Chapter XVI: Appendix: B

LOCKHART

The most singular instance of the floating dislike to Lockhart's memory, to which I have more than once referred in the text, occurred subsequently to the original publication of my essay, and not very long ago, when my friend Mr. Louis Stevenson thought proper to call Lockhart a "cad." This extraordinary _obiter dictum_ provoked, as might have been expected, not a few protests, but I do not remember that Mr. Stevenson rejoined, and I have not myself had any opportunity of learning from him what he meant. I can only suppose that the ebullition must have been prompted by one of two things, the old scandal about the duel in which John Scott the editor of the _London_ was shot, and a newer one, which was first bruited abroad, I think, in Mr. Sidney Colvin's book on Keats. Both of these, and especially the first, may be worth a little discussion.

I do not think that any one who examines Mr. Colvin's allegation, will think it very damaging. It comes to this, that Keats's friend Bailey met Lockhart in the house of Bishop Greig at Stirling, told him some particulars about Keats, extracted from him a promise that he would not use them against the poet, and afterwards thought he recognised some of the details in the _Blackwood_ attack which ranks next to the famous _Quarterly_ article. Here it is to be observed, first, that there is no sufficient evidence that Lockhart wrote this _Blackwood_ article; secondly, that it is by no means certain that if he did, he was making, or considered himself to be making, any improper use of what he had heard; thirdly, that for the actual interview and its tenor we have only a vague _ex parte_ statement made long after date.

The other matter is much more important, and as the duel itself has been mentioned more than once or twice in the foregoing pages, and as it is to this day being frequently referred to in what seems to me an entirely erroneous manner, with occasional implications that Lockhart showed the white feather, it may be well to give a sketch of what actually happened, as far as can be made out from the most trustworthy accounts, published and unpublished.

One of Lockhart's signatures in _Blackwood_--a signature which, however, like others, was not, I believe, peculiar to him--was "Zeta," and this Zeta assailed the Cockney school in a sufficiently scorpion-like manner. Thereupon Scott's magazine, the _London_, retorted, attacking Lockhart by name. On this Lockhart set out for London and, with a certain young Scotch barrister named Christie as his second, challenged Scott. But Scott refused to fight, unless Lockhart would deny that he was editor of _Blackwood_. Lockhart declared that Scott had no right to ask this, and stigmatised him as a coward. He then published a statement, sending at the same time a copy to Scott. In the published form the denial of editorship was made, in the one sent to Scott it was omitted. Thereupon Scott called Lockhart a liar. Of this Lockhart took no notice, but Christie his second did, and, an altercation taking place between them, Scott challenged Christie and they went out, Scott's second being Mr. P. G. Patmore, Christie's Mr. Traill, afterwards well known as a London police magistrate. Christie fired in the air, Scott fired at Christie and missed. Thereupon Mr. Patmore demanded a second shot, which, I am informed, could and should, by all laws of the duello, have been refused. Both principal and second on the other side were, however, inexperienced and probably unwilling to baulk their adversaries. Shots were again exchanged, Christie this time (as he can hardly be blamed for doing) taking aim at his adversary and wounding him mortally. Patmore fled the country, Christie and Traill took their trial and were acquitted.

I have elsewhere remarked that this deplorable result is said to have been brought on by errors of judgment on the part of more than one person. Hazlitt, himself no duellist and even accused of personal timidity, is said to have egged on Scott, and to have stung him by some remark of his bitter tongue into challenging Christie, and there is no doubt that Patmore's conduct was most reprehensible. But we are here concerned with Lockhart, not with them. As far as I understand the imputations made on him, he is charged either with want of straightforwardness in omitting part of his explanation in the copy sent to Scott, or with cowardice in taking no notice of Scott's subsequent lie direct, or with both. Let us examine this.

At first sight the incident of what, from the most notorious action of Lord Clive, we may call the "red and white treaties" seems odd. But it is to be observed, first, that Lockhart could not be said to conceal from Scott what he published to all the world; secondly, that his conduct was perfectly consistent throughout. He had challenged Scott, who had declined to go out. Having offered his adversary satisfaction, he was not bound to let him take it with a proviso, or to satisfy his private inquisitiveness. But if not under menace, but considering Scott after his refusal as unworthy the notice of a gentleman, and not further to be taken into account, he chose to inform the public of the truth, he had a perfect right to do so. And it is hardly necessary to say that it was the truth that he was not editor of _Blackwood_.

This consideration will also account for his conduct in not renewing his challenge after Scott's offensive words. He had offered the man satisfaction and had been refused. No one is bound to go on challenging a reluctant adversary. At all times Lockhart seems to have been perfectly ready to back his opinion, as may be seen from a long affair which had happened earlier, in connection with the "Baron Lauerwinkel" matter. There he had promptly come forward and in his own name challenged the anonymous author of a pamphlet bearing the title of "Hypocrisy Unveiled." The anonym had, like Scott, shirked, and had maintained his anonymity. (Lord Cockburn says it was an open secret, but I do not know who he was.) Thereupon Lockhart took no further notice, just as he did in the later matter, and I do not believe that a court of honour in any country would find fault with him. At any rate, I think that we are entitled to know, much more definitely than I have ever seen it stated, what the charge against him is. We may indeed blame him in both these matters, and perhaps in others, for neglecting the sound rule that anonymous writing should never be personal. If he did this, however, he is in the same box with almost every writer for the press in his own generation, and with too many in this. I maintain that in each case he promptly gave the guarantee which the honour of his time required, and which is perhaps the only possible guarantee, that of being ready to answer in person for what he had written impersonally. This was all he could do, and he did it.

INDEX

Allen, Thomas, 113

Arnold, Matthew, 116, 257, 378

Austen, Jane, 29

_Blackwood's Magazine_, 37 _sqq._, 276 _sqq._, 343 _sqq._

Borrow, George, 403-439;
his life, 403, 404;
his excessive oddity, 404-411;
his satiric and character-drawing faculty, 414-417;
sketches of his books, 417-433;
his general literary character, 433-439

Brougham, Lord, 107, 109

Burke, Edmund, 10 _sqq._

Burns, Robert, 34, 48, 53, 159, 160, 353

Byron, Lord, 3, 131, 132, 393

Canning, George, 75, 97, 200, 385

Carlyle, Thomas, 47, 270-272, 323, 369, 370

Coleridge, S. T., 141

Colvin, Mr. Sidney, 445

Courthope, Mr. W. J., 4

Crabbe, George, 1-32;
the decline of his popularity, 1-5;
sketch of his life, 6-12;
his works and their characteristics, 13-20;
their prosaic element, 20-25;
was he a poet?, 25-32

Cunningham, Allan, 46, 53

Dante, 26, 218, 230, 231

Douglas, Scott, 41, 353

Dryden, John, 22, 30, 85, 232

Fitzgerald, Edward (translator of Omar Khayyám), 4

Flaubert, Gustave, 19

_Fraser's Magazine_, 359, 360

Gifford, William, 3, 21, 152

Hannay, Mr. David, 350

Hazlitt, William, 135-169;
differing estimates of him, 135-140;
his life, 140-146;
his works, 146-169
----xxi, xxii, 4, 24, 25, 130, 131, 217

Hogg, James, 33-66;
his special interest, 33, 34;
his life, 34-37;
anecdotes and estimates of him, 37-47;
his poems, 47-54;
his general prose, 54, 55;
_The Confessions of a Sinner_, 55-64

Hood and Praed, 397-399

Hook, Theodore, 357-359

Howells, Mr. W. D., xvii

Hunt, Leigh, 201-233;
scattered condition of his work, 201-203;
his life, 204-213;
the "Skimpole" matter, 213-216;
his vulgarity, 217-219;
his poems, 219-223;
his critical and miscellaneous work, 223-233

Jeffrey, Francis, 100-134;
a critic pure and simple, 100, 101;
his life, 101-114;
the foundation of the _Edinburgh Review_, 106-109;
his criticism, 115, 134
----3, 4, 21, 24, 29

Johnson, Samuel, 2, 11, 14, 16

Joubert, Joseph, 26

Lang, Mr. Andrew, xxii

Lockhart, John Gibson, 339-373, and Appendix B;
his literary fate, 339-341;
his life, 341-346, 359-361;
_The Chaldee MS._ and _Peter's Letters_, 343-345;
the novels, 346-349;
the poems, 349-351;
_Life of Burns_, 353;
_Life of Scott_, 354-356;
_Life of Hook_, 357-359;
his editorship of the _Quarterly_ and his criticism generally, 361-373;
charges against him, 445-448
----3, 6, 13, 33, 37, 39-44, 60, 63, 64, 108, 112, 113, 293, 294

Macaulay, Lord, 294, 384

Maguire, W., 279, 360 [Transcriber's Note: The alternative form of Maguire, Maginn, is used in the main body of the text.]

Masson, Professor, 305 _sqq._

Moore, Thomas, 170-200;
a French critic on him, 170-172;
his miscellaneous work, 172-174;
his life, 174-183;
his character, 183-185;
survey of his poetry, 185-200
----6, 27, 110.

Morley, Mr. John, 27

Newman, Cardinal, 4

North, Christopher. _See_ Wilson, John

Peacock, Thomas Love, 234-269;
his literary position, 234, 235;
his life, 236-239;
some difficulties in him, 239-242;
survey of his work, 242-259;
its special characteristics, 257-269

Pope, Alexander, 22, 25

Praed, W. M., 374-402;
editions of him, 374-376;
his life, 376-381;
his early writings, 381-384;
his poetical work, 385-398;
Hood and Praed, 397-399;
his special charm, 399-402

Quincey, Thomas de, 304-338, and Appendix A;
editions of him, 304-309;
his life, 309-314;
his faculty of rigmarole, 314-321;
defects and merits of his work, 321-338
----47, 282

Rogers, Samuel, 12 _note_

Scott, John, his duel and death, 143, 144; Appendix B

Scott, Sir Walter, 34-36, 49, 54, 63, 111, 151, 265, 273, 354-359, 406, 407

Shelley, P. B., 190, 191, 210, 247-250

Smith, Bobus, 69

Smith, Mr. Goldwin, xi, xiv

Smith, Sydney, 67-99;
the beneficence of his biographers, 67-69;
his life, 69-80;
his letters, 81-84;
his published work, 84-99

Staël, Madame de, 126, 127

Stephen, Mr. Leslie, 4

Stevenson, Mr. R. L., 445

Sully, Mr. James, xxvii _note_

Swift, Jonathan, Jeffrey on, 128, 129

Tennyson, Lord, 4, 29, 292, 293, 365, 366

Thackeray, W. M., on Hazlitt, 135, 136

Thomson, James, 27

Thurlow, Lord, 10-12

Vallat, M. Jules, 171 _sqq._

Veitch, Professor, 38, 40, 46

Voltaire, 81

Walker, Sarah, 139 _sqq._

Wilson, John, 270-303;
Carlyle's judgment of him and another, 270-274;
his life, 274-277;
the _Noctes_, 278-288;
his miscellaneous work, 288-303

Wilson, John, 3, 4, 29, 44-47.
_See_ also Essays on De Quincey and Lockhart

Wordsworth, William, 3, 27, 117, 323

Young, Sir George, 375

"Zeta," 446

THE END

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