vested with an air of dainty, voluptuous finery,' he gave frequent elaborate Parisian dinners, among the guests at which was sure to be found 'whatever actor or singer of eminence visited Edinburgh.' He frequented foxhunts and race-meetings, and even at his auction 'appeared uniformly, hammer in hand, in the half-dress of some sporting club.' His imprudent pursuit of pleasure told gradually on his constitution, and after several years of shattered health he died at his brother's house in Edinburgh 16 June 1821. Ballantyne is the author of a novel—‘The Widow's Lodgings’—which, though stated by Lockhart to be 'wretched trash,' reached a second edition. In his will he bequeathed to Sir Walter Scott a legacy of 2,000l.; but after his death it was found that his affairs were hopelessly bankrupt. In the antics and eccentricities of Ballantyne Scott discovered an inexhaustible fund of amusement; but he also cherished towards him a deep and sincere attachment. Standing beside his newly closed grave in Canongate churchyard, he whispered to Lockhart, 'I feel as if there would be less sunshine for me from this day forth.'
[Lockhart's Life of Scott; Refutation of the Misstatements and Calumnies contained in Mr. Lockhart's Life of Sir Walter Scott respecting the Messrs. Ballantyne, 1835; The Ballantyne Humbug handled by the author of the Life of Sir Walter Scott, 1839; Reply to Mr. Lockhart's pamphlet, entitled 'The Ballantyne Humbug handled.' 1839; Archibald Constable and his Literary Correspondents, 1873.]
BALLANTYNE, JOHN (1778–1830), divine, was born in the parish of Kinghorn 8 May 1778; entered the university of Edinburgh in 1795, and joined the Burgher branch of the Secession church, though his parents belonged to the establishment. He was ordained minister of a congregation at Stonehaven, Kincardineshire, in 1805. In 1824 be published ‘A Comparison of Established and Dissenting Churches, by a Dissenter.’ In 1830 this pamphlet, which had failed to excite notice, was republished with additions during the 'voluntary church' controversy of the period. Ballantyne's partisanship in the controversy is said to have injured the reception of his ‘Examination of the Human Mind,’ the first part of which appeared in 1828; two further parts were intended, but never appeared. The failure, however, may be accounted for without the influence of party spirit. It is the work of a thoughtful but not very original student of Reid and Dugald Stewart, with some criticism of Thomas Brown. It is recorded that Ballantyne managed to pay for publication out of his own savings, handing over a sum bestowed on the occasion by a generous patron to some missionary purpose. Ballantyne suffered from indigestion brought on by excessive application, and died 5 Nov. 1830.
[McKerrow's Church of the Secession, pp. 913-16; Recollections by T. Longmuir, Aberdeen, 1872; McCosh's Scottish Philosophy, pp. 388-392.]
BALLANTYNE, THOMAS (1806–1871), journalist, was a native of Paisley, where he was born in 1806. Becoming editor of the ‘Bolton Free Press,’ he at an early period of his life took an active part in advocating social and political reforms. While editor of the ‘Manchester Guardian’ he became intimately associated with Messrs. Cobden and Bright in their agitation against the corn laws, and in 1841 he published the ‘Corn Law Repealer's Handbook.’ Along with Mr. Bright he was one of the four original proprietors of the ‘Manchester Examiner,’ his name appearing as the printer and publisher. After the fusion of the ‘Examiner’ with the ‘Times,’ he became editor of the ‘Liverpool Journal,’ and later of the ‘Mercury.’ Subsequently he removed to London to edit the ‘Leader,’ and he was for a time associated with Dr. Mackay in the editorial department of the ‘Illustrated London News.’ He also started the ‘Statesman,’ which he edited till its close, when he became editor of the ‘Old St. James's Chronicle.’ Notwithstanding his journalistic duties, he found time to contribute a number of papers on social and political topics to various reviews and magazines: in addition to which he published:
- ‘Passages selected from the Writings of Thomas Carlyle, with a Biographical Memoir,’ 1855 and 1870.
- ‘Prophecy for 1855, selected from Carlyle's Latterday Pamphlets,’ 1855.
- ‘Ideas, Opinions, and Facts,’ 1865.
- ‘Essays in Mosaic,’ 1870.
Regarding his proficiency in this species of compilation, Carlyle himself testifies as follows: ‘I have long recognised in Mr. Ballantyne a real talent for excerpting significant passages from books, magazines, newspapers (that contain any such), and for presenting them in lucid arrangement, and in their most interesting and readable form.’ Ballantyne died at London 30 Aug. 1871.
[Sutton's Lancashire Authors, p. 7; Glasgow Daily Mail, 9 Sept. 1871; Paisley Weekly Herald, 11 Sept. 1871.]
BALLANTYNE, WILLIAM (1616–1661), catholic divine. [See Ballenden.]
BALLARD, EDWARD GEORGE (1791–1860), miscellaneous writer, was the son of Edward Ballard, an alderman of
