The Sun.
London, England, 1844-11-08 00:00:00

CALUMNY REFUTED.

-
The following letter has been addressed by the lbti
Pre,ident of the Court of Session to the Editor of
Blackwood's Magazine. The story to which it re-
fers is familiar with most of our readers, and probably
was swallowed by some of them, from a belief that
Sir Walter Scott would not give currency to such an
atrocious accusation except on the best authority. It
now appears he had no authority whatever for the
wicked charge:—

TO THE EDITOR OF BLACKWOJD'S MAGAZINE.
Edinburgh, Oct. 25, 1844.

Sir,—l did not read Mr. Lockhart's " Life of Sir
W. Scott," and therefore it was only lately, and by
mere accident, I heard that he has inserted an anec-
dote of Lord Braxfield, which, if it had been true,
must for ever load his memory with indelible in-
famy. The story, in substance, I understand to be
this—That Lord 'Braxfield once tried a man for for-
gery at the circuit at Dumfries, who was not
merely an acquaintance but an intimate friend of his
Lordship, with whom he used to play at chess ;
that he did this as coolly as if he had been a
perfect stranger ; that the man was found guilty;
that he pronounced sentence of death upon him, and
then added, "Now, John, I think I have checkmated
you now." More unfeeling and brutal conduct it is
hardly possible to imagine. The moment I heard the
story I contradicted it; as from my personal know-
ledge of Lord Braxfield, I was certain that it could
not be true. Lord Braxfield certainly was not a
polished man in his manners ; and, now-a-days espe-
cially, would be thought a coarse man. But he was
a kind-hearted man, and a warm and steady friend—
intimately acquainted with all my family, and miteh
esteemed by them all. I was under great obligations
to him for the countenance he showed me when I
came to the bar, just sixty years ago, and therefore I
was resolved to probe the matter to the bottom.
For that purpose I directed the record of the south
circuit to be carefully searched, and the result is,
that Lord Braxfield never tried any man for forgery
at Dumfries. But I was not satisfied with this, as it
might hare been said that Sir Walter had only mis-
taken the town, and that the thing might have hap-
pened at some of the other circuit towns. Therefore
I then directed a search to be made of the records of
all the other circuits of Scotland, during the whole
time that Lord Braxfield sat on the Justiciary liench;
and the result is, that his Lordship never tried any
man for forgery at any of the circuits, except once at
Stirling; and then the culprit, instead of being a
friend, or even a common acquaintance of Lord Brax-
field's, was a miserable shopkeeper in the town of
Falkirk, whose very name it is hardly possible he
could have heard till he heard it read in the indict-
ment. Therefore I think I have effectually cleared
his character from the ineffable infamy of such
brutality.

I understand that Mr. Lockhart became completely
satisfied that this story did not apply to Lord Brax-
field ; and therefore has set it down, in his second edi-
tion, to the credit, or rather to the discredit not of
Lord Braxfield, but of a " certain Judge." But this
does not sufficiently clear Lord Braxfield of it. Be-
cause thousands may never see his second edition, or,
if they did, might think that the story still related
to Lord Braxfield, but that Mr. Lockhart had sup-
pressed his name out of delicacy to his family ;
and, therefore, as your excellent Magazine
has a more extensive circulation in Scotland
than the Quarterly, I beg of you to give this
letter an early place. I understand one circumstance
which satisfied Mr. Lockhart that the story did not
apply to Lord Braxfield is, that the family had assured
him that he never played at chess—a fact of which I
could also have assured Mr. Lockhart. But the
search of the records of Justiciary which I directed
to be made, is the most satisfactory refutation of the
infamous calumny ; and I cannot imagine how Sir
Walter could have believed it for a moment. Cer,
tainly he would not, if he had known Lord Brax-
field as intimately as I did. I owe a debt of grati-
tude to his memory, and am happy to have an oppor-
tunity of repaying it.—l am, Sir, your most obedient
servant, C. HOPE.

TROTTING MATCH FOR FIFTY POUNDS.—On Tues-
day the trotting match between Mr..lames's bay gelding
and Mr. Martin's black mare, to trot twenty miles in
harness, came off over four miles of ground on Mitcham-
common; the usual conditions and rules of trotting were
to be complied with. In betting the mare was the
favourite, and was backed to a large amount; the horses,
harnessed to match-carts, came up to the starting mark,
and at the signal went away at a smart pace, and per-
formed the first mile in three minutes and thirty-two
seconds, when owing to the noise made by the spectators
riding alongside, the mare became restive, and broke six
times in the first four miles. At the conclusion of ten
miles the gelding was half a mile in advance, and per-
formed the distance in thirty-six minutes; they were
then pulled in and refreshed, and in six minutes resumed
their work. At the eighteenth mile the mare appeared
quite competent to the distance, but the gelding seemed
distressed, and was pulled up. The mare completed the
distance, and won the stakes. The twenty miles was
accomplished in one hour and eighteen minutes.
GREAT FOOT-RACE FOR FORTY POUNDS.—Wed-
nesday the long-pending match between East and Turner
came off near the King's Arms, Acton-bottom. Both
men have acquired great celebrity, and thersee attracted
upwards of 2,000 spectators. The contesting distance
was twenty miles, and, preliminaries arranged, the men
started, and concluded ten miles nearly together. At
the fourteenth mile East appeared somewhat distressed,
while Turner contested with apparent confidence. At
ocnoathteest.
match. EastcTohn-
e
the eighteenth mile East bad recovered, and Turner was
eqiuuidteedexthheauste
remainingan dredliisetqan
ui:Oleadndthwe
twenty miles were accomplished by the winner in three
hours and twenty-five minutes, fair toe and heel walk.
PHYSIOLOGY or THE PASSlONS.—Wednesday the
first of a course of twelve lectures on this interesting
subject was delivered by Dr. Millingen at the Western
Scientific and Literary Institution, 47, Leicester-square.
The first point treated on was the mental faculties and
their powers. Dr. Millingen certainly has had the best
opportunities of observing the human mind, both in is
natural and diseased state, from the fact of his having
been the resident physician of the Hanwell Lunatic
Asylum for a considerable period, and he treated the
subject in a masterly manner. He inculcated the ides
that the study of the human mind is not a matter of
mere useless curiosity, but a study of great utility, and
calculated to be of considerable benefit to seolety if pro-
perly and impartially followed out. He attributed the
diversity of opinion and inconsistency which is some
times observable in the ancient philosophers to the fact
that they did not attempt to assist each other in the
study, but, by pitting their opinions against each other,.
produced angry arguments, while the original questions
were lost sight of ; and also to the fact that many of
them, especially Plato, went upon data incidental to the
superstition of the age, and, of course, produced fallacious
theories. The lecture was delivered clearly, and almost
entirely free from scientific technicalities, and was oi-
llivened here and there by anecdotes, which served admii•
rably to illustrate the lecturer's meaning. The atten-
dance was net very numerous, but was certainly select.