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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..150b10a --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #52192 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/52192) diff --git a/old/52192-0.txt b/old/52192-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index f2709c3..0000000 --- a/old/52192-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5632 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of William Nelson, by Daniel Wilson - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: William Nelson - A Memoir - -Author: Daniel Wilson - -Release Date: May 30, 2016 [EBook #52192] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WILLIAM NELSON *** - - - - -Produced by Larry B. Harrison, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - _William Nelson._ - - [Illustration: Yours Faithfully - - William Nelson] - - - - - _William Nelson_ - - A MEMOIR - - BY - - SIR DANIEL WILSON, LL.D., F.R.S.E., - - PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO. - - [Illustration: colophon] - - Printed for Private Circulation. - - _T. Nelson and Sons, Edinburgh._ - - _1889._ - - - TO - - Mrs. William Nelson - - THIS - MEMOIR OF HER HUSBAND - IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED BY - HIS OLD FRIEND AND - SCHOOLMATE - - - - -FOREWORD. - - -The volume here produced for the eye of friends is the memorial of one -whose life presented a rare example of simplicity, of thoroughness in -working up to a high standard in all that he undertook, and fidelity in -his responsible stewardship as a man of wealth and a captain of -industry. The friendship between us extended in uninterrupted union, -with the maturing estimation of years and experience, from early boyhood -till both had passed the assigned limits of threescore years and ten. It -would have been easy to swell the volume into the bulky proportions of -modern biography: for William Nelson keenly enjoyed the communion of -friendship; and his correspondence furnishes many passages calculated to -interest others besides those who knew and loved him as a friend. But -the aim has been simply to present him “in his habit as he lived;” and -thus to preserve for relatives, personal friends, and for his -fellow-workers of all ranks, such a picture as may pleasantly recall -some reflex of a noble life; and record characteristic traits of one of -whom it can be so truly said: “To live in hearts of those we love is not -to die.” - -D. W. - -UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO, - -_September 26, 1889_. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - -I. INTRODUCTORY, 13 - -II. HAUNTS OF BOYHOOD, 26 - -III. SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLMATES, 41 - -IV. THE CASTLE HILL, 61 - -V. HOPE PARK, 77 - -VI. EGYPT AND PALESTINE, 87 - -VII. CHURCH--MARRIAGE, 108 - -VIII. SALISBURY GREEN, 121 - -IX. GLIMPSES OF TRAVEL, 137 - -X. HOLIDAYS ABROAD, 156 - -XI. PARKSIDE, 173 - -XII. CIVIC INTERESTS, 194 - -XIII. HOME HOLIDAYS, 213 - -XIV. PROJECTED TRAVEL--THE END, 228 - - - - -_William Nelson._ - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -_INTRODUCTORY._ - - -In the early years of the present century the Scottish capital retained -many features of its ancient aspect still unchanged; but among all the -old-world haunts surviving into modern times, the most notable, alike -for its picturesque quaintness and its varied associations, was the -avenue from the Grassmarket to the upper town. The West Bow, as this -thoroughfare was called, derived its name from the ancient bow, or -archway, which gave entrance to the little walled city before the civic -area was extended by the Flodden wall of 1513. But the archway remained -long after that date as the entrance to the upper town--the Temple Bar -of Edinburgh--at which the ceremonial welcome of royal and distinguished -visitors took place. - -The West Bow had accordingly been the scene of many a royal cavalcade -of the Jameses and their queens; as well as of such representative men -as Ben Jonson and his brother-poet Drummond of Hawthornden, of Laud, -Montrose, Leslie, Cromwell, and Dundee. Among its quaint antique piles -were the gabled Temple Lands, St. James’s Altar Land, and the -timber-fronted lodging of Lord Ruthven, the ruthless leader in the -tragedy when Lord Darnley’s minions assassinated Rizzio in Queen Mary’s -chamber at Holyrood. There, too, remained till very recent years the -haunted house of the prince of Scottish wizards, Major Weir; and near by -the Clockmaker’s Land, noted to the last for the ingenious piece of -workmanship of Paul Remieu, a Huguenot refugee of the time of Charles -II. Nearly opposite was the dwelling of Provost Stewart, where, in the -famous ’45, he entertained Prince Charles Edward, while Holyrood was for -the last time the palace of the Stuarts. The alley which gave access to -the old Jacobite provost’s dwelling bore in its last days the name of -Donaldson’s Close; for here was the home of one of Edinburgh’s most -prosperous typographers, James Donaldson, who bequeathed the fortune won -by his craft to found the magnificent hospital which now rivals that of -the royal goldsmith of James I. - -Such were some of the antique surroundings amid which the subject of the -present memoir passed his youth, and which no doubt had their influence -in developing an archæological taste, and that reverence for every -historical feature of his native city, which bore good fruit in later -years. But his more intimate associations were with the singularly -picturesque timber-fronted dwelling at the head of the West Bow, with -another fine elevation toward the Lawnmarket, which, till 1878, stood -unchanged as when the Flodden king rode past on his way to the Borough -Moor. A painting of the old house adorned the walls at Salisbury Green -in later years; and when at last the venerable structure was demolished, -some of its oaken timbers were secured by William Nelson and fashioned -into antique furniture for himself and his friends. This picturesque -building was the haunt of an old Edinburgh bookseller, the founder of -the well-known printing and publishing house of Thomas Nelson and Sons. - -Mr. Thomas Nelson, the father of the subject of the present memoir, and -the originator of the great publishing firm, recurs to the present -writer in the memories of his own early years as a fine example of the -old Scottish type of silent, indomitable perseverance and sterling -integrity. The traditions of the race are thus set forth in a memorandum -in William Nelson’s handwriting:--“The Nelsons of our branch resided at -Throsk, a few miles east from Stirling, not far from the field of -Bannockburn. There was a tradition among us that some of our race lived -there at the time the battle was fought, and as a boy I was willing to -believe it.” There, at any rate, the Nelsons are known to have been for -four or five generations; and Thomas Nelson was born at Throsk in 1780. -His grandmother had seceded with the Erskines from the National Church; -and the spirit of that elder race of Scottish nonconformists was -inherited by their children. They joined a congregation of Reformed -Presbyterians, or Covenanters, at Stirling; and the boy grew up on his -father’s farm under all the influences of that earnest, unwavering -religious faith, which has so often seemed the fitting complement to the -ruggedness of the Scottish character, while it has, in not a few -instances, furnished the best preparation, for a successful career in -business. His father led a retired life on his carse farm, with Stirling -sufficiently near to admit of his enjoying the privilege of regular -worship with the devout little band of Presbyterian nonconformists -there. So little was he affected by the enterprise of younger -generations that he could not be persuaded to turn to profitable account -a small pottery on the land he occupied. He was content with the humble -career of a small farmer. But the monotony of farm-life was varied by -long journeys, staff in hand, in which the boy accompanied his father, -to attend the great gatherings at the sacramental seasons. In the -persecuting times the devout adherents of the Covenant had been wont to -assemble in some secluded glen to enjoy in safety the privileges of the -communion service, and their descendants continued the practice in more -peaceful times. Under such training the boy reached his sixteenth year, -when, after a brief experience as a teacher, some chance report of -prosperous adventure in the West Indies tempted the youth with its -illusive visions. Bidding his friends and home farewell, his father -accompanied him for some miles on the road to Alloa, giving his best -counsel and advice to the lad by the way. When they reached the place of -parting, his father said to him, “Thomas, my boy, have you ever thought -that where you are going you will be far away from the means of grace?” -“No, father,” said he, “I never thought of that, and I won’t go.” - -Thus abruptly the scheme was abandoned. They retraced their steps to the -old farm, and the boy found employment for a time at Craigend, near -Stirling. There he formed the acquaintance of Symington, whose -steam-engine was first applied to navigation, and sailed with him in -some of the earliest trial-trips on the Carron Water. The pottery which -his father had neglected was started on a neighbouring farm, and young -Nelson was anxious to get the management of it. But the scheme appears -to have been distasteful to his father, whose secret desire probably was -that his boy should follow his own example, and so escape the world’s -trials and temptations. But the son’s ambition aimed at something more -advantageous than the homely career of a lowland farmer; and so, -by-and-by, he betook himself to London, entered the service of a -publishing house there, and began the training which ultimately begot -the great publishing firm that bears his name. - -The young Scottish Covenanter did not forget his early training, amid -the temptations of the great metropolis. Along with a few other -Scotchmen of his own age, he established a weekly meeting for religious -fellowship; and it is told of one of the little band, who was employed -at the dock-yard, that he forfeited his situation rather than work on -the Sabbath day. But he had already won the favourable opinion of Lord -Melville, who, on learning of his dismissal, severely rebuked the -officials, and soon after advanced him to a higher post. From London, -Thomas Nelson made his way to Edinburgh with what little capital his -frugality had enabled him to accumulate, and there he started his first -book-store, stocked chiefly with second-hand books, but from which ere -long he began the issue of cheap reprints of the “Scots Worthies” and -other popular religious works, in monthly parts. He had to proceed -cautiously in this new venture, for his capital was small; but he had -the courage to shape out a course of his own. With sagacious foresight -he overleapt the intermediate stages of publishing and bookselling, and -grafted on to the traffic of the mediæval fairs some of the most modern -usages of free trade. The full results of this bold step are even now -only partially developed, though its ultimate advantages are beginning -to be generally recognized, and to force themselves on the attention of -the great publishing houses, accustomed hitherto to cater only with -small editions of costly volumes for the libraries of the wealthy, -supplemented in recent years by the expedient of lending libraries. - -The removal of Mr. Thomas Nelson’s book-store to the picturesque -tenement at the Bowhead marks the first progressive step of the young -innovator. The venerable timber-fronted land projected with each -successive story in advance of the lower one, after the fashion of that -obsolete civic architecture in vogue before Newton had revealed his law -of gravitation. The first story above the paving rested on substantial -oak piers, forming a piazza opening on to the Bow, within which stood -the exposed book-stall of the primitive trader. Behind this was the -stone-vaulted buith, or shop, as in the old luckenbuiths alongside of -St. Giles’s Cathedral. The north façade fronted on the Lawnmarket, a -wide thoroughfare, where at certain seasons the dealers in linens and -woollens set up their stalls, much after the fashion which the poet -Dunbar describes them hampering the High Street before the Flodden wall -was built. Already at that early date the printing-press of Walter -Chepman, the Scottish Caxton, was at work; and before long the craft had -its representatives among the traders’ buiths. In a later century Allan -Ramsay began his prosperous career as a seller of his own metrical -“broadsides;” and Dr. Johnson’s father, the respected bookseller and -magistrate of the cathedral city of Lichfield, was wont to set up his -book-stall on market days in the neighbouring towns. - -Here then, at the Bowhead, with its north front to the Lawnmarket, stood -within our own recollection the well-stored book-stall, the nucleus and -germ of the great Parkside printing establishment, with its hundreds of -workmen in every branch of the trade. The busy scene of a market day in -the old locality, as it could still be seen sixty-five years ago, is -graphically depicted in Turner’s view of the High Street, engraved in -1825 for Sir Walter Scott’s “Provincial Antiquities.” The book-trade, as -prosecuted by Mr. Thomas Nelson, depended in no inconsiderable degree on -the application of the stereotyping process to the production of cheap -editions of popular works of established repute. He was a pioneer in the -production of literature for the million; but he catered for the taste -of an age very different from our own, in his effort to put standard -works, already stamped with the approval of the wise and good, within -reach of the peasant and the artisan. “The Pilgrim’s Progress” was -already an English classic; and with this were issued such works as -Baxter’s “Saints’ Rest,” Booth’s “Reign of Grace,” “MacEwan on the -Types,” and other works of a like class. To those were by-and-by added -Jeremy Taylor, Leighton, Romaine, and Newton, the old Scottish and -Puritan divines, and Josephus, all produced by means of stereotype -plates, which admitted of a limited issue adapted to the demand of the -market. With the development of the business in later years, the issues -of the publishing house embraced an ampler and much more varied range. -But William carefully treasured his father’s private library. The spirit -of the bibliomaniac developed itself in this special line, and the -collection of old theological works included many choice specimens and -rare editions of his father’s favourite divines. They were latterly -treasured in a cabinet at Hope Park, along with other relics on which -William Nelson set a high value; and their loss on the destruction of -the Hope Park Works in 1878 by fire was one of his greatest causes of -regret. From his own choice collection of theological works, Mr. Thomas -Nelson made his first selections; but after a time he realized the -necessity of catering for the tastes of other classes of readers; and -so by-and-by there were added to them “Robinson Crusoe,” “Rasselas,” -“The Vicar of Wakefield,” Goldsmith’s “Essays,” his “Deserted Village,” -and other poems, along with popular favourites of a like class. Thus -prosecuted, the business gradually expanded until the Bowhead -establishment was no longer sufficient for the accommodation required. - -But free trade in books was in conflict with the ideas inherited from -the privileged guilds of elder centuries. Competition had hitherto been -restricted within narrow limits; and the daring innovator was regarded -by the regular trade with all the disfavour of a revolutionist, against -whom every effort was to be employed to thwart the sale of his -publications. He had accordingly to find other channels of trade. -Periodical visits were made to the smaller towns, over the country, -north and south, and beyond the Scottish border. Thus a safe and -extended business was gradually established, destined ultimately to -revolutionize the book-trade. By its means was inaugurated a system of -supply of popular literature, at prices within reach of the masses, long -before other publishers of this class entered into competition on the -same field. - -The influences of early training are traceable throughout the whole of -Mr. Thomas Nelson’s career, and have left their impress on the business -which owed its origin to his patient assiduity. He remained to the last -faithful to the Covenanting Presbyterian Church, which maintained a -stern adherence to the principles for which the martyrs of the Covenant -had witnessed a good confession alike on the battlefield and the -scaffold. His career in business had been an arduous struggle under many -disabilities. As I remember him in my own boyhood, he was a grave, -silent, yet not ungenial man; but one who seemed preoccupied with -thoughts and cares in which a younger generation could claim no share. -He had married, somewhat late in life, a bright young wife, by whom he -had a family of four sons and three daughters; of whom the eldest son, -the subject of this memoir, was born on the 13th of December, 1816. - -On Mrs. Nelson the care and training of the young family devolved, as -the successful prosecution of the business necessarily required the -frequent and prolonged absence of their father. Yet his interest in them -was not less fervent. An incident illustrative of this has also its -bearings in relation to a characteristic feature of the devout faith of -the old Covenanting fathers. He dreamt that a terrible accident had -befallen his younger son John, then a youth of ten years of age, who was -absent at Pettycur in Fife. He set off on the following morning, and -crossed the Forth, burdened with foreboding visions of death. On his -arrival, he learned that his boy had fallen into the sea, and been -brought back apparently lifeless; but he had been revived, and then lay -asleep after the exhaustion of this vital struggle. It fully accorded -with the devout piety of the old Covenanter to recognize in his dream a -divine message and proof of providential interposition. - -Of Mrs. Nelson, Dr. John Cairns, who knew her intimately, refers, in his -“In Memoriam” address on the death of this younger son, to her look of -bright intelligence and winning affection, as indelibly impressed on the -memory of all who were familiar with her. She possessed the happy -mixture of tender, motherly guidance with an unusual amount of firmness -and decision of character; and exercised great influence in the training -of her son, who was passionately devoted to her. She was in perfect -sympathy with her husband in his religious opinions, and venerated the -memories of the confessors and martyrs of the Covenant; so that their -sons and daughters were reared in strict conformity to the devout faith -of Cameron, Peden, Cargill, and other fathers and confessors of that old -Scottish type. Few men were more liberal-minded in later years than -William Nelson; but the influence of early training survived through -life, begetting some familiar traits of the best type of Scottish -character evolved from that elder generation which so impressed the mind -of the poet Wordsworth:-- - - “Pure livers were they all, austere and grave, - And fearing God; the very children taught - Stern self-respect, a reverence for God’s Word, - And a habitual piety, maintained - With strictness scarcely known on English ground.” - -Some characteristic manifestations of the results of such early training -will come under review in the narrative of later years. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -_HAUNTS OF BOYHOOD._ - - -The curious ancient thoroughfare, the scene of early bookselling and -publishing operations, has been described in the previous chapter: for -many youthful recollections of William Nelson are associated with the -West Bow. In those years Edinburgh was still the romantic town described -by Scott in his “Marmion,” piled steep and massy, close and high, along -the ridge between the Cowgate and the Nor’ Loch. Since then nearly all -the antique historical mansions of the Castle Hill and the adjoining -Bowhead have disappeared. An extensive range was swept away about 1835 -in clearing the area for Johnston Terrace and the Assembly Hall of the -Scottish Church. The famous old palace of Mary of Guise has given place -to the rival Assembly Hall and the New College of the Free Church; and a -broad highway now sweeps round the Castle rock where in early years -antique lands, closes, and wynds, once the abodes of the Scottish -gentry, were crowded together on the slope reaching to the Grassmarket. - -The fine timber-fronted tenement at the corner of the Bowhead, -constructed mainly of oak, was a choice example of the burghers’ -dwellings in Old Edinburgh, with their trading booths opening on the -street. Similar front lands in the High Street were the abodes of the -merchants and traders. The “Gladstone Land” still stands near by in the -Lawnmarket, bearing the initials of Thomas Gladstone, a merchant of -Edinburgh in the days of Charles I. and Cromwell, to whose gifted -descendant the restoration of the City Cross is due. The old nobles and -landed gentry, judges and advocates, preferred the retirement of the -closes and wynds, some of which still retain the names of patrician -occupants. In one of those antique dwellings, in Trotter’s Close, near -the Bowhead, with its wainscotted chambers, painted panels, and other -traces of older generations, the Nelson family resided in William’s -youth. The narrow approach to it admitted of no other carriage than the -old-fashioned sedan chair; but the house itself was commodious, though -with curious complexities of internal adaptation to its confined -neighbourhood. One large chamber was shelved round, and stored with the -surplus productions of publishing enterprise for which the Bowhead -establishment had no room; and its miscellaneous contents furnished a -tempting resort for explorations into some strange fields of literature -not ordinarily lying within the range of youthful studies. When at -length the West Bow was invaded by civic reformers, the Nelsons removed -to a more commodious house, the dwelling in an elder century of Lady -Elizabeth, Duchess of Gordon, while the duke held the Castle for James -II. The Gordon House on the Castle Hill was a fine example of the town -mansions of the sixteenth century; and, owing to its elevated site, -commanded a beautiful view from its southern windows, looking across the -Grassmarket to Heriot’s Hospital, the Greyfriars’ Churchyard, and the -distant range of the Pentland Hills. On its demolition, in 1887, William -Nelson secured sundry interesting relics, including a landscape by James -Norie, which filled a panel over the mantlepiece in the duchess’s -drawing-room. He also carried off the stone gargoils, fashioned in the -shape of cannons, which projected from under the south parapet; and they -now adorn the river wall of the garden at St. Bernard’s Well, the -restoration of which, as will be seen hereafter, constituted one of the -public-spirited works on which he was engaged when his life drew to a -close. - -The stirring scene that the Grassmarket presented on certain days, as a -regular horse-fair, may be seen in a fine engraving after Calcott in -“The Provincial Antiquities of Scotland;” and is still more graphically -depicted in one of Geikie’s humorous etchings. Here accordingly was a -favourite resort of the boys from the neighbouring Bow. The Castle -Esplanade at certain hours afforded a freer playground. At other times -it offered the tempting attractions of military parade and drill. But -Edinburgh has also within its civic bounds the royal park of Arthur’s -Seat, the Salisbury Crags, and Duddingston Loch, looking as though a -choice fragment of the Highlands had been transported thither to form an -adequate pleasure-ground for the Scottish capital. Hither flocked the -city boys alike from the closes and wynds of the old town and from the -new town crescents and squares. There was room for all, and a choice of -sport for every age. Here is a reminiscence of a very youthful pastime, -recalled in 1883, in a letter to Mr. James Campbell, one of William -Nelson’s old West Bow playmates:--“You will, I have no doubt, recollect -a long, smooth stone near Jeanie Deans’ House, in the Queen’s Park. This -stone was associated with my earliest recollections, as it was a great -enjoyment for boys and girls to slide down it; and many a time, when I -was a little boy, have I had this enjoyment. Well, the stone was in -existence till only a few weeks ago, when some rascally fellows blew it -to pieces with dynamite. The act is much to be regretted, as the stone, -in addition to its being a source of enjoyment for little folks in the -way I have stated, was extremely interesting to geologists as one of -the finest illustrations near Edinburgh of the polish produced by -glacial action.” - -While the boys were disporting themselves on the Castle Hill and -Arthur’s Seat, without a care for the future, their father was grappling -with the first difficulties inevitable to the innovator on the -prescriptive usages of the book-trade. But whatever may have been the -obstacles encountered by him, there was no grudging expenditure in the -educational advantages provided for his sons. At the school of Mr. -William Lennie, and subsequently at that of Mr. George Knight, then -second to none in Edinburgh, and afterwards at the High School, William -Nelson pursued his earlier studies; and there, too, some of the -friendships were formed which he cherished with all the warmth of his -sympathetic nature to the close of life. It was in those early days, at -Mr. Knight’s school, that the friendship was formed with his present -biographer, along with George Wilson, subsequently Professor of -Technology in the University of Edinburgh, with Dr. Philip Maclagan, and -with William and James Sprunt, two young West Indians, the former of -whom will reappear as British Consul in North Carolina. Of the more -romantic career of the latter an account is happily preserved in the -notes of an address by William Nelson at one of the gatherings of old -schoolmates in later years, which were so congenial to his tastes. -After telling of James Sprunt’s first settlement in the island of St. -Vincent among a dissolute set of West Indians, his quitting it for New -Orleans, and being lost sight of for years, he thus proceeds:--“He had -landed penniless; but when his old father and mother got their first -letter from him, it was an invitation for them to join him there and -share his good fortune. He next appears as rector of a classical academy -at Wilmington, North Carolina, where he became a clergyman and pastor of -the Presbyterian Church; and when the war broke out between the North -and South, he cast in his lot with the latter, marched with the -Wilmington brigade into action, and as an army chaplain, under General -Stonewall Jackson, went through the terrible scenes of strife and -carnage in that bloody civil war, utterly regardless of danger, and even -ready to face death at the call of duty. His popularity with his -Wilmington congregation was not lessened, it may be believed, when he -returned to resume his pastoral charge at the close of the war.” Of -other boys of those first school-days may be noted Dr. J. A. Smith, in -later years an active member of the Royal Society, and Secretary of the -Society of Antiquaries of Scotland; Dr. John Knight, the son of our old -teacher; the Rev. James Huie of Wooler, Northumberland, and others, who -formed themselves into “The Juvenile Society for the Advancement of -Knowledge,” of which an account is given in the Memoir of George Wilson -by his sister. - -The High School, a venerable civic institution dating from the sixteenth -century, still occupied the site of the Blackfriars’ Monastery, at the -east end of the ridge from which the ruined Kirk-of-Field was displaced -by the newly-founded university in Queen Mary’s time. The modern -policeman had not yet superseded the old city watch. The High School -Wynd, a singularly picturesque alley of timber-fronted lands, at the -foot of which stood the palace of Cardinal Beaton, gave access to the -Cowgate, a plebeian haunt, the young roughs of which maintained a -hereditary feud against the “puppies” of the High School. A stray High -School boy, especially if he was a “guite” or freshman, venturing into -that Alsatia, incurred all the risks of a wanderer into an enemy’s -lines; and from time to time a bicker, or pitched battle with sticks and -stones, between the “puppies” of the High School and the “blackguards” -of the Cowgate, came off by mutual understanding on a Saturday in the -Hunter’s Bog or on the Links. The school numbered upwards of seven -hundred boys. The Yards, as the playground was called, presented the -busy scene characteristic of similar juvenile gatherings. But there was -then less of restraint either by masters or police than under the new -_régime_ of school boards and “peelers.” Out of school boys settled -their own affairs, and righted their own wrongs, with results that seem -to me on the whole to have tended to develop manliness and -self-restraint. In the general sports, as well as in organized bickers -or raids into the enemy’s quarters, after some Cowgate encroachment upon -the amenities of the school, all were one; but the acquaintance even -with the boys of our own class was partial. They naturally formed into -little groups of kindred spirits, the beginnings in some cases of -life-long friendships. - -Dr. Philip Maclagan, referring to those early school-days, says: “I was -one of the original members of the Juvenile Society for the Advancement -of Knowledge. The society met on Friday evening; papers were read by the -members in rotation, and questions previously started were debated. I -remember some of them--‘Whether the whale or the herring afforded the -more useful and profitable employment to mankind?’ ‘Whether the camel -was more useful to the Arab or the reindeer to the Laplander?’ and -similar puzzles for youthful ingenuity.” As yet political and social -questions were unheeded; and the Saturday rambles, for which Edinburgh -offers such rare advantages, furnished materials for subsequent -discussion in diverse geological, botanical, and antiquarian subjects of -interest. Those excursions extended to Cramond; to Royston Castle, -picturesquely crowning a rock near the sea-shore; to Newhaven, Leith, -or Portobello; or landward, to Craigmillar Castle, Corstorphine, -Colinton, the Esk; and to the Braid or Blackford Hill: a stolen -pleasure, since we were at that time liable to pursuit and ejection as -trespassers. The Arthur’s Seat as well as the Blackford Hill of those -days, if less adapted for the proprieties of a city park, were more to -the taste of youthful explorers while still in a state of nature. It was -the Blackford of young Walter Scott-- - - “On whose uncultured breast, - Among the broom, and thorn, and whin, - A truant boy, I sought the nest; - Or listened, as I lay at rest, - While rose on breezes thin - The murmur of the city crowd.” - -Already, when Scott penned his “Marmion,” the agriculturist and the -builder were working havoc on the scene. How much more may survivors of -that younger circle now say,-- - - “O’er the landscape, as I look, - Nought do I see unchanged remain, - Save the rude cliffs and chiming brook. - To me they make a heavy moan - Of early friendships past and gone.” - -But such feelings found no place in the thoughts of the eager truants. -Close at hand were the never-failing Calton Hill, or Arthur’s Seat and -Duddingston, with charm enough for a pleasant ramble, but also utilized, -along with more extended excursions, for collecting specimens to furnish -material for subsequent discussion in their Juvenile Society, as well as -contributions to the museum which was already in course of formation. - -The sea-shore had then, as in later years, a peculiar charm for William -Nelson. To the very close of his life an excursion in company with some -favourite companion to Newhaven, or to North Berwick, and off in one of -the fishermen’s boats to fish for haddock or whitings, furnished one of -his most prized recreations. But it was at Kinghorn, his mother’s -birthplace, on the opposite shore of the Firth of Forth, that his -choicest holidays were spent. In a letter written in long subsequent -years to his old schoolmate and friend, the Rev. Dr. Simpson of Derby, -when an event, hereafter referred to, brought him anew into intimate -relations with the place, he thus recalls the memories of his early -boyhood:--“My connection with Kinghorn has been very close; and my love -for it, as my mother’s birthplace, and the place where I spent many very -happy days in my earliest years, and during my school holidays -afterwards, is very great. I was exceedingly fond of fishing, both from -the rocks on the sea-shore and at Kinghorn Loch; and happier days were -never spent by any youngster than were those days of mine at Kinghorn. -I knew every rock on the coast from Pettycur onwards to Seafield Tower -on East the Braes, which is not far from the ‘lang toon of Kirkcaldy;’ -and a finer sea-coast for grand rocks there is not anywhere on the -northern coast of the Firth of Forth. I was as happy as I could be from -morning till night. I remember the talks, too, in those early days by -the old folks, which were principally about Paul Jones’s visit to the -Firth, my grandmother having seen his ship from the little hamlet of -Glassmount, about two miles from Kinghorn, where she was born, and where -her parents stayed at that time. - -“Another favourite subject of talk was the ‘windy Saturday,’ a -tremendous day of wind, when only one vessel, it was said, out in the -Firth of Forth, was able to face the stormy blasts without coming to -grief. A third subject of talk with the old folks was the mischief that -steam-boats had done to the town, as, before they began to run, there -were big boats to carry passengers; and as they started only at -particular times of the tide, and did not go during the night, -passengers had generally to stay some time in the town till the boats -were ready to start--that is, for Leith, as there was no Newhaven in -those days. ‘What a good this did to the town!’ and, ‘What a mistake it -was to upset the quiet, easy way of taking things, as they were in those -good old days, by the introduction of steam-boats!’ My mother’s uncle, -John Macallum, was the captain of the first steam-boat, or, at all -events, one of the first, that sailed on the Firth of Forth, its name -being the _Sir William Wallace_. It unfortunately was wrecked on some -rocks near Burntisland. - -“I could enlarge upon such themes to a great extent, and upon my -companions of those early days; but, alas! those companions have all -passed away, with two exceptions--namely, Henry Darney, a worthy citizen -of Kinghorn, and Major Greig, now of Toronto, Canada. My connection with -Kinghorn came to a close about 1836, when my grandmother died; but such -a liking have I for the place, that I have paid it a short visit almost -every year since that time.” - -His more intimate relations with Kinghorn, as he states, terminated with -the death of his grandmother; but his fondness for it remained through -life. In 1885 his eldest sister, Mrs. George Brown, returned from -Canada, and I am indebted to her for some interesting early -reminiscences recalled by more than one visit made in his company to -their mother’s birthplace. “It was there,” she writes, “he spent all his -holidays as a boy; and so eager was he to get to the place that the very -afternoon of the breaking up of school often saw him on board the -ferry-boat on his way across the Forth, fishing-rod in hand and -fishing-basket on back. For fishing he had a perfect passion. At -Newhaven, Kinghorn, Crail, North Berwick, and Oban, he was well known -and greatly liked by all the fishermen, although frequently their -patience must have been pretty well put to the test when they were taken -out in rough weather by William, and they knew there were no fish to be -had. - -“When a boy at Kinghorn, late and early he might be seen either putting -his tackle in order, or down on the beach digging for bait, or on the -rocks, now on one and now on another, according to the state of the -tide, contented to spend hours and hours together so that he only caught -fish or even got what he called good nibbles. On many occasions he was -so successful that he was able to keep the poor pretty well supplied -with fish during his visits. - -“It was not only during the holiday months that William occupied himself -in fishing or in preparation for it. All through the winter he and his -brothers spent a good deal of their time in manufacturing lines for the -next summer’s campaign. It is amusing to remember where materials for -these fishing-lines sometimes came from. There was an old piano in the -house which had seen better days, and the strings of it afforded a good -supply of wire for fastening the hooks on the lines; the tail of any -horse unfortunate enough to come in the way was put under contribution -for a supply of hair. To the end of his life, his interest in and his -love for Kinghorn never waned; and by the occasional visits he continued -to pay, his acquaintance with the few remaining companions of his -boyhood was kept up. - -“The second last visit he paid was in 1886. My sister Jessie and I were -with him. Leaving Edinburgh early in the day, we crossed to Burntisland; -and getting a carriage there, we drove to Pettycur. His recollections -were all of his boyhood. He showed us a part of the beach where he used -to dig for cockles and sand-eels, and the rocks where he and his -companions made a fire to roast potatoes. He pointed out the place where -Alexander III. is said to have been killed; and recalled the old times -of pinnaces and open boats before steamers were heard of. Leaving -Pettycur, we drove to the loch, a lovely, sequestered place, where -William caught his first pike. To show his love for fishing, my brother -Tom recalls the fact that on one occasion, when the holidays were over -and the day had come for William to return to Edinburgh, after he had -finished his preparations for starting, he looked at the clock, and -saying he had still time to run up to the loch before the boat sailed, -rushed off with his fishing-rod. Whether he came back with an empty -basket or not tradition does not say. From the loch we made our way to -the beautiful sandy beach; then up to the Braes, where he used to -scamper about, and on which there still stands an old hawthorn tree, by -the side of which, he told us, he fired his first shot. He loved -evidently to linger in memory over these days and recall his friends and -playmates, the remembrance of whom brought tears to his eyes.” - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -_SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLMATES._ - - -William Nelson was a pupil in the High School of Edinburgh when one -great cycle in its history was completed. It had occupied the site of -the old Blackfriars’ Monastery for upwards of two hundred and seventy -years. In 1555 the town house of Cardinal Beaton, at the foot of the -Blackfriars’ Wynd, which continued to be one of the most interesting -historical buildings in Edinburgh till its demolition in 1871, was -rented by the city for the use of the Grammar School, while a building -for its permanent occupation was “being biggit on the east side of the -Kirk-of-Field,” the scene, a few years later, of Lord Darnley’s -mysterious assassination. Its rector was David Vocat, a prebendary of -the neighbouring collegiate church of St. Mary-in-the-Field; and under -his rule the cloisters of the Dominicans, built for them in 1230 by -Alexander II., gave place to the halls and playground of the High School -boys. But it was a turbulent age, and before the century closed the -Yards became the scene of a tragic event which retained a prominent -place among the traditions of the school so long as it remained on the -old site. In 1598 Bailie Macmoran, one of the city magistrates, was shot -in a barring out of the schoolboys by William Sinclair, a son of the -Chancellor of Caithness. The contemporary diarist, Birrel, notes that -“there was ane number of scholaris, being gentlemen’s bairns, made a -mutinie;” and on the poor bailie interposing, the schoolboy revolt ended -in dire tragedy. - -Great as were the changes that time had wrought on the locality where -the old monastery of the Black Friars gave place to the City Grammar -School, a flavour of historic antiquity pervaded it to the last. The -episcopal palace of the Beatons, where the school work had been carried -on for a time, still stood at the foot of the High School Wynd; and near -by was the site of that of Gawain Douglas, who, while still provost of -St. Giles’s collegiate church-- - - “In a barbarous age - Gave to rude Scotland Virgil’s page.” - -It was probably due to the vicinity of their lodgings that the poet -interposed on behalf of the militant archbishop when, after the famous -street feud of “Cleanse the Causeway,” Beaton had vainly sought -sanctuary behind the altar of the Blackfriars’ Church, and, but for the -interposition of the poet, would have been slain. His vigorous -translation of the Æneid into the Scottish vernacular was a favourite -with William Nelson in later years. But the associations of the locality -in his school days were for the most part of more recent date. - -The High School Yards had been the playground of Hume, Robertson, -Erskine, Horner, Jeffrey, Cockburn, Brougham, and Scott, and of many a -notability before them. The memory of its gentle, scholarly rector, Dr. -Adam, author of “Roman Antiquities” and other works, was still fresh; -and the old school seemed a link between past generations and the living -age. But neither the site, with its picturesque surroundings, nor the -building, accorded with the ideas of civic reformers who had organized a -crusade against whatever was out of keeping with the brand-new town. The -age had not then reverted to the mediæval models which have since come -into vogue. Classic art was regarded as most suited to academic -requirements; and so a beautiful Grecian building--the finest specimen -of Thomas Hamilton’s architectural skill, in the designing of which his -artist friend, David Roberts, was understood to have contributed -valuable aid,--had been erected on the southern slope of the Calton -Hill, as a more fitting home for the city Grammar School. - -The migration from the antiquated building at the head of the High -School Wynd to this splendid edifice in the New Town was an important -change in many ways besides the mere removal to more commodious and -sightly halls. It brought to an end a host of old customs and -traditions; and, among the rest, to the hereditary feud between the -Cowgate “blackguards” and the High School “puppies.” A grand civic -ceremonial marked this transfer of the school to its new domicile. On -the 23rd of June 1829--a bright, auspicious day--William Nelson, the -head boy of his class, with his schoolmates, under the leadership of the -rector and masters, walked in procession, each bearing an osier wand, -with music, military escort, and all the civic glories that the Lord -Provost and magistrates could command, to do honour to the occasion. It -was a memorable epoch in schoolboy life. But it seemed to the old boys -as though they never were quite at home in their stately New Town -quarters. Old “Blackie,” with her famous “gib” or toffy stall, was out -of place there; and as for Brown’s famous subterranean pie-shop in the -old High School Wynd, it necessarily tarried behind, to the inevitable -ruin of a once flourishing business. Not the building only, but the -entire scholastic system carried on within its walls, soon after -underwent a complete revolution; and the work of the venerable Grammar -School of Prebendary Vocat, the classic arena of Adam, Pillans, and -Carson, has since devolved on Fettes College, a creation of the present -century. - -But the old classic system still prevailed in William Nelson’s time; -and, notwithstanding some glaring defects, was turned by him to good -account. As to the school itself, it must be owned that it stood in need -of reform. The class of Mr. Benjamin Mackay, under whose training -William Nelson remained for four years, numbered upwards of a hundred -boys. Those in the two front forms worked with more or less persistency -under a somewhat coercive system; the remainder idled in the most -flagrant fashion, and not a few of them looked back in later years on -those dreary hours with an indignant sense of wasted time. But William -Nelson was foremost among the studious workers. The same quiet, resolute -perseverance which marked his later career in business characterized him -as a schoolboy. He maintained his place as the dux of his class, carried -off the chief prizes of the school, and at the close of his course under -the rector, Dr. Carson, he passed to the university with the highest -honours, as classical gold medalist. - -Among the carefully preserved papers of his early years are a bundle of -old letters from schoolmates, enclosed in an envelope addressed to his -mother, with an endorsation begging her to see to their safe keeping. -They furnish pleasant glimpses of the affectionate relations already -established with more than one of the friends of later years. The solemn -protest of the learned Principal, Dr. Lee, against “that most -objectionable and pernicious practice of making balls of snow,” is -humorously commented on, along with graver matters, such as pertained to -the themes and discussions of the Juvenile Literary Society, and the -more ambitious debating societies of the university. His own sense of -humour found free play both in early and later years; but above all, his -youthful letters are full of pleasant gossip of the old sailors of -Kinghorn, who told him yarns of the victories in which they had shared -in the great French war, and the pranks they indulged in when flush with -prize-money. Old Charlie Mackenzie had been in the _Mars_ in her action -with the _Hercules_, one of the bloodiest naval conflicts of the war. -Another of the Kinghorn story-tellers--Orrock, who died in 1836, upwards -of ninety years of age--claimed to have known the man who acted as -drummer at the Porteous mob, and to have learned from him some details -of the burning of the doors, and so gaining admission to the Tolbooth. -The intense feeling of local attachment which such reminiscences reveal -manifested itself in later years in the interest he took in improvements -at Kinghorn, as well as in the more costly restorations in his native -city. But one of the first fruits of his intercourse with the old -pensioners of Kinghorn, who, as he says, “were great fishers for -podlies from certain rocks on the sea-shore,” was the capture of a crab -with a double claw, a _lusus naturæ_, which furnished a novel subject -for discussion at a meeting of the Juvenile Literary Society. His -contributions to its collections and learned discussions were generally -of the same class--algæ, shells, or other marine curiosities, the fruits -of his last holiday ramble by the sea. - -Among stray waifs that have survived from those old days is a letter, -bearing date February 20, 1829, addressed to the secretary of the -Juvenile Society by the elder brother of one of its members. With all -the condescension of an undergraduate placing his mature knowledge at -the service of schoolboys, the writer sets forth “the very great -pleasure I take in hearing of the proceedings of your society, and my -unqualified approbation of your plan of keeping a journal as a sort of -record of your proceedings.” He proceeds: “I daresay you are unaware -that the duties of a student of medicine are of a very arduous nature.” -But, as he goes on to state, he had laid before the Plinian Society in -the previous summer a paper on certain “Discoveries made behind -Edinburgh Castle in digging the foundation of the new bridge,”--part of -the terraced road which involved the destruction of Trotter’s Close and -the Nelson homestead,--and this, he says, “I shall copy out in a style -which I hope will prove interesting to my young friends, and which may, -perhaps, form a contribution to their journal.” The writer, whose -seniority, by the years that separate the College student from the High -School boy, entitled him thus condescendingly to address his brother -Philip and the other juvenile _savants_, is now Sir Douglas Maclagan, -the genial veteran Professor of Medical Jurisprudence in his own -university; and, it may be added, the author of some of the most popular -of a younger generation’s student-songs. - -At a later stage the juvenile debaters awoke to an interest in the -stirring questions of the day. Mr. Alexander Sprunt, writing from -Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1859, says: “During the period of our -High School curriculum, questions were occupying the public mind, and -startling events taking place in Europe: the final struggle of the -Poles, the French ‘Three Days of July,’ the reform movement, etc. The -subject of the immediate or gradual emancipation of the negro slaves in -the colonies was also keenly discussed about that time. Some of us, -being related to families of the colonists, were familiar with the -arguments for a gradual abolition of slavery.” William Nelson took up -the question warmly, and was an uncompromising advocate for immediate -emancipation. As to the oft-renewed struggle in France between Bourbon -Royalists, Imperialists, and Red Republicans, it was forcibly brought -home to the realization of the young debaters by the presence of the -exiled Charles X. and his little court at Holyrood; and by the -occasional sight of the royal refugee as he passed the High School Yards -on foot, in company with one or two of his suite, to enjoy the -magnificent panorama from the Calton Hill. - -The fruits of those early experiences could be discerned in later years. -The boy’s education was progressing under other teachings besides those -of the schoolmaster. It was altogether alien to the unobtrusiveness of -William Nelson’s sensitive nature to take, in later years, a prominent -share in political life; but his generous support was extended in the -most practical form to all philanthropic movements. He manifested the -keenest interest in all questions of liberal politics: in the -emancipation of the slaves; in the prolonged controversies which led to -the disruption of the Scottish Church; and in the more recent struggle -between the Slave and Free States in the great American Civil War. Most -of those questions belong to periods long subsequent to the time when -James and Alexander Sprunt were the champions of the West Indian -planters, and William Nelson and other juvenile debaters maintained the -cause of the enslaved negro. - -But the members of the Literary Society, as already noted, had their -field-days as well as their Friday night sessions; and in pursuit of -material for their papers, as well as in the free use of the Saturday -and other holidays, the schoolmates had many an exciting ramble. In -spite of its uncertain climate, Edinburgh presents an unequalled variety -of choice holiday excursions; and as to the rain, it required a good -deal more than an ordinary shower to put a stop to any projected -excursion. In walking, climbing, and all the ordinary feats of healthy -boyhood, William Nelson was unsurpassed. To make our way to the summit -of Salisbury Crags by the famous Cat-Nick, or outrival each other in the -attempt to scale Samson’s Ribs, and sit supreme on some overhanging -ledge of the basaltic columns, were among the most favourite pastimes. -Or a leisurely climb along the slopes to the summit of Arthur’s Seat, -and a survey of the magnificent landscape spread out to view, were a -prelude, at the word, to a dash down the hill, scrambling like so many -goats over the western cliffs and the rough slope below, and so by the -Hunter’s Bog, for the first draught at St. Anthony’s Well. In all such -feats William Nelson was a match for any schoolmate. His coolness -equalled his courage, and he had a love for daring feats such as those -who only knew him in later years will hardly realize. When the old home -at the Bowhead was displaced by the Assembly Hall, and its lofty spire -was in process of erection, he made friends with the contractor, and I -accompanied him in more than one ascent. A steam hoist carried us up -the main portion of the way; and then came the trying ordeal on the -ladders. But as the tapering spire approached completion, it was no -longer possible to reach the summit from within; and I still recall with -vividness the composure with which, all unconscious of danger, he walked -out on the narrow plank, over a depth of upwards of two hundred feet, -and stood at the extreme end of it, noting and commenting on the various -objects spread out below. - -A future career for life was as yet unthought of. But while aiming -solely at pleasure, and rejoicing in a holiday’s escape from school, the -boy was unconsciously educating himself. Already the botanical box and -the geological hammer were in vogue. Not, indeed, the luxurious -appliances with which amateur naturalists are now furnished. Any hammer -sufficed for getting at a coveted fossil; and as for our _hortus -siccus_, an old candle-box was appropriated by the botanical collector. -But the archæological tastes in which more than one of William Nelson’s -schoolmates sympathized, and to which he gave such practical expression -in later years, were already in process of development. The pleasurable -associations with historic scenes and picturesque ruins found ample -scope in those holiday rambles. Craigmillar Castle was close at hand; -and within easy distance was old Roman Cramond, with chances of a -numismatic prize to the fortunate explorer, and with the sculptured -eagle of the legionaries of the second century still visible on the -cliff at the mouth of the river Almond. This had a special charm for -boys fresh from their Cæsar and Tacitus, giving a sense of reality to -those forgotten centuries. It was an object-lesson, better even than the -Roman altar dedicated to the goddess Epona--DEÆ EPONÆ--which Dr. Carson, -the Rector of the High School, produced to his class, and won their -attentive admiration as he pointed to the focus in which the Roman -horse-jockey had poured a libation; and adduced passages from the -Satires of Juvenal in confirmation of his theme. - -Farther afield lay Woodhouselee, Seton and Roslin chapels; Niddry, -Borthwick, and Crichton castles; Preston Cross and Tower; and many -another storied ruin associated with familiar historic events. Pinkie -Cleugh, Carberry Hill, Lasswade, Dalkeith, and Prestonpans, were each -linked with song or story. Maclagan was an ardent collector of plants -and insects; geology divided with botany the interest of George Wilson; -John A. Smith had already begun the collection of coins; and William -Nelson was forming the tastes which manifested themselves in later years -in his love for every venerable nook of his native city, and in his zeal -for the preservation of its historic memorials. - -The change from school to college life is in every case an important -one. With the majority it involves emancipation, in a large degree, -from enforced and distasteful studies, and their exchange for congenial -pursuits. The youth begins for the first time to estimate knowledge at -its real worth, and to shape out plans of study for himself. But the -novel arena is no less important as that in which the companionships of -the playground give place to that discriminating choice of congenial -associates in which life-long friendships have so often originated. It -is the joyous season in which the springtide is just merging into life’s -early summer; when youth is animated by all generous aspirations, and -hope’s rainbow arch spans the horizon. - -The period of William Nelson’s admission as an undergraduate of the -University of Edinburgh was in some respects a brilliant one in its -history; and even more so in relation to its students than its -professors. Dr. John Lee, the learned Church historian and black-letter -scholar, was principal, and Dr. Chalmers occupied the chair of divinity; -the chair of natural philosophy was successively occupied by Sir John -Leslie and by James D. Forbes. Before the abrupt close of William -Nelson’s academic career, Sir William Hamilton had assumed the lead in -its school of mental science; and the fame of John Wilson, its professor -of moral philosophy, under his pseudonym of “Christopher North,” -attracted many to his class-room for whom his professed theme would have -had no charm. But in the department of classics, for which all William -Nelson’s previous training had been specially directed, the faculty was -imperfectly equipped. Dunbar, a poor representative of Hellenic -scholarship, had then filled the Greek chair for upwards of a quarter of -a century. On the other hand, the professor of humanity was James -Pillans, an elegant scholar, and, in the words of Sir Alexander Grant, -“a born teacher and educator;” though latterly more prone to dwell on -little critical niceties than to give himself up to the drudgery which -was indispensable for the training of his large and often inadequately -prepared class. Among other traits that his old pupils will recall was -the never-failing protest at the opening of a new session, which -reminded the class that he enjoyed the dubious fame of being pilloried -by Byron in his “English Bards and Scotch Reviewers.” The irate bard, in -his indiscriminate _furor_, had characterized the professor of humanity -as “Paltry Pillans;” and William Nelson used to quote this incident of -his own experience in justification of the title:--He had an essay to -give in on a certain day, and not having finished it till late on the -previous night, instead of walking to the professor’s remote residence -at Inverleith Row, he dropped his manuscript into the nearest post-box. -Next day, when the class assembled, the first intimation from the -professor was, “I will thank Mr. William Nelson to hand twopence to the -janitor for the postage of his essay!” Notwithstanding some amusing -eccentricities, Professor Pillans was held in great esteem by his old -pupil as an apt and painstaking enthusiast in his profession; and the -good feeling was mutual. William Nelson was a favourite pupil, in whose -progress he took a lively interest, and it was in spite of his most -urgent remonstrances that the classic muse was abandoned at the call of -filial duty. - -But it was the fortune of William Nelson, in those happy days of student -life, to find himself among a rare band of undergraduates, many of whom -subsequently won a name for themselves in ampler fields. Edward Forbes -was then a zealous volunteer on the staff of the _University Maga_, -contributing with pen and pencil, in prose and verse, to its columns. He -had a rare power of winning co-operation in whatever he set on foot; and -he gathered around him a band of kindred spirits, who, as sharers in the -exuberant frolic and satire of the _Maga_, formed themselves at length -into the Magi, or members of the Maga Club. Out of this grew the famous -“Brotherhood of the Friends of Truth,” with its archimagus, its ribbon, -and its mystic motto:- - - ΟΙΝΣ ΕΡΩΣ ΜΑΘΗΣΙΣ, - -which still survives under its later guise of the Red Lions of the -British Association gatherings. There was a curious admixture of -youthful exuberance and frolic with a lofty earnestness of aim in the -Brotherhood. The search after truth was declared, in its programme, not -only to be man’s noblest occupation, but his duty; and the spirit of the -order is thus set forth: “This brotherhood is a union of the searchers -after truth, for the glory of God, the good of all, and the honour of -the order, to the end that mind may hold its rightful sway in the -world.” - -Of the youthful band of undergraduates, John Goodsir, Bennett, Blackie, -Lyon Playfair, George Wilson, and Edward Forbes, all ultimately filled -chairs in their own university. Day succeeded to a professorship in St. -Andrews, and Struthers to one in Aberdeen. Henry Goodsir, a youth of -high ability, accompanied Sir John Franklin as naturalist in the -ill-fated Arctic expedition, from which none returned. Dr. Stanger -distinguished himself, with better fortune, in the Niger expedition of -1844; Andrew Ramsay rose to be chief of the Geological Survey; and other -fellow-students and members of the order have occupied professors’ -chairs in Canada and in India, have represented their university in -Parliament, or made their mark in no less useful ways. Among the latter -the name of William Nelson claims an honourable rank. For the scheme of -the brotherhood required each member “to devote his time and his -energies to the department for which he feels and proves himself best -fitted, communicating his knowledge to all, so that all may benefit -thereby, casting away selfishness, and enforcing precepts of love.” -Assuredly when those maxims came to be tested in the daily business of -life, no one gave their spirit of unselfishness more practical -manifestation than the subject of this memoir. - -In Professor Pillans’s class he maintained the standing which he had -achieved at the High School. His foremost but unequal rival in the -composition of Latin verse was the late George Paxton Young, the -esteemed Professor of Logic and Metaphysics in the University of -Toronto. It was while William Nelson was still a student that John -Cairns--the friend and fellow-student both at Edinburgh and Berlin of -his younger brother, John Nelson, and now the venerable Principal and -Professor of Systematic Theology in the Divinity Hall of the United -Presbyterian Church--came fresh from the pastoral hills of Berwickshire -to win for himself a distinguished place among the men of his time. - -Amid the stimulus and rivalry of such competitors for fame, the young -student devoted himself with renewed zeal to the classics, with -undefined visions of some honourable professional or academic reward as -his life-prize; and fulfilled the high anticipations of his earlier -career. But while thus steadily pursuing a course which gave abundant -promise of triumph, his father was suddenly prostrated by disease; and -William, as the eldest son of a large family, abandoned all the bright -prospects of his university career, and the dream of professional or -academic achievements, to grapple with the unfamiliar difficulties of a -commercial enterprise, till then conducted on a scale commensurate with -the modest aims of an elder generation in the Old Town of Edinburgh. - -The business of Mr. Thomas Nelson was a curious survival of the system -borrowed from the great fairs of the Middle Ages, and grafted on to -their older traffic by the successors of Guttenburg and Fust; of Caxton, -Wynkin de Worde, and Chepman and Miller. Allan Ramsay had followed in -their steps, with his booth at the sign of the Mercury, opposite the -head of Niddry’s Wynd, from whence he transferred it to the Luckenbooths -at the City Cross. It was in just such another luckenbooth at the -Bowhead that Mr. Thomas Nelson originated the business which has since -developed into such great proportions. - -William Nelson threw himself at once, with characteristic singleness of -aim, into his new vocation; nor did he ever express regret at his -enforced desertion of scholarship for trade. But few men have carried -away from school or college a keener sense of the attachments of student -life. To the last the plea of an old schoolmate ever presented an -irresistible claim which scarcely any demerit could cancel. The fate of -one whose life, by his own misconduct, had closed in miserable failure -is thus charitably noted in one of his letters: “Poor ---- died two days -ago of congestion of the lungs; and it is a wonder that he hung on so -long, as he has been in a very dilapidated condition for years. The last -time I saw him, his condition was truly pitiable. I sent him a fresh -bolster and bedding, for the ones he had were hard and foul. Poor -fellow! he did a great deal to hasten the approach of the last enemy.” -His loyalty to early friends was unfailing. He kept a record of his -classmates in the High School, and noted with keenest interest their -success or failure in life. He told with kindly humour of the refusal of -a liberal “tip” offered to a porter at Cairo who had been specially -serviceable, and then claimed fellowship by reminding him of old High -School doings. B---- was the ne’er-do-weel of Mackay’s class, who had -thus found his vocation in the land of the Pharaohs. His sympathy was -unbounded in any honour or good fortune achieved by a schoolmate; and -latterly, as he watched the rapidly diminishing numbers of the old group -of school and college companions, he recorded at the close of each year -the minutes of Death’s roll-call. To one who entered so keenly into -academic life, and whose career was so replete with promise, it was a -trying ordeal to abandon college for the uncongenial drudgery of a -trading venture for which such experiences seemed to promise no helpful -training. But in Scotland a university career is by no means regarded as -unsuitable preparation for trade and commerce; and William Nelson was -speedily to show what success the classical gold medalist of the High -School and the best writer of Latin verse in the College could achieve -in business life. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -_THE CASTLE HILL._ - - -With characteristic energy the young student, now in his nineteenth -year, set himself to grapple with the novel difficulties of the -book-trade. Neither the irksome drudgery nor the uncongenial demands -incident to the business daunted the youthful adventurer, who had so -recently found his highest vocation in the mastery of Latin quantities, -and the triumphs of competitive hexameters after the models of Horace -and Virgil. In the summer of 1880, the present writer spent some weeks -with his old schoolmate at Philiphaugh, in the vale of Yarrow, famous as -the scene of Montrose’s last battle. During an excursion to Berwick, -with the special object of visiting another schoolmate, he pointed out -more than one book-store in the old Border town, familiar to him in -association with his first experiences as a commercial traveller, and -humorously described those early ventures in the disposal of his -literary wares. According to Johnson of Liverpool, his journey extended -to that city, and Mr. Johnson gave him his first large order for books. -He had already succeeded in overcoming the prejudices of the regular -trade, and fixed a scale of prices which disarmed their antagonism. - -The books, as already stated, were for the most part reprints from -standard and popular works beyond the range of copyright restrictions. -Their paper-covered boards and imperfect printing were in striking -contrast to the choice typography, paper, and binding, and the tasteful -illustrations, which characterized the works issued by the firm in later -days. Yet the germ even of this was already discernible in the engraved -frontispieces and vignette titles introduced to catch the eye and cater -for the popular taste. - -So early as 1829, Mr. Thomas Nelson, senior, had aimed at the extension -of his business by engaging a commercial traveller to push the sales of -his publications with the trade. Mr. James Macdonald was first -despatched on this mission; but as Curwen states, in his “History of -Booksellers,” owing to the stigma attached to the unwonted nature of the -business, his mission was a failure. “At Aberdeen the booksellers rose -up in arms, and only one had the courage to give him an order.” To him -succeeded, ere long, Mr. James Peters, a more successful agent, and a -faithful _attaché_ of the house through all its later fortunes till his -death. But Curwen says: “It was not until Mr. William Nelson, the -eldest son of the founder, took to the road that the trade business was -really consolidated, not only in Scotland, but also in the chief towns -of the United Kingdom. In fact, it may be said that Mr. William Nelson -was the real builder of the business, working upwards from a foundation -that was certainly narrow and circumscribed. Mr. Thomas Nelson, the -younger brother, soon after this admitted to the firm, undertook the -energetic superintendence of the manufacturing department, and was the -originator of the extensive series of school books.” - -William Nelson’s taste in literature was refined, and his reading -extensive. His mind was stored with the fruits of years of liberal -study; and when stimulated by the sight of beautiful scenery, or moved -by some unusual occurrence, he sometimes surprised strangers by his apt -and lengthened quotations from favourite poets. Soon after the removal -to the Castle Hill establishment, Mr. Duncan Keith,--the son of an old -friend of Mr. Nelson, with whom William had spent at Glasgow a brief -period of initiation into the mysteries of trading,--was welcomed as a -member of the West Bow home-circle, and took his place among the busy -corps on the Castle Hill. He was the junior of William Nelson by some -years, and thus writes: “My evenings were chiefly spent in the society -of the younger branches of the family; but I have a distinct -remembrance of William reading aloud from Horace and Virgil in a manner -that showed an intimate acquaintance with the language, and an -appreciation of the poetry in the original. Though a High School dux -myself, it was far above me; and, so far as my later observation goes, -above most people.” But it was only amongst intimate friends that he -gave free play to his literary sympathies. Nothing was more remote from -his character than any effort at display; and men of culture who, in -their intercourse with him, had long regarded him only as the man of -business, were sometimes startled by an unexpected betrayal of his -familiarity with classical and general literature, as well as by his -sound judgment on questions of critical discussion. - -With a taste thus matured, his feeling for art was refined, and he -directed his efforts, with ingenious skill, to render the works issued -from the firm attractive. Novel methods of illustration were introduced. -Wood-cuts were printed with tinted grounds and relieved lights. -Chromo-lithographs vied in effect with the original water-colour -drawings. A late series of reproductions of Landseer’s pictures, though -designed only for a child’s book, constituted a valuable memorial of the -great animal painter. Inventive ingenuity was directed to the production -of fresh novelties in binding and illustration, many of which were -eagerly copied by the trade. William Nelson’s appreciation of artistic -excellence seemed to be innate and instinctive. “A thing of beauty” was -a joy to him wholly apart from his own share in its production. His -admiration for a well-got-up book, or for illustrations of unusual -excellence, found as hearty utterance in reference to the publications -of another firm as of his own; and hence he was always open to fresh -hints, and prepared for improvement on his most successful efforts. He -was, indeed, too easily beguiled by good looks both in books and men. -This characteristic passage occurs in a letter to an old friend: “I had -a call two days ago from a most fair-spoken English clergyman, who -wanted help to build a ragged school in Sheffield. He insisted that you -had introduced him to me, and that I had taken him over the works and -given him a book, which was likely enough; though, as I told him, I had -no recollection of it. He was most plausible, and very good-looking. A -good-looking outside takes my fancy in anything. I always find myself -expecting the best of a good-looking book; and I am apt to believe -pleasant things of good-looking people also. He assured me he was a -great friend of yours; and he had such a friendly look that I gave him -what he wanted. Do you know anything of this Dr. Pike? I have had my -suspicions of him that he is a plausible humbug,”--which, as in many a -similar case, proved to be only too well founded. - -A writer in the _Scottish Typographical Circular_ remarks: “Mr. Nelson -was often popping in and out among artists and engravers who did work -for him, giving them new ideas and further suggestions. He did not -grudge trouble or expense if he got things nice and to his mind. He -rejoiced in beautiful typography, and displayed great artistic taste in -the wood-cuts and illustrations.” He was indeed a familiar visitor in -the studios of London and Paris, as well as of Edinburgh; and during his -frequent Continental tours derived intense pleasure from his visits to -the galleries both of ancient and modern art. His eye was quick to -discern the merits of a painting, and his judgment was prompt and -decided. He was indeed sensitive to any manifestation of bad taste; and -the unsightly disfigurement of the buildings or thoroughfares of his -native city by placards or signboards, excited his anger to a degree -that sometimes startled the offender. His remonstrance on such occasions -was apt to be expressed with a blunt sincerity that could not be -misunderstood. The same severe standard of taste was applied in his own -business, and made its influence felt in every department of typography, -illustration, and binding. - -A memorandum, found among his papers after his death, preserves an -incident in the first stages of the inexperienced but energetic -reformer’s proceedings. His father had acquired a set of stereotype -plates of Drinkwater’s “Siege of Gibraltar,” and had a portrait of its -author engraved for the frontispiece. A reprint of it being in progress, -the plate was intrusted to the engraver for retouching; and he undertook -to get the autograph of the old soldier, to be added as an attractive -feature. The new and illustrated edition was issued accordingly, and -found a ready sale. But some years afterwards a venerable -military-looking gentleman waited on Mr. Nelson, and asked where he had -obtained the signature. Colonel Drinkwater, who was supposed to have -been long since dead, was himself the questioner; and, as William Nelson -notes, the signature was subsequently identified as in the handwriting -of the deceased manager of Mr. Lizar’s engraving establishment. But only -in the first stage of transition from student life to the counting-house -and the publisher’s office could such a proceeding have eluded his -vigilance. A copy of the engraving is attached to the memorandum, and -contrasts very markedly with the illustrations of later years, when -William Nelson’s critical taste, conjoined with his experience in -adapting the issues of his publishing-house to popular demand, won for -the productions of the firm a character for great attractiveness in -outward aspect and illustration. At a later date, the “Chronicles of the -Schönberg-Cotta Family” constituted the first of a highly popular series -of books by the same author. The charming authoress who writes under -the initials A. L. O. E., the late Mary Howitt, Mrs. Traill, R. M. -Ballantyne, and other writers, figured on their list of authors. The -charming series of “Art Gift Books,” from the French of M. Jules and -Mme. Michelet, and M. Arthur Mangin--“The Insect,” “The Bird,” “The -Mysteries of the Ocean,” and “The Desert World,” as well as other works -of the same class--are illustrated in the best style of art. But it was -as caterers for the people, in an abundant supply of pure, high-toned -popular literature, and not as rivals of the great publishing houses -through which the most eminent writers appeal to select classes of -readers, that the Nelsons achieved their greatest success. In the -tribute paid to the worth of William Nelson by the Rev. Dr. Alison when -his life-work was finished, it is said: “His influence, and that of the -firm of which he was the head, has gone forth healthfully to the ends of -the earth. Religious principle, no less than skill and taste and -enterprise, has been in all their work as publishers of literature. No -man can measure the good which that incessant stream of excellent books -issuing from their press has done for the world. To a large extent they -have been for the multitude, rather than for the learned few.” But this -was the summing up of the work of a lifetime. Much had to be achieved in -its progress, step by step, ere such results could even be aimed at. - -Under the energetic management of the young publisher the picturesque -tenement at the head of the West Bow, which had sufficed for his -father’s bookselling operations, soon proved inadequate for the growing -business. A neighbouring “land,”--as an entire pile of building in the -Old Town of Edinburgh is still called,--situated at the head of Blyth’s -Close, Castle Hill, with the palace of Mary of Guise in its rear, was -secured; and there the first steps were taken which ultimately developed -into the great establishments of Hope Park and Parkside. Machinery was -brought into use wherever available; and a well-organized division of -labour was introduced, until at length nearly every process, from the -initial type-setting to the final issue of the bound and illustrated -volume, was executed on the premises. The locality where this new -departure was made, preparatory to the great works at Hope Park, with -its hundreds of work-people, and its wholesale branches at London and -New York, is one rich in literary associations. Near by, on the northern -slope of the Castle bank, is the house of Allan Ramsay, poet and -bookseller; Blair’s Close, long noted among the most ancient nooks of -the Castle Hill, was the abode of Alison Cockburn, authoress of “The -Flowers of the Forest,” and of other plaintive as well as humorous -Scottish songs. To St. James’s Court, on the east side, James Boswell -brought Dr. Samuel Johnson, and entertained him in the house where he -had succeeded to the historian David Hume. There was an old-world -literary flavour about the place that gave a certain piquancy to the -start of the young adventurer deserting the classic grove for the -prosaic haunts of commerce. - -The Rev. Dr. Simpson of Derby, already noted as an old schoolmate and a -life-long friend, refers in one of his letters to the lectures and -social entertainments provided at a later date for the numerous workers -in the Hope Park establishment, in which he was an active labourer. But -the interest taken by William Nelson in his employés was manifested at -an earlier stage. Lectures and social recreations had already been -instituted before the transfer of the works to Hope Park, in some of the -earliest of which the present writer bore a part. But with increasing -numbers, and more ample room, those instructive entertainments were -organized on an extensive scale, and are described in a memorandum of -Dr. Simpson, by whom many of the later lectures were given. His account -of them may find a fit place here, though in some points it anticipates -the narrative of later years. “The deep interest,” he remarks, “which -Mr. Nelson felt in his work-people, and his desire to promote their -well-being in every sense, conspicuously appear in the entertainments -which were from time to time got up for them. At first these were -chiefly in the nature of banquets or suppers, to which all were invited, -when they were regaled with the good things of this life in a judicious -but liberal manner. Along with this, however, he was careful to combine -moral and religious instruction, by securing addresses by one or two -clerical friends. By-and-by he provided for them occasional lectures on -subjects of varied interest. For those he got up, at considerable -expense and trouble, a series of illustrations which were shown on a -screen by the oxy-hydrogen light, the lecturer describing each picture -while it was before the eyes of the audience. This was, I believe, the -first introduction of this form of lecture, which has since become so -common. The pictures were reproduced from engravings by the photographer -of the establishment, Mr. Sinclair, and then hand-coloured with much -care and skill by Mr. Ramage, who devoted himself to the art-work -connected with the extensive business of the firm. - -“The first of those illustrated lectures was on the transfer of -Napoleon’s remains from St. Helena to Paris. The second was on -Garibaldi’s invasion of Sicily and Italy, ending with his meeting with -Victor Immanuel, and hailing him as king of Italy. Afterwards a new -departure was made, and the lectures were chiefly devoted to the genius -and works of celebrated artists; the illustrations being transcripts of -the artists’ principal works. The first subject of this class was David -Scott, R.S.A., in connection with his illustrations of Coleridge’s -‘Ancient Mariner,’ subsequently reproduced by Messrs. Nelson in a -tasteful edition of the poem. The next lecture was devoted to the works -of Landseer; and to this succeeded similar illustrations of Hogarth, -Wilkie, Harvey, Leech, etc. Those lectures were greatly appreciated; the -large hall at Hope Park, in which they were given, being always crowded -to excess by the employés, their wives and families, supplemented by -friends invited by Mr. Nelson, including some who took an active part in -this generous effort for the social elevation of the working-classes, -such as Dr. Guthrie and Dr. Hannah; and their artist friends, Sir George -Harvey, D. O. Hill, James Drummond, and others. For each of those -lectures Mr. Nelson had prepared from twenty to thirty slides, which -were arranged in partitioned cases made for their safe keeping.” But -they perished, along with much more valuable property, in the disastrous -fire of 1878. - -But only the initial steps towards the full development of the Hope Park -works, with their ingeniously devised machinery and systematic division -of labour, were possible at the Castle Hill establishment. Its -accommodation, though a great step in advance of that at the Bowhead, -was inadequate for such plans, and the numbers employed were -correspondingly limited. But the workmen were carefully selected; and -from the first the relations between them and their employer were -characterized by mutual respect and confidence. They recognized in him -one whose interest in their welfare was generous, and his sympathy that -of a friend. But his own attention to business extended to the minutest -details, and anything indicative of mere eye-service or sloth was -intolerable to him. An anecdote highly characteristic of him is thus -narrated on the authority of one who had been long in his -employment:--“Two navvies were engaged one day at Hope Park turning a -crank when Mr. William Nelson was passing. He paused for a moment and -looked at the men, who seemed to go about their work rather leisurely. -He then came forward to them, and asked, in a gruff manner, if they -could not work a little harder and turn the crank quicker. They answered -at once ‘they could not; it was a stiff job, and very fatiguing.’ -‘Nonsense,’ he replied; ‘let me try.’ Seizing one of the handles, he did -try; but, after giving the handle two or three turns, desisted, for it -made the perspiration pour from him. Then he remarked, ‘Ay, just go on -as you’ve been doing;’ and, putting his hand into his pocket, added, -‘There’s half-a-crown between you.’ Many similar anecdotes might be -told. He liked smart, active workmen; but he did not willingly drive or -unduly press any one. He would at once rebuke any of his employés if he -considered they deserved it; but if afterwards he found he had acted -hastily or wrongly, he would apologize, even to the humblest worker, and -almost invariably with the apology there came a gift.” - -It is not surprising that the relations between such an employer and his -workmen were something closer than those of the mere hireling. The -workmen who had shared in his first efforts in the Castle Hill -establishment followed him to Hope Park. Some of them, by their fidelity -and skill, contributed to the success of later years; and the veteran -survivors of that original staff were regarded by William Nelson to the -last as objects of exceptional favour. - -Among those who thus migrated from the Castle Hill to Hope Park, one -claims special attention as a relic of the original Bowhead -establishment. James Peters has already been named. He was a man of good -education, and, what was rare in his day, had a familiar knowledge of -the French language. He was, moreover, a devout Presbyterian of the -early type, eschewing the Covenanting exclusiveness of his old master, -and holding faithfully to the National Kirk. His familiarity with the -Scriptures was so great that he was accredited with knowing the entire -New Testament by heart, and quoting familiarly from much of the Old -Testament. He had been the trusted clerk, commercial traveller, and man -of all work: the entire staff for a time of the bookselling business -under the elder _régime_; and as the cautious ventures of its founder -gave way to the comprehensive schemes of a younger generation, he -watched their operations with many misgivings. Old Peters would have -furnished a study for Sir Walter Scott fit to have ranked alongside of -his Owen and Caleb Balderstone. He moved in all things with the -regularity of clockwork, and sternly resented in others the slightest -deviation from orderly business procedure or punctuality as to time. Mr. -Duncan Keith sums up his own early recollections of him with the remark -that “even John Munro, the beadle of Mr. Goold the Covenanting -minister’s kirk, stood in awe of him.” One day, contrary to all -precedent, he asked leave to go away a little earlier than the usual -closing hour. He reappeared next morning, and, addressing William, said, -“I wish you would tell your father I got married yesterday.” On inquiry, -he stated that he had just wedded the elderly dame with whom he lodged. -“It will be cheaper,” he said; “and we’ll get on weel enough thegither. -We hae been lang used to each other.” When in early days the plan of -book sales was in vogue, he was intrusted with the carrying out of one -of the ventures; but his ideas of orderly procedure were wholly at -variance with the novel experiment. He abruptly returned home the -following day, and would have nothing more to do with such work. His -loyalty to his young masters knew no bounds; but he could never quite -forget that they had been boys when he had the sole charge of the -Bowhead buith, or indeed feel it to be natural to speak of them -otherwise than by their Christian names. Duty clearly required him to -advise and warn them at every new step, so unlike the prudent thrift of -early days. If we could realize all the feelings of a sober old -brood-hen when the ducklings that she has hatched take their first -plunge into the mill-pond, and in spite of her clucking and pother sail -off into the expanse of waters heedless of all remonstrance, we might be -better able to sympathize with the worthy old servitor as his young -master launched into ever new and more ambitious ventures. He survived -his active faculties, and was an object of kindly care and liberality -long after he had ceased even to deceive himself with the fancy that he -could be of service in the business. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -_HOPE PARK._ - - -The premises on the Castle Hill became ere long too limited for the -rapidly-growing business. William Nelson had been joined in the -enterprise by his younger brother, Thomas; and with their combined -energy many novel features were developed and advances made in fresh -avenues of trade. The publications of the establishment were attracting -attention by their improved typography and tasteful embellishment. -Ampler room and greater subdivision of labour had become indispensable. -So, looking around for some more suitable locality, their attention was -directed to a group of antiquated dwellings at the east end of the -Meadows, the remains of one of the suburban villages swallowed up when -Old Edinburgh burst its mural barriers and extended over the surrounding -heights. - -In an address given by William Nelson to those in his employment, at one -of his social entertainments, when a building was in progress at Hope -Park which he then assumed was to be the final addition to the works, -he traced the rise of the firm, interspersing the graver narrative with -humorous incidents, and with kindly notices of some whom he referred to -as faithful fellow-workers, from the time when he first gathered them -around him in the new workrooms on the Castle Hill. One of the -reminiscences of their entertainer’s narrative is thus recalled:--When -Hope Park grounds were about to be built upon, Mr. Nelson, being curious -to explore the place, made a visit to what he described as a wilderness -of cabbage gardens, with no end of pig-sties. One grumphy (Anglice, a -sow) he noticed in a corner where the joiner’s workshop afterwards -stood, which, as he humorously described it, “kept its carriage!” The -body of a four-wheeled coach, still in good condition, had been -consigned to this novel use. The contrast was striking when, in later -years, the smooth grass lawn, with its tasteful array of shrubs and -flower-plots, filled the area enclosed on three sides by the Hope Park -works. - -But the full development of the establishment was the result of years of -patient and steady progress, until it grew to proportions adequate for -the varied departments embraced in the comprehensive scheme, with all -its ingenious improvements in machinery for economizing labour. Its tall -chimney showed from afar the scale on which its operations were carried -on; though at a later date William Nelson realized very strongly the -injury to the amenities of the city, and the obstruction to the -magnificent views of the surrounding landscape, occasioned by such -adjuncts to its manufactories, and laboured by precept and example to -get rid of them. In the later Parkside Works gas-engines are the sole -motive power, and their general introduction was advocated by him as a -substitute for the unsightly chimney with its obscuring volumes of -smoke. - -With the numerous workmen that were ultimately engaged in all the varied -branches of skilled labour, the Hope Park establishment came to be -recognized as one of the most important centres of economic industry in -the city; and, so far as printing, publishing, and binding are -concerned, is spoken of by Mr. Bremner, in his “Industries of Scotland,” -as the most extensive house in Scotland. The new buildings, when -completed, formed a stately range of offices enclosing three sides of a -square, where, under a well-organized division of labour, with the aid -of machinery adapted to its varied operations, the entire work, from the -setting of the types to the issue of the bound and illustrated volumes, -was done on the premises. Compositors, draughtsmen, photographers, -lithographers, steel, copper, and wood engravers, electrotypers, -stereotypers, folders, stitchers, and binders, plied their industrious -skill. The work-men and women employed on the establishment latterly -numbered nearly six hundred; and few centres of industry have been -characterized by more harmonious relations between the representatives -of capital and labour. - -The printing of books has constituted an important branch of Scottish -industry from the days of Chepman and Miller, on through Bassendyne, -Hart, and Symson, to our own time. The names of Fowlis, Constable, -Ballantyne, Cadell, Blackwood, Oliver and Boyd, Chambers, Blackie, -Collins, Neill, Black, and Nelson, are all familiarly associated with -the literary history of the century; and, with only three exceptions, -they belong to Edinburgh. It was fitting, indeed, that Edinburgh should -take the lead in developing the typographer’s art, where, in 1507, -Walter Chepman set up the first printing-press in Scotland; and where, -in the memorable year when “the flowers o’ the forest were a’ wede away” -on Flodden Hill, he built the beautiful Chepman Aisle which still adorns -the collegiate church of St. Giles, and endowed there a chaplainry at -the altar of St. John the Evangelist. Edinburgh, in the days of the -Scottish Caxton, was even more noteworthy for its authors than its -typographers. Dunbar, Gawain Douglas, and the makers of that brilliant -age, were followed by Montgomery, Drummond, Allan Ramsay, and Fergusson; -and along with this array of poets, reaching to him whom Burns owned as -his master, Hume, Robertson, Mackenzie, Adam Smith, Dugald Stewart, and -Walter Scott, combined to transform their old romantic town into the -Modern Athens of later years. Their genius was not without its influence -on the special aspect of Edinburgh’s industries, including some of the -novel forms of periodical literature which have so largely contributed -to the culture of the masses. - -The social entertainments and lectures provided by William Nelson at an -early stage for his employés have already been noticed; but in the -spring of 1868 he extended his generous sympathy over an ampler field, -and organized a _fête_ for the whole journeymen printers and -stereotypers of Edinburgh. The invitation met with a cordial response, -and the appearance presented by the assembled guests in the galleries of -the Museum of Science and Art was the theme of admiring comment. They -were summoned to this novel social gathering by one who justly claimed -recognition as an employer “who set a high value upon whatever is -calculated to foster kindly feelings between man and man.” The -invitation said: “For one evening let us lay aside care or irksome duty, -and come out with those we love best, and let us look each other fairly -in the face. In the matter of head we do not much differ; at heart we -are agreed. We need to have the bow unstrung occasionally. Let us do so -in company for once, and see if we can help each other to a happy -evening.” The answer to this was the assembly of upwards of a thousand -workmen, with their wives and sweethearts, in the Industrial Museum, to -listen to a lecture by Mr. W. H. Davenport Adams, on the noble art in -the service of which they were enlisted; and to enjoy the humour and -pathos of some of Scotland’s choicest national songs, including Burns’s -proud protest, which could there be appreciated without any thought of -social wrong--“A man’s a man for a’ that!” The _Scottish Typographical -Circular_, in its comments on this unique gathering, remarked: “Here -were a thousand men, nearly all in superfine black coats and spotless -shirt-fronts; a thousand women in tasteful dresses and bonnets of the -latest mode, setting off the comely features of the printers’ wives, or -the fresh, pretty faces of their sweethearts; and in all this great mass -of the ‘lower orders’ not a word out of joint; not a gesture of -impatience; no crowding, jostling, or selfish preferring of one’s own -enjoyment; nothing but courtesy and that perfect good breeding which -prompts men to give their neighbour’s comfort the precedence of their -own convenience.” It was a gathering that Scotland might be proud of, -whether we assign to the host or the guests the chief prominence. The -matter of dress, to which the critic so specially directed attention, -was not unworthy of note as an evidence of provident thrift, and of the -self-respect which is nowhere more fitting than in the skilled artisan. - -The spirit manifested in gatherings such as this is the best antidote -for those conflicts between labour and capital which have proved so -detrimental to both. Yet, as will be seen by a letter addressed less -than four years later to his former traveller, Mr. James Campbell, he -had evidence that a perfect solution of this great social problem has -yet to be devised. The letter is dated from Dunkeld, where he had been -spending a holiday with his family. In 1851 he had married Miss -Catherine Inglis of Kirkmay, Crail; and at the date of the letter he was -surrounded by a happy family, consisting of his son Frederick and four -daughters, to whom he thus alludes: “The children have enjoyed their -stay immensely, and none more than Master Fred, who got capital -trout-fishing in the Braan, a tributary of the Tay, and in the -Butterstone, a stream about six miles distant.” His greatest happiness -was in his own family circle, and surrounded by the friends whom he -welcomed to his hospitable home. But the cares inseparable from his -extensive commercial transactions could not always be so exorcised; and -now a succession of inclement seasons and bad harvests was clouding the -prospects of all. “We have had,” he writes, “a most miserable time of it -for many months past, as far as weather is concerned. I don’t remember -of such a long continuance of wet weather as there has been this year. -It has lasted, I may almost say, all summer, up to within the last few -days; and the result is that the crops have suffered terribly. As to the -potatoes, the disease is everywhere, and potato starch-mills will have -full employment this winter. It is a time calling for sympathy and -forbearance on all hands. But, in addition, strikes for shorter hours -and increase of wages are the order of the day; and it looks as if the -words of the song, ‘Hard times come again no more,’ were ere long, as a -general rule, not to be suitable for this country, as such times cannot -be far distant for both masters and men, if there be not a cessation -soon to this war between capital and labour. Things are all quiet at -present in the trades of printing and bookbinding, but it is rumoured -that heavy demands for both shorter hours and higher wages will be made -by the men next month; and it is known that they have been preparing for -a struggle by subscribing largely to a strike-fund ever since the -beginning of the year, so that there is no doubt coming events are -casting their shadows before. - -“Things must be in a strange way in New York just now with operative -printers. We know this from two of our men, who went out there some -months ago in the hope of bettering their condition; but they were glad -to come back to us, and they are both at work again, each at the machine -at which he worked before he left. The history of the experiences of one -of the men was as follows:--He got to New York, but he had no sooner -begun to look out for work than he was set upon by a committee of -operative printers, who were at the time on strike, and he was offered -eleven dollars a week if he would not ask for work. The offer was too -good a one for him to refuse, and he went about for several weeks with -his hands in his pockets. By-and-by he was asked if he would not like to -go back to Scotland. He said he had no objections, and it was arranged -that his passage back should be paid. When the day came for his leaving, -some of the New York men came down to the steamer to see him off, and -they gave him five dollars for pocket-money during the voyage, and a sum -of ten dollars to give to his wife, whom he had left behind in -Edinburgh. And so he left the shores of America. The story of the other -man is still more strange. He took work in an office in which there was -a strike; but after being there for a week, he found his position so -uncomfortable from annoyance from the men who had left, that he went and -told his master he would have to leave on account of this. But what was -his surprise when his master told him that he need not allow this state -of matters to continue, as he had just to put a ball through one of the -fellows, and there would be an end of it; and that the utmost that would -be done to him in the way of punishment would be a day or two’s -confinement in the police office or jail. He then handed him a revolver -and said, ‘Take this and make good use of it, and you’ll have a quiet -life for the future.’ This pistol I have now in my possession, and it is -worth having as a curiosity.” - -At an earlier date the mischievous effects of a strike extended to the -Hope Park works, ending in the places of some of the strikers being -supplied by other applicants. But the victims learned by experience that -they never appealed in vain to the sympathy of William Nelson, even when -their share in the revolt had been characterized by ingratitude or -breach of faith. It was sufficient that they were impoverished. “Poor -fellow!” he would say, “he brought it on himself; but what of that?” And -the liberal aid was given only too readily; for the plea was discovered -to be one to which he most promptly responded, and was resorted to -frequently by impostors who preyed on his kindly sympathy. What, indeed, -the Rev. Dr. Alison remarked of him after his death, when he said: “He -simply could not turn from distress of any sort without doing something -to relieve it,” was no more than an echo of the sentiment which -experience had rendered familiar to many. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -_EGYPT AND PALESTINE._ - - -The excursions of early years, and the longer holiday rambles of student -life, for which the environs of Edinburgh and the neighbouring shores of -Fife afforded so many attractions, were exchanged for a time for the -prosaic rounds of the commercial traveller and book-agent. But this duty -was transferred ere long to trustworthy subordinates; and so soon as -prosperity rewarded the intelligent labours of the young adventurer, the -spirit that prompted earlier excursions revived. This was further -stimulated by that keen desire to see and judge for himself in reference -to all matters of general interest which manifested itself through life. -The occurrence of any unusual event, or the opening up of some new -region, was sufficient at any time to awaken the desire to explore a -scene rendered interesting by its novelty, or by the exceptional -circumstances which attracted his notice. When the first Pacific Railway -was completed, he crossed the Atlantic in company with Mrs. Nelson, -travelled to San Francisco, visited the Yellowstone Region and the -Mariposa Valley, and returned through Canada to renew his intercourse -with old friends there. While in the Mariposa Valley, Mrs. Nelson was -presented with one of the giant _Sequoia_, or _Wellingtonia_, which now -bears, on a marble tablet attached to it, the name of “Auld Reekie,” -then bestowed on it. At Salt Lake City a Scotsman addressed Mr. Nelson -by name, and begged him to convey his respects to his old clergyman, the -Rev. W. Arnot of Edinburgh; but in mentioning this, Mr. Nelson dryly -added that the Free Churchman of Salt Lake City seemed to take very -kindly to its spiritual wives! He visited Paris in 1851, and exposed -himself to its dangers at the time of the famous _coup d’état_ by which -the Third Napoleon made himself emperor. Twenty years later he hastened -again to the French capital in the perilous outbreak of the Commune; and -when the Christmas season of 1879 was overclouded by the disastrous fall -of the Tay Bridge, immediately on learning of the event he made his way -to Dundee to see for himself the ruins and to investigate the cause. He -succeeded in finding a man who had watched the lights of the train as it -swept on in the profound darkness, and was startled by their being -suddenly extinguished. The bridge had given way; and the train, with all -its passengers, was precipitated into the Tay. In like manner he set out -for the Scilly Islands on the occasion of the wreck of the _Schiller_; -travelled to Ischia after the occurrence of the earthquake of 1881, in -which the town of Casamicciola was almost totally destroyed; and when, -in the following year, the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act led to a -violent popular outbreak in Connemara, he crossed over to Ireland, that -he might visit the disturbed district and judge for himself of the -merits of the conflict. - -The amount of preparation for even the longest journey was amazingly -trifling. William Nelson would start almost at a day’s notice for an -extended tour; and this course of procedure, so characteristic of his -equanimity, conjoined with calm, resolute endurance, was curiously -exemplified in his first extended journey. In 1849 he left home with the -intention of spending a six weeks’ holiday in the south of Europe. He -was in Leghorn when a letter reached him which showed that all was going -on satisfactorily in the business. He thereupon decided to make an -extended journey to the East. But his funds were exhausted, and it was -before the days of railways or telegraphs. With a faith in human nature -characteristic of him through life, he stepped into the counting-house -of Messrs. Henderson Brothers, the leading British merchants in Leghorn. -He was a total stranger, with no introduction. He told them his story, -and asked them to cash a draft on Edinburgh for £300. They looked at -him, and after a pause told him to draw the cheque, and gave him the -money. The strangers became friends in later years; and one day, when -Mr. Robert Henderson was dining at Salisbury Green, William Nelson asked -him how it was that he and his brother had ventured to give a stranger -so large a sum. “Well,” said Mr. Henderson, “in plain truth, it was just -your Scotch tongue and honest Scotch face, and nothing else!” The -friendship which originated in this novel introduction lasted with their -lives. - -There was, in truth, something singularly winning in his open, handsome -countenance; and its influence on strangers was anew illustrated at a -later date, when Mrs. Nelson accompanied him in a tour through the Black -Forest. They were overtaken by a thunderstorm when in Baden-Baden, and -taking refuge in the nearest shop, they found it devoted to articles of -_virtu_. A woman in charge, who spoke English fluently, received them -courteously, and responded to Mr. Nelson’s inquiries in a way that -greatly interested him. On leaving he expressed his grateful thanks, and -said he would have liked to make some purchases, but unfortunately his -remaining funds were not more than sufficient for his journey home. The -reply was: “Take whatever you please, sir. No one could look in your -face and distrust you.” He did accordingly carry off some choice -objects of _virtu_, always a temptation to him; the money for which, it -is scarcely necessary to add, was duly remitted on reaching England. - -Provided, on such novel security, with funds requisite for a prolonged -tour in the East, he was absent upwards of ten months, and turned the -time to account with characteristic assiduity. The late President of -Queen’s College, Belfast, the Rev. Dr. J. Leslie Porter, who, as a -traveller in Palestine, was familiar with the scenes embraced in Mr. -Nelson’s tour, and repeatedly conversed with him on points of mutual -interest, remarks:--“He did not as a rule enter into detailed -descriptions of the localities he had visited. His chief desire -apparently was to elicit from those with whom he talked the fullest -information, as if to add to or correct his own impressions. One thing -particularly struck me: his questions were all pertinent and exactly to -the point. He showed a talent in obtaining exactly the information he -wished such as I have never known equalled, except in the case of one -person. He could glean a wonderful amount of knowledge in a very brief -period. He had himself been a close and accurate observer. He knew -exactly the points which, from want of time or opportunity, he had not -been able perfectly to grasp, and he put his questions in a form that -brought out every particle of information the person he addressed could -give. - -“Of Damascus Mr. Nelson spoke with great enthusiasm. ‘Yes,’ he said, -‘richness, beauty, and fertility are there. Where,’ he asked, ‘was the -scene of Paul’s conversion? Was it near the east gate, where tradition -has located it?’ I pointed out that this could scarcely be, as Paul was -on his way from Jerusalem, and the road from the Holy City approaches -Damascus from the opposite side. He next inquired whether there was -still any tradition of Abraham; and he was very much interested when I -told him that a few miles to the north there is still a shrine, at the -foot of the hills, called the prayer-place of Abraham. ‘Is not that,’ he -said, ‘a proof of the tenacity with which even the oldest traditions -cling to the country?’ There was much in this; and he seemed to feel, as -others have felt, that it may be used as an argument in favour of the -truth of the early Christian traditions regarding the holy places of -Jerusalem and other cities in Palestine. He asked much about the -leprosy. ‘Did any tradition of it exist in Damascus?’ I remember well -how deeply he seemed to be impressed when I told him that a short -distance outside the east gate there were the remains of a very ancient -building, called Naaman’s House, and that a portion of it was still used -as a leper hospital. He said to me, ‘I looked for the Straight Street, -mentioned in connection with the conversion of St. Paul, but could see -no trace of it.’ Then I told him the results of more recent researches; -how they had brought to light the position and character of that great -street which ran through the city from the east to the west gate, and -had on each side a double row of columns, fragments of which can still -be seen in the houses and courts adjoining.” - -But he had a no less keen eye for the modern Damascus, with its motley -population, its narrow streets and thronged bazaars, all full of strange -Eastern life and habits. “The mean, dirty thoroughfares, worse,” as he -says, “than an Old Town Edinburgh close, run between low, shabby-looking -houses; and nothing surprised me more than when I was taken through a -long dark passage, to suddenly find that the shabby street-front -concealed a beautiful court, laid out in garden fashion, with a fine -fountain in the centre, and flower-beds and orange trees, and round this -the chambers, brightly furnished with cushions and matting, etc., all -opening on to it, like a scene from the Arabian Nights’ Entertainments.” -Nevertheless the predominant thought in his mind was the Damascus of -Roman and New Testament times; the city to which Saul the persecutor was -journeying when he was arrested on the way, and commissioned to go far -hence to proclaim the gospel of glad tidings to the Gentile world. - -Having gratified his intelligent curiosity, in seeking to discover the -ancient localities of Damascus associated with Scripture history, he -proceeded by way of Lebanon to Jerusalem. The associations of the city -of Zion, of Nazareth, the Jordan, the Syrian desert, and the Dead Sea, -were replete with interest to a mind trained from earliest childhood in -devout familiarity with every incident of sacred story. The novel scenes -of Eastern life were, moreover, explored with peculiar zest in this his -first escape from the restraints of homely Western civilization into -that strange old East where the customs and ideas of an ancient past -still survive. In referring to this visit to Jerusalem he remarks:--“I -was there before any guide-book was written; and so I had to consult my -Bible, and occasionally Josephus, on a point of history. After these I -found Robinson’s ‘Biblical Researches’ the most thorough and useful. -Robinson seemed to me to write, and study, and investigate as a scholar. -Perhaps he paid rather too little regard to tradition; but this was -natural in a place like Jerusalem, which absolutely swarms with the most -absurd legends. He lays down on the whole a firm basis of biblical and -historical facts; then he leads one on in a logical and critical manner -to the truth regarding the exact sites of the great events of the Gospel -narrative: the site of the Temple, of the Palace of David, of the Hall -of Judgment in which Pilate sat, of the old walls and gates of the Holy -City, etc. Then Robinson seemed to me to prove that the Holy Sepulchre -could not have been where it is now located.” - -The controverted questions about the topography of Jerusalem, which have -since received such abundant elucidation, were all familiar to him, and -were discussed with keenest interest when he met with any one who had -either visited the sacred city, or made its historical details a subject -of research. The scenes of the nativity, the crucifixion, and the holy -sepulchre, of the agony in the garden, and the ascension, were all -investigated by him with critical care. Dr. Porter furnishes the -following memoranda of their conversation on those subjects:-- - -“He asked me my views as to the true site of Calvary. Was I convinced -that it was not--or, as Robinson affirms, could not have been--within -the compass of the present walls? If not, then where was it? He several -times said, as if by way of suggestion, that it was either on the north -side of the modern city, or to the east, on the brow of the Kidron -Valley. ‘Did you ever consider,’ he asked me, ‘the statement of the -evangelist to the effect that the women, as if afraid to approach, -viewed the awful tragedy from afar?’ He was pleased when I suggested -that possibly the true site of Calvary was not far south of St. -Stephen’s Gate, where two public roads passed a short distance off--one -leading north to Samaria and Galilee, the other east, over the Kidron -and Olivet, to Jericho and the Jordan. ‘Yes,’ he said; ‘and the women -would then have a clear view of the whole scene, from a safe distance, -on the side of the Mount of Olives, beyond the deep and narrow valley.’” - -To this succeeded discussions on the value of the local traditions in -reference to the scenes latterly associated with so much superstition -and deceit; and the possibility of identifying them with the help of -local topography and the sacred narrative. “‘Where,’ he asked me, ‘would -you locate the scene of the ascension? Was it, or could it have been, on -the traditional spot at the Church of the Ascension on the summit of -Olivet? If you adopt this tradition, then how,’ he asked, ‘do you -explain the words of the evangelist: “He led them out as far as to -Bethany”?’ My reply was, ‘I do not admit the reality of the traditional -site.’ He said this impressed himself very deeply when he crossed over -the Mount of Olives to Bethany. He felt convinced that the scene of that -wonderful last interview with the disciples was some spot near the -village. ‘I think,’ he said, ‘our Lord took the disciples to a retired -place, not in view either of Jerusalem or of the village of Bethany. -Then,’ he added thoughtfully, ‘was there not some analogy between this -scene and that of the transfiguration on a high mountain apart? Would -not the solitude impress the disciples more forcibly with the glory of -the appearance of the angels, and of his own close and immediate -intercourse with the hosts of heaven?’ The thoughtfulness and depth of -many of Mr. Nelson’s remarks upon the events of the life and death of -Jesus often struck me. His visit to Palestine was brief; but he grasped -in a very short time the most interesting and important points, and he -connected them, with a kind of intuitive readiness and accuracy, with -the events of the sacred narrative. He spoke on several occasions of the -noble and yet very peculiar site of the Holy City, different in many -respects from his previous ideas; but the moment he saw it, more deeply -fixing in his mind the truth of the Psalmist’s words: ‘Beautiful for -situation is Mount Zion.’ The view from the top of Olivet, and that from -the old road which winds round and along its side from Bethany, was, he -told me, to him by far the most instructive. ‘I read,’ he said, ‘the -words of Jesus, when he looked on and wept over the city, with a feeling -of their reality and wonderful vividness such as I had never experienced -before.’ Another thing he observed more than once: ‘I was disappointed -in the scenery of Palestine. I did not see, and I could not fully -understand, the glowing descriptions in some parts of Scripture of its -fertility and beauty. When I thought of England and Scotland, and -compared their fertile lowlands and magnificent highlands with the bare -plains and rocky hills of Judah, I felt much difficulty in divesting my -mind of the idea that even the sacred writers indulged in exaggeration. -But,’ he added, ‘I suppose my Western ideas were entirely different from -theirs as to what are the elements of richness and grandeur.’ I reminded -him of the words of Scripture: ‘A land of corn and wine and oil olive.’ -‘Yes,’ he said; ‘most probably an Eastern would despise even the best -parts of Scotland because they want the vines and the olives,’” - -The experiences of this visit to the sacred scenes of Bible story left -an enduring impression on William Nelson’s mind; and their special -character in association with his own early training justify some detail -in reference to researches otherwise only possessed of personal -interest. As a traveller, he made no pretension to geographical -exploration or scientific research; and unless when in company with one -from whom he could derive information, he rarely referred to his -experiences while abroad. His longest journeys were regarded by himself -as only extended holiday rambles. But they were carried out with -characteristic zeal; and some of the incidents which may be gleaned from -them have their biographical value in so far as they disclose traits of -personal character. He made his way by the desert route from Palestine -to Egypt, where he spent his Christmas in Grand Cairo, and commenced -the ascent of the Nile early in the following January. His -fellow-traveller in the latter country, Major MacEnery, furnishes some -interesting reminiscences of their voyage up the Nile. “I preserve a -lively memory,” he writes, “of the unvarying geniality of our companion, -and of his spirit of exploration. In this respect he was truly -remarkable; indefatigable in the pursuit of information concerning even -the minutest object of interest within reach; never satisfied without a -personal inspection, when at all possible; neither hunger, thirst, nor -fatigue deterring him from the gratification of being able to say -conscientiously, ‘I have seen it.’” - -The impressions left on the traveller’s mind by the scenes of special -interest in the Holy Land, and some of the incidents which their memory -recalled, were a frequent source of pleasure to his friends in after -years. Some of them indeed enjoyed more tangible memorials, in the shape -of inscribed tablets of the wood of the Mount of Olives; a carved -memento of the Dead Sea fashioned from its black volcanic rock; a gold -shekel,--subsequently deposited by Mr. James Campbell in the -Presbyterian Theological College at Montreal,--and other like gifts. Nor -were the attractions of the land of the Pharaohs less keenly -appreciated. It had its ancient memories, both sacred and profane, alike -interesting to the intelligent explorer. There were the works of -Pharaohs of older centuries than Moses or Joseph; the walls of -Abu-Simbul, graven by the son of Theokles with their Hellenic record -centuries before the Father of History began his task; the Thebes of the -Hundred Gates, with its magnificent ruins authenticating Homer’s verse; -and Ptolemaic and Roman remains, modern by comparison. For all this the -traveller’s early training had unconsciously prepared him; and every -feature was calculated to revive the archæological tastes which found so -many votaries among the members of the “Juvenile Literary Society.” He -ascended the Nile to the Second Cataract, and gleaned some choice -antiques from the relics with which the poor fellaheen tempt the -traveller in that cradle-land of the world’s civilization. Those -included Osirian figures bearing hieroglyphic inscriptions, one -especially with the cartouch of an early Pharaoh; a brick from Thebes, -stamped with the cartouch of Thothmes III.; a porcelain stamp similarly -inscribed; and other prized memorials. Above all, he had gazed with -delight on the monuments of a long-vanished civilization, and explored -with curious interest scenes associated with the Bible stories learned -by him at his mother’s knee. His inquisitive research was constantly on -the alert, and the same thorough-going energy characterized him as a -traveller and a man of business. But along with all this, one -exceptional trait may be noted, eminently characteristic of the man. A -letter addressed to him from Cairo by Abdallah, his old Egyptian -dragoman, which reached Edinburgh soon after his death, recalled the -fact that his faithful servitor had been the annual recipient of a -kindly remittance through all the years since they voyaged together up -the Nile. Abdallah writes with a borrowed pen: “I have received your -kind letter with the five pounds, and was very happy to hear that you -are in perfect health, with your dearest family and with your friends. I -always think of you, and beg God to be with you and spare you. All my -friends are very thankful for your great kindness to me. I hope some day -some gentleman of your friends come I shall have the honour to serve -him.” For his remembrance of the faithful dragoman had been practically -shown, not only by pecuniary remittances, but also by recommending him -to other travellers, until poor Abdallah’s creditors pounced upon the -baggage of Dr. Henry Field, to whose service he had been commended, and -so his prospects as a dragoman were ruined. In writing to Major MacEnery -in May 1886, Mr. Nelson says: “I had a letter not long ago from poor old -Abdallah. It was just the old story of his being unable to do anything -in the way of earning a livelihood. He sent me a letter addressed to the -Lord _Mare_ of London, an old fellow-traveller in the Holy Land, which -I duly delivered to his lordship; but he did not take the hint and give -me something for the poor dragoman.” - -The experiences of the traveller were occasionally turned to account in -unexpected ways in after years, when dealing with his own work-people. -One instance was recalled in an address, already referred to, delivered -at Parkside soon after his death. On the introduction of a greatly -improved sewing-machine at Hope Park much opposition was excited among -the girls, who unanimously protested in favour of the old-fashioned, -familiar instrument. Thereupon Mr. Nelson humorously told them that they -reminded him of the difficulties among the Arabs engaged in digging the -Suez Canal. They had at first scooped out the sand into baskets, which -they carried on their heads, and so transported the soil to the new -embankments. This process was much too slow for the contractors, who -accordingly provided them with shovels and wheel-barrows. But when the -latter were filled, the Arabs could not be persuaded to trundle them in -the ordinary way, but hoisted the wheel-barrows on their heads, and so -trudged along to the place of deposit! - -The unfamiliar scenes and incidents of Eastern life, both in Egypt and -Palestine, had made a deep impression on William Nelson’s mind, and were -frequently recalled. The letter to Major MacEnery, his old -fellow-voyager on the Nile, in which he refers to his dragoman, -Abdallah, was written at a time when the first news of the troubles in -the Soudan was awakening attention at home; and, recalling his old -experiences, he remarks: “How strange it is that the Arabs in the Soudan -should be troubling our troops there at Koshi, our most advanced post -from Wady Halfi. I was under the impression that it would have been -impossible for them to have advanced in anything like a formidable body -so far north. But those wild sons of the desert can live almost upon -air, and go about like clouds of locusts; and as they are not troubled -with artillery or other impediments, they may cause us some trouble, -more especially as they are animated with fanatical zeal against the -infidels, and they do not know when they are beaten.” - -The traveller brought back with him a duly attested document bearing the -seal of the Holy Sepulchre (a cross potence and crosslets), furnished to -Gulielmus Nelson by the prior of the Latin convent in Jerusalem, in his -quality of guardian of the Holy Sepulchre, attesting that he had in an -edifying spirit visited the sacred places around the Holy City; and had -indeed conformed to the requirements of a devout pilgrim to an extent -which, if literally true, would have been in strange antagonism to all -his early training. For the veracious prior of the Convent of St. -Salvator certifies over his official seal that the aforesaid Gulielmus -Nelson had not only visited the principal sanctuaries, but that “with -great devotion he had heard mass in them all”! - -A more genuine reminiscence of travel, with which the pilgrim surprised -his friends, was the novel feature of a fine black beard, the imposing -effect of which probably had its share in the opinion formed by the -Syrian peasants that he was a learned leech. Commenting long after on -the reputed virtues of some much-vaunted pills, he said they were no -doubt as efficacious as those he used to make in Palestine. The -villagers flocked to his tent, importuning him and his companions for -medicine. With much gravity he distributed among them the pills he had -fashioned out of the spare breakfast loaf; and, with the faith of the -recipients in his prescriptions, supplemented as they doubtless were in -cases of actual suffering by a liberal _backshish_, he had no doubt that -he effected as many cures as some of the patent-medicine vendors. As to -the black beard, the custom in that respect has so entirely changed -since then that it is difficult for the present generation to realize -the astonishment which the strange appendage excited. To some grave -elders it almost appeared as if he had literally cast in his lot with -the followers of the false prophet. The idea of even a moustache as the -possible appendage of a civilian first dawned on the English mind when -Prince Albert set the fashion in society. But this innovation was viewed -with suspicion among all sober denizens of the mart. As to the wearing -of a beard, it would have been sufficient to ruin the credit of the most -reputable trader. There is a report in “The Dial,” from the pen of -Emerson, of a grand convention of enthusiasts held at Boston a few years -before. “If,” says he, “the assembly was disorderly, it was picturesque. -Mad men, mad women, _men with beards_, Dunkers, Muggeltonians, -Come-outers!”--and so the enumeration of the eccentric medley proceeds. -The beard, as is obvious, was an innovation beyond all tolerance. But -the art of photography, in its earlier form of ambrotype, was in vogue. -The traveller accordingly had his portrait taken in his Eastern dress, -with moustache, beard, and long pipe. Some time after, when showing to a -friend the relics he had brought from the East, he produced along with -them the portrait, and asked what he thought of the Egyptian pasha. To -his extreme amusement, his friend exclaimed, “What a bloodthirsty look -that fellow has in his face!” - -It is abundantly manifest that at that date, whatever might be thought -of the beard, it could not be worn in the Hope Park counting-house -during business hours. Before, however, its sacrifice to the prudery of -that decorous, clean-shaven generation, a party of old schoolmates, of -whom the present writer was one, assembled at his dinner-table. The host -received us in the flowing robes of an Arab sheik; and with his turban -and fine beard, looked as though he might have sat with Abraham at the -tent door. In the course of the evening a tempting-looking bottle was -produced, with the announcement that it had been brought from the Holy -Land; and this he commended so zealously as to put some of the knowing -ones on the alert. Each filled his glass as the bottle passed round, -took a sip, and then watched its progress; till a rash young toper -swallowed the major contents of his glass at a gulp, and then, amid -roars of laughter, began coughing, sputtering, and anathematizing the -potation. For the seductive bottle was filled with water brought by our -host from the Dead Sea: a sulphureous, briny draught fit only for the -revellers of Gomorrah. - -The enduring impressions left on the mind of William Nelson by his visit -to the Holy Land found expression, in long subsequent years, in a -well-known work, “The Land and the Book,” which in its final form -embraced: 1. Palestine and Jerusalem; 2. Lebanon, Damascus, and Beyond -the Jordan; and 3. Central Palestine and Phœnicia. The Rev. W. M. -Thomson was commissioned to explore the sacred scenes of Bible story, -with a view to the production of a work that should furnish for others -somewhat of the vivid realizations that William Nelson had experienced -in his own visit to the land - - “Over whose acres walked those blessed feet - That eighteen hundred years ago were nailed - For our redemption to the bitter cross.” - -The following extract from a letter written in July 1880 to his old -schoolfellow, Dr. Simpson, refers to the volume as then in progress, and -to the perils from which the manuscript had been so unexpectedly -rescued:-- - -“We are not out yet with the new volume of ‘The Land and the Book,’ and -I do not expect that it will be ready for publication before the middle -of next month. It is a truly superb work, and it has been got up -regardless of expense. It will, when completed, form three volumes. -Strange to say, the manuscript of one of them, ‘Egypt, Mount Sinai, and -the Desert,’ turned up the other day after we had given it up as having -been destroyed at our great fire, with many other valuable manuscripts. -But, fortunately, it was in one of the drawers of a writing-desk which -had escaped the devouring flames, and the manuscript was discovered -quite unexpectedly, after the author had for a long time been informed -of the loss that had been sustained.” - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -_CHURCH--MARRIAGE._ - - -The year 1843 is a memorable one in Scottish history. The controversy -between the two parties into which the National Church was divided had -been concentrated for years on the old question of patronage, or the -right of the people to the free choice of their clergymen. Under the -leadership of Dr. Chalmers, in co-operation with an able body of clergy -and laymen, enactments were passed by the Church courts restoring to the -people their rights in the choice of pastors. Influential patrons -acquiesced in its operation, and the sanguine hope was entertained that -a peaceful solution of the grievance which had long been a source of -bitterness had at length been arrived at. But in the famous Auchterarder -case the civil courts were appealed to; the action of the General -Assembly, the supreme court of the Church, was overruled; and on the -18th of May 1843 four hundred and seventy-four ministers of the Church -of Scotland voluntarily resigned their livings, and cast themselves on -the liberality of their people. Ten years of conflict, marked with an -ever-increasing intensity of feeling, and with all the inevitable fruits -of embittered controversy, had ended in the disruption of the National -Church. It was an event without a parallel since the ejection from their -benefices of upwards of two thousand ministers of the English National -Church in 1662 by the Act of Uniformity. - -It is difficult for the present generation to fully estimate the feeling -which the Disruption called forth, or the bitter antagonism which in -many cases it engendered. The early training and all the strong personal -convictions of William Nelson alike determined his sympathy with what -claimed to be “The Free Church of Scotland.” The movement which led to -this result had appeared to him, as to others, to furnish a practical -solution of the difficulties which held his Covenanting fathers aloof -from the National Church. The financial question was an important one, -and long continued to be so; for not only churches but colleges had to -be built, theological professorships to be endowed, poor congregations -to be sustained, and the foreign mission field provided for. In all this -work William Nelson was a generous co-operator; and to the close of his -life he continued to respond with unstinted liberality to all the claims -which it involved. His brother John, who became the esteemed pastor of -the Free West Church of Greenock, was referred to after his premature -death, in an eloquent tribute by Professor Blaikie, as “one whose -natural gifts were of a high order, and whose early position as a -student was most distinguished. He was known to be of far too -independent a nature to fall into any line merely because it was -traditional or conventionally proper. He had courage and capacity to -strike out for himself; and he had spent much time in study in Germany -at a time when few students went thither, and when such a course was -regarded as somewhat suspicious.” The old Covenanting blood was in his -veins; but he had hoped that the National Church was resuming its -fidelity to the faith of his fathers, when the Disruption came, and he -cast in his lot with the champions of freedom. Personal sympathy, -therefore, as well as strong convictions, enlisted William Nelson on the -side of the Free Church; but he never was a partisan. No trace of -bitterness sullied the earnest zeal with which he promoted the cause -that he had at heart. His convictions were clear, and his devotion to -the Church unwavering; but this was never allowed to interfere with his -personal relations to those who adhered to the Established Church, nor -with his response to appeals made by them to his liberality. The -testimony to this effect was freely given when his death recalled the -incidents of earlier years. Among memoranda furnished to me by Mr. John -Miller of Glasgow is the following note: “My sole companion in the -railway carriage on my return to Glasgow, after attending Mr. Nelson’s -funeral, was a stranger, a clergyman of the Established Church, who had -travelled to Edinburgh on the same melancholy errand. In conversation I -learned that Mr. Nelson and another to whom he referred had been friends -of his from their earliest years. But at the Disruption they both became -members of the Free Church. Thereupon, as the clergyman said, his -unnamed friend took umbrage at him for remaining in the Established -Church, and their friendship ceased. It is not easy now to understand -the bitterness of feeling that existed at that time between those who -took different views on the question of the relation between Church and -State; but as regards Mr. Nelson, such was his breadth of mind and -catholic spirit, it never made the slightest change on their friendship -through all the intervening years, and he spoke of him ‘as the best of -all good men he had known.’” - -But his broad-minded charity was in no degree traceable to -latitudinarian indifference. His convictions were strong, and when -occasion required it, were maintained with firmness, and defended with -incisive keenness of argument. And here it may be well to note a -characteristic trait. Few men were ever more notably marked by -transparent sincerity and truthfulness. If a truth told against his -cause, it never occurred to him to withhold it. There was indeed an -amusing simplicity in the manner in which he would disclose a fact -seeming to reflect on his own party or on himself; or, when in company -with persons disposed to arrogate to themselves rank or social position, -he would recall some homely incident or experience of his own early -life. But the same instinctive love of truth made him intolerant of -cant, or of any evasion in reference to matters of faith. If he were -perplexed with doubts, as he often was, in reference to the modern -conflict between science and revelation, he would give abrupt utterance -to them in the most orthodox circles; and if any attempt were made to -evade or gloss over the difficulty, his blunt reassertion of the point -at issue, in all its literal nakedness, was at times misunderstood and -even bitterly resented. Sanctimonious hypocrisy, or anything savouring -of insincerity in religion, was abhorrent to his nature, and provoked -his keenest ridicule. For his sense of humour was great, and he would -expose pretentious inconsistencies in their most ludicrous aspect, -giving no little offence at times to clerical offenders. To this habit -of giving expression of his convictions with all unguarded sincerity is, -no doubt, to be ascribed the remark in a letter of one of his oldest -Christian friends, when bearing testimony to the earnestness with which -in his last illness “he gave proof that he had attained by God’s help -to true faith in the Son of God, and was conscious of having definitely -accepted him as his personal Saviour, and given himself over to him on -the warrant of God’s own word of invitation.” The writer, a devoted -clergyman of the Free Church, adds: “There was an entire absence of the -old levity, which you will remember used sometimes almost to shock and -sadden even his best friends.” - -It was perhaps a want of tact,--a diplomatic element apt at times to -verge on insincerity in which he was certainly deficient,--that led to -his being so misjudged. But the same unconscious indifference to the -prejudices of others could be seen when, among strangers at a public -hotel or on the ocean, he would ask a blessing before dinner with the -same earnest reverence as at his own table. The impression which his -manner of saying grace produced on a stranger is thus expressed in a -letter from an English lady, who, after his death, recalled the memories -of more than one sojourn under his hospitable roof: “One always felt -cheered in his presence by the glow of his great heart and that sweet -genial kindness to all which was like sunshine in the room. I also -greatly admired that dislike of any praise of himself which one always -saw in him, and which is so rare.... I so well remember in the -Philiphaugh drawing-room before dinner his kindly talk to us all, and -his almost boyish fun: so interested in every one, and saying playful -things to me about palmistry, etc. But when we went in to dinner, I was -always struck with his unusual way of saying grace: the reverence that -came over him, as if he were actually speaking to God, and as though -from his heart he was simply grateful day by day for each gift of the -heavenly Father. I can almost hear again as I write the rich deep tones -of his voice as he asked the blessing, and prayed that God would -graciously take away all our sins. I have never heard a clergyman, or -any other person, who so impressed me with reverence and reality in -saying grace as he did.” This feeling was by no means singular. In a -letter from Professor T. Grainger Stewart, a similar reference occurs to -“his mode of asking a blessing.” Alluding to his wife, Professor Stewart -says: “We were both greatly impressed with the earnestness and reverence -with which he spoke, and on our way home talked of it to one another.” - -To one in whom the influences of early training had thus been confirmed -by the personal convictions of later years, the responsibilities of his -influence as a publisher were keenly realized. The system which he -developed was based on the anticipated sale of large editions at low -prices. Hence an important class of works issued by some eminent -publishing houses in costly editions of from eight to twelve hundred -copies lay entirely beyond the range of his publications. But the -imprint of Thomas Nelson and Sons became ere long the guarantee for a -pure, high-toned literature, admirably adapted for the special -requirements of the school library and the home circle; and as success -crowned the system of large and cheap editions, works of more permanent -value were issued on the same plan. - -The uniformity of the testimony to his integrity and business capacity -borne by many whose relations with him were widely dissimilar removes -all idea of exaggeration; while the terms in which they write of him are -so diverse from the ordinary commendations of the mart or the exchange, -as to show in a striking manner the influence exercised by an altogether -exceptional character in the ordinary relations of business. Mr. -Robertson, who was long his manager in New York, thus writes: “During -the many years I had the privilege of knowing Mr. Nelson, I was -increasingly drawn towards him by his strict integrity, his kindliness, -his splendid energy, his intellectual activity, and his unostentatious -piety. There was no duty so humble that he would not stoop to perform -it; there was no amount of hard work or fatigue that ever turned him -away from his purpose. There was no appeal ever made to him by the -suffering or poverty-stricken that did not meet with a kindly and -sympathetic response. There was in him a fine appreciation of merit, -regardless of the social status of its possessor; and although he would -have been unwilling to admit it, there was in him a Christ-like going -about continually doing good which was simply beautiful.” This -affectionate respect which he awakened in all who were brought into -intimate relations with him as his trusted agents is constantly -apparent. His confidence when once secured was implicit; and any breach -of trust or neglect of duty was a source of intense pain to him, wholly -apart from any idea of personal loss. - -The following characteristic reminiscences are derived from notes -furnished by Mr. John Miller, whose business transactions with Mr. -Nelson, as a large paper manufacturer, brought them into frequent -intercourse: “Mr. Nelson had an immense aptitude for the despatch of -business, and great promptness of decision, never wasting any time -talking over bargains. When a paper-maker called and showed him a -sample, if it was not to his mind, or the price too high, he would in -the most courteous manner thank him for the sample, but he would in no -way depreciate the paper. If the paper was right, he would say, ‘Well, -it is just the price we are paying;’ or if the price were better, he -would frankly say, ‘It is a little better than the price we are buying -at. I shall give you an order; and if you can maintain the quality at -the price, we shall continue to order from you.’ There was never any -second bargain at settlement. If the paper sent was not according to -sample, it would be paid for without remark, and no further orders -given. Mr. Nelson had no time and no disposition to haggle over a -bargain, and no man could better appreciate value. He was in every -respect a very capable man of business. After his marriage he began to -take business a little more leisurely; at all events, he seemed to take -more time for the little courtesies of life, which were so greatly -developed in his after years.” - -He had proved himself a true captain of industry; organized his -extensive business on the most systematic basis; gathered around him a -body of skilled and trusty workmen, on whose loyal co-operation he could -rely; and having thus, with prudent foresight, surmounted the many -impediments that had inevitably beset his way, he turned aside from the -anxieties of business to make for himself a home, in which all the -congenial elements of a singularly emotional and sensitive nature should -thenceforth find free scope for development. He retained to the close of -his life his interest in the multitudinous details of the printing and -publishing works; but he found time for the gratification of many -refined tastes, and for a practical sympathy in public questions, as -well as in the exercise of an open-handed beneficence, the full extent -of which has only been revealed since his death. - -The new life of which marriage is the source began for William Nelson -when he was in his thirty-sixth year. On the 24th of July 1851, -Catherine Inglis, the daughter of Robert Inglis, Esquire of Kirkmay, -Fifeshire, a descendant of Sir James Inglis, Bart., of Cramond, gave her -hand, with her heart in it, to William Nelson. The marriage took place -at the old mansion of Kirkmay, acquired by her father, with the estates -of Sypsis and Kirkmay, on his return from a highly successful career in -India. The maternal grandfather of the bride had seen long service -there; and letters preserved by the family show that he was held in high -esteem by Lord Cornwallis, and was the trusted and confidential friend -of Warren Hastings. One of them, addressed to him while he was Resident -at the Court of Scindia, is an amusing example of epistolary conciseness -in preferring an unusual request; and as such was peculiarly germane to -William Nelson’s tastes, as well as to his sense of humour. His fondness -for animals manifested itself at times in odd ways, and had he received -any encouragement the pleasure grounds at Salisbury Green would have -been apt to assume the character of a zoological garden. When travelling -in California in 1870, along with Mrs. Nelson, he was reluctantly -dissuaded from bringing off with him as a novel pet a “gofer,” or -beautifully striped species of lizard, which an Indian offered for sale. -Here was a still more unmanageable pet in request by the old Indian -viceroy in his letter to the grandfather of the bride:-- - - BENARES, _14th March, 1784_. - - - “DEAR SIR,--If you can possibly contrive to procure for me a young - lion of a size which may be carried over rocky and mountainous - roads, I shall be much obliged to you. I want to gratify the eager - desire which has been expressed by the ruler of Tibet to have one - in his possession; the people of this country having a religious - veneration for a lion, of which they know nothing but in the - doubtful and fabulous relations of their own books.--I am, dear - sir, yours affectionately, - - “WARREN HASTINGS. - - “To Lieutenant James Anderson.” - -But this ancestral reminiscence carries us far afield from the -wedding-party at Kirkmay House, where the bride was given away by her -brother, who had then succeeded to the estate; and so the old home was -exchanged for one which she gladdened through all the happy years till -that inevitable parting which every wedded union involves. Thenceforth -life had for William Nelson a deeper meaning, and was passed in the -quiet centre of a sunlight all his own, till he reached beyond the limit -of the threescore years and ten. - -The biographer must ever feel that he executes a delicate trust in -drawing aside the curtain that veils the sanctities of home life. But -here there was nothing to conceal. A friend who met Mr. and Mrs. Nelson -at a German spa twenty years later thus writes: “I was greatly -interested in watching him as he, with all the attention and devotion of -a lover, refilled and carried the glass of water to his wife, and tended -on her, then an invalid, with untiring care.” And so it continued to be -to the close. Thirty-six years of happy wedded union glided by. -Daughters in time followed their mother’s example, and left the old home -to make new centres of happiness. Eveline, the eldest, was married in -1874 to Professor Annandale, Professor of Surgery in the University of -Edinburgh; and in 1886 her sister Florence became the wife of S. Fraser -MacLeod, Esquire, barrister, London, a friend of the family from early -boyhood. By-and-by the little grandchildren presented themselves to -claim their mothers’ places in the hearts of those who had found it hard -to reconcile themselves to the blanks round the old hearth, where Meta -and Alice still remained, with their brother Frederick, to play the new -_rôle_ of uncle and aunts. The home of the Nelsons at Salisbury Green -was familiar to many through all those years as a rare centre of genial -hospitality, with some unique features of its own worthy of further -note. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -_SALISBURY GREEN._ - - -The unique site of the Scottish capital, embosomed in hills and looking -out upon the sea, furnishes many charming nooks for suburban residence -to its denizens; but among such the Nelsons’ home stood in some respects -unrivalled. Salisbury Green, a jointure house of the Prestonfield -family, when purchased in 1770 by Lady Dick Cunningham, had, according -to the traditions of the family, a ghost as its sole tenant; and -notwithstanding the genial hospitalities, and all the brightness and -beauty of its home-life in later years, the venerable ghost, a lady of -grim visage, in antique coif and farthingale, continued to flit at rare -intervals about her old haunts, and drew the curtains of fair young -dreamers who had invaded her precincts. It was a plain old-fashioned -house, though already graced with some of the undesigned picturesqueness -due to additions of various dates, when William Nelson acquired the -property in 1860. But, with his keen eye for beauty, he discerned at -once the capabilities of the place, embosomed in stately trees, and -commanding a view of almost unmatched grandeur and beauty. - -Under his tasteful care, the old house was renovated, assuming -externally the picturesque features of the domestic architecture of -Scotland in the sixteenth century; and in accordance with the practice -of the age of the Reformation, he carved round the entablature this apt -motto, from the third chapter of Hebrews, “EVERY HOUSE IS BUILDED BY -SOME MAN; BUT HE THAT BUILT ALL THINGS IS GOD.” Internally the -drawing-room, an addition of its earlier proprietors, was a -reproduction, in style and proportions, of that of Barley Wood, the -charming abode of the amiable and gifted Hannah More. The house, so -familiar to many strangers from other lands as well as to the citizens -of Edinburgh, by reason of its hospitalities, was enriched in later -years, by the accumulated acquisitions of its owner, with choice works -of art and _virtu_, and especially with a valuable collection of bronzes -and antique ceramic ware, not displayed for purposes of show, but -scattered over the mantel-shelves and cabinets, or disposed about in -every available nook and corner of the old house, as natural and fitting -adjuncts of the tasteful owner’s home. - -But the unique charm of Salisbury Green as a city dwelling lies in its -natural surroundings. The terraced lawn slopes to the east, and commands -a historic landscape of rare beauty. The couchant lion of Arthur Seat, -a mountain in miniature, rises on the left in a succession of bold -cliffs and grassy slopes to a height of eight hundred feet. The basaltic -columns of Samson’s Ribs form a singularly bold feature at its base. On -the right, the rich undulating landscape terminates in an insulated rock -crowned with the picturesque ruin of Craigmillar Castle, famous in -Scottish history in the days of the Jameses and Mary Stuart. Right -below, Duddingston Loch forms the central feature, with the old village -churchyard beyond. Under its mouldering heaps the rude forefathers of -many a generation lie around the venerable parish church. Though defaced -by tasteless modern additions, the church still retains the -richly-moulded Norman chancel arch and south doorway, the work of the -same builders who reared the Abbey of Holyrood in the time of David I.; -while away in the distant landscape are North Berwick Law, Aberlady Bay, -the Bass Rock, and beyond the Firth of Forth the Fifeshire hills. The -sudden transition from the dust and bustle of the Dalkeith Road to the -garden terrace and the unique landscape beyond, never failed to excite -admiring wonder in the visitor who saw it for the first time. It -includes such a variety of attractive features, and differs so greatly -from anything usually visible from the windows or garden-terrace of a -city dwelling, that even the most unimpressible yielded to some sense -of surprise. Many a hearty tribute has accordingly been paid to its -beauty. The French artist, Gustave Doré, was charmed with the -magnificent panorama; J. J. Hayes, the Arctic explorer, and Bayard -Taylor, familiar as a traveller with the beauties of many lands, owned -its attractions as exceptionally rare; and the expression of quiet -delight with which Augustus Hare--fortunate in an unusually warm, bright -day of early summer--lingered over every detail of the historic -landscape, has left a vivid impression on the minds of those who recall -the incidents of his visit. It was no show-place for strangers, for few -men shrank with more instinctive reserve than William Nelson from -anything savouring of display; but to friends and friends’ friends it -was ever accessible. An American visitor, who, like so many others from -beyond the Atlantic, received a hospitable welcome at Salisbury Green, -thus recalls the place and its owner:--“I shall never forget the -greeting that made us all so much at home, the gentle humour of our host -at table, and then the quiet saunter in the summer evening in the -garden; Samson’s Ribs, a most curious geological formation, and the hill -beyond reflecting the setting sun, on one of those long summer evenings -we know nothing of in America. Mr. Nelson pointed out a ruined castle -where Queen Mary resided, and a rock out in the sea that had been a -prison of the Covenanters. Altogether the scene and its pleasant -associations are unforgetable.” - -Here, in this bright home, William Nelson dwelt, surrounded by wife and -children, with an ever-welcome circle of friends; and also with other -objects of his kindly consideration--his pet cockatoo, his peacocks, his -children’s rabbits, etc., for his sympathetic nature displayed itself -strongly in his love for the lower animals. His favourite dogs made him -subservient to their caprices, for he could not bear to see an animal -neglected. The birds that frequented Salisbury Green were a source of -constant delight, and any injury done to them excited his pity. He -mourned over the disappearance of the larks, after a succession of wet -seasons, as a personal loss; and an ill-timed jest about larkpies seemed -to give him acute pain. The reappearance of the birds in the spring, and -their pairing and building, were a source of ever-renewed pleasure. But -no one entered more heartily into the humorous aspect of things, even -when the laugh was at his own expense; and an occasion of this kind -transpired during one of my later visits to Salisbury Green. He had been -greatly charmed by the appearance of a pair of herons that remained day -after day stalking about the lawn, wading in the pond, and seemingly -well contented to make themselves at home in the grounds. The household -was warned not to disturb the graceful strangers; but after a time they -disappeared, and then some stray fish-bones on the margin of the pond -revealed the secret of their visit. They had only left when the last of -its gold-fish had been disposed of! - -The tenderness of William Nelson for the lower animals was shown in many -ways. A companion of his boyhood recalls an incident of those early -years. A party of boys at Kinghorn were off in a boat. They had obtained -the prized loan of a gun, and each in his turn was to have a shot at the -sea-gulls. William eagerly waited his chance; loaded and pointed his gun -at a gull within shot; then, after a pause, he quietly laid it down, -with the remark, “No, no! let the poor thing live!” One of the foremen -at Hope Park furnishes an incident of later years. Walking down Preston -Street, on his way to the office, Mr. Nelson saw a poor little sparrow, -just fledged; and having with some difficulty caught it, he gave a boy -sixpence to take it to Salisbury Green, and set it free among the trees. -Another incident I glean from one of Mrs. Nelson’s letters. “One day, -when we were walking together in the grounds, he stooped down and lifted -up so tenderly a worm which was on the gravel walk, and laying it on the -lawn, he said, ‘I cannot bear to see worms trampled upon; but this one -will be safe here.’” This is a specific instance of what was a -characteristic trait. In some manuscript “Recollections of the late -William Nelson,” noted down by Mr. Dalgleish, the superintendent of the -literary department of the publishing work for many years, the same -familiar trait is thus referred to:--“The birds were his constant and -most familiar friends. In the veranda of his beautiful house at -Salisbury Green he had quaintly-fashioned rustic boxes hung up for the -birds to build their nests in. It is a simple matter of fact that, not -once or twice, but many times, when walking round his garden after a -shower, he lifted a worm from the path, and laid it daintily on the -grass.” The tenderness that spared the gull, and cared for the worm on -his garden path, went even beyond this. He could not bear to see a -mousetrap set, and nothing pleased him more than when his children gave -evidence of a like sympathy. “None of us,” writes Mrs. Nelson, “will -ever forget the delight he was in one morning when he learned from Alice -that she, unknown to any one, had been cutting the string with which the -spring of a trap set in the nursery was held, so that no mice might be -caught. The servant, on her morning visits to the room, was mortified at -the failure of her plans to entrap the intruders, and only after a good -deal of questioning found out the delinquent.” Yet such are the curious -inconsistencies of human nature, no such thoughts seem to have intruded -to mar the enjoyment of his favourite pastime of fishing. - -He was _en rapport_ with living nature in that peculiar way that seems -to distinguish an exceptional class of men. Dogs manifested for him an -instinctive sympathy, and he was perfectly fearless with regard to them. -When travelling with me in the Muskoka Lake district in Canada, a -backwood farmer shouted a warning as he approached the kennel of a -half-breed wolf-dog, such as are common with the Indians. But the -animal, though ordinarily fierce, responded to his caresses. His own -favourite dog, Leo, a fine Italian greyhound, watched for him, and -contended with the children for a share of his attention. He would coax -and whimper to be allowed to accompany him to the counting-room, where -his favourite corner was behind his master in his chair at the writing -table, to the manifest inconvenience and satisfaction of both. In a -retired nook in the grounds the visitor would come unexpectedly upon the -mound, with its little marble pillar, that marked the grave of canine -favourites of earlier years, and especially of poor Bronté, whose memory -was a source of bitter self-reproach to his master. William Nelson was -in the habit for many years of going down to the neighbouring sea-coast -before breakfast to bathe. This he did summer and winter, leaving early -in the cold dark mornings, accompanied by his faithful companion, -Bronté, a large Newfoundland dog. They travelled together in the train -to the Chain Pier. But when Mr. Nelson was absent from home, Bronté -missed his master, and setting off at the usual early hour, took the -train and went off to the beach in search of him. The fact only became -known when an account was presented from the railway company for -Bronté’s travelling expenses. He and his master were well known to the -railway officials, and so Master Bronté, as it proved, had regularly -journeyed for his morning bath in a first-class carriage! But the span -of life runs within straitened limits for our canine favourites, and ere -the close it had become a burden to poor Bronté. The feeling associated -with his death, which had long secretly preyed on his master’s mind, -found utterance when, in subsequent years, old age once more rendered -life a burden to another household pet. A fine large tom cat had passed -from kittenhood to extreme old age, and was nursed till its condition of -helplessness became so pitiable that some one suggested the -administration of poison as an act of mercy. “No, no! don’t give it -poison!” exclaimed Mr. Nelson; “you would never forget it. I have never -forgiven myself for allowing poor Bronté to be poisoned. It haunts me -still. I shall never forget it as long as I live.” So poor Tom was left -to die a natural death two days later. - -Brighter associations connect themselves with a scene in the -drawing-room of Salisbury Green which transpired in recent years. On a -lovely Sabbath morning, when the windows were open on to the lawn, and -all were assembled for family worship, as William Nelson was reading a -chapter from the Bible, a starling flew into the room. It alighted and -kept hopping about his chair, till all knelt down; when, instead of -being startled, it perched on his shoulder, remaining quietly there all -the time of prayer. When the family rose from their knees, it was -thought that the bird would fly away; but it refused to quit its novel -perch. He walked with it on his shoulder up to the nursery, where a -large bowl of water was placed upon the table, when “Charlie,” as their -pet starling was subsequently named, hopped down to enjoy the luxury of -a bath. A cage was procured; but Mr. Nelson would not hear of its being -shut in. Ultimately, Charlie was housed in a large open cage in the -laundry, with free access to the garden. There he made himself entirely -at home, and became a great favourite; but after some time he flew off -into the garden and did not return. One evening, at a later date, when -the family were seated on the lawn, a starling--possibly -Charlie--perched on one of the children’s shoulders; and that was the -last they ever saw of their little visitor. - -There was a rare naturalness and simplicity in William Nelson. He was at -ease in any company, and equally accessible to poor as to rich. Yet, -with all this, he was singularly undemonstrative. As one of his old -friends writes, “he was no hand-shaker;” so that a stranger could never -have guessed the deep sympathies that lay concealed under his quiet -manner. Yet when his pity was excited his emotion was extreme, and he -betrayed the tender sensitiveness of a woman, his tears flowing -unrestrained. When his mother, to whom he was passionately attached, lay -dying, he shrank from entering the room, where the sight of her -suffering overpowered him. But he lingered about the door of the -apartment, and could not stay away. When moved with apprehension of the -safety of those most dear to him--as on one occasion which I recall, -when in deep anxiety about the safety of his son--his emotion was even -painful to witness. But his capacity for enjoyment was equally great, -and retained in it to the last much of the freshness of childhood. A -“Punch and Judy,” especially with a group of children enjoying the show, -never lost its charm for him. Another kindly trait of unsophisticated -naturalness was the pleasure he derived from street music. He would wait -to listen to a ballad-singer, and after a liberal gift, ask to have the -song over again. A blind bagpiper was irresistible, though more, I -suspect, as an object of charity than for the charm of his music. A -cornopean player and sundry German bands came regularly to his office -window, and “the Rhine Watch” was sure to call forth half-a-crown. -After his death, the comment of an old Parkside workman on the changes -that his absence had created was summed up with the remark, “The beggars -on the Dalkeith Road and the bands of music have ceased to come now.” - -The pleasure which he derived from music was intense. It was, indeed, no -uncommon thing to see him moved to tears under its influence. But much -of this, doubtless, was the pleasure of association: as in the plaintive -national airs of Scotland, the songs and ballads familiar to him from -childhood, and the sacred music linked to hymns, many of which have -become part of the national psalmody, and entered into the religious -life of the whole English-speaking race. - -In art his taste was pure. He delighted to have artists about him, -criticised their works with frank sincerity, and at times with an -unconventional bluntness that was a little startling. Sir George Harvey, -James Drummond, Sir Noel Paton and his brother Waller, Sir Daniel -Macnee, Keeley Halswell, Alfred H. Forrester (Alfred Crowquill), with -Doré, Giacomelli, and other foreigners, were all among his -artist-friends; and to those must be added Mrs. D. O. Hill, William -Brodie, Stevenson, and other sculptors, to whom the charms of his -tasteful home and its beautiful surroundings were familiar. His -remarkably fine and expressive head was a model they prized to work -from. His feelings in regard to artists and their works find expression -in his letters from time to time, as he notes his sense of the loss -created by their death. - -William Brodie, a self-taught artist of great simplicity and true -genius, whose fine statue of Lord Cockburn holds its place in the old -Parliament Hall of Edinburgh alongside of Roubiliac’s Forbes of -Culloden, Chantrey’s Lord Melville, and Steel’s Lord Jeffrey, was -engaged in 1881 on a marble bust of William Nelson. He had been -commissioned to execute for Toronto a bronze statue of Mr. Nelson’s -brother-in-law, the Hon. George Brown, leader of the Liberal party in -Upper Canada in its protracted struggle for constitutional government. -His death, after long suffering, by the pistol-shot of an assassin, -created a wide-spread sympathy in Canada, and awakened in the mind of -William Nelson the keenest sympathy on behalf of his widowed sister. -This, accordingly, gave an exceptional interest to the proposed statue. -He discussed the plans with the sculptor, and eagerly anticipated its -execution. But the commission had not been long intrusted to him, and -the plans for its realization settled, when death arrested the gifted -sculptor in the midst of his work. More than one day had been spent in -the studio, examining some of his latest productions, including the -unfinished bust, and discussing the treatment of the proposed statue. In -the following November, William Nelson thus writes:--“You will have -heard, ere this reaches you, intelligence of the death of poor William -Brodie, the sculptor. He had been suffering for several months past from -fatty degeneration of the heart, and on Sunday morning last he was -released from earthly care and trouble. I had a note from his wife about -a week before his death, in which she stated that he was a little -better, and that he had been able to make some drawings for the statue -of George Brown, but that no further progress had been made in the -matter. The loss is great to art, for he was at his very best, and -improving as he progressed. His Sir James Simpson I do not like; but he -blamed its low site, buried among the trees, and wanted it removed to -the open area of Nicolson Square, where, I daresay, it would show much -better. As for his Lord Cockburn, it is the finest thing in the -Parliament House. It is not for me to suggest who should now be -intrusted with the work; but there can be no doubt that Mrs. D. O. Hill -will be looking out for the commission; and if it should come her way, -and she were to produce a work equal to her statue of Livingstone, the -committee would not have occasion to regret having intrusted her with -it.” - -Art had ever a charm for William Nelson, and he watched with jealous -sensitiveness the memorial statues which adorn the streets and squares -of his native city. But a keen personal sympathy gave intensity to his -interest in the one to be erected in honour of his own brother-in-law. -The execution of it was ultimately intrusted to Mr. C. Bell Birch, -A.R.A.; and in February 1884 Mr. Nelson thus writes from London to Mr. -James Campbell:--“I am here for a short time, with Mrs. Nelson and my -daughter Florence. We have all been out this afternoon at the studio of -Mr. Birch, the sculptor, seeing the model of the statue that is to be -erected to the memory of poor George Brown. I am glad to say that we are -all of opinion that the statue will be a noble one, though we are not -quite sure if the likeness will be what can be called a speaking -likeness.” The statue did ultimately satisfy in this respect, and now -forms an attractive feature in the Queen’s Park at Toronto. As to the -love of art here referred to, it is perpetuated by the younger -generation. Salisbury Green has its own studio, where both modelling and -painting were pursued by a group of young artists with more than -ordinary amateur skill. But art has found other rivals in the new home -to which the fair critic of Mr. Birch’s model has transferred her -_penates_. - -As time wore on, and the thick clustering black locks of early years -whitened with the frosts of time, William Nelson courted more than ever -his own family reunions, delighted to gather his friends about him, and -noted with tender regrets the blanks that death made in the old circle. -Thus he writes to me in January 1882: “Several weel kent faces have -fled wi’ the year that’s awa’, including old artist-friends who have -recently disappeared from our midst that you will mourn.” After -referring to William Brodie and Sir Daniel Macnee, he proceeds: “And now -I have to inform you that your old friend William Miller [the eminent -engraver] has been called away, he having died at Sheffield yesterday. I -met him not long ago in the Meadows, as he was going in the direction of -Millerfield; and he walked as erect as he ever did, which was a most -remarkable thing for a man only four years short of being a -nonagenarian. In addition to those I have mentioned as having joined the -majority, the name of Sheriff Hallard has to be added; and Edinburgh has -lost in him a great deal of happy sunshine.” - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -_GLIMPSES OF TRAVEL._ - - -Reference has already been made to William Nelson’s love of travel. It -was indeed a passion with him, which, with his persistent eagerness for -the minutest information on all points brought under his notice, might -under other circumstances have won a place for him among distinguished -travellers. - -During a delightful sojourn which I shared with him in the Vale of -Yarrow in 1880, a special object of pilgrimage was the ruined cottage in -which the African traveller, Mungo Park, was born; and as he looked on -it he recalled the picture, by Sir George Harvey, representing the -fainting traveller in the African desert revived by the sight of a -little flower that seemed to tell of the divine hand, and renewed his -faith in the fatherhood of God. He followed up the subject, recovered an -original sketch map executed by the traveller of his intended second -route, of which he had a copy made; and among the letters preserved by -him is one from Dr. Anderson of Selkirk, in which it is stated:--“Park -served his apprenticeship for a surgeon with my grandfather in this -house (Dove Cot) where I now live, and where my grandfather, my father, -and myself have practised for more than a hundred years. My father -served his apprenticeship with Park in Peebles, when he practised there -before going off on his second journey. There stands a very handsome -tree in front of my house, a horse-chestnut, which was planted by the -traveller while courting his intended wife.” - -African travel had a peculiar fascination for William Nelson. The return -of the venerable missionary, Dr. Robert Moffat, from his life-long -labours among the Hottentots and Bechuanas, awakened in him the -liveliest interest; and his son-in-law, Livingstone, was an object of -special veneration. When the startling news of Stanley’s meeting with -him at Ujiji was reported, it greatly excited and gratified him. And -when Mr. Henry M. Stanley visited Edinburgh on his return from Africa, -he received a hearty welcome at Salisbury Green. Keith Johnston, another -of the explorers of the Dark Continent, who fell a victim to the deadly -climate, was the son of an old friend. He watched with interest the news -of his early efforts, and tenderly mourned his fate. The same summer in -which the ruined cottage in the Vale of Yarrow was the object of William -Nelson’s curious interest, he had as his guest at Salisbury Green Mr. -Joseph Thomson, then recently returned from his exploratory wanderings -in previously unvisited regions to the south of the Victoria Nyanza, and -gratified his intelligent curiosity, plying him with questions about the -strange land and its people. - -His own wanderings extended beyond the ordinary routes of the tourist. -He visited Norway and Sweden on more than one occasion; travelled in -Denmark and Russia, through Spain, Morocco, and Algiers; journeyed, as -we have seen, in Palestine; explored Egypt and the Nile; crossed the -American continent to the Pacific; and was on the eve of an extended -visit to Greece and Asia Minor when his active life came to a close. His -correspondence is voluminous, and supplies ample details of his -experience on successive journeys; but a few illustrations will suffice -for needful glimpses of personal characteristics. His journey across the -American continent in 1870 has already been referred to. The Yosemite -Valley, and the wonders of the Yellowstone Region, are now familiar to -tourists; but at that date they were recently discovered and little -known. He landed at New York on the 18th of May, had the excitement of a -threatened Indian raid as they traversed the territory of the Sioux, but -reached the Rocky Mountains in safety. He passed through the defiles of -the mountains with unexpected ease; and then he notes: “If the passage -of the Rocky Mountains has been easy, this has been made up by the -crossing of the Sierra Nevada in California, which is the most -difficult task in railway engineering that has yet been undertaken. -These mountains are between eight and nine thousand feet high, and over -these the railway passes, the roadway being in many places cut out of -solid rock, with perpendicular walls of many hundred feet deep, falling -straight down from the very edge of the railway.” The famous Yosemite -Valley he describes as “a valley of about twelve miles in length by two -in breadth, that has apparently been formed by the ground sinking down -to a depth of some three or four thousand feet, and leaving -perpendicular cliffs all round. In these are many fine waterfalls, the -largest being no less than two thousand six hundred feet high;” and -after a minute description of its features, he pronounces the valley to -be “one of the greatest wonders of the world.” The Indians were a -subject of unfailing interest. He longed to see the aborigines in their -genuine condition of savage simplicity; and at a later date, when -referring to this subject in a letter to Captain James Chester of the -3rd U.S. Artillery, he says:--“I send you a cutting from the _Times_. We -all know that the Scotch are a practical people; but I never before, in -all my reading, met with an instance of their getting the credit for -goaheadness in the way referred to. The Marquis of Lorne, while -Governor-General of Canada, was on the look-out for the genuine native; -and some of his first experiences, as he travelled beyond the frontiers -of civilization, are thus described by a correspondent who accompanied -him:--‘We begin to-morrow with an address from some Indians at Little -Current, on Manitoulin Island, who ought to be real, full-blooded -Indians, if any faith can be put in Indian names. But probably little -faith can be put in them. The mixture of races has been carried -on,--more especially by the Scotch, always foremost in everything,--with -so much energy that it is never easy to know whether an Indian is -full-blooded, or, as some stranger to the laws of orthography and -pronunciation tersely phrased it, “half Ingin, half Ingineer.” In one of -his speeches Lord Lorne told us of his once expressing a wish to see a -real, full-blooded Indian, his first; and being rather astonished when -the Canadian who undertook to gratify his wish summoned the required -real specimen of the aboriginal race by shouting, “Come here, -MacDonald.”’” - -The Falls of Niagara had no such fresh wonder as belonged to the -newly-discovered marvels of California; but familiarity does not lessen -their effect, and the impression produced on Mr. Nelson’s mind is worth -reproducing in his own words. He travelled in company with Mrs. Nelson, -and he thus writes:--“One misses the true height of the falls at -first--one hundred and sixty-three feet--owing to looking down upon them -as they plunge into a deep gorge, in addition to their great extent in -breadth. But still the impression is overpowering. Before dinner we went -on to Goat Island, which divides the Horse Shoe, or Canadian Fall, from -the American Fall; got over to the Three Sisters--three lovely wooded -islands anchored amid the roar of waters--and then looked up the great -rapids from the head of Goat Island. This I really think almost finer -than the actual falls. There is no hill or rising ground visible. The -flat shore scarcely seems to reach above the water’s brink; and here is -a great tumbling flood that looks as if it came right out of the sky, -and was going to sweep everything before it. After dinner we crossed the -ferry, right under the falls, and formed a more definite idea of their -height. We then found our way to a spot on the Canadian side above the -falls, where we looked down on the Horse Shoe Fall. It has eaten its way -back into the rock; and an old residenter on the spot told us it has -greatly changed since he remembered it. It now looks as though the whole -mighty flood were poured into a narrow cleft, and disappears in a rising -cloud of vapour, in which, when the sun is shining, there is a constant -rainbow.” - -At Toronto attractions of a different, but not less acceptable, kind -awaited him. He started for the backwoods, and fished in Lake Muskoka -with his old school-mate for his guide. And on his return to Toronto, a -party of the fellow-students of early years met at dinner under his -present biographer’s roof. Sir Andrew Ramsay, the head of the -Geographical Survey of Great Britain, chanced to be on a visit to -Canada; Alexander Sprunt had come on from North Carolina to place his -son at the University of Toronto; the Hon. George Brown, his own -brother-in-law, was now a Senator of the Dominion; the Hon. David -Christie was Speaker of the Senate; Professor George Paxton Young, and -their host, were both members of the Faculty of the Provincial -University; and thus, after an interval of more than forty years, the -memories of school and college life were recalled, and old times lived -over again, with many a humorous reminiscence, and some amusing -gleanings from the record of school-mates. In a letter to his sister he -says: “You may imagine with what delight I met so many of my old -school-fellows, and how we did talk over the days of auld lang syne!” - -The Parisian capital is a place of too easy and frequent resort to admit -of its being embraced within the range of notable explorations; but two -of his visits to Paris were made under such exceptional circumstances as -to claim special notice here. The first of those was his characteristic -visit at the period of Prince Louis Napoleon’s famous _coup d’état_. An -old friend, Mr. Matthew Tait, thus briefly narrates the event:--“We all -know how fond he was of foreign travel, and how he liked to watch the -movements of crowds and to witness any public display. My brother -accompanied him to Paris in 1851. It was at the time of the _coup -d’état_. Mingling one day with the crowds that filled the Place de la -Concorde, they suddenly found themselves exposed to a charge of cavalry. -The crowd instantly gave way amid shrieks and yells; some of them were -mortally wounded. My brother remarked to me afterwards on the coolness -and self-possession of William Nelson, who seemed to have far more -sympathy with the unfortunate victims than concern for his own safety.” - -In William Nelson’s boyhood the journey to London was a formidable -adventure. A youth who had achieved that feat won the respect of his -companions as one who had seen the world. To have actually crossed the -Channel was to be a great traveller. Rotterdam and the Hague, or -Christiania and Copenhagen, by reason of the trade of the neighbouring -sea-port, lay within easier reach than Paris. But steam-boats and -railways have wrought as great a revolution in ideas as in experience; -and in his later years a visit to Paris was no uncommon occurrence. But -the circumstances were altogether exceptional when in March 1871,--the -year succeeding that of his journey across the American continent,--he -proceeded thither, accompanied by Mrs. Nelson and an American friend, -Mr. George Buckham of New York. The Franco-German War was over; Paris -had capitulated; and this unwonted condition of things presented -attractions peculiarly calculated to tempt William Nelson to witness for -himself the novel scene. Happily some interesting reminiscences of the -adventure are recoverable from notes furnished by both of his -fellow-travellers. - -They met in London on the 16th of March, and on learning that the German -army had evacuated Paris, they resolved to avail themselves of the -opportunity of witnessing the devastations of war, while the city still -wore the aspect due to its prolonged siege. They started accordingly the -following day. On reaching the suburbs of Paris they were struck with -the wretched condition of the numerous soldiers of the besieging army, -still bivouacked there in dirty, tattered uniforms, little calculated to -suggest the idea of proud conquerors. They put up at the Hôtel Chatham; -and on their way from the railway station their attention was drawn to -the excited crowds in the streets and boulevards. It was soon apparent -that the terrors of the siege had been succeeded by revolutionary -revolt. Many wounded and dying were being carried past on stretchers. -The streets were filled with citizens and soldiers gesticulating in an -angry manner, and evidently ripe for violence. The very few shops that -were open looked dreary and deserted; and the inhabitants had a -careworn, anxious look, as though they dreaded a renewal of the terrible -experiences of the siege. - -About noon the travellers set out to explore the scenes still bearing -evidence of the conflict so recently ended. They reached the Champ de -Mars in time to see several regiments of the National Guard arrive and -pitch their tents. They were survivors of the army of General Chanzy, -which had suffered so terribly; and Mr. Buckham notes of them: “All were -scarcely older than mere boys. They were in a dreadfully ragged and -distressed condition.” Everywhere, indeed, the pride and glory of war -had given place to its most forbidding aspects. At Pont de Jour the -shells had made terrible havoc, almost totally destroying every house in -the place. At St. Cloud it was the same. The palace which the Emperor -left on the 18th of July 1870, at the head of the Grande Armée, to march -to Berlin, was almost completely demolished; and a street of once -beautiful mansions near it was a mere pile of ruins. This was the work -of the besieged, in their efforts to dislodge the Germans, who were -carousing in the magnificent halls of the imperial palace. Everywhere -the travellers were struck with the evidences of the blind fury of the -populace. The “N,” the “E,” and every symbol of the emperor, had been -effaced or broken. Statues of the First Napoleon, and a beautiful -statue of the Empress Josephine that adorned the avenue which bore her -name, had been thrown down and flung into the river. Even the heads of -the bronze eagles on the Grand Opera House had been broken off. - -They sought in vain for a conveyance to hire. At every livery stable -they were told that the horses had all been killed and eaten. Towards -evening the excitement became intense, under the apprehension that the -Red Republicans, who were evidently gaining ground, would take complete -possession of Paris. The landlord of the Hôtel Chatham was greatly -excited, and cautioned his guests against venturing out of doors. But an -old citizen of Edinburgh, Mr. Nimmo, who was well known to Mr. Nelson, -undertook to be their guide. He had himself been a leader in the -political movements of the old Scottish reformers at a time when such -proceedings imperilled his safety; and so, taking refuge in Paris, he -had resided there for forty-nine years, and now found himself at home in -the _furor_ of a fresh revolution. Under his escort they traversed the -deserted and gloomy thoroughfares, till they reached the Place Vendôme, -where a military guard arrested their progress, and compelled them to -pursue a different route. When they passed the end of the Louvre, and -turned in the direction of the boulevard leading towards the Place -Vendôme, they suddenly became involved in a disorderly mass of -soldiers; and within half an hour after they reached their hotel, the -Place Vendôme was captured by the mob. A little later the Hôtel de Ville -was in the hands of the Communists, the government fled from Paris, and -the revolution was an accomplished fact. The Grande Armée disappeared. -On the Saturday night, March 18th, there was fighting going on in -several parts of the city; and when, on the following day, Mr. and Mrs. -Nelson and their friend visited two Protestant churches, they found them -closed, and all attempt at public worship abandoned. They were -successful at length in securing a hired vehicle, and making their way -to the Jardin des Plantes, where they found, to their surprise, that -nearly all the animals had survived the siege. There had been -sensational newspaper paragraphs concerning the novel dishes which the -national menagerie supplied; and William Nelson’s fancy was greatly -taken with the idea of a hippopotamus steak, a giraffe ragout, a dish of -devilled tiger, or some other equally _recherché_ entertainment; but -instead of the beasts being devoured, it had been found possible to -provide them with something to eat. Eighty-four shells had fallen within -the garden enclosures, but the damage was slight; while seven of the -poor invalids in a large hospital adjoining had been killed in their -beds. While walking through the Jardin des Plantes, a stranger -approached Mr. Nelson, and addressing him, told him he was a professor -in the University of Dublin, had been shut up in Paris during the siege, -and reduced to the direst straits. He was anxious to get away, but he -had no money. Mr. Buckham, who witnessed the interview, adds: “In such -cases Mr. Nelson never hesitated. I have seen many other instances of -his benevolence. He relieved this gentleman at once.” Mr. Buckham adds -that he learned from Mr. Nimmo of many instances of suffering and -distress, as the results of the siege, which had been reported by him to -Mr. Nelson. He did not stop to inquire more, but helped the needy, and -relieved the distressed and suffering, without any idea that his good -deeds were ever known to any one but Mr. Nimmo, who had the pleasant -duty of acting as his almoner. - -The entire scene abounded in strange and exciting novelty. They drove to -the Hôtel de Ville, and there had to abandon their conveyance. The grand -square was filled with soldiers. Men and boys were tearing up the -paving-stones and constructing barricades. The flag of the Red -Republicans was flying on the hotel, and the soldiers were shouting, -“_Vive la République!_” and fraternizing with the mob. So alarming grew -the situation that the idea gained favour with many of the citizens to -invite the return of the Prussians to Paris as the only escape from a -reign of terror. Proclamations were issued by the Government, and -counter proclamations by the Red Republicans. The travellers were -warned by their landlord not to venture out; but it was useless to visit -Paris at such a time merely to be immured in their hotel. So at noon -they started for Versailles, under the guidance of Mr. Nimmo, and paid a -visit there to M. Giacomelli, Mr. Nelson’s artist friend. He had had -several Prussian officers quartered on him, and the account he gave of -the insolent brutality of those representatives of the victorious army -seems to have been abundantly confirmed by the condition in which they -left the artist’s beautiful château. Mr. Buckham thus writes:-- - -“Monsieur and Madame Giacomelli are people of the highest refinement and -culture, and it was impossible to listen to a recital of their wrongs -unmoved. The walls of their _salons_ were hung with most beautiful -paintings, many of which had been cut from their frames. The beautiful -draperies of the windows were stained with tobacco juice; and the rich -satin coverings of their furniture, which the officers had lounged on -with spurs, were hanging in ribbons.” - -The calm self-control and fearlessness in danger which have already been -noted among the characteristics of William Nelson, were repeatedly noted -by his travelling companion under the most trying circumstances during -this sojourn in Paris. Mr. Buckham thus writes:--“In the exciting scenes -of these few days, in which Mr. Nelson mingled freely and fearlessly, -no one was so calm as he. The writer accompanied him through scenes in -which we were often menaced with the insane violence of armed men, so -that it was deemed the height of madness to expose ourselves to it. On -one occasion, in the Marché St. Honoré, which we entered suddenly, not -knowing what was going on, we found it crowded with armed men and women -almost foaming with rage at our intrusion. Three words uttered by Mr. -Nelson in a low tone restored me to self-control. ‘Take my arm,’ he said -quietly, and we passed unharmed, with muskets and bayonets pointed at -us. While traversing the Rue de Rivoli, for a long distance we did not -see a human being, until we were suddenly confronted by a Communist -doing sentinel duty. Mr. Nelson said to me in his calm tone of voice, -‘Say nothing; I’ll manage this fellow.’ So on we went, and the sentinel -brought down his musket from his shoulder. Our pace was not changed. Mr. -Nelson gave the military salute; he again shouldered his musket, and we -passed on.” - -The season was early, but a succession of days of brilliant sunshine, -with the trees putting forth their fresh spring leaves and early -blossoms, and the songs of the birds already building their nests, all -tended to intensify the desolation of the scene and the misery of the -populace. In the ruined villages around Paris they saw men, women, and -children who gazed as if stupified at the wreck of their humble -dwellings, while they seemed only involved in worse dangers by the -withdrawal of the invaders. A revolution was at its height. The National -Assembly was sitting at Versailles, while the Red Republicans held -Paris; and the army was taking sides, and divided between the rival -governments. On the 21st of March, Mr. Buckham notes:--“Another splendid -day, but as no cabs could be found, we trudged about on foot. The -streets are filled with crowds of excited people; some are armed, and -bent on mischief. Not a vehicle is to be seen; the whole roadway is -filled with people. Orators are declaiming, and the newswomen are -screaming out the last ‘special,’ which is eagerly seized until the -stock of newspapers is exhausted. The landlords of the hotels have -forbidden the departure of their guests in obedience to an order issued -by the Government. The English agent of the Rothschilds called and -informed us that a conflict was inevitable. The people of wealth were -ordered to furnish money to the insurgents, and if they refused they -were marched off to the Conciergerie between two files of soldiers. -Suddenly about noon the Boulevards were filled with immense crowds of -citizens shouting for peace. A great procession was formed and marched -to the Hôtel de Ville and Place Vendôme to remonstrate with the -Communists. This movement, proving the unpopularity of the -insurrection, was visible at once on the Bourse by the rise of stocks! -The order forbidding strangers to depart was revoked, the shops were -reopened, and there was a reasonable prospect of an immediate -suppression of the revolution.” - -But the troubles were not over for the courageous travellers who had -thus gratified their curiosity to witness for themselves the scenes of a -besieged city and a Parisian Communistic revolt. On coming down to -breakfast on the Sunday morning, they were gratified to meet at the -breakfast table an old friend, in company with two others who, like -themselves, had come to Paris to see the results of the terrible war. -They were the only other guests at the hotel. On their first visit to -Versailles they had had a good view of the great fortress, Mont -Valérien, and explored with much interest the surrounding rifle-pits and -other means of defence; and it was now proposed that the whole party -should visit the fort. But Mrs. Nelson writes:--“On reconsidering our -plans, William decided that he would prefer going to Versailles; so Mr. -Buckham and I set out with him, while our friends started for Fort -Valérien. We found much to interest us, and did not return to our hotel -till the evening. But on arriving there the landlord met us in a state -of great excitement. We had, it seemed, very narrowly escaped a novel -and trying experience. Our three friends had been taken for spies, and -as soon as they reached the fort were made prisoners. After being -detained all day, they had been released, and were already on their way -to England. He also told us that he had orders from head-quarters that -we were to leave at once.” So ended this visit to Paris in the days of -the capitulation and the Commune, not without some very exciting -experiences, and more than one narrow escape from imminent danger. It -was characteristic of William Nelson’s fearless unconsciousness of -danger that he made Mrs. Nelson the sharer in an expedition, replete -indeed with attractions of a highly novel and exceptional kind, but -beset by so many dangers that nothing but her trusting confidence in his -guardianship could have induced her to risk the exposure which it -involved. As it was, it might be styled a lucky accident which alone -prevented her sharing in the uncomfortable romance of being made a state -prisoner in Fort Valérien. But such incidents have a piquancy in the -memories of later years, when the discomforts and apprehensions they -involved have passed out of memory. Nevertheless the narrow escape from -incarceration in a state prison under the later Commune was the foremost -incident in Mrs. Nelson’s thoughts whenever she recalled the experiences -of that exciting time. - -“It was a narrow escape,” she writes, “for we were the last people to -get out of Paris. The Provisional Government took the place of the -Prussian invaders; and our train was the last one allowed to leave -Paris. We were repeatedly taken for spies and stopped on the street. Had -we gone to Fort Valérien and been made prisoners, the suspicions that -had been excited would have told against us. But William never seemed to -be put out, or to be conscious of danger.” - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -_HOLIDAYS ABROAD._ - - -A journey through unfamiliar scenes had at all times a special -fascination for William Nelson; and had circumstances favoured the -devotion of his early years to exploration in strange, unknown regions, -it was a work that would have proved peculiarly congenial to his tastes. -He had some of the most needful characteristics of an observant -traveller; and his acuteness and keen desire for the thorough -investigation of whatever came under notice, would have secured results -of permanent value. But as it was, his later travels, even when out of -the beaten track of the tourist, were necessarily the mere holiday -rambles of a man escaping from the engrossing cares of business. Yet -even such rambles furnish some interesting glimpses of character. - -From among William Nelson’s varied experiences of foreign travel in -later years I select his trip to the Baltic in 1878, the incidents of -which are familiar to me as his companion on the journey. More -correctly, he accompanied me, starting at a few hours’ notice with that -indifference to elaborate preparation so characteristic of him as a -traveller. We sailed from Leith on the 4th of July by the steam-ship -_Buda_, bound for Copenhagen. The North Sea gave us a rough shake; but I -was seasoned for the voyage by fresh Atlantic experiences, and William -Nelson was a good sailor in all weathers. He was at home among the -sailors on the deck or in the forecastle, and found, as usual, some -objects of practical sympathy there. - -The first subject of curious investigation was the famed castle of -Helsingör--Hamlet’s Elsinore. But it is better seen through -Shakespeare’s eyes, and is much too modern and prosaic to awaken any -associations with Hamlet the Dane. Our traveller, who was apt to be -amusingly literal on such occasions, protested against the contemptible -escarpment which it offered in lieu of - - “The dreadful summit of the cliff - That beetles o’er his base into the sea.” - -But Copenhagen had much to interest him; and among the rest, the -recurrence of his own name, under slight modifications, suggesting the -possible descent of the Covenanting farmers of the Carse of Stirling -from some rough old Baltic viking. The Thorwaldsen Galleries were -explored with keen interest. Then, too, I was fortunate in an early -personal acquaintance with the eminent Danish archæologist, Wörsaae, -which subsequent correspondence on subjects of mutual interest had -ripened into friendship. He was then chamberlain to the king. So under -his guidance a charming day was passed in the Rosenborg Slot, where, in -addition to the choice cabinet of coins, the famous silver drinking-horn -of Oldenburg, and other ancient relics, a succession of state apartments -are arranged with historical portraits, arms, jewels, and furniture of -the royal Danish line. Illustrated as they were by the fascinating -commentary of our guide, they charmed William Nelson beyond measure. “It -was,” he said, “like walking down the centuries into the present time.” -Another day was spent, under the same instructive guidance, inspecting -the richly-stored cabinets of the Prindsens Palais, where the Runic -slabs from Greenland--memorials of the Northmen’s pre-Columbian -discovery of America--excited the liveliest interest. - -On returning to our hotel on the latter occasion, we found unusual stir -and excitement. We had not been aware that the Prince Imperial of France -was a guest at the hotel--come to Copenhagen, as was reported, to sue -for the hand of a Danish princess; and here was his Danish majesty’s -carriage awaiting the prince to take him to dine at the palace at the -fashionable hour of 5 P.M. William Nelson remarks in a letter of the -following July:--“You would see the sad fate of the Prince Imperial; -though one cannot help asking what business he had there, fighting the -poor Zulus who had done him no wrong, and bringing discredit on British -officers who were there on duty, whatever we may think of such duty. It -seems hard to blame them for bolting--every man for himself. But you -remember the little prince as we saw him at Copenhagen; he did not seem -very fit to fight Zulus or anybody else, poor fellow.” - -The Frue Kirke occupies a prominent place among the attractions of -Copenhagen, and is now associated in my mind with a characteristic -little incident. The travellers had visited the church, the decorations -of which, from the chisel of Thorwaldsen, constitute the main source of -its interest. On the morning of the Sunday following they attended the -English service; and in the afternoon his companion announced his -intention to go to the Frue Kirke, and invited William Nelson to -accompany him. But he refused, protesting that they should not -understand a word of the service, and pronouncing the procedure to be a -desecration of the day. His fellow-traveller had accordingly to go -alone. The church is in the form of a Roman basilica, built under the -direction of the great Danish sculptor, with a special view to its -marble adornments. The sole light is admitted from ground-glass panels -in the ceiling. Above the altar, in the chancel, stands the colossal -statue of Christ, with arms extended in loving regard. In front of each -pier, in the nave, is a statue of an apostle: St. Paul symbolizing the -irresistible might of the truth; St. Peter the custodian of the symbolic -keys; the doubting Thomas, with look of indecision and finger on his -lip; St. John as the impersonation of love; and the others, each more or -less skilfully suggesting some appropriate ideal. As works of art they -are open to criticism, for as an artist Thorwaldsen had far more of -classical than of Christian feeling. But the absence of all gay -colouring, usually so much favoured in church decoration, and the grand -scale of the works in pure white marble, so appropriate to a place of -Christian worship, produce as a whole an effect singularly impressive in -its mode of enlisting art as the handmaid of religion. The Lutheran -service, with its familiar hymn tunes, was simple as that of the -Presbyterian Church; and the sermon was obviously eloquent, though -delivered in the unknown Danish tongue. On the wanderer returning to the -hotel, he found his friend asleep in an easy-chair, and ventured to hint -that his time had been spent to as good purpose; but this idea was -scouted, and William Nelson stuck to it, that the sharing in the -afternoon service of the Frue Kirke was a profanation of the day. - -His interest was specially excited by the comments of Wörsaae, on the -succession of flora in Denmark, from the _Pinus sylvestris_ of the -early Stone Period to that of the _Quercus robur_ which accompanies the -prehistoric works of the Iron Age, and has been replaced within the -historic period by the beech. So a run by rail afforded him the -gratification of seeing one of the fine beech forests of Denmark. But he -was still more charmed with the habitual courtesy of the Dane. The -Thorwaldsen Museum has refined the Copenhageners, even to the proverbial -street boy. He who was at all times noticeable for that spontaneous -courtesy which knew no distinction between rich and poor, was amused to -learn that the travellers were guilty of an unconscious boorishness in -keeping their hats on when entering a shop, or even a railway -waiting-room. At their first Swedish railway station--a half-finished -structure with unglazed windows--a Danish friend drew their attention to -this notice: “Behall gerna hufvudbonaden pa!” which politely invited -them to keep their hats on under such exceptional circumstances. The -impression which this produced was recalled by an incident of a -different kind, on their proceeding from Stockholm to Christiania. Their -interview with custom-house officers on the frontier reminded them that -Sweden and Norway are still distinct kingdoms. The simple kindly manners -of the Norwegian people charmed them no less than those of the Danes. -Introductions gave them access to scenes of quiet domestic life, where -they learned to shake hands with the host and hostess after dinner, -with the salutation: “Tak for maten”--thanks for the repast. A journey -northward among the mountains and fiords afforded some amusing -experiences of the kindly hospitalities of the peasant proprietors. The -sheaf of oats, a Christmas gift for the birds, which surmounts the gable -of every Norwegian farm-house, greatly charmed William Nelson as a thing -so consonant to his love for the lower animals. The wild birds struck -them as very familiar, never being molested, as they were told, even by -the boys. On their return to the Norwegian capital, they had occasion in -one of their rambles to appeal to a stranger for direction. Their few -words of Norwegian, and his more ample English, proving inadequate for -the occasion, he politely undertook to be their guide; and after a walk -of nearly half a mile, he turned to William Nelson to inquire the name -of the person we were in search of, and lifting his hat he said: “Please -you wait till I ask where he is to find.” - -With such experiences of Danish and Norwegian courtesy, they had not -long returned to Christiania when they learned of the expected arrival -of his majesty King Oscar, to open the Storthing, or Norwegian -parliament. Mingling with the crowd that awaited his arrival, they were -surprised at the reception tendered to their sovereign and the crown -prince by those same courteous Norwegians. It was his majesty’s first -appearance since he vetoed a popular measure excluding the ministers of -the crown from a seat in the Storthing. There was nothing menacing or -rude in his reception, but the only hat taken off on the occasion was -that of the king himself. - -In 1882 William Nelson visited Portugal and Spain for the second time, -accompanied on this occasion by Mrs. Nelson and his two younger -daughters. At Cadiz, Seville, Toledo, Cordova, and other cities at which -the travellers tarried, he derived intense gratification from the -magnificent mediæval remains, the splendid cathedrals with their -elaborately sculptured details, but above all, from the novel beauty of -Arabian art. Already, at Damascus, Grand Cairo, and other Eastern -cities, he had been greatly impressed with the taste and the fine -elaboration of detail in the works of the Arabian architects. His rooms -at Salisbury Green were enriched with tiles from the Alhambra, and with -pottery and beautiful models of other works of the Spanish Moors. - -The notes of Dr. Porter of Belfast have already furnished interesting -reminiscences of the interchange of experiences and observations between -William Nelson and himself as travellers in the East; and they are no -less available for information illustrating the impressions left on the -mind of the former by his Spanish tour. Dr. Porter thus writes:--“Mr. -Nelson spoke to me often, and with singular enthusiasm, of his travels -in Spain, and of all the wonders of art and architecture he saw there. -On one occasion, I remember well, after showing me some of the exquisite -models brought from the Alhambra, and also drawings of the Great -Mosque-Cathedral of Cordova, and of the Alkazar in Seville, he said: -‘All these are relics of the Moors, or imitations of their work. Where -did they get that marvellous style of architectural decoration? It is -unique. There is nothing like it, except in those countries where the -Moors were settled. The Greeks excelled it in pure taste and grandeur of -idea; the Egyptians in magnitude, as at Thebes and Ghizeh; the Assyrians -in vastness and perhaps splendour; but in beauty of ornament, in -delicacy of finish, in gorgeousness of interior decoration, the Moors -stand unrivalled. I often wonder how, where, and at what exact period -this Moorish style of architecture was conceived; in what way all its -details were elaborated. One sees it in the Great Mosque at Jerusalem, -in the old Arab tombs and the private houses of Damascus, in the mosques -of Cairo and Algiers, and above all in the glorious Alhambra. The Greeks -had their schools of architecture and art: where were the Arabs or Moors -taught? Their peculiar style, so far as I know,’ he added, ‘rose -rapidly, almost at a bound. We can scarcely discover any trace of -progress from rude beginnings, as in the Greek architecture. This has -ever been to me a most interesting and mysterious subject.’” Mr. Nelson -evidently thought and read not a little upon Moorish architecture, but, -like many another student, without arriving at any satisfactory result. -“How the wild tribes who came up from the desert of Arabia, and occupied -in succession the great cities of Syria, Egypt, northern Africa, and -lastly of Spain, attained to so much taste and splendour in architecture -seems a mystery.” Then he remarked: “When Arab rule ceased, architecture -declined in all those places, and has never been revived.” He remarked -more than once: “Were not the Arabs, especially those in the great -cities of the East, a literary people? Had they not a multitude of books -on the various departments of science and philosophy? Was not their -language capable of expressing the most profound thoughts? Did it not -give evidence of high cultivation?” The impress of their intellectual -influence, still manifest throughout Christian Spain, attracted his -notice on all hands, and especially in its ecclesiastical architecture. -The Moorish artists, he observed, had furnished the models on which, -after the conquest of Granada, the architects of Christian Spain -wrought. When conversing about the celebrated Cathedral of Cordova, he -said: “That appears to me to be one of the most remarkable buildings in -Spain, or perhaps in the world. It seems to be of purely Arab -architecture: in all respects like a mosque, and adapted originally for -the Moslem worship. Its internal decoration too is Arab, with the -flaring stripes on the walls of red and white paint, and the imitation -of red and white stones in the circular arches;” and he observed that he -had seen rude painting exactly resembling it in several of the private -houses and on the outside of the mosques in Damascus and Cairo. Nothing -different from ordinary usage, either in building or internal -decoration, escaped his keen observation; but his ignorance of the -language precluded him from that familiar intercourse with the people -which, when opportunity offered, he ordinarily turned to such good -account. - -He was not unfamiliar with the beautifully illuminated mediæval Arabic -manuscripts. On one occasion, when looking over Silvestre’s “Universal -Paleography” with myself, he remarked on the rare beauty of the Arabian -illuminations, recalling his observation of them in an example shown to -him in one of the mosques at Cairo; and he noted that even now -illuminated manuscripts may be seen exposed for sale in the bazaars of -Damascus and Grand Cairo. Dr. Porter referred to the great interest that -he manifested in the work of the modern printing-press in the latter -city, and the eagerness with which he inquired about the character of -the books issued from the press set up there by the native Arabs. Dr. -Porter told him “that there were many on medical subjects, many on -interpretations of the Koran, on Mohammedan religion and morals, and one -work especially which greatly pleased the common people.”--“What one is -that?” he asked.--“The ‘Thousand and One Nights,’” was the reply. “You -can hear them in every _café_ throughout the East. Men act them -professionally, read and recite them; and those who frequent the _cafés_ -always give them small presents in money.” - -The lack of a colloquial knowledge of the native language was a source -of inevitable difficulty and trouble to the Spanish tourists; but in -spite of this Mr. Nelson’s observant habits were directed to some of the -local peculiarities of the native dialects, and Dr. Porter notes:--“He -appeared to take a great interest in the language of that part of Spain -which is to a large extent peopled by the descendants of the Moors. I -told him of many of the local names which are derived from the Arabic, -and gave him examples of the singular changes which have been made in -them to give them a Spanish form and sound. ‘That accounts,’ he said, -‘for the peculiar pronunciation of some of those names by the people in -the south of Spain, so very different from what would appear from the -spelling, and from what we in this country have been accustomed to -hear.’ He had noticed all this in his travels, and, as was his uniform -habit, tried to get at the root of everything.” - -But modern Spain had also its historical associations for the English -traveller. In our own youthful days the war of the Peninsula and the -crowning victory of Waterloo were the prominent themes in popular -thought; and so William Nelson naturally turned from the exquisite -remains of Arabian art to muse on the battlefields of Talavera and -Albuera. After surveying the fortifications of Badajoz, he writes to his -friend Captain Chester: “I could not help asking myself, What good came -of all the blood shed on those two terrible battlefields, and of all who -perished in the frightful siege and assault of Badajoz? Why should -British blood have flowed like water for such a country and such a -people as the Spaniards?” He visited Gibraltar, and passed on to -Tangier; and as he notes the width of the strait and the features of the -great fortress, he considers its retention by England as no longer -desirable. He thus writes to his friend Captain Chester: “I took care by -the way to take a good look at that so-called _precious jewel_ of the -British crown, Gibraltar, wondering to myself what can be the use to us -of this gigantic fox-trap. The popular idea is that it commands the -straits; but these are about twenty-two miles in width, there is deep -water to the opposite coast, and the gun has still to be invented that -can carry to such a distance. They are just now engaged in mounting a -one hundred ton gun in a little fort that has been expressly built for -it; but where will ever be the enemy that will allow its ships or -ironclads to be brought within range of such a monster? There are to be -four guns of this calibre erected on the fox-trap.” He next discusses -its value as a coaling-station, and thus proceeds: “We have no fewer -than seven thousand troops of one kind and another immured within the -walls; and there is nothing for the common soldiers in the way of -amusement. Time hangs heavy on their hands, and they hate ‘Gip’ with a -perfect hatred.... I am unpatriotic enough to say that the fortress -ought to be given up, as it has never been, and never can be, I am -convinced, of any use to us. It cannot be said that it does more than -merely command the ground on which it stands and points that can be -reached by its guns.” - -This was not William Nelson’s first visit to Spain; he had travelled -through it before alone, and remembered nothing but the pleasures of the -journey. But his experiences were different now, and he thus wrote to a -friend soon after his return: “I have come back from my trip a wiser if -not a better man; and the wisdom I have learned is that no one with a -party of ladies should attempt travelling in Spain without a courier. -We did not indulge in this luxury, and as none of us could speak -Spanish, and as it is a rare thing for a Spaniard to learn any language -but his own, the troubles that we fell into on this account were not -infrequent. Again: Spaniards as a rule have no conscience, and when they -have to do with parties travelling as we were, they fleece them most -unmercifully; and we were not spared by them, I assure you. I need not -say that the old Moorish cities of Spain are very charming, and that the -people of Spain are very interesting on account of their picturesque -costumes, and their being, as it were, an intermediate race between the -people of the Orient and the Occident (to use two words that are rather -grand).” It was characteristic of William Nelson’s transparent -guilelessness that it never occurred to him to make any secret of his -own blunders, or to conceal the mishaps which they involved. He gave a -most humorous account of the travellers’ perplexities--the luggage -persistently going one way and its owners another, till the ladies’ -troubles culminated at Madrid, where the attractions of a court -reception and introduction to the state mysteries of the Palacio Real -were balked by the lack of all but their travelling costume. - -A later tour, in 1886, took the traveller once more to Norway, on his -way to St. Petersburg and Moscow, in company with Mrs. Nelson, Florence, -and their expected son-in-law, Mr. S. F. MacLeod. On that occasion the -ancient capital of Norway, beautifully situated on a bay in the -Trondhjem Fiord, afforded him a special object of interest in its -curious old cathedral, the most remarkable ecclesiastical edifice in -Norway. It dates from 1033, and still retains singularly interesting -remains of the Romanesque work of the Northmen of the eleventh century. -But it is overlaid with many unsightly additions of a later date, well -calculated to excite the critical comments of one whose indefatigable -labours were so successfully directed to the removal of such incongruous -defacements from the ancient buildings in his own native city. Numerous -letters are available for the details of this later tour; but there is -not room in a brief memoir such as is now aimed at for more than a few -characteristic gleanings from the traveller’s tale. Some of his notes on -the architecture of St. Petersburg will come under notice in a later -chapter; but one literary comment must not be omitted here. Writing to -his friend, Captain MacEnery, he says: “The censorship of the press in -St. Petersburg is something terrible. All newspapers and periodicals in -all languages are subjected to its tender mercies. As an instance of -this, a copy of the _Scotsman_ posted to St. Petersburg came to us with -about three-fourths of a column blotted out, on account of some -statements that displeased the great authority as to what should or -should not be read by the subjects of the emperor. A copy of _Punch_ -also reached us with a paragraph blotted out. It would make a grand -subject for a cartoon: the emperor of all the Russias surrounded by -countless thousands of armed men, and yet afraid of poor _Punch_!” - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -_PARKSIDE._ - - -On the evening of Tuesday, the 10th of April 1878, as at the close of -many a previous day, the hundreds of industrious workers in the Hope -Park establishment welcomed the return of the hour of rest. The whirr of -the busy machinery was stilled, and the buildings were left untenanted -till the toilers with brain and hand should resume the work of a new -day. The site to which the works had been transferred from the Castle -Hill thirty-five years before was now crowded to its utmost limits with -the warehouses, engine and work rooms of the prosperous firm. Everything -seemed to give assurance of continuous success. Yet the workers were -then leaving for the last time. Within a few hours the building was a -pile of smoking ruins. The circumstances of this calamitous event were -thus concisely narrated by William Nelson in response to a letter of -sympathy: “In reference to the destruction of our printing and -publishing works at Hope Park, never did fire do its work more speedily -or more thoroughly. It broke out about three o’clock on the morning of -Wednesday, the 10th inst., and in little more than an hour the whole -building was in flames. I was aroused about a quarter past four, and I -hurried as fast as I could to the scene; but I found when I arrived that -the roof all round had fallen in, and that flames were bursting forth -from all the windows in the very front of the building. The fire broke -out somewhere in the back part of it; there was a strong east wind -blowing at the time, and this fanned the flames and made them rush along -the various flats as they successively caught fire with extraordinary -rapidity. Not a book or sheet of printed paper was saved!” - -The calamity seemed to be overwhelming. The splendid results of -intelligent industry and rare aptitude for business had vanished, like -the gourd of Jonah, in a night. The insurance on the buildings was -trifling compared with the amount of property destroyed. But his -brother’s comment on being shown the above letter reveals a -characteristic trait of William’s sympathetic and unselfish nature. -“Willie’s letter about the fire recalls very distinctly that terrible -morning. Poor fellow! it was most touching to see him come up to me -before all the people and hold out his hand and say, ‘O Tom, I am so -sorry for you.’ He did not speak or seem to think of himself at all.” - -An onlooker has preserved this little, appreciative incident: “A few of -the girls who worked in the establishment were noticed standing together -and weeping bitterly, when one of them, looking up, was overheard to -say, as she saw Mr. William Nelson surveying the conflagration, ‘Eh, -there’s our dear maister. I’m thinking he’ll be thinking mair o’ us the -day than o’ himsel’.’” The remark was abundantly justified; for a friend -who was near him noted that his first thoughts were of sympathy for the -work-people who would be thrown out of employment; and the feeling found -practical form in his exertions on their behalf. This was characteristic -of the spirit that animated him in all his relations with his -work-people, and which helped to make of him an example of the very -highest type of the true captains of industry. “The liberal deviseth -liberal things, and by liberal things shall he stand.” - -The Rev. Dr. Alison, the clergyman of Newington parish, in which the -Hope Park works were situated, remarked, when paying a just tribute to -his memory: “I have often had occasion to remark, in visiting employés -of the firm pastorally, as well as in my intercourse with heads of -departments, how beautifully the idea of the Christian employer seemed -to have been realized in him. The affectionate terms in which he was -always spoken of were obviously the natural return for the fairness, -consideration, and generosity for which he had become known. Being more -than a payer of wages, he got more than hirelings’ service. He was a -member of another outward communion; but there is a unity of spiritual -life that ignores outward separations. There is a Church which includes -the faithful of all churches.” To one so unselfish, it was almost -inevitable that he should realize keenly the sufferings which his own -great loss must inflict on others; and this very sympathy was his own -best protection against the blow. Nevertheless, the equanimity displayed -under such trying circumstances was peculiarly notable in one whose -emotional sensibilities were intense. The same calm composure was -characteristic of him under any imposition or personal wrong, if -practised on him by a stranger. It was indeed a common saying that -nothing could anger him. One who knew him well writes: “He had a rare -power of keeping his temper. I never saw him angry. I never heard him -utter a harsh word, except to reprobate some mean or unworthy action. -The only hard words I can recall were in denouncing the conduct of one -whom he had regarded as a friend, and who had grossly abused his -misplaced confidence.” But his equanimity gave way when during the -conflagration, in which it seemed as if the work of a life-time was -being destroyed, some one asked him if he did not suspect it to be the -work of an incendiary. The passionate emotion with which he resented the -suggestion showed how keenly he was moved by the possibility that any -one could be found capable of entertaining the thought of such a -dastardly purpose. - -The loss which the fire involved amounted to little short of £100,000; -but Mr. Nelson, in describing the event in a letter to a friend, added: -“I am happy, however, to state that our stereotype plates and our -wood-cuts and electrotypes are all to the fore, they having been in two -strong stone-built safes alongside a part of the back wall of the -building, and though covered with masses of burning timber, etc., they -escaped quite uninjured. With all this valuable property intact, and it -forming the back-bone of our business, we will ere long be able to rear -our heads again as publishers; there being no difficulty in getting all -the printing and bookbinding done that we will require in various -offices in town here and in London. In the meantime the _débris_ of the -old building is being cleared away rapidly, and a new Hope Park will -by-and-by appear on the site of the old one.” - -The new Hope Park did not, however, rise from the ashes of the old. The -energy of its originators was indeed unabated. While William Nelson was -contemplating, amid its smoking ruins, the suffering to be entailed on -their hundreds of work-people, his brother was telegraphing to London, -Paris, and other centres of industry, ordering fresh printing-presses -and all other newest machinery to replace what had perished. By the -favour of the city authorities temporary buildings were erected on the -neighbouring Meadows. As the new machinery arrived it was set up under -what was designed for mere temporary shelter at Parkside, on the -outskirts of St. Leonard’s Hill. But speedily the superior advantages of -the new site, and the arrangement of the works over an extended area, -instead of occupying successive floors of a quadrangle, became so -manifest that the Parkside Works were completed, with an effective -architectural façade in the favourite Scottish style of the sixteenth -century. Hope Park was accordingly finally abandoned; but a graceful -memorial of the old works remains. When bidding good-bye to the site, -two beautiful pillars--the one surmounted by the lion and the other by -the unicorn--were erected at the cost of the two brothers, at the -eastern entrance to the Meadows, as their acknowledgment to the city of -the timely favour extended to them in their hour of need. - -It was while the prosperous career of the great publishing firm was -arrested by this disastrous event that a more dire calamity extended its -effects far and wide. A leading Edinburgh publisher, writing to me -shortly after the death of William Nelson, remarked: “I need not say to -you what a true, large-hearted man he was. Do you remember when their -printing-house was totally destroyed, and one would have thought his own -immense losses would have frozen his sympathy for other sufferers? Yet -he was one of the earliest subscribers of £1,000 to the victims of the -Glasgow Bank; and so far did his kindly nature long to help them, he -even refused at first to discountenance the project of a state lottery -on their behalf!” Their sufferings had been brought home to him in the -most moving form. A letter found among his papers after his death, -endorsed in touching simplicity, “Poor fellow!” is the plea of an old -schoolmate for failing to appear at a High School anniversary dinner. “I -have to ask you to accept my apology,” he writes, “which you will -readily do when I mention that I am one of the unfortunate victims of -the City of Glasgow Bank; and _to-day_ I have received the liquidator’s -final call for payment on the 22nd inst., which, I fear, will be total -ruin to me.” - -William Nelson’s local associations were strong; they attached him with -passionate love to his native city. Its very stones were dear to him. -Every nook and corner of it associated with his own early years, with -school and schoolmates, or with the later incidents of his business -career, retained a hold on his sympathies. “I send you a photograph of -Edinburgh from the Castle,” he writes to an old friend beyond the -Atlantic, “that it may keep you in mind of the dear old city.” Hence the -abrupt close of the Hope Park epoch, and the transfer to the new -quarters at Parkside, awoke feelings wholly apart from those which the -pecuniary loss involved. The sense of strangeness in the new locality is -noticeable in more than one of his private memoranda, as in the -following record of time and place: “This is the first memorandum I have -written in the new room in Parkside. I came to it at a quarter to eleven -o’clock on Friday, July 16, 1880. Dr. and Mrs. Wilson are at present -staying with us.” Curiously, it is not till upwards of two years later -that the memorandum occurs of the kindling of the Parkside hearth, thus: -“Fire lighted in grate in my room here for the first time, November 13, -1882.” - -There Mr. Nelson had to be visited to see how promptly and skilfully he -administered the affairs of the great printing and publishing business -which he had developed into such proportions; and, happily, notes -furnished by an authoress, who did considerable literary work for the -firm in those later years, enable us to catch a glimpse of him in -business hours. “My first visit to his office,” she writes, “was, I -think, in the spring of 1883. Several persons were in attendance, -waiting for orders or interviews. Owing to this circumstance, and my -having formed the impression that Mr. Nelson was a very formidable sort -of a man to approach, I made my proposals in an abrupt and hurried -manner. I was by no means surprised at a hasty, ‘No, no; quite -unnecessary at present,’ and made my retreat at once. But as I was -passing out, he turned from another to whom he had given some -instructions in an equally concise fashion, and rising suddenly from his -chair with some apologetic words, he inquired what I had published, and -then said, ‘I have been wishing to see you.’ After this we had a long, -pleasant chat, and he at once explained to me certain literary work that -he wished me to undertake. This was my introduction to him. I went to -him a stranger, but though my acquaintance with him was only of some -four years’ duration, and was mostly a business acquaintance, I soon -learned to regard him as a friend. The kindness and encouragement he -gave helped me greatly, because it was not the mere kindness of a ‘big’ -publisher to a ‘little’ author. He was always business-like in insisting -that the work done should be just as he liked it. There could be no -‘scamping’ work under his keen eyes. But he took infinite trouble in -procuring books of reference and helping my work, and was most generous -in all his dealings. On one occasion, after having undertaken some work, -and having given him much trouble regarding books of reference, I found -the task beyond me, and had to tell him so. I expected a scolding, and -instead received a cheque ‘in payment for what you have done of the -book.’ What I had done was merely to indicate the lines upon which the -book might run. A fortnight before his death he sent me a copy of the -book I ‘was to have written,’ with a very kind note, which I value much. -The publisher’s office is a terrible place to a not-confident -lady-writer. Sometimes I have had to wait while Mr. Nelson was -‘interviewing,’ directing, correcting, and so forth; and my courage has -not been strengthened by the spectacle of faulty work being overhauled -in a most careful manner, and ruthlessly condemned or sharply -criticised. Yet I have always gone out of that office with a light -heart. Some kindly word about my children or my old home, some chat -about the foreign lands he had visited, the gift of a book, a fatherly -caution ‘not to work too much’--these made me feel that Mr. Nelson took -his large heart into the publisher’s office. Would that all publishers -did like him.” - -But the critical sharpness, and the abrupt manner of the man of -business, preoccupied with the responsibilities of so large an -establishment with endless claims on its directing head, all disappeared -so soon as he had satisfied himself that his instructions were being -rightly carried out. The new Parkside Works were within easy distance -of Salisbury Green; and the claimants on his ever-ready charity speedily -learned to know the time when he could be waylaid in his walk to or from -the counting-room, and beguiled with a piteous tale. Mr. Gray, for many -years the faithful head of the financial department, thus writes: “To -old servants in the works he opened his purse freely. Women who had been -employed in early days at the Castle Hill were held by him in special -favour, and I have often seen him give them a pound note, sometimes when -it was doubtful if they would make the best use of it. The plea that -they had worked at one time at Hope Park was a frequent claim of -beggars; and many is the silver piece that has been given away to such -folks. One adept at begging came to him, her tatters soaked and leaky -slippers dripping with rain. She told a piteous tale, and pleaded she -was the widow of a machineman in the firm’s employment thirty years -before. The plea was irresistible; but the voluble manner in which the -woman overacted her part aroused his suspicions after he had responded -to her appeal. ‘What sort of a man was your husband?’ asked he. ‘Oh, a -good, a very good man!’ ‘Ay; was he tall or short?--as tall as that -man?’ pointing to a man about six feet high who had just entered. ‘Yes!’ -responded the woman, ‘he was a braw, tall man.’ ‘Give me back the -money!’ he exclaimed with unwonted severity of tone, as he recalled the -fact that the old machinist was much below the ordinary stature; and the -impostor was ordered to the door.” - -His unstinted liberality in all philanthropic and missionary work was -wholly unaffected by denominational or party limits; and hence he was -liable to be preyed upon by genteel foreigners claiming to be in -temporary pecuniary distress, and still more by clerical impostors. When -he had reason to think he was imposed upon, he would search into the -matter with the utmost keenness; though rather, as it seemed, with a -desire to satisfy himself of the truth, than with any purpose of -stinting his liberality in the future. - -One morning, as the family sat at breakfast, a servant came into the -room, and alarmed Mrs. Nelson by whispering to her that there were two -detectives at the door who wished to see her. Her manner must have -betrayed her apprehensions, for one of them laughed and said, “Don’t be -frightened, Mrs. Nelson; we have only come to ask you to use your -influence with your husband, and try to get Mr. Nelson to give up giving -money to respectable-looking beggars. There is a register kept by a man -in the High Street of all the ‘giving people’ in Edinburgh. That is the -first resort of this class of beggars. By paying half-a-crown, they are -allowed to take a note of the names and addresses, and Mr. Nelson’s -stands at the head of the list!” He undertook to look more sharply -after the smooth-tongued gentry in black, though, it is to be feared, -with only partial success. He manifested a sensitive repugnance to -wealthy people whose riches were of no use to any one but themselves; -but he protested, to the amusement of his friends, that he strongly -disapproved of promiscuous charity. He had his own rules of action. A -maimed or deformed person, the blind, the deaf-mute, or any one -incapacitated in the struggle for life, he conceived could never be -wrongly helped. A poor widow, an old employé, or the widow or orphan of -any of his old work-people, had an irresistible claim on his liberality; -and other pleas were readily forthcoming to justify the deed of charity -to his conscience. But he took pains to search out genuine objects of -commiseration; and many of his charities were unknown even to members of -his own family. One Saturday afternoon, when walking home with Mrs. -Nelson, he asked her to wait while he went in to a humble dwelling. When -interrogated as to the object of his visit, it was ascertained that he -had been giving a poor widow money to pay her rent; and on further -inquiry it turned out that he had been paying it regularly for years. -Nor was this a solitary case, as became known when death closed the -liberal hand that had so often made the widow’s heart leap for joy. -Charity was in him a spontaneous impulse of kindly sympathy which, -while exercised not only unobtrusively but with a sensitive shrinking -from recognition, was carried out on too great a scale to escape -observation. The difficulty of his biographer is to select from the -varied instances at his disposal. “I saw him once,” writes a lady, “as -he was walking along Clerk Street, pause at a confectioner’s window, -where a poor little ragged urchin was standing gazing wistfully at the -cakes inside. One kindly hand was laid on the boy’s shoulder; the other -took a silver piece from his pocket. A few words were spoken, and Mr. -Nelson passed on, while the boy darted into the shop; and I had the -pleasure of seeing him come out a moment later already devouring one of -the cookies of which he had become the delighted possessor.” He was -never known to refer to such acts. They were, indeed, of too frequent -occurrence to seem to him worthy of note. The poor and needy had learned -to regard him as their unfailing resort; and if his charity was abused, -he would say in reply to prudent remonstrants that it was better a few -impostors should succeed, than one genuine claim be rejected. - -The traders on his benevolence were wont, as already noted, to watch for -him on his way to Parkside; and Mr. Gray notes of such claimants: “Mr. -Nelson would sometimes say to me, ‘The printing trade must be in a -dreadful state,’ for in his walk thither he had been met by -half-a-dozen printers pleading for help. He inquired at times into the -state of the trade, with the view, I suppose, to guide him in his -charities; for it offended his guileless trustfulness in others to find -he had been imposed upon, though it never led to any stint in his -liberality.” Another who had been many years in his service writes: “He -had an almost child-like confidence in some folks; but if his suspicions -were once aroused as to anything wrong, he ferreted out the matter to -the bottom, and in case of any betrayal of trust, he would speak of it -with a keen sense of wrong. But if you responded with any denunciation -of the offender, his manner changed, and he generally found some apology -or some reason for pitying the delinquent. Nor did the fact that a -claimant had wronged him affect his consideration of the case if it -proved to be a necessitous one, especially if he had a wife and -children.” When an action was raised by the contracting engineer who -undertook the repairs of the machinery, against the widow of his -predecessor, to enforce the completion of some work for which her late -husband had been responsible, William Nelson opposed it, declaring that -no good ever came of prosecuting a widow, and he ultimately repaid £130 -of law expenses incurred in the suit. - -Under the system which such a spirit naturally developed, the relation -between master and servants assumed a very different aspect from that -of the mere hireling. The workers in his employment cordially -sympathized in his success, and took a pride in contributing to the -prosperity of the firm. A gentleman, whose intimate relations with it -for many years made him familiar with its internal economy, thus writes: -“The claims of his own work-people at Hope Park or Parkside were never -disregarded. He had, as the firm still has, a host of pensioners: aged -employés, and the widows and children of former workmen, who were mainly -dependent on his charity for their daily bread. Groups of them, or of -their representatives, still assemble in the entrance hall at Parkside -on the pay-day, by whom his name is revered. They tell their own tale of -satisfaction and gratitude.” The charity which thus began at home did -not end there. The difficulty, indeed, is to select from the examples -communicated to me. One characteristic instance I owe to a -fellow-traveller, who found himself in company with William Nelson in an -Italian town during a festive season. It was a scene of holiday -rejoicings; but it did not escape Mr. Nelson’s notice that while the -mass of the people were enjoying themselves, there were a number of -uncared-for poor whose misery was made the more apparent by the festive -scenes that surrounded them. This so impressed him that he forthwith -made arrangements with a hosteller for the entertainment of the ragged -lazaroni. Another gentleman who passed some weeks with him at one of the -German spas tells this story:--“At the little English church there was a -clergyman stationed, entirely dependent on the freewill offerings of the -ever-changing congregation. There were no resident members to act as -churchwardens or vestrymen; so, after the service, the poor clergyman -himself went round and collected the offertory. This was too much for -Mr. Nelson. He volunteered his services, which were accepted. To the -clergyman’s agreeable surprise, the collection increased amazingly; and -he only learned where the increase came from by a return to the old -scale after Mr. Nelson’s departure.” - -It was a curious study to note the guilelessness and child-like -simplicity which William Nelson retained unchanged to the close of his -life, along with rare shrewdness and sagacity as a man of business. -Whenever any transaction assumed a business aspect, however trifling -might be the amount involved, he was prompt, clear-sighted, and acute, -detecting and with quiet firmness resisting any attempt at overreaching -or fraud. On one occasion, when I was his fellow-traveller, a knavish -newsboy to whom he had intrusted a sixpence decamped without returning -the change. This breach of faith provoked a display of indignation so -entirely disproportionate to the value of the loss, as obviously -suggested to our wondering fellow-travellers in the railway carriage -that they witnessed another Shylock bemoaning his lost ducats. They -little knew that the rogue, by the invention of a pitiful tale, might -have transmuted the stolen coppers into gold. This transparent -naturalness of character revealed itself equally in his intercourse with -high and low. Alike at home and abroad he was often brought into -familiar relations with men of rank and distinction, and his engaging -manners and wide culture made him a welcome addition to any company. But -there was no change in his manner towards the nobleman or the skilled -artisan. An old friend notes of him what many will recall:--“Reverence -was part of his nature. However intimate he might be with a friend, he -scarcely ever addressed him, personally or by letter, except by full -name as Mr. or Dr.; and it was the same with his own employés. The Dick -or Tom of his fellows in the workroom was Richard or Thomas, if not -Mr. ----, when spoken to by him.” His circle of friends included men of -the most dissimilar social positions; and his intercourse with some of -his old workmen whose integrity and worth had been proved by long -experience was of the most intimate and confidential nature. No wonder -that he was faithfully served. He practically demonstrated his belief -that,-- - - “The rank is but the guinea’s stamp; - The man’s the gowd for a’ that.” - -He entertained at his table the publishers, booksellers, and others with -whom he had business relations. Mr. David Douglas thus notes his -recollections of him and of his kindly hospitalities: “He was the one to -whom any of us would have gone in difficulties or doubtful trade -questions, feeling sure that he would not only give sound advice but -kindly sympathy. Many such cases occur to me. He used to gather round -his table annually the various members of the printing and publishing -trades; and I used to admire his true hospitality in making every one, -from the youngest guest to the oldest, as much at home as possible, -gently drawing out their best stories, and exchanging with genial humour -some pleasant talk with all.” In his Saturday visits to the Castle of -Edinburgh in connection with his restorations, referred to in a -subsequent chapter, the most eminent archæologists, artists, and -literary men, along with his choice personal friends, responded to his -welcome invitations. At times the company included such distinguished -additions as Lord Rosebery or Lord Napier and Ettrick, who took a -special interest in the work. But it would never occur to him that any -spirit of social caste could influence such a gathering, and his own -list of friends always included some of his trusted workmen from -Parkside. - -A lady whose services as an authoress brought her into frequent contact -with Mr. Nelson, after noting his liberality in all business -transactions with herself, adds a little incident of her personal -experience. His love of dogs has already been noted; but it might have -been assumed that however welcome their companionship might be at -Salisbury Green, the intrusion of stranger dogs into his room at -Parkside in business hours could hardly fail to be resented. Her own -experience, however, is thus narrated: “I had taken my dog with me one -morning; a large brown spaniel, Rover by name. He is not a general -favourite among my friends, being rather boisterous in his greetings, to -say nothing of his muddy paws in wet weather. His place therefore was -generally without, and his intrusion into Mr. Nelson’s room was -undesigned on my part. Contrary, however, to his usual experience, Rover -obtained a most cordial reception. A messenger was sent out for biscuits -for him; and I rarely afterwards received a note from Mr. Nelson asking -me to call which did not end with the invitation, ‘Please bring doggie -when you come.’ It was no wonder therefore that Rover soon learned to -feel himself at home there, and never willingly passed the door when we -walked in the direction of Parkside.” After noting acts of kindness and -liberality to herself, she thus proceeds: “My intercourse with Mr. -Nelson was only that of a business acquaintance, yet I can truly say, -when I saw him carried to his grave that September day, I felt that I -had lost a friend. And this, I am sure, was no rare feeling among those -thus brought into business relations with him. One trait often struck -me--the kindly manner in which he always spoke of his large staff, as -one name or another might come up in conversation. ‘The right man in the -right place,’ he would say, or some other hearty term of appreciation; -and it was evidently no taskmaster who was over them, but rather a sort -of patriarch dwelling among his own people, sure of their loyalty and -affection.” - -Testimonies of a like kind have reached me from very diverse sources, -all pointing to kindly relationships between this true captain of -industry and his employés, such as seem, without exaggeration, to have -realized in these days of mere trading rivalry something akin to the -fealty of knightly service in the olden time. The golden rule of ever -doing the right was carried out with unconscious simplicity. Mr. Gray, -who, as cashier at Hope Park and Parkside, was familiar during many -years with all the financial details of the business, thus sums up his -testimony to the habitual business life of his old master and friend: -“He was eager to avoid anything that could possibly bear the aspect of -sharp practice, or allow the faintest breath of suspicion of unfairness -or shabby dealing; and his generous, large soul won for the place a -reputation of uprightness and honour.” - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -_CIVIC INTERESTS._ - - -As a citizen William Nelson was ever ready to forward whatever appeared -calculated to promote the public welfare; and his faith in the Divine -maxim that righteousness exalts the nation knew no limits in its -practical application. He judged his fellow-men, moreover, by his own -high standard of rectitude; and, with his faith in humanity, he was -prepared to favour the largest popular concessions. In politics -accordingly he heartily sympathized with the Liberal party, and frankly -gave expression to his opinions on all the great questions of the day. -His numerous letters to his friends abound in discussions showing the -keenest interest in all the events and movements that engaged public -attention: the scientific discussions and religious controversies; the -triumphs of engineering skill; the fascinating novelties of geographical -exploration; or again, the Crimean War, the Indian Mutiny, the great -American Civil War, the Franco-German War, the Eastern question in all -its phases, and the no less momentous issues of party strife at home. -In a letter, for example, of May 13th, 1886, addressed to his -fellow-traveller, Major MacEnery, in which he gives him the latest -information about their poor old dragoman, Abdallah, he thus writes: “I -earnestly hope that there will soon be an end of the turmoil that there -is at present in regard to Old Ireland, by letting her people have Home -Rule to the fullest extent. There can be no harm in this; and we who are -north of the Tweed will be a great deal the better too of having the -management of our own affairs a great deal more in our own hands, as it -is absurd that we should have to apply to Parliament for its sanction -for many things that it knows little or nothing about; and a deal of -money would be saved were applications to Parliament for them not to be -necessary. The bill for the sewage of a district, for instance, in the -south part of our city had to be got through Parliament lately; and what -can that august body know about this odoriferous subject? We are much -more familiar with it ourselves.” His appeal in such questions was apt -to be to common sense; and when practical aid was needed, his purse was -ever available. His sympathy with the working-classes found its most -fitting expression in his dealings with those in his own employment. -When the works at Hope Park were in flames, more than one onlooker -reported overhearing the remark by some of his work-people, that they -were sure he would feel it as much for their sakes as his own. A lady -visiting a poor woman in the neighbourhood of the Hope Park works, whose -husband was ill, was told by her: “He works for Mr. Nelson; and they -dinna let their men suffer when they canna work.” Another told her that -the aged and the crippled or maimed were found employment at the -Parkside Works, “for Mr. Nelson can aye find a job to suit a’ sorts.” -The evils of improvidence and the misery resulting from the drinking -habits that prevailed among the lower classes were constant subjects of -thought. He systematically exerted himself to devise innocent pastimes, -and to stimulate the working-classes to more refined tastes and -intellectual sources of enjoyment. His New-Year’s letters to friends -always included some reference to the midnight gathering around the Tron -Church in the High Street of Edinburgh for the “first-footing,” with its -customary excesses, at the inauguration of the New Year; and every -symptom of improvement was hailed with delight. The movement accordingly -for displacing the taverns by “workmen’s homes” and coffee shops met -with his heartiest encouragement. A Glasgow paper-maker mentioned to a -friend that he had not seen Mr. Nelson for many years, when on the -occasion of a visit to Edinburgh he went into one of the places then -being established under the name of “British Workmen’s Houses” for the -supply of non-intoxicating refreshments. To his surprise he found Mr. -Nelson seated there in company with one of his daughters. On his -expressing some surprise, Mr. Nelson said he had come to see how things -were served; and that really he thought the coffee very good, and -indeed, he said in his hearty way, he thought the milk quite as good as -what they got at home from his own cows. He was not without a hope that -one of the results of his reviving the popularity of St. Bernard’s Well, -hereafter referred to, would be the promotion of the same good end. It -is not therefore to be wondered that Mr. Nelson’s services were sought -for in public life, and his fellow-citizens repeatedly manifested the -high esteem they entertained for him by urging his acceptance both of -civic and parliamentary honours. But few men ever shrank more -sensitively from publicity, and only when the importance of the question -under discussion overpowered his natural reserve could he be induced to -take any part in a public meeting. Such, however, was the high sense of -his services as a citizen that he was selected by her Majesty for the -honourable distinction of Deputy-Lieutenant of the County of Edinburgh. - -But his appreciation of the antique beauty and historical associations -of his native city overcame all his retiring dread of publicity whenever -they were endangered; and the same regard for the amenities of civic -architecture, and the dread of the destruction of whatever is associated -with the memorable events of bygone times, repeatedly find expression in -his critical notes from abroad. In 1873 he writes to Mr. Campbell from -Vienna, describing a two months’ Continental tour, in which he was -accompanied by Mrs. Nelson and his daughters Eveline and Meta. He passed -from Paris and Geneva to Italy; spent some time in Florence and Venice; -travelled as far as Naples; and then returned to Rome. “I need not say,” -he writes, “that Rome, which is really the capital of the world for art -and archæological interest, detained us much longer than any of the -other places. I was there twenty-three years ago, and though great works -are now in progress, I may say that there has been as yet no very great -change since that time. The city, however, is now under Italian -government, and in a few years Rome will be completely altered. There -are large buildings in course of erection near the railway station, -which are understood to be the commencement of an entire new city in -that quarter; and in many of the streets throughout the city are marks -on the houses, indicating that they are either to be wholly or partially -demolished for improvements, or for the widening of the streets. But I -must say that from what I have seen of the new buildings recently -erected in Rome the architecture is of about as poverty-stricken a kind -as can well be imagined. They are constructed of brick, which is -plastered over, and the plaster gets a coating of size of a pink hue -very much like that of blot-sheet; and the effect is anything but -cheering. The windows have nothing round them but plain mouldings, and -these are painted gray. There is not the slightest attempt at -architectural ornament externally in any of the new buildings that I -happened to see. If this sort of thing goes on to any great extent, the -fine mediæval feeling that there is about Rome as it now exists will be -in a great measure done away with, and it will present in many parts a -smooth-shaven and very unattractive appearance. The main things notable -in the way of change, besides the new buildings to which I have -referred, since I was in Rome formerly, are the excavations in the Forum -and the Palace of the Cæsars, the Baths of Caracalla, and the changes -caused by the occupation of the city by the Italian troops, and the -disappearance from the streets of the religious processions, which are -not now permitted. We hurried on to Rome in order to be there at Easter -week, expecting to see something of the religious ceremonials for which -that week has been famous for ages; but though we were in Rome the -greater part of it, we found it nothing more than an ordinary week, as -far as religious ceremonials are concerned. The Pope and his council -are in the sulks, and as processions in the streets are not allowed, -they have taken care that the curiosity of strangers shall not be -gratified by any great ceremonial in the churches. It would interest you -much to see the ruins of the Palace of the Cæsars, now that they have -been cleared out, especially that part of them which is known to have -been the court house. The wall all round still exists to some extent, as -do also portions of the mosaic floor, and the place where the emperor or -the judge sat is still to be seen. There is in front of it a portion of -the marble balustrade that extended across this part of the court; and -Dr. Philip, missionary to the Jews in Rome, who acted as guide to us in -our wanderings through these immense ruins, said there can hardly be a -doubt that Paul stood before that very balustrade and pleaded his cause -before Nero as his judge. The guard-rooms of the soldiers of what is -called the Palace of Tiberius are quite entire, and on the walls of them -are several very interesting scratchings made by the occupants of those -rooms in ancient days. One is of a Roman galley in full sail; another is -an outline portrait said to be of Augustus Cæsar; another is a -caricature likeness of Nero; and another a very clever comical figure of -a fellow with a tremendously long nose. What a living reality they seem -to give to those old times! In a room at a little distance there is a -remarkably clever scratching of a donkey with a mill on its back, with -the words below: ‘If you labour as I do, you shall not want bread.’ How -little things of this kind carry us back to the far bygone past!” - -In like manner, in a letter to Dr. Simpson, he thus records the -impression which his visit to St. Petersburg in 1884 left on his mind: -“We were very much disappointed with St. Petersburg, as it occupies a -site that is very flat and very unhealthy; and it is a city of pure -sham, so far as the architecture of it is concerned. The principal -buildings, as a rule, are of plaster or cement, and are painted in a -style that is perfectly barbaric. Even the celebrated Winter Palace is -not an exception. It is of Roman architecture; and it is besmeared with -paint of a yellowish-brown colour which is sufficient to make one -shudder. The building, moreover, is of great extent, and it is all the -more repulsive on this account.” - -But if the disfigurement of the modern city of Peter the Great on the -Neva, or the effacement of the historic antiquities of Rome, offended -his taste, and gave rise to unavailing regrets, every movement of a like -kind affecting his native city roused him not only to vehement protest, -but to vigorous action to avert as far as possible the threatened -mischief. Under such stimulus, all reserve disappeared, and he stood -forth as the resolute defender of his city and its historical -memorials. His letters to old schoolmates, whose lot had been cast far -from those favourite haunts of early years, are frequently devoted to a -notice of the rescue of some threatened antique building, or a wail over -the irrevocable destruction of some historic pile in the alleys or -closes of Old Edinburgh. - -The old Bowhead land had an interest of its own, apart from its singular -picturesqueness as an example of the civic architecture of older -centuries. When its demolition could no longer be averted, he rescued -from the wreck some of its substantial oak timbers, and had them -fashioned into antique furniture as memorial gifts to absent friends. In -1883, another of the venerable survivals of older generations, -immediately adjoining the former Castle Hill establishment, was -demolished; and he thus records the event in a letter to myself:--“I -sent you a _Scotsman_, with an account of the demolition of one of the -old houses that you will remember on the Castle Hill. It stood in front -of Milne’s Court, looking down the West Bow, and presented a very -picturesque front, both to the street and to the court behind. Two -stone-vaulted shops faced the street, standing some feet back from the -pavement. It was thought that the main walls of the house went straight -up all the way, and that the timber front, projecting story by story -farther into the street, was an addition of later date; but this was a -mistake, for the original beams extended right over the pavement. The -likelihood is that there was an open veranda on each flat, though it had -been closed in with lath and plaster in course of time. On the second -flat, when the plaster was removed, it was interesting to see a -neatly-carved oaken balustrade, that had been covered up probably for -centuries, where one could fancy the good folks of the house sitting in -their balcony enjoying the fresh air and having their gossip on the -great events of the day. They could look down the Lawnmarket and the -West Bow and up the Castle Hill; and it must have been a choice place on -great occasions, when a royal cavalcade came up the Bow, or when some -poor rogue went down it for the last time.” (In allusion to the old site -of the gallows in the Grassmarket.) “I see, on turning to your -‘Memorials of Edinburgh in the Olden Time,’ that it belonged to a worthy -old citizen, Bartholomew Somerville, a liberal benefactor to our -University in its early days.” - -The sympathetic interest thus manifested in every ancient feature of the -special haunts of his boyhood extended to whatever contributed to the -picturesqueness and beauty of his native city. One who was very familiar -with his indefatigable exertions for the conservation of whatever -pertained to its historical antiquities--Mr. D. Scott Moncrieff--thus -writes in reply to a request for information relative to the share -borne by Mr. Nelson in recent efforts on that behalf:--“It is no easy -matter to do this, for Mr. Nelson for many years took an active interest -in every movement having for its object the enhancement of the beauties -of his native city. As you are aware, he was long a member, and latterly -one of the council, of the Cockburn Association, founded in 1875, for -promoting the improvement of Edinburgh and its neighbourhood; and as -convener of the council I had frequent opportunities of hearing his -views upon such questions. His interest was much engaged, in particular, -in the improvement of Edinburgh Castle, the Meadows, and other public -parks, the encouragement of a higher style of architecture, and the -frustration of mean and tasteless designs, vulgar advertisements, and -the depraved habit of painting stone work. He strove to obviate the -necessity for unsightly workshops and tall chimneys, for which in his -own extensive works there was found no place.” But he soon discovered -that mere criticising, remonstrating, and suggesting improvements were -of little avail; and as Mr. Scott Moncrieff adds: “His interest in the -work of the Association was not confined to attending meetings and -expressing his views. Every citizen of Edinburgh may well feel proud and -grateful that amongst them there was one gifted, not only with an -exquisite taste for all that was beautiful, but with an enthusiasm in -having his aspirations given expression to, and also with the means of -carrying his ideas into effect.” One of those practical demonstrations -of his public-spirited liberality has a history of its own. - -The circular panel of the finely-carved mantle-piece in the council room -of Heriot’s Hospital is filled with a painting which perpetuates the -tradition that the medicinal spring of St. Bernard’s Well, on the Water -of Leith--resembling in character the famed Harrogate springs--was -discovered by a party of Heriot boys while sporting on the bank of the -stream. A more dubious legendary tale assigns the origin of the name to -the occupation of a cave on the neighbouring slope by the saint still -associated with its healing waters; but its medicinal virtues are noted -for the first time in the _Scottish Magazine_ for 1760, at which date -the water seems to have been in great repute. The old Scottish judge, -Lord Gardenstone, an eccentric valetudinarian, having derived much -benefit from the medicinal waters, in 1789 erected over the healing -fountain a fine Doric temple, designed as a reproduction of the famous -Sibyl’s Temple at Tivoli. A colossal plaster statue of Hygeia was placed -within the columns, over the vaulted chamber of the well. Thus -enshrined, it has ever since been a favourite morning resort; and -William Nelson continued for many years to be one of its most faithful -frequenters. But the picturesque and richly-wooded valley of the Leith, -to which the Heriot boys resorted in the eighteenth century, has long -been invaded by the extended new town. The temple had fallen into -disrepair, and the boys of the neighbouring village of Stockbridge had -defaced and mutilated the statue, till it presented some of the most -familiar characteristics of a genuine antique. The amenities of the spot -had suffered in all ways, and the proposed erection of a public laundry -on the adjacent area threatened the final ruin of the well, when in 1885 -Mr. Nelson interposed, purchased it and the grounds in its vicinity, -restored and beautified the well, and commissioned Mr. Stephenson to -execute a marble statue of Hygeia, to replace the mutilated goddess of -earlier days. The surrounding grounds were tastefully laid out, under -the directions of a skilled landscape gardener, and the whole finished -at a cost of £5,000, and presented to the city. He did not live to see -the fine statue placed on its pedestal; but his letters to his friends -frequently refer to it, along with others of the various works of -restoration which so largely occupied his thoughts and engaged his -active sympathy in his later years. Writing to Captain Chester in -January 1886 he says: “I send you the last report of the Cockburn -Association, from which you will see that I have in hand the restoration -of several ancient buildings in the Castle, and of the mineral well on -the Water of Leith called St. Bernard’s Well, a chromo-lithograph of -which I enclose. I am glad that it has fallen to my lot to do something -ere I be ‘called hence to be no more,’ for the beauty and interest of -mine own romantic town.” - -The shrine of his favourite healing fountain had been restored to far -more than its pristine beauty, and the generous benefactor to whom the -work was due had himself been “called hence,” when the convener of the -Cockburn Association wrote: “What Mr. William Nelson undertook he did -well and thoroughly; and so long as Edinburgh citizens look down upon -the valley of the Water of Leith, his work at St. Bernard’s Well will -keep his memory green in their hearts.” - -But, as his letters show, other and still more extensive and costly -restorations engaged William Nelson’s practical liberality, and -continued to be objects of deepest interest to him till the close of his -life. So early as 1847, attention had been recalled, in the “Memorials -of Edinburgh in the Olden Time,” to the fact that the ancient hall of -the palace in the Castle still existed, though so defaced and overlaid -by later transmutations as to have passed out of knowledge of the living -generation. But the matter was once more forgotten till near the close -of 1883, when Lord Napier and Ettrick published in the _Scotsman_ an -account of his explorations above the modern ceiling of the hospital -ward, where, “on creeping up a ladder, through a trap-door, he found -himself in a maze of mighty beams, on which the dust of centuries lay -thick and soft.” It was the fine old open timbered ceiling, of carved -chestnut, of the great hall of the Castle. Public attention was now -keenly awakened to the interest of this historic relic. Here was the -_aula Castri_, or great hall of the Castle, where there is little doubt -the Scottish Parliament assembled in 1437 to inaugurate the reign of the -young king, James II. Here, too, if the legend is to be accepted as a -verity, only two years later Chancellor Crichton had the fatal symbol of -the bull’s head served up for the Earl of Douglas. It was here that -Charles I. held his coronation banquet in 1633, and that Argyle -entertained the Lord Protector Cromwell in 1650. Of the historic worth -of the ancient hall there could be no question; and not only its -degradation to the purposes of a garrison hospital, but the general -neglect and disfigurement of the Castle, had long been a subject of -public complaint. - -The council of the Cockburn Association followed up the letter of Lord -Napier with a memorial to the Marquis of Hartington, then Secretary of -State for War, complaining of the misappropriation and defacement of the -ancient hall, and urging its restoration. But the wonted formalities and -circumlocution of official correspondence ensued, with little prospect -of any satisfactory result, “when,” as Mr. Scott Moncrieff writes, “we -were still hoping that the building might be rendered available for uses -more in harmony with its history and associations; and while the matter -was still under the consideration of the authorities, Mr. Nelson, -knowing the well-nigh insurmountable obstacles in the way of Government -dealing effectively, timeously, and reasonably, in affairs of the kind, -in the most generous and patriotic way offered at his sole expense to -undertake the restoration, not only of the old Parliament Hall, but also -of two other most interesting and picturesque features of the Castle, -the Argyle Tower and St. Margaret’s Chapel.” - -The little oratory of St. Margaret had been a subject of interest to him -from the time when it was anew brought under notice, in 1845, as a -long-forgotten historical relic; and as for the Argyle Tower, it was -associated in his mind with the reverence due to the martyrs of the -Covenant. The fine old Edinburgh cemetery, the Greyfriars’ Churchyard, -was only separated from the West Bow by the Grassmarket, where in the -seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the public gallows was erected, for -the execution not only of degraded criminals, but of many of the victims -of intolerance in Covenanting times, to whom a common grave was assigned -in the neighbouring cemetery. There, accordingly, in happier days the -Martyrs’ Monument was erected, with its tribute to the memory of “about -a hundred noblemen and gentlemen, ministers, and others, noble martyrs -for Jesus Christ,” all executed at Edinburgh, “from May 27th, 1661, that -the most noble Marquis of Argyle was beheaded, to the 17th February -1688, that Mr. James Renwick suffered.” It was but a step from the early -home in the West Bow to the Greyfriars’ Churchyard, where the Martyrs’ -Monument had been an object of veneration to William Nelson from his -youth. The same spirit of reverent piety which led to the erection of -the Martyrs’ Monument on the spot selected, as a mark of ignominy, for -the graves of the victims of Stuart persecution, associates the name of -Argyle with the tower in the neighbouring fortress in which Archibald, -Earl of Argyle, was imprisoned before his execution in 1685. He had gone -up to London to pay his homage to Charles II., relying on the indemnity -which had been granted, as far as England was concerned. But Scotland -was still a separate kingdom; and as a prominent leader of the Scottish -Covenanters, Argyle was regarded with special antipathy. He was -accordingly arrested, cast into the Tower, and from thence transferred -to the state prison in the Castle of Edinburgh. It was from that prison -chamber that the earl addressed to his friends letters marked by a rare -spirit of calm Christian resignation, including the simple farewell note -to his own son, written immediately before his execution. Of the latter -William Nelson had a facsimile made. Still more, according to current -belief, it was in the same prison chamber that a member of the council, -on coming to interview him, was startled at finding the victim of -intolerance calmly asleep immediately before he walked with quiet -composure to the scaffold. The scene associated with such memorable -occurrences appealed to William Nelson’s religious no less than to his -archæological sympathies; so that the restoration of the Argyle Tower -was for him, in a very special sense, a labour of love. - -The work thus generously undertaken proceeded slowly, amid endless -official routine and red-tape formalities. Plans were prepared and -submitted to the critical revision of his colleagues in the council of -the Cockburn Association before asking official approval. But hospital -accommodation had to be found elsewhere; and the patience he manifested, -and the calm perseverance with which he overcame the _vis inertiæ_ of -the Circumlocution Office, were a source of admiration to his friends -and of amusement to himself. His unostentatious liberality, along with -the taste and judgment he displayed, naturally gave weight to his -opinions; and, notwithstanding his instinctive reserve, he was induced -on more than one occasion to remonstrate with the authorities on plans -that had received official approval. In 1887 the sketch of a tasteless -design for a new entrance gateway, to form the main approach to the -Castle, had been exhibited without attracting public attention. The -working plans had been withheld; and it was about to be proceeded with, -on the plea, stated in an official letter, that “every reasonable -facility had been afforded for criticism.” A respectful letter of -remonstrance was forwarded by him to the Marquis of Lothian. Its style -of formal courtesy would suggest that it had been drawn up more probably -by some legal member of the council of the Cockburn Association, and -sent to him for signature. But having done so, his own simple and -plain-spoken style is unmistakably manifest in the postscript he has -added: “The proposed designs, I can assure you, will give great -dissatisfaction. They are not at all in keeping with the grand old -Castle.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -_HOME HOLIDAYS._ - - -The recreations of each summer’s holiday alternated between foreign -travel through unfamiliar scenes, and a sojourn in some choice centre of -Scottish scenery and historical associations. But it was indispensable -for William Nelson’s full enjoyment of either that it should be shared -with Mrs. Nelson and his children. Indeed, the hints that occasionally -transpire in his letters, of the pleasure with which he exchanged their -summer resort for Salisbury Green and Parkside, show that he had been -thinking far more of their happiness than his own. He liked his children -to travel, and while they were still young repeatedly sent them abroad, -either with a tutor and governess, or under the care of some trusted -friend. He had a strong prejudice against Continental boarding-schools, -and instead of sending his daughters to one, he preferred arranging for -their spending successive winters abroad in charge of a friend, where -they had the advantage of masters who came daily to them. The same -feeling animated him in later years, alike in his plans for foreign -travel, and in the choice of a summer haunt among favourite Scottish -scenery. - -Of the latter, pleasant memories come back to me of many a ramble by the -Tweed and its tributaries the Ettrick, the Leader, the Yarrow, and other -haunted streams; and by St. Mary’s Loch, which has wooed alike the poets -of elder and of modern times. A mere residence in the country, however -attractive the scenery might be, speedily proved irksome to William -Nelson. His active mind required constant occupation; and the physical -impediments which increasing obesity, accompanied by a retarded action -of the heart, interposed in the way of long pedestrian excursions, only -led to a change in the methods of attaining the same end. He was ever on -the look-out for some fresh and unfamiliar scene. In the summer of 1879 -he made his way to St. Kilda, a curious little, outlying, ocean-girt -rock of the Hebrides, the only one of a lonely group that is inhabited-- - - “Nature’s last limit, hemmed with ocean round.” - -Its population numbered in all seventy-five, a decrease from the -previous year; for, as one of them said, “they had lost a foine woman, -the only one who coot speak Enklish.” The rude little hamlet, with its -primitive stone dwellings, each of two apartments, attracted Mr. -Nelson’s curious study; and beyond it a no less primitive bit of -masonry incovered the Tober Childa Chalda, or St. Kilda’s Well, by the -village. But this visit to St. Kilda is noticeable here for an incident -associated with one of William Nelson’s peculiarities that bordered on -eccentricity. Though a business man of punctual habits, and exacting -habitual punctuality in others, he never carried a watch, and indeed, I -believe, never possessed one. He had some inexplicable way of guessing -the time, and could tell it generally with wonderful approach to -accuracy. He never missed a train, or failed to keep an appointment, and -could not see what people wanted with watches. He said he did perfectly -well without one. But this St. Kilda trip furnished an occasion when, -for once, he deplored the want of a timepiece. Immediately on landing on -the island the party were met by the minister, who eagerly inquired if -any of them had a watch, to tell him what o’clock it was. It turned out, -on inquiry, that the minister’s watch, which was the only one on the -island, had been sent away for repair six months before; and if William -Nelson had been the fortunate possessor of one, here was an opportunity -for its useful disposal. - -The following summer was passed at Philiphaugh, rich in memories of -Montrose and Leslie; of Alison Rutherford, the songstress; of Scott, -sheriff, as well as poet and novelist; of Hogg, Wordsworth, and all the -legends of the Dowie Dens of Yarrow. The river famed in song and story -flowed by near the house, with “the Duchess’s Walk,” a charming wooded -path on the opposite bank of the river, leading through the grounds of -Bowhill to Newark Castle. Kirkhope Tower, Branksome Hall, Melrose Abbey, -and many another hoary pile, were within reach. William Nelson’s memory -was stored with passages from his favourite poets; and as the -associations of the scene called them to remembrance, he would repeat -long pieces suggested by the locality or adapted to it. It is the centre -of old traditions of the Flodden men; and many a spot along the Tweed -and its tributaries tempted us each new day to wander through scenes -that told everywhere of the Last Minstrel and his Lay. In a letter to -Mr. Campbell he says: “I write this at Philiphaugh, a mansion that we -have taken for summer quarters. It is about two miles from Selkirk, the -scene of the defeat of the Marquis of Montrose. The estate is still -owned by the Murrays of Philiphaugh, the same family who have held it -since the old times of the Border raids and the Debatable Land. A cairn -near the house, now overgrown with ivy, is said to mark the spot where -the Highlanders were surprised by Leslie, and the Marquis turned and -fled. A stone on the cairn is inscribed, ‘To the memory of the -Covenanters who fought and fell on the field of Philiphaugh, and won the -battle there, A.D. September 13, 1645.’ The grounds and woods are -extensive and fine; and there is good fishing for Fred, as the Yarrow -and the Ettrick are close at hand; and there will be good shooting for -him when the time comes.... We had Dr. and Mrs. Wilson and their -daughter with us lately. We enjoyed their visit much; and oh! how fond -Dr. Wilson is of Auld Reekie and its associations, though, alas, there -is but little left now of the ancient city.” - -Again, in the summer of 1883 came a concise message by ocean cable, -followed by the ampler invitation: “I have taken Cowdenknowes for the -summer. Come and let us have a look at its surroundings; do not fail. -Cowdenknowes, I may tell you, is an old mansion, historically -interesting, which is situated in one of the most lovely districts in -the south of Scotland. It is about five miles from Melrose; and the -remains of the castle of Thomas the Rhymer, which consist of very -picturesque ivy-covered walls, are on the property. The Leader passes -through the grounds, and it is an excellent trouting-stream. It has -already been laid under contribution in this way by Professor Annandale -and Fred, whenever the water was in a good state for the rod.” Here, as -at Philiphaugh, some fresh ramble was planned each morning; while the -evenings were beguiled with pleasant converse, and apt quotations -germane to the scenes of that land of romance. The ruined castle of -Thomas of Ercildoun has already been noted as close by. In a -neighbouring valley was Oakwood Tower, of old the dwelling of the -wondrous Michael Scott,-- - - “A wizard of such dreaded fame, - That when in Salamanca’s cave - Him listed his magic wand to wave, - The bells would ring in Notre Dame.” - -The Eildon Hills, the tokens of his power, and Melrose, where his bones -were laid “on St. Michael’s night,” are only a few miles off. The -picturesque ruin of Smailholme Tower, where the later minstrel spent the -happiest days of his childhood, was within reach; Abbotsford, the Fairy -Dean, and the Rhymer’s Glen, Dryburgh, and the vale of Tweed, haunted at -every winding with some old tale or song, all wooed us by turns. So each -day had its excursion, its legend of some sort to investigate, its ruin -to explore. It was with William Nelson on the Tweed as on the Nile: he -was indefatigable in the pursuit of information concerning every -minutest object of interest, and never was satisfied till he had seen -for himself, and questioned and sifted all available evidence. The -memories of many a pleasant day, with the incidents of kindly -intercourse and genial humour that added fresh sunshine to the scene, -would furnish material enough to add many a chapter over which old -friends would not readily tire. But such reminiscences can only be -glanced at here. I select, therefore, from among those home holidays -the latest of all: a summer at Glenfeochan. - -Glenfeochan is a romantic glen of the West Highlands, through which the -Feochan finds its way to the sea. Oban is only six miles off, and so -steamers and boats and all the attractions of the sea are at hand, such -as ever had a fascination for William Nelson. For he guessed, as has -been seen, that could the pedigree of the Nelsons of Throsk be followed -up, they might prove to be of the stock of old Danish rovers, the sons -of Thor, whose home was on the sea; and so he welcomed the hint at an -etymology of the Bannockburn farm from the Thor of the Vikings. -Unquestionably he possessed not a little of their steady hardihood and -love of adventure, softened though it was by transmission through a -sober race of Covenanters, who tilled the carse where Bruce had -triumphed, and, when needs were, could emulate him in sturdy resistance -to the tyrant. - -Glenfeochan House is beautifully situated at the foot of the glen. It -lies low--perhaps a little too low--nestling among the hills, with glens -and lochs on every hand. The drawing-room windows looked across the -river to the sea; and when the curtains were drawn, and a fire was found -not unpleasant in the cool autumn evenings, the emotional delight with -which William Nelson welcomed the songs of Scotland, or some of his -favourite hymns, was infectious. His taste in music was simple, but it -yielded him intense pleasure, and not infrequently moved him to tears. -But such evening relaxations were generally the close of a busy day; for -Oban is a choice centre for the explorer. It afforded means of access to -the fiords or sea-lochs of Argyleshire, and to the outlying Hebrides. -There were Iona and Staffa, Glencoe and Mull, with the ruined keep of -Duart Castle, the Lady Rock, and the legend of “Fair Ellen of Lorne,” -which is perpetuated in Campbell’s ballad of “Glenara.” There was the -vitrified fort of Dun MacUisneachan at Loch Etive to explore; and on the -opposite side of the loch, Dunstaffnage, the home of the Dalriadic -kings, where of old was held in safe keeping the _liah fhail_, or stone -of destiny, now enshrined in the coronation chair in Westminster Abbey. -The unique cairn or serpent-mound of Loch Nell, another object of -special curiosity, was visited more than once, in the hope of arriving -at some definite idea of its actual character. For the fact of a huge -saurian mound, like some of those in the valley of the Ohio, lying there -in a secluded nook between the hills of Lorne that form the steep -escarpment of Glenfeochan, was a thing too exceptional for William -Nelson to allow to pass without some attempt at a solution of its -mysteries. - -But the choicest of that summer’s explorations was a day on Eilean -Naombh, or Holy Island. Our Highland boatmen called it Oil Tsiach n’an -Naombh (the College of the Holy People), if we understood rightly; for -we had a good deal more Gaelic than tended to our illumination. Our -party was pleasantly augmented by the addition of the Rev. Dr. Walter -Smith; and William Nelson’s sense of humour was keenly excited by his -report of a dialogue between two of the Highlanders, who, happily for -us, spoke in English. “James,” said the younger of the two, “I have been -told that when the deceiver tempted our mother Eve, it was in Gaelic -that he spoke.”--“Well, Donald, I should think it not at all improbable. -The Gaelic is a very sweet and persuasive language, particularly when -well spoken!” The idea that the Devil’s Gaelic must necessarily be of -the best, was a subject of much mirthful comment. Holy Island, the -southernmost of the Garvelloch Isles, lies opposite Scarba, with the -famous whirlpool of Corryvrechan between. The landing is in a deep cove, -where the first object of attraction is St. Columba’s Well, a clear -fountain of fresh water bubbling out of the living rock on the margin of -the sea. A flight of steps leads up from the sacred pool; and on a level -area a short way above stands the chapel of St. Columba, a little ruined -cell of only twenty-one feet long. It is of the most primitive Celtic -type. A narrow, square-headed opening in the east end, deeply splayed -externally, constitutes the east window; under which is the simple -altar-slab of slate, still entire. On a neighbouring height a rude -enclosure, marked by an upright stone with an incised cross, is -traditionally known as the grave of St. Eithne, the mother of St. -Columba. But the special objects we were in search of were a pair of -bee-hive houses, which we found not far from the chapel. They are built -of unhewed slabs, without cement, conjoined like a figure ∞, rude as any -Hottentot kraal, and old, probably, as the days of the sainted -missionary’s first sojourn among the pagan Celts. The little island is -uninhabited, and out of the reach of ordinary tourists, so that time and -weather are the only injurers of its curious relics. The day at Holy -Island was one of rare enjoyment to all, but especially to William -Nelson, whose intelligent inquisitiveness and love of adventure were -equally gratified. - -Within more easy reach of Glenfeochan, in a sequestered nook among the -hills, lies the ancient cemetery of Kilbride, with its ruined church, -its holy well, and moss-grown sepulchral memorials. Here, among others -of note in the district, lie the Macdougals of Lorne, whose castle of -Dunolly stands at the mouth of Oban Bay, with their more modern mansion -near by, where is still preserved the famous Brooch of Lorne. But here, -above all, lies prostrate, in three detached pieces, a singularly -beautiful sculptured cross, with a figure of the crucifixion, and the -traces that show where a crown of bronze, or other more precious metal, -surrounded the Saviour’s head. Its inscription was conned and puzzled -over in repeated visits. Rubbings were taken of it, and the legend at -length deciphered, showing that it was erected in 1616 by the lord of -the neighbouring manor, Alexander Campbell of Laeraig. - -The Cross of Kilbride had at this time an unwonted interest, for William -Nelson was already enlisted in the project of erecting at Kinghorn a -memorial cross to Alexander III., the last of the Celtic kings, in the -successful accomplishment of which, as will be seen hereafter, he took -an active part. But, meanwhile, some of the Glenfeochan experiences of a -more special character are worth noting. A letter that followed me to -Canada, written in the middle of October, supplies the details. “Our -stay at Glenfeochan,” he writes, “is fast drawing to a close, Fred only -remaining behind till the end of the week, unless great success with his -rod should tempt him to stay longer. The sight of Loch Nell on Friday -last made his teeth water, as salmon were leaping in it at the north end -in great numbers; he is sure he saw at least forty of them so engaged. -He was not rewarded, however, with even a rise from any of them, and he -had to be contented with bringing home nothing but a single sea-trout, -which, however, was a very respectable one as to size, and in splendid -condition.... There was very nearly being a terrible tragedy here, the -story of which is this. We had staying with us a son of Mr. Keeley -Halswell, the artist, a boy of eleven years of age. He made friends with -the son of the gardener, a boy about eight; and the two went one day to -the loft over the stable to catch mice, they being accompanied by -Bertram’s little dog, Gip. There is in the loft a large chest for -holding grain for the horses, but it was empty at the time; and what did -the two little fellows do? They lifted up the lid and got into the -chest, in order that they might not be seen by the mice; and down came -the lid, the catch took hold, and they were imprisoned like poor Ginevra -of Rogers’s ‘Italy,’-- - - ‘When a spring-lock that lay in ambush there - Fastened them down,’ - -but happily not for ever. They made what noise they could, and Bertram -heard this; but he thought it was just the boys amusing themselves, and -so he paid no attention to it. Thus it went on, and the poor little -fellows so suffered from want of fresh air that they could not speak to -each other, and were getting very faint. Young Halswell had a dreadful -headache; when at what would have been in all likelihood their last -effort, they tried the lid of the chest, and found to their surprise -that it opened, and they were free, after a confinement that must have -lasted about three hours. For their release they were indebted to the -little dog Gip. After the lid came down they heard the little creature -running round the chest and leaping on it in a state of great -excitement, as if conscious that there was something wrong. His leaps -were continued for a long time; and they are sure that in one of them he -must have pushed his nose at the hasp of the lid and opened it, and -hence their release. Well done, Gip! Nothing could have been more -extraordinary or more unexpected than this.” In the same letter he -refers to a robbery that had just taken place at Parkside, by which -about £250 had been carried off out of the safe. The police seemed to -think that the robbery might have been committed by some one in the -works. It was amusingly characteristic of the writer to find him in a -subsequent letter seemingly deriving much satisfaction from the fact -that the rogue had not been convicted! - -His recreations, as already stated, alternated between such pleasant -rambles among the beauties of nature and objects of historic and -archæological interest in his own country as have been glanced at here, -and a journey through novel scenes in foreign lands. The previous summer -had been devoted to the tour in the Baltic and Russia, which has -furnished some brief notes for a previous chapter. Writing to his -friend, Major MacEnery, soon after his return, Mr. Nelson thus -indicated the plans he was already maturing for another season: “We -went over a good many thousand miles in our late journeyings. The only -breakdown was that of Florence, at Moscow, which came in the way to -prevent our all going to the Volga, and seeing some of the strange -sights that are to be witnessed there, especially at the great fair of -Nijni-Novgorod. So we had to leave our visit to that part of the world -till another opportunity; and when I go next to Moscow, which I hope -will be in the course of next summer or autumn, if all’s well, I will -not be satisfied unless I go down the Volga to Astrakhan, at the extreme -north of the Caspian Sea, and sail down that sea to Baku, where the -celebrated oil wells are, and take the railway then across to Batoum on -the Black Sea, and go thence to the Crimea, and so find my way home by -Greece and Vienna: and this will be a glorious journey.” - -With such visions of future journeyings in strange lands the year 1884 -had drawn to a close. The “breakdown at Moscow,” referred to above, -though it so far balked the plans of the travellers, does not appear to -have materially lessened the pleasure of their trip. In a letter of Mr. -Simon Fraser MacLeod, I find allusions only to “our visit to this -delightful and picturesque old city of Moscow.” The view of it from the -Kremlin surpassed in its novel and singularly picturesque aspect -anything ever seen by them before. They saw also a no less novel -illustration of sacred art, thus described by the same young traveller: -“The Church of the Assumption is a golden pile assuredly; and besides -the head of a nail from the true cross, and a portion of the Virgin’s -mantle, it contains a sacred painting by St. Luke, the beloved -physician. He may have excelled in his latter profession; but prepared -as we were to find any merits in his painting of the holy mother, we -could not discover even the lines of a face or any pretence of a -likeness possible through the rawness of the colours used by the -evangelist in those early and primitive days of art. Mr. Nelson, by the -aid of a candle dimly burning, thought at one time he had discovered -something resembling a beautiful face; but on my suggesting that it was -but the reflection of his own expressive features that he saw, we came -to the conclusion that such was the actual state of the matter.” All was -novel, interesting, and delightful; for the tour was to prove for two -bright young members of the party the prelude to their joining hand in -hand to enter together on the journey of life. They shared in the -Glenfeochan holiday of the following summer, where their own final -arrangements were settled, to the satisfaction of all; and so with -pleasant memories and brightest hopes the family gathered once more -round the cheerful hearth of Salisbury Green. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -_PROJECTED TRAVEL--THE END_. - - -The route from Oban to Edinburgh passes through some of the most -beautiful and romantic scenes of Scottish landscape: by the Pass of -Brander, Loch Awe, St. Fillans, and Doune Castle, to Stirling; and then -by Bannockburn, the Strath of Falkirk, and the old Nelson homestead of -Throsk, to “the gray metropolis of the north.” After a few days or weeks -of zealous exploration around Glenfeochan, or off to neighbouring -islands and more distant glens, in the fashion already described, a run -into Edinburgh was a welcome change. There William Nelson was equally at -home when making a pleasure of business or a business of his most -favourite pleasures. - -The city, built on the picturesque heights surrounding the Castle Rock, -embosomed among hills, and looking out on the sea, has a singular -fascination for its citizens; and with William Nelson it was a passion, -like that of the old Hebrew for Jerusalem, or the Athenian for the City -of the Violet Crown. The Cockburn Association, which has already been -referred to, takes its name from Lord Cockburn, the friend of Scott, of -Brougham, and Jeffrey; the enthusiastic advocate of whatever tended to -protect the historical remains and to preserve the beauty of their -native city; and the mantle of the genial old judge seemed to have been -bequeathed to William Nelson, with a double portion of his spirit. As an -active member of the council of the association, his zeal in protesting -against every piece of tasteless vandalism was unremitting. But his -enthusiasm would not allow him to be content with mere wishes or -denouncements. He had the means as well as the will, and when civic -officials and Government functionaries dallied and disputed over needful -reforms, he took them in hand himself, on a scale of liberality all the -more admirable from the genuine modesty which repelled all public -recognition. And yet evidence survives to show how far his aims exceeded -even his own comprehensive liberality. - -With the fancy that begot for Edinburgh in the heyday of its literary -glory the name of the Modern Athens, there grew up in the minds of a -past generation the idea of rearing on the Calton Hill, as a modern -Acropolis, a reproduction of the Parthenon, with, it is to be presumed, -the sculptures of some Scottish Phidias as its final adornment. It was -to constitute a sacred Pantheon, in special commemoration of those to -whom the nation owed the welcome boon of an honourable peace after the -protracted strife of the Napoleonic wars. In old school-boy days it had -been a matter of liveliest interest to watch the process of construction -that promised the accomplishment of this ambitious scheme. One after -another, the lofty Doric columns rose to the number of twelve; and then -the work stopped. The builders had neglected the wise maxim to sit down -first and count the cost, whether they had sufficient means to finish -it. The funds had given out at that early stage. The boys that had -watched the first efforts of its builders grew gray with years; and the -abortive Parthenon--a monument of ambitious folly--became familiar to -the eyes of a new generation, till they ceased to realize its absurdity. -There were indeed men of taste whom it continued to offend. David -Roberts, himself a native of Edinburgh, and with the keen eye of an -artist for architectural effect, was loath to abandon the dream of a new -Parthenon. The late D. R. Hay, the ingenious author of “The Laws of -Harmonious Colouring” and “The Natural Principles of the Harmony of -Form,” united with James Ballantyne, the poet, and a little band of -kindred spirits, in a vain effort to revive the scheme. But the later -Renaissance had died out. The taste of the age had reverted once more to -mediæval art, and their exertions proved fruitless. William Nelson -thoroughly appreciated the absurdity of this gigantic failure. With -grim mirth he satirized the builders who had made such a beginning and -were not able to finish. But he did not despair of seeing even that huge -blot erased; and in May 1887, while busy with his Castle and other -restorations, he thus wrote in a letter intended for his friend Dr. -Field, but which was found among his papers, unfinished, after his -death: “Here is a matter that I have been thinking of for some time; and -in case you may think that I am off the rails in regard to it mentally, -I have to say, ‘I am not mad, most noble Festus; I speak the words of -truth and soberness.’ You will be aware that it was intended, a great -many years ago, that there should be a building on the Calton Hill here, -which would be a facsimile of the Parthenon at Athens, and twelve -pillars which were intended for the portico of the building were -erected. But there were no funds to go further; and the pillars in -consequence stand, as it were, a monument of Scottish folly. Now it -would be a grand thing, not only for Edinburgh, but for Scotland -generally, if the building were completed, and were made a Walhalla for -statues and busts of Scotchmen who have distinguished themselves in the -service of their country and otherwise; and it would be all the better -if the completion of the building were to be made an international -object. Now I know that your worthy brother, Cyrus Field, likes to do -things that are international, and I will take it kind if you will have -a talk with him on this subject; and if he will open his purse and give -a grand contribution towards the completion of what would be a truly -noble building, I would get the matter started.” He then goes into a -calculation of the cost. He had consulted with an architect, who -estimated the necessary sum as not less than £150,000. He then goes on -to say: “I send you a photograph of the poor shivering pillars that have -been erected; and I hope that there is spirit enough among moneyed men -in America and Scotland not to allow them to stand much longer in their -solitary condition.” A blank in the letter shows that some estimated -item had yet to be ascertained; and so the letter lay unfinished and -unsent. - -It is thus apparent that there were scarcely any limits to his ideal of -the Edinburgh of the future. The maintenance of his native city in -unblemished honour and beauty was the source of many a fascinating -dream, and took form at times in the union of such idealizations with -his practical liberality. Hence the desertion of the Highlands for the -city was no exchange of the poetry of life for mere prosaic realities. -Edinburgh was rich in all the materials wherewith to fashion an ever-new -romance: a thing of beauty to be preserved or to be made more beautiful. -There the landscape gardener, the architect, and decorator, were all -busily at work on his plans for renovating St. Bernard’s Well. The -sculptor’s studio had to be visited to learn of the progress of the new -statue. Then, too, official formalities and obstructions had at length -yielded to his quiet persistency, and the plans were in progress for -restorations, not only on the great hall of the Castle, but also on the -Argyle Tower, and the venerable little oratory known as St. Margaret’s -Chapel. With the latter object in view, more than one excursion had been -made to Iona, where the little Norman structure styled the Chapel of St. -Oran is affirmed to have been built by St. Margaret, the queen of -Malcolm Canmore. Hence it was assumed to furnish the fittest model for a -design to replace the somewhat commonplace modern restoration of the -original doorway. A photograph of it was accordingly secured, and -placed, for that purpose, in the architect’s hands. - -The Argyle Tower, of old the state prison, was to be freed from manifold -incongruities of modern barbarism, as has since been done in the best -taste. But William Nelson’s sympathies were not narrowed within the -bounds of his native city, and a special occasion now invited his -practical co-operation elsewhere. The approaching anniversary of the -death of the good king Alexander III., last and best of Scotland’s -Celtic kings, was to be signalized by the erection of a memorial cross -to mark the scene of that fatal event of six centuries before, the -fruits of which are bewailed in the fine old fragment of native elegy -preserved for us in Wyntoun’s Chronicles, the earliest known lyric in -the Scottish language. The old chronicler pictures the prosperity of the -nation under the rule of him that led Scotland in love and loyalty; and -then he says,-- - - “This failèd fra he died suddenly; - This sang was made of him forthi: - When Alexander our king was dead, - That Scotland led in love and lea, - Away wes söns of ale and bread, - Of wine and wax, of gaming and glee; - Our gold was changèd into lead. - Christ, born into virginity, - Succor Scotland and remede - That stad is in perplexity.” - -Kinghorn, the birthplace of William Nelson’s mother, and the scene of -many of the happiest days of his own childhood and youth, was the place -historically associated with the national disaster. When he carried off -his sisters to revisit the old scenes, it will be remembered that one of -the special spots pointed out to them was “The King’s Crag,” as the -point is called which tradition assigns as the actual cliff over which, -when his horse stumbled, Alexander III. was precipitated. The event was -thus associated with many of William Nelson’s earliest recollections; -and the proposal to mark it with a suitable monument was responded to by -him with hearty enthusiasm. From its initiation his zeal never flagged. -First came his subscription, the most liberal of all; then -correspondence and deliberations as to the design, the inscription, the -most durable and best material. He writes to the Rev. Charles Shaw from -Glenfeochan in October 1886, in reference to the appeal for -subscriptions:--“Let me know as soon as you can what is the result, and -I will then see what I can do to make up the sum.” In December he -discusses the details of the design and material. He fears, from its -exposed site on the highroad from Burntisland to Kinghorn, that the -monument will be liable to injury; has “called the architect Mr. Blanc’s -attention some time ago to this circumstance, and that he ought not to -forget it in making his finished drawings.” Again he writes in the -following February:--“Mr. Blanc says that the memorial cross ought -decidedly to be of Peterhead granite; and you will please hold me -responsible for whatever shortcoming there may be in consequence.” Then -comes an equally characteristic passage: “I don’t think there is any -occasion for you or Dr. Rogers telling the committee of what you call my -handsome offer. If this were done, the matter would, I have no doubt, be -blazoned forth in the newspapers, and I would not like that at all.” The -next proposition was that he should unveil the monument, in the erection -of which he had manifested so practical an interest. But that he would -not hear of, and suggested the Earl of Elgin as Lord Lieutenant of the -county, and a good man to boot. “Failing him, you should apply to Lord -Napier and Ettrick, or Lord Rosebery.” - -When at length the memorable day arrived, there was not only the -beautiful memorial cross to unveil, but a new public park and golfing -ground to open. The authorities of the ancient burgh would not be balked -of their wish to mark in some way their sense of Mr. Nelson’s generous -co-operation in the work, so Lord Elgin and he were both admitted to all -the honours and privileges of burgesses of Kinghorn. The speech of the -latter, in reply to the provost’s address in handing to him his burgess -ticket, is too replete with characteristic feeling and personal -reminiscences to be omitted here. He was no orator, and indeed shrank -with instinctive reserve from all public appearances; but the simple -utterances of genuine feeling are the best of all oratory. - -“Fortunately for myself,” he said, “and perhaps still more fortunately -for those who hear me, I am not often in circumstances which call upon -me to speak in public. On the present occasion, when there has been -conferred on me the high honour of being made a burgess of the royal -burgh of Kinghorn--an honour which I never expected, and which I do not -feel that I have done anything to merit--for this, gentlemen, I thank -you most sincerely. It is an honour which shall ever be held by me, and -by those who come after me, in the highest esteem. There are many things -which make Kinghorn a place of much interest to me, and which give a -peculiar value to any mark of respect which comes from its town council -or its inhabitants. For one thing, it was the birthplace of my mother, -and we all know what that means. But it must not be supposed that my -attachment to Kinghorn is solely on this account. I love it for its own -sake, for its quaint and picturesque old character as a royal burgh; and -I love it also for its fine coast-scenery, with its beautiful sands, its -bold rocks, and its many advantages for bathing, fishing, and even for -those who think they perform their whole duty at the seaside when they -merely saunter along it and inhale its health-giving breezes. But I love -it still more--perhaps most of all--for the sunshine with which it -filled my early years, making my holidays holidays indeed. I stayed -always with my grandfather and grandmother, whose kindness was very -great and unceasing. So strong was the impression made upon me at that -early period of my life, that I never allow a season to pass without -visiting Kinghorn, and renewing my acquaintance with the rocky scenery -of the coast, which must be admitted to be exceptionally fine. So great -is my familiarity with the coast here that I know every rock of any -consequence that it contains; and I may add that there are few places -more richly endowed with all the amenities which health-seekers are in -quest of and value. It ought to be one of the most popular of the -health-resorts on our shores. Another thing which took a hold of me in -my early years, and which I still remember well, was the talk of the old -folks. They had some themes on which they never ceased to descant. One -of these was Paul Jones’s piratical visit to the Firth of Forth, which -was looked upon as a very formidable event by the small towns on the -coast of Fife, but which happily turned out a scare. My grandmother saw -the big ship of the pirate from near the hamlet of Glassmount, about two -miles from Kinghorn. And there is good news for strangers who may come -now-a-days to the old place for summer quarters. They need not be afraid -for another Paul Jones coming to alarm them, as there is now a strong -fortress on the Pettycur road, under the shadow of whose wings they may -rest in perfect safety. But there was another matter quite as -engrossing, and that was the injury which steam-boats had done or would -do to the town. Before these began to ply there were big, ordinary boats -which carried passengers; and as these boats started only at particular -times of the tide, passengers had generally to stay some time in the -town: more to the delight of the innkeepers and others, we should -imagine, than to that of the strangers thus detained, in order to have -the opportunity of leaving a little of their money behind them. We know -better now; and I am sure that the inhabitants of Kinghorn would not be -inclined to go back, on any terms whatever, to those good old ways, so -easy in all that belonged to them. Such retrospects, while both -interesting and instructive, are not without an infusion of sadness. In -my case, early companions in and about Kinghorn have all disappeared but -two: namely, Henry Darney, a worthy citizen of the town, and Major -Greig, now of Toronto, Canada. It is a touching thought, and brings to -my remembrance the tender and beautiful verses of Delta, with which I -conclude:-- - - ‘Where are the playmates of those years? - Hills arise and oceans roll between. - We call, but scarcely one appears; - No more shall be what once has been. - - ‘Yet, gazing o’er the bleak green sea, - O’er snow-capped cliffs and desert plain, - Mirrored in thought methinks to me - The spectral past returns again. - - ‘Once more to retrospection’s eyes, - As ’twere to present life restored, - The perished and the past arise, - The early lost and long deplored.’” - -While the memorial cross erected on the King’s Crag had been thus -occupying so much of his attention, the various works of restoration -undertaken by him in Edinburgh were not neglected. They continued, -indeed to engage his attention, and to furnish him with ever-renewed -pleasure, till the close of his life. He thus writes to me in April -1887:--“St. Bernard’s Well is not quite finished yet, but it begins to -look very different from what you will remember of it in our morning -visits together: quite a little gem indeed, now that the mosaic work is -done, or nearly so. A handsome parapet wall with railing runs along the -river-side. The grounds are laid out, I think, in good taste, and a fine -broad stair leads down from the street instead of the dingy back way you -and I used to have to traverse in our morning visits to the well. -Altogether it is a great success. The number of visitors to the well has -greatly increased already; and if it correspondingly diminishes the -number of visitors to the taverns, as I hope it will, then we have all -the success that could be desired. You must repeat your visit to us -soon, and have another tumbler of the water, and see all we have been -doing in the way of improvement; it will be all in order before you -arrive.” - -Again, in a postscript to one of his letters to the Rev. Charles Shaw, -in the early part of the same year, he says: “My restorations at the -Castle are getting on briskly. The Argyle Tower is far advanced, and as -a piece of architecture it will be a great success. The hospital -building has been made over to me, and operations for the restoration -and conversion of it into what will be almost a facsimile of the old -Parliament Hall have been already begun. It will be a very interesting -building in its reformed condition.” In another letter to the same -correspondent, who was an active member of the local committee for the -erection of the memorial cross at Kinghorn, he thus writes:--“I send you -a letter that I received a few days ago from Lord Napier. I asked him if -he would come to the unveiling of the memorial to Alexander III., and -let his voice be heard on the occasion as one of the speakers; but this, -he says, he will be unable to do. The first part of the letter is of -special interest to you, as it refers to some discoveries that have been -made at the clearing out of the old Parliament Hall in the Castle. They -have been so important that an almost perfect facsimile can be made of -the hall as it was in the days of its glory: all except in the matter of -the tapestry with which the walls were either wholly or partly covered; -and it would be too much to hope for that any part of this should be to -the fore at this time of day. Everything else is known. The roof exists -in its entirety; parts of the floor have been found. It was of Arbroath -pavement; and the account for the freight of the stones from Dundee to -Leith has been recovered in the Rolls of the Exchequer in the Register -Office. The ancient windows have also been discovered, and they just -require to be cleared of the masonry with which they have been built up, -and have fresh mullions inserted; and it is known how the original -mullions would be from specimens that exist in other buildings of the -period. The doorway that formed the ancient main entrance to the -building has been found. The doorway and stair that led to the kitchen, -which was below the hall, have also been discovered; and the kitchen -exists in its entirety, it being made use of as a store for clothing for -the troops. From the great size of it and that of the fireplace, it is -clear that creature comforts were not overlooked in days of yore by our -old Scottish legislators.” - -Public interest grew apace as the work of restoration in the Castle -progressed. The Argyle Tower, as it approached completion, presented an -attractive feature, harmonizing admirably with the older remains of the -fortress, and attracting the notice of all, as seen from Princes Street. -As the rumour of one after another of the discoveries of original -portions of the great hall, furnishing valuable guidance for its -restoration, gained currency, fresh zest was given to public curiosity. -Paragraphs, such as the one quoted below, made their appearance from -time to time in the daily press, until a general interest was revived, -and a renewed anxiety expressed, not only for completing the restoration -of the ancient buildings, but for making such modifications of the -huge, unsightly pile of barracks and other modern structures within the -Castle as should make them harmonize in some degree with its ancient -features. - -“Yesterday afternoon the Marquis of Lothian, along with Mr. William -Nelson, drove up to Edinburgh Castle and examined the alterations which -are being carried out there at the expense of the latter. The work of -clearing out the old Parliament Hall is proceeding apace. Finely-carved, -and in most cases well-preserved, freestone corbels have been uncovered -underneath the plaster. In no two cases are the designs on these corbels -alike. In one it is a lion’s head, in another a thistle, in a third a -rose, a fourth is a female head, while others bear the letters I.R., and -I.H.S., the former evidently meant for ‘James Rex.’ At the north-eastern -corner of the hall, the top of a staircase which apparently must have -led from ‘the Queen Mary’ apartments in the Palace to the balcony -outside the Parliament Hall, has been discovered; but it is not yet -known at what point in the royal apartments the lower end of the -staircase came out. The restoration of the Argyle Tower is rapidly -approaching completion, and the masons are now engaged in building the -hewn stones on the roof.” - -One result of all this was that Mr. Nelson responded to the intelligent -interest manifested in the work now in progress by arranging for a -succession of Saturday visits to the Castle. I am indebted to an old -friend, who shared in the pleasure of those informal gatherings, for the -following account of them: “They were attended by artists and -antiquaries, professors from the University, and literary men; to whom -were added occasionally some distinguished stranger, as well as officers -of rank who felt a professional interest in the work. Along with those -were always to be seen some of the clerks and workmen from Parkside; and -it was very pleasant to notice the kind way in which he made them feel -at their ease, and indeed seemed totally unconscious of anything -unusual, as he turned from some learned professor or officer of rank to -address himself with marked respect to one of his own employés, and -explain to him the significance of some recently disclosed portions of -the original building.” - -Meanwhile the grand scheme of a tour by the Volga to Astrakhan, and by -the Caspian Sea and the overland route to Batoum on the Black Sea, and -so to Greece, had been first delayed, and then greatly modified. In the -midst of all this preoccupation with mediæval restorations in his own -romantic town, he turned anew to the favourite classical studies of -early years; and his letters in the spring and summer of 1886 show that -Hellenic history, and the associations that linger around every cape and -mountain, river and vale of Greece, had quickened into an intense -longing to explore their storied scenery. In the month of August 1887, -I was off on a holiday ramble in the White Mountains--the Highlands of -New England--where a letter followed me, the last I was ever to receive -from my oldest surviving friend. “I intend,” he wrote, “to set out on a -trip to Greece about the middle of next month, taking with me a party -which will consist of Mrs. Nelson, Meta, Alice, and Dr. Walter Smith, -who will act as chaplain. We will go direct to Trieste from London, -_via_ Dover, Calais, Basle, and Venice; and will sail for Athens by the -Austrian Lloyd’s steamer which leaves on Saturday, the 24th, for the -Piræus; a voyage which will occupy about three and a half days. After -spending a fortnight there, we will likely, if all is well, push on for -Constantinople; and after being there for about a week, will return home -as rapidly as possible. Such at least is my present intention, and I -trust that nothing will occur to prevent my carrying out the programme.” -He then gives an account of the successful completion of the work at St. -Bernard’s Well, and thus proceeds: “As to the Castle, the Argyle Tower -is finished, and it forms a striking object viewed from Princes Street, -and is a great improvement to the outline of the north side of the -Castle. The architect deserves great praise for having done his part so -well in the restoration of this building. The room that is above what -was the old state prison is a very fine one, and the feeling of the -architecture of the period that he has aimed at--which is, if I remember -right, about the year 1500--is admirably carried out. The room, when I -get it hung round with engravings of the Castle at different periods -from 1573 downwards, and also get it decorated in various parts with -trophies of arms and armour, which I am to have permission to select -from the armoury in the Castle, will be one of the most interesting -rooms there. My collection of views of the Castle will be largely taken -advantage of for the decoration of this room. The view from the top of -the tower is, I need not say, one of the finest in Europe; and there is -a path right round, so that the view can be seen from all points. - -“The old Parliament Hall has been at a stand-still for some time; but -Mr. Blanc has drawings for the windows and doors completed, and -estimates for them are now being taken. Here is a point on which I would -like to be enlightened. You say in your ‘Memorials of Edinburgh:’ ‘From -the occasional assembling of the Parliament here, while the Scottish -monarchs continued to reside in the Castle, it still retains the name of -the Parliament House.’ Now at a gathering of eminent men of Edinburgh -that I had at the Castle some time ago, Mr. Dickson of the antiquarian -department of the Register Office took it upon him to give an address to -the party when they were in the said hall; and he said in the course of -it that it was quite a misnomer to connect the word parliament with the -building, as the old Scottish Parliament met in the Tolbooth, and there -does not exist any evidence to show that any of its meetings were ever -held in the old Parliament Hall. What do you say to this, my dear old -fellow? A few lines about the matter by return of mail from you will be -a favour. By the way, a discovery has been made lately in regard to the -building which will interest you. It is that the walls are much older -than the corbels, the latter having been found to have been stuck into -them: Mr. Blanc is of opinion about two hundred years after they were -built. What do you say to this discovery?” - -I was out of the reach of mails, as well as of books; and so August had -passed into September ere an answer could be penned to the above -queries. “The hall,” as I wrote in reply, “was undoubtedly the great -banquet-hall of the Castle, where, when the king resided there, he -occupied the daïs, along with the nobles in attendance, while inferior -guests and retainers sat at the table below. But such halls were -available for any large assembly; and in truth Scotland had no regular -Parliament House till the reign of Charles I. Old Parliaments for the -most part followed the Court, and found a place for meeting as they best -could--in the hall of some great abbey or royal castle; or failing -either, in a church or town hall. When, for example, Philip IV. of -France quarrelled with the Pope in 1302, the only place of meeting that -Paris could furnish for the States General was the church of Notre Dame. -When the English Court was at Westminster, the Parliament turned St. -Stephen’s Chapel to like account; and the Blackfriars’ Monastery at -Perth, in all probability, afforded the usual place of meeting for the -Scottish Parliament, till the assassination of James I. in 1437 led to -the transference of the Court to Edinburgh, with a view doubtless to -safe royal residence within the Castle. Only one Parliament, the -thirteenth of his reign, met at Edinburgh, in what hall is not -specified. But, immediately after the death of the poet-king, the first -Parliament of the new reign assembled there; and the record for once -leaves no doubt. It runs thus: ‘Quo die comparentibus tribus regni -statibus apud Edinburgh, omnes comites, nobiles, et barones, ac -liberi-tenentes dicti regni, venientes ad Castrum de Edinburgh.’ From -that memorable date may possibly have originated the tradition which -survived when, in the middle of last century, Maitland described the -hall as ‘a large ancient edifice, formerly the Parliament House, now -converted into a barrack.’ As to the Tolbooth, the one we know of was -only erected in the reign of James V., and while it was building the -council met in the Holy Blood aisle of St. Giles’s Church.” - -This and much more, in response to the welcome letter from beyond the -sea, was all fully set forth; for the subject gave occasion for frequent -correspondence between us, as one in which his sympathies were largely -enlisted, and which engaged his latest thoughts; and so it claims a -place here. But the letter was never to meet the eye of him for whom it -had been penned. His keen appreciation of the humorous aspect that lurks -at times in the gravest proceedings was very familiar to his friends, -and a touching illustration of it claims notice now. Much that has -transpired since his death shows how fully he realized the uncertainty -of life, and the fact that the days of his years had already reached -man’s allotted span. Of this the ample provision in his will for the -completion of the works he had undertaken for his native city furnishes -the best proof. But on one of his visits to the Castle, in company with -friends interested in the progress of the work there, a university -professor who was of the party, after satisfying himself as to the -extent and character of the designed restorations, proposed a vote of -thanks to Mr. Nelson. The proceeding itself was one peculiarly -distasteful to him; but in the course of some eulogistic remarks the -professor somewhat inopportunely expressed a hope that Mr. Nelson would -be spared to see the completion of his costly and patriotic undertaking. -As the work was already so far advanced that the finishing of it was a -matter of months only, he dryly replied that the learned professor must -surely mean to assign him a very brief term of life, for he hoped to see -the work finished before the year was out; and as for the cost, he -believed it would prove one of the best investments he had ever made. If -the lasting appreciation of a generous, public-spirited act furnishes an -adequate compensation for such liberality, it was indeed so. But the -ominous remark was all too apt. Within three months of that memorable -gathering, the words were recalled by some of those who had been -present, as they bent in sorrow over his grave. - -One of the noticeable gifts of William Nelson was a memory of rare -compass and accuracy. An incident distinctly recalled by him in recent -years was proved by its association with the death of an aunt to date at -a period when he was only two and a half years old. His recollections of -playmates went back to early childhood; and he seemed to retain in -well-defined and even minute detail events associated with many -schoolmates and fellow-students of later years. Numerous as they were, -the tie of such early fellowship was never slighted. There was only one -point in which his memory failed. A wrong done to himself retained no -place in his thoughts; nor did he allow the failures due to misconduct -to dull his ear to the appeal of the needy for help. The number of such -that made claim to his charity was large. But of friendship in its true -sense his conception was high. Of those who were admitted to that -intimate relationship he seemed to hold in memory the minutest incidents -of a life-long intercourse, and startled them at times by the accuracy -with which he recalled the events of long-forgotten years. His -large-heartedness was such that he seemed to identify himself with every -interest of theirs, with a rare tenderness, as of a love “passing the -love of women.” One on whom an intimate knowledge of the enduring -sacredness of one of his earliest friendships had made a strong -impression, thus wrote to me shortly after his death: “The friendship -uniting you seemed to me one of the charming things so rarely met in -life. That two men with wives and families, business cares, and -different pursuits and tastes, should so cleave to one another from -early youth onward was refreshing to realize. I always delight in such -friendships being possible. They seem the gems shining out from the dull -mass of common humanity.” - -There is no exaggeration here, for the subject of this memoir was of a -rare type of humanity; though, if those who most resemble him in all -other respects are marked by a like sensitive shrinking from publicity, -we may indulge in the pleasant belief that they are more numerous than -the world imagines. But it is vain to linger over such fancies. The -memory so prompt in business, so retentive in its literary -reminiscences, and so responsive to all the sympathetic impulses of love -and friendship, suddenly failed. At the very time when his long-desired -visit to the classic scenes of Greece was to have been carried out, and -every arrangement was completed for the journey, he seemed to lose his -hold on the past. The vessel had been determined upon, and the day of -departure fixed, when symptoms, little heeded at first, developed into -the fatal malady which brought all his plans to a close. The silver cord -was loosed. He had finished his course; and on the 10th of September -1887, the very day on which he was to have set out for Greece, he passed -from the circle that for so many happy years had been gladdened with the -sunshine of his presence, to join the loved ones who had gone before him -to the heavenly home. He was one whose creed found its full expression -in deeds, not in words. Only in rare moments of confidence did he give -utterance to his simple faith. At best the highest efforts of the -biographer but dimly approximate to the original. God sends many a -beautiful soul into this world to do its appointed work, and then to -live only in the memories of the loved ones left behind. Perhaps in this -case also it had been better if no biography had been attempted; but he -seems to me to have realized in his life that “pure religion” which the -apostle James had in view: “To visit the fatherless and the widows in -their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” - -The wide-spread manifestations of grief when the news of William -Nelson’s death became known abundantly manifested the sense of a great -public loss. At the urgent request of the city authorities the desire of -the family for a strictly private funeral was abandoned. The Lord -Provost and magistrates of Edinburgh and the Provost and magistrates of -Kinghorn attended in their robes; and along with them the Principal and -many of the professors of the University, the President and members of -the Royal Scottish Academy, with leading citizens, clergymen, and -others, many of whom came from great distances to mark their respect for -one whose loss was so widely deplored. The shops were closed as the -mournful procession, headed by the employés from Parkside, moved on to -the Grange Cemetery, where his remains were laid beside those of his -loved father and mother and his brother John, with the graves of Dr. -Chalmers and Hugh Miller near by. The turf was fragrant with the wreaths -of flowers laid there by many sincere mourners; and it continued to be -visited from day to day by crowds, including many humble admirers who -deplored the loss of their benefactor, until the turf around was -trodden out and had to be replaced. Now that his remains are laid at -rest in the quiet cemetery among those of loved ones who formed the -happy home circle of his early years, and the busy outer world has -resumed its wonted avocations, his widow has erected a memorial tablet -to mark the sacred spot, aptly inscribed with the text: “After he had -served his generation by the will of God, he fell asleep.” - -THE END. - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of William Nelson, by Daniel Wilson - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WILLIAM NELSON *** - -***** This file should be named 52192-0.txt or 52192-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/2/1/9/52192/ - -Produced by Larry B. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: William Nelson - A Memoir - -Author: Daniel Wilson - -Release Date: May 30, 2016 [EBook #52192] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WILLIAM NELSON *** - - - - -Produced by Larry B. Harrison, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="312" height="500" alt="[Image -of the book cover unavailable.]" /> -</div> - -<p class="cb"><i><big><span class="calfn">William Nelson.</span></big></i></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_001" id="page_001"></a>{1}</span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_002" id="page_002"></a>{2}</span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_003" id="page_003"></a>{3}</span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_004" id="page_004"></a>{4}</span> </p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/nelson_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/nelson.jpg" width="357" height="500" alt="[Image -unavailable: photo of William Nelson]" /></a> -<br /> -<a href="images/signature_lg.png"> -<img src="images/signature.png" width="357" height="159" alt="[Image -unavailable: Signature: Yours Faithfully -William Nelson]" /></a> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_005" id="page_005"></a>{5}</span></p> - -<h1><i><span class="calfn">William Nelson</span></i></h1> - -<p class="cb">A M E M O I R<br /> -<br /><br /> -<small>BY</small><br /><br /> -SIR DANIEL WILSON, LL.D., F.R.S.E., -<br /> -<small><span class="smcap">President of the University of Toronto</span></small>.<br /> -<br /> -<img src="images/colophon.png" -width="100" -height="50" -alt="colophon" - /><br /> -<br /> -<span class="eng">Printed for Private Circulation.</span><br /> -<br /> -<small><i>T. Nelson and Sons, Edinburgh.</i><br /> -<br /> -<i>1889.</i></small><br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_006" id="page_006"></a>{6}</span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_007" id="page_007"></a>{7}</span> </p> - -<p class="cbspc"> -TO<br /> - -<span class="eng"> -<img src="images/mrs.png" -width="312" -height="48" -alt="Mrs. William Nelson" - /></span><br /> - -THIS<br /> -MEMOIR OF HER HUSBAND<br /> -IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED BY<br /> -HIS OLD FRIEND AND<br /> -SCHOOLMATE<br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_008" id="page_008"></a>{8}</span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_009" id="page_009"></a>{9}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="FOREWORD" id="FOREWORD"></a>FOREWORD.</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HE volume here produced for the eye of friends is the memorial of one -whose life presented a rare example of simplicity, of thoroughness in -working up to a high standard in all that he undertook, and fidelity in -his responsible stewardship as a man of wealth and a captain of -industry. The friendship between us extended in uninterrupted union, -with the maturing estimation of years and experience, from early boyhood -till both had passed the assigned limits of threescore years and ten. It -would have been easy to swell the volume into the bulky proportions of -modern biography: for William Nelson keenly enjoyed the communion of -friendship; and his correspondence furnishes many passages calculated to -interest others besides those who knew and loved him as a friend. But -the aim has been simply to present him “in his habit as he lived;” and -thus to preserve for relatives,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_010" id="page_010"></a>{10}</span> personal friends, and for his -fellow-workers of all ranks, such a picture as may pleasantly recall -some reflex of a noble life; and record characteristic traits of one of -whom it can be so truly said: “To live in hearts of those we love is not -to die.”</p> - -<p class="r"> -D. W.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="hang"> -<span class="smcap">University of Toronto</span>,<br /> -<i>September 26, 1889</i>.<br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_011" id="page_011"></a>{11}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS.</h2> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">I.</a></td><td> INTRODUCTORY,</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_013">13</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">II.</a></td><td> HAUNTS OF BOYHOOD,</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_026">26</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">III.</a></td><td> SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLMATES,</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_041">41</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">IV.</a></td><td> THE CASTLE HILL,</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_061">61</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">V.</a></td><td> HOPE PARK,</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_077">77</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">VI.</a></td><td> EGYPT AND PALESTINE,</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_087">87</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">VII.</a></td><td> CHURCH—MARRIAGE,</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_108">108</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">VIII.</a></td><td> SALISBURY GREEN,</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_121">121</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">IX.</a></td><td> GLIMPSES OF TRAVEL,</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_137">137</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">X.</a></td><td> HOLIDAYS ABROAD,</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_156">156</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">XI.</a></td><td> PARKSIDE,</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_173">173</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">XII.</a></td><td> CIVIC INTERESTS,</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_194">194</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">XIII.</a></td><td> HOME HOLIDAYS,</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_213">213</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">XIV.</a></td><td> PROJECTED TRAVEL—THE END,</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_228">228</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_012" id="page_012"></a>{12}</span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_013" id="page_013"></a>{13}</span></p> - -<h1><i><span class="calfn">William Nelson.</span></i></h1> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.<br /><br /> -<small><i>INTRODUCTORY.</i></small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">I</span>N the early years of the present century the Scottish capital retained -many features of its ancient aspect still unchanged; but among all the -old-world haunts surviving into modern times, the most notable, alike -for its picturesque quaintness and its varied associations, was the -avenue from the Grassmarket to the upper town. The West Bow, as this -thoroughfare was called, derived its name from the ancient bow, or -archway, which gave entrance to the little walled city before the civic -area was extended by the Flodden wall of 1513. But the archway remained -long after that date as the entrance to the upper town—the Temple Bar -of Edinburgh—at which the ceremonial welcome of royal and distinguished -visitors took place.</p> - -<p>The West Bow had accordingly been the scene of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_014" id="page_014"></a>{14}</span> many a royal cavalcade -of the Jameses and their queens; as well as of such representative men -as Ben Jonson and his brother-poet Drummond of Hawthornden, of Laud, -Montrose, Leslie, Cromwell, and Dundee. Among its quaint antique piles -were the gabled Temple Lands, St. James’s Altar Land, and the -timber-fronted lodging of Lord Ruthven, the ruthless leader in the -tragedy when Lord Darnley’s minions assassinated Rizzio in Queen Mary’s -chamber at Holyrood. There, too, remained till very recent years the -haunted house of the prince of Scottish wizards, Major Weir; and near by -the Clockmaker’s Land, noted to the last for the ingenious piece of -workmanship of Paul Remieu, a Huguenot refugee of the time of Charles -II. Nearly opposite was the dwelling of Provost Stewart, where, in the -famous ’45, he entertained Prince Charles Edward, while Holyrood was for -the last time the palace of the Stuarts. The alley which gave access to -the old Jacobite provost’s dwelling bore in its last days the name of -Donaldson’s Close; for here was the home of one of Edinburgh’s most -prosperous typographers, James Donaldson, who bequeathed the fortune won -by his craft to found the magnificent hospital which now rivals that of -the royal goldsmith of James I.</p> - -<p>Such were some of the antique surroundings amid which the subject of the -present memoir passed his youth, and which no doubt had their influence -in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_015" id="page_015"></a>{15}</span> developing an archæological taste, and that reverence for every -historical feature of his native city, which bore good fruit in later -years. But his more intimate associations were with the singularly -picturesque timber-fronted dwelling at the head of the West Bow, with -another fine elevation toward the Lawnmarket, which, till 1878, stood -unchanged as when the Flodden king rode past on his way to the Borough -Moor. A painting of the old house adorned the walls at Salisbury Green -in later years; and when at last the venerable structure was demolished, -some of its oaken timbers were secured by William Nelson and fashioned -into antique furniture for himself and his friends. This picturesque -building was the haunt of an old Edinburgh bookseller, the founder of -the well-known printing and publishing house of Thomas Nelson and Sons.</p> - -<p>Mr. Thomas Nelson, the father of the subject of the present memoir, and -the originator of the great publishing firm, recurs to the present -writer in the memories of his own early years as a fine example of the -old Scottish type of silent, indomitable perseverance and sterling -integrity. The traditions of the race are thus set forth in a memorandum -in William Nelson’s handwriting:—“The Nelsons of our branch resided at -Throsk, a few miles east from Stirling, not far from the field of -Bannockburn. There was a tradition<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_016" id="page_016"></a>{16}</span> among us that some of our race lived -there at the time the battle was fought, and as a boy I was willing to -believe it.” There, at any rate, the Nelsons are known to have been for -four or five generations; and Thomas Nelson was born at Throsk in 1780. -His grandmother had seceded with the Erskines from the National Church; -and the spirit of that elder race of Scottish nonconformists was -inherited by their children. They joined a congregation of Reformed -Presbyterians, or Covenanters, at Stirling; and the boy grew up on his -father’s farm under all the influences of that earnest, unwavering -religious faith, which has so often seemed the fitting complement to the -ruggedness of the Scottish character, while it has, in not a few -instances, furnished the best preparation, for a successful career in -business. His father led a retired life on his carse farm, with Stirling -sufficiently near to admit of his enjoying the privilege of regular -worship with the devout little band of Presbyterian nonconformists -there. So little was he affected by the enterprise of younger -generations that he could not be persuaded to turn to profitable account -a small pottery on the land he occupied. He was content with the humble -career of a small farmer. But the monotony of farm-life was varied by -long journeys, staff in hand, in which the boy accompanied his father, -to attend the great gatherings at the sacramental seasons.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_017" id="page_017"></a>{17}</span> In the -persecuting times the devout adherents of the Covenant had been wont to -assemble in some secluded glen to enjoy in safety the privileges of the -communion service, and their descendants continued the practice in more -peaceful times. Under such training the boy reached his sixteenth year, -when, after a brief experience as a teacher, some chance report of -prosperous adventure in the West Indies tempted the youth with its -illusive visions. Bidding his friends and home farewell, his father -accompanied him for some miles on the road to Alloa, giving his best -counsel and advice to the lad by the way. When they reached the place of -parting, his father said to him, “Thomas, my boy, have you ever thought -that where you are going you will be far away from the means of grace?” -“No, father,” said he, “I never thought of that, and I won’t go.”</p> - -<p>Thus abruptly the scheme was abandoned. They retraced their steps to the -old farm, and the boy found employment for a time at Craigend, near -Stirling. There he formed the acquaintance of Symington, whose -steam-engine was first applied to navigation, and sailed with him in -some of the earliest trial-trips on the Carron Water. The pottery which -his father had neglected was started on a neighbouring farm, and young -Nelson was anxious to get the management of it. But the scheme appears -to have been distasteful to his father, whose secret desire probably was -that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_018" id="page_018"></a>{18}</span> his boy should follow his own example, and so escape the world’s -trials and temptations. But the son’s ambition aimed at something more -advantageous than the homely career of a lowland farmer; and so, -by-and-by, he betook himself to London, entered the service of a -publishing house there, and began the training which ultimately begot -the great publishing firm that bears his name.</p> - -<p>The young Scottish Covenanter did not forget his early training, amid -the temptations of the great metropolis. Along with a few other -Scotchmen of his own age, he established a weekly meeting for religious -fellowship; and it is told of one of the little band, who was employed -at the dock-yard, that he forfeited his situation rather than work on -the Sabbath day. But he had already won the favourable opinion of Lord -Melville, who, on learning of his dismissal, severely rebuked the -officials, and soon after advanced him to a higher post. From London, -Thomas Nelson made his way to Edinburgh with what little capital his -frugality had enabled him to accumulate, and there he started his first -book-store, stocked chiefly with second-hand books, but from which ere -long he began the issue of cheap reprints of the “Scots Worthies” and -other popular religious works, in monthly parts. He had to proceed -cautiously in this new venture, for his capital was small; but he had -the courage to shape out a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_019" id="page_019"></a>{19}</span> course of his own. With sagacious foresight -he overleapt the intermediate stages of publishing and bookselling, and -grafted on to the traffic of the mediæval fairs some of the most modern -usages of free trade. The full results of this bold step are even now -only partially developed, though its ultimate advantages are beginning -to be generally recognized, and to force themselves on the attention of -the great publishing houses, accustomed hitherto to cater only with -small editions of costly volumes for the libraries of the wealthy, -supplemented in recent years by the expedient of lending libraries.</p> - -<p>The removal of Mr. Thomas Nelson’s book-store to the picturesque -tenement at the Bowhead marks the first progressive step of the young -innovator. The venerable timber-fronted land projected with each -successive story in advance of the lower one, after the fashion of that -obsolete civic architecture in vogue before Newton had revealed his law -of gravitation. The first story above the paving rested on substantial -oak piers, forming a piazza opening on to the Bow, within which stood -the exposed book-stall of the primitive trader. Behind this was the -stone-vaulted buith, or shop, as in the old luckenbuiths alongside of -St. Giles’s Cathedral. The north façade fronted on the Lawnmarket, a -wide thoroughfare, where at certain seasons the dealers in linens and -woollens set up their<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_020" id="page_020"></a>{20}</span> stalls, much after the fashion which the poet -Dunbar describes them hampering the High Street before the Flodden wall -was built. Already at that early date the printing-press of Walter -Chepman, the Scottish Caxton, was at work; and before long the craft had -its representatives among the traders’ buiths. In a later century Allan -Ramsay began his prosperous career as a seller of his own metrical -“broadsides;” and Dr. Johnson’s father, the respected bookseller and -magistrate of the cathedral city of Lichfield, was wont to set up his -book-stall on market days in the neighbouring towns.</p> - -<p>Here then, at the Bowhead, with its north front to the Lawnmarket, stood -within our own recollection the well-stored book-stall, the nucleus and -germ of the great Parkside printing establishment, with its hundreds of -workmen in every branch of the trade. The busy scene of a market day in -the old locality, as it could still be seen sixty-five years ago, is -graphically depicted in Turner’s view of the High Street, engraved in -1825 for Sir Walter Scott’s “Provincial Antiquities.” The book-trade, as -prosecuted by Mr. Thomas Nelson, depended in no inconsiderable degree on -the application of the stereotyping process to the production of cheap -editions of popular works of established repute. He was a pioneer in the -production of literature for the million; but he catered for the taste -of an age very<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_021" id="page_021"></a>{21}</span> different from our own, in his effort to put standard -works, already stamped with the approval of the wise and good, within -reach of the peasant and the artisan. “The Pilgrim’s Progress” was -already an English classic; and with this were issued such works as -Baxter’s “Saints’ Rest,” Booth’s “Reign of Grace,” “MacEwan on the -Types,” and other works of a like class. To those were by-and-by added -Jeremy Taylor, Leighton, Romaine, and Newton, the old Scottish and -Puritan divines, and Josephus, all produced by means of stereotype -plates, which admitted of a limited issue adapted to the demand of the -market. With the development of the business in later years, the issues -of the publishing house embraced an ampler and much more varied range. -But William carefully treasured his father’s private library. The spirit -of the bibliomaniac developed itself in this special line, and the -collection of old theological works included many choice specimens and -rare editions of his father’s favourite divines. They were latterly -treasured in a cabinet at Hope Park, along with other relics on which -William Nelson set a high value; and their loss on the destruction of -the Hope Park Works in 1878 by fire was one of his greatest causes of -regret. From his own choice collection of theological works, Mr. Thomas -Nelson made his first selections; but after a time he realized the -necessity of catering for the tastes of other<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_022" id="page_022"></a>{22}</span> classes of readers; and -so by-and-by there were added to them “Robinson Crusoe,” “Rasselas,” -“The Vicar of Wakefield,” Goldsmith’s “Essays,” his “Deserted Village,” -and other poems, along with popular favourites of a like class. Thus -prosecuted, the business gradually expanded until the Bowhead -establishment was no longer sufficient for the accommodation required.</p> - -<p>But free trade in books was in conflict with the ideas inherited from -the privileged guilds of elder centuries. Competition had hitherto been -restricted within narrow limits; and the daring innovator was regarded -by the regular trade with all the disfavour of a revolutionist, against -whom every effort was to be employed to thwart the sale of his -publications. He had accordingly to find other channels of trade. -Periodical visits were made to the smaller towns, over the country, -north and south, and beyond the Scottish border. Thus a safe and -extended business was gradually established, destined ultimately to -revolutionize the book-trade. By its means was inaugurated a system of -supply of popular literature, at prices within reach of the masses, long -before other publishers of this class entered into competition on the -same field.</p> - -<p>The influences of early training are traceable throughout the whole of -Mr. Thomas Nelson’s career, and have left their impress on the business -which owed its origin to his patient assiduity. He remained to the last<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_023" id="page_023"></a>{23}</span> -faithful to the Covenanting Presbyterian Church, which maintained a -stern adherence to the principles for which the martyrs of the Covenant -had witnessed a good confession alike on the battlefield and the -scaffold. His career in business had been an arduous struggle under many -disabilities. As I remember him in my own boyhood, he was a grave, -silent, yet not ungenial man; but one who seemed preoccupied with -thoughts and cares in which a younger generation could claim no share. -He had married, somewhat late in life, a bright young wife, by whom he -had a family of four sons and three daughters; of whom the eldest son, -the subject of this memoir, was born on the 13th of December, 1816.</p> - -<p>On Mrs. Nelson the care and training of the young family devolved, as -the successful prosecution of the business necessarily required the -frequent and prolonged absence of their father. Yet his interest in them -was not less fervent. An incident illustrative of this has also its -bearings in relation to a characteristic feature of the devout faith of -the old Covenanting fathers. He dreamt that a terrible accident had -befallen his younger son John, then a youth of ten years of age, who was -absent at Pettycur in Fife. He set off on the following morning, and -crossed the Forth, burdened with foreboding visions of death. On his -arrival, he learned that his boy had fallen into the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_024" id="page_024"></a>{24}</span> sea, and been -brought back apparently lifeless; but he had been revived, and then lay -asleep after the exhaustion of this vital struggle. It fully accorded -with the devout piety of the old Covenanter to recognize in his dream a -divine message and proof of providential interposition.</p> - -<p>Of Mrs. Nelson, Dr. John Cairns, who knew her intimately, refers, in his -“In Memoriam” address on the death of this younger son, to her look of -bright intelligence and winning affection, as indelibly impressed on the -memory of all who were familiar with her. She possessed the happy -mixture of tender, motherly guidance with an unusual amount of firmness -and decision of character; and exercised great influence in the training -of her son, who was passionately devoted to her. She was in perfect -sympathy with her husband in his religious opinions, and venerated the -memories of the confessors and martyrs of the Covenant; so that their -sons and daughters were reared in strict conformity to the devout faith -of Cameron, Peden, Cargill, and other fathers and confessors of that old -Scottish type. Few men were more liberal-minded in later years than -William Nelson; but the influence of early training survived through -life, begetting some familiar traits of the best type of Scottish -character evolved from that elder generation which so impressed the mind -of the poet Wordsworth:—<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_025" id="page_025"></a>{25}</span></p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Pure livers were they all, austere and grave,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And fearing God; the very children taught<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Stern self-respect, a reverence for God’s Word,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And a habitual piety, maintained<br /></span> -<span class="i1">With strictness scarcely known on English ground.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">Some characteristic manifestations of the results of such early training -will come under review in the narrative of later years.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_026" id="page_026"></a>{26}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.<br /><br /> -<small><i>HAUNTS OF BOYHOOD.</i></small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HE curious ancient thoroughfare, the scene of early bookselling and -publishing operations, has been described in the previous chapter: for -many youthful recollections of William Nelson are associated with the -West Bow. In those years Edinburgh was still the romantic town described -by Scott in his “Marmion,” piled steep and massy, close and high, along -the ridge between the Cowgate and the Nor’ Loch. Since then nearly all -the antique historical mansions of the Castle Hill and the adjoining -Bowhead have disappeared. An extensive range was swept away about 1835 -in clearing the area for Johnston Terrace and the Assembly Hall of the -Scottish Church. The famous old palace of Mary of Guise has given place -to the rival Assembly Hall and the New College of the Free Church; and a -broad highway now sweeps round the Castle rock where in early years -antique lands, closes, and wynds, once the abodes of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_027" id="page_027"></a>{27}</span> Scottish -gentry, were crowded together on the slope reaching to the Grassmarket.</p> - -<p>The fine timber-fronted tenement at the corner of the Bowhead, -constructed mainly of oak, was a choice example of the burghers’ -dwellings in Old Edinburgh, with their trading booths opening on the -street. Similar front lands in the High Street were the abodes of the -merchants and traders. The “Gladstone Land” still stands near by in the -Lawnmarket, bearing the initials of Thomas Gladstone, a merchant of -Edinburgh in the days of Charles I. and Cromwell, to whose gifted -descendant the restoration of the City Cross is due. The old nobles and -landed gentry, judges and advocates, preferred the retirement of the -closes and wynds, some of which still retain the names of patrician -occupants. In one of those antique dwellings, in Trotter’s Close, near -the Bowhead, with its wainscotted chambers, painted panels, and other -traces of older generations, the Nelson family resided in William’s -youth. The narrow approach to it admitted of no other carriage than the -old-fashioned sedan chair; but the house itself was commodious, though -with curious complexities of internal adaptation to its confined -neighbourhood. One large chamber was shelved round, and stored with the -surplus productions of publishing enterprise for which the Bowhead -establishment had no room; and its miscellaneous contents furnished a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_028" id="page_028"></a>{28}</span> -tempting resort for explorations into some strange fields of literature -not ordinarily lying within the range of youthful studies. When at -length the West Bow was invaded by civic reformers, the Nelsons removed -to a more commodious house, the dwelling in an elder century of Lady -Elizabeth, Duchess of Gordon, while the duke held the Castle for James -II. The Gordon House on the Castle Hill was a fine example of the town -mansions of the sixteenth century; and, owing to its elevated site, -commanded a beautiful view from its southern windows, looking across the -Grassmarket to Heriot’s Hospital, the Greyfriars’ Churchyard, and the -distant range of the Pentland Hills. On its demolition, in 1887, William -Nelson secured sundry interesting relics, including a landscape by James -Norie, which filled a panel over the mantlepiece in the duchess’s -drawing-room. He also carried off the stone gargoils, fashioned in the -shape of cannons, which projected from under the south parapet; and they -now adorn the river wall of the garden at St. Bernard’s Well, the -restoration of which, as will be seen hereafter, constituted one of the -public-spirited works on which he was engaged when his life drew to a -close.</p> - -<p>The stirring scene that the Grassmarket presented on certain days, as a -regular horse-fair, may be seen in a fine engraving after Calcott in -“The Provincial Antiquities of Scotland;” and is still more graphically<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_029" id="page_029"></a>{29}</span> -depicted in one of Geikie’s humorous etchings. Here accordingly was a -favourite resort of the boys from the neighbouring Bow. The Castle -Esplanade at certain hours afforded a freer playground. At other times -it offered the tempting attractions of military parade and drill. But -Edinburgh has also within its civic bounds the royal park of Arthur’s -Seat, the Salisbury Crags, and Duddingston Loch, looking as though a -choice fragment of the Highlands had been transported thither to form an -adequate pleasure-ground for the Scottish capital. Hither flocked the -city boys alike from the closes and wynds of the old town and from the -new town crescents and squares. There was room for all, and a choice of -sport for every age. Here is a reminiscence of a very youthful pastime, -recalled in 1883, in a letter to Mr. James Campbell, one of William -Nelson’s old West Bow playmates:—“You will, I have no doubt, recollect -a long, smooth stone near Jeanie Deans’ House, in the Queen’s Park. This -stone was associated with my earliest recollections, as it was a great -enjoyment for boys and girls to slide down it; and many a time, when I -was a little boy, have I had this enjoyment. Well, the stone was in -existence till only a few weeks ago, when some rascally fellows blew it -to pieces with dynamite. The act is much to be regretted, as the stone, -in addition to its being a source of enjoyment for little folks in the -way<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_030" id="page_030"></a>{30}</span> I have stated, was extremely interesting to geologists as one of -the finest illustrations near Edinburgh of the polish produced by -glacial action.”</p> - -<p>While the boys were disporting themselves on the Castle Hill and -Arthur’s Seat, without a care for the future, their father was grappling -with the first difficulties inevitable to the innovator on the -prescriptive usages of the book-trade. But whatever may have been the -obstacles encountered by him, there was no grudging expenditure in the -educational advantages provided for his sons. At the school of Mr. -William Lennie, and subsequently at that of Mr. George Knight, then -second to none in Edinburgh, and afterwards at the High School, William -Nelson pursued his earlier studies; and there, too, some of the -friendships were formed which he cherished with all the warmth of his -sympathetic nature to the close of life. It was in those early days, at -Mr. Knight’s school, that the friendship was formed with his present -biographer, along with George Wilson, subsequently Professor of -Technology in the University of Edinburgh, with Dr. Philip Maclagan, and -with William and James Sprunt, two young West Indians, the former of -whom will reappear as British Consul in North Carolina. Of the more -romantic career of the latter an account is happily preserved in the -notes of an address by William Nelson at one of the gatherings of old -schoolmates in later years, which<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_031" id="page_031"></a>{31}</span> were so congenial to his tastes. -After telling of James Sprunt’s first settlement in the island of St. -Vincent among a dissolute set of West Indians, his quitting it for New -Orleans, and being lost sight of for years, he thus proceeds:—“He had -landed penniless; but when his old father and mother got their first -letter from him, it was an invitation for them to join him there and -share his good fortune. He next appears as rector of a classical academy -at Wilmington, North Carolina, where he became a clergyman and pastor of -the Presbyterian Church; and when the war broke out between the North -and South, he cast in his lot with the latter, marched with the -Wilmington brigade into action, and as an army chaplain, under General -Stonewall Jackson, went through the terrible scenes of strife and -carnage in that bloody civil war, utterly regardless of danger, and even -ready to face death at the call of duty. His popularity with his -Wilmington congregation was not lessened, it may be believed, when he -returned to resume his pastoral charge at the close of the war.” Of -other boys of those first school-days may be noted Dr. J. A. Smith, in -later years an active member of the Royal Society, and Secretary of the -Society of Antiquaries of Scotland; Dr. John Knight, the son of our old -teacher; the Rev. James Huie of Wooler, Northumberland, and others, who -formed themselves into “The Juvenile Society for the Advancement of -Knowledge,”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_032" id="page_032"></a>{32}</span> of which an account is given in the Memoir of George Wilson -by his sister.</p> - -<p>The High School, a venerable civic institution dating from the sixteenth -century, still occupied the site of the Blackfriars’ Monastery, at the -east end of the ridge from which the ruined Kirk-of-Field was displaced -by the newly-founded university in Queen Mary’s time. The modern -policeman had not yet superseded the old city watch. The High School -Wynd, a singularly picturesque alley of timber-fronted lands, at the -foot of which stood the palace of Cardinal Beaton, gave access to the -Cowgate, a plebeian haunt, the young roughs of which maintained a -hereditary feud against the “puppies” of the High School. A stray High -School boy, especially if he was a “guite” or freshman, venturing into -that Alsatia, incurred all the risks of a wanderer into an enemy’s -lines; and from time to time a bicker, or pitched battle with sticks and -stones, between the “puppies” of the High School and the “blackguards” -of the Cowgate, came off by mutual understanding on a Saturday in the -Hunter’s Bog or on the Links. The school numbered upwards of seven -hundred boys. The Yards, as the playground was called, presented the -busy scene characteristic of similar juvenile gatherings. But there was -then less of restraint either by masters or police than under the new -<i>régime</i> of school boards and “peelers.” Out of school<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_033" id="page_033"></a>{33}</span> boys settled -their own affairs, and righted their own wrongs, with results that seem -to me on the whole to have tended to develop manliness and -self-restraint. In the general sports, as well as in organized bickers -or raids into the enemy’s quarters, after some Cowgate encroachment upon -the amenities of the school, all were one; but the acquaintance even -with the boys of our own class was partial. They naturally formed into -little groups of kindred spirits, the beginnings in some cases of -life-long friendships.</p> - -<p>Dr. Philip Maclagan, referring to those early school-days, says: “I was -one of the original members of the Juvenile Society for the Advancement -of Knowledge. The society met on Friday evening; papers were read by the -members in rotation, and questions previously started were debated. I -remember some of them—‘Whether the whale or the herring afforded the -more useful and profitable employment to mankind?’ ‘Whether the camel -was more useful to the Arab or the reindeer to the Laplander?’ and -similar puzzles for youthful ingenuity.” As yet political and social -questions were unheeded; and the Saturday rambles, for which Edinburgh -offers such rare advantages, furnished materials for subsequent -discussion in diverse geological, botanical, and antiquarian subjects of -interest. Those excursions extended to Cramond; to Royston Castle, -picturesquely crowning a rock near the sea-shore;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_034" id="page_034"></a>{34}</span> to Newhaven, Leith, -or Portobello; or landward, to Craigmillar Castle, Corstorphine, -Colinton, the Esk; and to the Braid or Blackford Hill: a stolen -pleasure, since we were at that time liable to pursuit and ejection as -trespassers. The Arthur’s Seat as well as the Blackford Hill of those -days, if less adapted for the proprieties of a city park, were more to -the taste of youthful explorers while still in a state of nature. It was -the Blackford of young Walter Scott—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i2">“On whose uncultured breast,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Among the broom, and thorn, and whin,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">A truant boy, I sought the nest;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Or listened, as I lay at rest,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">While rose on breezes thin<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The murmur of the city crowd.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">Already, when Scott penned his “Marmion,” the agriculturist and the -builder were working havoc on the scene. How much more may survivors of -that younger circle now say,—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i2">“O’er the landscape, as I look,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Nought do I see unchanged remain,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Save the rude cliffs and chiming brook.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To me they make a heavy moan<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Of early friendships past and gone.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>But such feelings found no place in the thoughts of the eager truants. -Close at hand were the never-failing<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_035" id="page_035"></a>{35}</span> Calton Hill, or Arthur’s Seat and -Duddingston, with charm enough for a pleasant ramble, but also utilized, -along with more extended excursions, for collecting specimens to furnish -material for subsequent discussion in their Juvenile Society, as well as -contributions to the museum which was already in course of formation.</p> - -<p>The sea-shore had then, as in later years, a peculiar charm for William -Nelson. To the very close of his life an excursion in company with some -favourite companion to Newhaven, or to North Berwick, and off in one of -the fishermen’s boats to fish for haddock or whitings, furnished one of -his most prized recreations. But it was at Kinghorn, his mother’s -birthplace, on the opposite shore of the Firth of Forth, that his -choicest holidays were spent. In a letter written in long subsequent -years to his old schoolmate and friend, the Rev. Dr. Simpson of Derby, -when an event, hereafter referred to, brought him anew into intimate -relations with the place, he thus recalls the memories of his early -boyhood:—“My connection with Kinghorn has been very close; and my love -for it, as my mother’s birthplace, and the place where I spent many very -happy days in my earliest years, and during my school holidays -afterwards, is very great. I was exceedingly fond of fishing, both from -the rocks on the sea-shore and at Kinghorn Loch; and happier days were -never spent by any youngster than were those<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_036" id="page_036"></a>{36}</span> days of mine at Kinghorn. -I knew every rock on the coast from Pettycur onwards to Seafield Tower -on East the Braes, which is not far from the ‘lang toon of Kirkcaldy;’ -and a finer sea-coast for grand rocks there is not anywhere on the -northern coast of the Firth of Forth. I was as happy as I could be from -morning till night. I remember the talks, too, in those early days by -the old folks, which were principally about Paul Jones’s visit to the -Firth, my grandmother having seen his ship from the little hamlet of -Glassmount, about two miles from Kinghorn, where she was born, and where -her parents stayed at that time.</p> - -<p>“Another favourite subject of talk was the ‘windy Saturday,’ a -tremendous day of wind, when only one vessel, it was said, out in the -Firth of Forth, was able to face the stormy blasts without coming to -grief. A third subject of talk with the old folks was the mischief that -steam-boats had done to the town, as, before they began to run, there -were big boats to carry passengers; and as they started only at -particular times of the tide, and did not go during the night, -passengers had generally to stay some time in the town till the boats -were ready to start—that is, for Leith, as there was no Newhaven in -those days. ‘What a good this did to the town!’ and, ‘What a mistake it -was to upset the quiet, easy way of taking things, as they were in those -good old days, by the introduction of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_037" id="page_037"></a>{37}</span> steam-boats!’ My mother’s uncle, -John Macallum, was the captain of the first steam-boat, or, at all -events, one of the first, that sailed on the Firth of Forth, its name -being the <i>Sir William Wallace</i>. It unfortunately was wrecked on some -rocks near Burntisland.</p> - -<p>“I could enlarge upon such themes to a great extent, and upon my -companions of those early days; but, alas! those companions have all -passed away, with two exceptions—namely, Henry Darney, a worthy citizen -of Kinghorn, and Major Greig, now of Toronto, Canada. My connection with -Kinghorn came to a close about 1836, when my grandmother died; but such -a liking have I for the place, that I have paid it a short visit almost -every year since that time.”</p> - -<p>His more intimate relations with Kinghorn, as he states, terminated with -the death of his grandmother; but his fondness for it remained through -life. In 1885 his eldest sister, Mrs. George Brown, returned from -Canada, and I am indebted to her for some interesting early -reminiscences recalled by more than one visit made in his company to -their mother’s birthplace. “It was there,” she writes, “he spent all his -holidays as a boy; and so eager was he to get to the place that the very -afternoon of the breaking up of school often saw him on board the -ferry-boat on his way across the Forth, fishing-rod in hand and -fishing-basket on back.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_038" id="page_038"></a>{38}</span> For fishing he had a perfect passion. At -Newhaven, Kinghorn, Crail, North Berwick, and Oban, he was well known -and greatly liked by all the fishermen, although frequently their -patience must have been pretty well put to the test when they were taken -out in rough weather by William, and they knew there were no fish to be -had.</p> - -<p>“When a boy at Kinghorn, late and early he might be seen either putting -his tackle in order, or down on the beach digging for bait, or on the -rocks, now on one and now on another, according to the state of the -tide, contented to spend hours and hours together so that he only caught -fish or even got what he called good nibbles. On many occasions he was -so successful that he was able to keep the poor pretty well supplied -with fish during his visits.</p> - -<p>“It was not only during the holiday months that William occupied himself -in fishing or in preparation for it. All through the winter he and his -brothers spent a good deal of their time in manufacturing lines for the -next summer’s campaign. It is amusing to remember where materials for -these fishing-lines sometimes came from. There was an old piano in the -house which had seen better days, and the strings of it afforded a good -supply of wire for fastening the hooks on the lines; the tail of any -horse unfortunate enough to come in the way was put under contribution -for a supply of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_039" id="page_039"></a>{39}</span> hair. To the end of his life, his interest in and his -love for Kinghorn never waned; and by the occasional visits he continued -to pay, his acquaintance with the few remaining companions of his -boyhood was kept up.</p> - -<p>“The second last visit he paid was in 1886. My sister Jessie and I were -with him. Leaving Edinburgh early in the day, we crossed to Burntisland; -and getting a carriage there, we drove to Pettycur. His recollections -were all of his boyhood. He showed us a part of the beach where he used -to dig for cockles and sand-eels, and the rocks where he and his -companions made a fire to roast potatoes. He pointed out the place where -Alexander III. is said to have been killed; and recalled the old times -of pinnaces and open boats before steamers were heard of. Leaving -Pettycur, we drove to the loch, a lovely, sequestered place, where -William caught his first pike. To show his love for fishing, my brother -Tom recalls the fact that on one occasion, when the holidays were over -and the day had come for William to return to Edinburgh, after he had -finished his preparations for starting, he looked at the clock, and -saying he had still time to run up to the loch before the boat sailed, -rushed off with his fishing-rod. Whether he came back with an empty -basket or not tradition does not say. From the loch we made our way to -the beautiful sandy beach; then up to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_040" id="page_040"></a>{40}</span> Braes, where he used to -scamper about, and on which there still stands an old hawthorn tree, by -the side of which, he told us, he fired his first shot. He loved -evidently to linger in memory over these days and recall his friends and -playmates, the remembrance of whom brought tears to his eyes.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_041" id="page_041"></a>{41}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.<br /><br /> -<small><i>SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLMATES.</i></small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">W</span>ILLIAM Nelson was a pupil in the High School of Edinburgh when one -great cycle in its history was completed. It had occupied the site of -the old Blackfriars’ Monastery for upwards of two hundred and seventy -years. In 1555 the town house of Cardinal Beaton, at the foot of the -Blackfriars’ Wynd, which continued to be one of the most interesting -historical buildings in Edinburgh till its demolition in 1871, was -rented by the city for the use of the Grammar School, while a building -for its permanent occupation was “being biggit on the east side of the -Kirk-of-Field,” the scene, a few years later, of Lord Darnley’s -mysterious assassination. Its rector was David Vocat, a prebendary of -the neighbouring collegiate church of St. Mary-in-the-Field; and under -his rule the cloisters of the Dominicans, built for them in 1230 by -Alexander II., gave place to the halls and playground of the High School -boys. But it was a turbulent age, and before the century closed the -Yards became<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_042" id="page_042"></a>{42}</span> the scene of a tragic event which retained a prominent -place among the traditions of the school so long as it remained on the -old site. In 1598 Bailie Macmoran, one of the city magistrates, was shot -in a barring out of the schoolboys by William Sinclair, a son of the -Chancellor of Caithness. The contemporary diarist, Birrel, notes that -“there was ane number of scholaris, being gentlemen’s bairns, made a -mutinie;” and on the poor bailie interposing, the schoolboy revolt ended -in dire tragedy.</p> - -<p>Great as were the changes that time had wrought on the locality where -the old monastery of the Black Friars gave place to the City Grammar -School, a flavour of historic antiquity pervaded it to the last. The -episcopal palace of the Beatons, where the school work had been carried -on for a time, still stood at the foot of the High School Wynd; and near -by was the site of that of Gawain Douglas, who, while still provost of -St. Giles’s collegiate church—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i5">“In a barbarous age<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Gave to rude Scotland Virgil’s page.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">It was probably due to the vicinity of their lodgings that the poet -interposed on behalf of the militant archbishop when, after the famous -street feud of “Cleanse the Causeway,” Beaton had vainly sought -sanctuary behind the altar of the Blackfriars’ Church, and, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_043" id="page_043"></a>{43}</span> for the -interposition of the poet, would have been slain. His vigorous -translation of the Æneid into the Scottish vernacular was a favourite -with William Nelson in later years. But the associations of the locality -in his school days were for the most part of more recent date.</p> - -<p>The High School Yards had been the playground of Hume, Robertson, -Erskine, Horner, Jeffrey, Cockburn, Brougham, and Scott, and of many a -notability before them. The memory of its gentle, scholarly rector, Dr. -Adam, author of “Roman Antiquities” and other works, was still fresh; -and the old school seemed a link between past generations and the living -age. But neither the site, with its picturesque surroundings, nor the -building, accorded with the ideas of civic reformers who had organized a -crusade against whatever was out of keeping with the brand-new town. The -age had not then reverted to the mediæval models which have since come -into vogue. Classic art was regarded as most suited to academic -requirements; and so a beautiful Grecian building—the finest specimen -of Thomas Hamilton’s architectural skill, in the designing of which his -artist friend, David Roberts, was understood to have contributed -valuable aid,—had been erected on the southern slope of the Calton -Hill, as a more fitting home for the city Grammar School.</p> - -<p>The migration from the antiquated building at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_044" id="page_044"></a>{44}</span> head of the High -School Wynd to this splendid edifice in the New Town was an important -change in many ways besides the mere removal to more commodious and -sightly halls. It brought to an end a host of old customs and -traditions; and, among the rest, to the hereditary feud between the -Cowgate “blackguards” and the High School “puppies.” A grand civic -ceremonial marked this transfer of the school to its new domicile. On -the 23rd of June 1829—a bright, auspicious day—William Nelson, the -head boy of his class, with his schoolmates, under the leadership of the -rector and masters, walked in procession, each bearing an osier wand, -with music, military escort, and all the civic glories that the Lord -Provost and magistrates could command, to do honour to the occasion. It -was a memorable epoch in schoolboy life. But it seemed to the old boys -as though they never were quite at home in their stately New Town -quarters. Old “Blackie,” with her famous “gib” or toffy stall, was out -of place there; and as for Brown’s famous subterranean pie-shop in the -old High School Wynd, it necessarily tarried behind, to the inevitable -ruin of a once flourishing business. Not the building only, but the -entire scholastic system carried on within its walls, soon after -underwent a complete revolution; and the work of the venerable Grammar -School of Prebendary Vocat, the classic arena of Adam, Pillans, and -Carson,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_045" id="page_045"></a>{45}</span> has since devolved on Fettes College, a creation of the present -century.</p> - -<p>But the old classic system still prevailed in William Nelson’s time; -and, notwithstanding some glaring defects, was turned by him to good -account. As to the school itself, it must be owned that it stood in need -of reform. The class of Mr. Benjamin Mackay, under whose training -William Nelson remained for four years, numbered upwards of a hundred -boys. Those in the two front forms worked with more or less persistency -under a somewhat coercive system; the remainder idled in the most -flagrant fashion, and not a few of them looked back in later years on -those dreary hours with an indignant sense of wasted time. But William -Nelson was foremost among the studious workers. The same quiet, resolute -perseverance which marked his later career in business characterized him -as a schoolboy. He maintained his place as the dux of his class, carried -off the chief prizes of the school, and at the close of his course under -the rector, Dr. Carson, he passed to the university with the highest -honours, as classical gold medalist.</p> - -<p>Among the carefully preserved papers of his early years are a bundle of -old letters from schoolmates, enclosed in an envelope addressed to his -mother, with an endorsation begging her to see to their safe keeping. -They furnish pleasant glimpses of the affectionate relations<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_046" id="page_046"></a>{46}</span> already -established with more than one of the friends of later years. The solemn -protest of the learned Principal, Dr. Lee, against “that most -objectionable and pernicious practice of making balls of snow,” is -humorously commented on, along with graver matters, such as pertained to -the themes and discussions of the Juvenile Literary Society, and the -more ambitious debating societies of the university. His own sense of -humour found free play both in early and later years; but above all, his -youthful letters are full of pleasant gossip of the old sailors of -Kinghorn, who told him yarns of the victories in which they had shared -in the great French war, and the pranks they indulged in when flush with -prize-money. Old Charlie Mackenzie had been in the <i>Mars</i> in her action -with the <i>Hercules</i>, one of the bloodiest naval conflicts of the war. -Another of the Kinghorn story-tellers—Orrock, who died in 1836, upwards -of ninety years of age—claimed to have known the man who acted as -drummer at the Porteous mob, and to have learned from him some details -of the burning of the doors, and so gaining admission to the Tolbooth. -The intense feeling of local attachment which such reminiscences reveal -manifested itself in later years in the interest he took in improvements -at Kinghorn, as well as in the more costly restorations in his native -city. But one of the first fruits of his intercourse with the old -pensioners of Kinghorn,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_047" id="page_047"></a>{47}</span> who, as he says, “were great fishers for -podlies from certain rocks on the sea-shore,” was the capture of a crab -with a double claw, a <i>lusus naturæ</i>, which furnished a novel subject -for discussion at a meeting of the Juvenile Literary Society. His -contributions to its collections and learned discussions were generally -of the same class—algæ, shells, or other marine curiosities, the fruits -of his last holiday ramble by the sea.</p> - -<p>Among stray waifs that have survived from those old days is a letter, -bearing date February 20, 1829, addressed to the secretary of the -Juvenile Society by the elder brother of one of its members. With all -the condescension of an undergraduate placing his mature knowledge at -the service of schoolboys, the writer sets forth “the very great -pleasure I take in hearing of the proceedings of your society, and my -unqualified approbation of your plan of keeping a journal as a sort of -record of your proceedings.” He proceeds: “I daresay you are unaware -that the duties of a student of medicine are of a very arduous nature.” -But, as he goes on to state, he had laid before the Plinian Society in -the previous summer a paper on certain “Discoveries made behind -Edinburgh Castle in digging the foundation of the new bridge,”—part of -the terraced road which involved the destruction of Trotter’s Close and -the Nelson homestead,—and this, he says, “I shall copy out in a style -which I hope will prove interesting to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_048" id="page_048"></a>{48}</span> my young friends, and which may, -perhaps, form a contribution to their journal.” The writer, whose -seniority, by the years that separate the College student from the High -School boy, entitled him thus condescendingly to address his brother -Philip and the other juvenile <i>savants</i>, is now Sir Douglas Maclagan, -the genial veteran Professor of Medical Jurisprudence in his own -university; and, it may be added, the author of some of the most popular -of a younger generation’s student-songs.</p> - -<p>At a later stage the juvenile debaters awoke to an interest in the -stirring questions of the day. Mr. Alexander Sprunt, writing from -Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1859, says: “During the period of our -High School curriculum, questions were occupying the public mind, and -startling events taking place in Europe: the final struggle of the -Poles, the French ‘Three Days of July,’ the reform movement, etc. The -subject of the immediate or gradual emancipation of the negro slaves in -the colonies was also keenly discussed about that time. Some of us, -being related to families of the colonists, were familiar with the -arguments for a gradual abolition of slavery.” William Nelson took up -the question warmly, and was an uncompromising advocate for immediate -emancipation. As to the oft-renewed struggle in France between Bourbon -Royalists, Imperialists, and Red Republicans, it was forcibly brought -home to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_049" id="page_049"></a>{49}</span> realization of the young debaters by the presence of the -exiled Charles X. and his little court at Holyrood; and by the -occasional sight of the royal refugee as he passed the High School Yards -on foot, in company with one or two of his suite, to enjoy the -magnificent panorama from the Calton Hill.</p> - -<p>The fruits of those early experiences could be discerned in later years. -The boy’s education was progressing under other teachings besides those -of the schoolmaster. It was altogether alien to the unobtrusiveness of -William Nelson’s sensitive nature to take, in later years, a prominent -share in political life; but his generous support was extended in the -most practical form to all philanthropic movements. He manifested the -keenest interest in all questions of liberal politics: in the -emancipation of the slaves; in the prolonged controversies which led to -the disruption of the Scottish Church; and in the more recent struggle -between the Slave and Free States in the great American Civil War. Most -of those questions belong to periods long subsequent to the time when -James and Alexander Sprunt were the champions of the West Indian -planters, and William Nelson and other juvenile debaters maintained the -cause of the enslaved negro.</p> - -<p>But the members of the Literary Society, as already noted, had their -field-days as well as their Friday night sessions; and in pursuit of -material for their papers,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_050" id="page_050"></a>{50}</span> as well as in the free use of the Saturday -and other holidays, the schoolmates had many an exciting ramble. In -spite of its uncertain climate, Edinburgh presents an unequalled variety -of choice holiday excursions; and as to the rain, it required a good -deal more than an ordinary shower to put a stop to any projected -excursion. In walking, climbing, and all the ordinary feats of healthy -boyhood, William Nelson was unsurpassed. To make our way to the summit -of Salisbury Crags by the famous Cat-Nick, or outrival each other in the -attempt to scale Samson’s Ribs, and sit supreme on some overhanging -ledge of the basaltic columns, were among the most favourite pastimes. -Or a leisurely climb along the slopes to the summit of Arthur’s Seat, -and a survey of the magnificent landscape spread out to view, were a -prelude, at the word, to a dash down the hill, scrambling like so many -goats over the western cliffs and the rough slope below, and so by the -Hunter’s Bog, for the first draught at St. Anthony’s Well. In all such -feats William Nelson was a match for any schoolmate. His coolness -equalled his courage, and he had a love for daring feats such as those -who only knew him in later years will hardly realize. When the old home -at the Bowhead was displaced by the Assembly Hall, and its lofty spire -was in process of erection, he made friends with the contractor, and I -accompanied him in more than one ascent. A steam<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_051" id="page_051"></a>{51}</span> hoist carried us up -the main portion of the way; and then came the trying ordeal on the -ladders. But as the tapering spire approached completion, it was no -longer possible to reach the summit from within; and I still recall with -vividness the composure with which, all unconscious of danger, he walked -out on the narrow plank, over a depth of upwards of two hundred feet, -and stood at the extreme end of it, noting and commenting on the various -objects spread out below.</p> - -<p>A future career for life was as yet unthought of. But while aiming -solely at pleasure, and rejoicing in a holiday’s escape from school, the -boy was unconsciously educating himself. Already the botanical box and -the geological hammer were in vogue. Not, indeed, the luxurious -appliances with which amateur naturalists are now furnished. Any hammer -sufficed for getting at a coveted fossil; and as for our <i>hortus -siccus</i>, an old candle-box was appropriated by the botanical collector. -But the archæological tastes in which more than one of William Nelson’s -schoolmates sympathized, and to which he gave such practical expression -in later years, were already in process of development. The pleasurable -associations with historic scenes and picturesque ruins found ample -scope in those holiday rambles. Craigmillar Castle was close at hand; -and within easy distance was old Roman Cramond, with chances of a -numismatic prize to the fortunate explorer, and with<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_052" id="page_052"></a>{52}</span> the sculptured -eagle of the legionaries of the second century still visible on the -cliff at the mouth of the river Almond. This had a special charm for -boys fresh from their Cæsar and Tacitus, giving a sense of reality to -those forgotten centuries. It was an object-lesson, better even than the -Roman altar dedicated to the goddess Epona—<small>DEÆ EPONÆ</small>—which Dr. Carson, -the Rector of the High School, produced to his class, and won their -attentive admiration as he pointed to the focus in which the Roman -horse-jockey had poured a libation; and adduced passages from the -Satires of Juvenal in confirmation of his theme.</p> - -<p>Farther afield lay Woodhouselee, Seton and Roslin chapels; Niddry, -Borthwick, and Crichton castles; Preston Cross and Tower; and many -another storied ruin associated with familiar historic events. Pinkie -Cleugh, Carberry Hill, Lasswade, Dalkeith, and Prestonpans, were each -linked with song or story. Maclagan was an ardent collector of plants -and insects; geology divided with botany the interest of George Wilson; -John A. Smith had already begun the collection of coins; and William -Nelson was forming the tastes which manifested themselves in later years -in his love for every venerable nook of his native city, and in his zeal -for the preservation of its historic memorials.</p> - -<p>The change from school to college life is in every case an important -one. With the majority it involves<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_053" id="page_053"></a>{53}</span> emancipation, in a large degree, -from enforced and distasteful studies, and their exchange for congenial -pursuits. The youth begins for the first time to estimate knowledge at -its real worth, and to shape out plans of study for himself. But the -novel arena is no less important as that in which the companionships of -the playground give place to that discriminating choice of congenial -associates in which life-long friendships have so often originated. It -is the joyous season in which the springtide is just merging into life’s -early summer; when youth is animated by all generous aspirations, and -hope’s rainbow arch spans the horizon.</p> - -<p>The period of William Nelson’s admission as an undergraduate of the -University of Edinburgh was in some respects a brilliant one in its -history; and even more so in relation to its students than its -professors. Dr. John Lee, the learned Church historian and black-letter -scholar, was principal, and Dr. Chalmers occupied the chair of divinity; -the chair of natural philosophy was successively occupied by Sir John -Leslie and by James D. Forbes. Before the abrupt close of William -Nelson’s academic career, Sir William Hamilton had assumed the lead in -its school of mental science; and the fame of John Wilson, its professor -of moral philosophy, under his pseudonym of “Christopher North,” -attracted many to his class-room for whom his professed theme would have -had no charm.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_054" id="page_054"></a>{54}</span> But in the department of classics, for which all William -Nelson’s previous training had been specially directed, the faculty was -imperfectly equipped. Dunbar, a poor representative of Hellenic -scholarship, had then filled the Greek chair for upwards of a quarter of -a century. On the other hand, the professor of humanity was James -Pillans, an elegant scholar, and, in the words of Sir Alexander Grant, -“a born teacher and educator;” though latterly more prone to dwell on -little critical niceties than to give himself up to the drudgery which -was indispensable for the training of his large and often inadequately -prepared class. Among other traits that his old pupils will recall was -the never-failing protest at the opening of a new session, which -reminded the class that he enjoyed the dubious fame of being pilloried -by Byron in his “English Bards and Scotch Reviewers.” The irate bard, in -his indiscriminate <i>furor</i>, had characterized the professor of humanity -as “Paltry Pillans;” and William Nelson used to quote this incident of -his own experience in justification of the title:—He had an essay to -give in on a certain day, and not having finished it till late on the -previous night, instead of walking to the professor’s remote residence -at Inverleith Row, he dropped his manuscript into the nearest post-box. -Next day, when the class assembled, the first intimation from the -professor was, “I will thank Mr. William Nelson to hand twopence to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_055" id="page_055"></a>{55}</span> the -janitor for the postage of his essay!” Notwithstanding some amusing -eccentricities, Professor Pillans was held in great esteem by his old -pupil as an apt and painstaking enthusiast in his profession; and the -good feeling was mutual. William Nelson was a favourite pupil, in whose -progress he took a lively interest, and it was in spite of his most -urgent remonstrances that the classic muse was abandoned at the call of -filial duty.</p> - -<p>But it was the fortune of William Nelson, in those happy days of student -life, to find himself among a rare band of undergraduates, many of whom -subsequently won a name for themselves in ampler fields. Edward Forbes -was then a zealous volunteer on the staff of the <i>University Maga</i>, -contributing with pen and pencil, in prose and verse, to its columns. He -had a rare power of winning co-operation in whatever he set on foot; and -he gathered around him a band of kindred spirits, who, as sharers in the -exuberant frolic and satire of the <i>Maga</i>, formed themselves at length -into the Magi, or members of the Maga Club. Out of this grew the famous -“Brotherhood of the Friends of Truth,” with its archimagus, its ribbon, -and its mystic motto:-</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">ΟΙΝΣ ΕΡΩΣ ΜΑΘΗΣΙΣ,<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">which still survives under its later guise of the Red<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_056" id="page_056"></a>{56}</span> Lions of the -British Association gatherings. There was a curious admixture of -youthful exuberance and frolic with a lofty earnestness of aim in the -Brotherhood. The search after truth was declared, in its programme, not -only to be man’s noblest occupation, but his duty; and the spirit of the -order is thus set forth: “This brotherhood is a union of the searchers -after truth, for the glory of God, the good of all, and the honour of -the order, to the end that mind may hold its rightful sway in the -world.”</p> - -<p>Of the youthful band of undergraduates, John Goodsir, Bennett, Blackie, -Lyon Playfair, George Wilson, and Edward Forbes, all ultimately filled -chairs in their own university. Day succeeded to a professorship in St. -Andrews, and Struthers to one in Aberdeen. Henry Goodsir, a youth of -high ability, accompanied Sir John Franklin as naturalist in the -ill-fated Arctic expedition, from which none returned. Dr. Stanger -distinguished himself, with better fortune, in the Niger expedition of -1844; Andrew Ramsay rose to be chief of the Geological Survey; and other -fellow-students and members of the order have occupied professors’ -chairs in Canada and in India, have represented their university in -Parliament, or made their mark in no less useful ways. Among the latter -the name of William Nelson claims an honourable rank. For the scheme of -the brotherhood required each member<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_057" id="page_057"></a>{57}</span> “to devote his time and his -energies to the department for which he feels and proves himself best -fitted, communicating his knowledge to all, so that all may benefit -thereby, casting away selfishness, and enforcing precepts of love.” -Assuredly when those maxims came to be tested in the daily business of -life, no one gave their spirit of unselfishness more practical -manifestation than the subject of this memoir.</p> - -<p>In Professor Pillans’s class he maintained the standing which he had -achieved at the High School. His foremost but unequal rival in the -composition of Latin verse was the late George Paxton Young, the -esteemed Professor of Logic and Metaphysics in the University of -Toronto. It was while William Nelson was still a student that John -Cairns—the friend and fellow-student both at Edinburgh and Berlin of -his younger brother, John Nelson, and now the venerable Principal and -Professor of Systematic Theology in the Divinity Hall of the United -Presbyterian Church—came fresh from the pastoral hills of Berwickshire -to win for himself a distinguished place among the men of his time.</p> - -<p>Amid the stimulus and rivalry of such competitors for fame, the young -student devoted himself with renewed zeal to the classics, with -undefined visions of some honourable professional or academic reward as -his life-prize; and fulfilled the high anticipations of his earlier -career. But while thus steadily pursuing a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_058" id="page_058"></a>{58}</span> course which gave abundant -promise of triumph, his father was suddenly prostrated by disease; and -William, as the eldest son of a large family, abandoned all the bright -prospects of his university career, and the dream of professional or -academic achievements, to grapple with the unfamiliar difficulties of a -commercial enterprise, till then conducted on a scale commensurate with -the modest aims of an elder generation in the Old Town of Edinburgh.</p> - -<p>The business of Mr. Thomas Nelson was a curious survival of the system -borrowed from the great fairs of the Middle Ages, and grafted on to -their older traffic by the successors of Guttenburg and Fust; of Caxton, -Wynkin de Worde, and Chepman and Miller. Allan Ramsay had followed in -their steps, with his booth at the sign of the Mercury, opposite the -head of Niddry’s Wynd, from whence he transferred it to the Luckenbooths -at the City Cross. It was in just such another luckenbooth at the -Bowhead that Mr. Thomas Nelson originated the business which has since -developed into such great proportions.</p> - -<p>William Nelson threw himself at once, with characteristic singleness of -aim, into his new vocation; nor did he ever express regret at his -enforced desertion of scholarship for trade. But few men have carried -away from school or college a keener sense of the attachments of student -life. To the last the plea of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_059" id="page_059"></a>{59}</span> an old schoolmate ever presented an -irresistible claim which scarcely any demerit could cancel. The fate of -one whose life, by his own misconduct, had closed in miserable failure -is thus charitably noted in one of his letters: “Poor —— died two days -ago of congestion of the lungs; and it is a wonder that he hung on so -long, as he has been in a very dilapidated condition for years. The last -time I saw him, his condition was truly pitiable. I sent him a fresh -bolster and bedding, for the ones he had were hard and foul. Poor -fellow! he did a great deal to hasten the approach of the last enemy.” -His loyalty to early friends was unfailing. He kept a record of his -classmates in the High School, and noted with keenest interest their -success or failure in life. He told with kindly humour of the refusal of -a liberal “tip” offered to a porter at Cairo who had been specially -serviceable, and then claimed fellowship by reminding him of old High -School doings. B—— was the ne’er-do-weel of Mackay’s class, who had -thus found his vocation in the land of the Pharaohs. His sympathy was -unbounded in any honour or good fortune achieved by a schoolmate; and -latterly, as he watched the rapidly diminishing numbers of the old group -of school and college companions, he recorded at the close of each year -the minutes of Death’s roll-call. To one who entered so keenly into -academic life, and whose career was so replete with promise, it was a -trying ordeal to abandon<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_060" id="page_060"></a>{60}</span> college for the uncongenial drudgery of a -trading venture for which such experiences seemed to promise no helpful -training. But in Scotland a university career is by no means regarded as -unsuitable preparation for trade and commerce; and William Nelson was -speedily to show what success the classical gold medalist of the High -School and the best writer of Latin verse in the College could achieve -in business life.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_061" id="page_061"></a>{61}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.<br /><br /> -<small><i>THE CASTLE HILL.</i></small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">W</span>ITH characteristic energy the young student, now in his nineteenth -year, set himself to grapple with the novel difficulties of the -book-trade. Neither the irksome drudgery nor the uncongenial demands -incident to the business daunted the youthful adventurer, who had so -recently found his highest vocation in the mastery of Latin quantities, -and the triumphs of competitive hexameters after the models of Horace -and Virgil. In the summer of 1880, the present writer spent some weeks -with his old schoolmate at Philiphaugh, in the vale of Yarrow, famous as -the scene of Montrose’s last battle. During an excursion to Berwick, -with the special object of visiting another schoolmate, he pointed out -more than one book-store in the old Border town, familiar to him in -association with his first experiences as a commercial traveller, and -humorously described those early ventures in the disposal of his -literary wares. According to Johnson of Liverpool, his journey extended -to that city, and Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_062" id="page_062"></a>{62}</span> Johnson gave him his first large order for books. -He had already succeeded in overcoming the prejudices of the regular -trade, and fixed a scale of prices which disarmed their antagonism.</p> - -<p>The books, as already stated, were for the most part reprints from -standard and popular works beyond the range of copyright restrictions. -Their paper-covered boards and imperfect printing were in striking -contrast to the choice typography, paper, and binding, and the tasteful -illustrations, which characterized the works issued by the firm in later -days. Yet the germ even of this was already discernible in the engraved -frontispieces and vignette titles introduced to catch the eye and cater -for the popular taste.</p> - -<p>So early as 1829, Mr. Thomas Nelson, senior, had aimed at the extension -of his business by engaging a commercial traveller to push the sales of -his publications with the trade. Mr. James Macdonald was first -despatched on this mission; but as Curwen states, in his “History of -Booksellers,” owing to the stigma attached to the unwonted nature of the -business, his mission was a failure. “At Aberdeen the booksellers rose -up in arms, and only one had the courage to give him an order.” To him -succeeded, ere long, Mr. James Peters, a more successful agent, and a -faithful <i>attaché</i> of the house through all its later fortunes till his -death. But Curwen says: “It was not until Mr. William Nelson, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_063" id="page_063"></a>{63}</span> -eldest son of the founder, took to the road that the trade business was -really consolidated, not only in Scotland, but also in the chief towns -of the United Kingdom. In fact, it may be said that Mr. William Nelson -was the real builder of the business, working upwards from a foundation -that was certainly narrow and circumscribed. Mr. Thomas Nelson, the -younger brother, soon after this admitted to the firm, undertook the -energetic superintendence of the manufacturing department, and was the -originator of the extensive series of school books.”</p> - -<p>William Nelson’s taste in literature was refined, and his reading -extensive. His mind was stored with the fruits of years of liberal -study; and when stimulated by the sight of beautiful scenery, or moved -by some unusual occurrence, he sometimes surprised strangers by his apt -and lengthened quotations from favourite poets. Soon after the removal -to the Castle Hill establishment, Mr. Duncan Keith,—the son of an old -friend of Mr. Nelson, with whom William had spent at Glasgow a brief -period of initiation into the mysteries of trading,—was welcomed as a -member of the West Bow home-circle, and took his place among the busy -corps on the Castle Hill. He was the junior of William Nelson by some -years, and thus writes: “My evenings were chiefly spent in the society -of the younger branches of the family; but I have a distinct -remembrance<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_064" id="page_064"></a>{64}</span> of William reading aloud from Horace and Virgil in a manner -that showed an intimate acquaintance with the language, and an -appreciation of the poetry in the original. Though a High School dux -myself, it was far above me; and, so far as my later observation goes, -above most people.” But it was only amongst intimate friends that he -gave free play to his literary sympathies. Nothing was more remote from -his character than any effort at display; and men of culture who, in -their intercourse with him, had long regarded him only as the man of -business, were sometimes startled by an unexpected betrayal of his -familiarity with classical and general literature, as well as by his -sound judgment on questions of critical discussion.</p> - -<p>With a taste thus matured, his feeling for art was refined, and he -directed his efforts, with ingenious skill, to render the works issued -from the firm attractive. Novel methods of illustration were introduced. -Wood-cuts were printed with tinted grounds and relieved lights. -Chromo-lithographs vied in effect with the original water-colour -drawings. A late series of reproductions of Landseer’s pictures, though -designed only for a child’s book, constituted a valuable memorial of the -great animal painter. Inventive ingenuity was directed to the production -of fresh novelties in binding and illustration, many of which were -eagerly copied by the trade. William Nelson’s appreciation of artistic<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_065" id="page_065"></a>{65}</span> -excellence seemed to be innate and instinctive. “A thing of beauty” was -a joy to him wholly apart from his own share in its production. His -admiration for a well-got-up book, or for illustrations of unusual -excellence, found as hearty utterance in reference to the publications -of another firm as of his own; and hence he was always open to fresh -hints, and prepared for improvement on his most successful efforts. He -was, indeed, too easily beguiled by good looks both in books and men. -This characteristic passage occurs in a letter to an old friend: “I had -a call two days ago from a most fair-spoken English clergyman, who -wanted help to build a ragged school in Sheffield. He insisted that you -had introduced him to me, and that I had taken him over the works and -given him a book, which was likely enough; though, as I told him, I had -no recollection of it. He was most plausible, and very good-looking. A -good-looking outside takes my fancy in anything. I always find myself -expecting the best of a good-looking book; and I am apt to believe -pleasant things of good-looking people also. He assured me he was a -great friend of yours; and he had such a friendly look that I gave him -what he wanted. Do you know anything of this Dr. Pike? I have had my -suspicions of him that he is a plausible humbug,”—which, as in many a -similar case, proved to be only too well founded.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_066" id="page_066"></a>{66}</span></p> - -<p>A writer in the <i>Scottish Typographical Circular</i> remarks: “Mr. Nelson -was often popping in and out among artists and engravers who did work -for him, giving them new ideas and further suggestions. He did not -grudge trouble or expense if he got things nice and to his mind. He -rejoiced in beautiful typography, and displayed great artistic taste in -the wood-cuts and illustrations.” He was indeed a familiar visitor in -the studios of London and Paris, as well as of Edinburgh; and during his -frequent Continental tours derived intense pleasure from his visits to -the galleries both of ancient and modern art. His eye was quick to -discern the merits of a painting, and his judgment was prompt and -decided. He was indeed sensitive to any manifestation of bad taste; and -the unsightly disfigurement of the buildings or thoroughfares of his -native city by placards or signboards, excited his anger to a degree -that sometimes startled the offender. His remonstrance on such occasions -was apt to be expressed with a blunt sincerity that could not be -misunderstood. The same severe standard of taste was applied in his own -business, and made its influence felt in every department of typography, -illustration, and binding.</p> - -<p>A memorandum, found among his papers after his death, preserves an -incident in the first stages of the inexperienced but energetic -reformer’s proceedings. His father had acquired a set of stereotype -plates of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_067" id="page_067"></a>{67}</span> Drinkwater’s “Siege of Gibraltar,” and had a portrait of its -author engraved for the frontispiece. A reprint of it being in progress, -the plate was intrusted to the engraver for retouching; and he undertook -to get the autograph of the old soldier, to be added as an attractive -feature. The new and illustrated edition was issued accordingly, and -found a ready sale. But some years afterwards a venerable -military-looking gentleman waited on Mr. Nelson, and asked where he had -obtained the signature. Colonel Drinkwater, who was supposed to have -been long since dead, was himself the questioner; and, as William Nelson -notes, the signature was subsequently identified as in the handwriting -of the deceased manager of Mr. Lizar’s engraving establishment. But only -in the first stage of transition from student life to the counting-house -and the publisher’s office could such a proceeding have eluded his -vigilance. A copy of the engraving is attached to the memorandum, and -contrasts very markedly with the illustrations of later years, when -William Nelson’s critical taste, conjoined with his experience in -adapting the issues of his publishing-house to popular demand, won for -the productions of the firm a character for great attractiveness in -outward aspect and illustration. At a later date, the “Chronicles of the -Schönberg-Cotta Family” constituted the first of a highly popular series -of books by the same author.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_068" id="page_068"></a>{68}</span> The charming authoress who writes under -the initials A. L. O. E., the late Mary Howitt, Mrs. Traill, R. M. -Ballantyne, and other writers, figured on their list of authors. The -charming series of “Art Gift Books,” from the French of M. Jules and -Mme. Michelet, and M. Arthur Mangin—“The Insect,” “The Bird,” “The -Mysteries of the Ocean,” and “The Desert World,” as well as other works -of the same class—are illustrated in the best style of art. But it was -as caterers for the people, in an abundant supply of pure, high-toned -popular literature, and not as rivals of the great publishing houses -through which the most eminent writers appeal to select classes of -readers, that the Nelsons achieved their greatest success. In the -tribute paid to the worth of William Nelson by the Rev. Dr. Alison when -his life-work was finished, it is said: “His influence, and that of the -firm of which he was the head, has gone forth healthfully to the ends of -the earth. Religious principle, no less than skill and taste and -enterprise, has been in all their work as publishers of literature. No -man can measure the good which that incessant stream of excellent books -issuing from their press has done for the world. To a large extent they -have been for the multitude, rather than for the learned few.” But this -was the summing up of the work of a lifetime. Much had to be achieved in -its progress, step by step, ere such results could even be aimed at.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_069" id="page_069"></a>{69}</span></p> - -<p>Under the energetic management of the young publisher the picturesque -tenement at the head of the West Bow, which had sufficed for his -father’s bookselling operations, soon proved inadequate for the growing -business. A neighbouring “land,”—as an entire pile of building in the -Old Town of Edinburgh is still called,—situated at the head of Blyth’s -Close, Castle Hill, with the palace of Mary of Guise in its rear, was -secured; and there the first steps were taken which ultimately developed -into the great establishments of Hope Park and Parkside. Machinery was -brought into use wherever available; and a well-organized division of -labour was introduced, until at length nearly every process, from the -initial type-setting to the final issue of the bound and illustrated -volume, was executed on the premises. The locality where this new -departure was made, preparatory to the great works at Hope Park, with -its hundreds of work-people, and its wholesale branches at London and -New York, is one rich in literary associations. Near by, on the northern -slope of the Castle bank, is the house of Allan Ramsay, poet and -bookseller; Blair’s Close, long noted among the most ancient nooks of -the Castle Hill, was the abode of Alison Cockburn, authoress of “The -Flowers of the Forest,” and of other plaintive as well as humorous -Scottish songs. To St. James’s Court, on the east side, James Boswell -brought Dr. Samuel Johnson,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_070" id="page_070"></a>{70}</span> and entertained him in the house where he -had succeeded to the historian David Hume. There was an old-world -literary flavour about the place that gave a certain piquancy to the -start of the young adventurer deserting the classic grove for the -prosaic haunts of commerce.</p> - -<p>The Rev. Dr. Simpson of Derby, already noted as an old schoolmate and a -life-long friend, refers in one of his letters to the lectures and -social entertainments provided at a later date for the numerous workers -in the Hope Park establishment, in which he was an active labourer. But -the interest taken by William Nelson in his employés was manifested at -an earlier stage. Lectures and social recreations had already been -instituted before the transfer of the works to Hope Park, in some of the -earliest of which the present writer bore a part. But with increasing -numbers, and more ample room, those instructive entertainments were -organized on an extensive scale, and are described in a memorandum of -Dr. Simpson, by whom many of the later lectures were given. His account -of them may find a fit place here, though in some points it anticipates -the narrative of later years. “The deep interest,” he remarks, “which -Mr. Nelson felt in his work-people, and his desire to promote their -well-being in every sense, conspicuously appear in the entertainments -which were from time to time got up for them. At first these<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_071" id="page_071"></a>{71}</span> were -chiefly in the nature of banquets or suppers, to which all were invited, -when they were regaled with the good things of this life in a judicious -but liberal manner. Along with this, however, he was careful to combine -moral and religious instruction, by securing addresses by one or two -clerical friends. By-and-by he provided for them occasional lectures on -subjects of varied interest. For those he got up, at considerable -expense and trouble, a series of illustrations which were shown on a -screen by the oxy-hydrogen light, the lecturer describing each picture -while it was before the eyes of the audience. This was, I believe, the -first introduction of this form of lecture, which has since become so -common. The pictures were reproduced from engravings by the photographer -of the establishment, Mr. Sinclair, and then hand-coloured with much -care and skill by Mr. Ramage, who devoted himself to the art-work -connected with the extensive business of the firm.</p> - -<p>“The first of those illustrated lectures was on the transfer of -Napoleon’s remains from St. Helena to Paris. The second was on -Garibaldi’s invasion of Sicily and Italy, ending with his meeting with -Victor Immanuel, and hailing him as king of Italy. Afterwards a new -departure was made, and the lectures were chiefly devoted to the genius -and works of celebrated artists; the illustrations being transcripts of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_072" id="page_072"></a>{72}</span> -the artists’ principal works. The first subject of this class was David -Scott, R.S.A., in connection with his illustrations of Coleridge’s -‘Ancient Mariner,’ subsequently reproduced by Messrs. Nelson in a -tasteful edition of the poem. The next lecture was devoted to the works -of Landseer; and to this succeeded similar illustrations of Hogarth, -Wilkie, Harvey, Leech, etc. Those lectures were greatly appreciated; the -large hall at Hope Park, in which they were given, being always crowded -to excess by the employés, their wives and families, supplemented by -friends invited by Mr. Nelson, including some who took an active part in -this generous effort for the social elevation of the working-classes, -such as Dr. Guthrie and Dr. Hannah; and their artist friends, Sir George -Harvey, D. O. Hill, James Drummond, and others. For each of those -lectures Mr. Nelson had prepared from twenty to thirty slides, which -were arranged in partitioned cases made for their safe keeping.” But -they perished, along with much more valuable property, in the disastrous -fire of 1878.</p> - -<p>But only the initial steps towards the full development of the Hope Park -works, with their ingeniously devised machinery and systematic division -of labour, were possible at the Castle Hill establishment. Its -accommodation, though a great step in advance of that at the Bowhead, -was inadequate for such plans, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_073" id="page_073"></a>{73}</span> the numbers employed were -correspondingly limited. But the workmen were carefully selected; and -from the first the relations between them and their employer were -characterized by mutual respect and confidence. They recognized in him -one whose interest in their welfare was generous, and his sympathy that -of a friend. But his own attention to business extended to the minutest -details, and anything indicative of mere eye-service or sloth was -intolerable to him. An anecdote highly characteristic of him is thus -narrated on the authority of one who had been long in his -employment:—“Two navvies were engaged one day at Hope Park turning a -crank when Mr. William Nelson was passing. He paused for a moment and -looked at the men, who seemed to go about their work rather leisurely. -He then came forward to them, and asked, in a gruff manner, if they -could not work a little harder and turn the crank quicker. They answered -at once ‘they could not; it was a stiff job, and very fatiguing.’ -‘Nonsense,’ he replied; ‘let me try.’ Seizing one of the handles, he did -try; but, after giving the handle two or three turns, desisted, for it -made the perspiration pour from him. Then he remarked, ‘Ay, just go on -as you’ve been doing;’ and, putting his hand into his pocket, added, -‘There’s half-a-crown between you.’ Many similar anecdotes might be -told. He liked smart, active workmen; but he did not willingly drive or -unduly<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_074" id="page_074"></a>{74}</span> press any one. He would at once rebuke any of his employés if he -considered they deserved it; but if afterwards he found he had acted -hastily or wrongly, he would apologize, even to the humblest worker, and -almost invariably with the apology there came a gift.”</p> - -<p>It is not surprising that the relations between such an employer and his -workmen were something closer than those of the mere hireling. The -workmen who had shared in his first efforts in the Castle Hill -establishment followed him to Hope Park. Some of them, by their fidelity -and skill, contributed to the success of later years; and the veteran -survivors of that original staff were regarded by William Nelson to the -last as objects of exceptional favour.</p> - -<p>Among those who thus migrated from the Castle Hill to Hope Park, one -claims special attention as a relic of the original Bowhead -establishment. James Peters has already been named. He was a man of good -education, and, what was rare in his day, had a familiar knowledge of -the French language. He was, moreover, a devout Presbyterian of the -early type, eschewing the Covenanting exclusiveness of his old master, -and holding faithfully to the National Kirk. His familiarity with the -Scriptures was so great that he was accredited with knowing the entire -New Testament by heart, and quoting familiarly from much of the Old -Testament. He had been the trusted clerk,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_075" id="page_075"></a>{75}</span> commercial traveller, and man -of all work: the entire staff for a time of the bookselling business -under the elder <i>régime</i>; and as the cautious ventures of its founder -gave way to the comprehensive schemes of a younger generation, he -watched their operations with many misgivings. Old Peters would have -furnished a study for Sir Walter Scott fit to have ranked alongside of -his Owen and Caleb Balderstone. He moved in all things with the -regularity of clockwork, and sternly resented in others the slightest -deviation from orderly business procedure or punctuality as to time. Mr. -Duncan Keith sums up his own early recollections of him with the remark -that “even John Munro, the beadle of Mr. Goold the Covenanting -minister’s kirk, stood in awe of him.” One day, contrary to all -precedent, he asked leave to go away a little earlier than the usual -closing hour. He reappeared next morning, and, addressing William, said, -“I wish you would tell your father I got married yesterday.” On inquiry, -he stated that he had just wedded the elderly dame with whom he lodged. -“It will be cheaper,” he said; “and we’ll get on weel enough thegither. -We hae been lang used to each other.” When in early days the plan of -book sales was in vogue, he was intrusted with the carrying out of one -of the ventures; but his ideas of orderly procedure were wholly at -variance with the novel experiment. He abruptly returned home the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_076" id="page_076"></a>{76}</span> -following day, and would have nothing more to do with such work. His -loyalty to his young masters knew no bounds; but he could never quite -forget that they had been boys when he had the sole charge of the -Bowhead buith, or indeed feel it to be natural to speak of them -otherwise than by their Christian names. Duty clearly required him to -advise and warn them at every new step, so unlike the prudent thrift of -early days. If we could realize all the feelings of a sober old -brood-hen when the ducklings that she has hatched take their first -plunge into the mill-pond, and in spite of her clucking and pother sail -off into the expanse of waters heedless of all remonstrance, we might be -better able to sympathize with the worthy old servitor as his young -master launched into ever new and more ambitious ventures. He survived -his active faculties, and was an object of kindly care and liberality -long after he had ceased even to deceive himself with the fancy that he -could be of service in the business.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_077" id="page_077"></a>{77}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.<br /><br /> -<small><i>HOPE PARK.</i></small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HE premises on the Castle Hill became ere long too limited for the -rapidly-growing business. William Nelson had been joined in the -enterprise by his younger brother, Thomas; and with their combined -energy many novel features were developed and advances made in fresh -avenues of trade. The publications of the establishment were attracting -attention by their improved typography and tasteful embellishment. -Ampler room and greater subdivision of labour had become indispensable. -So, looking around for some more suitable locality, their attention was -directed to a group of antiquated dwellings at the east end of the -Meadows, the remains of one of the suburban villages swallowed up when -Old Edinburgh burst its mural barriers and extended over the surrounding -heights.</p> - -<p>In an address given by William Nelson to those in his employment, at one -of his social entertainments, when a building was in progress at Hope -Park which he then assumed was to be the final addition to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_078" id="page_078"></a>{78}</span> works, -he traced the rise of the firm, interspersing the graver narrative with -humorous incidents, and with kindly notices of some whom he referred to -as faithful fellow-workers, from the time when he first gathered them -around him in the new workrooms on the Castle Hill. One of the -reminiscences of their entertainer’s narrative is thus recalled:—When -Hope Park grounds were about to be built upon, Mr. Nelson, being curious -to explore the place, made a visit to what he described as a wilderness -of cabbage gardens, with no end of pig-sties. One grumphy (Anglice, a -sow) he noticed in a corner where the joiner’s workshop afterwards -stood, which, as he humorously described it, “kept its carriage!” The -body of a four-wheeled coach, still in good condition, had been -consigned to this novel use. The contrast was striking when, in later -years, the smooth grass lawn, with its tasteful array of shrubs and -flower-plots, filled the area enclosed on three sides by the Hope Park -works.</p> - -<p>But the full development of the establishment was the result of years of -patient and steady progress, until it grew to proportions adequate for -the varied departments embraced in the comprehensive scheme, with all -its ingenious improvements in machinery for economizing labour. Its tall -chimney showed from afar the scale on which its operations were carried -on; though at a later date William Nelson realized very strongly<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_079" id="page_079"></a>{79}</span> the -injury to the amenities of the city, and the obstruction to the -magnificent views of the surrounding landscape, occasioned by such -adjuncts to its manufactories, and laboured by precept and example to -get rid of them. In the later Parkside Works gas-engines are the sole -motive power, and their general introduction was advocated by him as a -substitute for the unsightly chimney with its obscuring volumes of -smoke.</p> - -<p>With the numerous workmen that were ultimately engaged in all the varied -branches of skilled labour, the Hope Park establishment came to be -recognized as one of the most important centres of economic industry in -the city; and, so far as printing, publishing, and binding are -concerned, is spoken of by Mr. Bremner, in his “Industries of Scotland,” -as the most extensive house in Scotland. The new buildings, when -completed, formed a stately range of offices enclosing three sides of a -square, where, under a well-organized division of labour, with the aid -of machinery adapted to its varied operations, the entire work, from the -setting of the types to the issue of the bound and illustrated volumes, -was done on the premises. Compositors, draughtsmen, photographers, -lithographers, steel, copper, and wood engravers, electrotypers, -stereotypers, folders, stitchers, and binders, plied their industrious -skill. The work-men and women employed on the establishment latterly -numbered nearly six hundred;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_080" id="page_080"></a>{80}</span> and few centres of industry have been -characterized by more harmonious relations between the representatives -of capital and labour.</p> - -<p>The printing of books has constituted an important branch of Scottish -industry from the days of Chepman and Miller, on through Bassendyne, -Hart, and Symson, to our own time. The names of Fowlis, Constable, -Ballantyne, Cadell, Blackwood, Oliver and Boyd, Chambers, Blackie, -Collins, Neill, Black, and Nelson, are all familiarly associated with -the literary history of the century; and, with only three exceptions, -they belong to Edinburgh. It was fitting, indeed, that Edinburgh should -take the lead in developing the typographer’s art, where, in 1507, -Walter Chepman set up the first printing-press in Scotland; and where, -in the memorable year when “the flowers o’ the forest were a’ wede away” -on Flodden Hill, he built the beautiful Chepman Aisle which still adorns -the collegiate church of St. Giles, and endowed there a chaplainry at -the altar of St. John the Evangelist. Edinburgh, in the days of the -Scottish Caxton, was even more noteworthy for its authors than its -typographers. Dunbar, Gawain Douglas, and the makers of that brilliant -age, were followed by Montgomery, Drummond, Allan Ramsay, and Fergusson; -and along with this array of poets, reaching to him whom Burns owned as -his master, Hume, Robertson, Mackenzie, Adam Smith, Dugald Stewart, and -Walter<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_081" id="page_081"></a>{81}</span> Scott, combined to transform their old romantic town into the -Modern Athens of later years. Their genius was not without its influence -on the special aspect of Edinburgh’s industries, including some of the -novel forms of periodical literature which have so largely contributed -to the culture of the masses.</p> - -<p>The social entertainments and lectures provided by William Nelson at an -early stage for his employés have already been noticed; but in the -spring of 1868 he extended his generous sympathy over an ampler field, -and organized a <i>fête</i> for the whole journeymen printers and -stereotypers of Edinburgh. The invitation met with a cordial response, -and the appearance presented by the assembled guests in the galleries of -the Museum of Science and Art was the theme of admiring comment. They -were summoned to this novel social gathering by one who justly claimed -recognition as an employer “who set a high value upon whatever is -calculated to foster kindly feelings between man and man.” The -invitation said: “For one evening let us lay aside care or irksome duty, -and come out with those we love best, and let us look each other fairly -in the face. In the matter of head we do not much differ; at heart we -are agreed. We need to have the bow unstrung occasionally. Let us do so -in company for once, and see if we can help each other to a happy -evening.” The answer to this was the assembly of upwards of a thousand<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_082" id="page_082"></a>{82}</span> -workmen, with their wives and sweethearts, in the Industrial Museum, to -listen to a lecture by Mr. W. H. Davenport Adams, on the noble art in -the service of which they were enlisted; and to enjoy the humour and -pathos of some of Scotland’s choicest national songs, including Burns’s -proud protest, which could there be appreciated without any thought of -social wrong—“A man’s a man for a’ that!” The <i>Scottish Typographical -Circular</i>, in its comments on this unique gathering, remarked: “Here -were a thousand men, nearly all in superfine black coats and spotless -shirt-fronts; a thousand women in tasteful dresses and bonnets of the -latest mode, setting off the comely features of the printers’ wives, or -the fresh, pretty faces of their sweethearts; and in all this great mass -of the ‘lower orders’ not a word out of joint; not a gesture of -impatience; no crowding, jostling, or selfish preferring of one’s own -enjoyment; nothing but courtesy and that perfect good breeding which -prompts men to give their neighbour’s comfort the precedence of their -own convenience.” It was a gathering that Scotland might be proud of, -whether we assign to the host or the guests the chief prominence. The -matter of dress, to which the critic so specially directed attention, -was not unworthy of note as an evidence of provident thrift, and of the -self-respect which is nowhere more fitting than in the skilled artisan.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_083" id="page_083"></a>{83}</span></p> - -<p>The spirit manifested in gatherings such as this is the best antidote -for those conflicts between labour and capital which have proved so -detrimental to both. Yet, as will be seen by a letter addressed less -than four years later to his former traveller, Mr. James Campbell, he -had evidence that a perfect solution of this great social problem has -yet to be devised. The letter is dated from Dunkeld, where he had been -spending a holiday with his family. In 1851 he had married Miss -Catherine Inglis of Kirkmay, Crail; and at the date of the letter he was -surrounded by a happy family, consisting of his son Frederick and four -daughters, to whom he thus alludes: “The children have enjoyed their -stay immensely, and none more than Master Fred, who got capital -trout-fishing in the Braan, a tributary of the Tay, and in the -Butterstone, a stream about six miles distant.” His greatest happiness -was in his own family circle, and surrounded by the friends whom he -welcomed to his hospitable home. But the cares inseparable from his -extensive commercial transactions could not always be so exorcised; and -now a succession of inclement seasons and bad harvests was clouding the -prospects of all. “We have had,” he writes, “a most miserable time of it -for many months past, as far as weather is concerned. I don’t remember -of such a long continuance of wet weather as there has been this year. -It has lasted, I may almost say, all summer, up to within<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_084" id="page_084"></a>{84}</span> the last few -days; and the result is that the crops have suffered terribly. As to the -potatoes, the disease is everywhere, and potato starch-mills will have -full employment this winter. It is a time calling for sympathy and -forbearance on all hands. But, in addition, strikes for shorter hours -and increase of wages are the order of the day; and it looks as if the -words of the song, ‘Hard times come again no more,’ were ere long, as a -general rule, not to be suitable for this country, as such times cannot -be far distant for both masters and men, if there be not a cessation -soon to this war between capital and labour. Things are all quiet at -present in the trades of printing and bookbinding, but it is rumoured -that heavy demands for both shorter hours and higher wages will be made -by the men next month; and it is known that they have been preparing for -a struggle by subscribing largely to a strike-fund ever since the -beginning of the year, so that there is no doubt coming events are -casting their shadows before.</p> - -<p>“Things must be in a strange way in New York just now with operative -printers. We know this from two of our men, who went out there some -months ago in the hope of bettering their condition; but they were glad -to come back to us, and they are both at work again, each at the machine -at which he worked before he left. The history of the experiences of one -of the men was as follows:—He got to New York, but he had<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_085" id="page_085"></a>{85}</span> no sooner -begun to look out for work than he was set upon by a committee of -operative printers, who were at the time on strike, and he was offered -eleven dollars a week if he would not ask for work. The offer was too -good a one for him to refuse, and he went about for several weeks with -his hands in his pockets. By-and-by he was asked if he would not like to -go back to Scotland. He said he had no objections, and it was arranged -that his passage back should be paid. When the day came for his leaving, -some of the New York men came down to the steamer to see him off, and -they gave him five dollars for pocket-money during the voyage, and a sum -of ten dollars to give to his wife, whom he had left behind in -Edinburgh. And so he left the shores of America. The story of the other -man is still more strange. He took work in an office in which there was -a strike; but after being there for a week, he found his position so -uncomfortable from annoyance from the men who had left, that he went and -told his master he would have to leave on account of this. But what was -his surprise when his master told him that he need not allow this state -of matters to continue, as he had just to put a ball through one of the -fellows, and there would be an end of it; and that the utmost that would -be done to him in the way of punishment would be a day or two’s -confinement in the police office or jail. He then handed him a revolver<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_086" id="page_086"></a>{86}</span> -and said, ‘Take this and make good use of it, and you’ll have a quiet -life for the future.’ This pistol I have now in my possession, and it is -worth having as a curiosity.”</p> - -<p>At an earlier date the mischievous effects of a strike extended to the -Hope Park works, ending in the places of some of the strikers being -supplied by other applicants. But the victims learned by experience that -they never appealed in vain to the sympathy of William Nelson, even when -their share in the revolt had been characterized by ingratitude or -breach of faith. It was sufficient that they were impoverished. “Poor -fellow!” he would say, “he brought it on himself; but what of that?” And -the liberal aid was given only too readily; for the plea was discovered -to be one to which he most promptly responded, and was resorted to -frequently by impostors who preyed on his kindly sympathy. What, indeed, -the Rev. Dr. Alison remarked of him after his death, when he said: “He -simply could not turn from distress of any sort without doing something -to relieve it,” was no more than an echo of the sentiment which -experience had rendered familiar to many.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_087" id="page_087"></a>{87}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.<br /><br /> -<small><i>EGYPT AND PALESTINE.</i></small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HE excursions of early years, and the longer holiday rambles of student -life, for which the environs of Edinburgh and the neighbouring shores of -Fife afforded so many attractions, were exchanged for a time for the -prosaic rounds of the commercial traveller and book-agent. But this duty -was transferred ere long to trustworthy subordinates; and so soon as -prosperity rewarded the intelligent labours of the young adventurer, the -spirit that prompted earlier excursions revived. This was further -stimulated by that keen desire to see and judge for himself in reference -to all matters of general interest which manifested itself through life. -The occurrence of any unusual event, or the opening up of some new -region, was sufficient at any time to awaken the desire to explore a -scene rendered interesting by its novelty, or by the exceptional -circumstances which attracted his notice. When the first Pacific Railway -was completed, he crossed the Atlantic in company with Mrs. Nelson, -travelled to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_088" id="page_088"></a>{88}</span> San Francisco, visited the Yellowstone Region and the -Mariposa Valley, and returned through Canada to renew his intercourse -with old friends there. While in the Mariposa Valley, Mrs. Nelson was -presented with one of the giant <i>Sequoia</i>, or <i>Wellingtonia</i>, which now -bears, on a marble tablet attached to it, the name of “Auld Reekie,” -then bestowed on it. At Salt Lake City a Scotsman addressed Mr. Nelson -by name, and begged him to convey his respects to his old clergyman, the -Rev. W. Arnot of Edinburgh; but in mentioning this, Mr. Nelson dryly -added that the Free Churchman of Salt Lake City seemed to take very -kindly to its spiritual wives! He visited Paris in 1851, and exposed -himself to its dangers at the time of the famous <i>coup d’état</i> by which -the Third Napoleon made himself emperor. Twenty years later he hastened -again to the French capital in the perilous outbreak of the Commune; and -when the Christmas season of 1879 was overclouded by the disastrous fall -of the Tay Bridge, immediately on learning of the event he made his way -to Dundee to see for himself the ruins and to investigate the cause. He -succeeded in finding a man who had watched the lights of the train as it -swept on in the profound darkness, and was startled by their being -suddenly extinguished. The bridge had given way; and the train, with all -its passengers, was precipitated into the Tay. In like manner he set out -for<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_089" id="page_089"></a>{89}</span> the Scilly Islands on the occasion of the wreck of the <i>Schiller</i>; -travelled to Ischia after the occurrence of the earthquake of 1881, in -which the town of Casamicciola was almost totally destroyed; and when, -in the following year, the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act led to a -violent popular outbreak in Connemara, he crossed over to Ireland, that -he might visit the disturbed district and judge for himself of the -merits of the conflict.</p> - -<p>The amount of preparation for even the longest journey was amazingly -trifling. William Nelson would start almost at a day’s notice for an -extended tour; and this course of procedure, so characteristic of his -equanimity, conjoined with calm, resolute endurance, was curiously -exemplified in his first extended journey. In 1849 he left home with the -intention of spending a six weeks’ holiday in the south of Europe. He -was in Leghorn when a letter reached him which showed that all was going -on satisfactorily in the business. He thereupon decided to make an -extended journey to the East. But his funds were exhausted, and it was -before the days of railways or telegraphs. With a faith in human nature -characteristic of him through life, he stepped into the counting-house -of Messrs. Henderson Brothers, the leading British merchants in Leghorn. -He was a total stranger, with no introduction. He told them his story, -and asked them to cash a draft on Edinburgh for<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_090" id="page_090"></a>{90}</span> £300. They looked at -him, and after a pause told him to draw the cheque, and gave him the -money. The strangers became friends in later years; and one day, when -Mr. Robert Henderson was dining at Salisbury Green, William Nelson asked -him how it was that he and his brother had ventured to give a stranger -so large a sum. “Well,” said Mr. Henderson, “in plain truth, it was just -your Scotch tongue and honest Scotch face, and nothing else!” The -friendship which originated in this novel introduction lasted with their -lives.</p> - -<p>There was, in truth, something singularly winning in his open, handsome -countenance; and its influence on strangers was anew illustrated at a -later date, when Mrs. Nelson accompanied him in a tour through the Black -Forest. They were overtaken by a thunderstorm when in Baden-Baden, and -taking refuge in the nearest shop, they found it devoted to articles of -<i>virtu</i>. A woman in charge, who spoke English fluently, received them -courteously, and responded to Mr. Nelson’s inquiries in a way that -greatly interested him. On leaving he expressed his grateful thanks, and -said he would have liked to make some purchases, but unfortunately his -remaining funds were not more than sufficient for his journey home. The -reply was: “Take whatever you please, sir. No one could look in your -face and distrust you.” He did accordingly carry off some<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_091" id="page_091"></a>{91}</span> choice -objects of <i>virtu</i>, always a temptation to him; the money for which, it -is scarcely necessary to add, was duly remitted on reaching England.</p> - -<p>Provided, on such novel security, with funds requisite for a prolonged -tour in the East, he was absent upwards of ten months, and turned the -time to account with characteristic assiduity. The late President of -Queen’s College, Belfast, the Rev. Dr. J. Leslie Porter, who, as a -traveller in Palestine, was familiar with the scenes embraced in Mr. -Nelson’s tour, and repeatedly conversed with him on points of mutual -interest, remarks:—“He did not as a rule enter into detailed -descriptions of the localities he had visited. His chief desire -apparently was to elicit from those with whom he talked the fullest -information, as if to add to or correct his own impressions. One thing -particularly struck me: his questions were all pertinent and exactly to -the point. He showed a talent in obtaining exactly the information he -wished such as I have never known equalled, except in the case of one -person. He could glean a wonderful amount of knowledge in a very brief -period. He had himself been a close and accurate observer. He knew -exactly the points which, from want of time or opportunity, he had not -been able perfectly to grasp, and he put his questions in a form that -brought out every particle of information the person he addressed could -give.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_092" id="page_092"></a>{92}</span></p> - -<p>“Of Damascus Mr. Nelson spoke with great enthusiasm. ‘Yes,’ he said, -‘richness, beauty, and fertility are there. Where,’ he asked, ‘was the -scene of Paul’s conversion? Was it near the east gate, where tradition -has located it?’ I pointed out that this could scarcely be, as Paul was -on his way from Jerusalem, and the road from the Holy City approaches -Damascus from the opposite side. He next inquired whether there was -still any tradition of Abraham; and he was very much interested when I -told him that a few miles to the north there is still a shrine, at the -foot of the hills, called the prayer-place of Abraham. ‘Is not that,’ he -said, ‘a proof of the tenacity with which even the oldest traditions -cling to the country?’ There was much in this; and he seemed to feel, as -others have felt, that it may be used as an argument in favour of the -truth of the early Christian traditions regarding the holy places of -Jerusalem and other cities in Palestine. He asked much about the -leprosy. ‘Did any tradition of it exist in Damascus?’ I remember well -how deeply he seemed to be impressed when I told him that a short -distance outside the east gate there were the remains of a very ancient -building, called Naaman’s House, and that a portion of it was still used -as a leper hospital. He said to me, ‘I looked for the Straight Street, -mentioned in connection with the conversion of St. Paul, but could see -no trace of it.’ Then I told him<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_093" id="page_093"></a>{93}</span> the results of more recent researches; -how they had brought to light the position and character of that great -street which ran through the city from the east to the west gate, and -had on each side a double row of columns, fragments of which can still -be seen in the houses and courts adjoining.”</p> - -<p>But he had a no less keen eye for the modern Damascus, with its motley -population, its narrow streets and thronged bazaars, all full of strange -Eastern life and habits. “The mean, dirty thoroughfares, worse,” as he -says, “than an Old Town Edinburgh close, run between low, shabby-looking -houses; and nothing surprised me more than when I was taken through a -long dark passage, to suddenly find that the shabby street-front -concealed a beautiful court, laid out in garden fashion, with a fine -fountain in the centre, and flower-beds and orange trees, and round this -the chambers, brightly furnished with cushions and matting, etc., all -opening on to it, like a scene from the Arabian Nights’ Entertainments.” -Nevertheless the predominant thought in his mind was the Damascus of -Roman and New Testament times; the city to which Saul the persecutor was -journeying when he was arrested on the way, and commissioned to go far -hence to proclaim the gospel of glad tidings to the Gentile world.</p> - -<p>Having gratified his intelligent curiosity, in seeking<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_094" id="page_094"></a>{94}</span> to discover the -ancient localities of Damascus associated with Scripture history, he -proceeded by way of Lebanon to Jerusalem. The associations of the city -of Zion, of Nazareth, the Jordan, the Syrian desert, and the Dead Sea, -were replete with interest to a mind trained from earliest childhood in -devout familiarity with every incident of sacred story. The novel scenes -of Eastern life were, moreover, explored with peculiar zest in this his -first escape from the restraints of homely Western civilization into -that strange old East where the customs and ideas of an ancient past -still survive. In referring to this visit to Jerusalem he remarks:—“I -was there before any guide-book was written; and so I had to consult my -Bible, and occasionally Josephus, on a point of history. After these I -found Robinson’s ‘Biblical Researches’ the most thorough and useful. -Robinson seemed to me to write, and study, and investigate as a scholar. -Perhaps he paid rather too little regard to tradition; but this was -natural in a place like Jerusalem, which absolutely swarms with the most -absurd legends. He lays down on the whole a firm basis of biblical and -historical facts; then he leads one on in a logical and critical manner -to the truth regarding the exact sites of the great events of the Gospel -narrative: the site of the Temple, of the Palace of David, of the Hall -of Judgment in which Pilate sat, of the old walls and gates of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_095" id="page_095"></a>{95}</span> Holy -City, etc. Then Robinson seemed to me to prove that the Holy Sepulchre -could not have been where it is now located.”</p> - -<p>The controverted questions about the topography of Jerusalem, which have -since received such abundant elucidation, were all familiar to him, and -were discussed with keenest interest when he met with any one who had -either visited the sacred city, or made its historical details a subject -of research. The scenes of the nativity, the crucifixion, and the holy -sepulchre, of the agony in the garden, and the ascension, were all -investigated by him with critical care. Dr. Porter furnishes the -following memoranda of their conversation on those subjects:—</p> - -<p>“He asked me my views as to the true site of Calvary. Was I convinced -that it was not—or, as Robinson affirms, could not have been—within -the compass of the present walls? If not, then where was it? He several -times said, as if by way of suggestion, that it was either on the north -side of the modern city, or to the east, on the brow of the Kidron -Valley. ‘Did you ever consider,’ he asked me, ‘the statement of the -evangelist to the effect that the women, as if afraid to approach, -viewed the awful tragedy from afar?’ He was pleased when I suggested -that possibly the true site of Calvary was not far south of St. -Stephen’s Gate, where two public roads passed a short distance off—<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_096" id="page_096"></a>{96}</span>one -leading north to Samaria and Galilee, the other east, over the Kidron -and Olivet, to Jericho and the Jordan. ‘Yes,’ he said; ‘and the women -would then have a clear view of the whole scene, from a safe distance, -on the side of the Mount of Olives, beyond the deep and narrow valley.’ ”</p> - -<p>To this succeeded discussions on the value of the local traditions in -reference to the scenes latterly associated with so much superstition -and deceit; and the possibility of identifying them with the help of -local topography and the sacred narrative. “ ‘Where,’ he asked me, ‘would -you locate the scene of the ascension? Was it, or could it have been, on -the traditional spot at the Church of the Ascension on the summit of -Olivet? If you adopt this tradition, then how,’ he asked, ‘do you -explain the words of the evangelist: “He led them out as far as to -Bethany”?’ My reply was, ‘I do not admit the reality of the traditional -site.’ He said this impressed himself very deeply when he crossed over -the Mount of Olives to Bethany. He felt convinced that the scene of that -wonderful last interview with the disciples was some spot near the -village. ‘I think,’ he said, ‘our Lord took the disciples to a retired -place, not in view either of Jerusalem or of the village of Bethany. -Then,’ he added thoughtfully, ‘was there not some analogy between this -scene and that of the transfiguration on a high mountain apart?<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_097" id="page_097"></a>{97}</span> Would -not the solitude impress the disciples more forcibly with the glory of -the appearance of the angels, and of his own close and immediate -intercourse with the hosts of heaven?’ The thoughtfulness and depth of -many of Mr. Nelson’s remarks upon the events of the life and death of -Jesus often struck me. His visit to Palestine was brief; but he grasped -in a very short time the most interesting and important points, and he -connected them, with a kind of intuitive readiness and accuracy, with -the events of the sacred narrative. He spoke on several occasions of the -noble and yet very peculiar site of the Holy City, different in many -respects from his previous ideas; but the moment he saw it, more deeply -fixing in his mind the truth of the Psalmist’s words: ‘Beautiful for -situation is Mount Zion.’ The view from the top of Olivet, and that from -the old road which winds round and along its side from Bethany, was, he -told me, to him by far the most instructive. ‘I read,’ he said, ‘the -words of Jesus, when he looked on and wept over the city, with a feeling -of their reality and wonderful vividness such as I had never experienced -before.’ Another thing he observed more than once: ‘I was disappointed -in the scenery of Palestine. I did not see, and I could not fully -understand, the glowing descriptions in some parts of Scripture of its -fertility and beauty. When I thought of England and Scotland, and -compared their fertile lowlands<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_098" id="page_098"></a>{98}</span> and magnificent highlands with the bare -plains and rocky hills of Judah, I felt much difficulty in divesting my -mind of the idea that even the sacred writers indulged in exaggeration. -But,’ he added, ‘I suppose my Western ideas were entirely different from -theirs as to what are the elements of richness and grandeur.’ I reminded -him of the words of Scripture: ‘A land of corn and wine and oil olive.’ -‘Yes,’ he said; ‘most probably an Eastern would despise even the best -parts of Scotland because they want the vines and the olives,’ ”</p> - -<p>The experiences of this visit to the sacred scenes of Bible story left -an enduring impression on William Nelson’s mind; and their special -character in association with his own early training justify some detail -in reference to researches otherwise only possessed of personal -interest. As a traveller, he made no pretension to geographical -exploration or scientific research; and unless when in company with one -from whom he could derive information, he rarely referred to his -experiences while abroad. His longest journeys were regarded by himself -as only extended holiday rambles. But they were carried out with -characteristic zeal; and some of the incidents which may be gleaned from -them have their biographical value in so far as they disclose traits of -personal character. He made his way by the desert route from Palestine -to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_099" id="page_099"></a>{99}</span> Egypt, where he spent his Christmas in Grand Cairo, and commenced -the ascent of the Nile early in the following January. His -fellow-traveller in the latter country, Major MacEnery, furnishes some -interesting reminiscences of their voyage up the Nile. “I preserve a -lively memory,” he writes, “of the unvarying geniality of our companion, -and of his spirit of exploration. In this respect he was truly -remarkable; indefatigable in the pursuit of information concerning even -the minutest object of interest within reach; never satisfied without a -personal inspection, when at all possible; neither hunger, thirst, nor -fatigue deterring him from the gratification of being able to say -conscientiously, ‘I have seen it.’ ”</p> - -<p>The impressions left on the traveller’s mind by the scenes of special -interest in the Holy Land, and some of the incidents which their memory -recalled, were a frequent source of pleasure to his friends in after -years. Some of them indeed enjoyed more tangible memorials, in the shape -of inscribed tablets of the wood of the Mount of Olives; a carved -memento of the Dead Sea fashioned from its black volcanic rock; a gold -shekel,—subsequently deposited by Mr. James Campbell in the -Presbyterian Theological College at Montreal,—and other like gifts. Nor -were the attractions of the land of the Pharaohs less keenly -appreciated. It had its ancient memories, both sacred and profane, alike -interesting<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_100" id="page_100"></a>{100}</span> to the intelligent explorer. There were the works of -Pharaohs of older centuries than Moses or Joseph; the walls of -Abu-Simbul, graven by the son of Theokles with their Hellenic record -centuries before the Father of History began his task; the Thebes of the -Hundred Gates, with its magnificent ruins authenticating Homer’s verse; -and Ptolemaic and Roman remains, modern by comparison. For all this the -traveller’s early training had unconsciously prepared him; and every -feature was calculated to revive the archæological tastes which found so -many votaries among the members of the “Juvenile Literary Society.” He -ascended the Nile to the Second Cataract, and gleaned some choice -antiques from the relics with which the poor fellaheen tempt the -traveller in that cradle-land of the world’s civilization. Those -included Osirian figures bearing hieroglyphic inscriptions, one -especially with the cartouch of an early Pharaoh; a brick from Thebes, -stamped with the cartouch of Thothmes III.; a porcelain stamp similarly -inscribed; and other prized memorials. Above all, he had gazed with -delight on the monuments of a long-vanished civilization, and explored -with curious interest scenes associated with the Bible stories learned -by him at his mother’s knee. His inquisitive research was constantly on -the alert, and the same thorough-going energy characterized him as a -traveller and a man of business.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_101" id="page_101"></a>{101}</span> But along with all this, one -exceptional trait may be noted, eminently characteristic of the man. A -letter addressed to him from Cairo by Abdallah, his old Egyptian -dragoman, which reached Edinburgh soon after his death, recalled the -fact that his faithful servitor had been the annual recipient of a -kindly remittance through all the years since they voyaged together up -the Nile. Abdallah writes with a borrowed pen: “I have received your -kind letter with the five pounds, and was very happy to hear that you -are in perfect health, with your dearest family and with your friends. I -always think of you, and beg God to be with you and spare you. All my -friends are very thankful for your great kindness to me. I hope some day -some gentleman of your friends come I shall have the honour to serve -him.” For his remembrance of the faithful dragoman had been practically -shown, not only by pecuniary remittances, but also by recommending him -to other travellers, until poor Abdallah’s creditors pounced upon the -baggage of Dr. Henry Field, to whose service he had been commended, and -so his prospects as a dragoman were ruined. In writing to Major MacEnery -in May 1886, Mr. Nelson says: “I had a letter not long ago from poor old -Abdallah. It was just the old story of his being unable to do anything -in the way of earning a livelihood. He sent me a letter addressed to the -Lord<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_102" id="page_102"></a>{102}</span> <i>Mare</i> of London, an old fellow-traveller in the Holy Land, which -I duly delivered to his lordship; but he did not take the hint and give -me something for the poor dragoman.”</p> - -<p>The experiences of the traveller were occasionally turned to account in -unexpected ways in after years, when dealing with his own work-people. -One instance was recalled in an address, already referred to, delivered -at Parkside soon after his death. On the introduction of a greatly -improved sewing-machine at Hope Park much opposition was excited among -the girls, who unanimously protested in favour of the old-fashioned, -familiar instrument. Thereupon Mr. Nelson humorously told them that they -reminded him of the difficulties among the Arabs engaged in digging the -Suez Canal. They had at first scooped out the sand into baskets, which -they carried on their heads, and so transported the soil to the new -embankments. This process was much too slow for the contractors, who -accordingly provided them with shovels and wheel-barrows. But when the -latter were filled, the Arabs could not be persuaded to trundle them in -the ordinary way, but hoisted the wheel-barrows on their heads, and so -trudged along to the place of deposit!</p> - -<p>The unfamiliar scenes and incidents of Eastern life, both in Egypt and -Palestine, had made a deep impression on William Nelson’s mind, and were -frequently<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_103" id="page_103"></a>{103}</span> recalled. The letter to Major MacEnery, his old -fellow-voyager on the Nile, in which he refers to his dragoman, -Abdallah, was written at a time when the first news of the troubles in -the Soudan was awakening attention at home; and, recalling his old -experiences, he remarks: “How strange it is that the Arabs in the Soudan -should be troubling our troops there at Koshi, our most advanced post -from Wady Halfi. I was under the impression that it would have been -impossible for them to have advanced in anything like a formidable body -so far north. But those wild sons of the desert can live almost upon -air, and go about like clouds of locusts; and as they are not troubled -with artillery or other impediments, they may cause us some trouble, -more especially as they are animated with fanatical zeal against the -infidels, and they do not know when they are beaten.”</p> - -<p>The traveller brought back with him a duly attested document bearing the -seal of the Holy Sepulchre (a cross potence and crosslets), furnished to -Gulielmus Nelson by the prior of the Latin convent in Jerusalem, in his -quality of guardian of the Holy Sepulchre, attesting that he had in an -edifying spirit visited the sacred places around the Holy City; and had -indeed conformed to the requirements of a devout pilgrim to an extent -which, if literally true, would have been in strange antagonism to all -his early training. For the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_104" id="page_104"></a>{104}</span> veracious prior of the Convent of St. -Salvator certifies over his official seal that the aforesaid Gulielmus -Nelson had not only visited the principal sanctuaries, but that “with -great devotion he had heard mass in them all”!</p> - -<p>A more genuine reminiscence of travel, with which the pilgrim surprised -his friends, was the novel feature of a fine black beard, the imposing -effect of which probably had its share in the opinion formed by the -Syrian peasants that he was a learned leech. Commenting long after on -the reputed virtues of some much-vaunted pills, he said they were no -doubt as efficacious as those he used to make in Palestine. The -villagers flocked to his tent, importuning him and his companions for -medicine. With much gravity he distributed among them the pills he had -fashioned out of the spare breakfast loaf; and, with the faith of the -recipients in his prescriptions, supplemented as they doubtless were in -cases of actual suffering by a liberal <i>backshish</i>, he had no doubt that -he effected as many cures as some of the patent-medicine vendors. As to -the black beard, the custom in that respect has so entirely changed -since then that it is difficult for the present generation to realize -the astonishment which the strange appendage excited. To some grave -elders it almost appeared as if he had literally cast in his lot with -the followers of the false prophet. The idea of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_105" id="page_105"></a>{105}</span> even a moustache as the -possible appendage of a civilian first dawned on the English mind when -Prince Albert set the fashion in society. But this innovation was viewed -with suspicion among all sober denizens of the mart. As to the wearing -of a beard, it would have been sufficient to ruin the credit of the most -reputable trader. There is a report in “The Dial,” from the pen of -Emerson, of a grand convention of enthusiasts held at Boston a few years -before. “If,” says he, “the assembly was disorderly, it was picturesque. -Mad men, mad women, <i>men with beards</i>, Dunkers, Muggeltonians, -Come-outers!”—and so the enumeration of the eccentric medley proceeds. -The beard, as is obvious, was an innovation beyond all tolerance. But -the art of photography, in its earlier form of ambrotype, was in vogue. -The traveller accordingly had his portrait taken in his Eastern dress, -with moustache, beard, and long pipe. Some time after, when showing to a -friend the relics he had brought from the East, he produced along with -them the portrait, and asked what he thought of the Egyptian pasha. To -his extreme amusement, his friend exclaimed, “What a bloodthirsty look -that fellow has in his face!”</p> - -<p>It is abundantly manifest that at that date, whatever might be thought -of the beard, it could not be worn in the Hope Park counting-house -during business<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_106" id="page_106"></a>{106}</span> hours. Before, however, its sacrifice to the prudery of -that decorous, clean-shaven generation, a party of old schoolmates, of -whom the present writer was one, assembled at his dinner-table. The host -received us in the flowing robes of an Arab sheik; and with his turban -and fine beard, looked as though he might have sat with Abraham at the -tent door. In the course of the evening a tempting-looking bottle was -produced, with the announcement that it had been brought from the Holy -Land; and this he commended so zealously as to put some of the knowing -ones on the alert. Each filled his glass as the bottle passed round, -took a sip, and then watched its progress; till a rash young toper -swallowed the major contents of his glass at a gulp, and then, amid -roars of laughter, began coughing, sputtering, and anathematizing the -potation. For the seductive bottle was filled with water brought by our -host from the Dead Sea: a sulphureous, briny draught fit only for the -revellers of Gomorrah.</p> - -<p>The enduring impressions left on the mind of William Nelson by his visit -to the Holy Land found expression, in long subsequent years, in a -well-known work, “The Land and the Book,” which in its final form -embraced: 1. Palestine and Jerusalem; 2. Lebanon, Damascus, and Beyond -the Jordan; and 3. Central Palestine and Phœnicia. The Rev. W. M. -Thomson was commissioned to explore the sacred scenes of Bible story, -with<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_107" id="page_107"></a>{107}</span> a view to the production of a work that should furnish for others -somewhat of the vivid realizations that William Nelson had experienced -in his own visit to the land</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Over whose acres walked those blessed feet<br /></span> -<span class="i1">That eighteen hundred years ago were nailed<br /></span> -<span class="i1">For our redemption to the bitter cross.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">The following extract from a letter written in July 1880 to his old -schoolfellow, Dr. Simpson, refers to the volume as then in progress, and -to the perils from which the manuscript had been so unexpectedly -rescued:—</p> - -<p>“We are not out yet with the new volume of ‘The Land and the Book,’ and -I do not expect that it will be ready for publication before the middle -of next month. It is a truly superb work, and it has been got up -regardless of expense. It will, when completed, form three volumes. -Strange to say, the manuscript of one of them, ‘Egypt, Mount Sinai, and -the Desert,’ turned up the other day after we had given it up as having -been destroyed at our great fire, with many other valuable manuscripts. -But, fortunately, it was in one of the drawers of a writing-desk which -had escaped the devouring flames, and the manuscript was discovered -quite unexpectedly, after the author had for a long time been informed -of the loss that had been sustained.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_108" id="page_108"></a>{108}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.<br /><br /> -<small><i>CHURCH—MARRIAGE.</i></small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HE year 1843 is a memorable one in Scottish history. The controversy -between the two parties into which the National Church was divided had -been concentrated for years on the old question of patronage, or the -right of the people to the free choice of their clergymen. Under the -leadership of Dr. Chalmers, in co-operation with an able body of clergy -and laymen, enactments were passed by the Church courts restoring to the -people their rights in the choice of pastors. Influential patrons -acquiesced in its operation, and the sanguine hope was entertained that -a peaceful solution of the grievance which had long been a source of -bitterness had at length been arrived at. But in the famous Auchterarder -case the civil courts were appealed to; the action of the General -Assembly, the supreme court of the Church, was overruled; and on the -18th of May 1843 four hundred and seventy-four ministers of the Church -of Scotland voluntarily resigned their livings, and cast themselves on -the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_109" id="page_109"></a>{109}</span> liberality of their people. Ten years of conflict, marked with an -ever-increasing intensity of feeling, and with all the inevitable fruits -of embittered controversy, had ended in the disruption of the National -Church. It was an event without a parallel since the ejection from their -benefices of upwards of two thousand ministers of the English National -Church in 1662 by the Act of Uniformity.</p> - -<p>It is difficult for the present generation to fully estimate the feeling -which the Disruption called forth, or the bitter antagonism which in -many cases it engendered. The early training and all the strong personal -convictions of William Nelson alike determined his sympathy with what -claimed to be “The Free Church of Scotland.” The movement which led to -this result had appeared to him, as to others, to furnish a practical -solution of the difficulties which held his Covenanting fathers aloof -from the National Church. The financial question was an important one, -and long continued to be so; for not only churches but colleges had to -be built, theological professorships to be endowed, poor congregations -to be sustained, and the foreign mission field provided for. In all this -work William Nelson was a generous co-operator; and to the close of his -life he continued to respond with unstinted liberality to all the claims -which it involved. His brother John, who became the esteemed pastor of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_110" id="page_110"></a>{110}</span> -the Free West Church of Greenock, was referred to after his premature -death, in an eloquent tribute by Professor Blaikie, as “one whose -natural gifts were of a high order, and whose early position as a -student was most distinguished. He was known to be of far too -independent a nature to fall into any line merely because it was -traditional or conventionally proper. He had courage and capacity to -strike out for himself; and he had spent much time in study in Germany -at a time when few students went thither, and when such a course was -regarded as somewhat suspicious.” The old Covenanting blood was in his -veins; but he had hoped that the National Church was resuming its -fidelity to the faith of his fathers, when the Disruption came, and he -cast in his lot with the champions of freedom. Personal sympathy, -therefore, as well as strong convictions, enlisted William Nelson on the -side of the Free Church; but he never was a partisan. No trace of -bitterness sullied the earnest zeal with which he promoted the cause -that he had at heart. His convictions were clear, and his devotion to -the Church unwavering; but this was never allowed to interfere with his -personal relations to those who adhered to the Established Church, nor -with his response to appeals made by them to his liberality. The -testimony to this effect was freely given when his death recalled the -incidents of earlier years. Among memoranda furnished<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_111" id="page_111"></a>{111}</span> to me by Mr. John -Miller of Glasgow is the following note: “My sole companion in the -railway carriage on my return to Glasgow, after attending Mr. Nelson’s -funeral, was a stranger, a clergyman of the Established Church, who had -travelled to Edinburgh on the same melancholy errand. In conversation I -learned that Mr. Nelson and another to whom he referred had been friends -of his from their earliest years. But at the Disruption they both became -members of the Free Church. Thereupon, as the clergyman said, his -unnamed friend took umbrage at him for remaining in the Established -Church, and their friendship ceased. It is not easy now to understand -the bitterness of feeling that existed at that time between those who -took different views on the question of the relation between Church and -State; but as regards Mr. Nelson, such was his breadth of mind and -catholic spirit, it never made the slightest change on their friendship -through all the intervening years, and he spoke of him ‘as the best of -all good men he had known.’ ”</p> - -<p>But his broad-minded charity was in no degree traceable to -latitudinarian indifference. His convictions were strong, and when -occasion required it, were maintained with firmness, and defended with -incisive keenness of argument. And here it may be well to note a -characteristic trait. Few men were ever more notably marked by -transparent sincerity and truthfulness.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_112" id="page_112"></a>{112}</span> If a truth told against his -cause, it never occurred to him to withhold it. There was indeed an -amusing simplicity in the manner in which he would disclose a fact -seeming to reflect on his own party or on himself; or, when in company -with persons disposed to arrogate to themselves rank or social position, -he would recall some homely incident or experience of his own early -life. But the same instinctive love of truth made him intolerant of -cant, or of any evasion in reference to matters of faith. If he were -perplexed with doubts, as he often was, in reference to the modern -conflict between science and revelation, he would give abrupt utterance -to them in the most orthodox circles; and if any attempt were made to -evade or gloss over the difficulty, his blunt reassertion of the point -at issue, in all its literal nakedness, was at times misunderstood and -even bitterly resented. Sanctimonious hypocrisy, or anything savouring -of insincerity in religion, was abhorrent to his nature, and provoked -his keenest ridicule. For his sense of humour was great, and he would -expose pretentious inconsistencies in their most ludicrous aspect, -giving no little offence at times to clerical offenders. To this habit -of giving expression of his convictions with all unguarded sincerity is, -no doubt, to be ascribed the remark in a letter of one of his oldest -Christian friends, when bearing testimony to the earnestness with which -in his last illness “he gave<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_113" id="page_113"></a>{113}</span> proof that he had attained by God’s help -to true faith in the Son of God, and was conscious of having definitely -accepted him as his personal Saviour, and given himself over to him on -the warrant of God’s own word of invitation.” The writer, a devoted -clergyman of the Free Church, adds: “There was an entire absence of the -old levity, which you will remember used sometimes almost to shock and -sadden even his best friends.”</p> - -<p>It was perhaps a want of tact,—a diplomatic element apt at times to -verge on insincerity in which he was certainly deficient,—that led to -his being so misjudged. But the same unconscious indifference to the -prejudices of others could be seen when, among strangers at a public -hotel or on the ocean, he would ask a blessing before dinner with the -same earnest reverence as at his own table. The impression which his -manner of saying grace produced on a stranger is thus expressed in a -letter from an English lady, who, after his death, recalled the memories -of more than one sojourn under his hospitable roof: “One always felt -cheered in his presence by the glow of his great heart and that sweet -genial kindness to all which was like sunshine in the room. I also -greatly admired that dislike of any praise of himself which one always -saw in him, and which is so rare.... I so well remember in the -Philiphaugh drawing-room before dinner his kindly talk to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_114" id="page_114"></a>{114}</span> us all, and -his almost boyish fun: so interested in every one, and saying playful -things to me about palmistry, etc. But when we went in to dinner, I was -always struck with his unusual way of saying grace: the reverence that -came over him, as if he were actually speaking to God, and as though -from his heart he was simply grateful day by day for each gift of the -heavenly Father. I can almost hear again as I write the rich deep tones -of his voice as he asked the blessing, and prayed that God would -graciously take away all our sins. I have never heard a clergyman, or -any other person, who so impressed me with reverence and reality in -saying grace as he did.” This feeling was by no means singular. In a -letter from Professor T. Grainger Stewart, a similar reference occurs to -“his mode of asking a blessing.” Alluding to his wife, Professor Stewart -says: “We were both greatly impressed with the earnestness and reverence -with which he spoke, and on our way home talked of it to one another.”</p> - -<p>To one in whom the influences of early training had thus been confirmed -by the personal convictions of later years, the responsibilities of his -influence as a publisher were keenly realized. The system which he -developed was based on the anticipated sale of large editions at low -prices. Hence an important class of works issued by some eminent -publishing houses in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_115" id="page_115"></a>{115}</span> costly editions of from eight to twelve hundred -copies lay entirely beyond the range of his publications. But the -imprint of Thomas Nelson and Sons became ere long the guarantee for a -pure, high-toned literature, admirably adapted for the special -requirements of the school library and the home circle; and as success -crowned the system of large and cheap editions, works of more permanent -value were issued on the same plan.</p> - -<p>The uniformity of the testimony to his integrity and business capacity -borne by many whose relations with him were widely dissimilar removes -all idea of exaggeration; while the terms in which they write of him are -so diverse from the ordinary commendations of the mart or the exchange, -as to show in a striking manner the influence exercised by an altogether -exceptional character in the ordinary relations of business. Mr. -Robertson, who was long his manager in New York, thus writes: “During -the many years I had the privilege of knowing Mr. Nelson, I was -increasingly drawn towards him by his strict integrity, his kindliness, -his splendid energy, his intellectual activity, and his unostentatious -piety. There was no duty so humble that he would not stoop to perform -it; there was no amount of hard work or fatigue that ever turned him -away from his purpose. There was no appeal ever made to him by the -suffering or poverty-stricken that did not meet with a kindly and -sympathetic response.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_116" id="page_116"></a>{116}</span> There was in him a fine appreciation of merit, -regardless of the social status of its possessor; and although he would -have been unwilling to admit it, there was in him a Christ-like going -about continually doing good which was simply beautiful.” This -affectionate respect which he awakened in all who were brought into -intimate relations with him as his trusted agents is constantly -apparent. His confidence when once secured was implicit; and any breach -of trust or neglect of duty was a source of intense pain to him, wholly -apart from any idea of personal loss.</p> - -<p>The following characteristic reminiscences are derived from notes -furnished by Mr. John Miller, whose business transactions with Mr. -Nelson, as a large paper manufacturer, brought them into frequent -intercourse: “Mr. Nelson had an immense aptitude for the despatch of -business, and great promptness of decision, never wasting any time -talking over bargains. When a paper-maker called and showed him a -sample, if it was not to his mind, or the price too high, he would in -the most courteous manner thank him for the sample, but he would in no -way depreciate the paper. If the paper was right, he would say, ‘Well, -it is just the price we are paying;’ or if the price were better, he -would frankly say, ‘It is a little better than the price we are buying -at. I shall give you an order; and if you can maintain the quality at -the price, we shall continue to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_117" id="page_117"></a>{117}</span> order from you.’ There was never any -second bargain at settlement. If the paper sent was not according to -sample, it would be paid for without remark, and no further orders -given. Mr. Nelson had no time and no disposition to haggle over a -bargain, and no man could better appreciate value. He was in every -respect a very capable man of business. After his marriage he began to -take business a little more leisurely; at all events, he seemed to take -more time for the little courtesies of life, which were so greatly -developed in his after years.”</p> - -<p>He had proved himself a true captain of industry; organized his -extensive business on the most systematic basis; gathered around him a -body of skilled and trusty workmen, on whose loyal co-operation he could -rely; and having thus, with prudent foresight, surmounted the many -impediments that had inevitably beset his way, he turned aside from the -anxieties of business to make for himself a home, in which all the -congenial elements of a singularly emotional and sensitive nature should -thenceforth find free scope for development. He retained to the close of -his life his interest in the multitudinous details of the printing and -publishing works; but he found time for the gratification of many -refined tastes, and for a practical sympathy in public questions, as -well as in the exercise of an open-handed beneficence, the full extent -of which has only been revealed since his death.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_118" id="page_118"></a>{118}</span></p> - -<p>The new life of which marriage is the source began for William Nelson -when he was in his thirty-sixth year. On the 24th of July 1851, -Catherine Inglis, the daughter of Robert Inglis, Esquire of Kirkmay, -Fifeshire, a descendant of Sir James Inglis, Bart., of Cramond, gave her -hand, with her heart in it, to William Nelson. The marriage took place -at the old mansion of Kirkmay, acquired by her father, with the estates -of Sypsis and Kirkmay, on his return from a highly successful career in -India. The maternal grandfather of the bride had seen long service -there; and letters preserved by the family show that he was held in high -esteem by Lord Cornwallis, and was the trusted and confidential friend -of Warren Hastings. One of them, addressed to him while he was Resident -at the Court of Scindia, is an amusing example of epistolary conciseness -in preferring an unusual request; and as such was peculiarly germane to -William Nelson’s tastes, as well as to his sense of humour. His fondness -for animals manifested itself at times in odd ways, and had he received -any encouragement the pleasure grounds at Salisbury Green would have -been apt to assume the character of a zoological garden. When travelling -in California in 1870, along with Mrs. Nelson, he was reluctantly -dissuaded from bringing off with him as a novel pet a “gofer,” or -beautifully striped species of lizard, which an Indian offered for sale. -Here was a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_119" id="page_119"></a>{119}</span> still more unmanageable pet in request by the old Indian -viceroy in his letter to the grandfather of the bride:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">Benares</span>, <i>14th March, 1784</i>.<br /> -</p> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">Dear Sir</span>,—If you can possibly contrive to procure for me a young -lion of a size which may be carried over rocky and mountainous -roads, I shall be much obliged to you. I want to gratify the eager -desire which has been expressed by the ruler of Tibet to have one -in his possession; the people of this country having a religious -veneration for a lion, of which they know nothing but in the -doubtful and fabulous relations of their own books.—I am, dear -sir, yours affectionately,</p> - -<p class="r"> -“<span class="smcap">Warren Hastings</span>.<br /> -</p> - -<p>“To Lieutenant James Anderson.”</p></div> - -<p class="nind">But this ancestral reminiscence carries us far afield from the -wedding-party at Kirkmay House, where the bride was given away by her -brother, who had then succeeded to the estate; and so the old home was -exchanged for one which she gladdened through all the happy years till -that inevitable parting which every wedded union involves. Thenceforth -life had for William Nelson a deeper meaning, and was passed in the -quiet centre of a sunlight all his own, till he reached beyond the limit -of the threescore years and ten.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_120" id="page_120"></a>{120}</span></p> - -<p>The biographer must ever feel that he executes a delicate trust in -drawing aside the curtain that veils the sanctities of home life. But -here there was nothing to conceal. A friend who met Mr. and Mrs. Nelson -at a German spa twenty years later thus writes: “I was greatly -interested in watching him as he, with all the attention and devotion of -a lover, refilled and carried the glass of water to his wife, and tended -on her, then an invalid, with untiring care.” And so it continued to be -to the close. Thirty-six years of happy wedded union glided by. -Daughters in time followed their mother’s example, and left the old home -to make new centres of happiness. Eveline, the eldest, was married in -1874 to Professor Annandale, Professor of Surgery in the University of -Edinburgh; and in 1886 her sister Florence became the wife of S. Fraser -MacLeod, Esquire, barrister, London, a friend of the family from early -boyhood. By-and-by the little grandchildren presented themselves to -claim their mothers’ places in the hearts of those who had found it hard -to reconcile themselves to the blanks round the old hearth, where Meta -and Alice still remained, with their brother Frederick, to play the new -<i>rôle</i> of uncle and aunts. The home of the Nelsons at Salisbury Green -was familiar to many through all those years as a rare centre of genial -hospitality, with some unique features of its own worthy of further -note.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_121" id="page_121"></a>{121}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII.<br /><br /> -<small><i>SALISBURY GREEN.</i></small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HE unique site of the Scottish capital, embosomed in hills and looking -out upon the sea, furnishes many charming nooks for suburban residence -to its denizens; but among such the Nelsons’ home stood in some respects -unrivalled. Salisbury Green, a jointure house of the Prestonfield -family, when purchased in 1770 by Lady Dick Cunningham, had, according -to the traditions of the family, a ghost as its sole tenant; and -notwithstanding the genial hospitalities, and all the brightness and -beauty of its home-life in later years, the venerable ghost, a lady of -grim visage, in antique coif and farthingale, continued to flit at rare -intervals about her old haunts, and drew the curtains of fair young -dreamers who had invaded her precincts. It was a plain old-fashioned -house, though already graced with some of the undesigned picturesqueness -due to additions of various dates, when William Nelson acquired the -property in 1860. But, with his keen eye for beauty, he discerned at -once the capabilities of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_122" id="page_122"></a>{122}</span> place, embosomed in stately trees, and -commanding a view of almost unmatched grandeur and beauty.</p> - -<p>Under his tasteful care, the old house was renovated, assuming -externally the picturesque features of the domestic architecture of -Scotland in the sixteenth century; and in accordance with the practice -of the age of the Reformation, he carved round the entablature this apt -motto, from the third chapter of Hebrews, “<span class="smcap">Every house is builded by -some man; but he that built all things is god</span>.” Internally the -drawing-room, an addition of its earlier proprietors, was a -reproduction, in style and proportions, of that of Barley Wood, the -charming abode of the amiable and gifted Hannah More. The house, so -familiar to many strangers from other lands as well as to the citizens -of Edinburgh, by reason of its hospitalities, was enriched in later -years, by the accumulated acquisitions of its owner, with choice works -of art and <i>virtu</i>, and especially with a valuable collection of bronzes -and antique ceramic ware, not displayed for purposes of show, but -scattered over the mantel-shelves and cabinets, or disposed about in -every available nook and corner of the old house, as natural and fitting -adjuncts of the tasteful owner’s home.</p> - -<p>But the unique charm of Salisbury Green as a city dwelling lies in its -natural surroundings. The terraced lawn slopes to the east, and commands -a historic landscape<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_123" id="page_123"></a>{123}</span> of rare beauty. The couchant lion of Arthur Seat, -a mountain in miniature, rises on the left in a succession of bold -cliffs and grassy slopes to a height of eight hundred feet. The basaltic -columns of Samson’s Ribs form a singularly bold feature at its base. On -the right, the rich undulating landscape terminates in an insulated rock -crowned with the picturesque ruin of Craigmillar Castle, famous in -Scottish history in the days of the Jameses and Mary Stuart. Right -below, Duddingston Loch forms the central feature, with the old village -churchyard beyond. Under its mouldering heaps the rude forefathers of -many a generation lie around the venerable parish church. Though defaced -by tasteless modern additions, the church still retains the -richly-moulded Norman chancel arch and south doorway, the work of the -same builders who reared the Abbey of Holyrood in the time of David I.; -while away in the distant landscape are North Berwick Law, Aberlady Bay, -the Bass Rock, and beyond the Firth of Forth the Fifeshire hills. The -sudden transition from the dust and bustle of the Dalkeith Road to the -garden terrace and the unique landscape beyond, never failed to excite -admiring wonder in the visitor who saw it for the first time. It -includes such a variety of attractive features, and differs so greatly -from anything usually visible from the windows or garden-terrace of a -city dwelling, that even the most unimpressible yielded to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_124" id="page_124"></a>{124}</span> some sense -of surprise. Many a hearty tribute has accordingly been paid to its -beauty. The French artist, Gustave Doré, was charmed with the -magnificent panorama; J. J. Hayes, the Arctic explorer, and Bayard -Taylor, familiar as a traveller with the beauties of many lands, owned -its attractions as exceptionally rare; and the expression of quiet -delight with which Augustus Hare—fortunate in an unusually warm, bright -day of early summer—lingered over every detail of the historic -landscape, has left a vivid impression on the minds of those who recall -the incidents of his visit. It was no show-place for strangers, for few -men shrank with more instinctive reserve than William Nelson from -anything savouring of display; but to friends and friends’ friends it -was ever accessible. An American visitor, who, like so many others from -beyond the Atlantic, received a hospitable welcome at Salisbury Green, -thus recalls the place and its owner:—“I shall never forget the -greeting that made us all so much at home, the gentle humour of our host -at table, and then the quiet saunter in the summer evening in the -garden; Samson’s Ribs, a most curious geological formation, and the hill -beyond reflecting the setting sun, on one of those long summer evenings -we know nothing of in America. Mr. Nelson pointed out a ruined castle -where Queen Mary resided, and a rock out in the sea that had been a -prison of the Covenanters. Altogether<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_125" id="page_125"></a>{125}</span> the scene and its pleasant -associations are unforgetable.”</p> - -<p>Here, in this bright home, William Nelson dwelt, surrounded by wife and -children, with an ever-welcome circle of friends; and also with other -objects of his kindly consideration—his pet cockatoo, his peacocks, his -children’s rabbits, etc., for his sympathetic nature displayed itself -strongly in his love for the lower animals. His favourite dogs made him -subservient to their caprices, for he could not bear to see an animal -neglected. The birds that frequented Salisbury Green were a source of -constant delight, and any injury done to them excited his pity. He -mourned over the disappearance of the larks, after a succession of wet -seasons, as a personal loss; and an ill-timed jest about larkpies seemed -to give him acute pain. The reappearance of the birds in the spring, and -their pairing and building, were a source of ever-renewed pleasure. But -no one entered more heartily into the humorous aspect of things, even -when the laugh was at his own expense; and an occasion of this kind -transpired during one of my later visits to Salisbury Green. He had been -greatly charmed by the appearance of a pair of herons that remained day -after day stalking about the lawn, wading in the pond, and seemingly -well contented to make themselves at home in the grounds. The household -was warned not to disturb the graceful<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_126" id="page_126"></a>{126}</span> strangers; but after a time they -disappeared, and then some stray fish-bones on the margin of the pond -revealed the secret of their visit. They had only left when the last of -its gold-fish had been disposed of!</p> - -<p>The tenderness of William Nelson for the lower animals was shown in many -ways. A companion of his boyhood recalls an incident of those early -years. A party of boys at Kinghorn were off in a boat. They had obtained -the prized loan of a gun, and each in his turn was to have a shot at the -sea-gulls. William eagerly waited his chance; loaded and pointed his gun -at a gull within shot; then, after a pause, he quietly laid it down, -with the remark, “No, no! let the poor thing live!” One of the foremen -at Hope Park furnishes an incident of later years. Walking down Preston -Street, on his way to the office, Mr. Nelson saw a poor little sparrow, -just fledged; and having with some difficulty caught it, he gave a boy -sixpence to take it to Salisbury Green, and set it free among the trees. -Another incident I glean from one of Mrs. Nelson’s letters. “One day, -when we were walking together in the grounds, he stooped down and lifted -up so tenderly a worm which was on the gravel walk, and laying it on the -lawn, he said, ‘I cannot bear to see worms trampled upon; but this one -will be safe here.’ ” This is a specific instance of what was a -characteristic trait. In some manuscript “Recollections of the late -William<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_127" id="page_127"></a>{127}</span> Nelson,” noted down by Mr. Dalgleish, the superintendent of the -literary department of the publishing work for many years, the same -familiar trait is thus referred to:—“The birds were his constant and -most familiar friends. In the veranda of his beautiful house at -Salisbury Green he had quaintly-fashioned rustic boxes hung up for the -birds to build their nests in. It is a simple matter of fact that, not -once or twice, but many times, when walking round his garden after a -shower, he lifted a worm from the path, and laid it daintily on the -grass.” The tenderness that spared the gull, and cared for the worm on -his garden path, went even beyond this. He could not bear to see a -mousetrap set, and nothing pleased him more than when his children gave -evidence of a like sympathy. “None of us,” writes Mrs. Nelson, “will -ever forget the delight he was in one morning when he learned from Alice -that she, unknown to any one, had been cutting the string with which the -spring of a trap set in the nursery was held, so that no mice might be -caught. The servant, on her morning visits to the room, was mortified at -the failure of her plans to entrap the intruders, and only after a good -deal of questioning found out the delinquent.” Yet such are the curious -inconsistencies of human nature, no such thoughts seem to have intruded -to mar the enjoyment of his favourite pastime of fishing.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_128" id="page_128"></a>{128}</span></p> - -<p>He was <i>en rapport</i> with living nature in that peculiar way that seems -to distinguish an exceptional class of men. Dogs manifested for him an -instinctive sympathy, and he was perfectly fearless with regard to them. -When travelling with me in the Muskoka Lake district in Canada, a -backwood farmer shouted a warning as he approached the kennel of a -half-breed wolf-dog, such as are common with the Indians. But the -animal, though ordinarily fierce, responded to his caresses. His own -favourite dog, Leo, a fine Italian greyhound, watched for him, and -contended with the children for a share of his attention. He would coax -and whimper to be allowed to accompany him to the counting-room, where -his favourite corner was behind his master in his chair at the writing -table, to the manifest inconvenience and satisfaction of both. In a -retired nook in the grounds the visitor would come unexpectedly upon the -mound, with its little marble pillar, that marked the grave of canine -favourites of earlier years, and especially of poor Bronté, whose memory -was a source of bitter self-reproach to his master. William Nelson was -in the habit for many years of going down to the neighbouring sea-coast -before breakfast to bathe. This he did summer and winter, leaving early -in the cold dark mornings, accompanied by his faithful companion, -Bronté, a large Newfoundland dog. They travelled together in the train -to the Chain Pier. But when Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_129" id="page_129"></a>{129}</span> Nelson was absent from home, Bronté -missed his master, and setting off at the usual early hour, took the -train and went off to the beach in search of him. The fact only became -known when an account was presented from the railway company for -Bronté’s travelling expenses. He and his master were well known to the -railway officials, and so Master Bronté, as it proved, had regularly -journeyed for his morning bath in a first-class carriage! But the span -of life runs within straitened limits for our canine favourites, and ere -the close it had become a burden to poor Bronté. The feeling associated -with his death, which had long secretly preyed on his master’s mind, -found utterance when, in subsequent years, old age once more rendered -life a burden to another household pet. A fine large tom cat had passed -from kittenhood to extreme old age, and was nursed till its condition of -helplessness became so pitiable that some one suggested the -administration of poison as an act of mercy. “No, no! don’t give it -poison!” exclaimed Mr. Nelson; “you would never forget it. I have never -forgiven myself for allowing poor Bronté to be poisoned. It haunts me -still. I shall never forget it as long as I live.” So poor Tom was left -to die a natural death two days later.</p> - -<p>Brighter associations connect themselves with a scene in the -drawing-room of Salisbury Green which transpired<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_130" id="page_130"></a>{130}</span> in recent years. On a -lovely Sabbath morning, when the windows were open on to the lawn, and -all were assembled for family worship, as William Nelson was reading a -chapter from the Bible, a starling flew into the room. It alighted and -kept hopping about his chair, till all knelt down; when, instead of -being startled, it perched on his shoulder, remaining quietly there all -the time of prayer. When the family rose from their knees, it was -thought that the bird would fly away; but it refused to quit its novel -perch. He walked with it on his shoulder up to the nursery, where a -large bowl of water was placed upon the table, when “Charlie,” as their -pet starling was subsequently named, hopped down to enjoy the luxury of -a bath. A cage was procured; but Mr. Nelson would not hear of its being -shut in. Ultimately, Charlie was housed in a large open cage in the -laundry, with free access to the garden. There he made himself entirely -at home, and became a great favourite; but after some time he flew off -into the garden and did not return. One evening, at a later date, when -the family were seated on the lawn, a starling—possibly -Charlie—perched on one of the children’s shoulders; and that was the -last they ever saw of their little visitor.</p> - -<p>There was a rare naturalness and simplicity in William Nelson. He was at -ease in any company, and equally accessible to poor as to rich. Yet, -with all this,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_131" id="page_131"></a>{131}</span> he was singularly undemonstrative. As one of his old -friends writes, “he was no hand-shaker;” so that a stranger could never -have guessed the deep sympathies that lay concealed under his quiet -manner. Yet when his pity was excited his emotion was extreme, and he -betrayed the tender sensitiveness of a woman, his tears flowing -unrestrained. When his mother, to whom he was passionately attached, lay -dying, he shrank from entering the room, where the sight of her -suffering overpowered him. But he lingered about the door of the -apartment, and could not stay away. When moved with apprehension of the -safety of those most dear to him—as on one occasion which I recall, -when in deep anxiety about the safety of his son—his emotion was even -painful to witness. But his capacity for enjoyment was equally great, -and retained in it to the last much of the freshness of childhood. A -“Punch and Judy,” especially with a group of children enjoying the show, -never lost its charm for him. Another kindly trait of unsophisticated -naturalness was the pleasure he derived from street music. He would wait -to listen to a ballad-singer, and after a liberal gift, ask to have the -song over again. A blind bagpiper was irresistible, though more, I -suspect, as an object of charity than for the charm of his music. A -cornopean player and sundry German bands came regularly to his office -window, and “the Rhine Watch” was sure to call<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_132" id="page_132"></a>{132}</span> forth half-a-crown. -After his death, the comment of an old Parkside workman on the changes -that his absence had created was summed up with the remark, “The beggars -on the Dalkeith Road and the bands of music have ceased to come now.”</p> - -<p>The pleasure which he derived from music was intense. It was, indeed, no -uncommon thing to see him moved to tears under its influence. But much -of this, doubtless, was the pleasure of association: as in the plaintive -national airs of Scotland, the songs and ballads familiar to him from -childhood, and the sacred music linked to hymns, many of which have -become part of the national psalmody, and entered into the religious -life of the whole English-speaking race.</p> - -<p>In art his taste was pure. He delighted to have artists about him, -criticised their works with frank sincerity, and at times with an -unconventional bluntness that was a little startling. Sir George Harvey, -James Drummond, Sir Noel Paton and his brother Waller, Sir Daniel -Macnee, Keeley Halswell, Alfred H. Forrester (Alfred Crowquill), with -Doré, Giacomelli, and other foreigners, were all among his -artist-friends; and to those must be added Mrs. D. O. Hill, William -Brodie, Stevenson, and other sculptors, to whom the charms of his -tasteful home and its beautiful surroundings were familiar. His -remarkably fine and expressive head was a model they prized to work -from. His<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_133" id="page_133"></a>{133}</span> feelings in regard to artists and their works find expression -in his letters from time to time, as he notes his sense of the loss -created by their death.</p> - -<p>William Brodie, a self-taught artist of great simplicity and true -genius, whose fine statue of Lord Cockburn holds its place in the old -Parliament Hall of Edinburgh alongside of Roubiliac’s Forbes of -Culloden, Chantrey’s Lord Melville, and Steel’s Lord Jeffrey, was -engaged in 1881 on a marble bust of William Nelson. He had been -commissioned to execute for Toronto a bronze statue of Mr. Nelson’s -brother-in-law, the Hon. George Brown, leader of the Liberal party in -Upper Canada in its protracted struggle for constitutional government. -His death, after long suffering, by the pistol-shot of an assassin, -created a wide-spread sympathy in Canada, and awakened in the mind of -William Nelson the keenest sympathy on behalf of his widowed sister. -This, accordingly, gave an exceptional interest to the proposed statue. -He discussed the plans with the sculptor, and eagerly anticipated its -execution. But the commission had not been long intrusted to him, and -the plans for its realization settled, when death arrested the gifted -sculptor in the midst of his work. More than one day had been spent in -the studio, examining some of his latest productions, including the -unfinished bust, and discussing the treatment of the proposed statue. In -the following November, William<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_134" id="page_134"></a>{134}</span> Nelson thus writes:—“You will have -heard, ere this reaches you, intelligence of the death of poor William -Brodie, the sculptor. He had been suffering for several months past from -fatty degeneration of the heart, and on Sunday morning last he was -released from earthly care and trouble. I had a note from his wife about -a week before his death, in which she stated that he was a little -better, and that he had been able to make some drawings for the statue -of George Brown, but that no further progress had been made in the -matter. The loss is great to art, for he was at his very best, and -improving as he progressed. His Sir James Simpson I do not like; but he -blamed its low site, buried among the trees, and wanted it removed to -the open area of Nicolson Square, where, I daresay, it would show much -better. As for his Lord Cockburn, it is the finest thing in the -Parliament House. It is not for me to suggest who should now be -intrusted with the work; but there can be no doubt that Mrs. D. O. Hill -will be looking out for the commission; and if it should come her way, -and she were to produce a work equal to her statue of Livingstone, the -committee would not have occasion to regret having intrusted her with -it.”</p> - -<p>Art had ever a charm for William Nelson, and he watched with jealous -sensitiveness the memorial statues which adorn the streets and squares -of his native city. But a keen personal sympathy gave intensity to his<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_135" id="page_135"></a>{135}</span> -interest in the one to be erected in honour of his own brother-in-law. -The execution of it was ultimately intrusted to Mr. C. Bell Birch, -A.R.A.; and in February 1884 Mr. Nelson thus writes from London to Mr. -James Campbell:—“I am here for a short time, with Mrs. Nelson and my -daughter Florence. We have all been out this afternoon at the studio of -Mr. Birch, the sculptor, seeing the model of the statue that is to be -erected to the memory of poor George Brown. I am glad to say that we are -all of opinion that the statue will be a noble one, though we are not -quite sure if the likeness will be what can be called a speaking -likeness.” The statue did ultimately satisfy in this respect, and now -forms an attractive feature in the Queen’s Park at Toronto. As to the -love of art here referred to, it is perpetuated by the younger -generation. Salisbury Green has its own studio, where both modelling and -painting were pursued by a group of young artists with more than -ordinary amateur skill. But art has found other rivals in the new home -to which the fair critic of Mr. Birch’s model has transferred her -<i>penates</i>.</p> - -<p>As time wore on, and the thick clustering black locks of early years -whitened with the frosts of time, William Nelson courted more than ever -his own family reunions, delighted to gather his friends about him, and -noted with tender regrets the blanks that death made in the old circle. -Thus he writes to me in January<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_136" id="page_136"></a>{136}</span> 1882: “Several weel kent faces have -fled wi’ the year that’s awa’, including old artist-friends who have -recently disappeared from our midst that you will mourn.” After -referring to William Brodie and Sir Daniel Macnee, he proceeds: “And now -I have to inform you that your old friend William Miller [the eminent -engraver] has been called away, he having died at Sheffield yesterday. I -met him not long ago in the Meadows, as he was going in the direction of -Millerfield; and he walked as erect as he ever did, which was a most -remarkable thing for a man only four years short of being a -nonagenarian. In addition to those I have mentioned as having joined the -majority, the name of Sheriff Hallard has to be added; and Edinburgh has -lost in him a great deal of happy sunshine.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_137" id="page_137"></a>{137}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX.<br /><br /> -<small><i>GLIMPSES OF TRAVEL.</i></small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">R</span>EFERENCE has already been made to William Nelson’s love of travel. It -was indeed a passion with him, which, with his persistent eagerness for -the minutest information on all points brought under his notice, might -under other circumstances have won a place for him among distinguished -travellers.</p> - -<p>During a delightful sojourn which I shared with him in the Vale of -Yarrow in 1880, a special object of pilgrimage was the ruined cottage in -which the African traveller, Mungo Park, was born; and as he looked on -it he recalled the picture, by Sir George Harvey, representing the -fainting traveller in the African desert revived by the sight of a -little flower that seemed to tell of the divine hand, and renewed his -faith in the fatherhood of God. He followed up the subject, recovered an -original sketch map executed by the traveller of his intended second -route, of which he had a copy made; and among the letters preserved by -him is one from Dr. Anderson of Selkirk, in which it is stated:<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_138" id="page_138"></a>{138}</span>—“Park -served his apprenticeship for a surgeon with my grandfather in this -house (Dove Cot) where I now live, and where my grandfather, my father, -and myself have practised for more than a hundred years. My father -served his apprenticeship with Park in Peebles, when he practised there -before going off on his second journey. There stands a very handsome -tree in front of my house, a horse-chestnut, which was planted by the -traveller while courting his intended wife.”</p> - -<p>African travel had a peculiar fascination for William Nelson. The return -of the venerable missionary, Dr. Robert Moffat, from his life-long -labours among the Hottentots and Bechuanas, awakened in him the -liveliest interest; and his son-in-law, Livingstone, was an object of -special veneration. When the startling news of Stanley’s meeting with -him at Ujiji was reported, it greatly excited and gratified him. And -when Mr. Henry M. Stanley visited Edinburgh on his return from Africa, -he received a hearty welcome at Salisbury Green. Keith Johnston, another -of the explorers of the Dark Continent, who fell a victim to the deadly -climate, was the son of an old friend. He watched with interest the news -of his early efforts, and tenderly mourned his fate. The same summer in -which the ruined cottage in the Vale of Yarrow was the object of William -Nelson’s curious interest, he had as his guest at Salisbury Green Mr. -Joseph Thomson, then recently<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_139" id="page_139"></a>{139}</span> returned from his exploratory wanderings -in previously unvisited regions to the south of the Victoria Nyanza, and -gratified his intelligent curiosity, plying him with questions about the -strange land and its people.</p> - -<p>His own wanderings extended beyond the ordinary routes of the tourist. -He visited Norway and Sweden on more than one occasion; travelled in -Denmark and Russia, through Spain, Morocco, and Algiers; journeyed, as -we have seen, in Palestine; explored Egypt and the Nile; crossed the -American continent to the Pacific; and was on the eve of an extended -visit to Greece and Asia Minor when his active life came to a close. His -correspondence is voluminous, and supplies ample details of his -experience on successive journeys; but a few illustrations will suffice -for needful glimpses of personal characteristics. His journey across the -American continent in 1870 has already been referred to. The Yosemite -Valley, and the wonders of the Yellowstone Region, are now familiar to -tourists; but at that date they were recently discovered and little -known. He landed at New York on the 18th of May, had the excitement of a -threatened Indian raid as they traversed the territory of the Sioux, but -reached the Rocky Mountains in safety. He passed through the defiles of -the mountains with unexpected ease; and then he notes: “If the passage -of the Rocky Mountains has been easy, this has been made up by the -crossing<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_140" id="page_140"></a>{140}</span> of the Sierra Nevada in California, which is the most -difficult task in railway engineering that has yet been undertaken. -These mountains are between eight and nine thousand feet high, and over -these the railway passes, the roadway being in many places cut out of -solid rock, with perpendicular walls of many hundred feet deep, falling -straight down from the very edge of the railway.” The famous Yosemite -Valley he describes as “a valley of about twelve miles in length by two -in breadth, that has apparently been formed by the ground sinking down -to a depth of some three or four thousand feet, and leaving -perpendicular cliffs all round. In these are many fine waterfalls, the -largest being no less than two thousand six hundred feet high;” and -after a minute description of its features, he pronounces the valley to -be “one of the greatest wonders of the world.” The Indians were a -subject of unfailing interest. He longed to see the aborigines in their -genuine condition of savage simplicity; and at a later date, when -referring to this subject in a letter to Captain James Chester of the -3rd U.S. Artillery, he says:—“I send you a cutting from the <i>Times</i>. We -all know that the Scotch are a practical people; but I never before, in -all my reading, met with an instance of their getting the credit for -goaheadness in the way referred to. The Marquis of Lorne, while -Governor-General of Canada, was on the look-out for the genuine native;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_141" id="page_141"></a>{141}</span> -and some of his first experiences, as he travelled beyond the frontiers -of civilization, are thus described by a correspondent who accompanied -him:—‘We begin to-morrow with an address from some Indians at Little -Current, on Manitoulin Island, who ought to be real, full-blooded -Indians, if any faith can be put in Indian names. But probably little -faith can be put in them. The mixture of races has been carried -on,—more especially by the Scotch, always foremost in everything,—with -so much energy that it is never easy to know whether an Indian is -full-blooded, or, as some stranger to the laws of orthography and -pronunciation tersely phrased it, “half Ingin, half Ingineer.” In one of -his speeches Lord Lorne told us of his once expressing a wish to see a -real, full-blooded Indian, his first; and being rather astonished when -the Canadian who undertook to gratify his wish summoned the required -real specimen of the aboriginal race by shouting, “Come here, -MacDonald.” ’ ”</p> - -<p>The Falls of Niagara had no such fresh wonder as belonged to the -newly-discovered marvels of California; but familiarity does not lessen -their effect, and the impression produced on Mr. Nelson’s mind is worth -reproducing in his own words. He travelled in company with Mrs. Nelson, -and he thus writes:—“One misses the true height of the falls at -first—one hundred and sixty-three feet—owing to looking down upon them -as they<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_142" id="page_142"></a>{142}</span> plunge into a deep gorge, in addition to their great extent in -breadth. But still the impression is overpowering. Before dinner we went -on to Goat Island, which divides the Horse Shoe, or Canadian Fall, from -the American Fall; got over to the Three Sisters—three lovely wooded -islands anchored amid the roar of waters—and then looked up the great -rapids from the head of Goat Island. This I really think almost finer -than the actual falls. There is no hill or rising ground visible. The -flat shore scarcely seems to reach above the water’s brink; and here is -a great tumbling flood that looks as if it came right out of the sky, -and was going to sweep everything before it. After dinner we crossed the -ferry, right under the falls, and formed a more definite idea of their -height. We then found our way to a spot on the Canadian side above the -falls, where we looked down on the Horse Shoe Fall. It has eaten its way -back into the rock; and an old residenter on the spot told us it has -greatly changed since he remembered it. It now looks as though the whole -mighty flood were poured into a narrow cleft, and disappears in a rising -cloud of vapour, in which, when the sun is shining, there is a constant -rainbow.”</p> - -<p>At Toronto attractions of a different, but not less acceptable, kind -awaited him. He started for the backwoods, and fished in Lake Muskoka -with his old school-mate for his guide. And on his return to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_143" id="page_143"></a>{143}</span> Toronto, a -party of the fellow-students of early years met at dinner under his -present biographer’s roof. Sir Andrew Ramsay, the head of the -Geographical Survey of Great Britain, chanced to be on a visit to -Canada; Alexander Sprunt had come on from North Carolina to place his -son at the University of Toronto; the Hon. George Brown, his own -brother-in-law, was now a Senator of the Dominion; the Hon. David -Christie was Speaker of the Senate; Professor George Paxton Young, and -their host, were both members of the Faculty of the Provincial -University; and thus, after an interval of more than forty years, the -memories of school and college life were recalled, and old times lived -over again, with many a humorous reminiscence, and some amusing -gleanings from the record of school-mates. In a letter to his sister he -says: “You may imagine with what delight I met so many of my old -school-fellows, and how we did talk over the days of auld lang syne!”</p> - -<p>The Parisian capital is a place of too easy and frequent resort to admit -of its being embraced within the range of notable explorations; but two -of his visits to Paris were made under such exceptional circumstances as -to claim special notice here. The first of those was his characteristic -visit at the period of Prince Louis Napoleon’s famous <i>coup d’état</i>. An -old friend, Mr. Matthew Tait, thus briefly narrates the event:—“We<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_144" id="page_144"></a>{144}</span> all -know how fond he was of foreign travel, and how he liked to watch the -movements of crowds and to witness any public display. My brother -accompanied him to Paris in 1851. It was at the time of the <i>coup -d’état</i>. Mingling one day with the crowds that filled the Place de la -Concorde, they suddenly found themselves exposed to a charge of cavalry. -The crowd instantly gave way amid shrieks and yells; some of them were -mortally wounded. My brother remarked to me afterwards on the coolness -and self-possession of William Nelson, who seemed to have far more -sympathy with the unfortunate victims than concern for his own safety.”</p> - -<p>In William Nelson’s boyhood the journey to London was a formidable -adventure. A youth who had achieved that feat won the respect of his -companions as one who had seen the world. To have actually crossed the -Channel was to be a great traveller. Rotterdam and the Hague, or -Christiania and Copenhagen, by reason of the trade of the neighbouring -sea-port, lay within easier reach than Paris. But steam-boats and -railways have wrought as great a revolution in ideas as in experience; -and in his later years a visit to Paris was no uncommon occurrence. But -the circumstances were altogether exceptional when in March 1871,—the -year succeeding that of his journey across the American continent,—he -proceeded thither, accompanied by Mrs.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_145" id="page_145"></a>{145}</span> Nelson and an American friend, -Mr. George Buckham of New York. The Franco-German War was over; Paris -had capitulated; and this unwonted condition of things presented -attractions peculiarly calculated to tempt William Nelson to witness for -himself the novel scene. Happily some interesting reminiscences of the -adventure are recoverable from notes furnished by both of his -fellow-travellers.</p> - -<p>They met in London on the 16th of March, and on learning that the German -army had evacuated Paris, they resolved to avail themselves of the -opportunity of witnessing the devastations of war, while the city still -wore the aspect due to its prolonged siege. They started accordingly the -following day. On reaching the suburbs of Paris they were struck with -the wretched condition of the numerous soldiers of the besieging army, -still bivouacked there in dirty, tattered uniforms, little calculated to -suggest the idea of proud conquerors. They put up at the Hôtel Chatham; -and on their way from the railway station their attention was drawn to -the excited crowds in the streets and boulevards. It was soon apparent -that the terrors of the siege had been succeeded by revolutionary -revolt. Many wounded and dying were being carried past on stretchers. -The streets were filled with citizens and soldiers gesticulating in an -angry manner, and evidently ripe for violence. The very few shops that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_146" id="page_146"></a>{146}</span> -were open looked dreary and deserted; and the inhabitants had a -careworn, anxious look, as though they dreaded a renewal of the terrible -experiences of the siege.</p> - -<p>About noon the travellers set out to explore the scenes still bearing -evidence of the conflict so recently ended. They reached the Champ de -Mars in time to see several regiments of the National Guard arrive and -pitch their tents. They were survivors of the army of General Chanzy, -which had suffered so terribly; and Mr. Buckham notes of them: “All were -scarcely older than mere boys. They were in a dreadfully ragged and -distressed condition.” Everywhere, indeed, the pride and glory of war -had given place to its most forbidding aspects. At Pont de Jour the -shells had made terrible havoc, almost totally destroying every house in -the place. At St. Cloud it was the same. The palace which the Emperor -left on the 18th of July 1870, at the head of the Grande Armée, to march -to Berlin, was almost completely demolished; and a street of once -beautiful mansions near it was a mere pile of ruins. This was the work -of the besieged, in their efforts to dislodge the Germans, who were -carousing in the magnificent halls of the imperial palace. Everywhere -the travellers were struck with the evidences of the blind fury of the -populace. The “N,” the “E,” and every symbol of the emperor, had been -effaced or<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_147" id="page_147"></a>{147}</span> broken. Statues of the First Napoleon, and a beautiful -statue of the Empress Josephine that adorned the avenue which bore her -name, had been thrown down and flung into the river. Even the heads of -the bronze eagles on the Grand Opera House had been broken off.</p> - -<p>They sought in vain for a conveyance to hire. At every livery stable -they were told that the horses had all been killed and eaten. Towards -evening the excitement became intense, under the apprehension that the -Red Republicans, who were evidently gaining ground, would take complete -possession of Paris. The landlord of the Hôtel Chatham was greatly -excited, and cautioned his guests against venturing out of doors. But an -old citizen of Edinburgh, Mr. Nimmo, who was well known to Mr. Nelson, -undertook to be their guide. He had himself been a leader in the -political movements of the old Scottish reformers at a time when such -proceedings imperilled his safety; and so, taking refuge in Paris, he -had resided there for forty-nine years, and now found himself at home in -the <i>furor</i> of a fresh revolution. Under his escort they traversed the -deserted and gloomy thoroughfares, till they reached the Place Vendôme, -where a military guard arrested their progress, and compelled them to -pursue a different route. When they passed the end of the Louvre, and -turned in the direction of the boulevard leading towards the Place -Vendôme, they suddenly became involved<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_148" id="page_148"></a>{148}</span> in a disorderly mass of -soldiers; and within half an hour after they reached their hotel, the -Place Vendôme was captured by the mob. A little later the Hôtel de Ville -was in the hands of the Communists, the government fled from Paris, and -the revolution was an accomplished fact. The Grande Armée disappeared. -On the Saturday night, March 18th, there was fighting going on in -several parts of the city; and when, on the following day, Mr. and Mrs. -Nelson and their friend visited two Protestant churches, they found them -closed, and all attempt at public worship abandoned. They were -successful at length in securing a hired vehicle, and making their way -to the Jardin des Plantes, where they found, to their surprise, that -nearly all the animals had survived the siege. There had been -sensational newspaper paragraphs concerning the novel dishes which the -national menagerie supplied; and William Nelson’s fancy was greatly -taken with the idea of a hippopotamus steak, a giraffe ragout, a dish of -devilled tiger, or some other equally <i>recherché</i> entertainment; but -instead of the beasts being devoured, it had been found possible to -provide them with something to eat. Eighty-four shells had fallen within -the garden enclosures, but the damage was slight; while seven of the -poor invalids in a large hospital adjoining had been killed in their -beds. While walking through the Jardin des Plantes, a stranger -approached Mr. Nelson, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_149" id="page_149"></a>{149}</span> addressing him, told him he was a professor -in the University of Dublin, had been shut up in Paris during the siege, -and reduced to the direst straits. He was anxious to get away, but he -had no money. Mr. Buckham, who witnessed the interview, adds: “In such -cases Mr. Nelson never hesitated. I have seen many other instances of -his benevolence. He relieved this gentleman at once.” Mr. Buckham adds -that he learned from Mr. Nimmo of many instances of suffering and -distress, as the results of the siege, which had been reported by him to -Mr. Nelson. He did not stop to inquire more, but helped the needy, and -relieved the distressed and suffering, without any idea that his good -deeds were ever known to any one but Mr. Nimmo, who had the pleasant -duty of acting as his almoner.</p> - -<p>The entire scene abounded in strange and exciting novelty. They drove to -the Hôtel de Ville, and there had to abandon their conveyance. The grand -square was filled with soldiers. Men and boys were tearing up the -paving-stones and constructing barricades. The flag of the Red -Republicans was flying on the hotel, and the soldiers were shouting, -“<i>Vive la République!</i>” and fraternizing with the mob. So alarming grew -the situation that the idea gained favour with many of the citizens to -invite the return of the Prussians to Paris as the only escape from a -reign of terror. Proclamations were issued by the Government, and -counter proclamations<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_150" id="page_150"></a>{150}</span> by the Red Republicans. The travellers were -warned by their landlord not to venture out; but it was useless to visit -Paris at such a time merely to be immured in their hotel. So at noon -they started for Versailles, under the guidance of Mr. Nimmo, and paid a -visit there to M. Giacomelli, Mr. Nelson’s artist friend. He had had -several Prussian officers quartered on him, and the account he gave of -the insolent brutality of those representatives of the victorious army -seems to have been abundantly confirmed by the condition in which they -left the artist’s beautiful château. Mr. Buckham thus writes:—</p> - -<p>“Monsieur and Madame Giacomelli are people of the highest refinement and -culture, and it was impossible to listen to a recital of their wrongs -unmoved. The walls of their <i>salons</i> were hung with most beautiful -paintings, many of which had been cut from their frames. The beautiful -draperies of the windows were stained with tobacco juice; and the rich -satin coverings of their furniture, which the officers had lounged on -with spurs, were hanging in ribbons.”</p> - -<p>The calm self-control and fearlessness in danger which have already been -noted among the characteristics of William Nelson, were repeatedly noted -by his travelling companion under the most trying circumstances during -this sojourn in Paris. Mr. Buckham thus writes:—“In the exciting scenes -of these few days, in which<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_151" id="page_151"></a>{151}</span> Mr. Nelson mingled freely and fearlessly, -no one was so calm as he. The writer accompanied him through scenes in -which we were often menaced with the insane violence of armed men, so -that it was deemed the height of madness to expose ourselves to it. On -one occasion, in the Marché St. Honoré, which we entered suddenly, not -knowing what was going on, we found it crowded with armed men and women -almost foaming with rage at our intrusion. Three words uttered by Mr. -Nelson in a low tone restored me to self-control. ‘Take my arm,’ he said -quietly, and we passed unharmed, with muskets and bayonets pointed at -us. While traversing the Rue de Rivoli, for a long distance we did not -see a human being, until we were suddenly confronted by a Communist -doing sentinel duty. Mr. Nelson said to me in his calm tone of voice, -‘Say nothing; I’ll manage this fellow.’ So on we went, and the sentinel -brought down his musket from his shoulder. Our pace was not changed. Mr. -Nelson gave the military salute; he again shouldered his musket, and we -passed on.”</p> - -<p>The season was early, but a succession of days of brilliant sunshine, -with the trees putting forth their fresh spring leaves and early -blossoms, and the songs of the birds already building their nests, all -tended to intensify the desolation of the scene and the misery of the -populace. In the ruined villages around Paris they<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_152" id="page_152"></a>{152}</span> saw men, women, and -children who gazed as if stupified at the wreck of their humble -dwellings, while they seemed only involved in worse dangers by the -withdrawal of the invaders. A revolution was at its height. The National -Assembly was sitting at Versailles, while the Red Republicans held -Paris; and the army was taking sides, and divided between the rival -governments. On the 21st of March, Mr. Buckham notes:—“Another splendid -day, but as no cabs could be found, we trudged about on foot. The -streets are filled with crowds of excited people; some are armed, and -bent on mischief. Not a vehicle is to be seen; the whole roadway is -filled with people. Orators are declaiming, and the newswomen are -screaming out the last ‘special,’ which is eagerly seized until the -stock of newspapers is exhausted. The landlords of the hotels have -forbidden the departure of their guests in obedience to an order issued -by the Government. The English agent of the Rothschilds called and -informed us that a conflict was inevitable. The people of wealth were -ordered to furnish money to the insurgents, and if they refused they -were marched off to the Conciergerie between two files of soldiers. -Suddenly about noon the Boulevards were filled with immense crowds of -citizens shouting for peace. A great procession was formed and marched -to the Hôtel de Ville and Place Vendôme to remonstrate with the -Communists. This<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_153" id="page_153"></a>{153}</span> movement, proving the unpopularity of the -insurrection, was visible at once on the Bourse by the rise of stocks! -The order forbidding strangers to depart was revoked, the shops were -reopened, and there was a reasonable prospect of an immediate -suppression of the revolution.”</p> - -<p>But the troubles were not over for the courageous travellers who had -thus gratified their curiosity to witness for themselves the scenes of a -besieged city and a Parisian Communistic revolt. On coming down to -breakfast on the Sunday morning, they were gratified to meet at the -breakfast table an old friend, in company with two others who, like -themselves, had come to Paris to see the results of the terrible war. -They were the only other guests at the hotel. On their first visit to -Versailles they had had a good view of the great fortress, Mont -Valérien, and explored with much interest the surrounding rifle-pits and -other means of defence; and it was now proposed that the whole party -should visit the fort. But Mrs. Nelson writes:—“On reconsidering our -plans, William decided that he would prefer going to Versailles; so Mr. -Buckham and I set out with him, while our friends started for Fort -Valérien. We found much to interest us, and did not return to our hotel -till the evening. But on arriving there the landlord met us in a state -of great excitement. We had, it seemed, very narrowly escaped a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_154" id="page_154"></a>{154}</span> novel -and trying experience. Our three friends had been taken for spies, and -as soon as they reached the fort were made prisoners. After being -detained all day, they had been released, and were already on their way -to England. He also told us that he had orders from head-quarters that -we were to leave at once.” So ended this visit to Paris in the days of -the capitulation and the Commune, not without some very exciting -experiences, and more than one narrow escape from imminent danger. It -was characteristic of William Nelson’s fearless unconsciousness of -danger that he made Mrs. Nelson the sharer in an expedition, replete -indeed with attractions of a highly novel and exceptional kind, but -beset by so many dangers that nothing but her trusting confidence in his -guardianship could have induced her to risk the exposure which it -involved. As it was, it might be styled a lucky accident which alone -prevented her sharing in the uncomfortable romance of being made a state -prisoner in Fort Valérien. But such incidents have a piquancy in the -memories of later years, when the discomforts and apprehensions they -involved have passed out of memory. Nevertheless the narrow escape from -incarceration in a state prison under the later Commune was the foremost -incident in Mrs. Nelson’s thoughts whenever she recalled the experiences -of that exciting time.</p> - -<p>“It was a narrow escape,” she writes, “for we were<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_155" id="page_155"></a>{155}</span> the last people to -get out of Paris. The Provisional Government took the place of the -Prussian invaders; and our train was the last one allowed to leave -Paris. We were repeatedly taken for spies and stopped on the street. Had -we gone to Fort Valérien and been made prisoners, the suspicions that -had been excited would have told against us. But William never seemed to -be put out, or to be conscious of danger.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_156" id="page_156"></a>{156}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X.<br /><br /> -<small><i>HOLIDAYS ABROAD.</i></small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">A</span> JOURNEY through unfamiliar scenes had at all times a special -fascination for William Nelson; and had circumstances favoured the -devotion of his early years to exploration in strange, unknown regions, -it was a work that would have proved peculiarly congenial to his tastes. -He had some of the most needful characteristics of an observant -traveller; and his acuteness and keen desire for the thorough -investigation of whatever came under notice, would have secured results -of permanent value. But as it was, his later travels, even when out of -the beaten track of the tourist, were necessarily the mere holiday -rambles of a man escaping from the engrossing cares of business. Yet -even such rambles furnish some interesting glimpses of character.</p> - -<p>From among William Nelson’s varied experiences of foreign travel in -later years I select his trip to the Baltic in 1878, the incidents of -which are familiar to me as his companion on the journey. More -correctly,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_157" id="page_157"></a>{157}</span> he accompanied me, starting at a few hours’ notice with that -indifference to elaborate preparation so characteristic of him as a -traveller. We sailed from Leith on the 4th of July by the steam-ship -<i>Buda</i>, bound for Copenhagen. The North Sea gave us a rough shake; but I -was seasoned for the voyage by fresh Atlantic experiences, and William -Nelson was a good sailor in all weathers. He was at home among the -sailors on the deck or in the forecastle, and found, as usual, some -objects of practical sympathy there.</p> - -<p>The first subject of curious investigation was the famed castle of -Helsingör—Hamlet’s Elsinore. But it is better seen through -Shakespeare’s eyes, and is much too modern and prosaic to awaken any -associations with Hamlet the Dane. Our traveller, who was apt to be -amusingly literal on such occasions, protested against the contemptible -escarpment which it offered in lieu of</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“The dreadful summit of the cliff<br /></span> -<span class="i1">That beetles o’er his base into the sea.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">But Copenhagen had much to interest him; and among the rest, the -recurrence of his own name, under slight modifications, suggesting the -possible descent of the Covenanting farmers of the Carse of Stirling -from some rough old Baltic viking. The Thorwaldsen Galleries were -explored with keen interest. Then, too, I was fortunate in an early -personal acquaintance with<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_158" id="page_158"></a>{158}</span> the eminent Danish archæologist, Wörsaae, -which subsequent correspondence on subjects of mutual interest had -ripened into friendship. He was then chamberlain to the king. So under -his guidance a charming day was passed in the Rosenborg Slot, where, in -addition to the choice cabinet of coins, the famous silver drinking-horn -of Oldenburg, and other ancient relics, a succession of state apartments -are arranged with historical portraits, arms, jewels, and furniture of -the royal Danish line. Illustrated as they were by the fascinating -commentary of our guide, they charmed William Nelson beyond measure. “It -was,” he said, “like walking down the centuries into the present time.” -Another day was spent, under the same instructive guidance, inspecting -the richly-stored cabinets of the Prindsens Palais, where the Runic -slabs from Greenland—memorials of the Northmen’s pre-Columbian -discovery of America—excited the liveliest interest.</p> - -<p>On returning to our hotel on the latter occasion, we found unusual stir -and excitement. We had not been aware that the Prince Imperial of France -was a guest at the hotel—come to Copenhagen, as was reported, to sue -for the hand of a Danish princess; and here was his Danish majesty’s -carriage awaiting the prince to take him to dine at the palace at the -fashionable hour of 5 <small>P.M.</small> William Nelson remarks in a letter of the -following July:—“You would see the sad fate of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_159" id="page_159"></a>{159}</span> Prince Imperial; -though one cannot help asking what business he had there, fighting the -poor Zulus who had done him no wrong, and bringing discredit on British -officers who were there on duty, whatever we may think of such duty. It -seems hard to blame them for bolting—every man for himself. But you -remember the little prince as we saw him at Copenhagen; he did not seem -very fit to fight Zulus or anybody else, poor fellow.”</p> - -<p>The Frue Kirke occupies a prominent place among the attractions of -Copenhagen, and is now associated in my mind with a characteristic -little incident. The travellers had visited the church, the decorations -of which, from the chisel of Thorwaldsen, constitute the main source of -its interest. On the morning of the Sunday following they attended the -English service; and in the afternoon his companion announced his -intention to go to the Frue Kirke, and invited William Nelson to -accompany him. But he refused, protesting that they should not -understand a word of the service, and pronouncing the procedure to be a -desecration of the day. His fellow-traveller had accordingly to go -alone. The church is in the form of a Roman basilica, built under the -direction of the great Danish sculptor, with a special view to its -marble adornments. The sole light is admitted from ground-glass panels -in the ceiling. Above the altar, in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_160" id="page_160"></a>{160}</span> the chancel, stands the colossal -statue of Christ, with arms extended in loving regard. In front of each -pier, in the nave, is a statue of an apostle: St. Paul symbolizing the -irresistible might of the truth; St. Peter the custodian of the symbolic -keys; the doubting Thomas, with look of indecision and finger on his -lip; St. John as the impersonation of love; and the others, each more or -less skilfully suggesting some appropriate ideal. As works of art they -are open to criticism, for as an artist Thorwaldsen had far more of -classical than of Christian feeling. But the absence of all gay -colouring, usually so much favoured in church decoration, and the grand -scale of the works in pure white marble, so appropriate to a place of -Christian worship, produce as a whole an effect singularly impressive in -its mode of enlisting art as the handmaid of religion. The Lutheran -service, with its familiar hymn tunes, was simple as that of the -Presbyterian Church; and the sermon was obviously eloquent, though -delivered in the unknown Danish tongue. On the wanderer returning to the -hotel, he found his friend asleep in an easy-chair, and ventured to hint -that his time had been spent to as good purpose; but this idea was -scouted, and William Nelson stuck to it, that the sharing in the -afternoon service of the Frue Kirke was a profanation of the day.</p> - -<p>His interest was specially excited by the comments of Wörsaae, on the -succession of flora in Denmark, from<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_161" id="page_161"></a>{161}</span> the <i>Pinus sylvestris</i> of the -early Stone Period to that of the <i>Quercus robur</i> which accompanies the -prehistoric works of the Iron Age, and has been replaced within the -historic period by the beech. So a run by rail afforded him the -gratification of seeing one of the fine beech forests of Denmark. But he -was still more charmed with the habitual courtesy of the Dane. The -Thorwaldsen Museum has refined the Copenhageners, even to the proverbial -street boy. He who was at all times noticeable for that spontaneous -courtesy which knew no distinction between rich and poor, was amused to -learn that the travellers were guilty of an unconscious boorishness in -keeping their hats on when entering a shop, or even a railway -waiting-room. At their first Swedish railway station—a half-finished -structure with unglazed windows—a Danish friend drew their attention to -this notice: “Behall gerna hufvudbonaden pa!” which politely invited -them to keep their hats on under such exceptional circumstances. The -impression which this produced was recalled by an incident of a -different kind, on their proceeding from Stockholm to Christiania. Their -interview with custom-house officers on the frontier reminded them that -Sweden and Norway are still distinct kingdoms. The simple kindly manners -of the Norwegian people charmed them no less than those of the Danes. -Introductions gave them access to scenes of quiet domestic life, where -they learned to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_162" id="page_162"></a>{162}</span> shake hands with the host and hostess after dinner, -with the salutation: “Tak for maten”—thanks for the repast. A journey -northward among the mountains and fiords afforded some amusing -experiences of the kindly hospitalities of the peasant proprietors. The -sheaf of oats, a Christmas gift for the birds, which surmounts the gable -of every Norwegian farm-house, greatly charmed William Nelson as a thing -so consonant to his love for the lower animals. The wild birds struck -them as very familiar, never being molested, as they were told, even by -the boys. On their return to the Norwegian capital, they had occasion in -one of their rambles to appeal to a stranger for direction. Their few -words of Norwegian, and his more ample English, proving inadequate for -the occasion, he politely undertook to be their guide; and after a walk -of nearly half a mile, he turned to William Nelson to inquire the name -of the person we were in search of, and lifting his hat he said: “Please -you wait till I ask where he is to find.”</p> - -<p>With such experiences of Danish and Norwegian courtesy, they had not -long returned to Christiania when they learned of the expected arrival -of his majesty King Oscar, to open the Storthing, or Norwegian -parliament. Mingling with the crowd that awaited his arrival, they were -surprised at the reception tendered to their sovereign and the crown -prince<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_163" id="page_163"></a>{163}</span> by those same courteous Norwegians. It was his majesty’s first -appearance since he vetoed a popular measure excluding the ministers of -the crown from a seat in the Storthing. There was nothing menacing or -rude in his reception, but the only hat taken off on the occasion was -that of the king himself.</p> - -<p>In 1882 William Nelson visited Portugal and Spain for the second time, -accompanied on this occasion by Mrs. Nelson and his two younger -daughters. At Cadiz, Seville, Toledo, Cordova, and other cities at which -the travellers tarried, he derived intense gratification from the -magnificent mediæval remains, the splendid cathedrals with their -elaborately sculptured details, but above all, from the novel beauty of -Arabian art. Already, at Damascus, Grand Cairo, and other Eastern -cities, he had been greatly impressed with the taste and the fine -elaboration of detail in the works of the Arabian architects. His rooms -at Salisbury Green were enriched with tiles from the Alhambra, and with -pottery and beautiful models of other works of the Spanish Moors.</p> - -<p>The notes of Dr. Porter of Belfast have already furnished interesting -reminiscences of the interchange of experiences and observations between -William Nelson and himself as travellers in the East; and they are no -less available for information illustrating the impressions left on the -mind of the former<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_164" id="page_164"></a>{164}</span> by his Spanish tour. Dr. Porter thus writes:—“Mr. -Nelson spoke to me often, and with singular enthusiasm, of his travels -in Spain, and of all the wonders of art and architecture he saw there. -On one occasion, I remember well, after showing me some of the exquisite -models brought from the Alhambra, and also drawings of the Great -Mosque-Cathedral of Cordova, and of the Alkazar in Seville, he said: -‘All these are relics of the Moors, or imitations of their work. Where -did they get that marvellous style of architectural decoration? It is -unique. There is nothing like it, except in those countries where the -Moors were settled. The Greeks excelled it in pure taste and grandeur of -idea; the Egyptians in magnitude, as at Thebes and Ghizeh; the Assyrians -in vastness and perhaps splendour; but in beauty of ornament, in -delicacy of finish, in gorgeousness of interior decoration, the Moors -stand unrivalled. I often wonder how, where, and at what exact period -this Moorish style of architecture was conceived; in what way all its -details were elaborated. One sees it in the Great Mosque at Jerusalem, -in the old Arab tombs and the private houses of Damascus, in the mosques -of Cairo and Algiers, and above all in the glorious Alhambra. The Greeks -had their schools of architecture and art: where were the Arabs or Moors -taught? Their peculiar style, so far as I know,’ he added, ‘rose -rapidly, almost at a bound.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_165" id="page_165"></a>{165}</span> We can scarcely discover any trace of -progress from rude beginnings, as in the Greek architecture. This has -ever been to me a most interesting and mysterious subject.’ ” Mr. Nelson -evidently thought and read not a little upon Moorish architecture, but, -like many another student, without arriving at any satisfactory result. -“How the wild tribes who came up from the desert of Arabia, and occupied -in succession the great cities of Syria, Egypt, northern Africa, and -lastly of Spain, attained to so much taste and splendour in architecture -seems a mystery.” Then he remarked: “When Arab rule ceased, architecture -declined in all those places, and has never been revived.” He remarked -more than once: “Were not the Arabs, especially those in the great -cities of the East, a literary people? Had they not a multitude of books -on the various departments of science and philosophy? Was not their -language capable of expressing the most profound thoughts? Did it not -give evidence of high cultivation?” The impress of their intellectual -influence, still manifest throughout Christian Spain, attracted his -notice on all hands, and especially in its ecclesiastical architecture. -The Moorish artists, he observed, had furnished the models on which, -after the conquest of Granada, the architects of Christian Spain -wrought. When conversing about the celebrated Cathedral of Cordova, he -said: “That appears to me to be one of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_166" id="page_166"></a>{166}</span> the most remarkable buildings in -Spain, or perhaps in the world. It seems to be of purely Arab -architecture: in all respects like a mosque, and adapted originally for -the Moslem worship. Its internal decoration too is Arab, with the -flaring stripes on the walls of red and white paint, and the imitation -of red and white stones in the circular arches;” and he observed that he -had seen rude painting exactly resembling it in several of the private -houses and on the outside of the mosques in Damascus and Cairo. Nothing -different from ordinary usage, either in building or internal -decoration, escaped his keen observation; but his ignorance of the -language precluded him from that familiar intercourse with the people -which, when opportunity offered, he ordinarily turned to such good -account.</p> - -<p>He was not unfamiliar with the beautifully illuminated mediæval Arabic -manuscripts. On one occasion, when looking over Silvestre’s “Universal -Paleography” with myself, he remarked on the rare beauty of the Arabian -illuminations, recalling his observation of them in an example shown to -him in one of the mosques at Cairo; and he noted that even now -illuminated manuscripts may be seen exposed for sale in the bazaars of -Damascus and Grand Cairo. Dr. Porter referred to the great interest that -he manifested in the work of the modern printing-press in the latter -city, and the eagerness with which he inquired about the character of -the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_167" id="page_167"></a>{167}</span> books issued from the press set up there by the native Arabs. Dr. -Porter told him “that there were many on medical subjects, many on -interpretations of the Koran, on Mohammedan religion and morals, and one -work especially which greatly pleased the common people.”—“What one is -that?” he asked.—“The ‘Thousand and One Nights,’ ” was the reply. “You -can hear them in every <i>café</i> throughout the East. Men act them -professionally, read and recite them; and those who frequent the <i>cafés</i> -always give them small presents in money.”</p> - -<p>The lack of a colloquial knowledge of the native language was a source -of inevitable difficulty and trouble to the Spanish tourists; but in -spite of this Mr. Nelson’s observant habits were directed to some of the -local peculiarities of the native dialects, and Dr. Porter notes:—“He -appeared to take a great interest in the language of that part of Spain -which is to a large extent peopled by the descendants of the Moors. I -told him of many of the local names which are derived from the Arabic, -and gave him examples of the singular changes which have been made in -them to give them a Spanish form and sound. ‘That accounts,’ he said, -‘for the peculiar pronunciation of some of those names by the people in -the south of Spain, so very different from what would appear from the -spelling, and from what we in this country have<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_168" id="page_168"></a>{168}</span> been accustomed to -hear.’ He had noticed all this in his travels, and, as was his uniform -habit, tried to get at the root of everything.”</p> - -<p>But modern Spain had also its historical associations for the English -traveller. In our own youthful days the war of the Peninsula and the -crowning victory of Waterloo were the prominent themes in popular -thought; and so William Nelson naturally turned from the exquisite -remains of Arabian art to muse on the battlefields of Talavera and -Albuera. After surveying the fortifications of Badajoz, he writes to his -friend Captain Chester: “I could not help asking myself, What good came -of all the blood shed on those two terrible battlefields, and of all who -perished in the frightful siege and assault of Badajoz? Why should -British blood have flowed like water for such a country and such a -people as the Spaniards?” He visited Gibraltar, and passed on to -Tangier; and as he notes the width of the strait and the features of the -great fortress, he considers its retention by England as no longer -desirable. He thus writes to his friend Captain Chester: “I took care by -the way to take a good look at that so-called <i>precious jewel</i> of the -British crown, Gibraltar, wondering to myself what can be the use to us -of this gigantic fox-trap. The popular idea is that it commands the -straits; but these are about twenty-two miles in width, there is deep -water<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_169" id="page_169"></a>{169}</span> to the opposite coast, and the gun has still to be invented that -can carry to such a distance. They are just now engaged in mounting a -one hundred ton gun in a little fort that has been expressly built for -it; but where will ever be the enemy that will allow its ships or -ironclads to be brought within range of such a monster? There are to be -four guns of this calibre erected on the fox-trap.” He next discusses -its value as a coaling-station, and thus proceeds: “We have no fewer -than seven thousand troops of one kind and another immured within the -walls; and there is nothing for the common soldiers in the way of -amusement. Time hangs heavy on their hands, and they hate ‘Gip’ with a -perfect hatred.... I am unpatriotic enough to say that the fortress -ought to be given up, as it has never been, and never can be, I am -convinced, of any use to us. It cannot be said that it does more than -merely command the ground on which it stands and points that can be -reached by its guns.”</p> - -<p>This was not William Nelson’s first visit to Spain; he had travelled -through it before alone, and remembered nothing but the pleasures of the -journey. But his experiences were different now, and he thus wrote to a -friend soon after his return: “I have come back from my trip a wiser if -not a better man; and the wisdom I have learned is that no one with a -party of ladies should attempt travelling in Spain without a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_170" id="page_170"></a>{170}</span> courier. -We did not indulge in this luxury, and as none of us could speak -Spanish, and as it is a rare thing for a Spaniard to learn any language -but his own, the troubles that we fell into on this account were not -infrequent. Again: Spaniards as a rule have no conscience, and when they -have to do with parties travelling as we were, they fleece them most -unmercifully; and we were not spared by them, I assure you. I need not -say that the old Moorish cities of Spain are very charming, and that the -people of Spain are very interesting on account of their picturesque -costumes, and their being, as it were, an intermediate race between the -people of the Orient and the Occident (to use two words that are rather -grand).” It was characteristic of William Nelson’s transparent -guilelessness that it never occurred to him to make any secret of his -own blunders, or to conceal the mishaps which they involved. He gave a -most humorous account of the travellers’ perplexities—the luggage -persistently going one way and its owners another, till the ladies’ -troubles culminated at Madrid, where the attractions of a court -reception and introduction to the state mysteries of the Palacio Real -were balked by the lack of all but their travelling costume.</p> - -<p>A later tour, in 1886, took the traveller once more to Norway, on his -way to St. Petersburg and Moscow, in company with Mrs. Nelson, Florence, -and their<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_171" id="page_171"></a>{171}</span> expected son-in-law, Mr. S. F. MacLeod. On that occasion the -ancient capital of Norway, beautifully situated on a bay in the -Trondhjem Fiord, afforded him a special object of interest in its -curious old cathedral, the most remarkable ecclesiastical edifice in -Norway. It dates from 1033, and still retains singularly interesting -remains of the Romanesque work of the Northmen of the eleventh century. -But it is overlaid with many unsightly additions of a later date, well -calculated to excite the critical comments of one whose indefatigable -labours were so successfully directed to the removal of such incongruous -defacements from the ancient buildings in his own native city. Numerous -letters are available for the details of this later tour; but there is -not room in a brief memoir such as is now aimed at for more than a few -characteristic gleanings from the traveller’s tale. Some of his notes on -the architecture of St. Petersburg will come under notice in a later -chapter; but one literary comment must not be omitted here. Writing to -his friend, Captain MacEnery, he says: “The censorship of the press in -St. Petersburg is something terrible. All newspapers and periodicals in -all languages are subjected to its tender mercies. As an instance of -this, a copy of the <i>Scotsman</i> posted to St. Petersburg came to us with -about three-fourths of a column blotted out, on account of some -statements that displeased the great<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_172" id="page_172"></a>{172}</span> authority as to what should or -should not be read by the subjects of the emperor. A copy of <i>Punch</i> -also reached us with a paragraph blotted out. It would make a grand -subject for a cartoon: the emperor of all the Russias surrounded by -countless thousands of armed men, and yet afraid of poor <i>Punch</i>!”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_173" id="page_173"></a>{173}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI.<br /><br /> -<small><i>PARKSIDE.</i></small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">O</span>N the evening of Tuesday, the 10th of April 1878, as at the close of -many a previous day, the hundreds of industrious workers in the Hope -Park establishment welcomed the return of the hour of rest. The whirr of -the busy machinery was stilled, and the buildings were left untenanted -till the toilers with brain and hand should resume the work of a new -day. The site to which the works had been transferred from the Castle -Hill thirty-five years before was now crowded to its utmost limits with -the warehouses, engine and work rooms of the prosperous firm. Everything -seemed to give assurance of continuous success. Yet the workers were -then leaving for the last time. Within a few hours the building was a -pile of smoking ruins. The circumstances of this calamitous event were -thus concisely narrated by William Nelson in response to a letter of -sympathy: “In reference to the destruction of our printing and -publishing works at Hope Park, never did fire do its work more speedily -or<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_174" id="page_174"></a>{174}</span> more thoroughly. It broke out about three o’clock on the morning of -Wednesday, the 10th inst., and in little more than an hour the whole -building was in flames. I was aroused about a quarter past four, and I -hurried as fast as I could to the scene; but I found when I arrived that -the roof all round had fallen in, and that flames were bursting forth -from all the windows in the very front of the building. The fire broke -out somewhere in the back part of it; there was a strong east wind -blowing at the time, and this fanned the flames and made them rush along -the various flats as they successively caught fire with extraordinary -rapidity. Not a book or sheet of printed paper was saved!”</p> - -<p>The calamity seemed to be overwhelming. The splendid results of -intelligent industry and rare aptitude for business had vanished, like -the gourd of Jonah, in a night. The insurance on the buildings was -trifling compared with the amount of property destroyed. But his -brother’s comment on being shown the above letter reveals a -characteristic trait of William’s sympathetic and unselfish nature. -“Willie’s letter about the fire recalls very distinctly that terrible -morning. Poor fellow! it was most touching to see him come up to me -before all the people and hold out his hand and say, ‘O Tom, I am so -sorry for you.’ He did not speak or seem to think of himself at all.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_175" id="page_175"></a>{175}</span></p> - -<p>An onlooker has preserved this little, appreciative incident: “A few of -the girls who worked in the establishment were noticed standing together -and weeping bitterly, when one of them, looking up, was overheard to -say, as she saw Mr. William Nelson surveying the conflagration, ‘Eh, -there’s our dear maister. I’m thinking he’ll be thinking mair o’ us the -day than o’ himsel’.’ ” The remark was abundantly justified; for a friend -who was near him noted that his first thoughts were of sympathy for the -work-people who would be thrown out of employment; and the feeling found -practical form in his exertions on their behalf. This was characteristic -of the spirit that animated him in all his relations with his -work-people, and which helped to make of him an example of the very -highest type of the true captains of industry. “The liberal deviseth -liberal things, and by liberal things shall he stand.”</p> - -<p>The Rev. Dr. Alison, the clergyman of Newington parish, in which the -Hope Park works were situated, remarked, when paying a just tribute to -his memory: “I have often had occasion to remark, in visiting employés -of the firm pastorally, as well as in my intercourse with heads of -departments, how beautifully the idea of the Christian employer seemed -to have been realized in him. The affectionate terms in which he was -always spoken of were obviously the natural<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_176" id="page_176"></a>{176}</span> return for the fairness, -consideration, and generosity for which he had become known. Being more -than a payer of wages, he got more than hirelings’ service. He was a -member of another outward communion; but there is a unity of spiritual -life that ignores outward separations. There is a Church which includes -the faithful of all churches.” To one so unselfish, it was almost -inevitable that he should realize keenly the sufferings which his own -great loss must inflict on others; and this very sympathy was his own -best protection against the blow. Nevertheless, the equanimity displayed -under such trying circumstances was peculiarly notable in one whose -emotional sensibilities were intense. The same calm composure was -characteristic of him under any imposition or personal wrong, if -practised on him by a stranger. It was indeed a common saying that -nothing could anger him. One who knew him well writes: “He had a rare -power of keeping his temper. I never saw him angry. I never heard him -utter a harsh word, except to reprobate some mean or unworthy action. -The only hard words I can recall were in denouncing the conduct of one -whom he had regarded as a friend, and who had grossly abused his -misplaced confidence.” But his equanimity gave way when during the -conflagration, in which it seemed as if the work of a life-time was -being destroyed, some one asked him if he did not suspect it to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_177" id="page_177"></a>{177}</span> be the -work of an incendiary. The passionate emotion with which he resented the -suggestion showed how keenly he was moved by the possibility that any -one could be found capable of entertaining the thought of such a -dastardly purpose.</p> - -<p>The loss which the fire involved amounted to little short of £100,000; -but Mr. Nelson, in describing the event in a letter to a friend, added: -“I am happy, however, to state that our stereotype plates and our -wood-cuts and electrotypes are all to the fore, they having been in two -strong stone-built safes alongside a part of the back wall of the -building, and though covered with masses of burning timber, etc., they -escaped quite uninjured. With all this valuable property intact, and it -forming the back-bone of our business, we will ere long be able to rear -our heads again as publishers; there being no difficulty in getting all -the printing and bookbinding done that we will require in various -offices in town here and in London. In the meantime the <i>débris</i> of the -old building is being cleared away rapidly, and a new Hope Park will -by-and-by appear on the site of the old one.”</p> - -<p>The new Hope Park did not, however, rise from the ashes of the old. The -energy of its originators was indeed unabated. While William Nelson was -contemplating, amid its smoking ruins, the suffering to be entailed on -their hundreds of work-people, his brother<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_178" id="page_178"></a>{178}</span> was telegraphing to London, -Paris, and other centres of industry, ordering fresh printing-presses -and all other newest machinery to replace what had perished. By the -favour of the city authorities temporary buildings were erected on the -neighbouring Meadows. As the new machinery arrived it was set up under -what was designed for mere temporary shelter at Parkside, on the -outskirts of St. Leonard’s Hill. But speedily the superior advantages of -the new site, and the arrangement of the works over an extended area, -instead of occupying successive floors of a quadrangle, became so -manifest that the Parkside Works were completed, with an effective -architectural façade in the favourite Scottish style of the sixteenth -century. Hope Park was accordingly finally abandoned; but a graceful -memorial of the old works remains. When bidding good-bye to the site, -two beautiful pillars—the one surmounted by the lion and the other by -the unicorn—were erected at the cost of the two brothers, at the -eastern entrance to the Meadows, as their acknowledgment to the city of -the timely favour extended to them in their hour of need.</p> - -<p>It was while the prosperous career of the great publishing firm was -arrested by this disastrous event that a more dire calamity extended its -effects far and wide. A leading Edinburgh publisher, writing to me -shortly after the death of William Nelson, remarked:<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_179" id="page_179"></a>{179}</span> “I need not say to -you what a true, large-hearted man he was. Do you remember when their -printing-house was totally destroyed, and one would have thought his own -immense losses would have frozen his sympathy for other sufferers? Yet -he was one of the earliest subscribers of £1,000 to the victims of the -Glasgow Bank; and so far did his kindly nature long to help them, he -even refused at first to discountenance the project of a state lottery -on their behalf!” Their sufferings had been brought home to him in the -most moving form. A letter found among his papers after his death, -endorsed in touching simplicity, “Poor fellow!” is the plea of an old -schoolmate for failing to appear at a High School anniversary dinner. “I -have to ask you to accept my apology,” he writes, “which you will -readily do when I mention that I am one of the unfortunate victims of -the City of Glasgow Bank; and <i>to-day</i> I have received the liquidator’s -final call for payment on the 22nd inst., which, I fear, will be total -ruin to me.”</p> - -<p>William Nelson’s local associations were strong; they attached him with -passionate love to his native city. Its very stones were dear to him. -Every nook and corner of it associated with his own early years, with -school and schoolmates, or with the later incidents of his business -career, retained a hold on his sympathies. “I send you a photograph of -Edinburgh from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_180" id="page_180"></a>{180}</span> Castle,” he writes to an old friend beyond the -Atlantic, “that it may keep you in mind of the dear old city.” Hence the -abrupt close of the Hope Park epoch, and the transfer to the new -quarters at Parkside, awoke feelings wholly apart from those which the -pecuniary loss involved. The sense of strangeness in the new locality is -noticeable in more than one of his private memoranda, as in the -following record of time and place: “This is the first memorandum I have -written in the new room in Parkside. I came to it at a quarter to eleven -o’clock on Friday, July 16, 1880. Dr. and Mrs. Wilson are at present -staying with us.” Curiously, it is not till upwards of two years later -that the memorandum occurs of the kindling of the Parkside hearth, thus: -“Fire lighted in grate in my room here for the first time, November 13, -1882.”</p> - -<p>There Mr. Nelson had to be visited to see how promptly and skilfully he -administered the affairs of the great printing and publishing business -which he had developed into such proportions; and, happily, notes -furnished by an authoress, who did considerable literary work for the -firm in those later years, enable us to catch a glimpse of him in -business hours. “My first visit to his office,” she writes, “was, I -think, in the spring of 1883. Several persons were in attendance, -waiting for orders or interviews. Owing to this circumstance, and my -having formed the impression that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_181" id="page_181"></a>{181}</span> Mr. Nelson was a very formidable sort -of a man to approach, I made my proposals in an abrupt and hurried -manner. I was by no means surprised at a hasty, ‘No, no; quite -unnecessary at present,’ and made my retreat at once. But as I was -passing out, he turned from another to whom he had given some -instructions in an equally concise fashion, and rising suddenly from his -chair with some apologetic words, he inquired what I had published, and -then said, ‘I have been wishing to see you.’ After this we had a long, -pleasant chat, and he at once explained to me certain literary work that -he wished me to undertake. This was my introduction to him. I went to -him a stranger, but though my acquaintance with him was only of some -four years’ duration, and was mostly a business acquaintance, I soon -learned to regard him as a friend. The kindness and encouragement he -gave helped me greatly, because it was not the mere kindness of a ‘big’ -publisher to a ‘little’ author. He was always business-like in insisting -that the work done should be just as he liked it. There could be no -‘scamping’ work under his keen eyes. But he took infinite trouble in -procuring books of reference and helping my work, and was most generous -in all his dealings. On one occasion, after having undertaken some work, -and having given him much trouble regarding books of reference, I found -the task beyond<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_182" id="page_182"></a>{182}</span> me, and had to tell him so. I expected a scolding, and -instead received a cheque ‘in payment for what you have done of the -book.’ What I had done was merely to indicate the lines upon which the -book might run. A fortnight before his death he sent me a copy of the -book I ‘was to have written,’ with a very kind note, which I value much. -The publisher’s office is a terrible place to a not-confident -lady-writer. Sometimes I have had to wait while Mr. Nelson was -‘interviewing,’ directing, correcting, and so forth; and my courage has -not been strengthened by the spectacle of faulty work being overhauled -in a most careful manner, and ruthlessly condemned or sharply -criticised. Yet I have always gone out of that office with a light -heart. Some kindly word about my children or my old home, some chat -about the foreign lands he had visited, the gift of a book, a fatherly -caution ‘not to work too much’—these made me feel that Mr. Nelson took -his large heart into the publisher’s office. Would that all publishers -did like him.”</p> - -<p>But the critical sharpness, and the abrupt manner of the man of -business, preoccupied with the responsibilities of so large an -establishment with endless claims on its directing head, all disappeared -so soon as he had satisfied himself that his instructions were being -rightly carried out. The new Parkside Works were within<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_183" id="page_183"></a>{183}</span> easy distance -of Salisbury Green; and the claimants on his ever-ready charity speedily -learned to know the time when he could be waylaid in his walk to or from -the counting-room, and beguiled with a piteous tale. Mr. Gray, for many -years the faithful head of the financial department, thus writes: “To -old servants in the works he opened his purse freely. Women who had been -employed in early days at the Castle Hill were held by him in special -favour, and I have often seen him give them a pound note, sometimes when -it was doubtful if they would make the best use of it. The plea that -they had worked at one time at Hope Park was a frequent claim of -beggars; and many is the silver piece that has been given away to such -folks. One adept at begging came to him, her tatters soaked and leaky -slippers dripping with rain. She told a piteous tale, and pleaded she -was the widow of a machineman in the firm’s employment thirty years -before. The plea was irresistible; but the voluble manner in which the -woman overacted her part aroused his suspicions after he had responded -to her appeal. ‘What sort of a man was your husband?’ asked he. ‘Oh, a -good, a very good man!’ ‘Ay; was he tall or short?—as tall as that -man?’ pointing to a man about six feet high who had just entered. ‘Yes!’ -responded the woman, ‘he was a braw, tall man.’ ‘Give me back the -money!’ he exclaimed with unwonted severity of tone,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_184" id="page_184"></a>{184}</span> as he recalled the -fact that the old machinist was much below the ordinary stature; and the -impostor was ordered to the door.”</p> - -<p>His unstinted liberality in all philanthropic and missionary work was -wholly unaffected by denominational or party limits; and hence he was -liable to be preyed upon by genteel foreigners claiming to be in -temporary pecuniary distress, and still more by clerical impostors. When -he had reason to think he was imposed upon, he would search into the -matter with the utmost keenness; though rather, as it seemed, with a -desire to satisfy himself of the truth, than with any purpose of -stinting his liberality in the future.</p> - -<p>One morning, as the family sat at breakfast, a servant came into the -room, and alarmed Mrs. Nelson by whispering to her that there were two -detectives at the door who wished to see her. Her manner must have -betrayed her apprehensions, for one of them laughed and said, “Don’t be -frightened, Mrs. Nelson; we have only come to ask you to use your -influence with your husband, and try to get Mr. Nelson to give up giving -money to respectable-looking beggars. There is a register kept by a man -in the High Street of all the ‘giving people’ in Edinburgh. That is the -first resort of this class of beggars. By paying half-a-crown, they are -allowed to take a note of the names and addresses, and Mr. Nelson’s -stands at the head of the list!” He<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_185" id="page_185"></a>{185}</span> undertook to look more sharply -after the smooth-tongued gentry in black, though, it is to be feared, -with only partial success. He manifested a sensitive repugnance to -wealthy people whose riches were of no use to any one but themselves; -but he protested, to the amusement of his friends, that he strongly -disapproved of promiscuous charity. He had his own rules of action. A -maimed or deformed person, the blind, the deaf-mute, or any one -incapacitated in the struggle for life, he conceived could never be -wrongly helped. A poor widow, an old employé, or the widow or orphan of -any of his old work-people, had an irresistible claim on his liberality; -and other pleas were readily forthcoming to justify the deed of charity -to his conscience. But he took pains to search out genuine objects of -commiseration; and many of his charities were unknown even to members of -his own family. One Saturday afternoon, when walking home with Mrs. -Nelson, he asked her to wait while he went in to a humble dwelling. When -interrogated as to the object of his visit, it was ascertained that he -had been giving a poor widow money to pay her rent; and on further -inquiry it turned out that he had been paying it regularly for years. -Nor was this a solitary case, as became known when death closed the -liberal hand that had so often made the widow’s heart leap for joy. -Charity was in him a spontaneous impulse of kindly sympathy<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_186" id="page_186"></a>{186}</span> which, -while exercised not only unobtrusively but with a sensitive shrinking -from recognition, was carried out on too great a scale to escape -observation. The difficulty of his biographer is to select from the -varied instances at his disposal. “I saw him once,” writes a lady, “as -he was walking along Clerk Street, pause at a confectioner’s window, -where a poor little ragged urchin was standing gazing wistfully at the -cakes inside. One kindly hand was laid on the boy’s shoulder; the other -took a silver piece from his pocket. A few words were spoken, and Mr. -Nelson passed on, while the boy darted into the shop; and I had the -pleasure of seeing him come out a moment later already devouring one of -the cookies of which he had become the delighted possessor.” He was -never known to refer to such acts. They were, indeed, of too frequent -occurrence to seem to him worthy of note. The poor and needy had learned -to regard him as their unfailing resort; and if his charity was abused, -he would say in reply to prudent remonstrants that it was better a few -impostors should succeed, than one genuine claim be rejected.</p> - -<p>The traders on his benevolence were wont, as already noted, to watch for -him on his way to Parkside; and Mr. Gray notes of such claimants: “Mr. -Nelson would sometimes say to me, ‘The printing trade must be in a -dreadful state,’ for in his walk thither he had been<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_187" id="page_187"></a>{187}</span> met by -half-a-dozen printers pleading for help. He inquired at times into the -state of the trade, with the view, I suppose, to guide him in his -charities; for it offended his guileless trustfulness in others to find -he had been imposed upon, though it never led to any stint in his -liberality.” Another who had been many years in his service writes: “He -had an almost child-like confidence in some folks; but if his suspicions -were once aroused as to anything wrong, he ferreted out the matter to -the bottom, and in case of any betrayal of trust, he would speak of it -with a keen sense of wrong. But if you responded with any denunciation -of the offender, his manner changed, and he generally found some apology -or some reason for pitying the delinquent. Nor did the fact that a -claimant had wronged him affect his consideration of the case if it -proved to be a necessitous one, especially if he had a wife and -children.” When an action was raised by the contracting engineer who -undertook the repairs of the machinery, against the widow of his -predecessor, to enforce the completion of some work for which her late -husband had been responsible, William Nelson opposed it, declaring that -no good ever came of prosecuting a widow, and he ultimately repaid £130 -of law expenses incurred in the suit.</p> - -<p>Under the system which such a spirit naturally developed, the relation -between master and servants<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_188" id="page_188"></a>{188}</span> assumed a very different aspect from that -of the mere hireling. The workers in his employment cordially -sympathized in his success, and took a pride in contributing to the -prosperity of the firm. A gentleman, whose intimate relations with it -for many years made him familiar with its internal economy, thus writes: -“The claims of his own work-people at Hope Park or Parkside were never -disregarded. He had, as the firm still has, a host of pensioners: aged -employés, and the widows and children of former workmen, who were mainly -dependent on his charity for their daily bread. Groups of them, or of -their representatives, still assemble in the entrance hall at Parkside -on the pay-day, by whom his name is revered. They tell their own tale of -satisfaction and gratitude.” The charity which thus began at home did -not end there. The difficulty, indeed, is to select from the examples -communicated to me. One characteristic instance I owe to a -fellow-traveller, who found himself in company with William Nelson in an -Italian town during a festive season. It was a scene of holiday -rejoicings; but it did not escape Mr. Nelson’s notice that while the -mass of the people were enjoying themselves, there were a number of -uncared-for poor whose misery was made the more apparent by the festive -scenes that surrounded them. This so impressed him that he forthwith -made arrangements with a hosteller for the entertainment of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_189" id="page_189"></a>{189}</span> ragged -lazaroni. Another gentleman who passed some weeks with him at one of the -German spas tells this story:—“At the little English church there was a -clergyman stationed, entirely dependent on the freewill offerings of the -ever-changing congregation. There were no resident members to act as -churchwardens or vestrymen; so, after the service, the poor clergyman -himself went round and collected the offertory. This was too much for -Mr. Nelson. He volunteered his services, which were accepted. To the -clergyman’s agreeable surprise, the collection increased amazingly; and -he only learned where the increase came from by a return to the old -scale after Mr. Nelson’s departure.”</p> - -<p>It was a curious study to note the guilelessness and child-like -simplicity which William Nelson retained unchanged to the close of his -life, along with rare shrewdness and sagacity as a man of business. -Whenever any transaction assumed a business aspect, however trifling -might be the amount involved, he was prompt, clear-sighted, and acute, -detecting and with quiet firmness resisting any attempt at overreaching -or fraud. On one occasion, when I was his fellow-traveller, a knavish -newsboy to whom he had intrusted a sixpence decamped without returning -the change. This breach of faith provoked a display of indignation so -entirely disproportionate to the value of the loss, as obviously -suggested to our wondering fellow-travellers in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_190" id="page_190"></a>{190}</span> railway carriage -that they witnessed another Shylock bemoaning his lost ducats. They -little knew that the rogue, by the invention of a pitiful tale, might -have transmuted the stolen coppers into gold. This transparent -naturalness of character revealed itself equally in his intercourse with -high and low. Alike at home and abroad he was often brought into -familiar relations with men of rank and distinction, and his engaging -manners and wide culture made him a welcome addition to any company. But -there was no change in his manner towards the nobleman or the skilled -artisan. An old friend notes of him what many will recall:—“Reverence -was part of his nature. However intimate he might be with a friend, he -scarcely ever addressed him, personally or by letter, except by full -name as Mr. or Dr.; and it was the same with his own employés. The Dick -or Tom of his fellows in the workroom was Richard or Thomas, if not -Mr. ——, when spoken to by him.” His circle of friends included men of -the most dissimilar social positions; and his intercourse with some of -his old workmen whose integrity and worth had been proved by long -experience was of the most intimate and confidential nature. No wonder -that he was faithfully served. He practically demonstrated his belief -that,—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“The rank is but the guinea’s stamp;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The man’s the gowd for a’ that.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_191" id="page_191"></a>{191}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">He entertained at his table the publishers, booksellers, and others with -whom he had business relations. Mr. David Douglas thus notes his -recollections of him and of his kindly hospitalities: “He was the one to -whom any of us would have gone in difficulties or doubtful trade -questions, feeling sure that he would not only give sound advice but -kindly sympathy. Many such cases occur to me. He used to gather round -his table annually the various members of the printing and publishing -trades; and I used to admire his true hospitality in making every one, -from the youngest guest to the oldest, as much at home as possible, -gently drawing out their best stories, and exchanging with genial humour -some pleasant talk with all.” In his Saturday visits to the Castle of -Edinburgh in connection with his restorations, referred to in a -subsequent chapter, the most eminent archæologists, artists, and -literary men, along with his choice personal friends, responded to his -welcome invitations. At times the company included such distinguished -additions as Lord Rosebery or Lord Napier and Ettrick, who took a -special interest in the work. But it would never occur to him that any -spirit of social caste could influence such a gathering, and his own -list of friends always included some of his trusted workmen from -Parkside.</p> - -<p>A lady whose services as an authoress brought her into frequent contact -with Mr. Nelson, after noting<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_192" id="page_192"></a>{192}</span> his liberality in all business -transactions with herself, adds a little incident of her personal -experience. His love of dogs has already been noted; but it might have -been assumed that however welcome their companionship might be at -Salisbury Green, the intrusion of stranger dogs into his room at -Parkside in business hours could hardly fail to be resented. Her own -experience, however, is thus narrated: “I had taken my dog with me one -morning; a large brown spaniel, Rover by name. He is not a general -favourite among my friends, being rather boisterous in his greetings, to -say nothing of his muddy paws in wet weather. His place therefore was -generally without, and his intrusion into Mr. Nelson’s room was -undesigned on my part. Contrary, however, to his usual experience, Rover -obtained a most cordial reception. A messenger was sent out for biscuits -for him; and I rarely afterwards received a note from Mr. Nelson asking -me to call which did not end with the invitation, ‘Please bring doggie -when you come.’ It was no wonder therefore that Rover soon learned to -feel himself at home there, and never willingly passed the door when we -walked in the direction of Parkside.” After noting acts of kindness and -liberality to herself, she thus proceeds: “My intercourse with Mr. -Nelson was only that of a business acquaintance, yet I can truly say, -when I saw him carried to his grave that September<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_193" id="page_193"></a>{193}</span> day, I felt that I -had lost a friend. And this, I am sure, was no rare feeling among those -thus brought into business relations with him. One trait often struck -me—the kindly manner in which he always spoke of his large staff, as -one name or another might come up in conversation. ‘The right man in the -right place,’ he would say, or some other hearty term of appreciation; -and it was evidently no taskmaster who was over them, but rather a sort -of patriarch dwelling among his own people, sure of their loyalty and -affection.”</p> - -<p>Testimonies of a like kind have reached me from very diverse sources, -all pointing to kindly relationships between this true captain of -industry and his employés, such as seem, without exaggeration, to have -realized in these days of mere trading rivalry something akin to the -fealty of knightly service in the olden time. The golden rule of ever -doing the right was carried out with unconscious simplicity. Mr. Gray, -who, as cashier at Hope Park and Parkside, was familiar during many -years with all the financial details of the business, thus sums up his -testimony to the habitual business life of his old master and friend: -“He was eager to avoid anything that could possibly bear the aspect of -sharp practice, or allow the faintest breath of suspicion of unfairness -or shabby dealing; and his generous, large soul won for the place a -reputation of uprightness and honour.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_194" id="page_194"></a>{194}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII.<br /><br /> -<small><i>CIVIC INTERESTS.</i></small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">A</span>S a citizen William Nelson was ever ready to forward whatever appeared -calculated to promote the public welfare; and his faith in the Divine -maxim that righteousness exalts the nation knew no limits in its -practical application. He judged his fellow-men, moreover, by his own -high standard of rectitude; and, with his faith in humanity, he was -prepared to favour the largest popular concessions. In politics -accordingly he heartily sympathized with the Liberal party, and frankly -gave expression to his opinions on all the great questions of the day. -His numerous letters to his friends abound in discussions showing the -keenest interest in all the events and movements that engaged public -attention: the scientific discussions and religious controversies; the -triumphs of engineering skill; the fascinating novelties of geographical -exploration; or again, the Crimean War, the Indian Mutiny, the great -American Civil War, the Franco-German War, the Eastern question in all -its phases, and the no less<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_195" id="page_195"></a>{195}</span> momentous issues of party strife at home. -In a letter, for example, of May 13th, 1886, addressed to his -fellow-traveller, Major MacEnery, in which he gives him the latest -information about their poor old dragoman, Abdallah, he thus writes: “I -earnestly hope that there will soon be an end of the turmoil that there -is at present in regard to Old Ireland, by letting her people have Home -Rule to the fullest extent. There can be no harm in this; and we who are -north of the Tweed will be a great deal the better too of having the -management of our own affairs a great deal more in our own hands, as it -is absurd that we should have to apply to Parliament for its sanction -for many things that it knows little or nothing about; and a deal of -money would be saved were applications to Parliament for them not to be -necessary. The bill for the sewage of a district, for instance, in the -south part of our city had to be got through Parliament lately; and what -can that august body know about this odoriferous subject? We are much -more familiar with it ourselves.” His appeal in such questions was apt -to be to common sense; and when practical aid was needed, his purse was -ever available. His sympathy with the working-classes found its most -fitting expression in his dealings with those in his own employment. -When the works at Hope Park were in flames, more than one onlooker -reported overhearing the remark by<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_196" id="page_196"></a>{196}</span> some of his work-people, that they -were sure he would feel it as much for their sakes as his own. A lady -visiting a poor woman in the neighbourhood of the Hope Park works, whose -husband was ill, was told by her: “He works for Mr. Nelson; and they -dinna let their men suffer when they canna work.” Another told her that -the aged and the crippled or maimed were found employment at the -Parkside Works, “for Mr. Nelson can aye find a job to suit a’ sorts.” -The evils of improvidence and the misery resulting from the drinking -habits that prevailed among the lower classes were constant subjects of -thought. He systematically exerted himself to devise innocent pastimes, -and to stimulate the working-classes to more refined tastes and -intellectual sources of enjoyment. His New-Year’s letters to friends -always included some reference to the midnight gathering around the Tron -Church in the High Street of Edinburgh for the “first-footing,” with its -customary excesses, at the inauguration of the New Year; and every -symptom of improvement was hailed with delight. The movement accordingly -for displacing the taverns by “workmen’s homes” and coffee shops met -with his heartiest encouragement. A Glasgow paper-maker mentioned to a -friend that he had not seen Mr. Nelson for many years, when on the -occasion of a visit to Edinburgh he went into one of the places then -being established under the name of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_197" id="page_197"></a>{197}</span> “British Workmen’s Houses” for the -supply of non-intoxicating refreshments. To his surprise he found Mr. -Nelson seated there in company with one of his daughters. On his -expressing some surprise, Mr. Nelson said he had come to see how things -were served; and that really he thought the coffee very good, and -indeed, he said in his hearty way, he thought the milk quite as good as -what they got at home from his own cows. He was not without a hope that -one of the results of his reviving the popularity of St. Bernard’s Well, -hereafter referred to, would be the promotion of the same good end. It -is not therefore to be wondered that Mr. Nelson’s services were sought -for in public life, and his fellow-citizens repeatedly manifested the -high esteem they entertained for him by urging his acceptance both of -civic and parliamentary honours. But few men ever shrank more -sensitively from publicity, and only when the importance of the question -under discussion overpowered his natural reserve could he be induced to -take any part in a public meeting. Such, however, was the high sense of -his services as a citizen that he was selected by her Majesty for the -honourable distinction of Deputy-Lieutenant of the County of Edinburgh.</p> - -<p>But his appreciation of the antique beauty and historical associations -of his native city overcame all his retiring dread of publicity whenever -they were<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_198" id="page_198"></a>{198}</span> endangered; and the same regard for the amenities of civic -architecture, and the dread of the destruction of whatever is associated -with the memorable events of bygone times, repeatedly find expression in -his critical notes from abroad. In 1873 he writes to Mr. Campbell from -Vienna, describing a two months’ Continental tour, in which he was -accompanied by Mrs. Nelson and his daughters Eveline and Meta. He passed -from Paris and Geneva to Italy; spent some time in Florence and Venice; -travelled as far as Naples; and then returned to Rome. “I need not say,” -he writes, “that Rome, which is really the capital of the world for art -and archæological interest, detained us much longer than any of the -other places. I was there twenty-three years ago, and though great works -are now in progress, I may say that there has been as yet no very great -change since that time. The city, however, is now under Italian -government, and in a few years Rome will be completely altered. There -are large buildings in course of erection near the railway station, -which are understood to be the commencement of an entire new city in -that quarter; and in many of the streets throughout the city are marks -on the houses, indicating that they are either to be wholly or partially -demolished for improvements, or for the widening of the streets. But I -must say that from what I have seen of the new buildings recently -erected in Rome the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_199" id="page_199"></a>{199}</span> architecture is of about as poverty-stricken a kind -as can well be imagined. They are constructed of brick, which is -plastered over, and the plaster gets a coating of size of a pink hue -very much like that of blot-sheet; and the effect is anything but -cheering. The windows have nothing round them but plain mouldings, and -these are painted gray. There is not the slightest attempt at -architectural ornament externally in any of the new buildings that I -happened to see. If this sort of thing goes on to any great extent, the -fine mediæval feeling that there is about Rome as it now exists will be -in a great measure done away with, and it will present in many parts a -smooth-shaven and very unattractive appearance. The main things notable -in the way of change, besides the new buildings to which I have -referred, since I was in Rome formerly, are the excavations in the Forum -and the Palace of the Cæsars, the Baths of Caracalla, and the changes -caused by the occupation of the city by the Italian troops, and the -disappearance from the streets of the religious processions, which are -not now permitted. We hurried on to Rome in order to be there at Easter -week, expecting to see something of the religious ceremonials for which -that week has been famous for ages; but though we were in Rome the -greater part of it, we found it nothing more than an ordinary week, as -far as religious ceremonials are concerned. The Pope<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_200" id="page_200"></a>{200}</span> and his council -are in the sulks, and as processions in the streets are not allowed, -they have taken care that the curiosity of strangers shall not be -gratified by any great ceremonial in the churches. It would interest you -much to see the ruins of the Palace of the Cæsars, now that they have -been cleared out, especially that part of them which is known to have -been the court house. The wall all round still exists to some extent, as -do also portions of the mosaic floor, and the place where the emperor or -the judge sat is still to be seen. There is in front of it a portion of -the marble balustrade that extended across this part of the court; and -Dr. Philip, missionary to the Jews in Rome, who acted as guide to us in -our wanderings through these immense ruins, said there can hardly be a -doubt that Paul stood before that very balustrade and pleaded his cause -before Nero as his judge. The guard-rooms of the soldiers of what is -called the Palace of Tiberius are quite entire, and on the walls of them -are several very interesting scratchings made by the occupants of those -rooms in ancient days. One is of a Roman galley in full sail; another is -an outline portrait said to be of Augustus Cæsar; another is a -caricature likeness of Nero; and another a very clever comical figure of -a fellow with a tremendously long nose. What a living reality they seem -to give to those old times! In a room at a little distance there is a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_201" id="page_201"></a>{201}</span> -remarkably clever scratching of a donkey with a mill on its back, with -the words below: ‘If you labour as I do, you shall not want bread.’ How -little things of this kind carry us back to the far bygone past!”</p> - -<p>In like manner, in a letter to Dr. Simpson, he thus records the -impression which his visit to St. Petersburg in 1884 left on his mind: -“We were very much disappointed with St. Petersburg, as it occupies a -site that is very flat and very unhealthy; and it is a city of pure -sham, so far as the architecture of it is concerned. The principal -buildings, as a rule, are of plaster or cement, and are painted in a -style that is perfectly barbaric. Even the celebrated Winter Palace is -not an exception. It is of Roman architecture; and it is besmeared with -paint of a yellowish-brown colour which is sufficient to make one -shudder. The building, moreover, is of great extent, and it is all the -more repulsive on this account.”</p> - -<p>But if the disfigurement of the modern city of Peter the Great on the -Neva, or the effacement of the historic antiquities of Rome, offended -his taste, and gave rise to unavailing regrets, every movement of a like -kind affecting his native city roused him not only to vehement protest, -but to vigorous action to avert as far as possible the threatened -mischief. Under such stimulus, all reserve disappeared, and he stood -forth as the resolute defender of his city and its historical -memorials.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_202" id="page_202"></a>{202}</span> His letters to old schoolmates, whose lot had been cast far -from those favourite haunts of early years, are frequently devoted to a -notice of the rescue of some threatened antique building, or a wail over -the irrevocable destruction of some historic pile in the alleys or -closes of Old Edinburgh.</p> - -<p>The old Bowhead land had an interest of its own, apart from its singular -picturesqueness as an example of the civic architecture of older -centuries. When its demolition could no longer be averted, he rescued -from the wreck some of its substantial oak timbers, and had them -fashioned into antique furniture as memorial gifts to absent friends. In -1883, another of the venerable survivals of older generations, -immediately adjoining the former Castle Hill establishment, was -demolished; and he thus records the event in a letter to myself:—“I -sent you a <i>Scotsman</i>, with an account of the demolition of one of the -old houses that you will remember on the Castle Hill. It stood in front -of Milne’s Court, looking down the West Bow, and presented a very -picturesque front, both to the street and to the court behind. Two -stone-vaulted shops faced the street, standing some feet back from the -pavement. It was thought that the main walls of the house went straight -up all the way, and that the timber front, projecting story by story -farther into the street, was an addition of later date; but this was a -mistake, for the original<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_203" id="page_203"></a>{203}</span> beams extended right over the pavement. The -likelihood is that there was an open veranda on each flat, though it had -been closed in with lath and plaster in course of time. On the second -flat, when the plaster was removed, it was interesting to see a -neatly-carved oaken balustrade, that had been covered up probably for -centuries, where one could fancy the good folks of the house sitting in -their balcony enjoying the fresh air and having their gossip on the -great events of the day. They could look down the Lawnmarket and the -West Bow and up the Castle Hill; and it must have been a choice place on -great occasions, when a royal cavalcade came up the Bow, or when some -poor rogue went down it for the last time.” (In allusion to the old site -of the gallows in the Grassmarket.) “I see, on turning to your -‘Memorials of Edinburgh in the Olden Time,’ that it belonged to a worthy -old citizen, Bartholomew Somerville, a liberal benefactor to our -University in its early days.”</p> - -<p>The sympathetic interest thus manifested in every ancient feature of the -special haunts of his boyhood extended to whatever contributed to the -picturesqueness and beauty of his native city. One who was very familiar -with his indefatigable exertions for the conservation of whatever -pertained to its historical antiquities—Mr. D. Scott Moncrieff—thus -writes in reply to a request for information relative to the share<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_204" id="page_204"></a>{204}</span> -borne by Mr. Nelson in recent efforts on that behalf:—“It is no easy -matter to do this, for Mr. Nelson for many years took an active interest -in every movement having for its object the enhancement of the beauties -of his native city. As you are aware, he was long a member, and latterly -one of the council, of the Cockburn Association, founded in 1875, for -promoting the improvement of Edinburgh and its neighbourhood; and as -convener of the council I had frequent opportunities of hearing his -views upon such questions. His interest was much engaged, in particular, -in the improvement of Edinburgh Castle, the Meadows, and other public -parks, the encouragement of a higher style of architecture, and the -frustration of mean and tasteless designs, vulgar advertisements, and -the depraved habit of painting stone work. He strove to obviate the -necessity for unsightly workshops and tall chimneys, for which in his -own extensive works there was found no place.” But he soon discovered -that mere criticising, remonstrating, and suggesting improvements were -of little avail; and as Mr. Scott Moncrieff adds: “His interest in the -work of the Association was not confined to attending meetings and -expressing his views. Every citizen of Edinburgh may well feel proud and -grateful that amongst them there was one gifted, not only with an -exquisite taste for all that was beautiful, but with an enthusiasm in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_205" id="page_205"></a>{205}</span> -having his aspirations given expression to, and also with the means of -carrying his ideas into effect.” One of those practical demonstrations -of his public-spirited liberality has a history of its own.</p> - -<p>The circular panel of the finely-carved mantle-piece in the council room -of Heriot’s Hospital is filled with a painting which perpetuates the -tradition that the medicinal spring of St. Bernard’s Well, on the Water -of Leith—resembling in character the famed Harrogate springs—was -discovered by a party of Heriot boys while sporting on the bank of the -stream. A more dubious legendary tale assigns the origin of the name to -the occupation of a cave on the neighbouring slope by the saint still -associated with its healing waters; but its medicinal virtues are noted -for the first time in the <i>Scottish Magazine</i> for 1760, at which date -the water seems to have been in great repute. The old Scottish judge, -Lord Gardenstone, an eccentric valetudinarian, having derived much -benefit from the medicinal waters, in 1789 erected over the healing -fountain a fine Doric temple, designed as a reproduction of the famous -Sibyl’s Temple at Tivoli. A colossal plaster statue of Hygeia was placed -within the columns, over the vaulted chamber of the well. Thus -enshrined, it has ever since been a favourite morning resort; and -William Nelson continued for many years to be one of its most faithful -frequenters. But the picturesque and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_206" id="page_206"></a>{206}</span> richly-wooded valley of the Leith, -to which the Heriot boys resorted in the eighteenth century, has long -been invaded by the extended new town. The temple had fallen into -disrepair, and the boys of the neighbouring village of Stockbridge had -defaced and mutilated the statue, till it presented some of the most -familiar characteristics of a genuine antique. The amenities of the spot -had suffered in all ways, and the proposed erection of a public laundry -on the adjacent area threatened the final ruin of the well, when in 1885 -Mr. Nelson interposed, purchased it and the grounds in its vicinity, -restored and beautified the well, and commissioned Mr. Stephenson to -execute a marble statue of Hygeia, to replace the mutilated goddess of -earlier days. The surrounding grounds were tastefully laid out, under -the directions of a skilled landscape gardener, and the whole finished -at a cost of £5,000, and presented to the city. He did not live to see -the fine statue placed on its pedestal; but his letters to his friends -frequently refer to it, along with others of the various works of -restoration which so largely occupied his thoughts and engaged his -active sympathy in his later years. Writing to Captain Chester in -January 1886 he says: “I send you the last report of the Cockburn -Association, from which you will see that I have in hand the restoration -of several ancient buildings in the Castle, and of the mineral well on -the Water of Leith<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_207" id="page_207"></a>{207}</span> called St. Bernard’s Well, a chromo-lithograph of -which I enclose. I am glad that it has fallen to my lot to do something -ere I be ‘called hence to be no more,’ for the beauty and interest of -mine own romantic town.”</p> - -<p>The shrine of his favourite healing fountain had been restored to far -more than its pristine beauty, and the generous benefactor to whom the -work was due had himself been “called hence,” when the convener of the -Cockburn Association wrote: “What Mr. William Nelson undertook he did -well and thoroughly; and so long as Edinburgh citizens look down upon -the valley of the Water of Leith, his work at St. Bernard’s Well will -keep his memory green in their hearts.”</p> - -<p>But, as his letters show, other and still more extensive and costly -restorations engaged William Nelson’s practical liberality, and -continued to be objects of deepest interest to him till the close of his -life. So early as 1847, attention had been recalled, in the “Memorials -of Edinburgh in the Olden Time,” to the fact that the ancient hall of -the palace in the Castle still existed, though so defaced and overlaid -by later transmutations as to have passed out of knowledge of the living -generation. But the matter was once more forgotten till near the close -of 1883, when Lord Napier and Ettrick published in the <i>Scotsman</i> an -account of his explorations above the modern ceiling of the hospital -ward, where, “on creeping up a ladder, through a trap-door,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_208" id="page_208"></a>{208}</span> he found -himself in a maze of mighty beams, on which the dust of centuries lay -thick and soft.” It was the fine old open timbered ceiling, of carved -chestnut, of the great hall of the Castle. Public attention was now -keenly awakened to the interest of this historic relic. Here was the -<i>aula Castri</i>, or great hall of the Castle, where there is little doubt -the Scottish Parliament assembled in 1437 to inaugurate the reign of the -young king, James II. Here, too, if the legend is to be accepted as a -verity, only two years later Chancellor Crichton had the fatal symbol of -the bull’s head served up for the Earl of Douglas. It was here that -Charles I. held his coronation banquet in 1633, and that Argyle -entertained the Lord Protector Cromwell in 1650. Of the historic worth -of the ancient hall there could be no question; and not only its -degradation to the purposes of a garrison hospital, but the general -neglect and disfigurement of the Castle, had long been a subject of -public complaint.</p> - -<p>The council of the Cockburn Association followed up the letter of Lord -Napier with a memorial to the Marquis of Hartington, then Secretary of -State for War, complaining of the misappropriation and defacement of the -ancient hall, and urging its restoration. But the wonted formalities and -circumlocution of official correspondence ensued, with little prospect -of any satisfactory result, “when,” as Mr. Scott Moncrieff<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_209" id="page_209"></a>{209}</span> writes, “we -were still hoping that the building might be rendered available for uses -more in harmony with its history and associations; and while the matter -was still under the consideration of the authorities, Mr. Nelson, -knowing the well-nigh insurmountable obstacles in the way of Government -dealing effectively, timeously, and reasonably, in affairs of the kind, -in the most generous and patriotic way offered at his sole expense to -undertake the restoration, not only of the old Parliament Hall, but also -of two other most interesting and picturesque features of the Castle, -the Argyle Tower and St. Margaret’s Chapel.”</p> - -<p>The little oratory of St. Margaret had been a subject of interest to him -from the time when it was anew brought under notice, in 1845, as a -long-forgotten historical relic; and as for the Argyle Tower, it was -associated in his mind with the reverence due to the martyrs of the -Covenant. The fine old Edinburgh cemetery, the Greyfriars’ Churchyard, -was only separated from the West Bow by the Grassmarket, where in the -seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the public gallows was erected, for -the execution not only of degraded criminals, but of many of the victims -of intolerance in Covenanting times, to whom a common grave was assigned -in the neighbouring cemetery. There, accordingly, in happier days the -Martyrs’ Monument was erected, with its tribute to the memory of “about -a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_210" id="page_210"></a>{210}</span> hundred noblemen and gentlemen, ministers, and others, noble martyrs -for Jesus Christ,” all executed at Edinburgh, “from May 27th, 1661, that -the most noble Marquis of Argyle was beheaded, to the 17th February -1688, that Mr. James Renwick suffered.” It was but a step from the early -home in the West Bow to the Greyfriars’ Churchyard, where the Martyrs’ -Monument had been an object of veneration to William Nelson from his -youth. The same spirit of reverent piety which led to the erection of -the Martyrs’ Monument on the spot selected, as a mark of ignominy, for -the graves of the victims of Stuart persecution, associates the name of -Argyle with the tower in the neighbouring fortress in which Archibald, -Earl of Argyle, was imprisoned before his execution in 1685. He had gone -up to London to pay his homage to Charles II., relying on the indemnity -which had been granted, as far as England was concerned. But Scotland -was still a separate kingdom; and as a prominent leader of the Scottish -Covenanters, Argyle was regarded with special antipathy. He was -accordingly arrested, cast into the Tower, and from thence transferred -to the state prison in the Castle of Edinburgh. It was from that prison -chamber that the earl addressed to his friends letters marked by a rare -spirit of calm Christian resignation, including the simple farewell note -to his own son, written immediately before his execution. Of the latter<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_211" id="page_211"></a>{211}</span> -William Nelson had a facsimile made. Still more, according to current -belief, it was in the same prison chamber that a member of the council, -on coming to interview him, was startled at finding the victim of -intolerance calmly asleep immediately before he walked with quiet -composure to the scaffold. The scene associated with such memorable -occurrences appealed to William Nelson’s religious no less than to his -archæological sympathies; so that the restoration of the Argyle Tower -was for him, in a very special sense, a labour of love.</p> - -<p>The work thus generously undertaken proceeded slowly, amid endless -official routine and red-tape formalities. Plans were prepared and -submitted to the critical revision of his colleagues in the council of -the Cockburn Association before asking official approval. But hospital -accommodation had to be found elsewhere; and the patience he manifested, -and the calm perseverance with which he overcame the <i>vis inertiæ</i> of -the Circumlocution Office, were a source of admiration to his friends -and of amusement to himself. His unostentatious liberality, along with -the taste and judgment he displayed, naturally gave weight to his -opinions; and, notwithstanding his instinctive reserve, he was induced -on more than one occasion to remonstrate with the authorities on plans -that had received official approval. In 1887 the sketch of a tasteless -design for a new<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_212" id="page_212"></a>{212}</span> entrance gateway, to form the main approach to the -Castle, had been exhibited without attracting public attention. The -working plans had been withheld; and it was about to be proceeded with, -on the plea, stated in an official letter, that “every reasonable -facility had been afforded for criticism.” A respectful letter of -remonstrance was forwarded by him to the Marquis of Lothian. Its style -of formal courtesy would suggest that it had been drawn up more probably -by some legal member of the council of the Cockburn Association, and -sent to him for signature. But having done so, his own simple and -plain-spoken style is unmistakably manifest in the postscript he has -added: “The proposed designs, I can assure you, will give great -dissatisfaction. They are not at all in keeping with the grand old -Castle.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_213" id="page_213"></a>{213}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII.<br /><br /> -<small><i>HOME HOLIDAYS.</i></small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HE recreations of each summer’s holiday alternated between foreign -travel through unfamiliar scenes, and a sojourn in some choice centre of -Scottish scenery and historical associations. But it was indispensable -for William Nelson’s full enjoyment of either that it should be shared -with Mrs. Nelson and his children. Indeed, the hints that occasionally -transpire in his letters, of the pleasure with which he exchanged their -summer resort for Salisbury Green and Parkside, show that he had been -thinking far more of their happiness than his own. He liked his children -to travel, and while they were still young repeatedly sent them abroad, -either with a tutor and governess, or under the care of some trusted -friend. He had a strong prejudice against Continental boarding-schools, -and instead of sending his daughters to one, he preferred arranging for -their spending successive winters abroad in charge of a friend, where -they had the advantage of masters who came daily to them. The same -feeling<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_214" id="page_214"></a>{214}</span> animated him in later years, alike in his plans for foreign -travel, and in the choice of a summer haunt among favourite Scottish -scenery.</p> - -<p>Of the latter, pleasant memories come back to me of many a ramble by the -Tweed and its tributaries the Ettrick, the Leader, the Yarrow, and other -haunted streams; and by St. Mary’s Loch, which has wooed alike the poets -of elder and of modern times. A mere residence in the country, however -attractive the scenery might be, speedily proved irksome to William -Nelson. His active mind required constant occupation; and the physical -impediments which increasing obesity, accompanied by a retarded action -of the heart, interposed in the way of long pedestrian excursions, only -led to a change in the methods of attaining the same end. He was ever on -the look-out for some fresh and unfamiliar scene. In the summer of 1879 -he made his way to St. Kilda, a curious little, outlying, ocean-girt -rock of the Hebrides, the only one of a lonely group that is inhabited—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Nature’s last limit, hemmed with ocean round.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">Its population numbered in all seventy-five, a decrease from the -previous year; for, as one of them said, “they had lost a foine woman, -the only one who coot speak Enklish.” The rude little hamlet, with its -primitive stone dwellings, each of two apartments, attracted Mr. -Nelson’s curious study; and beyond it a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_215" id="page_215"></a>{215}</span> no less primitive bit of -masonry incovered the Tober Childa Chalda, or St. Kilda’s Well, by the -village. But this visit to St. Kilda is noticeable here for an incident -associated with one of William Nelson’s peculiarities that bordered on -eccentricity. Though a business man of punctual habits, and exacting -habitual punctuality in others, he never carried a watch, and indeed, I -believe, never possessed one. He had some inexplicable way of guessing -the time, and could tell it generally with wonderful approach to -accuracy. He never missed a train, or failed to keep an appointment, and -could not see what people wanted with watches. He said he did perfectly -well without one. But this St. Kilda trip furnished an occasion when, -for once, he deplored the want of a timepiece. Immediately on landing on -the island the party were met by the minister, who eagerly inquired if -any of them had a watch, to tell him what o’clock it was. It turned out, -on inquiry, that the minister’s watch, which was the only one on the -island, had been sent away for repair six months before; and if William -Nelson had been the fortunate possessor of one, here was an opportunity -for its useful disposal.</p> - -<p>The following summer was passed at Philiphaugh, rich in memories of -Montrose and Leslie; of Alison Rutherford, the songstress; of Scott, -sheriff, as well as poet and novelist; of Hogg, Wordsworth, and all the -legends of the Dowie Dens of Yarrow. The river<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_216" id="page_216"></a>{216}</span> famed in song and story -flowed by near the house, with “the Duchess’s Walk,” a charming wooded -path on the opposite bank of the river, leading through the grounds of -Bowhill to Newark Castle. Kirkhope Tower, Branksome Hall, Melrose Abbey, -and many another hoary pile, were within reach. William Nelson’s memory -was stored with passages from his favourite poets; and as the -associations of the scene called them to remembrance, he would repeat -long pieces suggested by the locality or adapted to it. It is the centre -of old traditions of the Flodden men; and many a spot along the Tweed -and its tributaries tempted us each new day to wander through scenes -that told everywhere of the Last Minstrel and his Lay. In a letter to -Mr. Campbell he says: “I write this at Philiphaugh, a mansion that we -have taken for summer quarters. It is about two miles from Selkirk, the -scene of the defeat of the Marquis of Montrose. The estate is still -owned by the Murrays of Philiphaugh, the same family who have held it -since the old times of the Border raids and the Debatable Land. A cairn -near the house, now overgrown with ivy, is said to mark the spot where -the Highlanders were surprised by Leslie, and the Marquis turned and -fled. A stone on the cairn is inscribed, ‘To the memory of the -Covenanters who fought and fell on the field of Philiphaugh, and won the -battle there, <small>A.D.</small> September 13,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_217" id="page_217"></a>{217}</span> 1645.’ The grounds and woods are -extensive and fine; and there is good fishing for Fred, as the Yarrow -and the Ettrick are close at hand; and there will be good shooting for -him when the time comes.... We had Dr. and Mrs. Wilson and their -daughter with us lately. We enjoyed their visit much; and oh! how fond -Dr. Wilson is of Auld Reekie and its associations, though, alas, there -is but little left now of the ancient city.”</p> - -<p>Again, in the summer of 1883 came a concise message by ocean cable, -followed by the ampler invitation: “I have taken Cowdenknowes for the -summer. Come and let us have a look at its surroundings; do not fail. -Cowdenknowes, I may tell you, is an old mansion, historically -interesting, which is situated in one of the most lovely districts in -the south of Scotland. It is about five miles from Melrose; and the -remains of the castle of Thomas the Rhymer, which consist of very -picturesque ivy-covered walls, are on the property. The Leader passes -through the grounds, and it is an excellent trouting-stream. It has -already been laid under contribution in this way by Professor Annandale -and Fred, whenever the water was in a good state for the rod.” Here, as -at Philiphaugh, some fresh ramble was planned each morning; while the -evenings were beguiled with pleasant converse, and apt quotations -germane to the scenes of that land of romance. The ruined castle of -Thomas of Ercildoun has already<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_218" id="page_218"></a>{218}</span> been noted as close by. In a -neighbouring valley was Oakwood Tower, of old the dwelling of the -wondrous Michael Scott,—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“A wizard of such dreaded fame,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">That when in Salamanca’s cave<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Him listed his magic wand to wave,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The bells would ring in Notre Dame.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">The Eildon Hills, the tokens of his power, and Melrose, where his bones -were laid “on St. Michael’s night,” are only a few miles off. The -picturesque ruin of Smailholme Tower, where the later minstrel spent the -happiest days of his childhood, was within reach; Abbotsford, the Fairy -Dean, and the Rhymer’s Glen, Dryburgh, and the vale of Tweed, haunted at -every winding with some old tale or song, all wooed us by turns. So each -day had its excursion, its legend of some sort to investigate, its ruin -to explore. It was with William Nelson on the Tweed as on the Nile: he -was indefatigable in the pursuit of information concerning every -minutest object of interest, and never was satisfied till he had seen -for himself, and questioned and sifted all available evidence. The -memories of many a pleasant day, with the incidents of kindly -intercourse and genial humour that added fresh sunshine to the scene, -would furnish material enough to add many a chapter over which old -friends would not readily tire. But such reminiscences can only be -glanced at<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_219" id="page_219"></a>{219}</span> here. I select, therefore, from among those home holidays -the latest of all: a summer at Glenfeochan.</p> - -<p>Glenfeochan is a romantic glen of the West Highlands, through which the -Feochan finds its way to the sea. Oban is only six miles off, and so -steamers and boats and all the attractions of the sea are at hand, such -as ever had a fascination for William Nelson. For he guessed, as has -been seen, that could the pedigree of the Nelsons of Throsk be followed -up, they might prove to be of the stock of old Danish rovers, the sons -of Thor, whose home was on the sea; and so he welcomed the hint at an -etymology of the Bannockburn farm from the Thor of the Vikings. -Unquestionably he possessed not a little of their steady hardihood and -love of adventure, softened though it was by transmission through a -sober race of Covenanters, who tilled the carse where Bruce had -triumphed, and, when needs were, could emulate him in sturdy resistance -to the tyrant.</p> - -<p>Glenfeochan House is beautifully situated at the foot of the glen. It -lies low—perhaps a little too low—nestling among the hills, with glens -and lochs on every hand. The drawing-room windows looked across the -river to the sea; and when the curtains were drawn, and a fire was found -not unpleasant in the cool autumn evenings, the emotional delight with -which William Nelson welcomed the songs of Scotland, or some of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_220" id="page_220"></a>{220}</span> -favourite hymns, was infectious. His taste in music was simple, but it -yielded him intense pleasure, and not infrequently moved him to tears. -But such evening relaxations were generally the close of a busy day; for -Oban is a choice centre for the explorer. It afforded means of access to -the fiords or sea-lochs of Argyleshire, and to the outlying Hebrides. -There were Iona and Staffa, Glencoe and Mull, with the ruined keep of -Duart Castle, the Lady Rock, and the legend of “Fair Ellen of Lorne,” -which is perpetuated in Campbell’s ballad of “Glenara.” There was the -vitrified fort of Dun MacUisneachan at Loch Etive to explore; and on the -opposite side of the loch, Dunstaffnage, the home of the Dalriadic -kings, where of old was held in safe keeping the <i>liah fhail</i>, or stone -of destiny, now enshrined in the coronation chair in Westminster Abbey. -The unique cairn or serpent-mound of Loch Nell, another object of -special curiosity, was visited more than once, in the hope of arriving -at some definite idea of its actual character. For the fact of a huge -saurian mound, like some of those in the valley of the Ohio, lying there -in a secluded nook between the hills of Lorne that form the steep -escarpment of Glenfeochan, was a thing too exceptional for William -Nelson to allow to pass without some attempt at a solution of its -mysteries.</p> - -<p>But the choicest of that summer’s explorations was a day on Eilean -Naombh, or Holy Island. Our Highland<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_221" id="page_221"></a>{221}</span> boatmen called it Oil Tsiach n’an -Naombh (the College of the Holy People), if we understood rightly; for -we had a good deal more Gaelic than tended to our illumination. Our -party was pleasantly augmented by the addition of the Rev. Dr. Walter -Smith; and William Nelson’s sense of humour was keenly excited by his -report of a dialogue between two of the Highlanders, who, happily for -us, spoke in English. “James,” said the younger of the two, “I have been -told that when the deceiver tempted our mother Eve, it was in Gaelic -that he spoke.”—“Well, Donald, I should think it not at all improbable. -The Gaelic is a very sweet and persuasive language, particularly when -well spoken!” The idea that the Devil’s Gaelic must necessarily be of -the best, was a subject of much mirthful comment. Holy Island, the -southernmost of the Garvelloch Isles, lies opposite Scarba, with the -famous whirlpool of Corryvrechan between. The landing is in a deep cove, -where the first object of attraction is St. Columba’s Well, a clear -fountain of fresh water bubbling out of the living rock on the margin of -the sea. A flight of steps leads up from the sacred pool; and on a level -area a short way above stands the chapel of St. Columba, a little ruined -cell of only twenty-one feet long. It is of the most primitive Celtic -type. A narrow, square-headed opening in the east end, deeply splayed -externally, constitutes the east window; under which is the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_222" id="page_222"></a>{222}</span> simple -altar-slab of slate, still entire. On a neighbouring height a rude -enclosure, marked by an upright stone with an incised cross, is -traditionally known as the grave of St. Eithne, the mother of St. -Columba. But the special objects we were in search of were a pair of -bee-hive houses, which we found not far from the chapel. They are built -of unhewed slabs, without cement, conjoined like a figure ∞, rude as any -Hottentot kraal, and old, probably, as the days of the sainted -missionary’s first sojourn among the pagan Celts. The little island is -uninhabited, and out of the reach of ordinary tourists, so that time and -weather are the only injurers of its curious relics. The day at Holy -Island was one of rare enjoyment to all, but especially to William -Nelson, whose intelligent inquisitiveness and love of adventure were -equally gratified.</p> - -<p>Within more easy reach of Glenfeochan, in a sequestered nook among the -hills, lies the ancient cemetery of Kilbride, with its ruined church, -its holy well, and moss-grown sepulchral memorials. Here, among others -of note in the district, lie the Macdougals of Lorne, whose castle of -Dunolly stands at the mouth of Oban Bay, with their more modern mansion -near by, where is still preserved the famous Brooch of Lorne. But here, -above all, lies prostrate, in three detached pieces, a singularly -beautiful sculptured cross, with a figure of the crucifixion, and the -traces that show where<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_223" id="page_223"></a>{223}</span> a crown of bronze, or other more precious metal, -surrounded the Saviour’s head. Its inscription was conned and puzzled -over in repeated visits. Rubbings were taken of it, and the legend at -length deciphered, showing that it was erected in 1616 by the lord of -the neighbouring manor, Alexander Campbell of Laeraig.</p> - -<p>The Cross of Kilbride had at this time an unwonted interest, for William -Nelson was already enlisted in the project of erecting at Kinghorn a -memorial cross to Alexander III., the last of the Celtic kings, in the -successful accomplishment of which, as will be seen hereafter, he took -an active part. But, meanwhile, some of the Glenfeochan experiences of a -more special character are worth noting. A letter that followed me to -Canada, written in the middle of October, supplies the details. “Our -stay at Glenfeochan,” he writes, “is fast drawing to a close, Fred only -remaining behind till the end of the week, unless great success with his -rod should tempt him to stay longer. The sight of Loch Nell on Friday -last made his teeth water, as salmon were leaping in it at the north end -in great numbers; he is sure he saw at least forty of them so engaged. -He was not rewarded, however, with even a rise from any of them, and he -had to be contented with bringing home nothing but a single sea-trout, -which, however, was a very respectable one as to size, and in splendid -condition.... There was very nearly<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_224" id="page_224"></a>{224}</span> being a terrible tragedy here, the -story of which is this. We had staying with us a son of Mr. Keeley -Halswell, the artist, a boy of eleven years of age. He made friends with -the son of the gardener, a boy about eight; and the two went one day to -the loft over the stable to catch mice, they being accompanied by -Bertram’s little dog, Gip. There is in the loft a large chest for -holding grain for the horses, but it was empty at the time; and what did -the two little fellows do? They lifted up the lid and got into the -chest, in order that they might not be seen by the mice; and down came -the lid, the catch took hold, and they were imprisoned like poor Ginevra -of Rogers’s ‘Italy,’—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">‘When a spring-lock that lay in ambush there<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Fastened them down,’<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">but happily not for ever. They made what noise they could, and Bertram -heard this; but he thought it was just the boys amusing themselves, and -so he paid no attention to it. Thus it went on, and the poor little -fellows so suffered from want of fresh air that they could not speak to -each other, and were getting very faint. Young Halswell had a dreadful -headache; when at what would have been in all likelihood their last -effort, they tried the lid of the chest, and found to their surprise -that it opened, and they were free, after a confinement that must have -lasted about three hours.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_225" id="page_225"></a>{225}</span> For their release they were indebted to the -little dog Gip. After the lid came down they heard the little creature -running round the chest and leaping on it in a state of great -excitement, as if conscious that there was something wrong. His leaps -were continued for a long time; and they are sure that in one of them he -must have pushed his nose at the hasp of the lid and opened it, and -hence their release. Well done, Gip! Nothing could have been more -extraordinary or more unexpected than this.” In the same letter he -refers to a robbery that had just taken place at Parkside, by which -about £250 had been carried off out of the safe. The police seemed to -think that the robbery might have been committed by some one in the -works. It was amusingly characteristic of the writer to find him in a -subsequent letter seemingly deriving much satisfaction from the fact -that the rogue had not been convicted!</p> - -<p>His recreations, as already stated, alternated between such pleasant -rambles among the beauties of nature and objects of historic and -archæological interest in his own country as have been glanced at here, -and a journey through novel scenes in foreign lands. The previous summer -had been devoted to the tour in the Baltic and Russia, which has -furnished some brief notes for a previous chapter. Writing to his -friend, Major MacEnery, soon after his return, Mr. Nelson thus -indicated<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_226" id="page_226"></a>{226}</span> the plans he was already maturing for another season: “We -went over a good many thousand miles in our late journeyings. The only -breakdown was that of Florence, at Moscow, which came in the way to -prevent our all going to the Volga, and seeing some of the strange -sights that are to be witnessed there, especially at the great fair of -Nijni-Novgorod. So we had to leave our visit to that part of the world -till another opportunity; and when I go next to Moscow, which I hope -will be in the course of next summer or autumn, if all’s well, I will -not be satisfied unless I go down the Volga to Astrakhan, at the extreme -north of the Caspian Sea, and sail down that sea to Baku, where the -celebrated oil wells are, and take the railway then across to Batoum on -the Black Sea, and go thence to the Crimea, and so find my way home by -Greece and Vienna: and this will be a glorious journey.”</p> - -<p>With such visions of future journeyings in strange lands the year 1884 -had drawn to a close. The “breakdown at Moscow,” referred to above, -though it so far balked the plans of the travellers, does not appear to -have materially lessened the pleasure of their trip. In a letter of Mr. -Simon Fraser MacLeod, I find allusions only to “our visit to this -delightful and picturesque old city of Moscow.” The view of it from the -Kremlin surpassed in its novel and singularly picturesque aspect -anything ever seen by them before. They saw also<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_227" id="page_227"></a>{227}</span> a no less novel -illustration of sacred art, thus described by the same young traveller: -“The Church of the Assumption is a golden pile assuredly; and besides -the head of a nail from the true cross, and a portion of the Virgin’s -mantle, it contains a sacred painting by St. Luke, the beloved -physician. He may have excelled in his latter profession; but prepared -as we were to find any merits in his painting of the holy mother, we -could not discover even the lines of a face or any pretence of a -likeness possible through the rawness of the colours used by the -evangelist in those early and primitive days of art. Mr. Nelson, by the -aid of a candle dimly burning, thought at one time he had discovered -something resembling a beautiful face; but on my suggesting that it was -but the reflection of his own expressive features that he saw, we came -to the conclusion that such was the actual state of the matter.” All was -novel, interesting, and delightful; for the tour was to prove for two -bright young members of the party the prelude to their joining hand in -hand to enter together on the journey of life. They shared in the -Glenfeochan holiday of the following summer, where their own final -arrangements were settled, to the satisfaction of all; and so with -pleasant memories and brightest hopes the family gathered once more -round the cheerful hearth of Salisbury Green.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_228" id="page_228"></a>{228}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV.<br /><br /> -<small><i>PROJECTED TRAVEL—THE END</i>.</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HE route from Oban to Edinburgh passes through some of the most -beautiful and romantic scenes of Scottish landscape: by the Pass of -Brander, Loch Awe, St. Fillans, and Doune Castle, to Stirling; and then -by Bannockburn, the Strath of Falkirk, and the old Nelson homestead of -Throsk, to “the gray metropolis of the north.” After a few days or weeks -of zealous exploration around Glenfeochan, or off to neighbouring -islands and more distant glens, in the fashion already described, a run -into Edinburgh was a welcome change. There William Nelson was equally at -home when making a pleasure of business or a business of his most -favourite pleasures.</p> - -<p>The city, built on the picturesque heights surrounding the Castle Rock, -embosomed among hills, and looking out on the sea, has a singular -fascination for its citizens; and with William Nelson it was a passion, -like that of the old Hebrew for Jerusalem, or the Athenian for the City -of the Violet Crown. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_229" id="page_229"></a>{229}</span> Cockburn Association, which has already been -referred to, takes its name from Lord Cockburn, the friend of Scott, of -Brougham, and Jeffrey; the enthusiastic advocate of whatever tended to -protect the historical remains and to preserve the beauty of their -native city; and the mantle of the genial old judge seemed to have been -bequeathed to William Nelson, with a double portion of his spirit. As an -active member of the council of the association, his zeal in protesting -against every piece of tasteless vandalism was unremitting. But his -enthusiasm would not allow him to be content with mere wishes or -denouncements. He had the means as well as the will, and when civic -officials and Government functionaries dallied and disputed over needful -reforms, he took them in hand himself, on a scale of liberality all the -more admirable from the genuine modesty which repelled all public -recognition. And yet evidence survives to show how far his aims exceeded -even his own comprehensive liberality.</p> - -<p>With the fancy that begot for Edinburgh in the heyday of its literary -glory the name of the Modern Athens, there grew up in the minds of a -past generation the idea of rearing on the Calton Hill, as a modern -Acropolis, a reproduction of the Parthenon, with, it is to be presumed, -the sculptures of some Scottish Phidias as its final adornment. It was -to constitute a sacred Pantheon, in special commemoration of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_230" id="page_230"></a>{230}</span> those to -whom the nation owed the welcome boon of an honourable peace after the -protracted strife of the Napoleonic wars. In old school-boy days it had -been a matter of liveliest interest to watch the process of construction -that promised the accomplishment of this ambitious scheme. One after -another, the lofty Doric columns rose to the number of twelve; and then -the work stopped. The builders had neglected the wise maxim to sit down -first and count the cost, whether they had sufficient means to finish -it. The funds had given out at that early stage. The boys that had -watched the first efforts of its builders grew gray with years; and the -abortive Parthenon—a monument of ambitious folly—became familiar to -the eyes of a new generation, till they ceased to realize its absurdity. -There were indeed men of taste whom it continued to offend. David -Roberts, himself a native of Edinburgh, and with the keen eye of an -artist for architectural effect, was loath to abandon the dream of a new -Parthenon. The late D. R. Hay, the ingenious author of “The Laws of -Harmonious Colouring” and “The Natural Principles of the Harmony of -Form,” united with James Ballantyne, the poet, and a little band of -kindred spirits, in a vain effort to revive the scheme. But the later -Renaissance had died out. The taste of the age had reverted once more to -mediæval art, and their exertions proved fruitless. William Nelson -thoroughly appreciated<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_231" id="page_231"></a>{231}</span> the absurdity of this gigantic failure. With -grim mirth he satirized the builders who had made such a beginning and -were not able to finish. But he did not despair of seeing even that huge -blot erased; and in May 1887, while busy with his Castle and other -restorations, he thus wrote in a letter intended for his friend Dr. -Field, but which was found among his papers, unfinished, after his -death: “Here is a matter that I have been thinking of for some time; and -in case you may think that I am off the rails in regard to it mentally, -I have to say, ‘I am not mad, most noble Festus; I speak the words of -truth and soberness.’ You will be aware that it was intended, a great -many years ago, that there should be a building on the Calton Hill here, -which would be a facsimile of the Parthenon at Athens, and twelve -pillars which were intended for the portico of the building were -erected. But there were no funds to go further; and the pillars in -consequence stand, as it were, a monument of Scottish folly. Now it -would be a grand thing, not only for Edinburgh, but for Scotland -generally, if the building were completed, and were made a Walhalla for -statues and busts of Scotchmen who have distinguished themselves in the -service of their country and otherwise; and it would be all the better -if the completion of the building were to be made an international -object. Now I know that your worthy brother, Cyrus Field, likes to do<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_232" id="page_232"></a>{232}</span> -things that are international, and I will take it kind if you will have -a talk with him on this subject; and if he will open his purse and give -a grand contribution towards the completion of what would be a truly -noble building, I would get the matter started.” He then goes into a -calculation of the cost. He had consulted with an architect, who -estimated the necessary sum as not less than £150,000. He then goes on -to say: “I send you a photograph of the poor shivering pillars that have -been erected; and I hope that there is spirit enough among moneyed men -in America and Scotland not to allow them to stand much longer in their -solitary condition.” A blank in the letter shows that some estimated -item had yet to be ascertained; and so the letter lay unfinished and -unsent.</p> - -<p>It is thus apparent that there were scarcely any limits to his ideal of -the Edinburgh of the future. The maintenance of his native city in -unblemished honour and beauty was the source of many a fascinating -dream, and took form at times in the union of such idealizations with -his practical liberality. Hence the desertion of the Highlands for the -city was no exchange of the poetry of life for mere prosaic realities. -Edinburgh was rich in all the materials wherewith to fashion an ever-new -romance: a thing of beauty to be preserved or to be made more beautiful. -There the landscape gardener, the architect, and decorator, were all -busily at work on<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_233" id="page_233"></a>{233}</span> his plans for renovating St. Bernard’s Well. The -sculptor’s studio had to be visited to learn of the progress of the new -statue. Then, too, official formalities and obstructions had at length -yielded to his quiet persistency, and the plans were in progress for -restorations, not only on the great hall of the Castle, but also on the -Argyle Tower, and the venerable little oratory known as St. Margaret’s -Chapel. With the latter object in view, more than one excursion had been -made to Iona, where the little Norman structure styled the Chapel of St. -Oran is affirmed to have been built by St. Margaret, the queen of -Malcolm Canmore. Hence it was assumed to furnish the fittest model for a -design to replace the somewhat commonplace modern restoration of the -original doorway. A photograph of it was accordingly secured, and -placed, for that purpose, in the architect’s hands.</p> - -<p>The Argyle Tower, of old the state prison, was to be freed from manifold -incongruities of modern barbarism, as has since been done in the best -taste. But William Nelson’s sympathies were not narrowed within the -bounds of his native city, and a special occasion now invited his -practical co-operation elsewhere. The approaching anniversary of the -death of the good king Alexander III., last and best of Scotland’s -Celtic kings, was to be signalized by the erection of a memorial cross -to mark the scene of that fatal event of six centuries before, the -fruits of which are bewailed in the fine old<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_234" id="page_234"></a>{234}</span> fragment of native elegy -preserved for us in Wyntoun’s Chronicles, the earliest known lyric in -the Scottish language. The old chronicler pictures the prosperity of the -nation under the rule of him that led Scotland in love and loyalty; and -then he says,—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“This failèd fra he died suddenly;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">This sang was made of him forthi:<br /></span> -<span class="i1">When Alexander our king was dead,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">That Scotland led in love and lea,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Away wes söns of ale and bread,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Of wine and wax, of gaming and glee;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Our gold was changèd into lead.<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Christ, born into virginity,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Succor Scotland and remede<br /></span> -<span class="i2">That stad is in perplexity.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Kinghorn, the birthplace of William Nelson’s mother, and the scene of -many of the happiest days of his own childhood and youth, was the place -historically associated with the national disaster. When he carried off -his sisters to revisit the old scenes, it will be remembered that one of -the special spots pointed out to them was “The King’s Crag,” as the -point is called which tradition assigns as the actual cliff over which, -when his horse stumbled, Alexander III. was precipitated. The event was -thus associated with many of William Nelson’s earliest recollections; -and the proposal to mark it with a suitable monument was responded to by -him with hearty enthusiasm. From its initiation his<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_235" id="page_235"></a>{235}</span> zeal never flagged. -First came his subscription, the most liberal of all; then -correspondence and deliberations as to the design, the inscription, the -most durable and best material. He writes to the Rev. Charles Shaw from -Glenfeochan in October 1886, in reference to the appeal for -subscriptions:—“Let me know as soon as you can what is the result, and -I will then see what I can do to make up the sum.” In December he -discusses the details of the design and material. He fears, from its -exposed site on the highroad from Burntisland to Kinghorn, that the -monument will be liable to injury; has “called the architect Mr. Blanc’s -attention some time ago to this circumstance, and that he ought not to -forget it in making his finished drawings.” Again he writes in the -following February:—“Mr. Blanc says that the memorial cross ought -decidedly to be of Peterhead granite; and you will please hold me -responsible for whatever shortcoming there may be in consequence.” Then -comes an equally characteristic passage: “I don’t think there is any -occasion for you or Dr. Rogers telling the committee of what you call my -handsome offer. If this were done, the matter would, I have no doubt, be -blazoned forth in the newspapers, and I would not like that at all.” The -next proposition was that he should unveil the monument, in the erection -of which he had manifested so practical an interest. But that he would -not hear of, and suggested the Earl of Elgin as Lord<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_236" id="page_236"></a>{236}</span> Lieutenant of the -county, and a good man to boot. “Failing him, you should apply to Lord -Napier and Ettrick, or Lord Rosebery.”</p> - -<p>When at length the memorable day arrived, there was not only the -beautiful memorial cross to unveil, but a new public park and golfing -ground to open. The authorities of the ancient burgh would not be balked -of their wish to mark in some way their sense of Mr. Nelson’s generous -co-operation in the work, so Lord Elgin and he were both admitted to all -the honours and privileges of burgesses of Kinghorn. The speech of the -latter, in reply to the provost’s address in handing to him his burgess -ticket, is too replete with characteristic feeling and personal -reminiscences to be omitted here. He was no orator, and indeed shrank -with instinctive reserve from all public appearances; but the simple -utterances of genuine feeling are the best of all oratory.</p> - -<p>“Fortunately for myself,” he said, “and perhaps still more fortunately -for those who hear me, I am not often in circumstances which call upon -me to speak in public. On the present occasion, when there has been -conferred on me the high honour of being made a burgess of the royal -burgh of Kinghorn—an honour which I never expected, and which I do not -feel that I have done anything to merit—for this, gentlemen, I thank -you most sincerely. It is an honour which shall ever be held by<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_237" id="page_237"></a>{237}</span> me, and -by those who come after me, in the highest esteem. There are many things -which make Kinghorn a place of much interest to me, and which give a -peculiar value to any mark of respect which comes from its town council -or its inhabitants. For one thing, it was the birthplace of my mother, -and we all know what that means. But it must not be supposed that my -attachment to Kinghorn is solely on this account. I love it for its own -sake, for its quaint and picturesque old character as a royal burgh; and -I love it also for its fine coast-scenery, with its beautiful sands, its -bold rocks, and its many advantages for bathing, fishing, and even for -those who think they perform their whole duty at the seaside when they -merely saunter along it and inhale its health-giving breezes. But I love -it still more—perhaps most of all—for the sunshine with which it -filled my early years, making my holidays holidays indeed. I stayed -always with my grandfather and grandmother, whose kindness was very -great and unceasing. So strong was the impression made upon me at that -early period of my life, that I never allow a season to pass without -visiting Kinghorn, and renewing my acquaintance with the rocky scenery -of the coast, which must be admitted to be exceptionally fine. So great -is my familiarity with the coast here that I know every rock of any -consequence that it contains; and I may add that there are few places -more richly endowed<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_238" id="page_238"></a>{238}</span> with all the amenities which health-seekers are in -quest of and value. It ought to be one of the most popular of the -health-resorts on our shores. Another thing which took a hold of me in -my early years, and which I still remember well, was the talk of the old -folks. They had some themes on which they never ceased to descant. One -of these was Paul Jones’s piratical visit to the Firth of Forth, which -was looked upon as a very formidable event by the small towns on the -coast of Fife, but which happily turned out a scare. My grandmother saw -the big ship of the pirate from near the hamlet of Glassmount, about two -miles from Kinghorn. And there is good news for strangers who may come -now-a-days to the old place for summer quarters. They need not be afraid -for another Paul Jones coming to alarm them, as there is now a strong -fortress on the Pettycur road, under the shadow of whose wings they may -rest in perfect safety. But there was another matter quite as -engrossing, and that was the injury which steam-boats had done or would -do to the town. Before these began to ply there were big, ordinary boats -which carried passengers; and as these boats started only at particular -times of the tide, passengers had generally to stay some time in the -town: more to the delight of the innkeepers and others, we should -imagine, than to that of the strangers thus detained, in order to have -the opportunity of leaving a little of their money<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_239" id="page_239"></a>{239}</span> behind them. We know -better now; and I am sure that the inhabitants of Kinghorn would not be -inclined to go back, on any terms whatever, to those good old ways, so -easy in all that belonged to them. Such retrospects, while both -interesting and instructive, are not without an infusion of sadness. In -my case, early companions in and about Kinghorn have all disappeared but -two: namely, Henry Darney, a worthy citizen of the town, and Major -Greig, now of Toronto, Canada. It is a touching thought, and brings to -my remembrance the tender and beautiful verses of Delta, with which I -conclude:—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">‘Where are the playmates of those years?<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Hills arise and oceans roll between.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">We call, but scarcely one appears;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">No more shall be what once has been.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">‘Yet, gazing o’er the bleak green sea,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">O’er snow-capped cliffs and desert plain,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Mirrored in thought methinks to me<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The spectral past returns again.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">‘Once more to retrospection’s eyes,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">As ’twere to present life restored,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The perished and the past arise,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The early lost and long deplored.’ ”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>While the memorial cross erected on the King’s Crag had been thus -occupying so much of his attention, the various works of restoration -undertaken by him in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_240" id="page_240"></a>{240}</span> Edinburgh were not neglected. They continued, -indeed to engage his attention, and to furnish him with ever-renewed -pleasure, till the close of his life. He thus writes to me in April -1887:—“St. Bernard’s Well is not quite finished yet, but it begins to -look very different from what you will remember of it in our morning -visits together: quite a little gem indeed, now that the mosaic work is -done, or nearly so. A handsome parapet wall with railing runs along the -river-side. The grounds are laid out, I think, in good taste, and a fine -broad stair leads down from the street instead of the dingy back way you -and I used to have to traverse in our morning visits to the well. -Altogether it is a great success. The number of visitors to the well has -greatly increased already; and if it correspondingly diminishes the -number of visitors to the taverns, as I hope it will, then we have all -the success that could be desired. You must repeat your visit to us -soon, and have another tumbler of the water, and see all we have been -doing in the way of improvement; it will be all in order before you -arrive.”</p> - -<p>Again, in a postscript to one of his letters to the Rev. Charles Shaw, -in the early part of the same year, he says: “My restorations at the -Castle are getting on briskly. The Argyle Tower is far advanced, and as -a piece of architecture it will be a great success. The hospital -building has been made over to me, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_241" id="page_241"></a>{241}</span> operations for the restoration -and conversion of it into what will be almost a facsimile of the old -Parliament Hall have been already begun. It will be a very interesting -building in its reformed condition.” In another letter to the same -correspondent, who was an active member of the local committee for the -erection of the memorial cross at Kinghorn, he thus writes:—“I send you -a letter that I received a few days ago from Lord Napier. I asked him if -he would come to the unveiling of the memorial to Alexander III., and -let his voice be heard on the occasion as one of the speakers; but this, -he says, he will be unable to do. The first part of the letter is of -special interest to you, as it refers to some discoveries that have been -made at the clearing out of the old Parliament Hall in the Castle. They -have been so important that an almost perfect facsimile can be made of -the hall as it was in the days of its glory: all except in the matter of -the tapestry with which the walls were either wholly or partly covered; -and it would be too much to hope for that any part of this should be to -the fore at this time of day. Everything else is known. The roof exists -in its entirety; parts of the floor have been found. It was of Arbroath -pavement; and the account for the freight of the stones from Dundee to -Leith has been recovered in the Rolls of the Exchequer in the Register -Office. The ancient windows have also been discovered,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_242" id="page_242"></a>{242}</span> and they just -require to be cleared of the masonry with which they have been built up, -and have fresh mullions inserted; and it is known how the original -mullions would be from specimens that exist in other buildings of the -period. The doorway that formed the ancient main entrance to the -building has been found. The doorway and stair that led to the kitchen, -which was below the hall, have also been discovered; and the kitchen -exists in its entirety, it being made use of as a store for clothing for -the troops. From the great size of it and that of the fireplace, it is -clear that creature comforts were not overlooked in days of yore by our -old Scottish legislators.”</p> - -<p>Public interest grew apace as the work of restoration in the Castle -progressed. The Argyle Tower, as it approached completion, presented an -attractive feature, harmonizing admirably with the older remains of the -fortress, and attracting the notice of all, as seen from Princes Street. -As the rumour of one after another of the discoveries of original -portions of the great hall, furnishing valuable guidance for its -restoration, gained currency, fresh zest was given to public curiosity. -Paragraphs, such as the one quoted below, made their appearance from -time to time in the daily press, until a general interest was revived, -and a renewed anxiety expressed, not only for completing the restoration -of the ancient buildings, but for making such modifications<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_243" id="page_243"></a>{243}</span> of the -huge, unsightly pile of barracks and other modern structures within the -Castle as should make them harmonize in some degree with its ancient -features.</p> - -<p>“Yesterday afternoon the Marquis of Lothian, along with Mr. William -Nelson, drove up to Edinburgh Castle and examined the alterations which -are being carried out there at the expense of the latter. The work of -clearing out the old Parliament Hall is proceeding apace. Finely-carved, -and in most cases well-preserved, freestone corbels have been uncovered -underneath the plaster. In no two cases are the designs on these corbels -alike. In one it is a lion’s head, in another a thistle, in a third a -rose, a fourth is a female head, while others bear the letters I.R., and -I.H.S., the former evidently meant for ‘James Rex.’ At the north-eastern -corner of the hall, the top of a staircase which apparently must have -led from ‘the Queen Mary’ apartments in the Palace to the balcony -outside the Parliament Hall, has been discovered; but it is not yet -known at what point in the royal apartments the lower end of the -staircase came out. The restoration of the Argyle Tower is rapidly -approaching completion, and the masons are now engaged in building the -hewn stones on the roof.”</p> - -<p>One result of all this was that Mr. Nelson responded to the intelligent -interest manifested in the work now in progress by arranging for a -succession of Saturday<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_244" id="page_244"></a>{244}</span> visits to the Castle. I am indebted to an old -friend, who shared in the pleasure of those informal gatherings, for the -following account of them: “They were attended by artists and -antiquaries, professors from the University, and literary men; to whom -were added occasionally some distinguished stranger, as well as officers -of rank who felt a professional interest in the work. Along with those -were always to be seen some of the clerks and workmen from Parkside; and -it was very pleasant to notice the kind way in which he made them feel -at their ease, and indeed seemed totally unconscious of anything -unusual, as he turned from some learned professor or officer of rank to -address himself with marked respect to one of his own employés, and -explain to him the significance of some recently disclosed portions of -the original building.”</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the grand scheme of a tour by the Volga to Astrakhan, and by -the Caspian Sea and the overland route to Batoum on the Black Sea, and -so to Greece, had been first delayed, and then greatly modified. In the -midst of all this preoccupation with mediæval restorations in his own -romantic town, he turned anew to the favourite classical studies of -early years; and his letters in the spring and summer of 1886 show that -Hellenic history, and the associations that linger around every cape and -mountain, river and vale of Greece, had quickened into an intense -longing to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_245" id="page_245"></a>{245}</span> explore their storied scenery. In the month of August 1887, -I was off on a holiday ramble in the White Mountains—the Highlands of -New England—where a letter followed me, the last I was ever to receive -from my oldest surviving friend. “I intend,” he wrote, “to set out on a -trip to Greece about the middle of next month, taking with me a party -which will consist of Mrs. Nelson, Meta, Alice, and Dr. Walter Smith, -who will act as chaplain. We will go direct to Trieste from London, -<i>via</i> Dover, Calais, Basle, and Venice; and will sail for Athens by the -Austrian Lloyd’s steamer which leaves on Saturday, the 24th, for the -Piræus; a voyage which will occupy about three and a half days. After -spending a fortnight there, we will likely, if all is well, push on for -Constantinople; and after being there for about a week, will return home -as rapidly as possible. Such at least is my present intention, and I -trust that nothing will occur to prevent my carrying out the programme.” -He then gives an account of the successful completion of the work at St. -Bernard’s Well, and thus proceeds: “As to the Castle, the Argyle Tower -is finished, and it forms a striking object viewed from Princes Street, -and is a great improvement to the outline of the north side of the -Castle. The architect deserves great praise for having done his part so -well in the restoration of this building. The room that is above what -was the old state prison is a very<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_246" id="page_246"></a>{246}</span> fine one, and the feeling of the -architecture of the period that he has aimed at—which is, if I remember -right, about the year 1500—is admirably carried out. The room, when I -get it hung round with engravings of the Castle at different periods -from 1573 downwards, and also get it decorated in various parts with -trophies of arms and armour, which I am to have permission to select -from the armoury in the Castle, will be one of the most interesting -rooms there. My collection of views of the Castle will be largely taken -advantage of for the decoration of this room. The view from the top of -the tower is, I need not say, one of the finest in Europe; and there is -a path right round, so that the view can be seen from all points.</p> - -<p>“The old Parliament Hall has been at a stand-still for some time; but -Mr. Blanc has drawings for the windows and doors completed, and -estimates for them are now being taken. Here is a point on which I would -like to be enlightened. You say in your ‘Memorials of Edinburgh:’ ‘From -the occasional assembling of the Parliament here, while the Scottish -monarchs continued to reside in the Castle, it still retains the name of -the Parliament House.’ Now at a gathering of eminent men of Edinburgh -that I had at the Castle some time ago, Mr. Dickson of the antiquarian -department of the Register Office took it upon him to give an address to -the party when they<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_247" id="page_247"></a>{247}</span> were in the said hall; and he said in the course of -it that it was quite a misnomer to connect the word parliament with the -building, as the old Scottish Parliament met in the Tolbooth, and there -does not exist any evidence to show that any of its meetings were ever -held in the old Parliament Hall. What do you say to this, my dear old -fellow? A few lines about the matter by return of mail from you will be -a favour. By the way, a discovery has been made lately in regard to the -building which will interest you. It is that the walls are much older -than the corbels, the latter having been found to have been stuck into -them: Mr. Blanc is of opinion about two hundred years after they were -built. What do you say to this discovery?”</p> - -<p>I was out of the reach of mails, as well as of books; and so August had -passed into September ere an answer could be penned to the above -queries. “The hall,” as I wrote in reply, “was undoubtedly the great -banquet-hall of the Castle, where, when the king resided there, he -occupied the daïs, along with the nobles in attendance, while inferior -guests and retainers sat at the table below. But such halls were -available for any large assembly; and in truth Scotland had no regular -Parliament House till the reign of Charles I. Old Parliaments for the -most part followed the Court, and found a place for meeting as they best -could—in the hall of some great abbey or royal castle; or failing -either,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_248" id="page_248"></a>{248}</span> in a church or town hall. When, for example, Philip IV. of -France quarrelled with the Pope in 1302, the only place of meeting that -Paris could furnish for the States General was the church of Notre Dame. -When the English Court was at Westminster, the Parliament turned St. -Stephen’s Chapel to like account; and the Blackfriars’ Monastery at -Perth, in all probability, afforded the usual place of meeting for the -Scottish Parliament, till the assassination of James I. in 1437 led to -the transference of the Court to Edinburgh, with a view doubtless to -safe royal residence within the Castle. Only one Parliament, the -thirteenth of his reign, met at Edinburgh, in what hall is not -specified. But, immediately after the death of the poet-king, the first -Parliament of the new reign assembled there; and the record for once -leaves no doubt. It runs thus: ‘Quo die comparentibus tribus regni -statibus apud Edinburgh, omnes comites, nobiles, et barones, ac -liberi-tenentes dicti regni, venientes ad Castrum de Edinburgh.’ From -that memorable date may possibly have originated the tradition which -survived when, in the middle of last century, Maitland described the -hall as ‘a large ancient edifice, formerly the Parliament House, now -converted into a barrack.’ As to the Tolbooth, the one we know of was -only erected in the reign of James V., and while it was building the -council met in the Holy Blood aisle of St. Giles’s Church.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_249" id="page_249"></a>{249}</span></p> - -<p>This and much more, in response to the welcome letter from beyond the -sea, was all fully set forth; for the subject gave occasion for frequent -correspondence between us, as one in which his sympathies were largely -enlisted, and which engaged his latest thoughts; and so it claims a -place here. But the letter was never to meet the eye of him for whom it -had been penned. His keen appreciation of the humorous aspect that lurks -at times in the gravest proceedings was very familiar to his friends, -and a touching illustration of it claims notice now. Much that has -transpired since his death shows how fully he realized the uncertainty -of life, and the fact that the days of his years had already reached -man’s allotted span. Of this the ample provision in his will for the -completion of the works he had undertaken for his native city furnishes -the best proof. But on one of his visits to the Castle, in company with -friends interested in the progress of the work there, a university -professor who was of the party, after satisfying himself as to the -extent and character of the designed restorations, proposed a vote of -thanks to Mr. Nelson. The proceeding itself was one peculiarly -distasteful to him; but in the course of some eulogistic remarks the -professor somewhat inopportunely expressed a hope that Mr. Nelson would -be spared to see the completion of his costly and patriotic undertaking. -As the work was already so far advanced<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_250" id="page_250"></a>{250}</span> that the finishing of it was a -matter of months only, he dryly replied that the learned professor must -surely mean to assign him a very brief term of life, for he hoped to see -the work finished before the year was out; and as for the cost, he -believed it would prove one of the best investments he had ever made. If -the lasting appreciation of a generous, public-spirited act furnishes an -adequate compensation for such liberality, it was indeed so. But the -ominous remark was all too apt. Within three months of that memorable -gathering, the words were recalled by some of those who had been -present, as they bent in sorrow over his grave.</p> - -<p>One of the noticeable gifts of William Nelson was a memory of rare -compass and accuracy. An incident distinctly recalled by him in recent -years was proved by its association with the death of an aunt to date at -a period when he was only two and a half years old. His recollections of -playmates went back to early childhood; and he seemed to retain in -well-defined and even minute detail events associated with many -schoolmates and fellow-students of later years. Numerous as they were, -the tie of such early fellowship was never slighted. There was only one -point in which his memory failed. A wrong done to himself retained no -place in his thoughts; nor did he allow the failures due to misconduct -to dull his ear to the appeal of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_251" id="page_251"></a>{251}</span> needy for help. The number of such -that made claim to his charity was large. But of friendship in its true -sense his conception was high. Of those who were admitted to that -intimate relationship he seemed to hold in memory the minutest incidents -of a life-long intercourse, and startled them at times by the accuracy -with which he recalled the events of long-forgotten years. His -large-heartedness was such that he seemed to identify himself with every -interest of theirs, with a rare tenderness, as of a love “passing the -love of women.” One on whom an intimate knowledge of the enduring -sacredness of one of his earliest friendships had made a strong -impression, thus wrote to me shortly after his death: “The friendship -uniting you seemed to me one of the charming things so rarely met in -life. That two men with wives and families, business cares, and -different pursuits and tastes, should so cleave to one another from -early youth onward was refreshing to realize. I always delight in such -friendships being possible. They seem the gems shining out from the dull -mass of common humanity.”</p> - -<p>There is no exaggeration here, for the subject of this memoir was of a -rare type of humanity; though, if those who most resemble him in all -other respects are marked by a like sensitive shrinking from publicity, -we may indulge in the pleasant belief that they are more numerous than -the world imagines. But it is<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_252" id="page_252"></a>{252}</span> vain to linger over such fancies. The -memory so prompt in business, so retentive in its literary -reminiscences, and so responsive to all the sympathetic impulses of love -and friendship, suddenly failed. At the very time when his long-desired -visit to the classic scenes of Greece was to have been carried out, and -every arrangement was completed for the journey, he seemed to lose his -hold on the past. The vessel had been determined upon, and the day of -departure fixed, when symptoms, little heeded at first, developed into -the fatal malady which brought all his plans to a close. The silver cord -was loosed. He had finished his course; and on the 10th of September -1887, the very day on which he was to have set out for Greece, he passed -from the circle that for so many happy years had been gladdened with the -sunshine of his presence, to join the loved ones who had gone before him -to the heavenly home. He was one whose creed found its full expression -in deeds, not in words. Only in rare moments of confidence did he give -utterance to his simple faith. At best the highest efforts of the -biographer but dimly approximate to the original. God sends many a -beautiful soul into this world to do its appointed work, and then to -live only in the memories of the loved ones left behind. Perhaps in this -case also it had been better if no biography had been attempted; but he -seems to me to have realized in his<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_253" id="page_253"></a>{253}</span> life that “pure religion” which the -apostle James had in view: “To visit the fatherless and the widows in -their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”</p> - -<p>The wide-spread manifestations of grief when the news of William -Nelson’s death became known abundantly manifested the sense of a great -public loss. At the urgent request of the city authorities the desire of -the family for a strictly private funeral was abandoned. The Lord -Provost and magistrates of Edinburgh and the Provost and magistrates of -Kinghorn attended in their robes; and along with them the Principal and -many of the professors of the University, the President and members of -the Royal Scottish Academy, with leading citizens, clergymen, and -others, many of whom came from great distances to mark their respect for -one whose loss was so widely deplored. The shops were closed as the -mournful procession, headed by the employés from Parkside, moved on to -the Grange Cemetery, where his remains were laid beside those of his -loved father and mother and his brother John, with the graves of Dr. -Chalmers and Hugh Miller near by. The turf was fragrant with the wreaths -of flowers laid there by many sincere mourners; and it continued to be -visited from day to day by crowds, including many humble admirers who -deplored the loss of their benefactor, until the turf around was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_254" id="page_254"></a>{254}</span> -trodden out and had to be replaced. Now that his remains are laid at -rest in the quiet cemetery among those of loved ones who formed the -happy home circle of his early years, and the busy outer world has -resumed its wonted avocations, his widow has erected a memorial tablet -to mark the sacred spot, aptly inscribed with the text: “After he had -served his generation by the will of God, he fell asleep.”</p> - -<p class="c">THE END.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/back.jpg" width="335" height="500" alt="" title="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="full" /> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of William Nelson, by Daniel Wilson - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WILLIAM NELSON *** - -***** This file should be named 52192-h.htm or 52192-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/2/1/9/52192/ - -Produced by Larry B. 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