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.~ RECOLLECTIONS OF A BROTHER
AND OF HIS HOMES
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Recollections of a Mother
ADAM GIFFORD
ONE OF THE SENA T ORS OF THE COLLEGE
0FfUSTlCE [N SCOTLAND
UNDER THE TITLE OF
LORD GIFFDRD
BY HIS BROTHER
UQQODO
uguuvv
Juooov
Drinteb for the use of the family
rent:
/
350-9
GL1 L0
r},
~ ' NOTE.
1 ' THESE recollections of my brother, Lord Gifford, are
< recorded by my sister and myself.
I We are well aware that the record, containing no
extraordinary or exciting incident, may seem trivial
. and commonplace. Still we know it tells the external
i ~ life of one whom we loved much, and who was wise
and good.
Besides most faithfully serving his own generation,
‘I he sought to beneﬁt his country in time to come by
founding the Lectureships in Natural Theology.
l” These notes are printed only for the use of his
‘ _ relatives, their children, and their children’s children,
to supply some answer to the question, asked long
after all his coevals have gone from earth, “Who
was Lord Gifford?”
7_ May these recollections stimulate some one to be a
it wise and good as he was.

, JOHN GIFFORD.
Edz'nbmgﬁ, I 89 I. i

CONT'ENTS.

PAGE
PORTRAIT
' IRSCOLLECTIONS '. . . . . 5
1 . NOTE 0F RELATIONSHIP . . i . . 37
ARTICLE FROM “SCOTSMAN” ' . . . 39
) , COPY OF TRUST DISPOSITION . . . 43
' I

RECOLLECTIONS OF A BROTHER,
AND OF HIS HOMES.

" ADAM GIFFORD was born on February 29th,
: __ 1820, in Park Street, Edinburgh. There were
afterwards in the family two other children, John
’ and Mary.
, His father, James Gifford, was the son of Adam
~. Gifford, who was a manufacturer in leather. James,
when he grew up, became a partner in the business,
arid , carried it on after his father’s death for the
_ greater part of his life. \ _
i ‘ By industry and intelligence, he rose. to a pro,
ininent place in his native city, as well as in the
church to which'he belonged. He became Treasurer
-\fand Master of the Merchant Company, a member of
“ the Town Council of Edinburgh, and a governor of
‘ several charitable institutions. He was chosen an
i elder in the Antiburgher or Secession Church, and
’-_ for many years was a diligent Sabbath-school teacher
——this, too, at a time when Sabbath schools were. not
, so'common as they are now.
He had few opportunities in early life to acquire
-_education, but, endowed witha clear perception, a
sound judgment, and a natural power of language,
i he became an able and efﬁcient man of business, He
* ,became more than this, His reading and thinking g
; r
s
h"
it
6 _ Recollections of a Brother.
led him into regions beyond those in which most
men live and move, and a certain far-sighted wisdom,
touched with, poetry and idealism, characterised his "
opinions. As a consequence, these were Often in
advance of his time; and his children have lived to
see some ideas of his, which were regarded as utopian
when he uttered them, secure a place in men’s com-
mon thoughts. Y
He knew his Bible well, and loved it. There is no
such book for developing the mind and heart. ,
My mother, Katherine Ann West, was the only
daughter of John and Mary West. How shall I de-
scribe dear mother? She was younger than my
father by six or seven years. Vigorous in body and
mind, she was a most independent thinker—her
thoughts ever more numerous than her words. She
was not much taken up with the externals of life, but
deeply impressed with its spiritual realities. This
made her friends say “ She was easy-going,” and her
economies in household management and decisions
in practical life were carried through regardless of
criticism.
Like her husband, she loved the Lord, and earnestly
- and constantly served Him.
My father had two brothers, John and Alexander—
one Older and one younger than he. John was a
minister of the Secession Church, and had a con-
gregation at Saltcoats, from the year 1800 till his
. resignation in 1811. Alexander was a solicitor in
Edinburgh, and prospered in his business for many
years. Father and he were very brotherly. —

Recolleclz'ons of a Brother. 7
Mother had two step-sisters, Jean and Mary,
daughters of her mother and her mother’s second
husband, Wm. Paterson. Jean married Mr James
' , M‘Laren, and had a large family of four sons and nine

daughters —these cousins were our closest and most
intimate friends of youth, as those of them who sur-
' . vive are of our advanced years. Mary married the
' Rev. William Lothian, a Congregational minister in
St Andrews. Two of their children still survive.
For other relatives we must refer to the genea-
logical tree, only noticing other two cousins (Adam
and Catherine), children of Alexander Gifford and
his' wife, Catherine More. They were both very dear
to us, and grew up with us. They both died in early
life' of consumption,—Catherine in 1851,v and Adam
J in 18 5 3.
ARNISTON PLACE, NO. 1 1, now called NO. 25 New-
ington Road, is the ﬁrst home of which my memory
~ bears any record. I remember the “ ﬂitting ” from
Park Street, and the wonder and curiosity which the
, new house excited. It had a plot of grass in the"
front, and behind, a strip of garden ground. Father
purchased this house, and found great delight in it
s and in the garden. He put up a summer-house, and
a dove-cot, and with hammer and nails did many a
'little piece Of work in and outside the house. It
must have been in 1824 or ‘1825 that we came to this
pleasant dwelling. The walls of the garden were
clothed with fruit trees and currant bushes, and on
them some cherries, pears, and ribston pippins ripened.
There my brother’s education and mine began under
8 Recollections of a Brother.
our mother’s tuition. She had been a governess in If;
the Rev. Dr T raill’s family at Panbride, F orfarshire,
and was thoroughly qualiﬁed to teach the elements
of an English education. Adam and I were never , ‘
at any elementary school. i g '
I remember our writing lesson was at 7 O’clock, I i5
before breakfast; but the process of learning to read _
I do not remember,—it was so carried on that as we ‘
learned to speak we learned to read without knowing ‘ " ‘
how.
Our dear sister Mary was born here in 1825, and'
no doubt our relation to her was a new element of
education. In these early years I had (though very,
rarely) quarrels with Adam, and I remember it always
“ended in my crying for mother’s help. He never was f' l
passionate, and only passively resisted my attacks. I _ ‘
The wee girl had no companions except her big ‘ i
brothers, four or ﬁve years Older than she was, and I
suspect we sometimes ran Off to our games without 1
her ; for, whenever she saw a conference regarding
some unknown project, she used to exclaim most "
emphatically, “Me too! Me too 1 " - thus early
asserting woman’s rights. - ’I .
When Adam was eight and I about seven, we were.
placed under the care of Mr John Laurie, who kept a
small school in West Nicolson Street for teaching Latin
and Greek. He was a good man, but not a good
teacher, and though we were there four or ﬁve years,
I do not think we learned much. Adam learned -
better and more than I did. In the intervals of
waiting, which were long at Mr Laurie’s, as each '
\ .
\

Recollections of a Brother. 9

"class for boys.
' history in these days was not eventful.
in most of our doings, but never led in them.
-__\ 1class was called up in turn, Adam learned shorthand
A by himself—an acquirement of which in after years
Y he made constant use.
>- About 1832 we became pupils Of Mr Cunningham,
'who opened the Edinburgh Institution in Hill Street
I in that year.
It might be said that a new era in
education began there. Latin and Greek were
, retained, but French, German, Mathematics and
English Literature were included, and boys were
trained for life on a wider and more practical plan.
My brother was in higher classes than I, and
_‘ became really a good scholar. We ever retained a
warm respect for 'Mr Cunningham. He was an
_ excellent man as well as a kind and able teacher,
‘and‘the school prospered.
My father left Nicolson Street Secession Church
‘ when he came to Newington, and mother and he
went to Rev. Dr Gordon’s,._in Hope Park Chapel.
I remember the pew we sat in, but nothing else about
the church. Some years afterwards we went to Rev.
Dr John Bruce’s in the New North Church, whose
sermons mother enjoyed. Adam and I went to his
He was succeeded by Rev. C. J.
,Brown, from whose vigorous, impressive Scriptural
- teaching, we gained much. How much we never knew.
Our boyhood was spent in this home. My brother’s
He shared
There was a kind of distance between him and even
his playmates. The cousin M‘Larens we're the most
intimate, and David, about two years older than Adam,
was his frequent companion.
IO Recollections of a Brother. ’
- 1
Saturday walks were a most important element of 1
our lives.
boats with our pen-knives, and to launch them full-
rigged on Blackford Burn was an event of great '
interest. I remember a nice boat of Adam’s with a
lugger sail, “The Earl Grey,” suffering under the
stones thrown at it by some carter boys. Moredun
Mill, two miles out of Edinburgh on the Gilmerton
Road was a paradise for us. Mr Salmond, the miller,
a friend of father’s, invited us on a Saturday now and
then, and we enjoyed it much, for there were the I
mill and pond, a wood and a burn, besides a pony,
and a garden with gooseberries and currants, a world _
of delights to town boys as we were.
Once a year father and some friends got up a pic-nic '
t0 Habbies Howe in the Pentland Hills. We had
only carts with clean straw to carry us the ten miles,
but it was glorious in prospect and in execution.
The mates we were Oftenest with were James
and Hugh Pillans, and the two Fergusons, Archie
and Robert. On the Saturdays many a mile we
walked together with them—Of these four, Robert ,
Ferguson has long been dead, the other three still "
survive, with the honour and respect of their early
playfellows, and of all who know them.
Even then my dear brother seemed to read more
and think more than we did, and this led us in those
early days to call him “the philosopher.” Some of
our social amusements he did not join in. We had a
Society for asking and answering questions (these we
Arthur’s Seat, Blackford Burn, and subse- \
quently Portobello, were often visited. We made .

Recollections of a Brother. I I
printed in the form of a little catechism), and a
. “Picture Exhibition." To neither of these he conl
_tributed., He and I played chess a good deal when we
were ten or twelve years Old. We made with our
pen-knives more than one set of chess men, but,
when lessons became harder and life busier, chess
- —' as it took too much time was given up.
One other memory of Arniston Place may be
recorded. I remember Miss Ann Traill staying with
us and painting a portrait of Dr Gordon. The Doctor
was throned in an arm-chair in the dining-room, with
a bright red shawl of mother’s thrown round him.
Miss Traill afterwards joined the Church of Rome,
and became one of the Sisters Of Charity when they
\ were established at Whitehouse Loan, Edinburgh,
_ under the title of St Margaret’s Convent.
Two scenes of our amusements may be sketched.
. At the top of our back garden on the other side of
the wall was a piece of unoccupied ground. This
was our frequent resort, and on the King’s birthday,
our Saturday halfpennies having been accumulated
for weeks before, we had a small supply of gun-
pOwder and some pieces of small artillery. We
gathered sticks and got stones, made a “bonﬁre,”
.- roasted potatoes in the ashes, and were very jolly.
Once I was sent over the wall to “borrow” a lump of
coal from mother’s cellar. When I got to the head
i of the garden, before throwing the coal over the wall

‘ I called out as a warning. One of the F ergusons mis-
understood the call, and ran to the spot only to receive
on his head the full force of the large piece of coal. It

12 Recollections of a Brother.
knocked him down, and we all, I especially, got a_
fright. This fortunately was the only result. The
network of walls that enclosed the gardens of the neigh,
bouring houses was a ﬁeld of constant entertainment,"
We made, like the cats, a regular walk round all
the walls—they had a level copestone, and on it we
enjoyed our freedom. The proprietors unfortunately
objected to our presence, and sent the police after us. This added zest to the enterprise, and “we had.
barrel staves with a string attached to one end, which I ‘
served as scaling ladders to enable us to reach the
top of the wall easily and escape the ofﬁcers.
One of the neighbouring houses was occupied by
the notorious Dr Knox, who was associated with the
murderers Burke and Hare. I remember well the
evening when the mob assaulted his house, and '
smashed every pane of glass in his and the adjoining.
houses. Knox himself made his escape by these
back garden walls. -
NO. 3 HILL SQUARE—It must have been about
1835-6 that father bought this house and some
property adjoining from his brother. Alexander
Gifford had bought the Hill Square property for his
house and Ofﬁce, and as he now wished to remove to
St Andrew Square, he sold the whole to my father.
The Arniston Place house was sold at this time,
and we unwillingly removed to NO. 3 Hill Square.
The house was commodious enough, but the
situation was conﬁned, and we missed the fresh air
of Newington.
However, we were now much busier. Adam had~

v
- ‘n ,h:
Recollections of a Brother. 13-
._ gone as an apprentiCe to Uncle, and was busy with
' law studies. He had entered the University and
'attended several classes. ‘Our Saturday walks and
I ‘ games somehow ceased. —
" Father had his-shop at No. 98 South Bridge, an
i' still carried on his leather work. He made leather

‘bases for bats, spectacles, and measuring lines, leather
pipes for ﬁre engines and breweries, and helmets for
. yeomanry. I helped in his book-keeping, marking
~ measuring lines, and in other ways.
n One day Mr John Macﬁe of the Sugar House,
_--Canongate, saw me in the shop, and, turning to
~ "father, said, “Would your boy like to learn banking?
- I could get him into the National Bank Of Scotland.
_ I’m a Director there.” I made no objections, so,
with my Uncle’s help, and aIregular canvass by myself
of all the Directors, on 25th April, 1836, I entered
and was apprenticed to the National Bank of Scot-
land. I was hardly ﬁfteen years Of age.
Adam’s life was now much more apart from mine.
' His heavy ofﬁce work, the University studies, the
‘ Scots Law Debating Society ﬁlled up every hour.
Then he read a great deal at night. All he did
was done quietly and was never the subject Of
‘ his talk, so that his work was not brought before us.
)\ He was Often late of getting home at night, and
family hours were early, evening prayers being at
about 9.30. Supper and bed followed soon. Long
after, Adam mentioned with gratitude that at this
__ time mother gave him a pass-key, and never asked
when he came in. He soon made himself useful to

II”:
- /
~-., , ‘ 1
. I4 Recollections of a Brother.
his Uncle, and learned his business thoroughly, until'
he became managing clerk in the ofﬁce. He did .
everything systematicallyand perfectly, never grudging ‘ -
time or trouble.
One recreation on Duddingston Loch on the
bright, cold winter days, he enjoyed. He became
a good skater, and years afterwards joined the Skating
Club. I remember going out with him, on the clear
ice, at six o’clock in the morning, under the moon»
light, to get a couple of hours skating—we had no
other time. It was ever to be regretted that this was - '
his only physical amusement. Had it been other-
wise, and had riding, ﬁshing, or golf got some Of his .
hours in after days, his health and life might have’ '
been prolonged. ‘
During these years we both became Sabbath- _
school teachers, and Adam taught for many years ’
in Mr Ritchie’s Heriot School, Cowgate. He taught
and addressed the children most effectively. He
also used to go on Sabbath forenoons to Dr Guthrie’s
Ragged School, to take a service with the poor
children there. \
His cousin Adam had been trained in his father’
ofﬁce for some years as a clerk. ~
Mr Alex. Gifford’s business, though a good one, was \
not sufﬁcient to be a source of income to both my .
brother and cousin, so, in the year 1848, the two
Adams had a conference; my brother said to his
cousin :—“ You see there is not room for both you
and me in this business. One of us must go out, and
might perhaps pass as an advocate. Will you go or’

h.
.
I. .
A

Recollections of a Brother. 15
shall I?” Our cousin chose to remain, and m brother
Y
—_ , passed as an advocate in 1849.
I was married that year to my dear wife, Mary
Usher. We went together to the Court of Session
to see Adam pass as an advocate. He assumed the
wig and gown, delivered a formal speech before the
judges and took the oath of ofﬁce. Thus his life
work began. He had many mental qualities which
ﬁtted him for it. He had a strong, clear intellect,
undisturbed by excess of emotion. He was able to
,take a wide and balanced survey of any subject. He

_-had indomitable perseverance, patience to attend to
details, and an excellent memory, well stored with
general and professional information. All this made
him an able advocate, and afterwards an impartial
and wise judge.
He had other advantages when he started on this
career. He was well known in conducting his uncle’s
business to many of the law agents, and his knowledge
of the details of a solicitor’s business was of much
advantage to him in his new work.
' Adam’s ﬁrst chambers were in Albany Street. I
remember the door-plate with his name, but I do
not think I was ever in his rooms.
We never liked our residence in Hill Square, and
,now, when Adam and I had left home, my father
resolved to move to a house in Dublin Street, where
an advocate’s business could be carried on and the
family could reside. It was No. 21, and they
entered it, I think, in May 1851.
My father had retired from business years before
l
l
16“ ’ Recollections of a Brother.

this time, but he held the ofﬁce of Treasurer to Trinity 1‘,
Hospital, an institution fOr the support of poor aged ‘
men and women, and to carry on this and the manage-’, I
ment Of some house (property, he retained an ofﬁce ati' -.
105 South Bridge. ‘ y, The Dublin Street house was in my brother’s name, ¢ [l
though father really upheld it—no doubt Adam co_n- \
tributed his share, but all his doings and his worki ‘
were carried on so quietly we never heard of it. In-If ‘
deed, since my marriage I was not in a position'to,"
learn much of these things. In 1851 our only sister ,' '
was married to the Rev. Alex. Raleigh, a marriage
which was a source of happiness and blessing to _us’
all. .
My father and mother, with Adam, removed again
in May 1855. Adam bought the house NO. 3 5 ‘
' DRUMMOND PLACE, and there, for years, he diligently
and ably did the business that came to him. ~ It came ‘ _
slowly, but his clients never left him; they soon learned - the value of his work. He never would canvass for H
business. I remember once when I urged him to do ' "
so, he refused, saying playfully, “You know, John, if
they don’t emplOy me, it is their loss, not mine.” 7
In August 1861 he and I went to Paris, and spent C
fourteen days very pleasantly. ,
He took no part in politics, although very decided
in his Liberal views ,- and it was not till the year 1861, when he had attained considerable prominence in the j l Parliament House, and the Government could no 1
longer pass him over, that he was appointed advocate-
‘depute, and in 186 5 Sheriff of Orkney and Shetland.
l
{l
Recollections of a Brother. ’ I 7

) '7 This latter Ofﬁce did not interfere with his work as
- an advocate. He appointed resident deputy-sheriffs,
. ‘ who heard the cases, and from whose decision an
~ appeal could be made to him. Once or twice a year
' the principal Sheriff had to ,visit his County, and hold
' Courts. In the autumn Of 1866 I went to Shetland
' ,with my brother. He hired a yacht at Lerwick, called
' "‘ The Gem,” of some thirty or forty tons, and we spent
‘ ' a very pleasant fortnight in sailing round and through
among the islands. It was ﬁne weather, and we had
Deputy-Sheriff Muir and Mr Jas. D. Marwick (now Sir
' James) with us. I visited my friend, Mr John White,
‘__the Agent for the Union Bank at Lerwick at that time,
'\ and had many a ride over the moors before returning
., to Edinburgh. >
The next event of importance in Adam’s life was
his marriage with Miss Maggie Elliot Pott.
Our Uncle Alexander'had, in 1855, married Miss
Jane Gray. She had been governess in the family of
Mr James Pott, W.S., Albany Street, for a long time,
and his wife on her deathbed, gave her charge of her
two sons, James and George, and her only daughter,
Maggie. After Miss Gray’s marriage with Mr Alex‘
ander Gifford, Maggie Pott came to reside with her.
, It was an arrangement which suited all parties.
\Maggie' was a bright, intelligent girl of sixteen or
1 seventeen, and she brightened Uncle’s home by her
presence. The childless Old man grew fond of her.
. Yet, while my father lived, Adam never thought of
, bringing a new mistress to Drummond Place.
_ Father’s'death took place in 1862—peacefully he had
B

i8 Recollections, of d Brother.

spent his last years : his strength was impaired, but not
his clearness of mind. I had to go to Irelandtthat
summer about a Bank Note robbery, and took my "
Wife with me. Father and I walked together in the Drummond Place Gardens on the day I left. He said ,’ to me, “All my work is over, God has more than ful-
ﬁlled all my wishes, and 1 am waiting His call.” On the 27th July 1862, a telegram reached us while we -’
were in Dublin, saying, “Father died this morning.” - '
He died in peace. t
It was next year, 7th April 186 3, that Adam’s
marriage with Miss Pott took place. Dear mother 217
welcomed her warmly, and gave up her rule at Drum- ’
mond Place to her new daughter. We all liked
Adam’s wife ; she was so unselﬁsh and kind, so clever
and considerate.
and from that time Our mother went to live with Mrs
Raleigh in London, coming in the summer to visit
Adam’s home and mine. -
My brother’s home was a very happy one.
Maggie’s skill and sympathy brightened and soothed
his few leisure hours, for his business had much in-
creased, and he had secured a lucrative practice.
He and I had previously resumed the habit of
having a walk or drive together every Saturday after-
noon. > When the bank closed at one or two o’clock,
I went to Drummond Place, and Adam pushed away
his papers, and was always ready for our ramble. He
had many acquaintances, but he never made any
close friendships.
\ I Recollections of a Brother. 19
_)
,1“

Herbert James, his ﬁrst and only son, was born
12th March 1864. We lost our boy, John, 28th June
of that year, of diphtheria.
_ ' Four happy years passed away over Adam’s home.
_His boy grew strong and well, but during these years
-_his wife’s health slowly declined. All through 1867
her ever-wasting strength marked the months as they
1 passed. Her husband watched over her with unceas-
ing care, but her illness steadily increased. On the
I saying, “Come, dear Maggie is sinking.”
7th of February 1868, a message came to me from him
It was tOO
_true. When I saw on the pillow the pale, white face,
and the bright eyes opening for afew seconds, to shed
. the light of affection and peace on her loved husband
» as he stood at her side, I felt that the look said
“ Farewell.” She died that day, leaving him in sorrow
- too deep for expression. Little Herbert could not

know then how great his loss was. Our mother came
soon, and comforted the mourners as only a mother
can—pouring out her warmest affection and most ear-
nest prayers on and for the little motherless boy. All
was done to keep in his memory some remembrance
of her who loved him so dearly and left him so soon.
’ Unexpectedly, on 26th January 1870, Adam was
appointed to a Judgeship in the Court of Session.
" As a Senator of the College of Justice he took his
,seat under the title of Lord Gifford. His father had
' ~ predicted this elevation, yet we were surprised, as well
as pleased when the appointment was made. He
was only forty~nine——an early age at which to reach
the bench.
20 Recollections of a Brother.
Now our notes pass from Drummond Place to ( ‘
GRANTON HOUSE—This house was taken in the end
of 1870, and the removal to it tookiplace in January
I871. I c ”
It was a ﬁne old house, situated above the shore one
and a half miles west of the Granton- railway station.»
Built by President Hope of the Court of Session
on land feued from the Duke of Buccleuch, the house
stands on a bank some seventy feet above the sea, and
commands a ﬁne view north, west, and east. Above
thirty acres are attached to the house, and a ring of
trees shelter and shut it in. There were two or three _,
small parks, a good Old-fashioned garden and stabling - I
&c., included in the property. ' ’ »
Sundry additions had been made to the house, and _
it had accommodation for a large establishment. ’“ '
Granton House was a happy meeting-place. Here '
the various branches of the family were gathered from '
time to time under the kind and generous hospitality
of my brother. 1 _ i q ‘
Till the time of her death in December 187 3, our
mother made it her home, and found a peaceful
resting-place in it, while she studied and struggled to
do her utmost for the comfort and welfare of Adam
and for Herbert, whose motherless coudition touched
her heart. ‘ '
Subsequently, Lord Gifford had the good fortune to

have successively as his housekeepers and companions ' "
his two dear nieces, Katy and Alice Raleigh. Alice’s
loving care was with him all through his long illness, .
and she was at his side when he breathed his last;

Recollections of a Brother. 21
l
{‘1 .

As a Judge, Lord Gifford required a carriage to
_ _ take him to and from the Court, but often the grey
, horses carried a happy party of children ; for, in his
lkindness, Lord Gifford made his home a veritable
1; holiday house.for_ my sister’s children and mine.
\Many delights were there. The freedom of the
,1 oods, the sea-bathing, the wonders of the shore, the
‘ fruits and ﬂowers of 'the garden, always freely given,
these things were the foundation on which many a
superstructure ~of.- childish bliss was built, to be
, ,remembered with moist eyes in after days.
. Herbert’s ﬁrst pony, Donald, a sturdy Shetlander,
shaggy and wilful, was an important member of the
1 ' -. family. ‘ After him came a larger animal Fairy,—
- these were the gifts of his uncle, Mr George Pott,
and were a constant source of pleasure. There were
dogs too, Jet,..Trap, Charlie, and Faust, distinct in
their several characters and ways, and not to be for-
gott’en.
The two servants longest in Lord Gifford’s employ
/ were Alex. Johnston, the gardener—a shrewd, useful,
and faithful man—and Dillon, the butler, an Irishman
than whom none could be more good-natured and

thoroughly attached to his master. _
‘Johnston was lord of his own domain, and a kind
of warfare was often carried on with much zest
between him and the boys—(Herbert, Walter Raleigh,
and my' two sons James and Adam). They could
not always accept his verdict as to when gooseberries
“ or cherries were ripe, or which plots of currant bushes
22 Recollections of a Brother.
or strawberries were to be kept sacred for jam, or
which fences were not to be climbed upon.
As for Dillon—his good nature sometimes tempted
to extreme measures the same mischievous hands.-
Once, at least, he was found tied hand and foot in his
own pantry, and it is said his cupboards were un- ,/ ;
accountably short of raisins and nuts at that very_ '
time. But under all such trials, his patience, good i
nature, and ready Irish wit never forsook him.
The incidents to be recorded now are few. In. ’
1872, my brother complained of a numbness in his ..
right leg which nothing could remove, and which '
ultimately made him lame, dragging that limb when he
walked. There is no doubt that this was the ﬁrst '
approach of the paralysis that afterwards became
more masterful, and at last extinguished his vitalv
powers. Still, at this time, it never affected his activity' 1
of mind or body—both were able for full work. ‘
Dear mother died on Christmas Eve in 187 3. ' She
was as well as usual till three days before her death.‘
Her three children were by her side, and saw her close
her eyes and fall asleep in Christ. How good and \ -
how dear she was, and how much she was missed! ' '
She was 87 years Old when she died.
’ About the year 1880 my brother’s lameness had
much increased, and he walked more feebly—indeed,»
more than once, he fell from sudden failure of his _’
limbs. On New Year’s Day, 1881, he came to us at l
4 Marchmont Terrace, dined with us, and stayed .
overnight, going to Court next day. That day, the
2nd of January, a messenger came to me to the bank,

Recollections of a Brother. 23

, assistance to his clerk, who got Mr Duncan.

_ kindly gave him’ the usual pension.
tat four o’clock, saying that Lord Gifford had been
‘ seized with illness at the Court.
I went at once, and
found him sitting in one of the retiring rooms with
his clerk, Mr Henderson, and Mr David Duncan, a
' good friend of our family. A cab was got, and with
difﬁculty my dear brother and I reached Granton
House. ' ,
:He had sat on the Bench and heard the cases
withhis usual care, till he found he could not move
from his seat. He gave no sign, but waited nearly
half-an-hour till the Court rose, and then sent for
They
found his limbs quite powerless, and sought medical
help at once.
He never walked again, nor again entered the Court.
The best medical advice could do nothing. -It
was a severe shock Of paralysis. His limbs and his
right hand were powerless, but his head and heart
were clear and calm. He knew exactly what had
happened, and he was most grateful that God had
left him his mind untouched. .
After waiting a few weeks, and ﬁnding his recovery
partial and slow, he resigned his Judgeship, and
retired after twelve years’ service. Government
The sincere
regret and the affectionate esteem of his fellow-
Judges, and of those associated with him in his pro-
fession, went with him as he closed his legal career.*
The history of the long six years which he spent
almost prostrate, ﬁghting with his deadly disease, can
* See letter from Scotsman, page 39.
24 Recollections of a Brother.

be soon told. His right arm being paralysed, he
learned to write with his left hand till his other was
restored.
The disease, after six months of partial recovery,
with a violent shock attacked the left side, and made
him still more powerless. His sister, Mrs Raleigh, —
was in the house at the time of the seizure, and was I _
called to come to his room at four o’clock on a July -
morning. Entering softly, and with a troubled
heart, she can never forget his calm look, and the"
words with which he greeted her,—
“ This is a march on the citadel.”
That same day, when we were still uncertain as to
the issue of the attack, I said, standing by his bed,
and thinking how vain was all human help, “In Blim _
we live and move and have our being.” He looked
_ up to me, and said slowly, “Yes, and in Him __we
die.” He did not die then, but lived ﬁve years
longer, till patience had its perfect work.
At various intervals he experienced attacks of a f
slight but similar nature, all of which undermined
his naturally vigorous vitality. Indeed it was con-
sidered most wonderful that he could sustain and’
recover from so many attacks. ~
Two men waited on him day and night to supply
all his wants ; and all through this weary time, besides
the constant care of Herbert and Alice, my sister
often came from London, and stayed for weeks or
months; and every week at least, I spent hours at
his bedside. '
Nothing could exceed the wise and careful attention .’

Recollections of a Brother. ’ 25

of his doctor, Dr Foulis, during these years. Reg-
"'— ulation of the diet and of the daily life was all that
could be done. He was placed in the wheel-chair in
i "the afternoon, and, if the weather was ﬁne, he was
taken through the grounds, and then a cup of tea
I and biscuits were served under the elm or under the
, ro’ses. He enjoyed this change, and talked cheerily
with any Of us who happened to be there at the time.
,' He was wheeled to the dining room if the weather
_ was bad. Many of his friends saw him, and had a
pleasant though brief talk with him. The great ad-
Vantage Of having a country house and fresh air was
felt in these circumstances.
, My brother’s patience under his heavy trial was
. :wonderful and most touching; words he spoke from
time to time revealed the source of his resignation.
Some of them I recall, such as—“ I have often wished
for leisure to read and to think, now I have it,”—“ I
think I have seen more clearly many things about
God since I have been laid aside; in the night I
" often can’t sleep, and I follow out new trains of
thought about Him,”—“ I am very helpless, but I
don’t wish it to be otherwise ; it is best as it is.” His
doctor for a time thought it possible that he might
. recover so far as to be able to walk with the help of
crutches, and said so. He himself never thought
it likely. “ No,” he said to his sister, “ I will never
walk again, but it doesn’t matter. I need no crutches;
V there are wings ready for me to bear me home to
God.”
“ To be happier or wiser, that just means to have /'

M\W

26 Recollections of a Brother.
more of God.” The emphasis he laid on these three
last words cannot be conveyed on paper. , a - 1
Sometimes his fertile fancy would lead him to .
make very quaint remarks. Once, after a sleepless \ ’
night, of which he had many, he said to his sister,—
“I had a bitter quarrel with my body last night, I
put the blame of all I have to bear on it. - But I was
very careful to- use none but Scripture language in
abusing it. Iv called it ‘this vile body,’ ‘the body ,
of this death,’ ‘this corruptible,’ the tabernacle, in ‘
which ‘ I groan, being burdened.’ So all I said was
true and reasonable.” . ‘
In bed, in a room facing south, and looking out
on lawn and trees, he was supported with high .’
pillows, and had his writing materials, papers and
books all round him. He was always occupied and '
interested, till the last year of his life, when his illness 5 .
increased, and he read less, and looked more weary..
There were many conversations on the highest of all I
subjects in that quiet room. Shall we ever forget
them? The reticence of other years was gone, he
spoke freely of what he thought, and most often his
thoughts were of God. He used to say, “He is
inﬁnite, how can our. ﬁnite minds grasp His Being? ~ ‘4
but it is not wrong to go on in our thinking as far as ’7
We can.”
Speaking of doing good to others, he used to say,
“There is one person we can always try to make
better, and that is ourselves.” '
One day he said to me, “John, I got a terrible _
fright last night.” _ “What frightened you?” I asked. ~

TC~..-.i--._.--..~_, WHJNTQ‘ "WM _- ﬂ-__1v__ _,..-.__-....,,__ . , ___Mi~—-
' Recollections of a Brother. 27

_g "‘ Oh, I discovered that I was beginning to love
_' ‘ money I ” Perhaps there is more cause for alarm on
- - this ground, in many lives, than is at all realised.
’ Very pathetic it was to see him making cheerfully
‘1'?" the best of what was left to him, never uttering a
’ urmuring word, never regretting lost strength, but
1'1 staying his heart calmly on the love and wisdom of
.’ j his Father in heaven. ’
l About a year before his father’s death, Herbert
went to London to prosecute his business as a Civil
_Engineer, as apprentice to Messrs Barry & Brunell.
’ He had long been kept at home for his father’s sake,
; but now it was felt he must go.
D's. ’. During that year the paralysis had tightened its
hold and affected the internal functions more than
'before. My brother felt weaker, and could not think
,or speak as he used to do. He felt this, and Often
.said that he wished to be done with his frail, useless
body for ever.
_ About the middle of January 1887, he was more
’ depressed and feebler. The doctor was anxious about
him. I was at Granton House on Wednesday 19th
.’January 5 he could speak little, and I was alarmed.
‘ ,' However, I went home, Alice promising to Wire
" any. change. On Thursday, 20th January, a message
me, “Uncle is worse, come.” I drove down and
/ found him very feeble. ' He knew me well, and
’ ’s'miling said, “I cannot speak ,-” that was about ﬁve
’5 o’clock. The oppression increased, and we could
{not understand his attempts to tell his wants.
Dr Foulis came about 7 o’clock, and told us Lord
.2" n

28 Recollections of a Brother.

Gifford would not see next morning. He had so ra-
pidly sunk during the last hours that I said, “Doctor,
stay a little ,' he willnot live an hour.” He-stayed. '
We gathered around him—my wife, Alice, my son
Adam, and myself, and watched his heavy, feeble'
breathing, till at last Dr Foulis said, “ Now it is over.”
“Is it indeed?” I exclaimed, for he seemed quieter
and calmer than ever. I touched his hand—kissed
his cold brow. -He was gone. My dear brother
was at home with his God. He died about' nine .'
o’clock on the evening of the 20th January 1887. I
Herbert, unfortunately, though he travelled all ' ’
night, did not arrive till next morning, and ~Mrs
Raleigh was also too late to see her loved brother.'
His death left not only my sister and myself withOut
a brother, but took from us one of the dearest, mOst
generous and noblest friends we ever had. None
knew Adam as we did. »
After providing for his son, and giving legacies to .
his nieces and nephews and dependants, his fortune,
gained entirely by his own hand and brain, was so '
ample that he gave £80,000, to the four Universities I f
of Scotland to found Lectureships on Natural Theo-
logy. To the University of Edinburgh he gave
£25,000 ,- to those of Glasgow and -Aberdeen,
£20,000 each; and to St Andrews, £15,000. ,
The conditions and regulations of these lectureships
were carefully and thoroughly detailed, to secure'what
was the earnest desire of the donor—the highest
welfare of his fellow-men, by leading them to the
knowledge of God.

‘_..____.W.
Recollections of a Brother. 29
It will surprise his friends to know that his heart /
never was entirely with his profession.
technicalities and verbalism of law he had no sym-
pathy, nor with the petty squabbles of men, to decide
'_which he was obliged to give his close attention.
, ' The only region of law in which he could freely
‘Sw‘ﬂ
v), N
cf».
' of true and unchanging justice.
\lawyer,’ and in any case where he could apply these
. care.
breathe was that in which are found the principles
He was an equity
principles, be swept precedent and word-splitting
aside, and fearlessly did the right. He once said to
me, “You are well off, John ; when 'you lock your safe
your mind and thoughts are free and fresh, but all
last night and all this day I have had to investigate
and’ make up my mind on a wretched, paltry dispute
between two unreasonable men about a triﬂe.”
He sought higher subjects of thought and higher
enjoyments. .
The remarkable fact was that, notwithstanding
that his taste led him into ﬁelds other than his work,
he yet did it so well.
Nothing distinguished him more than his ﬁxed
habit of doing everything he put his hand to most
perfectly. He read his cases, mastered all the
minute details, thought over them, arranged his
arguments, or wrote his interlocutor with the utmost
A case regarding the modes of measuring the
tonnage of .a ship once came before him. One of
the parties told me that Lord Gifford drove down to
vLeith, sought out the vessel and its owner, and was _
led over the points in dispute that he might give an
. intelligent and just decision.
/\
With the L
30 Recollections of a Brother.

As an Advocate, he had much popular ability.
Not naturally in the least impulsive, he knew the _‘ "
power of impassioned declamation over a jury or
over a public meeting, and most fervently could he
declaim. Other two qualities aided his popularity—
his unfailing urbanity and the lucidity of his speech.
None ever complained that Lord Gifford treated _
them with impatience, and none who gave any atten- 11 -‘
tion to his words could fail to understand them. An '_ 7
agent who lost his case said, “ Mr Edward Gordon had ’-' _
stated our side, and I thought we were pretty safe. ‘
Your brother rose to reply, and, passing his hand.
through his long ﬂowing soft hair, shook out his mane,
and, like a lion, tore our case and our arguments to 1
pieces. I felt utterly lost.” -' " _ ‘3
My brother’s memory for things and words was
most tenacious. He soon forgot his cases when they
were over, but never till then. The amount of ﬁne
poetry he could repeat till his dying day was a sourcef
of pleasure and surprise to those who heard him.
His work as a Judge was most valuable,- it was
never careless or imperfect. He could see through
each case and seize its points at once, and announce ' I E
his decision. - '
In Commercial litigation his judgment was much ‘ ._
sought, and gave general satisfaction. This was due j _
in some measure to his fearless application of equity /
in guiding his decisions. Merchants prefer common- '

sense to law. — _ _
He refused to act as a Criminal Judge. I believe
pity for the poor criminals, and a deep conviction that _
I?!

44 PL—
,.'.‘)‘_~ I“.
~-,,, .
Recollections of a Brother. 3r ,
Dl’
the wrong-doers had generally been deeply wronged,
'4 made him most unwilling to be their judge.
My brother’s life and his enjoyments were found
in intellectual pursuits.
He- read much, and read on every subject. In
- his youth he wrote volumes of notes, where all his
‘, reading was gathered under its subjects, and these
, up under its leading word and thought.
arranged alphabetically.
’ Every valuable fact or beautiful verse was indexed
This made
his mind a similar record, where, duly classiﬁed andv
easily found, all the treasures of his reading were
preserved.
He read with his mind fully awake, and, as be
marked each book he read, so every memorable
thing was marked in his mind. While he read the
recOrds of the mighty thinkers of olden times in
Latin, French, or German, and knew something of
5 most of them in science and philosophy, he was fully
abreast with the’most recent thought.
Poetry was his favourite study and recreation. He
always Said that the highest and best thoughts ex-
' pressed in the most suitable and beautiful words were
to, be found there, and he acted on this conviction,
reading, criticising, and remembering the best of every
poet’s work as it passed under his eye. His note-
books were full of extracted beauties; and he could
illustrate by poetical quotations almost any subject.
Unfortunately they are written in shorthand.
When he resigned his ofﬁce of Judge, he re-
signed his connection With law, ceased to read or
32 Recollections of a Brother.
think about it, and parted with some of his legal-
library.
His mind became more and more absorbed in
Philosophy and Theology or rather Philosophic
Theology. He had all his faculties during the ﬁrst‘
years of his illness, and he had ample leisure to
employ them. They were largely engaged in the
highest and most difﬁcult problems Of God’s nature '
and man’s relation to Him. He studied and admired
Spinoza, yet always denied that he himself was a'
Pantheist, marking the destinction thus: “Spinoza
holds that everything is God. I hold that God is
everything ; if I were to assume a name descriptive of -
1 my belief, I should be called a Theopanist.” Thus '5
he held that “force,” “substance,” “being,” itself / .
must be God, quoting many a text to show that the
Bible agreed with his view, such as :—“ I am,” imply- ' ~
ing that besides God nothing was ,' “In whom we live
and move and have our being.”
of John’s Gospel was often referred to as declaring
the unity of God with His creatures.
He sided with Bishop Berkeley in the doctrine of
the superior evidence for the existence of mind com-,
pared with what we have for the existence of matter,
and had no sympathy with materialism. He seemed
sometimes to wish he had strength to contribute his
thoughts, to counteract the prevailing materialistic
philosophy of our day.
The Bible he knew well, and studied much, though, .4.
he did not hold the doctrine of a verbal inspiration.
He ever sought and found in' it the highest and purest
I l
The 17th Chapter. .
- .
i“ an. .1...‘ .4
. I .' ..
I'I' L.I.....J.AM‘
3
. i-.'.'
Recollections of a Brother. 3 3
’ ‘ God and God’s inﬁnite existence as all and in all,
thoughts this world contains. The Gospel of John
was more in harmony with his mind than the Pauline
writings.
He loved clear, deﬁnite thought. Of Arnold’s
“Literature and“Dogma,” he said, “Well, ‘literature’ \/ a
means undeﬁned mysticism, ‘dogma’ deﬁned ideas; {
'all my sympathy is with the latter.” i
’ Indeed, Often his attempts to deﬁne seemed to be
applied to subjects too high for man’s faculties to
comprehend.
’ 'His favourite deﬁnition of the creature was “ apart
‘ of the Inﬁnite,” for, he said the Inﬁnite cannot be
inﬁnite if it does not include everything. He treated ,
man’s consciousness of personality and the testi- j
mony of his intuitions with little reverence, holding

overlooking that our knowledge of God, however
imperfect, can only rest on our knowledge of our-
selves. The terms of his will, in founding the lecture-
ships of Natural Theology, illustrate this characteristic
of his mind.
My brother’s attitude towards God was most trust-
, .. ful, reverent and obedient. He had perfect conﬁd-
ence in God’s goodness, and built his optimism on
that foundation. During all his years of suffering
‘ and weariness not only did he never once complain,
but often said, “ It could not be better.”
A strong sense of justice pervaded all his deal-
ings with his fellow-men ; carefully he gave every
one his due. He was generous. The share of our
father’s estate which fell to him he never touched
C
/
34 Recollections of a Brother._
but handed it over to my sister and myself. He gave A i
to me at another 'timethe honse'at No 4 Lower
Joppa, a _ present my children and their children
enjoyed many a summer day. '
Those who gathered round him at GrantOn House,
his nephews and nieces, will never forget his kind-
ness, nor ﬁnd again such a generous and noble friend.
It was strange that, with such’an admiration for
beauty in the abstract, and as it existed in expressed
thought, my brother had no enthusiasm for ﬁne
architecture, for beautiful painting, or for ﬂowers.
Enriched as his mind was with such varied treasures,
possessed with such clear and deﬁnite views on most
important truth, and directed especially to Philosophic
Theology, it was often regretted that his thoughts
were not embodied in a book. Had his strength
been prolonged he might have done so, but he has
left nothing for publication. .
Only in one direction has he left permanent traces
of his thought. During his services as a Judge, ,he
most willingly became a lecturer at many of the
Literary and Philosophical Institutions of Edinburgh,
and other towns of Scotland. On winter evenings
he often travelled far to deliver carefully-studied ’
lectures on such themes as The Life of St Bernard,
The Avatars Of Vishnoo, The Chemistry of Dust, The
Foundations of Law, The Poetry of Adelaide Proctor,
of Mrs Browning, Writings of Erasmus, Darwin, Emer-
son, or Parker, What is Substance? What is Force?
5 The productions were thoroughly thought out
and richly adorned by a mind endowed with no
‘5
Recollections of a Brother. 3 5
ordinary amount of energy and beauty. A selection
of these has been printed for private friends by his
niece, Alice, and his son, Herbert.
His body was buried in the old Calton Cemetery,
’ where the dust of his wife, his father, and mother lie.
The grave is close to the eastern wall of the burying-
, ground.
1
NOTE OF FAMILY RELATION-
ANCESTR Y 0N FA THER’S SIDE.

GIFjORD.
JOHN GIFFORD, Farmer, JAMEs GIFFORD, Mrs GRAY, wife of
Tenant of Bankhead, Farmer, Balerno. James Gray,
Balerno. Farmer.
-SHIP OF ADAM GIFFORD.

ADAM GIFFORD, Leather MARGARET GIFFORD, WILLIAM GIFFORD,
Merchant, Edinburgh, Lord Melville’s Leather Merchant.
my Grandfather. Housekeeper.
wife of David Hogg, steward to Forbes of

JAMES GIFFORD, ANN GIFFORD or LAING, Rev. JOHN GIFFORD,

Leather Merchant, wife of James Laing. Minister of Saltcoats.
Edinburgh. .'
ADAM GIFFORD, JOHN GIFFORD, MARY GIFFORD, wife of Rev.
Advocate, Edinburgh. National Bank. Alexander Raleigh, D.D.
| | | | l l I | l l | I |
H > O '-' l>
s5 EQUQUE >U§Eﬁo§h
w w "i > w "1 m w 8 5” > r' z
'-t w o 5’. 3.? S »<: 1': ” ~< ta E -i H
&m > - - H [11 9'- . z m U)
n5 5 a > a a g; a o
o\ h] m 2 Z > G W
4"? Y’s 5" l” S > G
a E,” ' :> e a, F
[11 [-1 ' l“. E
in g _ ? r
F!
F’
i ALEXANDER GIFFORD,
S.S.C.
MARGARET GIFFORD,

CATHERINE GIFFORD,
JOHN GIFFORD,
farrier, Leithe
JOHN GIFFORD,
ADAM GIFFORD,
Both went to sea,
then to America, not
heard of many years.
MARGARET GIF-
FORD, wife of W.
Drysdale, Dollar.

RESIGNATION OF LORD GIFFORD.
From “ T he Scotsman,” fanuary 1881.
THE illness of Lord Gifford, which struck him on the bench
only the other week, has been speedily followed by his resig-
nation, which was, we believe, tendered yesterday. He has
always been known as a man of swift decisiveness and of a
strong sense of duty, and as such he appears in thus suddenly
resolving to retire from a position of which he might well be
proud, and where he was greatly held in honour ; although we
feel sure if he could have sounded the feeling of the public it
‘would have been against his retirement, so long as there was
any hope of his being able ever again to return to the judicial
chair which he adorned. It must have been owing to a dread
ions the 'part of his medical advisers lest his still clear mind
should, from its eagerness for work and habitual aversion to
fest, have, owing to the anxious suspense of his invalid position,
\ still further “fretted the feeble body to decay,” and deprived
him of a chance of restoration to health, which all who know
anything of him will heartily wish him. Few lawyers have
acquired such ample stores of enjoyment for the evening of
' life—an evening that has dropped down upon him in mid-after-
noon ; and it may be hoped that as some compensation for its
‘ coming so early, it may last long, and be touched with the light
of more ethereal spheres than those in which he has-hitherto
toiled and battled.
Lord Gifford, long and familiarly known as Adam Gifford,
Was born in 1820. He is a native of Edinburgh, and educated
‘in it. He adopted the profession of the law, and was, we
believe, trained in the ofﬁce of a relative without any ulterior
intention of seeking to enter the College of Justice. But he or
some one else discovered his abilities, and he was persuaded to
study for the bar. He passed as advocate in 1849, and soon
40 Resignation of Lord Gg'fom’.
acquired a large practice. He was, though a moderate poli-
tician himself, associated with the ultra-Liberal section of the
Liberal party, and did not obtain any Government preferment
until his abilities, and the unmistakable recognition of them in
the profession, rendered it impossible to pass him by any longer.
He was therefore appointed an advocate-depute, and in due
course of time Sheriff of Orkney and Shetland. One of his
bits of duty as advocate-depute was to conduct the prosecution ‘
of Jessie M‘Lachlan at Glasgow in 1862. He was raised to
the bench in 1870, just as he was thinking of retiring from the
bar, at least for a time, partly for the sake of his health, and ~
partly. for the sake of that literary and speculative leisure which
has always been dear to him, and the fruits of which have been
suggestive in sample in those lectures which from time to time 7 '
he has delivered to popular audiences in various parts of the
country. Few of his contemporaries at the bar had so large a
practice as Adam Gifford. His early technical ofﬁce training,
his frank faculty for friendship, his wide acquaintanceship in his
native city, his capacity for clear, ready thought and speech,
his enthusiastic temperament, which ﬁred his thought with
emotion, and raised his oratory from its ordinary business
plane into real occasional eloquence, all] combined to make
him a popular counsel almost from the ﬁrst, and altogether
to the close of his career at the bar. Besides, he was a
worker who never shirked his work, and he could work with
great rapidity and very surprising precision. He appeared
to seize upon the substance of a case by a sort of intuition,
and his general views, which were caught, as it were, on the
wing, were singularly complete, and could be put forth by him
in a distinct, clear, articulate manner, giving in his statement
of them no hint of deﬁciency in detail, or of want of depth in
sounding. This swift intuitive faculty of his for dashing through
and catching up the vitals of a litigious dispute was invaluable
for a pleader or an opinionist, because of the speed with which '
he did his work, and because of the real practical value of the
“ﬁrst impression" of so busy a lawyer, who knew the law well,
as also the idiosyncrasies and inﬁrmities of those who sat as its
' I
er" ‘Krﬁlaﬂﬁﬂ-w-J/
_—__!_—___; m
If
( Resignation of Lord Gzjford. 4I
. authorised expounders, and could therefore form a conception,
not merely of what was right, but chieﬂy of what was likely to
be - declared right. Perhaps it was a little to be deplored,
when he himself came to be a Judge, that the habit of deferring,
to ﬁrst impressions seemed still to cling to him to such an ex-
fzent that the task of attempting to shake them had often, if not
generally, to be abandoned in despair. Few Judges have been
more unconvincible than he ; but more conscientious none
could be. His opinions were not arrived at in the dark, but in
the best light he could shed over the whole ﬁeld; and once
arrived at, it was not easy to change them. He would listen
to‘ the freest criticism with the greatest patience and good
humour. His temper was nearly perfect, but so was his faith
in that view of a case which came to him so soon as he had
‘ once swept over it in a flash of semi-inspiration. His over-
mastering inward conviction gives to many of his opinions the
clear consistency and exhaustive completeness of works of art.
It is possible not to agree with some of them, impossible not to
admire them, and equally impossible to have known their author
and not to esteem him for his unswerving conscientiousness, his
devotion to high ideals, and his never-failing courtesy and
human kindliness.
Lord Gifford was great as a lawyer, and known to Scotland
chieﬂy as a busy, brilliant advocate and a learned Judge; but
he possesses intellectual gifts and accomplishments of an order
rare among lawyers, and more perilous than rare. His reading
in poetry is extensive, and his sympathy intense. Of theology
I he is known to be a diligent student, and he has stores of learn-
ing that would equip a Presbytery, and perhaps partially over-
whelm it. He would have made an excellent pulpit orator.
Though a Dissenter of some kind, the General Assembly of the
Church of Scotland always contributed a crowd to hear him at
the bar, and many were the fathers and brethren who listened
to his fervid eloquence, and lamented that so admirable a
serious orator should have been lost to the Church, and left to
split hairs in the unconsecrated temples of mere secular justice.
In the walks of transcendental metaphysics, too, he is no
42 Resignation of Lord Gifom’.
stranger. A manifest idealist of the purest type, whatever
tangled knots of Mammon he may have been ordained to un-
loose, he has plainly from time to time been able to rise into
the pure ether of speculation, and look down with indifference,
if not with a sort of kindly scorn, upon the cares and wrangles
and gilded baubles that perplex and amuse the common deni-
zens of earth. Success in this life he has had, probably far
beyond the hopes of his youth. Too soon has been reaped
and blighted his harvest in the ﬁeld of ambition. Far more
permanent will be his harvest of the respect and gratitude of
his countrymen, and of those harvests of the intellect and of
the ideal which he has sown, and which are incapable of blight: ‘
’\__..---—-~.~'~- _. _...._.__ .._,,

\.z=. _
TRUST DISPOS] TION and SETTLEMENT of the
late Adam Gigﬁrd, sometime one of the Senators of
the College of justice, Scotland, dated 21st August
1885.
ADAM GIFFORD, sometime one of the Senators of the
7 ‘ College of Justice, Scotland, now residing at Granton
House, near Edinburgh, being desirous to revise, consolidate,
alter, and amend my trust-settlements and testamentary writ-
ings, and having fully and maturely considered my means and
‘estate, and the circumstances in which I am placed, and the
just claims'and expectations of my son and relatives, and the
modes in which my surplus funds may be most usefully and
beneﬁcially expended, and considering myself bound to apply
part of my means in advancing the public welfare and the cause
of truth, do hereby make my Trust-deed and latter Will and
Testament—that is to say, I give my body to the earth as it was
before, in order that the enduring blocks and materials thereof
,may be employed in new combinations ; , and I give my soul to
God, in Whom and with Whom it always was, to be in Him and
with 'Him for ever in closer and more conscious union; and
with regard to my earthly means and estate, I do hereby give,
grant, dispone, convey, and make over and leave and bequeath
\ :'All and Whole my whole means and estate, heritable and
moveable, real and personal, of every description, now be-
longing to, or that shall belong to me at the time of my death,
with all writs and vouchers thereof, to and in favour of Herbert
James Gifford, my son; John Gifford, Esquire, my brother;
Walter Alexander Raleigh, my nephew, presently residing in
London; Adam West Gifford, W.S., my nephew; Andrew
Scott, C.A., in Edinburgh, husband of my niece; and Thomas
Raleigh, Esquire, barrister-at-law, London, and the survivors
and survivor of them accepting, and the heirs of the last sur-
vivor, and to such other person or persons as I may name, or
"as inay be assumed or appointed by competent authority, a'
majority being always a quorum, as trustees for the ends, uses,
44 Trust Disposition of
and purposes aftermentioned, but in trust only for the purposes
following: That is to say, First, For payment of all my just -
and lawful debts, deathbed and funeral expenses, and the
expense of executing this trust. Second, For payment to
each trustee who may survive me, and accept and act as
trustee, of the sum of £100 sterling, as a mere compliment
and acknowledgment for his kindness in acting as trustee,
but not as remuneration. Third, My trustees will see that
my son, the said Herbert James Gifford, receives from the
trustees appointed by the ante-nuptial contract of marriage
between me and my late dear wife, the sum of £7400, or
such other sum as may be in the hands of the said marriage
contract trustees, as the whole amount of my dear wife s_'
separate fortune, in terms of the said marriage contract in all
respects. This sum of £7400 does not form part of my estate;
but it is right to keep it in view in relation to the provisions in
favour of the said Herbert James Gifford, my son.
To make payment to the said Herbert James Gifford of the
sum of £5000 sterling, which I bound myself by the said '
marriage contract to pay to the heir of the marriage between
me and my said wife, all in exact terms of the said marriage
contract. Fifth, To make payment to mybrother, the said
John Gifford, and to my sister, Mrs Mary Gifford or Raleigh,
widow of the late Reverend Doctor Alexander Raleigh, of
the sums of £1000 each. I know that they do not need any,
pecuniary provision, and I make herein separate bequests to'.
their children as aftermentioned, but they will accept of these
sums from me as mere testimonies of my esteem and regard._
Sixth, To pay, dispose. of, invest, and apply the sum of
£2500 to and for each of my nephews and nieces, who at
present are ten in number, the children of my brother, the said
John Gifford, and of my sister, the said Mrs Mary Gifford or _
Raleigh—that is to say, to each of Margaret Balmer Gifford
or Scott,~- spouse of ‘the said Andrew Scott; James Gifford,
now in South Africa; the said Adam West Gifford; and
Mary' Jane Gifford or Croll, spouse of Andrew Usher Croll,
Glasgow, the children 'of the said John Gifford; Catherine
Fourth, \ _

the Late Adam Giﬁbrd. 45
d
Anne Raleigh, residing in London; Alice Isabella Raleigh,
' now residing with me at Granton House; Jessie Raleigh,
residing in London; the said Walter Alexander Raleigh;
_ Ada Margaret Raleigh, and Agnes Crum Raleigh, both also
residing in London, all children of the said Mrs Mary Gifford
‘ or Raleigh. Now my will is that my trustees shall hold for
each of my said nephews and nieces who may survive me,
'* and for their respective issue equally, the said sum of £2500
each in liferent, for their respective liferent uses allenarly, the
3' _ issue of each nephew or niece taking the fee, and failing issue
of each respective nephew or niece, the disposal of the fee
being absolutely with the said respective nephews or nieces
"7 '. themselves; but declaring that if the trustees think proper,
> they may advance to any of my said nephews 0r nieces any
sum not exceeding £1000; my meaning is that my said
trustees shall hold the amount of the said legacies for behoof
'of my said nephews and nieces, and invest the same in herit-
abl\ez or personal property, or in the purchase of heritage,
and pay the free income or produce thereof to my said
nephews and nieces as an alimentary fund, exclusive of
' the jun mariti of husbands and of the diligence of creditors,
‘ _ at such times and in such sums as my trustees may think
i y 'proper; and in case of the death of any of my said nephews
_' and nieces, their respective children shall take their parent’s
V share of the capital equally, and failing children they shall
. each have power to dispose of their shares of the capital at
'predeceasing nephew or niece.
paw—w
pleasure, and failing their doing so, it shall go to the sur-
vivors equally, share and share alike, and the issue of any
And I would suggest to my
said nephews and nieces, and each of them, that as these
'liferented legacies form, as it were, a family fund to secure
against want, and I have therefore made them alimentary,
and as it is intended to secure by means thereof a comfortable
maintenance, so I think that if any of my said nephews or
nieces are rich or comparatively rich, they may give up part
or even the whole of their liferent to those who are poor or
comparatively poor, so as to make the fund as useful as
46 Trust Disposition of
possible, but in all cases this is to be left to the pure good willj / I
and pleasure of each of my nephews and nieces themselves, and
to their own feeling, without being dictated to by anybody or
inﬂuenced otherwise than by their own sentiments of love and
kindness. Seventh, In order to interest my son, the said
Herbert James Gifford, in the said alimentary scheme and legacies, I direct my said trustees to set aside for him the sum, s
of £2500 in addition to his other provisions, and to invest the l w
said sum of £2500 along with and in the same way as the
alimentary shares of his cousins, and to apply the interest in
exactly the same way for his behoof, and I make the same
suggestions in every way just as if he had been one of my ‘:_'
nephews, and I destine his legacy so liferented in the same way. 1- ‘
Eighth, I direct and appoint my said trustees to use and employ _1
the sum of £40,000 as follows for behoof of my son, the said '
Herbert James Gifford, and his heirs and those substituted <to .
him as aftermentioned—that is to say, my trustees shall apply ‘ i
the said sum of £40,000 in the purchase of lands and '
heritages of a permanent value, or of a value likely to. ‘
increase either in one locality or in several localities within, 1
the United Kingdom or its islands, and shall entail the same,
that is, they shall convey the lands and properties so purchased .‘
by settlement of strict entail in form of law to and in favour _of
the following series of disponees and heirs, that is to say, to and
in favour of the said Herbert James Gifford, my son, in liferent
, for his liferent use allenarly during his lifetime, and after his
death to the heirs male of his body, whom failing, the heirs
female of his body, secluding heirs portioners, the eldest heir
female for the time always exclusive of the others, whom fail-
ing, to the said \Valter Alexander Raleigh, my nephew, for his
liferent use allenarly during his lifetime, and after his death t5
the heirs male of his body, whom failing, the heirs female of his
body, secluding heirs portioners, the eldest heir female for the
“time always exclusive of the others, whom failing, to the said
Adam West Gifford, my nephew, in liferent for his liferent use
allenarly during his lifetime, and after his death to the heirs'
male of his body, whom failing, to the heirs female of his body,
7

\ the Late Adam Giford. 47

secluding heirs portioners, the eldest heir female for the time
'always exclusive of the others, whom all failing, to my seven
' nieces above named, equally among them, share and share alike,
and failing any of them by death, to her issue, each child taking,
5' if more than one, an equal part of the mother’s share, and to the
survivors of my said nieces, and to their respective heirs, as-
signees, and successors whomsoever, thus terminating the entail;
declaring that my said trustees shall have full discretion to fix
' when and where the lands shall be bought, or even to decide to
keep the money invested on security for a series of years, if they
‘shall think that preferable, or to buy to a greater extent than
£40,000, borrowing the difference on the security of the pur-
chase, and if there be on any of the lands so purchased a man-
sion house or mansion houses inhabited by the heir in posses-
sion for the time, then I suggest (but it is a mere suggestion)
that it be made a kind of visiting place for myrelatives, in some
such manner as Granton House has been, so to promote good
feeling among all. Ninth, I leave and beqeath all my house-
hold _and garden furniture, and all my corporeal moveables,
.books, and chattels to my son, Herbert James Gifford, only sug-
gesting that my brother, the said John Gifford, should have any
article or articles he may choose, and that the said Walter Alex-
’ander Raleigh, Adam West Gifford, and Thomas Raleigh sh0uld
each select say one hundred volumes from my books, not being
drawing-room books or books of plates. Tenth, I direct my
~trustees to pay the following legacies :—To the Reverend
' William Skae, M.A., classical master, Edinburgh, £ 100; to the
Reverend James Smith, minister of the Free Church, Davidson’s
' j Mains, £100 ; to the Reverend George Philip, Free Church min-
ister, Saint John’s, Edinburgh, £ 100; to the Reverend Walter
. Chalmers Smith, Free Church minister, Free High Church,
Edinburgh, £ 100 ; to the Granton Literary Institute, Granton,
" the sum of £25 sterling; to Alexander Johnston, my gardener,
.the sum of £20; to Edward Dillon, my butler, the sum of £ 20;
to ‘each of my servants, including the said Alexander Johnston
and Edward Dillon, who shall be in my service at the time of
my death, the sum of £10, and also the sum of £1 for every
48 Trust Disposition of
complete year they have been in my service, declaring that the
wife of my gardener, and the wife of my lodgekeeper, and my .
post-boy shall be reckoned in the number of my servants; to '
Margaret Malcolmson, who was nurse to my son, now a
stewardess, the sum of £20, all which legacies shall be paid the
ﬁrst Whitsunday or Martinmas after my death, as also any other _
legacies which I may leave under my hand, declaring that what—
ever is signed by me shall be held as under my hand, whether
holograph or not, declaring that while legacies payable under
this tenth purpose are to be payable at the ﬁrst Whitsunday or
Martinmas after my death, all the other purposes of my trust
settlements shall be prestable at the ﬁrst Whitsunday or Martin-
mas that shall happen six months after my death. And I give
to my trustees all the powers and privileges conferred on trustees
by law and statute, including a power to name factors and law _
agents, either of their own number or of strangers, and in both
cases with suitable remuneration, and for whom they shall not
be answerable further than that they were habit and repute,
solvent at the time of appointment. And I declare the preceding
ten purposes of this trust to be preferable, and I direct that
these ten purposes be fulﬁlled in the ﬁrst place before any others
and before any residue of my estate, or any part thereof, is dis-
posed of, and before any residue is ascertained or struck, declar-
ing that it is only what may remain of my means and estate
after the said ten purposes are fulﬁlled that I call herein the
‘residue’ of my estate, and out of which I direct the lectureships
aftermentioned to be founded and endowed. And in regard
that, in so far as I can at present see or anticipate, there will be
a large ‘ residue ’ of my means and estate in the sense in which I
have above explained the word, being that which remains after
fulﬁlling the above ten purposes, and being of opinion that I am
bound if there is a ‘residue’ as so explained, to employ it, or
part of it, for the good of my fellow-men, and having considered
how I may best do so, I direct the ‘residue’ to be disposed of as
follows :—I having been for many years deeply and ﬁrmly con-
vinced that the true knowledge of God, that is, of the Being,
Nature, and Attributes of the Inﬁnite, of the All, of the First and

the Late Adam Gzﬁord. 49
|

A the Only Cause, that is, the One and Only Substance and Being,
and the true and felt knowledge (not mere nominal knowledge)
'of the relations of man and of the universe to Him, and of the true
foundations of all ethics and morals, being, I say, convinced that
this knowledge, when really felt and acted on, is the means of
man’s highest well-being, and the security of his upward progress,
I have resolved, from the ‘ residue ’ of my estate as aforesaid, to
institute and found, in connection, if possible, with the Scottish
Universities, lectureships or classes,for the promotion of the
study of said subjects, and for,th€ teaching and diffusion of
sound views regarding them,“among the whole population of
Scotland, Therefore, I direct and appoint my said trustees
from the ‘residue ’ of my said estate, after fulﬁlling the said
ten preferable purposes, to pay the following sums, or to assign
and make over property of that value to the following bodies in
trust :—First, to the Senatus Academicus of the University of
Edinburgh, and failing them, by declinature or otherwise, to
the Dean and Faculty of Advocates of the College of Justice
of Scotland, the sum of £25,000. Second, To the Senatus
Academicus of the University of Glasgow, and failing them, by
declinature or otherwise, to the Faculty of Physicians and Sur-
geons of Glasgow, the sum of £20,000. Third, To the Senatus
Academicus of the University of Aberdeen, whom failing, by
declinature or otherwise, to the Faculty of Advocates of Aber-
deen, the sum of £20,000. And Fourth, To the Senatus
Academicus of the University of St Andrews, whom failing, by
declinature or otherwise, to the Physicians and Surgeons of St
ndrews, and of the district twelve miles round it, the sum of
,000 sterling, amounting the said four sums in all to the
sum f £ 80,000 sterling ; but said bequests are made, and said
0 be paid in trust only for the following purpose, that
is to say, for purpose of establishing in each of the four cities
of Edinburgh, Gla‘s ow, Aberdeen, and St Andrews, a Lecture~
ship or Popular Chairrfor ‘ Promoting, Advancing, Teaching,
‘ and Diffusing the study of Natural Theology,’ in the widest
sense of that term, in other words, ‘The Knowledge of God, the
‘ Inﬁnite, the All, the First and Only Cause, the One and the
-_v
M,
mien-o
Qua-0"
50 Trust Disposition of
a
an
ﬂﬁﬂﬁlu'l
aQQr-rc
n
n-,-.n~
‘ Sole Substancefthe Sole Being, the Sole Reality, and the Sole
‘ Existence, the Knowledge of His Nature and Attributes, the;
‘ Knowledge of the Relations which men and the whole universe;
‘ bear to Him, the Knowledge of the Nature and Foundation of
‘ Ethics or Morals, and of all obligations and Duties thence,
_‘arising.’ The Senatus Academicus in each of the four Uni-
versities, or the bodies substituted to them respectively, shall be‘
the patrons of the several lectureships, and the administrators. j
of the said respective endowments, and of the affairs of each
lectureship in each city. I call them for shortness-simply-the '
‘patrons.’ Now I leave all the details and arrangements of each
lectureship in the hands and in the discretion of the ‘ patrons’.
respectively, who shall have full power from time to_ time to;
adjust and regulate the same in conformity as closely as possible 7
to the following brief principles and directions which shall be ,
binding on each and all of the ‘ patrons’ as far as practicable 5 ‘ I
and possible. I only indicate leading principles. First, The
endowment or capital fund of each lectureship shall be preserved ‘
entire, and be invested securely upon or in the purchase of lands
or heritages which are likely to continue of the same value, or
increase in value, or in such other way as Statute may permit,
merely the annual proceeds or interest shall be expended in
maintaining the respective lectureships. Second, The ‘patrons'l
may delay the institution of the lectureships, and may from‘ .
time to time intermit the appointment of lecturers and the _
delivery of lectures for one or more years for the purpose of accumulating the income or enlarging capital. Third, ‘The
lecturers shall be appointed from time to time each for a period
of only two years and no longer, but the same lecturer may be
reappointed for other two periods of two years each, provided-
that 0 one person shall hold the ofﬁce of lecturer in the same‘
city for more than six years in all, it being desirable that the
subject be promoted and illustrated by different minds. Fourth,
The lecturers appointed shall be subjected to no test of any kind,
and shall not be required to take any oath, or to emit or subscribe " zi'
any declaration of belief, or to make any promise of any kind ;'
they may be of any denomination whatever, or of no denomina- -

the Late ‘Adam Gifford. I 51

,tion at all (and many earnest and high-minded men prefer to
'belOng to no ecclesiastical denomination) ; they may be of any
religion or way of thinking, or as is sometimes said, they may
be of no religion, or they may be so-called sceptics or agnostics
0r freethinkers, provided only that the ‘ patrons ’ will use dili-
gence to secure that they be able, reverent men, true thinkers,
‘sincere lovers of and earnest inquirers after truth. Fifth, I wish
the lecturers to treat their subject as a strictly natural science,
‘the greatest of all possible sciences, indeed, in one sense, the
Tonly science, that of Inﬁnite Being, without reference to or
“reliance upon any supposed special exceptional or so-called
miraculous revelation. I wish it considered just as astronomy
or chemistry is. I have intentionally indicated, in describing
the subject of the lectures, the general aspect which personally
,I,would expect the lectures to bear, but the lecturers shall
'(be under no restraint whatever in their treatment of their
-_theme; for example, they may freely discuss (and it may
be well to do so) all questions about man’s conceptions of
God or the Inﬁnite, their origin, nature, and truth, whether
’he can have any such conceptions, whether God is under any
or what limitations, and so on, as I am persuaded that nothing /
l‘bu'tgood can result from free discussion. Sixth, The lectures
,shall be public and popular, that is, op not only to students
of the Universities, but to the whole community without matri-
culation, as I think that the subject should be studied and
known by all, whether receiving University instruction or not.
I think such knowledge, if real, lies at the root of all well-
:being. I suggest that the fee should be as small as is con-
" sistent with the due management of the lectureships, and the
due appreciation of the lectures. Besides a general and popular
audience, I advise that the lecturers also have a special class of
students conducted in the usual way, and instructed by exami-
nation and thesis, written and oral. Seventh, as to the num-
ber of the lectures, much must be left to the discfetion of the
lecturer, I should think the subject cannot be treated even in
abstract in less than twenty lectures, and they may be many
times that number. Eighth, The ‘ patrons ’“if and when they
D
52 Trust Disposition of
see ﬁt may make grants from the free income 'of the endowments
for or towards the publication in a cheap form of any of the
lectures, or any part thereof, or abstracts thereof, which they
may think likely to be useful. Ninth, The ‘patrons’ respectively
shall all annually submit their accounts to some one chartered
accountant in Edinburgh, to be named from time to time by '
the Lord Ordinary on the Bills, whom failing, to the Account-
ant of the Court of Session, who shall prepare and certify a short
abstract of the accounts and investments, to be recorded in the
Books of Council and Session, or elsewhere, for preservation.
_And my desire and hope is that these lectureships and lectures
may promote and advance among all classes of the community
the true knowledge of Him Who is, and there is none and
nothing besides Him, in Whom we live and moVe and have our . .
being, and in Whom all things consist, and of man’s real rela-
tionship to Him Whom truly to know is life everlasting. If
the residue of my estate, in the sense before deﬁned, should turn
out insufficient to pay the whole sums above provided for the
four lectureships (of which shortcoming, however, I trust there _
is no danger), then each lectureship shall suffer a proportional
diminution ; and if, on. the other hand, there is any surplus over '
and above the said sum of £80,000 sterling, it shall belong one-
half to my son, the said Herbert James Gifford, in liferent, and
to his issue other than the heirs of entail in fee, whom failing,
to my unmarried-nieces equally in fee ; and the other half shall
belong equally among my unmarried nieces. And I revoke all
settlements and codicils previous to the date hereof if this re-
ceives effect, providing that any payments made to legatees
during my life, shall be accounted as part payment of their pro-
visibns. And I consent to registration hereof for preservation,
’and I dispense with delivery hereoﬁ—In witness whereof, these
presents, written on this and the six preceding pages by the
said Adam West Gifford, in so far as not written and ﬁlled in _
by my own hand, are, with the marginal notes on pages four
and ﬁve (and the word ‘secluding ’ on the eleventh line from
top of page third, being written on an erasure), subscribed by
me at Granton House, Edinburgh, this twenty-ﬁrst day of

the Late Adam Giford. 53
August Eighteen hundred and eighty-ﬁve years, before these
,witnesses, James Foulis, Doctor of Medicine, residing in
Heriot Row, Edinburgh, and John Campbell, cab driver,
residing at N o. 5 Mackenzie Place, Edinburgh.
AD. GIFFORD.
' James Foulis, M.D., Heriot Row,
. Edinburgh, witness.
John Campbell, cab driver, 5
l 4 Mackenzie Place, witness.
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