977 



PRINGLE, THOMAS. 



PRINGLE, THOMAS. 



978 



became foreign member of the Academy of Sciences and Belles-Lettres 

 at Naples, and in 1781, a Fellow of the then recently instituted Society 

 of Antiquaries at Edinburgh. 



As president of the Royal Society the annual presentation of the 

 Copley medal devolved upon him, and on each of these occasions he 

 read before the members a discourse on the history and present state 

 of the particular science the extension of which it was the object of 

 the medal of that year to reward. These discourses, six in number, 

 were published the year after his death, by his friend Dr. Kippis, in 

 1 vol. 8vo. 



About the year 1778 a dispute arose among the members of the 

 Eoyal Society relative to the form which should be given to electrical 

 conductors so as to render them most efficacious in protecting buildings 

 from the destructive effects of lightning. Franklin had previously 

 recommended the use of points, and the propriety of this recommend- 

 ation had been acknowledged and sanctioned by the society at large. 

 But after the breaking out of the American revolution Franklin was no 

 longer regarded by many of the members in any other light than an 

 enemy of England, and as such it appears to have been repugnant to 

 their feelings to act otherwise than in disparagement of his scientific 

 discoveries. Among this number was their patron George III., who, 

 according to a story current at the time, and of the substantial truth 

 of which there is no doubt, on its being proposed to substitute knobs 

 instead of points, requested that Sir John Pringle would likewise 

 advocate their introduction. The latter hiuted that the laws of nature 

 were unalterable at royal pleasure ; whereupon it was intimated to 

 him that a president of the Royal Society entertaining such an opinion 

 ought to resign, and he resigned accordingly. 



In 1781 Sir John Pringle disposed of his house in Pall Mall and the 

 greater part of his library, and removed to Edinburgh, where he pur- 

 posed residing permanently ; but the rigour of the climate, the state 

 of his health, and a restlessness of spirits, induced him to return to 

 the metropolis the same year. On quitting Edinburgh he presented 

 the College of Medicine in that city with three manuscript volumes in 

 folio, on the condition that they should neither be suffered to leave 

 the college nor to be printed. He died January 18, 1782. His remains 

 were interred in St. James's church with great funeral solemnity, and 

 ft monument by Nollekens, at his nephew's expense, was some time 

 after erected to his memory in Westminster Abbey. A list of his 

 published works is given in Watt's ' Bibliotheca Britannica.' They are 

 not numerous, and, with the exception of those already mentioned, 

 they no longer possess much interest. The circle of his correspondents 

 included the most eminent men of science in Europe, more particu- 

 larly those of France, Germany, and Holland, with whom he kept up 

 an active intercourse both by letter and by the attention and hospitality 

 he showed them (luring their visits to the metropolis ; but the extent 

 and interest of his epistolary correspondence can be but imperfectly 

 judged of, owing to the circumstance of Irs having ordered the whole 

 of Lis letters to be destroyed a short time before his decease. 



(Life of Sir John Prinyle, by Andrew Kippis, D.D., prefixed to Sir 

 John Pringle's Six Discourses above referred to ; Eloge de M. Pringle, 

 by Condorci-t, (Euvra Complita, torn, ii., pp. 226-247.) 



PIUNGLK, THOMAS, was born January 5, 1789, at Blaiklaw, in 

 Tiviotdale, Scotland. His father was a respectable farmer in Roxburgh- 

 shire. Pringle's right limb, when he was very young, was dislocated 

 at the hip- joint by an accident, which the nurse imprudently concealed 

 till reduction was no longer practicable, and he waa thus obliged to use 

 crutches for life. In his fourteenth year he was sent to the grammar- 

 school at Kelso, and three years afterwards went to Edinburgh, to 

 complete his studies at the university; after which he became a clerk 

 to the Commissioners on the Public Records of Scotland. His employ- 

 ment was merely that of copying old records, and his salary was barely 

 sufficient for his humble wants. 



In 1811 Pringle and a friend published a poem called ' The Institute,' 

 which seems to have been satirical, and obtained them some praise 

 but no profit. In 1816 he was a contributor to ' Albyn's Anthology," 

 and the author of a poem in the ' Poetic Mirror ' called ' Tho Autumnal 

 Excursion,' which was praised by Scott, and was the origin of Pringle's 

 acquaintance with him. About the same time he was busy with the 

 project of establishing a magazine as a rival to the 'Scots' Magazine,' 

 and when his plan was pretty well advanced ho resigned his situation 

 in the Register Office, which he could resume if his project proved 

 unsuccessful. Among his coadjutors were Lockhart, Wilson, Cleghorn, 

 Dr. Brewster, and Hogg. Early in 1817 the ' Edinburgh Monthly 

 Magazine ' appeared, of which Pringle was the editor. His most 

 important contribution to the first number was an article on the 

 ' Gipsies,' the chief materials for which were furnished by Scott, 

 unasked for and gratuitously, and which Scott had himself intended 

 to work up into an article for the ' Quarterly Review.' About the 

 same time Pringle became editor of the 'Edinburgh Star' newspaper. 

 The magazine soon fell into the hands of other proprietors, and changed 

 it* title to that of ' Blackwood's Magazine,' Pringle still continuing to 

 le the editor, at the same time that he became joint editor of ' Con- 

 stable's Magazine;' but disputes between Pringle and lilackwood led 

 in a short time to a separation. Before this untoward event took 

 place he had married. Soon afterwards he published ' The Excursion 

 and other Poems,' with little or no profit. The editorship of ' The 

 Star ' newspaper was unprofitable, and he resigned it ; and he probably 

 . iv. 



derived little emolument from ' Constable's Magazine,' for in January 

 1819 he was again on his former seat in the Register Office, performing 

 the laborious drudgery of a copying clerk to the Record Commission. 



Meanwhile Pringle's four brothers, all of whom were farmers, had 

 become more or less unprosperous, and he proposed that they should 

 avail themselves of the government scheme of colonising the unoccupied 

 territory at the Cape of Good Hope. One brother had previously 

 emigrated to the United States of North America. The other brothers 

 agreed to his proposal, though the eldest brother could not get his 

 affairs arranged in time to accompany them ; but he promised to follow 

 them, and Pringle undertook the management of his farm till his 

 arrival. The party of twenty-four persons, consisting of twelve men, 

 six women, and six children, having set sail, arrived at the Cape of 

 Good Hope in April 1820. On the 21st of June they reached Roodewal 

 on the Great Fish River, and after a toilsome march of some days arrived 

 at their place of settlement in the upper part of the valley of the 

 Baavians" River, or River of Baboons, one of the smaller tributaries of 

 the Great Fish River. 



The small colony, having surmounted the first difficulties, became 

 tolerably prosperous, and Pringle's brother having arrived in July 

 1822, he resigned his farm, and went to seek employment at Cape 

 Town, as had been his original intention. Scott, Sir John Macpherson, 

 and others, had exerted their influence with the colonial secretary, 

 and Pringle was offered and accepted the situation of librarian to the 

 government library. The salary was only 752. a year, but afforded a 

 fair groundwork of iucome to a working literary man. He at first 

 received pupils for private instruction, and then, in conjunction vith 

 the Rev. Mr. Faure, a Dutch clergyman of the town, made arrange- 

 ments for the publication of a periodical in English and Dutch. Lord 

 Charles Somerset however, who was then governor, on being applied 

 to in February 1823, would not permit any journal to be published 

 except the government ' Gazette.' Pringle was obliged to submit, and 

 wait the arrival of commissioners, who had been sent out by the 

 British government to examine into the state of the colony. The 

 commissioners when they arrived approved of his plan, but their 

 powers did not extend beyoud that of making a report to the home 

 government. 



Meantime Pringle, in conjunction with his friend Mr. Fairbairn, who 

 had followed him from Scotland, organised a private academy on an 

 extensive scale, which was prosperous beyoud their expectations. 

 While occupied with this new business he was surprised to receive a 

 communication from the governor, authorising him to commence his 

 periodical, the plan of which it seems had met with the approbation of 

 Lord Bathuret, who was then colouial secretary. 



The ' South African Journal ' forthwith appeared, one edition in 

 English and one in Dutch. Soon afterwards, Mr. Greig, a printer, 

 commenced the 'South African Commercial Advertiser,' a weekly 

 newspaper, of which Pringle became editor, as well as of the ' Journal.' 

 The two works were prosperous, the pupils of the academy increased, 

 and Pi-ingle fancied himself about to make a rapid fortune. 



A man of the name of Edwards was tried for a libel on the governor, 

 and the trial, like others, was expected to be reported. On this occa- 

 sion however the Fiscal was ordered to proceed to the printing-office, 

 and assume the office of censor of the press. Pringle states that 

 everything likely to be personally offensive to the governor had been 

 carefully expunged ; but he refused to submit to this assumption of 

 arbitrary power, and having no legal means of resistance, threw up 

 the editorship. Greig discontinued the publication of the newspaper, 

 announcing to his readers his intention of appealiug to the British 

 government. Greig's press was immediately ordered to be sealed up, 

 and himself commanded by warrant to leave the colony within a 

 month. The Fiscal at the same time assumed the censorship of the 

 magazine also, stating that if he had been aware of certaiu paragraphs 

 in the second number he would have expunged them or suppressed 

 the numbers. Pringle disclaimed his right of censorship, and on the 

 15th of May 1824 announced the discontinuance of the work in tho 

 ' Gazette.' A petition to the king in council was got up by the 

 respectable inhabitants, and the governor became alarmed. He sum- 

 moned Pringle to appear before himself and Sir John Truter, the chief- 

 justice. He at first attempted to frighten Pringle into submission, 

 and, failing in that, tried to cajole him, and bring him over by flattery ; 

 Priugle however resolutely refused to recommence the magazine unless 

 he received a promise that tho press should not be interfered with 

 except by legal process. To this the governor would not agree, and 

 Priugle retired, and immediately resigned his appointment as librarian. 

 The result was that the governor's resentment pursued him till, finding 

 himself ruined in circumstances and prospects, he deemed it prudent 

 to leave the Cape, and in July 1826 arrived in London. He applied to 

 the government for compensation for his losses, which he estimated at 

 10001., but in vain. Meantime he was engaged as secretary to tho 

 Anti-Slavery Society, a situation which he held till slavery was 

 abolished. He became the editor of ' Friendship's Offering,' wrote and 

 published a ' Narrative of a Residence in South Africa,' and contributed 

 to the chief periodical works of the day. 



In June 1834 Pringle wrote to his doctor to say that in taking supper 

 a crumb of bread passed down the windpipe, and brought on a violent 

 fit of coughing; that a little blood flowed, which however soon ceased ; 

 but that in the morning he felt a sensation as if there had been sonw 



8 n 



