Excerpt from Alexander Russel

Mr Russel was still a very young man when he obtained the post of editor of the Berwick Advertiser. In this position he remained for a few years, and then removed to Cupar to take the editorship of the Fife Herald, which he continued to hold till about the end of 1844. In those early stages of his jour nalistic career he was of course involved in all the miscellane ous drudgery exacted of provincial editors in those days. On his shoulders lay the whole burden of getting up the paper a task involving, besides editorial functions properly so-called, a good deal of merely manual labour, and, along with such de scriptive writing as might be called for, the reporting of all sorts of local and other meetings. He had qualified himself for the last mentioned duty by acquiring in boyhood considerable ex pertness as a shorthand writer, and this accomplishment, after he had ceased to use it for reporting purposes, stood him in good stead through life as affording a means of rapidly noting the gist of his reading, and giving their first rough form to his writings. The practice of making shorthand notes from the books he read was adopted in early life, and he had many volumes of such extracts. Both at Berwick and at Cupar Mr Russel was naturally thrown into contact with the leaders of the Liberal party. While resident on the Border he formed, among other acquaintanceships, that of Mr Robertson of Ladykirk, afterwards Lord Marjoribanks, and along with that gentleman took an active part in certain electioneering contests in North Northumberland. In Fifeshire he became connected with, among others, Admiral Wemyss, the late Right Hon. Edward Ellice, and his son, the present member for the St Andrews Burghs, with both of whom he subsequently main tained a close and confidential correspondence on public affairs.

One of Mr Russel's most intimate associates in Cupar was James Bruce, the editor of the Fife Journal, and author of several biographical works which still hold a place in literature Mr Bruce, a man of considerable classical learning and of ready literary faculty, was endowed with a keen sense of humour, fully appreciated and stimulated by the genial brother journa list with whom he was ten years afterwards associated for some time as assistant in the editorship of the Scotsman.

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