The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1850-03-16


don. On Mr.. Smiths retirement, MIR. Jeffrey took
his place; which he continued TO fill without inter
ruption till late in the year 1929 when he elected
TO the office OF Dean Of the Faculty OF Advocates
judicial appointment Of distinction al the Scottish
Bar, hardly TO be held, il thought, in conjunc-
ton with the editorship of party Review. lie con-
inued, however, to write occasionally, not pol
cs it is understood, but on literary subjects, from
which his judicial functions could not be held by
any means TO have excluded him.
His retirement from literature part Of his pro-
ession gave him fresh opportunities OF distinction
in his original pursuit Of the law, and in the line Of
politics to which he seems to have been especially
partial. He was elected member of Parliament for
his native city-was listened TO in the House more,
for his reputation sake and for what he might sayg
than for any thing that he said, for his manner
OF delivery-and soon growing weary OF attendance
even in reformed House," Ito which he had SO
long looked forward, and which he had in great
measure contributed to bring about he asked from
Lord Melbourne (lS34) what he had long coveted
seat on the Scottish Bench--receved the appoint
ment, and retired TO Edinburgh and the beautiful
scenery of Craigcrook.
A few further particulars of his life, in a notice
brief this must necessarily be, may not be
thought unimportant. He was chosen in 1921 lord
rector Of the university Of Glasgow; was twice
married, first to the daughter of the Rev. DIR. Will
son, of st. Andrew's,-and secondly, to the daugh-
ter of Charles Wilkes. esq, of New York, grand
niece of the famous Wilkes sand Liberty" Let us
add (what future ages will no doubt care to know
that he was swarthy in countenance and diminu-
tive in stature.
Lord Jeffrey is to be looked on az an editor and
as an author, not as a dean Of faculty even
Judge. envy must own" that he conducted the
Edinburgh Reuietc with admirable tact and skill, -
and that he showed great judgment the writers
whom he brought about him. He well sup
ported by men like Sydney Smith. Macintosh,
jects were well chosen for the time, and generally
maintained consistent principles both in politics
and in taste; but his great object it should not be
concealed, was to attract attention and to draw
We aren mt hnue tn faV I'M with III
the editorial errors of the Recietc. Let remem
Der his apologetcal defence TO Sir Walter
Scott, that he was ga feudal monarch who had but
slender control over his greater barons, and really
could not prevent them from occasionally waging
little private wars upon griefs or resentments of
their own,
Lord Jeffrey's position editor led him and
then into more than one unpleasant quarrel.
Southey Wordsworth, and Coleridge seldom spoke
of him except in terms Of hatred and contempt;
and his memorable duel at Chalk Farm, in 1906,
with Mr.. Moore, partly accustomed by clever APP
plication of passage in Spenser to Tom Little's
Poems, will long be remembered by the "Little' s
leadless pisol' Of the .sEnglish Bards and Scotch
Reviewers" and the contemporary epigram which
ends
They only fire blank cartridge in Reviews.
The quarres with the Lake School were never
made up; but the author of Titles Poems and the
editor of the Edinburgh Reuietc were afterwards
reconced, and the critic even courted by friend
| ly dedication.
The great defect in Lord Jeffreys ediorship of the
| Edinburgh RepietD his short-sghtedness in APP
| preciating the merits of Scott, Byron, Southey,
Wordsworth, Coleridge, and others He praised
Scott for a time--but cold notice of stMarmion"
Quarterly Repie,c. The criticism the ''Hours of
Idleness," though attributed to Mr. Jeffrey at the
| time, was, is well known, written by Lord
| Brougham. Jeffrey himself afterwards praised
| Byron, and the noble poet was not ungrateful to
| the critic; witness his ''Don juan
| All our little feuds, at least all mine,
Dear Jeffrey, once my most redoubted foe
| CAS- far as rhyme and criticism combine
To make such puppets of US things below
Are over: Here's a health to AUD lang syne!
| do not know you, and may never know
| Your face-but you have acted, on the whole,
Most nobly, and own it from my soul.
We cannot say of Byron, on this occasion, what
has been said with proprety of another great satir
list of our nation-that he wanton in his attack
and mean in his retreat. Mr.. Jeffrey, in his capa
city editor had given the young and noble poet
great ground OF provocation; and the satirist re-
| paid censure with ferocious scorn-as afterwards
he did praise from the same quarter with appropri
ate panegyric.
| We are now to look on Lord Jeffrey az an au-
| thor-and il is somewhat singular, may OBJ
serve, of who has written much, that he ia
not author in any other sense than critic in
Review This cannot be said of any of his lead
ing associates, or of any of the opposition writers
| in the Quarferiy-or indeed of any other writer
who has exercised one-half the influence in litera-
ture that Mr. Jeffrey possessed. His legal as well
his editorial duties must, ii il true, have left him
very little time for any thing else-and we arc not,
perhaps to suppose that he without the ambi-
ton OF being an author or that he wanted leisure
for the due consideration OF any subject OF import
ance> We may attribute more justly his not ap-
| pearing author in his own person to I'M
willingness TO endangcr his high reputation by the
production of separate work, and 10 some fear of
| the wounded great who were ready to attack
him all sides and with every kind of weapon.
He is therefore, to be judged by the four volumes
| of his Essays" contributions 70 the RerieIc,
which he was induced 10 collect and revise in the
| year lS43. These volumes, he tells us, form less
than third Of what he wrote in the Revieto but
| they, doubt, embrace his best productions
those, in short, by which he willing 10 stand.
i His friends would have made a somewhat different
selection one that would have represented the
history Of his mind and opinion-and that would
| have thrown more light on the history of critical
| judgment in this country than be gathered
from his volumes as they at present stand
IL is much 10 his praise a man, though little 10
his early discernment a critic that the bitter
views Of Southey, Coleridge, Wordsworth, and
others, were excluded from his COLLECTED Essays
while his culogies his favorite poets, Campbell,
| Crabbe, and Rogers, we're one and all admitted.
/ He had outlived the resentment or impetuosty OF
| youth with which they written, as the great
writers themselves had outlived the injury which
their injustice had done to them TO have inserted
them would therefore have only been renewing an
improbable contest, and connecting his even
lastingly than il Is likely 70 be with the great
names of the writers whose hostility he both courted
These /" Essays" IL must be confessed-and we
| have just risen from rc-perusal of some oi
| the best-are not very remarkable productions.
They arc little distinguished for subtlety Of opin-
| ion, nicely Of disquistion, even for beauty Of
| style. Though printed uniformly with the contri-
buttons 10 the same Repisp Of Sydney Smith and
Mr.. Macaulay, they have not made the same i'm
preston the public mind, nor been read with
the same avidity. So that, while the Essays Of Mr..
Smith and Mr.. Macaulay now in fourth cdi-
tons the public have been content, till very re-
Gently, with single impression Of Lord Jeffrey.
Yet HE Essays" will more than repay perusal.
His paper on Swift is the best calculation Of the
Deans character that we have yet received while
his articles Penn and the Quakers exhibit quail
ties Of mind not easily TO be found in authors Of
even greater celebrity.
One Of the last acts Of Lord Jeffrcy's life 70
write a long, and we hear, beautiful, letter Of
thanks to the widow Of the Rev. Sydney Smith for
the copy Of Sydney Smiths Lectures delivered al
the Royal institution and privately printed by his
widow. Lord Jeffrey, IL will be remembered, ded-
icates his " Essays" 20 his friend Smith.
From Dte Ne,cark Daily Adperfiso.