nt, being only anxious, in a quiet
way, to do what I could in promoting the general design.

Having had much to do during the last forty years with the
raising of funds for all manner of objects, in different
lands, I have come to know something of men's tempers and
dispositions in such cases, and under peculiar circumstances
and conditions. I therefore never expected the L20,000 scheme
to succeed; unless, indeed, it were headed by a dozen or so
at L1000, or at least L500 each--a liberality not to be
expected for such an object at this time of day.

Your present plan, therefore, I think a wise one--viz., to
constitute yourselves into "a statue committee," for the
successful carrying out of your own original and very
practicable design,--handing over any surplus funds which may
remain to any other committee or body willing to prosecute
the larger professorship or lectureship scheme.--I remain,
very Rev. and dear Sir, yours very sincerely,

ALEXANDER DUFF.

I am indebted for the following letters to the Rev. Dr. Lindsay
Alexander. If I wrote only for Scotsmen, it would be unnecessary to
speak of Dr. Alexander as holding a place which he seems to me, ignorant
as I am of Church disputes, to owe to his own high personal merit, and
the independence which makes him free to think and to write as scarcely
any clergyman fettered with the supposed claims of sect or denomination
feels himself at liberty to do. As our Dean got older we find him
drawing more kindly to those whose Christianity was shown in other guise
than in sectarian precision with some spice of persecution.

23 Ainslie Place, Feb. 28, 1866.

I have found, as others have, the "Biblical Commentary" a
very useful companion in sermon-writing. It gives you the
Scripture parallel passages bodily, and saves the trouble of
turning backwards and forwards to find the marginal
references and to examine their relevancy. The work is
published by Bagster, and he generally, I believe, gets his
work pretty well done, and, so far as I can judge, it is
judiciously selected, generally at least.

Now, dear Dr. Alexander, if you would accept of the copy of
this work which I have sent, and accept it from me, and if it
should prove a useful companion in your homiletical labours,
I should feel much gratified. Perhaps it may be a rem