a "sham". Physically, he was considered a "little man, scrupulously dressed, somewhat in the old fashion, scrupulously clean, with a fair, reddish face, light grey and scanty hair, mutton-chop whiskers, and the brightest of steel blue eyes, round and full. He was always cleanly shaved, and if a speck could be seen on his glancing shirt, be sure it was a speck of taddy from his snuff-box. He wore his old large watch in his fob, attached to a black silk ribbon, at which depended a large gold seal". Several biographers made particular note of Pagan's snuff-box, which was considered "indispensable". According to one, "It was generally poised in his hand when he gave judgment, and its contents always used when he wished to give energy to his words. It served also as a sort of memorandum box, for amid the 'best brown taddy,' there were sure to be numerous little slips of paper with short-hand hieroglyphics upon them reminding him as he opened the box on arriving in the morning – the first thing he did – of some little business to be attended to, or of some good-humoured wigging to give to a subordinate." Death and legacy Pagan died in Glasgow on 11 February 1870. He is remembered for having been the driving force behind the improvement of Scottish news reporting in the nineteenth century, being one of the first in Scotland to make regular use of shorthand in producing verbatim reports of local speeches. Published works Sketches of the History of Glasgow (1847) History of the Cathedral and See of Glasgow (1851) Glasgow Past and Present; Illustrated in Dean of Guild Reports (2 vols., 1851) Old Glasgow and its Environs (1864) Relics of Ancient Architecture and other Picturesque Scenes in Glasgow (1885) Bibliography Cowan, R. M. W. The Newspaper in Scotland: A Study of Its First Expansion 1815–1860. Glasgow: George Outram & Co. Ltd., 1946. Print. Fraser, W. Hamish "Pagan, James (1811–1870)". The Dictionary of Nineteenth Century Journalism 2011. Maclehose, James. Memoirs and Portraits of One Hundred Glasgow Men Who Have Died during the Last Thirty Years and in Their Lives Did Much to Make the City What It Now Is. Glasgow: James Maclehose & Sons, 1886. Stronach, George, and H. C. G. Matthew (rev). 'Pagan, James (1811–1870)'. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2004. See also Dumfries Courier Glasgow Herald References 1811 births 1870 deaths Scottish newspaper