The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-05-24

| poet in Walter Chalmers Smith, the author
OF "Olrig Grange, 'Borland Hail, and
other poems of contemporary life. He Is
/! short and rather squat in figure. he has
| benevolent countenance and mild eye,
| with little of the poets fine frenzy IN it,
except when he Is reused, and then il
| CLEANS and sparkles with the true poetic
| fervor. His physical lethargy corresponds
| with the deliberatness of his mental habit.
| and both suggest tendency to hypochon-
| dria. from which, in fact, he is not entirely
| free. His generous impulses sometimes
| lead him to intervene in social contro-
| versies from which prudence and sound
| logic ought TO warn him. Like most other
literary men, be enjoys social pipe. and
| IS then entertaining company with a con-
| tinuous flow of graphic conversation.
| A considerable number of our literary
| men are clergymen, like Dr. Smith Such
| are Professor Story, of Glasgow. author of
Life of William Carstares:" DIR. Donald
M'Loed, the editor Of Good Words; Pro.
| lessor Flint, author of philosophy of
History DIR. A. X. III. Boyd, ''The
Country Parson," and DIR. Cameron Lees,
the historian of st. Giles cathedral. Those
OF our literary men who are not clergymen
are generally professors in one or other OF
the universities. When they devote them
selves to literature as profession they
follow the example of the artists, and
migrate to London. / must refer. how
ever, to two of our ex-professors. who are
widely and we'll known by their works.
These are John Stuart Blackie, of Edin-
burgh, and Alexander Balm, of Aberdeen.
Every one knows Professor Blackie as
one of the institutions Of Edinburgh and
Scotland. He is the Grand Old Man" of
Scottish education, having been horn in
the same year as Mr.. Gladstone. Though
now 81 years of age, he is as busy as bee,
and as playful as kitten: and though he
Y.srx .io hat he e. 30
tive in lecturing as Mr.. Gladstone is in
speech making He began his literary
career with translation of Goethes
Faust" 81 years ago, and he has been
making books ever since. The list of his
works occupies nearly forty lines of the
catalogue OF the Edinburg Free Library.
He has written on an enormous number
of subjects, from Homer and Plato to
Highland depopulation; and he has writ
ten both IN verse and in prose. His indi-
viduality is in some respects strong,
ana in others weak, but he is always, as
the Scotch say, "kenspeckle;" he is al
ways Blackie. Every one smiles at his fol-
bles, at his assumption of wisdom, and at
his extravagant utterances; but every one
loves the man for his geniality, his good
nature, and his innocence. Blackie is ceJ
tainly not deficient in self-esteem, bit
there is in him no guile. His face and
figure are well known in Edinburgh
streets and on Scottish platforms: Heisa
spare, slightly built man, of middle
height. His sharp and finely-cut feat
ures are never at rest. No hirsute appen-
dage conceals his thin lips and
nervous mouth. His features are
now softened by age, but his wrin-
kles and his gray hairs are the only
marks of his surrender to the rayages of
time. When | knew him first, about
thirty years ago, he wore wig German
wig, which he regarded as a triumph of
the perruauier's art. The hair was slightly
grizzled, and seemed to be a compromise
between his youthful appearance and his
actual age. When he reached the point of
not being ashamed of his age he discarded
his wig and appeared before his class one
morning with a natural crop of silver grey
hair. which is still coplous, though now
snow white. / should like to know what
has become of that German wig, in which
the professor took so much pride. 1t
ought to be deposited in the Museum of
Scottish Antiquities or in the University
library. There. are other character
istic marks in Blackie's appearance
which must not be omitted. He
despises the British tall hat, and always
wears soft, broad-brimmed felt. For
many years he has protected himself
against the northern blasts with an ample
brown plaid wound around his shoulders
STANDARDIZATION, after the manner both
never seen with an umbrella, though IA
miliar pictorial advertisement libels him
OF shelter. His favorite weapon IS
a huge walking stick, known ia
miliarly as ''Blackie's kali runt,"
which he flourishes vehemently on
all occasions. to the no small
who are near him on the platforms where
he is making speeches. L remember
breakfasting with Blackie when | was a
student. He talked so necessarily while
his youthful guests were eating that he
was left eating long after the others had
finished. His gentle wife said to him,
Hans, dear, are you going to eat to in
finity?" 81 hope not" he replied, "but
these young fellows eat so confoundedly
fastp When he was a candidate for the
Greek chair in Edinburgh, in 1852, the pat
ronage was still in the hands of the town
council, and it was necessary for candi-
dates to interview personally the shop
keepers who for the most part constituted
its manifestations, drysalters, and other
merchants. His most formidable rival was
the late DR.. l.. SchmItZ, then rector of
Edinburgh High school. The two scholars
were amused with the idea of having to 60
to those shopkeepers in order to enable
them TO sample their Greek, so they re-
solved to make their rounds together that
n
cordingly they waited on several of the
electors arm-in-arm. Blackie, of course.
did all the talking, while Schmitz, who
was shy man, Kept himself in the back
ground. The result was that Blackie was
elected by substantial majority. He
held the chair for thirty years, and retired
In 1882 with pension of $500 year which
he still enjoys, and long may he do so.
Ex-Professor Balm, of Aberdeen, is man
OF very different stamp, and in his chosen
sphere--that of philosophy-he holds
high place. DR.. Balm is essentially meta
physician. He is more profound and more
methodieal in his speculations than his
Edinburgh compeer. His works on The
Senses and the Intellect" and on THE
place among British thinkers of the pres
ent generation, though his materialistic
leanings have deprived him of the sympa-
thy of humanitarians He is a small,
sharp-featured, quick-witted man, with I'M
limited powers of caustic speech,
and with a manner which is the re-
verse of conciliatory. DIR. Balm has also
made name for himself as an education
list. He is the author of Education as a
Science" IN the International series, and
he has written several standard works on
English composition, English grammar,
etc.
He retired from the chair of logic and
bellies lettres in Aberdeen some years
ago, and was succeeded by his disciple,
Professor William Mimic. who has carried
on the work in the spirit of his master.
Minto has proved himself an able critic of
English style in his works on the Char
acterlstics of English Poets" and his
Manual of English Prose Literature"
He has also written clever historical
novel entitled the Crack of Doom"
l have written above of Scottish literary
hN ont n