Two candidates have been proposed for the Lord Rectorship of
Edinburgh, Mr. Carlyle and Mr. Disraeli, and the friends of each are actively denouncing his opponent. The chief charge against Mr. Disraeli beyond his political character appears to be that he has written novels, while Mr. Carlyle is taunted as a theist. The first charge cannot be denied, but the second can, and accordingly some warm supporters of Mr. Carlyle are trying hard to prove that their hero is a Christian, and that his philosophy has much of Christianity in it, an argument for which the stern Scotchman who believes in what he calls the " verities" i. e., the forces of nature, and very little else, will scarcely thank them. There is nothing gained by shrinking from facts, and the true ground to assume is that the Lord Rectorship is not an eccle- siastical appointment, and Mr. Carlyle's creed has no more to do with his qualifications than if he were a blacksmith.
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