Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 10.djvu/36

 little works; one of these, ‘A History of the Gipsies,’ he wrote himself, as well as printed and sold. In the spring of 1823 he removed to Broughton Street, and might fairly consider his early struggles over. He now wrote ‘The Book of Scotland,’ and (with his brother) ‘A Gazetteer of Scotland.’ The first of these, published in 1830, is an account of the machinery of Scottish government before the union. Although no second edition was ever published, this work is the most learned and valuable its author produced. He soon became too busy for much original work. He had already (6 Oct. 1821–12 Jan. 1822) published a fortnightly journal called ‘The Kaleidoscope,’ and some years afterwards it occurred to him that the growing taste for cheap literature would insure the success of a low-priced weekly publication. Accordingly the first number of ‘Chambers's Edinburgh Journal’ was issued on 4 Feb. 1832. The price was 1½d. per weekly part. The success of the venture was at once assured by a circulation of 30,000. In a few years this rose to 80,000. Robert was almost from the first associated with William in this enterprise, which soon led to the removal of both brothers to new premises, where they established the firm of W. & R. Chambers. The firm, under William's direction, soon embarked on a career of extensive and successful publishing enterprise. Aiming at the production of cheap and useful literature, they produced (in addition to books mentioned under ) ‘Chambers's Information for the People,’ 1833; ‘Chambers's Educational Course,’ 1835 (this, which is still in progress, contains works on a great variety of subjects); ‘Chambers's Miscellany of Useful and Entertaining Tracts;’ ‘Chambers's Encyclopædia,’ 10 vols. 1859–68 (partly based on the ‘Conversations-Lexikon’). The various editions and wide popularity of these works prove that they fulfilled the hopes of their publishers. One fundamental rule in all their undertakings was to ‘avoid as far as possible mixing themselves up with debatable questions in politics and theology.’ Even after Robert's death, and when the storm caused by the appearance of the ‘Vestiges’ had long blown over, William would not consent to the secret of the authorship being divulged during his own lifetime ( Introduction to twelfth edition, pp. viii and xv). Chambers found time, notwithstanding his business responsibilities, for a considerable amount of literary work. Besides a number of occasional pieces, he produced: ‘Tour in Holland and the Rhine Countries,’ 1839 (from information gathered during a journey there); ‘Glenormiston’ (1849); ‘Fiddy, an Autobiography of a Dog,’ 1851; ‘Things as they are in America,’ 1854 (an account of a visit); ‘Peebles and its Neighbourhood,’ 1856; ‘American Slavery and Colour,’ 1857; ‘Something of Italy,’ 1862; ‘History of Peebles,’ 1864; ‘About Railways,’ 1866; ‘Wintering at Mentone,’ 1870; ‘Youth's Companion and Counsellor,’ new ed. 1870; ‘France, its History and Revolutions,’ 1871; ‘Ailie Gilroy, a Scottish Story,’ 1872; ‘Biography, Exemplary and Instructive,’ 1873; ‘A Week at Welwyn,’ 1873; ‘Kindness to Animals,’ 1877; ‘Stories of Old Families and Remarkable Persons,’ 2 vols. 1878. Chambers also published privately a number of pamphlets on Scottish subjects. In 1841 William and his brother received the freedom of their native town. A few years after he presented Peebles with ‘a suite of buildings consisting of a library of 10,000 volumes, a reading-room, museum, gallery of art, and lecture hall.’ This was called the Chambers Institution. (In 1860 an account of it was published in Dutch by J. H. van Lennep.) His favourite country residence was in the neighbourhood at the estate of Glenormiston, which he purchased in 1849. In 1865 Chambers was chosen lord provost of Edinburgh. His term of office was signalised by the passing of the Edinburgh City Improvement Act (1867), of which he was the chief promoter. Under the powers thus obtained a vast work of demolition and reconstruction was begun. Spacious new streets were run through the most crowded and badly constructed parts of old Edinburgh. The result was that ‘the death-rate of Edinburgh, which in 1865 was 26,000 per annum, had in 1882 fallen to 18,000.’ Chambers was re-elected lord provost in 1868, but, having accomplished his task, resigned next year. One of the new streets to the north of the college was called Chambers Street to commemorate his services. Chambers's latter years were occupied with a scheme for the restoration of St. Giles's Church, Edinburgh. This great historic building had been disfigured and degraded in a number of ways. It was partitioned into four churches, and had been barbarously ‘restored’ between 1829 and 1833. Chambers, whilst lord provost, had often occasion to attend public worship officially here. He conceived the idea ‘of attempting a restoration of the building,’ and so carrying it out that the church might become, ‘in a sense, the Westminster Abbey of Scotland.’ (The details of the scheme are given in his ‘Story of St. Giles's Church, Edinburgh,’ 1879.) The work, owing to his unremitting exertion and generosity (he spent between 20,000l. and 30,000l. on it), was