390 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
so nearly balanced were the parties that the latter lost the election by only three
votes, there being seventeen for the one, and-fourteen for the other. The
result was by no means satisfactory to the immense crowds who thronged the
streets. The carriage of the Lord Advocate, from which the horses were
unyoked, was drawn by the populace to his own house, with every demonstration
of respect; but it required a strong military force to prevent the most
serious consequences to his opponents. Disappointed in the metropolis, Mr.
Jeffrey was again elected by his former constituents. In 1833, the right of
electing having been transferred from the Town Council to the citizens of
Edinburgh, by the passing of the Reform Bill, he had the satisfactibn, along
with Nr. Abercromby (subsequently speaker of the House of Commons), of being
triumphantly returned for his native city.
From the known talents and popularity of the Lord Advocate, great expectations
were entertained of his appearance in the House of Commons ; but in this
the public felt somewhat disappointed. He spoke seldom, and save on one or
two occasions, apparently without any effort to distinguish hiIpself He was
constant in his attendance, however : and had the honour, in his official capacity,
of framing and carrying through two important measures, the Parliamentary
and Burgh Reform Eills for Scotland. It is rare that men of purely legal or
literary reputation gain by entering the arena of active political life. Erskine
and Home Tooke are signal instances. In the case of Jeffrey, besides advanced
years, various causes may have contributed to render him careless of Parliamentary
popularity. He was no doubt identified as a leading advocate of
Reform, and the Edinburgh Review had long been considered the organ of the
Whigs ; but there was a third party to be satisfied, with whose ultra views he
had probably little sympathy, and still less inclination to become their champion.
In the estimation of this class of politicians, the Lord Advocate failed to realise
the expectations that had been formed of him ; and some of the journals of the
period indulged with considerable freedom of remark on his political sins, at
least those of omission, for they were after all, on their own showing, chiefly of
a negative description.
The short Parliamentary career of Mr. Jeffrey terminated on his elevation
to the Scottish behch in 1834. On quitting his political position, even the
ultra portion of the press .was constrained to acknowledge that he returned “to
his native city with perfectly clean hands, for his upright and honourable nature
scorned jobbing on his own account ;” yet a more direct and truly gratifying
approval of his public conduct awaited him. Before leaving London, he had
the singular honour of being invited to a public dinner, given him by a majority
of the members for Scotland.
But it is not in reference to politics alone, however great may have been
the influence of his political writings, that the character of Lord Jeffrey is to
be estimated. Even apart from the eminence he attained as a barrister, his
connection with the Edinburgh Review, and the literature of the last forty
years, must carry his name down to posterity in honourable association with
the most distinguished of his time. As a Reviezcer he maintained the reputa
