Transcriber’s Note: Italic or underlined text is enclosed in
_underscores_. Small capital text has been changed to all capital.
Additional notes will be found near the end of this ebook.
GLASGOW MEN AND WOMEN
[Illustration:
THE EARL OF LYTTON AS LORD RECTOR OF GLASGOW UNIVERSITY
_Frontispiece_
A Rosebud garden of Girls With the adjacent Professors
Professor Simpson’s Introductory Paper
“Patient and Attentive Hearing”
The Clerk to the Senate
“Milton’s Memorable Vision”
“Educated Intellectual Youth of Scotland”
Poet and Diplomatist LL.D.
“And this from an Austrian Sabre
When the field of Marengo was won”
“Let me give you a preliminary instance”]
GLASGOW
MEN AND WOMEN
THEIR CHILDREN
AND SOME STRANGERS
WITHIN THEIR GATES
A SELECTION FROM THE SKETCHES OF TWYM
BY
A. S. BOYD
LONDON
HODDER AND STOUGHTON
27 PATERNOSTER ROW
1905
Printed by BALLANTYNE & CO. LIMITED
Tavistock Street, London
CONTENTS
PAGE
INTRODUCTION 11
MUNICIPAL
THE FOUNDATION-STONE 19
A RECEPTION AND AN OUTING 20
THE JUBILEE BALL 23
THE MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS 24
OPENING OF THE EXHIBITION 27
QUEEN VICTORIA AT THE EXHIBITION 28
THE SHAH OF PERSIA 31
FIRST COUNCIL MEETING IN THE NEW CHAMBERS 32
A CITY BALL 35
SHUNA 36
THE UNIVERSITY
JOHN BRIGHT, LORD RECTOR 39
THE BUTE HALL 40
EDMUND LUSHINGTON, LORD RECTOR 43
THE EARL OF LYTTON, LORD RECTOR _Frontispiece_
A RECTORIAL ELECTION 44
BAZAAR IN THE UNIVERSITY 47
INSTITUTIONS
THE ROYAL EXCHANGE 48
THE CORN EXCHANGE 51
AT THE CIRCUIT COURT 52
THE MITCHELL LIBRARY 55
GLASGOW GREEN 56
THE BOTANIC GARDENS 59
GLASGOW PARLIAMENTARY ASSOCIATION 60
POLITICAL AND OTHER VISITORS
THE CROFTERS’ COMMISSION 63
THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY 64
MR. JOSEPH CHAMBERLAIN 67
LORD GEORGE HAMILTON 68
A LIBERAL MEETING 71
WILLIAM EWART GLADSTONE 72
MR. GLADSTONE IN GLASGOW 75
LORD HARTINGTON 76
THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 79
INTERESTING STRANGERS--VARIED 80
HENRY WARD BEECHER 83
GLASGOW JURIDICAL SOCIETY 84
ARTISTIC
INSTITUTE OF THE FINE ARTS 87
PEOPLE AT THE PICTURES 88
ARTISTS AND THEIR FRIENDS 91
AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE 92
THE FINE ART INSTITUTE AGAIN 95
ART CLUB COSTUME BALL 96
TABLEAUX IN REHEARSAL 99
MUSICAL AND DRAMATIC
A BERLIOZ CONCERT 100
A MACKENZIE ORATORIO 103
THE MANNS SEASON 104
MUSICIANS 107
DRAMATIC AMATEURS OF THE 5TH L.R.V. 108
DRAMATIC AMATEURS OF THE 1ST L.R.V. 111
DRAMATIC AMATEURS OF THE 1ST L.R.V. AGAIN 112
THE PHILOMEL CLUB 115
VOLUNTEERS
A VOLUNTEER BAZAAR 116
A GATHERING OF THE 1ST L.R.V. 119
WEST OF SCOTLAND RIFLE ASSOCIATION 120
A BOYS’ BRIGADE INSPECTION 123
A REGIMENTAL SOIRÉE 124
ON BOARD THE _DRAKE_ 127
SPORTS
WEST OF SCOTLAND SPORTS 128
FOOTBALL 131
HIGHLAND SPORTS 132
CRICKET 135
WESTERN BATHS 136
WELLCROFT BOWLING-GREEN 139
POLICE SPORTS 140
SOCIAL EVENTS
FRIENDLY SOCIETIES’ DEMONSTRATION 143
A PATRIOTIC DINNER 144
A COUNTY ASSOCIATION SOIRÉE 147
A COUNTY SOCIETY DINNER 148
AN ENGINEER’S ANNIVERSARY 151
AN INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION 152
THE ATHENÆUM HOUSE-WARMING 155
THE ELDER PARK, GOVAN 156
EAST-END EXHIBITION 159
THE RIVER AND THE FIRTH
A LAUNCH FROM NAPIER’S YARD 160
THE CHANNEL FLEET 163
AN OCEAN LINER 164
THE COASTING SEASON 167
HOW TO GO TO THE COAST 168
IN ARRAN 171
AGAIN IN ARRAN 172
SEASIDE BITS 175
A YACHTING CRUISE 176
CORINTHIAN YACHTING 179
ANOTHER YACHTING EXPERIENCE 180
THE _COLUMBA_ 183
FAIR DEALING 184
TOWN AND COUNTRY CHARACTER-SKETCHES
SOME FELLOW-TRAVELLERS 187
TRAMS EAST AND WEST 188
THE FLITTING TERM 191
A DOMESTIC EXPERIENCE 192
A COMMERCIAL TRANSACTION 195
SAFETY ASSURED 196
BEARING WITH THE INFIRMITIES OF A FRIEND 196
THE PARSON OF THE PERIOD 199
SPIRITUAL APATHY 199
EMULATION 200
A BONE OF CONTENTION 200
NATURE’S SIMPLICITY 203
ANOTHER OF THE SAME 203
GIVE A DOG A BAD NAME 204
WHAT IT’S COMING TO 204
THE REASON OF IT 207
AN ART EXTRA 207
GUID GEAR 208
WHAT IT IS TO BE A LORD 208
NOT A LIKELY CUSTOMER 211
JEER, BOYS, JEER 211
REGULAR DEAD-HEADS 212
PRIDE OF STATION 212
SYMPATHY 215
A CITY IDYLL 215
OUR BOYS 216
A SEASONABLE THREAT 216
BEARING A BOOL 219
SAIR FASHED 219
HE KNEW SHE WAS RIGHT 220
THE SOFT ANSWER 220
KIND INDEED 223
ALMOST TOO FASHIONABLE 223
THE RISING GENERATION 224
PARADISE LOST 224
A BAD RECOVERY 227
THE MAN OF FEELING 227
A RIGHT TO A CHARACTER 228
A PROVISIONAL ORDER 228
INTERFERENCE WITH FAMILY PRIVILEGE 231
HALLOWE’EN RIVALS 231
A DISPUTE IN THE FIRM 232
DIGNITY OFFENDED 232
BEFORE THE BALL 235
ETIQUETTE AT THE RIVETERS’ RE-UNION 235
REAL BENEFACTORS 236
THE LOAVES AND THE FISHES 236
SIGNS OF THE FESTIVE SEASON 239
MORE SIGNS OF THE FESTIVE SEASON 240
RANDOM QUOTATIONS 243
INTRODUCTION
HERE is a book about Glasgow; not the Glasgow known to our young friends
in their teens, or remembered by those in their early twenties, but the
Glasgow familiar to their fathers and mothers when _they_ were in their
teens and early twenties. That was away back in the ’eighties, before
the days of electric light in the streets, electric cars, an intricate
internal railway system, the new art galleries, and all the other
improvements of which I--a stranger almost in Glasgow now--am only dimly
cognisant. We considered Glasgow in those days, as many thousands do
now, to be a very good place to live in. We had some rather jolly times.
We took an easy and good-humoured view of things in general; and if the
pages of this book convey any other impression, then they fail in their
purpose. The two weekly papers in which the sketches originally appeared
tried to minister to this easy-going good humour.
One of these papers is dead; let us speak of it respectfully. The other
was its senior, and is its survivor; let us speak even more respectfully
of it--the _Bailie_, which, dating from 1872, has for over a generation
been one of the recognised institutions of Glasgow. It is, and has
always been, essentially a local journal. Though every now and then
portraits of personages who are prominent outside Glasgow circles have
appeared in its pages, it is Glasgow alone that forms the _Bailie’s_
chief concern. As the experience of three and thirty years has shown,
the life of Glasgow--municipal, political, social, artistic--abounds in
ample material for criticism and comment, humorous or otherwise. All
sorts and conditions of Glasgow folk have, I am told, contributed to the
_Bailie_--Doctors of Divinity, Doctors of Laws, Doctors of Medicine,
Members of Parliament, Bailies and Lord Provosts, among others--but the
anonymity of the contributors has always been preserved, and to that
anonymity may be ascribed some portion at least of the paper’s success.
The one individuality that has become known to the citizens in
connection with the _Bailie_, and whose name I may therefore be
permitted to mention, is that of John D. Gray, who has occupied the
position of manager from its origin to the present time. The _Bailie_ at
its beginning had practically the same modest aspect that it has at
present. It had fewer pages, and beyond the cartoon portrait of Lord
Provost James Watson, it had no attempt at illustration. Of the more
fully illustrated papers of the kind that had been tried in Glasgow,
_Quiz_ was the only one that had anything like success. It published its
first number in March 1881, and it lasted, through several changes of
proprietorship, for about twenty years. Its first editor was William
Robertson; its dramatic critic John Reid; its business manager Arnot
Reid. These three friends did the greater part of the writing, both in
prose and verse, in the earlier years. The design on the cover was by
Martin Anderson, afterwards widely known as “Cynicus,” who contributed
many of his quaint conceits to the paper, a later artist contributor
being Harrington Mann. The great proportion of sketches fell to the lot
of “Twym,” and it is from these that most of the present selection has
been made.
William Robertson, after a lingering illness that lasted for more than
five years, died at his mother’s home in Alva on the 24th December 1889;
and Arnot Reid, whose connection with _Quiz_ ceased when he went to
London--and onwards to Singapore, where he edited the _Straits
Times_--is buried at Tonbridge in Kent, where he died on the 21st July
1901.
As in the case of the _Bailie_, the writers in _Quiz_ were anonymous.
The columns of gossip and criticism were signed, but only by pen-names
that did not reveal the identity of the authors. There is no need now
for withholding names. I have already mentioned John Reid, who was an
untiring contributor. His “Chronicle of Small Beer” did not appear in
_Quiz_, however, and indeed was not written till some time after he had
stopped writing for the paper. Another writer was James Nicol Dunn,
lately editor of the _Morning Post_, and now of the _Manchester
Courier_; while contributions (chiefly poetical) from John Davidson, the
late Dr. James H. Stoddart, and Sheriff Spens have also appeared in
_Quiz_. I am speaking, of course, only of the first seven years or so,
all I can speak of, in the career of _Quiz_. That some of the contents
of the paper were of more than passing interest may be conceded, as
several reprints have been made from its pages. We remember the “Martha
Spreull” of Henry Johnston, the “Law Lyrics” of Robert Bird, and the
“Sweet Briar” of James Strang, while the dainty “Wayside Vignettes” of
William Canton are, most of them, to be found in his subsequently
published volumes of poetry. The drawings of “Cynicus” also have been
republished in various forms, and two albums of “Twym’s” sketches have
been issued, 1882 and 1883.
The identity of “Twym” was never much of a secret, I daresay. I used to
be asked frequently what my pseudonym meant. If there are still any
friends curious on the point, it may interest them to know that the word
was only an arbitrary combination of letters, and had no meaning
whatever.
My last contribution to _Quiz_--the Prince and Princess of Wales at the
Exhibition--appears in this volume, as does my first contribution to the
_Bailie_, Lord Lytton at the University. One drawing has not appeared in
either of these papers. The sketches I made when the Queen visited the
exhibition were for the _Graphic_, and I have had permission to make use
of the drawing done at the time from my sketches in making a new page
for this book.
It would not have occurred to me to drag these sketches from the
obscurity of the past, were it not that an undoubted authority informed
me, in a moment of confidence, that a book of this kind would be an
unquestioned benefit to the men and women of Glasgow and to the
strangers within their gates. He, in short, commanded their
re-publication. And so the original proofs were looked out and selected.
They were also carefully revised, a line being strengthened or added
here, a line being lessened or eliminated there, and new blocks were
made on a slightly reduced scale for the purposes of this volume.
When I look over the faces and figures herein revived, and when I
consider how many of those they are meant to represent have passed away
for ever, the collection seems a trifle antiquated; but when I remember
that many of the personages are still living and working, in Glasgow or
in other parts of the world, some in the enjoyment of higher place and
power and title, I am disposed to think the subjects quite modern,
up-to-date, and possessed of sufficient interest to warrant their
resuscitation.
For the notes that accompany the sketches, I had thoughts of beseeching
the aid of one or other of my Glasgow literary friends--my old comrade
of _Quiz_, John Reid, perhaps, or Henry Johnston, or George Eyre-Todd,
or J. J. Bell, or Neil Munro--or of my wife; but if any of these
sparkling pens had come into play, where would my sketches have been
beside their erudite romantic humour? As this book was meant more to be
looked at than to be read, I thought that those who cared to inspect the
drawings would not object to have a plain word or two from the man who
made them, instead of something more brilliant from a real literary
person.
It is as something of a veteran that I speak in these notes, but I trust
I am not too garrulous or egotistical. The notes are not meant to
contain much information, but such as they do contain is, to the best of
my knowledge, to be depended on.
And now begins the little reminiscent show and the running commentary by
the showman.
A. S. B.
LONDON, _November 1905_.
GLASGOW MEN AND WOMEN
THE FOUNDATION-STONE
LET us begin with matters municipal and with a notable event. On the 6th
of October, 1883, the foundation-stone of the new Municipal Buildings in
George Square was laid. There had been a good deal of excitement and
much preparation, for although Glasgow was making a purely domestic
thing of it, a sort of family party, and was to be independent of
Royalty or of any other distinguished person from the outside, there was
to be a considerable spectacle, a procession of the trades with banners
and all kinds of music. There were triumphal arches and other signs of
gorgeousness in the Square. A great area was given up to grand stands
and platforms for the accommodation of the innumerable people who wanted
to see the deed done. The man who did the deed was one esteemed worthy
the honour of doing it, Lord Provost John Ure, who was going out of
office in a few weeks time. There is a back view of the Lord Provost
here in the robes that were, if I mistake not, a new adjunct to the
dignity of the Glasgow magistrates. But you will notice that when the
real business of the day had to be undertaken, the Lord Provost doffed
his robes and went to his work in a workmanlike manner.
Everybody was pleased, everybody was proud, and as many as the City Hall
could hold dined there in the evening and drank success to the building
that would grow over the stone declared to be well and truly laid.
[Illustration:
A Decoration
The City Chamberlain
The Town Clerk
THE LORD PROVOST
The Provincial Grand Master
The Chief Constable
A Temporary Statue
Minions preparing for the Deed
The Lord Provost from the South East
The Oswald Statue made use of
The Obstinate Youth who would not sit down
In the Ladies’ Gallery
IN GEORGE SQUARE
Sufficient for the Day
IN THE CITY HALL
The Toast Master
THE SHERIFF OF LANARKSHIRE
MR. G. ANDERSON M.P.
MR. WM. PEARCE
THE LORD PROVOST
LORD CRAIGHILL
SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL
THE LORD PROVOST OF EDINBURGH]
A RECEPTION AND AN OUTING
IT fell to Lord Provost William McOnie, appropriately enough, to
entertain the members of the Iron and Steel Institute when, in September
1885, they held their conference in Glasgow under the presidency of Dr.
John Percy. The reception was in the Corporation Galleries, where indeed
the meetings of the Conference had been held. It was said that the
pictures were in no way the worse by contact with the Conference, but
how could Art suffer if Iron and Steel were happy?
[Illustration:
Reception in Honour of the Iron and Steel Institute
The Struggle For Food
Lord Provost McOnie
Dr. John Percy FRS
Sir Henry Bessemer]
And here we have iron and steel, in the form of the steamer _Scotia_,
doing their best to make things comfortable for the Weavers’ Society of
Anderston, one of those ancient organisations that form an essential
part of the constitution of Glasgow. The annual outing seems to be early
in the year. It is only the end of April, but the weather is a foretaste
of summer, the destination of the party Lamlash, and the Deacon of the
year Mr. Archibald Stewart.
[Illustration:
30th. April 1885
With the Weaver’s Society of Anderston.
Deacon Stewart]
THE JUBILEE BALL
THE next municipal event herein recorded falls on the 16th of June,
1887, on which date Glasgow celebrated the Jubilee of Queen Victoria.
Lord Provost McOnie had given place to Lord Provost James King, by this
time a Jubilee Knight, and Sir James presided over the local
celebrations. There was a Volunteer review on the Green during the day,
which was a hot one, and in the evening a ball given in St. Andrew’s
Halls. That this was a festive gathering is perhaps sufficiently
indicated in the sketches; that it was loyal may be taken for granted.
[Illustration:
9 WALTZ
SUPPER FROM 10.30]
THE MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS
A MYTHICAL being, supposed to be the Special Commissioner of the
_Bailie_, is here represented as inspecting the interior of the
magnificent new buildings, reared from the designs of Mr. William Young,
and at that time being carried well on towards the finishing touches.
[Illustration:
A Bit of Stained Glass
A passing feature of the Great Room
He looks higher
He dreams he dwells in Marble Halls
He tries his hand at Mural Decoration Subject “Commerce”
Our Commissioner is directed by the Clerk of Works
He views George Square through the Front Door]
OPENING OF THE EXHIBITION
THE International Exhibition of 1888 was a large item in that part of
Glasgow history with which we have to deal. We deal with the exhibition
on its two great occasions only, the first being the opening ceremony by
the then Prince and Princess of Wales, who brought a glorious day with
them for the purpose.
The day was the sixth of May. The Grand Hall of the Exhibition was
crowded for hours before the advent of the Royal party. As there was
music enough to listen to, and much to look at in the individuals
composing the crowd, nobody felt the time hang heavy. After the Prince
and Princess came and had taken up their position on the daïs, the
formal opening of the Exhibition did not take long. Dr. Donald Macleod
delivered the prayer; Sir Archibald Campbell read the Address; Sir James
King presented to the Princess the Album containing water-colour
sketches given by members of the Glasgow Art Club; Dr. A. C. Mackenzie
conducted his “New Covenant,” and the Prince of Wales in a short speech
declared the Exhibition open.
[Illustration:
WELCOME
At the Central Station. The Lord Provost presenting the Magistrates
IN THE EXHIBITION SIR ARCHD. CAMPBELL PRESENTING AN ADDRESS]
QUEEN VICTORIA AT THE EXHIBITION
THE Exhibition had been a success beyond all expectations, and its
crowning glory was the visit of the Queen. Her Majesty paid two visits;
one, in State, on the 22nd of August, and another privately on the 24th.
Accompanying the Queen were the Princess Beatrice and Prince Henry of
Battenberg, the Grand Duke of Hesse and his son the Hereditary Grand
Duke, besides his daughter the sweet-faced Princess Alix, who is now
Empress of Russia. Her Majesty had not been in Glasgow since 1849, and
comparatively few of those who saw her then can have turned out to see
her nine-and-thirty years after. Few or many however, I have no doubt
they were as enthusiastic in their welcome to the venerable Queen as
they had been to her in their younger days, and as their younger fellow
citizens were on these fine days of August ’88. The Queen was the guest
of Sir Archibald and Lady Campbell at Blythswood, and besides going to
the Exhibition, the Queen visited the Municipal Buildings and Queen
Margaret College; Paisley also coming in for a share of the royal
attention.
Among those who were presented to the Queen at the Exhibition was the
architect of the Buildings, Mr. James Sellars. His lamented death
occurred in October, before the close of the great show he had done so
much to make memorable.
Mr. John Lavery was commissioned by the Executive to paint an important
picture of the Queen in the Exhibition, and his work now hangs in the
permanent collection at Kelvingrove.
[Illustration:
THE QUEEN READING THE REPLY TO THE ADDRESS AT THE EXHIBITION.]
THE SHAH OF PERSIA
NASR-ED-DIN, afterwards assassinated in the streets of his own capital,
was what is called an “enlightened monarch,” and he wrote a book about
his Western travels. At the time he visited Glasgow he was the guest of
the Duke of Montrose. In the City he was taken first to the Council
Chamber, where an exchange of compliments took place between His
Oriental Majesty and the Lord Provost. After that he was conveyed to the
Corporation Galleries, where a large party sat down with him to lunch.
Prince Malcom Khan acted as interpreter of the formal speeches, but as
for the conversation at lunch, so far as I remember noticing, there was
nothing very animated. It is just possible that Sir James King had
learned the Persian for “good,” “bad,” and “middling,” pronouncing these
words emphatically or interrogatively to his guests on either hand as
the various dishes came round. Even a Lord Provost can’t get up an
entire Oriental language for only one occasion, but three words properly
applied go a long way in making one’s self agreeable to an Asiatic
Monarch.
[Illustration:
The Boy at Luncheon
The Shah’s Reply in the Council Chamber
Presentation of Consuls
Prince Malcom Khan wonders how it will come in English
Sir James Marwick
Sir John McNeill
The Duke and Duchess of Montrose
Sir H. Drummond Wolff
The Shah prees the Soup
The Grand Vizier
The Fair Beauty and the Dark Ones]
FIRST COUNCIL MEETING IN THE NEW CHAMBERS
IN September 1888, when Queen Victoria had an Address presented to her
in the courtyard of the new buildings, Her Majesty’s reply concluded
with these words, “I gladly inaugurate these noble Municipal Buildings,
which are worthy of the ancient renown and modern prosperity of your
great city.” It was not for more than a year afterwards that this first
Council meeting was held under the palatial roof. Sir James King, we
see, is still Chief Magistrate, but Lord Provost John Muir is not far
off.
[Illustration:
A Few Councillors
Deacon-Convener Mason
Lord Dean of Guild Ure
Some Magistrates]
A CITY BALL
AND here is Lord Provost Muir taking advantage, in February 1891, of the
splendid possibilities of the new chambers for purposes of reception and
entertainment, possibilities that have been amply demonstrated by Sir
John Muir’s successors in office.
[Illustration:
Dowagers in the Gallery
In the Supper-Rooms
The Refreshment-Room
The Ball-Room
The Reception Room
Arrival of _The Bailie_]
SHUNA
THIS western isle, two-and-a-half miles by one-and-a-quarter, one
hundred acres being arable land, has belonged since 1829 to Glasgow,
having been presented by James Yates, a native of the city. Few
opportunities have been taken by the Corporation of visiting this twig
of the civic tree, though now and again a small deputation has inspected
the island. On the 7th of August 1890, a large party of the Council and
their friends went by special train to Oban, where Bailie John Neil had
placed his steam-yacht _Myrtle_ at their disposal for the voyage to
Shuna and back, a matter of two hours each way. It was a perfect day
among the islands, one of those days that make the lot of even a Glasgow
Magistrate a not unhappy one, one of those summer days that it is always
pleasant to recall.
On the island a ten-months-old baby was waiting to be christened, no
minister having been on Shuna earlier in the infant’s career. The
ceremony was performed by Dr. Edgar and Mr. Milligan, two clergymen who
were of the municipal party. It was a proud quarter of an hour for the
young shepherd and his wife, the parents, and the hat which was passed
round obtained a substantial tocher for Mary Ann Myrtle, as the child
had been named.
[Illustration:
The “Myrtle”
Farewell to Shuna
Our Yachting Host and Hostesses
The Christening Party
The Shuna Mother and the Shuna Mite
Rev Dr. Edgar
The Font
The “Tocher” for the Bairn
The Tenant of Shuna and the Lord Provost’s Goatskin
The Lord Provost’s Studious Boys]
JOHN BRIGHT, LORD RECTOR
THIS is the most remote historical event recorded in our collection. The
22nd of March 1883, was the day on which a great audience crowded St.
Andrew’s Hall to hear John Bright deliver his address as Lord Rector of
the University. This address, which I daresay had a good deal of the
“Little England” element in it, is memorable chiefly for the speaker’s
earnest appeal on behalf of the wretched poor, and one remembers its
impressive simplicity of eloquence as perhaps the finest example of
platform oratory it has ever been one’s lot to hear, even as the
utterances of Principal John Caird live in the memory as being among the
most eloquent ever delivered from the pulpit.
As Mr. Bright was emphasising one of his points he struck the mace in
front of him and its head gave way. This was promptly replaced by Mr.
Janitor Macpherson with one of his benignant smiles amid the howls of
the delighted students.
Among the “new LL.D.s” in the sketch may be observed Mr. Henry
Campbell-Bannerman, then a less prominent figure in the public eye than,
as Sir Henry, he is in these later days.
[Illustration:
Mr. Chas. Tennant M.P.
Lord Rosebery
Professor Roberton
IN THE CITY HALL
A NEW LL.D.
The New Burgess
The Town Clerk
The Very Rev. the Principal
THE LORD PROVOST
Doffing the Rectorial Robe before beginning the Address
“I am an entire Stranger to University Life”
“I plead for these Millions”
Off with its Head--So much for Birmingham
More new LL.D.s]
THE BUTE HALL
THE opening of this hall--named after its donor--in the University took
place on the evening of 1st February 1884. Principal Caird in his robes
received the guests in the Randolph Hall before they spread themselves
over the floors and galleries of the larger apartment and penetrated to
the museum. Everybody who had any claim to wear academic robes had put
them on, and the effect as a whole was awe-inspiring, especially to
those who felt comparatively unclothed in ordinary evening dress.
I have not been in the Bute Hall for many a day, but the one-and-twenty
years that have passed since the opening night have removed most of the
faces that may be recognised in the sketch and must have toned down the
walls and fittings, whose newness was the occasion of this reception,
giving something of a suitable air of antiquity to that part of the
ancient seat of learning.
[Illustration:
IN THE MUSEUM ANCIENTS AND MODERNS
RECEPTION IN THE RANDOLPH HALL]
EDMUND LUSHINGTON, LORD RECTOR
THE venerable Professor Lushington was made Lord Rector on strictly
non-political and purely academic grounds. It was a personal compliment
on the part of the University in which he had so long held a chair, as
gracefully bestowed as it was graciously accepted. Professor
Lushington--one must make the inevitable reference to his being
brother-in-law of Tennyson, who had “said things” about him in
verse--was the first to deliver a Rectorial address in the Bute Hall.
His address cannot have been heard by many beyond his immediate
vicinity. The voice of the aged Lord Rector was more than usually
feeble, the students were more than usually noisy, and even the hint
that Sir William Thomson (now Lord Kelvin) quite evidently gave the
speaker produced little improvement.
The wooden doll furtively placed under the reading-desk was of course a
cause of some merriment. An umbrella wielded by the Janitor brought it
down, but I never heard who retained the toy as a souvenir.
[Illustration:
The dear old delightful University Custom
Sufferers
“Order Gentlemen!”
A Hint from Sir Wm. Thomson
Exit]
A RECTORIAL ELECTION
IN 1887, when Lord Rosebery and Lord Lytton were the candidates put
forward for the chair of Lord Rector, the Liberal candidate had a
majority of twenty-two votes overhead, but he had a majority in only two
of the Nations. As Lord Lytton had also a majority in two of the
Nations, the result was a draw, and the Chancellor of the University,
Lord Stair, gave his casting-vote in favour of the Conservative
candidate. Thus it came about that in the autumn of 1888 Lord Lytton, as
Lord Rector, addressed the students in the Bute Hall. As shown in the
frontispiece the amenities of the position were much as usual.
At the next election on Saturday, the 15th of November 1890, the
candidates were Mr. A. J. Balfour and Lord Aberdeen, the former being
returned by a large majority after the customary hilarious proceedings
on the summit of Gilmorehill.
[Illustration:
Voters for ABERDEEN TO EXTINGUISH “YELP”
VOTE VOTE
Voters for “BALFOUR THE MOST DISTINGUISHED LIVING SCOTSMAN”
PEASE MEAL
Equipped
A “NATION” awaiting the Result
A Tree Episode
NATIO TRANSFORTHANA
Quad-Wranglers
Where some of the pease meal went
A Prof’s Representatives]
BAZAAR IN THE UNIVERSITY
THE Earl of Stair, supported by the Principal and Senatus of the
University and by the Lord Provost and magistrates of the city, opened
the Bazaar with due impressiveness. Thereafter one’s pockets were not
safe and much coin changed hands in the Bute and Randolph Halls. I
forget how much was realised--something in tens of thousands, I
think--enough, at any rate, to make the Students’ Union a proud body.
[Illustration:
Piscatorial
Café Chantant
Speculative
Reflective
Feline
The Stray Child
Stall “Victoria”
Lord Stair’s Opening Address]
THE ROYAL EXCHANGE
A SKETCH made in March 1887. There are some portraits here of city men
that may be recognised by those who knew the frequenters of the Exchange
eighteen years ago. I cannot myself venture to label any, for though
several of the figures are familiar to my recollection, their names
escape me.
[Illustration:
LIST OF OWNERS
IRON MARKETS
The Iron Ring
Some Other Ring
Current Events
Personages
In the Reading-Room]
CORN EXCHANGE
HERE, also, are presumptive portraits of that period; an ex-Lord Provost
in the person of Mr. John Ure, a coming Lord Provost in the person of
his nephew, now Sir John Ure Primrose, Mr. G. W. Clark and his son, Mr.
David Clark, Mr. Mitchell Smith, Mr. Archibald Robertson, and Bailie
Dunlop. The boy carrying samples up the stairs may be a merchant prince
now, for aught I know. I hope he is.
[Illustration:
GLASGOW
CORNCOBS & Co.]
AT THE CIRCUIT COURT
THE respectable-looking old gentleman in the dock, and the
Saltmarket-seeming lady by his side, were accused--and doubtless
convicted--of stealing watches in a most systematic and persistent
manner from unwary citizens such as “the deaf witness,” or “one who was
robbed,” or any watch-possessing person who came within their iniquitous
radius.
[Illustration:
The Oath
The Communicative Witness
The Nervous Witness
The Deaf Witness
The Intelligent Jury
LORD MACLAREN
The Smart Detective Witness
The Indictment
One who was robbed
Counsel for the Defence
Counsel for the Prosecution
The Prisoners]
THE MITCHELL LIBRARY
THESE sketches were made on a Saturday afternoon in April 1885, in the
first premises occupied by the Mitchell Library, where accommodation was
somewhat limited, and where the odours of cheese, ham, and other
provisions excellent in their way, arose from the warehouses over which
the library had found a temporary home.
The readers are certainly a mixed lot, and more or less picturesque,
even as are those of the more exclusive Reading-room of the British
Museum. Those who stroll in just to pass the time are easily
distinguishable from those who come for purposes of study.
[Illustration:
Dispensing Volumes
Making their Choice
Youthful Avidity
“The Illustrated London News”
Enough
Too Much
Nota Bene
A Pamphlet
Among the Periodicals
Clean Hands
“The Art Journal”]
GLASGOW GREEN
THIS is the Green on a Sunday evening, when various strange people with
an out-of-the-way “mission,” or a desire for debate, can find scope for
their eloquence or their arguments, and can make a reputation of a sort.
It is a cheap and satisfying entertainment, and is fully taken advantage
of both by speakers and by listeners, mainly on Sundays, but on
Saturdays also and on other fine summer’s evenings.
[Illustration:
Evangelism
A Demolisher of Romanism
A Card Party
A Few Words on Land Restoration
An “Anglo-Israelite” and his Opponent
Protestantism versus Popery
Teetotalism]
THE BOTANIC GARDENS
THE Band and Pipers of the 93rd Highlanders play. It is a radiant
evening in August. There is a glamour over the scene--under the dome of
the “Kibble,” or out on the lawn, or among the shrubberies--that is
restful and not of the city. Let us not disturb it by attempted
description.
[Illustration:
CHILDREN NOT ADMITTED
UNLESS ACCOMPANIED
BY THEIR
PARENTS OR GUARDIANS
At the Conservatory Door
“This is the Forest Primeval”
A Dryad
Training for the Navy
Active Juvenile Specimens
Specimens of the _Homo_ _Longus_
Dusk]
GLASGOW PARLIAMENTARY ASSOCIATION
IT met in the ex-church known as Waterloo Rooms, and was presided over
by Mr. John Turnbull, Jr., in evening dress. It would not be safe for me
to reveal the real names of the members, who were known only by that of
the constituencies they were supposed to represent; but I may say that
the picturesque “member for Durham” was Mr. Craibe Angus, whose interest
in artists and poets, as well as in politicians, was well known.
[Illustration:
The Speaker and the Deputy Speaker
For Norwich
For Hereford
The Leader of the Liberal Party
For Exeter
For Pontefract
For West Belfast
For the Universities
For Bethnal-Green
The Member for Durham
The Member for Preston]
THE CROFTERS’ COMMISSION
THIS was in the Justices’ Court-House on the 19th of October, 1883,
after the Commission, a goodly array of Scottish names, had been for
some months touring the Highlands and islands. The result of its
deliberations has long been public property. I remember it was an
interesting and interested audience that gathered to hear the evidence
given in Glasgow. One venerable witness, with a long white beard, on
being asked his age gave it as “forty.” Lord Napier seemed surprised.
“Forty?” he questioned incredulously. “Well, _about_ forty,” replied the
ancient-looking man, apparently resenting any more searching inquiry as
to his antiquity.
The “Father of the Glasgow Press” introduced in the sketch was Mr. J. G.
Temple of the _Mail_, whose death took place something like twenty years
after this date.
[Illustration:
SHERIFF NICOLSON
SIR KENNETH MACKENZIE
LORD NAPIER
MR. MACNEILL
LOCHIEL
MR. FRASER MACKINTOSH M.P.
PROFESSOR MACKINNON
The Poetess Of SKYE
Under Examination
More or less interested
The Father of the GLASGOW Press
He admitted that he was “about forty”
Prospective Witnesses]
THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY
ON the 1st and 3rd of October, 1884, were held two meetings, here rolled
into one, with Lord Salisbury as chief speaker, and the whole local
strength of the Conservative party backing him. At that time leader of
the Opposition, Lord Salisbury was received with much enthusiasm in
Glasgow--then not a Conservative city by any means--an enthusiasm said
to have been greater than that accorded Lord Beaconsfield when he
appeared as the University’s Lord Rector several years previously.
Lord Salisbury was the guest of the laird of Blythswood, who was
chairman at one of these meetings, the Duke of Montrose presiding at the
other.
[Illustration:
Supporters
Sir Archd. Campbell
Mr. Pearce
Mr. Shaw Stewart
The Duke of Montrose
Lord Balfour of Burleigh
Lord Lothian
Lord Elcho
“It is a horrible tale of desertion committed by the British
Government.”
Mr. Jas. Sommervell of Sorn
Lord Kintore
Lord Salisbury--“I only warn you to be watchful”
Lord Dalkeith
Mr. J. H. A. MacDonald MP
Sir John Dalrymple Hay
The Front Row
Ready writers
Mr. McAllister
Conservative Working-men--
Mr. McManus]
MR. JOSEPH CHAMBERLAIN
THE Chamberlain demonstration took place in St. Andrew’s Hall in
September 1885. It was a different Mr. Chamberlain in those days from
that known in the political world of to-day. He is referred to in the
’eighties as “St. Joseph of the Caucus and the abomination of the
Conservatives.” At that period wasn’t Mr. Chamberlain touring with an
“unauthorised programme”--something about Old Age Pensions, Workmen’s
Compensation, and Three Acres and a Cow? Of course in Glasgow he had a
tremendous and fascinated audience. Mr. Gilbert Beith, a Member of
Parliament two months or so later, was chairman.
[Illustration:
Mr. Cunningham Graham of Gartmore
Mr. E. R. Russell
Mr. B. F. C. Costelloe
Dr. Cameron M.P.
“There is Something rotten in our system”
“I don’t want to quarrel with the _Times_”
Sir Wm. Collins
Sir Charles and his Guest
Mr. Campbell of Tulliechewan
The Chairman Mr. Gilbert Beith
Thos. Russell M.P.]
LORD GEORGE HAMILTON
LORD George, who was then First Lord of the Admiralty, followed close on
Mr. Chamberlain’s heels in Glasgow, and I read that the way in which he
dealt with Mr. Chamberlain’s “newly-fledged claims to be a Christian
Philanthropist” was exceedingly happy. Lord George had not dressed for
the occasion, and some people may have thought this evinced an
aristocratic disregard for appearances, but it was really owing to the
fact that the portmanteau containing his evening clothes had gone
astray.
[Illustration:
The Chairman
Mr. James Somervell of Sorn
“I can not believe in hustings philanthropy”
“Gentlemen, Our position is peculiar”
Mr. J. N. Cuthbertson
Mr. W. C. Maughan
G.H.
Lord George’s Dress-Suit Which got lost by the way
Lord Kintore
The Mistress of Blythswood
The Lord Advocate.
The First Lord of the Admiralty being introduced
The Solicitor-General]
A LIBERAL MEETING
BETWEEN this date, December 1885, and that of the meeting last recorded,
a General Election had taken place and the Liberal party was able to
telegraph, after the counting of votes, “Glasgow’s message to Mr.
Gladstone--‘we are seven.’” This meeting, over which Lord Rosebery
presided, making one of his brilliant and witty speeches, was supposed
to welcome the seven. Only two put in an appearance, Mr. Gilbert Beith
and Mr. Mitchell Henry. There were plenty of speakers, however, as one
may see from the opposite page.
[Illustration:
Mr. Craig Sellar M.P.
Sir Wm. Collins
Mr. James Campbell
Mr. James Caldwell
“That is the beginning and that is the end of the Conservative
Reaction”
Lord Rosebery
Mr. Stephen Mason M.P.
“The Liberals in Scotland would have a compact opposition of Six”
Mr. Mitchell Henry M.P.
Mr. Campbell Bannerman M.P.
Mr. Gilbert Beith M.P.
Mr. Wm. Jacks M.P.]
WILLIAM EWART GLADSTONE
IN June 1886 the constituencies were again upturned by a General
Election, Mr. Gladstone having decided to go to the country on the Irish
Home Rule question. The Prime Minister, full of his new scheme, poured
forth his eloquence in Edinburgh and Glasgow, Edinburgh naturally having
a double share. It was at one of his Edinburgh meetings in the Music
Hall that I first noticed that Mr. Gladstone’s left hand was minus the
forefinger.
I ought to make some excuse for putting what is really an Edinburgh
drawing into a book about Glasgow, so I beg to plead Mr. Gladstone’s
fascinating personality and my desire to give Edinburgh this little bit
of a show. She very kindly allowed Mr. Gladstone to come to Glasgow for
our edification.
[Illustration:
A Grand Young Woman
Mr. Goschen’s Opponent, Dr. Wallace
On the Edinburgh Platform
Just Stewards
Mrs. Childers
Lady Aberdeen
Mr. John Cowan of Beeslack
The Home Secretary / and his Daughter
“I am not prepared to consent to the repeal of the Union”
“--an extract on the subject from Mr. Fox”
Listening for an Adversary’s Argument
The Source of Eloquence]
MR. GLADSTONE IN GLASGOW
THE meeting was held in Hengler’s Circus. At one part of his speech Mr.
Gladstone wished to read a quotation from Burke, but “the lift grew
black” temporarily, and it was impossible to see the words on the paper.
Mr. Gilbert Beith and Sir Charles Tennant stood by and made noble effort
to lend the aid afforded by a box of matches. The quotation being a
rather extended one demanded more than this fleeting illumination. But
the fortunate arrival of some candles saved the situation, and indeed
well-meaning candles kept coming on to the platform long after full
justice had been done to the words of Mr. Burke.
[Illustration:
“Glasgow will make true and solid work in the Liberal Cause”
The Great MacDougal
Rev. George Gladstone
Mouthpieces
Mr. Gilbert Beith
Sir C. Tennant in a striking attitude
“That question is not ripe”
A Match for Gladstone!
“What said Mr. Burke on the Subject?”
The Old Man’s Guiding Star
“Lord Hartington has assisted me to make _no_ further advance”]
LORD HARTINGTON
THEN was the birth of the Unionist Party. Within a few days after Mr.
Gladstone’s meeting came the Marquess of Hartington (now Duke of
Devonshire), whose calm judgment and deliberate manner made a good
impression and had a considerable effect on the result of the elections
in Glasgow as in other places. The seven Unionist Candidates were on the
platform with Lord Hartington, and of these, three were returned as
members--Mr. Baird, Mr. Corbett and Mr. Caldwell.
[Illustration:
Sir Wm. Thomson
Lord Ribblesdale
Mr. James Grahame
Provost. Browne
Mr. Bennet Burleigh
The Unionist Septemvirate
Mr. Cameron Corbett M.P.
Mr. R. Vary Campbell
Mr. James Caldwell
Mr. Colin Mackenzie
Mr. G. A. Baird
Mr. Mitchell Henry M.P.
“The Liberal Party will not, and cannot die”
“Has the record of the Prime Minister been one of unvarying
consistency?”
The Marquis of Hartington
Sir Edward Colebrooke, Chairman]
THE EARL OF ABERDEEN
THIS I find described as a Separatist Demonstration and dull as
ditch-water. And yet surely there must have been something worth
listening to provided by Lord Aberdeen and the other speakers here
portrayed. Somebody may be able to recall the speeches; I can’t. I do
remember that all Professor Henry Drummond did was to propose a vote of
thanks to the chairman.
[Illustration:
Dr. Cameron M.P.
Mr. Gilbert Beith
An Irish Deputation
Professor Henry Drummond
The Earl of Aberdeen
Mr. A. Illingworth M.P.
Mr. J. B. Balfour M.P.
Rev. Geo. Gladstone
Mr. T. Glen Coats
Lady Aberdeen
The Earl of Elgin
Mr. A. Macdougall
Mr. Alexander Asher M.P.
Rev. Professor Lindsay]
INTERESTING STRANGERS--VARIED
THE sad-looking Mr. Michael Davitt had for his chairman Mr. John
Ferguson, who arrived in the hall before the speaker of the evening, and
assured the audience that Mr. Davitt would follow immediately. “I left
him,” said Mr. Ferguson, “just finishing his tea.”
It was Henry George who wrote “Progress and Poverty” and who was called
the Apostle of Land Reform. As to the identity of his chairman when he
lectured in Glasgow I have only a vague idea.
We have here also M. Paul Blouet, known as “Max O’Rell,” lecturing in
his charming way under the auspices of the Sunday Society; Professor
Arminius Vambéry, of Buda Pesth, the famous traveller, lecturing in the
Berkeley Hall to the members and friends of the then recently formed
Scottish Geographical Society; the Claimant, a melancholy man who had
done his term in Dartmoor prison, and whose Chairman was Mr. James
Martin, one of the quaintest of Glasgow Town Councillors, and a firm
believer that this and no other was “the real Sir Roger.” And then here
is dear old George Macdonald and his family in their quaint and simple
rendering of the “Pilgrim’s Progress,” with no attempt at realistic
scenery as a background, but which had, with the appropriately
decorative curtains hung round, the effect of a mediæval picture.
On the day that I read the proof of the foregoing sentences came the
announcement of the death of George Macdonald on the 18th of September
at the age of eighty-one.
[Illustration:
Chairman Ferguson
MICHAEL DAVITT
Scottish Land Restoration
The Youngest Pilgrim
DR. GEORGE MACDONALD AND FAMILY IN THE PILGRIM’S PROGRESS PART 2.
MERCY
CHRISTIANA
PRUDENCE
GREATHEART
LAND REFORM
HENRY GEORGE
MAX O’RELL ON JOHN BULL AND JACQUES BON HOMME
PROFESSOR ARMINIUS VAMBERY
Sir Roger Tichborne, Baronet?
“That Friend of the people The Master of Works”]
HENRY WARD BEECHER
IT was in the end of August 1886 that the venerable Henry Ward Beecher
came to Glasgow, on his farewell tour of this country. In Elgin Place
Congregational Church he preached on a Sunday on “The Essence of
Christianity,” and on the Monday following, in St. Andrew’s Hall, he
delivered his lecture on “The Reign of the Common People,” which was
said to be one of the best examples of the reverend orator’s vigorous
style. On the platform with him were Dr. Joseph Parker, Rev. Albert
Goodrich, Rev. W. Howie Wylie, and others.
[Illustration:
Rev. Dr. Parker
Rev. A. Goodrich
Dr. W. G. Blackie Chairman
“The only time of my ministry that I ever saw the whole of my audience
asleep”
“When a lion eats an ox, does the _lion_ become _ox_? No, the ox
becomes LION.”
Rev. Henry Ward Beecher]
GLASGOW JURIDICAL SOCIETY
THE Hon. E. J. Phelps delivered an address to this Society in the
Queen’s Rooms in the autumn of ’88--a lawyer speaking to lawyers from a
platform where representatives of wisdom and learning jostled each
other. Mr. Phelps was the successor of James Russell Lowell as American
Ambassador to this country.
[Illustration:
Sir Michael Connal
Impressions from the Platform
Sheriff Murray
Sheriff Berry
“In the oft-quoted words of one of them, the American lawyer ‘worked
hard, lived well and died poor’”
Listening to Sheriff Murray
His Excellency]
INSTITUTE OF THE FINE ARTS
AT the opening of the Exhibition of 1885, Sir Peter Coats signalised his
presidency of the Institute by giving a banquet among the pictures. That
the guests were of a thoroughly representative character may be gathered
from the sketch.
[Illustration:
Col. Mathieson
“The Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts”
Prof. Jebb
The Clergy
Mr. John Ure
Dr. Donald Macleod
“The Universities”
Prof. Gairdner
Sheriff Cowan
Two Song Birds
J. D. Taylor Gw. Art Club
“Houses of Parliament”
Mr. John Burns
Stewart Clark M.P.
The Genial Host
Francis Powell RWS
Colin Hunter ARA.
“The Literature of Scotland”
Dr. James Brown
“The Royal Academy ??” Mr. J. Forbes White
Robt. Herdman RSA
Dr. Walter C. Smith
The Croupier Mr. D. E. Outram]
PEOPLE AT THE PICTURES
THE quietness of an ordinary afternoon is the best time to see pictures,
but there’s something pleasant in wandering round an exhibition in the
evening, when by artificial light, if it is good, many pictures seem to
have an added charm. To look at pictures in an environment of musical
promenade is practically impossible, so one is better to give one’s self
up to the music and the crowd.
[Illustration:
“Three fine women Uncle Charlie! Eh!”
Visitors by Daylight
“The Sisters”
Explanatory
Official
The Mosaic Jetsam
Skywards gazing
SHOW YOUR TICKET
Analytical
Clerical
Visitors by Gaslight (A Musical Monday)]
ARTISTS AND THEIR FRIENDS
THE Exhibition of the Scottish Water Colour Society (to give it its
colloquial title) for 1884 was opened as usual by a luncheon party.
Notable among the guests were Mr. (now Sir Laurence) Alma-Tadema, whose
first appearance it was in Glasgow, and Mr. J. L. Toole, whose first
appearance it wasn’t--by a very long way.
Here also is a dinner of the Fine Arts Institute to open the exhibition
of 1886 and a sketch strayed from the record of another luncheon of the
Water Colour Society, of Sir William Fettes Douglas, who died in 1891.
[Illustration:
Mr. J. G. Whyte
The Secy.
Mr. Muir
Mr. Outram
Mr. Hugh Cameron RSA
Mr. W. E. Lockhart RSA
Dr. Chas. Blatherwick
Mr. Jas. H. Stoddart
Mr. J. L. Toole
Mr. Wm. McTaggart RSA
Mr. Robt. Herdman RSA
Mr. John Smart RSA
Mr. Francis Powell RWS President SSWCP
Mr. L. Alma-Tadema RA
A LUNCHEON OF THE SCOTTISH SOCIETY OF PAINTERS IN WATER-COLOUR.
Mr. Wicks
Mr. J. E. Christie “Tam o’ Shanter”
The Secretary
The Sheriff
Mr. Muir
Mr. James Reid
Col. Mathieson
Mr. Wm. McTaggart RSA
Professor Jebb
Mr. Francis Powell RWS
Mr. D. E. Outram Chairman
Mr. F. H. Underwood
Mr. John MacWhirter A.R.A
Mr. Andrew Maxwell
A DINNER OF THE INSTITUTE OF THE FINE ARTS.
SIR WM. FETTES DOUGLAS PRSA]
AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE
THE Scottish Society of Painters in Water Colour, not then called Royal,
prepared as an offering to Queen Victoria at the Jubilee in 1887, a huge
album containing a drawing from each member. The deputation who had the
honour of delivering it to her Majesty consisted of the President, Mr.
(now Sir) Francis Powell, Mr. Colin Hunter, Mr. Joseph Henderson, and
myself. On the 22nd of June, the day after the great Jubilee procession,
we attended at Buckingham Palace. Our little present had been sent on
previously, and we found it placed on a table in the Picture Gallery in
a row of other gifts, that of the Old Water Colour Society, for
instance, whose deputation was headed by Sir John Gilbert; next us stood
the deputation from a Ladies’ Art Society, and somewhere in the line we
noticed a gift of boots and shoes.