.^.^m iiiii Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2008 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/frederichillautoOOhillrich FREDERIC HILL x,y / ^y c*-' ^-^ >/Ml^ ' /• ^^^ led for Rlcti»r<) BeMloy •nd Son 189J. FREDERIC HILL AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF FIFTY YEARS IN TIMES OF REFORM. EDITED, WITH ADDITIONS, BY HIS DAUGHTER CONSTANCE HILL, Let all the ends thou aim'st at be thy country's, Thy God's, and truth's." Shakespeare. ' '^-^r ^WITH PORTRAITS. LONDON: RICHARD BENTLEY AND SON, Publisfjers m ©rtiinarg to |l?er fiflajestu tlje ®,\m\\. 1893. {_All rights rcserz>cd.) li^Vi TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE CHARLES PELHAM VILLIERS, M,P., THIS STORY OF A LIFE WHICH HAS BEEN MUCH INDEBTED TO HIM IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED. ^:49137 PREFACE Some years ago a friend suggested to my father that he should from time to time note down the recollections of his long life. This he did ; and three years ago he placed his manuscripts in my hands to arrange and edit. Since then I have discovered a large quantity of diaries and con- temporary correspondence. These, together with material drawn from other sources, have enabled me to enlarge the more interesting episodes of his life ; notably, the periods of the Reform Bill agitation in Birmingham, and of his residence in Scotland. All such matter has been submitted to my father for his approval or criticism, and although he has now completed his ninetieth year, his memory is clear and retentive, enabling him to give useful explanations or to supply connecting links. The family letters which had to be examined, and from which a selection had to be miade, date from 1783, and extend over a period of upwards of seventy years. It is remarkable that the perusal of this correspondence of three generations brought to light no painful secrets nor ill-feeling of any VI 11 PREFACE. kind, but, on the contrary, left on the mind of the reader a Hvely sense of the strong affection and trust in one another which prevailed in the whole family. This was a marked feature of the five '' Hill brothers," of whom my father is the last survivor. It has been observed that the first part of a biography is often the more interesting portion of the story. This is true as regards the present " Life," the first fifty years of which were passed during a period of great national changes, both social and political. It has been thought well, therefore, that the autobiographical portion of this work should deal with the period from 1803 to 1853, and that I should briefly describe the period subsequent to that date. Some family incidents of interest previous to 1803 ^^^ recorded in the first chapter. In the chief work of his life, that of Penal Reform, my father encountered much opposition. He has lived to witness great fluctuations of opinion on that important subject ; but he has the satisfaction, now in his old age, of seeing the most esteemed of our European and American Penolo- gists advocating the opinions that he formed more than half a century ago, and of seeing public opinion setting in the same direction. CONSTANCE HILL. Invert, Ei'i II IIousp:, Hampstead, October, 1893. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. 1803. PAGE Birth and parentage — John Hampden — Trial of Lord Ferrers — Joshua Symonds — Howard — Birmingham riots of 1 79 1 — Dr. Priestley — Contemporary letters ... i CHAPTER n. 1805-1815. Childhood — Old customs in Birmingham — Pressgang — Shenstone— " Waverley " — Battle of Waterloo— Booth the coiner — " Wager of Battel " ... ... ... 21 CHAPTER HI. 1816-1824. Country awakening to need of Parhamentary Reform — Major Cartwright— M. D. Hill— Hazelwood— " Public Educa- tion " — Montague ViJliers, Bishop of Durham — Jeremy Bentham — Wilberforce — Thel wall— Hone — Thomas Campbell — De Quincey, etc. — The elder Charles Matthews — Dr. Parr — Henry Brougham ... ... 42 CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. 1824-1830. PAGE Visits to France and Guernsey — Benjamin Constant — Mon- sieur d'Argenson — D. de Lisle Brock — Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge — Charles Knight — Professor Cowper — Catholic Emancipation ... 60 CHAPTER V. 1831-1832. The great Reform Bill — Birmingham Political. Union — Thomas Attwood — Lord John Russell — Family action — Contemporary letters — Mr. Scholefield — Earl Grey — Public readings — Triumphal procession ... ... 77 CHAPTER VL 1832-1835. M. D. Hill, member for Hull — Family projects for social reforms — Joanna Baillie — " Family Fund " — Com- mencement of Corn Law agitation — Appointment as inspector of prisons— Mr. Sergeant Wilde — Hon. Charles P. Villiers — Robert Owen — Elizabeth Fry ... loi CHAPTER Vn. 1835-1836. Arrival in Edinburgh — John Archibald Murray — First tour of inspection of prisons ... ... ... ... ug CHAPTER VHL 1835-1839- Edinburgh society in its second famous period — Lord Jeffrey, Lord Cockburn, Lord Murray, and others — James CONTENTS. XI Abercromby on Peel's character — Sydney Smith and Mr. Home — Mrs. Fletcher — Mrs. Siddons — The " Bride of Lammermoor " — The brothers Chambers — David Roberts, the painter — Miss Stirling Graham's "Mystifications" ... ... ... ... 134 CHAPTER IX. 1835-1839. Social intercourse during tours in Scotland — Lord Fife — Lord Panmure — The " House of Touch " — Mr. Leny — Lord Chancellor Campbell— Mr. Wallace— Duke of Rich- mond—Mr. Babbage and Sir John Herschel— The Countess Duchess of Sutherland— Prison Bill — Fox Maule— Lord Aberdeen— Sir Charles Napier and the Glasgow Bridewell ... ... ... ... 165 CHAPTER X. 1 839-1 840. The Cowper family — James Nasmyth — Penny Postage- Marriage — Return to Scotland — Mrs. Hill's journals- Maria Edgeworth and Father Mathew — Abbotsford . CHAPTER XL 1 840-1 842. Mrs. Hill's journals continued — Dr. Alison — Infant Felons' Bill and the Honourable Amelia Murray — The Be- thunes — William Lloyd Garrison — Mrs. Fletcher and Allan Cunningham — Authorship of " There's nae luck about the house " — Visit to Ayr — The widow of Burns Xli CONTENTS. CHAPTER XII. 1 842-1 844. PAGE Scottish Poor Law and Lord Dunfermline — Sheriff Watson's schools — W. M. Thackeray — Secession of the Free Kirk — Procession of ministers — Letter from Mrs. Fry — Maria Edgeworth and Professor Cowper — Debate on Postal Reform — "Field Day" ... ... 218 CHAPTER Xin. 1 845-1 847. Prison matters — A great Eastern Pacha — Tour in Switzerland — Home rejoicings on Repeal of Corn Laws — William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglas — Archbishop Whately — Lord Melbourne and the Queen — Edin- burgh sculptors — Lafitte ... ... ... 241 CHAPTER XIV. 1 847-1 850. Appointment as inspector of an English district — Summary of reforms in Scotch prisons — English prisons — Travels in England — A " cheap-jack " — " National Force " — Bishop Stanley — Infant magistrates — Stubborn jury- men ... ... ... ... ... ... 255 CHAPTER XV. 1850-1851. ?>ook on "Crime" — Indeterminate sentences— Modern criminologists— Havelock Ellis—" Elmira "—Capital punishment — Changes in public opinion ... ... 273 CONTENTS. XIU CHAPTER XVI. 1851-1852. PAGE Great Exhibition — Appointment at the General Post-Office — Last years of T. W. Hill's life — Law Amendment Society — " Friends in Council " — Dr. Arnott — Charles Dickens and the Money Order Office — A nautical Post- master-General ... ... ... ... 288 CHAPTER XVn. 1853-1893. Married Women's Property Bill — Letters from Mrs. Grote and Lady Byron — Various economic subjects — Postal reforms — Napoleon IH. — Kossuth — Pulszky — Lords Canning and Elgin — Visit to Egypt — Work in Hamp- stead — Mrs. Hill — " Elmira " — F. Hill's opinions quoted during the prison labour struggle in the United States ... ... ... ... ... 304 CHAPTER XVHL 1853-1893. Anecdotes of the " league of brothers " — Edwin Hill and his contrivances — Likeness between Arthur Hill and his brother Frederic — His memory — Rowland Hill at Bellevue — Matthew Davenport Hill at home — Con- clusion ... ... ... ... ... 324 Index .... ... ... ... ... ... 325 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Frederic Hill, after a Portrait in Chalk by his Daughter, Ellen G. Hill, taken in 1874, etched BY Henri Manesse ... ... ... Frontispiece Medal, worn by Members of the Birmingham Political Union, bearing Date January 25, 1830 ... 78 Poster, announcing Public Readings of the London Newspapers in Birmingham, to begin May 18, 1832 ... ... ... ... ... 93 Mrs. Fletcher in her Eightieth Year, after the Draw- ing BY G. Richmond, R.A. (by permission) To face 136 Martha Cowper, after a Portrait in Water-colour, taken in 1839 ... ... ... To face 190 Edwin Hill, from a Portrait in ^ Chalk by Ellen G. Hill, taken in 1874... ... ... To face 2 (^Z Mr. and Mrs. Frederic Hill and their Daughter Constance, from a Picture in Water-colour by Ellen G. Hill ... ... ... To face 120 Arthur Hill, from a Portrait in Chalk by Ellen G. Hill, taken in 1873 ... ... To face 2,2^ FREDERIC H I LL. CHAPTER I. 1803. Birth and parentage — John Hampden — Trial of Lord Ferrers — Joshua Symonds — Howard — Birmingham riots of 1791 — Dr. Priestley — Contemporary letters. I WAS born on the 29th of June, 1803, at Hilltop, a house situated at the summit of Gough Street, then in the outskirts of Birmingham. I was the sixth child of Thomas Wright Hill and Sarah, his wife, whose maiden name was Lea. Our parents frequently related to us incidents connected with earlier generations of our family ; some of these which I remember I will repeat. My great-grandfather, John Hill, settled in Kid- derminster as a tailor. His family consisted of two sons and two daughters. His eldest son, James, my grandfather, who was a baker at Kidderminster, was a man of independent character. His oven was heated by fuel which was procured from a wood belonging to the lord of the manor, a member of I 2 :'', \ \:\ :y; .;■;.':;*: fi.I^PET^IC hill, [Chap. I. the Foley family. In the canvass for a county election, James Hill was asked to give his vote in favour of this gentleman, but his political principles obliged him to refuse to do so. The consequence was that at the next faggot harvest he was not permitted to be a purchaser, and was thus put to great inconvenience. Firewood could still be ob- tained, but from a place four miles distant, which considerably augmented its cost. In this difficulty he determined to try an experiment. Coals were plentiful in the neighbourhood, but they had not at that time been used for heating baking ovens. James Hill tried the effect of making his fire partly of coal and partly of wood. The experiment suc- ceeded, and other bakers soon followed his example. The lord of the manor, now finding that he was rapidly losing his customers, sent to offer my grand- father the supply of faggots which had been so curtly refused ! A saying of James Hill's was often repeated amongst his descendants : " There are two kinds of evils about which it is of no ^use to complain — those which can be cured, and those which cannot." My grandfather died before I was born, but my great-uncle John lived to the advanced age of ninety-six, and one of my earliest recollections is seeing him seated in a large armchair in our 1760.2 AN OLD DIARY. parlour. John Hill was one of those who enrolled themselves as volunteers to fight against the Pre- tender in 1745. There is a diary extant which he kept during a visit to London in 1760. In it he speaks of hearing ''dear Mr. Whitfield preach at his chapel in Tottenham Court Road ; " and also mentions Mr. Wesley. Amongst the miscellaneous entries are notes of purchases made on old London Bridge, and also a recipe for a " cordial for the colic," which consists of a great variety of in- gredients. It seems that the sufferer might have to wait some time for his cure, as, when made up, the mixture is to be put aside " to stand for twelve days before being used." But the most interesting part of this diary is an allusion to the preparations which he witnessed in Westminster Hall for the trial of Lord Ferrers. Lawrence Shirley Lord Ferrers, Viscount Tam- worth, had murdered his steward at Stanton, in Leicestershire, and on the i6th of April, 1760, he was arraigned in Westminster Hall before a vast concourse of people. Preparations were made for the reception of the Royal Family, all the am- bassadors and other distinguished persons, besides the members of both Houses of Parliament and a large number of ladies. " The grandeur of the scene exceeded all description, and the awful FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. I. solemnity with which it was conducted was in- expressibly affecting." When the hearing was ended, the lords rose up one by one, beginning at the youngest, and each laying his right hand on his breast, and solemnly bowing, said, " Guilty, upon my honour." Lord Ferrers was condemned to be hanged at Tyburn, and his body to be de- livered to the surgeons to be dissected. '' The Lord High Steward then broke his staff, to show that his office was ended, and dismissed the as- sembly." The foreigners were greatly interested in the proceedings. One ambassador exclaimed, *' Great God, what laws ! What a people, that thus condemns one of their own body for taking away the life of a common man ! " * We were all taught to respect our great-uncle John Hill, especially in connection with his conduct as a juryman. He had been called upon to serve in that capacity at Worcester, when he alone, of the twelve jurymen, refused to take a bribe. The judge happened to hear of this, and thenceforward, when- ever he visited W^orcester on circuit, he asked if he should have the pleasure of meeting the honest juror. A further instance of sturdy independence was furnished by another ancestor. * See contemporary Memoir published immediately after Lord Ferrers's execution. I770.] A TEST OF A LOVER. 5 The maiden name of my paternal grandmother was Symonds. Her grandfather refused to place his vote at the disposal of a rich relative named Millington, a solicitor of Shrewsbury. In conse- quence of this, Mr. Millington left his whole fortune to found a hospital, instead of bequeathing it to the Symondses. This institution is still known as Millington's Hospital. Through this same Sarah Symonds we claim a connection with the patriot John Hampden, whose first wife belonged to the family of Symons, or Symeon, of Pyrton. I may here also mention that we claim a distant kinship with the author of " Hudibras." Sarah's father, John Symonds, was a religious Nonconformist. When my grandfather, James Hill, proposed for his daughter, he remarked, '' Before I give my consent, I must form a judgment of your spiritual state. I request you, therefore, to put up an extemporary prayer." This the lover accord- ingly did ; and as the marriage soon afterwards took place, I conclude that the trial was considered satisfactory. My great-uncle, the Rev. Joshua Symonds, was a popular Nonconformist minister. He lived at Bedford. The philanthropist Howard was a member of his congregation, but withdrew from FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. I. it, owing to a difference of opinion upon certain religious tenets. Soon afterwards a parliamentary election took place, in which Howard was a candi- date. Mr. Symonds had been so much impressed with the excellence of his character, that, ignoring the diversity of their opinions, he not ,only gave him his vote, but used all his influence in his favour. The canvass was not successful, but from this time forward Howard became one of his most attached friends. Wilberforce was a cor- respondent of my great-uncle's, and Mr. Newton, of Olney, the friend of the poet Cowper, was his intimate friend. My father was named after a relative — Thomas Wright, a Shrewsbury nurseryman, of whom it is told that on his wedding day he took six men with him and planted, in commemoration of the occasion, the lime trees which became the fine avenue known as the ** Quarry" (a corruption, I suppose, of the French carrd). He was reproved for having kept the dinner waiting, and replied that " if what he had done was successful, it would be of far more value than a weddinof dinner." Amongst my father's recollections of his child- hood, he used to tell us that he had curly hair, and his mother, who admired his curls, would not allow them to be cut off or hidden ; the conse- 1772.] A PURITAN HOME. 7 quence was that, unlike all his schoolfellows, he did not wear a wig. He wore leathern breeches, which were very stiff till softened by use. When a new pair arrived the breeches-maker used to put the lad's feet into them, and then, lifting him up by his breeches, would shake him till his legs settled into their proper place. The household of his parents, James Hill, the baker, and Sarah Symonds Hill, was subject to a strict puritanical discipline. On Sunday the shutters were only partially opened ; the family attended chapel three times, and in addition had a sermon read aloud in the evening. It even became a question whether Stackhouse's " History of the Bible " was of a sufficiently sacred character for Sunday reading. The family stock of books was very limited ; but this evil was not, in my father's opinion, without compensation, since, by frequent perusal, he made himself master of their contents. He acquired an intimate knowledge of the Bible, while among the secular works the "Arabian Nights' Entertain- ments " was his special favourite, a large portion of which he knew by heart. To these works was added another In a somewhat curious way. His father, together with a friend, had been appointed 8 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. I. executor to a common acquaintance, recently de- ceased, who, having been a man of somewhat secluded habits, and of a studious and philosophic turn of mind, was set down by some of the good people of Kidderminster as in league with the evil one. This gentleman had sympathized with my father's love of reading, and had bequeathed him two volumes. But these the co-trustee strongly recommended should be burnt, as they bore a cabalistic appearance, and came from a dangerous quarter. James Hill, however, wh6 was more en- lightened than his neighbours, said, ** Oh, let the boy have them;" whereupon were put into the lad's hands a " Manual of Geography " and a copy of " Euclid's Elements." Of this latter work the boy became enthusiastically fond. He mastered its difficult problems, and in later years pursued his studies into the higher mathematics. A strong tie of affection existed between my father and his younger brother Matthew. In 1785 Matthew left home. He sought employment in Scotland, and finally went on to Ireland. My father felt the separation so keenly that, being unable to afford a seat in the mail coach, he walked the whole way from Birmingham to Holyhead (a distance of about a hundred and forty miles), crossed in the packet to Dublin, spent a week with his brother, 179^] BIRMINGHAM RIOTS. 9 and returned home in the same way. It was on this occasion that he first beheld the sea. Looking upon it from the Welsh hills, he thought it was a great ploughed field, but, to his surprise, the furrows began to move. Matthew died in early manhood, to the great sorrow of his brother, whose attachment to him remained undiminished through a long life, and was testified upon his death-bed. My father became one of a class to whom Dr. Priestley gave instruction in natural philosophy. In 1791, when the Birmingham riots broke out, which at first were directed chiefly against Dissenters, my father and his other classmates offered to defend Dr. Priestley's house. But the doctor thought it wrong to employ physical force even in self-defence, and declined their offer. Dr. Priestley, however, left his home, and took his household to a safer shelter elsewhere. Meanwhile, in spite of his refusal, my father and a few brave companions determined to do what they could to protect the doctor's property. My brother Matthew thus describes what followed : — " My father barred the doors, closed the shutters, made fast the house as securely as he could against the expected rioters, and then awaited their arrival. He has often described to me how he walked to and fro in the darkened FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. I. rooms, chafing under the restriction which had been put on him and his friends. He was present when the mob broke in, and witnessed the plunder and destruction, and the incendiary fire by which the outrage was consummated. Lingering near the house, he saw a working man fill his apron with shoes, with which he made off. My father followed him, and, as soon as the thief was alone, collared him, and dragged him to the gaol, where he had the mortification to witness the man quietly relieved of his booty, and then suffered to depart ; the keeper informing my father that he had had orders to take in no prisoner that night." Not to be wholly baulked in his zeal, my father climbed up a lamp-post to address the angry mob ; but a volley of stones soon put an end to his eloquence. During the burning of Dr. Priestley's house, one incident occurred which was comically unexpected. The cry of the mob in those days was *' Church and King ! " and they pretended to consider all Dis- senters as disloyal subjects. Dr. Priestley was fond of music, and, as a diversion from his mental labours, used to grind a small barrel-organ. When the rioters had sacked the house, this organ was brought out into the garden and put with other things to be afterwards carried away. Seeing the organ, one of the mob began to turn the handle, when to the surprise of all they heard the loyal air of ''God Save the KinQ-'M 179'.] DEFENCE OF BASKERVILLE HOUSE, ii Matthew continues — " The mob which had begun by attacking Dissenters as public enemies, burning down their chapels and their houses and making spoil of their goods, soon expanded their views, and gave unmistakable signs that the dis- tinction between Dissenter and Churchman had had its hour, and was to be superseded in favour of the doctrine now so well known, * La propriete c'est un vol.' When matters came to this pass, the magistrates swore in special constables. My father was one of this body ; and, like his comrades, compendiously armed with half a mop- stick by way of truncheon, he marched with them to the defence of Baskerville House, which was under attack by the mob. The special constables at first drove all before them, in spite of the immense disparity of numbers ; but after a time, becoming separated in the mclce, they sustained a total defeat. Some were very severely bruised, and one died of the injuries which he received. My father, although not conscious at the time of having received a blow, could not the next morning raise his arm. He was always of opinion that if they had had a flag, or some signal of that kind, round which they could have rallied, the fortune of the day would have been reversed." Baskerville House, after being pillaged and burnt, was purposely left standing for many years to be a disgrace to Birmingham. I well remember its desolate appearance. The following letter from Dr. Priestley's secretary to my father is in our possession : — " Mr. Russell present? his compliments to Mr. Hill, and 12 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. I. sends him, at Dr. Priestley's request, a set of his * Church History ' and also of ' Early Opinions,' of which the doctor requests Mr. Hill's acceptance as a testimony of his gratitude for Mr. Hill's exertions and attentions during the late riots. Mr. R. expects to make an addition to the books now sent, but is unwilling these should be delayed. " Digbeth, Friday, January 13, 1792." The two following letters also bear upon this period : — Sarah Hill (nde Symonds) to her son T. W. Hill. "Kidderminster, July 27, 1791. " Dear Child, "We should be much gratified to receive a line from you when you can write with convenience to yourself. It will be a particular satisfaction to know that the effects of the blow you received upon your arm are quite gone off. I was exceedingly anxious about you when I heard of the late dreadful commotions in and about Birmingham. You won't think I disapprove of your dis- interested spirit and ardent desire to succour your friends, but I feared you should sustain material injury in endeavour- ing to do something where it appeared, by the accounts I heard, nothing was to be done, at least nothing to any purpose. But you on the spot were more capable of judging than persons at a distance, and I am sure you would act consistently with principles that I must approve. " I think we arc much indebted to the kindness of our great and gracious Preserver for that protection which you and other friends experienced when exposed to so much danger from a bigoted outrageous mob. I hope a stop is 1792.] " CHURCH AND KING " FOLKS. 13 effectually put to their depredations, and that you will now enjoy peace and tranquillity, though you must and will feel something of the distressing effects for a considerable time. Trade will be injured, and many deprived of those opportunities for attending public worship which they lately enjoyed. " All unite in love to you. " From your affectionate mother, "S. Hill." Letter from Sarah Hill (afterwards Mrs. Williams) to her brother T. W. Hill, written m the auttimn of iy()2. "Dear Brother, " Having an opportunity of writing post free induces me to write a line to thank you for the letter we received last night. It was a satisfaction to us to hear something of my sister. We had felt anxious about her from the reports a week ago of riotous proceedings at Birmingham, but I trust you will not have any more serious alarms of this kind. By what we hear the C and K folks seem disposed to court the friendship of you Dissenters in support of the Constitution, etc., etc. I think some of them must be ashamed of their former conduct. "Parties here seem at present to run high. Three or four informations have been sent, we are informed, to Mr. Dundas of what one body or another has said against the K and Constitewshim. To# « »>•" ^ S-U,^ ^L-^Co^ ^/c->^ 183-,.] A BRILLIANT TALKER. 137 bald Fletcher, who had died in 1828, was almost the father of Burgh Reform in Scotland. Lord Cockburn thus describes him : — "A pure and firm patriot, never neglecting any oppor- tunity of resisting oppression, ashamed of no romance of public virtue. In all his patriotism he was- encouraged by his amiable and high-minded wife, of whom Lord Brougham says, most justly, that 'with the utmost purity of life that can dignify and enhance female charms, she combined the inflexible principles and deep political feeling of a Hutchinson and a Roland.' " To return to Lord Jeffrey. His great powers of mind shone brilliantly in his conversation. Nothing could be further from the truth than the idea which prevailed at that time in England that he was dogmatic, sarcastic, and regardless of the feelings of those with whom he conversed. I experienced nothing of the sort, but found him, on the contrary, affable, lively, and kind. His intimate friend, Lord Cockburn, says — " Speaking seemed necessary for his existence. The intellectual fountains were so full that they were always bubbling over, and it would have been painful to restrain them. But, amidst all his fluency of thought and all his variety of matter, a great part of the delight of his con- versation arose from its moral qualities. Let him be as bold, as free, and as incautious and hilarious as he might, no sentiment could escape him that tended to excuse 138 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. VIII. inhumanity or meanness, or that failed to cherish high principles and generous affections. Then the language in which this talent and worth were disclosed ! The very words were a delight. Copious and sparkling, they often imparted nearly as much pleasure as the merry or the tender wisdom they conveyed. ... It may appear an odd thing to say, but it is true that the listener's pleasure was enhanced by the personal littleness of the speaker. A large man could scarcely have thrown off Jeffrey's con- versational flowers without exposing himself to ridicule. But the liveliness of the deep thoughts and the flow of the bright expressions that animated his talk seemed so natural and appropriate to the figure that uttered them, that they were heard with something of the delight with which the slenderness of the trembling throat and the quivering of the wings make us enjoy the strength and clearness of the notes of a little bird." My friend Mr. Francis Home,* a man of ardent feelings but courtly manners, was once travelling by stage-coach from Edinburgh to London, v^hen, at the dinner-table of a wayside inn, he fell in with a tall portly gentleman who had lately joined the coach. Mr. Home let fall some expression which showed whence he came, whereupon his fellow-traveller turned to him, saying, '* I perceive, sir, that you have just come from Edinburgh. Pray how's little Jeffrey '^ " ♦ Mr. Home, almost aghast at such a question, * Pronounced in Scotland Hume. 1836.] " THE DUNCE OF HIS FORM:' 139 replied, '' Sir, when I left Edinburgh Lo7'd Jeffrey was very well ; and, sir," he added, looking his companion full in the face, " I have yet to learn that a great mind is always to be found in a bulky body." A peal of genial laughter was the only reply from the tall portly gentleman, who was none other than Sydney Smith. He at once entered into conversation, proposed that they should ride together inside the coach for the remainder of the journey, and on arriving in London invited Mr. Home to visit him. I was glad to learn from Lord Jeffrey that his views on the subject of the Poor Law coincided with my own, and that he did not hold the opinions of the Malthusians, then very prevalent in Scotland. With Lord Cockburn I had much intercourse. He was a man strong both in head and heart, and was, like Jeffrey, one of the foremost leaders of the Scotch Whig party. His face was a striking one, with " his clear eyes and grand forehead." I remember his telling me that when he was at the Edinburgh High School he was '' the dunce of his form" — a fact showing either a wonderful subsequent growth of intellect, or else a great blunder on the part of his teachers ; a blunder I40 . FREDERIC HILL, [Chap. YIII. suggesting the suspicion that they may have had a greater claim than himself to the dunce's cap. My friend Mr. Simpson used to tell a story of Cockburn and Telford, the engineer. Cockburn had possessed himself by chance of a copy of doggerel verses which Telford had written when a young man, and of which he was heartily ashamed. The more his fame increased the more desirous Telford became that these verses should be buried in oblivion. At times the worthy engi- neer was inclined to be dogmatic in company, and on these occasions Lord Cockburn, who had learnt every line of the unlucky poem by heart, used, by some bold stroke, to make occasion to quote them, ushering them in with the words, ''as the delightful author of So-and-so says," or, '' as is well expressed in those beautiful lines." Instantly poor Telford became mute, all spirit left him, and he was perfectly subdued. The talisman never failed, and at last Telford implored Cockburn's mercy. I recollect a conversation with Lord Cockburn on the subject of the payment of procurators fiscal by fees. I mentioned to him that in talking with prisoners I not unfrequently found that they enter- tained a belief that the cause of their being in gaol was the desire of the '' fiscal " to put a fee 1836.] A GRAND PROSPECT SAVED. 141 of two guineas into his pocket. This evil, I thought, might be readily obviated by paying the procurators a fixed salary instead of fees on con- viction. Although Lord Cockburn, as a judge, had necessarily much to do with criminals, he said that the idea I had thrown out was quite new to him, and that he would carefully consider it. Some time afterwards the practice of paying pro- curators fiscal by fees was discontinued, and payment by salary was substituted. It is to Lord Cockburn that we owe the pre- servation of the grand open view of the Castle rock from Prince's Street. Had it not been for his exertions houses would have been built on what is now Prince's Street Gardens. He endeavoured also to preserve the fine trees dotted about the city from the axe. It is reported that on one occasion he exclaimed, *' I would as soon cut down a burgess without a fair trial as cut down a burgh tree ! " Mr. James Abercromby, the Speaker of the House of Commons, was the third son of Sir Ralph Abercromby, who defeated the French in the battle of Aboukir. I had much intercourse with him a few years later, when, as Lord Dun- fermline, he became a member of the Board of Directors of Prisons. I made notes of several of 142 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. YIII. our conversations. One of these was on the cha- racter of Sir Robert Peel. Lord Dunfermline's view of it was new to me. He said that though Peel had been brought up with Tory prejudices, and was tricky In obtaining his ends, he believed his tendencies to be Liberal, and considered that his aspirations were all good. He said he never knew a man who had a greater dread of responsi- bility, and he added that he knew no one who was less able to bear up when he felt that he was in the wrong. As Speaker, Lord Dunfermline had a full opportunity of observing the counte- nances of the leading members. He said that when Sir Robert Peel was about to speak on some motion against his conscience, the writhings of his features were pitiable to behold. Lord Dunfermline felt sure that he would ultimately give up the Corn Laws. I may here mention that my friend Dr. Johnson, of Birmingham, who was physician to Sir Robert Peel's father, and saw a good deal of Sir Robert as a young man, had formed exactly the same estimate of his character. Speaking of the ventilation of the House of Commons, Lord Dunfermline mentioned that at one period he had been oppressed, day after day, by a husky cough and headache, for which he knew 1837] TRADES AND POLITICS. 143 not how to account. At last an honourable member made this startling announcement : *' Mr. Speaker, I have to inform the House that we shall soon all be killed!" He went on to explain that Dr. Reid's newly introduced hot-air apparatus had got out of order in the absence of its inventor, and that it was, upon Dr. Arnott's authority, making the atmosphere so dry as to be most injurious to life ! Lord Dunfermline spoke of political opinion depending greatly upon people's trades. When he first stood for the representation of Edinburgh, it was found in canvassing the city that, as a rule, the shoemakers were Liberals, while the butchers were Tories ; that the grocers were, almost to a man. Liberals, while the hairdressers were Tories ; and, again, that the carpenters were Liberals, while the milkmen were Tories. Mr. Andrew Rutherford, who became Solicitor- General for Scotland in 1837, I knew. It was mainly to him that Scotland owed her emancipation from the old unjust laws relating to land. Some years later he was raised to the Bench as Lord Rutherford. I have already spoken of the kind welcome which I received on my first arrival in Edinburgh from the Lord Advocate, Sir John, afterwards Lord 144 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. VIII. Murray, and of my high esteem for his character. At his hospitable house I had the pleasure of meeting with the most distinguished men of Edinburgh society. This " marvellously genial person," whose qualities were ''good nature, a love of humour, and particularly a love of pleasant society," formed a central figure round whom they all gathered, and their welcome of myself verified Burns's lines — *' Thy sons, Edina, social, kind. With open arms the stranger hail." Sir Walter Scott alludes to John Archibald Murray in his diary for the year 1827 : — " Went to dine with John Murray, where met his brother (Henderland), Jeffrey, Cockburn, Rutherford, and others of the file. Very pleasant ; capital good cheer and excellent wine ; much laugh and fun. I do not know how it is, but when I am out with a party of my Opposition friends the day is often merrier than when with our own set. Is it because they are cleverer? Jeffrey and Harry Cockburn are, to be sure, very extraordinary men ; yet it is not owing to that entirely. I believe both parties meet with the feeling of something like novelty. We have not worn out our jests in daily contact. There is also a disposition on such occasions to be courteous and, of course, to be pleased." And, again, speaking of a similar gathering, he writes — 1837.] AN EDINBURGH SALON. 145 " We had a very pleasant party. The Chief Com- missioner was there, Admiral Adam, J. A. Murray, Thom. Thomson, etc., etc. ; Sir Adam predominating and dancing, what he calls, his 'merry andrada' in great style. In short, we really laughed, and real laughter is a thing as rare as real tears. I must say, too, there was a Jieart^ a kindly feeling prevailed over the party." * Mr. William Murray of Henderland, alluded to above, was Sir John's elder brother. He had inherited the family property of Henderland. He lived with Sir John and Lady Murray, and was, like his brother, possessed of fine qualities in mind and heart. Lady Murray made an excellent hostess, kind, courteous, and attentive to all her guests. She was an accomplished musician. Her performance on the pianoforte was of a high order. When I first knew her and her husband there was a fourth member of the household who was most tenderly beloved by all ; a fine, handsome, promising boy, their only child. But, unhappily, he died when about twelve years old. All that I ever heard of Sir John Murray redounded to his honour. On one occasion an old lady who had quarrelled with her adopted heir bequeathed her entire property to Sir John. When the will was read he found himself, to his great * See Lockhart's "Life of Sir Walter Scott." 10 146 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. VIII. surprise, possessed of wealth, while the heir- presumptive found himself penniless. Sir John made inquiries into the character of the young man, and receiving satisfactory answers, he quietly transferred back to him the whole property. Soon after this a lady called upon Sir John's mother, and, indignant at what seemed to her an act of quixotism, demanded, '' Do you know what your son John has done ? " "Yes," replied Mrs. Murray; ''and he would not have been my son John if he had done anything else." Mrs. Murray lived to the advanced age of nearly a hundred. She had a clear memory for bygone events, and could describe accurately the striking scenes of the Rebellion of 1745. She was a niece of Chief Justice Mansfield. Sir Adam Fergusson was a marked figure in Edinburgh society. He was the lifelong friend of Sir Walter Scott, and was one of the very few persons to whom the ''Great Unknown" confided the secret of the authorship of " Waverley." Scott says of him, " He combined the lightest and most airy temper with the best and kindest disposition." Referring to my journal, I find the following : — . " Dined at Mr. William Chambers's, and met Sir Adam Fergusson. Sir Adam, though an old man, has much of 1 837.] A POETS WIFE. T47 the animation and fire of youth, and he told stories of fifty years since as if they had occurred yesterday. The conversation happened to fall upon Home, the author of the tragedy of 'Douglas,' with whom Sir Adam was well acquainted. He said that no man could be more unequally matched in a wife ; Mrs. Home having neither taste for literature, nor the slightest appreciation of literary men. She was infirm in health and very deaf, and she spent the greater part of the day on the sofa chewing nutmegs, always keeping a nutmeg and grater in her pocket. Soon after * Douglas ' was published, an enthusiastic admirer of the play made a journey from London to Edinburgh on purpose to see its author, and great was his disappointment on reaching Home's house to find that he was away from Edinburgh. The servant asked him if he would like to see Mrs. Home, and he was taken upstairs, picturing as he went the lovely being a poet's wife must be. Her unprepossessing appearance dispelled his illusions, but he sought, by his enthusiastic admiration of her husband, to touch the feelings of the wife. Not one remark could he get, an occasional grunt being her only rejoinder. Much daunted, the gentleman sat silent, when the lady, with some spark of animation, asked if there were any prospect of a peace. * Yes,' he answered, glad of some conversational question ; * there is every hope that a glorious peace will soon be concluded.' '"Oh, aye — will it mak' ony difference in the price o' VivXmugs ? ' "This was too much for the visitor, and he hastily withdrew." Mrs. SIddons was a frequent guest of Home's, and it was at his house that Sir Adam often met 148 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. VIII. her. He said he never saw her smile but once, and then she laughed outright. It was at the dinner-table. Mr. Home asked Mrs. Siddons what wine she would drink, and upon her saying that she preferred porter, he told a servant-boy to go and fetch ''a little porter." The boy soon returned, ushering in a little man with straps and badge complete, exclaiming, '* This, sir, is the smallest porter I could find." I became acquainted with the Honourable Mrs. Stewart Mackenzie, a daughter of Lord Seaforth. I met her first at the house of Lord Mackenzie, the son of the author of the '' Man of Feeling." I was told that all the members of Lord Seaforth s family were distinguished for their talents, and certainly I found this to be the case as regarded Mrs. Stewart Mackenzie. I well remember a conversation we had about Sir Walter Scott. She told me that one day, when she happened to be out driving with him. Sir Walter told her, in his powerfully graphic way, the story of the " Bride of Lammermoor." When it was finished, they were both silent for a time. Then Mrs. Mackenzie exclaimed, " Horrible — truly horrible ! I hope that story will never appear in print." Nevertheless at no distant time it did appear iHt,7.\ llh.NI'.l'ACrOKS IN 1 .1 1 h. I< A 1 1 1 N h.. \^^) in print, ns oii'- of llir W;iv< ricy Novds. " I'lil," added Mrs. IVI;i(:l:fii/i(', " :.o linn vv.is my IxImI, at iIh: time, tli.il. S(')ll w;i', iiol iIk* ;iiii1io|- ol the novels, that. (:vui;di i h;id th'- li.'ippinr-.s of foiiniii'.'^ th*- fri'iidJiip of VViih.ini ;nid Kohcrt. ( li.nnhf T',. |j'l:c ;dl tho.f. who (h'.iicd llic spread of IniowhthM-, I h;id feh, jM-;it«fnl to them for th^-. excellent, work th^y wf-re floiiij'^ \\\ prodiicim'^ I'ood ;ind ( h^ Mp hlfr.it.in'-. 'I hfir adnnrahN'. foHrudl appf-.irr.d as cirly ;r, I' ehrii.iry, 1832, and was the foi'i-unrifi- of the m;i ,s of (h';ij> piihh'c.'it ions whifli j^'radn.illy followed in its wal:e. The st.ory of t.he lives of llif, t.wo hrot.hcrs, as told hy VVillMm ( Is'irnhfTs, is a. most int<:rfstin;'^ aiifl instructive picf <• of l>io;/raphy. It shows what. talent, united with slrihin;'^ wfjilli and indoniil;il>le energy, can acfiomplish in the face (>f what would see.rn, to ordinary nif.n, insurmounta hh: difhf ult i'-s. f l>ef:amf, most intmiat'- with I'ohejt, and at his hous C^^ — »,, 1839.] THE ''PARENTS' CABINET.'' 191 knowledge of the subject, and a constant observa- tion of nature, well fitted her. Maria Edgeworth, in letters to Miss Cowper, expressed the warmest admiration for the Parents Cabinet. This was the beginning of an interesting correspondence between the ladies. The work passed through many editions. The most recent, under the somewhat altered title of Happy Hours ; or. The Parents Cabinet, appeared in 1891, edited by my daughter Constance*''' Before we met I had read Miss Cowper's little tales, and she had read my ** Prison Reports." Though widely different performances, these writings had interested us in each other's turn of mind. Miss Cowper was a special friend of my sister-in- law, Mrs. Arthur Hill. They resembled each other in talent, enthusiasm, and goodness. Miss Cowper assisted in tending her friend through a long and fatal illness. My valued sister-in-law died in Octo- ber, 1839, but not before the knowledge of our approaching union had given her heartfelt pleasure. To turn to public events, my brother Rowland's scheme for postal reform was at this time before * It is a curious fact that while Miss Edgeworth sympathized with my mother in the first production of the Parents' Cabinet^ her half-sister, Mrs. Butler, should have shown, in correspondence with myself, a warm interest in an edition brought out more than fifty years later. — Ed. 192 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. X. Parliament. Owing to my absence In Scotland, I had been able to give him but little assistance in the promotion of his great work. I remember, however, that I drew up the first petition to Parliament on its behalf, signed by the merchants of London. I was in town, and able to be present at the second reading of the Postage Bill, about which I find this short note to my father : — *' House of Commons, Monday night (July 22), 1839. "My dear Father, " The second reading of the Postage Bill has been carried without a division, and from the character of the debate and other circumstances the measure is as certain of passing into a law as a matter of the kind can be certain. " The Duke of Wellington supported the Bill, and par- ticularly recommended that Rowland's plan should be adopted throughout. Brougham supported with zeal, and with talent of course, and, what was not of course, without cavils or crotchets. " Yours affectionately, "F. Hill." The year 1840 dawned with the birth of Penny Postage — '* the child of Hill affection," as it has been well called. As a full history of It is given in the " Life " of my brother Rowland, by my nephew, Dr. Birkbeck Hill, I shall not enter into so large a subject 1840.] MARRIAGE. 193 in these '' Recollections," except so far as it affected family relations. In the month of April of this year my marriage with Miss Martha Cowper took place, and thus began a career of nearly fifty years of uninterrupted connubial happiness with a lady of congenial feelings and views, who essentially aided me in the perform- ance of my public duties, doing with heart and mind that which only a woman could do. After my marriage I ceased to keep a regular diary ; but my wife, who possessed the pen of a ready writer, wrote a journal during the early years of our married life for the benefit of her own and my relations in England. In her journals and letters her wifely partiality cannot but appear. I must therefore submit to insert some praise of myself, or must suppress her writings altogether. She writes — ''Edinburgh, May 9, 1840. " Here I am in this beautiful city, with the old castle and the fine gardens and the high picturesque houses stretched out before me. We arrived at this hotel (Mackay's, Prince's Street) about three this morning. I was tired and weary, but a chorus of birds at that early hour welcomed me. The novelty of such a burst of song in the midst of a city was delightful. . . . The streets are beautiful, and it is altogether a glorious city ; but I do not ^3 194 FREDERIC HILL, [Chap. X. know what our Regent Street linen-drapers would say to the odd positions of the shops. Even in the principal streets there are two tiers of shops, so that you have a grocer's under a goldsmith's, a chandler's under a shawl warehouse, and a fashionable shoemaker's under a butcher's, with its agreeable accompaniments hanging over your head as you enter the shop." We secured some comfortable rooms at No. lo, Castle Street, where my Edinburgh friends soon came to call on my wife. She writes to my father — '- " I think you have heard of Mrs. Fletcher. She is a most interesting woman, full of energy, vivacity, and talent, and her manners are particularly courteous and refined. She is above seventy, but is more youthful and graceful than many a young person.* She has taken a deep interest in the Poor Law question, added to all the other benevolent objects which occupy so much of her time and attention. She spoke earnestly and warmly of Frederic, and this, you know, was very pleasant music to * The widow of Sir Charles Bell described, many years ago, to a friend of ours, her first sight of Mrs. Fletcher, when the latter was a young married woman. It was on the occasion of an illumination in Edinburgh. Lady Bell was seated in a window, and, happening to turn her head, she saw Mrs. Fletcher enter the room with the light of the illuminations striking full upon the turned-back brim of her yellow hat, which gave it the effect of an aureole. " The face," she said, " was like the face of an angel." Lady Bell's last sight of Mrs. Fletcher was in the garden of Mrs. Arnold's home of Fox Howe. Her face, still beautiful in old age, was illumined by the setting sun. — Ed. i840.] THE APOSTLE OF TEMPERANCE. 195 me. We are to spend next Saturday evening with this accomplished and discerning lady. " I had nearly forgotten to tell you that Mrs. Fletcher had just seen a very long letter from Miss Edgeworth to Dr. Alison, giving an animated description of the temper- ance movement in Ireland. Miss Edgeworth says the good that Father Mathew is effecting is incalculable ; that he is performing wonders, not miracles ; that he rigidly refuses all worship of his adherents, and that she considers him the greatest man of his age." *'23» Great King Street, August 10. *' I hope you received the ' Prison Report ' quite safely. The General Board distribute the greater number, but I had the pleasure of sending off nearly fifty. How I wish that Frederic could have put into the report all his thoughts and feelings upon capital punishment, Scottish Poor Law, etc. ! But we must content ourselves that such self-denial is wise, and that he will be able to introduce more and more valuable matter each year." In September my wife accompanied me in one of my tours of inspection. She writes — ''September 10. — Went this morning with Frederic to the wretched old jail in Elgin, which, however, under his directions, has at last been made clean. A fire was in the room where two girls were confined, but no fire could warm such a room in winter. The staircase was outside the old tower. The two girls were but seventeen years old, and would probably be transported for the thefts they had committed. One was a stout, good-tempered looking young woman, decently brought up, but led into evil by bad companions. The other, a thin, spare-looking girl, 196 FREDERIC HILL, [Chap. X. was a tight-rope dancer belonging to a travelling caravan. Her brother and sister had both been transported. She had never been at school, could not read, write, or sew, scour a floor, reap, or do anything, indeed, but dance. She came into the prison in a state of great destitution four months ago, and is still untried. She looks as if the light of a loving countenance had never fallen upon her. She shrank, and tried to hide herself when we approached her. Oh, the folly of bringing the whole force and machinery of the law to bear upon a poor creature like this, when simple instruction in useful habits and change of the circumstances that had produced the crime would do so much more good ! A few cases of this kind, well made out, would do much to awaken people's minds to the necessity of a house of refuge, where character could be gained as well as good habits confirmed. ^^ Banff. — Miss Cameron (daughter of Provost Cameron) is a good woman, but the lady's broad Scotch and loud voice are somewhat alarming to encounter. She took me to see several schools this morning. The infant school is managed by a most amiable man, named, you would say, for his occupation — Mr. Bairnsfather. My companion was astonished at the learning of the children, ever and anon exclaiming, in a tone of voice which I cannot describe, but which sounded like extreme dissatisfaction, ' Well, to think of the like of that ! There is no bounds to the knowledge of children nowadays.' Then, in the same loud scolding tone of voice, she exclaimed to the lady who accompanied us, 'Well, it's just the most fortunate and extraordinary circumstance that Mr. Hill should have met with Mrs. Hill. It's what I call just providential 1 ' " The prison here was in a wretched state before Frederic was inspector. The prisoners would have starved but for i84o.] SUNDAY IN THE HIGHLANDS, 197 the help of two ladies. One fine young man was in for two years for no crime of his own, but because his sweet- heart had smuggled some whisky, and he took the blame on himself, though innocent. He literally died for want of proper nourishment, want of air, and the effects of the cold winter without firing. A lady, by hard exertion, got the poor fellow released a few weeks before his death ; but nothing could save him, and he died moaning that he never more could see his native hills or the young girl for whom he had perished. This smuggling case was the more distressing as rich men are living close by whose whole property was made by smuggling. " Stratkpeffer, Sunday morning, September 20. — Our windows look out over rocks and sloping uplands culti- vated to the edge of the fir-woods, and dotted with numerous cottages thatched with straw, broom, or heather. I took a delightful though lonely ramble up the rocks, and had a fine view of Tor Echelter, the woods of Sir George Mackenzie, and a small lake or tarn. I picked specimens of the grass of pampas, the cotton grass, and the yellow asphodel. All the cottagers were in church at the Gaelic service ; the shepherds' dogs alone keeping watch, and they were so still that I could hear no sound but the wild bee humming over the heather. " In returning from one of my visits to Mrs. Cameron, of Dingwell, which were always pleasant, her coachman remarked on the beauty of the stars, which on that night were most brilliant. I spoke to him of the shepherd-boy who had spent hours in watching the stars and gaining knowledge about them, and gave him an account of Ferguson's life. I was much pleased with the man's intelligent remark. 'Ah, Mistress Hill, you see it was by minding things and never letting anything pass that FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. X. he came to be so clever ! ' It was curious that his remark should be so much like that of the poor black woman that Miss Martineau quotes, who, when Mr. Sedgwick asked her how she could have learnt so much of the laws of some of the States respecting slavery, answered, ' By keeping still, sir, and minding things.' If we could but educate the young ' to mind things,' and ' not to let any- thing pass,' we should not have complaints of the stupidity of the poor ; but we have never thought of training their powers of observation. "■' Inverness, October 15. — There is so much convenience and comfort at Inverness that one can scarcely imagine the time to be so very recent when the town was without light, without pavement, and without any means of cleanliness. A gentleman of middle age told Frederic that the streets used to be ankle-deep in mud during the summer and knee-deep in winter. He remembered the time when every well-to-do family kept a boy whose express duty it was to go before them and clear a pathway. " I went but once to the jail, as it is full of workmen altering the place under Frederic's directions. He has persuaded the people here to spend a hundred pounds on the old jail before the new one can be ready. It was most necessary. " In the course of a week the women will be in a larger room, new windows will be made, means of ventilation created, and gas and water laid on to the highest story ; the prisoners will be decently clothed, and separate hammocks (removable by day) provided for them instead of the dirty bedding now occupying the floor. They will be employed in regular work, and books and instruction will be supplied. "Frederic is most careful to prevent communication from i84o.] AUTUMN EVENING AT ABBOTSFORD. 199 without. A new window in one of the cells had been made near the floor, thus affording a sight of the street below, but he had it built up again and placed nearer the ceiling. Frederic will not, however, allow a view of nature to be shut out unnecessarily. I heard him giving direc- tions that no blinds should be put up to this same window, in order that the view of the distant Firth, the green hills, and the blue sky might be seen. " Monday night. — Left Inverness for Edinburgh. Rode outside the coach with Frederic part of the way, and much enjoyed the prospect of the woods of Strathspey, now golden with the autumn tints, and their background of huge mountains with rifted precipices coming into life and light under the rising sun. Craig Elachie is a noble mountain. Anderson mentions that the expression, * Stand fast, Craig Elachie ! ' is the gathering-cry of the clan Grant, the occupants of this great Strath. " At Perth, while our fellow-travellers were dining, Frederic ran to the Penitentiary, and I had a long talk with Mr. Hutchinson, the keeper of the jail. " Selkirk^ October 24. — Arrived here after a pleasant but cold ride. After dinner we drove to Melrose, stopping at Abbotsford on our way. The sun was setting as we passed through Sir Walter's plantations on the hillsides that he has clothed with beauty. The colours of the changing foliage were exceedingly beautiful, though mournful. Every light breeze scattered the leaves before us, and the Tweed murmured solemnly as it flowed. We both felt the harmony of the scene with our own emotions. ' Through his loved grove the breezes sigh, And oaks in deeper groan reply, And rivers teach their rushing wave To murmur dirges round his grave.* 200 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. X. " It was impossible not to think of every line of Lock- hart's description of the last journey towards this sweet home — the instant return of reason, and the wild rapture at the sight of the Eildon Hills, and of every dear and well remembered object. Had the lines to Caledonia, in the sixth canto of the ' Lay,' been composed by Scott at that moment, they could not have been more expressive of his feelings. * Still, as I view each well-known scene. Think what is now, and what hath been, Seems as to me of all bereft, Sole friends thy woods and streams were left; And thus I love them better still, Even in extremity of ill.' " In the front court, where Scott lingered on the autumn evening of his return, the roses were blooming as they are now, and the same calmness seemed to be spread over the scene. " On entering the house, the light was so obscured by the painted windows in the hall that it was impossible to examine the curious relics of olden time that crowd the walls ; nor did I feel inclined to do so, the whole was so impressive, so part of the living man, that I did not care for detail. The shadow of the magician was a greater relic than aught collected there, and was flung over every part. The beautiful library was filled with splendid tables, antique cabinets, vases, etc. — gifts from poets, and great men, and crowned heads ; but they derive almost all their interest from being proofs of the homage paid to genius. Who could curiously examine Greek vases or showy cabinets within sight of the little study adjoining, from whence issued such wondrous spells ? The study is pre- i84o.] A GREAT AUTHOR'S LAST VISION. 201 cisely as it was left after Scott used it, two days before his death, when, after his arrival from abroad, he desired to be placed at his desk, and wrote a few lines. "A bed was put up in the dining-room for him near the window, and here he died, with the beautiful prospect he had loved so much in life spread out before him in death." 202 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XI. CHAPTER XI. 1840-1842. Mrs. Hill's journals continued — Dr. Alison — Infant Felons' Bill and the Honourable Amelia Murray — The Bethunes — William Lloyd Garrison — Mrs. Fletcher and Allan Cunningham — Authorship of "There's nae luck about the house" — Visit to Ayr — The widow of Burns. '"■Jedburgh, October 27, 1840. — After breakfast I went with Frederic to the jail to settle about the matron's room, the bath-room, etc., and to talk to the women. " The warder — a very kind-hearted man of fifty — has a most unfortunate appearance. He is tall and very thin, with a deadly white face, red eyes and red nose. We naturally asked whether he was given to drinking. Mr. Boyde, the governor, said, on the contrary, he was an excellent officer, but he had had this strange appearance from childhood. He told me that a poor woman, who came to see her husband who was imprisoned for debt, was so frightened when this man opened the gate that she nearly fainted. She took him for the hangman ! " I left Frederic with the male prisoners and followed my ghostly guide, the warder, to the women's side of the prison, when suddenly, looking at me with the most insinuating expression, he asked, ' Mistress Hill, do you think in the new arrangements there will be room for a 1840.] A LOVE -SICK TURNKEY, 203 poor turnkey's wife, should he be inclined to marry ? ' After thus breaking the ice with me he had some private talk with Frederic, who sympathized so much with the poor man's love-story, that he kept his countenance and never smiled till relating the interview to me, when he gave the warder the name of the 'sentimental scarecrow.' '' Gi-eenlaw, October 28. — Went with Frederic to the jail. A female prisoner was baking some bread made of barley and peas flour. I found that the peas gave a bitter taste to the bread, but in spite of this it is preferred to oatcake on account of its moistness. Wheaten bread had been used formerly in the prison, but upon Frederic's ascertaining that this peas bread was the food of the country, and that it was pronounced by the doctor to be wholesome and nourishing, he changed the dietary in order that the prisoners might not fare better than their honest neighbours. "The keeper's wife is to be appointed matron. She seems to be a very good person. I learnt that several prisoners had been taught to read (though this has hitherto formed no part of a keeper's duty). Mrs. Johnson brought her young son to me who had taught a man, under sentence of death, to read the New Testament. "A lad whom I noticed had formerly been a most unruly prisoner. He was an orphan, and had been apprenticed to a brush-maker who had ill-treated him. When he first came into prison he tore his clothes, broke his porridge-basin, and did all the mischief he could. As a punishment he was placed in a dark cell, and was even ironed, but he remained as wild as ever. Mrs. Johnson told me she saw that all harsh treatment was making him grow worse and worse. She said to her husband, ' Let's try to calm him down by kindness.' * And so, ma'am,* 204 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XT. she continued, ' we smoothed down his nerves a bit, and now he can't behave better than he does, poor lad ! though do what I will he won't take to his book.' ''Edinburgh, October 31. — Frederic and I met Dr. Alison in the old town. He turned and walked with us for a considerable distance. We congratulated him on the resolution of the town council to petition Parliament for an inquiry by the Poor Law Commissioners into the state of the country. It was delightful to talk to this good man on the progress of his great work. Two months ago, when he seemed a little desponding, I told him I would allow him the same time for its accomplishment that his fellow-benefactor had taken to establish Penny Postage — two years and a half — but he shook his head and said, ' Oh no, he should never be so happy.' Every- thing, however, looks promising now, and I have little doubt that in the time I mentioned he will see his glorious labours crowned with success. The blessing he will be to Scotland is incalculable. ''Edinburgh^ November 3. — Mr. Neale, the author of ' Juvenile Delinquency in Manchester,' is a candidate for the governorship of the Edinburgh prison. We asked him to dine with us to meet Mr. Simpson and one or two other friends. Mr. Neale spoke of the new Bill called the ' Infant Felons' Bill,' which has lately been introduced into Parliament. The provisions are very similar to those of the French law, which gives Government the power, under peculiar circumstances, to sentence a young offender to a long term of confinement for his first offence in order to rescue him from evil surroundings. Mr. Neale mentioned the curious fact that this Bill was entirely projected and drawn up by one of the Queen's maids of honour. Upon this Mr. Simpson informed us that its i84o.] TIVO EARNEST WORKERS. 205 author was the Honourable Amelia Murray, and added, moreover, that she had sent it to him in manuscript to revise. " The conversation afterwards turned upon an article which appeared in \h.^ Athenceum for October 24 — a review of the memoir of a poor labourer, John Bethune, who was honest, industrious, and self-educated. -His story, as told by his only surviving brother, is a most pathetic comment upon the neglect, in this country, of the necessitous poor. All our friends were greatly interested in it, and Mr. Simpson said it should be sent at once to Dr. Alison to serve as an unanswerable argument against Dr. Chalmers' scheme of supporting the poor by the poor. "... I have purchased the memoir, and have also procured a copy of the two brothers' lecture on ' Political Economy for the Poor.' They are written in so polished a style that it is difficult to realize the dire poverty which obliged their authors to make use of such materials as grocers' bags for writing-paper. I have written to Alexander Bethune, who is still working as a labourer at Newbury, in Fifeshire, and have received a very interesting letter from him. I have also heard from the minister of the parish, who confirms our opinion of the moral and intellectual worth of the two brothers. ^'November 15. — Dined with our friends the Wighams, and enjoyed, as usual, the very atmosphere of their well- ordered and cultivated home. We met a Mr. and Mrs. Anderson just returned from Jamaica, and an American gentleman of the name of Collins, a delegate from the Original Anti-Slavery Society, of which the heroic Garrison is the head.* * Twenty-seven years later, when slavery in America had 2o6 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XI. t " Mr. Anderson is a missionary. He and his wife had resided for five years in Kingston. They gave the same account of the 'day of liberation' as has been lately published in CJianihers's Journal from the Government de- spatches. Some of the delegates from the Anti-Slavery Society went to Jamaica to witness the effect of the abolition. When they returned to America they published an account of it ; giving the admirable speech of the governor of the island, Sir Lionel Smith, and describing how well the negroes responded to it by their orderly conduct. "Mr. Collins mentioned a curious fact respecting the criminal laws in Georgia. He says that whilst there are seventy-three crimes which are punishable by death in the case of a slave, there are only three for which a white man suffers the same penalty. ''November 21. — We had a visit this morning from our good friends Mr. and Mrs. Wigham. They brought with them Mr. Dunn, the master of a large Lancastrian school, where six hundred children are instructed, to see my stores of drawings, books, songs for children, etc., and to have a regular lesson from me in the use of these things ! At Mr. Wigham's request I gave Mr. Dunn all the help in my power. Memorandums were made of Mr. Grant's bold outlines for teaching elementary drawing, of the sketches of animals for teaching natural history, and of Mr. Hickson's songs for children. Many of these have been introduced into schools from our showing them to friends. ceased to exist, Mrs. Hill had the pleasure of being present at the congratulatory breakfast given in London to William Lloyd Garrison. She was accompanied by her son-in-law, Mr. John Scott, and her nephew, Dr. Birkbeck Hill. The recollection of this joyful and triumphant gathering was an abiding pleasure to her.— Ed. i84i.] JEAN ADAM. 207 "■January 16, 184 1. — Dined at Mrs. Fletcher's, and passed a very agreeable evening. Her daughter, Mrs. Davy (wife of Dr. Davy, brother of Sir Humphry), is now staying with her during her husband's absence at Con- stantinople. Dr. Davy has gone there, by the direct invitation of the Sultan, to establish the English hospital system in the Turkish army; but he almost despairs of effecting much good in the time he can devote to the object, owing to the dilatoriness of the people. '• I had some very interesting conversation with Mrs. Fletcher upon Cromek's ' Reliques of Burns,' and his edition of the ' Nithsdale and Galloway Songs.' I had observed her name mentioned in the notes. " When Cromek came to Edinburgh Mrs. Fletcher gave him letters of introduction to several of her friends who were admirers and collectors of Scottish song, including Allan Cunningham. She herself furnished him with the interesting account of poor Jean Adam, the authoress of the beautiful song, * There's nae luck about the house.' Mrs. Fletcher had heard the story while staying with Mrs. Fullerton, an aged lady, living near Greenock, who had formerly been one of Jean Adam's pupils when Jean kept a small school at Crawford's Dyke. Mrs. Fullerton re- membered her reading some of Shakespeare's plays with enthusiasm to her little scholars. She also remembered her telling them of her intention to walk to London in order to see Richardson the novelist, and the wonderful account she gave them on her return home of her journey. " Poor Jean had been brought up in penury, and her poetic powers could not keep her above want when she gave up her little school. After wandering about some time she was compelled to seek shelter in the Poorhouse at Glasgow. She died the following day, and all that 2o8 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XI. records the fate of this gifted, tender-hearted woman is the entry of her death in the parish register.* " In expressing my admiration of the ' Nithsdale and Galloway Songs/ I observed that they were invaluable, not only for their beautiful and vivid imagery, but for portraying the tastes and feelings of a peasantry among whom they had been so carefully preserved from a by- gone age. Upon this Mrs. Fletcher told me a fact which considerably chagrined me. It appears that few of these songs are of the origin that Cromek states them to be ; the greater part of the collection are written by Allan Cunningham. When Mrs. Fletcher sent Cromek to Allan Cunningham (thirty years ago), the latter thought that Cromek wished to see specimens of his own poetry ; he therefore showed him some. But, to his great mortifica- tion, Cromek treated them almost with scorn, saying that it was absurd for any one to attempt to write Scotch songs after Burns. Cromek, however, went on to say that as Burns had created a taste for old Scottish song, he should be thankful to Cunningham if he could obtain any fragments for him to publish. Cunningham, in a letter to Mrs. Fletcher, says that the thought immediately came into his head of imposing upon this critic who was so great in his own estimation, but merely for the fun of the thing. He accordingly wrote a few verses and took them the following day to Cromek, who was enchanted * The authorship of "There's nae luck about the house" is a disputed point. In 1810, Cromek, after adopting Mrs. Fuller- ton's evidence as conclusive, changed his opinion in favour of W. J. Mickle, the translator of the " Lusiad," on what seems to be insufficient proof. Messrs. Finlay Dun and John Thomson, in their edition of the " Vocal Melodies of Scotland," published in 1836, attribute the poem to Jean Adam. — Ed. 1841.] '' NITHSDALE AND GALLOWAY SONGSr 209 with them, and besought him to strive to obtain more poetry from * this rich vein of native talent' " Nothing would satisfy Cromek but a thorough examina- tion of all Cunningham's store of old songs — as he sup- posed them to be — and then he declared they were ' the very things for publication ! ' Cunningham was amused, and continued the deception, which, he says, was certainly not for the purpose of gaining money, as he only received four pounds for transcribing the poems. He does not pretend to justify the act, but says he does not think it very culpable. "Allan Cunningham, in another letter to Mrs. Fletcher, which was read to me, describes the interview with Sir Walter Scott when the latter was sitting to Chantrey for his bust. Scott taxed Allan with being the author of the * Nithsdale and Galloway Songs,' saying, * Ah, Allan, none but the uninitiated could be deceived. They were too good, mon^ to be old.' Thus attacked, Allan avowed the truth. He repeats this avowal to his friend Mrs. Fletcher, in order that * if the matter were to come before the public hereafter, and mistakes were to arise, his secret might be in safe and upright hands.* "Mrs. Fletcher described to me her first acquaintance with Allan Cunningham. She was staying with a friend in the neighbourhood of Dumfries. This lady said to her on the morning after her arrival, * Do you see that group of labourers in my grounds preparing to build a new wall ? Well, a poet of no common order is among them. See if you can find him out. He is courting my housemaid, and it was from her that I learnt of his talent. Since then I have given orders for him to have a duplicate key of our library, and, although I can vouch for his not neglect- ing his work, I understand that he actually sits up half the nights reading.' H 2IO FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XI. "Mrs. Fletcher went to the busy group and quickly discovered the poet. Two or three years later Allan Cunningham came to Edinburgh to improve himself in his trade as a mason. When engaged as a common workman in building some of the houses in George Street, Mrs. Fletcher lent him not only her own books, but pro- cured for him, through Mr. Fletcher, books from the Advocates' Library. At last Allan became assistant sculptor to Chantrey. It was he who obtained from Sir Walter Scott a promise to sit to Chantrey. Cunningham always accompanied his master, and, under his directions, worked much at the bust himself. "■January 21. — Mr. George Combe, Mr. Trevelyan, Mr. Robert Chambers, Mr. Simpson, and Mr. Charles Mac- laren came to breakfast at our house, and these guests, with my husband at the foot of the table, made as agree- able a party, I think, as ever assembled. For two or three hours the most earnest, philosophical, or playful conversation went on. Everybody seemed happy and animated. . . . Before our party broke up, Mr. Robert Chambers told me that he had read the chapter on ' Saving Societies ' in Bethune's ' Practical Economy,' and had pre- pared an article upon it for the Journal. " The Journal keeps up its vast sale of seventy thousand copies weekly. The new edition of Information for the People is selling to an amount beyond the most sanguine expectation. Add to all this the valuable cheap books belonging to their ' People's Edition,' their school books and maps, and it is evident that the good the two brothers are effecting is enormous. It is pleasant to see how their labours are appreciated by such men as the Bethunes. But they are valued also by the ordinary class of poor people. The servants here frequently quote from the Journal. 1841.] VISITS TO PRISONS. 211 "The Chamberses will shortly bring out some cheap music. ^^ May 12. — Last Monday I was at a party at Mr. and Mrs. Robert Chambers'. One of the two ' princes ' was there, the veritable grandson of Prince Charles Edward and the Duchess of Albany. He is a highly accomplished, elegant-looking man, and his Highland costume with its jewelled ornaments well became him. '^Dundee, May 18. — Frederic up soon after five o'clock, and at the prison till eight. After breakfast I went there with him to examine the female prisoners. The cleanli- ness in every department does the matron great credit. *^ Arbroath, May 19. — The jail here is one of the old, badly constructed, badly managed prisons, but it will soon give plaqe to a new one. " Perth, May 22. — Perth delighted me as much as ever. Every approach to it is pleasing and orderly, from the nicely trimmed hedgerows and neat cottages to the beau- tiful avenues. I went to the prison and saw the female prisoners (twelve in number). All were engaged in profit- able work. They spoke with pleasure of their new, com- fortable clothing, and were quite proud of their cleanliness. Mrs. Hutchinson, the matron, told me that the improve- ment in cleanliness has been most striking since the rule of wearing prison clothing has been made imperative. As long as any of the prisoners were allowed to wear their own clothes no amount of care could banish dirt and its consequences. " Sunday, 2^rd. — Frederic was at the prison before six o'clock this morning. This afternoon he went to hear Mr. Esdaile preach. Mr. Esdaile is a candidate for the office of chaplain at the general prison. He is a sincere but liberal Christian, and has exerted himself for many FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XI. years in the cause of education for the poorer classes. Frederic says his language is eloquent and his manner cheerful and persuasive. Frederic also heard him g\v^ a lesson in the Sunday school on Biblical geography, and liked his ways to the children. Mr. Esdaile has the general management of two Sunday schools, and has established a library of some magnitude for the use of the children. *' Morpetky June ii. — Mr. Cousins, the keeper of the prison here, told us some interesting facts connected with the separate system. He has a clever lad in the prison, a young pickpocket, who, on first coming, boasted much of his acquaintance among thieves and of his power of detect- ing a police-officer in whatever guise he might assume. This lad, though he has been only three weeks in prison, and probably never saw a loom till now in his life, has acquired the art of weaving a superior kind of hearthrug, sorting the various colours and arranging them himself. His delight at the effect he is able to produce by his skill and industry is very great. Mr. Cousins said, * A new ambition seems born within him. He talks of nothing now but of working hard to save up money to buy a loom.* He can now make, in only one day, a rug which will sell for twelve shillings. Mr. Cousins remarked that though few of his young prisoners were as clever as this boy, that all, even the most stupid, were much interested in this rug- making, and all felt a new self-respect on finding them- selves able to accomplish the work. He mentioned three instances of prisoners intreating him to be allowed to remain in the prison for a time after their term of confine- ment had expired, in order that they might earn money enough to buy decent clothes and to pay for their journeys home. 1842.] A POET'S BIRTHPLACE. 213 ^^ Ju7ie 16, 1842. — We went to Ayr from Glasgow by the half-past seven o'clock train. A very pleasant ride of forty miles, the last ten of which was along the coast. The day was beautiful, the huge mountains of Arran standing out in such bold, clear forms that they appeared only two or three miles distant instead of fifteen. The sea was of every shade of bright green and deep blue, broken with lines of dancing white foam — no angry surges, but happy spirits of the deep, coursing one another over their vast playground. The sandy shores were diversified by a few villages and one or two neat watering-places. The land is too poor for aught but a scanty vegetation and the wild flowers indigenous to the spot. The dwarf white rose literally covers the ground with stars for miles. Lapwings, dotterels, and sandpipers made the scene lively with motion. " Upon our arrival at Ayr we spent an hour on the shore, thinking and feeling how one man of true original mind and warm heart had stamped every stone with his image. We had some of his sweetest verses before us, and realized the scene which ' Coila ' describes in the ' Vision,' alluding to the early life of Burns, when ' With future hope I oft would gaze Fond on thy little early ways, Thy rudely carolled chiming phrase, In uncouth rhymes Fir'd at the simple artless lays Of other times. ' I saw thee seek the sounding shore, Delighted with the dashing roar ; Or when the north his fleecy store Drove thro' the sky, I saw grim Nature's visage hoar Struck thy young eye. 214 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XT. ' Or when the deep green mantled earth Warm cherish'd ev'ry flow'ret's birth, And joy and music pouring forth In ev'ry grove, I saw thee eye the gen'ral mirth With boundless love. ' When ripen'd fields and azure skies Call'd forth the reaper's rustling noise, I saw thee leave their evening joys And lonely stalk To vent thy bosom's swelling rise In pensive walk.' " We had a letter of introduction to a Mr. Hall, a great admirer of Burns, and who himself is well worth knowing. He was formerly a small hairdresser in the town of Ayr, but a man of intelligent pursuits. His own beautiful grounds by the side of the Doun enclose the well men- tioned in * Tarn o' Shanter,' above which the thorn stood where Mungo's mother hanged herself. Mr. Hall is very ready to show visitors anything connected with the poet. "We passed the white cottage, of two rooms, where Burns passed his early life, and proceeded to the monu- ment — a very elegant and classical but, to me, a singularly inappropriate testimony of respect to the peasant bard. Terraced gardens surround the building, filled with gor- geous specimens of foreign flowers, all to adorn the memory of him who has made the 'mountain daisy' a flower of more enduring fame than any that greenhouse or hothouse can produce. W^ithin the monument is a table, on which are two glass cases, the one containing his * Works,' the other the Bible which he gave to ' Highland Mary.' In the first leaf are two or three verses from the Psalms and a few private marks, which conveyed probably some peculiar meaning to the lovers themselves. The i842.] A POET'S WWOIV. 215 Bible on Mary's death passed into the hands of her brother, who emigrated to Canada. It has since been recovered and purchased from the family. Near to the monument is a small Grecian temple, in which are placed Thorn's statues of * Tam o' Shanter ' and * Souter Johnny.' One cannot but regret that the tender and pathetic features of Burns's Muse have not found a representation, rather than the humorous portrayal of a vice which causes too much misery to be lightly thought of It is impossible to turn from the cells of a prison which, in nine cases out of ten, drunkenness has been the means of filling, and laugh with full glee at * Tam o' Shanter's ' adventures. "Mr. Hall told us of a visit from Burns's aged widow, nine years ago, to see the monument. He invited her from Dumfries for that purpose. When it was known in Ayr that she was going to breakfast with Mr. Hall, many of the gentry who were not in the habit of visiting him, requested Mr. Hall as a great favour that they might be allowed to meet her. He replied that he did not know whether this might be agreeable to Mrs. Burns's feelings. Upon going to meet the stage-coach Mr. Hall found a crowd assembled to see her alight, and among them the gentlemen who had wished to breakfast with her. He mentioned the circumstance to Mrs. Burns, and upon receiving her hearty permission he beckoned them to follow to his house. " Every one admired the erect bearing and the elastic step of the venerable lady. During breakfast she was in excellent spirits, and talked of Burns, of their early days, and of their various visitors of every rank and degree. She mentioned that a neighbour had called recently on her to say that a poor lad, a seller of tapes and buttons, wandering through the country, had set his heart on seeing 2i6 FREDERIC HILL, [Chap. XI. Mrs. Burns, and asked whether she might bring him to her house. Permission being readily given, the neighbour returned, bringing the little tape-merchant. There were three or four persons present, and the boy looked anxiously round, and said in a low voice, 'When will Mrs. Burns come } ' He was told that she stood next to him. ' Nae, nae, ye'll no gar me believe that. Burns says, " my bonnie Jean." ' The poor lad thought that ' bonnie Jean's ' charms would be as enduring as her fond husband's poetry. "Mr. Hall said that Mrs. Burns kept perfectly cheerful till she entered the monument, when she suddenly became ill and nearly fainted. He thinks she was pleased with the superb token of respect to her husband's memory ; but the contrast of life and death, the hard struggles they had gone through, the great need they had felt of the sympathy which was shown too late to save, all over- powered her. She was removed to the open air, and soon recovered. " We visited the Bridge of Doun. I remarked to Mr. Hall that the people of Ayr ought to preserve it reli- giously. He then told me that it had barely escaped destruction, for, a new bridge being required, the old bridge was actually in the course of being taken to pieces to supply material. This happened during the ' Race week' A gentleman of Ayr wrote a witty petition in the name of the * Auld Brig,' and sent it to the gay company in the public ball-room. In half an hour six hundred pounds was subscribed to save the interesting relic. To the honour of the people of Ayr, the subscription was not called for. They felt rather ashamed of their former pro- ceeding, and themselves paid the sum required for new material. Mr. Hall superintended the restoration of the old bridge. Every stone except two was replaced. i842.] ''THE AULD CLAY BIGGINS 217 " In returning to Ayr we went into Burns's cottage — *the auld clay biggin.' In a bed in the room in which Burns was born, where the old roof had nearly fallen in, a poor old man was lying. He is one of the few now living who remembers Burns." 2t8 FREDERIC HILL. [CnAP. XII. CHAPTER XII. 1842-1844. Scottish Poor Law and Lord Dunfermline — Sheriff Watson's schools — VV. M. Thackeray — Secession of the Free Kirk — Procession of ministers — Letter from Mrs. Fry — Maria Edgeworth and Professor Cowper — Debate on Postal Reform—" Field Day." About this time the question of the Scottish Poor Law was brought forcibly before the pubHc. In 1 840 Dr. AHson had addressed himself to the public con- science In a pamphlet on the ''Destitution of the Poor In Scotland," which made a strong- Impression. Associations were formed In^ Edinburgh and in all the large towns In Scotland to Inquire into his statements, and to apply to Parliament for a new Poor Law. Unlike the English, the Scottish Poor Law at that time afforded no relief to any person pro- nounced by the local authority to be able-bodied, however severe his destitution, or however ready he might be to repay the cost of food and shelter by work. Moreover, every now and then a person 1^42.] VOLUNTARY PRISONERS. 219 was pronounced to be ''able-bodied" who was notoriously the reverse. The result of this state of things was, as I have already mentioned, that there were many voluntary prisoners in the Scotch gaols. Even where the imprisonment was of a stringent character, including solitary confinement and hard labour, persons applied for permission to be received within the prison walls, or to remain there after their term of imprisonment had expired. At the Glasgow Bridewell alone these voluntary prisoners sometimes numbered thirty or forty. I earnestly desired to point out to Govern- ment, in my official reports, the urgent need for an efficient Poor Law, but felt doubts as to whether, in my capacity as a servant of Government, it would be permissible to do so. I recollect a conversation I had on the subject with Lord Dunfermline in the autumn of 1842, of which I find notes in my journal. We were travelling from Edinburgh in order to inspect the Perth prison, both being members of the Board of Directors. I asked for his opinion as to the advisability of my dealing with the question of the Scottish Poor Law in my forthcoming report, observing that as Sir Robert Peel had expressed his opinion that some action should be taken, I thought I might now venture to bring the subject 220 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XIT. directly before Government. Lord Dunfermline gave me the counsel of a truly canny Scotchman. He advised me to give no formal statement of my views, but suggested that when stating such facts connected with crime as exposed the evils arising from an inefficient Poor Law, I might make ** my remarks in such a way as to let them appear to spring spontaneously, and almost to escape from me unawares." For instance, after mentioning the large number of voluntary prisoners, I might say, " Thus the prisons of Scotland are, in fact, serving as Unions." ''After a time," continued Lord Dunfermline, *' some member of Parliament, in looking over your report, will come upon this sentence, and, think- ing he has made a great discovery, will hurry, full of self-importance, down to the House with the report in his hand, and will start up on the first opportunity, exclaiming, * Here's a revelation ! The prisons of Scotland are serving as Unions ! ' Upon this, Peel will probably send for the report, and may make a speech of a quarter of an hour upon that one fact. By this means you will not alarm Peel's pride by giving him instruction on the subject of the Poor Laws, and yet will gain your point." I followed this advice, and felt that I had done 1842.] NEED OF A GOOD POOR LAW, 221 what I could to call public attention to a pressing need. In the end my action, no doubt, did good, but the immediate effect was an order from Government to discontinue the practice of re- ceiving voluntary prisoners, and to turn out those already received. Foreseeing that Government might issue this order, I had strongly recommended in my report the establishment of houses of refuge as temporary asylums for this class of persons. They had already been tried on a small scale and had proved successful. But, unfortunately, Govern- ment did not take up the plan with any vigour, and as several years elapsed before a good Poor Law was given to Scotland, many persons re- mained in the criminal class who might have been rescued. Meanwhile, men of all shades of political opinion in Scotland were working together for the good cause. Conspicuous among these were Lord Jeffrey and Professor Wilson. In a letter dated November 3, 1842, I write — " I have been to-day to hear Professor Wilson ^wo. a lecture at the college in favour of the principle of the English Poor Law. He was, in my opinion, more earnest and eloquent than logical ; but it is good to have such a man on the right side, even if he may not give the best reasons for being there." 222 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XII. When I first visited Aberdeen, in 1835, ^ became acquainted with Sheriff Watson, the founder of Industrial Schools, with whom I formed a friend- ship which lasted till his death. The simple and inexpensive means by which great results may be obtained has seldom been more strikingly shown than in the Aberdeen schools. When they had been in existence for a few years the whole county was emptied of its juvenile beggars and young thieves. After I had left Scotland, Sheriff Watson wrote to me — "In 1841, while you were labouring to improve our prison discipline, I was labouring to establish schools for the destitute. Our cognate occupations naturally drew us together, and you were among the first to encourage me to prosecute the then doubtful experiment. You always predicted success. . . . " The importance of industrial school training is now universally acknowledged, and if it were faithfully and systematically carried out, would form a centre of attrac- tion for all classes of the community. It would soon become manifest that the widows' prayers and the orphans' thanks were of more avail in warding off national con- vulsion than all the purchased batons and bayonets of the empire." Elsewhere describing the origin of the schools, he wrote — i842.] INDUSTRIAL FEEDING SCHOOLS. 223 "As the only local stipendiary magistrate, and every day called upon to deal with juvenile delinquents, more sinned against than sinning, I resolved to mitigate and, if possible, remove this great social evil ; and, to that end, proposed to open an Industrial Feeding School, where they would be fed, educated, and trained to habits of industry." In October, 1841, the school v^as opened in an old warehouse that had been obtained at a low rent, with ten or twelve boys dragged in by the police. The number of children rapidly increased, till in a few years' time there were four schools in operation — a boys' school, two girls' schools, and a school for both boys and girls. The children did not sleep at the schools, but returned to their parents in the evening, as Sheriff Watson was averse to breaking the family tie ; and such was the effect of good training upon these children, once the pests of society, that in many cases they became the " little missionaries of their home circle." As many of the boys would become farm- labourers, it was considered well to give them some knowledge of rocks and soils ; they were, therefore, encouraged to bring to school specimens of every kind of rock or earth they could find, till, with a little help from their teachers, a very practical, though small, geological collection was formed. 22 1 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XII. Rough shelves were put up bearing the names of the various strata in their proper order. Upon these the boys themselves placed their specimens. Simple lessons were given on these substances, and on their uses in agriculture and manufactures. A small museum of natural history was also formed, the powers of observation and general intelligence in the children rapidly increasing under this kind of instruction. In one instance, where a boy on leaving school had been placed in a printing-office, the head of the establishment wrote to Sheriff Watson — "He is not naturally clever, but rather the opposite; yet, amid half a dozen boys of similar age, I find this boy decidedly more serviceable in doing various things requiring some exercise of intelligence. In short, regarding the instruction given as a means to an end, I should say the difference between him and others is that he has a more thorough and ready command of the tools that have been put into his hands." The artisans of Aberdeen, realizing the great benefit to their own families of the withdrawal of a dangerous class from the streets, presented the school fund with a sum of no less than two hundred pounds. The children were given three meals a day of plain but wholesome food. Deducting the money i842.] RESCUED CHILDREN. 225 received for work done, the annual cost per child was only five pounds. My wife, who visited the schools with me, and who, like myself, had a warm esteem and admiration for their founder, wrote an account of them many years afterwards, which appeared in the Leisure Hour for December, 1885. The following is taken from this account : — - "When I visited the schools in 1845, the girls' school was in a moderate-sized house with a small garden attached to it. " It was scarcely possible to believe that those neat little children before me, with the polished hair, clean frocks and pincloths, sewing so diligently, could have been rescued from the worst population of the city. But the fact was soon proved to us. A new scholar arrived — a little wretched, ragged girl, whose skin was as dirty as her frock, and whose hair stood out many inches from her head in one great tangle. "The mistress received her kindly, and told her to go into an adjoining room, where a woman would give her a warm bath and lend her a nice wrapping-gown to wear whilst her own clothes were washed and dried — a work which was done very rapidly. When the child returned to the schoolroom the mistress looked into her great bag of pieces to find some suitable for patching the holes in the old frock. The child was then put under the superintendence of an elder girl, who fixed the patches and showed her how to sew, helping her considerably in this first lesson. The child went home that evening totally changed in appearance, and she, as well as her parents, must have felt the value of the school. 15 226 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XII. " I was told of one little girl who on her return to her poor home entreated her mother to let her scour the dirty floor, and would never go to bed till she had made things tidy, so that at last the mother imitated the child and became industrious herself. " Indeed, one of the objects of the founder of the institution was to act upon the parents as well as the children. Once every month they were invited to come to the schools to hear the children sing, repeat poetry, Bible stories and texts, and to look at their writing, sums, and needlework ; and sometimes, during the summer, they were invited to a little feast, given by the children themselves, of tea, bread and butter, and fresh lettuces and radishes from their own little gardens. " Part of Sunday was spent by the children attending a short service at school. The parents were invited to this service, and many came who had never entered a church. " I heard many interesting anecdotes of the little pupils as I passed from one room to another. One child had been trusted to carry a parcel to a lady who had ordered some needlework, and who would give her eight shillings in payment, to be taken safely back to the schoolmistress. When the lady was counting out the money, after saying some kind words in praise of the work, she was surprised by the child's bursting into tears. On being asked the cause, the child could at first only sob and exclaim, ' I was only minding the differ;' and then she explained that but a year ago she had begged of that lady's servant to give her a ' bawbee.' The servant had found her, early one morning, at the stone stair-head, where she had been sleeping all night, and had driven her away with hard words, and now she was never cold or hungry, and the lady herself was trusting her with ' a' that siller.' " IS43-] A GREAT WRITER'S TRIBUTE, 227 Sheriff Watson used to describe a visit paid by the author of '' Vanity Fair " to one of the schools situated in Sugar House Lane. The sheriff accompanied him, and was somewhat surprised at his total silence during the inspection. On leaving, Thackeray turned to him exclaiming, '' If I had attempted to speak to you I should, like a great lubberly boy, have burst into weeping." In the month of May, 1843, the Established Church of Scotland was rent in twain by the secession of those who formed themselves into the Free Kirk. '' It was," to use Lord Cockburn's words, *'the greatest event that had occurred in Scotland since the rebellion of 1745," and long before it took place it was the leading topic of discussion in Edinburgh. One party maintained that owners or patrons of livings had alone the right to appoint the minister, and that moreover they had the right to force him upon the parishioners, provided he were under no legal disqualification, however odious he might be to them. The other party maintained that the parishioners possessed a legal right to reject such a minister. " But this point was soon lost sight of, absorbed in the far more vital question, whether the Church had any spiritual jurisdiction independent of the control of the 228 FREDERIC HILL, [Chap XII. civil power. This became the question on which the longer coherence of the elements of the Church depended. The judicial determination was, in effect, that no such jurisdiction existed. This was not the adjudication of any abstract political or ecclesiastical nicety. It was the declaration, and, as those who protested against it held, the introduction, of a principle which affected the whole practical being and management of the Establishment. On this decision being pronounced, those who had claimed this jurisdiction, which they deemed an essential and indispensable part of what they had always understood to be their Church, felt that they had no course except to leave a community to which, as it was now explained, they had never sworn allegiance." * It was on the i8th of May that my wife and I happened to be walking towards George Street, when we met a procession of black-coated, whlte- cravatted gentlemen whose countenances one and all were striking, for they bore an expression of stern and melancholy determination. I learnt afterwards that these men had just renounced all worldly prospects, with manse and kirk, to follow the dictates of conscience. They were the seceders from the Established Church who had just left the meeting of the General Assembly. The name of Dr. Chalmers is intimately asso- ciated with this great movement. In his *' Life " by * See Cockburn's " Life of Jeffrey." 1 843-1 A MEMORABLE DAY. 229 Hanna the following account is given of the final scene in the drama : — " The day of trial at last arrived. For some days pre- viously an unprecedented influx of strangers into Edin- burgh foreshadowed the approach of some exciting event. Thursday, the 1 8th of May, the day named for the meeting of the General Assembly, rose upon the city with a dull and heavy dawn. So early in the morning as between four and five o'clock the doors of the church of St. Andrew's, where the Assembly was to convene, opened to admit the public. As the day wore on it became evident that the ordinary business of the great city had, to a great extent, been suspended ; yet the crowds that gathered in the streets wore no gay or holiday appearance. As groups of acquaintance met and commingled, their conversation was obviously of a grave and earnest cast." Towards midday the Marquis of Bute, as Lord High Commissioner, held his first lev^e at Holy- rood, and on its close proceeded as usual to St. Giles's Church, and from thence, when service was over, to the meeting of the General Assembly at St. Andrew's Church. " Dr. Welsh, the moderator, entered and took the chair. Soon afterwards his Grace the Lord High Commissioner was announced, and the whole assemblage rose and re- ceived him standing. Solemn prayer was then offered up, and, the members having resumed their seats, Dr. Welsh read, amidst breathless silence, the protest of the seceding party. When the reading was finished he laid 230 FREDERIC HILL, [Chap. XII. the protest upon the table, turned and bowed respectfully to the commissioner, left the chair, and proceeded along the aisle to the door of the church. Dr. Chalmers, seizing eagerly upon his hat, hurried after him with all the air of one impatient to be gone. Mr. Campbell of Menzie, Dr. Gordon, Dr. Macdonald, Dr. Macfarlan followed him. The effect upon the audience was overwhelming. At first a cheer burst from the galleries, but it was almost instantly and spontaneously restrained. It was checked in many cases by an emotion too deep for any other utterance than the fall of sad and silent tears. The whole audience was now standing gazing in stillness upon the scene. Man after man, row after row, moved on along the aisle till the benches on the left, lately so crowded, showed scarce an occupant. More than four hundred ministers and a still larger number of elders had withdrawn. " A vast multitude of people stood congregated in St. George's Street, crowding in upon the church-doors. When the deed was done within, the intimation of it passed like lightning through the mass without, and when the forms of their most venerated clergymen were seen emerging from the church, a loud and irrepressible cheer burst from their lips, and echoed through the now half-empty Assembly Hall. " There was no design on the part of the clergymen to form into a procession, but they were forced to it by the narrow- ness of the lane opened for their egress through the heart of the crowd. Falling into line and walking three abreast, they formed into a column which extended for a quarter of a mile and more. As they moved along to the new hall prepared for their reception, very different feelings pre- vailed among the numberless spectators who lined the streets and thronged each window and door and balcony i843.] THE DICTATES OF CONSCIENCE, 231 on either side. Some gazed in stupid wonder ; the majority looked on in silent admiration. " Elsewhere in the city Lord Jeffrey was sitting reading in his quiet room, when one burst in upon him saying, ' Well, what do you think of it ? More than four hundred of them are actually out' The book was flung aside, and, springing to his feet. Lord Jeffrey exclaimed, ' I'm proud of my country ; there is not another country upon earth where such a deed could have been done.' " One of the self-sacrificing ministers who renounced one of the best livings in Scotland, was Mr. John Ainslie, brother of my valued friend and connection, Mr. Daniel Ainslie, of the "Gart" Callender. Large funds had to be raised for the support of the poorer ministers, but contributions flowed in rapidly and the necessary money was obtained. Two advocates of Edinburgh (both of whom I knew), Mr. Graham Spiers and Mr. Menteth, gave up each one-third of their yearly income to this fund. The latter gentleman is spoken of highly and affectionately by Lord Cockburn in his " Cir- cuit Journeys." The correspondence of myself and my wife at this time brought us some letters of general interest. A mutual friend sent me a copy of a letter from Mrs. Fry to Mr. W. Allen, the Quaker philanthro- pist and friend of the Duke of Wellington. It was 232 FREDERIC HILL, [Chap. XIL written in the autumn of 1842, and has not, I believe, appeared in print. " I think you will be interested to hear that we got through our visit to the Mansion House with much satis- faction. After some little difficulty that I had at arriving from the crowd, which overdid me for the time, I was favoured to arrive, and when led into the large drawing- room by the Lord Mayor I felt quiet and at ease. " Soon my friends flocked round me, and I had a very satisfactory conversation with Sir James Graham, and I think the door was opened for further communication on a future day ; it appeared most seasonable my then seeing him. " I then spoke to Lord Aberdeen, and the door was opened for his helping us, if needful, in our foreign affairs. " During dinner for about two hours, when I sat between Prince Albert and Sir Robert Peel, we had deeply interest- ing conversation upon the most important subjects : with Prince Albert, upon religious principle, its influence upon sovereigns, etc. ; its importance in the education of children, and upon modes af worship ; our views respecting it, etc. ; why I could not rise at their toasts, not even at the one for the queen ; why I could rise for prayer, etc. ; also on the management of children generally ; on war and peace ; on prisons and punishment. And I had the same subjects, or many of them, with Sir Robert Peel. I think I hardly ever met with so cordial a reception from all parties and different ranks. The kindness shown me was extra- ordinary. " After dinner I spoke to Lord Stanley about our colonies, and I think I was enabled to speak to all the men in power that I wanted to see. i844.] A PLEASANT INTERVIEW. 233 " I shook hands very pleasantly with the Duke of Wellington, who spoke beautifully, expressing his desire to promote the arts of peace and not of war ; he said he was not fond of remembering the days that were past, as if the very thought of war pained him. I could not but feel that it is good for various persons of various descriptions to be brought together ; it promotes peace and love, and removes much prejudice and party feeling." Letter from Professor Cowper to his sister, Mrs. Hill. " 97, High Holbom, May 3, 1844. "... A short time since I called at Mr. Lestock Wilson's to see Miss Edgeworth. It was at breakfast- time. Her younger brother was in the room when I arrived, and presently Miss Edgeworth came in. I bowed and introduced myself at once, and at once we were acquainted. She is a very little woman, but although so advanced in life, is full of spirit and cheerful good temper. We talked and chatted at 'railroad speed.' " I then asked her if she would like to see King's College. "*To be sure I should. I should like to see every- thing.' '' E. Cowper (in a joking cheerful manner). 'I hope you will excuse my having sent the card of admission to my lecture on Telegraphs to Mr. Wilson instead of directly to yourself. I did not know whether your health was such that your friends would allow you to go out in the evening.' ''Miss Edgeworth (laughing). * Oh, hang my friends! I will go everywhere in spite of them all.' 234 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XII. " ' Well, sister,' said young Edgevvorth, * you know you have promised Mr. Wheatstone to go to King's College to-morrow at two o'clock.' ^^ Miss Edgeworth. *To be sure I have.' " E. Cowper. ' Well, then, I will have the pleasure of showing you my room, and how we teach mechanical things in a college.' " Accordingly she came, and Wheatstone entertained her in George the Third's Museum for two hours and a half She then came into my room and stayed about half an hour. Then I said I was sure she must be fatigued, and so said her friends the Beauforts ; but she said, ' Oh no ! oh no ! ' but I said, ' Really, I will not show you anything more.' "She was very much pleased. She liked my coarse models extremely. 'The coarser the better. I can see them and understand them well' I explained the Jacquard loom to her, and then she asked, 'Ah, but how are the cards made .'' ' *' ' Why, ma'am, you are as bad as Prince Albert ; for when I showed him the Jacquard loom he asked me precisely the same question.' ''Miss Edgeworth. 'Then Prince Albert is a very clever fellow.' And all this passing as lively and quick as the chat of an evening party. " I showed her the Parlour Press, and presented one to her, and she insisted on having my name written on it by myself. I gave her also the cards showing the comple- mentary colours, and a little movable diagram showing the principle of the Jacquard loom, and we parted glad to have met each other. " I showed her also the model which I had made of her father's telegraph, and then she became thoughtful and 18443 OPPOSITION TO POSTAL REFORM, 235 seemed to call up old recollections. * Yes, that is it ; that was what he used, and I thank you for mentioning it in your public lectures.' "I said, * It will always be in this room, so that every student who comes here will know it to be your father's.' " Yesterday week, at the Royal Institution, I found the ' Life ' of her father left there for me — a present from her, with her own writing within the cover. ' Maria Edgeworth to E. Cowper, Esquire, with her thanks for the notice of her father's telegraph and his kindness to herself.' '* Since the establishment of penny postage in January, 1840, the reform had met with persistent opposition from those in authority at the Post-Office. The result was that in July, 1842, when the Tories were in office, m.y brother Rowland was dismissed from his post at the Treasury. No man but him- self could carry his great plan, as a whole, into effect, and in dismissing him, his measure was, to use his own words, "handed over to men who had opposed it stage by stage, whose reputation was pledged to its failure, and who had unquestion- ably been caballing to obtain his expulsion from office." These men had thus gained their point for the time being, but meanwhile leaders of the Liberal party came forward with expressions of strong indignation for the injustice done, and with offers of assistance. The public conscience began to be 236 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XII. aroused. Cobden, describing the feeling evinced in Scotland, wrote to Rowland, " The heather's on fire/' On the loth of April, 1843, a petition for inquir- ing into the state of the Post-Office, proposed by my brother and In his own name, was presented to the House of Commons by Mr. Baring,'" and on the following night Mr. Hawes gave notice that Sir Thomas Wilde would call the attention of the House to the same soon after the Easter recess. Various delays occurred, but finally the matter came before the House on the 27th of June. " The motion of which Sir Thomas Wilde had given notice was for a select committee, 'To inquire into the progress which had been made in carrying into effect the recommendations of Mr. Rowland Hill for Post-Office improvement ; and whether the further carrying into effect of such recommendations, or any of them, will be beneficial to the country.' " -(- It can easily be imagined with what anxiety we looked forward to a debate so important to the prospects of postal reform. I was in Scotland at the time, but my friend Mr. James Simpson, who happened to be paying a visit to London, pro- mised to send me the earliest tidings. * Late Chancellor of the Exchequer. t See " Life of Sir R. Hill," by Dr. Birkbeck Hill. 1 844.] DEBATE IN THE HOUSE. 237 His letter, addressed to my wife, is as follows : — "41, Doughty Street, June 28, 1843. "My dear Mrs. Hill, " I promised a few lines with my impressions on the field-day. It passed off yesterday, and was a triumph. The Liberal House, and notoriously the country, are too decidedly with Mr. Rowland Hill to have made it safe for Sir Robert Peel to have refused the committee. It was conceded, in fact, though in a different form, for decency's sake. " It would have done your heart good to have witnessed the generous support of the Liberals, and the shouts with which the mention of Mr. Rowland Hill's words were received ; the hearty condemnatory cheers with which Wilde's Post-Office expose was answered ; the decent silence of the other side ; but, above all, the prophetic declaration of Sir Robert Peel (made tauntingly to the Liberals) that Mr. Rowland Hill ought to be made Secretary of the Post-Office at once — an appointment which will certainly take place one day. " The discussion and its publication all over the country is invaluable. It makes the temporary eclipse all the better. " It was delightful to see the Hills of three generations in the House— from the venerable head with his black silk cap in the Speaker's gallery, in gradation of Matthew, Edwin, and Arthur, down to the youths from Bruce Castle and Hampstead. "I am " Affectionately yours, "James Simpson." 238 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XII. My father also writes on the occasion — '' 44, Chancery Lane, June 28, 1843. "My dear Frederic, "... I went into the Speaker's Gallery at the House of Commons, and had the pleasure of hearing a noble speech from Sir Thomas Wilde on the question that so closely concerns us all. . . . " It was delightful to me to hear the speakers uniformly speak highly of your brother. Mr. Baring, who knew him best, gave him a very high character indeed. This we know he well deserves, but not all men have their just merit acknowledged. " Mr. Goulburn* complained, however, of his letting out the secrets of the prison-house ; rather a dangerous admis- sion that there was that which could not bear the public eye. One good stroke amused the whole House. The Post-Office had made a vaunting return of the sums trans- ferred by means of money orders. It stated it at eight millions per annum, adding the sums paid out to the sums paid in. Your brother Rowland, who sat under the gallery, whispered to a member that it seemed that the water which ran into a pipe and that which ran out, put together, made the water that ran through the pipe. Mr. Goulburn had unfortunately quoted the Post-Office docu- ment, thinking it favourable to his case ; but the pipe's comparison had reached Mr. Baring, who put it out in good style and raised a roaring laugh. . . . " I remain '' Your affec^^- father, "Tho. W. Hill." * Chancellor of the Exchequer. i844.] JUSTICE AT LAST 239 Rowland's health, which was never robust, suffered from the continued strain put upon his powers at this time. Harriet Martineau wrote to me in the spring of 1844— " I am glad to hear your glorious brother is going to be quiet at Croydon. He must complete the glory of his achievements by preserving, if possible, health and at least a buoyant and cheerful spirit till he is wanted again to carry out his entire scheme. That day must come. Meantime entire rest seems to be his duty. I do wish it could be found in foreign travel ; its effects are so marvel- lous in recruiting an overwrought mind and nerves too much tried. I trust his worldly fortunes will soon have grown beyond the limits of all anxiety, and then perhaps his family will urge him to go abroad. " Pardon this freedom if it seems to you excessive ; but you would hardly think so if you knew that he has written to me with a kind confidence which seems to authorize my saying what I think to his affectionate brother." Two years later I received the following note from Rowland : — " Reform Club, November 25, 1846. "Dear Fred^., "I have accepted the offer of Government of an appointment as Secretary to the Postmaster-General. The appointment to be permanent. 240 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XII. " The engagement has much to recommend it (I shall be in close communication with the Postmaster-General and the Treasury). . . . " The appointment is avowedly for the purpose of carrying out my plan. " In haste, " Yours affect'y , "R. Hill." ( 241 ) CHAPTER XIII. 1845-1847. Prison matters — A great Eastern Pacha — Tour in Switzerland — Home rejoicings on Repeal of Corn Laws — William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglas — Archbishop Whately — Lord Melbourne and the Queen — Edinburgh sculptors — Lafitte. During the long reign of the Peel administration I had much petty opposition to contend with from Sir James Graham, the Home Secretary, and earnestly did I desire the return of the Whigs to power, not only as a benefit to the nation at large, but especially in connection with my work of prison reform. As long as Lord John Russell had been my official chief, my hands were left completely unfettered. My wife wrote to her eldest sister on December 20, 1845— " I write a hasty line to express my heartfelt joy at Lord John's having accepted office. I have been in the most painful suspense since Frederic left me for Glasgow. I had no means of learning the truth till an hour ago. Most earnestly I hope a long reign is before the Whigs. The very last act of Sir James Graham has been to 16 242 FREDERIC HILL, [Chap. XIH. attempt to undo half the good that has been done in Scotland in prison discipline, by urging the directors to assimilate their rules to those of the English prisons — that is, to ' introduce penal or useless labour and flogging, and to diminish the power and responsibility of the governor.' All these he calls 'great improvements! Fortunately he has overstepped the law, and told us to break both the spirit and letter of the Scottish Prisons Act." In April, 1846, I made a tour of inspection in Northumberland and Durham, which counties, as I have before mentioned, formed part of my district. I wrote to my wife from Newcastle — "At a small prison in this neighbourhood I found the keeper in perplexity how to act A prisoner (the only one in the gaol) had fortified the door of his cell on the inside, so that the keeper could not enter. The keeper asked me whether he should break open the door. * By no means,' I replied. 'Let the man alone until hunger compels him to ask for food ; when, in order to get it, he must, of course, pull down his barricade. Then give him food, but very sparingly, and for some time afterwards keep him on short allowance.' This advice the keeper followed, and he had no further trouble. " I told you I had gained over one of the county magistrates — the chairman of the visiting justices, with whom before I had had strong differences of opinion. How do you think I obtained his good will and favourable opinion } By not wearing a nightcap ! When we met we began, as in duty bound, to speak of the weather, and I remarked that I had still the remains of a cold. 'A cold ! ' he said. ' Do you wear flannel ? ' ' Yes.' ' Do you ).] A NOVEL SIGHT. 243 wash in cold water every morning from head to foot ? ' 'Yes.' 'Do you wear a nightcap?' 'No.' 'Then you ought never to have a cold ; and I can't imagine how you caught it.' After this explanation his tone became friendly, and he invited me to drink tea with him, which I did." A little later I went up to London in order to join my brother Arthur previous to our taking a tour on the Continent together, and also to be present at a public dinner to be given to my brother Rowland. I wrote on June 19 — \ "At Wolverton, where the trains stop some time for refreshment, a gentleman in my carriage having got out heard that Ibrahim Pacha was in the refreshment-room. He ran to get a peep at him, and found him, to the amaze- ment of all beholders, with a loaf in one hand and a roll of butter in the other, plastering and eating as fast as he could ! Frank (the husband of my sister Caroline Clark), who came up also for Rowland's public dinner, told us a good story of the Pacha at Birmingham. It appears that the skeleton of a great whale is exhibiting there just now, and Ibrahim and his suite went to see it, and got inside. No sooner did the showman see Ibrahim within the skeleton, than he rushed out of the shed, locking the door behind him, and blowing his horn proclaimed to the crowd that the great Eastern Pacha was to be seen inside the whale. He doubled the price of admission, but the place was at once crammed with people, and the showman reaped a capital harvest. To the additional delight of the 241 FREDERIC HILL, [Chap. XTTI. spectators, the grand Pacha, who was trying to make his escape, was found stuck between the ribs of the whale." The following are extracts from the letters which I sent home from Switzerland : — " ChamoiiJii. — A mile's walk and a further descent over the debris of the mountain brought us to Loeche Bad, a place where there are natural hot baths, much frequented by the French and Swiss, but not by the English. The temperature of the water is brought down artificially to blood-heat, and people remain in it six or eight hours a day ! They wear large gowns, and bathe in company without regard to age or sex. They have little floating trays before them, on which you see books, flowers, coffee, etc. Strangers are admitted to see the bathers, and when we went there must have been sixty or seventy in the water, all very merry and some very noisy ; many of the ladies with their hair dressed, or wearing fine caps. Two were playing the game of * Fox and Goose,' and some were amusing themselves by squirting water, which they do with much dexterity. Arthur gave great satisfaction and excited cries of * Bravo ' by making them a low bow ; and, indeed, our entrance on to the platform was greeted with general cheers. . . . " Arthur, who feels the heat much more than I, is in the habit, when he comes to a public fountain, of dipping his umbrella into the water, and then walking off with the dripping umbrella over his head, to the amusement of the bystanders. " St. GotJiai'd. — One of the daughters of the landlord of the Grimsel Hospice (where we are this morning) is the only handsome girl or woman we have yet seen in 1846.] THE ''LION'' OF LUCERNE. 245 Switzerland. I should think an English girl would have a dozen lovers within an hour of her arrival at any place in this country. What can be the cause of so sad a dearth of personal beauty in a land of so much natural beauty ? Whatever it be, I trust that it will be ultimately removed. " MeyTingen. — Yesterday we witnessed the grandest natural sight, at least the finest combination of grandeur and beauty, which I ever beheld — the fall of the river Aar and of a tributary stream from a height of two hundred feet into a fine mountain gorge. The extraordinary character of the fall is caused by the circumstance of the two streams dashing against each other and uniting about halfway down. The Aar, from its volume and weight, strikes against the tributary with such force as to cause a great portion of it to rise again nearly to the top in the form of splendid clouds of spray producing beautiful rainbows. The waters disappear in mist, coming in sight again in one clear unbroken column. '^Lucerne. — Left for the Righi. On the road we came to a chapel erected on the spot from which Tell is said to have shot the arrow which killed Gessler. In the book in the chapel, in which strangers are invited to write, Arthur wrote, * Tell won the liberty of his country by his courage, may his posterity preserve it by mutual love ; ' a hint of which the Swiss appear to be much in need. ... "The most striking object at Lucerne is a monument by Thorwaldsen to the memory of the Swiss Guard killed by the populace of Paris when defending Louis XVL It is shown to visitors by one of the few members of the Swiss Guard who effected their escape and are still living. I think it is the finest and most impressive monument I ever saw. It is cut out of the hard face of a large rock 246 FREDERIC HILL, [Chap. XITT. in a secluded situation, with a quiet pool of clear water before it and surrounded by trees. The figure represented is a wounded lion in the pains of death, trying, even at that moment, to protect a shield on which are carved the royal arms of France. There is a wonderful combination of dignity, majesty, and affliction in the lion, and the whole monument strikes you as grand in conception and most successful in execution." During my absence my wife v^rote to me from our Edinburgh home, 55, Inverleith Rov^, of things public and private. In one letter she says — " The opening of the noble railways excites much good feeling. In the account of the grand opening of the Paris and Brussels line, I saw it mentioned that King Leopold stood at the station on his frontier to receive and welcome the first train, containing two thousand visitors ! The Berwick railway was opened last Monday. The good folk from Princes Street go for the bathing to Porto- bello in seven minutes 1 " Again she writes — ''June 28, 1846. " I write with a light heart. The delightful news reached Edinburgh by yesterday afternoon's mail of the passing of the Corn Law Bill in the Lords without a single vote against it, the thorough defeat of the Irish Coercion Bill by 173 votes, and the return of good men and true to that power which they had made a blessing to their country. " Really the world seems to me twice as full of pleasant prospects ! How we love to associate nature with our 1846] A NEIV ERA OF FREE TRADE. 247 feelings ! Last New Year's Day, the morning after your departure for London, I saw the sun rise with great beauty over Arthur's Seat. It was at the time of the potato failure, and, feeling deeply interested in all Cobden's ap- peals for untaxed food, I earnestly wished that the next New Year's Day the blessed sun, the ripener of our count- less stores, might rise upon a new era of free trade. Peel's great measure had not then been proposed. Just now, as I recalled these feelings, I went involuntarily to the window, and there over Arthur's Seat stretched a rainbow brilliant with hope fulfilled ! "How I wish that the mighty dead could see the change of opinion upon subjects affecting the happiness of mankind ! but, though all unknown to us, they may be partakers of our joy in their wondrous state. " I do not think I shall tire you by mentioning again how often our three little girls talk and think of you. I met them by accident out walking with their nurse. They were shouting your name that you might hear them ! Flags have been painted more than a week to welcome your return. * Only to get ready, mamma,' said little Nora." Later in this year I find the following entry in my diary : — '^November 5. — On Tuesday I breakfasted at Mr, Wigham's with a party including Mr. Lloyd Garrison, Mr. Frederick Douglas (the slave who effected his escape), Mr. George Thompson, Professor Pillans, and others. Mr. Garrison and Mr. Douglas are both prepossessing in their appearance, and are evidently men of strong intel- lect. At Mr. Wigham's request Mr. Garrison gave an 248 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XIII. account of the present state of the anti-slavery question in America. He said that it had made, and is making, rapid progress, and he appeared to think that the way in which the abolition of slavery will be ultimately brought about will be by the Northern States (for at present they scarcely deserve to be called Free States) insisting either on the repeal of the Fugitive Slave Law or the dissolution of the Union." My v^ife, who met Mr. Douglas at Mr. Wigham's house during the summer of this year, thus wTites of him — " Mr. Douglas is self-educated and highly intelligent, and his adventures, which he related to us, are extremely interesting. He is lecturing for the cause of emancipa- tion. In a book which he has published he speaks of a * dialogue upon slavery ' which he had read when only twelve years old, and which strongly impressed him. He did not know the author's name, but from his description I felt certain that it was Mrs. Barbauld's 'Master and Slave.' When I spoke to him on the subject he said he would give the world to read the story again, and that he had tried everywhere to procure it, but in vain. I told him I would send him 'Evenings at Home,' and I have just sent him a copy for his eldest son, a little lad of seven. It is pleasant to think how Mrs. Barbauld's nervous, energetic reasoning fired the heart of the poor, brave young negro." To return again to my diary. ''November 5, 1846.— On Tuesday I dined at Mr. George Combe's, where there were present Archbishop Whately, 1846.] A PLEASANT PARTY. 249 his chaplain, Dr. West, Mr. Robert Chambers, Sir George and Lady Mackenzie, Mr. and Mrs. George Combe (the latter a daughter of Mrs. Siddons), Mrs. Crowe (author of * Susan Hopley '), and two or three other persons. "Archbishop Whately spoke of a conversation he had with Lord Melbourne after the passing of the Bill for the abolition of negro slavery. On leaving the House of Lords together Lord Melbourne said to him, 'Well, my Lord Archbishop, now it is over it is very well, but I think it would have been better if they had left it alone and not made so much ado about it. Every civilized country has had slaves, and why should not we.^ The Greeks had slaves, and the Romans had slaves.' "We afterwards continued the conversation about Lord Melbourne in the drawing-room. I asked what was the cause of his success with the Queen, and the influence he obtained. To which the archbishop replied that it was certainly not by flattery, for he did anything but flatter. He was exceedingly frank, and unhesitatingly gave expres- sion to his thoughts, whatever they might be. He sup- posed that the straightforwardness of Lord Melbourne, and his odd but clever mode of putting things, was pleasing to the Queen. He was, besides, a man of perfect good temper, of varied and extensive knowledge, which he acquired apparently without efl*ort, and generally of sound judgment. " The conversation next turned to the pleasure of com- panionship, either in person or act, even in cases where there is no oral communication. Archbishop Whately told a story of two neighbouring gentlemen who used each to go into a bower in his garden to smoke a pipe after dinner. They never exchanged a word, but they always came out exactly at the same time, and when the first 250 FREDERIC HILL, [Chap. XIII. was ready to light his pipe he made a signal by waving his handkerchief to the other, and, on receiving a signal in return, they both began to smoke. The pipe out, they got up, bowed to each other, and walked into their houses." Among our Edinburgh friends were two sculptors whom I have not yet mentioned — William Brodie and John Steele. My wife had occasion, in 1881, to write the following account of the former : — " Mr. Brodie was a working plumber in Aberdeen when we first saw him in 1846. He was fond of art, and attempted at all spare moments to model small bas-relief subjects, generally portraits. In these he was very suc- cessful. He executed an excellent likeness of Sheriff Watson while the sheriff was presiding in court. " It was not possible to see Brodie and his wife in their own home without being interested in them, and without wishing to further Brodie's desire to become an artist His little house of three rooms and a ' lean-to ' was a model of a working man's home, and proved how much refinement was consistent with very small means. I shall never forget the little parlour. A bird sang in the window over a stand of flowers, in the midst of which was a globe of gold-fish. Prints of good subjects, bas-reliefs, and small copies of Raphael's ' Cartoons ' were on the wall. A violin was on the table, the property of a friend working under the same master-plumber, and a piece of poetry written by another comrade. " Among those who encouraged Brodie's dawning genius I 1846.] A SUCCESSFUL CAREER. 251 were Sheriff Watson, Mr. and Mrs. John Hill Burton, Mr. Nimmo, Lord Murray, and ourselves. Brodie's master was induced to spare him for a month that he might visit Edinburgh. Before he arrived Mr. and Mrs. Burton and Mr. Nimmo had procured him twenty commissions for bas-relief portraits, at twenty-five shillings each. At the end of the month he had many more commissions, so he went back to Aberdeen, gave up plumbing, and brought his family to Edinburgh. He now studied art systemati- cally, and by the kindness of a gentleman named Buchanan he was sent, a few years later, to Rome. ^' His wife has proved as true a helpmate in prosperity as in the struggles of early life. She has seen her husband fully appreciated, and his portraits of the noble and the good spread over the land." * William Brodie is said ** to have made more por- trait busts than any other sculptor ; " amongst these were four of the Queen, and one of Lord Jeffrey. He executed the marble statue of Lord Cockburn in the Parliament House, and that of Sir David Brewster in the quadrangle of the University, and, later on, the colossal statue of the Prince Consort at Perth. I remember a remark of Mr. Brodie's about brain work and manual work. He said that when he was a plumber he imagined that handicraftsmen were the only hard workers, and that the work which is purely from the brain could be nothing but * Mrs. Brodie has died since the above was written. 252 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XIII. amusement. But when he became a sculptor he found, to his astonishment, that his early struggles as a mechanic, however severe, could not compare with the hard and exhausting labour which now came to him as brain work. Brodie was a full member of the Royal Scottish Academy, and when he died, in 1881, that body voted him a public funeral. My wife writes again of him — "Not only the Scottish Academicians followed the illustrious artist to the grave, but distinguished men of all professions, and friends from all classes. The grand pro- cession winding its way to the Dean cemetery evinced the wonderful contrast between Brodie's situation in early life, and his distinguished position at its close ; but the man was the same, ever keeping his own character pure from the temptations of ambition. He was the same earnest Christian at the end as at the beginning, feeling that the Creator of all beauty was the God of truth. The minister who preached the funeral sermon, who had had long and intimate intercourse with him, said he ' never left William Brodie without feeling he had received help from him both for this life and the next.' " Mr. Steele (afterwards Sir John Steele) was the sculptor of the statue of Scott in the Princes Street monument. This established his position as a lead- ing sculptor, and he afterwards made important statues of the Queen, the Duke of Wellington, the 1846.] THE LOST PORTMANTEAU. 253 Marquis of Dalhousle, etc. He was a most simple- minded man, like many of our best artists, and a general favourite. In the year 1846 he visited Rome. In passing through Paris he went to the bank of the great financier Lafitte to get cash for a banknote for ten pounds. On his homeward journey, after crossing into France, he lost his portmanteau — no surprising event to occur to our art-loving but unpractical friend. But the means which he took to recover it were indeed surprising. Recollecting that Monsieur Lafitte, at whose bank he had changed his ten- pound note, was at the head of the Ministry, he wrote a letter to him, and, prefacing his request with an account of his important banking trans- action, asked the Minister to have a search made for the portmanteau. He enclosed a drawing of it, showing all its straps and buckles ! Lafitte received the letter while entertaining a party of friends, who were amused beyond measure at the nawetd of the young artist. On arriving in Edinburgh, Mr. Steele told us, with his wonted simplicity, what had happened, and great was our mirth at his recital. For some time afterwards when any of us met him we asked what news he had of his portmanteau. Indeed, the poor man was much twitted about it. But presently he was able to turn the laugh 254 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XIII. against its. The amused Lafitte had actually set all the police to work, and the portmanteau arrived bodily in Edinburgh, with a note from his private secretary conveying the Minister's con- gratulations to Mr. Steele on the recovery of his lost property ! ( ^55 ) CHAPTER XIV. 1847-1850. Appointment as inspector of an English district — Summary of reforms in Scotch prisons — EngUsh prisons — Travels in England — A "cheap-jack" — "National Force" — Bishop Stanley — Infant magistrates — Stubborn jurymen. In the spring of 1847, Mr. Crawford, one of the inspectors of English prisons, died, and this causing a vacancy, I determined to apply for an English district. I considered my work in Scotland to be, in the main, finished, and now, after twelve years' residence in that country, I desired to be once more settled within reach of my aged father and of my brothers. My health also at that time had suffered from overwork, and a change of scene was deemed advisable. My application was successful, and thus my official career in Scotland came to an end. So much, however, had I become attached to the country and its inhabitants, that to quit them was felt by me as a severe wrench. The following is a short summary of the reforms 256 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XIY. in the Scotch prisons which I had been able to effect. 1. At the time of my departure all the prison buildings were well adapted for their purpose, and the " separate system/' with certain limitations, had been established. 2. There was not in any prison a single bad officer. 3. In every prison there was industrial occupa- tion, more or less productive, to the exclusion of all artificial labour. The use of treadmills and cranks had been entirely abolished. 4. Every prisoner who did more than his allotted task was allowed the value of his overwork (sub- ject to the control of the governor in its disposal) ; and thus a means was provided to the industrious on leaving gaol of making a fresh start in an honest career. 5. The general conduct of the prisoners was good, although flogging was entirely abolished. 6. The cost per head of the prisoners was com- paratively small. To take the last complete year of my superintendence as a guide, the average cost was £\6y whilst in England it exceeded £2^. Before quitting the subject of the Scotch prisons, I would again lay stress upon the great importance I attach to productive labour. How can a per- i847.] VOLUNTARY WORK, 257 manent habit of industry be acquired by a prisoner but by associating pleasurable and honourable feel- ings with industry, and painful and dishonourable feelings with idleness ? But hard labour is, at the outset, often made degrading instead of honourable, by forming part of the sentence of punishment awarded to some of the worst offenders. In Scot- land, at the time I am writing of, no one was ever sentenced to " hard labour," but every prisoner was set to work as a matter of course, and had a daily task assigned him representing ten hours' labour. The prisoner was employed, if possible, at his own trade, or, if ignorant of any, he was taught a trade. In proof of the success of the system of payment to prisoners for voluntary work done beyond their allotted task, I will quote the following passage from my last report on the prisons of Scotland : — " With the value of their overwork some of the prisoners assisted in maintaining their families, while a great number earned money for a decent suit of clothes, or had a small fund with which to support themselves on leaving prison until they could get work. In one instance a little boy in Glasgow prison, who had previously been a great source of trouble to his mother, was enabled, when his mother fell ill, to send her a pound, which, by great industry, rising frequently as early as three in the morning, he had earned. In another instance a prisoner of Aberdeen, a blacksmith, obtained money enough, not only to assist his family whilst he was in prison and to fit up a forge for 17 258 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XIV. himself on liberation, but to repay the person whom he had injured the whole amount of the loss which he occasioned him, which was £2^. And in a third case, at Edinburgh, a young man who was an engraver, not only improved himself in his profession while in prison, but earned money enough to pay his passage to America, and thus to place himself in a position far removed from his former scene of disgrace, where he might obtain a new character, and where, in fact, he was afterwards heard of living respectably." A governor of one of the prisons writing to me on this subject remarked, ** Very few prisoners who earned mtich money under this 7^ule ever returned to prison!' The money was, of course, given out with much caution. It was generally put into the hands of the overseer of the parish where the dis- charged prisoner lived, the superintendent of police, or the churchwarden, to be used in the best way. My esteemed friend Mr. Brebner, governor of the Glasgow Bridewell, of whom I have already spoken, may be said to have lost his life in the advocacy of the great cause of industrial prison- work. He overtaxed his strength in preparing his voluminous evidence on this subject for the Prison Board, taking scarcely any rest for some nights previous to their meeting. Just as his evidence was to be given he was stricken with apoplexy, and died In my arms. I i847.] AN HONOURED PRISON GOVERNOR. 259 Mr. Brebner was so highly esteemed that the Town Council of Glasgow voted him a public funeral. He was followed to the grave by crowds of all classes, and the police in attendance recognized many who had formerly been in Mr. Brebner's charge as prisoners. I began the inspection of my new district in England in the summer of 1847. It comprised the whole of the north of England and also of North Wales, to which an eastern district was afterwards added. Few of the reforms which I had carried out in the vScotch prisons had found their way into those of England. Treadmill and other unprofitable labour was in full force. No motives were given to industry, and voluntary work for payment was strictly prohibited. Any money given to a prisoner on his discharge was purely a matter of charity, and depended chiefly, like almsgiving in general, on the degree of destitution. In most of the English prisons I found the inmates either associated together, with some attempt at classification, it is true, but under very inefficient superintendence, or collected in larger bodies and subjected to the ''silent system." This system I have always considered to be very pernicious. I write of it in my report for 1847 — 26o FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XIV. "When prisoners are brought together it will, I think, be generally admitted that they should really associate as human beings, and not be doomed, as under the 'silent system,' to eternal silence, with their heads and eyes fixed, like statues, in one direction ; and that all attempts to enforce such a system, and to carry on such a warfare with nature, must be productive of endless attempts at deception on the part of the prisoners, and lead to much punishment. Again, that by turning the officers into constant organs of punishment, the system must greatly weaken their moral influence, and tend to prevent that feehng of respect and attachment which it is so desirable to create. The object of discipline in a prison, so far as relates to control, ought to be to curb only the bad passions and evil propensities, and not to destroy the social feelings, and stifle desires which are in themselves innocent. When, therefore, prisoners are placed together, although neither idleness nor disorder of any kind should be allowed, I would never recommend that they should be forbidden to look at each other, or, at stated periods and in a quiet tone, to converse." The ''separate system," I found, was but little in use in the English prisons. Though strongly opposed to an unlimited use of this system, I consider it greatly superior, even v^dien carried to excess, to the indiscriminate association of prisoners or to the '' silent system." The plan which I look upon as the best is complete separation in the first instance (though in some cases for a very short period only), gradually followed, according to 1848.] A DEGRADING BADGE. 261 circumstances, by judicious classification, the amount of association Increasing or diminishing as it Is found to be beneficial or otherwise. Speaking of the clothing of the prisoners in England, I write — ^ "The use of party-coloured clothing continues in many English prisons, carrying with it a degrading badge, opposed to that feeHng of self-respect which, in the process of reformation, it is so important to create and preserve." On my first inspection of the prisons of North Wales I found that several governors, as well as under-ofificers, were unfit for their posts. I write to my wife on April 12, 1848 — " I have very little doubt that the governors at Beaumaris and Carnarvon will be dismissed, and most assuredly the one at Ruthin ought to follow. All these men have been many years in office." I found that the chaplain of one of the Welsh prisons was addicted to drinking. On my laying the case before the magistrates, they assured me that they were aware of the fact, but that, being on social and friendly terms with him, none of them liked to tell him to resign. I offered to undertake the task, and my interview with the reverend gentleman ended In his placing his resignation In 262 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XIV. my hands. He thanked me for having as much as possible spared his feeHngs, and said he hoped that whenever I returned to that neighbourhood I would come and dine with him ! In this same year (1848) I write to my wife from York — • " I am scattering the poor matrons before me in all directions. I had to recommend the removal of one from Durham, of another from Northallerton, and I see I shall have to recommend the removal of a third from here. This prison, although there is a well-meaning man for governor, must hitherto have been a sad place of corruption, little superintendence and no work. No wonder that there should be attempts to escape. Six prisoners I find under a charge of conspiring to attack some of the officers with a view to breaking out of prison. " Hull. — The good people here seem to think that they have a ' commissioner of all work ' among them ! I have no slight task at the prison, but, in addition to that, I have been applied to by the chairman of the Watch Committee to make suggestions for the improvement of the police ; another gentleman has begged me to take up the question of the want of a stipendiary magistrate at Hull ; a third has assured me that the application of endowments for education here requires investigation, though he 'was afraid such inquiry did not come strictly within my province ; ' and I had yesterday a message to inquire whether it lay within my power to examine into the state of the drainage in the suburbs of Hull ! " I write of a visit to Richmond, Yorkshire — 1848.] ''ACCORDING TO HISTORY.'' 263 " I got up early and went to see the old castle — a fine ruin in a commanding situation. My guide was one of those persons who have a stock phrase which they use on all occasions, without much regard to its appropriate- ness. With him everything was 'according to history.' * What is the height,' I inquired, ' of the fine old keep ? ' ' According to history,' was his reply, ' it is ninety-nine feet' I suggested that it would be well to check history by letting down a piece of string, but he did not under- stand my drift. Walking on, we came to a part of the battlements where the hill, at the top of which the castle stands, descends precipitously to the river beneath. ' A pretty steep descent this,' I remarked. 'Yes, sir,' he answered, 'according to history it is almost perpendicular;' an answer which so tickled me as nearly to throw me off the perpendicular. "After receiving various other pieces of information ' according to history,' I left the castle and went to see the ruins of an abbey, which you reach by a very pretty walk of about a mile by the side of the river. By this time I was ready for my breakfast, and returned to the inn. A gouty commercial traveller came into the break- fast parlour. It appeared that he belonged to the wine trade, and the gout of this worthy martyr had, no doubt, been brought on by his setting an example which he wished all his customers to follow. A gentleman asked him what kind of night he had had. ' Much better than usual,' he replied, ' owing to my having drunk four glasses of brandy and water before going to bed. And I sup- pose,' he added, with perfect gravity and with the air of a man who is trying to make up his mind to a disagreeable thing — * I suppose I must do the same to-night' 'After meeting the Mayor of Richmond and one of his 264 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XIV. fellow-magistrates, I found I had still time on my hands before the train started, and went into the market-place. A market, especially in a country town, is always to me a place of interest and attraction, partly owing, no doubt, to my having been in the habit, when a boy, of accom- panying my mother to market and carrying her basket. I like the clean, healthy-looking, country people, the odd medley of fruit, poultry, pigs, ironware, drapery, baskets, bonnets, shoes, tubs, and clocks, the quacking of ducks, the cackling of geese, and the neighing of horses. " In a distant part of the market-place I observed a young man standing on a chair and addressing those around him. I found that he was a ' cheap-jack ' selling chemical concoctions of various kinds, which he displayed in a sort of tray or pedlar's box suspended from his neck. He had lost his right arm, and was therefore obliged to perform his experiments with his left, often making use of his mouth also. He was very young — not more, apparently, than eighteen or nineteen — had an intelligent countenance and the command of fluent language. In his address there was a strange mixture of sound sense, odd extravagance, and error. When I arrived he was dilating on the virtue of a powder for fumigating rooms, and demonstrating its action by making a puff of smoke with a bad smell. For this valuable concoction I find, on the undoubted authority of my 'cheap-jack,' a Parliamentary grant of ;^5000 has been awarded to our friend Dr. South- wood Smith ! The honour of inventing another recipe he assigned to our friend Dr. Nichol, of Glasgow, who, I find, has no sinecure, cither in lecturing or travelling ; for, in addition to his labours as an astronomer, it appears that he is professor of chemistry in the Universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and St. Andrew's ! 1848.] '' SYMPATHETIC ink:' 265 "By-and-by our young friend began to speak of the post-office, and urged upon his simple country auditors the necessity of preserving the important secrets in their letters by means of his ' sympathetic ink,' which, he stated, was invented by a distinguished member of the ' Anti- poke-your-nose-into-other-people's-business Society!' 'No doubt,' exclaimed the young orator, 'when Sir James Graham was charged with the base act of opening people's letters he denied the deed. Like Banquo, he shook his hoary locks and said, " You cannot say I done it ! " But it was he who gave his secret orders to have it done. How much custom, gentlemen,' continued the vendor, * would any railway company have if they adver- tised that all parcels sent by their railway would be pried into ? And who,' he demanded, his eloquence rising with the occasion, ' who would send his letters through the channels of Government if he knew that they were to be subjugated to a fiery ordeal in the dark chambers of the post- office f " York. — I wrote to you last night, and must be very brief now, as I am just starting for the prison, and much of the little spare time which I had has been taken up by my most loquacious landlady. She has been explain- ing to me, at great length, why, notwithstanding her husband is now worth ^2000, she continues to wear a short-sleeved gown in the morning — a practice which is ' part of her nature, and which she would not give up, no, not if she possessed the Queen and all the Indies ! ' " In this year (1848) the French Revolution took place. The excitement spread all over Europe, and v^as evinced even in this country by riots and other disturbances. Fears were entertained of a 266 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XIY. French invasion, and, my mind being thus directed to the subject of national defence, I conceived the project of a reserve force. My plan was to engage a number of well-disposed men, to have them efficiently armed and drilled, to pay them adequately when on duty, and to give them a small pension in old age. These men were to hold themselves in readiness to leave their various employments for service on the shortest notice. Thus a well-trained force w^ould be at hand in all parts of the country to quell tumults, or to aid in resisting invasion. I wrote and published a pamphlet on this subject, entitled '*A National Force for the Economical Defence of the Country from Internal Tumult and Foreign Aggression." It was favourably reviewed in the Examiner, Globe, and Spectator newspapers. No such reserve force has, to this day, been established for inland duty, but in 1852 the Government brought before Parliament a project for establishing a naval reserve, and Mr. Bernal Osborne, in the House of Commons, charged the Ministers with having adopted my plan in its spirit, though without acknowledgment. Among the letters I received on the publication of my pamphlet is the following, from my friend John Hill Burton, the historian : — 1848.] THE CHEAP DEFENCE PLAN. 267 "20, Scotland Street, Edinburgh, April 12, 1848. "My dear Sir, " I was agreeably reminded of you the other day by receiving from you a copy of your able pamphlet, which I was glad to see receiving immediate notice in the Examiner. In accordance with its principles, it occurred to me, while we were hearing all the rumours of the threatened catastrophe in London, that the special constables were more to be relied on than the troops, and that some day or other it may turn out a mistake to suppose that mere discipline and isolation will make men taken from the dregs of society, as too many of our soldiers are, the firm friends of order and property. " It might have been wished — and I have heard other people who approve of your principle say the same — that you had gone more into detail, but I suppose official duties left little time at your disposal, and you thought justly that it would be a good service to publish the outline. " Yours ever, "J. H. Burton." The following is to my wife from our genial friend Mr. James Simpson. It is remarkable that in it he foreshadows the great Volunteer movement. "33, Northumberland Street, Edinburgh, March 8, 1848. "My dear Friend, " Your letter and Mr. Hill's pamphlet are just received, and both have given me much pleasure. We are truly happy to observe your good spirits, indicating that all is well with you. "The Cheap Defence plan is so good that I think it 268 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XIV. must be adopted. I have been myself, in society, advo- cating the training of every young man to the use of arms, but did not think of paying and clothing them. This last, however, may be necessary to obtain a certain available force. The ranks would be filled by competi- tion ; and I do not think that the force may not have added to it as many volunteer corps of gentlemen as wMl clothe themselves and bear all their own expenses. " The remarks on the tyranny of unions are excellent. There are no greater tyrants than the lower classes, and they complain most loudly of tyranny. . . . " Mr. Edwin's pamphlet much delighted me. His plan, too, is excellent. The Hills for ever! Think of good Mr. Hill senior's interest in the French news at his age ! That wonderful event will turn to good, I trust. "With love and esteem, " I am yours affectionately, "James Simpson." The following extracts are taken from letters to my wife during my tours of inspection : — "Manchester, March 28, 1848. "There was a capital meeting last night at the Free Trade Hall. I never attended a public meeting at which there was so much earnest, logical, and eloquent speaking, and I have no doubt it will have a very beneficial effect. The modest application of the West Indian planters for permission to take two millions a year out of our pockets was met as such impudent demands ought to be met. Cobden spoke excellently, as did Milner Gibson, Bright, and Colonel Thompson. ..." 1849.] A PATRIARCHAL HOUSEHOLD. i^c) "Ipswich, May 8, 1849. "On Sunday I passed a pleasant evening with Mr. Allen Ransome at his father's — a fine old gentleman, phy- sically, mentally, and morally. On our arrival we found him in his drawing-room with his family, his servants, and some of their children, reading to them interesting accounts of Ragged Schools ; and it was evident, by the respectful yet unembarrassed way in which some of the servants made remarks, that the whole household were living on friendly terms, but with proper subordination. "Mr. Ransome has more than a thousand men in his employment, engaged chiefly in the construction of agri- cultural implements and railway carriages, and he speaks in high terms of the conduct of the workmen and of the spirit of harmony between them and their employers. He says that he believes that the money which an employer expends in increasing the comforts of his workpeople is generally his most productive capital." " Norwich, September 23. " Bishop Stanley's funeral ceremony was very impres- sive, and so was the memorial service and sermon to-day. The sermon was in the best possible taste, and full of good matter, and the choir and organist seemed to throw their whole soul into the sublime music. The grave is in the nave of the cathedral, and around it were assembled a great number of children, in whose instruction and training the bishop had taken a personal interest. The grave is so placed that at a certain hour of the day, the sunlight, coming through a painted window, will fall upon it. "... I passed a very pleasant evening at Mr. Leigh's parsonage. He said that the late bishop would have entered warmly into my views and have thoroughly sup- ported me." 270 FREDERIC HILL, [Chap. XIY. "September 25. " I have avoided the subject of cholera in my letters, but I will mention for your comfort that I believe it to be a mistake to suppose that cholera is accompanied by pain. At Wakefield prison the surgeon told me, when I expressed surprise at not seeing the indications of pain in the faces of the patients, that he always considered it a good sign when there was pain, and that it was torpor and insensibility they had to contend with." " Lincoln. " On Sunday I dined between the cathedral services with one of the county magistrates, Mr. Fardell, who knew Matthew when he came this circuit ; and, by the way, I have Matthew's old lodgings. I was remarking to Mr. Fardell on the youthful appearance of most of the county magistrates at the meeting last week, and was surprised to hear from him that most of them had been put into the Commission of the Peace when they were mere infants ; and that till lately this was a common practice, just as children used to have commissions in the army and navy." "Lincoln, June, 1850. " I have heard a good story about the consultation of the jury that had to try a Dr. Snaith some years ago on a political charge, Matthew being the doctor's counsel. It appears that, except one, the jury was composed of Tories, all disposed to bring in a verdict of guilty, and that when they retired, the foreman (father of one of the county justices with whom I have been dining) went up to the dissenting juryman and addressed him somewhat in this fashion : ' Sir, we had best understand one another. 1850.] SOLDIER VERSUS SAILOR. 271 I have been a soldier, and have passed twenty-four hours in a ditch, with nothing to eat ; so you have no chance of beating me, and you had better give in at once.' To which the other replied, ' What you say is very likely, but I have been a sailor, and I once passed three days and three nights on a plank in the middle of the sea, with only a crust of bread to eat the first day, and with nothing for the other two ; so I suppose I can hold out as well as another.' The foreman, in alarm, cried out, * By Jove, there's no beating that ! ' He sent off immediately to his medical attendant, got a certificate from him that his life would be endangered if he were kept long without food, succeeded thereby in obtaining the dismissal of the jury (which had the effect of an acquittal), and arrived at home only a few minutes late for the family dinner." " Manchester. "Mr. John Shuttleworth told me that at the exhibition in 1839 of the Mechanics' Institute here, a man one day demanded admission in so noisy a manner that it was evident he was intoxicated. Some of the directors who were present refused to allow him to enter, but a respect- able mechanic, himself a director, gave it as his opinion that the man was quite capable of conducting himself properly if they appealed to his good feelings. He further offered to accompany him round the rooms. The man was allowed to enter, and the sudden decorum which he evinced, as his good-natured guide pointed out the various interesting objects, was truly remarkable. He stayed two hours, and when he left the exhibition he turned to some of the directors and expressed his regret at the violence and rudeness of his conduct. He requested permission to bring his wife and son the following Saturday, stating that 272 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XIV. his son was a fine likely lad, and would enjoy the sight of so many curious and beautiful objects still more than he had done. Permission being granted, he brought his wife and son, and remained even a longer time than the previous Saturday. He said he feared he was too old himself to take advantage of the classes of the Mechanics' Institute, but that his son should become a member, and he immediately paid down the subscription. On leaving the hall he again expressed his regret at his former conduct. The wife was observed to linger behind, but as soon as her husband and son were outside the door, she suddenly turned to the directors, and, with a voice tremu- lous from emotion, said she knew not what gentleman she had to thank for admitting her husband, but that whoever it was she felt most grateful to him. That evening was the first for years that her husband had returned home sober, or that he had expressed any wish to give her pleasure. She stated that during the twenty years she had been married she had never been to a public place of enjoyment, and said how happy she had felt with her husband and son in looking together at such beautiful things ! " ( 273 ) CHAPTER XV. 1850-1851. Book on "Crime" — Indeterminate sentences — Modern crimi- nologists— Havelock Ellis — "Elmira" — Capital punishment — Changes in public opinion. At this time I was engaged in writing a book upon " Crime, its Amount, Causes, and Remedies," which appeared before the public in 1853, with Murray for its publisher. This work recorded the informa- tion I had gained and the opinions which I had been led to adopt during my sixteen years' inspector- ship of prisons. I have had no reason to change these opinions, and it is a matter of much satisfaction to me to see the modern school of scientific penolo- gists bringing forcibly before the world such subjects as the hereditary nature of crime, the relation of crime to insanity, and cognate matters to which I gave my support so many years ago. I cannot state what I consider to be the funda- mental principles of our dealings with crime and criminals better than by quoting from my book. 18 274 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XV. "The leading principle of the criminal law of Britain, like that of most other countries, as I understand it, is to deter from crime by awarding punishment for different offences in proportion to their magnitude. "The objections to this principle appear to be Insur- mountable. In the first place, it is one which it is im- possible to carry out with anything like accuracy, dwing to the infinite variety of circumstances which increase or diminish the guilt appertaining even to the very same act, or which indeed make the commission of an apparently small offence really more culpable sometimes than that of a great offence. " Much, no doubt, is done to meet these inequalities by the latitude given to the judge who passes sentence, but that \?> pro tanto an abandonment of the principle on which the laws are constructed. "But even if it were possible to draw up a list of offences according to their real turpitude and their injury to society, and to prepare a corresponding scale of punish- ment, it appears to me that it would not be wise to act on such a system. " The object of punishment being the prevention of crime, that punishment cannot be well fitted for its purpose which, after the infliction has terminated, allows an offender to be let loose again on society, without regard to the cause of his offence, or to the fact whether such cause has been removed ; and without reference even to the possibility that the offender may have been hardened and rendered worse by the very punishment itself. "This objection seems fatal to the plan of meting out doses of punishment as cures for specific crimes. No doubt it is necessary, with a view to the deterring effects 1850.] SELF-REGULATING PUNISHMENTS. 275 on other members of society, that a person should suffer by the commission of crime, and that his condition should be rendered worse than that of the peaceable and honest man ; but this has been ordained by laws superior to all human edicts. Not to dwell on the unhappiness of a life of crime, even while the offender is at large, I maintain that the natural consequence of crime in the withdrawal of the offender from the privilege of mixing with society, which he has abused, and his confinement until he can be safely restored, more fully carries out this principle of punishment than almost any other plan that could be proposed ; for in proportion to the length of the habits of crime and heinousness of the offences committed would, in general, be the period necessary for effecting a cure, and consequently the duration and amount of the punishment. "Whether, therefore, we try to suppress crime by the mere infliction of punishment according to the number and magnitude of the offences committed, or whether we try to stop crime by curing the criminal, or, where complete cure is impossible, by improving him to the greatest possible extent, the natural and self-regulating punish- ments which God has instituted and pointed out appear to be the best and most accurately adapted for securing that the amount of punishment shall be in proportion to the offence committed. " But who is to determine the fact of cure ? and who the precise means by which a cure is to be effected ? I would submit that those only are fully qualified to do this who are entrusted with the charge of the offender, who have time to study his character, to watch the effect of the different influences brought to bear upon him in the formation of new habits ; and who have opportunities 276 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XY. of gradually relaxing the system of discipline, and of trying the new powers of their moral patient to resist those temptations to which he would be exposed on his return to society. '* No one thinks of sending a madman to a lunatic asylum for a certain number of days, weeks, or months. We content ourselves with carefully ascertaining that he is unfit to be at large, and that those in whose hands we are about to place him act under due inspection, and have the knowledge and skill which afford the best hope for his cure, and we leave it for them to determine when he can safely be liberated. "Those best acquainted with the subject know that between lunatics and criminals the difference is often but slight. Perhaps it may be ultimately found by cautious experiment that a somewhat similar process may be safe and expedient in the treatment of criminals, and that while it is still left to the courts of justice to determine on the guilt or innocence of the accused, and on the necessity of their withdrawal from society, it may be assigned to those entrusted more or less directly with the reformatory treatment to determine the time of release ; subject, however, to a most competent, well-appointed, careful, and responsible supervision and control such as ought to be invariably exercised in the case of mad- houses ; and subject to the proviso that no amount of subsequent good conduct should be considered sufficient to warrant the liberation of a person who had ever been guilty of deliberate murder. " It is perhaps natural that Englishmen should regard with a jealous eye the introduction of a power to subject any of their countrymen, however criminal, to an imprison- ment not limited, in the ordinary way, to a certain number I 1850.] THE INDETERMINATE SENTENCE. 277 of months or years ; and it is fitting that such a change should be gradual, and that its operation should be care- fully watched. The feeling from which such jealousy arises was manifested on the first creation of an efficient police ; yet no one now thinks of pointing to the police as the infringers of liberty — that is, as the infringers of the liberty of the peaceful and honest — for the more the liberty of the turbulent and dishonest is restricted the better ; the freedom of the malefactor being the bondage of the just. And such, I am satisfied, would, in time, become the general feeling regarding an arrangement for securely detaining every offender, when once caught, until there is a rational prospect of his living honestly and peaceably. In truth, had this practice, so conformable to common sense, the advantage which the sanction of time and ex- perience causes, instead of having to contend with the hostile feeling attendant on novelty, any one who should propose to abandon such a system, and to enact that, without regard to an offender's moral condition, he should, at the end of a certain fixed period, be let loose again on society, would probably be regarded as little better than a lunatic." My brother Matthew adopted these opinions on the subject of the indeterminate sentence, and warmly advocated them in some of his charges as Recorder of Birmingham. The following passage is from a charge delivered in December, 1856 : — " Surely all who give themselves the trouble of mastering the subject, must feel that what we ought to aim at is, to prevent criminals once apprehended and convicted from being so placed as to have the power of offending again, 278 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XY. until we have some proof that their dispositions and habits are changed for the better. And if the discipline of the gaol should fail to produce its intended effect, then is it not unquestionably right that the seclusion of the prisoners should continue even if it last for their lives ? '^ Ages ago this island was infested with wolves ; a dire calamity, as all conversant with the history of those times well know. What should we have thought of the sanity of our ancestors if, after giving a reward for each wolf caught, they had, when a certain number of months or years had elapsed, opened the dens and restored their wolves to liberty ? And yet I am sure that you will feel that, as between wolves and burglars, the latter are by far the more dangerous beasts of prey." The importance of the principle of the indetermi- nate or indefinite sentence is now widely recognized. Mr. Havelock Ellis, in his preface to an "Account of the New York State Reformatory of Elmira," by Alexander Winter, F.S.S., writes — " The first step in the rational treatment of the criminal is the introduction of a bracing moral training. This can only be effected by means of what is called the indetermi- nate or indefinite sentence. To allow a man to stagnate in prison routine until a capriciously fixed day arrives, as a deus ex machi7ta, to open the prison door, is the height of absurdity. The prisoner must win his freedom by his own exertions. Not until he has shown himself capable of living a fairly human life may he safely be liberated. It cannot be too frequently or too emphatically asserted that the indefinite sentence is the foundation of the rational treatment of the criminal. It is worthy of note that this I I 185c.] A FRUITFUL REFORM. 279 has been recognized in the foundation of the International Association of Criminal Law, a society made up of crimi- nologists from all parts of the civilized world. Wherever that fundamental principle is neglected, the best prison system is condemned to hopeless routine and sterility. Wherever it has been introduced, stagnation is impossible." Again Mr. Havelock Ellis, in his able work entitled " The Criminal," writes of the indefinite sentence — *' It has been adopted by several of the American States, such as Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Kansas, and it was introduced at the famous State reformatory of New York at Elmira, by an Act passed in 1877. This Act took from the courts the power of definitely fixing the period of confinement in prisons until, in the opinion of the managers of the reformatory, they may be let out on parole for a probationary period of six months. To an Englishman, Frederic Hill, belongs the honour of first suggesting this fruitful reform, the indeterminate sentence ; and his brother, Matthew Davenport Hill, vigorously supported the principle. In 1886, Garofolo — independ- ently, it appears — advocated indefinite imprisonment in a pamphlet entitled ' Criterio positiva della penalita,' pub- lished at Naples ; and in his great work, * La Criminologie,' he wisely and consistently advocates the abolition of the definite sentence of imprisonment. In Germany it was advocated in 1880 by Dr. Kraepelin, a well-known authority on these matters ('Die Abschaffung des Straffmasses,' Leipsig) ; and in 1882 Professor von Liszt, of Marburg, supported it with the weight of his authority. This fruit- ful reform, which sprang up almost at the same time, and 28o FREDERIC HILL, [Chap. XV. with apparent spontaneity, among the Anglo-Saxon, Latin, and Teutonic races, although of such recent growth, needs little advocacy. It is so eminently reasonable that to state it seems sufficient to ensure its acceptance. When its advantages are generally known and realized it will undoubtedly spread in the same way that it has already begun to spread in the United States." In the prison of Elmira, already alluded to, I have always taken a deep and, I may say, a personal interest. Mr. Brockway, the founder of the insti- tution, still presides over it. Mr. Winter writes in his account of Elmira — " The institution, owing to the astonishing capacity for work and the vigilance of its originator and conductor, has been worked up from quite small beginnings, with a hundred and eighty-four inmates, to a physical, intellectual, and, above all things, a moral sanatorium of over a thousand inmates, unique of its kind in the world. This steady growth clearly shows what confidence the institution has won amongst the administrators of the law and in the opinion of the public by the satisfactory solution of the problem which it set itself to solve. ... In nearly all the states of the Union' Brockway's System has more or less contributed to a reform in legislation and in institutions for criminals in general. "... The success of the institution does not depend merely on a formal fulfilment of the law or of moral duties, but upon a power of discretion and judgment based upon a wide knowledge of the world and of men ; upon an entirely special study and understanding of the outward as well as the inward man. For this reason special care is 1850.] A MORAL SANATORIUM. 281 observed always in New York in the election of members of the tribunal or board of managers. They are no retired military officers, but men from amongst the people — men who themselves know the struggle for existence, and who understand the problem, not merely theoretically, but prac- tically. On the other hand, no judge, or court of justice, is in a position to form a better or more trustworthy judgment of an offender, both in regard to the defects of his external and internal faculties, or to say when he is brought into a normal condition, than a man in the position of the general superintendent. Brockway is not only conductor of the establishment ; he lives amongst the inmates ; he lives and thinks with them, with each individual. Without suffering the discipline to be in the least relaxed, he is in close individual relationship to them, and, in the truest sense of the word, is at the same time friend, minister, and prison- master. " The reformatory is a compulsory school and training institution for its inmates. This compulsion, however, it must be understood, is only intended to arouse the individual, and to compel him by his own efforts to recognize and improve his defective faculties ; and it depends exclusively and solely on the will, industry, and behaviour of the individual in question, whether and at what time he is promoted or liberated, or on the other hand degraded into the third or actual criminal grade. The regaining of his freedom is a prisoner's only aim and aspiration ; it is constantly before his eyes, and is a miraculous force that never ceases to impel him, and it is able to arouse the most insusceptible and dormant character." * * See " The Elmira Reformatory," by Alexander Winter, F.S.S., published by Messrs. Swann and Sonnenschein (1891). 282 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XV. That the fear of an Indefinite loss of Hberty is the most powerful of all deterrents to the criminal at large, may be proved by the fact that American convicts will go down on their knees in the dock to implore the judge not to send them to Elmira. I learn this from my friend Mr. W. M. F. Round, for many years the corresponding secretary of the Prison Association of New York, himself an ardent worker in tlie cause of penal reform. The Elmira system of training the " will-power " of the prisoner, and inspiring him to aid in the work of his own reformation, is in accordance with prin- ciples advocated in my work on ''Crime," as follows : " If a prisoner has been subdued merely by fear, and by a force not addressed to his reason, the probability is that, on the pressure being withdrawn, even for a short time, he will resume his old practices, and that with a fresh spirit of hostility and recklessness. So, also, if he has been treated, though not with harshness, yet like a child in leading- strings, without any cultivation of the powers of self- control, and still less those of virtuous self-action, although he may conduct himself in an exemplary manner in prison, and leave with a sincere desire thenceforward to live honestly and respectably, he will be so wanting in the power to provide for himself and to resist temptation, as probably soon to fall again into crime." Captain Maconochie, the zealous and able advocate of improved prison discipline, wrote in his book entitled ''Crime and Punishment "^ — 1850.] TRAINING THE WILL-POWER. 283 " If we look abroad into ordinary life, we cannot but be struck with the resemblance which our present forms of secondary punishment bear to everything that is most enfeebling and deteriorating, and how directly opposed they are to those forms of adversity which, under the influence of providential wisdom, reform character and invigorate it. Slavery deteriorates ; long seclusion deteriorates ; every condition, in a word, more or less deteriorates which leaves no choice of action, requires no notice but obedience, affords no stimulus to exertion beyond this, supplies the wants of nature without effort with a view to them, and restores to prosperity, through lapse of time, without evidence that such restoration is deserved. " What improves, on the contrary, is a condition of adversity from which there is no escape but by continuous effort, which leaves the degree of that effort much in the individual's own power, but if he relaxes, his suffering is deepened and prolonged, and it is only alleviated and shortened if he struggles manfully — which makes exertion necessary even to earn daily bread — and something more, prudence, self-command, voluntary economy, and the like, to recover prosperity." Captain Maconochie recommended that for sentences to a fixed period of imprisonment should be substituted sentences to a fixed amount of labour. This he proposed to measure by marks, and hence the name given to his system. These marks were not only to serve as the price of the prisoner's freedom, but as a means of obtaining various privileges, amongst others that of assisting 284 FREDERIC HILL, [Chap. XV. his family. In 1854 Captain (now Sir Walter) Crofton based his system of convict discipHne upon this plan of Captain Maconochie's, adapting it to the provisions of the Penal Servitude Act. He brought the Irish prisons, as is well known, into a state far superior and widely different to those of England, introducing, besides reformatory treat- ment, graduated liberation. The principle of the Mark System is adopted at Elmira. I have already referred to my observations on the connection between crime and insanity. Mr. Havelock Ellis remarks in the ''Criminal" — "Sometimes crime seems to be the method by which the degenerating organism seeks to escape from an insane taint in the parents. Of the inmates of the Elmira Reformatory, 499 — or 137 per cent. — have been of insane or epileptic heredity. . . . "We are now learning to regard the criminal as a natural phenomenon, the resultant of manifold natural causes. We are striving to attain to scientific justice. We are seeking in every direction to ascertain what is the reasonable treatment of the eccentric and abnormal members of society in their interest, and in the still higher interests of the society to which we belong." I quote again from my book — " By the abolition of revolting punishments and by confining the object of the statute to the protection of 1850.] THE DEATH PENALTY. 285 society and the cure of the offender, the propriety and reasonableness of the law would eventually become so evident that public feeling would be strong in its support, and all unwillingness to give evidence would disappear. Thus nearly all parties in a court of justice would have the same object — the arrival at the truth ; instead of the hall of justice being degraded, as too often it is, into a kind of mental boxing-ground, where witnesses are insulted and browbeaten, and where the prisoner, to his surprise, sometimes finds that any arts of trickery and deception which he may have practised are outdone by the well- dressed gentlemen around him, in their power of twisting evidence, distorting facts, and implying with well-feigned simplicity the truth of that which they know to be false. " As criminals, like other ignorant people, have generally great confidence in their good luck, any chance of escape of conviction much diminishes the fear of the consequences of their acts." And they are perfectly aware of the reluctance felt by juries to bring in a verdict which will produce a sentence of death. Were this penalty changed to that of life-imprisonment, murderers could no longer count on reluctance to convict, and "the excited interest now often shown in them, with all the dclat, romance, and heroism of crime, would fall to the ground." Lord John Russell, when speaking on this subject, remarked — "When I consider how difficult it is for any judge to separate the case which requires inflexible justice from 286 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XV. that which admits the force of mitigating circumstance, how invidious the task of the Secretary of State in dispensing the mercy of the Crown, how critical the comments made by the public, how soon the object of general horror becomes the theme of pity, how narrow and how limited the examples given by this condign and awful punishment, I come to the conclusion that nothing would be lost to justice, nothing lost in the preservation of innocent life, if the punishment of death were altogether abolished." In the same speech Lord John Russell alludes to the bad effect of public executions. They, happily, no longer exist, but the brutalizing effect of an execution is but diminished, not banished. The cheap newspapers carry the account of the final scene of disgrace and pain far and wide, and it is eagerly read by all who are attracted by baneful excitement. Mr. Havelock Ellis remarks in the '' Criminal," '' Perhaps the most powerful reason in favour of the probable disappearance of capital punishment is the humanizing influence that would be exerted on the community generally." In dealing with the argument so often used by those who uphold capital punishment, that it has a deterrent effect upon crime, I show in my book that it has, in fact, an entirely opposite effect. " It must be remembered that an example of punish- ment is also a suggestion to crime, and that the greater the 1850.] A GREAT CHANGE OF OPINION. 287 display of the first the more does the idea of the second fasten on the mind. It is notorious, as a general rule, that any act to which the public attention is powerfully attracted, whether it is a murder, a suicide, or other deed of an exciting kind, is likely to be followed by similar acts. In truth, there are always many people whose reason has so slender a control over their feelings, that no sooner is an idea connected with their strong predispositions forcibly presented to their mind, than the feeling becomes unconquerable, and it takes its course regardless of con- sequences." Public opinion against capital punishment seems to be gradually gaining ground. I have myself lived to witness great changes. Within my lifetime men were hanged for stealing five shillings' worth of goods ; and when Sir Samuel Romilly's Bill for the improvement of the criminal law and the aboli- tion of this monstrous evil was introduced into the House of Lords in 18 10, the Archbishop of Canter- bury, together with eight bishops, voted against it, as did also the Lord Chancellor, Ellenborough. The latter, speaking in the name of the Bench generally, declared that no man s property would be safe if the measure were carried. It was not until the year 1826, long after the death of Sir Samuel Romilly, that his reform, brought forward now by Sir Robert Peel, was finally passed through Parliament and became law. 288 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XVI. CHAPTER XVI. 1851-1852. Great Exhibition — Appointment at the General Post-Office — Last years of T. W. Hill's life — Law Amendment Society — *' Friends in Council " — Dr. Arnott — Charles Dickens and the Money Order Office — A nautical Postmaster-General. This year (1851) was the year of the Great Exhibi- tion, the first Crystal Palace, in Hyde Park. My wife and I were present at a lecture delivered by my brother-in-law, Professor Cowper, in the build- ing on the completion of its erection. I will give a short extract from the account which appeared in the Illustrated London News for January 4. Grave doubts had been entertained whether the light iron pillars would be able to sustain the weight of the vast roof. "The last day of the year 1850, the one on which Messrs. Fox, Henderson, and Co., contractors for the building, were to have given up possession to the Royal Commissioners, was not inappropriately chosen for the private visit of the members of the Society of Arts, who collected together in large numbers to listen to Professor 1851.] A CONCLUSIVE EXPERIMENT. 289 Cowper's truly lucid explanation of the scientific con- struction of the Great Industrial Palace. " ' Let us begin with the columns,' he said, * which are not solid, as if of brick or stone, but hollow — that is, tubular ; and here science at once decides that this is the stiffest and strongest form for a given quantity of material. . . . Perhaps there are some critics present who, on look- ing at the columns of this building, may consider them weak ; let me, however, respectfully request of such critics to test their own power of judging of these columns by mentally estimating what these four quills — one inch in length — will bear.' (Here Mr. Cowper placed the four pieces of quill in a vertical position between two boards, the upper one being adjustable by hinges, and then placed weights on the upper board just above the quills until they reached 224 lbs.) This beautiful and conclusive experiment drew forth loud applause. " He concluded his lecture with these words : ' There is no doubt that when our friends from the Continent visit this splendid palace they will be perfectly astonished at the preposterous notion of retaining the trees within it ! But they may learn a lesson from them, and that not an unimportant one. Some of our intending visitors have been amusing themselves of late years with planting trees of liberty, which withered and dried up, and were finally uprooted. Now, we are not a people very fond of emblems, but I look upon those trees as real trees of liberty ; they prove beyond doubt that we do not live under a despotic Government. The people — right or wrong — wished these particular trees to remain. A thousand trees were cut down in Kensington Gardens some years since, and not a word of complaint was uttered ; but John Bull had set his mind on these six or eight trees in particular, whether 19 290 FREDERIC HILL, [Chap. XVI. they spoiled the building or not ; and there they are standing proofs of the attention the Government pays to his wishes. We might carry our imagination further, and say these trees represent the liberties and rights of various classes and opinions, and all that is required is that each tree of liberty should be so pruned and trained as not to overshadow or injure its neighbour, while the magnificent arch above, like our glorious constitution, is comprehensive enough to include and protect them all." In this year an important change in my official life took place. My brother Rowland greatly desired my assistance at the Post-Oi^ce. He writes in the '' History of Penny Postage" — "I proposed that I should have as assistant secretary some one in whom I had entire confidence, and who would be able to take my place in my absence. My wish was to obtain the appointment for my brother Frederic. . . . Although he was able to accomplish a good deal (in his English district), he found among the country justices of the peace, who have the general charge of the county prisons, far more of vis ijierticB than he had encountered in Scotland. In the belief that in the Post-Ofifice, in conjunction with myself, he should have a new and wide field for the exercise of his knowledge of the principles of government and his powers of administration, and that he should be able to render me effectual assistance, he was ready to accept an appointment, should it be made, as assistant secretary." This appointment was made, and I entered upon my new duties in the month of June. Amongst 1851.] ATTRACTIONS TO HAMPSTEAD. 291 the kind and cordial letters which I received upon this occasion were letters from Lord Truro and Mr. C. P. Villiers, and also from many persons officially connected with prisons, from whom I took a reluctant farewell. It would have been impossible to me, however, to bid farewell to the subjects of prison discipline and the laws affecting criminology. By connecting myself with the Law Amendment Society, I was able still to work for reforms in these and kindred matters, with men of influence and power In the land. I also joined philanthropic bodies as they were started — such as the Metropolitan Discharged Prisoners' Aid Society, the Reformatory and Refuge Union, etc. I now finally settled my family at Hampstead, where my brother Matthew had lived for many years, and where my brother Rowland was also now settled. At Hampstead, too, were living my wife's eldest sister. Miss Cowper, and her near re- lative Mr. John Lepard, whose house had ever been a second home to our children. We were within easy reach of Tottenham, where my aged father lived, in the near neighbourhood of his sons Edwin and Arthur, who inhabited Bruce Castle. My dear mother had died in 1842, but my father lived to the advanced age of eighty-eight years. I must mention that in March, 1850, my sister, 292 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XVI. Caroline Clark, with her entire family, left England for South Australia. Her husband and herself desired a better climate for their children, two of whom they had lost by consumption. My nephews and nieces have visited England many times since then, but my sister and her brothers never met again, though a close and regular correspondence between us, till her death in 1877, kept the know- ledge of each other's interests unbroken. On Christmas Day, 1849, my father, then eighty- six years old, presided at a complete family gather- ing in the ancient hall of Bruce Castle, where we sat down to the Christmas feast, a party of fifty. My eldest daughter distinctly remembers this event, and the rush of all the little ones when their beloved grandfather inadvertently walked under the mistletoe. His sympathy with children may be seen in the following letter to my second little girl, who had sent him a birthday present: — "Bruce Terrace, April 25, 1849. *'My dear Leonora, "Your affection for me, which you show in so many ways, makes me quite happy. I thank you for your pen-wiper, and the more as you have made it yourself *' I thank you for your wish that I may live a * billion of years.' I am not sure whether you mean a French billion. i85i.] '' AN OLD AGE SERENE AND BRIGHT:' 293 that is a thousand millions, or an English billion, that is a million of millions. . . . But, my dear girl, I could hope to make your heart glad by assuring you that I have a confident, though humble, expectation of many more years of life than you have named or could name — not, indeed, in the present world, but in a world of far greater happiness than you and I can think of This hope I hold fast ^through a firm belief in the goodness of the great Creator. . . . That He may ever preserve you and yours is the earnest prayer of your affectionate grandfather, " Thos. W. Hill." Writing to my v^ife, he says — " Accept my sincere thanks for your thorough sympathy in all my feelings. Of these, thanks to the Author of my being, the vast preponderance is enjoyment I could wish for better sight and better hearing, but have so much to be grateful for that it is not without compunction that I turn so much as a thought on these lost possessions. " How happy, my dear daughter, are you in all your relations — children, husband, sisters, brothers ! The children here are coming home ever and anon, delighted with lectures from our talented relative Mr. Cowper. Relative I call him, for we are all ingenious in tracing an alliance which it is an honour to possess." In March, 1851, my father became very ill, and the illness proved fatal. In a diary kept by me at the time I write — "May I. — Martha sat some time by my father, describing to him the ceremonies that were to take place at the 294 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XYI. Opening of the Industrial Palace that day — the prayer for increased good will and intercourse between the nations ; and how the assembled multitudes, collected from so many nations, were to sing Hallelujah to the great Creator who had endowed them with the faculties that had produced this wonderful Exhibition of mind and talent. Tears, Martha said, rolled down his face as he ejaculated, * Thank God, thank God, for living to see this day ! I cannot see this noble Exhibition with my actual vision, but to hear of it is a great blessing. This real peace-meeting ! I cannot join them with my voice, but I can in my heart. *'A11 people that on earth do dwell, Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice." I leave the world bright with hope. Never, surely, has God's government of the world been so clear as at the present period.' " He Mras gratified at thinking how many of his family and friends had assisted in the great v^^ork of the Exhibition, and had sent contributions to it. He spoke of Edwin's envelope-folding machine, and Julian's ventilatlng-pump ; of Follett Osier's crystal fountain, and Mr. Cowper's printing- machine. On learning of my appointment to the Post- Office my father evinced much joy, and expressed his satisfaction that henceforth Rowland and I should be working together. One day, on the window of his bedroom being i85i.] ''SWEET WITH ETERNAL GOOD:' 295 opened, he composed some verses which he dictated to a friend. They commence thus — ^' Aura veni. Come, gentle breeze ! come, air divine ! Comfort this drooping heart of mine. Ah, solace flows with Heaven's own breath, Which cheers my soul that sank in death. The works of God all speak His praise ; To Him eternal anthems raise." On the 1 3th of June, the day of my father's death, my diary records — " At half-past one, when Rowland, Martha, and myself were sitting near him, he took a hand of each of us in his, and, placing it near his heart, kissing it and point- ing upwards, with a radiant expression of intense love and happiness, was evidently contemplating a future meeting with us and all his family. " At about half-past eight my dear father expired without a struggle." I received many letters of sympathy upon the death of my father. Mr. Charles P. Villiers wrote — " I had only the pleasure of seeing him upon a few occasions, but I remember well the impression he made then upon me by the simplicity of his manner and the justice and intelligence of his observations. I learn from you with great satisfaction that he did, as his end was approaching, refer to me as one of those who felt an interest in the success and welfare of his family. He only, I assure you, justly appreciated my feelings."^ 296 FREDERIC HILL, [Chap. XVI. An old pupil, Henry Sargant, wrote — " I am now merely putting into words what has been my opinion ever since I was capable of forming one for myself — that he was emphatically the best man I ever knew, of a constant, loving, noble nature." Mr. John Jones, the surgeon who attended my father through his illness, wrote to me — "Your father's death has deprived me of a dear and highly esteemed friend. It is thirty years since I first entered Hazelwood school, and with very little interruption I have kept up a close intimacy with the late Mr. Hill. I shall never forget the pleasant and instructive hours I have passed in his company. His energy of character, his enthusiasm, his hopefulness, his benevolence, were remark- able. He sympathized deeply with all that was good and true. Then what an intellect, what memory, what powers of reasoning ! . . . For years I had loved him, but never so much as when he lay in placid resignation on his death-bed." The Law Amendment Society was the initiator of many legal reforms. In this year (1851) it advo- cated improvements in the patent laws, putting an end to the very heavy legislative charge for every new patent, and substituting a moderate scale, especially for patents terminable (unless continued at the instance of the patentee) at the end of a few years. The Bill on this subject, which was ulti- mately carried through Parliament, was founded on 1851.] THE PATENT LAWS. 297 the report of a committee of which I was a member, as was also Sir Frederick Bramwell. I was very desirous that the society should make a further recommendation to Parliament to appro- priate a certain sum of money for the purchase of any patent which the commissioners of patents might deem it expedient for the public to acquire, so as to admit the free use of an invention where it would be of service to the people at large. I so far carried the committee with me as to obtain the insertion in their report of a recommendation that a trial of my plan should be made. But this recommendation was not adopted by Parliament. Had it been adopted it would have put an end, in such cases, to the harassment of inventors from fraudulent attempts to invade their patents. From my personal acquaintance with Professor (afterwards Sir Charles) Wheatstone, who was largely concerned in the introduction of the electric telegraph, I knew this harassment to be so severe as sometimes to throw him upon a bed of sickness. Speaking of Professor Wheatstone, I may mention that he was a member of a small society of which my brothers Edwin and Rowland and myself were members. We used often to breakfast together for the discussion of various subjects, principally economic. Dr. Nield Arnott, Mr. Chadwick, Dr. 298 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XYI. Carpenter, and Mr. Wentworth Dilke were also members. The meetings of this Httle society, which, with the approval of Mr. Helps, we termed *' Friends in Council," were to me, and I believe to all the other members, a source of much pleasure. Our most frequent house of meeting, by the pressing invitation of its owner, was that of Dr. Arnott, whose inventions are well known to the public. Dr. Arnott's friends, who knew his simple and kindly nature, were surprised at his remaining so long a bachelor. When he told me of his approach- ing marriage, I remarked that we had wondered why he did not marry long ago. His answer was, "/ hadfit time ! " I believe, however, that the circum- stance admitted of a more romantic explanation. After their wedding Mrs. Arnott was duly ensconced in the doctor's house in Regent's Park, but she confided to Mrs. Rowland Hill that when she attempted to arrange her garments in the ample wardrobes which furnished the bedrooms, she found them filled already with stoves and other inventions of her husband's ! One of Dr. Arnott's first scientific exploits was accomplished when, as a young man, he held the post of surgeon on an East Indiaman. A violent storm off the coast of Africa put the vessel in danger, and the peril was increased by the fact that the I-xnu lliL porti-ait ry LUen C. Hill. 7^ ^K^ 1 ^V m )0N: R?.-;HARO BENTLE- .» ?0N. 'b? i85i.] ''ARNOTT'S PHYSICS:' 299- captain*s chronometer had got out of order. Happily the young surgeon had studied science with its appli- cations as well as the classics at Aberdeen University, and to the delight of the captain he was able to repair his chronometer. When Dr. Arnott wrote his book upon /* Natural Philosophy " his friends objected to its bearing such a title, in the fear that it might suggest to the public that his attention was not sufficiently fixed upon subjects strictly medical, which might injure him in his profession. To get over this difficulty he called his book '' Arnott's/*^l/^2^i"." When I first went to the Post-Ofifice two mutual insurance societies in the London office, one called the " Widows' and Orphans' Annuity Society," the other the " Letter Carriers' Burial Fund," had fallen into difficulties owing to miscalculations in the rates of payments and premiums, and other causes. I was able to rescue them from their liabilities by inducing the Postmaster-General, Lord Clanricarde, who readily entered into my views, to ask the Treasury to grant us the appropriation of some of the '* Void Order Fund," and some of the money in " dead letters," which amounted to a very large sum. With this money an insurance office of un- doubted stability, the "• Atlas," was induced to take the Post-Office Societies' liabilities on itself. 300 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XYI. The Money Order Office was the first department placed under my charge. I was able to further the development of the system in various ways, and after a time introduced work by contract into one part of it. The head of this branch was entrusted with the selection of his own assistants and with fixing their pay, and for his own remuneration was allowed so much per thousand on all money orders issued or paid at the central office. By this arrange- ment, without the least sacrifice in the quality of the work done, an immediate saving was made of nearly half the cost. Early in 1852 Charles Dickens came to inspect our " Money Order Office," and I had the pleasure of acting as his guide. He described what he saw in an article in Household Words for March 20 of that year, from which I now give a quotation. When I read this article I was astonished to find how many little incidents had impressed themselves on this distinguished writer's mind — incidents which had passed before me unnoticed, but of which I instantly recognized the truthful description. "The Central Money Order Office is in Aldersgate Street, hard by the Post-Office. It is a large establish- ment — large enough to be a very considerable post-office in itself. " The room in which the orders are issued and paid 1 85 2.] A CLOSE OBSERVER, 301 has a flavour of Lombard Street. It has its long banker's counter, where clerks sit behind iron gratings with their wooden bowls of cash and their little scales for weighing gold, and vistas of pigeon-holes stretch out behind them. Here, from ten o'clock to four, keeping the swing-doors on the swing all day, all sorts and conditions of people come and go. Greasy butchers and salesmen from New- gate Market with bits of suet in their hair, who loll and lounge, and cool their foreheads against the grating, like a good-humoured sort of bears ; sharp little clerks, not long from school, who have everything requisite and neces- sary in readiness ; older clerks in shooting-coats, a little sobered down as to official zeal, though possibly not yet as to cigar divans and betting offices ; matrons who will go distractedly wrong, and whom no consideration, human or divine, will induce to declare in plain words what they have come for ; people with small children which they perch on edges of remote desks, where the children, supposing themselves to be for ever abandoned and lost, present a piteous spectacle ; labouring men, merchants, half-pay officers ; retired old gentlemen from trim gardens by the New River, excessively impatient of being trodden on, and very persistent as to the poking in of their written demands, with tops of canes and handles of umbrellas. "The clerks in this office ought to rival the lamented Sir Charles Bell in their knowledge of the expression of the hand. The varieties of hands that hover about the grating, and are thrust through the little doorways in it, are a continual study for them — or would be, if they had any time to spare, which assuredly they have not. The coarse-grained hand which seems all thumb and knuckle, and no nail, and which takes up money or puts it down with such an odd, clumsy, lumbering touch ; the retail 302 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XVI. trader's hand, which chinks it up and tosses it over with a bounce ; the housewife's hand, which has a lingering pro- pensity to keep some of it back, and to drive a bargain by not paying in the last shilling or so of the sum for which her order is obtained ; the quick, the slow, the coarse, the fine, the sensitive and dull, the ready and unready ; they are always at the grating all day long. Hovering behind the owners of these hands, observant of the various trans- actions in which they engage, is a tall constable (rather potential with the matrons and widows on account of his portly aspect) who assists the bewildered female public, explains the nature of the printed forms put ready to be filled up, for the quicker issuing of orders and the greater exactness as to names ; and has an eye on the unready one, as he knots his money up in a pocket-handkerchief, or crams it into a greasy pocket-book. " An Irish gentleman (who had left his hod at the door) recently applied in Aldersgate Street for an order for five pounds on a Tipperary post-office, for which he tendered (probably congratulating himself on having hit upon so good an investment) sixpence ! It required a lengthened argument to prove to him that he would have to pay the five pounds into the office before his friend could receive that amount in Tipperary." Lord Clanricarde was succeeded as Postmaster- General by the seaman. Lord Hardwicke, who brought nautical ideas to the Post-Ofifice, and thought to inaugurate a sort of man-of-war's discipline therein! He directed that the ''clerk-in-waiting" at St. Martin's-le-Grand, when he took charge at 4 p.m., should be duly informed that '^ All's well'' i852.] ''ALUS well:' 303 and that when he went off duty next day at 10 a.m. he himself should solemnly report, ''All's well'' / Lord Hardwicke, on beginning his reign, gave orders that all letters directed to the '' Postmaster- General " should be reserved for himself to open. He consequently reached his rooms to find a gigantic pyramid of official communications, which the clerks, no doubt, had piled up in high glee ! I believe that one day's trial of this arrangement quite sufficed his lordship ! 304 FREDERIC HILL, [Chap. XVII. CONCLUSION, BY THE EDITOR. CHAPTER XVII. 1853-1S93. Married Women's Property Bill — Letters from Mrs. Grote and Lady Byron — Various economic subjects — Postal reforms — Napoleon III. — Kossuth — Pulszky — Lords Canning and Elgin — Visit to Egypt — Work in Hampstead — Mrs. Hill — " Elmira " — F. Hill's opinions quoted during the prison labour struggle in the United States.' The substance of the foregoing recollections was jotted down by my father from time to time, and put into my hands to edit three years ago, as I have already mentioned in the Preface. He has approved the additional matter which I have been able to introduce, owing to the discovery of con- temporary letters, diaries, etc. He now, at the age of ninety years, puts the pen altogether Into my hands that I may briefly wind up the story of his life, and attempt some personal recollections of the 1853-93.] MARRIED WOMEN'S PROPERTY. 305 *' league of brothers," as they have been well named. To resume the narrative where my father left off. In 1854 an agitation was commenced to arouse public attention to the injustice of the existing laws respecting married women's property. Two ladies, Miss Barbara Leigh Smith and Miss Bessie Ray nor Parkes,* published a pamphlet which gave '* A Brief Summary in Plain Language of the Most Important Laws concerning Women, with a Few Observations thereon." Before its publication my father's eldest brother, the Recorder of Birmingham, examined it and vouched for its correctness. The attention of many persons being thus drawn to the subject, practical action followed. The Law Amendment Society took up the matter. Petitions were sent in to Parliament, and many men and women of enlightened views gave themselves up to work for the abolition of laws which, especially among the poor, were bringing about countless evils. My father was dealing with the subject at the Law Amendment Society. He writes, '* I had the warm sympathy and active co-operation of my dear wife. She enlisted in the cause many women whose support gave it dignity and strength, such as Mrs. Jameson, Mrs. Fletcher, and Mrs. Grote." * Afterwards Madame Bodichon and Madame Belloc. 20 3o6 FREDERIC HILL, [Chap. XVII. I find my mother's name in the first list of female petitioners, which includes, besides those just men- tioned, the names of Harriet Martineau, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Mary Howitt (secretary of the London Committee), Mrs. Cowden Clark, Mrs. Gaskell, Mrs. Carlyle, Lady Kay Shuttleworth, Mrs. Robert Chambers, etc. Miss Barbara Leigh Smith, writing to my mother on matters of business connected with the petition, says, ''Your letters are always thoroughly sympa- thizing, and do me good." Mrs. Grote s first letter is characteristic : — "Mrs. Grote has received the communication which Mrs. F. Hill wished Mr. Lewin to hand to her, and begs to assure that lady of the readiness with which she will append her signature to the accompanying petition when- ever it is judged advisable to put it round for that purpose. Few subjects have more occupied Mrs. Grote's mind and attention than the injustice practised towards women, especially in all that relates to property ; and she would feel further interested in the endeavour which is now making in favour of her sex, if the petition were so framed as to include a prayer that all kinds of property falling to married women, by bequest or otherwise, might be secured to them absolutely. And she would, further, wish to renounce on the part of married women that odious semblance of 'compensation' called 'non-liability for debt.' "... Mrs. Hill may rely on Mrs. Grote's co-operation 1853-93.] Z.-^;r AMENDMENT SOCIETY. 307 in the honourable efforts she is making whenever it suits her to invite it." Lady Byron writes to a member of the fLimily — " It was a great satisfaction to me to learn from your letter that the Law Amendment Society had taken up a question which I think better left to generous-minticd men than brought forward by women themselves. Whatever legislat-ion may effect protectively, I must rely more on education preventively. The use of one means should not set aside the use of the other."' The Married Women's Property Bill met with much opposition and mutilation, and many years passed before the measure was carried. Still the attention of the public had been called to the in- justice of the existing- laws, and legislative con- cessions gradually followed. It was not, however, until the year 1SS2 that the present law, which puts the husband and wife on an equality as regards property, finally came into being. Among other measures initiated by the Law Amendment Society, at which my father laboured as a member of its council, were the law of limited liability and a reform in the law of evidence ; the latter measure was strongly urged by Mr. Pitt Taylor (a member), in his well-known work on '* Evidence," for admitting the testimony, for what it is worth, of the parties themselves, at that time 3o8 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XVIL Strictly excluded. So far as civil cases are con- cerned, the law was altered in accordance with Mr. Pitt Taylor's views ; but in criminal cases his recommendation has not been adopted in England, although it has been adopted in America. Some years later the Law Amendment Society was incorporated with the Social Science Associa- tion. At my father's suggestion the society took up the subject of labour and capital, and in 1870 he was one of a band of lecturers who attempted to spread a knowledge of political economy with a view of preventing strikes and lock-outs. Pro- fessor Stanley Jevons, Dr. Hodgson, Mr. R. H. Hutton, and Professor Thorold Rogers were the other lecturers. My fathers subject was the " Identity of Interests of Employers and Work- people." The following year, in a paper read at the congress of the association, after recommending industrial partnerships and lamenting the loss of a quarter of a million sterling in the Newcastle strike, he alludes to the efforts of the society to enlighten the public on these subjects by itinerant lecturers, paid or honorary, and regrets the want of financial support which crippled their undertakings. He concludes as follows : — " Let us hope that a practical people like the English will not allow matters of such momentous importance to 1853-93.] POSTAL ORGANIZATION. 309 drift about as chance may direct, but that they will make a vigorous effort to weed out error and implant truth ; so that gradually, yet surely, for waste and comparative poverty, may be substituted thrift and increased wealth ; and for discord, harmony." In 1872 my father came back to one of his old subjects, and wrote upon *' Prison Labour " for the International Prison Congress held in London. Other economic or political subjects engaged his attention. In 1878 he wrote upon ''The County Franchise Difficulty : how Removable ? " A quota- tion from Shakespeare given on the title-page sufficiently suggests his line of argument — "Take but degree away, untune that string, And, hark, what discord follows ! " He approved of the extension of the franchise to women, and worked for some years on the committee of the original society for promoting that object. Such were the subjects at which my father worked in his leisure hours, and at which he has continued to work till within the last few years. At the General Post-Office a minute may be seen of the improvements which he introduced and carried. Many of these relate to the reorganiza- tion of routine business ; to improvements in the ventilation of the old Post-Office ; the utilization 3IO FREDERIC HILL, [Chap. XVII. of available space, which deferred the expense of building ; precautions against fire, etc. ; but some of them are of wider interest. In 1854 he made a suggestion, which was adopted, that an annual report should be submitted to Parliament by the Postmaster-General. This report he wrote him- self for fourteen years. He also suggested the quarterly publication of a Postal Guide. This first appeared in 1861, and its editing was superintended by him till his resignation in 1876. Later on he proposed the introduction of "' Postal Notes," now called '* Postal Orders," and although he did not succeed in inducing any Postmaster-General to introduce the measure, he was permitted in 1875 by Lord John Manners (now Duke of Rutland) to take preliminary steps for its accomplishment. The measure was developed and carried after he had left the service. His introduction of the ''Contract System" has already been alluded to. This he promoted especially in regard to the Packet Service ; i,e, the conveyance of foreign and colonial mails, the management of which was transferred from the Admiralty to the Post-Ofhce in i860. This Department was under his direction for seven years. By promoting open competition and the non-renewal of subsidies the efficiency of the service I853-93-] CIVIL SERVICE EXAMINATIONS. 311 was largely augmented, producing a great increase of revenue together with a great decrease of ex- penditure. The details may be seen in the official records of the Post-Office, and also in Sir Rowland Hill's ''History of Penny Postage." Into this branch of the service, as into all others under his direction, he carried the principles of free trade. Although he effected a considerable reduction in foreign and colonial postage, no arbitrary cheapen- ing of rates was ever inaugurated by him, but he laboured to give the public the greatest good for the least possible cost in a self-supporting service. In some private memoranda my father writes — "With respect to the contract system I may state that my brother (Sir R. Hill) highly approved of its introduc- tion, and expressed it as his opinion that, if it were carried to the extent of which it was capable in the Postal Service, an annual saving to the country would result of probably not less than a quarter of a million sterling. Not my brother only, but the Right Honourable W. H. Smith, when Financial Secretary of the Treasury, expressed a favourable opinion of the contract system. " This system, it may be observed, is consistent with the practice of granting pensions after a certain length of service ; since that object can be obtained by the periodical retention of a small part of an officer's salary. '' Another matter in which my brother and I agreed (indeed, I do not recollect anything in which we did not agree) related to the competitive examinations by the Civil Service Commissioners. We resrarded the introduction. 312 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XVII. of these examinations into the Post-Office with much regret. Their tendency, we were convinced, is to fill the ranks of the officers with mediocrity ; mediocrity, that is, as regards the qualifications which are essential for zealous and efficient action. They are opposed to the great principle that those who are responsible for the success of any business should have the choice of its officers ; seeing that they have the greatest interest in a good selection, and possess the fullest knowledge of the qualifi- cations required. Had the acquisition of one of the dead languages been insisted upon in my brother's time for admission to the Post-Office, Rowland himself, the author of the greatest postal measure ever effected, would most certainly have been excluded. How long would a private firm, which allowed some other authority than their own to choose their clerks, keep out of the GazetU ? " Again writing of the Post-Office my father says — "By no alteration originating with myself was injury done to any existing officer ; provision being always made to prevent this. And I believe the same may be said of the far greater alterations eff*ected by my brother." During his long official life my father encountered those disappointments and frustrations in the accom- plishment of good w^hich are more or less common to all w^ho have " a great thing to pursue." This at times even caused his health to break down ; but, as his nephew, Dr. Birkbeck Hill, writes, ''he regarded the slightest approach to vindictive feeling as both wrong and foolish." In never letting ''the pure 1 853-93-] A SELF-MADE EMPEROR, 3^3 benevolence of his soul be for one moment clouded over by resentment," he had the faithful assistance of his wife. No woman could be more keenly sen- sitive regarding her husband's interests than our mother, but she ever conquered her own feelings and cheered him by keeping his mind fixed on the good he had actually accomplished. But while our father met personal trials in this spirit, nothing could exceed his indignation and his readiness to do battle with those who oppress the weak, or who, by the pursuit of their own selfish ambition, '' lower the standard of public morality." We have often been told that when Napoleon III. accomplished his coup d'dtdt our father marched into Bruce Castle exclaiming to the assembled family, '' That scoundrel has done what I always said he would do ! " On April 19, 1855, my father wrote — " To-day there has been a grand procession to escort the Emperor Louis Napoleon to the Guildhall. Many of our officers went to the top of the Post-Office to witness the procession ; and I was asked if I would not go, but I re- plied that I had been so long an inspector of prisons that the sight of a rogue had ceased to be any novelty to me." Writing in later life of the events of this period, he says — " In a conversation which I had with Kossuth, who was brought to my house by our mutual friend Mr. Pulszky, I learnt that it was his intention to apply for military 314 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XVIT. assistance to the French emperor. I endeavoured to dissuade him from doing so, reminding him that, by his acts, Louis Napoleon had shown that he was not to be trusted, and remarking that even if he promised to support the Hun- garian cause, he would be sure to abandon it whenever he thought it to his interest to do so. Unhappily, I did not succeed in altering Kossuth's intention. " When the boast reached my brother Matthew's ears that, in fighting against Austria for the liberation of Italy, ' France went to war for an idea,' he remarked, * Yes, for two ideas — Nice and Savoy.' " A few years later Monsieur Berrier, ' Batonnier ' of the French Bar, was in England, and was present at a meeting of the Law Amendment Society. He made an eloquent and feeling speech, urging us ' to keep in its full blaze the torch which was burning so dimly in his own country — the torch of freedom both in law and politics.' " I well remember my father's regular attendance at the evening meetings of the Law Amendment Society. He used to talk to us children, even when very young, about his work there, and explain to us the reforms that he was assisting to promote. We always felt that we were giving up the pleasure of his company for a good cause. With a further view to our sharing in his interests and pleasures, he was in the habit of marking, and afterwards reading to us, passages in books or news- papers which he thought might interest us. This habit has remained unbroken. He wrote to my mother on May 27, 1852 — I853-93-] HOME INFLUENCES. 315 " In an article on ' Sir Roger de Coverley,' in the last number of the Quarterly Review — an article well worth reading — I came to this passage, of which I thought you would like to have a copy. It might be well to placard it in our nursery. ' One swallow will not make a summer out-of-doors ; but one face invariably cheerful, one temper never ruffled, one heart always affectionate, makes a summer in a house.'" Happening to come upon this letter in recent years, my father had several copies made of the quotation, and gave them to friends who had families of children. One of these friends versified the lines as follows : — " * One swallow does not make a summer ' — that is clear ; But within the house to find One cheerful face and kind, One temper always sweet, One heart in love complete, Makes summer all the year." My father wrote in August, 1858, from Normandy, where he had taken his eldest daughter for her first visit abroad — " We met Mr. again at the chateau d'Arques. . . . What a charm there is in the manners of a true gentleman or gentlewoman ! Ease, refinement, self-respect without egotism, an evident desire to please, ready to converse, but ready also at the proper time to be silent. How careful we should be, as I hope we are, to cultivate such manners in our children ! " It is impossible to do more than allude to a few 3i6 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XVII. of the men and women of mark that my father was acquainted with in his later official or private life. He knew Lords Canning and Elgin as Postmasters- General. He wrote of Lord Canning — " He showed me kind consideration, and was always ready to consider any measure which I thought would promote the pubhc good." And of his successor — "Every one who was acquainted with Lord Elgin must, I am sure, have regarded him with great esteem and respect. In his previous office of Governor-General of Canada he had done good service, and, in one of my con- versations with him, he told me that a treaty which he had there negotiated, between the English Government and that of the United States, was the only treaty he knew of which had not led to disputes. This he accounted for by observing that neither the American negotiator nor him- self had made any attempt to overreach the other, but that both had gone into the discussion with freedom and candour." Intercourse was also renewed with the present Duke of Argyll, who had formerly sympathized in the work of prison reform in Scotland, and who became in turn Postmaster-General.* * The late Duchess of Argyll, when Marchioness of Lome, obtained permission to become a regular visitor to the female prisoners at Inverary. In her application to my father she said she desired to visit them " not as a patroness, but as woman to woman." 1853-93.] EARLY WALKS, 317 At Hampstead my father and mother counted amongst their friends Mrs. Jameson, Mrs. Chisholm (the indefatigable promoter of emigration), Miss Mulock, and the Hungarian patriot Mr. Pulszky, with *' his brave and admirable wife." Their Scotch friends did not forsake them. Mrs. Wigham visited Bellevue. Though now elderly, she shared her host's enthusiasm for early walks, and allowed him to take her to the top of Hampstead Heath at six in the morning to see the sun rise ! John Hill Burton generally made his appearance unexpectedly, just as, in accordance with our early hours, the family was going to bed. He was said to divide his spare time, when in London, between ourselves and Carlyle. In 1870 my father bought a house in Thurlow Road, to which we removed, giving it the name of Inverleith House, after our old Edinburgh home. Upon retiring from the Post-Office, in 1876, my father paid a long visit to Egypt. He was accom- panied by my eldest sister, and they stayed at Ramleh with my sister, Mrs. John Scott, and her husband, then a judge in the International Courts at Alexandria. My father followed his habits of early rising, and of taking long walks during the day, as regularly in the land of the Pharaohs as he did at home. A southern sun and burnine 3i8 FREDERIC HILL, [Chap. XYII. sands had no effect upon him. Stories of his per- formances were repeated amongst our friends, and grew as they were repeated, till at last it was reported that he had walked the seven miles from Cairo to the Pyramids, made their ascent, and walked back, and all before breakfast ! His visit to his daughter and son-in-law intro- duced him to many of their friends, some of whom became valued additions to his acquaintance. Amongst these was General Gordon. It has been a great satisfaction to my father that his son-in-law, Mr. Justice Scott, has been in a position, both in India and Egypt, to carry on the work to which he himself had devoted his early manhood — the work of Penal Reform. After my father's official life ended he was haunted by a serious dread that he should have '' nothing to do." I may truly say that from that day forward, never, for one half-hour, has such a misfortune befallen him. Besides his work at the various societies in London of which he was a member, he became a guardian of the poor in Hampstead, a Church trustee, and a member of charitable committees. He had assisted his friend, the Rev. H. F. Mallet, in starting the Hampstead Branch of the Charity Organization Society some time previously. 1853-93.] A LOCAL UNDERTAKING, 319 The next subject which he took in hand was the improvement of the Vestry. He writes — " I found on inquiry that the election of the Vestry was in the hands of a mere handful of persons, the general body of ratepayers taking no part in it, and that many of the Vestrymen were unfit for their duties. Having consulted my friends Mr. Bond and Mr. Finch, we decided to take the matter up, and at the next election to try to secure the appointment of at least one thoroughly good man, in the expectation that such a member would at once obtain great influence. " Our intention having become public, at the next election a large number of ratepayers were present. We succeeded in our object, and, by repeating the attempt for some years, we effected a great change in the character of the Vestry and in its proceedings." The following paragraph in the Pall Mall Gazette of December 29, 1887, is supposed to refer to my father : — "The assailant of the Vestries who signs himself ' S. P. D.,' to-day makes a notable admission. He says, ^ I am happy to say that I know Hampstead and its Vestry, and if Hampstead were a sample of the rest of London, what a different place London would be ! ' Now, why is Hampstead better than the rest of London ? It used to [be as bad as, or worse than, the other Vestries. The reason is that in Hampstead, some time ago, there arose one just man, in whom civic virtue was not extinct, who set himself deliberately and with religious purpose to revive a higher standard of municipal morality in 320 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XYII. his district. His success was marvellous. If forty just men like him were to be found in all London, all the Vestries would be like Hampstead, and then 'what a different place London would be ! ' But you must first catch your just man before anything can be done." In the month of February, 1882, my father planned and organized a public dinner in honour of the police force of Hampstead. Writing on this subject, he says — " My object was twofold : first to give a well-earned tribute of respect to our force, and next to set an example which I hoped would be followed elsewhere. I was also desirous of showing the detractors of the police in general that their statements and opinions met with no response in the respectable part of the population." The appeal for subscriptions met with so cordial a response, that after paying all expenses the com- mittee were enabled to hand over to the directors of the Police Orphanage more than a hundred pounds. My father's old friend, Mr. James Marshall, J. P., took the chair. Colonel Henderson attended, and the whole proceeding went off most satisfactorily. Shortly afterwards a similar tribute was paid to the police of Kllburn. My mother had not my father's bodily strength to enable her to undertake regular charitable or phi- lanthropic work. But her help and sympathy were ever ready for those who co2ild work — especially 1853-93.] THREE NONAGENARIANS. 321 in any matter connected with children. Her own grandchildren were a source of constant delig-ht to her. She followed the school-life of the eldest into every detail, and inspired him with her love of natural history. To the end of her life she maintained the strong interest which she had shown in the first years of her marriage with the erring and unfortu- nate members of the human family. In 1878 she wrote a paper for the Prison Congress at Stock- holm on '' Prison Discipline." She took a keen interest in the New York State Reformatory of Elmira. The letters and papers respecting it which she received, lay on her bed within a few days of her death, in 1887. Her portrait, as well as that of mv father, hano^s on the walls of Elmira. It is remarkable that my father is not the only survivor of those connected with the first establish- ment of inspectors of prisons in 1835. His former colleague, Dr. Bissett Hawkins — also a nonagena- rian — refreshes old memories by exchanging letters with him once a year ; and the Right Honourable Charles P. Villiers, the '' Father of the House of Commons," who promoted my fathers appointment, is still able, although his senior, to engage in public duty, and retains his warm feelings towards the Hill family. 21 322 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XVII. My father has always taken a lively Interest in the extensive work of his friend Mr. W. M. F. Round, corresponding secretary of the Prison Association of New York, of whom mention has already been made. In the autumn of 1888 the prison system of that State received a severe blow. A reactionary party, the so-called '' Labour Re- formers," carried the election of a man as Governor of New York under whose rule the *' Yates Prison Bill " was passed, which put an end to all productive labour in prisons. Mr. Round writes to my father on October 7, 1888— " The infamous * Yates Bill,' which we thought we had killed, but which was passed in an extra session of our New York Legislature, has thrown our whole prison system into chaos. . . . We know that under its opera- tion the prisons will become a burden to the people such as they have never had to bear before, and crime will increase." A great struggle now began for the repeal of the '* Yates Bill." Mr. Round ao^ain writes — " I should be very glad if you would permit me to publish that part of your letter of August 29, in which you have most wisely referred to the operation of the Bill in the Elmira Reformatory. . . . You will see that I ven- tured to quote your opinions in the Herald^ and have done so again in my ' Princeton ' article." I853-93-] A VICTORY. 323 In a letter dated January 28, 1889, he describes the severe and unremitting contest into which he entered to obtain the passing- of a ''reasonable Prison Bill " — a contest which we found afterwards, in its strain upon his health, had nearly cost him his life. He goes on to say — " I am trying with all my ingenuity to make it possible to run over to England this spring, and one of the prin- cipal motives is a desire to take in fresh draughts of inspiration from your counsel and enthusiasm." Three months later the repeal of the " Yates Bill" was carried. I learn from Mr. Round that he quoted my father's opinions in support of produc- tive prison labour before the Judiciary Committee of the Leoflslature of New York. He wrote to him on April 25, 1889 — "We passed to-day, in the Legislature of New York, an ideal Prison Bill, which provides for classification and much else that is good — a considerable extension of the Elmira plan — and makes a prison system of which any country may be proud. You)' zvords to me have helped in this battle, by which we have won a victory of justice over political chicanery. I am almost ready to sing my 'Nunc dimittis.' You have fought many such battles, and you know how I feel." 324 FREDERIC HILL. [Ceiap. XVIII. CHAPTER XVIII. Anecdotes of the 'Meagiie of brothers" — Edwin Hill and his contrivances — Likeness between Arthur Hill and his brother Frederic — His memory — Rowland Hill at Bellevue — Matthew Davenport Hill at home — Conclusion. My father has had occasion to speak more frequently of his brothers Matthew and Rowland, owing to their work being of a public kind, than of his brothers Edwin and Arthur ; but enough has been said of these latter to sueeest their leading characteristics. For thirty years his brother Edwin held the office of Comptroller of the Stamp Department at Somerset House, where his mechanical talents came into play. His many contrivances are amus- ingly described in the Daily News of November 3, 187 1. The writer of an article, entitled "Under Somerset House," says — "Once fairly underground, and it is as if we were in the cave of an amiable maf^ician. Doors open of their own accord ; stamps of fabulous value are created out I85 3-93-] INGENIOUS INVENTIONS. 325 of waste-paper by a wave of the hand ; wooden arms and limbs are moved by unseen agencies, and classify docu- ments with inconceivable rapidity and unfailing exacti- tude. Bundles of valuable deeds . . . walk gravely into the room unaided, and present themselves silently to be stamped. Other mysterious contrivances for lessening human labour abound . . . ingenious inventions of the Comptroller of the Stamping Department." Here his ''wind-proof doors" were first used. He set his ingenuity to work in their invention for the sake of a rheumatic porter at the WelHngton Street entrance. My uncle's bedroom was a museum of curiosities, affording much amusement to all who were allowed to inspect it. A network of cords stretched across the bed-head and ceiling. If at night the blankets pressed upon him too heavily, he could, as he lay, pull a string, with a sort of claw at the end, which grasped the bedclothes and relieved him of their weight. Again, if he awoke early and wanted to know the time, he could pull a cord which opened the shutter to admit the light, and by pulling another cord he could shut it again, and so on ! His work on currency has been spoken of already. Other economic questions interested him. He wrote papers on ''Criminal Capitalists" and analogous subjects for the National Congress on Reformatory and Penitentiary Discipline held at 326 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XYIIT. Cincinnati in 1871, and also for meetings of the British Association and the Social Science Associa- tion. In these papers he maintained that criminal enterprise requires capital for its development as much as honest labour, and that if those who harbour criminals and receive stolen goods were effectively dealt with by the law, theft and burglary, as an organized business, must fall to the ground. A simple illustration of the truth of this position may be seen in the fact that burglaries are little feared in country places or at the seaside, where it is difficult to dispose of loot. My uncle Edwin had a most kind heart, as may be guessed from his care for the rheumatic porter. He carried his sympathy for pain or discomfort to an extreme point. When his children were young, and complained of a tight frock or an uneasy shoe, out came his penknife to remedy matters by a good slit! He was as simple as "Dominie Sampson" with regard to his own clothes, and his wife managed their renewal in much the same way as that recorded in the case of the '' Dominie." When her husband's black velvet waistcoat, or any other garment, was getting shabby, she took it av/ay overnight and put a new one in its place, the metamorphosis remaining alike undiscovered ! One hot summer day my uncle Edwin was I853-93-] A COOLING PROCESS. 327 walking In Kensington Gardens, absorbed In argu- ment, with his brothers Rowland and Frederic. A gardener happened to set down a pail of water within his reach. To cool his feet he put first one leg Into it and then the other, gesticulating and areulne all the time, while the o^ardener stared in amazement ! He was especially fond of arguing upon his favourite subject, which his old friend Mr. Kerr of Glasgow called '' that infernal currency ; " but his mind turned also to a very different enjoyment. The same friend said of him that ''he was aston- ished at the correctness of his memory in quoting passage after passage of poetry, and at the almost girl-like ardour with which he recited them." I have myself a vivid recollection of his repeating to us Mrs. Barbauld's hymn, ''Come! said Jesus' sacred voice," and of the deep feeling with which he gave the lines. Of all his brothers, Arthur most resembled my father in personal appearance, in character. In sentiments, and even In the habits of daily life. The personal likeness between them was so great at one time as to cause my father to absent himself from gatherings of old pupils at Bruce Castle, owing to the inconvenience of being mistaken for the head of the school. 328 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XVITT. My father wrote of this brother, " I have never known any one who had a greater devotion to duty than Arthur. Let him be but convinced that duty marshalled him in a certain direction, and no obstacle could deter him from movina- onwards." We have heard it related that the very day after the death of his young wife he took his place in the schoolroom, supported by the reverent behaviour of his sympathizing pupils. Both these brothers laid down strict rules for their daily conduct. These included rising for a very early walk, regardless of weather, taking exercise at regular intervals throughout the day, and being abstemious in their food. Wine they took only when ordered to do so by their ''medical adviser." Brandy-and-water being prescribed for my uncle Arthur when he was an octogenarian, he refused to have sugar in it, '' lest he should grow to like it " ! Both strongly disapproved of the Game Laws, and in consequence never ate game. Both felt repugnance to see women engaged in heavy bodily work, and each in his own house assisted the female servants in such acts, among others, as carrying up the filled coal-scuttles. The lives of both brothers were patriarchal in simplicity, and yet both entertained a fear, often expressed, of becoming '' fastidious " and " luxurious " ! Front the />0}irait hy EHen C. Hi!/. ^€^ i iS5^-93] ''FORMS MORE REAL THAN LIVING MAN.'' 329 My uncle Arthur injured his eyesight, during the struggles of early life, by working at the acquisition of Greek, in addition to his long day's labour as a teacher. He thenceforward set himself to lay up in his memory a store of matter which he might turn to for mental food when unable to use his eyes. His knowledge of Shakespeare was remarkable. He often had as many as five whole plays " by rote " at the same time, either of which he could recite without reference to the text, though the well-used volume was drawn from his pocket and placed within his reach. One of my earliest recollections of this beloved uncle is hearing him recite Coinolamis in our parlour at Bellevue when I was a very little girl. His dramatic power was great, and all the characters he represented seemed to live and move before us. It w^as, of course, only in after-years that I could appreciate this great power. Some idea of it may be given by saying that his rendering of the character of " Rosalind," in spite of every disadvantage of a man's voice and outward appearance, remains, and ever will remain, unrivalled in our memory. I last heard him recite scenes from As You Like It when he was an old man past eighty. A large green shade was over his eyes, he wore fleecy gloves and felt top-boots to keep out the cold of a 330 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XVIII. winter's evening, and screens were arrangred to protect him from the glare of lamps and fire ; but as soon as his lips opened everything that we looked upon vanished, the forest of Arden appeared, and Rosalind, in all the charm of youth and beauty, stood before us ! Perhaps the most remarkable feat of memory achieved by my uncle was when, in his eighty-fifth year, he translated Horace's '' Ars Poetica." He knew the long Latin poem by heart, and translated it line by line during wakeful hours at night. He retained his translation in his mind, and dictated each portion, the following morning, to his faithful friend and sister-in-law Miss Maurice. A member of Parliament who used to visit him, in company with Mr. Justice Scott (an old Bruclan), expressed his astonishment at "Mr. Arthur Hill's wide and exact political memory." The recollection of the talks with him as we walked up and down the long passage at Bruce Grove, where he took his regular exercise, is a precious possession. His sympathy was ever keen Avith young and old, and his nature ardent with enthusiasm or righteous indignation to the last. His *'ripe wisdom," as a humble friend described it, has helped many a one in the difficulties of life. My uncle Rowland was less known to the IS53-93-] THE HEAD OF THE FAMILY. 331 younger members of the family than his brothers, owing to his dehcate health and absorbing occupa- tions, but amonof our recollections of childhood we have pleasant memories of his sympathy on more than one occasion. He took a special interest in the little plays which we wrote and acted, and came with our aunt to witness their performance. We always prepared a seat of honour for him, adorned on one occasion with a gigantic " penny postage stamp " of our own painting. He also took an interest in my eldest sister's artistic efforts, remembering, no doubt, his own boyish successes in that direction. My eldest uncle, Matthew, ever held the honoured position of head of the family. As my sisters and I grew old enough to pay visits we were invited, by the kindness of our aunt and cousins, to their beautiful home at Stapleton, where we saw much of him, and were proud that he liked to have us with him. Later on these invitations were ex- tended to my sister Nora's husband, then a young barrister, for whom he had a special liking. Speaking of this uncle, Dr. Birkbeck Hill writes — " One of the brothers had by nature a hot temper. He was as a boy 'jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel.' He was the first of them ' deliberately and 332 FREDERIC HILL. [Chap. XVIIl. seriously to adopt the maxim that treats all anger as folly. . . . Having arrived at a principle, and that while yet a youth, he strove earnestly and with great success to reduce it to practice.' " In his advanced age the Internal fire only burned brighter and stronger for this self-conquest. It was never fed by paltry or personal wrongs, but by the great wrongs of mankind, which to the end of his life he set himself to combat and redress. His youthful enthusiasm, his wide literary know- ledge, his racy anecdotes and witty sayings, were a delight to us, his nieces, and made a stroll with him up and down the green terrace at Heath House a coveted treat. In appearance he was more portly than his brothers. My aunt, Mrs. Balnes, used to say of him, "■ I like his broad waistcoat ; It Is as large as his heart ! " We remember his fine sonorous voice as he read the lessons In church, and, on one oc- casion, his reading at home the second chapter of the Book of Joel, while his deaf wife sat by him, holding his hand and following the text. Between my uncle Matthew and my father there was necessarily strong sympathy, each having at heart the same subject of Penal Reform. As Is well known, my uncle turned his mind espcciahy to I853-93-] THE LEAGUE OF BROTHERS. 333 the juvenile delinquent, for whose redemption he accomplished so much. Dr. BIrkbeck Hill writes of the Hill brothers — " As they trusted each other for aid in case of need, so at all times did they look to each other for counsel. The affairs of all were known to each. At every important turn each sought the judgment of all. . . . This curious league of brothers was due to many causes. From child- hood they had been steadily trained up in it by their parents. They had long lived together under the same roof Each had a thorough knowledge of the character of all the rest, and this knowledge resulted in a thorough trust. They had all come to have a remarkable agreement on most points, not only of principle, but also of practice. The habits of one, with but few exceptions, were the habits of all. He who had ascertained what one brother thought on any question would not have been likely to go wrong had he acted on the supposition that he knew what was thought by all." Indeed, the Hill brothers' similarity of tastes as well as of opinions was a subject of pleasantry with the younger generation. At one of the merry- Christmas gatherings at Bruce Castle, a plot was laid to inquire privately of each brother which of Sir Walter Scott's novels he preferred. All five answered, " Old Mortality " ! Dr. Hill goes on to say — " They were all full of high aims — all bent on ' the accomplishment of things permanently great and good.' 334 FREDERIC HILL, [Chap XYIII. There was no room in their minds for the petty thoughts of jealous spirits. Each had that breadth of view which enables a man to rise above all selfish considerations. Each had been brought up to consider the good of his family rather than his own peculiar good, and to look upon the good of mankind as still higher than the good of his family." In a notice upon the death of Thomas Wright Hill, which appeared In the Spcdatoi^ for June 21, 1 85 1, it is remarked — " All the brothers, like their father, are publicly useful men ; and by a sort of confederacy of talent, accordance of opinions, and unity of sentiment, strengthen each other in their several departments." Their father's words, written to his son Frederic in 1842, have been verified: "The union of my children has proved their strength." INDEX. Abbotsford, visit to, 199-201 Abbott, Mr. Justice, 52 Abercromby, James. See Lord Dun- fermline Aberdeen, Lord, 181, 232 Adam, Jean (author of " There's nae luck about the house "), 207, 208 Agnew, Sir Andrew, 170, 171 Ainslie, Daniel, 231 Ainslie, John, 231 Albert, Prince, 232, 234 Alison, Dr., 157, 195, 204, 218 Anderson, Mr. and Mrs. (of Jamaica), 205, 206 Argyll, Duchess of (the late), 316 Argyll, Duke of, 316 Arnott, Dr. Neil, 143, 297-299 Arnott, Mrs., 298 "Arnott's Phy ics," 299 Ascension Island, 54 Ashford, Mary, murder of, 39-41 Attwood, Thomas, M.P., President of Birmingham Political Union, 77, 80, 82, 83, 85, 87, 90-92, 98- B Babbage, Charles, 176 Baillie, Joanna, 109 Baines, Edward, M.P., 115 Baines, Mrs. E. M., 332 Balloon, ascent of, 31, 32 Barbauld, Mrs., "Hymns in Prose," 27; ''Master and Slave," 248; hymn, 327 Baring, Sir Francis (Lord North- brook), 236, 238 Baskerville House, defence of, 1 1 Bell, Lady, 194 Bell, Sir Charles, 301 Bentham, Jeremy, 49-5 1 Berrier, Monsieur ("Batonnier" of the French Bar), 314 Berwick railway opened, 246 Bethune, Alexander, 205 Bethune, John, 205, 210 Birmingham, head-quarters of Reform, 83, 84, 87 Birmingham Heath, 31, 38 Birmingham Political Union, 77-100 Birmingham Riots, 9-14 ; contempo- rary letters, 11-14 Blair, Dr., 55, 56 Board of Directors of Prisons for Scotland established, 181, 182 Bond, E., 319 Booth, coiner, 38, 39 Boulogne, visit to, 60, 61 Bramwell, Sir Frederick, 297 Brebner, Mr., 132, 258, 259 Brechin Castle, 167 "Bride of Lammermoor," 148, 149 Bright, John, 112, 268 Brock, Daniel de Lisle, 63, 65 ; letter from, 84 Brockway, Z. R. (founder of the Elmira Reformatory), 280, -81 Brodie, Mrs., 251 Brodie, William, 250-252 336 INDEX. Broglie, Due de, 63 Brotherton, J., M.P., 115 Brougham, Lord, 20, 58, 59, 72, 73, 81, 82, 105 ; on Mrs. Fletcher, 137 ; supports Postage Bill, 192 Brown, Dr. John, 158 Browning, Elizal^eth Barrett, 306 Bruce Castle, 113, 291, 327 Buchanan, Mr., 251 Buonaparte, Napoleon, 35, 36 Burdett, Sir Francis, quoted, 46 Burgh Reform, 137, 166 Burns, Robert, 213-217 Burns, widow of, 215, 216 Burton, John Hill, 157, 251 ; letter from, on "National Force," 267, 317 Burton, Mrs., 251 Bute, Marquis of, 229, 230 Butterworth, Joseph, M.P., 45 Byron, Lady, 109 ; letter from, on Married Women's Property Bill, 307 Cameron, Miss, daughter of Provost Cameron, 196 Cameron, Mrs. (of Dingwall), 197 Cameron, Provost, 166, 167 Campbell, Lord, 171 Campbell, Mr. (of Menzie), 230 Campbell, Thomas, 51, 53 Canning, Lord, 316 Capital punishment, 173, 284-2S7 Carlyle, Mrs., 306 Carlyle, Thomas, 317 Carnegy, Miss Helen, 159, 161 Cartwright, Major, 45 ; trial of, 46, 47 Catholic Emancipation, 75 Chadwick, Sir Edwin, 297 Chalmers, Dr., 228-231 Chambers' Journal, ']t,, 149, 210 Chambers, Miss Janet. See Mrs. Henry Wills Chambers, Mrs. Robert, 149, 211, 306 Chambers, Robert, 149, 210, 211, 249 Chambers, William, 146, 149, 152, 189, 210, 211 " Cheap-jack," a, 264, 265 Chevalier, Monsieur, 60, 61 Chisholm, Mrs., 317 Cholesbury, 105-107 Christian Knowledge, Society for the Promotion of, 73 " Church and King," 10, 13, 17, 58 Clanricarde, Lord, 299, 302 Clarendon, Lord, 51 Clark, Caroline {nee Hill), 26, 47 ; leaves England to settle in Sout Australia, 291, 292 Clark, Edmund, 32, t^t, Clark, Francis, 243 Clark, Mr.,K.C., 58, 59 Clarke, Mrs. Cowden, 306 Cobden, Richard, 112, 113, 236, 247, 268 Cockburn, Lord, 136 ; quoted, 137, 138, 1 39-141 ; saves Princes Street Gardens, 141, 144; quoted, 227, 228, 231 Collins, Mr. (American delegate from Anti-Slavery Society), 205, 206 Combe, Dr. Andrew, 155, 156 Combe, George, 155, 156, 210, 248, 249 Combe, Mrs. George, 155, 156, 249 Competitive examinations for en- trance into Civil Service, 31 1, 312 Constant, Benjamin, 62, 63 Contract System, 300, 310-312 Corn Laws, freedom from, in Guern- sey, 65 ; agitation for Repeal of, III, 112; Lord Melbourne on, 113 ; Bill passed in House of Lords, 246, 247 Cowper, family of, 74? 188 Cowper, Martha. See Mrs. Frederic Hill Cowper, Miss, 291 Cowper, Professor, his printing ma- chine, 74, 188, 189 ; lectures at the Royal Institution, 189, 190 ; letter from, describing interview with Maria Edgevvorth, 233-235 ; INDEX. 337 lecture on construction of the Crystal Palace of 1851, 288-290, 293, 294 Crawford, Mr., 255 Crofton, Sir Walter, 284 Cromek, R. H., 207-209 Crowe, Mrs. (author of " Susan Hopley "), 249 Crystal Palace of 185 1, 288-290, 293, 294 Cunningham, Allan, contributions to the "Nithsdale and Galloway Songs," 207-209; Mrs. Fletcher's first acquaintance with, 209, 210 Custom-house persecutions, 67 D D'Argenson, le Marquis Voyer, 63, 70 Davenport, Mrs., 14, 15 Davy, Dr., 207 Davy, Mrs., 207 De Quincey, Thomas, 51, 53 Dickens, Charles, account of visit to Money Order Office, 300-302 Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, So- ciety for the, 72, 73 Dilke, Wentworth, 298 Distress, widespread in 18 16, 42 Douglas, Frederick, 152, 247, 248 Doun, old bridge of, 216 Duelling, 74, 75 Dunfermline, Lord (James Aber- cromby, Speaker of the House of Commons), his election as member of first Reformed Parliament, 135, 136, 141 ; on Peel's character, 142, 143, 219, 220 E East India Company, tea monopoly abolished, 28 Edgeworth, Maria, " Parent's Assis- tant," 26, 27, 54 ; " Forester," 55 ; is interested in the " Parents, Cabinet," 191, 195 ; conversations with Professor Cowper, 233-235 Edinburgh, 119; society in, 134-164 Edmonds, George (chairman of Bir- mingham Hampden Club), 43-45, 90, 97, 98 Elgin, Lord, 316 Ellenborough, Lord, 52, 53, 287 Ellis, Havelock, quoted, 278-2S0, 284, 286 Ellis, William, 190 Ellis, Mrs. William, 190 Elmira, New York State Reformatory of, 278-282, 284, 321, 322 Esdaile, Mr., 211. 212 "Family Fund," no, in Faraday, Professor, 189 Penning, Eliza, trial and execution ofj 5ij 52, loi, 102 Ferguson, James, 197 Fergusson, Sir Adam, 145, 146-148 Ferrers, Lord, trial of, 3, 4 Fife, Lord, 165, 166 Finch, Rev. Gerard, 319 Fletcher, Archibald, 136, 137 Fletcher, Mrs., witnesses first return of Edinburgh members for Re- formed Parliament in 1832, 135, 136, I37> 194* 195 ; account of Jean Adam, 207, 208 ; acquaintance with Allan Cunningham, 207-210, 305 " Forestalling and regrating," 38 Fox, Charles James, 167 Free Kirk, secession of, 227-231 "Friends in Council," 297, 298 Frost, long, of 1S13-14, 29 Fry, Elizabeth, at Newgate, 116, n7; letter from, 118; on Scotch gaols, 120, 121 ; letter from, to W. Allen, 231-233 Fullerton, Mrs., 207, 208 22 338 INDEX. Garrison, William Lloyd, 152, 205, 206, 247, 248 Gaskell, Mrs., 306 Gibson, Milner, 26S Gillies, Lord, 158, 163 Glasgow Bridewell, 132, 184, 185, 258 Gordon, Dr., 230 Gordon, General, 318 Goulburn, Mr,, 238 Graham, Sir James, 232, 241 Graham, Miss Stirling, 157 ; *' Mysti- fications," 158 ; Sir Walter Scott on, 158 ; her visit to Mr. Jeffrey, 159-164 Great Exhibition. See Crystal Palace of 1851 Grey, Earl, 79, 81, 84, 87, 90, 97, 99, 167 Grote, George, 51 Grote, Mrs., 51, 305 ; letter from, on Married Women's Property, 306, 307 Guernsey, Island of, social condition of, 63-66 Gurney, J. J., 118 H Hall, Captain Basil, 54 Hall, Mr. (of Ayr), 214-216 Hamilton, Captain, 172 Hampden Clubs, 42, 43 Hampden, John, 5 Hardwick, Lord, 302, 303 " Hare's vSystem," 20 Hawes, Mr., 236 Hawkins, Dr. Bissett, 321 Hazelwood School, buijding of, 4S, 49 ; visitors to, 50-54 Hazelwood System, 48, 49; Bishop of Durham on, 49 ; introduction of, in Sweden, 50 Helps, Arthur, 298 Henderland, William Murray of, 144, 145 Henderson, Colonel, 320 Herschel, Sir John, 176 High Bailiff of Birmingham, 43, 44 Hill, Arthur, 32 ; a young playwright, 33, 47 ; " Public Education," 49 ; visits to Guernsey, St. Malo, and Paris y^xWi his brother Frederic, 63-70, 237 ; visit to Switzerland with his brother Frederic, 243-246, 291 ; likeness between him and his brother Frederic, 327, 328 ; recita- tions from Shakespeare, 329 ; his memory, 330 j union of brothers, 333» 334 Hill, Mrs. Arthur, 98, 191 Hill, Edwin, 20 ; one of conveners of first meeting in Birmingham for Parliamentary Reform, 44 ; letters from, 107, 108 ; takes up subject of Currency, no, 237, 268, 291, 294, 297 ; ingenious contrivances at Somerset House, 324, 325 ; in his bedroom, 325 ; writings on econo- mic subjects, 325, 326 ; love of poetry, 327 ; union of brothers, 333, 334 Hill, Frederic, personal narrative- Birth, I ; early recollections, great- uncle John Hill, 2, 3 ; adventure with a horse. Jubilee of George HI., 22 ; fear of pressgang, 23, 24 ; schemes for earning money, 24-26 ; favourite stories, 27 ; the '* Hong merchants," 28 ; long frost of 1813- 14, first going to the play, 29 ; Shenstone's " Leasowes," 30, 31; ascent of a balloon, 31, 32 ; school- fellows, acting plays, 32, 33 ; anec- dotes of his mother, 33-35 ; publi- cation of " Waverley," Peace re- joicings of 18 1 4, war recommences, fear of " Boney," preparations for defence, arrival of news of victory of Waterloo, 35-37 ; " Warwick 'Sizes," sees two men in the pillory, sees prisoners in chains, 37 ; bread riots, attempt of mob to fix prices, "forestalling and regrating," 37, INDEX. 339 Hill, Frederic — continued. 38; widespread distress of 1816, 42 ; removal of family from " Hill- top "to " Hazel wood," becomes a teacher at age of thirteen, 47, 48 ; *' Hazelwood System," 48-50 ; dis- tinguished visitors to Hazelwood, 50-54 J sees Maria Edgeworth, 54 ; friends of the family, 54-58 ; visits to France and Guernsey, debate in Chamber of Deputies, Benjamin Constant, Daniel de Lisle Brock, Constitution of Guernsey, St. Malo, alarm of fire, seeking a Juge de paix, his judgment, 60-70 ; is chosen at family council to work for Reform Bill agitation, 77-IOO ; the "Family Fund," 110, iii; removal from Birmingham to Bruce Castle, Tottenham, 113; early ambition, is " called " to the Bar, becomes Parliamentary Secretary to Mr. Sergeant Wilde, 114, 115; is appointed Inspector of Prisons for Scotland (1835), 115, 116; visits Newgate and becomes ac- quainted with Mrs. Fry, 116-118; arrival in Edinburgh, welcomed by John Archibald Murray, 119, 120; tour of inspection, 120-132; Edin- burgh society, 134-164, 194, 195, 204-211, 246-254; social inter- course during tours in Scotland, 165-179 ; a stage-coach adventure, 177, 178; present at second reading of Postage Bill, 192 ; first acquaint- ance with Miss Martha Cowper, 188, 191 ; marriage, 193; return to Edinburgh, 193, 194; tours in Scotland, 195-204, 211-217; sees procession on May 18, 1843, of seceding ministers who afterwards formed the " Free Kirk," 228-231 ; tours in Northumberland and Dur- ham, 242, 243 ; visit to Switzerland, 244-246 ; Archbishop Whately, 248-250; appointment as inspec- tor of an English prison district, Hill, Frederic — continued. 255 ; letters from, during tours of inspection, 262-265, 268-272 ; writes on " National Force," 265, 266; writes work on "Crime," 273-287 ; Great Exhibition Building of 1 85 1, 288-290; appointment as assistant secretary to the Post- Office, 290 ; becomes member of Law Amendment Society, Metro- politan Discharged Prisoners' Aid Society, Reformatory and Refuge Union, etc., 291 ; settles family at Hampstead, 291 ; his father's last illness and death, 293-295 ; mem- ber of " Friends in Council," 297, 298 ; postal organization, 299, 300, 309-312; opinion of Louis Napo- leon, 313, 314; home-life, personal traits and habits, 314, 315, 317, 327, 328 ; intercourse with Post- masters-General, 316; retires from official life, 317 ; visits Egypt, 317, 318; local undertakings at Hamp- stead, 318-320; union of brothers, 333, 334 Political movements, connection with, present at first meeting in Bir- mingham for promoting Parliamen- tary Reform, 44, 45 ; Major Cart- wright, 45-47 ; writes on "Catholic Emancipation," 75 ; is chosen by family to work in the struggle for Parliamentary Reform, becomes member of the Birmingham Political Union, 77 ; letters from, 80, 81 ; letters from, 90-92 ; elected mem- ber of Council of Political Union-, inaugurates Public Readings of the London News, 92-95 ; letter from, 97, 98 ; is present at congratulatory meeting on Newhali Hill, 99; writes on •" County Franchise Difficulty : how removable ? " 309 ; works for " Women's Suffrage," 309 Penal reforms, promotion of. Bill carried for the appointment of inspectors of prisons (1835), re- 340 INDEX. Hill, Frederic — continued. ceives appointment of Inspector of Prisons for Scotland, together with counties of Northumberland and Durham, 115, 116; first tour of inspection, bad state of the Scotch gaols, 120-133 5 first Report on the Prisons of Scotland sent to the Home Secretary, remedial measures proposed, 133; prepares heads of Prison Bill, 180; Bill carried (1839), 180, 181 ; becomes member of Board of Directors, 181 ; need of a good Poor Law for Scotland, 218- 221 ; voluntary prisoners, 219-221 ; appointed inspector of an English district, 255 ; reforms effected in Scotch prisons, 255-258; English prisons, 259-262 ; opinions on re- quisite qualifications of governors of prisons, entrusting to them the selection of subordinate officers, 181, 182; productive prison labour, 133, 182-184, 212, 256; prison labour struggle in America, 322, 323 ; artificial or penal labour, 183, 256, 257 ; voluntary work, 183, 184, 256-258; "separate system," "silent system," 259-261 ; use of parti-coloured clothing, 261 ; pub- lication of book on " Crime " dealing with the subjects of, self- regulating punishments, 273-276 ; the " indeterminate sentence," 276-280 ; reformatory treatment, training the will-power, "Elmira," 280-284 ; capital punishment, changes in public opinion and in the law, 284-287. Economic and social changes, work for, writes on Constitution of Guernsey, its free trade, paper currency, and cheap justice, 64-66 ; State lotteries, opinion of, arbitrary legislation in respect to, 70, 71 ; collects information relative to "Truck System," 76; considers project for " Home Colonization," Hill, Frederic — continued. 104-107; writes work on "National Education, its Present State and Prospects," 108, 109 ; commence- ment of Corn Law agitation, collects information and statistics on the subject for Mr. C. P. Villiers, M.P., III, 112; Penny Postage, draws up first petition to Parliament on its behalf, signed by the merchants of London, 191, 192; is interested in first Industrial Schools founded by Sheriff Watson, 223-227 ; writes pamphlet embodying plan for "A National Force for the Economical Defence of the Country from In- ternal Tumult and Foreign Agres- sion " (1848), 265-268; joins Law Amendment Society, 291; advocates change in Patent Laws, 296, 297 ; promotes passing of Married Wo- men's Property Bill, 305-307 ; re- form in Law of Evidence, 307; lectures and writes on "Labour and Capital," 308, 309 ; writes on " Prison Labour," 309 ; local under- takings in Hampstead, 318-320 Postal measures, initiated by, mu- tual insurance societies rescued from liabilities. Money Order System de- veloped, 299,300; Contract System, 300, 310, 311 ; improvements in the interior of old Post-Office, 309, 310; Annual Report and Postal Guide, 310; "Postal Notes," 310; Packet Service developed, pro- ducing increase of revenue and decrease of expense, 310, 311 ; foreign and colonial postage re- duced, 311 ; opinion of Civil Service competitive examinations, 311, 312 Hill, Mrs. Frederic (Martha Cowper), 188, 190, 191 ; marriage, 193 ; arrival in Edinburgh, Journal, 193, 195 ; accompanies her husband in tours of inspection of prisons, 195-199 ; visit to Abbotsford, 199- ioi ; visits to prisons, Edinburgh INDEX, 341 society, 202-212; visit to Ayr, 213-217 ; account of Sheriff Wat- son's schools, 225, 226 ; letter from, on Repeal of Corn Laws, 246, 247 ; meets Mr. Frederick Douglas, 248 ; attends T. W. Hill in his last ill- ness, 293-295 ; Married Women's •Property Bill, 305-307, 313; sym- pathy with charitable workers, with children, with the fallen, with the reformatory work at " Elmira," 320, 321 ; death, 321 Hill, George Birkbeck, D.C.L. (second son of Arthur Hill), 192 ; quoted, 312, 313. 33i> 332, 333> 334 Hill, Howard, 32, 48 Hill, James, i, 2, 5, 7 Plill, Mrs. James {iiee Symonds), 5, 7 ; letter from, at time of the Bir- mingham Riots (1791), 12, 13 Hill, John, I Hill, John (son of the above), a vol- unteer in 1745 ; visits London, 1760; sees preparations for trial of Lord Ferrers, the " honest juror," 2-4 Hill, Julian (son of Edwin Hill), 294 Hill, Matthew, 8, 9, 14 Hill, Matthew Davenport, gives his father's account of the Birmingham Riots of 1791, 9, 10, II, 30; " called " to Bar, defends Major Cartwright, 46, 47 \ writes " Public Education," 49, 50 ; stories of Midland Circuit, 58, 59, 60 ; member of first committee of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, 72 ; writes essay on "Duelling," 74, 75 ; is present in House of Commons when Reform Bill is introduced, 79 ; letters from, during Reform Bill agitation, 89, 90, 95, 100; elected M.P. for Hull, loi ; advocates reform in criminal procedure, loi, 102 ; speaks on abolition of slavery, 102, 103, 113, 114, 119, 179, 237, 270; advocates the indeterminate sen- tence, 277, 278, 279, 291, 305, 314, 324 ; characteristics, appearance, and home-life, 331, 332; union of brothers, 333, 334 Hill, Mrs. M. D., 109, 332 Hill, Sir Rowland, 20, 22, 23, 30, 33> 35» 47 ; founds " Hazelwood System," 48 ; " Public Education," 49-51, 60; member of first com- mittee of the Society for the Diffu- sion of Useful Knowledge, 72 ; letter from, during Reform Bill agitation, 94; letters on Ireland, 103, 104 ; on " Home Colonies," 104-106, 107-109 ; Penny Postage, 191-193 j opposition to his Postal Reform, 235 ; petition for com- mittee of inquiry, debate on in House of Commons, 236-238 ; appointment as secretary to the Postmaster-General, 239, 240, 243 ; desires his brother Frederic's assistance at the Post-Office, 290, 291, 295, 297 ; opinion of Con- tract System, 311 ; of Civil Service competitive examinations, 311, 312, 324, 327, 330, 331 ; union of brothers, 333, 334 Hill, Sarah {nee Symonds), 5, 7 ; letter from, during Birmingham Riots of 1791-2, 12, 13 Hill, Sarah (afterwards Mrs. Williams, daughter of the above), letter from, during Birmingham Riots of 1791-2, 13, 14 Hill, Sarah (Mrs. Thomas Wright Hill, nee Lea), i ; childhood, 15- 17 ; marriage, 18 ; saves her hus- band's life, 19, 33-35' 98* 291 Hill, Sarah (daughter of the above), 48, 98 Hill, Thomas Wright, i ; childhood, 6-8 ; defends Dr. Priestley's house, 9, 10 ; defends Baskerville House, II ; recognition of services by Dr. Priestley, II, 12; marriage, 18; takes school in Birmingham, 19 ; invents plan for securing repre- 22 — 3 342 INDEX. sentation to minorities, 20 ; pro- poses present principle of patent laws, 20 ; lectures on natural philosophy, 22, 23 ; consulted on political action, 44, 53, 56 j chairman of Attwood's committee, 100 ; quoted, 103 ; letter from, 179, 237 ; letter from, on debate on Postal Reform, 238, 268, 291 ; letters from, 292, 293 ; his last ill- ness, pleasure on hearing of Great Exhibition of 185 1, 294; death, 295 ; letters on, 295, 296 ; notice of, in Spectator^ 334 " Hillska Skola," 50 Hilltop, I, 19, 47 Hodgson, Dr., 308 *' Home Colonies," 104-107 Home, Francis, 138, 139 Home, John (author of " Douglas "), 147, 148 Home, Mrs., 147 Hone, William, 51 ; trial of, 52, 53 Howard, John, 5, 6 ; aphorism of, 182 Howitt, Mary, 306 " Hudibras," author of, 5 Hume, Joseph, M.P., 51, 89, 115 Hunt, "Orator," 79 Hutton, Rev. Hugh, 85, 99 Hutton, R. H., 308 Ibrahim, Pacha, 243, 244 " Indeterminate sentence," 275-280 Industrial feeding schools, 222-227 Insane, former treatment of, 71 Ireland, problem of, 103, 104 Irving, Washington, 53 Ivory, Lord, letter from, 186, 187 J Jameson, Mrs., 305, 317 Jeffrey, Lord, his election as member of first Reformed Parliament, 135, 136 ; his brilliant conversation, 137, 138; "Little Jeffrey," 138, 139, 144; Miss Stirling Graham's visit to, 159-164, 221 ; pride in Free Kirk movement, 231 Jeston, Rev. H. P., 105-107 Jevons, Professor Stanley, 308 Johnson, Dr. (of Birmingham), 142 Jones, Charles, 89, 98 Jones, John, letter from, on death of T. W. Hill, 296 Jubilees, royal, 22 Juge de Paix, 69, 70 Jurymen, stubborn, 270, 271 Kere, John (of Glasgow), 169, 327 Kidderminster, i, 18, 24 Kirkpatrick, Sir Thomas, 170 Knight, Charles, 72 ; publications of, 72, 73, 74, 109, 189 Kossuth, Louis, 313, 314 Labour and capital, lectures on, 308, 309 Lafitte, Jacques, 253, 254 Law Amendment Society, 291, 296, 297, 305, 307 ; incorporated with the Social Science Association, 308, 314 Lea, Sarah. See Mrs. Thomas Wright Hill Lea, Thomas, 35 Lea, William, 15 Lea, Mrs. William, 15 Legislatorial attorney, 45-47 Leigh, Rev. William, 269 Lepard, John, 291 Lennox, Lady Caroline, 176 Leny, Mr., convener of the county of Dumfries, 170 Lewin, Edward, 306 Lewis, Mr., 45 Lichfield, Earl of, 179 \ INDEX. 343 London Bridge, old, 3, 33, 34 Lottery, last State, 71 Luckock, Howard, 32, 33 M Macaulay, Lord, 152 Macdonald, Dr., 230 Macdonald, Sir Reginald, 169 Macfarlan, Dr., 230 Mackenzie, Lady, 249 Mackenzie, Lord, 122, 148, 173 Mackenzie, Mrs. Stewart, 148, 149 Mackenzie, Sir George, 249 Maclaren, Charles, 150, 151, 210 Maconochie, Captain, quoted, 282- 284 Maddox, Mr., 45 Mallet, Rev. H. F., 318 Malthus, T. R., 104 Manners, Lord John (Duke of Rut- land), 310 Margate "hoy," 34 Married Women's Property Bill, 305- 307 Marshall, James, J. P., 320 Martineau, Harriet, on Birmingham political union, 87-89 ; letter from, 239, 306 Massacre, Manchester, 45, 46 Mathew, Father, 195 Matthews, Charles, 56 Maule, Hon. Fox, 168 ; letter from, 180, 181 Melbourne, Lord, 113, 249 Melville, Lord, 181 Menteth, J. Stuart, letter from, 186, 231 Millington's Hospital, 5 Moncrieff, Lord, 123 Moore, Peter, M.P., 45 Mulock, Dinah, 317 Murray, Hon. Amelia, Infant Felons' Bill, 204, 205 Murray, Andrew, 181 Murray, Mrs., 146 Murray (John Archibald), Lord, 119, 120; central figure of Edinburgh society, 143-145 ; his high cha- racter, 145, 146, 151, 251 Murray, Lady, 145 N Napier, General Sir Charles, 184, 18S Napoleon HL, 313, 314 Nasmyth, James, on Professor Cowper, 189, 190 *' National Education," 108, 109 *' National Force," 265-268 Neale, Mr. (author of " Juvenile De- linquency in Manchester "), 204 Newgate, 116, 117 Newhall Hill, meetings on, 44, 45, 83-87, 98, 99 Newton, Rev. John (of Olney), 6 New Zealand, 54, 55 Nichol, Colonel, 54, 55 Nimmo, Peter, 1 56, 251 "Nithsdale and Galloway Songs, 207-209 Orkney Islands, 124, 125 Osborne, Bernal, 266 Osier, Follett, 49, 294 Owen, Robert, 116 Packet Service, 310, 311 Panmure, Lord, 167, 168 Paper currency in Guernsey, 65 ** Parents' Cabinet," 190, 191 Paris, first visit to, 62, 63 ; second visit to, 6^, 68-70 Parkes, Bessie Raynor (Madame Belloc), 305 Parkes, Joseph, 57, 97, 98 Parr, Dr., 56-:-,S Patent laws, 20, 296, 297 Peace rejoicings, 35 Peel, Sir Robert, 75, 142, 219, 220, 232, 237, 287 344 INDEX. Penny Postage, 1 91-193 Philosophical Institute of Birming- ham, 22, 23 Phipson, Mr., 47 Pillans, Professor, 247 Places visited during tours of inspec- tion of which mention is made : — Aberdeen, 1 32, 222-227, 250 ; Arbroath, 128, 129, 167, 211 ; Ayr, 172, 173, 213-217; Banff, 165-167, 196 ; Beaumaris, 261 ; Brechin Castle, 167, 168 ; Brechin Gaol, 124 ; Carnarvon, 261 ; Craig Ellachie, 199 ; Crail, 122 ; Culross, 168 ; Dalmeny Park, 168 ; Ding- wall, 127, 197, 198 ; Dumfries, 170; Dundee, 121, 211 ; Dunrobin Castle, 1765 177 ; Durham, 262 ; Elgin, 195, 196 ; Forfar Gaol, 127 ; Fort George, 173 ; Glasgow, 132, 169, 184, 185 ; Gordon Castle, 1755 176; Greenlaw, 203, 204; Greenock, 171, 172; Hull, 262; Inverary, 176 ; Inverness, 122, 125, 126, 173, 198, 199; Ipswich, 269; Jedburgh, 202, 203 ; Kinross, 123, 124; Kirkwall, 124, 125 ; Lerwick, I74> 175 ; Lincoln, 270, 271 ; Man- chester, 268, 271, 272 ; Montrose, 167 ; Morpeth, 212 ; Newcastle, 242 ; Northallerton, 262 ; Norwich, 269 ; Paisley, 172 ; Perth, 177, I79» I99> 211; Richmond (York- shire), 262-265 ; Ruthin, 261 ; Selkirk, 199 ; Stirling, " House of Touch," 169 ; Stranraer, Lochnaw Castle, 171 ; Strathpeffer, 197; Strathspey, 199 ; Tain, 126 ; Tor Echelter, 197 ; Wakefield, 270 ; York, 262, 265 Poor Law, 105, 106 ; for Scotland, 157, 218-221 " Pope Joan," game of, 25 Postal Reform, opposition to, 235-239 Poster announcing Public Readings in Birmingham, 93 Post-Office mutual insurance socie- ties, 299 Pressgang, 23, 24 Priestley, Dr., 9-12, 50 Pringle, Mr. (Sheriff-Substitute of Banffshire), 166 Prison Bill for Scotland, 180, 181 Prison labour, 133, 181-185, 256- 259» 309, 322, 323 Prisoners' Defence Bill, 102 "Public Education," 49-51, 53 Public Readings of the London News in Birmingham, 92-95 Pulszky, Ferencz, 313, 317 Pulszky, Madame, 317 " Quarry," the, at Shrewsbury, 6 Queen, the, 249 R Ramahoun Roy, 51 Ransome, Allen, 269 Ransome, James, 269 Recorder of Birmingham. See Matthew Davenport Hill Reform Bill, agitation for, in Midland Counties, 77-100, 103 Reynolds, Hamilton, 56 Richmond, Duke of, 115, 175 Riots, Birmingham (of 1791), 9-14 Riots, bread, 37, 38 Roberts, David, R.A., 156, 157 Rogers, Professor Thorold, 308 Romilly, Sir Samuel, 287 Rosebery, Lord, 168 Round, Hon. W. M. F., 282 ; letters from, on "Yates Bill," 322, 323 Russell, Lord John, 79, 83, 115, 133, 241 ; on capital punishment, 285, 2S6 Rutherford, Andrew (Lord), 143, 144 St. Malo, 67, 68 Salt, Thomas Glutton, 87 INDEX, 345 Sargant, Henry, letter from, on death of T. W. Hill, 296 Scholefield, Joshua, M.P., 81, 88, 90, 91, 98, 100, 115 ScotstnaUy first starting of, 150, 151 Scott, John (Mr. Justice), 317, 318, 330» 331 Scott, Mrs. John (Leonora Edge- worth Hill), 247, 292, 293 Scott, Sir Walter, 53, 134, 135; diary of, quoted, 144-146 ; relates story of " Bride of Lammermoor," 148, 149 ; on Miss Sterling Gra- ham's impersonations, 158, 199- 201, 209, 210 Scrimgeour, Mr., 131 Seaforth, Lord, 148 Separate System, 133, 256, 260, 261 Shenstone, William, epitaph on, 31 ; "Leasowes," 30, 31 Shetland Islands, 173-175 Shuttleworth, John, 271 Shuttleworth, Lady Kay, 306 Siddons, Mrs., 147, 148, 155 Silent System, 259-261 Simpson, James, 140, 152-155, 204, 205, 210; letter from, describing debate on Postal Reform, 236, 237 ; letter from, on "National Force," 267, 268 Slavery, abolition of, 103, 248 Smith, Barbara Leigh (Madame Bodichon), 305, 306 Smith, Rev. Sydney, 138, 139 Smith, Right Hon. W. H., 311 Social Science Association, 308 Southey, Robert, 167 Spiers, Graham, 231 Stanley, Bishop, funeral of, 269 Stanley, Lord, 232 Steel, Sir John, 252-254 Steer, Mr,, 71, 72 Sutherland, Countess Duchess of, 176, 177 Sylvester, John ("Black Jack"), 52 Symonds, John, 5 Symonds, Rev. Joshua, 5, 6 Symonds, Sarah. See Mrs. James Hill Taylor, Pitt, work on " Evidence," 307, 308 Telford, Thomas, 140 Thackeray, W. M., 227 Theatre, F. Hill's first visit to, 29 Thelwall, John, 51 Thompson, Colonel, 268 Thompson, George, 247 Thomson, Thorn, 145 Thornely, Thomas, M.P., 115 Thornton, Samuel, 32, 33 "Tinkers," 128, 129 Trevelyan, Mr., 210 "Truck System," 76 Truro, Lord. See Sergeant Wilde V Villiers, Hon. Charles Pelham, M.P., first to bring the evils of the Corn Laws before Parliament, iii, 115, 291 ; letter from, on death of T. W. Hill, 295, 321 Villiers, Montague, Bishop of Dur- ham, 49 Voluntary work in prisons, 183-185, 256-258 W " Wager of Battel," 39-41 Wagstaff family, 24 Wallace, Robert, 171, 172 Wars, long, 37 Warwick Gaol, 37 Waterloo, news of victory of, 36 Watson, Sheriff (of Aberdeen), 222- 227, 250, 251 " Waverley," appearance of, 35 Wellington, Duke of, 75, 79, 90, 91 97, 231-233 Welsh, Dr., 229, 230 Wesley, John, 3 W^est, Dr., 249 Whately, Archbishop, 245-250 346 INDEX, Wheatstone, Sir Charles, 234, 297, 298 Whitfield, George, 3 Wigham, John, 151, 152, 205, 206, 247, 248 Wigham, Mrs., 151, 152, 205, 206, 317 Wilberforce, William, 6, 51, 53 Wilde, Sergeant (Lord Truro), 114, 115 ; letter from, 116 ; moves for Parliamentary inquiry as to the carrying out of Mr. Rowland Hill's Post:^l Reforms, 236-238, 291 Wilderspin, William, 190 Wills, Henry, 150 Wills, Mrs. Henry (Miss Janet Chambers), 149, 150 Wilson, Lestock, 233 Wilson, Professor, 221 Winter, Alexander, F.S.S., his ac- count of Elmira quoted, 2S0, 281 Wolseley, Sir Charles, 45 Wolverhampton, 1 8, 19 Wooler, Mr., 45 Wright, Thom^^s, 6 THE END. 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