New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-01-27

,;s and fbe rolumnous work on which his falne az
writer depends will perpetuate bis reputation ior
inaccuracy not in style only but in the statement
OF what he supp0ses to DO facts. From MS own ac
count OF his studies it is plain he never learnt any
thing tborouehly II he never rivalled Brouglam
in sloyenly omniscience, he could always compe'e
with him on even terms in lOoseness OF KNOWLEDGE
and dffuseness of style Abtter critic SAID nl MN
that his book on Shakespeare was due TO MS svni-
natbv with the dramatist In knowing little Latin
and less Greek He could never get his Latin quah-
titles right; and consoles himself with burKeS
well known mistake in the House OF Commons,
,,oonu,a recf,oaI and with a reported blunder OF
Macintosh not known at all before now, and pre-
| sumably purely apocryphal 1t was always WIN
| fear and trembling that Campbell vcntured on
Latin quotation ut the bar or in Parliament; ana ITO
suppressed many appropriate ones. he assures U.s.
from dread of ridicue If he tripped. He fatters
himself rat thanks to jurisprudence, he mas never
| been fo d out in false quantity. 1t might nave
| bcsn we'll for him had be exercised similar caution
| in tho matter of English. With curious cOmpia-
| cency he observes that he has often felt great
superiority over EngliShmen in the grammatical
| know ledge of Their own language; q superiority
which he attributes to his having been taught Eng
lish as ono is taught foreign tongue. There Is
mistake in the very sentence IN which he asserts us
proficiency Carlyle mentions bet that one error
page cOulu DC lOCuu Ill lhieioo Aiio''i'N"' "f
them 10 matter where; and that The bet was won
| with good margin of errors to spare wager Oh
that sort could be still more easily won IN camp
bells Lives" but for the difficulty OF getting any
| BODY TO risk his money on CampbelPs accuracy.
ST. ANDREWS TO ST. JAMES,.
Campbell went to st. Andrews University at
I eleven November. 1900. His father meant 10
/ make a minister of him. and i'll this promising
scheme the hoy Mt first acquicsced; SO after four
years of grounding III classics and pretty complete
neglect of mathematics. he was entered at 81.
Mary's College in the same University to study
theology and Hebrew At the end of three years he
describes himself as having hardly any Hebrew
and not theology enough to explain the distinction
between Jehovah and EloIlm for an eXegctical eX-
ercisc He became convinced that 1T would be
impossible for him to acquire fame rs divlne-a
very remark liable piece of mOdesty. Tor winch u
night'be difficult to lind later parallel-ahu he
accepted tutorship in London. lie q'ut'eu oI'
Andrews after n residence of seven rears, and was
eighteen wears old when he found himself on that
bighroad to London which DIR. Johnson euioglzes rs
the finest prospect Scotchmau ever beholds'
Tutoring, ho viewer. proved little TO young camp
bells taste partly because the company ne was
compelled to frequent consisted chiefly of West
| India merchants and East India captains and the
talk turned the price of sugars. But he began
almost at once that dabbling i'll literature which
at least in one shape-was to prove so helpful to
him thereafter He tried his prentice hand at po-
htcal essays and at verses. He got free admission
to Drury Lane and Covent Garden. lie saw John
Kemblc and Mrs. Siddons Above all, he heard the
great debate in the House OF Commons, Aprii s.
1893 and Mr.. Wilberforce's motion for the lnme-
diate abolition of the slave trade; the motion
which Pitt publicly supported in powerful speech
and secretly defeated by still more powerful votes
| ,lnfa IlaaQ
| this as the most memorable dav of his life, hut
Campbells superatives arc not always to be taken
too literally In letter dated i'll 1910 he declares
that the most distinguished event of INV life has
been that OH Tuesday morning WAS strongly urged
nv the Lord Chamberlain to dance Il Scotch reel
before the Queen" 1t does not appear that no
danced the reel and of the debate he was OF course
an auditor only. The eulOgy on Wliberiorce IS
worth quoting:
Ats Wherefore rose and the deepest silence pre-
vailed He vas heard with mixture OF admlra-
ton and reverence. His genuine sincerity,
his perfect Observation-Disclosures, his dcNotednrSs
to the cause, his exalted tone OF morality, MS
deem religious feelings, gave a sOlcmnitJ and
sacTedness to his manner which. united WIN
his persuasive reasoning. lis playful hl"ghatlol
his easy clOcntiOn and his musical voice. carried
en-, husiastic conviction and rapuouS dcllght mo
the breasts of all present who were unInlluenccd by
sOrdid motives for cOunenanclng the traIhc; anu
dsmay, shame, aud almost relnoIsc INTO thc hearts
of those who, from love OF private gam or dica'
of injury to the public from loss Oh commerce. h'u
stecled themselves against the dictates vi IeaSon
and humanity.
That might pass rs the carly effort OF an unprac-
tised youth, but Campbell was past sixty when lie
penned it. The mechanical and InoDotOnons style.
the mere accumulation OF the strongest cpithtts lie
can think of, the conventional rhetoric. ana the
equally conventional morality, were characteristic
of Campbell 10 the end. 1t is noticeable that
Campbell. who loved to inllIct pain. remarks OF
fbo ginn II
part of il consisted in sarcastic insinuatlons that
his great rival was nsincerc. To the hearing OF this
debate Campbell attributes his final decision
AGAINST the ministry. i cOuld longer have
been satisfied with being Moderator OF the General
Assembly" BY the follC wing August lie has begun
reviewing books. In November he had az olitr OF q
reportership to n newspaper which ie rejected
without hesitation. lie rej0ccs Ill getting piece
of work for the Annual Register which will take
him q fortnight and give bin two guneas. In
April 1899, he is in despair; writing 10 his rather
that lie shall mover get III London and the sooner
he goes back to Cupar the better; that he is con-
demned to perpetual neglect and Obscurity because
he cannot cringe and Halter and fawn. Nay. be
has, as greater had before him, some Thoughts
of setting out in search of retreat where wild
OswcgO spreads her swamps around, but II you can
procure Inc a living in the Kirk OF Scotland you
will save me the trouble OF crossing the Atlantic"
Most men have these fits of dependency; with
Campbell they never lasted long.
IN The REPORTERS GALLERY.
= Before the end OF 1909 lie had definitely resolved
OH the law as a profession and Oh journalism AZ a
means of support during his study for the bar The
rcportership he had rejected so scornfully year
before he now -joyfully accepts. The future Lord
Chief Justice and Lord Chancellor of England is
attached to The Morning Ctrcatce at three
guineas week, to be raised to four during
the session, when his business Will be, like
Jolnsons the reporting of Parliamentary debates.
The pay was very good pay for those days; to the