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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 337 a powerful organ, and one of the very best performers, the music was long famed for its excellence ; and it was universally admitted that the liturgy was nowhere performed with so much solemnity and effect as in the Surrey Chapel. The powerful eloquence, however, of Mr. Hill, and the occasional eccentricities of his manner, were the chief attractions, His language was always glowing, and his imagery of the richest and most fascinating description. Robert Hall observes-“ No man has ever drawn, since the days of our Saviour, such sublime images of nature ; here Mr. Hill excels every other man.” Fettered by no system, and squared by no rule, he gave way to his feelings with a boldness and freedom unknown to other preachers ; and, carried away by the impulse of the moment, frequently indulged a vein of humour and coarseness of language unsuited to the pulpit. Mr. Hill was himself sensible of his levity in this respect, but felt utterly incapable of resisting it. In going into the Chapel slips of paper were occasionally handed to him, announcing the conversion of individuals, and other good tidings, or requesting the prayers of the congregation. These he was in the habit of reading aloud. “ On one occasion,” says his biographer, “an impudent fellow placed a piece of paper on the desk, just before he was going to read prayers. He took it up and began-‘ The prayers of this congregation are desired for-umph-for-umph-well, I suppose I must finish what I have begun-for the Ileverend Rowland Dill, tldat he wiU not go riding about in his carriage on a Sunday.’ This would have disconcerted almost any other man ; but he looked up with great coolness, and said, ‘If the writer of this piece of folly and impertinence is in the congregation, and will go into the vestry after service, and let me put a saddle on his back, I will ride him home instead of going in my carriage.’ He then went on with the service as if nothing had happened.” Politics and the war frequently engrossed his attention. In preaching to a band of volunteers at his Chapel, in 1803, he introduced a hymn, written by himself, to the tune of God save the King; and, on the same occasion, another hymnalso of his own composition-to the popular air of Rule Britannia, was sung by the congregation with great effect. The first stanza of this parody is as follows :- Neither were his pulpit orations strictly confined to religious topics. “ When Jesus first, at heaven’s command, Descended from his azure throne, Attending angels join’d his praise, Who claim’d the kingdoms for his own. Hail Immanuel !-Immanuel we’ll adore ! And sound his fame from shore to shore.” In this way were the eccentricities of Mr. Hill displayed ; but always original, and accompanied with such genuine talent, that what in others would have appeared ridiculous, was in him not only tolerated, but esteemed; while the many benefits which resulted from his active labours, and the fervency of his zeal, completely overshadowed any outrages upon decorum, which his strong imagination occasionally led him to commit. 2x ... SKETCHES. 337 a powerful organ, and one of the very best performers, the music was long famed for ...

Book 8  p. 471
(Score 0.73)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 277 No. CCLXII. LORD BALMUTO. C u m IRVINBEO SWELLL, ORDB ALMUTOwa, s born in 1742.’ His father, John Boswell of Balmuto, dying when he was a mere infant, the care of his education devolved on his mother, a woman of uncommon mental energy and exemplary piety. She placed him, in his seventh year, with Mr. Barclay at Dalkeith, then a celebrated master, under whose superintendence Henry Dundas, afterwards Lord Melville, was at the time acquiring the rudiments of learning ; and an intimacy was formed between the two school-boys, which continued till the death of Lord Melville in May 1 8 1 1 .’ Mr. Boswell finished his education at Edinburgh College, and passed advocate on the 2d of August 1766. Some years afterwards he went abroad for six months, visiting the court of Versailles, etc. In 1780 he was appointed Sheriff-Depute of Fife and Kinross, and filled that responsible situation during the trying period of 1793-4-5. In 1798 he was raised to the bench, where he continued to sit till January 1822, when he resigned in favour of William Erskine, Lord Kinedder. In March of the same year, his friend and kinsman, Sir Alexander Boswell of Auchinleck, was mortally wounded in a duel with James Stuart, Esq., younger of Dunearn, about a mile from Balmuto ; and having been carried there to die, Lord Balmuto received a shock from which he never fully recovered. His lordship died on the 22d of July 1824, in the eighty-third year of his age, and in the full exercise of that benevolence for which he was remarkable. He had that day been out on horseback for many hours. He married, in 1783, Miss Anne Irvine, who, by the death of her brother and grandfather, became heiress of Kingussie. Lord Balmuto left one son and two daughters. His lordship and Lord Hermand were amongst the last specimens of the Scottish judge of the last century. The former, a robust and athletic man, was, during the period he held the situation of Sheriff of Fife, the terror of that usually unmanageable set of persons-the Fife boatmen. He was: fond of His lordship’s father, a writer in Edinburgh, the purchaser of Balmuto, waa a younger brother of Lord Auchinleck, the grandfather of Sir Alexander Boswell. Mr. Barclay was one of the most able and successful teaehers of hk day. The late Lord Chancellor Loughborough, Lord Glencairn, and several others equally distinguished, were also his pupils in early lie. It is not so very long since “Barclay’s scholars,” as they were called, had their last convivial meeting. At their $mt, although forty years had elapsed since the death of their worthy preceptor, it is rather remarkable that no fewer than twenty gentlemen, all moving in the highest ranka of opulence, survived to pay the tribute of grateful respect to his memory. ... SKETCHES. 277 No. CCLXII. LORD BALMUTO. C u m IRVINBEO SWELLL, ORDB ALMUTOwa, s born in 1742.’ ...

Book 9  p. 368
(Score 0.73)

298 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. in becoming the leader of a new denomination. But while he laboured for the purity of the Church, and exhibited the fervency of his zeal by engaging with a liberal hand in the scheme of purchasing advowsons, in order to secure the presentation of efficient clergymen, yet his philanthropy extended. to all classes of Christians. Possessing considerable wealth and extensive influence, Mr. Simeon, as may be augured from his character, was an active and generous promoter of all societies which had for their object the propagation of the gospel, and the welfare of mankind. For the conversion of the Jews he seemed particularly solicitous, and took a prominent interest in the Society established for that purpose. Towards erecting a Chapel at Bethnal Green he subscribed two hundred guineas, and engaged in many extensive tours throughout England and Scotland in their behalf. In 1818, on the anniversary of the battle of Waterloo, he preached at Amsterdam for the benefit of the Society ; and again at Paris in 1825. The life of Mr. Simeon was one of continued activity, mental and corporeal. His printed works, besides occasional publications, extend to twenty-one large octavo volumes, and contain a series of two thousand five hundred and thirtysix discourses, from Genesis to Revelation. Many of these are of great merit ; and immense as the labour expended in their production must have been, it appears doubly augmented when we are told by his biographer, that in the manuscripts before him " several of the outlines are written over four, five, and even six times, till he could bring them to that point of precision and force in which he so much delighted. Many preachers labour for quantity, and some for splendour ; Mr, Simeon laboured for brevity and effect. He rarely preached more than thirty or thirty-five minutes; and his problem seemed to be, Iww much useful truth he could condense into the shortest possible time, with the greatest possible efect upon the heart and conscience. On the Monday, as he told the writer of these lines, he employed perhaps as much as eight hours more in writing them fairly out for the press, with the enlargements that had occurred to him in preaching, and his latest improvements. So careful was he in his preparation for preaching, that he sometimes read his sermon jive times over in private, and twice as nearly as possible with the tone, attitude, and manner he purposed employing in the pulpit." It would be surprising if the private life of such a man as Mr. Simeon did not at least equal his public character. While ample testimony is borne to his many virtues, it must be admitted that he possessed a warm and somewhat irritable temper, and was not without a due share of the imperfections of human nature ; but these were checked and held in abeyance by the constant action of more noble qualities of the mind. The besetting, and probably the most unconquerable of all the human passions with which genuine piety has to contend, is the love of approbation. However much mere human praise may be condemned, few indeed are superior to its influence. In this assailable point Mr. Simeon does not appear to have been more impregnable than others. By way of illustrating his personal piety, it is related that " besides ... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. in becoming the leader of a new denomination. But while he laboured for the purity of ...

Book 9  p. 397
(Score 0.72)

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 0.71)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 393 He was, in short, the very last specimen (Lord Balgay perhaps excepted) of the old race of Scottish advocates. He was universally allowed to be a “ capital lawyer ;” and, notwithstanding his hasty demeanour on the bench, and the incautious sarcasms in which he occasionally indulged at the expense of the advooates before him, he was a great favourite with the younger portion of the bar, who loved him the more for the peculiarities of his manner. He was himself enthusiastic in the recollection of bygone days, and scorned the cold and stiff formality which the decorum of modern times has thrown over the legal character. Of the warmth of his feelings in this respect, a very characteristic instance is related in Peter’s Letters to his Kinsfolk ;-“ When Guy Mannering came out, the Judge was so much delighted with the picture of the life of the old Scottish lawyers in that most charming novel, that he could talk of nothing else but Pleydell, Dandie, and the high-jinks for many weeks. He usually carried one volume of the book about with him ; and one morning, on the bench, his love for it so completely got the better of him, that he lugged in the subject head and shoulders, into the midst of a speech about some most dry point of law ; nay, getting warmer every moment he spoke of it, he at last fairly plucked the volume from his pocket, and, in spite of all the remonstrances of all his brethren, insisted upon reading aloud the whole passage for their edification. He went through the task with his wonted vivacity, gave great effect to every speech, and most appropriate expression to every joke. During the whole scene Sir walter Scott was present, seated, indeed, in his official capacity, close under the Judge,” Latterly his lordship sometimes made strange mistakes. A somewhat amusing instance of his forgetfulness occurred during one of the circuit trials. A point of law having been started, the counsel on either side cited their authorities. The prisoner’s counsel founded on the opinion expressed by Mr. Burnet in his treatise on Criminal Law ; whilst the Crown counsel appealed to Mr. Baron Hume’s authority, which happened to be the other way. Lord Hermand heard the former very patiently ; but, when the name of Hume was mentioned, he interrupted the barrister, saying, that during the course of a long life he had heard many strange things, but certainly, this was the first time he had ever heard a novel-writer quoted as a law authority. Accordingly, without farther ceremony, to the amazement of all present, he decided the point against the Crown. In the evening some one of the young men present at the circuit dinner ventured to ask his lordship, who was in admirable humour, for an explanation, when it turned out that the venerable Judge, being accustomed to see Baron Hume and Sir Walter Scott sitting together for a series of years at the Clerk’s table in the First Division of the Court, had, by some unaccountable, mental process, confounded the one with the other; and the fictions of the latter being always present in his mind, the valuable legal treatise of the former had entirely escaped his memory. The following assumed speech by Lord Hermand, in a supposed divorce case 3E ... SKETCHES. 393 He was, in short, the very last specimen (Lord Balgay perhaps excepted) of the old ...

Book 8  p. 548
(Score 0.71)

172 BIOGRAPHICAL SRETC HES. his talents, and were therefore entirely hostile to his views. Their opposition, however, could not shake his resolution-he persevered in his theological studies, and was, in 1742, licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Dunblane. The future progress of the young divine, till his settlement in the metropolis, is easily told :-“ In May 1744 he was ordained minister of Kirkintilloch, in the Presbytery of Glasgow, where he remained till 1754, when he was presented to the parish of Culross, in the Presbytery of Dunfermline. In June 1758 he was translated to the New Greyfriars, one of the churches of Edinburgh, In November 1766, the University of Glasgow conferred on him the honorary degree of doctor of divinity; and, in July 1767, he was promoted to the collegiate charge of the Old Greyfriars, where he had for his colleague his early friend Dr. Robertson.” In these various movements towards that field of honour and usefulness in which his talents ultimately placed him, Dr. Erskine carried along with him the universal respect of his parishioners. They had been delighted and improved by his public instructions-and were proud of having had a clergyman amongst.them, at once combining the rare qualifications of rank, piety, and learning. He was most exemplary in his official character ; ever ready to assist and counsel his parishioners, he “grudged no time, and declined no labour, spent in their service.“ Dr. Erskine was not only zealous for the interests of religion at home, but equally so for its diffusion abroad ; and in order to obtain the earliest and most authentic intelligence of the state of the Gospel in the colonies of North America, where a remarkable concern for religion had manifested itself about the time he obtained his license, he commenced a correspondence with those chiefly interested in bringing about that interesting event. He also, some time after, opened a communication with many distinguished divines on the Continent of Europe -a correspondence which he unweariedly cultivated during the remainder of his life. This practice added much to his labour, not only by an increased and voluminous epistolary intercourse, but in “ being called upon by the friends of deceased divines to correct and superintend the publication of posthumous wor ks.”l In his Continental correspondence, the Doctor had seriously felt the want of a knowledge of the Dutch and German languages ; and, at an adv‘mced period of life, actually set about overcoming this difficulty, which he successfully accomplished in a remarkably short space of time. A rich field, in the literature of Germany, being thus thrown open to him, the result of his industry was soon manifested by the publication of “Sketches and Hints of Church History and Theological Controversy, chiefly translated and abridged from modern foreign writers,’’ the first volume of which appeared in 1790, and the second .in 1798.’ t1 The greater part of the works of President Edwards, of Dickenson, of Stoddart, and Fraaer of 9 On the appearance of this volume, Dr. Erskine waa violently assailed by an anonymous writer Allness, were brought out in this way. ... BIOGRAPHICAL SRETC HES. his talents, and were therefore entirely hostile to his views. Their ...

Book 8  p. 244
(Score 0.71)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 83 Mr. Lunardi again visited Edinburgh the year following (1 786), and ascended the third time from Heriot’s Hospital Green, on the 31st of July. On this occasion a lady (Mrs. Lamash, an actress) was to have accompanied him, and had actually taken her seat in the car ; but the balloon being unable to ascend with both, Lunardi ascended alone. In consequence of little wind, he came down about two miles distant. On his return to the city in the evening, he was carried through the streets in his car by the populace, and received other demonstrations of admiration, Very little is known of Mr. Lunardi’s personal history, save that he was a native of Italy, and some time Secretary to the then late Neapolitan ambassador. In 1786, he published an account of his aerial voyages in Scotland, which he dedicated to the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch. This small volume, although proving him to be a man of education, and some talent as a writer, throws very little light upon his history. It consists of a series of letters addressed to his guardian, (‘ Chevalier Gerardo Compagni.” These letters were evidently written under the impulse of the moment, and afford a connected detail of his progress in Scotland. They are chiefly interesting at this distance of time, as showing;the feelings and motives of one, who, whether his “labours were misdirected” or not, obtained an extraordinary degree of notoriety. In short, the volume is amusing in this particular, and adds another proof to the many, that few, very few, seek the advancement of society, or of the sciences, for humanity’s sake alone, Fame is the grand stimulus. A portrait of the author is prefixed, which corresponds extremely well with Mr. Kay’s sketches of him. Lunardi must have been at that time a very young man. The young adventurer, on his arrival in the Scottish capital, is much pleased with its ancient and romantic appearance. He expresses himself with great animation on all he sees around him, and apparently with great sincerity. As a specimen of the man and his opinions, we are induced to make one or two extracts. In the first letter, after describing his arrival, he says :- “ I have apartments in Walker’s Hotel, Prince’s Street, from whence I behold innumerable elegant baildings, and my ears are saluted with the sounds of industry from many others similarly arising. It vibrates more forcibly on the chords of my heart than the most harmonious notes of music, and gives birth to sensations that.1 would not exchange for all the boasted pleasures of luxury and dissipation.” These sentiments would have done credit to one less gay and youthful than Lunardi. In another letter he says, ‘‘ I am now happy in the acquaintance of the Hon. Henry Erskine, Sir William Forbes, and Major Fraser.” True to his clime, however, the letters of Lnnardi betray in him all the volatility and passion ascribed to his countrymen. At one moment he is in ecstasy, the other in despair, He had chosen George Square for his first display, and had contracted with Isaac Braidwood of the Luckenbooths, who had actually begun to enclose the area, when an order from the Magistrates stopped farther proceedings. The Hail to the voice of labour ! ... SKETCHES. 83 Mr. Lunardi again visited Edinburgh the year following (1 786), and ascended the third ...

Book 8  p. 118
(Score 0.71)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 455 his jurisdiction. It was at that time customary to present the Dean of Guild, on the expiry of his term of office, with the sum of fifty guineas as a gratuity ; but, on the motion of Sir John Marjoribanks, the sum was doubled to Mr. Johnston ; sq much had he acquitted himself to the satisfaction of the Council. In all public affairs Bailie Johnston took a lively interest. To his good taste and enterprise the inhabitants are indebted for the improvements on the Calton Hill--now comparatively easy of ascent-and one of the most delightful resorts in this picturesque city. The promenade of the Meadows, too, owes much to his exertions ; and amongst other public services of the Bailie, it deserves to be mentioned that he had the merit of originating the Society for the Suppression of Mendicity. He was for many years treasurer of the Trinity Hospital, and displayed great zeal in the management of that charity, as well as of others connected with the city. He was treasurer to the great Waterloo Fund for Scotland; succeeded his uncle as honorary Secretary to the Asylum for the Blind; and was one of the Parliamentary Commissioners for finishing the buildings of the University ; and also for the erection of the Regent Eridge. Bailie Johnston continued in business until the year 1831, when he retired in favour of Mr. Russell, his son-in-law. Latterly, in consequence of declining health, he was almost closely confined to his own house. On occasion of a dinner given to Sir James Spittal, Knight, by the Society of High Constables, the following card of apology was transmitted to the Secretary :- “Dear Sir-From the condition of my health at present, I cannot dine from home. I regret this on account of the dinner which is to be given to Sir James Spittal, whose conduct has my admiration, and I hope you will tell him so. We began public life together in the Society of High Constables, and afterwards scrvcd in the Magistracy of olden times. All was pleasant and smooth-no jarring words-no angry feelings arose during a long life, which still continues-both adhering to their own views in public matters. I wish the Society and the company all happiness.--I remain, etc. Dr. Gordon, on the Sunday after the funeral, concluded his discourse with a very appropriate character of the deceased. He died at his house, 27 St. James’ Square, on the 4th April 1838. He married Miss Christie, from Stirlingshire, by whom he had six children, three of whom died in early life.’ “ Ro. JOHNSTON.” Mr. Johnston was one of the elders in the High Church. NO. CCCXXIII. ROBERT SYM, ESQ., WRITER TO THE SIGNEI’. THIS worthy octogenarian, in his eighty-seventh year (at the time of this publication), was in his day considered one of the handsomest men of Modern Athens. Hia eldest daughter was married to Wfiam Henry Brown, Esq., of Ashly, china and glass manufacturer ; the second to Mr. Rwell, his successor in business ; and the third to Jam- Dallas, Esq., wine merchant in Canada. ... SKETCHES. 455 his jurisdiction. It was at that time customary to present the Dean of Guild, on the ...

Book 9  p. 607
(Score 0.71)

322 OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. lcolinton. the Belitice Puetaruni Scuiurum. He was a convert to the Protestant religion, and the chief work of his pen is his learned book on feudal law. It has been well said that lie U kept himself apart from the political intrigues of those distracting times, devoting himself to his professional duties, and in his hours of relaxation cultivating a taste for classical literature.? He was present at the entry of King James into London, and at his coronation as King of England, an event which he commemorated in a poem in Latin hexameters. In 1604 he was one of the commissioners appointed by the king to confer with others on the part of England, concerning a probable union between the two countries, a favourite project with James, but somewhat Utopian when broached at a time when men were living who had fought on the field of Pinkie. He wrote a treatise on the independent sovereignty .of Scotland, which was published in 1675, long after his death, which occurred at Edinburgh on the 26th of February, 1Go8. He married Helen, daughter of Heriot of Trabrown, in East Lothian, by whom he had seven children. His eldest son, Sir Lewis Craig, born in 1569, became a senator, as Lord Wrightislands On the death of his lineal descendant in 1823, Robert Craig of Riccarton (of whom mention was made in our chapter on Princes Street in the second volume of this work), James Gibson, W.S. (afterwards Sir James Gibson-Craig of Riccarton and Ingliston), assumed the name and arms of Craig in virtue of a deed of entail made in 1818. He was a descendant of the Gibsons of Durie, in Fife. His eldest son was the late well-known Sir William Gibson-Craig, who was born and August, 1797, and, after receiving his education in Edinburgh, was called as, an advocate to the Scottish Bar in 1820. He was M.P. for Midlothian from 1837 to 1841, when he was returned for the city of Edinburgh, which he continued to represent till 1852. He was a Lord of the Treasury from 1846 to 1852, and was appointed one of the Board of Supervision for the Poor in Scotland. In 1854 he was appointed Lord Clerk Register of Her Majesty?s Rolls and Registers in Scotland in 1862, and Keeper of the Signet. He was a member of the Privy Council in 1863, and died in 1878. Riccarton House, a handsome modern villa of considerable size, has now replaced the old mansion of other times. CHAPTER XXXVIII. THE ENVIRONS OF EDINBURGH (cmtinzted). Colinton-Ancient Name and Church-Redhall-The Family of Foulis-Dreghorn-The Pentlands-View from Torphin-Corniston-Slateford -Graysmill-Liherton-The Mill at Nether Libertan-Liberton Tower-The Church-The Balm Well of St. Kathrrine-Grace Mount- The Wauchopes of Niddrie-Niddrie House-St. Katherine?s-The Kaimes-Mr. Clement Little-Lady Little of Liberton. THE picturesque little parish village of Colinton, about a mile and a quarter from Kingsknowe Station, on the Caledonian Railway, is romantically situated in a deep and wooded dell, through which the Water of Leith winds on its way to the Firth of Forth, and around it are many beautiful walks and bits of sweet sylvan scenery. The lands here are in the highest state of cultivation, enclosed by ancient hedgerows tufted with green coppice, and even on the acclivities of the Pentland range, at the height of 700 feet above the sea, have been rendered most profitably arable. In the wooded vale the Water of Leith turns the wheels of innumerable quaint old water-mills, and through the lesser dells, the Murray, the Braid, and the Burdiehouse Burns, enrich the parish with their streams. Of old the parish was called Hailes, from the plural, it is said, of a Celtic word, which signifies a mound or hillock. A gentleman?s residence near the site of the old church still retains the name, which is also bestowed upon a well-known quarry and two other places in the parish. The new Statistical Account states that the name of Hailes was that of the principal family in the parish, which was so called in compliment to them?; but this seems barely probable. The little church-which dates from only 1771- and its surrounding churchyard, are finely situated on a sloping eminence at the bottom of a dell, round which the river winds slowly by. The ancient church of Hailes, or Colinton, was granted to Dunfermline Abbey by Ethelred, son of Malcolm Canmore and of St. Margaret, a gift confirmed by a royal charter of David I., and by a Bull of Pope Gregory in 1234, according to the abovequoted authority ; but the parish figures so little in history that we hear nothing of it again till 1650, ... OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. lcolinton. the Belitice Puetaruni Scuiurum. He was a convert to the Protestant ...

Book 6  p. 322
(Score 0.71)

370 OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Moultray?s HilL of the realm have been open to all genuine scholars. Another result of his tenure of office has been the publication of a series of documents and works of the utmost value to students of Scottish historythe completion of the Acts of Parliament begun by Thomas Thomson and finished by Cosmo Innes, the Treasurer?s accounts of the time of Tames IV,, the Exchequer Rolls, &c. No person sleeps in any part of the building generally, the whole being allotted to public purposes only. In the sunk storey under the dome, when the house was built, four furnaces were constructed, from each of which proceeded a flue in a spiral direction, under the pavement of the dome, for the purpose of securing the records from damp. Among other offices under the same roof are the Privy Seal, the Lord Keeper of which was, in 1879, the Marquis of Lothian; the signet officer; the Register of Deeds and Protests ; and the Sasine Office, in the large central front room up-stairs, where a numerous staff of clerks are daily at work, under the Keeper of the General Register and his five assistant-keepers. The Register of Sashes, the corner-stone of the Scottish system of registration, was instituted in 1617. It had, however, been preceded by another record, called the Secretary?s Register, which existed for a short period, being instituted in 1599, but abolished in 1609, and was under the Scottish Secretary of State, and is thus referred to by Robertson in his Index of Missing Charters,? I798 :- ?The Secretary?s Register, as it is called, was the first attempt to introduce our most useful record, that of sasines. But having been committed to the superintendence of the Secretary of State instead of the Lord Clerk Register, and most of the books having remained concealed, and many of them having been lost in consequence of their not being made transmissible to public custody, the institution became useless, and was abolished by Act of Parliament, The Register of Sxsines in its present form was instituted in the month of June, 1617.? In the register of this office the whole land writs of Scotland are recorded, and the correctness of it is essential to the validity of title. To it all men go to ascertain the burdens that affect land, and the whole of such registration is now concentrated in Edinburgh. In 1876 the fees of the sasine office amounted to ~30,000, and theexpensewas AI 7,000, leaving a profit to the Treasury of &13,000. In a part of the general register house is the ofice of the Lyon King-of-arms. , This offiqe is one of high rank and great antiquity, his station n Scotland being precisely similar to that of the ;arter King in England; and at the coronation )f George ,111. the Lord Lyon walked abreast with the former, immediately preceding the Lord ;reat Chaniberlain, Though heraldry now is little mown as a science, and acquaintance with it s, singular to say, not necessary in the Lyon Office, n feudal times the post of a Scottish herald was ield of the utmost importance, and the inauguration 3f the king-at-arms was the mimicry of a royal me, save that the unction was made with wine nstead of oil. In ?? The order of combats for life,? ordained by lames I. of Scotland in the early part of the fifteenth :entury, the places assigned for the ? King-of-Arms, Heraulds, and other officers,? are to be settled by :he Lord High Constable. In 1513 James IV. jent the Lyon King with his defiance to Henry VIII., then in France, and the following year he went to Pans with letters for the Duke of Albany. kcompanied by two heralds he went to Paris igain in 1558, to be present at the coronation of Francis and Mary as King and Queen of Scotland. Of old, and before the College of Arms was .econstructed, and the office of Lord Lyon abolished iy a recent Act of Parliament, it consisted of the ollowing members ;- The Lord Lyon King-oFAms. The Lyon-Depute. Rothesay. Kintyre. Marchmont. Dingwall. Albany. Unicorn. Ross. Bute. Snowdon. Carrick. Islay. Ormond. Heralds. Pursuivants. 3ix trumpeters ; a Lyon Clerk and Keeper of Records, with lis deputy; a Procurator Fiscal, hiacer, and Herald Painter. According to the ? Montrose Peerage? case in t 850 there would appear to have been, about 1488, mother official known as the ?? Montrose Herald,? Zonnected in some manner with the dukedom of 3ld Montrose. By Acts of Parliament passed in the reign of James VI. the Lyon King was to hold two zourts in the year at Edinburgh-on the 6th of May and 6th of November. Also, he, with his heralds, was empowered to take special supervision of all arms used by nobles and gentlemen, to matriculate them in their books, and inhibit such as had no right to heraldic cognisances, ?under the pain of escheating the thing whereupon the said arms are found to the king, and of one hundred pounds to the Lyon and his brethren, or of imprisonment during the Lyon?s pleasure.? , ... OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Moultray?s HilL of the realm have been open to all genuine scholars. Another result ...

Book 2  p. 369
(Score 0.71)

320 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Ckmtess of Loudoun, etc., amongst whose paternal honours it is not least that she is the representative of the ancient family of Crawfurd of Loudoun, one of whom gave birth to the renowned and immortal Wallace.” In the introductory sketches of the lives of Earbour and Henry, if the author has failed in adding any previously unknown facts, he has been happy enough to expose several gross inaccuracies of former biographers ; and while the text is revised with the utmost care, many doubtful passages are explained and illustrated in copious notes by the Editor. Two notable events in the life of Wallacethe ‘(burning of the barns, or barracks of Ayr,” and his betrayal by ‘‘ the false Menteith,” as related by Henry -he effectually vindicates from the scepticism of the learned author of the “Annals of Scotland.” Were it not for the length to which they extend, we could willingly quote Dr. Jamieson’s remarks on these popular incidents, not only because the work itself is scarce, but as a specimen of the writer’s felicity of argument in matters of controversy. In 1851 Dr. Jamieson published his “Historical Account of the Ancient Culdees of Iona” ‘-a work characterised by the author’s usual depth of research. Though somewhat heavy, and probably defective in style, the antiquarian reader is amply repaid for his perusal, by the erudition and ingenuity with which the author contends for the apostolic mode of church government which prevailed while Christianity flourished in this country under the propagation of the nionastics of Icolmkill. In 1827 Dr. Jamieson was admitted a member of the Bannatyne Club, which was founded by Sir Walter Scott. This literary Society is strictly limited in number ; and it is almost as difficult to procure adinission as it is to obtain a seat in Parliament. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh; of the American Antiquarian Society ; of the Society of Northern Literature of Copenhagen ; and an Associate of the First Class of Royal Associates of the Royal Society of Literature of London. The ‘(Views of the Royal Palaces of Scotland,” which appeared in 1828, we believe,. was the last acknowledged publication by the venerable author. In 1830, in consequence of old age and increasing infirmities, Dr. Jamieson resigned the charge of the congregation over which he had so long presided, and in whose affections his learning, piety, and benevolence secured for him a lasting hold. It is gratifying to think that his literary labours, directed as they were chiefly to subjects of antiquity, and less likely to prove remunerative than the works of more popular authors, were not entirely overlooked by Government. The small pension he enjoyed was no more than a just appreciation of his arduous historical researches and laborious philological investigations. Dr. Jamieson married, in 1781, Charlotte, daughter of Robert Watson, Esq. of Easter Rhind, Perthshire. Out of a family of seventeen children only two In Lockhart’a Life of Scott it is mentioned that the publishers lost considerably by the limited sale of this work. ... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Ckmtess of Loudoun, etc., amongst whose paternal honours it is not least that she is ...

Book 9  p. 426
(Score 0.7)

324 B I 0 G R AP H I C AL S KE T C HE S. of ninety-three. In his manner and habits he was scarcely less peculiar than the Laird, though somewhat more particular as to his dress. He wore a plain coat, without any collar ; a stock in place of a neckcloth ; knee breeches ; rough stockings ; and shoes ornamented with niassy buckles. At an early period of life he persisted in wearing (until so annoyed by the boys as he walked in the Meadows, that he judged it prudent to comply with the fashion of the times, ’) a hat of a conical shape, with a narrow brim, in form not unlike a helmet. At a later period he adopted the broad-rimmed description represented in the Print. When he had occasion to call any of his domestics, he rang no bell, but invariably made use of a whistle, which he carried in his pocket for the purpose. His indifference to money matters amounted even to carelessness. He kept no books with bankers ; a drawer, and that by no means well secured, in his own house, being the common depository of his cash, Though an ardent admirer of the British Constitution, yet not insensible to its abuses or defects, he was opposed to the foreign policy of Government at the era of the French Revolution. His opinions on this subject he embodied in an anonymous pamphlet, entitled “ An Inquiry into the Justice and Necessity of the Present War with France,” 8vo, Edin. 1795, of which a second and improved edition was published the following year. In this essay he contended for the right which every nation had to remodel its own institutions; referring, by way of precedent, to the various revolutions effected in Britain, without producing any attempt at interference on the part of other states. “If we consult the principles of natural law and equity,” says the writer, “ France must certainly have an equal right with any other European state to change and to frame her constitution to her own mind. She is as free and independent in this respect as Great Britain, or any other kingdom on the globe ; and there does not appear to be auy reason why she should be excluded from exercising this right, or why we should pretend to dictate to her with regard to the government she is to live under. When Louis XIV., on the death of James VI., thought proper to proclaim his son King of Great Britain, how did the Parliament here take it? Did they not address the King upon the throne, and represent it in their address as the highest strain of violence, and the greatest insult that could be offered to the British nation, to presume to declare any person to be their King, or as having a title to be so P What, therefore, should entitle us to take up arms in order to force them to submit to monarchical government I” Such is the style and spirit of the Inquiry. Pursuant to a deed of entail, Mr. James Gibson, W.S. (afterwards Sir James Gibson-Craig, Bart. of Riccarton and Ingliston) succeeded to the estate, and assumed the name and arms of Craig. The $Ouse in Princes Street, No. 91, now occupied as a hotel, was left to Colonel Gibson. In politics, Mr. Craig was decidedly liberal. Mr. Craig died on the 13th of March 1823. Cocked hats were then the rage. ... B I 0 G R AP H I C AL S KE T C HE S. of ninety-three. In his manner and habits he was scarcely less peculiar ...

Book 9  p. 431
(Score 0.7)

12 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. the politics of the day, or more intimately acquainted with the affairs of the Lawnmarket. His widow carried on business till her demise in 1804, and was succeeded by her son Henry, who died about 1832. He died suddenly one Sabbath morning in 1784. MR. MALCOLM WRIGHT, the next of the centre pair, was born about the year 1750, at Dolphinton, in Lanarkshire, on the borders of Tweeddale, where his father occupied a farm. He was originally bred to the profession of a writer in Edinburgh, and employed his leisure hours in keeping the books of a widow,’ who had a haberdashery shop in the Lawnmarket, betwixt Liberton and Forrester’s Wynds. In the course of time, having formed a matrimonial alliance with his employer, he took the management of the business into his own hands, and continued it for a considerable number of years-latterly under the firm of Wright and Henderson, having assumed a gentleman of that name into partnership with him. Mr. Wright was a member of the Town Council during a great part of the period he was in business, and frequently held office as a Magistrate. After retiring from the shop he obtained the office of agent for the French prisoners of war confined in Edinburgh Castle ; and, being unacquainted with the language, carried on the necessary intercourse with his constituents by means of an interpreter, who always attended him on his visits to the Castle. The duties of this office brought him into frequent contact with official persons. Upon one of these occasions the Lord President and Lord’Advocate had appointed to meet him in the Council Chamber, in order that they might accompany him to the Castle on some business relating to the prisoners. Mr. Wright, being unavoidably prevented from attending, desired his clerk hlr. Alexander Fraser, who usually officiated in his absence, to wait upon their lordships. This gentleman appears to have entertained no small opinion of his own consequence ; for, not only did he detain their lordships considerably beyond the time specified, but after apologising for his absence, had the effrontery to thrust an arm under that of each of these high legal dignitaries, and actually swaggered up between them in this fashion to the Castle. After the peace of 1815, his office being rendered no longer necessary, Mr. Wright got the appointment of Bulker at the Port of Leith, which he continued to hold till the period of his death in November 1825. His second wife, who survived, was a daughter of the late Convener Rankine, tailor to his Majesty for Scotland, Mr. Wright was twice married. 1 This lady was at that time among the most extensive and spirited haberdashers in Edinburgh ; as a proof of which, she went regularly every season to London to make purchases-a journey then attended with much diculty and delay. She always went by sea ; but in those days the only conveyance was by what were called the Berwick traders--arclass of vessels much inferior to the “Leith Smacks,” afterwards established ; and it is worthy of remark, in contrast with the remarkable improvements of our own times, that when any of the “ traders” were about to sail from Leith, the circurnstanwf was always announced throughout the streets of Edinburgh by the betlman, at least a fortnight previous to the day of sailing. ... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. the politics of the day, or more intimately acquainted with the affairs of ...

Book 9  p. 14
(Score 0.7)

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS . xi .. P Deacon Brodie . . . . . . . . The First Interview in 1786: Deacon Brodie and George Smith-? . . . . . . . Sir George Lockhart of Carnwath . . . . Robert Gourlay?s House . . . . . . John Dowie?s Tavern . . . . . . . John Dowie . . . . . . . . Edinburgh. from St . Cuthbert?s to St . Giles?s . . Interior of the Signet Library . . . . . The Heart of Midlothian . . . Tofacrpq Relics from the Tolbooth. now in the Scottish Antiquarian Museum . . . . . . . Lord Monboddo . . . . . . . The Tolbooth . . . . . . . . The Guard-house and Black Turnpike . . . The City Guard-house . . . . . . Three Captains of the City Guard . . . . LochaberAxes of thecity Guard . . . . Sed of St . Giles . . . . . . . The Norman doorway. St . Giles?s. which was destrojed towards the end of the eighteenth century . . John Knox?s Pulpit. St . Giles?s . . . . . The Lantern and Tower of St Giles?s Church . . Plan of St . Giles?s Church. prior to the alterations in 1829 Jenny Geddes? Stool . . . . . . . Carved Centre Groin Stone or Boss . . . . Interior of the High Church. St . Giles?s . . . St . Giles?s Church in the present day . . . . Grave of John Knox . . . . . . . The City Cross . . . . . . . . Creech?s Land . . . . . . . . William Creech . . . . . . . . The Old Parliament House . . . . . . Great Hall. Parliament House . . To facepage Parliament House . . . . . . . Parliament House in the present day . . . . Union Cellar . . . . . . . . View from the Cowgate of the Buildings on the South side of the Parliament Close. the highest buildings Plan of the Parliament House and Law Courts . . Ruins in Parliament Square after the Great Fire. in in Edinburgh. 1794 . . . . . . Interior of the Justiciary Court . . . . . November. 1824 . . . . . . . George Heriot?s Drinking Cup . . . . . Sir William Forbes. of Pitsligo . . . . . November. 1824 . . . . . . Ruins in the old Market Close after the Great Fire of The Parliament Stairs . . . . . . Dr . Archibald Pitcairn . . . . . . Seal of Arnauld Lammius . . . . . Cleriheugh?s Tavern . . . . . . . The Town Council Chamber. Royal Exchange To facepage General View of the Ruins after the Great Fire of November. 1824 . . . . . . PAGE Tal1y.stick. bearing date of 1692 . . . . 186 General Planof the RoyalExchange . . . 188 TheRoyalExchange . . . . . . 189 New Year?s Eve at the Tron Church . To faccpage 15- Andrew Crosby . . . . . . . 192 The OldTronChurch . . . . . . 193 PlanofEdinburgh. fromSt.Giles?s toHackerston?s Wynd 197 The Nether Bow Port. from the Canongate . . 201 Edinburgh. from St . Giles?s Church to the Canongate . 205 Allan Ramsay . . . . . . . . z08 AllanRamsay?sShop. Highstreet . . . . mg Knox?s Study . . . . . . . . 212 John Knox?s House . . . . Tofwepegr zq Portrait and Autograph of John Knox . . . 213 Knox?s Bed-room . . . . . . . 216 Knox?s Sitting-room . . . . . . . 217 The Excise Office at the Nether Bow . . . . 220 The Nether Bow Port, from the High Street . . 221 House of Lord Advocate Stewart. at the foot of Advocates? Close. west side . . . . . 223 William Chambers . . . . . . . 224 Robert Chambers . . . . . . . 224 Advocates? Close . . . . . . . 225 Stamp OfficeClose . . . . . . . 229 Fleshmarket Close . . . . . . . 232 Susanna. Countessof Eglinton . . . . . 233 Lintels of Doorways in Dawney Douglas?s Tavern . 236 Mylne?s Square . . . . . . . . 237 St . Paul?s Chapel. Carrubber?s Close . . . . 240 House in High Street with memorial window. ?? Heave awa. lads, I?mno deidyet I ? . . . . 241 Ruins in the Old Assembly Close. after the Great Fire. November. 1824 . . . . . . . 244 GeorgeBuchanan . . . . . . . 248 St . Cecilia?s Hall . . . . . . . 252 House of the Abbots of Melrose. Strichen?s Close . 256 Tiding Pin. from Lady Lovat?s House. Blackfriars Wynd 258 House of the Earls of Morton. Blackfriars Street . 260 Stone. showing the Armorial Bearings of Cardinal Beaton. from his house. Blackfriars Wynd % . 261 . . . . . . Blackfriars Wynd * 257 Cardinal Beaton?sHouse . . . . . . 264 Edinburgh United Industrial School . . . . 265 Lintelof theDoor of theMint . . . . . 267 Theold ScottishMint . . . . . . 268 Kelicsof the old Scottish Mint . . . . . 269 Elphinstone Court . . . . . . . 272 The Earl of Selkirk?s qouse. Hyndford?s Close (South view) . . . . . . . . 273 TheEarlofSelkirk?sHouse. Hyndford?sClose(Westview) 276 Tweeddale House . 277 The Scokman Office . . . . . . . 284 Lord Cockburn Street and Back of the Royal Exchange Tofiepap 285 Alexander Russel . . . . . . . 285 Interior of Trinity College Church. Jeffrey Street . 288 . . . . . . ... OF ILLUSTRATIONS . xi .. P Deacon Brodie . . . . . . . . The First Interview in 1786: Deacon Brodie ...

Book 2  p. 393
(Score 0.7)

OLD AND NEW EDINEURGH. LSouth Bridge. 376 In 1837 he succeeded Professor Macvey Napier as Librarian to the Signet Library ; and when the new and noble library of the University was opened he volunteered to arrange it, which he did with all the ardour of a bibliomaniac. Hewas made LL.D. of his native university in 1864, and is believed to have edited and annotated fully 250 rare works on Scottish history and antiquities. True to its old tradition, No. 49 is still a booksellefs shop, held by the old firm of Ogle and Murray. In No. 98 of the Bridge Street are the Assay Office and Goldsmith?s Hall, The former is open on alternate days, when articles of gold and silver that require to be guaranteed by the stamp of genuineness, are sent in and assayed. The assay master scrapes a small quantity of metal off each article, and submits it to a test in order to ascertain the quality. The duty charged here on each ounce of gold plate is 17s. 6d., and on silver plate IS. 6d One of the earliest incorporated trades of Edinburgh was that of the hammermen, under which were included the goldsmiths, who, in 1586, were formed into a separate company. By the articles of it, apprentices must serve for a term of seven years, and masters are obliged to serve a regular apprenticeship of three years or more to make them more perfect in their trade. They were, moreover, once bound to give the deacon of the craft sufficient proof of their knowledge of metals, and of their skill in the working thereof. By a charter of James VI., all persons not of the corporation are prohibited from exercising the trade of a goldsmith within the liberties of Edinburgh. King James VII. incorporated the company by a charter, with additional powers for the regulation of its trade. Those were granted, so it runs, ? because the art and science of goldsmiths is exercised in the city of Edinburgh, to which our subjects frequently resort, because it is the seat of our supreme Parliament, and of the other supreme courts, and there are few goldsmiths in other cities.? In virtue of the powers conferred upon it, the company, from the date of its formation, tested and stamped all the plate and jewellery made in Scotland. The first stamp adopted was the tipletowered castle, or city arms. ?In 1681,? says Bremner, in his ?? Industries of Scotland,? ?a letter representing the date was stamped on as well as the castle. The letter A indicates that the article bearing it was made in the year between the 29th of September, 1681, and the same day in 1682 ; the other letters of the alphabet, omitting j and w, representing the succeeding twenty-three years. Each piece bore, in addition to the castle and date letter, the assay-master?s initials. Seven alphabets of a different type have been exhausted in recording the dates ; and the letter of the eighth alphabet, for 1869, is an Egyptian capital M. In 1759 the standard mark of a thistle was substituted for the assay-master?s initials, and is still continued. In 1784 a ?duty-mark? was added, the form being the head of the sovereign. The silver mace of. the city of Edinburgh is dated 1617 ; the High Church plate, 1643.? The making of spoons and forks was at one time an extensive branch of the silversmith trade in Edinburgh ; but the profits were so small that it has now passed almost entirely into the hands of English manufacturers. The erection of this bridge led to the formation of Xunter?s Square and Hair Street, much about the same time and in immediate conjunction with i t The square and street (where the King?s pnntingoffice was placed) were both named from Sir James Hunter Blair, who was Provost of the city when the bridge was commenced, but whose death at Harrogate, in 1789, did not permit him to see the fine1 completion of it. Number 4 in this small square, the north side of which is entirely formed by the Tron Church, contains the old hall of the Merchant Company of Edinburgh, which was formed in 1681. But long previous to that year the merchants OF the city formed themselves into a corporation, called the guildry, from which, for many ages, the magistrates were exclusively chosen ; and, by an Act of Parliament passed in the reign of James III., each of the incorporated trades in Edinburgh was empowered to choose one of their number to vote in the election of those who were to govern the city, and this guildry was the parent of the Merchant Company. ?It was amidst some of the most distressing things in our national histovhangings of the poor ?hill folk? in the Grassmarket, trying of the patriot Argyle for taking the test-oath with an explanation, and so forththat this company came into being. Its nativity was further heralded by sundry other things of a troublous kind affecting merchandise and its practitioners.?? The merchants of Edinburgh, according to Amot, were erected into a bodp-corporate by royal charter, dated 19th October, 1681, under the name of The Company of Merchants of fhe Cig of Edinburgh. By this charter they were empowered to choose a Preses, who is called ? The Master,? with twelve assistants, a treasurer, clerk, and officer. The company were further empowered to purchase ... AND NEW EDINEURGH. LSouth Bridge. 376 In 1837 he succeeded Professor Macvey Napier as Librarian to the Signet ...

Book 2  p. 377
(Score 0.69)

344 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. attention, This urbanity and condescension produced on their part a feeling of the deepest veneration and respect for their beloved minister.” “The esteem in which Dr. Johnston was held,” continues the writer, “ is characteristically illustrated by the exclamation with which the women, when selling fish to a higgling customer, attempted to destroy all hopes of a further abatement in price. ( Na, na,’ they were wont to say, ( I wadna gie them to the DoctoT himsel’ fw that siller I ’ ’’ The memory of Dr. Johnston is still cherished with the utmost veneration. He officiated amongst them for upwards of half a century, and in many families had “performed the ceremonies of marriage and baptism through four successive generations.” Some curious anecdotes are told, illustrative of his homely manner and the primitive character of his parishioners. A fisherman, named Adam L-, having been reproved pretty severely for his want of Scripture knowledge, was resolved to baulk the minister on his next catechetical visitation. The day appointed he kept out of sight for some time ; but at length getting top-heavy with some of his companions, he was compelled, after several falls, in one of which he met with an accident that somewhat disfigured his countenance, to take shelter in his own cottage. The minister arrived ; and was informed by Jenny, the wife, that her husband was absent at the fishing. The Doctor then inquired if she had carefully perused the catechism he had left on his last visit, and being answered in the affirmative, proceeded to follow up his conversation with a question or two. “Weel, Jenny,’’ said the minister, “can ye tell me what was the cause 0’ Adam’s fall ‘1 ” By no means versed in the history of the great progenitor of the human race, and her mind being exclusively occupied by her own Adam, Janet replied, with some warmth, “’Deed, sir, it was naething else but drink! ’’ at the same time calling to her husband, “ Adam, ye may as wee1 rise, for the Doctor kens brawly what’s the matter ; some clashin’ deevils o1 neibours hae telt him a’ about it !” On another occasion of pastoral visitation, the “ gudewife 0’ the house,” Maggy, had just returned from market, and in her hurry to meet the minister, whom she found in possession of her cottage, deposited her basket, which contained certain purchases from a butcher’s stall, at the door. After a few preliminary observations, Dr. Johnston began by putting the question-“ What doth every sin deserve, Margaret 1 I’ “ God’s curse-the dowg’s awa’ wi’ the head-and-harigals I” she exclaimed as she bolted after the canine delinquent who had made free with the contents of her basket. (‘Very well answered,” said the Doctor on her return, “ but rather hurriedly spoken.” Another of the fish dames, named Maggy-for Margaret and Janet are the prevailing names among the females of Newhaven-happening to take a glass extra, was met on her way home by the minister. “ What, what, Margaret ! ’’ said the Doctor jocularly, “1 think the road is rather narrow for you,” ‘‘ Hout, sir,” replied Maggy, alluding to her empty creel, “how can I gang steady without ballast I ’’ The late erection of a church at Newhaven, we understand, has been ... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. attention, This urbanity and condescension produced on their part a feeling of the ...

Book 9  p. 456
(Score 0.69)

106 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. No. LI. SIR RALPH ABERCROMBY, KB,, GIVING THE WORD OF COKI\IAP\’D. SIR RALPH ABERCROMBY was the son of George Abercromby of Tullibody, in Clackmannanshire. He was born in 1734 in the old mansion of Menstrie,’ which at that period was the ordinary residence of his parents. The house, which is in the village of Menstrie, although not inhabited by any of the family, is still entire, and is pointed out to strangers as the birthplace of the hero. After going through the usual course of study, he adopted the army as his profession; and, at the age of twenty-two, obtained in the year 1756 a commission as Cornet in the third Regiment of Dragoons. During the early part of his service he had little opportunity of displaying his military talents, but he gradually rose, and in 1787 had attained the rank of Major-General.’ After the breaking out of the French revolutionary war, Sir Ralph Abercromby served in the campaigns of 1794 and 1795, under the Duke of York, and by his judicious conduct preserved the British army from destruction during their disastrous retreat through Holland. He commanded the advanced guard, and was wounded at the battle of Nimeguen. After the returh of Sir Charles Grey from the West Indies, the French retook the islands of Guadaloupe and St. Lucia, made good their landing on Martinique, and hoisted their national colours on several forts in the islands of St. Vincent, Granada, etc., besides possessing themselves of booty to the amount of 1800 millions of limes. For the purpose of checking this devastation, the British fitted out a fleet in the autumn of 1795, with a proper military force. Sir Ralph was entrusted with the charge of the troops, and at the same time appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in the West Indies. Being detained longer than was expected, the equinox set in before the fleet was ready to sail, and, in endeavouring to clear the Channel, several of the trans- The estate of Tullibody and Menstrie, at the beginning of the seventeenth century, belonged to Sir William Alexander the poet, better known as Earl of Stirling, which title w8s conferred upon him by King Charles I. His lordship was much involved in pecuniary difficulties, and his succeasora had not sufficient prudence to economise ; the result of all which was, that their estates were swept away by their creditors somewhere about the middle of that century, by what, in Scots law parlance, are termed “apprisings.” Sir Ralph’s grandfather, who was a writer in Edinburgh, was the first of the name of Abercromby that possessed Tullibody. He is represented by the Peerage compilers as a descendant of the family of Birkenbog; but no evidence has been produced to substantiate this averment. Alexander, an advocate, was, on the 7th June 1792, raised to the bench by the title of Lord Abercromby, and died 17th November 1795 ; and Sir Robed, K.C.B., a General in the Army, who died in 1827. He had two brothers who attained eminence in their respective callings. 9 In 1788 Sir Ralph’s place of residence in Edinburgh was in George Square. ... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. No. LI. SIR RALPH ABERCROMBY, KB,, GIVING THE WORD OF COKI\IAP\’D. SIR RALPH ...

Book 8  p. 155
(Score 0.69)

Foms StRet.1 THOMAS CHALMERS. 205 of high entranced enthusiasm. But the shape of the forehead is perhaps the most singular part of the whole visage ; and indeed it presents a mixture so very singular, that I should have required some little time to comprehend the meaning of it. . . . In the forehead of Dr. Chalmers there is an arch of imagination, carrying out the summit boldly and roundly, in a style to which the heads of very few poets present acything comparable-while over this again there is a grand apex of veneration and love, such as might have graced the bust of Plato himself, and such as in living men I had never beheld equalled in any but the majestic head of Canova. The whole is edged with a few crisp locks, which stand boldly forth and afford a fine relief to the death-like paleness of those massive temples.? He died on the 3rst May, 1847, since when his Memoirs have been given to the world by Dr. William Hanna, with his life and labours in long before he took the great part he did in the storm of the Disruption :- ?At first sight his face is a coarse one-but a mysterious kind of meaning breathes from every part of it, that such as have eyes cannot be long without discovering. It is very pale, and the large halfclosed eyelids have a certain drooping melancholy about them, which interested me very much, I understood not why. The lips, too, are singularly pensive in their mode of falling down at the sides, although there is no want of richness and vigour in their central fulness of curve. The upper lip from the nose downwards, is separated by a very deep line, which travels in North America followed; but the work by which he is best known-his pleasant ? I Fragments of Voyages and Travels, including Anec dotes of Naval Life,?in three volumes, he published at Edinburgh in 1831, during his residence in St. Colme Street where some of his children were born. I? Patchwork,? a work in three volumes, he published in England in 1841. He married Margaret, daughter of Sir John Hunter, Consul-general in Spain, and died at Portsmouth in 1844, leaving behind him the reputation of having been a brave and intelligent officer, a good and benevolent man, and a faithful friend. Ainslie Place is an expansion of Great Stuart Street, midway between Moray Place and Randolph Crescent. It forms an elegant, spacious. and symmetrical double crescent, with an ornamental garden in the centre, and is notable for containing the houses in which Dugald Stewart and Dean Ramsay lived and died, namely, Nos. 5 and 23. Glasgow, his residence in St. Andrews, and his final removal to Edinburgh, his Visits to England, and the lively journal he kept of what he saw and did while in that country. St. Colme Street, the adjacent continuation of Albyn Place, is so named from one of the titles of the Moray family, a member of which was commendator of Inchcolm in the middle of the 16th century. Here No. 8 was the residence of Captain Bad Hall, R.N., the popular writer on several subjects. He was the second son of Sir James Hall of Dunglass, Sart., and Lady Helena Douglas, daughter af Dunbar, third Earl of ... StRet.1 THOMAS CHALMERS. 205 of high entranced enthusiasm. But the shape of the forehead is perhaps the most ...

Book 4  p. 205
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Victoria Street.] THE MECHANICS? LIBRARY. 291 CHAPTER XXXV. SOME OF THE NEW STREETS WITHIN THE AREA OF THE FLODDEN WALL (concZuded). Victoria Street and Ter-The India Buildings-Mechanics? Subscription Library-George IV. BridgeSt. Augustine?s Church-Martyrs? Church-Chamber of the Hiehland and Amicultural Societv--SherifP Court Buildings and Solicitors? Hall-Johnstone Terrace-St. John?s - Free Church-The Church of Scotland Training College. VICTORIA STREET, which opens from the west side of George IV. Bridge, and was formed as the result of the same improvement Scheme by which that stately bridge itself was erected, from the north end of the Highland and Agricultural Society?s Chambers curves downward to the northeast corner of the Grassmarket, embracing in that curve the last remains of the ancient West Bow. Some portions of its architecture are remarkably ornate, especially the upper portion of its south side, where stands the massive pile, covered in many parts with rich carving, named the India Buildings, in the old Scottish baronial style, of unique construction, consisting of numerous offices, entered from a series of circular galleries, and erected in 1867-8, containing the Scottish Chamber of Agriculture, which was instituted in November, 1864. Its objects are to watch over the interests of practical agriculture, to promote the advancement of that science by the discussion of all subjects relating to it, and to consider questions that may be introduced into Parliament connected with it. The business of the Chamber is managed by a president, vice-president, and twenty directors, twelve of whom are tenant farmers. It holds fixed meetings at Perth in autumn, and at Edinburgh in November, annually; and all meetings are open to the press. In the centre of the southern part of the street is St. John?s Established church, built in 1838, in a mixed style of architecture, with a Saxon doorway. It is faced on the north side by a handsome terrace, portions of which rise from an open arcade, and include a Primitive Methodist church, or Ebenezer chapel, and an Original Secession church. Victoria Terrace is crossed at its western end bya flight of steps, which seem to continue the old line of access afforded by the Upper West Bow. No. 5 Victoria Terrace gives access to one of the most valuable institutions in the city-the Edinburgh Mechanics? Subscription Library. It was established in 1825, when its first president was Mr. Robert Hay, a printer, and Mr. John Dunn, afterwards a well-known optician, was vicepresident, and it has now had a prosperous career of more than half a century. The library is divided into thirteen sections :- I, Arts and Sciences ; 2, Geography and Statistics ; 3, History; 4, Voyages, Travels, and Personal Adventures ; 5, Biography ; 6, Theology ; 7, Law ; 8, Essays; 9, Poetry and the Drama; 10, Novels and Romances ; I I, Miscellaneous ; I 2, Pamphlets ; 13, Periodicals. Each of these sections has a particular classification, and they are all constantly receiving additions, so as to CaNy out the original object of the institution-? To procure an extensive collection of books on the general literature of the country, including the most popular works on science.? Thus every department of British literature is amply represented on its shelves, and at a charge so moderate as to be within the reach of all classes of the community: the entry-money being only 2s. 6d., and the quarterly payments IS. 6d. The management of this library has always been vested in its own members, and few societies adhere so rigidly to their original design as the Mechanics? Library has done. It has, from the first, adapted itself to the pecuniary circumstances of the working man, and from the commencement it has been a self-supporting institution ; though in its infancy its prosperity was greatly accelerated, as its records attest, by liberal donations of works in almost every class of literature. Among the earliest contributors in this generous spirit, besides many of its own members, were Sir James Hall, Bart., of Dunglas, so eminent for his attainments in geological and chemical science; his son, Captain Basil Hall, R.N., the well-known author ; Mr. Leonard Horner ; and the leading publishers of the day-Messrs. Archibald Constable, William Blackwood, Adam Black, Waugh and Innes, with John Murray of London. Some of them were munificent in their gifts, ? besides granting credit to any amount required-an accommodation of vital service to an infant institution.? The property of the library is vested in trustees, who consist of two individuals chosen by vote every fifth year, in addition to ?the Convener of the Trades of the City of Edinburgh, the principal. librarian to the Faculty of Advocates, and the principal librarian to the Society of Writers to Her Majesty?s Signet, for the time being.? The right of reading descends to the heirs ... Street.] THE MECHANICS? LIBRARY. 291 CHAPTER XXXV. SOME OF THE NEW STREETS WITHIN THE AREA OF THE ...

Book 2  p. 291
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secluded character of the place inust have been destroyed. ?? Queen Mary granted the gardens of -the Greyfriars? monastery to the citizens in the year 1566, to be used as a cemetery, and from that period the old burial-place seems to have and are now said to be among the miscellaneous collections at Holyrood. Begun in 1632, the hall with its adjacent buildings took seven years to erect; but subsequently the external portions of the edifice were almost totally renewed. Howell, the citizens forgot that their Exchange was built over their fathers? graves.? Yet within six years after Queen Mary?s gr.ant, Knox was interred in the old burial-ground. ?Before the generation had passed away that witnessed and joined in his funeral service,? says the author of ? Memorials of Edinburgh,? ?the churchyard in which they laid him had been converted into a public thoroughfare ! We fear this want of veneration must be regarded as a national Characteristic which Knox assisted to call into existence, and to which we owe much of the reckless demolition of those time-honoured monuments of the past which it is sow thought a weakness to deplore.? As a churchyard in name it last figures in 1596 as the scene of a tumult in which John Earl of Mar, John Bothwell, Lord Holyroodhouse, the Lord Lindsay, and others, met in their armour, and occasioned some trouble ere they could be pacified. It was the scene of all manner of rows, when club-law prevailed ; where exasperated litigants, sick of ?the law?s delays,? ended the matter by appeal to sword and dagger ; and craftsmen and apprentices quarrelled with the bailies and deacons. It has been traditionally said that many of the tombstones were removed to the Greyfriars? churchyard; if such was the case no inscriptions remain built here lately,? and regretting that Charles I. did not inaugurate it in person, he adds that ?they did ill who advised him otherwise.? The time had come when old Scottish raids were nearly past, and when revolutions had their first impulse, not in the battle-field, but in deliberative assemblies ; thus the Parliament that transferred its meetings from the old Tolbooth to the new House in 1639 had to vote ?? the sinews of war ? for an aymy against England, under Sir Alexander Leslie, and was no less unprecedented in its constitution and powers than the place in which it assembled was a new edifice. Outside of a wooden partition in the hall was an oak pulpit, where a sermon was preached at the opening of parliament; and behind was a small gallery, where the public heard the debates of the House. To thousands who never saw or could have seen it the external aspect of the old Parliament House has been rendered familiar by Gordon?s engravings, and more particularly by the view of it on the bank notes of Sir William Forbes and Co. Tradition names Inigo Jones as the architect, bit of this there is not a vestige of proof. It was highly picturesque, and possessed an individuality that should have preserved it from the iconoclastic ?improvers? of 1829. ?There was a quaint The Parliament Hall, which was finished in 1639, at the expense of the citizens, costing A11,600 of the money of that time, occupies a considerable portion of the old churchyard, and possesses a kind of simple grandeur ? belonging to an anterior age. Its noblest feature is the roof, sixty feet in height, which rests on ornamental brackets consisting of boldly sculptured heads, and is formed of dark oak tie-and-hammer beams with cross braces, producing a general effect suggestive of the date of Westminster or of Crosby Hall. Modern corridors that branch out from it are in harmony with the old hall, and lead to the various court rooms and the extensive libraries of the Faculty of Advocates and the Society of Writers to the Signet. The hall measures 122 feet in length by 49 in breadth, and was hung of old with tapestry and portraits of the kings of Scotland, some by Sir Godfrey Kneller. These were bestowed, in 1707, by Queen Anne, on the Earl of Mar, ? we are told, ?and the rude elaborateness of its decorations, that seemed to link it with the courtiers I of Holyrood in the times of the Charleses, and its last gala days under the Duke of York?s viceregency. Nothing can possibly be conceived more meaningless and utterly absurd than the thing that superseded it ?-a square of semi-classic buildings, supported by a narrow arcade, and surmounted by stone sphinxes. Above the old main entrance, which faced the east, and is now completely blocked up and hidden, were the royal arms of Scotland, beautifully sculptured, supported on the right by Mercy holding a crown wreathed with laurel, and on the left by Justice, with a palm branch and balance, with the inscription, Stant his feZiciin r p a , and underneath the national arms, the motto, Uni unionurn. Over the smaller doorway, which forms the present access to the lofty lobby of the House, were the arms of the city, between sculptured ... character of the place inust have been destroyed. ?? Queen Mary granted the gardens of -the Greyfriars? ...

Book 1  p. 158
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GNsmarket.1 THE GAELIC CHAPEL. 235 target, andnogentlemantookthe road without pistols in his holsters, and was the chief place for carriers putting up in the days when all the country traffic was conducted by their carts or waggons. In 1788 fortysix carriers arrived weekly in the Grassmarket, and this number increased to ninety-six in 1810. In those days the Lanark coach started fiom George Cuddie?s stables there, every Friday and Tuesday at 7 am. ; the Linlithgow and Falkirk flies at 4 every afternoon, ?( Sundays excepted ; ? and the Peebles coach from ? Francis M?Kay?s, vintner, White Hart Inn,? thrice weekly, at g in the morning. Some bloodshed occurred in the Castle Wynd in 1577. When Morton?s administration became so odious as Regent that it was resolved to deprive him of his power, his natural son, George Douglas of Parkhead, held the Castle of which he was governor, and the magistrates resolved to cut off all supplies from him. At 5 o?clock on the 17th March their guards discovered two carriages of provisions for the Castle, which were seized at the foot of the Wynd. This being seen by Parkhead?s garrison, a sally was made, and a combat ensued, in which three citizens were killed and six wounded, but only one soldier was slain, while sixteen others pushed the carriages up the steep slope. The townsmen, greatly incensed by the injury,? says Moyse, ?? that same night cast trenches beside Peter Edgafs house for enclosing of the Castle.? Latterly the closes on the north side of the Market terminated on the rough uncultured slope of the Castle Hill; but in the time of Gordon of Rothiemay a belt of pretty gardens had been there from the west fiank of the city wall to the Castle Wynd, where a massive fragment of the wall of 1450 remained till the formation of Johnstone Terrace. On the west side of the Castle Wynd is an old house, having a door only three feet three inches wide, inscribed: BLESSIT. BE. GOD. FOR. AL. HIS. GIFTIS. 16. 163 7. 10. The double date probably indicated arenewal of the edifice. The first Gaelic chapel in Edinburgh stood in the steep sloping alley named the Castle Wynd. Such an edifice had long been required in the Edinburgh of those days, when such a vast number of Highlanders resorted thither as chairmen, porters, water-carriers, city guardsmen, soldiers of the Castle Company, servants and day-labourers, and when Irish immigration was completely unknown. These people in their ignorance of Lowland Scottish were long deprived of the benefit of religious instruction, which was a source of regret to themselves and of evil to society. Hence proposals were made by Mr. Williarn Dicksos, a dyer of the city, for building a chapel wherein the poor Highlanders might receive religious instruction in their own language; the contributions of the benevolent flowed rapidly in; the edifice was begun in 1767 and opened in 1769, upon .a piece of ground bought by the philanthropic William Dickson, who disposed of it to the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge. The church cost A700, of which LIOO was given by the Writers to the Signet. It was soon after enlarged to hold about 1,100 hearers. The minister was elected by the subscribers. His salary was then only LIOO per annum, ?and he was, of course, in communion with the Church- of Scotland, when such things as the repentance stool and public censure did not become thing of the past until 1780. ?Since the chapel was erected,? says Kincaid, ?the Highlanders have been punctual in their attendance on divine worship, and have discovered the greatest sincerity in their devotions. Chiefly owing to the bad crops for some years past in the Highlands, the last peace, and the great improvements Carrying on in this city, the number of Highlanders has of late increased so much that the chapel in its present situation cannot contain them. Last Martinmas, above 300 applied for seats who could not be accommodated, and who cannot be edified in the English language.? The first pastor here was the Rev. Joseph Robertson MacGregor, a native of Perthshire, who was a licentiate of the Church of England before he joined that of Scotland., ?The last levies of the Highland regiments,? says Kincaid, ?? were much indebted to this house, for about a third of its number have, this last and preceding wars, risqued (xi.) their lives for their king and country ; and no other church in Britain, without the aid or countenance of Government, contains so many disbanded soldiers.? Mr. MacGregor was known by his mother?s name of Robertson, assumed in consequence of the proscription of his clan and name ; but, on the repeal of the infamous statute against it, in 1787, on the day it expired he attired himself in a fill suit of the MacGregor tartan, and walked conspicuously about the city. The Celtic congregation continued to meet 51 the Castle Wynd till 1815, when its number had so much increased that a new church was built for them in another quarter of the city. The Plainstanes Close, with Jatnieson?s, Beattie?s, s * ... THE GAELIC CHAPEL. 235 target, andnogentlemantookthe road without pistols in his holsters, and was ...

Book 4  p. 235
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142 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. most powerful speakers in favour of the accused-was not concluded till about midnight of the second day, when his opponents were outvoted by ninety-six to eighty-four. Mr. Leslie now took possession of the Mathematical chair without further opposition. Finding the class apparatus very deficient, he immediately set about remedying the defect, by making extensive collections and adding several instruments of his own invention ; and throughout the whole period of his professorship, much of his leisure was devoted to the accomplishment of still further improvements. In 1810, by the aid of the hygrometer-one of his ingenious contrivances-he arrived at the discovery of artificial congelation, or the mode of converting water and mercury into, ice, which has been characterised as a process “ singularly beautiful.” In 181 9, on the death of Professor Playfair, he obtained the chair of Natural Philosophy, and thereby found his sphere of usefulness extended, and a wider field for the display of his talents. The various works produced by Mr. Leslie are as follow :-In 1809, “ Elements of Geometry,” which immediately became a class book-1813, an “Account of Experiments and Instruments depending on the relation of Air to Heat and Moisture ”-1817, “ Philosophy of Arithmetic, exhibiting a progressive view of the Theory and Progress of Calculation”-l821, “ Geometrical Analysis, and Geometry of Curve Lines, being volume second of a course of Mathematics, and designed as an Introduction to the Study of Natural Philosophy,” for the use of his class, of which only one volume appeared-1828, “Rudiments of Geometry,” a small octavo, designed for popular use. Besides these, he wrote many articles in the Edinburgh Review ; in Nicholson’s Philosophical Journal ; in \ the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh ; and furnished several valuable treatises on different branches of physics in the Supplement to the Emyclopledia Britannica. In the seventh edition of that work, begun in 1829, he-wrote a “ Discourse on the History of Mathematics and Physical Science during the Eighteenth Century,” which is allowed to be the most pleasing and faultless of all his writings. In 1832, on the recommendation of Lord Brougham, then Lord Chancellor, Mr. Leslie was created a Knight of the Guelphic Order, and a similar honour was conferred on Herschel, Bell, Ivory, Rrewster, South, Nicholas, and other iudividuals equally eminent for their attainments ; but he did not long enjoy the honour conferred on him. He had purchased an estate, called Coates, near his native place, where, by exposing himself to wet while superintending some improvements, he caught a severe cold, which terminated in his death on the 3d November 1832. All have admired the invqntive fertility of his genius-his extensive knowledge and vigorous mind. As a writer, however, his style has been criticised ; and he has been accused as somewhat illiberal in his estimate of kindred merit, while he is represented to have been credulous in matters of common life, and sceptical in science. “ His faults,” says his biographer, ‘‘ were far more than . The character of Sir John has been subject to some littls stricture. ... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. most powerful speakers in favour of the accused-was not concluded till about midnight ...

Book 9  p. 190
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 459 ability and fidelity of his pulpit ministrations, and beloved for the unwearied diligence and affection with which he has devoted himself to the private and domestic. exercises of his pastoral functions. By his parochial and congregational visitations-by his stated catechetical and devotional meetings with the young, and with the adults of his flock, as well as by his wise and zealous attention to the interests of intellectual and moral education in his parish-he showed himself ‘‘ a workman that needeth not to be ashamed.” Besides these administrations, he took a leading interest in most of the moral and religious benevolent institutions in Edinburgh, and gave much time and labour in the promotion of the important objects embraced in the Four Great Schemes of the Church of Scotland, as well as in the furtherance of many other institutions of kindred design, of various Christian denominations, which aim, by missionary enterprise, and Bible diffusion, at the universal dissemination of the gospel. Mr. Grey was known as an elegant writer ; and it was not unusual to find selections from his compositions in the books of Collections and Extracts for English schools of his day. His diffidence, however, seldom permitted him to gratify his friends by the publication of those discourses which delighted them from the pulpit. The following is a list of his few occasional sermons, separately published :-“A sermon preached in St. George’s Church, 16th March 1815, in behalf of the Edinburgh Lunatic Asylum ”-“ The Diffusion of Christianity dependent on the exertions of Christians,” a sermon preached in Lady Glenorchy’s Chapel, 2d April 18 18, before the Edinburgh Missionary Society -“The Vail of Moses done away in Christ,” a sermon preached in Lady Glenorchy’s Chapel, 2d December 1819, at the baptism of Joseph Davis, a converted Jew--“ Man’s Judgment at variance with God’s,” a sermon preached in St. George’s Church, 5th February 1824, in behalf of the Edinburgh and Leith Seamen’s Friend Society. His earliest and latest publications are on the Two Sacraments of the Christian Church, Baptism and the Communion. While at Stenton, in 1811, Mr. Grey published “A Catechism on Baptism: in which are considered its Nature, its Subjects, and the Obligations resulting from it ;” a small manual distinguished for the clearness and accuracy of the theological statement, and the chasteness and precision of the language : it is well adapted for popular instruction, and was long in general use and high estimation. In 1832 he published a little volume on “The Duty and Desirableness of Frequent Communion with Christ in the Sacrament of the Supper, in three discourses,” preached in St. Mary’s, designed, more immediately, in exposition and illustration of those views on the more frequent dispensation of the Lord’s Supper generally entertained in his congregation ; but whose wishes, from certain difficulties thrown in the way by the Presbytery of Edinburgh and the General Assembly, have not been carried into effect. These latter sermons are fine specimens of Mr. Grey’s ordinary pulpit eloquence, and have been much esteemed for their various and characteristic merits. It is not necessary, in these slight notices, to make more than momentary reference to an incident in the history of Mr. Grey, which at one time bore ... SKETCHES. 459 ability and fidelity of his pulpit ministrations, and beloved for the ...

Book 9  p. 612
(Score 0.68)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 171 (( This spirit of false chivalry,” adds Barrington, (( which took such entire possession of Hamilton Rowan’s understanding, was soon diverted into the channels of political theory.” The (( wrongs of Ireland,” real and imaginary, were not without their influence on a mind so susceptible of humane and honourable impressions. In 1782 he had participated in the memorable but short-lived triumph obtained for their country by the Volunteers, whom the emergency of the times called into existence j and he saw with equal regret the return of anarchy and disorganisation which so speedily followed that propitious effort of national unanimity. The spirit of democracy, so fearfully awakened in the Revolution of France, acted with talismanic effect upon the people of Ireland, where the patriotic exertions and eloquence of a Grattan and a Curran were expended in vain against the corruption of the Irish Parliament. In Hamilton Rowan the promoters of the societies of (( United Irishmen,” the first of which was held in Belfast in October 1791, found an influential and enthusiastic coadjutor. The first sitting of the Dublin Society was held on the 9th November following; the Hon. Sirnon Butler in the chair, and James Napper Tandy, secretary. Of this body Hamilton Rowan was an original member; but it was not till 1792, at the meeting on the 23d November, that we find him officially engaged in the proceedings. Dr. Drennan (whose talents as a writer have been much admired) was elected chairman, and Mr. Rowan, secretary. The views of the “ United Irishmen ” were ostensibly the accomplishment of political reformation-and probably nothing farther was at first contemplated ; but it soon became evident that measures as well as principles were in progress, which were likely to increase and streugthen in proportion as a redress of grievances was denied or postponed. That national independence was an event, among others, to which the United Irishmen looked forward, is strongly countenanced by concurring circumstances-although it ought to be borne in mind that the original political associations were entirely distinct from those subsequently entered into, bearing similar designations. Early in 1792 a body of volunteers were formed in Dublin, approximating in design to the National Guards of France-the leaders of whom were Hamilton Rowan and Napper Tandy. This body of armed citizens-who “wore clothing of a particular uniform, with emblems of harps divested of the Royal Crown ”-had hitherto met only in small divisions ; but a general meeting, to be held on Sunday the 7th September, was at length announced in a placard, to which was attached the signature of Mathew Dowling. Alarmed at this procedure the Government issued a counter proclamation the day previous, which proved so entirely authoritative, that the only individuals who appeared on parade in uniform were Rowan, Tandy, and Carey, printer to the Society. Immediately following this, the ‘( United Irishmen ” met in consdtationan energetic address to the Volunteers of Ireland, or rather the disorganised remains of that once powerful body, was agreed ob-and the Guards of Dublin were summoned to meet in a house in Cape Street, belonging to Pardon, a ... SKETCHES. 171 (( This spirit of false chivalry,” adds Barrington, (( which took such ...

Book 9  p. 230
(Score 0.68)

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