Edinburgh
Friday, Dec. 3rd
69
My Dear Father,
I have several things to tell you wh. I mt. in fact have written before had I not been so occupied with our first Exam and other work.
Firstly then as to this exam itself I think I got thro’ it faster than last year & I daresay the work will be in this way be appretiably [sic] lighter.
Last week I was taken up for a whole evening in writing an account of Rothe’s Theory of Church and State for Blaikie. B. had given a quite false account of this — not in a regular lecture but incidentally got from a very flimsy article by Gibb in the Contemporary Review.[2] Gibb I knew cd. never have read Rothe: in fact a glance at his article told me that he was copying articles on Rothe which I have seen in Germany. So I went and spoke to Blaikie & he asked me to write a short statement of the thing. This I did & I suppose shall hear about it from him by-and-bye.
I told Rainnie[3] as you desired about the Aberdeen Thing.[4] He was quite enthusiastic & said he had thought of the thing before. He has gone & talked to Davidson who seemed to think he should propose in the Presby. as soon as possible.
I got a copy of Salmond’s[5] certificates today. From S. himself.
Thanks for your copy wh. arrived some days ago. The Certificates are very strong indeed.
I am in some difficulty as to what course to take. Do you think I should ask Davidson & McG[regor] to stop the thing? For really Salmond seems to have such high claims. Lindsay seems to think that if Rainnie wd. propose me I mt. thereafter apply for Certificates in Germany & other quarters. But I can’t say that I am sure of this. What are your general views on the Subject in the light of all that has turned up. I suspect that there is no special use of making much of a secret of the thing save only that it wd. not do to say that such & such individuals were taking the matter up.
That, in general, the thing has been spoken of is I suppose a fact which we need not affect to conceal. Only Davidson & others must not & cannot be identified with it till they speak themselves.
Let me know what you think. My Hebrew Class gets on I think fairly. Other things quietly.
I am to dine at the Brakenridges on Thursday to meet Dr Grainger Stewart[6] who is thereafter to ask me to meet Hutcheson Stirling — a very kind plan of Dr Brakenridge’s arrangement.
Special thanks to Lucy from Alice & myself. No! I must drop her a line myself.
We are all well & I am
Your aff. Son
W. R. Smith
[1] CUL ADD 7449 C127 MS
[2] The article in question, by John Gibb, is entitled “Dr Richard Rothe and the German Protestant Union” (Contemporary Review, vol. xii, Sept. - Oct., 1869, pp.413–436). According to AFC, John Gibb D.D. (b.1835) had been educated at Aberdeen and was ordained in 1866 by the FC Presbytery of Italy to minister in Malta but in 1868 was appointed a lecturer at the English Presbyterian College, London, becoming Professor of N.T. Exegesis there from 1877. He is recorded as having published an edition of Augustine’ Confessions.
[3] Rainnie, John (b.1841): was educated at Edinburgh University and Aberdeen F.C.C.. Ordained at Alford in 1867, he became Free Church minister at Strathdon in 1871. Rainnie assisted WPS in gathering testimonials on behalf of WRS. The tone of cautious excitement in this letter is very evident.
[4] This is the first reference in the correspondence to the possibility of applying for the Hebrew chair at Aberdeen Free Church College, following the death in September, 1869, of the incumbent, Prof. Marcus Sachs.
[5] Salmond, Stewart: an unsuccessful contender for the Hebrew chair in 1870, Salmond nevertheless supported WRS and eventually became Principal of the Aberdeen Free Church College.
[6] Stewart, Thomas (later Sir Thomas) Grainger (1839–1900): was a close friend of David Brakenridge, becoming an extra-academical lecturer at the Medical School in Edinburgh after training at Edinburgh, Prague and Berlin. In 1876 he was appointed professor of Medicine at Edinburgh and was knighted in 1894 after serving for twelve years as Physician-in-Ordinary in Scotland to Queen Victoria.