Glasgow:
PUBLISHED AT THE STAR OFFICE, ARGYLE STREET.
MDCCCLXXII.
The author does not consider that the following pages require anyapology for their appearance. They are given to the world with atwo-fold object—the first being that of gratifying an increasing andperfectly legitimate anxiety on the part of the public to know more ofthe antecedents—the struggles, and the triumphs—of the men whom theyrecognize as leaders; and the other, that of reminding a youngergeneration, from a contemplation of the lives of great men, that theytoo, may leave behind them
The scope of the present work renders it impossible to do full justiceto any one of the men who have been selected; and on this account theauthor has made his Sketches more biographical than critical, leavingthe reader to reflect on facts rather than on opinions.
To become food for biographers and worms was the two-fold evil of whichRachel spoke shortly before her death. So far as the former terror isconcerned, the men who are pourtrayed in these pages have little tofear. Every care has been taken to secure accuracy of detail, most ofthe Sketches having been revised by those whom they more directlyconcern; and the author's aim has been to be just without severity, andtruthful without personality. Humanity is so prone to error that thebest men have their failings as well as their virtues; but while it isnot desirable to extenuate the former, the biographer is still lesswarranted in setting them down in malice. Hence the writer hasendeavoured to criticise in a kindly and temperate spirit, and to holdup virtues for imitation rather than errors for avoidance.
When these Sketches originally appeared in the columns of the journalwith which the writer is connected, it was never intended that theyshould assume a more permanent form. It was only after witnessing thegreat amount of interest which they evoked, that he was induced to yieldto pressing solicitations by trying to convert what was only aterminable lease into one renewable for ever.
One word more. Since the sketch of Dr. Norman Macleod was in print, thatgenial, versatile, and accomplished Divine has gone over to the GreatMajority. On Sunday forenoon, the 16th of June, he died rather suddenly,although, as he had been ailing for some time previously, his end wasnot altogether unexpected. In the public prints of both England andScotland, the tributes paid to his worth and ability have more thanjustified all that will be found in these pages. From Royalty downwards,his demise has produced a sadness "that passeth show." Requiescat inpace!
J. S. J.
Glasgow, June 20, 1872.