While here in Aberdeen I received a very odd letter, so peculiar and
curious that I will give you the benefit of it. The author appears to
be, in his way, a kind of Christopher in his cave, or Timon of Athens. I
omit some parts which are more expressive than agreeable. It is dated
"STONEHAVEN, N.B., Kincardineshire, }
57° N.W. This 21st April, 1853. }
"To MRS. HARRIET B. STOWE:--
"My dear Madam: By the time that this gets your length, the fouk o'
Aberdeen will be shewin ye off as a rare animal, just arrived frae
America; the wife that writ Uncle Tom's Cabin.
"I wad like to see ye mysel, but I canna win for want o' siller,
and as I thought ye might be writin a buke about the Scotch when ye
get hame, I hae just sent ye this bit auld key to Sawney's Cabin.
"Well then, dinna forget to speer at the Aberdeenians if it be true
they ance kidnappet little laddies, and selt them for slaves; that
they dang down the Quaker's kirkyard dyke, and houket up dead
Quakers out o' their graves; that the young boys at the college
printed a buke, and maist naebody wad buy it, and they cam out to
Ury, near Stonehaven, and took twelve stots frae Davie Barclay to
pay the printer.
"Dinna forget to speer at ----, if it was true that he flogget
three laddies in the beginning o' last year, for the three
following crimes: first, for the crime of being born of puir,
ignorant parents; second, for the crime of being left in
ignorance; and, third, for the crime of having nothing to eat.
"Dinna be telling when ye gang hame that ye rode on the Aberdeen
railway, made by a hundred men, who were all in the Stonehaven
prison for drunkenness; nor above five could sign their names.
"If the Scotch kill ye with ower feeding and making speeches, be
sure to send this hame to tell your fouk, that it was Queen
Elizabeth who made the first European law to buy and sell human
beings like brute beasts. She was England's glory as a Protestant,
and Scotland's shame as the murderer of their bonnie Mary. The auld
hag skulked away like a coward in the hour of death. Mary, on the
other hand, with calmness and dignity, repeated a Latin prayer to
the Great Spirit and Author of her being, and calmly resigned
herself into the hands of her murderers.
"In the capital of her ancient kingdom, when ye are in our country,
there are eight hundred women, sent to prison every year for the
first time. Of fifteen thousand prisoners examined in Scotland in
the year 1845, eight thousand could not write at all, and three
thousand could not read.
"At present there are about twenty thousand prisoners in Scotland.
In Stonehaven they are fed at about seventeen pounds each,
annually. The honest poor, outside the prison upon the parish roll,
are fed at the rate of five farthings a day, or two pounds a year.
The employment of the prisoners is grinding the wind, we ca' it;
turning the crank, in plain English. The latest improvement is the
streekin board; it's a whig improvement o' Lord Jonnie Russell's.
"I ken brawly ye are a curious wife, and would like to ken a' about
the Scotch bodies. Weel, they are a gay, ignorant, proud, drunken
pack; they manage to pay ilka year for whuskey one million three
hundred and forty-eight thousand pounds.
"But then their piety, their piety; weel, let's luke at it; hing it
up by the nape o' the neck, and turn it round atween our finger and
thumb on all sides.
"Is there one school in all Scotland where the helpless, homeless
poor are fed and clothed at the public expense? None.
"Is there a hame in all Scotland for the cleanly but sick servant
maid to go till, until health be restored? Alas! there is none.
"Is there a school in all Scotland for training ladies in the
higher branches of learning? None. What then is there for the women
of Scotland?
* * * * *
"A weel, be sure and try a cupful of Scottish Kail Broase. See, and
get a sup Scotch _lang milk_.
"Hand this bit line yout to the Rev. Mr. ----. Tell him to store
out fats nae true.
"God bless you, and set you safe hame, is the prayer of the old
Scotch Bachelor."
I think you will agree with me, that the old testifying spirit does not
seem to have died out in Scotland, and that the backslidings and
abominations of the land do not want for able exponents.
As the indictment runs back to the time of Charles II., to the
persecutions of the Quakers in the days of Barclay of Ury, and brings up
again the most modern offences, one cannot but feel that there are the
most savory indications in it of Scotch thoroughness.
Some of the questions which he wishes to have me "_speer_" at Aberdeen,
I fear, alas! would bring but an indifferent answer even in Boston,
which gives a high school only to boys, and allows none to girls. On one
point, it seems to me, my friend might speer himself to advantage, and
that is the very commendable efforts which are being made now in
Edinburgh and Aberdeen both, in the way of educating the children of the
poor.
As this is one of the subjects which are particularly on my mind, and as
all information which we can get upon this subject is peculiarly
valuable to us in view of commencing efforts in America, I will abridge
for you an account of the industrial schools of Aberdeen, published by
the society for improving the condition of the laboring classes, in
their paper called the Laborer's Friend.
In June, 1841, it was ascertained that in Aberdeen there were two
hundred and eighty children, under fourteen years of age, who maintained
themselves professedly by begging, but partly by theft. The first effort
to better the moral condition of these children brought with it the
discovery which our philanthropists made in New York, that in order to
do good to a starving child, we must begin by feeding him; that we must
gain his confidence by showing him a benevolence which he can
understand, and thus proceed gradually to the reformation of his
spiritual nature.
In 1841, therefore, some benevolent individuals in Aberdeen hired rooms
and a teacher, and gave out notice among these poor children that they
could there be supplied with food, work, and instruction. The general
arrangement of the day was four hours of lessons, five hours of work,
and three substantial meals. These meals were employed as the incitement
to the lessons and the work, since it was made an indispensable
condition to each meal that the child should have been present at the
work or lessons which preceded it. This arrangement worked admirably; so
that they reported that the attendance was more regular than at ordinary
schools.
The whole produce of the work of the children goes towards defraying the
expense of the establishment, thus effecting several important
purposes,--reducing the expense of the school, and teaching the
children, practically, the value of their industry,--in procuring for
them food and instruction, and fostering in them, from the first, a
sound principle of self-dependence; inasmuch as they know, from the
moment of their entering school, that they give, or pay, in return for
their food and education, all the work they are capable of performing.
The institution did not profess to clothe the children; but by the
kindness of benevolent persons who take an interest in the school, there
is generally a stock of old clothes on hand, from which the most
destitute are supplied.
The following is the daily routine of the school: The scholars assemble
every morning at seven in summer, and eight in winter. The school is
opened by reading the Scriptures, praise, and prayer, and religious
instruction suited to their years; after which there is a lesson in
geography, or the more ordinary facts of natural history, taught by
means of maps and prints distributed along the walls of the school room;
two days in the week they have a singing lesson; at nine they breakfast
on porridge and milk, and have half an hour of play; at ten they again
assemble in school, and are employed at work till two. At two o'clock
they dine; usually on broth, with coarse wheaten bread, but occasionally
on potatoes and ox-head soup, &c. The diet is very plain, but nutritious
and abundant, and appears to suit the tastes of the pupils completely.
It is a pleasing sight to see them assembled, with their youthful
appetites sharpened by four hours' work, joining, at least with outward
decorum, in asking God's blessing on the food he has provided for them,
and most promptly availing themselves of the signal given to commence
their dinner.
From dinner till three, the time is spent in exercise or recreation,
occasionally working in the garden; from three to four, they work either
in the garden or in the work room; from four till seven, they are
instructed in reading, writing, and arithmetic. At seven they have
supper of porridge and milk; and after short religious exercises, are
dismissed to their homes at eight.
On Saturday, they do not return to school after dinner; and
occasionally, as a reward of good behavior, they accompany the teacher
in a walk to the country or the sea coast.
On Sunday, they assemble at half past eight for devotion; breakfast at
nine; attend worship in the school room; after which they dine, and
return home, so as, if possible, to go with their parents to church in
the afternoon.
At five they again meet, and have _Sabbath school_ instruction in Bible
and catechism; at seven, supper; and after evening worship are
dismissed.
From this detail it will be seen that these schools differ from common
day schools. In day schools, neither food nor employment is
provided--teaching only is proposed, with a very little moral training.
The principle on which the industrial school proceeds, of giving
employment along with instruction--especially as that employment is
designed at the same time, if possible, to teach a trade which may be
afterwards available--appears of the highest value. It is a practical
discipline--a moral training, the importance of which cannot be
over-estimated.
In a common school, too, there can be but little moral training, however
efficiently the school may be conducted, just because there is little
opportunity given for the development and display of individual
character. The whole management of a school requires that the pupils be
as speedily as possible brought to a uniform outward conduct, and thus
an appearance of good behavior and propriety is produced within the
school room, which is too often cast aside and forgotten the moment the
pupils pass the threshold.
The remark was once made by an experienced teacher, that for the
purposes of moral training he valued more the time he spent with his
pupils at their games, than that which was spent in the school room.
The pecuniary value of the work done in these schools is not so great as
was at first hoped, from the difficulty of procuring employment such as
children so neglected could perform to advantage. The real value of the
thing, however, they consider lies in the habits of industry and the
sense of independence thus imparted.
At the outset the managers of the school regretted extremely their want
of ability to furnish lodgings to the children. It was thought and said
that the homes, to which the majority of them were obliged to return
after school hours, would deprave faster than any instruction could
reform. Fortunately it was impossible, at the time, to provide lodging
for the children, and thus an experience was wrought out most valuable
to all future laborers in this field.
The managers report that after six years' trial, the instances where
evil results from the children returning home, are very rare; while
there have been most cheering instances of substantial good being
carried by the child, from the school, through the whole family. There
are few parents, especially mothers, so abandoned as not to be touched
by kindness shown to their offspring. It is the direct road to the
mother's heart. Show kindness to her child, and she is prepared at once
to second your efforts on its behalf. She must be debased, indeed, who
will not listen to her child repeating its text from the Bible, or
singing a verse of its infant hymn; and by this means the first seeds of
a new life may be, and have been, planted in the parent's heart.
In cases where parents are so utterly depraved as to make it entirely
hopeless to reform the child at home, they have found it the best course
to board them, two or three together, in respectable families; the
influences of the family state being held to be essential.
The success which attended the boys' school of industry soon led to the
establishment of one for girls, conducted on the same principles; and it
is stated that the change wrought among poor, outcast girls, by these
means, was even more striking and gratifying than among the boys.
After these schools had been some time in operation, it was discovered
that there were still multitudes of depraved children who could not or
did not avail themselves of these privileges. It was determined by the
authorities of the city of Aberdeen, in conformity with the Scripture
injunction, to go out into the highways and hedges and _compel_ them to
come in. Under the authority of the police act they proposed to lay hold
of the whole of the juvenile vagrants, and provide them with food and
instruction.
Instructions were given to the police, on the 19th of May, 1845, to
convey every child found begging to the soup kitchen; and, in the course
of the day, seventy-five were collected, of whom four only could read.
The scene which ensued is indescribable. Confusion and uproar,
quarrelling and fighting, language of the most hateful description, and
the most determined rebellion against every thing like order and
regularity, gave the gentlemen engaged in the undertaking of taming them
the hardest day's work they had ever encountered. Still, they so far
prevailed, that, by evening, their authority was comparatively
established. When dismissed, the children were invited to return next
day--informed that, of course, they could do so or not, as they pleased,
and that, if they did, they should be fed and instructed, but that,
whether they came or not, begging would not be tolerated. Next day, the
_greater part_ returned. The managers felt that they had triumphed, and
that a great field of moral usefulness was now secured to them.
The class who were brought to this school were far below those who
attend the other two institutions--low as they appeared to be when the
schools were first opened; and the scenes of filth, disease, and misery,
exhibited even in the school itself, were such as would speedily have
driven from the work all merely sentimental philanthropists. Those who
undertake this work must have sound, strong principle to influence them,
else they will soon turn from it in disgust.
The school went on prosperously; it soon excited public interest; funds
flowed in; and, what is most gratifying, the working classes took a
lively interest in it; and while the wealthier inhabitants of Aberdeen
contributed during the year about one hundred and fifty pounds for its
support, the working men collected, and handed over to the committee, no
less than two hundred and fifty pounds.
Very few children in attendance at the industrial schools have been
convicted of any offence. The regularity of attendance is owing to the
children receiving their food in the school; and the school hours being
from seven in the morning till seven at night, there is little
opportunity for the commission of crime.
The experience acquired in these schools, and the connection which most
of the managers had with the criminal courts of the city, led to the
opening of a fourth institution--the Child's Asylum. Acting from day to
day as judges, these gentlemen had occasionally cases brought before
them which gave them extreme pain. Children--nay, infants--were brought
up on criminal charges: the facts alleged against them were
incontestably proved; and yet, in a moral sense, they could scarcely be
held _guilty_, because, in truth, they did not know that they had done
wrong.
There were, however, great practical difficulties in the way, which
could only be got over indirectly. The magistrate could adjourn the
case, directing the child to be cared for in the mean time, and inquiry
could be made as to his family and relations, as to his character, and
the prospect of his doing better in future; and he could either be
restored to his relations, or boarded in the house of refuge, or with a
family, and placed at one or other of the industrial schools; the charge
of crime still remaining against him, to be made use of at once if he
deserted school and returned to evil courses.
The great advantage sought here was to avoid stamping the child for life
with the character of a convicted felon before he deserved it. Once thus
brand a child in this country, and it is all but impossible for him
ever, by future good conduct, to efface the mask. How careful ought the
law and those who administer it to be, not rashly to impress this
stigma on the neglected child!
The Child's Asylum was opened on the 4th of December, 1846; and as a
proof of the efficiency of the industrial schools in checking juvenile
vagrancy and delinquency, it may be noticed that nearly a week elapsed
before a child was brought to the asylum. When a child is apprehended by
the police for begging, or other misdemeanor, he is conveyed to this
institution, and his case is investigated; for which purpose the
committee meets daily. If the child be of destitute parents, he is sent
to one of the industrial schools; if the child of a worthless, but not
needy, parent, efforts are made to induce the parent to fulfil his duty,
and exercise his authority in restraining the evil habits of the child,
by sending him to school, or otherwise removing him out of the way of
temptation.
From the 4th of December up to the 18th of March, forty-seven cases,
several of them more than once, had been brought up and carefully
inquired into. Most of them were disposed of in the manner now stated;
but a few were either claimed by, or remitted to, the procurator fiscal,
as proper objects of punishment.
It is premature to say much of an institution which has existed for so
short a time; but if the principle on which it is founded be as correct
and sound as it appears, it must prosper and do good. There is, however,
one great practical difficulty, which can only be removed by legislative
enactment: there is no power at present to _detain_ the children in the
Asylum, or to force them to attend the schools to which they have been
Bent.
Such have been the rise and progress of the four industrial schools in
Aberdeen, including, as one of them, the Child's Asylum.
All the schools are on the most catholic basis, the only qualification
for membership being a subscription of a few shillings a year; and the
doors are open to all who require admission, without distinction of sect
or party.
The experience, then, of Aberdeen appears to demonstrate the possibility
of reclaiming even the most abject and depraved of our juvenile
population at a very moderate expense. The schools have been so long in
operation, that, if there had been anything erroneous in the principles
or the management of them, it must ere now have appeared; and if all the
results have been encouraging, why should not the system be extended and
established in other places? There is nothing in it which may not easily
be copied in any town or village of our land where it is required.
I cannot help adding to this account some directions, which a very
experienced teacher in these schools gives to those who are desirous of
undertaking this enterprise.
"1. The school rooms and appurtenances ought to be of the plainest and
most unpretending description. This is perfectly consistent with the
most scrupulous cleanliness and complete ventilation. In like manner,
the food should be wholesome, substantial, and abundant, but very
plain--such as the boys or girls may soon be able to attain, or even
surpass, by their own exertions after leaving school.
"2. The teachers must ever be of the best description, patient and
persevering, not easily discouraged, and thoroughly versed in whatever
branch they may have to teach; and, above all things, they must be
persons of solid and undoubted piety--for without this qualification,
all others will, in the end, prove worthless and unavailing.
"Throughout the day, the children must ever be kept in mind that, after
all, religion is 'the one thing needful;' that the soul is of more value
than the body.
"3. _The schools must be kept of moderate size_: from their nature this
is absolutely necessary. It is a task of the greatest difficulty to
manage, in a satisfactory manner, a large school of children, even of
the higher classes, with all the advantages of careful home-training and
superintendence; but with industrial schools it is folly to attempt it.
"From eighty to one hundred scholars is the largest number that ever
should be gathered into one institution; when they exceed this, _let
additional schools be opened_; in other words, _increase the number, not
the size, of the schools_. They should be put down in the localities
most convenient for the scholars, so that distance may be no bar to
attendance; and if circumstances permit, a garden, either at the school
or at no very great distance, will be of great utility.
"4. As soon as practicable, the children should be taught, and kept
steadily at, some trade or other, by which they may earn their
subsistence on leaving school; for the longer they have pursued this
particular occupation at school, the more easily will they be able
thereby to support themselves afterwards.
"As to commencing schools in new places, the best way of proceeding is
for a few persons, who are of one mind on the subject, to unite, advance
from their own purses, or raise among their friends, the small sum
necessary at the outset, get their teacher, open their school, and
collect a few scholars, gradually extend the number, and when they have
made some progress, then tell the public what they have been doing; ask
them to come and see; and, if they approve, to give their money and
support. Public meetings and eloquent speeches are excellent things for
exciting interest and raising funds, but they are of no use in carrying
on the every-day work of the school.
"Let not the managers expect impossibilities. There will be crime and
distress in spite of industrial schools; but they may be immensely
reduced; and let no one be discouraged by the occasional lapse into a
crime of a promising pupil. Such things must be while sin reigns in the
heart of man; let them only be thereby stirred up to greater and more
earnest exertion in their work.
"Let them be most careful as to the parties whom they admit to _act_
along with them; for unless _all_ the laborers be of one heart and mind,
divisions must ensue, and the whole work be marred.
"It is most desirable that as many persons as possible of wealth and
influence should lend their aid in supporting these institutions.
Patrons and subscribers should be of all ranks and denominations; but
they must beware of interfering with the actual daily working of the
school, which ought to be left to the unfettered energies of those who,
by their zeal, their activity, their sterling principle, and their
successful administration, have proved themselves every way competent to
the task they have undertaken.
"If the managers wish to carry out the good effect of their schools to
the utmost, then they will not confine their labor to the scholars;
_they will, through them, get access to the parents_. The good which the
ladies of the Aberdeen Female School have already thus accomplished is
not to be told; but let none try this work who do not experimentally
know the value of the immortal soul."
Industrial schools seem to open a bright prospect to the hitherto
neglected outcasts of our cities; for them a new era seems to be
commencing: they are no longer to be restrained and kept in order by the
iron bars of the prison house, and taught morality by the scourge of the
executioner. They are now to be treated as reasonable and immortal
beings; and may He who is the God of the poor as well as the rich give
his effectual blessing with them, wherever they may be established, so
that they may be a source of joy and rejoicing to all ranks of society.
Such is the result of the "speerings" recommended by my worthy
correspondent. I have given them much at length, because they are useful
to us in the much needed reforms commencing in our cities.
As to the appalling statements about intemperance, I grieve to say that
they are confirmed by much which must meet the eye even of the passing
stranger. I have said before how often the natural features of this
country reminded me of the State of Maine. Would that the beneficent law
which has removed, to so great an extent, pauperism and crime from that
noble state might also be given to Scotland.
I suppose that the efforts for the benefit of the poorer classes in this
city might be paralleled by efforts of a similar nature in the other
cities of Scotland, particularly in Edinburgh, where great exertions
have been making; but I happened to have a more full account of these in
Aberdeen, and so give them as specimens of the whole. I must say,
however, that in no city which I visited in Scotland did I see such
neatness, order, and thoroughness, as in Aberdeen; and in none did there
appear to be more gratifying evidences of prosperity and comfort among
that class which one sees along the streets and thoroughfares.
About two o'clock we started from Aberdeen among crowds of friends, to
whom we bade farewell with real regret.
Our way at first lay over the course of yesterday, along that beautiful
sea coast--beautiful to the eye, but perilous to the navigator. They
told us that the winds and waves raged here with an awful power. Not
long before we came, the Duke of Sutherland, an iron steamer, was
wrecked upon this shore. In one respect the coast of Maine has decidedly
the advantage over this, and, indeed, of every other sea coast which I
have ever visited; and that is in the richness of the wooding, which
veils its picturesque points and capes in luxuriant foldings of verdure.
At Stonehaven station, where we stopped a few minutes, there was quite a
gathering of the inhabitants to exchange greetings, and afterwards at
successive stations along the road, many a kindly face and voice made
our journey a pleasant one.
When we got into old Dundee it seemed all alive with welcome. We went in
the carriage with the lord provost, Mr. Thoms, to his residence, where a
party had been waiting dinner for us some time.
The meeting in the evening was in a large church, densely crowded, and
conducted much as the others had been. When they came to sing the
closing hymn, I hoped they would sing Dundee; but they did not, and I
fear in Scotland, as elsewhere, the characteristic national melodies are
giving way before more modern ones.
On the stage we were surrounded by many very pleasant people, with whom,
between the services, we talked without knowing their names. The
venerable Dr. Dick, the author of the Christian Philosopher and the
Philosophy of the Future State, was there. Gilfillan was also present,
and spoke. Together with their contribution to the Scottish offering,
they presented me with quite a collection of the works of different
writers of Dundee, beautifully bound.
We came away before the exercises of the evening were finished.
The next morning we had quite a large breakfast party, mostly ministers
and their wives. Good old Dr. Dick was there, and I had an introduction
to him, and had pleasure in speaking to him of the interest with which
his works have been read in America. Of this fact I was told that he had
received more substantial assurance in a comfortable sum of money
subscribed and remitted to him by his American readers. If this be so it
is a most commendable movement.
What a pity it was, during Scott's financial embarrassments, that every
man, woman, and child in America, who had received pleasure from his
writings, had not subscribed something towards an offering justly due to
him!
Our host, Mr. Thoms, was one of the first to republish in Scotland
Professor Stuart's Letters to Dr. Channing, with a preface of his own.
He showed me Professor Stuart's letter in reply, and seemed rather
amused that the professor directed it to the Rev. James Thom, supposing,
of course, that so much theological zeal could not inhere in a layman.
He also showed us many autograph letters of their former pastor, Mr.
Cheyne, whose interesting memoirs have excited a good deal of attention
in some circles in America.
After breakfast the ladies of the Dundee Antislavery Society called, and
then the lord provost took us in his carriage to see the city. Dundee is
the third town of Scotland in population, and a place of great
antiquity. Its population in 1851 was seventy-eight thousand eight
hundred and twenty-nine, and the manufactures consist principally of
yarns, linen, with canvas and cotton bagging, great quantities of which
are exported to France and North and South America. There are about
sixty spinning mills and factories in the town and neighborhood, besides
several iron founderies and manufactories of steam engines and
machinery.
Dundee has always been a stronghold of liberty and the reformed
religion. It is said that in the grammar school of this town William
Wallace was educated; and here an illustrious confraternity of noblemen
and gentry was formed, who joined to resist the tyranny of England.
Here Wishart preached in the beginning of the reformation, preparatory
to his martyrdom. Here flourished some rude historical writers, who
devoted their talents to the downfall of Popery. Singularly enough, they
accomplished this in part by dramatic representations, in which the
vices and absurdities of the Papal establishment were ridiculed before
the people. Among others, one James Wedderburn and his brother, John,
vicar of Dundee, are mentioned as having excelled in this kind of
composition. The same authors composed books of song, denominated "Gude
and Godly Ballads," wherein the frauds and deceits of Popery were fully
pointed out. A third brother of the family, being a musical genius, it
is said, "turned the times and tenor of many profane songs into godly
songs and hymns, whereby he stirred up the affections of many," which
tunes were called the Psalms of Dundee. Here, perhaps, was the origin of
"Dundee's wild warbling measures."
The conjoint forces of tragedy, comedy, ballads, and music, thus brought
to bear on the popular mind, was very great.
Dundee has been a great sufferer during the various civil commotions in
Scotland. In the time of Charles I. it stood out for the solemn league
and covenant, for which crime the Earl of Montrose was sent against it,
who took and burned it. It is said that he called Dundee a most
seditious town, the securest haunt and receptacle of rebels, and a place
that had contributed as much as any other to the rebellion. Yet
afterwards, when Montrose was led a captive through Dundee, the
historian observes, "It is remarkable of the town of Dundee, in which he
lodged one night, that though it had suffered more by his army than any
town else within the kingdom, yet were they, amongst all the rest, so
far from exulting over him, that the whole town testified a great deal
of sorrow for his woful condition; and there was he likewise furnished
with clothes suitable to his birth and person."
This town of Dundee was stormed by Monk and the forces of Parliament
during the time of the commonwealth, because they had sheltered the
fugitive Charles II., and granted him money. When taken by Monk, he
committed a great many barbarities.
It has also been once visited by the plague, and once with a seven
years' dearth or famine.
Most of these particulars I found in a History of Dundee, which formed
one of the books presented to me.
The town is beautifully situated on the Firth of Tay, which here spreads
its waters, and the quantity of shipping indicates commercial
prosperity.
I was shown no abbeys or cathedrals, either because none ever existed,
or because they were destroyed when the town was fired.
In our rides about the city, the local recollections that our friends
seemed to recur to with as much interest as any, were those connected
with the queen's visit to Dundee, in 1844. The spot where she landed has
been commemorated by the erection of a superb triumphal arch in stone.
The provost said some of the people were quite astonished at the
plainness of the queen's dress, having looked for something very
dazzling and overpowering from a queen. They could scarcely believe
their eyes, when they saw her riding by in a plain bonnet, and enveloped
in a simple shepherd's plaid.
The queen is exceedingly popular in Scotland, doubtless in part because
she heartily appreciated the beauty of the country, and the strong and
interesting traits of the people. She has a country residence at
Balmorrow, where she spends a part of every year; and the impression
seems to prevail among her Scottish subjects, that she never appears to
feel herself more happy or more at home than in this her Highland
dwelling. The legend is, that here she delights to throw off the
restraints of royalty; to go about plainly dressed, like a private
individual; to visit in the cottages of the poor; to interest herself in
the instruction of the children; and to initiate the future heir of
England into that practical love of the people which is the best
qualification for a ruler.
I repeat to you the things which I hear floating of the public
characters of England, and you can attach what degree of credence you
may think proper. As a general rule in this censorious world, I think it
safe to suppose that the good which is commonly reported of public
characters, if not true in the letter of its details, is at least so in
its general spirit. The stories which are told about distinguished
people generally run in a channel coincident with the facts of their
character. On the other hand, with regard to evil reports, it is safe
always to allow something for the natural propensity to detraction and
slander, which is one of the most undoubted facts of human nature in all
lands.
We left Dundee at two o'clock, by cars, for Edinburgh. In the evening we
attended another _soirée_ of the working men of Edinburgh. As it was
similar in all respects to the one at Glasgow, I will not dwell upon it,
further than to say how gratifying to me, in every respect, are
occasions in which working men, as a class, stand out before the public.
_They_ are to form, more and more, a new power in society, greater than
the old power of helmet and sword, and I rejoice in every indication
that they are learning to understand themselves.
We have received letters from the working men, both in Dundee and
Glasgow, desiring our return to attend _soirées_ in those cities.
Nothing could give us greater pleasure, had we time and strength. No
class of men are more vitally interested in the conflict of freedom
against slavery than working men. The principle upon which slavery is
founded touches every interest of theirs. If it be right that one half
of the community should deprive the other half of education, of all
opportunities to rise in the world, of all property rights and all
family ties, merely to make them more convenient tools for their profit
and luxury, then every injustice and extortion, which oppresses the
laboring man in any country, can be equally defended.