Mr. Napier engined and supplied the East India Company with the Berenice, 220 horse power, in the year 1836, and subsequently with the Zenobia, 280 horse power, both of which were used as war and packet ships by the company. In 1839, the British Queen followed with engines of 420 horse power, which were then considered of extraordinary size. Several finely modelled steam-yachts were also supplied about this time to the order of that great turf celebrity, the late Mr. Assheton Smith. Amongst these we may mention the Fire King, 230 horse power, a vessel which was the first illustration of the hollow-line system, and which proved itself to be the fastest steamer then afloat. In the year 1840 the Government was induced to enter into a contract with Mr. Napier to supply engines for two new war vessels, the Vesuvius and Stromboli, and, when the return for the cost of repairs, &c., of a number of war ships—including the Vesuvius and Stromboli—was ordered by the House of Commons in the year 1843, it was found that the work executed by Mr. Napier stood the test most favourably when compared with that done by some other engineers, and consequently proved economical to the nation. The origin of the British and North American Mail Company, or, in other words, the Cunard Company, in the year 1840, was an event of immense national and international importance, to the bringing about of which Mr. Napier contributed both by his counsel, and by his supplying the first vessels. Sir Samuel Cunard, who was evidently a man of immense enterprise and rare foresight, came across the Atlantic with the view of taking measures for the projection of a line of steamships between London and New York. Having been introduced to Mr. Napier through his friend Sir James Melvill, of the India House, Sir Samuel contracted with him for four vessels, each of 900 tons and 300 horse-power. Mr. Napier assured Sir Samuel at the time that vessels of this size would be inadequate for the requirements of the Atlantic trade, and suggested that they should be 1200 tons and 400 horse-power; but as he failed to alter Sir Samuel's mind on this point, he proceeded with the building of the vessels according to contract. Only a very short interval had elapsed however, when Sir Samuel again saw Mr. Napier, with whose views as to the size of the vessels he declared his complete acquiescence, although, he added, their cost, if built on the scale proposed by Mr. Napier, would be too much for him as a private individual to defray. Upon this Mr. Napier and Sir Samuel took counsel as to the likelihood and advisability of forming a company, the latter declaring that if he got a few others to join in the venture, he would go in for the larger size of vessels. The two Liverpool Companies that were carried on by the Messrs. Burns, and the City of Glasgow Company, had at this time formed a sort of coalition, and Mr. Napier took advantage of the circumstance of their amity to invite both to join in the new Transatlantic undertaking. At last about twenty gentlemen, most of whom subscribed L5000 each, entered into the scheme, and of that number we believe that Mr. Napier, Mr. George Burns, Mr. M'Iver of Liverpool, and Sir James Campbell are the only survivors. Four vessels of about 1200 tons each were ordered of Mr. Napier—the Britannia, Acadia, Caledonia, and Columbia, built respectively by Messrs. Robert Duncan, John Wood, Charles Wood, and Steele, and all supplied with engines of 400 horse-power by Mr. Napier. Thereafter he furnished the machinery for other vessels belonging to this company, including the Hibernia, Cambria, America, Niagara, Europa, Canada, and Arabia. All of these vessels have now been withdrawn from active service, being superseded by Mr. Napier's more recent and well-known vessels, Persia, 3000 tons and 850 horse-power; Scotia, 4000 tons, and 1000 horse-power; and China, 2540 tons and 550 horse power. Among more recent specimens of Mr. Napier's mercantile ships, we may mention the Pereire and Ville de Paris, 3300 tons and 800 horse-power, belonging to the French Compagnie Generale Transatlantique. He has likewise constructed the Malabar, 4174 tons and 700 horse-power (one of the finest Government troopships), which, we believe, has given much satisfaction.

Mr. Napier, we may add, has been very successful in the construction of machines and war vessels for the British, French, and Turkish-Russian, and Danish and Dutch navies; and when it was decided to reconstruct the British navy with armour-clad vessels, Mr. Napier's firm had the honour of furnishing one of the two armour-clad vessels first built, viz., the Black Prince, 6040 tons and 800 horse-power; the Audacious and Invincible, armour-clad frigates, also for the British Government, each 3775 tons and 800 horse-power; two armour-clad turret vessels for the Dutch Government of large size; and last but not least, the well-known Hotspur, which was launched in 1870.

There is one circumstance connected with Mr. Napier's career which, while it may have led eventually to his more intimate and cordial relations with the Admiralty, must also reflect credit upon his good sense and accommodating disposition. In the earlier days of steam navigation, and before it had been applied to Government ships, the Admiralty were without any school or dockyard where naval officers could be taught the principles and practice of the science. They tried, but unsuccessfully, to obtain admission into the more important private shipbuilding establishments on the Thames, such as Mosley's and Rennie's; and at last, as a dernier resort they resolved to try the Clyde. Making their requirements known to Mr. Napier, he received them with every consideration, and cordially acceded to their wishes, not only giving them perfect and unrestrained liberty to make use of his own works, but also securing for them the privilege of sailing free of charge in many of the vessels that then frequented the port of Glasgow. Some of these young officers subsequently obtained certificates as to their knowledge of steam navigation from Mr. Napier; and we understand that the Lords of the Admiralty did not lightly esteem credentials from such a source.

Having been so constantly and deeply immersed in the cares of his own extensive business, Mr. Napier, prior to his complete retirement into private life, had no time to devote to municipal or imperial politics. He was, however, even while most engrossed with his own affairs, an indefatigable promoter and supporter of all movements tending to the well-being of the city. In the local institutions of engineers and shipbuilders he has always taken a peculiar interest, and his sympathy and co-operation were never invoked for a deserving object in vain. In recognition of the eminent services he has rendered to marine architecture, he has had many honours heaped upon him. He was a juror of the Paris Exhibition of 1855, when he received the gold medal of honour, and the decoration of Knight of the Legion of Honour; he was chairman of the jury for Class 12 (Naval Architecture, &c.) of the National Exhibition 1862, and Royal Commissioner of the Paris Exhibition 1867, and then received a grand prize. He was one of the committee for the organisation of the Fine Art Exhibition in the South Kensington Museum in 1862, during the Great Exhibition. In the summer of 1864 he presided at the Glasgow meeting of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, of which he was then president; his hospitality on that occasion will long be remembered by many of the members of the profession who were present at the meeting. He is also a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers.

For a number of years past Mr. Napier has lived constantly at his magnificent residence at West Shandon, on the shores of the Gareloch. In the erection and furnishing of this palace he has exhibited a most refined and judicious taste. He has accumulated one of the finest collections of pictures, old china, and articles of vertu generally to be found in all Scotland, and an inspection of his valuable and varied collection is a treat of which the most accomplished virtuoso would gladly take advantage, and from which he would be sure to learn something new. The active management of the business of Robert Napier & Sons now devolves on Mr. John Napier, his youngest son. His other son, Mr. James R. Napier, who is a Fellow of the Royal Society, and distinguished for his inventive genius, is engaged in a business of his own, which he commenced in the year 1857.

To confirm what we have already said as to Mr. Napier's kindly and benevolent disposition, we might adduce many examples, but that they were never intended to see the light. In all his acts he is unostentatious, and seeks to avoid public comment. Perhaps he only allows one exception to this rule, and that is the splendid monument which he has erected to the memory of his friend Henry Bell, in the beautiful little churchyard of Row, within a couple of miles of his own residence at West Shandon. To this shrine many a pilgrimage has been and will yet be made.



MR. JAMES WATSON.

Apart from the dignity and importance of his position as Chief Magistrate of Glasgow, Mr. James Watson has unquestionable claims to be esteemed and honoured by the citizens of this our "no mean city." His uprightness and integrity of character, his business tact and ability, his sound judgment, and his rare administrative talents place him on an eminence rarely attained. Having received his education at Glasgow University, Mr. Watson entered a mercantile house in the city, where he remained for some years, and in which he acquired a considerable business experience. Subsequently he was connected with the Thistle Bank, which, as many of our readers will recollect, was ultimately incorporated with the Union Bank of Scotland. From the Bank he proceeded to the establishment of Messrs. John M'Call & Co., who were at that time among the largest grain merchants in Glasgow, and for some years Mr. Watson presided over their provision department—then of very considerable extent. When he assumed the profession of a stockbroker, there were no representatives of that business in the city. It is perhaps the most interesting feature in Mr. Watson's career that he was the first stockbroker in Glasgow; and it is no less interesting to contrast this fact with the position of the Glasgow Stock Exchange at the present time, when it occupies one of the finest buildings in the city, and its membership numbers not less than thirty large and influential firms. Besides these, there are fully a dozen firms of stock and sharebrokers not members of the Exchange. The first Stock Exchange in Glasgow was established two or three years after Mr. Watson commenced business in this capacity, its first local habitation being a building situated in Buchanan Street, on the site now occupied by the Bedford Hotel. Previous to that time there were very few joint stock companies in existence—investors being satisfied for the most part with the sweet simplicity of three-per-cents. Indeed, the only local companies that could lay any claim to the name of joint-stock or limited liability, were the Banks, the Gas and Water Companies, and the Garnkirk Railway. Mr. Watson continued the only stock and sharebroker in Glasgow for nearly two years, and in 1833 he took a prominent part in the establishment of the Glasgow Stock Exchange, of which he was the first chairman. For 22 years he continued to preside over the Stock Exchange, while that institution was laying the foundations of the high character and exceptional prestige which it has since acquired, and through which it regulates in no small degree the price of stocks and shares in other markets throughout the world. We may mention, also, that the Stock Exchange in Glasgow commenced its career with only twelve or fourteen members, and from this small nucleus it has continued to grow until it is now one of the most flourishing institutions of the kind in the three kingdoms.

About 15 years ago Mr. Watson's services were called into requisition in connection with the winding up of the Ayrshire Iron Company, of which he was a shareholder. The bankruptcy of this company, as many gentlemen on 'Change will well remember, was induced by the mismanagement of its affairs. The works of the company were extended far too rapidly, and, in order to compel business, iron was bought upon credit and sold for cash at a ruinous sacrifice. The result was that the concern became insolvent, with liabilities to the extent of L250,000, and without a copper in the shape of assets except the works at Dalry. It was a terrible dilemma, and very few of the shareholders were equal to dealing with the emergency. Mr. Watson, however, undertook the labour of extricating the company from its awkward position, and his efforts were ably seconded by those of the late Mr. James Dennistoun, and Mr. Mansfield, accountant, Edinburgh, assisted by one or two other gentlemen in Glasgow. On the bankruptcy of the company being announced, Mr. Watson called a meeting of subscribers, at which the late Mr. W. Brown, of the Standard office, was appointed to act as secretary. Time was allowed by the creditors, the money was called up by separate instalments, and with the aid of L60,000 borrowed from the British Linen and the Bank of Scotland Banking Companies the name of the concern was kept out of the Gazette. After a period of five or six years the whole affairs of the company were wound up, and the plant and premises were disposed of to the Messrs. Baird, of Gartsherrie, for the sum of L20,000, or fully L70,000 less than they had originally cost. Mr. Watson's efforts, his patient plodding industry and commercial skill in connection with this insolvency, were greatly commended at the time; and, indeed, as the affairs of the company were in a state of the greatest confusion, it required more than ordinary tact and perseverance to place them on an intelligible and proper footing.

It would be unpardonable to omit reference to Mr. Watson's intimate connection with the railway system in the West of Scotland. He was the first interim secretary of the Glasgow and Ayrshire Railway, which was promoted in 1836, and he continued to act in that capacity until 1839. Afterwards he became secretary of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway, in the promotion of which he was associated with Mr. Andrew Bannatyne, the late Dean of Faculty, and the first solicitor to the company. It will be remembered that the first bill of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway was thrown out of Parliament in 1837 owing to the strong opposition raised against it. In 1838, however, the bill was reintroduced, and passed—Lord Wm. Bentinck, the then member for Glasgow, being chairman of the committee. Ultimately Mr. Watson relinquished the office of railway secretary, but he continued to be associated in the management of the Edinburgh and Glasgow and Glasgow and South-Western lines with such men as the late Mr. M'Call, of Daldowie, chairman of the Ayrshire company; Mr. Fleming, of Claremont; Mr. T. D. Douglas, Mr. Leadbetter, and Mr. A. Smith, who now lives on the Gareloch, and who, we believe, is the sole survivor of the original directorate, with the exception of our townsman, Sir James Campbell. Prior to the establishment of the direct railway communication with England, Mr. Watson was concerned with the projection of a line of steamers between Ardrossan and Fleetwood—the railway only having been carried the length of Sir Hesketh Fleetwood's estate at that time. By means of this arrangement, in which Mr. Watson had the cordial co-operation of the directors of the Ayrshire Railway, passengers leaving London at 10 o'clock forenoon could break the journey, and obtain the relief of a night's rest in the boat, arriving in Glasgow at 12 o'clock next day. The vessels on this station were Her Majesty and the Royal Consort, but they were discontinued when the direct line to Carlisle was opened up.

The first model lodging-houses established in Glasgow, about 25 years ago, owe their existence to the efforts of Mr. Watson, assisted by ex-Provost Blackie, who, with a number of other directors, have since carried on these establishments, very much to the benefit of the community at large. There are altogether three of these model lodging-houses, situated respectively in Carrick Street, M'Alpine Street, and Greendyke Street, and the very large extent to which they have been taken advantage of by those for whose benefit they were built is the best possible justification of their origin.

Mr. Watson's services in connection with the various charitable institutions in the city are too well known to require comment or eulogium at our hands. Both in season and out of season he has always been ready to aid the dissemination of charity and philanthropy, and perhaps no gentleman in the city is more closely or more generally identified with institutions of this kind.

In 1863 Mr. Watson commenced his municipal career, having succeeded Mr. Thomas Buchanan as representative of the Eighth Ward. Two years afterwards he was appointed a bailie, Mr. Blackie, then Lord Provost, having invited his co-operation and assistance in the carrying out of the City Improvement Scheme, which was then in process of being hatched. Mr. Watson was the first deputy-chairman of the City Improvement Trust, and he continued to fulfil that onerous and important office up to the period of his election as Lord Provost, in November 1871. From the very outset he has been a staunch and eloquent advocate of the improvement scheme, against which, however, there was a great outcry raised, and maintained for some time after its adoption by the Council. We may here notice that the scheme embraced portions of the city covering between 50 and 60 acres, and containing a population of nearly 60,000—being equal to the entire population of Glasgow and its suburbs 100 years ago. The valuation of the property to be acquired amounted to L1,200,000, divided into many small holdings. In the summer of 1865 the preliminaries were adjusted and in the winter of that year application was made to Parliament for the requisite powers, which were obtained in the session of 1866. The Trustees were authorised to acquire the property within five years, to levy an assessment on the inhabitants not exceeding a sixpence per pound of rental, with further power to assess for ten years at threepence per pound to meet the expense for the new streets, and to provide for payment of the interest of the outlay as a whole. Power was also obtained to purchase ground for a public park in the north-east quarter of the city at an expenditure of L40,000. Up to the present time the Commissioners have spent L900,000; and so successfully have the affairs of the Trust been managed that there is now enough of revenue to meet the expenditure, while a large extent of ground remains on hand to be disposed of, so that it is expected the cost of the scheme to the public will be even less than the original estimate. The total properties demolished by the Improvement Trustees up to the 1st December 1871 number 1287 houses, with a gross rental of L7367. Of the usefulness and sanitary importance of the Improvement Scheme, even those who were its most determined opponents can scarcely now entertain a doubt. By the demolition of badly-ventilated and miserable dwellings in the lowest parts of the town, the Trustees have quickened the supply of low-rented houses for the working classes, so that within the last two years there have been erected within the municipal boundaries 1728 houses of one apartment, 3921 of two apartments, and 1368 of three apartments. It is not too much to say that from the outset, or at least since Mr. Blackie left the Council, Bailie Watson has been the head and front of the Improvement Scheme. He has taken the utmost pains both in and out of the Council to inculcate its obvious advantages, and it is largely due to his lucid and practical explanations that the public has been reconciled to the Act.

When the exigencies of commercial misfortune compelled the late Lord Provost Arthur to retire from the active discharge of his official duties, in the autumn of last year, Mr. Watson was at once appointed acting Chief. He continued to discharge the duties of the office in a satisfactory and efficient manner until the November election, when he was requested by the unanimous voice of the Council to allow himself to be nominated for election to the place of Chief Magistrate. The honour, we believe, was none of Mr. Watson's own seeking. His time had more than an adequate demand made upon it in other ways; but he was induced to set aside his own large and important business for the good of the city. During the short time he has already sat in the Chief Magistrate's seat, Mr. Watson has exhibited a marked capacity for public business; and it is not too much to predict that his administration will be signalised as one of the most successful and progressive in the annals of the municipality.



REV. DR. WILLIAM ANDERSON.

The Scottish Pulpit since the time of the Reformation has always been able to reckon upon some of the most eloquent and thoughtful preachers of the age. It seems as if the genius of Scotchmen tended towards ecclesiasticism. Religion, or, rather, theology—for there is an essential difference between the two—impregnates their whole existence, and mere children are imbued with pronounced views upon the minutiae of doctrinal distinctions, when they might be supposed to know only the practical bearings of hygienic laws. The Shorter Catechism instead of cricket and football—the Confession of Faith instead of music or other lighter accomplishments—have been inculcated by the early fathers of the Presbyterian Church. Hence the Scottish character is instinct with gravity, and pervaded by an earnestness that is strangely at variance with the levity and looseness common to nearly all ranks and conditions of Englishmen. But while their peculiar form of training has thus exercised a powerful influence in moulding the character and stamping the genius of the Scottish people with the sign manual of dogmatism, otherwise called the perfervidum Scotorum, it has also assisted to secure for Scottish preachers a world-wide reputation for eloquence and power. Flippancy and sciolism may pass muster at the bar, or even in the Senate House; but to be effective, the pulpit must possess in a high degree the qualities of earnestness and an ability to "prove all things." Few men have been more strongly fortified with these essentials to success than Dr. William Andersen, minister of John Street United Presbyterian Church, Glasgow. Born in the year 1799, Dr. Anderson is now in his seventy-third year. His father was the Rev. John Anderson, Relief Minister in Kilsyth, who lived to the great age of ninety-two years, and was in some respects equally as remarkable as his more celebrated son. Conspicuous for his extensive spiritual knowledge, vigorous mind, and strong logical power, the father of Dr. Anderson took a prominent part in the religious controversies of the early part of the present century. Besides William he had other two sons, both of whom became ministers of the U.P. Church, and one of whom became his father's assistant and successor. After receiving the rudiments of his education at the parish school, Dr. Anderson entered Glasgow University, where he proved more than an average student. It is worthy of remark, too, that he laboured under difficulties as a student, which, although by no means uncommon in our own day, would likely tend to retard the progress of his studies. His father having only a limited stipend could ill afford to provide for the expenses contingent on the education of his numerous family, and we find that William was not above eking out his limited resources while at the University by undertaking private tuition. Almost immediately after he was licensed as a minister of the gospel, Dr. Anderson received a call to John Street U.P. Church, Glasgow—his first and only charge. This was in the year 1822 when William was only in his twenty-third year. At the time he entered upon the charge of John Street Church, the congregation was in anything but a flourishing condition. Rent by dissentions from without and from within, it was in a lamentably disorganised state, and presented a decidedly uninviting sphere for the maiden efforts of a young and inexperienced minister. But William Anderson was neither disheartened nor dismayed. He approached the work of reconstructing and assimilating his congregation in a spirit of love and charity, which, mingled with tact and firmness, succeeded in subduing the anarchy and mismanagement that had previously prevailed. His victory over the turbulent spirits under his charge was as signal and complete as that he had achieved over the Presbytery, which in March, 1822, consented to his ordination, after having threatened to ostracise him on the ground that he would persist, under all circumstances, in reading his discourses. But that which George Gilfillan has happily described as the "tender mercies of a Scotch Presbytery," did not induce him to turn aside from his purpose, or to make an abject and inglorious submission. From his first start in life, Dr. Anderson showed that he not only held opinions of his own, but unless there was some cogent reason to the contrary, he clung to them tenaciously. So it was with the casus belli of manuscripts in the pulpit. Failing to understand that the use of "the paper" could interfere in the remotest degree with the due and proper effect of the pulpit, and knowing that he could not do either himself or his congregation adequate justice by extempore preaching, Dr. Anderson continued to adhere to written sermons, until the Presbytery at last gave way, leaving him master of the situation. The feud between Dr. Anderson and his Presbytery has been described by himself as "the eleven months of anguish to which I was subjected by the prosecution—I do not say persecution—of the Presbytery for my using my manuscript in the pulpit, and for certain alleged errors and improprieties in my preaching, such as—that in two of my sermons I had quoted Shakespeare." This contretemps proves that the Presbyterian Church was as strongly opposed to the use of manuscripts in the pulpit half a century ago as it is now—or was until lately—to the introduction of organs as accessories of public worship. Fortunately, we have fallen on more tolerant and tolerable times.

If the interference of the Presbytery had no other effect, it tended to secure for the subject of these remarks an exceptional amount of public attention at a very early period of his ministerial career. People were naturally solicitous to improve their acquaintance with the young man, little more than out of his teens, who had had the hardihood to brave the discipline and upset the prejudices of a whole Presbytery on a question which, at that time of day, was considered to be of vital importance. Contrary, in all probability, to his own expectations, Anderson woke up one fine morning to find himself famous. Although there were few outward and visible signs of approval with his rebellious spirit, he yet retained in secret the countenance of many colleagues in the ministry, who had long pined for a freer and more tolerable ecclesiastical atmosphere, and the issue of Dr. Anderson's independence had the proximate result of achieving their release from one of the most grievous and galling fetters imposed upon them by the exacting and puritanical spirit of the times—a spirit which, however well it may have answered the requirements of a less enlightened age, was an insult to the freedom of action that belonged to the nineteenth century. While the Presbytery was left in anything but a dignified position, Dr. Anderson could confidently say, "Veni, vidi, vici!" It was the old story over again. It was not one of the pillars in Israel—it was one of the weak things of the Church that was chosen to confound the mighty.

From the first, Dr. Anderson secured a rare measure of popularity as a preacher. His zeal, energy, and power were acknowledged on all hands, and it is no small tribute to his genius and popularity that in a city where Dr. Chambers was still in the zenith of his fame, where Dr. Wardlaw had built up his splendid reputation, and where, last but not least, Edward Irving was making his magic influence felt, Dr. Anderson was able, not only to hold his own, but to make fresh friends and admirers every day. He seemed to have a special talent for drawing the multitude about him. And yet it was not done by any dexterous shuffle of the theological cards, or by pandering to the morbid passions and tickling the vanities and weaknesses of his hearers. He never hesitated to tell his hearers that they were poor, and miserable, and blind, and naked. Thackeray has ridiculed the idea of a man with a long rent-roll, and a comfortable cushioned pew, believing himself to be a miserable sinner; but, he must have been obtuse indeed who would not wince under this rough and bizarre, but terribly earnest and fervid preacher. For a long period he gave a series of evening lectures which were crowded to suffocation, and as the fame of him went abroad throughout all the city, he was often the cynosure of eyes that were neither friendly nor devout. But, if he sometimes failed to make a deep impression, he always succeeded in persuading his hearers of the seriousness and importance of eternal things, so that "many who came to laugh remained to pray."

In most of the great political and ecclesiastical controversies of his day, Dr. Anderson has stood forward as the unflinching champion of justice and mercy. He was a prominent and effective speaker on the Voluntary question; and he rendered effective service to the movement for the repeal of the slave trade. Besides these pet themes, Dr. Anderson has always been a vigorous assailant of Popery, on which he has spoken perhaps more frequently, and with greater effect, than any other man of his time. During his crusade against Popery he received an anonymous letter threatening that if he proceeded with his lectures on the subject of the Mass, his life would be in danger. Nothing daunted, however, he sent the anonymous letter to the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Glasgow, with the intimation that it was still his intention to persevere with his lectures despite threats and cajolery. About this time he challenged to a public discussion the well-known Dr. Cahill, who was then regarded as the champion of the Romish Church in this country. His challenge was respectfully declined; but so bitter was the animus raised against him that on more than one occasion he had to be escorted to the platform of the City Hall by policemen. Finally, he overcame the opposition of the Papists so far as to secure a patient hearing, and it has since been admitted that his lectures were greatly instrumental in arousing public opinion to a just sense of the errors and insidious influence of the priests and the Papacy. There are, doubtless, not a few still living in Glasgow who will remember Dr. Anderson's scathing denunciations of American slavery and the strong sympathy which, from the outbreak of the civil war, he expressed with the Federals. When Henry Ward Beecher visited and lectured in Glasgow, he was supported by Dr. Anderson, who spoke so bitterly and with such emphatic disapprobation against the Southern States and their policy, that his sentiments evoked the hisses of his audience. Nothing discomfited, he pursued the even tenor of his way, until he reached the climax of his argument, when bearing down upon his opponents with irresistible force, he cried out, in a voice of triumph, "Hiss, noo, gin ye dare." On that occasion he created a profound impression by his eloquent appeal to Mr. Ward Beecher to interpose with his countrymen to avert from Britain the consequences which her sympathies for the slave-holding States had justly entailed.

For the greater part of his long ministerial career, Dr. Anderson was without a colleague. About ten years ago, however, the congregation called the Rev. Alex. Macleod (now of Birkenhead) to become his assistant, and he was succeeded in 1865 by the Rev. David M'Ewan of College Street Church, Edinburgh, upon whom the active duties of the pastorate now devolve. Some years previous to Dr. M'Ewan's appointment the old church in John Street was removed, and the present splendid edifice was erected at a cost of upwards of L10,000. It is undoubtedly one of the most handsome and comfortable churches in the city, and presents some architectural features of a unique character.

Although Dr. Anderson has not been a very voluminous writer, some of his works are well known and generally appreciated. His earliest productions, issued in the shape of pamphlets on the subjects of the hour, have not acquired any lasting celebrity; but one or two subsequent publications, notably his "Treatise on Regeneration," and a volume of sermons that appeared in 1844 (and now, we believe, out of print), have placed him in the front rank as a theologian. Some time afterwards he issued a second volume of sermons which were very favourably reviewed, and elicited a complimentary notice from Lord Brougham. Among his later literary efforts we may specify a "Treatise on the Popish Mass," a "Treatise on the Millennium," and a volume on "The Filial honour of God."

On the occasion of his jubilee Dr. Anderson was entertained by his friends and admirers to a dinner in Carrick's Royal Hotel, and on the same evening (March 7, 1871) he was presented, at a soiree held in the City Hall (which was crowded in every part), with a cheque for L1200, as a mark of esteem for his character and talents. On both occasions the chair was occupied by the Rev. David M'Ewan, his estimable colleague and successor, who made the presentation. Dr. Anderson declined to accept the money for himself, but gave it back to be funded for scholarships in connection with the United Presbyterian Church, to be called the "William Anderson Scholarships." In acknowledging the gift the recipient made a characteristic speech, remarking that "in '68, in the course of one month, I preached (at canonical hours, observe) in an Independent Church, an Established Church, a Free Church, and a Methodist Church. A short time before that I had preached in a Baptist Church; and, latterly I have preached in two churches of the Evangelical Union, and I have had a Sabbath afternoon of more than common congeniality of feeling in fellowship with a church of the Reformed Presbyterians."



REV. DR. JOHN KER.

Glasgow seems to be peculiarly favourable to the growth of United Presbyterianism. It is the great stronghold of that body—the garrison from which they send out skirmishing parties all over the world. Some of the wealthiest congregations, as well as some of the ablest ministers in Glasgow belong to this denomination. The "dissidence of dissent" has found favour in the eyes of our merchant princes, and among all ranks and conditions of men the views which, when promulgated by Ebenezer Erskine, caused a shudder to pass through the lines of the hard and fast, albeit not over conscientious theologians of his day, are now hailed with toleration and cordial approval. The growth of United Presbyterianism is one of the most remarkable chapters in our ecclesiastical history. The principles upon which this particular form of creed are founded must be sound at the core, otherwise they could never have achieved such signal and lasting triumphs; but their development was entrusted to men of rare energy, discrimination, and ability—men who have left behind them no unworthy prototypes, although the lines have fallen to the latter in more pleasant places, and their heritage is of a more excellent kind.

The Rev. Dr. John Ker occupies, as his character and accomplishments entitle him to do, a prominent place among the "reverend fathers and brethren" of the United Presbyterian Church. He was born at Tweedsmuir, in the upland pastoral district of Peeblesshire, where his father was a farmer. Here he spent the first years of his childhood, a circumstance which had probably more influence on his future character and tendencies than might be supposed on the first blush. "The boy is father to the man," and while he was yet a mere child, Dr. Ker was laying up a store of memoranda bearing upon the romantic vicissitudes of the "good old times, when George the First was King;" or, perhaps, long anterior to that much vaunted period. The isolated condition of the peasantry and agricultural classes generally in those days prevented the free and constant intercourse which may now be found all over Scotland. Railways had not yet been evolved from the matrix of the future, newspapers were scarce and dear, books were few, the means of education and mental improvement were limited, and thus in the rural districts the reminiscences of the past were handed down in the form of traditions, communicated orally from generation to generation, or assuming the less perishable shape of ballad literature. Young Ker's mind, which was ever ready to receive and retain impressions, became the conservatory of a vast selection of ancient lore, written and unwritten, which he has never forgotten. His memory is quite an encylopaedia of ballads and stories, which it would probably be difficult, if not impossible, to find elsewhere, and upon this rich storehouse he can and does draw ad libitum "for doctrine, for instruction, for reproof," or for the entertainment of his friends. Dr. Ker's ancestors of five generations lie buried in the little rural churchyard at Tweedsmuir, a spot, of which Lord Cockburn says, "It is the most romantic in Scotland." Many are the stories that are still told by the "ingle cheek" of farmers' houses in that deeply interesting locality, relative to the Covenanters who lived in the glens around, and the soldiers who went up there in the '45.

After completing his studies as a Divinity student at Edinburgh—where he was a most distinguished student, and was universally regarded as a young man of excellent promise—Dr. Ker was licensed as a minister of the United Presbyterian Church. He was ordained in the year 1845, his first charge being in Alnwick, Northumberland, where he continued to minister until the year 1851. During the interval he received several calls from Glasgow and elsewhere. Twice he was called to preside over the United Presbyterian Church in East Campbell Street of this city. The first call he decidedly refused; but upon representations being made to him that the church was in anything but a satisfactory condition, so far as its pastorate was concerned—both Dr. Kidston and Dr. Brash, who then presided over it, being in infirm health and disqualified for the active discharge of ministerial duties—Dr. Ker, foreseeing no doubt that there was a large and ample field in Glasgow for the exercise of his energy and talents, at last agreed to accept the call. His ultimate consent was given, we believe, mainly through the importunity of the Rev. Dr. Taylor, who has for many years been his most attached and intimate friend. Dr. Taylor went to Alnwick with the view of seeing and arranging personally with Dr. Ker; and it is a notable fact that although Dr. Ker had determined to treat the second call as he had treated the first—by returning a distinct and unqualified refusal—Dr. Taylor's entreaties had the effect of inducing him to alter his decision. So far, indeed, had Dr. Ker's mind been made up that he had actually written a letter negativing the call, and the letter was on its way to Glasgow while Dr. Taylor was en route to Alnwick, the two having thus crossed each other. We do not, however, believe that Dr. Ker has had any reason to regret his decision. The field that was open for his efforts in Glasgow was much more extensive if not more congenial than that presented by a remote country town like Alnwick, and Dr. Ker has been instrumental in raising up a congregation second to none in Glasgow as regards numbers and influence. Shortly after he removed to Glasgow an effort was made to secure a more eligible church for his large and increasing congregation, which was at length removed from East Campbell Street to Sidney Place. The new church cost upwards of L8000, and the opening services were conducted by Dr. Edmond and Dr. Cairns of Berwick, the respected pastor being himself absent at the time from ill health. At the present hour there are upwards of 800 members in connection with Sidney Place Church, and it is seldom indeed that the membership of a church covers so wide a radius, some coming four and six miles every Sunday.

During the first few years of his residence in Glasgow, and even prior to that date, Dr. Ker was most zealous and indefatigable in the promotion of every good word and work. No one was more frequently before the public during the years 1854-55-56 as the upholder of truth, as the advocate of justice, as the bitter and uncompromising foe of error and ignorance, as the alleviator of misery and distress. The amount of physical and mental work which he undertook during these years was more than any ordinary mortal could stand; but it was to him a labour of love, and he did not stay his hand until an enfeebled and broken-down constitution warned him that the laws of nature had been transgressed. Dryden has described Shaftesbury as

A fiery soul, which, working out its way, Fretted the puny body to decay, And o'er-informed the tenement of clay;

and it has all along been Dr. Ker's misfortune that his body would not bear the strain imposed upon it by his active and vigorous mind. As might be supposed, he was at this time a prominent speaker in the Church Courts, where his sage counsel and kindly disposition made him a favourite and a power. In 1857 he was requested by the Synod of his own Church to accept the office of Home Mission Secretary. The whole Synod stood up in token of their approval and esteem when the appointment was moved; and Dr. Andrew Thomson of Edinburgh, in supporting the nomination of Dr. Ker, remarked of him that "his very presence was a benediction." To the infinite disappointment of the Synod, however, Dr. Ker declined, for private and no doubt weighty reasons, to undertake the appointment. The choice of the Synod then fell on Dr. M'Gill, who continued to discharge the functions of Home Mission Secretary with zeal and efficiency until he was changed to the "Foreign Office." The result of too close attention to his ministerial duties led Dr. Ker into a dangerous illness, from which he suffered severely for a period of three years. During that time he visited many places both at home and abroad, travelling in Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, and America. In the course of these journeys Dr. Ker cultivated his penchant for antiquarian lore and old traditions. He also improved his very extensive knowledge of the Continental languages; and there are few men so thoroughly conversant with German, French, and Italian, who have not made these languages a special study. In addition to modern languages, however, Dr. Ker is a master of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew.

At the time of the Irish revivals several years ago, Dr. Ker took a deep interest in the spiritual awakening, and he travelled over the country with the view of assisting its promotion, preaching very frequently every day in the week. Nothing is more remarkable in Dr. Ker's character than the immense power of mental and physical endurance he has displayed as a preacher. He has not unfrequently delivered four sermons or homilies in one Sunday, besides preaching more or less frequently during the week. These sermons are not thrown off on the spur of the moment. Every pulpit effort is thoughtfully and carefully prepared beforehand. His readiness to preach and assist in every good work has been largely taken advantage of by the numerous charitable and religious societies in Glasgow, which have, perhaps, rather ungenerously taxed his good nature and anxiety to make himself useful.

Although Dr. Ker has seldom been prominently before the public in connection with political or social agitations, he has all along taken an active part in the establishment and advancement of Sunday and day schools and missionary schemes. At the same time he has been ready to assist in any movement of a political kind that presented itself to his view as one worthy of support and encouragement. While he is always earnest and conscientious in his pulpit and platform labours, he can out-Spurgeon Spurgeon in his gift of pointing a moral, with an amusing illustration. His alternations between grave and gay are always in season; he takes good heed to Solomon's admonition that "there is a time for everything." But while he sometimes condescends to tickle the midriff of his hearers, consciously or unconsciously—for his quaint yet pungent remarks are not unfrequently the inspirations of the moment—he can afford to indulge his relish for humour without let or hindrance at a select party or by his own fireside. In either of these situations his solid and volatile qualities appear to vie with each other for the mastery. With quips and jokes, apposite and sparkling, he "is wont to set the table in a roar." Hence his society is much courted.

As a preacher, Dr. Ker has few if any superiors in Glasgow. His imagination is very fine and subtle, although not so exuberant and flowery as many other speakers who have an equally ready flow of language. He is apt in illustration, and he generally contrives to set forth his arguments in the most intelligible and convincing form; but he does not introduce illustrations for the mere sake of rhetorical effect. He rather makes every figure of speech to arise as it were by a natural sequence in the course of his reasoning, and few men have a greater facility for making "crooked paths straight, and rough places plain." The most abstruse and knotty points he makes so obvious and clear that his hearers are inclined to wonder why they did not think of them in that light before—giving to themselves, or to the merits of the question in hand, a credit that is only due to the preacher whose discernment has removed the lions of doubt and difficulty from the path of the reader or hearer. As a litterateur his taste is highly cultivated, and his discriminating judgment enables him to compose sermons the diction of which is as beautiful as the argument is sound. By all who know him, and especially by his congregation, he is very much esteemed for his literary gifts and graces, and the public appreciation of his sermons is attested by the fact that a volume which he published several years since, has gone through eight large editions, the last edition having been issued only a few months ago. It is perhaps a pity that Dr. Ker has not been constrained to adopt Mr. Spurgeon's plan of publishing his sermons regularly as they are delivered. They would certainly form a serial literature that the people of Glasgow would not be slow to appreciate.



REV. DR. JOHN EADIE.

The Rev. Dr. Eadie was born in 1813, at Alva, in Stirlingshire, where his parents occupied a comparatively humble rank in life. After receiving the rudiments of his education at the school of Tillicoultry, in which he afterwards became assistant to the Rev. Mr. Browning, a man of uncommon ability both as a preacher and as a thinker, Dr. Eadie entered the University of Glasgow, where he pursued his studies on a more extended scale. From the University he went to the United Secession Divinity Hall, with the view of qualifying himself for a place in the ministry of that Church. At the University he was a most successful student, and distinguished himself more especially by his knowledge of Latin and Greek. This is all the more noteworthy when it is remembered that during his University career he had the private tuition of many students to undertake. Dr. Eadie's first charge was Cambridge Street U.P. Church. At the time he entered upon that charge he was only over 21 years' of age, and it is a fact worth recording that, within three months of being licensed, he was called to and bold enough to accept a city charge. Cambridge Street Church was built about nine months before Dr. Eadie became its pastor. Commencing with a membership of only 60, he raised his church during his pastorate of over 25 years to a membership of 1100, many of his adherents being the foremost men in connection with the U.P. body in Glasgow, of which the rev. gentleman himself soon became a distinguished ornament. Before leaving Cambridge Street to enter upon his new church in Great Western Road, Dr. Eadie, on his semi-jubilee, was presented by his congregation with a purse containing 300 guineas and a silver salver, and he then informed his congregation that "they had changed his wages five times, every change representing a substantial advance." Many of his West-End members found Cambridge Street too great a distance to come to worship on the Sabbath day, and Dr. Eadie removed with them to Lansdowne U.P. Church, where he has gathered a large and aristocratic congregation. We believe that Dr. Eadie is the only U.P. minister in Glasgow who has been the first pastor of two new churches, the only parallel case within our knowledge being that of Dr. M'Ewen, who first founded a new church at Helensburgh, and afterwards in Claremont Street, Glasgow. From the Great Western Road Dr. Eadie's church has a commanding appearance. It is built in accordance with the strictest Gothic principles, and has one of the finest spires in the city. Its cost was about L12,000, and of this sum upwards of L1200 was raised on the occasion of its opening.

In the month of May, 1843, Dr. Eadie was chosen Professor of Biblical Literature in the Divinity Hall of the U.P. Church. He delivered his first lecture in the month of August following. By his students the rev. gentleman is greatly esteemed and beloved, none the less so that he imposes upon them mental discipline of the strictest and most severe description. It is perhaps even more owing to his entente cordiale with his students, than because of his eminence as a preacher and author, that Dr. Eadie has been so often selected to open new churches all over the country. Certain it is that no minister in the U.P. Church has been more frequently called into requisition for "special services" both at home and abroad. One of the last new churches he opened was in Dundee, when the collections taken on a single Sunday amounted to L1090. He also opened the church of Dr. Macfarlane, of London; and along with Dr. Alexander, of Edinburgh, he took part in the inauguration services of Springhill College, Birmingham. We may here mention the well-known fact that Dr. Eadie has been appointed to the Moderator's Chair in the U.P. Synod—the highest office in the power of the Church to confer; and, although he has never taken a very prominent part in the Church Courts, his speeches are invariably full of weighty matter and sound argument. He spoke strongly in the Synod for toleration as to the use of organs in public worship. In the negotiations for Union with the Free Church he has taken a peculiar interest. Although he has received calls from other churches, Dr. Eadie has steadfastly maintained his attachment to Glasgow. In the year 1846 he was twice called to Rose Street U.P. Church, Edinburgh—Dr. Finlayson's—but the call was met each time with a firm refusal.

Dr. Eadie first brought himself into prominent notice as an author by the publication of a manual of Cruden, intended for popular use, about the year 1841. This abridged concordance has had an enormous sale among all classes, both at home and abroad. Up to the year 1850 it had gone through no fewer than fourteen different editions, and we believe that the latest edition issued is either the twenty-first or the twenty-third. The preface to Dr. Eadie's "Cruden" was furnished by Dr. King, and is a masterly performance of its kind. It is worth while noticing that no other copy of "Cruden" is used or recognised by the Tract Society, who have at different times issued it on their own account. In 1848 Dr. Eadie published his Biblical Cyclopaedia, of which in 1868 twenty-four thousand copies had been sold, being upwards of one thousand every year. Of the merits of this work we need not here speak, as to all of our readers it must be known more or less familiarly. It is essentially what it professes to be—a dictionary of history, antiquities, geography, natural history, sacred analysis, biography, and Biblical literature generally, illustrative of the Old and New Testaments. He has also compiled from Henry and Scott a Bible which has gone through many editions, and has commanded a sale of not fewer than 60,000 or 70,000 copies. First published in folio form, it had been sold within seven years to the tune of 36,000 copies, and thousands of working men were enabled from the cheapness with which it was issued, to possess themselves of this Bible who might otherwise never have had a Family Bible in their houses. The first edition was issued in 1851, and in Sept., 1858, another and still larger edition was put through the press. Dr. Eadie published in 1856 a work entitled "An Analytical Concordance of the Holy Scriptures, or the Bible presented under distinct and classified heads and topics," published by Richard Griffin & Co., London. In 1862 he published an "Ecclesiastical Cyclopaedia of antiquities, architecture, controversies, denominations, doctrines, governments, heresies, history, liturgies, rights, monastic orders, and modern Judaism." As the biographer of the well-known and esteemed Dr. Kitto, Dr. Eadie has also achieved a considerable reputation. Collected from papers furnished by Dr. Kitto's personal friends, this biography is perhaps one of the best and most interesting in the English literature, and it deservedly met with a very large circulation. In a surprisingly short space of time it went through several editions, and even at the present day it is referred to and quoted as an authority on ecclesiastical matters of a particular kind. Dr. Kitto was one of the best Biblical scholars of his day. Like Dr. Eadie himself, he was possessed of an extraordinary memory, and highly cultivated lingual powers; and after he returned from the East he was frequently employed to do literary work for Mr. Charles Knight, for whom also Dr. Eadie contributed occasional papers. In short, the one man was eminently qualified, both by his acquirements, by his disposition, and by the exceptional facilities which he enjoyed, to become the biographer of the other, and Dr. Eadie has approached his task with such a spirit of love, and with so genuine and well-founded an esteem of the man whose Boswell he aspired to be, that the biography will rank in some respects almost equal with that of Dr. Johnson. Some years later, Dr. Eadie published through the Messrs. Oliphant, of Edinburgh, a series of lectures on the Bible for the young, which met with a very large sale. He has also written and published a well known work entitled "Divine Life," being a series of discourses, most of which were preached from time to time to his own congregation, and all of them breathing a spirit of true orthodoxy and Christian feeling. In 1859 he issued another book called "Paul the Preacher; or a popular and practical exposition of his discourses and speeches as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles," a work which is treated in the author's best style, and displays much evidence of high literary attainments. In addition to works already quoted, and comprising many years of arduous toil and research, Dr. Eadie has published a series of Commentaries on the Epistles of St. Paul, commencing in 1853 with that of the Ephesians. This was followed in 1856 by his Commentary to the Colossians; in 1859 by his Commentary to the Phillipians; and in 1869 by his Commentary to the Galatians. Upon these Commentaries, and upon his popular handbooks to sacred literature, namely, his Cruden's Concordance, his Biblical Cyclopaedia, and his Ecclesiastical Cyclopaedia—Dr. Eadie's well-earned fame as a biblical scholar and author will securely last for generations. Next to the profound knowledge displayed in his works, we are struck with Dr. Eadie's surpassing fertility as a writer. Very few men, indeed, have published so many works within so short a compass of time; and it is a marked characteristic of all books bearing his sign-manual, that they are masterly both in style and in matter, that they have been well and carefully thought out, and that they display great learning and extraordinary research. We must not forget that while thus copiously contributing to ecclesiastical literature, Dr. Eadie gave unremitting attention to his pulpit duties. He never had a coadjutor or assistant, and he has occupied his own and other pulpits every Sunday since the date of his ordination. And even the long list we have enumerated does not complete Dr. Eadie's literary efforts, for we find him contributing now to Dr. Kitto's and Principal Fairbairn's Biblical Cyclopaedia (published by Blackie, Glasgow), then to the "North British Review," and again to the "Journal of Sacred Literature." Several of his works are now out of print, but all of them are of untold value in their way, and are highly esteemed by those best qualified to form a just estimate of their merits. Dr. Eadie is a member of the Committee for the Revision of the New Testament; a post which he holds conjointly with Professor Brown and Professor Milligan, of Aberdeen, the only other Presbyterian members of the New Testament Revision Committee who belong to Scotland. The Committee, we may here explain, commenced its sittings in June of 1870. Once a month it is accustomed to meet in the Jerusalem Chamber, Westminster Abbey—a room fraught with the most interesting historical recollections, for it was here that the Commissioners met who drew up the Scottish Confession of Faith, and here also the Lower House of Convocation is accustomed to hold its sittings. After deliberating for two years, the Committee have only as yet reached the end of Saint Luke's Gospel. The labour incumbent upon the Committee may be estimated to some extent by the fact that for four days in every month it sits, without any interval, from eleven o'clock forenoon till six o'clock in the evening.

Dr. Eadie's literary and scientific attainments have been recognised and rewarded by the degree of LL.D. from Glasgow University, while the University of St. Andrews has conferred upon him the degree of D.D. He is a member of several learned bodies, and is also chaplain of the 19th Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers.



MR. DANIEL MACNEE, R.S.A.

Among Scotch artists Mr. Daniel Macnee occupies a conspicuous place, while in Glasgow, his adopted city, he stands at the head of his profession. Born in Fintry, in Stirlingshire, he was destined originally for mercantile pursuits, but from an early age he showed an unmistakeable bent for the profession of an artist, and even while at school receiving the rudiments of his education, he used to while away his leisure hours by drawing different subjects, especially portraits, for which he showed a considerable aptitude. About 1820 he was apprenticed to Mr. John Knox, a teacher of drawing, in Glasgow, who was celebrated as a landscape painter, and than whom no one was ever better qualified to teach the principles and practice of art. Associated with Mr. Macnee at this time were Mr. Horatio M'Culloch and other young men who subsequently became artists of eminence, and the lessons imparted by Mr. Knox laid the foundations of the correct taste and careful attention to detail which distinguished all of his more illustrious pupils. After attending Mr. Knox's classes for a period of four years, Mr. Macnee proceeded to Edinburgh and entered himself as a pupil under Sir William Allan, who was at that time head of an institution termed the Honourable Board of Trustees for Manufactures in Scotland, which was established in terms of an Act of Parliament passed at the time of the Union, towards "encouraging and promoting the fisheries and such other manufactures and improvements in Scotland as may conduce to the general good of the United Kingdom." The funds set apart for the maintainance of this Institution amounted to L2000 a year, and in carrying out the purposes of the Act, the Trustees, originally twenty-one in number, offered premiums for the best designs or drawings of patterns for the improvement of manufactures. In 1760 a master was permanently appointed to instruct the youth of both sexes in drawing, thus laying the foundation of the School of Design, which existed and prospered under the management of the Board for more than a century afterwards. The main reason for the establishment of this Board was a fear on the part of the promoters that by the Act of Union the manufactures and arts of Scotland would be transferred to England, and thus be prejudiced to a very considerable extent. Sir William Allan was an artist of great power and varied experience. Mr. Thomas Duncan, who afterwards became an Associate of the Royal Academy, and produced a number of high-class pictures, with which all lovers of art are familiar, was one of Sir W. Allan's pupils, contemporaneously with Mr. Macnee, and from this coincidence, a friendship, which was life-long and intimate, sprang up between them, but it was unhappily severed by the early death of Duncan. Sir David Wilkie, Sir William Allan, Sir John Watson Gordon, Burnet, the engraver and painter, Lizars, the Lauders, the Faeds, and other painters of note, were students in the Trustees' Academy. It may be remarked in passing, that this Board is still in existence, but instead of being controlled, as originally intended, by a certain number of trustees, it is under the management of the Department of Science and Arts at South Kensington. Mr. Macnee's studies at this time were various, but they principally took the shape of drawings from the antique statues. When he first went to Edinburgh, Mr. Macnee became connected with Mr. Lizars, the eminent engraver, by whom he was employed in executing anatomical drawings, colouring engravings, and other cognate works, which greatly tended to amplify his experience, and through Mr. Lizars he obtained numerous commissions from lithographers in Edinburgh, which brought him in emoluments of considerable value. Having completed his studies under Sir W. Allan, Mr. Macnee set up in Edinburgh as a professional artist on his own account, and for several years he continued to paint portraits and finished sketches from ordinary life. He returned to Glasgow in the year 1832, since which he has resided, except at rare intervals, in the Metropolis of the West. For a number of years subsequent to his taking up his residence here, he was largely employed in executing crayon portraits, and he was a large exhibitor at most of the Art Exhibitions in Edinburgh, London, Glasgow, and elsewhere. Indeed, it is perhaps not too much to say that Mr. Macnee has exhibited more pictures in the Royal Scottish Academy than any other living artist.

The first pictures exhibited by Mr. Macnee in the Royal Academy of London were portraits of Sir Charles, afterwards Lord Hardinge, and General Messurier, hereditary Governor of Guernsey. The latter picture was executed for the States' Hall, in Guernsey, where it is still exhibited. In 1855 he showed a portrait of Dr. Wardlaw in the French Exhibition at Paris, and for which he was awarded a gold medal, being one of three medals that were then secured by Scotch artists. The other two fell to Sir John Watson Gordon, and Mr. Hamilton, the architect of the High School of Edinburgh, respectively. Among other notable pictures executed by Mr. Macnee we may mention his portrait of Lord Brougham, which is now in the Parliament House, Edinburgh, and for which his lordship sat only a few years before his death. Before being hung in the Parliament House, this picture was exhibited in the Royal Academy of London, and attracted a considerable amount of attention. A portrait of Viscount Lord Melville, which he executed for the Archers' Hall, and another picture of Lord Belhaven, painted for the County Hall, in Lanark, are also considered two of his most excellent works. Since the death of Mr. Graham Gilbert, Mr. Macnee has been without a rival in the West of Scotland, and there are not more than one or two artists in Edinburgh who have any pretensions to compete with him as a portrait painter. In the painting of presentation portraits, Mr. Macnee's services are largely called into requisition, both in London, where he has been accustomed to spend three months during each summer for a number of years past, and in the West of Scotland. Among his earliest and most attached friends were Horatio M'Culloch, and Mr. L. Leitch, also a Glasgow artist, and, perhaps, the most accomplished water-colour painter of the day. It was Mr. Leitch who instructed Her Majesty in this department of art, and he has been largely employed by the nobility both of Scotland and of England, in imparting instruction in this study.

The Royal Scottish Academy, of which Mr. Daniel Macnee has for many years been a prominent member, was established forty-five years ago. Previous to that date an organisation, named the "Institution for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts," founded on the 1st of February, 1819, on the principle of the British Institution of London, was carried on for the purpose of having annual exhibitions of pictures by the old masters, as well as the works of living artists. This association consisted of noblemen and gentlemen, who, by the payment of L50, became shareholders or life members. By its constitution "no artist was capable of being elected on any committee, or of voting as a governor, while he continued a professional artist." This and the superscilious treatment which they received in other respects caused great discontent among the artists who were associate members. In the nature of things such a disagreeable relationship could not last, and, consequently, in the year 1826, several of the associates, disgusted with the treatment to which they were subjected, commenced making arrangements to found a Scottish Academy. A document was handed round containing the proposal to found this Academy, which, when published, had twenty-four names attached to it, viz., thirteen academicians, nine associates, and two associate engravers, the original number of the Academy's members. Mr. Macnee was not one of the original promoters of the Academy but some of his works were shown at their first exhibition, which took place in February, 1827. This opening exhibition was not so successful as might have been expected. The Academy had to compete with the Royal Institution already alluded to, which had many things in its favour, and was backed by the influence of a large number of the nobility, from the King downwards. The second exhibition, however, was more successful, and for the third exhibition such energetic efforts were put forth that the Royal Institution was fairly driven from the field. Ultimately, under the award of Lord Cockburn and Mr. John Hope, afterwards Lord Justice-Clerk, the two institutions amalgamated under the name of the Royal Scottish Academy. It is one of the standing rules of the Academy that the members shall not number more than thirty-nine, and those artists who are ultimately admitted to membership are obliged to graduate as associates for some time previously. Mr. Daniel Macnee and his friend Duncan were exceptions to this rule. They were admitted at once as full members without any previous association, an honour which was due to the great promise they exhibited in their earlier career, and which both have amply fulfilled in their maturer years. There are thirty members and twenty associates of the Royal Scottish Academy.

Having said so much as to Mr. Macnee's professional career and abilities, it would be doing him scant justice were we not to allude to his excellent social qualities. Full of animal spirits and humour, he is one of the favoured few who have been described by De Quincey as drawing the double prize of a fine intellect and a healthy stomach, and having none of what Burke has called "the master vice Sloth" about him, he gets through an enormous amount of work, while he cultivates the social amenities of life to the fullest possible extent. "Dan" Macnee is a universal favourite. No dinner party in the upper circles of Glasgow society is fully complete without him; and no one ever met him for the first time without forming the impression that he was a "jolly good fellow"—an impression which is strengthened by a more matured acquaintance. He is one of the most amiable of men, having a benignant smile and a kindly word for everybody, and many of the most entertaining post-prandial jokes and stories are fathered upon him, sometimes justly and at other times wrongly, simply because he is known by all diners-out to excel in this form of entertainment. In short, Mr. Macnee is exactly what Carlyle described Sir William Hamilton to be, "finely social and human," and wherever he may chance to meet with company he leaves behind him a pleasant memory.



MR. THOMAS CORBETT.

Practical philanthropy is a rare virtue. It is seldom that a Howard or a Wilberforce is born into the world; yet there are few towns that do not possess men more or less distinguished for their good offices towards their less fortunate fellow-creatures. Of such men Glasgow has happily had more than an average share. The number and variety of our charitable, friendly, and educational institutions bears testimony to the presence in our midst of a spirit zealous of good works. Our merchant princes, too, subscribe most liberally to every movement projected for the amelioration of the moral, social, or religious condition of the lapsed masses. The story of our lives from year to year is one that contains many bright spots in which the recording angel must take pleasure, although it is also darkened by not a few stains so black, foul, and ghastly, that we are led to despair of ever attaining the ends for which the Church and the State are existent—for which laws and religion are inculcated and enforced.

Mr. Thomas Corbett is a philanthropist of the most practical kind. He does not distribute his means like milk spilled upon the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither does he take cognisance of merely speculative benevolence. Everything to which he has put his hand has prospered, and he has thus laid the foundations of a good name, which is better than all his riches—a name which the working men of his native city will be slow to forget. It is with the establishment of the Great Western Cooking Depot that Mr. Corbett's name is most prominently identified. That institution, we believe, owes its origin to a very simple and quite an accidental circumstance. While reading in the Cornhill Magazine the account of a scheme that had been launched by a lady in England for providing poor and destitute children with food, Mrs. Corbett was struck with the idea that something of the kind might be attempted in Glasgow. She mentioned her thought to her husband, and asked him if, out of their abundance, they could not do something to relieve the wants of those to whom the lines had fallen in less pleasant places. Mr. Corbett entered heartily into the project, and determined to set apart a certain sum, to be vested in the way that his wife might deem most likely to do good. At last, the idea of a cooking depot was broached. Mr. Corbett foresaw with the eye of a political economist, as well as with the eye of philanthropist, that the best and most effectual means of doing good to the poor and needy in Glasgow, was to assist them to help themselves. Upon this principle he resolved to proceed. Nothing in the shape of the "Great Western" was at that time in existence. Mr. Corbett sent a messenger to London and elsewhere with the view of gathering information that would assist the carrying out of his scheme; but nothing could be found to meet exactly his conception of what a cooking depot should be. Proceeding, however, upon his own views of the requirements of the city, he invested L300 in the lease and fitting up of a cooking depot at the Broomielaw, beside the Sailor's Home. It was given out that the establishment was to be conducted upon the principle of supplying provisions at as nearly prime cost as possible. A tariff of charges was prepared, contracts were entered into with butchers, bakers, and other tradesmen, and the experiment was thus fairly launched. It was a great success. The Americans have faith in the "almighty dollar." Mr. Corbett had an equally firm belief in the efficacy of the "almighty penny," as a circulating medium. He took care that, so far as it was practicable, nothing should be sold for more than a penny. A bowl of porridge, that might satisfy a hungry man for breakfast, was to be had for what Montague Tigg would call this "absurdly low figure." A plate of potatoes, an egg, or a cup of coffee, cost no more. The very novelty of the thing drew thousands to the cooking depot who had no economical purpose to serve. They were more than satisfied. Many who came, like the scoffer to the church in Goldsmith's "Deserted Village," to criticise and condemn the new institution, remained to admire and praise it. The depot became so popular that other branches had to be opened up in a very short time in the most central parts of the city. Mr. Corbett did not hesitate to supply the funds necessary for the development of his scheme. He bestowed his means ungrudgingly, stipulating only that the books should be periodically examined by competent accountants, and that the profits should be divided among the charitable and benevolent institutions in the city. Beyond receiving a certain interest for his money, Mr. Corbett has never fingered a farthing of the profits, and when he left Glasgow a few years ago he had invested altogether upwards of L8000 in the scheme. The accumulated profits, which have been divided, according to his behest, for charitable purposes, amount to upwards of L7000.

With the management and chief characteristics of the Great Western Cooking Depot every citizen must be familiar. The cooking establishment is situated in Pitt Street, from whence enormous supplies of victuals are sent out every morning to all parts of the city. Including Glasgow and its suburbs, there are now twenty-eight branches of the Cooking Depot in operation. Most of them are in the immediate vicinity of public works, and are largely taken advantage of by the workmen, who, in the great majority of cases, reside at a considerable distance from the works, and could only go home to dinner at great personal inconvenience. The same tariff of charges prevails at every one of the branches, and all of them are supplied direct from the Central Depot. The business of the institution has become so gigantic that applications to establish other branches in different parts of the city have had to be refused. The principal branches are in Jamaica Street and Mitchell Lane. These two buildings were built by Mr. Corbett himself; but the branches at the public works have mostly been built by the employers, who rent it to the manager of the Cooking Depot for a nominal sum. At the Mitchell Lane branch from 1400 to 1600 people dine daily. The Jamaica Street branch dines an almost equally large number. The milk of 140 cows, obtained from four of the largest dairies in Scotland, is consumed at the various branches every day; and the consumption of "cookies" and rolls averages 20,000 per diem. Some idea of the quantity of porridge consumed may be gathered from the fact that the cost of oatmeal is from L90 to L100 monthly; and of eggs, butter, butcher's meat, and vegetables the consumption is fabulous. The average daily number of visitors to the depot at its various branches since the month of August last has been 10,000 to 12,000. The daily attendance at the present time is greater than it has ever been before. The attendance is not confined to working men, so called. Clerks, shopkeepers, and strangers to the city patronize the depot most liberally. And well they may, for when eggs are selling elsewhere at 1s 4d they can be had in the "Great Western" for a penny each, and other provisions are sold in the same proportion. This result is only possible by balancing one period of the year with another, so that when provisions are much cheaper the difference will be made up.

The question has often been asked, why has the Great Western Cooking Depot turned out such a marvellous success as compared with institutions of a similar kind in other parts of the country? The most simple and correct answer is that other cooking depots though similar were not the same. An attempt was made in London some years ago to establish a restaurant on the same principle, but although it was backed by the advice and influence of Lord Houghton and some other leading men, it proved a complete failure. It is a trite saying that "too many cooks spoil the broth," but in this instance the saying was verified. A large committee was appointed to take charge of the arrangements. A committee means divided management and conflicting opinions. So far as the Great Western is concerned, everything from the out set has been under the control of one man (Mr. Jenkins) who still continues to preside over the destinies of the institution. But the vigorous and able management of the Great Western had not more to do with its success than the demand which it was fitted to supply. There had been nothing of the same kind previously in existence, and it was only necessary for the establishment to be opened to command support. With regard to its moral aspects, the depot occupies a high platform. Nothing in the shape of intoxicating liquors is allowed to be sold on the premises. When counselled to introduce beer as an adjunct to dinner, Mr. Corbett replied that sooner than relinquish the principle of conducting the establishment on a strictly temperance footing, he would shut it up altogether. The good sense of this resolution has been proved by the results, for despite the enormous number of working men who frequent it, there has never been a police case arising out of a disturbance in any of the branches. In Bradford, some years ago, Mr. Isaac Holden projected a cooking depot on the principle of the "Great Western," but with this important difference—that he made it partake of the dual character of a club and an eating-house by introducing spirituous liquors and games of different sorts. What between smoking and drinking, the place became too noisy and rough for respectable men to have anything to do with it, and after lingering for some months it died an inglorious death, showing that

"Whoever tries To rob the poor man of his beer."

does a not injudicious thing, so far as institutions of this kind are concerned. Before taking leave of the Cooking Depot, we may state that it has been visited by many illustrious personages, who have manifested a deep interest in its history and progress. Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone, when they visited Glasgow some years ago, were shown all over one of the branches, and had the modus operandi thoroughly explained to them by Mr. Melvin, who has always acted as Mr. Corbett's right hand man. The Premier was very curious to see the kind of broth that could be produced at a penny per bowl, and both he and Mrs. Gladstone, after tasting the soup, pronounced it to be very excellent and wholesome. The commercial aspect of the institution was, however, its most interesting phase to Mr. Gladstone, who could hardly understand how such a gigantic establishment could be made to pay with such small profits. Ultimately it was explained to him that it was a fixed rule to have a farthing of profit on every pennyworth sold, to which he replied that "he knew something of the power of the farthing."

Mr. Corbett was the founder, along with his friend, Mr. Melvin, of the Working Men's Club in Trongate. He expended a sum of L250 in furnishing the club, and laid down certain conditions for its management, the most important of which was that it should be conducted on strictly temperance principles. Having got such a capital start, the Club has never looked behind it. It is now worth fully L1100, and last year the number of visitors was upwards of 100,000.

Under the auspices of the Central Club, a Working Men's Industrial Exhibition was held during the winter of 1865-66 in the Polytechnic Buildings, Argyle Street. The preliminary outlay for this exhibition was considerable. Mr. Corbett was appealed to, and he at once gave a cheque for L500 to start the exhibition, intimating that he should not expect to be recouped if it was a failure. Happily it turned out otherwise, for a sum of L1200 was cleared by the exhibition, and it gave the Central Club an impetus that it has never since lost. Why has the experiment not been repeated? Has the Central Working Men's Club lost its cunning?

The latest, but not the least important exhibition of Mr. Corbett's philanthropy to which we shall refer is his bequest of L2000 to Mr. William Quarrier, for the founding of a Home for Destitute and Orphan Children. To the results of Mr. Quarrier's scheme allusion has from time to time been made in the local prints. We need only remark here that it is calculated to supply one of the most pressing and important social and moral wants of the city.

The part which Mr. Corbett has taken in connection with the establishment of a Seaside Home at Saltcoats is so generally known that to refer to it is enough. For the permanent support of these homes, he has built a number of model working men's dwellings at Whiteinch. The architectural and other arrangements of these homes were planned by Mr. Corbett himself. There are altogether sixteen dwellings from each of which a rent of L10 per annum is drawn. Altogether, Mr. Corbett has expended about L1500 upon the Saltcoats Homes, in addition to what he has provided by way of endowment.

With reference to Mr. Corbett's family history, we have left ourselves little room to speak. His father was a doctor in the Gorbals, and Thomas, after having been educated at the High School of Glasgow, commenced business as a tea merchant. While trading in this capacity he turned his attention to shipping, and in the course of time he went into the Australian produce trade altogether, freighting vessels on a large scale to and from Glasgow. His Australian business has been so prosperous that he was induced a few years ago to remove altogether to London, where it could have more scope. He still continues to reside in the Metropolis, although he retains a lively interest in the affairs of his native city, which he visits at least once a year, while passing to and from his beautiful marine residence at Kilcreggan.



EDWARD S. GORDON, M.P.

Mr. Edward Strathern Gordon, the member for the Glasgow and Aberdeen Universities, is a son of the late Major John Gordon, of the 2d Queen's Royal Regiment, by Catherine, daughter of Alexander Smith, Esq. Born at Inverness in 1814, he is now in his fifty-seventh year, although he wears so well that he would readily be mistaken for a much younger man. After having received a very superior education, first at the Royal Academy of his native town, and subsequently at the University of Edinburgh, he was called to the Scotch bar in 1835, being then only in his twenty-first year. He early discovered a peculiar aptitude for mastering knotty points of law, and during the whole of his long and distinguished legal career he has worked very hard, and spared no effort, to acquire that knowledge of dry, technical, and abstruse details with which the statute-books abound, and to be well grounded in which is essential to soundness or eminence in jurisprudence. In 1858 Mr. Gordon entered upon the responsible duties of Sheriff of Perthshire. In that capacity his decisions were awarded with an impartiality and rigid adherence both to the letter and to the spirit of the lex scripti that caused them to be often quoted in the inferior courts. By his superiors his talents were so far recognised that in 1866 he received the appointment of Solicitor-General for Scotland, and his place as Sheriff of Perthshire was allotted to Sheriff Barclay.