The Sun.
London, England, 1859-03-14 00:00:00

THE LATE LORD MURRAY.

Lord Murray, the last of the remarkable coterie
of Scotch lawyers whose fame has gone forth over
all the world, was the John Archibald Murray
who was so beloved by Horner, and by a multi-
tude of persons who never saw him, for Hor-
ner's sake. Various honours fell to him in the

ocurse of his life ; but the highest was, un-
questionably, the place he fills in Horner's Me-
moirs. There may be, and there must be, to
the readers of that book, some surprise that the
fine promise of the youthful J. A. Murray came to
so little as it did in public life ; but the image, as
there fixed, is avery interesting and a veay beautiful
one ; and the charm hung about his name and fame
to the last. He, Horner, and Lord Webb Seymour
were bound in the closest friendship in their early
youth, and till death parted them. The other two,
born in 1777 and 1778, died in 1818 and 1819; and
all the many years since has the third lived, not
only carrying about a vivid remembrance of his lost
comrades, but inspiring the same remembrance in
others by his presence. He, too, is gone at last;
and the fame of that remarkable set of men is
turned over to the tongue of tradition and the pen
of history.
John Archibald Murray was the second son of a
judge of tho Court of Session, Lord Henderland.
His elder brother, William, who never married, re-
mained in close friendship with his more widely
known, but perhaps not abler, younger brother
through the whole of their very long lives. John
was born in 1780, and was, therefore, two years
younger than Francis Homer. By the early letters
of the latter we find that Murray was a member of
the Literary Society in Edinburgh University at
the age of fifteen—that same Literary Society
where, at that date, " our friend Brougham" was
already making a noise. Metaphysical disputation
was the field for the lads—Dugald Stewart being
at the height of hii fame ; but they all saw that
Brougham meant to do something else than split
hairs in metaphysical fashion for the rest of his
days ; and eager was the speculation as to what
that something would be At that early time there
was not so much difference between Brougham's,
Horner's, and Murray's treatment of common
topics ; and it would have required a keen insight
to perceive how the two survivors would diverge—
the one into abortive extravagance and inconsis-
tency, and the other into simple mediocrity, while
the sound, genuine, fruitful ability was in him who
died in his fortieth year.
Our first clear view of the young Murray is dur-
ing this University season, when Horner was pro-
posing to him that they should "be the Beaumont
and Fletcher of metaphysics ;" when they spent
their holydays in George-street or at Murrayfield,
arguing about Volition, and took long walks in ses-
sion-time, "describing" the "sensations which con-
-1 stitute the uneasiness of metaphysical perplexity."
As they grew older they joined with Jeffrey, Dr.
Thomas Brown, Lord W. Seymour, and others in a
scheme for translating the political and philosophi-
cal writings of Turgot, thus beginning their diver-
sion from metaphysics by political economy; a study
which had such charms for them that we find them
interposing it as a treat between classics and che-
mistry, history, and poetry. Out of all this natu-
rally grew the Edinbnrgh Review, to which Murray
was a copious contributor at the beginning, when
he was only 22. Nothing that he ever wrote or did
afterwards, however, makes anything like the im-
pression caused by his correspondence with Horner.
The earnestness without vehemence, the conscien-
tiousness, the effective thoughtfulness, the gentle,
quiet fertility- of his intellect, together with the
constant, vigilant affectionateness of his temper,
make up the most charming image of his early
manhood, and set the reader speculating on what
must have been the confidence, joy, and hope with
which a good father must have contemplated such
a son. It is truly strange that out of such a corn-
pany of fellow-students, most of them devoted to
political subjects, and pursuing the legal profession, ,
not one good statesman should have been produced.
Homer would have been a great statesman, no
doubt, if he had lived a few years. But of Brougham's
statesmanship nothing need be said ; and Jeffrey
and Murray failed utterly in political life. We
suspect that the metaphysics may be considered
answerable for this, in great part ; and that the rest
is due to the close coterie character of the early
association of these remarkable young men, who
reached a certain degree of eminence in law and
literature, and then stopped short, nobody could
well say why. While the Tories were in command
of the state, it was supposed that opportunity was
wanting; but when the opportunity came, from
1830 onwards, there was no one of the coterie sur-
viving who had not his fair trial, and did not disap-
point expectation.
Murray studied law, and entered upon the prac- '
tice of his profession at Edinburgh. At the time of '
the renewal of the war, in 1803, we find him full of
military zeal, like the other young lawyers of the
day. Horner went to drill every day ; Mackintosh
wrote the glorious address of the merchants and
bankers of London ; Brougham put out " weekly
incitements to patriotism ;" and Murray helped him
with something called "the Beacon," now forgotten.
They tried to stir up Campbell to produce some
lyrics ; and Horner wrote to Murray to advise an
appeal of the same sort to Walter Scott, whose
" border spirit of chivalry" already marked him out
for that service. Murray, however, soon subsided
into the function which might be called that of his
life—that of furthering whig elections and other
interests, in Scotland first, and elsewhere when he
could. In 1806 we find him busy canvassing in
favour of Lord Henry Petty's Cambridge election,
among the Cambridge graduates who had formerly
been at Edinburgh, or the students who were there
at that time. Electioneering was a serious busi-
ness in days when a man like Horner could say to
his familiar friend, " Write to me often, my dear
Murray; one has no pleasure in dwelling upon any
public subjects while the liberties and wealth of
England are mouldering away, and the institutions
of Europe stiffening into barbarism ; but the grati-
fications of private affection are untouched by these
revolutions ; and though they give a sadder cast to
one's conversation, they cannot impair our confi-
dence and freedom." In upholding the Whig in-
terests in Edinburgh, Murray was not only a dili-
gent guardian of those interests, but distinguished,
while young, as a light popular orator, in days of
fierce contention and all sorts of discouragement to
the Liberal side. The chief aberration of the Edin-
burgh Whigs, their advocacy of Bonaparte, was
fully shared by Murray. In their detestation of
the reimposition of the Bourbons upon the French,
they fell back upon Napoleon, as the only alterna-
tive, and exalted him to a degree which, as is well
known, damaged the influence of their Review, and
impaired public confidence in them as champions
of popular liberty. The readers of Scott's Life
are aware how the Quarterly Review thence arose ;
and also how, when the question was settled by
time—when Napoleon was dead, and it was not
foreseen that the Bourbons would be again cast
out, the irate feelings of the politicians of Edin-
burgh gave way, and they met occasionally
like neighbours and friends, in forgetfulness for the
hour of the politics of their lives. There is a pas-
sage in Scott's Diary, about a dinner at Murray's in
the winter of 1827, which is interesting now when
the host himself is gone. " Went to dine with
John Murray, where met his brother (Henderland),
Jeffrey, Cockburn, Rutherfurd, and others of that
file. Very pleasant, capital good cheer, and excel-
lent wine : much laughter and fn. Ido not know
how it is, but when I am out with a party of my
Opposition friends, the day is often merrier than
when with our own set. Is it because they are
cleverer ? Jeffrey and Harry Cockburn are, to be
sure, very extraordinary men ; yet it is not owing
to that entirely. I believe both parties meet with
a feeling of something like nooytealctt. y.
TlheVeer haveis also
notls o
worn out our jests in daily. cn
a disposition on such occasions to be courteous, and
of course to be pleased." Murray's sense and
achievement of hospitality were always remarkable.
This capital dinner was given the year before his
marriage. In 1828 he married Miss Rigby, the
daughter of a Lancashire merchant (then living in
Cheshire), and the niece of Sir George Phillips, of
Manchester. His tea-table at St. Stephen's, when
he was Lord Advocate—that remarkable tea-table
presided over by Lady (then Mrs.) Murray—is well
remembered by those who Were weekly guests at
it. It was a long table, with an enormous and ex-
ceosively rich Edinburgh cake in the centre—and