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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 191 rally intrusted to act as purveyor for the men of the room to which he belonged. The butcher with whom he had dealt for some time used frequently to quiz him about his reputed strength, and was perhaps inclined to think, from the silence maintained by Sam on the subject, that it was not just so great as report stated. One day, while higgling a little about the price of some purchase- “ Come, come,” said the knight of the cleaver, and pointing to a bulk of very excellent appearance, “take that on your shodder; and if you carry it to Richmond, you shall have it for nothing.” The proposed task, strong as Sam was, seemed infinitely beyond his power, Richmond barracks being distant nearly two miles. The offer, however, wi~s extremely tempting ; and he well knew what eclat such a prize would obtain for him among his fellows. Sam therefore got the carcase on his back ; and, to the astonishment of the chop fallen butcher, succeeded in carrying it triumphantly to the barracks. Many of the Highland Fencible regiments were accompanied by stags of a large size, which were at once the pets of the men, and the wonder of the different towns they lay in. Big Sam was not the only human giant paraded in a similar way, as a specimen of what the north could produce. The.Argyleshire regiment had their champion in the person of a George Euchanan, who marched at their head with a fine stag. He was fully as tall as Sam, but wanted the symmetry and muscle that rendered him so remarkable ; neither was his voice so gruff as M‘Donald’s, which had something ventriloquial about it, as if he spoke from the inside of a barrel. Sam treated every other bully as a conscious Newfoundland dog does the impertinences of a troublesome cur. Euchanan had many wrestling bouts, however, with strong men in various places, but uniformly threw them with great ease. When in Falkirk (during the American war) he exhibited his muscular prowess by holding a heavy cart-wheel upon his arm, which was afterwards passed through the nave, the wheel being made to spin round like a mill-wheel on its axle., No. CCXXXVII. MR. CHARLES SINCLAIR, ONE OF TEE DELEGATES TO THE BRITISH CONVENTION. SINCLAIwRa s apprehended along with Margarot, Gerrald, and others ; but neither he nor Citizen Browne were tried. Little is now known either of their lives or characters. Sinclair is understood to have subsequently become an informer ; and there is reason to suspect that from the first he had acted merely as a spy. ... men, and the wonder of the different towns they lay in. Big Sam was not the only human giant paraded in a ...

Book 9  p. 257
(Score 6.65)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, 51 It is said that when Sam was in London, on one occasion he was advised to show himself for money, and that although he declined exhibiting himself in his own character, he so far acted on the hint as to dress in female attire, and advertise as ‘‘ The remarkably tall woman.” By this ingenious expedient, Sam became so well furnished with cash that his expenditure attracted the notice of his Colonel, who being curious to ascertain in what way he had obtained his supplies, interrogated Sam, who candidly disclosed the fact, and in this way the secret transpired. Sarn was once persuaded to appear on the stage, whilst in the service of his late Majesty, at the request of his Royal Master. This took place at the Opera-House in the Haymarket, then occupied by the Drury Lane Company. upon occasion of the representation of a dramatic entertainment, called “ Cymon and Iphigenia,” and in which he acted the appropriate part of Hercules.’ Numberless anecdotes are told of M‘Donald, illustrative of his great strengkh. On one occasion, having been challenged by two soldiers of his own regiment on the understanding that he was to fight both at once, Samuel agreed, but said, as he had no quarrel with them, he should wish to shake hands with them before they began. One of the combatants instantly held out his hand. Samuel took hold of it, but instead of giving it the friendly shake expected, he used it as a Iever to raise its owner from the ground, when he swung him round as he would a cat by the tail, and threw him to a great distance. The other combatant, not admiring this preliminary process, took to his heels. Many feats of strength similar to this are, as already mentioned, recorded of him. While in Edinburgh, Sam occasionally patronised Geordie Cranstoun (see No. 19) to whose singing he took much pleasure in listening. He was nevertheless much displeased to find himself associated with him in this Print, which was shown him by Mr. Kay. He remarked to the engraver that he did not choose to be classed with a beggar, and insisted that the little man’s portrait should be expunged. Although this demand was not complied with, the next time that Sarn called on the artist he was in his usual good humour. Sam was six feet ten inches high, four feet round the chest, extremely strongbuilt and muscular, but yet proportionable, unless his legs might be thought even too large for the load they had to bear. No. XXI. MAJOR FISHER. THIS gentleman, represented as giving the word of command, was an officer in the 55th Regiment of Foot, which was in Edinburgh in 1790. Both officers and men conducted themselves with great propriety while there. 1 Gentleman’s Magazine, voL Ixxii. p. 478. ... SKETCHES, 51 It is said that when Sam was in London, on one occasion he was advised to show himself ...

Book 8  p. 71
(Score 4.5)

190 BI 0 GRAPH1 C AL SKETCHES. From such reminiscences it may be guessed that the philosophy of Mr. Burnet was not of that morose description which converts the sweets of life into sour. He saw much in life worth living for j but yet, while he possessed a (( feeling for all mankind,” there existed within him enough of the devil to render applicable in his case the well known-motto of the thistle. He was not to be insulted with impunity. Having gone into a tavern with a few friends one excessively warm day, the Captain, in order to cool himself, laid aside his sword and belt. in the meantime, another party entering the room, one of them, in approaching the table, took the liberty of removing Mr. Burnet’s sword ; and, by way of ridicule, placed it in a position which few men of spirit would have submitted: to in silence. Springing to his feet .in a paroxysm of rage, he unsheathed the weapon, and running on the offender, would have transfixed him to the wall, but for the interference of a third party, who fortunately parried the thrust. The death of this veteran of the Guard, which occurred on the 24th August 1814, is thus recorded in the Scots Magazine :-“ At Seton, Mr. James Burnet, many years Captain of the Town Guard of this city. Mr. Burnet is much regretted by a numerous acquaintance, who greatly respected him as a cheerful companion and an honest man.” Neither did our excellent friend. No. CCXXXVI. SAMUEL M‘DONALD, IN THE UNIFORM OF THE SUTHERLAND FENCIBLES. THIS is another Print of the Scottish Hercules. Annexed to the former Portrait a short sketch of his life has already been given ; but a few additional anecdotes, illustrative of his amazing strength, may not be improper here. One night Sam happened to be placed as sentry over a piece of ordnance which would have taken two or three ordinaxy men to remove. He had not been long at his post, however, when his comrades, who were enjoying themselves at the guard-room fire, were astonished at his entrance with the huge mass of cast-iron over his shoulder. On being asked what he meant by deserting his post-“ Why, what’s the use,” said he, U of standing out there in a cold night, watching that bit of iron, when I could as well watch it in here !” On another occasion, in the barrack-room, one of the men requested M‘Donald to hand down a loaf from a shelf, which he could not easily get at himself. Sam good-naturedly turned round, a.ud catching the individual behind the neck held him up at arm’s length, saying, “There-take it down for yourself!” While the Sutherland Fencibles were stationed at Dublin, Sam was gene ... BI 0 GRAPH1 C AL SKETCHES. From such reminiscences it may be guessed that the philosophy of Mr. Burnet was ...

Book 9  p. 254
(Score 3.75)

50 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. present sent by some friend, wa8 not a little amazed, and perhaps disappointed, on opening the parcel, to find that it contained only her “ ain Geordie.” At mason meetings, which he regularly attended, and where he was always entertained gratis, he generally, when about to give a specimen of his accomplishmenta, mounted on one of the tablea George was a frequent candidate for precentorships in the various churches of the city, but was uniformly rejectei on account of the extreme oddity of his appearance, which not improbably would have excited feelings amongst the congregation not consistent with the solemnity of divine worship. No. xx. SANUEL WDONALD AND GEORGE CRANSTOUIT. SAMUEL M‘DONALD, or Big Sam, as he was generally called, was a native of the parish of Lairg, in the county of Sutherland. During part of the American War he was a private in the Sutherland Fencibles. He became afterwards fugleman to the Royals, and continued in this situation till the year 1791, when his 1ate.Majesty George the Fourth, then Prince of Wales, made him a lodge porter at Carlton House. This situation he relinquished in 1793, and was appointed a sergeant in the regiment in which he originally commenced his military career. His mild manner and singularly clear and sonorous voice peculiarly fitted him for drilling recruits ; and in this duty he was very frequently employed. Being of too large stature to stand in the ranks, he generally took his place on the right of the regiment when in line, and marched at the head when ‘in column. The striking appearance of M‘Donald on these occasions was not a little heightened by his being always accompanied by a mountain deer, of a size as remarkable as his own. This animal was so attached to him that, when permitted, it would follow him through the streets. When the Sutherland Fenciblea were formed into the 936 Regiment, M‘Donald still retained his military predilection, and continued with his old companions till the day of his death, which took place at Guernsey on the 6th of May 1802. His death was occasioned by a collection of water in the thorax-an insidious disease to which the robust am more yarticiilarly liable. M‘Donald, from his great good nature and excellent moral character, was a universal favourite, and much respected in the different corps in which he served. The Countess of Sutherland, “judging probably,” says Colonel Stewart of Garth, “ that EO large a body must require more sustenance than his military pay could afford,” generously allowed him half-a-crown per day over and above his pay. He was then forty years of age. ... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. present sent by some friend, wa8 not a little amazed, and perhaps disappointed, on ...

Book 8  p. 68
(Score 3.11)

I LLUS T RAT I 0 N S. DRAWN BY WALLER H. PATON, R.S.A., SAM. BOUGH, dS.A., JAMES DRUMMOND, R.S.A., E. T. CRAWFOKD, K. S.A., JOHN SMART, A.R.S.A., ROBERT SANDERSON, R. SCOTT TEMPLE, AND OTHER ARTISTS. ENGRAVED BY WLLLIAM BALLINGALL. FRONTISP:I CEED INBURGH-A GLIMPSEF ROM THE WATER OF LEITH NEAR BONNINGTON-Facixg Title-Page. TITLE-PAGE-KEYS OF THE CITY, AS PRESENTED TO HER MAJESTY, QUEENV ICTORIA, ON THE I ~ T HO F AUGUST1 876. ARTHUR’SSEATFROMTHECALTONHILL, . . . . . SALISBURCYRA GS, . . . . . . . . . . THEE CHOINRGO CK-CRAIGMILLARC ASTLE IN THE DISTANCE, . HEAD OF THE WEST Bow, . . . . . . . . . CASTLE, AND ALLAN RAMSAY’S HOUSE, . . . . . . ROOMIN WHICH JOHN KNOX DIED, . . . . . . . L)OORWAY AT WHICH RIZZIOW AS MURDERED, ST. ANTHONY’WS ELL, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . QUIJEN MARY’S ROOM, CASTLE, . . . . . . . . LADY STAIR’S CLOSE, SHOWING THE WINDOW OF THE ROOM IN . . . . CLARINDA’S HOUSE-EXTERIOR: DEMOLISHED 1876, . . . ROOMI N CLARINDA’S HOUSE, . . . . . . . . WHICH BURNS FIRST LODGED IN EDINBURGH, THEA VENUE,B RUNTSFIELLDIN KS,. . . . . . . GRASSMARKAENTD THE CASTLE, . . . . . . . EDINBURGFRHO M WARRISTON CEMETERY, . . . . . THE SCOTT MONUMENT, ROYAL INSTITUTION, AND NATIONAL GALLERIES, . . . . . . . . . . . ROYALE XCHANGE., . . . . . . . . . NEWY EAR’S EVEA T THE TRONC HURCH, . . . . . Facing p. I 4 4 I1 14 16 I8 I8 20 24 30 33 38 44 49 52 55 56 ... LLUS T RAT I 0 N S. DRAWN BY WALLER H. PATON, R.S.A., SAM. BOUGH, dS.A., JAMES DRUMMOND, R.S.A., E. T. ...

Book 11  p. xvi
(Score 2.42)

THE WEST BOW AND SUBURBS. 349 grey towers of Merchiston beleagured by the furious Queen’8 men, and battered with their cannon till they “maid geit slappis in the wall;” but a truce was at length effected betwixt the contending factions, and the donjon keep became once more the ahode of the student, and its battlements the observatory and watch-tower of the astrologer. Napier was regarded by his contemporaries as possessed of mysterious supernatural powers; and the marvels attributed to him, with the aid of a familiar spirit that attended him in the shape of a Jet Black Cock, have been preserved among the traditions of the neighbourhood almost to our own day.’ The philosopher indeed would seem to have indulged his shrewd humour occasionally in gieng countenance to such popular conceits. A field in front of Merchiston still bears the name of tAe Doo Park as the scene of one of his necromantic exploits. The pigeons of a neighbouring laird having annoyed him by frequent inroads on his grain, he threatened at length to arrest them red-hand, and was laughingly dared to “catch them if he could.” The depredators made their appearance as usual on the morrow, and partook so heartily of the grain, which had been previously saturated with alcohol by the reclaiming owner, that he easily made the bewitched pigeons captives, to the no small astonishment and awe of his neighbours. It is curious to find a popular nursery tale originating in the grave pranks of the illustrious inventor of the Logarithms, yet many juvenile readers will recognise the following adventure of the Warlock of Merchiston and his Jet Black Cock as a familiar story. Napier apparently impressed his domestics with a full belief in his magical powers, as the readiest means of turning their credulity to account. Having on one occasion missed some property, which he suspected had been taken by one of his servants, they were ordered one by one into a dark room where the black cock was confined, and each of them wm required to stroke its back, after being warned that it would crow at the touch of the guilty hand. The cock maintained unbroken silence throughout the mysterious ordeal ; but the hand of the culprit was the only one found entirely free from the soot with which its feathers had been previously anointed1 The philosopher, however, was an adept in astrology, and appears himself to have entertained perfect faith in t.he possession of unusual powers, particularly in that of discovering hidden treasure. A very singular contract between him and Logan of Restalrig-one of the Gowrie conspirators-was found among the Merchiston papers, wherein it is agreed, that, forsamekle as ther is dywerss ald reportis, motiffis, and appirancis, that thair suld he within the said Robertis dwellinge place of Fascastell a Bourn of monie and poiss, heid and hurdit up secritlie, quilk as yit is onfund be ony man. The said Jhone sal1 do his utter and exact diligens to serche and sik out, and be a1 craft and ingyne that he dow, to tempt, trye, and find out the sam, and be the grace of God, other sal1 find the sam, or than mak it suir that na sik thing hes been thair; so far as his utter trawell, diligens, and ingyne, may reach.’” This singular contract acquires a peculiar interest, when we remember the reported discovery of hidden treasure with which the preliminary steps of the Gowrie Conspiracy were effected. Within a little distance of the ancient tower of Merchiston, and directly between it and the town, another old mansion of the Napiers attracted the eye of the curious. 1 Mark Napier’a Memoirs of Napier of Jlerchiston, 4t0, p. 214. * Napier’a Napier of Merchiaton, p. 221. ... WEST BOW AND SUBURBS. 349 grey towers of Merchiston beleagured by the furious Queen’8 men, and battered with ...

Book 10  p. 382
(Score 2.19)

YAMES VI. TO RESTORATION OF CHARLES I.. 83 Sanct Mary’s Wynd, hurtful to the keiping of this burghe.” And, again, on the Sth, they caused the doors and windows of all the tenements on the west side of St Mary’s- Wynd to be “ biggit up and closit,” as well as other great preparations for defence. On the 20th of June, three pieces of brass ordnance were mounted on St Giles’s steeple, and the holders of it amply stored with provisions and ammunition for its defence, and all the malls, fosses, and ports, were again ‘ I newlie biggit and repairit ; ” and within a few days after, the whole merchants and craftsmen remaining in the burgh, mustered to a ‘‘ wappinschawing” in the Greyfriars’ Churchyard, and engaged to aid and assist the Captain of the Castle in the service of the Queen.’ When all others means failed, an ingenious plot was devised for taking the Nether Bow Port by a stratagem, nearly similar to that by which the Castle was recovered in 1341; but the ambush was discovered by chance, and the scheme, happily for the citizens, defeated. Immediately thereafter, “ the Lords and Captain of the Castle causit big ane ne‘w port at the Nether boll, within the auld port of the same, of aisler wark, in the maist strenthie maner ; and tuik, to big the saniyn with, all the aisler stanis that Alexander Clerk haid gadderit of the kirk of Restalrig to big his hous with.”s This interesting notation supplies the date of erection of the second Nether Bow Port, and accounts for its position behind the line of the city wall ; as the original gate in continuation of St Mary’s Wynd would have to be retained and defended, while the new works were going on within. On the earlier site, but, we may presume to some extent at least, with these same materials, the fauous old “ Temple Bar of Edinburgh,” was again rebuilt in the form represented in the engraving, in the year 1606. At a still later date, the same parties, in their anxiety to defend this important pass, “causit all the houssis of Leith and Sanct Marie Wyndis heidis to be tane dounl” The Earl of Mar was no less zealous in his preparations for its assault. He caused trenches to be cast up in the Pleasance, for nine pieces of large and small ordnance, and mounted others on Salisbury Crags, ‘‘ to ding Edinburgh with,” so that the poor burghers of that quarter must have found good reason for wishing the siege to draw to a close. Provisions failed, and all fresh supplies were most diligently intercepted; military law prevailed in its utmost rigour, and the sole appearance of their enjoying a moment’s ease occur^ in the statement, that “ uochttheles the remaneris thairin abaid patientlie, and usit all plesouris quhilkis were wont to be usit in the xnoneth of Maij in ald tymes, viz., Robin Hude and Litill Johne.” This frightful state of affairs was at length brought to a close, with little advantage to either party; and on the 27th of July 1572, the whole artillery about the walls, on the steeple head of St Giles’s, and the Kirk-of-Field, were removed to the Castle, and the Cross being most honourably hung with tapestry, a truce was proclaimed by the heralds, with sound of trumpets, and the hearty congratulations of the people.“ In the month of August Knox returned to Edinburgh, after an absence of nearly two years. His life was drawing rapidly to a close, and on the 24th of November 1572 he expired in his sixty-seventh year. His body was interred in the Churchyard of St Giles, and was attended to the grave by a numerous concourse of people, including many of the chief , Diurnal of Occurrenta, pp. 220, 226, 251. Diurnal of Occurrenta, p. 241. ’ Ante, p. 8. ’ Ibid, p. 308. ... VI. TO RESTORATION OF CHARLES I.. 83 Sanct Mary’s Wynd, hurtful to the keiping of this burghe.” And, ...

Book 10  p. 91
(Score 2.18)

28 EDINBURGH PAST AND PRESENT. Thomson, and so are the various journals and encyclopedias under the eye of the indefatigable Sir David Brewster and of Professor Jamieson, and the 3hmzaZ uf Ph~enologye dited by George Combe. In this list there are no doubt many omissions, but the above is, we hope, a fair enough general estimate of Edinburgh celebrities duri,ng the period referred to. Artists, sculptors, and architects are so numerous that we can only mention a very few, (among the past) such as Sir David Wilkie, the Hogarth of Scotland (whose first studio was in Paul Street, in the near building on the left of the Engraving), the bold and picturesque Raebum, Thomson of Duddingston, in the sublime style, the Grand Monarque of Scottish painting ; Sir William Allan, Sir John Watson Gordon, David Scott with his Dantesque imagination and sombre grandeur ; David Roberts, Horatio Macculloch, D. 0. Hill, Sir George Harvey, Adam, Playfair, Bryce, Handyside Ritchie, and M'CaIlum; (and among the present) Sir J. Noel Paton with his boundless fancy and delicate finish ; Sir Daniel Macnee, Herdman, Drummond, Waller H. Paton, Hugh Cameron, G. Paul Chalmers, Smart, and the bold inimitable Sam Bough ; Anderson, Morham, Matheson ; Sir John Steell, Brodie, Mrs. D. 0. Hill, Hutchison, and David Stevenson. We name these as specimens-there are others besides of equal ox nearIy equal genius. . . . . . I COLLEGE QUADRANGLE. Returning from this excursus we find ourselves again at the College. Changed it is from the days when we could pass over from tracing Sir John Leslie in ltis giant leaps from system to system of the stellar universe, to the class where Wilson was painting scenery with the 'potent dash of a Salvatok Rosa, and analysing the human heart and its intricacies of passion ... EDINBURGH PAST AND PRESENT. Thomson, and so are the various journals and encyclopedias under the eye of the ...

Book 11  p. 46
(Score 1.97)

singular groups of huge, irregular, and diversified tenements that could well be conceived. Here a stunted little timber dwelling black with age, and ~ beyond it a pile of masonry, rising, storey above storey, from some murky propound that left its chimneys, scarcely rivalling those of its dwarfish MAHOGANY LAND- (Fmm a Mrafured Drawing & T. Hnmihn, #dIiskcd in 1830.) case of his is thus reported by Lord Fountainhall, under date July 6th, 1709 :- ?? Duncan Campbell, of Ashfield, giving himself out to be the best lithotomist and cutter for the stone, pursues Mungo Campbell, of Netherplace, that he being under the insupportable agony of the neighbours, after climbing thus far from their foundations in the depths below.? The Edinburgh Gazeffe for July, 1702, informed the public that Duncan Campbell, of Ashfield, chirurgeon to the city of Glasgow, was receiving patients in his lodging at the foot of the West Bow, and that he was great in operations for stone, having ?cutted nine score persons without the death of any, except five?; and one astounding I gravel, and was kept down in his bed by two ser- ? vants, sent for the said Duncan to cure him, who leaving the great employment he had, waited on him for several weeks ; and by an emaciating diet, fitted him for the operation, then cut him and brought away a big stone of five ounces? weight, and since that time he has ehjoyed better health, for which extraordinary cure all he got in hand was seventeen guineas ; whereas, by his attendance ... groups of huge, irregular, and diversified tenements that could well be conceived. Here a stunted little ...

Book 2  p. 320
(Score 1.94)

Cpormgate.1 SIR THOMAS DALYELL. I9 Often did her maid go with morning messages to her friends, inquiring, with her, compliyents, after their per cats. Good Miss Ramsay was also a friend to horses, and indeed to all creatures. When she observed a carter ill-treating his horse she would march up to him, tax him with cruelty, and by the very earnestness of her remonstrances arrest the barbarian?s hand. So, also, when she saw one labouring in the street with the appearance of defective diet, she would send rolls to its master, entreating him to feed theanimal. These peculiarities, though a little eccentric, are not unpleasing; and I cannot be sony to record those of the daughter of one whose head and heart were an honour to his country.? . The hideous chapel of ease built in New Street in 1794 occupied the site of the houses of Henry Kinloch and the Earls of Angus, the latter of which formed during the eighteenth century the banking office of the unfortunate firm of Douglas, Heron, and Co., whose failure spread ruin and dismay far and wide in Scotland. Little Jack?s Close, a narrow alley leading by a bend into New Street, and Big Jack?s Close, which led to an open court, adjoin the thoroughfare of 1760, and both are doubtless named from some forgotten citizen or speculative builder of other days. In the former stood the hall of the once wealthy corporation of the Cordiners or Shoemakers of the Canongate, on the west side, adorned with all the insignia of the craft, and furnished for their convivalia with huge tables and chairs of oak, in addition to a carved throne, surmounted by a crowned paring-knife, and dated I 682, for the solemn inauguration of King Crispin on St. Crispin?s Day, the 25th of October. This corporation can be traced back to the 10th of June, 1574, when William Quhite was elected Deakon of the Cordiners in the Canongate, in place of the late Andrew Purvis. It was of old their yearly custom to elect a king, who held his court in this Corporation Hall, from whence, after coronation, he was borne in procession through the streets, attended by his subject souters clad in fantastic habiliments. Latterly he was conducted abroad on a finelycaparisoned horse, and clad in ermined robes, attended by mock officers of state and preceded - 1s Geordie Cranstoun, who figures twice in Kay?s memarkable portraits. In Big Jack?s Close there was extant, until within a few years ago, the town mansion of Seneral Sir Thomas Dalyell of Binns, commanderm- chief of the Scottish forces, whose beard remained mcut after the death of Charles I., and who raised the Scots Greys on the 25th of November, 1681, ind clad them first in grey uniform, and at their head served as a merciless persecutor of the outlawed Covenanters, with a zest born of his service in Russia. The chief apartment in this house has been described as a large hall, with an arched or coach root adorned, says Wilson, with a painting of the sun in the centre, surrounded by gilded rays on an azure dome. Sky, clouds, and silver stars filled up the remaining space. The large windows were partially closed with oak shutters in the old Scottish fashion. ? The kitchen also was worthy OF notice, for a fireplace formed of a plain circular wch, of such unusual dimensions that popular credulity might have assigned it for the perpetration of those rites it had ascribed to him of spitting and roasting his miserable captives! . . . . . A chapel formerly stood on the site of the open court, but all. traces of it were removed in 1779. It is not at all inconsistent with the character of the fierce old Cavalier that he should have erected a private chapel for his own use.? It was to this house in Big Jack?s Close that the Rev. John Blackadder was brought a prisoner in 1681, guarded by soldiers under Johnstone, the town major, and accompanied by his son Thomas, who died a merchant in New England, and where that interview took place which is related in ? Blackadder?s Memories,? by D. A. Crichton :- ? I have brought you a prisoner,? said Major- Johnstone. ?Take him to the guard,? said Dalyell, who was about to walk forth. On this, the poor divine, whose emotions must have been far from enviable in such a terrible presence, said, timidly, ? May I speak with you a little, sir ? ? ?? You have already spoken too much, sir,? replied Dalyell, whose blood always boiled at the sight of a Covenanter, ?and I should hang you with my own hands over that outshot ! ? On this, Major Johnstone, dreading what might ... SIR THOMAS DALYELL. I9 Often did her maid go with morning messages to her friends, inquiring, with ...

Book 3  p. 18
(Score 1.91)

156 OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. . [Queen Street, always washed and carefully put away by her own delicate hands, and thus breakage was evaded. Marketing was then done in the early morning; and many a time was the stately figure of old Mrs. Wilson, ? in her elegantly-fitting black satin dress, Seen to pass to and fro from the old market place of Edinburgh, followed by some favourite caddie peace and harmony reigned supreme, and there are now not a few of her grandchildren who remember this fine old Scottish matron with affection and gratitude. In 1815 John Wilson had been called to the bar, at the same time with his firm friend Patrick Robertson, Sir William Hamilton, Andrew Rutherford, SIR JAMES WUNG SIMPSON. (or street porter), bearing the well-chosen meats and vegetables that no skill but her own was permitted to, select? She was a high Tory of the old school ; and it is told of her that on hearing it said that her, son was contributing to the Edinburgh Revim, she exclaimed, ?John, if you turn Whig this house is no longer big enough for us both ! ?? In No. 53 she had under her roof for several years two married sons, with their wives, children, . Archibald Alison, and others ; and in 1819, he, with his wife and children, then five in number, removed from his mother?s house in Queen Street to No. 20 Anne Street, Stockbridge. It was in No. 53, however, that the famous ? Chaldee Manuscript ? was written, amid such shouts of laughter, says Mrs. Gordon, ? that the ladies in the room above, sent to inquire in wonder what the gentlemen below were about. I am informed that among those who were met together on that memorable occasion ... OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. . [Queen Street, always washed and carefully put away by her own delicate hands, and ...

Book 3  p. 156
(Score 1.85)

354 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. No. CCXC. J A E S ACK C OULL, ALIAS CAPTAIN MOFFAT, AT THE BAR OF THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICIARY. THIS notorious individual was the son of a pocket-book maker, who for some time had a small shop near the Church of St. Sepulchre, London, in which city the subject of the Print was born in 1763. His father is said to have been an industrious, well-meaning man, but his mother was a female of abandoned habits, and long known as a shop-lifter and thief of the lowest grade. She had three sons and three daughters, all of whom, under her maternal instruction, became adepts in the art of pilfering. The career of Ben, the youngest son, was short, as he was executed for robbery in 1786. John Mackcoull, the eldest, was a well-known character at Bow Street. He was a person of good education and the author of a volume entitled ii Abuses of Justice,” which he published in 1819, on his acquittal from a charge of forgery.’ JAMEMS ACKCOULtLh,e hero of our narrative, who seems to have inherited through life the propensities of his mother, although on a somewhat more extended scale, made little progress in his education, farther than to acquire a knowledge of reading and writing. He absented himself from school-displayed great dexterity in pilfering from his playmates-and was a most accomplished liar. Athletic, active, and swift of foot, he acquired much renown as a pugilist in several encounters with his compeers. With these accomplishments his path to distinction was easy. The first recorded instance of his public depredations was robbing an unfortunate dealer in cats’ meat. Watching an opportunity, the young hero threw a quantity of snuff in the poor man’s eyes, then cut the bag of coppers from the barrow and decamped. From this period his depredations were numerous, and generally successful, His father had apprenticed him to a leather-stainer, with whom he remained for some time ; but his irregularities were so great, that his master at last discharged him. He now became a thief by profession, and in company with two associates-Bill Drake and Sam Williams-did business on a large scale. The most remarkable of his feats at this time was the robbery of a retired This work, which, however, is rather scarce, is exceedingly amusing. If the author is to be believed, he was a very ill-used man. ... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. No. CCXC. J A E S ACK C OULL, ALIAS CAPTAIN MOFFAT, AT THE BAR OF THE HIGH COURT OF ...

Book 9  p. 472
(Score 1.78)

280 MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH. Orknay, of the rycht of the Grammar Schole during his lyftyme, in favouris of the baillies and counsall,” who accordingly restored it to him, “ to be haldin of thame, as thai quha hes undoutitt rycht to dispone the samyne.”l At the head of Rae’s Close, a little further to the eastward, another long and interesting inscription of the same period, though earlier in its style, is inscribed over the entrance to the close. It consists of the following prayer :- WSERERE ME1 DOMINE ; A PECATO, PROBRO, DEBITO, ET MORTE SUBITA, ME LIBERA. 1 - 6 - 1 * 8 * This, which is one of the most beautiful inscriptions of the Old Town, has been recently partially concealed by a modern shop front; but the whde is given, with a slight variation, in the Theatmm Mortalium.’ Immediately adjoining this, another stone tenement of similar character presents its antique gabled faqade to the street, adorned with a curious figure of a turbaned Moor occupying a pulpit, projecting from a recess over the second floor. Various romantic stories are told of the Morocco Land, as this ancient tenement is styled. The following is as complete an outline of the most consistent of them as we have been able to gather, though it is scarcely necessary to premise that it rests on very different authority from some of the historical associations previously noticed :- During one of the tumultuous outbreaks for which the mob of Edinburgh has rendered itself noted at all periods, and which occurred soon after the accession of Charles I. to his father’s throne, the provost-who had rendered himself peculiarly obnoxious to the rioters-was assaulted, his house broken into and fired, and mob law completely cstablished in the town. On the restoration of order several of the rioters were seized, and, among others, Andrew Gray, a younger son of the Master of Gray, whose descendants now inherit the ancient honours and title of that family. He was convicted as the ringleader of the mob, and, notwithstanding the exertions of powerful friends, such was the influence of the provostwho was naturally exasperated by the proceedings of the riotersthat young Gray was condemned to be executed within a day or two after his trial. The last day of his doomed life had drawn to a close, and the scaffold was already preparing at the Cross for his ignominious death j but the Old Tolbooth showed, as usual, its proper sense of the privileges of gentle blood. That very night he effected his escape by means of a rope and file conveyed to him by a faithful vassal, who had previously drugged a posset for the sentinel at tAe Purses, and effectually put a stop to his interference. A boat lay at the foot of one of the neighbouring closes, by which he was ferried over the North Loch ; and long before the town gates were opened on the following morning, a lessening Register of the Burgh of the Canongate ; Naitland Club Niscellany, vol. ii. p. 345. Monteith’s Theatrum MwtaZium, p. 248, where the last two words are incorrectly transposed. Rae’s Cloae appears, from repeated references to it in the Register of the Burgh, to have been the only open thoroughfare at that period between Leith Wynd and the Water Gate. e.g., Orders are given, 6th December 1568, “to caus big vpe the fuit of Ra Cloce.” Again, 18th October 1574, “The Bailleis and Couosale ordains thair Thesaurer to big and upput an8 yett upon Rais Cloce, and mak the sarnyn lokfast,” a charge for which afterwards appeara in the Treasurer’s accounts. Mait. f i c . vol. ii pp. 316, 330, 336. Even in 1647, when Gordon’s bird’s-eye view was drawn, only one other thoroughfare appeara, and nearly the whole ground lying behind the row of houses in the main street consists of open gardens, with a wall running along the North Back of the Canongate. ... MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH. Orknay, of the rycht of the Grammar Schole during his lyftyme, in favouris of ...

Book 10  p. 304
(Score 1.74)

504 INDEX TO THE NAMES, ETC. Wheeler, Ann, 361 Whitbread, Mr. 247 White, Mr., 193 White, Henry Kirk, 299 White, Hbughton, 359, 360 White, Mrs. Houghton, 363 Whitefield, Rev. Mr., 41, 86 Whitefoord, Caleb, Esq., 60 Whitefoord, AIiss Maria, 59 Whytock, Rev. Mr., 245 Wiggan, Miss, 433 Wilberforce, William, Esq., 317 Wilde, Mr. John, 462 Wilkes, John, 392 Wilkes, Miss, 392 William IV., 214, 233 Williams, Sam, 354 Williarnson, John, 29 Williamson, Barbra, 29 Williamson, Mr. David, 122 Williamson, Mr. Janies, 122 Williamson, Kirkpatrick, Esq., 135, 137 Williamson, Mr. George, 168 Williamson, Misses, 202 Willison, David, printer, 475 Willock, Captain George, 305,306 Wilson, Rev. Dr., 109 Wilson, Thomas, 202, 345 Wilson, Rev. David, 279 Wilson, Provost, 328 Wilson, Rev. Dr., Hebrew professor, St. Andrews, 392 Wilson, Nr. John, 403, 407 Wilson, John, 408 Wilson, Mr, W. S., 445 Wilson, Professor, 457 Wilson, Robert Sym, Esq., 457 Wilson, James, 457 Winchilsea, Lord, 301 Witherspoon, Dr., 83 Woffington, Mrs., 205 Wood, Rev. James, 161 Wood, George, Esq., 193 Wood, Miss Apes, 193 Woodhead, Yr. Anthony, 1 Woods, Mr., actor, 204, 236, 260 Wordsworth, William, Esq., 338, Wraxall, Sir William, 257 Wright, Miss, 284 Wynne, Lady Watkins William, Wynyard, General, 295 Y YATES,M r., 177 Yates, Mrs., 204-206 York, Duke of, 22, 24, 189, 272, York, Duchess of, 208 Young, Miss Apes, 50 Young, Dr., 260 , Young, Mr. Robert, 403, 408 Younger, Mr. Archibald, 4 Yule, Dr. 81 Z Z ~ Ith,e Persian poet and moral- Zeithen, General, 259 391 469 349, 392, 446 ist, 302 ... INDEX TO THE NAMES, ETC. Wheeler, Ann, 361 Whitbread, Mr. 247 White, Mr., 193 White, Henry Kirk, ...

Book 9  p. 695
(Score 1.71)

68 OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [The Water of Leith. up against the dark green of the stately trees around and behind it. In this institution above ninety boys and girls are maintained, and its benefits are not confined to any district of Scotland. When admitted, they must be of the age of seven, and not above ten years. They are taught :reading, writing, arithmetic, and geography. The hospital has been maintained almost solely from &e charity of the public. pleasure-grounds of the old Dean House, and was formed in 1845. It is principally disposed on the steep and finely-wooded bank of the Water of Leith, and underwent great extension and some new embellishment in 1872. It contains the ashes of many distinguished Scotsmen, including Lords Cockburn, Jeffrey, Murray, and Rutherford, Professor Wilson, and near him his son-in-law, William Here are the graves of 1 Edmonstoun Aytoun. WATSON?S, ORPHANS?, AND STEWART?S HOSPITALS, FROM DRUMSHEUGH GROUNDS, 1859. (After a Drawing 6y Georgc Simron.) Near it, and north-westward of Bell?s Mills, -stands John Watson?s Hospital, built in I 825-8, irom a very plain design by Williani Burn. It is a spacious edifice, with a Donc portico, and maintains and educates about 120 children. This charity takes its rise from the funds of John Watson, W.S., who, in the year 1759, conveyed his whole property to trustees, Lord Milton and Mr. Mackenzie of Delvin, W.S., who managed their trust so well that, though in 1781 it only amounted to A4,721 5s. 6d., by 1823 it exceeded &go,ooo. It is built on ground which belonged of old to the estate of Dean. The Dean Cemetery, the most beautiful of the .cemeteries of Edinburgh, occupies the site and Edward Forbes the naturalist, Goodsir the anatomist, Allan, Scott, and Sam Bough, the painters, Playfair the architect and the sculptor, and William Brodie, RSA. In a corner near the east gate is buried George Combe, the eminent phrenologist, author of the ?? Constitution of Man,? who died in Surrey in 1858 ; and under a stately memorial of red Yeterhead granite, thirty-six feet in height, lies Alexander Russel, editor of The Scotsntnn. In the centre of the ground stands a tall obelisk, erected to the memory of the soldiers of the Cameron Highlanders ; and not far from it, a tomb, inscribed with all his battles, marks the grave of Major Thomas Canch, whose valour at the assault ... OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [The Water of Leith. up against the dark green of the stately trees around and behind ...

Book 5  p. 68
(Score 1.68)

228 OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Leith for many generations an ancient and lofty signaltower, the summit of which was furnished with little port-holes, like the loops designed for arrows or musketry in our old Scottish fortalices, but which were constructed here for the more peaceable purpose of watching the merchant ships of the port as they bore up the Firth of Forth or came to anchor off the Mussel Cape. An unusually bold piece of sculpture, in a deep square panel, was above the archway that led into the courtyard behind. It was afterwards placed over the arched entrance leading from the Tolbooth Wynd to St. Andrew?s Street, and, as shown by Robertson, bears the date 1678, with the initials G. R., with two porters carrying a barrel slung between them, a ship with a lee-board and the Scottish ensign, an edifice resembling a mill or two-storeyed granary, and above it a representation of a curious specimen of mechanical ingenuity. The latter consists of a crane, the entire machinery of which ?was comprised in one large drum or broad wheel, made to revolve, like the wire cylinder of a squirrel?s cage, by a poor labourer, who occupied the quadruped?s place, and clambered up Sisyphus-like in his endless treadmill. The perspective, with the grouping and proportions of the whole composition, formed altogether an amusing and curious sample of both the mechanical and the fine arts of the seventeenth century.? A local writer in 1865 asserts-we know not upon what authority-that it is the tablet of the Association of Porters; and adds, that ?had the man in the wheel missed a step when hoisting up any heavy article, he must have been sent whirling round at a speed in nowise tending to his personal comfort.? Robertson also writes of it as ?The tablet of the Association of Porters, over the entrance to the old Sugar House Close.?? About the middle of the wynd, on the south side, stood the edifice used, until 1812, as the Customhouse of Leith. It was somewhat quadrangular, with a general frontage of about a hundred feet, with a depth of ninety. Riddle?s Close separated it from the old Tolbooth and Town Hall, on the same side of the wynd. It was built in 1565 by the citizens of Leith, though not without strenuous opposition by their jealous feudal over-lords the community of Edinburgh, and was a singularly picturesque example of the old Tolbooth of a Scottish burgh. Anxious to please her people in Leith Queen Mary wrote several letters to the Town Council of Edinburgh, hoping to soothe the uncompromising hostility of that body to the measure; and at length the required effect was produced by the following epistle, which we have somewhat divested of its obsolete orthography :- ?? To the Provost, Bailies, and Counsale of Edinburgh :- ?Forasmeikle as we have sent our requisite sundry times to you, to permit the inhabitants of our town of Leith to big and edifie ane hous of justice within the samyn, and has received no answer from you, and so the work is steyit and cessit in your default. ?t Wherefore we charge you, that ye permit our said town of Leith to big and editie ane said hous of justice within our said town of Leith, and make no stop or impediment to them to do the samyn; for it is our will that the samyn be biggit, and that ye desist from further molesting them in time coming, as we will answer to as thereupon. ? Subscribit with our hand at Holyrood House, the 1st day of March, this year of God 1563. ? MARIE R.? This mandate had the desired effect, and in two years the building was completed, as an ornamental tablet, with the Scottish arms boldly sculptured, the inscription, and date, ?IN DEFENS, M. R., 1565,? long informed the passer-by. This edifice, which measured, as Kincaid states, sixty feet by forty over the walls, had a large archway in the centre, above which were two windows of great. height, elaborately grated. On the west of it, an outside stair gave access to the first floor ; on, the east there projected a corbelled oriel, or turret; lighted by eight windows, all grated. Three elaborate string mouldings traversed the polished ashlar.fronr of the building, which nvas surmounted by an embrasured battlement, and in one part by a crowstepped gable. Few prisoners of much note have been incarcerated here, as its tenants were generally persons who had been guilty of minor crimes. Perhaps the most celebrated prisoner it ever contained was the Scottish Machiavel, ?Maitland of Lethington, who had fallen into the merciless hands of the Regent Morton after the capitulation of Edinburgh Castle in I 5 7 3, and who died, as it was said, ?? in the d d Roman fashion,? by taking poison to escape a public execution. This was on the 9th of July, as Calderwood records, adding that he lay so long unburied, ?that the vermin came from his corpse, creeping out under the door where he died.? Such an occurrence, it has been remarked, said little for the sanitary arrangements of the Leith Tolbooth, and it is to be hoped that it had few other prisoners on that occasion. , ... OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Leith for many generations an ancient and lofty signaltower, the summit of which was ...

Book 6  p. 228
(Score 1.47)

YAMES IV. TO THE BATTLE OF FLODDEN. 27 Within the gate, the houses were gaily decorated, the windows being hung with tapestry, and filled with “lordes, ladyes, gentylwomen and gentylmen ; and in the churches of the towne, bells rang for myrthe.” Here they were received by the chapter and prebendaries of St Gilea’s Church in their richest vestments, and bearing the arm of their patron saint, which they presented to their Majesties to kiss ; while the good city vied with the ecclesiastics in testifying their joy by pageants and quaint mysteries, suited to the auspicious occasion. Nigh to the cross, at which a fountain flowed with wine, whereof all might drink,’ they were received by Paris and the rival goddesses, “with Mercure that gaffe him the apylle of gold for to gyffe to the most fayre of the thre.” Further on was the salutation of the Angel Gabriel to the Virgin ; while on another gate, probably the Netherbow, appeared the four virtues-Justice, treading Nero under her feet; Force, bearing a pillar, and beneath her Holofernes, all armed ; Temperance, holding a horse’s bit, and treading on Epicurus , and Prudence, triumphing over Sardanapalus ! while the tabrets played merrily as the royal prdcession passed through, and ao proceeded to the Abbey. There they were received by the Archbishop of St Andrews, accompanied by a numerous retinue of bishops, abbots, and other ecclesiastics, in their official robes, and conducted to the high altar, at which they knelt, while the (‘ Te Dam” was sung, and then passed through the cloisters into the Palace. In the great chamber (the hangings of which represented the history of Troy, and the windows filled with the arms of Scotland and England, and other heraldic devices, in coloured glass), were many ladies of great name and nobly arrayed ; and the King letting go the Queen, till she had kissed all the ladies, the Bishop of Moray acted as Master of the Ceremonies, naming each as she saluted her :-“ After she had kyssed them all, the Kyng kyssed her for her labour, and so took her again with low cortesay and bare hed, and brought hyr to hyr charmer, and kyssed her agayn, and so took his leve right humble ! ” ‘‘ The eighth day of the said month, every, man apointed himself richly for the marriage, the ladies noblyaparelled, some in gowns of cloth of gold, others of crimson, velvet, and black; others of satin, tynsell, and damask, and of chamlet of many colours; hoods, chains, and collars upon their necks. . . . . . The Kyng sat in a chape of cramsyn velvet, the pannells of that sam gylte, under hys cloth of astat of blew velvet fygured of gold; ” with the Archbishop of York at his right hand, and the Earl of Surrey on his left; while the Scottish bishops and nobles led the Queen frold her chamber, “crowned with a varey ryche crowne of gold, garnished with pierry and perles, to the high altar, where the marriage was solemnised by the Archbishop of Glasgow, amid the sound of trumpets and the acclamation of the noble company.” At the dinner which followed, the Queen was served at the first course with ‘‘ a wyld borres hed gylt, within a fayr platter,” followed by sundry other equally queenly dishes. The chamber was adorned with hangl Lelaod’e Collectan- vol. iv. p. 289. VIoNmm-Ancient padlock, dug up in Greytiara’ Churchyard, 1841. ... IV. TO THE BATTLE OF FLODDEN. 27 Within the gate, the houses were gaily decorated, the windows being hung ...

Book 10  p. 29
(Score 1.37)

314 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. No. CCLXXV. HUGH MACPHERSON, SOMETIME CLERK TO THE PERTH CARRIERS. HUGHM ~CPHERSOoNr, “ Wee Hughie,” as he was commonly termed, was born in the district of Badenoch about the year 1770. His father, who lived to a great age, was shepherd on an extensive farm in that quarter; and both his parents were persons of ordinary stature. When Hughie fist ventured forth of his native fastnesses, he made his debdt in the Lowlands, att,ired in the Highland garb-bonnet, kilt, and plaid-with a pair of top-boots in lieu of hose ! For some years after his arrival in Perth, he was employed as a clerk in the George Inn; next in the shop of a grocer; and subsequently with Messrs J. and P. Cameron, carriers betwixt Perth and Edinburgh. The tartans had, long ere this, given way to a coat of dark green, light vest, darkish trousers, and highheeled boots ;’ a dress to which he adhered without alteration for a length of time. Every new suit, to make sure of being fashionably fitted, cost him a visit to Edinburgh. At length, that he might take charge of his employers’ establishment there, he had the peculiar satisfaction of being removed permanently to the capital. Hugh was a well-known kharacter, the oddness of his figure, and his excessive self-conceit, making him the subject of much diversion. While in Perth, some one having drawn a caricature of him, he at once sought reparation by challenging the offender to fight a duel ; but this display of spirit only tended to make matters worse, for, in another picture, the little mountaineer was grotesquely exhibited brandishing a pair of pistols not much shorter than himself. Proud and vindictive, he was easily affronted; and nothing vexed him more than to be underrated, or looked upon in the light of pity, by the fair sex. If insulted in their presence, he became perfectly furious. On one occasion, at a wedding party in Edinburgh, Hugh was dancing with great spirit, and in imagination as big as the tallest in the company, when a waggish participator in the reel, seizing a favourable opportunity, tripped up his heels, sending him headforemost into the ash-pit. Those who were present will not easily forget the miniature hero’s countenance on regaining his feet. Seizing a candlestick, in a His hat, too, it may be remarked, was particularly high and capacious ; thereby, we presume, to add to the height and dignity of his appearance. Hughie was, in his own estimation, a perfect dandy. Hughie invariably wore boats, not shoes, aa represented in the Print. ... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. No. CCLXXV. HUGH MACPHERSON, SOMETIME CLERK TO THE PERTH CARRIERS. HUGHM ...

Book 9  p. 417
(Score 1.36)

CRAMOND. 87 very interesting, and have a romance and fascination about them which structures of a more modem day, although adorned with all the taste aid beauty which the most cultivated art can lend them, do not possess. Gifted with speech, what wild tales of wassail and riot, love and hate, friendship and revenge, marriage and feud, could they’not relate ! Possibly Dalmeny Park is the object of greatest interest in this neighbourhood, remarkable alike for the beauty of its position and the rich and varied scenery of which it forms the centre. We have visited few places with which we have been more pleased, and seen fewer sights still which we have so thoroughly enjoyed. The bold waving surface of the demesne, with its noble avenue of trees, magnificent park, and pleasant pastures fringed with long ridges of rocks and canopied by a foliage of the most luxuriant growth ; the majestic Forth almost at your feet, stretching away east and west, gemmed with many an island, dotted with innumerable craft of varied sail, and seemingly banked by that massive rock-ribbed barrier of mountains which forms the boundary of the Highlands ; the rich and rugged scenery on either side, with here and there in the very front of it some old castellated fortress, now ‘all tattered and torn,’ but big with the memories of former struggles and triumphs, standing out in clear and bold relief, the time-scarred sentinel of the neighbourhood-all this taken together constitutes a scene, the wide extent and varied beauty and grandepr of which may be equalled, but raiely surpassed, and from which painter and poet alike may inbreathe the purest and divinest inspiration. CRAMOND, A parish partly in the counties of Linlithgow and Edinburgh, lies a little to the east of Dalmeny, with the beautifully wooded Hill of Corstorphine on the south. It is intersected by the river Almond, which flows on somewhat noisiIy here over its rugged and boulder-strewn bed, between steep banks and under afoliage with which it is almost arched, and falls into the sea at a creek, on the east side of which, on a gently declining brae, stands the sweet little village of the name. The arable pasture of the parish has long been in a state of high cultivation, and is generally remunerative-the remainder consisting of large valuable plantations and rich meadow pastures. A very interesting and pleasant walk for foot-passengers, along the shore-line from this to Leith, might be constructed at little or no expense ; but as it is, it is rather heavy plodding to get along over the dried sand; besides, one is exposed occasionally to be overtaken by the waves which rise in spring-tides, ... 87 very interesting, and have a romance and fascination about them which structures of a more modem day, ...

Book 11  p. 140
(Score 1.34)

130 ROSLIN, HAWTHORNDEN, ~. heights on either side, one gazes upon a world of moving tree-tops in the ravine below. ~ A little way back, on the Ieft bank, lies the single-streeted village of Roslin. Between the village and the Esk, on a grassy height called the College Hill, stands the Chapel ; and some hundred yards below, on a rocky promontory, formed by a bend in the river, are the ruins of the Castle, accessible only by a stone bridge of great height which spans a natural ravine between the promontory and the College Hill. From this position the Castle derived its name-XmZianRe, the promontory of the waterfall. The Esk forms a cascade as it bends sharply round the promontory, and it is still at this point called ‘the Lynn.’ The St. Clairs, or Sinclairs, of Roslin, or Rosslyn, trace their descent from a ‘Seemly St. Clair,’ a Norman knight of fair deportment, who ‘ came in’ with the Conqueror, and whom Malcolm Canmore diplomatically allured over the border by big grants of Scottish land. Roslin, amongst other places, was given to the family, and the Castle probably dates from the beginning of the fourteenth century. In 1622, when it had begun to fall away, a newer house was built over its vaults; and this was inhabited about eighty years ago by a good old Scottish Laird, the last heir-male and lineal descendant of the ‘ Seemly St. Clair.’ It is still let in summer to families wanting rustic accommodation ; and for one season at least it was tenanted in this fashion by the late Mr. Robert Chambers of Edinbu?gh. . The ‘ground about the hoary old ruins is now bright with the fruit and flowers of a market-garden. But in the middle of the fifteenth century the Castle was the seat of the good and scholarly William St. Clair, ‘ Prince of the Orkneys and Duke of Oldenburgh,’ the founher of Roslin Chapel. He was a very great personage indeed, with a town mansion at the foot of Blackfriars Wynd in Old Edinburgh, and a great retinue of lords and gentlemen. Sevenv-five gentlewomen attended upon his lady, who, when she rode from Edinburgh to Roslin, was accompanied by a guard of two hundred horse, and also, if it was after nightfall, by eighty bearing torches. On one occasion - part of the Castle was set on fire by the carelessness of one of this lady’s handmaidens. The women fled in fear j and the Prince, who was upon the College Hill at the time, no doubt superintending the building of his pet Chapel, on hearing of the fire, ‘was sorry for nothing but the loss of his charters and other writings.’ These, which were kept in the dungeon-head, his chaplain cleverly saved, throwing them out-four boxfuls of them-and following himself on a bell-rope tied to a beam. The good Prince rewarded From that time it was the chief residence of the St. Clairs. ... ROSLIN, HAWTHORNDEN, ~. heights on either side, one gazes upon a world of moving tree-tops in the ravine ...

Book 11  p. 187
(Score 1.3)

Hogg was born on a farm near Ettrick Forest in Selkirk and baptized there on December 9. He had little education, and became a shepherd, living in grinding poverty hence his nickname, The Ettrick Shepherd. His employer, James Laidlaw of Blackhouse, seeing how hard he was working to improve himself, offered to help by making books available. Hogg used these to essentially teach himself to read and write (something he had achieved by the age of 14). In 1796 Robert Burns died, and Hogg, who had only just come to hear of him, was devastated by the loss. He struggled to produce poetry of his own, and Laidlaw introduced him to Sir Walter Scott, who asked him to help with a publication entitled The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. In 1801, Hogg visited Edinburgh for the first time. His own collection, The Mountain Bard, was published in 1807 and became a best-seller, allowing him to buy a farm of his own. Having made his name, he started a literary magazine, The Spy, and his epic story-poem, The Queen's Wake (the setting being the return to Scotland of Queen Mary (1561) after her exile in France), was published in 1813 and was another big success. William Blackwood recruited him for the Edinburgh Magazine, and he was introduced to William Wordsworth and several other well-known literary figures. He was given a farm by the Duke of Buccleuch, and settled down there for the rest of his life. Hogg had already made his reputation as a prose writer with a practical treatise on sheep's diseases; and in 1824 his novel, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, was another major success. He became better known than his hero, Burns, had ever been. Today, Hogg's poetry and essays are not as widely read as in his contemporary era. However "Justified Sinner" remains important and is now seen as one of the major Scottish novels of its time, and absolutely crucial in terms of exploring one of the key themes of Scottish culture and identity: Calvinism. In a 2006 interview with Melvyn Bragg for ITV1, Scottish novelist Irvine Welsh cited Hogg, especially "Justified Sinner" as a major influence on his writing. [edit] Other works The Forest Minstrel (1810) (poetry) The Pilgrims of the Sun (1815) (poetry) Brownie of Bodsbeck (1817) (novel) Jacobite Reliques (1819) (collection of Jacobite protest songs) The Three Perils of Man (1822) (novel) The Three Perils of Woman (1923) (novel) Queen Hynde (1925)) (poetry) Songs by the Ettrick Shephard (1831) (songs/poetry) The Brownie of the Black Haggs (1828) (short story/tale) The Domestic Manner and Private Life of Sir Walter Scott (1834) ("unauthorised" biography) Tales and Sketches of the Ettrick Shepherd (1837)[1] [edit] Footnotes ^ Bibliographic information from:Bleiler ... was born on a farm near Ettrick Forest in Selkirk and baptized there on December 9. He had little education, ...

Book 1  p. ix
(Score 1.27)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 429 booty. “DO ye no see what I’m about 1’’ answered the fellow with the utmost assurance : “ nae doubt ye’ll be some o1 the understrappers frae the big house!” Amused at the surpassing nonchalance of the rustic, “What if Maule were to come upon you 1” said his lordship, with difficulty maintaining a sufficient gravity of countenance. “Hout, man, he ,wadna say a wordthere’s no a bet,ter hearted gentleman in a’ the country ; but as I’m in a hurry, I wish you would lend me a hand, man.” To this Panmure good-humouredly agreed ; and when the tree had been securely placed on the cart, the jolly peasant proposed rewarding his assistant with a dram in a neighbouring alehouse. To this his lordship would not accede, but invited the youth to call next day at the Castle, where, by asking for Jamie the footman, he would be sure to find him, and be treated to a glass out of his own bottle. The countryman called according to promise ; but his confusion and astonishment may be guessed, when, instead of meeting Jamie the footman, he was ushered, with great ceremony, into the presence of Lord Panmure and a company of gentlemen. “My man,” said his lordship, walking up to him, “next time you go to cut wood, I would advise you first to ask Illaule’s permission.” With this gentle reprimand he dismissed the terrified depredator, though not without having given instructions that he should be well entertained in the hall. In imitation of some of our Scottish Kings, Maule occasionally amused himself by visiting his tenantry in the character of a mendicant, so disguised that it was impossible they could recognise him. He thus became minutely acquainted with the character and habits of a class of people in whom he was deeply interested. Entering a hamlet, in the course of his excursions, on the borders of Forfarshire, one very cold and wet evening, he sought shelter in the house of an old woman, who was busy at her wheel, for the spinning-jenny had not then entirely expelled that useful instrument of industry from the cottage ingle. With the accustomed hospitality of our rural population, the “ Gaberlunzie- man” was welcomed to a share of the hearth; but he was no sooner seated than he began to grumble at the small fire that burned slowly in the halfempty grate. The woman assured him there was no more fuel in the house ; and as she marvelled at the impertinent manner of the sturdy-looking beggar, her terror and amazement may be conceived, when starting to his feet, and exclaiming--“ I’ll’soon make a fire,” he laid hold of the wheel ; and, in spite of threats, remonstrances, and the personal opposition which a sense of wrong inspired her with strength and courage to offer, first the rock, with the ‘‘wee pickle tow ”-next the wheel-and lastly, the whole body of the frame-at once her pride and her means of livelihood-were crackling in the flames, and spreading a light and a warmth unknown to the cottage. Having thoroughly warmed himself, and when the rage and imprecations of the old woman were nearly spent with their own violence, Maule took his departure, but not without leaving a benison, in the shape of a well-filled purse, which amply reconciled her to the destruction of her property. The liberality of his disposition frequently relieved the “ Generous Sports ... SKETCHES. 429 booty. “DO ye no see what I’m about 1’’ answered the fellow with the ...

Book 9  p. 574
(Score 1.24)

66 About this time a strange story went abroad concerning the spectre of Dundee ; the terrible yet handsome Claverhouse, in his flowing wig and glittering breastplate, appearing to bis friend the Earl of Balcarres, then a prisoner in the Castle, and awaiting tidings of the first battle with keen anxiety. .\bout daybreak on the morning when Killiecrankie was fought and lost by the Williamites, the spectre of Dundee is said to have come to Bal- OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. ?After this??(says C. K. Sharpe, in a note to ? Law?s Memorials I), ? it moved towards the mantelpiece, remained there for a short time in a leaning posture, and thed walked out of the ? chamber without uttering one word. Lord Balcarres, in great surprise, though not suspecting that what he saw WAS an. apparition, called out ?repeatedly on his friend to stop, but received no answer, and subsequently learned that at the very moment the [Edinburgh Castle.? CHAPTER vIr. EDINBURGH CASTLE ( G O Z C ~ ~ ~ ) . The Torture of Neville Payne-Jacobite Plots-Entombing the Regalia-Project for Surprising the Foitress-Right of Sanctuary Abolished- Lord Drummond?s Plot-Some Jacobite Prisoners-? Rebel Ladies?-James Macgregor-The Castle Vaults-Attempts nt Escape-Fears as to the Destruction of the Crown, Sword, and Sceptre-Crown-room opened in ~;rg+-Again in 7817, and the Regalia brought forth-Mons Meg-General Description of the whole Castle. AMONG the many unfortunates who have pined as prisoners of state in the Castle, few suffered more than Henry Neville Payne, an English gentleman, who was accused of being a Jacobite conspirator. About the time of the battle of the Boyne, when the Earl of Annandale, Lord ROSS, Sir Robert hlontgomerie of Skelmorlie, Robert Fergusson ? the plotter,? and others, were forming a scheme in Scotland for the restoration of King James, Payne had been sent there in connection with it, but was discovered in Dumfriesshire, seized, and sent to Edinburgh. Lockhart, the Solicitor- General for Scotland, who happened to be in London, coolly wrote to the Earl of Melville, Secretary of State at Edinburgh, saying, ? that there was no doubt that he (Payne) knew as much as would hang a thousand; but except you put him to the torture, he will shame you all. Pray you, put him in such hands as will have no pity on him!?* The Council, however, had anticipated these amiable instructions, and Payne had borne torture to extremity, by boot and thumbscrews, without confessing anything. On the loth of December, under express instruction signed by King William, and countersigned by Lord Melville, the process was to be repeated; and this was done in the presence of the Earl of Crawford, ?with all the seventy,? he reported, ? that was consistent with humanity, even unto that pitch that we could not preserve life and have gone further, but without the least success. He was so manly and resolute under his sufferings that such of the Council as were not Melville?s Coiiespondence. acquainted with the evidence, were brangled, and began to give him charity that he might be innocent. It was surprising that flesh and blood could, without fainting, endure the heavy penance he was in for two hours.? This unfortunate Englishman, in his maimed and shattered condition, was now thrown into a vault of the Castle, where none had access to him save a doctor. Again and again it was represented to the ?I humane and pious King William? that to keep Payne in prison Id without trial was contrary to law;? but notwithstanding repeated petitions for trial and mercy, in defiance of the Bill of Rights, William allowed him to languish from year to year for ten years ; until, on the 4th of February, 1701, he was liberated, in broken health, poverty, and premature old age, without the security for reappearance, which was customary in such cases. Many plots were formed by the Jacobites-one about 1695, by Fraser of Beaufort (the future Lovat), and another in 1703, to surprise the Castle, as being deemed the key to the whole kingdom-but without success ; and soon after the Union, in 1707, its walls witnessed that which was deemed ?I the last act of that national tragedy,? the entombing of thz regalia, which, by the Treaty, ? are never more to be used, but kept constantly in the Castle of Edinburgh.? In presence of Colonel Stuart, the constable ; Sir James Mackenzie, Clerk of the Treasury ; William Wilson, Deputy-Clerk of Session-the crown, sceptre, sword of state, and Treasurer?s rod, were solemnly deposited in their usual receptacle, the crown-room, on the 26th of March. ?Animated by the sam- glow of patriotism that fired the ... this time a strange story went abroad concerning the spectre of Dundee ; the terrible yet handsome ...

Book 1  p. 66
(Score 1.16)

338 OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Roxburgh Place. sion, belonging to the Lords Ross and to the age of stately ceremony and stately manners, occupied till the middle of the eighteenth century the site occupied the same apartment as that in which resided, till the year before his death, in 1785, Alexander Kunciman, one of the most eminent Scottish artists of his day, and where, no doubt, he must have entertained the poet Robert Fergusson, ?? while with ominous fitness he sat as his model for the Prodigal Son.? Nicolson Street church, erected in 1819-20, at a cwt of x6,000, has a handsome Gothic front, with two turreted pinnacles ninety feet in height. It is built upon the site of the old Antiburgher Meeting-house, and is notable for the ministry of Dr. John Jamieson, author of several theological works, and of the well-known ? Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language.? It was among the first efforts at an improved style of church architecture in Edinburgh, where, as elsewhere in Scotland after the Keformation, the accommodation of the different congregations in the homeliest manner was all that was deemed necessary. The pond sam parish called Lady Glenorchy?s lies eastward of Nicolson Street, and therein quite a cluster of little churches has been erected. The parish church was built as a relief chapel in 1809, by the Rev. Mr. Johnstone, and altered in 1814, when it was seated for 990 persons. The Independent congregation in Richmond Couk was established in 1833 ; but their place of worship till 1840 was built about 1795 by the Baptists. The Hebrew congregation was established in 1817, but has never exceeded IOO souls. The Episcopal congregation of St. Peter?s, Roxburgh Place, was established in 1791, and its place of worship consisted of the first and second flats of a five-storeyed tenement, and was originally built, at the sole expense of the clergyman, for about 420 persons. To Roxburgh Place came, in 1859, the congregation of Lady Glenorchy?s church, which had been demolished by the operations of the North British Railway. The Court of Session having found that city. In those days the mansion, which was a square block with wings, was approached by an avenue through a plantation upwards of sixty yards ROSS this body must be kept in full communion with the Established Church, authorised the purchase of Roxburgh Place chapel in lieu of the old place of worship, and trustees were appointed to conduct their affairs. The chapel handed over to them was that of the Relief Communion just mentioned. Externally it has no architectural pretensions ; but many may remember it as the meeting-place of the ?Convocation ? which preceded the ever-memorable secession in 1843, after which it remained closed and uncared for till it came into the hands of the Glenorchy trustees in 1859, in so dilapidated a condition that their first duty was to repair it before the congregation could use it. The remains of the pious Lady Glenorchy, which had been removed from the old church near the North Bridge, were placed, in 1844, in the vaults of St. John?s church ; but the trustees, wishing to comply as far as was in their power with the wishes of the foundress, that her remains should rest in her own church, had a suitable vault built in that at Roxburgh Place. It was paved and covered with stone, set in Roman cement, and formed on the right side of the pulpit. Therein her body was laid on the evening of Saturday, 31st December, 1859. The marble tablet, which was carefully removed from the old church, was placed over her grave, with an additional inscription explaining the circumstance which occasioned her new place of interment. The portion of St. Cuthbert?s garish which was disjoined and attached to Lady Glenorchy?s is bounded by Nicolson Street and the Pleasance on the west and east, by Drummond Street on the north, and Richmond Street on the south, with an average population of about 7,000 souls. Roxburgh Terrace is built on what was anciently called Thomson?s Park; and the place itself was named the Back Row in the city plan of 1787. CHAPTER XL. GEORGE SQUARE AND THE VICINITY How-The last Lord Ross-Earlier Residents in the Square-House of Walter Scott, W.S.-Sir Waltcr?s Boyhood-Bickas-Grcen Breeks-The Edinburgh Light Horse-The Scots Brigad+Admiral Duncan--Lord Advocate Dundas-The Grants of Kilgrastonhmn Dunda+Sedan Chak--Campbells of Snccoth-Music Class Room-The Eight Southern DistrictAhapel of Ease-Windmill Street-Euccleuch Place-Jeffrey?s First House there-The Burgh Loch-Society of Impraven-The Meadow. ... OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Roxburgh Place. sion, belonging to the Lords Ross and to the age of stately ceremony ...

Book 4  p. 338
(Score 1.13)

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