonplace
to say so. We admire your scholarship. We have sat eagerly under your instruction.
You have been a guide, a helper and a friend to one after another of us in the early years of
practice. And we have been fiercely proud that you belonged to us, and we to you. You
have stood for standards and you have abided by them. When black days came, when we
have been disappointed in some man or some trend of affairs, we have met and said, one to
another, " Well, anyway, there is Binnie ". And there you always were — clean and stead-
fast, and dependable.

We feel that your record in the war was typical of your attitude toward the profession.
You might easily have excused yourself because of an age beyond the requirements of
military duty, because of the value of your service to your community, but instead of that,
you accepted more than your share, left your practice and did your work, acquitting your-
self like a man.

Dr. George Gordon Bruce, Cullen (M.B., 1915 ; M.R.C.S. ; L.R.C.P.),

12

lyS Aberdeen University Review

has received the diploma of Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons
(F.R.C.S.).

Dr. William Bulloch (M.B., 1890; M.D., 1894; LL.D., 1920;
F.R.S.), Professor of Bacteriology at the London Hospital Medical College,
is to deliver the Tyndall Lectures at the Royal Institute this year.

Rev. Samuel Wood Cameron (M.A. 191 i; B.D., 1916), assistant at
Morningside Parish Church, Edinburgh, has been elected minister of the
Parish of Kells, New Galloway (see p. 78).

Mr. David Montagu Alexander Chalmers (M.A., 1880) has been
elected President of the Society of Advocates in Aberdeen.

The Very Rev. James Cooper (M.A., 1867 ; D.D., 1892 ; LittD. [Dub-
lin]; D.C.L. [Durham]; D.D. [Oxon.], 1920), it is understood, intends,
for reasons of health, to resign the Professorship of Church History in
Glasgow University in September. Some time ago he had a long and rather
serious illness, and although he has now largely recovered, he feels that the
general conditions of his health will not permit him to continue his work at
the University beyond the period which he has set for his retirement. Dr.
Cooper succeeded the late Very Rev. Dr. Story in the Glasgow Chair of
Church History in 1898.

Captain Alexander Mitchell Cowie, M.C. (M.B., 1884), has been
appointed a Deputy-Lieutenant of Banffshire.

Rev. William Cran (M.A., 1880 ; B.D. [Edin.], 1884), minister of the
Westhill Congregational Church, Skene, Aberdeenshire, recently celebrated
the twenty-first anniversary of his pastorate there, and at a congregational
social meeting was presented with a substantial cheque for adding volumes to
his library, Mrs. Cran being presented with a spirit lamp and kettle.

Dr. William Flett Croll (M.A., 1895 ; M.B., 1900; M.D.) has been
appointed physician to the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, in place of the late Dr.
William R. Pirie.

Mr. James Davidson (alumnus, 1865-66), owing to ill health, has resigned
his position as branch manager at Aberdeen for the Car and General Insur-
ance Corporation, Ltd. The directors of the Corporation have received Mr.
Davidson's resignation with regret, and, in recognition of his services to the
undertaking during the thirteen years in which he was local manager, they
have appointed him a member of the Aberdeen board. The announcement
of Mr. Davidson's retirement from active duty will be noted with interest by
his old fellow-students at King's College, and many good wishes will be ex-
tended to him for the years of leisure which he has so fully earned after a long
and strenuous business life. He has for many years been a leading figure in
insurance business in Aberdeen, having been at one time manager of the
Scottish Employers' Liability and General Insurance Company, Ltd., now
merged in the London and Lancashire Fire Insurance Company, Ltd. ; and
he is widely known in business circles throughout the north of Scotland. Mr.
Davidson is a Justice of the Peace of the county of the city of Aberdeen.

Mr. Alexander Duffus (alumnus, 1876-78), advocate, Aberdeen, has
been appointed Chairman of the directors of the Great North of Scotland
Railway Company.

Mr. Henry Duguid (M.B., 1909) has been called to the English bar
(Gray's Inn).

Mr. Frank Emslie (M.A., 1906), teacher, Denny, has been appointed
Headmaster of the Public School at Kinloch Rannoch.

Personalia 179

Sir David Ferrier (M.A., 1863; M.D. [Edin.] ; LL.D., 1881), the
famous expert in mental and nervous diseases, has retired from practice and
gone abroad for the winter. Educated at Aberdeen, Edinburgh, and Heidel-
berg, Sir David had a remarkably brilliant student career — one unbroken
triumph of prize-winning — and as quite a young man obtained a European
reputation by his investigations into the functions of the brain. He is Emeritus
Professor of Neuropathology, at King's College, London, where he used to be
known as " the nerve man," and was Consulting Physician to King's College
Hospital and to the National Hospital for Paralysed and Epileptic. He was
knighted in 191 1.

Rev. James Lawson Porbes (M.A., 1877; B.D., 1881), minister of the
Presbyterian Church of Australia, has recently retired from the active ministry.
After thirty-seven years' service at Eden, New South Wales, he demitted his
charge on 30 June, 19 10, and was placed upon the Retiring Fund of the
Presbyterian Church of New South Wales. No arrangements, however, were
made to carry on the work until the end of May this year, and Mr. Forbes,
who is now sixty-eight years of age, conducted about half the usual number of
services until that date. He still retains the office of Clerk of the Presbytery
of Monaro, to which he was appointed in 1889. As minister-emeritus, he will
continue to have a seat in the Presbytery and in the State Assembly.

In Convocation at Oxford on 21 February, the degree of M.A. was, by
decree of the house, conferred upon Mr. John Eraser (M.A., Aberd., 1903),
Professor of Celtic, formerly Lecturer in Celtic and Comparative Philology in
Aberdeen University.

Mr. Andrew Gordon (M.A., 1913), classical master at Tain Academy,
has received an appointment on the staff of Robert Gordon's College, Aber-
deen.

Mr. Alexander Rae Grant (M.A., 1920), divinity student, has been
licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Aberdeen.

Mr. James Grant (M.A., 1895), Headmaster of Leslie Public School,
Aberdeenshire, has been appointed Headmaster of Tough Public School, in
succession to Mr. Charles Stewart (M.A., 1880). Mr. Grant is succeeded
at Leslie by Mr. James Ironside (M.A., 1891), Headmaster of Linhead School,
Alvah, Banffshire.

Dr. Charles Alexander Harvey (M.B., 1917 ; D.P.H., 1921) has been
appointed resident medical officer of Noranside Sanatorium, Forfarshire. He
served during the war with the R.A.M.C. in Mesopotamia until 1920, when he
resumed his studies for the D.P.H., which he secured last year. From July
last till his appointment as above. Dr. Harvey acted as locum tenens for Dr.
Longmore, New Deer.

Rev. Dr. John Hector (M.A., 1866 ; D.D., 1894) celebrated, on 14
December, the jubilee of his ordination as a missionary to India in 1871. He
was appointed to Calcutta and joined the staff of the Free Church Institution
there. He succeeded Professor Dr. James Robertson as Principal in 1887,
and held the post till 1902, when he was invalided home. He was a Fellow
and an Examiner of Calcutta University while in India.

Rev. William Drummond Hunter (M.A., 191 2) has been elected
minister of the Cairns United Free Church, Stewarton, Ayrshire.

Mr. George Ironside (M.A., 1896) has been appointed Headmaster of
Cairnbanno School, Aberdeenshire.

i8o Aberdeen University Review

Rev. Colin MacKay Kerr (M.A., 1903 ; B.D., B.Sc, Ph.D.), minister
of the parish of Kettins, Forfarshire, has been elected minister of St. George's-
in-the-Fields parish, Glasgow. Mr. Kerr is an examiner in Theology and
Church History in Aberdeen University.

Rev. John Lendrum (M.A., 1888), minister of the South United Free
Church, Elgin, has been presented by his congregation with a new pulpit robe
and academic hood, in appreciation of his faithful and devoted ministry of
twenty-two years in Elgin.

Rev. Dr. Robert Alexander Lendrum (M.A., 1S82 ; D.D., 1920), St.
David's United Free Church, Glasgow, has been translated to St. Margaret's
United Free Church, Fairlie, Ayrshire.

Mr. George MacKay (M.A., 1902), Superintendent of Schools, Fiji, has
been appointed by the Secretary of State for the Colonies Director of Educa-
tion, Trinidad, West Indies.

Mr. James Mackie (M.A., 1904 ; B.Sc. Agr.), recently acting as interim
organizer for Inverness-shire under the North of Scotland College of Agriculture,
has been appointed county agricultural organizer and Principal of the Farm
Institute at Cannington, under the Somerset County Council.

Rev. James Alexander Matheson (M.A., 1909) has been elected
minister of Dallas United Free Church, Moray.

Lord Meston, K.C.S.I. (LL.D., 1913) has been appointed a Councillor
of the Royal Colonial Institute.

Mr. George Murray (M.A., 1882), who has been Headmaster of Dyce
Public School, Aberdeenshire, for the past thirty-six years, has retired under
the age limit regulation. On his retirement, he was presented with a silver tea
tray for himself and Mrs. Murray and an attache case for Miss Murray. He is
succeeded by Mr. David More (M.A., 1908), second master, North Supple-
mentary (Girls') School, Kirkcaldy. Shortly after graduating, Mr. More received
an appointment in Dunnikier Supplementary (Boys') School, Kirkcaldy, which
he held until 1914. On the outbreak of war he enlisted in the 2nd Battalion
Seaforth Highlanders, and served in that unit for two years in France. He
was afterwards transferred to the Intelligence Corps, in which he was engaged in
counter-espionage duties near the line. On returning from military duties Mr.
More was appointed second master in the East School, in Kirkcaldy, and was
afterwards transferred to a similar post in the North Supplementary (Girls')
School.

Sir Francis Grant Ogilvie, C.B. (M.A., 1879 > ^-Sc [Edin.], 1881 ;
LL.D. [Edin.]) has been appointed one of the Carnegie Trustees and also a
member of the Executive Committee.

Mr. James Bennet Peace (M.A., 1884), Fellow and Bursar of Emmanuel
College, Cambridge, is the printer of the Cambridge University Press, the
quatercentenary of which was celebrated on 10 November. Mr. Peace was
fifth wrangler in 1887, and, after taking his degree, became Lecturer on Applied
Mathematics and then on Electrical Engineering.

Dr. James Allan Philip (M.A., 1865 ; M.B., 1868; M.D., 1882) began
practice in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, in 1886, and has just retired from work
and returned to England. When the war began Dr. Philip took part in the
work of providing medical attendance for the poor of the town, and was fully
occupied in obeying the numerous demands for his help, always bearing in
mind the poverty prevailing amongst those whom he attended. When news
of his approaching departure was known, it was thought that his services during

Personalia 1 8 1

the war should be recognized, and the Council Municipal voted a resolution
thanking him for his work ; the Syndicat Municipal, the Bureau de Bienfaisance,
which voted a liberal gift, and many friends followed suit, and a valuable
testimonial was presented at a public meeting. Dr. Philip was recommended
for a decoration.

Sir David Prain, C.M.G., CLE., F.R.S. (M.A., 1878; M.B., 1883;
LL.D., 1900) is about to retire from the post of Director of the Royal Botanic
Gardens, Kew. Sir David succeeded the late Sir George King (M.B., 1865 ;
LL.D., 1884), as Superintendent of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Calcutta, in
1898 ; and in 1905 he was appointed Director at Kew in succession to the late
Sir William Thisel ton-Dyer. He has filled the post of president or vice-president
of eight learned societies, and last year was elected to the chair of the Gilbert
White Fellowship.

Mr. Alexander Reid (M.A., 191 2 ; B.Sc), Vice-Principal of the Govern-
ment Training College, Pietermaritzburg, Natal, has been appointed Principal
of the College.

Mr. William Reid (M.A., 1884), who has been Headmaster of the Central
School, Fraserburgh, since 1904, has retired owing to the age limit. He was
presented with a dining-room suite on leaving. Mr. Reid is succeeded by Mr.
James Black (M.A., 1895 ; B.Sc), principal teacher of Mathematics and
Science at Fraserburgh Academy. Mr. Black has been succeeded as Mathe-
matical teacher at the Academy by Mr. John Forbes (M.A., 1912), who has
been Mathematical master in Mortlach Secondary School, Dufftown, for the
past three years.

Sir Benjamin Robertson, K.C.S.L, K.C.M.G., CLE. (alumnus, 1880-
83 ; LL.D., 1 9 14) has visited the famine area in Russia at the request of the
Russian Famine Relief Committee, to report on the use which is being made
of stores emanating from British sources.

Mr. Thomas Robertson (M.A., 1897), teacher of Classics in Robert
Gordon's College (Secondary School), has resigned, consequent on his having
been appointed principal teacher of Classics in Bellshill Academy, Lanarkshire.

Rev. Thomas Bremner Robertson (M.A., 1906), Bainsford United
Free Church, Falkirk, has been elected minister of the West United Free
Church, Auchterarder, Perthshire.

Dr. Thomas Ogilvie Robson (M.B., 1916) has been appointed to the
medical staff of the Aberdeen Dispensary.

Dr. Frank Miller Rorie, M.C. (M.B., 19 17), has been gazetted Surgeon-
Lieutenant. During the war he commanded the R.A.M.C. (Special Reserves),
having been in the University O.T.C. He was attached to the 55th Field
Ambulance, and, later, to the 39th Motor Ambulance Convoy. He served in
France, Mesopotamia, and Persia.

Rev. Alexander Ross (M.A., 1909; B.D.), minister of the United Free
Church, Partick, has accepted a call to Burghead.

Mr. John J. Roy (M.A., 19 14) has been appointed principal teacher of
English in Peterhead Academy.

Mr. Norman Anderson Scorgie (B.L., 1919) has been appointed Joint
Clerk of the Aberdeen Education Authority.

Rev. Robert Semple (D.D., 1919), who was ordained and inducted
minister of Ruthrieston United Free Church, Aberdeen, in 1872, celebrated
his ministerial jubilee in February last. At a meeting of the congregation,
he was presented with a canteen of cutlery along with a sapphire and diamond

1 82 Aberdeen University Review

ring for Mrs. Semple. He was previously entertained at a complimentary
luncheon by the members of the Aberdeen United Free Church Presbytery
and presented with his portrait in crayons (executed by Mr. John M. Aiken,
Aberdeen), along with a gold wristlet watch for Mrs. Semple.

Dr. Robert Semple, O.B.E. (M.B., 1910; M.D., 1915), has been ap-
pointed obstetric physician of the Aberdeen Maternity Hospital, in succession
to Dr. W. F. T. Haultain. In 191 2, Dr. Semple received an appointment on
the West African Medical Staff. On the outbreak of war he was attached to
the West African Frontier Force, and served with the West African Expe-
ditionary Force in the Cameroons from July 1915, to April 19 16, holding the
rank of commanding officer of a detachment of the R.A.M.C. Dr. Semple
afterwards served in the German East Africa campaign from December, 1916,
until the end of the war, when he held the rank of Major. During the East
African operations he was mentioned in dispatches in August, 19 17, and in
September, 19 18, and was awarded the O.B.E. in January, 19 19, in recogni-
tion of his valuable services.

Mr. Alexander Wilson Simpson (M.A., 1880), who has been Head-
master of the Public School, Monymusk, Aberdeenshire, since 1889, has re-
signed on account of ill health. He has been succeeded by Mr. James
William Mackie McAllan (M.A., 1895), who for the past ten years has
been Headmaster of the Strathdon School. He was previously at Fraserburgh
Central School for four years, and served for periods at Macduff, Stromness,
and Keith.

Mr. Harold Addison Sinclair, M.C. (M.A., 1902 ; B.L.), has been ap-
pointed assistant to the University Secretary, in succession to Mr. Norman
Anderson Scorgie {g.v.).

Rev. Alexander Leslie Skene (M.A., 1885), minister of the United Free
Church, Kirkmichael, Perthshire, has received a unanimous call from the
Stronsay congregation, Orkney. Mr. Skene went to Kirkmichael from Bower,
Caithness, about three years ago.

Rev. Alexander Smart (M.A., 1918) has been awarded the Burgess
Divinity Prize for an essay on " The Theology of Isaiah and its Bearing upon
the Unity of the Book ". Mr. Smart has also been awarded the Mackenzie
Scholarship in Divinity. This scholarship — which is now brought to Aberdeen
for the first time — is open for competition in the four Scottish Universities
among divinity students in their final and probationers in their first year. Mr.
Smart is at present assistant minister in the East Parish Church, Aberdeen.

Rev. Hugh M'Connach Smith (M.A., 1879), minister of the parish of
Nigg, Kincardineshire, has been granted six months' leave of absence by his
Presbytery, on account of illness.

The University Court has agreed to recognize Dr. Hugh Ross Souper
(M.A., 1908; M.B., 1912; M.D., 1920) as extra-academical teacher of
diseases of the ear, nose, and throat.

Dr. James Stephen (M.A., 1869; M.B., 1872; M.D., 1876), who has
been in practice in Peterhead for close on half a century, has retired, and
taken up residence in Aberdeen. Prior to leaving Peterhead he was presented
with a piece of silver plate and other gifts by citizens of the town.

Mr. Charles Stewart (M.A., 1880), on the occasion of his retirement
from the Headmastership of the Public School, Tough, Aberdeenshire, which
he has held for the past thirty-six years, was presented with a gold watch, a
writing bureau, and a wallet of Treasury notes, as a mark of the esteem in

Personalia 183

which he is held and as an appreciation of the services he has rendered in the
district. The gifts were subscribed by over 400 former pupils and friends.
Mrs. Stewart was at the same time presented with a silver-mounted tea-tray.
Lieut. -Colonel Moir-Byres of Tonbey presided.

Mr. Charles Stewart, O.B.E. (M.A., 1883), on retiring from the
Principalship of Robert Gordon's Technical College, Aberdeen, at the end of
the year, was presented by the members of the day and evening staff with a
Swanston edition (in twenty-five volumes) of the works of Robert Louis
Stevenson, and by the students of the Art School with a cut crystal bowl.

Mr. David Stewart (M.A., 1885), on leaving Aberchirder for Dufftown,
was presented by friends in the parish of Mamoch, the staff of Aberchirder
Higher Grade School, and former pupils, with a wallet of Treasury notes and
a gold wristlet watch for Mrs. Stewart.

Mr. William Stewart (M.A., 19 13), has passed the examination for the
diploma of Associate of the College of Preceptors, London.

Rev. Dr. William Summers Sutherland (M.A., 1876; D.D. 1912),
who retired from missionary work in the spring of last year (see Review, viii.,
280), was met recently by the Divinity students attending the University and
presented with a silver-mounted walking-stick and a Sutherland tartan travel-
ling rug.

Dr. James Taylor (M.A., 1880; M.B., 1883; M.D., 1887) has retired
from the medical superintendentship of the Turner Memorial Hospital, Keith,
which he has held for over seventeen years.

Mr. William Taylor (M.A., 19 13) has been appointed private secretary
to Sir Montague Barlow, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Labour.

Sir Charles Edward Troup, K.C.B., K.C.V.O. (M.A., 1876; B.A.
[Oxon.], 1883; LL.D., 191 2), Permanent Under-Secretary; of State for the
Home Department, has retired on reaching the age limit. He passed into
the Civil Service in 1880, and received a post in the Home Office. In 1896
he became a Principal Clerk, in 1903 Assistant Under-Secretary of State, and
in 1908 Permanent Under-Secretary. He was Chairman of the Committee
on the Identification of Habitual Criminals, 1893, and Chairman of the Com-
mittee on Cremation, 1902 ; and he edited the Judicial Statistics of England
and Wales from 1894 to 1903, Sir Charles Troup is a native of Huntly, son
of the late Rev. Robert Troup, Congregational Minister there (M. A., King's
Coll., 1847). Lady Troup is a daughter of George MacDonald, the poet and
novelist.

Rev. John Wood (M.A., 1920) has been appointed assistant at St. Andrew's
United Free Church, Blairgowrie. During the war he served as a combatant
in the 6th Gordon Highlanders for five years, first in France, where he was
wounded, and afterwards, as an officer, in East Africa.

Miss Margaret A. Dunn (M.A., 1904), principal Science Mistress at the
Girls' High School, Aberdeen, has resigned.

Miss Beatrice Davidson Knight (M.A., 1909) has been appointed to
the teaching staff of the Central Higher Grade School, Banchory, Kincardine-
shire.

Miss Netty Margaret Lunan (M.A., 1918), Somerville College,
Oxford, has graduated B.A. at Oxford, with second-class honours in English
(Language and Literature). Miss Lunan graduated at Aberdeen with first-
class honours in English. She was the most distinguished graduate in Eng-
lish of her year, and carried off the Minto prize, the Seafield gold medal, and

184 Aberdeen University Review

the Senatus prize in English Literature. She was subsequently awarded the
Murray Scholarship.

Miss Fanny Kanter Thomson, Inverallochy (M.A., 191 2), has been ap-
pointed assistant teacher at the High North School, Fraserburgh.

The following have received teaching appointments : Miss Helen J.
Innes (M.A., 1911); Miss Amelia H. Laing (M.A., 1914); Miss Ella M.
Stalker (M.A,, 1918) ; and Miss Pauline B. Watson (M.A., 1919).

Among recent publications by University men are — " The Haunts of Life,"
by Professor J. Arthur Thomson (Royal Institution Lectures, 1920-21) ; "The
Scottish Liturgy : Its Value and History " (second edition, revised and enlarged),
by Principal Perry ; and " Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics," edited by
Rev. Dr. James Hastings, Vol. XII. (and last).

Professor J. Arthur Thomson is editing a new " Outline of Science "
which Messrs. Newnes, Ltd., are publishing. The work is being issued serially
in fortnightly parts. The plan of the work is to bring into focus, in plain
language, for the benefit of the ordinary reader, the marvels and revelations of
science.

Miss Victoria E. Clark (M.A., 1915), who holds one of the Research
Fellowships of the Carnegie Trust, having completed her history of " The Port
of Aberdeen," is now collecting material for a work on " Opinion in England
on the North American Colonies from the resignation of Walpole to the repeal
of the Stamp Act ".

In consequence of her editorship of the " Aberdeen University Roll of
Service," Miss M. D. Allardvce has been asked to help to compile the " Clan
MacRae Roll of Honour and Service," and has, for this purpose, been
granted leave of absence from her work on the University Card Register.

It is proposed to erect at Perth Amboy, New Jersey, a tablet in memory of
Thomas Gordon, of the Pitlurg family, grandson of Robert Gordon of Stra-
loch, the famous geographer. He was born in 1653, and entered Bang's
College, Aberdeen, in 1670. He went out to East Jersey in 1684, and in the
following year moved to Perth Amboy, which had been founded by a band of
prominent Scots under the auspices of the Earl of Perth and his brother, the
Earl of Melfort, Barclay of Urie, Burnett of Lethentie, and Robert Gordon of
Cluny. No fewer than thirteen Gordons were identified with the settlement,
including three of the Gordons of Straloch. Thomas Gordon continued to
reside at Perth Amboy, "a highly honoured citizen," until his death on 28
April, 1722. The approaching bi-centenary of his death has been made the
occasion for the proposed erection of the tablet, and an intended inscription
records that Thomas Gordon

Held many important public offices in City, County, and Province, including Judge of
the Court and Small Causes, Customs Officer, and Assemblyman for Perth Amboy; High
Sheriff of Middlesex County ; Deputy-Secretary and Register and first Surrogate of East
Jersey ; Speaker of House of Assembly ; Attorney-General, Kine's Councillor and Treasurer
of New Jersey ; also Secretary of Proprietors' Council of East Jersey.

A proposal has been made to publish a Memorial Volume of the " Gym "
(the Chanonry House School, Old Aberdeen), of which Rev. Dr. Alexander
Anderson was so long the head. It is intended that the volume should include
a history of the school, an account of the life and the education there, and
especially a roll of pupils, so far as that can be constructed now. Mr. Alex-
ander Shewan (M.A., 1870; LL.D. [St. And.]), late of the Indian Civil

Personalia 185

Service, now resident in St. Andrews, who was a boarder at the school frorrii
1 86 1 to 1866, has been asked to prepare the work and has consented to*
undertake the task if sufficient encouragement be forthcoming. An appeal for
the necessary funds and also for the requisite information has been issued by
Mr. D. F. MacKenzie, CoUingwood Grange, Camberley ; Mr. D. M. M_
Milligan, Aberdeen; Sheriff P. J. Blair, Glasgow; and Professor Grierson,
Edinburgh. The three last named are graduates of Aberdeen University, and
as there are many other graduates who received their early education at the
"Gym," we take this opportunity of making the appeal more widely known.
It is requested that all contributions and communications be forwarded to Mr.
Shewan at Seagate, St. Andrews.

An interesting University connection was indicated by Rev. Walter A.
Mursell, the newly-appointed Lecturer in Public Reading and Speaking, in the
course of his introductory lecture on 20 January. His father, Rev. Arthur
Mursell (alumnus, Marischal Coll., 1852-53), a popular preacher and
lecturer in his day, was educated at the Gymnasium, Old Aberdeen, and was
a teacher of English there and afterwards in the West End Academy, Aberdeen.
His father's brother. Rev. James Mursell, later a minister in Kettering, Brad-
ford, and Newcastle, also taught for a time in the West End Academy. His
grandfather was for fifty years minister of the Harvey Lane Church, Leicester,
and his predecessor in that pastorate, was the celebrated Robert Hall, wha
had been a student at Aberdeen University (M.A., King's Coll., 1785 ; D.D.y
Marischal Coll., 18 17). "It was there," said Mr. Mursell, "that Robert Hall
laid the foundation of a lifelong friendship with another of Aberdeen's many
renowned students. Sir James Mackintosh" (LL.D., King's Coll., 1808)..
Mr. Mursell went on to say that he was particularly interested in discovering,
only a few days before, another rather curious family connection with Aberdeen^
He happened to be reading the life of Samuel Drew, who was in his day
known as "the Cornish Metaphysician," and who wrote a book, which brought
him considerable fame, bearing the ponderous and overpowering title " The
Immortality aud Immateriality of the Soul ". Mr. Drew was his (Mr. Mursell's)
great-grandfather, and the paragraph in his life that interested him the other
day was this — "In May, 1824, the degree of A.M. was conferred upon Mr.
Drew by Marischal College, Aberdeen. Dr. Brown, the Principal, remarked
that he should feel particularly gratified in assisting to confer an honour on one
who was his antagonist in the Prize Essay."

Obituary.

The University has lost a very distinguished graduate in the person of
Rev. Dr. Peter Taylor Forsyth (M.A., 1869; D.D., 1895), Principal of
Hackney Theological College, London, who died at his residence at the
College, Finchley Road, on 11 November, aged seventy-three. He was a
son of the late Mr. Isaac Forsyth, for many years a postman in Aberdeen,
and was connected by family associations with the Blackfriars Street (now
Skene Street) Congregational Church. After graduating with first-class
honours in Classics, he spent a year as tutor to the family of the late Mr.
Patrick Davidson of Inchmarlo ; studied for a time at Gottingen, where he at-
tended the lectures of Ritschl ; and, before entering the ministry of the Con-
gregational Church, studied for a year at New College, Hampstead. His first
charge was at Shipley, near Bradford, where he remained from 1876 to 1880 ;
and there he came under the influence of the late Principal Fairbairn, attend-
ing his lectures at Airedale College, Bradford. In 1880, he succeeded Mr.
Allanson Picton in the pastorate of St. Thomas's Square Church, Hackney ;
from 1880 to 1885, he was minister at Cheetham Hill, Manchester; and brief
ministries at Leicester and Cambridge followed. In 1901, he was appointed
Principal of Hackney College, one of the strongholds of Nonconformity, and his
teaching there exerted a great influence over his students. A preacher of
remarkable power, he became, in the words of a biographical notice, "a vital
force in British Congregationalism ".

Dr. Forsyth was the author of many theological works which earned for
him a very considerable reputation. "In later years," said The Times, "Dr.
Forsyth became known as a brilliant theologian, dealing with the deepest
matters in a massive way, though in a style of unusual complexity ". His
first work of importance was "Religion in Recent Art," published in 1885 ;
and among his other works were "Faith and Criticism," "The Cruciality of
the Cross," "The Charter of the Church," "The Place and Person of Christ,"
"The Justification of God," "The Christian Ethic of War" (1916), and "This
Life and the Next " (19 18). He was also a frequent contributor to the Con-
temporary Review, the Hibbert Journal, and other magazines. He was Chair-
man of the Congregational Union of England and Wales in 1905, and
delivered the Yale Lectures in 1907, the subject being "Positive Preaching
and Modern Mind ". He delivered the Murtle Lecture in Aberdeen at the
time of his pastorate in Cambridge, and he preached a very striking sermon
in the University Chapel during the Quatercentenary celebrations.

A notable public man, connected with the University, has also passed
away. Sir Thomas Sutherland, G.C.M.G. (alumnus, Marisch. Coll., 1848-
49 ; LL.D., Aberd., 1892), died at his residence in London on i January, aged
eighty-seven. He was a native of Aberdeen and was educated at the

Obituary 187

Grammar School, and was then sent to Marischal College with a view to his
entering the ministry. This prospective career not proving attractive, how-
ever, he left the University and entered a mercantile office in Aberdeen. In
1852, young Sutherland, at the age of eighteen, became a junior clerk in the
service of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company at the head
offices in London. Two years later, he seized a chance of going East to fill
a vacancy in the company's offices at Bombay. Soon after he was sent to
Hong-Kong, where, by the display of rare organizing ability, he rapidly rose
to be superintendent over the affairs of the company in the Far East. He
was one of the founders of the Hong-Kong Docks, and he was largely instru-
mental in establishing, in 1864, the Hong-Kong and Shanghai Bank. His
^reat services to the mercantile community of Hong-Kong were recognized
by his being nominated by the Governor, Sir Hercules Robinson, a member
of the Legislative Council.

In 1866 Mr. Sutherland was recalled home, and in 1872 he was appointed
managing-director of the company, and in 1881 he became its chairman, a
post he held continuously till he resigned in 19 15. He reformed and im-
proved the company's services, restoring thereby its prosperity and credit
which had been somewhat dimmed, and he played a prominent part in the
arrangement made between British shipowners and the Suez Canal Company
in 1883, which has given satisfaction ever since. He was created a K.C.M.G.
in 1 89 1, and promoted G.C.M.G. six years later. He was M.P. for Greenock
from 1884 till 1900, first as a Liberal and then as a Liberal Unionist. Be-
sides having been Chairman of the P. and O. Company, he was Chairman of
the Suez Canal Company (of which he was a Vice-President), a director of the
London City and Midland Bank, Chairman of the Marine and General As-
surance Society, and Chairman of the Incorporated Thames Nautical Training
College (H.M.S. Worcester). Sir Thomas Sutherland held the distinction of
having entered the Aberdeen Grammar School before any one now living — in
1844. He was not, however, the oldest surviving pupil, that honour being
held by Rev. William Cormack, Rondebosch, South Africa (alumnus,
Marisch. Coll., 1846-50), who is ninety-six.

No fewer than five prominent medical practitioners in Aberdeen have
died since the last issue of the Review : —

Dr. George Maitland Edmond (M.A., 1872 ; M.B., 1875 ; M.D., 1877)
•died at his residence, 12 Rubislaw Terrace, on 18 December, aged sixty-nine.
He was a son of the late Mr. John Edmond, bookbinder, Aberdeen, and was
educated at Dr. TuUoch's Academy and at the Aberdeen Grammar School, at
the latter of which he was the best all-round scholar of the highest class,
obtaining the gold medal. He entered the University in 1872 as seventeenth
bursar, and had a distinguished career, graduating with highest honours in
medicine and surgery. He practised in Stonehaven for nine years, being
medical officer for the parishes of Dunnottar and Fetteresso and surgeon of
the old Stonehaven prison. In 1882 he was appointed an Examiner in the
Practice of Medicine and Pathology in the University. Two years later, he
removed to Aberdeen, and he gradually established what became one of the
leading medical practices in the city. He was connected with the Royal
Infirmary for fully twenty years — first as anaesthetist, and then as one of the
physicians. He held this latter post for sixteen years, retiring in 19 12, when
he became one of the consulting physicians. During his long career Dr.

1 88 Aberdeen University Review

Edmond held a number of public positions, among them — assistant to the
Professor of Midwifery, examiner in Surgery and Midwifery, physician to the
General Dispensary and to the Hospital for Incurables, medical officer to the
Post Office staff, and surgeon-captain in the ist V. B. Gordon Highlanders.
Dr. John Innes (M.B., 1896) died at his residence, 513 George Street,
Aberdeen, on 5 March, aged fifty-three. He was a native of Glenlivet, Banff-
shire, and, on coming to Aberdeen, became an apprentice to Messrs. William
Paterson & Sons, wholesale druggists. After acquiring experience in the
south, he returned to Aberdeen and opened a druggist's shop in Leslie Place..
His ambition had always been to qualify as a doctor, however, and, after
studying at Marischal College, he graduated; and setting up practice in
Aberdeen, he soon became widely known as a medical practitioner. For tea
years he was one of the medical officers of the Dispensary. Dr. Innes took a
great interest in the introduction of the panel system, and was one of the
leaders in the movement locally. He also interested himself in ambulance
work and freely delivered lectures on this subject to railway employees. In
1905 he entered the R.A.M.C. as lieutenant, and served during the first two
years of the war, rising to the rank of Major, but was obliged to resign his
commission on account of ill health.

Dr. Andrew Ross Laing (M.B., 1897 ; D.P.H., 1899 ; M.D., 1905) died
in a nursing home in Aberdeen on 26 January, aged fifty. After graduating,
he was for some time at Market Harborough, Leicestershire ; but on the out-
break of the South African War he went to the Cape and served as a surgeon
with the Field Force in 1899-1900. For health reasons he had to return
home, and in 1901 he was appointed assistant in pathology at the University..
Amongst other posts which he subsequently held were those of medical officer
at the Aberdeen Dispensary, lecturer on hygiene at the Aberdeen Training
Centre, and city bacteriologist at the University. Ultimately, however, his.
private practice became so extensive that he relinquished all outside appoint-
ments. His publications included " A New Anaerobic Apparatus," " Disinfection
and Disinfectants" (M.O.H. report, Aberdeen, 1905), and "Experiments with
Disinfectants" (1906).

Dr. William Rattray Pirie, O.B.E. (M.A., 1888; M.B., 1892), died at
his residence, 20 Bonaccord Square, Aberdeen, on 5 January, aged fifty-three.
He was a son of the late Mr. Johnston K. Pirie, for many years the representa-
tive in Aberdeen of Young's Paraffin Oil Company, Limited. He was educated
at the Old Aberdeen Grammar School and at Aberdeen University, and, after
graduating, he studied at Leipzig and Vienna for a considerable time. He
ultimately took up practice in Aberdeen about twenty-five years ago, and soon
came to be recognized as an able practitioner. He was prominently identified
with the Aberdeen medical school, having been appointed a University
assistant in Medicine in 1894, and becoming later an assistant physician at
the Royal Infirmary and subsequently one of the physicians and lecturers in
clinical medicine. He was also a certifying surgeon under the Factories Act.
During the war he was attached to the ist Scottish General Hospital in Aber-
deen, attaining the rank of Major, and he rendered arduous and valuable
service in various directions. He was upon the Medical Board which sat in>
the city, and also on the Pensions Board, and recognition of his work was
given in the award, in 19 19, of the O.B.E. decoration. Dr. Pirie was an
accomplished linguist and musician.

obituary 189

Dr. James Davidson Wyness (M.B., 1872; M.D., 1874) died at his
residence, i West Craibstone Street, Aberdeen, on 24 November, aged
seventy-six. After graduating, he was closely associated for several years
with the late Dr. Henry Jackson, Aberdeen, who was his uncle. He began
practice on his own account in Schoolhill, having at the same time a surgery
in Woolmanhill ; and he afterwards removed to Union Street, and, later, to
West Craibstone Street. He had one of the largest general practices in the
city, particularly among the middle classes, and he was exceedingly popular
with and highly trusted by his patients. A week before his death, on account
of failing health, he disposed of his practice to Dr. Herbert J. A. Long-
more, New Deer (M.B., 19 15). In 1903 Dr. Wyness acquired the estate of
Teuchar and Castlehill, near the village of Cuminestown, Aberdeenshire, and
greatly improved the estate by building suitable steadings for the tenants and
otherwise.

Rev. John Anderson (M.A., 1878) died at Stanley Cottage, Banchory,
Kincardineshire, on 20 January, aged sixty-seven. He was for some time
schoolmaster at Foveran, Aberdeenshire, and was for many years Rector of the
McLaren High School, Callander, Perthshire. He retired from the Rectorship
a few months before his death, and went to reside in Banchory, where his son,
Rev. John W. Anderson, B.A., is parish minister.

Dr. Allan Rannie Andrew (M.A., 1863 ; LL.D. 1909) died at his
residence, Hilton Bank, Hamilton, on 21 November, aged seventy-eight. A
native of Alvah, Banffshire, Dr. Andrew was educated at the Aberdeen
Grammar School and at the University. He became a licentiate of the
Church of Scotland, but his career was wholly connected with education.
He began teaching as a private tutor, and was for a short time a tutor in
England, but his first important post was that of English master in Milne's
Institution, Fochabers, the rector at that time being Dr. Robert Ogilvie. On
Dr. Ogilvie being appointed an Inspector of Schools, Dr. Andrew became
rector in his place, but in half a dozen years, following the footsteps of his
predecessor, he, too, joined the staff of Inspectors in 1875. His first charge
was in Glasgow, where he remained for nine years ; and then, after two years'
service in the Aberdeen district, he was put in full charge of Banffshire
and the Orkneys. He was transferred to Dumbarton and Govan in 1897,
and in 1904 he was appointed Chief Inspector for Glasgow and the
Western District, and he held that important position for a considerable time,
retiring a few years ago owing to his advanced age. He proved an able ad-
ministrator, and it was greatly owing to his wise and conciliatory management
that School Boards and managers were induced to co-operate in promoting
secondary education throughout the West of Scotland. Dr. Andrew is sur-
vived by three sons, all graduates of Aberdeen University — Mr. George
Andrew (M.A., 1894), an Inspector of Schools ; Mr. David Middleton
Andrew (M.A., 1897), Rector of Hamilton Academy ; and Dr. Charles
Todd Andrew (B.Sc, 1901), Hamilton.

Viscount Bryce of Dechmont (Right Hon. James Bryce), O.M., F.R.S.
(LL.D., 1906 ; D.C.L. ; etc.), died at Sidmouth, South Devon, on 22 January,
aged eighty-four. He received the LL.D. degree at the Quatercentenary
celebrations, he being then M.P. for South Aberdeen and Chief Secretary for
Ireland. He was put forward as a candidate for the Rectorship of the Uni-
versity in 1890, but was defeated by the Marquis of Huntly.

190 Aberdeen University Review

Dr. John Will Cook (M.D., Marischal College, 1858 ; M.R.C.S.) died
at his residence, 29 Hayes Road, Clacton-on-Sea, on 25 December, aged
eighty-five. His son, Dr. James Will Cook (M.B., 1884), is in practice at
Bury, Lancashire.

Rev. Dr. John Buie Davidson (M.A., 1869; D.D., 1914; F.E.I.S.),
formerly minister of the East Parish, Peterhead, died at his residence, 20
Hammerfield Avenue, Aberdeen, on 19 February, aged seventy-seven. He
was a native of Macduff, and for a time acted as a pupil teacher under the late
Mr. Renton. When a young man, he left for London to enter the business
of a relative, but indifferent health compelled him to return to the north. He
then studied at the University, and on graduating in 1869 became a parish
schoolmaster at Careston, in Forfarshire. After a few years there, however,
he decided to enter the ministry, and returned to Aberdeen and studied divin-
ity at the University. On being licensed as a minister, he was ordained
assistant to Dr. Stevenson, the then minister of Dairy, Ayrshire. In 1876 he
went to Peterhead and took over the charge of the mission chapel which was
afterwards endowed and is now the East Parish Church. Here he ministered
till 1 9 14, when he retired on account of ill health and went to reside in Aber-
deen. He was a noted educationist, and was a member of the Peterhead
Burgh School Board for thirty-five years, holding the Chairmanship of the
Board for the last twenty-six years of that period ; and he was prominently
identified with the schemes for the organization and grading of the Peterhead
schools and the provision of additional accommodation, including the extension
of the Academy. He was elected a Fellow of the Educational Institute of
Scotland, and on his retirement in 1914 his valuable services in connection
with education in Peterhead were recognised by a public subscription and the
presentation to him of a cheque for ^^150.

Rev. James Forbes (M.A., 1861) died at St. Mary's Manse, South
Ronaldshay, Orkney, on 2 December, aged eighty-one. He had been minister
of the ^«<?a^ ja^ra parish of St. Mary's, South Ronaldshay, since 1880. He
was a native of Clatt, Aberdeenshire.

Rev. William Forbes (M.A., 1863) died at his residence, i Ormonde
Avenue, Muirend, Glasgow, on 15 December, aged eighty. He was a native
of the parish of Gamrie, Banffshire. He graduated in 1863, taking a dis-
tinguished place in Logic and Philosophy, and afterwards studied Divinity.
He was ordained minister of Craigiebuckler Chapel of Ease in 1874, and in
1 88 1 was called to Mannofield Parish Church, Aberdeen, where he ministered
for a quarter of a century, resigning the charge in 1906, owing to advancing
years.

Dr. Thomas Chalmers Hynd (M.B., 1899) died suddenly at his residence,
28 Prince Street, Peterhead, on 9 February, aged forty-nine. He was the
second son of the late Mr. Thomas Hynd, Headmaster of King Street School,
Aberdeen. After graduating, he was in practice at Wigan in partnership with
his brother, and he was also for a short period locum tenens to a doctor at
Huntly. He went to Peterhead about ten years ago as assistant to the late
Dr. Middleton, and on the retirement of Dr. Stephen a few months ago he
acquired his practice.

Mr. Alexander Keith (M.A., 1880) died at Burnshangie, Strichen, on
21 November, aged sixty-three. Shortly after graduating, he was appointed
Headmaster of the Public School, Methlick, Aberdeenshire, and held that

Obituary 191

post for twenty-two years. He edited a brochure on "Methlick, Haddo
House, Gight, and the Valley of the Ythan," published in 1899, contributing
many of the papers. After his retirement in 1902, which was due to a serious-
break-down in health, Mr. Keith took up farming at Burnshangie. He was a
member of the Strichen Parish Council and the old School Board for several
years.

Rev. Hugh Mair (M.A., Marischal College, 1859) died at his residence,
350 Great Western Road, Aberdeen, on 5 January, aged eighty-three. He
was a son of the late Rev. James Mair (M.A., Marischal College, 181 8),
schoolmaster, Savoch of Deer, Aberdeenshire, and a younger brother of the
late Very Rev. Dr. William Mair, minister of Earlston (M.A., Marischal
College, 1849 ; D.D., Aberdeen, 1885). After graduating, he entered the
teaching profession, and held several appointments — at TuUynessle and
Macduff, among other places. He was for some time in Ceylon, and, on
returning to Scotland, he entered the ministry. Ordained in 1876, he became
minister of the quoad sacra parish of Keiss, Caithness, from which he retired
twelve years ago.

Dr. William Robert Colvin Middleton (M.A., 1883 ; M.B., 1888 ;
D.P.H., 1894; M.D.) died at his residence, Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex, on
8 December, aged fifty-eight. He was born at Bombay, where his father.
Rev. William Middleton (M.A., Marischal College, 1852), was military
chaplain. After a year as resident physician in the Aberdeen Royal In-
firmary and a short assistantship in England, he went out to Singapore as
junior to the Medical Officer. When home on furlough in 1894, he gradu-
ated D.P.H., and thus qualified to succeed his chief on his retirement over
twenty years ago. Under Dr. Middleton's direction, great improvement was
effected in the sanitation of the city, and he secured the erection of a city
hospital, which has been called by his name. And so highly were his services
valued that on his retirement twenty months ago he was voted a generous
honorarium by the municipality.

Dr. Stanley Woolaston Munro (M.B., 1906), of King Street, Wolver-
hampton, died at the Falcon Hotel, Bridgnorth, Shropshire, on 7 January.
He was a son of the late Mr. Donald Munro, schoolmaster. Knock, Lewis.

Mr. James Cooper Murdoch (M.A., Hons., 1894), Headmaster of
Musselburgh Grammar School, died at Edinburgh on 10 December, aged
fifty-six. He was a native of Old Deer, Aberdeenshire. He was first master
in the secondary department of Alloa Academy before being appointed Head-
master of Alva Academy, Clackmannanshire, in 1904. From Alva he went
to Musselburgh. Mr. Murdoch took a very keen interest in the Musselburgh
Grammar School, and showed it in a practical fashion by purchasing a piece
of ground for use as a tennis court by past and present pupils. He also left
the residue of his estate as a fund, the revenue of which is to be expended in
grants to promising and clever pupils of the Grammar School, to enable them
to pursue their studies.

Rev. James Alexander Russell (M.A., 1875), minister of Durris United
Free Church, Kincardineshire, and senior minister of Causewayend United
Free Church, Aberdeen, died at the United Free Church Manse, Durris, on
2 1 February, aged sixty-six. Although a native of Edinburgh, Mr. Russell had
spent the whole of his life in Aberdeen, having been educated at the Aberdeen
Grammar School, the University, and the Aberdeen Free Church College.

192 Aberdeen University Review

After being licensed by the Aberdeen Free Church Presbytery, he was appointed
■colleague and successor to Rev. John Craven, Newhills. He remained in that
charge for six years and a half, and in 1886 was called to Causewayend Free
(now United Free) Church. He was compelled by ill-health to leave that
church in 1918, although he still remained its senior minister, and he became
minister of the Durris United Free Church. An active and zealous clergyman
and a good preacher, he was successful in considerably increasing the member-
ship of all the churches in which he successively ministered.

Dr. James Savege (M.B., 1884 ; M.D., 1888) died at his residence,
9 Gibson Place, Montrose, on 19 November, aged fifty-eight. He had been
in practice in Hull for over thirty years, and had just retired to live in
Montrose, his native place. He took an active part in the public life of Hull,
and gave promise of doing the same at Montrose, having been a candidate
{unsuccessful) at the municipal election before his death.

Dr. John Scott (M.A., 1866; M.B., 1873; M.D., 1891) died at his
residence, White Hall, Abridge, Essex, on 22 November, aged seventy-four.
He practised for a time at Huntly, as assistant to Dr. M'VVilliam, and after-
wards at South Ronaldshay, Orkney. About 1874 he removed to Manchester
at the suggestion of his friend, Sir William Sinclair, and practised there till
1918, when he was taken seriously ill and underwent an operation, from which
he never sufficiently recovered to resume active work. In 19 19 he went to
Abridge, Essex, to reside with his son. Dr. James B. Scott, M.C.

Miss Rhoda Campbell Slorach (M.A., 191 9) died at her residence,
173 King Street, Aberdeen, on 28 December. She was a teacher.

Dr. James Lind Smith (M.A., 191 1 ; M.B., 19 14) died at i Roslyn Ter-
race, Stockton-on-Tees, on 28 December.

Rev. Robert Urquhart (M.A., 1865) died at his residence, Rowanlea,
Torphins, Aberdeenshire, on 28 November, aged eighty. He was descended
from a line of ministerial ancestors, his father, grandfather, and great-grand-
father having all been ministers of the Church of Scotland or of the Free
Church. His father was the late Rev. Alexander Urquhart, minister of
the Free Church at Old Deer (M.A., Marisch. Coll., 1835). After studying
at the University and at the Aberdeen Free Church College, Mr. Robert
Urquhart was, in 1869, elected minister of the Free Church at Botriphnie,
Banffshire. In 1874 he was called to St. Mary's Presbyterian Church,
Woolston, Hampshire, where he proved a most successful minister and bore
the burden of obtaining funds for the erection of a new church. He returned
to Scotland in 1879 as minister of the Free (afterwards United Free) Church
at Oldmeldrum, Aberdeenshire, where he remained for thirty years, resigning
-when increasing deafness incapacitated him for the full duties of the ministry.
He is survived by two sons, graduates of the University : Dr. Alexander
Urquhart (M. A., 1894; M.B., 1898; M.D., 1903), who is in practice at
Shepperton-on-Thames ; and Rev. Dr. William Spence Urquhart (M.A.,
1897 ; D.Phil., 1915), Professor of Philosophy in the Scottish Churches
Oollege at Calcutta.

ERRATA.

P. 78, 1. 10. — For Mr. Charles Gumming Carter read Mr. Charles Cumming Calder.
P. 86, 1. 13. — For "assistant physician" [in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary] read "a
clinical assistant in one of the special departments for a period of three months ".

The

Aberdeen University Review

Vol. IX. No. 27 June, 1922

Appeal.

JTH this number the Ninth Annual Volume of the
Aberdeen University Review is completed.
Nine years is an exceptionally long life in the
history of Scottish University Reviews. We are
the more grateful for the fact, not only because
the Review, when hardly a year old, suffered
an irreparable loss by the death of its editor,
Mr. Alexander Mackie, M.A., but because the subsequent years were
those of the Great War, ,during which it naturally lost many of its
subscribers, the number of possible contributors to it was curtailed,
and, with the rapid rise in the price of materials and the cost of printing,
the expense of its production far outran its diminishing income. That
the Review has weathered a period of such strain is a matter of
great gratification and a strong ground of confidence in its future.

We continue to receive testimonies to the valuable service rendered
by the Review, not only by its articles and reviews of general, literary
and educational interest, and by its records of particular episodes and
personalities in the ancient and illustrious history of the University
of Aberdeen, but also — and this is especially emphasized by our
correspondents — in its sections on present-day " University Topics ' ' and
" Personalia ". We have endeavoured to exercise a strict impartiality
in our selections from the amount of verse offered to us from many
sources ; and are, in particular, proud of having been the means of
conveying to a wide circle of readers the earliest publication of poems
by Thomas Hardy, Charles Murray, the author of " Hamewith," and

13

194 Aberdeen University Review

Miss Symon. To all our contributors, but especially to the group
who have never failed to answer our demands upon them, our warmest
thanks are hereby given. It is hardly necessary to state that all
have given their services without any fee or honorarium.

The number of subscribers to the REVIEW has again begun to
rise, but slightly and to a degree still insufficient to meet the costs
of its production, which are supervised by the Business Committee
with a careful regard to economy.

We therefore appeal to the graduates, young and old, of the
University who have not yet subscribed to the Review to come to the
help of their Alma Mater in a work which materially contributes to
the record both of her great traditions and of her present activities
and more urgent needs. If the loyal subscribers whom we already
have will assist us in gaining fresh subscribers, our gratitude to them
will be greatly increased.

Not only is it difficult for us to meet the cost of producing the
Review in its present form, but we have requests, to which we are
unable to respond, for its enlargement, and we could add to its interest
and efficiency by a larger number of illustrations, of which we have
had in the later numbers too few.

Donations beyond the amount of the annual subscription to the
Review are also very welcome.

Particulars of subscription will be found on the Contents page.

In the name of the Committee,

GEORGE ADAM SMITH,
Chairman.

Principal " Rory " Macleod and His Posterity.

HAVE been urged by an old friend to accede to
Mr. P. J. Anderson's request that I should write
something about the Old Town, not the present
one, but our Old Town, the one we knew. As I
am probably the last person in touch with that
vanished time, perhaps it is right that I should try
to recall something of the inhabitants who in their
day gave it such unique character and charm.

For me history seems to begin in 1 748 with the advent of Roderick
Macleod, who was connected with the Talisker branch of the family,
and I owe him an eternal debt of gratitude for the many pleasant
friendships I have made in every generation of his posterity, some of
them the best and dearest of my life. He held successively the offices
of Regent, Sub-Principal, and Principal of King's College for the space of
sixty-seven years, dying in 1 8 1 5 shortly after Waterloo. H is son-in-law,
Hugh Macpherson, also had a prolonged period of office, as Professor
of Hebrew and Greek and then as Sub-Principal, for sixty-one years, so
that their service made up 128 years, their joint lives covering the
period from the birth of Macleod in 1729, to the death of Macpherson
in 1854.

We are familiar with the countenance of Rory Macleod in the
picture of "The Sapient Septem Viri of King's College," a skit which
emanated from Marischal College during one of the abortive attempts
to effect a union of the Colleges. The portrait is no doubt a caricature,
but it bears the unmistakable stamp of character and is probably quite
suggestive of his personality. We are indebted for a vivid portrait of
another kind to that delightful scamp, George Colman the younger,
whose banishment from the gay doings of London to the " Academic
Penitentiary" of Old Aberdeen took place during the Regency of
Rory. We can see the hearty, good-humoured old gentleman, who
was for ever preaching economy, and, unlike the preachers of to-day,
practising it. He evidently had much ado to restrain George within

196 Aberdeen University Review

the limits of the paternal allowance, which, according to the young
man, was doled out to him in quarterly driblets by the hands of Rory.
The incorrigible George is frankness itself in regard to his own de-
linquencies, owning that his frequent visits to the ** Professor of
Economy," as he nicknames him, were as often to petition for an
advance as to receive the dole. He seems to have been far from
resenting Rory's exhortations, though perhaps he may have thought
a little economy might not have been amiss in regard to them, and,
though he poses as a graceless dog, he evidently had a thorough re-
spect for Rory's character. George was quite amused, if not a little
surprised, by the declaration of the Regent that, so far from being
uplifted by the coming of the gilded youth, he was quite the reverse,
" for a young Englishman breeds muckle harm to our lads frae the
highlands ; he is allowed what I may ca' a little fortune and sets unco
bad examples of economy." George's astonishment, therefore, was
all the greater when it was noised abroad that the venerable professor
was himself out for an extravagance of the wildest kind, inasmuch
as he proposed to take to his "parsimonious bosom," a young wife, "a
bonny bride," for whom " rings and things in rich array " had to be
provided, while for the bridegroom there had to be a new suit for the
wedding, and, according to George, a much-needed overhauling of his
whole wardrobe. The " bonny bride " was Isabella Chrystie, and the
marriage took place in 1780, so that Rory was not on the verge of
three score and ten as George avers, but no doubt fifty-one was to his
youthful eyes there or thereabouts. The Macleods make a charming
pair in the portraits done about this time, and if the garments are not
the wedding ones, Rory must have turned over a new leaf under the
eyes of his wife. Somebody must have had a pretty taste in furniture,
as Rory's Chippendale sideboard was a great beauty and the ornament
of his granddaughters' dining-room in 10 The Chanonry. Like the
patriarchs of old, Rory begat many sons and daughters, and his
posterity, like theirs, became as the sands of the sea, innumerable.
Some of his descendants were gifted with an excellence and a charm
beyond compare, but, whatever its origin, the exquisite result could
not have been achieved by any amount of Eugenics, had that dismal
science and other evils been even dreamt of in these days, when it was
a joy to be alive, and to be young was very heaven.

Rory's son Roderick was a medical man, and married a Macleod,
of some other branch of the clan. He was the father of Jessie, who

Principal "Rory" Macleod 197

became Countess of Caithness, wife of the i6th Earl, whom we knew
so well as Mr. James Augustus Sinclair, a noble man in every sense,
whose fine character so well adorned his ancestral honours. She was
the mother of the 17th Earl and of the present holder of the title.
Dr. Roderick's son, who became a Roman Catholic priest, I once met
at the house of a friend in London, Miss Busk, one of Cardinal
Manning's converts. It was a large party, and I was talking to, I
forget what fellow-guest — possibly the word Aberdeen may have been
mentioned, I cannot say — but a voice said " My grandfather was
Principal of King's College." " So was my father," I instantly replied,
and turned to see the speaker, but I only saw a clerical figure vanish-
ing in the crowd. The attempt at mystification was very well done,
but I soon discovered the identity of my friend.

Dr. Roderick had a grandson "Roddy," who was one of my
earliest playmates, but I have only a dim recollection of a large
thing in a green kilt that carried me about. Later experience has
taught me that the thing must have been a boy ! We have never met
since these days, as he has spent all his life in the Indian army, but
every now and then a greeting comes — the frontier post is far away —
and I hear a tale of a meeting of two Aberdonians and a talk about
the days of yore. Roddy lived in what is now 81 High Street with
his great-aunt, Miss Ann Macleod, Rory's eldest daughter, a lady of
great character who ruled her circle with a severity greater than that
permitted even to aunts. She took the opportunity of departing from
the world at a moment when all her more immediate relatives were
beyond recall, and the present Lord Caithness, then a very small boy
indeed, had to be thrust into the position of chief mourner on the
occasion — his first appearance in an official capacity. Another daughter
of Rory's, Margaret, became Mrs. Gordon, and two of her daughters
are still alive. Should they succeed in living till 1929, they will have
put a space of 200 years between themselves and their grandfather's
birth. Another daughter, Christina, became the second wife of
Professor Hugh Macpherson, a nephew of Sir John Macpherson,
Bart, who succeeded Warren Hastings as Governor-General of India.
He was an M.A. of King's College, and founded the Macpherson
bursaries for Gaelic-speaking students. It was from him that Hugh
Macpherson inherited the Island of Eigg. They were the parents
of thirteen children, who all lived to old age, and whose united ages
reached the magnificent total of 1060 years, making the family a

198 Aberdeen University Review

sort of composite Methuselah and actually beating his record. This
long-lived family was raised in the beautiful old house of the Sub-
Principal, now, alas ! no more ! Loud have been the maledictions
and deep the lamentations I have had to listen to over its destruc-
tion, and the Goths of the University who compassed the deed.
Judging by the accounts of its beautiful situation near the Hermi-
tage Hill, it must have been a lovely home, the house low and pic-
turesque, the Powis burn running bright and clear beside it, its waters
full of banstickles, affording much sport to the young Macphersons.
If the Groths demolished the old house, surely the Vandals presided
over the erection of its graceless successor, adding an abiding insult to
the original injury. It was supposed to be a replica of Powis House,
but it seems to have been eminently successful in reproducing the
drawbacks of that mansion, while carefully avoiding any of its merits.
The Snow Churchyard was in the grounds, and in these days it was
full of wild raspberry bushes which produced large crops of fruit. This
was eagerly consumed by the Macpherson boys, but the girls would
never touch it, as the berries were believed to be dyed with the blood
of those who lay in the churchyard.

The Macphersons were remarkable as a family for their passionate
attachment to the Old Town, and never did a summer pass without
one or more of them revisiting their old haunts. Dr. John came often
from his home in Curzon Street, and the handsome Hugh, a retired
Indian Army doctor, hardly ever missed a year. He was as remarkable
for his beautiful and gracious; manner as for his tall stature and distin-
guished bearing. He never married, and it was whispered that his
romance ended when a charming and much courted belle of the Old
Town gave her hand to the Professor of Mathematics. Norman was
Professor of Scots Law in Edinburgh, and was the author of the
" Notes on King's College Chapel," which he wrote at my father's re-
quest. We spent a springtime together at Alassio, and, though he
was so deaf as to be cut off from ordinary conversation, he was
greatly assisted by a tube, but one of such a formidable character
as to indicate that no communications other than those of the most
momentous nature could be received. In its presence I became
entirely incapable of speech, but he had such an engaging way of
waggling the monster, as an invitation to come and tell or hear
stories of the Old Town, that I soon became on quite confidential
terms with it. I am afraid some of the other inhabitants did not

Principal "Rory" Macleod 199

quite appreciate these never-ending conversations, and a highly
irritable clergyman, in a moment of supreme exasperation, said
across the table, " But what is this Old Aberdeen that you are for
ever talking about ? " Norman, being, of course, completely deaf, was
unaware of the rude remark addressed to him. La parole etait a moi,
so I said " It is the place where Professor Macpherson and I and so
many distinguished people come from that I am surprised you should
require to ask ! " Norman was always walking on the seashore and
comparing it with the beach at Aberdeen, but my patriotism was not
robust enough to be able to follow him in his vehement preference for
the latter. He used to describe how, in his student days, the bajans
congregated round the parapet of the draw-well at King's College, to
watch the movements of the enormous eel that had its habitation there
from a time no man could remember. One can see the students of
to-day smiling at the simple pleasures that so entranced their prede-
cessors ! One day I found Norman amusing himself with some paint-
ing, and to my surprise I recognized some of the shields from the roof
of St. Machar's Cathedral, which he was reproducing from memory.
As the Escarbuncle of Navarre and the quarterings of Sicily presented
no terrors to him, he confessed that he had learned them all in his
boyhood during the long sermons he had to sit through. I congratu-
lated him on having had this alleviation to his sufferings, as, owing to
my bad sight, mine had to be endured without the mitigation of
heraldic distractions.

Mrs. Norman was a fragile woman, belonging to a delightful
family whose connection with Glasgow University began about
400 years ago. Her learned brother, Mr. Ninian Hill Thomson, the
translator of Guicciardini and Macchiavelli, died last summer at his
lovely villa near Florence, where he and his wife {nee Cowper), also of
a Glasgow University family, dispensed much pleasant hospitality.
They all belonged to the Macleod-Macpherson circle by the ties of
sympathy and congenial tastes as well as that of kindred.

William Macpherson was editor of the " Quarterly Review," and
his wife was connected with the Dunvegan Macleods. I have heard
Norman telling his niece, William's daughter, that it was a good thing
her two grandmothers never met, as the Dunvegan would not have
spoken to the Talisker. No doubt the Dunvegan lady's feelings
would have been similar to those that a bottle of Clos Vougeot
might be supposed to entertain for a bottle of St Julien. William's

200 Aberdeen University Review

clergyman son was unhappy enough to be chosen as his heir by an uncle
who bequeathed him a property in Skye, which was selected as the
scene of a political agitation, and seeds were sown which came up as
Glendale martyrs. As it produced little else, the inheritance was a
perfect curse, and his life was made a burden by the unmerited abuse
he was subjected to, as well as the litigation and financial trouble
which followed. He was one of the first martyrs to the crofter agita-
tion, and the irony of the position was the more tragic that it was just
on account of his high character that the uncle had chosen him to be
the owner of the property. William's daughter was a very fragile
girl who delighted in planning what we were to do if her health ever
permitted her to come to see the Old Town of which she had heard
so many fairy tales. Sir Arthur, who was a class-fellow of rpy father's
at King's College, and General Roderick spent most of their lives in
India and came north less than the other brothers. The General's
grandson. Lord Johnston, won the case for the Constitutional party of
the Free Church in the litigation over the money which took place
after the union with the U.P.s.

There were very many unmarried Miss Macphersons, whom I re-
collect only as having reached that stage of prudence which involves
wearing goloshes and waterproofs at tea parties in summer. Three
Macphersons were married — one to a half-brother of Maria Edge-
worth's, a son of one of her father's numerous marriages ; another,
Mrs. Innes, was the mother of the present Bursar of Trinity College,
Cambridge ; the third, Mrs. Young, lived for many years in Florence,
where her two daughters are still to be found. They have, among
other family relics, a portrait of their grandfather. Professor Hugh
Macpherson, in his study in the old Sub-Principal's House. Miss
Christina Young is a charming artist, who follows in the footsteps of
her cousin. Miss Georgina Forbes. That gifted lady, who united in
herself all that was best in the family both of heart and head, in addi-
tion to the artistic gifts peculiarly her own, was a daughter of another
daughter of Rory's, Isabella, who married Lieut.-Col. Arthur Forbes,
son of Sir Arthur Forbes, 4th baronet of Fintray and Craigievar, and
lived at 10 The Chanonry. Their only son, Arthur Forbes-Gordon of
Rayne, was the father of the present laird of Rayne and of Mrs. Burnett,
of Kemnay. Mrs. Burnett's youngest daughter, Dorothy, married Mr.
Quentin Irvine younger of Barra and Straloch. Their children are
therefore the sixth generation in descent from Rory and the " bonny

Principal "Rory" Macleod 201

bride". Colonel Arthur Forbes spent some years in a fortress in
France during the wars of the eighteenth century, as he was arrested
while travelling in that country and was allowed no time to leave when
war was declared. He married late in life, so that his daughters were
able to relate many of his anecdotes about events that took place in
the middle of the eighteenth century. They always described him as
a man of a most gentle and peaceable disposition, though on one
occasion he broke all records in the way of fury, when he discovered
that his family tombstone, that of Bishop Forbes of Corse, had been
transplanted to the burying ground of the parish minister, who also
bore the name of Forbes, though not Forbes of Fintray. A severe
tussle ensued, as the minister claimed to have absolute power in all
matters concerning the churchyard, but in the end Colonel Forbes
compelled him to disgorge the tombstone, which was triumphantly re-
stored to the ancestral vault.

There were three daughters of the marriage of Colonel Forbes and
Isabella Macleod — Isabella, Christina and Georgina — who were all
remarkable women, and pre-eminently distinguished by their social
gifts and personal charm. Isabella married two Irish husbands — first,
Mr. Newton of Rathmade, County Carlow, and then Mr. Aylward of
Shankhill Castle, County Kilkenny ; but she left no descendants. She
was the most lively and entertaining of women, and as she was always
on the top of the wave when she was with her sisters in the old home
in the Chanonry, her visits were much looked forward to, and we
laughed over her sallies and repeated her bon-mots, long after she had
returned to her Irish home. After her death, her sisters fulfilled a
promise made to her that they would not leave Mr. Aylward, who
had long been in precarious health, and for years they devotedly en-
dured not only banishment from everything they loved, but the nerve-
shattering strain of some of the worst years of the Irish terror, as their
lives hung on one thread of safety due to the fact that the parish priest
was well disposed to Mr. Aylward. Mr. Aylward wished to leave
them his estates, but they declined the splendid offer, and when his
death at last set them free, they shook the dust of Ireland off their
feet and thenceforward divided their time, as they did their affections,
between the Chanonry and their lovely home in Florence. They were
frequently called Le Forbice, and though it was a play of words on
their name, the idea of a pair of scissors was appropriate in suggesting
their absolute oneness, for though they were totally different, no one

202 Aberdeen University Review

could ever think of the one without the other. They had no use for
the first person singular, and always used the royal "we". Miss
Christina was a majestic figure ; her aristocratic carriage and superb
bearing suggested the ideal duchess. She was not a little awe-inspiring
to strangers, but her friends knew what depths of kindness lay in her
motherly heart. There was a certain touch of aloofness about her,
just a suggestion of the space around a royal personage, and the
tragedy which occurred on the eve of the marriage that would have
given her the position she was so clearly destined for, as head of
a historic house, may have perhaps been the origin of it. Latterly,
too, her lameness, the result of a carriage accident, kept her seated
when in company, so that she seemed to be receiving the homage of
her subjects.

Miss Georgina, the much younger sister, was an absolute contrast.
Always full of mirth and droll sayings, no one ever had a dull moment
in her presence, and every one who knew her found her the best com-
pany in the world, the keenness of her mind being only surpassed by
her matchless sense of humour. She would no doubt have developed
into an original artist had she stayed at home, but from the time she
began to visit the picture galleries of the Continent, she dedicated
herself wholly to the study of the early Italian painters, who at that
time were not merely suffering from neglect, but were held in absolute
contumely. She was one of the pioneers in the work of re-establishing
their fame and in proclaiming the beauty of their art Along with
another artist, Mr. Wheelwright, she devoted her time and talents to
copying the frescoes that were going to wreck and ruin in damp
chapels and mouldering sacristies.

Wherever a fresco peels and drops,

Wherever an outline weakens and wanes,
Till the latest life in the painting stops,

Stands One, whom each fainter pulse-tick pains ;
One wishful each scrap should clutch the brick.

Each tinge not wholly escape the plaster —
A lion who dies of an ass's kick,

The wronged great soul of an Ancient Master.

She met with little sympathy and not a little opposition in regard
to these brutte cose, as the works of these old masters were called.
Even the Director of the Uffizzi Gallery did not scruple to remonstrate
with her when she wished to copy Botticelli's Madonna of the
Magnificat, and asked, Why should she choose that brutto brutto

Principal "Rory" Macleod 203

picture when there were so many beautiful ones? The tables are in-
deed turned ! But in these days when one would almost hate Botticelli
(if one did not love him too much) because of the trash that is talked
about him by people who hardly know whether he is a wine or a
cheese, one feels what a priceless privilege it was to have been brought
up from childhood in the faith and love of the early Italian painters
by Miss Georgina Forbes. Mrs. Graham, an Anglo-Florentine, the
author of " From a Tuscan Garden," says of her, " I am the fortunate
possessor of one of this lady's copies and of some other work of hers
from the lower church at Assisi, Of the latter work the present P. R. A.
(Lord Leighton) once said to me that, although one could see that it
was that of an amateur, he had never seen any copies so thoroughly
imbued with the spirit of the Quattro Cento."

Much as Georgina loved Botticelli, he did not hold quite the first
place in her heart ; that was reserved for Fra Filippo Lippi. She
bore a strong resemblance to his favourite type of model, and in his
great picture in the Badia at Florence, of the Vision of St. Bernard,
the Madonna might have been Miss Georgina in her girlhood. I
mentioned this to Miss Christina Young last time I was in Florence,
and she said it was perfectly true, though she had never thought of it
before, and that nothing would have given her cousin so much pleasure
as to think of herself as being so much at one with the painter's
thought. I think she may have been conscious herself of the re-
semblance ; she could not fail to observe the resemblance in her
colouring, and this may perhaps be the explanation of the peculiar
attraction his pictures had for her. Miss Georgina was not beautiful
— indeed, many people who only looked at her casually would have
called her plain — but she had a rare grace all her own, and her light
brown hair must have been auburn in her youth. She had beautiful
expressive hands which gave her great distinction ; and one feels that
the ex-Kaiser's admiration for beautiful hands rather than for faces
has much to be said in its favour. Men were always greatly attracted
by her interesting conversation which was lit up by her flashes of
humour, but we always felt that there never could be a man worthy to
be permitted to monopolize her for good and all.

When the sisters first went abroad in the early fifties of last
century, they spent some years in Dresden, where the Hon. Francis
Forbes, brother of the then Lord Granard, was head of the British
Legation. He claimed them as cousins, and as he was an old bachelor,

204 Aberdeen University Review

they entertained for him, and his official position gave them a splendid
opportunity for the exercise of their great social gifts, while he no
doubt fully appreciated their qualities as hostesses. Mr. Forbes was
rather an eccentric, and one of his hobbies was keeping a flock of
snow-white Pomeranian dogs, which accompanied him everywhere.
Their birthdays were noted, and each dog had a special festival when
the anniversary arrived. Mr. Ainslie of Delgaty was for some time at
the Legation with Mr. Forbes, and he well remembers the dogs, and
still better the Miss Forbeses and their charm. The only failing the
sisters had, if failing it could be called, was a fondness for white
Pomeranians that barked atrociously and were always called " Puffy "
— scions no doubt of that ambassadorial race.

After their life in Dresden the sisters migrated to Florence, where
they became as well known as Giotto's Tower, and all that was best
in society flowed to their salon^ as naturally as rivers to the sea.
Much have I heard from my parents of the charming society they had
the happiness of joining in the sixties when the sisters were in their
prime, and received much company at their house in the Lung^mo
Arquebusieri, overlooking the passage which connects the Uffizzi and
the Pitti Palace, which at that point is carried on arches above the
street till it reaches the Ponte Vecchio. They had the gift of making
their surroundings beautiful wherever they pitched their tent, and their
houses, both in Old Aberdeen and Florence, were filled with treasures
which made a perfect setting for them and their friends. Never did
any people have so many and such delightful friendships. Fortunately
for me, I succeeded to a hereditary one, and was one of three little
girls for whom they had a special favour, thanks to their love for our
parents. The other two were the daughters of Mrs. Fuller, who, as
Annie Smith at the Manse, had been a quite special friend of their
girlhood. We perhaps did not altogether realize our great privileges,
any more than we understood what it was to be brought up in the
perpetual presence of a perfect thing like the Crown of King's, but
their influence entered deeply into our lives, and we knew at least that
we occupied a specially favoured position. There were the constant
little gifts that came from Italy in triplets, and when the sisters were
at the Chanonry there was the kind instruction in needlecraft and the
copying of pieces of old embroidery which had been picked up during
the winter in Italy. Their unfailing kindness and affection has
followed me through life, and even after their death their influence

Principal "Rory" Macleod 205

lives on. Constantly in speaking of this or that friend, they would
say, " My dear, if you ever meet so and so, you must go straight up
to them and say we sent you." I frequently received this injunction
about one of their greatest friends, Mrs. Sotheby, afterwards Mrs.
Ingram By water. I met her at a party in London, after both Christina
and Georgina were dead, and I spoke of their message, but the poor
lady was so overcome with emotion at the mention of their names
that she could hardly speak of them. Mr. Sotheby left instructions
in his will that his wife was to study Greek as he wished her to have
something to distract her mind, the result being that she married Mr.
Bywater, who was Professor of Greek in Oxford. We used to meet
him at Sir Theodore Martin's, but it was at another friend's that I
met his wife.

The Miss Forbeses were on intimate terms with Lord and Lady
Crawford, both at Dunecht and at the Villa Palmieri where the scene
of the first part of the Decameron is laid. Lord Crawford, as the
author of the " History of Christian Art," had much in common with
Miss Georgina in his tastes and sympathies. Mr. George Howard,
afterwards Lord Carlisle, was also an artist friend, and Mr. and Mrs.
Harry Scott, first at Culter House and later in Florence. At Culter
we all admired Mrs. Scott's lovely daughters by her first marriage, the
Miss Cavendish- Bentincks, who might have sat for three child-graces.
The eldest one, who afterwards married Lord Glamis and is now
Countess of Strathmore, would have been Duke of Portland had she
been a boy. Another friend was Mme. Helbig, who lived in Rome,
however. She was a Russian, by birth Princess Schachovskaia, of a
most exalted family. Her parents took her to Rome as a girl, and
being people for whom red cloth is always spread, Liszt became her
music master, and the head of the German Archaeological School, Herr
Helbig, conducted her through her Roman history. Rome became a
passion with her, and, unfortunately for herself, it culminated in an
elopement with Herr Helbig, a costly infatuation, as it involved
estrangement from her parents, banishment from Russia, deprivation
of her inheritance, and, worst affliction of all, being Helbig's wife. It
was not a world well lost for love, as he was a man of vulgar and
common nature, even for a German, absolutely incapable of under-
standing or even appreciating the very great lady which the foolish
girl developed into. She became a superb musician and played con-
stantly with Liszt and she had many artistic and intellectual gifts, but

2o6 Aberdeen University Review

she devoted herself entirely to caring for the poor children of the
Trastevere, by means of a dispensary which she founded. She col-
lected some charming sketches of Rome which she had written from
time to time in English, in the hope of raising some money for her
charity, and I had the pleasure of helping her with it and correcting
the proofs. The first time I went to see her with a mutual friend,
Miss Leigh Smith, also a friend of the Miss Forbeses, she exclaimed,
" Was I not a fortunate girl to have had Liszt to teach me music, and
Miss Georgie Forbes to teach me drawing?" I fear the war broke
her heart, as her only son sided with Germany, against his mother's
two beloved countries, Russia and Italy. The lovely Marchioness of
Waterford was another friend who used to roam the galleries with
Miss Georgina, while her mother, Lady Stuart de Rothesay, was happy
confiding all the scandals of London to Miss Christina — so at least
Miss Georgina declared. Lady Waterford was a wonderful colourist
and her work was full of poetry and imagination. I have seen her
scrap books which were given or bequeathed to Miss Georgina, full of
interesting and suggestive sketches. The Hon. Mrs. Boyle, "E.V.B.,"
the illustrator of that book of our youth, the " Story without an End,"
was also an intimate friend, and a neighbour when she lived at Ellon
Castle.

Mr. Holman Hunt was much with Miss Georgina when he was
painting " The Pot of Basil ". As he could not find the pot of his
dreams anywhere, he at last modelled one himself in clay and painted
it with beautiful decorations. When he had finished the picture he
gave the pot to Miss Georgina, and it was a most decorative object in
their drawing-room. Unfortunately, being only a thin shell of clay,
it was extremely fragile, and it was impossible to bring it to the
Chanonry when the house in Florence was broken up at Miss Georgina's
death. The saintly Bishop of Brechin, Bishop Forbes, was a much-
loved friend, and a tale used to be told of how he accompanied Miss
Georgina on her sketching expeditions, his episcopal hands gloved in
purple and his episcopal head sheltered by a scarlet umbrella. His
■godson and kinsman, Mr. Horatio Brown of Venice, repudiates the
purple gloves, but confirms the rest of the story. Mr. Brown's witty
mother was another of the circle both in Italy and in Scotland. Dr.
John Peddie Steele, physician and scholar, they were bound to by their
Irish ties, his wife having been a Trench and a cousin of Mr. Kavanagh,
who so wonderfully conquered his disabilities and represented his

Principal "Rory" Macleod 207

county in Parliament, though he was born without arms and legs.
John Addington Syraonds was another friend ; Mr. Spence, whose
discovery of the long-lost Botticelli in a dark corner of the royal
apartments in the Pitti Palace thrilled lovers of the Quattro Cento ;
Senatore Pasquale Villari, the author of so many historical works on
Florence, and his wife, Donna Linda, who translated them into
English ; Miss Alexander, " Francesca," Ruskin's friend, who collected
the songs of the peasants in Tuscany; Lady Dalhousie ; Marchesa
Peruzzi, a daughter of Story the sculptor and wife of the King of Italy's
chamberlain ; Miss Burke, who turned her back on Ireland after the foul
murder of her brother with Lord Frederick Cavendish ; the Miss
Homers, who wrote the first great guide book to Florence; Mr.
Spencer-Stanhope, the pre-Raphaelite painter, and his niece, Mrs. de
Morgan, with her husband, then famous for his beautiful pottery,
though in late years better known as a successful novelist, were all to
be met at their salon. There were, however, sometimes guests of
another type, and I remember the Princess Croy, a Belgian lady re-
sembling a mountain range, turning to me to explain her reason for
continuing her conversation about a Swiss hotel, and saying, " II faut
que je m'informe de la cuisine, parceque moi je mange enormement
et de tous les plats ". Guests of that type, however, were exceptional.
Miss Christina and Miss Georgina had quite strong likes and dis-
likes, and in my young days I used to feel rather sad that they had no
use for Mrs. Browning, though they liked Robert Browning himself.
I have no doubt now that they were perfectly right in disliking the
sickly atmosphere of adulation from her small circle, in which Mrs.
Browning lived, and they also greatly objected to the spiritualism of
her later phase, and the mediums with whom she surrounded herself.
Another lady who did not come into their circle was " Ouida," who at
that time was in her hey-day, but they had many tales of her doings,
and I think they were present at the priceless scene when she and
another Anglo-Florentine lady slapped each other's faces at a great
reception, after a violent altercation in which they slanged each other
like fish wives. "Ouida" had been engaged to the Marchese Stufa, a
handsome young Italian, but the match was broken off, as " Ouida " be-
lieved, through the machinations of her friend. "Ouida" retaliated by
writing her novel called " Friendship," in which she paints her
quondam friend in lurid colours. The lady, who belonged to an
Aberdeenshire family, was not related to the Miss Forbeses, but

2o8 Aberdeen University Review

" Ouida " represents them as her kinsfolk, perhaps on the principle that
all Scotch people are cousins. She also makes them converse in what
she supposes to be broad Scotch, which hugely diverted the originals.
' ' We know we are very Scotch," they used to say, " but we had no
idea we were like that." As might be supposed, " Ouida's " Scotch is
like anything but what it is supposed to be, and is not fit even to
adorn the pages of Punch.

The Miss Forbeses were not less interested in Italian literature
than they were in Italian art, and they had many Dante scholars
among their friends. I do not remember if Lord Vernon was one of
them, but his son, the Hon. William Warren Vernon, who carried on
the work Lord Vernon had begun, and was himself a most learned
Dantist, was a great friend. It was at the Miss Forbes' house that he
began the " Readings " on Dante, which, first unsystematic, then as
time went on, regularly systematized, became the great Commentary
in six volumes, so helpful to students. The Hon. Alethea Lawley,
afterwards Mme. Wiel — from whom we have received much kindness
in Venice — was the first applicant for his assistance in her studies, and
she was afterwards joined by a number of other friends. Mr. Vernon
was brought up in Florence from his childhood, and Tuscan was almost
his mother tongue. This is one of the reasons that his help is so in-
valuable to students, as most of the commentators know only Ollendorf
Italian and some not much of that. It is impossible to say how much
kindness I have myself received from Mr. Vernon, through this friend-
ship, and when he was so kind as to give me a copy of his great work,
he wrote in it "In memory of Christina and Georgina Forbes," there-
by greatly enhancing my pleasure in his gift.

Another Dantist was the great Duke of Sermoneta, a most remark-
able man who lived to extreme old age and was totally blind for many
years. He was of the most illustrious birth, the head of the great
house of Caetani, one of the most distinguished in Italy, which had the
honour or otherwise of supplying the Papacy with the 8th Boniface,
that Pope who is held up to such obloquy by Dante. This ancient
family feud, however, did not prevent the Duke from being a most
earnest student of the Divine Comedy, of which he knew every word
by heart. According to Mr. Vernon, he was the most learned Dantist
of the world. In the years of his blindness, he used to recite and then
expound a canto of the poem, and it was an unforgettable pleasure to
listen to his exquisite Italian. He often gave these recitations at the

Principal "Rory" Macleod 209

]\Iiss Forbes' house, and their friends were allowed to share the
privilege of hearing them. The Duke lived to be so old that people
were apt to forget that it was he who acted as cicerone to Sir Walter
Scott when he paid his sad visit to Rome shortly before his death.
The Duke was also a great statesman and patriot, and figured largely
in politics in the time of Pio Nono. At that time, when no expression
of opinion was allowed in the Papal States, views were ventilated by
means of pieces of paper which were attached during the night to a
statue that went by the name of Pasquin. These were read and passed
from mouth to mouth among the people. "What does Pasquin say
this morning?" was the universal question at that time, and Rome
rocked with laughter over the witty pasquinades, as they were called.
The Duke of Sermoneta was the author of many of these. When the
doctrine of the Papal Infallibility was promulgated, Pasquin said :
" Hitherto the Pope has been Christ's Vicar on Earth, but now Christ
is going to bs the Pope's Vicar in Heaven." That is only one I re-
member of the many I have heard. The Duke's favourite passage in
Dante was where the warning occurs to men that to come of illustrious
descent is nothing unless a man not only lives up to his traditions,,
but excels them, and the Duke faithfully carried out the motto
" Noblesse oblige." The Duchess — his last Duchess — was a daughter
of Lord Howard de Walden, and of all the Italian circle, she was
perhaps the Miss Forbes' most intimate friend. One day I went to
give a message to the ladies about something they had asked me to
do, and as I came and went at all hours and was never announced, I
as usual walked straight through to the salon. As I lifted the
portiere, I saw there was a third lady in the room, to whom the Miss
Forbeses were talking very earnestly, indeed. I hesitated for a
moment, wondering whether I could disappear, or whether I had been
observed, as the lifting of the portiere had let the sunshine stream into
the dark cool room. The stranger, who was facing me, turned to Miss
Forbes and said, " I think we have got La Primavera with us." I was
wearing a white dress covered with bunches of flowers, but the com-
parison of it with Botticelli's creation made me blush for my garment.
Miss Forbes at once said " Come in, my dear ; we wish to introduce
you to the Duchess of Sermoneta," so I went forward and paid my
respects to the great lady, of whom I had heard so much. After a
few charming words of greeting on her part, I took my leave, saying
my message would keep till later, as I knew how precious their

14

2IO Aberdeen University Review

moments together were, but I had time to observe the beauty of her
hands as she stretched them out in welcome. It is an instance of how
gracious natures can transmute an awkward little contretemps into a
pleasant incident.

Although I have mentioned some of the well-known people who
were Christina and Georgina's friends, they had hosts of others. The
only passport to their salon was the fact that they liked you ; there
was no other. They had not the smallest pretence about them, and,
though their interests and sympathies were so wide and they touched
life at so many points, their feelings were always perfectly sincere,
and that was one of the secrets of the restfulness of their friendship.
They had the will and the power to do many kindnesses, and they
never failed to use their opportunities, and many a little student work-
ing in the galleries in Florence found them ready with a welcome and
sympathy. The little house in the Chanonry saw many of the great
ones of the Earth, and one knew they were perfectly happy with their
hostesses ; but one could not help wondering sometimes what the great
one's maids thought — of the hot water supply, for instance ! The house
wasquite unchanged since their girlhood, but it was perfection in their
eyes, and it would have greatly surprised them to think that it left any-
thing to be desired ! They would not have changed it for any palace !
The house remains, but who ever visits it now ?

I have tried to show something of the love that Rory Macleod and
his posterity bore for King's College, and the influence they were in the
Old Town. There are few left who remember its gracious past and
the society " cujus pars parvula fui," but the picture may not be without
interest for the present generation.

RACHEL BLANCHE HARROWER.

Sir Thomas Browne and his " Religio Medici." '

Our most imaginative mind since Shakespeare.

— J. Russell Lowell.

^T my Nativity my Ascendant was the watery sign
of Scorpius ; I was born in the Planetary hour
of Saturn." Thus Browne alludes to his birth on
Saturday, 19 October, 1605, in St Michael-le-
Quern, Cheapside. His father, sprung from a
family of Cheshire squires and by occupation a
London mercer, died early; and his mother
married again. He went to Winchester School in 161 6, and to
Oxford in 1623, matriculating a fellow-commoner of Broadgates
Hall, later Pembroke College. Of his Oxford career (B.A., 1626;
M.A., 1629) we can say little, except that at the University, as
previously at school, he must have been acquiring that wide knowledge
of Latin and Greek which he displays throughout his writings. Ox-
ford could afford him very scanty instruction in science or medicine ;
but, even before his Oxford days, he had begun to botanize. Speak-
ing of his acquaintance with the plants around Halifax, he declares,
in 1635-36, that he seems to know fewer than when he knew only a
hundred and had scarcely " simpled," i.e. gathered medicinal plants,
farther than Cheapside. But we must not picture Cheapside as then
a region of lanes and hedgerows. Browne gathered his " simples "
on the herb-stalls. "Cheapside," ran a London proverb, " is the best
garden." In " The Merry Wives " Shakespeare makes perfumed fops
"smell like Bucklersbury [Cheapside] in simple time." Pepys (13
February, 1659-60) writes: "My mother sent her maid Bess to
Cheapside for some herbs to make a water for my mouth."

In 1630 Browne left England for Montpellier, long noted for its
medical school, especially the departments of botany and anatomy.

' This article is, in slightly altered form, the address delivered to the Aberdeen Branch
of the Historical Association, 17 March, 1922. Much of that address was the same as parts
of the introductions to my editions of " Religio Medici" and " Hydriotaphia " (Cambridge
University Press), and is reproduced here by permission of the Syndics of the Press.

212 Aberdeen University Review

Next he went to Padua University, then in high repute for scientific
and medical studies, in particular surgery, physiology and anatomy.
He finished his Continental sojourn by studying at Leyden, which
was specially renowned for chemistry. There he is believed to have
graduated M.D. He was back in England in 1633, and settled near
Halifax. In 1637 he began the practice of his profession in Norwich
— then the third, if not the second city in England — where he was to
remain till his death forty-five years later.

In 1 641 he married Dorothy Mileham, sixteen years his junior,
" a lady of such symmetrical proportion to her worthy husband, both
in the graces of her body and mind, that they seemed to come together
by a kind of natural magnetism." The wits found matter for raillery
in the marriage, since Browne had appeared to despise matrimony in
' ' Religio Medici ". There he commended those who did not marry
a second time, but he did not disapprove of polygamy. " The world
was made for man, but only the twelfth part of man for woman.
Man is the whole world and the breath of God, woman the rib and
crooked piece of man." How much better, he hinted, if babies grew
on trees like apples.

The outbreak of the Great Rebellion was now near. Norfolk
was puritan, and the men of Norwich were very lukewarm churchmen.
When fighting began, the city was fortified in the Parliamentary
interest. Browne was a royalist, but he had no intention of making
a martyr of himself. Discretion, he maintained, is the better part of
all actions, civil and religious. To become a martyr needlessly is
simply to commit suicide. While holding it discreet, however, to
abstain from active resistance, he figured once as a passive resister.
In the summer of 1642, Newcastle was seized by royalist soldiers.
Some months later, a fund was raised to equip Parliamentary troops
for the re-capture of the strategic fortress on the Tyne. The substan-
tial citizens of Norwich were invited to contribute. Browne was one
of the 452 who declined. Otherwise he went about his professional
duties regardless — outwardly at least — of state affairs. In truth he
was far more concerned about " Religio Medici," which, in the winter
of 1635-36, he had penned in the Halifax district, far (as he isays)
from the assistance of any good book to promote invention or relieve
memory. The work was a private exercise, a memorial to himself
rather than a rule to others. That is, he sought to draw up a state-
ment of belief, not the Thirty-nine Articles or any kind of formulated

Sir Thomas Browne 213

creed, but a straightforward account of his views about God and man,
about time and eternity, about life and death. He showed the
treatise to a friend, who showed it to another. Copies were made,
five of which are extant. One copy fell into the hands of a London
publisher, Andrew Crooke, who printed it, in 1642, without asking
Browne's permission and without Browne's name on the title-page.
The book was widely read and discussed. The Earl of Dorset
recommended it to Sir Kenelm Digby, who at once sent his servant
to St. Paul's Churchyard to buy a copy. When the servant returned,
Digby was in bed ; but he read the whole book before he fell asleep,
wakened early, and started to write animadversions with such im-
petuosity that, within twenty-four hours of receiving Dorset's letter,
he had finished a treatise almost half the length of "Religio Medici."
Shortly after this, learning that the animadversions were to be pub-
lished, Browne requested Digby to delay publication till an authentic
text should appear. Digby refused. Browne made necessary changes,
and Crooke issued in 1643 the first authorized edition.

Browne begins " Religio Medici " by declaring himself a Christian
from conviction. Yet he does not therefore hate Turks or Jews.
Though disliking the name Protestant, he is of the reformed faith ;
but he is willing to live with Roman Catholics, to enter their churches,
to pray with them or for them. Browne was tolerant in an age that
hardly knew what toleration meant — the age of Jenny Geddes and
Archbishop Laud, the age of Puritans who smashed stained-glass
windows, of Puritans, one of whose preachers scolded his hearers for
sitting in church with their hats off, while another omitted in prayer
the name of Jesus lest any should show reverence and thus be guilty
of idolatry. It was this that Browne meant when he wrote : —

I am, I confess, naturally inclined to that which misguided zeal terms
superstition ... at my devotion I love to use the civility of my knee, my
hat, and hand, with all those outward and sensible motions which may ex-
press or promote my invisible devotion. I should violate my own arm rather
than a church ; nor willingly deface the name of saint or martyr. At the
sight of a cross, or crucifix, I can dispense with my hat, but scarce with the
thought or memory of my Saviour.

While faithfully following the Thirty-nine Articles, he maintains
the right of private judgment. He binds himself neither to Luther
nor to Calvin nor to the Pope. " Yet I talk courteously of the Pope ;
and, though excommunicated by him as a heretic, I do not call him
Anti-Christ or Man of Sia For charity never retaliates."

214 Aberdeen University Review

He loves the old theology. When younger, he entertained
opinions long ago condemned as heretical. He had held that the
soul perished at death but should be revived at the last day ; and
that God in His mercy would finally release the damned from torment
He had wished that prayers might be offered for the dead.

The deepest mysteries do not unhinge his .brain. The more in-
credible the mystery, the greater is his delight to believe. Faith is
not faith if exercised only on visible objects. The Devil — Browne
firmly believes in a personal Devil — often suggested to him that
Bible miracles proceeded from natural causes, but could never pervert
him to atheism. Browne marvels when he finds anyone crediting the
incredible tales of travellers and yet questioning the testimony of St.
Paul. True, the story of Samson exceeds all legend ; but it is an
easy possibility once we admit the co-operation of God.

Browne cannot understand how learned men doubt the existence
of spirits, which are absolutely necessary in the scale of creatures.
As to witches, he is very explicit. " For my part, I have ever
believed, and do now know that there are witches." Deny witches,
and you deny spirits. Consequently, you are a kind of atheist

Creation is a mystery : especially the creation of man. Whence
comes man's soul ? The vitalists gave the soul an organic existence
in the brain ; but Browne's anatomical knowledge had disproved
that, and he leaves it a mystery. " Thus we are men, and we know
not how ; there is something in us that can be without us, and will
be after us, though it is strange that it bath no history, what it was
before us, nor cannot tell how it entered in us."

Death is the gateway to immortal life ; and Browne keeps repeat-
ing Memento quatuor novissima : Death, Judgment, Heaven, Hell.
We should not dogmatize about the time and the manner of the last
judgment. These are things indifferent for our spiritual life. What
matters, and matters supremely, is the fact of a final judgment.

This is the day that must make good that great attribute of God, his
justice ; that must reconcile those unanswerable doubts that torment the
wisest understandings ; and reduce those seeming inequalities and respective
distributions in this world to an equality and recompensive justice in the

next This is the day whose memory hath only power to make us

honest in the dark, and to be virtuous without a witness. "Ipsa sui pretium
virtus sibt" that virtue is her own reward, is but a cold principle, and not
able to maintain our variable resolutions in a constant and settled way of
goodness. . . . The life, therefore, and spirit of all our actions is the resur-

Sir Thomas Browne 215

rection, and a stable apprehension that our ashes shall enjoy the fruit of our
pious endeavours ; without this, all religion is a fallacy.

The resurrection of the body causes Browne no difficulty. To
believe only possibilities is not faith but philosophy. Our dust and
ashes, after many transformations into animals, plants and minerals,
shall re-unite and arise in the primitive shape.

What and where heaven and hell are, Browne does not know.
He does not believe in a hell of fire and brimstone, where the Devil
dwells. " Lucifer keeps his court in my breast. Legion is revived
in me ... a distracted conscience here is a shadow or- introduction
unto hell hereafter." Hell never terrified nor influenced him.

I can hardly think there was ever any scared into heaven ; they go the
fairest way to heaven that would serve God without a hell : other mercen-
aries, that crouch unto him in fear of hell, though they term tl;iemselves the
servants, are indeed but the slaves of the Almighty.

Unlike most of his contemporaries, Browne cannot sentence to
damnation those who differ from him. The Church of Rome con-
demns the Church of England. The Church of England condemns
the Church of Rome, and is itself condemned by the English sec-
taries, who again condemn one another. In his bewilderment, he
concludes there must be more than one St. Peter, else nobody could
enter heaven. And so he wisely disbelieves all such antagonistic
condemnations, content to rest for salvation on God's mercy.

After faith comes charity. Faith without charity is a mere
motion and of no existence. By temperament Browne is charitable
and sympathises with all. " I wonder not at the French for their
dishes of frogs, snails, or toadstools, nor at the Jews for locusts and
grasshoppers." Neither has he any national repugnances. He de-
tests nothing but the Devil.

If there be any among those common objects of hatred I do contemn or
laugh at, it is that great enemy of reason, virtue and religion, the multitude,
that numerous piece of monstrosity, which, taken asunder, seem men, and the
reasonable creatures of God, but, confused together, make but one great beast,
and a monstrosity more prodigious than Hydra. It is no breach of charity to
call these fools ; it is the style all holy writers have afforded them, set down
by Solomon in canonical Scripture, and a point of our faith to believe so.
Neither in the name of multitude do I only include the base and minor sort
of people : there is a rabble even amongst the gentry ; a sort of plebeian heads,
whose fancy moves with the same wheel as these ; men in the same level with
mechanics, though their fortunes do somewhat gild their infirmities, and their
purses compound for their follies.

2i6 Aberdeen University Review

To give alms, some think the only charity. But to impart
knowledge may be as much an act of charity. Indeed, niggardliness
in sharing knowledge is the most sordid covetousness, more con-
temptible than stinginess in money. "As calling myself a scholar
... I make not therefore my head a grave, but a treasure of know-
ledge. I intend no monopoly, but a community in learning. I study
not for my own sake only, but for theirs that study not for them-
selves."

It puzzles Browne why theologians, philosophers and other learned
men should show want of charity by quarrelling, especially on trivi-
alities. They do not wear swords, yet their tongues are sharper than
razors. Fear of the uncharitableness of chroniclers makes princes in-
dulgent to scholars. For princes dread their revengeful pens. " And
surely there goes a great deal of conscience to the compiling of an
history : there is no reproach to the scandal of a story ; it is such an
authentic kind of falsehood, that with authority belies our good names
to all nations and posterity."

Another offence to charity is when nations heap insulting epithets
on one another ; when, by an uncharitable logic, or want of logic, what
is merely a disposition in some members of a community is concluded
to be a habit in all.

Le mutin Anglois, et le bravache Escossois,
Le bougre Italian, et le fol Fran9ois ;
Le poultron Remain, et le larron de Gascongne,
L'Espagnol superbe, et I'Aleman yvrongne.

This satire is sure of applause on the stage, while proverbs, stories
of fools, and literature abound in this " method of drawing up an in-
dictment against a whole people." The Cretans were " alway liars,"
the Boeotians stupid. We hear of "Punic faith," and "Perfidious
Albion. ' " Punch " makes Scotland pre-eminently the home of miserli-
ness. A Glasgow evening-paper never fails to dub Aberdonians the
stingiest of Scots. Such breaches of charity Browne stigmatizes as
ways of assassinating a nation's honour.

Browne naturally prizes friendship very much. " I hope I do not
break the fifth commandment, if I conceive I may love my friend be-
fore the nearest of my blood," even father and mother. In former
years his highest morality had been "to do no injury, and to take
none," i.e. to give tit for tat. Now he sees the folly and futility as
well as the unchristian character of retaliation and revenge.

Sir Thomas Browne 217

His load of original sin contains no pride. That blemish he has
escaped, scholar though he is. Scholars are liable to petty pride in
their learning. Yet he is humble. " From my own self, good Lord,
deliver me," is his incessant prayer. For he dreads the corruption
within more than contagion from without.

Greed for money he considers not so much a vice as deplorable
madness. The wealth of the Indies would not tempt him to sin.
Why need one be rich ? Unless the widow's mite be merely a
marvel, a man is rich if he has enough for alms-giving. " He that
giveth to the poor lendeth to the Lord: there is more rhetoric in that
one sentence than in a library of sermons. . . . Upon this motive
only I cannot behold a beggar without relieving his necessities with
my purse, or his soul with my prayers." Statesmen who labour to
contrive a commonwealth without poverty, take away the object of
charity. They misunderstand the Christian commonwealth and also
forget the prophecy of Christ " Now, there is another part of charity
which is the basis and pillar of this, and that is the love of God, for
whom we love our neighbour; for this I think is charity, to love God
for Himself, and our neighbour for God."

To conclude, there is no happiness under the sun, no felicity in
what the world adores. The only happiness is in God. And so
Browne prays, " Bless me in this life with but the peace of my con-
science, command of my affections, the love of thyself and my dearest
friends, and I shall be happy enough to pity Caesar ! "

" Religio Medici " had many readers, both English and Continental.
It was translated into French, Dutch, German, Italian, and Latin.
Ten editions in Latin appeared between 1644 and 1743. Some of
its contemporary readers censured it severely. Alexander Ross, in
" Medicus Medicatus," accused Browne of applying "rhetorical phrase"
to religion, of believing in judicial astrology, and generally of heresy.
Other readers, as Guy Patin, the renowned Parisian savant, praised
*' Religio Medici " highly ; while Samuel Pepys (" Diary," 27 January,
1663-64) quotes Sir William Petty as saying that in all his life these
three books were the most esteemed for wit in the world — " Religio
Medici," Osborne's "Advice to a Son," and "Hudibras."

Browne's readers were puzzled about his religion. Was he truly
a Church of England man ? Duncon, a Norwich Quaker, was con-
vinced that he was not, and hoped to get him to join the Friends. The
editor of the French translation considered Browne to be in reality a

2i8 Aberdeen University Review

Roman Catholic, Much depended on the angle from which " Religio
Medici " was viewed. For, as has been said, it combines daring
scepticism with implicit faith in revelation. The Papal authorities,
however, had no doubt about the book. Browne had been kindly and
tolerant in his references to the Pope and to Roman Catholicism, but
under date i8 December, 1646, "Religio Medici" was decreed to be
placed on the " Index Librorum Prohibitorum."

That same year Browne had published a fresh work, " Pseudodoxia
Epidemica " (better known as " Vulgar Errors "), the fruits of long
pondering over the strange ideas current on natural, civil, and religious
history as well as in other departments of knowledge. The book
begins with a statement of several causes of mistaken beliefs — the
infirmity of human nature, adherence to antiquity and to authority,
and — what to Browne is the greatest promoter of false opinion — the
father of lies, the Devil. Many of the beliefs belong to the unnatural
natural history, the kind drawn upon for similes by John Lyly in his
" Euphues," frequently alluded to by Shakespeare, reproduced in
Goldsmith's "Animated Nature," and still lurking in nooks of the
human mind. Some of the errors are : crystal is ice strongly con-
gealed ; a man weighs heavier dead than alive and before a meal than
after; swans sing only before death; a man has one rib fewer than a
woman ; the tenth wave is the largest ; pelicans feed their young with
their blood ; to cure the quartan ague, lay the fourth book of Homer's
" Iliad " under the head ; the badger has its legs shorter on one side
than on the other ; the salamander lives in fire ; the chameleon lives
on air ; the ostrich digests iron ; the phcjenix exists ; the peacock is
ashamed of its legs ; the stork is found only in a republic or a free
state ; the elephant has no joints in his legs. He sleeps by leaning
against a tree, which his hunter saws almost in two, Down falls the
tree under the elephant's weight, and he also falls to rise no more.

Another error is the old and widespread superstition that the caul
or membrane sometimes enveloping a child's head at birth, brings luck.
Hence its name— which Browne uses — silly how, the Aberdeenshire
seelie hoo, meaning lucky cap. In seventeenth-century England cauls
cost from ;^io to £"^0. In the nineteenth century prices ranged from
six guineas to sixteen. Occasionally they are still in the market. Last
summer " The Aberdeen Journal " advertised : —

Birth Caul for Sale. What offer? No. 141 1 Journal Office.

Sir Thomas Browne 219

Was it sold, and for how much? Who was the buyer? Was he
an Aberdeen lawyer ? " Credulous lawyers," says Browne, " had an
opinion that cauls advantaged their promotion," making them gracious
pleaders. We give the lawyers the benefit of the doubt. The pur-
chaser was most likely a trawl-skipper from Torry. Cauls infallibly
preserve from drowning.^ Advertising a caul, " The Times " (8 May,
1 848) said it " was afloat with its late owner thirty years in all the
perils of a seaman's life, and the owner died at last at the place of his
birth."

Browne intended to write "Vulgar Errors" in Latin to appeal
universally to scholars, but changed his mind in order to benefit the
" ingenuous gentry " of England. But it is full of strange words of
Latin origin and is by no means easy reading. It contains, however,
much to interest and to amuse. Scientific truth, indeed, is not Browne's
sole aim. It is the investigation he enjoys ; and the more marvellous
a tale is, the more enthusiastic is his discussion. In addition, he was
himself in no small measure imbued with the contemporary credulity.

Browne's repute for multifarious learning brought him numerous
letters from various quarters — even from Iceland. He readily answered
enquiries on all sorts of topics — from the botRny of the Bible to
artificial mounds, from Apollo's oracle to the Saxon tongue, from the
fishes eaten by Christ after his resurrection to whales stranded on the
Norfolk coast Besides his wide acquaintance with Latin and Greek
writers — even the most out-of-the-way — he possessed a competent
knowledge of the Bible in the original language?, with the com-
mentaries thereon. Like Milton, he belonged to the select band of
seventeenth-century Englishmen who read Dante's "Divina Commedia "
in Italian. Other modern languages he also knew well. He was
thoroughly versed in the Authorized Version of the Bible. But no
other work in English — poetry or prose — does he ever mention or
allude to, with the one exception of " Hudibrab," and he merely
recites a list of Greek and Latin burlesques which it recalled.

For a dozen years Browne published nothing; and then in 1658
came " Hydriotaphia," with its elfin melody, meditations on cinerary
urns recently unearthed in Norfolk. The mistaken notion that the
urns were Roman weakens the book scientifically. We read it,
however, not for its antiquarian information but for its wizard music

^ See Dickens, " David Copperfield," opening sentences.

2 20 Aberdeen University Review

Browne is concerned with the human associations of the urns ; and
he weaves a splendid web of facts and fancies round funeral customs
of all ages and countries, round man and his desire to be remembered,
round the grave and what lies beyond. The concluding chapter is a
solemn homily on death and immortality, unsurpassed for sustained
majesty of eloquence and for dignified music.

Along with " Hydriotaphia " was printed " The Garden of Cyrus,
or the Quincuncial . . . Plantations of the Ancients." The quin-
cunx is the arrangement of five objects seen in the five of playing-
cards. So were the trees in Cyrus's garden arranged. Browne ran-
sacks heaven and earth, sea and land, for quincunxes. He finds
them in St. Andrew's Cross, in architecture, in crowns, in the beds of
the ancients, in the Roman battle-array, in the labyrinth of Crete, in
fruits and seeds, in skins of animals, and in scales of fishes.

The same year (1658) saw Cromwell's death ; and Browne rejoiced
in the collapse of the protectorate and the restoration of monarchy.
When coronation day came, 23rd April, 1661, it was with deep satis-
faction that, in a private letter, he described the loyal doings in
Norwich, part of which was the hanging and burning in effigy of
Cromwell, "whose head," Browne adds, "is now upon Westminster
Hall, together with Ireton's and Bradshaw's."

In 1664 occurred an incident over which several of Browne's
biographers have waxed very angry : one of them calls it " the most
culpable and the most stupid action of his life." At the spring
assizes. Bury St. Edmunds, two women were accused of witchcraft.
Sir Matthew Hale, the Lord Chief Baron, doubted the credibility of
the evidence. Instead of directing the jury to acquit, he requested
Browne to give his opinion — an unfortunate request, since Browne's
belief in witches had been published for twenty years, as Hale himself
must have known. Browne declared " he was clearly of opinion that
the fits were natural, but heightened by the Devil's co-operating with
the witches, at whose instance he did the villainies." Eighteenth-
century writers assert that Browne's authority influenced the jury in
finding the women guilty. The jurymen of Bury St. Edmund's hardly
required Browne's authority to make them convict At the assizes
there in 1645-46 nearly fifty persons were condemned for witchcraft.
Why should Browne be singled out for blame? He simply stated
what he sincerely believed ; and his belief was the belief of most
seventeenth-century lawyers, clergymen, and philosophers, as Bacon,

Sir Thomas Browne 22 1

More, Cudworth, Baxter. Glanvil, like Browne, held that atheism
would spring from disbelief in witches. For, witches once disproved,
belief in all spiritual existence would vanish. This view was echoed
by John Wesley, who added, " the giving up of witchcraft is in effect
giving up the Bible." To judge Browne fairly, wa must look at the
matter with the eyes of the men of 1664.

In September, 1671, King Charles visited Norwich, where he was
feasted on the 29th, at a cost of ;^900. After the feast he was going
to confer knighthood on the mayor. The mayor modestly declined
and begged his Majesty to bestow the honour upon their most dis-
tinguished townsman, meaning Dr. Thomas Browne. Charles was
graciously pleased to consent.

To discuss Browne's humour and his diction would carry us too
far, but we may linger for a little on one point — the charge that he
ruined English by his excessive use of words of Latin origin. True,
he does employ many Latin words ; but it is hard to see why he
should be specially pilloried when his contemporaries are equally
guilty. In " Vulgar Errors " Browne required new expressions for
new ideas, and he borrowed or coined such terms as lapidifical, con-
glaciatton, congelation, supernatation, effluency, guttulous, stillicidious,
septentrionate, australise, syndrome, while elsewhere in his works are
found discruciating, quodlibetically , salvifically, sollicitudinous, itnpro-
perations, and so on. The words look worst in a list, but they are
bad enough in their context, as in " Vulgar Errors," ii. i : —

"That which is concreted by exsiccation or expression of
humidity, will be resolved by humectation, as Earth, Dirt, and Clay ;
that which is coagulated by a fiery siccity, will suffer colliquation from
an aqueous humidity, as Salt and Sugar. . . ."

Equally strange monsters occur in other seventeenth-century

writers, as clancularly, imntorigerous. Herrick the poet alone yields

such forms as repullulate, regredience, adulce. Browne often chose

these words for their pomp and pageantry or for their sonorous

qualities. If in this he is blameworthy, why does Shakespeare escape

for the famous passage : —

No ; this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas incarnadine ?

Incarnadine is a Shakespearian coinage which has not come into
general use. Again, Browne is charged with employing words, not
in their English sense but in a Latin sense as when he gives votes the

222 Aberdeen University Review

meaning of wishes. But Shakespeare's extravagant and erring spirit
requires a knowledge of Latin for its interpretation. Finally Browne
is censured for introducing Latin constructions. Here too he is less
guilty than either Jeremy Taylor or John Milton. Browne was him-
self quite alive to the danger of latinising. He laughingly said in
" Vulgar Errors " that if English writers continued that fashion their
readers would " be fain to learn Latin to understand English."

It is indeed a mistake to think that Browne cannot write without
a vocabulary of uncouth Latin words. He can be blunt and collo-
quial: "Grammarians," he says, "hack and slash." His familiar
letters to his sons are models of the plain conversational style. His
letters to his learned correspondents are naturally in a more elevated
key. His other writings show many passages of straightforward
idiomatic English. Again, when he rises higher, bursting into mighty
organ tones, as in the conclusion of " Hydriotaphia," swelling Latin
words find appropriate place.

Browne died in 1782, on the 19th of October, his birthday, and
was buried in the chancel of St. Peter Mancroft "To be gnawed
out of our graves," wrote he in " Hydriotaphia," "to have our skulls
made drinking-bowls, and our bones turned into Pipes, to delight and
sport our Enemies, are Tragical abominations." He himself was to
suffer one of these "abominations." In 1840 his coffin was acci-
dentally broken into. The sexton carried off the skull, which he sold.
Later it found a resting-place in the museum of the Norfolk and
Norwich Hospital. Recently lovers of Browne heard with peculiar
satisfaction of the restoration of his skull to St. Peter Mancroft.^

When the Funeral pyre was out (says "The Epistle Dedicatory" of
" Hydriotaphia ") and the last valediction over, men took a lasting adieu of
their interred Friends, little expecting the curiosity of future ages should com-
ment upon their ashes, and having no old experience of the duration of their
Reliques, held no opinion of such after-considerations.

But who knows the fate of his bones, or how often he is to be buried?
who hath the Oracle of his ashes, or whether they are to be scattered.

W. MURISON.

' See Sir Arthur Keith's letter, " The Times Literary Supplement," 11 May, 1922.

Important University Benefaction.

jY the will of the late Rev. J. M. Gordon, of 7
Moreton Gardens, London, S.W., and Charleton,
Montrose, a valuable bequest has just come to
the University. Mr, Gordon was the donor of
the " Harry Gordon Collection " in the Geological
Department, and it may be interesting to readers
to have some particulars about Mr. Gordon and
the origin of this collection.

After a distinguished career in Classics as a student at Balliol,
Mr. Gordon was for some thirty years Vicar of Redhill, in Surrey.
While there, he began to take an interest in minerals, finding the study
a mental relaxation from the theological and other problems that
usually claimed his attention. He was also a keen mountaineer, a
member of the Swiss Alpine Club, and he used to spend a part of his
vacation every year in Switzerland. He thus became an expert
collector of Swiss minerals. About the time that the new Marischal
College buildings were opened in 1906, Mr. Gordon had visited the
new Geological Department there, but, as it was the long vacation, he
saw none of the Staff. He subsequently wrote the head of the De-
partment that he would like to be permitted to commence building up
a collection of minerals in memory of his grandfather, Harry Gordon,
who had been a student in the University, Ever since that time, Mr,
Gordon had continued adding to this collection. While resident in
Redhill, and subsequently in London, he used to come north every
year to his place at Montrose, and it had become his practice to travel
to Aberdeen, usually bringing a parcel of minerals with him, spend a
forenoon in the Geology Department, and return by afternoon train to
Montrose. The Harry Gordon Collection had thus at the time of his
death reached a total of over 700 specimens, many of them valuable
and beautiful varieties. He was always on the outlook for new material,
especially from Scottish localities, as he believed that Scottish minerals
should be fully represented in a Scottish University, The very last

2 24 Aberdeen University Review

thing he sent, a week or two before his death, was a specimen of gold,
recently discovered at Wanlockhead, in Lanark.

By the new bequest some 3000 specimens will be added to the
collection. They include hundreds of Swiss minerals, all from named
localities, a set of Swiss rocks with microscopic sections to correspond,
various gemstones, specimens of garnet, quartzes, fluorspars, tour-
malines, micas, agates, felspars, various ores and innumerable other
types. In addition to the mineral specimens, there is a fine collection
of instruments, including microscopes, goniometers, refractometers,
spectroscopes, balances and other mineralogical and petrological
apparatus. And also hundreds of books and monographs, the very
kind of material that will be useful in a departmental Library.

Mr. Gordon's relatives were very generous in their interpretation
of his will, and allowed the University to select much material of
interest that might not strictly have come under the terms of the
bequest. Not a few valuable collections have recently come to the
Geological Department, but the present collection, both for quantity
and intrinsic value, is the finest that has ever been given, and will be
of great use. Mr. Gordon wisely made no condition about keeping
the collection together, and duplicates, of which there are many, and
for which there might not be space in the Museum, will be available
for the teaching collections, which can absorb thousands of specimens
of all kinds. Due care must, of course, be taken that these are cata-
logued as part of the general collection.

There is now ample material in the University for setting up an
independent Mineralogical Department, and the subject really requires,
for full efficiency, a separate equipment and staff.

A. W. GIBB.

Rendering in Sapphic Metre of Robert
Browning's Lines : —

" The year's at the spring,
And day's at the morn ;
Morning's at seven ;
The hillside's dew-pearled ;
The lark's on the wing ;
The snail's on the thorn ;
God's in His heaven —
All's right with the world ! "

Ver adest anni, simul et diei
prima lux, hora est etiam secunda,
clivus en splendet quasi margaritis
rore decorus.

iam supra dulces volitant alaudae,
cocleae serpunt alacres in illo
vepre ; de caelo deus omne lustrat.
omnia grata.

ALEXANDER EMSLIE.

15

My Friend James Murdoch.

(SOMETIME ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF GREEK IN ABERDEEN

UNIVERSITY.)

IT was a shock to see the name of James Murdoch
in the last REVIEW, for I knew at once that he
must be dead and I had never answered his second
long letter. After thirty years I had renewed
touch with him in 191 1, in a way that I tell be-
low ; but I lost it again and the fault was not his.
Perhaps it was not mine ; for the stream of life
carries one away past the things that ought to be done and we say —
" To-morrow ! " Perhaps, too, the memory of Murdoch was so vivid
and the delight of almost hearing him again was so keen that time
ceased to count and a few months would be but a short interval.
But nothing I can say now will make me feel that I was not wrong
in losing touch again when I had the chance of letter after letter
from that rare spirit. For the ten years that ended in 192 1, I knew
nothing more of Murdoch and his doings ; but now and again I read
snatches of his big learned first volume of the " History of Japan " and
I enjoyed the verve and swing of his narrative. He brought me
back to the Literary Society as it was in the old Natural History
classroom — Cossar Ewart's room and Alleyne Nicholson's room —
and to the rush and passion of his exposition of the Ramayana. Of
the details I remember nothing; but, in those days, Murdoch was
caught up in the study of Sanskrit and filled us with enthusiasm
for it. We all learned a little of the writing and caught something
of his warmth in the attempt to master it ; but the characters have
lost all meaning except one : whenever I see a line of Sanskrit,
the picture of Murdoch and our class in the Square Tower comes
back with its magic lights. Even Benfey's " Sanskrit Grammar "
was becoming an unsealed book to us ; it is forty years since I last
saw it. It is a pity we cannot carry all we wish or keep the memory
of it within conscious control. By chance, I came north to Aberdeen

My Friend James Murdoch 227

once with a great classical scholar, who, thirty or forty years before,
knew Sanskrit so well that Benfey had suggested him as his successor ;
but now, he had lost all controllable memory of his great acquisitions
as I had of my petty beginnings. His experience was a consolation,
for if his wide knowledge of the dead and living languages did not
help him to keep fresh his memory of Sanskrit, I did not need
to feel so much ashamed if the other activities of life had so completely
blotted out mine.

But I am already wandering, just as we all did when Murdoch's
imagination opened the Eastern world to us. When I entered Arts
in 1879, Murdoch was already a legend and we had for him the
young reverence that every brilliant senior inspires. When, a year
later, he became assistant in Greek, his mind and mine mixed in
friendship and his vanishing out of the Western world I always
counted as a personal bereavement. There is so little time on the
earth to enjoy one another! The world widens to let the lines of
life diverge and most of us never meet again.

Two years ago, in this Review,^ I told how Murdoch introduced
Leask to us. These were two that charged the atmosphere with
new potentialities. Those were great days and there was no after-
thought : they were enough for themselves. But one of the greatest
was a day with Murdoch alone. One morning in the provec.
class, he asked me if I would spend a day with him ; he wanted
to talk with me. On the day fixed, I went to his lodgings in
Rosemount and for three or four hours we wandered over the
country, going out, if I remember rightly, by the Stocket and
Skene Roads and crossing south by Cults ; but those roads and
fields later became so familiar to me that, if I tried to recall the
local details of that day, I should only mix the memories of many
later wanderings alone. But Nature was not among the themes
and, in tAose days, had little interest for either of us. It was
philosophy, history, the classics, Oxford and all that those wonderful
names stand for. He had thought that I was then twenty-six and
could hardly restrain himself when I told him I was only nineteen ;
for obviously he had some programme in his mind for me and
seven years more to work with would make a difference. He placed
the allurements of Oxford before me, assuring me that I could easily

^ " ' Alma Mater ' Anthology, 1883-1919," vii, 193.

22 8 Aberdeen University Review

make "pots of money," and filling my imagination with the glories
of the life there.

In my ten Aberdeen years after that, I made many friends and
their names remain sacred to me ; but the day with James Murdoch
stands alone. He, I think, enjoyed it as much as I did, and perhaps
that is the meaning of the warm opening of the letter I quote below.
Of Murdoch I could believe anything that was generous and adven-
turous: "still nursing the unconquerable hope." I can well believe
what a second-hand bookseller in the New Market once told me of him
that, in his young days, he would walk in the sixteen miles from Stone-
haven for a new book and walk back again. He swept many things in
front of him at the University and he excited jealousies as well as
rivalries, and sometimes — as usual — there was something ungenerous in
the remarks made of him. But his conquering quality was undoubted,
and those that knew him as we of our Senior Class did, rejoiced in his
presence and talk. He had his criticism of the "Aberdeen method"
of working at the classics by retail, and preferred the Oxford way : he
advised us to master a cardinal book intensively and then soak ourselves
in all that belonged to it until our minds were saturated. He had a
prodigious memory, as the article in the Review tells; but he had
method too, and he never showed impatience in his teaching, but only
warmth and friendliness and enthusiasm.

When he went, classics became less a pleasure than a duty, and, by
and by, other things came up over them and their sown seeds were
forgotten. In due time the trees grew and blossomed and they will
shade and colour our lives to the end.

These vague touches may excuse my wish to produce some extracts
from two letters I had from Murdoch. These and mine to him explain
themselves. Naturally, as they were not meant to be published, I take
only a few extracts ; but friendship may justify this liberty both with
his and with mine.

(i) {To James Murdoch.')

Edinburgh, io August, 191 1.
My Dear Murdoch,

I cannot tell you how surprised and delighted I was, a short
time ago, to receive the first volume of your " History of Japan ". When I
saw the parcel on my table, I could not think who there was in that quarter
of the world that knew me or would be in the least likely to think of me. I
speculated and speculated, but without result. I knew neither publishers nor
authors in the East, and 1 could hardly imagine that anything but a book

My Friend James Murdoch 229

connected with something medical would ever come my way. So I had to
solve the problem by cutting the strings and unwrapping the volume.

I am afraid, that, if I detailed all the rush of memories that your name
evoked, I should have to send you a volume nearly as large as your own.
Since we saw each other last, somewhere about 1880, we have never once
come into touch. Two or three times, I have heard second-hand rumours of
your doings, of your adventures in literature and political construction; but I
knew nothing definite. All the more is it a delight to find that your splendid
faculties have blossomed and come to fruit in such an atmosphere. History, as
you may possibly remember, had less interest always for me than philosophy ;
but now I shall read the " History of Japan " with a double interest — the interest
that every thinking Westerner feels in a great civilization, the interest that I
have in the personality of the writer. Let me thank you whole-heartedly.

May I now hope that I shall hear a little more of you and your doings ?
I shall only be too delighted to read anything you send, whether it be a letter
or a research. I remember as if it were yesterday your prelections on Sanskrit,
in the Old Square Tower in King's College. I remember, too, many a day
of depression and disappointment on my part that I had so little energy to
give to the entrancing line of study that you opened up to us. For the first,
almost the only time in my life, I was roused to an interest not in the classical
civilizations only, but in the Eastern literatures too. But we did not all have
your rush of great impulses and your untiring re-creation of interests. There
were examinations to pass. I cannot even forget that the only " n* " prize
I ever got in Greek was in the "provec." that you had charge of. That was,
no doubt, because the wealth of your teaching flowed over the boundaries of
the Second Aorist and fertilized the squares even of Geddes's Greek verb. A
man that could make these broken pieces once more organic, could grow
wheat from an Egyptian mummy. That is the kind of feeling I have about
you to-day, after thirty-one years.

It would take too long even to hint at the progress of events through
that whole generation of years ; but I am sending you some papers that will
prove that I have not been idle. If I have gone away from the literary studies,
I have not forgotten philosophy, nor have I ceased to believe that the literary
studies have their fruitful uses in the practice of life.

Nearly all the old men are dead. Bain, Black, Geddes, Pirie (father and
son). Fuller, Fyfe, and some even of their successors — Minto, Adamson.
Niven is the only Professor still living that was living in our day. Leask — I
remember well the day that you introduced that picturesque figure to our
class and told us how he suggested the Greek for a phrase that puzzled all of
us. Many times I have seen him and talked with him in these thirty years ;
he has the old touch, and can bring out the pathetic chords of the past ;
but it is two years since I have even seen him. He is still in Aberdeen, and,
however long he remains there, he will never cease to be interesting.

Then I gave him a few passing notes of some class-fellows — some
living, some dead, but all keeping their place in our Valhalla of unfading
youth. One was a mathematician, who could produce Greek lines
with the best. One was both mathematician and classic, who reached
a very high place in the Indian Civil Service and came home in 1910

230 Aberdeen University Review

to die at forty-six. Another is a prosperous barrister in England,
whom I have seen only once in the thirty-seven years since we parted :
a charming and chivalrous friend. Another, also a mathematician and
classic, is a Chief Inspector of Schools; yet another is a publisher;
another, a distinguished teacher of modern languages. But the best
classic in our class and one of the best that passed through King's in
twenty years had been drowned in the Rhine in his first year at Oxford.
At the very moment when he died, I was reading a long letter from
him. When he went, Magdalen lost a fine scholar and I, another
friend. Before he left Aberdeen for Oxford, he gave me the first
edition of Matthew Arnold's "Essays in Criticism," the copy he had
received, with inscription, from his tutor at Magdalen. He also left me
a beautiful vellum-bound " Horace," and when, as I sometimes do, I look
within the leaves, I hear William Cameron's gentle voice murmuring
Latin or Greek or Gaelic as the whimsical fancy took him. In his
letters from Oxford he poured out all the three languages indifferently.
One night in our lodgings up Rosemount way, he said very simply :
" Well, if the first nine hundred lines of the Agamemnon are lost, I
can replace them. " The night before his Greek Composition scholarship
paper at Oxford, he ran through the whole " Republic " and next
morning he could write Greek better than English. He had a wonder-
ful memory and an exceptional language gift ; but he had not the proud
poise that distinguished Murdoch or the outlook in action that guided
him over the Eastern world.

Then I gave, in unromantic outline, my own little history so far as
it would interest Murdoch. And now I must quote a few sentences
that will explain Murdoch's reply : —

The King's Government has to be carried on, and I find every comer of
Scotland has something exceptionally interesting in Poor Law or in Public
Health, or in Education, or in some other illimitable field of ideas. For I
have never forgotten to look beyond the surface to the idea. Perhaps that is
the primary reason why I am finding every department of life and administra-
tion full of new interests, bursting into flower with never-ending beauty.

But I must not become dithyrambic. If I do, yours is the blame. It was
always a regret, the unending regret ot the Celt, that I never saw as much of
you as I wanted and had no chance to absorb more from your stores of im-
pression. It is, therefore, the pent up and broken desires of thirty years that
are now speaking to him that was " sometime Assistant Professor of Greek in
Aberdeen University " [as he described himself on the title-page]. If I have
lost all, absolutely all, the Sanskrit and very nearly all the Greek words I then
knew or, in the years following, learned, I have never lost anything of the
classic spirit you did so much to create in us. Life would be worth little to-

My Friend James Murdoch 231

day but for the little I learned in the four years at King's. It keeps all the
rest fresh and living.

This is a long letter — mostly personal. Let me have something from you.
By that time, I shall have read your book and shall be looking for more.

Here is a problem for you : — Have you ever found in the East, or any-
where else, a whole civilization that lived to have a history and that man could
live by, that yet did not contain any belief in a monotheistic metaphysics, or in
ancestor worship, or in any other of the innumerable projections of the human
mind ? Have you found a civilization that took as its basis the fact without
after-thought — the unromanticized and unexplained reality of life, looking to
the darkness behind and to the darkness in front, without any mythical tradi-
tion for the past or any mythical creation for the future ?

I look in vain for any such society ; but I seem to find individuals here
and there capable of the necessarily suspended judgment without becoming
incapable of passionate action. You can see I prefer the Stoics before every-
thing.

But I must end this long story and thank you once more for a gift as rich
in memories as it is gracious in fact.

(2) {From James Murdoch.)

II45 YOSKENO MURA,

Kagoshima, Japan, 5 August, 1911.

[He had been struck with some initials in some magazine "and wished
badly to find who was ".]

Am I wrong (he continued) in my conviction that he was in my

Provec. Greek Class of 1880-81 ?

At all events, I at once took the liberty of ordering a copy of one of my
own bits o' Buikies to be forwarded to you, on that supposition.

I am publishing this "History of Japan" at my own expense, really,! and
for a man in the condition of the proverbial church mouse, that is " a gey
teuch job."

I am especially anxious that libraries should get to know the existence of
the " Buikies." If you could do anything to bring them still more before the
public, I should be deeply grateful to you. The London agent is Kegan Paul,
Trench & Co.

If you have leisure to write, a scrape of the pen would be greatly appreciated
by your old friend,

Jas. Murdoch.

(3) (To James Murdoch^

Edinburgh, 24 August, igii.

My Dear Murdoch,

The enclosed letter, as you will see, was written a fortnight ago.
I need not alter a word of it. The only part of it that is not true is about my
promise to read the book before I received a letter from you. The letter has
come before I have had any time to do more than look through your crowded
pages.

Do I need to repeat my delight at hearing from you again? I shall
certainly do what I can to let your work be known. [I did ; but without any
success so fer as I know, for I was out of touch with all that world.]

232 Aberdeen University Review

1 feel perfectly ashamed to think that splendid work like this should have
to be done under such an enormous handicap. But I trust you will get full
recognition before it is too late to bring you any satisfaction.

The delay in sending this letter has been due partly to the hot weather
here — which makes everybody lazy — and partly to the delay in getting some
leather-bound copies of the small book I am sending you.

It is a marvel to think that your letter, written on the 5 th of August,
came here on the morning of the 24th. The world is shrinking rapidly. It
even tempts one to think that you might turn up here any day, or I, there.

Anyhow, now that we have got into touch again, we must not get out
of it.

(4) {From James Murdoch^

H45 YOSKRNO MURA,

Kagoshima, 20 September, 1911.

My Dear Mackenzie,

Man ! But your letter has been a surprise and delight to me —
a delight passing words to express ! The matter of it is of surpassing interest
to me — all the details you have given I have gone over and over again ; and
I fancy I've about got the whole of your nine or ten pages by heart.

But it's the manner of it that I love to think over. Teaching in the Old
Square Tower was really worth doing after all, if it contributed even ever so
little to forming the disposition of mind which is at the bottom of the letter
you sent me. It's a whiff of a moral and intellectual atmosphere that is sadly
to seek generally in the work-a-day world of material interests to whose colour
even the most enthusiastic of youthful idealists often gets subdued. (I'm
afraid the figures are a bit mixed ; but you'll understand the general drift of
my meaning, I'm sure.)

Your problem I've been keenly attending to for years ; and my experiences
as regards it exactly square with your own. From the " Buikie " I sent you, you
will discover, I think, that my views of life generally are mostly also in accord
with you own. A man's true distinction comes not from what he gets out of
society, but from what he willingly gives to society : above all his services towards
increasing the possibilities of the expansion and elevation of the individual
mind are to be reckoned in any final estimate of him. What was his moral
(and of course intellectual) ideal ; how far did he come up to or fall short of it,
and for what reasons ? What did he take for granted ? What were his axioms
and postulates ? What his outlook on life, and what his scheme of the universe,
if he ever got so far as to have one ? But all that, I fancy, you'll precious
soon sniff out for yourself, once you tackle my amorphous and style-less
writings.

Now, a few words about " mysel'," since I saw you last.

1881-1888 in Australia. Pupils all right, but "grown-ups" too material-
istic to please me. I at last felt I needed a change and a rest, for the
work was overpoweringly hard, and it left little time for study. 1888- 1893
teaching History in a Japanese college. Lots of outside work then pressed
upon me but I turned it all away to get time for study. Then in 1893 a
visit to Paraguay to organize schools for New Australia there. That
venture soon came to an end — human nature not being sufficiently near
perfection. 1894 in the British Museum for five months ; then back to
teach English in Japan. Off and on at that job till 1908, when the Japanese

My Friend James Murdoch 233

Government found it had no further need for me, and paid me off with
four months' screw.

Three things have handicapped me physically somewhat seriously. Scarlet
fever in Aberdeen in 1879 > malaria In Java in 1888, a touch o' the sun
in Paraguay in 1893. Sometimes for years at a stretch I could produce
nothing, tho' strange to say I could always read, "research" and absorb.
But withal generally as cheery as the proverbial grig ; for an Aberdeen
Scot can always hope to worry through somehow. I here have a small
citron plantation under way, and it will begin to bring in something next
year, / Aope. All my funds I've spent on the History ; but I make living
expenses by scribbling for a local paper about five days every month. I've
plenty of time for scientific and historical work, and that is fAe great con-
sideration of course. As I mentioned, the great difficulty is to get my
*' wee bit buikies " brought to the notice of the reading public at home.

[At this point he suggested some ways of getting the Western public
interested in his work. Nothing much, I fear, could have come of his
suggestions ; but it is a great satisfaction to read in the Review that his
fine mastery of Eastern tongues came to the knowledge of the right people
and that he ultimately found scope for his apostolic scholarship.]

Man alive ! If you cou/d pop up here, it would make the " foreign hermit "
of Klagoshima a score of years younger ! I live in a sort of stable — a clean one
— ^but I could " fix " you up all right. A Stoic is the right man for this latitude !
Pure air, and the scenery ! As good as the Bay of Naples. Man alive ! if you
only did come !

A warm hand-grip,

Ever yours,

Jas. Murdoch.

P.S. — Carcass rotten and eyes permanently on strike.

As I read over these letters again, I understand still less why I
failed to answer his second. But the feeling is partly due to an illusion
of memory, for it is easy to forget how much more there was to do in
the imperative seven years that started for me in 191 1. But I am pro-
foundly glad to have had this one flash of recognition from my old friend
and to have been able to flash back to him one word of greeting. I shall
never walk or talk with him again and no one can fill his place in my
memory ; but it is a joy to have known him and to know also that,
through the forty years, he lived on the plane of high imaginative
achievement and, at the end, he was still leading new minds into new
worlds of action and of thought.

W. LESLIE MACKENZIE.

New Universities Bill.

I HE Government, acting on the instigation of the University

Courts of the four Scottish Universities, has introduced

into Parliament a small bill of three clauses extending

the powers of the University Courts to make ordinances,

and, in particular, enabling them to make ordinances for

the following purposes : (i) To impose an age limit on

the tenure of office of any Principal or Professor ; (2) To

institute new pension systems for Principals or Professors,

in addition to or instead of any existing system ; (3) To provide for the

admission of Lecturers or Readers to the Senatus Academicus. The subject

of a Universities Bill has been under the consideration and discussion of the

Courts and General Councils for some time past, but agreement on details had

not been reached, the General Councils as a rule (that of Aberdeen University

notably) favouring wider and more advanced reforms than the Courts were

disposed to sanction. Mr. Munro, the Secretary for Scotland, notified some

time ago that he was unwilling to introduce a bill which would involve much

discussion in Parliament, but indicated his readiness to push forward a measure

which might be regarded as an " agreed " measure. Hence the bill now before

Parliament, which is purely an enabling measure, conferring powers of reform

which all agree are necessary. How far these powers shall be exercised

by each or all of the Universities will be determined by Ordinance.

The essential clauses of the bill are in the following terms : —

1. — The powers conferred upon the University Courts of the Scottish

Universities by section twenty-one of the Universities (Scotland)

Act, 1889 (which confers power on these courts to make, alter, or

revoke ordinances) shall include power, subject to the provisions of

that section, to make and to alter or revoke such ordinances as they

think fit —

(i) Ordaining that, notwithstanding the terms of any statute,
charter, deed, or instrument, and notwithstanding any custom, the
tenure of 'office of any Principal or Professor shall be subject to
limitations in respect of age prescribed by the Ordinance : Provided
that in the case of any principalship or professorship, the nomina-
tion or appointment whereto is reserved to or exercised by the
Crown, the consent of His Majesty to any such limitation of the
tenure thereof shall have been signified by the Secretary for Scot-
land : and provided also that no Ordinance prescribing such limita-
tion shall apply to any Principal or Professor holding office at the
date of the approval of the Ordinance by His Majesty in Council
unless such Principal or Professor shall have consented to such appli-
cation, or is, by the terms of his appointment, subject to such
limitation :

New Universities Bill 235

(2) Instituting or adopting a system or systems of pensions or
superannuation allowances for Principals or Professors in supple-
ment to, or in substitution for, any existing system of pensions
instituted by Ordinance or otherwise : Provided that no Ordinance
instituting or adopting any such system or systems shall apply to any
Principal or Professor holding office at the date of the approval of
the Ordinance by his Majesty in Council unless such Principal or
Professor shall have consented to such application. I

Any system or systems so instituted or adopted may provide that,
in reckoning the period of service of a Principal or Professor, the
period (if any) during which he may have held any other office of
Principal or Professor in the same or in any other University, whether
in Scotland or elsewhere, shall be taken into account ;

(3) Providing for the admission of University Lecturers or Readers
as members of the Senatus Academicus, subject to such conditions
as to qualifications, number, mode of appointment, and tenure as
may be prescribed in the Ordinance.

2. — A Lecturer or Reader appointed by the University Court of a
Scottish University who has held the office of Lecturer or Reader
therein for one year shall thenceforward, during his tenure of that
office, be a member of the General Council of that University,
and entitled to all the rights and privileges of a member of Council
although his name is not entered in the register of the Council ;
Provided that nothing in this section shall entitle any person to
be registered or to vote as a Parliamentary elector.

Lord Stanmore moved the second reading of the bill in the House of Lords
on 18 May. He outlined the provisions of the measure, and, referring to the
clause providing for the admission of Lecturers and Readers to the General
Council during their tenure of office, said it frequently happened that graduates
of other Universities occupied the position of Lecturers. At present they
were not entitled to the rights of members of the Council of the University in
which they were serving. This was recognized to be a defect, and the bill
proposed to remove it. The bill, his lordship added, had been carefully
considered by the governing and consultative bodies concerned, and the
proposals which it contained were put forward with the approval of all the
Universities. The bill threw no burden on the Exchequer.

Viscount Haldane said he had looked into the bill, and it was a very
valuable one. It was a necessary adjunct to the Act of 1 889.

The bill was read a second time. It is now before the House of Commons.

The Raban Tercentenary.

IjHE month of June, 1622, witnessed the arrival in Aberdeen
of Edward Raban, the first person to set up a printing
press in the city and so to inaugurate an industry which
has flourished ever since. Thanks are due the Aberdeen
Master Printers' Guild for its recent commemoration of
the 300th anniversary of the double event, and specially
for perpetuating Raban's name and fame by placing a
bronze tablet to his memory in the Drum's Aisle of

St. Nicholas Church. The inscription on the tablet is so succinct and withal

so comprehensive as to warrant reproduction : —

To perpetuate the memory of
EDWARD RABAN

MASTER PRINTER
THE FIRST IN ABERDEEN

Printer to the City and both
Universities of Aberdeen
from 1622, when he set up his Press
in the Castlegate at the Sign of the
Town's Arms, until 9 January 1650,
who died in December 1658, and
was buried near the West Wall of
the Churchyard of St Nicholas.

THIS TABLET WAS PLACED HERE
BY THE GUILD OF MASTER PRINTERS

in Aberdeen • A • D • MCMXXII •

Raban, though born in England, was the son of German parents ; and
Mr. James F. Kellas Johnstone conjectures that the English Rabans were
possibly connected with a German family of printers at Frankfort, who in-
variably spell the name Raben. The future " Caxton of Aberdeen," as Joseph
Robertson terms him in his "Book of Bon-Accord," had a roving career
before settling down in "the Northern city cold." He served as a volunteer
in the Dutch wars from 1600 till about 161 o, subsequently travelled through
Germany, and apparently acquired his knowledge of printing at Leyden. He
set up in business in Edinburgh, and in 1620 removed to St. Andrews, where
he was appointed printer to the town and the University. Two years later
he came to Aberdeen — apparently on the joint invitation or suggestion of the
town and the Universities. There is a good deal of uncertainty on the point,
however. The person who most actively interested himself in the matter on

The Raban Tercentenary 237

the part of the town seems to have been Sir Paul Menzies, who subsequently
became Provost. The active agent on behalf of the Universities was un-
doubtedly Bishop Patrick Forbes of Corse, Chancellor of King's College and
University. Principal Sir George Adam Smith — whom the Master Printers*
Guild very considerately and appropriately selected to unveil the memorial
tablet — claimed the chief credit for Bishop Forbes, whom he described as
" the great Bishop of his day and the second greatest Chancellor the Uni-
versity and King's College ever had." To Patrick Forbes, he said, had been
very safely ascribed a great — if not the greatest — part in the introduction to
Aberdeen of the first printer ; and he quoted from one of the Bishop's con-
temporaries : —

"Our Bishop, when he perceived the printing press to be a nursery of
the library, fetched hither as if from heaven the art of printing, an art divine
and worthy the brain of Jupiter (which never before had greeted the forests
of Caledonia and the Grampian Mountains) ; and by this privilege our
Academy is exalted above all others in the country. For not only are books
issued here useful to all scholars, but also those which, while they have talent,
are a distinction to our schools and their rectors, and that in a splendour of
type which can bear the light of the most illustrious regions."

Of Raban's merits as a printer and of the works issued from his press — of
their importance and value in connection with the bibliography of Aberdeen
— there is no occasion here to speak ; these are matters of settled literary
history. It is of interest to note, however, the important additions to the
Raban bibliography which Mr. Kellas Johnstone announced in the paper on
" Edward Raban, Laird of Letters, the first in Aberdeen " (as Raban quaintly
described himself) which he read at the commemorative dinner on the evening
preceding the unveiling of the memorial. They include a satirical poem of
500 lines, "The Packman's Pater Noster," a controversial dialogue between
a packman and a Roman priest ; a Broadside Proclamation of 13 June, 1646,
which illustrates the distracted and unhappy condition of the country as
described by John Spalding ; and a hitherto unknown broadside printed by
Raban at St. Andrews. It is more to our purpose to quote further from the
speech of Principal Sir George Adam Smith. After referring to the dimness
of the figures visible on the scene of Raban's arrival in Aberdeen, the Principal
continued : —

" But if the individual figures on that stage were dim, how clearly had this
commemoration revealed the spirit which moved them and their energies!
There was evident to us, for instance, that to which he alluded the previous
night — the happy co-operation between the City and the University which had
almost constantly prevailed over the four centuries of their common history
— ^that happy co-operation in promoting the intellectual and spiritual in-
terests of the community. Another characteristic of Aberdeen had been re-
called by that tercentenary of the coming of the Englishman Raban. The
previous day Sir Arthur Keith spoke of Aberdeen's export of brains — educated
and trained brains — to all parts of the world. But equally characteristic of
the City and the University had been their enterprise in the import of brains
— the welcome and the hospitality they had given with admirable discrimina-
tion and foresight to profitable artists and craftsmen, scholars and preachers,
from the south. Elphinstone himself was an example ; Boece, the first Prin-
cipal of King's, and his brother were two more ; Raban another ; and so on,
now and then, till recent times when, to name only the dead, there had been

238 Aberdeen University Review

Lawrence Brown, Sir John Struthers, William Milligan, and John Dove
Wilson.

" Mr. Kellas Johnstone had kindly shown him the broadsheet printed by
Raban in Aberdeen on 13 June, 1646, which he read — an ancient proclamation
in connection with the war. It was not a foreign war, but a civil war, remind-
ing them that their country of Scotland was torn by passions — ^political and
religious — as grievous as those which now distracted the sister country, Ireland,
from which they all prayed that the latter country might have issue as prosper-
ous and as peaceful as their own had been.

, " But while the education, which such commemorations as that gave to
them all, was historical, their chief value lay in their power of ennobling and
inspiring the routine of their common life, along whatever branch of it they
had been called to labour. Every one of them had a more or less common-
place routine of work to follow, which sometimes they called drudgery.
There was not one of these many callings but had a noble heritage of
memories behind it. The saints and heroes were at the start of them all, and
it was one of the great inspirations of commemorations such as that, that
they carried them back to the power of the individual, to the power of the
single genius or intellect or character, to whose foresight and energy their
beginnings were due."

The University Library, it may be noted, contains sixty-five examples of
Raban's work, twelve of these being believed to be unique. The following
greeting was sent by the University Library Committee : —

" The Aberdeen University Librar}- Committee desires to convey to the
promoters of the celebration in honour of the Tercentenary of Edward Raban,
its warm appreciation of the pious intention so admirably carried out.

"The University Library wishes to associate itself with the general ex-
pressions of gratitude to this distinguished printer, without whom University
influence in the early seventeenth century would have been much more restricted
than it was, and University education considerably retarded.

" Raban was brought to Aberdeen in 1622 by the joint action of the Town
and the two Universities which it then contained, and for the most of his
lifetime there he was responsible for all the academic printing. The University
Library has a larger and finer collection of works issued by him than is to be
found elsewhere, and is always endeavouring to add to the number.

" The Library Committee believes that in honouring the memory of such
a predecessor, the Master Printers of Aberdeen are worthily maintaining their
high traditions, and it offers sincere congratulations on their success."

The Memorial Tablet is the work of Dr. William Kelly, A.R.S.A.

Reviews.

Recent Theistic Discussion, the Twentieth Series of Croall Lectures. By
William L. Davidson, M.A., LL.D., Professor of Logic and Metaphysics
in the University of Aberdeen. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1921. Pp.
xi + 240.

For its size this volume is marvellously full,; and though it deals so largely in
exposition of the views of others it is rich in original criticism and statement
of truth ; while the simplicity and clearness of style, for which Professor
Davidson is noted, renders his treatment even of the more abstract or obscure
departments of his subject a pleasure to read.

If these lectures did no other service, the student of theology or philosophy
— and indeed any man of intelligence — would be warmly grateful to them for
their comprehensive and discriminating review of the Gifford Lectures from
the beginning to the year 1919. It was a happy thought to plan such a review,
for the Gifford Lectures are already a formidable pile and their contents cover
many fields of metaphysics, ethics, history and science. Here we have a
clear summary of the essential arguments of all, with relevant and acute
criticisms of many of them. In Lectures II- V on "Biology an Aid to
Theism," "Reflective Common-Sense," "God as Revealed in Man and in
Nature, and the Philosophical Function of Faith," and "The Principle of
Value and the Idea of God," the views of Dr. Driesch, Arthur James Balfour,
and Professors Campbell Fraser and Pringle-Pattison respectively are analysed
and criticized ; while in Lecture VII on " Natural Theology and Schools of
Thought," which was not delivered, the whole four-fold series of the Gifford
Lectures is concisely but adequately summarized in a most useful and
instructive manner — the groups being those on the Origin of the Idea of God
and Growth of Religious Beliefs (Anthropology, Mythology, etc.). Philosophical
Development of Religion, Philosophy and Ultimate Reality, Philosophy and
Theism, with various sub-divisions.

Still more valuable than such clear exposition are Professor Davidson's
criticisms. These are always sober, fair, and in the case of views from which
he differs generous, while frank, straight, and strong in stating their defects ; as
for instance in his treatment of writers so different as Edward Caird and
other Hegelians, Pringle-Pattison (though only in some respects), Bosanquet,
Bradley, the radical empiricists. Wells and other sophists of a finite God, with
their refuge in supplementing Him by a super-god. The fairness, the com-
mon-sense, the logic, and the justice done to experience, which characterize
these reviews, are worthy of the best traditions of Scottish Philosophy. Happy
characterizations occur, for example Max Muller's " adroit manipulation " of
his materials; the "debased usage" of the term Theosophy; Dr. Caird's
philosophy is " too clean-cut as William James would put it to be adequate
to the richness and fulness of content of the Christian faith " ; God is " the

240 Aberdeen University Review

Unifier rather than the unity of existence " ; the conclusion in Lecture I —
after a description of elements common to all religions, an informing dis-
crimination between the higher and lower forms of worship, and an estimate
of the factors, chiefly ethical, which account for the difference — that

this is the inner nature of the religious experience, a sense of being at one with the
Highest and consequent joy and bliss even in the midst of " a divine discount." Such
experience, in its higher forms, is sensitive to everything that disturbs the harmony.
Hence the meaning to the religious man of conscience — of conviction of sin and sorrow for
it, of self-humiliation and of the cry for conversion. But, in these higher forms, it is not the
idea of placating God that is operative, but that of union and intimate communion with
Him.

Or take this observation in Lecture VI, "Theistic Advance and A
Retrogression," in reference to certain theories of the Absolute :

We can hardly avoid thinking of the Absolute as a sort of huge steam-engine,
which, for its efficiency, needs constant re-stoking. This obviously cannot express the
real nature of the ultimate creative source of life and being or do justice to the creative
and self-determining power that we feel is characteristic of the finite centre of active
consciousness . . . that we designate the Self.

Or take the sound suggestion as to the proper use respectively of the
terms God and the Absolute, or the equally sound remarks on " the keenness
at the present moment of the appreciation of God as Redeemer of the World "
(both on p. 153), and on the idea of the Incarnation by which " only is due
regard paid to man's living experience of the world of Nature and to his
knowledge of his own needs and heart" (p. 155) ; or the fine utterance (pp.
161-2).

Although evil must ever remain a problem to us, the conception of the world as
a process and not a completed thing . . . and recognition of the fact that goodness
has to be won by man and cannot be thrust upon him even from on high — these con-
siderations turn the edge of the difficulty, and change despair into hopefulness. The
spirit of the conqueror, invigorating and cheering — the spirit of the free man working
towards victory — ^lays hold of us, as one stubborn, strenuous resistance of evil tends
to make evil disappear, and to further the advent of better things.

Such extracts from Lectures I and VI, and others which we could
have made both from these and the other Lectures had space permitted —
on such subjects as The Trinity, Atonement, and various religious experiences
and aspirations — will show that we have in this volume, in addition to the
historical and critical values which we have already indicated, the fruits
of a long and a deep personal experience of the spiritual values included
within its scope. After careful and, for ourselves, very profitable readings
of it, we cannot give it higher praise than to wish its coming into the
hands not only of all students, whether of theology, philosophy or science,
but of every intelligent person with an interest in the spiritual issues of life ;
and this as we have tried to show both because of its instructional and
historical value, its example of a criticism at once frank and fair and its
power to inspire because it is the work of a thinker, both devout and logical,
speaking out of his own experience of life and worship. It raises the
pious wish that we of this community oftener heard Professor Davidson on
these high themes, addressing us upon the faith, rational and practical,
which we owe to God and upon our duties to our fellow-men.

Reviews 241

A Comprehensive Treatise on Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry.
By J. W. Mellor, D.Sc. Vol. I. Pp. xvi + 1065. Vol. II. Pp.
viii + 894. London : Longmans, Green & Co., 1922. ^^ 3s. net ieach
volume.

Of the various more or less comprehensive and exhaustive treatises on Inorganic
Chemistry which had been published in various countries before the war, two,
both in German, had been given positions of outstanding importance. The
fact that the most esteemed reference books were published in the German
language, although a number of the contributors to these composite works
were of a different nationality, tended to an over-exaggeration of the import-
ance of German chemistry. It was therefore felt by a number of British
chemists that an effort should be made to furnish the chemists of English-
speaking countries with comprehensive chemical compendia in the English
language ; and, a few years ago, committees were formed to that end. Among
the works intended to be undertaken, a comprehensive treatise on Inorganic
Chemistry was included. The difficulty, however, of reconciling divergent
views and of obtaining the financial guarantees which were considered to be
necessary, rendered the scheme abortive; but what a Committee and a
federation of chemical societies failed to do, a single person has succeeded in
doing, and through the splendid enterprise of Messrs. Longmans and the
ability and energy of Dr. Mellor, chemists are now being put in possession of
a treatise on Inorganic Chemistry, in the English language, which will
undoubtedly take a leading place among similar works of reference.

In this treatise, Inorganic Chemistry is treated from the standpoint of
Physical Chemistry. The first volume of the work is mainly introductory, and
the general principles of physical chemistry — theory of solutions, phase rule,
thermochemistry and thermodynamics, kinetic theory, etc. — are discussed. A
discussion of atomic structure is promised for the third volume as a sequel to
the radio-active elements. Hydrogen and oxygen are also discussed in the first
volume, while the second volume is occupied with the halogens and the alkali
metals. The other elements are to be treated in subsequent volumes and will
appear mainly in the order of the periodic law. The author, however, emphasizes
his view that the appearance of order imparted by the periodic law is superficial
and illusory, and that it has the tendency to make teachers over-emphasize
unimportant and remote analogies and to under-estimate important and crucial
differences. With the author's view regarding the value of the periodic law as a
guide in the order of treatment of the subject-matter of inorganic chemistry,
the reviewer is largely in agreement, provided one is dealing with a text-book
where the logical and clear development of the subject, the passing from the
known to the unknown, is of primary importance. In the case of a work of
reference, however, such as the work under review, the important matter is to
adopt such order of treatment or method of arrangement as will render the
searching out of the facts most easy. For this reason the arrangement adopted
by the author does not seem to possess any special advantages over that based
on the periodic law.

With regard to the handling of the material by the author nothing but
praise can be given. With a comprehensiveness and completeness which one
would almost have thought beyond the power of a single individual to achieve,
the facts of inorganic chemistry are displayed and original authorities quoted ;
and the very exhaustive bibliographies which come at the end of each section

16

242 Aberdeen University Review

constitute one of the most valuable features of the work. The historical and
general sections dealing with the occurrence or production of elements and
compounds, e.g. the history of the alkali metals and the account of the sources
and production of potash, the occurrence and production of soda, etc., are
well written and supported by ample references to the special literature. So far
as the reviewer has been able to apply a test, inaccuracies and misprints are,
for a work of this size, remarkably few in number ; a fact which testifies to the
care both of the author and of the proof readers.

Although only the first two volumes have appeared, one can already judge
of the high value and usefulness of this most important reference work on
inorganic chemistry, and if the further four or five volumes which are promised
to complete the work maintain the high standard of the opening volumes, this
treatise will take a foremost place among chemical compendia.

Alex. Findlay.

The Biology of the Sea-Shore. By F. W. Flattely and C. L. Walton, M.Sc,
with an Introduction by Professor J. Arthur Thomson, M.A., LL.D.
London: Sidgwick & Jackson, Ltd., 1922. Pp. xvi + 336. i6s. net.

In the no-man's land which skirts the territories of the earth, " Where earth
lies exhausted, as powerless to strive with the sea," there has been waged from
time immemorial a struggle as strenuous and almost as ancient as the contest
of the elements themselves. But the struggle must be regarded less as a
pitched battle between animate and inanimate than as a determination of life
to assert itself, and to find, even in the most adverse conditions, means of
development and progress. Here, where the rude shock of breakers is com-
pensated by the greater quantity of life-supporting oxygen which they engulf,
the first spark of life is generally thought to have been kindled, and the un-
quenchable spark has spread until the shore, with all its difficulties and
dangers, has become perhaps the most densely inhabited of all the areas of
the earth.

It is little wonder, then, as Professor J. Arthur Thomson remarks in his
short introduction, that the animals of the sea-shore have had many historians ;
for there is a fascination in the study of these creatures, so easily accessible to
study, which have come through many tribulations and bear the imprints of
their struggles in the structures of their bodies and in the manifold adapta-
tions of habits by which they have conquered. But where once zoologists
were content with description and identification, they now recall that, after all,
their science is a science of living things, and demand that, since structure is
for use, they shall be given a new array of facts which will bring into closer
significance the relationship between animal form and animal function.

This the authors of the present work have set out to do, and their aim
distinguishes the book from earlier histories of the shore, in which the identi-
fication of species has generally had a predominant place. And they have
succeeded well in their aim, for no other book gives so detailed and consistent
a view of the peculiar conditions of shore-life, and of the many adaptations of
structure and habit which have been evolved to meet these conditions, and
have succeeded in overcoming them.

Two methods of investigation are available for such a study as that which
the authors had in mind : the first, a detailed and close analysis of the natural

Reviews 243

agencies at work and of the accommodations in animal life by which these
have been met ; the second, which has not yet been attempted, a minute
survey, carried on throughout a year, of the interrelations of the population
of a strictly conscribed area of the shore, say a shore pool. The first method,
which the authors have adopted, offers a substantial groundwork for the
second ; it is essentially a method of analysis, while the second is synthetic,
and would afford a basis for a true ecology of the shore.

In pursuing their method of analysis Messrs. Flattely and Walton discuss
in fine detail, as a necessary preliminary to an understanding of the animal
problem, the broad characteristics of animal associations, the physical influences
at work on the shore, and the general associations into which shore animals
and plants naturally fall. In a valuable chapter in which they deal with the
special problems of shore life they more closely approach the immediate
problem, and give a vivid account of the dangers and the difficulties which
shore-creatures have been compelled to circumvent in order to survive. The
remaining and greater part of the book takes up in turn the structures and
habits which the inhabitants of the shore have evolved or adopted in the
struggle for existence, first against their co-dwellers which seek the same food
or the same foothold, and second against the inanimate forces of nature.
There are highly specialized methods of attack and defence, the extraordinary
device of casting off a limb that the life may be saved, and the more marvel-
lous regrowing of a new member to replace the lost one ; and there is the
widespread system of co-operation between organisms of very different kinds
and habits. Such are discussed in detail with a wealth of illustrative examples,
and with copious references, especially to recent literature. These chapters
are succeeded by a series in which the physiological adaptations of shore-
creatures are analysed; and here, in particular, in treating of movement,
feeding, respiration, nervous organization, reproduction and growth, the
authors have seized the opportunity of bringing into close relation the
essential connection between life-ftinction and environment. Nothing could
be more marvellous than some of the adaptations here described. Take the
case of the tiny ciliated Planarian worm, Convoluta roscoffensis, a creature of
simple organization. In response to light, it rises to the surface of the sand,
as the tide retires, in such numbers as to form large green patches ; but when
the first waves of the flood tide lap the seaward edge of a patch, the worms
retire again for safety beneath the surface. Now it so happens that in summer
time at Roscoff low spring tides fall at midday and midnight, and during the
nocturnal low tide, Convoluta, in the absence of light, is no longer compelled
to come to the surface. But " it is precisely at this period, when the worms are
able to remain below the sand for the longest possible time, viz. eighteen hours
at a stretch, that egg-laying, as observed at Roscoff, reaches its maximum ! "
If any adaptation of habit could be more wonderful than this, it is the extra-
ordinary timing of the tides which has evolved in the egg-laying habits of that
small Californian fish the " Grunion " ; but we must leave readers to follow
that marvellous tale for themselves (p. 250).

Sometimes, it seems to us, the authors are inclined to put the cart before
the horse; they state that sea- water is an ideal chemical medium for life (p. 21),
but is it not that life has made the most of sea-water ? Sometimes pressure of
space has caused the omission of little illustrations which we would have
welcomed : the account of the migration of shore animals (p. 173) might well
have included a reference to those strange, lengthy journeyings of crabs — say,

244 Aberdeen University Review

from Northumberland to the Firth of Forth and Kincardineshire — which seem
to involve more than the simpler off-shore and in-shore annual movements ;
or the " greatest amount of specialization " in the water-conducting antennae of
Corystes might have been paralleled with the exactly similar adaptation in the
antennules of the Indian mole-crab, Albunea, a case all the more interesting
because it illustrates to perfection the exactitude of similarity in adaptation
called forth by identical demands of environment.

The book concludes with a short account of the economic aspects of shore
life, a subject of special interest in a country with so extensive a seaboard as
Scotland has. It is worth remembering in this connection that during the
severe famines which visited Scotland in the eighteenth century, considerable
numbers of the poverty-stricken populace of the northern counties were able
to survive only by returning to the shell-fish diet of their prehistoric ancestors.

The authors, who make generous acknowledgment of help received from
the Natural History Department of the University of Aberdeen, are to be
congratulated upon their knowledge of the sea-shore and their acquaintance
with vast stores of information which have contributed to a volume invaluable
to every serious student of shore-life and of the adaptations of life in general.

James Ritchie.

The Individual and the Environment. By J. E. Adamson, D.Lit.,
Director of Education, Transvaal Province. London : Longmans, Green
& Co. Pp. X -I- 378.

The sub-title of this interesting volume is " Some Aspects of the Theory of
Education as Adjustment." The adjustment is that of the pupil to his world,
in its three orders — nature, society, and the moral world. As an example of
the way in which South Africa is facing its educational problems, the work is
suggestive of great things, in its breadth of view, its sanity, its humanism. It
is not, perhaps, easy to read ; the groundwork is modern psychology and
philosophy ; facts and authorities are marshalled in the search for principles
and applications ; but, as far as one can judge. Dr. Adamson has a sure touch
for the best in psychology, philosophy, and literature alike.

The Introduction discusses the psychological basis of "adjustment "; the
guides here are Dewey, Ward, Stout, and McDougall, all of whom recognize
individuality as the key to life and development, and activity, self-expression,
self-realization, as the only means by which the individual does maintain him-
self and grow. With such a standpoint, it follows that the child in its educa-
tion is not being moulded by the environment (which includes the teacher), so
much as selecting from the environment that which is adapted to its needs,
and, where possible, moulding the environment into adjustment to its needs.
This process is less marked in the first order of world (nature), but becomes
more and more prominent as we pass to the second and third. Towards
nature, the main attitude must be one of exploration ; nature is, on the whole,
given to the individual, something which he must assimilate ; the educational
subjects corresponding to this stage are nature-study, geography and physio-
graphy, and, later, natural science. In discussing the methods. Dr. Adamson
rejects both the ideals of accumulated knowledge, and of mental discipline or
formal training. The aim is a gradual adjustment, till the pupil is at home
in nature, and more and more capable of controlling it for his own and

Reviews 245

for humanity's good. This should be made the starting-point, Dr. Adamson
argues, of the whole educational process ; at the early stages everything else
(as arithmetic, reading) should be made secondary to it, and should be taught
in relation to it. The details of the methods, like the principles themselves,
are everywhere based upon the psychological nature of the child, and are
distinctly " modem " in their trend. The teacher's task is to efface himself as
much as possible, to make the adjustment of the individual as easy, but above
all, as natural and as spontaneous as possible.

Towards the social environment, which is the subject of the Second Book,
the attitude must be one of discovery, rather than mere exploration ; it is im-
material, spiritual ; it is, in a sense, the individual himself, at least it is in the
individual — his social instincts, desires and impulses; by living with his
fellows, he must discover these hidden forces. Dr. Adamson discusses in
turn the various strands of this social web — the political, the national, the
religious, the economic ; the struggle and the sacrifice they involve — sacrifice
of the individual, sacrifice also on the part of the social groups themselves
(Bosanquet, Kidd). Here also the school, in its history, "civics," and
literature lessons, should aid in the adjustment of the pupil to this second
and higher world ; and again it should do so not merely by giving knowledge,
but by exercising, training, in social duties and responsibilities.

So the problem extends, in the third book, to the world of morality,
religion, and art ; it is the ideal world and the individual's attitude must be
one of creation ; it is self-realization at its highest, where every act, every
thought, is a new thing in the world. According to Dr. Adamson the school
has a great part to play in aiding the adjustment of the individual to this third
world also. All through one is impressed by the idealism of the work, and
by its confidence in the high calling of the school in the life of the nation.

One of the most useful parts is the chapter in the second book on
Vocational Adjustment. The question is raised of the different types of
Secondary School that are necessary. According to the writer there are
three. Common to all are certain subjects, which must be carried on from
the primary stages — language and literature; science, including biology;
civics, as part of the history and other lessons. Apart from these common
subjects, the schools should be, (i) the humanist-type, (2) the nature-type,
and (3) the craft and commerce type. The first will lead to the professions —
church, law, teaching, administration ; the second to medicine and the
scientific side of industry ; the third to the more definitely practical work of
the crafts, industries, factories, farms, etc. ; domestic science schools are
included here. The proposed curricula follow familiar lines for the first two ;
for the third, trade schools are suggested, in connection with the various
great industries. A scheme is outlined by which the boy at such schools will
feel himself in direct touch with life — making goods for sale, sharing in the
values received, getting insight into the costs of production, and the dis-
tribution of costs and of profits. But the essential feature should be that the
social bond is strengthened, the boy led to regard his trade as a profession,
bringing benefit to the social group and to humanity as a whole, not merely
gain to himself in the shape of wages. So the monotony, even of unskilled
work, may be reduced or compensated, and the danger to the race of the
unskilled and uninterested worker may be avoided.

It is a thoughtful and stimulating work, raising many questions, and
offering at least workable solutions for most of them.

J. L. McIntvre.

246 Aberdeen University Review

British History in the Nineteenth Century (i 782-1901). By G. M.
Trevelyan, C.B.E. London : Longmans, Green & Co. Pp. xvi + 445.
12s. 6d. net.

This book is designed, in its author's words, "to enable the student or
general reader to obtain, in the compass of one volume, a picture of change and
development during the one hundred and twenty years when things certainly,
and probably men and women with them, were undergoing a more rapid
change of character than in any previous epoch of our annals ... to give
the sense of continuous growth, to show how economic led to social, and
social to political change, how the political events reacted on the economic
and social, and how new thoughts and new ideals accompanied or directed
the whole complicated process."

The freshness of Mr. Trevelyan's view-point, coupled with the attractive-
ness of his style, will ensure his book a permanent place upon the shelves of
those who seek to understand our modern history. Chapters I and II,
sketching England in the eighteenth century, and Chapter IX, outlining the
Industrial Revolution, are masterly surveys. The author has obviously made
a close study of social and economic problems, and has the gift of presenting
his conclusions with lucid terseness, relieved by a delicate sense of humour.
But his matter lacks proportion and consistency in selection. One feels that
the later portion of the period, from the Mutiny onwards, is hustled : it
obtains barely a quarter of the total space. Yet this later period, with its
gigantic discoveries and social changes, is surely, from the author's standpoint,
at least as important as the earlier half. Similarly in regard to selection,
John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham get several pages each, but Darwin is
dismissed in two sentences. The profound influence of the doctrine of
evolution upon the social, religious, and industrial life of the later nineteenth
century is entirely ignored. The huge development of medical research, so
closely interacting with private life and local government, is passed by in
silence. Indeed the whole progress of modern science is scurvily treated
throughout.

Mr. Trevelyan tells us that his book is aimed to treat Britain as " the centre
of a great association of peoples, enormously increasing in extent during the
period under survey." The sections on colonial expansion are thoroughly
well done. But the treatment of foreign affairs is weak. Great events such
as those of 1848, 1854-5, 1870, and 1877-8 are dealt with as incidental
intrusions upon British history. No attempt is made to sketch out a background
of general European development. For example, 1848 marks a critical epoch
in European history, when the Peace of Vienna broke up, and the twin
avalanches of nationalism and democracy were let loose, year by year to gather
added force. Yet 1848 is presented here as an abortive incident, a "turning
point at which modern history failed to turn." No indication is given of the
radical change that comes over European development thereafter — a change
which largely conditioned English history in the latter years of the century.
Nor is sufficient emphasis laid on the increasing tenseness of foreign relations
after 1871. The forces gathering for the cataclysm of the new age were
plainly apparent in 1901, yet no analysis of them is offered. The student
seeking in Mr. Trevelyan's book light on the origin of the World War will lay
it down disappointed.

Reviews 247

There are eight excellent maps, and a well-arranged bibliography, which
is one of the best features in the book.

W. Douglas Simpson.

Metallography. By C. H. Desch. Third Edition. London ; Longmans,
Green & Co. i6s.

The appearance of a third edition of this book is sufficient evidence of its
merit. The earlier chapters dealing with thermal equilibria and pyrometry are
very clear, being well illustrated with diagrams. The description of the
preparation of micro sections is given in sufficient detail for laboratory work.
A more detailed description of the microscopic appearances of alloys would be
welcomed. The physical properties of alloys are very ably discussed, changes
having been made in the new edition in the sections dealing with hardness,
electrical conductivity and magnetic properties. This latter property is of such
importance to metallurgists that one feels that more space could be devoted
to it in the book. Tensile strength is not discussed. A most excellent
chapter deals with the construction of the equilibrium diagram.

The chapter dealing with the metallography of iron and steel his been
greatly improved. A misprint which has crept through all the editions is
found on page 370, troosite for troostite.

The appendix is an excellent feature of the book ; it gives an extensive
bibliography of the literature on the subject up to the end of 192 1, and is
a;rranged so that references to particular systems can readily be found.

The book contains a very good account of theoretical matters connected
with metallography and should be in the hands of all students of physical
chemistry.

W. Thomas.

Some Physico-Chemical Themes. By Alfred W. Stewart, D.Sc. London :
Longmans, Green & Co. Pp. xii + 419.

This book contains an extraordinary number of facts from widely different
fields of chemistry, all described with great clearness. The author is
particularly interesting where his own interest particularly lies, namely in the
chapter in which he discusses the relation between the structure of organic
compounds and some physical properties. The Residual Affinity explained
there leads him in the next three chapters to deal with Double Salts, Oceanic
Salt Deposits, and Complex Salts and Complex Ions. His treatment of
complexes is very superficial and suffers from his "organic" bias. He
complains that the illustrations of physico-chemical principles are too often
taken from Inorganic Chemistry and therefore he concentrates on the Organic
side. The theory he thus arrives at he hopes to extend to Inorganic substances.
Now, Organic Chemistry after all is only a particular case ; we are therefore
not surprised to find that his hopes are not realized. For example, he writes
thus, in comparing Group IV and Group VIII, " In the two Groups the same
kind of fertility is displayed, though in the one case ordinary valency con-
ceptions suffice to describe the phenomena whereas among the complex salts
of Group Vin the normal views appear to be insufficient," and again, after
pointing out the remarkable success of structural chemistry in the organic field,

24 B Aberdeen University Review

he says, " it seems amazing to find the inorganic compounds so refractory when
we attempt to bring them within the bounds of the same system." Inorganic
Chemistry deals with the great majority of the elements, Organic Chemistry
with only a few. Therefore it is far more likely that general principles obtained
from a study of the former field will be applicable to the latter than vice
versa.

The following statement will not pass unchallenged : " Group VIII elements
show a capacity for acting either in the form of positive ions or, when merged
in a complex, of negative ions." The feet that a Group VIII element forms
part of a negative complex ion does not imply that it displays negativeness.
The most consistent system undoubtedly regards the kernel atom of a negative
complex ion as positive, just as a negative atom forms the kernel of ammonium
and its analogues*

Under valency, the importance of polarity is not sufficiently emphasized,
Abegg's work being regarded as "an intellectual exercise rather than a helpful
instrument " ; there is no mention of Kossel's use of the non-valent elements
as standards of atomic stability in the activation of valency ; Langmuir's
theory of co-valency is so useful in Organic Chemistry that we are surprised
to find no reference to it here.

There are excellent chapters on "The Development of the Periodic Law,"
"The Atoms and the Periodic System" and "Some Views of Atomic
Structure," where with the assistance of numerous useful diagrams and tables
the author gives a clear account of many problems involved in an attempt to
classify the elements. Professor Stewart has acted wisely in allotting nearly
one-fourth of the book to these subjects.

Other interesting chapters are entitled: "The Pseudo- Acids " followed
by " The Theory of Indicators " ; " Non- Aqueous Ionizing Media," " Colloids "
and allied subjects ; " Avogadro's Constant and some Molecular Dimensions "
and "Catalysis."

As in his previous works, this author takes independent views on theory,
and writes in a fresh style of his own that has proved attractive to a large
body of readers.

Francis W. Gray.

Some Account of the Oxford University Press, 1468-192 i. Oxford:
at the Clarendon Press, 1922. 8vo. Pp.112. Illustrated.

" What's in a name ? " cries love-sick Juliet, " that which we call a rose, by
any other name would smell as sweet ; " and " What's in an imprint ? " asks
the uninitiated, " who cares where or by whom the book is published ? " But
each of them learns eventually that name or imprint denotes origin and has a
vital connection with the wearer which can never be shaken off. Had Romeo
not sprung from the house of Montague, he would not have possessed that
particular combination of graces which played such havoc with Juliet's heart ;
and if the Oxford Dictionary had not been printed at the Clarendon Press, it
could never have attained that symmetry and beauty which wooed the
hesitating guineas from our pocket.

There is much in an imprint ; for with a little observation we may discover
what the different printing firms stand for, what are their characteristics, and
which of them are to be trusted as artistic workers and reliable guides. Tak-

Reviews 249

ing the Oxford University Press as an instance, it can safely be assumed that
works on the Classics issued from thence will be scholarly, those on Engineer-
ing will be by experts, those on Art by recognized critics ; and that each will
be either exquisitely or respectably printed according to suitability, and the
price demanded. The book before us is a short account of this famous Press,
glancing over the vicissitudes and growth of more than four and a half
centuries ; and it relates a story interesting as a romance to book-lovers.

Of human beings the saying goes, " Blood will tell ; " and in some of the
old-established industries, though the saying may not be adopted literally, the
same idea is certainly applicable. Centuries of good work must, and does,
produce a habit of mind which is handed on from one generation to another,
creating a feeling of noblesse oblige comparable to that belonging to some fine
untarnished name of our old aristocracy. Anyone reading this remarkable
story of the Oxford Press will be able to see for himself how such a great
tradition is built up and maintained. From the beginning, Britain's great
men were interested in the existence and growing reputation of this wonderful
medium for spreading knowledge. Leicester and Laud and Clarendon in the
early days ; Stubbs, Bywater, York Powell, Farnell and others equally dis-
tinguished, in ours, all have by their generosity and self-denying labours
worked steadily towards the goal of perfection, and a sustained reputation for
the Press has grown up, which it would be difficult to shake. We speak of the
leaders — the brains of the undertaking — but no less necessary for success is
the co-operation in like spirit, of the work-people, and of these we learn that
many come of families which have been connected with the Press for genera-
tions. It is a fine record.

There is an engaging naivete of disposition in most of us which leads us
to cry out " That's my countryman " when we hear of any famous exploit
carried out by a compatriot — a cry which we manage to suppress when the
other compatriot chances to be hanged. In reading the volume before us,
this instinct springs to the front, and it is with almost personal pride we dwell
on the triumph of ingenuity and skill, the devotion and zeal of the workers,
the brilliance and pertinacity of leaders, realizing that these are part of the
very back-bone of the character which we assume our country to possess.
The book is worth buying and reading, if only for the pleasure of preening
ourselves in the reflected glory of really great achievement.

M. S. Best.

Handbook of Commercial Geography. By Geo. G. Chisholm, M.A.,
B.Sc. (Edin.j. New Edition. With Maps and Diagrams. London :
Longmans, Green & Co. Pp. xvi 4- 824. 25s. net.

Mr. Chisholm's well-known and serviceable Handbook was originally pub-
lished in 1889, and no fewer than eight editions have appeared since. As
the author says in his preface to this, the ninth, edition, the work "is old
enough to have undergone a process of evolution." Much new material
has been added from time to time, including a chapter on Trade Routes, for
instance, while it became necessary to indicate the connection between com-
mercial geography and commercial history. Considerable extensions were
also made in the fourth and eighth editions by the insertion of new intro-
ductory matter with a separate paging from the rest of the book. Preparations
for a ninth edition were begun in 19 13, and were nearly completed when the

250 Aberdeen University Review

war broke out. That event obviously rendered it inopportune to publish a
work of the kind " when the geography of almost the entire world was about
to be upset," so publication was postponed till after the conclusion of the
principal peace treaties.

All the time, however, preparations for the new edition were going on, and the work
now appears in a form more completely recast than any previous edition. The resetting of
the entire book and the renumbering of the paragraphs have allowed of interpolations and
rearrangements of matter on a much greater scale than ever before. The introductory
matter of the fourth and eighth editions has been put in its proper place in the text, and sub-
ects that seemed to require further elucidation have been dealt with at greater length. Such
additions are scattered throughout the book, but the principal additions are under Climate
(with new illustrative maps). Commercial and Industrial Towns, Coal, and The British
Isles. It is this last section that has been most considerably extended, but not so much by
the addition of new matter as by the incorporation of matter previously in one or other of
the introductions.

The Handbook has been recognized all along as a most comprehensive
and useful work, and its value has been greatly enhanced by the additions
and alterations introduced in the new edition. For students of geography
and commerce this new edition will be found a most reliable text-book, but
it makes a much wider appeal, not only to traders and business men, but to
all interested in the multifarious topics with which it deals. From its wide
and intelligent survey it is well fitted to be a valuable addition to any library.

Transactions of the Scottish Dialects Committee. Edited by William
Grant, M.A. No. IV., 192 1. Pp. 90. 2s. 6d.

This new part of the work of the Dialects Committee carries on from P to Y
the General Vocabulary of Scots words hitherto unrecorded or the meaning of
which is unrecorded, and it is almost unnecessary to say that it is characterized
by the preciseness and* meticulous detail which marked the preceding parts.
Mr. Grant is to be congratulated not only on his own editorial supervision,
but on the copious supply of additional dialect words which he is receiving
from his large band of zealous contributors.

The augmentation of the dialect that is thus being made is hardly short of
amazing, and most people who study these Transactions, even those possessing
some acquaintance with ordinary Scots dialect, must be surprised at the ap-
pearance of so many novel words and phrases. Aberdeenshire, as usual, forms
a large field for the excavation, so to speak, of these new forms, particularly
the districts of Buchan and the Garioch. We are introduced, for instance, to
" peternickle," which it seems was the designation on Deeside and the Garioch
of a large copper penny, and arose from an itinerant ballad-singer of the name
of Peter Nicol preferring as his payment the large George III. penny, evi-
dently thinking it better value than the smaller kind. " Scouff," meaning to
swallow in large mouthfuls, is Aberdeenshire — familiar as applied to the taking
of medicine, " scouflPt ower an' be deen wi't " ; reminiscent, too, of the injunc-
tion to the boy at the Wells of Macduff in " Johnny Gibb " — " Hoot, min,
dinna spuU the gweed, clean, halesome water ; skowff't oot." "Shakins o' the
pyockie," is a delicious Aberdeenshire phrase, signifying the youngest of a family.
" Side-begotten " is an unfamiliar term, common in Tomintoul, and meaning
illegitimate. " Staiple and ring " is also unfamiliar, but is attributed to
Cromar and Tarland : it means "three sheets in the wind" — "John cam

Reviews 251

hame staiple and ring. A' doot there had been gey sups o' drink ga' in'."
" Oot o' the tyauchle an' in o' the tyuggle," is a Buchan " twister " : it means
" Oot o' the frying pan into the fire." Fyvie contributes " a wappy deem," a
showily-dressed woman ; and " Mains and Hilly " furnish a variant, " Peter
himsel' was sic a wappy chiel," where the meaning is neat or smart. The
highly interesting nature of the " Transactions " can be deduced from these
examples, which could easily be multiplied.

A Book of Scots. Edited by William Robb. Glasgow : The Grant Educa-
tional Co., Ltd. Pp. 264. 5s. net.

The study of the Scots dialect, which has received such a remarkable impetus of
late, will be materially aided by this work, which is an anthology of prose and
verse in the vernacular. It has been prepared, we are told, in a foreword, so
" that the children of Scotland may read at least a little of the tongue their
forefathers spoke." But it is capable of having a much wider range, for many
grown-up people are either ignorant of the dialect, or, if they speak it or hear
it spoken, are far from familiar with its literary expression. A perusal of the
work may therefore be commended to such persons, either as introducing
them to notable specimens of the dialect, or as renewing their acquaintance
with famous poems and prose passages in Scots literature. The book is
divided into two parts, but the differentiation of the parts is not very obvious,
except that the first part consists mainly of what may be regarded as " easy
extracts," suited for younger people. This section opens with twelve poems
intended for quite little children who can read — charming and attractive poems
like "Wee Willie Winkie," "Castles in the Air," and "Wee Joukydaidles."
Then follows a very judicious selection of old ballads (" Sir Patrick Spens,"
" Edom o' Gordon," and the like), half a dozen of Burns's poems, and Charles
Murray's "It Wisna his Wyte." The section concludes with four delightful
prose extracts — from " Mansie Waugh," Crockett's " Stickit Minister," Barrie's
"Window in Thrums," and Hugh Foulis's "The Vital Spark." The second
part embraces selections from older and more archaic examples of Scots
literature and dialect — extracts from Barbour's " Bruce," Blind Harry's
"Wallace," and the works of James I., Henrysoun, Dunbar, Sir David Lynde-
say, and Gavin Douglas. The change in the dialect form effected in the
eighteenth century is illustrated by selections from Allan Ramsay's " Gentle
Shepherd," and from Robert Ferguson, Burns ("Tam o' Shanter"), Hogg
(" Kilmeny "), Motherwell, etc. ; while the modern revival of the recourse to
the dialect for literary expression is well represented by characteristic speci-
mens culled from " Hugh Haliburton," Mrs. Violet Jacob, John Buchan, and
Mary Symon (" After Neuve Chapelle "). The prose extracts in this section
comprise specimens of very old dialect such as appears in Bellenden's Transla-
tion of Hector Boece's " History " and John Knox's " History of the Reforma-
tion " ; and these are followed by extracts from Scott, John Gait, William
Alexander, and Robert Louis Stevenson. Altogether, we have in the two
parts a very fair representation of Scottish literature in its dialect form, which,
aided by the glossaries, should contribute substantially to the revival of know-
ledge of and interest in the vernacular.

252 Aberdeen University Review

Banffshire. By W. Barclay, Editor, " The Banffshire Journal " (Cambridge
County Geographies). Cambridge : At the University Press. Pp. viii
+ 139-

Banffshire is a comparatively small county, but it is not lacking in interest
nor even in importance. It has a greater wealth than any other county in
herring fishing plant and stands supreme in the size and value of its herring-
fishing fleet, and along its shores is the largest aggregation of herring and line
fishermen. It abounds in distilleries, and it is conjectured that the county
output of spirits is the largest in Scotland. Its " most potent export," how-
ever, according to this work, " is not its whisky, its black cattle, or its herrings,
but young men and women fitted by education and discipline to play a credit-
able part in the affairs of life." The history of the county, too, touches
national events at a number of interesting points. Banffshire was visited by
the early Celtic missionaries, and was subjected to raids by the pagan Vikings.
A battle at Altochoylachan, in Glenlivet, in 1594, constituted the last struggle
in the north between Protestantism and Roman Catholicism. The county
was not very materially affected by the Jacobite rebellion of 1745-46, although
the Roman Catholic communities in several places suffered great losses — the
destruction of chapels at Shenval and Tombae and of the little college of
Scanlan. All this and much more that is of interest is succinctly narrated by
Mr. Barclay in the little work he has contributed to the series of Cambridge
County Geographies, the general editor of the Scottish section of which is
Mr. William Murison, M.A. Mr. Barclay's volume follows in the main the
lines pursued in the other volumes of the series, particulars being furnished of
the surface features and natural history of the county, its chief towns and
villages, its industries, architecture and antiquities, and so on. The " Roll of
Honour" is a very noticeable section, demonstrating the large contribution
Banffshire has made through all the centuries to the national list of men of
" light and leading ".

The Newton Stone and Other Pictish Inscriptions. By Francis C.
Diack. Paisley : Alexander Gardner. Pp. 64. 2s.

Here we have a reprint of three striking articles which appeared in the
" Aberdeen Free Press " in February last, in which Mr. Diack put forward
entirely new readings of the inscriptions on the Newton Stone that have
puzzled antiquarians and archaeologists ever since the stone was discovered,
a little over a century ago. There are two inscriptions. The principal one,
on the face of the stone, consists of 46 letters in six unequal lints, whilst
an Ogham inscription runs along the edge of the stone. Mr. Diack identifies
the lettering of the six unequal lines as a cursive form of the Roman script
of the first three centuries, a.d., the language being Gaelic of an age long
anterior to the earliest documentary remains, and the whole inscription con-
sisting of the epitaphs of two persons, Ette and Elisios. It has been
commonly supposed hitherto that the Newton Stone is bilingual and that the
Ogham inscription on the edge of the stone is a duplicate of the cursive
lettering on t'le face, but Mr. Diack declares it to be a separate inscription in
early Pictish Gaelic indicating the burial place of Iddaiqnnn, son of Vorrenni.
Mr. Diack's general conclusions are that the inscription in Roman letters
is Pictish and non-Christian, and may be assigned to round about the

Reviews 253;

year 400 a.d., and probably rather before than after that date ; that an
approximate date for the Ogham inscription would be about 500 a.d. ; and
that the two inscriptions suggest that, " if it is not kings that are recorded
here, it is persons conneced with the royal lines." Other Pictish inscriptions
are referred to, and in an entirely new section, " Addenda," the whole subject
of translating the characters in the inscriptions is subjected to a searching
analysis.

Burns and Folk-Song. By Alexander Keith, M.A. Aberdeen : D. Wyllie-
& Son. Pp. 85. Cloth, 2s. 6d. ; Paper, is. 6d.

This booklet comprises six papers on aspects of Burns's work as an adapter
and reconstructor of Scottish traditional folk-song. Four of the papers ap-
peared in a slightly restricted form in the "Aberdeen Journal," and these
have been supplemented by other two, the second of which deals with " The
Secret of Burns's Hold on the People." While not pretending to give any
new revelation regarding the poet, the pamphlet is noticeable for its fresh
and individualistic treatment of the folk-song side of Burns's activities, which
it strongly emphasizes, directing attention to many points that hitherto have
been obscured or misrepresented by depreciatory critics. Having regard to
Burns's lavish contributions to Johnson's "Scots Musical Museum" and
Thomson's " Scottish Airs," Mr. Keith regards him as entitled to be classed
among our pioneers of ballad research, "although he was not an exact
student in the sense that the modern antiquarian science connotes, but rather
nearer to the professional balladist ". He was a musician as well, and " was
as much a leader in the recovery of Scots music as he was a pioneer in the
restoration of folk-song to its proper position in literature." The two themes
are amplified in the pamphlet. It is indisputable, of course, that Bums
effected a vast improvement in the national songs, refining what was coarse,
rendering musical phrases that were unmelodious, and practically relegating
to the scrap-heap much that was really worthless. He so transformed and
p>erfected these old songs that his versions have completely ousted their pre-
decessors, and one of Mr. Keith's main contentions is that Burns's songs
form his chief monument to-day and constitute the principal reason of his
universal popularity. A large portion of the pamphlet is devoted to the
subject of the " sources " from which Burns derived the folk-songs he utilized,
and here Mr. Keith writes with exceeding clarity and good sense and dis-
crimination. Incidentally, he has much to say that is pertinent and persuasive
in defending Peter Buchan from the aspersions and critical onslaughts of
Henley and Mr. T. F. Henderson.

Industrial Copartnership. By Charles Carpenter, C.B.E., D.Sc,
M.Inst.C.E., President of the South Metropolitan Gas Company,
Third Edition. London: Copartnership Publishers, Ltd. 1921.

To these papers on Copartnership in Industry, Trades Unionism and Co-
partnership, Copartnership and Efficiency, with Chronological Notes on
British Profit Sharing and Copartnership, 1829-1920 (by Walter Layton,
F.R.Hist.S.), all originally published in 1914, there have been added in this
edition the report of an Address on The Copartnership of the South Metro-
politan Gas Company delivered in 19 18, and a reprint of some notes on

2 54 Aberdeen University Review

experiences of Copartnership under war conditions. The whole constitutes
an instructive manual on a potential movement.

A Shorter Bible History (Old and New Testament) for the Use
OF Catholic Students. By the Rev. Charles Hart, B.A., author of
"A Manual of Bible History," 2 vols. ("The Students' Catholic
Doctrine," etc.) London: Bums, Oates & Washboume, Ltd. 192 1.
3s. 6d.

This is a re-telling of the sacred history from Grenesis to the last chapter of
the Acts of the Apostles. It is intended for Roman Catholic candidates for
the teaching profession, and after an introduction on the structure and
contents of the Canon, some notes on the Versions of the Bible and a brief
essay on Inspiration, contains nothing but references to the Old Testament
" types, figures, and prophecies which foreshadowed and foretold the realities to
come ". The narrative is clear, but neither stimulated by questions of
criticism nor inspired by imagination or ethical insight. What sense of
proportion the author has may be judged from the fact that to the story
of Tobias over five pages are devoted, but only three or four sentences to
the Prophet Isaiah.

Law Examination Questions and Answers. By a Law, Agent. Second
Edition. Edinburgh : W. Green & Son, Ltd. Pp. 91. 5s. net

The fact that this little manual, so serviceable for the law agents' final examina-
tion, has reached a second edition is, perhaps, the best testimony to its
excellence and utility. Well-nigh 300 questions are propounded, dealing with
all the various branches of Scots law, with conveyancing. Court of Session
practice. Sheriff Court practice, and criminal law and procedure. The
questions, numerous and comprehensive though they be, are stated briefly and
succinctly and the answers possess the same merits ; and a study of the book,
accompanied by the necessary self-examination, should materially help aspiring
candidates to determine how far they are really prepared to meet their final
examination. There can be no hesitation in warmly commending a manual
so carefully prepared and so obviously useful.

Carnegie Institution of Washington, Year Book No. 20, 192 1. Pub-
lished by the Institution, 1922.

This volume of xxii -I- 475 pages contains, besides the President's Report for
the year, the usual valuable reports on investigations and projects in the
various departments of Botany, Embryology, Genetics, Geophysics, Seismology,
Marine Biology, Meridian Astrometry, Nutrition, Terrestrial Magnetism, the
Mount Wilson Observatory and Historical Research, with accounts of other
investigations of interest to scientific workers. The volume has been deposited
in the University Library.

University Topics.

RESIGNATION OF PROFESSOR NIVEN.

IROFESSOR Charles Niven, who has been laid aside by
illness for some time, has intimated his resignation, as
from I October next, of the Chair of Natural Philosophy,
which he has held for the long period of forty-two years.
Professor Niven is one of a family of remarkable
Mathematical scholars belonging to Peterhead, five of
whom graduated at Aberdeen University. An elder
brother was the late Sir William Davidson Niven, K.C.B,, F.R.S. (M.A.,
1861 ; LL.D., 1884), Director of Studies in the Royal Naval College, Green-
wich. A younger brother. Dr. James Niven (M.A., 1870), was eighth
Wrangler at Cambridge ; he entered the medical profession, and has just
retired from the post of Medical Officer of Health at Manchester. The
youngest brother, the late Dr. George Niven (M.A., 1877), was fifteenth
Wrangler at Cambridge ; he became a doctor and died at Manchester several
years ago.

Professor Niven graduated in 1863 with first-class honours in Mathematics,
carrying off also the Simpson Mathematical Prize. In the following year he
won the Ferguson Scholarship in Mathematics, being the first Aberdeen
student to gain the highest distinction in that subject open to all Scotland.
Entering Cambridge University, he became Senior Wrangler in 1867 and
graduated B.A. ; and soon after he was appointed Professor of Mathematics
in Queen's College, Cork. In 1868 he gained a Fellowship at Trinity College,
Cambridge — a college where these honours are allotted by examination ; and
in 1880, on the death of Professor David Thomson, he returned to Aberdeen
as Professor of Natural Philosophy. In 1880 also he was made a Fellow of
the Royal Society. His election to this honour was more directly due to his
publications on mathematical subjects in various mathematical journals, par-
ticularly the Philosophical Magazine, and the Transactions of the Royal
Societies of Edinburgh and London. The more important of these articles
were on the elasticity of solid bodies, conduction of heat, and conduction of
electric currents.

Among his many honours, Professor Niven received the honorary degree
of D.Sc. from Queen's University, Dublin (now the National University of Ire-
land), and he was twice at least appointed Examiner for the Ferguson Scholar-
ship.

The Professor, it may be noted, was the senior member of the Professoriate
in respect of length of service — a distinction which now passes to Professor
Matthew Hay, who was elected to the Chair of Forensic Medicine in 1883.

256 Aberdeen University Review

At a meeting of the University Court on 13 June, at which Professor
Niven's letter of resignation was submitted, the following resolution was
adopted : —

In accepting this resignation, which it does with deep sympathy as involving the close
of one of the longest and most honourable careers within the University, the Court resolves
to record its grateful sense of the manifold services rendered to the University by Dr.
Charles Niven, F.R.S., during his professorship of two-and-forty years. Maintaining, as
he has done, the high personal traditions of the chair, he has indefatigably promoted the
extension of its activities throughout a period distinguished by the most rapid development
of its subject, the present department of Natural Philosophy in the University with branches
in three Faculties being mainly the fruit of his powers of design and organization. As a
member both of the Senatus and, for eight years, of the Court, he has, besides, loyally con-
tributed to the general administration of the University and to other interests of the
academic life. He is followed into his retirement by the high esteem, the gratitude, and
the affection as well of his colleagues as of the many generations of students whom he has
trained.

RETIREMENT OF PROFESSOR COOPER.

The Very Rev. James Cooper (M.A., 1867 ; D.D., 1892 ; Litt.D.
[Dublin], D.C.L. [Durham], D.D. [Oxon.]), has resigned the Chair of
Church History in the University of Glasgow, which he has held in
succession to Principal Story since 1898. He has taken a house in Elgin,
his native place, in which he generously proposes to make accommodation,
equipped by his library, for study and worship by ministers of all denominations.
In answer to a letter of sympathy and tribute addressed to him on behalf of
the University of Aberdeen by the Principal, Professor Cooper has written as
follows : —

" I have had many kind and flattering things said to me since my resig-
nation was announced, but among them all I don't think any has touched or
gratified me more than your delightful letter conveying to me the sympathy
of my own dear Alma Mater, to which I owe so much ; in which in my
student days I first learned and formulated to myself that hope of a wide
Reunion which has been a guiding star to me throughout my whole subse-
quent career, which was the first to do me public honour, and which must
ever occupy a unique position in my heart. Pray convey to the University
my most grateful thanks for their exceeding kindness. . . . The Doctor has
at last given expression to the hope that I may still enjoy some years of
tolerable health ; so that I may tell you of the desire to be permitted ere I die
to do something for the increase of Divine worship and the furtherance of
Sacred Studies in my native district. Elgin would be true to its best traditions
if it became again a centre for these things, but the clergy there of all de-
nominations are sorely hampered by the absence of a common meeting-place,
and the expense and difficulty even of borrowing the necessary books. Mine
are chiefly historical and liturgical, but, such as they are, they are hardly
procurable so far North, and they may form at least the nucleus of a more
comprehensive collection. I wish much that I may be spared and honoured
to inaugurate in a humble way a movement of the kind."

Formal intimation of Dr. Cooper's retirement was made at a recent meet-
ing of the Glasgow University Court Principal Sir Donald MacAlister,
who presided, suggested that, in receiving the intimation of the resignation,
the Court desired to record its grateful sense of Dr. Cooper's faithful per-
formance of the responsible duties of his office, and of his zealous devotion

University Topics 257

to sacred learning during his tenure of twenty-four years. His many services
to the Church and the Christian comity had obtained wide recognition be-
yond the bounds of the University, and had increased the reputation of his
chair and faculty. The Court, with the whole University, offered him its
cordial good wishes of peace and happiness in his retirement from academic
labour. Professor Milligan, as a member of the Faculty of Divinity, associ-
ated himself with what the Principal had said about Dr. Cooper. If the
whole University would be poorer by his retirement, the loss fell with special
heaviness on the Faculty of Divinity. The degree of LL.D. of Glasgow Uni-
versity was conferred on Dr. Cooper on Commemoration Day, 22 June.

THE ROWETT INSTITUTE.

Mr. William Godden, B.Sc. (Lond.), A.R.C.S., F.C.I., Lecturer in Agri-
cultural Chemistry at Leeds University, has been appointed head of the
Bio-Chemical Department of the Rowett Institute of Research in Animal
Nutrition, Craibstone, Aberdeen, in succession to Dr. R. H. A. Plimmer,
appointed Professor of Medical Chemistry at St. Thomas's Hospital Medical
School, London University (see p. 176). Mr. Godden was appointed Assistant
Lecturer in Agricultural Chemistry at Leeds in 191 2, and since 191 7 he has
been entirely responsible for the control of the agricultural-chemical work of
the department. Since 191 3 he has been charged with special advisory duties
under the scheme of the Board of Agriculture for the provision of advice to
farmers, and has personally conducted all investigations in connection with
nutrition and dairying problems. His research work and publications include
" Carbo-Hydrate Metabolism and Glycosuria," " Comparative Keeping Qualities
of Palm Kernel," etc., and a large number of publications dealing with the
chemical aspect of animal nutrition.

The following other appointments have been made to the Rowett
Institute : —

Head of the Bacteriology Department — Dr. J. P. M'Gowan, M.A., M.D.,
B.Sc. [Edin.], D.T.M. and H., M.R.C.P.E., Bacteriologist and Assistant
Superintendent of the Royal College of Physicians Laboratory, Edinburgh.

Head of the Physiology Department — Captain H. E. Magee, B.Sc, M.B.
(Belfast), F.A.S., Indian Medical Service.

The formal opening of the new Institute, which is nearing completion at
a cost of ^40,000, will take place in the autumn.

VACATION COURSES.

A new scheme in the form of Vacation Courses is about to be inaugurated
by the University. Though new to Aberdeen, vacation courses are not a
novelty in University life. A flourishing summer school, due to the inspiration
and energy of Professors Patrick Geddes and J. Arthur Thomson, existed in
Edinburgh University several years ago, and similar enterprises have been
conducted at Oxford and St. Andrews. The object has been the same in
all — to bring under academic influences those who would be glad of a fresh
stimulus for study, but who have few opportunities during their workaday
months, whether old alumni revisiting their Alma Mater, or others who have
not had the benefit of a University education. The underlying idea of the
scheme is that the lectures should deal with subjects of study under their

17

258 Aberdeen University Review

modern aspects and developments. Those attending would be introduced to
the latest advances made in the fields of science, literature and art, history
and philosophy, through lectures that aimed at being stimulating rather than
exhaustive; and, accordingly, the lectures are limited in number, consisting
generally of three, while none exceed five.

The forthcoming course is to cover a fortnight in July (17th to 29th). The
course is divided into three groups. The first is devoted to literary and
artistic studies, the lecturers including the Principal, Professors Harrower
and Baird, Miss Mordaunt, Mr. Taylor, and others. The second group is
directed to social and historical studies, the lecturers being Professors Baillie
and Gray, Dr. Low, Dr. Tocher, Messrs. Bruford, Townend, Davidson,
Morland Simpson, and others. Science is the subject of the third group,
and its numerous phases will be expounded by Professors Thomson, Macdonald,
Hendrick, and Marshall, Drs. M'Intyre, Gibb, Fyvie, Gray, and Skene, and
Messrs. McFarlane and Clarke, and others.

In the afternoons, it is intended that the various museums in the Uni-
versity and the Botanic Garden shall be visited and excursions be made to
Scotstown Moor, the BuUers of Buchan, Nigg Bay, the Craibstone Forest
Nurseries and Forestry Experiment Station, the Rowett Institute, etc.

REVIVAL OF THE TOGA.

The opening of the summer session witnessed a revival of the wearing of
the "toga rubra" or red gown and the trencher, this being in response to a
recent recommendation of the Students' Representative Council that both
should be worn by students, male and female, when attending classes and
chapel. To begin with at all events, the number of lady students who donned
the gown was far in excess of the male students similarly adorned, but possibly
when the gown has become more familiar and shyness has worn off, a greater
proportion of the male students will take to what is described as " the tradi-
tional and honoured dress." The "splash of colour" in the University
precincts and in the streets is decidedly welcome.

At a recent meeting of the Students' Representative Council, a resolution
was adopted to request the Senatus to insert in the next and following
Calendars the following notice : —

" Arts students are expected to wear the scarlet gown and trencher at all
Arts classes at King's and Marischal Colleges, at Chapel, and at all academic
ceremonies."

The first pictorial representation of the gown of King's College is in a
portrait in oils of a student of 1677 preserved in the University Library ; the
gown of Marischal College is shewn in a water colour sketch in a note-book
of Robert Gordon of date 1694. The present toga dates from i860 and is a
combination of the two ; the velvet collar is that of Marischal, and the sleeves
are those of King's.

STUDENTS' HALF-HOLIDAY.

The experiment sanctioned by the Senatus for the spring session of granting
students in attendance at King's College and Marischal College a weekly half-
holiday on Wednesdays for the purpose of engaging in sport or outdoor re-
laxation (see p. 165), proved so successful that the Senatus has agreed to the
weekly Wednesday half-holiday being continued throughout the winter and
spring terms, but not during the summer session.

University Topics 259

POST-GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY.

The Faculty of Divinity has recommended a scheme for a Post-graduate
School of Theology, and it has been approved by the University Court.
The purpose of the scheme is to provide advanced teaching in the several
Departments of Theology, and to advise duly qualified students to proceed to
the Degree of Ph.D. in Theology. The scheme provides for the co-opera-
tion of the professors of the University and of the United Free Church
College.

THE SIR JAMES SIVEWRIGHT BURSARIES.

A scheme for the Sir James Sivewright Bursaries has been prepared. It
is proposed that there be twenty bursaries, each of the annual value of ^25
or thereby, to be tenable for four years in any of the Faculties. Five bursaries
will be awarded each year. They are to be open to students coming to the
University from the County of Moray, with preference to students who have
attended Milne's Institution, Fochabers, and especially those who are sons of
stone-masons.

THE BLACKWELL PRIZE ESSAY.

The Blackwell Trustees have made no award for the current year, being
of opinion that not one of the essays had attained a sufficiently high standard
(seep. 67). The subject prescribed for the prize essay for 1923 is "The
Sculptured and Inscribed Stones of the North-East and North of Scotland."

GIFTS TO THE UNIVERSITY.

The McRobert Endowment has benefited by ;^iooo, which has been
allocated out of ;^ 10,000 gifted in aid of cancer research work by Mr. and
Mrs. G. F. Todman, of Sydney, New South Wales, in memory of their daughter,
the late Mildred Hope Buzacott.

Rev. Dr. Alexander Miller, Buckie, bequeathed to the University j£i5o,
to form the nucleus of a General Purposes Fund.

Mr. William Ramsay, Dyce, has presented to the class library of the
Agricultural Department a bookcase and sets of " The Journal of the Royal
Agricultural Society of England," and of "The Transactions of the Highland
and Agricultural Society of Scotland."

Dr. David Nicolson, C.B. (M.B., 1866 ; M.D., 1875 ; LL.D., 1920),
has gifted to the University an old painting of King's College.

The portrait of Dr. James Gregory, the younger, Mediciner to King's
College from 1732 to 1755, was recently purchased by the University.

THE LIBRARY MANUSCRIPTS.

At a recent meeting of the University Library Committee, the Librarian
reported that the manuscripts in the Library, numbering about 1350, dating
from the beginning of the twelfth century (Augustine's "De Doctrina
Christiana ") to the end of the nineteenth century (Thomas Hardy's " An
Imaginative Woman "), had now been brought together and arranged in the
Cromwell Tower Muniment Room, King's College. The work has been
carried out by Miss Ethel M. Barnett, assistant librarian.

26o Aberdeen University Review

STUDENTS' GALA WEEK.

The Students' "gala week," which was initiated two years ago, promises
to become an annual institution, and we are likely to see the first week of
May henceforth devoted by the students to sundry diversions and revels, many
of them with picturesque features, and all of them directed to the laudable
purpose of raising funds for the Aberdeen hospitals. The modes of " tapping
the public " for contributions apparently develop with the passing years, more
especially as the sum to be raised is fixed at an ever-increasing figure. This
year, ;^3ooo was aimed at, and consequently the programme of " events " and
"stunts" was considerably enlarged. One novel — and very successful —
feature was the organization of a "jazz band" and concert party which
"toured the north," giving performances at Inverurie, Huntly, Keith, Duff-
town, Buckie, and Insch ; no less than ;^5oo was realized by these perform-
ances and by the accompanying collections that were made. " Pierrot
troupes " and various musical combinations followed suit, visiting other towns,
and what were termed " pirate parties " motored to several places, " holding
up " the inhabitants ; and by these means a fairly large sum was also collected.
A special feature of the week was the performance on four evenings of a clever
musical comedy, " Stella, the Bajanella," written by Mr. E. R. R. Linklater,
the music being composed by Mr. J. S. Taylor. (Altogether, the performances
realized ;^25o.) There was the usual sports gala at the King's College
grounds, supplemented by various " side shows," including a Dutch auction
of goods gifted by local shopkeepers. A house-to-house collection was pro-
secuted during the week, and the Friday was given up to street collecting,
which was conducted mainly in Union Street. This thoroughfare presented a
very animated spectacle during the day, students (male and female) attired in
all manner of fantastic costumes soliciting subscriptions from the passers-by,
while one gaily-dressed group sang and danced and played music on a lorry,
and another group on a different vehicle — agricultural students, it was under-
stood— vended fruit, flowers, and vegetables. The carnival-like nature of the
proceedings attracted large crowds. A novel "stunt" — to lay a mile of
pennies along the kerb of the pavement in Union Street — was not quite a
success ; the line of coins extended only from Holburn Junction to near
Crown Street, and comprised but 12,720 pennies (;^53) instead of the
requisite 60,000 (;^25o). On the other hand, the torchlight procession in
the evening was an unqualified success ; it was declared to be " the biggest
event of the kind ever held in Aberdeen," while " the dresses worn were, on
the whole, more elaborate and ingenious in design than those at any previous
carnival." The street collections during the day and at the torchlight pro-
cession in the evening amounted to ;^i25o. The funniest "event" of the
week was a sand-castle building competition on the beach on Saturday after-
noon, engaged in by some 400 students (of both sexes) dressed in " the utmost
exaggeration of juvenile attire ; " it drew an enormous crowd, estimated at
30,000, and the collection taken amounted to jQi'jo. Altogether, there was
realized from the gala jQa266 2s. — a record for Scotland, beating last year's
total of the Glasgow students, ;^33oo, and also that of the Edinburgh students^
j£2'joo. The expenses amounted to ;!^i 77 7s. gd. only, leaving ;^4o88 14s. 5d.
available for distribution among the hospitals. This sum was apportioned by
the Students' Representative Council as follows : Royal Infirmary, ;^30oo ;
Sick Children's Hospital, ;^6oo ; Maternity Hospital, ^480.

University Topics 261

THE MEDICAL PRELIMINARY EXAMINATIONS.

Important changes affecting the admission of medical and dental students
to the University are at present engaging attention. The General Medical
Council has issued new regulations on the subject, which will come into force
on I January, 1923. The effect of these is as follows : —

All those who desire to be registered as medical or dental students will have to produce
evidence that they have attained die age of 17 years, and the minimum standard of general
education required will be that of University Matriculation or Entrance Examination.

Before registration as a medical student every applicant will be required to have passed,
in addition to Uie Examination in General Education, an Examination in Elementary Physics
and Elementary Chemistry conducted or recognised by one of the Licensing Bodies.

A student who has diligently attended an approved course of instruction in Elementary
Biology at a secondary school or other teaching institution recognised by a Licensing Body
may be admitted to the Professional Examination in Elementary Biology immediately after
his registration as a student.

The Preliminary Examination in Elementary Chemistry and Elementary Physics is in-
tended to be taken in addition to the Matriculation or other Examination in General Educa-
tion. The latter examination must be complete in itself, without reference to the subjects of
the Preliminary Examination in Science.

The Senatus, at a meeting on 1 5 February, approved of the following find-
ings unanimously adopted by the Faculties of Science and Medicine : —

With reference to the conditions subject to which the General Medical Council will re-
cognise the University Examinations, the Faculties are of opinion that the Certificate should
bear evidence : —

(a) That the candidate has passed in the following subjects : —
(i) English.

(2) Elementary Mathematics.

(3) Latin.

(4) A Modern Language.

and (b) That the candidate has attended an approved course in Elementary Science including
Physical Science.

At the meeting of the General Council on 15 March, the Business Com-
mittee submitted a report by a Sub-Committee in the course of which they
stated : —

Preliminary Examination. — In regard to the standard of general education required by
the General Medical Council, the medical members of the Sub-Committee endorse the unan-
imous findings of the Medical and Science Faculties as approved by the Senatus.

The Pre-Registration Course and Examination would remove Inorganic Chemistry from
the Course of Chemistry required for graduation in Medicine, and would leave that course
to be devoted to branches of the subject specially fitted for medical students, viz.. Organic
Chemistry, Bio-Chemistry, Chemistry applied to Forensic Medicine, etc. It has already
been under consideration whether a special course of Chemistry for medical students should
be instituted at Aberdeen University, and the proposed change would appear to give effect
to this proposal.

The Pre-Registration Course and Examination in Physics would overtake part of the
work of the present one-term course in Physics required for graduation, and would leave the
graduation course free for a special course in Physics for medical students — dealing with
Sound, Light, Electricity, and Magnetism in relation to Medicine and Surgery (with Labora-
tory training).

The curriculum of five years required by the present regulations after registration would
in effect be extended under the new regulations by one term or at most two terms, but this
cannot be definitely stated until the four Scottish Universities determine, either singly or
collectively, the scope of and syllabus for the Pre-Registration Examinations in Elementary
Physics and Elementary Chemistry.

It is preferable that the Pre-Registration Courses should be taken at the University.

262 Aberdeen University Review

Dr. Macgregor Skene said in one point the report of the Sub-Committee
was, he thought, not in agreement with the general policy which had been
expressed by the Business Committee and the General Council. The point
in question was the position of Latin in the preliminary examination. The
General Council had always been against compulsory Latin and in favour of a
uniform basis for all the Faculties, and, as far as he was concerned, he did not
think the sentiment of the General Council was in agreement with that of the
Sub-Committee. Only medical members were in favour of that particular
recommendation. The whole question was in the melting-pot owing to the
recommendations of the Conference held recently at Perth on the question of
entrance examinations. The Business Committee wished to make no recom-
mendation anent the preliminary examination clause, pending the final decision
of the Scottish Universities Entrance Board.

Professor Findlay pointed out the necessity for the inclusion in the pre-
liminary examination of Section B — namely, that the candidate had attended
an approved course in Elementary Science, including Physical Science — not
only in the preliminary examination for entrance to Medicine, but in the
general preliminary examination. He explained that the kind of course meant
was one not quite on the lines of the courses at present given in schools, but
a general course in Physical Science, as it was very important, in the case par-
ticularly of language students, that they should have some knowledge of Science
of a general kind, otherwise a great deal of the money at present spent on edu-
cation would be wasted. He also explained that unless the scheme suggested
by the Sub-Committee were adopted there was a danger that students entering
the Faculties of Science and Medicine would not have sufficient language
equipment to enable them to take full advantage of their University training.

Dr. George Smith, Training Centre, said his objection was that the pro-
posed scheme made Latin compulsory, and that the opinion of the General
Council, expressed on more occasions than one, had been that Latin should
not be compulsory.

Mr. Hugh Brebner, Huntly, said that, while agreeing with Professor Findlay
that Physical Science was not a proper equivalent for Mathematics, he could
not agree with the scheme proposed for the medical examination in so far as
it was proposed to make Latin compulsory.

The Chairman (Mr. D. M. M. Milligan) did not think there was anything
they could do except approve of the pre-registration examination, and to make
no recommendation with regard to the preliminary examination pending the
final decision of the Universities' Entrance Board.

This was agreed to.

PURGING THE REGISTER OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL.

The University Court has authorised the removal from the Register of the
General Council of the names of members whose addresses have been unknown
for at least ten years and whose first degrees are of at least fifty years' standing.
The Registrar has accordingly deleted the names of —

Address

useless

since

Copland, John Johnstone, teacher, Bath ; M .A., '62 1901

Fraser, Archibald Leitch, teacher, Somersetshire College, Bath ; M.A., '67 . rgoi

Law, Rev. George, Clackmannan ; alumnus, K.C., '50-55 1901

Lorimer, George, teacher, Elstrie Hill, Watford, Herts. ; alumnus, M.C., '55-59 . 1901

University Topics 263

Address
u-eless
since
Macdonald, Rev. Charles Grant, Portbrae, Kirkcaldy ; M.A., K.C., '55 . . . 1902
Mathieson, Rev. Finlay, teacher, i Vine Villas, Harrow Road, Kensjd Green, N.W. ;

M.A„ K.C., '57 1906

Samuel, George Robert, tutor, Wesley College, Sheffield ; M.A., K.C., '53 . . 1901
Sim, Rev. George Innes, Weymouth, Manurewa, Auckland, N.Z. ; M.A,, '62, B.D.

[Edin.], '68 1911

Simpson, James, retired teacher, 8 Merryland Street, Govan ; alumnus, M.C., '56-60 1901

The following non-registered graduates for whom no addresses have been
known for at least ten years are also presumed to be dead —

Anderson, George, Manitoba; M.A., '61.

Botha, Theunis Johannes ; M.B,, '64.

Chiappini, Pietro Alessandro ; M.B., '71.

Conley, Robert Macdonald, London ; M.A., '64.

Cooper, William, Cheshunt, Herts; M.A., '70.

Davis, Christopher James ; M.B., '70.

Dutt, Lieut.-Colonel Russeck Lall, I. M.S., Bengal (ret) ; M.D., '71.

Fropier, Francois Gabriel; M.D., '63.

Graham, Thomas, Manchester; M.A., '65.

Hughes, John Thomas; M.B., '67.

Low, Ernest; M.A. (K.C.), '59; M.D., '62.

Macdonald, William, San Francisco; M.A., '61.

Paterson, Alexander, Wellington, N.Z. ; M.A., '64; M.D. [Edin.], '68.

Perkins, Rev. William Henry, Bournemouth ; M.A., '61.

Robertson, Archibald George; M.B., '64.

Taylor, Alexander, Invergordon ; M.B., '61.

Williams, Albert, Croydon, Surrey; M.B., '6S ; M.D., '72.

Wills, Charles James, London ; M.B., '66 ; M.D., '67.

INTER-UNIVERSITY CONFERENCE.

The first annual conference of the Universities of Great Britain and Ireland
was held at University College, London, on 1 3 May. Sir Donald MacAlister,
Principal of Glasgow University, presided, and every University in the United
Kingdom and in Ireland was represented, Principal Sir George Adam Smith
representing Aberdeen. Mr. H. A. L. Fisher, the President of the Board of
Education, also attended the conference.

The following subjects were discussed : the urgent need for the provision
of enlarged opportunities for advanced study and research ; the irjcrease of
residential accommodation for students ; specialization in certain subjects by
certain Universities ; and the organization of adult education as an integral
part of the work of Universities.

VIENNA INTERNATIONAL SUMMER SCHOOL.

This is to be held in Vienna from 7 to 21 September of this year.
An influential British Advisory Committee, including Sir William Beveridge,
KiC.B., as Chairman, Dr. Frankenstein, the Austrian Minister, Sir Maurice
de Bunsen, G.C.M.G., Professor Gilbert Murray, and others, has been
formed to co-operate with the Austrian Committee. There will be three
sets of lectures — Economics ; Law and Politics ; Philosophy, Art, and Litera-
ture— with supplementary courses in History and in Languages. A com-
position fee of five guineas will admit to all the courses, and half that sum
to the lectures in any one section. Vienna has for long been one of the
great centres of culture in Europe and not only some of its most distinguished

264 Aberdeen University Review

professors, but others from Oxford, Cambridge, and elsewhere have promised
to give lectures. There are few places where a more pleasant holiday can
be taken and none so cheap for those who benefit by the rate of exchange.
At present the return fare from London to Vienna costs less than that from
Aberdeen to London — i.e. about j£t. We may add that if a large number
of British visitors attend the School it will be an enormous benefit to the
University of Vienna, to which the world owes much. For the fees, paid in
English currency, will form a very large reserve fund for the relief of the
destitute professors. All letters and enquiries should be addressed to Dr.
George Tugendhat, London School of Economics, if possible by 15 July.
Forms of registration, with leaflets giving full details of the school, may be had
at the Secretary's office. University of Aberdeen.

In connection with this we may note that the Civic Education League
has organized a summer holiday course in Tyrol, of which the probable dates
are 4 or 5 August to 4 September, the inclusive fee for which is ^^30,
covering travel, hotel, and lecture expenses. Apply to Miss Margaret Tatton,
65 Belgrave Road, Westminster.

THE SPRING GRADUATION.

The spring graduation took place in the Mitchell Hall on 30 March — the
Principal, as Vice-Chancellor, presiding, in the absence of the Chancellor.
Special features of the occasion were the conferment of the honorary degree of
LL.D. on Mr. John Masefield and a speech by Mr. Masefield in response to
demands therefor by the undergraduates.

The Degree of D.Litt. was conferred on Dr. R. L. Graeme Ritchie (M.A.,
1904; D.Litt. [Paris]), Professor of French in Birmingham University; that
of D.Sc. on Mr. George Pittendrigh Hector (M.A., 1901 ; B.Sc), Botanist
in the Agricultural Department, Dacca, India ; that of M.D. on Dr. Frederick
W. C. Brown, O.B.E. (M.B., 1915) ; Dr. James Gordon Danson, London
(M.B., 1908); Dr. Murray Young Garden, London (M.B., 1920); and
Dr. Robert Daniel Lawrence, Aberdeen (M.A., 1912 ; M.B., 1916) ; and
that of Ch.M. on Dr. William Brander (M.B., 1901 ; M.D.).

The Degree of M. A. was conferred on thirty-five students (on seven of these
with first-class honours, on eleven with second-class honours, and on one with
third-class honours) ; B.Sc. on twelve ; B.Sc. Agr. on six ; B.D. on two ; B.L.
on three ; LL.B. on three ; and M.B. on forty-five (on five of these with second-
class honours) — io6 in all. Of the Arts graduates twenty-three were men and
twelve women ; of the Science graduates six were men and six women ; the
graduates in Agriculture were all men ; the two Divinity graduates were men ; the
Law graduates were also all men except Miss Margaret Troupe Mackenzie,
who graduated B.L. (with distinction) last year, and this year took the LL.B.
Degree (also with distinction) ; and of the Medical graduates thirty were men
and fifteen women — total, 72 men and 34 women. It may be noted that two
sisters graduated M.B. — Miss Dorothy Janet Dow and Miss Griselda Annie
Dow, daughters of a retired Elgin schoolmaster ; a third daughter, Miss
Elizabeth Mary Dow (M.A., 1918 ; M.B., 1919), is assistant in Nottingham
General Hospital, while a brother. Dr. John Dow (M.A., 1910 ; M.B., 1914),
died in Persia while on war service. The Diploma in Public Health was
awarded to two candidates, and that in Agriculture to three, two of whom
were women.

University Topics 265

Mr. Robert Gordon McKerron, Aberdeen, won the Simpson Greek
prize and Robbie gold medal and the Seafield gold medal in Latin, and was first
in the examination for the Dr. Black prize in Latin, but was ineligible to hold
the prize, which was divided between Mr. William G. D. Maclennan, Inver-
ness, and Mr. Thomas M. Paterson, Tillyfourie, who were equal. The
Jenkyns prize in Classical Philology was won by Mr. William J. Garden, Aber-
deen. Miss Winifred M. Deans, Banchory, carried off the Simpson Mathe-
matical prize and the Neil Arnott prize in Experimental Physics, and was first
in the examination for the Greig Prize in Natural Philosophy, but was ineligible
to hold the prize, which was divided between Mr. Alexander R. Davidson,
Hatton ; Miss Hilda A. Dingwall, Peterhead ; and Mr. Charles G.
Kennaway, Aberdeen, who were equal. Mr. Davidson won the Boxill
Mathematical prize. There was no award of the Dr. David Rennet gold
tnedal in Mathematics, and no candidate for the Liddel prize for Latin verse
composition.

Mr. Charles S. D. Don, Jamaica, won the Fife Jamieson Memorial gold
medal in Anatomy. Mr. William L. Hector, Tarland, won the Keith gold
medal for Systematic and Clinical Surgery, and was equal with Mr. Frank
Forman, South Africa, for the Dr. James Anderson gold medal and prize in
Clinical Medicine. The Shepherd Memorial gold medal in Surgery was won
by Mr. Redvers N. Ironside, Aberdeen ; the Matthews Duncan gold medal
in Obstetrics by Mr. Allan W. Downie, Rosehearty ; and the Alexander
Ogston prize in Surgery by Miss Edith M. Macrae, Aberdeen.

GATHERING OF GRADUATES IN GLASGOW.

THE PRINCIPAL ON THE UNIVERSITY, ITS WORTH AND WORK.

A very successful social gathering of graduates of the University resident
in Glasgow and district was held in the Grand Hotel, Glasgow, on i8 March.
It was organised by a small Committee consisting of Dr. Alexander W.
Russell, Sheriff P. J. Blair, and Mr. A. M. Williams, the Rector of the Pro-
vincial Training College. A reception was followed by a luncheon, at which
Principal Sir George Adam Smith presided. The company, which numbered
between 70 and 80, and comprised several lady graduates, included Sir Robert
Bruce, the editor of the Glasgow Herald, and Lady Bruce ; Sir W. Leslie
Mackenzie, Edinburgh, and Lady Mackenzie ; Sheriff Blair, Professor Rait,
Dr. J. A. Third, Ayr ; Mr. William Mitchell, K.C. ; Canon Low, Edinburgh ;
P.ev. J. G. Sutherland, Galston ; Rev. A. M. Shand, Bridge of Weir ; Rev.
A. Irvine Pirie, Kilmarnock ; Rev. G. Calder, D.Litt., Glasgow ; Rev. W. W.
Reid, Dumbarton ; Rev. P. Philip, New Galloway ; Rev. S. J. Ramsay Sib-
bald, Glasgow ; Dr. C. R. MacDonald, Ayr ; Dr. John L. Wilson, Hamilton ;
Mr. James Beattie, Rector, High School, Greenock ; Mr. Robert Fortune,
S.S.C, Edinburgh ; etc. etc. An interesting feature of the proceedings was
the announcement by each guest of his or her years of association with the
University.

The toast of " The King " having been given from the chair,

Sir Robert Bruce (who at one time was a journalist in Aberdeen) proposed

" Alma Mater ". Perhaps the duty of proposing that toast, he said, had fallen

on him because, away back in the early " nineties," although not a student,

he was brought into a fairly intimate relationship with King's and Marischal

266 Aberdeen University Review

Colleges. He knew the professors of those days well, and many of the
undergraduates. It was on a debating evening in a crowded class-room that
he first saw two youths who had since reached eminence in the great world
" twal' miles beyond Aberdeen ". They were Professor R. S. Rait, whom
Glasgow now claimed as one of her distinguished citizens, and Scotland
honoured as her Historiographer Royal, and John Malci)lm Bulloch, the
gifted editor of the Graphic in London. Dr. Rait they had with them that
day, and from Dr. Bulloch he had received the following letter : —

Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to be in Glasgow at the luncheon of
Aberdeen University men, for I am interested not only in Aberdeen University, but also in
Glasgow. I have never ceased to be grateful for the fact that my grandfather was bom in
Glasgow, his family having come from Baldernock, in Stirling, and though he went to
Aberdeen in 1829, 1 trace in my temperament, and still more in that of my brother, qualities
of the West which are fundamentally different from those of the East Coast. The next best
thing for the Aberdonian who has not been born in Glasgow, or claims Glasgow blood, is, I
think, to go down to the West Coast and assimilate this spirit. I am sure that was the
secret of Burns's genius. If he had remained in his original Kincardineshire he would
never have reached the pinnacle which he scaled by moving into the genial atmosphere of
Ayr.

To know such a man as Minto, as he did, was to one of his professioh an
inspiration. Then came Professor Grierson, whose first lecture he heard.
And now they had Professor Jack, whom he used to listen to in London, and
whose venerable father, still in their midst in Glasgow, once held the editorial
chair which he now occupied. They would notice how difficult it seemed to be
to keep Glasgow out of his remarks. It would be absurd to refrain from allusions
to the city of their adoption, because had it not been that a Glasgow man
born and bred thought of the promotion of the higher learning in the Granite
City, the foundation of King's might have been delayed for many a year.
Bishop Elphinstone was not only born in Glasgow, but he was a graduate of
Glasgow University, and in time its rector. And, to span the centuries with a
sentence, Aberdeen had now a Principal who spent some of his happiest years
in Glasgow — the years of his preparation for his great work in Aberdeen ; and
she had a Glasgow-educated Chanceller of the Exchequer as her Rector.
All this led him to one of his central remarks, namely, that both sentimentally
and historically it was most appropriate that in Glasgow Aberdeen graduates
should come together and attempt to recapture the spirit of their youth, and
offer incense at the shrine of their old University. No matter how far each
of them might have gone in the wander-years, they could say in the words of
James Symon : —

But a dearer, sterner Mistress is mine :

Fast by the Northern Sea the symbols are twain of her shrine,
Heavenward soaring they beacon the mariner far in the Bay,
Crown of the reverend Past and Tower but of Yesterday.

What Aberdeen University had meant in Scotland's history he did not
attempt to estimate in sombre prose. And he was not a poet who could put
all he had in his mind into language that could be wedded appropriately with
the thoughts that were seeking utterance in their hearts. But he could con-
centrate their thoughts on a man — their distinguished chairman. Sir G«orge
Adam Smith. He would say nothing of the distinguished position he held in
the councils of his Church. Ecclesiastically, he was one of Scotland's greatest
assets. But he had proved himself a great University administrator ; he had

University Topics 267

falsified in every detail the common opinion that a theologian could not be a
first-rate man of affairs. Sir George Adam Smith was such a one, and they
men of Glasgow, they his personal friends, were proud to acclaim him to-day
as one of Scotland's big men, who was doing national things in a big way.
He gave them the toast, and asked them to pledge not only Aberdeen Uni-
versity with affection, but its very distinguished head — (applause).

The Principal, replying to the toast, thanked them from the bottom of his
heart for their welcome to the present Principal of Aberdeen University. It
was always a pleasure and a privilege to those charged with the management
of University affairs in Aberdeen to find themselves in the company of her
graduates in any part of the Kingdom. He had had that pleasure in Edin-
burgh, London, Manchester, the West Riding of Yorkshire, and East Lanca-
shire, and now he came for the first time to his old graduates who lived and
worked in Glasgow and its neighbourhood. He did not think they could
understand what a privilege and what an honour they who administered the
University counted it to come into contact with their graduates who, round all
those centres, were running careers of always honourable and useful, and very
often most distinguished service to the commonwealth — (applause). It always
sent him back to Aberdeen feeling ever so much more firmly that it was a
University worth working for that turned out such men and such women, and
he went home with a new stimulus, a new inspiration for the routine and the
emergencies — he would not call them crises, because they never had any
crises in Aberdeen — that arose in the light of what Aberdeen had been for
four centuries and more, and which was still a growing and expanding Uni-
versity— (applause). He wanted to tell them that, while he had spoken about
the careers of the sons and daughters that the University had turned out, there
was just as good grist running through the mill as in their time — (applause) —
and they were being followed by a set of students, men and women, worthy of
them all, and worthy of the best of them — (applause).

Proceeding to give some figures relative to the current session, the Principal
said that before the war the average number of students in the University in
all Faculties had risen to something over 1050, but this session they had
enrolled 1559 as compared with 1545 in the winter session of two years ago.
The greatest increase had come in the Faculty of Arts. They had received
in that Faculty 684 students against 597 two years ago. There had been a
great falling off in medicine, to everybody's delight — (laughter). Owing to the
return of so many ex-Service men their medical school, like every medical
school in the country, was congested, and they who had charge of the ad-
ministration had the uncomfortable feeling through several years that they
were utterly unable to fulfil their legal contracts with their students in the
way of supplying them with material or the opportunities of study. Now
he was glad to say that this winter the number of entrants into the Medical
Faculty had dropped to its pre-war average rate, and although they were still
grappling with an excessive number of students in their fourth and fifth years,
these would pass in a year or two, and they would resume their normal
numbers, and he trusted their normal capacity for training and turning out
some of the very best practitioners, ordinary and consultant, that any Uni-
versity was able to give to the country — (applause). Turning to the Depart-
ment of Commerce, he said that they were going to turn out this summer their
first group of Bachelors of Commerce. This was not a cheap degree, the men
having gone through a three years' course. They had appointed a committee

268 Aberdeen University Review

to seek for posts for these men, and although he knew the times were bad, he
made an appeal to the inhabitants of the great commercial and industrial city
of Glasgow to do what they could to help these men to positions. A memor-
andum of their experience, qualifications, and capacities was at the disposal of
anyone who wished to make inquiries concerning them.

Aberdeen University, the Principal proceeded to say, had grown out of all
recognition of those who knew it some thirty or forty years ago. Within the
last twelve years alone — which was all he could speak of from personal experi-
ence— there had been added thirty-nine new lectureships, both part time and
whole time, of which the new Department of Commerce was responsible for
eight, and he thought alone of all the Scottish Universities they had four
lectureships in the Fine Arts. Two new Chairs had been founded within
recent times — the Chair in Agriculture by the munificence of Lord Strathcona,
and in Political Economy by the equal if not greater munificence of his good
friend, Sir Thomas Jaffrey. They had had one of the most brilliant lectures
that it had ever been his fortune to listen to from the new Professor of Political
Economy, Professor Gray, only last Tuesday. They hoped to found a Chair
of Geology before the year was out. Turning to administration, he said that
it might surprise them to know that their endowments now amounted to over
^600,000, and the revenue from the General University Fund had nearly
trebled in the last twelve years. Sir Robert Bruce had spoken far too kindly
of any contribution he had made to the management of the University.
Whatever success had attended that branch it was not due to the Principal
but to the fact that they had on the University Court able and devoted men,
and in particular he mentioned the name of Dr. Matthew Hay. Speaking of
the subject of students' welfare, he said that the sum of ;^2 0,000 had been
placed in their hands for student purposes, and he indicated the schemes
that they had in contemplation, including the providing of a Women Students'
Union, which had been far too long delayed. In conclusion, he spoke of the
fund that was being raised to construct a perpetual memorial to the students
and graduates who fell in the war, and any assistance towards that end would
be gratefully acknowledged. In connection with the University Review, they
were going, he thought, to pay their way this year, but they required 300 more
subscribers, and he appealed for support on behalf of that publication —
(applause).

Sheriff Blair proposed " Other Educational Institutions," and, in doing so,
indulged in interesting reminiscences of the class-room and of college life.
Dr. John A. Third, Ayr, responded. Mr. Robert Fortune submitted the toast
of " Aberdeen and twal' mile roon 't," to which Mr. A. M. Williams replied ;
and both speakers related some excellent stories of the district and its people.
Sir W. Leslie Mackenzie proposed " The Chairman " in glowing terms, and
the Principal acknowledged and then proposed a toast to Dr. A. W. Russell,
which was cordially pledged. The gathering — which, it is hoped, will prove
the first of a series of annual meetings — concluded with the singing of " Auld
Lang Syne."

ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY CLUB, LONDON.

On Thursday, 18 May, the London Aberdeen University Club held its
sixty-seventh half-yearly dinner. Sir Robert Home, who was to have presided,
sent the following letter to the Secretary of the Club and it was read by the
Principal, who took his place in the chair : —

University Topics 269

" Dear Dr. Milligan — It is with great unhappiness that I find myself pre-
vented from being present at the dinner of your association to-night. I
deeply regret to miss the opportunity of making the acquaintance of your
members, and of drinking to the prosperity of the great University, of which
it is my chief pride to be Lord Rector.

" Associations such as yours have infinite value. In maturity and age
they maintain our youth. Amid the obliterating influences of time and space,
they keep alight the fire of old attachments, and preserve old affections. In
place of loneliness among strangers, they give comradeship among fnends.
Scotsmen more than most people cling to ancient ties, and among Scotsmen
Aberdonians are naturally tenacious of the clannish sentiment.

" I recently read a book entitled ' Interamna Borealis,' which struck one's
heart with the pride which it expressed in the shining town and benign College
of the author's devotion. In that pride I am sure all members of your dinner
party to-night take a constant share. As they recall old memories and many
happy hours, I should like to think that I, though absent, may be permitted
with them to pledge the toast, 'Floreat Universitas Aberdonensis.'"

The Principal said that they would readily excuse their Rector for his
absence from their gathering, because, as they all knew, he was bearing almost
the heaviest burden that any subject of the Crown did bear.

He (the Principal) had been called at very short notice to take the
Rector's place, but while he was personally unfitted to do so, he fortified
himself with the recollection that though the Principal comes after the Rector
in University rank, the Vice-Chancellor precedes him. And therefore the
average of his own double office was precisely equal to Sir Robert's single
position. Moreover, he could do what even the Rector could not, and that
was to bring them fresh greetings from their Alma Mater.

Since last year one other had been added to the number of the Aberdeen
graduate clubs throughout the world. In addition to London, Edinburgh,
East Lancashire, the West Riding of Yorkshire, Manchester, and South AfHca,
they had one in Glasgow. And in connection with these clubs he could only
say that after he attended one of them he returned to his work with a firmer
conviction than ever that there was no University in the whole world for
which, judging from its graduates, it was better to work with one's might.

He had pleasure in reporting the smooth, unruffled running of their
ordinary routine and solid expansion and progress. The return of men from
service brought the numbers of students to over i6oo,-, while the pre-war normal
was about 1050. That strained their accommodation, but was gradually
righting itself They had still too large classes in their medical curriculum,
but the numbers were falling to their normal pre-war figure, and he hoped^
considering the prospects of the profession, that it would long remain there.
But they were still about 50 per cent., taking the total number of their
students into consideration, more than they were before the war. Those who
had been long out of the University would perhaps be surprised to know that
in foreign languages they had 122 studying French and 83 German, and he
thought he was right in saying that Aberdeen University was the only one
which increased the number of its students studying German during the war.
This, he thought, was a great tribute to the foresight of Aberdonians.

The Principal went on to tell the members something of the " extremely
successful adventure " of the students on behalf of the hospitals of the city.
The Aberdeen students were to be congratulated on their success. More

270 Aberdeen University Review

marvellous than the sum raised were the powers of organization which had
been shown by the leaders of the students who, he thought, were almost, if
not altogether, returned service men. He was not an Aberdonian, and
therefore he could speak impartially. He thought that the result had banished
for ever the old stale joke about Aberdeen meanness. And the result il-
lustrated that close relationship which had always existed between their Alma
Mater and the city wherein she dwelt.

The Principal then spoke of developments at the University, and mentioned
that their buildings were extending. They hoped to get the whole of the
Botanical Department removed from Marischal College into the Botanical
Garden in Old Aberdeen. Thanks to the gift of Mr. Rowett, they were just
finishing the building of research laboratories in animal nutrition.

Thanks to another benefactor. Dr. Kilgour, they were at last going to get
a professor of geology, and the Rev. Mr. Gordon, formerly Vicar of Redhill,
proprietor of the estate of Charleton, near Montrose, who had previously
founded and generously increased a mineralogical collection in memory of
his uncle, had left to them a large part of his geological collection.

In conclusion, the Principal said they were looking forward with regret
at the retirement in October of their senior professor. Dr. Charles Niven. He
was sure that there had been few professorships of equal length which had
been sustained with greater devotion, and Professor Niven would be followed
into retirement with the grateful esteem and affection of numerous generations
of students.

Lord Meston was to have proposed " The Guests," but he was unable to
be present, and this toast was given by Mr. G. Topham Forrest, and responded
to by Mr. Fortune.

During the evening Scots songs were sung by Miss Muriel Macgregor.

To. Dr. Milligan was mainly due the success of the gathering.

Personalia.

The summer graduation is to be held on 13 July. A special graduation,
however, is to be held on 7 July, for the conferment of the honorary degree
of LL.D. on Mr. William Howard Taft, Chief Justice of the United States,
and formerly President (1909-13). The Senatus agreed to offer Mr. Taft the
degree in 19 19, along with other representatives of the Allied nations, in-
cluding Marshal Foch and Burgomaster Max, of Brussels. It is only now,
however, while he is on a visit to this country, that Mr. Taft has been able
to fix a date on which he can appear to receive the degree in person. The
Court and Senatus are to entertain him to luncheon.

The Principal has been invited to act as one of the Electors to the Regius
Professorship of Divinity in the University of Cambridge. There is at present
a vacancy in that Chair through the resignation of Rev. Professor Stanton.

The Principal is a member of the Committee appointed by the Secretary
of Scotland to advise as to the legislative provisions with reference to the
property and endowments of the Church of Scotland, which may be necessary
or expedient in view of the Church of Scotland Act, 192 1.

The Principal was the representative of the University at a conference
of the Universities of the United Kingdom, held in London on 13 May, to
discuss the urgent need for the provision of enlarged opportunities of ad-
vanced study and research in the Universities, the increase of residential
accommodation for students, and other matters.

Professor Harrower, Professor Macwilliam, and Professor Baird at-
tended the sept-centenary celebrations at the University of Padua as delegates
from Aberdeen University. An honorary degree was conferred on Professor
Harrower.

Professor J. A. Macwilliam is to be President of the Physiological
Section at the forthcoming meeting of the British Medical Association in
Glasgow.

Professor Marshall is to receive the honorary degree of LL.D. of
St. Andrews University at the graduation ceremony in July.

Professor Shennan has been appointed the John Farquhar Thomson
Lecturer for the academic year 1922-23.

Professor Terry has been appointed a representative of the University
to attend the extended session of the Anglo-American Historical Committee,
to be held in London on 5 July.

At a meeting of the subscribers to the Professor Trail Memorial Fund
it was decided that the memorial should take the form of a portrait plaque of

272 Aberdeen University Review

Professor Trail, to be placed in the Botany Department of the University,
and a memorial volume to include the Professor's "Flora of the City Parish
of Aberdeen," certain autobiographical matter, and a complete bibliography
of his works.

The following have been appointed Deans of the respective Faculties :
Arts — Professor Harrower ; Science — Professor Macdonald ; Divinity —
Professor Fulton ; Law — Professor Stuart ; Medicine — Professor Mar-
shall.

A smoking concert was held by the Aberdeen University Commerce
Society in the Imperial Hotel on 19 May, to honour Mr. R. B. Forrester,
M.A., M.Com., on the occasion of his leaving the University to take up an
appointment in the London School of Economics (see p. 176). Mr. W. M.
Mirrlees, M.A., who presided, referred to the excellent work Mr. Forrester
had done while acting as Lecturer on Economics, and particularly to his
work in organizing the newly-instituted Department of Commerce, and, in
name of the Society, presented Mr. Forrester with a handsome camera and
case as a token of appreciation and esteem.

In the recent triennial election of the Aberdeen Education Authority, the
following graduates of Aberdeen University were returned, viz. : Mr. Duncan
Clarke (M.A., 1882), Dr. Alexander Don (M.A., 1884; M.B., 1894),
Mr. George Duncan (M.A., 1888), Professor Gilroy (M.A., 1880; B.D.,
1890; D.D. [St. And.]), and Professor George Pittendrigh (M.A., 1880 ;
D.D., 1922). Mr. Duncan was re-elected Chairman.

The election of the Aberdeenshire Education Authority was noticeable
for the return of seventeen clergymen of various denominations, out of a total
membership of forty-six — more than a third of the board. Of the seventeen
clergymen, no fewer than eleven are graduates of Aberdeen University, viz. :
Revs. James Black, Inverurie (M.A., 1883); J. T. Cox, Dyce (M.A., 1886;
B.D.) ; A. A. Duncan, Auchterless (B.D., 1896) ; J. S. Ewen, Monquhitter
(M.A., 1899); William Grant, Drumblade (M.A., 1882; B.D.) ; William
M. Grant, Drumoak (M.A., 1884) ; Canon Robert Mackay, Longside
(M.A., 1881) ; Alexander Mackenzie, Coull (M.A., 1877) ; A. Hood
Smith, Newmachar (M.A., 1888; B.D.) ; William Sutherland, Gartly
(M.A., 1894; B.D.); and W. T. Wishart, Echt (M.A., 1891). Other
graduates elected included Dr. David Maver, Bucksburn (M.B., 1878) ;
A. M'DoNALD Reid, Peterhead (M.A., 1877) ; Charles W. Sleigh, Strichen
(M.A., 1884) ; and Dr. Robert M. Wilson, of Tarty (M.A., 1873 '> M.D.).
Mr. Sleigh was re-elected Chairman, and Dr. Wilson, Vice-President.

Rev. John Lendrum (M.A., 1888) was re-elected Chairman of the Moray
Education Authority.

Dr. William Mackay (LL.D., 19 14) was re-elected Chairman of the
Inverness-shire Education Authority.

Rev. Alexander John Anderson (M.A., 1878), who has been minister
of the parish of Auchindoir, Aberdeenshire, since 1882, has resigned his
charge on account of long-continued ill health.

Dr. James Stirling Anderson (M.A., 1914 ; M.B., 1921) has been
appointed senior resident medical officer at the City Hospital, Aberdeen,
with the status of an assistant medical officer of health.

Mr. John Thomson Baxter (M.A., 1898), Mr. Charles Reid (M.A.,
1884), and Mr. Frank Moir Robb (M.A., 1893) have been appointed to
Headmasterships of public schools in Aberdeen.

Personalia 273

Dr. William Baxter (M.B., 1913 ; D.P.H., 1920) has been appointed
Medical Officer of Health for the borough of Newark-on Trent and also for
Newark Rural District Council, Claypole District Council, and Southwell
District Council, the area embracing 108 parishes. In addition, he has been
appointed School Medical Officer and Police Surgeon for the borough of
Newark. Dr. Baxter was for some time resident surgeon at the County
Hospital, Lincoln. He joined the army in September, 1914, and attained
the rank of Captain in the R.A.M.C. He saw service in Salonika, Egypt,
and France, where he was severely wounded in July, 19 18.

Mr. Charles Innes Beattie (M.A., 1896) has been appointed editor of
the London Evening News.

Rev. Peter Smith Bisset (M.A., 1891 ; B.D., 1894), minister of Craig
Parish Church, Montrose (formerly minister of the parish of Oyne, Aberdeen-
shire), recently celebrated his ministerial semi-jubilee, having been ordained
in 1897.

Mr. Edmund Blaikie Boyd (M.A., 1916), who entered the Civil Service,
securing an appointment in the Colonial Office (see p. 77), has now been
promoted to be private secretary to the Hon. E. F. L. Wood, Parliamentary
Under-Secretary to the Colonial Office.

Mr. James Brown (M.A., 1909), Mr. Robert Gordon (M.A., 1909), and
Mr. Gordon Gray Stewart (M,A., 1908) have been appointed first assist-
ants by the Aberdeen Education Authority.

Dr. William Bulloch (M.B., 1890; M.D., 1894; LL.D., 1920; F.R.S.),
Professor of Bacteriology at the London Hospital Medical College, delivered
the Tyndall Lecture at the Royal Institution in May, his subject being
" Tyndall's biological researches and the foundations of bacteriology ".

A Committee of the Presbytery of Aberdeen has been formed to make
arrangements for the appropriate celebration of the ministerial jubilee of Rev.
Dr. John Calder (D.D., 1904), formerly minister of Oldmachar Cathedral,
Aberdeen, which falls on 19 September next.

Rev. Samuel Wood Cameron (M.A., 1911 ; B.D., 1916), who has been
elected minister of the parish of Kells, Kirkcudbrightshire (see p. 1 78), is the
third successive minister of the parish who has belonged to the north-east,
the others being the late Professor Thomas Nicol (M.A., 1868 ; B.D. [Edin.],
1871 ; D.D., 1893), a native of Fordoun, who was minister from 1873 to
1878; and Rev. Pirie Philip (M.A., 1871 ; B.D., 1878), a native of Old-
meldrum, who was appointed in 1879, and to whom Mr. Cameron has just
succeeded.

Mr. George Ogilvie Clark (M.A., Hons., 1915 ; B.Sc, 1920) has been
appointed teacher of Mathematics and Science in Robert Gordon's College
(Secondary School).

Rev. Richard Mackie Clark (M.A., 1904), Logic Parish Church,
Dundee, has been elected minister of Wamphray Parish Church, Dumfries-
shire. He has been minister of Logie Church since August, 1909.

Diplomas in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene have been conferred by the
Royal College of Physicians, in conjunction with the Royal College of
Surgeons, on Dr. Charles Clyne (M.B., 1910) and Dr. Alexander
Noble (M.B., 1906), both of the London School of Tropical Medicine.

Mr. James Donald, CLE. (M.A., 1893 ; LL.M. [Cantab,]), has been
appointed Chief Secretary to the Government of Bengal. Mr. Donald

18

2 74 Aberdeen University Review

entered the Indian Civil Service in 1896. He was originally posted to
Bengal, but was transferred to Assam in 1898, was Under-Secretary to the
Chief Commissioner for several years and subsequently held various adminis-
trative offices. He was transferred to Bengal as Excise Commissioner in
1912, and in 1915 he was appointed Secretary to the Government of Bengal
Finance and Commerce Departments. Latterly, he was Chairman of the
Corporation of Calcutta.

Mr. Thomas Duncan (M.A., 1900; B.Sc.) has been appointed principal
teacher of science at the Central Secondary School> Aberdeen.

Rev. Dr. Peter Dunn (M.A., 1865 ; D.D., 1922), minister of the parish
of Dalmeny, Linlithgowshire, has been presented with his portrait (in oils), on
the occasion of his attaining his ministerial jubilee. Dr. Dunn was ordained
minister of Spey mouth, Morayshire, in 1872, and has been minister of
Dalmeny since 1890.

A tablet in memory of Principal Peter Taylor Forsyth (M.A., 1869 ;
D.D., 1895) has been erected in the library of Hackney College, London.

Mr. Spencer Stephen Fowlie (M.A., 19 12) has been appointed Head-
master of the Lady Cathcart School, Buckie.

Mr. John Murray Gibbon (alumnus, 1890) has been re-elected Pre-
sident of the Canadian Authors' Association for a second term (see Review,
viii, 275). He has also been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of
Canada.

Mr. James Grant (M.A., 1895), formerly Headmaster of Leslie Public
School, Aberdeenshire, who has been appointed Headmaster of Tough Public
School (see p. 179), was presented, on leaving Leslie, with a timepiece sub-
scribed by the pupils and friends and an inlaid mahogany Sheraton table for
Mrs. Grant. He was also the recipient of a silver inkstand presented by the
members of the Kirk Session of the parish church, in appreciation of his
fourteen years' voluntary service as session clerk and treasurer to the church.

Mr. William Morton Grant (M.A., 1919) and Mr. John Martin
(M.A., 1920) have been awarded the two Lumsden and Sachs Fellowships of
j£4o each at the Aberdeen United Free Church College. Mr. Martin also
gained the Foote Scholarship in Hebrew. Mr. James Youngson (M.A., 1921)
gained the Salmond Prize in Dogmatics.

Rev. John Alexander Gunn (M.A., 19 15), minister of the United Free
Church, Rosehall, Golspie, Sutherlandshire, has been appointed minister of
the United Free Church, Cumbernauld, Dumbartonshire.

Dr. Peter Howie (M.B., 1893) has been appointed certifying surgeon
under the Factory and Workshops Acts for the Aberdeen district of the
county of Aberdeen.

Mr. Norman J. H. Hilson (M.A., 1919) has been appointed Headmaster
of Cairnorrie Public School, Methlick, Aberdeenshire.

Dr. Adam Hutton (M.B., 1907), on leaving Wartle to take up practice
in Aberdeen, was presented with a revolving bookcase and a wallet of Treasury
notes, " as a token of esteem from his well-wishers in Wartle and district ".

Mr. John Kellas (M.A., 1920), assistant in History in the University,
has been appointed secretary and treasurer to the newly-established Society
for the Social and Civic Welfare of Aberdeen, of which Bishop Deane is
President.

Mr. William Dow Kennedy (M.A., 1898) has been appointed assistant
teacher of mathematics and science in Buckie Secondary School.

Personalia 275

Rev. Philip Douglas Lawrence (M.A., 1919), son of the late Mr. C. M.
Lawrence, shorthand teacher, Aberdeen, has been elected minister of the New
Deer and Maud United Free Church congregations, in succession to Rev.
William Beveridge (M.A., 1884), recently appointed superintendent of the
Church's Mission at Budapest (see p. 177).

The following have been appointed resident medical officers at the
Aberdeen Royal Infirmary for the current year : Dr. John Ledingham (M.B.,
1922); Dr. John K. Cumming (M.B., 1922); Dr. Charles Donald ^M.B.,
1922) ; and Dr. James F. Fraser (M.A., 1914 ; M.B., 1922).

Mr. William Lillie (M.A., 192 1) is joining the foreign missionaries of
the Church of Scotland, and will take up the duty of Professor of Philosophy
in the Murray College, Sialkot, Punjab, India (see p. 81).

Mr. William Nevins Macdonald (M.A., 1903) has been appointed
principal teacher of French in the Central Secondary School, Aberdeen.

Rev. Alexander Mackenzie (M.A., 1914; B.D.), assistant. South
Dalziel Parish Church, Motherwell, has been appointed assistant and successor
to Rev. Dr. David Dickie, St. Luke's parish, Glasgow.

Rev. Charles Mackie (M.A., 1877), who has been minister of the parish
of Drumoak, Aberdeenshire, since 1883, has retired from the ministry. Mr.
Mackie, who is now seventy years of age, gave as his reason for retiring that
he did not think it fair to the Church or to himself " to cling to office when
Nature has issued her summons to let go." At a farewell meeting with his
parishioners, Mr. Mackie war presented with a wallet of Treasury notes and a
silver salver.

In the recently published list of King's Birthday honours appeared
the name of Mr. Alexander Marr (M.A., 1897 ; B.Sc, 1898), Financial
Secretary to the Government of Bengal, created CLE.

Lord Meston (LL.D., 1913) is Chairman of a Departmental Committee
appointed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to investigate the question of
Government grants to local services.

Rev. Archibald Henderson Mitchell (M.A., 1919; B.D., 1922),
until recently assistant to Rev. Dr. Robert Thomson, Rubislaw Parish Church,
Aberdeen, has left for Kirkcaldy to become assistant to Rev. Dr. John Campbell,
of the Parish Church.

Mr. William Murison (M.A., 1884) has been appointed an additional
Examiner in English at Edinburgh University.

Rev. Dr. Gordon John Murray (M.A., 1878 ; B.D., 1882 ; D.D., 1910)
was appointed by Rev. Dr. John Smith, the Moderator of the General
Assembly of the Church of Scotland, one of his assistant chaplains during the
recent sittings of the General Assembly.

Mr. Malcolm William Murray (M.A., 1902 ; B.A.) has been appointed
principal teacher of French at Robert (Gordon's College (Secondary School).

The honorary degree of LL.D. of St. Andrews University was conferred
on Sir William Robertson Nicoll, C.H. (M.A., 1870 ; LL.D., 1890; D.D.
[Halifax], 1920), in absentia, at the graduation held on May 3 on the occa-
sion of the installation of the Chancellor (Lord Haig) and the Rector of the
University (Sir James Barrie).

Mr. Peter Scott Noble (M.A., 192 1), in the recent Tripos examina-
tions at Cambridge University, passed in Class I. of the classical Tripos,
Part I. (see p. 82).

The Very Rev. Dr. James Nicoll Ogilvie (M.A., 1881 ; D.D., 1911),

276 Aberdeen University Review

Convener of the Foreign Missions Committee of the Church of Scotland, has
returned to Edinburgh from visiting the mission stations in India (see p. 82).
In the course of a strenuous tour, entailing 9000 miles' travelling, all the
mission fields and Scottish congregations of the Church were visited, as well
as the Scottish Regiments, and, in addition, several of the fields of the United
Free Church. Dr. Ogilvie reported to the recent General Assembly concern-
ing the tour and the general situation in India as it affects the Church's work.

Mr. Alexander Cardno Paterson (M.A., 191 1), who hails from Enzie,
in Banffshire, has been appointed Rector of Holy Cross Academy, Leith.
After graduating, Mr, Paterson was appointed principal teacher of English at
Fordyce Academy, and ten years later — in June of last year — was appointed
principal teacher of English at St. Mungo's Academy, Glasgow.

Rev. John Cameron Peddie (M.A., 1910), minister of the High United
Free Church, Aberdeen, has received a call to the Westbourne United Free
Church, Barrhead, Renfrewshire.

Major M. B. H. Ritchie, O.B.E., D.S.O., R.A.M.C. (M.B., 1904), who
has held an appointment at the Horse Guards, London, for the past three
years, has now proceeded to Malta for duty.

Mr. Samuel Ritchie (M.A., 1908), Headmaster of Cairnorrie Public
School, Methlick, has been appointed Headmaster of the Bridge of Don
School, Aberdeen.

Mr. Kenneth Mackintosh Robertson (M.A., 192 1) has taken to acting
as a profession, his stage name being " Kenneth Dare." He has recently
organized the Histrionic Art Company, which intends to produce literary and
poetical plays throughout the country.

Rev. William Dawson Scott (M.A., 1903), who, on account of ill
health, resigned his charge at Ladyburn, Glenluce, and subsequently, on
recovery, acted as assistant to Rev. Mr. M'Neil, Auldearn, from April, 19 18,
to November, 1920, has been appointed by the Brechin and Fordo un
United Free Presbytery as minister without charge at Maryton, near Montrose,
in succession to the late Rev. William Fairweather, for a period of three years.

Mr. Alexander Wilson Simpson (M.A., 1880), who has retired from
the Headmastership of the Public School, Monymusk, after thirty-two years'"
service (see p. 182), was recently waited upon by a deputation representing
the parishioners and friends and former pupils at a distance, and he and Mrs.
Simpson were presented with a parting gift. The gift took the form of two
easy chairs (one of them suitably inscribed), the balance of the money sub-
scribed to be used to purchase some other suitable article.

Dr. George Smith (M.A., Hons., 1881 ; LL.D., 1908) has resigned the
post of Director of Studies of the Aberdeen Training Centre which he has
held for the last fifteen years. On leaving the University, he entered the
teaching profession. After a year at Milne's Institution, Fochabers, he was
for eight years (1881-89) Headmaster of the Gordon Schools, Huntly ; and
then for nine years (1889-98) Rector of Elgin Academy. In 1898 he was
appointed Rector of the Free Church Training College, Aberdeen. The
two denominational Training Colleges in Aberdeen came to an end in 1907
on the establishment of the Training Centre, and as Director of Studies in
the new institution Dr. Smith took up the labours previously performed by Dr.
Joseph Ogilvie and himself. The duties pertaining to this educational post —
regarded as the most responsible in the north of Scotland outside the Univer-
sity— have been carried out by Dr. Smith with notable energy and organizing

Personalia 277

ability. He is succeeded as Director of Studies by Mr. George A. Burnett
(M.A. Hons., 1902 ; B.Sc), Master of Methods at the Training Centre,

At the recent Convocation of Calcutta University at which the honorary
degree of LL.D. was conferred on the Prince of Wales, the other recipients of
honorary degrees included Rev. Dr. Henry Stephen (M.A., Hons., Aberd.,
1870; D.D., 1914), Syndic Fellow, and Professor of English Literature in
Calcutta University, who was one of two to receive the degree of Ph.D. Dr.
Stephen was for several years Professor of Philosophy in the Scottish Churches'
College, Calcutta. He is the author of various works in philosophy which
have had a wide circulation in India.

Sir Charles Edward Troup, K.C.B., K.C.V.O. (M.A., 1876; B.A
[Oxon.], 1883; LL.D., 1 91 2), is Chairman of the tribunal appointed by the
Chief Secretary for Ireland to consider the hardships suffered by individual
members of the Royal Irish Constabulary owing to the disbandment of the
force and cognate matters.

Professor Robert Strachan Wallace (M.A., 1904), Professor of English
in Melbourne University (formerly Lecturer in English in Aberdeen Univer-
sity), has been appointed Film Censor for the Australian Commonwealth.

Dr. James McPherson Wattie (M.A., 1883 ; LL.D., 1919), Chief In-
spector of Schools for the Northern District of Scotland, has been promoted
to the Chief Inspectorate of the Western District at Glasgow.

Mr. George Wilson (M.A., 191 3), Headmaster of Forglen School, has
been appointed Headmaster of King-Edward School, Aberdeenshire.

Mr. Norman James Wilson (MA., 192 1) has been awarded the Hunter
gold medal in Roman Law.

The Very Rev. Dr. James Wiseman (M.A., 1869 ; D.D., 1905), Dean of
the diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney, has retired from the Rectorship of St.
Machar's Episcopal Church, Bucksbum, Aberdeen. Dean Wiseman was in-
cumbent of St. Andrew's, Alford, from 1870 to 1874, when he was removed
to the charge at Bucksbum. He was appointed Dean of the Diocese by
Bishop Douglas in 19 10. His successor as rector of St. Machar's, Bucksbum,
is Rev. WiLLAiM Pennie (M.A., 1900), who has been rector of St. George's
Episcopal Church, Folia Rule, Rothienorman, since 19 13. Dr. Wiseman has
also resigned the Deanship, and to that office Bishop Deane has preferred Rev.
Canon Robert Mackay (M.A., 1881), Rector of St. John's Church, Longside.

Miss Christina Battisby (M.A., 192 1) has b^en appointed a teacher
in the Buckie Secondary School.

Miss Ann Wilson Hastings (M.A., 1915), of the Middle Temple, was
one of three students (all of them women) who passed first class in Roman
Law in the Easter term examinations for the English bar. In the beginning
of the year. Miss Hastings also passed first class in Criminal Law and Pro-
cedure, and was awarded the Campbell Foster prize for the best student of
the Middle Temple in that subject.

Miss Ellen J. M. Hijnter (M.A., 191 2), teacher, Central Secondary
School, Aberdeen, has resigned, and has been succeeded by Miss Annie C.
Mathewson (M.A., 1915).

Miss Beatrice Weir Simpson (M.A, 1913 ; B.Sc, 1917), assistant
lecturer in the Chemistry department of Robert Gordon's Technical College,
was presented by the students of the School of Pharmacy with a silver-
mounted grey morocco writing-case, on the occasion of the termination of her
association with the pharmacy classes.

278 Aberdeen University Review

Among recently-published works by University men were the following : —
" The Haunts of Life," being six lectures delivered at the Royal Institu-
tion, Christmas Holidays, 1920-1921, by Professor J. Arthur Thomson ; "An
Indian Pilgrimage," by Dr. J. N. Ogilvie; "Pelagius's Expositions of Thirteen
Epistles of St. Paul — I. Introduction," by Professor Alexander Souter ; " Ter-
tuUian : Concerning the Resurrection of the Flesh," translated by Professor
Alexander Souter ; " Conciliation and Arbitration," by Professor R. N.
Gilchrist, of Krishnigar College, Bengal, Acting Controller of the Government
of India Labour Bureau ; " Sharing Profits with Employees," by James A.
Bowie (M.A., 1914); "Jane's Admirals," by James Davidson (M.A., 1881) ;
"Bums and Folk-Song," by Alexander Keith (M.A., iqi6); and "Eternal
Helen" (poems), by Dr. Frank Pearce Sturm (M.B., 1907).

Principal Skinner of Westminster College has completed a new work
entitled " Prophecy and Religion ; Studies in the Life of Jeremiah." The
book is based on the Principal's Cunningham Lectures, which have been ex-
panded since they were delivered in New College, Edinburgh, in the spring of
1920, and re-arranged. Nine chapters have been added in order to present
a more detailed picture of Jeremiah than was possible in the lectures.

Sir John Fleming (LL.D., 1902) has written his Reminiscences and
published a volume for private circulation among his friends.

A new work by Professor J. Arthur Thomson, "The Biology of Birds,"
is announced for early publication.

Our readers will be pleased to learn that Sheriff Blair's article on "Re-
collections of the Gym." in the Review for June, 1919, is to be included
in extenso in Dr. Alexander Shswan's forthcoming volume on the Gymnasium,
Old Aberdeen.

Dr. Alexander Maxwell Adams, of Tibshelf, Derbyshire, has just had
privately printed a pamphlet titled " A Dynasty of Doctors," which tells the
history of ten doctors of the name of Adams, the first four bearing the name
of Alexander Maxwell Adams. The family came from Limavady, in Ireland,
and the first doctor (i 792-1860) took his degree at Edinburgh University.
His son, also Alexander Maxwell Adams (1813-67), and a younger son,
James Maxwell Adams (1818-99), took their M.D. degree at King's College,
Aberdeen, in 1849.

" It is rather unique in a vast organization like the Army Medical Corps,"
writes a correspondent, "to find a numerically small medical school like
Aberdeen having its graduates in high places to the extent that Aberdeen
University had during the war." As an instance, he points out that Major
M. B. H. Ritchie (regarding whom there is a note on a previous page), who
served in France from August, 19 14, till after the Armistice, was for a long
time assistant to a very distinguished Aberdeen graduate, Major-General
Stuart Macdonald, C.B., C.M.G. (M.B., 1884). During the last year of
the war. Major Ritchie held an important appointment on the staff" of the
Director-General of the Medical Services at General Headquarters ; and out
of a staflF of four principal officers one was always an Aberdonian — later, there
were two. Colonel Claude Kyd Morgan, C.B. (M.B., 1893) was the
original; and when he left Major Ritchie joined. Still later, the Deputy-
Director-General was also an Aberdonian — Major-General James Thomson,
CB. (M.A., 1883; M.B., 1886).

From "Conference: a Quarterly Paper in connection with the United
Free Church of Scotland Missions in India," ably edited by Rev. Dr. J. M.

Personalia 279

Macphail of Bamdah, we take the following : The Biennial Conference of
the Missions is to take place at Pachamba in December of this year. Some
striking facts are noted as to the longevity of missionaries to India. Besides
the Rev. John Anderson, formerly Church of Scotland missionary in Calcutta,
who died in March at the age of one hundred, there are three missionaries
still active who are over seventy-five years of age, Dr. Hume of Ahmednagar,
Dr. Ballantine of Rahuri, and Mr. Gates of Sholapur, each with already forty-
seven years of work to his credit. And it must be forty-eight years since
Dr. Henry Stephen (M.A., 1870 ; D.D., 1914) first went to India. The ap-
pointment is noted of Miss Marion Mowat (M.B., 1921). Mission reports for
1 92 1 are summarized. In the Calcutta Scottish Churches College the enrol-
ment was 1029. " The Bengalis must believe in a College to which they pay
over a lakh of rupees in a year in fees, and in which at least one of the classes
could have been filled four or five times over by candidates for enrolment."
The University examinations results were extraordinarily good; our warm
congratulations to our graduate, Principal Watt (M. A., 1884; D.D.. I9i2)and
his colleagues. In the report of the Madras Christian College a warm tribute
is paid to Principal William Skinner, CLE. (M.A., 1880 ; D.D., 1908), on
his retirement. Rev. D. T. H. Maclellan (M.A., 191 6) has left the Scottish
Churches Mission for a Church of Scotland chaplaincy. Several missions
gratefully record the visit to them of the Very Rev. Dr. J. N. Ogilvie (M.A.,
1881 ; D.D., 1911) and Mrs. Ogilvie. There are reviews of Dr. Macphail's
very interesting "The Story of the Santal," printed at the Santal Mission
Press and published by Thacker, Spink & Co., Calcutta, and of Fraser and
Edwards' "Life and Teaching of Tukaram," the extraordinary Hindu poet
and teacher of the seventeenth century.

Obituary.

It is with extreme regret that we have to record the death of one of the
most eminent of the contemporary sons of " Alma Mater " — one who was
characterised by Sir Alexander Ogston as " probably the most distinguished
man of science who ever graduated in medicine in the University of Aber-
deen ". Sir Patrick Manson, G.C.M.G. (M.B., 1865 ; M.D., 1866 ; LL.D.,
1886 ; D.Sc. [Oxon.], 1904 ; LL.D. [Cantab.], 1920 ; F.R.S.), died at his
residence, 25 Portland Court, London, on 9 April, aged seventy-seven. A
parasitologist of great distinction, he was the first to trace the connection
between the mosquito and the malaria parasite, and he was the pioneer and
virtually the founder of the modern school of Tropical Medicine.

Sir Patrick Manson was the son of Mr. John Manson of Fingask, Old-
meldrum, Aberdeenshire, who was for many years the agent of the British
Linen Bank in Aberdeen. He had intended to be an engineer, but an injury
to his spine suffered in the works where he was a pupil turned him to medicine.
He studied at Aberdeen University, taking his M.B., CM. degree with
honourable distinction in 1865, and his M.D. degree in the following year.
He went out to the island of Formosa the same year (1866), to act as medical
officer to a group of merchants and missionaries. It is said that his first im-
pression was that there existed there " a considerable prevalence of diseases,
most of which had never been heard of in Aberdeen," but with the instinct
of the born investigator he set himself to study them and to discover their
causes. Becoming involved with the Japanese political service for helping
China to buy ponies during a Chino- Japanese " scrap," he left Formosa for
Amoy, in China, in 187 1. There he acted as medical officer to the Chinese
Maritime Customs, organised a Chinese hospital, and began researches into
tropical diseases, particularly elephantiasis, from which many of his patients
suffered. He pursued these researches for several years, employing his Chinese
hospital assistants to collect specimens of blood from their fellow-countrymen.
Elephantiasis was known to be due to a small worm named Filaria sanguinis
hominis from its presence in human blood, and Manson ultimately succeeded
in discovering that p>ersons became infected with the worm through the
agency of the mosquito, chiefly at night. As the biographical sketch of Man-
son in " The Times " put it : " Kill the mosquito, prevent its breeding, and
you will abolish the disease. The science of tropical medicine and hygiene
was founded. A new epoch in man's life in the tropics had begun."

Manson's discovery with regard to filiariasis (on which he published a small
book in 1883) led, almost directly, to the discovery of the connection between
mosquitoes and malaria, his hypothesis of this connection being demonstrated
by the investigations pursued by Colonel Sir Ronald Ross in 1895. The general
results that have followed have been described by Sir Alexander Ogston : —

Obituary 281

This discovery [as to the nature of elephantiasis] opened up a new and entirely unknown
field of investigation regarding many diseases, and led to the discovery that malarial fever
and other diseases were also multiplied and spread solely by their being absorbed from the
human blood by the mosquito, nourished in these insects, and conveyed by their bites to
infect healthy individuals.

The knowledge was spread and extended by Manson and many other investigators who
followed in his footsteps, with the result that many of the most virulent and important
infectious maladies, such as the notorious and deadly yellow fever, are now recognized to be
due to similar. causes, and can be combated and prevented in a way that had never before
been dreamt of. It is owing to Manson that such a medical triumph was obtained as the
conversion of the fatal district of Panama into a healthy zone where Europeans can dwell in
safety, and that, on his lines, the causation of such diseases as sleeping sickness is being
hopefully dealt with in Central Africa and elsewhere.

Sir Patrick Manson removed to Hong-Kong m 1885, and engaged in
general practice. He also founded a Medical College there for the Chinese,
and was its first Dean and Lecturer in Medicine. While at Hong-Kong he
became a thorough master of the Chinese language, and translated a well-
known surgical work into Chinese. His interest in China was manifested in
later years when he returned to London, for he was associated with Sir James
Cantlie in the romantic episode of the Hberation of Sun Yat Sen, the Chinese
political reformer, who was kidnapped in the Chinese Legation in London in
1896.

He returned definitely to England in 1890 and set up as a consultant. He
became physician to the Dreadnought (Seamen's Hospital Society) in 1894,
and in 1897 was appointed medical adviser to the Colonial Office. He was
also Lecturer in Tropical Diseases at St. George's Hospital and Charing Cross
Hospital. A lecture delivered at the former hospital in 1898 on the need of
the special study of tropical diseases attracted the attention of Mr. Chamber-
lain, then the Colonial Secretary, and the establishment of the London School
of Tropical Medicine speedily followed, Manson being appointed its head. In
1900 he was made C.M.G. ; the K.C.M.G. followed in 1903, and the G.C.M.G.
in 191 2. He retired from active practice in the following year, and for a time
he travelled in Ceylon and South Africa, noting hygienic problems. On his
return he continued to take a deep interest in the conduct of the London
School of Tropical Medicine and the progress of his special branches of science.

The notice of Sir Patrick Manson in the " Lancet " concluded as follows : —

He exercised great influence upon all who worked with him, for nothing was too big or
too small for him to consider ; his clinical acumen was sound, so that he made few mistakes.
His habit of thought may be summarized in his own words written in 1909 to his son-in-law :
*' Never refuse to see what you do not want to see or which might go against your own
cherished hypothesis or against the views of authorities. These are just the clues to follow
up, as is also and emphatically so the thing you have never seen or heard of before. The
thing you cannot get a pigeon-hole for is the finger point showing the way to discovery."
His own scientific hypothesis had a knack of turning out right — for example, his forecast of
the life history of Schistosoma hamatobium in the fourth edition of his manual of " Tropical
Diseases," in 1907 ; also his suggestion in 1903 of the two species of schistoma proved true
by Leiper in 1915. Younger men who came under Manson's influence remarked always that
in outlook and in knowledge he remained eager and enthusiastic to the end. His interest in
his work never flagged. Only fourteen days before his death he visited the London Schoo
of Tropical Medicine and critically examined some microscopical preparations, showing his
usual perspicacity in picking out the important points in each specimen and emphasizing the
lessons they taught. Almost the last words he uttered expressed his hopes for the future of
this school, for which he anticipated a still wider field of work in co-operation with the
Rockefeller scheme for the new Institute of Hygiene.

A well-merited tribute to the great value of Sir Patrick Manson's dis-
coveries to the world at large was paid in a leading article in " The Times " : —

282 Aberdeen University Review

Sir Patrick Manson was the father of modern tropical medicine. He founded and
inspired that great band of British workers, thanks to whose efforts the tropics are being made
safe for the white man. Triumphs over a whole category of disease have proceeded naturally
from his teaching, so that it may be said that a share of the credit of each of them belons;ed
to him. How great that service was this generation is probably incapable adequately of
judging, for, as yet, the harvest is largely unreaped. Our children's children may understand
the full significance of labours that, whatever betide, will stand as a memorial for all time, a
gift to humanity of which the value must increase from generation to generation. Yet, that
Sir Patrick Manson was able to save millions of human lives, that he was able to banish
disease from its immemorial fastnesses, that he was able to afford safe conducts to the
missionary, the soldier, and the merchant in many of the world's danger areas, are perhaps
the least of his achievements. Greater by far than these is the moral support which his work
has bestowed on what we speak of as Western civilization. For this, with all its short-
comings, has served man more nobly than any of its predecessors, in that it has taught him
how to accomplish the measure of his days in safety. War and famine, as we have seen in
our own generation, bring with them, too often, the horrors of pestilence ; and pestilence is a
fruitful soil of new wars and greater famines. To have broken that fatal chain in one of its
links is to have accomplished a work monumental in stature and infinite in its possibilities of
good.

A medal is being struck in commemoration of the services to the London
School of Tropical Medicine of the late Sir Patrick Manson, and the first
impression is to be presented to his widow. The medal, which bears on one
side a portrait of Sir Patrick, is to be presented annually to those members
of the school who distinguish themselves in clinical work.

Mr. William Adams (M.A., 1890) died at the Schoolhouse, Finzean,
Aberdeenshire, on 2 April, aged sixty. He was headmaster of the Finzean
Public School, and was well known in the teaching profession on Deeside and
also in Volunteer and Territorial circles. He served for many years in the
7 th Battalion, Gordon Highlanders, from which he retired with the rank of
Captain.

The Hon. Sir William Bisset Berry, M.L.A. (M.A., Marischal Coll.,
1858; M.D., Aberd., 1861 ; LL.D., 191 1), died at Queenstown, Cape
Province, South Africa, on 8 June, aged eighty-two. He was a native of
Aberdeen, a son of the late Baillie James Berry, a well-known optician in
Marischal Street. After obtaining his medical degree, he practised for a
short time at Kincardine O'Neil, but in 1864 he got an appointment as
medical officer on one of the vessels of the Union Steam Shipping Company
sailing to South Africa. Impressed by the fine climate and perceiving the
great potentialities of the new country, he resolved to settle there. He first
established himself at Burghersdorp, but subsequently removed to Queens-
town, where he speedily acquired a large practice. He also took a leading
part in municipal, educational, and other public afifairs, and served on several
educational and other Commissions. He was three times Mayor of Queens-
town, and his Mayoralty was conspicuously identified with the introduction
of a water supply on an extensive scale, the main reservoir being named after
him the "Berry Reservoir". In 1894 he was elected a member of the
Legislative Assembly of the Cape Parliament for the Eastern District of
Queenstown, and he retained his seat till 1909, being Speaker of the House
from 1898 till 1907, when he retired from the Chair. On the creation of the
Union of South Africa in 1909, Sir William Berry (who was knighted in 1900)
was elected a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Union for Queens-
town, and still remained a member though latterly, by reason of age and
infirmity, he was unable to attend.

Sir William Berry's greatest services to South Africa were probably

Obituary 283

rendered in the spheres of education and medicine. He was for several years
Chairman of the Senate of the South African College, and h6 founded the
hospital at Queenstown, besides advancing the knowledge of medicine by
many contributions to the medical press. He completed his eightieth year
in July, 1 91 9, and was then the senior member of the medical profession in
South Africa. " A man of the widest erudition and the most kindly courtesy,"
(said the "South African Medical Record" on the occasion) "our venerable
confrere is an ornament to the profession to which he belongs."

Among his many activities, Sir William Berry found time to act as Presi-
dent of the South Africa Aberdeen University Club.

Rev. James Archibald Campbell (M.A., 1865) died at the Manse,
Fetlar, Shetland, on 9 May, aged seventy-seven. He was a native of the Isle
of Man. He became minister of the quoad sacra parish of Quarter, Lanark-
shire, in 1872, and was translated in 1881 to Fetlar Parish Church, where he
ministered for over forty years.

Sir John Duthie, K.B.E., of Caimbulg, Aberdeenshire, and Kempsons,
Whitchurch, Buckinghamshire (alumnus, 1875-76), died at Whitchurch on
19 June, aged sixty-three. He was the eldest son of the late Mr. William
Duthie of Caimbulg, and a grand-nephew of the late Mr. William Duthie,
who, over a hundred years ago, founded the firm of Alexander Duthie & Co.,
shipbuilders and ship)owners, Aberdeen — a firm which established the first
regular line of sailing vessels between Britain and Australia, and was latterly
known as John Duthie, Sons, & Co. After being educated privately and at
Aberdeen University, he proceeded to Lincoln's Inn, London, and was called
to the English bar in 1880. When a student at Aberdeen, he assisted to
raise the ist Aberdeen Engineer Volunteers, in which corps he served as an
officer for fourteen years, retiring with the rank of Major. He succeeded to
the estate of Caimbulg on the death of his father in 1896, and a year or two
later he undertook the reconstruction of Cairnbulg Castle, then in ruins, re-
storing the keep, the round tower, and the entrance tower, and erecting a
building between the two towers on the foundations of the ancient edifice
and in much the same style as the original structure. In co-operation with
his neighbour, Mr. Gordon of Caimess, he promoted the St. Combs light
railway, the two proprietors making a fi-ee grant of all the land necessary for
its construction ; the railway has proved an enormous boon to the villages of
Caimbulg, Inverallochy, and St. Combs. Sir John also took a great interest
in the county scheme for the open-air treatment of tuberculosis, and presented
a number of open-air shelters to the county authorities. Art appealed to
him too. He originated the Aberdeen Artists' Society, and took an active
part in the organization of several Art Exhibitions in Aberdeen.

Latterly, Sir John Duthie was prominently identified with the business life
of London. He was Chairman of the Steamship Owners' Coal Association,
Ltd., and Vice-Chairman of William Cory & Son, Ltd., and he sat on the
boards of several other important undertakings. On the occasion of the first
great strike of the London dockers in the early 'eighties, he entered the field
on behalf of the London shipowners, and organized the free labour move-
ment, contributing thereby and otherwise to the defeat of the strikers. When
the Port of London Authority was created. Sir John was selected by the
London County Council as one of its representatives on the Court of the
Authority, and he occupied the post for seven years, rendering valuable service.
On the outbreak of the war, he took an active part in helping to organize the

284 Aberdeen University Review

multifarious auxiliary agencies which sprang up all over the country'. His
abilities and his organizing powers were speedily recogniztd, and on the
creation of the department of Director-General of Voluntary Organizations he
was appointed Deputy Director-General. He spoke on behalf of the depart-
ment at numerous public meetings throughout the country, including Aberdeen
and the north, and he did much to consolidate the voluntary services and
make the department the effective power it proved to be. In recognition of
his services he was created K.B.E.

Sir EvERARD Duncan Home Fraser, K.C.M.G., British Consul-General
at Shanghai (alumnus,i 1874-76), died at Shanghai on 20 March, aged sixty-
two. Educated at Fettes College, Edinburgh, the Gymnasium, Old Aberdeen,
and Aberdeen University, his intention was to enter the Indian Civil Service,
but this aim was frustrated by the change that was made in the age of candi-
dates, and, instead, he entered the Chinese Consular Service, readily securing
a place by competitive examination. His first appointment was in 1895 ^^
Vice-Consul at Canton, and two years later he was moved to Pagoda Island
in a similar capacity. In the same year he became acting Consul at Foochow,
and in 1899 was appointed Consul at Chinkiang, but acted as Consul at
Hankow, till 1901, when he was made Consul-General there. He was Consul-
General at Hankow till 191 1 when he went to Shanghai. He was appointed
C.M.G. in 1901, and it was in 1912 that he became K.C.M.G. A profound
Chinese scholar. Sir Everard Fraser assisted Dr. H. A. Giles, Professor of
Chinese at Cambridge, in the compilation of his Chinese Dictionary, and in
order to be near him, came to Aberdeen, and on two occasions made a
stay of some duration.

Dr. John Henry Gray (M.B., 1868 ; M.D., 1890) died at his residence,
Inverleigh, Ellington Park Road, Ramsgate, on March, aged seventy-seven.
He was a native of Louth, Lincolnshire, and practised at Upper Tooting,
London.

Dr. Alfred Hill (M.A., King's College, 1854) died at his residence,
Valentine Mount, Freshwater Bay, Isle of Wight, on 22 February, aged
ninety-five. Possibly, he was the oldest graduate of the University in point
of age, though not the senior graduate.

Dr. George Wright Hutchison (M.B., 1869 ; M.D., 1872 ; M.R.C.P.,
Ed.) died at his residence, 128 Ashbumham Road, Hastings, on 24 February,
aged seventy-four. He was the eldest and only surviving son of the late Very
Rev. Dr. George Hutchison (M.A., King's Coll., 1840 ; D.D., Aberd.,
1870), for forty-seven years minister of the parish of Banchory -Ternan, and
Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1877. Dr.
G. W. Hutchison was in practice at Chipping-Norton, Oxfordshire, for many
years, but had retired. He was a J. P. for Oxfordshire.

Mr. William Albert Keys (M.A., 1892 ; B.Sc, 1894), Science Master,
Central Secondary School, Aberdeen, died at a nursing home in Aberdeen on
1 2 March, aged fifty-one. He was a son of Mr, William Keys, for many years
Headmaster of the Public School, Kintore, but now retired and resident in
Aberdeen. After graduating, Mr. W. A. Keys was on the staff of the Aber-
deen High School for a short time, and later taught in the Bell-Baxter School,
Cupar- Fife, and in the High School, Oban. In 1896 he was appointed
science master at the Central School, and in 1903 he was promoted first
assistant, a post which he occupied with conspicuous success up to the time
of his death. He was a teacher of more than ordinary capacity and was

Obituary 285

responsible for the work done in the science department. For over twenty
years Mr. Keys was engaged in continuation class work, and for five sessions
he was headmaster of the Central Evening School, one of the largest and most
important continuation schools in the city. For many years he acted as
secretary of the Aberdeen branch of the Educational Institute of Scotland.

Dr. George Alexander Legge (M.A., 1873 ; M.B., 1879 ; M.D., 1881)
died at Cathay, Forres, on 8 June, aged seventy. He was the third son of
the late Mr. William Legge, of Huntly. He was in practice for many years
at Somerset East, South Africa, and latterly at Burghead, Morayshire,

Dr, Horatio David Low (M.B., 1920) died at his residence, 764 Elm
Street, Peekskill, New York State, on 8 May, aged twenty-eight. He was an
American citizen, and was studying in Aberdeen when the war broke out, and
he served for some time as a Surgeon-Sub-Lieutenant on board the destroyer
" Ithuriel," After graduating, he acted as assistant to doctors in Methlick
and Thurso and was for a short time a physician in St. Mary's Hospital, East
London. His health broke down last autumn, however, and he returned to
the United States.

Dr. Donald Meldrum (M.B., 192 1) died at Banchory on 26 May, aged
twenty-four. He was the second son of Mr. Donald Meldrum, clothier,
Westburn Road, Aberdeen. After finishing his early education at Robert
Gordon's College, he entered the University as a medical student in 191 5, but
immediately he reached the age for military service he, in April, 191 7, enlisted
in the Royal Field Artillery and received a commission as Second Lieutenant
in September of that year. After a period of home service he went to
Belgium and France, and when demobilized in 19 18 he returned to the
University to complete his medical studies. He passed his final professional
examination last Christmas, and was one of twenty-eight ex-Service men who
received their degrees at a special informal " capping " ceremony. Shortly
after, he received an appointment as assistant to Dr, Smith, Buckie, Dr.
Meldrum was in his usual good health until shortly before his death, when,
feeling run down, he came home and went up Deeside for rest and recupera-
tion, but, unfortunately, a serious development set in, and he died as
stated.

Dr. John Theodore Merz (Ph.D. ; D.C.L. [Durh,] ; LL,D. [Aberd],
1905), author of "The History of European Thought in the Nineteenth
Century," and other works, died at Newcastle on 2 1 March, aged eighty-two.
He was largely connected with electrical undertakings, and was vice-chairman
of the Newcastle Electrical Supply Company and director of several other
companies.

Rev. Dr. Alexander Miller (M.A., 1864; B.D., 1868; D.D., 1905)
died at the South United Free Church Manse, Buckie, Banffshire, on 2 April,
aged seventy-eight He was a native of Thurso, and was the youngest of
three well-known brothers, Mr. Miller of Scrabster and Principal William
Miller (M.A., Marischal Coll., 1856; LL.D., Aberd., 1885), of the Madras
Christian College, now in retirement at Bridge of Allan, being the others.
After graduating M,A,, he proceeded to the New College, Edinburgh, and was
licensed as a preacher in the Free Church of Scotland in 1868, His inclina-
tions at this period tended towards assistantships rather than a permanent
settlement, and his experience was unusually large and varied. His first
appointment was at Newhaven, after which he proceeded to the Scottish
Church in Rotterdam ; then the Regent's Square (London) Presbyterian

2 86 Aberdeen University Review

Church benefited ft-om his services for a short period, and afterwards the
Presbyterian congregation at Brighton. After this he spent a more lengthened
period in the Free East Church, Aberdeen, which had been associated with
his early college life. His next assistantships were Ayr Free Church and St.
Stephen's, Glasgow.

Dr. Miller went to Buckie in 1875 as colleague and successor to Rev.
Robert Shanks in the Free Church (now the South United Free Church), and
ministered there for over forty-five years, a colleague being appointed a few
years ago ; and his name is inseparably bound up with the history of the con-
gregation and of the town. An enthusiastic advocate of foreign missions, he
was actively connected with the Foreign Missions Committee of the United
Free Church, and for nine years of that period he held the position of Con-
vener of the Committee. He celebrated the semi-jubilee of his settlement in
Buckie in 1900, on which occasion he was presented by the congregation
with an illuminated address ; and two years ago, in appreciation of his long
and worthy ministry, the congregation presented him with his portrait, painted
by Mr. Malcolm Gavin, A.R.S.A.

In the sphere of education Dr. Miller laboured strenuously for the benefit
of his district. He was for thirty-four years Chairman of the Rathven School
Board, and was recognized as an authority on the business side of educational
administration. During his chairmanship Buckie was raised to the status of a
Higher Grade centre. Dr. Miller annually presented many prizes to the school,
and among other benefactions established the dux gold medal, the Arradoul
bursaries, and the public school library, and he also presented many volumes
to the Public Library. When Buckie was constituted a burgh, he was the
donor to the town of the magistrates' robes. He did much to help the Madras
Christian College in its work, and established there Buckie scholarships and
prizes. He founded, in 1898, the Caithness Prize in History in the University.

Rev. George Compton Smith (M.A., King's Coll., 1849) died at his
residence at Rhynie, Aberdeenshire, on 12 June, aged ninety-one. He was
a native of Rhynie, a son of the late Mr. Peter Smith, and a brother of the
late Rev. Robert Harvey Smith (M.A., King's Coll., 1852), Congregational
minister at Duncanstone, Insch. He obtained a bursary at King's College in
1845, graduating four years later; for the past six years he had been the
senior surviving graduate of King's College. After graduating, Mr. Smith
became tutor to Dr. Wright's family at Barrow Hall, Lancashire, and classical
master and sub-principal in Totteridge Park School in 1857. He was later
appointed a classical master in Winchester Public School. Meantime, he
was a student for three years at Lancashire Independent College. He was
engaged in the ministry at Bere Regis from 1857 to 1869, and then was
appointed Principal of Pindle College, Southport, afterwards becoming
Principal of Athelhampton School, Southport, where he remained for the
long period of twenty-four years. In 1897 he was appointed pastor of the
Congregational Church at Rhynie, and retired in 1903. He has lived in
Rhynie since his retirement.

Mr. John Smith (M.A., Marischal College, i860 ; F.E.I.S.) died at his
residence, Kimberley, Torphins, Aberdeenshire, on 31 March, aged eighty-
three. He was for some time Headmaster at Tomaveen Public School, and
afterwards Headmaster at Logie-Coldstone Public School, and retired about
thirty years ago.

Rev. James Stuart (M.A., 1881), minister of the United Free Church,

Obituary 287

Torphichen, Linlithgowshire, died at a nursing home in Edinburgh, on 12
June, aged sixty-three. He was a native of Premnay. After graduating, he
became, in 1885, a licentiate of the Free Church (afterwards United Free
Church) of Scotland. He held for several years a Research Fellowship in
Comparative Religion in the University of Edinburgh. He was ordained as
colleague and successor to Rev. Alan F. Murray, Torphichen, in 19 10.

Dr. George Watson Hackney Tawse (M.B., 1891) died at his residence,
109 Scotch Street, Whitehaven, Cumberland, on 6 May, aged fifty-four. He
was the eldest son of the late Mr. Samuel Tawse, tailor, Aberdeen, and had
been in practice at Whitehaven for many years. Amongst the numerous
appointments he held were those of honorary surgeon to the Whitehaven and
West Cumberland Infirmary, police surgeon, medical assessor to the County
Court, medical referee to the Ministry of Pensions, examiner and lecturer to
St John's Ambulance Corps, etc.

Mr. John Taylor, O.B.E. (M.A., 1901 ; LL.B. [Edin.]), Town Clerk of
Durban, Natal, died at Durban on 14 June, aged forty-five. He was the
second son of the late Mr. John Taylor, Westview, Keith. He was educated
at the Keith Grammar School, and, after some years in the office of Messrs.
Thurburn & Fleming, solicitors, Keith, he proceeded to Aberdeen University,
and afterwards to Edinburgh University, having a distinguished career in both
Universities. Soon after graduating, he was appointed Deputy Town Clerk
of Johannesburg, and shortly afterwards succeeded to the Town Clerkship,
and while holding that post he successfully conducted for the Johannesburg
Municipality a lawsuit with Beardmore Bros, in Edinburgh in 1909-10. He
resigned the post of Town Clerk so that he could practise at the bar in South
Africa, but about two years ago he was offered and accepted the important
position of Town Clerk of Durban. Mr. Taylor, who took an active part in
politics and received the O.B.E. for war work, unsuccessfully contested a seat
in the Transvaal Legislature during the war years.

Dr. William Charles Taylor (M.B., 1889) died at Tarves, Aberdeen-
shire, on II May, aged seventy-two. He was for many years in practice in
London, and latterly resided at Barnhill, Broughty-Ferry.

Mr. Peter Duguid Thomson (alumnus, 1862) died at his residence,
Hazelbank, Sydenham Hill, London, on 20 April, aged seventy-five. Mr.
Thomson was one of the pioneers of British enterprise in North Borneo, and
for well over a generation was a notable and honourable figure in the com-
mercial life of the city of London. Born in Aberdeen and educated at the
Grammar School and University, he left early in life to join the Borneo
Company, which was formed in 1856 to carry on the business of "mining in
the island of Borneo and elsewhere, and merchants in all parts of the world."
Identifying himself with that company in its infancy, he devoted the whole
of a long business career to building up its fortunes. The success to which
the company attained is a matter of familiar record, and Peter Thomson's
outstanding share in that success was fittingly recognized by his occupancy
of the post of managing director, an appointment which he only relinquished
a few years ago as the result of advancing years.

Dr. Augustus Desire Waller (M.B., 1878 ; M.D., 1881 ; F.R.S.,
LL.D.), Director of the Physiological Laboratory in London University, died
at 32 Grove End Road, London, N.W., on ii March, aged sixty-five. He
was a scientist of wide repute and a member of many foreign academies of
Medicine, notably of Rome and Belgium. He was also a member of the

2 88 Aberdeen University Review

Biological Society of Paris and of the Physiological Society of Moscow ; and
he was made a Laureate of the Institute of France for his discovery of the
electro- motive action of the heart. He was the author of numerous learned
books on Physiology and other scientific subjects, notably an exceptionally
original " Introduction to Human Physiology ". Among his other works were
volumes of lectures on animal electricity, the signs of life, physiology the
servant of medicine, the electrical action of the human heart, and a very
suggestive essay on the psychology of logic. He was early led to the study of
the electro-motive phenomena of the heart-beat, from which came his discovery
that an electro-diagram could be recorded on the human subject. Thanks to
Dr. Waller, the string galvanometer became available for clinical diagnosis,
and soon spread from his laboratory in all directions. He was a pioneer of
galvanography in physiology, and the first to record photographically the
negative variation and electrotonic currents of nerve.

Dr. Richmond Cotts Willock (M.B., 1868 ; M.D., 1872) died at
2 Albany Mansions, Albert Bridge Road, London (the residence of his son-
in-law) on 15 March, aged eighty-one. He was for a long time in practice in
Aberdeen, latterly in Golden Square, but retired several years ago.

Mr. William Yuill (alumnus, 1860-62), residing at 29 St. Swithin Street,
Aberdeen, died at a nursing home in Aberdeen on 1 7 May, aged seventy-eight.
He was the eldest son of the late Rev. James Yuill, for many years Free
Church minister at Peterhead, and a brother of the late Mr. George Skelton
Yuill (alumnus, 1864-66), the well-known Australian merchant, who founded
the Yuill Scholarship in Chemistry in the University (see Review, ii, 1 69 ;
v, 88). He was educated at the Gymnasium, Old Aberdeen, under Dr.
Alexander Anderson, his maternal uncle, and later attended classes at the
University, but did not take the complete Arts course. He received his
training as a civil engineer in Aberdeen, and was engaged on the South
Breakwater and other important harbour works then being carried out under
the late Mr. Dyce Cay. For some years Mr. Yuill was in India as a railway
engineer, and, returning to this country, he set up practice in London and
gained an important connection as a sanitary engineer. He subsequently
went out to Australia, and after spending a number of years there he retired
and took up his residence in Aberdeen. During the war Mr. Yuill rendered
very useful service in connection with the moss dressings depot, and for a
time took charge of the sublimating or sterilizing plant at Gordon's College.
Keenly interested in art, he was one of the founders of the Northern Arts
Club, and young and aspiring artists always found in him a warm patron and
friend.

Index to Volume IX.

Aberdeen University Club, London, i68,

268.
Aberdeen University Edinburgh Association,

169.
Aberdeen University Library Bulletin, 57,

158.

A berdonian A broad, The. By Robert Ander-
son, 36, 130.

Adams, Dr. Alexander M. : note on, 278.

Adams, Dr. James M. : note on, 278.

Adams, William : death of, 282.

Ainslie, Dr. David H. : death of, 88.

Alexander, Rev. Dr. Alexander : note on, 77.

Alexander, Rev. Herbert A. D. : note on, 77.

Alexander, Dr. John : death of, 88.

Allan, Dr. Alexander G. : death of, 88.

Allan, John Buckley : death of, 88.

Allardyce, M. D. : note on, 184.

Allison, Ernest R. : note on, 77,

Anderson, Dr. Alexander G. : note on, 177.

Anderson, Rev. Alexander J. : note on, 272.

Anderson, Annie : note on, 72.

Anderson, George A. : death of,'88.

Anderson, Dr. James S. : note on, 272.

Anderson, Rev. John : death of, 189.

Anderson, John B. : note on, 77.

Anderson, P. J. : note on, 177.

Anderson, Robert : Obituary, 88, 186, 280 ;
Personalia, 75, 175, 271,; The Aber-
donian Abroad, 36, 130; University
Topics, 60, 160, 255.

Andrew, Dr. Allan R. : death of, 189.

Angus, Alexander : note on, 77.

Annandale, Dr. James S. : note on, 177.

Appeal. By Principal Sir George Adam
Smith, 193.

Appointments Committee, 161.

Asher, William A. : note on, 77.

AuV Gairdner, The. By Alexander M.
Buchan, 115.

Bach, On. By Rev. Dr. H. W. Wright, 139.
Baird, Professor A. C. : note on, 271.
Bannochie, Dorothy M. : note on, 85.
Barclay, Alexander J. : note on, 177.
Barrett, William, note on, 77.
Barron, James S. : note on, 77.
Battisby, Christina : note on, 277.
Baxter, John T. : note on, 272.
Baxter, Dr. William : note on, 273.
Beard, Edgar: Lecturer in Bio-Chemistry,

160.
Beattie, Charles I. : note on, 273.
Berry, Sir William B. : death of, 282.

Best, M. S. : reviews Scotland's Mark on
America, 150 ; reviews Some Account of
the Oxford University Press, 248.

Beveridge, Rev. William : notes on, 177,

275-
Binnie, Dr. John F. : note on, 177.
Bisset, Rev. Peter S. : note on, 273.
Black, James : note on, 181.
Black, Rev. James: note on, 272.
Blackwell Prize Essay, The, 67, 259.
Blair, P. J. : note on, 278.
Bowie, James A. : note on, 278.
Boyd, Rev. Angus : note on, 77.
Boyd, Edmund B. : notes on, 77, 273.
Brander, Dr. William: Ch.M., 264.
Brown, Augusta E. R. : note on, 85.
Brown, Dr. Frederick W. C. : M.D., 264.
Brown, James: note on, 273.
Brovra, Dr. Robert N, R. : note on, 77.
Brownlie, Robert W. : note on, 73.
Bruce, Dr. George G. : note on, 177.
Bruce, Major Robert : note on, 77.
Bruce, Sir Robert: speech at Glasgow

Graduates' Gathering, 265.
Bruce, Dr. William S. : death of, 89.
Bryce, Viscount : death of, 189.
Buchan, Alexander M. : awarded the Sir W.

Noble Prize, 66 ; note on, 78 ; The AuV

Gairdner (prize poem), 115.
Buchan, William : note on, 160.
Bulloch, Dr. J. Malcolm: "Ours" in the

Great War, 26.
Bulloch, Dr. William : notes on, 178, 273.
Burnett, David : note on, 160.
Burnett, George A. : note on, 277.
Bursaries, The Sir James Sivewright, 259.
Bursary Competition, 73.

Calder, Charles C. : notes on, 78, 192.
Calder, Rev. George : note on, 76.
Calder, James B. : note on, 78.
Calder, Rev. Dr. John : note on, 273.
Calder, Professor W, M. : Laudatio

Funebris—Old Style, 35.
Calendar, The. By Professor H. M. Mac-

donald, 19, 97.
Cameron, Helen : note on, 85.
Cameron, Rev. Samuel W. : notes on, 78,

178, 273.
Campbell, Donald J. : note on, 73.
Campbell, Rev. James A. : death of, 283.
Carnegie Trust, 167.

Cash, Emeritus- Professor J. T. : note on, 176.
Chalmers, David M. A. : note on, 178.

19

290 Aberdeen University Review

Chitty, Edward C. : note on, 72.
Clark, George O. : note on, 273,
Clark, Rev. Rxhard M.: note on, 273.
Clark, Victoria E. : her The Port of Aberdeen

reviewed, 156 ; note on, 184.
Clarke, Duncan : note on, 272.
Clartce, John : note on, 75 ; The Case for the

Classics, I.
Class Reunions, 173.
Classics, The Case for the. By John Clarke,

z.
Clyne, Dr. Charles : note on, 273.
Cook, Dr, John W. : death of, 190.
Cooper, Very Rev. Dr. James : retirement

of, 178, 256.
Cooper, Patrick : note on, 78.
Cormack, James : note on, 78.
Cormack, Rev. William : note on, 186.
Correspondence : —

An Aberdeen Graduate in Virginia. By
Rev. Dr. James Gammack, 146.
Cowan, Professor Henry : note on, 75,
Cowdray, Viscount : retires from Rectorship,

61.
Cowie, Captain Alexander M. : note on, 178.
Cowie, Henry : notes on, 78, 83.
Cox, Rev. James T. : note on, 272.
Crabb, George : death of, 8g.
Craib, David : death of, 89.
Craig, Mary A. : note on, 87.
Cran, Rev. William : note on, 178.
Croll, Dr. William F. : note on, 178.
Crombie, Dr. James E. : note on, 75.
Crombie, James F. : death of, 89.
Crombie, James I. C. : note on, 73.
Cruickshank, George : note on, 78.
Cumine, John P. : death of, 89.
Cumming, Dr. John K. : note on, 275.

Danson, Right Rev. Dr.E. Logie : note on,
78.

Danson, Dr. James G. : M.D., 264.

Davidson, Alexander R. : note on, 265.

Davidson, Charles : reviews Spanish Litera-
ture, 57.

Davidson, David S. : note on, 78.

Davidson, James : notes on, 178, 278.

Davidson, Rev. Dr. John B. : death of, 190.

Davidson, Dr. Norman : note on, 78.

Davidson, Professor William L. : his Recent
Theistic Discussion reviewed, 239 ; notes
on, 75, 87.

Davie, Alexander : note on, 78.

Deans, Winifred M. : note on, 265.

Diack, Francis C. : his The Newton Stone
and other Pictish Inscriptions reviewed,
252.

Dickie, Jessie A. : note on, 85.

Dieth, Dr. Eugen : note on, i6o.

Dingwall, Hilda A. : note on, 265.

Don, Dr. Alexander : note on, 272.

Don, Charles S. D. : note on, 265.

Donald, Dr. Charles : note on, 275.

Donald, James : note on, 273.

Donald, Rev. Dr. James : note on, 78.

Dow, Dorothy J. : note on, 264.

Dow, Elizabeth M. : note on, 264.

Dow, Griselda A. : note on, 264.

Dow, John : note on, 264.

Downie, Allan W. : note on, 265.

Drew, Samuel : note on, 185.

Duff, Professor John W. : note on, 79.

Duffus, Alexander : note on, 178.

Duguid, Henry: note on, 178.

Duncan, Rev. Alexander A. : note on, 272.

Duncan, Douglass : death of, 90.

Duncan, George: Assessor for General

Council, 62 ; note on, 272.
Duncan, Rev. James : death of, go.
Duncan, Margaret S. : note on, 87.
Duncan, Thomas : note on, 274.
Dunn, Margaret A. : note on, 183.
Dunn, Rev. Peter : D.D., 175 ; note on, 274.
Duthie, Adam A. : death of, 90.
Duthie, James : note on, 79.
Duthie, Sir John : death of, 283.

Economic History, 161.
Edmond, Dr. George M. : death of, 187.
EmsHe, Alexander: Rendering in Sapphic
Metre of Robert Browning's Lines, 225.
Emslie, Frank : note on, 178
Ewen, Rev. J. S. : note on, 272.
Examiners, New, 66.

Fees, Increase of, 67.
Ferrier, Sir David : note on, 179.
Findlay, Rev. Adam F. : note on, 79.
Findlay, Professor Alexander : reviews J. N.

Pring's The Electric Furnace, 55 ;

reviews J. W. Mellor's Comprehensive

Treatise on Inorganic ani Theoretical

Chemistry, 241.
Fleming, Sir John : notes on, 75, 278 ;

Rector's Assessor, 176.
Forbes, Charlotte C. : note on, 85.
Forbes, Rev. James : death of, 190.
Forbes, Rev. James L. : note on, 179.
Forbes, Rev. William : death of, 190.
Forgan, Dr. Robert : note on, 79.
Forgotten Aberdeenshire Monastery, A. Bjr

W. Douglas Simpson, 121.
Forman, Frank : note on, 265.
Forrester, Robert Blair : appointment in

London School of Economics, 176 ; his

Cotton Industry in France reviewed, 148 ;

M.Com. (Manchester), 75; note on,

272.
Forsyth, Rev. Dr. Peter T. : death of, r86 ;

note on, 274.
Forsjrth, Rev. Stephen: note on, 81.
Fortescue, Maj. Archer \. : note on, 79.
Fowlie, Spencer S. : note on, 274.
Eraser, Dr. Douglas M. M. : note on, 79.
Eraser, Sir Everard D. H. : death of, 284.
Fraser, Dr. James F. : note on, 275.
Eraser, Jane Ellen : note on, 85.
Fraser, John : Professor of Celtic, Oxford,

75; M.A. (Oxon.), 179.

Index to Volume IX

291

Fulton, Professor William : notes on, 175,

272.
Fyfe, Rev. William D. : note on, 79.

Gammack, Rev. Dr. James : letter on " An

Aberdeen Graduate in Virginia," 146.
Garden, Dr. Murray Y. : M.D., 264.
Gardner, Surg.-Com. H. R. : death of, 90.
Garland, Hon. John : death of, 91.
General Council : election of Assessors, 62 ;

purging the Register of, 262.
Geology Chair, 161.
Gibb, Dr. A. W. : Important University

Benefaction, 223.
Gibbon, John M. : note on, 274.
Gilchrist, Professor R. N. : notes on, 87,

278.
Giles, Dr. Peter : note on, 87.
Gillies, John : notes on, 80, 83.
Giiroy, Professor James : note on, 272.
Glasgow Graduate -i' Gathering, 265.
Gordon, Alexander : note on, 80.
Gordon, Professor A. R. : note on, 87.
Gordon, Andrew : note on, 179,
Gordon, Mary : note on, 87.
Gordon, Robert : note on, 273.
Gmdon, Thomas : note on, 184.
Gordon, Dr. William : note on, 87.
Graduates' Dinners, 168.
Graduation, Spring, 1922, 264.
Graduation, Summer, 1921, 72.
Grant, Alexander R. : note on, 179.
Grant, Alison M. : note on, 87.
Grant, Dr. George C. : note on, 80.
Grant, James : notes on, 179, 274.
Grant, John G. : note on, 80.
Grant Medical Bursaries, 161.
Grant, William : note on, 87.
Grant, Rev. William : note on, 272.
Grant, William M. : note on, 274.
Grant, Rev. William M. : note on, 272.
Gray, Alexander : Professor of Political

Economy, 63.
Gray, Francis W. : reviews A. W. Stewart's

Some Physico-Chemical Themes, 247.
Gray, Dr. John H. : death of, 284.
Gray, Robert C. : note on, 87.
Greek, The new course in, 68.
Greig, James : death of, 91.
Greig, Sir Robert B. : note on, 80.
Grierson, Professor H. J. C. : note on, 87.
Griffith, Lt.-Col. T. W. : LL.D., 175.
Gunn, Donald B. : note on, 72.
Gann, Rev. John A. : note on, 274.
Gunn, William : note on, 72.

Hadden, Jessie H. : note on, 85.
Harrower, Professor John : Translations
from the Greek Anthology, 128; notes

on, 271, 272.
Harrower, Mrs. R. Blanche- Principal

" Rory " Macleod and His Posterity,

195-
Harvey, Alexander : note on, 80.
Harvey, Charles A. : note on, 179.

Harvey, Rev. Dr. James: The Lure of the

North, 142.
Harvey, Helen M. : note on, 85.
Hastings, Ann W. : notes on, 85, 277.
Hastings, Rev. Dr. James : notes on, 87, 184.
Hay, Professor Matthew : note on, 175.
Hector, George P. : D.Sc, 264.
Hector, Rev. Dr. John : note on, 179.
Hector, William L. : note on, 265.
Henderson, Jeannie E. : note on, 85.
Hill, Dr. Alfred : death of, 284.
Hilson, Norman J. H. : note on, 274.
Home, Sir Robert S. : elected Rector, 60 ;

appoints Assessor, 176 ; letter from, 268.
Howie, Dr. Peter : note on, 274.
Hunter, Ellen J. M. : note on, 277.
Hunter, Dr. Georg^e F. : death of, 91.
Hunter, Rev. William D. : note on, 179.
Hutchison, Very Rev. Dr. George : note on,

284.
Hutchison, Dr. George W. : death of, 284.
Hutton, Dr. Adam : note on, 274.
Hynd, Dr. Thomas C. : death of, 190.
Hyslop, Archibald F. : note on, 72.

Important University Benefaction. By Dr.

A. W. Gibb, 223.
Innes, Dr. Elizabeth J. : note on, 85.
Innes, Helen J. : note on, 184.
Innes, Isabella M. : note on, 85.
Innes, Dr. John : death of, 188.
Inter- University Conference, 263.
Ironside, George : note on, 179.
Ironside, James : note on, 179.
Ironside, Redvers N. : note on, 265.

Jackson, Professor Henry : death of, 92.
James, D. M'l. ; note on, 87.

Kayak, The Marischal College, 73.

Keith, Alexander : death of, 190.

Keith, Alexander : his Bums and Folk-Song

reviewed, 253 ; note on, 278.
Keith, Professor Sir Arthur : note on, 80.
Kellas, John : reviews England under the

Lancastrians, 149 ; note on, 274.
Kennaway, Charles G. : note on, 265.
Kennedy, William D. : note on, 274.
Kerr, Rev. Colin M. : note on, 180.
Keys, William A. : death of, 284.
Kirby, Percival R. : Professor of Music,

Johannesburg, 76.
Kirton, Dr. John : M.D., 72.
Knight, Beatrice D. : note on, 183.

Laino, Amelia H. : note on, 184.
Laing, Dr. Andrew R. : death of, 188.
Laudatio Funebris—Old Style. By Professor

W. M. Calder, 35.
Law, Eleanora M. P. : note on, 85.
Lawrence, Rev. Philip D. : no e on, 275.
Lawrence, Dr. Robert D. : M.D., 264.
Laws, Rev. Dr. Robert : on the Livingstonia

Mission, 169.
Lawson, Dr. Gordon C. : note on, 80.

292 Aberdeen University Review

Lawson, Dr. William : death of, 92.
Lecturers, New, 66, 160.
Ledingham, Dr. John : note on, 275.
Legge, Dr. George A. : death of, 284.
Lendrum, Rev. John : notes on, 180, 272.
Lendfum, Rev. Dr. Robert A. : note on,

180.
Letbbridge, Lt-Col. William : note on, 81.
Leys, George M. : note on, 81.
Lillie, William : notes on, 72, 81, 275.
Littlejohn, Mary V. : note on, 85.
Lofthouse, Rev. W. F. : D.D., 175.
Lorimer, William : note on, 8i.
Low, Dr. Horatio D. : death of, 285.
Lunan, Netty M. : B.A. (Oxon.), 183 ; note

on, 86.
Lure of the North, The. By Rev. Dr. James

Harvey, 142.
Lyon, Dorothea M. A. : note on, 86.

McAllan, James W. M. : note on, 182.

M'Bain, William J. : note on, 81.

Macdonald, Alexander : note on, 81 ; reviews
Macgregor Skene's Common Plants, 54.

Macdonald, Professor H. M. : notes on, 175,
272 ; The Calendar, 19, 97.

Macdonald, John : Lecturer in Celtic, 160.

Macdonald, Maj.-Gen. Stuart : note on, 278.

Macdonald, William N. : note on, 275.

M'Farlane, John : reviews R. B. Forrester's
The Cotton Industry in France, 148.

MacGillivray, Dr. Angus : note on, 81.

M'Gillivray, Dr. George M. : note on, 81.

MacGillivray, Dr. J. Pittendrigh : note on,
81.

M'Gillivray, Peter W. ; note on, 73.

McHardy, Elizabeth : note on, 86.

Mclntyre, Dr. J. Lewis : reviews J. E. Adam-
son's The Individual and the Environ-
ment, 244.

MacKay, George : note on, 180.

Mackay, Rev. Canon Robert: Dean of Aber-
deen and Orkney, 277 ; note on, 272.

McKay, Capt. Robert J. : death of, 92.

Mackay, Dr. William : note on, 272.

Mackenzie, Rev. Alexander ; note on, 272.

Mackenzie, Rev. Alexander : note on, 275.

Mackenzie, Margaret T. : LL.B., 264.

Mackenzie, Sir W. Leslie : My Friend James
Murdoch, 226.

McKerron, Robert G. : note on 265.

Mackie, Rev. Charles : note on, 275.

Mackie, James: note on, 180.

Mackintosh, Professor Ashley : note on, 175.

Mackray, William : note on, 96.

McLean, James : note on, 81.

Maclean, William : note on, 77.

Maclellan, Rev. D. T. H. : note on, 279.

Maclennan, William G. D. ; note on, 265.

Macpherson, Rev. James R. : death of, 92.

Macpherson, Rev. Dr. Robert : note on, 81.

Macrae, Edith M. : note on, 265.

M'Rae, John R. : note on, 82.

M'Robbie, Rev. William : note on, 82.

Mac William, Professor John A. : notes on,
. 175, 271.

Main, Ernest : note on, 82.

Mair, Rev. Hugh : death of, 191.

Manson, Sir Patrick : death of, 280.

Marnoch, Professor John : note on, 75.

Marr, Alexander : CLE., 275.

Marshall, Professor R. C. : LL.D. (St. An-
drews), 271 ; note on, 272.

Martin, John : note on, 274.

Masefield, John : LL.D., 175 ; note on, 264.

Matheson, Rev. James A. : note on, 180.

Mathewson, Annie C. : note on, 277.

Maver, Dr. David : note on, 272.

Mearns, Dr. John A. : death of, 93.

Medical Preliminary Examinations, 261.

Meldrum, Dr. Donald : death of, 285.

Merz, Dr. John T. : death of, 285.

Meston, Lord : notes on, 180, 275.

Middleton, Dr. William R. C. : death of, 191.

Miller, Rev. Dr. Alexander : death of, 285.

Miller, James D. : death of, 93.

Miller, Principal William : note on, 285.

Milligan, David M. M. : Assessor for General
Council, 62.

Milne, George : note on, 160.

Milne, Rev. Peter : note on, 82.

Mitchell, Rev. Archibald H. : note on, 275.

Mitchell, Dorothy : notes on, 86, 192.

Mitchell, Dr. George F. : M.D., 72.

Mitchell, John S. : note on, 7a.

Modern Languages, The teaching of, 71.

Moir, Dr. David R. : note on, 82.

Moir, Dr. William : death of, 93.

More, David : note on, 180.

Morgan, Col. Claude K. : note on, 278.

Morrison, George A. : note on, 84.

Morrison, James A. : note on, 82.

Morton, Dr. Thomas H. : death of, 94.

Mowat, James L. : note on, 72.

Mowat, Marion : note on, 279.

Munro, Dr. Stanley W. : death of, 191.

Murdoch, James, 109. (See also 226.)

Murdoch, James C. : death of, 191.

Murison, William : Sir Thomas Browne and
his "Religio Medici," 211; note on,

275.

Murray, Charles : To Professor Ashley Mack-
intosh, 107.

Murray, George : note on, 180.

Murray, Malcolm W. : note on, 275.

Murray, Rev. Dr. Gordon J. : note on, 275.

Mursell, Rev. Walter A, : note on, 185.

My Friend James Murdoch. By Sir W.
Leslie Mackenzie, 226.

Natural Science Scholarships, 161.

New Scotland, Tercentenary of the Birth of,

47-
Nicol, Professor Thomas : note on, 273.
Nicoll, Sir William R. : LL.D (St. Andrews),

275 ; notes on, 82, 87.
Niven, Professor Charles : resignation of,

255-
Noble, Dr. Alexander : note on, 273.

Index to Volume IX

293

Noble, Peter S. : notes on, 82, 275.
Noble Prize, The Sir William, 66, 115.

Obituary, 88, 186, 280,

Ogilvie, Sir Francis G. : Carnegie Trustee,

180.
Ogilvie, Very Rev. Dr. James N. : notes on,

82, 275, 278, 279.
Ogilvie, Lawrence : note on, 82.
"Ours'' in the Great War. By Dr. J.

Malcolm Bulloch, 26.
Overseas University Delegates, Visit of, 64,

Patkrson, Alexander C. : note on, 276.

Paterson, Thomas M. : note on, 265.

Peace, James B. : note on, 180,

Peddie, Rev. John C. : note on, 276.

Pennie, Rev. William : note on, 277.

Perry, Rev. Principal : note on, 184.

Personalia, 75, 175, 271.

Peters, Dr. Willy E. : note on, 82.

Petrie, David : note on, 82.

Petrie, Rev. Edmimd J. : note on, 82.

Philip, Alice Mary : note on, 86.

Philip, James : note on, 83.

Philip, Dr. James A. : note on, 180.

Philip, Professor James C. : note on, 83.

Philip, Rev. Pirie : note on, 273.

Pirie, Dr. William R. : death of, 188.

Pittendrigh, Rev. George: D.D., 175; note
on, 272.

Plimmer, Dr. R. H. A. : note on, 87 ; Pro-
fessor of Medical Chemistry, St.
Thomas's Hospital, 176.

Political Economy : Professor appointed, 63.

Post-Graduate School of Theology, 259.

Prain, Sir David : note on, 181.

Pre-Fusion graduates, 166.

Preliminary Examination, The, 67.

Principal " Rory " Macleodand his Posterity.
By Mrs. R. Blanche Harrower, 195.

Prize Poem (Braid Scots), 66, 115.

Professor Ashley Mackintosh, To. By
Charles Murray, 107.

Purdy, Rev. Henry D. : note on, 83.

Purdy, Dr. James R. : note on, 83.

Purdy, Dr. John S. : note on, 83.

Raban Tercentenary, The, 236.

Ramsay, Emeritus-Professor Sir W. M. :

note on, 176.
Readers, Proposed appointment of, 69.
Rector, Election of, 60.
Rector, The retiring, 61.
Rector's Assessor, 176.
Reid, Alexander : note on, 181.
Reid, Alexander McD. : notes on, 83, 272.
Reid, Charles : note on, 272.
Reid, William : note on, 181.
Rendering in Sapphic Metre of Robert

Browning's Lines. By Alexander

Emslie, 225.
Rennie, Dr. John : note on, 83.

Reviews : —
Aberdeen University Library Bulletin, 57,

158.
Adamson, J. E. : The Individual and the

Environment, 244.
Barclay, William : Banffshire, 252.
Black, George Eraser : Scotland's Mark on

America, 150.
Bremner, Alexander : The Physical

Geology of the Don Basin, 53.
Carnegie Institution of Washington, Year

Book, No. 20, 1921, 254.
Carpenter, Charles : Industrial Copartner-

ihipt 253.
Catalogue of the Taylor Collection of

Psalm Versions, 152.
Chisholm, George G. : Handbook of Com-
mercial Geography, 249.
Clark, Victoria, E. : The Port of Aberdeen,

156.
Cruickshank Science Library Subject Cata-
logue, 152.
Davidson, William L. : Recent Theistic

Discussion, 239.
Desch, C. H. : Metallography, 274.
Diack, Francis C. : The Newton Stone

and other Piclish Inscriptions, 252.
Flattely, F. W. and Walton, C. L. : The

Biology of the Sea-Shore, 242.
Flemming, Jessie H. : England under the

Lancastrians, 149.
Forrester, R. B. : The Cotton Industry in

France, 148.
Eraser, G. M. : The Old Deeside Road

{Aberdeen to Braemar), 154.
Grant, William (Ed.) : Transactions of the

Scottish Dialects Committee, 250.
Hart, Rev. Charles: A Shorter BibU

History {Old and New Testament) for

the use of Catholic Students, 254.
Keith, Alexander: Bums and Folk-Song,

253-
Law Examination Questions and Answers,

254-

Livret de L'Etudiant, Universite de Paris,
1921-22, 58.

Mackenzie, O. H. : ^ Hundred Years in
the Highlands, 51.

Mellor, J. W. : A Comprehensive Treatise
on Inorganic and Theoretical Chem-
istry, 241.

Milne, Rev. James : Present Day Questions,

59.
Murray, John : A Preutical Geography of

Dumfriesshirt-, 59.
Peers, E. A. : A Phonetic Spanish Reader,

57- . ,

Petavel, J. W. : Self-Govemment and the

Bread Problem, 159.
Pring, J. N. : The Electric Furnace, 55.
Reid, R. R. : The King's Council in the

North, 148.
Robb, William (Ed.) : A Book of Scots, 251.
Rosebery, Lord: Miscellanies, Literary,

and Historical, 49.

294 Aberdeen University Review

Reviews (cont.) : —
Skene, Macgregor : Common Plants, 54.
Smith, Rev. Harry (Ed.) : The Layman's
Book of the General Assembly of 1921,

59.
Some Account of the Oxford University

Press, 1468-1921, 248.
Spanish Literature, 56.
Stewart, Alfred W. : Some Physico-Chemi-

cal Themes, 247.
Stirton, Rev, John : Balmoral in Former

Times, 52.
The Buik of Alexander, 158.
Transactions of the Buchan Club, 157.
Trevelyan, G. M. : British History in the

Nineteenth Century, 246.
Young, A. H. : The Parish Register of
Kingston, Upper Canada, 1785-1811,
159 ; The Revd. John Stewart of King-
ston and his Family, 159.
Riddel, Alexander : note on, 83.
Ritchie, Dr. James : reviews Flattely and

Walton's Biology of the Sea- Shore, 242.
Ritchie, Major M. B. H. : notes on, 276, 278.
Ritchie, Dr. R. L. Graeme : D.Litt., 264.
Ritchie, Samuel : note on, 276.
Robb, Frank Moir : note on, 272.
Robb, Rev. George : death of, 94.
Robb, Isabella E. : note on, 86.
Robb, Jane W. : note on, 86.
Robertson, Sir Benjamin : note on, 181.
Robertson, Professor James A. : note on, 87.
Robertson, Kenneth M. : note on, 276.
Robertson, Thomas : note on, i8i.
Robertson, Rev. Thomas B. : note on, 181.
Robson, Dr. Thomas O. : note on, i8r.
Rorie, Dr. Frank M. : note on, 181.
Rose, Beatrice M. : note on, 86.
Rosebery, Lord : his Miscellanies : Literary

and Historical reviewed, 49,
Ross, Rev. Alexander : note on, 181.
Ross, Rev. Donald J. : note on, 84.
Rowe, Dr. Joseph H. : note on, 84.
Rowett Institute, The, 257.
Roy, John J. : note on, 181.
Russell, Rev. James A. : death of, 191.

Savbqe, Dr. James : death of, 192.

Scorgie, Norman A. : note on, 181.

Scott, Dr. John : death of, 192.

Scott, Rev. William D. : note on, 276.

Sellar, Dr. James A. : note on, 84.

Semple, Agnes L. : note on, 86.

Semple, Dr. Robert : note on, 182.

Semple, Rev. Dr. Robert : note on, i8i.

Shennan, Professor Theodore : John F.
Thomson Lecturer, 271.

Shewan, Dr. Alexander : note on, 184.

Shirras, George F. : note on, 84.

Simpson, Alexander W. : notes on, 182, 276.

Simpson, Beatrice W. : note on, 277.

Simpson, Ian J. : notes on, 72, 84.

Simpson, Muriel D. : note on, 86.

Simpson, W. Douglas: A Forgotten Aber-
deenshire Monastery, 121 ; reviews The

King's Council in the North, 148; re-
views G. M. Trevelyan's British History
in the Nineteenth Century, 246.

Sinclair, Harold A. : assistant to University
Secretary, 182.

Sir Thomas Browne and his " Religio
Medici" By William Murison, 211.

Skene, Rev. Alexander L. : note on, 182.

Skene, Macgregor: his Common Plants
reviewed, 54.

Skinner, Benjamin : note on, 77.

Skinner, Principal John : notes on, 84, 278.

Skinner, Principal William : note on, 279.

Sleigh, Charles W. : note on, 272.

Slorach, Rhoda C. : death of, 192.

Smart, Rev. Alexander : note on, 182.

Smart, Harry W. : note on, 84.

Smart, Dr. James : death of, 94.

Smith, Alexander E. : death of, 95.

Smith, Rev. A. Hood : note on, 272.

Smith, Dr. George: note on, 276.

Smith, Principal Sir George Adam : Appeal,
193 ; Baird Lecturer, 175 ; speech at
Aberdeen University Club (London)
dinner, 269 ; speech at Glasgow Gradu-
ates' Gathering, 267; speech at Raban
Tercentenary, 237; notes on, 75, I75»
176, 271.

Smith, Rev. George C. : death of, 286.

Smith, Rev. Harry : note on, 84.

Smith, Rev. Hugh M. : notes on, 84, 182,

Smith, Dr. James : note on, 84.

Smith, Rev. James : note on, 84.

Smith, Dr. James L. : death of, 192.

Smith, John : death of, 286.

Smith, Rev. Robert H. : note on, 286.

Souper, Dr. Hugh R. : note on, 182.

Souter, Professor Alexander : notes on, 87,.
278.

Stalker, Ella M. : note on, 184.

Stephen, Rev. Dr. Henry: Ph.D., 277; note
on, 279.

Stephen, Dr. James : notes on, 84, 182.

Stephen, Rev. William : note on, 87.

Stewart, Charles : notes on, 179, 182.

Stewart, Charles, O.B.E. : notes on, 84, 183.

Stewart, David : note on, 183.

Stewart, Gordon G. : note on, 273.

Stewart, William : note on, 183.

Strachan, Rev. R. H. : D.D., 175.

Stuart, Professor Alexander M. : note on, 272..

Stuart, Rev. James: death of, 286.

Students' Gala Week, 260.

Students' Half-Holiday, 165, 258.

Students' Unions, 164.

Sturm, Dr. Frank P. : note on, 278.

Summer School, Vienna International, 263.

Sutherland, James R. : note on, 72.

Sutherland, Sir Thomas : death of, 186.

Sutherland, Rev. William: note on, 272.

Sutherland, Rev. Dr. William S. ; note on^
183.

Taft, William H : LL.D., 271.
Tarrel, William : note on, 78.

Index to Volume IX

295

Tawse, Dr. George W. H. : death of, 287.

Taylor, John : death of, 287.

Taylor, Dr. James : note on, 183.

Taylor, William : note on, 183.

Taylor, Dr. William C. : death of, 287.

Temple, Maurice G. : death of, 95.

Terry, Professor C. S. : his Bach's Chorals

reviewed, 139 ; notes on, 87, 271.
Thain, Annie : notes on, 72, 86.
Theology, Post-Graduate School of, 259.
Thomas, William : reviews C. H. Desch's

Metallography, 247.
Thomson, Dr. Arthur L. : note on, 87.
Thomson, Fanny K. : note on, 184.
Thomson, John Alex. : note on, 84.
Thomson, Professor J. Arthur : notes on, 75,

87, 176, 184, 278.
Thomson, Maj.-Gen. James : note on, 278.
Thomson, Peter D. : death of, 287.
Toga, The : revival of, 258.
Trail, Professor J. W. H. : proposed

memorial, 271.
Translations from the Greek Anthology. By

Professor John Harrower, 128.
Troup, Sir Charles E. : notes on, 183, 277.
Turner, Cuthbert H. : LL.D., 175.
Turner, Dr. EUerington R. : death of, 95.

Universities Bill, New, 234.

University, The : bequests and gifts, 67, 162,
259 ; gifts to library, 68, 162, 163 ; lib-
rary extension, 68 ; library manuscripts,
259; Princess Mary's wedding, 160.

University Centenaries, 64, 164.

University Grants, 165.

University Reform Bill, 70.

University Topics, 60. 160, 255.

Upsala University, Fraternal greetings from,
164.

Urquhart, Rev. Robert : death of, 192.

Vacation Courses, 257.

Vienna International Summer School, 263.

Walker, Amy S. : note on, 86.
Walker, Dr. Daniel I. : note on, 85.
Walker, Doris : note on, 86.
Walker, Rev. George: D.D., 175.
Wallace, Professor Robert S. : note on, 277.
Wallace, Dr. William : death of, 95.
Waller, Dr. Augustus D. : death of, 287.
" Wandering Scholar," A, 74.
Watson, Pauline B. : note on, 184.
Watson, Dr. W. J. : note on, 76.
Watt, Principal John : note on, 279.
Wattie, Dr. James McP. : note on, 277.
Wattie, Margaret : first bursar, 73.
Wattie, Nora I. : note on, 86.
West Riding Graduates' Society, 171.
Whyte, Catherine I. : note on, 86.
Will, Dr. Alexander J. : M.D., 72.
Williamson, A. M. M. : note on, 85.
WiUock, Dr. Richmond C. : death of, 288.
Wilson, Alexander : note on, 73.
Wilson, George : note on, 277.
Wilson, Norman J. : note on, 277.
Wilson, Dr. Robert M. : note on, 272.
Wilson, Professor William S. : note on, 76.
Wiseman, Very Rev. Dr. James: retirement

of, 277.
Wishart, Rev. W. T. : note on, 272.
Wood, Rev. John : note on, 183.
Wright, Rev. Dr. H. W: On Bach, 139.
Wyness, Dr. James D. : death of, 189.

YouNGSON, James : note on, 274.
Younie, Alexander McD. : note on, 85.
Yuill, William : death of, 288.
Yule, Dr. Burton : note on, 85.
Yule, Dr. Vincent T. B. : note on, 85.

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