J. Stephen Jeans

Of Henry Glassford Bell, the Sheriff of Lanarkshire, we may say, as Macaulay said of Johnston, "We are familiar with his personal appearance, as with the faces that have surrounded us from childhood." For nearly half-a-century he has been a foremost citizen in Glasgow. During that long period he has taken an active interest in all that relates to the welfare of the city. Not in Law alone, but in Music, Literature, Painting, and the Fine Arts generally, he is regarded as an authority. In short, he is the intellectual king of the city, although he differs from a monarch de jurÉ in his accessibility to all ranks and conditions of men, and in the homage and respect which are universally and spontaneously paid to his high personal qualities. His experience is a direct reversal of the ordinary rule, that "a prophet hath honour save in his own country and in his own house." In tracing the lines of Sheriff Bell's biography, we are entering upon a fertile but hitherto unoccupied field. A man of rare gifts, and one of whose happiest literary productions it may safely be predicated that they will live in the literature of his country, he has now for upwards of thirty years relinquished the pursuit of belles lettres, thereby sacrificing the world-wide fame as an author to which, in the early part of his career, he seemed likely to attain. But if he has failed to achieve a niche in the Temple of Fame, he has at least secured a permanent place in the respect of the legal profession, and in the esteem of his fellow-citizens. If the scope of his mind has been narrowed by the arduous and incessant labour devolved upon him by his official position, he has yet been enabled to lead a life of more than ordinary usefulness; and future generations will probably listen with wonder and admiration, when they hear of the extraordinary amount of hard and irksome labour which, when the eight or nine hours' movement was yet in embryo, the Sheriff of a county embracing a third of the population of Scotland was able to accomplish.

Born in Glasgow in 1805, Sheriff Bell is descended from an honourable and honoured family. His father followed the practice of the law, and educated Henry to the same career. It did not seem, however, as if the son cared to have his father's mantle falling upon him. After receiving the rudiments of his education at the High School of Glasgow, he proceeded to Edinburgh, where he commenced to go through a regular University curriculum. So far as the Scottish metropolis was concerned, the first quarter of the present century was the Augustan age of literature. Sir Walter Scott was in his meridian. De Quincey, under the influence of the "Circean spells" of opium, was making Blackwood a power in the land. Sir William Hamilton, the greatest British supporter of À priori philosophy in this century, had just been appointed to the Chair of Civil History. Through the columns of the Edinburgh Review, Francis Jeffrey was "propounding heresies of all sorts against the ruling fancies of the day, whether political, poetical, or social." John Wilson, "Christopher North," that "monster of erudition," was acting as the animating soul of his celebrated magazine. Amid such a galaxy of brilliant constellations, Henry Bell graduated for a literary career, and he was not esteemed the least of the parhelions that shone around the fixed stars in that spacious intellectual firmament. By contact and association with such men, he enjoyed exceptional facilities for qualifying himself as an author; and having the "root of the matter" in him, he published, in rapid succession, poems, sketches, and reviews that were more than sufficient to justify the compliment which the Ettrick Shepherd years afterwards pronounced upon them, when he said, "Man, Henry, it was a great pity ye didna stick to literature; 'od, Sir, ye micht hae done something at literature."

Finding, perhaps, that his tastes were literary rather than legal—that he had a greater aptitude for belles lettres than jurisprudence—young Bell, on the 15th November, 1828, undertook the Editorship of the Edinburgh Literary Journal. He was then twenty-three years of age. The Journal professed to be a "weekly register of criticism and belles lettres." It contained fourteen pages of royal octavo, and its price was sixpence. The motto of the Literary Journal—it was often the custom in those days to select a motto for periodical publications—was the following taken from Bruyere:—

"Talent, goÛt, esprit, bons sens, choses differentes,
Non incompatibles;"

and this was supplemented by the well-known verse of Burns—

"Here's freedom to him that would read,
Here's freedom to him that would write!
There's nane ever feared that the truth should be heard,
But they whom the truth would indite."

On looking over the index to the first volume of the Literary Journal, we find that it contained original contributions in miscellaneous literature from Thomas Aird, the author of the Odd Volume; R. Carruthers (editor of the Inverness Courier), R. Chambers, Derwent Conway, Dr. Gillespie, Mrs. S. C. Hall, James Hogg, John Malcolm, Dr. Memes, Rev. Dr. Morehead, Alexander Negris, Alexander Sutherland, William Tennant, and William Weir. Of those who contributed original poetry, our readers will be familiar with the names of the authoress of "Aloyse," Thomas Atkinson, Alexander Balfour, Sheriff Bell himself (who, by the way, is the most voluminous writer of all, his poems, in the list before us, including "The Bachelor's Complaint," "Song to Leila," "Lines about Love, and such like nonsense," "Edinburgh Revisited," and "To a Favourite Actress"), Thomas Bryson, Gertrude, Captain Charles Gray, Mrs. E. Hamilton, Mrs. Hemans, W. M. Hetherington, Alexander Maclagan, John Malcolm, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Charles Doyne Sillery, Thomas Stoddart, William Tennant, James Thomson, Alaric A. Watts, and Mrs. Grant of Laggan. A rare combination of talent! An original contribution from almost any one on this long list would be esteemed a priceless treasure by the publishers of the present day. What would Mr. Strahan or Mr. Macmillan not give to have the command of such a host?

A disposition to linger over the history and varied fortunes of this now defunct censor, is naturally evolved from the contemplation of the talent which it was able to command. A well-known author has said that "whatever withdraws us from the power of the Senses; whatever makes the past, the distant, or the future predominant over the present, advances us in the dignity of human beings." So must the quondam editor of the Literary Journal think when he recalls the reminiscences of those bygone days—days that were spent in edifying and agreeable association with men and women whose names are inscribed on the roll of Scotland's illustrious sons and daughters. He may also take a justifiable pride in the fact that, by virtue of his position as editor, he was at once the arbiter and the censor of works which have since, by universal acclamation, been awarded a permanent place in the literature of England. That Bell's conduct of the Journal was able, popular, and successful, we have ample evidence to show. It is proved by the variety and excellence of the contributions which poured in upon him from the most gifted writers of the day. In his Noctes AmbrosianÆ, Professor Wilson has published his attestation of the fact in the following passage:—

North—Here, James, is one of the best, because most business-like prospectuses I ever read, of a new weekly periodical about to be published in Edinburgh in the middle of November—the Edinburgh Literary Journal. From what I know of the editor—a gentleman of talent, spirit, and perseverance—I foretell the book will prosper.

Shepherd—I shall be glad o' that, for ane gets tired of that eternal soun'—Blackwood's Magazeen—Blackwood's Magazeen—dinnin in ane's lugs, day and night, a' life long.

Our readers will bear with what may appear to some to some to be unnecessary digressions, when they reflect upon the influence that the Literary Journal exercised upon the subject of our sketch while he was yet a young man "winning his spurs" in the field of literature. It was through his editorship of the Literary Journal that Mr. Bell formed his close intimacy with all the distinguished writers of his day; and if this was not the most useful, it certainly was the most interesting part of the career of him whom we are proud to acknowledge as the author of "Mary, Queen of Scots." From this time forward he was the most intimate friend and companion of Wilson and Hogg. The former came to Edinburgh in 1815, with the view of practising at the Scottish bar, so that Bell had no opportunities of visiting him at his beautiful residence at Elleray, on the banks of Lake Windermere, where for years previously he had lived in Utopian health and happiness, "surrounded by the finest of scenery, and varying his poem-writing and halcyon peace, with walking excursions and jovial visits from friends that, like himself, entered with zest into the hearty enjoyment of life." But, as between Bell and Wilson, there was a fellow-feeling that made them "wondrous kind," they were much in each other's society. Both were fond of piscatorial pursuits. Wilson had early discovered an enthusiasm for angling, which he used to cultivate on the banks of Lake Windermere. Bell, too, became a disciple of Isaac Walton, and to indulge their love of sport, and to enjoy each other's company where, removed from the busy haunts of men, they might "hear the tumult and be still," they were accustomed to spend whole days and nights on the banks of Loch Awe, and amid the gloomy and impressive scenery of Glen Dochart. At other times they would plan walking excursions. It was no unusual thing for them to walk upwards of thirty miles at a stretch. They had not then the command of railway facilities, nor did they want them. Muscular vigour, and a love of intellectual pursuits were qualities characteristic of both men, and both possessed a large amount of physical endurance. In physique, too, there was a considerable vraisemblance. Christopher North has been described as a "Goth of great personal prowess." Haydon says of him that he was like a fine Sandwich Islander, who had been educated in the Highlands. His light hair, deep sea blue eye, tall athletic figure, and hearty hand grasp, his eagerness in debate, his violent passions, great genius, and irregular habits, rendered him a formidable partisan, a furious enemy, and an ardent friend. Of Bell, with one or two qualifications, the same description would hold good. Wilson has immortalised their intimacy and friendship in his "Noctes," where Bell is made to figure as "Tallboys," and where he is only mentioned with respect and affection. In the Six Foot Club, an institution which had a local habitation and a name in Edinburgh during the early part of the nineteenth century, and of which both Wilson and Bell were members, they had further opportunities for muscular exercise. It was an indispensable condition to membership in this club that the candidate should be over six feet in height; and it is surprising how many men who have made their mark in literature, science, and art had attained that sine qua non. Physical and intellectual greatness were so invariably combined in those days that the two were thought by many vulgar minds to go hand in hand; but even in the "Six Feet Club" there were few who presented in all respect a more distinguÉ appearance than the subject of these remarks.

Another of Bell's most intimate friends during these years was James Hogg, the "Ettrick Shepherd." Along with Wilson and other friends he paid several visits to Hogg's native place, where they enjoyed pleasant ramblings by St Mary's Loch, and in the Vale of Yarrow, to which the Shepherd's muse has imparted quite a classic interest. There was, however, a species of vulgarity about Hogg, which marred his otherwise estimable qualities, and his uncouth Johnsonian habits were probably the means of erecting a barrier between himself and more cultivated friends. Lockhart, in his life of Scott, speaks of Hogg as a "a true son of nature and genius," and this he undoubtedly was. One who had taught himself to write by copyright the letters of a printed book as he lay watching his flock on the hill side, and whose vivacious imagination, as his own brother informs us, disqualified him from study or research, was not likely while alive to make many close friends in the exclusive and polished circles which formed the Élite of Edinburgh. But by Bell and a few others, who saw the diamond glittering in the rough casket, Hogg was duly appreciated. To the Literary Journal he was a constant contributor both of prose and verse, and he took a warm interest in its success. When the proposal to erect a monument to the Shepherd in Ettrick Vale took a practical shape, Sheriff Bell was selected to inaugurate the structure. This he did on the 28th June, 1860. In fitting terms, his old friend panegyrised the virtues and the genius of The Shepherd, describing him "as a true poet—not equal to Burns, because no national poet was ever equal to Burns, because no national poet was ever equal to him—but justly entitled to take rank in the second place, and worthily taking up the harp which he found lying on the grave of that immortal man."

In the year 1830 Mr. Bell relinquished his connection with the Literary Journal, which was conducted for some time afterwards by Mr. William Weir. The paper had never been a "good property," even in its palmiest days, and Mr. Weir, after carrying it on for a few months, allowed it to stop, and came to Glasgow for the purpose of establishing a newspaper, pure and simple. Mr. Weir was well known in Glasgow from his long connection with the Argus, which he edited with rare tact and ability until he was called to occupy a similar position on the Daily News in London. Meantime Mr. Bell was admitted a member of the Faculty of Advocates. This was in 1832, so that he was in his twenty-seventh year.

Up till now he had consecrated his whole talents and energies to the pursuit of literary eminence, his greatest works being his well-known poem on "Mary, Queen of Scots," and his vindication of the same unfortunate monarch in a masterly history of her life. These works were to him a labour of love, for he has always manifested a deep sympathy with the misfortunes of the unhappy Mary Stuart. It is even said that it was to his intense devotion to her memory, and his beautiful poem on her life, that he was indebted for his wife, who claimed some remote connection with the Queen of Scots, through Donald Dhu, of whom she was a descendant. Mrs. Bell, we believe, was a daughter of Captain Stuart of Sheerglass, on the banks of the Garry, opposite Athole, and en passant we may remark that her forefathers took a prominent part in the battle of Killiecrankie. As an advocate, Sheriff Bell never held a distinguished position. He was, perhaps, too far advanced in life before he joined the bar. Be that as it may, he was one of a numerous circle of literati who lived contemporary with and subsequent to himself, to whom the bar never brought any laurels; but after all, he made better progress in the Court of Session than Professor Blackie, whose briefs were so terribly akin to angels' visits that he has been heard to declare himself that his practice as an advocate never brought him so much as £40 a-year. Nor was his success less than that of Professor Wilson, Professor Ferries, Professor Aytoun, Professor Innes, Sir William Hamilton, Hilburton, Spalding, and others whom we might mention, who have stamped the English literature with the sign-manual of their genius, and whose names will be held in remembrance and honour long after those of the most distinguished lawyers of the age shall have passed to the limbo of oblivion. Advocates who also followed the profession of litterateurs, and were addicted to belles lettres, often experienced unfair treatment at the hands of the agents or writers by whom counsel is usually retained. They were not considered safe men. And if they were not completely ostracised from legal life, they were so far tabooed and kept at a distance that their emoluments from their legal practice could not, if they had depended solely upon that source of income, have held body and soul together. Besides this, the Edinburgh bar at that time could boast of a most unusual combination of legal talent. Some of the ablest lawyers of this or any other age were at that time practising in the Parliament House. And the eminence of not a few men was so great as to leave a long way behind others who, like Sheriff Bell, would now be considered above the average in their profession. The young advocate of 1872 has not to encounter such intellectual giants as Patrick Robertson, Jeffrey, Cockburn, Rutherford, M'Neil, Moncrieff, Hope, and other contemporaries of Bell, who shed the lustre of their genius upon the law of Scotland, and secured for the Court of Session a reputation higher, perhaps, than even Westminster Hall has ever been able to attain.

At this time, and throughout the whole of his literary career, Sheriff Bell was an uncompromising Tory. He never took any prominent part in imperial politics, although in the Edinburgh Town Council, of which he was for some time a member—sitting as the representative of St. George's Ward—he entered into some fierce debates on the Annuity-tax with Duncan M'Laren. That obnoxious impost was even then, as it has subsequently been, a great bone of contention, and proved the casus belli of many a wordy war. The embryo M.P. was generally, as we are well informed, more than a match for the young advocate, whom he overcame with those simple but effectual weapons—facts and figures.

In 1836, Sheriff Bell stood as a candidate for the Logic Chair in Edinburgh University, his opponents being Mr. Isaac Taylor, author of the "Natural History of Enthusiasm;" Mr. George Combe, the phrenologist; and Sir William Hamilton. Previous to that time, Sir William had been Professor of Civil History in the University, and his candidature for the Logic Chair, which was strongly supported by Mr. Adam Black and Mr. Napier, editor of the Edinburgh Review, was successful.

While nominally following his practice at the bar, Mr. Bell still continued to attach himself to literary pursuits. There are some rather good stories told of his attachment to the Temple of Thespis, of which, while in Edinburgh, he had always been a regular attender. When a well-known actor, made his first appearance at the Edinburgh Theatre-Royal, it is said that Bell wrote a slashing criticism of the performance, his article concluding with the significant remark: "N.B.—Steamers sail from Leith for London twice a week," meaning, of course, that however well the new actor might satisfy the London critics, he did not come up to the standard of the Edinburgh drama. Indeed, Mr. Bell made the drama a special study, and his opinion on any new play or actor was always asked and listened to with the utmost deference. He was on very intimate terms with the late Mr. William H. Murray, manager of the "Royal," and through him furnished a number of prologues for that theatre in its palmiest days. He also established for himself a high reputation as a lecturer on the Fine Arts; and his prelections on music, poetry, sculpture, painting, and the drama were universally admitted to be of a high order of merit. Until the present hour, Sheriff Bell continues to manifest a great attachment to the Fine Arts, and amid the pressure of his official duties, he often finds leisure to visit the theatres either in Glasgow or in Edinburgh.

In 1839, Mr. Bell was appointed a Sheriff-Substitute of Lanarkshire, with a salary of £400 per annum. The appointment lay with Sir Archibald Alison, who is said to have been favourably impressed with his successor's conduct while acting as junior counsel for the Glasgow cotton-spinners when they were brought to trial in the spring of 1838 for conspiracy. When Mr. Bell became Sheriff-Substitute, the duties of the office were very light compared with what they are at the present time. For a number of years his only colleague was the late Mr. George Skene, who subsequently became Professor of Law in Glasgow University. Indeed, the duties of the Sheriffs continued to be comparatively easy up to 1853, when the passing of the Sheriff Court Act, which compelled Sheriffs to take all notes of evidence in their own handwriting, rendered the work much more laborious. Their salaries were raised from time to time, in proportion to the increased irksomeness and responsibility of their duties; and it is a fact worth noting, that whereas Mr. Bell, as Sheriff-Substitute, had only £400, Mr. Dickson, in the same sphere of labour, has now £1400 per annum.

On the death of Sir Archibald Alison in 1867, Mr. Bell was appointed Sheriff-Principal. One of his first acts upon his promotion was so graceful in itself and so creditable to his good taste that we cannot refrain from referring to it here. To external appearance, Sheriff Bell has little of the suaviter in modo about him; and while acting as Sheriff-Substitute, he gave offence to several of the agents practising in the local courts by what may be called a little gruffness of demeanour. Coming to hear that his manner had been spoken of as offensive, Sheriff Bell, on succeeding Sir Archibald Alison, candidly and broadly referred to the fact in open court. He expressed his regret if anything defective in his manner had given unintentional offence, and declared that, so far as it was in his power, the Faculty might rely in future upon being treated with every courtesy and consideration. Such a frank and candid avowal could only come from a manly man; and it went a long way towards restoring Sheriff Bell to the confidence and esteem of the offended practitioners.

With the exception of this little cloud, Sheriff Bell has uniformly lived in peace and concord with his professional friends, and he has at their hands received many little marks of honour and respect. In 1852, a rumour went out that Sir Archibald Alison was to be elevated to the Supreme Court. This led the profession in Glasgow to present a memorial to the Lord-Advocate, praying that in such an event Sheriff Bell might be made Sir Archibald's successor. Again, about 12 years ago, strong representations and inducements were held out to him to return to Edinburgh as consulting counsel in Mercantile Law—a department of jurisprudence which, if he did not altogether create it, Sheriff Bell has done much to develop and bring into a practical shape. Although the offer promised the realisation of a handsome income, it was respectfully declined. Still farther we may remark, that it was no small honour to Mr. Bell that he was made Sheriff of Lanarkshire contrary to the usual custom, which is to appoint to the office some one that has acted for a longer or shorter period as Advocate-Depute—a place which he, of course, has never filled.

As a judge, Sheriff Bell displays remarkable discrimination and insight. He is gifted in a large measure, with the judicial faculty; but for the same reason that he is a good judge, he would probably fail as a pleader. At the bar it is customary only to represent and contend for one side of a case, to the exclusion or destruction of the other; but on the bench conflicting arguments have to be duly weighed, and the balance so adjusted between them that truth and justice may ultimately be evolved. In thus discriminating between irreconcilable issues, and duly weighing the arguments presented on both sides, Sheriff Bell is particularly at home; and his decisions are remarkable for standing the great test of an appeal to the Supreme Court.

Since he came to Glasgow as Sheriff-Substitute, Mr. Bell has taken an active part in all public movements apart from politics; and in regard to educational and scientific matters he deserves to rank as a pioneer. When the Social Science Congress met in Glasgow in 1860, Professor Pillans and other savants were dining with Sheriff Bell, whose sound judgment and profound knowledge of nearly every subject brought under discussion enabled him to take a very intelligent and conspicuous part in the proceedings. Talking of authors and their works, Professor Pillans quoted certain lines, respecting which he asked Sheriff Bell whether he had ever heard them before. The latter confessed that he did not recollect them. "Why," said the Professor, "you wrote these lines when you were a pupil in my class." On another occasion, when Thackeray came to Glasgow to deliver his lectures on the Four Georges, the great novelist was introduced to the Sheriff of Lanarkshire by the late Mr. Walter Buchanan, M.P. At that time there was some disagreement between Thackeray and the directors of the AthenÆum as to the terms of his engagement, and we believe that Thackeray considered himself (whether with or without just cause) to have been badly used. Referring to Mr. Bell as the champion of Mary Stuart, Mr. Buchanan jocosely remarked to Thackeray that he must not repeat in Glasgow the attack he had made in Edinburgh on Mary Queen of Scots. "Never fear," replied Thackeray, "I can't afford to do it for the money."

By his wife, whom he has now survived nearly twenty years, Sheriff Bell had one son and four daughters. Three of his daughters have been married—one to Professor Nichol, and the other two to members of the firm of M'Clellan, Son, & Co., accountants, Glasgow. The fourth daughter is unmarried.