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Optimal Control Systems 1st Edition D. Subbaram Naidu
Digital Instant Download
Author(s): D. Subbaram Naidu
ISBN(s): 9780849308925, 0849308925
Edition: 1
File Details: PDF, 13.90 MB
Year: 2002
Language: english
OPTIMAL
CONTROL
SYSTEMS

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Electrical Engineering
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Optimal Control Systems

Desineni Subbaram Naidu
OPTIMAL
CONTROL
SYSTEMS
Desineni Subbaram Naidu
Idaho State Universitv.
Pocatello. Idaho. USA

CRC PRESS
o
Boca Raton London New York Washington, D.C.
Cover photo: Terminal phase (using fuel-optimal control) of the lunar landing of the Apollo 11 mission.
Courtesy of NASA.
TJ
"l13
N1. b'~
<'l ~ot

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Naidu, D. s. (Desineni S.), 1940-

Optimal control systems I by Desineni Subbaram N aidu.
p. cm.- (Electrical engineering textbook series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8493-0892-5 (alk. paper)
1. Automatic control. 2. Control theory. 3. Mathematical optimization. I. Title II.
Series.

2002067415

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 v

"Because the shape of the whole universe is most per-

fect and, in fact, designed by the wisest Creator, nothing
in all of the world will occur in which no maximum or
minimum rule is somehow shining forth. "
Leohard Euler, 1144
vi

Dedication

My deceased parents who shaped my life

Desineni Rama Naidu

Desineni Subbamma

and

My teacher who shaped my education

Buggapati A udi Chetty

 vii

Preface

Many systems, physical, chemical, and economical, can be modeled

by mathematical relations, such as deterministic and/or stochastic dif-
ferential and/or difference equations. These systems then change with
time or any other independent variable according to the dynamical re-
lations. It is possible to steer these systems from one state to another
state by the application of some type of external inputs or controls.
If this can be done at all, there may be different ways of doing the
same task. If there are different ways of doing the same task, then
there may be one way of doing it in the "best" way. This best way can
be minimum time to go from one state to another state, or maximum
thrust developed by a rocket engine. The input given to the system
corresponding to this best situation is called "optimal" control. The
measure of "best" way or performance is called "performance index"
or "cost function." Thus, we have an "optimal control system," when a
system is controlled in an optimum way satisfying a given performance
index. The theory of optimal control systems has enjoyed a flourishing
period for nearly two decades after the dawn of the so-called "modern"
control theory around the 1960s. The interest in theoretical and prac-
tical aspects of the subject has sustained due to its applications to such
diverse fields as electrical power, aerospace, chemical plants, economics,
medicine, biology, and ecology.

Aim and Scope

In this book we are concerned with essentially the control of physical
systems which are "dynamic" and hence described by ordinary differ-
ential or difference equations in contrast to "static" systems, which are
characterized by algebraic equations. Further, our focus is on "deter-
ministic" systems only.
The development of optimal control theory in the sixties revolved
around the "maximum principle" proposed by the Soviet mathemati-
cian L. S. Pontryagin and his colleagues whose work was published in
English in 1962. Further contributions are due to R. E. Kalman of the
United States. Since then, many excellent books on optimal control
theory of varying levels of sophistication have been published.
This book is written keeping the "student in mind" and intended
to provide the student a simplified treatment of the subject, with an
viii

appropriate dose of mathematics. Another feature of this book is to

assemble all the topics which can be covered in a one-semester class.
A special feature of this book is the presentation of the procedures in
the form of a summary table designed in terms of statement of the prob-
lem and a step-by-step solution of the problem. Further, MATLAB©
and SIMULINK© 1 , including Control System and Symbolic Math
Toolboxes, have been incorporated into the book. The book is ideally
suited for a one-semester, second level, graduate course in control sys-
tems and optimization.

Background and Audience

This is a second level graduate text book and as such the background
material required for using this book is a first course on control sys-
tems, state space analysis, or linear systems theory. It is suggested that
the student review the material in Appendices A and B given at the
end of the book. This book is aimed at graduate students in Electrical,
Mechanical, Chemical, and Aerospace Engineering and Applied Math-
ematics. It can also be used by professional scientists and engineers
working in a variety of industries and research organizations.

Acknowledgments
This book has grown out of my lecture notes prepared over many years
of teaching at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, and
Idaho State University (ISU), Pocatello, Idaho. As such, I am indebted
to many of my teachers and students. In recent years at ISU, there are
many people whom I would like to thank for their encouragement and
cooperation. First of all, I would like to thank the late Dean Hary
Charyulu for his encouragement to graduate work and research which
kept me "live" in the area optimal control. Also, I would like to mention
a special person, Kevin Moore, whose encouragement and cooperation
made my stay at ISU a very pleasant and scholarly productive one for
many years during 1990-98. During the last few years, Dean Kunze
and Associate Dean Stuffie have been of great help in providing the
right atmosphere for teaching and research work.

IMATLAB and SIMULINK are registered trademarks of The Mathworks, Inc., Natick, MA,
USA.
 ix

Next, my students over the years were my best critics in providing

many helpful suggestions. Among the many, special mention must be
made about Martin Murillo, Yoshiko Imura, and Keith Fisher who
made several suggestions to my manuscript. In particular, Craig Rieger
(of Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory
(INEEL)) deserves special mention for having infinite patience in writ-
ing and testing programs in MATLAB© to obtain analytical solutions
to matrix Riccati differential and difference equations.
The camera-ready copy of this book was prepared by the author
using H\'IEX of the PCTEX32 2 Version 4.0. The figures were drawn
using CoreiDRAW3 and exported into H\'IEX document.
Several people at the publishing company CRC Press deserve men-
tion. Among them, special mention must be made about Nora Konopka,
Acquisition Editor, Electrical Engineering for her interest, understand-
ing and patience with me to see this book to completion. Also, thanks
are due to Michael Buso, Michelle Reyes, Helena Redshaw, and Judith
Simon Kamin. I would like to make a special mention of Sean Davey
who helped me in many issues regarding H\'IEX. Any corrections and
suggestions are welcome via email to naiduds@isu. edu
Finally, it is my pleasant duty to thank my wife, Sita and my daugh-
ters, Radhika and Kiranmai who have been a great source of encour-
agement and cooperation throughout my academic life.

Desineni Subbaram Naidu

Pocatello, Idaho
June 2002

2:rg..'lEX is a registered trademark of Personal 'lEX, Inc., Mill Valley, CA.

3CorelDRAW is a registered trademark of Corel Corporation or Corel Corporation Limited.
x

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The permissions given by

1. Prentice Hall for D. E. Kirk, Optimal Control Theory: An Intro-

duction, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1970,

2. John Wiley for F. L. Lewis, Optimal Control, John Wiley & Sons,
Inc., New York, NY, 1986,

3. McGraw-Hill for M. Athans and P. L. Falb, Optimal Control:

An Introduction to the Theory and Its Applications, McGraw-Hill
Book Company, New York, NY, 1966, and

4. Springer-Verlag for H. H. Goldstine, A History of the Calculus of

Variations, Springer-Verlag, New York, NY, 1980,
are hereby acknowledged.
 xi

AUTHOR'S BIOGRAPHY
Desineni "Subbaram" Naidu received his B.E. degree in Electrical Engineer-
ing from Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, India, and M.Tech. and Ph.D.
degrees in Control Systems Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technol-
ogy (lIT), Kharagpur, India. He held various positions with the Department of
Electrical Engineering at lIT. Dr. Naidu was a recipient of a Senior National
Research Council (NRC) Associateship of the National Academy of Sciences,
Washington, DC, tenable at NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton,
Virginia, during 1985-87 and at the U. S. Air Force Research Laboratory
(AFRL) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB), Ohio, during 1998-
99. During 1987-90, he was an adjunct faculty member in the Department of
Electrical and Computer Engineering at Old Dominion University, Norfolk,
Virginia. Since August 1990, Dr. Naidu has been a professor at Idaho State
University. At present he is Director of the Measurement and Control Engi-
neering Research Center; Coordinator, Electrical Engineering program; and
Associate Dean of Graduate Studies in the College of Engineering, Idaho State
University, Pocatello, Idaho.
Dr. Naidu has over 150 publications including a research monograph, Sin-
gular Perturbation Analysis of Discrete Control Systems, Lecture Notes in
Mathematics, 1985; a book, Singular Perturbation Methodology in Control
Systems, lEE Control Engineering Series, 1988; and a research monograph
entitled, Aeroassisted Orbital Transfer: Guidance and Control Strategies, Lec-
ture Notes in Control and Information Sciences, 1994.
Dr. Naidu is (or has been) a member of the Editorial Boards of the IEEE
Transaction on Automatic Control, (1993-99), the International Journal of
Robust and Nonlinear Control, (1996-present), the International Journal of
Control-Theory and Advanced Technology (C-TAT), (1992-1996), and a mem-
ber of the Editorial Advisory Board of Mechatronics: The Science of Intelli-
gent Machines, an International Journal, (1992-present).
Professor Naidu is an elected Fellow of The Institute of Electrical and Elec-
tronics Engineers (IEEE), a Fellow of World Innovation Foundation (WIF), an
Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
(AIAA) and a member of several other organizations such as SIAM, ASEE,
etc. Dr. Naidu was a recipient of the Idaho State University Outstanding Re-
searcher Award for 1993-94 and 1994-95 and the Distinguished Researcher
Award for 1994-95. Professor Naidu's biography is listed (multiple years) in
Who's Who among America's Teachers, the Silver Anniversary 25th Edition
of Who's Who in the West, Who's Who in Technology, and The International
Directory of Distinguished Leadership.
Contents
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Classical and Modern Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Optimization................................. 4
1.3 Optimal Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.3.1 Plant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.3.2 Performance Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.3.3 Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.3.4 Formal Statement of Optimal Control System .... 9
1.4 Historical Tour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.4.1 Calculus of Variations .................... 11
1.4.2 Optimal Control Theory .................. 13
1.5 About This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.6 Chapter Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
1.7 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

2 Calculus of Variations and Optimal Control 19

2.1 Basic Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.1.1 Function and Functional .................. 19
2.1.2 Increment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.1.3 Differential and Variation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2.2 Optimum of a Function and a Functional ............ 25
2.3 The Basic Variational Problem ................... 27
2.3.1 Fixed-End Time and Fixed-End State System ... 27
2.3.2 Discussion on Euler-Lagrange Equation ........ 33
2.3.3 Different Cases for Euler-Lagrange Equation .... 35
2.4 The Second Variation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
2.5 Extrema of Functions with Conditions .............. 41
2.5.1 Direct Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
2.5.2 Lagrange Multiplier Method ................ 45
2.6 Extrema of Functionals with Conditions ............ 48
2.7 Variational Approach to Optimal Control Systems . . . . . 57

xiii
XIV

2.7.1 Terminal Cost Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

2.7.2 Different Types of Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
2.7.3 Sufficient Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
2.7.4 Summary of Pontryagin Procedure ........... 68
2.8 Summary of Variational Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
2.8.1 Stage I: Optimization of a Functional . . . . . . . . . 85
2.8.2 Stage II: Optimization of a Functional with
Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
2.8.3 Stage III: Optimal Control System with
Lagrangian Formalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
2.8.4 Stage IV: Optimal Control System with
Hamiltonian Formalism: Pontryagin Principle ... 88
2.8.5 Salient Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
2.9 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

3 Linear Quadratic Optimal Control Systems I 101

3.1 Problem Formulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 101
3.2 Finite-Time Linear Quadratic Regulator ........... 104
3.2.1 Symmetric Property of the Riccati Coefficient
Matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
3.2.2 Optimal Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
3.2.3 Optimal Performance Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 110
3.2.4 Finite-Time Linear Quadratic Regulator:
Time-Varying Case: Summary ............. 112
3.2.5 Salient Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 114
3.2.6 LQR System for General Performance Index ... 118
3.3 Analytical Solution to the Matrix
Differential Riccati Equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
3.3.1 MATLAB© Implementation of Analytical
Solution to Matrix DRE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 122
3.4 Infinite-Time LQR System I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 125
3.4.1 Infinite-Time Linear Quadratic Regulator:
Time-Varying Case: Summary ............. 128
3.5 Infinite-Time LQR System II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
3.5.1 Meaningful Interpretation of Riccati Coefficient . 132
3.5.2 Analytical Solution of the Algebraic
Riccati Equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 133
3.5.3 Infinite-Interval Regulator System:
Time-Invariant Case: Summary ............. 134
3.5.4 Stability Issues of Time-Invariant Regulator. . .. 139
 xv

3.5.5 Equivalence of Open-Loop and Closed-Loop

Optimal Controls ....................... 141
3.6 Notes and Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
3.7 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

4 Linear Quadratic Optimal Control Systems II 151

4.1 Linear Quadratic Tracking System: Finite-Time Case 152
4.1.1 Linear Quadratic Tracking System: Summary 157
4.1.2 Salient Features of Tracking System . . . . . . . .. 158
4.2 LQT System: Infinite-Time Case ................. 166
4.3 Fixed-End-Point Regulator System ............... 169
4.4 LQR with a Specified Degree of Stability . . . . . . . . . .. 175
4.4.1 Regulator System with Prescribed Degree of
Stability: Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 177
4.5 Frequency-Domain Interpretation ................ 179
4.5.1 Gain Margin and Phase Margin ............ 181
4.6 Problems.................................. 188

5 Discrete-Time Optimal Control Systems 191

5.1 Variational Calculus for Discrete-Time
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
5.1.1 Extremization of a Functional .............. 192
5.1.2 Functional with Terminal Cost ............. 197
5.2 Discrete-Time Optimal Control Systems ........... 199
5.2.1 Fixed-Final State and Open-Loop Optimal
Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 203
5.2.2 Free-Final State and Open-Loop Optimal Control 207
5.3 Discrete-Time Linear State Regulator
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
5.3.1 Closed-Loop Optimal Control: Matrix Difference
Riccati Equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
5.3.2 Optimal Cost Function .................. 213
5.4 Steady-State Regulator System .................. 219
5.4.1 Analytical Solution to the Riccati Equation .... 225
5.5 Discrete-Time Linear Quadratic Tracking System . . . .. 232
5.6 Frequency-Domain Interpretation ................ 239
5.7 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
XVI

6 Pontryagin Minimum Principle 249

6.1 Constrained System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
6.2 Pontryagin Minimum Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 252
6.2.1 Summary of Pontryagin Principle . . . . . . . . . . . 256
6.2.2 Additional Necessary Conditions ............ 259
6.3 Dynamic Programming. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
6.3.1 Principle of Optimality .................. 261
6.3.2 Optimal Control Using Dynamic Programming . 266
6.3.3 Optimal Control of Discrete-Time Systems .... 272
6.3.4 Optimal Control of Continuous-Time Systems .. 275
6.4 The Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman Equation ............ 277
6.5 LQR System Using H-J-B Equation ............. " 283
6.6 Notes and Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

7 Constrained Optimal Control Systems 293

7.1 Constrained Optimal Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 293
7.1.1 Time-Optimal Control of LTI System ........ 295
7.1.2 Problem Formulation and Statement . . . . . . . .. 295
7.1.3 Solution of the TOC System ............... 296
7.1.4 Structure of Time-Optimal Control System .... 303
7.2 TOC of a Double Integral System ................ 305
7.2.1 Problem Formulation and Statement. . . . . . . .. 306
7.2.2 Problem Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
7.2.3 Engineering Implementation of Control Law ... 314
7.2.4 SIMULINK© Implementation of Control Law .. 315
7.3 Fuel-Optimal Control Systems ................... 315
7.3.1 Fuel-Optimal Control of a Double Integral System 316
7.3.2 Problem Formulation and Statement ......... 319
7.3.3 Problem Solution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 319
7.4 Minimum-Fuel System: LTI System ............... 328
7.4.1 Problem Statement ..................... 328
7.4.2 Problem Solution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 329
7.4.3 SIMULINK© Implementation of Control Law. . 333
7.5 Energy-Optimal Control Systems ................ 335
7.5.1 Problem Formulation and Statement ......... 335
7.5.2 Problem Solution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 339
7.6 Optimal Control Systems with State
Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 351
7.6.1 Penalty Function Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 352
7.6.2 Slack Variable Method ................... 358
 xvii

7.7 Problems .................................. 361

Appeddix A: Vectors and Matrices 365

A.1 Vectors ................................... 365
A.2 Matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
A.3 Quadratic Forms and Definiteness ................ 376

Appendix B: State Space Analysis 379

B.1 State Space Form for Continuous-Time Systems ...... 379
B.2 Linear Matrix Equations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 381
B.3 State Space Form for Discrete-Time Systems . . . . . . .. 381
B.4 Controllability and Observability ................. 383
B.5 Stabilizability, Reachability and Detectability ........ 383

Appendix C: MATLAB Files 385

C.1 MATLAB© for Matrix Differential Riccati Equation .. 385
C.l.1 MATLAB File lqrnss.m .................. 386
C.l.2 MATLAB File lqrnssf.m .................. 393
C.2 MATLAB© for Continuous-Time Tracking System ... 394
C.2.1 MATLAB File for Example 4.1(example4_l.m) . 394
C.2.2 MATLAB File for Example 4.1(example4_1p.m). 397
C.2.3 MATLAB File for Example 4.1(example4_1g.m). 397
C.2.4 MAT LAB File for Example 4.1(example4_1x.m). 397
C.2.5 MATLAB File for Example 4.2(example4_l.m) . 398
C.2.6 MATLAB File for Example 4.2( example4_2p.m). 400
C.2.7 MATLAB File for Example 4.2(example4_2g.m). 400
C.2.8 MATLAB File for Example 4.2( example4_2x.m). 401
C.3 MATLAB© for Matrix Difference Riccati Equation ... 401
C.3.1 MAT LAB File lqrdnss.m . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 401
C.4 MATLAB© for Discrete-Time Tracking System ...... 409

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
List of Figures
1.1 Classical Control Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Modern Control Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3 Components of a Modern Control System ............ 4
1.4 Overview of Optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.5 Optimal Control Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

2.1 Increment ~f, Differential df, and Derivative j of a

Function f (t) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.2 Increment ~J and the First Variation 8J of the Func-
tional J .................................... 24
2.3 (a) Minimum and (b) Maximum of a Function f (t) . . . . . 26
2.4 Fixed-End Time and Fixed-End State System ........ 29
2.5 A Nonzero g(t) and an Arbitrary 8x(t) ............. 32
2.6 Arc Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2.7 Free-Final Time and Free-Final State System ......... 59
2.8 Final-Point Condition with a Moving Boundary B(t) .... 63
2.9 Different Types of Systems: (a) Fixed-Final Time and
Fixed-Final State System, (b) Free-Final Time and Fixed-
Final State System, (c) Fixed-Final Time and Free-Final
State System, (d) Free-Final Time and Free-Final State
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
2.10 Optimal Controller for Example 2.12 ............... 72
2.11 Optimal Control and States for Example 2.12 ......... 74
2.12 Optimal Control and States for Example 2.13 ......... 77
2.13 Optimal Control and States for Example 2.14 ......... 81
2.14 Optimal Control and States for Example 2.15 ......... 84
2.15 Open-Loop Optimal Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
2.16 Closed-Loop Optimal Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

3.1 State and Costate System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

3.2 Closed-Loop Optimal Control Implementation ....... 117

X'lX
xx

3.3 Riccati Coefficients for Example 3.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 125

3.4 Closed-Loop Optimal Control System for Example 3.1 126
3.5 Optimal States for Example 3.1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 127
3.6 Optimal Control for Example 3.1 ................ 127
3.7 Interpretation of the Constant Matrix P ........... 133
3.8 Implementation of the Closed-Loop Optimal Control:
Infinite Final Time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 135
3.9 Closed-Loop Optimal Control System . . . . . . . . . . . .. 138
3.10 Optimal States for Example 3.2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 140
3.11 Optimal Control for Example 3.2 ................ 141
3.12 (a) Open-Loop Optimal Controller (OLOC) and
(b) Closed-Loop Optimal Controller (CLOC) ........ 145

4.1 Implementation of the Optimal Tracking System ..... 157

4.2 Riccati Coefficients for Example 4.1 ............... 163
4.3 Coefficients 91(t) and 92(t) for Example 4.1 ......... 164
4.4 Optimal States for Example 4.1 .................. 164
4.5 Optimal Control for Example 4.1 ................ 165
4.6 Riccati Coefficients for Example 4.2 ............... 167
4.7 Coefficients 91(t) and 92(t) for Example 4.2 ......... 168
4.8 Optimal Control and States for Example 4.2 ........ 168
4.9 Optimal Control and States for Example 4.2 ........ 169
4.10 Optimal Closed-Loop Control in Frequency Domain ... 180
4.11 Closed-Loop Optimal Control System with Unity
Feedback. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 184
4.12 Nyquist Plot of Go(jw) ........................ 185
4.13 Intersection of Unit Circles Centered at Origin
and -1 + jO ............................... 186

5.1 State and Costate System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 205

5.2 Closed-Loop Optimal Controller for Linear Discrete-Time
Regulator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 215
5.3 Riccati Coefficients for Example 5.3 ............... 219
5.4 Optimal Control and States for Example 5.3 ........ 220
5.5 Optimal Control and States for Example 5.3 ........ 221
5.6 Closed-Loop Optimal Control for Discrete-Time
Steady-State Regulator System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 223
5.7 Implementation of Optimal Control for Example 5.4 . .. 226
5.8 Implementation of Optimal Control for Example 5.4 ... 227
5.9 Riccati Coefficients for Example 5.5. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 231
Other documents randomly have
different content
of or sanctioned his presence, but I do say that I think he would not
have been there, had he thought the doctor would have strongly
objected to his presence.
Dr. Christison—‘I must again appeal to you, my Lord. I think the
language used regarding my assistant is language that no one is
entitled to use at such an assembly as this—(hear)—where a
gentleman is not here to defend himself, and to say whether it be
true or not. I do not know whether it is true or not, but I do know
my assistant is a thorough gentleman, otherwise he never would
have been my assistant; and I appeal to you again, my Lord,
whether language such as this is to be allowed in the mouth of any
person. I am perfectly sure there is not one gentleman in the whole
assembly who would have used such language in regard to an
absentee.’
Miss Jex-Blake—‘If Dr. Christison prefers——’
Dr. Christison—‘I wish nothing but that this foul language shall be
put an end to.’
The Lord Provost—‘I do not know what the foul language is. She
merely said that in her opinion——’
Dr. Christison—‘In her opinion the gentleman was intoxicated.’
Miss Jex-Blake—‘I did not say he was intoxicated. I said I was told
he was.’
The Lord Provost—‘Withdraw the word “intoxicated.”’
Miss Jex-Blake—‘I said it was the only excuse for his conduct. If
Dr. Christison prefers that I should say he used the language when
sober, I will withdraw the other supposition’ (laughter).”

The Pall Mall, chuckling sympathetically over this

[77]

and another repartee, wisely concluded:

“It is sincerely to be hoped that these unhappy little differences
will soon come to an end. It cannot be to the advantage of anyone
that lady students should be pelted with mud, or that they should
use the power of retaliation displayed by their champion at the Royal
Infirmary meeting on Monday.”
 So the conflict deepened, and it would have been
small wonder if all but the very brave had taken
fright.
But Edinburgh did contain some very brave people
besides the women students.
At the meeting on January 2nd, the Revd.
Professor Charteris had been ruled out of order in
some matter, but, at the earliest opportunity he
returned to his point, and brought forward a motion,
expressing the desire of the contributors that
immediate arrangement should be made for the
admission of the ladies to the Infirmary. This motion,
seconded by Sir James Coxe, M.D., was lost by a
small majority.
Several things happened at that meeting, however,
which were of more value to the cause than a formal
victory would have been:
A petition was read, signed by 956 women of
Edinburgh, expressing “our great interest in the
issues involved, and our earnest hope that full
facilities for hospital study will be afforded by the
Managers to all women who desire to enter the
Medical Profession.”
More important still was the appearance of Mrs.
Nichol, a well-known and most gracious elderly lady,
endowed with the very fragrance of early Victorian
womanhood, who came forward to ask a question,
—“not,” she said, “in the interests of the lady
students, but on behalf of those women who looked
forward to see what kind of men were they who
were to be the sole medical attendants of the next
generation, if women doctors were not allowed.”
“If the students studying at present in the Infirmary cannot
contemplate with equanimity the presence of ladies as fellow-
students, how is it possible that they can possess either the scientific
spirit, or the personal purity of mind, which alone could justify their
presence in the female wards during the most delicate operations
on, and examinations of, female patients.”

Yes, there were very brave people in Edinburgh

besides the women students.
This question was received with “laughter, hisses
and applause,” and no one ventured on a reply. No
one except the rougher of the students who were
assembled in the gallery on the look-out for a lark.
They howled their appreciation of the question; but it
was only when S. J.-B. rose to speak—and of course
she had to pay the penalty of having rashly described
them as “puppets”—that they really let themselves
go,—shouting and yelling and pelting her with peas.
“Well,” said Professor Blackie, “ye can now say
ye’ve fought with beasts at Ephesus.”
As a matter of fact she had not meant to speak
again, but one of the professors had left her no
alternative. In the course of a long speech he had
asserted that, in consequence of mixed education, a
college in America “had become so degraded that a
woman who respected herself shrank from the
contamination, and preferred to renounce the benefit
of years of study rather than don the academic robe
of one of its graduates.”
“Name the college,” said S. J.-B., and other voices
took up the cry of “Name!”
“He spoke on authority.” (A voice—“What authority?”) “On the
authority of Miss Blake herself, who ... when asked why she had not
pursued her studies instead of coming here, told him that the
character of female medical students in America had so deteriorated
that she could not consent to stay.”

It cannot be easy to speak when one has awaited

one’s opportunity through a storm of hooting and
pea-throwing; but now indeed S. J.-B.’s fine courage
and truthfulness shone out like the sun:
“She wished merely to give an absolute, unqualified denial to
Professor X.’s statement respecting her. She never made the
statement he asserted she had made. During her whole visit to
America she had never spent one whole session in any medical
college whatever.... It was true she had studied two years in a
woman’s hospital, and every day’s experience there had made her
long more and more to see women in charge of their own sex—
(Great interruption and cries of ‘Order’)—and it was her experience
in that hospital and her knowledge of the ladies connected with it
[One can almost hear her inward cry, ‘Oh, Lucy!’] that made her
devote her life to getting medical education for herself and also for
other women.... Some of the friends she was proudest of were
women doctors in America who had been educated there entirely,
and in regard to whom she scarcely knew any equals and certainly
no superiors.”

It was only in answer to repeated calls that

Professor X. rose and said, “He was sure there was
not an individual in that meeting who would not give
him credit for having given what he believed to be
the correct version of what occurred according to his
recollection two years ago—(Hisses and cheers)—
between Miss Jex-Blake and himself. If he had
misconceived what had been said, or if his memory
had failed him and he had stated what was not
correct, he begged to apologise, as it was purely
unintentional.” (Applause and hisses.)
A somewhat disappointing outcome this, of a long
course of training in scientific exactness.
It was now that the Professor of Moral Philosophy
(Calderwood) rose, profoundly stirred beneath the
calm and judicial demeanour that seldom failed him,
and pointed out that Professor X., while speaking to
the amendment “that the question (of the women
students) be left to the unbiassed decision of the
Managers,” had voluntarily given them a fair average
specimen of an unbiassed opinion!
There are worse adversaries, in fact, than the
honest beasts at Ephesus.
A sore heart lay behind that jest of Professor
Blackie’s if one may judge by the following letter:
 “24 Hill Street,
Edinburgh.
20th January, 1871.
My dear Miss Blake,
It is of no consequence to you, my poor sympathy with you all
at present, and my utter horror of the conduct of your enemies; but
I wish to tell you how saddened my husband was by all he saw and
heard at the Infirmary meeting last week. He sat at tea-time shading
his eyes, and saying quietly from time to time, ‘I am ashamed of my
sex.’ I never saw him so hurt before. I am sure the unmanly and
indecent conduct of these poor ill-led young men, and the
untruthfulness of their leaders will ultimately do you good. If men
lose our respect and confidence, let them look to themselves. Your
admirable letters must do great good.
Pardon this intrusion, and believe me always your true friend,
E. H. S. Blackie.”

No less welcome, we may be sure, was this:

Huntly Lodge,
Monday Evening.
My dear Miss Jex-Blake,
I am feeling inexpressibly for you and your friends this
evening, and cannot resist the inclination that has come over me to
tell you how deeply grateful everyone who has the welfare of the
next generation at heart must feel to you who are so nobly fighting
the battle which must soon be gained—the results of which will bear
precious fruit, I fully believe, long, long after even your heads are
laid in the grave.
You and the struggle you are carrying on remind me so forcibly of
the contest which the band of women in America so nobly waged
with the demon of Slavery. Your struggle will end much sooner, I
trust, than did theirs, but, whilst sympathising with you, I cannot
help feeling that the discussion is doing so much to educate people’s
minds, that it is better for the cause than if you had met with no
opposition; and in the end it may be better for you also, for by the
time you are ready to practise, persons will have become
accustomed to the idea and ready for you.
Meanwhile tell us if there is aught we outsiders can do for you,
and believe me, with love to dear Miss Pechey,
Your affectionate,
E. P. Nichol.
I am sure you will like to know that I don’t feel a bit the worse for
this day’s work.
You will excuse haste and some little weariness.”

Once more we are tempted to quote from a

delightful budget:
“13 Sussex Square,
Brighton,
Jan. 19th. 1871.
My dearSophy,
One line to wish you many happy returns of the 21st, and
most of them quieter than this birthday seems likely to be.
I feel sure you will carry your point eventually, and should
recommend you to stick to Edinburgh where you have already so
very nearly won.
It must be very harassing at times, and need a great deal of
patience: for half the enemy seem wily and half seem roughs.
The speech you last made, when the gallery ought to have been
earlier cleared of its noisy occupants, seemed to me excellent: and I
thought Maclaren showed great judgment in dealing with the
adversary that same day. I should not be drawn much into
newspaper correspondence, if I were you; and I doubt if ... was
worth powder and shot. But he may be, from personal or local
reasons unknown to me.
I feel no doubt whatever of the ultimate victory, but the delay is
very fatiguing to the combatant.... Take it easy, and don’t let the
enemy make you angry. They are sure to try.
 Your affectionate brother,
T. W. J.-B.”

Very soon, too, a long letter arrived from women

in London,—“to the Lady Students in Edinburgh:
“Dear Lady Students,
Let us entreat you to persevere—” and so on.

Here then were both parties firmly entrenched,

with no prospect of an end to the combat; but that
fire in the hearts of generous adherents was burning
steadily. The Lord Provost declined to accept his
defeat. He proceeded to call a meeting of citizens,
and in a very short time a committee was formed to
share a burden that had become far too heavy for
the shoulders of a handful of women. The list of
sympathizers grew like a snowball, attracting many
of the most honoured names in the country, till it
became a rallying cry for weaker folk the wide world
over. One can best describe the significance of all
this in S. J.-B.’s own words, written some fifteen
years later:
“To the Committee thus inaugurated, we owe a debt of gratitude
which I hardly know how to describe adequately. From that time
forward to the close of our battle in Edinburgh, they stood by us
with a fidelity and chivalrous readiness to help which was never
marred by officiousness or needless interference. In a very short
time they lifted from our shoulders the whole burden of pecuniary
risk and responsibility, and, by personal and public help of every
kind, made it possible for us to continue the struggle in which,
without such aid, we should have been hopelessly outnumbered.
Where so many gave us such invaluable assistance, it is almost
invidious to single out any for special thanks; and yet I cannot
refrain from putting on record our extreme debt of gratitude to three
men, of whom two have already passed away from among us, viz.,
the Lord Provost of Edinburgh (William Law), who gave us
continually the support of his official countenance and assistance;
Mr. Alexander Russel, Editor of the Scotsman, whose advocacy was
literally beyond all price in those days, when our one hope and our
great difficulty was to get the real truth laid fully and fearlessly
before the public; and our still invaluable friend, Professor Masson,
whose championship of the weak and oppressed was then, and
always has been, worthy of the noblest days of chivalry.”
 CHAPTER IX
THE ACTION FOR LIBEL

It is not to be supposed, however, that the dark

days were at an end. Far from it. The next act in the
drama was an action for libel brought against S. J.-B.
by Professor Christison’s assistant.
Of course she took the lawyer’s letter smiling, but
it must have seemed well-nigh the last straw, for she
was sorely overstrained by the public meetings and
all the criticism they called forth; and her entire
Christmas holiday had been spent in calling on
Infirmary managers. These were naturally of all
sorts, from the big bustling prosperous brewer to the
refined gentlewoman of equally restricted outlook;
and the strain of adaptation to such divers
personalities must have been very great.
[78]
Even on Christmas Day (a Sunday!) she had
been at the Scotsman office, arranging with the
Editor for the alteration and publication of various
entries on the following day. Things were not made
easier by the fact that a heavy fall of snow had been
followed by alternating spells of slush and ice. All the
other students had gone out of town, and in many
ways it would have been better all round if she had
gone too. But her supporters simply could not get on
without her. She might on occasion be difficult and
trying, expecting more of people than they were
prepared to give; but no one else could even
compare with her in knowledge of all the facts and
arguments that might at any moment be called for
by the emergencies of a big public controversy.
There was no need for professors, editors and others
to charge their memories with endless minutiae
when S. J.-B. was at hand, clear and concise, as a
book of handy reference.
Life was too full this year for the accustomed
backward survey at midnight on December 31st;
there was no quotation of “May the New Year cherish
—” This is the entry:
“Less utterly hopeless tonight,—only so tired. E. P. just back, bless
her!”

Well, in any case, here was the lawyer’s letter, and

it just had to be faced. There is no reference to it in
the diary till long after—indeed, except as a register
of facts that have now lost all interest, the diary
becomes almost non-existent—but, in a day or two,
the news was all over the country. It was more than
could be expected of human nature that some of the
women students should not have felt aggrieved that
the situation had been complicated by their leader’s
impulsiveness. On the whole they were loyal,
especially the three first recruits, Mrs. Thorne, Mrs.
Evans, and “E. P.,—bless her!”
But, as ever, faithful friends gathered round, and,
if the postman’s visit had become a thing to be
dreaded, he also brought much good cheer. Here is a
letter from the wife of a leading minister of religion:
“Dear Mrs. Evans,
The opposition have ‘crowned the edifice’ by bringing that
action of Damages against Miss Jex-Blake,—how unspeakably low
and unmanly it all is. I never knew before that saying a man was
drunk was actionable; if it is we must be very careful how we speak
even of our nearest and dearest. I think a subscription ought to be
set on foot at once to pay Miss Jex-Blake’s expenses, and I shall be
delighted to contribute my mite.”

One can only quote one or two out of many:

“The Athenaeum,
Jan. 23, 1871.
My dearSophy,
I will gladly pay half expenses of your action for libel brought
by Dr. Christison’s assistant.
I think it vital that you should have the best legal assistance, and
win. Be careful, and don’t let them ‘draw’ you into indiscretions that
are most forgiveable morally, but damaging to the cause practically.
I don’t the least want to lecture you or assume the Mentor. I only
want you to win all along the line.
Your aff. brother,
T. W. J.-B.”
 The next is written in a clear and clerkly hand:
“Miss Jex-Blake, Ph.D.
Edinburgh.
Kinbuck, 7 February, 1871.
Madam,
We the undersigned desire to express our most sincere
sympathy with your cause and earnest hopes for your success.
I am, Your obedient Servants,—”

Follows a list of four names, apparently of young

business men. One wonders which of them
conceived the bold idea of the “Ph.D.” How gladly
they would have made it “M.D.” if they could!
The letter was addressed to “Miss Jex-Blake, Royal
Infirmary, Edinburgh,” and is grimly endorsed, “Not
for Royal Infirmary.”
One more letter we are tempted to quote with
very mingled feelings:
“19 Inverleith Row,
Edinburgh.
27 January 1871.
My Dear Miss Jex-Blake,
I see that Mr. C. has raised an action against you. If you have
not already fixed on a counsel to defend you, will you allow me to
propose that you should employ my son-in-law, Mr. Trayner. I
propose this, not for his advantage but your own, as I am quite sure
from the great interest he would take in your case, and also that I
know you would find in him, not only an able advocate, but a kind
friend, that you would have no cause to regret the choice.
 Believe me, dear Miss Jex-Blake,
Very truly yours,
Margaret Wyld.”

From another source one learns that Mr. Trayner

[now Lord Trayner], if employed, would have done
the work without fee, from sheer sympathy with the
cause.
The pity of it! One cannot help feeling how
differently things might have gone, if S. J.-B. had
availed herself of this suggestion. “The best legal
advice” is an expression capable of varied
interpretation, and of course S. J.-B.—young and
inexperienced—was guided by her solicitors. It is
possible, too, of course, that the advice was good.
Young and inexperienced she was in matters of
this kind,—full of hope that she, who had nothing to
hide and everything to gain from full publicity, would
see herself substantially justified in an open court of
law.
On the whole, public opinion was against her. All
sorts of stories were rife, many of them entirely
false, some with just that grain of truth that makes a
lie so deadly. When the Winter Session came to an
end in March, the President of the College of
Physicians and the President of the College of
Surgeons both announced that they would not
preside at the prize-giving if lady students were to be
present and to receive their prizes on this occasion.
On the other hand S. J.-B. was, of course, much
sought after by outsiders who admired her talent and
courage. In April she was urged by the leading
women suffragists of the day to speak at a Suffrage
meeting in London, and, after consulting Professor
Masson and other friends in Edinburgh as to the
probable effect on her own “Cause,” she agreed.
“Darling,” writes her sorely-tried Mother, “speaking at a public
meeting will be anything but restful. You positively require rest to go
on with the real work and worrying work before you. May you be
guided aright.”

The speech took place, however, and was a great

success. Her “pathetic voice” and clear exposition of
the argument deduced from her own trying
experience are referred to repeatedly. This was her
first public association with a cause of which,
throughout life, she was one of the sanest and most
practical exponents.
It was in the course of this visit to London, too,
that she made the acquaintance of Mr. (afterwards
Sir James) Stansfeld, whose influence was to prove
so priceless in the farther development of the
movement.
Meanwhile the law ran its slow and expensive
course.
 “Monday, May 22nd.... White Millar wants to know if I will say C.
‘wasn’t drunk’ if he on his side allows that I ‘had been told so.’
I don’t want to be too obstinately pugnacious, but I hate the idea
of giving a handle to people to say I ‘ate my words’. Calderwood
wisely says it should be a sine qua non that the public should know
the overture came from them, and I should like also to make C. own
he was ‘Foremost among the rioters’.
“Tuesday May 23rd. I have just accepted Lord Advocate at fee of
£200, so now it shall go on unless they pay costs....
“May 26th, Friday 10 p.m. ‘Where the wicked cease from troubling
and the weary are at rest.’
How inclined one feels to turn one’s face to the wall and say with
Elijah, ‘Lord, take away my life, I am not better than my fathers’.
The obstinate lying of these students in preference to giving any
information possibly useful to us;—the constant hisses and rudeness
even in the streets,—J’s insolent civility, especially to Miss B.,—those
two scamps shouting ‘Whore’ after S. M. M., as she crossed the
George Square Gardens yesterday evening, etc.
Oh, dear, I hope Tuesday at least will end one worry satisfactorily.
I think it must clear me morally at any rate!—and yet I have that
nervous quiver through me as when one wakes with nightmare. I
wonder if any such hysterical wretch ever had to do such work as
mine!
And yet what good friends and helpers! Gilbert’s ever ready
kindness, Wilson’s hearty interest, ‘Well, if you lose on Tuesday, even
you will not be more vexed than I shall’.”

The case came on for trial on May 31st. On the

morning of the day, S. J.-B. received the following
letter from her Mother:
“God’s protection and blessing be with you, my own precious child.
I will not harass and plague you by writing further than to assure
you I am in spirit present with you.
 Your loving,
M. E. J.-B.
I am quite well, and picturing how calm and collected you are, and
how many many are thinking of you with friendly thoughts.”

The case lasted two days. It was reported verbally

in the Scotsman and other daily papers. “Throughout
the day the Court-room was densely crowded, many
ladies being among the audience.” For many, of
course, this was the first opportunity of seeing these
amazing women, and for some time the provincial
and weekly papers ran riot in impressions of this
kind:
“Mrs. Thorne succeeded as witness, and the assembled public
thought it very hard that she should be neither odd nor eccentric.
Why was she married? She was a medical student and ought not to
be married. Sedate, quiet and ladylike-looking, and dressed in an
unobtrusive fashion, and yet fairly within the pale of orthodoxy, Mrs.
Thorne confused the minds of many.”
“Miss Pechey was the sole remaining witness, and created a good
deal of fresh interest. A tall figure and a classically shaped head with
dark hair, are generally supposed to be the attributes of young ladies
who keep to their ‘sphere.’ That female medical students should dare
to be good-looking, dare to be married, dare to be dressed in good
taste, is, of course, an unpardonable crime.”
“Great interest of course was manifested in [Miss Jex-Blake’s]
appearance in the witness box. Plainly dressed in black, with white
round her neck and wrists, she presented the appearance of a tall
and well formed, handsome and determined woman, with dark hair
and eyes. She was perfectly cool and collected, and her manner was
a great contrast to the nervousness of Dr. Christison and the
‘smartness’ of Dr. Bell.”
 So much for the “hysterical wretch”!
In truth the women had learned their lesson.
There was no bitter, impulsive speaking now. They
said what they meant to say, and they said it well
and with restraint. “These customers are composed!”
a man in the back of the Court was heard to exclaim.
As has been said, S. J.-B. had everything to gain
from publicity, from a full exposure of the facts. The
worst she had done had been to state her case in
public without fear of persons, without much tact
and discretion, though with no exaggeration of the
actual truth. The public had already passed judgment
on her. She was now on her defence, desirous only
of asking her opponents, under cross-examination, to
deny the truth of what she had said.
But the law of libel is an intricate and parlous
thing. S. J.-B. had been told by several people of
standing—including her teacher and his assistant—
that Professor Christison’s assistant had been a
ringleader in the riot; but she did not know of her
own knowledge that he had been so.
“I wished,” she says, “to plead the substantial truth of my
statement; but, being, of course, ignorant of Scotch law, I was
overruled by my Counsel, among whom was the Lord Advocate of
Scotland (Young), on the ground that I could not personally prove
the truth of what I had said, as indeed I did not know the young
man by sight, and it would be held an aggravation of the injury to
plead ‘Veritas’ in a matter which was, after all, only one of hearsay. I
was assured that, if the case came to trial, abundant opportunity
would be given to prove the young man’s real conduct in the matter.”

This opportunity, however, was relentlessly

withheld.
The case for the defence was one to rejoice the
heart of a brilliant counsel, being full of technical
opportunity,—and to a brilliant counsel it fell. So
entirely did Mr. Shand (afterwards Lord Shand) rely
on his own bow and spear to win the day,—and it
must be admitted that there was nothing else to rely
on—that he dared to risk the conclusions which must
inevitably be drawn from his omission to call the
pursuer as a witness on his own side; he dared to
provoke a laugh by saying that Mr. C. “was not so
fond of public appearances as the defendant.” He laid
down in his opening statement the law that must
govern the case, and with dogged tenacity, he
brought the Judge and everyone else in Court to
heel. Lord Mure, as it chanced, was easily led. The
choice of a Judge in Scotland lies with the pursuer,
and in any case it might not have been easy to find
one in those days who had a prejudice in favour of
women doctors.
One is glad to know that the protagonist appeared
“cool and collected” to the indifferent observer, but
she must have been on the rack much of the time,
for the “substantial truth and right” for which she
longed, got no chance at all, or rather they saved
their lives only by losing them, so to speak; and that
is one of time’s revenges that youth cannot foresee.
The full report of the case appeared in the
Scotsman of May 31st and June 1st. The following
extracts are taken mainly from the Edinburgh
Evening Courant, because they are slightly
abbreviated, and because they appeared in a paper
unfriendly to the cause of the women.
“There could be no doubt,” said the advocate for the pursuer,
“that, however injurious the arguments she used might be, if they
were justified by facts, it was perfectly open to Miss Jex-Blake to
maintain that her statements were true, and to take what is called
an ‘issue in justification,’ for the purpose of establishing upon her
own issue, as counter to the present one, what she said. But she
had not chosen to do that: it was not pretended that the statements
were true; and therefore the only question the jury had to try was,
practically, whether those statements were to the pursuer’s loss,
injury, and damage.[79]”

This argument, fair enough as coming from an

advocate, represents to all intents and purposes, the
attitude adopted by the Judge. The case positively
bristled with arguments, but the humblest
appearance of a really relevant fact brought Mr.
Shand to his feet with a taboo.
“Thomas Sanderson deponed in answer to Mr. M‘Laren—I am a
student of medicine and last winter I attended Dr. Laycock’s class.
On the 18th November I was at the gate leading to Surgeons’ Hall.
There was a large crowd of students and a larger crowd of other
people at the gate. The students were both inside and outside the
gate. The majority were University students. I assisted the ladies to
pass through the College gate. I was pulled about a little by the
students. The students were hooting, and oaths and offensive
expressions were used.
Among the students inside the gate did you recognize Mr. C.?
Mr. Shand (to witness)—Don’t answer that question.
Lord Mure sustained the objection.
Mr. M‘Laren—Did you see Mr. C. at any time on the 18th
November?
Witness—Yes.
Where did you see him?—At the Surgeons’ Hall.
At what time of the day did you see him?—A few minutes after
four o’clock.
How was Mr. C. conducting himself?
Lord Mure disallowed the question.
E. C. C., examined by the Lord Advocate, deponed—I am the
pursuer in this action. I was twenty-one years of age last August.
You remember the riot at Surgeons’ Hall on the 18th of
November?—I do.
Where were you?
Mr. Shand objected to this question. His Lordship had already
ruled that no evidence could be led as to whether the witness took
part in these proceedings; and it seemed as if the Lord Advocate
was attempting to evade his Lordship’s decision.
Lord Mure said this was a general question and he allowed it to be
put to the witness.
The Lord Advocate—Where were you at the time? Witness—At
what time?
At the time of the riot?—I was at the College of Surgeons during
part of the time.
When did you go there?—Three o’clock.
When did the riot begin? Shortly after four.
What were you doing between three and four?—I was in the class
for practising physic.
When did it come out?—A few minutes before four.
 Was there a mob of students at the gate?
Mr. Shand—Your lordship will understand that I am objecting to all
these questions.
The Lord Advocate—Were you present during the whole of the
riot?
Mr. Shand—I object to that question.
Lord Mure sustained the objection.”

In addressing the jury, Mr. Shand said,

“A slander had been committed and was unrepented, and only by
a verdict from the jury could the calumny be wiped off. A nominal
sum, however, would be an injury instead of an assistance. Excessive
damages[80] he did not ask, but only such a reasonable sum as would
mark their sense of the injury inflicted on the pursuer by the
statements made in his absence.”

The Lord Advocate’s summing up was humorous in

the extreme, and called forth peals of laughter at the
pursuer’s expense; indeed in the end he almost went
so far as to produce a counter-wave of sympathy for
the victim of his brilliant raillery. But, indeed, nothing
could be made of the case as it stood.
In the final summing-up, Lord Mure said:
“He had not allowed any evidence to prove that the pursuer had
been a leader in the riot, because, according to his view of the
authorities on the subject, it was incompetent to allow such evidence
in the absence of an issue of justification. The jury had heard the
evidence of Dr. Christison and others as to the injury which a man’s
character was calculated to sustain from such a statement as had
been made use of by the defender; and it was for the jury to judge
whether that charge was one which was likely, without retractation
or apology, to injure the pursuer’s character.
 The jury retired at five o’clock, and at half-past six they returned
to Court, and gave a unanimous verdict in favour of the pursuer,
assessing the damages at a farthing.”[81]

On the following day a leading article in the

Glasgow Herald made the following comment:
“Miss Blake has not pled or proved the substantial truth of her
accusations. She has preferred to challenge Mr. C. to prove their
falsehood. We are altogether unable to understand why he should
not have accepted the challenge, and why he omitted to deny the
charges levelled against him. We cannot see how he could have
expected a jury to give him substantial damages for his injured
reputation when he refused to allow any enquiry into the
circumstances in which he stood. The witnesses who were present
on the occasion of the riot were not allowed to say whether they
saw Mr. C. present at the riot, whether he took part in it, or what he
said or did on the occasion if he was present. Miss Jex-Blake is
accordingly very properly fined one farthing for her rash and libellous
statements, and the public is left to wonder for what earthly reason
Mr. C. brought his action. It has only one compensation for the loss
of time involved in reading the evidence in a trial which has
established nothing. Miss Jex-Blake has completely vindicated the
title of her sex to aspire to the highest honours not merely in
medicine but in law. She has shown herself a perfect mistress of the
art of self defence. In no cricket field this season have there been so
many dangerous balls admirably stopped, and so many badly bowled
ones dexterously played. If the witness and the counsel could have
interchanged positions, the change might possibly have had
considerable effect upon the fortunes of Mr. C.”[82]

But the end was not yet. It was still possible for
the Bench to make S. J.-B. responsible for the entire
costs of the case, and in due time she was called
upon to pay—in addition to the farthing damages—a
bill of £915 11s. 1d.
Let it be recorded at once that her brother
promptly redeemed his promise, and sent a cheque
for half the amount.
As soon as the decision of the Court was made
known, one of the jurymen expressed his feelings in
a letter to the Scotsman:
“Edinburgh, July 1871.
Sir,—As one of the jurymen before whom this case was tried, I am
extremely disappointed to observe from the papers that the Court
have found the pursuer entitled to his expenses.
I have been anxiously looking forward to the determination of the
case, in the hope that the verdict of the jury would be so applied as
to receive the effect which they intended by it.
The jury were of the opinion that the pursuer should have
submitted some evidence to them of his non-participation in the
disgraceful riot, of which Miss Jex-Blake had so much reason to
complain, to have entitled him to a verdict; and they would have
made some representation to the presiding Judge on the subject had
it been possible to do so.
After retiring, the first thing done was to appoint a foreman. This
gentleman turned out to be in favour of a verdict for the defender.
With the view of ascertaining the mind of the rest of the jury, he
asked us individually to write down on pieces of paper whether we
were for ‘libel’ or ‘no libel’. The result was an equal division—six for
finding that there was a libel, and six for no libel. This was done a
second time with the same result. In this predicament, and after
considerable discussion as to the amount of damages, in the course
of which I don’t think a larger sum than one shilling was even
mentioned, even by those who thought there had been a libel, it was
proposed to ask the Court whether the foreman had a casting-vote.
This was done, and the Clerk came back and told us he had not. We
then asked the Clerk whether we were entitled to find for the
pursuer without giving any damages, and he told us we were not.
Shortly after, we again sent for the Clerk, and enquired whether a
farthing of damages would carry expenses against the defender. He
stood a while, and said there was some new Act which provided that
a farthing of damages would not carry expenses.
He went out to consult the Judge; but, having got this information
from him, we agreed upon our verdict, and rung the bell for the
macer at once. I had no doubt of the soundness of the Clerk’s
opinion, and in that belief I concurred in the verdict finding the
pursuer entitled to one farthing of damages. I certainly would not
have done so, had I for a moment anticipated the result which has
happened. I think the case a very hard one for the defender, more
especially when, but for the opinion given by the Clerk, the verdict
might have been in her favour. I think it is due to her that the public
should be informed of the circumstances under which the verdict
was given, for it seems a very illogical result to affirm that the
pursuer had suffered no damage by the alleged slander, or, at least
damage of only one farthing, and at the same time to compel the
defender to pay a large sum for expenses, especially when the origin
of the whole matter was a riot in which the ladies were so badly
used.—I am, etc.
A Juryman.”

This letter was followed by one from a lawyer:

“Edinburgh, July 12, 1871.
Sir,—I am not surprised at the letter in your publication of to-day,
of a ‘A Juryman’ in the above case. The Clerk of Court was in
substance correct in his statement to the jury that by a recent Act of
Parliament the pursuer in an action of damages is not entitled to
expenses if the verdict is for less than £5, but he was wrong in not
at the same time informing them of the discretion still left to the
Court....
 But the thing that strikes me most forcibly in the juryman’s
statement is how came it that a Clerk of Court was allowed to speak
to the jury at all on such a matter. The public are indebted to the
juryman for making this known, because it at once explains what
was intended by the verdict. I do not think in the circumstances the
verdict is worth anything, and I would strongly advise Miss Jex-Blake
to appeal the case, and have the verdict set aside on the ground
either of the Clerk’s interference, or that the decision of the Judges
is wrong. Certainly the decision on the matter of expenses is very
unsatisfactory to the legal profession, especially as it was given
without the usual statement of the grounds of judgment.
I am, etc.,
A Lawyer.”

It remained for Miss Pechey to give her views on

the practical outcome of the case. Poor little Hope
Scholar! She had travelled far since the days when
she had refused to “appeal” because she was better
employed in listening to the nightingales.
“Edinburgh, July 13th.
Sir,—I see that a juryman has written to you to say how very ill
the recent decision as to the costs agrees with the intentions of the
jury, and a lawyer has made clear how extraordinary it is in point of
law. Will you allow me to say a few words, from personal
experience, on the practical results?
The medical students of Edinburgh have received a hint by which
some of them seem well inclined to profit. They have been told
pretty plainly that it is possible that there should be a riot got up for
the express purpose of insulting women, for one of the very women
insulted to be accused of libel when she complains of such conduct,
and then for the insulters to escape scot-free, and the complainer to
be mulcted in expenses. In fact the moral seems to be that, unless a
woman is willing to be saddled with costs to the amount of several
hundred pounds, she had better resolve to submit to every kind of
insult, without even allowing herself to mention the facts.
I say that some of the students appear to have taken the hint so
given; for to this I must think is due the treatment received by
myself and some of my friends if we happen to meet students on
our way home in the evening. It will possibly strike some people as
sufficiently extraordinary that a knot of young men should find
pleasure in following a woman through the streets, and should take
advantage of her being alone to shout after her all the foulest
epithets in their voluminous vocabulary of abuse; yet such is the
case. I am quite aware that it would be useless to represent to those
students the injury they do to the University and to the medical
profession in the eyes of the public, because neither of these
considerations would weigh with them for a moment; but it may
make some impression on them to be told that the effect of their
conduct is really such as they would least desire. Dr. Christison is
reported to have said during his examination in Court, that he
considered the riot of November to be ‘a great misfortune,’ and from
his point of view he was undoubtedly right. If the wish of these
students is to bar our progress, and frighten us from the prosecution
of the work we have taken in hand, I venture to say never was a
greater mistake made. Each fresh insult is an additional incentive to
finish the work begun. I began the study of medicine merely from
personal motives; now I am also impelled by the desire to remove
women from the care of such young ruffians. I am quite aware that
respectable students will say, and say truly, that these are the dregs
of the profession, and that they will never take a high place as
respectable practitioners. Such is doubtless the case; but what then?
Simply that, instead of having the medical charge of ladies with rich
husbands and fathers, to whom, from self-interest, they would be
respectful, they will have the treatment of unprotected servants and
shop-girls. I should be very sorry to see any poor girl under the care
(!) of such men as those, for instance, who the other night followed
me through the street, using medical terms to make the disgusting
purport of their language more intelligible to me. When a man can
put his scientific knowledge to such degraded use, it seems to me he
cannot sink much lower.
How far the recent decisions are calculated to arrest or discourage
such conduct, I leave the public to judge.—I am, etc.
Mary Edith Pechey.”

One is glad to note that the Lancet now took fire:

“Common candour must compel any unprejudiced person to admit
that the fight has been pursued by the orthodox party per fas et
nefas, and that the ill-advised conduct of grave and learned seniors
in the profession has offered only too plausible an excuse to the
heated blood of younger partisans to indulge in coarse excesses.”

It would be wrong to make too much of this

ebullition of wickedness from the hearts of “ill-led”
boys; but we must not forget that the women were
scarcely more than girls, unable to view these things
as calmly as we view them now; and all these
experiences went to make them the thing they
became.
For the iron entered into their souls.
Thirty years later one of their number—a married
woman and a physician of standing—was heard to
say that on her occasional visits to Edinburgh, she
would make a détour of miles rather than pass the
gates of Surgeons’ Hall.
“Would you really?” said S. J.-B.
 CHAPTER X
SOME FRIENDSHIPS AND HOLIDAYS

Of course S. J.-B. was not allowed to pay one

penny of her expenses. The amount was subscribed,
and more than subscribed, by sympathizers all over
the United Kingdom in the course of a few weeks;
and her brother’s cheque was duly returned. It would
almost seem as if nothing had done so much to
excite public interest and fellow-feeling as that
unfortunate speech and the lawsuit to which it led.
The very names of those who undertook to receive
subscriptions gave a striking indication of the
[83]
challenge of popular sympathy.
There was no lack of criticism and condemnation,
of course; the move and countermove went on; but
hundreds of letters poured in, bearing witness, not
only to the width, but to the depth, of the feeling
called forth. Miss Frances Power Cobbe’s impulsive
beginning,—“I want words to express my
indignation,—” was typical of many. Harriet
Martineau, too, was a subscriber and a cordial
[84]
sympathizer.
 A number of subscriptions were returned after the
full amount was raised, and many people expressed
their disappointment at hearing of the fund only
through the announcement that it was closed. “I
wish it would open again,” wrote the Revd. Professor
Charteris, “even if it were only a little chink.”
Here are two very different letters that one is glad
to put on record:
“Inverness, Aug. 3/71.
[85]
Dear Miss Stevenson,
Assuredly no man could calmly read Miss Jex-Blake’s case, out of
or in Court. And, could I do so publicly, I would cast from me with
loathing all my once valued connexions with the Edinr. Colleges of
Physicians and Surgeons; to show my utter disgust at (with a few
honourable exceptions) their unmanly brutal conduct towards Miss
Blake and her friends.
On the 9th (D.V.) I shall be in Edinburgh, when I shall call for or
write to you. On that day, I hope to get some help from absent
friends to add to the mite of
Yours faithfully,
J. Mackenzie, M.D.”

“33 Richmond Place,

Edinburgh, 24th Aug. 1871.
Madam,
I beg to enclose a P.O.O. for eight shillings. This small sum is
subscribed by a few working men in aid of the fund for defraying the
Law expences so unjustly thrust upon Miss Jex-Blake for simply
speaking the truth in her own defence in a Straightforward Manner.
They deeply sympathise with this lady in the noble struggle she is
making for Womens right to a liberal education and remunerative
employment. May she be of good cheer, of good courage, and
continue steadfast unto the end.
 I am, Madam,
Your obedient Servant,
James Gray.
P.S. If this subscription be advertised please put it, A few working
men—8s. It is payable at the Nicholson Street Post Office.
Miss A. M‘Laren.”

There was almost always an element of comic

relief, too, about these tragic and moving situations.
The following letter was one of those which provided
it in this case:
“58 Altom Street,
Blackburn, 15 Aug./71.
Miss Jex-Blake,
Dear Madam,
Although a complete stranger to you I have long been familiar
with your name, and also with your efforts to open the Edinburgh
University to Ladies. I understand that you have been in America,
you will therefore be familiar with many of the Colleges and
Universities there. My wife who is in full practice here has studied
Medicine in the Hygeio-Therapeutic Medical College and has
obtained her M.D. Degree from the same College. As I am able to
influence the Degree of M.D. to either Ladies or Gentlemen who are
able to satisfy me as to their fitness to practise Medicine, I thought I
would communicate with you, as probably an American degree
would answer your purpose until it is possible to procure one from
an English or Scotch University.
After all, it is not the degree but the ability of a Medical
practitioner that should be appreciated....”

Truly: but the law has something to say about the

signing of death certificates, the registration of
lunatics, the recovery of fees, and other incidental
details. More strawberry jam labels!
The cheque, for over £1000, was presented to S.
J.-B. at a public meeting, when there was a large
gathering of influential citizens, the faithful Lord
Provost occupying the chair. When all expenses were
fully paid, a balance remained of over £100, which S.
J.-B. asked leave to add to an already existing “nest-
egg” for the purpose of founding a future hospital for
women officered by women.
The immediate struggle with the University was
not made any easier, however, though the “Cause”
was gaining ground by strides all over the rest of the
world. The Scotsman continued to give a wholesome
lead to the press: indeed no woman gained
scholastic or other honours anywhere without having
her name and achievement duly registered with an
implicit Verb. sap. at the end of the paragraph.
One is glad to record, too, that one or two
delightful holidays relieved the strain of this year’s
work. Mrs. Thorne was proving herself a most
valuable representative, not comparably so well
versed as S. J.-B. in all the minutiae of the conflict,
but certainly less exacting and easier to work with.
Considering the stem from which she sprang—a
Tory family of landed gentry—S. J.-B. as prophetess
had a surprising amount of honour in her own house.
Her conservative old friend, Lady Waldegrave, had
written a quite touching letter of appreciation in April
of this year; and her Norfolk uncle and aunt, the
Revd. Thomas and Mrs. Gunton actually subscribed
to the cause and allowed their names to be put on
her Committee, though Mrs. Gunton had postponed
reading the papers bearing on the subject for some
time, from fear that she and her husband would be
constrained to refuse.
“How ANY WOMAN can have a desire for the Medical
Profession is indeed WONDERFUL,” she writes, “but of
course only very talented ones could go through the
stiff examinations that are required.”
She remarks too, with complacence, that men
doctors will be kept up to the mark when they have
to compete against women.
In some remote part of Norfolk, Mrs. Jex-Blake
gave her name in a shop, whereupon “a lady stepped
forward and said what good work you were doing,
but, if we were English, we must think very ill of the
Scotch. I said No, you had received far more
kindness than unkindness, having had a great many
real and warm friends.”
This incident leads one to note that the present
year, 1871, saw the ripening into lifelong friendship
of S. J.-B.’s acquaintance with Miss Agnes M‘Laren,
daughter of the Member for Edinburgh,—a lady who
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