THE LATE PROFESSOR BLACKIE

North Otago Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8168, 24 April 1895, Page 3

THE LATE PROFESSOR BLACKIE

Tho Home papors give a good de\l of fipice to tho l«io Professor Blackie, tho G.O. M. of Scotland, as ho is callud. Wiitiug of his death, the Chroniolo say« : " Wo can vouch for tho truth of tho following typical and pathetic story of tho I 'i to Professor Blackic His wif»< was talking with him of charity. 'Ah, yes, Hans,' sho said, ♦ you have always boon so fond of speaking of tho three — F>ith, Hope, and Chari'y— /»c aaap6, ns you <nll hor.' Tho dying nii»n, following tho morn accurate protiunciatiun of Greek which p emails in Scotland, gontly corrected tho mispl-tced accent — ' agape, my dear. 1 And those were the list words Professor Bhckie uttered — a strikingly chnrncuristic combination of his lifolong idoisof kindlin. 88 and scholarship." Many amusing anocdo'oa havo been told (writes J.M.) of tho la'e Professor Bliickio, and among these tho following, not very genonlly known, niu>t take high rank ns a chartcteristic bit of Blackie's humor. In the Gcetk class at Edinburgh ono yenr was a student named (Joogliugnn, a n inio the usual pronuticia* lion of which is ono of the stock anomalies of English orthoepy. As everyone know?, it is usually pronounced G-iigan, but B'ackio had his own opinion on tins point, and ho nuintainod that Giun was the proper sound tho namo should receivo ; and, accordingly, for somo time, in calling over tho roll of atudouts, h«? g^ve it this pronounciition, much to tho annoyance of tho student, who at longth determined not to answer to such a perversion of his name. One day, therefore, whon Blnckio called the name ns usual Go&ghi'ghan nude no responsu ; " G.»un " w^s again called out, and still no answer ; whereupon Blackio looked up, and eyeing hi* antagonise, remarked, "Ay, ay, G-iigan" (this timo giving tho orthodox pronunciation), "but yo'ro a dour doevil." Tho "dour" distrust of fho beautiful, which is still found in some parts of Scotland, with anathotnt to ilio houl of Professor BUckii?. Ono Sunday afternoon ho took shelter from a shower at the entrance of an exceedingly plain Presbyterian church in ono of the prettiest districts in Perthshire. A few ] of the natives were in the samo predicament as himself, so tho Professor took tho opportunity of dolivering them a little 'ay sermon on the bmmtiful. Why, ho aaked, did they not tako n leaf out of the open book of Nature boforo then' ? How easily thoy might imko their cottages pretty and attractive ! How easily, too, thoy might mak j their little j church a pleasing thing instead of a posit.ye eyesore in such n spot I Why did they do it? " Why," echoed a voice at his elbow, with prottrnatural golomnity and admonition, "Oh, mon, but the lust o* the eye is death I" Tho infinite z>st with which the professor rolled " tho lust o' the eye" off his tongue in telling the stnry was a thing to remember. To Profoaeor Blackio 1'?1 '? thinking, ono of tho most potent features in Scottish history was Jenny Gcddes, tho lady who m roputed to hnve thrown her "cutty atojl" at tho head of the Dean who had th« unenviable task of introducing Laud's Service Book beyond the Border. There used to be a sjhool Bong entitled " Jenny Geddes Flung the Stool," and on ono occasion when the professor was visiting a certain Edinburgh school, it vras Hung .it his requost. The historic scene bee-uno so vividly conjured up before him that at the first line of the chorus ho poized a bundle of books on the tablo beside him and hurled them ever the heads of the chs*. Tho professor probably forgot the H> tie incident soon enough, but the pupil who jusr managed to dodge the "Rjyal Reader No. VI." remembers tt to this day.