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200 MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH.
alone, but even, it is said, the honest discharge of commercial obligations.’ For forty
years Mr Creech carried on the most extensive publishing concern in Scotland, and during
the whole of this long period nearly all the valuable literary productions of the time
passed through his hands. He published the writings of the celebrated judge and
philosopher, Lord Kames, who appears to have regarded him with friendship and esteem.
He was also the publisher of the works of Drs Blair, Beattie, Campbell (the opponent of
Hume), Cullen, Gregory, Adam Smith, Henry Mackenzie (the Man of Feeling), Lord
Woodhouselee, Dugald Stewart, and Burns, besides many others of inferior note ; all of
whom resorted to the old land in the Luckenbooths, or to the more select assemblies that
frequently took place at his breakfast table, designated by the wits Creech‘s levees. The
old bibliopolist is the subject of Burns’ amusing poem, “ Willie’s amz,’’ written on the
occasion of a long visit he paid to London in 1787, and forwarded to him by the poet at
the time. One or two of its stanzas are very lively and characteristic :-
0 Willie was a witty wight,
And had 0’ things an uuco slight ;
Auld Reekie aye he keepit tight,
And trig and braw ;
But now they ’11 busk her like a fright,
Willie ‘s awa,.
Nae mair we see his levee door,
Philosophers and poets pour,
And toothy critics by the score
The adjutant of a’ the core,
In bloody raw ;
Willie ’a awa.
From the same classic haunt the Mirror and Lounger were originally issued, the appearance
of which formed a new era in the literature of Edinburgh. The first paper of the
Mirror appeared on Saturday, 23d January 1779, aud created quite a sensation among the
blue-stocking coteries of the capital, The succeeding numbers were delivered at Mr Creech’s
shop every Wednesday and Saturday, and afforded a general source of interest and literary
amusement. Mr Mackenzie was the conductor and principal writer, but the chief contributors
latterly formed themselves into the ‘‘ Mirror Club,” which consisted of Henry
Mackenzie, Lord Craig, Lord Abercromby, Lord Bannatyne, Lord Cullen, George Home
of Wedderburn, William Gordon of Newhall, and George Ogilvie, advocates.’ Mr
Creech, like his predecessor, bore his share in the civic government, and twice filled
the office of Lord Provost. His reputation is still preserved by his “ Fugitive Pieces,” a
work of considerable local celebrity, although affording a very imperfect idea of the wit
Some curious illustrations, both of the wit and penuriousness of this old city bookseller, will be found scattered
through the pages of “ Ray’s Portraits.” ’ Lord Craig, then an advocate, was the originator, and, next to Mackenzie, the greatest contributor to the Mimr. The
Club previously existed under the name of the Tabernacle, but assumed that which had been adopted for their periodical,
The namea of the writers were carefully concealed, and in order to avoid observation, the Club held its weekly meetings
in no fixed place. ‘‘ Sometimes in Clerihugh’s, in Writer‘s Court, sometimes in Somer’s, opposite the Guard House,
in the High Street, sometimea in Stewart’s Oyster House, in the Old Fishmarket Close,” &c., when one of the most
interesting occupations of the evening was the examination of the contents of the Contributors’ box, which stood open
for all correspondents, at Yr Creech’s door.--Vide Scot. Biog. Dictionary,-Article “ Craig.”

... MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH. alone, but even, it is said, the honest discharge of commercial obligations.’ For ...

Book 10 p. 219
(Score 0.88)

340 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES,
acquirements and his own-natural talents. Of this we need no better proof
than is afforded by his text-book, (‘ Conspectus Medicinae Theoreticse ad usurn
Academicum,” which he published a few years after obtaining the professorship,
and which procured for its author a high professional character throughout
Europe.
In 1790, on the death of Dr. Cullen, Dr. Gregory was elected Professor of
the Practice of Physic, and successfully maintained the reputation acquired by
his predecessor. His success as a teacher was great ; and his class was, during
the long period he filled the chair, numerously attended by students from all
parts of the world. He also held the appointment of first Physician to his
Majesty for Scotland.
Dr. Gregory was distinguished for his classical attainments, and especially for
proficiency in the Latin language, to which his thesis, (‘ De Morbis Coeli Mutatione
Medendis,” in 1774, bore ample testimony. His talents for literature
and general philosophy were of a high order ; and that he did not prosecute
these to a greater extent was no doubt owing to the pressure of his professional
duties, which scarcely left him an hour to himself.’ In 1792 he published two
volumes Svo, entitled “ Philosophical and Literav Essays,” in which he combated
the doctrine of fatalism maintained by Dr. Priestley in a work previously
published by that author under the title of “ Philosophical Necessity.” He
forwarded the manuscripts of his essays to Dr. Priestley for perusal prior to
publication, but the Doctor declined the honour, on the ‘ground that his mind
was made up, and that he had ceased to think of the subject.
Dr. Gregory was likewise the author of a “ Dissertation on the Theory of
the Moods of Verbs ”-a paper read to the Royal Society, of which he was a
member ; and he published an edition of Cullen’s ‘( First Lines of the Practice
of Physic,” two vols. 8vo.
We have now to allude to a series of publications, commenced in 1793,
which, but for the extraordinary degree of local excitement created by them at
the time, we should willingly have passed over without comment. The fist of
these was a pamphlet by Dr. Gregory, in which he endeavoured, by internal
evichnce, to fix the authorship of a book, entitled “A Guide for Gentlemen
studying Medicine at the University of Edinburgh,” upon the two Doctors
Hamilton, father and son. The author of the (‘Guide” had been somewhat
severe in his strictures in regard to some of the professorships of the University
; while, in the opinion of Dr, Gregory and his friends, an undue degree of
praise had been bestowed upon the midwifery classes taught by Drs. Hamilton.
To this Dr. James Hamilton junior replied in a well-written pamphlet, in which
1 Respecting Dr. Qregory’s extensive practice, and the numerous patienta who, attracted by his
fame, came from great dmtances to consult him, several anecdotes have found their way into books
of light readiig. The scene in his study with a guzzling, punch-drinking citizen of Glasgow, is
amusing, and must be familiar to almost every reader. No man possessed more gentlemanly mannera
than Dr. Gregory ; yet, in such case8 as that of the Glasgow merchant, or of the lady who came
from London to csnsult him against the infirmities of age, he expressed himself with a brevity
and blnntnesa the reverse of gratifying.

... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, acquirements and his own-natural talents. Of this we need no better proof than is ...

Book 8 p. 475
(Score 0.88)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 42 1
tions of teaching and farming. He died from the consequences of an injury
which he had received inadvertently in the right thumb at dinner. He left a
family of three sons and three daughters. Of the former, Louis became the
Founder of the Hospital; Joseph was a Writer to the Signet in Edinburgh, and
eminent in his profession ;I and Alexander died in his youth. Of the latter,
Jean assisted her brother for several years in hearing the lessons of the female
pupils; Minny was his housekeeper; whilst Margaret was married to a Mr.
Morrison at Milnathort.
The subject of this memoir at a very early age made choice of his father’s
profession. He was educated at the High School and College of Edinburgh ;
and, for some time before his father’s death, had been in the habit of acting as
his assistant, When that event took place he decided upon continuing the
school for the benefit of the family. Shortly afterwards he went to France, to
complete his knowledge of the language and its pronunciation, and prosecuted
his studies for two years in the University of Paris, during which time Mr.
Moffat taught his classes in Edinburgh. Thus qualified for his task, he commanded,
for a series of years, better filled classes than have fallen to the lot of
any teacher of French in Edinburgh. Without attempting any delineation of
his peculiar mode of imparting instruction, suffice it to say that he possessed
such an extraordinary energy of mind and vigour of body, that first-rate teachers
of the present day, who have studied under him, acknowledge that, within a
similar period of time, no one in their experience ever taught so much, or SO
well. The history of his labours in private and public teaching, and of the early
difficulties he had to struggle with, contains much that would be both interesting
and instructive; but it may be enough to state that his whole time was
devoted to his profession-that he laboured in it with the greatest assiduity and
industry for the greater part of his lifetime, from eight o’clock in the morning
till nine at night, except on Saturdays, the afternoons of which were devoted to
relaxation and hospitality-and that he retired from business in 1817 or 1818,
after having realised, by his own exertions, a handsome fortune. For nearly
twenty years before relinquishing his scholastic labours, he, in imitation of his
father, rented a large farm in the parish of Duddingston, which he managed
with great skill, and where he resided during summer. In the winter months
he resided in town, and regularly visited his farm on the Saturday ; but during
the rest of the year he personally directed the operations, morning and evening,
rising regularly at four o’clock in the morning. The farm-house, now termed
Woodlands, in the immediate vicinity of the Hospital, has been greatly enlarged
since he left it, and is at present (1838) occupied by Alexander Smith, Esq.,
W.S. During Mr. Cauvin’s occupation of the farm, he erected the house of
Louisfield, which how forms the centre part of the Hospital.
This gentleman married Miss Esther Cunningham, daughter of Dr. Harry Cunningham. This
lady mixed a great deal in the fashionable world in Edinburgh at the commencement of the preaent
century, and was satirised somewhat severely, under the name of Mra Ravine, in a curious novel, in
three volumes, entitled, “A Winter in Edinburgh.” She predeceased her hwband, leaving no
children.

... SKETCHES. 42 1 tions of teaching and farming. He died from the consequences of an injury which he ...

Book 9 p. 564
(Score 0.87)

400 MEMORIALS OF EDIILBURGH.
and the well has to be sought for within the recesses of a dark and unsightly drain,
grudgingly constructed by the Railway Directors after an interdict had arrested them in
the process of demolishing the ancient Gothic building, and stopping the fountain, whose
miraculous waters-once the resort of numerous pilgrims-seem to find a few, even in our
own day, who manifest the same faith in their healing virtues.'
Most of the smaller convents and chapels within the capital have already been treated
of along with the other features of their ancient localities. One, however, still remains to
be noticed, not the least value of which is, that it still exists entire, and with some unusually
rare relics of its original decorations. In early times there existed in the Cowgate, a little
to the east of the old monastery of the Grey Friars, an ancient Maison Dim, as it was
styled, which, having fallen into decay, was refounded in the reign of James V., chiefly by
the contributions of Michael Macquhen, a wealthy citizen of Edinburbh, and afterwards of
his widow, Janet Rynd. The hospital and chapel were dedicated to St Mary Magdalene,
an& by the will of the foundress were left in trust to the Corporation of Hammermen, by
whom the latter is now used as a hall for their own meetings. The foundation was subsequently
augmented by two several donations from Hugh Lord Somerville in 1541 ; and
though the building doubtless shared in the general ruin that swept over the capital in
1544, they must have been very speedily repaired, as the windows are still adorned with
the ancient painted glass, containing the royal arms of Scotland encircled with a wreath
of thistles, and those of the Queen Regent, Mary of Guise, within a laurel wreath, along
with the shields of the founder and foundress also enclosed in ornamental borders. One
other fragment, a Saint Bartholomew, has strangely escaped the general massacre of 1559,
that involved the destruction of all the other apostles. The workmanship of the latter
is decidedly inferior to that of the heraldic emblazonry-its hues have evidently faded ;
while the deep ruby and bright yellow of the royal arms still exhibit the unrivalled
brilliancy of the old glass-painters' work. These fragments of ancient painted glass possess
a peculiar value, as scarcely another specimen of the Art in Scotland has escaped the
destructive fury of the reforming mobs. Another unusual, though not equally rare feature,
is the tomb of the foundress, which remains at the east end of the chapel, with the inscription
round its border in ancient Gothic characters :-
I e i r IpiB ane tonora5il woman, %net Mipnb, pe
SPOUof~ u mqubiI ACiicel maTiqu-ben, 5urM
of %b. founbrr of pip place, anb berePPit pe
iiii bap of Them'. W. bno. m'. V. blp.'
The centre of the stone is occupied with the arms of the founders, husband and wife, impaled
on one shield. This sculptured slab is now level with a platform which occupies the
1 Lectures on the Antiquities of Edinburgh, by a Member of the Holy Guild of St Joseph. * The date assigned by Pennecuick for the death of the foundress is 1553 ; but this seems to be a mistake. She speaks
in the charter of her husband having resolved on this Christian work wheu ' I greatly troubled with a heavy disease, and
oppwsed with age," and as his endowment is dated 1503, this would make his widow survive him exactly half a century.
The date on the tomb ia di5cult to decipher, being much worn, but it appears to be 1507. The deed executed by her
is said to be dated so late as 1545, but the original is lost, and only a partial transcript exists among the recorda of the
Corporation of Hammermen. If such be the correct date, it is strange that no notice should be taken of the burning of
the town by the English the previous year, although the deed refers to property lying in the Eigh Street, and in various
closes and wynds, which must then have been in ruins, or just rising from their ashes. The deed of 1545 is possibly an
abstract of previous ones,including those of Lord Somerville, aa it specifies his barony of Carnwath Yiln, without
naming him.
Part iv. p. 126.

... MEMORIALS OF EDIILBURGH. and the well has to be sought for within the recesses of a dark and unsightly ...

Book 10 p. 439
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OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Corstrophinc
- ~- I
CRAIGCROOK IN THE PRESENT DAY.
than doubled all the specie circulating in France,
when it was hoarded up, or sent out of the country.
Thus severe edicts were published, threatening with
dire punishment all who were in possession of Azo
of specie-edicts that increased the embarrassments
of the nation. Cash payments were stopped at the
bank, and its notes were declared to be of no value
after the 1st November, 1720. Law?s influence was
lost, his life in danger from hordes of beggared and
infuriated people. He fled from the scenes of his
splendour and disgrace, and after wandering through
various countries, died in poverty at Venice on the
zist of March, 1729. Protected by the Duchess of
Bourbon, William, a brother of the luckless comptroller,
born in Lauriston Castle, became in time a
Mardchal de Camp in France, where his descendants
have acquitted themselves with honour in
many departments of the State.
C H A P T E R XI.
CORSTORPHINE.
hrstorphine-Suppd Origin of the Name-The Hill-James VI. hunting there-The Cross-The Spa-The Dicks of Braid and Corstorphine--?
Corstorpliine Cream?-Convalt.scent House-A Wraith-The Original Chapel-The Collegiate Church-Its Provosts-Its Old
Tombs-The Castle and Loch of Corstorphine-The Forrester Family.
CORSTORPHINE, with its hill, village, and ancient
church, is one of the most interesting districts of
Edinburgh, to which it is now nearly joined by lines
of villas and gas lamps. Anciently it was called
Crosstorphyn, and the name has proved a puzzle to
antiquarians, who have had sonie strange theories
on the subject of its origin.
By some it is thought to have obtained its name
from the circumstance of a golden cross-Croix
d?orjn-having been presented to the church by
a French noble, and hence Corstorphine; and
an obscure tradition of some such cross did once
exist. According to others, the name signified
?? the milk-house under the hill,?? a wild idea in

... AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Corstrophinc - ~- I CRAIGCROOK IN THE PRESENT DAY. than doubled all the specie ...

Book 5 p. 112
(Score 0.87)

342 B I0 GR A P HI C d L SKETCHES.
examination of original documents, and the various public records. This work
indeed forms part only of his contemplated scheme, for, had his life been spared,
he intended to have followed it up with another volume relating to the other
great division, or the Central Highlands, which could not have failed to have
proved of even greater historical interest, independently of what he purposed
to have prefixed-“A Dissertation on the Manners, Customs, and Laws of the
Highlanders,” at an early period ; and for which, we believe, he had collected
very important materials.
No. CXXXVII.
DR. JAMES GREGORY,
IN THE UNIFORX OF THE ROYAL EDINBURGH VOLUhTEERS.
WHEN this loyal corps was formed, in 1793, DR. GREGORYe ntered warmly
into the spirit of the design, and was among the first to enrol himself in the
ranks. The
well-known Sergeant Gould used to say, “he might be a good physician, but he
was a very awkward soldier.” At drill he was either very absent or very
inquisitive, and put so many questions, that Gould, out of temper, often said-
“D-n it, sir, you are here to obey orders, and not to ask reasons; there is
nothing in the King’s orders about reasons !”
Aware of his deficiency, the Doctor was not only punctual in attending all
regimental field-days, but frequently had the Sergeant-Major at his own house
to give him instructions, On one of these occasions, the Sergeant, out of all
patience with the awkwardness and inquisitiveness of his learned pupil, exclaimed
in B rage-“Hold your tongue, sir; I would rather drill ten clowns than one
philosopher !”
Small parties of the volunteers were drilled privately in the Circus (afterwards
the Adelphi Theatre). On one of these occasions, while marching across the stage,
the trap-door used by the players haviig been inadvertently left unbolted, the
Doctor suddenly disappeared to the ‘‘ shades below;” upon which a wag
belonging to the corps exclaimed-“ Exit Gregor’s Ghost ! ”I
He never, however, attained eminence in his military capacity.
An allusion to a popdar Scotch ballad called “Young Gregor’s Ghost.”

... B I0 GR A P HI C d L SKETCHES. examination of original documents, and the various public records. This ...

Book 8 p. 477
(Score 0.86)

370 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Dalrymple. Edinburgh, 1786 ; gratefully and affectionately
inscribed to Richard (Hurd), Bishop of
Worcester, 4t0, pp. 213. In flve Chapters.
Sketch of the Life of John Barclay, 4t0, 1786.
Sketch of the Life of John Hamilton, a Secular Priest,
Sketch of the Life of Sir Janies Ramsay, a General
Officer in the Armies of Gustavus Adolphus, King
of Sweden, with a head.
Life of George Lesley (an eminent Capuchin Friar in
the early part of the 17th century), 4t0, pp. 24.
Sketch of the Life of Mark Alexander Boyd, 4to.
Specimen of a Life of James Marquis of Montrosa
These lives were written and published an a speeimen
of the manner in which a Biographia Scotica
might be executed. With the exception of the last,
they have been reprinted in the Appendix to the
edition of his Annals printed in 1819.
4tO.
Davidis Humei, Scoti, summl apud suo8 philosophi,
de vita sua acta, liber aingularis ; nunc primum
Latin0 redditua. [Edin.] 1787, 4to.
Adami Smith!, LL.D., ad Gulielmum Strahanum
armigerum, de rebns novissimis Davidis Hurnei,
Epistola, nunc primum Latine redditta. [Edin.]
1768, 4tO.
The Opinions of Sarah, Duchess Dowager of Marlborough,
published from her original MSS. 1788,
12mo, pp. 120 (with a few Foot Notes by Lord
Hailes, in which he corrects the splenetic partiality
of her Grace)-a singularly curious
work.
The Address of Q. Sept. Tertullian to Scapula Tertullus,
proconsul of Africa, translated by Sir
David Dalrymple. Edin. 1790, 12mo. Inscribed
to Dr. John Butler, Bishop of Hereford. Preface,
pp. 4. Translation, pp. 18. Original, pp. 13.
Notes and Illustrations, pp. 135,
No. CXLVIII.
REV. DR. DAVID JOHNSTON,
MINISTER OF NORTH LEITH.
IT may be said of this excellent man, that he inherited the virtues of the clercial
character by descent. His father was minister of Amgask, in the county of
Fife, and his maternal grandfather, the Rev. Mr. David Williamson, of the parish
of St. Cuthbert’s, Edinburgh, was a celebrated clergyman in the days of the
persecution.’
His early years were sedulously
devoted to the study of those acquirements necessary for the important office
MR. DAVIDJ OHNSwTaOs bNor n in 1733.
1 51r. Williamson was the son of a respectable glover in St. Andrews. He was ordained to the
West Kirk in 1661. The re-establishment of Episcopacy took place two years afterwards ; but, in
defiance of an order of Council, issued in 1664, he continued to preach in his church till the year
following, when he WWJ compelled to abandon his charge. Ee then retired to the west country,
preaching to the people in the fields and at conventiclas. In 1687, on the Act of Toleration being
passed, Mr. Williamson returned to Edinburgh ; and waa so well received by his old parishioners,
that they erected a meeting-house for him, where they attended on his ministrations. The prelatists
of the West Kirk soon found themselves almost totally deserted by their congregation ; but their
hands being tied np by the Toleration Act, they secretly stirred up the civil magistrate against him
by false accusations, in consequence of which he was imprisoned, but subsequently liberated ; yet
the ~amep arty continued to harass him in various ways, until, by the Revolution, he was happily
restored to the parish church in 168,!3. It is to Mr. Williamson that the “Author of Waverley ”
alludes in the following couplet of an absurd old ballad, put into the mouth of a syren of the mob
aa old Deans and his daughter Jeanie are pressing through the crowd to the trial of Effie :-
‘‘Mess David Williamson, chosen of twenty,
Ran up the pupit stairs, and sang Eilliecrankic.”
He was seven times married-a circumstance which afforded a fund of merriment to the Jacobites.
See Scottish Paspils, vol. i. Edin. 12mo.

... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Dalrymple. Edinburgh, 1786 ; gratefully and affectionately inscribed to Richard ...

Book 8 p. 516
(Score 0.86)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 38 1
Esq. of Woodhouselee.’ He was born in Edinburgh in 1747, where he attended
the High School for five years, and afterwards studied at a seminary in Kensington,
taught by Mr. Elphinstone, a man of reputed learning. Here he made rapid
progress in the classics, and distinguished himself in the attainment of various
accomplishments ; among which drawing and music-tastes he had early imbibed
-were not forgotten. On his return to his native city, about 1765, Mr. Tytler
entered on his professional studies at the University ; and in 1770 was called
to the bar. The following year he went on a tour to France, in company with
his cousin, the late James Ker, Esq., of Blackshiels. Through his father, Mr.
Tytler had been early introduced to literary society in Edinburgh. The friendship
of one so much his senior as Lord Kames, on whose suggestion he undertook
a supplementary volume of the Dictionary of Decisions, was in the highest degree
flattering. This work, which he executed with great ability, laid the foundation
of his future reputation. It was afterwards enlarged, and published as the third
and fourth volumes of the Dictionary.
In 1780 he was appointed Joint-Professor of Universal History in the
University of Edinburgh j and on the death of Mr. Pringle, in 1786, became
sole Professor. His lectures, embracing a much wider range than had previously
been deemed necessary for mere professional purposes, proved so generally popular,
that he was induced to publish an abridgment of them, first in 1782, and
subsequently, in a more extended form, under the title of ‘c Elements of General
History.”’
The literary labours in which Mr. Tytler now engaged were of a multifarious
nature. Although his name does not appear as one of the “ Mirror Club,” he
was intimately acquainted with almost all the members, and contributed both
to the Mirror and Lounger a number of lively and interesting articles. These,
it is said, were mostly written at inns, where he happened to be detained
occasionally on his journeys. Having become a member of the Royal Society
on its institution, he was elected one of the Secretaries ; and throughout a series
of years continued to interest himself deeply in its management. He was the
author of several valuable papers read to the Society, and lent no inconsiderable
aid in drawing up the yearly account of its Transactions.
An ‘‘ Essay on the Principles of Translation,” published anonymously by
Mr. Tytler, attracted an unusual degree of public notice, from a correspondence
which ensued between Dr. Campbell, Principal of Marischal College, Aberdeen,
Author of the “Inquiry, Historical and Critical, into the Evidence against Mary Queen of
Scota,” and of an excellent “Treatise on Scots Mwic,” and several other works, illustrative of the
Antiquities and Literature of Scotland. He was much celebrated for hia taste in music and painting.
He resided :m New Street (then called Young Street), Canongate.
It is rather a curious fact, that in this work the Jewish History in altogether omitted. The
Lectures were afterwards published by his eldest son, and his immediate e u m o r in the chair
(William Fraser Tytler, Esq. of Balnain, Vice-Lieutenant and Sheriff of Inverness-shire), under the
title of “Universal History, from the Creation of the World to the beginning of the Eighteenth
Centiiry.” 1834, 6 vols. 121no. The work formed part of the senm of Murray’a Family
Library.

... SKETCHES. 38 1 Esq. of Woodhouselee.’ He was born in Edinburgh in 1747, where he attended the High ...

Book 9 p. 510
(Score 0.85)

L UCKENEOOTHS AND PARLIAMENT CLOSE. 203
Michaell Cranstoun, then a verie fordward minister,” profitably employed the leisure of
the congregation by reading to them “ the Historie of Haman and Mordecai, and such
other places of Scr+ture. . . . In the mean tyme, there ariseth a rumour in the toun,
that the King had givin no good answere to the Kirk ; and in the Tolbuith, that the toun
was in armes, before there was anie suche thing. But it fell furth so immediatelie ; for
a messinger of Satan, suborned by some of the cubicular courteours, came to the kirk
doore, and cried, ‘ Fly ! save yourselves ; ’ and ranne to the streets, crying, ‘ Armour !
armour ! ’ ” The consequences are readily conceivable, friends and enemies rushed
together to the Tolbooth, and EO thoroughly terrified the King, that he speedily after forsook
the capital, and vowed in his wrath that he would erase it from the face of the earth !
a proposition which he really seriously entertained.a
The last Parliament at which royalty presided was held in the same New Tolbooth,
immediately after the coronation of Charles I,, July 1633, and this was in all probability
the latest occasion on which the Scottish Estates assembled in the ancient edifice, as the
more modern Parliament House that still exists was then in course of erection.
From this period the New Tolbooth was used exclusively for the meetings, of the Town
Council, by whom it had been erected, and it was latterly known only by the name of the
Council Chambers. Thither the unfortunate Earl of Argyle was brought from the Castle
preparatory to his execution on the 30th June 1685, and from thence his farewell letter
to his wife is dated. Fountainhall tells us, “ Argile came in coach to the Toune Counsell,
and from that on foot to the scaffold with his hat on, betuixt Mr Annand, Dean of Edinburgh,
on his right hand,-to whom he gave his paper on the scaffold,-and Mr Laurence
Charteris, late Professor of Divinity in the College of Edinburgh. He was somewhat
appaled at the sight of the Maiden,-present death will danton the most resolute courage,
-therfor he caused bind the napkin upon his face ere he approached, and then was led to
it.” Notwithstanding this incident mentioned by Fountainhall, who in all probability
witnessed the execution, it is well known that Argyle exhibited unusual composure and
self-possession on the occasion. The Maiden was erected, according to ancient custom in
cases of treason, at the Cross, so that the Earl would have only a few paces to walk across
the Parliament Close from the Council Chambers, to reach the fatal spot. As a more
recent association with both the earlier and later uses of this building, Mait.land mentions
-in addition to an armoury and wardrobe which it contained-that there also was the
repository wherein were kept the sumptuous robes anciently worn by the City representatives
in Parliament, together with the rich trappings and accoutrements for their horses,
which were used in the pompous cavalcade at the opening of the Scottish Legislature,
styled ‘‘ The riding of Parliament.”
The Parliament Close, which lies to the south of St Giles’s Church, has passed through
a series of stranger and more remarkable vicissitudes than any other portion of the Old
Town. Could an accurate narrative now be given of all the circumstances accompanying
these successive changes, it would s d c e to associate this narrow spot with many of the
most memorable events in Scottish history, till the adjournment of its last Parliament
there on the 22d of April 1707, never again to assemble. While St Giles’s was the
Caldemood’s Hist., vol. v. p. 613.
Fountainhall’s Historical Observes, p. 193.
Ante, p. 88. ’ Maitland, p. 180.

... UCKENEOOTHS AND PARLIAMENT CLOSE. 203 Michaell Cranstoun, then a verie fordward minister,” profitably employed ...

Book 10 p. 222
(Score 0.84)

ST LEONARD’S, ST MARY’S WYND, AND COWGATE. 315
is 1574, showing that their erection took place almost immediately after the demolition of
the Castle.
This remnant of one of the most important Government Offices of Scotland at that
early date is a curious sample of the heavy and partially castellated edifices of the period.
The whole building was probably intended, when completed, to form a quadrangle
surrounded on every side by the same substantial walls, well suited for defence against
any ordinary assault; while its halls were lighted from the enclosed court. The small
windows in this part of the building remain in their original state, being divided by an oaken
transom, and the under part closed with a pair of folding shutters. The massive ashlar
walls are relieved by ornamental string courses, and surmounted with crow steps of the
earliest form, and of elegant proportions. The original entrance, which is on the west
Bide of the projecting turret, has long been closed up, and its sill is now sunk considerably
below the level of the paving owing to the gradual rising of the street, so
common in earlier times, and of which we shall hereafter refer to much more surprising
proofs. It bears on its lintel the following legend neatly cut in Roman characters:-
BE - MERCIFVL * TO - ME - 0 * GOD * 1574, above which is an ornamental niche, not
unlikely to have contained a bust of King James. The internal marks of former magnificence
are still more interesting than these external ones, notwithstanding the humble
uses to which the buildings have latterly been applied ; in particular, some portions of a
very fine oak ceiling still remain, wrought in Gothic panneling, and retaining traces of
the heraldic blazonry with which it was originally adorned. Two large and handsome
windows above the archway leading to Toddrick’s Wynd,’ give light to this once magnificent
hall, which is said to have formed the council-room where the officers of the Mint
assembled to assay the metal, and to discuss the general affairs of the establishment.
Here was the scene of the splendid banquet given ( ( a t the requeist of the Kingis
Majestie and for honour of the toun,” to the Danish nobles and ambassadors, who came
over in the train of Anne, Queen of James VI., in 1590. The King writes, while
absent on his matrimonial expedition, to Sir Alexander Lindsay, whom he soon after
created Lord Spynie :-(‘ From the Castell of Croneburgh, quhaire we are drinking and
dryuing OUT in the auld maner,” and the entertainment of his guests on his return
appears to have shown no wish for a change of fashion in this respect. The banquet
was furnished on Sunday evening, in the great hall at the foot of Toddrick’s Wynd,
which was hung with tapestry, and decorated with flowers for the occasion; and the
wine and ale form the chief items in the provision ordered by the council for the noble
strangers.’
In the introductory historical sketch some extracts are given from the very curious
.
1 As before mentioned (ante, p. 263), several interesting houses, referred to here and on subsequent pages, have
been taken down to make way for City improvements. ’ 21at May 1590. “The quhilk day, John Arnott, Provest, Henry Charteris, &c., being convenit in the counsdl at
the requeist of the Kingis Majestie, and for honour of the Toun ; It was thocht and agreit to mak ane honourabd
banket to the Dence Imbaseadours, and the famous peraouns of thair company, quha arryvet furth of Denmark with
the King and Queynis Majesties, and this upoun the Townis chargea and expensis, to be maid in Thomas Aitchisoun’s,
Master of the Cuoyie hous lugeiog at Todrik’s Wynd fute, upon Sonday at evin next to cum ; and for the making of
the preparatioun and furneasing thairto, hes set doun and devyset the ordonr following ; to wit, that the Thasaurer CBUB
bye and lay in four punsheons wyne ; John Borthuik, baxter, to get four bunnis of beir, with four gang of sill, and to
furneis breid ; Henry Charteris and Roger Macnacht to caus hing the hous with tapeshie, set the buirds, furmis,
chandleris and get tlowres, &c.”- ~~p,. 88.

... LEONARD’S, ST MARY’S WYND, AND COWGATE. 315 is 1574, showing that their erection took place almost ...

Book 10 p. 343
(Score 0.84)

166 OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Parliient House.
plead in any court in Scotland, and in all Scottish
appeals before the House of Lords-is a body,
of course, inseparably connected, as yet, with the
old Parliament House. From among that body
the judges of the supreme courts and sheriffs of
the various counties are selected. It is the most
distinguished corporate body in Scotland, and of
old, especially, was composed of the representatives
alike of the landed aristocracy, the rank
and intellect of Scotland ; and for more than three
centuries the dignity of the Scottish bench and bar
has been maintained by a succession of distinguished
men, illustrious, not only in their own
peculiar department of legal knowledge, but in
most branches of literature and science ; and it has
produced some men whose worksare read and whose
influence is felt wherever the language of Great
Britain is known.
The whole internal economy of the legal bodies,
and of the courts of law, is governed by the Acts
wildest imagery, have foreseen the Edinburgh and
the Scotland of to-day !
Till so lately as 1779 the Parliament House,
retained the divisions, furnishing, and-save the
royal portraits-other features, which it had borne
in the days when Scotland had a national legislature.
Since that time the associations of this hall-the
Westminster Hall of Edinburgh-are only such as
relate to men eminent in the College of Justice, for
learning or great legal lore, among whom we may
note Duncan Forbes, Lords Monboddo and Kames,
Hume, Erskine, and Mackenzie, and, indeed,
nearly all the men of note in past Scottish literature.
?? Our own generation has witnessed there Cockbum,
Brougham, Horner, Jeffrey, and Scott, sharing
in the grave offices of the court, or takinga part in the
broad humour and wit for which the members of ? the Faculty ? are so celebrated ; and still the visitor
to ,this learned and literary lounge cannot fail to be
gratified in a high degree, while watching the different
groups who gather in the Hall, and noting the
lines of thought or humour, and the infinite variety
of physiognomy for which the wigged and gowned
loiterers of the Law Courts are peculiarly famed.?
consequence of a difikrence having arisen between
the Facultyand the Lords of Session, banished the
whole of the former twelve miles from Edinburgh.
The subject in dispute was whether any appeal
lay from the Court of Session to the Parliament.
It is obvious that in this contest between the bench
and the bar, law and the practice of the court,.
independent of expediency, could alone be con--
sidered, and the Faculty remained banished until
the unlimited supremacy of the Court should be
acknowledged; but what would those sturdy advocates
of the seventeenth century have thought of
appeals to a Parliament sitting at Westminster ?
In 1702 the Faculty became again embroiled.
Upon the accession of Queen Anne a new Parliament
was not summoned, that which sat during
the reign of her predecessor being reassembled.
The Duke of Hamilton and seventy-nine members
protested against this as being illegal, and withdrew
from the House. The Faculty of Advocates passed
-
The Hall is now open from where the throne
stood to the great south window. Once it was
divided into two portions-the southern separated
from the rest by a screen, accommodated the Court
of Session ; the northern, comprising a subsection
used for the Sheriff Court, was chiefly a kind of
lobby, and was degraded by a set of little booths,.
occupied as taverns, booksellers? shops, and toy--
shops, like those in the Krames. Among others,
.Creech had a stall ; and such was once the conditioe
of Westminster Hall. Spottiswoode of that ilk,
who published a work on ?Forms of Process,?
in I 7 I 8, records that there were then ? two keepers
of the session-house, who had small salaries to de
the menial offices there, and that no small part of
their annual perquisites came from the kramrrs in
the outer hall.?
The great Hall is now used as a promenade and
waiting-room by the advocates and other practitioners
connected with the supreme courts, and
during the sitting of these presents a very animated
scene ; and there George IV. was received in kingly
state at a grand banquet, on his visit to the city
in 1822.

... OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Parliient House. plead in any court in Scotland, and in all Scottish appeals before ...

Book 1 p. 166
(Score 0.84)

KING‘S STABLES, CASTLE BARNS, AND CASTLE HILL. 135
so generally placed on them, all afford tests as to the period of their erection, fully a6
definite and trustworthy as those that mark the progressive stages of the ecclesiastical
architecture of the Middle Ages. The earliest form of the crow-stepped gable presents a
series of pediments surmounting the steps, occasionally highly ornamented, and always
giving a rich effect to the building. Probably the very latest specimen of this, in Edinburgh,
is the h e old building of the Mint, in the Cowgate, which
bears the date 1574 over its principal entrance, while its other ornaments
axe similar to many of a more recent date. After the adoption
of the plain square crow-step, it seems still to have been held as an
important feature of the building ; in many of the older houses, the
arms or initials, or some other device of the owner, are to be found
on the lowest of them, even where the buildings are so lofty as to
place them almost out of sight. The dormer window, surmounted
with the thistle, rose, &c., and the high-peaked gable to the street,
are no less familiar features in our older domestic architecture.
Many specimens, also, of windows originally divided by stone mullions, and with lead
casements, still remain in the earliest mansions of the higher classes ; and in several of
these there are stone recesses or niches of a highly ornamental character, the use of which
has excited considerable discussion among antiquaries. A later form of window than
the last, exhibits the upper part glazed, and finished below with a richly carved wooden
transom, while the under half is closed with shutters, occasionally highly adorned on the
exterior with 8 variety of carved ornaments.
Towards the close of Charles 11,’s reign, an entirely new order of architecture was
adopted, engrafting the mouldings and some of the principal features of the Italian
style upon the forms that previously prevailed. The Golfers’ Land in the Canongate is
a good and early specimen of this. The gables are still steep, and the roofs of a high
pitch; and while _the front assumes somewhat of the character of a pediment, the crow:
steps are retained on the side gables ; but these features soon after disappear, and give way
to a regular pediment, surmounted with urns, and the like ornaments,-a very good specimen
of which remains on the south side of the Castle Hill, as well as others in various
parts of the Old Town. The 6ame district still presents good specimens of the old wooden
fronted lands, with their fore stairs and handsome inside turnpike from the fist floor, the
construction of which Maitland affirms to be coeval with the destruction of the extensive
forests of the Borough Muir, in the reign of James IV. We furnish a view of some other
remarkably picturesque specimens of the same style of building in this locality, recently
demolished to make way for the New College. All these various features of the ancient
domestic architecture of the Scottish Capital will come under review in the course of the
Work, in describing the buildings most worthy of notice that still remain, or have been
demolished during the present century.
f
Immediately below the Castle rock, on its south side, there exists an ancient appendage
of the Royal Palace of the Castle, still retaining the name of the King’s Stables, although
no hoof of the royal stud has been there for wellnigh three centuries. Thie district lies
without the line of the ancient city wall, and was therefore not only in an exposed sitna-
- -

... STABLES, CASTLE BARNS, AND CASTLE HILL. 135 so generally placed on them, all afford tests as to the ...

Book 10 p. 146
(Score 0.83)

68 MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH.
Valence and Amiens, and other French commissioners, and a treaty was formally concluded
and signed, by which, through the diplomatic skill of Cecil, the objects aimed at
by Queen Elizabeth, as well as the real interests of the Congregation, were completely
secured, notwithstanding the feeble remonstrances of the French commissioners. A separate
convention, agreed to at the same time, bound the French garrison to remove all the
artillery from the ramparts of Leith, completely to demolish its fortifications, and
immediately thereafter to embark for France.
On the 19th of July,-the third day after the embarkation of the French troops at
Leith, and the departure of the English forces on their march homeward,-a solemn public
thanksgiving was held by the reforming nobles, and the great body of the Congregation,
in St Giles’s Church ; and thereafter the preachers were appointed to some of the chief
boroughs of the kingdom, Knox being confirmed in the chief charge at Edinburgh.
A Parliament assembled in Edinburgh on the 1st of August, the proceedings of which
were opened with great solemnity. The lesser barons, from their interest in the progress of
the reformed doctrines, claimed the privilege, which they had long ceased to use, of sitting
and voting in the Assembly of the Three Estates. This led to the accession of nearly a
hundred votes, nearly all of them adhering to the Protestant party. After the discussion
of 8ome preliminary questions,-particularly as to the authority by which the Parliament
was summoned,-Maitland was appointed their “ harangue maker,” or speaker, and they
proceeded to choose the Lords of the Articles. Great complaint was made as to the choice
falling entirely on those well affected to the new religion, particularly among the Lords
Spiritual, some of whose representatives were mere laymen ;-but altogether without effect.
c( This being done,” says Randolph, in an interesting letter to Cecil, U the Lords departed,
and accompanied the Duke as far as the Bow,-which is the gate going out of the High
Street,-and many down unto the Palace where he lieth; the town all in armour, the
trumpets sounding, and all other kinds of music such as they have. . . . . . The Lords
of the Articles sat from henceforth in Holyrood House, except that at such times as upon
matter of importance the whole Lords assembled themselves again, as they did this day, in
the Parliament House.”
The Parliament immediately proceeded with the work of reformation, a Confession of
Faith was drawn up, and approved of by acclamation, embodying a summary of Christian
doctrine in accordance with the views of the majority, and this was seconded by a series of
acts rendering all who refused to subscribe to its tenets liable to confiscation, banishment,
and even death. Ambassadors were despatched to England with proposals of marriage
between the Earl of Arran, eldest 6011 to the Duke of Chatelherault, and Queen Elizabeth,
while Sir James Sandilands, grand prior of the knights of St John of Jerusalem, was sent
to France to carry an account of their proceedings to the Queen.
The latter met with a very cool reception ; he was, however, entrusted with a reply from
the Scottish Queen, which, though it refused to recognise the assembly by which he was
sent as a Parliament, was yet couched in conciliatory terms, and intimated her intention
to despatch commissioners immediately, to convene a legal Parliament ; but ere Sir James
arrived at Edinburgh, the news reached him of the death of the young King, her royal consort,
anwhich avent caused the utmost rejoicing among the party of the Congregation.
MS. Letter St P. O&, 9th August 1560, Tytler.

... MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH. Valence and Amiens, and other French commissioners, and a treaty was formally ...

Book 10 p. 74
(Score 0.83)

208 OLD AND ?NEW EDINBURGH. [High Street.
there was born in 1741 his son, the celebrated
statesman, Henry Viscount Melville.
There long abode, on the first floor of the
? Bishop?s Land,? a fine old Scottish gentleman,
?? one of the olden time,? Sir Stuart Thriepland, of
Fingask Castle, Bart., whose father had been attainted
after the battle of Sheriffmuir, which,
however, did not prevent Sir Stuart from duly
taking his full share in the ?45. His wanderings
over, and the persecutions past, he took up his
residence here, and had his house well hung, we
are told, with well-painted portraits of royal per-
He died 1 sonages-but not cf the reipinn house.
One of the most famous edifices on the north
side of the High Street was known as ? the Bishop?s
Land,? so called from having been the town
residence of John Spottiswood, Archbishop of St.
Andrews in 1615, and son of John Spottiswood,
Superintendent of Lothian, a reformed divine, who
prayed over James VI., and blessed him when
an infant in his cradle, in the Castle of Edinburgh.
From him the Archbishop inherited the house,
which bore the legend and date,
BLISSIT .BE .YE. LORD. FOR.ALL. HIS. GIFTIS. 1578.
consequently it must have been built when the Superintendent
(whose father
fell at Flodden) was in
his sixty-eighth year, and
was an edifice sufficiently
commodious and magnificent
to serve as a town
residence of the Primate
of Scotland, who in his
zeal to promote the designs
of James VI. for
the establishment of Episcopacy,
performed the
then astounding task of
no less than fifty journeys
to London.
The ground floor of
the mansion, like many
others of the same age
in the same street, was
formed of a deeply-arched
piazza, the arches of
whichsprang from massive
stone piers. From the
first floor there projected
~.
ALLAN RAMSAY.
(From the Portrait in ihe 1761 Edition e/ has ?Poems.?)
a fine brass balcony, that
must many a time and oft have been hung with gay
garlands and tapestry, and crowded with the fair
and noble to witness the state pageants of old,
such as the great procession of Charles I. to Holyrood,
where he was crowned by the archbishop
King of Scotland in 1633. From this house
Spottiswood was obliged to fly, when the nation
en mnsse resisted, with peremptory promptitude, the
introduction of the Liturgy. He took refuge in
London, where he died in 1639, and was interred
in Westminster Abbey.
In 1752 the celebrated Lady Jane Douglas, wife
of Sir George Stuart of Grantully, and the heroine
of the famous ? Douglas cause,? was an occupant
of ?? the Bishop?s Land,? till she ceased to be
able to afford a residence even there. Therein,
tDo, resided the first Lord President Dundas, and
- -
in 1805, and the forfeited
honours were generously
restored by George IV.
in 1826 to his son, Sir
Patrick M. Thriepland
of Fingask, which had
long before been purchased
back by the money
of his mother, Janet Sinclair
of Southdun.
On the third floor,
above him, dwelt the
Hamiltons of Pencaitland,
and the baronial Aytouns
of Inchdairnie. hlrs.
Aytoun was Isabel, daughter
of Kobert, fourth Lord
Rollo, ? and would sometimes
come down the
stair,? says Robert Chambers,
? lighting herself
with a little waxen taper,
to drink tea with Mrs.
Janet Thriepland (Sir
Patrick?s sister)-for so
she called herself, though unmarried. In the
uppermost floor of all lived a reputable tailor
and his family. All the various tenants, including
the tailor, were on friendly terms with ?
each other-a pleasant. thing to tell of this bit of
the old world, which has left nothing of the same
kind behind it in these days, when we all live at il
greater distance, physical and moral, from each
other.?
This fine old tenement, which. was one of the
most aristocratic in the street till a comparatively
recent period, was totally destroyed by fire in
1814.
Eastward of it stood the town-house of the
Hendersons of Fordel (an old patrician Fifeshire
family), with whom Queen Mary was once
a visitor; but it, too, has passed away, and an

... OLD AND ?NEW EDINBURGH. [High Street. there was born in 1741 his son, the celebrated statesman, Henry ...

Book 2 p. 208
(Score 0.83)

416 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
century, it was his turn, along with another of the Royal Chaplains, to officiate.
The latter opened the proceedings with a prayer most elaborately composed for
the occasion. His eloquence attracted notice, and expectation was excited in
regard to the prayer with which the proceedings were to be terminated, and
which fell to be offered by the subject of this sketch, when the reverend gentleman
stood up, and rightly judging that neither the circumstances nor the services
called for anything but the femest and simplest words, with great solemnity
repeated the Lord’s Prayer, to the no small surprise of the audience, some of
whom had the bad taste to term it unsuitable to the occasion,
The death perhaps of no clergyman ever produced a greater sensation in the
neighbourhood where it occurred. It was announced by bills hawked about
the streets of Edinburgh; and the presence of thousands of persons at the
funeral attested the veneration in which their pastor was held. Only one of
Mr. Paul’s sermons was ever published, although some of them have since
appeared in the periodical publications of the day. His venerable widow
survived him till 21st November 1828.
This Print was executed by the artist from recollection, after the reverend
gentleman’s death.
No. CLXIV.
BYRNE, THE IRISH GIANT,
MR. WATSON, MR. M‘GOWAN, MR. FAIRHOLME,
AND
GEORDIE CRANSTOUN.
THIS Print, which is one of the early productions of the artist, represents the
Giant in conversation with Mr. Watson, while Mr. M‘Gowan, Mr. Fairholme,
and Geordie Cranstoun are listening very attentively to what is going on.
Some account of MR. FAIRHOLME, the first figure to the left, will be
found in our notice of “The Connoisseurs.” The likeness here afforded may
not be so accurate or distinct in the outlines as the one in the group alluded to ;
yet the person and attitude are very characteristic of the upright and somewhat
pompous figure of the original.
The next figure presents an equally graphic portraiture of MR. JOHN
M‘GOWAN, who lived for many years in the Luckenbooths, where he occupied
the second and third flats above Creech the bookseller’s shop. He latterly
removed to a house in Princes Street, between Castle and Charlotte Streets,
where he died.

... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. century, it was his turn, along with another of the Royal Chaplains, to officiate. The ...

Book 8 p. 578
(Score 0.82)

CHAPTER X.
LEITH, AND THE NEW TOWN.
HE history and antiquities of the ancient
burgh of Leith are much too intimately
connected with the Scottish capital to admit of
their being overlooked among its venerable memorials.
The earliest notice of Leith occurs in
the original charter of Holyrood Abbey, where
it is mentioned among the gifts bestowed by
Saint David on his royal foundation, under the
name of Inverleith. Little, however, is known
of its history until the year 1329, when the
citizens of Edinburgh obtained from Eing
Robert I. a grait of the Harbour and Mills of
Leith, for the payment of fifty-two merks ye'arly.
From that period almost to our day it has
remained as a vassal of Edinburgh, not incorporated,
like the Canongate, by amicable relations and the beneficent fruits of a paternal
sway, but watched with a spirit of mean jealousy that seemed ever to dread the step-child
becoming a formidable rival. It bore a share in all the disasters that befell its jealous
neighbour, without partaking of its more prosperous fortunes, until the Burgh Reform
Bill of 1833 at length freed it from this slavish vassalage, that proved in its operations
alike injurious to the Capital and its Port. The position it occupied, and the share it had
in the successive struggles that exercised so marked an influence on the history of Edinburgh,
have already been sufficiently detailed in the introductory sketch. It suffered
nearly as much from the invading armies of Henry VIII. as Edinburgh; while in the
bloody feuds between the Congregation and the Queen Regent, Mary of Guise, and the no
less bitter strife of the Douglas wars, it was dragged unwillingly into their quarrels, and
compelled to bear the brunt of its more powerful neighbour's wrath.
In the reign of Alexander 111. it belonged to the Leiths, a family who owned extensive
possessions in Midlothian, including the lands of Restalrig, and took their patrimonial
surname from the town. About the commencement of the fourteenth century
these possessions passed by marriage to the Logans, the remains of whose ancient strong-
VIGNETTs-Arms, vinegar Close, Leith.

... X. LEITH, AND THE NEW TOWN. HE history and antiquities of the ancient burgh of Leith are much too ...

Book 10 p. 390
(Score 0.82)

474 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
peared on the 10th October 1S02. His intimacy with Sir Walter Scott, which
continued until death with little interruption, was attended by large results. The
first work that was the harbinger of a series of literary productions destined to
astonish the world was the Minstrelsy of the Xcottish Border, which appeared in
January 1802, and the publication of which he shared with Messrs. Longman
of London. This was afterwards followed up by the other poems, and by the
Waverley Novels. Besides these there were books of a more solid and learned
character which engaged his attention. Among them were that useful work of
reference The Annual Register, and the philosophical and scientific works of Dugald
Stewart, Brown, Playfair, and Leslie (all of whom were friends and habitues of
the High Street rendezvous), and last, though not least, came the Encyclopcedia
Brilannica, the copyright of which he purchased in 1812. This great work was
as yet in its infancy, but he added six supplementary volumes containing the
celebrated scientific dissertation by Stewart, Playfair, and Brande. He took
special interest in Scottish literature, and issued many rare works in t,hat
department including those of his friend Sir John Graham Dalzell, of whom
Kay has given a biography in this volume. Passing over many other literary
adventures, it may be sufficient here to notice one of his latest projects, Constable’s
Miscellany, a work set on foot in 1825, and intended to popularise wholesome
literature-a result it attained with no small measure of success. It was soon
after this that the cloud of pecuniary difficulties which had been gathering overhead
culminated and broke, obliging the firm to stop payment under a pressure
of liabilities exceeding 3250,000. How such a calamity could have befallen so
fair a structure it is difficult to conjecture. Possibly it can be accounted for by
the supposition that the huge vessel was overweighted, and sunk under the
burden of its precious cargo-a cargo the dismembered portions of which were
sufficient to enrich others who succeeded to them. But the architect does not
always live t,o see the accomplishment of his great design. So Constable was
doomed to take the last view of his splendidly constructed business with feelings
of disappointment. From this time his health gave way, the hitherto robust
frame broke up, and he died of a dropsical complaint, from which he had for some
time suffered, at his house in Park Place on the 21st July 1827. His death
was felt as a great blow to Edinburgh, as shown by the numerous obituary
notices which appeared after his decease, and from one of which we make the
following extract :-
“We are concerned to learn that Mr. Constable, our late eminent Publisher, who had for
some time suffered severely under a dropsical complaint, expired suddenly, at his house in Park
Place, on the afternoon of Saturday. This event has, we confess, excited in our minds a train
of melancholy recollections and regrets ; and we cannot refrain from thus publicly expressing
our respect for the memory of a man who, notwithstanding the disastrous termination of his
professional career, must long be remembered as a liberal friend of literary merit, and active
promoter of those literary enterprises which, during the last twenty-five years, have redounded
so much to the advantage and fame of this city. We do not scruple to say, that we have
nationality enough to have derived B lively satisfaction from seeing it become an object of
desire among the literati of the south to contribute to its literary undertakings, and to resort to
it as an advantageous mart of publication ; and, convinced BS we are, that this was in no small

... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. peared on the 10th October 1S02. His intimacy with Sir Walter Scott, which continued ...

Book 9 p. 633
(Score 0.82)

INDEX TO VOL . I .
PORTRAITS AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES .
A
No . Page
Abercromby. Sir Ralph. K . B., giving the
word of command ........................ li 106
Abercromby, General Sir Ralph, K.B.,
viewing the army encamped on the
plains of Egypt ........................... lii 108
Adams. Mr . John, master of the Royal
Riding Menage ........................... clxi 410
Aeronauts, a Group of .................. xxxviii
Arnot, Hugo, Esq . of Balcormo, advocate ... v
86
16
cate ....................................... Viii 25
cate ....................................... lxvi 157
cate .................................... cxxxii 324
X ........................................ lxxxix 215
Beat, Rev . William, Kilrenny, Fifeshire ... cx 271
Bell, Mr. Andrew, engraver .................i.v 13
Bell, Mr . Andrew, engraver ............ lxxxvi 210
Beuuet. Mr . John, surgeon ...............c lix 401
Black, Dr . Joseph ........................... xxu 52
Black, Dr . Joseph, lecturing ............ xxiii 54
Black, Dr . Joseph ........................... xxv 56
Provost ................................. xxviii 62
Blair, Sir James Hunter, Bart ............. xcu 226
Blair, Sir James Hunter, Bart ............. cii 252
Arnot, Hugo, Esq . of Balcormo, advo-
Arnot, Hugo, Esq . of Balcormo, advo-
Arnot, Hugo, Esq . of Balcormo, advo-
Artois, Count D’, afterwards Charles
B
Blair. Sir Jcmes Hunter, Bark, Lord
Blir, Robert, Esq., Solicitor.Genera1,
afterwards Lord President of the
Court of Session ..................... cxxvii 313
Blair. Robert, Esq., Solicitor-General cxxviii 314
Blair, Rev . Hugh, D.D., of the High
Church .................................... lvii 120
Blair, Mr . Thomas, of the Stamp-Office ... cxlii 355
Boruwlaski, Joseph. the Polish Dwarf . cxxxiii 327
Brodie, Deacon William ..................... cv 256
Brodie, Deacon William ..................... cVi 264
and Elliestown ........................ xxxiii 75
58
61
Brown, George, Esq . of Lindsaylands
Brown, Dr . John, author of the “Brunonian
System of Medicine ” ......... xxvi
Brown, Dr . John, in his study ......... xxvii
No . Page
Abwsinian Traveller ..................... lix 128
Bruce. James. Esq . of Kinnaird. the
Buchan. Right Hon . the Earl of ......... cxvi 286
Bucks. Four .................................... cxx 292
Burnett. James. Lord Monboddo ............v 18
Burnett. James. Lord Monboddo ............ vi 21
Buttons. General. an American Officer ... cvii 266
Byrne. Charles. the Irish Giant ............ iv 10
C
Campbell. Major. of the 35th Regiment.xcvii 235
Campbell. John. Esq . of Blythswood.
Lieut.-Colonel of the 9th Regiment
of Foot .................................... clu 383
Byrne. the Irish Giant ..................... clxiv 417
Carlyle. Alexander. D.D., Inveresk ... xxix 65
Chalmers. Dr . John. Principal of King’s
College. Aberdeen ..................... xxxv 78
Chalmers. Dr . William. Professor of
Medicine. King’s College. Aberdeen
....................................... xxxv 79
Charteris. I&., in the character of “Bardolph”
.................................... lxiii 151
City Guard. Three Captains of the ......... xv
Clarkson. Major .............................. clx 409
Cochrane. the Hon . Basil .................. cliii 384
Cock- fighting Match between the
Counties of Lanark and Haddington
.......................................... xliv 96
Congregation. a Sleepy ........................ x 28
Contemplation ............ .......................... 21
Courtship .......................................... Ix 139
Craig. Lord .................................... cxxii 302
Cranstoun. George .............................. xx 50
Cranstoun. Geordie ........................ clxiv 417
Cmwford. Miss. of Jordanhill ............ xlvi 98
Crawford. Miss. of Jordanhill ............ xlvii
Crawford. Captain ........................... xlvii 99
the Awkward Squad ..................... clv 390
Cullen. Dr . William. in his study ......... civ 255
D
Dalzel, Professor .............................. xxx 67
41
99
Crichton. Colonel Patrick. of the Edinburgh
Volunteers. with a view of
Cullen. Dr . William ........................ ciu 253

... TO VOL . I . PORTRAITS AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES . A No . Page Abercromby. Sir Ralph. K . B., giving ...

Book 8 p. 604
(Score 0.81)

THE WEST BOW AND SUBURBS. 343
when the Lords of the Congregation I‘ past to Halyrudhous, and tuik and intromettit with
the irnis of the c~nzehous.~. ~
The general aspect of the Grassmarket appears to have suffered little change for above
two hundred years. One of the most modern erections on its southern side is that immediately
to the west of the Templar Lands we have just described, which bears on a tablet
over the entrance to Hunter’s Close, ANNO. DOM . MDCLXXI . It is not likely to
be soon lost sight of, that from a dyer’s pole in front of this old tenement Captain
. Porteous was hung by his Lynch-law judges A.D. 1736. . The long range of buildings that
extend beyond this, present as singular and varied a group of antique tenements as either
artist or antiquary could desire. Finials of curious and grotesque shapes surmount the
crow-stepped gables, and every variety of form and
elevation diversifies the sky line of their roofs and
chimneys; while behind, the noble pile of Heriot’s
Hospital towers above them a8 a counterpart to the
old Castle that rises majestically over the north side
of the same area’ Many antique features are yet
discernibIe here. Several of the older houses are built
with bartizaned roofs and ornamental copings, designed
to afford their inmates an.uninterrupted view of the magnificent pageants that were
wont of old to defile through the wide area below, or of the gloomy tragedies that were
so frequently enacted there between the Restoration and the Revolution. One of thesej
which stands immediately to the west of Heriot’s Bridge, exhibits a very perfect
specimen of the antique style of window already frequently referred to. The folding
shutters and transom of oak remain entire below, and the glass in the upper part is Bet in
an ornamental pattern of lead. Still finer, though less perfect, specimens of the same
early fashion, remain in a tenement on the north side, bearing the date 1634. It forms
the front building at the entrance to Plainstane’s Close-a distinctive title, implying
its former respectability as a paved alley. A handsome projecting turnpike stair bears
being thairin.”-Diurn. of OCC. p. 269. Humble as this nook appears, it is possible that it may be a fragment of the
Regent Murray’s lodging.
1 The careful and elaborate history of Heriot’s Hospital, by Dr Steven, renders further investigation of its memorials
unnecesaary. Tradition assigns to Inigo Jones the merit of having furnished the beautiful design for the Hospital,
which is well worthy of his genius. If so, however, it has been carried‘out in a modified form, under the direction
of more modern architects. “May 3 t T h e r e is a
necessity that the steeple of the Hospital be finished, and a top put thereupon. Ro. Miln, Master Mason, to think
on e drawing thereof, against the next council meeting.” The master mason doea not appear to have thought to good
purpose, as we find recorded the following year :-“July 10.-Deacon Sandilans to put a roof and top to the Hoepital’s
ateeple, according to the draught condescended upon be Sir William Bruce.” In one of Captain Slezer’s very accurate
general view8 of Edinburgh, published towarda the close of the 17th century, Heriot’s Hospital is introduced 88 it
then appeared, with the plain square tower over the gateway, and near to it the Old Oreyfriars’ Church, with the
tower at the west end, aw it stood previous to 1718, when the latter waa accidentally blown up by gunpowder, which
had been deposited there for aafety. A view of the Hospital, by Glordon of Rothiemay, which was engraved in
Holland before 1650, is believed to aford an accurate representation of the original deeign. The aame is engraved in
the fourth edition of Sleser’s views, under the name of Bogengkht. In thia view, the tower is surmounted by a lofty
and beautiful apire, carrying out the idea of contrast in form and elevation which appears in the reat of the dedign,
much more effectively than the dome which has been substituted for it. The large towers at the angles of the building
appear in this view covered with ogee roofs, in mora questionable tsste. Several entries in the Hospital %cords seem
to imply that two of the four towers had been completed according to this idea, and afterwards altered. The Recorda
afford evidence of frequent deviations from the original design being sanctioned, even rfter auch parta of the building
were 6niahed according to the plan.
The following entry occurs in the Hospital Recorda for 1675.

... WEST BOW AND SUBURBS. 343 when the Lords of the Congregation I‘ past to Halyrudhous, and tuik and ...

Book 10 p. 375
(Score 0.81)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 453
works illustrative of the natural history of the Scottish Isles, and had studied
for two years at Freyberg, under the celebrated Werner.
Few men of his day contributed more than Professor Jameson to the
advancement of natural history, and more especially geology, as presented
in its most popular and important department. His whole life was actively
devoted to study and investigation; and whether in the class-room, or
by his writings, he is equally entitled to the gratitude and respect of the
student. The vigour with which he prosecuted his academical labours was
the result of early enthusiasm. His first journey to Shetland, for the purpose
of exploring the mineralogy and natural phenomena of these islands, was undertaken
when only fifteen years of age ; and ere he had completed his nineteenth
year the world was in possession of the invaluable fruits of his researches.
After that period scarcely a season elapsed without witnessing some new
emanation from his accumulated stores.’
Professor Jameson is known as the founder, in 1808, of the Wernerian
Natural History Society of Edinburgh, and of whose Trunsactwns seven volumes
have been published. Besides his numerous separate works, it is to him the
world is chiefly indebted for the “ Edinburgh Philosophical Journal ”-a work
begun in 1819,z and which long continued to maintain a reputation deservedly
high as a valuable repository of science. The editorial duties in connection
with a publication of this description, extending over a period of nearly twenty
years, independently of the many valuable articles from his own pen, may well
be supposed to have occupied the greater part of the time not engrossed with
his classes j yet, notwithstanding his multifarious labours, Professor Jameson is
understood to have been a frequent contributor to the (‘ Edinburgh Encyclopaedia,”
the “ Encyclopaedia Britannica,” “ The Annals of Philosophy,” the
“ Edinburgh Cabinet Library,” and to other standard works of the day. It is
also worthy of notice that, “on the return of Captain Parry from his Polar
Expedition, and at the request of that gentleman, he drew up, from the
1 The following is a list of the separate works by Mr. Jameson :-
1798.-Mineralogy of the Island of Arran and the Shetland Islands, with Dissertations on Peat
and Kelp. 1800.-Mineralogy of the Scottish Isles, in two vols. 4t0, illustrated with Maps and
Plates. Part of the materials for which he was assisted in collecting by Mr. (now Sir Charles) Bell,
the celebrated anatomist. 1804.-Part. I., 8v0, of a “Mineralogical Description of Scotland,”
with Maps and Plates ; containing an account of the Geology of the County of Dumfries. 1806.-
Two vols. 8v0, of a “System of Mineralogy,” with Plates ; and a third on the “Characters of
Minerals.” 1809.-Elements of Geognosy. 1813.-In one volume, 4t0, to the Translation of the
Travels of Von Buch through Norway and Lapland-advised by Mr. Jameson-he added an account
of its author, and various notes illustrative of the natural history of Norway. 1813.-Translation
of Cuvier’s Essay on the Theory of the Earth, with numerow illustrations by Professor Jameson.
An elegant and popular volume, which has gone through several large impressions. 1816.-h three
vols., a new edition of the “ System of Mineralogy ;” also another edition of the “ Characters of
Minerals.” 1820.-A third edition of the same works greatly enlarged and improved. 1821.-A
Manual of Minerals and Mountain Rocks.
Dr. (afterwards Sir David) Brewster was corijoined with him in the editorship ; but owing to
some circumstances of a private nature, Professor Jameson became sole conductor after the publication
of the tenth volume of the old series. Dr. Brewster afterwards commenced the “ Edinburgh
Journal of Science.”

... SKETCHES. 453 works illustrative of the natural history of the Scottish Isles, and had studied for ...

Book 9 p. 604
(Score 0.8)

JAMES VI. TO RESTORATION OF CHARLES 11. 91
In the following year, the Common Council purchased the elevated ground lying to the
south of the city, denominated the High Riggs, on part of which Heriot’s Hospital was
afterwards built, and the latest extension of the city wall then took place for the purpose
of enclosing it. A portion of this wall still forms the western boundary of the Hospital
grounds, terminating at the head of the Vennel, in the only remaining tower of the ancient
city wall. The close of the succeeding year was signalised by the visit of Ben Jonson, on
his way to Hawthornden, the seat of the poet Drummond, where the memory of his
residence is still preserved.
The accession of Charles I. was marked by demands for heavy contributions, for the
purpose of fitting out ships, and erecting forts for securing the coasts of the kingdom.
The Common Council of Edinburgh entered so zealously into this measure, that the King
addressed to them a special letter of thanks ; and as a further proof of his gratitude, he
presented the Provost with a gown, to be worn according to King James’s appointment,
and a sword to be borne before him on all public occasions.
The citizens were kept for several years in anticipation of another royal visit, which
was at length accomplished in 1633. The same loyalty was displayed, as on similar occasions,
for receiving the King with suitable splendour. The celebrated poet, Drummond
of Hawthornden, was appointed to address him on this occasion, which he did in a
speech little less extravagant than that with which the town-clerk had hailed his royal
father’s arrival.
The King was received at
the West Port by the nymph Edina, and again at the Overbow by the lady Caledonia, each
of whom welcomed him in copious verse, attributed to Drummond’s pen. The members
of the College added their quota, and Mercury, Apollo, Endymion, the Moon, and a whole
host of celestial visitants made trial of the royal patience in lengthy @ymes !
Fergus I. received the King at the Tolbooth, and “in a grave speech gave many
paternal and wholesome advices to his royal successor ; ” and Mount Parnassus was
erected at the Trone, “with a great variety of vegetables, rocks, and other decorations
peculiar to mountains,’’ and crowded with all its ancient inhabitants. The whole fantastic
exhibition cost the city upwards of 3241,000 Scottish money!’ The most interesting
feature on the occasion was a series of the chief works of Jamesone, the famous Scottish
painter, with which the Nether Bow Port was adorned. This eminent artist continued to
reside in Edinburgh till his death, in 1644. He was buried in the Greyfriars’ Churchyard,
but without a monument, and tradition has failed to preserve any record of the
spot.
This hearty reception by the citizens of Edinburgh was followed by his coronation, on
the 18th of June, in the Abbey Church of Holyrood, with the utmost splendour and pomp ;
but the King was not long gone ere the discontents of the people were manifested by murmuring
and complaints. Under the guidance of Laud, Charles had resolved to carry out
the favourite project of his father, for the complete establishment of Episcopacy in Scotland
; but he lacked the cautious prudence of James, no less than the wise councillors of
Elizabeth. He erected Edinburgh into a separate diocese, taking for that purpose a portion
of the ancient Metropolitan See of St Andrews, and appointed the Collegiate Church
The orator’s poetical skill was nest called into requisition.
Maitland, p. 63-69.

... VI. TO RESTORATION OF CHARLES 11. 91 In the following year, the Common Council purchased the elevated ground ...

Book 10 p. 99
(Score 0.8)

Pleasance. ST. LEONARD?S CHAPEL. 383
entirely to act as barbers. In consequence, the
council, on the 26th July, 1682, recommended the
new corporation to supply the city with a sufficient
number of persons qualified ?to shave and cut
hair,? and who should continue to be upon it ; but
in 1722 it ceased to have all connection with the
barbers, save that the latter were obliged to enter
all their apprentices in a register kept by the
surgeons. By a charter of George III., dated 14th
March, 1778, the corporation was erected into ?The
Royal College of Surgeons of the City of Edinburgh,?
a document which established a scheme of
provision for the widows and children of members.
In the old edifice overlooking the Pleasance the
College held all its
Castle of Clouts,? in the spirit of that talent which ,
the Scots have of conferring absurd sobriquets.
By the wayside to Duddingstone, south of the
Pleasance, a rising piece of ground or slight eniinence
is called Mount Hooly, a corruption of
Mount Holy, which marks the site of the chapel
of St. Leonard and of a hospital dedicated to the
same saint. As is the case with most of the
ecclesiastical edifices in Edinburgh, nothing is
known as to when or by whom either the chapel or
hospital was built, and not a vestige remains of
either now.
The chapel, ere it became a ruin, rva?s the scene
of a remarkably traitorous tryst, held by the
_.
~ - -- -- - meetings till the erec- ~ ~ ~ --/ -
tion of the new hall,
to be referred to in its
place; but the name of
the first establishment
still survives in the adjacent
Surgeon Square.
In it was a theatre for
dissection, a museum,
in which a mummy
was long the chief
curiosity, and the hall
was hung with portraits
Qf surgeons who had
grown to eminence
after it was built.
W i 11 i am S m e 11 i e,
F.R.S. and F.A.S., an
eminent printer, and
DAVIE DEANS? COTTAGE.
known as the (FTOIIZ a Vzpette by &oars, #ubZrs/red I- the Fzrsf Edition of Robert
author of the ?Philo- Chambers?s ? Tradrho~rso~Ed~irbsrgh,? 1825 )
sophy of Natural His-
Douglas faction on the
2nd of February, 1528,
having nothing less in
view than the assassination
of their sovereign,
James V., ?the
Commons King,? who
was the idol of his
people. They were to
enter the palace of
Holyrood by a window
near the head of the
king?s bed in the night,
and under the guidance
of Sir James
Hamilton, one the monarch
loved and trusted
much; but the dastardly
plot was discovered
in time, and
by the energetic measures
taken to crush the
devisers of it, peace
of the quaint old houses of the Pleasance in 1740.
A quaint three-storeyed edifice, having a large
archway, peaked gables, and dormer windows,
bearing the date of 1709, stood on the south
side of the Pleasance, and was long known as
? Hamilton?s Folly,? from the name of the proprietor,
who was deemed unwise in those days to hiild
a house so far from the city, and on the way that led
to the gibbet on which the bodies of criminals were
hung. But the latter would seem to have been in -
use till a much later period, as in the Cournnt for
December, 1761, there are advertised for sale four
tenements, ?lying at the head of the Pleasance, on
the east side of the road leading to the gibbet.?
Here still stands a goodly house of three storeys,
which was built about 1724 bya wealthy tailor, and
which in consequence has been denominated ?(the
for a period.
At St. Leonard?s Loan, which bounded the
property of the abbots of Holyrood on the south,
separating it on the side from the western flank of
the vast Burghmuir, there stood in ancient times a
memorial known as Umphraville?s Cross, erected
in memory of some man of -rank who perished
there in a conflict of which not a memory remains.
The cross itself had doubtless been demolished
as a relic of idolatry at the Reformation ; but in
1810, its base, a mass of dark whinstone, with a
square hole in its centre, wherein the shaft had
been fixed, was still remaining on the ancient site,
till it was broken up for road metal!
In his ? Diary,? Birrel records that on the 2nd
April, 1600, ? being the Sabbathday, Robert
Achmuty, barber, slew James Wauchope at the com

... ST. LEONARD?S CHAPEL. 383 entirely to act as barbers. In consequence, the council, on the 26th July, ...

Book 2 p. 383
(Score 0.8)

Corstorphine.] CORSTORPHINE CHURCH. 115
was no side road into which he could have disappeared.
He returned home perplexed by the
oddness of the circumstance, when the first thing
he learned was, that during his absence this friend
had been killed by his horse falling in the Candlemakers
Row.??
The church of Corstorphine is one of the most
interesting old edifices in the Lothians. It has
been generally supposed, says a writer, that Scotland,
while possessed of great and grand remains
of Gothic architecture, is deficient in those antique
rural village churches, whose square towers and
ivied buttresses so harmonise with the soft landscape
scenery of England, and that their place is
too often occupied by the hideous barn-like structure
of times subsequent to the Reformation. But
among the retiring niinor beauties of Gothic architecture
in Scotland, one of the principal is the
picturesque little church of Corstorphine.
It is a plain edifice of mixed date, says Billings
in his ?? Antiquities,? the period of the Decorated
Gothic predominating. It is in the form of a cross,
with an additional transept on one of the sides;
but some irregularities in the height and character
of the different parts make them seem asif they
were irregularly clustered together without design.
A portion of the roof is still covered with old-&ey
flagstone. A small square belfry-tower at the west
end is surmounted by a short octagonal spire, the
ornate string? mouldings on which suggest an idea
of the papal tiara
As the church of the parish, it is kept in tolerably
decent order, and it is truly amazing how it
escaped the destructive fury of the Reformers.
This edifice was not the original parish church,
which stood near it, but a separate establishment,
founded and richly endowed by the pious enthusiasm
of the ancient family whose tombs it contains,
and whose once great castle adjoined it.
Notices have been found of a chapel attached to
the manor of Corstorphine, but subordinate to the
church of St. Cuthbert, so far back as 1128, and
this chapel became the old parish church referred
to. Thus, in the Holyrood charter of King DavidI.,
1143-7, he grants to the monks there the two
chapels which pertain to the church of St. Cuthbert,
?? to wit, Crostorfin, with two oxgates and six
acres of land, and the chapel of Libertun with two
oxgates of land.?
In the immediate vicinity of that very ancient
chapel there was founded ancther chapel towards
the end of the fourteenth century, by Sir Adam
Forrester of Corstorphine; and that edifice is sup
posed to form a portion of the present existing
church, because after its erection no mention whatever
has been found of the second chapel as a
separate edifice.
.The building with which we have now to do
was founded in 1429, as an inscription on the wall
of the chancel, and other authorities, testify, by Sir
John Forrester of Corstorphine, Lord High Chamberlain
of Scotland in 1425, and dedicated to St.
John the Baptist, for a provost, five prebendaries,
and two singing boys. It was a collegiate church,
to which belonged those of Corstorphine, Dalmahoy,
Hatton, Cramond, Colinton, &c. The tiends
of Ratho, and half of those of Adderton and Upper
Gogar, were appropriated to the revenues of this
college.
?Sir John consigned the annual rents of one hundred
and twenty ducats in gold to the church,? says
the author of the ?New Statistical Account,? ?on
condition that he and his successors should have the
patronage of the appointments, and on the understanding
that if the kirk of Ratho were united to
the provostry, other four or five prebendaries
should be added to the establishment, and maintained
out of the fruits of the benefice of Ratho.
Pope Eugenius IV. sanctioned this foundation by a
bull, in which he directed the Abbot of Holyroodhouse,
a$ his Apostolic Vicar, to ascertain whether
the foundation and consignation had been made in
terms of the original grant, and on being satisfied
on these points, to unite and incorporate the church
of Ratho with its rights, emoluments, and pertinents
to the college for ever.?
The first provost of this establishment was
Nicholas Bannatyne, who died there in 1470, and
was buried in the church, where his epitaph still
remains.
When Dunbar wrote his beautiful ? I Lament for
the Makaris,? he embalmed among the last Scottish
poets of his time, as taken by Death, ? the gentle
Roull of Corstorphine,? one of the first provosts of
the church-
?( He has tane Rod1 of Aberdeen,
A d gentle Rod1 of Corstorphine ;
Twa better fellows did nae man see :
Timor mortis conturbat me.?
There was, says the ? The Book of Bon Accord,?
a Thomas Roull, who was Provost of Aberdeen in
1416, and it is conjectured that the baid was of the
same family ; but whatever the works of the latter
were, nothing is known of him now, save his name,
as recorded by Dunbar.
In the year 1475, Hugh Bar, a burgess of Edinburgh,
founded an additional chaplaincy in this
then much-favoured church. ? The chaplain, in
addition to the performance of daily masses for
the souls of the king andqueen, the lords of the

... CORSTORPHINE CHURCH. 115 was no side road into which he could have disappeared. He returned home ...

Book 5 p. 115
(Score 0.8)

3 d MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH.
though it is probable their worldly circumstances were thereby left more dependent on
their own peculiar resources. We are informed by an intelligent lady who resided in the
Canongate in her younger years, that one Christiau Burns, who then dwelt in Strachie’s
Close, enjoyed the universal reputation of a witch ; and on one occasion within her recollection
was scored adoon the breatfi-ie., had a deep cut made in her forehead by a
neighbouring maltster, whose brewing, as he believed, had been spoiled by her devilish
cantrips.
The Water Gate has long since ceased to be a closed port, but the Canongate dues were
still for some time after collected there on all goods entering the burgh. Its ancient site
was marked, till a few years since, by a pointed arch constructed of wood, and surmounted
with the Canongate Arms. This ornamental structure having been blown down in 1822,
the fishwives of Newhaven and Musselburgh unanimously rebelled, and refused to pay the
usual burghal impost levied on their burdens of fish. The warfare was unflinchingly maintained
by these amazons for some time, and the Magistrates were at length compelled
to restore peace to their gates, by replacing the decorated representative of the more
ancient structure. This, however, has again been removed, in consequence of the demolition
of an antique fabric on the east side of the gateway; and such .was the apathy of
the then generation that not even a patriotic fishwife was found to lift her voice against
the sacrilegious removal of this time-honoured landmark 1
A radiated arrangement of the paving in the street, directly opposite to the Water
Gate, marks the site of the Girth Cross, the ancient boundary of the Abbey Sanctuary.
It appears in the map of 1573, as an ornamental shaft elevated on a flight of steps ; and
it existed in nearly the same state about 1750, when Maitland wrote his History of
Edinburgh. Every vestige of it has since been removed, but the ancient privileges,
which it was intended to guard, still survive as a curious memorial of the ecclesiastical
founders of the burgh. Within the sacred enclosures that once bounded the Abbey of
Holyrood, and at a later period formed the chief residence of the Scottish Court, the
happy debtor is safe from the assaults of inexorable creditors, and may dwell at ease in his
city of refuge, if he have been fortunate enough to bear off with him the necessary spoils..
It is, in truth, an imperium in imperio, an ancient royal burgh, with its own courts and
judges and laws, its claims of watch and ward, and of fe;dal service during the presence
of royalty, the election of peers, or like occasions of state, which every householder is
bound to render as a sworn vassal of the Abbey. Endowed with such peculiar privileges
and immunities, it :s not to be wondered at that its inhabitants regard the ancient capital
and its modern rival with equal contempt, looking upon them with much the same feeling
as one of the court cavaliers of Charles 11. would have regarded some staid old Presbyterian
burgher or spruce city gallant in his holiday finery. In truth, it is scarcely conceivable
to one who has not taken up his abode within the magic circle, how much of the fashion of
our ancestors, described among the things that were in our allusions to the Cape Club
and other convivial assemblies of last century, still survives in uudiminished vigour under
covert of the Sanctuary’s protection.
On the south side of the main street, adjoining the outer court-yard of the Palace, a
series of pointed arches along the wall of the Sanctuary Court-House indicate the remains
of the ancient Gothic porch and gate-house of Holyrood Abbey, beneath whose groined
.

... d MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH. though it is probable their worldly circumstances were thereby left more dependent ...

Book 10 p. 334
(Score 0.79)

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